[Book Three] Chapter 11: A chance

Chapter 11: A chance

When Traynor told her that Anderson was available in the com room, she had been relieved that he was still alive. She had no contact with him since leaving earth and had no way to know of his status. Entering the com room, Sanders was in tow. Accepting the transmission an hologram of the man appeared to them.

“Shepard! It’s good to… Kahlee?!”
“Anderson.” “ David.” greeted the two women.
“That’s a pleasant surprise.” he said.
“The commander and her team saved me and my students from an attack by Cerberus.”
“They went after Grissom Academy?” he inquired in shock and got nods of affirmation. “Thank you, commander.”
“How are you holding up?” Jane questioned.
“As best as we can. Mostly by doing hit and run tactics. Don’t worry, we'll resist as long as we need.” the admiral said with a confident smile.
“I’m glad to see you again, though I want to punch you for hiding my brother from me.”
“I’m sorry, commander. I really am but...”
“It was for the best, I know. Admiral Hackett made quite the compelling arguments and I admit… you were both right. Doesn’t mean I like it.”
“How is it going between the two of you?”
“During a mission it’s going well enough. Outside… not so good.”
“I see...” he replied in a disappointed tone.
“David, did you know he was my brother too?” Kahlee asked right to the point.
“He is?!”
“I guess that answers that.” Jane said to the blonde woman.
“God, that means he’s…” he started saying aloud but quieted down at the realization that he was going to say something he shouldn’t.
“That’s alright, they know.” Kahlee said.
“I’m surprised you didn’t. Never saw his face?” asked Jane.
“No. When I checked his DNA after defeating Saren, only his name popped up. It’s a bigger headache than I thought it was.”
“We know.”
“So… What have you been up to?” he said to change the topic.
“Lots of things, sir.”


____________________________________________________________


The next few days hadn’t been good for Jane. First she was ignored by her brother outside of their training, second he spent his time with his other sister. Talk about twisting the knife. The worst for her was hearing him call her by her name. No blondie or towhead or other nicknames, no. He was calling her Kahlee and that infuriated the redhead.

Rick and Jane were alone in the Cargo Bay for the start of her training, meaning they were both alone and enjoyed the quietness. That was a moment she cherished as it was the only time he was not ignoring her. Today was different though. Today she had enough of being treated as a second rate sister when she had spent ten years of her life, ever since she was six, dedicated to taking care of him.

“Okay gingerbread. The results of…”
“Jane.” the redhead corrected.
“What?”
“My name is Jane. You know it well, better than anyone here so please use it.”
“...No.” he replied after a moment of silence.
“Why?” she asked with a frown.
“I don’t want to.”
“The least you could do is call me by my name, especially when I’m calling you Rick, which isn’t even your real name.”
“First, it is my real name. Second, not calling you by yours is a you problem not a me problem. Now, your results shows an outsand…”
“It’s a US problem.” She corrected him again.

Taking a deep breath, Rick sighed in exasperation.

“Okay, you want to start a fight that early in the morning it seems, so I’m…”
“I don’t want to start a fight, I just want you to call me by my name. Is that too much to ask? You’re doing it for Kahlee.”
“Yes, it’s too much to ask. Yes, I call Kahlee by her name. Now can you put your petty jealousy aside so we can start your training or should I go back to…”
“Why?”
“... You’re being annoying right now.”
“Because I’m asking you to call me properly?”
“What are you doing, exactly? What do you expect out of it? Of this? That we’ll be back to be whatever we used to be just because I use your name? Just like that?” he said, snapping his fingers, his tone revealing the anger surging.
“I don’t expect anything. Yes, I hope we can go back to what we used to be, but I don’t expect it. I just want to hear you, my little brother, say my name.”
“I don’t want to. Since we’re at an impasse and that I’m in a foul mood now, I’m leaving. Train on your own.” he said, clearly done, throwing the datapad, with her results, that he was holding on the workbench to the side and walked towards the elevator.

Jane grabbed his arm as he passed her and suddenly was fighting for air. Rick had caught her by the throat and was squeezing hard.

