Semper Fi
Chapter 2
Shepard - 1

"Well, that was a waste of time," Shepard declared once in the elevator. She leaned against the left wall, folding her arms, watching Anderson hit the button for the station. He gave her his usual calm look with a small crooked smile. He looked tired and old, more than a few months ago. His recent nomination to Rear Admiral would have been fine if it hadn't been doubled with the job of military adviser to Earth Ambassador, Donel Udina. Shepard was ready to bet a lot that working with Udina caused most of the exhaustion Anderson allowed to show on his face – and he was certainly hiding a lot more.

"A meeting with the Council is always a good thing," Anderson replied, falling at parade rest as the elevator started to move. "It insures they don't forget you."

"Oh they can't," Shepard laughed dryly. "Goyle made sure of that and Udina is following her steps. Still, I received my orders as soon as we hit the relay, there was no need for them to tell me in person that I was now the happy mentor of a grumpy Turian."

"He's not..."

"All Turians are grumpy at first," Shepard interrupted. "Believe me, I've met enough to know they are true to the cliches. I'll bet you whatever you want Zakarian won't look me in the eyes for the first week."

"It's Vakarian," Anderson corrected. Shepard shrugged, making the old man smile a little. "Come on, Commander, we all know you are secretly relieved you have to mentor a Turian."

"Whatever." Shepard rolled her eyes but Anderson was right. Turians were major pain in the ass but at least they knew how to fold in order. An Asari protegee would have proven difficult to befriend because most Commandos were uptight bitches so proud of their biotics they forgot their guns and brains. And a Salarian one would have stared at her with those enormous empty eyes all day long, secretly judging her inferior intellect. No, really, a Turian wasn't so bad. She had had time to read his dossier before they had reached the Citadel and that one, Vakarian, was one Hell of a psycho. Shepard had had access to his files from his years in the military, which were normally sealed for everybody but high ranked Turians, so she knew Vakarian aced his classes during all his scholarship. But the guy hadn't been promoted despite his abilities, which meant he had troubles with authority or something like that. Someone like him should have been a Major or a Commander, maybe a Captain with the proper people skills. But Vakarian was a simple officer in C-Sec. Another misfit on the Normandy's crew, Shepard thought and it made her smile. She collected them like spaceship models, it seemed.

"And it's a good thing for the friendship between Humans and Turians," Anderson added, checking absentmindedly his cufflinks.

"Yeah, about that," Shepard grunted, "I'm not so sure it'll help, you know? I mean, Turians see us as anarchists, our societal organization makes absolutely no sense to them and frankly they see the Alliance as a joke. How come placing one in my hands, one who's already unstable by their standards, could be seen as a good thing from their point of view?" She didn't let Anderson answer. "You know what I think? They're tossing Humanity a bone to make us shut up, but not the big juicy bull femur we wanted, they tossed us a dry chicken bone they don't give a crap about. It's politics and I don't like politics, Anderson."

Anderson looked straight at her for a few seconds before nodding, his fatigue more apparent. "I know," he sighed.

"Turians are not ready to be our friends yet, Anderson, and you know it," Shepard continued. "They chose Nihlus to be my mentor. Sure, he's a great Spectre, very efficient, very diligent in his work, always sharp and devoted to the cause but he's looked down by the Hierarchy because he was born on a secessionist colony. Nihlus may be a fantastic soldier but he doesn't fit in turian society, he's not good enough for them, that's why they put him in charge of me."

"Would have you been more pleased to have Saren Arterius as your mentor?" Anderson asked jokingly.

"Hell no," Shepard laughed. "He would have tried to kill me each occasion he had and you know that. But he's respected among Turians. If Saren had been my mentor, the Hierarchy would have really done something for turio-human friendship."

"And your death would have been an unfortunate accident."

"A very unfortunate accident, yes" Shepard confirmed, laughing anew.

