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Post by Tillian Panthesis on Jun 27, 2009 18:37:43 GMT 1
Well, this story is based around Shepard's other background. The colonist background. I've decided to make the challenge a tad harder for me when writing this by try to make the story moving but at the same time, not being a wangst fest. The main story goes like this:
An alliance marine was was on his service leave when one day he ran into the scrawny girl that was admitted into a mental institution due to her illness. He recongised her as the girl that he saved her from the ruins of her hometown in Mindoir. He had to adopted her so he could help her avoid of being fated to be trapped into the mental hospital.
Unfortunately her illness is being muted. So basicly it's more a simple story of the relationship between them and her road to finding her voice once more.
Enjoy and feel free to judge this craptastic story >.>
Rated T (and M in Australia) for Adult Themes, Profanity, War Themes, Violence and Prejudice Themes.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mindoir's LullabyPrologue: The girl in his memory2183, Helias Moon orbit, Skyllian Verge-- The General grimly looked out of the ship’s window while his ship was under fire. The Helias Moon reflected the light source from a nearby sun with a blood red hue, it contrast the black space in the background. The colour of the moon's surface left an ominous omen for the human crew of SSV Sorrento. He watched over from his commanding deck, where his crew frantically working in their posts around him. They were hoping that there’s a small and slight chance the ship will be saved. The hull rocked again as another missile slammed into their kinetic barrier, the offending missile came from the batarian pirates. The SSV Sorrento was heading on her way home before, after long months of patrol duty around the human space. Her crew was looking forward to wind down in the local human bar, which os located down in the Elysium colony when all the sudden, a group of batarian pirate ships ambush them on the Helias Relay. The General jumped as he dodged the electrical serge that burst out from the ship’s circuit on his left. “Take out the ship on her right! The barriers are down to 10%,” The General barked. “Fire at will, General!” The Helmsman of Sorrento called out as she signaled her gunnery team to aim at their target. Seconds later, a bright blue, flash of light sprung out from the exterior hulls of Sorrento. The nuke landed onto a well beaten down pirate ship. The ship exploded into huge fireball, turning into metallic chunks of debris. The explosion flashed a bright orange light in dark space, causing the interior of Sorrento to be lit with an orange hue for a few seconds, before the orange hue faded away once more. The General wiped the excess sweat from his forehead in relief, having one ship taken out of the pack is always a good thing as it gives them more room for them to breathe a bit within the battle. “How many ships now, Lieutenant Lee?” The General asked the helmsman; who was a woman in her early forties. Her features have a clear Oriental appearance, a rare facial trait now days, due to racial integration back on earth that happened since the early days, where they first discover a Prothean technology buried on Mars. “Two ships left, sir,” Lee replied. Before the General was able to bark out another command, the ship rocked again. It caused him to stumbled sideways, barely managed to hold his balance. This time the blow to the ship gave him a concerned look. He leaned his arms onto the rail for support, his strength started to waned from the intense chain of commands he made for the past couple of hours, with in the heated moments of the battle. He asked the helmsman again for the ship’s status. “Status Report! What is the current run down damage now?” “Kinetic Barriers are 40% now. Our missiles are overheating. They won’t be active until five more minutes!” Lee replied. “Five more minutes! We’ll never going to get of this alive! Call out for reinforcements!” “Sir… the nearest reinforcements are located in the Ion Space Station… 12 clicks away.” The General took off his cap and rubbed the sides of his head. He then smoothed his graying blond hair. He lifted his head up and looked at his crew. His olive green eyes emitted his grief for them. They all knew the grim end will happen to them today. Using all his strength both physically and mentally; he began to paced himself to the bridge where Lee is located at her post. Despite the hectic situation around the ship, he managed to walk down to the helmsman section while still kept his majestic pose in place. He didn’t want to see his crew losing more of their morale by letting himself into a breakdown. That’s the burden of being the Commanding Officer of his crew. When he reached the helmsman’s seat, he took a deep breath and with an urgent rough voice he ordered her. “Give me the mic now, Lee. This is the time for me to the address the crew.” The helmsman gave him the mic without any second thoughts. The