Orbiting Earth

Well, what about Shepard? Earthborn but no record of her family.

Doesn't have one, she was raised on the streets, learned to look out for herself.

She got most of her unit killed on Torfan.

She gets the job done, no matter what the cost.

Is that the kind of person we want protecting the galaxy?

That's the only kind of person who can protect the galaxy.

I'll make the call.

Corporal Jenkins rushed down the gangway as fast as his legs could carry him. He would not have bothered to hide his excitement if he could. After all, this was a brand new ship, state of the art prototype. Even if it was just a shakedown run there was a lot to be excited about.

As he came upon the ship he allowed himself a moment to stare in awe. The ship was like nothing he'd ever seen before. It's shape was slick and deadly with four massive fusion engines on its variable adjustable wings. The name "NORMANDY" was etched along the length of the hull in large bright letters. This ship might be little, but Jenkins suspected it could really surprise people with its ferocity.

'Kinda reminds me of mom's dog back on Eden Prime, that little guy was a monster.' Jenkins thought to himself with a smile. He quickly snapped out of his reverie and rushed to the Normandy's open port. 'I can't wait to see where we go from here."

The Normandy was still in 'clean dock' so the decontamination systems were offline. The doorway into the ship was completely open allowing Jenkins to run right in. As soon as he was inside he looked around, taking the environment in. Everything looked, felt, even smelled, brand new. The layout and design of the ship was unlike anything he had seen before. The CIC was aft of all of the other major systems and stations, and on the opposite end was the cockpit which oddly seemed bigger then what he had expected.

Looking around Jenkins spotted an older, balding man in an officer's jacket. Figuring he might be the one in charge Jenkins walked up to the man with all of the efficiency demanded of him by his drill instructor.

"Corporal Richard Jenkins, Reporting for Duty, sir!" Jenkins gave the man a crisp salute.

"I'm just the navigator here, son." Pressly said to the young marine, "Captain Anderson is not here yet so you'll want to check in with our XO." He pointed back towards a woman leaning over one of the consoles surrounding the CIC dressed in her standard issue casuals.

"Yes sir." Jenkins said with a nod, then saluted the Navigator for good measure before grabbing his gear and making his way back to the woman he'd been pointed to. Hearing Captain Anderson's name only fueled his excitment further as he realized he would soon get to serve under the famous Captain. He was so eager about the possibilities this entailed he wasn't really paying attention to the XO until he was next to her. As before he set down his gear and threw out another practiced salute.

"Corporal, Richard Jenkins, ma'am." He began.

"Yeah, I heard you over there with Pressly." The woman interrupted him as she stood up and looked directly at him. Jenkins's eyes went wide with recognition and it was only months of training from the Academy that allowed him to remain standing straight. She was taller than he had expected, short cropped black hair framing her sharp facial features. Her eyes, filled with an brilliant icy blue color, always felt like they were piercing right through you.

"Is there something wrong, Corporal?" she said with a strength in her voice that not even his Drill Sergeant could have matched.

"I-- I'm sorry, ma'am." Jenkins floundered under her gaze, "It's ... it's just, you're Commander Sara Shepard!"

"That's what it says on my tags." Shepard shot back critically, "It also means I'm your superior officer, and I expect you to act like it. Are we clear, Corporal?" Her tone, while calm, left absolutely no room for discussion, not that Jenkins had much to say. What can one say when they learn that they'll be serving under the infamous 'Butcher of Torfan'?

"Yes Ma'am!" Jenkins belted out the trained response loudly.

"The ship's VI already logged your arrival, Jenkins." Commander Shepard said, her voice much more casual as she scrolled through the information on her Omni-tool. "Your locker is on the lower deck, you can go ahead and stow your gear there. Captain Anderson will want to brief the crew once he arrives, until then you're free to walk around. I suggest you stay on board, however, we need to be ready to fly as soon as the Captain joins us."

"Yes, ma'am." Jenkins responded once again.

