Here is the next chapter. I hope you enjoy.
WARNING: Some gore and swearing
Please leave a review. I am in dire need of some feedback.
Chapter 12
The first thing Commander Selena Shepard did when she entered her cabin, was fall face first onto her bed, her fists pounding the soft mattress below her as she screamed into her pillow. Her cabin was dark, the light from the fish tank casting an eerie glow across the white sheets as dark shadows skulked in the corners of the room. Shepard sighed and rolled onto her back, staring up at the skylight above her.
How could she have kissed Alex!
The angry voice in her head was back, yelling at her as she tried to figure out exactly what she had done.
Your Commander fucking Shepard. You should be in control of your emotions, not acting like a horny teenage girl!
She rubbed her eyes then ran a hand through her tangled hair, not caring when her hand pulled painfully at her scalp.
It was not the fact she had kissed Alex that made her ashamed, it was the fact she enjoyed the kiss that made the guilt rest deeply within her chest. For just a moment, she was reminded of how things used to be, before she had joined the Alliance, before Elysium, before the Reapers, and before the entire weight of the galaxy had been placed on her shoulders. She had been reminded of the time when she was just a simple dumb kid, whose biggest worries were passing school exams, getting laid and learning to drive.
But how could you do that to Liara. After everything you have been through…after everything she has done for you?
The voice in her head sounded harsh. It caused yet another pang of guilt to run through her. She pinched the bridge of her nose as she began to feel the dull ache of a migraine behind her eyes. She let her head sink deeper into her pillow, letting her throbbing muscles relax. She jumped when Jokers voice called over the intercom.
"Commander we've almost arrived at the colony. ETA twenty minutes."
Shepard forced herself into a sitting position, massaging the back of her neck.
"Assemble the crew. I'll be down in five."
"Yes Ma'am."
Shepard dressed quickly into her combat fatigues, then made her way to the shuttle bay.
Shepard had arrived in the shuttle bay with ten minutes to spare, checking her rifle for what seemed like the hundredth time. They were responding to a distress signal from a nearby colony. Something had seemed off about the signal, at least that what Traynor had said when they had received it. Shepard ignored her doubts, she was not going to let another colony get hit.
"Commander." James and Ashley saluted her, before checking their own weapons, Shepard frowned.
"Where's Liara?"
James didn't look at her as he spoke.
"I went to go get her and she seemed pretty upset if you ask me. I don't think I've ever seen her angry before. Thought I was going to be a smear on the wall. "
Shepard looked between Ashley and James. Frowning.
"Did she say anything?" The Commander asked, shifting uncomfortably. The movement did not go un-noticed by Garrus.
"Nope, just mumbled something angry under her breath and told me to get out of her office." James said, shrugging.
Shepard sighed. She really needed to talk to Liara.
"I'll be back."
"What about the mission?" Ashley asked, her voice distorted by her helmet.
"I'll be back before we leave."
She could hear Ashley's sigh of frustration behind her as she made her way to the elevator.
She had arrived at Liara's office within minutes, the large glowing red lock making her take a deep breath before she knocked. When she received no answer, she knocked again.
"I'm not going away until you talk to me Liara." She said after another movement's silence. She looked at the time. She had seven minutes to spare. "Don't make override this door."
With a quiet beep and recognisable hiss, the door opened. Shepard took one step through the door, before coming to an abrupt and worried stop. Liara's office, which was normally meticulously tidy, now looked as if a bomb had hit it. Shepard looked between the broken tea cup on the floor, to the smashed picture frame by the bed. One of the computer screens nearest to door was flickering and the wall to the far right dripped with what Shepard thought was the contents of the tea cup.
Selena swallowed hard, suddenly lost for words.
"What do you want?" Liara asked, she sounded as if she had been crying.
"What's wrong?" Shepard asked, a sudden feeling a guilt washing over her.
"Nothing. Why should something be the matter?" Liara said curtly, turning towards her Commander. Shepard licked her lips nervously.
"James said you refuse to come on the mission with us…why?"
"How do you expect me to trust you with my life if I cannot trust you with my heart?"
Shepard blinked twice. Unsure of what she had just heard.
"What?"
"I know you kissed her Shepard. I saw it."
Shepard sighed, running a hand through her hair. She took a step towards Liara, stopping abruptly when the Asari's biotics flared dangerously.
"I made a mistake Liara. I know. When Alex kissed me, I was reminded about the past. Reminded of…what had been… I lost control for just a second. But-"
"But what Shepard!" Liara shouted. The sudden ferocity in the maiden's voice made her jump. Shepard was speechless. "Is this a game to you? Was I some sort of fall back girl? Someone to warm you bed until you found what you lost?"
Shepard could not believe what she was hearing.
