#bex shepard

It had been five long years since earning her N7 at Torfan, and she was still paying for it. They had to grant her the designation because she did finish the mission. But they didn’t have to give another inch. She was immediately posted at what was once a regional army training base 200 miles southwest of New Orleans which had at the time been referred to as the “armpit of the Army”, Bex Shepard was tasked to be OPFOR for the Alliance Joint Readiness Training Center. It was hot, humid, buggy, and smelled of swamp water. The old moniker still fit. 

The brass got to spin it as a reward assignment,congratulating her on completing her N7 mission with one hand and punching her in the gut with the other. 

"You'll have the privilege of training the future" They smiled and clapped her on the shoulder at the end of the N7 phase as they patched her in. But she saw it for what it was. She was a tool, a recruiting poster to suck in more recruits. Even though she was widely known as the Butcher of Torfan, it covered their asses. Discharging a fresh N7 would be an even bigger media firestorm than the mission had been.  It repelled as many as it attracted,but they stuck with it to keep her off the line. 

That day, however, she was pulled away from her duty and hauled into the base commander's office. She had put in a request for termination of her contract and release from duty. She intended to find a life away from all of it.  There were raised voices coming from inside, so she took a seat and waited her turn. 

She had been waiting  for a few minutes when the staff duty NCO called Attention. She stood and saluted as required, and waited for the at ease order before she sat back down and returned to the datapad she had been studying, looking for any other legal ways to get out of the Alliance military if her bid failed.

She could sense the officer staring at her, but it was nothing new. He'd probably seen her name tape and recognized her. And by now he had connected the name with the news stories, and was likely questioning if firing squads could be brought back.

"Hell of a business, Torfan. A goatscrew from the word go." The gruff voice said. 

Bex looked up, startled. She took a moment to take in the man before her. Tall, rigid, white hair and steely blue eyes. Deep scar across the right side of his face An admiral by the bars on his blues, Hackett...oh...shit. Shit. Shit. Was this why she was brought here? Surely if Admiral Hackett was going to address the issue personally it would have happened years ago, not now. Not in a waiting room. Right? 

"The official report seems to be lacking your side of the story, Commander. I'd like to hear it if you don't mind." He continued. 

"Yes, Sir,"  Shepard answered, and took a deep breath. 

Torfan 2178

Batarians, hundreds of them. Shepard waged a constant battle with the bile rising in her throat at the sight. Of course she wanted revenge after Mindoir, her parents, her grandparents, everyone they took from her. But this op was ill conceived and in the hands of the wrong people. 

The enemy was dug in, they had a network of tunnels they knew like the back of their hands, they had numbers, and cover and supplies. They had every advantage. Her squad was exhausted, low on ammo, out of water and her biotic amp was overheated when they reached the final tunnel. They needed a rest, they needed resupplied, a drop had been made to Major Kyle and the other officers, but they delayed passing it along because he couldn’t decide if he really should send the supply team in or not, and now it was too late. Kyle was indecisive, incompetent, and weak as a leader and it led to their downfall. 

They had to take this tunnel, or lose their shot, and Bex had to give that order. 

When they breached the door, the batarians were ready for them, opening fire immediately. Bex threw up as many biotic barriers as she could but they were weak and failed. She tried a singularity field to control the enemy long enough to reposition but it sputtered out within seconds as more of her marines fell. 

In that moment, out of sheer desperation she decided if she was going to die with her troops, she was taking every batarian in that tunnel with her. She lobbed a smoke grenade to buy herself the time it took to deactivate the safety protocols of her amp and slam a stim pack down. She mustered as much energy as she could, and charged forward at the enemy. When she was close enough. She channeled every bit of biotic power she could, as her amp sizzled the skin beneath it and her head throbbed from the strain on her implant, and with both hands released a blastwave of energy that took out the majority of the remaining batarian forces, she could hear gunfire from the few remaining marines in her charge, and saw batarians dropping dead to the floor as she fell unconscious.

When she woke in sick bay the next morning she was surprised. What's more, she found her duffle packed and sitting beside the bed with orders to earth, and a crap assignment.  She may have lived through Torfan, but the command still buried her.