"Good, then you're dismissed. Go on, get moving." Shepard smiled. It was a warm friendly smile that only served to confuse Jenkins even more. It was nothing like what he would have expected from the infamous Commander.

Dutifully he grabbed his gear, saluted the Commander again, and made his way down to the garage as the she had instructed. Though his body moved towards his assigned locker his mind was somewhere else completely. Captain Anderson was one thing, but to have Commander Shepard on this ship as well, this was big, really big. Part of him was worried he wouldn't measure up, compared to those two Jenkins was little more than a grunt with no battle experience.

For the most part, however, he was excited; with the way this crew was shaping up there was no way they would be stuck on some boring guard duty or escort mission. A ship like this, with a crew like that, the brass was sure to send them to where the action is. For Jenkins that meant he'd finally get his shot to show how good he really is. Of course this would all probably have to wait till after the shakedown run, nothing interesting ever happened on those.

By the time he reached his locker he noticed there were a few other crew members in the area. Like him they probably had just arrived and were getting settled in as well. Jenkins's lingering shock must have been fairly self evident across his face from the way one of the crewmen looked at him with a knowing smile.

"I recognize that look," He said, "I'm guessing you noticed who our XO is too, huh?"

"Yeah," Jenkins managed to say once his mind refocused on the present. "Definitely not what I expected."

"Our XO?" Another of the crew spoke up, a woman standing next to him. She had been rummaging through her locker but stopped and looked up at the other two curiously. "What's so special about her?"

"Don't tell me you didn't recognize her." The first crewmate said, his tone belaboring the fact that any answer should have been obvious.

"I haven't had the chance to talk to her yet," She simply shrugged in response, "You gonna tell me why I should?"

"That's Lieutenant Commander Sara Shepard." Jenkins answered proudly.

"You probably know her best from her actions on Torfan." The other crewman explained with a hint of sarcasm in his voice, "She's the one who led the final assault."

"Wait you mean THE Torfan assault? That was her?" the woman was clearly impressed, or perhaps just embarrassed she had not made the connection before now.

"Yup, that's the Torfan Butcher." the other man added.

"I read about her back at the academy." Jenkins continued, "Torfan was required study, a lesson in 'how to get the job done' according to my instructor."

"I heard she killed every single criminal in the enemy base." The woman said with more than a hint of admiration in her voice. "She's the reason there hasn't been any major slaver attacks since Elysium. They say every criminal in the Terminus System still fears her name."

"They're not the only ones that should be afraid of her." The first crewman spoke like it was a whole conspiracy, "Don't forget she got her whole unit killed on Torfan."

"That's still nothing compared to the enemy losses that day." Jenkins spoke a bit more defensively then he had intended, "Besides it wasn't like her WHOLE unit got killed, a few of them survived."

"A few? Not very comforting when you think about it." the crewman shook his head, "Do you really think you'd be one of the survivors if you where there? Let's face it you go on a mission with her there's a good chance you won't come back."

"I think you just worry too much." The woman said dismissively.

"I don't think so." He continued, "She's got a reputation for being downright bloodthirsty. And that's before you consider all the rumors."

"What rumors?" Jenkins asked.

"Scuttlebutt says Torfan was nothing like the stuff she's been doing for the past five years." He began in a quiet rant. "The way I heard it, the top brass was so impressed with how she got the job done that they put her to work on a bunch of scary assignments afterwards. I'm talking seriously deadly, dangerous, Black Ops stuff. But if you ask me, you know what the really scary part it? She survived. She completed every single assignment they gave her, every damn one."

"I don't follow." His fellow crewmate said as she looked at him quizzically.

"Think about it." he replied, "She's an N7 remember, they don't give those out to just anybody. You get that for taking, and completing, some of the deadliest missions the powers that be can throw at you. If she's here that means we're being sent on some 'grade A' deadly combat situations. Considering she has a habit of getting people on her team killed, well it doesn't look good for the rest of us."

