April 11, 2172. Lauren awoke with a mind full of resolve and excitement. It was her 18th birthday and the day she was enlisting with the Alliance. She felt ready because she had spent the last few months with a personal trainer at a nearby fitness club. He was a retired Alliance man himself and knew what she needed to work on to be in tiptop shape for duty. She knew she would be whipped hard at boot camp, but she didn't want to be completely defeated every night.
"Hey Mom," she said, entering the kitchen.
"Morning, Lauren," her mother, Hannah, yawned, holding a mug of coffee. "So…today is the day. You sure about this?"
"Yeah, I've never doubted it. There's nothing better for a biotic to do, Mom. I've got to do this."
Her mom, smiling warmly, sighed and gave her daughter a pat on the shoulder. "You've always been the determined type. I know you'll do all of us proud. I just know how much I hated when you were gone at that awful BAaT. I'll miss you like crazy, but at least I know you'll be somewhere good for you."
"Mom, maybe it's because of BAaT…" Lauren's voice trailed off, as she poured a bowl of cereal. Thinking about BAaT always reminded her of Kaidan and she'd be lying if she said she never worried about him. She had never heard back from the letter she had written.
"What do you mean?" Hannah asked.
"Well…after all that sh-, I mean, crap I read about biotics, I refuse to be just a tool. Maybe we are different, but so is every single person! That doesn't mean we can't be equals and work together, right?"
Hannah laughed at the young woman chomping down on a kids' cereal, but speaking in such mature terms. "Lauren, humans have been trying to follow that philosophy for millenia. It makes me think I've done an ok job as a mom that my daughter could figure it out in 18 years."
"Oh God, Mom…mush overload."
"Fine," said Hannah, giving Lauren a gentle shove. "Can I at least have a nice birthday dinner with my daughter tonight?"
"Of course, dearest Mother," Lauren said cheekily, as she stood and put her dishes in the autowash. "I want to get to the recruitment office early though. I'll be back later."
Hannah called after Lauren as she walked out the door. "Maybe we can vidcomm your dad later. I know he wouldn't want to miss seeing his girl, the Alliance Marine."
The Alliance recruitment office was pristine, as they usually were. The gray monochromatic color scheme of the décor reminded Lauren of Jump could learn to be at home surrounded by bulkheads again. She approached a handsome man sitting at the front desk. "Hi, I'm Lauren Shepard and I'm here to enlist as a Marine."
The man looked up and smiled. He couldn't have been too much older than she. His blue eyes were kind and she thought his very short hair was probably brown or maybe a dirty blonde. "Great! I've got a few forms here for you to fill out on these datapads. And, a quick question, are you a biotic?" His accent said he wasn't from Chicago. Lauren thought maybe it was Australian.
"Um, yeah, I am. How did you know?" Lauren felt a little giddy under this man's gaze. His smile brightened at her affirmation.
"We just want to make sure everyone in the Alliance reaches their full potential. Biotics are new to humans, so there are new training courses designed specifically for biotics," he said handing her an extra pad. "There's an explanation of each course on there. If you have any questions, just ask me. I'm Corporal Daniel Townsend. Just have a seat over there."
"Thanks," she blushed, and felt immediately stupid. First uniform I run into and I'm all flustered like a silly school girl. She took a seat and started filling out the forms. It took a while before she finally got to the pad with the biotic specialties listing.
"Hmm…Adept, Sentinel, Vanguard," she whispered to herself. Adepts train heavily on biotic use and basic pistol proficiency…no, too much biotics made my head hurt. Sentinels train on tech skills and biotics equally with the same pistol proficiency. This one also does medic training…no way, I don't do tech...or blood. Vanguard…that sounds good. Combines biotics with weapons capability with pistols and shotguns. Assault training and biotic protection puts these soldiers on the front lines of battle. Lauren smiled at this. Be where the action is, that's me. And she checked the box next to Vanguard.
She brought her pads over to Cpl. Townsend, once again feeling self-assured and ready. "I decided to go with the Vanguard training."
His eyebrows lifted. "I haven't seen that many biotics and they've all been men so far. Most of them take the Sentinel route, but I do know of a few who went the Adept course. No offense, but Vanguard is tough, not that any of them are easy." He looked down a second. Lauren thought he was embarrassed.
"Let me go bring these to my supervisor and you wait here, ok? I'll be back soon." Townsend entered an office to the side. He quickly returned holding a pair of dog tags on a chain. "Come with me and we'll get these stamped for you." They walked down a hallway to another room. "My supervisor said you are the first female biotic to enlist here. I've only been in the service for five years, and I've never seen one." He stopped in front of a small machine and placed the tags inside closing the cover. He typed a few instructions on a key pad and the machine began to whirr. "So do you mind?" the young corporal said to Lauren as he looked at her expectantly.
Her face crinkled in confusion. "Mind what?"
A short embarrassed laugh escaped his lips. "I just wanted to see you lift something with your biotics, I guess. It was silly, never mind."
Lauren gave a little giggle. "No, it's fine. Sure." She looked around the room for something to lift. As her body began to glow blue a chair sitting by an empty desk began to rise gently and float toward the pair. Lauren gently set it down and looked back at Townsend, who was smiling broadly.
