Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Mass Effect universe. The N7s in this story were co created by myself and my friends. Please don't steal. But Fanart would be appreciated.
SSV Kilimanjaro Landing Bay~
Keidra Shepard sighs softly as she disembarks from the A-model Kodiak shuttle that had brought her upon the Alliance Dreadnought. She still found it a bit disorienting that she was basically walking upon a technically vertical surface, seeing as how the decks were arranged perpendicular to the axis of the ship's thrust. She grimaces as she stretches out her body, the healed skin still feeling a bit tight upon her muscles. Part of the reconstructive process of taking a Reaper Beam to the everything. It also felt a bit strange to be in her dress uniform again. She had been so used to not only her armor but just the casual civilian clothes she had been forced to wear during her healing time that the Alliance Blues felt very strange upon her new skin. She shrugs it off and pushes the discomfort from her mind as she makes her way across the bay. Everyone was so busy with their jobs that they did not even notice her arrival. Not that many would be able to recognize her without her signature armor and her squadmates.
Keidra had long ago figured out that it was best to play it safe and keep things close and private. Letting others in would only weaken what one had built up. Even so, throughout all of her trials and tribulations, she broke that rule for one man, Kaidan Alenko. He had been there through a majority of her recent struggles. She had become quite the pillar for her to lean on when things got hard. He had been by her side throughout most of the physical therapy, driving her to push past the pain and get back to her former physical fitness. There had been days where she wanted to give up, but he wouldn't let her. Even with her cursing and complaining, he had stuck it out with her. Now here she was, back active duty and meeting with Admiral Hackett for the first time in a long while. She takes a deep breath as she makes her way into the elevator. Hackett could be trusted. Even when she was with Cerberus, he had still trusted her enough to keep her in the loop.
"Hold that elevator!" comes a voice from the other side of the closing doors. Keidra blinks and watches as the door continues to close. She really didn't want to be trapped in an elevator with some random crewman. A long silent elevator ride would allow her to refocus on the meeting she would be heading into with the admiral. Unfortunately, a booted foot slides between the doors and causes them to automatically reopen. Shepard grimaces slightly as she stands up a bit straighter, eying the new person who had invaded her elevator. He wore a long black trench coat that hid every feature of his clothing aside from the black boots that adorn his feet. Her eyes are briefly drawn to the N7 emblazoned on the right side of his chest, identifying him as a high level spec ops operative. He stands several inches taller than her, his black hair cut close to his head, but still enough to show that he was not balding. His skin color was that of milk chocolate and the smile on his face seemed to sit naturally upon his lips. His dark blue eyes move over her body, widening slightly in recognition. A second later, she identifies the male who had stepped in the elevator with her.
"As I live and breathe! If it isn't the infamous Commander Shepard? Well, let me correct myself, Major Shepard now," he says as he wraps his arms around her and lifts her off of the ground. Keidra grunts lightly, a small somewhat pained smile forming on her lips as her body rejects the sudden shift from stance brought on by the other's hug. "It's good to see you as well Jackson," she says as she gently pats the man's shoulder, partially in greeting and partially to try and get him to stop squeezing her still tender body. "Using first names are we? Is it because you missed me that much, or you don't recall my rank, Constance?" he asks with a teasing grin as he sets her down. Keidra's face darkens slightly and she punches him in the arm. The other N7 laughs softly and dusts off the spot. "I told you never to call me that. And I still don't know how you found out about it," she says as she crosses her arms over her chest.
Jackson Willis was an old friend. He was one of the people who had helped lead her to the N7 program. He was a good guy and a great leader. She had been on several missions with him during her N training. He had gotten close to her through his own means. Namely, digging into her background without her consent. It had annoyed her a bit, but she realized it was nice to have another person she could trust. He was like the older brother she never had. You can choose your friends, but you can't choose your family.
