"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." - Lao Tse

Chapter 4.1 – NORMANDY: Getting Started - Part 1

"I've got big news, Commander. Captain Anderson is stepping down as commanding officer of the NORMANDY. The ship is yours now."

Until this point, we had experienced a pretty uneventful trip from the Council Chambers to the Alliance docking bay. I don't remember the first game in that much detail anymore, but I'm sure that we missed at least three or four 'sidequests'. If those even existed in this… 'playthrough'. I wasn't taking anything for granted now.

It seemed like Shepard wanted to start her hunt as soon as possible. Quite unlike myself, who spent a lot of time exploring every small corner during my first playthrough. Then again, I had known that I could afford to take my time - ingame.

There was, however, one thing worth mentioning. A little detour to the Upper Wards, where we met Emily Wong. Shepard had a chat with her, and two minutes later she handed Ms. Wong the data 'liberated' from Fists office. The reporter was quite happy – even more so when Shepard offered her that Paragon-exclusive interview. A few hundred credits and an OSD changed hands, and the Asian woman walked away with a smile like she had just gotten her secret crush's phone number.

I kept an eye on Shepard for the entire time. She did a great job concealing her emotions, but it was really obvious that she hadn't yet processed it. Our first SPECTRE. A symbol of humanity, her actions reflecting on more than 15 billion people.

And this is just the beginning. Thinking of what the future would bring made me space out for a moment. First human SPECTRE, Saviour of the Citadel, killed and resurrected, being betrayed and named a traitor by the ones she'd sworn to protect... and in the end, the Saviour of the Galaxy... if she walks her path well, that is.

Hopefully I'm still around when that happens.

Half an hour later, we stopped in front of the – at this point in time - most advanced frigate in the whole galaxy. And a damned symbol in its own right.

The large black stripes on her flank and wing gave way to her name and designation in bright white letters.

SSV NORMANDY SR-1.

Prototype and future namesake of the Normandy-class of frigates. The best deep space scout- and infiltration ship the combined might of human Systems Alliance and Turian Hierarchy were able to put together at this point. A state-of-the-art drive core was twice the size of what a regular frigate had fitted, and it had experimental suppressor/heatsink stealth technology with a cutting-edge propulsion system to round out the package. All in all, the fastest and sneakiest ship in the galaxy.

I stepped aside to take in the full picture. My mouth dried, and I payed only minimal attention to the dialogue taking place around me that I had heard countless times before in canon.

The real-life NORMANDY appeared to be bigger than the one in-game, but maybe that was owed to the fact that I stood right bloody next to it. I couldn't help it, I just had to admire the pristine white-black-red paintjob and how sleek and elegant her design was, even while the docking tube blocked most of my sight.

Someone stopped beside me, causing me to turn around. Tali seemed to be just as entranced as I was. Maybe even more so, given her affinity for technology.

"A true beauty, isn't she?" I softly asked her while Shepard was busy discussing with her superiors.

Tali startled, just a little, but was quick to regain her composure. "Yes - I have never seen anything like her before! No ship in the Flotilla is so clean! And that design, she looks so, so..."

Noticing that she was babbling, she started to wring her hands yet again and averted her eyes to the ground.

I grinned. Adorable. And that girl will be an admiral one day. "I hear the NORMANDY has some real cutting-edge technology. Maybe Shepard will allow you to work with it?"

I swear, I've never seen anybody move their head that fast. For once, I was lucky that a purple visor concealed Tali's face. Her incredulous look probably would've triggered a laughing fit of quite epic proportions. "Really? You think so?"

"Yeah, I think I will," came the slightly amused response from our Commander. "Now, would you two please pay attention?"

Slightly embarrassed, we turned back to the rest of our group. Oh, those glares. "Sorry, Commander."

She stopped me with a wave of her hand and looked back at Anderson and Udina.

"I appreciate your intel, Ambassador, Captain, but the Reapers are the real threat."

"I'm with the Council on this one, Shepard." Udina responded, face contorted to an ugly frown. "I'm not sure they even exist."

I sighed quietly and closed my eyes. His helpfulness had made him a tiny bit more likeable to me, but I still remembered quite fondly how Kaidan shot him to save the Asari councillor.

"But if they do exist", Anderson continued, "The Conduit's the key to bringing them back. Stop Saren from getting the Conduit and we stop the Reapers from returning."

I wish it would be that easy.

"I'll stop him." Shepard said determined. Anderson merely nodded slightly. He knew that woman quite well, by the looks of it.

"We have one more lead… Matriarch Benezia, the other voice on that recording? She has a daughter, a scientist who specializes in the Protheans." Udina continued. "We don't know if she's involved, but it might be a good idea to try and find her, find out what she knows. Her name is Liara, Dr. Liara T'Soni."

I mentally disconnected from the rest of the conversation and spared a few moments to think of Therum in the Artemis Tau Cluster and the arguably pretty blue girl trapped inside that force field bubble. That would make her the fourth or fifth damsel in distress in under one week, I thought, slightly amused. I perked up just in time to hear Udina deliver his final line.

"I have a meeting to get to. Captain Anderson can answer any questions you might have." And with a last frosty glance at the Captain, Udina took a walk to the elevator. Without even as much as wishing us good luck.

