Chapter Text
“Commander Shepard.”
Jane looked up, hand firmly fixed around the Carnifex she was cleaning down in Engineering. “Can I help you Corporal Jenkins?”
“Captain Anderson is asking to speak to you in the comm room.”
“Did it seem urgent?”
Jenkins paused, as if unsure how much he was meant to say. “I believe so Commander. He received a call from Admiral Hackett about fifteen minutes ago.”
“Tell Captain Anderson I’ll be up immediately.” Jane carefully placed her gun down on the counter in front of her and double checked that the safety was in place before booking it to the comm room. Captain Anderson was a good captain, but he didn’t like to be kept waiting.
“Sir!” She saluted as she approached.
“At ease Shepard.”
“Corporal Jenkins said you wanted to speak with me.”
“Yes,” he paused, as if seeming to search for the best way to tell her whatever news had been so important that it needed to be delivered immediately. “Admiral Hackett called. He had a meeting with Udina and the council today. Given your new status as a Spectre, the council feels that your talents and potential are being wasted as my XO.”
Jane’s eyes widened. She loved being a part of the Normandy’s crew, being under Captain Anderson’s command. Did the council really have the authority to remove her?
“They requested that I reassign you to help with a special project,” he continued, watching Jane closely. “One that is better suited to your new role as the first human Spectre.”
“Sir,” Jane interjected, “With all due respect, I don’t feel that my talents are being wasted here.”
“Neither do I.” Anderson sighed. “But unfortunately, I’m out-ranked by Admiral Hackett, Udina, and the Council.”
“What do they want me to do?”
“All I was told was that they want you to go undercover. The details will be on a need-to-know basis. For now, you and I are meant to meet Hackett and Udina at the embassies immediately.”
“Should I pack my things?”
“I don’t think that will be necessary. Whatever mission they have in mind, I’m sure you’ll have the opportunity to prepare.”
Jane nodded, her face perfectly devoid of emotion despite her internal turmoil. It was a skill she had learned long ago in her life on the streets. Being able to hide how you really felt about a situation came in surprisingly handy, especially in the military.
“I’m ready when you are sir.”
Anderson nodded and pressed a button. “Joker, take us to the Citadel.”
***
Jane followed Anderson into Ambassador Udina’s offices, ready to face what would probably be an unpleasant meeting. It was no secret that there was no love lost between Anderson and Udina, and she had never been to a meeting with them both without confrontation. To her surprise, however, Udina and Hackett weren’t the only office occupants. Two Turians were present as well, one of which Jane instantly recognized as the Turian council member, Laiel Sparatus. Luckily, the Turian ambassador’s presence probably meant that Udina would be on his best behavior. It was no secret that he was vying to be the first human council member. The other, a tall Turian with grey mandibles and distinctive blue markings, was unfamiliar to her, but she couldn’t help but notice how confident and relaxed he looked, standing tall next to Sparatus with his blue eyes assessing her in a manner that made her feel a bit like she was some sort of museum curiosity.
Garrus, for his part, had been watching the human with Captain Anderson from the moment she had entered the room. He knew who she was. In fact, he had heard of her long before this assignment had come up. She was the hero of the Skyllian Blitz, the first human Spectre. Her bravery and skill were unrivaled by any other human, or so he had heard. She hadn’t looked at all how he had imagined, however.
Granted, he wasn’t all that familiar with human females, or even humans in general. He had worked with some at C-Sec, but they were mostly male, and he hadn’t seen enough of them to anticipate how most humans looked or how their males and females differed. He knew that, for the most part, humans were smaller and squishier than Turians, but he hadn’t realized that human females could be even smaller than the males of their species. Commander Shepard was, to Garrus’ estimation, 5’5’’. Her body, despite being covered in the dark grey, N7 armor of the Alliance military, was clearly toned and fit. After all, she had at least four guns hung on her back and hips and was walking as easily as if they were made of air. Her fringe, which was a dark red color, was longer than the male humans he had interacted with, but it seemed to fit tightly against her head, knot at the back, and then flow down behind her back like water running out of a faucet. Her features were, well, human. He really didn’t know how else to describe them. But despite her short stature and general squishiness, she had a distinctive air of command, that of someone who had held the lives of thousands in her hands more than once. She seemed relaxed, in control, calmly but methodically assessing the situation for any possible threats, the way he would have done if he were her. He was impressed, especially when her eyes met his and she didn’t blanch. Most humans were still at least a little afraid of Turians, but she didn’t seem remotely intimidated.
