A Mutually Beneficial Partnership (Mass Effect FemShep x Shadow Broker story) (Excerpt - Opening Scene)

“Operative Tazzik, report.” 

“The body is intact, Shadow Broker. Though there’s not much to look at.”

“Intact is enough. I have the resources in place to see to the rest.” 

“And the Collectors? Do you think they’ll really fall for the fake body we intend to give them?”

“The body is that of an exact clone, Operative Tazzik. They will accept it. At least long enough for us to proceed with reconstruction.”

“Cerberus may still keep searching. Dr. T’Soni as well.”

“I will extend Cerberus an offer when the time is right. And I am not concerned about Dr. T’Soni. For now, our only priority is to bring Commander Shepard back to life. Deliver the body to me, and I will handle the rest.”

+++

Shepard awoke to a pounding headache and a blinding white light, gasping for air as if she was being born again. The destruction of the Normandy was fresh in her mind: telling Liara to flee, saving Joker from the cockpit, her getting blown out into space and then…nothing. She had no sense of time and place as she struggled to catch her breath. She could feel that she was lying on a table, but little else.

“Breath slowly, Commander Shepard.” 

She heard the deep, primal voice from somewhere in the room she was in. It was not a voice she recognized, and the sound of it put her on edge. For a brief moment she wondered if this stranger was using a voice modulator. 

“Where am I?” Shepard groaned, rubbing her eyes. She had a pounding headache, like she was fighting her way through the worst possible hangover. 

“Hagalaz. I had you transferred here recently from my medical facility in the Terminus Systems.”

Hagalaz…not a planet she was familiar with. A planet in the Terminus Systems, if she had to guess. Then again, at that moment she could barely recall what planet she was born on. 

“Who are you?” she asked. 

“An acquaintance, Commander,” the stranger’s deep voice intoned. “One that had a shared interest in exposing Saren Arterius, as you may recall. I never did get a chance to thank you for helping to deal with my former associate, Fist.”

Despite the fact that she could barely see and her headache was making it difficult to even think, she would not soon forget the events that led to Ilos. “The Shadow Broker,” Shepard answered. The Alliance war hero only had limited dealing with this enigmatic figure, but their, or rather his, reputation preceded him. Though Shepard still did not fully understand what was going on or why she was still alive, she knew that the Shadow Broker would be one of the few people in the galaxy with the influence and resources to ensure such a thing.

“Breathe easy and take some time to acclimate yourself,” the Broker continued. “The doctor assures me that the fatigue, the headaches and blurry vision will subside soon enough.”

Shepard sat up on what felt like a hospital bed of some sort, rubbing her temples. “Why…how am I still alive?”

She heard him approach her until he was only a few feet away from her, even if all she could see was a blur. Judging from his footsteps, he was large. That much was certain to her. A krogan perhaps? 

“I had your body located and brought to me after the Normandy was destroyed, Commander. I had you rebuilt. To put it simply, I had you brought back to life.”

Shepard shook her head, letting out a bemused laugh. “That isn’t possible. I…died. I felt it. Unless you discovered some new prothean secret, it’s not possible to rebuild a person from that.”

“Do not underestimate what scientific advancement and billions of credits can achieve, Shepard. Suffice to say, the assailants that destroyed the Normandy and tried to kill you do not yet know of your…resurrection. And I’d like to keep it that way for the time being.

That got her attention. She sat up in her bed, stretching out her limbs - still stiff from lack of use. Despite how overwhelming this all was, she took this bizarre turn of events in stride as an Alliance soldier was expected to do. She turned in the direction she could hear the Broker’s voice come from. Her vision was gradually returning to her, but all she could see as of yet was a bulky indiscernible figure sitting across from her. “So you know of who attacked my ship? Was it the Reapers?”

“I have allies who will be able to explain those details to you. I would suggest meeting with them once you have recuperated.”

She raised her brow. “Suggest?” she repeated with skepticism. “Does that mean I am not your prisoner, Shadow Broker?”

He was silent for several moments before answering in his gravely, deep tone. “You are not a prisoner. I would not have committed to such an expense just to hold you here against your will.”

Shepard began to finally blink away the blurriness from her vision. Looking down at herself, she saw that she was wearing a form-fitting athletic tanktop and shorts. But that did not come as a surprise to her. What did, however, was the fact that her body was slightly different from the last time she had looked at herself in a mirror. While she still had the musculature that came with her career in the Alliance military and rigorous workout routine, she also had a bit more curve than she remembered having, her hips looking a touch wider than they were previously. 

And unless she had lost her mind, her breasts were also at least a cup size larger than they were before. She could practically not even see her own toes anymore when looking down at her feet.

“Care to explain this?!” Shepard demanded, her hands pointedly gesturing towards her altered body, with a slight emphasis to the increased mass she has on her hips and chest.

The Broker seemed unfazed by her outburst. “I said your body needed to be rebuilt. But considering the dire state we found your corpse in, some parts of your body needed more work than others. You are still you. Just with a few minor details altered.” 

Shepard snorted. “Is that so?”