Adrian leaned back in the jump seat, not really sure about what he should say to the two people in front of him. One was an Alien that looked human, if he ignored the hourglass shape of the alien; the three fingers, and the backward bending legs… and the glowing eyes too.
Really, the similarity in appearance to humans was probably something artificial in Adrians mind; something to help his mind normalize what was happening in front of him. Granted, today actually ranked rather low on Adrians weirdness scale; he'd seen a lot of shit in the past nineteen years, some good, some not so good, and a whole lot of crazy.
"So where are we off to?" He asked, and the two of them flinched slightly at the sound of his rough voice.
The not-commando perked up slightly at the question. "We're going to the Normandy. It's our new home-base away from home while we rally the troops as it were."
Adrian raised an eyebrow, even as Sparky remained silent; which was somewhat surprising given how chatty he tended to be, "So like a Troop Assault Carrier then? Nice… So who's your boy toy there?" He gestured over towards the male alien sitting next to her.
"Sergeant Kal'Reegar vas Normandy." the male answered tersely.
In the days before Black Mesa, that would have at the very least triggered some instinctual respect in the Marine; as Sergeant Major Massani had often reminded him, "We salute the rank, not the man". But Nineteen years, and a number of… promotions for lack of a better term, from a different Marine Corps than his own; but a Marine Corps nonetheless, had seen him earn a significant step up in rank.
"Impressive, you have the woman refer to you as such when your banging 'em?" he asked offhandedly, mainly to see what kind of reaction he could get out of them. It had served him well when it came to getting information he needed; as people tended to not think clearly when angered.
He watched as the male started to tense up when the girl tapped him on the leg. "Relax love; let the Mistress sort him out. We'll see if he's still feeling this," she waved vaguely at Adrian, "whatever, when she's done with him."
Adrian leaned back in his chair and nodded at them; "Hm… best listen to her boy, she knows how to keep her cool, although she can't keep her mouth shut; though I think that would be of some benefit to you. I have a lot more crude comments and sexual innuendos to go through, but I have more important words to speak of. Who the hell is this Mistress?"
Both of them glared at Adrian, but before either of them could say or do anything; there was a shudder that ran through the shuttle. All three of them quickly braced themselves as the shuttle landed at their destination, before the shuttle ramp opened; and Adrian stood and looked outside to see a very familiar person looking back at him.
"Zaeed?" Adrian asked, caught off guard at the sight of the old SASR Sergeant Major; "You're still alive you old man?"
Zaeed walked forward and took Adrians hand, and pulled him into a hug; "Holy Jesus hanging on the cross Christ; I should be saying that to you, goddamn dirtbag." He said with a laugh.
Adrian grinned behind his mask, "Glad to see you haven't changed a bit you old coot; still as crotchety, and still as foul mouthed as ever." Breaking the hug, he looked around the interior of the ship; mainly focusing on the large number of 'Quarians' occupying it. "So… humanity finally found some friendly aliens that aren't trying to mind rape or electrocute us?" he asked, only half jokingly.
He didn't miss the odd expression that crossed Zaeed's face at those words, nor did he miss the sudden tension in the area; "Ah yes… About that…" Zaeed coughed uneasily. "Well, there's someone I'd like you to meet; well, several people actually, but I think she's the one that takes priority."
Adrian raised an eyebrow, "She?"
"Sergeant Major please, The Security Board needs to meet with this man; and we can't start without either of you." The Quarian woman was saying, even as Adrian and Zaeed pushed past her.
Adrian admired the view, as she wasn't half bad looking, he could admit that much; but she didn't hold a candle to Ayashe, and even after all these years Adrian refused to give up on her. "Corporal, the Gunnery Sergeant and I will join the council soon; but we have some personal matters that need to be taken care of. Tell Admiral 'Raan that it involves family; she'll understand."
The Quarian seemed to internally debate the matter for a moment; before reluctantly acquiescing.
The two watched her go, before continuing their walk towards what Zaeed had designated as the 'Crew Quarters'. Adrian for his part was just trying not to get lost, as he had always tended to do when onboard navy ships.
Zaeed tapped his shoulder and smirked; "Nice view eh?"
Adrian shrugged, "Yeah, but nothing compared to Ayashe. Where is she anyway? Is she the one you want me to see?" He asked.
Zaeed stopped, and then looked left and right to make sure they were alone, before taking off his beret and sighing; looking up at Adrian with hollow eyes. "I was hoping to break it to you but… She's missing, and no one knows where she is; been missing for over a decade at this point." He said.
