Chapter Four:
In Which There Is A Robot Joke
Emerging from Anderson's cabin, Shepard was lost in thought. He'd always had a good relationship with Anderson—the older man was often more father-figure than military mentor. Why would the captain lie to him then? And not even lie very well! Introducing Shepard to Nihlus, Anderson must have known that Shepard would realize this wasn't a simple shakedown mission. So why bother to introduce Shepard at all? Did he expect his XO to head off the rumors a Spectre's presence would invariably incite?
Or was he trying to give Shepard a heads-up?
The more Shepard thought about it, the more sense it made. Clearly, there was something going on that Anderson couldn't tell him about. By making certain that Shepard was aware the turian was no ordinary Council representative, he could indicate that this was no ordinary mission without violating any direct orders. Shepard shook his head in admiration. Anderson wasn't just smart; the man was crafty.
His focus dissipated just a moment too late. Shepard collided with someone making his way down the stairs from CIC. "Sorry," he murmured, extending a hand to the man he'd knocked over. "Wait. Don't I know you?" He studied the man's face.
Whether or not Shepard actually knew the dark-haired man, he knew who Shepard was. Recognition dawned on his face, and his hand snapped into a salute. "Lieutenant Kaidan…"
"…Alenko, right. You were at that biotic training seminar on Pinnacle Station a couple years ago, weren't you?"
Alenko's thick brows lifted in surprise, and he smiled. "You have a good memory, sir."
"I have a good memory? I'd have to be brain-damaged not to remember the guy who nearly took down an asari commando squad in the simulator! I tell you, watching that, I almost wished I'd been pegged as a biotic early enough to have been fitted with L2s!"
"Almost, but not quite, right?" There was a hint of acerbity in Alenko's voice that Shepard couldn't source. He'd only been giving the man a compliment.
"Well, I wasn't exposed to element zero until I was fifteen, didn't manifest until I was seventeen. If I'd been exposed earlier, I would've been detected earlier, and probably sent away for training—" Alenko's mouth was now a thin line. "I didn't get to spend enough time with my family as it was…" Shepard trailed off, completely confused as Alenko suddenly looked ashamed.
"That's right, you're from Mindoir," he said. "Sorry, I thought you meant something else." Shepard wondered what else he could have meant that would have offended the lieutenant. Alenko shrugged. "I don't think as clearly when I'm hungry. I was actually coming down to the mess to grab something to eat."
At the mention of food, Shepard's own stomach roared to life again. "Would you mind if I joined you?" he asked. "I was talking with Anderson and I forgot to grab my early-mid-morning snack."
Alenko laughed. "What kind of person would I be if I tried to deny a fellow biotic food?"
"Thanks. You're not assigned to the ground team, by any chance, are you?"
It turned out that Alenko was a member of the ground team. As they ate, the two discussed Alenko's abilities and specialties.
"So you're not only a biotic, but you're trained as a medic and technician?" Shepard asked.
"Yeah. I can handle basic field medicine, although nine times out of ten, I can't do anything more useful than apply medi-gel."
"Forget field medicine. Tell me about the tech!" Shepard said. "I always wished that I'd had the chance to learn more than just guns and biotics. There weren't a lot of advanced machines on Mindoir. I didn't get my first omni-tool until I enlisted, and I had no idea what to do with it."
"Ah, well. I've always been a bit of a geek," Alenko replied. "To be honest, I'm still a bit overwhelmed to be assigned to the Normandy. It's a dream come true.
"As excited as I am to tackle groundside missions with you, Commander, the real thrill this tour is going to be secondary piloting duties. Can you even imagine? Helping to fly the most advanced frigate in the Alliance fleet?"
"I'm jealous. But doesn't the Normandy have autopilot programs? How much flying does she really need?"
"Any ship with guns needs a pilot. If you're in a firefight, nothing but an AI can react as quickly as you need it to, and those are outlawed by Citadel convention. And honestly, sir, would you want an autopilot VI guiding you through a mass relay? Normandy does have autopilot programs, but there's no substitute for a human pilot."
"The Normandy is a stealth ship, Lieutenant. She's not designed to hold up in a firefight. And carriers are piloted by VIs, and they do okay."
"Carriers." Kaidan's snort made clear his opinion of carriers. "How often do carriers go through the relays? They're assigned a sector, and they stay there. As for firefights, if your ship's not designed to be in one, wouldn't you want a pilot with a stake in staying alive reacting to enemy fire?"
"You make a good point." Shepard's lips twitched, pursing in the slight expression he typically used to replace a full smile when dealing with subordinates. The two men returned to a discussion of their individual skills, outlining possible ways they could combine their expertise in various combat scenarios. Alenko had a tactical mind, able to strategize effortlessly. Part of Shepard wanted to ask why the older man was still only a Staff Lieutenant, but he kept that impulse in check.
"Is there any way you could time a weapons overload to coincide with a biotic pull?" he asked Alenko. "If we could get them to loosen their grip on their weapons, it might be easier to take the guns than if we just used a targeted pull."
"Never thought of that," Alenko's eyes went distant as he considered the proposal. "An overload might work, but a tech proximity mine would work even better. Overheat a pirate's weapon, and he's going to want to let go of it."
