#i wanted to do joker and EDI too but i got so burnt out after grunt and garrus i just scrapped the idea and said we’ll return to it for ME3 | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

clericofshadows · 4 months

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outside looking in

Description: Ashley finally has a chance to talk to and meet Zaeed in person onboard the Normandy and wants to get the know the man that has stolen both Regis's and Kaidan's hearts.

Pairing: Regis Shepard/Zaeed Massani/Kaidan Alenko

Notes: Part of my overall Regis Shepard series. Wren is my Shadow Broker, an N7 Fury and my replacement for Liara.

It was nice being back on the Normandy, even if she’d changed a lot since her first iteration. Larger, brighter, and filled with crew new and old. A similar hum throughout the ship.

But it was different all the same. The first few hours on the ship, Ashley nearly barged straight into Wren’s quarters despite knowing in the back of her mind that those weren’t Regis’s anymore, now housed at the top part of the ship, accessible via a specific keycode. Or a brave trek through the engineering tubes and vents throughout the ship.

The moment she came onboard, he handed her the credentials with a wink before heading off to the center of the CIC, already barking orders and preparing the ship for the initial checks to leave the Citadel.

Without Kaidan. A fucking terrible business. She had no idea how Regis was handling it, dodging her attempts to ask him about it by talking about Kaidan's condition. Wren was quiet about the mission when she asked, which was never a good sign.

She took an interest in the mech, which didn't surprise her. Probably why she was so tight lipped about it. Regis likely didn't want that thing working ever again.

There was also Zaeed, also joining her on the Normandy, hand in hand with Regis before he slipped down to Engineering… How was he taking this as well? She didn’t know him well, only talking to him a few times over vid calls during the two years before Regis was brought back. And then there was little time at all to get to know each other during the prep work after Regis brought the SR-2 back to the Alliance, right after he and Kaidan destroyed the Alpha Relay.

Wren was absolutely terrifying for what she was able to leverage to get them off scott free and twist it up into a Cerberus venture, a plan nearly foiled by Regis and Kaidan until it was too late. Only a small group knew what Kaidan chose to do in Regis's place, what Hackett had originally ordered for them to do.

Ashley remembered Hannah Shepard warning her in a meeting with her not long before she decided to take up the N trials.

“There will be a time that you will face something like Torfan. I hope it’s something far better than what my son had to face.”

She considered hers Asteroid X-57. Those burnt bodies still haunt her some nights, but she wasn’t about to let Bahak get away. Millions of lives were at stake.

Still, it was hard getting used to some of its changes. EDI was… friendly, but a bit disconcerting at first, ready to answer any question Ashley had, which she was grateful for. Regis sang her praises, but she had partially chalked that up to his cybernetics and VI background.

A small thought popped in her head wondering if Cerberus used EDI because of that. She’d have to ask him about it later.

It was good having Chakwas on board as well, and Adams was another happy sight. She missed seeing Tali right there next to him, challenging him with questions and her own tweaks.

Hopefully she’s doing okay out there. Messages have been spotty, but she’s with her people right now.

Good to see Joker as well. She got a little closer to him after Alchera, after all the shit that had happened, but lost touch after she started N trials. She often wondered if she could've stopped him from joining Cerberus.

Doubtful. He’s a stubborn bastard and even if he and Regis pretend to hate each other's guts, it must’ve been nice to have a few familiar faces. She later got the impression Regis hated that they joined Cerberus, but was secretly a little relieved to not be out in the black on his own.

She still had yet to really get to know Vega and Cortez, as well as Regis’s new specialist all up in his business at the CIC. She’s sure he loves that, but he doesn’t need to focus on every damn little thing. Especially not now when everyone wants to hear from the great Commander Shepard.

It’s also nice having some of his family on board. Adrian seems to have already gotten on well with Cortez and Joker, being a pilot himself, and Regis seems a lot lighter knowing his uncles are by his side. Vikram has made themself at home in the medbay, which surprised her when she realized they weren’t staying behind with Kaidan despite their knowledge on implants and biotics.

Concern for what they clearly consider a son likely outweighed that. She hoped it wouldn’t backfire on Kaidan, but surely they’re keeping an eye on that situation as well.

At least Regis is now not the only Spectre on board.

She found herself back in front of the elevator and decided to check on Zaeed. Introduce herself a little less formally and maybe get to know the man that helped Kaidan heal, and later kept a close eye on Regis when he was in the belly of the beast.

They never mentioned him much at all on the SR-1. One time she caught them on a call with him, but it seemed friendly. Not romantic. Something that never crossed her mind beyond an interesting friendship, it seemed. When she asked about it Regis only smiled and called him an “old friend” which was accurate, she supposed.

And Kaidan told her a few months after Alchera there wasn’t anything between the three of them after they met in Omega, only during–really, you and Regis took a shore leave on Omega?--but that they all wanted it. Too damn late to do anything about it.

Regis seemed to melt in his presence. Maybe he treated him like a lifeline, scared for Kaidan and holding onto his other love. He looked at Zaeed like he hung the damn moon, the same way he looked at Kaidan once they were open about their relationship.

She was happy for them. An odd couple, truly, two alliance soldiers–two human goddamn Spectres–and a merc damn near twice their age. Not that she judged them for that. She could see why they were interested in him purely from an aesthetic perspective. Zaeed wasn’t really her type, but those arms and tattoos? Damn.

Hell, every time she talked to Kaidan in those two years, he always brightened when talking about Zaeed. Happy that he at least had someone that really knew Regis.

There aren't a lot of those out there.

