Kaidan let himself fall into the navigator's chair next to Joker in the cockpit, the bright orange screens around him flashing wildly. He swiped it away lazily and stared out the window at the citadel docking day.

"I can't wait to get out of here." He said as he watched the bustle of ships coming and going around them. " It feels like we've been sitting here all day." He groaned running a hand through his hair.

"At least you get to actually stuff. I've spent the last two hours counting the blots in the paneling around the window. I win." Joker said callously as his hands twitched restlessly on the armrests of his chair. Kaidan laughed despite the other man's bitter tone.

"Oh yeah? How many are there then?" He asked fully expecting Joker not to have a real answer.

"266." The pilot said, much to the disbelief of the biotic beside him.

"Damn," Kaidan chuckled, "you really are bored."

"Yeah well, I'm bored and crippled so unlike all you marinas who've been running around stocking shit I've been here, watching the dust," Joker said with a gesture out the window.

"I'm so sick of this view. I just want the Captain to get back so we can go already." He said we were shipping out today, and for everyone to be here by 0500 but, here we are and nothing."

"It takes time to get everything and everyone aboard," Kaidan argued.

"I just want to leave." Joker groaned as he slid further down into his seat.

"Was shore leave that bad?"

"Yes. I have one hell of a hangover. You stupid biotic. Given how much we drank last night you should be as miserable as I am." Joker complained as he rubbed the heels of his hands against his eyes. Kaiden laughed remembering the night before, the two had gone to a local bar filled to the brim with alliance officials all too busy to change out of their BDU's. Each dreading their inevitable further abroad a starship with no booze until the next shore leave, seeking their fill in the small dive.

"Did you ever go talk to that girl after I left?" Joker asked, wincing away from the bright white lights of the docking day. Again Kaidan chuckled and shook his head.

"No, I left shortly after you did."

"That's the whole reason I left!" Joker said as he threw his hands in the air around him. "You laid all the groundwork, you bought her a drink, she smiled at you. Why didn't you go talk to her?" Kaiden watched a keeper distantly as it fixed a panel a few ships away.

"I don't know." He said lowly before looking over at his friend with a suspicious half smile. "You only left last night because you can't hold your liquor and were about to throw up all over the table. Not for my benefit."

"Whatever." He said waving off the Lieutenant. "You were just a-"Joker was cut off as Navigator Pressly strolled in the cockpit, his hand folded tightly behind his back, his face set hard in determination. He looked slowly at both men, the two quickly started shifting through screens and charts in an attempt to look busy.

"If you'll excuse me, gentlemen, I need the ship-wide coms please." Joker quickly agreed and set up a channel for the navigator who nodded his thanks before he cleared his throat and starting his ship-wide announcement.

"Attention all crew, this is Navigator Pressly; I've just been informed by Captain Anderson that he will be arriving back momentarily. He asks that I kindly remind all of you to maintain utmost professionalism and respect with XO Commander Shepard when she arrives in his company. That will be all." Joker logged the navigator off and the man said but one thing before he stalked off.

"That means both of you." Joker looked back at the retreating man with confusion.

"What's that suppose to mean?" He asked but Kaiden only shrugged before quickly getting rid of the screen he had used to busy himself.

"This Commander Shepard? You ever met her before?" the marine asked.

"Nope, but from what I hear she's a real hard ass. Probably some old vet with an attitude problem. How much you wanna bet she has a ton of scars and scares children?" Joker asked with a wicked smile. The two men shared a laughed before Jeff asked a question of his own.

"You know anything about her?"

"Not really, I've heard of her but that's it. She was pretty big in the News awhile back, something to do with a thresher maw attack on her unit."

"Right, right, I remember that. Out on some remote colony right?" Kaidan nodded, there was little he could remember about the alliance disaster from years earlier.

"Yeah that's right, Akuze, she was the only survivor wasn't she?" Kaidan nodded again, the name sounded right.

"Well, here's hoping whatever we're doing doesn't end like that."

