Chapter 16, the age of Mindior Shepard! Whoa man, that's deep… What am I doing? Let's just get to the story. As always I own nothing, Bioware owns Mass Effect, and I hope you continue to enjoy!

Ch.16: Echoes of the Past Part 2

Normandy SR-2

Commander Shepard

"Well, I guess I'll start a little before Akuze itself. You should probably know what was going on before I became the famous 'Sole Survivor.'" Shepard said as he held Tali in his arms. Remembering Akuze and everything that had happened leading up to it was about as easy as remembering Mindior... It definitely wasn't the finest time of his life, but Tali deserved to know; he was marrying her after all.

Shepard stroked Tali's side and continued. "Ok, so I'll start from the day before..."

Flashback

Vancouver, Earth. Shepard's apartment

Lieutenant Shepard

"You just don't care about me do you!?" Screamed Shepard's soon-to-be ex-girlfriend Jennifer.

"What, just because I'm out there actually DOING something for humanity you think I don't care about you? So I missed the last three shore leaves, I had missions to do and they needed me!"

Jennifer was crying and she grew enraged at Shepard's words. "DOING SOMETHING FOR HUMANITY!? Are you saying working at a bank isn't doing something for humanity? I'm helping people use their money and use it wisely. I'm not sending them off to kill aliens for no reason!"

Shepard's anger bubbled higher. "No reason!? Those FUCKERS are out there killing our men, raping our women and children, and trying to make humanity go extinct! I'M out there stopping that from happening and that makes me the fucking monster? Do you not KNOW what happened to my family!?"

Jennifer grew even angrier, "Yes, it makes you the monster! YOU'RE the one who beats up every alien he meets in a fucking bar, YOU'RE the one does nothing but brag about how many aliens he's killed, and YOU'RE the one who does nothing but give humanity a bad name in the galaxy!"

Shepard laughed a dark laugh. "A bad name? I go out there to protect you and all of the things I care about and if it means a few aliens have to die along the way, so be it! The galaxy would be better off without those fuckers anyway! Have you ever seen a Salarian? They look like slimy frog people! And those Turians look like fucking velociraptors mixed with a porcupine! And good god all Batarians are ugly as fuck terrorists and slavers, you know that!"

Jennifer shook her head and glared through her tears. "No, they look like people just like you and me!"

Shepard laughed again. "People!? You really think those... those things are people? I mean have you seen a Krogan? They're just fat, ugly toads! Or Asari, those things are the scariest looking squid women I've ever seen! I don't understand the crazy fetish people have for them, I mean when you kiss them those tentacles could wrap around your face and they could eat your face off! And don't even get me started with Quarians, I definitely don't want to know what's under those thing's masks. I bet they eat their mates alive or some crazy shit, and that's why they wear those suits! Oh, and then there's those big, stupid jellyfish things, the Hanar. Plus they have that useless slave race that does their every bidding, the Drell. And the Elcor make no fucking sense at all when you try to talk to one! Not to mention how they smell... No, none of those things are people at all!"

Jennifer yelled and grabbed her bags. "I'm so DONE with you! I tried, but you're the biggest racist bastard I've ever seen in my life!" She opened the door and turned around. "Have a shitty life asshole!" The door slammed shut behind her.

"Fucking bitch..." Shepard mumbled as he began cleaning up his apartment. No one seemed to understand; hell, no one COULD understand! Those aliens killed his family and did nothing but hurt humanity; it was his job to kill them and he knew exactly how to do it. While doing biotics training Shepard had studied the physiology of every alien species; every weak point he knew by heart and he used his skills efficiently. His alien kill count is through the roof; they should be giving him a medal for ridding the galaxy of those ugly creatures. 'They don't deserve the air they breathe.' He thought.

The vid comm began to beep and Shepard walked over to it.

He activated it and the face of Tony 'Red' Paterson appeared on the screen. "Sheps, get over here and bring Jennifer! I just set you guys up for an amazing double date tonight with yours truly!"

Shepard shook his head. "Red uh... That's nice and all but that's not gonna happen."

