Chapter 5: Darkness Falls

AN: Small bit of trivia for the Shepards' casual fashion choices. Hannah tends to wear her uniform at all times, Jane likes wearing a black hoodie, and Whitley favors a black turtleneck.

Presidium, Azon's Cyberware, 2176 A.D

Ekol Azon hummed a jaunty little tune, opening up his shop. As he was powering up his terminals, however, he froze for a few moments, before shaking his head. He opened up his omni tool, typing in a command.

An extremely loud noise, one that sounded suspiciously like a car alarm, rang upstairs, above Ekol's shop. A large crash and some heavy swearing from the room's occupant could be heard.

"I'M UP, YOU BASTARD, I'M UP!"

Ekol chuckled, before deactivating the alarm. It was a rather ingenious idea of his, replacing one of the sound systems in his intern/guest's alarm with that of an 140 db electric horn that only he could activate and deactivate. So far, he'd used it three times on his roommate, to greatly comedic effect.

Whitley Shepard came down from his shared apartment, looking rather irritated at his roommate/friend.

"I was going to wake up." he said, morosely.

"I'm sure you would have." Ekol replied, his tone clearly skeptical of Whitley's statement.

Ekol took a moment to analyze his roommate, before shaking his head.

"I've told you many times before, Whitley, you do not need to work on your projects late at night! You have school!"

Whitley huffed. "It's fine. I'll just mix some of my coffee with Paragade again and I'll be-"

"Absolutely not! Last time you tried that, you couldn't sleep for three days!"

How Whitley hadn't died from that incident, Ekol would never know.

Ekol suddenly perked up. "Oh, before I forget, Happy Birthday!"

Whitley froze. "Wait a minute, my birthday?:

"Of course. It's July 6th, isn't it? Don't tell me you forgot!"

Whitley rubbed his neck, embarrassed. "Damn, time certainly does fly. It seems like it was only yesterday that me and Mom met each other."

Ekol chuckled. "And since then, you've been a pain in my side when it comes to your own prosthetics. I'm still wondering why I allowed you to add a police scanner to your own cybernetic eye!"

Whitley waved his arm dismissively. "I told you, Ekon, it's for self-defense! You never know when someone with a record or warrant for their arrest will come to kidnap an impressionable young man such as myself."

Ekon looked at Whitley, unamused. "Was it because of that, or because you couldn't remember any of your classmates' names in school?"

Whitley's silence was enough to answer that question.

Ekol chuckled, before shaking his head. "Enough. You've got 15 minutes to get yourself ready and eat your breakfast. Just because it's your birthday today doesn't mean you get to skip school. Your mother would kill me if I let you do that."

Whitley grumbled, but moved ahead to get himself ready. A few minutes later, after downing some reheated waffles from yesterday and a quick shower, Whitley ran to a nearby Citadel Rapid Transport terminal. Quickly inputting the coordinates, Whitley settled into the passenger seat as the taxi lifted itself off the ground and into the Citadel's busy traffic.

Auxua School of the Arts, Tayseri Ward

The Auxua School of the Arts was considered one of the best schools in the Citadel, featuring alumni of various races, as well as the belief that their students operated at their best when given complete freedom to pursue whatever path they wished to take.

One student, however, was not happy with this arrangement. Said student was occupied staring at the window, wondering how much longer he'd have to stay in school.

"Mr. Shepard, what is the answer to this question?" the Asari teacher asked, feeling rather vexed that one of her students wasn't paying attention to the class.

Whitley sighed. "Forty-two." he replied.

The teacher shook her head. "I'm afraid that answer is incorrect, Mr. Shepard. The solution to this problem is forty-five."

Whitley shook his head. "With all due respect, ma'am, the answer is forty-two." He stood up from the desk and walked up to the class. The teacher looked at him, confused, before stepping aside.

Whitley grabbed a marker and wrote a bold '42' on the board. "That is the answer. You said the solution is forty-five, but the only way the answer could be forty-five is to do this."

Whitley then proceeded to wipe away a few numbers and symbols on the equation, replacing them with different ones. "With that, the answer can now be forty-five."

The teacher rubbed chin for a few moments, before nodding. "That is correct. Excellent job, Mr. Shepard, as always." She turned to the rest of the class. "And with that, we are done for today. Your assignment over this weekend is to complete Chapter 15. The exam next week will be on Chapters 12-15, so please study in the time you have left. Have a great weekend."

