A/N: I'm on a roll with these chapters! I feel like I should be doing more productive things with my time, like homework or something silly like that, but bollocks to that! Introducing yet another new crew-member and giving some nice, emotional background on Shepard. Read, enjoy, review. Dooo eeeeet.


"Illium approach, this is... ah... the Quarian vessel Illusion, requesting a berth...", Veetor tapped the interface and prepped the ship for atmospheric entry.

The crisp, business-like reply came immediately, "Approach approved, dock at berth One-Seven-Alpha, Commander Shepard will meet you there."

Aila walked up behind Veetor's station and watched as the massive city that covered most of the planet steadily grew, the flashing approach lights for the space-port piercing the cityscape. Veetor fluidly banked the Illusion around one of the massive towers, revealing a massive space-port, buzzing with ships of all shapes and origins. As the Illusion approached her designated docking berth, Aila spotted the Normandy, evidently sharing the same loading bridge as they would be.

The ship shuddered imperceptibly as the ports docking clamps latched onto the hull, the indicator on Veetor's panel flashing green.

"Okay... we're docked. Loading bridge is attached and sealed, good to disembark, Lieutenant Commander!" Veetor turned and smiled, obviously relieved that his first outing as a pilot was a success.

"Well done Veetor." Aila turned and opened the inner airlock, checking her pistol habitually. Regala appeared next to her, attaching her assault rifle to her back, "Rest of the ship is reporting no problems."

Tali jogged up and slid into the airlock just before the inner door closed, "Sorry I'm late, I was helping Tarina get used to the drive core."

The airlock's cycle finished and the outer door retracted into the roof, revealing the open outer door of the Normandy across the triangular loading bridge. Aila saw Commander Shepard conversing with an unfamiliar black-haired woman, who nodded sharply in her direction. The Commander turned and smiled, briskly walking over, his companion falling into step behind him. As he approached he spread his arms, "About time you showed up, Ambassador."

Tali giggled and jumped the remaining distance, landing square in his arms and hugging him tightly. Shepard laughed and squeezed her tight before lowering her to the ground, pressing his forehead to her mask, "If that's how you feel after a month, I'd love to see your greeting after a year."

The woman Shepard had been conversing with before cleared her throat politely. Shepard pulled back from Tali with a squeeze and turned to Aila, "I hear congratulations are in order, Lieutenant Commander Gerrel."

Aila inclined her head politely, "Thank you Commander."

Shepard held up his hand, "Actually, it's Captain now. Guess the Alliance figures saving the galaxy twice is worthy of a promotion after all."

Tali's head snapped and she stared at him for a moment, "When did this happen? And more importantly, when were you going to tell me?"

"Three weeks ago, but I wanted to tell you in person."

Tali crossed her arms and huffed, "You've been a Captain for three weeks and didn't tell me?"

Shepard rubbed the back of his neck, "But... I wanted to surprise you..."

Tali turned and huffed louder, "Not good enough. You're in trouble."

Shepard spread his arms and looked dejected. The girl behind him rolled her eyes and stepped forward, "Assuming you two are quite finished, we have the issue of filling out the Illusion's crew manifest to attend to." Her crisp accent struck Aila as haughty and somewhat egotistical, but she shrugged it off.

She strode forward and presented her hand, "Miranda Lawson, Normandy XO."

Aila took her hand and shook it, "A pleasure, Ms Lawson. Lieutenant Commander Aila'Gerrel, this is my XO Regala'Darini."

Miranda nodded sharply at Regala, "Charmed." she brought her data-pad up and tapped it, "Tali tells me you have a total of seven crew members on board at present. Through the Normandy's contacts, we've managed to find ten additional crew members. This will bring your total compliment to 17, still 13 short of ideal, but more than enough to function effectively." Miranda quickly flipped the data-pad over and offered it.

Aila was somewhat overwhelmed by Miranda's barrage of data and the cold, no-nonsense way she delivered it. She took the data-pad and skimmed over it before handing it to Regala who did the same, "A krogan? Interesting choice."

Miranda laughed briefly, "Yes, well, suffice to say Urdnot Jato isn't your typical krogan."

