Time was limited but Anderson would not let Shepard take command without the change of ceremony, "I will not leave the Normandy quietly," he had needled her. So here they were ... they had jointly inspected the Normandy, and then Anderson had called all hands to Quarters. The garage and storage area of the Normandy was large enough to hold the Officers and crew so it was temporarily called coined the fantail just for the ceremony. The Alliance personnel had arrived in their dress whites or blues and Anderson had made sure that the Alliance press was there.

"I still can't believe you are putting us through this ceremony," Shepard said as she entered the Captain's stateroom.

Anderson looked at the Commander in her dress whites and smiled, "Well, not the whole ceremony … but this is where we show the crew, our Officers, the ship and each other respect."

"Yes sir," Shepard smiled back. "But can we not do any speeches?"

Anderson laughed as he pulled a flask out of his bag, "Sorry, Commander. Speeches are the highlight … but a little liquid courage is approved just this once."

Once the crew was assembled, Pressly as XO announced that all hands were called to Quarters and the change of ceremony was underway. The two were silent as the elevator took them down to the ceremony and as the elevator stopped and the door lifted, Shepard felt herself start to choke as she saw the men and women stand to attention and salute. These were the men and women who had elected to stay and follow her into the unknown. There had only been a handful of individuals who had requested reassignment and Shepard had understood. Whoever stayed was no longer reporting to the Alliance but reporting to her and as such the Council.

As they took the makeshift stage, Anderson went to the podium and gave a very brief speech. He had thanked his crew, encouraged them to stay strong as they looked into the face of their enemy, to continue their level of performance excellence and then looked at Shepard … "A Queen of my country once said, I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too, and think foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any prince of Europe, should dare to invade the borders of my realm. Commander Shepard … these words could have been uttered by you. You not only share that Queen's name but also her strength, her certitude and the determination to bring the enemy to its knees for her people … you too would have left the safety of the palace and with great risk to your person would have rode into the thick of the battle. And as I would have kneeled before her and sworn my oath … I am even more honored to hand you a ship filled with proud men and women of bravery unbound."

Anderson saluted Shepard, who returned it, and then he faced forward and read the orders of detachment to the Officers and crew. As he read, Shepard looked out on the faces again. She saw Wrex and Tali standing close to the Mako and knew that she would need to ensure that they were included and not felt as outcasts. Captain Anderson then as the retiring officer stepped back and Shepard as the new commanding officer stepped forward, read her orders to command. It was not traditional at that time for her to give a speech but Anderson had insisted, "these are not normal days" and now looking out at them she agreed. They … the Officers and crew … were more than deserving of her words of gratitude and what mission they had stayed on for.

As Shepard stood before them, the room was silent. "Today ... I stand before you humbled yet proud. Humbled by your courage to stand with me and proud to stand next to each and every one of you." She looked down at her Star Of Terra, "Some of you may have stayed because of my role during the Skyllian Blitz ... the songs, the stories, the romance of it all ... but understand that no one was singing during those dark days. No one was thinking how they would be remembered or what stories would be told. We just knew that we were the only thing between life and death for the people on Elysium. Without us they would have perished ... or worse. So we looked out for one another, knew what our roles were and in all things were diligent ... But most of all we showed no mercy to the enemy. None."

Shepard could see that each individual was hearing every word, "But I am asking more of you then those on Elysium ... We knew where the enemy was ... who the enemy was. That was a luxury that we do not have now. We are hunting a former SpecTRe who has many allies ... not just the geth. As we move forward, I will need each and every one of you to be alert, careful and prepared. You will need to remember that you are the offspring of men and women who through self-sacrifice, blood and even in fear crossed over unknown waters ... conquered new lands ... and eventually touched the stars. Our ancestors showed us that we as a people are to be reckoned with."

"I need you to remember this because we are not just fighting for a town, a planet, a cluster ... we are fighting for the galaxy." Shepard looked over at Wrex and Tali, "And part of the offspring of other races in the galaxy have joined us, put their lives at risk to seek out and destroy our enemy. These two are our allies and as such I bow my head in gratitude." Shepard gave a bow of her head towards them and then turned back to the mass.

Now was the time to prepare them for battle, "Truth be told, I pity Saren ... pity him because he might have succeeded but for one fatal mistake ... he spilled human blood. Our blood. Now we will show him and any others in the galaxy that would raise a hand against us, against our citizens, against our children, how swift and unmerciful we can be. And yes, they will write songs about you, they will tell stories about your heroism and sacrifice ... but my hope is not that you die for humanity but that our enemies do. Now, make me proud, make you proud ... make our people proud."

Shepard then came about face as her crew cheered, saluted Captain Anderson and said over the roar, "I relieve you sir."

"Yes you do, Commander." Anderson smiled.

