I already had much of this chapter in mind as I wrote the previous one. This is a direct continuation of the events from the last chapter. I wanted to address what's been going on with the various characters, but that there was so much to cover that I decided to make this 'episode' a two-parter.

If any of you were wondering about Ashley's promotion, I'd just like to say that I really DID research Naval ranks. After the battle for the Citadel, Shepard used her position as a fleet commander and a Specter to make her an Officer in the Alliance. I think making her a CWO makes sense because she's a specialist in the use and maintenance of firearms.

Sorry this chapter took so damn long to get out. I wrote about half of it shortly after finishing the last chapter, then fell into a bit of rut... A lot's been going on in my life that prevented me from continuing with this. With the news that MA3 is being delayed for half a year, I started playing ME2 again. And that inspired me to return to this storyline.


MASS EFFECT
THE ART OF DIPLOMACY

Chapter III: "The Crew, Part 2"

...o.o.o...

Shepard and Garrus were walking through the Presidium, enjoying the scenery- the flashy white metallic architecture, the shimmering crystal-clear water of the artificial lake, the striking view of the multi-colored Serpent Nebula...

The Presidium was a nice place to visit. It had a true cosmopolitan feel to it- there were few places where you could find such a variety of species as you could here. There were also shops, restaurants, clubs, and countless other places to spend one's time. And for the moment, Commander Jane Shepard had plenty of time on her hands. At least, she didn't have to bare it alone- she had Garrus with her. The Turian's presence helped to put her at ease.

"So have you heard back from C-Sec yet?" Shepard asked as the two of the of them turned to cross a white bridge over the lake. "I know how people like me come across to C-Sec... That's why I sent a formal request to Executor Palin to keep you on as part of my crew." Shepard remarked. "I didn't want to seem like another Spectre abusing the system."

The Turian shook his head at her remark. "I wouldn't let it trouble you," He began, flashing an alien smile at the woman. "Even a career man like him can see that what's going is too big to ignore..." Garrus reasoned. "And anyway, there's no way that I'm going back as long as those Reapers are out there- I won't leave your side." He added in a reassuring tone.

Shepard smiled, managing not to blush. "Oh Garrus, you always know just what to say..." The human woman remarked in soft tone as she placed a hand on his arm. "Now come on," She began. "Lets go do some sight-seeing." She announced with a smile, gently leading the (willing) Turian by the arm as they set out for some casual 'adventuring'.

...o.o.o...

Down in the lower deck of the Normandy, Chief Adams was busy in the Drive Room working at a holographic interface. After using the keypad to make a few adjustments, the Chief of Engineering looked towards Tali. "Okay, now check the output on the Tantalus Drive again."

The Qaurian Machinist looked at a graphic display on the interface she was working at. She shook her head and looked back at Adams. "No good... Analysis still shows that the output from the drive-core is thirteen percent over normal." She replied in her accented voice. "And Alliance operating parameters only allow for a maximum margin of error of ten percent."

The human nodded and turned back to his interface. "I don't understand what's causing this power spike... According to my readings, the Tantalus Drive is functioning normally... And yet the numbers don't match up." Adams commented. "This is no good, the Normandy can't be cleared to disembark as long as this problem persists."

Tali looked at the the rotating core for a moment, before turning to face Adams. "Perhaps we're looking at this from the wrong angle... Maybe it's not a systems issue, but a hardware issue." She remarked, the light reflecting off her visor as she spoke. "It may be a fault in one of the mechanisms."

Adams was silent for a moment as thought about it. "You may be right... All it would take is just a minor fault in the Flow-Induction Relays to cause an increase in core output." He replied, stepping back from the control panel. "The fault could be so subtle that the self-checking systems wouldn't be able to register it." He reasoned, turning to Tali. "Come on kid, I'm gonna go check it personally- and I'll probably need your help."

Tali quickly nodded and followed him, a faint smile almost visible under the cover of the violet-colored visor of her helmet. Before leaving, Adams turned to a nearby technician (holding a datapad). "Carter, take over and monitor the core-output from here." He instructed the young man. "Contact me through the com-system if the the Drive Core spikes any higher."

Carter nodded and set down his data-pad. "Yes, of course Chief." The engineer replied as he moved to take over one the holographic control panels. He turned to look over his shoulder. "Oh, and good luck Miss Norah nar Rayya." He offered her with a smile.

...o.o.o...

Shepard and Garrus arrived to find Wrex silently looking at the Krogan monument. Garrus opted to stay back as she approached the alien warrior. "Wrex?" She spoke, the same simple 'response' she'd uttered so many times before.

The Krogan turned to face the human and nodded. "Shepard..." He began simply. "I was just thinking... thinking about a lot of things." He paused, collecting his thoughts. "Despite what I said in the past, I started to realize something... that in spite of what's happened, I haven't forgotten my people." The seasoned mercenary admitted.