"What can I say? I am good at what I do," Jackson replies as he rolls his shoulders backwards, "Though I must say that you look good for someone who charged a Reaper beam." Keidra snorts at him. "Still got a few aches and pains, but I can't complain. I am just glad to finally be back on active duty," she says as she looks up at him, a slight grin on her face. He grins and nods in response, looking at the door. "It must be quite the perilous situation if they need the two of us on the same mission," Jackson says as he crosses his arms over his chest while leaning back against the wall. "Do you have any idea what the mission is?" Keidra asks as she watches him. "Not at all. Standard procedure. They bring us in and then they tell us whatever top secret mission they have planned for us to complete," the male N7 replies. The elevator beeps as it arrives on the designated floor. The pair of N7s let their arms fall to their sides and stand up straight as the doors part.
A pair of security personnel snaps to attention and a female 2nd Lieutenant moves from where she stood in the hallway, datapad in hand. "Major Willis, Major Shepard. I am Lieutenant Shallahan, assistant to Admiral Hackett. If you would please follow me, he would like to meet with the both of you before the rest of the group," she says before turning around and proceeding down the hall. Jackson shrugs slightly before stepping out of the elevator and following the junior officer. Keidra follows suit, nodding slightly to the security personnel that were saluting them as they walk. Jackson's hands disappear into the pockets of his coat, looking briefly each of the conference rooms that they pass. After a few meters, the lieutenant stops beside a door and gestures towards it. Jackson enters first, followed closely by Keidra. Inside, sitting at the far end of a long conference table, is Admiral Hackett. He seemed a bit older than Shepard remembered. The stress of the job had aged him, but his eyes still looked as fierce and determined as always. Both Majors snap to attention and salute as the door slides shut behind them. "At ease Majors. Sit down and let's discuss this mission," Hackett says after returning the salute. They both nod and sit opposite one another, Jackson on the right and Keidra on the left.
"As you both know, the war with the Reapers left our forces scattered and wounded. With the damage to the Relays, it has been difficult to assess our military strength. But now that things are getting back to normal, intelligence is coming through regarding Cerberus movements in different systems. It would seem that they have found a way to reactivate and utilize Reaper tech," the admiral explains, keeping his hands crossed upon the table in front of him. Keidra nods lightly, processing the implications of the information. It all made quite a bit of sense. It was what the Illusive Man had been pursuing before his life had been ended. She frowns softly at the thought of someone actually continuing down that path. She was even more surprised that someone had been able to reactivate Reaper technology. Jackson leans back in his seat and nods softly, his face showing little emotion towards the information. "But we have also been gathering intelligence on our own forces. That asset you acquired, Shepard, has been most ideal in the acquisition of this data, which was used to select the team for this mission," Hackett continues. The lieutenant that had escorted them to the conference room, places a datapad in front of each of the majors.
Keidra picks up the piece of plastic and metal and begins to look over the dossiers loaded to it. She frowns deeply as she looks over the names before her. None of them seemed familiar. It had been quite a while since she last worked with exclusively Alliance troops. She didn't expect to see anyone she knew. Most of her closest allies were members of different species. Quarians, Krogans, Turians, Asari, Salarians, and even a Drell had been under her command. Her gaze comes up to get a look at Jackson over the top of her datapad. The other major had a smile on his face and a knowing look in his eye. Keidra could only surmise that there were names that he recognized, people he knew. Unlike her, he surely had been working with Alliance marines during his time within the military. Jackson then looks up and locks his eyes on Shepard's with a grin. She nods lightly and lets his eyes drift back down to the glowing words for a bit longer before setting it down. A few more moments pass, and Jackson looks up at Admiral Hackett. "Your thoughts on the team?" Hackett asks, looking back and forth between the two majors. Jackson gestures to Keidra, and the Infiltrator sighs, frowning lightly. What a jerk.
"Truth be told Admiral, I don't really have any thoughts on them. I have been working with aliens for the past few years. I haven't really been keeping up with the Alliance military operations. I mean I can read the dossiers on them, but that doesn't tell me much about their personalities. I am a bit ashamed that I haven't done a better job of keeping up with current events at home. I have read up on some of the more large scale operations, but still I don't think I would be very good at dealing with five brand new people under my command, especially if this mission is as dangerous as you make it seem. Seeing as how there are two majors in the group, you must have called us in to see who wanted to be in command of the mission. I do not think I would be suited for the position," she explains, before a smile appears upon her face, "Besides, I really just want to get back out into the field, even if it isn't in a command position." Admiral Hackett meets her eyes evenly and nods in understanding. His gaze then moves over to Major Willis.
