Summary: The Normandy's shakedown it not only technical; the timing of the departure left Shepard with no time to train the marine detail. A combination of things lead her to try an alternate training method that she hopes will help with team building as well as held her get a bead on the Staff Lieutenant.

A/N: This is a new series I'm working on that will span all three games, so strap in for the long haul. I thoroughly enjoy delving into the characters, both mine and the game's, so you'll get to know people in a new and interesting light. You will probably see some little traces of headcanon here and there, though major ones I'll try to point out. I hope you will enjoy this piece and please, read and review, I would really like to know if you liked this story or not, or any thoughts you'd like to share with me!

Acknowledgements: I want to throw many kudos and flowers at the feet of my beta readers-xforeverquotex, my paramour, and brownc0at. You guys are amazing and I appreciate your time and assistance with this piece.

Disclaimer: Mass Effect belongs to Bioware, I'm only playing with their universe. I do not own the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story. I do it for the love of the game, the world, and the characters; and because they stuck with me long after I turned the game off (and back on, and off, ad infinitum).

FWN: 03 Control and Amplitude

i.

The first few days of the shakedown run had been spent acclimating everyone to the ship's schedule. They ran on a twenty-four-hour cycle that corresponded with Earth's for ease of communication with Command. Shepard set out requirements for two hours of physical training per day for the marines in the ship's detail, which she liberally extended on a regular basis.

The chief and the corporals were tasked to back up the MP security detachment on the ship. Crosby and McMillan had been detailed to ships before and understood the expectation of the cross-duty assignment, but it wasn't a familiar assignment for Niveda or Jenkins. Despite this, the two younger servicemen took to it quickly. Alenko spent his time with the flight and engineering crews, filling in wherever he was needed, though he was officially designated to the flight crew.

Their daily drills were limited to hand-to-hand combat and physical training. Unfortunately, the ship didn't have full training facilities like other larger vessels in the fleet. There wasn't a full running track or separate training rooms, and there was no range to speak or, not even a modified one. Frigates were small, fast vessels, and they were lucky that this one's design allowed for a reasonably-sized gym in the cargo bay.

Leaning against the wall, Kaidan struggled to get his breath, just like all the rest of them-well, except for Shepard. She wasn't winded despite the fact that she'd been right there with them every step, every exercise, though she occasionally stepped out to yell her own special brand of encouragement at them both individually and as a group.

"All right," she said reluctantly. "Dismissed. But I'll see your smiling faces bright and early tomorrow."

As the enlisted members of the detail filed out of the room, she watched them, arms crossed over her chest. Alenko couldn't really read her, but he had started picking up on things and the look on her face told him she considering something, perhaps the torture for tomorrow, or maybe just wondering what was on the menu for the day in the mess. That much he still couldn't tell yet.

"What's on your mind, Lieutenant?" she asked, seeming to notice he'd been studying her.

"Not much right now ma'am. Too tired to think." They both laughed brightly. "This is reminding me of candidacy."

"Yeah, that's the point."

The commander walked over to one of the treadmills and tapped the console a few times. He couldn't fathom it. After what they'd just done she was going for a jog on top of it. The muscles in his legs ached at the thought of it.

"Stress them and test them?" he muttered, crossing toward her.

"Along those lines. Oh and fair warning," she offered as she tapped at the controls of the treadmill, increasing the pace a little. "Eat a big breakfast tomorrow."

He just looked over at her curiously as he leaned against the machine next to the one she was on.

"There seems to be an overwhelming lack of experience working with biotics in the Alliance military. In my time I've found your people are a little easier about it if they know what you can do to them as well as for them." Her tone was matter of fact.

He was sure his surprise was written all over his face. She was being rather nonchalant about her suggestion; despite people like he and Shepard commonly joining the service, most soldiers were extremely trepid about working with biotics. He didn't realize that the suggestion came from personal experience, and that she had put each of her old team members through their paces in the past precisely because she found it helped to ease the tension associated with a lack of direct knowledge.

"You're just jerking me around, right? Trying to gauge my response?"

"Not in the least."

"You want me to …?" He wasn't sure what she wanted him to do.

"It'll be much nicer if you do it. Plus, they are already intimidated by me. And a good friend of mine always says: a little healthy fear of your direct superiors isn't a bad thing." She was grinning widely and her pace hadn't faltered once during their conversation Shepard took long steady strides as she ran toward nowhere, she just seemed to be enjoying it.

"That part was a joke." The glint in her eye and the casual shrug made Kaidan wonder if it really was a joke. Then her tone went serious again. "Think of it like weapons training, they need to know what and who they are working with. My guess is you'll be gentler than me."

"Why would you say that?"

