"I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend."

- J.R.R Tolkien, The Two Towers


Standing Off


In the world of animals, there's nothing more exciting than a fight between two predators. The male fights to the death for their territory and family. But that doesn't mean females just rely on the males. In fact, a fight between two females is more brutal, with less mercy, and unstoppable.

And humans aren't any different.

Since olden times, people have talked about the Amazons, the fierce female warriors feared by males. They are very well known for their combat skills. But even the wars of legend paled in comparison to the fight between the two Shepards.

One was a living legend. The other was only an imposter. Both fought for their territory and life.

Their omni-blades were crashing. Each hit caused a loud clank and spark. Shepard was stronger, but her twin was nimbler. Soon, she realized she wasn't going to win in a close-up fight, so the Commander kicked the clone off her using a nova blast.

"You're the broken doll." The clone splat. She regained her balance and began to shoot at Shepard. "This ship, this life, Kaidan, they're all mine. You do not deserve them!"

Shepard tried her best to avoid the gunshot, but the M76-Revenant her twin used could shoot too fast. The Commander had to stop behind a create to recover her shield.

"How can I be of service, ma'am?" A voice that should belong to EDI rang from the intercom over her head.

Confused, Shepard was lost for words.

"I can read your and your allies position. Uncle Garrus, Uncle Wrex, Aunty Liara, and Aunty Tali... Well, how could you have me worry for so long, ma'am?"

"B?" She was shocked now. "Where are you?"

"None of your concern, for now at least. May I bring your attention to your doppelganger ahead?"

At Shepard's side, Garrus shot one of the mercenaries. He was tempted to interfere with the conversation, but he was smarter than that. Butterfly's voice was calm, but sounded sarcastic, and he knew she was pissed off.

If there was anything more terrifying than the Shepard women, it was angry Shepard women.

But the girl didn't forget about him. "I know you're there, Uncle Garrus. How could you fool me to think you were dead?"

Uh-oh, he was in trouble. The last woman who made him feel like a boy was his mother. He couldn't believe the girl could do it. "Talk to you later, Butterfly. I'm kind of... well, busy."

"I trust you won't shoot the wall. It has just been upgraded and painted. Aunty EDI wouldn't be so grateful if she found her interior marked with bullet holes."

She is your child. He gestured to Shepard.

The Commander laughed dryly.

"By all means, daddy, I mean Major Alenko ordered me to bring the Normandy down. This is my first time controlling her, so it might be a rough landing. Be prepared."

"You're in the cockpit?" Shepard asked. When she and the team entered the Normandy, she sent Tali, Liara and Javik to the cockpit to retake the ship. But they still were trying to open the barrier that sealed the cockpit. "Were you the one who opened the airlock for us?"

Two of mercenaries flew away. Wrex made his way to their cover in all his glory and interrupted the conversation. "What are you two doing here? Why don't go kick that clone's ass?"

Another wave of CAT6 units hit. But they suddenly lost their balance as the Normandy swooped down. The crates slid along the tilting floor.

"Shep, what's happening?" Tali yelled via the comm link. In the background, Liara and Javik were screaming like a little girl and boy.

"B is trying to take the ship down. Keep trying to enter the cockpit and give her a hand." She couldn't talk long. The clone and her lackeys were still shooting at them.

"But... There's no one in the cockpit! I can see through the barrier here."

"What!"

"Can we talk about it later?" Butterfly cut them off. "Your clone is aiming a rocket launcher at you now.

"Rocket launcher? Is she insane? That will blow us..." Garrus paused in horror as he heard a familiar noise. "Is that what I'm hearing?"

Wrex nodded solemnly. "I think it is."

It was the sound of an opening cargo bay door. Normally, the wind would pull everything out but they were safe as long as the shield on the door was still on.

However, if they were blown off by the launcher, it was a death sentence.

"Hold on to something, people." Butterfly warned. The turian had a bad feeling about it. "What would Uncle Jeff say? Oh, it's rock and roll time!"

"I don't know what that means. But I know she is yours. So this could be..."

Wrex didn't finish his sentence. The Normandy suddenly tilted to the left about 45 degree. He was sure Butterfly wanted to roll 360 degree but stopped for some reason. Kaidan told her to stop, perhaps.

"She flies as bad as you, but at least she isn't as crazy as you." The krogan yelled.