The students rushed out of the class, eager to get back home after a long day at school. Whitley found himself running outside, rather keen on getting back home to celebrate his birthday. Heading outside Auxua's gate, Whitley was greeted by the sight of Ekol's car waiting patiently for him.

"What took you so long?" Ekol joked.

Whitley huffed. "I'd love to see you try and race against a crowd."

Ekol chuckled. "Fair enough. Let's go."

As Ekol drove, Whitley looked outside the window. No matter how many times he saw it, the view of the Citadel always left him with a sense of wonderment.

"So, how was school?" Ekol asked.

Whitley sighed. "Not great. They denied my request to graduate early. Again."

Ekol sighed. "Whitley, we've been over this, Hannah put you in that school to make friends, not to fast track your way to Citadel University. She thought you'd meet people with the same spark as you."

Whitley shook his head. "I don't need friends. You and mom and Jane are all I need."

Whitley looked outside the window again, before realizing that they had passed the Presidium.

"Where're we going?" he asked.

Ekol chuckled. "It's a surprise."

A few minutes later, Ekol and Whitley came down to a place that was rather familiar.

Whitley barely got out of the car before he was enveloped in a crushing embrace.

"Ack, mom, let go!" Whitley cried out.

Hannah laughed, before setting her son down. "Happy Birthday, Whitley." she remarked, before bringing her son to their apartment.

Hannah and Whitley settled down in the living room. "When did you get back? I thought you were still in space." Whitley couldn't help but ask

"I got back today, decided to surprise you, since it's your first 'official' birthday with us. I just wish Jane was here. Unfortunately, she's on Elysium right now, on shore leave." Hannah leaned back. "So, what was it like living with Ekol?"

Whitley shrugged. "It wasn't that bad. I could've done without his bloody alarm, though"

"Oh?" Hannah asked, realizing that she might be treated to a good story.

Whitley crossed his arms "Ekol hooked up a fucking car horn to my alarm clock! All because he caught me doing an all nighter that one time!"

Hannah chuckled. "Really? Maybe I should do the same."

Whitley glared at her, unamused. "Don't you dare."

"Why not?"

Whitley was about to argue why she shouldn't, but suddenly a caller ID appeared on the TV in front of them.

The two scrambled from the couch, trying to find the remote to answer. After a few moments, Whitley found it stuck underneath the couch. He quickly grabbed it and pressed the button to answer the call.

Jane Shepard's face filled the screen. "Hey there!" she said, taking joy in seeing her family again after her year out on duty.

"Jane!"

"Sis!"

Jane turned to Whitley. "Happy Birthday, bro. Sorry I couldn't come around back to the Citadel. I did send something by mail for ya, so look out for that!"

"What is it?"

Jane smirked. "It's a secret."

Whitley shook his head. "Drama queen." He muttered. "How's Elysium?"

Jane sighed, content. "It's great! A bit cold, but it's a beautiful place. I can see why a lotta people come here."

The family conversed for a while after that, determined to catch up on the year they had missed out together. Jane talked about the small skirmishes she'd had with the Batarians, a race whose culture and economy revolved around slavery (something that rankled on Whitley for some reason other than a moral standpoint, but he didn't know why). Hannah talked about the various expeditions her ship had been sent to, and Whitley conversed about his upcoming projects.

Late that night, Whitley opened the mailbox to see a small envelope. Opening it up, Whitley was treated to the sight of a promise made long ago. The postcard that Jane had clearly taken great pains to draw showed the image of a beautiful mountain valley surrounded by grass and water. In the distance of the drawing, ice could be seen on the top of the mountain behind the valley.

In bold letters, the postcard spelled "Happy Birthday, Whitley!", and below it, a small message stated "Wish you were here."

Whitley smiled, before taking it inside. He set it on his desk, before turning off the lamp and heading to bed.

Early Morning, A Few Hours Later

Whitley's omni tool beeped, rousing up the seventeen year old from his slumber. Whitley blearily looked at the caller id, before shaking his head and answering.

"Do you have any idea what time it is, Ekol?" he muttered, angry at the fact that his beauty sleep had been disturbed.

