Pre A/N: Heyoo, internet. It's been a while
Having lived on various space stations and starships for most of her life, Commander Shepard had never had much in the way of something to call her own. Hopes for something like that boiled up when Admiral Anderson had given her his apartment on the Citadel. A place all to herself, with no squadmates or ship crewmembers wandering around. A place where she could decide who came and went.
That hope came crashing down when the apartment had become their base of operations during the 'Clone Incident'. Since then, while the Normandy underwent repairs, most of the team had taken up residence in the rather large space. Realizing how selfish it would be to kick everyone out, Shepard simply decided to live with it. There would be time for that after the war, anyway.
Before she even stepped through the door, Jane could hear what sounded like a gun battle playing out inside. Fearing the worst, she automatically steeled herself, only to then hear… laughter? Why would someone be laughing during what sounded like a rather serious fight? Then, there was a loud exclamation of annoyance, and the gunfire stopped, before starting again in a very similar pattern. The same voices, with the same lines. Arching her brow in confusion, Shepard unlocked and opened the door to be greeted by the television screen behind the fireplace brightly illuminated. She followed the sights and sounds to find her Assassin friend Abby Williams seated on the couch, holding the controller for what looked like a video game console. On the table was a pristine Xinertai 2 gaming console, with an open case nearby.
"Ehh… hi, Abby." Shepard said.
"Hey, Shep. Oh hold on…" Williams tapped the trigger on her controller a few times. On the screen, her weapon fired and gunned down what looked like a Turian. "There we go. Finally!" Abby exclaimed. "That dude would not stop with his grenades. What's up?" She asked, remaining mostly focused on her game.
"What are you playing? And… why are you killing Turians?"
"First Contact." Abby explained. "It's a shooter set in the First Contact War. I'm on a Turian ship leading a counter operation. Shanxi is down there." She moved towards a window, where a large planet could be seen.
Shepard continued to watch the screen, skepticism clear on her face. "There's a game… about the First Contact War… this soon after it?"
"It came out in '77."
"So… less than a decade afterwards?"
Abby thought for a moment. "...yeah." She said with a disinterested shrug.
"Huh. Well, considering how the war went, I doubt there's very much that could be put into a video game."
"Well, they rolled with a bit of creative freedom." Abby said, pausing to reload her weapon, which resembled a highly advanced AR platform rifle. "It's an alternate scenario where the Turians completely capture Shanxi and invade Luna."
Shepard nodded along. "Have you met your Grandfather yet?"
"Yes, actually." Abby said pointedly. "He sent me on this mission. A bit odd finding one of my own family members in a video game, but… whatever, ya'know?"
"Where did this console even come from?"
"Oh yeah. I went down to the Armax Arena earlier after I got an email from them. They gave it to me as a way to say, 'Sorry our combat sim almost killed you, and thanks for being a good sport about it.'. I'm not gonna turn down a brand new Xinertai. First Contact came with it."
"Well, can you pause that for a minute? I need to talk to you."
"I can do both. What's up?"
Jane shook her head, reaching out and tapping a button on the Assassin's controller. The game paused, and before the girl could react, the Spectre snatched the device away. "Hey! I almost got killed to get that thing!"
"Listen, and you'll get it back." Shepard said sternly. Abby grumbled to herself, but opted to comply, turning her attention to the Commander.
"I spoke to Hackett this morning." She began. "The assault on Cronos Station is ready to launch. Tomorrow we're headed there."
Abby studied Jane for a moment, waiting for her to continue. When she didn't, she offered a question.
"What about Omega?"
Shepard shook her head. "We aren't going. Maybe after the Cronos raid, but not before."
The Assassin shrugged. "Alright then. I guess I'm going by myself. Good talk." She reached for the controller, but Shepard held it up behind her head.
"Ah, ah, ah. No you aren't." She said. "Nobody's going to Omega."
"But… what about my mission? The thing you are supposed to be helping me with?"
"I understand your mission, but this takes priority. The fleet is ready now. I'm only delaying until tomorrow because of the Normandy's condition. She isn't ready yet."
"You're only delaying because of the party." Abby pointed out.
"Well… yes. That too. But we can't afford any further delay."
"Yet, we were able to delay Thessia because you needed to buy more fish? And hamster food?"
Shepard didn't respond.