A part of her still can’t believe Kaidan was the one that goaded Regis into doing that authorization, but those two have always surprised her. Teaching her to not judge a book by their damn covers, that’s for sure.

So she’s trying to do the same for Zaeed. She wants to be friendly with him–friends even. And she hoped he was open to that.

She entered in Deck 4 as her destination and waited for the short trip down. As the doors opened, she saw Regis walking down the hallway away from Zaeed's corner of the ship. He waved at her, and she noticed he was wearing his Alliance officer uniform, a clean blue leather jacket with grey detailing.

It looked a little broad in the shoulders… must be Kaidan’s, then.

“What are you doing down here?” He asked, stuffing his gloved hands in the pockets of his jacket.

“I can't explore the ship?” She teased.

He smiled, shaking his head. “No, that's my job.”

“I wanted to talk to Zaeed for a bit,” she said. Especially before they get to Menae. She was sure Zaeed would be on that ground team but had no idea who else Regis would bring down with him. “Haven't got to really know the man that stole both of your hearts. Think he'll be okay with that?”

A light blush dusted his cheeks, making the red lines of his cybernetics appear to glow even brighter. “We've talked about you a lot to him, so I can't imagine why he wouldn't. He's working on his Widow stuff now. He's got some good tools,” he said with a knowing look. “Bring by something you want to tune up and he might let you use his kit.”

“Well, I do have to work on my Piranha. It's not as efficient,” she said. “I'll grab it from the armory.”

“And I'll let him know you're dropping by, just in case. He won't bite,” he said, and she shook her head at him.

“Maybe not me,” she said, testing the waters, seeing if Regis was fine with her teasing him about Zaeed. By the way Regis blushed and nearly hid a shy smile, he seemed perfectly fine with it.

If you would've told her when she started on the Normandy that Regis Shepard would blush at any suggestive comment about his relationship, she would’ve thought you were crazy.

It’s cute. One minute he’s threatening whoever is in his way and the next he’s all starry-eyed with his boyfriend.

He cleared his throat. “I won't disagree with that. Go get your shotgun and I'll send him a message. Unfortunately I can't spend all my time hanging out with my boyfriend.”

“I know, right? It's terrible. Let me know if you ever need to take a load off. You made me the temp XO for a reason.” She keyed in Deck 5 to get to where she stored her weapons.

“Don't worry, I will. When Kaidan gets back on board… I'll have two damn XOs. What are they going to do? Tell me no?” He stepped in the elevator with her and queued up Deck 2. “Meet me for dinner in my cabin after the mission? Good time to catch up.”

“I won't be intruding?”

“Hell no. I guarantee you and Zaeed will be fast friends and that's kind of a terrifying thought. I need my best squad to like each other, you know?” He laughed as the doors opened. “Why so worried?” He kept the doors open with a hand over the sensor.

“He's so important to you. The both of you. I guess I want to make a good impression.”

He snorted, and she tried to not show surprise at that. “I appreciate it, but trust me. I think you'll get along just fine. Like I said, we've told stories about you. He's a story kind of guy. If he tells you an old tale of his, you've made it on his good side.”

“Thanks, Regis.” She smiled at him and shut the elevator doors with a wave of his omnitool.

She nodded at Cortez who was currently working on the shuttle and noticed Vega doing pullups in his little corner of the ship. Adrian was rummaging through his locker, grinning at her as she made her way over to hers a few doors down.

“What're you up to?” He asked, reaching for an Acolyte. She didn't stick him for an asari weapon kind of guy, but then again, he was with a matriarch.

“Grabbing my Piranha and seeing if I can get to use Zaeed's tools,” she said, grabbing it from the rack.

“Oh! Good choice. He's got all the good shit. Maybe some illegal shit too, but that's when you know it's good,” he replied with a grin. “What's wrong with it?”

“I modded it to use the older heat sinks? You know, the better ones,” she said, watching as he nodded along. “But the heat dissipation is complete shit all of a sudden and I can't seem to figure out why.”

“Zaeed loves working on older stuff. Might have a solution for you,” he replied. “And maybe you can size him up too, seeing if he's worthy of your boys.” He winked.

Regis warned her that he was pretty good at reading people.

“They aren't my boys,” she said with a startled laugh. “I think they can take care of themselves.”

“That they can,” he said, but a pained look crossed his face for a moment, likely thinking about Kaidan. Shit. “I never would've guessed the kid would've gone for two men, but he seems to be at peace with himself. Of course, I saw that with Kaidan too, but despite everything, I can tell he's very happy with what they have.”

“I've seen it too,” she said. “Acting like newlyweds on the SR-1, those matching scarves and shit.”

A smile graced his face, but it almost seemed melancholic. “It has always made me happy to see them taking up my brother's tradition.”

It was Regis's father who started that? She never knew. Thought it was Regis's way of showing off their relationship.

“Regis has found every way he can to connect himself to Atlas,” Adrian continued. “I think he would've loved Zaeed.” He cleared his throat. “At any rate, is this the first time you've met? I figured Kaidan would've introduced y'all at some point.”

She wanted to tell him that Kaidan wasn't the only one he continued it with, as her own scarf was sitting with her some of her gear but the moment had passed.

She'll make a point to ensure he sees it on her gear the next time she needs to suit up.

“It's the first time I've been able to talk with him alone,” she offered.

“I get it. You'll be fine. Be yourself.”

She laughed and grabbed her own personal repair kit before heading back over to the elevator. It took no time at all to be back in front of Starboard Cargo. A quick glimpse at her omnitool only showed a thumbs up from Regis, so that had to be good news.

