Disclaimer: Most of the characters and all of the locations, technologies, concepts, etc that appear in this story are property of Bioware/EA.

This is War

Sweat ran down ex-Commander Jane Anastasia Shepard's temple. She breathed outward as she brought her arm to her front, holding the other folded against her side with a closed fist. In a sudden movement, she thrust her clenched fist into the air in front of her. Wisps of dark energy appeared before her, congealing into a solid mass as it propelled itself through the air at blinding speeds to smash into the dummy target across the gym. Keeping stance, knees spread and feet firmly planted, Jane punched at the air twice, each thrust punctuated by more biotic throws, before twisting around to bring both fists forward and sending a third, more powerful biotic blast outward. The dummy took the first two hits before the third tore it from its hinges on the floor completely, forcing the beaten target to the ground with a loud thud. Shepard smirked as she brought a booted foot upward directly into the air and snapped her leg down in a vicious axe kick, forming another powerful blast, precise enough to decapitate the fallen dummy target in a display of lethal force. The gymnasium was empty save for her, but the ex-Commander knew there were eyes watching her every movement behind the many cameras that littered the grounds of the Alliance's Vancouver Headquarters. She may as well give them a show.

Six months had passed after her flawless victory over the Collectors. Six months after she and her crew had cut all ties with Cerberus. Six months after the destruction of the Alpha Mass Relay and literally wiping the Bahak system off of the galactic map. Six months after she had snuffed out the lives of three-hundred-four-thousand-nine-hundred-forty-two Batarians.

She knew why she did it. It was an act of desperation, to delay the arrival of the enemy. She told herself, again and again and again. She had been through this over and over, ran her own simulations of the situation in her mind for days at a time. Doctor Kenson left her no other course of action. It was either allow them to pour through right behind the Alliance or keep them at bay at least for a time.

That was what Shepard had told herself, anyway. Throughout the entire base she could hear the silent accusations hounding her every step as she was escorted to her holding quarters upon her arrival back to Earth. She saw the glaring eyes judging her. She knew what everyone was thinking after hearing the news.

'The Savior of Elysium actually went rouge.'

Jane closed her eyes and brushed a hand through her maroon tresses. She hated that name. The fools who had branded her with that title didn't know what she went through on Elysium. They didn't know. How could they? The media whitewashed the event, used it to paint her as the Alliance's fucking poster girl. They didn't know what she did. What her mind refuses to forget after all these years.

She huffed in frustration and deemed this line of thought exasperating and pointless. Grabbing a towel from the bench beside her, Shepard wiped the sweat from her neck and forehead, fanning out the white Alliance tank top that adorned her upper body. Jane sat and removed her boots and socks, allowing her toes to stretch as she sank down to the padded mat. She crossed her legs and began weaving her hands in intricate patterns, forming a sphere of dark energy. Closing her eyes, Jane allowed her mind to wander to whatever topic it desired. Of course -being herself, - Shepard's mind latched on to one of the more pleasant thoughts that drifted through.

Shepard…

Jane smiled to herself. What had once been an assault on her sanity over six months ago was now a pleasant reminder that she had someone waiting for her once all of this was over. Flashes of ocean-blue eyes and lilac scents filled her mind. Cobalt skin, smooth as silk occupied her awareness as she saw her love behind her eyelids.

Goddess… Shepard…

A familiar heat settled itself within her abdomen as her thoughts took on a sensual tone. That beautiful blue face scrunched up as her body writhed in pleasure. She could practically feel the wetness of her love on her fingers. Shepard smiled serenely as her eyes opened and took notice of the clock on the wall. It was near midnight. Jane sighed and dissipated the orb. Slipping back into her boots, Jane rose up from the floor to walk to the locked gymnasium door. After tapping the holographic pad on the nearby wall, the door unlocked itself and opened to reveal an Alliance guard unit. The captain came forward with a pair of handcuffs.

"You know the drill Comman- Shepard."

Jane sneered at the guard captain before turning around and placing her hands behind her head, waiting patiently for him to snap the cuffs on. She couldn't help but notice the mirthful snicker a certain tattooed Lieutenant made behind the captain as he observed the headless dummy on the gym floor.

After returning to the Sol System, Shepard had immediately been relieved of her rank and taken into custody once her identification had been confirmed upon arriving on Earth.

She had submitted herself willingly. Jane was under no delusions about her situation. She had committed genocide of an entire colony planet and for good or ill; she was a murderer of over three hundred thousand souls. There was no running from that fact no matter how anyone looked at it. If anything, she knew she'd be safe in Alliance space; the Batarian Hegemony would be out for her head and as much Human blood as possible. War was inevitable, but Jane knew the real threat would be coming in due time.

Shepard was escorted through the base again and back to her holding quarters. Once again, she saw the accusing stares and heard the whispers behind her back. They all knew who she was and what she could do. They knew handcuffs would do all of nothing if she truly wished to escape and for the first time in her life, Jane was feared by her own people. Of course, they had nothing to worry themselves about where she was concerned but that didn't make the feeling any less painful.

