She nodded to Joker and he clicked the comm off.
She sighed and shook her head. She didn't realize she'd been shaking.
"Well said Commander," Joker reassured her. "Captain would be proud."
"The Captain gave up everything so I could have this chance. We can't fail."
"Yes ma'am."
She smiled and patted him on the shoulder. "You ready for this?"
"I was born ready," he replied confidently. "When you're ready just punch in the coordinates in the galaxy map and I'll get us going."
"Thanks, again, Joker."
He nodded and turned back to the consoles and screens before him.
Shepard turned and looked down the long hall toward the CIC.
She hesitated.
"Something wrong, Commander?" Joker asked when he didn't hear her leave.
"No, nothing's wrong."
"You don't know what to do now, do you?"
She sighed. "I know what to do. I just need a minute."
Joker turned his seat so he could face Shepard. "You sure everything's okay, Commander?"
"So much is riding on us," she explained. "I can't screw this up. I just needed a minute let that all sink in." She looked back at him and noticed that once again he was making a face as he looked at her.
"Take us to the Atriums Tau Cluster," she told him, ignoring the look.
"What system?" He asked turning back to his controls.
"I'm not sure yet. Start in Sparta, that's where the relay is. We'll figure it out from there."
"Sounds good. What are we looking for?"
"An asari who might have some answers, I hope," she turned back toward the CIC. "How long until we get there?"
"We should be there by this time tomorrow," he told her. "Around twenty hours or so."
"Good," she contemplated. "That'll give me time to get to know the crew better."
"Or sleep could be good too," he offered jokingly.
She was going to make a joke back but a thought struck her. "What time do we run on?"
"Alliance Command," he informed her. "So that boils down to the same time as Vancouver, Canada."
Shepard pulled her omnitool up and changed her settings to match that time zone whenever she was on the Normandy.
"Thanks, Joker," she replied gratefully.
"Any time."
With a destination set, Shepard set out toward the CIC. As she passed the members of the crew stood and saluted her. As she rounded the table the team of navigators, including Pressley saluted.
"Commander," he said, as she walked up. "I wanted you to know that while I don't like how things went down with Captain Anderson; I'm with you."
"Thank you Pressley," she shook his hand when he offered it. "Which reminds me. As the second highest ranking official on this ship, you're the XO. If you want it."
He saluted her again. "It would be my privilege, Commander."
She saluted back and turned to leave.
"Commander," he said, quieter. "I couldn't help but notice all the non-humans who boarded . . ." He let his question fall away.
"Don't worry XO," she assured him, not looking to have a conversation about non-humans on an Alliance vessel. "They're my team and I trust them. If you'll excuse me."
"Of course, Commander," he replied.
She moved on, around to the door on the right that would lead her down to the second floor. At the bottom she moved past the doors to the barracks and around the elevator. She could see Kaidan across the room working on something. She hesitated.
Remembering what Anderson said about regs, she headed in to see the doctor.
"Hello Commander," she greeted her cheerfully. "Is there anything I can do for you?"
"I was making rounds getting to know the crew a little better. Do you mind if I ask you a few things?"
"Of course not," she smiled kindly at her. "I think it's a wonderful idea. What would you like to know?"
"How did you end up serving on an alliance ship?" She went with the most obvious.
She chuckled. "I enlisted right out of med school. Earth always seemed boring to me . . . too safe, too secure. I figured the colonies were teeming with exotic adventure. I wanted to travel the stars, tending the wounds of tough soldiers with piercing eyes and sensitive souls.
"Turns out military life isn't quite as romantic as I'd imagined."
The two women shared a laugh.
"Earth was too boring?" Shepard asked disbelieving.
"Well London was boring. I take it Chicago was not as dull?"
"The only thing dull in Chicago was my future," she joked slightly bitter. "At least until Anderson found me."
"He mentioned something about you on the streets?" Chakwas asked gently. She clearly didn't want to pry.
"Yea, most of my life. So why did you stay with the Alliance?"
