Yet Another Mass Effect Fanfic

She was feeling uneasy waiting in the corridor in front of the headmaster's office. She had only been in this school for a few weeks, and although she didn't know the headmaster very well, she knew for certain she was in trouble. None of the 37 different Alliance schools she had attended looked too kindly on students with violence outbursts. Her mother certainly didn't. And she was the one whose reaction scared her the most. Still, she couldn't regret punching that boy. For once he'd actually picked on the wrong girl. She had punched him so hard, he literally flew across the room. Even she was startled by her own strength.

"Shepard, Jane Shepard?"

She jumped to her feet. The headmaster was there, standing in the doorway of his office, with a weird smile on his face.

She came in, only to face her parents.

"Mum? Dad?"

She knew they'd both learn about it eventually, but having to endure their stares as the headmaster lectured her was not something she had anticipated. She sat down on the only remaining chair, between the two of them, carefully avoiding their gazes. The headmaster was staring at her now, and she felt really uncomfortable.

"So," he said, "I heard you caused quite some mayhem earlier, young lady."

She hadn't expect such an indulgent tone and raised an eyebrow.

The headmaster added, "I was just discussing with your parents whether you had already shown some... potential in handling mass effect fields."

She opened her eyes wide. What was this all about? She found the strength to glance at her parents, checking their expressions. Her father smiled gently at her, but her mother's face was inscrutable as ever.

The headmaster kept on talking, "This probably is new to you, Jane. Truthfully, it's new to every one of us. But it's a good thing, you know. A great opportunity."

She wondered where it was all going. "An opportunity?" She had the feeling it involved moving again.

The headmaster nodded. "Our school cannot offer proper training for you. But we are aware of a facility that can. Now I realize it's a bit far away, and you're still very young... but it's a once-in-a-lifetime chance, Jane."

She repeated, thoughtful, "A bit far away? What do you mean?" She had always been used to living on ships and moving twice a year at least, so that wasn't an issue for her.

Her mother interjected, "He means we can't go there with you, Jane. You'll be on your own."

She felt her head spin. "On my own?"

Her father added, "Well, not really on your own sweetheart... there will be other people like you there, other students. But we won't be able to come along or visit. It's just for a little while, honey."

She was feeling a bit lost. She asked, "Is it... is it up to me?"

Her father answered, "We wouldn't want to force you into something you don't want, dear. Whatever you choose will be fine."

She asked again, "Do I need to make the decision now?"

The headmaster said, "There are a few arrangements to make, so the sooner the better, young lady."

She stared at her parents for a while, then turned to the headmaster. "Well... okay."

A few hours later, Jane was aboard a vessel heading for Jump Zero. She barely had time to kiss her parents goodbye and round up a few things to bring along with her. She had been greeted by a young woman that introduced herself as a Conatix Industries nurse. The nurse had showed her her cabin, and had asked her when her last meal had been. She had explained that she needed to undergo a small operation to be able to perform well during her training and that the surgeon would come and visit her soon. So there she was, sitting on a bunk, waiting and wondering what the operation was about, and what the school they were taking her to was like.

Were there a lot of children her age? How long would she be away? What exactly would they expect from her? Would the teachers be nice? She assumed they would be, as the headmaster seemed to imply that her "gift" was somehow precious.

The door of her cabin opened and a man came in, followed by the nurse. The man had a stern face and Jane felt ill at once. He seemed to have been scoping her out since the moment he came in, as if she was some kind of merchandise.

"Age?" he suddenly asked, turning on his omnitool.

She needed a minute to understand he was actually asking a question, then babbled, "me... I'm thirteen."

He kept on questioning her, "Pubescent?"

She stared at him. "Excuse me?"

He asked again, "did you start having periods?"

She stammered something unintelligible.

The nurse intervened. "Maybe... you want me to take care of it, doctor?"

The man looked at her sideways. "Right. Might save me some time. I've got more important things to do."

He pushed a few buttons on his omnitool, and the nurse's wrist started glowing. She waited for him to go out then turned it off.

"Are you alright?" she asked gently.

Jane looked at her but didn't answer.

The nurse added, "I don't know how much they've told you, but I guess you must be rather frightened. I know the surgeon can be a bit... blunt. But he's one of the best for this surgery so don't worry about it. I'll be there to take care of you."

As the nurse seemed to expect an answer, she nodded slowly.

The nurse smiled. "I'll bring you everything you need to get ready for surgery, okay?"

She nodded again.

She was now having second thoughts about the whole thing, but she couldn't think of a way out. She was actually on a ship in the middle of nowhere. She had no choice but to trust the more trustworthy of the two people she had met. Or at least the less untrustworthy.

The fog of the drugs was slowly clearing up. Jane tried to sit up, but couldn't. She remembered snatches of speech, like bits of dream lingering on.

The nurse asking, "Is it really fine? I mean, she's so young..."

The doctor talking to himself, "Bleeding controlled. Most likely minimal to no brain damage. Interesting case."

Another voice she'd never heard, "Really... what are they sending our way, now... Humans... they don't know the first thing about what they're doing."

Something about it felt weird, but she couldn't quite pinpoint what it was.

She tried to open her eyes, but the light was hurting her. She had a weird feeling, something about her head was different. She tried to touch it with her right hand, but she realized she couldn't. Her hands were tied. She wondered why. She tried again to open her eyes, more slowly, this time.

The light was blinding, but she had to endure the pain: she needed to know where she was. The room was almost empty, looked a bit like a prison cell. A dim light was radiating from the stars on the other side of a porthole. She assumed she was still on a ship, maybe a different one. Her throat was dry, throbbing.

She wondered when she last had something to drink. She tried to call, but her voice was muffled, and she wasn't sure anyone could hear her. She slowly slid back into sleep.

The door opened suddenly, banging against the wall. She tried to cover her ears, but her hands were still tied.

