2170 CE
She rubbed the rough fabric back and forth between her fingers. The leather felt coarse, rough, irritating. It was like sand paper. She then shuddered at the thought of someone actually wearing it, and the chafing that it'd inflict. Letting the overalls swing back into the rack, she moved on to the tube top next to it. Regardless of what the shirt was made of, it wasn't even near what she had in mind. She knew that old man Lauren only sold the drab, everyday patchwork that everyone wore on the colony in his store. But he owned the only one that sold actual clothing in the neighborhood. Whatever she hoped to find had to be here. And after minutes of sifting through rack after rack of clothes, what little hope she had already begun to falter. All she wanted was a dress. One for the dance. A simple dress. One that fell to her feet and was flowery and elegant and...
"Hey! Look what I found!"
She turned to Karen. At first, she felt a wave of envy wash over her as her eyes were drawn to the hem of the mauve dress hanging at her feet.
I can't believe...
But as her eyes moved up, she suddenly found her jealousy disappear.
...how ugly that is.
The dress was a two-piece. A horrid one. At where her waist was, the purple skirt abruptly ended, exposing the would-be wearer's entire midriff save for two straps extending from its edge. The two straps connected the unfinished dress to an orange sleeveless, crop top. The whole thing was as tasteless as the rest of the garbage in the store.
"...wow."
"I know right! I think Jimmy's going to love it!"
Jimmy would love anything on you. You have him wrapped around your finger.
"Uh, I'm sure he would but...do you think your parents will really be okay with it?"
"Psh, I don't care about them. I like it, so I'm buying it!" After pursing her lips sassily, Karen peered over her shoulder, examining the clothing behind her. "Find anything over here?"
She sighed. "No."
"Well that sucks. I would suggest this," she pointed to the dress hanging in front of her. "But I'm pretty sure this is the only one Ralph has."
Thank the maker. Although to be fair, that was still one too many.
"Oh...darn. Rats. I'm just gonna keep looking."
"Hey, I'm going to run this through real quick, but after I'm done, I'll be right back to help you find something!"
She really wish Karen wouldn't sometimes. She really did have the worst tastes. "Kay."
As Karen ran off, she decided to continue down the aisle, onward to the next rack of clothing. The clothes hanging from it were unfortunately more drab than the last. Back across the shop, old man Lauren sat behind his counter, registering Karen's purchase. The senior citizen was wrinkled and leathery, just like the clothes in his store. She thought most people who came to the store were sadists, as the old man was an absolute terror to talk with. And even though his entire store was rendered obsolete with the existence of the extranet and anything you could want being online, people still flocked to it. Her parents told her it was because they wanted to support the local business. But she was pretty sure it had more to do with the convenience of it being so close to everyone's homes. That was the reason why Karen and her were there now anyway. Asides from it's extremely cheap prices.
She stared at the rags hanging in front of her. And then she frowned.
All she wanted was a nice dress for formal. The big dance that happened at the end of the academic year. It would be her first one as an upper classman. Kevin and Jonesy had both already asked to go with her. She had to say, she felt guilty with how she was here shopping for a dress when she still hadn't made up her mind with which boy she was going to go with. Neither were Eluam but it's not like he could go with her.
I mean Kevin's kind of cute...
And he had really good jokes.
but Jonesy-
"So found something yet?"
She spun around at the sound of her voice.
"Oh...no. Nothing yet."
"Look, I honestly think I might have grabbed the last decent thing here. You know, every time I come over, I always see your mom wearing something fantastic! I'm sure she'll let you borrow something for Formal!"
"I already did. She doesn't have anything that fits..."
"Oh, I guess you haven't really grown in as much as her yet huh?"
"Hey-"
"Well that sucks. Bummer...Oh! You know what? I just got the latest issue of Elysium Elegance! We can look through it for dresses and have one delivered instead!"
She gawked at her, trying to tell if Karen was being serious. "I honestly can't tell if you're joking or not."
"Why would that be a joke? The outfits in it are Fab-Buloussss!"
"You know we can't afford things like that!"
Her parents barely gave her a pittance. She had to skip social outings sometimes because her parents' were so cheap.
"Hey, we'll find something! I just know it! Come on!"
Karen dragged her by the arm out of the store with her right hand, while her left carried the bag that contained the atrocious dress she had just bought. It really was hideous. If Karen actually wore that to the dance, she might have to-
As soon as they had exited the store, she suddenly found rain drops falling on her head.
"AH! My hair!"
Squealing, Karen immediately let go of her and took off. She watched Karen sprint uncharacteristically fast down the dirt road, and take a turn at the shack cornering Freyer lane. In all honesty, she didn't mind the rain nearly as much. She decided to just calmly trail behind her friend and enjoy the shower. She let the rain soak her head to toe, the water streaming down her face. She stuck her tongue out.
2183 CE
The iron taste of it on her lips made her spit. Shepard brought one of her arms back from where they had been outstretched and wiped some of the blood covering her face. The shimmering aura of violet enveloping her began to dissipate. Not two seconds after she had killed the Batarian calling itself Charn had the rest of the squad followed her lead. She hadn't needed to lift a finger. A minute later and the four Batarians were already laying dead before her.
The remains of Charn however were much, much messier than the other three. Instead of getting a quick shot to the head, the Batarian that had tried negotiating with them met a much more fitting end. His body laid roughly in two, a pool of blood congregating under it, possessing a hue much darker than that of a Humans'. Though the coloring might have just been due to the dark lighting of the room.
Unlucky for him that he hadn't taken the precaution of bringing a kinetic barrier.
HRK.
