Author's notes: Here we go, first instance of a short scene, and you basically hear what's happened so far. Don't worry, you'll get used to it! Hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: Mass Effect and its associated characters are all the propert of Bioware! Buy some today!

Mass Effect: Shepherds

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Systems Alliance N7 Log
Username: Ares23
Password: ******
WELCOME, LT. RAMSHIEP
Entry 3 (2183): Our mission's been cleared, and we're now being led by the first human Spectre. Would have liked it if we had the help of the first Hanar Spectre, but you can't win 'em all. Even without such a prize, the party's starting to get exotic. It's the first time I've worked with a Quarian, and Tali's already teacher's pet. I expected Officer Vakarian to have a good head in battle, of course, but the krogan surprised me; he's nearly as quick as Shepard, and his judgement's just as sound. Commander let the krogan straight-up shotgun Fist. Heh. Fist. I was a bit outraged, but really? Fist? We did the Citadel a favour.
EDIT (2185): Seriously? Fist? Tali, now that I'm wiser, I know you're reading this, or Shepard's hacked the logs and given them to you. So allow me to reiterate: You thought to go to a man whose name was Fist? And don't give me any of that 'alien tongues' stuff, I know your suit has a translator.
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The flash forged target in the range exploded just above the neck.

Alan hummed in admiration while the Turian waited for the rifle to cool down.

"I thought nobody'd find that spot in the cover. Does C-Sec often require you to be the best marksman on the Citadel?"

Garrus laughed that throaty, double layered laugh all Turians possessed. The first analogy that came to mind was a layer cake, and try as he might, he couldn't get rid of it, so it stuck.

"Not always, but time in the military helps. Turian, remember?"

"Oh, right. Sorry."

"Nothing to apologise for."

The human looked down, focusing on the programming terminal and inputting variables. He found it strange that he was forgetting cultural details like that, considering he read up on the recorded Codex entries about each known species so far. Like, obsessively.

Then again, perhaps it wasn't so strange. The more he got to know them, the more human these beings seemed. Not in a racist 'humanity is the yardstick' view, but they had the same feelings, the same doubts, the same passions as he did. Some were more pronounced, others were different, and some goals and creeds would be considered unusual to humans, but he could understand them.

Well, every one of them except Wrex. Eh, he'll come around.

"So, that armour I saw. Back on the Citadel. What is it, exactly?"

Alan rose from the firing range's terminal briefly, lighting up his omnitool. In a microsecond, bright plates assembled upon his body like a shell.

"Tech armour, Alliance issued. Omnitool flash forges strategic armour plating from key components, and a corresponding biotic field suspends these plates around me. It's, ah, difficult to manage, so it's only authorised for qualified tech/biotic specialists."

"Soooo I can't use it."

"Not unless you've been chugging eezo, but it does make me a useful, durable distraction, as you and Shepard found out."

Garrus's mouth turned an inch, but the lieutenant wasn't sure whether that was a smile or not. His tone, however, was casual and amiable. Garrus was surprisingly friendly, for a Turian. The ones he worked with were all rather rigid.

"Yeah, that'll work."

The next target appeared, flashing red. A handful of blue figures materialised right beside it, and the virtual targets danced, weaved, and zigzagged in a programmed route while Garrus took aim. A few seconds later, the objective burst.

"Whoa. I didn't think you'd get that one."

Garrus stood back, confusion seen plainly in his eye without the visor. It was then that Alan realised his sniper rifle wasn't showing any signs of heat.

"That, uh, wasn't me."

That was when they saw the commander and his smoking rifle. No, not a double entendre at all.

"Gentlemen."

Ares stepped back quickly and saluted, but forgot that his tech armour was still on. His brow, on the other hand, did not, as the combination of strategic alloys batted it back. With a slight curse, he adjusted his salute and his stance.

"Commander."

Shepard laughed in his usual disarming way. Although by now, Ares knew that it could just as easily be alarming depending on the context.

"Just Shepard's fine. We'll be making the jump to the Artemis Tau cluster soon, Ares, so get ready. I'm bringing you and Wrex along for this one."

Garrus and Alan had a moment of shock.

"Wrex?"

Garrus counted the points on his fingers. Fortunately for him, one hand was all it took, so he didn't have a cartoonish moment of moving to the next.

"The krogan. To a dig site with a person of interest. And possibly some highly valuable prothean tech."

Shepard shot them. With a knowing look, not a firearm, so they felt curious rather than scared. Little did they know, the two were not always mutually exclusive.

"Exactly. You two fought beside him, but you're still unsure. Imagine how the rest of the ship feels about having him aboard. He helps get results, that'll be a step in the right direction."

The spacefaring warriors exchanged glances of varying degrees.

"That's...actually a good move." Ramshiep commented.

Like something Anderson would have done. Smooth way to build up your team's connections-

"That and I like the way he breaks things."

The flippancy with which he delivered that admission shoved Alan and Garrus back from slow realisation to dumbfounded shock. All his commander would do was smile winningly.

"Trust me, leftenant. I know what I'm doing. Now run that program again, I've got a Turian who needs schooling."

Aggressive. Eccentric. But he gets results. What's the worst that could happen?

A/N: Bear in mind. At this point, Ramshiep still thinks this is going to be a fairly orthodox op. He has no idea that the entire storyline and its protagonist belongs in an RPG franchise.