Storm Rising, by potionsmaster
Rating: T for language
A/N: The beginning. Pre-relationship events that lead to Wish You Were Here. Part 1 of The Storm that Brought Me to You. Since it's my birthday, I thought I would post early. I don't know if I can keep up the pace for posting I did with WYWH, but I will definitely try!
Chapter 1: Orders, or That #! $)*%(& V.I.
"Please log in to access your profile," the smooth V.I. voice enunciated. John Shepard mockingly said the words along with the electronic vocalization as he keyed in his service number. 5923-AC-2826. The numbers were burned into his brain at this point, attached to him since he walked out of the Alliance recruitment office at age 18.
"A-hem..."
Shepard glanced over the top of the terminal and saw a stern look from the Alliance uniform on the other side of the desk. He snorted at himself, fighting a smirk.
"Sorry...habit."
The woman irritatedly nodded acknowledgement, then went back to her own console.
"Access granted. Welcome, Lieutenant Commander John Shepard. You have new deployment orders standing by."
The Alliance grunt snapped a glance up again at that. Shepard studiously ignored her; he was used to the increased interest in him after people learned his identity, but that didn't mean he had to acknowledge or like it. Usually they were only interested in learning about Akuze or the Skyllian Blitz; exactly the things he did not like thinking about. A few actually went so far as to ask him about gang life on the streets of Boston. A hard stare while flipping his omni-blade open a few times usually stopped that line of questioning in its tracks. He opened the file and blinked rapidly, not quite comprehending the words displayed on the screen.
Assignment: SSV Normandy – SR1 Class: Stealth Frigate prototype
Maiden Voyage, subsequent missions until further notification, as approved by Alliance Council: Arcturus Station branch
Mission Location: Eden Prime
CO: CPT DANDERSON
XO: LT CMD JSHEPARD
CHHELM: FL LT JMOREAU
CHNAV: CPRESSLY
CHENG: LT GADAMS
MDC: STF LT KALENKO
CMO: DR KCHAKWAS
The rest of the crew manifest blurred as Shepard quickly scanned the document for his deployment date and location. It barely registered he had to catch a cruiser tomorrow to the Alliance base at Arcturus Station; he was at the Rhode Island Newport base currently. He would meet the Normandy in dry dock and they would embark from there. He could hardly believe his luck...the Normandy... She was already a legend and she had never been proven.
Capt Anderson had contacted Shepard a few times regarding a posting on a ship, but he hadn't seriously thought it would come to fruition. Older N7 soldiers tended to make a show of connecting with the younger, more recent N7 graduates as a matter of appearances as much as it was useful for networking. Shepard was glad to see Anderson wasn't that petty.
His eyes darted across the screen while he reread the assignment orders, paying more attention to the finer details this time. He only heard of a few of the officers he'd be serving with and had met Anderson on a couple of occasions. It would definitely be an interesting deployment, of that much he felt certain. He logged out quickly and started moving out the door to the barracks, keying up his omni-tool.
"Ted...?"
A shock of white hair filled the omni-vid screen as the N7 Fury removed the rebreather and hood, logo emblazoned on the chestplate of his armor.
"Johnny-boy! How's it hangin'?"
"Low and to the left, numbnuts. You'll never believe where I've just been assigned."
"Oh yeah? Let me guess...Nos Astra, in a brothel."
John scowled at him as he wound his way through the crowded building.
"Asari are more your thing than mine, short stack. What was her name? N'ivaeya?"
"N'iranya, chucklefuck. Don't talk about her like that."
"Alright, alright, calm down. Anyway, have you heard about a turian - human project involving a prototype stealth frigate?"
"...eee-yeahhhhh...the one that's supposed to have the biggest and best drive core out there? Tantalus, right? That thing is massive. I mean, who the hell would ever think it would fit in a frigate? Not to mention the logistics of the engine room. Talk about potential cramped workspace. I mean, I might fit, but other people...pfffff."
"Ted..."
"What? I'm travel-sized for convenience. And the IES! Stuff of legends! I wonder how much lithium it took."
"Ted..."
"Too bad they couldn't figure out a way to activate stealth in FTL. Aww, the blue shift alone -"
"TED!"
"What?"
"You're looking at the new XO."
Ted's whoop of excitement echoed in the hall while Shepard entered the barracks to pack; it was nice to be able to celebrate with a friend. Shepard tended to keep to himself, but somehow Ted had gotten past his barriers. They chatted excitedly while he packed, but Ted had to cut the call short with a grumble about the futility of escort and extraction missions in between promises to catch up when they both had the time. Shepard laughed and cut the feed as he leaned back in his bunk, arms behind his head. He ran his tongue along the edge of his canine. All he had to do now was wait.
Shepard fought the urge to crack his neck as he stood rigidly in the airlock, duffle bag slung over his shoulder. He had been travelling practically non-stop once he'd stepped on the cruiser. The ship had docked at Gagarin Station to drop off supplies and a few personnel, but the commander didn't have any time to explore. They were through the Charon Relay within a few hours and racing towards Arcturus.
