Commander Jane Shepard had recently survived an assassination attempt by a sniper, which also injured Karen, who was now aboard a Phoenix Starship with her arm in a sling. The rest of Shepard's crew had also joined them on the ship not long ago. Karen was now sitting in the mess hall, thinking about what Tali'Zorah had revealed to her. It was hard to believe that governments would go to such lengths against their own people. Karen couldn't understand what the Alliance was hoping to gain from their actions.
As Karen rested her head in her hands, Sara Anderson sat in front of her, looking at her with a questioning expression. What Sara said next took Karen by surprise.
"Karen, I need to talk to him," Sara said firmly to Karen, who looked surprised by her sudden demand.
Karen started to respond, "I have..." but Sara interrupted her, not wanting to hear any excuses. "Don't! I know you can contact him! I need to talk to Hackett!" Sara practically shouted.
Karen sighed, realizing that Sara was not going to back down. She stood up from her table and motioned for Sara to follow her. They quickly boarded a shuttle headed for the Enterprise, and the ride felt like the longest one of Karen's life.
Once they arrived, they made their way straight to the QEC. Karen entered a code that she had received shortly before the Prime Minister betrayed her. It was given to her right after her meeting, as she was changing out of her Alliance uniform just before Phoenix picked her up. As the last input went in, the QEC beeped a few times, and a blue hologram of Hackett appeared.
Hackett began to address Karen, but before he could get a word out, he was met with an angry Sara Anderson. "What the hell were you thinking! Shooting Shepard!" Sara screamed at the old Admiral; her voice filled with fury.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Hackett asked in genuine confusion. "Yes, we have a kill order on Shepard. But no one in the Alliance or Hierarchy has authorization to carry it out, as killing Shepard would only make her a martyr," Hackett explained to the two women.
"Someone just shot Shepard. She barely survived," Sara started to tell the admiral. Hackett cursed under his breath, knowing the implications of that information.
Sara turned to Hackett, her anger still palpable. "I just needed to hear it from you. I needed to hear that my father would not order such an order," she said to the old admiral.
"Tell this war is over, dad. You won't hear from either of us. Goodbye, Admiral. Try and stay safe," Sara said as she cut the connection. She then erased the com code and blocked it from ever being used again.
Sara stormed out of the QEC and headed towards the bridge of the Enterprise, her anger palpable. Karen followed closely, hoping to get some answers from the former Alliance Intelligence Director.
"Where are you going, Sara?" Karen asked, hoping for an explanation.
"To the one person who might be able to fill in some blanks," Sara replied tersely.
As they reached the CIC and exited the elevator, Gibson was back at his station. He spoke up without looking away from his work, "Hudson wants to have a word with you two."
Without delay, Karen and Sara made their way to the bridge. As they approached the helm, they saw Katherine Hudson in conversation with someone they could only assume was the Phoenix Director. After a few moments, Hudson ended the call and turned her chair to both Sara and Karen.
Katherine raised her voice, "Next time you want to talk to the enemy, don't do it on the Enterprise!" Sara just stared at the helmsman, whom she had researched before coming aboard. She was a former Alliance helmsman of an Alliance cruiser who had disappeared after the war, only to resurface working for Phoenix with Shepard in tow.
Everyone on board knew that Hudson was the First Officer, but command had been placed in Karen's hands. Katherine was okay with that, as she had previously told them.
Sara cut to the chase, "Who shot Shepard? Don't give me that hogwash that it was the Alliance." Katherine closed the door to the helm and brought out a small jammer, leaving the two women in front of her in silence.
Katherine responded, "Look, I don't know who shot her. All I know is that it was not the Alliance or Hierarchy. But frankly, it's a moot point right now. Phoenix will use Shepard's attempted assassination to our advantage." Katherine's admission confirmed what Sara had been thinking but had not yet said out loud.
Sara demanded an answer, "Was it Phoenix?"