The noise sounded like it had come from Shield. So she promptly ignored it. She instead focused on Charn's remains as something among it was catching her eye. Something the head engineer had told them about. She quickly bent over to pick it off the corpse's belt. And after wiping the object clean against one of her grenade packs, getting rid of the blood, she examined it again to confirm what it was.
A key card.
There was still one facility left on the asteroid that they hadn't checked yet, according to the map taken from the transmitter tower. And it would most likely be where the remaining engineers and four-eyed freaks were. This very key card was most likely how the Batarians had access to every structure on the asteroid, and now, it would do the same for them. Clipping the card to her waist, she scanned the room one more time.
"Seems like that was it. Wrex, I want you to take point. Check for any more of these bastards in the room. The rest of you, check your guns and displays. We'll move out after Wrex gives us the go ahead. We still have one more building full of four eyes to deal with."
"What the FUCK was that?"
She stopped what she was doing and slowly turned around to face him. "Excuse me."
"Shepard! You just fucking ripped that guy in half! Wha-What the fuck?!"
"And?"
"And you don't see a problem with how you just did that!? Or you know, the fact that he just wanted to talk?!"
She let out a fake chuckle in response to his idiotic words. "Just wanted to talk?"
"Yeah! He was facing us unarmed Shepard! He didn't shoot us on sight! He obviously just wanted to talk! There was no need to do...that!" he responded pointing at the Batarian behind her.
"No need?" Shepard's face grew dark. "NO NEED?! The BATARIANS ARE IN THE PROCESS OF TRYING TO KILL MILLIONS! They don't get to beg for mercy now that someone's here who can actually fight back!"
Vakarian shifted uncomfortably behind the agent.
"How can you not be disgusted by what you just did!?" His visor was too dark to see his features...but she assumed he was horrified, obviously ignorant of what real combat was even like.
"Commander...that...it was a little excessive-" She whipped her head right around to Kaidan who was standing over the deceased alien. And her eyes went wide as she registered his words.
Excessive? How can you say that!? They're committing global genocide born from bigotry! They-
Before she could even mouth these words however, someone else spoke up. "What are you even talking about Kaidan? Shepard's right. These guys are trying to destroy an entire colony for god's sake! Four-eyes here got what he deserved. And I say the rest of them deserve the same fate. I'm actually looking forward to ot," Ashley finished, now hefting up her rifle.
"I did admire your style Commander. It was almost Krogan of you," Wrex shouted from around the corner, already on the other side of the room's barricade.
Shepard ignored them and turned her attention back to Shield. He stood there in turn, returning her stare from behind the darkened visor.
"We still have one more compound left to clear. I don't care what you think and I don't care if you have moral qualms about how we do our job. But you're going to do what I say, whether you like or not, you hear me? I tell you to jump, you ask 'how high.' If you question my command anytime during our mission again, I will have you expedited through the Alliance' Justice System for jeopardizing an Alliance Operation." He didn't reply. "UNDERSTOOD?"
Several moments went by before he slowly nodded in the affirmative and answered grudgingly.
"Loud and clear Shepard."
Shield quickly trudged past her as soon as he heard Wrex's voice announcing it was clear shortly after. Shepard then turned her attention to the rest of the squad. Tali and Garrus stood silently behind the two marines. "You heard him. Move out." They made care to avoid the unsightly mess before them.
2170 CE
She tried to fall back asleep. But the sheets were too uncomfortable for her tonight. Too hot. Too heavy. She tossed and turned and tossed and turned and flailed around before eventually just surrendering any thought of being able to fall back asleep. She decided to then just settle down and lay there in the dark defeated. After a few minutes of calmly laying on her bed however, she finally began to notice how wet her sheets were. Then she grimaced.
Ew. Why am I so sweaty!?
Too tired to actually get up and change them though, she resigned herself to her fate. She stuck a finger in her ear as a faint ringing noise began to make itself known inside it. As an afterthought, she slowly looked over to the alarm clock on her nightstand.
04:21:56.
She groaned.
Ugh. Tonight's going to be one of those nights huh?
She turned her head back to the ceiling above her. She continued rubbing the inside of her ear as the ringing continued.
I can't go to sleep. My sheets are gross. And my ear won't stop ringing. Why you do this ear? Why are you ringing?!
Then she sat herself up.
Wait. Is that coming from...over there?
Curiosity eventually overcoming her, the girl found the strength to throw herself out of the bed to investigate. She first blindly stumbled around the room, attempting to locate what the source of the annoying sound might be. And after several minutes, her investigation eventually led her over to her bedroom window. Flipping off its shutters, she looked out with confusion. The ringing was definitely louder now. But the first thing her eyes caught sight of were simply the stars in the night sky. Beautiful as always. She would never admit it, but she could stare at them for hours. She loved climbing the hilltop in the backyard with dad, and laying on her back once they reached the top. It was a tradition they did every Saturday night. Lying there with their heads among the grass, the dew wetting their backs, staring up at the millions of brilliant stars above...it was one of the few moments in the week she ever got time alone with him. With how much time they spent there each night, by just her tenth birthday, she could even confidently name every constellation in the night sky.
The ringing now grew louder.
She shook her head and resumed focus back to her current task. Moving her gaze down from the night sky, she found that the first floors of Mister Denghao's house and the Cooperson's had their lights on. Mister Denghao was past seventy, and he rarely stayed up past 19:00:00. And the Cooperson's had two children, neither past nine. None of their neighbors ever stayed up this late. And now she noticed something flashing far off in the distance, far, far past their houses. The ringing was getting louder still.
