Shepard yawned as he wondered down the hall, just exiting the men's bathroom. A refreshing shower had woken him up, but he still felt tired, even though it had been a week since he'd prevented the reapers from arriving. Though he knew he'd only postponed the inevitable, and it would likely happen sooner, rather than later. Still, he preferred to remain optimistic.
"Shepard." Miranda said, passing him. He nodded to her in response, making his way toward the bridge area of the ship.
Greeted by the familiar site of the galaxy map as he rounded the corner, Shepard stretched his arm behind him, before a familiar voice greeted him.
"Look who's up early." Joker said over the intercom. Shepard shook his head.
Only a few of the Normandy's crew was up, most still sleeping. Kelly Chambers, Joker, Miranda, and a few servicemen were the only ones Shepard could see that were up.
"We got a message from Anderson on the Citadel, commander. It's personal, take the vid call when you get a second." Joker said, his tone shifting from playful to serious.
"Thanks." Shepard said, before turning and heading toward the Captain's Cabin.
In the Captain's Cabin, Shepard moved to his private terminal and accepted the video call. Anderson's face was projected on a large holo-screen, and Shepard moved back a few steps to get the full view.
"Shepard, this is serious. We've got a situation, and you're the only one I'd trust with someone like this." He said, his tone and emotion present on his face hinted at a dire situation.
"I'm listening, Anderson." Shepard replied, attention at its fullest. Anderson was one of the few people Shepard had faith in these days, despite their rocky relationship with Shepard doing missions for Cerberus.
"Commander Kaidan Alenko was on a recon mission on Therum, looking for an Alliance Scientist who'd gone missing doing field tests. That was five days ago, and we've no word from Alenko. This is serious, Shepard. Alenko is one of our best, and we need to get him back, but Alliance won't risk anyone else going straight into the fire. Kaidan's an old friend of yours, as am I. Could you investigate this for me? If for nothing else, than as a personal favor?" Anderson asked. Though his words were structured in a similar manner to most requests Shepard got, there was no desperation in his voice.
Shepard didn't need to hear any more than the first sentence, though.
"Anderson, I trust Alenko and you more than anyone at Cerberus, even the ones on my team. We'll go right now. Is there anything else I should know?"
Anderson shifted his position.
"I'll upload the area to your coordinates where Alenko last reported, though he could be anywhere. But be careful, Shepard. Hackett told me about what happened, if this has anything to do with the Reapers, don't be a hero. We'll need you, Shepard. Anderson out."
Shepard shook his head. Being a hero was what he was best at.
"Joker, set a course for Therum, use Anderson's coordinates and bring us in nice and quiet, I think it's time to rescue an old friend."
"Aye-aye Commander, ETA 3 hours."