The Commanders Shepard

Ch. 3 – Reunited

The Disasters were all each ecstatic that the band would finally be getting back together. And though it stung that Admiral Shepard was unable to position herself there with them, they still loved being reunited.

Battle had hardened them and their myriad of experiences had molded them as soldiers. While Calamity Jane remained very much the same hyperactive ball of positive energy she always was, Catastrophe James and John the Cataclysm both saw shifts in their personalities due to what they had each been through.

Because of the ambush that killed his unit on Akuze, James developed a strong case of paranoia that made him hyper-vigilant and overly careful of just about everything he did. He also wound up with an intense hatred of thresher maws. So intense was it that the mere thought that one might be involved in anything he was a part of would short circuit his intellect and cause him to blindly want to seek revenge.

Rather than become the cold blooded killer his reputation would have others believe he was, the mountain that was John actually took on a quality seemingly inherited from his father, John Sr. The loss of so many of his men during the raid on Torfan led John to become overly protective of those around him. This was played to fault as he would often put himself directly in between his comrades and danger, completely dismissing any peril he brought upon himself in doing so.

Even with these new quirks in their mannerisms, John and James were, for all intents and purposes, still the same guys.

"Normandy crew, ATTEEEEEEN-TION!" Fleet Admiral Steven Hackett, the Systems Alliance's top ranking officer presided over the gathered enlisted men and officers at Arcturus Station. "Today is an important day, for all of us here, for the Alliance, and for the whole of humanity. You men and women assembled here today were chosen to crew the most advanced warship ever created by the hands of man."

Admiral Hackett looked out at the sea of faces, allowing himself a quiet moment of pride before continuing. "Among you today are some of the best and brightest humanity has to offer. The number of medals, commendations, and field promotions of this small crew gathered here total greater than the whole of my Fifth Fleet." Hackett paused to let that comment sink in on the crew. "Get out there and put our new baby through her paces, and look good doing it!" He could see the sense of pride begin to well up among the crew.

Hackett turned right face and called out, "Admiral Anderson." Vice Admiral David Anderson, who was a step behind and off to his side, took a step forward, turned left face, and saluted. Hackett returned the salute and said, "Admiral, you have the watch. Now get to it!"

Anderson dropped his salute and turned right face, back toward his crew. "Parade REST!" The crew did as ordered. "All right people, you heard the man. Report to your respective stations onboard to begin familiarizing yourselves with our new home. We go underway to begin the shakedown cruise at zero six next Monday morning. Normandy crew, ATTENTION! DISMISSED!" At his command, the crew of the Normandy went about the business of gathering their gear and filing aboard.

Among the other top brass in attendance was Rear Admiral Hannah Shepard. As the crew got aboard, she made her way toward the command team. The SSV Normandy's command team consisted of Commanding Officer Vice Admiral David Anderson, chief medic Lieutenant Commander Karin Chakwas, Armory officer and chief engineer Commander James Shepard and his lead engineer Lieutenant Gregory Adams, head of the ship's Marine detail Commander John Shepard and his right hand man Staff Lieutenant Kaiden Alenko, head of clandestine ops and Intelligence Officer Commander Jane Shepard, and pilot Flight Lieutenant Jeffrey Moreau.

It did her heart well to see her brood standing alongside her old friend as they stood on the precipice of such an important mission. She knew of what was going to be happening beyond the Normandy's initial shakedown, and she knew she could trust David to lead them through it.

As the trio saw her approach, they formed their height line next to Admiral Anderson and, in perfect sync with each other as if it were practiced, offered a salute. Jane, the eldest of the three and in the front being the shortest in the height line, spouted off, "Disasters unit reporting for duty, Admiral Mom!" Hackett, Anderson, and Hannah all had a bit of a giggle at just how sharp and serious the triplets made the silly moment seem.

