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iamjamesvega · 2 years ago

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Chapter 2: Fallen Hero

(Contains some bad language)

The ship was still carrying the Cerberus logo, but Alliance crew members manned the stations. The guard presence was heavy. The air was tense. Vega looked around in disbelief as he followed Admiral Anderson through the command deck, wondering if this really was the infamous Normandy. Every man and woman in the Alliance knew about the Normandy. She was probably the most famous human ship ever to fly. She was the vessel that had responded to the distress signals on Eden Prime, back when the prothean beacon had been discovered. She had flown her crew to safety amid the volcanic eruptions of Therum, outran the nuclear destruction of Virmire, passed the never-before-survived Omega-4 relay, and left behind the smoking remains of the Collector home world. She had carried some of the most noteworthy aliens in galactic history, not to mention the single greatest hero of humanity's interstellar existence.

The men walked in silence. They stepped in to the elevator and waited, with nothing but the low hum of the mechanism making a sound. Vega watched the display panel with rising anticipation. Deck one. The door opened. Captain's Quarters. He followed Admiral Anderson past a pair of armed guards into the room beyond the sign. The cabin was dimly lit, with the main source of illumination coming from the tranquil aquarium. The room was large, sterile, and blandly furnished. A set of steps led down into the main bunk area, where a double bed stood coldly against the far wall. A bedside lamp was on. Vega's eyes fell upon the figure slouched over the edge of the bed, hands joined by shackles, hanging down between military boots. Dark hair obscured the individual's face in an unkempt, boyish style.

Vega stared. He could barely believe what he was seeing. Was this really...?

'Commander... Shepard?' he breathed.

She looked up. Soft light fell across her features as she appraised the stranger before her. But she was no stranger to him. This round, porcelain, child-like face with large hazel eyes and a pert little mouth, the slender shoulders and the tightly toned arms, the deceptive fragility of this petite form... it was unmistakable. This was the woman whose strength and courage had saved the galaxy from certain annihilation when no one else could. Her image had filled the inter-galactic media for the past two years unceasingly. She was a stranger to no one.

Her bright eyes flickered to Anderson, uncertainty behind them.

'Shepard,' said the Admiral, standing before the foot of the bed. 'I'd like you to meet Lieutenant James Vega.'

Vega remembered to blink. He saw the woman's gaze settle on him, and he gave her a sharp salute.

'Commander,' he greeted her formally.

Shepard's expression did not lighten. She looked utterly defeated, lost, alone, and so angry. She was the victim of incredible injustice, and it was painfully evident in her eyes. Without acknowledging Vega, she returned her attention to the Admiral, and said in a bitter voice:

'I told you I wouldn't try to escape.'

Anderson shifted uncomfortably. 'I know, Shepard. But the brass aren't going to just take your word for it – not after you commandeered the Normandy in lock-down two years ago. They want you under tight watch twenty-four-seven, and Vega is the man I've chosen for the job.'

'You're not staying?' she asked.

'I can't. I've got to arrange the defence case for your hearing. It was difficult enough getting the morons in charge to allow me access to you, and I almost had my request denied to put my own man on you during your incarceration.'

Commander Shepard stood up, still facing Anderson. Vega, seemingly forgotten, was struck by how small Shepard was in person. On the vids she had seemed so mighty, indestructible, larger than life. Never seen outside of her N7 armour, always armed to the teeth, ever ready, her daily life like an action movie, she had always appeared like some kind of superhero. Standing before him now was a mere girl. He could do nothing but stare.

'Anderson,' the Commander said softly, reaching out to take her old friend's hand. She gripped it tightly. 'Listen, I appreciate everything you've done for me. I really do. I know this isn't your fault.'

Admiral Anderson gave her a tired smile, forcing a glimmer of hope to shine through. It fell short of convincing. 'I will keep fighting this, Shepard,' he promised her. 'Just stay strong.'

'You may be fighting a losing battle, sir,' she replied sadly.

'I won't accept that. We need you, Shepard – not just the Alliance, but the entire galaxy. When the Reapers come, we won't stand a chance without you.'

