Chapter 10: Logistics

Anderson stepped forward first.
"Congratulations, Commander," he said, shaking Shepard's hand warmly, a proud smile on his face. Udina, on the other hand...
"May I assume you're quite finished with the theatrics, Shepard?"
Shepard considered for a moment. Then he held up a hand, fingers splayed, cupping an imaginary object.
"Alas, poor Yorick," he said, entirely deadpan. "To be or not to be, and suchlike."

Stares. So many nonplussed stares.

He let his hand drop. "Yeah, I'm done."
Apparently, the Ambassador decided to deal with this display by immediately purging it from his memory.
"We have a lot of work to do, Commander," he mused. "You'll need a ship, a crew, supplies... Anderson, come with me; I want a word."
The Captain gave Shepard a parting nod and followed Udina as he walked off.

Shepard turned to the motley crew he had assembled.
Vakarian was the first to speak. "Well. That was... interesting."
"I'll say!" Williams exclaimed.
"You never said you were a Spectre candidate, Shepard," Vakarian said accusingly.
"Surprise?" Shepard said, shrugging as did so.
"You weren't being serious, were you, Commander?" Alenko asked. "You wouldn't really have turned it down?"
"I certainly was," he replied.
"Really?"
"No."

Shepard looked around at their mixture of stunned and amused faces.
"I knew they'd never have let me get away with it," he explained. "All anyone had to do was ask. Just once. That's all."
"Just... let me get this straight, Commander," Vakarian said, still shaking his disbelievingly. "You tried to turn down becoming a Spectre just to annoy your ambassador?"
"Certainly not," Shepard said in an aggrieved tone. "That would be behaviour most unfitting for an officer of the Systems Alliance military. It was a matter of principle."

Nobody looked convinced by his assertion.

"Right..." Vakarian said doubtfully. "Well, I suppose I'd better go and take of that paperwork." He made a pained expression as he held out a hand to Shepard, who shook it. "Good luck, Commander. When you find Saren, give him one from me, okay?"
"Will do, Vakarian. Thanks for your help."

As the C-Sec officer walked away, Shepard turned to the other two aliens present.
"I suppose while I'm in a good mood, I can thank the pair of you, too," he said. "Tali, for the evidence. Wrex." He nodded at each of them in turn. "What do you plan to do now?"
Almost as soon as the words were out of his mouth, Tali jumped in.
"You saw me in the alley, Commander; you know I can handle myself. Let me come with you!"
It was a good thing eagerness doesn't radiate in the visible light spectrum or Shepard may well have been blinded.
"Seriously?" he asked. "You've known me for..." He checked the time on his omni-tool. "Just less than an hour, and you want to come and help me track down a rogue Spectre? What about your Pilgrimage?"
"The Pilgrimage is supposed to prove that we are willing to give of ourselves for the greater good," Tali said, in a tone suggesting it was a memorised sentiment. "What does it say about me if I turn my back on this? Saren is a danger to the entire galaxy. My Pilgrimage can wait."
Shepard hesitated. That... was a hell of a speech. She was either a really good liar, or hopelessly naïve. He wasn't sure which was worse. Or maybe he was just being cynical.
"Okay," he said as kindly as he could manage. "No offence meant, but I'm military special forces. You're a civilian. How exactly can you help me?"
Tali didn't seem offended. In fact, she seemed just as eager to prove her worth. "My people created the geth," she said matter-of-factly. "I guarantee I know more about them than anyone outside the Flotilla."
"Good point," Shepard admitted. He himself knew only as much about the geth as any other Extranet-crawler. The skirmishes on Eden Prime had been easy enough to bull through, but on a larger scale... know thine enemy.
"A very good point," he said slowly. He nodded. "Alright, you're in. Welcome aboard."
"Thanks," Tali said, almost bouncing on the spot with anticipation. "You won't regret this."
'It's not me I'm concerned about.'