"I don't care what you say." Jenkins responded quickly, "She's still one of the best officers in the fleet when it comes to top level missions. I personally can't wait for the opportunity to fight by her side."

"Damn, I didn't realize they made your particular shade of green, rookie." The crewman teased, "You really wanna get killed that bad just for a chance to see her in action?"

"Simply put? Hell yeah." Jenkins answered confidently, "We're all risking our lives regardless when we go on missions, that's just part of the job we signed up for. No matter what you think of her, Commander Shepard is extremely successful when it comes to completing the tough missions. If getting the job done means I get to learn from someone like her; totally worth the risk."

"Your funeral kid." he replied simply.

"No it's going to be your funeral if the XO catches you talking about her behind her back like that." A rough, seasoned male voice spoke up and all three of them turned around to see its source. The man before them was dressed in his officer's uniform, the insignia labeled him as a Staff Lieutenant. Jenkins had only barely realized he had been sitting down on the other end of the locker rack this whole time, probably dealing with his own gear.

"I- I'm sorry sir," The first crewman stammered out quickly, "I didn't mean any offense. But you gotta admit, after what she did on Torfan-"

"What the Commander did, or didn't do on Torfan is irrelevant," The Lieutenant told him sternly, with a slight emphasis on Shepard's rank, "She's here now, and she's our Executive Officer. If you're really so worried that she doesn't have your best interest in mind, or if you're really so scared that she'll get you killed, then I suggest you transfer off this boat while you still can. Otherwise, shut it soldier!"

"Yes sir, sorry sir." Properly chewed down, the other crewmen quickly moved back to what they had been doing. Jenkins however wasn't quite satisfied just yet.

Jenkins had always been a friendly person, and he decided that he should get to know the Lieutenant better. On top of that he wanted to make sure to start things off on the right foot. With his mind determined, the Corporal walked over to where the Lieutenant was now sitting.

"Corporal Richard Jenkins, sir." He began, "Just wanted to take the opportunity to introduce myself properly."

"Staff Lieutenant Kaiden Alenko," The Lieutenant responded, "Nice to meet you too."

"Don't worry about the others, sir." Jenkins said, trying to put in a good word for the other crew mates, if nothing else he had always been a team player. "You know how us grunts like to talk, we didn't mean nothing by it."

"Relax Corporal." Kaiden smiled, "I've been around enough to know how things work on the lower deck. I've just never been a fan of rumor-mongering."

"Well, to be fair sir." Jenkins began with an optimistic caution in his voice, "It's not like you can blame them. I mean Captain Anderson alone would have anyone talking for weeks. But Commander Shepard, well it's pretty obvious why everyone would want to talk about her."

"In my experience, Corporal, nothing that obvious is really what it seems." Kaiden smiled, "I know a thing or two about how rumors get started, and most of the time they're completely unfounded, if not flat out lies. I've heard all the rumors surrounding the Commander, and I can assure you none of them sound plausible enough to have actually happened."

"You've heard all the rumors sir?" Jenkins asked curiously.

"Just because I don't spread rumors doesn't mean I don't keep an ear to the ground." Kaiden explained, "But if you're fishing for stories don't bother. I meant what I said, these lips are sealed."

"Aw that's too bad. I'm sure you have some wild stories to tell about me." They recognized the new voice immediately and quickly stood to attention to face Commander Shepard as she walked towards them. "I particularly like the one where I breathe fire and shoot lighting out of my ass." Her smile and tone of voice made it clear that she was just joking around, but Jenkins still didn't feel entirely comfortable under her gaze. From the way the Lieutenant was fidgeting next to him, he suspected Kaiden didn't feel much better either.

"Sorry Commander," Kaiden apologized, "Didn't mean to talk about you behind your back like that."

"Don't bother apologizing, Alenko." Shepard said with a casual wave of her hand. "I've gotten used to my reputation, I'm not surprised when people want to talk about it." She suddenly flashed the lieutenant a smile and added, "Besides I'm a big girl, Lieutenant, I don't need you to defend me. But I appreciate it nonetheless."