The elevator stopped to open on the quay of a station of the circular "underground" rail system of the Presidium. Public transports were flooded by thousands of visitors just released from customs so it was a little difficult to access the train but they managed before the doors closed. Shepard found herself pressed against an Asari in a white dress and the window. On her left, Anderson didn't have so much chance as he was almost in the arms of a Krogan in armor, probably a mercenary if his gear was of any indication. Shepard smiled to the Admiral and brushed a finger against the hand of the Asari, pushing a little of her own biotics to electrify her blue skin. Anderson rolled his eyes as the Asari turned to Shepard, probably irritated by her confidence.

"Sorry," Shepard smiled to apologize. "I'm still figuring out how it works."

"Like this," the Asari said and she sent a discharge in Shepard's nerves, making her jump of surprise – and of a little bit of dolor too. Shepard forced a laugh while shaking her hand.

"Ow, miss, you're a pro, no doubt. Maybe you could teach me some tricks?" The Asari shook her head but she was now amused by Shepard's boldness, it showed. One thing Shepard had learned about Asaris: sex between biotics was awesome. Their lack of dick was largely compensated by all the crazy things they were able to do with their powers. And flirting with them usually involved to get hurt in the process. Shepard didn't mind. It was worth it.

They got out of the train fifteen stations later and still had to walk for a few minutes before reaching the Alliance's docks. Shepard took a moment to admire her ship from above, a smile on her face as she looked at the curves of her beautiful Normandy. The artificial lights reflected a bright white shine on her paint, almost creating a halo around her. From where she was, Shepard could see her crew working on refilling the ship by the cargo bay, thirty meters down or so. A flash caught her attention and she turned to see Joker waving at her by one of the windows of the cockpit. Shepard smiled and followed Anderson through the docks.

"Commander Shepard on board," Joker announced by the radio through the ship, "XO stands relieved." Shepard snorted. The day Javik were relieved would be the day of his death. "Oh we have a visitor," Joker added. "Welcome on board, Admiral."

"Lieutenant Moreau," Anderson saluted. "Good to see you."

Joker smiled. He was found of the old man. "Good to see you too, Sir. Your baby-Spectre is on board, Commander. Should I summon him to CIC now?"

"Baby-Spectre?" Shepard repeated, intrigued.

"What? He's new at this and he still has milk behind the ears, I tell you!"

"That saying would have been more appropriate if Turians actually breastfed their young or had ears but whatever," Shepard shrugged. "Summon him, yes, but don't call him like that. We're supposed to help friendship between Turians and Humans here, Joker."

"Breastfeeding would help." The pilot wiggled his eyebrows and Shepard couldn't help but laugh. He was damn lucky Javik wasn't around. Otherwise, crippled or not, the Prothean would have kicked Joker's ass out of his leather-covered chair. "Spectre Vakarian to report to CIC ASAP," Joker said over radio. A beep caught the pilot's attention for a second. "Javik will be there in a few minutes too, Commander."

"Thanks, Joker." Shepard went down the alley to CIC, followed by Anderson. She leaned against the work station at the opposite of the elevator, the door in sight behind the hologram of the ship. She wanted to have a look at her protegee as he approached. She always had sharp intuitions and she knew her first impression would tell her more than a thousand words.

"How is Javik doing?" Anderson asked. He was also keeping an eye on the elevator but Shepard knew he already had an opinion on the Turian. They had met yesterday during his nomination. Anderson hadn't say a word about his impression though.

"Great, great," Shepard answered mindlessly, attention focused on the door. "He's doing his job thoroughly and everybody is now used to his temper."

"His nomination as your second in command didn't please the big dogs."

"I would have nominated Tali if Javik weren't around, not an Alliance officer," Shepard shrugged. "They are both equally capable, they know the job but Javik has a lot more experience at commanding than Tali. He was a Commander once, did I tell you that?"

"It was another life," Anderson reminded her.

"He knows that, believe me." Anderson didn't spend countless nights keeping the souvenirs of a dead empire alive in a small cargo bay converted into a Spartan room devoted of any comfort. Shepard did. She had listened to Javik's tells of wonders and conquests, of legends and the daily life of his people, the historic moments and the trivial little things like the smile of a child. They'd shared fruit juice because Javik never drank alcohol and talked most of the night. More than once, Shepard had fallen asleep, sitting on a crate, rocked by the deep voice of the Prothean. It didn't get him mad though. To fall asleep in his company was an honor of some sort, it meant she trusted him with her life because she showed him her most vulnerable side. Of course Shepard trusted Javik but she preferred to prove it on a battlefield.

