AN: This takes place just before the mission on Tuchanka to cure the genophage. No other information is really required to enjoy it.

Shepard

Norandy's Crew Deck

Walking out of the elevator towards the medical bay, Shepard could only feel a sense of silence around him. It was only early in the morning on the ship's rotation, and most of the crew were asleep in their quarters. In fact the entire crew deck was relatively still, even the now packed medical bay. The Normandy had taken aboard the wounded members of Aralakh Company after their combined mission on Utukku. And while the mission had been a relative success, the combined assets provided by a living Rachni Queen could not be understated, it came at a heavy cost to the Krogan forces on the ground.

Now Grunt, one of his squad mates to travel through the Omega relay with him, was laying medicated on one of the medical beds, barely even conscious. Shepard saw him on the first bed closest to Chakwas's desk, the other medical bed was also occupied by a Krogan, though his condition was much worse off than Grunts. The two beds on the right side of the medical bay, which were normally reserved purely for surgery, were also supporting a full sized Krogan, both barely conscious. The door in the far side of the bay, which led to the AI core, remained opened, several cots had been brought up to house even more Krogan who had been placed as tightly packed as the crew could manage in the small space.

Since they had left Utukku, Chakwas, with some help from Mordin, had worked almost nonstop. Now she had fallen asleep at her desk, her computer still opened to a report she had been writing; her nap seemed much more pressing. Shepard couldn't help but feel sympathy for the woman, she had been operating on nine different Krogan, all of whom were close to death upon their arrival. It was a testament to hers and Mordin's practiced hands that none of them died, that and the Krogan's naturally durable biology. Though, these were only the members of Aralakh Company that they had managed to rescue.

Taking a quick glance into the room, Shepard thought it was best to leave them all to their rest, Chakwas included. Walking over to the nearest wall locker, he grabbed a large wool blanket that barred the normal SSV Normandy logo on it. Unfurling it, he draped it over the doctor's shoulders, hoping to ease the older woman's exhaustion. Leaving the room, Shepard walked over to the mess hall, where the crew was already hard at work preparing the morning's usual grub. With the extra mouths to feed and the increasingly long hours of the ship's operations, the mess crew was also feeling overworked and overstretched. It was apparent to see as the three crew members danced around the kitchen area sluggishly.

Upon noticing the Commander, Shepard could see all three start to look up to acknowledge his presence. Not wanting to take up their time, Shepard grabbed a tray of food from one of them, and turned to sit down at the nearest table. Normally he would take his meals up to his personal quarters, but he was already short on time before their next mission. All around him buzzed of the usual activity that happened during the morning shift change. The day crew was just now showering and changing into their uniforms, a few early birds were already getting their breakfast before they were due to report at 0600. Minimal manning required them to run on a cycle of twelve hour shifts, and it didn't seem like anyone was getting a day off.

Need to remember to give these guys shore leave again, Shepard thought to himself, as he hurriedly ate through his powdered eggs and roll.

The sound of the elevator distracted him from his thoughts, causing him to look up towards the wall that separated the mess hall form the walkway outside of the elevator itself. It was unusual for many people to travel between the decks unless it was an emergency, or they were headed towards the crew quarters after the shift change. But Shepard was certain he hadn't seen anyone moving towards the door, and after checking the time to realize it was still 0530, he was positive no one had decided to go up.

Watching to see who walked around the corner, Shepard was relieved to find Garrus and his squad walking towards him. The Turian was still in his armor, as was Javik who followed him. EDI brought up their rear, though she was decidedly less decked out than the other two. Apparently Shepard had missed the announcement letting him know that Garrus had returned from their mission defusing the bomb on Tuchanka. It hadn't been his first choice to leave someone else to take on the Primarch's mission, but unfortunately Wrex had requested his help for something else that was just as time sensitive.

Waving the trio over, Shepard made room at his table for them to sit. It was then that he remembered neither EDI nor Garrus would be able to eat what he was having. As such, EDI and Javik took spots at the table, while Garrus hurried to the kitchen to find the Turian rations he had stored aboard.

"Commander," Javik started, sitting across from Shepard. "Is it common for this cycle to engage in regular eating rituals?"

"You mean breakfast?" Shepard responded, quickly swallowing the mouthful of powdered eggs he had been chewinng. "Do Protheans not eat?"

Javik looked almost uncomfortable by the question, his eyes flickered slightly as Shepard waited for his answer. "Of course we do! Do not be so ridiculous. I don't see the point in preparing your meals in such an inefficient manner to sit around and eat."

EDI, who had taken up a seat to Shepard's right, pushed the subject further. "What would you recommend then Javik?"

"We carried our rations in small disposable pouches, enough food to last the day could be eaten quickly and without waste. It allowed us to maximize our efficiency."

Still chewing a piece of toast, Shepard looked over at Javik completely enthralled. "You've never sat down and had a cup of coffee have you?" he asked, just as Garrus was joining them. Turning around towards the kitchen, Shepard waved one of the mess crew to bring him a mug of coffee, waiting patiently as the cook pressed the warm liquid through the industrial strength coffee maker.

"You see, Javik," Garrus said, having apparently overheard their entire conversation. "Turians, and Humans too from what I've seen, have a very similar method to ingest food as you did. But we normally reserve it for long ground deployments, where we have to carry everything on our backs, or during dire emergencies on board a ship. If we decided to start doing it regularly for all the crew, we'd have a mutiny on our hands. Enjoying little things like this help boost morale."