Jackson had leaned back into his chair during Shepard's words and seemed quite relaxed. There is a knowing grin on his face. "I have interacted with all of these marines in one form or another. I have a pretty good gauge of their personalities and their abilities. I can lead them to a successful completion of this mission, and take Major Shepard with me. That way, you know you have at least two highly capable leaders upon this assignment, and it will give her a chance to work her way back into the swing of things. Although, for appearance purposes, we can't have two Majors assigned to the same squad. I also suggest a 'temporary' rank adjustment to…say a 1st Lieutenant. No need to throw her into the deep end right off the bat," he says with a slight nod. "It sounds like a good plan Willis, but Shepard is quite famous. How are we going to keep others from realizing who she is?" the admiral asks, curiosity gleaming in his eyes.
"Well for one sir, I plan on having my N7s go by their callsigns initially. Most N7s are known by the callsigns given to them while they serve. And since none of the other squad members trained with her, they won't know who exactly she is. Secondly, Shepard was not exactly the most photogenic of beings. It was rare to see her captured on vid or in a picture with her helmet off. And those that were taken seemed to have a way of…disappearing from the net," Jackson says with a soft chuckle. Keidra couldn't help but grin at that little fact. She hadn't really been paying much attention to it. With everything else that had been going on, she never took the time to look herself up on the net. But it was good to know that someone else had been looking out for her. She did like her privacy. And one of the drawbacks of being famous was that everyone wanted to know every little thing about you. "Even I had a bit of trouble recognizing her at first glance Admiral. I doubt others, who are strangers to her, are going to be able to pick up on who exactly she is without digging or getting her to reveal it," Major Willis adds before sitting up straighter.
The admiral keeps his gaze level on the major as he thinks about the options provided to him. He then nods slightly. "Alright, I agree. You seem to know what you are doing Major Willis, so I will give you command of this mission. Shepard, you will be on this mission as well. I hope you don't mind taking on the role of the proverbial grunt," Hackett says as he moves his steel gaze back to Keidra. She smiles and nods. "That is fine with me. I thank you Admiral, for this chance to get back in the field," she says, the smile extending to her voice. "Good. Then we are all in agreement. Major Willis, I am forwarding you information on the ship and crew that will be running it. More mission parameters will be forwarded to you when they come up," Hackett says, pressing a few buttons on the datapad in front of him. Jackson's left arm illuminates as the data is sent to his omni-tool. "If there is nothing else, then this meeting is adjourned," the admiral states with a tone of finality. The two Majors stand and salute before departing from the conference room.
Once the pair was safely within the elevator, Keidra punches Jackson in the arm. "That was really nice of you Jax," she says, the feigned anger on her face not matching the tone of her voice. Jackson chuckles and rubs the punched spot. "Well excuse me, but I couldn't just recommend myself over the great and powerful Major Shepard. Protector of the Citadel, First Human Spectre, Defeater of the Reapers, Uniter of the Galax-" he begins to say. "Yeah, yeah, I get it alright? Sheesh," she interrupts, smiling lightly as she crosses her arms over her chest and leans against the wall. "You're welcome, but you are going to have to get some different rank for that uniform of yours. Since you are now 1st Lieutenant Sights for right now," Willis adds as he leans against the opposing wall. "Understood. Speaking of which, why aren't you in military dress? You do know that as an officer of the Alliance military, you have the duty to uphold and exceed the standards set forth for all other personnel," Shepard states with a grin, looking him up and down again.
