A/N: Hi folks! This story is for Aria's Valentine 's Day challenge. It's basically about FemShep from my Mass Effect: Origin 'sibling universe'. This story is about Fiona Shepard, who is Liam and John's little sister. She's a thirteen year old renegade adept here and has had to suffer through the BAat program with Kaiden.
Location: 22:00 hours—Staff lounge observation deck—Gagarin Station 'Jump Zero'. Year: 2169.
They said space was the final frontier. But whoever they were clearly didn't have a clue. Nothing was final on jump zero, each exercise extended into another with no end in sight. If this stupid place was all that the final frontier had to offer then someone left that part out of the brochures they sent to top brass.
Fiona squeezed her eyes shut, remembering the day her parents' faces lit up when they were given the booklet. Her stuff was packed before she could pronounce the word Gagarin and she was shoved out the door like unwanted garbage to the curb. Finally, an answer to their freak of a biotic daughter. Thousand miles away from Earth? Perfect! Liam was already in N7 training and thus completely blacked out from the decision. John protested against her 'special trip' but her now fifteen year old brother was still useless against the Gestapo also known as their parents.
Fiona opened her burning eyes and stared out into the darkness of space searching for any sign of that tiny blue planet called home. She was desperate for firm ground beneath her feet, fresh air and those two idiots she called brothers, by her side. But there was fat chance of that of that. Her parents made it perfectly clear that a return to military school was next on her agenda and seeing how both John and Liam were sucked right in, there was no escape 'the family legacy must live on' as dad liked to say.
Fiona waved her hand and watched the omni-tool thingy come to life. It was weird and heavy, one of Liam's old ones. He never got around to explaining how it worked so the thing collected dust in her pack for the past three years.
She shook her arm and got some static on the interface before it flickered off. That's another thing, maybe it needed power but her knowledge of tech was limited and it's not like Vyrrnus gave workshops on forbidden items. After a few more shakes the thing flickered out again and Fi sighed, letting her arm drop in disappointment.
The soft clank of boots caught her attention, but Fiona didn't panic. The light cautious steps were clearly those of a student. An instructor would've woken half the deck in their wake.
"Fi?" The gravelly voice sounded behind her, she turned to find Kaiden at the doorway. If he was here to prattle on about Rahna and how stressful it was getting for her, Fiona promised herself that the clunky omni-tool would be up his ass. "...what are you doing here? Vyrrnus will blow a gasket," he said, taking her silence as an invitation.
As much as Fiona wanted to rip his head off for being a tool she scooted over when he climbed up, allowing him to sit down cross legged next to her. Their close confines forced her to look at him and meet those oblivious puppy dog eyes. Kaiden was always the optimistic one. Maybe that's why the other kids were taken with him and avoided her like the plague. Whatever. Like she gave a shit. When finals were over she was going back to earth with honors while the rest of these fools will continue to shit themselves trying to levitate a cup.
"You need something?" Fiona asked after a long moment of watching him steal glances between her and the sky.
Kaiden sat straighter, clearly caught off guard. "No...just checking up on you."
"I don't need a babysitter," she replied acidly. This mother hen thing sucked big time, lately she couldn't turn around without his grin in her face. Didn't he have Rahna to go fuss over?
"I get it, you had a rough day," he said defensively but still with the same easy tone, "but I just wanted to say that I appreciate you kicking ass today. You made the rest of us believe again."
"In what exactly?" Fiona asked, her curiosity rising.
"That passing is still possible." His gaze dropped to her hand before she could laugh at his face. "Is that an omni-tool?"
Fiona held back a snort. This week's training was another in an endless line of cake. Vyrrnus may seem like a hardass to noobs but he was a third rate hack if she ever saw one. All the drill instructors at the military prep-academy would laugh at his so called 'challenges' and after spending time crawling through the mud, sleeping with a rifle and hauling jarheads to safety, being asked to levitate shipping containers was a vacation.
Fiona lifted her hand and tried to stop the damn thing from flickering but it was useless. The orange interface would light up for three seconds before disappearing again, light, dark, light dark. Getting frustrated Fi reached for its clasp but Kaiden pressed some button and got it to stay solid.
Fiona drew back in surprise. The glow was a solid steady orange again. "What...what the hell did you do?"
"You were in flight mode," Kaiden explained, the rough grain of his voice relaxed her as hope returned. Now if she could only figure out how the mail system worked. "Do you need help?"
"I got this," Fiona said and started fiddling with the interface.
Kaiden stared for a while then returned to the stars. He still hadn't told her the real reason he was here but she was done waiting. Good news from Liam or John was all she needed now and there was probably three years worth of backlog in that mailbox.
"You know, I don't know how you do it," he said, eyes still on the stars, "biotics are almost second nature to you. What's your secret?"