The elevator opened and Shepard's eyes jumped automatically to the source of movement, catching the silhouette of a tall Turian in a blue and gray medium armor. Vakarian scanned the CIC as he started walking toward them, then locked eyes with Shepard. She felt pinned to the ground as he inspected her, his visor certainly giving him a lot of information at the same time. She grinned. Turians loved this kind of tech gadgets.

Shepard stood on both feet and straightened her back as Vakarian stopped at a reasonable distance. He saluted them turian style, left hand on the middle of the chest, elbow at shoulder's level, head's up and eyes straight – blue ones, pretty common for a light gray skinned Turian like him. The scar on the right of his face was nothing but impressive and it had damaged his facial tattoo. Vakarian stood above two meters tall like most Turians – small ones were a rarity – and he would have met her eyes if she had been Turian herself. Shepard knew Vakarian was conflicted. Proper protocol told him to look at his mentor straight in the eyes but looking down at a superior was a terrible mistake. "Garrus Vakarian to report, Commander," he said, his mandibles flickering. "Admiral," he added. Anderson nodded to answer to his salute.

"At ease, Vakarian," Shepard ordered. She was amused by his display of good manners. He was trying to do things by the book, to not shame his people. Too bad for him, Shepard knew he had gone into a methodical killing spree during the Cerberus attack on the Citadel three months earlier. The guy had fought forty-two hours straight, icing five hundred and eighty-nine Cerberus agents in total, most of them with perfect headshots. That was one target down every four minutes in average, and that while alone, without a team to back him up. A sniper was as good as dead without a team, that was what books taught every army goon in the galaxy. No wonders Vakarian had had the visit of a dozen shrinks during his recovery. "You'll have to look at me at some point," she added, trying to sound casual. "Don't worry, I won't take it as an offense." Vakarian visibly gritted his teeth, mandibles flickering again, but lowered his eyes nonetheless to meet Shepard's. "My mentor, Spectre Kryik, was a Turian, so I know a lot on how to behave correctly in society. Just remember we're on a human ship so rules are a lot more flexible here." Vakarian nodded sharply once and his eyes automatically went back up. Shepard kept going to not lose his attention: "But feel free to remind me the basics if I forget them. I know it's not easy to jump on a new ship and interact with people who don't share the same standards."

"I'll do my best, Commander," Vakarian replied. Shepard shared a concerned look with Anderson. More distant than grumpy alright.

"No need to call me 'Commander' all the time, Vakarian." She presented him her wrist – Turians grabbed wrists instead of shaking hands. Vakarian stared at it for a second then took it firmly. "'Shepard' is fine." Vakarian nodded. "Not a big talker, huh?" she asked with a smile, releasing him.

"I'll be happy to answer any of your questions," Vakarian replied automatically, falling at parade rest, his eyes focused on the elevator far away. Don't make it too easy, big guy, Shepard thought as she heard the door open. She looked above her shoulder to see Javik arriving with the new Alliance recruit. Not the best of timing. She didn't want to dismiss Vakarian now, they had to talk, but having him around while dealing with Alliance business wasn't the idea of the year. Shepard gave a quick look at Vakarian, tall and still like a statue. What the Hell, if he was going to play the good Turian all the way, she might as well use it.

"Commander," Javik greeted her then nodded to Anderson, "this is the new Human." He pointed to a soldier with arms as big as Shepard's thighs. He had tanned skin covered with tattoos, regular short hair and he reeked of youth. Said new Human saluted his superiors but didn't wait for an order to stand at parade rest.

"Lieutenant James Vega, ma'am," he said but corrected: "Commander. Sir." Shepard smiled a little.

"You look kind of blue, soldier. Did Javik put you in the freezers?"