Neither Shepard nor anybody else looked too upset about that, though.

"Alright", she said, a bit tiredly but obviously pleased with Udina's departure, "I will have a little chat with the Captain now. Lieutenant, inform Pressley that we will depart in one hour, and get Mr. Raven to Doctor Chakwas. Williams, take Wrex, Garrus and Tali with you to the C/E deck, get them settled, then meet me in the CIC. I'll be there in half an hour."

Two 'Aye-Aye' sounded, one noticeably less enthusiastic than the other. Ashley and her proteges went first, barely giving me an opportunity to give Tali a nod and a smile.

"See ya later, Tali".

She glanced at me kinda inquisitively, then nodded and followed Ash, obviously excited at the wonders which were awaiting her behind that airlock. I, in the meantime, kept admiring the view of the Widow Nebula and the Citadel. And my own lack of attention to detail.

I've been here so often – and I never noticed that there are 6 docking bays? Man, that's poor, even for me...

"This way, Raven", Kaidan finally ended my musings a few minutes later and entered the docking tube. Suddenly, a strange feeling of… hesitance befell me.

But I shook my head and followed the LT into the airlock. The door closed behind us, and a female voice which I recognized as the NORMANDY's VI announced the "Decontamination in progress..."

Blindingly bright light scanned us, and invisible UV rays proceeded to clean the air from any possible bacteria and other pollution. I flinched as the light touched my skin.

"You'll get used to it eventually." Kaidan said nonchalantly. I opted not to reply and was damn glad when it finally ended so we could enter.

The first thing I noticed how my eyes, still overtaxed by the decon procedure failed to make out anything for the first few seconds.

Then an image of white shining markings on wall and floor, followed by the orange glow of many displays, covering the area in an interesting mix of colors.

Thirdly, a well-known sarcastic voice to my left.

"Ah, the FNG."

I turned and had to grin as I saw none other but Joker himself, sitting in his chair and looking over his shoulder.

Kaidan sighed tiredly.

"Welcoming as always. Raven, this is Flight Lieutenant Jeff Moreau, called Joker. Joker, this is Private Jess Raven, called Raven."

"Yeah, yeah, I sorta got that." Joker snorted. "So, Raven, I'm the best damned pilot in the Alliance and I fly this baby. Any more questions?"

"Yesss, indeed." It was time to get my priorities straight. "Do we have a decent coffee machine aboard?"

The equally confused looks on their faces brought me no small amount of enjoyment.

A few minutes of talking, or, more accurately, trading snarks and cheap one-liners, later, Kaidan and I left Joker and headed for the CIC.

"Remember, I warned you!" He shouted after me before turning back to his controls... or whatever the hell that guy was doing while the ship was docked. I was not sure if I wanted to know.

Kaidan sighed for the fourth or fifth time in three minutes. I still grinned. "Is Navy coffee really that bad?"

He gave me the same tired and amused look he'd just given Joker. Which, probably, wasn't a good thing. "It is not the best, surely; But you can drink it and it does keep you awake. And, for the record: Don't believe anything Joker tells you. He drinks three or more cups of the 'swill' every hour he's on duty." He made a dismissive gesture, then pointed towards the elevator.

"Come on, the doctor is over here."

We moved past the galaxy map – I didn't dare to look at it, as I doubted my ability to stop myself from drooling –, through the door, down the stairs, past the elevator – and another door that certainly wasn't there in the Mass Effect-NORMANDY, I noticed with no small amount of surprise.

I was not granted time to think about it, however. We moved further, through the ship's mess and to a grey door-lock-something. It opened to reveal the NORMANDY's medbay – just as clean as I remembered it.

A white-haired woman in a grey and white Alliance lab coat rose her eyes from the holoscreen she was working on.

Dr. Chakwas was obviously past her prime, but she had aged gracefully. Only the barest hint of wrinkles - most of them laughing lines - showed around her turquoise eyes, and the gaze with which she mustered me was both sharp and aware, yet warm and with a vein of wisdom in it. Like one would expect from an elderly, british Lady.

"Ah. I assume you are the new recruit Shepard sent word of." She said while rising from her seat to stand in front of me. "I am Doctor Chakwas, the ship's physician and doctor. Welcome aboard the NORMANDY."

I gave her a salute, then shook her outstretched hand. "Yes, I am Jess Raven. Thank you, Major." That caused her to raise her eyebrow with a surprised chuckle. "I see, you did your homework. But it's just 'Doctor' for everyone on this ship."

She turned her attention to Kaidan. "I will assess Private Raven's condition and inform the Commander of the results once we are finished."

He nodded. "Good luck, Raven. And Doc... Don't be too hard on him. He probably saved the day." With a smile and a nod in my direction, he left the medbay.

I folded my arms behind my back, unsure and a little bit intimidated. Hospitals always have that effect on me, and the medically 'clean' stench did not help my anxiety.

It's useless. Let's get this over with.

"Now, before we start with the physical examination I need to ask you some questions you have to answer truthfully", she said and sat back down in her chair while gesturing me to sit down on one of the cots. Sensing my uneasiness, she added: "Don't worry, I am bound by the doctor-patient confidentiality. Everything you say to me will be kept secret, unless you specifically allow me to report it to Commander Shepard."