It had been 36 hours since they had left the Citadel and the lights were dimmed on the bridge as Joker, Helen Lowe and two other crewmen went about their duties. Joker looked over at Helen who was ensuring no surprise visitors showed up unannounced. "Slowe!"

Helen looked over at him, "What Morose?"

"Did you get in on the pool?"

"What pool?" Shepard asked as she entered the bridge.

"Uh ... pool?" Joker looked at Helen.

Shepard, coffee in hand, looked at Helen.

"There's a pool on how long it takes to capture Saren," Helen answered, as Shepard sat in the seat to Joker's right.

"Hmmm," Shepard looked out at the stars, blowing on her coffee.

"Your beautiful ... it's beautiful ... it's ..." Joker shook his head.

"It is beautiful," Shepard smiled at him and then turned back to the stars. "It makes me think of the first astronauts ... the Mercury Seven. What they wouldn't have given to live in this day and age."

"The Mercury Seven ..." Helen said, "Let's see ... that was Cooper, Slayten, Glenn ...crap."

Joker laughed, "No ... no, Slowe ... no Crap in that team ... you said Cooper, Slayten, Glenn?"

"Yes," she answered. "What? You can name all of them?"

"Stand back," Joker said as he re-adjusted his cap, "Cooper, Slayten, Glenn ... then there was Grissom, Carpenter, Schirra and ... uh ... uh ..."

Now it was Shepard's turn to laugh, "... and Shepard ... and before you ask, not that I know of."

"I know that," Joker said. "I was just about to say Shepard."

"Uh huh," Helen said as she rolled her eyes. She then looked at the Commander, "You have to be related."

"I could be but my dad or grandpa never mentioned it," Shepard answered, as she looked out at the stars again.

"So what happens after you capture Saren?" Joker asked.

Shepard continued looking out, "I'll use the Normandy for one more mission and then I'm sure the Alliance will find a reason to take it back."

"Then we get a new ship," Helen said.

"No one is taking this baby from me," Joker vowed as he took his hat off, "The Normandy and I will be at your service until you retire ... uh, do SpecTRes retire?"

"What is that mission?" Kaidan asked as he took a seat behind Shepard.

Shepard spun the chair around to face him, "I have a promise to keep."

"A promise?" he asked, as he sat forward.

Shepard loved his dark eyes and the way he smelled of soap and citrus. Now sitting here with the soft dim light she was even more tempted to seduce him ... No, Shepard. Never mix business with pleasure. "Yes, a promise."

"Mind sharing?" he tilted his head just slightly and gave a small smile.

Shepard thought of Ricky and their last moment together as he promised her that they would survive the attack on Mindoir and dance the watusi together … naked, "There is a boy ... no, a man ... a man of almost thirty now. He promised me a dance and I'm keeping him to it."

Everyone on the bridge looked at each other as Shepard smiled to herself. "I'm sure that there are plenty of other guys that would gladly take his place," Kaidan offered.

Joker gave a glare, Helen and the other two crewmen pretended to go back to their duties while Shepard shook her head, "No, he won't get off that easy ... he made a promise and so did I. But for now I have a turian to find and that is what I need to focus on."

"We'll find him!" Joker almost yelled. He didn't like the vibes he was feeling between the Commander and the Lieutenant. "Don't you worry, with me and the Normandy it's pretty much a done deal."

"Just make sure it is in the third week of our hunt," Helen demanded as she adjusted her readings.

"You took week three?" Joker scoffed, "Pfft! It's going to be week eight."

Shepard got up, "Well, I think I'll call it a day. Good night, everyone. I'll see you in the AM."

"Goodnight, Commander," Kaidan said, quickly followed by everyone else on the bridge.

"I'm worried about the Commander," Joker said once she was gone. "I mean, look at Captain Anderson. Survives a hundred battles, and then gets taken down by backroom politics. Things go bad on this mission and she will be next on their chopping block."

"So we make sure that nothing goes wrong," Helen told him as she re-adjusted her ear piece and popped a lemon drop in her mouth.

Kaidan moved into the seat that Shepard had just been in and he placed his left hand where hers had been. It was no use fighting it ... he was falling for her. "She's beautiful, and therefore to be wooed; She is a woman, therefore to be won."

"What the …?" Joker looked over at him.

Kaidan, realizing that he had said it out loud, blushed and tried to recover by saying, "Henry VI by Shakespeare ... I-I just saw it recently."

"No," Helen snorted, "You just saw Woman by Shepard."

Wrex preferred a place near the armory and away from the humans. So Shepard had made sure that an area was set up for him to sleep, along with a chair and table for him to have a private place to eat. She had told him that if he needed anything to give her a call and that he was free to roam the ship. "I'm fine here," he had answered. He didn't like being around all these humans and he knew that every move he made was watched. If he came into an area it seemed to clear pretty quick and when he went to shower the men could not get out of there fast enough. It was like cockroaches scurrying from the light.