Ashley made a move to knock on the door, but instead the door opened automatically. Zaeed waved her in and she stepped inside. It was already well lived in with various trophies and knickknacks strewn about along with stacks of extra cargo that had nowhere else to go. A long table lined the wall covered in parts and a top of the line printer. An old and battered M-8 Avenger was pushed to the side, along with a deconstructed Widow.

“Regis told me you had a stubborn gun,” he started, brushing off his grease-stained shirt that did nothing to hide his large arms. Damn. “Tell me about it.”

She put her kit down and extended the gun. “I mod my own stuff, especially this Piranha, and it was working fine, but suddenly my old-style heat sink has shit dissipation. I've tried fixing it myself but it looks to be a proprietary part that I can't find anywhere.”

“Mind if I?” He motioned to the gun. She let him take it. “Spectre channels useless too?”

“Alliance made. I asked around. These days it's too much of a pain in the ass to get,” she shrugged. “Maybe if I had the problem a month ago.”

He scanned it with his omnitool. “Think I found your fucking culprit, but you probably already knew that.”

“The replacement switch?” She said, and he nodded. “Yeah, thought so. I jury rigged it together ages ago because why bother making replacement parts when instead you can make it obsolete?”

He grinned. “You get it. Can't believe Regis fucking embraced the change. Thought he would've bitched about it the whole time.”

“He didn't?”

“No. Somehow, I almost think he liked it better.”

“I'm going to give him such a hard time about it.”

“We'll gang up on him. He won't be able to get a goddamn word in.”

Honestly, she doesn't even know why she was worried at this point.

He continued, “Believe it or not, I think I have the ‘prints to this part around here. If not, Wren might.”

Shit, she didn't even think of asking Wren!

“By your expression I'm guessing you forgot about our lovely little trump card?” He said, his mismatched eyes damn near sparkling with amusement.

“Oh fuck off,” she laughed, sitting down on one of the crates. “I'm still not used to having the entire galaxy at my fingertips!”

“It’s so fucking wild, isn't it? Alliance having their own little shadow organization ran by their best and brightest Ns. Regis is one clever motherfucker for putting Wren in that place.”

“It wasn't like you had many choices, right?”

Regis was mostly tightlipped about what ultimately dealt with the former Shadow Broker. She knows it's all because of the bad feelings around T’Soni and her meddling in his affairs, to put it lightly.

She would pay many credits to give T’Soni a piece of her mind. Sure, it may have benefited the galaxy, and it was nice to see Kaidan truly happy again and to have her best friend back, but the utter entitlement to deal with someone's corpse like that?

She's still surprised Regis let her go.

“No,” he snorted. “The asari who violated his corpse, a drell and former broker agent in poor condition, myself, Regis, and Wren. I thought she was going to blast him across the room with that biotic field of hers when he ordered her to deal with the network.”

“She's definitely embraced it. Dare I say even likes it.”

“That we can agree on,” he said, starting to dismantle her gun. “Never used one of these. Helluva gun though.”

“Has a lot of kick and bite. I love it.��

He keyed in something on the printer display. “Lucky for us, I do have the older specs. Won't even be a hassle to improve on your mod. Good job, by the way. Almost perfect. Going to use your scan to improve the tolerance.”

She smiled under the praise. “Williams’ take care of their shit.”

“And so do Massani's,” he echoed with a knowing look. “Something tells me you weren't just here for a tune up.”

“Wanted to really get to know the guy that has stolen my best friends’ hearts,” she said, freely admitting her real motives. “I have to say, I was a little curious.”

“Vid calls ain't enough,” he said with a nod. “Been curious about you as well. Never heard Regis sing the praises of a soldier under his command this much until he met you.”

“I've heard that a lot,” she admitted. “Surprised the hell out of me when he said he was nominating me for the N program. Managed to get it though just before Alchera…” she trailed off. “Saw me for me and not my family name.”

“Not sure I follow,” he said, setting down his tools.

Ah, right. So used to working with fellow Alliance she forgot Zaeed wasn't it. But Kaidan did mention to her once that he was a former Alliance, but wasn't in it long. Not enough to care about its history.

“My grandfather was the first human who surrendered to aliens,” she said. “Shanxi.”

“Saved a bunch of lives and all you get is shit,” Zaeed said. “Fucking typical Alliance. Only caring about optics and nothing else.”

She blinked at his response. Huh. “It followed my dad, and then me. And then Regis came along and leveraged his notoriety to help me out.”

“And now you're a goddamn Spectre and an N7. Hope your family is proud.” He crossed his arms. “Are they alright?” His voice was laced with concern, his face softening.

“They're trying to get to the Citadel. I have four sisters,” she said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “I've leveraged what resources I can, and I've asked Wren to help out if she can, but it's a struggle.”

“You're a colony kid, right?” He asked.

Ashley nodded. “Yeah, why?”

“Might have some contacts of my own I can leverage. Know a bunch of people out in the black. Let me know,” he returned back to working on her gun, starting to scan her modded part, as if he didn't just offer something that could let a load off her shoulders.

“Thanks. I may have to take you up on that.”

“Give me the details and I'll see what I can do.” He rubbed the Suns tattoo on his neck. “Use something good out of the shit I used to do.”

One of the things Kaidan made clear about Zaeed to her after their first call. It wasn't something that escaped her notice, and she wasn't going to judge, but she did wonder about it.

“He's former Blue Suns. But he's long been out of that life.” “Was I that obvious?” “My parents were a bit worse. But Vik and Adrian made their thoughts clear to them, we may have had a little bit of a love declaration, and the next morning my dad and Zaeed were grilling up some stuff for breakfast.” “How domestic.” “He's… been everything I've needed right now.”