Then a sudden bright flash of light blinded her. She cried out in surprise, finding herself taking several steps back from the window covering her eyes. After blinking profusely, she hurriedly looked back out the window to see what had caused it. She couldn't tell where it was coming from, but a radiant ray of orange now cast itself across the houses and dirt road below. It illuminated everything outside her window, and she could now see people running through the streets below, in what had initially been inky darkness.
What the heck are they doing? Why does Mister Collins have his suitcase out at f-
The glass of the window violently shattered across her face,and the sonic boom that followed it knocked her several feet away from the window. She found herself screaming as she hit the floor.
"JANE!"
Her mother burst into her room fully dressed. She scooped Jane up into her arms. The young girl realized that they were both in tears.
"Mom! My-my-my win-"
"Oh god! You're alright! You're alright!" Her mother smothered her for several more seconds before letting her feet touch the ground. "Jane! Pack your things! We're leaving!"
"What?" she sniffed, red-eyed, trying to calm down. Her mother's hysterics weren't helping. "Why?"
"We don't have time honey! Your father's already getting the VT1 ready. Hurry and pack a change of clothes! I still need to get my and daddy's things. Be downstairs in less than a minute!" Her mother flit out of her bedroom.
"MOM?"
No answer.
Jane wheeled around her room in a panic.
What the hell's happening-
She sprinted over to her closet first and rummaged around for what seemed like an eternity before eventually finding her travel bag. Grabbing it, she rushed back across the room to her clothes drawer and started yanking out shirts, socks, pants, bras, whatever ended up in her hand. As she cleared the first drawer, she heard a scream from downstairs.
BLAM. BLAM.
She froze. Gun shots reverberated throughout the house. They had come from downstairs.
"COME ON!" she heard someone yell.
She snapped herself out of her stupor and snapped the bag shut. Jane hurriedly did one more comb over of her room.
Do I-
BANG. BANG.
More gun shots rang through the bedroom. She cried out in shock and froze where she was. It slowly registered that they had come from outside this time. Without the tinted window, the bright orange lights now danced inside her room, casting sinister shadows that snaked all across it. The ringing was louder than ever now. Despite its volume, she could still hear people shouting wildly outside.
"MOM?! I'M DONE!"
No answer.
Panicked, she slung the bag over her shoulder and sprinted out of her room. She looked into the open doorway across from her. Her parent's room. Empty.
Then, without hesitation, she began to sprint down the hallway. She heard yelling coming from downstairs now. Her father. He was yelling something.
Her bare feet pounded against the carpeted floor as she rocketed down the corridor.
She was only several feet from the stair case now.
"JANE! DON'T COME DO-"
BANG.
She heard gun shots. She ran even harder.
Then the floor became like quick sand under her, slowing her movement. Her progress forward stopped. The floor slowly began to swallow her. Her feet were the first to disappear. She now felt a weightlessness as she began to fall into the gaping maw. She lost her sight as it consumed her vision. Everything had become pitch black again. She stretched out her arms, trying to grab on to something that could stop it from taking her. It continued to envelop her, in spite of her efforts. She lost her sense of hearing last before she was fully enveloped. And then she fell.
And fell.
And fell.
And fell.
2183 CE
Shepard stopped herself from falling backward as the second explosion rocked the room. Taking her chance, she rolled out from underneath the balcony and looked straight up to find the enemy rocket drone hovering right above her.
"SCATTER!"
She fired her pistol at it from straight below, the drone glimmering bright blue as her bullets flung off its kinetic barriers. Someone's overload immediately followed her gunshots, short circuiting the robot's shields. And then a carnage shot came from far away, what seemed to be from the level below her, and was the last to hit the drone. It ignited in a bright plume of orange.
"HAAAA-"
She jerked around to face the Batarian who was letting loose a guttural yell at her. His right arm was already cocked back as he did. And half of it was encased in a shimmering orange gauntlet that had spikes protruding around its knuckles. Fabricated by its omni-tool she quickly deduced. Shepard then realized the alien was planning to hit her with it. She ducked down and rolled backwards, causing the Batarian to swing and miss, his fist curving through the air until meeting a wall with a solid CRACK.
Popping back up from her roll with shotgun now in hand, the vanguard let the Batarian have one, two, three quick successive rounds of shredded metal. Its shields, armor, and flesh were torn apart by each shot, in that order. Alarms then beeped in her earpiece, and the gun vented gas. Overheated. She sheathed it on her back and exchanged it for her sidearm, whipping it off her thigh. She now had time to actually scan the area around her.
Nothing.
Her HUD's short range radar indicated the same. Shepard took another moment to take stock of the subterranean dome's layout. She was back at the facility's entrance, standing at the top of a short flight of stairs, her team nowhere in sight. Following her command, they had all split up. Cautiously, she took several steps out into the open and strained her eyes to locate them.
They were all scattered around the enormous underground chamber. She could hear Wrex bellowing from the pit located below the main floor, and gun shots were ringing from the opposite side of the room. The only squad mates she could visibly see were Kaidan and Ashley who were dug in on the right half of the gigantic lobby, pinned down by several more Batarians that were firing at them.
Every fusion torch on the asteroid had been shut down, foiling the terrorist's plot to drop it on the unsuspecting colony of Terra Nova. At this point, Shepard would normally just have Joker bomb the facility from orbit, killing most of the Batarians in a fiery inferno and burying alive those who didn't.
But they had hostages. The girl that had first contacted them and whatever faculty that still remained alive. The Batarians had sent them a recording of their voices not minutes after shutting down the last torch. So they actually had to siege the structure instead, destroying its defenses one by one before being able to march in.