Playing along, Hannah squared up in front of them and crisply returned their salute. "At ease". Again in sync, they dropped their salutes and went into Parade Rest. "Disasters unit, huh?" She shot a glance over to Hackett and Anderson, who both nodded. "Disasters unit; report to the ship immediately. The three of you will share the position of Executive Officer under Admiral Anderson. Once the shakedown is done, the Normandy will transition straight into active duty, ready to be assigned missions. Show the galaxies what the Shepard clan is made of. Now, go be great! Dismissed." One by one, they hugged "Admiral Mom" and filed aboard the ship with the rest of the crew.

Once they were out of ear shot, Hackett looked to Hannah and Anderson and said, "They'll make great Spectres."

A short while later on board the Normandy, after they had had time to get out of their dress uniforms and stow their gear, the Shepard Triplets ran into each other on the mess deck. As quickly as she had seen him, Jane launched herself at James, who engulfed her in a big loving hug. No sooner did she let James loose did John surprise her by hoisting her tiny frame up onto his shoulder. From her lofty perch, Jane said, "Well how do you like that? Papa Jess and Uncle Joe's tag for us is our official call sign now."

James adjusted his glasses and after a quick chuckle said, "You think they liked our little show?"

John, unencumbered by the presence of his "little" sister on his shoulder, said, "I don't even know how we pulled that off. I just know that as soon as I saw Calamity move, my body seemed to feel compelled to follow. Amazing we did that completely in unison without any practice or even knowing about it prior."

Jane looked down at him and added, "It's that old superstition about twins being connected on some whole different wavelength. Not the first time it's happened. I remember the first time James got hammered when we were in high school, I felt his hangover the next day. Or some time during one of John's last deployments, he must have caught a hard hit to a weak spot on his hardsuit, because James said he woke up one morning with sore ribs after a long night of library study." After her statement, she glowed blue and floated down from her seat atop Mount John. Once on the deck, she affectionately threw herself into his side and was greeted by his tree branch of an arm pulling her in even closer.

John shrugged and said, "Maybe you're onto something there. But how 'bout this boat though? Ain't she pretty?"

James could no longer hide his giddy excitement. "As an engineer, I'm so pumped to be crew on the Navy's most advanced new rig."

Jane bared her claws for a playful barb at her brother. "Dude! Put your nerd boner back in your pants!"

Unscathed by her quip, James went on to say, "I can't help it! This beast is a techie's dream! The hum of her drive core is like music to my ears. And have you seen the forward battery? It's just a shame she didn't come equipped with an armory. My first order of business is going to be to get with the requisitions officer and rectify that."

Jane chimed in there. "Bruh... Put that thing away. But yeah, I know what you mean. She's got just about everything you could want, but there are a few odds and ends she's missing. I would like to dedicate a space specifically for my intel ops."

"Make it happen then, Commander." The three of them were startled by the sudden interjection and appearance of Admiral Anderson.

Out of pure instinct, the second they realized who it was, the Shepard Triplets all snapped to attention facing him and John's deep voice bellowed through the mess with "Attention on deck!"

"At ease. Anyway, I like that you're already looking to make improvements. Gotta make a house a home, right? We have a week before we take off so we've all got time to write our names in the wet cement, as it were."

With a crisp salute, Jane piped up with, "Yes sir! Absolutely sir." Anderson returned her salute then walked off. As soon as he was gone, Jane burst into a fit of giggles. "Oh man. I am fan-girling so hard right now. I can't believe we get to work with THE David Anderson. I swear that old man is my hero. Mom told me when I graduated N School that he was even a candidate to become the first human Spectre. How cool is that?"

With a chance to pay back Jane's playful barb, James chimed in with, "Well, you'll get plenty of time to drool over him. We're stuck on this boat with him for the foreseeable future."

Brushing it off, Jane simply reveled in their current situation.

Author's Note: This story is slow in coming, but I'm attempting to stick with it. I ran into major creative blocks with my Breath of Fire, Street Fighter, and Mortal Kombat stories. But given how much I love Mass Effect, I am hoping to stay with it and plan this out up until at least the end of ME2. I have the major in game story points plotted out, but I am more than open to suggestions over PM with ideas for details here and there. And please free to leave a comment. I thrive on feedback.