"Don't try to school me on priorities, Shep. This mission is my priority. Hackett said that you would help me. Get me to where I needed to go, and maybe help out with the mission itself. So far, you haven't, and I've tagged along on a bunch of your missions. The way I see it, you owe me."
"I can't just go against orders from Hackett."
"Oh, please. From what I've heard, this whole conflict only exists because you went against orders." Abby shot back. "From a Councilor. Going against orders is what you do. It's why you're… you."
Shepard made a mental note to speak to Ashley about past missions before responding. "Well, this is different. We'll be taking down an entire faction. Isn't that what you want?"
"I don't care about Cerberus. I care about the Templars. Harper isn't one, as far as I know, so I don't care about him. Sure, he's messing around with Reaper technology, which arguably labels him as clinically insane, but I have bigger priorities."
"You forget your place, Abby." Jane was sounding more stern by the second now. "You are part of my team. We do things together, or not at all. The one who decides that is me."
"Isn't that a contradiction?"
"This isn't a democracy." Shepard ignored the question. "You had your fun running solo with the Brotherhood, but this is different. More important. Cerberus threatens to undermine the entire war effort. We've driven them back to their final hold out. Tomorrow, we finish them."
"And you can have your fun doing that." Abby stood, or sat, firm. "I'm going after my target. General Petrovsky. All you have to do is swing by Omega and drop me off. Hell, you can even keep Ash. I work better on my own anyway."
"This isn't up for debate, Williams!" Shepard said through gritted teeth. "We'll go to Omega after Cronos. I can't have squadmates running off on personal agendas."
"The minute we launch, Petrovsky will bolt. He'll disappear. Again. I've been hunting him for months. The fight with him and his cronies is the fight I've been training for… what I've devoted myself to. If he gets away, I may never find him again. And I'll blame you."
"Blame whoever you want. I expect you aboard the Normandy at 12:00 hours tomorrow. Not a minute later. Is that clear?"
Abby looked down at the floor. "Yes, mother." She mumbled.
"What was that?"
"Yes… Commander."
"Good." Shepard stood up, dropping the controller next to the Assassin. "See you at the party." Abby sighed and sunk into her seat a little further.
"Jeez… And she claims she's not my mother…"
Later that day…
Despite her years at university, Samantha Traynor had never been one for attending parties. Especially when most of the party goers were Varsity, and she was top of the class in computer club.
In this case, the other party goers were living legends. The 'Archangel' Garrus Vakarian. Mercenary Extraordinaire Zaeed Massani. Krogan Chieftain Urdnot Wrex. Last living Prothean Commander Javik. 'Shadow Broker' Liara T'Soni. And last, but not least, Savior of the Galaxy, First Human Spectre, Commander Jane Shepard.
And then, there was herself, Communications Specialist Samantha Traynor. Shy, geeky, socially awkward, and trying her best not to be too obvious when crushing on a certain other party guest.
Sam brushed her thoughts aside as she attempted to add herself to a conversation.
"I still can't get over the size of this apartment. The electric bill alone could've paid for my college tuition."
"Or funded the war." Liara pointed out.
"Or made a down payment on an Atlas mech." Garrus said. "Always wanted one."
"And what would you do with it?" Tali asked from her spot on the counter. Samantha was surprised by the Quarian. The party had only started an hour ago, and she was already swaying drunkenly. "Go on another cru- hic -crusade against the Omega mercs?"
The Turian shrugged. "Who knows? Mechs come in handy for all kinds of situations."
"Well, now I have something for my Christmas list." Liara said quietly. "What would you use the money for, Tali?"
"I'd get… an air conditioner for this suit. It can get pretty stuffy in here." She lazily tapped on the side of her helmet.
Traynor glanced to the side to find Shepard leaning against the kitchen island. "So, how goes the party, everyone?" She asked.
"Needs more liquor." Garrus stated, holding up an empty bottle.
"And snacks." Liara said.
"I'll find some more of the second one." The Commander declared.
"It's because T'Soni said it, isn't it?" Vakarian teased.
"Hey, we can't all get plastered tonight. We have a busy day tomorrow."
"Are you sure the Normandy is still there, Commander?" Traynor asked. "Has anyone else tried to steal it?"
"Stealing the Normandy." A voice chimed in behind Sam. "Now there's an idea."
"Huh? What…? Who was…?" Traynor looked all around, but the source of the voice was nowhere to be found.
"Still have your toothbrush, Sam?" Shepard snickered.