She aimed down her pistol sight and fired several warning shots at the nearest Batarian attacking Kaidan and Ashley's position. It turned away from them, looking for those responsible. Facing her direction was just what she had wanted however, and she flung a warp at it. The commander's biotics instantly tore apart its shield and bits of exposed skin, most of which occurred around its face. She then let loose a real volley this time, hitting most of the Batarian's eyes dead center. She moved on Kaidan and Ashley's location immediately after, staving off any more of the aliens that tried to get in her way. After killing two four-eyed freaks trying to flank them, she was finally able to saddle up beside the two marines.
"Commander!"
"Kaidan! Give me a sitrep."
"They're two Batarians hiding behind those crates straight ahead. We'd be able to handle them except their's a third perched on that balcony up top."
He pointed it out.
"Commander, do you have any grenades on you? That would clear them out real easy," Ashley jumped in.
"Don't need them. Kaidan, you remember being taught in basic that we're not supposed to mix biotics?"
"Yeah?" he replied quizzically.
"I want you to send a lift field at those Batarians."
"They're behind cover. It wouldn't be able to reach them."
"Not at them, send it in between the two crates they're hiding behind."
"What would that-"
"Just do it!"
He shut up and obliged, popping out of cover long enough to manipulate a mass effect field exactly where she had indicated. As he ducked back down behind cover, Shepard got up shortly after, letting loose a warp at the field he had just created. And as soon as the two mass effect fields interacted with each other, a bright explosion erupted forth. It resulted in a large plume of violet rocketing past them, casting shadows over a large portion of the walkway around them. The two Batarians hadn't stood a chance. And without their friendly fire, the remaining sniper was picked off easily.
"Damn Commander!" Ashley shouted impressed as they emerged from cover.
"I'll have to save that trick for later!" Kaidan remarked as they made to move.
She rallied them now that they were no longer stuck, and made an executive decision to charge to the other side of the room, where she now spotted Vakarian. His blue visor was unmistakable even from this distance. And as Shepard, Kaidan, and Ashley made their way over to his position, the bodies began to pile up. The Batarians went down quicker than they did on Elysium. And as far as she could tell, her squad wasn't getting anything worse than a few grazed extremities, something easily fixed with a stim of gel. It was clear that the Batarians on the asteroid were simple terrorists, slavers most likely. Not the professional military of the Hegemony as she had first suspected.
Although not like there's really a difference. You'd think having two more eyes would at least help your aim.
She lifted the Batarian on a balcony above Garrus while Ashley littered it with bullets. They had reached the Turian's fox hole in less than five minutes. He had taken cover behind a circle of crates at the base of the staircase opposite to the entrance. How he had gotten all the way to the opposite side of the room safely, Shepard hadn't a clue. As lucky as he might have been, she had to give him some credit. Making it this far over alone was no small feat.
Their band of four became five not a minute later as the Krogan Wrex emerged from the chamber's pit, coated in Batarian blood. She smiled at the sight of him, beginning to think taking him along had been the right idea afterall. Nodding to the Krogan, Shepard did one last sweep over the room. The chamber had grown quiet. And she didn't see any other enemies. She then turned around to Kaidan who was now looking up the staircase.
"Kaidan, do a manual scan of the room for hard suits."
"On it Commander. But I think that-"
"DIE SHEPARD-"
BANG. BLAM. BANG. BAM. CRACK. BLAM. BANG.
The Batarian slumped back dead inside the small module it had leaped from. The door it had opened for a split second closed again.
"...I think we're clear Commander."
"Looks that way." She turned to the others. "Did any of you see the hostages?"
"That's a negative Commander."
"Same here."
"Didn't see anything Shepard."
"Nothing down there." The Krogan made a gesture back to the pit.
"Well then split up. I want-"
"You know what I want Shepard?"
It took less than the blink of an eye for all of them to turn toward the source of the voice. At the top of the staircase they were standing below now hosted five Batarians. The lime-green one at the fore she recognized immediately as Balak. One of the Alliance's most wanted. His face was plastered on the media after the Ferris Fields incident two years ago. And in person, he was the ugliest sonuva bitch she had ever laid eyes on.
It also happened to be the one that had just spoken to them.
"-I want you Humans to suffer."
"Trust me. We started suffering as soon as we saw your face," she spat back.
"Ah. Yes. Make your jokes. I'm about to make one out of the Alliance's most famed attack dog."
Shepard pointed her pistol at him with her right hand, while conjuring a sphere of dark energy in the other. Out of her peripherals, she observed her squad making similar moves. The only thing that prevented her from immediately cutting into the Batarian however was a small clicking sound coming from its left hand. Balak was holding a small device in it. Flicking its cap on and off. The Batarian's jowls curved upwards.
"I hope I have your attention now."
A detonator.
"You filthy-"
"Shepard! Watch what you say next! Or you might find the Humans you came to save in pieces. If you actually care about your people, you'll do what I say."
"And why do you think I would do that?" she yelled at him, eyes wide with fury.
"Because this is a detonator Shepard! You look at me the wrong way and everyone here dies!"
"Why are you doing this!?" Kaidan shouted from behind her.
"Why? WHY? To deliver justice for our people. To punish you Humans for every crime you've ever committed!" He started pacing back and forth at the top of the stairs. "But luckily for you, your comeuppance will have to wait another day. I'm leaving this asteroid. If you try to stop me, your little helper and the rest of your Humans will die."
"You don't get to leave Balak. Not after what you've done," Shepard growled in a low tone.
"What I'VE done?!" Balak shouted enraged. "This is nothing that compares to what's been done to the Batarians! We've been forced into exile, forced to strive on what we can scrounge up! It's been like that for decades-"
Shepard forced a laugh. The Batarian couldn't tell and didn't care whether it was sincere or not.
