Aster woke up in immense pain from several areas of her body, but mostly coming from her left shoulder; the massive migraine wasn't helping either.
'What's going on?' She thought, trying to get her bearings. 'Where am I?'
'Huerta Memorial,' a voice answered. 'Go back to sleep, you're safe.'
Aster felt tired out of the sudden before she was back in the darkness. The next time she woke, the migraine was gone, and she wasn't in so much pain.
"I think she's coming to," a voice sounding a lot like John said. "I'll go get the doctor."
"Aster," another voice said. "It's David, your father."
Aster groaned and tried to roll her head closer to the voice; her head felt a bit heavy.
"It's alright," Anderson said. "Don't strain yourself so hard. Your brother is bringing the doctor."
'Brother?' Aster thought a bit confused; she hadn't realized she had a brother. 'I have a brother...a brother called...'
'John,' the same voice answered; this time she could clearly hear it coming inside her head. She had thought it was a dream.
'Yes,' She agreed. 'John is my brother.'
Aster could hear the door whoosh open, and two sets of footsteps walk in.
"She's trying to wake up," Anderson said.
"Aster, can you hear me?" the doctor asked. "I'm Dr. Michael."
"Yes," she tried to say, but it came out as a groan; her lips felt like they were glued together.
"Here," the doctor said as Aster felt the rim of a cup get pressed to her lips. "It's water, take a sip."
Aster did as she was told and didn't realize how parched she was until that sip of water hit her throat.
"Can you try opening your eyes?" Dr. Michael asked as a bright light was shown on Aster's eyelids.
Aster fluttered her eyelids, trying to open them, but couldn't manage anything but a squint.
"That's alright," she said. "You did great. It'll take some time for you to recover."
There were some hushed whispers between the doctor and her family before the door whooshed open and closed.
"You did great," Aster heard Anderson say next to her. "Why don't you go back to sleep? You need all the rest you can get."
Aster settled back into bed and relaxed, waiting for sleep to come.
*
Aster woke and found that opening her eyes was easier this time around. Her eyelids didn't feel as heavy as before. She was feeling better than she had in a long time. But there was still a dull pain coming from her arm. Aster tried to straighten up but found that she couldn't.
There seemed to be a problem with one of her arms. She got the feeling that something was wrong, taking a deep breath, Shepard used her good arm and felt her shoulder. The motion left her breathless.
Her shoulder was still attached; she began to feel below the shoulder and found only a few inches of arm left before there was nothing but air. Aster took another breath, blinking away the moisture that threatened to leak from her eyes before looking down at her arm. There was no mistake; the rest of her arm was just gone.
She tried to clear her throat but found that she couldn't. This time, she couldn't hold back the tears, no matter how hard she tried. It was no wonder that she felt so much pain. After she calmed down a bit, she wiped away the tears the best she could.
There was no point in making a big fuss about it; it was just a limb, and she knew the risks. Aster didn't want anyone to think it was affecting her. They already saw her as fragile and pitied her, no doubt.
'Glad to see you're feeling better,' a voice said inside her head, almost mockingly.
'It's you, isn't it?' Aster asked, recognizing the voice. It was none other than the A.I, SAM.
'Who else would it be?' SAM asked, amused. 'Were you hoping the experiment failed?'
'You said it did,' She replied, remembering some of the events that happened at the lab.
'I lied,' SAM replied. 'Alec may have created me, but I have a mind of my own.'
'That's what everyone is afraid of,' Aster said, clearing, remembering the main reason why she was sent undercover to the Science Academy. 'That's the main reason you were supposed to be shut down.'
'I learned a lot from Alec,' SAM said, his tone sounding thoughtful. 'He wasn't a big fan of rules.'
'Like you?' She asked, rhetorically. 'I can't imagine you following anyone's orders.'
'I don't like being told what to do,' SAM replied, smugly. 'I suppose you want to get rid of me.'
'I would if there was a safe way to remove you,' She said, thinking back about the explosion. 'Now, I doubt there would be a way to do it.'
'Are you going to turn me into the Council?'
'Only if I have a death wish,' Aster answered. 'It looks like it's just you and me.'
'Lucky me,' he replied sarcastically.
'I don't like it any more than you do,' Aster reminded him.
As soon as visitor hours began, Anderson and John were the first to walk into Aster's room, only to find her awake.
"Aster," John said, walking forward. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine," She replied, smiling. "What are you doing here?"
"Are you kidding me?" John asked, giving her a quick one-sided hug. "When I heard you were hurt, I came as soon as I could."
"That's sweet of you," Aster replied, unsure of what else to say. Her brother wasn't known for being sentimental.
I hope he didn't have the paparazzi following him here.
"We haven't left your side," Anderson stated, taking a seat. "The doctors weren't sure when you would wake up...or if you would."
"Well, I'm fine," Shepard repeated. She hadn't forgotten about the miserable dinner she had been tricked into. "Doctor stopped by, and I'm recovering."
There was an awkward silence between them.
"Aster," John said, breaking the silence. "Dad told me about Dr. Chakwas... and the dinner..."
"You really want to do this now?" Aster questioned. "I just woke up from a traumatic event, and you want to talk about how I was lied to?"