I nodded, relaxing just a little bit. Good that that hasn't changed. Behind me, some medical gear annoyed me with its constant beeping, only adding to my discomfort.

"Good." She turned around to face me, a datapad in her hand, and spoke with the authority only a doctor had."Now, what is your full name, your height and your date of birth?"

I swallowed. "My name is Jess Raven, although I have to admit that this is not my 'real' name. I took this name after I left my home three years ago, and to be honest, I would prefer to not state my birth name. It is dead for me." I flinched a little bit under her examining gaze. "I'm roughly 189 centimeters tall … six feet something, as far as I remember … and was born on the 10th November 2161, I think. I'm roughly twenty-one years old."

She nodded slowly, averting her eyes to cast a look at her holographic PC, terminal, whatever you wanna call it. "The Commander has sent me a summary of what you told her about yourself, you don't have to say anything about your past if you don't want to." She turned back to look at me. "Although it is something we have to keep in mind for your physical examination." She tilted her head a little bit. "I must admit, I am curious: Where were you born?"

"Germany in the European Union."

A small smile crept on her lips. I couldn't help but grin, too.

"Yeah, when I started learning English I tried to erase every trace of an accent... but several people told me already that I was not as successful as I would like."

She shook her head, her smile now in full blossom. "Don't worry, it is not that bad. It's just that you mix different accents into your language. An observant listener might notice that and find that the German accent seems the most natural to you."

I sighed. "I'll keep trying, though."

She smiled for another few seconds before turning her attention back to her datapad. "How much do you weigh under Earth standard gravity?"

I frowned. "I don't know. Last time I checked was... months ago. Something between 190 and 200 pounds, by your standard."

"By my standard? I am not that old, young man."

She told me that, in the closing years of the 21st century, practically every nation on Earth had ditched the old imperial measurement system; it even dropped out of informal speech almost entirely. I apologized hastily, but fortunately, Dr. Chakwas calmed me and assured that she wasn't offended. Given my biography, it was to be expected that my English would, occasionally, be outdated.

I sweated a little bit. Another blunder. However small, they were starting to pile up.

Chakwas smiled politely and apologized for causing me discomfort, but then, we continued. "Roughly 100 kg… well, you do have a rather broad build. It's still a bit too high, but nothing we can't solve with a strict training regime, and an appropriate nutritional regimen."

It took me some time to translate, but when I did, I closed my eyes briefly. Of course. I had already been afraid she would say something like that. Well, what's the saying for that? No pain, no gain?

"Actually, that's not too bad, considering that you were a gang member. Supernutrition is easier to handle then the different types of malnutrition most gang members suffer from."

I shrugged in response. "The last gang I ran with was not like most of the other gangs," I answered the implied question. "We mostly stayed out of the street fights and did some higher class business. I won't tell you the details, only that we did far more 'white collar' crime then 'dirty work'. Our boss was a good guy; he did his very best to keep us out of trouble and well fed."

She nodded slowly. "So you admit that you have committed crimes."

I shrugged indifferently, for a second time. "We didn't hurt anyone unless they deserved it. And those we targeted were either rich enough that they probably didn't even notice it all too much; or guys the world is better off without."

The doctor gave me a long glance before writing a note on her pad. Some kind of a Robin-Hood-story I built here, I think with a shudder. Well, as long as it does the trick. "I hope you don't mind me telling that to the Commander."

"I would have told her if she had questioned me, so, no worries." I said while shrugging for the third time. It's a charm, right?

"Alright", Chakwas says. "Any physical or other handicaps that I should be aware of?"

Ah, here's the fun part. "I am nearsighted and probably a bit allergic to somethings."

Her gaze was incredulous - as far as that was able. "You're nearsighted?"

Just what do you think these glasses are for, lady? "Why didn't you have it already fixed? It can be done for free in any human clinic."

I made a gesture of dismissal, avoiding a fourth shrug. "I figured that I would need papers to undergo surgery, and besides, I've been wearing glasses for ten years now. Never really saw the need to replace them."

She frowned and tapped the gloved fingers of her left hand on the table, somewhat lost in thought. "I suppose we can do the surgical correction aboard. You'll need surgery anyway, I think I can perform the eye correction with it in one go."

Wait, what? "I need surgery?"

Chakwas' sounded almost as surprised as I did - in a british, reserved kind of way. "Didn't anybody inform you when you signed up?" I answered in the negative, causing her to close her eyes. I swear, I heard the usually cool as ice doctor mumbling something about "Udina" and "without anesthesia".

"Every Alliance marine gets some sort of genetic modification before they can be fully cleared for duty,", she explained, ignoring the way my jaw dropped as she spoke.

"The grade of gene-mods you get varies with your position. Since you're serving as a part of a special operations team, you will receive various types of strength and endurance enhancers, some mods to enhance your healing and different kinds of immune system bolsters. I will give you a list of all modifications, and you can decide privately whether or not you want certain mods."

Wow. My head spun at the implications. I knew Humanity is big on genetic modification around here, I think, but I had no idea that a simple grunt like me gets these by default, too!

"Thank you, Ma'am. I will think about it."

She rose to speak again, but before she could do so, an electric crack sounded at the ceiling.

