Raina Shepard stood alongside the M35 Mako on the storage level of the Normandy, hands resting easily on her hips as she took in her new home for the foreseeable future. She had sneaked aboard earlier, before the rest of the crew had arrived at the report time of oh-six hundred hours. The Normandy had been well guarded but Shepard hadn't become an N7 or an infiltrator by chance. It had taken careful concentration and precise timing but she had managed to slip aboard unnoticed. She had wanted a chance to look over the ship before it was bustling with crew who likely would stop in their tracks to stare at her when she walked by.
Shepard was no stranger to the effects her presence had on people she met for the first time. Usually it was awe followed closely by pity or careful observation. She had had enough of both after being forced into therapy to talk about her feelings and any lingering guilt or doubt she'd had after being the only survivor of the thresher maw attack that had wiped out her entire unit. It had been nearly six years since Akuze but people still treated her like a fragile porcelain teacup, ready to shatter at the first mention of it. She hated when people walked on eggshells around her. She'd spent weeks trying to convince the brass that she was fit to return to duty. It was the only right thing to do. She had been determined not to let all those Marines deaths give her license to sit around and feel sorry for herself. She wouldn't waste her second chance.
Finally, not only had she been cleared for duty, she had been offered entry in the Interplanetary Combatives Training program. She'd performed admirably and had been awarded the N1 rank, the only candidate in that cycle to qualify. When she'd been invited back to complete the subsequent levels of training, she hadn't even hesitated. She'd relished the intensive program. The exhilaration she felt in combat made her feel alive. She'd yearned for anything that could make her a better marine, anything that would prepare her for another Akuze. If any of this training would help her save just one soldier under her command in the future, it was worth the mental and physical pain and exhaustion. The day she had received her N7 designation was the proudest moment of her life.
"Commander," a voice appeared at her side. To her credit, she didn't jump. She had heard the quiet whirring of the elevator as it had made its descent to the hangar bay. She wouldn't be much of a soldier if he'd slipped up on her without her notice.
"Captain," the corner of her mouth quirked a fraction of a inch. It seemed she hadn't made it onto the ship quite as undetected as she had first thought.
"Did you really think you could slip past me?"
"I'd had hopes, sir."
It had come as a surprise to her when her commanding officer had handed her permanent change of station orders. She was to report to the Arcturus Station immediately under the command of Captain Anderson. Anderson had been one of the first N7 graduates and was still held in high regard by the instructors of the program. He had gone on to make a distinctive name for himself in the First Contact War. She wasn't sure why he had personally requested her to be his executive officer. She suspected she'd made an impression on the right people at ICT. Whatever the reason, she would make sure that he wouldn't regret it.
"What do you think of the ship," Captain Anderson asked.
"There's nothing else like it," she mused, impressed by the thousands of hours and billions of credits that it must have taken to build the one of a kind frigate.
"SSV Normandy, prepare for boarding," the ship's automated system rang through the lower deck. Any minute now, people would start arriving.
"C'mon. It's time I introduce you to the crew." Anderson led the way back to the Combat Information Center.
"Hey guys, you'll never guess what I just heard" a young marine by the name of Jenkins skidded to a halt beside his shipmates, face flushed with excitement. A group of Alliance personnel were gathering outside the Normandy's loading dock at Arcturus Station, waiting for the all clear to board. They had been expected to report in at oh six hundred hours and had spent the last forty five minutes sitting around. Most of the crew had spent the time getting to know each other. Some of them had worked together before, like Doctor Chakwas and Navigator Pressly but most had been summoned individually from all corners of Alliance space for the Normandy's shakedown cruise.
Staff Lieutenant Alenko had worked briefly with Corporal Jenkins once before. Jenkins was new to Alliance military, practically fresh out of training. He had a contagious enthusiasm about everything, even rations. There was no telling what had excited him this time.
"Did you hear who Anderson recruited as his XO?" Before either of them could respond, Jenkins barreled ahead with the information. "The one and only Commander Shepard! Can you believe we'll actually be on a ship with her? If she's on board, we're sure to see some real action!"
"Who?" Jeff Moreau, also known as Joker and the pilot for the Normandy, baited the young corporal.
"Commander Shepard, she's the—" Jenkins was practically wiggling in his excitement.
"I know who she is," Joker cut him off with a wave of his hand and roll of his eyes. "You'd have to be an idiot not to. I'm more interested in getting on this ship and really seeing what she can do."
"I thought you already knew what she could do? Didn't you say you hijacked her from under the noses of all the officials on her first test run," Kaidan reminded him. Joker had spent the first fifteen minutes on dock regaling them with the story of how he had landed the most coveted pilot position in the Alliance.
"Uh, yeah," Joker jeered at him. "But what I could do then and what I can get her to do out in open space are light years apart. Not that I'd expect you to understand." It was Kaidan's turn to roll his eyes. "Jenkins, where'd you hear that?"
