Chapter 10: The Alliance

Sorry it's been so long, not much of an excuse, but schools been really difficult. In any event, this will be the final chapter before I start work on the second arc of Kyler's life.

Shepard hoisted his late father's shotgun off his shoulder, and peered into the early morning light. The ground in front of his house was littered with bodies, mostly Batarian, but also some humans. He had been repelling raiders since night had fallen, and they had only recently given up. He wasn't yet sure if the slavers had left, or if they were just regrouping, and were planning on attacking soon, but he couldn't stay at home anymore. He needed to search the town, but first, he had to take care of his father...

Shepard groaned as he tried to stand. He did a couple stretches, and was rewarded with a series of pops as his bones released their tension that had been mounting all through the hellish night.

Shepard took his fathers bloody body in his arms solemnly, and carried the corpse into the woods, near where they had buried his mother. He had only visited his mothers grave a couple times, but was still able to find the stone grave marker with relative ease.

What would have taken hours with a shovel, took mere seconds as Shepard moved large mounds of dirt with his biotics. He stopped when he finally saw the rot-resistant wood of his mothers coffin. Taking up John's body reverently, he set the body on top of the coffin, and crossed his father's hands over his chest.

Shepard looked at the face that had once been full of life, and hope. To Shepard, he had been a role model, as well as his father. He had wanted to stay on Mindoir, and become a farmer like his father. He didn't want to go and explore the galaxy. But that future had been taken away from him. Or perhaps it had never been his future. That possibility had been nothing but smoke and a dream from the day he had been born a biotic.

"Father, I know this isn't the life we wanted, but I will make the ancestors proud, and I will make you proud. I'm sorry I couldn't get there sooner, I'm sorry I couldn't protect you. I promise, I will never let it happen again. I will protect everyone." Shepard gasped for air, but he didn't cry, he'd done that enough last night, and he had nothing left.

Shepard looked past his father's body, and at the faceless coffin it lay on. "Mother, I never got to know you, but I know you loved me, just as I love you. I swear, I will do something to make you proud. You may not have wanted me to be a biotic, but they are the gifts you blessed me with. I know, we all wanted a different future, but this is the one I was given, and it is the one I'll make the most of."

As Shepard began to biotically push the dirt back on to the grave, he began to drone his family motto. "I am a Shepard; a Shepard is a Protector; a Protector helps those who cannot help themselves; I am a Protector." Shepard winced as the last mound of dirt covered the tomb, and amended the motto. "I will not let fear change who I am. I promise."

He closed his eyes to keep them from watering, and held out a single finger, cutting a single line into the rock of the grave marker with his biotics: 'We will not let fear change who we are.'

"I promise." He repeated, as he turned his back on the red dirt that made up his parents grave.

Shepard took a deep breath, and headed to the town. He needed to know what, if anything, was left.

MEMEMEME

Lieutenant Alice Greyson stepped out of the landing shuttle, and surveyed the destruction. The entire colony was deserted. Some of the buildings were still burning, but not a single structure over ten feet tall was left standing.

She knew it was unlikely that they would find any survivors in such a battlefield, but orders were orders.

Greyson let her rifle expand in her hands, and prepared it in case any slavers were still left, and began the tedious and morbid job of searching for any signs of life among the ruins.

Shepard rushed between the buildings, looking for anybody. An almost sadistic part of him was glad to see all the bastards who made his life hell dead. But the part of him that was Shepard pushed such thoughts away quickly. Instead, he let his mind feel the pain of each life destroyed. Just as he had with the raiders last night.

Someone shouted to his left. It sounded deep, and too guttural to be human, followed by an all too human scream.

Shepard entered the building that had once been an office, where the sounds had originated. He creeped up the stairs, and watched as a Batarian slaver tried to restrain a group of slaves.

One of the Batarians, obviously the leader, shouted to his three companions "Get this meat into the crates, and let's get out of here. An Alliance vessel was spotted landing near here."

The slavers moved to do as ordered, and began packing the small group of human into a small crate. Like animals!

Shepard roared, and charged, tendrils of biotic energy crackled around his body madly.

Greyson signaled for her three-man squad to stop. Medic Walker and Corporal Henderson nodded to confirm what she heard. Quietly, they followed the inhuman yell.

Greyson motioned for Walker to cover her and Henderson, while they advanced to the office building. Just as they began to near the entrance, they heard a human roar.

All three soldiers stared in shock as the outer wall exploded outwards in a shower of broken brick and plaster

Greyson looked up through the rather large whole in the second story wall, and watched a kid, no older than eighteen, blast three Batarians from wall to wall in a furry of singularities, pulls, and throws, even after the alien's bodies had long since gone limp.

Shepard approached the hole in the wall he had created when he threw the leader, and stared down at the soldiers below him, all dressed in Alliance uniform. Two of the soldiers looked up at him with shock, and a bit of horror, but the third soldier looked at him with open hate. An expression Shepard had become quite accustomed to since everyone in the colony learned he was a biotic. The third soldier raised his rifle and fired a single shot.

