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Chapter 18

Rock and Roll

She couldn't have stopped it even if she wanted to, although she wasn't particularly sure that she wanted to.

"What are you doing?" Alenko shouted, half in anger and half in shock as the blue-eyed criminal before them fell to the ground with a sickening quench. Jane didn't bother looking at the corpse; she had been the reason of enough blank-range shotgun fire to know that Fist was likely to be without a head any longer.

"The Shadow Broker paid me to kill him, I don't leave jobs half done."

Out of the corner of her eyes she caught her sister glancing away from the scene. Sky had warned her about the krogan, and yet she still carried ahead. It made her briefly wonder if that said more about herself than the mercenary on her right. Still, the krogan had to know who was calling the shots. Taking a threatening step towards the red-armored tank, she leaned in, upper lip curling into a snarl, "I'm in charge here. You ever pull another stunt like that…" She didn't bother finishing her sentence. She knew that the krogan had seen her in enough action to know that she would carry through with her words. Despite his towering advantage she refused to relinquish her glare, staring him down with indignation.

As expected, the krogan didn't even flinch. In fact, looked rather bored. "He was the only contract I had left. And don't we have something more pressing to worry about?"

She was going to have to find another way to deal with this guy. She didn't want to back down, but he was right. Sending him one final look, she nodded to her team and walked out of the room.

The blonde didn't fail to notice that the psychologist almost looked uninterested. Damn her and her foresight.

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"Shepard. We need to talk." The dark-haired woman said softly as she stepped forward to block her way, obvious disappointment in her voice. She only ever called the blonde by her last name when she wasn't happy with her.

"Can this wait? The Council is waiting for us."

Sky shook her head, long ponytail swishing behind her. "No it can't. You have been avoiding talking to me this entire time. Now that the Council has finally got what they needed, and you're done with what you came here for. The least you could do is spare me a few minutes to talk."

The Commander let out a sigh, before glancing back at the strange collection of people behind her. If someone told her yesterday that she was going to be working together with a quarian and a krogan by her side to chase down a rogue turian, she would have laughed. Funny how things changed so quickly… Still, she thought as she turned her attention back to the woman in front of her, she owed Sky at least that much. "Alright. Tali, Wrex, you two head back to the Normandy for now, I'll radio ahead to let them know you're coming. Go settle in."

She wasn't able to get much of a read from her newest member, full environmental suit and all, but she was pretty sure she sent the aggressive mountain a sideways glance, as though to say, 'Really? Stick me with the tank?' before following her orders and heading down to the docking bay.

"Alenko, tell Williams to meet us at the Citadel tower. You go on ahead. I'll catch up with you later."

"Aye aye ma'am."

"Finally." Her sister breathed out in relief as soon as the Lieutenant disappeared from sight.

Raising an eyebrow the blonde crossed her arms and nodded at her. "Alright, you wanted to talk. So let's talk."

Sky gave their surroundings a pointed look. They were still inside Ambassador Udina's room, and as much as she enjoyed the excellent view it offered, the place just reeked of prissy aristocracy that grated on her nerves. Sky hated politics, and politicians ever more, "let's go somewhere else." Plus, she was pretty sure the office was bugged.

Sighing, the blonde spared her omnitool a quick glance. She estimated that the Council's meeting would start in about 15 minutes. How much could she say in such a short time? "Where?"

"I know just the place."

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Being back here sent rippled of nostalgia through her. How long has it been since she-

"Ten years and ten months." Sky's soft voice interrupted her thoughts, answering her unvoiced question. She watched the dark-haired woman as she stared calmly at the large water feature below, feet dangling off the edge of the bridge that they were sitting on.

"That long huh?" She murmured in response. This was their most regularly occupied spot on the Presidium back when they were teenagers. It was surprisingly peaceful, the one location in the entire Citadel that did not have hoards of people, humans or aliens surrounding the area. They often took most of their heart-to-hearts here; there was just something soothing about the way the water lapped at their feet, something therapeutic about the soft, albeit artificial breeze. Even the splendid view of the (again, fake) bright blue sky with the multitude of multicolored zooming cars overhead added to the ambiance. Despite the many years, she could still feel her muscles loosen and her heartbeat slow; there was nothing more cathartic than being in a place where only happy memories were made... There were far too few of those places.

"Yeah. That long." Was that accusation she heard in her voice? Or was her brain making it up?

"We don't have much time. What's on your mind?" Jane asked gently.

It was an understatement to say that the woman beside her was no longer the same 19-year-old girl she once knew. Even though Sky was biologically older than her, the blonde had always taken the role as 'older sister', probably because of the lack of experience and knowledge the foreign girl had at the time. Jane was, and would always be, the stronger of the two, both in heart, mind and body, so it was only natural she adopted said role. But looking at her now… She didn't feel quite so superior anymore.