Hardass parents...she swallowed the thought and opted for something motivational.
"Practice," she said and looked over at his affectionate smile. He was one of the few people that managed to say more than two words in her presence. "...what?"
"Easier said than done," Kaiden replied, reminding her of the debilitating headaches that plagued him. One out of every hundred L2's had that side-effect. She was lucky.
"Try it. Might surprise you," she said distractedly as she lost herself in another interface tree. Why did these fucking things have so many options?
"Seeing as how you're likely the only one who is going to graduate from here, do you know what you want to do when you head back to earth?"
Blow up my parent's house...she shrugged at that. There wasn't much choice after this course, the path was slick and she was hurtling fast. "I head back to the military academy then challenge the N7 entrance course after I graduate." She glanced at him. "You?"
"You're joining the Alliance?" Kaiden said, letting the incredulity set in.
"No. I just like getting biotic control designations and not using them." Fi rolled her eyes. "Of course I'm joining up."
This course was just a lame detour. But if some fancy piece of paper made some ignorant dickhead believe they were safe in the company of a BAat graduate then who was she to argue?
Kaiden looked thoughtful as he crossed his arms and looked her over. "Well, when you put it that way..."
"Do the math genius, who but the Alliance is going to hire a bunch of freaks like us?" Fiona asked bitterly. It made her blood boil that those pathetic losers on Earth could look down their noses at all of them. It made her sick.
"You know, I really wish you'd stop referring to us that way. It upsets Rahna."
And here we go...precious Rahna. The queen of all things sensitive. The fragile flower everyone made a big stink over. The girl was so weak she wouldn't last a day on the streets never mind a warzone.
"Well if Rahna wants to get off her pampered ass and start pulling her own weight then she can call us whatever she likes. Until then, she should wake up and smell the coffee." Hitting the holo-key with more force than necessary, Fiona gave up and slammed her fist into the concrete. The blue glow of her angry aura saved the omni-tool from impact. Fiona clenched her teeth in frustration.
"Here," Kaiden reached out and snagged her arm before she could protest. His cool rough hand rested on the crux of her elbow as his other worked the interface. "Look I'm not saying we're anything special but we're not garbage either. Don't give up on us like the rest of the world, okay?"
Fiona was taken aback. She didn't mean it like that, not at all...but what was the point? Cooling her anger she relaxed as he worked through the intricate system of start-ups and flashed to main screen. "You did it," Fiona said, sounding weak to her own ears. Maybe it was getting late. "Thanks."
"Anytime," he said and looked up while the programs loaded on her menu. "So, are you going to celebrate when you get back to Earth?"
"Celebrate what?" she asked, frowning.
"Valentine's day," he said lightly, "I just thought since you're up here, you'll miss it and make up for it when you get back?"
Shepard shook her head, not sure where he was going. "I don't celebrate, Valentines."
"Oh?" he said, "Any particular reason?"
"Why do you care? You should be thinking of what to get your girlfriend Rahna."
Kaiden blushed and for some reason she found it kind of adorable. "I'd like to but there's a problem. I'm interested in someone else."
Fi's eyes grew wide. Kaiden was the basic boy scout, honor and all that jazz was his mantra. "Yeah? You're shitting me, Kaiden. I pegged you for the loyal type."
"I am." He laughed a bit. "And when I make a commitment I stick to it. Just has to be the right person."
Fiona quirked a brow. "Who's the right person?"
"Someone smart, funny, strong, determined and more than a little stubborn." He aimed a devious smile her way. "But don't tell her I said that."
"I won't but—" It suddenly clicked and Fi looked up to meet his wicked grin. All the smiles, the time together, the fact that he kept coming back all of it suddenly made sense. But what the hell? "Ah...you don't mean me, do you?"
"Why not you?" He challenged playfully.
"I'm going to be outta here soon, you have shitty timing and my parents..." Shepard shook her head, overwhelmed with all the reasons rushing to her head. This was so weird, nothing prepared her for...this.
Kaiden ducked back to the omni-tool, something about his touch calmed her down but it wasn't enough to stop the spread of fear from rising deep within her gut. She was a soldier not some damsel caught up in this relationship crap.
"I think you'll want to check your emails, right?" Kaiden asked, glancing back at her. Fiona only nodded and tried not to focus on the gentleness of his touch. Before long he had the email program downloading and they were back in the staring contest with the stars as their only witness. Poor guy, he deserved better than her.
"You know...sometimes I wish I could stop it all," Fiona said, surprising herself with the soft quality of her voice. "Maybe then..."
"Stop what?" Kaiden asked, with a hopeful look. Suddenly she was very aware of their close proximity, the warmth emanating from his breath the way his dark brown eyes could see right through her. Who the fuck would give someone else that much power over them?