"Whitley! Turn on the news! Right now!" Ekol shouted, immediately waking up Whitley from the last dregs of sleep.

Whitley rushed to the living room, only to see his mother staring at the T.V, tears leaking out of her eyes. Whitley unconsciously found his eyes drifting to the screen, only to freeze in horror.

Elysium Under Attack! Slavers and Pirates Invade Human Colony!

A news reporter droned on and on, but Whitley could only stare at the screen, unable to do anything more than sit and stare at the screen.

Whitley kept staring, even as Hannah ran out the door to go and see how she could help the Alliance.

Whitley didn't move from that seat the rest of the day.

AN: New chapter! I've been building up to this for a while, from the first chapter, pretty much, so I'm looking forward to this last few bits set before ME1, exploring a Renegade Whitley.

As a gift to you guys who've been patiently waiting for these updates, have a sneak peak at one of the next few chapters. This'll be more towards the end of Whitley's Renegade Arc.

Admiral Petrovsky sighed. After the Batarians attack on Elysium, both the Illusive Man and the Alliance were calling out for retaliation. The problem was, however, that the slavers and pirates had hidden themselves well. By the time the Alliance would be able to retaliate, they would most likely be gone.

Suddenly, Petrovsky's door opened , and a hooded figure walked into his bedroom. Petrovsky fell off his chair, before grabbing his pistol and pointing it at the intruder.

"Who are you? Identify yourself!" he exclaimed. The figure chuckled, before waving his hand. The pistol in Petrovsky's hand suddenly fell apart, like it had been held together by matchsticks.

"Relax. If I wanted you dead, I'd have chosen something better than barging into your apartment."

The figure tossed a datapad at Petrovsky's feet. Petrovsky, however, didn't pick it up.

"What's this?" he asked the figure.

"The location of the batarians who attacked Elysium. They're hiding in a small moon known as Torfan."

Petrovsky shook his head. "We've been sweeping that system! Torfan is clear!"

The figure tutted at the Admiral disapprovingly. "That's because they've built their strongholds deep underground. You sent teams to investigate the topside, but never underneath the moon itself."

Petrovsky looked down at the datapad, before gingerly picking it up. As he scrolled through it, his eyes began to widen in disbelief.

"This...this is it. This is everything I've been looking for!" Petrovsky turned to the figure. "How did you find this?!"

The figure chuckled. "Let's just say some pirates learned the hard way why they're not welcome to the Citadel right after what they did to my sister." The figure turned away to leave. "I've done my part, Admiral. Now you must do yours."

Petrovsky juggled the datapad in his hand for a few moments, before he decided to grab the figure's attention one last time.

"Wait, wait, just...one more thing."

The figure turned back to him.

"If what you've said is true, then...what do you suggest? How do we fight these bastards?"

The figure rubbed his chin for a few moments. "You really want my answer, Admiral?"

"Yes." Petrovsky replied.

The figure sighed. "You must fight them with only one goal. Complete and utter annihilation. The Batarians are snakes, and the ones that attacked Elysium are particularly venomous. You cannot treat them as mere combatants. They do not share your pity or remorse. So you must do the same to them. Show no pity, remorse, or fear. Take no prisoners. Do not hesitate to kill them all. If just a single, bloody Batarian survives, they will come back, and they will hurt others, just like they did my sister. Just like they did on Elysium."

Petrovsky nodded. "A bit...extreme, but it fits into what some of the other men have been thinking. I'll get it done." Petrovsky turned to the figure. "What's your name?"

The figure chuckled. "Names are for friends, Admiral, so I don't need one."

The figure walked outside Petrovsky's apartment. Waiting in a car was Wrex.

"Invading an Admiral's home, right after the mess you made in the Citadel? You've got a real quad Runt, that's for sure."

The two didn't speak for a while, settling into silence. As the two neared the docks, Wrex turned to Whitley.

"You saw their defenses, Runt. A lot of em are gonna die."

Whitley sighed. "What else do you want me to do, Wrex? Let those bastards go? Not bloody happening. Not after what they did."

"I know, Runt, and I'd probably do the same in your shoes, but are you ready for that kind of burden? You only made your first kill a week ago."

Whitley looked outside the window, his gaze hardening.

"I've made my decision. No point in turning back now."