Mist and shadow,
Cloud and shade,
All shall fade…
All shall fade…
- Pippin's Song, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
"I don't see why you have to do this...," Brian trailed off as he sat down next to her unzipped duffle bag.
Aurora paused, a number of wrinkled shirts threatening to tumble from her arms. A few moments of silence passed before she allowed herself to speak, a slight and quavering hitch in her voice, "We've been through this, Brian... seven times already..."
"But why?" he asked again, ruffling his blonde shaggy hair with one hand, as the other fiddled with the black zipper on the opened bag.
She looked up at him, exasperated, having endured this line of questioning a multitude of times in the last two weeks. Brown eyes frowned back at her, set behind a pair of square glasses, Brian was a sweet boy... kind, caring, quick to trust... always had been, hence why she had initially liked him. Aurora knew he had good intentions for questioning her motives, and rightfully so, seeing as how they had been dating for the last six months. But this was a conversation they kept returning to, ever since she had revealed to him, 13 days ago, that she would soon be carted off to basic training with the Alliance, a 15 week rigorous and grueling camp, meant to separate the weak from the strong and the willing, in the hopes they would become the best soldiers the human race had to offer to the galaxy.
Aurora didn't expect him to understand. He wasn't suited for military life, as far as she could tell. Sure he had grown up on a number of stations, just as she had, with both parents as high ranking officials, but he never had the brawn. On the other hand, he definitely had more than his fair share of smarts. Brian had tested within the third percentile of their class, and out of about 1600 students spread throughout the galaxy that was saying something. He had received an all expense paid scholarship to some prestigious university back on Earth to study philosophy, or metaphysics, or ontology... she didn't pretend she understood.
Aurora had been offered several scholarships as well, and had also been invited to study galactic cryptozoology at a research facility on Thessia. But she turned them all down when the Alliance came calling, much to the disappointment of several of her professors, Brian and her mother. She couldn't explain it, but she felt an unwavering certainty that the military was her path in life.
By no stretch of the imagination was Aurora athletic. She knew nothing of weaponry... or hand to hand combat... or strategic planning. Hannah Shepard had always kept her military career seperate from raising Aurora, never teaching her even basic military knowledge, hoping to shield her from that way of life. Aurora would be the first to admit, she was a bit bitter towards her mother for raising her this way.
"I don't want you to endure the hardships I've faced," Hannah would say, as her eyes would brim with silent tears. "You can change the galaxy in other ways... safer ways..."
More than once, this statement was followed by a long, drawn out argument: Aurora calmly defiant, stating she knew what she was doing, having thought about it since she was in her early teens, while Hannah was beside herself, furious her daughter was following her footsteps, terrified that she would lose her only family.
"What-" Brian started, jerking Aurora from her thoughts. "W-what if you don't come back?"
It was her turn to frown, "You mean 'what if I die?'"
Brian shrugged, looking sheepishly at his feet.
"Don't worry...," she snorted, a mirthless smile playing upon her lips. "I'm so damn clumsy, they'll probably want to keep me as far away from a battlefield as possible… that or I'll be the first to get shot…"
"That's not funny…," Brian snapped.
"No," she said, the grin fading. "I suppose it's not… though it's always a possibility."
Brian said nothing in return, as she continued to pack her bag.
When she was finished, she swung the single piece of luggage over her shoulder, ready to head down to the hangar. The other three recruits from the station would be waiting to board the shuttle that would take them to their transportation ship, which, in turn, would whisk them away to an Alliance training facility on Earth.
She turned to Brian with a lopsided smirk, "Well… I suppose this is it then? Huh?"
Brian stood from the edge of bed, shifting his feet nervously and wringing his hands together until his fingers turned an angry red.
Aurora touched his face gently with her free hand, causing him reluctantly make eye contact. She could see the sorrow and uncertainty lurking in his eyes, even behind those rectangular spectacles.
"I'll be fine. Don't you worry," she said quietly, doing her best to reassure him. He bit his lower lip and mumbled, "Will you write?"
"Oh… I don't see why not… after basic is finished… Perhaps we could even plan a meet up afterwards," she mused. This seemed to cheer him up a bit, though she doubted these hurried words would ever unfold into anything more than an empty promise.
"I love you Aurora!" he blurted out rather hastily, just as she turned to leave the room. It was her opportunity to feel sorrow and a slight pang of guilt; she knew she didn't share the same feelings that he did, and it pained her to admit it.
Unable to think of an appropriate response, she rushed back to him and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. With one last glance back at Brian, which she noted he had turned red from his neck to the tips of his ears with embarrassment at the sudden professing of his emotions, she raced down the hall of the dormitories to the elevator where her mother was waiting patiently.
