Chapter 1:
"Shepard. Wake up, Shepard." A woman's voice pulled me from the darkness.
I wish she'd be quiet. I didn't even know who this Shepard was. Surely, she didn't have to bother me, to wake them up?
"Shepard, wake up! The facility is under attack."
My eyes slowly opened, and I forced myself to sit up, wincing at how sore my body was.
"Good, you're awake. In that locker is a gun. Take it."
I frowned. Was she... talking to me? I got to my feet, stumbling a little at the pain, feeling like I hadn't stood up in a while. Going to the only locker in the room, I opened it and pulled out a pistol. Looked it over.
"Shepard," That's not my name! I wanted to shout back at her. But I was brought up short. What was my name? "the mechs are being controlled by someone, and they're outside the door right now. Take cover and deal with them."
I'd just managed to duck behind a piece of furniture, when the door opened, and several mechs walked in, weapons raised and ready. On instinct, I popped up, taking a few shots- headshots- before ducking again. Popped up again, dealing with the rest of them.
I blinked at my handiwork. I barely knew what a gun was, how did I know how to use one? And so precisely, too?
The woman guided me through several doors and hallways, before she got cut off. And I was left on my own. With nothing else to do, I pushed on, coming upon a man fighting mechs on the balcony opposite him. I stood against the wall, taking them out one by one systematically. He looked over at me in surprise after the first one, but quickly returned to taking his own shots.
Eventually, they stopped coming.
"Damn good shooting, Shepard."
Okay. So, I was Shepard. That proved it, beyond a shadow of a doubt. I just nodded, a part of me surprised that I wasn't even slightly winded thus far.
"I'm Jacob Taylor." He held out a hand, and I shook it. "Good to see you up and about. Though, that means it's more serious than I thought, if Miranda woke you."
Miranda was the nameless voice. Okay.
He led me through yet more hallways and rooms, until we came upon another man. Wilson. I immediately didn't trust Wilson, and I honestly couldn't say why.
When we reached the door to our exit, he started stalling. My eyes narrowed, but before I could say anything, the door opened, and the woman on the other side shot him. My eyes widened, now, and I watched as his body slumped to the floor.
"Wilson was the one behind the station turning against us." By the voice, I guessed this was Miranda.
Jacob didn't bat an eye at what she'd done. She'd just killed someone, and neither of them seemed to care. What was going on? Where was I?
I mean, there was also the question of who was I, too.
Once in the shuttle, we left the station, and I stared out at the scenery. In awe of the beauty that is space.
"I have some questions for you." She started.
"Come on, Miranda." Jacob complained.
She cut him a look. "We need to make sure that she is fully Commander Shepard." Turning back to me. "What is your name?"
I just stared at her blankly.
She sighed. "This will go a lot easier if you just answer the questions."
Looking back out the window, I said in a low voice. "I don't have to answer anything."
My heart was pounding, hoping that she would just leave it at that.
"I can vouch for her shooting. She's still got it." He offered.
"I suppose that will have to do." She was clearly unhappy. "The Illusive Man will be the final judge."
I kept my expression blank, though I was curious about who would have such a title.
It wasn't long before we reached the next station, and I was directed to a back room, where a circle of blue twinkling lights surrounded me. Trying not to let my surprise show, I watched as a scene formed in around me, a man sitting on a chair, staring at me.
I crossed my arms and leaned back on one leg, raising an eyebrow. I had no idea where I was or who he was, and I was not amused by any of this. But I had the feeling I shouldn't let anyone know I didn't remember who I was. That it would end badly.
"Commander Shepard." He bowed his head to me, tapping on his cigarette.
I stayed silent.
"Humanity is up against the greatest threat of our brief existence."
He waited for me to react, and I gave a slight nod. It seemed to be the right answer.
"Good to see your memory's still intact." About that. "How are you feeling?"
"Why don't we get to the point. Clearly, you have something to say." My heart was pounding again, my anxiety making my tone come out clipped. My words harsh.
He stood. "We're at war. No one wants to admit it, but humanity is under attack." Walked toward me, stopping only a couple feet away. "While you've been sleeping, entire colonies have been disappearing. Human colonies." So, there were non-humans. Okay. "We believe it's someone working for the Reapers. Just as Saren and the geth aided Sovereign. You've seen it yourself." Yup. Sure did. "You bested all of them. That's just one reason we chose you."
The way he spoke, I sounded like a god.
"Tell me about the abductions." That should be a safe topic.
