Chapter 2: XID327

The floor shuddered and the rattling of armour against metal filled the compartment. Break thrusters fired and Lieutenant Commander Ashley Williams was pushed back down into her seat after what had felt like freefall. Mustering the Alliance soldiers that were sitting all around her, some faces pale, others flushed with adrenaline, she radiated a calm that she didn't feel.

Seated opposite her was a quiet young soldier with handsome features slightly obscured by the tinted glass of his helmet. Johnson was his name if she recalled correctly. Or was it Jason? Jason Johnson? Hardly. Ashley hadn't had enough time to get to know the soldiers she was commanding. Shepard wouldn't approve. On the other hand the crew of the Normandy had also been smaller.

Commanding a squad of her own again would take some getting used to. A few weeks of training would have come in handy but that was a luxury she didn't have. As a Spectre she was expected to adapt. Adapt and survive.

"What do you expect we're going to find down there, ma'am?" For some reason this Jason reminded her a lot of Kaidan. Maybe it was his polite, controlled way of speaking. The memory of Kaidan always came with a pang of guilt. Now that she was in command, the power over life and death might well come to rest in her hands. Would she choose this soldier over other members of her squad just because she suspected to know his name?

"Jason, is it?" The young man nodded. "Well Jason, I have about as much of a clue as you. But I know that if it's Reaper related, I'll have a bone to pick with Shepard for not finishing his damn job."

The jolt of impact was almost powerful enough to dislocate joints but when the soldiers' harnesses released they jumped to their feet unfazed and ready for action. The bulkhead opened and slammed down into the dusty ground of the colony world, forming a ramp. "Fan out in groups of two and search the buildings. Keep in radio contact at all times and report any suspicious sightings to me." Her squad surged out into the dusk, battle partners that had been assigned beforehand and had trained together finding each other instantly. "Jason you're with me." If he was disgruntled about having to team up with his commander he didn't show it.

At first the settlement resembled a ghost town. Ashley got a strange feeling in her gut which reminded her far too much of Horizon as they passed through dust covered, abandoned streets and empty houses. There was a strange sense of relief when she discovered her first pool of dried blood. "Old bloodstains here in northeast sector", a voice in her helmet reported a similar sighting, "and is that- An arm, removed at the elbow." More grizzly reports flooded in one by one. She signaled Jason to a halt, refusing to pass further into the unlit apartment building they had entered. "Everyone regroup back at the ship as swiftly as possible. Enemy forces may still be present. We will-" A wet popping sound came from further up the staircase. Jason immediately activated the flashlight on his Avenger rifle and traced it up the steps.

Bringing up her own weapon Ashley's warning shout came too late when Jason's beam caught something on the top stair. There was a high pitched squealing sound. Ashley opened fire but her rounds bit concrete where the small shape had been a split second before. The beam of Jason's flashlight danced wildly up the wall and there was a short burst of assault rifle fire before the Avenger left his grip and clattered to the floor. His hands tried desperately to reach his helmet when the creature that was obscuring his visor exploded with a pop.

Jason turned towards Ashley. Under the smoking green goo she could just about make out his eyes wide with dread. "No!", she screamed, rushing forward and grabbing Jason's helmet, she tried desperately to wrench it off. It wouldn't budge, the acid had already corroded and jammed the seals. The glass visor folded inwards like wet paper, making contact with Jason's skin. Ashley looked on in horror as Jason's face melted. The aggressive liquid eat into his nose and eyes, leaving gaping wet holes. His jaw opened impossibly wide when he screamed, cheeks dissolving, leaving a brief impression of a manic grin before his lower jaw sloughed off. The acrid smell of burning flesh rose from the remains.

Ashley let go of the helmet and Jason's head lolled as it scraped down against the wall. Aiming her rifle at the twitching body of her subordinate and clenching her jaw, she opened fire.

"Everything seems to be quite in order. I must say, it was a splendid piece of work we managed to do on you Commander, simply splendid." Shepard pulled his shirt back on, still feeling the pinpricks where Orsdan's monitoring needles had pierced his skin to reach the synthetics beneath. "So I'm ready for action by your leave?" He was thankful that the Salarians had restored his body to full functionality but the uneasy feeling of being tampered with and unable to comprehend the workings of his own body was still there. "Yesyes, but I must insist on accompanying you on your ship to study any long term effects." A frown showed how pleased Shepard was with that notion. "At the moment I don't even have a ship"

"Aah", said Orsdan, raising a finger. "I do believe that the Salarian STG are planning to give you command of one of their stealth vessels until you reach Earth." Shepard raised his eyebrows, this was news to him. Most likely the Salarians wished to court the alleged saviour of the galaxy, despite his mixed history with them. "I suppose that will do."