Adrian felt his heart break, "Missing…" He rasped.
After all these years… He still wouldn't get to see her in person; all this time, and he had missed his chance to see her again. "Not all hope is lost though… Adrian… most everyone believes she's still alive out there. But we don't know for sure." Zaeed said, interrupting his thoughts; "Though I do have a question for you… did you two, uh… you know."
Adrian blinked, then got what Zaeed was asking; "Yeah… yeah we did, why do you…" Adrian's eyes widened, "Please tell me that there isn't a nineteen year old man in the room where you're taking me." He said, only half jokingly.
"She's Eighteen, check your math." Zaeed replied, grimacing.
Adrian made a vague choking noise before finding his voice again. "Where?!"
"That's where we're headed, but there's a few things you-"
"Now!" The word rasped in Adrian's throat, like it was clawing it's bloody way out.
Zaeed took a step back with his hands up in a placating gesture. "End of the corridor, hatch on the left." Adrian took off at a sprint.
"You'll maybe want to be quiet when you get there!" Zaeed yelled after his friend. He spoke much quieter. "I'm pretty sure they just put Ori down for her nap." He chuckled and shook his head; Adrian had been and would always be an 'Act first, think later' type.
Adrian thundered up to the door and slammed a hand on the hatch release. He caught the briefest of glimpses of a male and female before the corridor filled with the sound of a baby crying. He had no time to react as the male flashed green and he found himself pinned to the corridor's roof. The sound of the baby muffled, and was replaced with a sensation like being inside a great stone cavern while dozens of people shouted at one another.
He eventually managed to filter the sounds and sensations out enough to hear a voice exclaim, "I don't care whose father he is; he startled Ori, he gets his ass kicked."
Adrian finally managed to clear his senses to get a full picture. First and foremost was a young woman who was Ayashe's spitting image, except for the green glowing eyes and the oddly colored toddler in her arms. The other thing was one of the lanky alien males, also with green glowing eyes and one hand raised towards Adrian while green electricity arced between his fingers.
"You'll do no such thing." The voice was clearly feminine, though neither figure moved their mouths. "I'll not have my Bondmate and my father get into a Penis-Waving competition outside our quarters." She handed the fussy toddler off to the male and smiled, even as she raised her own glowing hand and reinforced the 'grip' on Adrian. "You get Ori laid back down. You have a way with our daughter."
She turned her attention fully on Adrian with a look he'd seen on Ayashe once or twice in his more stupid moments. "I'll deal with my father."
Adrian couldn't help but chuckle at the expression on her face, "Ah… so much like your mother whenever I screwed up." He rasped, "If you would be so kind, could you let me down; I think all the blood is rushing to my head." He remarked, only half joking as he could feel a headache coming on; and the nanites were utterly spent, meaning that until he got the Vest recharged he was stuck healing naturally.
A look flashed across her face, and for a moment he expected to be dropped on his head. Instead he was rotated upright and sat down on the deck. "I know of you." The words continued in his mind. "You walk the path of the Freeman and the… other." He felt more than saw a sensation of wrongness associated with the word; a sensation he was intimately familiar with.
Shaking off the thoughts of the Government Man, knowing that he wouldn't be able to talk about it; at least physically, he instead focused on the other person mentioned. "Freeman?" Adrian asked, bracing himself against the bulkhead, "You mean that Bright Orange Ice Pop actually managed to do it? Have to give that guy some credit where it's due, pulling off whatever he did all alone."
He finally looked into the girls eyes, and smiled; "You look… so much like her; and you sound and act like her too." He said, "I suppose formal introductions are in order. I'm Adrian Shephard, your father." Just saying that made him feel warm inside, though he found himself stumped on what he was supposed to do; hug her? Shake her hand?
He was distracted when the hatch opened again and the lanky alien came out. "Ori's calmed down and resting Ayita, but we should take this conversation elsewhere." He glared slightly at Adrian. "Too many charged emotions."
Adrian narrowed his eyes, but said nothing; he had seen the toddler in her arms, and he had to assume that it was hers. While he didn't exactly approve of marrying and having children so young, it wasn't his place to judge; seeing as how he wasn't there at all for the vast majority of her life.
Still, this little punk had knocked her up; what made him think he was good enough for her.
A snort drew Adrian out of his musings, and he looked down to see Ayita hiding a smile; while the lanky male looked similarly amused. Blinking, Adrian titled his head and asked; "What's so funny?"
"Nothing… nothing…" Ayita finally said, speaking physically for the first time; and Adrian knew right then that she really was Ayashe's daughter. "Come, let's talk about all that you've missed father."