Hackett sat, unreadable in front of her. She tried her best not to fidget, but it was a struggle. Suddenly the commander’s door slid open and out walked a face she hadn’t seen since her rescue from Mindoir. Captain David Anderson, looking victorious next to her sullen commander. He nodded once with a smile, and then Hackett finally spoke.

“Commander Shepard,” he said, “Captain Anderson and I are here to formally transfer you to his command. You deserve better than this bureaucratic shithole posting, and you’re needed on an important, albeit classified mission. That is, if you accept.”

Accept? She had a choice? Twenty minutes before she had been looking for ways to get out of the Alliance altogether, and now this. She could refuse and try to get out, but with her reputation on top of being a biotic, her options for employment were slim. Closer to none. A chance to clear her name? Give back to Anderson? Why not? 

“Sir, I have one condition,” she answered “my name, officially. I’d like it changed from Rebecca to Bex in all records, past and future,” she requested, “Rebecca died on Mindoir, and was buried on Torfan.”

“Done,” Hackett agreed.

"This didn't work out as I had intended." Bex said, stunned.

“Grab your gear Shepard,” Anderson said with a chuckle, shaking her hand, “And welcome to the crew of The Normandy.”

omg that's so cool! Bex is one of my favorite names ^_^

Nebula: she's been best friends (and for a few years, much more) with Kaidan since BAaT. He was the first person to talk to her when she got there and pulled her into his friends circle and that was that. Finding out they were both from the same city and both loved hockey was a bonus.

Tagged by the fantabulous @alyssalenko. Thanks, lovely ❤️

Will tag @swaps55 @penthesilea1623 @goddesstiera @missmeggo929 @illusivesoul and anybody else who wants to do it

GENERAL-

Name: Rebekah Leigh Shepard

Alias(es): Bex (unless you're Hackett, if you call her Rebekah she will punch you), Half Pint (Zaeed's called her this since the day they met when she was six), Kid (likewise Wrex has called her this since she was actually a kid lmao)

Gender: Female

Age: currently 31

Birthdate: April 11, 2154

Place of birth: Vancouver

Hometown: Newcastle, Northumbria, UK

Spoken language(s): English, Krogan (mostly swearing), High Asari

Sexual preference: pansexual

Occupation: former Alliance commander, former Spectre, bounty hunter, general galactic menace (according to Sparatus probably)

APPEARANCE-

Eye color: pale blue

Hair color: naturally, blonde; currently, probably black or red

Height: 5'3"

Scars: small one through her left eyebrow from when she was shoved down a flight of stairs as a child, a c-shaped one beside and a bullet hole above her right eye from being shot in the face a la Zaeed's betrayal, a brand (like cattle brand) on her left forearm in the shape of the Blue Suns logo - all of these were done by Vido; a similar brand of the 10th Street Reds logo on the inside of her left wrist; innumerable tiny cuts on her face from the end of the Shadow Broker fight; six bullet wounds from Torfan; surgery scars on her left shoulder from the Battle for the Citadel; several burn scars from a house fire and from when she was set on fire by bullies at the orphanage when she was a child

FAVORITE-

Color: the pale blue of Hackett's eyes

Hair Color: dark brown

Song: Bugger Off, Fiddlers Green

Food: Chocolate chip waffles/pancakes

Drink: Asari whiskey

HAVE THEY-

Passed university: Yes? I think?

Had sex: Yes

Had sex in public: Not in public but in a public place-- at several hockey games with Kaidan, and several times at the opera with Hackett.

Gotten pregnant: Not yet

Kissed a boy: Yes

Kissed a girl: Yes

Gotten tattoos: she is a certified stigmatophile

Gotten piercings: four in each ear; one in each nipple

Been in love: Yes, with Kaidan and Hackett

Stayed up for more than 24 hours: Several times

ARE THEY-

A virgin: not since was 16

A cuddler: Yes

A kisser: Yes

Scared easily: scared? no; startled easily? absolutely

Jealous easily: No

Dominant: when the mood strikes

Submissive: more often than not, yes

In love: Yes

Single: No

RANDOM QUESTIONS-

Have they harmed themselves: Zaeed would say yes, as she made herself sick often as a child so Vido couldn't use her on jobs where biotics were required

Thought of suicide: No

Attempted suicide: No

Wanted to kill someone: Vido Santiago is at the top of her kill list

Have / had a job: currently a bounty hunter

Have any fears: losing those close to her

FAMILY-

Sibling(s): She's an only child

Parent(s): Her mother Moira died during the First Contact War; her biological father John as MIA during First Contact, they reconnected the night Zaeed was betrayed by Vido, and then was killed in a car accident when Bex was 11; Zaeed raised her from the age of six, co-parented with John until John's death, and then formally adopted Bex when she got back from BAaT.