The Reapers. A mysterious race of sentient machines supposedly responsible for purging the galaxy of organic life fifty-thousand years ago. Lieutenant Vega knew the stories. Every fifty-thousand years, when the races of the galaxy advanced to their evolutionary and technological peak, the Reapers had appeared from beyond Dark Space, obliterating billions, leaving only a few primitive forms of life to continue and repeat the cycle. No one knew what the Reapers actually were, their origin, their motive, or their purpose. Commander Shepard was the only living person to have actually spoken to a Reaper, and there were very few who actually believed her.

'Forget about me,' said Shepard firmly. 'You have to prepare for the Reapers. You have to convince the Alliance, convince the Council, get the races on your side. You need to build some kind of defence.'

'You know as well as I do, that's not going to happen, Shepard.'

'Damn it, Anderson, you've got to get those stupid SOBs to move their asses! The Reapers won't care that no one believes in them – they're coming anyway!'

'What do you expect me to do?' Anderson snapped. 'You were there. You've seen the way the Council dismissed your testimony. They doubted you back then, when you were a hero who had just saved the Citadel – you think they're gonna trust you now you're a damned war criminal?'

'I destroyed the relay because I had no other choice!' flared Shepard. 'I am not a criminal!'

'Try to see it through their eyes, Shepard. You join a known terrorist group, stir up trouble in the Terminus Systems, then blow up a major relay, killing tens of thousands of civilians in the process. Yeah, you did it to stop the Reapers getting through the relay, but when nobody in the galaxy even believes in the existence of the Reapers, that's a defence without a hope in hell of succeeding...'

Commander Shepard clenched her fists at her sides, her jaw tensing with the surge of frustration and anger. Lieutenant Vega observed in awkward silence. He felt like he was imposing, but there was nowhere for him to go, and he had not been dismissed. He watched Anderson and Shepard stare down at the ground in silence. He wondered what was going to happen. He wondered why he was here.

The Admiral straightened his suit jacket and took a deep breath. 'I have to get up to the bridge,' he announced wearily. 'We'll be leaving orbit soon.'

Shepard nodded. She glanced at Vega, as if she was only now noticing he was there. Her eyes skimmed his entire form, focused on the gash above his eye, and traced the line of blood that was dripping onto the floor.

'What did you do to him?' she asked Anderson half-amused.

Anderson smiled. 'He needed some convincing to take the job.'

Vega caught the flow of blood with his hand, looking down at the stain on the carpet. 'Hey,' he protested, 'don't take credit for someone else's work, Admiral. No way did I get messed up by you.'

The Commander gestured for Vega to leave, shooing him towards the door. 'Go get patched up in the med-bay,' she said. 'I don't want you bleeding all over my cabin.'

'Yes, ma'am.'

The two men walked away, leaving Shepard alone in the room that had become her cell. Vega felt a pang of guilt as he stepped outside. The Commander didn't deserve this. If this was galactic justice, then he wasn't even sure he wanted to be on the side of justice any more. Handcuffs? Armed guards at the door? Were they really necessary? The indignity of her situation was maddening.

They entered the elevator and Anderson paused, holding off on pressing the button. He faced Vega seriously.

'Lieutenant, I can see that you hold Shepard in high esteem,' he said. 'But you should remember that she's not your CO any more. I can't have you obeying your prisoner.'

Vega stared at him, surprised. 'But, sir-'

'By all means, take her advice to go get your injuries seen to,' Anderson continued. 'Just so long as you understand that she can't give orders.'

The young man frowned, concern crossing his scarred face. 'Permission to speak freely, Admiral,' he requested.

'Go ahead.'

He hit the door release key on the elevator controls and the doors slid shut, blocking them from the eyes and ears of the armed guards.

