Commander Shepard stood ready, aiming her gun at the shadows with her team behind her, ready to shoot at anything that moved. It wasn't more than a minute ago that he had been arguing with a pair of angry batarians before they were killed, a dark figure snapping their necks quickly before returning to the shadows. They stood ready, waiting for anything to happen as silence filled the small dark corner of the Citadel warehouse.
"Come out, or we open fire." Shepard announced.
He could swear he heard a swift movement, turning his head to the source.
"Commander Shepard… You're a hard man to find."
A woman stepped out of the shadows. Shepard's squad pointed their weapons at her.
"You're looking for me?" Shepard asked.
"I was."
"Who are you?"
"That depends on you."
"What do you want?"
"I want to join you in your fight against Saren and the geth."
Shepard glanced at the dead batarians, keeping his gun up.
"You killed those men to ask that simple of a question?"
"No. I killed those men to get your attention."
"Hell of a way to apply for the job." one of the squad mates said.
The woman smirked slightly.
"At least you know I'm able to fight." she replied, not looking away from Shepard.
"It proved nothing except that you can kill in stealth. My mission is quite the opposite."
"Your mission requires muscle. I have it. I would be a valueable asset to you."
"Why so eager?"
"We could discuss that back on your ship."
"I don't even know your name."
"My name is Juliet."
Shepard glanced at the dead aliens once again, then lowered his weapon.
"We'll talk, but I don't guarantee you anything."
"Lead the way." Juliet replied.
The other two squad mates lowered their guns, walking with Shepard as he left the warehouse. Juliet smirked, following them out.
Once on the Normandy, Shepard called a meeting with his sqaudmates, bringing them in to speak with Juliet. She sat, watching them file in quietly, admiring how many aliens were on an Alliance ship. Once everyone was in the room, Shepard let the door close and crossed his arms, leaning against the wall as they all stared at Juliet.
"What's your last name, Juliet?" he asked.
"Mitchell."
"What do you do for a living?"
"I'm unemployed." she said with a small smile.
Shepard nodded, not wanting to press her for personal matters in front of the rest of the crew.
"Have you lived on the Citadel your entire life?"
"No."
"Where were you born?"
"Earth."
"Where did you learn to assassinate like you did in the warehouse?"
"Let's just say it's an instinct."
"How long have you been an assassin?"
"I think you misunderstood me, Commander. I'm not an assassin."
"Well you're sure as hell not a soldier."
Juliet nodded slightly.
"No, I am not."
"Tell me about yourself."
Juliet smiled again, glancing around the room. She knew anything she told him, she told the rest of his crew.
"I assume you don't have a problem with aliens." she said.
"Obviously not." he replied. "Do you?"
"Absolutely not. I envy them, if anything."
"Hate being human or something?"
"I'm not human. I'm an illegal species."
The words caught Shepard off guard, making him stand straight as he unfolded his arms. He had a more serious look on his face now.
"You are, huh?" he said, pushing her to tell them just what she was.
"Yes." she said, noticing a few of the crew members shifting in their chairs.
"What are you?"
"Vampire."
He was silent for a moment, nodding slowly as he thought over the consequences of housing an illegal species. As he considered, other crew members protested.
"Commander, I for one am not comfortable with her being here. Especially when you consider the fact that she kills to even eat." a woman said.
Juliet took in the appearance of the woman, noting her dark hair and tanned skin. The man next to her also protested, telling the Commander it was illegal for a reason. Shepard seemed to look around for any of the aliens to protest.
"While I know it's your call, Commander, her eating habits could be controlled on this ship. If she is willing to cooperate, that is." the asari said.
"As long as she isn't sneaking around near our bunks at night." the krogan replied.
"I would be in danger, but not much. Quarian blood isn't much to live off of, even for Quarians. It would be useless to feed off of me."
Juliet enjoyed the crew speaking their minds, making a mental note of who to hinder trust in if she was to stay here. The turian in the room said nothing on the matter while he could, only giving Juliet a stern look in the silence. Shepard rubbed his face, sighing heavily. The crew looked to him, eagerly wishing to hear his response.
"If you were aboard here permanently, how would she eat?" he asked the asari.
"There is a small amount of blood in the med bay for emergencies, though it would be unwise to give it all to her. Dr. Chakwas would need to go to the Citadel and bring blood in by bulk." the asari replied. "It could work, but we'd be going out on a limb to keep her."
Juliet looked from the asari back to the commander, his eyes locking with hers.