As the conversation steered in the direction of past missions, Traynor excused herself and began to wander. There were so many people at the gathering. Samantha had no idea that Shepard had so many friends, and such a diverse bunch, too. One appeared to be covered from head to toe in tattoos, while another was wearing a skin tight catsuit of all things.
At the sound of playful bantering, Samantha ascended the stairs to find a small gathering around a dart board. Upon further inspection, there was Miranda, Ashley, 'Subject Zero' Jack and James surrounding Abby. As Traynor approached, there was a flash of motion, and the younger Williams threw what looked like one of her Blades at the board. It embedded itself inside the triple ring of the 18. The Assassin eyed Miranda, who took another Blade and aimed for the board. When she threw it, it landed in the double ring of the 12.
"Okay, you're getting there." Abby said with a nod. "It's like throwing a… ehh… what's something you throw a lot?"
"Biotics." Lawson replied flatly. Williams looked at the board and thought for a moment.
"Uh… no. Like… objects. Do you ever throw… baseballs? Or grenades? Or…"
"I threw a bottle at Jack once." The Operative offered, gesturing to the tattooed woman off to the side, who rolled her eyes. "When we were on the Normandy together." Abby shrugged.
"Okay, close enough. Just imagine doing that. Aim for what you're looking at." The Assassin retrieved another of her knives. "Like this. I'm looking at the outer bullseye. Nineteen." She threw the Blade, and that's exactly where it landed. Miranda nodded.
"Just like you would throw a paper." Said the same voice from earlier. Before her eyes, Traynor saw Kasumi Goto appear out of thin air. "When your arm gets here," She held her hand up over her hooded head. "Just let go." Abby looked at her with a bright smile.
"I knew I would like you, Kasumi-san."
"Oh. So… like this." The Biotic took three Blades from Abby, and threw them all in rapid succession. They landed in a perfect row along the center of the board. She smiled hopefully at the Assassin, who had a knowing expression.
"Uhh… yeah. Just like that. Well played, Lawson."
"It's a gift." The woman grinned confidently as Abby approached the board, tugging the Blades free of the cork with her free hand.
"What's going on up here?" Samantha asked curiously.
"These two are just having fun showing off." James remarked. "I would call it a dick measuring contest, but they're both chicks, soo…"
"Tit measuring contest?" Jack offered. James pointed at her and grinned, while at his side, Ashley shook her head with a groan. In the same moment, Abby turned around with several Blades in her hand. "Oh, hey Sam." She handed a few to Miranda, keeping four for herself. "What James meant to say was that I…" Without taking her eyes off of the Specialist, Abby pinched four knives between her fingers and threw them all at once. They all landed in a diagonal row inside the bullseye.
"...was showing off." The Assassin concluded cheekily. She eyed Miranda, who bowed her head respectfully.
"Alright, that's it." Ashley pushed forward and snatched a Blade from the Biotic. "Gimme one of those."
"Ash, no." Abby said.
"Ash, sí." James grinned. The elder Williams closed one eye and aimed for the board. When she released her knife, it went off course, and stabbed into the floor beneath the board.
"Nice one." Her sister said with a snort. Ashley waved her off.
"What if that was a person? I just hit them in the foot. Now they can't walk."
"You're cute, Ashley." Kasumi snickered, before vanishing again.
"Ah… guns are better anyway."
"Keep telling yourself that… career Jarhead."
"Fancy merc." Ashley shot back.
"Spray and pray."
"Human punching bag."
"Whiny drunk!"
"Hopeless romantic!"
"Crayon eater!"
"Woah, woah, ladies!" James held out a hand to separate the pair. "Simmer down, now. Aren't you two sisters?"
"Do you not have any siblings, James?" Miranda asked.
"Does Esteban count?"
"...No."
"This is what siblings do, Vega." Abby said, giving Ashley a playful shove. She responded by taking a handful of Abby's hair and flopping it over her face, then grabbing her shirt collar and stuffing her head through it.
"Ahh! It took me forever to get those knots out!"
"That's because you always have it tied up, dummy!" Ash looked around at the others. "And I mean always. The last time I saw your hair down, we were still in high school." Samantha smiled and shook her head as the Assassin fixed herself, and in doing so caught a better look at her outfit.
A form fitting black t-shirt, displaying an image from what Abby had called 'Star Wars'. A man looking at an explosion, with the phrase, 'I had friends on that Death Star'. Whatever a 'Death Star' was. Hugging her waist was a red plaid skirt that ended above her knees, and seemed like it would fit perfectly in a school uniform.