"Yes ma'am. I mean, Commander." Javik had a thing for discipline, threats and punishments. Changing shifts to put someone on cleaning or storing duty in the freezers was one of his joys in life. Shepard didn't mind, to be honest. She didn't have a single disciplinary problem since Javik was her XO – even Wrex watched his language around the Prothean. Shepard turned to Javik to get an explanation.

"He disrespected the Specialist Traynor." Bad move, kid, Shepard thought. Samantha was one of the rare persons in the galaxy Javik actually cared about. If she had been interested in men, he might even have tried his chance with her, Shepard believed.

"In this case, Vega," she said, "consider yourself lucky. If Traynor had caught you, you'd be crying the loss of your balls in the medbay." The Lieutenant's eyes widened a little. Play time was over. "So, Anderson asked me to see what you've got. He thinks you're N7 material but nobody wants to recommend you because of your bad attitude. Is that correct, Lieutenant?"

"Yes, Commander," Vega answered. "Though I don't agree on the definition of 'bad attitude', Sir. I just don't like to be serious all the time and cracking a joke here and there is my way of dealing with heavy stuff."

Shepard folded her arms. She totally understood that. "Your dossier mentions sexual harassment complains from several of your female ex-teammates."

"Simple misunderstanding, Commander." Shepard arched an eyebrow. She saw Vakarian judging Vega really hard on her left. At least she wouldn't have problem on the subject with him but she didn't like to see him already thinking so little of a new teammate. "I like to flirt," Vega tried to defend himself, "and I guess I can be a little too straightforward with the ladies."

"Will it be a problem, Lieutenant?" Shepard asked, looking at him straight in the eyes. He maintained contact a few seconds only.

"No, Commander," Vega replied, falling in line.

"Good. Go set up in the crew's quarters, I'll call you to introduce you to the team later. Dismiss, Lieutenant."

Vega saluted and walked away. Javik didn't wait to present her a datapad with information on the advancement of the refilling. "We'll be ready to leave in thirty-three minutes, Commander."

"Thanks, Javik," Shepard said with a relaxed smile as she took the datapad. "Convoke everybody in deck three when it's done and tell Joker to prepare for launching in forty-five." That should be enough to introduce Vakarian and Vega, considering the first was not a big talker. Joker would rant because it always took him forever to get down to third deck but she wanted him there too. He tended to isolate himself enough as it was. Javik nodded and walked to the elevator. Vega tried to make the door close faster to avoid the XO but it didn't work and they had to share the ride. "Still sure about this, Admiral?" Shepard asked, leaving the datapad on the work station – she trusted Javik to have taken everything in consideration, she didn't need to check on him.

"Absolutely," Anderson replied. "You read his dossier and you know what happened on Fehl Prime. He's a good soldier despite his attitude and he can be much more than that if somebody gives him a chance."

"Why don't you give him said chance, then?"

"He can't prove himself securing the daily boring life of an old man sitting behind a desk all day," Anderson snorted.

"I don't know," Shepard smirked, "I heard the Citadel is a pretty dangerous place this days." She caught Vakarian's mandibles flickering in an attempt to hide a smile. He wasn't a cyborg after all. Good to know.

"Vega needs to see the galaxy and realize Fehl Prime was just a tough decision to make like many others in a soldier's life," Anderson added more seriously.

"He needs to grow up," Shepard resumed. Great. She hated babysitting.

"I knew a promising young woman just like him back in the days," Anderson smiled.

"Oh yeah?" Shepard asked, playful. "Does she have bigger guns than me?"

"The biggest," Anderson laughed.

"That bitch."

"Anyway, I should get going," the Admiral said. "Take good care of Vega, would you?"

