Shepard.
Disclaimer
Starcraft is the property of Blizzard entertainment.
Mass effect is the property of Bioware.
Any elements used in this story are used only in order to create a story for no monetary gain nor do I claim any ownership over them, beyond the names and characters unique to this story.
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Earth: the homeworld and cultural capital of humanity. A planet of bast continents and diverse climates, it stands as the perfect biosphere in which life could thrive. It was here where one of the most genetically diverse races within the milky way arose: humanity.
Systems alliance: a supranational entity representing humanity at the galactic stage. Responsible for the governance and defense of all human presence beyond the solar system, it was dismissed by the united governments of Earth right until the spark of the first contact war. In which it claimed its first major political victory, both among the people of earth and then across the galactic community, ensuring its representation as the face of humanity.
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SSV Normandy - Earth's orbit.
John Shepard
"Well, what about Shepard?" began an uninterested and arrogant voice.
While looking at Earth through a starboard window, John Shepard pondered about the events that had brought him to the particular situation he found himself upon…
"He's a spacer. Lived aboard starships most of his life" it continued.
"Military service runs in the family. Both his parents were in the navy" continued a second voice as it spoke with familiarity. Since its owner knew the commander from the moment he was but a child.
He enlisted in the alliance at the earliest possible moment as he wished for a chance to prove himself deserving of the name Shepard.
A massive shadow loomed over him as he was the son of admiral Richard Shepard, the last hero of Shanxi.
Though admiral Drescher led the bulk of the Second fleet in the liberation of Shanxi, his father led a less stronger force from the fourth fleet in order to flank and neutralize the hostile vessels.
"He saw his whole unit die on Akuze. He could have some serious emotional scars" spoke a third voice, clearly more interested in his military profile above it all.
Shepard had been so eager to prove himself as a way to honor his father.
He smirked and laughed lightly at this though.
What he almost managed to do instead was follow his now deceased father to the grave as Akuze was the hell that would haunt him for all of his life.
In one day all the friends and brothers he found among the 89th had been taken from him. One wrong move, one piece of faulty intel and one bad day ended their existence, for all of them.
Daniels, Os, Kowalski, Toobs and even Lisa….
Fuck.
He banished these names from his mind, there was a mission that needed to be done and he shouldn't be haunted by ghosts of the past.
There always was another mission to be done.
"Every soldier has scars. Shepard is a survivor" spoke the second voice one more.
"Is that the kind of person we want protecting the galaxy?" asked the first one.
Shepard got away from the window and began to walk towards the stairs that would lead to the CIC as he was late to meet with his commanding officer, Captain David Anderson.
He didn't mean to offend his old friend, but with the weight of Akuze still remained in his heart and he saw it fit to take a moment and remind himself as to what he fought for.
For this was Shepards greatest strength.
He knew of the end that awaited him, he knew that as a soldier one day he would be asked to pay the ultimate price and above all he knew what he was fighting for: so that no more families had to bury their sons and daughters and to leave a better place for what remained of his own.
"That's the only kind of person who can protect the galaxy" proclaimed Captain Anderson to Ambassador Udina.
"I'll make the call" relented the Ambassador, as Admiral Hackett nodded in agreement with the decision.
As he made his way through the combat information center, Shepard headed towards the bridge as he looked for Captain Anderson. As he approached the place, the voice of the pilot came through the intercom "We are connected. Calculating transit mass and destination" it stopped for a moment "The relay is hot. Acquiring approach vector".
As he reached the bridge he immediately realized two things, first was that the Captain was nowhere to be seen and second he found himself almost crashing against the back of the only turian on board.
So much for professionalism John.
"All stations secure for transit" the pilot continued "The board is green. Approach run has begun".
Shepard saw as they made their approach towards the Charon Relay.
An alien construct believed to be the work of an ancient race called the Protheans.
To all people of the galaxy these aliens were as much of a mystery as any lost civilization was to any that was found in their ancient myths and legends.
But what set the Protheans apart from other lost civilizations was two equally strange and equally terrifying facts:
They were the most advanced race in all of the galaxy since their ruins could be found in almost every world across the milky way and their technology allowed the younger races to discover the method of faster than light travel the people of their galaxy relied upon.
The other fact was the most bizarre of them both. For despite leaving their presence known across most of the galaxy they had somehow banished without a trace.