Her 'self repaired' canvas hi-tops rounded out the wardrobe.
"She could pass for a school girl…"
Samantha had to resist the urge to slap herself, going so far as to grab her own hand and force it back to her side.
"Hold it together, Traynor."
"Ugh, you two are going to make me puke." Jack began padding towards the nearby bar. "I'm not nearly drunk enough for this shit."
James perked up. "Hey, make me something while you're there, will ya?"
"I ain't your fuckin' barmaid, Vega." Jack shot back, rooting around for bottles. "Besides, don't you have some cooking to do?"
The Marine's eyes shot open. "Ai, carajo!" James bolted for the stairs. Ashley followed him with a more civilized pace. Traynor giggled, before moving towards Abby."
"How's the party treating you, Sam?" She raised a glass to her lips.
"Well enough, I suppose. It's just that… there's so many… Well, I don't know if I'd call them celebrities, but…"
"Big names?" Williams offered.
"Yeah." Her friend nodded. "Sure. Most of them have been crusading across the galaxy since before I was born. I can't just walk up to them and ask if they've tried the guacamole."
The Assassin smiled. "Ah. Hang around some more gatherings like this, and you'll warm up. Everybody's got a soft side. A… 'civilian' angle, if you will. James and Steve? They seem like your average meatheads, but they've got a love for sports. Any kind." Abby wandered over to the dart board, reaching down for the knife her sister had thrown. "Vega also likes to cook, as I'm sure you've noticed." With a few tugs, she pulled the blade free, inspecting the tip for a moment. "Garrus? He appears to like guns, and not much else. Oh, except for cats. Any free time we get here on the Citadel, he helps out at an animal shelter on Zakera. He told me about wanting to adopt one, but isn't sure how Shepard would feel, considering mixing cats and fish." Abby twirled the throwing knife around on her fingers. "Samara arranges flowers, Zaeed donates time and money to orphan shelters, Joker frequents car shows. Take your pick."
"Like Shepard collecting ship models?"
"Y-ow!" The razor sharp blade marked Abby on her thumb before falling to the floor. She quickly reached down and retrieved it, before securing it in the holder on her waist. "Yeah… her, too."
"Mmm." Samantha hummed. Her inquiry into Abby's injury was interrupted by Jack and Miranda slowly growing louder with their conversation. From what she could work out, they were arguing about their respective Biotic capabilities. Who could best who in a competition. Both sounded very confident in being able to effortlessly defeat the other, to which Abby shot a grin at Sam and wandered up to the bickering pair. She knocked back her drink, slammed the empty glass down, and proceeded to ask something that even gave Traynor pause.
"Would you two just fuck already, and get it over with?"
Miranda froze mid sentence and stared slack-jawed at the Assassin. Jack had to stifle a laugh and nearly dropped the bottle of liquor she was mixing a drink with.
"Wanna run that by me again, kiddo?" Subject Zero asked.
"Is it not obvious? Because I'd say it's obvious." Abby declared. "Two strong, independent, highly capable people like yourselves? I mean, the sexual tension in here is so clear, I could cut it with one of Altaïr's blades. I feel pretty confident in saying that most of us are just waiting for it to happen. God knows this place has enough rooms." The Assassin looked at her first target. "Jack. Strong. Fearless. Shaped by years of a rough life out on the fringe, off the grid. Under that tough skin and blanket of ink is a gentle, fragile girl who just wants to be held. And that's not at all an insult." Jack arched her brow as Abby turned her attention to the Ex-Cerberus Operative. "Miranda? Much of the same, yet the opposite at the same time. Regimented. Serious. Raised on the straight and narrow. Hiding under that vineer, and lovely choice of wardrobe, is her…" Abby sucked a breath through her teeth and ran her hand up her leg, playfully grabbing a handful of her skirt. "...R-rated side."
"Oh, my God." Miranda's head dropped into her hands. Jack simply stared at the younger girl for a time, as if she was giving the conspiracy theory-grade summary some genuine thought. Then, her eyes fell on Lawson, seated on a barstool, hiding her burning face behind her gloved hands. After a long moment, Jack quickly threw together a drink from the bottles around her, setting it down in front of the frazzled Operative. At the sound of glass hitting wood, Miranda let her eyes peek between her fingers to find a short glass filled with a maroon liquid. Jack herself was holding the bottle of gin she had used, raising it to her lips.