"I don't know why, but that is amazing every time. Sometimes I wish I were a biotic," he said.
"It's no big deal," said Lauren modestly. The machine beeped and the soldier removed the tags and handed them to Lauren, who placed them over her neck.
"Welcome, Private 2nd Class Shepard," said Townsend, shaking her hand. "You'll be receiving your orders for boot camp in the next few days. I hope I have the pleasure of serving with you some time."
"Me too, Corporal Townsend," Lauren said.
x-X-x
March 24, 2173. Kaidan looked at his bag again to make sure he had packed everything he needed. His father, Aaron, stood in the doorway to his room, the older man's dark brows furrowed. "Being an Alliance man means discipline, son, even for biotics. You may have some special gifts, but they can court martial you just like anyone else if you get out of line."
"Thanks for the pep talk, Dad," retorted Kaidan. "I'm going to because I want to, not because they'll have me. It's my way to help people."
"Just like med school, right? You fucked that up with those drugs," Aaron said harshly. "And the EMT course you only attended for two months, and the police academy you dropped out of before you even started? Kaidan, this isn't just school. The Alliance is a lifetime commitment. You either get old and retire or you screw up and get kicked out. There's no dropping out of this one, and I'll be damned if my only son wrecks his last good chance at something. People don't like quitters, Kaidan."
"All right, Dad. I got it," Kaidan said darkly. "I need to go. Transport's leaving for boot camp in two hours."
Aaron nodded curtly and moved aside to let his son pass. Ivy was waiting at the other end of the hall. "Please try to vidcomm when you can. I know it can be hard, but your father is shipping out next week as well, and I…" Her eyes brimmed with tears.
Kaidan leaned in and hugged his mother. "I know, Mom, I will. I'm only going to be in Arizona anyway. If I have a decent weekend leave, I'll be home."
She placed a kiss on his cheek, then gently touched it with her hand. "Goodbye, Kaidan. Be careful."
"I'll be fine, Mom," he smiled and walked away.
Arizona was not like weather Kaidan had been used to. Everyone was still wearing thick coats in Vancouver and when he got off the transport in Phoenix, he felt overdressed in his summer fatigues. A sheen of sweat instantly covered him as he took his bag and headed for the barracks. Finding his cabin, he threw his stuff on his bunk. Another young man smiled and said hello.
"Robert Jenkins," he said holding out his hand. "I'm from Eden Prime. Actually, this is my first time to Earth. You?"
Kaidan took his hand and shook it. "Kaidan Alenko. I'm from Vancouver. My dad works for Alliance HQ there."
"Oh, military brat! I bet you've seen all kinds of exciting things. You join right out of high school like me?"
"Uh, no," Kaidan said. "I tried out a few things first before I decided this was the right path for me."
"Oh, yeah, I understand," said Jenkins cheerfully. "I just needed to get off that planet. Colony life can be fun, but when it's all you know, it gets boring."
"I've heard it's really nice there."
Jenkins looked thoughtful. "It is. I mean, it really is beautiful. Just like the brochures, but honestly, a farmer's life wasn't for me anymore. I helped my dad and brothers until the day I enlisted, and that was only because an Alliance convoy had made a stop to deliver supplies and refresh troops in the system. Kind of a spur of the moment decision."
"Mine took some time to make." Kaidan thought he might actually get along well with this exuberant fellow.
"I feel like I've been a soldier for ages, even though I only just got here! Want to see action as soon as I can. How about you?"
"Well…" Kaidan paused. He had always been cautious about who he told about his biotic powers, which was pretty much no one, but now that he was in the Alliance… "I'm not much for the front lines, if I can help it. I'm taking the Sentinel route. I'm a biotic."
Jenkins was gobsmacked. "That's tremendous!" he nearly shouted. "I've never met a biotic before. I always thought they were just made up stories! Show me!"
Kaidan hesitated and was grateful when the drill sergeant entered the cabin, barking an order for everyone to stand in line. As they jogged out of the barracks area, the heat weighed on him like lead, making his footfalls feel heavier than they were. By the end of that first day, everyone was completely exhausted, including Jenkins, whose tongue seemed to be exhausted as well. Kaidan slept hard that night, but it was a dream-filled sleep. He killed Vyrnnus again. This time by tearing him apart with his bare hands. As the turian screamed for mercy, Kaidan spat in his face. "You fucking son-of-bitch. You never deserved to live. It was a pleasure to watch you die."
Kaidan awoke drenched in sweat and his heart pounding. Reveille was sounding and the sky was still dark. He hopped out of bed and started dressing. The sleep must have been beneficial to Jenkins who started talking again. "You must have been having some crazy dream! You were talking about like a Vernon or something?"
"I don't remember," Kaidan lied. That was something he had no intention of ever sharing with anyone. The Alliance knew about BAaT and Vyrnnus because they had to, but he was assured it was not an issue with his enlistment. He headed out the door to the mess and hoped to God his mouth would never open again while he was asleep.
A/N: Thank you for the new follows and favorites. Lauren has been an interesting character to write about! More exciting chapters to come! Please let me know what you think! Oh, and I would be remiss if I didn't thank tccarty and galexz for their invaluable help and input! Their suggestions have made this better (I hope!).