Mass Effect 3_Aura'anna-Vancouver_Reaper_Invasion

Mass Effect 3

It's been six months... six months since Commander Shepard, formally of the Alliance Navy (before she died... and was resurrected), defeated the Collectors in an unprecedented suicide mission through the treacherous and unmapped Omega 4 Relay.

She hasn't been idle. Despite being under house arrest, she had been retraining... specialising her Biotics, undergoing extensive retraining in advanced Biotic abilities to the point of being a newly-qualified Adept Class fighter. The extensive and singular use of Biotics also had the strangest effect on her - it turned her eyes the strangest shade of deep blue... But it wasn't much of a price to pay for having this immense power quite literally at her fingertips.

She has been kept away from all contact, all news, all people. She sees virtually no-one but her handler -- a Lt. James Vega. The young and... very... strapping soldier is clearly in awe of her. To him, she's an idol, a living legend, the First Human Spectre, an awe-inspiring soldier who had achieved the implossible so many times it was as if she was almost inhuman. She was "The Commander Shepard"... words that had now become a deeply respected moniker; no longer just her rank and name. With his exceptional respect, excessive formality, and excessive use of - unwarranted - protocol around her - it hardly took one to be Mordin Solus to work out that was just what he thought of her... but he was nice, so she's humoured him with it and lets him be.

She's been away from everyone since she surrendered the Normandy to Admiral Hackett after the Collectors were destroyed. She misses them all, but especially Thane, whom she cared so very deeply about. And then... there's Kaidan. Well, actually, who the hell knew about Kaidan after what happened on Horizon...

But now, quite suddenly, the overly-respectful Lieutenant Vega is back with a request to see the Defence Committee. Then she runs into (now) Admiral Anderson... and the expression on his face tells her everything she really needs to know: The Reapers were here.

Before facing the Defence Committee, she is then faced with something far more daunting - she would probably prefer to take on a hundred Reapers before this... She saw Kaidan. Or Major Alenko, as he was now. She isn't quite sure what to think or how to behave. She tries her best... but then, she receives a smile from him, which lightens her heart. Perhaps there was a chance to rectify what happened after all...

She also just about overhears Vega asking Kaidan about her... First, her thought was of affectionate amusement that her awe-struck handler was almost just as overwhelmed to meet one of her friends and old crew. But then... she heard Kaidan's answer. After that, she once again just didn't know what to think.

But at least she didn't have to think about it much longer - this Defence Committee could now distract her instead with their twittering. She was relatively mild-mannered and diplomatic outwardly to these people, humouring them in their politics and ideas, but that didn't mean she had to actually like it. She just knew and accepted this was how these things worked, and that it was best to stay on their good side, so she could get things done faster.

Unfortunately, she received a rather bigger distraction than she had anticipated... They may have all been there to talk about the Reaper invasion - but instead they ended up living it. This was the very moment the Reapers landed on Earth, in Canada, in Vancouver, and quite nearly in their office too.

It was only a moment before one of their lasers actually did make it into the office. Realising what was happening just a fraction of a moment before it did, it gave her time to make it just out of the way of the worst of it. Around her and behind her, the Committee's large podiums went flying through their air, with the Committee still attached to them. She and Anderson were the only survivors because they were standing and over by the door.

Now it was starting.

And now... Now she was going to have to finish it...


~ PC ~ i7-4790K ~ 16GB RAM ~ GTX 970 ~ Ultra High specs ~ 4K specs ~ Recorded at 3840 x 2160 ~ 1080p playback ~