A/N: Whoa! I've gotten an overwhelming number of reviews, this is beautiful. Thank you guys so much.
Though, there were two or three of you who were confused about timeline and stating that this situation is OOC. This is an AU story; all the characters are at the same age as they were in the first game however their D.O.B is shifted backwards approximately 21 years. There are reasons why the characters have to go along with it, and Shepard's is outline within this chapter. The others aren't in a position to really do anything about it either. Garrus' reason for going along with it will be told in a later chapter.
Hopefully that clears up any confusion!
No.
No, she refused to believe this was happening. It was absurd, outrageous, and insanely stupid.
Her jaw clenched so tight that it ached, her teeth gritting together as her hands curled into fists. Adrenaline poured through her veins, telling her to get out of there. It was a fight she could never win. For a moment all she could see was Udina's stupid face and hear blood rushing past her ears.
"Bullshit," Kaidan snarled under his breath, and Anderson placed a hand on Shepard's shoulder.
Instead of acknowledging either of them, she shrugged Anderson's hand off her shoulder. She squared her shoulders and took a deep breath. If Udina wanted to play this game, then fine. She would play it, for now. To put on a show for the council and Turians. The moment they got out of these meeting, she would demand answers and demand Udina sort this shit out. She was a soldier, not some politician's daughter.
She stepped forwards, her entire body stiff and moving automatically. Her eyes narrowed a fraction as Udina nodded and turned around. Satisfied that she had complied so easily. Yet, in her mind she was debating whether if anyone would be too upset if he wound up dead the next morning. A new Ambassador might mean a new treaty written up.
The Councillors began to speak, their voices flowing in one ear and out the other. She did as a good soldierder should, stood still and at the ready. Not responding to anything other than her superiors orders. She filed away important details but for the majority, she forgot what they said immediately after they said it. Damn aliens.
Why couldn't humanity just hole up in their system until they rebuild their military strength and then surge out again instead of dealing with this bullshit? Politics should never mix with military.
But…words can win a war. She knew that, and accepted it. Many of her personal wars had been settled with her ability to convince other people that her way of thinking was right. Yet, this was not how to win this war.
If she could, she would've marched right up and shoved Udina out of the way. Telling the council to remove the arranged marriage out of the treaty. Combined colonies or maybe large cooperative project would further along the peace. If they were to give Intel on their cultures and species would stop them being seen as 'alien'. Forcing two random soldiers to marry was ridiculous!
Yet, she was just a soldier. She didn't have an army at her back, she had herself. Right now, she wasn't armed. Her words wouldn't carry to the Turians. She knew enough about their culture that if she spoke out of turn they might see that as a weakness of the humans and exploit it. She had to keep her cool, pretend that all her anger was because she had to marry a Turian, when all her anger really was for Udina and the principle of the situation.
He was stripping away her control by doing this. Combining her life with another's and making her Humanities puppet in a fucked up game.
"Do both of you agree to this match?" the Asari Councillor spoke up.
There was her way out. She just needed to take it. As she opened her mouth to speak, she heard the Turian, Vakarian, speak up.
"Of course," his voice was curt, and his tone was near sarcasm. He glanced over at her, "but, if my…fiancée has objections…that's another thing."
Looking over at him, she saw a shockingly human facial expression on the alien. A look of angry pleading. Begging her to object. However, doing so would leave a bitter taste in her mouth now. If she objected, then they would see cowardice. A soldierder not being brave enough to spend the rest of her life with a Turian, let alone five minutes. She gritted her teeth and looked back to the council.
"How could I say no?" she checked her tone before she sneered the words out, going for a more neutral tone. Concealing just how deep her anger ran. She didn't want the Turians to see her anger as any sort of weakness. She needed to be the cool headed soldierder she was on the front lines, the one that people respected or feared.
The councillor's said a few more words before adjourning the meeting. The two turned and left from sight, and once they were gone, anger murmurs began to rise from the crowds.
Jane did a 180 degree turn and made a beeline for the elevator. Her anger and frustration putting speed to her steps. She hadn't even realized when she reached the elevator that she ignored Anderson and Kaidan's calls to her. Quite frankly, she didn't give a damn. Talking was not what she needed to do right now. She wanted – no, needed to hit something. Her fingers ached and her arm felt tense.
The elevator doors opened and she stepped on. The others were still too far away to make it to the elevator before she hit a button- any button- to take her away.
A hand shot out, stopping the doors from fully closing. Udina stepped onto the elevator, his expression cultured and calm. He hit a button that would take him to the citadel embassies before linking his hands behind his back. The doors slid closed.
The moment they did, Udina spoke up. "Here I thought you'd put up a bigger fight, I'm surprised you didn't."
"Oh, the fight hasn't even started," she snarled, turning towards him and jabbing a finger into his chest. He flinched and she felt petty satisfaction, "What the hell was that bullshit? It's well known in the Alliance that Kaidan and I are in a relationship, and have been since nearly the start of the damnable war. There are other more available soldiers out there."
