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Shepard and Nihlus had just returned to the Citadel after a week-long search for a missing human cargo vessel that had lost radio contact in the Argos Rho system. They couldn't be certain what exactly had happened aboard that ship, however one thing was certain, no one was left alive. Since the cargo had appeared to be untouched, pirates were not suspected. The airlock had been left open, however. This alluded to the most likely scenario; one of the passengers had apparently killed everyone onboard, and then spaced themselves. Shepard and Nihlus made one last scan of the ship before sending the coordinates to the Alliance Fleet and returning home.
Before giving an in-person report to the Council, Nihlus made certain that he see Shepard safely to her apartment, and to her bed. It had been nearly a month since their first night together. Since then they had grown significantly close as both friends and lovers. They saw a lot of themselves in one another. As a team, they were unstoppable. They could take down any enemy. And when the guns finally ceased firing they simply enjoyed one another's company.
Before Nihlus made his way to see the Council, Shepard gave him one last lingering kiss. "Now get out of here before take you to bed for another hour," she purred.
"Yes mam," Nihlus replied, nipping at her neck. He gathered his gear, and gave her a final longing glance before heading out of her quarters.
Shepard smiled as she watched him go. It had been about a month since she heard from Saren. It surprised her how quickly Nihlus had filled the void in her heart. Stepping into the bathroom, Shepard gazed in the mirror at her naked form. Her eyes trailed over the many scars that told the story of her life. While others decorated their bodies with tattoos to signify major life occurrences, hers was adorned with these scars. She loved them all and what they stood for. She studied the most recent two. The rows of dots on her shoulder were beginning to fade to a light pink. This particular mark signified love, loss, and broken promises. Her fingers hovered over it sorrowfully. Sliding her hand downward she lightly caressed the three bright pink lines that ran from her right rib to her side. A warm smile crossed her lips as she remembered the night she received this one; her first night with Nihlus. Passion, friendship, love; this one she treasured above all others.
Suddenly, Shepard heard her omni-tool beep, cruelly interrupting her thoughts. Retrieving it from the table, she flicked on the screen to peer at the message. It was from Captain Anderson. He wanted to meet with her in his office, immediately.
"Must be important," she said out loud. Quickly slipping into an Alliance uniform, she dashed out the door.
"Commander Shepard, thank you for coming on such short notice," Anderson said as he and Shepard saluted one another. "I know you and Nihlus have just recently arrived on the Citadel, however the Council has informed me that we are to depart on the Normandy within two days time. It seems that they are adamant about testing the Normandy's stealth system and have funded a shakedown mission to Eden Prime. The Council has requested that you and Nihlus be aboard for this mission."
"Of course, Captain. However, I can't help but suspect there is more to this than you are telling me."
"You will be briefed on any additional information after we depart on the Normandy."
"Of course, sir."
"You are dismissed Commander. I will see you aboard the Normandy." Anderson said with a departing salute.
Shepard nodded and gave him a final salute in return before turning on her heals to make her exit.
"And Shepard…" he started before she reached the door. "Keep up the good work."
Shepard turned to see the fatherly smile on his face to which she had grown accustomed these past few years. Returning the smile, she made her way out.
Upon hearing of their close proximity to the mass relay, Shepard determinately made her way to the cock pit. It would be the Normandy's first official pass through the relay, and she would be damned if she missed it. She smiled when she had seen Nihlus already standing a distance away behind Kaidan. Having already caught her scent, Nihlus turned to give her a nod as she entered. Coming to stand behind Jeff "Joker" Moreau, she watched as they quickly approached the relay.
"Hitting the relay in 3… 2… 1…" Joker counted down as he guided the Normandy to the relay core. As soon as the vessel hit the core, they were engulfed in light, and before they knew it they were in the Utopia system.
"Thrusters… check. Navigation… check. Internal emissions sync engaged. All systems online. Drift… just under 1500k."
"1500 is good, your Captain will be pleased," Nihlus offered. Before stepping out of the cockpit he gave Shepard an amused turian grin.
"I hate that guy," Joker grumbled.
Kaidan turned to Joker and frowned. "Nihlus gave you a complement, so… you hate him."