"You're awake at last." The voice was loud, so loud... She felt like someone was hitting her head with a hammer, nailing through her skull.

"Please..." she begged. "Not so loud..."

He tossed something on the table at the other side of the room then came closer.

She opened her eyes slightly. The face of the turian was so close to hers that she jumped. She had seldom seen turians before, and had never felt a turian's gaze on her like that. She carefully moved till her back touched the wall, her wrists twisted by the ties.

"What's your name, boy?" he asked sharply.

She answered cautiously, "Shepard."

His voice betrayed a slight amusement. "That's it? No first name?"

She felt uncomfortable with revealing her first name, and especially her real gender. She assessed it would be safer to keep it to herself for now. "Just call me Shepard."

He laughed. "Okay then, Shepard. Here is the deal: you have not eaten nor drunk for the past 36 hours. Your throat is so dry it hurts, and your stomach has been empty for so long you're not even hungry anymore. Now there's only one way you can get out of this room: you get the glass I put on the table there and you drink from it. Once you're done, we'll give you food, real clothes, and a real room with the other students. Got it, Shepard?"

She nodded slowly. His deep voice was painfully reverberating in her head.

"Good boy," he added, making his way towards the door.

"Wait!" she called.

He stopped.

She swallowed slowly. "The table... it's too far away, I can't... my hands are tied... Can you untie me?"

He laughed. "You misunderstood me, Shepard. Your training begins now. If you can't even get that glass, you've got no business staying here. And by that, I don't mean that there is a way back for you. You either exit this room a student, or a corpse."

He slammed the door behind him, the sound echoing painfully in her head for a few minutes.

Shepard had tried to untie her wrists with her teeth, to squeeze her hands to get rid of the ties, to physically pull the bed towards the table... but nothing worked. She was still stuck 50 centimeters away from the glass.

She tried to think about it. Had the turian only meant to frighten her? Was there some kind of trick? She tried to remember everything the turian had said, the nurse had said, the doctor had said... Then she remembered. The headmaster mentioned something about mass effect fields. She had found it peculiar at that time. She didn't know much about it, other than people who were able to control them were called biotics, and that they were able to read other people's minds, or to move objects without touching them. That must be what they expected from her now... but how was she supposed to do that? She had no idea how dark energy worked, or how a biotic moved things around. Her throat was so dry, each breath burnt her whole trachea.

She raised her right arm towards the table, tried to focus on the glass. She wondered if she was supposed to feel something in her arm, or in her head. Nothing moved. She tried to close her eyes, to shout, to clench her fist, to move her arm around. No luck. She tried again and again, for hours.

She felt like crying, like giving up, but she knew it wouldn't change anything. The turian told her there was no turning back, and she feared he had not been lying. Despair slowly crept upon her, and she was so focused on her will to survive that she couldn't feel pain anymore. She couldn't help but try again and again, hoping to see at least a ripple on the water that could show her she was heading in the right direction.

She thought to herself, "I'm gonna die here." And that was all she could think of from that moment on.

Suddenly, she saw a strange bluish light surrounding her, and she felt an agonizing pain in her arm. The glass flew past her and broke against the wall. She howled with pain.

The door sprung open and the turian came in with a human.

"My arm!" shouted Shepard, staring at the blood gushing from her wounds.

The human gave her a shot, and everything became blurry. "Congrats, Shepard, you made it. Try not to bleed out, boy, the fun part is only beginning."

Her eyes opened slowly. She was still feeling a bit numb. She tried to collect her thoughts, to remember where she was. She suddenly realized that there was something covering her, maybe a sheet. Her breathing quickened. Was she dead or something? She sat up quickly, pushing the sheet away. The light blinded her painfully at once, and she screamed. She felt someone push her back quickly, covering her again.

"Take your time. The lights are gonna hurt for a while."

A new voice. She got her breath back, then asked, "Who are you?"

She felt relieved to hear him answer, "A fellow student. My bunk is next to yours. Name's Kaidan. What's yours?"

She still felt hesitant about giving too much information about herself. "Shepard."

Kaidan asked, "How old are you, Shepard?"

She needed more time to assess the situation, but she thought admitting her age wouldn't hurt. "Thirteen."

He answered, "You're kinda small for your age, Shepard. But anyway, welcome to Brain Camp."

She repeated, "Brain Camp?"

Her eyes grew somewhat used to the shadows and she could now perceive the outline of the student she was talking to.

His voice now sounded like he was smiling. "Sorry. It's what we call it here. Not officially, of course."

She was slowly feeling a bit more secure. Maybe it was the sheet covering her. Maybe it was the fact that she was not scared of what might happen to her in the next ten minutes, which had become quite unusual in the past few days. She smiled faintly.

"Are you alright?" asked Kaidan.

She answered quickly, "Yeah, I..."

She suddenly remembered what happened to her arm, and touched it with her other hand. But there was nothing wrong with it.

"Impossible..." she muttered. "My arm... it was shattered... I remember blood, bone splinters sticking out of the wound..."

Although she was more talking to herself than to him, he must have heard her because he answered, "Yeah, it tends to happen a lot when you first experiment with your abilities... they must have used a bunch of medigel on you."

She was still searching for a scar or anything that might prove she had not been dreaming. "Medigel? That can't be it. My arm is just as good as new."

He explained, "Well they kinda improved their formula here, with all the broken limbs they get... check your skull, I'm sure you won't find any surgery scar either."

She swallowed. "My skull?" She touched her head at once. "My hair..." she cried out.

He tried to comfort her, "Ah yeah... they didn't warn you, did they? Well don't worry too much about that, we've all been through that. Besides, it will grow back fast enough."

She sighed. Of course a boy wouldn't mind that much about a shaved head but...

"You should try to sit up," he said. "Vyrnnus won't look too kindly on your absence at breakfast."

She asked, "Vyrnnus, who's that?"

He answered, "Turian instructor. I'm sure you've met already."

Turian... right, no way she could forget that guy.