Shepard had spent about an hour with him after they were away from the Citadel but she had many responsibilities onboard and so he was left to stare at her requisition officer or go into the gym and walk the track. Walking kept his body busy and he thought about something he had overheard Shepard say to one of her crew ... you will be able to sit with a grandkid on your knee and tell that child when you helped save the galaxy. It was not likely that he would ever have offsprings ... damn turians! He would never go back to Tuchanka where his people were weak, hopeless and dying. Maybe with Shepard he could die a glorious death in battle. After all, he was tired and had seen too much. He even had the blood of his own father on his hands ... How many have had to kill their own father, he had asked himself.

Tali had uploaded the bio of Shepard and after turning down the bed got in and began to read it. She was enjoying having a room all to herself on the Normandy. Kaidan had given her the use of the Commander's original stateroom saying, "It isn't assigned to anyone so why don't you use it."

The words, now we will show him and any others in the galaxy that would raise a hand against us, against our citizens, against our children, how swift and unmerciful we can be, made her think of her people. They had been abandoned by the Council after the geth uprising and she wished that her people had fought harder, reclaimed their home world ... shown the galaxy that they were to be ... oh, how did Shepard put it? She thought to herself. "Oh, yes, our ancestors showed us that we as a people are to be reckoned with. Reckoned. I like that word."

Tali had not spent time around humans but she liked them. She found Chief Engineer Adams to be friendly and willing to show her around the engine room, Lieutenant Alenko was very attentive to her special needs and there were others in the crew that seemed really interested in her people. But she saw distrust too. She knew the reputation that her people had and she had heard a few crewmen warning others to watch their stuff around her. One had even called her a "sewer rat" but she didn't want to start any trouble so she ignored it.

She didn't want Shepard to think that she was a negative influence on the crew. She wanted Shepard to like her because she found the Commander amazing. Everyone seemed to respect her and when she came into a room it seemed to stop. She reminded Tali of her own father, Admiral Rael'Zorah, with her strength and quick mind … but there was more. She had seen Shepard with Wrex and Garrus and the human had a way of connecting with not only her kind but others. She felt it as well. Shepard would look at you as if you mattered … as if you were important. She listened.

Shepard had stripped down to her underwear and thrown on an oversized Mindoir Tigers t-shirt. All the lights were off in her quarters except for a small light near the entrance door and the light over her desk. She had taken two ibuprofen, put on Rosemary Clooney's Fools Rush In and then climbed into bed. As she closed her eyes she remembered when she was ten and her mother had put this song on in their home, "Elizabeth, come here!" Hannah had held out her hands.

Shepard had raced to her and Hannah began to dance with the child as she sang the song. The song spoke of romance, love and angels. "What does heart above my head mean, mama?"

"That's what love does to you," Hannah had answered, as she twirled Shepard. "It makes you act emotionally instead of logically."

"Huh?"

"It makes you do things that you want to do here," Hannah put her finger over Shepard's heart, "Instead of here," she tapped her on the temple.

"That's silly!" Shepard laughed as Hannah dipped her.

"Yes it is," Hannah agreed. "But love … doux amour ... makes you silly!"

"Well you can keep it!" Shepard proclaimed, "I'm going to keep my brains!"

Hannah had laughed and as she hugged Shepard close to her said in French, "I'm afraid that love is not a choice, my Whisper. Once it finds you ... goodbye brains."

"Nope, I'm keeping my brains!" Shepard insisted.

"Even if it means being with someone like your daddy?" Hannah raised a brow.

"Nope!" Shepard puffed up her chest. "I have daddy ... so I can keep my brains!"

As Shepard laid in bed she chuckled as she remembered how her mother had laughed so hard at that and laughed again when she told Pierce later that evening. "Elizabeth is just too smart, husband!"

Her dad had looked across the dinner table at her, raised his fork with meatloaf on it and winked, "You tell your mother ... you have me! You don't need another man. No boys!"

"Pierce!" Hannah had slapped his hand, "Don't tell her that."

Shepard had winked back at her dad and made an OK sign, which resulted in Hannah Shepard scolding her playfully in French. Pierce had then imitated Pepe Le Pew and chased her mother from the kitchen leaving Shepard to steal the green beans off his plate.

"Momma, you made the best plate of green beans," Shepard mumbled as she turned on her side and re-shaped her pillow to get comfortable. They would be in the Artemis Tau cluster soon and then she could tell Joker to head for Therum. Her iMuse began playing Akdhat's "EtZev"and as she closed her eyes she whispered, "I'll keep my brains."