Stars Within Her Eyes
Shepard stared up at the canvas tent overhead, doing her best to avoid sleep. Ever since she had woken the second time, her dreams had been . . . odd. She still had the dream about the forest with depressing regulatory, but it had changed. The changes were subtle in nature, but she'd been having this same dream for over a year. The forest seemed more alive since she had woken here, wherever here was. The ash wasn't as thick, occasionally she could hear distant wolf howls, but the most jarring difference was that the boy was missing from her dreamscape. She still searched, but now she searched for something else. She wasn't sure what she was looking for, only that it was vital.
"You should sleep." Her only reaction to the words coming out of the dark was a slight jump in her heart rate. Shepard congratulated herself. It was better than that first day on the march when she had almost cold cocked him out of reflex. She turned her head to find the strange boy sitting next to her bedroll.
"Why is that Cole?" She kept her voice low, not wanting to wake the other sleepers she shared the tent with.
"Rekkah says we're going to the Fallow Mire to get our scouts back. She wants you to come too."
"Alright, who is Rekkah and why does she want me to come with her?"
"Rekkah is the Herald. She kept Envy out when it wanted in. She made the Elder One so very angry. I like being near Rekkah. She's so very quiet. Like Varric. You're quiet too, but not as quiet. The Fade tries to touch you, but the blue glimmers within your skin push it back." He was silent for a moment then, "I like the blue, it sings. Not like the lyrium does. Softer, almost silent, but there beneath your skin."
Shepard puzzled over Cole's words. He confused her a great deal, but the insight he gave her when she did understand him was both amazing and unnerving. The blue? That could be the small amount of ezo that all biotics had which let them produce and control mass effect fields. It kept this Fade away from her? And what the hell was lyrium? Was it another form of element zero? Or something else altogether? Thoughts tumbled around her mind as she thought about something called the Fade and lyrium and where exactly that damn relay hidden in the Citadel had landed her.
There was so much she didn't understand of the world she found herself in. In many ways it reminded her of Earth, from the pine forests that surrounded the keep, to the horses she had watched being worked at the stables earlier that day. But the differences made themselves felt. Next to the horses had been large elk like creatures that had watched her with wise eyes, some of the stable hands working the animals bore long pointed ears, like the elves out of one of Tolkien's tales, working hand in hand with the humans she was used to seeing.
"Who's Tolkien?" She'd gotten use to Cole picking up bits of her thoughts. She didn't really like it and had no idea how he was doing it, but she's resigned herself to it.
"An old storyteller. If I ever find my omni-tool I'll read you some of his stories." She wondered what the reaction to The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings would be here.
"I'd like that. You should tell Varric your stories. He tells stories too."
"We'll see." They fell silent again, Shepard still staring up at the canvas tent above her. Abruptly she got up and picked her way around the other sleepers to the tent entrance. Once outside she looked at the stone walls looming in the night, silent sentinels against the darkness. Here and there she could make out the human sentinels patrolling the walls.
Looking up, she spotted the stars gleaming like diamonds against black velvet. Aching to be closer to the darkness that was her home, she made her way up a half repaired stairway to stand on the walls. Once on the battlements, she found one of the towers that no one had claimed yet and made her way to stand atop the flat tower roof. From there she had an unrestricted view of the stars shining down on the ancient fortress.
Shepard stood watching the stars dance above her, aware that Cole was near, but paying the boy little heed. Wanting to find something, anything, to tell her where she was, she scanned the distant stars, looking for familiar patterns in the endless expanse above her, but found nothing she recognized. Still she searched until dawn lightened the sky, drowning out the faint light of the stars. Cole keeping silent vigil with her as they slowly winked out, one by one.
It was mid-morning when the head medic, one Matthias Trevelyan, released her from the med tent. He'd kept her longer than was really needed, due to her implants she recovered from most injuries faster than normal. But as he hadn't confined her to bed rest the way Chakwas would have, she forgave him his fussing.
Now she stood in the bright morning sunlight and realized she had no place to go. For the first time in her adult life she had no clear goal. There were no politicians demanding her time, no reports to go over, no training to conduct, and no staff meetings to attend. Hell she didn't even have any plans for the damn weekend, much less know what day of the week it was. She had no purpose and she had no idea in hell what to do with herself. Well shit.