Almost as soon as he'd gotten off the cruiser, he had checked in with command and was whisked away to the docking bay where Anderson had been waiting for him. Shepard had been stunned at the frigate up close; the Normandy was a small ship, but sleek and lithe as a cat. His heart pounded in anticipation when they entered the airlock. The captain stood next him, a looming force of quiet strength and will.
"Welcome aboard, Commander. You can drop your duffle in your locker on crew deck and claim a sleeper pod for yourself; the rest of the crew will accommodate your choice when they shift watch and hot bunk. Formal introduction will be in two hours -"
"The commanding officer has the deck. Navigator Pressly stands relieved," the V.I. interrupted smoothly. The airlock door slid open with a hiss and the two men strode purposefully onto the CIC towards the stern, past the orange glow of the heat load monitors. Nameless crew hands gave brief salutes when the officers passed by.
"Dammit, that's going to have to be reprogrammed...I think you have to log in to a terminal and the V. I. will initiate the protocol on its own," Anderson said while they rounded the galaxy map.
"Captain!"
"What is it, Pressly?"
"Joker's set the course to Eden Prime and just awaiting orders to initiate the launch," the balding man said as they came to a stop in front of him. Pressly snapped a crisp salute that Shepard returned.
"Pressly, this is our new XO, Commander Shepard," Anderson gestured to him while the navigator held out his hand. Shepard gave it a couple of strong pumps, then clasped his hands behind his back, face neutral. He didn't necessarily want to give off an unapproachable vibe, but conversely he didn't want to seem like a push over.
"Pleasure."
"Pleasure's all mine, sir. Welcome aboard. You'll never find a better ship or crew."
Shepard nodded while Anderson looked past Pressly.
"Damn well better be...hand-picked everyone on board myself. If you'll excuse us, Pressly, the commander needs to settle in a bit before he meets the rest of the crew. I'll be in engineering with Adams if you need me."
"Sir!" Pressly gave another salute and turned back to his terminal. Shepard raised his eyebrows at that, asking the silent question; Anderson nodded towards the sliding door down to crew deck and started moving again, trusting Shepard to follow.
"He knew I was done with him. Why bother wasting time saying 'dismissed'?" the captain answered, "You'll find what's important to enforce and what's a load of pretentious hooey." They made their way down the curved stairs and past the mess table.
"Your locker is on the right, in front of the med bay. Use the console on the left, next to my quarters. Grab some grub if you want, then I'll meet you back on the CIC in about an hour and a half for the formal meet and greet with the rest of the crew. It shouldn't take too long, then we'll launch."
They gave a small salute and nod to each other, then Anderson headed towards the elevator. Shepard slung his duffle on the ground in front of the only empty locker, typing in his service number to disengage the lock. 5923-AC-2826. He felt the weight of a curious pair of eyes on him from the mess table, but he ignored them. He paused a moment after stowing his gear, trying to decide if he truly cared which sleeper pod he wanted or if he would leave it to chance and figure it out later. The metal door slammed shut as he crossed the battery to the console, choosing the latter. He didn't figure it mattered terribly which pod he slept in.
"Welcome to the Alliance Military Database. Classified information requested. Establishing secure connection...secure connection confirmed. Please log in to access your profile."
Shepard fought the urge to mock the V.I. as he typed in his code once more: 5923-AC-2826. He was going to be dreaming of the numbers when he shut his eyes; he was already sick of how many times he had to enter the sequence today.
"Connection established -"
He drummed his fingers impatiently on the console frame as the loading screen ran through the animations. It certainly was taking its time. He peered at the screen, watching the simulated files transfer, then paused. The file icon was turning red and pixelated.
"Aww, no, no, nonono, nooooo...why're you doing this..." he muttered darkly, fingers flying over the console's interface. He tried to salvage the data as the screen blinked red.
"Warning: Data corruption detected."
"Damn..." Shepard tried backing out of the system to the initial log in screen, but it wouldn't stop looping.
"Warning: Data corruption detected."
"Yeah, I heard you the first time."
"Warning: Data corruption detected."
"That's nice. Go to hell."
"Warning: Data corruption detected."
Shepard groaned and squeezed his eyes shut, willing it to stop.
"Warning: Data corruption detected."
He heaved a sigh and started counting, trying to stay calm.
"Warning: Data corruption detected."
….maybe counting to a higher number would help.
"Warning: Data corruption detected."
"Uh, pardon me, but would you like some help?" a husky voice said quietly. Shepard snapped his eyes open, looking at the source. Steel blue eyes met kind whiskey brown ones set in a strong face, jet black hair slicked back into a meticulous style.
"Warning: Data corruption detected."
Shepard mentally shook himself and forced a tight smile on his face. The other man waited patiently.
