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Loyalty and Limerence
Part 1
Prologue
The SSV Normandy
"The Arcturus Prime Relay is in range. Initiating transmission sequence."
The pilot's voice echoed throughout the ship, competing with the cacophony of voices typical of an Alliance CIC. Lieutenant Jane Shepard picked up her pace, matching her stride to that of the ship's XO walking just ahead of her.
"Commander," A corporal nodded at him before moving his gaze to rest on her a moment later, adding, "Lieutenant." She nodded back, her eyes flicking to him for a heartbeat.
"We are connected. Calculating transit mass and destination."
The two officers made their way down the CIC toward the cockpit, parting the crowds of crew members fluttering from console to console. The harsh clanking of the man's armored boots ahead of her echoed along the low corridor, her own standard issue combat boots producing a softer thud.
"The relay is hot. Acquiring approach vector. All stations secure for transit."
As she made her way toward the cockpit, Jane watched as the man ahead came to a stop alongside the tall, brown plated turian already standing just behind the pilot's seat. Slowing, she finally came to a stop at the entrance to the cockpit.
"Board is green. Approach run has begun."
Jane glanced outside the window to see the relay looming ever closer as they approached. It grew to encompass the entire window as they came alongside it, emphasizing its immense size. The eerie blue glow cast it's light across everything in the room, giving it an unnatural appearance.
"Hitting the relay in 3… 2… 1…"
She leaned her weight against the bulkhead, bracing herself at the same time as the others standing. With a soft jerk, she could feel the moment that they were caught up in the relay's field, and within a blink of the eye, the SSV Normandy was shot off like a bullet across the galaxy.
Being the pride of the Alliance, the SSV Normandy was a marvel of human and turian engineering; proving once and for all that cooperation could produce amazing results. Funded in part by the Citadel Council, and staffed by Systems Alliance personnel, only the best were handpicked for its maiden voyage by none other than Captain David Anderson himself. She couldn't be more proud to have been selected as one of the ground team, regardless of the hazy details surrounding the mission's purpose. But the most pleasant surprise had been the man selected as the ship's XO. Commander John Shepard, N7 ranked vanguard, savior of Elysium, and her older brother.
Jane's eyes returned to the window, and she crossed her arms as she watched the stars come to a sudden stop. She tuned out the chatter around her, basking in the view for a moment. God, she loved space. Her last stint on Earth had lasted a few weeks, so it was wonderful to be out amongst the stars again. Not that she hated Earth, but she didn't particularly love it either. Not like John did. She supposed it was because he had some distant happy memories of time before their parents died, or something like that. Being a few years younger, all she had left were the scars that came part and parcel with a childhood on the streets, which weren't enough to endear the overpopulated human homeworld to her.
Suddenly, the turian turned and left, and she returned her focus to John and the other men in front of her.
"I hate that guy." She could almost hear the pout in Joker's voice as he sulked in his pilot's seat.
"Nihlus gave you a compliment… so you hate him?" Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko piped up, glancing over from his position at another console.
"You remember to zip up your jumpsuit on the way out of the bathroom? That's good." Jane snorted lightly, trying to contain a bark of laughter, "I just jumped us halfway across the galaxy and hit a target the size of a pinhead. So that's incredible!" She could already tell she was going to like Flight Lieutenant Jeff Moreau, nicknamed "Joker" for some reason she'd have to inquire about later. She'd only known him for about a week so far, but they already got along well. She generally kept a healthy distance between herself and her crewmates during most missions, it helped to keep things impersonal. Cleaner that way. But every now and then, she clicked with a few of them, finding friendship with them to be almost second nature. You couldn't help but like Joker.
"Besides," The pilot added after a moment, "Spectres are trouble. I don't like having him on board. Call me paranoid."
"You're paranoid." Kaidan replied without a pause, "The Council helped fund this project. They have a right to send someone to keep an eye on their investment."
"Yeah, that is the official story. But only an idiot believes the official story." Jane had to agree, there was something they weren't being told, that much was obvious. Things didn't seem to line up quite right, not for this supposed performance test. Two N7 ranked officers serving under an N7 ranked captain? Not just them, but the entire crew was exceptional. And add a Spectre to that?
"They don't send Spectres on shakedown runs." John added thoughtfully, taking the words right out of her mouth. Knowing that John agreed just settled it in her mind, something was up.
"So there's more going on here than the Captain's letting on." The statement hung in the air, all four of them stewing in it for a moment before the intercom crackled on.
"Joker! Status report." Captain Anderson barked, breaking the spell. A quick back and forth followed regarding the state of the ship and the next steps needing to be taken, and Jane felt her eyes begin to drift back to the view out the window.
"Aye, aye, Captain. Better brace yourself, sir. I think Nihlus is heading your way."