"You remember to zip up your jumpsuit on the way out of the bathroom, that's good. I just jumped us halfway across the galaxy and hit the target the size of a pinhead. So that's incredible!" Joker exclaimed. "Besides, Spectres are trouble. I don't like having them onboard. Call me paranoid."
"I think you're forgetting Joker, I've been training with Nihlus to become a Spectre," Shepard reminded him.
"Yes, but at least you I can trust to not shoot me out of necessity," Joker responded.
"Don't be so sure," Shepard mused.
The terminal comm crackled and Anderson's voice sounded off. "Joker, status report."
"Just cleared the mass relay, Captain. Stealth systems engaged, everything looks solid."
"Good, find us a comm buoy and link us into the network. I want mission reports relayed back to Alliance brass before we reach Eden Prime."
"Aye aye Captain. Better brace yourself, sir. I think Nihlus is headed your way," Joker warned.
"He's already here, Lieutenant." Anderson's voice sounded irritated. "Tell Commander Shepard to meet me in the comm room for a debriefing."
"You get that Commander?" Joker asked.
"Great. You piss the Captain off and now I'm going to pay for it," Shepard said with mock accusation.
"Pfft, don't blame me! The Captain is always in a bad mood," Joker pointed out.
"Only when he's talking to you, Joker," Kaidan retorted.
Shepard turned from the cockpit and made her way to the comm room, stopping only to briefly speak with Navigator Pressly, Doctor Chakwas, and Corporal Jenkins. It seemed like everyone had been kept in the dark about why they were really sent on this mission, though they all had their suspicions. Finally entering the comm room, she was met with Nihlus's piercing green eyes. A smirk crossed her lips and she moved up to him, reaching up her hand to let her fingers lightly caress over his face.
"So where is Captain Anderson? Or are we alone for a while?" She purred.
Nihlus chuckled, enjoying her insistence. "He'll be here soon."
She gave him a fake pout and took a few steps back in case Anderson decided to step out of the shadows.
"So, this world… Eden Prime," Nihlus began. "What do you know of it?"
"Not much," Shepard replied. "But I hear it's beautiful."
"I've heard that too. But is it safe? The galaxy has its dangers, Shepard, and I'm afraid human colonies are not immune to them."
"What do you mean Nihlus?" Shepard demanded, not much appreciating the dodging remark.
Captain Anderson stepped into the room, making his way towards Shepard and Nihlus. "I think it's about time we tell the Commander what's really going on."
"Yes, please do," Shepard said.
"A research team, on Eden Prime has unearthed some type of beacon. This beacon, as it turns out, is of Prothean technology."
"The Protheans? But they died out 50,000 years ago!" Shepard exclaimed in disbelief.
"Yes, but their legacy still remains," Nihlus interjected. "The mass relays, the Citadel, our ship drives; they're all based on Prothean technology."
"This is big Shepard!" Anderson proclaimed. "Last time humanity made a discovery like this it jumped our technology forward two hundred years. We need to get the beacon secured and onto the ship so it can be transported to the Citadel immediately. That's where you and Nihlus come in."
Suddenly Joker's voice rang over the comm system, sounding slightly shaken. "Sir, we're getting transmission from Eden Prime. I think you need to see this."
"Patch it through Joker," Anderson commanded.
The video came through as patchy and unclear, but one thing was certain, Eden Prime was under attack by an unknown force. They paused the transmission on an image of a ship that made Shepard's skin crawl. It looked like a giant insect, with moving appendages, descending upon its prey. Never before had she seen a ship look so alive. It was unreal. They had to get there, fast. But it would be a couple of hours before they could reach the planet.
Just have to keep ourselves occupied until then, Shepard thought. She glanced at Nihlus thoughtfully. She knew this wasn't the time or place to be thinking of such things. However, they were charging head-on to fight the unknown. Who knew how this would end.
Kaidan fumbled around in the dim of the med bay in search of some migraine medication. Dr. Chakwas was nowhere in sight, so it was up to him to find it in the mass of pill containers. Where was the doctor when you needed her? Suddenly he heard a bump, which sounded strangely like a body hitting against a solid surface. The sudden sound nearly made him scatter the medication bottles everywhere. He ceased his searching and listened intently for any following noises. Moving towards the back room of the med bay he could make out some rustling noises as well as a woman's moans mixed with what resembled male growls. Almost completely aware of what was occurring on the other side of the door he arched an eyebrow suspiciously. Men don't typically growl… Kaidan thought to himself.
