The Protégé
"Commander, we'll need to make arrangements with the Alliance Navy for any resources outside of your Council-given privileges," Udina said as they walked back to the embassy. The chambers buzzed with activity over the newest Spectre, and Shepard could only feel relief at the chance to escape before they got the idea to approach her. "Excess funding or weaponry requested will take at least a few days for approval, but I believe we can provide a suitable Alliance vessel for your mission once we notify the Admiralty Board." They collected Kaidan and Ashley from the much busier lobby, and the five humans took a long elevator ride back down to the Presidium.
"And before you depart, we need to discuss our current leads," Anderson continued. "The Council is passing along any information that could be of use, but it'll be up to you to decide what's worth your time. Now about that second voice in the Geth recording…"
While the Council dismissed any Reaper warnings since no one could identify what a Catalyst was, the Asari Council member did happen to know who Saren had been caught with, which gave them a basic starting point.
Matriarch Benezia T'Soni, a well-respected name in Asari society due to her long age and being of a prominent family line. If someone like Tevos was personally familiar with her, she definitely had meaningful connections too. Asari didn't recognize the concept of nobility since they governed by massive election processes, but being a species that survived for centuries allowed many forms of soft power to accumulate behind smart Matriarchs. Money, political sway, ownership of resources, and loyal followers. Things that Saren would find attractive in a backer. Following that logic, if they could stop the Matriarch, they'd hinder his ability to act.
And while her current location hadn't been pinpointed, the Council did know where to find her only child. Liara T'Soni was last seen on the planet Therum for Prothean Research purposes. If they could meet with her, Shepard could attempt to question her on Benezia's whereabouts and what her mother planned to do next.
Their other promising lead came in the form of a Geth ship sighting near Feros. That was another planet in the midst of colonization and research efforts, this one backed by the widely successful ExoGeni Corporation. The Geth being there hinted that Saren wanted something Feros had, which created a chance to pick up his tracks.
"If you're looking to upgrade any personal equipment right now, then I suggest you check with C-Sec Requisitions." Anderson stopped by a stairway that led to the Docks while Udina went on ahead. "Their office is in C-Sec Academy. You can't miss it, we passed through on the way up to the Presidium."
"I'll check what they're selling," Shepard said. Anderson turned to the Marine and Officer.
"Since you've been involved from the very beginning, I suspect that you both want to be assigned to this task as well?"
"Correct, Sir." Ashley said. "I would…like to continue serving under the Lieutenant Commander if possible." Shepard didn't say a word, but that caught her off guard. Ashley wanted to stay?
"And you, Alenko?" Kaidan straightened up.
"Aye aye, Captain. Willing to serve under Spectre authority." And that made two of them. She had no idea why they'd want to get even more involved.
"We'll take your preferences into consideration when building the team. Keep your Omni-tools active for updates." Anderson left to join Udina's board meeting.
"...You know, you guys don't have to follow me on this one," Shepard told them. If they got to stay, she reminded herself. "I won't be offended if you wanted less politically charged assignments." She knew a sink or swim test when she saw it. People's careers ended in them. Hell, Saren screwed over the Captain the last time Humanity almost gained a Spectre. Kaidan appeared deep in thought, and then rubbed his jawline as a sigh left him.
"You're right. I don't have to do it, but I will," he said. "Jenkins… I was in charge of him." Did he really blame himself for that? Shepard opened her mouth to stop him, but he raised a hand. "No, let me finish. I'm Staff Lieutenant, so the Marines were my responsibility. I want to personally ensure that his sacrifice isn't going to waste." He smiled at her, though she could tell he wasn't completely fine. "And I can pull you out of the fire if you need it. Wouldn't want our first Spectre looking bad in front of the whole galaxy, right?" Ashley shook her head.
"Following you can't be worse than working in garrisons until I retire," she said. "You saw what the Geth did to us. Saren caused good people to die over that Beacon, and someone has to make sure he pays for it." Ashley lost some of her fire. "But I just need a chance to prove myself, Ma'am. There's a lot of… baggage attached to my family, and this might be the only shot I have at a starship assignment." Ah, so she wanted more than avenging her fallen comrades too. Shepard couldn't force them to change their minds, especially since she'd do the same thing in their position. Still reckless to sign up for something of this magnitude with such low intel, but she had to respect it.
