Arcturus Station, Hallway.

Shepard

Commander Shepard walked towards his meeting with captain Anderson. His life had become supremely hectic since he said that he would be interested in becoming a spectre. When he was asked, he assumed it would take longer for the whole process to begin, but in that very same meeting they scheduled his physical. Like Vasir said, it was the most extensive one he ever had.

Then the more tests came in an unending torrent. Biotics, gunplay, intelligence, deductive ability, endurance, psychological evaluations and everything else one can think of. He never got his scores back on these exams which annoyed him. However, the simple fact that they kept going was confirmation enough that he was passing. That was until a week ago when they abruptly stopped, and he received a message saying that all but one of the tests were over, and he would be partnered with an existing spectre as a sort of final exam. They also gave him some time to recuperate from the exams, to be at his best. He was glad for the time off, while the exams weren't a form of training since the testee must know everything already. The spectres had no official training course to pass. The examinations were still brutal and consecutive, and they took a heavy toll.

A day after that he had received a new posting by the alliance. He was to be the executive officer of the Normandy under command of his old friend captain Anderson. He was very much confused. Perhaps the people who authorized this posting simply didn't know that he was being considered for spectre? He would have politely explained why he couldn't accept such a position (he would refuse even in normal circumstances. He did not want to be away from the action). However, a message from Captain Anderson explained the situation.

"Congratulations on passing the tests, you are well on your way to becoming a spectre. This posting is part of the process. Meet me at Arcturus station and I'll explain everything."

That message certainly got Shepard's mind working. Why was he given a new posting if he was still being considered for spectre status? How did this posting have anything to do with the whole process? Shepard had decided not to wonder about it. It was going to be explained anyways.

Opening the door to the room he walked in and saw Anderson seated behind a desk. The man looked up and smiled.

"Hello Shepard, it's been too long." Shepard smiled back and sat down in front of the captain.

"That is has sir."

"I told you before not to call me that, now how are you feeling? Those tests are exhausting."

Anderson said it like he had personal experience. That caused Shepard's curiosity to perk up, but he decided this wasn't the time for it. "As well as can be expected, a bit confused as to how this posting has anything to do with the process."

"I thought you might be, long story short this posting is to get you ready to command your own ship."

That answer raised even more questions. "So why do I need to know how to run a ship?"

"The Alliance wants you to succeed and to do that you'll need the best available equipment. We can't have you taking public shuttles or hitching rides on military craft. We also don't want you out on a single person ship. If you become a spectre, we want you in charge of your own ship with a good crew. We want you to have support. Therefore, the Alliance will provide a ship and crew to be placed under your command."

It certainly made sense. Having a military ship would make several things a lot easier with transport being the most obvious benefit. "So how will this work then? I still have that final test to go through."

"It has all been worked out with the council. Whatever spectre the council sends will come aboard the Normandy with us. We will take you wherever you need to go and help in whatever way we can. You will be simultaneously learning how to be a captain while at the same time going on missions with the spectre." Shepard didn't think it would be hard to learn, he had led people plenty of times before, and a lot of leadership skills are transferable. It would simply be a matter of learning things that are unique to Alliance ships.

Nodding along Shepard asked, "Does the alliance have a ship in mind?"

Anderson gave a mournful smile, "Yes, in fact that's the other reason you're here. The Alliance wants you to have the best and as luck would have it the Normandy is scheduled to be completed shortly. It will be one of the most advanced ships in the galaxy. That is the ship the alliance wants you to have. You'll know both the crew and the ship by the time you take over."

The idea of taking the captains ship away rankled Shepard to no end. The man deserved much better than that. Shepard could make do with a normal ship, it wasn't as if he would be literally saving the galaxy, that was a civilian's view of the spectres. They undertook important missions, but the galaxy as simply too large and vast a place that one single mission could stand it the way between survival and destruction.

"The Normandy is your ship captain; I don't want it." His tone showing clearly what his thoughts on the matter.

"Don't worry about me old friend. I was told what would happen before I was given command." Said Anderson while holding up his hands placatingly. "Changing commanding officers isn't something you do day of. When the alliance noticed you would be finishing testing roughly at the same time the Normandy would be ready for shakedown the idea was floated to Hackett who immediately agreed. I for one am willing to do whatever's necessary to get a human into the spectres." Anderson's voice took on a slight mournful tone. Shepard made a mental note to ask what personal stake the captain had in this later.

"What happens if for some reason I don't make it?" Asked Shepard, it was a real concern. Even at this stage many potential candidates failed.