"What? No, Liara I -"
"After everything we have been through, everything I have done for you."
Liara's biotics grew brighter, her eyes dark with anger as she took a step towards Shepard pointing long accusing fingers towards her. Selena let her mate finish her rant, not daring to interrupt.
"If you think you would be happier with her then go ahead, because I am sure that I can find someone that makes me a lot happier than you do!"
Liara regretted her words the moment she said them, she was shaking, angry and hurt. She saw the flash of hurt in Shepard's eyes when she said that. She saw the human women flinch. She had wanted to hurt the woman, but she no control over how much. The room was quiet, Liara didn't trust herself enough to speak. When she looked back towards Shepard, the humans jaw was set. An expression Liara saw her wear many times before. Shepard nodded silently, then turned in the doorway, wordlessly making her way towards the elevator.
"Selena wait…" Liara started, but the woman was already out of earshot. The Asari sighed and leaned heavily on her desk, a tear crawling down her face.
It was Liara's turn to feel ashamed.
When Shepard arrived back in the shuttle bay, she immediately placed her recon hood over her head, grabbing her rifle she surged towards the shuttle, jumping in wordlessly and taking a seat at the back. Her crew followed her, James, Ashley and Garrus each taking a seat opposite her.
"So, where is Liara Ma'am?" James dared to ask.
"Not coming." Shepard replied curtly.
The shuttle was silent once more. The hum of the engines and the shuffling of armour were the only sounds in the small quiet space.
They had arrived at their destination within half an hour, a small industrial colony that made auto-mobiles. The red sky and dark buildings reminded Shepard a lot of the Omega skyline. A dark polluted haze made her grateful for her helmet. As she jumped from the shuttle, she surveyed the area, trying to etch every detail of the colony to memory.
"Doesn't look like these people need help Ma'am?" James said from behind her, looking around at the quiet colony. There was no sign of any danger at all. Shepard frowned, tension setting in her shoulders.
"Keep your eyes open. Something's not right."
"Yes Ma'am" James answered, his body stiffening noticeably as he spotted the hulking form of a man coming towards them. "We got company Shepard."
Selena moved her gaze towards the dirty man that approached them, his body covered in dirt and grime as he wiped his hands on an equally dirty towel.
"Commander Shepard?" The man questions, his small eyes squinting with confusion as he stopped in front of his armed visitors. Shepard nodded, she was still getting used to everyone knowing her name. She could not go anywhere without getting noticed. "What brings you here Ma'am?" The man asked, rubbing the back of his massive neck. Shepard had to admit, the man that currently stood in front of her made James look small in size.
"We received a distress signal from this colony." Shepard said, she didn't like how the mans confused expression deepened. He shook his head.
"Distress signal…we didn't send out any distress signal."
Shepard frowned, her shoulders once again becoming tense. Her radio sparked to life, Jokers voice greeting her with a frantic tone.
"Commander we have a problem!"
"What is it Joker?"
"Traynor did some digging. The distress signal we received didn't originate from the planet."
"The where did it come from!"
"It came from a Baterian slave vessel, using Cerberus codes. They somehow bounced the signal off the planet."
"How the hell did they do that? They would have to be within radio range?"
"Exactly Commander. You're about to have some company!"
Shepard's blood ran cold at Jokers last words, her body stiffening as a surge of anger coursed through her. Of course it was a trap. The Commander turned back towards the man.
"How many people live on this colony?" The man shrugged.
"About a hundred. We have nothing but factories on this planet, we make cars…it's not exactly a place to start a family commander."
In the distance, Shepard could hear a dull hum, a sound she knew all too well. Looking up into the sky she growled when she noticed the dark shadow that began to swallow the small industrial colony, the low hum of engines increasing as each second passed.
"You need to evacuate this colony!" Shepard shouted. The man looked up into the sky, his eyes widening as a large metallic ship materialised and broke through the red tinted clouds.
"Now!" Shepard shouted, taking the man by the massive shoulders and shaking him. He nodded franticly before running towards an ever increasing crowed of people, men and women staring up towards the vessel with fear and amazement.
"Garrus, find a good vantage point, shoot to kill, Williams, defend this shuttle, Vega you're with me."
"Yes Ma'am."
Shepard started towards the colony, Vega following closely behind her. She fired at the troopers that dropped from the shuttles, dodging the colonists that barrelled towards her in a race for the evacuation shuttles. The ship that had been hovering above them suddenly crashed to the ground, the impact sending a thick cloud of dust into the air, causing both James and Shepard to stop. For a moment, there was only silence. Then the ground began to shake accompanied by a defining roar as the two soldiers tried hard to keep their footing.