Shepard had become accustomed to hatred, and mean looks, but he certainly wasn't expecting that. If he had not been so exhausted, Shepard might have been able to put up a barrier in time. But after fighting all night, dealing with the emotional stress of his father's death, and having just spent his reserves killing the last slavers, he had nothing left.

Shepard looked down at the wound in his chest blankly, and felt his body fall to the street below him.

Greyson watched as perhaps the only survivor in the entire colony was murdered. By one of her squad members. "What the hell are you thinking? We finally find a survivor and you try to kill him?"

The corporal looked taken aback. "I.. I just... Ma'am he was a biotic, he could killed us with a blink of his eye." He said the word 'biotic' as if it was a perfectly good reason for shooting civilians.

"Dammit corporal who's side are you on? He's just a kid." She rushed over to the body and put her hand to the boys neck. "Walker! I've got a faint pulse. Get that med kit ready! Hold on kid, hold on."

MEMEMEMEME

Two Hours Later

As XO of the Einstein, Greyson should probably be writing a report, or checking up on the rest of the crew. Instead, after giving corporal Henderson a stern warning and a slap on the wrist, she had gone straight to medbay, and announced that she would stay there until she got confirmation that Shepard was going to be alright.

Greyson watched as her Captain, Commander David Anderson, approached the door to medbay. "XO Greyson." He acknowledged her. "You alright?"

Greyson sighed, but nodded. "Yeah, I just feel responsible for his health." She motioned to the child in medbay. "This was my first ground mission as XO, and I already lost control of one of my men in the field."

Commander Anderson patted her shoulder and reassured her. "You just need to get to know your men. Get their trust, and they will listen to you."

"I hope you're right Commander. I'm just worried I wont be a successful officer."

"I have all confidence that you'll do just fine. I wouldn't have hand-picked you as my XO if I didn't feel you were up to the task." Anderson stood up straight, and assumed a more commanding authority. "Now, if you want to become a good XO, you'll have to get to know each and every one of your ground team. So get to it."

"But Commander, what about the patient?"

"I'll look after him, you just talk to your crew. Or do I have to make in an order?"

"No sir! Please, tell me if his condition changes."

Anderson nodded. "Good luck lieutenant."

Shepard opened his eyes, but felt restraints on his arms and legs.

A few days ago: Everything is in a haze. Tools buzzing around me, skin feels like it's on fire. Metal piercing my spin. Bleeding, bleeding, always bleeding. His amp has long been installed, but the tests continue. They are adding various chemicals and technology to my body. He feels restraints holding him down. The tests continue.

"Doctor! He's waking up!"

A clear British voice said "Well sedate him."

"I already did!".

"How much anesthesia did you give him?"

He heard an answer but couldn't make out the words

"He's a biotic. Faster metabolism means it has less of an effect, so up the dosage."

Shepard felt a cold liquid enter his arm, but something in him seemed to resist it instantly. "It's still not working!"

A third voice said "My god, he's showing signs of awareness!"

A fourth voice, male and commanding asked "Can't you just give him another sedative?"

The British voice answered "No Commander, we already gave him near lethal amounts of sedatives. Any more, and we could potentially kill him."

Anderson placed a hand to his ear, and called his XO as Doctor Chakwas and her team restrained their patient.

"Commander? Is something wrong?"

"Lieutenant, you might want to see this. The patient is resisting the sedatives, and is struggling."

His comm went dead in response, and a few seconds later, Greyson burst through the door, and straight to the boys side. "It's alright kid. Your safe here, no body is going to hurt you now." Greyson said, patting his hand softly.

Shepard heard faint words of reassurance, and stopped struggling slightly. "Cerberus, needles. It hurts, I just want the pain to stop."

"It will, but you need to go to sleep. It will all be better soon."

Shepard's eyes fluttered for a moment before closing. "They're dead. All of them." He whispered. "I killed them, be-because I-I didn't... didn't stop it... Shepards... are Protectors..."

"You saved them, Shepard is it? You saved those colonists. Because of you, five colonists are still alive." The reassuring voice told him.

The boy, Shepard, finally relaxed. Chakwas nodded her thanks, and got to work replacing his bandages, and healing the wound from Henderson's gun.

MEMEMEMEME

One Hour Later

Greyson rolled her shoulder, and headed back to the medbay. Chakwas had said it would take an hour or so for the boy to make any signs of recovery, but it was very possible that Shepard would survive, now that he had stopped thrashing.

An exhausted Chakwas was leaning against the door to medbay. "Lieutenant Greyson." Chakwas walked up to her, and continued. "It looks like the boy, I believe you said his name was Shepard? It looks like he'll make a full recovery, but..."

All her hopes were shattered as Chakwas let her sentence dangle. "'But'? Come on doctor, don't leave me hanging, what's wrong?"

Chakwas flinched. She had to say it, but even from a medical standpoint, it was difficult to think about what that boy must have gone through. "While I was cleaning his wounds, I found extensive cybernetic enhancements. I didn't think much about them, until I did a full brain scan. The cybernetics have been grafted to his cortex, some of the implants look recent, but others look as if they were put in his body when he was a baby, and have been growing in his body ever since. I also found extensive element zero throughout his body. As you no doubt know, he is a biotic, but I've never heard of someone surviving with that much eezo in them. Medically, he should be dead."