The door to Orsdan's clinic opened, revealing a very familiar looking Quarian. "Shepard!", Tali exclaimed and bounded forwards to meet him. Shepard grinned as his arms where pinned to his sides by a tight hug. He also didn't mind the way Tali's metal faceplate awkwardly grazed his jaw. She let go and fixed him with wide glowing eyes. "Liara. Just told me," she panted. There had obviously been quite a bit of jogging involved. "You look. Healthy." Shepard nodded, "And you had a part in fixing me I was told."

With a wave of her hand she dismissed that claim but it was obvious that it meant a lot to her. "Oh that was nothing. I just had some knowledge from my work on the Geth that I could put to good use, that was all." Orsdan wouldn't have any of it. "Miss Zorah was a huge help to us, don't let her fool you, Commander." If Tali had heard the Salarian's compliment she had decided not to react. "Come Shepard, you have some catching up to do. Also there's a ship to inspect."

Striding off, Tali didn't give Shepard time to object. He mumbled a quick farewell to Orsdan and followed her out. The Salarian shouted "Bye!" after them but Shepard wasn't sure if it was meant for him or Tali.

Slowing her pace as soon as they had put Orsdan's clinic behind them, Tali gave Shepard a sideways glance. "We were all very worried about you, Shepard. Kheela, after the Geth and EDI we feared..." Gaze lowered to the floor as if studying the tiled pattern as he walked, Shepard wondered how the Quarians had reacted to the destruction of the Geth. While Tali had always mistrusted them, Legion had done his part in winning her over. But only a few Quarians had such close contact to the Geth mind. He suspected that where there was grief many also felt a guilty sense of relief. Admiral Han Gerrel was sure to consider it a problem that had taken care of itself. "What you and the Salarians managed to do here with me... Wouldn't you also be able to repair the Geth?"

A long sigh followed. "I don't know, Shepard," she said, sounding a bit weary and wringing her hands as she always did when considering a problem, "Your synthetics are a comparatively small part of your body. Your organic structures managed to keep you alive and your brain is still completely organic. The Geth consciousness was wiped out totally. We would have to repair hundreds if not thousands of Geth, all more damaged than you, to get their form of intelligence back." She shook her head. "Even staying optimistic I would say that takes years." She was still simplifying of course. The debates on morals and further questions would probably take decades themselves before any decisions concerning the Geth were reached.

"I'd say we let the politicians look into it first." A polite cough by Tali reminded him and he went a little red in the face. "Oh, I'm sorry. I still haven't gotten used to you being an Admiral."

"Don't worry, Shepard. For now I have a representative on the board. I will return there in time, but first I had to make sure that you could return too." Smiling thankfully, Shepard could only imagine how hard it must have been for Tali to choose him over her homeworld. It also made him a little sad, because without any Reapers to fight, it would only be a matter of time until she returned to Rannoch, maybe for good, friendship or not. "That means a lot to me, Tali."

Tali led him up and down steps, across multiple walkways and out into the open twice. The heat and humidity of Sur'Kesh were staggering. His shirt was drenched in minutes, he could only imagine what Tali felt like in the tight confines of her suit. Still, there was no sign of discomfort on her part as she purposefully strode towards the hangar. Inside the vast metal building it was almost pleasant.

The hangar was mostly empty. Countless empty docks told of high Salarian activity elsewhere in the system. Shepard supposed that everyone must still have their hands full in the wake of the war, transporting resources and survivors, staying on alert. Most of the ships left where bulky cargo carriers most likely undergoing critical maintenance. The two of them were dwarfed among the huge vessels, so when they reached the frigate it seemed almost small.

The Salarian frigate had a simple but elegant shape. No paint had been applied to the hull, leaving it a dull grey that blended in with the hangar. If one were to study the ships from afar it was quite possible to miss this one completely.

"A fine ship," an unmistakeable voice said behind him, "Still, not an equal of your Normandy". The Prothean had been reclining in a recess of the hangar's wall. "Javik! It's nice to see some familiar faces, even ones with four eyes." Gracing him with one of his rare smiles, Javik extended a hand. "It is good to see that you have tired of resting in your bed, Commander. I feared I would have to take the credit of saving the galaxy myself." Shaking his hand, Shepard noticed he was carrying his particle rifle. "Expecting trouble?" Javik shrugged. "The security in this facility is inadequate. This military vessel should be guarded night and day, yet these fly-eaters have somehow found more important duties to attend to. I am simply making sure there are no attempts at sabotage."

"Sabotage?" He frowned. "I thought we had taken care of pretty much everyone in the galaxy that would want to kill us." Javik wasn't in the mood for jests. "You are naive if you believe that, Commander. For every enemy you dispose of, you make two more your enemy."

He supposed that the Prothean might be paranoid but in a way Shepard was grateful of it. What Javik had told him in London still sat uncomfortably in his mind. As long as he had enemies to kill he hoped that Javik would put off his thoughts of suicide. "I don't see who could dislike me for destroying the Reapers." The Prothean smirked. "You enacted the vengeance upon the Reapers that I could not, Commander. For that you have earned more than my respect. What is more, you also took care of the synthetic blight that were the Geth. The galaxy will thank you for it in time."

