Past: 15 Years Post War
The trip to Earth from Thessia was far shorter than Del would have liked. A single night aboard the Normandy did not feel like enough, however anxious she was to get her family to the safety of Sāo Paulo.
The kids had never actually been to Earth. Stepping off the Normandy's ramp onto the wide open tarmac at Sāo Miguel Paulista Alliance complex, it was almost easy to believe they were right back on Thessia. The warm sunshine, the brilliant green of the trees, and the faint hint of salty humidity, though the Atlantic was forty miles away.
Even so, it was clear that Earth was still struggling to recover from the war. The sun was smeary, a faint reddish rust halo smudged around it thanks to the haze. Here, it was just that- a haze. In climes further north and south, there were areas that still held the dense and ominous cloud cover caused by the attack. Terraforming equipment had been running in full use for the last decade, working to scrub the atmosphere and help restore ecosystems that were utterly ravished. Improvements were obvious, but Mel and Irie would both be grown adults before Earth was completely healed.
That it so resembled Thessia seemed to help reassure the two young asari, making them feel more at home.
Hackett- just as unmoving and hale as he had ever been, and showing no sign the last fifteen years had aged him at all-was waiting to meet them. At his side, a young lieutenant was standing stiffly, even for an Alliance officer. Del had the amused notion that if he got any more tense he'd snap his own spine.
"Admiral Hackett," Del said with a smile, saluting. He returned it, then thrust out his hand.
"Enough of that, Shepard. Everyone on this base ought to be saluting you, not the other way around. It's good to see you. Trip was all right?"
"Wonderful. It was fantastic to be aboard the Normandy again."
"You can be commander of her again, you just give the word," Hackett replied.
To say Del wasn't tempted would be a lie, and her faint smile was whimsical before she shook her head. "Thank you, but no. She's in good hands, and my days of cowboying up the galaxy are behind me."
"I don't know that I'll ever buy that," he said with a smile. "Shepard, this is Lieutenant Emilio Burke. He's the Director of Biotics at the Junior Academy. He wanted to meet Melara in person."
"Ma'am," he said with a nod as stiff as his back. Mel immediately stepped forward from Liara's side, snapping a salute.
"Cadet Melara Shepard at your service sir!"
When the lieutenant looked at Mel with a blink, Del saw his rigidness melt a bit. As he softened, she could see the joviality in his faint smile, the care in his gestures. Apparently, this image of tense protocol was not his norm.
"It is my pleasure to meet you, Cadet," he said. "We had you originally enrolled under the name T'Soni, but it is my understanding you have officially requested that to be changed to Shepard."
"Yes, sir!"
"I think that's splendid. We have two other asari just your age that are joining the Academy this year, as well. You will all be in my biotics program, and I look forward to working with you."
"You haven't worked with asari before?" Shepard asked. He looked at her, the tension almost immediately coming back.
Oh. So it's me that stresses him the fuck out. Fantastic.
"Not from an instructor standpoint, no, ma'am," he said. "However, I have extensive experience and my credentials are-"
"Impeccable, I'm sure, or you would not have the position that you do," she said, trying to put him at ease. "I wasn't questioning your suitability, Lieutenant, I was merely curious."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Well, there will be time for more of this later. I'm sure you're all tired," Hackett told them. "We've got an escort ready to show you your new home. Get settled in, get some rest. Del, I'll see you tomorrow afternoon at 1600 for a briefing and to officially reinstate your position and rank in the Alliance. You'll meet your N7 recruits on Monday at 0400 sharp."
"Melara, I will see you on Monday as well, though not nearly so early. 0700 for orientation for the semester, all right?" Burke said.
"Yes, sir!" Mel replied, beaming.
Their new house was on base. Not as large as the T'Soni estate, it was still command housing and a hell of a lot nicer than even her rank of Colonel should have afforded. There was plenty of room for the four of them and Liara's Brokerage equipment, and Irie and Mel were immediately excited about the pool in the back, barely taking the time to claim their bedrooms before they were changing clothes and rushing into the water.