"...so that's the gist of what I've been doing for the past two decades almost."
Adrian had told them everything, including that damned Government man. Normally, he would have been apprehensive about talking about what he had gone through; and in fact, whenever he'd tried to talk about it he'd always forget some critical facts, or something would happen that would derail the conversation, or he would just straight up lose his voice.
He took it as a silent blessing from the Government Man that he was allowed to talk about it with certain people; but not just anyone, only people he likely approved of.
"Incredible. Should publish autobiography. Would make a lot of credits doing so." The old Frog looking Alien, Dr. Solus, rambled excitedly; scribbling notes as he did so.
The reaction from everyone else was less cheary and more reserved; but his daughter, the word still stirring warm feelings inside him, was perhaps the most entranced by his story. The glowing Emerald Green eyes that stared at him had not broken eye contact once. He smiled at her, and the girl smiled back; even as his granddaughter made a happy noise in her arms.
Still, he had to fight down a shudder as he remembered the lightning bolt straight to his chest.
"So... the whole Black Mesa Disaster and the subsequent Seven Hour War was intentionally set off?" the older Quarian woman, Admiral Shala'Raan, wondered openly.
"That means we got even more players in this great game then." Zaeed growled angrily, immediately ticking off said players on his fingers, "We got your wannabe Joseph Stalin that is Asari Councilor Tevos; we got the remnants of the Nihilanth still out there trying to claw its way out of the Vortessence to control the Galaxy. We got the wannabe Adolf Hitler that is the Consol Jack Harper back on earth, we got the Combine backing him; we have Old Man Vortigaunt Ulysses trying to puppeteer everything so that he can throw them all off, and then finally we got this Government Man and his employers presumably playing both sides." He stopped for breath, and looked around the table. "Am I missing anything?"
"Lets not forget the Geth, and the Old Machines that Ulysses has referred to but never explained." Adrian's son-in-law, Cato, added.
"Yes, let's not forget that." The ship's Captain, Tali'Zorah grumbled audibly.
Adrian rubbed his temples, grateful that his hair had already turned grey because it likely would have happened by now if it hadn't.
"I… think it would be best if we table that for now." Matriarch Benezia said, sounding like she had tasted something bad as she did so. "While I would love to talk about our long term threats, we must focus on our immediate ones."
"Hm… yes, none of this matters until we can build up an army to combat these threats." The big alien dinosaur, Wrex, grumbled unhappily.
Cato's father, General-Admiral 'Zorah shook his head; "As we have said time and time again, we don't have the manpower to fund an army."
Zaeed hummed in reply, and Adrian knew that he was about to drop an unconventional idea; "What if it's not just Quarians; what if we fund an Expeditionary Force?" He mused.
Those words had no meaning to Adrian, nor to the vast majority of the people in the room; only Dr. Chambers, Dr. Solus, and Matriarch Benezia seemed to understand the idea. "That is… a bold idea, but how would we train them." She wondered.
The metal bird, Garrus or Nihlus, Adrian honestly couldn't tell; raised his hand, "Er… feeling a little lost to be honest here; what is an Expeditionary force?"
Benezia sighed and rubbed her eyes, "It has a number of meanings, but the most prominent ones are a small professional Army being given to an ally for them to command; a volunteer army made up of multiple nationalities fighting for one side, or a group of foriegn troops from an empire's occupied population." She explained.
Adrian blinked and leaned back in his seat, even as understanding flashed across everyone's faces; and Wrex huffed, "Well since no one has a standing Army ready to be loaned out to us, and we don't exactly have a bunch of colonies and occupied territories to draw foriegn manpower from; I assume you intend for our new army to be of the second variety."
"Yes, a force of Volunteers, particularly people that can be trustworthy; and mold them into a small professional Army." Benezia agreed.
"Just one small problem, how do we train them?" One of the Admirals asked, leaning back in his own chair. "Because we can't really spare the manpower from the Marines; the Knights are not exactly equipped to deal with conventional warfare." He gestured over to Nihlus and Garrus, "And no offense intended, but the vast majority of your army is rather lacking in… well… everything. Yes, you have a small corps of professionals that stick it out after their mandatory service is up; but the vast majority are just conscripts that are given the most basic form of training for four weeks."
Adrian couldn't keep himself silent, "Four weeks? Your troops are more like cannon fodder then." He exclaimed. The two Turians shared uneasy glances, but notably didn't say anything in reply. Adrian glared them down for a moment, when he had a thought. "Let me train them."