"Oh Nihlus…" Kaidan heard the woman between gasps.
Nihlus? Kaidan didn't know what to think about this. There were definitely no turian women aboard the Normandy, so that meant that Nihlus was definitely having sex with a human woman. He didn't know it was even possible, due to the differences. He was really curious as to what woman aboard the Normandy could have caught the turian's attentions. Chakwas was nowhere to be found…
Maybe Nihlus has a thing for mature human women, Kaidan thought with a smirk. If so, the 'ol doc still has some life in her.
Forgetting about his meds he returned to his post across from the med bay. I'll just stick it out here for a bit and see who comes out of that room. Awesome idea, Kaidan! He congratulated himself.
Kaidan waited for nearly thirty minutes before he heard the med bay doors open. From here, he had a clear vantage to see exactly who the deviant woman was. The suspense was killing him. First he saw the turian walk out of the room, still straightening some pieces of armor. Then the woman appeared close behind him. The woman was… Shepard?
Kaidan nearly hit the floor. Were the powers of the universe playing a cruel joke on him? The woman he most wanted was fucking a turian? Suddenly he remembered back to the night at Flux. How the turian rudely cut into Kaidan's dance with Shepard. The way they looked at each other. The way they suddenly left the club. It all made sense. All he could do was stare at the couple as they left the med bay as he hid in the shadows.
He wondered what she saw in the turian. What did a turian have that he didn't? He groaned in frustration. His headache was beginning to get much worse.
Kaidan plopped into the co-pilot's chair and slumped back miserably. He could feel Joker's eyes on him.
"Why so glum, chum?" Joker inquired almost too happily.
"Nothing, Joker," Kaidan replied flatly.
"Hey! I know something that will cheer you up. Some niiiice juicy gossip!" Joker exclaimed.
"No thanks Joker, I'm not in the mood," Kaidan warned.
"No no, c'mon this is great!" Joker insisted. Lowering his voice to just above a whisper he leaned toward Kaidan. "Our Commanderis screwing Nihlus! They were getting down in the med bay. Right across from your post, as a matter of fact," he declared as if pleased with himself. When Kaidan met this with a blank stare he continued. "You know, Nihlus, the turian? Mr. 'I'm too cool for you' Spectre?" He made some obscene hand gestures.
"I know who he is, Joker," Kaidan said, his irritation growing. "Besides, how do you know this?" Kaidan wasn't certain how he had found out so soon, but he could definitely wager a guess.
"Oh I got it all on video, wanna see?" Joker said casually as he pushed a few buttons on his console.
"No, Joker!" Kaidan said, leaping over the equipment to stop him.
"Dude it's hot! It's like Beauty and the Beast sex!" Joker continued to bring up the video with one hand while fending off his assailant with the other.
"Joker, you shouldn't do this! It's not appropria- whoa," Kaidan gasped, as he caught a glimpse of the screen.
Joker laughed. "Yeah I thought you'd see it my way."
Kaidan moved in closer to get a better view of the screen. He felt dirty watching this behind Shepard's back, but he couldn't help it as curiosity got the better of him.
"The dude is hung like an ox!" Joker exclaimed in awe. He threw his hands up defensively as Kaidan shot him a dirty look.
"What are you guys watching?" Shepard said from a distance behind them.
Kaidan nearly fell over in shock as he heard her voice. Joker, on the other hand, calmly switched off the screen and turned to the Commander. It was if he was use to getting caught in these situations.
"Oh nothing Commander, just showing Kaidan a few techniques," Joker said with a smirk.
Shepard glared at him suspiciously but didn't have time to push the issue. "Alenko, suit up. We'll be landing on Eden Prime shortly," she commanded.
"Y-yes Commander," he said nervously. He watched as she walked out of the cockpit entrance, the dreamy look on his face not lost on the pilot beside him.
"Someone's got a crush on the Commander," Joker sang.
Kaidan turned to the pilot and gave him a shove.
"Hey hey, chill. Anyway, you heard the Commander, you better get moving!" Joker urged. "Besides, I need some alone-time."
"You're disgusting."
"Pfft. Like you wouldn't."