"I was checking in at the dock and one of the guys doing logs mentioned that the commander hadn't checked in yet. I think they were betting on how late she would be. Can you believe our luck, Lieutenant. Getting to work with Commander Shepard," Jenkins grinned at Kaidan. "If she's even half as good as everyone says she is…" he let the statement hang in the air.
"SSV Normandy, prepare for boarding," an automated voice rang out through the loading bay. Kaidan was spared having to answer as the crew gathered their bags and shuffled into line at the airlock. Jenkins scurried past them, eager to spread the news among the rest of the crew.
Kaidan knew exactly who Commander Shepard was. A few years younger than he was, she was a highly skilled operative and a graduate of the ICT program. She had achieved the highest level of proficiency, making her one of the very few N7 operatives in all of the Alliance military. At just 23, she had survived a devastating attack on the human colony of Akuze. Kaidan had admired her when news reports had woven the tale of the heroic sole survivor of Akuze. The details were incomplete since the incident was still classified but she had been the only marine to survive, out of a unit of fifty. It was hard to imagine the kind of person it took to survive a blow like that and keep going. He imagined she'd had her pick of duty assignments since then and wondered what a solider like that would want with a simple shakedown run like this. Maybe it was her idea of R&R.
Still, it would be an honor to work with her, even on a simple mission like this one. The two of them had served in the Alliance approximately the same amount of time but their experiences had been vastly different. As a sentinel, Kaidan was suited for defense and support. His battle strengths came in the form of protecting his squad mates and administering medical attention when the need arose. Shepard's official designation was an infiltrator. She specialized in getting in and out of situations with deadly efficiency, able to quickly assess a combat situation for the most advantageous position and turn the odds in her favor with one shot kills from her sniper rifle. When they did their jobs exceedingly well, infiltrators rarely had need for sentinels. Kaidan imagined he could learn a lot from her.
As the crew passed in groups of twos and threes through the decontamination airlock, they quickly made their way to the crew quarters to stow the few personal possessions they'd been permitted to bring in their lockers before gathering back in the CIC.
"Where do you think she is? Have you seen her," Jenkins appeared once again at Kaidan's side, eyes darting around the crowd, searching for his target.
"I'm sure she's here somewhere. Joker, get up here," Kaidan called up to the cockpit where their pilot was already seated, making full evaluations of the controls in front of him.
"C'mon man, we just got on board. I gotta check on my baby," Joker's whine floated down the bridge. Despite his protests, he clanged down the gangway unevenly, using the backs of the chairs for balance.
Just as Joker reached the main deck, Captain Anderson stepped into the room, followed by a lithe woman wearing form fitting Alliance issue armor with an N7 insignia on her right breast. So this is the famous Commander Shepard, Kaidan thought to himself as he looked her over. Her eyes carefully scanned the entire room, falling on each crew member individually for a split second. When her green eyes met his, she paused for a moment. She narrowed her eyes, silently daring him to continue their staring contest. Kaidan felt physically incapable of looking away. He gulped, trying to drag his gaze from hers. Her mouth twitched almost imperceptibly and then her gaze slid to Jenkins and onward.
Anderson's voice carried through the room. "Crew, I'd like you to meet Lieutenant Commander Shepard, our XO for this mission. We'll be coming around so I can introduce all of you personally as I show the Commander our ship. In the meantime, please take your stations and begin pre-flight checks in preparation for take-off."
Kaidan followed Joker back up to the cockpit. He'd been tasked with filling the role of co-pilot for the initial flight. Kaidan suspected he was playing babysitter, likely to make sure Joker didn't try to make any unauthorized modifications to the system. He settled into the hard plastic seat to Joker's right and silently watched as the pilot methodically started down the checklist.
Rhythmic clanging on the metal grating behind them announced the new arrivals to the cockpit. Both men swirled their chairs around to meet their superiors. Kaidan rose, hand to his forehead in salute but Joker stayed seated.
"Commander Shepard, this is our pilot, Flight Lieutenant Moreau and Staff Lieutenant Alenko," Anderson gestured to each man in turn. "Lieutenant Alenko is our field medic and will assist in coordinating any groundside missions."
Commander Shepard reached forward, shaking each of their hands. Her grip was firm and dry and Kaidan felt a small callous on what was surely her trigger finger. He wondered if she noticed the brief crackle of static between them from his built up energy. If she did, she didn't flinch, unlike most people's natural reaction to biotics. Up close, he could see that her kohl lined green eyes were flecked with gold. A scar marred her right eyebrow, just missing her eye and then continuing its horizontal path down her left cheek. Her pale complexion was dotted with freckles that she hadn't tried to hide. Other than the dark liner, her face was free of makeup. Her dark hair was cut bluntly at her sharp jawline and tucked out of the way behind her ears.
"It's a pleasure to meet both of you." Her voice slid through him, a slow burn like a finely aged whiskey. It was, in a way, simultaneously soothing and jolting.
He cleared his throat. "Likewise ma'am."