"Sure, Staff Lieutenant..." the commander wracked his brains as he registered the rank designation on the man's fatigues, "...Alenko." He snapped his fingers as the name solidified in his mind.
"That's right," the brown eyed man smiled easily, "Surprised you know my name already."
"It's a little unusual; it stuck out to me on the manifest."
"Warning: Data corruption detected."
Shepard turned back to the console with a growl and keyed up his omni-tool, scrolling through his programs to find an appropriate one to shut down the console. The damn V.I. was frazzling his last nerve. The lieutenant huffed a small laugh.
"This console is always finicky," he said as he brought up his omni-tool, "It's never worked right."
"I thought this was a brand new ship," the commander said, taking a step back from the console and allowing the lieutenant to move in front of it. Alenko glanced at him briefly while he connected his omni-tool to the terminal. The flashing stopped and the file icon smoothed out.
"It is, but this one's been touchy ever since I came aboard a few weeks ago."
"Warning: Data corruption detected. Please reconstruct profile."
"Here, Commander, I interrupted the feedback loop and forced it to the next step," he continued, "Unfortunately the AMD dumps corrupted data when it deals with sensitive information and there's no recovery of it. You'll have to piecemeal it into the Normandy's mainframe until we can get the backup, but it should do the trick for the moment." The dark-haired man stepped back and gestured for Shepard to move in front of the terminal again.
"My hero," Shepard said, "I'd've been lost without you just now." The words 'Profile Reconstruction Required' scrolled across the top of the screen. He tapped the screen to begin as Alenko huffed another laugh.
"Anytime, Commander. Think you'll need me to stick around? Just in case?"
"Unless you have something better to do...I don't think the V.I. likes me too much. I might need backup again. You got my six in this?"
"Uh, yeah...I can spare a few minutes to make sure it doesn't go rogue on you."
Shepard snorted as the V. I. asked him to confirm his preservice history. He stole a glance at the lieutenant's face while he typed in his earthborn status and a concise explanation of growing up on the streets in a small gang in Boston. Alenko had a politely disinterested expression as he avoided looking at the screen. That amused the commander a bit; the pretense of privacy was an unexpected gift.
"Please confirm psychological profile."
He looked at the dark-eyed man briefly again and their eyes met. Alenko gave him a smile that was as bright and empty as a lightbulb. Shepard typed a short paragraph about Akuze and losing his battalion to thresher maws in 2177, expecting some little quip or remark from the lieutenant. Still nothing from him.
"Please confirm military specialization."
The lieutenant perked up at that. Shepard keyed in 'N7 proficiency, Infiltrator. Prefers: snipers, assault rifles, pistols, technology attacks.'
"What kind of attacks do you use?"
Shepard was nonchalant. "Oh, you know. The usual tricks...damping, overloads, sabotaging the heat sinks...nothing special. Why?" He frowned at the console; now it was asking him to confirm his facial identification. Alenko showed him where the camera was on the terminal as he replied.
"I wanted to find out more on overloading weapons; I'm familiar with decryption and how to sabotage already. I'm always on the lookout for ways to improve. I find myself doing a lot of crowd control for my marines; any tool I can use, I want to know."
Shepard accepted the picture of him and set it to his profile; he thought he looked like a deer in the headlights, but it couldn't be helped.
"Profile reconstruction complete," the V. I. stated silkily, "Lieutenant Commander John Shepard logged as Executive Officer. Please confirm and log out."
"Ugh, finally," the commander felt like cheering once he terminated his session. Alenko snickered at that. "That's good to know. If you want training on it, I'm sure we can arrange something, Lieutenant." He faced the other man again and offered his hand.
"Call me 'Kaidan', sir." The dark-haired man grasped it warmly with a matching, easy smile. Shepard couldn't help grinning back; the lieutenant made him feel unusually comfortable.
"Shepard."
"Welcome aboard, Commander. Looking forward to serving under you."
"Thanks. Hopefully it will be a quiet ride."
"I'm sure it will be just a routine mission. I've got to head back and get my marines up to the CIC. It was a pleasure, sir. Anything I can do to help, just let me know." Kaidan broke off the strong handshake with another easy grin as Shepard nodded at him.
"See you around, Kaidan."
"You bet," he tossed over his shoulder as he walked away. The commander watched the muscular back retreat to the elevator. He was torn; he was happy and mildly disappointed all at once that the lieutenant didn't seem to be interested in his achievements and history. It was a pleasant surprise and he wondered if the other man either didn't know about him or just didn't recognize Shepard. Or maybe he did, and simply wasn't impressed.
The commander decided it didn't really matter; it was nice to be treated like everyone else. He made a mental note to try to talk to the lieutenant again a little later. Another friend wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. He headed back up the stairs to the CIC.
A/N: Much thanks and appreciation to AndyAO3 for letting me borrow Ted (he's an N7 Fury in this universe. Deal with it). I love playing with other people's toys, hehe. So here we go! The start of it all...