Anderson made a sour face, "I'd tell you not to worry as you definitely have the skills. However, with spectres even the slightest screwup can kill your chances, even if it wasn't yours. Be careful Shepard and remember Earth needs this. However, if you fail then you'll continue your position as XO of the Normandy. You'll also be in charge of the ground team, so you'll won't be out of the action."

"Alright," He still wasn't happy about it but at least it's not coming as a surprise to Anderson. "Do we have any more business? If not do you want to join me for lunch?"

"While as tempting as that offer is there is still work to do. Since the plan is for you to be in charge eventually, I want you to have a say in who is taken on as crew."

Shepard groaned internally. Personally, Shepard saw himself as someone with a good eye for talent. It served him well in any theater of work he found himself in. However, one of the reasons he joined the alliance was because as an operative it allowed him to be free of such concerns. He went and shot people who needed to be shot after devising the best plan to do so. Now here he was again about to be combing through resumes and references to find the best candidates. Well there was no going back now, as Anderson said earth needed this win.

They spent the next two hours picking possible candidates before going to lunch. Unfortunately, they weren't even close to done with the task. It took well over a week of interviews and other hiring decisions before they were done and by that point Shepard's examiner arrived.

It was Turian by the name of Nihlus. Shepard was slightly worried when he was the man showed up. He was afraid this turian might share in his race's general animosity towards humanity. However, this turian had a reputation for being fair and even minded so it could have been worse. Personally, he hoped for an Asari. Of the council races he generally got on the best with them, at least their soldiers. Shepard saw a lot of their civilians as naive and idealistic.

Shepard had just finished with the last of the crew decisions with Anderson when he received a message from Nihlus. The Turian wanted a meeting. So, Shepard made his way into the meeting point, one of the few restaurants on the station known for having decent turian food. As the hostess led him to the table the Spectreloocked up at saw him approaching.

"Ah Commander Shepard. I thought it was time we meet." Shepard sat down and the hostess handed him the menu.

"Spectre agent Nihlus, it's good to meet you."

"Just Nihlus is fine." He looked around and out the window looking out into space. "This is a very impressive space station, there are few that are it's equal. At least of those built in modern times. Being here one can understand why humans have been very successful despite the short amount of time you've spent on the galactic stage."

Shepard placed his order and looked at the turian. "First time at Arcturus?"

Nihlus nodded his head "First time in human space actually, when the Normandy is launched it will be the first time, I'm on Earth."

"How do you like it so far?"

"It's alright, the locals aren't exactly thrilled to see me but that is expected. My spectre status however has ensured most people are polite at least. All in all, it's going slightly better than expected. The food has been surprisingly good however."

"That's because you're on Arcturus. On the station and some of the big cities on Earth we see enough Turians diplomats and tourists to ensure we have good accommodations. Go out into the rural areas and you'll be lucky to find Turian food let alone good food."

"Yes, that's one of the reasons most turian spectres avoid human space, usually the council sends an asari of salarian if they need something done here. It's simply easier, no resentment for the relay 314 incident and the spectres can actually find food easily enough wherever they go."

"If that's the case, why send you to test me?"

"Well we aren't going to be spending that much time in human space. Once the Normandy's shakedown is complete, we will be going all around the galaxy. There is of course another reason. How much do you know about how you got nominated for possible spectre status?"

"I have suspicions, but I know very little as fact. I assume the Alliance had been pushing for this for some time and my actions on Elysium and Torfan had something to do with them selecting me. I am also fairly certain a spectre has recommended me as well."

Right after he was asked whether he wanted to be a spectre, Shepard sent a message to Vasir asking if she had recommended him. The Asari replied cryptically and yet so clearly saying 'The council's sudden interest in you as a possible spectre is not the result of a recommendation from me as far as I know.' This was pretty admitting that she did. Afterall if she didn't recommend him, then she would be sure the interest was not a result of her recommendation and the phrase 'as far as I know' would be redundant. It didn't confirm anything but made it quite clear as far as Shepard saw it.

"You're right on both counts." replied Nihlus, "The Alliance was pushing for this for a while. They started almost right after getting an embassy. However, you're slightly off about the spectre recommendation. You weren't recommended by one spectre but by two. One of them was me and the other…"

"Was Tela Vasir." Said shepard.

"Yes, I here you two are friends, did she tell you she recommended you?"

"She didn't say she didn't and made it fairly obvious she did when I asked her."

"She apparently recommended you shorty after first contact. Seems you made quite an impression. Of course, the council dismissed the recommendation out of hand. No way they were going to induct a spectre from a race that new."