Aila was about to inquire further when the Normandy's airlock cycled again, revealing Dr. Mordin. The doctor briskly walked over, activated his omni-tool, and circled her, scanning and tapping furiously, "Must confirm. Tissue penetrating scans. Yes, yes, evidence of nanotechnology! Immune system near full strength, incredible! Need blood sample for reverse engineering..." Aila shot Shepard a worried glance as the doctor continued to drone on.

Shepard walked over and clapped the doctor on the back, breaking his revelry, "Doc, calm down. She's a patient, not a walking lab experiment."

Mordin blinked, "Yes, yes, of course. Didn't mean to insult. Heard about experiments performed on you, Ms. Gerrel. Methods completely uncalled for, inhumane. Results, however, are revolutionary. Would you consent to donating a blood sample and undergoing a few test." he raised his hands quickly, "Give my word as a doctor, there will be no pain involved. Purely voluntary as well."

Aila shrugged, "I see no reason not to. Regala can handle the new crew as they arrive."

Mordin's smile reached new heights as he practically pushed her to the Normandy, "Excellent! Hurry, no time to waste! Need to get blood-work started, analyze samples, begin reverse engineering. Must set up growth tables, determine resources..."

Mercifully, the outer airlock closed, sparing the remaining platform occupants the rantings of the brilliant scientist.

Miranda checked her omni-tool, "Captain, I have a meeting I need to attend shortly. The new crew has been instructed to report to the Illusion during the next hour. I just informed them that Lieutenant Regala is their point of contact."

Shepard nodded, "Good job, you're free to leave." Miranda smiled and spun, striding towards the elevator with a hint of excitement in her step, Shepard smiled and called after her, "Miranda!", she held the elevator, "Tell Oriana I said hi as well." Regala could've sworn she saw the XO blush as the door closed.

Shepard turned to Tali and motioned towards the Normandy, "I think Ken had some modifications to the drive core he wanted to discuss with you, dear. And I'd like to spend some time with my girlfriend, assuming she isn't still mad at me."

Tali tapped her mouthpiece thoughtfully, "I dunno... it's going to take some work on your part to get this girl happy again. I'll talk to Ken, then we can discuss an appropriate punishment." She giggled and strode towards the airlock as the outer door opened once again.

Shepard shot Regala a mock-worried glance and trotted after her, ducking under the outer door as it began to close.

Regala shifted slightly on the empty loading bridge and reviewed the data-pad once again, checking the time as she did so.

Who knew being the XO could be this... boring. She thought, finding a nice container to settle down on.

"The sleeping pods are on deck two, as well as the mess hall. Engineering is on deck three. Lieutenant Reegor is inside, he can direct you further." Regala watched the two humans board the Illusion and checked them off her data-pad. Fifteen down, three to go. She was mildly surprised at the diversity of the pickup crew they were assigned; seven humans, three asari, three turians and salarian had reported in thus far.

"Excuse me, Miss, but is this the Illusion?" Regala turned to the speaker and jumped slightly as she came face-to-face with a krogan. He held up his hands in an apologetic manner, "I didn't mean to startle you."

Regala shook her head slightly and looked at her data-pad, adopting her military attitude, "Urdnot Jato I assume?"

The krogan nodded and bowed slightly, "That is correct. I received a report through Liara T'Soni that Commander Shepard was looking for a crew to staff one of his vessels. It would appear I'm at the correct one."

"Indeed." she made a few notes, "I must admit, I haven't encountered a krogan with your... demeanor before."

Jato smiled and laughed lightly, "Indeed, few have. My mother was asari and I was raised with her here on Illium. She insisted that my krogan heritage was no excuse to be an impolite blaggard. I've found my attitude beneficial in business transactions and interactions in general."

Regala smiled behind her visor, "It says here you're a... doctor? Spent a few years as an Illium law enforcement officer?"

"Correct. I wanted to help people, and I realized that my krogan heritage lent itself to combat. Between that and my medical training, I was a very effective combat medic."