That got everyone's attention, and everyone in the room looked at him; even as Ayita's eyes widened slightly. "Gunnery Sergeant?" Zaeed asked, raising an eyebrow; and Adrian didn't miss the warning tone in his voice.
But Adrian pressed on, "I have been in constant Combat for the past nineteen years… And quite frankly, I'm done fighting; but I can still be useful in other ways. I am a United States Marine and Sniper, and I have more combat experience than probably half your fleet of Marines. It would be criminal for me to not pass on my skills to the next generation." He explained.
Chief Engineer Adams leaned forward, "You have skill with being a Drill Instructor."
Adrian shrugged, "I know the science and psychology behind it if that's what you mean; I know there's more to it than gettin up in peoples faces and screaming a string of curses at them if they so much as twitch. Although that's not really an option to me regardless…" He tapped the scar on his throat, and the humans in the room winced.
Zaeed just stared at him, while Ayita seemed to be relieved at his explanation; but Matriarch Benezia was unreadable for a long moment, before she finally said "Alright… We'll get you a list as soon as possible. Expect to begin training by the end of the week."
Adrian had to hand it to these Quarians, they sure knew how to make something from nothing.
He grinned as he turned the campaign hat in his hands; it was perfect, and his Urban Camo fatigues didn't look half bad either. His smile faded as he took in the rest of his appearance; the burn scar on his throat from shrapnel, the scar across his forehead from that damned worm that he and Aya had killed.
He reached into his breast pocket, and pulled out the old unit photo.
It was 3-4 Platoon in their dress uniforms, shortly after completing the Selection Process of the HECU; Adrian himself and Ayashe were the first two he noticed. Then Zaeed, Anderson, Eva, Jack, Ben, Tower, Jackson, Williams, Jenson, Jobb, Mitchell, Grace... And many others he could spend over an hour listing.
Adrian sighed and shook his head, quickly putting the picture back into his pocket; Anderson's fate was unknown, as the ship had left Earth in a hurry, and Anderson had stayed behind. Jobb, Mitchell, and Grace had been killed on the journey to the ship; Tower, Jenson, and Williams had managed to escape Black Mesa by the skin of their teeth and were somewhere in Mexico.
Jackson was apparently leading a Resistance Cell in Texas; but no one had heard from him in years. And Aya… Adrian shook his head, he couldn't afford to think about her at the moment; as much as he wanted to, and as much as he wanted to tell their daughter about her more, he just couldn't yet.
Our daughter… He chuckled, but his thoughts turned sour as he looked back at the last three he remembered in the photo. Jack had always been a schemer; and Eva had always been a sociopath, so their betrayal to save their own skin and indulge in their penchants for murder didn't surprise Adrian.
Ben though… I expected better from you Sergeant. Adrian thought bitterly, his anger threatening to overwhelm him.
"Psyching yourself up Gunnery Sergeant?"
Adrian flinched, then breathed a sigh of relief as he remembered it was just Zaeed; "Christ Sergeant Major, you're gonna give a brother a heart attack." He replied.
The old Soldier chuckled, "No matter how many times I hear it, I still can't get over how growly your voice has become. You sound like Clint Eastwood for God's sake; liking your 'official' promotion Gunny?" He asked, even as he eyed up the campaign hat and Adrian's perfectly ironed uniform and polished boots.
"Certainly a step up in pay grade… assuming we still get paid." Adrian replied, putting the campaign hat on. "At least now, I can get my cake and eat it too. Be with my daughter and granddaughter, and still be useful in some way."
Zaeed grunted, "Good to hear, and I'm glad you have no interest in going out and campaigning." Adrian didn't miss the warning tone in the old man's voice; and he just sighed and shook his head.
"Zaeed… I have no intention of walking out on Ayita; I would be spitting on Aya's memory and my own, to say nothing of how that would affect the poor girl." Adrian grimaced and leaned against the bulkhead, "And in all honesty Sarge… I'm burned out. I think being a Drill Instructor for this 'Systems Alliance Expeditionary Corps' is about all I can bring myself to do for the time being. Perhaps when little Ori is all grown up, I can consider going back into the field again; but not before."
"Hmm…" Zaeed grunted, and neither said anything for a long moment; before Zaeed, in an effort to change the subject from the dreaded 'touchy feely stuff', asked "So how do you plan on doing this? Barnes or Sharpe?"
Adrian tilted his head back and forth for a moment, "I was thinking more along the lines of a combination of Gunny Heartman and Gunny Highway."
Zaeed smirked, "A good choice, cause we got a multitude of races in there; and we got a whole panel of judges as well."
