Chapter 1

Derek Price

0123 PM June 18th, 2300 AD

I-40 East of Memphis, Tennessee

It was fucking hot. Really fucking hot. To make it even worse it was humid as hell. With a giant sigh Derek continued walking down the highway heading to Memphis. He started moving around 5 hours ago and he estimated being around 4 miles away from Memphis. As he glanced around and saw the lush forest around him, he started to resent the vegetation around him for causing the oppressive humidity in the air. Derek spent the vast majority of his life in the west coast where the weather was much drier. Couple this with the fact that he was getting old, 40 years old to be exact, and he felt like shit. In the wasteland, with an entire lifetime of survival and warfare, he might as well be 120 years old. Derek moved over to his belt and unclasp his canteen from his belt. Derek opened it and raised the canteen to his lips. The water was nice cool due to it being in the canteen. Derek eagerly drank the refreshing water. The nukes never really hit East Central Commonwealth. That and over 200 years after the Great War and there was little to no radiation in the area. Water was plentiful from lakes and streams in the area. After clasping the canteen back in place Derek stretched his back. As he did he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his lower back. Yup a lifetime of walking around the wasteland with heavy packs and lower back pain was a common issue. "Well fuck. I guess I'll take a short break before I get to Memphis." He muttered aloud. He starting surveying the area, looking for a good shaded area to rest for a spill. He headed to the right of the highway and found a small depression on the side of a small hill. A good place to rest for a bit and have some cover in case anything humanoid attacked him.

Derek was heading to Memphis to confirm rumors he heard. The Brotherhood had moved into the area and had set a massive base of operations in Knoxville. He had briefly interacted with the East Coast Chapter over decade ago. That interaction didn't end on good terms. He was a wanted man In Brotherhood territory. It was partially his fault. He never really saw eye to eye with the brotherhood. Technology was to be shared with rest of humanity. It was not meant to be horded, leaving the vast majority of humanity to suffer and try to survive. He did understand their reasoning. The Great War was Afterall a catastrophic event. Either way, his main objective was to decipher the motives and objectives of the brotherhood and see if they needed to be stop- CRACK. The sound of branch was heard in the silent forest. Internally cursing Derek realized that the sounds of wildlife had died down. Someone was sneaking around in the forest, poorly. As quietly as possible Derek got on his feet, still crouching down. Scanning the area as he drew his pistol from his side holster. M1911 suppressed, extended magazine, low visibility iron sights, and a reinforced barrel with tighter twist. Staying low to the ground Derek started hunting. He maneuvered around the forest slowly keeping an eye for what caused the noise. Slow is smooth and smooth is fast. He quickly found his quarry and paused on top of a small hill with a trio of trees for cover. He spotted a single armed individual. Looked like a male, short and a little too bulky to be a ghoul. Armed with a carbine of the AK family and wearing camouflage. They were wearing a chest rig and also what looked like combat armor chest piece. Good protection and maneuverability. They were expecting trouble. He waited and soon spotted another with the same equipment. Organized meaning that they were likely well trained, though their effort to sneak around the forest meant they were not specifically trained for stealth. Not raiders. Too organized and disciplined for that. As he continued to observe them, they began to use hand signals as well. Definitely military. Could be part of the Carpenter's, the gang in charge of Memphis. It wouldn't make much sense for them to sneak around though. They own the area and have a considerable number of military forces in the area. Strange One started speaking quietly, a whisper.

"等待。我没看到任何人" Spoke one

"传感器跳闸"The other quietly responded.

