I do not own Mass Effect or any of the associated contact. Jagher Shepard is my Shepard and Fayelle Shepard is my friend's Shepard. This is a collection of moments set throughout the games. They're rated for language and violence mostly.

Mass Effect: Moments.
A Moment With Family Ties.

They had eventually stopped Benezia on Noveria and they had freed the rachni queen, effectively preserving a race most had thought extinct—all in all, a very successful operation. After getting off the icy planet and surviving another tense debriefing with the Council via FTL comm. link, Shepard and her team were looking for a few moments of rest before hitting Feros and Zhu's Hope, the colony that was currently being overwhelmed with geth.

Tali, the quarian they'd saved from Fist back on the Citadel, was down in the engine room, learning all she could about the Normandy, while Garrus, Ashley and Wrex were in the cargo bay, tending to the Mako, the ship's systems, and personal anger respectively. Liara was holed up somewhere in Doctor Chakwas' lab and Kaidan was wrapped up in running diagnostics on the ship's electronic systems. After making the rounds to check on her team and her crew, Jagher Shepard had made her way to the comm. room in order to return a message she had been avoiding.

When she reached the circular room, she leaned on the railing in front of the screen, fingers drumming to some music in her head as she tried to steel herself for the task. She could face down geth and rachni and husks without flinching, but calling her sister... now that was hard.

Sucking in a deep breath, Jagher keyed in the sequence that would connect her to her sister in the Fifth Fleet.

"Lieutenant Shepard."

"Hey Faye," Jagher breathed.

Fayelle Shepard, three years Jagher's junior, looked up from the paperwork she'd been filling out and her blue eyes widened in surprise. She had the same dark brown hair as her sister, but it was cut to hover around her ears and a face that was softer than her sister's. Fayelle had made up for her softer appearance by gaining a reputation as somewhat of a bitch. Jagher liked that about her sister. "Hey Jag. You sure took your sweet time getting back to me."

Jagher bared her teeth as the sign of aggression it was meant to be. "I'm sorry if I've been a little busy."

"Ah yes. I heard the news... Spectre. How'd you talk your way into that one?"

The older Shepard tightened her hands around the railing, her nails biting into her palms. "Faye, I didn't return your call to fight. I am sorry I haven't been able to return your call sooner, but I am returning it now."

Fayelle sighed loudly and folded her arms on top of her paperwork, her face losing the edge she worked so hard to keep there. "Jag... I just expected you to call as soon as you were promoted and share in the good news. We used to have some good conversations. It's been so long since we've been able to do that and now that you're a Spectre, I have a feeling that it's a luxury that will be kept out of our reach."

It was Jagher's turn to sigh. She loosened her grip on the railing and ran her hands along the smooth metal, staring at it as if she was hoping to find some answers or some words in the greyish tones. "I don't know what I can say or promise. I don't know if I can say or promise anything. I'm only going to get busier and I might not be able to call or even leave a message."

"Well it's good to know you were able to take some time out of your busy schedule to call your little sister."

The last words came out as a hiss and Jagher bared her teeth again, her green eyes narrowing and her hands once again resumed their grip on the bar in front of her. "Fayelle," she snapped. "You cannot use your bitch tone with me."

"Why the fuck not? Are you going to arrest me?"

"Faye—"

"Jagher, I am not taking any more of this shit! You are my sister. Is it so much to want to talk to you more than once a year?"

"FAYELLE!" Jagher yelled, shutting her sister up. She glared at Fayelle. "We are not arguing about this anymore!"

Fayelle scrunched up her face, a cute expression that went against her harsh tone; it reminded Jagher of when they'd been little girls, running around the spaceship. "Jag, we're not alone anymore."

Jagher whirled around, one hand still on the bar, and prepared herself to yell at whoever had interrupted her call. When her eyes found Kaidan however—a very alarmed-looking Kaidan—her shoulders fell and she let go of the bar, his very presence calming her. She heard Fayelle's scoff behind her, but didn't turn to look at her sister. "Lieutenant," she said, her voice a little breathier than normal. "Can I help you?"

"I was on my way up the bridge to talk to Joker and heard screaming, Commander."

Jagher smiled at Kaidan. "Everything is fine; just arguing with my sister." She looked over her shoulder and said, "Lieutenant Fayelle Shepard, meet Staff Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko; Kaidan, meet my little sister."

"Nice to meet you Lieutenant," Kaidan said. "Commander, if everything is all right, I'll leave you to your call. Sorry to interrupt."

Back fully turned to the screen, Jagher gave Kaidan a rather warm smile as he departed the comm. room. After a few seconds, she turned back to her sister, prepared for another line of questioning related to the man who had just left the room, one that would lead to another loud debate, just as pretty much every conversation between the Shepard sisters did.

Instead, all she got was a knowing smirk. Fayelle's eyes were near sparkling with the satisfaction of having discovered something about her sister.

"So, you got yourself a pretty boy on your ship," Fayelle said with barely contained glee.

Jagher felt her cheeks flush a little and hated herself for it. Trust her sister to pick up on whatever chemistry existed between Kaidan and Jagher, even light-years away as she was. The commander fought to find something to say that would draw the conversation away from Kaidan, but it was no use. She opened her mouth to tell Fayelle to shut up, but instead she said, "I guess I do."

It dawned on Jagher that, as much as she and Fayelle fought, it might be nice to have someone to talk to who wasn't experiencing the stress and fear of hunting Saren across the galaxy.

Author's Note.

Fayelle and Jagher are a bizarre pair of siblings.

Next Moment: Peace.