Adrian chuckled, "Make sure they know this is 'Rated R', cause I ain't holdin' back; or as much as my throat will allow."
Adrian walked up to the hatch, and took a breath; this was going to be the first platoon of the new 'Systems Alliance Expeditionary Corps', and the whole future of this new unit depended over whether or not he could get them to work together and fight together.
He had used his new "Omni-tool" to read over every single one of the people here.
Some were veterans, like those Asari that Samara and Benezia had recruited; a handful of the Quarian Marines the Admirals had picked out, and most of the Turians Nihlus had selected. The Human rebels didn't count in Adrians eyes, as they had no official training; and the majority of the rest, while having some form of combat training, had no combat experience.
Perfect for him, as they had no bad habits he needed to break them out of; perfect molds.
Adrian opened the hatch, and immediately he didn't like what he saw. All of the species were in their own specified groups, Asari with Asari, Humans with Humans, Quarians with Quraians, and Turians with Turians; there was a small number of Batarians, to Adrians surprise, but they seemed to be intentionally snubbed by the rest.
As while there were individuals who made efforts to cross bridges, and the other groups didn't shove them out; the Batarians were all held at arm's length, except by the humans. They actually seemed to be mixing together rather well, and it seemed to be tainting the other aliens' view of the humans as a result.
Shepard felt the DI's scowl work its way across his face; and noticed that there was some music playing from some kind of glowing, holographic device that reminded him of a phonograph record. It was from the Asari wing, and the music almost sounded classical.
Adrian hated classical music; well… not really, but it was a good motivator to get him angry.
He swept his eyes over the room and noticed that the majority had not noticed him. The ones that had had just shrugged and ignored him; the only two that made to call anyone to attention was a young human rebel, and a female Batarian recruit.
But both faltered and buckled under peer pressure when they noticed no one else react in any noticeable way. Adrian took note of both of them as potential squad leaders; and noted with displeasure that everyone was ignoring their assigned bunks and were just hanging about their peers.
Fully aware that everything was being recorded and that he now had a live Audience, with Zaeed's warning that even the Turian Basic Training was somewhat lacking in Comparison to US Marine Basic not even mentioning the SEALS, SAS, Marine Recon and all the rest firmly in his mind; Adrian strode over to the 'Phonograph Record' and shut it off.
As much as he wanted to scream like Gunny Heartman, he would have to make due with growling like Gunny Highway.
Adrian went to open his mouth, when the damned music player switched back on; he gave it a sideways look, then back over at the rest of the room. The Turians and Asari were sizing him up, the Asari in particular looking like they wanted to have sex with him right then and there; the Quarians, Batarians, and Humans seemed almost judgmental, as if gauging whether or not he was serious.
Shepard noted that the Asari seemed amused as he absently turned it off, and one glowed blue very briefly and turned it back on; and the whole group started to giggle.
Oh Hells no…
In one fluid motion Adrian grabbed the Alien Record Player, switched it off; and then threw it full force into the bulkhead right next to the Asari that had switched it on Biotically. The blue space woman all yelped and hopped backward in surprise.
Now he had everyone's attention, and Adrian walked forward; glaring all of them down.
Unlike Marine Boot, where Authority was respected within minutes just from the sheer reputation the Corps had in America; here, that Authority, Fear, and Respect needed to be built from scratch. Adrian wasn't even wearing his PCV, because he wanted them to know he could still kick their asses five ways to Sunday without it.
"My name is Gunnery Sergeant Adrian Shephard… And I've killed more people, pissed more blood, banged more quiff, and busted more bones-" Here he kicked a pile of suitcases over, spilling the contents all over the place; which Adrian noted with disgust that it seemed to be more of those scanty dresses that these Asari seemed to be fond of, "-Than all of you numbnuts put together. And I have been placed in charge of you miserable piles of shit; with one job, form you into a shipshape combat unit."
Here, some of the Asari and Turians seemed to find their courage; which didn't surprise Adrian, as both of their cultures almost seemed to promote their 'Inherent' superiority.
One of the Asari stepped forward, glaring Adrian down with an almost snooty air to her; which made Shepard wonder if Benezia, Samara, Nihlus, The Admirals, and Zaeed had intentionally chosen the most difficult to work with as a test. "And who are you to boss us around like some Matriarch, Human?" The Asari asked, holding a kind of wooden sceptre.
A pretty large Turian stepped forward as well, buzzing in anger; "We take care of ourselves." With a voice that gave Adrian the impression that he was more muscle than brains.
