My Shep throughout the years
Age 6: Happy-go-lucky average kid. Born and raised on Mindoir by her loving parents. Mom stayed home to raise her and tend their small homestead. Dad was an engineer working on intergalactic communication transmission setups. Jane was fascinated by the beauty of the night sky and wanted to travel the stars to see them all.
Age 16: Batarian slavers invaded Mindoir. Jane’s mother used her body as a human shield to protect her young daughter - using her final breath to remind Jane how loved she is. In a matter of hours, she went from a thriving, A-rank student to a traumatized orphan who watched her parents and friends get murdered. The Alliance military arrived to a burning colony and a shell-shocked young Shepard. The rescue was her first time off-world
Age 18: It had been two years since the attack that changed the trajectory of her life. Joining the Alliance was initially a chance for revenge against the Batarians but quickly led to more. Other crewmates relied on her. People needed her. The thoughts of revenge simmered away in the face of seeing so many wars' aftermaths. It was about protecting her people. Protecting those who needed it and going to any lengths to give them that.
Age 26: (Mass Effect 1) She’d climbed the ranks to Commander after her part in protecting the human colony of Elysium. She was unwavering against the masses of nearly 10,000 Batarians, using the horrors of her own experience to fuel countless rescues of civilians as well as her crew members. She didn’t expect it, but was also scouted to be the first human Spectre. It came with trials and tribulations, but eventually was granted. Given the near-endless power of the council's right-hand comes with the temptation to abuse it; at least for some. Not for Shepard. Protect and Serve isn’t just a motto; it is a moral compass.
Murder and sabotage. Geth outside the veil. Unknown massive living ships called Reapers. And people care about alien crewmates aboard the Normandy? Jane works with who is best qualified for the job - and they are. Taking down a Reaper meant to signal the beginning of the end for all intelligent life is a feat never experienced before. Yet they did it.
Age 29: (Mass Effect 2) Blown into space when the Normaday was attacked should have been the end of Shepard’s 27-year-long story. It wasn’t. Awoken to sirens and agonizing pain, she had spent over two years being meticulously pieced back together until some semblance of herself emerged, walking, talking, and miraculously capable of recalling her life - good and bad. Cerberus, a known terrorist and anti-alian group, was to thank for such a thing. They need her help to figure out why human colonies are going missing. Jane doesn’t work for terrorists, but it’s outside of Alliance jurisdiction. Fine; Cerberus can fund her mission, but things get done her way.
Collecting her old crew was vital, but there was also something about those the Illusive Man had sent. There was Miranda, a well-trained, ice-cold bitch who couldn’t be trusted. Or could she? Sure, she did things differently than Shaprad, but they wanted the same result. As time went on, Shepard was determined to get to know Miranda. As Miranda observed Shepard's ways, little moments of realness began to poke through. Miranda was capable of holding conversations, smiling, and laughing. She protected her sister with fierceness. She cared about saving those who needed protection. Dismissed conversations turned into tolerance, then appreciation. Late-evening duo data entries shifted into talks that lasted until morning. And eventually lonely nights ended with someone to hold. It was Shepard’s first real flame. She’d been with others before, quick flings that lasted a month or two, but never anything with the intensity of this. This was new, and she would do anything in her power to protect it.
With an amazing crew at her back, fighting the Collectors and learning of the impending Reaper invasion was feasible but not without pain and loss. In the end, the Illusive Man did not have humanity’s best interests at heart, just the unethical preservation of it. Miranda finally saw that as well, leaving behind everything she thought she knew to follow Shepard through the trials and tribulations to come.
Age 30: (Mass Effect 3) If her warnings had been taken seriously, maybe the losses wouldn’t have been so steep when the Reapers finally arrived. In protective custody for the last 6 months, Shepard wasn’t allowed contact with ANY of her crew, including her yet undetermined partner-status, Miranda.
Anderson, the man who took young Shepard under his wing, chose to stay behind and do his best to protect the people of Earth. Every step was a fight to gain an advantage over the Reapers. If the galaxy wanted any chance of surviving a total extinction of intelligent life, they all had to work together. Shapard had proven she was loyal, strong, and capable. She’s the only one with real knowledge of the Reapers. The responsibility to unite an entire galaxy landed solely on her shoulders. The constant news updates and first-hand war experience chipped away at Shepard. PTSD nightmares became a constant occurrence, and the stress alone was enough to incapacitate most.
After weeks of negotiations and battles, there was a strong community working on a super weapon blueprint. They were ready to take the fight to the Reapers. The air was thick before the final battle. No one truly expected to survive. Shaprad and Miranda had a final call where Miranda’s true feelings were admitted; she loved Shepard. Shepard refused to say it back and swore she would find her after the war.
The battle to Earth and the Citadel was devastating. Hundreds of lives were lost, and worst yet, the weapon needed to be activated by hand. With her crew struggling, she forced them to evacuate without her. Before she could reach the jetstream to the Citadel, blinding pain exploded through her entire being. A Reaper tore right through those who remained. The ringing in her ears blocked out nearly everything else, and the blood streaming down her face blurred her vision. But she had to get up. The entire galaxy depended on it. Stumbling to the jetstream, she was thrown aboard the Citadel along with Anderson. The Illusive Man, half-human, half-synthetic, had beaten them there, and against Shepard’s will forced her to shoot the man she looked up to. There had to be some humanity left in the Illusive Man; she just had to reach it. Within minutes, the Illusive Man had taken his own life, and Shepard activated the weapon, wiping out the Reapers. The explosion took her and the Citadel into a fiery plummet to Earth.
(My AU is a mix between the canon distrory/ “Shepard lives” ending and the Happy Ending Mod.)
Bonus from my unfinished comic about after the Reaper war.
Miranda finds Shepard in the aftermath of the war. It takes a long time to recover, but eventually Shaprad does. Mentally, she never fully heals
romaincrisis
