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Fractured MirrorThis newest story inspired by
RedTracer7------------------------
Morning was sending out it's call. Light was breaking over the nearby mountains, shedding light into a ruined building. Within, huddled four people. Having moved little the whole evening, a turian in blue armor kept his rifle scoped on the outside, eyes trained on any movement.
Nearby, an armored human sat huddled with a suited quarian. She leaned on the male, as he checked his heat levels of his rifle again. Just to his left, a human female in similar, though bloodied armor also sat on the wall. Her helmet was on her knee as she fiddled with the settings on her assault rifle.
"Never thought we'd find ourselves in a place like this together, did you Shepard?" The human female asked.
Shepard shook his head softly, to not wake his sleeping companion. He looked over at his fellow soldier; scar on her face, short red hair wild, lazing red eyes tired.
"No Aowyn, I really didn't," the commander replied after a moment. "When Hackett sent me the intel on a missing N7, I never expected it to be you."
The human female, Aowyn, laughed mercilessly. "Always figured you'd be there when I finally couldn't get the job done." She placed a hand over the hole in her armor; one lung was collapsed, but the suits medical systems were keeping her up, for now. She turned back to him.
"I always thought you were weak, y'know?" At his surprise, she raised an eyebrow. "Not that you aren't skilled; have to be to be an N7. Just, I always thought you were soft. Cared to much about people."
"And look at you," she continued. "Lion of Elysium, Hero of the Citadel. A living legend." She coughed. "You play dead for 2 years, and everyone is still talking about you."
He held up a hand. "I didn't do it alone," Shepard responded.
"You never leave anyone behind if you can help it, do you?"
"Not unless the Commander has no choice," Garrus said even as he scanned the lane before their cover. "Area still clear."
"That was always the difference between us," She added after a moment. "If it meant completing the mission, I'd let people on my team die." She held up a hand. "Never maliciously. But if it meant saving them or take a chance of not completing the mission, then I chose the mission. Every time."
"I couldn't do that," Shepard said, looking down at Tali as she slept on his shoulder.
"And that's why they picked you, not me."
Aowyn smirked. "Ironic that they send you to help me," she stated. "Ready to make a break from this hellhole?"
Shepard agreed and gently woke Tali. When he was sure she was up and ready, he collected his gear and held a hand out to the N7 agent.
"Let's get out of here."
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"Drone out!" Shepard shouted to Tali as he used a biotic field to reave some opponents out of cover. As it deployed, he called out, "Everyone to the shuttle."
They ran. They had been running for nearly an hour, fleeing the batarians that had ambushed the Butcher of Torfan while her team was on a mission. Garrus was already at the ship, using his rifle to provide covering fire.
Tali ran first, followed by Shepard and Aowyn. Shots ricocheted around them as they ran. The quarian reached the ship first, turning to add more fire as her Captain ran just slightly ahead of their ally.
A loud shot rang out. Shepard's tech armor exploded as the force staggered him. He heard Tali shouting in horror. He glanced back to see a rocket incoming to his position. He felt an impact, then an explosion.
As his head cleared, the commander realized he had a heavy weight on him. Eyes blinked as the weight cleared and he rolled over. He was vaguely aware that the shuttle was moving as it happened.
Eyes widened as he finished rolling over. Tali was applying medigel as best she could to Aowyn's back. Her armor was blasted away, parts still smoking from the impact of the missile. She was unconscious.
"What happened," Shepard asked as he rushed over and began helping Tali.
Tali looked at him briefly. "Sniper dropped your shields John," she said as she worked. "Aowyn used some sort of a biotic attack and launched herself into you. Between the collision and the force of the explosion, it knocked both of you to the shuttle."
"Let's make sure she makes it."
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A few days later"You know I hated you for the longest time," Aowyn began as she stood in front of Shepard. The commander was in the briefing room, going over some data files.
"Oh?" he asked.
The red head nodded. "They picked you, and I couldn't figure out why. Not until a few days ago. I get it now."
"What do you understand?" Shepard asked with a smile.
"You care," Aowyn responded. "About people; about life. I might get the job done more efficiently, but you get it done right. I could tell just from the look on your teams face. They cared."
"I care about them too," he replied easily. "They're my best friends."
She nodded. "Without them, you'd just have the mission, right. You wouldn't be alive." Her head bowed. "I get it now. I've never seen my team look at me like that."
"You have a team, a family, that loves you," she started again after a moment. "You have a reason to live, to keep going. More than just a mission. She turned to leave, as she walked out the door, she spoke again.
"I don't have that, yet." She looked back and winked. "I will though. And we'll see who's really the best then."
"Looking forward to it," Shepard said with a smile. "See you around space, Aowyn."
"Keep on living Shepard." She paused. "I heard scuttlebutt that Zaeed Masani is on this ship; it true?"
Shepard nodded. "Yes."
"Tell him something for me," she said quietly. "Tell him: No more shallow graves. He'll know what I mean."
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Later that day, Shepard wandered down to Engineering. Before heading to talk to Tali, he instead walked to Zaeed's room. He looked around, and saw the mercenary drinking from a bottle of scotch and holding Jesse.
"She gone?" The veteran asked without looking up.
"Yep," Shepard replied. "Told me to tell you, 'no more shallow graves'." The merc's eye widened.
"Damn woman."
Shepard leaned on a box. "What's the story?" He asked, well acquainted with Zaeed's tendency to drift into a memory.
"Remember when I told you about when I met her?" Shepard nodded. "It goes back to when we first landed. After the firefight that got us to her position, one of her soldiers had a bad wound, and was nearly gone.
As he died, he begged her not to bury him on this planet. I didn't get it at first."
He lit a cigar before continuing. "Once night fell, and the fighting stopped for the evenin', she walked past our position and started using her biotics to dig a trench. After a couple of minutes, she had made a big enough hole. Her remaining men brought over their dead, and she took the dog tags before tossin'm in the pit." He took a puff and shook his head.
"Weird of her to do, but it happened every night. Any of her dead, she'd take the dog tags and give 'em a short grave burial," he finished. Finally, he looked up at Shepard. "Damn, but you do have an effect on people."
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Shepard meets...someone that could have been the hero of the Citadel.
Modifié par uhdnrt, 19 juillet 2010 - 10:48 .