Adrian growled and yanked the Sceptre out of the Asari's hand and smashed it full force into one of the bunk frames; denting the metal and snapping the object in half, "You couldn't take care of a wet dream!" He snapped.
The Asari looked stunned for a moment, then growled and charged forward with a shriek.
Adrian deftly ducked under her biotic enhanced punch, and quickly punched her in the kidney's, then her floating ribs, then kneed her in the groin; before finally grabbing her by the weird head tentacles, and smashing her head into the bed frame.
He took a breath, and looked around.
The Humans and Quarians had all snapped to attention, while the Batarians, Asari and Turians all looked stunned; since from their point of view, the Asari had tried to punch the human, and in less than a second was now a beaten mess on the floor and holding back tears.
Adrian looked around the room and growled, "Everyone to your assigned bunks… now…"
Without a word, everyone began scrambling around and getting in front of their bunks; when Adrian tilted his head as he heard someone humming and giggling from out of the room. He turned to the hatchway that led to the Head, and strode over to it; and he noted the Asari and the Humans turning pale.
He heard one of the humans yowl in pain behind him, but ignored it; figuring he'd deal with it later.
He had figured what it was, but was still caught off guard by the sight of an Asari and human guy showering together. He promptly kicked the curtain down, and both recruits yelped in surprise. Thankfully they hadn't started yet; but both were ready from the looks of it.
Shepard tossed them both a towel and snapped, "Outside."
The Asari scrambled out first, just using it to dry off before slipping past Adrian; and he idly remembered that Asari had no nudity taboo, while the guy wrapped the tiny towel around his waist and followed suit.
Adrian closed his eyes and sighed again, Can't ever be easy can it? Is this what my DI's had to put up with? No wonder they were always angry.
He walked out of the Head and snapped, "Attention."
He noted with Amusement that the man had been trying to put on underwear, but now had to stand naked; not necessarily at attention, as he was using his hands to cover his junk. Adrian decided to grant him a small bit of mercy, and allowed him to stay like that. The Asari was doing the same, and again Adrian allowed her a small amount of pity; but nothing more beyond that, as they had brought embarrassment on themselves.
He began walking down the line, noting with satisfaction that the bunks were mixed races like he had asked.
He looked to the left, and noticed that one of the humans had a knife in his foot. Likely the cause of that shout of pain from earlier. He thought, walking right past the man; who had the naked Asari right next to him.
He walked up and down the line, until he spotted one of the humans and stopped in front of him.
He looked the man up and down for a moment, before growling; "You are one strange looking individual if you don't mind me saying so son. Name, Recruit?"
The man swallowed in clear fear, saying; "Geoffry Fink."
Adrian nodded, "And how long have you been dead son?" he asked.
Geoffry blinked, "Sir?"
Adrian stepped forward and got right in his face and snarled; "I am not sir… I am Gunnery Sergeant Shepard, and you shall refer to me as such; or Gunny if I respect you, but I very obviously don't. Sir you save for Officers, Knights, and useless people." Adrian took a breath, his throat throbbing. "Now then, the name is Ghoul you say?"
"Geoffry Fink, Gunnery Sergeant!" The Recruit shouted in reply.
"Ghoul it is then." Adrian said.
"Yes Gunnery Sergeant!"
Adrian turned and kept walking down the line, before coming to a stop in front of the still naked and wet Asari, who closed her eyes in fear; but Adrian just turned around to face the human next to her, the knife still in his foot. He walked up to the man, who was fidgeting and grimacing the whole while, and said; "There's something off in your presentation Recruit, but I can't quite place it." He looked the man up and down. "Is it the hair? Or the wrinkle in your trousers, or are you just excited to see me; or your bunkmate."
The man gulped and rasped, "I have a knife in my foot, Gunnery Sergeant."
Adrian looked down and looked back up, "Well yes, of course, the knife… Name Recruit?"
"Richard Heart Gunnery Sergeant." The man replied.
"No, your name is Recruit Idiot; do you know why?" Adrian demanded.
The man swallowed, "Because I have a knife in my foot, Gunnery Sergeant."
"How did the knife get there Recruit?"
The man's eyes flashed behind Adrian for a moment, "It was an accident Gunnery Sergeant, we were looking at it and dropped it when you sent us to attention."
Adrian resisted the urge to snort at such a flimsy excuse, but accepted it nonetheless; "I am heartened by your loyalty to your friend, and by the knowledge that you didn't place it there intentionally. Who. Threw. The Knife."
"I did Gunnery Sergeant! Recruit Palla Fennaba!" A voice called out from behind Adrian, and he turned around to see a Batarian Female, fidgeting nervously.