“It seems like damn near everyone on this ship has something they can leverage for the war,” she laughed, hoping to lighten the mood. “I’ll get you the information after the mission. Regis invited me up for dinner, we can talk about it more then.”

He seemed to loosen up, releasing some of the tension in the air. She wondered how many had judged him for his past, and hoped that none of the crew on this ship did. “Regis has gathered himself an odd bunch. But I'll correct some history you may know.”

Ashley raised an eyebrow.

“I wasn't just a ‘Suns. I founded them,” he admitted. “And this–” he rubbed the deep scar on his face. “Was how I left.”

She thought Batarians founded the Suns… Now that's a story she admittedly wanted to hear. She let out a whistle. “And the other guy?”

“Stayed in the fucking Suns until he became dead by mine and Regis's hand. Hunted the bastard down with Wren’s help. Got away from me once, and we ensured he would never get a goddamn chance in hell again,” he said with a nod. There was something else in his tone she couldn't place. Bitterness maybe, as if the revenge wasn't so sweet.

“Good to hear,” she said. The printer chimed, and the part was sitting in the glass enclosure, gleaming in the low light of the room. “Does that mean it's ready?”

He examined it with a close eye. “Sure is.” In no time at all, he swapped out the part and reassembled her gun. He motioned over to a cabinet beside her. “Got some old test cartridges in there. Toss one to me, and I can simulate the dissipation. Won't be the same as a live test, but good enough for now. Doubt we have time to assemble the shooting range down in cargo.”

“Probably not,” she replied, doing as he asked. She found a box labeled with TEST in large block letters scratched on with a marker and grabbed a heat sink. It felt heavier than a normal one. She tossed it to him, and he caught it with a grin.

Once he slotted it inside, he pulled up a larger display and motioned for her to come closer.

It took a moment for him to get it seated and calibrated, but soon enough, the screen filled with diagnostic logs and a live look at the expected capacity. “Aim at that dart board over there and fire a few shots for me.”

She grabbed her gun and felt the weight of it in her hands before aiming and firing many shots in succession. Nothing came out, but the gun acted like it did, having to adjust for the recoil before firing her next shot. He laughed, seeing her initial surprise.

Ashley couldn't help but roll her eyes at him before hitting the cooldown point. Turning to the display, her eyes were on the status, and the heat appeared to dissipate much faster, watching the outputs and feeling the heat on the gun.

She ran through the test a few more times, noticing a good improvement, even better than her original mod, close to how the gun behaved before the big transfer over to the new system.

“Damn, she kicks and spits like she's fresh off the market,” Ashley said, ejecting the test sink and carefully setting it on the workbench. “Thank you. I owe you.”

“Nah, you gave me enough pleasure working on this thing. Might need to try and get one for myself. I'm more of a Raider guy myself.”

Batarian made. Semi-automatic. Not bad.

“And like Regis, you're a Black Widow guy,” she said, nodding at the disassembled gun, collapsing the gun and putting it back down for now.

“Not just any Widow. His old one,” Zaeed said, grabbing the scope off the table.

Ashley recognized the scratched, knife-engraved skull that used to belong to his old squad with the Batarian name for Torfan underneath it. But there was something new, a set of numbers she didn't recognize.

“Lucky bastard was having the gun serviced on Arcturus and was using a newer one before Alchera,” Zaeed said, rubbing his fingers over the engravings. “Those are the galactic coordinates to that fucking wasteland. Since he used this gun to remember Torfan, then I sure as hell was going to remember his grave.”

“I wondered where it ended up,” she said quietly. “Shit, does he know you–”

Kaidan could snipe, but it wasn't his thing, leaving that to Regis and Ashley. She expected the gun to end up with Kaidan or Regis’s mother, but now that she knows about Zaeed, it's obvious why it went to him in the end.

Zaeed shook his head. “If he does, he never said it to me. Probably should've told him, but he had enough reminders of what happened to him on that fucking ship. Didn't need something else from me.”

Something else. “I wish I could've been there for him, but honestly? I could have never worked for Cerberus in any capacity.”

“Good. Regis would've hated it if you did. Hated enough that he had some of his former crew join him. More fights to be had than just ours out there. We were lucky enough as it were.”

Regis lost three people on his squad; she knew that much. From the impression she got from him, it wasn't anyone particularly important to him. Numbers that knew the score and the risks of the mission. A geth, a krogan, and a turian that just so happened to be the one he passed up on their hunt for Saren.

Ashley didn't think those deaths dwelled on him much at all. They weren't mentioned much in his messages and reports either compared to some other members of the crew.

“I'm glad he had you,” she said, holding out a hand. He shook it with a small smile.

“Me too,” he admitted.

“Attention all crew. We are nearing Menae as I speak. Massani, Williams, Shepard, you are on my ground crew for this mission. Suit up and get ready to debrief with me in the conference room ASAP. EDI will give the rest of the crew your others on an as needed basis. Shepard out.” Regis's voice filled the air as quickly as it left, short and succinct as always.

“Guess I'll need to test this out later,” Ashley said, grabbing her unused kit and gun. Zaeed started to get up from his table, shaking his head at his Widow and grabbing a Valiant from his locker.

“Any particular kind of kit you're bringing?” He asked before she left.

“My Valiant, an Executioner, a Valkyrie, and an Eagle,” she replied. “Wearing the same gear Regis does, scarf and all. I’ll bring a few programs to the table thanks to him and Kaidan. Hybrid infiltrator approach, if you know the Alliance standard loadouts.”