"You've been pulling punches with the Chief in hand-to-hand," she said flatly as she came to a sudden halt and stepped off the machine.

Oh, shit. Jenkins had said that N7s could see it all. He just didn't suggest what exactly all entailed. "Noticed that?" he asked the floor tile beneath his boots.

"Why?"

Kaidan looked at her again straightening and crossing his arms over his chest. "Chief's a nice guy. We've worked together before. And I didn't want to lay him out in front of them all."

"Like I'm going to do to you tomorrow?" she interrupted his thought as she walked across the room and grabbed her water bottle. He stared after her for a stunned moment then approached her. She glanced up at him. "Yeah, I'm serious."

"For what reason?"

"There has to be a reason?"

It seemed like a dare for a moment. Then he realized she was still watching him. Observing me, more like. He didn't reply. He wasn't sure if she wanted one or not, but he didn't have an answer for that question anyway. Thinking back he'd have to wager that most of his instructors and trainers didn't really need a reason for a training exercise. Though Kaidan still wonder what might be the impetus for the suggestion that Shepard had made.

She finally looked away as she stretched her neck, rubbing a one spot for a moment. It made him realize she wasn't as immune to the fatigue they were all feeling as he'd initially considered.

"They're all being too nice. Training's not about nice. You put each other through your paces to make sure that when you need that person to have your back, they damn well have your back. You learn what to expect from one another. Learn to count on people. Learn to read them, anticipate them," she continued, as her gaze fell on him again. "Everyone's playing nice. And you get to be the martyr for the team. Besides, you could get lucky, and knock me on my ass. Doubtful, but it could happen."

"Is that why you warned me?"

She walked backward toward the door. The look on her face was an impish dare and it both intimidated and enticed him all at once. "Hey, I try to be fair."

He blinked at her a few times, waiting for his head clear, before he replied, "Then why didn't you warn them?"

"They are just getting toyed with. Tossed around a bit," she explained with a dismissive wave of her hand. "They'll love it. They always do. See you in the morning," Shepard concluded as she slipped out the door.

Yeah, and what are you doing to me? He watched her pass out of sight through the doorway as he stood there, seemingly cemented to that spot from fatigue and uncertainty. There is no way that this will go well.

When Alenko made his way to the cockpit, he opted to do a little research and pulled up the commander's service record on one of his consoles.

"What's that?" Joker asked, leaning over just enough that he could eye the text.

"Shepard's jacket."

The pilot studied his friend for a moment, which encouraged Alenko to reveal what Shepard had announced less than an hour earlier. "Are you cracked, Alenko? Going brain-to-brain with the Commander Shepard? You're going to wind up a smear on a bulkhead, man."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence."

With a shrug, Joker replied, "Against anyone else on this ship, well, except maybe Anderson and the turian, I'd put my money on you. But even if she doesn't get close enough to drop you, you are going to go down."

"How can you be so sure? I can hold my own, you know." Kaidan was a little offended that his friend was siding with his challenger, though if he were honest with himself Joker's assessment was probably right on target.

Joker laughed ominously. "Yeah, but I don't think that's going to help you with Shepard," Joker quipped and Kaidan rolled his eyes, ignoring the reference and returning his focus to the information on his XO.

Everything in her file backed the pilot's prediction up. Though it didn't talk about her skill in great detail, it mentioned her being a very powerful biotic with assessment scores off the charts when she enlisted. About the only criticism he found about her prowess was her lack of finesse in using her biotics and she depended on firearms neglecting her biotic abilities. He couldn't help but wonder if that last factor was compounded by her role as an N7.

Something she said made him wonder if her own experience working with biotics was limited, or maybe she leaned on her weapon prowess because she just didn't have the in depth training some biotics got. He shook off memories of his own training and continued to peruse one instructor's evaluation of her abilities: Striking power, which she neglects. Could use more training in control. Her abilities tend to be large but weaker than they could be. Exercising more precision could lead to a significant increase in the amplitude of her powers. At this time she remains heavily reliant on emotional and situational triggers.

The last line stood out to him, and he couldn't help but wonder what precisely they meant. He was aware that biotics in emotionally-charged situations could show signs, and that sometimes people could spike higher given certain emotional triggers-like fear and self-preservation. That fact he knew first hand.

The next morning Alenko had taken her suggestion and fueled up for a grueling day. He just hoped it wouldn't end with him curled up in the fetal position in a dark corner in the medical bay. There were extra crewmen in the gym when he arrived, and not just medics. Off-duty crew were milling around the edges of the gym, in the doorway, and in the cargo bay beyond.

Joker, he groaned inwardly.