captain flipped onto the switch and cleared his voice. “Everyone, this is General Greene speaking… I want to say this that it’s an honour to have such fine men and women serving under my command. You have made the Sorrento and the Alliance proud. No matter what happens today, you’re all heroes that will inspire future generations to come. Do not fear or surrender ourselves to these low-life batarians, as it will only give them more solace, that they have the will to break the human spirit. We’re tougher than that. Now, let us have our final stand against the barbaric pirates and tell them that the humans are not meant to be trifled with. Show the rest of the galaxy what we’re made of!” Lee gave him a tearful salute as she took the mic back from him. He turned his back from the helmsman and started to head back to his Commanding post. As he walked pass the gunnery operators that frantically pressing all the interface with vigor, another explosion occurred within the halls wall that made Greene fell over to the metallic floor. As he hit the ground, a small, silver pendant that is shaped like a cross; flew from the grasp of his large, rough hands. He watched the pendant with hawk-like eyes as it flew into the air gracefully; with the interior light sparkling the cross like the clear spring water against the Elysian sun. A few seconds later, it bounced onto the ship’s floor. He got up and quickly picked up the pendant. He studied carefully at the pendant, ignoring the violent whirlwind of the battle around him. He flashed his mind back eleven years ago. He saw himself standing at the Elysian dock, while preparing emotionally as watched over a woman with a familiar face. She used to be known as 'the girl from Mindoir' before she grew up and left the safety of his nest; heeding the call from the Alliance Military. As she prepared to board the starship that is was about to depart to Earth; the woman turned and he gave him the pendant, saying that he’ll need it for good luck, since she won’t be around there to look after him anymore. “Elly,” he whispered softly. Greene wouldn’t regret a thing if he died heroic death on his own ship, if it weren't for one thing that stuck in his mind that made him lament about: the girl. Many years ago, under the atmosphere of fire, blood and death. He first found the young girl, who looked frail and frighten; as she shivered under the ruins of her hometown. He bit his lip he recalled the horrid memories: the screeching of the grief-sicken sicken girl and her pitiful attempts to take on his life with a rusted dinner knife that she grasp tightly in her hand. He saw the fear and hatred in her gray eyes, while he tried to reach out to her. He wished he could do something to repay for the loss, pain and the silence; that she suffered for those two years. During those two years with her under his wing, she helped him resolved his own personal issues; selflessly. He recalled another memory in his mind: back then when she's merely a girl, she shared her wishful thinking to him; that she wanted to ride her very own starship someday. Greene shook his head. Such childish but far from unrealistic dreams she have. He was planning to transfer his command of his beloved starship, the Sorrento; to her once she finished up on whatever assignment she’s been dealing with for the past couple of months… He then wondered, where’s the girl now? “General! One of the pirate ships! It’s warming up their nukes!” Lee cried out through the comm. channels. Green rushed to one of the windows of the ship. His eyes widen in horror as he watched the nuke beams building up the intensity as it was preparing to deliver them the final fatal blow. Forgive me dearest Elly, Greene thought sadly as his conjured the memories of her as a wishful thinking, before his time of his life coming is to an end.
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Post by Tillian Panthesis on Jul 2, 2009 5:57:38 GMT 1
Chapter One: Cold Fields of Elysium
The things that I want to say – I cannot say Perhaps I am a coward But it’s alright. - Utada Hikaru, Beautiful World
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2170, Elysium, Skyllian Verge
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It was snowing outside, as the dark clouds covered up the stars of the night sky. A young human girl looked over the window with wistful gray eyes. She clutched herself tightly into a ball, while she sat still on her bed. The girl was inside of an institutional ward, where the colours of the walls are pale blue. The room has an inorganic smell of bleach and medicine, that lingered in the air. She wasn’t the only one in the room. At the other side of the room, a male doctor in his early forties was sitting in his chair. He held his datapad on his lap, while his watchful dark blue eyes traced every body movement the girl made. There was an awkward silence between them, he tried to get the girl open up her thoughts to him. Despite the girl been unwilling to communicate for hours, he was still hopeful to see some progress with her, so he tried again.