"Uh ... Is there something we can do for you, ma'am?" Jenkins finally decided to say something, it was bad enough he was already starting to feel like a third wheel.

"Of course there is." Shepard answered, "Lieutenant Alenko, Corporal Jenkins, I need to speak with both of you upstairs in the mess. If you're not too busy gossiping you can join me there now."

As the Commander quickly turned and walked away, Kaiden and Jenkins shared a brief uncertain glace. It was obvious neither of them knew what was going on. But they were both good soldiers, and so did not hesitate to quickly finish storing their gear before following Shepard into the elevator.

The mess area seemed like little more than a picnic table in the middle of the ship to Jenkins, but considering the size of the Normandy he was hardly surprised. He was a bit surprised to find the Commander grabbing food from one of the processor units. Why was she getting something to eat in the middle of a briefing like this? Kaiden didn't seem to mind either way, he just sat down opposite the Commander and waited patiently for her. Jenkins was unsure what to do in this situation so he remained standing next to the table. Shepard must have sensed his thoughts, or probably just didn't like him standing there, so she turned to face him.

"I'm hungry," She explained, "I figure I'd kill two birds with one stone and grab some lunch while I talk to you two." Jenkins nodded accepting her explanation but remained standing. "You'll find I tend to run things much more casually then you might be used to from basic, Corporal. I've never been big on formalities, even in the best of times, so do me a favor and relax Jenkins. Have a seat, grab a bite to eat. You too Alenko."

"Yes, ma'am." Jenkins said and took a seat, trying to relax. Kaiden for his part merely shrugged in acknowledgement before standing to grab food much like the Commander had done. Jenkins decided he wasn't hungry having already had the chance to eat before coming onboard. As he watched the Commander and the Lieutenant share a meal however he slowly became more accustomed to the friendly atmosphere.

"So ma'am." Kaiden spoke up eventually, "Want to tell us why you asked us here?"

"Rest assured I bring good news, Lieutenant." Shepard smiled. Again the smile seemed so completely misplaced from what Jenkins had heard of the Commander, and yet he was beginning to realize this was closer to who she really was. "The Captain informed me that I would be leading a ground team on this ship. Which is great for me, I always preferred the hands on approach. Naturally the Captain also asked me to select two crewmembers to be on my team."

"So we're interviewing for the position then ma'am?" Kaiden asked smoothly.

"Nah, interviews are boring." Shepard said, "Like I told you, I'm not much for formalities. I've already made my decision, and you two are it."

"Really!" Jenkins nearly squealed, unable to contain his happiness, "Oh Wow, Thank you Ma'am! It'll be a real honor to fight alongside you!" A voice in the back of his head reminded him that his current behavior might be out of line, but that seed of doubt was quickly squashed when Shepard merely chuckled in response to his outburst.

"Not to rain on the Corporal's parade," Kaiden interjected calmly, "But if I might ask, Commander, why us?"

"It's a bit of a no-brainer really." Commander Shepard explained, "I picked you, Alenko, because you're the only biotic on board." Before he could help himself Jenkins's head snapped towards the Lieutenant. He had heard a great deal about biotics, learned a lot about them in training obviously, but until now he had never actually served alongside one before.

"The value of your special skills is obvious." Shepard simply continued, ignoring the Corporal's reaction. "But on top of that you're a very capable tech and a good soldier. You make a great asset to have out in the field." There was a pause as Shepard took a bite to eat before she continued, "Now I have a lot of infiltration experience; my particular expertise has always been surgical strikes. If the shit hits the fan, however, we'll need someone who can lay down some serious firepower and do it effectively. This is why I chose Jenkins here." She shifted her gaze to Jenkins who was starting to get used to it. "I saw your scores from the Academy, very impressive, but more importantly, you have a great attitude. You're definitely the kind of person I would want next to me in a firefight."