"This is Commander Shepard speaking."

Chakwas rose her hand as if to keep me quiet and directed her gaze upwards.

"We have our orders: Find Saren before he finds the Conduit."

My eyes went wide in recognition.

"I won't lie to you, crew: This mission isn't going to be easy."

Shepard's voice radiated firm dedication. Her determination seemed to fill the room.

"For too long our species has stood apart from the others. Now it's time for us to step up and do our part for the rest of the galaxy! Time to show them what humans are made of!"

I felt a surge of adrenaline flow through my body, to temporarily wash the tiredness of this long day away.

"Our enemy knows we're coming. When we go into the Traverse, Saren's followers will be waiting for us. But we'll be ready for them, too!"

"Humanity needs to do this. Not just for our own sake, but for the sake of every other species in Citadel Space. Saren must be stopped! And I promise you all: We will stop him!"

The intercom fell silent. A few long seconds later, I managed to tear my gaze away and slowly lower it to to meet Dr. Chakwas' warm smile. Barely noticeable, it held a trace of.. Pride?

"Her speeches are quite touching, aren't they?"

Unable to speak at this moment, overwhelmed by the sheer power with which Shepard had spoken, I only managed a nod.

"I was the one who treated her after the Battle of Elysium," the Doc spoke softly, her eyes resting on pictures of the past. "She was just a young lieutenant back then. But everybody who saw her couldn't deny what an … inspiring effect she had, even on the more experienced and higher ranking officers. I think that, together with Captain Anderson, she's the best human who has ever served in the Alliance... and it's an honour to serve under her."

She silently smiled for another minute, before her gaze focused back on the task at hand – namely, me.

"I really hope you'll be able to learn not only to appreciate the war hero she is, but also the person behind the legend.", the ageing Major spoke, seriousness resonated in her voice.

"I hope I will be able to do that, Ma'am." I replied, without wavering in the slightest.

She then nodded again and remained silent for a few more seconds before raising the datapad again. "Alright, let us continue. So… Have you previously suffered any serious injury or major illness?"

This continued for some time, then Chakwas asked me to strip out of my jeans and shirt and scanned me multiple times with her omni-tool. After that, a few exercises, some bending, and another full scan of my body.

Even to this day, I haven't understood why the question-answer-game had been needed. As far as I was concerned, Dr. Chakwas had my permission to just do that full body scan and have a clear unobstructed answer to how healthy I was. The only possible reason I can think of is that she wanted to either make me feel more comfortable, or maybe she wanted to give me the opportunity to 'speak for myself' instead of merely taking the data and be done with it.

Anyway. The scans confirmed what I had been thinking and thus far disclosed to the doc. I was far from being trained, but I had potential. I wasn't fit, but not too far away from it, and otherwise mostly healthy.

She marvelled a bit at my complete lack of modern-age treatment, but my faked background gave me a good excuse to give her vague answers and finally, she too accepted the history I told her to be true. She did, however, refresh my vaccinations and added some new ones against alien diseases. Also, some injections to prepare my body for the upcoming surgery. Thankfully I'm not afraid of needles.

One thing though completely and utterly surprised me: Against all odds and my common sense, Karin Chakwas did not forbid me to smoke.

"I can't say I appreciate it," she said while eyeing my package of cigarettes I handed her (Good stuff, rather expensive real tobacco from Earth bought on the Citadel), "But nowadays, modern medicine can negate most of the ingredients' negative effects as long as you keep your consumption rather low. However, I need you to stop for at least the next three weeks. Otherwise, the various ingredients may cause complications with your gene-mods. The same goes for alcoholic drinks. I will issue you nicotine plasters for the time being."

I will gratefully trade three weeks of my addiction for those lifelong enhancements, I thought with amusement, while accepting all the strings attached.

The doctor had scheduled the surgery for the next day's 'evening'; or whatever it was called on a starship. After that, Chakwas said, she could declare me fit for duty, even if only under the restriction of aforementioned 'strict fitness training schedule and diet' (I hated that word right from the beginning) for at least the coming week. She comforted me with a laugh, saying that this treatment would be necessary anyway for my body to adapt to the new mods.

Now that makes me feel so much better… I thought, ironically looking down at my, although minor, still existing 'spare tire', as the US-Americans call it so nicely. Resistance is futile. At least it serves a noble purpose.

Once we were finished, Chakwas offered to hand my clothes to the NORMANDY's quartermaster for laundry. In exchange, she handed me my new uniform he had already sent over. I admit, it felt good, getting dressed in the Alliance' blue short-sleeved uniform. Not that I'm that much of a militarist, but still. A knock on my chest convinced me that the top indeed had a ballistic vest weaved into it. Loads of pockets gave me plenty of room to stow my more personal possessions. I hesitated a moment, then, with a shrug, fixed the brassard on my right shoulder.

"I think you should head to the Cargo bay next", Dr. Chakwas said while I fought with the magnetic clamps of my boots, "Chief Williams has your equipment ready and is waiting for you."

I nodded and stretched my back against the restrictive uniform top. This will take time getting used to. Or I need that 'nutritional regimen' more desperately than I thought. "Thank you, Ma'am. I'll go there right away."