Red smiled devilishly. "What, you have a 'special' night planned or something?"

Shepard chuckled at his friend. "No, no... Jennifer just stormed out over some stupid shit. I think it's final this time though."

Red sighed at Shepard. "Sheps, what are you doing man!? She's a BANKER and her father owns the bank! Do you not know how lucky you are? How awesome your life would be if you just married her?"

Shepard laughed his dark laugh. "Yeah, it'd be full of..." Shepard began impersonating Jennifers voice. "'Oh, look at how nice that Turian and Human are together! Isn't this the most romantic vid you've ever seen? Oops, I broke a nail! Oh no, you didn't call or send a message for three weeks, where were you? Aliens are people toooooo.'" Shepard coughed as he returned to his normal voice. "And all that other dumb shit. I'm glad she left, she's just far too annoying for me."

Red sighed again. "Shepard, you ever stop to think she might be right?"

Shepard looked at Red for a second and then started to laugh. After a minute he wiped a tear from his eye. "Red, you're the funniest guy on Earth, have I ever told you that?"

Red glared at Shepard. "At any rate you're still invited if you want to come, we're going to the usual bar. Toombs said he was coming too. Maybe you two can find a new chick I guess, and you can score on the rebound or something."

Shepard smiled at Red. "As long as you don't try to set me up with another Asari I just might."

Red rolled his eyes. "Let that go dude! See you there at 20:00?"

"Alright Red, I'll be there."

The vid comm shut off and Shepard went to the bathroom to get ready. After taking a shower and getting dressed, he began walking out the door. Shepard then had a thought. 'I better be prepared!' Shepard spun around and grabbed his pistol. He was a soldier, and no one would question him carrying a gun...

Vancouver, Earth: a local bar. 20:10

Shepard walked into the bar and looked around the room. He quickly saw the only man in the room with red hair sitting on a bar stool next to a raven haired woman. They were talking to each other and then Shepard saw Toombs a few feet away throwing darts.

Shepard sat down next to Red and Red turned to him. "Shepard, hey! You're late man!"

Shepard nodded to the bartender. The bartender began to make his favorite drink and Shepard turned to Red. "Sorry, couldn't get a taxi fast enough. Who's the raven-haired beauty?"

The woman smiled slightly and Red turned to her. "This is my special lady Ali. Ali, this is the 'great Lieutenant Shepard!'" Red said with a comical face.

Shepard chuckled at his friend's silly face. "Yeah, well that 'great Lieutenant' has saved your ass dozens of times Red, try to respect him a little bit."

Red put on a pretend serious face and saluted. "Yes sir, commanding officer Shepard sir!"

Toombs looked over and shouted at Red. "Hey Red, not in the bar man, we don't need to worship the ground he walks on everywhere."

Red smiled and put his arm down. "Sorry Corporal, thought the Lieutenant here wanted us to worship him all the time."

Toombs turned back to the darts. "Only on missions please, here he's just another drunk soldier."

Red shook his head and turned back to Shepard. "So Sheps, see anyone you like? You can't get anything just sitting up here next to ole Red, no one would notice ya with me so close."

Shepard smiled and sighed at his friend, "You're insane you know that, obviously all of the women would flock to me. I'm the prime example of humanity." Shepard put his hand on Red's head and ruffled his hair.

"Hey, not the hair man!" Red said as he brushed Shepard's arm away. Shepard chuckled again and he turned to his drink. The bartender had just set it down, and it was now time for Shepard to enjoy his favorite drink with his friends...

A few drinks later and Shepard continued to sit next to Red. Jennifer was just so... stupid, what the hell was wrong with her? Shepard turned from the bar and looked at the door. The sight Shepard saw bothered him immensely.

A Salarian and a blonde human woman had walked in the doorway. It was obvious to everyone except for Shepard that they were simply friends or coworkers just sharing a drink, but to Shepard...

The Salarian and the blonde woman sat down. They were talking quietly and chuckling at each other's jokes. Shepard glared at them and he set his glass down on the bar. There were no other aliens in the bar...

Shepard got up and began to walk towards them; he began hearing their conversation.