"At least she survived. I've never known of anyone facing toe to toe with a thresher maw and surviving. Except maybe a krogan."

"How many krogan do you know?" Joker asked,

"Not many." He said with a smile as he swiped through the panel in front of him as it alerted him that someone was coming aboard.

"Captains back," Joker said as he pulled up the flight controls eagerly. At the swishing noise of the large door panel, Kaidan turned to see Captain Anderson stride abroad the ship, next to him the famed Commander Shepard.

She was not an old hard ass vet that scared children. She had short blond hair tucked behind both ears, offsetting wide round eyes the color of polished gunmetal. Her skin was a pale like she didn't spend a lot of time planetside and the only scar she had was two thin line in the shape of an X just below her right eye. If Kaidan had to guess she was probably even younger than he was. She looked around the ship with a bemused smile, casting her gaze in their direction, Kaidan froze. He had seen her before.

Anderson stood beside her proudly as he led the woman into the cockpit, Kaidan swung back around in his seat to try and look busy with the monitors. He hoped the Captain would change his mind and led her elsewhere. But Anderson was not a merciful man and once he entered the cockpit he cleared his throat waiting for the attention of both the men. Duty bound Kaidan quickly sprung to his feet to greet them upon entry.

"Commander Shepard, let me introduce you to our pilot Jeff Moreau," Anderson said gesturing to the Jeff, who remained in his seat. Joker saluted the Commander, as was protocol,

"That's me, but everyone just calls me Joker. Saves time." He said lightly,

"Good to meet you, Joker, I hear your one of the best." The Commander said as she reached out a hand to the pilot who hardily shook it before jumping in to correct her, cause god forbid Jeff Moreau was ever modiste.

"I am the best, no contest there." The Captain just glared at the younger man as Shepard managed a chuckle. A sweet sound, one Kaidan didn't think a solider capable of.

"And this is Staff Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko head of the ship's Marine detail." Kaidan stood tall as he reached out a hand after saluting the commander.

"Honour to you meet you, ma'am." He said formally, she smiled and shook his hand just as she had with the man before him.

"The honors mine Lieutenant." Her voice was somehow firm but welcoming at the same time. Her light eyes were intense as they met his and Kaiden would have looked away were the Captain not right there. Kaidan had already been warned about his behavior and didn't want to come off as rude. With Shepard standing in front of him now he was surprised to find that she was, in fact, a great deal shorter than him, probably only as tall as his neck. That somehow made him think that she was all the more dangerous because of it.

"Well, if you gentlemen will excuse us, there is a great deal more we have to take care of before we depart." The Captain said and both men in the cockpit saluted him and the Commander as they departed. Joker spun his chair to face Kaidan as the marine slumped back in his own seat.

"So correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't she the girl from the bar last night?" Joker asked, a large smile budding over his face.

"Yes," Kaidan muttered in defeat as he closed his eyes waiting for whatever his friend was about to say. But instead of saying anything the pilot burst into laughter.

"Not only is our new XO a fucking knock out, but a knock out you were after at the bar last night. Oh, this makes me feel so much better about my own mistakes."

"Shut up." Kaidan groaned.

Out of all the woman that had been at that bar last night, why did the only one that caught his attention have to be his new commanding officer?

"I guess it's a good thing you chickened out after all. Can you imagine what would have happened if you had scored with her last night only to find out she's your boss?" Joker continued to laugh while Kaidan internally scolded himself. Why?

Joker continued his taunting for the next serval minutes, at the very least it seemed to lift the pilot's spirits.

"Do you think she recognized you?"

"I doubt it, the bar was dark and we were across the room from one another."

"That didn't stop you from recognizing her."

"Yeah, well, did you see her? There are a select few soldiers I've seen able to make BDU's look faltering. She's one of them. But that's beside the point, can we just forget about this? Please."

Hey guys, hope you're enjoying the story so far. Its mostly going to consist of one-shots throughout the ME series, going through game one and probably continuing into games two and three. Please leave comments and options I'd love to you what your thoughts are.