Understanding her meaning, the doctor shifted with her. "Well humanity needs the Alliance if we want to keep expanding through the Traverse, and the Alliance always needs good doctors. So I stayed on to do my part."
"Ever wonder if you made the wrong choice?"
She shrugged. "Sometimes I think about opening a private practice back on Earth, or maybe taking a position at one of the new med centers out in the colonies. But there's just something special about working on soldiers. If I left the Alliance now, I'd feel like I was abandoning them."
"That's very noble," Shepard remarked.
"Maybe."
"Thank you for talking with me, doctor. I'm sure we'll talk later."
"I'm sure. Goodbye, Commander."
Shepard turned and headed out of the medbay, feeling like she knew a little more about the doctor and her crewmate.
She glanced over at Kaidan, who must have sensed her eyes because he looked up and met hers. Smiling awkwardly, she walked over to see what he was doing.
"Anything you need, Commander?" he asked as a group of crewmen from navigation walked past, eyeing them.
"What's your opinion on the last mission?" She asked, searching for a reason to be talking to him that didn't sound stupid. Not that she should be worried about that.
"I don't see how we could have done things any better. At least not without getting to Eden Prime sooner. But we were on the scene faster than any other Alliance ship could have been."
She nodded.
"Was there something else?" He asked, searching for conversation topics.
"Well I'm going around trying to get to know the crew and get a sense of where everyone's at," she explained. "Thoughts?"
He shrugged. "Things with the Council didn't go the way we hoped, and I don't think anyone could have predicted how things would have played out with the Captain." He glanced around and lowered his voice. "But I know you'll make him proud, Shepard." He smiled at her and smiled back.
"I've probably wasted enough of your time," he told her as another few crewmen walked past them. "We'll have time for personal debriefings later."
"We'll talk later LT." She turned to head away.
"Oh, Commander," he added, grabbing her hand before she could walk away. She turned and looked at him, both dropping each other's hands and looking away. "I . . . uh . . . I wanted to tell you they moved your thing to the Captain's cabin, just before we came on board."
"Why?" She asked before she had thought about it.
"It's your cabin now." He looked at her with a mix of admiration and . . . and . . . something she couldn't place.
"Thanks, for letting me know."
She started to walk away and stopped. "Where is the rest of the crew at?" She realized she didn't see a krogan, turian, or a quarian anywhere.
"They headed down to the cargo bay," he explained. "I don't think they were comfortable up here with the rest of the crew."
"Hmm," she puzzled. "I'll go down and check on them."
He nodded and turned back to his work.
She headed to the elevator, wishing she'd brought a book to help pass the time on the long ride to the bottom.
When the door finally opened she was surprised to see not just Wrex and Garrus, but Ash too. Garrus was over by the Mako, and closer than the others, not to mention Wrex and Ash were discussing a gun down at the armory table. So she headed over to talk to her new turian crewmen.
As she got closer she could see him working on a small command console near the vehicle.
"Hey," she called as she got closer.
"Hey Commander," he greeted her as he turned to face her. "Thanks for bringing me on board. I knew working with a Spectre would be better than life at C-Sec."
She looked at him quizzically. "Have you worked with a Spectre before?"
"Well . . . no," he admitted. "But I know what they're like." He told her confidently. "Spectres make their own rules. You're free to handle things your way." He sighed bitterly and walked a few paces away. Before she could ask what he meant, he turned back to her.
"At C-Sec, you're buried by rules. The damn bureaucrats are always on your back."
"For the most part," she countered, "the rules are there for a reason."
He looked at her disbelievingly. "Maybe," he started. "But sometimes it feels like the rules are only there to stop me from doing my work. If I'm trying to take down a subject, it shouldn't matter how I do it, as long as I do it.
"But C-Sec wants it done their way. Protocol and procedure come first. That's why I left."
"So you just quit because you didn't like the way they do things?" She asked, suddenly doubting the faith she had placed in this stranger.
