Chapter Text
The Reaper bore down on Shepard, its metal parts shrieking and screaming as it neared. Shepard reached for her gun, only to discover that she was only dressed in civilian clothing. Confused, but not shocked, she did the only thing she knew how to do when faced empty handed with a Reaper: run.
She took off across the beach, unsure how she got there but not dwelling upon it when her life was at stake. The white, fine sand ate her every step, leaving her jogging rather than sprinting. The Reaper screamed again and took a step. The ground under her shook and sand flew up into her face.
"Run, Shepard." The vibratto of Thane's voice came from behind her. She turned to see Thane standing right under the Reaper, calm and unmoving.
"Thane! Get out of there!" Shepard yelled. Thane did nothing. She stopped in mid-stride and turned.
"You did good, child." She turned again and in the distance she could barely make out Anderson walking towards her. The Reaper's laser blast hit the ground, blasting Shepard into the vast, empty ocean.
"Curious." Mordin appeared beside her, staring up at the Reaper. "You would think..." The red eye of Shepard's foe glowed again, zoning in on its target. Thane, Mordin and Anderson gathered in front of Shepard, as if they could shield her from the blast. Shepard tried to stand but the water that soaked her clothes weighed more than it should have and held her down on her hands and knees.
"Get away!"
When Shepard awoke, it wasn't in a medical tent or hospital on some far off planet. The first thing she saw was the looming, ominous color of a Reaper ship and the red glow of its eye. Panic welled in her chest until she realized that it was only the sky and the blood red moon. She scanned the environment with her eyes and and found nothing she recognized; there were no destroyed buildings, ravaged streets, or distant tower silhouetted against the night sky. Instead of concrete, she saw tall trees. Instead of roads she saw never ending sand surrounding the small oasis. She looked down at herself. She could barely move with all the bandages binding her wounds - not that she wanted to anyway. Just beyond her toes, so close that a spark could jump and set her ablaze, was a small fire.
"You're awake?" A strong female voice, one Shepard did not recognize, asked.
"Barely." Her voice was shot to hell and she gasped it just over the crackles of the wood burning.
"Good." From behind the fire, a woman stood up. She wore light grey metal armor, archaic by the look and what looked like a real fur collar. A sword hung at her hip and Shepard wondered what strange convention this woman had wandered out of. As she stepped closer, Shepard noticed the short cropped hair and the red, primitive paint that ran from one side of her face, across the bridge of her nose, to the other.
"I found you crushed under some giant boulders off in the distance. Thought you were dead, until you breathed. You're lucky to be alive. You are?" The woman asked, her metal boots clanging loudly against the scattered debris. Shepard hesitated in answering. She was not one to trust strangers, especially ones dressed so strangely. But, she reason, there was no harm in giving a name.
"Shepard, Commander Shepard of the ship Normandy. And you?" Shepard replied, finding her voice.
The woman said nothing. She bent over and checked Shepard's bandages. Has she no first name? Or does she not trust me enough? Shepard mused. Satisfied with what she saw, she sat down next to the beaten and bruised Commander.
"Hawke." She replied simply. "You're not from around here, are you?"
"No...where am I? Is this Earth?" Shepard's breath cut short. Speaking hurt her chest. It looked like she had wound up in the Sahara or something.
"Earth?" Hawke asked. "This is Ferelden." Shepard had never heard of any place named Ferelden and she had travelled to the far reaches of their galaxy. Just exactly where was she? Hawke seemed human, so it had to be a planet that humans colonized. Fatigue and pain overtook her thought process and she let out a tired sigh. The oddly dressed woman noticed and adjusted the blanket shielding Shepard from the cold.
"Sleep." She ordered though Shepard needed no encouragement. "You need it. I will answer your questions later and perhaps your presence will answer a few of mine. I will watch for any dark spawn." Dark spawn...Shepard thought wearily. That doesn't sound good.
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Liara jolted from her sleep when the alarm sounded. She instinctively grabbed at the pistol under her pillow and stood up. Groggily, she looked around, wondering where she was. She had been dreaming again of Shepard. This time they were on her home world, Thessia. Shepard was taking care of their three kids, running around with them while Liara was buried happily by history books.
"EDI, where is the intruder?" She asked. The words barely left her mouth before she realized just how stupid it was. EDI was gone. Shepard was gone. So many of their friends were gone. She quickly glanced at the console and noticed the bright red dot shining in the room above them.
Shepard's room. She thought to herself. The elevator had been out of commission for a while, so she headed towards the secret ladder that led right up to a trap door in Shepard's closet. It was meant for escape, in case the elevators didn't operate but now it served as Liara's only way into Shepard's room where she could spend some time surrounded by everything that reminded her of what she'd lost. She quietly crept up the ladder and lifted the heavy metal door. Her heart was beating hard. What sort of creature would they encounter on this wild, jungle planet? Could it be a native? A wandering creature?
She lifted the metal plate an inch and peered out. She saw boots. So it was a sentient being. The material was old, faded, and it looked like the skin of some animal. Primitive garb. She lifted the door another inch to see long legs...human legs...tan and toned. A human? Here? Liara thought in wonder. She lifted the plate all the way. It was a human female. She carried two swords on her back and by the looks, had no other, more modern accessories. Her blue bandanna kept her long black hair in check. She reminded Liara of human pirate she'd read about in her studies of Earth.
What is she? Liara wondered. She kept her gun trained on the blue bandanna.
"Hands up and turn around slowly." Liara ordered.
"Look at all of this! I've never seen anything like it. All of this must cost a fortune!" The woman marveled, not bothered by Liara's sudden appearance. In fact, it was almost as if she anticipated it.
"Turn around!" Liara yelled. The human turned around. Her dark eyes scanned Liara up and down...and not necessarily in the way one sizes up an opponent.
"I don't know what you even are and I know I'm beat." The woman said, amused. Her voice was heavily accented in no way she had ever heard from a human before.
"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" Liara demanded, not lowering her gun. The human took a step away from her and sat down on Shepard's bed. Liara bristled, wanting to shoot her right then and there for doing that. Get off of her bed.
"Answer me, what are you doing here?!" Liara repeated, thrusting the gun forward as a threat. The woman smirked and crossed her legs.
"I'm searching for lost treasure."
"You won't find credits or rare minerals here." Liara said, thoroughly annoyed her attitude. The woman laughed and leaned back as though she owned the place.
"You misunderstand. You see, my treasure isn't a thing, it's a person. I seem to have lost her, and she's very precious to me."