Something was wrong. Very wrong. Shepard could feel it deep in her gut.
And her gut was never wrong.
She'd learnt to trust it when she was still small and her only concern was where her next meal was coming from and when her foster mother's home would be available to go back to. Her mind was prejudiced, but her gut was not; it was very primal and mysteriously good at prediction. It wasn't like she was stupid, it was just in deadlocked decision, whatever feeling percolated through her body was the one she chose.
Shepard was convinced that it'd saved her on Akuze. She'd had a bad feeling, and stayed up on first watch, too jittery to sleep. Maybe that was why she survived when the maws came.
Or maybe she was just lucky. That always seemed to be a factor too.
She shook her head to clear the thoughts, and took a moment to admire the gloss on the onyx chestplate she held, with the N7 insignia stamped in the corner. This would be the first time she was going into action as an N7.
She glanced over to the two men (she assumed Jenkins was a man, but he behaved more like a boy; not that was a bad thing mind you) she was taking with her to Eden Prime. Jenkins was chattering about the mission, in tones half excited and half anxious that was typical of someone worried for their homeworld, whilst Kaidan was more focused on getting his armour on, almost as if he were in a trance. It looked like Jenkins was talking to a disinterested panther.
Shepard could relate more to Kaidan than Jenkins, buckling the chest plate onto her undersuit. Earth may be the regarded homeworld of the human race, but to Akeelah Shepard it was just a reminder of a childhood she wished she could forget. Enlisting had been her way to escape, and though she had left behind the only good thing in her life as she did so, she knew it was for the right reasons. They both did. She touched her chest, tracing a familiar pattern.
The soldier sighed and shook her head. She had to stop dwelling over those thoughts; there were other, more important things to think about. Like those vid feeds from Eden Prime; aggressive, silvery synthetics shooting anything that moved and a large, dark shape that looked just out of a nightmare. It seemed too coincidental that something would attack a peaceful human colony when the Normandy was on a mission to pick up an incredibly rare Prothean relic. But she couldn't think of who or what could be the aggressors, as they were synthetics, and the only synthetics she could think of were mechs, but they looked nothing like Eclipse mechs, so Shepard could only draw a blank, and that stirred the uncomfortable thought that something new was out there. Something new and deadly, with a very large, very creepy ship.
"So, who am I working with?" Shepard spoke, breaking through Jenkins' chatter and Kaidan's trance, causing both men to look at her. "I know you're a sentinel, Lieutenant, but I don't think I got your class, Corporal."
"I'm, I'm a soldier like you, ma'am!" Jenkins replied excitedly. "Not, not as good as you, of course." Just out of the corner of her eye, Shepard spotted Kaidan rolling his eyes, and giving the younger man a patient look.
"We're not here to hero-worship, Jenkins." Kaidan reminded him, but Shepard waved him off.
"It's alright, Lieutenant." She said.
Another soldier and a sentinel. Shepard knew her strengths were in her diverse weaponry experience and her heavy armour, allowing her to take up the enemies' attention with her endurance. As an N7 she was several levels higher than Jenkins, who despite being the same class was not likely to have the experience she had. It would be best to have him more as a scout; he could move quicker and flank their opponents whilst she kept their attention. That way the kid could have his action and gain experience in a way that wouldn't endanger him too much.
That left Alenko as support. Although she was aware of sentinels and their usual choice of tactics, this was her first time working with one in the field; most of the biotics she had trained with were adepts, just to introduce her to their abilities and such. Commanding them was another matter. However, she had a good feeling about the Lieutenant, though she had one thing she wanted to clear up, first.
"Alenko, clear me up on this. You sentinels are tech focused, aren't you?"
"Yes, Commander, that's correct" Kaidan nodded.
Excellent. He has the technical expertise that both me and Jenkins lack. If we need someone to hack systems or bypass doors, he's our guy. Good. I don't like to kick in doors when we can just sneak in. Shepard thought to herself.
But considering the terrain, we will probably need his biotic abilities more than his technical skills…unless the beacon was moved. She ran a hand through her hair as she walked over to the weapon lockers. I wish I had more info. Bloody hell.
It was about the time Akeelah wished she didn't know she was going to be observed by a turian Spectre. She always brought her top performance to every mission, but an observer might not think that. Especially if that observer was a turian, and Shepard heard many stories about how straight-laced they were. So a Spectre? What have I gotten myself into?