“We’ll complement each other well,” he nodded. “All with the benefit that we already know how crazy Regis can be with his damn biotics.”

“Right? A damn shame Kaidan isn't here. God, those two and their biotics… they are one person.”

“That they are. Blew me away when I met them.” A smile tugged at his lips. “Get out of here before Regis starts bitching at us for being late. Good meeting you for real this time. I look forward to dinner.”

“So do I.” She smiled. “You aren't spared from his wrath?”

“Hell no. But don't worry, I can always make the bastard pay later,” he winked.

Ugh. And she thought Kaidan was bad.

“Did not need to know that!”

“Too late. You're friends with me now. Get used to it.”

At that, she walked out of the door with a wave that turned into a middle finger. His laugh echoed through the ship until the door closed back.

That went well.

She looked forward to fighting with him on the battlefield. She still wants the full story out of both Regis and Kaidan, but she could see why they were drawn to him.

At any rate, Regis is happy to have him on board, and really, that's all that matters these days.

When she stopped in front of her cabin to get changed into her undersuit, her omnitool pinged with a message.

ZM: Think Adrian will like the scarves?

An image was attached, showing a picture of a red, blue, and black striped scarf. Clearly, red for Regis, blue for Kaidan, and she imagined they had yellow on theirs to represent him.

AW: I think he will. Didn't know they were a tradition started by his brother. ZM: Regis has found every goddamn way he can to connect to his dad. AW: That he has… I'm glad he got his ring back. Any plans for that? ZM: It wasn't easy, but he got it back in the end. We all have plans, I'm sure.

Really… She's going to find a way to get involved with all of them.

AW: Keep me informed, I'd love to help. ZM: I will, if only because I know you want to be all of our ‘inside persons.’ AW: Guilty as charged!

She closed the chain for now, shaking her head as she started to prep her undersuit. This fucking war wasn't going to be easy, and she feared and prayed for this crew.

Yet, she felt comfort in knowing that she could trust damn near everyone on this ship or come to it eventually.

Yeah, things were going to be okay, despite everything.

#mass effect #ashley williams #male shepard #zaeed massani #cleric's writing #regis shepard #i love writing ashley she's so fun to get in her head #masshenko #otp: two spectres and a merc

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bigasswritingmagnet · 7 years

Text

Split Infinitive (Part 1)

Fandom: Mass Effect

Pairing: M!Shep/Kaidan

Commander Shepard was the only member of his family to survive the attack on Mindoir. Though he still mourned his twin sister, he knew she was never coming back.

Until she did.

“Commander, do you remember when we first met Liara?” Joker asked, voice suspiciously conversational. “When you rescued her? Do you remember the conversation we had after that? The one where I specifically requested you never bring us near an active volcano again?”

“Hey, this one is not my fault,” Shepard protested. “I didn’t touch anything.”

“No, you just goaded the pirates into touching the explosives that set off the volcano,” Kaidan said, slightly out of breath as they pounded up a hill. He stumbled and almost fell as the ground rumbled beneath them.

“They didn’t have to listen to me,” Shepard said. “They could have just shot us and left.”

“Your plans are terrible,” Garrus said.

“I didn’t hear you coming up with anything better, Vakarian.”

“Shepard, I’m on the far side of the ridge,” Cortez said over the coms. “Engines are hot, I’m ready to go.”

“Okay, we’ll be there as soon as we-” Shepard cut himself off as they all came to a screeching halt.

“Hello again Commander,” sneered the pirate captain.

“Oh,” Shepard said, as a dozen other pirates stepped out of the rocks, guns drawn. The squad had put away their guns, preferring speed over tactical preparation. He was definitely regretting that now.

“Did you really think I’d be stupid enough to fall for your trap?”

Shepard’s eyes flicked over the pirates. They were spreading out in a semicircle. The ground was too uneven and rock-strewn for them to circle the squad entirely, but getting to cover would still leave them too open to fire.

“My trap? You ambushed me!” Shepard exclaimed indignantly. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Garrus shake his head.

“And then you ran down some tunnels that just happened to contain equipment that could make a volcano explode.”

Shepard frowned. Maybe he could throw up a barrier while they moved to cover, but he was almost entirely burnt out. He wasn’t sure he could throw one up strong enough. There was certainly no way to signal a request to Kaidan without the pirates seeing.

“Okay, fine, yes, I led your men into a trap so they’d be killed by the volcano.”

“I knew it,” Garrus muttered.

“-but since the volcano is currently exploding behind us, why don’t we put a pin in this conflict and pick it up on a planet less likely to kill us all?”

The pirates raised their guns.

“I don’t think so.”

The pirate captain raised his hand. A body wrapped in biotics slammed the captain, sending him flying. In one smooth motion, the newcomer drew her gun and opened fire, sending the pirates scrambling for cover.

“Get down!” She dragged Shepard behind a rock outcropping, Garrus and Kaidan diving in behind her.

“Thanks for the save,” Shepard said, drawing his own gun.

“Thanks for dropping half of these guys in a volcano. I’ve been trailing them for a month, looking for an opening. I was starting to think I’d have to pick them off one by one.” She ducked around the rock and fired off a shot. When she came back she looked Shepard up and down.

“What’s a couple Alliance types doing with a turian all the way out here?” Her voice sounded strange behind her helmet, as though she had a mild voice modulator in there.

“Same thing as you, apparently. Those were refugee ships they were hitting.”

Kaidan scooted to the left and threw a warp out at a pirate too stupid to hide all the way behind his boulder. It gave Shepard a chance to look the newcomer over.