Leaning on the back door, watching them as they swam and splashed each other, Del tried her best not to worry. Sāo Miguel Paulista was one of the most secure Alliance facilities on the planet. After the devastation of the Alliance's official headquarters in New York, many of the top tier programs had moved to here to Sāo Paulo. Several generals and admirals called this complex home, including Fleet Master Barrett, who had only recently announced he would retire come fall. Rumors had spread regarding who would be nominated as his successor. The media of course favored Del, and the news that she was moving from Thessia to Brazil had only enflamed those rumors exponentially. Shepard knew better. She had never and would never have any interest in becoming Fleet Master. She had to get her hands dirty. Flying a desk and attending endless ceremonies and press meetings would have been nothing but a hellish prison.
Her money was on Hackett stepping up in Jack's place. He had commanded Sword Fleet in the war, after all, and even before that he was a war hero and more than respected fleet commander. He had his finger on the pulse of not only the fleets themselves but on every tier of special forces and infantry.
"Are you all right?" Liara asked, her arm sliding around Del's waist as she stepped in beside her. Shepard smiled a bit, putting her own arm around her wife's shoulders.
"Yeah," she said, then nodded toward the pool. "Just wondering who gave them permission to grow up."
"I have wondered that a time or two myself," Liara said. "Just yesterday they were both barely walking and now…it seems that by tomorrow Irie will be graduating from university with her mathematics and astrophysics degrees-"
"- and Mel will be an Admiral, commanding the Third from the deck of the Urigato, or the Fifth from the Orizaba-"
"They will find their own loves, their own mates-"
"Have adventures, wander the galaxy-"
"Irie's singing will be heard across the stars-"
"Just like Mel's cursing-" Del said with a smirk.
"-and then they will have children of their own."
"Hold on there, now. I don't remember okaying that whole 'finding mates and having children' thing."
Liara looked at her, bemused. "I am pretty sure they will do so, regardless of your permission, Shepard."
Shepard scowled and cleared her throat a little. "Yeah, well…sure. When they're three or four hundred years old, then they can do whatever they want."
"Del," Liara smiled, lightly poking her shoulder. Shepard sighed, wiping a hand over her face.
"I know, I know. C'mon. We still have a lot of unpacking to do, and I have to…you know…clean my weapons."
Liara laughed, then turned to face her fully, holding her close. "Why do I suspect you still plan to chase off any potential suitors?"
"I don't plan to chase anyone," Shepard said innocently. "If they happen to bring suitors home and I just…happen to be cleaning my rifles at the time, well. It's hardly my fault what said suitors infer, is it?"
"I suspect you will not even need to be cleaning your rifles," Liara said. "I am sure any potential suitor will be terrified enough to know that the Hero of the Galaxy will be watching the clock to make sure her daughter is at home on time and safe. A single glare from you would probably end up requiring the poor soul to attend counseling for the rest of their life."
"Ha, ha," Del said, smiling her lopsided grin and lightly brushing the tip of her nose over Liara's. "You're lucky you're cute, T'Soni."
"I do try," Liara smiled back, then closed the distance and kissed her.
"Ew! Get a room!"
Melara's call from the pool prompted Del to glare her way a moment. "Keep it up, Pain!"
Laughter and splashing water were her only answer. Liara shook her head, then caught hold of Del's hand with a coy grin.
"Well, you heard the future Alliance Admiral, Colonel Shepard. Orders are orders…and there is a room waiting just down the hall..."
Shepard grinned.
The sky was dark, night not yet quite ready to release its hold. Standing at the end of a row of seven, Corporal Anne Lane held her hands clasped at the small of her back and tried her damndest not to be nervous.
They were all Corporals, the seven of them. Selected by their commanding officers for services above and beyond, or even higher ups in recognition of outstanding achievements, they had been offered the opportunity to enter N7 training and join the ranks of the most highly rated special forces group in human history. Statistically speaking, out of the seven of them, four would fail to progress above an N2 rating. Two might make it to N5, and only one would reach any higher than that, though not likely all the way to N7.
Just being accepted into the N program said everything about a soldier's talents and worth. Making it as high as even an N2 was an incredible achievement.
She didn't know any of the other candidates, but Lane was used to feeling out of place among her comrades. Standing just over five feet tall, she didn't look like a marine, let alone a combat marine or special forces candidate. From the moment she'd set foot in boot, she'd been slapped with the nicknames. 'Tiny' was the favorite, followed by 'Shrimp' and 'Pixie'. Standing beside the much larger and far more robust candidates, she looked like no more than a kid who had dressed up as a soldier and snuck on base.