Adrian turned and walked up to her, fixating on her lower set of eyes; remembering that other species' inability to focus on which set made them seem subconsciously inferior to Batarians.
He looked her up and down for a moment, before growling; "Well… Well… Well… if it ain't the knife throwing witch cunt… I like your honesty witch, you can come home someday and fuck my sister if you'd like." before punching her in the stomach.
The Batarian woman gasped and held her stomach, even as Adrian glared her down; "Do not be so careless with your weapons. If I catch you throwing your weapon away again, particularly towards your boyfriend; there will be very... unpleasant consequences for you."
He heard a light snicker, and whipped his gaze down the line to a Quarian and Turian pair of bunkmates; "Who said that? Who the fuck said that?" He demanded, noting that it was likely going to be the last one he would harass as his throat was really starting to hurt.
Adrian stormed up to the Turian, noting that it was the same one from earlier; now completely cowed, "Was it you? You slithery little snake, I will unscrew your head from your body and shit down your neck." He spat.
"I did Gunnery Sergeant; Recruit Mel'Wamos." The Quarian practically squeaked.
Adrian stormed up to him, and ordered; "Depolarize your visor."
Among Quarians, to allow others to see each other's faces was seen as the greatest sign of intimacy and trust amongst family. Amongst strangers, for females it was seen as one step above being a hooker; for males, it meant that they were a womanizer looking to get laid.
He needed to break that mold, and was satisfied to hear the Quarian gulp with indecision for a moment; before acquiescing and doing so. He looked at the tan, silver eyed, but otherwise human face for a moment; before growling, "Let me see your war face."
The Quarians face shifted into one of confusion, "Gunnery Sergeant?"
Adrian snarled while giving the meanest look he could give, "That's a war face, now let me see it; roar!"
"AH!" The Quarian shouted, and Adrian had to fight down a smile.
"Bullshit, you didn't convince me; let me see your real war face." He said.
"AHHHH!" It wasn't bad, but Adrian wanted to see it through to the end.
"You still didn't convince me; work on that war face Recruit." He ordered.
"Yes Gunnery Sergeant!" The Quarian shouted.
Adrian nodded, planting his fists on his hips, before growling; "Recruit Idiot."
"Yes Gunnery Sergeant?!" The man shouted.
"Raise your foot." Adrian ordered, striding over. The man did so, but it would mean that Adrian would have to bend down and get it; "Higher." he snapped, and the man did so as he grimaced; already figuring what was coming next.
Adrian reached down and pulled the knife out of the recruits foot, and Heart hissed in pain; before lowering it again. Shepard looked around for a moment, before turning to Palla; "Recruit Knife Witch, take your boyfriend to the Med bay. Everyone else fall out for PT now." He ordered, and everyone scrambled outside while Palla and Richard walked out; Palla supporting the human she'd injured.
Adrian stopped as he noticed the naked Asari and Human had both stopped to put on their uniforms; and he growled to both, "I said move."
"We just need to get our uniforms on Gunnery Sergeant." The human exclaimed.
"I don't recall giving such an order, did I Recruit Idiot?" Adrian asked, glancing over his shoulder to Palla and Heart; who were moving out the hatchway.
"N-no Gunnery Sergeant." He replied, looking startled.
Adrian nodded, and pointed the knife at them, noting that while they weren't bunkmates, they were on the same side of the room. "I believe that any Man or Woman who takes such pride in their natural naked state, will surely enjoy the briskness of the Physical Training Bay and the admiring looks of their fellow squadmates; now move your parts Recruit Rooster and Recruit Hen." He snarled.
Both dropped their uniforms and hurried outside, the Asari covering her breasts and womanhood; while the human frantically kept a hand over his junk.
Adrian just shook his head as he followed after them. "You son and daughter of a bitch and bastard."
Zaeed was fighting down a laugh, and nonetheless had a nostalgic smile on his face; same with Master Chief Adams, as they were both products of Vietnam era training. They were the only ones smiling at the moment, besides Wrex of course; who just laughed that Adrian was laying down the law like a "Real Battlemaster".
Matriarch Samara remained as stoic as ever, but did wince at the beating the maiden had received; while Benezia frowned heavily, but had no comment otherwise. It was the rest of the old farts that had less than pleased reactions.
The Civilian and Patrol Fleet Admirals, along with Admiral Zorah, stared dumbfounded at the sudden violence of the newly appointed training instructor.
"Kheelah!" Shala slowly shook her head at Adrian's actions. "If human training is this casually brutal, it's a wonder any of your people survive the process." She was only partially facetious, as she fully expected several people to wash out within the first week.