Dr. Chakwas shot him a curious glance when he stepped into the relatively confined space lined with mats on three walls and mirrors on the last. Shepard must have gotten there first and prepped the room, it was an idea that should be comforting but only served to increase his lingering anxiety.

"Good Morning, Doctor," he said as he came to stand next to her.

Dr. Karin Chakwas eyed him carefully for a moment. "You wouldn't be willing to tell me why I was asked to be here with multiple medics on hand, would you?"

"The commander didn't tell you?" he asked cautiously. Chakwas was measuring his response. Alenko shrugged, surveying the activity in the room. Shepard had set it up for sparing, and the extra mats did not go unnoticed.

"Come on, now," Shepard offered from behind them. "If I told her everything, the good doctor here would have to tell me all the reasons why I shouldn't do it. Then she'd have to threaten me. Possibly even call Dad, who may or may not feel the need to intervene."

Alenko had to stifle a laugh at her reference to their captain.

"Then I'd have to be stubborn and rebellious, and ignore it all. Probably get multiple lectures for disobeying orders, possibly even a nasty little letter added to my book. Way too much trouble." She smiled at the doctor and Alenko was sure Chakwas lost a little color.

Shepard's volume rose with the next statements. "All right people. I'd like to thank our Normandy med staff for being here. More than you know." She looked at the squad she was trying to hone and smiled in a way that could only be meant to generate worry, if not a little fear. "How many of you have worked with a biotic in the past?"

Kaidan raised his hand, as did McMillan as he shot a quick glance at the lieutenant. Shepard nodded, she'd read in their files that they'd done a tour together and Alenko had mentioned it.

"How many have gone up against one?"

Only Alenko this time.

"That's about what I thought. So, Lieutenant, you ready?" All the eyes in the room were suddenly on him.

"Yes, ma'am," he replied without a trace of the concern he felt about this little exercise. He didn't do a lot of sparring with biotics, and never with anyone with actual combat experience. But he was determined that no one but himself would be aware of his hesitance.

She made a dramatic gesture toward the matted area then winked at Chakwas. As she passed by the doctor, Chakwas grabbed Shepard's arm and whispered sharply in the younger woman's ear. Shepard smiled and nodded a few times. "Oh, it'll be fine," she said a little more loudly to the doctor. Then turned her attention to her junior officer and called, "Are you worried, Lieutenant?"

"Not at all, ma'am," he lied, rather convincingly he thought, as he turned to face her.

Shepard stopped at the edge of the mat and turned her back to him; she ignored the concerned exchanges of the medical staff and looked at her detail. "I've noticed something the past few days. Even though I've asked you not to, told you not to, and ordered you not to," she said with overdramatic emphasis. "You people are still pulling punches and taking it easy on your teammates. Even Alenko did it. Now in the past that would have probably meant a lot of yelling on my part and people getting run to the brink of exhaustion." She stopped moving and set her hands on her hips. "But we don't have that kind of time here. So we're going to try this by the trickle down method."

Her expression became serious in the blink of an eye as she leaned forward, her hands crossed over her chest. "But after this display-the next person to pull a punch goes toe to toe with me." She grinned at the reaction. "Ah good, we understand one another. I do so hate to repeat myself," she added lightly as she glanced back at the lieutenant.

The shuffling near the door announced the arrival of the captain and the Spectre. He hadn't figured this little event would go unnoticed, especially since Joker knew about it, but he hadn't expected this kind of audience. The lieutenant knew that he probably shouldn't have informed the most well-connected man on the ship about the match, but he'd needed someone to talk to about all this. Because he was just as intimidated by Shepard as much of the rest of the crew, though the only person he'd ever admitted it to was the pilot.

Alenko was smart enough to know that officers shouldn't go around broadcasting their weaknesses, or perceived weaknesses, to the rest of the crew. He only told Joker because he knew that as chatty and informative as the helmsman of the Normandy could be, Jeff was a stand up guy who knew precisely what could and should be said and what needed to remain in the vault.

The commander nodded to the men at the door then took a deep breath and crossed the mat toward the Kaidan. Every move was calculated and intended to create a desired response. She wanted to intimidate him and set him in the right mindset for her to push him-hopefully, past his limits. Leaning her head slightly toward each shoulder, she stared at him coolly. When she stopped, she was more than fifteen feet away. Joker had been right; she wasn't planning on laying a hand on Alenko, which, strangely, wasn't a comforting thought. Her actions were measured, as were his reactions to them. And it quickly became clear to him that this was more than an exercise, it was an assessment. He tried to take her intimidation in stride.

"You've got this L-T," McMillan offered in support. His sentiment was soon echoed by the rest of the team.

