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 2: Moments.
A Moment of Contemplation.

The Omega 4 Relay was approaching fast and the closer the Normandy got, the more nervous the crew became.

Everyone had been tense since Jagher had declared preparations were over and it was time to head to the final mission and everyone was exhibiting their tension in their own way. Jack was passing around the lower decks on engineering, muttering to herself about things no one cared to listen too intently to. Tali and the other engineers were tinkering away, making sure everything was running smoothly, while Miranda was doing much the same but on the bureaucratic side of things. Thane, Samara, Kasumi and the majority of the Cerberus crew members were sitting in their living spaces in silence, contemplating everything that they could be leaving behind, that they might never see again. Thane was writing a letter to his son. Garrus, and his now ever-present companion Fayelle, were sitting in the main battery room, playing a card game of some sort and trying to not get too worked up about the situation. Jacob, Mordin and Joker, with the help of EDI, were running through the final checks in the long list to give the Normandy the best chance of surviving the final run towards the Collector base.

Jagher Shepard, on the other hand, had locked herself in her cabin, turned off all communications and sat down at her desk, the picture she kept of Kaidan held in front of her face so she could stare at it and wish the man was there instead of his picture. She hadn't heard back from Kaidan since she'd sent the e-mail several days ago, but she hadn't really expected to; it would have been nice, but she had known how unlikely it was that she would get a response.

She ran the fingers of one hand lightly over the picture, tracing the lines of his cheek and closed her eyes, remembering another night that had come before a potential suicide mission, a night they had spent together, wrapped in each other in every way possible. They had taken comfort in each other and let their feelings come to the forefront when they had kept them at bay because of the rules and regulations. Jagher thought of the way she felt in those hours before landing on Ilos, thought of how complete and whole she had felt in Kaidan's arms.

Shepard gently placed the photo back in its normal position on her desk before getting to her feet and walking slowly around her quarters. She had unbound her dark brown hair and taken off her boots; she was as comfortable as she dared get with the Omega 4 Relay drawing closer, when she might have to run into action at a moment's notice. What she really wanted to do however, was go to sleep. Jagher walked to the fish tank and watched the little blue fish dart around in their tiny schools and the larger black and orange fish gracefully swim from one end of the tank to the other. Watching the fish normally calmed her, but at that moment, she couldn't focus on the small creatures.

She padded softly over to her bed and dropped face-first onto the soft comforter.

If there was one thing she liked about working for Cerberus, it was the extra comfort around the ship. Not that she would admit that to anyone.

Jagher closed her eyes and pressed her face into the pillow, knowing that she may never have an opportunity to rest like this again. She brought her knees almost up to her chest and tried to relax.

Just before she could fall into a deep slumber however, the intercom buzzed.

"Commander, we're ten minutes out from the relay," Joker informed her, his voice mild in comparison to his normal sarcasm, but then, he had been preparing for the end as well. "Thought you might want to come up to the bridge and oversee the approach."

"Thanks Joker," she mumbled. "I'll be up in a minute."

"Okay Shepard."

With a heavy sigh, Jagher pushed herself out of bed and looked at her armour, hanging in its cabinet. The blue, black and grey armour was showing signs of wear, scuffs in the colours and dents from where bullets had broken through her kinetic barriers. Oh well, she thought as she began to pull off her clothes and reached for the form-fitting under armour. If I survive, I'll get new armour made and if I don't, it won't matter either way. Maybe another geth can use pieces of this set to patch itself up, she thought with a laugh, thinking of Legion down in the AI Core, going through files, and his N7 shoulder plate that he had taken from the wreckage of Shepard's body.

When she was dressed and ready, she tucked her helmet under one arm, checked that her guns were secure and made for the bridge, the face she used when she was in Commander and Spectre mode firmly in place.

Author's Note.

Nothing to say. Enjoy!

Next Moment: A Moment of Survival.