Before she could start to panic at the thought of starting over she heard her name being called. "Serah Shepard?" a young boy, his ears curving to a graceful point, trotted up to her. He looked to be about eight or nine and had the spindly legs and arms of someone going through a growth spurt.
"Yes?"
"The Lady Inquisitor would like to speak to you." He smiled up at her, showing a gap where one of his front teeth had fallen out. "The Council is there too. She said to come to the war room."
Shepard hid a smile. "And perhaps you could show me where this war room is so I can meet with the Inquisitor and her Council?"
"I can do that!" He turned and sped off towards the stairwell that lead up to the upper courtyard. Shepard kept up easily, listening as the boy chattered a mile a minute about the goings on of the keep. "And did you know that the Lady Inquisitor came out of the Fade, and, and she stopped the evil bad guy from hurting everyone in Haven and she scared the Archdemon away and she saved the Templars from a demon and, and, Lady Josephine is really nice. And someone stole cheese and mint from the kitchen and Cook's really mad. And the healers say they want spider webs, and why would they want spider webs?"
Shepard made appropriate noises when he paused for air; automatically scanning everything and everyone as she moved past, when she spotted horns off in one corner of the yard. "Hold on a moment, I'm sorry, but what's your name kid?"
"Oh, I'm Dylan Serah Shepard. Why do we need to stop? Lady Josephine said it was important for you to go to the war room right away!"
Oh to be that young again. "I need to speak to someone. It will only take a moment." She nodded her head towards where the guy with the horns was talking to another man. She recognized him from the church square too. He had been the one with the shield that has saluted her across the field.
If possible Dylan's eyes became even bigger "You know The Iron Bull and Mr. Krem?" Before she could get a word in edge wise he was off again. "The Iron Bull's kinda scary, but I like Mr. Krem, he tells the best stories. Almost as good as Mr. Varric's stories."
She quickly held up a hand to stop the flow of words. "You can tell me about that later. I want you to wait here while I talk to them." When he looked hurt, she continued "It's a private matter between them and me."
Leaving the boy, she walked purposefully towards the duo. She had a few choice words she wanted to share with this Iron Bull.
The men saw her coming, and turned to face her approach. She studies them both as she got closer, not quite sure what to make of them. The horned guy was krogan big, with well-developed muscle mass that reminded her of Vegas' obsession with lifting weights. And she could see just how developed his muscles were as he apparently did not believe in wearing shirts. Instead he wore a leather harness that still left his chest and abdomen exposed. From the eyepatch over his left eye to the numerous scars that covered his torso, this was a man that liked to be in the thick of the fight, and he didn't wear proper armor! Shepard had to forcefully remind herself that she was not his CO, so she couldn't chew him out for this glaring oversight. Yet.
The man next to the horned guy was slightly taller than her, and wore plate armor from neck to toe. And while she couldn't image running around in anything heavier than her own armor, at least he was smart enough to wear real armor and not leave himself exposed. He was a good looking man, dark brown hair and eyes, with the same warm skin tone that Dorian had. Perhaps they came from the same area? She would have to get someone to explain the local political situation sooner rather than later.
Shepard mourned her own lost armor, before focusing on the men in front of her. The non-idiot gave her a proper salute, with a quick "Ma'am," while the horned guy just smirked at her. She ignored him for the moment and returned the man's salute with one of her own.
"At ease."
"Glade to see you up and about ma'am. The fight at Haven was hard on us all. Had to be even worse for you, seeing as the condition you were in when we found you."
"You got a name solider?"
"Lieutenant Cremisius Aclassi, second-command of the Chargers."
"Merc group?"
"Yes ma'am"
"Well done Lieutenant. And that's something I don't often say to mercs. And I take it this is your CO?" She jerked her thumb at the still smirking horned guy next to him.
"Yes ma'am. This is The Iron Bull. He leads the Chargers." Krem shot the other man a look, "Though he usually waits a little longer before acting like an ass."
"Ah Krem-de-la-crème, you wound me." The Iron Bull waggled his eyebrows at his XO, "I'm always an asshole. That's why you guys follow me." He tuned his one eye towards Shepard, a keen intelligence hiding underneath the easy going expression on his face.
