"So why me again?" Corporal Park Siu asked as he trotted to keep up with Commander Sheffler's long strides. The time had come and gone when Siu found himself rather in awe of the scarred Akuze survivor. Sheffler was an easy man to respect, and—somewhat to Siu's surprise—even easier to like.

Sheffler grinned back at him. "Because with the addition of this kid, you're no longer the new guy. It'll do you some good to have a little responsibility."

"I didn't have anyone babysitting me when I joined," Siu pointed out. He'd learned that Sheffler, while not a lax CO, was quite permissive…right up until he wasn't. But usually there were all sorts of warning flags well before 'he wasn't.' Not that Siu had ever pushed his CO that far, nor did he intend to.

"Siu, buddy." Sheffler clapped him on the back. "That's because you joined as a ground-pounder and got a lateral promotion into my immediate outfit. They don't getthat kind of treatment. Besides, I wouldn't worry. This kid's greener than you ever were."

Siu knew, from the way Sheffler smiled, the man was enjoying a private joke…not exactly a joke at Siu's expense, but a kind of inside joke that might become comprehensible in the near future.

They stepped out of the elevators to the docking bay where the recruit was supposed to be waiting…

And there she was.

Siu was immediately distracted from the recruit because of the officer standing next to him, speaking earnestly, with familiarity, while watching the elevators with the same practiced passive attention Sheffler used.

Captain Shepard. N7. Spectre. A legend in her own time.

"She doesn't bite," Sheffler declared bemusedly, taking hold of Siu's arm and pulling him forward for a few paces so he wouldn't stop walking. "No more than I do, anyway."

Looking away from Shepard, Siu understood Sheffler's joke about the new guy being 'greener than you ever were' because the new recruit—one Private Krios, Kolyat—was…well…not human. In fact, he was more blue than green, but Siu wasn't going to argue the semantics.

Siu had never seen a member of Krios' species before, and wasn't sure what he was. None of the mainstream races, but maybe that wasn't surprising: the mainstream races had their own well-established militaries. So it made sense that any…secondary?...species might piggyback with other militaries.

Well…they used to. Anymore, most militaries were pretty fragmented. Shattered remains of once-greater wholes. Maybe this was just a case of going with whoever was closest.

Siu put a stop to that line of thought. He hated when his thoughts trended towards the melodramatic.

"Captain," Sheffler and Siu saluted.

"Commander. Corporal," Shepard answered, saluting back.

She had her Star of Terra ribbon on. Some of the ribbons were ribbons Sheffler wore—not today, but when he dressed up—the rest were unfamiliar. An incomprehensible shorthand of the achievements of a titan.

He cut that thought, too: again, too melodramatic.

Krios saluted in silence, not speaking because he hadn't been addressed. But his eyes moved back and forth warily, cautious. Not quite nervous, but not at his ease, either. Siu didn't blame him.

"Old friends?" Sheffler asked, indicating Krios.

"I knew his father," Shepard answered simply.

"Ah." And apparently that meant something to Sheffler, because something minute in his manner changed. Siu couldn't have articulated what it was, but he sensed it. "Private."

"Commander," Krios answered, tone gurgling and slightly distorted, but the words crisp and clean via translator.

"This is Corporal Siu, my best tech-head. He'll get you acquainted with the ropes. Siu. Take a couple laps with your new buddy and get acquainted."

"Officer-talk," Siu explained, once he and Kolyat had obediently moved away from Shepard and Sheffler, who were now speaking with their heads together. "He doesn't mean anything by it. I'm Park Siu. Good to meet you."

"Kolyat Krios. Likewise."

They shook hands, and Siu had difficulty not shivering at the unexpectedly cool, leathery touch. He wasn't really used to aliens in general, let alone the more rarely seen types. "Uh…"

"Drell. From Kahje," Krios answered with a wry smile, as if sensing the unspoken questions.

"Get that a lot, huh?" Siu asked with a nervous chuckle.

"Quite frequently. It's not surprising. I…stand out, shall we say."

"A little," Siu answered.

"How long have you been in?" Krios asked.

Siu shifted uncomfortably. "Not that long. I was the new guy until we came here to pick you up. It's a good unit to be part of, though. What's your specialty?"

"Reconnaissance," Krios answered. "You?"

"Tech. I used to be a ground-pounder, but the Commander got my designation switched to combat engineering," Siu couldn't help beaming at this. It didn't mean much right now, but after they saved the galaxy, it put him in line for specialized training in his own discipline. He hadn't known, for so much of his life, that the military had a place for technologically minded people. If he had, it might not have taken a Reaper invasion to get him to enlist.

It was hard to tell if any of this made sense to Krios. His politely interested expression never changed.

The guy had two sets of eyelids. The normal set, and an extremely delicate membranous one that closed the opposite way. Siu had to work not to stare in hopes of seeing the second set of eyelids blink again. It was so trippy…

"Don't worry. You'll catch onto the ropes pretty quick. I did, and I never planned to enlist until the Reapers hit," Siu shrugged.

Krios glanced over at him. The polite façade wavered for a moment. "I never intended to enlist, either," he admitted with a shrug.

"It's not that bad," Siu allowed, giving the matter some thought. "Once you get used to the food, the piss-poor coffee and the lack of privacy. But hey, once it all gets familiar? It's fine."

"And the Reapers?"

"Haven't seen much of them. We're mostly on Cerberus' case."