"Sir, yes Sir," Shepard mocked with a very lousy salute. Anderson patted her on the shoulder, wished good luck to Vakarian and took the direction of the airlock. It was pretty clear Vakarian was thinking he didn't need luck. "So," Shepard added, making him almost jump as he kept an eye on the Admiral leaving, "I believe you witnessed an 'Alliance interference', if Turians still call it like that." It was a joke between those tall motherfuckers. The Alliance kept an eye on every military placed on the galaxy, even in C-Sec. It was not spying per se but they made sure their investments were not wasted. Eventually, any soldier had to do a favor to the Alliance. Shepard was no exception but maybe on the number of favors she had made over the years to Goyle, Udina, Anderson or Hackett. She didn't mind the last two but she made sure to remind the first two they had to repay their debts at some point. "Anyway, we have to talk but not here. Follow me, please." Vakarian nodded.

Shepard took him to the first deck, which was entirely reserved to her. Her cabin was big enough to fit thirty Quarians if she was to believe Tali. It was too big for Shepard's tastes and the aquariums were kind of ridiculous, but she enjoyed having her own bathroom very much. Vakarian was very reluctant to enter her private quarters so she didn't make him sit on the couch in the lower, more 'private' part. She presented him her desk chair instead and she leaned against the cool glass of the aquariums, at a respectful distance to try to make him more comfortable. He kept standing at parade rest. Shepard let him, it wasn't important.

"So, you're a Spectre now," she said seriously, "but that doesn't mean you can do whatever you want and my role as your mentor is to teach you where the limit is. Not all new Spectres get a mentor. I had one, a Turian named Nihlus Kryik, because I was the first Human to make it to Spectre and the Council wanted to make sure I understood clearly what it meant to work for them. You got one because your behavior during the attack on the Citadel was worrying. At best."

Vakarian nodded. She wasn't telling him anything new.

"Our limits are more of a morale code, really, and not two Spectres have the same one. Some will accept bribes. Some will kill anyone, even civilians, to get the job done. Some won't hesitate to use force to obtain information. My code won't necessary be yours in the end but it will as long as you work under my command. You might have heard I'm kind of ruthless and it's not just a rumor. I get the job done and I expect the same from you. If I command you to steal a lollipop from a baby, you'll do it. If I order you to shoot that baby after your shameful act, you'll do it too. Understood?"

"Yes, Commander. If I may ask, what's a lollipop?"

Shepard had troubles fighting her smile. Turians weren't fond of sweets in general – exception made of Nihlus who could have killed that baby to get the lollipop and made up an excuse about a certain threat to the galaxy afterward without sweating – so it wasn't a surprise that Vakarian didn't know about it. Him asking about a candy instead of inquiring to what extends Shepard's ruthless went was more worrying. She left the glass wall of the aquarium to walk to her desk. There, she opened a sealed drawer and took an apple flavored lollipop in the middle of all her junk. "Catch," she said, throwing the candy at Vakarian. By his look, it might as well have been a grenade but he caught it nonetheless and froze, probably expecting something really bad to happen. Shepard leaned on the desk and folded her arms, a smug smile on her face. "Relax, it's just a candy." Vakarian almost gave her a death glare as he started to breeze again. Almost. He studied the wrapped candy on a stick with all his turian seriousness. "Though it might kill you."

"I'm not allergic to levo food," Vakarian replied, now not knowing what to do with Death wrapped in green plastic.

"Good to know but we're used to take precautions regarding food poisoning anyway. We have a Quarian on board." That, and Nihlus took her for his personal chauffeur once in a while. When he presented her the lollipop, she shrugged. "Keep it, I have plenty." Vakarian hesitated a second but put the candy in a pocket nonetheless. "Back to the moral code and my rules. Like I said, I'm not the kind to save a few civilians if they get in my way. I wasn't before and my nomination to Spectre didn't change me. We're not heroes, Vakarian, we are special agents sent on crucial missions. We can't stop and pick a nice bouquet of flowers on our way nor rescue a kitten in a tree during a mission. We get the job done, period. Understood?"

"Yes, Commander," Vakarian affirmed, falling again at parade rest.

"Time will come when we'll disagree on how to deal with a mission, I can guarantee you that. I don't want to hear you on the subject during the mission. I give the orders and you follow them, that's it. Debriefing is made to discuss and that's your only chance to voice your opinion. I recommend you to talk during debrief because it does no good to hold a grudge for days. It's better to get it out and over with than to let it stew inside, mostly because we live on a relatively small ship and we'll be together pretty much all the time. Is that okay with you?"