He sighed. Garrus could tell he wasn't getting his point across the way he wanted to. "There's more to it than that," he explained. "It didn't start out bad, but as I rose in ranks, I got saddled with more and more red tape. C-Sec's handling of Saren was typical. I just couldn't take it anymore. I hate leaving . . ." he let his sentence fall away.
She understood what he was saying. It was hard to be so limited by the rules. "I hope you made the right choice. I'd hate for you to regret it later."
"Well, that's sort of why I teamed up with you," he told her. "It's a chance for me to get off the Citadel, see how things are done outside of C-Sec. Either way I plan to make the most of this. And without C-Sec headquarters looking over my shoulder, well, maybe I can get the job done my way for a change."
She did not like the way that sounded. "If getting the job done means endangering innocent people, then, no. We get the job done right, not fast. Got it?" She needed him to understand how she ran things from the start. She couldn't abide fast and loose runs during this mission. Too much was at stake.
"I wasn't trying to . . ." he stammered. "I understand, Commander."
"Thank you," she said feeling a little awkward.
There was an awkward silence, as neither was sure what to say.
"So . . ." she started. "How are you settling?"
"Fine," he replied. "I was just looking over your ground vehicle here."
"Ah the Mako," she chuckled.
"Mako?" he asked, not sure what was funny.
"Yea, it's a newer model than the one they trained me on. I certainly hope this one is more flame retardant," she said more to herself than Garrus.
"Now that sounds like a story," he laughed.
"Oh it is," she muttered, recalling how angry her drill Sargent had been.
She glanced at him.
His blue eyes were watching her, waiting for her to share.
"Yeah, I don't know you well enough to have this conversation. Nor am I anywhere near drunk enough."
"Another time then," he sighed disappointed. "Well I'm gonna check the main battery on this thing and see if it needs any calibrating."
"Sounds good," Shepard agreed. "Have they gotten you set up in the barracks yet?"
He pulled a face, she thought. "I was thinking I'd just stay down here, if that's alright."
"In the cargo bay?"
"Yes."
She contemplated for a moment. "Well I can have a bunk brought down for you, it that would help."
"Thanks Shepard." He nodded and turned back to the monitor.
With a quite sigh, she turned away and started toward Wrex and Ash.
Her conversation with Garrus had been a train wreck, to put it mildly. But at least she knew him better and he knew where she stood on mission parameters. She wondered for a moment why he didn't want to stay in the barracks. But then again she knew very little about turians.
As she walked toward the armory Wrex headed away from the table where Ash was cleaning the guns, and headed toward her.
"Nice ship you got, Shepard," he commented. "What can I do for you?"
"Trying to get to know the crew better," she told him.
"Why?" He asked abruptly.
"Why not?" She countered.
He shrugged.
"So what's your story, Wrex?"
"There's no story," he grumbled. "Go ask the quarian if you want stories."
"The krogan live for centuries," she persisted. "Don't tell me you haven't had a few interesting adventures."
He scowled at her. "Well there was this one time the turians almost wiped out our entire race. That was fun," he was trying to sound sarcastic but it came off very bitter. Not that she blamed him.
"I heard about that," she said quietly. "You know, they almost did the same to us."
"It's not the same," he snapped angrily.
"It seemed pretty much the same to me," she countered defensibly.
"So your people were infected with a genetic mutation?" He demanded. "An infection that makes only a few in a thousand children survive birth? And I suppose it's destroying your entire species?"
She took a deep breath. "I suppose it isn't all the same."
"I don't expect you to understand," he said, his voice losing some of its edge. "But don't compare humanity's fate with the krogan."
"Sorry, Wrex," she apologized. "I wasn't trying to get you upset."
"Your ignorance doesn't upset me, Shepard," he said pointedly. "As for the krogan, I gave up on them a long time ago."
He stared out past Shepard, no longer seeing her or the ship. He was lost in some far off memory. A painful one by the looks of it.
"The genophage infected us," he started again. "But it's not what's killing us."
