Two Years Later: Where is the hero of Elysium Now
Nissa T'Manal Interviews LtCdr Shepard tonight on Illium News Network
When Liutenant Commander Katherine Shepard walks into a room she commands the area. It's not hard to see why. Physically she's a stunning 6'2" with bright red hair and sparkling green eyes. She carries herself with effortless authority. It's easy to see why, between her bearing, appearance and track record, Katherine Shepard is the latest darling of the alliance.
Two years ago, the young officer nearly sacrificed her life to save a colony under attack. While the move was regarded as heroic, I was able to ask the questions many Asari have these days as Mindoir and other human colonies establish xenophobic environments while still wishing to maintain trade lines.
T'Manal: Good morning, it's good to see you here in Vancouver.
KS: It's good to be here, sorry. I'm not used to interviews like this. Or, at all…
T: Don't worry, I'm just here to tell the public what you've been up to since you saved Elysium.
KS: I didn't do that alone. A lot of good men and women fought alongside me. A lot of them didn't survive. On the anniversary we should be taking time to acknowledge their sacrifice.
T: I agree. It must be overwhelming to have so much attention on a day when so many people died.
KS: Alliance HQ keeps saying I'll adjust to the media but…
T: I'm sure their right. So, in the past two years, where have you been?
KS: I've been completing N training. I just passed my N-4 exams.
T: For our viewers, N training is the most rigourous special forces program offered by the alliance. Most participants don't make it through, and those that do represent the smartest and toughest members of the military.
T: Can you tell our viewers what exactly you were doing on Elysium? Where were you, when you knew the colony was under attack.
KS: It was shore leave. We had a few days in port while the ship restocked, and since we were non-essential we were released to go have a few days off. We had just finished running a few pretty intense missions so I was with my squad celebrating our success at a bar near the space port.
T: I see, and what happened next.
KS: I bought a round for the team. We made a toast and then we heard shouting. When we looked up there were people running through the streets and we could hear guns firing down the street. When I tried to hop on comms with the ship, all of our frequencies had been jammed. The pirates were killing people by the time we arrived on scene and none of us were armed.
T: You had no weapons?
KS: Not a one. I was the most senior person there so I sent a two man squad to a nearby guard post to start getting arms funnled our way. We started rallying the civilians in the area to build barricades and defend themselves. We had a couple biotics too, that were keeping them held off.
T: You're from a colony world yourself, aren't you?
KS: Mindoir. Before it was attacked. I'd rather not talk about it.
T: I can imagine. It must have left quite the mental scar, you were what? Sixteen?
T: Fifteen, but as I was saying. Once we had a load out I had the team hold the batarians while I tried to establish communications. We found other soldiers in the area, plus a few members of the colony militia and created a plan to keep the pirates busy until more forces arrived. We got a line of communication and I hacked into the Batarian comm traffic.
T: Batarians? The alliance official story states the group of pirates were diverse.
KS: They were, we saw humans. But there were a lot of batarians there.
T: It was batarians who attacked your colony correct? Some of your friends and neighbors must have been carried off as slaves. Or worse.
KS: As I said, I'd prefer to stick to the events on Elysium. We nearly managed it until they busted through the plaza, that's where I held them off.
T: The batarians?
KS: The pirates.
T: Isn't true Mindoir has one of the largest civilian militias of all alliance colonies? According to my sources 84% of able bodied, adult Mindorians are members of the militia.
KS: Trust me, Mindoir has historical reasons for wanting a strong defense. No one wants to relive what happened in 2169.
T: The fact that Mindoir has historically had a hostile attitude towards any non-human species settling there doesn't bother you?
KS: I haven't back to Mindoir since I was a teenager, but once again, I'd say they have their reasons for being suspicious. Give the colonists time and you can earn their trust.
T: So you support xenophobic policies?
KS: I… This interivew was supposed to be about Elysium.
T: But Mindoir has established trade routes across multiple systems, including one with Illium, yet the environment of the colony discourages non-human residents.
KS: I can't comment on any of that.
T: Are you aware of the higher tax rates imposed on non-humans moving to the colonies?
KS: Once again, I can't comment.
T: Can't or don't want to.
KS: Can we go back to Elysium?
T: Hmph. Is it true you left the rest of your squad to die on the barricades while you defended the plaza?
KS: …
T: Miss Shepard?
KS: Daniel Holman, Paxton Overby, Michella Huy, Timothy Finch, Alyssa Martin.
J: Excuse me?
KS: Those are my squad members who didn't make it through that battle. I did everything I could, but we were to a man committed to saving the colonists. I wrote their family notes telling them how heroically their loved ones died. I attended the funerals. I gave their grieving families the alliance flags. Those men and women don't deserve to-
T: Do you think those sacrifices were necessary?
KS: What are you getting at?
T: It must have felt like you were reliving the Mindoir Raid on Elysium? What was that like?
KS: I don't think-
T: You, a child whose life was destroyed by batarian pirates, led an attack in which your entire squad died and you became hero. What would you say to those who might accuse you of having made an unnecessary sacrifice?
KS: I'd say they weren't there.
T: But-
KS: We're done here.
T: Miss Shep-
KS: It's Lieutenant Commander. And I said we're done.