She wasn't blind. She didn't fail to take note of how the dark-haired woman conducted herself in Chora's Den, she had skills that Jane herself did not possess. Sky was exceedingly fast, lithe and accurate. She fought like a sly little fox, calculating the enemy's weaknesses and using them to her advantage. Much like Jane, she wasn't afraid to fight dirty and preferred close range combat. The only difference was that Jane fought with brutal, bone-crushing force while Sky danced around her opponents with great finesse: taunting, pushing and breaking down their defenses little by little. While Jane relied on honed instincts and gut feeling; she could see almost see the clockworks of Sky's brain ticking as she carefully calculated each step of the battle. If that was how she operated as a therapist, she couldn't help but feel a little bad for her clients.

Taking a deep breath, the psychologist finally turned to look at her, dark brown eyes honing onto her own. "I want to follow you Jane." Before the blonde could open her mouth to protest, she raised a hand to stop her. "Just hear me out."

Clearing her throat Sky began. "I know what you're going to say, I'm not a soldier, but you've seen me work today, you've seen what I can do, and you have to admit that I have come a long way. I would not be asking if I didn't think I could handle it. The only reason I am asking and not sneaking on board is because you're the XO of your ship. If I want to join you on your mission, I need you to see that I can follow orders, that I am capable of following military regulations, which by the way I have already studied."

Jane blinked. She wasn't expecting that.

"I have been living on the Citadel by myself for more than a decade Jane. And I'm not looking for sympathy, I have a life here, I have friends, so no, you don't have to feel bad about leaving me." Again, imaginary accusation? "But I can give you so much more. I can read people, not just humans, but turian, drell, quarian, you name it; I've worked with almost all of them. I can give you valuable insight on your crewmembers and mission details. Remember Mindoir?" How could she forget? "You can't disagree that some of the details I provided on batarian behaviour did help. Now imagine if you could give me time to study geth, how much I could do with a professional degree."

The blonde sighed as she placed her face in her hands. Sky wasn't lying; she would be a damn good asset to have with them. But could she do it? Could she allow the one person she cared for the most prance around the battlefield, within death's reach? "What do you expect me to say?" Jane replied miserably at the end of her little speech. "I just… I can't put you in harm's way."

"Jane. If we don't stop Saren and the geth, I have a feeling I'm going to be in danger anyway. At least when I'm with you, I can do something about it."

She had to admit that her words rang true. They did. But the thought of that damn turian getting his talons on her sister, it made her sick.

"Owen gave his life up for me." Sky's quiet, but determined voice cut through her thoughts. At the mention of her cousin's name she jerked back, staring down at the Chinese girl in disbelief. "And I swore that I will do something worthwhile with myself, to attempt to repay the debt that I will never be able to afford. At least this is something."

The image of her handsome cousin's purple eyes slicing through her own with an iron will was the strongest memory she had of him, and Sky was looking at her the same way, brown depths swirling with obstinacy. It was as though something clicked in her mind, and suddenly it all made sense. This wasn't something that just occurred to Sky, this was something that had been plaguing the girl for over a decade. Was that why she was so prepared? So willing to risk everything? How could she not have noticed before? Sky didn't just want to do this, she had to, just like Jane herself.

Almost stoically, she found herself nodding. "Alright. You can come along… But there are rules you need to obey."

"Such as?"

"You follow everything I say."

"As long as you promise to treat me the same way you treat everybody else."

"Fine. Then it's best you forget that we're family."

Her words were met with deafening silence and she almost regretted them as soon as they left her lips. Almost. But Sky had to know what was at stake here, that this wasn't just a mission that anyone could be part of. Humanity relied on her, relied on her team. She needed the strongest, the fastest, the best of the best if they had any hope in succeeding. There were no second chances and no looking back. She needed to know that the psychologist was willing to sacrifice everything, including their relationship, if it comes down to it. She couldn't be her sister, she needed to be her soldier.

Then, Sky nodded, the dark-haired woman's neutral façade betraying no emotions. "I'll meet you on the Normandy then." She got up from her spot and said "good luck Commander." Before walking away, presumably towards the wards.

Looking at the Citadel tower behind her, Jane Amelia Shepard couldn't help but think: she was going to need more than luck to survive the coming months.

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She didn't allow herself to think about it until she was within the safe four walls of her apartment, but…

She did it.

Sky was nearly overwhelmed by the thought: she actually did it… She was now part of the Normandy crew.

She was part of the Normandy crew!

Hastily, she leaned against the looked door for support, suddenly feeling very faint. She couldn't believe this… She actually did it.

Holy fuck.