She offered me a smile and sent me on my way with instructions on how to get to the C/E Deck. I am still embarrassed about myself that it took me the whole damned elevator ride to figure out that C/E is simply an abbreviation for Cargo/Engineering.

And you used to be an university student, I thought and felt put into my place, once more. My thoughts wandered back home where I most likely, I was already missed. Sadness overcame me before I shook it off. Dwell on it later. Head in the game, not in the clouds.

Ashley spotted me as soon as the elevator opened. She stood in front of her working bench, conversing with the NORMANDY's requisition officer. I stepped out and stood still for a moment, taking in the new, yet familiar in the surroundings. Sure enough, Wrex was to my left, leaning against some crates and casting me a single indifferent look before minding his own business… whatever that was. Garrus was on my two o'clock, lying under the M-35 Mako and building the foundation of his infamous calibration-myth.

"Hey Raven, over here!"

I walked over to Ash and gave her a somewhat lax salute. "Private Raven, reporting for duty, Ma'am."

They both looked at me somewhat amused and Ash shook her head.

"Okay. First, stop being so obviously new. That's an order."

I grin. She sighs.

"Second, how did your check-up go?"

"Good, mostly. Doctor Chakwas has cleared me for duty, as long as I keep to a strict training regime." I shrugged. "She thinks I need it."

"Yeah, I can second that."

I sigh. She grins.

The second officer cleared his throat, ending our little game. Ash gestured at him.

"Private, this is the NORMANDY's requisitions officer, Gunnery Chief Postle."

We exchanged a fairly polite, but not overly friendly handshake. I bought you every goddamned armor license in the whole game, I thought, keeping a straight face. Now make it worth my while, please.

"Citadel HQ has sent us a few sets of armor and weapons. One of those sets is yours now."

Chief Postle pointed at Ashley's workbench, at some black and dark blue blue pieces scattered around. My heartbeat quickened when I recognize them.

"Here you are," Postle said, not noticing how I spaced out. "Aldrin Labs' Onyx Light Armor. Standard issue for Alliance Special Operations personnel."

With another gesture, he directed my attention towards four crates, neatly stacked at the side. "And the standard weaponry as well – Hahne-Kedar Lancer, Storm, Avenger and Kessler."

Wait a second. "Where's the gear I brought with me?"

"There, inside that footlocker" said Ash, now bringing my attention to the line of five lockers left of the table. My lips twitched as I ran the numbers. Poor Liara. I've stolen your locker.

The requisitions officer and Ashley wrapped up their conversation, and after welcoming me aboard the NORMANDY, Postle turned around and walked over to his usual post.

I took a step forward and took a closer look at my new set of armor, touching the different parts, taking everything in, the whole time sensing Ash's gaze on me. The ensemble smelled... clean, not the kind of clean you have when the gear in question is factory new, but rather the one you get from throughout and extensive cleaning. And sure enough, I was unable to find even a hint of usage - save for some scratches, maybe.

A typical Alliance light armor armor consists of multiple layers of fabric, five overall, every one fulfilling another role – protection against climate, vacuum and so on. The exterior layer is rather stiff and can take some shrapnel damage, if necessary. And above that, various armor platings, either rigid ceramic stuff on immobile positions such as the chest or the plastic-kevlar-stuff I, at that point, only knew from my ballistic vest. Even though it was only a Tier-II-Armor, the high level of engineering involved was obvious, even to someone like me.

I grabbed one of the armor's gauntlets. Surprisingly flexible, considering the thickness of its platings. Well, in retrospect, not really – light armors are, after all, supposed to enable quick movement and high levels of agility.

Suddenly, the urge to sigh overwhelmed me. I let my shoulders slump and the head hang low, stifling a yawn in the process.

"Everything alright?"

I gave in, yawned, and met Ash's slightly concerned gaze.

"Yeah, more or less. Sorry, Ma'am, it's just... it was a long day. And quite eventful. More than average."

A look on my watch told me that time had progressed faster than I had noticed. Five past 8 o'clock PM. Has it really only been ten hours since I left the hotel? What exactly have you been doing all day.

You"saved" a damsel in distress, had your first firefight, met a lot of important people, witnessed the induction of the first human SPECTRE, joined the Alliance, joined Shepards's Squad, almost got your ass killed, had a physical examination and drunk some whiskey. Aaaah... and you sort-of won a bet.

For once, I actually was glad for having that sarcastic voice in my head. If that's the average daily amount of action, then it definitely won't get boring around here. And I called Mass Effect 1 boring once, I thought, tiredly. Compared to the the other 2 parts, at least.

No, don't think about it just yet. Saren, now. Collectors and other bullshit, later.

"I see..." Ashley said, again she looked slightly amused. "Well, it's now Eighteen-twenty-five. You don't look like you're in any shape to do that armor exercise this evening... and since it's your first day,", she added with a surprising amount of smugness in her voice, "the Commander probably won't make you scrub the bulkhead because you're too early for dinner."

I smiled, knowing that Ash was over-exaggerating Shepard's cruelty. Paragon-Shepard wouldn't do that. I hoped so, anyway.

"Dinner sounds quite good, Ma'am."

"Alright, follow me!" she said, quite cheerful. She's fed up as well, I thought, grinning broadly as I followed.