"Mutiny would not be tolerated among the Protheans," Javik grumbled, just as the cup of coffee had been brought over.

Taking the mug, Shepard was careful to poor in a healthy amount of cream and sugar from the condiments left on the table, mixing it thoroughly with his unused spoon. The other trio watched his ritual intently, staring at Shepard as he readied the cup. "Ya know," Garrus started, "With how much Liara and everyone seems to love that drink, it makes me feel like I'm missing out on something. Damn shame they were never able to genetically engineer it for dextro species."

Chuckling, Shepard pushed the mug over towards Javik, encouraging him to take a sip. "That my friend, is the reason Humanity would have won any war with the Hierarchy," he joked, looking over towards Garrus. "EDI, he'll be fine if he drinks it, right?"

"He should be, though I am unaware if it will have the same effects as it does on other species."

"Intriguing," Javik mused, holding the mug steadily in his hands. "And this is supposed to win you wars? I do not understand its effects."

"Drink it," Shepard insisted, "then find out what it does."

Without much more complaint, Javik tilted his head back and took a gulp from his mug as quick as he could. "Damn," he spat, wincing his eyes in pain. "How do you stand to drink something so hot!"

"Well you aren't supposed to chug it," Shepard said laughing. He pushed over his cup of water for Javik to cool his mouth. "You need to sit back and enjoy it. Let it cool enough to warm your body up while you enjoy the taste."

"This cycle is bizarre in its practices," Javik grumbled again, taking the glass of water eagerly.

They watched as the alien thirstily guzzled the water, his throat muscles flexing around the liquid in a very visible way. "I'd trust Shepard on this one Javik," Garrus mused. "I'd damn near kill to taste what all the fuss about coffee has been about."

"Tell me what this coffee is at the very least," Javik cursed, now looking thoroughly at the mug as he waited for it to cool.

"It's a bean native to Earth," Shepard started. "When we started trading with the other council races, coffee became a massive commercial success. Apparently it had no equivalent on any other planet. People went nuts for the stuff."

Shepard watched as Javik's face soured, at last he started to bring the mug back up to his face. This time, he was careful in his sips, slowly ingesting an ever increasing amount of the stuff. After another moment passed, he brought the cup back down to the table, his four eyes dancing between it and Shepard.

"It taste somewhat bitter to me, but," Javik's eyes blinked randomly, fluttering about as he tried to focus them on something. "I feel... sharper."

"Takes some getting used to, lot of people make it with plenty of sugar for that reason. But that sharpness is called caffeine, helps keep ya awake, and makes your morning a hell of a lot easier. Hence why the galaxy now loves the stuff."

"Fascinating," Javik mused, now swishing around what remained in his cup. He continued to drink it, quickening his pace as the coffee started to cool.

Meanwhile, another body had come up from elsewhere on the Normandy. The Arbiter was now also making his way through the mess hall waiting patiently through the small line of other Humans that were awaiting their food. Considering that he stood a good two feet taller, and his body was a much larger frame than any of the other crew members, it was easy to see him standing out among the small crowd. And his presence still brought watchful gazes from most of the Human crew.

Shepard could tell the Sangheili had just woken up, as he wasn't dressed in his normal intricately designed battle armor. Instead he was wearing only a skin tight dark purple colored suite that Shepard recognized as the undergarment he wore to cushion his skin against the armor. Shepard watched as the alien grabbed a tray that contained a sizable portion of food, by Human standards, and a warm cup of coffee as well. Turning around, Shepard could see the Arbiter notice the group sitting down at the table, and waved him over to join them.

Taking his time to position himself in the smaller seat, the Arbiter looked up towards Javik. "I see they have also manged to get you to drink this coffee," he said, emphasizing the name of the drink. "Truth be told I have not been able to operate without this since I came aboard. It is truly a potent concoction of some Human drugs."

Unable to help himself, Shepard laughed wholeheartedly at the Arbiter's unintentional humor.

"Surely it can not be organic in nature," Javik started again, still not looking away from his now empty cup.

"All natural I'm afraid," Shepard said, still chuckling to himself.

Starring between the two, the Arbiter asked, "Then what was its original biological function. Why does it have this caffeine you speak so highly of."

"Caffeine is actually a natural pesticide used by some plants on Earth to protect against insects," EDI answered, better equipped with their questions than Shepard could ever be. "It is poisonous to them, but there is no natural way to induce a dose high enough to cause any negative effects in Humans or other similarly sized vertebrate. Though there have been reports that it can cause organ failure in extreme cases to Salarians."

"Fascinating," Javik and the Arbiter mumbled in unison. "Amazing the implications that can be derived from life," Javik said, finishing the thought.

"There's one thing I do know," Shepard started, taking a sip from a fresh mug he had brought over to him. "Taking the time to appreciate the morning coffee is what keeps any of us sane."

Shepard's statement was followed quickly by an "Amen to that, sir," as one of the crew members passed by, prompting a squabble of others who quickly voiced their agreement.

Taking one last swish of his mug, Shepard slammed it back down on the table, as if he had just taken a drink of something far stiffer. "Now who's ready to go kill some Reapers."