Because of her slight build and her non-threatening presence, Lane was used to having to prove herself, to prove to others that she had a right to be standing where she was, to wear the uniform and the pips on her collar. When she'd first received the invitation to enter the N7 program, she had screwed down that determination. She'd have to fight extra hard, she knew, to reach that ranking…but she was going to do it. She was going to show them once and for all that she had everything they had, and more.
That was before she found out that Delilah Shepard was going to be their trainer and commanding officer.
At first, she simply couldn't believe it…no one else could, either. Shepard was a legend, beyond a legend. It was well known that she had retired after the end of the war.
Of course she would come back to the Alliance now, Anne thought. Of course she would come here.
Lane had been ten when the war had struck. Her father, an accountant in Copenhagen, had been killed in the initial attack. Anne could still remember looking out the window of their home, seeing the dark shadow of that horrible, monstrous machine coming down over the city. Her mother had bundled her and her little brother up and they had joined a thousand other refugees fleeing the city as it was torn down around them.
They were lucky. They managed to tack on to an Alliance convoy that was trying to evacuate as many people as they could to the countryside. They slept in tents and battered prefabs for months. Food was scarce but better than in some places. When her brother had gotten sick from fever, they'd had some medical supplies to treat him. The Alliance soldiers kept them safe, stood in a wall between them and the monsters that would come out at night.
At times, Anne could still hear the horrible screaming sounds echoing over the distances. Banshees, those ones were called. Their screams would come, and soon the sounds of guns. Sometimes they'd have to get up and move again, walk all night or ride in some beat up transport, but they were lucky.
So goddamn lucky.
The soldiers that kept them safe became Anne's idols. More and more she heard the name Shepard. She could hear the troops and civilian militia men talking about her now and again. Anne had heard the name before the Reapers had come, but being ten she'd paid little attention. Something about some fight on the Citadel, or dry and boring news reports picking at politics Anne knew and cared nothing about.
She cared now. Shepard, the soldiers told each other, was coming to get them. Shepard was bringing every other alien species in the whole of the galaxy and she was coming to destroy these monsters. Shepard would not let them down.
Listening to them, Anne began to believe it too. Someone had to save them. When she saw her mother helping the medics in a battered tent, treating men and women who were sick, or had been shot, or burned horribly, she clung to that desperately. Someone had to save them. Someone had to stop this.
Once, she had noticed several of the soldiers gathered around a battered vid screen. Creeping between them, she watched the interview between Shepard and Diana Allers. Shepard had seemed so confident, so positive.
"Captain, one final question. If you could speak to those on Earth, both our fighting forces and regular civilians living in fear and uncertainty, what would you say?"
Here, the image of Shepard seemed to turn and look directly at Anne, finding the young girl hidden there among the battered fighters- singling her out and fixing her eyes.
"I would tell them to keep fighting, to not give up and never lose hope. I would tell them to hang in there, because they are not forgotten. They will not be forgotten. We'll be coming home for you. And the Reapers had better run."
And she had come. Bringing a hell of damnation and judgment behind her, Shepard had come and did the impossible. When the Reapers around Copenhagen had fallen, one of the wounded soldiers had hefted Anne up on his shoulders. People had cried and cheered and Anne screamed joyfully until her voice was hoarse.
Shepard had come. Shepard had come and she had saved them, as promised.
Anne had sworn right then and there, as ashen rain fell on her upturned face and her mother swung her brother around and laughed and cried at the same time, that when she grew up she'd be a soldier...just like Captain Shepard.
After the war, she remained glued to any word- like billions, if not trillions, across the galaxy. The tech all going dead meant they remained in silence for a long time, only rumors about what was happening to sustain them. Lane couldn't count them all. Shepard was dead. Shepard was alive. Shepard was missing. Shepard was badly hurt.
When the news that she was alive but badly wounded and uncertain to survive was verified, Anne joined thousands of others in praying for her to recover. The little ten year old's prayers were perhaps even more vehement than most. Shepard had to live. Shepard had saved them all. Nothing that was good or right in the galaxy would let her die, not if justice were worth anything.
