Chapter 1

The Lone Survivor

Commander David Anderson sat quietly aboard the Kennedy, thinking on what had transpired over the course of the last few hours. The Alliance had sent him and the Kennedy to Akuze to respond to the distress signal laid out by the team there. Not much was known about the operation. Some say they were tracking batarian movements. Others claim they were on a mission from Cerberus. Anderson had scoffed at the idea. Cerberus had announced their withdrawal from the Alliance years ago. They were very quickly replaced with the N7 program as the go-to place for secret operations. No. Alliance marines wouldn't be caught dead working with Cerberus. They'd sooner get in bed with the turians.
The site they launched the distress signal from was a mess, to say the least. The thresher maw wiped out the camp, along with most of the marines. Six or so had made it to the caves, four dying soon after from injuries caused by the attack. When the maw found them, they ran for it, trying to find somewhere else to hold out until the Alliance could arrive to save them. But they were all killed. All but one.

When Anderson first saw Shepard, the boy was a mess. Blood cover him from head to toe, he had several broken bones, and the look in his eyes told the story: everyone was dead. He had barricaded himself in another system of caves, using explosive charges to collapse the entrance, then activated his Personal Emergency Beacon. By the time the Kennedy got there, he was so far gone, he didn't remember a thing, not even his name. He pulled a gun on the rescue team, prompting a young officer, Riley, to shoot him in the leg. Anderson scolded him, telling him to go wait outside. He then tried to comfort the young soldier, offering medi-gel and a way home. The boy nodded slowly, his senses slowly coming back to him. Then he fell unconscious.

Anderson rubbed his eyes as he finished his report. He'd gotten a message a few minutes earlier from Ambassador Donell Udina, who demanded to see the soldier in person. Anderson didn't like it. Udina was a politician, and a shady one at that. What could he possibly want with Shepard?

His thoughts were interrupted by his cabin door opening and the medical officer saluting him. "Sir?" she asked.

Anderson recognized her. Her name was Dr. Michelle Thomas. She was accepted into the Alliance at a very young age, due to her outstanding aptitude test results. She was a medical officer aboard the Kennedy in less than four years. Anderson saluted back. "What is it, Doctor?"

"It's Lieutenant Shepard, sir," Dr. Thomas replied. "He's awake."

Anderson nodded. Good, he thought. Maybe we can find out what really happened down there. "I'll head down right away to see him," he said. Dr. Thomas saluted again and left the cabin. Anderson sighed. Here we go.

Shepard faded in and out of consciousness multiple times over the course of a few hours. He couldn't shake the feeling that whatever had happened on Akuze wasn't over. The memories flashed repeatedly through his mind, allowing him no quarter. The camp being destroyed. Being chased across the desert sand by a giant monster. His fellow soldiers dying all around him, being powerless to stop it. It wouldn't let up.

He didn't remember much about his rescue, though the feeling in his right leg suggested he'd been shot. An idea ran through his head that maybe it wasn't a rescue at all, but a capturing. Cerberus was an enemy of the Alliance, and would probably have loved nothing more than to get their hands on a marine. It would certainly explain him being handcuffed to the bed. But the Alliance symbol was displayed clearly on multiple monitors. Cerberus had dropped that symbol years ago, stating that it had no more meaning for them.

The door to the medical wing opened unexpectedly and Shepard found himself looking into the eyes of someone he'd only ever seen in the vids on Earth. He never once considered the possibility of actually meeting him. Commander Anderson was older than Shepard remembered, but he'd aged well, so far as he could tell. Anderson smiled warmly. "How are you feeling, son?" he asked.

Like hell, Shepard thought. But answering in this manner would not have helped his current predicament any, so he replied, "I'll live, sir."

Anderson nodded. "Glad to hear it." Shepard braced himself for what was coming. "Do you remember anything from down there? Anything that might shed some light on the situation?"

Shepard shook his head. "It's all kind of blurred together right now. There was a thresher maw. The camp was destroyed. The others…." he closed his eyes, unable to bear the barrage of pain stabbing his mind. "I think I was the only one to make it."

Anderson nodded slowly, understandably. "Well," he began, but he cut himself short. He wanted to ask about what he was doing there, but he couldn't, not here. This wasn't the right time or place. "We'll get this sorted out once we get planetside."

Shepard looked up, confused. "Sir?"

"We're docking at Earth in twenty minutes," Anderson replied. He noted the look of small relief on Shepard's face. He then walked to the console next to Shepard's bed and pressed his hand against a button. The shackles around Shepard's wrists broke free, and Shepard rubbed his wrists to get feeling back into them. Anderson nodded. "Welcome home, soldier."

As Anderson left the medical wing, one thought plagued his mind.

That poor kid is gonna live with this the rest of his life.