She sat up slowly, "I can't believe an Alliance program is using a turian instructor..."

He seemed to be pondering her last sentence for a while, then whispered, "They didn't give you much information, did they? It's not an Alliance program, it's civilian, Conatix Industries."

She suddenly remembered the nurse that she met prior to the surgery mentioning the company. Her head was spinning slightly. She had never lived anywhere but on Alliance ships, never associated with civilians in any way. She even wondered if they could be trusted. Then she remembered the mind-reading ability that biotics were supposed to possess and tried to wipe those thoughts out of her mind as Kaidan was close to her.

He broke silence, "You're an Alliance kid, Shepard? You'd better withhold that information from Vyrnnus. I heard they couldn't find your file, and considering how much Vyrnnus loves the Alliance, I'd say you're quite lucky. I wasn't so fortunate and he had to make a comment about my father who served in the Alliance military... needless to say we're not in the best terms right now."

She felt somehow relieved to hear that Kaidan's father had been Alliance. He wasn't a spacer like her, but at least... Maybe he could be trusted after all.

"Do you think I can get up now?"

He answered gently, "Let's try and do this slowly. I suggest you close your eyes for now."

She did as he asked and felt that he pulled the sheet.

"Does it hurt?" he asked.

His voice seemed closer without the sheet between them. She shook her head.

"Then try and open your eyes slowly. There isn't much light, you should get accustomed to it quickly."

She slowly complied. The outline became gradually more and more distinct. The student had short black hair, brown eyes, and seemed a bit older than her.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

She nodded slowly.

"Then we should dash. We can't really afford to be late."

She blinked. "I'm not... I'm not sure I can run right now. I don't think I can keep my eyes open for that long..."

He took her hand in his. "Then you're going to have to trust me."

She blindly followed Kaidan through the corridors. Her eyes closed from time to time, but he was guiding her steadily and they made their way to a big room where other students were already gathered. Kaidan let go of her hand, and she followed his glance. A human was coming their way.

"You're late." he stated, then he stared at Kaidan. "You know the rules, cub."

The student remained silent, and the human turned his body towards Shepard, yet his gaze remained on Kaidan, "Scram, baby boy. I need a word with your godfather."

She made her way to a queue of students, thinking it must be where she was supposed to be. Kaidan had mentioned something about breakfast, and she was rather glad about it. She'd only had food out of IV bags for quite some time, and she was craving the taste of almost anything in her mouth.

When she finally got to the point where she was supposed to get a tray and some silverware, she froze. Everything: tray, silverware, food... was five meters away from them, and some huge furniture was blocking their way. She glanced at her fellow students, and saw that they were all using their biotic abilities to get what they wanted. She looked down at her hands, her unshattered arms. There was no way she could.

One of the students barged into her, and gave her a mean look, "Move, noob..."

She felt like he could use a good beating, but she remembered he was a biotic and guessed she would probably be the one ending up beaten.

She stared at her goals, swallowing, wondering how she could get away from this tricky situation. Suddenly the girl next to her pulled a tray and put it in her hands. She glanced at her, startled. She was a teenager, with a dark complexion, black hair and eyes. She quickly pulled a plate with some eggs on it, a fork and a glass of orange juice she put on the tray, whispering, "Go sit down, I'll bring you some more food."

Shepard did as she was told, quickly sitting down at a table with no students around.

The girl came and sat across from her, adding a few pastries on her tray. "You've got enough?" she asked.

Shepard nodded discreetly.

"You're the new kid, right? I'm Rahna," added the teenager.

"Shepard," she answered. "Thank you for your help."

Rahna smiled faintly. "You might want to work on your pull skill quickly. I noticed you came in with Kaidan, I'm sure he'll help you with that, he's quite good at teaching."

Shepard nodded again. She couldn't help thinking that that girl was suspiciously friendly. Then she remembered the mind-reading stuff and tried to think about something else.

Kaidan came and sat next to her. "Hey Rahna, you met Shepard?"

Rahna asked at once, "What did the merc want?"

Kaidan winced. "Warned me that next time I'm late he'll send me to Vyrnnus."

Rahna jumped. Shepard gazed at the teenager. She had turned pale. Shepard wondered if it was something Kaidan had said. She glanced at the guy to see if he noticed anything.

He raised his head and looked at her, puzzled. "Are you alright?"

She was feeling uneasy. She wondered how much they could get from her thoughts, so she whispered, "can't you... read my mind?"

He laughed, and Rahna smiled warmly.

"Ah, it's a common misconception, Shepard. We don't do telepathy. We do telekinesis. Not the same, you see."

Shepard felt relieved, knowing that her thoughts were safe.

Rahna winked, "There, you look like you're feeling better already."

Shepard smiled faintly.

"Shepard?"

She stood still, listening. The dormitory was silent, but she could swear she had heard someone calling her name.

"Shepard?"

Yet again. She drew the sheet from her head and looked around. Kaidan was lying in the bed next to hers, his eyes wide open.

"You're not sleeping?" she asked.

"Neither are you," he answered. "Are you still training?"

She nodded slowly, clenching her fingers on the plastic glass she had been trying to pull for a few hours now.

He sighed. "I knew it, I could see the glow."

She apologized. "I didn't mean to keep you awake. I thought the sheet would be enough..."

He shook his head. "It's alright. But you should get some sleep now. You won't make any progress if you're too tired."

She tried not to sound too disappointed, answering, "I guess you're right."

But he noticed her tone, and said, "You know, it was hard on all of us when we first got here, seeing others able to do so much and you can hardly pull a thing. You just need to be patient. You'll get there, eventually."

She suddenly felt very tired. She knew he was right, and that no matter how hard she worked now, it wouldn't do any good. She needed the rest. She flopped down onto her bed. Kaidan had been very supportive of her since she got here, and had provided very useful advice for her training. She knew now that she could trust him, and had thought about telling him the truth about her. But somehow the time never seemed to be right.