“How are you feeling now, Elaine?”
Again, there’s no reply. She bit her bottom lip gently and rested her chin on her folded arms. Her eyes focused aimlessly at her feet, she ignored the doctor’s question. After a few minutes, he sighed; gave up. He knew it is fruitless to continue to pursue her to open up and communicate with him. He got off seat and walked up towards her bed.
“It’s ok, Elaine. You don’t have to start today. Take your time. I understand how hard it is for you. Get some rest and take it easy, ok?”
He turned his back towards her and headed for the door. As the doctor stepped out of the doorway, he twisted his head back and gave a quick glance at her. Her long wavy ginger hair shrouded her skinny childish body like a blanket; it made her looked more frail and helpless. The doctor shook his head gently at the pitiful sight and left.
-----
“Doctor Fillinger, there’s someone who like to see you.”
Fillinger was writing down his latest report about Elaine’s health report at his desk when the inter comm. interrupted his work. He felt the back of his hair stand in his irritation. Since Elaine’s admitted into the institution, which happened about a month ago; he was determined to help her recover from the after effects of the raid. He smoothed his dark hair, revealing the dark rings under his eyes from the little sleep he had, since he began his work on her.
He adjusted his thick glass frame and pressed the VI cursor with his free left hand, “Who is it? I’m kind of busy at the moment.”
“It’s Commander Vincent Greene.”
“Tell him come to my office. My office door is unlocked at the moment.”
He got up from his seat and stretched his long lanky arms. He felt relieved at the thought of having a visit from an old friend. It’s been a while since he last saw Greene before he left to embark on another patrol duty around the human space. Fillinger knew he could use a short break from his paperwork duties, particularly with Elaine’s case. He can fill the strain in his well-being, due to at the lack of progression of her recovery. He opened up his mini cabinet; took out two ceramic white mugs, coffee ingredients and a bottle of human whisky. He placed them gently on the table and casually made some coffee while he waited for his friend.
A few minutes later, the latch of his office door was unlocked and it automatically slid itself open. The door revealed a giant battle harden marine. He was approximately the same age as the doctor. The marine was clean shaved, with his dark blonde hair cropped short to military standards and his rough skin has a tan complexion. Despite the muscular build that gave him a menacing look about; his warm olive eyes revealed some sort of humanly softness about him.
Fillinger picked up the mugs and handed him the coffee, “I thought that you might need a warm cup, Vincent.”
“Thanks Doc. I really need that. God, the snow… It’s cold as hell outside.”
“I hear you, Vincent. That’s why I’ve added a bit of whiskey to your cup.”
“Ah, an understanding friend who even knows my drinking habits… You know there’s still an open position to join the Alliance as a doctor. You would be a great Chief Medical Officer of the SSV Sorrento.”
Fillinger shook his head, “Thanks for the offer but as I’ve said before, the citizen of Elysium needed my medical practice. I can’t exactly turn my back on them.”
“Fair enough, guess we do serve humanity in our own ways…”
Their conversation was interrupted when a nurse rushed into his office, looking distressed. She tried to speak out but couldn't due to her sprinting. The nurse gave out a dry, hoarse cough. Fillinger quickly assisted her to a spare seat in his office, while Greene poured a glass of water for her. She quickly snatched the glass and gulped the clear liquid down quickly.
“What’s the matter, Nurse Rich?” Fillinger asked.
“The patient… from 325 room… she’s… she’s.”
“Take deeps breaths and concentrate. What’s wrong?”
“She ran away!”
“What?” He yelled in bewilderment.
“She broke the window and climbed her way out from there.”
A chill ran down Fillinger’s spine. The room where he just examined the quiet girl an hour ago. He quickly placed his mug on his desk and rushed out of his office quickly. Confused and stunned by the events that happened to him; Greene also left his mug on the desk and quickly chased after his friend. He stormed through the clean laminated corridors, before his friend finally stopped at the last room of the corridor at the end of the hall. Fillinger stood in front of an open doorway to the ward, his blue eyes scaned the room before they were widen by horror. The chilling wind of the Elysian winter was brushing againist his cheeks. Greene walked right to him and looked at the doorway.
