Hello ME Fans! This will be a ME3 storyline, FemShep/Shanderson fic for your reading pleasure. Starting with the opening scenes from ME3 as the Reaper descends on Vancouver during Shepard's meeting with the Council. There will be some deviations from canon as the story goes on, the main one being that Anderson doesn't stay on Earth. Enjoy! Read and review please. I'm always open to suggestions.
"Move! Run, run, run!" Erynn Shepherd managed to scream seconds before the blast from the Reaper ship destroyed the Alliance Council Chambers. She was launched into the air and crashed painfully into the deck, her ears ringing and her eyes sliding out of focus. From out of the blur a strong hand reached down and pulled her to her feet.
"Shepard, come on get up!" Admiral David Anderson yelled over the sounds of shrieking metal and the screams of the dying. He pressed an M-3 Predator pistol into her hand and said "Here take this, we've got to get moving."
They jogged across to the new gaping hole in the side of the building and looked out on the sheer horror of the scene before them. Erynn watched in outraged silence as the Reaper ship descended on Vancouver, vaguely aware of Anderson trying to raise the Normandy on comms.
"This is Admiral Anderson, report in, anyone. Major Alenko is that you?"
This was what Shepard had been warning the Alliance about for years and now it was too late. The Reapers were on Earth.
"Come on Shepard, Kaiden is headed to the Normandy. They'll pick us up if we can make it to the spaceport."
Erynn jogged after Anderson as he headed down the metal catwalk on the building's exterior and up an access ladder to the roof. A group of Husks appeared, crawling up the wall, and were quickly dispatched by the Predator. Shepard was grappling with a second group of the cybernetic zombies on a lower balcony when a laser blast from the Reaper shattered the windows of the adjacent room. Anderson ducked into the now open structure and began weaving among the burning rubble trying to find a way through.
"This is a goddamn mess." Anderson cursed as he shifted a large metal cabinet to crawl through into the next room. "Every minute these machines are here thousands of people die. We've got to get to the Citadel."
Erynn hated running from a fight, but Anderson was right. They needed help. The only thing to do was to escape on the Normandy and gather a larger force to combat the Reapers. As they inched their way along a narrow ledge high above the ground Erynn was almost thrown off the building by a sudden tremor, but Anderson snatched her backwards by her uniform collar.
"Gotcha!" he said, pulling her back to relative safety, and squeezing her hand with a reassuring grip.
"Thanks" Shepard gasped, her heart lurching in her chest "I owe you one."
"More than one" Anderson muttered as they shuffled along the rest of the ledge and onto another balcony.
Kaiden's voice crackled to life on the comms, announcing that they had made it to the Normandy, but were taking heavy fire. An Alliance ship exploding above them caused the roof they were standing on to collapse. Erynn and Anderson slid down 60 feet of sheet metal and tumbled to a stop in a tangle of arms, legs and guns right at the feet of a swarm of Reaper-mutated Cannibals. They dove behind a metal barrier and tried to hold off the hoard, but it was quickly becoming apparent that they were going to be overrun. As Erynn loaded her last 15 round clip she was suddenly thrown into shadow by a massive shape roaring overhead.
"The cavalry's here!" Joker's voice broke loud and clear over comms, and it was the most beautiful sound Shepard had ever heard as the Normandy banked left and blasted the remaining Cannibals into oblivion. Erynn and Anderson made one last sprint up a metal incline and were about to board the shuttle bay ramp when Shepard felt another concussive blast push her back away from her ship and safety. She was thrown to the ground and the last thing she saw before her vision went black was Anderson's hand reaching back for her.
Erynn woke with a massive headache, somewhat surprised to find herself in the Normandy's sick bay. Dr Chakwas leaned over and poked at her, shining a light in her eyes, and tutted over a large number of painful injuries that appeared to be present all over Shepard's body.
"Well, you're awake now." Chakwas said, rather obviously.
"Can I change my mind abut that doc?" Erynn groaned, squinting up at the bright medical lights.
"I think that could definitely be arranged, but I imagine the Admiral wants to have a brief word before I put you back out. He's been very worried about you."
The sickbay door hissed open and Admiral Anderson stood in the doorway. He was in a clean uniform, but otherwise he looked like hell. He had cuts and bruises all over his face and the hair was mostly gone from the left side of his head. Her expression must have betrayed her feelings of horror because he said, "You don't look so hot yourself Shepard." as he placed a hand gently on her shoulder.
"I'm sorry Admiral…" she coughed, and the movement caused renewed stabs of pain to shoot through her abdomen.
"Shh" he whispered brushing her hair back from her face. "Just rest for now, we have a lot to discuss when you are back on your feet." He nodded to Chakwas who injected a new dose of sedative into Erynn's arm, and once again her world went black.
"That's another one you owe me Shepard." She heard him whisper in the dark.