She swallowed, muttering before she closed her eyes, "Thank you."

Shepard had always wondered about the humans working at Brain Camp. She wondered how they were recruited, what they'd been told about the students, and why they decided to do it.

She reckoned it must have been about money. Many people only needed the right amount of credits to agree to anything. It was probably even truer for the human facing her right now. No wonder all the students referred to him as "the merc"... although it was unclear whether he had ever really been a mercenary.

And just like her fellow students, Shepard didn't like the guy. She had the feeling that he was always picking on her on purpose, and she tried as much as she could not to cross his path. But the choice was not always hers.

The training sometimes involved the support of another human, and today the merc was the one on the other side of the wax bullet gun for the barrier training. And he certainly seemed to be enjoying it.

She had not had much training with biotic barriers, so most of the projectiles were hitting her. Although they were nonlethal roundss, the impacts caused quite a bit of pain. She was covered with bruises, but knew she couldn't ask for a time out. She suspected it would only make things worse.

She had gotten some advice from the other students: they told her to let the energy field surround her, to focus on her skin, to let the bluish light exude from herself. But the merc was shooting so fast, she just couldn't find a way to focus on anything except the pain. She didn't even notice that most of the other students were gazing at her, pointing out that the situation, although not that extraordinary, was still particularly alarming. The merc shot her right leg and she fell to her knee.

"Up."

She stayed still, trying to catch her breath.

"Up!" the merc repeated, louder.

But she felt like it was totally beyond her.

"I said 'up', brat!" he shouted, kicking her to the floor.

Lying down there almost felt good for a second, but the merc decided he was not done with her.

"Get up, now!"

He kicked her again, and again. There was nothing she could do about it, she knew the barrier was useless against close range attacks, so she just lay there, eyes closed, waiting for it to stop, knowing that any attempt to resist would only strengthen the merc's resolve to hurt her. When it suddenly stopped, she opened her eyes and looked around, searching for her attacker. The merc was lying a few steps away from her, in shock.

"Who... who did this?" he asked, jumping to his feet.

She glanced around the students. Someone must have used his biotic abilities to get him off her.

The merc was shouting, "Whoever did this... you're not going to get away with it... and if no one comes forward, I swear, I'll take every single one of you to Vyrnnus. And you know he will punish all of you without second-guessing."

Shepard noticed Rahna, who had suddenly turned white. She wondered if she had anything to do with it.

"I'm warning you," the merc added, "I'm only counting to three. Then you're all going to Vyrnnus."

Rahna gasped.

"One..."

Shepard sat up, trying to collect her thoughts.

"Two..."

Rahna had used her abilities to protect her, she knew it, and now she was going to pay for it... Shepard couldn't let it happen. She tried to stand up, falling to her knees.

"Three..."

The merc squinted.

"It was me."

He turned towards the student who had spoken up. "Cub... I should have guessed..."

Shepard stared at Kaidan, stunned. He looked unshakable.

The merc came closer to him, grinning. "You couldn't help it, could you? You needed to rescue the little brat..." He pushed Kaidan towards the exit. "Off we go, to Vyrnnus. I'm sure he will be more than pleased to see you, it's been a while since he last had the opportunity to have fun with you."

Shepard wished she could have done something, but her aching body wouldn't allow her to move. She dropped backwards, staring at the ceiling. She wished she'd never come here.

That night Shepard couldn't sleep. She kept on tossing and turning in her bed. Facing the empty bed of Kaidan always disturbed her. It had been a few days now, and she had begun wondering whether he was ever coming back. She got a lump in her throat. She had tried not to think about it, but as time went by...

She had spent as much time as she could in the dormitory, waiting, avoiding other students. She hadn't felt like chatting or even putting up with the others' gazes.

She sighed. She had never really felt comfortable being here, but now it was even worse. Kaidan's presence had made her feel safer, and had made everything else bearable. The feeling was new to her, and she couldn't define what it really was.

The dorm room opened suddenly, and she sat up. Two Humans came in, carrying something, rushing through the shadows. They came to Kaidan's bed and dropped it. Then they exited as fast as they had come in.

Shepard jumped out of her bed, rushing to see if her hopes had been fulfilled. And they had been. Kaidan was lying in his bed, his eyes closed, his body covered with scars of burns and cuts. The lights were dim and she couldn't see much, but it was enough to take her breath away. For a moment, she was under the impression that she was looking at a lifeless corpse.

He opened his eyes, and she felt like she could breathe again. He saw her, and smiled.

She smiled back, shyly.

"Hey..." he whispered.

She had thought of so many things she wanted to tell him but...

"Hey..." she answered.

He winced, and she saw that he was still in pain.

"What did they do to you?"

He sighed. "Oh, you know... the usual... they soaked me in medigel, so it doesn't hurt that much now."

She felt heartbroken, thinking about all the torture he must have gone through.

"Why did you..." she started, then she changed her mind, and asked, "You took the fall, but you didn't..." She stopped again.

His smile faded. "I didn't protect you when you needed it... but I wish it had been me. Shepard, he was kicking you when you were on the floor and no barrier could protect you... Protecting you was the only human thing to do."

She pondered what he said, then answered, "Anyway... thank you. I'm glad you're back."

He smiled. "I'm glad I'm back too. But it's Rahna you should be grateful to, she's the one who protected you."

She remained silent. She had thought Rahna was the one who used her biotic abilities, she still remembered how frightened she looked. It was obvious that she was terrified of Vyrnnus, and Kaidan must have noticed as well. That was why he took the blame. Shepard looked back at Kaidan. He was smiling.

She nodded. "You should get some rest. I'll take care of breakfast tomorrow, don't worry about it."

He closed his eyes. "That's... nice. Thank you."

She shrugged, making her way back to her bed, muttering, "We're friends, aren't we? That's what we do. We look out for each other, right?"