That explains why Vasir assumed it wasn't her recommendation that got the council interested, thought Shepard.

"So, the Council is finally interested in a human spectre?"

"The majority is at least willing to give you a fair shot. Personally, I think humans should have been let in sooner. Your species is very well qualified for the role. It's rare enough to find an individual with the skills and temperament we seek, there is little reason to limit our search area."

"So, if two spectres recommended me why were you the one picked to do the evaluation? Is it the obvious reason?"

"Yes, but not for the reason you think. It is not unheard of for spectres to become friends with someone before nominating them. Not even unheard of for the spectre who recommended them to do the final evaluation although that is pretty rare. However, your nomination is political, through no fault of yours of course, but that's how it is. The appearance of impropriety must be avoided."

Shepard nodded along in understanding. Then Nihlus spoke again.

"Now onto the reason we're meeting. We still have some time before the Normandy is launched. Technically though your evaluation has already started, and I want to do a quick mission on Earth before we leave."

That got Shepard thinking. Earth was still governed by the various nation states and the Alliance had little authority on the surface. The spectre getting involved could cause a significant political storm.

The spectre picked up on Shepard's apprehension and continued. "Don't worry we won't be doing anything very important. This will be a simple job that will allow me to understand how you think before we get sent on a more important task. We won't be digging up government secrets. I already have A plan. There is a criminal on your homeworld that you will arrest."

"That's it? What is the catch? Is he the prime minister of a country or something?"

"No, like I said we are not there to cause political turmoil, it is simply a way for me to get acquainted with your methods. The 'catch' as you say, is that there will be some strictures on how the arrest must be carried out."

"Why exactly is this known criminal on the street? What are the circumstances?" Shepard was worried about the aftermath. Arresting a criminal is one thing but it can lead to vastly different results. In some cases, it can lead to a bloody gang war as others fight to fill the power vacuum. In others it can lead to nothing as the criminal is released. In others it can collapse an organization. Without intimate knowledge of the circumstances it's nigh impossible to predict how something will play out. A spectre and a spectre examinee appearing from on high getting involved for two seconds and then leaving may cause more problems than it solves.

Nihlus gave Shepard a hard look. "It is all well and good to think of the consequences of one's actions. It is also a good thing to try and minimize negative consequences, but a spectre's mission is more important than everyday problems. You will need to be able to take actions that will cause havoc to a local community in service to a greater goal."

"I wholeheartedly agree, but we are not on some grand mission yet." Replied Shepard.

Nihlus gave Shepard a turian smile. "Very true, which is why I already spoke with the local law enforcement. They would like nothing better than to get this scum off the street. Unfortunately, they 'can't make anything stick'. You humans have a great expression for this situation, I believe it was 'the law is a net which catches the small fish and lets the big fish go free.' Now that saying is not entirely true, but it does certainly have an element of truth to it. Anyways back to the topic, if the target is arrested on spectre authority than the courts will have to accept it and prosecute. The national governments of Earth may be largely independent from the Alliance, but they accept citadel authority, and a spectre is second only to the council as a representative of that authority."

Well it was the best Shepard could hope for. He was surprised the turian had put so much effort into the whole thing. "Well what are the details? Where are we going, who am I after, what are the strictures?"

"I'll send you a file with all now details. For now, I want to know how you and Vasir met. I sense an interesting story."

The rest of the meal passed by with the two swapping stories. Shepard told Nihlus how he and Vasir met and became friends while Nihlus told Shepard about a similar story of how he spent a week fighting an asari commando in the woods.

Skycar, New York City, Earth

Shepard

Shepard sat in the skycar waiting for the target to appear. The man's name was Konstantin Chakovsky. The provisos that Nihlus had decreed was that the man must be taken alive and the arrest must happen in a public place. Other than that Shepard was in complete control, Nihlus didn't even offer suggestions, critiques or betray any sign of what he was thinking when Shepard laid out his plan. The spectre maintained that the whole point was to see how Shepard thought and acted in a real-life situation.

Luckily for Shepard the man had a set routine, and a consistent routine was the ally of thieves, assassins, and all manner of unsavory characters the galaxy over. The arrest was planned to happen in front of a restaurant the man visited with his wife every weekend. Seeing the man's car arrive Shepard got out of his own. Nihlus was positioned in another building across the street with a silenced sniper rifle, ready to play his part. Shepard however would be going in unarmed, but he wouldn't be harmless, with biotics he was as much a weapon as the gun Konstantin's guard carried. The omnitool he carried was also deadly. Shepard also carried a small auto injector in his sleeve, filled with fast acting knockout drugs.