The room is in a terrible mess. There were snow and glass splinters that scattered everywhere on the floor. while the bed was unmade. The curtains flapped along with the strong breeze, which came from the hole of the window. It was large enough for a child patient to squeeze through it. Much to both of their horrors, at the broken window there were patches of blood on the sharp, jagged edges.
“Holy… shit,” Greene blurted out without thinking as he stared the room
“Call all security personel! Patient no. 1297 has left the premises. I repeat, she have left the building! Find her immediately!” Fillinger called out through the comm.
After he gave out his orders, he placed his hand Greene's shoulder and gave him a wary look.
“Looks like this will be a long night for me again… this is the second time this girl broke out from her room.”
“Who is that patient? I think I might be able to find her,” Greene insisted
“No… you don’t have to, Vincent. She’s a… special case. You might scare her off.”
Greene crossed his arms, “Let’s hear it.”
“Her name is Elaine Shepard, she’s from…”
Before Fillinger was able to finish disclosing her idenity, Greene shoved him aside and quickly rushed to the emergency exit doorway; while putting his coat back on. Fillinger called out from behind, he was worried about his friend’s reaction.
“Wait a minute! I haven’t even given you her physical description!”
Greene twisted his head back and gave him a wistful look, “She’s from Mindoir, right? I’m the one who saved her from the ruins of her hometown during my last assignment on the Sorrento. I’ve understand how she’s feeling right now. I’ll find her and bring her back safe. I’ll promise that Fillinger.”
Fillinger watched silently as his marine friend slammed the door in front of him.
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In the middle of the frozen fields of Elysium, a young human girl known as Elaine Shepard, trotted slowly through the ankle deep snow in barefoot. She felt the chilling wind blowing against her pale cheeks, while she clutched her right arm tightly, where she made a gash from the broken window. A small stream of blood trickled down from her arm. It dripped off into the snow at the tip of her fingers, as it left a small scarlet red trail against the pristine white snow. Shepard gritted her teeth as she continued to march aimlessly before the cold became unbearable. Her thin bony legs became numb and she collapsed onto the ground.
Shepard lifted her head up high from the snow and looked around her surroundings. Within the fields, she can only see the endless white barren snow; save for the bloody trail she left behind. She remembered how her mother used to tell her about the heavenly beauty within the Elysian Fields, back when she was a child. Her mother used to describe the fields that is full of life, with all sorts of flowers in vivid colours. Throughtout her childhood, Shepard's mind was filled with lively imagination, as she listen through bedtime stories about the fields of Elysium from greek mythology. The girl gave out a small chuckle, how wrong her mother is. There’s only snow and darkness. No colours, sun nor life. She tried to get up with all of her strength but she clumsily collapsed back onto the ground. This time she gave up her own struggle. Shepard laid herself back onto the snow and looked up at the night sky. She watched the scattered snow that slowly fall onto the earth from the heavens. It started to gently blanket her.
Her mind flashed back to last Christmas, where her family spent together for the last time before the raid. It was dusk at the time when she ran out of the house, as the snow fell gently from the skies above her. She flipped her body onto the deep snow on her back. She flapped playfully in the ground, creating a shape of an angel. Then after a while she stopped her movements and relaxed in the snow. She looked upwards at the sky above her. She allowed the snowflakes to dance gently on her cheeks. The girl smiled gently as she admired delicate beauty of the falling snow. Then her mother called out to her. The whole family is already there in the dining room, they waited for her come back and join with the rest of them; since they wanted to start the feast together. She got up and ran back into the house…
The cold wind snapped her from the warm memories of Mindoir and tossed her back into the cold harsh reality. She felt warm stinging tears, that flowed down helplessly from the corner of her eyes. She wanted to go home, go back to her homeworld; where her parents and friends are waiting for her. That’s why Shepard ran away from the institution because she missed them. She wept silently in the night as she realised the horrible truth: she’ll never be able to set foot on Mindoir again. Using her last strength, she reached for the cross pendant, before she held it close to her chest with both of her hands. She can feel her heart beating to a slow steady tempo, while listening to the quiet atmosphere of the desolate frozen Elysian field. She felt her whole body exhausted, so she closed her eyes and allowed the drowsiness to take over. She let the darkness enveloped her.
