1.
A young brunette stood alone looking out into the open air of the Citadel, she was a short but not petite girl she had curves in all the right places but you could tell she well looked after her body. She brushed one arm up the other and pulled back her beautifully long brown hair so that it all hung to one side, her soft tanned skin giving the impression of a Latin or South American background. There was a movement behind her amongst the rush and business of the Citadel this one movement seemed to have caught her ear, she looked over with dazzling emerald green eyes and watched as a man moved away from a counter near the embassies. Without so much as a second glance back out the window at the beautiful view of the Citadel the young woman walked away from it heading towards the counter her eyes set on the man behind the counter working hard to get all the plans of war set up and everyone, and their families, where they needed to be before the attack. The woman rushed straight up to the desk and placed her hands down on to it making the clerk notice her.
"One moment please." He said raising a single finger in recognition before slinking his hand back down to focus on the data pad he was working on. The woman didn't look agitated by the delay in fact she just glanced around at the other clerks with a slight bit of worry etched on to her face. When the male clerk she was waiting to talk to finally looked up though her eyes quickly darted back to his and before he had the chance to say anything she spoke.
"Isabelle Trufello born in Spain brought up in England on Earth, my father was British my mother Spanish I consider my nationality to be British. My date of birth is the 3rd-" Isabelle's British voice was cut short by the clerk's finger rising once again.
"Sorry, Isabelle is it?" He asked Isabelle eagerly nodded. "What is it exactly you would like me to do with all of your information?"
"I'd like to join the team on the Normandy sir." She said defiantly the man stared at her for a few moments with a quizzical look on his face.
"The Normandy was destroyed by the Collectors nearly three years ago-"
"Then rebuilt by Cerberus and now in the hands of the Alliance brass after Shepard's incarceration, she gave herself in after destroying that Mass Relay didn't she?." Isabelle cut him off this time, but her knowledge gained her a suspicious look from the clerk.
"Very few people know about all that Isabelle… How did you find out?" He questioned suspiciously.
"I am a very big fan." She explained there was a moment of pause as though the clerk was determining whether she was just a fan or some kind of terrorist.
"Even so Isabelle, what exactly makes you think that the Alliance is going to be using the Cerberus made ship for their own? Or even that you have the skills to do what it takes to join the Normandy team? It is, after all, a very select group of men and women who are normally asked to join the team, the best of the best, do you believe you really have what it takes?" He patronisingly questioned, there was another pause now from Isabelle she looked as though she was biting her tongue trying to force herself not to say what she wanted to and she managed, just:
"Yes I do." Is all she could say, the man eyeballed her before turning his attention to a data pad in front of him.
"Well Isabelle I admire your confidence however nobody can just 'sign up' to the Normandy otherwise everyone would be doing it, you're asked to join and that's that. I can however see if I can get you on to another Alliance vessel if I can just find your details…" He said distractedly as he messed around on the data pad, Isabelle suddenly seemed very fractious as she worriedly glanced from the pad to the clerk.
"Don't worry about that I can give you all my details!" She said in a panicked voice. "Isabelle Trufello, born in Spain, from Earth, brought up in England." She rushed her words making the clerk look up at her suspiciously.
"What did you say your name was? Isabelle … Trufello?" the clerk glanced down at the data pad and sighed placing it down in front of him he raised his hand to the bridge of his nose and glanced at one of the clerks next to him who had now taken notice of the predicament the other clerk rolled her eyes and shrugged towards him. He slowly raised his eyes to look back at the now slightly frowning face of Isabelle.
"Look Miss. Trufello, we both know you cannot sign up. You've heard it all before, many times" His emphasis cut off Isabelle from speaking further "I should have realised who you were before speaking to you I am sorry for giving you any false hope…"
"Please just hear me out sir-"
"Given the amount of times you've been in these halls discussing this same exact situation with a numerous amount of my other colleagues I am surprised to see you here Miss. Trufello. You must realise by now it is a lost cause, you're a lost cause…" That was it that's all she needed Isabelle did know coming here was a gamble she'd never be able to join the Alliance she just had to adjust to that idea but that clerk saying those words to her made her blood boil it took all restraint she had to stop herself lunging over the counter and breaking his neck.
"Ex-Excuse me?" She hissed at the clerk, who since had busied himself with something else and was looking down at the desk in front of him when Isabelle spoke again he looked back up at her almost shocked that she was still there.