The Salarian hadn't noticed Shepard yet and was speaking to the blonde with his back to him, "Are you sure this place serves other species too? I don't really feel very welcome here, there are only Humans and..." Shepard then grabbed the alien's chair and spun him around. The Salarian yelped and his eyes widened at the sight of the brawny marine.

Shepard kept his glare on the Salarian. "That's because you're not welcome here."

The Salarian gulped at Shepard but didn't move. The blonde had stood up and tried to push Shepard away. "Hey, leave him alone asshole! He's with me!"

Shepard smiled darkly at the blonde. "What, want to show the world your little frog toy lady?"

The blonde's glare intensified. "And what if I did?"

Shepard grabbed the pistol he had and pointed it at the Salarian. "That would mean Mr. Kermit would be at the end of his pathetic little life now wouldn't it... Salarian."

The Salarian's eyes had grown even wider and he responded in a terrible panic,."Please, don't hurt me! I've never touched her! We just work together and I'm her only alien friend and we thought why not go out for a drink! It wasn't my idea please!" The Salarian then cowered at Shepard's dark glare.

"Hey Sheps what are you doing man!?" Red had gotten up and came rushing up to the scene. He stood in front of Shepard and pushed him back a little. Shepard put the gun back in its holster and the Salarian moved out of his chair only to fall to the ground. The Salarian quickly scampered up and ran for the door.

"Asshole!" The blonde said as she rushed out after the Salarian.

Red turned back to Shepard and glared at him. "Dude, you seriously HAVE to stop picking fights with aliens! What is wrong with you man? You could get court-marshaled for something like that!"

Shepard laughed. "Court-marshaled for doing the right thing? Did you not SEE that Salarian eying up that girl?"

Red shook his head. "Shepard, that's complete bullshit and you know it! Salarians don't even have sex drives!"

Shepard rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, sure. Let's get back to our nice, peaceful, alien-free drinks shall we?"

Shepard began to walk back to the bar, but Red stopped him. "Shepard, stop! You can't keep dancing around this. You're a great officer and a great man, but damn it you've got to let your prejudice go or a lot of people are going to get hurt!"

Shepard shook his head and sat down at the stool. "Only aliens would get hurt if that's what you mean. What do you think they're people too or some dumb shit?"

Red glared at Shepard. "And what if I do?"

Shepard laughed again. "Red, seriously, you're the funniest guy on Earth! Please stop, you're killing me."

Red's glared darkened. "I'm not joking Shepard, you need to stop this shit right now or I don't think I can be your buddy anymore."

Shepard's eyes darkened and he turned to Red. "Red, I suggest you keep your personal feelings to yourself and stop kidding around. Oh, and I'll just give you a quick reminder in case you forgot. I'm the best damned biotic in the Alliance, there's no way in hell they'd court marshal me for a bar fight, and you know it."

Red let out his hand for Ali and she stood up. "Just... Sheps, think about what you just did for the night and don't talk to me until tomorrow. After you've thought about it clearly, then you might be able to reconcile yourself. Come on Ali, let's go." Red and Ali held hands and walked to the door.

"Fine, leave! Who needs you?" Shepard yelled as they walked out the door. Toombs had watched the scene, and sat down next to Shepard.

Toombs eyed his drink for a minute before speaking. "You know, Shepard... Red might be right."

Shepard grabbed his glass and threw it at the ground. He glared at Toombs for a moment before walking out the door.

The bartender watched Shepard as he walked out, and then turned to Toombs. "Ya know if that kid would get his head out of his ass he might be able to do some good for us all. He's one of the most powerful biotics the Alliance has ever seen... I'm just glad he has a tab here, otherwise I'd be completely pissed he broke my glass and threatened my customers. I'll just have to charge him for it now."

Toombs just shook his head and looked at his drink. He wasn't looking forward to getting deployed tomorrow...