"Hundreds of thousands of colonists have vanished. I'd say that fits the definition of 'harvesting'." He frowned, taking a puff of his cigarette. "Nobody's paying attention because it's random and the attacks occur in remote locations." A shake of his head. "I don't know why they've suddenly targeted humanity. Maybe you got their attention when you killed one of them."
Whatever these Reapers were, they could be killed. So, that was good. Right? But why was I involved?
After a few minutes of thought, I eyed him, hedging. "And you want my help? Why should I help you?"
There was a slight quirk of the corner of his mouth that quickly pulled back down into a firm line. "I'd be disappointed if you accepted any of this without seeing for yourself." He turned, moving back toward his chair. "I have a shuttle ready to take you to Freedom's Progress, the latest colony to be abducted. Miranda and Jacob will brief you."
"I get the feeling this isn't a volunteer job." I frowned.
I wasn't being asked to do this- I was being told.
"You always have a choice, Shepard. If you don't find the evidence we're both looking for, we can part ways." An olive branch, though still asking for trust between then and now. "But first, go to Freedom's Progress. Find any clues you can. Who's abducting the colonies? Do they have any connection to the Reapers?" A keen look. "I brought you back. It's up to you to do the rest."
Brought me back. Those words stuck out to me. Brought me back... from what?
The scene faded from view, leaving me in the empty room once again. Head bowed in thought, I made my way back to the room Miranda and Jacob were in.
"Your armor and weapons are in the room down the hall to the right." He informed me.
Without a word, I went to the room he'd said, letting myself in and finding things laid out for me. A suit of armor, beside a skin tight suit- resembling Miranda's, only this one was a shiny black. A choice between the two, and I chose the suit. It called to me. Then, a yellowish-orange bracelet thing. Next, were a pistol and a sniper rifle. I had no idea how I knew what they were called, still. I just knew that I knew. Probably the same as how I knew how to speak English and what other things were.
Once in the shuttle, Miranda spoke. "We should be there shortly, Shepard. The Illusive Man put us under your command. Do you have any orders?"
I raised an eyebrow. "Will you be okay following my orders?"
"We didn't bring you back from the dead, just to second-guess you, Commander." Jacob chimed in, adamant.
Keeping my expression under control, I let that sink in. I guess I knew what had made me lose my memory, now. I'd died.
"The Illusive Man says you're in charge, you're in charge." He finished with.
I thought about it for a moment, wondering what I should say, when it popped into my head. "We may be searching for clues about what happened, but if we come across any survivors, we need to help them."
"It's unlikely, Commander. No one was left at the other colonies. They were completely deserted." Miranda sounded like she was reading from a script.
"Be nice to find somebody. Anything's better than another ghost town." He sighed.
...
After we landed, I led us through the first building, with them making little comments about the scene. Walking through a large bay door, we came upon mechs- which attacked us on sight.
"...them to attack on sight. We're not alone here." I tuned back in to Miranda responding to something Jacob had said.
I opened another door, revealing people wearing full suits. Who immediately jumped up, weapons raised. I kept mine by my side, holding out my other arm to signal my two to put their guns down. Reluctantly, they obeyed.
"Stop right there!" One of them shouted, advancing on us.
Another ran up between us, her tone sharp. "Prazza! You said you'd let me handle this!" She turned to face us. "Wait... Shepard?"
Of course, we'd run into someone else who knew me. Of course.
"I'm not taking any chances with Cerberus operatives!" He shouted.
He did not like who I was working with, that much was crystal clear. Was I with the wrong crowd?
"Put those weapons down!" She snapped, before addressing me again. "Shepard? Is that... you're alive?"
"Yes." I said cautiously, the pieces putting themselves together. "Cerberus brought me back." A pause. "And they want me to look into the missing colonists."
"You'll pardon us for not taking you at your word, Cerberus." The man snarled, his gun raised again."
Miranda shifted behind me. "We're well within our rights to investigate attacks on a human colony. I'd like to know what the quarians are doing here." I wondered if she always sounded so derisive.
Quarians. Got it.
"Weapons down, Prazza." The woman was exasperated. "Whatever's going on here, I don't think we need another fight." Shaking her head, she looked at me again. "One of our people was here on Pilgrimage. His name was Veetor. We came to find him."
I tilted my head, curious. "You think he's alive, while there's no one else here?"
"We saw him when we landed." He said, hands empty finally. Gun safely put away.
"You saw him?" Jacob was disbelieving. "Then why isn't he with you already?"