Everything from her weapons to her stance screamed expert. The only unusual thing was her armor -- though top of the line, it was gaudy: scarlet red with gold decorations, loops and swirls from top to toe. He was surprised none of them had spotted her before. Even in the ash-choked sunlight, she stood out like a beacon.

There was a boom, a muffled whumpf, and the volcano roared. The shockwave sent everyone sprawling.

“Shepard!” Cortez shouted. “We have to go now!”

“Please tell me you have a plan,” Garrus said, sarcasm slightly ruined by the tightness of his voice. “A good plan.”

“Yeah. Kaidan and I are going to throw up a barrier and we’re all gonna run like hell. Do you need a ride?” he asked the woman. She held up her hands, palms pressed together.

“Please and thank you,” she said cheerfully. Shepard blinked. He’d heard that line before, but where? He shook it off. No time. Wonder later.

He threw up a barrier and couldn’t repress a shiver when Kaidan’s biotics slide over his. Logically, he knew he couldn’t actually feel the other man’s biotics touching his own, not through full armor, but the intimacy of it sent his skin tingling all the same. Distracting without even trying, the way only Kaidan could be.

“Go!” Shepard bellowed. “Go, go, go!”

They ran. A few stray shots hit their barrier, but most of the pirates were as busy running as the squad.

Shepard had spent a lot time running for his life, and it never got any easier. His heartbeat pounded in his ears and his breath came a little too fast. His palms burned with pins and needles.

The squad and the newcomer scrambled over the ridge with difficulty. Rock gave way under foot and whole sections were sliding down, shaken loose by the violent explosions from the volcano. They were far too close; heat from the magma blasted them even at this distance. Armor or no, Shepard felt too close to roasting.

At last they reached the top of the ridge and slid down the other side, toward the waiting shuttle. The second all four had thrown themselves into the safety of the shuttle, Cortez gunned it.

Joker had the ship in low atmo, shuttle baydoors open. Cortez didn’t bother to bring them in slowly, just cut the engine, landed on the on-ramp and let momentum slide them inside, tossing up sparks on the metal floor. The Normandy’s engines roared in tandem with the volcano as Joker threw the throttle wide.

“Okay,” the mystery woman panted, still flopped on her back on the floor of the shuttle, “That’s a little more excitement than I wanted out of this trip.”

“Commander, Jeff has a message for you,” EDI said over the radio. “It is: “no more volcanos”.”

“Agreed,” Garrus said, not moving from where he was sprawled on a seat. “I want hazard pay.”

“I don’t pay you,” Shepard said. “You can leave whenever you like.”

“And let you get all the glory for yourself? Never.”

With a groan, Kaidan stood. He offered his hand to Shepard, who took it. Once upright, he took a step into Kaidan’s personal space.

“Nice work back there, Major,” he said, fingers sliding up to Kaidain’s wrist.

“I do what I can,” Kaidan said. Shepard couldn’t see the smile, but he could see the way Kaidan’s eyes crinkled at the corners.

A hand flapped in his peripheral vision.

“One of you gentlemen want to assist a damsel in distress?”

“Oh, sorry.” Kaidan helped the woman to her feet. She patted him genially on the shoulder and stepped out into the cargo bay. She let out a low whistle.

“Damn, this makes my ship look like a piece of crap.”

Shepard moved to stand beside her, hands on his hips.

“She’s one of a kind,” he said proudly. The woman ducked her head to remove her helmet; Shepard did the same.

“My ship’s orbiting one of the moons. If I give your pilot the coordinates do you think you could drop me off?” Her voice, no longer muffled by the helmet’s modulator, was familiar but impossible to place.

“I’d be happy...to…” Shepard’s voice trailed off as he looked straight into his own eyes. Deep forest green over a straight nose sprinkled with freckles. He knew that face. It was older, worn, but he knew it as well as he knew his own. It had been by his side every moment of the first sixteen years of his life.

It couldn’t be. It couldn’t possibly be. He wanted it to be.

The name stuck in his throat. He hadn’t spoken it out loud in years. The name was a hole in his heart that he had learned to ignore, a hole that had torn itself back open just at the sight of her.

“Keris?” he whispered.

Those eyes were just as wide, just as disbelieving.

“Kieran?”

For a moment, the twins only stared. Then Keris whooped and punched him hard in the shoulder.

“What are you doing here?” she cried.

“What I’m I doing here, what are you doing here?”

“Look at you, Mr High-and-Mighty with his own ship and crew!” She took a step back and looked him up and down, eyes shining. She put one hand on her hip and ran the other through her hair, grinning in clear amazement.

Kieran -- and he was Kieran, now, just Kieran, he was sixteen again and nowhere close to being the Commander -- snorted and Keris started to laugh. It was the exact same laugh she’d had fourteen years ago, bubbling and infectious. Kieran started laughing too, feeling giddy and lightheaded.

“Look at you!” he exclaimed. “Look at you, you look amazing! What are you wearing?”

“Look who’s talking, what’s up with that beard?”

They grabbed each other by the arms, holding each other up as tears of laughter and joy rolled down their cheeks.

“I thought you were dead!”

It was like she’d never been gone. The bloody, gaping hole of her name was sealed up, filled and bandaged over at the sound of his name in her voice.

“I thought you were dead!”

There was a scar on her lip, and another on her eyebrow. They hadn’t been there fourteen years ago.

Their laughter subsided.

This woman was a stranger. He knew nothing about her.

Keris’ mouth trembled at the corners.

Fourteen years yawned between them.

“All this time, I thought you were dead.”

“Me too,” he whispered.

Kieran threw his arms around her, ignoring the places where her armor scraped against his. He pressed his face to her hair. She’d cut it chin-length, curled behind her ears. She’d always worn it long on Mindoir, down to her waist in a simple, single braid.

