Ok, so this is the first chapter of my first fanfic, ever, I hope I did alright. I thought it would be interesting to have a competition between a few characters for the heart of Shepard, and I think I already know who wins! So tell me if I should continue this.
The Normandy was quiet. Rarely was peace like this found aboard the ship, there was almost constantly something going on, and tranquility like this was such a rarity that it could dishearten just about anyone who was awake to experience it.
Two bodies were partaking in the silence together, closely. One of them was none other than Commander Jane Shepard, the first human Spectre and the greatest soldier in the Alliance military. She was tough and self-sufficient, no doubt, but she was also beautiful and caring, smart and clever, basically the woman of many-a-man's dreams. Her counterpart was currently playing the role of the happiest person in the universe, watching Shepard sleep with intense focus, trying to memorize every little detail of her face and wishing that this moment would never end. Sleeping, tonight, was not an option for this person, nerves and excitement made sure of that, and it would not be too long before the Commander would wake up, anyway.
Naturally, a few minutes later, Shepard's eyes slowly opened and she blinked a few times until the smiling face looking upon her came into focus. Shepard smiled in return as her mind became clear and she remembered all of the wonderful goings-on of the previous night. Shepard decided to break the silence.
"Hey you."
(One Week Earlier)
Jeff Moreau was asleep. While being the pilot of the Alliance's finest spacecraft did come with its fair share of exciting, adrenaline-pumping, life-or-death moments that he lived for, most of the time his job was just driving forward towards the appropriate mass relay. Understandably, this can get very boring, and Joker was not a man known for his patience. Every once in a while, during a particularly danger-free stretch, he would turn on the autopilot and catch forty winks. It was a risk, certainly, but it had not yet backfired and no one seemed to notice, or at least care. This was one such occasion, but this time Joker's slumber was not going to go uninterrupted.
After a prolonged period of relative inactivity, Jane Shepard finally had several things to do and many places to go, all of them just as important as the last. Most recently their visit to Therum resulted in the addition of a new crew member, Liara, who Shepard had already grown quite fond of; she seemed pleasant and innocent of any involvement with her mother, Benezia, Saren's right hand. Liara was also a biotic adept, which would surely come in handy in battle, and Shepard was eager to see what she could do. Their next stop, she had decided, was going to be Feros, and as she was walking towards Joker to tell him where to take them, she could swear she heard the faintest sound of snoring.
The opportunity was just too good to pass up, and she decided that Joker deserved it.
"Look out!"
The commander's scream had the desired effect. Joker bolted upright from his slouched position, eyes wide and frantically trying to assess the situation.
"Huh, wha... what's going on?" was the only reply that the suddenly shaken pilot could manage before noticing his commanding officer beside herself with laughter behind him.
"Not. Cool. Commander" was Joker's irritated retort when he realized she had decided to scare him as a joke.
"Neither is sleeping on the job Joker, but you don't seem to have any problem with that."
She had him there; he couldn't see how he was going to be able to sweet-talk her out of chastisement, so he decided to take it like the man he was.
"So what is my punishment going to be, ma'am? You know you can't afford to get rid of me, so what's it gonna be? Double shift? Cleaning the bathrooms? Hanging out with Wrex?"
"As much as I'm sure Wrex would enjoy your company, I'm going to let this slide, Joker, as I'm sure this isn't the first time you've done this, and it's never gotten us in trouble before. Just don't let me catch you again, okay?"
"Sure thing, Commander. So I assume there must be some reason you so rudely woke me up."
She paid no attention to his joke, perhaps it was inappropriate to sass a superior officer, but it wasn't the first time he had done it, and it sure as hell wouldn't be the last; at this point she had just grown immune to his jabs. "How very perceptive of you, Joker; as a matter of fact I came up here to tell you to take us to Feros. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go and gather my team."
"I'll have you there in no time, Commander."
With that, Shepard walked away and Joker returned to his thoughts, which were his only company most of the time.
With any other commanding officer he had ever had, Joker would have considered himself lucky if he had gotten away with sleeping while piloting, but Shepard was different, and he definitely did not mind that. Even Captain Anderson, who is typically a kind man, was capable of becoming livid at times, and did not care for Joker's sense of humor one bit. Shepard on the other hand, was more laid back and just one of the guys, so to speak, at least from what Joker saw of her. He was told she was a fierce and, at times, ruthless warrior and Joker had a hard time believing that, but he also reasoned that she wouldn't be a Spectre if she wasn't the best. It also didn't bother him that she was easy on the eyes, as opposed to all of the middle-aged men he had the "pleasure" of working with. It would be a lie to say all of his thoughts towards her were appropriate, and it would also be a lie to say his spirits didn't rise when she came to see him.