They studied one another, no detail too small or insignificant in the bright light of the morning sun. The Iron Bull made the first move, giving a short bow, as he spoke. "Like Krem said, I'm The Iron Bull and I lead the Chargers."
Shepard returned the gesture, not at all upset at not shaking hands. It was mainly a human gesture that had only barely started to make inroads with the rest of Council space before the Reaper invasion. "Commander Kyleen Shepard, Alliance Navy and Council SPECTRE. I just wanted to have a few words with you The Iron Bull." Shepard eyed him. "First question, what the hell are you?"
"I'm a qunari. We live mostly to the far north in Par Vollen. We also have some that leave the Qun. Those are Tal-Vashoth, or Vashoth if they were born outside the Qun."
"We'll disuse politics later. Second question," Shepard grabbed him by his leather harness, jerking him down to her own eye level. "What the hell were you thinking grabbing me in the middle of a battle like that?"
The Iron Bull grunted in surprise at how easily Shepard had maneuvered him. There were times that Shepard forgot the cybernetic implants and the gene modifications for strength and endurance she had received after joining the N program. There were benefits to being a marine.
"Well ah ma'am, I was thinking that you were still injured and that you need to be seen by a healer, and well ma'am, you weren't exactly rational at the time. Ah ma'am."
"Let me be very clear The Iron Bull, you put hands on me again, against my express orders and I will beat you within an inch of your life. After I flay you alive. Do you understand me The Iron Bull?"
Bull straighten as much as he was able, which wasn't much given that Shepard still had control of his harness. "Ma'am I can't promise that, but I will do my best as long it doesn't endanger myself or those under my protection. Ma'am."
The SPECTRE let go of his harness. "That will do." She gave Bull and Krem a sweet smile. Garrus and the rest of her ground team were well acquainted with this smile. "Gentlemen." She turned and walked back to where she had left Dylan standing next to the stairs.
"Alright Dylan, where's that war room?" He stared at her with huge eyes before turning and heading up the stairs to the main hall. They went through the main hall, still covered in debris, through a side door, past a long narrow room that already had a desk covered with paperwork set up in it, down another corridor with a large hole in the wall to a set of large double doors. Dylan stopped, knocked against a brass knocker, and opened the door at the muffled "Enter" that came from inside the room.
"This is the war room Serah Shepard. This is where I leave you."
Shepard smiled at the boy and ruffled his hair as she walked past him. "Thank you Dylan. You're the best guide I've ever had." He grinned happily up at her, his gap toothed smile a sight to see, before running off back down the corridor.
The SPECTRE entered the room to find five people waiting for her. The only ones she recognized were the ruffle covered woman that had tried to get her to go into the church, the blonde commander from the battle in the churchyard and the short woman that she had seen being sung too by the masses. The last two she didn't know.
She studied the two unknown women; both were in their late 30s, or early 40s. The red haired woman in the hood had cold blue eyes that studied her in return. This one Shepard knew, would kill her without a single hesitation if she felt the action called for. And she wouldn't lose a moment's sleep over it. The other woman had short dark hair, with a single braid wrapped around her head like a crown. She had fiery brown eyes that promised a quick temper, and like the commander wore armor and a sword belted to her side.
"Commander Kyleen Shepard of the Normandy SR2, System Alliance Navy reporting in as ordered." Shepard came to attention and fixed her eye just over the man's right shoulder. Silence filled the large chamber as the group studied her just as intently as she had studied them.
Finally the commander broke the silence, his lips quirking with hidden humor at her matter of fact tone and introduction, "At ease solider."
Dropping into parade rest, she waited, her eyes still focused over his shoulder. Let them make the first move. Shepard was at a major disadvantage here, she would treat this as a potential hostile situation until proven otherwise. Better this way, less unpleasant surprises in the long run.
The short woman spoke next; her voice was deeper than Shepard had expected and her accent was different from that of Dorian and Bull. She was about the height of a volus, with the slender build and the graceful movements of someone with a great deal of physical training. Thane had moved like that. An economy of movement that almost screamed 'assassin' to Shepard's discerning eye. Her dark red hair had been shaved into a Mohawk that was long enough that she'd had to braid the length to keep it from her eyes. Those eyes where a pale, almost silver blue in color, echoing the color of her tattoos that accented her chin, forehead and cheekbones. She could have been Jack's older, much shorter, and far less jaded sister standing in front of Shepard.