Children: None yet

Significant other: Admiral Steven Hackett

Prompt number: #1 (”no, come back!”)

Fandom: Mass Effect trilogy

Rating: Teen

Warnings: none

*

Combines three prompts in one: “no, come back!” (Official Fictober, Day 1) Pestilence (MEFFW Fictober, Week 1) Headcanon about Favorite Human Character (MEFFW Fictober, Week 1)

Part of the Head Over Tattered Sneakers universe.

Also available on AO3.

*

“This is damn depressing,” Zaeed muttered to himself as he and Bex picked their way through the slums of Omega. Everywhere they looked, humans of every kind—some alone or in pairs, some huddled together around barrel fires—nearly all of them displaced by the plague.

This plague, whatever the hell it was, didn’t affect humans, or vorcha, so everyone else was suspicious of them. Most suspected members of one or the other species, or more terrifying, a collaboration of both, had created it. The few humans Bex and Zaeed had encountered in the plague zone had been locked in their own homes supposedly for their own protection, though a couple had mentioned “fees” paid to the local Blue Suns.

“Wait, no! Come back!” Bex called after a group of kids who had bolted the second she'd approached them. “Bloody kids. I just wanted to talk to you!”

Zaeed snorted. “Oh this brings back memories.”

“The hell are you talkin’ about?” Bex leaned against a crumbling pillar and narrowed her eyes. “I never ran away from you. Thought about it a couple times, but that was later on, more about Dad than you.”

Zaeed frowned, his lit lighter flickering several inches away from the cigar clenched between his teeth. “Guess we know jus’ how many blows to the head it takes to erase your memories.”

“Come again?”

*squee!!*

*ahem*

When HOTS started, having Bex with Hackett hadn’t even entered my mind. At the time, my goal was to get her to BAaT and Kaidan and it would be a shenko fic. I knew somewhere along the way they’d break up, because I had it in mind to have Kaidan with one of their BAaT friends later on. That all fell through but not ‘til loooong after I’d hopped on the Hackett train. 

I’ve always been a Shackett fan, thanks to @pixelatrix, but up until HOTS, I’d only ever written Hackett as a parental figure. 

Then I got an ask for a first kiss prompt and wrote it for Bex & Hackett and the rest spiraled from there. The prompt was set during ME 2, I think, sometime post-Horizon, but when I actually started planning how this would all go down in the main story, it happened long before then.  

I love Bex and Hackett because they are just... so perfect for each other. They found in each other someone who likes their unique interests and hobbies (which in Bex’s case clash with her public persona), someone with whom they can be totally themselves. He’s the calm to her storm. 

The first kiss prompt is here.

That’s pretty much all the Bex/Hackett I have outside of HOTS itself.

“We feel it only right,” Tevos said, “that the Hero of the Citadel choose the Counselor.”

“The what now? Fuck. Better than the Butcher of Torfan, but still…” Bex blew out a long breath through her nose. “You’ve never trusted my decisions before, but guess there’s a first time for everything.”

“Indeed.” Sparatus looked, as always, pissed off at Bex’s very existence. “Well?”

“Normally, I’d say let me think about it for a day or two, but in this case, it’s a goddamn no-brainer. Has to be Anderson.”

“Are you sure?” Tevos asked. “Ambassador Udina—”

“Is an asshole, a politician, has been chomping at the bit to get this position for years, and in general has made my life a living hell for the last six months.” Bex rolled her eyes at Udina sputtering in the corner. “Anderson on the other hand is a brilliant leader, level headed, not a goddamn politician and, from the look he’s giving me, absolutely does not want this position. Which tells me he’ll be brilliant.”

