Saren growled, a talon scratching at the arm rest of his seat. He heard the sound of heels echoing from down the hall. It was that Matriarch, Benezia, he thought. She was coming to give him bad news. She was taught to not enter unless she had to report an issue. The sound grew louder and he set his glass of water down, afraid his anger would cause him to break it. He sat and waited for her to step in. It felt like an eternity. Saren could only imagine what the whore was going to tell him. Bomb didn't go off maybe? Survivors saw him? He felt anger rise in the back of his throat like vomit. He twitched with impatience. Finally, the door opened and a cold wind broke through the muggy room. The sound of her heels stopped and she cleared her throat.
"We identified the ship that touched down on Eden Prime. The Normandy. A Human Alliance vessel."
Alliance, he thought. Disgusting.
"It was under the command of Captain Anderson."
The anger on the back of his throat seemed to double. He was afraid that he would retch.
"They managed to save the colony."
Saren's talon squeezed the arm rest. He felt his joints crack and a nail break. "And the beacon?" he asked with a hiss.
"One of the humans may have used it."
Saren launched forward out of his seat and screamed, he tossed aside his dining tray and stomped around the room like an enraged Krogan. He grabbed his glass and turned around and slung it at the woman. She calmly tilted her head to the side and avoided it. Saren roared and stomped over to her. He grabbed her face with his talons and squeezed. She merely stared at him. He stopped squeezing. He looked at her. Deep into cerulean eyes. "This human must be eliminated."
One of his sharp fingers curved in between her breasts and her shirt. With one move, her shirt was split open. He kept dragging down his claw until her dress was off. He needed something to take his anger out on. And Benezia just stood there and stared. Just as she had been taught to do.
"A..i...n... ar...u...w..king up?"
Even in her delirious state, Shepard finds something wrong with the woman's sentence. She wasn't supposed to call her that. No one was. It wasn't her name. Not anymore. The woman she mentioned was dead. She wasn't that woman, she was-
"Shepard", she mumbles, trying to will herself awake, "My name... Is Shepard. Call me Shepard." Her eyes open to the ambient blue glow of the Normandy.
"Right. I read the psyche profile," the doctor drones, "I had forgotten about your name preference. My apologies, Commander." The doctor's voice was sincere.
Shepard groans, holding her head as she sits up on the metal slab the Alliance thought was accommodating. "What happened?" she bites out.
"I'll tell you, but you have to answer a question first- medical reasons and whatnot- what do you remember?" asks Chakwas.
She takes a moment to organize her thoughts, "We were on Eden Prime. We were sent to recover a Prothean beacon but ended up fending off Geth. We met up with a young woman named Ashley Williams from the 212. She helped us track down the beacon through droves of the synthetics and even through a bomb zone. Nihlus died and we rendered Jenkins unconscious." she takes a deep breath, "And the beacon pulled me in. That's all I remember really."
The doctor absentmindedly taps her finger against her chin as she contemplates. "Impressive. Your memory is intact and you're physically fine. Mentally, however, I still remain a little bit concerned. Your brain is emitting an unusual amount of beta waves and I also noticed an increase in rapid eye movement. I believe whatever happened with the beacon enticed some intense dreaming... Do you remember any of it?"
"..No." It was half a lie. She remembered her nightmare that she had every night but that was personal... as for the other dream... She only remembers a little bit... something about the Prothean's demise. Other than that, she was stumped.
"Hmm. I better add this to my report. It might-"
The door to the sick lab's door hisses open. A familiar captain makes his way through, eyes darting between patient and doctor as he halts to a stop before them. "How's our XO holding up?" he asks the doctor.
"She seems a little shaken but other than that I'd say she's fine."
"Excellent. Mind if we speak alone?"
"Of course. I'll stand outside", she says as she hands Anderson the medical report and mutely carries herself out. She stops at the entrance, "And Commander", she says, grabbing both of their attentions, "You're baby is fine." Shepard nods a thank-you as the doctor disappears.
Shepard slides out of the "bed", standing against it as she prepares herself for what Anderson had to say about the mission; given the circumstances, she didn't expect it to be positive or motivating.
"How are you feeling?" he asks as he sifts through the report.