The hell? Derek wasn't a linguist but he knew Chinese when he heard it. Not Carpenters. Another crack nearby took his attention and he quickly and as quietly as possible went prone hoping to avoid detection. He heard rustling in the direction of the crack as the newly discovered ambusher make their way forward. He would see him. He lifted his head towards the direction of the approaching rustling. Right hand to pistol and left hand going to his knife on his lower back. KA-BAR, D2 Steel, 7 inches of death. Another crack, close enough. Left hand down pushed his body up his legs quickly coming in to help him prop up hastily. Weapon up and pointed. Enemy spotted; trigger squeezed. One round the loud sound easily alerting the nearby ambushers of contact. Derek quickly sighted his enemy again getting another sight picture and squeezed again letting lose a controlled pair. The ambusher appeared to go down taking the one round in the left leg and the other in the neck. The moment they got hit in the neck Derek let adrenaline flood his system, Adrenal gland cybernetic enhancement letting Epinephrine flood straight into his heart and the rest of his bloodstream. He had initiative and knew where at least two other enemies were. Initiative was his and the chaos of initial combat descended on the ambushers. He turned around fast, the weapon pointing in the direction of his eyes. Smoothly Derek sheathed his knife and used the same hand to grab his rifle from his back. Left hand holding the rifle and finger over the trigger he then quickly holstered his pistol. Derek then grasped the rifle with his other hand. AER16 Laser Rifle. Personal modification and enhancement to the AER14. With the equipment of the ambushers, he wanted more stopping power. He continued to maneuver around the right flank and soon spotted one again. He fired; beams of searing purple came from the barrel of the rifle. Lasers rifles have no recoil a substantial advantage in combat. Suppressing the ambushers Derek reached with his right hand to grab a grenade. Modified plasma grenade, new model that Derek created and one he was eager to test. He threw it. Adrenaline still in his blood he saw another grenade sail in the air near towards him. To his right in the corner of his eye he saw movement. Flanked. Derek quickly aimed his rifle at the flanker and fired a controlled pair. He struck true with one of purple beams hitting the flanker's firing hand. The AK fired anyways. The rounds were thrown off and then the unthinkable happened. They hit the prototype grenade. Suddenly there was green. And then nothing.

Jane Shepard

1331 Hrs June 18th, 2185 CE

Citadel Presidium

"Shepard do you real- "

"Yes! Miranda for the last time. We are seeing the council. I was a SPECTRE and having the council give me access to council resources could benefit us greatly." Jane responded.

Jane respected Miranda's skills but her judgement with the Alliance and the Council were frankly, ridiculous. She was the Hero of the Damn Citadel. The Citadel wont risk arresting her without substantial evidence saying she was performing terrorist activities. Even if that happened the Alliance would want to keep it on the down low. Thus, Jane found herself in the Presidium along with Miranda, heading to Udina's office to meet with the council. She spotted Udina's office and walked in its Direction.

"Hey Miranda do me favor and uhh, wait outside." Jane told Her.

"Hah, trust me commander I wasn't planning on meeting the council. I'm going to get some supplies. I'll meet you on the Normandy. Let me know if you need anything specific." With that Miranda turned around and began heading towards one of the many elevators. With that Shepard approached the door and used her Omni-Tool to key the door. The Door opened and she spotted Udina already talking to the other councilors. Udina turned around and briefly nodded acknowledging Shepard. As she stepped into the office, she suddenly heard a loud explosion behind her followed by panic screaming. Shepard turned around and quickly pressed herself against the wall. In the center of the atrium that led to the various offices in the human embassy she saw some kind of green residue and what clearly looked like and explosion went off. She also noticed that many civilians were on the ground injured by the explosion. Chairs and desks were strewn all. Some were probably even dead. In the center of the chaos a single man dressed with dirty clothes and wielding some kind of rifle lay collapsed on the ground. On the edge of the residue, she also spotted another individual armed with camouflage fatigues and wielding an ancient AK rifle of all things. "What the fuck?"

A C-Sec officer in the atrium was dumbstruck as she saw the carnage around them. "HEY! Grab the weapon from that one!" She pointed to the survivor with the AK "I'll disarm the other!" She shouted as she moved to grab the weapon from the man in the center. As she ran towards him she started getting a better look and spotted many more weapons on their person. A side Holster with a Pistol, a holster on his back holding some kind of pistol, 3 separate Knifes, and what looked like grenades on their belt. Fuck he was heavily armed. She grabbed the Rifle and pointed at the man. She moved towards him cautiously and tried to see if he was conscious or not. At she was doing that Miranda reached her side. "Commander you alright?" She asked. Shepard glanced briefly at Miranda and saw her bleeding from her forehead.

"Yeah, I'm fine. You?"

"Just a bit rattled but fine"

"Good, Scan the man see if he's awake" Shepard Ordered

"Roger that" Miranda accessed her Omni-tool and began running a scan. She glanced over to the C-Sec officer and noticed the Asari was now accompanied with another officer and 2 more officers were moving towards her and Miranda.

"He's unconscious. I'll disarm, him cover me" Miranda Stated. Professional Shepard noted as she drew a bead on the man to cover Miranda. The two officers, one Turian and one Human, reached her.

"Commander Jane Shepard, were disarming this man. You need my weapon?" Shepard asked as they approached her.