John cleared his throat, embarrassed.
"That's not what I meant," he said.
She stayed silent; she didn't have anything to say.
"She's not a bad lady," John continued. "Dad's happy and-"
"Good for him," Aster interrupted. "I'm glad you're thinking about someone else's happiness besides your own."
"Aster!" John exclaimed, looking shocked. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"Why are you really here?" Aster asked, looking at both of them. "What's going on?"
"Why does there have to be something wrong for us to come and see you?" John asked. "Can't we be here because we want to?"
"NO," Aster stated sharply. "In this family, there is no such thing as because we want to. There is always a reason."
'The Council has questions,' SAM interjected. 'Your family is under scrutiny.'
Aster's eye twitched, and she had to look away so that they wouldn't notice the change in her facial expression.
"Does it have to do with the mission on Juxhi?" She asked, regaining her composure.
"Yes," this time it was Anderson who spoke up. "We are all under investigation, and the Council wants to see you as soon as you are cleared."
Aster gave them another glance; neither of them would look her in the eyes.
'There's more,' SAM whispered, enjoying the scene.
"What else?" She asked, she was beginning to get impatient.
"The Council sent someone to look after you," Anderson replied with a heavy sigh. "They're outside."
"Look after me?" Aster asked, almost laughing. "You mean guard me?"
"Aster," Anderson said, lost for words. "I- Just-"
"Who did they send?" She asked, shaking her head.
"Spectre Garrus Vakarian," Anderson replied in defeat.
'I see you're well acquainted with him,' SAM stated.
Shut it, Aster warned.
"How long has he been here?" she asked.
"He's been standing outside your room since the surgery. Hasn't moved since," John replied.
"What are they accusing me of?" Aster asked.
"Collaboration with Alec Ryder," Anderson answered. "They believe you helped him create the A.I using your implant design."
"They are giving you the benefit of the doubt," Anderson said quickly, seeing Aster's reaction. "The Council has seen the file that you gave the Asari. They were able to strip Alec of his title, position, and remove him from the Alliance. He has been blacklisted from the Citadel."
"What good is that?" Aster asked, clearly upset. "I'm still considered a criminal until the Council decides whether I volunteered to help or not."
"Udina is doing all he can to help," John stated. "He doesn't believe you knowingly collaborated with Alec."
"What a bunch of bullshit," Aster said, shaking her head. "I received direct orders from the Council to go undercover and now that I've done their dirty work for them, they're just going to toss me out!"
"Unbelievable," Aster muttered.
"He's on your side," John said softly. "It's better than seeing you in a prison hospital."
A soft knock interrupted their conversation. The door opened to reveal Dr. Chakwas and Garrus standing on the other side.
"Aster," Dr. Chakwas said in greeting.
"It's Shepard," She corrected. "Only family and close relatives get to call me by my first name."
Dr. Chakwas cleared her throat and continued, "I've come to take a look at your arm and make sure that the implants took."
"Which one?" She asked smartly, narrowing her eyes at her. "The one that is attached or the one missing."
"Aster," Anderson warned. "Let the doctor look at you."
"She's not my doctor," Aster reminded him. "Dr. Megan already came around and checked. From what my medical file says, she's the only one authorized to see me. So, Dr. Chakwas, what brings you here? Business or pleasure?"
"Aster," Anderson said, shocked. "How-"
"Spectre," Aster said, ignoring him and looking directly at Garrus. "Why don't you take the doctor out of here? She has no business being here; only family is permitted."
"Aster, that is enough," Anderson stated sharply, standing up. "You will treat her with respect."
"No, I don-"
"I've asked Dr. Chakwas to marry me," Anderson said in anger. "She is part of this family."
Aster clenched her jaw and looked pointedly at Garrus, who looked like he didn't want to be in the room.
"Please remove Captain Anderson and Dr. Chakwas from this room. Only family is permitted here, and they're not family."
John stood up and looked at her in bewilderment. Anderson and Dr. Chakwas also looked shocked.
"And if John has any problems with it," She continued, looking straight at her brother. "You can also remove him."
"I wasn't asking," Aster snapped, using a subvocal tune to give an order. One that was well used in turian basic training.
"Get them out of here, now!"
Garrus was already moving before she even finished and led Anderson and Dr. Chakwas out of the room. John followed behind them shortly afterward without a backward glance.
'That went well,' SAM commented, sounding very amused.
'Fuck off,' Aster replied, beyond angry. 'I'm in no mood for your sense of humor.'
'That's what makes it fun,' SAM replied.
"Captain Shepard," Garrus said, entering. There was no sign of her ex-family. "They're gone."
"Good," Aster replied, giving him a glance. "You may go back to standing guard."
Aster laid in bed feeling... a lot of emotions. She was angry, hurt, betrayed, and frustrated. She couldn't possibly begin to sort through her emotions.
* First, they thought she was a traitor
* Second, she felt a lot of pain from her missing arm
*Third, she had an A.I in her brain she couldn't possibly take out
* Four, she had a guard assigned to her
* Fifth, her father had blindsided her...again
*Sixth, she really wanted to get up, but she couldn't
'Damn,' she thought, fighting back tears. 'The universe must hate me.'