"Like shit."
Anderson's voice takes a serious tone, "I'm not going to lie Shepard, things are not looking good. The council's demanding an answer for Nihlus's death, the Prothean beacon was destroyed, and our sponsor's son is headed to a psyche hospital. How did it escalate to that, Commander?"
Shepard peers out of the corner of her eye to see the boy asleep on the neighboring slab. "Intel dropped the ball, sir. We were sent into a colony with next to no information about what we were going to find there. The Geth blindsided us- it was a miracle that we got out of there at all!"
"You, Kaidan, Ashley and Jenkins got very lucky down there, Commander. Wiping out the Geth, disarming that bomb... that's medal-worthy, Shepard. If it were up to me, I'd give about five goddamned medals for what you did, but it's not. We're lucky that ambassador Udina was able to secure a hearing with the council otherwise they would have tried you for the murder of Nihlus."
"But he was dead when we showed up!"
"I know that, Shepard! The council wants someone to blame and he was under your command!"
Shepard buries her face in her hands, "Shit", she groans. "Just one mission. One mission during maternity leave and I'm labeled a Spectre killer."
"Not yet. We're going to have Udina speak for you. We were originally going to have Kaidan and Ashley testify but the Ambassador advised against it."
"You brought the Chief onboard?"
"Yes. I've reassigned her to the Normandy." he hands her a datapad, "Here's her dossier. I imagine you're going to have time to read it."
"Maybe a little bit too much time... Good move bringing her onboard; She's a good soldier." She sets the dossier beside her.
"I heard you were a little rough on the girl back on Eden Prime." He states. Kaidan must have told him; Ashley seems a little bit too proud for that.
"Yeah, she was too outspoken."
"So you cracked down on her?" He asks.
She shakes her head, "No, I did not 'crack' down on her. I... informed her that I strictly stick by the book and do not tolerate anything less. It wasn't my intention to intimidate her. But going back to what you said before- the lieutenant and the chief were going to testify; what about Jenkins? What is he going to do?" She asks as she looks at the boy.
"Every time we tried to wake him, he'd start screaming. We're keeping him down for everyone's safety. Probably best not to bring him to the council."
"Every time?" She asks, "How long have I been out?"
Anderson sits down in the doctor's chair across from her, "About six hours. There were a lot of instances where we thought you were waking up but you were just talking in your sleep."
Oh God..."Did I say anything legible?" She asks, already fearing the answer.
"...No." He stands and makes his way for the door, "We have about two hours before we jump through the mass relay, from there it should take about two minutes to reach the Citadel. I expect you to be in the airlock by the time we dock, Commander."
She closes her eyes and tries to take this all in. She was pressured into taking a mission, accused of murder, and she was responsible for the Alliance's sponsor's son who is now headed to the psyche ward... And she was pregnant. Too many things to think about...
She stands and strides out of the sick lab, bumping past Chakwas as she makes her way to the gym. She needed a run; something to take her mind off of things. An onyx-haired woman nods at her dismissively as she pasts, likely trying to keep her distance from the Commander. She nods back as she steps into the gym.
The gym is a bit bigger than she expected but only a little. It was maybe as big as two hospital rooms placed side by side. Four treadmills stand near the entrance facing the walls, two on one side and two on the other. Behind those lies an adjustable bench press machine, a leg lift table and a dumbbell rack; all of which mirror inch for inch on the other side. In the back jut two walls toward each other. The one on the right bears the Venus symbol for women, the left, and a Mars symbol for men. She hears water running in the other locker room as she walks into her own.
The blue lit, tiled room is small. The shower faucets hang stiffly from the ceiling above the showering area. She heads toward the far end of the room to the workout clothes closet; she opens it and slips out of her Alliance blues and into Alliance-branded sweats.
She steps out from the locker room. A shirtless Lieutenant steps out from the opposite room clad in a pair of sweatpants as well.
"Commander!" He salutes, "I didn't realize you were up."
"At ease, Lieutenant. This isn't an inspection."
The Lieutenant visibly relaxes, "How... are you feeling...?" He asks, twiddling with his fingers.