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A loud sneeze emitted through the frozen air as Greene stumbled through the thick layers of snow. He grumbled about the cold to himself, while he rubbed his hands together. As he waded through, he noticed small trail of blood in front of him. He knew that blood came from Shepard. He quickly rush through, kicked the snow aside while following the bloody trail. Greene called out her out her name.
"Elaine... Elaine? Can you hear me?"
Then he found her. She laid on her back, with her arms rested on her chest; while she was partially covered in the snow. The girl closed her eyes like she was in a deep slumber. Her face expressed with peacefulness, as if she accepted her fate. He screamed in grief, his rough voice echoed into the night sky.
“Oh dear god… Elaine!”
He brushed off all the snow on her, lifted her left arm and checked her pulse. He can still feel the beat of the pulse but it's weak. He quickly took off his coat and wrapped over her tiny limped body. He then lifted her from the ground with his strong broad arms and cradled her. Greene rushed back to the institution as fast as he can, hoping that there's a chance the girl might make it through the ordeal. As he carried her through the fields, he brushed off the strands of her hair from her face. Her cheeks were colourless and her lips have a bluish hue to it; due to the exposure of the cold. For some reason, he felt a deep connection to the girl. Greene sobbed quietly, touching her icy cheeks gently.
“Hang on, little Elaine! Don’t go into the light… For god’s sake, don’t go!”
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It’s been hours since Shepard was safely tucked inside the warmth of her bed, her eyes are still shut off from the galaxy. Greene watched her over anxiously at the side of the bed, where he the position of the chair backwards so he can support his body on the back rest. This is the not the first time she cheated death, he recalled while his eyes followed the steady rhythm of her breathing. A month ago he found her in a stasis pod that was hidden underneath the burning building that used to be her home...
The raiders had left Mindoir a while ago, all that is left of the tiny idyllic homeworld was a colony up in flames, along with many dead human corpses scattered around the streets. Greene gritted his teeth as he led a small ground team into the fiery ruins, checking for survivors and stray pirates. As things were starting to look grim with the lack of survivors, when he stumbled across an isolated homestead, the only building that he haven’t checked. Despite the intensity of the heat from the flames, he rushed in, still hoping he might find a surviour that is still alive.
After going around the house, room to room, he found a human male charred corpse. From a quick glance, the human male was in his mid thirties at the time he was alive. He noticed the way the corpse was laid; the deceased male was tried to cover up something from the raiders. He quickly moved the corpse aside and found a hidden latch that activates the system of the stasis pod, which was located from the floor below him. After he risen the pod to ground level, he quickly unlock the latch and opened the pod. It revealed a tiny, scrawny, jittering girl that is still alive. Her sun dress was dirty and her face was caked with blood. She darted her eyes around nervously. She ignored his presences while she searched for her parents.
“Mother…? Father…?”
Then she noticed the charred corpse. She screamed in horror and grief, her voiced penetrated the blood red skies of Mindoir. When she began to notice him, she quickly grabbed a rusted dinner knife that was nearby her and banished the blade in front of his face. He slowly stepped away from her, with two of his free hands up in the air. The girl then dropped herself down to the ground, kneeing beside the charred corpse. She shaked it desperately with her thin hands.
“Dad… dad!” She sobbed heavily, her voice became more wet and bubbly, as the tears from her eyes washed off the dry blood from her cheeks.
Greene saw the flames spreaded itself quickly around the room, it consumes the wooden frames of the house faster than he wanted to. He had to think fast before they’ll be also counted to the death toll statistic. He started to walk briskly towards her, trying to reach out to her. When the girl saw the marine appoarched her from the corner of her eyes, she grabbed the knife and pointed directly at him with both of her hands. She gave a cold, icy stare at him, as she gingerly stepping towards him.
“You… You bastard! You’ve killed my father!”
