June 20th, 2187

7 Months after the end of the War

Hey Li

I'm in a country called Armenia, here on Earth.

I'm in this ancient Monastery called Khor Virap. It's pretty old and it has a nice view of the surrounding mountains.

I would have probably bored telling you the history of the region, and you would have probably bored me by talking about the estimated age of the ruins and how an ancient culture managed to built it.

We both would have been happily bored with each other.

I'll probably stay here for a few days before moving on.

On a different note, I managed to move the small finger of my left hand yesterday. The hand and the rest of the arm are still a mess (Karin would give me hell if she saw it) but the finger moved and it didn't hurt. I hope that's a sign that it's at least partially recovering.

Anyway, here's a quick rundown of how I became part of the Normandy's crew. And how that would eventually lead to me becoming a part of your life.

Take care

Katerina Shepard

New Opportunities

July 17th, 2183

Citadel

Katerina Shepard (or, as she was more commonly known, "Kate" or "Katy", due to the fact that very few people knew her real name, and even less used it) stood by the railing of an Alliance port on the Citadel. She watched as technicians and machines loaded equipment and made sure that the dozens of vessels that were currently docked were fully functional and ready for whatever they might find on their travels through the Traverse and the edges of the Terminus Systems.

Her eyes quickly located the ship that was meant to be her new home for the next couple of months: the SSV Jakarta. Shepard knew little about the ship or the crew besides the fact that the Captain of the Frigate had asked for her to be made a part of his crew, and the Alliance High Command had been happy to reassign her. It was good for the reputation of a Captain to say that the "Hero of Elysium" had been a member of his or her crew.

"Do a good job and you'll be able to pick a Commander Shepard for your ship" she said to herself in an irritated tone. She checked her bag to make sure that she had everything she needed, and after contemplating the view for a few moments she started to walk towards the airlock of the cruiser. She hadn't taken more than a few steps when a familiar voice called out to her.

"Shepard, I was looking for you" She turned around and quickly saluted the man who had been her friend and mentor throughout most of her career in the Alliance, David Anderson.

"Captain Anderson, sir!" she said in a strong tone.

"Knock off that bullshit with me, Kate. You keep this formal crap up and I'm going to start calling you Lieutenant Commander Katerina Shepard every time I see you. Would you like that ? "

"Not at all" she rested her hand and gave a quick hug to Anderson. "It's good to see you, David"

"You too, Kate"

After ending the hug, Shepard asked "What are you doing here in the Citadel ? I thought that you were staying at Arcturus"

"I was, until yesterday. I came by to pick up some friends for a "special project". Speaking of which, can we sit down for a minute? I have a proposition for you"

"Sure thing, David"

They walked to one of the many coffee shops that were near the docks and sat down.

"Before I start, you want some coffee ?"

"Sure. A little caffeine always does good to the body and the spirit"

After getting her cup, Kate sipped it and, with a disgusted look on her face, said "It's more of that artificial "coffee". It tastes like plastic. God, what I wouldn't do for a cup of real, natural Colombian coffee"

"We have to made do with what we have. And quality, real coffee isn't a priority for the Alliance Supplies Department"

"I don't know what qualifies as priority for them. 90% of what I eat and drink in the Alliance tastes like plastic" Shepard replied while she drank the contents of the cup in one swoop.

"At least it keeps or bellies full"

"Can't argue with that"

After both cups had been emptied, Anderson picked up his datapad and started to read it. "So, Shepard, tell me, what are your plans for this new tour"

With a smile on her face, Kate spoke in a joyous tone "I plan to spend the next 2 months sniping batarians, mercs, slavers, and pirates. Maybe the Alliance High Command will call me to do some Black Ops stuff. So, you know, the same stuff that I do in every tour. Nothing out of the ordinary"

"Would you be interested in doing something out of the ordinary?" Anderson replied.

"Like what ?"

