Mass Effect Betrayal Act 1- Shepards Revenge

Chapter 23

2 Months Later

Shepard stands at the edge of a cliff, a small fire burning in front to her. Katherine stands behind her as Shepard holds a picture of herself and Garrus. Without a word, Shepard crouches down and tosses the picture into the fire, watching it burn to ashes. She then takes out her Alliance dog tags, the ones Liara gave her, twice now, and digs a shallow hole next to the fire. Carefully, she places the tags inside and covers them with desert sand, to bury them. This action is a silent tribute to the end of a chapter in Shepard's life.

She turned to her new friend, Katherine Hudson, whom she had begun referring to as "Kathie." Of all the people currently in her life, Kathie is the only one who refers to her as Shepard in private.

Kathie was leaning against a tree, reading a report from Phoenix. After Shepard's recent episode, she had gone to Kathie's apartment and poured her heart out, even admitting to her attempted suicide. Kathie had held her as she broke down, and Shepard even admitted she had never cried so much in her life before now. Now, as she looked at her only remaining friend, Shepard felt grateful for Kathie's presence in her life.

Without a word, Shepard walked over to the tree and sat down next to Kathie who was sitting down now, the two of them sitting in comfortable silence as they watched the sun begin to set over the horizon.

Shepard gazed out beyond the cliff; her mind preoccupied with recent events. After her emotional breakdown and heart-to-heart with Kathie, Shepard had made the decision to join Phoenix. However, she had one condition: she would only agree to joining Phoenix. Only if she got to see the Alliance burn. Kathie had sent a message to her contacts, and after a week, the response had come back: "Welcome to Phoenix."

Shepard knew that the Alliance had a stranglehold on the galaxy, despite suffering massive losses in the war against the Reapers. With the help of the Reaper husks and the memory of the martyr Commander Shepard, they hold most of the political power. The Turian Hierarchy is little more than a vassal to the Alliance, and only a select few nations were allowed access to Reaper technology. The rest were either blacklisted for being too close to Shepard or deemed untrustworthy.

As Shepard thought about the state of the galaxy, she couldn't help but feel a sense of anger and frustration. She knew that joining Phoenix was the right decision, and she was ready to do whatever it takes to bring down the Alliance and bring about real change.

As the sun set, Shepard leaned against a tree, enjoying the tranquility of the moment. She had managed to secure an extension of her curfew until morning, so she decided to spend the night outdoors with her friend Kathie. It had been a while since Shepard had slept under the stars, and she relished the opportunity to do so again.

Kathie, however, remained absorbed in her padd, seemingly oblivious to Shepard's attempts to get her attention. Shepard called out to her friend multiple times, but to no avail. Finally, she decided to take matters into her own hands and gently retrieved the padd from Kathie's grasp, stowing it away in one of their backpacks.

Kathie finally turned towards Shepard; her expression surprised but not to upset. Shepard offered a sheepish grin, hoping her friend wouldn't be too annoyed with her. They settled back against the tree, enjoying the peaceful night and each other's company.

Next Morning
Shepard and Kathie ride their bikes back to their apartment complex after a very pleasant evening. As they dismount and prepare to part ways, Kathie tells Shepard she'll catch up with her later. Shepard watches as Kathie enters her apartment before turning her attention to her own apartment as she entered she saw one of her guards at her bar. The guard reassures Shepard that she's not in trouble, just a few minutes late but nothing major, and hands her a letter before departing. Shepard opens the letter, surprised to see it's from someone she hasn't spoken to in years, but still considers a close friend.