Chapter 3

"What do you mean 'kind of'?" Jane's voice was no longer one of a friend but one of a commanding officer.

"Can I…?" Being a little more nervous than usual he continued, "Can I talk to you with it off?" he asked pointing to her Omni-Tool, "Please?" Nihilus' sub harmonics were going all over the place but nervousness seemed to be the most prominent.

Jane had been intently listening to his sub harmonics for a clues or hints of his behavior, but up until recently he's been clamping them down. Hoping to help him, Shepard lifted her arm up to activate her Omni-Tool then deactivated her voice modulator function. Upon turning the modulator off Nihilus relaxed as he heard her own harmonics of concern enter the room. "Nihilus," Her now dual voice joining them, "What's wrong?"

It was always easier to talk to Jane when she didn't have that voice mask on. Her voice was so beautiful and on a few occasions he had asked her why she would want to hide it? She simply responded with humor, "How many humans have you met that have dual harmonics?" Although he knew she had been right, he still loved to hear her talk through her normal, naked voice then through a machine.

They've both had the privilege of knowing each other for a number of years now and their friendship had been strong so far; even when he had to leave for Spectre training, when he came back she welcomed him with open arms, continuing on as if he had never left. A few times he let his mind wonder to all of the 'What if's' and 'Maybe's' but the rational part of his mind always stopped those thoughts from fully forming. She's a human, it could never work…

He snapped himself out of the trance he placed himself as he heard the intercom above them click then Joker voice entered informing of their arrival, "Hitting the Relay in 5 minutes. ETA Eden Prime about 30."

"I should go; get prepared for the mission." And with that Nihilus dismissed himself and entering the elevator leaving a confused and worried human commander in his wake. Jane quickly composed herself and cleaned herself off, reorganized her work station, and then headed to the elevator.

Jane had went to her locker and suited up for planeside. As she exited the elevator and onto the CIC she heard Joker on the intercom announcing their position.

"The Arcturus Prime relay is in range. Initiating transmission sequence. We are connected. Calculating transmission and destination."

"Rely is hot. Acquiring approach vector. All stations secure for transit."

"The board is green. Approach run has begun."

"Hitting the relay in 3...2...1..."

"Thrusters...check. Navigation...check. Internal emissions sink engaged. All systems online. Drift... just under 1500 K."

"1500 is good. Your captain will be pleased." Nihlus complimented just as he turned around to leave just as Shepard arrived. As Nihilus passed her he put a hand on her shoulder, looked at her, and gave a small smile, then left.

"I hate that guy" Joker commented just as Nihlus was out of earshot.

"Nihlus gave you a compliment... so you hate him?" Kaidan argued.

"You remember to zip up your jumpsuit on the bathroom? That's good. I just jumped us halfway across the galaxy and hit a target the size of a pinhead. So that's incredible!" Shepard had to give it to Joker; he always found a way to put humor into anything. "Besides, Spectres are trouble. I don't like having him onboard."

"The Council helped fund this project; they want to keep an eye on their investment." Kaidan pointed out.

"Yeah, that is the official story…but, only an idiot believes the official story."

She turned to Joker, "They don't send Spectres on shakedown runs."

"So, there's more going on here than the captain is letting on." Joker said snidely to Kaidan, who rolled his eyes.

"Nihilus did seem uneasy earlier, but he's a good man."

"Is this from experience commander?" Joker said playfully.

"Very funny Joker, I know what you're implying but no we've known each other for years now, he's like… a best friend…" Jane countered with a small smile. Kaidan had been quiet throughout the entire encounter and seems to be a little too transfixed with the commander.

Captain Anderson's voice came on the line. "Tell Commander Shepard to meet me in the comm room for a debriefing."

"You get that Commander?" Joker asked.

"Hard to Miss Joker... He sounds angry. Something must have gone wrong." Shepard sighed and turned to leave. She heard Kaidan and Joker continue to banter as she headed down the walkway.

"Pff…Captain always sounds that way when he's talking to me." Joker replied.

"I couldn't possibly imagine why." Kaidan said disdainfully. Shepard shook her head in exasperation.

As Shepard headed towards the comm room she overheard Jenkins and Chakwas in conversation.

"I grew up on Eden Prime Doc, nothing ever happens there. No reason for a Spectre to go there. And why is the Captain agreeing to it? Something has to be going on." Jenkins told Chakwas.

"That's crazy. The Captain's in charge here. He wouldn't take orders from a Spectre." Chakwas said.

"Not his choice doc, Spectre's don't answer to anyone. They can do whatever they want. Kill anyone in their way." Jenkins said excitedly.

"Ha! You watch too many spy movies Jenkins." Chakwas scoffed at him.

"What do you think Commander?" He asked as she approached them. "I sure hope we won't be staying on Eden Prime too long. I'm itching to see some real action." Jenkins said.

"I sincerely hope you're kidding Corporal," replied Chakwas. "Your idea of 'real action' usually ends with me patching up crew members in the infirmary." The doctor retorted.

"You need to calm down Corporal. A good soldier stays cool even under fire." Shepard told him.

"Sorry, Commander. I've never been on a mission with a Spectre on board."

