They were now heading towards Purgatory to recruit the Convict, Jack. It would take a few days to get there, even through the use of mass relays, which gave Shepard more than enough time for her to plan through what she would do when the Convict became unstable, in her mind, inevitably. All she could do now was to wait until they arrived and actually see what the Convict was like for herself; he might be surprisingly easy to handle, but somehow she doubted that.
Shepard was sitting at her desk in her quarters, grimacing at the thought of the very likely possibility of being forced to either talk down or put down a raging biotic, when her omnitool pinged.
"Shepard, may I have a word with you in your quarters?" the display showed Lance's serious expression. It sounded urgent.
"Sure. The door's open," Shepard said, as she got off of her chair and stood up to stretch. Adequate blood flow was always good to have when dealing with urgent matters.
It was only a few moments before Lance came walking in through the door. He was still wearing a suit, except this one was navy and double-breasted. The obviously very well-tailored suit hugged his shoulders just right and complimented his figure nicely, Shepard had to admit.
Lance spoke immediately after the door had finished closing behind him, "It's about Miss Goto." He was quiet, almost whispering, despite the fact that there almost was no need to; Lance had already checked for bugs in Shepard's cabins and it was mostly soundproof unless you were intentionally trying to eavesdrop. Mostly was the keyword and Lance, Shepard noticed, seemed to take every precaution when it came to secrets, just like Lawson or perhaps more so.
"What about her?" Shepard asked with a heavy tone and crossing her arms as she usually did when she wanted to exude an authoritative aura.
"The graybox she is after, the one which belonged to Keiji Okuda?" Lance asked, continuing when Shepard nodded in remembrance, "It contains some very, very sensitive information, the likes of which that cannot be retrieved and be seen by the eyes of the uninitiated."
"So you don't want to retrieve it?" Shepard asked, planning on different ways she could potentially convince Kasumi to remain in her team.
"Of course I do, Shepard," Lance said, putting his hands deep into his pockets, maintaining a relaxed pose, "I'll just have to confiscate it when we do, at least until I remove all of the classified data."
Shepard groaned inwardly, "She's not going to like that." She knew very little of the thief, but she knew that for sure. It would take a whole lot of careful and tactful convincing for that to happen, something Shepard had a knack for, she admitted, but it was not something she enjoyed doing often. "And that's where I come in?"
"It's what you're good at," Lance teased as a wry grin appeared on his face momentarily before it was soon replaced by one which was nonchalant. "Either that or the device must be confiscated for good. Your call."
"Can't exactly do that if we want to keep her with us," Shepard said, "You're telling me that the information contained in the graybox is worth more than her?"
"Exactly. You're catching on quickly," Lance replied, "Information is everything."
The Convict's recruitment had gone as 'smoothly' as any of Shepard's missions went nowadays.
"Howdy," Shepard said lightly yet cautiously as she walked down the stairs towards Jack's 'quarters'. What she'd seen of the biotic's capabilities back on Purgatory were enough to make anybody remain cautious, even the Commander herself.
"Cut the crap," Jack replied harshly, "I only came because you promised me full access to the files."
"The files will come, Jack," Shepard said, crossing her arms as she stood next to the seated biotic, "It just takes time. You know how it is."
"They better be coming, or you bet your ass I'll be coming for you," Jack snarled, jagging her tattooed covered and bony index finger towards the Commander.
"You need to trust me," Shepard said, as she tightened her stance and planted her feet firmly, "And I don't take threats lightly."
"I don't do trust," Jack said, glaring up at Shepard and looking ready to pounce at her at any moment, her voice unwavering and fierce.
"Well you're going to have to learn it, or you'll be leaving this ship without those files," Shepard replied, narrowing her eyes, "That, I can guarantee."
The two women stared at each other for a moment as they analysed their opposition, a raging silence filling the room.
"Fine," Jack finally said after a tense moment of volatility, "I'll wait, but they better come sooner than later." The biotic stood up sharply and headed over towards one of the tables. "I can do a lot of damage to a ship from the inside," she said, glancing back at Shepard and laying down to nap on the table. "Now piss off."
Shepard turned briskly and proceeded to exit the room, making sure to maintain her authoritative posture until she was out of sight, and when she was sure she was out of ear shot, she let out a long sigh, letting her shoulders sag and relax, before heading back into the elevator.
She's going to be a handful.
Leaning against the elevator wall, enjoying the short, yet sweet moment of solace during her ride up to the Crew Quarters, Shepard opened her comms line to Joker, "How's the flight."
"Everything's good so far, Commander. ETA at Bekenstein is in five hours," the flight lieutenants voice transmitted crisply in Shepard's ear.
"Good. Let me know if you need anything," Shepard replied, straightening herself up as the elevator arrived at her destination. "Other than a girlfriend," she added with a smirk so wide Joker could hear it on the other side.
Any other Alliance officer and that last line would have been crossing the line, but not this one. In fact, over the time she had spent with Joker, she noticed that he actually performed better in the midst of some friendly banter. He seemed to innately thrive in competitive environments.
Plus, she actually enjoyed it.
"Right back at you Commander," Joker riposted, "Jack seems like a nice gal. How about it? You can be like Garrus and have a stick up your -"
Shepard cut off the comms abruptly, as she always did with her favourite pilot, leaving the elevator and making her way towards the main battery. The chance to think about an important decision never came often enough, so when she did have one, she had to consult her most trusted companion.
"And you want my advice?" Garrus said jokingly after he had finished listening to what Shepard had to say regarding Kasumi and her graybox, "Shepard, you're the one that excels in these situations."
"I can't take the credit for everything," Shepard said with a grin, but also with a touch of desperation, Garrus noticed, as her eyes lingered on his for a short moment longer than usual.
After careful consideration, Garrus spoke in an abruptly serious tone, "We can't risk a potential information leak that could spark up a war at a time like this. Not with so much on the line. If it comes down to it, confiscate it."
Shepard knew Garrus was right; losing one member of her team was acceptable in comparison to risking galaxy wide conflict. Although she didn't exactly know what the information was, Lance had been convincing enough about its danger for her to be cautious.
"That's what Lance said as well," Shepard said, before letting out a long sigh. She knew what her job was, but she also knew what it meant to get closure on the death of someone close. She could only hope that the thief would be cooperative.