Shepard had to play dress up for this part. He had dyed his hair and applied some makeup to alter his features. He was a different man. Just in case the Konstantin had seen Shepard's face on the vids before. Shepard was unfortunately famous enough that something like that might happen.

Shepard walked to intercept the couple and guard on the path from the skycar to the restaurant. As he approached, he spoke.

"Konstantin, Konstantin! Is that you? I haven't seen you in decades!"

The guard, a veritable giant of a man, whirled around to face Shepard and saw a man, well dressed and without a bulky coat that could conceal weaponry. A smile on his face, a posture open and unthreatening. Every inch a man who just ran into an unexpected old friend.

Now this was all about confidence and Shepard knew it. He simply had to act like he knew Konstantin and the guard will assume that it might be possible Shepard did know Konstantin. That in itself would not grant Shepard an audience had the boss been behind a locked room, however the boss was right there and could make his own decision. The guard looked at his boss to receive orders. Just as Shepard assumed, he would.

Konstantin himself wore a confused look; he clearly did not remember knowing anyone looking like Shepard but here was a man acting absolutely convinced he knew him and calling him by name. Again, it was all about confidence, Shepard couldn't convince Konstantin that they were old friends just by acting like it, but he could sow a bit of doubt and curiosity. This doubt and curiosity would generally be enough to get a man to take the small amount of time to ascertain the truth of the matter. Unless of course the man was a paranoid nutjob or completely uninterested in meeting old friends. Neither of which was the case with Konstantin. Shepard knew this before going in as he had learned all he could of the man in the short amount of time he had while planning this whole thing.

A few seconds passed before Shepard spoke again, opening his arms even wider. Don't remember an old friend Konstantin? I know it's been a while but it's not like it's been centuries."

Konstantin's wife however seemed entirely uninterested in the matter, she looked at her husband and said, "I'll go on and take a seat, you can catch up with your friend here and then meet me."

Shepard watched her leave. It was good she did, as her presence would have caused complications.

"I don't remember you, but you seem to remember me, who are you?" was the first words out of Konstantin's mouth.

Shepard decided there was no time to waste he had already gotten close enough to the target. He dropped his arms to his side and with one hand made a gesture. This gesture activated an overload from the omnitool, however Shepard had also set it, so that the haptic orange interface that usually lights up didn't in this case. The overload hit the guard. The guard wasn't wearing real armor just a shield generator hidden in his suit. The small generator couldn't provide as strong a shield as suit of armor and was fried by the overload. Nihlus sent out a concussive round into the side of the man's head as soon as he saw the flash of light from the overload. The shot smashed straight into the man's head and he fell unconscious. One of the many good things about overloads is that they aren't projectiles. Meaning if you didn't see who activated his omnitool you have no way of knowing who did it.

"Oh my god! You alright?" Said Shepard while dropping down to pretend to check for a pulse and other vital signs. Konstantin blinked in shock for a few seconds before registering what had happened. All he saw was a flash of light and heard a loud noise. Looking around he didn't see anyone attacking all he saw was equally confused passerby's, so he dropped down as well to look at his guard. The man wasn't bleeding, it was a confusing circumstance.

"Is he alright?" Asked Konstantin

"Looks that way, his vitals are strong, but we need to get him to a hospital. I don't know what happened, but it can't be good. Here help me get him into my car."

"Perhaps an ambulance would be better."

Shepard gave Konstantin an incredulous look "Look you can wait who knows how long for an ambulance to show up or you can help get him to the hospital as soon as possible. The man needs care a soon as possible and the closest hospital is only a few minutes away."

Konstantin demurred, unsure of what to do but eventually picked up his guard under one shoulder. Shepard picked him up under the other. Even criminals want to help their friends. Best of all people in stressful circumstances don't think clearly. It takes training and experience to keep calm and levelheaded in a crisis. Looking back on this situation Konstantin would probably be thinking about how stupid he was.

After settling the guard in Shepard's car, Konstantin got in the front seat. Shepard jumped into the driver's seat and closed the top. As soon as that was done, he jabbed Konstantin with the auto injector. Then he took off and flew to the designated drop point.

Several hours later after Konstantin had been handed over to the police and everything set in order Nihlus and shepard sat in a bar discussing the day's events.

"I have to say Shepard your plan is not what I would have gone with, but it certainly worked."