"None are you," Udina replied, his voice was smug and it made her wish that she could wipe it off his face without dealing with major repercussions. "Besides, if the Major had wanted to propose, he would've done so already. Not only does the Alliance respect you, but the Turian military respect your strategies even if they are brutal and used against their own people."
"There are other well respected admirals who are single," Jane reasoned, "It would make more sense if they were the ones in this position. It would also be less hazardous to your health if they were in this position."
"You don't scare me," he sneered, his eyes narrowing, "You talk big outside of a battlefield, but yet you wouldn't do a thing to follow up those actions."
"Get someone else to dance to your tune, Ambassador, or this time my big talk will become more than talk. I can always make an exception to my rules," she lowered her voice, threatening him. If he needed something more…pointed, she had come up with enough scenarios that would do well enough to scare him into submission.
The elevator doors opened before she could issue any more threats, and in front of a crowd she didn't want to show dissent. The human fleets were already thin enough as it was, if another species decided that the humans were nothing but a bunch of warmongers who fought amongst themselves, then the human race wouldn't last too much longer.
He stepped off, probably expecting her to continue on to wherever she was heading, but instead she followed. He headed further into the embassies and she followed, waiting until they were alone to continue his threats. If threats didn't work, she knew that yelling at people generally helped speed things along.
Finally, he entered a room that over looked the presidium. It was Spartan like in the decoration, nothing in the room besides a desk, chair, and terminal.
"I don't know what you expect me to do; you did agree to this yourself. The council would have that recorded for legal reasons," his smug look as he sat down. She had started to raise her arm to punch him when the doors hissed open.
Kaidan and Anderson stormed in, well the former stormed in. Anderson walked in behind him, angry more refined in his approach. Kaidan glared at the ambassador, hatred pouring out of every seam.
"Shepard isn't some object you can bid and sell when you feel like it, Udina."
"See? You have no support here, Udina. I'm sure even the Turians would be overjoyed if we stopped this absurdity from happening," Jane waved a hand to the side. It took a bit of effort to force her hand to unclench, "Whatever you think you can gain from this marriage won't work. Find someone else."
"So, you refuse to marry Commander Vakarian?" Udina leaned back, touching the tips of his fingers together in a steeple. He regarded her coolly, "You refuse to do your duty as a soldier and fulfill the terms of the treaty? If the treaty breaks, then we'll return to war. If you refuse, Shepard, then I have no choice but to title you as a warmonger who threw a weakened military back against the galaxies strongest military. How fast do you think they'll strip you of your ship, your crew, your dignity? Your titles removed. It won't be an honourable discharge. Maybe they'll be kind enough to let you live out the rest of your life as a poor beggar woman like you use to be-"
"That's too far, Udina!" Anderson interrupted the man. "Do not threaten to remove her from her position when you don't have the power to do that."
"You're a representative not our leader," Kaidan agreed, crossing his arms, "It would be easier to replace you than the Captain here."
"I can't do it personally, no, but I can present the evidence to the board, and they will make the connections. Shepard's incarceration will be all on her shoulders, if she refuses, then she starts another war before the first one has ended. We're just at a cease fire right now, until all ships get the word to pull back to their own systems; we're walking a fine line."
Jane's jaw clenched. His threats cut too deep. They used their claws and dug into her flesh and clenched tight. Everything she worked so hard for drained out of her without a few short words. If she and Udina were at war, he was winning. His words were more cultured and perfected than hers would be. He had more skill in this sort of battle than she ever would.
"Then we'll defend her. She doesn't want the war to continue, they'll listen to us."
"Will they?" Udina asked, and Jane's eyes closed. He had them, she knew it. He had walked them into a box with no exits. Trapped.
"No, they won't. You both are too close personally to be able to have any say in such a meeting. It will be based on facts, and you have nothing to prove otherwise besides words. My refusal of this would be as much evidence as the board would need to finally strip away my titles," Jane's entire body went numb, the tension in her muscles drained away as she realized that she was up against a rock and a hard place. There was nothing she could do. Not immediately at least.
Udina grinned, and he stood up. "See, once you stop being a ruthless killer, you can see the bigger picture."
"Yeah, I can. I can also see that you're a sad lonely old man who gets off on being able to one up people. How the hell you got to be Ambassador will baffle me. If I do end up befriending my fiancé, then I'm sure you'll find some Turian talons in your gut in the future. It's either that, or my gun to your head. Either way, I will get you back for taking my life away from me," she promised before turning on her heel and leaving the room. Her anger returning just as swiftly as it left.
This wasn't over. I wouldn't be over until she got him back for this. That she could promise herself.
A/N: I'll be updating this story every Sunday (fingers crossed) and while I'm pretty sure where this story is going to go, I'd like to hear what you guys want to read about in this situation.
Leave a review with suggestions!