Shepard knew very little about the sterility plague that had been inflicted on the krogan. It dawned on her that she knew little about the krogan in general.
"What can you tell me about the genophage?" She asked, hoping it wouldn't be too painful a subject.
"Ask the salarians if you want details. They made it," his voice was bitter again and dripping with disdain. "All I know: it makes breeding nearly impossible. Thousands die in stillbirth, and most never get that far. Every krogan is infected. Every one. And no one's rushing to find a cure."
"Why don't the krogan try to find a cure?" She puzzled.
"When was the last time you saw a krogan scientist?" He asked as though the answer should have been obvious. "You ask a krogan: would you rather find a cure for the genophage, or fight for credits? He'll choose fighting every time. It's just who we are, Shepard. I can't change that. Nobody can."
She nodded, she didn't fully understand what was wrong, but she knew enough to tell Wrex was done talking about it.
"Are you people really dying?" She asked instead.
"We're sure not getting any stronger," he grunted. "We're too spread out. None of us are interested in staying in our own system."
"Lots of species have left their homes and prospered," she offered.
"But they go to colonize new worlds," he countered. "We're not settlers. We're warriors. We want to fight. So we leave. Hire ourselves out. And most of us never go back." His voice had fallen considerably in as the conversation had gone on.
Not wanting a repeat of what happened with Garrus, she decided it was best to leave him be.
"Thank you, for talking with me Wrex," she said, turning to head out.
"Wait a minute," he called as she started walking.
"What's wrong?"
"You asked me questions, now it's my turn."
"Oh," she started, surprised. She hadn't realized that her new crew might want to know about her too. They didn't have access to Alliance personal files. She wasn't looking forward to having to answer questions about her.
She should have thought this through better.
"What do you want to know?"
"I've heard a lot about you and this blitz."
"That's not a question."
"Did you hold of a batarian pirate raiding party, alone?"
"Yes."
"That's it?"
She sighed. "Most of my squad was dead or dying," she explained. "If that position fell the entire colony would have too. So, yes, I held it, alone."
"How did a human, a female human, do that alone?" Wrex wasn't trying to be insulting. He was a warrior, who respected the things she'd done. He simply wanted more details, krogan love battle details.
"A mixture of well-timed shots, biotics, and luck."
Wrex grunted a laugh. "Humans," he muttered.
"I should get going," she told him, not wanting to talk anymore.
"Shepard," he said in parting.
Turning away quickly she headed toward Ash, who had been watching her exchange with Wrex.
"Commander," she said as Shepard approached.
"How are you doing Chief?"
She shrugged. "I'm happy to be aboard and to be serving with you ma'am."
"But?" Shepard added when Ash didn't continue.
"I keep thinking about Eden Prime."
"Anything in particular weighing on your mind?"
"I kinda wish you'd gotten their sooner, Commander," she started. "No offense, I appreciate the rescue I just wish . . ." she let her words trail off.
"You wish we'd been able to save the rest of your unit." Shepard finished for her.
"Yes ma'am," she replied solemnly. "If I'd been more alert we wouldn't have been cut down by an ambush."
Shepard shook her head, "The geth are perfect ambushers. The don't move, they don't make noise, hell they don't even breath."
"They have flashlight heads, Shepard," Ash countered. "But don't worry, I'll make sure it never happens again."
"Ash," she started.
"I'm sorry, Commander," she cut in, her tone formal. "I need to get my duties squared away." After a thought she added, "But I wouldn't mind talking later, Shepard."
She nodded. If there was one thing Shepard understood, it was not wanting to talk about missions that go FUBAR.
"Dismissed, Chief," she said as sympathetically as she could.
"Ma'am," she parted with a grateful nod.
As Ash turned back to her work with the guns, Shepard turned and headed for engineering. Something told her that's where she would find Tali. She should also get to know the chief engineer while she was down there. It would do her good to know a little bit more about how the ship runs.
The door slid open and she was momentarily blinded.
The core of the ship was so bright, and she was completely unprepared for it.