Anderson placed the datapad down and looked directly at Kate. "For the past 6 months, I have been working at a special project at Arcturus. It's something that is being jointly developed with the Turians..."

"The Turians ? As far as I know, the Turians hated our guts. You should know that better than anyone" Shepard said, alluding to Anderson's experiences during the First Contact War.

"Relations are pretty cold but the Turians have a great deal of respect for us. Our performance during the war left them impressed. They say that they see our "potential" as a species. That's why the Hierarchy and the Alliance have been working on several secret projects together. The one I'm about to show you it's probably the most important of them all"

Anderson then handed the datapad to Kate. The phrase on top of the screen read "Project Nightwatch". The image showed what Shepard thought was a frigate, but of a design that was unknown to her, which was odd since she knew all the models of the vessels of the Systems Alliance.

"It looks like a frigate, but I don't recognize the model"

"That's because this a prototype. A top of the line frigate that incorporates the best of Turian and Human engineering, and it's specifically designed to serve as a recon unit that will be able to operate deep inside an enemy system without being detected. It's called 'Normandy' " Anderson replied while he paid for the drinks from his omnitool.

"It's impressive. It's design is elegant and beautiful. Guess this is what we'll use when invade the Kite's Nest, huh ?" she replied as she set down the datapad over the table.

"You're one of the few persons I know who is looking forward to a war with the Batarians" he replied with a disapproving tone.

"I've been killing batarians for 11 years. We should just duke it out with the Hegemony and end them for good"

"That won't happen during my lifetime, and hopefully it won't during yours either. But, back to why I brought you here. I know you're meant to be deployed to the Jakarta, but, would you be interested in joining the crew of…"

"Yes !" she interrupted him. "You don't have to ask me twice"

"Good. Grab your things. We leave for Arcturus in a hour"

"And what about the Captain that asked for me to be in his cruiser ? He's gonna be pissed"

"That's one thing you're really good at. Pissing off people, especially if they outrank you" He looked towards the cruiser and continued "I know the man, so don't worry about him. When he asks I'll tell him that you're doing some "Black Op Stuff" for me. That should shut him up"

"Well, that's good. As long as I don't have to explain myself to him, I'm happy"

"Shall we go now, Lieutenant Commander Shepard, XO of the SSV Normandy?" David said as he pointed his arm towards the exit point of the docks.

"After you, Captain Anderson of the SSV Normandy"

3 Hours Later

Arcturus Station

"Holy shit, David" Shepard exclaimed surprised "It was one thing to look at the pictures, but seeing it in person is a whole other thing. The ship is… is…"

"Magnificent" Anderson interrupted her as they both stared at the Normandy in dock.

"Yeah. I was gonna say that it was a fucking piece of art, but magnificent works too"

After a few moments, Anderson grabbed her shoulder and said "Come on, I want you to meet the crew".

"I'm already preparing myself for the "Hero of Elysium" attitude that the entire crew is going to take with me"

"I know it's hard for you, but just be nice and friendly. You know, like you are most of the time"

Shepard started laughing, and after a few moments, she finally said "Sure thing David. Nice and Friendly. Got it"

As they entered the frigate, she was in awe as she contemplated the size and design of the interior of the ship. Anderson turned to the left and pointed towards the man sitting in the pilot's chair.

"Shepard, this is the Flight Lieutenant Jeff Moreau. Flight Lieutenant, Commander Shepard"

The man struggled for a few moments before he finally stood up and saluted the Commander. "Jeff Moreau, reporting for duty, ma'am"

"At ease, Lieutenant" Shepard said in a friendly tone.

"I'll leave you 2 to get to know yourselves. You need anything else, I'll be in the mess"

"Understood, sir" As Anderson left, the conversation between Shepard and the pilot resumed.