The next morning, she had spent quite some time pulling as much food as she could and had sat down at a remote table. Luckily her pull skill had gotten a lot better. She was now trying to hide as much as she could to get it back to the dormitory without any of the guards noticing. She glanced over as she felt someone sit next to her, and calmed down when she saw it was Rahna. The teenager was carrying a full tray of food, and began unloading some on Shepard's tray.

"What... what are you doing?" asked the young girl.

Rahna answered while still pilling food onto Shepard's tray, "You're still growing and you're a biotic, you can't cut your food rations. I pulled some extra food for you and Kaidan."

Shepard began to push the food back onto Rahna's tray. "No, thanks."

Rahna laughed. "You're such a tomboy. You remind me of my younger sister..."

Shepard straightened, as if she had been hit by lighting. "Don't compare me to a girl!" she grumbled.

Rahna leaned toward Shepard and whispered, "I know you're a girl, Shepard..."

Shepard turned to her, pretending to be offended. "What are you trying to prove?"

Rahna tilted her head. "I'm not... Listen, I don't mean to threaten you or anything... I just wanted to let you know you've got someone to share your secret with... like... a friend."

Shepard shook her head. "I'm not looking for a friend right now."

She got up quickly, but Rahna grabbed her wrist.

"Thank Kaidan for me."

Shepard replied, "He told me you were the one we should thank."

Rahna sighed. "Typical Kaidan... isn't he a sweetheart?"

She let go of Shepard's wrist, but the girl didn't leave right away.

Shepard whispered, "I think he likes you."

Rahna answered, "And I think you like him. But you don't really stand a chance, do you? With him thinking you're a boy..."

Shepard sat down, staring at her tray. "I can't tell him."

Rahna patted her hand gently. "I know. But now you can tell me how much it sucks to stay in the guys' dorm. That's something, right?"

Shepard smiled slightly. "It's not that bad... staying in the guys' dorm, I mean... And maybe it's good... to have a friend to talk to."

Rahna smiled, "Forewarning, Shepard, I'm expecting as much gossip as possible about what the guys really talk about."

When Shepard came back to the dormitory, Kaidan was already up and dressed. She handed him the food and he thanked her.

"Are you going to train today?" she asked.

He nodded. "They wouldn't have let me out of the medbay if I wasn't expected to. And if I'm expected to, they'll wait for me, and come grab me if I don't show up. But thanks for breakfast. That gave me a bit of extra time to rest. I feel just fine now."

She gazed at him while he ate, dwelling on his bruises before adding, "Rahna helped me on this one, she was grateful too... said something about you being adorable."

He grinned. "She did?"

She smiled faintly. "That you were a sweetheart, to be precise."

His smile widened again. She felt her heart sink. But somehow she couldn't help smiling back at him, feeling both happy and incredibly sad.

"The key," Kaidan explained, "is to let the field radiate from you and sort of... hold you up. This way you can counter gravity enough to slow your fall, and you should be able to land with no harm."

Shepard asked, "It's kinda like a biotic barrier, right?"

Rahna shook her head. "Yes and no. With a barrier, you need to concentrate a mass-raising field on the side of your body you're expecting to be hit by projectiles. Here, it's more about a mass-lowering field under yourself. But you need it to be steady enough to support you or else you'll spin and land right on your head."

Shepard looked down. There were about four meters to the floor. "Hence the small mattress down there."

Kaidan grinned. "That's right. But don't worry, you're ready for this, else we wouldn't let you try."

She smiled faintly. "I guess knowing you both trust my skills will cheer me up when I'm lying down there with my head cracked open."

Rahna laughed. "You'll be fine. We'll be watching from here!"

Shepard swallowed. Of all the crazy things she had done since she came to Brain Camp, this certainly was the craziest.

Not that all the others didn't involve lethal risks of their own.

She took a deep breath and jumped. She did as Kaidan and Rahna had explained to her. She had now become quite able with mass effect fields, but still lacked the accuracy her seniors showed. She had the feeling that it was working and that she was slowing down but it seemed like her right foot was falling faster than her left one. She lost her balance and hit the floor on her right side. It was unfortunate, as she had not shielded her sides with the mass-lowering field.

She let out a scream and rolled to her back. She could see Kaidan and Rahna up there, rushing down the stairs to join her. She would have gladly waited for them to come down, lying still on the floor, but she heard someone shouting her name.

"Shepard, get up, now!"

She didn't have the chance to comply. The merc had already grabbed her collar and lifted her off the floor.

"I said, 'get up!' You're coming with me."

And he dragged her out of the training room.

He dragged her through corridors she had never even imagined existed on the station, and finally threw her in a corner. She curled up, wondering what she had done wrong to deserve that kind of treatment. She expected Vyrnnus to turn up any minute, as the merc was usually only his minion. But now it was only the two of them. And the thought wasn't reassuring.

The merc knelt next to her, bringing his face really close to her and saying slowly and in a monotone, "You're going to listen very carefully, not ask any questions and not repeat a word of what I'm going to tell you to anyone, am I clear?"

She nodded, trying to move her face away from his.

"If anyone gets to know that I told you this, it's going to be very bad for both of us, so if you know what's good for you, you'll keep it to yourself, brat." He paused, sighed and resumed talking, "Your father... he's dead."

She turned to him, shocked. "What? When? What happened?"

He sat down next to her and shook his head. "You never listen, do you?"

She kept quiet, leaving the questions to fill her mind.

She almost didn't hear him whisper, "He was a good man... I owed him one... I thought you deserved to know."

She had turned white, her ears were buzzing. She didn't even realize he had pulled her up again, dragging her back to the training room. He threw her on the floor right next to the door and exited without a word. Kaidan and Rahna rushed to her, both asking her what happened and whether she was alright. But she just couldn't answer, nor could she hear anything.

"Are you scared, honey?"

Shepard sighed, looking up to him. "A bit."

He nodded. "Well it's only human. But you shouldn't worry, you know."

