"Shepard, Samantha. Service number 5923-AC-2826. Biotic, no specialized training." Sam stepped forward when her name was called. She was with a few other trainees, and was the last one called. "Alright, listen up! These will be the hardest six months of your life!" The drill instructor was pacing in front of the trainees. "Those of you who get through it, good for you! If you don't think you can make it, the door's over there!" No one dared move for the door. "Good to see none of you are cowards! Grab your bags and bunk up!" No one moved. "NOW!"
Sam grabbed her bag and looked around the room. It was very sparse, and dull looking. Dull yellow paint covered the walls, and the floor was a dingy-looking white. She picked out a bed in the middle of the room,and started putting her things away. The last thing she took out of her bag was a picture of Kayla. She smiled wistfully at it, before putting it in the trunk at the end of her bed. She looked up and saw one of the other trainees looking at her.
"Hi."
"Hello," said Sam.
"My name is Rachel Maynard." Rachel had extended her hand toward Sam. Sam shook it and smiled.
"I'm Samantha Shepard, but my friends call me Sam."
"Well Sam, I hope we both make it through this. You mind if I take this bed?" Rachel motioned to the bed to the right of Sam's.
"Go ahead." Rachel nodded and smiled at her.
Rachel sat on her bed, unpacked her things, and looked at Sam. She sat there for a bit before saying anything. "So, I heard the drill instructor say you're a biotic?" Sam nodded. "No training?"
"Not much. I only found out about it last year." Sam shuddered slightly at the memory.
"Oh. Well, I'm a biotic too, so if you need some help, I'm here for you."
"Thanks, Rachel. That means a lot to me."
Rachel just nodded at her. "Where are you from?"
Sam sighed before answering. "I was born and raised on a colony world. Mindoir. But, I had to... move, two years ago. I was living in an Alliance garrison in New York until now. What about you?"
"I grew up around here. Military family for what seems like forever." She laughed bitterly. "My dad's in the Alliance, my brothers are, my grandmother was, probably great grandparents too. It was expected of me. Dad's got a permanent station here in Vancouver." She shook here head, and said, almost to herself, "I hate it."
Sam just looked at her, not knowing what to say. "Wow. I'm sorry."
"Don't be. It's nice to meet someone who isn't all military, all the time." They heard a bell ring in the distance. "Chow time. Come on, we want to get to the mess hall before all the good food's gone." Rachel stood up, and beckoned Sam to follow.
xXXx
A few weeks into basic, and Sam was still at it. She had no problem with basic firearms training, despite that she hadn't shot a gun in two years. She absolutely shined with shotguns and pistols, but had problems with rifles. Rachel and her also formed a fast friendship. Rachel was a very patient teacher, and Sam was learning more from her than the biotic instructors.
They were having a mock battle, no biotics, no tech. Just guns, shooting practice rounds. Sam was crouching behind cover. Her, Rachel, and one other trainee were the only ones on their team still standing. The other team was almost at full strength. She cursed slightly under her breath. Rachel was behind her, and their other team member, Jason Townsend was behind her. They both looked to Sam for direction. She motioned for Jason to stay where he was. He nodded. She looked to Rachel, and pointed to where she was crouching. Sam wanted Rachel to take her place. Rachel looked questioningly at her. "Jason's a sniper. He can shoot from back here. You're almost helpless without your biotics. Try and keep them off of him. Be his eyes. I'm going to try and sneak around the side, try and get a few shots off. Sound good?" They both nodded at her, not knowing what else to do. "Good. We'll all make it. And if it get too hot over here, don't be afraid to bail from cover." She smiled at them, and peered around the corner. She rolled into the next closest cover, sparing a quick backward glance. She saw Rachel crawling to the spot she had just left.
She pulled out her pistol, and shot off two rounds without breaking cover. Just giving Jason some time to line up a shot...
BOOM.
Cursing followed Jason's shot. Yes! One down, four to go. Sam didn't stop for long though. She kept moving, close to the ground. She could barely hear the other team speaking. They were getting worried. They weren't as invincible as they thought. One of them peeked out of cover, a little too much, and Jason got another shot off. Just three more left. Sam continued around, trying to get closer, maybe even behind, the other team. When she next looked up, what she saw shocked her. One of the other team was almost at Jason. Jason was put down, but not two seconds later, Sam's bullets ripped through the other team member's shields. Rachel ducked and rolled to the other side of the field. It was two vs. two now. Sam could still hear Jason cursing. Sam tried to find the other two enemies. No movement, no sound. Then she heard Rachel's pistol go off. More cursing, Rachel laughing, then cursing. Sam chanced a break in cover, to see both Rachel and the one she shot, walking off. Damn! Just me left... Sam switched to her shotgun. I've got only one shot at this. She rolled out of cover, quickly looking around her for the last enemy. Sam saw movement to the left of her, and quickly dived back into cover, a bullet whizzing by her helmet. Shot after shot hit the metal she was leaning against. A few moments after it stopped, she stood up, aimed her shotgun at where she thought the shots were coming from. One shot at this. She pulled the trigger, and the alarm rang. Yes! Kill shot! Jason and Rachel ran up to her, cheering. She pulled off her helmet, and walked to the one she shot. He was pulling off his helmet as well, and stood up. He looked at Sam and scowled at her.