“Ah Commander Shepard, Captain Anderson,” Udina nodded at them, interrupting Garrus’ train of thought and giving what Jane knew was an attempt at a friendly smile. It didn’t suit him. “Thank you for joining us so quickly.”
Jane glanced sidewards at Anderson in time to catch him clenching his jaw. He was as aware of the insult hidden beneath the compliment as she was.
“I’m sorry we couldn’t get here sooner,” said Anderson, his voice smooth and diplomatic. “I hope we didn’t keep you waiting councilor,” he turned to Sparatus and saluted respectfully.
“Not at all,” said Sparatus. “I appreciate you making the trip on such short notice.” He then turned to Jane and nodded in her direction. “It’s good to see you again Commander.”
“It’s good to see you again as well councilor,” Jane saluted him sharply, standing at attention until someone told her it was acceptable to do otherwise.
“At ease Commander,” came Hackett’s voice from the corner of the room. As Jane relaxed into a more comfortable posture, Hackett approached the circle. “Now that everyone is here, let’s get straight down to business. I’m sure that Anderson expressed the views of the council to you Commander.”
Jane nodded.
“As you know, being the first human Spectre is a great honor, and the Alliance wants to do everything in our power to ensure that the council continues to view your promotion as a wise decision. That includes listening to their advice on how you can best be of service to the galaxy. For this reason, we have agreed to the council’s suggestion that we reassign you from your current station as Captain Anderson’s XO to a special operation in collaboration with C-Sec.” Hackett paused and motioned towards the unfamiliar turian who stepped forward as Hackett introduced him. “This is Garrus Vakarian, a C-Sec officer in the Investigation Division. He’s here to help explain the situation.”
“The target,” began Garrus, fixing his eyes on Shepard, “Is Donovan Hock, a well-known arms dealer. We have been looking for evidence to convict him for several years without success. He’s magnificent at covering his tracks and never does the dirty work himself. We had resigned ourselves to the fact that he was never going to be caught. Unfortunately, he recently brought himself back to our attention in a less than pleasant way. He seems to have expanded his trade to include slaves and increasing numbers of human colonists, asari, and turians are being kidnapped and traded, even here on the Citadel. Bringing him to justice is my current case and top priority.”
Jane watched the turian closely as he spoke, his tone was calm and factual, but she could see the passion burning behind his composure. There was no doubt that he cared about this, about bringing Hock to justice. She knew that look, it was the look of a man who would do whatever it took to achieve a goal. She admired that. There were too many mindless bots at the citadel, no offense to any non-organic life forms of course.
“This is where you come in Commander,” said Udina. “C-Sec officers are constrained by too many rules and regulations to get the necessary information. As a Spectre, however, you would be able to break any and all rules required to get the job done.”
“What would you like Shepard to do?” Asked Anderson, his face nearly as unreadable as Jane’s. “Pose as a slave trader? An arms dealer?”
“Not exactly,” said Hackett. “Since Hock doesn’t do any of his own dirty work, it would hardly be successful to pose as a slave trader. His men are well trained. They don’t drop names and they don’t talk about who they’re buying for. We need Shepard to infiltrate in a different way. These criminals have money, and they like to use it. They live the high life, flying across the galaxy attending exclusive parties, gambling, drinking, buying expensive art. We need Shepard to become one of them, gain their trust, find out the kind of details you can only get on the inside.”
“You want me to pose as a rich criminal living the high life?” Jane was aghast. “Admiral Hackett, I’m sure there is someone more qualified. I’m a soldier. I hardly have the kind of social graces required for such an assignment.”
“To be frank,” said Sparatus, his voice somehow as smooth as silk and as sharp as a knife at the same time, “You are uniquely qualified. Hock has a type. And you, Commander Shepard, are his type.”
