Chapter 1 – First contact
The elevator door opened with a low noise and the great Commander Jane Shepard entered the CIC. It was quiet, the mood was damped since they left earth after the main attack on humanity of course. The casualties were high and increasing any second. Hackett had ordered her directly to Citadel to gain support for earth but nobody on this vessel was happy to leave all the souls behind.
...Orders are orders...So be it...
Some of the crew Jane had recognized, fortunately a few of her former members like engineer Daniels or Joker were on board. The rest was new so she decided to walk around and get to know the people better she was going to work with in the future when her eyes spotted this graceful dark haired specialist next to the galaxy map.
...Could be a good start...
Jane smiled while approaching her first victim and saying with firm military voice. "Specialist!"
Samantha had been totally lost in all the incoming feeds arriving since the attack and flinched at the sudden address. When turning to her right she spotted the famous freaky Commander Shepard which forced her to a quick salute while she tried to suppress her shock about the unexpected appearance. "Commander!" she reported unsure.
...Great..keep calm Sammy...it's just the great famous Commander Shepard herself...oh man don't make a fool of yourself now Sam...
The redhead starting to grin when sensing the discomfort of the petite soldier in front of her.
...Uhhh...fresh meat on my vessel...
Jane wondered how she could make it on board when she jerked at the smallest things then ordered cool. "At ease soldier!" Then asked. "What is your job here?" and placed herself next to the obvious shy person.
Sam's body responded with stress, she remained stiff and nervous at the Commander's presence and she couldn't hide her feelings so she stammered. "I..I'm the comm specialist. My job... is to make sure you get all the latest information about and at mission in live-feed and... I take care of your notes and incoming messages. In addition I was hired to support the retrofits of the Normandy after your handover to the alliance..."
...Shit Sam now she will think you are nothing but a Nerd...
...Oh great one of those button-pushers... I bet she never handled a gun...
Jane breathed hardly and asked. "Are you my new ...Kelly?" and remembered the former Yeoman from Cerberus. Kelly had been some kind of secretary and also did that psychological stuff, always analyzing herself and the rest of crew. What did Hackett think when he ordered a substitute for this post. At the moment she needed trained and trusted soldiers and no rookies, this was so serious not only for humanity..the whole galaxy depended on the success of this mission. Perhaps she should send her directly back to alliance HQ when docking at the citadel.
Sam watched the expression and reactions of the commanders, trying to read her mind but of course she couldn't. She also had no idea about a Kelly so she answered. "I don't know any Kelly Ma'am but Admiral Anderson ordered me here because he believed you need an expert and the best of the best in any ways that could be useful for your mission."
...Great start...she already thinks I'm an idiot for sure...
The commander rose her brows on the brave lecture of the little specialist she didn't expected from the insecurely person.
...Counter attack...not bad...huh..
"So what's your name...specialist?" the redhead went on.
"Samantha Traynor...Ma'am." was the answer.
"Ah Traynor... " Jane was amused and decided to make things absolutely clear. "So Specialist Traynor..listen...From my crew on my vessel...I really... only expect the best of the best. We are at war, the most important war ever...Everybody has to make an effort to defeat this enemy. I guess you did the basic training in alliance and can handle a gun?"
"Ehmh... yes I did the basic training Ma'am.." Samantha responded when remembering all the things she didn't like about joining the army.
...A gun...? Does she want me to send on mission?...Is she nuts?
Jane checked the fainted expression of her subordinate, reading the obvious and realizing the comm specialist even never ever fired any weapon during her time of service.
...For sure she was shaking her... really...nice...pretty...ass to switch the weapons training...
Jane imagined a situation at the shooting ranch in alliance main-basic-training Garrison, seeing the Specialist making mooneyes at the drill instructor but she let go the fantasy quickly when bracing her arms in the hips and declaring. "Once my ship was boarded by the Collectors. This will not happen again...never! " she em phased the last word. " I expect everyone of my crew to defend and fight. What can you contribute to this if you're apparently not able to fight in combat?"