"She got some sanity from her dad. Thank the spirits." Garrus groaned as he tried to grab something to keep himself from sliding away.

Shepard wanted to say something, but the ship suddenly tilted to the other side. They had to hold on to a pole.

"I take it back. She is as crazy as you!" Because of his weight, Wrex rolled away and crushed one of the mercenaries.

It was funny, but Shepard didn't have time to laugh. She heard a loud 'thud' and her yelling voice. When she turned around, she saw a rocket launcher flying off the door. The clone tried to grab it, but the Normandy shook and caused her to lose her balance.

"I hope it won't fall on someone's head." Butterfly said aloud.

"Let's worry that you might accidentally throw us off the ship, alright?" Now she knew how Kaidan felt when she almost drove the Mako off the road on Feros. "Stop swinging and close that door, B."

"Aye, aye, ma'am."

The door slowly closed. Shepard didn't wait for it to shut close or even wait for the floor to return to normalcy. Using a biotic charge, she knocked her clone down. Some of the CAT6 still struggled but Garrus and Wrex took them down.

It was not over, though. The two women still wrestled on the floor. The turian and krogan couldn't get a clear shot, so they only watched them fight.

"You old bag, why didn't you just rot in that vault?" Although she was straddled, the clone shot a punch.

Shepard evaded it, so it missed her right eye only a few inches. Still, the hit caused a cut just under her eyebrow. "I would never let anyone steal my ship, my man, or my family. Even myself."

"Of course. He is very well endowed and a sex god. No doubt you are very fond of him."

That woman had a death wish. Garrus swallowed hard. Those words were like shouting 'kill me!' which Shepard would be more than glad to oblige.

"Die, bitch!" The Commander blasted out. She had already sacrificed a lot of things in this war. Kaidan and Butterfly were her world. She wouldn't lose them to anyone. Not even herself.

Her biotic punch hit the floor. The clone evaded and knocked her with an elbow. The situation had changed but nothing could stop them. Two furious women wrestled, fought with bare hands like lionesses. It was a fight of life and death. Even Wrex looked upon them in awe.

"Hey, anyone read me?" Someone called his channel.

Garrus remembered the voice well. He hurried to pick up the call. "James, where are you?"

"I'm at the docking bay. We already cleared the CAT6 units. After my team held them to give you a way into the Normandy, how are you guys doing now?"

"We split into two squads. Tali, Liara, and Javik went to the cockpit to retake control. Last I know, they were trying to break the barrier to enter it. We're already done with the lackeys. Shepard is fighting hand-to-hand with the clone, though."

He heard the lieutenant gulp. The man sounded uncertain. "How... How about Princess? Jack is in their apartment. She went there as the Major requested but found it deserted. Did the clone take her and her dad?"

"Don't know where she is yet. But she is fine and took control of the ship. Well, speaking of which, where's your dad, Butterfly?" The last sentence, the turian asked the girl via intercom.

"Last I saw him, he was suiting up in the captain cabin..." She sounded troubled. "I took my eyes off him only a few minutes... and then he was gone! He still hasn't recovered fully. He can't even walk straight."

"Hey, my girl, calm down." Garrus soothed her. "EDI can trace our signal and vitals on sight. Perhaps you can try..."

"I... I think I should reconnect Aunty EDI back to the Normandy instead. She isn't really disabled, is she?"

"Sorry for tricking you, my girl." It wasn't his plan, but he felt responsible anyway. "We had to play dead to fool the clone. And we deactivated EDI temporally to make it more real."

"And James knew it all along." Her voice was so cold. The lieutenant was going to be in big trouble.

It would be worse if he lied, so Garrus spoke the truth. "Yeah, he does. But he only followed Shepard's order. He would tell you if it went otherwise, girl."

"Save the thought for another time, uncle. I think I found daddy."

"That was quick!" Wrex exclaimed.

They heard a strange noise from the elevator. Two comrades readied their guns as the door slowly opened. They gasped in shock at the people inside.

In the middle of the shuttle bay, Shepard finally kicked the clone off her. Without noticing the newcomer, they jumped to their feet. The commander grabbed a pistol but a gunshot stopped further fighting.

"You better put that down, Shepard."

That voice! Shepard cursed the day she heard it for the first time. "Brooks!"