"After the two is secured if you don't mind. Any Idea what happened?" The Turian asked, clearly the ranking officer.

"No Idea. I was about to talk to the councilor when I heard an explosion. Many injuries but these two" She nodded at both previously armed men "were armed so I instructed the other officer to disarm the other and I this one." Shepard stated.

The Turian nodded in affirmative "Understood" Miranda approached them weapons in hand.

"Hand them over to Grant" Instructed the Turian. At this point many officers were already in the area and were helping the civilians and securing the two men.

"Commander if you could hand the weapon to officer Grant as well"

Shepard nodded and handed it to the young man.

"What's the plan officer….?"

"Duvidus. We'll need to debrief you and everyone here. I'd appreciate it if you could head over to C-Sec Headquarters. We have to untangle this mess and get medical aid to everyone here.

Shepard nodded an affirmative "Roger that."

"Shepard!" She turned around and saw Udina beckoning her towards his office. She turned to Duvidus "If you don't mind Officer, I need to speak to the Councilor."

"Of course, commander, let me know when you're done so we can get you to C-Sec."

Shepard nodded and walked towards the councilor. She turned to Miranda "Get your wounds treated and contact Jacob. Tell him to return to the Normandy and be ready to begin mission have get our equipment ready as well. There might be trouble and I want to be ready. We'll go to C-Sec after I'm done here to see what the hell is going on."

"Of course, commander. This situation has my curiosity as well. "

As Shepard walked into Udina's office she heard the councilors were franticly discussing what was going on. Also, in the office was an asari C-Sec officer.

"We'll get you a report as soon as possible councilors." The C-Sec officer said.

"See that you do. An attack like this cannot be ignored." Sparatus said. His hologram turned towards Shepard as she entered the room. Udina Nodded in greeting to her he looked agitated by the entire situation. He didn't blame him and honestly, she was also pissed can curious to find out more. "If you could leave us now Captain Adina. We need to speak to Commander Shepard." Finished Sparatus. "Of course, Councilor." Captain Adina said as she then began to exit the office.

"Commander it is good to see you among the living again, If you even died at all." Sparatus greeted Shepard. Tevos sighed as Sparatus spoke and responded with her own greeting "While Councilor Sparatus could have worded it better he is correct that we are indeed curious as to your return."

"Yes, STG reports have been most curious surrounding your reappearance. Not only that I find it unlikely that the reports of your death are incorrect. Thus, we would like to know where you have been for the past two years." Valern asked.

"I was heavily injured after the attack on the Normandy. Thankfully my body was recovered and it took a while for me to fully healed. Before you ask. Yes. Cerberus was the one who retrieved me from the wreckage and ensured I recovered. As to why they did it. Well, they want me to look into the disappearance of human colonies in the Terminus Systems." Shepard answered.

"I suppose that makes sense. However, I fail to believe that is their only goal." Sparatus said.

"Agreed, I have received reports from STG indicating that known Cerberus agents have been propagating rumors stating you now owe your allegiance to Cerberus." Valern Said.

'Fucking Cerberus' Thought Shepard. 'They probably want to use me as some sort of recruitment tool for them. "I assure you councilors that I owe nothing to Cerberus. As it was well documented years ago. I destroyed many Cerberus outposts and installations in my search for Saren. My Allegiance lies with the Alliance and the Council." Shepard defended.

Councilor looked at Shepard Appraisingly and then turned to Valern.

"When did you receive these reports Councilor? I would like to see them." Tevos asked.

"They are recent. The earliest report is dated just at just around half an hour. I just read them before our meeting began. I will forward them to the three of you." Responded Valern.

"Thank you Valern" Grunted Sparatus. "What are your goals Commander? Are you intending to look into these colonies? Let me remind you that they are outside the Council's jurisdiction and they chose to settle in those planets. And why did you come to us? I Imagine it is to receive your SPECTRE status back?"

"Yes, it is. SPECTRE resources would help in my investigation and I could also resolve some issues the council may have while I am in the Terminus Systems." Shepard answered.

"And interesting thought. You have to know however that with these rumors about you floating around we cannot support you. Doing so would make us seem weak towards a known terrorist organization." Sparatus answered.

"Maybe not publicly." Interjected Tevos "I won't deny that what Councilor Sparatus says is true. The rumors about you are damming in the eyes of non-humans that don't see you in the same light."