"Veetor was injured, and he was always, ah, nervous-"
Prazza's tone had me imagining someone rolling their eyes, as he interrupted her. "She means that he was unstable. Combine that with damage to his suit's CO2 scrubbers and an infection from an open-air exposure, and he's likely delirious."
"When he saw us landing, he hid in a warehouse on the far side of town. We suspect he also programmed the mechs to attack anything that moved."
I glanced around at the other quarians, cautiously making an offer. "Would it be easier to work together?"
She didn't even hesitate, nodding. "Good idea. We'll need two teams to get past the drones, anyway."
"Now we're working with Cerberus?" He did not sound happy.
"No, Prazza. You're working for me. If you can't follow orders, go wait on the ship." Well, damn. She'd handed him his ass. "Head for the warehouse through the center of the colony. We'll circle around the far side and draw off some of the drones to clear you a path."
"Alright. That works for me."
Before turning away, she spoke again, sounding a bit happier. "Good luck, Shepard. See you on the far side."
We split up after that, our group fighting through waves of drones and mechs, until we reached another bay door.
Which revealed a giant mech approaching the quarians. So big, the ground shook with each step it made. Without thinking, I threw my arms out, watching as blue energy surrounded the quarians and pulled them out of harm's way. Once they were safe, we concentrated all our fire on the mech, taking it down quickly between all of us.
We followed the quarians into the next building, finding their leader tending to their wounded. She told me quietly to go ahead to find Veetor, while she dealt with their injuries.
The building in the far back opened, and we found Veetor, sitting in front of a wall of screens. Muttering to himself about monsters and swarms.
"Veetor?" I called out softly, not wanting to startle him.
"No Veetor. Not here. Swarms can't find. Monsters coming. Have to hide."
"It's okay. You're safe now." I said, stepping closer.
"Great. We come all this way, and our only witness is a babbling idiot." Miranda sighed, annoyed.
"Can we turn off the monitors?" I asked, glancing at them. Pretending she hadn't spoken.
She raised her arm- the one with the bracelet- and a yellowish-orange screen appeared. She typed something into it, before waving it at the wall. The screens went dark, and Veetor turned to us.
"You're not one of them. You're human. They... they didn't find you?"
"Who didn't find us?" She asked, her tone considerably less shitty.
"The... the monsters. The swarms. They took everyone."
She opened her mouth, but I beat her to it. "What happened?" I kept my voice soft, hoping it would help him relax.
"You don't know. You didn't see. But I see everything." He turned back to the monitors, and they lit up, showing us a view of the colony.
A recorded video of what had happened. I didn't understand most of what I was seeing, but it was clear those aliens had been responsible for the attack. My companions spoke amongst themselves, and I barely heard them, unable to focus on much of anything other than what I was watching.
Collectors. A race that not many had seen. Usually worked through slavers or mercenaries.
"Do you know what happened to the colonists?"
Veetor nodded to me. "The monsters took the people onto the ship, and then they left. The ship flew away. But they'll be back for me. No one escapes!"
I gave him a soft smile. "Thank you, Veetor."
"I studied them." He sounded so excited. "The monsters. The swarms. I recorded them with my omni-tool." He brought up the screen on his bracelet. Omni-tool. Got it. "Lots of readings. Electro-magnetic. Dark energy."
"We need to get this data to the Illusive Man. Grab the quarian and call the shuttle to come pick us up." Miranda sounded like she was calling the shots, instead of obeying my orders.
The door opened, and the leader of the quarian group walked in, angry. "What? Veetor is injured!"
I cut her off. "I know. He needs medical treatment, not to be sitting in an interrogation room." She paused, seemingly surprised. "Take him. All we need is his data, anyway."
"Her people tried to betray us once already." Miranda frowned. "If we give him to them, we'll never get the intel we need."
"I'm sorry." I tilted my head, my tone soft. "I thought I was the one in charge for this. I must have gotten my wires crossed somewhere."
A flash of uneasiness flitted across her face, and I turned back to the woman.
"As I said, you can have him. We just need the data."
After a few moments of silence, she shook herself. "You're welcome to take Veetor's omni-tool."
He took it off, handing it to me, and I nodded to him.
"Be safe."
She tilted her head, regarding me for a bit. "I... I would join you again, but I've got responsibilities now. I've got a mission of my own, and I can't walk away from that."
She was someone close to me, then. To have worked with me previously.
"I understand." I shooed them away. "Go. Get him some medical attention."
They left us, and I gave them a few minutes, before I led my companions to our shuttle.
