“Shepard and company, follow me.”
I gave a short order and headed through the CIC toward the ladder.
We descended to the deck with the quarters.
“Right, this cabin is for the ground team.
Right now, I live here, along with Kaidan Alenko and Richard Jenkins.
Now you do too.
You can drop your stuff here…
you won’t need it for now.”
The girls just nodded grimly and followed me as we headed to the cargo hold.
“Joker, get Jenkins and Alenko to the cargo hold.
Now.”
“Yes, sir, Captain!”
Joker was as chipper as ever.
“That’s our pilot, by the way — Jeff ‘Joker’ Moreau.
Be careful around him — he likes watching everyone, so don’t run around the ship naked, even if you think the corridors are empty.
And check the women’s showers for cameras.”
“Hey!
Captain, sure, I like to peek, but I don’t put cameras in the showers!
My life is worth more than that!”
Joker’s voice was indignant but not offended.
“What else…”
I stopped on the ladder and looked up at the ceiling — I stopped so abruptly that Shepard, who was walking right behind me, nearly ran into me, but she managed to react.
“Good reflexes.”
I nodded.
“Thank you, sir.”
“Yeah…”
I waved my hand.
“Let’s get one thing straight.
I don’t give a shit how things worked wherever you served before.
On this ship, for the ground team, I am king, god, and father.
Even the ship’s captain can’t give you orders.
Feel free to tell him to fuck off — though Anderson’s a good man and won’t bother you with orders.”
I kept moving.
“After THIS mission, I can help with discharge — honorable, not a dishonorable one — or you can stay serving under me.
Depends on what you want…
Questions?”
“This isn’t a question…
more like…
Sir, I’m very grateful!”
Jane said this, and I stopped dead, stunned.
I even looked back at her.
“Grateful?”
“Yes, sir!
I was stationed at the Elysium garrison!
You bought new equipment for your company back then and ordered the old equipment transferred to other companies.
I got much better gear, and thanks to that, I survived!”
I blinked, a little taken aback.
“Oh…
right…
that.
I remember cursing out your logistics service for buying such shit for the soldiers.
They kept saying they’d already issued it to an elite company, that this wasn’t a core world to be buying the latest developments.”
I looked Jane over carefully.
“So you’re saying you survived because of me?”
“Yes, sir!”
“Don’t bullshit me…
I don’t like being lied to.”
She blinked in shock.
“Why did hundreds and thousands of others die while you survived?
Or are you saying you were the only one who got better gear?”
“No, but —”
“You survived first and foremost because of your skills.
And that badge on your chest proves it.
They don’t hand out N7 to just anyone.”
Without another word, I continued to the cargo hold.
“Right, who here can drive?”
“I can, sir!”
Orimura stepped forward.
“Then you’ll be mastering this beast.
By the time we land — if we need to — you should know it as well as the spots on your body that give you the most pleasure when touched.
Understood?”
“Yes, sir.”
She winced but didn’t say anything.
She just started walking toward the transport, but I stopped her.
“Wait…
don’t start yet.
The whole ground team needs to get acquainted first.”
I grimaced again, and two minutes later Jenkins and Alenko came running into the cargo hold.
“Alright, introductions.
Second pilot of the Normandy and part-time biotic, also ground team member — Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko.
His junior colleague, Corporal Richard Leroy Jenkins.
My name is John Shepard, also a biotic and commander of your circus on wheels.
Lieutenant Jane Shepard, from now on my second-in-command in the ground team…”
“But sir —”
“Alenko, you want to argue with me?”
I gave the kid a very kind look.
“No, sir.”
“Good.
Next, Lieutenant Orimura Chifuyu — she’ll be driving this turian monster.
And Corporal Rebecca Li.
From now on, we’re one big, happy family.
Follow me…”
I accompanied my team with a light wave of my hand, and we all walked to a container that I opened with a special key card.
“This is unisex armor for a full ground team — meaning thirty people.
So you can find something that fits.
Pack up the junk the quartermasters gave you and stash it somewhere in a far corner of the ship.
It’s complete garbage.
Weapons are here too…”
I tapped the open container door with my hand.
“…Jane…”
“I’ll oversee it, sir!”
She looked at me with eyes full of adoration.
Among other things.
I looked her straight in the eyes.
“I don’t know how long we’ll be working together…”
I lie like I breathe, and I breathe a lot.
If these girls work out, we’ll be working together for a very long time.
Even if they want to leave the military, I’ll recruit them into my corporation’s security service, like I’ve done with many worthy soldiers.
“…but I want this group to turn into a cohesive platoon as quickly as possible.
Unfortunately, due to my position, I can’t spend all my time on training, so…”
“I’ll draw up a plan and coordinate it with you, sir.
At least once every two or three days, you can train with us.”
“Maybe more often…”
I shrugged.
“…we’ll coordinate that when you have the initial plan.
For now, start selecting your gear.”
“Yes, sir.”
Jane stepped inside, quickly looked around, and began issuing gear to her new subordinates.
I watched all this with a slight smirk, then went about my business…
inspecting the ship was one of those tasks — specifically, the areas that fell under my responsibility.
Time flew by unnoticed.
Soon, the ship undocked and slowly left the Citadel docks, heading toward one of the human colonies where a Prothean beacon had been discovered.
“Captain Shepard, may I speak with you?”
I turned slightly and saw Rebecca standing next to me.
“Ah, Corporal…
go ahead.
And yeah, when we’re not on official business, you can just call me John.”
“I’ll think about it, Captain.
As for speaking…
I wanted to ask — you tested Lieutenant Shepard, but you didn’t test me or Lieutenant Orimura.
Why?”
“What’s the point?
Corporal, I might disappoint you, or maybe please you, but I don’t care how the rest of the crew follows orders.