The human Spectre remained silent as the Krogan continued. "I used to think that there was nothing I'd hadn't seen in this galaxy, but that changed when I joined up with you... I realize now that I have to face my past, I have to face my people... and make peace with my past." Wrex remarked.

Shepard brushed a hand through her shoulder-length red hair and nodded. "I guess this means you'll be leaving?" She asked him with a slight smile. The Krogan Battlemaster nodded as Commander Shepard continued. "Wrex, you've been an invaluable part of my crew... You fought at my side in countless battles... and I'll miss our conversations."

Wrex smiled slightly and chuckled. "Me too, Shepard." The alien warrior took a step forward and looked directly at her. "Fight well Shepard, I look forward to hearing of your victories... May you find glory and honor in all your battles."

Shepard nodded. "And you, my friend... I know you'll do great things, if anyone has chance of bringing change to your world, then it's you." The captain replied. "May you find honor and glory in your struggles, and victory in all your battles." She offered, putting her hand out.

The Krogan shook her hand and nodded, then turned to look at Garrus, silently regarding the young Turian before him for a moment. "And as for you..." He began gruffly. "You may be a Turian, but I won't hold that against you." Wrex replied with a smirk. "You're good in a fight, and well, I never felt like killing you." He remarked. "Stick with Shepard- you'll learn a lot from her."

After Wrex had left, Garrus shrugged. "Honestly, Jane, I'm not sure what to say..."

Shepard just smiled at him. "Oh, I don't know..." She began. "I mean, coming from someone like Wrex, I'd think that was quite the compliment."

...o.o.o...

With Shepard away, the Normandy-SR was currently under the command of the Executive Officer, Chief Navigator Presley. The Acting-Captain approached the helm, pausing to look around the cockpit for a moment, before handing a Data Pad to Joker.

"You know, I'm not sure what it says about the Alliance..." Presley began. "On the one hand, they provide me four Navigational Adjuncts... But n the other hand, Dr. Chakwas doesn't have any support staff and you're left here technically doing the work of five people."

Joke looked up from the pad. "Well, the Doc could probably do with some help... But I don't really mind working solo up here." He replied. "Besides, I'm perfectly in-tuned with these controls, so suddenly having more people up here would really just get in my way."

Presley frowned. "You're missing the point..." He began. "Virtually every branch of the Normandy is either over-manned or under-manned. Adams has three crew under his command- two of which don't ever seem to do anything half the time. Hell, that Qaurian girl is doing such a good job down there that Adams could let 'em go and there'd be no noticeable drop in performance."

Joker arched a brow as he looked at the navigator. "Just what exactly are you getting at?"

"Think about it for a minute." The XO remarked. "Where's the logic in building a ship with over twice as many posts as the size of the crew compliment?" He asked him. "Now I know that the design of the ship is a combination of both Human and Turian sensibilities, but that doesn't explain why the layout makes it looks it way created by a schizophrenic!"

"Now don't get me wrong, the Normandy is a fine ship, but it's like they couldn't decide if was meant to be a Frigate or a Cruiser." Presley explained to him. "But why bother building five helm posts and eight Command Tactical Interfaces when it's just you and the four CT Officers?" He asked the pilot pointedly as he continued. "In our line of work, there have to be contingencies... God forbid, but if anything were to happen to you, the Normandy would effectively be dead in the water."

Joker nodded understandingly. "I guess I can see what you mean... As much as I like the idea of being so indispensable, I don't like the thought of the ship being a sitting duck if something did happen."

Presley looked around for a moment. "I'm glad you see my point." He replied, turning back to the seated pilot before him. "Still, in spite of all that, the ships is fast and the armor's thick, and we have the marines just in case." He reasoned with a smile.

"Wait, wait, are you talking about someone boarding the ship?" Joker asked him incredulously.

"Damn right." Presley countered. "There's only two points of entry for this ship, the hangar bay back in the aft-section and the docking airlock here in the forward section... Any one who tried to break in from those points would walk straight into a hail of gunfire." He explained. "It's a simple matter of taking up defensive positions and holding the line."

...o.o.o...

The red-haired captain paused and leaned against the railing of the bridge over the shimmering waters of the citadel. She surveyed the area for a moment, silently taking in all the sights, before eventually turning to the Turian beside her. "I've been thinking recently, about everything that's happened." She began with a smile. "We managed to stop Sovereign, but can we really hope to stop all the Reapers?"

Garrus shook his head and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I don't know, Jane... If the Reapers really are the force that they seem to be, then stopping them will be quite an ordeal." He replied, turning to look at her as he casually toyed with a strand of red hair. "But the simple fact that you were able to stop their first attempt at invading proves that they're not invincible." He continued as the water shifted beneath them, looking almost like liquid silver. "In the end, we won't know for sure until we know the full scope of their plans... It's like you said, this conflict isn't over."

Shepard nodded and smiled at the Turian before her. "Always the voice of common sense... Just as I'd expect from an Officer like you." She remarked to him. "Still, after everything we've been through, it's comforting to know that you've got back throughout all of this."