"I don't know...I hope not," Katherine replied, looking at them both. Sara noticed a glimpse of worry in Katherine's eyes, but it wasn't just worry about a friend. It was something more.
Sara probed further, "What is Shepard to you?" Katherine was taken aback by the question, but Sara used her training and asked again.
Katherine hesitated before finally admitting, "We're together..." This confession surprised Sara, as it was the first time, she had seen Katherine show such emotion.
"I never knew Jane to be..." Sara began to say, but Katherine cut her off.
"BI? I didn't think I was, either. But right before we left her exile location, we chose to act on our feelings. Trust me, we have been very cautious about it. We just don't know what will happen," Katherine explained. "Sneaking up to her quarters, and Jane was going to tell you about us. But...things happened," Katherine admitted to Shepard's oldest friend.
Sara persisted and asked the question again, "Was it Phoenix who shot Shepard?" She hoped to finally get a straight answer. Katherine remained silent for a few short moments before nodding yes, confirming Sara's suspicions. Sara was furious and saw red, but before she could react, Katherine spoke up.
"Shepard agreed to the plan. I was there when she had that conversation with the director. Shepard knew it would change the dynamics of the war, or so we hope," Katherine explained. Sara was still angry, but she had calmed down slightly.
Sara then asked about the Orbital Station, "What about the Orbital Station?"
"I don't know. It's possible that Phoenix was involved, but Shepard never said anything about it to me or anyone else," Katherine admitted.
"Is she awake?" Sara demanded, her tone leaving no room for doubt. Katherine nodded in response. Karen, who had been standing next to Sara, was shocked by what she had just heard. As the shock wore off, both Karen and Sara were absolutely furious.
"One last thing," Sara said, her voice dripping with anger. "If you ever hurt my friend in any way, not even the legendary Commander Shepard will be able to save you." With those words, both women stormed off, determined to confront legendary Commander Jane Shepard.
--
"We're advancing now! Krogan forces are pushing the Alliance back!" Jack reports.
"Excellent work. Keep the pressure up," Shepard replies, firing her SCAR rifle at the retreating Alliance as she advances with her allied forces. However, she's unaware of a lone sniper in a ruined building who has taken aim at her. The sniper waits and watches as Shepard continues to fight alongside her allies. As the Alliance falls back, the sniper sees an opportunity to take the shot.
As Shepard changed her magazine, a slug slammed into her, sending her back a few feet, and she slammed into a Geth rocket trooper. Quickly, the Geth pulled her out of the line of fire as Shepard remained on the ground while being dragged away. A trail of crimson blood followed her as one of the Quarian marines approached her.
"Objective finished," the sniper said over his comset.
"Will she survive?" The voice on the other end of the line asked.
"Barely, but yes," the sniper replied.
The marine assessed the situation and saw that the slug hit Shepard's vest just above her heart. Unfortunately, it shattered the ceramic plate and went straight through her, exiting out her back. The marine did what he could to help the hero of the galaxy.
"We need immediate medical evacuation! Commander Shepard is down and critical! I repeat, we need immediate medical evacuation!" the Quarian marine announced urgently over the comms.
"What about the Captain?" the sniper inquired.
"Wound her as well. I need them both off the field for now," the voice on the other end of the line responded.
"Understood, Director Harper," the sniper acknowledged.
After a few moments a shuttle comes into view. Karen moves over and stays close to Commander Shepard, who is unconscious, as they both watch a Phoenix shuttle approach and land near them. Four Turian soldiers exit the shuttle, with two of them grabbing hold of the wounded Commander Shepard while the other two open fire on the Alliance positions. Karen sees the commander being taken away and, as the shuttle's door is about to close, she is hit by a sniper round in the arm, shattering her ceramic armor. She cries out in pain.
"It's done, ma'am," the sniper stated.
"Good. Now get out of there," the director ordered.
"Yes, Director," the sniper replied as he made his way out of the building.