Now, here Anne stood, fifteen years later. An adult if not much taller, a soldier as she had vowed to be, and about to be face to face with the legend herself.
She was utterly terrified.
Anne was brought out of her thoughts as a trio of forms emerged from the barracks nearby and headed their direction. The sergeant that had ordered them onto the field, barked at them to come to attention, and instantly all seven corporals snapped out of parade rest. Anne's heart felt like it was going to thunder right out of her chest.
That was her. She was right there.
Colonel Del Shepard was nothing but a shadow at first, striding across the grass. Then the light fell across her, brightening her face.
Her eyes seemed black and depthless. The left side of her face was mapped with pale burn scars. She was smaller than Lane had imagined, though she still towered easily seven inches over the Corporal. The scars on her face and the spreading streak of silver in her hair only seemed to punctuate the stern intimidation she wore like a coat.
The sergeant saluted, the seven corporals doing the same as she drew to a halt. His eyes fixed rigidly, the sergeant spoke.
"Colonel Del Shepard, I surrender these troops to your command."
"Command assumed, sergeant, you are dismissed."
She saluted him back quickly, and as he turned and headed away, those dark eyes moved over all gathered.
"At ease," she said, and hands snapped down again, the seven returning to parade rest. She looked at them silently a moment, before speaking.
"I am Colonel Del Shepard. I hold the standing of special forces designation N rank 7. As of this moment, you all hold the special forces designation of N rank 1. Starting from the left you will tell me your name, rank, and specialization."
"Sir! Corporal Thobis Ferai-"
"Mr. Ferai, I asked for your proper rank," she said firmly.
"Sir, yes, sir! N rank 1 Thobis Ferai, demolitions!"
"Sir, N rank 1 Alessandro Merin, demolitions!"
"Sir, N rank 1 Kim Singleton, infantry! Sniper class 5 infiltration!"
Down the line they went, Anne left for the last.
"Sir, N rank 1 Anne Lane, combat pilot class 2!"
Silence fell, and she could feel those dark eyes on her. She kept her own gaze studiously fixed forward, her mind racing with what Shepard could possibly be thinking.
She's thinking I'm too small. She's thinking a combat pilot has no place in special forces. She's thinking how fast she can dismiss me out and send me right back to the Delaware.
Without moving her eyes she saw Shepard suddenly walk her way, and her pounding heart all but stopped. It seemed an eon passed before her new commanding officer spoke.
"You are a combat pilot?"
"Sir, yes, sir!"
"What are you cleared on?"
"Sir, I am cleared on the T-3 Tournament class fighter, the H17 Juango and the 1110 Hive-Class Sabre, sir!"
"The Sabre," Shepard said, and damned if she didn't sound amused. Anne's mouth felt as dry as a bone.
"Sir, yes, sir!"
"Which of those fighters do you prefer, recruit?"
"Sir, I prefer the Sabre sir!"
"Why?"
"Sir, because flying her is even better than goddamn sex, sir!"
The moment the reply was out of her mouth she felt her gut cringe. I didn't just say that…please, God, tell me I didn't just say that…
"Do you think that was an appropriate response, recruit?"
Oh, fuck.
"Sir, no, sir!"
"Well, Lane, I have flown the 1110 Hive-Class Sabre. In fact, I flew the prototype, and I disagree. I think that was an entirely appropriate response."
As Shepard stepped back again, Lane felt her heart restart.
"Listen up," Shepard continued, addressing them all. "You seven are the best at what you do. If you were not, you would not be standing here in front of me. You are about to go through a training and evaluation program that will make boot camp look like kindergarten. You will be exposed to the harshest circumstances, elements, and challenges that you have ever faced. You will be put through fire and if you are strong enough, you will come out the other side as elite special forces marines. However, even if you are eliminated from this program, hold your heads high. There are at current over fifty million men and women in our Alliance Marine Corps. Out of that number, only seven of you stand in front of me right now. Some fight their whole lives to get where you are, and they will never make it even this far. You have nothing to be ashamed of, is that clear?"
"Sir, yes, sir!"
"Good! Then we're going to get along just fine."