The soldier opened the weapons locker, looking over the selection of weapons available. Her training allowed her to use anything in this locker, from humble pistols to the powerful sniper rifle, though right now it was folded up and gave no indication of its true length. Although she preferred to forgo the shotgun (a messy weapon that she had a bad experience with long ago), she accepted that with the field of unknowns before her, flexibility would be safer.
After she locked her weapons into place on her armour, she shook her body vigorously to make sure they would stay in place if she had to make rapid evasive manoeuvres. The clattering of the guns shifting in their locks caused the two men to look at her in surprise. She gave them a look that silenced any questioning, though the Lieutenant's eyebrow arched at her, and she narrowed her eyes at him, not unkindly.
"Lieutenant." She spoke, an undercurrent of challenge to her tone. "You seem to be just using a pistol. You not using a rifle too?"
"No, ma'am." He replied. "Never trained in them. Not standard in sentinel training."
"Really?" Shepard pursed her lips. "Huh. Seems strange to only use a pistol." She shrugged. "Ignore me. I've lived and breathed assault rifles as soon as I was bundled into training."
"Size isn't everything, Commander." Kaidan spoke smoothly. "Just because you use a big gun doesn't mean you can hit things with it."
Akeelah gave him a look that only just masked her shock, and Jenkins audibly gasped. Infuriatingly, the biotic didn't seem the less bit perturbed that he'd just ruffled his XO's feathers. In fact, he seemed faintly amused.
"Excuse me, Lieutenant." She enunciated his rank with a tone that instantly caused his back to straighten. "Are you questioning my accuracy with my firearms?"
"No, ma'am." He answered. "I was pointing out that whilst the rifle is larger and has more power to its shot, my accuracy with it would be vastly reduced due to my lack of experience with it. I have trained with a pistol, and therefore my accuracy would be greater with that weapon."
Akeelah's eyes narrowed at the sentinel, and she took a moment to digest the response. So, the Staff Lieutenant had teeth. A flash of heat gripped her with this revelation, but she quickly hit the brakes with it; that was fraternization, pure and simple, and they'd barely started their tour! Down girl. He's probably just messing. I like him already, though.
"Point taken, Lieutenant." She folded her arms. "I'm glad to see you weren't blundering into the obvious trap."
Jenkins was watching this with rapt, almost slack jawed attention.
"Of course not, Commander. I would not pit myself against an N7." The biotic replied, amusement still dancing in his eyes.
"Good." She eyed the younger man. "Always choose your battles wisely, Corporal. At best, you end up on your arse with a black eye and sitting on your pride. I'm sure you can guess to the worst. Unfortunately we don't get that luxury for this mission, so listen up."
The two men stood to attention.
"Alenko, you're with me. I will need your biotic and tech skills to augment with mine. Shoot to defend yourself, but do not draw attention; that's what I'm for."
The sentinel raised an eyebrow but said nothing more than;
"Aye aye, ma'am."
"Good. Jenkins. We may be singing from the same sheet but you are not indestructible. You will be our scout; your job is to stay on your toes and mobile, and flank our opponents. You know this planet better than we do, so feel free to relay information and advice to us. As with Alenko you may engage but remember who has the heavier armour. Let them concentrate on me whilst you harass them from the side. Is that clear?"
"Yes ma'am!" Jenkins replied cheerily.
"Good." The sound of the elevator drew her attention away from her squad, and a quick glance informed her that Captain Anderson and Nihlus were approaching. "Let's make the Normandy's first mission her first success, shall we?"
"Aye aye, Commander!" They replied, and with a satisfied nod, she turned to face the approaching CO and Spectre, mirroring her squad's stance.
There was a slight smile on Anderson's face, and he nodded slightly in acknowledgement, but that was all. Nihlus was watching her intently, as if trying to scope out the slightest weakness in her. The temptation to straighten her back further was overwhelming, but she resisted it; she wasn't going to let herself be intimidated, and certainly not in front of her new squad.
Akeelah vowed she would make this mission succeed, and she would prove herself, no matter what…
Author's notes: This chapter is mainly to display how Akeelah Shepard thinks and plans, as well as flesh out parts of her backstory for later. As you have noticed, I'm not writing the many 'recognizable' scenes; I felt they've been done to death, and it would be better to write in the spaces between them, to allow character development.
However, I will be doing some 'famous' scenes, but with my own twists, to keep it interesting and in character for Akeelah.