Keris was shaking in his arms. He felt her tears on his skin. He squeezed his eyes shut as his own tears began to fall.

“I thought you were dead. I thought you were dead. I thought you were dead,” she whispered again and again. Slowly, they sank to their knees, clinging to each other like a lifeline.

#mass effect #mass effect 3 #mshenko #keris shepard #kieran shepard #finally getting around to writing this stuff

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spacebearwithagun · 7 years

Text

Aftermath: A New Beginning

The light from the beam enfolds Shepard and she closes her eyes letting memories carry her away. Memories of those she loved, those she lost, those she couldn’t save. She lets them go one by one till there is nothing left. The pain disappears and everything goes blessedly blank. “Shepard”. Someone calls her name and she peels her eyes open. All around her is an endless stretch of white. “Shepard” She turns towards the sound. “Anderson.” He opens his arms and she goes to him to be folded into his embrace. “You did good child, I am proud of you.” “Thank you sir” “I knew you would do it, Commander.” Shepard jerks away from Anderson and finds Ashley standing there. She holds out her hands and Ashley steps forward to take them. “I’m - ” “Don’t apologize, commander. You did what you had to. Besides I got to go out like a big hero.” Shepard smiles and squeezes Ashley’s hands. “Yes, excellent job, clearly had to be you, everyone else would have gotten it wrong.” Mordin’s clipped tones reach her ears. She releases Ashley and turns to accept Mordin’s brief hug. “Wrex told me that Bakura wants to name their first born after you.” “Hmmm. Different from how Krogan are usually named, maybe start a trend.” Shepard laughs. “Shepard commander.” She turns to Legion, the Geth who somehow managed to become a friend. Who would have thought considering where this all started. “Legion.” “Thank you for all that you’ve done for the Geth, for me.” Shepard nods “Acknowledged” “Siha.” “Thane.” She goes to his embrace then pulls back. “You never did tell me what that meant.” He chuckles. “It is the name one of the warrior-angels of the goddess Arashu. Fierce in wrath. A tenacious protector. You remind me of her.” “I like it.” “Ny'cole” Shepard turns, blinking. Only one person in her recent history ever called her by that name. “Sara”. The name comes out in a sob. The smaller woman pulls Shepard into a hug. “Sara, oh God I missed you so much.” “I missed you too, but you can’t stay here Ny'cole. You’re not done, they still need you.” Shepard tightens her hold on Sara. “I don’t want to leave you.” “It will be okay sweetie. I love you.” Sara is pulled from Shepard’s embrace and she cries out, desperately trying to hold on. She reaches for her friends, those she has lost but they are fading from her. Everything goes dark and Shepard is left with the sound of her crying. She closes her eyes against the darkness.

When Shepard opens her eyes again she finds herself blinking up into a clear blue sky. The sound of waves hitting the shore and the smell of salt water surround her. Virmire. The thought crosses her mind. She starts to laugh but it doesn’t take long for her laughter to devolve into tears. She was alive, by some miracle. Her injuries were healed too. She sits up her hand going to where the wound in her side was. It has healed over with a jagged scar. She stands and takes a look around. Not far from where she is there is a hab unit, probably abandoned after an attempt at colonization. She makes her way there, enjoying the sunshine and the calm around her. The hab unit contains a couple changes of clothes, at least a month’s worth of rations and a distress beacon. Shepard sheds her battered armor and quickly washes away the grime she acquired. The clothes don’t quite fit but they are clean and she is thankful for that. A couple of hours fiddling with the distress beacon she is able to get it to emit a signal. Then she settles down to wait. It will take a while for someone to find her.

It takes months for the Alliance to reorganize again. Ships are scattered across the galaxy after the blast. Command of the Normandy is given to Kaiden by a unanimous decision of the crew and is approved by Hackett when he is able to contact them again. It takes a while to adjust to this new world Shepard has brought them into. They search but they never find her body. They find Anderson propped up against a platform, eyes closed, peaceful. It falls to Kaiden to place the plaques on the wall. He places Shepard’s name above Anderson’s, knowing the Admiral wouldn’t begrudge her the position. There’s a part of him that doesn’t quite believe she is gone, not without proof but he accepts reluctantly. It helps being surrounded by the crew who loved her and mourns her as much as he does. It helps that they are busy. There seems to always be something the Normandy can aid with. Transporting refugees, search and rescue, delivering supplies. There’s no fighting though, a peace has stolen over the galaxy. Kaiden is not sure he likes it. He could use the distraction of a good conflict now. “Major, Admiral Hackett is on the comm.” Joker’s voice interrupts Kaiden’s train of thought. He crosses to the comm panel and an image of Hackett resolves on the screen. “Major. I’m sending you to Virmire. We’ve been receiving a distress signal from there for a while now, figured it was a false alarm since the planet’s been pretty much abandoned since you were there last. The signal has been modulated though so somebody has been changing it. It may be a downed ship. You are the closest ship in the vicinity.” “We’ll check it out, Admiral.”

Kaiden takes Liara and Garrus with him as Cortez takes them down to the surface in the shuttle. Despite calls from their own planets and people, Tali, Liara and Garrus have remained on board the Normandy. They seemed reluctant to leave their last tie to Shepard. The hab unit they land by looks largely abandoned but upon further inspection they find evidence that someone has been around recently. The most puzzling is the pile of burnt out armor beside the entrance. “Let’s split up and look around. Liara, disable the distress beacon will you.