'This isn't right,' he blurted, the words rushing out. 'This is loco! The whole thing is. Commander Shepard saved the galaxy more than once, but she's been stripped of her rank and title, and clapped in chains like a damn criminal. While the brass and the aliens are all up in arms about some pointless trial, the Reapers are heading straight for us. It's totally messed up! You got me in here policing the hero of the century, while big evil machines are scheming to squish us like bugs – and she's the one who can deal with it! I'm expected to keep her from escaping? Hell, sir, I'd remove the cuffs and escort her off the ship myself the second you turn your back on me.' The Lieutenant rubbed the back of his neck self-consciously, heat flushing his features. He was drowning in the silence as his superior officer pinned him with his gaze. 'All due respect, Admiral...' he added. 'I'm the wrong guy for this.'

Anderson pursed his lips thoughtfully. He considered the young soldier before him for a long moment before responding simply: 'You're the only man I can trust.'

Vega's brow furrowed even deeper. 'Uh... didn't you hear what I just said?' The ridiculousness of the situation was beginning to make his head spin. 'Admiral, if you put me here, I'm going to help Commander Shepard escape. That's the bottom line.'

'James,' the officer addressed him frankly. 'You wanna know why you're the right man for this?' He pointed a finger at him. 'Because no soldier in the Alliance would have dared say to me what you just said. When I met you after Fehl Prime I felt like you reminded me of someone. That was the day you dropped out of the military, and the statement you gave sounded familiar. I read your files. I noticed something interesting: three words kept appearing again and again, in mission briefs, psych analyses, assessments by your commanding officers...' His dark eyes glinted in the light. 'Stubborn. Outspoken. Loyal. Those were the very same three words that had been used again and again in the files of Marie Shepard. The way you felt when you got promoted for Fehl? The same way she felt after Torfan. Soldiers like you and Shepard don't just obey orders – you believe in the cause. You do what you know is right, and damn the consequences. What Shepard did might have landed her in trouble, and it might have been a little extreme – might even have been wrong – but that's exactly what you would have done in her situation, and it bought us time to prepare for the Reaper onslaught. Without Shepard's extreme actions, without her conviction and courage to act outside of her orders, we wouldn't be here right now. No living person in this galaxy would.'

Vega was stunned. He had always been a supporter of Commander Shepard's choices, and he respected her more than any other Alliance officer alive. She was practically his hero. To be told by her mentor and closest friend that he was just like her was incredible. He couldn't believe Anderson was saying this.

The Admiral placed a hand on his shoulder, lowering his voice to a very focused level as he held the young soldier's gaze. 'James, I agree with you completely. I'd bust that woman out of here in a heartbeat if I thought it was necessary. But you have to understand something: the threat that faces us is not something that can be stopped by a single rogue soldier. I believe in Shepard, but there's no way she can fight these things alone. In order to stand a chance, she needs the support and aid of every species in the galaxy, all the governments, all the leaders, all the armies – working together to mount the biggest defence in history. You and I helping her escape isn't going to cut it. What we need to do is to help her and support her, fight for her, and argue her case. I intend to make the Council and the Alliance listen. I will make them see the bigger picture.'

'And me, sir?' asked Vega, conviction rising in his eyes.

'I need you to keep her safe,' Anderson told him firmly. 'She is a target right now, from many different directions. The batarians want her head. She's got a lot of enemies, even within the Alliance. And she just screwed over Cerberus big time. I need you to make sure that nothing happens to her while she's being tried.'

'So I'm not just here to keep her from escaping,' he realised. 'I'm stopping anyone getting in, just as much as I'm stopping her getting out.'

'Exactly. I've arranged for you to have sole direct access to her at all times. No one else gets in to her cell except you. I have to be able to rely on you while I'm out pursuing her case through official channels. Do you understand, Lieutenant?'

Vega nodded, a renewed sense of hope and determination filling him. 'Yes, sir,' he said sharply. 'Sorry I doubted you, sir.'

'No problem, James. And... just so we're clear: no break-outs?'

'Sure. Definitely.'

'I knew I could count on you.' Anderson activated the elevator controls and set the car in motion. 'Now let's get off this godforsaken space station...'

#james vega #mass effect #mass effect 3 #me3

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