"That can't be good! "James shouted, his voice barely audible as the low rumble began to turn into a high pitched screech. James and Shepard were suddenly knocked off their feet as a wave of blue energy erupted from the ship, sending spasms through their bodies as they hit the ground.
"What the hell was that?" James yelled, helping Shepard to her feet. They were forced apart when a hail of gunfire erupted from behind the haze, both Baterian and Cerberus appearing from through the dust cloud, heavily armoured.
"Get Shepard!" Selena heard a trooper order, dodging the cluster grenade he threw towards her. Before Shepard could get to her feet once more, she felt her self being violently lifted into the air, a small but strong hand squeezing her neck. By the time her blurred vision had cleared, she stared down at a woman clad in black, her eyes pale and dead, much like the young Corporals had been. Before she knew it, her helmet was pulled from her head, the smell of smoke and industrial haze invading her nostrils, causing her to cough.
She struggled in her attackers grasp, reaching down towards the pistol that hung on her hip. Her hand curled round the handle as the woman's free hand moved towards her ear.
"I have her." She said, her voice sounded robotic and dull. Shepard pulled the pistol from its holster and fired. The force knocked the woman back, causing her hand to let go of Selena. As soon as Shepard's feet were firmly on the ground, she emptied her clip into the woman's chest, putting two in her head for good measure. The woman fell to the floor in a crumbled mess of flesh.
"Dios...that's not pretty." Suddenly James was beside her, hand on her shoulder as she rubbed her neck.
"You okay Commander?"
Shepard nodded, coughing.
An explosion behind her made her turn. Shepard watched as the Cerberus officers scattered in all directions. She squinted through the smoke, her eyes widening as a large flash or orange and white appeared through the haze.
Of course they had an atlas.
"Fall back!" Shepard ordered, moving back towards the shuttle. Garrus was already waiting inside the Kodiak, helping an older women on bored. Shepard turned, narrowly avoiding getting hit by a rocket. She could hear the Atlas move towards her as she picked up her pace, the hiss off bullets weakening her shields. She came to a halt outside the Kodiak, helping the man she spoke to earlier into the shuttle. James pulled up beside her, his breathing laboured as he fired towards three troopers.
"We got to get out of here Commander!" He said, ducking as a hail of gunfire hit the side of the shuttle. Shepard nodded her agreement.
"Agreed" She had to shout to be heard without her helmet. She watched as James climbed in first, surveying the battlefield before climbing in herself.
"Come on Commander!" James shouted, extending a hand to help her up. She was just about to take it, when she heard a cry for help to her right. Moving her head towards the direction of the sound, she saw a young man fall through the smoke, his leg bleeding as he limped towards her.
"Come on Commander, we have to get out of here!"
Shepard reloaded her gun, before looking back towards James.
"No one gets left behind Lieutenant!"
James moved his head towards the young man, then back to Selena, his mouth thinning.
"I'll cover you!"
The Commander nodded, before starting towards the fallen young colonist, his tear streaked and dirt covered faced becoming more visible as he reached a bleeding hand towards Selena. As the Commander reached him, she felt her shields shatter. She helped him to his feet, half dragging him towards the shuttle. The moment she heard distinctive hiss and beep of the Atlas, she threw the man towards the Kodiak, feeling herself fly through the air as a large explosion erupted beside her seconds after. She felt her skull crack as it connected with the hard ground beneath it, her vision blurring as she faintly heard someone calling her name.
She moved slowly to her side, her head screaming in pain with every tiny movement she made. Slowly she tried to lean on her elbows, managing to push herself to her knees. She flopped to the floor ungracefully as a wave of dizziness overcoming her.
"Shepard!"
James's voice was a distant ring in her ears as she lifted her head, moving her eyes towards the shuttle. Through blurred vision, she saw James lifting the young man she had tried to save to his feet, pushing him towards the shuttle before turning to make his way to her.
He narrowly avoided getting hit with a missile, rolling to cover as the Atlas fired towards him. She shook her head, her gaze moving towards the group of troopers that encroached on her position.
There were too many of them for James to fight.
"James. Go, get out of here!" Her voice was barely audible over the rush of gunfire and shouting. James shook his head, ducking behind his cover as another hail of bullets slammed into the crate he stood behind. Shepard moved her head back to the group of Cerberus soldiers, now only a few feet away.
"Get your ass out of here Lieutenant. That's an order!"
Pain suddenly exploded in her head and before she knew It, she was on her back, looking up at a dozen masked faces, through the barrels of a dozen loaded guns. She was surrounded.
She turned her head, watching as the shuttle ascended into the air, sighing in relief that her team got out alive. Her vision began to darken as she turned her head back to stare up at her captors.
She closed her eyes, and everything went black.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It took a while to get right.
Please leave a review and tell me what you think. I am in need of some feedback.