A people who left not even the bones of their dead behind could mean nothing but trouble for those that walked amongst the ruins of their dead empire.
"Hitting the relay in 3…2…1…" as the pilot counted down, he stirred the ship towards the Relay and in an instant they were traveling beyond the speed of light towards the destination of their mission.
"Thrusters… check. Navigation…check. Internal emission sinks engaged. All systems online. Drift… just under 1500 K" reported Joker, as Shepard finally recalled his name from the ship's dossier.
"1500 is good. Your captain will be pleases" spoke Nihlus the turian as he turned to leave, nodding at Shepard as he did so.
Shepard did not fully understand what could warrant the presence of an agent from the council's Special Tactics and Reconnaissance division, nonetheless he found that having a spectre on board would guarantee that this mission would not make for a dull one.
He pondered this for a moment. Even though the SSV Normandy was a project of both human and turian interests, it was decided that the crew would be composed mainly by Alliance personnel and as such the sole turian's presence truly perplexed Shepard.
"I hate that guy" spat Joker, taking Shepard aback. Before he could even say a word another person said exactly what he was thinking.
"He gave you a compliment… So you hate him?" It was Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko, an alliance soldier who had been assigned as a member of his team. In the brief interactions he had with this soldier he came off as an aloof but respecting individual.
He liked that kind of person on his team.
And Shepard found himself agreeing with him.
"Come on, Joker. Even I can see where someone might try to give a compliment" said Shepard.
"It isn't about receiving a compliment, commander. It's all about principle" Shepard raised an eyebrow at this statement but Joker continued "You remembered to zip up your jumpsuit on the way out of the bathroom? That 's good. I just jumped us halfway across the galaxy and hit the target the size of a pinhead. So that's incredible!" he turned to look at the commander with a smile fit for his name "Besides, spectres are trouble. I don't like having him on board. Call me paranoid" he continued.
"Whatever you say, paranoid. The Council helped fund this project, if they want to send a spectre to ensure we don't steal their ship I can understand that" said Alenko, making Shepard snicker.
"Yeah, that's the 'official story'. But only an idiot believes the official story" as Shepard was about to agree with Joker a call came through the intercom.
"Joker! Status report" came the voice of Anderson, Damm! Shepard had forgotten that he was looking for him.
Sensing Shepard's uneasiness, Joker smiled slightly "Sorry captain, I was just having a little chat with the commander and lieutenant Alenko. We just cleared the mass relay, Stealth systems engaged. Everything looks solid" Shepard cursed him as he slowly tried to turn and leave.
"Good. Find a comm buoy and have us patched to the network. I want mission reports relayed back to the Alliance brass before we reach Eden Prime" ordered Anderson "And Shepard…" this made John freeze right where he stood "Come to the comm room and this time try not to be late".
He cursed Joker as he made his way towards the comm room. But as he entered he failed to see the captain anywhere, he just saw Nihlus standing there.
Menacingly…
"Sorry Nihlus, i thought the captain would have been here by now" began Shepard.
"You didn't meet him on your way here? And here I thought that you had a talent for bumping into people" he stated with a smirk.
Shepard knew that he should try to not make this situation any worse. As such, he just nodded and went deeper into the room while taking a place next to Nihlus while he waited for Anderson to arrive.
Sensing his unease, Nihlus spoke again "In reality i wished to speak with you first Commander Shepard" began the turian "I had to make certain that Anderson would leave us for a moment, so i had a contact of mine impersonate a person of interest to him" stated the spectre as nonchalantly as someone of his station made that particular statement sound.
"May I ask who it was?" Shepard asked as curiosity won over reason.
"You may ask" Nihlus began before he turned towards Shepard and gvar him a menacing grin "But the answer may force me to kill you in Anderson's sted".
As Shepard was about to make a stupid retort the door opened once again. He stood at attention and saluted Anderson as he entered.
They would have to continue this conversation later on.
"At ease commander" spoke Anderson "I hope you have made a good first impression on our mutual friend here".
"The kind that almost leaves a smudge of your face on the back of a turain, sir?" joke Shepard before he regretted his lack control.
Nihlus snickered slightly at the commander's joke. And this in turn made David shake his head at this juvenile antics.
What a ride was he in for.
"If you are done with the only reminder as to why I never dared to take you to a bar in your father's sted… I came to debrief you on the true purpose of our mission, commander" the mention of his late father sombered Shepard back to reality, standing firm as he said so.