"Simply because it is comfortable, Constance. And those rules only apply to the normal marines. We're special forces. As long as it isn't too outlandish, they don't mind it," Jackson replies with a grin of his own. Keidra grimaces again. He was doing that on purpose. He knew how it got under her skin. She scoffs and looks off to the side. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. But I will warn you, some of these marines we will be working with are a bit peculiar. Well, then again, I guess you should be used to dealing with a whole mix of personalities. I have seen some of the intel on everyone you got to work with. Very interesting, especially those Krogan," he says with a grin. Shepard couldn't help but smile and nod at this fact. The elevator slows to a stop and the door slides open. "Well this is my stop," she says as she walks out into the corridor, "Indeed. The team meeting will be in a couple of hours. Conference room 53. I'll send directions to your omni-tool. Don't be late lieutenant," Jackson calls after her before the doors his closed. Keidra shakes her head lightly with a slight smile as she heads to her temporary room. She could catch a few Z's and get the rank before the meeting, a decent way to kill the time.
~Sometime later~
Time passes relatively quickly for her and Shepard finds herself walking quickly to the designated meeting room. There were still a few minutes before the start of the meeting when she walks into the room. As the doors slide apart, the sight of four other N7s greets her eyes. Three turn and look at her when she enters. Keidra pauses in the doorway, taking a measure of the others gathered there. Three of the N7s were also in their military uniform and sitting in rank order. Closest to the head of the table was a Staff Commander. He looked a lot like Jackson, but with some differences. The main ones being the scar on the right side of his chin and his amber colored eyes. His uniform looked to be impeccable and for some reason he wore gloves with it. Was he a technician? Perhaps a Sentinel or an Engineer? She makes a note of it as her eyes travel down the line.
The next person seemed rather large, but his uniform still looked proper on him. Not too tight and not too loose. His arms were crossed over his chest and dark green eyes were analyzing her as she analyzed him. His brown hair was a bit long, but well groomed. As was his red and brown beard. She could see some extreme scarring on the lower left side of his face and down the same side of his neck, but couldn't exactly tell what it was from. With his size and from what she could tell of his build, Keidra had no doubt that he was one of the Soldier class. She nods slightly to him before her eyes go to the last person on that side of the table. The woman that sits there wore the rank of 1st Lieutenant and was the very model of what most would call Asian beauty. Her pale skin was flawless and looked to be devoid of any makeup of any sort. Was she a newcomer? That wouldn't be right. There is no way that could be right. Admiral Hackett wouldn't pick someone who was green by N7 standards. Keidra then locks eyes with her and feels a slight shiver run down her spine. The woman's gaze was as cold and dead as the surface of Noveria. It was a bit unnerving, but Keidra moves on to the other side of the table's lone inhabitant.
The single person on the other side was not wearing an Alliance uniform. In fact, she looked to be dressed in street clothes. Her brown booted feet rest on the table's edge, leaning her and the chair she resided in back. The ends of her blue jeans were loose while higher up the legs, the hug the muscles beneath them. A loose fitting unbuttoned red shirt with its sleeves rolled up to her elbows covers the top half of her body. Under the red shirt, is a black one sporting the image of a fully armed Blasto and the words 'Enkindle this!' in vibrant blue underneath. She seemed to be extremely focused on her omni-tool in front of her, which seemed to be outfitted with a set of headphones. A pair sunglasses with circular black mirror lenses rest on top of her head as her brown eyes take in whatever information the little screen in front of her was giving her. Her auburn hair was up in a messy bun. She makes a slightly dissatisfied noise before shifting her position, trying to get comfortable. Perhaps this was one of the ones Jackson had warned her about.
With three chairs on each side, Keidra had little choice other than to sit down beside the Blasto woman, choosing the chair closer to the head of the table. This action only briefly gathers the attention of the one messing with her omni-tool. She takes a quick measure of Shepard before returning to her technology. Keidra sighs softly as she looks across the table, right into the amber eyes of the Staff Commander. The man seemed to be analyzing her still, but not as sharply as before. Keidra offers a small smile and averts her eyes, unsure of what to do. The room is silent other than the occasional soft beep from the omni-tool to her right. None of the others seemed to be conversationalists either, not that Shepard should really be one to point out the flaw she shared with them. How soon until the meeting started? The silence in this conference room was nothing compared to the sounds of battle. Keidra would have much preferred to be staring down a Brute than sitting in uncomfortable silence as she was right now.
