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Commander Jane 'Foucault' Shepard playing the hardest damn game of chess in history, against one pain of a computer program.

Your move, reapers.

~~~~~~~~
"Have you ever played chess before, Jack?"

The biotic raised a thin, dark brow at the inquiry. "I used to play a long time ago, yeah. Not anymore…"

Vakarian nodded. "Now. what I'm about to say does not represent the opinions of anyone else on this ship. Keep in mind that I am a turian - a very bad example of a turian - and I am not a human, so my perception of the world is a little different from yours."

Jack rolled her eyes. "I'm not xenophobic or an idiot, Garrus. You don't have to give me a lecture on culture and diversity. I get it. You're different. Whatever. Answer the question. Why Shepard and what the fuck does it have to do with chess?"

The room buzzed, metal beams echoing the sound and enhancing Vakarian's sigh. He reattached the layers of armor, beginning with reinforced synthetic skin that clung to him like spandex.

Once the black suit firmly braced his torso, Vakarian placed his damaged collar around his neck. Garrus arranged the plates of armor around his body, talking as he continued to piece his chest plate together, "Then you know the game model. There's a board of sixteen squares, with eight pawns, two rooks, two knights, two bishops, a queen and king. The object of the game is to win without sacrificing too many soldiers. Each piece falls on a scale of value depending on the situation or employed strategy. The king's pawn is far more valuable than, say, the knight's pawn."

Jack twisted her lips and sat up, eyes following Vakarian as he dressed his upper body, shoulder braces and gauntlets snapping in place. "Shepard loves chess. Lives and breathes it, because every piece has purpose," Garrus narrowed his eyes. "It's not just a strategic game to Shepard. It's the order of all things. Everything has value, on a complex scale only she can read."

The turian gave a once over in the full body mirror, pausing as he studied the scars and bandages plastered across his broken face. "She's playing a multi-faceted, complex war game with ancient, unknowable enemies, and she means to win. Now, I see myself as a piece on Shepard's chess board, as are you and everyone else whose fighting back."

"Yeah but… Fuck, Vakarian. She's ruthless. At what cost does she have to win?" Jack added with a grimace.

Vakarian shrugged. "Her methods may not be kosher, but they work. Your question was 'Why Shepard'. And my answer is, because she's the only thing standing between us and a wave of galactic-wide extinction."

-------

From Patchwork Girl.
www.fanfiction.net/s/7778308/1…

Description
Commander Jane 'Foucault' Shepard playing the hardest damn game of chess in history, against one pain of a computer program.

Your move, reapers.

~~~~~~~~
"Have you ever played chess before, Jack?"

The biotic raised a thin, dark brow at the inquiry. "I used to play a long time ago, yeah. Not anymore…"

Vakarian nodded. "Now. what I'm about to say does not represent the opinions of anyone else on this ship. Keep in mind that I am a turian - a very bad example of a turian - and I am not a human, so my perception of the world is a little different from yours."

Jack rolled her eyes. "I'm not xenophobic or an idiot, Garrus. You don't have to give me a lecture on culture and diversity. I get it. You're different. Whatever. Answer the question. Why Shepard and what the fuck does it have to do with chess?"

The room buzzed, metal beams echoing the sound and enhancing Vakarian's sigh. He reattached the layers of armor, beginning with reinforced synthetic skin that clung to him like spandex.

Once the black suit firmly braced his torso, Vakarian placed his damaged collar around his neck. Garrus arranged the plates of armor around his body, talking as he continued to piece his chest plate together, "Then you know the game model. There's a board of sixteen squares, with eight pawns, two rooks, two knights, two bishops, a queen and king. The object of the game is to win without sacrificing too many soldiers. Each piece falls on a scale of value depending on the situation or employed strategy. The king's pawn is far more valuable than, say, the knight's pawn."

Jack twisted her lips and sat up, eyes following Vakarian as he dressed his upper body, shoulder braces and gauntlets snapping in place. "Shepard loves chess. Lives and breathes it, because every piece has purpose," Garrus narrowed his eyes. "It's not just a strategic game to Shepard. It's the order of all things. Everything has value, on a complex scale only she can read."

The turian gave a once over in the full body mirror, pausing as he studied the scars and bandages plastered across his broken face. "She's playing a multi-faceted, complex war game with ancient, unknowable enemies, and she means to win. Now, I see myself as a piece on Shepard's chess board, as are you and everyone else whose fighting back."

"Yeah but… Fuck, Vakarian. She's ruthless. At what cost does she have to win?" Jack added with a grimace.

Vakarian shrugged. "Her methods may not be kosher, but they work. Your question was 'Why Shepard'. And my answer is, because she's the only thing standing between us and a wave of galactic-wide extinction."

-------

From Patchwork Girl.
www.fanfiction.net/s/7778308/1…