The false staff analyst was walking out the elevator. In her hand was a pistol that was aimed at Kaidan's bloody head. Shepard, Garrus, and Wrex raised their gun at her, but the woman shook her head.

"Don't even think about it." She pressed her gun more forceful at the wound on the Major's temple. He groaned in pain but couldn't do anything but struggle. Too bad, the woman was stronger than she looked.

A half-hour or so, he pushed himself too hard and his biotics were still weak. Brooks took advantage of his condition.

"Leave him alone!" Butterfly's voice echoed in the bay. She sounded like she was in fear but also angry.

"Funny, isn't it?" Brooks laughed madly. She was wearing a mask no longer. "Daughter is trying to protect her father. I thought it was the other way around."

That hurt Kaidan's ego. He was a man who took his duty very seriously. For him, being a father was a sacred duty. He would protect his girls no matter what the cost. If Brooks still took him hostage like this, they would be in trouble. He couldn't allow that.

As if she was able to read his mind, Brooks pressed the gun harder. "Don't play hero, Alenko. You don't want your daughter to grow up fatherless, do you?"

"Don't tell me that after everything you have done, you would let us go." Kaidan spilled out.

"Well, technically, she..." The false Alliance staff pointed at the clone. "-is Butterfly's mom. She will still have a mother although Shepard's dead. If you cooperate with us, you still have your family. Just with another mother."

"You must be insane if you really believe I would side with you!"

"No, I'd never thought you would. I just wanted to say that." And then she pulled the trigger. "Drop your gun, Shepard. Otherwise, I will drill a large hole on this beautiful face. You know I can do it."

But the Commander still held her gun. "If you kill him, I'll kill you."

"But he will die first. Would you let the father of your child die? Your choice, Commander."

There was a long silence in the bay. Unexpected, the clone spoke first.

"I don't need your help, Maya."

Maya Brooks just raised her eyebrow. "Don't you? As I saw, she beat the shit out of you, Sweetheart."

"Back off! I can handle this." The clone insisted.

Perhaps Shepard's stubbornness was in the DNA. Kaidan saw the opportunity to get the upper hand. If he kept them busy...

"You don't believe your Sweetheart can defeat Shepard." The pressure on his head was harder. He probably hit her at the right spot. "Or maybe you knew it all along that she would never beat Shepard."

"Shut up!" The clone and Brooks yelled at him.

That was Garrus' moment. He jumped on Brooks. As they fought, the false staff analyst had to release the Major. Wrex carried Kaidan out of their way.

Without any attempt to save her friend, the clone grabbed her pistol and aimed it at Shepard. The Commander returned the gesture. Then the two women pointed the guns at one another.

There was only a few seconds for hesitation. They pulled the triggers at the same time.

They fell to the floor. Kaidan almost forgot the pain as he tried to run to his girlfriend. He didn't spare a glance at the clone.

Shepard didn't get hurt. Her shield saved her from the bullet wound. However, the force knocked her down. She felt a bit dizzy, though, because the bullet hit between her eyebrows.

As Kaidan lifted her up, the clone laughed.

"I won."

"No, you didn't." Wrex protested. He pointed at Brooks who was knocked out by Garrus. "You and your friend are done now. If it was my call, you would be dead."

Shepard patted his shoulder. "She's right. My bullet missed the target."

"I shot you. If only your shield..." The clone got shot at her shoulder. It wasn't vital but there was a lot of blood.

"M... Commander, she doesn't stop bleeding." Butterfly informed. "I'm not sure what is happening, but I think her body isn't as perfect as she thought."

"Impossible. I'm perfect!" The clone dismissed Butterfly's remark. "I'm the best... Why didn't you choose me?"

As she said the last sentence, she stared at Kaidan.

The Major avoided her eyes in pity. "You're pale in comparison to the real Amala."

She cried quietly. Although Shepard was still angry, she couldn't hate the clone. "B, take the Normandy down. Dr. Michel is waiting at the docking bay. She will take care of the prisoners."

"Aye, aye, ma'am."

Kaidan held her tighter. He still feared he was dreaming. "We have a lot to discuss. Later."

"Of course." Her voice stern as she shot him a dagger glare.

Something wasn't right. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Garrus and Wrex laughed. They knew Shepard was jealous because the clone said a dangerous statement.

"I have a bad feeling about this." Butterfly murmured.


Thank The Lonely Traveler for beta. :D