This was not lost on Nihlus.
Almost immediately alarms blared across Shepard's mind, this could not be good. "What is the real mission, sir?" pleading to whatever was watching over him to not make this situation blow extremely out of proportion.
"This isn't just a shakedown mission Shepard" began to tell Nihlus "In truth i come as representative of the council to assess your skills and psychological profile" the alarms got even louder "For you see, it has been decided that humanity has earned the right to join the rank of the spectres, and as such they have called for the best of the best to represent them" he then pointed a finger to him "And as such, here you are" said Nihlus taking a pause before that last statement in order to nail home what was being asked of Shepard.
The best of the best…
A human spectre…
Him?
"I know you must have a lot of questions son, but the truth of the matter is that this decision wasn't made lightly or without thorough consideration" began Anderson "In reality there couldn't be a more appropriate choice than you Shepard. Ever since Akuze I have been keeping a close eye on you or your actions. Everything I have seen so far confirms to me that even though you bear the mark of that incident you have forced yourself to do better in every single of your other assignments".
Shepard was stunned.
He couldn't fathom the possibility of being rewarded for his actions, but Anderson's word stuck home in more ways than one.
"It wasn't your fault Shepard" he began once again "Since your first day within the alliance you have strode towards achieving all of your goals as you rose through the ranks. Hell, you even surpassed my records among the N-7 program, you lucky son of a bitch" he finished with a grin.
"Such drive is exactly what is missing within the spectres, Shepard" this time it was Nihlus "For even though your race is late to the galactic race, I and a few others have seen the potential of your people as a force for common good".
This stunned the commander.
He almost wished to refuse.
But before he could answer, Joker's voice flared through the intercom "Captain there's a situation developing on Eden Prime, Alliance communications are packed with reports of an attack on the Colony. Patching visuals now…"
As the trio turned towards the Holo-screen they could only stare in horror at what was unfolding in the paradise that once had been that world.
As the body camara from several soldiers recorded the carnage, through the dust and ash that covered the fiel Shepard could see the silhouette of several figures.
What all of them shared was a strange glow coming from the place where their heads would be and he was forced to see as this enemies gunned down the defenders with strange and unknown weapons.
Their perspective shifted with every soldier that was killed and to Shepard's surprise and horror they ended up with the perspective of a soldier who's identification read A. Williams.
Shepard had a strong suspicion of whom this may be and he prayed to goodness that he was wrong.
The perspective showed the soldier attacking a group of the figures as they tried to approach a civilian bunker.
But as soon as the enemy was dealt with something got the attention of the soldier and what remained of the squad assigned to that patrol.
They looked up in horror and saw darkness fall upon their home.
From the sky they saw a large figure as it descended with impossible speed. What they assumed to be a ship that was escorted by smaller silver vessel fell towards the most densely populated settlement of the colony without slowing down and as it slammed it's bulk against the ground it decimated the city in an instant, killing hundreds of thousands in just one motion.
The spires and homes that constituted the skyline of that city were reduced to rubble in one strike.
They looked in horror as the ship began to move and topple what structures dared to stand in its way while it's escort rained fired around the titanic ship.
David quickly broke the silence "Joker get us to Eden Prime. I want to be there by yesterday".
"Aye, aye captain" responded Joker immediately.
"Shepard, Nihlus. We have to help coordinate a response to the attack, our original mission may have to be moved to a secondary priority" said Anderson as he was making his way towards the exit "Commander, get your squad prepared for landing in a hot zone".
"Sir, yes sir" replied Shepard. And as Anderson left the comms room, Shepard turned towards Nihlus "Nihlus. What was the original mission?"
Nihlus looked at him for a moment before answering "They found a relic, Shepard. One which safeguards a vast array of information. One similar to the one which helped your kind advance leaps through the technological curve" Nihlus placed a hand on the commanders shoulder "I hope you know what that means for the rest of the galaxy and the importance such an object carries" he removed his hand and made way for the exit, leaving the commander awestruck in the comm room.
A Prothean beacon.
This couldn't be good.
Afterword.
So yeah, I made Nihlus a three dimensional character with more than a page's worth of dialogue and whose fate is more than to be Ohioed in the first act of the game..
Edited 15/02/23
Edit - Purge the unclean (plates).