"YOU DARE?!"
"Please! Go on! I'd love to hear more about the suffering of your people."
"YOU-"
"YOU'RE NOT THE INNOCENT PARTY HERE! YOU brought all of that upon yourself! YOU exiled yourselves because you were spoiled children who didn't get their way. YOU are forced to live in your own squalor because you're weak! You had centuries more than us to establish your own space, gather your own resources-"
"YOU invaded our space! Took OUR resources! When we approached the Council for aid they brushed us off! We were left to defend ourselves. But the Humans were stronger than us. We knew that. The Council knew that. But it didn't matter. YOU and YOUR kind are the only reason we're in this position!"
Shepard tilted her head to the far right, hoping to infuriate him even more with the Batarian equivalent of the finger, and made to point an actual finger accusingly at him as well.
"YOU are insane. The Batarians are in this position because you have no friends on the Council, no allies on the Presidium, and no connections in the entirety of Citadel Space. And you want to know why? Because you're people are disgusting two-bit slavers that prey on the weak and take advantage of those who can't fight back!"
"DISINGENUOUS LIES-"
"The bombing of Mannovai! Annexing the Asari colony of Esan! Clashing with C-Sec forces when you Batarians tried to enslave Enael! This all happened before Humanity even came on the Galactic stage. So you're right. Humans are stronger than you. In fact, we're simply just better than you. We don't kill millions on a whim. We're not MONSTERS LIKE YOU-"
"SHUT YOUR MOUTH SHEPARD! You can't understand...in fact, no, you don't want to understand. We're destroying this colony because we have no other CHOICE! ...Sometimes, you have to get someone's attention before they'll listen."
Shepard's eyes flitted to the ground for a moment, her voice quieting to a whisper. "...So that's what Elysium was then...Mindoir. Just a way to get our attention?" She looked back up to the sickly green Batarian and stared at him with such hatred that the alien reflexively took a step back. "Well. Now you have it."
She extended her left arm and released a mass effect field in his direction. A trail of indigo emanated from the biotic sphere as it flew up the staircase toward the Batarian. It hit Balak just a split second after she had loosed it, encasing his entire body in a shimmering blue stasis field.
She quickly drew her eyes to his left hand next.
Her heart sank as she saw that his finger was pressing the button down.
The stair well became a shooting galley as both sides began to exchange fire. She shut her eyes, letting bullets whiz toward her face and bounce off her kinetic barriers. She made no effort to get behind cover. She braced herself for what she had just done.
2170 CE
Jane's eyes slowly opened.
Something faint in the distance shimmered.
She strained her eyes, squinting.
A small circle of light was shining off in the distance.
But it seemed like light years away.
And she could see nothing else. A darkness surrounded her, enveloped everything around her. It was thick, like she was floating in a black hole, the void nigh impenetrable. She would have never even known her eyes were open...save for that single source of light her sight was affixed to in the distance. She could see nothing else save for the light.
She laid there on her stomach, in what she now believed to be mud, for what seemed like an eternity. Dazed and confused. Cold and alone.
She had just been in bed, and then in the next, everything had become a nightmare. A nightmare still ongoing.
...Am I dead?
The thought repeated over and over in her head. The light that was yards away flickered.
Is...that...that light at the end...that one mom always goes on abou-
Jane cried out in pain when she tried to move. Her entire body seemed to scream in agony. She lay there in the mud, writhing. Everything burned. The shell shock had worn off, and every bruise, laceration, and injury now registered in her mind. Shrapnel under her skin. Metal crushing her body. Blood coagulating on her ripped pajamas.
Everything around her was black like ink. Everything save the light several feet away from her. She grimaced and reached toward it. Her body screamed for her to stop.
She grabbed a handful of mud and dragged herself forward.
All she needed to do was reach the light. Everything would be alright if she just reached the light.
Or that's what her mind told her.
She extended her other arm and this time grabbed a handful of fabric. The texture was familiar. Her bedroom rug.
She blinked a drop of blood out of her eye.
Look at the light.
She laid there prone in the dark, trying to register what she had gripped in her fingers.
Reach for the light.
She winced as another wave of pain flooded her brain. She reached her arm out again and heaved herself forward another few inches.
Reach the light.
The pain was excruciating. She faded in and out of consciousness several times. But every time she opened her eyes, she just saw that one thing.
The light.
She continued to drag herself over the mud. Over the pieces of carpeted floor. Over sheared parts of metal. Past searing hot iron rebar. Every time she dragged her body forward, it screamed out in pain. But she kept lugging it forward. Kept moving it toward the light.
It was getting closer.
She grimaced as she continued to haul herself toward it. The light was blinding now, the darkness unable to completely swallow her now that she was so close to the source.
Almost...there-
She extended her arm one last time through the shimmering gathering of light. And then she pulled herself through.
She was completely blinded as she did.
She shut her eyes in response to the amount of stimuli they now received. She lay there blinking rapidly, trying to adjust herself to her new environ. And everything around her slowly came into focus. And the first thing Jane recognized was the hill before her. The hill behind her house.
It was painted a bright orange, colored by the raging fires she could now hear crackling above her.
She forced her arms to heave the rest of her body through the hole. And with one final tug, it escaped the rubble to become free. Wasting no time in mustering her strength, Jane slowly pushed herself off the ground, although being nearly blinded again by the searing pain she felt doing so. Once she was standing weakly on her feet however, the girl looked back to where she had just crawled out from.
Her home. Or what was left. What she saw caused tears to stream down her face. It was ruined. The home she had grown up in. Gone. Just like that.
