The Normandy

Chapter 2 – Time to Work

Boots, black utility pants, standard Alliance military top over a black t-shirt, hair pulled back in a simple ponytail at the base of her head. This was more like it. A far cry from the glamorous Commander Shepard of the night before, she was back in her element. She stood with her duffel bag looking at The Normandy. It was 0700. She was early, but she wanted to get settled and prepared for the arrival of the crew.

The first stop was her quarters, where she tossed her duffel onto her bed, and made her way to the CIC. Anderson was already there, along with a Turian she didn't recognize. Her alarms immediately went off. Why would a Turian be on a human crewed starship? More than that, why hadn't she known about it?

"Sir" She said.

"Shepard," Anderson said. His tone was very serious. "This is Nihlus Kryik." She nodded at him. She recognized the name now. He was one of the Citadel Council's most decorated Spectres.

"Commander," Nihlus said. Shepard couldn't take the suspense any longer. Clearly something important was going on.

"I'm guessing this isn't just a test run, sir." She said, unable to hide her annoyance. She didn't like being left in the dark. Anderson looked apologetic.

"No it's not," he said.

"What are the details?" she asked, making an effort to hide her anger.

"We're headed to Eden Prime," he said. She couldn't hide it any longer.

"With respect, sir. Why wasn't I briefed?"

"The details were classified," Nihlus said. "Only the council, myself and Captain Anderson knew about the mission." She was quietly fuming now.

"What IS the mission?" she asked.

Anderson sighed, walked closer to her.

"They found a beacon, Shepard. A Prothean beacon on Eden Prime." Shepard suddenly understood why they needed to keep it quiet.

"I think you understand the importance of it not falling into the wrong hands, Commander," Nihlus said. She did understand. Prothean technology is what jumped the human race ahead, what allowed them to make first contact. That kind of technology could be very powerful.

"Yes sir," she said. "So we're going to secure the beacon and bring it back to the Citadel."

"That's right," Anderson said. Something still wasn't sitting right with Shepard. Her instincts were muddled. The council had sent a Spectre to oversee this, which meant the implications were huge. "System's checks and diagnostics will have to wait," Anderson continued. "I'll be making an announcement to Joker and the crew to head for Eden Prime. Detailed briefing will be on a need to know basis. I'll fill you in more after we get going."

Shepard glanced at Nihlus. He was staring her down. She didn't like being stared at. It was as if he was sizing her up, evaluating her where she stood. She didn't like being weighed and measured.

"Yes sir," she said coldly. She would have to wait to get the rest of the details. It killed her. Shepard liked details, liked to know her mission. In a combat situation she could sometimes fly by the seat of her pants, but this was too much. She cursed herself for feeling angry, and a little hurt. She had considered herself to be in the loop and knowing where she stood now quite frankly pissed her off. She deserved more.

"Ten minutes until we're out of here," Anderson said.

Shepard nodded.

"I'll do a walk through, make sure everyone's on task." She needed to think, clear her head. She needed to speculate. She realized it would do no good, but it might make her feel better if she could figure out what was going on before she was completely briefed. She would take a walk around, make sure the crew was doing their jobs, and make sure no one was messing around. All business from here on in.

Anderson nodded. "Dismissed, Shepard."

"Thank you sir."

Just aft of the CIC there a few stations, all currently manned by what Shepard might call "brainy types." They were marines, but she already knew from their files that a couple of them had never seen real combat and thought they never would. They were the brain of the operation, brilliant, robotic, flawless in their calculations. They would have limited combat training, mostly restricted to basic weaponry and defensive hand to hand. They would only see action in the worst of circumstances. Shepard's presence was hardly noticed by the young woman at the console, eyes wide, calibrating systems, running diagnostics, doing the type of things brainy types did. Shepard moved on, not wanting to break her concentration.

Thankfully, as she walked through the ship she could see that everyone was on point, and aside from the occasional salute and "Commander" greeting, no one seemed to notice her. That was good. She liked focus, hustle, and intent. Shepard was a by the book kind of soldier and preferred that those in her command didn't break the rules. Even the small ones.

She watched the faces of the crew as Anderson made the announcement that they would be headed to Eden Prime. They seemed mildly confused for a moment, then set about their business. She wished she could be so content to simply follow orders.

She watched out the window as they left the docking port and within seconds they were in deep space. This ship really was impressive. She hadn't even felt it move. She thought of the beacon on Eden Prime then and what it could mean for humans. It was a selfish thought, she thought, to think only of the human benefits, but then again she was human after all. And humans had apparently been behind the learning curve for centuries.

As the crew bustled, Shepard made her way to the cockpit. She watched as she walked how smoothly everyone operated, how focused they were. In almost slow motion she witnessed the operation of a machine and its various parts. She felt a sense of pride as she watched the faces of the crew. She knew they were all the best. She had helped handpick some of them after Udina had offered her the job. She felt protective of them already. She heard Joker's voice over the com reporting their approach to the relay that would take them to Eden Prime.

As she approached the cockpit, she saw Joker and Alenko at their stations, fully concentrating on their tasks. Nihlus was there as well. She studied him again for a moment. She wasn't sure if she trusted him. Worse, she felt betrayed by Anderson for not being briefed, even though she knew that feeling was irrational. He'd had his orders. He'd followed them. She couldn't be too angry.

Her attention soon went to the image of the relay onscreen. It never failed to impress her. As they approached she felt something somewhat like a static charge dance over her skin, a sure sign that they were close. Blue light filled the screen, Shepard felt goose bumps rise on her arms and a short small familiar burst of adrenaline fill her veins.

It was time to go to work.