Kaidan Alenko was blind. Not permanently blind, of course, but when he woke up from his short night's sleep he found himself suffering an excruciating migraine just like he had so many times before. He wasn't used to the pain, no one could possibly develop an immunity to it, but sacrificing biotic abilities by switching from an L2 to an L3 implant in order to relieve the pain wasn't an option in his mind. He slowly got out of his sleeping pod and moved towards Dr. Chakwas' med station. The journey was only one of about 15 feet, but it took Kaidan a few minutes instead of a few seconds to get there. Once he arrived, his vision had returned, but was still significantly blurred; luckily for him he had been here more than enough times to have memorized the place. He saw the human-shaped figure at the end of the room stand and move towards him.
"Hello Kaidan" said the figure's calm, soothing voice.
"Hi" was all that Kaidan dared to say; his own voice was like a wall of noise during his migraines.
The older woman could practically have helped him with a blindfold on; it seemed to her like she had done this a million times in the past. She gave him the appropriate drugs and some of the coffee that Kaidan claimed to help; it wouldn't be long before the flare-up was over, and Kaidan was as good as new.
Kaidan decided to lie down just as the Commander entered the room.
"Good morning Dr. Chakwas... oh, and hello Lieutenant, is everything okay?"
Kaidan threw one hand up and gave a quick wave, but did not vocally address her.
"Good morning Commander Shepard" replied the doctor "you need not worry about Alenko; he's just suffering from another L2 migraine. Is there something you need, Commander?"
Jane nodded. "Just passing through, actually" was all she said before she walked into the back room where the asari, Liara, spent most of her time. By the time she was came back out, Kaidan was already feeling much better.
"May I ask what that was about, Commander?" he asked, as the ringing in his head was all but gone.
She was almost startled to see him up and alert when she came back into the Doctor's office. "Oh I was just alerting Liara that she would be coming with me on Feros today. I would bring you, Kaidan, but..."
"I can come Commander, the migraine is all, but gone, there's nothing to worry about, honestly."
"I'm sure you're right, but I don't need to take the risk on such an important mission Kaidan, I hope you can understand that."
"Of course, I understand" was all the suddenly dejected lieutenant could muster.
"Next time, Lieutenant, I promise. Good day, Doctor." With that, Shepard left, leaving Kaidan and Chakwas alone.
"Don't look so glum, Kaidan, it's nothing personal, she just wants all of the members of her team to be completely alert."
"I know, I just don't like the thought of something happening to her that could have maybe been prevented had I been there" was his answer, which he soon realized was perhaps a little too revealing, as a small smile crept over Dr. Chakwas' face.
"Tell me Kaidan, how do you feel about the Commander?" She knew she was prying, and perhaps it would make him uncomfortable, but she was still human and enjoyed her gossip just as much as the next person.
"With all due respect, Doctor Chakwas..." Kaidan was trying his damndest not to grin himself, "I don't think that's appropriate to discuss." He then made his way towards the exit, but before departing he turned around and added "or any of your damn business." The grey-haired woman laughed heartily at this and Kaidan himself couldn't help but smile. Now he just had to hope word would not spread.
Garrus Vakarian was rigid. The tough cartilage covering his face was not the only unyielding part of the turian, no, but he had a hard, invisible shell that he protected himself with and no one had been able to break through it, at least not until now. Turians, as a species, are typically stern and not a particularly social people, and Garrus was certainly no exception. Getting emotional was typically out of the question for him, he was all business, no pleasure, and he thought he liked it like that. It was troublesome for Garrus, as one would expect, when he caught himself once thinking about Commander Jane Shepard for an extended period of time. He, unlike many of his kind, had no qualms with humans, so it wasn't the mere thought of her that was bothering him, it was the way he was thinking about her. He was only complimentary of the human, nothing about her seemed to bother him, and in fact he even enjoyed her presence from time to time. It would not be long before he would be regretting thinking so much about thinking about her, because as he was lost in his own mind he did not even notice the Commander get off the elevator and approach him.
"Garrus?" she asked, bemused by his lack of acknowledgement.
The turian jumped when he heard her voice, the voice in his head, say his name. "Oh, Shepard, I beg your pardon, I did not see you standing there, what can I do for you?"
"Suit up, you're going out with me on Feros" she said bluntly, something he admired about her.
The turian raised his eyebrows as her choice of words, but she did not seem to notice, perhaps unfamiliar with turian biology.
"Excellent, just allow me to get ready, Commander."
"No problem Garrus, we still have a little time before we arrive."
Upon her exit Garrus returned to his thoughts, his thoughts of her. He sighed; these brief encounters left him wanting more, and he felt ridiculous, a human and a turian? Most Turians would scoff at the idea, and most humans would just laugh. Garrus Vakarian just had to hope that Jane Shepard wasn't most humans.