"Lucky shot, Shepard. Don't let it get to your head. Next time, you're mine." Randy Walton spat at her feet, and stormed off.
"Don't let him get to you, Sam. He's a sore loser." Jason patted her shoulder, and smiled.
"That was awesome!" Rachel laughed.
Sam rubbed her face. "What happened, guys?"
"Well..." Jason hung his head. "It was going good, but one of 'em snuck around us. Like you were trying to do. Got me in the shoulder before I knew what was happening."
Sam nodded. "I had a feeling they would do that. I should've told you to stay on that side, Rachel. But what happened with you?" Sam looked at Rachel.
She laughed before answering. "When you dropped the guy that got Jason, I decided it was time to move. A little to late, I saw another one. We both got hit at the same time, but I didn't realize I was hit until my omni-tool started buzzing." Rachel smiled at Sam. "No harm done, right?"
"Right. That was fun, though."
They started walking toward the drill instructor. He was pacing in front of those already assembled. He stopped pacing when the three of them fell in line. "Listen up! This was just practice! If it was real, only one of you would be alive! Serviceman Shepard, step forward." She stepped slightly in front of the others. "You were not placed in charge of your team. When your leader was eliminated, the survivors looked to you for leadership. You failed to keep the rest of your team alive, but kept yourself alive. I should give you a demerit, BUT, if you can explain to us why they failed, I'll let it go."
Sam straightened her shoulders. "Sir, it was a rookie mistake. I told Serviceman Maynard to take my place when I left her and Serviceman Townsend behind cover. Since I was moving to the left, she should have stayed to the right, guarding that side."
"Why did you tell her to move?"
Sam thought about the question for a moment. "I told Serviceman Maynard to move because before the mission began, she told me about an injury she had received to her right shoulder. I told her to move, so she could steady her aim on something. If she stayed on the right side, she would be exposed on the right side."
The drill instructor took this in. He nodded once. "That'll be all, Serviceman. No demerit, this time." Sam stepped back in line, her heart racing. "Is this true, Serviceman Maynard?"
"Yes, sir."
"Shepard jeopardized the entire mission, because of one person." The drill instructor nodded, more to himself than anyone else. "You are all dismissed for the remainder of the day." They slowly started filing out, one by one. Sam, Rachel, and Jason were the last ones to leave. Before they left, an officer walked toward the drill instructor. They shook hands, and spoke, quietly. As the three of them walked by, Sam only heard one sentence.
"She's officer material."
xXXx
Sam's biotics flared. She easily caught the box Rachel had thrown at her. She threw it back, stopping it a mere inch from Rachel's head. Sam placed it gently down at her friend's feet, grinning at her.
"Geez, Sam. I hate it when you do that!" Rachel was laughing despite her anger. "I can't believe how fast you're learning, though. Not even a year and a half, and I think you might be one of the best damn biotics here!" She sat down on the box in front of her, wiping a stray hair out of her face. Sam walked up next to her, and plopped on the ground. "Are you gonna tell me why you left Mindoir?"
Sam rested her chin on her knees, memories flooding back. She shook her head slowly. "I'm sorry, Rachel. It's still too hard." Her thoughts flew to Kayla, wondering how she was doing.
"It's ok, Sam. Remember, if you ever want to talk about it, I'm here for you." Rachel put her hand on Sam's shoulder, and squeezed gently. "We should probably put this box back, before they notice it's missing." She suddenly found her feet inches of the ground. "Sam! What are you doing? Put me down!"
Sam just laughed hysterically. "You said you wanted to put it back!"
"Samantha! This isn't funny!" Rachel couldn't stop laughing though. Sam gently put the box down, grinning at her friend. Rachel quickly jumped off the box, and swatted at Sam's arm. The box then lifted in the air, and was placed next to the other boxes. Sam stood up, smiling at Rachel. They walked back toward the bunks, but before they went inside, Rachel stopped. She turned to Sam. "We have to choose our specialization soon. I'm thinking Adept, since I cant shoot for shit." She laughed bitterly. "My dad's already gotten on my case about that more times than I can count. What about you?"
Sam thought about it for a bit. "I was looking into Vanguard. I'm good with shotguns, love the damage they can do, and according to everyone, my biotics are amazing. Why not combine both?"