"Yes, Commander."

Shepard gave him a serious look to let what she just had explained sink in his thick turian skull but he was again staring straight, above her head. She hoped those piercing blue eyes wouldn't damage her spaceship collection. "Speaking of small ship, let's talk about living arrangements." She relaxed a little, she didn't need to be a serious badass anymore. "I lived 24/7 with Nihlus from day one and he drove me crazy – and his couch destroyed my back. I knew nothing of Turians at the time and he taught me the hard way. I don't intend to repeat that experiment with you though. The Normandy is small enough for us to always be in contact so you can settle down wherever you want that has not already been claimed by someone else. The life support room is still free if you want some privacy. It's warmer than the rest of the ship, and a little dryer too." Could be a good place for a loner like you, she wanted to add but it wasn't a smart move. "My quarters are off limit to all non-invited crew, exception made of Javik, and you, now, I guess. Just call me by radio first if you don't want to have a gun in your face as soon as you walk in. I hate surprise guests."

"Duly noted."

Ah, finally some progress. "The Normandy runs under Alliance regulation. I'm the commanding officer on board, Javik is the executive officer. If both of us fail to command, Doctor Chakwas is next in line as she has the rank of Major. And after her, it's Lieutenant Commander Kaidan Alenko. That's the theory anyway. Usually, if Javik and I are out on a mission, Tali has the ship. She's young but she's also a Quarian, she spent most of her life under a strict military discipline and she knows what to do. When it comes to you, well, you have to respond to me and the Council, not the Alliance. I expect you to follow the rules like anybody else nonetheless because, once again, it's a small ship with very few people on board and we all have to compromise at some point, but you're out of the chain of command. If Admiral Anderson were to walk in at this moment and to ask you to leave, what would you do?"

"Wait for your order, Commander," he answered without hesitation.

Shepard smiled. "You're a smart guy, Vakarian. I like smart guys." The word of encouragement didn't move him. Shepard continued: "I've read in your dossier you speak fluently the three major turian languages and the standard galactic, plus a few asari and salarian languages, is that correct?"

"Yes, Commander. I've also picked up a bit of human standard English at C-Sec."

"Good, because you'll have to learn English. We mostly use it on board and I don't want any problem during a mission because of a fucked up translator. It happened to me once with Nihlus and I was glad he forced me to learn Etherian that day. Specialist Traynor is sort of our language nerd on board and she'll gladly help you. Tali and Wrex love to share swear words from their own languages and Javik is prone to help anyone willing to learn Prothean if you're interested." Realization hit Vakarian. "Yes, Javik is a Prothean," Shepard added, "the only one left in the galaxy so far. Part of my job as a Spectre is to be a watchman of Prothean tech and artifacts. We found him on Eden Prime in a cryogenic stasis a year and a half ago. I also have to keep an eye on the Geths so you'll have the pleasure to snip some on a regular basis. You know what Geths are, right?"

"Artificial intelligences created by the Quarians. They rebelled three centuries ago and exiled the Quarians from their homeworld, Rannoch, forcing them to live on spaceships."

"More or less, yes. They're not hard to kill once you know a few tricks." Shepard gave a quick look at the clock on her bedside table. It was almost time to introduce Vakarian to the crew. "We'll head to third deck in a minute," she told him. "Any question?"

"Doctor Chakwas told me about the atmosphere of the ship but what other regulations do you follow?" he asked.

"You mean like time, gravity and all of that?" Vakarian nodded. "If you want the detailed version, you'll have to ask EDI, but the short version is that our days on board are the galactic standard you have on the Citadel, even if the human part of the crew, me included, tends to refers to our Gregorian calendar. Gravity is similar to Earth's so about twenty percent weaker than on Palaven."

"I lived on the Citadel for the past four years," he reminded her.

"Right," Shepard said. The Citadel's gravity was practically the same as Earth's. "And I suppose you trained in various environments during your military life so you're used to sudden gravity changes and all of that."