We were just about to enter the elevator when a loud metal bang! echoed throughout the whole deck. Wrex looked up and shrugged before continuing... whatever the hell he was doing. Garrus' movements under the Mako stopped for the fraction of a second before he kept on. And requisition officer Postle continued as if nothing happened.

I, on the other hand, jumped. Quite embarrassing, considering that Ash didn't even flinch.

"What the hell was that?"

She looked at me as if I had grown a second head, then she realized that I really had no idea.

"Relax. That was just the sound of the docking clamps disengaging, nothing more."

We're on our way, I realized a second later, feeling a wild mix of joy, fear and awe wash over me. Beyond the point of no return now. My conflicting feelings must have shown, because Ash chuckled lightly at the display.

"You really have never been in space, huh?"

There was no mockery in her tone, so I relaxed and answered: "Not really, Ma'am, aside from that one flight to the Citadel... and then I was more concerned about getting caught or having an accident or something."

She smiled ever-so-slightly - which was still more than I had expected. Or seen in the game. On a friendly-only basis, that is. Either I really had messed up when I was playing ME1, or the 'human-centric bitch' part was still in preparation. Then again, ME1 was the part which I had played the least. While I was confident that I remembered the key elements, I hadn't gobbled up every small aspect of the first game. Hindsight is a bitch, yes. But, well, how should I have known…?

We entered the elevator, and once the door closed, something strange happened to Ash. Her entire posture changed. Her self-confidence showed signs of cracking, her smile became a bit strained, her right hand rubbed her neck. All signs of… embarrassment?

"I... must apologize for holding you at gunpoint earlier. I thought... ", she let that thought trail off.

Miracles do indeed happen around here, I thought, surprised. It took me a moment to find a good reply. "It's alright," I answered with a reassuring smile. "If our roles had been reversed, I probably would have done the same."

She looked at me, not really convinced, but when she opened her mouth I interrupted her.

"Look, Ma'am, it wasn't too bad at all. At least you only made me surrender – back on Earth, someone would have tried to shoot me, most likely. Plus, you did speak for me when Shepard asked, so if anything, I should thank you. So... Thank you... Ma'am." I added, hastily and to somewhat mitigate my cheekiness. That military bravado would definitely take some time to get used to.

Can't I just call you Ash and get it over with?

Her lips twitched again, but this time, to form her well-known signature sarcastic smile. "Before you get too worked up, a piece of advice: You may greet NCO's with 'Ma'am' or 'Sir', you don't have to. Only commissioned officers, for example the Lieutenants Pressley and Alenko, or the Commander have to be saluted and greeted properly. That being said," she gave me an inquisitive glance, "do you even know what the difference between NCO and CO is?"

"Yes. Non-commissioned officers are, to put it simply, high-ranked enlisted personnel – they started out as Serviceman or Private and worked their way up," I rattled of what I remembered, "while one has to attend an officer's school to become a commissioned officer. NCO's usually commandeer small squad-strength units while a CO takes control of platoon-strength units or more. CO's are usually visible by their distinctive uniforms, while NCOs wear the same simple uniform enlisted personnel-"

The opening elevator door made me completely lose the golden thread, which had been rather thinly woven to begin with.

"Impressive.", Ash offered when I remained silent, and it seemed to be genuine. "Usually, the FNGs need some hours of kitchen service to remember something like that." I shuddered, feeling much more uncomfortable in my skin. "Maybe it won't take as long to get all of that in your head as I thought."

"I heard Flight Lieutenant Moreau call me like that already, Chief. What does FNG mean?"

Gunnery Sergeant Ashley Madeline William's lips twisted into a crooked smile.

"'Freaking new guy'."

We moved upstairs to the ship's mess, or rather, the Officer's Mess. As Ash explained to me, the enlisted personnel usually stayed on the Crew's Deck beneath the CIC.

"You're lucky. You're now part of Shepard's SPECTRE squad, so you have the same level of access the Officer's Deck as a regular NCO. You're even allowed to sleep here, and not with the servicemen and other marines."

Alright. I tried my hardest to soak everything in like a sponge, while at the same time my head was already starting to spin. Sounds easier to handle than it actually was.

So this ship has a whole deck you never visit, nor is even talked about ingame, I thought. Well, that does solve some holes in that game's logic. Like where the hell the restrooms are. I made a mental note to find out what's up with that deck, but I already guessed it to contain all those 'small' things that you need on a ship… like, you know, the supply storages. Or life support.

Ashley led me to the... well, 'kitchen' would be a little far-fetched. 'Cooking niche' is a far more accurate description. By the looks of it, the coffee machine could easily supply the entire crew. Hail the caffeine god! Aside from that, a medium-sized refrigerator, a dishwasher and a truly oversized microwave was all that was to be found.

I am - I was a university student. And even my kitchen had more equipment. That can't be right...

I didn't miss how this was the area where one usually finds Kaidan ingame. Right now, the lieutenant was nowhere to be found and everything was in working order. What the hell is that guy doing here all day?

"Before you take a bite, lemme warn you." Ash said, with mock seriousness. She proceeded to grab two trays of food from the fridge and put it in the oven. The simple familiarity of this gesture caught me a bit off-guard. "Treat this food with utmost care and a well-measured amount of Tabasco before you even consider to eat it, no matter how hungry you are."