Sam nervously stroke her arm responding.
...Why should I be fighting... I am responsible that she isn't blind in the field...
"The new retrofits of Normandy allow me to track down enemies earlier than before... so I can take counter measures..also I can assist in mission via comm for tactical information and analysis concerning enemies and area which can be a huge advantage for your success..." the poor Specialist tried to explain how important her job was.
The Commander thought about the possibilities for a moment, leaving Sam in her lost condition while pondering...
...Maybe she's useful...but she has to handle a gun as well...despite her lovely ass...
She gave Sam a serious look then said. "Ok Specialist.. We'll see if this is efficient for combat... Where did you serve before joining the Normandy? Which vessel?"
"I...This is my first deployment on a ship...Ma'am." Sam hardly breathed and expected the worst.
"What? This is your first campaign on a space-ship?" Jane suprisedly let out and became more pissed. "What have you done before then?"
"I was in a...lab.." Sam shyly admitted and sensed the obvious anger of her commanding officer with increasing discomfort. Sadly it wasn't an ordinary superior it was the great Commander Shepard herself and that made it the worse.
...That can't be true... a lab rat...
Jane cursed inside, how could Hackett sent a lab rat and rookie to the flagship of Alliance. Had he been totally nuts? She shot an angry glare to the poor Specialist and groaned loudly. This really sucked, what should she do with that rookie? EDI was better than any secretary and she also did all the cyberwar stuff better than anyone could ever do...On all missions before she never needed a live-combat-analyst as well.. This specialist was useless and unnecessary.
Sam remained visible tensed and nervous while perserving for the next move from the redhead. The commander's expression revealed her demonstrable opinion about the not desired presence of the specialist on board.
...Great...assuredly she'll kick me out of the ship as soon we reach the next space station...
Finally she couldn't keep her mouth shut. "You know... sometimes it`s better to use the brain on battlefield instead of just muscles... „
...If she throws me out which she's certainly going to do ..then I'm leaving in style...
The commander surprisingly pulled an eyebrow.
...Uhh...courageous little girl
She did not expected Sam to be so perky, but she kept her rigid serious look and tried intimidate when using her face with all its scars and her body tension as she slightly bent and asked "Specialist...Are you insinuating my muscle strength and combat experience is no longer suffice?"
"Well Commander...some areas and challenges in this war need more than that and I believe Admiral Hackett and Admiral Anderson sent me here to make sure your ass is save and survives until the final fight..."
...Uhh...the little girl has fire...interesting
Jane laughed on the cheeky Specialist asking mischievously. "So you're are worrying about my ass?"
Sam directly shot back."If you didn't noticed... everyone does care about your ass since you're the only who can stop the Reapers..." She responded. "...and now I have to work Commander. Excuse me.." Sam turned back to her console.
...Well done Sammy.. You beat her...
Jane was stunned as the petite Specialist just ended the conversation and boldly turned to her terminal to continue.
..What?... She can't do that! I'm the fucking Commander!"
Normally Jane would let stand her at attention and give her an ordinary lecture about dealing with superiors, military regulations and an attrition for her impertinent behavior of course but something prevented her from doing it.
..OK.. she's got some kind of braveness...one asset for her...
Instead of that the great Commander Shepard decided to make a simple statement: "Traynor your test is the next mission. Make an effort...otherwise you can dress in you lab coat again ! ... Carry on!"
Sam didn't react to the order and pretended to be busy at her terminal.
...Hopefully she doesn't want me to join to the team on ground...Hmm perhaps I should ask James for some training exercises...
In the meantime Jane turned around and decided to go to Joker to question him about her new Yeoman. She needed to know more about this little cheeky Specialist.
... If she was going to prove herself in battle then she could be useful to the whole mission..
The redhead was grinning broadly as she slowly strolled through the CIC.
-to be continued-
NOTE: collaboration from BolderGirl and myself. We had some ideas lol