"Yes, Commander."

"Very well. We keep a nice twenty-four degrees Celsius on board but it might be a bit cold for you. Though I doubt we'll see you butt naked around. Just make sure your armor has enough battery when we go on a mission, and always pack enough food, water and ammo for the duration of the mission plus three days."

"Understood, Commander."

"Anyway," she said, leaving the desk, "we'll have plenty of time to talk about that in the next few days because we have to pick up someone on the other side of the galaxy. And we should get going as soon as possible so let's introduce you to the crew and leave the Citadel." Vakarian nodded and followed her to third deck in silence, falling to parade rest any chance he had. It was kind of strange to have someone so serious with her. Her crew wasn't exactly a gang of goofballs but they knew where were her limits, what she would tolerate or not, and they didn't hesitate to crack a joke or mock her authority if they had the occasion. But Vakarian was not used to her yet and he was a Turian. That didn't help. It had taken a few weeks before Nihlus and her could talk like normal persons and not like cyborgs in front of each other. A really difficult mission where their lives had been in danger helped greatly. Maybe she should ask the Council for something like that to accelerate the process with Vakarian.

All the crew was on third deck, Shepard could tell by the satisfied look Javik gave her as soon as the elevator opened. He walked at her right to the long table where they usually ate, then took a few more steps to stand near Traynor. Shepard scanned the familiar faces all looking at the new member of the team, plus Vega who was still shivering and pale. Vakarian had stopped a few steps behind her, his hand ready to grab his gun at his hip. He was staring at Legion. She should have told him they had a Geth on board.

"Stand down, Vakarian," Shepard commanded and the Turian obeyed but it was obvious he was ready for action if needed. "This is Legion and yes, he's a Geth, a very special one. Legion is out of the geth Consensus. You can say he has a mind of his own. He's on our side, understood?"

"Yes, Commander," Vakarian replied reluctantly. He kept staring at Legion and also noticed EDI – for once she had clothes on.

"Lieutenant Vega, come here," Shepard ordered and the kid came to stand on her left.

"I believe you both met Javik, Traynor, Joker and Chakwas. Here we have Lieutenant Greg Adams, Kenneth Donnelly, Gabriella Daniels, all of them in charge of the drive core and engineering in general. Standing awesomely in the corner, Lieutenant Commander Kaidan Alenko. I honestly don't know what he does all day besides looking good."

"Very funny, Commander," Alenko replied, blushing a little.

"Lieutenant Steve Cortez," Shepard continued, "who's in charge of the armory and the shuttle. Private Bethany Westmoreland, Private Sarah Campbell, who second Traynor in CIC, and Sergeant Rupert Gardner. He was supposed to be in charge of the Normandy's firepower but he met his true love, the kitchen, and since then we dine like kings everyday. He's also our electrician and our plumber on board due to drastic budget cuts."

"I like to think I take care of everybody on board, Commander," the Sergeant said with philosophy.

"Right. They are all Alliance soldiers. Ashley Williams we have here is ex-Alliance. She had the rank of Gunnery Chief so now she's in charge of non-Alliance's personnel's weapons. On her left, Doctor Liara T'Soni, our Prothean specialist, originally an archaeologist if I remember correctly." Liara nodded. "The ugly Krogan is Urdnot Wrex." He snorted. Shepard smiled at him. "On his right, Tali'Zorah vas Normandy. She loves big ships and big guns and she knows how to use both so don't mess with the lady. The android behind Joker is our ship's AI, EDI." Vakarian's mandibles flickered a little. Another information not welcomed. He'd have time to deal with it later. Shepard unfolded her arms to stand at parade rest. "Crew, this is Spectre Garrus Vakarian, my protegee by Council order. He'll be with us for a year and respond to my commands. Our usual three men commandos will be greatly affected because Vakarian will be with me most of the time. Plus I have to evaluate Vega, if he doesn't die in the freezers next time, which means less fun for you guys."

"Fucking Turians," Wrex grunted but he wasn't serious. Vakarian didn't understand it that way though.

"He's joking," Shepard said for her protegee. "Wrex loves Turians."