She thought about it for a minute. "It's far away... and I don't know how long I'll be gone."

He sat next to her. "I know, sweetheart. But it doesn't matter, right? Your mum and I are often away on duty, so we're used to parting and getting reunited, are we not? That's how our family works. The only thing that matters is that we always get back together eventually."

She didn't seem that convinced, so he added, "And you know that no matter how far we are from each other, I'll always watch over you, sweetie."

She nodded. "I know dad, I know."

"Shepard?"

She slowly opened her eyes, trying to remember where she was. Ah, yes. Brain Camp.

"Shepard! Are you awake?"

She nodded, her mind still a bit fuzzy.

Kaidan was there, leaning over her. He grabbed her wrist. "Come with me."

She looked around. "But it's the middle of the night. Where do you want to go?"

He answered sharply, "Trust me."

She hesitated a bit, but finally let him help her out of the bed and out of the dormitory. They wandered through some dark corridors, and she followed him without second-guessing. He was moving carefully, looking out for guards, but they didn't come across any. They finally made it to a training room that was empty.

"I'll guide you back. I'm going to wait outside. Take your time."

She didn't have the chance to ask why he'd brought her here. He stormed outside and closed the door quietly. She turned to the shadows of the room, and suddenly noticed something moving toward her.

It was Rahna. She came closer, took Shepard's hands in her own and whispered, "we know something happened the other day with the merc... something you don't want to talk about... so I thought maybe you would feel more comfortable discussing it girl-to-girl."

Shepard sighed. "No, Rahna, no."

Rahna insisted, "You're not going to make me believe that nothing happened, Shepard. Tell me the truth."

Shepard shook her head. "I can't... I can't..."

"Why?"

They remained silent for a while. The words kept spinning in Shepard's head, but wouldn't cross her lips. Rahna silently stared at her, smiling warmly to encourage her to speak up. But Shepard had a lump in her throat.

"The merc did something to you, yes?"

Shepard shook her head, but tears already welled up in her eyes.

Rahna kept trying, "No? Something he told you, then?"

Shepard nodded vigorously.

"Something he told you..." repeated Rahna, thinking about what she could ask next.

Suddenly, it became quite clear to Rahna. She knew what he could have told her, and what could have hurt her that much.

She stated calmly, "It's about your family. He told you something about your family."

Shepard couldn't even nod anymore, tears filled her eyes, rolling down her cheeks.

Rahna threw her arms around Shepard's neck and hugged with all her strength.

After a while, she whispered into her ear, "I don't know how things were on Alliance ships... but on Earth... when my family heard about my... abilities... they began to act very awkwardly towards me... Especially my younger sister. She couldn't bear to live under the same roof as me. She couldn't even look me in the eyes anymore. She was just so scared. That I might hurt her, or read her mind or... I don't know... whatever they used to think biotics were able to do... So when Conatix came to get me..." She paused for a while, breathing in slowly, then resumed, "When they came to take me away... I saw it in their eyes... all of them... my parents, my siblings, my little sister that I loved so much... they were relieved... they were glad that I was going away... I felt like I had lost my entire family that day. I felt all alone in the universe. Until I came here and met the others. And that's when I realized... you're my family now."

Shepard felt the warmth of her own tears. They tasted salty, yet surprisingly sweet. She hugged Rahna back. She found the strength to finally speak, "I never had a sister before... I quite enjoy it, actually."

They loosened their grip, looked at each other and smiled. They slowly made their way towards the door, hand in hand. Kaidan was there, waiting for them. Rahna gave Shepard a meaningful look before leaving without a word.

Shepard slept a lot better that night. Although she was still grieving for her father, she was now aware that everyone in Brain Camp had lost their whole family, sometimes had even been rejected by their parents and siblings. She knew, at least, that her father loved her and never feared her. And somehow, that was enough for her.

She got up, dressed, and was ready to leave the dormitory when she noticed Kaidan was still in bed. She went to his side and whispered, "Hey, you should hurry, I don't think they'll let you pass on breakfast today."

He turned his back on her, and she wondered what had gotten into him.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

He grumbled, "Got an awful headache. Give me a minute. I'll join you there."

She knew how it felt, when the implant was screwing with your brain, so she left him alone.

She decided to pull some extra breakfast food for him, wondering whether he'd be able to do on his own that morning. She couldn't locate anyone she knew, so she sat down on her own and waited for the others to come, enjoying her food.

Rahna came eventually and sat down next to her.

"'Morning, Shepard. How are you doing today?"

Shepard answered, "Good morning, I'm fine, thanks. I'm more concerned about Kaidan, actually."

Rahna looked around. "He's not here?"

Shepard sighed. "He mentioned headaches..."

Rahna began to wave. "Ah, there he is. This way, Kaidan!"

Then she whispered to Shepard, "He sure looks bad. Let's try and cheer him up."

Kaidan seemed to be hesitating, then made his way to their table and sat next to Rahna.

Shepard leaned on the table to talk to him, "I pulled some food for you, what do you want to eat?"

Kaidan muttered, "Nothing."

Rahna winced. "Come on, you have to eat something, Kaidan. Maybe you're not very hungry but it's only a side-effect of your headache. Try drinking some water for starters."

She noticed a glass of water a bit farther away, and bent over the table to reach it.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Rahna let the glass fall. She had recognized the voice and began shaking.

Vyrnnus caught her wrist and pulled her up.

"You don't remember how to pull, girl?"

He took her face in his other hand and brought it next to his.

"You forgot everything you've learned here? Maybe you need a little reminder..."

His skin began to glow, indicating that he was going to use his biotic skills. Shepard's eyes widened, as she had never seen him do so.

He clasped Rahna's right arm, creating a small spatial distortion in the palm of his hand. Rahna's arm snapped, and she screamed. He let go of her arm and she fell to the floor, holding her bleeding arm and crying.