Smoke plumed from the wreckage. Bent, broken, twisted bits of metal stood where the walls of the first floor once did. The rest of the abode was unrecognizable, having caved into the pile of rubble now strewn before her. The dark night sky she had looked upon earlier was now blood orange, an effect of the flames consuming the other colonial houses around her. She fell to her knees, sobbing uncontrollably. She didn't know what happened. She didn't know what she did. What she could have done to deserve this.
She began to act like a baby, moving around on all fours, looking around sadly, attempting to find anyone around that could help. Anyone that could-
She made eye-contact with something.
It stood on two legs. And it stood up straight. And it now stood upon the wreckage of her home.
At first she thought it was her father. It was tall. But something on its face caused her to stand back on her feet and take a step back. Pain shot through her as she did, but all she was truly aware of was the terror that currently gripped her. The terror of what she saw. The fire reflecting off the being's eyes. All four of them.
"Hey! Look what we have here! You must be a tough one!" It shouted over the roaring inferno, starting to swagger over to her. How nonchalant it was with the horrors that surrounded it terrified her even further. It toted a large gun in its hands. It had a large metal barb sticking out of its nozzle.
She took several more steps back. Her knees almost buckled out from under her.
"And a child too?! Oh, isn't this just my lucky day! Parahn certainly likes you young! You all go for so much more-"
She turned and ran as fast as she could up the hill. Her body screamed for her to stop, the pain echoing through her arms, legs, chest, and head almost unbearable. But her mind told her to keep moving. To keep running as fast as she could. Jane's feet pounded up the grassy knoll. She barely registered the monster's remarks as she cleared the hillside.
"Haha! This just keeps getting better and better! Go ahead! I'll give you a head start!"
She reached the top of the hill and immediately made for the forest. She once thought of it as a place of refuge for her. A place where she could always go to for solitude and be alone with her thoughts when Karen or Jonesy or another colonist annoyed her. As Jane ran toward it now however, the forest seemed almost malevolent. The large swath of tall, deciduous trees cast long dark shadows across the field she was running through, sharply contrasting with the flames at her back. But it still seemed, at least for tonight, that it would again be a place of refuge for her.
She didn't give a thought to the colony behind her now. To look back and see what it looked like, whether anything was still standing, whether she could still see if anyone was still alive down below. She ignored everything else around her as she just kept on running.
Branch after branch whipped across her face, leaving numerous cuts across it. The stinging though did nothing to slow her.
They were nothing compared to the pain she had already endured. She sprinted as fast as she could through the brush, batting her way through the undergrowth. The area around her was almost pitch black again, far enough from the colony that the light of its fires no longer reached her. Only the stars in the night sky illuminated the path before her. The stars-
THUNK.
She let out a scream as a harpoon lodged itself in the trunk of a tree inches away. She ran harder.
She was becoming dizzy, pain shooting up her spine, legs aching, lungs screaming to stop. She had run far enough. She couldn't run anymore.
But it was right behind her. She couldn't stop. She-
It hit her face like a freight truck. Her head jerked back and hit the ground hard. She lay dazed on her back now, struggling to stay conscious.
"That wasn't as fun as I thought it would be," the grotesque alien said now standing above her.
She attempted to turn and crawl away but he quickly pinned her to the ground, straddling her. She struggled to get him off, but his knees kept her arms stuck to the ground. He smiled cruelly on top of her.
"Trust me. I like this as much as you do. You Humans are so disgusting." He spat to the side. "I mean look at all that fur. Absolutely sickening." Then with the free hand not holding her right shoulder down, it started rummaging through the small pouches on its belt.
"Don't worry, I just need to get this chip in. Won't take long at all-"
She screamed and struggled, tears streaming down her face as she fought against her attacker futilely. He snickered as he continued to rummage through his belt for what he was looking for. She eventually stopped fighting and became quiet.
She realized she still needed a dress for Formal.
I never picked out that dress with Karen.
She turned her head to the left. The growth of the forest floor brushed her cheeks.
Eluam...was this...I still...wanted to...
"Huh? Given up already? I thought you might have some more fight left in you...dammit! Where'd I put that damn thing?!"
She resigned herself to her fate. Her house was destroyed. Everyone in the colony was most likely dead. Her parents-
Her eyes suddenly focused upon something resting on the forest floor.
The alien's boot. It was coming off the leg that was resting on her left arm. It had a knife sheathed in it.
She discretely began moving her arm. His leg was placed on her bicep, not the joint. So she could still bend it. Reach out with it. And she tried. She slowly slid her hand along the floor, through the grass, toward the knife. Stretching it further and further. She was so close now-
But it wasn't enough. It was still out of reach. Just an inch out of her reach. An inch. If she could just reach it. If she could just-
"AH! There it is. Right in plain siaRGH-"
The four-eyed alien screamed in pain as she sunk the knife into the back of his leg. She ripped it out and still glowing blue, pushed him off with all her strength. The alien hit a tree and rolled to the ground.
"AGH! YOU BITCH!"
He immediately attempted to push himself back off the ground but she had already flung herself at him, not allowing him to. This time...she was the one on top.
Jane stared into his dark beady eyes. They had no color. No pupil. No iris. No soul. She found them devoid of anything that could even remotely be called Human.
As soon as she had jumped him, she drove the knife into the upper left one first. The alien screamed in agony again but that didn't stop her. She drove the knife into his face again and again, continuing long after the alien had stopped making noise. It's face bore little resemblance to what it had just been after she was finished what seemed like days later. She thrust the knife into the monster's face one last time before leaving it embedded there.
She then slowly got off, and put her back against a tree, sliding to the ground.
She was devoid of any feeling now.
Even pain.