"As long as you understand the consequences if this doesn't work out."
Shepard left her potential crewmates in the embassy lounge while she scoped out the Requisitions office. Anyone with military authorization could technically purchase gear from C-Sec, but the selection would be limited to what they allowed on the Citadel itself. As a Spectre, that selection might change to something far more effective. Shepard didn't think she'd done anything to stand out on the way there, yet she could tell that the conversations around her suddenly died, or someone pointed her out as she passed. Turians, Asari, and Salarians alike watched her with a newfound interest, but none of them stopped her. A few humans came over to congratulate her, however. Damn, she knew the entire ceremony was on the news, but everyone's sudden change in behavior gave her whiplash.
C-Sec Academy, as the Lower Wards headquarters called itself, functioned like any other military installment. Lots of officers organizing files, monitoring the surrounding areas for trouble, working on cases, or detaining suspects. They had a little more discipline than the rest of the Citadel's population, which freed her from being stared at all the way to her destination. By the time she figured out the way to Requisitions, Anderson sent a message with a docking bay number for her frigate.
Good, she could arrange for anything she bought to be delivered there as cargo. Not that her current budget was massive, but she still needed to figure out how the hell Dextro rations worked and how many a Quarian and Turian required daily. The Captain also directed her "special" recruits to wait there, which saved her from tracking Garrus, Tali, and Wrex down. Not that Wrex showed direct interest in joining the chase, but the option existed. She didn't expect Garrus to put his Investigator career on hold either, after all. But today proved to be full of surprises, and she just had to roll with them.
"Commander Shepard," the desk officer grunted, lifting his head from the screen in front of him. The Turian had darker plating with white markings on his face that sort of resembled a four legged spider. Like all C-Sec officers, he wore a blue and black uniform that doubled as armor. He folded his talons together on top of the metal workstation. "What can I do for you?" She raised a brow.
"How did you know my name?" He pointed up, and she spotted a slim metal bar installed over the doorway.
"ID-sensors," he said. "They're in every C-Sec office to track visitors. Lets me run background checks faster too." Interesting security measure. She uncrossed her arms and relaxed.
"Alright. Since you have my credentials, can I look at your stock?"
"One moment…" The Requisitions Officer squinted at his computer as the holographic screen flashed. "That can't be right, you shouldn't have Premium access." He repeated a command on the console, and then his head jerked back, mouth slightly agape. His eyes snapped to Shepard again. "Wait, are you the"- she nodded.
"The Spectre, yeah. I was told you'd have something worth buying."
"Ah, yes. Of course. My apologies for the confusion." His casual tone disappeared, replaced by what she guessed was a Turian customer service voice. "I'm authorized to offer Spectre Agents our selection of Helios Master Weaponry." He brought up a second monitor for her to see, which displayed a short list of firearms alongside their features. Tempting, but the prices attached to them… She winced.
"Expensive guns. I've never heard of this brand before..." His teeth flashed, and she felt like she stumbled into a trap.
"This is an experimental line fully funded by the Citadel itself, their designs constantly innovated to maintain top performance and only sold to those with the Council's permission. True Spectre-grade gear." That HMW Sniper Rifle threatened to put a painful dent in her account, but surely the Navy would let her write it off as a necessary expense? A weapon like that had to be worth it. "I'm certain they'll serve you well on any mission, Commander. No Spectre has complained of their quality yet."
Shepard escaped the Requisitions Office two guns heavier, to her credit-saving shame. She never knew what having a steady flow of money felt like until the Alliance Navy stipends at school kicked in, and her instinct to hoard it for emergencies and only buy what she considered necessities stuck with her. Lieutenant Commanders received good salaries, but her street rat tendencies would not be silenced. Except when a very nice piece of equipment or desk accessory got involved, then she had to purchase it. That officer spotted her weakness and pounced on it. At least she avoided the Citadel's gift shops. Stumbling into one of those might trigger her to start a model collection in her cabin.