"I wish I knew more about tech," Shepard sighed.
"And I wish I knew how to fire something with more kick than a basic sidearm," Alenko retorted. "Tech isn't all you seem to think it is, Commander. Unless we end up fighting hoards of robots, your guns are going to be a lot more useful than my tech. Now, if we were stationed in Tokyo, I might agree with you…" Alenko laughed at his own joke before Shepard even realized that he'd made one.
"Why would anyone want to be serving on the Tokyo, when they could be on the Normandy?" Shepard and Alenko turned at the sound of Jenkins' voice.
"Jenkins, are you on the ground team?"
"You bet, Commander! Why else would the Alliance put a grunt like me on the Normandy? Not much I can do besides shoot things."
"Come sit with us. Have you met Lieutenant Alenko?"
"The lieutenant and I go way back," Jenkins laughed. "First biotic I ever worked with." Watching Jenkins was amazing. His face gave away his every thought before he spoke. "Commander, you're a biotic too, aren't you? Doesn't the brass usually spread biotics out? We're not the asari, we don't have that many…It makes sense."
Alenko smiled like a teacher with a favorite student. "Usually they don't post more than one biotic together on a frigate, yes. Normandy though, is already a special case. I'd bet that the brass is trying to innovate in more ways than one."
As Jenkins joined their discussion, Shepard realized that he was glad to be serving on the Normandy. If the camaraderie he already felt with his fellow marines was any indication, this tour wouldn't be so bad. It might even be good enough that he wouldn't walk away from the Alliance when it was over.
Their conversation only ended when the tones indicating the watch change blared over the comm. Alenko looked up with a frown. "Shouldn't we have left port by now?" he asked.
As if in response to his question, a tinny approximation of Captain Anderson's voice filled the mess hall. "Attention Normandy crew. This is Captain Anderson. Welcome aboard. I know we were slated to depart on our shakedown run at 1200 hours, but orders from the brass have pushed us back to 1830. All crew members are relieved from reporting for duty until last dog watch, at which time Port division will begin preparations for our departure."
Shepard wondered what would have made the change in orders necessary, and whether Alliance brass or Council brass gave the order. Jenkins began loudly lamenting his assignment to Starboard division—"Port'll be the ones who actually take the Normandy through the relay!" Alenko frowned at the corporal, his forehead creased. Momentarily dismayed, Shepard wondered if Alenko was one of those officers who viewed all complaints as insubordination, until the lieutenant closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, and Shepard realized the man just had a headache.
He also realized that he was starving again—they'd been talking for two hours. "Alenko, I'm going to get something else to eat. You want anything?" Alenko shook his head.
"I think I'm going to take advantage of the time and go lie down in the med bay. Migranes," he explained when Shepard raised an eyebrow. "I'll talk with you later, Commander. Jenkins." The three of them went their separate ways: Alenko to the infirmary, Jenkins down to the hanger deck, Shepard to the kitchen, then up to the CIC. The commander spent the rest of afternoon watch talking with Pressly, and getting to know the other marines that had been assigned ground duties. When the tone sounded for first dog watch, he told Pressly that he was going to spend the two hours sleeping, asked if that would be all right.
"Sure thing, Commander. There'll be plenty of time for me to sleep when—" Pressly broke off, staring at something behind Shepard.
"What is it, Pressly?" Shepard turned to see that Nihlus had just entered the CIC. "Oh. That's Nihlus Kyrik, a Spectre. Captain Anderson said he's here to observe the shakedown on behalf of the Council. He might stay and help out on our first few missions."
"I'll just bet he will," Pressly muttered.
"Sounds like you don't trust our turian guest."
"Sorry, Commander!" The older man looked horrified when he realized he'd spoken aloud. "I didn't mean to cause any trouble." He hesitated. "But you have to admit, something's odd about this mission. The whole crew feels it."
"Do you think the Alliance brass is holding out on us?"
"Why is Captain Anderson aboard if all we're doing this run is testing the stealth system? Why are you aboard? Or even me for that matter? A skeleton crew would be cheaper—less chance of security leaks too. And now there's this Nihlus! Spectres are elite operatives, top covert agents. Why send a Spectre, a turian Spectre on a shakedown run? It doesn't add up."
"You don't trust Nihlus, do you?"
"I don't trust turians in general," Pressly admitted. "Runs in my family. My grandfather fought in the First Contact War, lost a lot of friends when the turians hit us."
"That was thirty years ago," Shepard frowned. "You can't seriously blame Nihlus for that."
"I guess not, but it still makes me nervous having a Spectre on board. Him being a turian just adds to it. Spectres operate outside the normal chain of command. And they don't come along just to observe shakedown runs. Nihlus is in full armor for crying out loud. He looks like he's expecting some heavy action. If you ask me, this shakedown run's a cover."
"You're probably right, but a cover for what?"
"Damned if I know, but I'm not a fan of being kept in the dark."
"Neither am I," Shepard replied, "but until Anderson tells us something, that's where we are."
"Unfortunately." Pressly agreed.
"Tell you what," Shepard said. "I'll see if I can get some answers out of Anderson before I turn in. I'll fill you in at watch-change."
Pressly laughed. "Good luck with that, Commander."