Shepard touched her chest and glanced at her crew. "Ouch. No love." Her tone mocked hurt, but her smile was genuine and their reaction seemed to please her. She turned her gaze back to Kaidan. "Whenever you're ready, Mr. Alenko."

He nodded. Kaidan felt the slight tightness of the stasis creep up his legs before he could even decide if he wanted to attack first. Damn, she's fast. He hadn't even seen the movement that set it. He broke the stasis as quickly as she'd placed it. And that was weak. No, it was a trick. Just to play with you, to get into your head. He watched her for a moment, uncertain. He didn't want to take the first shot, he assumed from his late night research that she'd be more comfortable reacting to his attacks and didn't want to play into her strengths.

The smirk suggested she might know where his mind was at. Shepard tugged him, setting him off balance just before she threw him; it worked to offset him, which had been the intent, but he came back up quickly and pulled her into the air. It was short-lived; she grounded herself quickly before pairing a movement with her left hand with a forceful motion leading with the heel of her right palm. He righted himself from the pull as the blue skipped across the mat toward him and his dodge was late.

Goddamn, she's pushing. And now I'm the one left reacting. She was proving more offensive than he had anticipated. Everything in her file spoke of using other tactics before her biotics; her ease with this display distracted him from everything he thought he knew about her methods.

Kaidan pulled up his barrier to fend off her next strike. What am I doing? Going head to head biotically with someone this powerful. Hell with this! She wants us to stop pulling punches, then let's pull out all the stops. His omnitool lit to life as he sent an electronic burst her way. She dove, but it tracked her. Now she's reacting. He pulled her into the air. The barrier pulled her back down, and she sent the controlled orb of energy at him, and then tossed him again.

The exchange continued for a several more minutes. Part of him knew she wasn't going full out, but she moved so quickly and fluidly that he had trouble thinking anything out too thoroughly. Despite his desire not to be, he was merely responding to her barrage with barely any time to think things out. After getting thrown off kilter by another shockwave he righted himself in time to pair a warp with a watered-down cryoblast. He lost track of her for a moment, until she was in front of him in a burst of energy that pushed him backward. He bounced off the thickly padded wall a few feet behind him.

Chakwas had been on her feet the entire time, inching toward the mat the longer it went on, but when she saw Shepard charge the move she'd stepped onto the mat. "I'm calling it," the doctor yelled.

It came half a second too late. Kaidan had decided on a response and lunged at the commander with a glowing fist, which connected with the distracted woman's jaw. He'd reacted as he'd been doing almost the entire fight, and once his head caught up with the rest of him, he regretted it.

Everyone in the room froze and stared at the two officers. The lieutenant stumbled back a step as the barrier shimmered off the commander's lithe form. Kaidan looked up at her, expecting to be laid out, thinking he deserved it.

Shepard's laugh broke the stunned silence. The sound was playful, but the busted lip and blood on her teeth made it look maniacal. "About damn time somebody threw a real punch. Toss me a towel, Crosby," she ordered as the silent and wide-eyed corporal complied, still staring at her as she ran her tongue along the inside of her mouth.

"You good, Alenko?" she asked, offering him her hand. He shook it and her nod assured him there were no hard feelings.

He was a little winded from the hit, but that wasn't really a surprise. He couldn't help but stare at her, and deep down he couldn't help but think that was precisely the outcome she'd been looking for, or something like it. He'd expected to be laid out for the reaction, but she just seemed delighted about the whole thing, though he felt a bit like an ass.

Now that the main event had concluded most of the crewmen, including the captain and Nihlus had vacated the cramped space and left the medics and the ground team to the rest of their training for the day. While the whispers went unheard, the glances cast in Alenko's direction didn't go unnoticed. Most of them seemed shocked. He wasn't sure if they were surprised that he survived, that he'd punch Shepard, or that she hadn't killed him for it. In the end he knew it didn't really matter at all.

"Nice hit by the way. You play rugby much?" Kaidan joked as he leaned against the wall at the doctor's insistence.

"Nah. Not my game," she replied crossing the room and hopping onto the table the team was sitting on. "But had this mean asari vanguard as a tutor, who thought every biotic needed to know how to charge."

She straightened up slightly and with a mocking and superior tone offered her best impression. "The psychological power involved with instantly appearing in your opponent's personal space and thrusting them backward using their own power against them is immeasurable." She touched the towel to her mouth again. "Comes in handy from time to time."

Kaidan laughed as he approached the table. "Well, she was right. Threw me off-completely."

"That was the whole point." She looked up at him and her eyes seemed to confirm what he'd started thinking. Shepard had been pushing him hard and fast to get him to let loose, to open up on her. And he'd played right into it.

ii.