"Sure," the Krogan replied, easing himself in his chair, "I love them on their knees, swallowing my jizz and begging for their live." Shepard gave him a sharp look to shut him up. That was enough. Wrex rolled his eyes but didn't insist.

"As you can see," Shepard continued, turning a little toward Vakarian, "the crew is very limited in number so everybody has to work to maintain the ship. Lucky for you, the original Normandy was a turio-human creation so her technology will be familiar to you. We'll find you something to do during our long days of traveling between the relays. Any questions?"

"Yes, Commander." Shepard nodded to encourage him to talk. "I'd like to take care of my weapons by myself if you agree with it." Ashley snorted but Vakarian didn't even look at her. He was focused on something on the opposite wall.

"Ah, the turian's carefulness." Shepard sighed a great deal to ease the situation. Ashley didn't like Turians at all, it was better to play it cool. "Sure, go ahead, but you should give a try to Williams. She does good job, otherwise she wouldn't be here."

"Yes, Commander," he replied but it was clear Ash wouldn't be seen near his weapons any time soon.

"And the blue man on my left is not the first Asari male ever but Lieutenant James Vega." The kid saluted Alliance style but quickly folded again his arms to keep his hands under his armpits. "Admiral Anderson placed him under my command so he'll follow the Alliance chain of command. Cortez, what do you think about having a big buff guy like him to second you?"

"I think I don't mind, Commander," Cortez answered. They exchanged a smile and neither of them was innocent. Cortez liked to joke about his sexuality and he didn't miss a chance to make people uncomfortable if he had the opportunity. For sure he'd have a good time with Vega and maybe the kid would realize being hit on by someone you were not interested in was more uncomfortable than flattering.

"Good," Shepard continued. "We'll have time to know each other during our trip to the other side of the galaxy. Joker, set route to Omega."

"Aye aye, Commander," the pilot replied with a lousy salute. "But add ten minutes to your original plan because I have to go back to my beloved leather-sit."

"I took that into consideration," Shepard shrugged. Joker gave her a crooked smile and started to stand. EDI came to help him. "Dismiss." All her people started to leave the mess.

"Commander Shepard," she heard Vakarian calling. She turned to face him. He looked concerned. "Did you say Omega?"

"Yes, I did, why?"

"It's out of Council space."

"Yeah, and?"

"Spectres don't have jurisdiction in the Terminus Systems," Vakarian insisted.

Shepard folded her arms and fell into a hip. She gave him a smart little smile. "And you think that'll stop us?"

"Two Spectres in the Terminus Systems could be seen as a diplomatic incident. Surely the Council wouldn't risk it."

"And who do you think sends us to Omega, Vakarian?" Shepard asked. Realization hit the kid once more. "Yep, the Council. Well, more or less, it's part of one of my long-run missions. We're going to Omega to try to convince Professor Mordin Solus to work on a top secret operation for the Council." She let her smile fade. "We don't work for saints, Vakarian. The Council is like any other government, pretending to care about their people but secretly plotting to get nominated again next time. What changes for us Spectres is that our bosses are just the most powerful people in the galaxy." She let that sink a second. "If you have any problem with that, you can still grab your things and get back on the Citadel to give them your middle finger. Heck, I'd even wait for you to give you a ride to Omega after! But you're goddamn naive if you think you'll do any good in this galaxy like that, kiddo. Sometimes you have to sit on your noble principles to make any difference in this fucked up universe. So I'll ask you only once, Vakarian: are you ready to do whatever it takes to do good?"

His eyes fell to the floor as he was thinking and Shepard took the opportunity to look at him straight in the eyes when he lifted his head. He was conflicted, it showed on his face, but he eventually came to a decision.

"I am, Commander."

Shepard smiled. She lifted her fist to his chest and poked his armor gently, a familiar gesture Nihlus had made countless times toward her. At first she had thought he was only trying to touch her boobs but it was a sign of affection between a mentor and a protegee in his culture. It was a mark of trust, respect and intimacy. "So welcome on board, Garrus Vakarian."

TBC