Chapter 1
When James Met Johanna...
"Three hundred thousand Batarians, Shepard?" David Anderson shook his head at the woman who had been his protégée, "Really? There was no other way?" It almost beggared belief, the fact that this woman, on her own, had brought about the destruction of an entire star system and with it, the destruction of several Batarian colonies.
"Anderson, if you've come to give me a lecture," the Commander sighed, "Save your breath. Hackett already beat you to i so I'll tell you what I told him." She stood from her seat, "Destroying the Alpha relay meant stopping the Reapers. We had literally only minutes to spare. Don't tell me you wouldn't have made the same decision." Maybe that comment would've been a step too far with Hackett but Shepard and Anderson and always had a good bond, she hoped she'd get away with it.
"You know what this means," Anderson continued, barely acknowledging the Commander's remark, "Not just for you but for the entire Alliance. Relations with the Batarians are bad enough without you wiping out an entire system of their colonies. The Hegemony will want blood for this, this could start a war and I won't lie to you, there's just enough evidence for them to start one." With a roll of her eyes, Shepard dismissed the newly promoted Admiral's claim of war - she had little time for Batarians, especially after one had attempted to poison her on Omega. He'd paid for that one but Shepard still watched her back whenever a Bararian was around.
"I'd do it again," she nodded her head, "And maybe the Batarians will take it as a declaration of war but there was no other option." With another heavy sigh, the Commander sat down again, feeling a bit like a jack-in-a-box - jumping up to defend herself and then sitting down again whenever she felt like making a point of her own. "You know how these things work, Anderson," she looked the older man straight in the eyes, "Someone has to make the tough decisions and I went in there on my own as a favour to Hackett, all I had was my own mind, nobody to bounce any of this shit off of." Shepard could feel herself heating up, her temper and composure were beginning to fray at the edges. "So it came down to two choices; let the Reapers through the relay so Harbinger could rain down hell or destroy the damn thing to keep them out a while longer. And yeah, a few hundred thousand Batarians died but you know what? They died so that trillions could live a while longer. Either way, those Colonies would've been wiped out, I think that's pretty much the definition of being stuck between a rock and a hard place." The cold, cold math of war.
It wasn't ideal, far from it, but even Anderson had to admit that her choice had been the right one but it that didn't mean there wouldn't be consequences. "Even so," he began again, "You'll still have to answer for this, the Hegemony has to see that we've taken action. There'll be a hearing back on Earth, I can't stop them punishing you for this, no matter how much I might agree with what you did." It was true; left to it, Anderson himself probably would've made the same decision. "But what I can do, is put in a good word. You've always had good instincts, Shepard, especially when it comes to the Reapers. Hopefully I'll be able to talk them into not court marshalling you."
"I'm not afraid of a court marshall," Shepard shrugged her shoulders, "And I'm not afraid of a few Batarian threats."
"Maybe so, but until we fix this whole mess, you won't be going anywhere in a hurry," Anderson fixed the Commander in his gaze, "You won't be leaving this room." Looking around, it was the closest thing that the Normandy-SR2 had to a brig - they may know how to build a ship, but Cerberus clearly hadn't planned on keeping prisoners on board. "You know I wish the regs were different but until we get back to Earth, you're relieved of your duties as commanding officer of the Normandy. To make sure you keep to your end end of the bargain, I'd like you to meet Lieutenant James Vega," the Admiral gestured to the mountain of a man who'd only just entered the room, "He'll be guarding this room, and you, for the foreseeable future."
With a snort of laughter, Shepard locked Vega in her sights. "Seriously? A bodyguard? I don't think tha..." Her voice trailed off as Anderson left the room, clearly not wanting to hear another word on the matter. "So, Vega," Shepard reclined, finally allowing herself to relax, "What'd you do to land yourself on guard duty? You draw the short straw or something?" There was a hint of antagonism in her voice, she found it funny that they'd probably sent the biggest soldier they could find to guard her - a tiny, albeit biotic, woman.
"Had no choice on the matter Commander," Vega didn't move a muscle, "Don't wanna do it, told the Admiral to throw me in the brig but apparently they need me to guard it. Best damn brig I've ever laid eyes on, least you're not behind bars." It was true - from now until the Normandy arrived back on Earth, Commander Shepard would be confined to the sub-deck, the space once occupied by her former crew-member, Jack.
"Yeah, yeah," Shepard grinned, her eyes scanning the Lieutenant up and down, "But it's a world away from my cabin. Well, Anderson's cabin now."
"They'll fix this whole thing when we get back to Earth," James sounded sure, "I mean, shit, you did what you had to, right? Started a shitstorm to stop a bigger shitstorm?" He crossed his arms across his chest, "Not sure I could've made that call, Commander, but I'm not the one in charge. I get why you did it, though, and the uniforms back home will see that too."
"I like the way you think, Lieutenant," Shepard grinned, "And less of the Commander. By the sounds of it, we're a package deal for the next while." She held her hand out to him, "It's Johanna, pleasure's all mine."
All characters mentioned belong to Bioware, as does the universe. I'm just playing in their sandbox.