None of the councilors seemed to have anything to say to that. Sparatus disconnected immediately, clearly thinking that, as usual, Bex had made the wrong decision. Valern cast his eyes on the three men, nodded to Bex and disconnected. Tevos remained silent for nearly a minute, staring at Bex as if she was trying to figure out her thought process, before she also disconnected.

“Thank you, Shepard,” Anderson said.  “You’re right, I don’t want it. To be honest, I was looking forward to retiring altogether, maybe moving back to London. But this… it’s an honor.”

“This… this is a mistake,” Udina said from his corner. “Mark my words, this—”

“Shut up, Donnel,” Anderson snapped. “You want to be on the Council so badly, for the status of it all. You don’t give a damn about any of the important parts, integrating humanity into the galactic community, to thrive beside them, not try to overtake them.”

“You—”

“And as of this moment, you are no longer an ambassador.” 

“I—”

Bex couldn’t help a snort of laughter when Anderson looked Udina dead in the eye and said, “You’re going to be my assistant.”

Read the rest on AO3.

Tagged by @alyssalenko.

Tagging anyone who wants to do it.

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GENERAL

Name: Rebekah Leigh Shepard

Alias(es): Bex, Skipper

Gender: Female

Age: 30 as of the current chapter

Place of birth: Vancouver, BC, United North American States

Spoken languages: All Earth languages, most alien languages; most fluent in English, Asari, and Krogan

Sexual orientation: pansexual

All Occupations: gang member, soldier, N7 operative, Spectre, mercenary, animal sanctuary founder

APPEARANCE

Eye colour: ice blue

Hair colour: naturally, blonde; currently, red

Height: 5′2″

Scars: above left eyebrow, several gunshot wounds in various body parts, length of right side of face/through right eye

Burns: jawline, shoulder, inside of elbows, behind knees

Overweight: no

Underweight: probably

FAVOURITE

Colour: blue

Hair colour: salt n pepper 

Eye colour: pale blue

Music genre: celtic punk

Movie genre: old school romance

TV show: no idea

Food: chocolate

Drink: asari whiskey

Book: Breakfast at Tiffany’s

HAVE THEY

Passed University: yes

Had sex: yes

Had sex in public: yes 

Gotten pregnant (themself or a partner): no?

Kissed a boy: several

Kissed a girl: several

Gotten tattoos: hahahahahahah oh lord so many

Gotten piercings: ears (three in each), nipples

Had a broken heart: yes

Been in love: very much, yes

Stayed up for more than 24 hours: yes, especially during N-school

ARE THEY

A virgin: not since she was 16

A cuddler: definitely

A kisser: definitely

Scared easily: scared? no; startled, definitely

Jealous easily: no

Trustworthy: absolutely

Dominant: with Kaidan, yes; with Hackett, not often

Submissive: more often than not

In love: absolutely

Single: not for several years now

RANDOM QUESTIONS

Have they harmed themselves: yes... not outwardly visible, but she used to starve herself to prevent Vido from being able to use her biotics 

Thought of suicide: no

Attempted suicide: no

Wanted to kill someone: Vido Fucking Santiago

Ridden a horse: no

Have/had a job: several

Have any fears: harm to her friends/family

FAMILY

Sibling(s): none

Parents: Dr. John Shepard, DVM; Moira Burke (both deceased); Zaeed Massani

Children: none

Tagged by my dear @alyssalenko :)

I’ll do a general tag of anyone who wants to do this.

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I’m doing this for Bex & Hackett. 

1. How did they first meet? The night before she left for Rio for N-School, she was in London at a bar with Zaeed. They got into an argument and Bex stormed out. She was sitting outside waiting for Kaidan to pick her up when Hackett walked up. He stayed with her ‘til Kaidan showed up. 

2. Were they immediately interested / attracted, or did that come later? Bex had long been attracted to Hackett, having seen him frequently in news vids and the like but no thoughts of “oh I’d be interested in leaving Kaidan for him,” though the fact that she was drunk literally off her ass might have contributed to that. He claimed he was “intrigued” by her, but there wasn’t any real attraction per se.