A/N: So… I had some ideas tearing at my skull and decided I wanted to write about a Ruthless Shep and provide some background as to why she became the Butcher of Torfan. I'm not totally sure I like the name, but whatever, I couldn't think of anything better :P

What I can't decide on, is the romance interests. I'm thinking Saren, because frankly, I'm obsessed with that bastard. I'm also up for suggestions as I'm curious what everyone would rather read about. So let me know your preference and, while I can't do them all, I will take them all into consideration - and yes it has to be a turian ;)

Choices: Saren, Nihlus, Garrus, Councilor Sparatus, General Septimus, Others?

Mindoir 2170

The window fogged with her breath as she watched the congregation taking place outside. From what she could make out of the muffled voices, an alien ship had just made an emergency landing and was in need of fuel. These aliens were stranger looking than any she had ever witnessed before. During her sixteen years of life she had seen asari, salarians, and even very few turians, but never one of these. They had two or three sets of eyes – exactly which number she couldn't quite make out. Several nose ridges lined the center of their faces. The folds of their skin were accentuated by the red face paint that adorned their russet skin. They were curious individuals and she wondered if she'd be able to meet them up close before they left Mindoir.

"Adrianna, dinner is going to get cold," her mother stated in an angry tone. She'd been nagging her for a while now, but the new arrivals were far more interesting than the bland vegetables that were a result of the colony's poor, dry harvest.

"One minute, Mom…" the girl muttered, giving her mother the benefit of a one-second glance over her shoulder.

She looked back to the scene outside to watch her father speaking to, what appeared to be, the leader of the visitors. Everyone typically referred to Adrianna's father as the colony's representative when it came to aliens. He'd often studied the cultures of the other races, and therefore had a penchant for inspiring peaceful relations. She watched intently as the alien leader grinned at something her father had said. The unsettling uncertainty that had hung over the adults' faces had finally begun to wash away. Leave it to Dad, she thought with relief. She was about to push herself away from the window pane when, to her horror, the alien leader raised his gun. From that point, time seemed to move in slow motion; however, not slow enough to have any chance of turning the tide of events that followed.

She heard her mother's gasp behind her as the muffled discharge of the weapon filled the room. "Adrianna, get away from the window!" She felt a strong grip grasp her shoulders, pulling her away until the bloody scene disappeared from view. Her mind, however, still hung on to the image of her father falling to the ground at the alien's feet.

Holding on tightly to her teenage daughter, Hannah peered out of a much smaller window, the name of her deceased husband hanging on her lips like a ghost. Now was not the time to mourn. She needed to get Adrianna to safety; the batarians were heading for the houses!

She grabbed the teenager sternly by the shoulders. "You need to find somewhere to hide."

Adrianna narrowed her hazel eyes defiantly. "No." She knew what her mother's intent was, and she wasn't going to allow it. There were too many of them and they would overwhelm her within seconds, no matter how good her aim.

"Adrianna, what have I always told you?" Hannah Shepard came from a strict military background, and she always made certain to instill the same discipline into her daughter.

"Do as I'm ordered, no matter the cost," the teen replied. From a young age she'd been taught to transcend emotional boundaries to accomplish what is necessary. This, much to the dismay of her father, was a strong trait her mother held on to throughout the years. It was the reason she survived the First Contact War as a hero and retired from the military as a renowned naval captain.

Hannah allowed herself an appreciative smile as she took in her daughter's maturing features. I taught her well, she thought proudly. It satisfied her that she could leave this world knowing that, even without her parents, Adrianna would be strong enough to survive this cruel galaxy and develop into a woman even Hannah could've looked up to. "Go now," she urged.

Adrianna took one final look at her mother's emerald green gaze before running off to the adjoining kitchen to tuck herself away in a dark, cramped cabinet.

Once her daughter was out of sight, Hannah readied her heavy pistol, preparing to take down as many as she could before meeting her end. As she suspected, it didn't take long before the batarians were bursting through her door. The first to cross the threshold, she shot in the head. He fell back, pushing the following intruders back out the door. The delay bought her only a short time to collect her nerves and level another shot. The weight of the firearm felt comforting in her hands, like a close friend. She recalled the time she had led a small team of inexperienced soldiers on Shanxi. They held back the Turian force with limited ammo and were eventually reduced to using mere pistols. The one that had protected her that day was much like this one, its weight almost identical.

She unloaded on two more batarians that pushed their way through. As she prepared to take on the next few assailants, the crashing of glass filled her ears. Suddenly remembering the window that had overlooked the horrific scene, she quickly turned to put down a fourth batarian that had taken aim on her from outside. A pain in her gut indicated that he must've shot through the window to break it, successfully striking her in the process. Knitting her brows she pushed passed the pain to face more that had begun piling through the door, one handling some fairly crude netting. Slavers. Their arrival at the colony was certainly no accident.

The roaring adrenaline in her ears finally dissipated enough for her to hear the cries of women and children echoing outside as they were being captured, killed, or worse. Batarian slavers were not known for treating their potential cargo kindly, and she dreaded to think of what those that invaded her house would do to her or her daughter. Forcing herself to drown out the painful shouts, she focused on her aggressors.