The room swayed dramatically as she desperately tried to hold herself together. The events of the day were more than intense. Not only had she met almost all of the main characters, aside from Liara, but she was involved with her very first real firefight. Which reminded her…

Walking into the bathroom she couldn't help but grimace at her reflection in the mirror. They had taken the time to cleanse whatever blood they could off their skin before meeting up with the Ambassador, but it wasn't enough to remove all evidence of the fight. Dried blood coated her hair and the rest of her outfit, scattering flakes of red all over her white tiles when she tried brushed them off. She was quite sure that, unlike the game, Jane's inauguration to the Spectres would take a while, so she took her time removing, cleaning and polishing her armor and combat knife before hopping into the steamy hot shower.

Gore was nothing new to her, if fighting on Mindoir did not rid her of all gagging reflex, working with criminals sure did. Most had this weird habit of describing their 'works of art' in full detail, and then attempting to do the same to her. Perhaps she shouldn't be thankful for that, but she was. It made her a better fighter, and gave her a better chance at joining Jane- no, Shepard.

Forget they were family huh? At that thought the joy and high from being accepted to the crew was immediately dampened.

She had to admit, those words hurt, as much sense as they made. They couldn't function as Commander and Soldier properly if they acted like family. There was a reason why kin never worked under their parents, an all too good reason. Friendships formed and strengthen underneath command were different from those outside of it. At the same time, she couldn't help but feel as though Ja- Shepard had said that as a last ditch attempt to get her to stop pushing all together. But she had sworn before, she was getting on that frigate no matter what, even if it meant having to spend the next few months patching up their relationship from scratch.

"Fuck." she swore to herself as she slammed her fist against the wall. Why couldn't she just relent from the very beginning? Why did Jane have to be so damn stubborn?

Still, talking to the blonde proved to be an interesting experience. Mentioning Owen came as a surprise, she hadn't planned on that, and it only struck her at that moment to be true. She wasn't eager to race across the Universe just for the adventure, or to see the events of ME bear fruit; no, she wanted to be there because it truly meant something to her. This… This all meant something to her.

Awe-struck with sudden realization, Sky wrapped her fluffy blue towel around her long black hair, before walking towards her window and taking in the view of the ward below, probably for the last time. Her friends, the Citadel… The anger that came with the thought of the Reapers threatening all that she cared about shocked her. It made her conclude that this was not just a game anymore, this was her life. Her life and nobody else's.

No dumb squid robot was going to jeopardize that.

Collecting herself together she glanced at the clock. She gave herself 10 minutes before she had to head back the Presidium. Just enough time to send quick messages to everyone that mattered: Yaz, Dahlia, etc. They deserved to know that she would not be within reach for a while, but she intentionally failed to mention where she was going or what she was doing.

Stealing one final look at her apartment, she stored as much as she could within her memories, needing to remember that she had a home to come back to, a home to protect. Tugging her large duffle back higher up her shoulder, she blew a kiss to the empty space, before leaving her world behind her. Listening to the familiar hiss of the metal doors, she allowed herself one moment of weakness: one moment of longing and loss, before her watery brown eyes visually steeled over. She knew that she made the right choice, there was no turning back now.

It's time to get the party started.

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Finally, Sky is given the green light. But not without a price. Want to see how they're going to react to each other after this? Wait and see. Interrogation ahead!

After all, I did promise you a cat fight. ;] Just an adult version though. Don't forget one's a doctorate PhD psychologist and the other is a military Commander. Some serious buttons need to be pushed before things erupt. How fun.

As per usual, do let me know what you think. There is nothing more I love than to hear from my readers.

Thank you Liege Lord, CuHnadian, Harteramo, greed11, PlutoAn, Helljumper 1337, Nanobot5770 and S058 for reviewing the last chapter. Again, your words anything in the world.

I'm happy that all of you are okay with the gore. I won't hold back. =P Thankfully though, I'm not a particularly violent person, unlike some people *ahem*Helljumper*ahem* =P

Nanobot5770 - She wasn't hesitant because she was afraid, Sky's someone (more elaboration later) who thinks a lot before a fight. Because she lacks in strength and size, she has to make up for in planning. So she works best by acting to her team's strengths, and the enemy's weaknesses. You'll see what I mean later. =]

greed11 - Don't worry. Take all the time you need. My updating speed fluctuates, I know. You're here now that's all that matters. =] As for the lack of detail, I know what you mean. I really do. There will be more added detail when it comes to areas I've created and future areas. I promise you that. The Citadel/Presidium... It's so hard to describe! There are only a certain number of times I can use 'futuristic', 'metal' and 'glass'. It's a rather boring looking place in my opinion, at least in terms of variety. Everything looks the same! Plus, it's a place that Sky had been in for ages. I will do better though, and when I find the time, come back to edit all this. But you are very, very right, I do need to add more detail. I need to work on my planning as well actually. Also, I agree with you. Calvin and Hobbes is amazing. =D

Let me know what you think of this mediocre chapter? Hope to see y'all next time.

Love,

Fee

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