Actions

  • Entire Work

Work Header

Rating:
Archive Warning:
Category:
Fandoms:
Relationship:
Characters:
Additional Tags:
Language:
English
Series:
Part 2 of The Many Coping Mechanisms of Owen Shepard
Stats:
Published:
2019-12-05
Completed:
2020-05-11
Words:
41,842
Chapters:
24/24
Comments:
165
Kudos:
46
Bookmarks:
9
Hits:
1,442

Like Constellations a Million Years Away

,

Summary:

In which Cerberus finds out just how hard it is to railroad a man who's effectively a hundred kilos of concentrated anxiety seasoned with ADHD into doing things their way. And then just for good measure, he steals one of their goons in the process.

Notes:

this fic has so many moving parts i don't even know where to begin, but i gotta try. so.

1. ULTRA-PARAGON SHEPARD. owen shepard is a custom shep based off of a very old WoW OC who was a noble-blooded belf prot paladin. i rolled this guy when i was 15 or 16, he's been through a lot. due to his age, however, he is far from what i'd consider a well-rounded character. i'm deconstructing him as i write him at this point and it's exactly as cathartic as it sounds.
2. ORIGINAL CERBERUS CHARACTER. yuli markov is a completely wholecloth OC and he is not mine. he started as a nightborne arms warrior belonging to a friend who was supposed to be a villain but got rescued at the last second. he's here to do renegade things when they need to be done because one time shepard yelled at the council and hung up and it left him needing a cup of cocoa and a nap afterward. yuli's about as likely to say or do dumb things that get him yelled at as shepard is, but he's learning. deradicalization is a process.
3. CANON DIVERGENCE. some sequence breaks, some "fuck you bioware that plot point was dumb," some redemption of characters that aren't usually redeemed, some deep cuts in the lore that nobody cares about, and a whole lot of the same hard scifi nonsense i've always been known to indulge in. also a friend helped by contributing an entire-ass squadmate and my shep is a goddamn chessmaster who was a raid leader in another life.
4. WAR HERO, SPACER, VANGUARD. boring, i know. i've avoided writing spacers up to this point because on the surface, it's the bland one. but it's me writing it, so you know it won't escape subversion for too terribly long.

that's about all i can think of for now. my co-author doesn't have an AO3, but i'll be putting up a link where you can find their books the moment i get said link myself so you know where to find more of character writing like yuli. as for me, i'm logicalfangirl@tumblr and you can find art and other updates there.

and now, let the fic commence!

Chapter 1: welcome to the war, we've only begun

Chapter Text

Shepard was livid. Storming through the halls of the Cerberus base he found himself stuck on, Miranda hot on his heels.

"Shepard, please. You need to think about this-"

"The fuck is there to think about?" he snapped, whipping around to face her. His biotics flared; a nearby potted plant was flung from its perch on a table and crashed onto the floor in a mess of broken ceramic and artificial soil. "I've seen how Cerberus operates. I know what you're willing to do to get the results you want."

Miranda huffed. "This isn't the time to get into petty quibbles over politics, Shepard. Colonies are disappearing-"

"And I'll look into it!" He didn't tower over her, but he had enough height and bulk to loom. He was also too angry to care that he was breaking one of his own personal rules by using that to his advantage. "But I'm not doing it under the supervision of the Illusive Man's right hand."

"Then at least take Jacob with you."

"Jacob's a tool."

"You can't just go off on your own. It's too much of a risk, we have no idea what we'll find when we get there."

"What I'll find when I get there," Shepard corrected. He turned back down the hall, headed to the shuttle bay. Security had been tightened on the base; there were guards everywhere. Goons, really. His eyes darted to inspect them as he passed, taking note of how they were equipped.

He didn't need a tech. He could handle that himself in a pinch. What he needed was versatility. Mid-range, a balance of offense and defense. Shepard knew what he was capable of. If this was a typical human colony, it'd be a lot of close quarters and flimsy prefabs. Completely workable, as long as he could-

"You," he said, pointing to a helmeted guard with an assault rifle. "What's your name?"

The guard stiffened. "Uh, me?"

"Yeah, you."

Shifting from one foot to the other, the guard glanced around before giving his hesitant reply. "It's, um. Markov. Yuli Markov." Then he shot upright to give a quick salute as he seemed to realize who it was he was talking to. "Sir."

Perfect. "Alright, Markov. You're with me."

Miranda looked like she was about to blow a gasket. "Shepard, what-"

"You said I shouldn't go alone," Shepard reminded her. "Look at that gear. Markov, what's your specialty?"

The guard, now clearly uncomfortable, looked between the two of them with obvious uncertainty. "Biotics, sir," he said, "but uh, where exactly are we going that it's gonna matter?"

"Freedom's Progress," Shepard told him before turning again to Miranda. "See? Biotics and an assault rifle. And with gear like that, he's a heavy. You? Someone pops your barriers and bam ," here, Shepard smacked the heels of his palms together to indicate getting flattened, "you're a smear on the walls. Him? That's forty pounds of modified ERCS kit he's wearing. He's fine. And I'll be fine in his hands."

Miranda folded her arms, a deep frown etched into her face. "The Illusive Man won't be happy about this, Shepard."

"Tough." Shepard went right back to heading for the shuttle bay, ignoring her sputtering. "Come on, Markov. Let's see what's up with these missing colonies."

"Yes sir," Markov acknowledged.

This was gonna be rough.