A dark, malicious corner of her mind hissed at the situation; she had given life and limb and more for these people. All Jane had ever done was put everyone before herself, yet all she got in return were the glares and the whispers.

Pushing the spiteful thoughts aside, Jane rubbed at her wrists after the cuffs came off and was locked into her personal custody lodging. It was a comfortable enough arrangement: a single bedroom apartment on-base with a bathroom and a view of Vancouver, albeit, the window was reinforced, seven inch thick, shield protected glass. It was still a cage, but at least it was a gilded cage.

She also knew that Admiral Steven Hackett and the newly appointed Admiral David Anderson had been paramount to her being kept out of solitary confinement in the highest security prison on Earth. They had pushed for her trial to be delayed as much as possible and she had been utterly grateful for their help and support. They were two of the few people she could trust in this matter. Besides, she was more than positive that the Shadow Broker would find it highly unacceptable to allow Shepard to face the noose, no matter how much Jane would protest.

The thought of her lover brought another soft smile to her face as she made her way to the clothing cabinet on the far wall next to the large window. Fishing out a new pair of sweats and a tee –both Alliance property, - Shepard kicked off her boots and padded over to the bathroom, preparing for a shower.

Removing the sweat laden clothes, Jane entered the shower and turned the faucet, stretching her body as she felt the hot water begin cascading down her front. Calloused hands reached for the bottle of body wash and began lathering the substance into soapy foam to begin spreading over her toned, lightly freckled frame. Jane allowed her mind to wander yet again, picking up where she left off in the gym.

Oh… Shepard…

Jane's bottom lip was captured between her pearly teeth as her hands made their pathways down her body, cupping a breast and groping at her abdominal muscles. Breath picked up as she took a pert nipple between her thumb and forefinger, rolling the quickly hardening peak between them while her other hand snaked its way downward to cup her already molten core.

More… Please…

Shepard imagined her Asari's lovely body, imagined her own hands to be her lover's. The thought sent an electrifying thrill through her spine. Even though they had been apart for only six months, it had felt like a lifetime since she'd held the wonderfully warm figure of Liara T'soni against her body. The images in her head had helped her needs, but she knew that eventually she would require a more direct solution to her frustration.

Being united with Liara during and after the ghastly Collector ordeal had been one of the greatest salves to her aching soul that she had ever experienced, however brief it may have been. Having her beloved Asari in her mind again had been glorious. Feeling the warmth radiating off of her lover's consciousness as it thrashed within and around her own was something she would treasure for as long as her body and mind still functioned.

Jane's hips bucked upward into the stream of sweltering water, desperate to gain more friction against the throbbing bud between her thighs. The ex-Commander's chest heaved as she drove herself into a sexual frenzy, breath escaping her mouth in high pitched moans.

Shepard…

She was almost there. Jane's legs were shaking so badly she couldn't hold herself upright and had to brace her shoulder on the shower wall next to her. Her other hand wound its way down to join its twin, inserting two fingers inside herself as she worked her painfully stimulated core to its breaking point.

Shepard…!

She could see Liara in her mind. Her lover. Her bond-mate. Her baby. Just the thought of those perfect blue eyes staring up at her, needy and desperate and wanting made her toes curl. She felt the familiar tightening in the pit of her stomach. She was close. So very close.

Jane!

"Liara!"

With a shuddering breath, Shepard came. Hard. Her vision was filled with white light as her mind was flooded and overwhelmed with blurred images of blue eyes and soft skin as each muscle in her body tensed and relaxed in erratic euphoria. Her biotics instinctively flared outward as the evidence of her orgasm ran down her quaking thighs in steady streams and onto the shower floor to be washed away by the warm water. Jane's legs buckled and she soon crumbled to the floor in a quivering heap of bronze hair and freckled skin.

"Ahh…"

Shivering, Shepard raised herself to her feet using the wall beside her. Resting her back on the tiled wall, Jane simply stood there, basking in her afterglow and allowing the rushing water to run along her form with a contented smile gracing her face.

Rinsing off and stepping (stumbling) out of the shower, Jane quickly dried off and slipped into the loose fitting sweats, too drained to even attempt to put the tee-shirt on. Jane knew there were plenty of hidden cameras within her quarters but she simply didn't care. She'd never held any insecurity about her body. She stalked back out to the bedroom and flopped herself onto the bed.

Shepard turned her head to look out of the large window at her bedside. The night sky of Vancouver greeted her emerald eyes. Even given how relaxed she felt at this moment, mind quietly humming with afterimages of her lover, she just couldn't force the sinking feeling churning in her gut to go away, a sensation that turned her stomach into a lead weight. The feeling stayed with her even during her descent into sleep.

The morning was coming, and something was coming with it.

Being a relatively erratic writer, I will be updating this story as I see fit. Expect new chapters anywhere between, within, around and beyond two to six days. This will be a relatively long story, as I will attempt to depict as much of the game as I desire.

In the future chapters I will be using The Alliance Fleet officer rank structure found here: masseffectfanfiction(period)wikia(period)com/wiki/Category:Alliance_Fleet

Thank you for reading and I hope to have you join me again soon.