The commander had gotten precisely what she wanted out of the match. She knew he hadn't gone all out, at least until the punch, but then she hadn't either. She really wanted to see how he would handle the situation. Would he back down or step up? And he'd more than stepped up; he'd jumped up, which she was satisfied with. But she still wanted to know what level of biotic intensity she was working with, and it looked like she wouldn't find that out until they were actually in the field.

Dabbing at her at her lip to stem the rather free flow of blood, Shepard glanced around at the faces on her team. They were not intimidated by what had happened. They seemed to grasp the lesson she was aiming to teach.

When the doctor turned her attention from the lieutenant to the commander, Shepard held up a hand. The familiar metallic taste of her own blood spread was still fresh on her tongue, but she didn't need medical attention. "It's a fat lip, which I deserve for not paying attention. I'm fine."

The doctor muttered something and her scowl intensified.

"Oh yeah, encourage me to give you something to do," the commander replied with a playfully challenging tone then looked at Crosby, who flinched a little. She knew she was going to have to find a way to get him more comfortable around biotics, or maybe he just wasn't comfortable around her. "All right, I think it's time for show and tell. Lieutenant, you're on."

Alenko laughed when the team followed her gaze and stared blankly at him. "Who's feeling adventurous?"

Shepard wasn't surprised Niveda volunteered first. The commander remained at her perch to watch the rest of the show with Dr. Chakwas standing next to her. "That was not the smartest choice, Commander. Two biotics duking it out. On the ship."

"I cleared it with Engineering first, and I warned him. Not like I sprung it on him." She glanced in the direction of the woman whose face suggested she clearly did not believe the commander. "And I needed to know what to expect out of him. I'd like to have seen how he'd react after the charge, but someone's overdeveloped maternal instinct stopped it short," she added with a little laugh to show she was just teasing the medical officer.

"Someone else could have been hurt. Or one of you two."

"One of us did get hurt." She smiled, which added a sharp sting to the little throb in her lip. "But he's still holding back," Nyx disclosed, watching the lieutenant fling recruits into the air with a very controlled pull. "He's got to open up a little more; there's more power there. I can tell."

A few times she'd felt ripples of it in the abilities, there seemed to be waves in the power amplitude, which suggested to her there was more there. She knew that had both muted their amps, even if she'd gone all out she wouldn't have been able to kill him if she wanted to with her biotics, though a concussion could have been likely. But even with the headjacks tuned to training parameters, he was manipulating the size and power of his skills.

Nyx looked over at Chakwas whose face bore a look of consternation. "What? He should be spiking higher. According to the captain, he's one of the most powerful and skilled biotics in the service, even though he's holding back. If he opened up," Shepard said, shaking her head as she shifted off the table and crossed the room. Nyx grabbed a small bottle of orange juice out of the refrigeration unit near the door.

"You wanted him to go all out?"

"Of course. That was the point of that little exercise."

"You didn't," Chakwas rightly accused, crossing her arms over her chest. Shepard eyed the Normandy's medical officer. "If you had, he'd be in my med bay after that little charge-discharge display. Or have you forgotten that I've seen you in action, Commander? I've seen you kill a man with that same move."

Shepard leaned closer, her eyes locked on those of the older woman. "I wasn't out to injure him, just see what I'm working with. And hopefully discourage him from holding back. But even with everything I threw at him, he was still measuring everything. He never opened up, even with his tech, though that seemed a little freer than his biotics. I don't have time for them to play nice. I have limited time and resources to turn these people into a team I can take into the field."

Chakwas nodded, the look on her face suggested that the doctor finally realized precisely what the commander was driving at.

Shepard leaned back and her face lost the traces of concern. "I know Anderson handpicked them. But these people can only be described as inexperienced, even if they have incredible potential. I have to prepare them. They have to be ready for anything, and right now they are not." Shepard looked at the doctor and revealed, "I'm trying…"

"I understand." Chakwas smiled and set a comforting hand on the younger woman's shoulder. "Let's get something on that lip," she ordered as she crossed back to the table Shepard had vacated.

Shepard stared at the wall and took a long pull on her juice. She didn't think anyone noticed it. She hadn't held back on much else. But that move she knew could put an armored man in the hospital, even with safety considerations in place. She wasn't willing to take any chances. Team building usually fell apart when you put a member of that team in traction. She rubbed her tongue along her lip again. Stop doing that or you'll make it worse. The voice in her head was her father's, not her own, and it made her chuckle to herself as she crossed to the doctor.

In her discussions with Anderson, he had mentioned that she would still find herself on the ground, thus the need for this team. Her concern was that someone wouldn't be ready. And it was her job to make sure they were. The lieutenant commander took a deep breath and turned back to the display. The team actually seemed like they were enjoying themselves. But then in her experience her old squad had always liked the no-holds-barred sparring matches too, especially if someone had gotten mouthy enough to call the commander out on "that fancy blue brain shit," as one overzealous ensign had termed it.

