Everything occurred as Kelly's benefactor indicated. Cerberus had contacted her, making special note of her psychology expertise and her vocal support of Shepard's claims. What made them different from her benefactor was how far more subtle they were. The benefactor had also given her the questions they would use to chose her, since Cerberus was meticulous as to whom they recruited, and the answers they would accept.

The recruiter had made sure that all her efforts and dedication was to benefit humanity as a whole, despite their less than stellar reputation. She answered the man everything he wanted to hear and before long, she found herself moved from one station to another, with no contact from the benefactor at all.

Time had passed faster than she cared to admit, when a few weeks after the second year since Shepard's 'death', rumors began to circulate that another branch of Cerberus had been compromised. She, along with everyone else on Minuteman station, had no information as to what it was, since all branches of Cerberus were purposefully kept apart to as to keep their secrecy.

It wasn't long before she had received a message from the Illusive Man himself, along with a small number of others, that Shepard's emergence from the project that was meant to revive her prematurely and she, along with two other agents, were on their way to rendezvous with all of them. She and the crew of the frigate, based upon the design of the late Normandy, were to get to their stations within the hour.

At her terminal in the CIC, Kelly quickly acclimated to the new keyboard, which was designed to be her primary source of communication with command, Shepard's inbox, the other crew members, Cerberus informants, third party informants on Cerberus pay, and more information than a civilian would know what to do with.

From the corner of the screen, a small window popped up from a source that couldn't be traced.

Shepard is there. She is now yours.

As soon as she read the message, the window had vanished, leaving no indication that the message had even penetrated the Cerberus network. Kelly blinked after the information was processed and resumed her duties as the door behind the console she worked at opened.

Kelly turned her head to see the Commander and the agents she had been briefed on, Agent Jacob Taylor and Miranda Lawson. The former a recruit from the Alliance Corsair division and the latter a recruit whose achievements and credentials were far too numerous to list.

The Commander, on the other hand, held a scowl that unnerved her. Amazonian was the first thing that came to mind. She stood almost seven feet tall. A mixture, and the recipient of the best, of both her Native American and Hawaiian heritage. In addition, her jet black hair fell like a waterfall down to the small of her back. Solidly built, but lithe enough to show she was not one to trifle with. And that didn't even speak about her biotic ability.

From her files, Nora was listed as a Nemesis grade Biotic. However, most of the files that included reports of her usage of her biotics in combat were limited. That told Kelly she was decidedly conservative and knew when and where to use it. It only seemed to feed into the reports about the Butcher of Torfan's ruthless efficiency. She knew her resources. She knew her plans. She knew what she could and could not do and would use the former to their maximum. And that, to Kelly's sorrow, seemed to reinforce the negative stereotypes about Shepard's reputation.

Her cheeks were littered with glowing orange scars, which seemed to reach around her face and down her neck, leaving Kelly to wonder how far they went. From Kelly's reports, it seemed that the Commander had been up on her feet for nearly a day and a half and with no chance for a rest, it was obvious patience was running short.

Nora Shepard's eyes narrowed when she turned to Miranda, making it quite clear that she had objections to operating on a Cerberus vessel, not caring about the fact that two members from her old crew were there.

At the other side of the CIC, where the twin rows of seats ended and the galactic map began, Shepard spoke in low tones, her eyes focused directly on Miranda. Kelly wanted to hear what was going on, being naturally curious, however, their conversation was quiet enough to give the impression that no kind words were being exchanged.

To her relief, it seemed to end amicably enough as Jacob gave Shepard a salute and Miranda's acknowledgment and went their separate ways. Shepard, on the other hand, remained still; her eyes locked on the map in front of her, lost in thought.

With butterflies in her stomach, Kelly wondered if now would be a good time to introduce herself. However, there was something in Shepard's posture that seemed to make Kelly think twice before leaving her desk. When the Commander had finally collected herself, she started towards the elevator.

Now or never, Kelly told herself as she said casually, "Welcome to the Normandy, Commander."

The Commander stopped and gave her an appraising stare. Completely neutral. No evidence of like or dislike. Warning lights started to ring in Kelly's head. In her profession, nothing to work with from a first impression was never a good thing.

Despite her reservations, Kelly introduced herself with a professional, yet approachable openness that she believed would lead to the commander opening herself up to her, if her benefactor could be believed.

Once Kelly mentioned her status as a psychologist, she began to regret it as Shepard's lips thinned, her eyes narrowed, and her shoulders tensed. Kelly felt her voice die in her throat and anything else she wanted to say silenced by the glare which felt as though giant steel doors has suddenly slammed in her face and were suddenly flash frozen.

The Commander inclined her head towards Kelly tactfully, despite the icy glare from her reddened eyes, due to the implants that Kelly could make out from being this close. She could see the drying sweat, the messed jet black hair, the exhaustion in her face, however, through all that, the indications made it quite clear she had no desire to be interviewed by a shrink.

"Chambers," she said evenly. Her words and tone were cordial and tactful. Her implications were not. The discussion over, she continued to the elevator, leaving Kelly in fearful shivers.

The Yeoman had never been so scared in her life. She began to wonder if volunteering for this was all a mistake. If the Commander had no desire for her help, what was the point in continuing her duties for something that a VI could do far more easily?

She turned to the closed elevator doors, wondering if any good was going to come of this.