Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect, only Nox and any other OC

Hi, Everyone! Welcome to my first attempt at a Fan Story. Reviews are appreciated, even flames. Though be warned, all flames will be read, likely laughed at, and most probably discarded.

In hindsight, it probably wasn't a good idea to yell out someone's name unexpectedly while said person had just finished waking up to blaring alarms and fire in the windows. Such people tend to react a little more on instinct than rational thought.

Thankfully, my skull was thick enough to not shatter upon impact with the wall as my arm was wrenched painfully up my back. As my hearing stopped ringing, I was able to make out Miranda's voice over the station's intercom. Her voice was as annoyingly calm as ever.

"Your armor and a pistol is in a cabinet over in the corner, Shepard. You need to suit up and get out of there, I'll meet you in the hanger. Nox there can guide you...if you don't kill him."

"Your concern is duly noted, Miranda." I grunted against the steel, earning a light scoff from behind me. The pressure released from my arm and I straightened up, waiting for a few moments so Shepard could step back before I slowly turned around with my hands up to show I wasn't a threat, at least not right then.

To my surprise, the woman in front of me looked almost sheepish with one of her hands scratching the back of her neck. Definitely NOT what I was expecting of the famous Shepard. I would have chuckled if I didn't think it would end up with my face against another of the many hard surfaces of the room.

"Sorry 'bout that...old habits die hard." Shepard had a small apologetic grin as she looked down at me. Our heights were actually the same, but I had a tendency to slouch a little. I just gave her a deadpan stare at her words, trying hard not to laugh at the irony of her words.

"So I see."

"Shepard, you need to get moving!" Miranda's voice urged over the intercom.

"Yes, mother dearest." I quipped, an instant before the comm clicked off, earning another scoff and this time an eye-roll from the Spectre. I gestured to locker. "She's right though, all hell's breaking loose in this place for some reason. We need to get you out of here."

She glanced between me and the locker a few times before finally moving over and buckling on the armor. I noticed a small look of annoyance and confusion when she picked up the pistol and chuckled, getting a glare as her head whipped back towards where I still stood.

"Don't worry. You'll find a better weapon soon, I'm sure. Even I know that pistol's shit." That got me a raised eyebrow which I shrugged off. "I can't say anything more for now, we've wasted enough time." I said, heading off any questions. I keyed open the door and walked out into the hallway, followed quickly by Shepard who nodded silently.

In the distance we could hear screams and gunfire, though our route kept us away from any of it. Unfortunately, luck wasn't on our side as we walked into a seemingly empty room. The sound of mech activation was the only warning I got before one of its rounds slammed into my shoulder, spinning me slightly. There was an initial flash of pain as I dove into cover behind a table, my blood spattering on the flooring while Shepard unloaded into the mech. It went down with a whine of metal as Shepard crouched next to me, the sound of more mechs coming to life in the next room making her growl in annoyance.

It was with a numb curiosity that I looked at the wound, despite the bark of her pistol next to my head. There was a small hole in the skin, showing to the bone, but that was it. There was no shrapnel like I had expected; hell, the bone didn't even look broken. I was brought back to reality when a hand entered my field of vision, smearing medi-gel on the wound, making me wince. Apparently, Shepard had finished with the mechs while I had been spaced out. I inwardly groaned. Not the best first impression on her so far, I thought.

"You alright, kid?" She had a look of concern, which I thought a little odd. Why would she be concerned for me?

"Yeah, just a flesh wound." I heard myself say, getting a small smile at that. With her help, I stood up again, rolling my shoulders before wincing at the stupid idea that it was. Well, at least I still had decent motion with it. "C'mon, it's not that far now…"

We continued through the rooms, with me tossing a few thermal clips to Shepard as we went. Pretty soon we heard gunfire up ahead and Shepard rushed ahead of me to see what was going on. By the time I caught up, Shepard and a man I recognized as Jacob Taylor were talking. Jacob had pulled out his omni-tool and was talking with someone over the radio.

"We're on our way." Taylor said into the comm, before catching sight of me and nodding in greeting. "Nox, we're heading to D-block to pick up Wilson, stay behind us."

I nodded, seeing as I was the only non-combatant. I liked Taylor, he was a good man, if a little set in his ways. He and Shepard took point, moving ahead of me by about 10 meters, giving a good buffer between me and the fighting. But when we got to where Wilson said he'd be, there was just an empty room with a couple destroyed mechs and a blood trail. He had apparently given up on waiting for us and went ahead. We caught up just in time to see the door to the hanger open, revealing Miranda.

"M-Miranda! D-Damn it, the mechs were supposed to-"

"Kill me?" She finished for him as he slumped to the ground, a hole in his head. Shepard's weapon instantly came up while Taylor yelled at Miranda. I paid them no mind as I walked past Wilson's dead body and Miranda towards the shuttle. I had just gotten the engines on when they piled in, Shepard looking somewhat pissed.

Miranda stepped up beside me and punched in a few commands to program the auto-pilot before stepping back into the main area and sealing the door behind her. It didn't seem she wanted me to be able to listen in. That was fine by me, I wasn't in any condition to do so anyway. After being shot, and watching her execute someone right in front of me, I was in a state of shock most of the ride. When we landed, Miranda and Taylor led Shepard out of the shuttle with me bringing up the rear.

While Shepard went to talk with The Illusive Man, I was left to my own devices for the most part. A small medical detachment came and went to check up on the Taylor, Miranda, and I. I was given another dose of Medi-gel on my shoulder as a precaution after they cleaned it up, and left me a clean shirt and pants to change into. I nodded my thanks and stripped down to my skivvies, modesty having been thrown out the window during my time at the last station. I had already pulled on my pants and was picking up my shirt when I froze at the feeling of a hand on my back.

"What...on Earth…?"

The surprise in Shepard's voice was almost tangible. I mentally cursed at not having heard her come up behind me. Her fingers touched lightly on one of the hundreds of scars across my back. I looked like I had seen thousands of fights and come out the worse in every one of them. I turned around slowly, actually standing at my full height for once as I pulled the shirt over my head, hiding the scars along chest from view as well.

"You….didn't strike me as a fighter….Nox?" She sounded confused, having seen my obvious inexperience back on the station.

"I'm not...not really." I sighed. "As sad as it sounds. This is the only scar from a fight I have." I said, pointing out the fresh pink tissue on my shoulder.

"Then where did you get all those scars?"

"Maybe later, Commander. It's not something I really talk about." I could feel Miranda's eyes searing a hole through my back as I scratched my neck, trying to tell her I couldn't talk then. Thankfully, Shepard seemed to catch on and nodded slightly.

We were interrupted by Miranda before Shepard could reply, bringing her back to the task at hand. "We should be on our way, Commander. Our window is shrinking the longer we stay here."

Shepard glanced back at me, her curiosity at an unanswered question so evident I had to bite back a laugh. I nodded towards Miranda. "Don't worry, Commander, I'll still be here when you get back." She nodded and turned to follow the two Cerberus operatives. "I'll hold you to that, kid." She called back over her shoulder.

I know, I know. Some of the Dialogue is different. Since this is following my OC rather than Shepard things will be a bit different than in the games, though I will try to follow as much Canon as possible.

~Nocturn