"I ... " Jenkins was lost for words, "I'm really happy you think that, ma'am." He was thinking about how stupid that sounded out loud when thankfully Kaiden decided to speak up as well.

"Thank you, Ma'am." He told Shepard, "I promise not to let you down."

"I'm sure you won't." Shepard replied.

"Say Commander," Kaiden continued, "Would you mind if I asked you a question?" Jenkins was curious about what Kaiden had to ask, and why he would ask now. Granted he really wanted to get to know the Commander better as well, but still felt more intimidated by her reputation then he would have liked to admit. So he was glad the Lieutenant had decided to ask instead.

"You wanna know about some of the rumors surrounding my 'exploits' right?" Shepard replied after studying Kaiden for a moment.

"If I'm out of line at all, just say so, ma'am." Kaiden replied casually, "Like you said, I'm the only biotic on the ship, which is not an uncommon situation for me. My point is I know a thing or two about dealing with any number of stupid rumors people might have about you."

"Really?" Shepard said jokingly, "Does this mean you can't read minds or cause my brain to explode just by looking at me?"

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Commander." Kaiden smiled back, "To be honest you'd be surprised how many times I've had to explain to my superior officer what it is that I can and can't actually do."

"Well don't worry Lieutenant." Shepard said reassuringly, "I don't claim to be an expert on the subject, but I've read up on the basics. I'm sure you can fill in any details along the way."

"I appreciate it." Kaiden said, "But I was really wondering about you. I figure it's only fair to give you a chance to clear the air regarding your exploits. If that's alright with you, ma'am."

"Well I'll make it easy for you Alenko. For both of you." The Commander looked back and forth between him and Jenkins. "I'm a very straight forward person, what you see is what you get. If you want to know anything about me, just ask."

"So... is it true then?" Jenkins ventured after a moment of silence, "About you running all those Black Ops missions."

"I sure as hell didn't sit on my ass for the past five years if that's what you mean." Shepard laughed, "I did get sent on a couple covert ops, most of which are classified I'm afraid. That said, I doubt I did anything nearly as interesting as the rumors might suggest. Most of the time I got shipped somewhere, located the target, put a bullet in his head, then went home."

"I'm sure you must have seen some excitement since Torfan." Jenkins insisted.

"Well sure," Shepard confessed, "There were a few exciting adventures here and there. But nothing compared to Torfan. When it comes down to it, the reason I got picked for those missions was because the brass knew I'd get the job done. It was less about 'This Mission's Dangerous', and more about 'Failure's Not an Option'."

Jenkins considered the Commander's words, wondering what to ask next, but before either he or the Lieutenant got the chance to ask anything else, they were interrupted by the effeminate voice of the Normandy's VI.

"Logged: Captain Anderson is aboard. XO Shepard stands relieved."

"Looks like the small talk is over." Shepard spoke as she got up, "Captain's here, so you all better head up top, he's going to want to brief us all right away."

"Aye, aye, ma'am" Jenkins said, he stood up and gave a salute to both of the officers.

Quickly the young Corporal made his way up the stairs to the ship's main control deck. He was all too eager to finally meet the famous Captain face to face. Thinking about all the possibilities, he had no idea what to expect. However as he stepped past the doors onto the main deck and looked across CIC, the very last thing he had expected to see was the imposing figure of a Turian Spectre standing next to Captain Anderson.

Author's Note: Just added a bit of proofing to the two chapters. I was mostly trying to explore the difference between the real Shepard verses the perception everyone has of her. I wanted to use Jenkins because he tends to be underused, instead I wanted people to get to know him and even connect with him a little bit which makes his eventual death more significant. His enthusiasm also provided a nice counterpoint to the fear that Shepard's reputation normally generates. If anything I feel like I down played the scrary reputation bit but I decided it wouldn't help to belabor the point.

p.s. To those of you who asked, I hope to have the next chapter up soon. I'm also in the market for Beta Readers to help spruce up my writing where it might be lacking.