"I'll be on the ship, Shepard. Come find me later." Tali's words were icy as she stormed off, without a further glance at Javik.

"That was uncalled for", Shepard reprimanded the Prothean, close to anger. "The Quarians finally made peace with the Geth, a cooperation that would have helped both sides, and then they got obliterated all the same. You should keep those opinions to yourself." Javik was unfazed and patted his particle rifle. "Even after witnessing the Reapers you primitives remain naive. Come the next synthetic uprising you will remember my words, Commander."

The ship's interior was almost excessively modest. Salarian stealth ships were designed with nothing but practicality in mind. There was no space that could be considered wasted, which resulted in the ship being considerably smaller than the Normandy SR-2. The spacious CIC of the Normandy was substituted by a small room with a row of chairs, desks, monitors and nothing more. The cockpit lay directly beyond. Here Shepard made the acquaintance of the Salarian pilot Jael. Unlike Orsdan who had installed himself in a cramped compartment on the lower deck, Jael was a man of few words. The only talk Shepard managed to get out of him was in response to his questions. This way he learned that the ship possessed a designation number instead of a name and that this number was changed every day. Today it was XID327. The STG seemed to take the meaning of stealth to an entirely different level than the Alliance.

The pilot was tiring company so Shepard decided to check on the rest of his crew while the technicians went through final checks before takeoff. Instead of steps and an elevator there was only a shaft, illuminated by red light, in which a ladder connected the three decks of the ship. Descending one level, Shepard found himself in a narrow corridor. Unlabeled doors hid the functions of the rooms beyond. He tried his luck with the first to his right. Beep. Access denied. Frowning he tried one further on, to no avail. A Salarian technician who was climbing up the ladder noticed his efforts and offered him a keycard. "Come by engineering tomorrow to update the card, it stops working at midnight." Shepard was beginning to dislike the workings on this ship already.

Ding. This time the door slid open and revealed a small room with four bunks, dimly illuminated from above. The bottom bunks were both occupied. To the left Tali lay prone, staring up at the mattress above her. Liara had claimed the right bunk, her legs off the side with an extranet terminal on her lap. She looked up and smiled but didn't put her terminal aside. "Hello Commander. Do you like your new ship?" Slumping down next to her, Shepard sighed. "I suppose it'll have to do. Makes me miss the Normandy even more though." Liara nodded in agreement. "This is a poor excuse for the Shadow Broker's office indeed."

"What's up with you, Tali?" She hadn't budged since he entered. Now she raised her arms and let them drop back onto the bed with a thump. "Oh I'm just bored. The Salarian engineers won't let me examine the engine room. They treat me like some kind of spy."

"Want me to have a word with them? I have the command here after all." Tali declined. "Nono it's fine for now. But I hope you had a word with that Prothean Bosh'tet." She still sounded angry. Javik really didn't have the gift of making, even just keeping, friends. "I have. For all the good it did."

"He hasn't been all snide remarks and cynicism", Liara interjected. "He helped me a great deal with my book. It's almost ready to be published, if only I could settle on a title."

Tali snorted, the sound distorted beyond all recognition by her mask. "May I suggest 'Best Kept Frozen'?"

"No, you may not."

Shepard got up quickly. "I'll leave you two to it," he excused himself but didn't know where to head next. "Do you know if I have my own room?"

"The Commander's quarters are at the end of the corridor. They are a bit more spacious", Liara answered and then added with a wink: "I'll be sure to come for a visit later on." She left it open if it was to be with him or to get away from the cramped environment of the crew quarters. As the door closed behind Shepard he could hear Tali exclaim something in shocked realization: "Javik isn't sleeping in here is he?!"

Passing the cantina, Shepard spotted Javik amidst five lightly armoured Salarians. At first he suspected that the Prothean had gotten himself into trouble but when he got closer he recognized Javik's tale of the last days of the Reaper war, 50'000 Years ago. It was easy to forget that he belonged to the privileged few who had met a living, breathing Prothean. Javik and his stories were enough to fascinate even veteran STG operatives.

He might have lingered a while longer in case this was one of the battles he hadn't heard of, but the sound of klaxons made the Salarians disperse at once and Javik to break off his story. Takeoff was imminent. Swiftly he ascended the ladder and passed by the CIC to reach the cockpit. Jael seemed irritated by his presence. Flying was his domain, he didn't need someone looking over his shoulder. Still, he stayed polite. "We will have you back on Earth soon, Commander."

"No", Shepard said sharply. Jael looked about in confusion. "Sir, I have my orders..." Crossing his arms, Shepard remained adamant. "You are to follow my orders." Jael confirmed impatiently. "You don't wish to return to Earth?"

"I do, but first we need to pick up someone from Tiptree."

The hangar bay's huge metal panels shuddered open and the XID327 darted out, engines barely audible as it climbed through Sur'Kesh's cloudy sky, the bleak hull shining with reflecting sunlight as it left the planet's atmosphere.