Mass Effect Arks

Is this Reality? (Part 2/5)

Shepard Fedorian woke up, feeling the cold air surround her. Her eyes opened, she saw the ice like formations on the glass and a hiss that popped her ears. Trying to move, she reached up, holding her head.

"Wh...what? Where am I?" She asked herself more than anyone in particular.

Before an answer could be given, however, a towel was thrown onto her.

"Best hurry up. It took a lot of effort to get you out, and a lot more people dead than we'd like." a gruff voice.

"What? People died?" Shepard asked, shock and worry.

"Yeah. Those Alliance bastards made it so that opening one of these bastards takes 10 offline. The strike team that came in to save you got picked apart. Now. Get up off your ass. We are leaving." the gruff voice man shouted.

Shepard shook her head and looked around. She was laying on a pod that was open, A dozen pods that were dark were around her. She looked down and found she had a jumpsuit on. A gun was shoved into her hands.

"Hurry up!" The large figure said.

Shepard got to her feet and was a bit wobbly. Following behind the Krogan, they left the room, and saw a group of Salarian and Turians aiming down the hall, using doorways for cover.

"HVC secured. Evac, we are ready, moving to extract site." the krogan said.

They pushed her down the hall, moving and covering door ways, until a set of sliding doors opened on the end, and 2 figures pointed at them.

"COVER!" The krogan shouted, shoving Shepard into a door way, grabbed by a Turian as gunfire sprayed down the hall, cutting down a few soldiers who were out cover. 

A salarian took aim and fired, three balls landing at the feet before they exploded.

"Move!" The salarian stated.

Rushing down the hall, a turian drew a flare gun and fired it into the air.

"W...Where am I?" Shepard asked.

"Hard to recognize, but this is Thessia." The Krogan said.

"The Asari Homeworld?" Shepard asked, looking out, seeing they were in a dome, the city was burned, destroyed, craters dotted the surface, barely a city, much less the capital of the Asari.

"What's left of them. This place got hit by Bio-plagues that targeted the Asari, a worse Genophage." The Krogan said.

"How could it be worse?" Shepard asked, worried.

"It made them fry their nervous system when they melded, both sides." The Salarian said.

"Spirits....." was all Shepard could say, before a transport flew down and everyone climbed in.

"Why would the Systems Alliance do this? I thought we were de-escalating. The Galactic curtain fell." Shepard said.

"More like they drove through it. They sent hundreds of VI piloted ships out and crashed them into major worlds. Centers of Trade, communication hubs, anything and everything to delay forces from defending ourselves." The turian said.

"What about my dad? Where's the Sky Marshal?" Shepard asked, worried.

"Dead." The krogan said.

Shepard collapsed into a seat, and held her head. She began to cry. Her head hurt, closing her eyes, she shook her head, trying to think straight, understand what was going on. When she opened her eyes, she was standing at a table with a dozen other people.

"We were able to capture a Human Vessel, a frigate. In the Data banks of the ship were codes that can get us behind their lines. Shepard, we will be having you give the speech when we Hijack the communication system, and display their crimes to their own people." the Asari woman said, she was one of the last maidens, a former Justiciar, an eye patch over one eye.