"And what about you, Wrex?" Shepard asked.
The krogan tilted his head and gave Shepard that same calculating look he'd been given in Chora's Den.
"Well," he said, "if you're recruiting..."
"Really?" Shepard asked, surprised. "I can't afford to hire you, if that's what you mean."
"A good fight is it's own payment, Shepard," Wrex said. "There's a storm coming. And you and Saren are right in the middle of it. When it arrives, I want to be there."
"So you want to come along just because you think you'll get a good fight out of it?"
"Yes."
Shepard heard Williams mutter, "big surprise there."
"Okay. You're in," Shepard said. He couldn't fault Wrex's reasoning: he was, after all, a krogan. And it would be ever-so-slightly hypocritical of himself. Not to mention that Wrex had almost certainly seen more battlefields than Shepard ever would; that kind of experience was invaluable.
"And you two?" Shepard asked flippantly, turning to Alenko and Williams. "Want to go AWOL and come along as well?"
"I'll have to pass, Commander," said Alenko.
"Tempting, but no," Williams replied.
"Suit yourselves," Shepard said. "Shall we?"

He led the way back down towards the elevators to the presidium. He only then became aware of the stares and whispers that followed him. He hoped they would die down soon enough. They filed into the elevator to the presidium and began the long descent.
"So," Wrex said at length. "Spectre. How's it feel, Shepard?"
Shepard shot him a confused look. "You know what?" he said. "Against all my expectations, I feel exactly the same as I did twenty minutes ago." He shrugged irritably. "What I am supposed to feel like?"
"Well, aren't you supposed to be 'above the law' and all that?" said Williams.
"So? What do you want me to do, go on a crime spree?"
"I think that would just about finish the Ambassador off, Commander," Alenko said.
"When do we get started?" Williams asked.
Shepard's omni-tool beeped. The Commander brought it up and glanced at the message that popped up.
"Speak of the Devil..." he muttered.

Udina was sitting at his desk, typing away at his terminal with a look on his face that suggested that the device had done some grievous personal harm to his character. As they entered, Udina snapped his head up and said, "just you, thank you, Commander."
Shepard turned to his entourage and gestured them to the door. Williams rolled her eyes, but filed out with the others. He walked up to the desk and sat himself down in a chair. Udina finished whatever he was typing away at and glared over the desk at Shepard.

"I thought we should have a short discussion, Commander, about how you intend to conduct yourself in your new role."
"I don't answer to you, Ambassador," Shepard said, with not-inconsiderable satisfaction.
"No," Udina admitted through teeth gritted hard enough to crush a walnut. "But if you carry on as you've started today, it will reflect badly on humanity as a whole."
"I don't care," Shepard said. "I'm not here to make anyone look good; I'm here to do the job."
"And so am I!" Udina said heatedly. "My job is to improve humanity's standing, and that includes reining in our loose cannons."
"'Loose cannon'?" Shepard said coolly.
"Yes. Whether you like it or not, Commander, you represent humanity and your every action reflects on all of us. You make a mess, I get stuck cleaning it up."

Shepard pretended to think deeply for a moment.
"Sounds like the perfect arrangement to me, Ambassador."
Udina sighed. "Not the answer I was hoping for, Shepard."
"Deal with it."
"I am. That's why we're having this discussion." Udina planted his palms on his desk and leaned towards Shepard. "Do you have any idea how hard I had to fight for this, Shepard? Do you have any idea how easily you could ruin twenty years' worth of progress?" The Ambassador's voice lowered to just above a growl. "I don't mind telling you that you were not my first choice for this role, not since I was informed about that mutiny charge on your record."
"The charges, Ambassador," Shepard said sharply, "were solicitation, insubordination and assaulting a superior officer. And I was exonerated." He paused, them shrugged. "Although they did get me on 'conduct unbecoming', but no-one gives a damn about that, anyway."
"No smoke without fire, Commander," said Udina. "Don't expect the Council to be as forgiving of your... style."
"Look," Shepard said, in a somewhat conciliatory fashion. "Ambassador. I'm not planning to go out and make your life difficult. But if it comes down to getting the job done or avoiding 'making a mess', I know which to choose."
"That... will have to do, Commander," Udina said tiredly, sitting back in his chair. "Just remember your loyalties: you were human long before you were a Spectre."