"Bramble." She said quietly. "Picked it up from a bar I slipped into while running from the cops in London. Good stuff." The Biotic took a swing of gin and stepped away from the bar, while Miranda curiously picked up the glass. "I like your Assassin friend. Lemme know if you like what you heard." Lawson nearly coughed out a mouthful of her cocktail, following Jack with a disbelieving gaze. "Hey, Shep." Jack sidestepped the Commander on her way to the stairs, who was greeted by a somewhat bizarre sight. A cut up dart board, a number of open bottles on the bar, and her former XO with a shell-shocked expression and cheeks redder than the star Newton.
"What'd I miss?" Shepard asked.
"N-nothin', Commander." Abby said, picking up her empty glass. "Just some banter. Hey, Traynor. Let's go check on James. Make sure he isn't about to burn down half the station." Before Samantha could respond, the Assassin took hold of her sleeve and pulled her in the direction of the entryway stairs.
"Uh…" The Specialist began once the pair was out of earshot. "Did I miss something?"
"Don't worry about it." Abby growled.
"Are you avoiding Shepard? What happened?"
"Nothing."
Traynor planted her feet, making the Assassin nearly fall over.
"Abby."
Williams finally caved, letting go of her friend and sitting down on the top step of the stairs. "You could say we… aren't speaking to each other."
"Why not?" Sam sat next to her.
Over the next few minutes, Abby vented her grievances and frustrations. Her urgence for going to Omega and finishing her mission, general irritation towards Shepard for not holding up her end of the deal made with Hackett, and fear of Petrovsky disappearing, robbing her the chance to give meaning to her Brothers' deaths.
"Well…" Traynor said hopefully. "Maybe if we hit Cronos Station fast enough, Petrovsky won't have time to leave before you get there." Abby shook her head in defeat.
"No. He's got TIM on speed-dial. The second we make a move on Cerberus, he'll vanish. He has to first…" She paused. "And I think I know how."
"What?" Abby scooted closer to her friend.
"Cover for me."
"Cover how?"
"Tonight, close to the end of the party. That part where everybody's settled in, but also drunk and not noticing much that's going on. I slip out and contact Aria. I head to Omega with her, take down Petrovsky, be back in time for lights out."
"Then what do you need me for?" Traynor probed.
"In case somebody notices."
"Abby, no." Samantha shook her head. "Absolutely not. You can't."
"Why not? It'll be easy."
"Because you're going against Shepard's orders!"
"And that makes her a Goddamn hypocrite! None of us would be here if not for her going behind Udina's back. I'm going to Omega. With or without Shepard's help. You can help if you want, but saying 'No.' isn't going to stop me."
"Abby, I really don't like the idea of you going by yourself. At least, not without Shepard."
The Assassin scoffed. "I don't need her. Every time I've tagged along with Shepard, I've been stabbed, shot, beaten up, blown up…" Abby counted the numerous incidents on her fingers. "And the missions usually end in disaster, or somebody getting killed."
"But she also saved your life." Samantha said. "At the Arena? If Shepard hadn't been there, that Mech would have killed you." Williams deflated slightly. "She made sure Kasumi apologized. She helped you and Ashley at the Memorial Wall." Samantha slid her hand into Abby's. "She made sure you came back to me after… Thessia." The Specialist whispered.
"Yeah… yeah, I know." Abby took her hand away and inspected her empty glass.
"You aren't going to let this go, are you?"
"Nope."
Traynor sighed. "You're going to kill me… Alright, how about this? After the party. Stick around, enjoy yourself… avoid Shepard if you feel the need. After everyone turns in, you slip out." The Assassin perked up again. "If somebody asks where you are, I'll make something up."
Abby smiled. "Okay. We have our plan, then."
Actual A/N: It took a long time to get this out. Hopefully it's worth the wait.
I spent quite a bit of time last night looking through the previous chapters and saw how... poorly written they were. I like to think I've improved, but let me know if you all think otherwise.
So, Shepard is proving herself to be a mother figure to Abby, despite claims to the contrary. Things are tense between them, but hopefully nobody gets hurt as a result.
It's so cool to me that this story still has a growing number of followers. Seriously. Thank you everybody. It's really encouraging to get that notification, 'User JoeShmoe99 is now Following ACME'.
I really look forward to any reviews you all have. Thanks so much for reading!