"I protest that Councilor" Udina answered. "Following the Battle of the Citadel many Asari and even Turians have begun to respect Shepard for her efforts during the battle. After the all the Destiny Assension and citadel defense fleet owe their life to Shepard's Judgement."

"I agree which is why the rumors are even more damming considering how her status has changed in Asari and Turian society." Answered Tevos. "I move that we allow you access to limited SPECTRE resources. It is the best we can do with the current situation. What do the rest of you think?"

Well, that's better than nothing thought Shepard. She was curious as what they meant with limited SPECTRE Resources.

"I approve" answered Valern.

"I do as well" Added Sparatus.

"I agree also." Finished Udina.

"Thank you, Councilors." Finished Shepard.

"On a separate note what do we know of what happened outside?" Asked Spararus as he glanced down at Shepard.

"Unknown for the most part. Signs show some kind of explosion and two unknown humans dressed strangely and armed with gunpowder weapons." Answered Shepard.

"Gunpowder Weapons? You've got to be kidding me. And humans? I can't be the only one that finds it coincidental that a long-lost SPECTRE with new ties to a know pro human terrorist organization appears just as two unknown humans appear in the midst of an explosion in the embassy of a council race no less!" Sparatus said as his voice raised clearly showing his distaste at the entire situation.

"While I agree about the coincidence, I find it irresponsible to come to a hasty conclusion." Valern answered seeming to try to prevent Sparatus from getting to riled up. "Considering the fact that this matter attacked a council species embassy I say we assign a SPECTRE to interrogate the two humans. I know the perfect SPECTRE for the postion: Heplorn Ral."

"Ral?" Grunted Sparatus his hand reaching his chin. "Fine he a psychologist after all."

Stoic as ever Tevos nodded in agreement. "I agree it's a prudent decision."

Udina used this moment to interject. "Since this matter concerns humanity and this event happened so close to me I would like for a human agent to be involved in the investigation as well."

Sparatus huffed a bit and crossed his arms "Let me gue-"

"That is acceptable" Tevos said as she cut off Sparatus. She narrowed her eyes at Sparatus and then turned to Udina. "It makes only sense. Afterall I feel I can speak for us all that any of us would feel the same. I assume you are refereeing to Shepard as the agent?"

"Yes of course." Udina answered as he crossed his own arms and eyes Sparatus back.

"I will forward to Ral that Shepard will be joining him." Valern added either ignoring to not caring about the stand-off.

"Shepard please send us a report as well. Your perspective will be interesting." Tevos finished "If nothing else is needed there are other matters we must all attend too and I assume you will be busy as well Councilor Udina."

Uncrossing his arms and looking at Tevos. "Yes you're correct. I need to look after everyone in my office."

"Of course councilor" with that all three other councilors disconnected and Shepard was left with Udina.

"Thank you for backing me up Udina." Shepard said as she and Udina began to leave the office.

"Shepard. We are all on the same side. I might not agree with you all the time but we are fighting for the same reason. Please go investigate with the issue." With that Udina walked off and began to check on the various workers in the office.

Many of the Injured civilians appeared to have been taken to the hospital and it looked like mostly only a couple of workers were there cleaning up the mess. She quickly spotted Miranda waiting on a chair near the reception desk and she started to walk towards Miranda.

As she was walking towards there she heard Udina raise his voice "Everyone please head home and spend some time with your families. Everyone has the day off for tomorrow. I will be visiting the injured in the hospital and I'm sure they would appreciate if any of you also took the time to visit them." Many of the office workers looked with a bit of relief as they began to thank Udina and started to make their way home.

She reached Miranda who now had a bandage around her forehead but looked mostly unhurt. "how're you doing Miranda?" Jane asked Miranda.

"I'm doing well" She answered as she rubbed her side. "I got thrown back after the explosion and hit my head. Thankfully no injury or concussion. I'm good to go. Are we heading to C-Sec?"

"Yeah, you see where the officer went?" Jane asked as glanced at Miranda.

"Captain Adina left but Sergeant Duvidus is still here waiting at the entrance."

"Sounds good let's go." With that Jane and Miranda met with Duvidus and got a ride to C-Sec Headquarters.

A couple of notes:

1. My dialogue feels scuffed. Let me know how I can improve it.

2. I won't follow restrictions based on the games. I.E. Shepard is not JUST a soldier or not JUST an adept.

3. I will try to update every week. We will see.