Shepard was still sitting, shocked. Vyrnnus knelt down near Rahna, forcing her to turn her face up towards him. He raised his fist, ready to strike again.

"Stop it!"

Everyone turned to Kaidan, stunned. No one had ever dared to stand up to the turian.

Vyrnnus turned around, looked coldly at Kaidan and stated calmly, "She had it coming... and so do you."

He quickly dashed forward, hitting the human in the stomach. Kaidan doubled up, panting. Shepard stood up, but Kaidan ordered her to stand down with one look. She remained still as Kaidan tried to retaliate.

But Vyrnnus dodged and hit Kaidan in the back. They turned to face each other, and Vyrnnus snarled, "We should have bombed your entire race back to the Stone Age when we still could."

Shepard saw something flashing in the turian's hand. "He's got a knife!" she screamed.

Kaidan had noticed and dodged Vyrnnus' attack. The teenager's skin was shining blue, quickly getting brighter and brighter. He screamed, jumped and kicked Vyrnnus straight to the face. They could all hear a loud crack. The turian fell to the floor like a disarticulated puppet.

Kaidan went to Rahna, still sitting on the floor, and held his hand out to her. She had stopped shaking, but was still as white as ever.

She looked up at him and said, "Don't come any closer... you, monster."

A shiver ran across the crowd. Kaidan's face turned gray. He turned his heel and ran away. Shepard stood still, unable to process everything that had happened in only a few minutes. She turned to Rahna, and saw that some other students had helped her up and were taking her to the medbay.

Vyrnnus was lying in the middle of a crowd of dumbfounded students. Guards were starting to move about, getting closer. Shepard looked around. The crowd of students had moved aside to allow Kaidan to get away, but the gap was starting to fade. She swallowed. She wasn't sure it was the right thing to do, but decided to follow her instinct. She rushed through the crowd, trying to catch up with him.

Fortunately, Shepard was a fast runner and she managed to tail Kaidan in the corridors to the point where she could catch his wrist. He shook his arm to break free but stopped running.

They both caught their breath before he screamed, "What the hell do you want from me?"

She stared at him, slowly answering, "I figured... you might need some help."

He screamed even louder, "I don't need your help! You, of all people! Ever since you've been here, you've made my life a living hell!"

She was so stunned, she couldn't even answer.

"And now she hates me, Shepard, she hates me!"

She whispered, "Rahna..."

"She's into you... everything's always been about you since you first came here."

"It's not... what you think."

"Don't! I don't want to hear it from you. I did everything... everything to protect you, to help you but... you never... acted as my friend."

She sighed. She couldn't even find the words to defend herself. She had sure kept a lot to herself, but it was not that she didn't trust him... But to tell him the truth now... she wouldn't even know where to begin.

"Here you are!"

They both jumped back, gazing at the intruder.

"The merc..." muttered Kaidan.

Shepard wasn't sure whether she should feel relieved or afraid. But she was determined to find out.

"Were you looking for me?" she asked. "What's the situation?"

Kaidan looked puzzled, glancing both ways.

The merc answered, "Not good, I'm afraid. Your friend here killed Vyrnnus, Conatix is getting scared the students might be more dangerous than they expected. They asked the Alliance for help."

Shepard answered, "The Alliance? Well, that's good, isn't it? The Alliance will get us out of here."

The merc smiled faintly. "You're so naive, brat. The Alliance will secure the area. They will eliminate anyone they see as a threat. Including students."

She shook her head, "That can't be, we're civilians! We're only students..."

He shrugged, "And trained biotics, potentially lethal weapons."

She yelled, "This can't be... what can we do?"

He answered, "I can get you out of here. As I told you earlier, I owed your father one. Now it's payback time."

Kaidan shouted, "What the hell are you talking about, I don't get it! I don't get anything!"

The merc answered without looking at him, "Shut up, murderer. This is none of your concern. You're as good as dead anyway."

Shepard jumped. "What? Why?"

The merc turned towards her. "He killed Vyrnnus. And in front of a bunch of witnesses, at that. No way the Alliance is going to think he is harmless. Smart move, cub, smart move."

Kaidan almost pounced on him but Shepard spoke first, "What if..."

They both looked at her.

"You owe me one, right?" she asked the merc.

He nodded silently.

"Then repay me by getting him out of here."

The merc and Kaidan shouted as one, "What?"

The merc added, "Why would I do that? What about you?"

She shook her head. "I'll find a way. I'm an Alliance kid, I'll make it. There's no way they're going to do me any harm. But you're right, they'll go after Kaidan. You need to take him out of here now."

Kaidan answered, "It's ridiculous, you can't mean that, Shepard."

She looked him right in the eyes. "I've never been as good a friend to you as you've been to me. Now is the time to make it right by you."

She turned to the merc and added, "Take him out of here, use force if necessary."

The merc put his arm around Kaidan's neck, but the biotic seemed to accept his fate. The merc simply stated, "Shepard, your father... he would be proud of you."

The fog was slowly fading away.

"She just blinked. Give her some more of this. Now!"

She blinked some more. Everything seemed to come back in focus now. She recognized the face. She tried to talk, but words just wouldn't come out.

"Jane, can you hear me? You're safe now. I'm getting you out of here."

The girl put her hand on her mother's. "Wait..."

Hannah Shepard looked at her, surprised. "Wait? For what?"

Jane whispered, "Rahna."

Her mum shook her head, "Who's that? Someone you met there? Jane, the other students are all too far gone, there is nothing you can do..."

But she squeezed her hand harder. Hannah was stubborn, and she knew the trait was hereditary. "Fine, we'll give you a bit of time to recover and I'll ask permission for you to find that... Rahna. But after that, we're out of here. This nuthouse is giving me the creeps. And I've faced geth patrols with nothing but jammed weapons."

Jane smiled faintly at her mother as she headed towards the door.