"Now, to business," Udina said. "Captain Anderson has agreed to step down as commanding officer of the Normandy; the ship is yours now."
"Right," Shepard said uneasily. It made sense: the Normandy's stealth systems would be invaluable to him, he knew, but the Captain deserved better than to be shunted aside so easily.
"He will be remaining here at the embassy to act as an attaché," Udina went on.
Correction: Much better.
"Okay."
"And you will continue reporting to Admiral Hackett on all matters regarding Alliance military business."
"Good." Shepard kept his face carefully clear of the satisfaction he felt at that revelation.
"Of course, you are expected to conduct your ship and yourself," Udina added a slight emphasis to that last word, "in a manner befitting the Alliance military."
"Fine."
"And although your duties to the Council will take precedence, we expect you to advance humanity's interests wherever possible."
"No problem..."

Shepard stepped out of the Ambassador's office. The others were hovering just outside the door.
"Well, what did he want?" Williams asked as they fell in beside Shepard as he led the way out of the Embassy.
"Told me to be a good boy, not to make a mess, etcetera," Shepard said. "Also, he got me a ship."
"Which one?"
"The Normandy, as it happens."
"Makes sense," Alenko said.
"Then I guess we'll be joining you on your little turian-hunt, after all," Williams said.
"What about the Captain?" Alenko asked as they exited the embassy.
"Stepping down. I'm commanding officer now, best get used to it."
"No problem here, sir," the Lieutenant said.
"Just say the word, Commander," Williams chimed in.

"Commander Shepard?"
Shepard looked around. An Alliance officer in dress blues, who had been lurking just outside the doorway, walked over to him. The officer rendered Shepard a salute, which he returned sharply. Something about him stirred up something in Shepard's memory.
"At ease, Commander. Rear-Admiral-" he started to introduce himself.
"Kahoku, right?" Shepard finished for him. "You headed up that operation in Tuorn, Hephaestus Mu a while back."
The Admiral blinked in surprise. "You know about that?" he asked.
"I was there," Shepard replied promptly. "Fifth Fleet SRC, 1st platoon."
The Admiral nodded thoughtfully. "Special Recon.," he mused. His brow flickered in recognition. "I remember now; you were the one who demanded to be sent in after that lost platoon on Kell'Hao."
"Yeah, that was me." Shepard smiled ruefully. "Back when I was too young and stupid to know better."
"Stupid or not," Kahokua said firmly, "you got a lot of our people out alive."
Shepard shrugged. "It's all part of the job, Admiral."
Kahoku held out a hand and Shepard shook it. "It was damn fine work, Commander. Congratulations, by the way," he added. "First human Spectre. I know you're up to the task."
"Thank you, sir."
"It's about time we got one of our own into the Spectres," Kahoku went on. "We need people like you to deal with our... problems."
Shepard felt able to reach out and pluck the hint from the air.
"Any specific 'problem', sir?"
Kahoku snorted, slipping a hand into his pocket. "Hmph, I'm getting stonewalled by bureaucratic assholes. Nothing new."
"Anything I can do to help?" Shepard asked. "I could probably get away with a few... forceful requests."
"As tempting as that sounds, Commander," the Admiral said, his lip twitching upwards, "I'm sure you have better things to be doing."
"Well, if you're sure, Admiral. But I'm always happy to go above and beyond to upset a bureaucrat."
Kahoku smirked again. "I don't doubt it." he held his hand out again. Shepard shook it. "Congratulations again, Commander. And good hunting. Carry on."
The Admiral stepped back. He and Shepard exchanged a second salute and he departed.