The door then opens and in walks Jackson, still dressed in his long coat and a smile on his face. The only difference was the rank of Major now clearly displayed on his collar. "Room…ATTENTION!" the Staff Commander bellows. On trained reflex, every person around the table rises up from their chairs and snaps to rigid attention. Keidra lets out a soft breath of relief as she sees her old friend. As she looks around, she sees the others seemingly taking note of Jackson's appearance. "One, two, three, four, five…that's good enough I guess. Welcome ladies and gentleman to my briefing. I will be your commanding officer for the duration of this mission. Let me be the first to congratulate you on being selected. I know that some of you are going to have conflicts, and that is understandable. But you will work as a team and we will leave no one behind. Follow my orders and we'll get along fine. Do not, and we'll have a chat. Am I understood?" Jackson asks, his tone beginning light but soon rolling into a firm commanding one. "Sir, yessir!" five voices reply in unison. "Good good. At ease," the major says as he relaxes his own stance. Everyone sits back down and keeps their attention focused on him.
"Now then, I'm sure you know every leader has their own style and rules and etc. With me, I don't mind if you want to go by your real name or your acquired callsign, either is fine with me. But for now, I want you to simply introduce yourselves to the rest of the team by whatever name you feel comfortable, your specialization, and your rank," Jackson says before sitting down in the chair at the head of the table. He keeps his hands in the pockets of his jacket as he nods to the amber eyed male. "Starting with you Staff Commander," he says with a grin. The other officer sighs softly before standing, pulling his uniform jacket down to smooth out the wrinkles as he looks around at those gathered in the conference room. "I am Staff Commander Trenton Willis. Most call me Fenrir. I am Sentinel trained in the Paladin specialization. It is a pleasure to meet you," he says as he lets his gaze travel the table, meeting the eyes of every N7 there. There is a small smile on his face accompanying the friendly warmth in his tone. Keidra's eyes widen slightly as she connects the dots. The two were brothers. That's why he looked so much like Jackson.
"I've heard of your work. You have helped many teams get extracted," the bearded Soldier says as he uncrosses his arms. Trenton turns and looks at the man as he stands up. "Staff Lieutenant 808. Yes, 808 is my callsign. I am a Soldier with Destroyer specialization," he says as he looks around at the others. His tone was serious and his voice a bit rough, with the hint of an accent on it. Keidra takes in the sight of the man. He looked as though he was built like an Alliance Dreadnought. He certainly looked like the stereotypical soldier. Massive muscles, probably not so bright, but Shepard knew better than to judge a book by its cover. As he sits down, the woman with the cold eyes stands up and gives everyone a measured stare. "1st Lieutenant Rin Kusanagi. Callsign Karasu. I am an Infiltrator with Shadow specialization training," she says in greeting. Her tone was like a steel sword, cold, sharp, and unyielding. Her diction was perfect. There was no hint of any sort of accent in her speech. Her mannerisms made Keidra a little self-conscious of her own imperfections. But Shepard pushes the thoughts down as Lieutenant Rin sits back down.
All eyes move to the woman in casual attire, who was currently messing about on her omni-tool. She sighs and mutters something under her breath as her omni-tool fades away. She then looks up and around before reddening slightly and standing up. She dusts off her pants and looks around, a small smile on her face. "I'm First Lieutenant Fae. I am an Engineer who got chosen to train as a Demolisher. Happy to be aboard," she says. Keidra could feel the sudden tension in the air sky rocket. She looks across the table and sees anger on the faces of both Fenrir and 808. "You are Fae? The Fae?" 808 asks as he puts both hands upon the table, his voice clearly angry. Fenrir's eyes narrow slightly as he touches his left arm. The Demolisher frowns as she looks at the two of them. "Yes, I am Fae," she answers. "The Cursed Fae? The very same one that nearly got me killed on Ontarom? It must be fate for us to meet again," Commander Willis says softly, his voice low and deadly. Fae frowns and calls up her omni-tool. "If you have something to say-" she begins. "You three will stand down! This bickering is pointless. Now sit!" Jackson bellows from the head of the table. The Demolisher nods and sits down with a huff, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at the Paladin from across the table.