She started down a small ramp that leveled off after a few feet. There was a handful of consoles and control panels running along the front of the core, with what looked like a main control unit in the center. In the back, center most part of the ship, the impressive core spun around in circles. What it was doing and why it had to spin were beyond her.
It was easy enough to spot the chief engineer. He was the only man in the room with a bar on his shoulder. There was a handful of other people going back and forth from one console to another. Tali was all the way to the left rapidly typing on a console.
As she approached the chief turned to see who was coming. He took in the sight of her and recognition flashed in his eyes.
"Commander," she said stepping up and shaking her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you. And we're all honored to be serving with you."
"The honor is mine," she replied as he released his hand and stepped back. "And you are?"
"Oh!" He laughed jollily. "I'm Greg Adams. Chief engineer for the SSV Normandy."
"It's nice to meet you Adams. How is everything down here?"
He glanced around for a moment. "You know that quarian? Tali?" He started, "She's been asking me about our engines, a lot."
Shepard nodded, she was afraid this might happen. "I'll tell her to leave you alone," she assured him.
"What?" He asked alarmed. "No! She's amazing! I wish my guys were half as smart as she is. Give her a month on board and she'll know more about our engines than I do! She's got a real knack for technology, that one. I can see why you wanted her to come along."
Shepard nodded, a little surprised about his reaction. "I figured she'd be a real asset to the team," she replied.
"You've got a real eye for talent, Commander. But I'm guessing that's not why you came down here."
"I want to know more about the Normandy," she told him earnestly.
Kaidan watched Shepard turn and head for the elevator. When he was sure it was on its way down, he turned and beat his head against the wall a few times. He was thirty-two and a solider and he barely knew her!
Not to mention she was Commander Shepard, hero of Elysium, member of N7, and now his direct commanding officer.
The things he was thinking about, and the way he'd been acting.
What was it about Shepard that made him act like an idiot?
She was beautiful.
But he'd seen beautiful women before.
There was just something about her.
Something he couldn't place.
Something that seemed to draw him to her.
Maybe that was just the kind of person she was.
Either way, he needed to get himself under control before he found himself facing disciplinary actions for breaking regs.
With a long sigh he turned back to the public extranet terminal he'd broken the other day after Shepard had been hurt. If he didn't get it fixed soon they'd have to put in a repair order and he'd have to explain how it got broken.
That would be awkward.
He needed to fix it fast.
Twenty minutes later Shepard was thanking Adams for all of the information he'd shared with her about the ship, her ship. She shook his hand again and started to head over to talk to Tali, who had, on several occasions, glanced over and giggled about something Adams was telling her.
Tali saw her coming and almost bounced with excitement.
"You ship's amazing, Shepard!" She exclaimed. "I've never seen a drive core like this before! I can't believe you were able to fit in in a ship this small! I'm starting to understand why you humans have been so successful. I had no idea Alliance vessels were so advanced!"
"Well the Normandy's a prototype. Cutting edge technology," Shepard explained.
"A month ago," she explained, "I was patching a makeshift fuel line on a converted tug ship in the flotilla. Now I'm sitting on one of the most advanced ships in Citadel space. I have to thank you for bringing me along. Traveling on a vessel like this is a dream come true for me."
"I had no idea you found ship technology so interesting," Shepard noted.
"It comes with being quarian," Tali explained with a mix of sadness and pride. "The Migrant Fleet is the key to the survival of my people. Ships are our most valuable resources."
Shepard nodded. It made sense.
"But we don't have anything like this," she said in awe. Tali extended her arms our and circled around slowly, taking in the whole of the ship. "We make do with cast-off's and second-hand equipment. We just try to keep them running for as long as we can. Some of the fleet's larger vessels date all the way back to our original flight from the geth."
"I can't believe you fleet's still using ships that are three centuries old," Shepard said disbelievingly.
"They're constantly being repaired, modified, and refitted. They aren't pretty, but they work," she thought about it. "Mostly. We've tried to make ourselves as independent as possible on the flotilla. Grow our own food, mine and process our own fuel.