"How old are you?" he asked.
"I was made in the year Nineteen eighty-seven. I am one hundred ninety-six years old."
"How long have you known how to fight?"
"Like I said, most of it is instinct. Vampires are predators, they know how to fight."
"Do you know how to restrain yourself?"
"My bloodlust is well under control." Juliet replied. "I'm not new."
"Can I trust you around my crew?"
"Commander, you can't really be considering this!" the woman said, standing now.
"We need help where we can get it, Ashley. You saw how she was."
"She's dangerous is what she is. Without weapons she's a killer, what makes you think she will be any better when we put a gun in her hands."
"I don't know how to use guns, and I don't need to. I can attack enemies without armor, I don't need a gun." Juliet said.
"You need to be armed with us." Shepard replied. "You'll need to learn how to shoot, and that will take up time."
"I can still help." Juliet told him.
"Ever consider she's just trying to take advantage of your ship, Shepard?" Ashley said. "She's an illegal species, she's not allowed to have anything. This ship would house and feed her for as long as she wants to wait to kill us."
"You might want to ask your crew if they can trust me before I stay here." Juliet said, smirking at the woman's outbursts.
"Listen." Shepard said, turning to Ashley. "I make the calls. You had to build up trust with all of these people, and it worked."
"No offense commander, but I didn't have to worry about any of them eating me."
"Don't worry, Ashley." Juliet said, her lip still curled into a smirk. "Your kind never satisfies my thirst."
Ashley shifted, sitting back down in her chair with a furrowed brow. Shepard scanned his eyes over the rest of the crew to try getting a feel for their thoughts.
"Garrus, you've been quiet. You worked with C-Sec. Thoughts?"
The turian leaned forward in his chair, finally taking his eyes off of Juliet.
"You've went out on a limb accepting all of these crew members when you didn't know them. That's what military does, they pair you with people and you learn to deal with it. Though, if you ever got caught with her on-board, commander, you'd have quiet the backlash to deal with."
Juliet looked back over to the commander, who sighed again.
"I blend in with humans just fine." she told him.
"I never would have guessed she was a vampire on first sight."
"The blood red eyes kinda give it away." Ashley said, her arms crossed tightly.
"Contacts." Juliet said. "Though I doubt anyone gives a shit as to what color my eyes are."
"Enough." Shepard said, looking at Ashley.
She seemed to withdraw from anything else he said, looking down at the floor angrily.
"Garrus has a point." the asari said. "You took a chance with all of us, especially us aliens."
Shepard looked over at Juliet, sighing once more, and nodding his head.
"Fine." he said. "I'll let you stay. It's a trial run, you do anything stupid, you're out."
"I understand, commander."
"Good. Feel free to set up where you want. I would like to keep this quiet until Saren is dealt with. I need to speak with Chakwas, let her know she needs to stock up for your food supply. Crew dismissed."
The crew got up, Ashley being the first to leave, the other human man being right behind her. Shepard reached his hand out to Juliet, who stood and shook it.
"Welcome aboard."
"Thank you commander."
"Don't make me regret this."
Juliet nodded, picking up her pack and slinging it over her shoulder. The asari stopped her before she could leave the room, the krogan and turian staying to watch.
"My name is Liara T'Soni, I am an archaeologist."
"Hi." Juliet said, shaking Liara's hand.
"Oh…" she said, looking down at her hand. "You are exceptionally cold…"
"Vampire trait."
"One of the downfalls of illegal species is the limited knowledge we have collected about them. Would you mind answering a few questions? For research purposes, of course."
"Uh… Sure. Yeah."
Liara turned on her Omni tool, ready to record anything Juliet said.
"You said you were one hundred ninety-six years old. You were changed in a time before humans were introduced to space. What was it like to watch everything change to where it is now?"
"It was strange at first, but you learn to adapt."
"Can we talk about your transformation? What is was like, what it entailed?"
Juliet shook her head.
"Maybe another time." she said.
"Of course." Liara said, nodding. "Your thirst for blood… Was it immediate? Can you eat human food still? Can you eat alien foods?"
Juliet smiled slightly as the questions flew from the asari. She continued answering as best as she could, understanding the curiosity. It was comforting to know that Liara was more interested than scared. She didn't show a flicker of fear when Juliet spoke. Juliet, however, was weary of the krogan and the turian as they watched her speak with their crewmate. She knew they had stayed behind for protection, which Juliet also understood, though it didn't cease to make her uncomfortable.