"Do you know everyone in the Alliance military, Commander?" Williams asked him.
"Well, they all know me," Shepard replied. "It's only polite to return the favour."
As they continued towards the elevator to the docks, Shepard clenched his hand around the OSD Kahoku had slipped into his palm at their second handshake.
'Interesting...'
Shepard surreptitiously secured the disc in a pouch at his waist.

"That sounded like a war story back there, Shepard," Wrex rumbled as they walked. "Feel like sharing?"
"No," Shepard said distantly, mind still replaying the conversation with the Admiral, searching for any clues as to what the OSD was for.
"Shame," the krogan said flatly. "And here I thought we were all supposed to get along."
"To a point," Shepard said.
"Come on, Commander," Williams said, "you've piqued our interest now."
"It's not much of a story," Shepard said dismissively. "A platoon got pinned down in a hostile settlement, I took a team in and helped them hold out 'til reinforcements arrived. Nothing special."
"The Admiral said you 'demanded'..." Williams went on.
"I was bored and it sounded like fun," Shepard said. Wrex let out an approving grunt.

"Shepard! Commander Shepard!"
Shepard snapped his head round towards the source of the shout. A familiar turian in C-Sec armour was approaching them.
"Vakarian," Shepard greeted him as he reached them. "Something you need?"
"You could say that," the C-Sec detective replied darkly.
"How's the paperwork coming?"
"Didn't even get to my desk," Vakarian scowled. "The Executor had me grabbed as soon as I got back to the Academy. We had a, uh, frank discussion. Mostly about procedure and how I hadn't followed it."
"How'd it go?"
"Not well." The turian ran a hand over his fringe. "I've... probably just lost my job."
"Why?"
"I... walked out on him."
"I see. So, what do you want from me?" Shepard asked. Entirely rhetorically, as it turned out.
"You're going after Saren. I want to come along," Vakarian said. "I want to be there when you find him and make him pay for what he's done."
"Why?"
"Why?" Vakarian asked. His tone suggested that Shepard had just asked him what his problem was with cannibalism. "Why?" His expression contorted – as much as turian expressions could – in anger. "He is a traitor to the Council and a disgrace to my people! Why. Not?"
Shepard nodded, unaffected by Vakarian's outburst. "Okay... and what makes you think I want you on my ship?"
'Surprised' didn't quite catch the essence of Vakarian's reaction. He took half a step back, looking around at Shepard's group.
"You're- you're kidding, right?" he asked. "You'd take a krogan and a quarian with you, but you won't take me?"
"Not the best argument I've ever heard," Shepard said coldly. "This next one had better be good."
The now-former C-Sec officer rallied pretty well, considering. "I was in the Hierarchy military before I joined C-Sec," he said, straightening up. "Recon ops and pirate suppression mostly. And I'd bet I'm a better shot than anyone in your crew-"
'I seriously doubt that,' thought Shepard.
"I can carry my own weight," Vakarian went on, "and you're going to need all the help you can get."
Shepard considered for a moment. "Alright, you've made your case. Welcome aboard."
"Thank you, Commander. You won't regret it. I just need to grab some things, first."
"Make it quick, meet back here."

"Commander," Williams said after Vakarian had left, "with all due respect, the Brass isn't going to like you bringing a turian aboard an Alliance ship."
Shepard grunted. "They've already got a list as long as my arm of things they don't like about me. One more can't exactly hurt."
"The Brass doesn't like you?" Williams asked. "Can't imagine why."
"It's a long story. And for your information, Chief: it's not my fault."
"That so?"
"Yes. It is," Shepard said firmly.
'Sort of,' he added in the security of his own mind.

A/N: Two. Damn. Months picking away at this chapter and I'm still not happy with it. It feels too short, but everytime I added more, it felt like padding. Decided I had to upload now, before I give up completely.

Wait, I have a review? When did that happen?

Alec McDowell: Yeah, I've kinda rushed through this first part. I do have some ideas for the future, though (if I ever get there).