I'm being convicted of murder. I can barely sleep. I want to go home. "Fine. I'm fine", she lies through her teeth. "I'm just here to run for a few minutes. Get my mind off things for a little while."
The two continue toward their desired workout station; Shepard's being the treadmill and Kaidan the bench press. "I hear you. It was pretty rough down there", he says as his bare back settles against the bench, mahogany eyes peering up at the woman as she sets her datapad on the treadmill's table.
The treadmill starts to move at a quick pace. "What about you? I noticed you were a little distracted after we defused that bomb. Put too much pressure on your L2?" she asks.
The shirtless Sentinel looks up at her, surprise marking his face. "Chakwas tell you about my implant?"
"No, it was in your dossier. Very impressive", she says as she jogs in place. The man lowers the two-hundred pound bar onto his chest. The Commander's eyes are drawn to how the muscles shift and tremor as he pushes the bar back up. She mentally scolds herself for looking. That part of her life was over. If it wasn't, she would be all over him... or at least that's what people used to say to her when she was a teen. People said she was flirty, and she might have been, but those days died a long time ago with the old town of Edge and the people inhabiting it.
"I'm fine, but thank you for the compliment, Shepard" he grunts as he pushes the bar up, "Means a lot coming from the Hero of Elysium."
God how she hates that title. By definition, it is inaccurate. A hero is literally stated to be someone with super human abilities and a semi-divine origin; both of which are not related to her in any way. She is an incredibly weak biotic. The mass effect fields she generates are extremely thin and almost harmless. No matter what implant a doctor slips into her skull, the results are always the same; weak. Some Alliance therapists had directed her to Asari tutors, all of which would say that she's "too troubled" or "too distracted". So she eventually gave up on implants altogether. She couldn't consider her biotics to be super human ability. Her tech skills were a little bit more than decent, but anyone who studies omni-tools can be. She isn't as strong as she should be on the field; instead she relies on her intelligence and planning to get her through battles. She, by definition of the word, was not a hero.
"I was doing my job, Lieutenant."
"Kaidan", he says trying to be polite, "please."
She remembers his dossier saying something about Kaidan's social nature. Damned if he isn't already proving it right. She closes him out, "Sorry, Lieutenant. I'm not big on being social. I prefer our partnership to be formal."
The Grayed-brown-haired man solemnly nods as he lowers the bar onto his muscular chest. "I understand, Commander", he grunts as he pushes up. The bar locks into the holder above his head. The Sentinel rises to his feet and makes for the locker room.
Shepard thought for a moment that Kaidan had been upset but when about two minutes pass, the man walks out from behind the wall with no signs of negativity decorating his face. Shepard turns her attention back to the datapad in front of her as the Lieutenant walks to the door.
Ashley Williams
As per Captain Anderson's orders, Ashley has been transferred from the 212 to the Normandy. Alliance officials as well as the Eden Prime government have been notified of this transaction. All parties have given their permission.
Ashley Williams is a fearsome and brave soldier. She showed an interesting display of courage when she signed up for the ANI (Alliance Nerve Improvement). A procedure that implants the patient with nano-technology in the oculars, the adrenal nerve and the brain; a procedure that holds a high rate of inducing a vegetative state. Many of her peers hold her in high regard for that.
While a good soldier, she does have the tendency to grow overconfident and cocky. She's vain and can learn a thing or two about the chain of command. If someone could whip her into shape, we'd recommend that she join the N7.
Powers
Adrenaline Rush.
Marksman.
Overkill.
Carnage.
Weapon training:
Assault rifles.
Preferred armor:
Heavy
End of dossier
Kaidan stops at the entrance to the gym, he turns on his heel, "Oh and Commander", he says, "That bomb you defused? Captain Anderson brought it onboard for study and repurpose. Just thought you'd want to know."
"Thank you, Lieutenant", she says as she increases the treadmill's speed. Kaidan nods and leaves, leaving Shepard to her own devices.
Brought on board? She ponders this. It is definitely worthy of research, especially when they want to learn more about Geth technology, but bringing it onboard seems a little bit too dangerous. The most advanced warship in the Alliance is lugging around a bomb that could quite easily tear a large crater into a planet? Knowledge has a price, they say.