"What would you have gone with? a 'snatch and grab'?"

"I'm not certain of what that means but I would simply drive up in a car shoot the guard jump out grab Konstantin and leave."

"I thought of that but wanted to try something less disturbing to the populace. An obvious abduction will cause much more questions to be raised than a confused tale of a man fainting in a street and being helped by two 'friends'. People on earth aren't exactly comfortable with the council meddling in their affairs as they see it. They barely tolerate the alliance doing so. If we stage an obvious abduction it will raise questions, the press will get involved, maybe someone on the force mentions that he heard something about a spectre talking to the captain. Pretty soon you could have a protest in the streets."

"A protest might still happen; someone might piece together enough info. Your plan had more ways to go wrong than mine."

"If my plan failed, we would simply revert to yours. You shoot the guard I manhandle Konstantin. Yes, it is true someone might still piece together enough info. However, it is much less likely to happen and that's good enough for me. If I wanted to make sure no one would know what happened to Konstantin I wouldn't have done it in a public space. Why was that a stipulation anyways? Seems to cause needless hassle."

"Well the whole point of the exercise was for me to better understand how you think. The task itself was too easy otherwise. I wanted to give you something that would require a bit of thought at the very least."

Shepard nodded not entirely satisfied with the answer but willing to drop the subject. "I have to ask is this going to be like the rest of my exams? I'll never know how well or badly I'm doing?"

"That's up to the examiner to decide. Also, if you actually become a spectre then you can see how you did in all the exams and see how you stack up with the other spectres."

That got Shepard's attention, he was certainly interested in knowing how he performed compared to the best in the galaxy. Another reason to become a spectre he surmised. "You're my examiner. So, will you tell me your opinion or not?"

The turian simply shrugged. "So far I'm impressed, you certainly got some acting ability. Approach me like that and I might wonder if we were old friends. However, a problem like Konstantin is beneath a spectre's pay grade. It gives me some insight into your thought process but in the end, it tells me little of how you would operate in conditions a spectre might find themselves in. We will have many more missions with much more on the line."

That was as complete an answer as Shepard could hope for and he decided to move on. "So, we still have some time before the Normandy launches. You have any plans on what to do?"

Nihlus pondered that for a moment before answering, "I think I mentioned before I have never been to human space before. Personally, I would like to enjoy the time before leaving. You've lived on Earth for a long time, do you have any suggestions?"

Shepard smiled; a long time was an understatement. "What would you be interested in? Earth a big place rich in culture, history, and with plenty of danger for thrill seekers."

"I get more than enough thrills at work. However, being a turian I am interested in military history and earth offers a special opportunity for me as because the time before gunpowder weapons took over is still in living memory. The age before gunpowder weapons is a generally neglected part of military history in turian society. Earths offer a unique chance to rectify that imbalance."

Shepard had to smile, Nihlus had proven himself to be far from the stereotypical image of a turian, however, some things hold true no matter what it seems. The grass is green, the sky is blue, and turians like anything military.

"Hard to imagine any aspect of military history being neglected, in turian society."

"Neglected is a relative term. It's much less focused on than other eras. The most often studied eras are the krogan rebellions and the unification wars, for obvious reasons. Would you have any recommendations on where to start?"

"Plenty, I'll send you a list. Now as XO of a warship about to launch I have work to do. See you in a few days at the launching ceremony."

"You as well Shepard."

Author's Notes

Reviews are always appreciated especially because this story is a way for me to improve my writing. Not exactly sure of how this chapter turned out so some input would be useful.

1

I always found it annoying how the decision to hand over the Normandy was implied to be made in the matter of a few hours. It seems to make much more sense that something like that would be planed in advance. Especially if Shepard was placed to be the XO. Why make him and XO otherwise, if not to take over eventually? Since he's going to leave when he becomes a spectre and you'll just have to replace him. Therefore, in this story captain Anderson knows he will be replaced if all goes well.

2

Found it weird no one asked Shepard's opinion of whether he wanted to be a spectre. If he didn't want to be one, I wouldn't want to force him. People who are forced into jobs they don't want tend to not perform them very well and the first human spectre doing poorly would be a very bad impression for the alliance. Worse still what if he fails to become one? Two proposed spectres both ending poorly? Not a good look. So yeah, Shepard knows he's being examined as a possible spectre.

3

I wanted to add a bit of action so the chapter wasn't just conversations. Hope you enjoyed it, personally not exactly sure of how it turned out so reviews would be appreciated.

4

Next chapter we get really going with Eden Prime.