"I don't believe that any here have been formally introduced, so I shall start. I am Rekkah Cadash, Inquisitor," she gestured to the ruffled woman next to her. "This is Lady Josephine Motilyet of Antiva. She is our ambassador."
"A pleasure to make your acquaintance Serah. Your actions at Haven saved a great many people. Even Chancellor Rodrick speaks well of you."
Shepard raised a brow in query "Who Madam Ambassador?"
"The man you saved from a Venatori blade." The man said. "Commander Cullen Rutherford of the Inquisition forces. And I extend my own thanks for your help at Haven. You stood your ground, and that gave my men time to get everyone they could out of Haven and to safety."
"That's part of my job Commander." She met the man's eyes. They were a warm, golden brown. For some reason Kaidan's dark brown eyes came to mind. She pushed the thought away. "I am glad to hear that the priest survived."
"He's not a priest. Only women may be priests under Chantry law." The hooded woman's voice was soft and melodic. I wonder if she sings. She had the voice for it. She still had the eyes of a killer, but her voice was truly lovely. And given that she wore the same colors that the priest, no the chancellor, had worn of red and white, she was most likely a part of this Chantry religion. The 'only women in the priesthood' was a role reversal from what she knew of most earth religions, but local customs were always strange to outsiders.
"And what would your job be exactly?" Shepard asked silkily. She might have hated politics with the fiery passion of a thousand stars going supernova, but didn't mean she didn't know how to maneuver through that particular battlefield. She simple often chose not to. The woman had already made up her mind about her, and Shepard was not inclined to waste her time trying to change it.
When the hooded woman didn't answer, only narrowed those cold blue eyes, Shepard continued, "Given your get up, I'd say you're part of this Chantry, but no priest should have eyes as dead as yours." The two woman locked stares, neither one willing to be the first to back down.
"Sister Leliana is our Spymaster. She was also the Left Hand of Divine Justinia before her murder." It was the woman with the short dark hair and the practical armor that had spoken with a blunt honesty that probably created just as many problems as it solved. "I am Cassandra Pentaghast, former Seeker of the Chantry and Right Hand of the Divine."
"Cassandra!" Leliana broke eye contact first in order to glare at her fellow hand.
"What? It's not like it's a secret."
"Yes um, Serah Shepard is it?" the ambassador stepped between the two women, bringing room's attention back to the matter at hand. "We have a few questions for you. Specifically, we would like to know how you came to be in the Temple of Sacred Ashes in the terrible state we found you in."
Shepard sighed heavily. "You and me both. It's a long story, but the last clear thing I remember before waking up here was the Illusive Man shooting Admiral Anderson." She smiled, more a flashing of teeth in warning than a sign of happiness. "And then I talked the bastard into shooting himself in the head."
Josephine looked a little upset at this, but the rest of those in the room saw nothing wrong in taking satisfaction at the death of an enemy. "I remember sitting with Anderson, watching the battle and the stars from somewhere on the Citadel. I must have passed out for a while, because the next thing I remember is Hackett's voice asking me something, the details are fuzzy, then nothing until I woke up here." She paused "In the middle of yet another firefight."
"Alright," Rekkah gestured her to the large table they stood around. Shepard approached and saw a large paper map spread out across the tabletop. "Where is this Citadel located at? You said you're navy, so I'm assuming somewhere along the coast?"
The SPECTRE studied the map, tracing her fingers across the heavy paper. Her eyes lingered on unfamiliar script that had to denote cities and landmarks. She had never seen anything like this outside of a museum. Kasumi would love to have this. Maybe she could somehow bring it back to Council space with her as an apology to the thief for leaving her with her mother. "This is a beautiful map, but there are a few problems."
The Inquisitor raised her eyebrow in question. Shepard noticed that her left eyebrow was shaved in two places on the outer edge. She wondered why the redhead had done that. It only reinforced the idea that she was a shorter, less tattooed, and far less vulgar version of Jack. "And what would those be?"
"One, I can't read a single thing on this map. I also don't recognize any landmarks or coastlines." Leliana's already hard eyes sharped at this information. "Second, unless you have a current galactic star map hiding somewhere, this isn't going to help me find a way home anytime soon."