Captain Anderson abruptly turned, leading her back towards the central hub of the ship to continue the introductory rounds. She pondered the two men she'd just met. The flight lieutenant hadn't taken his eyes off the controls and had barely spared his palm for her handshake. The staff lieutenant though; he…surprised her. She recalled the direct way he had met her gaze during the briefing. Shepard was used to being stared at like some kind of exhibit. Most people she met only stared openly until they were caught and, when she engaged them in their own game, shamefully cast their eyes away. Shepard could stare down just about anyone and had waited, victorious smirk barely contained. Instead, Lieutenant Alenko had held her gaze until she'd broken contact.
"Last we have Spectre Nihlus Kryik," Anderson led her to the comm room. A tall, dusky toned turian with elaborate face markings and verdant eyes towered over her. "I have some briefings to manage. Shepard, run the Marines through some drills. I want everyone kept in top shape aboard my ship." He ducked through the door and it whooshed closed behind him.
She waited for Nihlus to say something but he only stood there, watching her curiously as if he were waiting to see what she would do. As she bit back a smart ass reply, the ship hummed beneath her feet. At some point during the introductions, they'd disengaged from the docking clamps and begun the trip to Eden Prime. The pilot must be as good as she'd heard him claim. She hadn't even felt the shift as they'd left the port. Even with FTL engaged, it would take time for the ship to reach the relay. In the meantime, the crew had work to do.
Shepard descended to the cargo bay with the other marines aboard, Nihlus trailing behind them. Though they were staffed with a full crew, many were ship technicians and engineers, not soldiers. Only eight followed her into the belly of the ship. She split them into teams to run hand to hand sparring drills.
It had taken Shepard a long time to get used to Alliance ships and the tightness of the quarters. She'd felt almost claustrophobic at first, locked in space with no way to escape should things go to hell. During her first space cruise, she'd avoided the sleeping pods and slept curled onto the floor in whatever out of the way place she could find. The first time she'd climbed into one of the tiny pods, she had felt her heart start to race as the lock engaged, sealing her inside. Her commanding officer had discovered her sleeping in the corner of the mess one night and given her a serious dressing down. He had ordered her to see the ship's doctor for her issues. She'd managed to convince them both she was only tired from training and had fallen asleep by accident. Her actions weren't acceptable but she knew it was the lesser of two evils. She couldn't afford to be discharged for being mentally unfit to serve. After that, she'd forced herself to learn to live with the space she was given, tiny or not.
A speeding force shot through her periphery. She dropped just in time to duck under the armored forearm.
"What the hell, Kryik," she crossed her arms over her chest and glared at the turian.
He stood perfectly still as he watched her, head tilted slightly to the side. Lightning quick, he jabbed forward again. She jumped back, narrowly missing a blow to the abdomen. Now he was just pissing her off. She waited, anticipating that he wasn't done yet. Sure enough, he lunged forward, his left fist arcing towards her kidneys. Instead of losing more ground, Shepard closed the distance between them and hooked her leg behind his and shoved against his domed chest. Nihlus stumbled back but managed to right his center of balance just short of crashing to the floor.
"Turians have superior reach, Shepard. It'll be no time before I put you on your squishy ass," Nihlus bared his teeth and adjusted his position.
"You can try," a feral grin spread across her face. She rolled her shoulders as she circled him, waiting for him to make his next move. His eyes flicked to the floor for just a moment and then his foot circled around, trying to sweep her from her feet. While he righted himself, she barreled forward, grappling with his shoulders while she tried to use her compact shape to force him to the ground. His arms swept up breaking her grip on him and she backed up quickly before he could secure her in a hold. They circled each other some more. This time, she made the first move, feinting with a right hook and then landing a left punch in his side. His elbow connected forcefully with her chin, knocking her head back. She tasted the metallic tang of blood in her mouth. Shepard twisted, lashing out with a kick that would have knocked a normal man back ten steps but Nihlus caught her heel and spun. She twisted in the air as she crashed towards the floor. As she landed hard on one knee she snapped her head up to see the turian lunging forward to pin her to the floor. She rolled forward under his outstretched arms and sprang up behind him. A well placed roundhouse to the center of his back sent Nihlus toppling forward. He landed chest down on the metal grating. She was on him in an instant, pinning his arm behind his back.
"No dice but I'll give you style points for the landing," she grinned at him. He shrugged her off, assessing her face once more, and strode to the lift without another word.
"Wow Commander! That was impressive," Jenkins clapped his hands together like an excited child. During their sparring match, Shepard hadn't even noticed that the rest of the marines had fallen to the edges of the room to watch her take on Nihlus. Thank God she hadn't lost. That would have been embarrassing.
"Back to work," she shouted and wiped a hand across her mouth, a small smear of blood staining her skin.
"They're a good crew sir," she reported to Anderson later that evening, after she had spent the last twelve hours running the marines through drills and training sims. She'd dismissed them for showers and rations and met Anderson in the comm room.
"They are," he acknowledged. "Make sure you get some rations and sleep yourself Commander. We should be approaching Eden Prime in the morning and I want you ready for action."
"Captain, I've got a call from Hackett. Patching him through," Joker announced. Shepard dismissed herself so Anderson could take the call in private.