I felt my features forming a worried expression. "Joker warned me, but Kaid- I mean, Lieutenant Alenko said that I shouldn't believe a word word of what he says. So... this food is as bad as he made it sound?"

Ash gave me a meaningful look. "It is rumoured that Alliance' military rations are as likely to kill you as the enemy."

I sighed. Which, all things considered, happens more often than I'd like, I thought, remembering the way the games had gone further down the road. Now with more than one dark cloud over my head.

"I didn't expect haute cuisine when I signed up, five stars and all, you know" I said aloud, glaring at the trays that were awaiting their microwave treatment. "But I hoped that, at least, we would be able to prepare our own meals instead of having canned dog-food all day."

"That's 'prototype turned SPECTRE-hunting ship' for you." A familiar voice sounded from behind.

Ash and myself spun on our heels to see Shepard behind us, now in her regular navy uniform and with a somewhat smug smile grazing her features. "For all the money AllCom put into this, they seemingly couldn't afford to give us a mess sergeant."

Ash saluted and I followed suit, only a split-second later. "Commander."

She chuckled. "At ease, you two." Then she grabbed herself another tray – unlike the other two, that one was marked with an orange stripe – put it inside as well and turned the oven on.

"Already finished with arms & armor basics?"

Ash shook her head. "No, Ma'am. Chief Postle and I showed Raven his new gear, but the Private looked like he could use a break." I nodded supportingly.

"I see." Shepard said, voice laced with sympathy. "It's never easy, shifting to another ship's shift cycle. Raven, when was the last time you have slept?"

"More or less fourteen hours ago, Ma'am."

She nodded. "Alright. I'd say you go to bed with the next shift change at two-two hundred and continue tomorrow. It's useless doing that exercise if you're not all there. Especially since it's that important."

The pling! of the oven interrupted her. Everyone grabbed their tray, and a can of coke from the fridge, then we walked over to the table. I sat down next to Ashley, opposite of Shepard. A gaze upwards told me that the orange holocreens displayed some technical information I absolutely didn't understand. Or maybe it was a salarian news broadcast.

My gaze then fell on the markings on Shepard's tray, and curiosity took the lead. "If you don't mind me asking, Commander: What's the meaning behind that orange symbol?"

She looked down, then to me and grinned. "That's a special ration for biotic users. We need more juice then most other humans, and those trays contain the good stuff. At least, in terms of raw calories. You shouldn't touch it, though."

Oh. "So you're a biotic?"

"Yeah, I'm what's called a Vanguard. Or, colloquially, a Triple-Emm."

I rose an eyebrow at that. The Commander grinned in response.

"Medium armor. Mediocre biotics. Mean shotguns."

Now it was my turn to grin. "Sounds dangerous. I like it."

She smiled for another few second before opening up her food.

Ash and I did the same, and now I saw quite... impressively why these rations didn't have the best of reputations.

"Before I forget it: We'll do a proper mission briefing tomorrow at zero-ninehundred to get the whole squad up to speed. Comm-room." said Shepard and grabbed her fork and knife.

"Aye-aye.", answered Ash, taking a bite.

I certainly don't lack imagination, but I have no idea what that is. That mass over there looks like it could have been a steak once... no, no, too thin. Or? And that, that could've been noodles... once. Sauce looks kinda grey... something with cream? Or, rather...

Noticing the amused glances of both women on me, I gave a defeated shrug and took a bite.

"And?", said Ashley with a broad – and evil, I couldn't help but notice – grin.

I swallowed and smiled back, as painful as that was with the grimace that spread on my face.

"Let me put it that way. I ate a rat once. This …" I searched my memory for the correct English term, "grub here comes quite close to that… experience. Now, Chief, would you be so kind and pass me your Tabasco? Please?"

We finished our meal within fifteen minutes. Even I managed to keep up – but only after I killed every single nerve in my tongue with Tabasco and other spices.

Whoever stirred this BS together, I thought, drinking my coke to wash away the worst of this questionable taste, deserves a firing squad – or ten weeks of his own medicine. At least the drinks are enjoyable. Then again, it is impossible to fuck up coke in cans.

Unless, of course, they mix it from sort of a syrup. Like some sort of an instant tea. Brrrr….

Of course, the way the coke fizzled only amplified the burning sensation the hot spices had left. But even that was preferable to this… bland, yet decidedly unpleasant flavour the 'steak' had left in my mouth.

And Gardner's cooking was called bad, I remembered, suddenly anticipating Mass Effect 2 far less enthusiastically. Wonder how many Alliance ships already experienced a mutiny because of this.

Thinking of how nutrient paste would still be better, I realized that Tali would probably want to speak with me - she must have some questions. She will have to wait until tomorrow. I yawned yet again. Today I'll either babble or sleep while standing.

While we were... well, let's call it 'eating', Shepard and Ashley had a rather amicable conversation about this and that, without ever touching the subject of our mission. I was mostly left out, but that was alright - I had a duel to death with this so-called 'dinner' and merley perked up my ears to grab some bits of 'galactic gossip'.