"So, Flight Lieutenant Moreau…"

"Please, call me Joker, ma'am" he interrupted her "I must say, it's an honor to be serving with you, ma'am. The "Savior of Elysium", the "Hero of the Blitz"…"

"Oh boy, here we go" she thought as the Lieutenant continued to speak. After several moments, the Lieutenant finished praising the Commander, which allowed her to finally ask him some questions.

"So Joker, how did you ended piloting the Normandy ?"

The man blushed as he tried to avoid the question "It's kind of a long story, so…"

"Give me the short version then"

"Ok. So a few days ago, they were doing the first flight test of the Normandy here in Arcturus, and I, uh… let's just say that I decided to do that test without the authorization of the Alliance brass" *1

"You stole the ship !?" Shepard exclaimed in a loud tone.

"I didn't 'steal it'. I merely performed the test that they had designed for the ship… while an Alliance fighter patrol tried to shoot me down"

"What !?"

"So, yeah, I completed the test and returned the Normandy to dock in one piece. The Alliance was ready to court martial me and lock me up for the rest of my life, but the Turian General who was overseeing the test was impressed by my performance and said that I should be the pilot. The Alliance had already embarrassed itself enough and they didn't want to "disagree" with the General, and Captain Anderson agreed with the Turian, so that's why I'm here"

Shepard stood in silence for several moments, trying to process what she had just been told. She finally said "I think you're just the person I want piloting this ship, Joker"

Calming himself, he let out a relaxed gasp "Thank you, ma'am"

"But please, don't pull any stunts like that while I'm aboard, please"

"I'll try to control myself, ma'am"

After several minutes of introducing herself to the rest of the crew, she ran into Navigator Charles Pressly, a fellow veteran of the Blitz, who was also quick to praise her for her actions in Elysium. "If anything, I should be thanking you, Pressly. The SSV Agincourt saved my life by showing up when it did"

"Too late to save everyone else. Too soon to let me die with them". The thought briefly crossed Shepard's mind before she shook it off and continued her conversation with Pressly.

As she moved down the stairs, she froze for a moment when she saw a heavily armored Turian moving in her direction.

"Commander Shepard, it's good to see you"

"And who might you be ?" she asked.

"My name is Nihlus Kryk. I'm the Spectre sent by the Council to oversee the Normandy's shakedown run"

What the hell is a Spectre doing here ? Katerina thought before answering "This is my first time meeting a Spectre. I'm honored" she said as she shook his hand.

"I have heard many great things about you, Shepard. Hopefully you'll live up to my expectations" he said as he continued towards the bridge, leaving her alone in the stairs.

"I'll try, I guess" she said as she tried to understand what had just happened. After a couple of moments, she continued her tour of the ship.

After meeting with Chief Engineer Adams in the Engineering deck, she came up to the Second Deck. As she introduced herself to the crew, she heard Anderson's voice calling out to her.

"Shepard, over here"

"What is it, sir ?"

"Apparently there are some old friends of yours here who want to see you. They're at the infirmary. Come with me"

As they started to head towards the infirmary, Shepard wondered who might be there. "Old friends ? I dont have many old friends. Who could possibly be…"

As the door opened, there where 3 persons inside. Kate didn't knew who the young soldier on the bed was, but she immediately recognized the doctor and the man standing next to her. "Dr Chakwas! Kaidan!" she said in an excited tone.

"Good to see you again, Katerina" the Lieutenant said as he shook Shepard's hands.

"You too Kaidan. You look good. How's your implant doing these days ?"

"Same as always, really. Migraines are not that severe anymore thanks to some therapy I've been doing and the meds"

"Good to hear" she said as she let go of his hand and turned to face the Doctor. "I've got to say, if I'm going to have a doctor who's going to be constantly bugging me about my injuries, then I'm glad is you, Karin" Shepard said as she gave the doctor a tight hug.