"Have everything, honey?" Hannah Shepard asked, apprehensively fiddling with Aurora's zip up hoodie. Aurora punched the elevator button to take them down four levels to the hangar bay.
She simply nodded at her mother, keeping her mouth tightly clamped, afraid she might lash out, and tell her for what seemed like the 100th time that she would be alright and this is what she wanted… needed to do.
As they boarded the lift and the doors slid shut, they rode down in silence, leaving Aurora to fathom why in the world her mother had a problem with her daughter joining the Alliance. Hannah was a decorated combat veteran of the First Contact War, as well as a number of operations in the Terminus Systems, most likely dealing with pirates and raiders. Her personal arsenal, steeled away in a weapons footlocker under her bed, was an impressive array of rifles, pistols, shotguns and a number of mods in which Aurora knew next to nothing about. Medals and plaques of recognition littered nearly every surface in her mother's quarters, and she had just recently received a promotion to Major. The Alliance was Hannah's life, but wanted none of it for Aurora.
For at least a good three or four years now, Aurora knew that this is what she wanted to do. The first time she had seen her mother break down after a botched mission, she knew the Alliance was her path in life. She hated seeing her mother in such a state: vulnerable, grief stricken and filled with the agony of losing a close friend. Failure had never been an option, except when it was… She didn't want Hannah to have to go through it anymore than she already had… She wanted her mom to retire and spend her remaining years planting gardens or writing books or… Hell, she didn't even know what her mother enjoyed in her free time… It had always been Alliance this and mission that… never any mention of a hobby or other interest… Well that would certainly change in due time… Aurora would make sure of that.
The elevator finally slowed to a stop and shuddered before the doors opened wide, revealing a wide throng of people, here to see the several new recruits off the station.
Aurora practically bounded out of the lift with pure excitement without saying a word to Hannah, but the older Shepard grabbed hold of her daughter and swung her around into a vice like hug.
"I'll see you in four months at graduation, alright?" Hannah whispered into her ear. Aurora giggled, squeezed her back and said, "No worries! Ok? I'm doing this for you!"
And with a peck on the cheek and a final wave "goodbye", Aurora nearly skipped to the Alliance shuttle, where the other recruits were loading themselves up, under the supervision of a tall, dark staff commander… or was he a lieutenant? Shit… she had no idea…
The other three recruits, all boys her age, and all much larger than she was, turned to face her, as she entered the shuttle. Caldwell, Elliot, and Matthews all wearing the same, mocking smirks, with Caldwell, the largest, snickering.
"How much you wanna bet little Shep gets killed within the first four weeks of basic?" Elliot said, his voice low and gravelly. Matthews jovially replied, "I'll take that bet!"
Caldwell snorted, "I'll pass on that… I'll give her two weeks tops!"
Aurora sat down in the furthest corner from the trio and tried to shrink into the shadows.
Just as Caldwell was about to continue, the high ranking officer stepped onboard, the shuttle door gliding across its track easily and sealing them inside with a hiss.
The dark officer rapped on the pilot's seat twice with his knuckles, and the shuttle launched from the hangar.
"Welcome to the Alliance, recruits! I'm Commander David Anderson, and in a few minutes we'll be docking with the Enlightenment. We'll then jump to Sol, where we'll be returning to Earth," The Commander's voice suddenly switched from a warm and welcoming tone and became cold, calculating, and authoritative. "From now and for the next 15 weeks, you are nobodies… You will eat when you are told, sleep when told… even shit when told. You will-"
"-Probably can't even hold an M-8 Avenger!" Caldwell whispered to his two buddies. Elliot and Matthews stifled laughs with their hands, unknowing that Anderson had stopped talking.
The laughter slowly trailed off into silence, as each realized Anderson was no longer speaking. Anderson crossed his arms, an unreadable look upon his face.
"Was there something you wanted to share, recruit?" he said to Caldwell in a deadly voice. Aurora swore she could have cut the tense in the air with an omni-blade. Caldwell's hazel eyes widened in panic as he shook his head anxiously.
"I'm sorry," the Commander growled. "I didn't catch that…"
"N-no… There was nothing I wanted to share…," Caldwell stammered. Anderson moved swiftly across the interior of the shuttle, and was upon the recruit in the blink of an eye, mere inches from Caldwell's face.
"You will address me as 'Sir' and only 'Sir'. Can your thick skull and dim mind comprehend that?" Anderson breathed.
"Sir, yes Sir!" the recruit managed.
"Good, now that we have at least an understanding of one another, the three of you are on latrine duty for the next week. Once back to Earth, you will report to Lieutenant Conner for your schedule and assignment,"
All three faces of the recruits fell as Anderson spoke, but he paid them no mind. Instead, he rounded on Aurora. Apparently, attempting to shroud herself in the shadows was proving to be useless. A fleeting glance looked over her red hair and small stature, finally coming to rest on her blue eyes.