“Hang on a sec…”
Before he managed to finish his sentence, the girl charged at him, with her right arm raised up in the air. She clutched the knife tightly as she was about to strike him. His military combat instinct kicked in, he wrapped both of his hands into tight dual knuckles and quickly blocked her right arm in one hand, while he punched her into the forehead with the other. The physical blow was hard enough for her to lose consciousness. She collapsed to the floor like a heavy sack, her grip from the knife loosen. Greene then picked up her limped unconscious body from the ground before they both rushed out of the house, while the interior of the house started to collapse around them…
The guilt seeped into his body again. Greene lifted his head from the back rest and looked back at the bed; where the girl has been sleeping for the past couple of hours. He checked the time though his omn-tool. It is midnight, Elysium standard time. He’s been watching over her for five hours now; since he walked into the wards with the girl, who held onto her dear life, as the cold tried to sapped her fragile life away. He remembered on that particular fateful day, after he brought scrawny girl back to the ship. Greene learnt that her name is Elaine Shepard. A girl with two parents and a large extended family that scatter throughout the colony. Unfortunately none of them survived, saved for the girl who is now an orphan. He realised now that it more than just statistics of the raids that occur in their colonies, it’s seeing the horror and sorrow within the girl’s eyes that made it personal.
Damn the bloody council and their stupid bureaucracy tape! When they going to open their eyes and see this whole mess? He thought sadly. He clenched his fist angrily, at the thought of the council limiting the number of their ships and the whole excuse of not getting involve in protecting colonies with their fleets; due to the fear of provoking the Terminus Systems. As he gritted his teeth in raged, a tiny soft whimper was heard from the bed. He looked up and saw Shepard stirring up from her slumber. He leaned closer and caressed her forehead lightly. Moments later she slowly lifted her eyelids and twisted her head to see Greene’s face clearly.
There was an awkward silent as they both stare each other, eye to eye. He was half expected her to lose control and attack him again, but instead she wept. Her body gently shivered due to her uncontrollable sadness and the dread of seeing the man who knocked her out of cold before, again. He reached out for a couple pieces of tissues from the end table. He gave her a bundle while he helped her to wipe the tears away.
“It’s ok. You’re safe now. I’m not going to hurt you.”
Shepard gave him an unconvincing expression, she hid herself underneath her blanket. Her large grays eyes peaked out from the covers. He voluntary raised both of his hands up in the air, showing her that he was empty handed.
“See? No weapons. I’ll promise you I won’t hurt you again, ok? Come on, kiddo, it’s alright.”
The girl then hesitantly pulled the covers from her and revealed her face. Her cheeks were flushed with pale pink from the warmth of the heater, indicating the blood is circulating properly inside of her body again. She looked back at him with wary eyes, her body started to relaxed a little since her nerves seem to stop shaking now. Greene relaxed himself back onto his seat and shifted his eyes around to see if there’s any nearby staff members wandering nearby her room. When the coast is cleared, he reached out to his back pockets and revealed a small pack of cigarettes and a lighter.
“Mind if I take a smoke a bit?”
Shepard shook her head, she didn’t care. He lit up his cigarette and inhaled the bitter aromatic infusion before he blew out a small stream of smoke from his nose. She watched at the smoke absently as it dissolved in the air, while clutching the edge of the blanket closely to her chin. Greene held the cigarette between the tips of his index and middle finger while glancing back at her. He tried make her feel at ease by giving her a warm smile, but she still looked tense. She griped the blanket tightly to the point he can see her knuckles showing through the delicate pale skin. He tried a different tact instead by starting up a conversation with the girl.
“A cold night, eh? You must be feeling warm and comfortable underneath that nice blanket of yours.”
She didn’t replied, instead she gently tighten her lip and looked away from him. He noticed from her reaction, there’s some wrong with her. She forced herself to keep the silent. As he about to press on further to find out the problem, there are footsteps within the corridors outside of the ward. He quickly extinguished his cigarette and discard into a nearby wastebasket. The marine jumped off his seat and waved the away the thin clouds of smoke with both of his arms. Then the door slid opened and Fillinger was standing there.