“Are you fucking happy now?! You finally pushed me over the edge! Isn’t it what you wanted for the past week, huh?! Get me to react?! There you have my reaction.” he shouted, as he kept on squeezing his sister's neck.
“You’re killing her.” came EDI’s voice from the inside of his helmet.

The realization hit him instantly and he released his grip, letting his sister fall to her knees, her hands to her throat and trying to breathe. He didn’t want to kill her, he just wanted to hurt her, to make her stop talking so he went for the throat. Looking at his hands he couldn’t believe what he had done. Closing them into fists he turned around and walked in hurry to the elevator from which a very alert Jennifer came out of.
The woman had been woken up by EDI and told her that the siblings were fighting but that this time it might be serious. The AI, from the pattern she had noticed between the brother and sister’s interactions, has been fairly sure Rick would do something drastic. She hadn’t been wrong and so she had contacted the only person that could match him in power.

“What happened?” Jennifer asked as she saw the scene.
“Please, take care of her.” was the answer she got, barely above a whisper as the man took the elevator.

Jennifer went to Jane who seemed so lost at what just happened. She noticed a bruise that began to form around her neck and instantly knew what happened. She couldn’t believe Rick had gone that far.

“Shepard, are you alright?” She tried but got no answer and so tried again, louder. “Shepard!”
“Wha.. What?” She said with difficulty, her voice hoarse.
“Come on, let’s get you to the med-bay.” Jennifer said as she grabbed her arms and pulled her on her feet.
“N-no.”
“You do, he nearly choked you to death.”

Jane shook her head negatively and went to the elevator. When Jennifer saw that she selected CIC instead of Crew Deck she spoke up.

“Shepard, you can’t see him right now, you need medical attention.”
“He needs… help.”
“I know but not right now, right now you come first.”
“If I don’t… go now, I’ll lose… my chance. He’s vulnerable.”
“Your chance for what?”
“To fix him… to fix us.”

Jennifer looked at her in silence and relented at the determination she saw in her eyes. She didn’t know how she always did that. Coming back with a will stronger than ever from every shit thrown at her.

“I’ll stay outside just in case.”

Jane nodded in thanks and went straight to his quarters as she exited the elevator. Once again the working area had been trashed. Broken parts were lying everywhere, even his helmet was badly damaged, resting against the side of a wall. Turning her head towards the bedroom area, she looked through the big entrance that Jennifer had created a few days earlier and saw him on the bed, laying on his side facing the opposite wall. Slowly, she got closer until she could reach the bed’s frame, then she put one knee after the other on the mattress and laid behind him. During all of this Rick was just silent and unmoving as if he didn’t notice her presence.

“I hate you.” he said in a clear but low voice.
“I know.”
“...”
“...”
“...”
“I also know that you love me just as much.” she said as she began to let her fingers go through his hair gently.
“...”
“And I want you to know that I love you just as much if not more. Always have and always will.”
“You left…”
“To protect you… from me. No sister is supposed to love their brother that much and certainly not the way I did and still do. I… I wanted the best for you and I thought that even though you were unhappy at home, you weren’t outside. That you had friends that would be there for you. I wrongly believed… that by leaving I wouldn’t drag you down and you could have the life that you deserved. I was scared that my love for you would hurt you.”
“... That’s stupid. You were all I had and I didn’t need anything else. You were all that mattered to me. I didn’t care what kind of love you had for me, I just cared that you had some because nobody else did. So talk all you want I…”
“I know it’s just words. I know that you don’t believe any of it. That’s why I just want a chance, a chance to prove it’s true, no matter the kind of relationship we end up having, be it siblings or…” she let the words hang in the air but delicately put her free arm around his midsection to drag herself closer.

After a minute or two of silence, Rick turned around to put his head right under her chin.

“I’m tired.”
“Then rest.” she replied as she used the hand that she was patting his head with to completely embrace him, locking it with the other. “I’m not going anywhere, so rest as much as you need.”

They were almost glued together in a peaceful silence when Jennifer subtly entered the quarters to look at what was happening. Seeing them sleeping like that dissolved her worries and made her wonder if her sister would have done that for her. Something that she would need to ask Rick or Ashley later. In the meantime, she just silently went back outside and promised herself to raise hell on them for waking her up at 5 am.