Garrus smiled back at her in his own way. Most people wouldn't be able to tell when a Turian was smiling, given their rather 'severe' physiology... But the female captain had known him well enough to be able to discern his moods from the subtle movements in his face, as well as by the changes in his tone of voice and body language. "So then, seeing as we're on the Citadel... Is there anything else you'd like to do while we're here?"

The Captain nodded. "I still need to do a little shopping. I'd like to check the shops to see if they have anything good for sale, for future missions." The redhead explained. "After that, I'd like to get back to the ship to see if the repairs are finished and if it's ready to depart."

Garrus nodded. "So, no rest for the weary then, eh?" He asked, crossing his arms.

Jane shook her head and smiled. "Nor for the wicked." She responded, motioning for him to follow as they left for the shopping district.

...o.o.o...

Ashley Williams opened up the hatch of a large metal case (about 36"x48"x24" in size) and looked intently at the contents inside. There were four inactive assault rifle inside, collapsed and resting snugly in identically-shaped indentions. She picked one of them up to inspect it- the indicators glowing blue, and the stock and barrel expanding when she activated it.

"What do you think of it, Chief Williams?" The Requisitions Officer asked with a smile.

"So this is an HMWA Master Line, one the special Spectre-issue weapons?" She asked, placing the but of the stock against her shoulder so as to look through the scope. "From what I've heard about these, they're supposed to be pretty bad ass." She remarked as she lowered it.

The Requisitions Officer nodded. "These things are top of the line- they're not on any market, they're only available to Spectres." He explained. "And these are the level 10s. The in-built systems of these guns are so sophisticated that it's literally impossible for them to overheat- as long as there's an ammo source, it could theoretically fire forever."

Ashley looked at the weapon. "Now we're talking..." She remarked. "Just image what kind of damage this thing could do... I could bring down an entire enemy squadron with continuous stream of Inferno or High Explosive rounds before they could fire a single shot." The female Chief remarked with a smile, putting the gun down and turning to the Req Officer. "Tell me about the others."

"The Commander ordered eight of these Assault Rifles in total." He began, gesturing to the crate underneath the open one. "She also ordered eight HMWA Master Line Pistols, and six Master Line shotguns- all of them level 10." He explained as he gestured to two smaller cases and a single larger one that was almost as big as the ones used for the assault rifles.

"I think you'll really like these." He remarked as he stopped a long rectangular-shaped metal case (about 32"x48"x24") and opened it, revealing four collapsed sniper rifles. "Wait until you hear what these things can do, Chief." The Requisitions Officer began, stepping back to allow the woman to get a better look at the weapons inside. "Even without any modifications, these rifles can fire off two shots before they overheat." He explained to her.

"The difference between life and death..." Ashley mused as she picked one up- the scope, stock and the telescoping barrel revealing themselves as she activated it. "If the first shot fired from a lesser rifle doesn't do the job, there probably won't be a second chance... So a second bullet can make all the difference in a battle, when the target is coming for you."

"Spoken like a true Soldier, Chief Williams." Remarked an accented voice, causing the two humans to turn around as Tali approached them. "In combat situations, who lives and who dies can sometimes be determined by who can get that second shot off first."

Ashley gave the Qaurian an incredulous look. "You know, that's an awfully military philosophy to hear coming from a technician of all people." She remarked, setting down the sniper rifle.

"It may surprise you Chief Williams," Tali began, the vague outline of her face now all but invisible behind her visor in the low light of the hangar bay. "but my people are not strangers to war, nor are we so feeble as to not be able to defend ourselves."

"While our space-faring life may have weakened our immune systems, it just means that we are all the more aware of the threat of death. Every Qaurian marines knows that a single bullet wound become a life or death situation." Tali explained. "We do not view ourselves as victims, our exile from our home planet forced us to become survivors."

Ashley rubbed the back of her head. "Yes, you're right, Tali..." She replied. "You're a part of the crew, you're one of us..." The marine continued. "I guess it looks like I've still got a lot to learn when it comes to understanding the rest of the galaxy, eh?" She asked with a smile.

Tali nodded, her posture becoming more relaxed. "Perhaps... Though in time, you may realize that learning and experiencing new things is integral to being out in the vastness of space."

(- End of Part III -)


This story will eventually move into the events of the second game. However, I still have a bit more planned to do before moving on to Mass Effect 2. In fact, certain parts of this chapter were written to set up events in the second game.

I included the scene between Joker and Presley to make a point about how silly I thought it was that the collectors could have invaded the Normandy and overwhelm the crew like they did. In the game, the Collectors likely must have come in through the hangar bay doors (since there are no hull breaches), so the crew really should have been able to defend the ship a lot better.

And yet, the crew is spread out and disorganized, like they'd had no training/experience in close-combat situation... I'd expect this sort of half-assed tactics from, say, the crew of Star Trek: Voyager. But this is the Normandy-SR2!

Anyway, until then, see you guys later.

-Bojack727