But as we picked up our trays to bring them to the dishwasher, I couldn't help but ask. "Sorry, Commander, if my question sounds completely stupid, but, ehm… but what are our next steps?"

As if I had said a keyword, Shepard's features went from sated/relaxed/friendly to Commanding Officer/SPECTRE/not so friendly.

"It was just a matter of time 'til someone would ask the question... no, no, don't worry, I understand why you ask, and you have a right to know", she interrupted my attempted excuse.

"I won't go into details right now, we'll talk about that at the official squad briefing tomorrow. But, the abbreviated version is this: Running after Saren is useless, he's gone. But we got three potential points of interest we might have to visit... and no fully trained, functioning squad." She took a look at her right arm, where her omni-tool's chrono displayed the time in glowing orange.

"We also got ourselves some minor assignments we can do if we get the chance." She continued. "I think we will need to take some days to get you all into shape - especially you, Raven, and Tali - and take a look into some of these assignments. They will come in handy to give us all the necessary experience together, so that we may function as one. We will also need some additional funds to get better equipment, and it never hurts to have some favors to call in with the higher-ups."

Must be the mission for Rear Admiral Kahoku, I thought. Fucking thresher maw.

"In the meantime, Alliance Intelligence will take a look at our three primary objectives. Once you're all meshed up, we'll go there and see what we can do to catch up to Saren."

A sound plan, I decided after brief consideration. Just like in the game. Only with some additional machinations working in the background.

"Alright, Ma'am - thank you for that rundown."

She nodded again. "I recommend that you catch some shut-eye now. Better rest too much then too less, considering what you're up to. Dr. Chakwas told me about your eyes. Unfortunate, but manageable. Tomorrow, I want you to take it easy - those gen-mod OP's aren't something to be trifled with, I can tell you."

I saluted. "Aye-Aye, Ma'am."

"Williams, show Raven how to use a sleeper pod, and then come down to your station - I need to talk with you about some armor mods we just received."

"Aye-Aye, Ma'am."

"Good. Raven, I also recommend that you take your shower in the morning. Most of our guys prefer to shower in the evening from what I can tell, so the shower rooms are pretty crowded right now." She took another look at her omni-tool, before frowning and looking at Ashley. "I should go - Dr. Chakwas says she has something. Raven, I'll see you tomorrow at 0900. Good night."

"Yes, Ma'am. Good night. See you tomorrow."

She took a few steps, but then turned around, a small smile gracing her lips. Something showed in her features I've barely seen there before - a bit of... shyness? Self-consciousness? I didn't know, and maybe my eyes deceived me. Someone like the Commander isn't self-conscious.

"One moment. I almost forgot something. Something important."

She extended her hand, and I took it in a firm grip. Her smile widened and reached her bright green eyes. Those eyes showed gratitude, gratitude that I had volunteered to help her on this dangerous and difficult mission. To bring down the most dangerous SPECTRE and prevent the return of the Reapers. To go against all odds, even when her own employers doubted her.

What she didn't know was that, in fact, I had volunteered for far more than that. I had volunteered for the Reaper War, and for the three years and hell lot of adventure, bloodshed, danger and so on, even before that war would break out. This was going to be, without a doubt, the most interesting part of my life.

And I won't let you down, Shepard.

"Welcome aboard the NORMANDY, Raven. Welcome to the team."

I smiled as we shook hands, a bit crooked, but genuinely.

"Happy to be here, Commander. I'll see what I can do."

Addendum, October of 2018: By the looks of it, my work to polish up and bringing up all the earlier chapters to a decent level of quality is progressing quite nicely. On one hand, it's kind of fun to go back to the earlier chapters and do some additional work on them, on the other hand, it's kind of embarrassing to see just how bad my writing style was back in those days.

Ah well. We learn from our mistakes.

Thank you all, who read my story from the very beginning, for sticking around despite how horrible it was at the beginning.

Oh, and don't forget to thank 5 Coloured Walker for getting me to that point, alright?

Original A/N from 2015: Hello again, fellas! I must apologize for the week-long delay... RL decided to be bitchy on me, and I am in the middle of preparing for my exams. Unfortunately, it is quite possible that I can't release the next chapter as planned at the end of this month... I'll try to make it up with two chapters in August, though. Maybe - maybe! - three, if the circumstances allow.

Some of you might question some of the things I did in this chapter. If so, please write me either a PM or a Review. I'd prefer a review, first, it makes my story look better (^^), second, whenever I go through the reviews I'll be reminded of what you guys said and can work accordingly, even in future chapters.

Ugh... sorry if what I'm writing makes little sense. We in Germany are currently struggeling under the summer heat (37 degree Celsius! Wtf!), making everything even harder. And no, not what you are thinking. Jesus... Expect me to edit this chapter once it's a bit cooler, so I can replace some basic words with something more fancy. Translating isn't fun at the moment...

Anyway. I can't exactly tell you when the next Chapter will be released. I plan for the end of July,but mid August is more likely.

Hope you guys had fun so far! Next time, I think we'll do a sidequest or two, and after that - the first main mission. Stay tuned! And, please, if you have anything you wanna say, consider giving this story a review. Thanks. :)

Last edit: 2.8.2015 - erased some grammatic issues and added another paragraph.