Adams snorted, "It was worse when I went through Basic Training; because the DI's were in charge of double the number of people, with half the time given. And unlike here, once you volunteered; you couldn't drop out of basic. It was worse if you got drafted, as you likely didn't want to be there at all; unlike the people who volunteered, as they expected such training." He explained, sharing a look with the woman.
Zaeed nodded, "Same with Australia and New Zealand; though by the time Shepard got into Training, the draft had been removed because things got really bad, and the quality of troops had significantly declined."
Dr,. Chambers hadn't even looked up from her clipboard, "Studies showed and proved that an all volunteer Army is much better in terms of Quality as opposed to a conscript Army."
Nihlus buzzed lightly, mentally comparing what he had just seen; "So this kind of Training was standard then, for your military?" He asked.
Adams nodded, "The good ones, yeah; although he would have two or three more DI's helping him. Smoking any Recruits that had something out of order; and Shepard would be giving a speech to the Recruits instead. But as he's the only one, he's kind of had to blend it together."
Nihilus chattered absently as he watched the troop PT. "It's an interesting methodology. It wouldn't work in any of the Hierarchy's training centers."
Zaeed glanced over. "Oh?"
The Specter nodded. "Training and service are compulsory once someone is of age. We can afford to take the time to train even the, shall we say, most difficult recruits. There are some Turians who spend their entire adult lives in a training creche."
Dr. Chambers frowned heavily, while the humans all shared an uneasy glance. "Comrade Spectre…" she started. "Perchance, if your troops were ordered to fire upon a crowd of peaceful protestors, would your recruits do it?"
All the aliens in the room flinched, "O-of course not Doctor." Nihlus exclaimed, sounding appalled.
"And what if you were told that they murdered children in their sleep?" She asked.
"Absolutely not!" He all but barked in genuine distress. "A soldier in the Hierarchy as his first sworn duty to obey all laws and orders issued by those appointed above them. There is no higher authority within the Hierarchy than the Citadel Council, who have already issued laws forbidding such actions."
Dr. Chambers just shook her head, "And that's the problem, so long as you have a good enough justification to your men; a commander can order your people to do theoretically anything. Your people are so averse to questioning orders, that your excuse of 'just following orders' is not only valid; it is rewarded. Granted these are extreme circumstances, but all it takes is one bad commander… 'Just following orders' stopped being a viable defense at Nuremberg. And My Lai…" all the humans shuddered at the mention of it, and while they were curious none of the aliens asked.
After a long pause, Admiral Gerral said; "we're getting off track. What do you think is best for this multispecies Army Doctor?" He asked, turning to Dr. Chambers.
Kelly huffed and turned to face the Heavy Fleet Admiral. "Well first, not concussing the recruits. I understand his actions and reasoning on the surface," she nodded to the image of the still bloodied and wobbling Maiden, "but it does us no good to spend all of our medical resources patching up recruits from rough treatment. Beyond that, I couldn't say; I'm a Doctor, not a Military Planner."
"Hm… That is something of an exception, not a rule. Normally, the sheer reputation of a DI is enough to cow the recruits into obedience; and if not that, then definitely the screaming and PT would do the trick. But they wouldn't be all that impressed or intimidated, so he needed to establish dominance first and foremost. Word of mouth is just as strong as reality after all." Zaeed noted absently.
The rest of the group looked at each other with slight uncertainty, but Benezia simply nodded; "Very well… You and the Gunnery Sergeant have free reign; assuming you intend to help him?" She asked, while Samara crossed her arms with slight displeasure.
Zaeed nodded and grinned, "Once I get my own hat, I'll make the second platoon regret the day they were ever born."
Pilot A/N: Yeah… I kind of wanted my own Drill Sergeant scene in this; but it was something that sort of just popped up. Other than that, I don't have much to say about this chapter in all honesty, beyond saying that a Chekhov's Gun has been loaded for this chapter. Several in fact, one will be fired by the next chapter, but most you'll have to wait a bit till they go off.
Do you have anything to add Ian?
Ian A/N: For me, it was all about the reintroduction of Adrian to his daughter and her family. Found families are all well and good in storytelling, but nothing beats actual family; especially when it comes to family drama. We try not to belabor that point, but Adrian does have a long way to go in making up for lost time. Stay tuned dear readers.
Pilot: Right then, a TV tropes page would be loved and appreciated.
Please leave a review guys, it tells us if what we're doing is good or not.
And we will see ya when we see ya.