"Did, did you just call me a 'lost cause'?" Her voice was low and growing more aggressive as the seconds ticked by and the clerk seemed to see this now.
"I didn't mean it as it-"
"Oh no… I think you meant it exactly as it sounded you miserable little arsehole I outta pull your scrawny little arse out of that chair and give you a show of just how good a cause I can be!" She growled leaning over the counter slightly, the clerk quickly stood out of his chair now stumbling backwards so the chair fell with a loud bang and all attention, including that of the C-Sec guards, was suddenly on the red faced angry Isabelle.
"You're lucky you've got this counter between us you-" Isabelle was furious she suddenly felt that all too familiar flare as her biotic's exploded inside her chest, she glowed a dull blue as she swiped her hand out and a potted plant raised off the desk flew towards the clerk smashing into the wall beside him, just as the C-Sec guards stepped forwards to intervene somebody stopped them.
"I'll handle this." The man spoke in a quiet voice and yet still managed to assure the guards, which is a hard task given that they're normally used to being screamed at, as he approached the screaming Latina.
"Of course Admiral." The guards spoke saluting him, confirming his high level of authority.
"Isabelle Trufello, please." Just his voice cut into Isabelle like a warm knife into butter she silenced immediately glaring over to the man, her head having to lift to meet his face even though he only stood at five foot ten inches.
"Let's talk… Please." He slid a reassuring arm around her shoulder and herded her away from the crowd that had now gathered around them. The pair walked into a practically empty hallway save a pair of lovers who had taken to this corridor to have a quiet moment's goodbye together.
"Isabelle… You must understand you cannot keep doing this…" The man spoke gently to her as if to a child it didn't help that he'd placed her between himself and the wall giving her an even more adolescent feel.
"I am not a child anymore father, I know what's what." Isabelle snapped at the aging face of the man in front of her, he was easily into his forty's but had only the slightest hints of grey in his hair unfortunately it was the lines in his face that gave him away, those probably had something to do with the stress that came with being the father of somebody like Isabelle.
"Well then tell me this Isabelle if you know, why do you insist on torturing yourself like this?" He questioned, Isabelle's eyes dropped from his now as she looked to the floor at her feet.
"A gamble I guess…" A noise from the couple down the other end caught her ear and her eyes followed now looking at them. A Turian and an Asari were stood forehead to forehead his talon was gently placed against her cheek as they stared longingly into each other's eyes Isabelle felt a twinge on her heart strings as she looked at the couple who were no doubt on the verge of being torn apart by war. "A little bit of hope." She whispered more to herself then her father stood in front of her but it answered his question nonetheless and with the answer his face softened.
"Isabelle, I'm sorry, I know it isn't your fault but your… condition, you cannot fight Izzy. The doctors have tried to help you but there is no cure to fear my darling." He explained for what must have been the hundredth time Isabelle glared at the ground hard as though she blamed it for her short comings but really she was just holding back any upset she was feeling, the last thing she wanted to do was cry, she couldn't handle the look her father would give her if she did. "Izzy this behaviour is not healthy for you, and it certainly isn't helping my job, you realise that last time I was with the board Udina actually brought you up? He said that if I couldn't even control my own 21 year old daughter how was I supposed to control a fleet… This isn't fair to either of us Isabelle." She moved her glare now from the floor to her father, was that all it was about? The job? She huffed out a breath she had been unintentionally holding and moved her hand up to her forehead saluting her father.
"Well thank you so much for thinking about me Admiral Trufello." She grumbled out sarcastically before excusing herself and moving to slip away from him but before she could get much further than two steps he let out a defeated sigh and grabbed her wrist.
"Izzy! Don't be mad at me about this it's hard for me too you know?" He stated Isabelle glared at him again but before she could speak someone interrupted them.
"Admiral Trufello I must- Oh, hello Isabelle, I'm sorry for the intrusion…" Major Daniels, Isabelle's fathers right hand man, he was practically with her father day and night. He was a handsome man, must have been a good ten years older than Isabelle though, in her father's perfect world Isabelle and he would probably be married by now, but this wasn't her father's perfect world and Isabelle needed her own life.
"It's no problem Major, I was just leaving." Isabelle said snatching her arm out of her father's grasp and walking away.
"Isabelle, bloody hell, we will be talking about this when I get home missy!" Her father yelled to her back.