One stared hard at her, a sneer on his ugly face. "Why don't you put the gun down, human? We don't want to have to kill you. It would be such a waste."

"Forget this one!" another snarled. "She's too much trouble for the return."

Hannah clenched her jaw, peering through the crosshairs which lingered between the closest alien's sets of eyes. This is the end of the line for me, Adrianna. Take care of yourself my daughter. Holding her breath, she took the shot; the look of surprise on the batarian's face evident even before the round struck its target. Before the body even had time to slump to the floor, her ears rang with the sound of return gunshots. The shots quickly became muffled until they faded into a distant, indiscernible resonance. The pain had subsided before she even noticed it existed, the numbness taking over. She hadn't even felt herself fall to her knees. Nor could she see the batarians that had assaulted her as her world faded into a grey haze.

Adrianna wasn't sure how long she'd been bathed in the safe darkness of the cabinet. The screams within the colony died off long ago, however she was afraid to face whatever waited for her outside the comfort of the blackness that surrounded her. Her mother was dead and she cursed herself for allowing her to die alone. Despite the relief of being alive, she felt like a horrible coward. She lowered her head until her forehead touched her folded-up knees. Her body ached from the cramped space that was barely large enough to fit her small frame. Even so, she'd wait here a while longer, until she was certain the aliens had gone.

The teen had barely drifted off to sleep when she heard a noise; the swish of a door. It was closely followed by a clank; the sound of a boot against the metal flooring. The muffled sound of more footsteps filled her ears, followed by a sigh and the creak of armor. Adrianna clenched her jaw, silently praying that she wouldn't be found by this new presence as the boot trail loomed closer. She nearly breathed a sigh of relief as it proceeded past her hiding place and towards the back door. Please leave, she thought hopefully. Please…

She waited a few minutes, listening intently for additional movement. After a while of waiting, the footsteps shifted and backtracked, stopping right before the small row of cabinets she claimed as her concealment. She held her breath, praying that they would move on. She'd survived too long for it to all end now…

Suddenly the door to the cabinet flung open, pouring the bright light of the afternoon into the darkened space. A turian crouched before her, blue avian eyes studying her curiously. "You're lucky batarians don't have a keen sense of smell, human. You reek of fear."

She scowled at him. "Go away," she snapped.

His eyes widened in shock at her response. "You should be more respectful, girl. I could just leave you here if you'd rather."

"Good." If he wasn't going to kill her, he could at least leave her be. She would fend for herself until the Alliance arrived to survey the attack and rally survivors. She most certainly didn't want to go with this unknown turian.

"Everyone else is dead," he explained. "And it will be a while before the Alliance shows up to help you."

Adrianna simply frowned at him in response.

"Fine," he said finally. "You may stay here with the corpses."

Rising to his feet she could no longer see his face and the stunning blue eyes that had stared back at her. It made her suddenly feel very lonely. As he started to walk away, the pace of her heart beat sped up anxiously. The sudden thought of being left all alone in this colony of dead and decaying bodies suddenly disturbed her. "Wait!"

Squeezing her way out of the narrow opening on hands and knees she scrambled to her feet and took off after the departing turian. She left the kitchen only to be met with the horrid scene of her mother laying face down in a pool of her own blood and surrounded by the bodies of those she killed before meeting her end. Adrianna gasped and placed her hand over her mouth, trying to keep herself from vomiting.

The turian who stood amidst the bloody scene looked back at her, a calm expression on his pale face. "She fared better than most. Had she still been alive she would have prayed to the spirits for this fate."

Adrianna felt the tears sting her eyes as she looked upon the body of her mother, riddled with wounds, the blood slowly drying over them. Hannah Shepard died as she had lived, bravely. Would Adrianna ever be able to possess the strength her mother retained until the very end? She hoped so.

"Let's go. We're wasting time here."

Adrianna tore her gaze from her mother's lifeless body to peer up at the turian who stood impatiently before her. "Who are you anyway?"

His back straightened and he bristled, surprised by the sudden question; or was it her change in tone and expression? Though dampness was still clearly visible in her hazel eyes, her features were now as stony as her voice. "I'm a Spectre."

The girl nodded absently. She wasn't sure what a Spectre was, but she also wasn't going to admit it to this seemingly supercilious turian either. "You don't have a name?"

"You don't need to know it," he retorted. He didn't need this girl throwing his name around, leading everyone to believe he was a human sympathizer.

When the human girl finally moved, she did so carefully around her mother's corpse, taking care not to disturb it. However, he was surprised when she stepped, more forcefully than was necessary, onto the back of a fallen batarian which lay at his feet. Even with the added height under her feet, she wasn't even close to being eye-level with him. "I'm Adrianna Shepard," she said, holding out her hand. He was not quite sure what to make of this one. The girl was quite brash. It was a trait he expected in humans, however not in one quite so young. Ignoring her outstretched hand, he stared into her hazel eyes. There was something different about this one... Quickly letting go of the thought, he released a short scoff, he turned on his heels and left out the door. It was only a few moments later that he heard the girl come trudging after him.