It didn’t take long for Shepard to settle down into a routine. Of all the planets to be stranded on, Virmire was one of the easiest to survive on. The tropical climate supported the growth of many fruits and other edible plants, plus there were fish when Shepard was patient enough to catch them. There was a source of fresh water near the hab unit that Shepard pumps water from. About two months into the solitude Shepard begins to notice a change in her body, beyond the shimmer of green that occasionally races below her skin. At first she doesn’t believe it, doesn’t see how it could have happened. A rudimentary medical scanner confirms it though. She spends the entire day staring off into the distance with her hands over her belly absorbing the news. She estimates she is about 4 months along when the shuttle comes. She is sitting in the sun eating a mango-like fruit. Her belly has swollen to a small bump but it is barely noticeable under the too large tank top she wears. She wiggles her toes in the sand and then stands. Whoever was in the shuttle would land back at the hab unit. She runs her back as she starts back to the shelter. It’s been hurting lately. Garrus is the first person she sees. He’s sweeping the area closest to the East side of the hab unit. He doesn’t recognize her at first. He just sees a woman with no shoes and a mass of tangled hair coming towards him. She squeals and starts towards him. He recognizes her then and drops his gun in order to catch her when she flings herself into his arms. They are only able to get out each other’s names before Liara comes out of the hab unit and spots them. She lets out her own squeal and starts towards them. Garrus sets her down just as Liara joins them and pulls her into a hug. "Shepard, I can’t believe it is you.” Liara’s stomach comes in contact with Shepard’s belly and she pulls back. “Shepard, you’re -” She’s cut off by Cortez who gives a shout as he approaches and sweeps Shepard into a hug. Shepard finds herself surrounded by the three of them as they boisterously talk over each other. Kaiden sees her last. He approaches the group. “I didn’t find anything - what’s going on?” The group parts to reveal Shepard. She holds back, remembering his reaction when they last met like this. She nervously twists the ring on her finger. Kaiden stares at her in shock his gaze sweeping over her. Then he acts. He uses his biotics to pull her towards him. Liara gives a little mewl of protest but quiets when Kaiden wraps Shepard in a tight embrace. He doesn’t even try to stop the tears that flow from his eyes. “I thought I lost you again.” “Well, I was lost for a little while. I tried to let people know this time though.” Kaiden laughs and presses kisses to her face. “I missed you. How?” “They sent me back, they said I was needed.” On the way back to the Normandy Kaiden doesn’t let Shepard go. He doesn’t let her go when the crew converges on them in the shuttle Bay. “Move, I get to hug her first, she’s my sister after all.” Traynor pushes to the front of the crowd and Shepard pulls her into a hug. Samantha is followed by EDI and Joker who give her a joint hug. “Thank you Shepard.” EDI whispers. “ I knew you were too stubborn to die.” Tali claims her next, followed by James who sweeps her into a bear hug. “Knew you wouldn’t leave me to finish my N7 training without you, Lola.” Shepard laughs. “It may be a while till I am back in fighting shape.” Javik is last, his face in it's usual grim expression. "You're still here?" Shepard asks taking the hand he offers. "It seemed prudent to stay and help the primitives rebuild. Besides I can feel them now, my people... it helps." "I am glad." She smiles up at him Kaiden guides her to the elevator. “Chakwas is waiting in med Bay. She said to bring you up for a check up as soon as possible.” “It’s her way of saying she loves me.” She is leaning against him, her fingers laces I his. She yawns. She tires quickly these days. When the elevator open the first thing she sees is the memorial wall. She walks to the wall and let’s her hand trace over her name. “We’ll remove it soon.” “Should have put it on with velcro, I have a tendency of coming back to life.” He chuckles and guides her to the med Bay. Dr. Chakwas greets her with a hug before she pulls out her scanner and gets to work. “Well from what I can tell you are perfectly healthy, a little low on iron but that is due to your diet most likely. A supplement will help with that. Looks like you had some major injuries but they have healed nicely, somehow. Oh, and the babies are doing fine too.” “Babies?!” Kaiden almost shouts. “There’s more than one?” Shepard asks. “Yes, twins. Looks like a boy and a girl. Doing well.” Shepard let’s out a sigh. “ I was worried. Do you know how?” “I would suspect the normal way, the scarring that prevented you you from conceiving before is no longer present. Maybe it was removed with the rest of your scarring during project Lazarus.” Shepard nods. Meanwhile Kaiden has taken a seat on the nearby bed and is muttering to himself. “You should go rest now, I am sure you two could use some time alone.” “Thank you, Karen.” Shepard guides Kaiden to the elevator and pushes the button to the captain’s cabin. He hasn’t changed it, even the hamster sits on her usual shelf. She guides Kaiden to the couch and pushes him to sit. She snuggles into his side and his arms automatically come around her. “Twins. Where are we going to live? I guess the apartment on the citadel would work. It’s not exactly baby proof. We’ll have to get rid of that weird statue. Plus do something about those stairs. Twins. What are we going to name them. Ashley would be nice for the girl. My parents are going to kill me. We aren’t even married. Should we get married. You haven’t even met my parents.” Shepard giggles and nuzzles his neck. “Are your parents okay?” “Yes, they made it through. Ah Jah, Elizabeth and Robert are okay too.” “Good.” She shifts and lays her head on his lap. “We can name the boy David, David Thane. Wrex already took Mordin and Legion wouldn’t mind not having a kid named after him.” She yawns. “I’ll let you worry about the rest for now.” Kaiden lets his hand trace down her body and settle over her belly. “I love you.” He whispers “Always and forever” She whispers back.

#my fics #my shepard #mass effect #I decided Shepard doesn't die

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