____________________________________________________________

The pair woke up in the same position as they fell asleep, in each other's embrace. When Rick moved down her body slightly to push his head between her breasts, Jane made the first sound. She laughed.

“Not so saggy after all, huh?” she said with a pleased smile.
“I lied. They’re awesome.” he replied as he groped them.
“Better than Benezia?” she said, remembering what happened after surviving debris from Sovereign falling on top of them.
“Hers are bigger but… not better.” he replied and Jane put her hands on the back of his head pushing him further.
“After what you did to them during our night together, I thought so.”
“Red, I…”
“I don’t expect us to pick it up from there. That is, if there is a us to begin with and if you want it. I know that you still have issues with me and that you probably hate me still but right now, I don’t care about all this. Having you in my arms is enough. Having you giving me the chance to fix our relationship is enough.”
“...Thank you and I’m… Ssss. Sooo…”
“Don’t force yourself to say it. I know you’re thinking it, that too is enough.” she said with a chuckle.

They stayed like that for a while until Rick escaped her embrace and got out of bed. Jane immediately felt the loss but knew it was time to go to work as no matter how much she wished to stay like that forever there was still a war for survival going on. Getting up too, she went to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek then reminded him that she loved him, before leaving his quarters happy.

For his part, Rick cleaned up the mess he created for the second time in a week. It didn’t take him long but many parts were not salvageable. Once done, he sat in his armchair and opened his terminal. He had an idea in mind that he wished to see if it was possible. If it was, it could potentially increase his effectiveness in a fight by a large margin.


____________________________________________________________

As Jane left the former armory she went to the elevator and was stopped by Traynor who gasped loudly with widened eyes while looking at her.

“Commander! Are you alright?!”
“Yes, why?” asked the redhead.
“Your neck!”

Only then did Jane remember that she now probably sported a very big and nasty bruise on her neck. Fortunately she was quick in her thinking.

“Training results, Traynor. No pain, no gain, you know?”
“What kind of training does that kind of bruise?! I don’t think I could do it even if it’s worth it.”
“Believe me, if you knew what the gain was, you'd do it as many times as necessary.” replied Jane with a knowing smile before disappearing behind the elevator’s door.

Yeah, as many times as necessary if it gives me back my brother.

She went first to her cabin for a change of clothes as leggings and a sports bra with a tank top wasn’t really appropriate for work hours. Afterwards she went down the Crew Deck for a late breakfast when she saw Ashley and Jennifer, talking.

“Good morning!” she said in a chirpy tone.
“The fuck are you, and what did you did with Shepard?” Jen said as a greeting to a confused Ashley who saw the bruise on her neck.
“Skipper! What happened?!”
“Best morning I had in a while.”
“Usually the words ‘best morning’ are not pronounced when in the said morning you've almost been choked to death.” Jennifer snarked.
“Ashley likes it too.”
“Wait, wait, wait! What’s that about?”
“She and Rick fought this morning, it was so bad EDI woke me up fearing for the worst. She was right.”
“He did that ?!” Ashley exclaimed. “That is it! I’m having a few words with him.” she added as she stood up.
“No need! We made up.”
“You… made up?”
“I mean… I’ve been pushy ever since we picked everyone up from Grissom and he just snapped. And instead of just letting it go I just went at him more. I was right to do so as he gave me another chance. We’re far from right but it’s finally a start.”
“Damn! I guess it's good for you? I mean, the both of you. That explains why you act like you won the bingo.” commented Ashley.
“Yes. by the way… how are your students?” she asked Jennifer not particularly wanting to talk more about that topic.
“They finally have their head out of the gutter.” she replied with a sigh. “I know it was necessary to push them down but…”
““Not pleasant.”” replied the two other women.
“Yeah. At least now they understand that in just a single moment they could lose their lives if they were sent on the frontlines.”
“Can’t really blame them for becoming cocky after you taught them. I mean they probably progressed in leaps and bonds?” commented Jane.
“That they did. Most of them couldn’t even make a proper barrier when I came into the scene.”
“You think of upping their training before they get affected?”
“I thought about it but I’m not sure. On one hand I want them to enjoy their lives before going to war. On the other hand, while I’m sure they are ready for support and won’t get themselves killed, I wished for them  to prepare more.” Jennifer replied with a conflicted expression.
“Why not let them choose?” questioned Ashley. “I mean, they’re old enough to fight in the war, they’re old enough to make that decision.”
“True. And why not ask Rick to teach them a thing or two? Personally I’m working on creating an area barrier that doesn't require as much energy but doesn’t drop in efficiency.”
“Really?!”
“Yeah, it’s one of Rick’s tricks though he said it’s asking for a lot of control. The second hardest.”
“The hardest being sticking to a flying ship I gather?” inquire Ashley.
“Yes and no. It’s a bit complicated but it’s the same thing as creating a barrier without his hands.”
“Still can’t believe Dickhead succeeded in doing that consciously.” Jennifer let out.
“Why is it so difficult?” wondered Ashley who didn’t know much about how biotics works.
“It’s like using another part of your body besides your limbs to pull the trigger of a gun.” tried to explain, Jane.
“Because we use our hands for pretty much everything; we unconsciously channel the energy towards them as our brain is wired that way. That he used a part of his body that had not been trained for it and consciously override the unconscious orders of the brain is mind blowing.” added Jennifer.
“So once again he did something no one ever did before.” Ashley stated.
“Yeah but it wasn’t all roses at first.” Jennifer said grinning. “I can’t help but have a smile on my face every time I remember how incapacitated he was.”
“He spent five hours non stop channeling his biotics through his body; couldn’t move an inch of his body afterwards.” conferred the redhead as Ashley didn’t understand what the tattooed woman was referring to.
“After all those years, I still don’t know if he’s a genius with sometimes stupid ideas or an idiot with genius ideas.”

