Ruthless death machines always doing the right thing is a reputation that the Shepards very well-earned and wore with pride. In all the family history, you can not find one Shepard who hasn’t gotten their hands dirty in war for the greater good, who has never sacrificed themselves or something they loved for the good of the mission, of others, who has never received a decoration, never been a commander. A linage of weapon of war, and they were damn proud of it. Valentino was damn proud of it. His parents were sure damn proud of it. His brother… was just happy to live in the generation who got to fight in Space.
Valentino never looked deeply into his brother lack of pride in their somewhat grim family reputation, unlike their father, because when it was time to get their hands dirty, Dante never questioned it, when Valentino was visibly relishing in the violence, was it getting into near death fights with other spacer kids just for the shits and giggles when they were just teen boys, or killing in cold blood a surrendered enemy begging for their lives with a smile full of teeth when they became men, his good brother knew better to look at him with fear or disobey his orders, he just rolled his eyes, because he knew that was the way of Valentino.
They were a team, the best, Valentino, the crazy biotic and him, his brother in blood, Dante, the silent sniper. Everything was great, until they’ve got perfect.
It was in April, when they met him. It started when on Valentino 16th birthday, Dante had the bad idea of showing Fight Club to his little brother, and the much more horrible idea of jokingly saying they could run one. So here they were, the next day, recruiting other kids to get their teeth knock out on a Sunday morning during the holy service in the back of the church. They, for some reason, got all the other kids to join in, only one was left, a pathetic looking, pretty blond boy who clearly never fought or even saw a fight for that matter in his in entire life, left alone in the farthest and darkest seat. Which was quite weird, a military kid who never fought and looked this soft. And even weirder, Valentino didn’t know him, didn’t recognize his face. Probably an overly protected, homeschooled kid, easy to recruit, but will certainly get us caught literary the first night he biotic thought. But, they locked eyes, and he saw the tiredness of someone who saw hundredths die and thousands begged for their lives and didn’t do anything because of his own shameful weakness, but then, he saw it, the bloodthirsty gaze of a man on the cups of insanity, dreaming of crushing the hope in his enemies’ children eyes, dreaming of making his enemies incapable of sleep in fear for the safety of their long death ancestors, dreaming for the genocide of his enemies’ people. Valentino fell in love that day.
They were a team, the best, Valentino, the crazy biotic, his brother in blood, Dante, the silent sniper, Victoire the cruel killer with a charming smile. They were perfect, they were all Shepards.
Victoire, was not related to them in any way, shape or form. No connected relative anywhere in the family tree. Which was easy to figure out from the naked eye, his sickly pale skin and blue eyes, so different from their dark skin and darker eyes, or redder in the case of Valentino, and his lack of ridiculous high cheekbones cursing the whole bloodline. He was some random tech-savvy severely traumatized kid from Mindoir that their mom’s unit picked up after the raid. But his last name was Shepard. Victoire Shepard. He wore it with pride, like all Shepards should. He honored its reputation, like all Shepards do. Valentino was in love. His parents were finally proud of his choice of man. Victoire and Dante were rivals, tho. Valentino knows that because his brother one time said I HATE YOU, YOU PRIDEFUL ASS, CAN'T EVEN PROTECT YOUR OWN FAMILY BUT GOT ENOUGH BALLS TO WALK AROUND LIKE YOU OWN THE PLACE! AND YOU, I’M YOUR BROTHER, WHY ARE PROTECTING THAT LITTLE-! CAN’T YOU SEE HE’S THE WORST, HE’S GOING TO THE DARKEST PIT OF HELL AND HE’S BRINGING YOU WITH HIM! Dante certainly has put Victoire in high regards because that’s what you do, with rivals. That’s where Valentino always put his.
They all enrolled, first thing in the morning, the day they became men.
All in the same unit.
One tight, perfect team.
He was the leader.