"So why isn't he?"

"Honestly? I don't know. His brain is also more developed than most human brains, so I have no doubt that he received biotics training."

"Can-can I see him?"

"Of course you can talk to him. The Commander is already in there with him, but I doubt he would mind if you went in."

Anderson walked into the medbay, and immediately saw the young man laying on the bed. Anderson walked to the bedside, and sat down on the edge of the bed. "Hello son, my name is David Anderson. I'm a Commander in the human Alliance."

The young man narrowed his eyes, and said "The others said they were Alliance. For trusting them, I got abducted, and was some science experiment while my colony was destroyed!"

"I understand you are angry, but I just wanted to ask a few questions. I wont hurt you, I promise."

The young man nodded his head, but said nothing.

"So, what is your name?"

He blinked once before answering "Kyler Shepard, sir."

"Do you have any family members off world? Somewhere you can go?"

"No, my dad never talked about any relatives."

"Your dad's on Mindoir? Don't worry, if he's still alive we'll find him."

The kid, Kyler, must have thought that was funny, because the sides of his lips curled up in a morbid smile. "You can look for him if you want, but I already know where he is. Just look for the newly carved grave marker in the forest."

Anderson looked down at the floor. "I'm sorry, and your mother?"

"She died when I was ten."

Great, now we have to deal with an orphan, with no known relatives. Just then, Greyson entered the medbay, and took Shepard's hand in hers. "Hey there Kyler, how are you?"

Shepard just nodded, and mechanically replied that he was fine. "I know this is hard for you to handle, but we're doing our best to find anymore survivors."

Tears began to build behind Shepard's eyes as the shock began to wear off. "Th-the entire colony can't be gone." He whispered. "There were hundreds of people on Mindoir. They couldn't have taken everyone!"

"They didn't." Greyson assured him. "You are still alive, and the five would-be-slaves you saved are all alive."

"Was there a purple Asari with them? Or a girl my age named Sam?"

"We didn't find anyone like that, but we are still looking. It's very possible they are still alive." Technically, it was Anderson's job to deal with any survivors, but Kyler seemed to trust Greyson. Plus, his XO needed to get used to dealing with people suffering from PTSD.

"I hope so."

Anderson didn't like the direction the conversation was headed. The only outcome would be Kyler either getting angry, and denying the possibility that the colony was destroyed, or he would break down into tears, or both. "Who is Sarona?"

Shepard got a faraway look in his eyes and replied "She was my biotics tutor, and one of the few people who supported me."

Greyson winced as he used the pass tense. "You know, if she is a biotic, she could still be alive."

"I know, and I hope so. But even if she is alive, I am no longer her pupil. I completed my tutorship."

Greyson. Meet me in my office, we have to discuss other matters." Anderson siad, and turned back to Shepard. "We'll be back in just a little while OK? You try to get some rest."

Shepard nodded his head, and lay back on the single medical pillow on the bed. "Yes sir."

Anderson nodded, and guided his XO to his office by the shoulder. The door slid shut behind them, and he motioned for her to take a seat as he did so himself. "So, what do you think about this kid Greyson? This is off the record, so feel free to speak your mind."

The XO nodded sadly. "I don't know. He has no living family or friends. He lost everything in that raid, what kind of life can he lead? His life is already over before he ever got the chance to live it. It may be melodramatic, but he'll miss out on everything other people enjoy."

"Unfortunately, you may be correct." Anderson agreed. "What you recommend we do with him?"

She didn't respond for a moment, but eventually sighed. "I'm not sure there is anything we can do. Unless... Commander, how old is he?"

A small smile passed across Anderson's face. Greyson might just make a good officer one day. "The colony census was destroyed in the attack. For all we know, he could be 18, and able to join the Alliance. And even if he isn't old enough, he could still be sent to a military academy on the basis that he is a biotic."

"Do you want me to talk to him?" Greyson asked.

"If you want. Lieutenant Greyson, give me his answer in half an hour. I need to get these reports filed before Hackett takes my head for failing to file an official document to the Alliance.

Greyson nodded sympathetically. Ever since Hackett had been promoted to second in command of the Arcturus fleet, he had been barking orders like no one else. "Yes sir." She said, and saluted crisply, before turning on her heels, and heading back to the medbay.

Shepard raised his eyes to watch Greyson, as she moved to his bedside, as slowly as she dared. "Kyler-" A short sigh. "Kyler," she started again "the colonies records were destroyed in the raid, so we don't know your age. Would you mind telling us?"

"Why?" He demanded. He wanted to be just a faceless kid, and be left alone. So the less people knew about him, the better.

Greyon patted his arm patronizingly. "Anderson and I were talking about what you could do when you recovered, and I have a proposition for you."

If anyone has any advice for my next story, tell them to me in your reviews. So far, all I have is that Shepard will make a name for himself on Elysium. Originally, I was going to write about his time in boot camp, but I'm just going to skip right to the Blitz unless someone really wants me to write about his time in boot camp.