Regala nodded approvingly, "Certainly an asset to any ground team, to be sure. Welcome aboard. The medical bay is on deck two, Dr. Carti'Noria is the chief medical officer. Lieutenant Kal'Reegor is on deck three and the marine squad commander."

He touched his chest in salute and retrieved his bags, lumbering onto the catwalk. Regala shook her head in amusement as she checked him off the list, It's not even his ship and yet Shepard's legendary ability to attract... interesting team members continues...

She turned and faced out into the city, framed by the two sweeping wings of the ships on either side of her. The sun was just beginning its descent into nighttime, falling between two of the larger skyscrapers on the horizon. Regala, jumped up onto the wall, letting her feet dangle off the dizzyingly high edge. She sighed and let her mind wander, inevitably coming to the subject of Aila and how... different she is now. Never thought I'd think this... but I miss the klutzy girl that I met all those months ago. Regala scoffed in amusement as she remembered the day Aila showed up with one of those ridiculous cat stickers on the rifle. Oh she had torn into the girl something fierce, nearly bringing her to tears. The memory threatened to bring a tear to Regala's eyes... who knew that she'd eventually look back upon that as a fond memory...

She was so engrossed with her thoughts she didn't notice someone sit next to her, "Thinking about something?"

Regala almost fell off the wall as she jumped, her helmet snapping around to stare at Shepard, "C... Captain, I didn't hear you approach, I... uh..."

Shepard laughed and shook his head, "No worries. I'm good at sneaking up on people, its a nice trait to have in my line of work." his expression became more serious, "Let me guess... you're worried about Aila."

Regala's voice failed her for a moment, "I... wh... y-yes... I mean, yes. I was. How'd you...?"

Shepard smiled comfortingly, "My girlfriend is a quarian, remember? I've gotten pretty good at reading your body language."

Regala returned her gaze to the skyline, the sun now appearing to be impaled on a tall tower, "I just... don't know what to do. She's so different. Completely changed from the Aila that joined my squad after her pilgrimage." she looked down at her hands and clenched them, "I feel like I need to do... something. Anything. But I don't know what."

There was a moment of silence, Shepard shifted slightly, "Regala, what do you know about my service record?"

Regala was mildly confused, "You're... the first human Spectre, defeated Sovereign and Saren at the Battle of the Citadel and, most recently, the Collectors through the Omega-4 Relay."

Shepard nodded, "I mean before that, pre-Spectre."

Regala shrugged, "Not much aside from being from an Alliance family and that incident on Akuze..."

Shepard's features saddened slightly, "Akuze... do you know what happened there?"

Regala sensed he was going somewhere with this line of questioning, "Thresher Maw attack, from what I've heard, but that's about it."

Shepard laughed sadly, "Yeah... that's just about the extent of most people's knowledge of that event. A footnote in the history of the great Captain Shepard." he shook his head, "What most people don't know is that Akuze is the reason Captain Shepard is who he is today."

He shifted into a more comfortable position and continued, "The planet had just been targeted for colonization, just a small pioneer team on the surface. Mapping resources, planning settlements, observing weather, all the usual stuff that goes into colonizing a planet. About three months in transmissions just... stopped. Status reports, personal messages, everything. The Alliance wasted no time and sent my team in to investigate, a full unit. Landing was uneventful, and we reached the camp at dusk. The shelters were destroyed, a few large holes dotted the landscape, the bodies of the pioneers were scattered everywhere. The captain called a halt and told us to set up camp in the biosphere, figured the concrete flooring would provide protection from whatever made the holes. Once the camp was set up, he asked for volunteers to take two of the Grizzles and scout the perimeter for survivors or more clues."

Shepard paused and smiled, "I was a headstrong Lieutenant at the time, just out of N7 training and eager to prove myself. My hand was one of the first to shoot up for this patrol, a chance to get some action. I was given command of the patrol and 5 soldiers to perform it with; Corporal O'Neill, Corporal Andres, Private Richter, Private Newcastle and Private Edwards." Shepard's voice choked up slightly as he recited his squad. His hand quickly rubbed his face as he regained his composer, clearing his throat slightly.

