Alyssa Woods-Edwards

Cole Woods (m. 2167-2176)

**Alyssa Woods-Edwards** is an Alliance doctor. She served alongside Nike Shepard on the Normandy SR-1 and Normandy SR-2. She currently lives on the Citadel with her husband, Admiral Mark Edwards.

## Biography

### Early Life

Born Alyssa Burchman, Alyssa was raised by her mother in a small city near Paris, France on Earth. Wanda had not planned to have a child and while she had chosen to keep the baby, the burden of supporting Alyssa on her own was overwhelming. Alcohol was Wanda's method of choice for dealing with her pain and it eventually cost her her job. The pair were forced to live in a woman's shelter when Alyssa was 6.

Her mother's destructive lifestyle was difficult for Alyssa to live with but when she began school, Alyssa found something she truly loved. She dedicated herself wholly to her education and learned everything and anything that she could. She would spend afternoons after her classes in the public libraries to avoid returning home and absorbed every bit of knowledge that she could get her hands on.

When she was 12, her insatiable hunger for knowledge caught the eye of another library regular, Dr. Michael Strong. Dr. Strong was a physician in her neighborhood and was impressed by Alyssa's drive and concentration for her age and the two began an unlikely friendship, considering Strong was a good 20 years her senior. He steered her reading preferences towards medical books and related textbooks and once she turned 14, he offered her an afterschool job at his clinic.

Alyssa did simple administrative tasks but also helped Dr. Strong with evaluations and check-ups when appropriate. She loved the work and excelled at it, also eager to try new things and help out even more. It quickly became clear that she was the doctor's protege and this was made all the more obvious when he offered to pay for her medical education as she came of age.

#### First Marriage

Alyssa took Dr. Strong's offer up and attended medical school in Paris. She did just as well in university as she did in primary school and blazed through her courses with passion and skill. While attending, she met a young man attending the same school for finance named Cole Woods. He was suave and well-spoken and quickly stole Alyssa's heart with his natural charm. They dated briefly before marrying in 2167 when Alyssa was only 18.

Though the new relationship was a distraction, Alyssa did her best to stay on track with her studies and eventually found a balance. Her marriage to Cole was solid as she worked and eventually graduated in 2174. She returned to her hometown and began working for Dr. Strong as soon as she graduated. Things began to fall apart at home at that time, however. Cole never held a steady job after he graduated with his degree and once they moved, he stopped looking. His lack of responsibility frustrated Alyssa. Cole had his own set of complaints- he hated the neighborhood they moved to, calling it a slum, and he despised even more-so Alyssa's work hours. How could she work 50, 60 hours a week and be a good wife?

The couple found viciously for several years but remained together even after the fights became mutually physical. This came to a head, however, when during one of their arguments, Cole pushed Alyssa down a flight of stairs in their home. Her head injury was severe and she was hospitalized for several weeks as a result. It proved to be the final straw for Alyssa and she filed for divorce before she was even released from the hospital. They split after a messy divorce and Cole moved back to Paris.

#### Joining the Alliance

With her marriage in shambles, Alyssa felt lost only working. A large portion of her adult life had just disappeared. It was then, in 2178, that Dr. Strong urged and eventually convinced Alyssa to join the Alliance. He felt the change of pace would do her wonders and knew she would thrive in the far more dangerous, fast-paced environment. She agreed and eventually fulfilled that goal, finding herself assigned to ship as the lead doctor.

### Alliance Career

Alyssa did well in the Alliance, truly enjoying the space travel and the pace of the work. She saw some horrific incidents, of course, but every trial and tribulation only drove her to work harder and help more people. The opportunity to occasionally work on Aliens also intrigued her. Though she was trained for combat, she never had to see any and primarily served aboard space ships.

#### The Normandy

Because of Alyssa's track record and work ethic, she was selected to join the crew of the state of the art stealth ship, the Normandy SR-1. At the time, it was lead by one of the Alliance's brightest captains, Captain Mark Edwards. He ran a tight ship and the ship operated on high-risk missions and tasks. Alyssa fell easily into place among the crew and worked closely with the Normandy's captain to ensure the crew's safety... but much to Alyssa's surprise, more than just a professional working relationship built between herself and Captain Edwards.

In secret, the two began to see each other romanticly. Fraternizing aboard Alliance ships was distinctly frowned upon but Alyssa was willing to risk her career for the companionship. She had not even dated since the experiences with her husband but Mark made her feel love in a way she never had with Cole.

It was not long after, unfortunately, that the Eden Prime War began. Mark was grounded by Ambassador Ashfield and Nike Shepard became the new captain of the Normandy. Alyssa remained on her crew without question and worked alongside Shepard and the rest of the crew as they traversed the galaxy to stop Saren.

#### Destruction of the Normandy

Alyssa remained on the crew of the Normandy even after Saren was stopped and was aboard the ship when it was ultimately destroyed by the Collectors. She was able to make it safely to an escape pod with many of the other crewmen and was rescued by the Alliance shortly thereafter.

The event shook Alyssa to her core. While she had been in some hairy situations in the past, she had never experienced anything quite as extreme as that. The power displayed by the Reaper ship terrified her and the loss of Nike Shepard traumatized her. She immediately returned to the Citadel to be with Mark. In the months that followed, the pair decided to officialize their relationship and were wed in a private ceremony on the installation.

### Cerberus

A few years after the apparent death of Nike Shepard, Alyssa was reached out to by Cerberus, a notoriously xenophobic group of semi-extremists. They claimed to have something that would greatly interest her and against her better judgment, she agreed to meet with a representative. To her shock, she learned that Cerberus had collected Shepard's remains and were, for a lack of a better word, rebuilding her using bleeding edge medical technology. She was offered a position helping Shepard and even though it would require her to leave the Alliance and Mark's side, she agreed and left with the representative on the spot. She later informed Mark in the most round-about way she could about her activities and urged him not to look too deeply into it because he would hate anything that he found.

Alyssa was joined by another Normandy alum Marcus Monroe, the Normandy's pilot, and they were among the first crew stationed on the Cerberus-created Normandy SR-2. Nike assumed the lead of the ship after a short time and they proceeded with their mission- to stop the Reapers, which were clearly and obviously back.

During the mission, the Collectors attacked the Normandy SR-2 and ultimately captured the majority of the crew. Alyssa was among those captured and she was held with her comrades in a Collector base until Nike and the remaining crewmates rescued them.

### Post-Cerberus

After completing their mission, Nike Shepard was placed under house arrest and the Normandy SR-2 was relinquished to the Alliance. A formal inquiry, digging into the depth of Alyssa's involved with Cerberus, was filed but ultimately, it was determined that she knew next to nothing about Cerberus' operation and she was cleared of any charges or reprimands. She rejoined the Alliance at her previous rank but opted to stay stationed on the Citadel instead of joining another starship, wanting to be closer to Mark and relative safety.