When she was gone, the girl sat up and let her legs hang from the edge of the bed. She tried to collect her thoughts. A nuthouse. Right. The Alliance rounded up the students and brought them here. Loaded them with drugs to avoid another Vyrnnus-like incident. That was as much as she could remember, though. But it seemed her mum had found a way to get her back. She wondered how many others were that lucky. Probably not Rahna. From what she gathered from their discussions, her family was not that fond of her, and others had confirmed that was generally the way people felt about biotics, including their own families and friends.

She got up and reached for some clothes lying on a chair one step away from her bed. It felt good to get out of that hospital gown. It even felt surprisingly good to be wearing female clothing again. She ran her hand over her skull. Her hair had grown back quite a bit. She wondered how long she had been out. Then she wondered where Kaidan was right now. She sighed. It was no use wondering. She'd probably never hear about him ever again.

"Ten minutes." said the guard with a stern look on his face.

She nodded, bracing herself. The guard opened the door and let her in. She hesitated, then made her way in slowly. The room was small, similar to the one she was in earlier. There was a bed, and Rahna was lying in it. She could barely recognize the teenager. Her hair were sprawled around her empty face, her eyes were wide open but it was obvious that she was not aware of what was in front of her.

Shepard came closer, whispering, "Oh, Rahna..."

She was glad somehow that Kaidan could never see what she was witnessing now. She held her hand, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"I'm so sorry... I really wish... things had turned out differently. You've always been so nice to me. You told me I reminded you of your younger sister, do you remember?"

The smile vanished from her lips as quickly as it had formed.

"I never even ask for her name. And it's too late, now."

Rahna's face remained emotionless. It was so unlike her, Rahna always was so warm and friendly, witty and charming. She used to be. Now Shepard felt like she was staring at an empty shell. She knew it was nothing but the drugs, and that the real Rahna was there somewhere, but she also knew that the Alliance would keep her on drugs till her family reclaimed her. And that it would not be happening. Not ever. She would be forever trapped in her body. Luckily enough, she was not aware of that. She was just, as Shepard had been before, stuck in a foggy dreamy world. The thought made the young girl sad.

Shepard leaned over the bed, kissing Rahna's forehead. She realized her ten minutes were nearly over. No one else would probably ever visit Rahna. There was so much she wanted to say, yet nothing came to her mind. She heard the door opening. There was no time left. Thoughts raced through her mind. She had to speak now.

"Thank you. You taught me what it was to act as a human."

The guard knocked on the door with his fist. Time was up.

Shepard could barely hide her eagerness. She would gladly have paced up and down the dock but knew she had to wait in line with the other Alliance soldiers. Having to stand still there was just a torture. Ever since Brain Camp, she had never felt comfortable staying on a station for too long. Arcturus was quite different from Gagarin of course, and it had been fourteen years already, but still...

Besides, she had heard so many things about her next assignment... mainly good things, too. The Normandy was said to use the most advanced technology available and to be the best ship in the whole Alliance fleet. She rummaged through her stuff to get a datapad where she had stored everything she could find about the ship. She browsed the pictures of the Normandy, and came across the picture of David Anderson. Alliance Officer. Captain. The one who presumably requested her transfer to the Normandy. Elysium had made her quite famous in the Alliance Navy, and she was now a Lieutenant Commander. Commander Shepard, Normandy XO. She was thrilled just thinking about it. It was a big responsibility, sure, but Anderson was well-known for his leadership skills and his benevolent nature. Surely there was no better officer to serve under. She had yet to meet the crew, and wondered whether she would be able to show abilities matching Anderson's expectations.

She sighed. There had also been rumors about a turian Spectre who would be aboard for the shakedown run. She wondered how it would impact her duties. She browsed a few more pictures, then turned off the datapad. Nothing she could read or watch would make her ready for what was coming. She had to meet the crew first-hand, and that's why she had requested to board the ship with them, instead of waiting in her quarters as the commanding officers usually did.

She glanced at the people surrounding her. She noticed a soldier a few steps behind her doing exactly the same thing. Their eyes met, and they both smiled awkwardly, looking away quickly. The line was moving fast, and she finally got to the cargo hold, where she was given a locker to store her belongings. She stuffed her bag in it quickly and turned around, eager to explore the ship.

She almost bumped into the soldier she had noticed earlier.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," she answered.

He added quickly, obviously nervous, "So... I guess we'll be bunkmates... I mean, not implying that we're going to share a bunkbed, as we obviously won't be in the same dorm... 'Cause you're a female... I am not trying to make a pass at you. Oh god, that sounded awful..."

She laughed, which seemed to make him feel better.

He smiled and held out his hand. "Alenko. Staff Lieutenant."

They shook hands. "Shepard. Commander."

He seemed astonished. "Commander Shepard? Like, THE Commander Shepard? From N7, Elysium and stuff?"

She couldn't help but grin broadly. She just hoped she wasn't blushing on top of that. "Yup, that's me."

He seemed to be hesitating then he asked, "Do you have a brother by any chance?"

That was the first time someone ever asked her that.

She answered, puzzled, "No, I'm an only child."

He seemed both disappointed and thoughtful. "I guess that's a common name amongst Alliance families. I once had a friend by that name."

She was about to answer, but they overheard someone calling, "Alenko? Staff Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko?"

He turned to the soldier and answered, "Yes?"

"Report to the cockpit immediately."

He nodded, then turned to Shepard, who was now looking him up and down. His hair looked different, sure, and he had grown up a bit, his face had slightly changed too but... it was undoubtedly Kaidan. Kaidan, her former dormmate at Brain Camp.

"Kaidan?" The words had crossed her lips before she could suppress them.

He looked at her inquiringly.

"Nice to meet you. I'm sure we're going to accomplish great things together."

He smiled. "Thanks, Commander. Nice meeting you too."

He saluted her and with a nod, turned on his heel to make his way to the cockpit. She let out a long sigh. Now she was even more eager to see what the future held for her. Or for both of them.