The three women laughed at the statement and went on talking about everything and nothing. One particular topic was Jennifer’s name. She had decided to be referred that way as it was her birth name and liked it. The fact that Jack was also the name of TIM wasn’t spoken about but played a big part in the decision.
Afterwards each ended up going their own way. Ashley was off duty so went to the Starboard observation room, while Jane went to speak with Liara. Jennifer for her part went to see Rick.

“Hey! Dickhead!” she shouted entering his room.
“What?” replied, his eyes focused on the terminal’s screen.
“Need your help.”
“Whatever for?”
“Train my kids.”
“You don’t need my help for that.”
“Look, we have around a week more before we get to the citadel where they may be assigned immediately. I want to be sure they have all the training they can and you’re more knowledgeable than me about biotics.”
“One week is not enough, even if we do a boot camp.”
“But you can teach them your tricks.”

At that, Rick turned around to look at her.

“Alright but you owe me.”
“And you owe me for waking me up at five with your bullshit with Shepard. Besides, isn't family supposed to not owe anything to family?”
“You’re taking advantage of that family thing rather quickly.”
“Totally.” she said with a smirk.
“Fine, girlie.”
“Oh fuck no! You’re not calling me girlie!”
“Too late. When do you want to begin?”
“You’re not calling me girlie!” she insisted.
“Call me when you know.” he said, turning back to his work.

Jennifer or girlie as it was her new nickname shouted in frustration and left the room but not without insulting him of being an asshole, making Rick laugh.
It was EDI that told him that Jennifer had her student ready half an hour later. Going down to the Cargo Bay he saw all of Jennifer’s students in line standing in position while Jane, James, Steve, Kahlee and the rest of the non-biotic students were on the side watching.

“Welcome to the biotic boot camp from hell.” he started with. “Training starts at 500 am and ends at 1100 pm. Don’t bother asking when you eat because the times will vary. First thing I’m going to do is scan your body to get some data on your eezo nodules. Don’t bother asking why, it’s for me to know. What I will teach you is some skills I created that could save your life or someone else’s. If you’re here to learn how to make a barrier without your hands, forget it, it’s not possible in one week. As you will be mainly acting as support  we’ll work on your endurance and the two basic biotic skills, Throw and Pull. If and I’m putting an emphasis on that if, if you exceed my expectations I’ll show you a trick for the barrier that you will have to practice on your own." Turning to David he asked if he wanted to help record the data, which the young man agreed. In ten minutes the seven biotics trained were scanned. Noticing the numbers he spoke up to Jennifer.