"He's already here, Lieutenant." The Captain's sharp remark whipped through the receiver, and Jane felt one corner of her lips curl up in a small, crooked smirk. She could practically feel Joker's cocky attitude wilt. "Tell Commander Shepard to meet me in the comm room for a debriefing."
"You get that, Commander?" Joker asked as John sighed and shifted his weight slightly.
"He sounds angry. Something must have gone wrong with the mission." With that, he turned and made his way out of the cockpit and through the CIC. As he passed Jane, their eyes met and his lips quirked upwards slightly as he nodded to her and continued onwards.
"Great." Jane drawled, looking back at the men in the seats in front of her, her sardonic smile still in place, "You piss the captain off and now the Commander is going to pay for it." Joker visibly jumped, turning his head slightly to see her take a few steps forward to stand behind his chair.
"Jesus, Shepard, make a sound or something if you're about. Almost broke a rib…" He grumbled rubbing his side before adding, "Look, don't blame me. The captain's always in a bad mood." She uncrossed her arms, stepping up to stand in the vacated place behind the pilot's chair.
"Only when he's talking to you, Joker." Kaidan added, side eyeing the both of them. As his eyes fell upon her, Jane felt herself stiffen. She'd never had a posting alongside Lieutenant Alenko before, he was something of an unknown quantity. But as another member of the ground team, she supposed she was going to need to get to know him soon. "So," he coughed suddenly, looking away again, "You're the Commander's sister, right? That must get confusing, but I guess it works with you both having different ranks so people can tell you apart."
"And you know, the small fact that he's a dude and she's not." Joker chipped in with dripping sarcasm.
"Well, I mean, yeah, of course. Obviously they look almost nothing alike. I just meant that they share the same last name, must get confusing sometimes." She felt Kaidan's eyes on her again, and she just shrugged.
"Eh, you get used to it. Plenty of people share names even if they aren't related, they cope." Jane turned to leave, and to her surprise, Kaidan got up to follow.
"See ya…" Joker raised a hand in a lazy farewell before returning to his controls.
"How did both you and your brother end up on this mission?" Kaiden asked as he caught up with her, "The chances seem pretty slim, have you ever served with the Commander on a mission before?"
"There's a first time for everything. Captain Anderson requested us both for this mission personally." Kaidan's eyes widened at that, so she added, "We know him from back when we enlisted. Long story." She looked away, making it clear that the topic was over. He dropped it and the conversation lapsed as she increased her stride heading toward the stairs to the crew deck.
It was an honor to finally get to serve under Anderson, even if the details regarding the mission were so suspicious. It felt like yesterday she was just a scrappy teenage street tough for the Reds, caught with her hand fishing for the wallet of the decorated war veteran Lieutenant Anderson. Jane smiled at the memory, embarrassing as it was. She'd been mortified and furious at the time, little had she known how that encounter would change both her and John's lives for the better.
Suddenly, her omni-tool buzzed as the com channel sprang to life again.
"Shepard, Alenko, suit up, double time." John barked in her ear, and she could tell by his clipped tone that something was wrong, "Meet me in the cargo hold ready to hit the ground running ASAP. There's been a change of plans." She felt a chill go down her arms as she hurried to her locker in the crew quarters and grabbed her equipment. In silence, they donned their undersuits followed by their armor. Her fingers brushed along the red stripe on her forearm before she turned and made for the elevator.
Once they'd gotten down to the cargo bay, they beelined to their respective weapons lockers, and Jane pulled out and situated her prized Kuwashii brand visor. Her eyes flicked as it booted up, displaying information as she looked around. John was standing by the cargo bay doors talking to the Captain about something she couldn't quite make out. She grabbed her assault rifle and pistol, holstering them before pulling out and checking the sights of her trusty sniper rifle. Happy with it, she holstered it, too, and walked over to join the others. Once they were assembled, Anderson looked them all over before launching into the debrief.
As the Captain brought them up to speed about the Prothean beacon and the current attack by an unknown enemy on the colony of Eden Prime, Jane felt her face harden as her fists clenched. The initial interest she'd felt upon learning the truth behind their mission was quickly overridden with concern and the usual pre mission expectancy.
But when he called up the video clip of the attack, she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up as she laid eyes upon the giant ship, or was it an enormous metallic hand…? She'd never seen anything like it, not even during her N classes. No race had ships with that silhouette. A new race? How was it even possible that something that massive was capable of making landfall?
As their feet hit the ground some time later, the eerie silence was broken only by far off explosions and odd metallic echoes. Ash drifted down from the sky as they made their way toward their destination, and Jane couldn't shake the ominous feeling that something was horribly, terribly wrong.
(Note: Thank you to my wonderful beta reader, Zwober, who catches all my mistakes and keeps this readable. Thank you to all my readers, especially those who show their support in one way or another. Your feedback is always welcome and encouraged!)