"Shepard? Right?" he asked.
"Yes Sir," she said, sitting up straight and gulping nervously.
"Your mother is one hell of a soldier," Anderson mused, a smirk playing at one corner of his mouth. Aurora nodded, not daring to speak. What excitement she had before boarding had quickly dissipated, her confidence already diminishing into nothing.
"Right…," Anderson continued. "You're on latrine duty with these dumbasses, as well." Aurora's mouth fell open. What had she done already to warrant that?
"You need to learn to stand up for yourself. Harden yourself. Steel yourself. This won't be the last time you're mocked or thrown under the bus or jeered at," he turned to face the others. "This applies to you as well. If you want to succeed in the Alliance, stop doubting yourself, and start believing, because everything is about to change."
The rest of their short journey to the Enlightenment, Aurora gazed out at the stars hanging overhead and all around, twinkling… shining… watching her like beady, malicious eyes. She suddenly felt alone, standing in the middle of the blackness… a void, with only the cosmos beneath
Leaving the cafeteria portion of the Alliance hospital behind, his belly only somewhat filled, Garrus headed back to Shepard's private room.
Thoughts and uneasy wonderings filled his already muddled brain. The hunt for Shepard…what had transpired on the Normandy… her surgery and treatment… and what her recovery might have to include… his father's sudden urgency to return to Palaven… He was particularly disturbed by Shepard's near suicide in the mess hall aboard the warship, and this control chip Cerberus had implanted so far into her brain that no one dared an attempt to remove it. Garrus shook his head, growling with impatience and frustration.
He was so immersed with his thoughts that he failed to realize that he was nearing the lone corridor leading to Shepard's room. Alenko and Vega stood guard, rifles in hand, as two other sentries watched from the other end, the Marines blocking both ends from unwanted intruders… ie reporters, Cerberus infiltrators, Conrad Verner…
Garrus rounded the final corner when he happened upon a peculiar scene unfolding with the Spectre and N7 operative.
"Please! Just let me through!" a dirty blonde haired man with squared glasses begged. He was holding a multitude of data pads that looked at risk of spilling over his arms and clattering to the hospital floor.
Vega raised his rifle and aimed it at the unknown man, and said dangerously, "And what makes you think that whatever it is you're looking for is down this hallway, pendejo?"
The newcomer threw his hands in the air in exasperation, the data pads clattering to the tile, causing a loud ruckus to reverberate off the sterile walls.
"I've already told you! I was contacted by an agent of the Shadow Broker, who told me to meet them at this exact location!"
"And why should we believe you?" Garrus said in a threatening tone as he tore down the rest of the hall. The blonde haired main shrank in size as he whirled around to face an irritated and angry, 7 foot tall turian.
"I was told to meet a Dr. T'Soni… I-I have some information for her," he stammered, gesturing toward his toppled load, scattered about the floor.
"How do you know Dr. T'Soni? Who told you where she was located?!" Garrus demanded, moving in a way that his shadow bore down on the man.
"Because, Garrus, I told him to meet me here," Liara appeared from Shepard's room, closing the door behind her.
"Dr. Brian Potts, I presume?" Liara said gently, approaching them, her hand extended in greeting. Relief washed over the man's face, as he shook Liara's hand rather vigorously.
"Thank you so much for agreeing to meet!" Potts said, stooping to retrieve his collection of whatever data he had brought along.
"Doctor, this is James Vega, N7 Alliance Marine, Spectre Major Kaidan Alenko, and Primarch Garrus Vakarian," all inclined their heads without saying a word, perhaps still a bit suspicious of this newcomer.
"Dr. Potts is a former acquaintance of Shepard, and may have some sort of inclination as to what is happening," Liara said. Garrus just then noticed that the asari's eyes were leaking tears, and he cocked his head to the side.
"You can just call me Brian," the man said cheerily, standing back up. "And I'm actually a former on again, off again boyfriend of Aurora's…"
This statement caused Garrus to arch a brow plate and utter a deep and guttural growl from deep within his chest. Not that he cared if this man was a former boyfriend of Shepard, but he did not approve of being deceived by Liara. Alenko had remained quite silent through the whole exchange.
"Blue? Is something wrong?" Vega said, lowering his weapon. He must have spied the asari's tear stricken face as well.
Liara flushed a dark tinge of blue and couldn't help but smile, "She's awake…"
EDITED: Holy crap! Has it really been two years? Whoops! Whelp! I'm back! Here's to hoping I finish what I started! And I hope you all enjoy! And feel free to review! :D