"The patrol started out simply enough, we made it to the easternmost quadrant of the valley, didn't see anything worth reporting. We had begun our turn to the north when the Captain came over the radio to say they lost contact with the other Grizzly and that they were experiencing tremors. He advised we return to base as soon as possible. Before he could cut the transmission, however, we heard a terrific crash in the background and an unearthly screech came over the radio. We could hear the captain calling out orders and the sound of gunfire before the feed went out."

Regala's heart was racing as the commander continued his story, "By this time I had already turned back to the village, I was hammering that Grizzly as hard as I could. I heard the Shirt call for an emergency evac... before he to got cut off." Shepard's eyes dampened again, "What happened next... even I'm not positive about. The ground shuddered violently, I felt the truck lurch and lift off the ground. Warning alarms went berserk, and there was the loudest screeching of metal-on-metal. I felt something give and the truck slammed nose-first into the ground, nearly knocking me unconscious."

He took a deep breath, "I unbuckled my harness and turned to help Newcastle with hers. As we exited the Grizzly, we saw it; a giant Thresher, with the back-half of the Grizzly still in its massive mouth. It threw the piece to the ground and spat what looked like... green... something onto it. The acid ate away the exterior almost instantly... I could hear the occupants screaming in agony. Newcastle and I overheated every weapon we had on the thing, didn't even seem to scratch it. I grabbed her and dragged her into a shelter and tried to get someone... anyone... on the comm. The only response I got was from the shuttle, saying they were sixty seconds away and to try and get onto one of the sheds. We both ran to the stairwell, darting to the roof as fast as we could. The shuttle swooped towards the edge and the door slid open... I was convinced we were going to make it."

Shepard brought his hands up and rested his forehead, his voice dropping an octave, "I jumped onto the shuttle and turned to help Newcastle... just as the maws head crashed through the roof. I saw the terror in her eyes as she fell into its mouth, her hands reaching out in desperation. The load-master grabbed my harness to keep me from jumping after her, screaming to the pilot to get out of there. The last thing I remember seeing was the thresher, retreating into its hole, and the devastated growth-lab."

There was silence for a moment, the sound of distant cars cross-crossing the skies providing a constant hum. Shepard let out a heavy sigh, "I found out later that the entire squad was taken out. In the course of 30 minutes, 49 of the best soldiers the Alliance had to offer were wiped out..."

He turned to Regala and forced a slight smile, "You're wondering why I told you this story, aren't you?" Regala simply nodded, he turned his gaze back to the skyline, "After that attack, I thought the universe was nothing but death and heart-break. Every time I closed my eyes I'd see Newcastle's face... hear those soldiers screams and the screeching of the Thresher. I isolated myself from everyone I could, swore I would never get close to anyone... save myself the heartache of loosing a close friend."

His expression lightened slightly, a slight chuckle escaping his lips, "Of course, my mother wouldn't have any of that. She lectured me on the tragedy of losing comrades, and the importance of continuing to fight, regardless of the internal pain. As the years past, I began to recover, never forgetting the events of Akuze, but never letting those events keep me down. That tragedy defined my life, gave me the perspective and drive I needed to survive my encounters with the Collectors and Saren."

Regala tilted her head, "I don't mean to be rude... but what does this have to do with Aila?"

Shepard laughed, "Because I think that encounter with Koris is Aila's Akuze. I think that tragedy is what will define her life, just like Akuze did mine." He fixed Regala with a piercing gaze, his voice walking the fine line between suggestion and order, "Whether or not this experience makes her stronger depends entirely on those around her. On you, not giving up on her and making sure she uses her pain as a tool and not let it control her."

Regala looked at her lap, her fingers intertwining as she processed what the Captain had said. She turned to face him, tilting her head slightly, "But... how do I approach her?"

Shepard shrugged and stood up, "That's something I can't help you with." he smiled and clapped her on the shoulder lightly, "You're a bright young Marine Lieutenant, I'm sure you'll figure something out." He turned to head back to the Normandy, leaving Regala to ponder what he said.

A/N: Hope ya'll like Jato, wanted to have a krogan that wasn't "Raaaargh, kill, dismember, maul!" for a change. Aila'll be getting back to her normal self, don't worry all you Aila lovers.