"I assure you, Commander, that bugging you is going to be my number one priority during this tour. The crew and the Alliance need you in top fighting shape, and I'll make sure that you are" she said as she pointed towards the medical straps on the sides of the bed "... even if I have to strap you to the bed because you can be more stubborn than a mule"

"I'm not stubborn, Karin. I just know when I'm fit for duty faster than you do"

She then turned to the soldier on the bed and asked "And who might you be, young man ?"

"Jenkins, ma'am. Corporal Richard Jenkins" he said nervously as he quickly rose to his feet and snapped a salute in her direction.

"At ease, Corporal" Shepard then noticed the medical patch that the corporal had on his neck and asked "What happened to you, Jenkins ?"

"Well, I uh… I said that Lieutenant Alenko's biotics weren't as strong as he claimed and I told him that if he could throw me from one end of the deck to the other, I would give him 200 credits"

"Happy to say that those 200 credits are happily resting on my virtual account" Alenko said as he flashed his omnitool towards Jenkins.

"He's lucky he just lightly injured his neck. I was afraid that he had broken his back, but then he stood up and yelled "THAT WAS AWESOME" Dr Chakwas spoke while she gave Jenkins a disapproving look.

"So, Shepard, from where did you know Alenko and Dr Chakwas ?" Anderson spoke as he rested against one of the machines in the room.

"I met Kaidan almost 5 years ago. He was giving one of those conferences about Biotic Tolerance and Understanding conferences that the we had to take as part of the education programs. We've been good friends since then" She then turned and faced Karin "As for the Doctor, she was the one who fixed me up and helped me with the therapy programs after…" she paused for a few moments before continuing "... after the Blitz"

Jenkins excitedly spoke to the Commander "I was in Eden Prime with my family when the attack happened. We remember seeing on TV as they rescued you. We saw the dozens of dead pirates and slavers that lay dead all around you. Your actions that day where what pushed me to join the Alliance, ma'am. I said to myself "I want to be a savior, a role model and a hero, just like Commander Shepard"

"Savior, Role Model, Hero. I'm none of those things" Memories from Elysium quickly flashed in Shepard's mind, and she struggled to hide the emotions that she was feeling.

Knowing that the topic of Elysium was very sensitive to Shepard, Anderson prevented Jenkins from dwelling on it by saying "Speaking of Eden Prime, that's where were taking the Normandy for her shakedown run. So everyone, get ready and report to your stations. We leave in 15 minutes" Anderson then turned and left towards his cabin.

"Yes, sir" was heard in unison after the Captain spoke.

"Well, I better get to it. See you around, Kate. Doctor, Jenkins" Kaidan said as he quickly left towards the cockpit.

After spending a few moments saying goodbye to Karin, Shepard headed towards the bridge with Jenkins. "Why do you think we're heading to Eden Prime, ma'am ? Nothing ever happens there, and I'm itching for some real action" Jenkins exclaimed, the eagerness evident on his voice.

"Maybe that's why we're going there, because there's no risk of danger for the ship or the crew. Don't go looking for fights, Corporal. Let them find you and be ready to face them when they do"

"I understand, ma'am. It's just that I want a chance to prove myself, you know ?"

"All in due time, Corporal. On the bright side, you'll probably get to show to your family that you were handpicked by Captain Anderson to be part of this ultra advanced project of the Alliance. That's got to count for something, right ?"

"Yeah, you're right ma'am. I'll be able to tell my family that I served in missions with the great Commander Shepard. Maybe we'll see my family when we're there. That way they'll believe me"

"Hell, I'll give you my picture and autograph if it'll make them happy. You've got a long road ahead of you, Jenkins. You'll have your fair share of chances to make your people proud"

"Thank you, ma'am. I'm just worried that..."

"Hitting the relay in 30 Seconds. ETA to Eden Prime: 10 minutes" Joker's voice came over the intercom, interrupting the Corporal before he could finish.

As they reached the bridge, Shepard turned and patted the Corporal in the back "Everything's going to be fine, Jenkins, I promise"

Everything's going to be fine.

I promise.