"But somethings we just can't make on our own. A patch to maintain the hull integrity requires hull materials we just don't have. That's why our Pilgrimages are so important."
"What happens at the end of your Pilgrimage?" She asked.
"Well, we present the captain of the respective ship we want to join with whatever resource we've found. It's a gift and a way of showing we can hold our own and not be a burden. If the gift is accepted, we are welcomed into the crew."
"Can a captain choose to reject the gift?" Shepard inquired.
She shook her head. "That doesn't happen often," she explained. "Most captains are eager to increase the size of their crew. It increases their own standing in our society. Even when a gift isn't particularly valuable, the captain usually accepts it out of a sense of tradition. However, there is a stigma to presenting a sub-standard gift."
"Oh?" Shepard said, enjoying learning more about Tali. Even if she didn't understand the culture that much.
"It's not the best way to make a good impression on a new community. Most Pilgrims don't return until they find something worthwhile."
"Still," Shepard pondered, hitting on the issue that unsettled her the most. "I can't believe they just send you off alone."
Tali laugh, dry and humorless. "It's not like they cast us out," she assured the Commander. "Before we leave, we are given lessons on how to survive outside the flotilla, and given gifts to help us on our journey.
"We also receive implants to fight off sickness and disease," she cleared her throat and looked around. "Years of living in an isolated and highly controlled environment have left our immune systems weaker than most.
"By the time we leave the fleet, we are well equipped for the Pilgrimage. This is a rite of passage for all quarians. If it were dangerous our numbers would suffer. Virtually all Pilgrimages end with a triumphant return and the ritual presentation of the gift to one of the fleet's captains."
"You have a lot of pride in your traditions," Shepard observed.
"I do," she confirmed with a nod. "Is that bad?" She sounded concerned. Tali knew so little about humans.
"Not at all," Shepard assured her. "I don't have traditions. And I enjoy learning about other peoples."
"Why don't you have traditions?" Tali asked. It was such an odd concept for her. No traditions was like having no family. It was bizarre and just a little preposterous.
Shepard took a deep breath and told her, "I'm an orphan. It's kinda hard to have traditions when you don't have a family."
"Keelah!" Tali exclaimed, cursing her big mouth. "Shepard I'm so sorry. I didn't know . . ."
"Don't worry about it," she cut in, trying to calm her down. "It's ok to ask. I'm asking you a lot about you, it's only fair for you to ask me questions too."
"But no family," she started. "I can't imagine."
"I take it you and your family are really close?" Shepard asked, venturing a guess.
"For the quarians, we're all family. Every member of every ship is brother and sister to every other member. We're one big family."
"That must be nice."
"Sometimes."
There was a moment where neither spoke.
"So have you found a place to settle in?" The Commander asked at last.
"Yes. Chief Williams showed me the women's quarters and got me set up on a bunk in there."
"Do you have everything you need?"
"Yes, thank you Commander."
"I should go," she said finally.
"I'll talk to you later." She turned back to the console she'd been working on and began to fervently type again.
Shepard headed back out into the cargo hold. Everyone here was busy working on one thing or the other. They didn't look up as she walked round to the elevator. They all had a job to do. Even the new crewmen she'd picked up on the Citadel we're throwing themselves into work on the ship. They hadn't even been here an hour.
She punched the button for elevator and sighed as it made its slow crawl up to the next level. What exactly is she supposed to do now? She assumed she would be assigned a task by Anderson. But as the Commander of the vessel, it was on her responsibility to find jobs for everyone.
Not that she needed to.
They all knew what they were doing. It was a damn fine crew.
So that still left the question: what she should do now.
The door finally opened and she walked out slowly.
She could go to her quarters, she supposed. Get things situated there.
As she rounded the corner she stopped short, nearly running into Kaidan for the third time.
"Shepard!" He stated. "We have to stop running into each other like this." He joked.
"Yeah," she agreed laughing. "Literally."