Tension flared up after things became a little too relaxed. Everyone froze when Jenkins hit the ground, hard. They stared, but no one moved. Chakwas pushed one of her corpsmen out of the way as she moved toward the mat, and Alenko blanched. Then the corporal popped up, hands triumphantly above his head. "That was AWESOME!" The gym filled with laughter.

Shepard crossed the mat with a relieved smile and clapped the corporal on the shoulder. "All right. Let's call it, people. Get out of here. Go on, out of my PT area." She listened to the sound of the retreating stampede as she made notes on her omnitool.

"Hey!" There was enough of a pause for her to turn toward Alenko before he tossed something in her direction. "Catch!"

She grabbed the bottle flying at her. "Thanks." She finished up her notes then closed her omnitool and looked over at him.

"So, if that little show was all about getting them to stop holding back, why am I not in the medical?" He raised the water bottle to his lips and stared at her with a trace of a satisfied grin on his lips.

Shepard smiled and nodded. The main point of the displays had been show and tell, essentially. The squad now had direct experience with the arsenal the two officers were working with. But that wasn't the only reason. She'd only rarely worked with biotics; she too wanted to know who and what she was working with, just as much as she wanted the rest of them to know it. And while Alenko wasn't the first biotic she'd worked with, he was the first she'd placed in a position of sparring with her.

"Because that wasn't the only goal." She took a drink as he nodded. He was still staring at her, waiting. "And now they've seen what I'm capable of. They've experienced what you're capable of. We are no longer an unknown quantity in their minds." Another nod. He didn't seem satisfied yet. "What? Do you want a do-over?"

"No, thanks," he relented, holding up his hands and chuckling. "My neck's probably going to be sore for a day, or so, as it is." He rubbed at the top of his shoulder for a moment, rather unconvincingly.

"Whatever you say, L-T," Shepard replied with a smile. "Which reminds me. Nice punch." She set the bottle down and leaned her hands against the table between them for a minute before she found the best way to ask. She opted for the most diplomatic approach she could muster. "You are very controlled in the use of your biotics, but freer with your tech. But you were holding back in both departments. What gives?"

He looked at her curiously. "I'm not sure what you mean?" His gaze dropped to the water bottle for a second.

She could see that he did, but she wasn't going to push it yet. He didn't really trust her yet, as an officer or as a teammate, so she wouldn't harp on it. She just wanted him to know she was aware of it. "Don't get me wrong. You seem to have great precision and you can pack a punch, but there seems to be almost too much control in the amplitude of your maneuvers."

He nodded slowly as he looked at his water. "Hmm. Don't think I've ever heard it put like that before. I'll look into it, Commander."

"Sure thing," she replied, straightening. "Thanks for the water, Lieutenant." Shepard slapped him on the shoulder and left him standing there in the empty gym. She wouldn't bring it up again, but at least he was thinking about it, which was what she wanted.

"Anytime, Commander," he answered.

iii.

Kaidan thought he'd imagined it, the hitch in her step when he'd replied. He hadn't intended to repeat the last thing he'd said to her the night they met, but her reaction told him he wasn't the only one that still remembered it, in his case, too vividly. It made him wonder if he wasn't the only one having trouble putting it out of his mind, as well. But part of him knew it didn't matter.

He'd made the decision long before he even got the assignment that his career came first. And this position was one he didn't intend to lose because he started thinking with the wrong head. He watched her walk out of the room, wondering if his response had been the right one. He measured all his exchanges with Shepard differently than he might have if not for that chance meeting; part of him wondered if it was really necessary.

When they were working with the squad, things seemed totally on the mark, but there were other times when things seemed to be more difficult. He looked up at the ceiling and drank his water, not moving for a long time.

Joker's voice echoed in his throbbing skull. "All right, stop basking in your survival and get your ass up here. The heat transfer rate is fluctuating erratically again. We're going to have to recalibrate it for the third time this week."

"Give me ten?"

"Sure thing. Not like we're under the bubble right now anyway."

The lieutenant slipped out of the area and up to the crew deck. As he stepped out of the elevator, he bumped headlong into Shepard-piercing blue eyes blinking up at him, wet hair down, wearing shorts and a t-shirt, arms filled. It was like that first night all over again for a moment, he couldn't move or breathe. Then the fog cleared and they both shuffled in step a few times before they stopped, calculating a solution that would end the little dance. Kaidan grabbed her upper arms and held her still for a moment then sidestepped her and ducked into the corridor that lead to the male officer's quarters.