“One hour a day?”
“Half an hour in the morning, half at the end of class.” the woman replied, nodding.
“Hmmm. I suppose we’ll have to tailor the training to each. It’s fine.”

He signaled the students to get back in line and went on with his instructions.

“Are you ready?” he asked.
““YES!””

Just to be sure he suddenly sent a low powered Throw to one of them who took it cleanly and ended on their ass a few feet behind.

“Clearly not. Here’s the first exercise. Dodging. Don’t burn calories and your stamina by using a barrier when you can simply dodge, you could need that energy later. David please, keep count.”

Channeling a Throw in each hand he stated his intention.

“Prepare to die.” he said and threw the Throw towards the students.

They dodged without problem and thought themselves safe as he would need a few seconds to send others. It was proven false as one male and one female were hit by a Throw each that Rick had sent with his feet.

“You understand now? There is no down time in a fight. Now Move!”

It went on for half an hour and surprisingly they did well at first but things became complicated when curve shots came their way. Not being able to properly predict the direction where the Throw were coming from they got hit a lot. They didn’t give up though and got right back up at it.

“He’s relentless.” Kahlee said on the side.
“He’s right to do so, better they learn and hurt now than on the field.” replied James.
“True.” Steeve agreed.

“Was it like that for you too, commander?”
“There was more power in the Throws, but yes.”
“Don’t dive on the ground! Do a roll instead! You’ll be able to be mobile and act faster!” They heard Rick yelled.


When Rick estimated they were exhausted he stopped the exercise and gave them a five minute break. Meanwhile he went to pick some armor parts, one for each student and put them in line on the ground.

“Alright, you did… okay. With straight shots you were good and when I switched to curved shots you adapted rather quickly. You can ask David your score during lunch break if you want. Now what we’re going to practice is two different things at the same time. First is the curve shot. Watch.” he said as he made a curved Pull. “What did you see?”

“The shot curved?”
“Wrong answer. It’s not the shot you must look at as it’s the result.”
“You then?” said another student.
“Good answer. Focus on my arm.” he instructed as he made a curved Pull once again.
“You bend your arm.”
“Yes but that’s not it. I could bend my arm and send a straight one.” he replied and demonstrated it.
“It’s the wrist. You’re using it like a whip just as you release it.”
“Correct. I don’t think I need to tell you why it’s an important skill to master?”
“““No.”””
“Good. Now another trick that I developed. How to reach an usual level of power while using less energy.”
“That’s not possible, sir.” Said a female student.
“Oh really?”
“Yes, power is proportional to the amount of energy used. The more you use the more powerful.”
“Let’s test that then. Girlie!”
“Fu…. You!” Shouted Jennifer.
“Come and hit as hard as you can with your biotics.” he said as he signaled for her to come over. “Girlie here, has more power than I do and yet…”

Not bothering to finish his sentence, he instead blocked Jennifer’s hit with one of his own. The students couldn’t not see the stalemate between their two teachers. Jennifer’s biotics were strong, they could see it with the naked eye yet Rick’s were holding up while not being as visually wild. When both adults retreated, the man turned to them.

“More power, doesn’t mean more energy or at least not your energy.”

From there Rick shared the same thing he had shared with his sister when she started learning biotics. And just like her the student enjoyed the practice as it was a two birds with one stone exercise. Three if you counted the fact that they could do it while sitting which after their dodge training earlier, was a blessing.

When he dismissed them for lunch, Rick picked up the data from David and analyzed it. Kahlee and Jennifer joined him to talk.

“That was impressive.” said the blonde woman.
“I disagree, they only practiced for a bit. I’m sure Jennifer pushed them harder.”
“Yeah but not right out of the bat.”
“What can I say, I’m an always go all out kind of guy.” he said and showed his sister-in-law the numbers. “That one needs to meditate more, she’s lagging behind the other. Not by much but lagging nonetheless.”
“I know, she’s not as powerful a biotic as the others.”
“That’s bullshit. In six months Jane almost reached the same level as I was back then. It just takes time and dedication and I proved that it’s not about  power but control.”
“Will that be enough to have them prepared?” Kahlee asked.
“Enough to learn the basics so they can practice on their own until they master them.”