Whereas before it had snaked through every inch of mind and in every thought she had, she barely even registered it now.
She was tired.
She was empty.
She didn't even give a second thought to the branches snapping behind her now, or when more voices began to speak.
"I could have sworn I heard something-"
"Quiet."
She let the first two pass without making a word. She didn't have the energy to.
The third one was the first to notice the corpse, and then subsequently, her. He jumped when he noticed her outline.
"HANDS UP!" he shouted swinging his rifle at her.
The rest of them wheeled to face her too, alarmed by his sudden outburst.
"I said Quiet lieutenant!"
The one who had just spoken now stared at her through their helmet. It was too dark to see through the person's visor. Jane didn't know whether it was Human or alien. But Jane didn't know and Jane didn't care. Jane didn't care as she fluttered in and out of consciousness. Jane didn't care as her upper torso toppled to the ground. Jane didn't care as she was picked up and passed out in one of their arms. Jane didn't care as the darkness took her.
2183 CE
An exorbitant amount of time had passed. But no explosion. No shrieks of terror. Shepard opened her eyes.
The Batarians flanking Balak had died quickly, without having even put up a fight. She heard her shield go down, but not a single bullet had grazed her. The terrorists weren't nearly skilled enough to do her any harm apparently. The only dangerous four-eye here was Balak. And Balak remained where it stood, still frozen in her stasis field.
That's not how biotics work. My biotics couldn't have stopped the signal-
"Commander?"
As he spoke, Shepard didn't need to give him a response. With a flick of her wrist, she released the Batarian from stasis.
And he was quick. His bullets immediately started bouncing off her shields.
But she was quicker. It was all over in the span of a second.
She dropped her pistol. The pump of her shotgun was pulled into her other hand not a moment sooner. Then her shields dropped. And a field of blue appeared and then evaporated around her. Balak smiled. Then she pulled the shot gun's trigger once. A spread of serrated metal escaped from the gun's muzzle, rocketing up the stairs. The metal shredded Balak's shields apart. Their impact threw him off-balance. He staggered back violently.
Then the following volley from her team came. Sniper fire, shotgun groupings, and assault rifle ammo tore apart the tech armor below his kinetic barriers. A large amount of the metal ripped through the Batarian itself. She quickly held up a fist to halt their fire just in time.
They all looked on as the Batarian fell to the ground, groaning, a river of blood now streaming from his various bullet wounds down the staircase.
He was still alive.
Good.
She put away her shotgun and bent over to pick her pistol back off the ground. She then began to walk up the staircase towards him.
Balak attempted to reach for his own gun, but the Batarian was too weak to even lift his arm. She still made sure to kick it away once she was at the top of the staircase.
"Argh." Balak's head swung back and forth across the floor. It coughed up blood. "...you Humans all-"
BLAM.
BLAM. BLAM. BLAM.
She stood there frozen for a moment before remembering where she was and holstered the smoking gun in her hand.
One for every eye. Try to reach your god damn paradise now.
She bent down over his face. But she stopped herself. She realized her crew was still present at the bottom of the stairs. Then their conversation from just moments before buzzed through her head.
The whole thing had been a feint. A hoax. A bluff. A bluff he had almost escaped with. If I let him go and the hostages had never been in any real danger in the first place-But if Balak's detonator was an empty bluff...then why did Balak still press it? If there were no bombs, why did Balak still press it as if it would do something?
She stood up and turned her attention towards the bottom of the stairs. Kaidan, Ashley, Wrex, and Garrus all stared back at her, waiting for an order.
"Balak's done for. Now we-"
She realized they were missing someone.
Where the hell is Tali?
Then she did a double take.
"Where the hell is Shield?"
2170 CE
"Hey kid. I know he stopped by here earlier. Did Ernesto tell you where the hell he was going before he left?"
She lay there on the cot silent.
"Look I know he was here. Did he-"
"Leave her alone Mort. I saw Lieutenant Zabaleta the second block down from here. I don't know what he's doing but I'm sure you can still catch him there."
"...thanks," he said turning around to the voice.
As Mort left her tent, the other that had spoken to him entered. This was the third time he had visited her, or the third time she had actually seen him visit. He was tall enough that he had to crouch to enter the small makeshift tent she was in. He was probably taller than her dad, just a couple inches past six feet. His skin was a caramel color, and his eyes an even darker brown. So was the hair on his head. What little he had.
The man had the look of someone older than their actual age. And the first time she had seen him, she thought his face was harsh, one of a strict man incapable of empathy. And at first, she didn't want to speak to him either. But...as they locked eyes...she was surprised to find he was someone completely different. His eyes were soft and gentle, and she was only surprised further to find his face conveying genuine concern for her instead of feigned sympathy like the rest.
The first night he had apparently checked on her regularly, or so the soldier that called himself Ernesto had said. She had apparently slept through the next day too, the day when the soldiers left the cover of the forest and took back the colony. The first time she awoke, he had told her that the aliens had already left, and the marines were now cleaning up what they had left behind. All the unimaginable horrors the aliens had left behind. They had taken her with them to their main base of operations now currently located in the colony's capital. Three days had passed since she had been found, and they were still finding body after body under the debris and destruction left by the slavers. She had left her tent only once after she awoke, and the very first thing she had seen were the hundreds of dead in body bags.
She had never left her tent since. This man continued to check on her though unlike the others. He wasn't even a medic like the man named Stims, who checked on her periodically out of obligation. And he didn't want to talk about what had happened like the other man Mort. She couldn't even if she wanted. The man with her simply showed kindness just for the simple sake of being kind. Every time he entered her tent, he brought snacks asides from her water and food, things to make sure she was comfortable, and came in just to give her company.