Fiona shook her head. "Nothing. Forget I said anything."
"Okay..." Kaiden replied, looking hopeful until a sharp glint of pain made him cringe.
Fiona reached out but he drew back, those legendary headaches which kept him out of commission for days returned. "You okay?" She asked, feeling helpless as he clutched his head in obvious agony.
"I'll be fine, just need some rest," he said and began to move towards the ledge only to miss it and start sailing for the floor.
Fiona flicked her hands out and caught him biotically. Being careful not to jostle him too much she brought him back to his spot at her side and released her hold.
Kaiden sat panting, something in the biotics seemed to loosen the effect. Getting an idea, she faced him fully and put both hands at either side of his temple. The private asari tutor her parents had hired attempted to teach her this advanced trick, but at the time she was too out of control to learn. Biotic caress is what it was called and if anyone could use it now it was Kaiden.
"What are you doing?" he asked weakly but with enough hope to earn him an eyeroll.
"Just sit still. I think I can help," Fiona said and concentrated the eezo molecules at her disposal. Dark energy surrounded her palms and ebbed through her fingers. Fiona focused her concentration on fractionally lowering the pressure within his skull. Too much and he would turn to ooze, too little and she'd be useless.
Feeling the heat start to intensify at her finger tips, Fiona stopped and opened her eyes. Kaiden stared back in awestruck amazement. His eyes were clear and he didn't look to be in anymore pain. "Wow," he exclaimed lightly with another one of those smiles. "How did you?"
"Practice," Fiona huffed and sat back. That little trick took the wind out of her. It was easy to move objects or do just about anything else but a biotic caress required just as much energy against yourself as towards your subject, otherwise they were toast. Careful application was a lot more demanding but staring at Kaiden's relieved face was worth all the trouble. "You okay?"
"I'm perfect. The headache's gone and..." he trailed off when he saw how tired she was and quickly scanned the area. Finding the object of his desire on a table, he reached out and biotically levitated a carton of juice her way.
Fiona snagged it and drank deeply, feeling the fatigue subside as her body re-energized itself. Whatever they put in this stuff was more than just juice, but she was grateful. "Thanks," she said when she was finished.
"No. Thank you, Fiona," he replied, massaging his head lightly. "I can't believe it's as simple as that."
"Yeah, don't try it on yourself," Fiona warned as an image of him putting too much pressure and exploding his head like a melon filled her mind's eye.
She checked on the progress of her emails. There were so many that it was taking the omni-tool a long time to download everything. Liam and his tech shit. If he were here this thing would go faster.
"Hey... if you ever want to remedy that valentine's situation let me know, alright?" Kaiden said. Fiona only nodded as the progress bar finished and she gained full access to her emails. Stacks of emails were piled in folders, some dating from two years ago both from John and Liam. None from her parents, she noted but didn't care as a huge grin took over her face. She opened the most recent one from Liam:
Hey sis,
Happy Valentines day! I miss you guys everyday, you know that right? Things here are pretty hardass over here but it's nothing you and Jarhead can't handle when your time comes. I'm sure of it. Get that BAat crap over with and come home.
PS: I know I've said this about a million times but it wasn't until recently that we realized you likely don't have access to the net up there. If you ever figure out the omni-tool, please let us know you're okay.
Love,
Liam
"I take it that's your brother," Kaiden said, from her shoulder. Fiona nodded and blinked back the threat of tears. It was great to hear that someone missed her. Two someone's actually. She opened John's letter and read:
Hey Fi,
I can't believe it's been three years since we last spoke. I sent messages, but Liam says that brain camp of yours is blocking them. Nevertheless, can't wait till you get home. The academy is just not the same without my little sister raising some hell.
Three more years and I'm out of this dump myself, N7 awaits. Liam says I can do it. If I can, you can. I may not have liked their methods but mom and dad gave us an edge the other kids don't have. Keep training and you'll knock them dead when you're back here, I know it. Happy Valentines day and try not to kick too much ass, okay?
John
A single tear streaked down her cheek and fuzzed the holo-display upon landing. Fi scanned through the hundreds of emails and felt something in her heart connect. There were so many letters here that for a moment she no longer felt alone.
Fiona tried to duck the warm hand but Kaiden was quicker and wiped her tear away gently. Finding no strength to fight Fi looked up to his concerned gaze and smiled, regaining control. "Thanks, Kaiden. This—" she raised her now functional omni-tool. "...It means a lot to me."
"Don't mention it," he said in that low voice which gave her chills. But it was nothing compared to the warmth of his arm around her shoulders. "Happy Valentines day Fiona."
For once instead of fighting to keep someone at arms length she leaned into the crook of his shoulder and opened the next email. "Happy Valentines day, Kaiden."