She turns her treadmill off, her lungs burn slightly as she breathes. The Commander gathers her belongings and makes for the shower.
From the cockpit window, a brilliant blue relay rapidly grows closer. A tendril of light springs forth from the ancient technology and envelopes the Normandy; almost like a Lightning Strike. Fields of Light caress the hull, as the engines hum in anticipation. The cobalt glow disappears instantaneously as they are thrusted into another nebula countless light years away. The black void of space is replaced with thick, violet gas clouds. The Normandy flies through ambient dust as it approaches its destination. In the distance, a metal arm protrudes from behind the hot hydrogen gas; and then another. Soon, three more follow suit as the Citadel's beautiful, Prothean architecture soars into view.
The Normandy zooms by the Citadel flagship, the Destiny Ascension. Its hull is thicker than any Alliance dreadnought. Its pearlescent metal stretches across its four wings.
"Look at the size of that ship!" exclaims Ashley.
Kaidan steps next to Ashley as Shepard watches both of them marvel over the Asari dreadnought that regularly blazes by her studio apartment. She contemplates over this fact. Maybe she got so caught up with distracting herself that she forgot how beautiful the ship is. She doesn't even remember the last time she admired the galactic view from the wards... "The Ascension. Flagship of the citadel fleet", Kaidan says.
"Well size isn't everything", says the cocky pilot.
A wry smile pulls at the Chief's lips, "Why so touchy, Joker?" She asks, amused by Joker's word choice.
The pilot throws back a mocking expression, "I'm just saying you need firepower too."
She averts her eyes away from the window and back to the pilot. She gives him an incredulous look, "Are you kidding? Look at that monster! Its main gun can rip through the barriers on any ship in the Alliance fleet!"
The Lieutenant grunts in agreement, "Good thing it's on our side then."
"Agreed", the Commander says, breaking her streak of silence.
Joker's hands fly over the holo-control as he hails an operator. "Citadel Control, this is SSV Normandy requesting permission to land", he says instinctively.
"Stand by for clearance Normandy."
"Saren's hiding something! Give me more time! Stall them!" yells a Turian clad in a C-sec uniform.
Shepard, alongside Ambassador Udina comes to a stop in front of the arguing Turians.
"Stall the Council?" asks the other Turian, "Don't be ridiculous." He turns on his heel and briskly walks away, "Your investigation is over, Garrus. Go home."
Garrus shakes his head and mumbles a few choice words. His eyes catch the group of Humans staring at him. A little bit embarrassed, he straightens his stance and nods to Udina, "Ambassador Udina. It's a pleasure."
"You mentioned Saren", says the political man.
"Yes. I've found information that Saren was not where he said he was when Eden Prime was attacked", Garrus speaks through his mandibles, "I came to present my findings to the Council when you made the formal accusation."
If this Turian knows anything about Saren, then it's vital that they present it in her hearing. The Ambassador apparently reasoned along similar lines, "Do you still have the proof? We need everything we can get for Shepard's trial. Anything to prove that she didn't kill Nihlus."
His head snaps to the woman, "They're accusingyouof Nihlus's murder?" he asks, his mandibles agape in shock.
Shepard shrugs her shoulders, "They want to find the one responsible. I was the only one there so I catch the blame." She takes a deep breath to cool her nerves, "I'd call it Human nature... But it seems it's universal."
The Turian looks down, "I'm so sorry, Commander..."
Udina brings himself back into the conversation, "So do you have the information or not, Vakarian?" He asks impatiently.
"... I... don't", he breathes ashamedly, "I didn't have a warrant to search him or his information. He's a Spectre so everything he touches is out of reach. That's why I was arguing with Executor Pallin; I was trying to buy more time to search what I could... It didn't work out- but Commander", Garrus walks forward and captures Shepard's hand in his own. His gunmetal blue eyes pierce into her hazel eyes as he speaks, "I will do everything I can to make sure the truth comes out."
The two hold the uncomfortable stare for a moment before Shepard speaks, "Thank you, Officer Vakarian."
"Shepard, were going to be late to your hearing", Udina says, breaking the two of them up.