"How are you doing?" he asked her, sitting himself down on the dirt floor.
She didn't reply.
"Oh, wait a second." He swung the bag on his back in front of him and started digging through it. "Here. Drink this." He handed her a box of juice. "One of the biotics was willing to part with it...the Evac ships should be here soon alright?. Just hold on until then. You're going to be okay."
She took the juice and stared at it in her hands. He smiled wistfully at her. Then he looked back out the tent flaps.
"I've heard Mort still hasn't gotten much from you."
She continued to silently stare at the juice pack.
"Where you lived in the colony, your age...not even your name. Nothing." He sighed. "...Do you have any relatives you think we could contact?"
She shook her head slowly.
"Are you sure?" A lack of response gave him his answer. "...Alright. When our shuttles do arrive, you'll be taken onto one of the cruisers orbiting the planet and checked into its med bay. There they'll examine you again and treat you for everything Stims couldn't. After that...I'm not quite sure. If you don't have any other family to care for you...I think you'll most likely be brought to the Alliance Academy for Juveniles. If you are, you'll like it. It's a good program. You'll receive housing, food, a support group-"
He stopped talking as she continued to stare at the juice. He placed his hand on her shoulder causing her to look up.
"Whatever happens...I want you to know you can always contact me if you ever need anything alright? If you ever run into trouble, if you ever need help...if you ever need someone to talk to." His face grew serious. "Do you remember my name?"
She locked eyes with him. And she found herself speaking for the first time since she had woken.
"David..."
"Lieutenant David Edward Anderson. I want you to remember it."
"...ok."
"May I know yours?"
"...Jane."
"Jane? That's a pretty name," he replied with a gentle smile.
He took back his hand, and sat back down on the dirty floor of the tent. "Well Jane-"
"Jane Shepard."
His eyes grew wide. "...No...you can't be..not Ed Shepard's kid!?"
Codex Entry:
Edward M. Shepard
File: Service Number 1312-AD-1014 (Inactive)
Edward Michael Shepard was born in the year 2114 CE in the city of Earth's United North American States, Vancouver. Enlisted in the Military of the United North American States 2132 CE. Chosen for transfer to Systems Alliance upon founding in 2134 CE (Rank translated to Corporal).
Assigned to the 1st Expeditionary Division 2134 CE. Participated in high-risk missions to colonize space beyond Sol Relay [see pre-contact logs] - Assigned rank Major. Served with distinction on Shanxi 2157 CE (Highlight: Evicted Turian forces with N7 taskforce Cobra from City of Qian. Led successful assault on Turian staging point Aephus. Commandeered Turian aircraft and boarded PFS Daetus. Commandeering PFS Daetus, fired several volleys upon the Turian 57th Flotilla before setting ship on collision course, destroying the PFS Koranus. Received Distinguished Service Medal. Received Medal of Honor. Received Medal of Valor. Received Star of Terra.). Assigned rank General 2157 CE. Military Vocational Code I2. Resigned 2158 CE.
Why did you want me to send this file again Gellix? I thought you were tasked looking after the other one. The one that was still alive.
Author's Notes:
This took ten times longer to write than I thought it would. Lame. But on the other hand...One hundred thousand words baby. Twenty chapters. 5,000 words per chapter. I even have to scroll down to post new chapters now! Yeaaaah. Aside from 10k of that mostly being AN and 'Codex' entries...I still say the story has 100 thousand words. No one can convince me otherwise. Hopefully I'll make better progress next week though! Could you imagine? Two chapters a week? Hngh. Until then!
Oh and-
Wolf: Her reaction would've been juicy to see fo sho. Am I saving it for later? Is it something we'll just never know? Maybe. And Shield would probably let it get to his head if you told him that. Dude has a big enough ego as it is. Appreciate your input though as always man!
TMNT: Really. Shield finds them uncomfortable but the amount of times he's already been concussed, you think he wouldn't leave the Normandy without it. As for credits, that problem might be solved sooNOT. The only credits he'll come across are the ones left in unopened crates. He's just a poor boy that needs no sympathy. Credits are easy come, easy go.
Casper: Yes.
Lieutenant: At first I would've said naw, this story isn't dark at all. But then ^. So...the mood does vary wildly from chapter to chapter. But as the story goes on, I hope a common theme throughout all of them becomes apparent. What that theme is, I have no idea. But I'm sure its a good one. And I have to say, your conjecture is pretty on point. One of those theories is pretty, kinda, spot on almost. Shield's origins certainly won't stay a mystery forever. Until that shroud's lifted though, I hope the secret tantalizes your every waking moment. Oh and as for the Quarian opera...that was actually an in-game thing. I don't quite know where Bioware was going with that. Were they hinting that the Geth were observing the Quarians? That they still watched old vids of their creators in curiosity? That the Geth were hiding their transmissions in Quarian cultural vids? Who knows. I don't. Just included it for consistency I suppose. Always have fun with our back and forth bro!
Hiccup: But...what is love?
GuardianoftheGalaxy'sGhettoBox: It really means a lot to hear that man. I'm glad you enjoy it! That's one reason why I'm glad I found this site and started this thang. If I just wrote it up in word and left it in the folder, I may have never gotten past Eden Prime. Knowing people actually expect something to come out has been a great motivator. And if it's one thing I hate the most, it's not finishing something. I'll be damned if I don't finish the story by this summer. Although I'll still be writing until 2016 if necessary!...I hope not though.
In the Next Chapter: She's a maniac, maaaaniac at yo' doorrrr. And she's glancing like she's never glanced befoooore-Oh. Shepard.
Tune in next time on Mass Effective: A Hero Made!