Rachel nodded. She turned back around, and headed inside...
Only to be pushed forcibly to the side. Sam rushed inside, and barely had enough time to duck a punch. She looked to her attacker, and saw Randy seething over her. "Shepard. You're done being the favorite around here." He kicked his foot at her, catching her in the ankle. She fell to the ground and stumbled to get up.
"What is your problem?" She chanced a glance behind her, to see Rachel had hit her head on the corner of a bedpost. She was out cold. Randy took this distraction to snap kick at her knee. She howled in pain.
"What's my problem?" Sam scrambled away from him, trying to get up to defend herself. The throbbing in her knee started to subside, and she tried to stand up. She fell back on her hands and knees, when Randy tried to kick her again. She grabbed his foot before it connected and shoved it ack, as hard as she could. He stumbled back, and she got to her feet. "Everyone around here, all they ever talk about is you. How fucking perfect you are. I'm gonna change that, right now!" He charged at her, slamming her against the wall, the breath knocked out of her. She tried to struggle free, but he was too strong. She struck out her uninjured knee, catching him in the gut. He doubled over briefly, releasing her. She delivered an uppercut to the side of his face, and pushed him away from her.
"Maybe it's because you're stuck up? Who the hell would want anything to do with you? You're a jerk!" He snarled at her, and punched her. Her head snapped to the side, and she turned almost completely around. She spat out blood, biotics flaring. She breathed in, trying to calm herself down. No! I will not bring biotics into this fight! She turned to face Randy again, just in time to see another fist headed straight for her face. She ducked, but a moment too late. His hand clipped the top of her head, and she banged her head against the wall, hard. Her vision started going fuzzy. Before she slipped into unconsciousness, she saw his face, laughing at her.
"That's right, Shepard." He spat her name. "Who's laughing now?" He walked away from her, still laughing.
xXXx
Sam woke up groggy. She tried to sit up, but was gently pushed back down. "Not so fast, young lady. That was quite a nasty hit you took to your head. I want you to rest in that bed for a few hours, while I make sure everything's alright." The doctor smiled at Sam. She sighed, and looked up at the ceiling. The door swooshed open, and Sam could hear footsteps. She tried to lift her head to see who it was, but a sharp pain flashed through her head. She groaned and put her head back on the pillow.
"Hey, Sam." It was Jason.
"Hey, Jason." Seeing Jason, but not Rachel reminded Sam what had happened. "Where's Rachel?"
"She's fine, Sam. A gash on her forehead from the metal post, but nothing major. The doctor's more worried about you than her. That bastard nearly broke your knee." Jason's hand balled up into a fist.
"Jason, calm down. I'm fine, really."
"I should've been there."
"And what would you have done?"
"Beaten him senseless."
Sam shook her head. "No. You're no good in a melee fight. And you know it." She closed her eyes briefly. "He caught me off guard. Otherwise, it would be him laying in a hospital bed." She laughed softly. "What happened to him?"
Jason grinned. "You gave him one hell of a black eye!" Sam laughd at this. "He's meeting with the drill instructor right now. He'll be lucky if they don't throw his ass out." Jason shook his head. "They probably won't though."
"Why?"
"You heard what he said. They're probably thinking that if they threw him out, it would just prove that what he was saying about you was right."
Sam sighed. "They'd be stupid to let him stay though. Think about it. He instigated it, knocked both of us out. The punishment for that will be severe."
Jason nodded. "Yeah, you're probably right. I just wanted to check in on you. I'll let you rest, Sam."
"Thanks, Jason." He waved, and walked out of the room. Sam closed her eyes, intent on getting some sleep, when the door swooshed open again. A male cleared his throat, before stepping to the side of her bed.
"Serviceman Shepard?"
"Yes, that's me, sir." She looked up at him.
"My name is Captain Brooks. I am here to extend an invitation to you."
Sam raised an eyebrow at this. "An invitation? To what, sir?"
"When you finish basic training, I would like you to join my team. I'm looking for strong willed individuals, to be trained into officers. Well, set on the path at any rate." Brooks smiled at Sam. "You don't have to give me an answer right away. Think about it for a bit. When you graduate, then you can let me know. I'll let you rest for now, Shepard."
"Thank you, sir." Thankful, because her eyes were getting heavy again. The last sound she heard was him leaving the room.
A/N: This chapter just kind of flowed out of me lol. I was really tempted to just have Shepard throw Randy out of a window or something, but I think the self restraint shows something of her character. I find Renegade Shep to be badass, but that's just not how I play my Shepards lol. Especially in ME3. It broke my heart playing that Shep. Ah well. I'll try and get another chapter out soon, dear readers. And thank you for reading :)