“Ah, there you are Vincent. I thought you went home after you helped out finding Elaine…”
All sudden the doctor stopped in mid-sentence when he smelt something bitter. He took a quick light sniff and twitched his nose in disgust. He gave out a hoarse cough and took another sniff in the air; this time a deep, coarse grunt as he deeply breathes in. He then gagged at the awful smoky aroma, he clasped with his free hand to his mouth. He fixed his eyes on Greene and angrily glared at him.
“Greene! How many times I’ve told you that smoking is not allowed on these premises? Good lord! You’ve smoked in front of her?”
“I’ve did asked her first Doc. Look, this not the time to argue about this. What’s the real issue here, Fillinger?” Greene asked.
“We should head back to my office and let her get some rest… This is more of an important matter.”
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“There’s something wrong with her, Doc.” Greene crossed his arms and looked down on Fillinger’s desk, he watched him writing down the last couple of sentences on his VI terminal systems.
“Indeed the patient is having an abnormal condition, Commander Obvious,” Fillinger replied as he continued to type down his report on Shepard’s current status of her condition.
He also wrote a report about her attempted escape from the institution that happened a few hours ago into her personal medical report. He felt the heavy strain in his current work with her. With all the stress that pent-up inside of him, he let his sarcastic tongue got loose without thinking. Greene glared at him irritation.
“We both know that her head is not in the right place, doctor.”
“Yet, you’ve almost this damn close to make her having a mental breakdown, thanks to your military bravado, soldier!” Fillinger snapped as he slams his hands down on the surface of his desk, hard.
They looked at each other with an angry stare, the silent lingered in the office. For a while the tense atmosphere between two old friends boiled up to the point where one of them would lose control and start arguing on the top of their lungs. However, moments later, the tension dissolved as Fillinger sighed with an apologetic tone.
“Look, I’m sorry Vincent. I’ve… this is a tough assignment I’m working. The stress got into me, I’ve didn’t mean to call you Commander Obvious.”
“It’s alright, Doc. I’ve noticed that you’re not acting like yourself recently.”
The doctor took off his glass and laid them gently onto his desk. He rubbed his eyes and the bridge of his nose while trying to loosen up the stress tension. He gave Greene a tired look. His dark blue eyes were tinted with red veins while the skin around his eyes ringed with a grayish brown hue.
“So, I guess you want to know what’s wrong with her?”
Greene nodded at him. Fillinger leaned himself at the desk, he crossed his arms.
“I guess you knew the details of the raid that happened a month ago in Mindoir. You would already know the worse. After you rescued Shepard from the colony, the authorities allocated her to an orphanage on Elysium. A few weeks later the orphanage staff members realised something is wrong with her, so they sent the patient up here to get her some treatment… Shepard was diagnosed with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder that causes her to have some sort of speech impairment.”
“Speech impairment? You’re telling she’s…”
“Muted, in your own simple terminology terms. The effects from the raid have her psychology injured to the point she shut her own verbal communications with other sentient beings.”
They both paused. Greene’s face was twisted into a frown while he looked down. He shook his head in pity at the girl while Fillinger sighed.
“She’s a difficult one… Even a month after since she admitted here, I can’t even make a slightest progression her recovery. I’m worried that she’ll never recover someday, instead her mental health might get worse.”
“Doc, is there any way I could help?”
Fillinger gave him a skeptical look. “Help her? You’re a simple marine for god’s sake! I’m a professional doctor and I’m still struggling in dealing with her well-being.”
Greene rubbed his forehead while he tried to brainstorm a way that might help the girl out. After a while, he clicked his hand in excitement, his eyes sparked with optimism and determination.
“Doc! I think there’s a way!”
A way? Oh god, not this again. Fillinger thought as he gave the enthused marine a concerned look. He liked his strong moral and loyalty sense; but he couldn’t not stand Greene’s dull witted mind. Every time he comes up with a suggestion or an idea, Fillinger felt unnerved from him. It didn’t help that most of the time, his ideas failed miserably in the past. Still it didn’t hurt to hear him out what the simpleton marine has to say.
“Ok, shoot.”
“I’m going to adopt her.”
“What?”