He slipped into the room he shared with the other male officers and leaned against the wall just inside the door when he found the room empty. His mind raced. Some moments it was all so crystal clear and under control, then the next it was all up in the air again. He could feel his pulse racing, blood thudding through his veins. "Get a grip, Alenko," he told himself as he crossed to his bunk and dug out his shower kit and a clean uniform.

iv.

The lieutenant commander sat on the edge of her bunk buttoning her blouse as she chastised herself. She'd thought the balance was shifting; they worked well together and when they were working, things seemed fine, perfectly normal. It was in those other places, when things weren't clearly professional; those were the places where it was harder. She sighed as she stood and swiped her blouse into her BDUs.

When she stepped in front of the mirror to pull her hair up, a thought trailed through her mind. Not sure I'll ever be quite used to Fleet Blue. A part of her missed what her guys called the N-black (her black BDUs that bore her N7 tab), but she was fleet now and she needed to portray it. Shepard just had to be glad that Anderson didn't expect her to follow Pressly's lead or his own on the uniform of the day. Bridge officers were supposed to wear their dress uniforms, but the captain knew that might make her rebel eventually and had given her a reprieve, so her uniform of the day corresponded to the other working officers of the crew.

Her hair was naturally long and straight, though her preference for wearing it up usually left a little hint of a wave in her hair whenever she did let it down, which was extremely rare. Unless she was just out of the shower, then it was stick straight as usual. She put it up quickly and finally ducked out of the female officers' quarters, crossing the crew deck quickly before she stopped at her CO's door.

Surprisingly, the hatch slid open when she keyed the panel. "Captain," she called sharply as she entered and stood just inside the doorway.

v.

"Have a seat, Shepard." He joined her at the table in the center of the room. "Interesting display downstairs."

She tipped her head and made noncommittal face. "It could have gone a little better."

When she'd brought the idea up to him, he'd been skeptical. He had used similar techniques in his own crews. Sometimes you could kill two birds with one stone, get people to trust you as well as test their limits in one fell swoop. And he knew her goals were along that line, as well as just a little farther. Being a biotic hadn't been easy for her. The revelation had been a little traumatic.

She'd gone for a physical with her mother on Arcturus Station, and the doctor there was more thorough than most could be on ships. Ship doctors didn't think to test someone for signs of biotic potential. And when the doctor told them, Nyx had rebelled against it, fought her parents and the doctors every step of the way. When she'd been implanted she shut down on all of them, even him. And that was a role Anderson had always held-confidante-when her parents pissed her off, when her friends were out of contact, she'd always turned to David, but in that moment she had been lost to all of them.

Eventually she found a way through it with the help of a retired asari, who'd spent time as a commando in their armed forces. Shepard had told him years later that she didn't even know what it meant to be a biotic, and that even in the service, where biotics were more common than elsewhere, they were still misunderstood and feared.

The sparring match had been about pushing the lieutenant as much as about showing her team, maybe even the crew, that biotics was just one more weapon. And though they might not understand it, per se, they would at least see it and know what was happening around them when either Shepard or Alenko used biotic abilities in combat.

"I told you not to inform Chakwas," Anderson noted. "She is very protective of her crew. Like the rest of us."

"I only asked for a corpsman," Shepard shrugged. "When I wouldn't tell her why, she insisted."

He laughed as he leaned back in the chair. "So, did you get what you needed?"

"No, he was holding back."

"That punch was not holding back," the captain said.

She smiled. "No, it wasn't. But that was the only time he let loose. Even the tech was weak. And reading his record, he's marks and scores are stellar. He never stopped looking at it like an exercise." Her fingertips tapped in an odd rhythm on the tabletop. "His control is remarkable. I was pushing him hard, but I did get him to stop thinking, eventually. Toward the end, he was just reacting." She stared at her fingertips, she was mulling over something.

"Damnit!" she blurted finally, standing and kicking the chair back.

Anderson didn't say anything. He knew what was coming and had seen it building, so he waited.

"Why didn't Command give me any time on the ground with these people?" She stared at him for a moment before she set her hands on her hips and paced in a precise straight line. "Two weeks. I could have done it in two weeks. Got in some range time, assessed their marksmanship. PT'd the hell out of them then run them through a few kill houses, maybe even a full scenario if I could have pulled a tango team."

When she stopped, he stood. "I know. And that had been in the original timetable," he said as he crossed to her and set his hands on her shoulder.

"Then why accelerate?"

"Wasn't our call."

"Who?"

"The Council," he admitted.