"Nihilus always works on his own so I don't think we'll be fighting alongside him planet side so just treat this like any other assignment. You'll do fine" Shepard said.

"Easy for you to say. You proved yourself in the Blitz; everyone knows what you can do." Jenkins said with respect. "This is my big chance. I need to show the brass what I can do."

"You will prove yourself with time and experience. You're young still. If you jump the gun and do something stupid you could end up with your ass shot off." Shepard warned.

"Don't worry ma'am. I'm not going to screw this up." Jenkins said with confidence.

"Tell me about Eden Prime, Jenkins." Shepard said. It's always good to know your layout before a battle.

"It's peaceful, Commander. It doesn't have city noise or pollution. It was too quiet for me. That's why I joined the Alliance. Even paradise gets boring after a while."

"I should go. The Captain's waiting for me." She said and headed around the partition to the comm room.

Nihlus was in the comm room alone.

"Jane. I was hoping you'd get here first. It will give us a chance to talk. To clear the air, so to speak" Nihlus told her.

"What's wrong?" She asked him.

"I'm interested in the world, Eden Prime. I've heard it's quite beautiful." Nihilus started to pace around the room with his back to Shepard.

"I've never been there, but I've heard it's a paradise." She replied brows frowned.

"Yes…Eden Prime has become something of a symbol for your people, hasn't it? Proof that humanity can establish colonies and keep them safe. But, how safe is it?" He asked pointedly.

"Is there something you are trying to tell me?" Shepard asked.

"Your people are still newcomers, Shepard. The galaxy can be a very dangerous place."

"Is the Alliance truly ready for this? Are you?" He asked with some concern.

"I think we are ready to be given the chance to prove ourselves." Where is this going?

David came in quickly disrupting the human and turian's conversation. "I think it's time we tell the Commander what's really going on."

"This mission is more than a simple shakedown run. I'm sorry for not telling you early but you know…Classified..." Nihlus told her.

"Yes, that was obvious. You were basically a bundle of nerves." Shepard gave him a small smile to let him know it was ok.

"We needed to make sure the stealth systems were operational because we are making a covert pick up on Eden Prime." Anderson told her.

"Is there a reason I was left in the dark?" She asked.

"The mission was a need to know and now you need to know. A research team on Eden Prime unearthed a Prothean beacon." Anderson paused. "This is big, Shepard. Last time humanity made a discovery like this it jumped our technology forward 200 years. We need to bring the beacon back to the Citadel for proper study."

"This goes beyond human interests alone, Shepard. This discovery could affect every species in council space." Nihlus said. "However, the beacon is not the only reason why I'm here."

"Nihlus wants to see you in action, Shepard. He's here to evaluate you."

She turned to face Nihlus. "That's why you were here?" Nihilus nodded, "Alright I can understand why you were reluctant to tell me in the Cargo Hold."

Nihlus moved his mandibles into a small smile of 'thanks'.

"The Spectres represent the Council's power and authority. If they accept a human into their ranks, it shows how far the alliance has come." Anderson continued as if he was oblivious to the other two's conversation.

"You alone held off an enemy assault during the Blitz. You showed courage and incredible skill. That's why I put your name forward as a candidate for the Spectres." Nihlus told her.

"I-I…thank you, Nihilus. I didn't know…I'm sorry for…keeping out of touch over in the past." She said, giving him an even bigger smile.

"I've been watching your career for a while now Shepard, so I think I'll understand your reasons." He said pausing… willing her to know what he was really trying to say. "I needed to find out if you were Spectre material. We are an elite group and it is rare to find an individual with the skills we seek. As the Captain said, I need to evaluate you. Eden Prime will be the first of several mission together."

"Just like old times" this was going to be better than the old times.

"You will be in charge of the ground team. Secure the beacon and get it aboard the ship. Nihlus will observe the mission. We are hoping the beacon will tell us more about the Protheans, they were technologically advanced, yet they mysteriously vanished 50,000 years ago." Anderson explained to her.

"Their Citadel is the very heart of galactic society. Without their mass relays interstellar travel would be impossible. We all owe the Protheans a great debt." Nihlus added.

"True, if we hadn't discovered those Prothean ruins on Mars, we'd still be stuck on Earth." Anderson acknowledged.

"Captain, we've got a problem." Joker broke in. "Transmission from Eden Prime, sir. You better see this!"

"Bring it up on-screen." David Anderson ordered.

Heavy gunfire filled the screen. Yelling, Screaming. The camera bounced haphazardly. It was hard to get a clear picture of just what was happening. A man shouted that they were taking heavy casualties and needed evac soon, just before his head exploded. The camera fell to the ground heavily and in the background you could see a massive insect looking ship landing at nearby and the video feed cut to static.

"Status report." Anderson demanded.

"Seventeen minutes out, Captain. No other Alliance ships in the area." Joker responded form above.

"Take us in Joker, fast and quiet." Anderson said. "This mission just got a lot more complicated." Grab your gear and meet us at the Cargo hold." Nihlus nodded and left with a few strides. Anderson turned to Shepard and ordered, "Tell Alenko and Jenkins to suit up, Shepard. You're going in."

"Yes sir!" She gave a salute and walked out with purpose.