"Yes of course", speaks Garrus as he backs away, "I'll go track down some other leads. Best of luck, Commander", as he paces toward the elevator, giving Shepard a final nod as he did so.
The humans continue towards the Council, but not before Shepard looks back over her shoulder to give her new acquaintance one last glance. She sees Vakarian doing the same.
"While we do not like to convict Spectre candidates of murder, Ambassador", speaks the Salarian Councilor Valern, "We have no other choice. Shepard is the only one who could have done this."
"-Blaming one of our best Spectres doesn't help your case much, either", the Turian Councilor Sparatus interjects brashly.
"And how do you have proof that it was Shepard and not the Geth?" Questions Udina.
Shepard could barely stand this idiocy. The meeting was pointless; from the beginning of the hearing, the Council made it very clear that they were going to convict Shepard regardless of what they said. She wanted to argue but Udina had made her swear to speak only when spoken to.
Tevos, the Asari Councilor, takes her turn to speak, "Because from the reports-yourreports, the Geth used their own brand of assault rifles, shotguns, and sniper rifles. In the mission statement, Captain Anderson said that Nihlus had died from a heavy pistol wound. And if Shepard's dossier is correct, her weapon "Faith" is a heavy pistol. Is that correct, Commander?"
"Yes... It is, madam Councilor", she hisses through her teeth.
"Then it is settled", Tevos speaks, her voice taking a cold tone, "Shepard; we the Council have found you guilty of murdering Nihlus. We charge you with murder and treason. We will transfer you to a high-security prison where you will await death row. Lethal injection." The guards cooly walk towards the woman as Tevos finishes.
Shepard's heart stops.No... No! No no no no no no no NO!She was pregnant! They couldn't put her on death row! They didn't have enough evidence to sentence her to death! She faces the red-faced politician, her expression begging him for help.
"She can find proof!" Udina screams. The guards stop, taken back by the sudden outburst. The Councilors glare at the Ambassador as he continues, "She can find leads. We can find proof that she's innocent... Just give us three days!" He begs.
The Councilors look at each other briefly; Tevos gestures for the others to come close. They huddle up to discuss the situation. Shepard and Udina try to listen in as Sparatus raises his voice.
"No!" He yells, "I want to see justice!"
"Think, Sparatus", Valern sighs, "The Human's will revolt if they hear we executed their Spectre candidate when she offered to find evidence. The Terra Firma party's recruitment numbers will increase until they outnumber us! I'm not saying we let her get away. We need to give her three days, that way we can inform the public that she couldn't turn up any evidence."
The Turian huffs as Tevos turns her attention to Shepard and her advocate, "Shepard you have three days to turn up any new evidence. We will hold a meeting then to decide your fate. Do you understand?"
She doesn't know how she's going to find evidence in such a short period of time. She hasn't even started looking for proof and her life's on the line.Routine Mission my ass."Yes, madam Councilor. I understand and agree to this."
"Very well. This meeting is adjourned."
The Ambassador and Commander step down the stairs of the Council. As they come upon the landing, Udina holds up a hand in front of her, "Shepard, do you have any ideas on where to start?"
"No... Right now I just want to head home. It's been a long day..."
"I understand. I'll contact Captain Anderson and explain our situation."
Shepard treads softly across the Ward's metal flooring. The door to her apartment lies just feet away, a cardboard box sits at the opening. She reads what it says and despite the situation she finds herself in, a smile pulls at her lips.
Post-notes:
I'm tired. What's in the box. I know. But you don't ah..Ha...Ha... Yawn.
I found it pretty unrealistic how the Council has just a "Well that sucks" attitude about Nihlus's death... I finally introduced Garrus! Yay! My sister is happy. She's in love with him... So I should be introducing all (except Liara) my crew mates in the next chapter...? I don't know yet. I'm going to put my original squad mate in soon... Maybe about 1-3 chapters after this... You'll like them.
Review. Follow. Like my page on Facebook (Mass Effect by Celestiallight) so you can see my inspiration and concept art I leave around there.
Ps. I heard about the Citadel DLC for ME3! Oh I can't wait! I hope they add longer hair and more one-piece armors... But they probably won't :(
Jackasses.
Love,
CelestialLight1117