Anderson knew she was aware of the Council's interest in the Normandy. He also knew that she didn't have the full story as to why they were interested in the vessel. As much as he wished he could tell her everything that was going on, he was still under orders, the information was still need-to-know, and Shepard's name still wasn't on that guest list.

"They called Hackett, said it had to be now. The admiral was not going to put this ship out without the XO he wanted on the boat. So your timetable got slashed."

"Fucking politics." She sighed. "I just hope none of these guys pays the price for their impatience."

"These marines are up to the challenge. You know I wouldn't bring in people who weren't."

"I know." She looked up at him before she slipped out of his hands and wandered around the room."But they are green as hell, except McMillan and Crosby. And even their experience is incredibly limited. Jenkins and Niveda have next to no time in the field. The only one I'd feel comfortable taking into the field right now is Alenko."

"Why's that?"

Shepard raised her eyebrows at him in surprise. "Did you read his fit reps from Expeditionary?"

He looked at her like she'd lost her mind, or at least forgotten who she was talking to, and she chuckled lightly response. Major Fowler was the commanding officer of the 103rd Marine Expeditionary Unit, and he had a reputation for not liking anyone and writing the most honest reports about operations and his people.

Shepard leaned against the wall. "We both know Fowler. That man's more hard ass than both of us combined. The recs he wrote Alenko were beyond anything I've heard from him before. Hell, add that to the salarians' requests after the first time he worked with them. They've practically begged Command to send him back, twice."

"I've seen a few turian letters like that," Anderson noted with a sideways glance at her. She pursed her lips impatiently and glared at him for changing the subject unbidden; he couldn't help but laugh. "You're telling me like I don't already know."

"No. It's just …" Her eyes searched his for a moment, like she was searching for the answer to whatever question she was trying to work out. "He's talented."

"The team looks up to him. Probably more so now." He couldn't help but laugh. "I mean come on. Got charged by Commander Shepard then decked the same. Boy's going to get some mileage off of that."

Shepard disagreed and her body language showed it. "He's a good officer. Talented engineer and a powerful biotic. That's what he'll get his mileage off of."

"With you. With me. Yeah, that's what it comes down to. But with the men, he'll be the biotic that busted Shepard's lip and lived to tell about it. Though I doubt he'll be the one telling that story," Anderson noted.

"Yeah, best to leave that to Joker," she quipped.

Anderson was well aware that the helmsman was one of the best sources of intelligence on the ship, at least as far as rumors, conjecture, and stories people didn't always want told were concerned. But he wanted to go back to something she'd hinted at earlier. He needed to know her thoughts about the marine detail and their readiness. He knew what was coming, and he knew these marines would be pushed harder than they had before. The Alliance brass had planned on a training period, but when that didn't happen some questions had been raised by the brass and in his own mind.

"Are you worried about the abilities of any of the detail?"

Shepard propped her foot up on the wall behind her, then looked at the ceiling for a moment, trying to find the precise words she wanted. It was something that she'd always done in some situations. Mostly, she said what she felt but there were times when that wasn't always prudent, and in many of those she was careful in her words choice.

"No, not as such. They are combat ready. They work well together. They just …"

"Aren't your old team?" He understood where she was at.

The commander shook her head. "It's not that. No, they aren't A-Seven, and I don't expect them to be. But they haven't even run a combat exercise together. And we both know that anything can and does happen out there. I just want them to be ready. And I'm not completely sure they are."

"Why?"

"They don't trust me. They don't know me." She shrugged and ran her palms lightly over her thighs then looked over at him. "They still think I'm the Commander Shepard, they aren't seeing me as their squad leader."

"It'll happen. It always does with you. But it's going to take a little while for them to see that you're just like them." He crossed to her and touched her shoulder lightly. "Trust has to be earned, we both know that. Until they trust you, until they see the grunt under the medals, they'll do what we all do in the beginning: follow orders and get it done."

The notoriety was tough for Shepard, mainly because he knew she saw herself the way her soldiers saw themselves. She was an operator-give her a mission and the tools and she would get it done. Hell, half of the time she'd give you a goddamn masterpiece. Because that was what she did, and she tended to do it with more consistency than anyone else, and in some pretty bad places; her name was known far beyond her limited circle of friends and associates because of it.

"I know. I just wish I had the time to prepare them better for whatever were going to be doing with this prototype stealth vessel," she said, her tone changing from serious to somewhat playful. She raised her eyebrows at him. "Speaking of which?"

"No. Nothing has come through yet. Command is following the Council's lead right now," he responded, leaning against the wall so she couldn't read the half-truth in his eyes. The Alliance brass did have them in a holding pattern, but only because they were waiting for word that the device was ready for pick up. The excavation was not going as well as planned, so what was supposed to happen three days prior, was still close to a week out.