"Alright lieutenant, you are up next," the major says from the head of the table, smiling at Keidra. The Infiltrator nods as she stands up, straightening her uniform as she stands up and regards her peers. "I am Lieutenant Sights. I am an Infiltrator," she says as she meets their eyes. She keeps her tone even and confident. A soft scoff catches her attention. Her light brown eyes dart to the source of the sound, the other Infiltrator on the team. This time, when Keidra's eyes meet Rin's, Shepard sees contempt. "Major, if I may, what is the need for two Infiltrators on one team?" the Shadow asks, her words laced with annoyance. Keidra could feel a bit of anger rising within her chest. The nerve of the other woman. "I am just following the orders of those appointed over me. If you want to go to Admiral Hackett and complain about his personal choices for this team, then by all means Lieutenant, you have my permission. If that is not the case, then I suggest you button up and do your job," Jackson replies harshly, before a smile breaks over his features, "Besides, she is more distance based and I know just how well you handle close quarters combat."
Keidra sits down as confusion shows on Rin's face. Jackson then stands up and looks out at all the N7s gathered. "Well since you all have introduced yourselves, then allow me to return the favor. I am Major Jackson Willis. Some of you may know me as Inazuma. Others may know me as Azrael. I am a Vanguard with specialized Slayer training," he says as his gaze sweeps the table. Keidra turns and sees surprise on the faces of three of the other N7s. "You are the Inazuma? The one that was reported KIA? The one that knew Shepard? You are him?" 808 asks. "The very same," Jackson replies. Fenrir chuckles softly. "Oh brother, how long are you going to continue to feed off of the fame of finding the mythical Shepard?" he asks. "As long as it continues to get me free drinks," the elder Willis brother retorts with a smirk. Keidra, along with the others, chuckle at this comment, easing some of the tension out of the air.
"Now then, I guess I should tell you all about the mission th-" Jackson begins to say, but the opening of the door interrupts him. Everyone turns to see who was coming in next. Keidra's eyes widen slightly as she gazes upon the person leaning against the door frame. Her black hair was disheveled and covers the left side of her face. On the right side of her head, from the temple down, the hair had been shaved off, but with how dark the fuzz was currently, it had been some time since she had the styling done. Her face was adorned with at least eight different piercings and that wasn't counting the several that could be seen in her exposed ear. The only things Alliance about her outfit were the pants and boots that she wore. Those were very clearly Alliance blue camos, even if she wore them a bit low on her hips. Other than that, everything she wore was nonstandard. The white tank top she wore was half untucked and looked as though she had slept in it. The leather half jacket she wore went down to just below her ribs and seemed to be adorned with all sorts of metal and wires woven into the leather looking cloth.
The woman groans as her single exposed eye looks over the people gathered. The door chimes at her to move so it can close. She grunts and raises one hand up to her face as she walks further into the conference room. Keidra could see that she seemed to be a bit sluggish, but on the high collar of her jacket there sits the rank of Lieutenant Commander. This revelation causes Shepard's eyes to widen in shock. This…woman was a commander? How? What dire strait was the Alliance in to need Commanders who dressed like this? The woman seemed to be making her way back towards the only remaining empty seat before Jackson clears his throat. "Commander, we are sitting in rank order. Your spot is here closer to the head of the table," the Slayer says to her. The woman mutters under her breath, the air around her lighting up with biotic power. Keidra watches as some of the wires react to the biotics, beginning to glow with crimson light and showing the angry looking wasp detailed on the back of the woman's jacket.