There was momentary silence as neither knew what to say. The sound of a bell rang out through the ship.
"Dinner," he explained when he saw the look on her face.
"Oh."
"Would you like to accompany me, Commander?"
"I would," she confirmed. "Especially because I have no idea the protocol for dinner on this ship."
Kaidan chuckled good-naturedly as they headed toward the mess. A few moments later the rest of the crew had made their way slowly in that direction. Some took trays of food and headed off to different parts of the ship. Some sat at the tables eating and conversing.
Shepard and Kaidan settled at a table that sat below several screens, all displaying different news networks.
"Commander," Ash greeted as she sat down across from her, "LT."
"Chief," Kaidan nodded as he took a sip of his water.
"What kind of bizarre human food is this?" Wrex complained loudly as he sat down next to Ash.
"It's called Mac and Cheese," Shepard informed him.
"I'm just grateful your cook knows how to make dextro food," Tali observed as she took the seat on other side of Ash. "I got some food on the Citadel just in case."
"Dextro food on a human ship," Garrus commented as he sat down on the other side of Shepard. He raised his fork to everyone and took a bite. "And it's actually pretty good."
"When the Normandy was being built," Kaidan explained. "We had a lot of turians coming and going all the time. Captain Anderson wanted to make sure we had a Mess Sargent who could cook for everyone onboard."
"Lucky for us," Tali observed as she stuck a piece of food through the filter on her mask.
Conversation dropped off as the six ate. Every so often a crewmember would come and take one of the two seats on the end, usually next to Kaidan as none seemed brave enough to eat next to the krogan. Some would walk by and introduce themselves to the Commander. A few mentioned the blitz, but most just seemed pleased to see her eating with the crew.
"Did Anderson not eat with you?" She asked Kaidan after a young woman named Samantha walked away.
"He was usually too busy," he explained. "He took his meals in his cabin while he went over paperwork and reports."
"Something to look forward to then," she observed grimly.
A while later the group of people eating had dwindled down to just the six of them and Engineer Adams.
He and Tali exchanged conversation across the table as the others finished their food. Most of what they were talking about was way over Shepard's head. But she understood "core" and maybe a handful of other words.
"So are you two sure you don't want a bunk in the crew quarters?" She asked Garrus and Wrex. "There's enough room."
"Not for me there isn't," Wrex grunted. "I like to stretch out and dominate the space I'm in. Might not go over to well with the rest of them."
"You might be right," she conceded. "And you Garrus?"
He shrugged. "I'm fine in the hold," he assured her. "After the Citadel and C-Sec a little privacy will be nice."
Wrex grunted but said nothing.
Shepard stifled a yawn, trying not to stretch into Garrus or Kaidan.
"Tired?" Kaidan asked.
"Apparently," she replied. "Well if you all will excused me," she stood and grabbed her tray. "I think I'll put my quarters in order and get some rest."
"It's almost time for lights out anyway," Ash observed.
"Human vessels have a bed time?" Wrex laughed.
Shepard stepped away as he and Ash set into a conversation weighing the benefits and restrictions of having a lights out time. She set her tray in the sink and washed her hands. Kaidan and Garrus were right behind her.
"I suppose I will see you all in the morning," she said walking toward her door.
"What time do humans get up on a ship?" Garrus asked.
"0600 hours local time," Kaidan informed them.
Garrus pulled up his omnitool and checked a few things. "In that case I think I'll turn in also. Lieutenant, Commander."
"Goodnight, Kaidan," Shepard said quietly.
He met her eyes and held them for a moment. "Good night," he hesitated. He wanted to call her by her first name. But he'd seen the way she reacted to in the taxi. Finally, and before the silence got awkward, he added, "Shepard."
She flashed him a smile and headed into her quarters.
As the door hissed closed she sighed and leaned against it.
Too much change too soon.
She glanced around the room and thought about putting her things away, or starting the pile of paperwork she need to do for the alliance and for the Council. Her eyes fell on the bed.
Sleep.
That's what she was going to do.
Sleep.