For the first time since she had entered the room, Jane’s face betrayed a flicker of emotion. It was so brief that anyone but the closest of observer’s would have missed it, but it was not lost on Garrus, whose job required him to notice the smallest changes in a person’s expression. The comment had made her, not exactly angry or disgusted, he realized, but certainly something like it.
“We’ll catch you up to speed on everything you need to know Commander,” interjected Hackett quickly, before Jane could say anything. “I’m confident in your abilities, and so are the council.”
“There’s one more thing Commander,” said Sparatus, ignoring the look of warning that Hackett sent his way. “C-Sec would prefer that you don’t go in alone. It’s not that they aren’t confident in your abilities, but with how high stakes this operation is, they would like one of their own there. Vakarian will be going with you.”
“In what capacity?”
“As your fiancée.”
“As my what?”
“As her what?”
Jane and Garrus blurted out their shocked questions at the same time. Garrus hadn’t even been aware until a few seconds ago that he was expected to accompany the human on this mission, and he certainly hadn’t been informed that he was expected to play the role of her fiancée. It shouldn’t have mattered what they wanted of him; he knew that. It shouldn’t have mattered that they were probably asking him to leave his life behind for who knew how long to galivant around the galaxy pretending to be in love with someone he didn’t know from a species he wasn’t even attracted to. As a Turian, his role was to obey authority without question. It had been drilled into him since the day he was able to understand what the adults around him were saying. Unfortunately, Garrus had never been quite as good at following rules as his father, and his former military commanders, might have hoped.
“With all due respect councilor,” he said quickly, before he lost his nerve, “Don’t you think a human/turian couple would raise more suspicion than anything else? The hostility between our two races hasn’t exactly led to pairings being common.”
“That’s exactly why they won’t suspect,” said Sparatus calmly. “No one in their right mind would send a human/turian couple in undercover. It would draw far too much attention.”
“And what about your implication that I was somehow selected because I’m Hock’s type?” Interjected Jane. “Wouldn’t my showing up with a fiancée ruin that particular dynamic?”
“Hardly,” Sparatus smiled slightly, “I’ve heard he has a thing for women who are taken. If anything, it will just make you more exciting.”
Jane flexed her right hand slightly, making Garrus take a slight step back. She might not be very tall or very big, but she was certainly intimidating when she was angry. To his surprise, however, she didn’t explode in anger, or even raise her voice. She just looked calmly at the councilor and asked in a quiet voice that was somehow much more terrifying than a yell would have been, “What is the council expecting of me?”
“We are expecting that you find out the information C-Sec needs, by whatever means necessary.”
“And I assume I have no say in this pretend relationship?”
“I’m sorry Shepard,” said Hackett sympathetically. “But I’m afraid it’s non-negotiable.”
“Very well. How would you like me to proceed?”
The councilor seemed pleased that she had put up so little resistance. “We have prepared temporary quarters for you here on the Citadel,” said the councilor. “We would like you to bid farewell to your crew by the end of the day and be prepared to begin mission training and debriefs tomorrow.”
“Anything else, councilor? Admiral?”
Garrus recognized what she was doing. Turians did it all their lives. When a command from a superior was both unavoidable and unpleasant, it was simpler to just accept it as quickly as possible. That way, you had more time to be angry about it later.
“That’s all, Commander Shepard,” said Hackett kindly. His face was resigned but sympathetic. Garrus knew he was a good General.
“Then, with your permission, I’ll head back to the Normandy to say my goodbyes to the crew.”
“Of course,” said Hackett. “Captain Anderson, will you be going back with her?”
“Yes Admiral. The crew will no doubt be unhappy at the news. Commander Shepard is very well liked. I’d prefer to be there when she tells them if you don’t need me for anything else.”
“Please come and see me after everyone has said their goodbyes,” Hackett said by way of answer to Anderson.
“Admiral, Ambassador, Councilor.” Anderson and Shepard both saluted.
“Anderson, Shepard,” Hackett and Sparatus both saluted back while Udina just nodded politely, if a bit coldly.
And with that, the two humans left, leaving Garrus to wonder exactly how much of his future was going to involve the human Spectre with the red fringe.