The next day: Vancouver Space Dock

"Alright men, our job is simple. Akuze is a small human colony that has gone completely dark. No one has seen anyone come off the planet for a few days. Our job is to go there and find out why. Understood?" Shepard stood before his 49 marines. Red was near the front row and seemed to have completely forgotten about their slightly drunken exchange of words yesterday. Toombs seemed a little uncomfortable, but it was barely noticeable. They were soldiers after all.

"Sir, yes sir!" The marines saluted Shepard, and Shepard nodded to them.

"You each received the full briefing this morning so I have nothing left to say. Let's get ready to kill some slavers, or fix some comm tower." Shepard smiled at his words and the marines chuckled a little. "Alright men, dismissed."

The marines begin to file into the ship. Shepard stood for a moment then began to follow them. Red remained where he was for a moment before he cut Shepard off with Toombs at his heel.

"What do you need, soldier?" Shepard said with a slight glare.

Red stood up straight and saluted. "Sir, I only wanted to make sure you had thought about last night sir!"

Shepard sighed at Red. "At ease, at ease…"

Red lowered his arm and looked at Shepard. Shepard kept his glare for a moment longer and then looked down. "Look Red, you can't understand! You're just lucky that your parents weren't killed by alien slavers. I'm sorry I wasn't kind about it, and I might have gone a little too far, but aliens are nothing but trouble!"

Red shook his head and sighed. "Shepard, you've gotta let that go man! That was SEVEN years ago, the galaxy has changed. Humanity is a bigger force to be reckoned with now, and we've cracked down on the slavers. I heard we almost got a spectre a few years back. Humanity is going places, but not because of people like you and your backwards thinking. If we want any respect from the rest of the galaxy we need to put our differences aside and work together."

Shepard nodded slightly with a bored look on his face. "Yes, oh how you've changed me! I'm born again! I should procreate with slimy alien women now!" Shepard smirked at his sarcasm.

Red shook his head in defeat and starting walking towards the ship, "See you later, Sheps..."

Toombs looked at Shepard for a moment, and then turned to follow Red. Shepard turned to grab his gear and followed behind them. It was just gonna be another easy mission...

End flashback

Tali shifted uncomfortably in Shepard's arms. "Wow I... I never imagined you could ever have been like that..."

Shepard smirked at Tali. "Did I tarnish the image of the greatest hero and lover of the galaxy?"

Tali glared at him playfully. "I'm just glad I didn't meet you before, I might have had to shoot you with my shotgun. You almost sounded like Garrus when we first found him."

Shepard shrugged. "I'd say I was a LOT worse than Garrus was. He only seemed to have problems with Quarians. Glad I'm not like that anymore."

Tali kissed Shepard on the cheek. "So slimy huh? Am I slimy to you?"

Shepard rolled his eyes. "Can you let me finish the story before you start calling out all of my mistakes?"

Tali smiled and put her hand on Shepard's arm. She started rubbing his arm with her hand. "Oh no! I'm getting my sliminess all over your arm!"

Shepard put his hand to his forehead and began rubbing it. "I'm never living this down am I?"

Tali snuggled closer to Shepard and replied cheerfully. "Nope, never."

Shepard sighed and let his hand fall back. "Ok, let's just get back to the story, shall we?"

Tali nestled her head next to Shepard's neck. "Whatever you say, I'm the one who gets to eat you afterwards."

Shepard put his hand back to his head. "Please Tali..."

Tali sighed. "Alright, I'll stop teasing you... for now."

"Good, that's all I wanted."

Shepard looked up to the ceiling of his cabin, "Now where was I? Oh yeah…"

Author's endnote: Whoa! WHOA! What'd I do to Shepard? You mean he's not a perfect cookie cutter hero? He was actually a JERK once!? I never saw that coming, and I wrote it! XD But seriously, I'm sure most of you know that giving characters flaws just makes them… better I guess? They just seem more like a person then… You know what I mean. This was ultimately a very enjoyable little bar fight, I mean chapter! Have problems with the story so far? Have any ideas of your own? Have some constructive criticism? Want to praise the ground I stand on? Don't be shy, review, follow, favorite, etc.! It doesn't take long and makes me feel warm fuzzies in my stomach! If you still don't want to well… I tried. See you next chapter!