"James," grunted Colonel Shepard.
Commander Shepard gave a pointed smile. "Beck."
The Shepards glared at each other.
Williams' Marines and the Commander's fire team watched their respective Shepards uncertainly. Their helmets were off (for the most part) and their guard was lowered. After the Geth's sudden retreat that left most of the synthetics destroyed, Eden Prime had gotten really quiet really fast. That's when the two groups of soldiers met up on a grassy field by the train station.
Alenko and Jenkins carefully laid Nihlus on the ground. The Turian was in some kind of coma as far as the Lieutenant could tell. Something to do with the beacon. The Normandy was en route, but it would take a few minutes to arrive.
"Shepard?" asked Kaiden.
Both Commander and Colonel turned their glares onto the LT. "What?" they both said in unison.
"Um… Never mind."
"Wait," said Jenkins, recognition in his eye. He took an excited step forward. "You're Colonel Beck Shepard, right?"
"You've got that right Corporal," said Beck. She took careful note of his rampant enthusiasm. Her brother James had complained often about the death of one of his Marines on Eden Prime – a man, he said, who had been eager to prove himself and died before he accomplished anything. Beck recognized the Marine from a corpse she once knew. "You must be Richard Jenkins," she said, smirking.
The Corporal, colored pink that someone like the Colonel would know him by name, had difficulty replying.
"The Colonel Shepard?" Alenko asked, incredulous. "As in Shepard's twin sister Shepard?"
The Colonel spread her hands apologetically.
Commander Shepard ran his hands over his face. "I guess introductions are in order," he said with a sigh. "I'm Commander James Shepard," he said, pointing to himself. He pointed to Alenko. "This is Lieutenant Kaiden Alenko. And this," he finished, indicating Jenkins, "is Corporal Richard Jenkins. The Turian on the ground is a Spectre. Nihlus Kryik." The awkwardness of running into his sister had been avoided the first time around. By merit of being exposed to the beacon, he was thoroughly unconscious. He had woken up on the Normandy to the delightful little surprise that his sister now served on the same frigate he did.
Beck was unenthusiastic. "Hi. I'm Beck," she said flatly. "And… I'm pretty sure my guys can handle introducing themselves."
"Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams, 2nd Frontier Division" said a female Marine in white armor, snapping off a salute. She'd never run into a situation where two separate groups of soldiers stopped to introduce themselves to one another unless they were merging into one unit, but if that's what Colonel Shepard wanted to do, then that's what Colonel Shepard wanted to do.
Howard Wagner, Icarus North, John Methuselah, Nirali Bhatia, Sarah Gomez, and Atticus Richards followed suit in introductions.
"Now we're a big fucking happy family," said Beck cheerfully. "Williams," she continued, turning, "on a scale of seven to eight, how much do you want to serve on an experimental Alliance stealth frigate and roam the galaxy instead of rotting in a colonial garrison?"
"Uh," said Williams. "Eight?" The Chief wasn't sure whether to take that as an offer or an insult.
"Didya hear that James?" Beck asked. "The woman said eight."
James Shepard winced. If he could have traded places with Nihlus, he would have. As much as he wanted Ashley on the crew, he couldn't exactly single her out from her Marines. It would have been a lot easier if the Geth had wiped out her entire unit—not that he would have preferred that outcome. "Listen guys," he said, "I'm going to be tracking down whoever's responsible for this attack, and I'm going to need some help to do it. You were all damn helpful back there." Except for Saren being dead. If Shepard had another minute with their old nemesis, he might have talked him down. They would have had another ally against the Reapers. "What I'm saying is," he continued, "if you want to be a part of this, I'll make it happen. Now it's not going to be safe. This will be a high profile, extremely dangerous assignment. Saying yes might very well mean your death. Think it over."
"Excuse me, Commander," said Alenko, pulling Shepard aside so that he could speak with him in private. "You can't offer these soldiers a position on the Normandy," he stated. "You don't have the authority to transfer them out of their division, and if you did, you're not in charge of the ship. You can't put them on the crew roster. You're not Captain Anderson."
"Look. I know, Lieutenant," James whispered. "This is as painful for me as it is for you. Just go along with it."
Alenko thought about arguing for a moment, but let it go. The Commander did seem more on edge than usual. He'd try to get answers later.
James turned to watch the group of Marines. "Any takers?" he asked anxiously.
Williams considered the offer. None of it made sense, like everything else that had happened today. Why was it that Beck's brother, a famous Commander who knew absolutely zero about Williams, was now offering her unit a chance to take part in some secret Spectre related mission? The whole thing was circumspect. But her career in the Marines wasn't getting any better with her family's reputation, and Ashley knew she'd regret refusing to take part in what could be the stupidest thing she had ever done, even if it meant she could stay with her unit.
"Sign me up, Commander," said Williams, wincing inwardly."I'd like a chance to get at the bastard who thought they could tango with the Marines."
"Welcome to the team, Chief!" Jenkins said, completely missing the bizarre nature of the situation. As far as he was concerned, anything Commander Shepard said, went.
Alenko shook his head.
Serviceman Bhatia cleared her throat. Her armor was white with blue detailing, and sported a red cross on one shoulder. "Chief Williams is the most capable soldier I have ever had the honor of serving with," Bhatia said with a slight Indian accent, "If she is going, then I will go too."
None of the other Marines in the Williams' unit volunteered. The Chief was sorry to leave them, but at least Nirali decided to come along. She was a good friend.
James breathed a sigh of relief. Only one extra addition, and it was one he was familiar with. Having Serviceman Bhatia on-board was better than promising her husband that he'd try to recover her body when he had no intention of doing so.
"Sorry Chief," said Corporal Methuselah. "I was born on the ground. I'd rather stay on the ground. You'll always be my favorite Gunnery Chief, though."
"Thanks, Corporal," said Williams. "That means a lot coming from you." It actually didn't.
"Colonel Shepard needs everyday heroes here," North said respectfully, "to help rebuild the colony. I couldn't sacrifice the needs of the people, even for a shot at glory."
Beck Shepard squinted off into the distance. "Yeah, I guess I'm going too."
"So am I," North affirmed.
Methuselah had a change of mind as well. "On second thought, I don't think I could go without my favorite Gunnery Chief."
Having nothing better to do, Wagner, Gomez, and Richards came forward after.
Commander Shepard furrowed his brow. Getting Anderson to get a decorated war hero like Beck on the ship would be one thing. Getting him to take Williams onboard was another, without Jenkins being KIA. Convincing him to take on a full squad of colonial Marines…. "Huh."
"Hey look," said Beck, shielding her eyes from the sun as it emerged from the clouds. "Here comes the November Sierra Romeo One."
Hey guys! If you've read this far and would like to read more, read this part.
I would never have written past the first five chapters if I didn't receive any feedback from you guys.
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