Though if Jane had ignored the order or punched me in the face, I would have tested Chifuyu.
And if she’d failed too…
well, then this ground team wouldn’t have had a chance to stay with me, and I’d have found excuses to transfer you to other ships as soon as possible.”
“Sir?”
I could see that respectful address wasn’t easy for her, but she was trying.
“Look…
my job is to find a capable second-in-command and set tasks for them.
Jane’s job is to drill you so hard that if I gave an order to fuck, you’d start undressing first and only timidly ask who and for how long as you were doing it — but the thought ‘why?’ wouldn’t even cross your mind.”
“Um…”
Rebecca blinked in confusion.
“…would you actually give an order like that?”
“Keep asking stupid questions, and I’ll knock you out, drag you to the bunkroom, and fuck you myself.
You know, I’m not a nice guy.
I’ve been through so many hot zones…
you can’t even imagine.
And my childhood was pretty shitty too.”
“Ahem…
sorry, sir.”
“Forget it.
Now get back to Lieutenant Shepard…
no, that’s too long.
I need to come up with a callsign, or a nickname…
something cute and embarrassing, so every time she hears it, she’s torn between wanting to sink through the deck and wanting to kill me.
Anyway, go to Jane — let her handle you and the others.”
“Yes, sir!”
From the look in her eyes, I could tell she absolutely wouldn’t be able to resist sharing my “not-quietly-said” thoughts with Jane.
“Joker…”
Once the girl was far enough away, I addressed the pilot.
“…send me the recording of Jane’s reaction to my thoughts about a cute, embarrassing nickname.”
“Sir, I —”
“Joker, I’m not asking you to send me their lesbian orgies.
Just my second-in-command’s reaction.
Either you do it, or all your secret porn folders become known to Anderson.”
“What?!”
The panic in Joker’s voice was extremely pleasing to my ears…
“Another perspective.
Cargo hold.”
“Up!”
Jane gave the order, and her subordinates immediately began rising.
“Run the perimeter of the cargo hold!
Move!
March!”
She led by example, running around the not-very-large cargo hold, but at enough speed that the others had to work hard to keep up.
“Lieutenant, permission —”
“Get in formation!
Now!”
Rebecca didn’t get to say anything before being ordered, and she joined the drill.
She’d supposedly gone to the bathroom during a short break and returned when the training had already resumed.
Understanding this wasn’t the time, she pushed her thoughts deep down.
“Flash right!”
Everyone dropped so their feet were toward the “flash” and their heads as far away as possible — except Jenkins, who remained standing, blinking in confusion.
“Jenkins!
For fuck’s sake!
On the command ‘flash,’ a soldier drops to the ground, covers their head with their hands, with their feet pointing toward the flash!
What the fuck are you standing for?!”
“But…
ma’am, we’re on a ship…”
“Jenkins…”
Jane’s voice turned very sweet.
Rebecca and Chifuyu, who knew her, tensed slightly.
No one — not even Alenko — thought about getting up off the deck, and Alenko had even pressed his temple to the cool floor, enjoying the pleasant chill.
“…my dear subordinate…
You know, I’ve heard about Captain Shepard’s methods.
In case you don’t know, let me enlighten you.
Soldiers who get wounded because of laziness and lack of training — he easily gives them a dishonorable discharge.
You know what that means?
No pension…
no combat awards…
nothing.
Your whole military career, all your training — gone to waste.”
Jenkins froze, staring at Jane.
“And he demotes lieutenants to privates if their idiocy and failure to teach subordinates proper combat reactions cause losses.
If I don’t give a shit about your life — you can submit a discharge request right now, and I’ll ask the captain to sign it — but I don’t want to become a private myself, or get kicked out of the military.
So when I give the command FLASH!”
Jane punched Jenkins hard in the gut, and he doubled over.
“You, for fuck’s sake!”
She grabbed him by the neck and shoved him face-first into the floor.
“First you drop!
And THEN!
ONLY THEN!
You can curse me in your head!
Do you understand me?!”
There was no answer because the kid was trying to wipe bloody snot off the floor.
“And THIS is what I get for a ground team?”
Jane shook her head.
“Revy!”
Rebecca immediately jumped up and stood at attention before the lieutenant.
“Take him to the medbay.”
“Ma’am, if I may note, we haven’t learned the cabin locations yet…”
“I’ll…
take him…”
Alenko struggled to his feet.
“…if Lieutenant Shepard allows.”
“Permission granted.
And tell them not to make him pretty — just fix the fallout from the fall.
Then both of you come back here.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
Alenko stood at attention for a couple of seconds, then walked over to Jenkins, helped him up, and the two of them headed toward the medbay.
“Jane…”
Rebecca addressed her friend and commander once the guys had left.
“…I have bad news for you.”
“What news?”
“They’ve decided to give you a cute nickname.”
“What?”
“Well, I ran into Captain Shepard, and he started thinking out loud — not quietly — that calling you ‘Lieutenant Shepard’ is inconvenient, and just using your name doesn’t appeal to him.
So he needs to come up with a cute, embarrassing nickname for you.”
Jane clenched her fists, took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled.
“As long as he doesn’t stick his hand in my pants, he can do what he wants…”
“Even that?”
Chifuyu also got up off the floor and looked at her friend and commander.
“Exactly that.”
Jane nodded decisively.
Inwardly, she smirked, because honestly, a man like that — she might let him stick his hand in her pants.
Strong, loyal to his people, rich…
what more does a girl need from a man?
Well, maybe that he fuck her senseless.
She shook her head, pushing away thoughts that were mostly inspired by the past — when she’d seen him fighting on the planet against batarians…
covered in their blood and entrails…
She focused on the current task, deciding to think about the rest later.
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