“Did you hear me, Doc? I’ve said I’m going to take her home and raise her like my very own daughter.”
“You… have… to… be kidding me, Commander!” Fillinger yelled out in disbelief.
Out of all the ideas he thrown in, this one have to be the most inane idea out of all. He couldn’t imagine that a gigantic, thuggish marine being a fatherly figure to a normal child, let alone a child with a severe survival guilt syndrome that is muted. He wiped the excess sweat off his forehead, trying to keep his nerves in place.
“Vincent, you know how hard it is to adopt a child and raising it up as your own, right?”
“Yes I’m aware of it, Doc.” Greene replied
Fillinger shook his head, “I know you really want to help her but… I don’t think it’s a good idea…”
“What do you mean it’s not a good idea? Leaving her cooped up in some cramp ward doesn’t seem like the solution!”
“Look, raising a child is serious and complex. It requires dedication and time to nurture the child into a well grown adult.”
“Well, I can’t just let her sit there all alone in that room!”
Fillinger gave him a baffled look. He never seen his marine friend being so insistent and outspoken about a child before.
“Vincent… I’ve never seen you being so concerned about her well-being. What made you act like this?”
Greene sighed. He looked back at his friend with heartrending eyes, the vivid memories of the failed mission to evacuate the colony, still haunted him. He shivered when he recalled Shepard’s last words to him, before she broke down to a helpless mute was, “You’ve killed my father!”
Whenever he looked into Shepard’s eyes, it reminded him the guilt of his failure, especially when he saw her current state. He felt something in the back of his throat; he cleared his throat, before he tried to explain his reasons to the doctor.
“Doc… if you have been with me during that last mission in Mindoir, you would have understood it. We’ve tried break through the barriers of their defenses but it was too strong. Instead we are forced to watch the civilians dropping like flies. When they left, we have to clean up the horrible mess they left behind… that’s when I’ve met Elaine. God... her last words... they were painful as bullet in the heart.”
"So those words are...?"
"You've killed my father."
Fillinger shook his head, "It's not your fault, Vincent. There's nothing you can do about it..."
"For God's sake... I'm a marine! I've sworn to protect the human race from things like this... and I've failed... her words are nothing but the pure truth..." Greene trembled. His became voice shaky and his hands trembled after he recollected the events from Mindoir to his friend.
Fillinger patted him on the shoulder, “So… you want to raise her, as a way to make up for that?”
“Yes, you can say that, but there’s more to it, doc. Every time I see her sad eyes… it hurts me a lot see her suffer. I want to… hear her voice again. I want her to be happy once more... she's only a little girl when those bartarians took everything she have away... her friends, family, childhood... and her voice... Don't you think she deserve to at least to enjoy the life she once have? Someone out there has to give her life back... in that case, I'll be the one to do so."
Fillinger nodded back at him, he understood how he felt. He walked back to his desk, opened up one of the drawers and pulled out a datapad. He gave him the datapad and a digital pen. Greene quickly scanned through the pad and realised it’s an adoption application for Elaine Shepard.
“The Empyrean Orphanage gave me this in case someone decided to adopt her on the spot while we’re trying to give her some treatment in the mean time. I’ve didn’t expected it will be you, Vincent. So… you’re sure about this? There’s no turning back once you’ve sign up a lifetime commitment of raising a child.”
“Yes.”
“Then so be it.”
After Greene filled up the application form and signed his signature, he handed back the pad to the doctor. They both shook their hands together before Greene patted his hand on Fillinger’s shoulder, as he prepared himself to head back home.
“Vincent?”
“Yeah?”
“The girl… Elaine Shepard. She’s a good kid. Take care of her… and good luck.”
“Thanks, I’ll need that,” Greene nodded before he shuts the door behind him, leaving Fillinger behind in his office.
-----
Greene took one last visit to Shepard’s ward before he headed back to his home. He looked over ward’s window and watched her sleeping peacefully underneath the covers. She looked calm and relaxed as her breathing patterns were steady and even. He whispered gently to the girl behind the glass plane with a gentle assurance.
“Everything will be alright, Elaine.”
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