The female biotic turns around and stalks over to Keidra before fixing her with a harsh single green eyed glare. "Hey bitch, you're in my fucking chair," she snarls down at Shepard. The Infiltrator could feel the unreleased biotic power buzzing across her skin as she looks back into the single eye of the other woman. Keidra was not one to back down from a challenge. She had faced down tougher odds than this. She had run through a Reaper beam and had even died once. She meets the other woman's gaze evenly, but doesn't move. The biotically charged woman's face turns from a snarl to a predatory grin. "You want to play lieutenant? Fine," she says, her voice low and dangerous. With her eyes locked onto the biotic's single eye, Shepard never saw the uppercut coming. Keidra feels the fist connect with her jaw and stars flash briefly in her field of vision as she is lifted out of her chair. As her back hits the ground, she rolls up to her feet and in a defensive combat stance, hands up and eyes fixed on her opponent. "You're strong, I like that. But I don't think you understand your place," the commander says as she steps over the chair and squares up with Shepard.
"Alright you two, that's enough of that." Keidra is vaguely aware of Jackson stepping in between the two of them. Her eyes stay locked upon the woman with biotic abilities. "Get out of the fucking way. This is between me and her!" the other woman snarls. "Yeah, Inazuma, get out of the way," Shepard adds as she stays in her ready stance. At the sound of the name, the woman's hardened expression seems to soften along with the glow of her biotics. "Inazuma? Jax?" she says softly. The moment her eyes were off of Keidra, the Infiltrator darts forward and sends her fist into the face of the distracted biotic user. Shepard frowns as the green eyed woman only takes a step backwards from the hit. The biotics light up again around her body. "An eye for an eye," the woman says with a dark grin. She reacts quickly, grabbing Keidra's arm and flipping her over onto the table. Shepard sees the woman's fist coming down towards her head and begins to move to get out of the way. But before the blow can connect, the Infiltrator feels the grip of her opponent go slack, followed shortly by a thud.
"Like I said, that's enough. If you would like to continue this, we can do it later during a rondori. But for now squash it," Jackson says as he puts his hands back into his pockets. Keidra rolls over to see the commander lying on the ground, holding her head. Shepard gets off of the table and takes a seat at the far end. Her body was not pleased with the rough and tumble she just put it through, but her pride was still intact. That's all that really mattered now. "Come on now, get up and introduce yourself. I didn't throw you that hard," Jax says as he sits down. "Yeah, yeah…you try getting flipped while dealing with a hangover," she mutters as she slowly stands up again. She clears her throat and rakes her fingers through her hair. "I am Lieutenant Commander Rome. I'm a Fury," she says simply, sitting back down. "So we have Rome, Fenrir, and Inazuma. Sir, if you don't mind, perhaps you could tell us just what this mission is all about? Clearly it is big if it has so many big hitters in it," 808 says as he crosses his arms over his chest.
There were a few murmurs of agreement as all attention went back to the man at the head of the table. "Cerberus seems to be recovering just as much as we are. It would also seem that they have found a way to get Reaper tech up and running again. I know that all of you have come into contact with some form of it in your careers, so you know the implications this has. We are to track down who is doing it and take them out. Destroy their data on the Reaper technology and then come back to the thankless denizens of the Alliance and a bit of R&R. Any questions?" Jackson says as he looks at the N7s under his command. Everyone stays quiet for a few moments before Fae raises her hand. "One question Azrael, how are we going to be moving around? Or more accurately, who is getting kicked off of their ship so that we may utilize it?" the Demolisher asks. The Slayer chuckles and nods softly. "A very good question Fae. To answer it simply, no one. We are being given a brand new Normandy-class frigate. The SSV Midway. She'll be coming soon to pick us up and then we will be on our way," he replies.
There were a few murmurs in agreement with this plan. The Vanguard nods as he stands up. "I'm glad you are all pleased with this. While on the ship, you may wear whatever you like. We are N7s, we have given up much for others so I feel it is alright to let your hair down when at home. I will not force you to put the N7 red band on your armor if you have removed it. I, personally, am not a big fan of the color. But I will expect you all to work together when boots are on the ground. Am I understood?" Jackson asks. Everyone except the Fury rises up and salutes before declaring, "Understood sir!" in unison. "Good. You are dismissed until summoned," the major says as he returns their salutes.
A/N-Woo! Finally finished chapter 3. Hope you enjoy it. Read and Review if you like, if not, I won't hold it against you. ^n.n^