The jet black sniper rifle and matching HMW Pistol were sent to the docks, which left her to order those extra rations and take the elevator down to her new starship assignment.
"She's all yours," Anderson clapped her on the shoulder while she stared at the Normandy's hull. She couldn't respond at first. The shock made the right words hard to find. Udina looked proud of himself, which didn't help her rapidly plummeting mood at all.
"The Admirals agreed that this would be the perfect vessel for a Spectre. State-of-the-art stealth drive and an experienced crew for ease of transition," Udina said. "How could anyone argue with that logic?" Kaidan and Ashley exchanged looks and busied themselves with boarding procedures. Shepard wondered how terrible the punishment would be if she swung at the ambassador right now.
"Shepard…" Anderson kept her firmly in place with his hand. Sometimes it felt like he could read her mind.
"Sir, I can't"- she began, her voice rising.
"You have to. I already made my choice." He looked tired, but spoke in a way that left no space to argue with him. "It's alright, I'll be of more help here than out there. We need to focus on the real threat." Some of the anger faded away. He might be right, but…
"It's never going to be my ship. You made the crew assignments," Shepard said. Everyone aboard respected him as a leader, but that wouldn't automatically extend to her.
"And I made you the Executive, didn't I? I believe they're up for the task. You just have to show them the way." He let go of her shoulder. "Don't let Saren beat us again. This is where it has to stop."
"Anderson…" She hated this. He let the top brass sideline him so she could have a real chance at pulling the mission off, even though he deserved the honor years ago.
"Get going, Commander. That's an order. We'll keep in touch if we find anything new." That's it, then. She nodded, pushing down the last of her reservations. If this was what he wanted, Shepard wouldn't let him down.
"Thank you, Sir."
Wrex turned up at the dock on time to join them as the Normandy finished loading its cargo, which somehow surprised everyone else more than it did her. After so many ups and downs, Shepard would take his appearance as a good sign. Adding him to the crew barely took effort since she controlled all crew authorizations as the CO.
"Nice ship," he rumbled. Wrex stood at the end of the ramp behind the rest of her slapped together shore team. He almost blocked the human-engineered boarding tunnel with his size, but she found it hard to see the humor in it right now.
"Got it from a friend," Shepard said. Her response sounded flat even to her. "About your contract"- The Alliance hadn't sent her extra financing yet, which left her to negotiate this one on her own.
"I don't need one." She stopped checking her datapad to look at him again. Maybe she heard him wrong. He was a mercenary for hire, right? Wrex snorted. "You thought I only showed up for credits? I just got paid after my last job." Garrus turned around to properly gawk at Wrex, just as confused as her.
"What, so you're here to find a rogue Spectre for fun?" he asked. Wrex chuckled.
"Maybe I am. Why are you doing it? To pad your resume for the next C-Sec promotion?"
"Saren is both a traitor and an embarrassment to the Turians that promoted him," Garrus laced his words with a venom she hadn't heard in him before. "The least I can do is help correct the problem."
"Oh, it's Hierarchy pride. Great." Wrex sighed, returning his attention to her. "Interesting things happen around you, Shepard. I wanna see how this mess comes to an end. And if I get to shoot something better than that hired garbage we fought in the Wards…well that's just a bonus for me."
"Fair enough," Shepard said. His straightforward motives somehow set her at ease. Better to have Wrex as a partner than a potential enemy.
She sent the two humans past Decontamination first, and then kept the others on standby until she gauged how well her crew would fare under a sudden shift in leadership. Time for her to prove that Anderson's faith in her hadn't been a mistake.
"You're a real record setter huh, Commander?" Joker swiveled his pilot chair around to greet her when she stepped onto the Bridge. His shit eating grin hadn't abandoned him yet. "You're ashore on the Citadel for the first time and come back as the first Human Spectre. I'd pat you on the back, but I don't wanna risk breaking my hand before we're buried in Council business. Whatever that is." He adjusted his cap, his expression falling. "But seriously, what the hell's going on around here? They took the Captain off the Normandy?"
"Yeah it's… not great, I'll know. I'm not happy about what the ambassador and the Admirals did to Anderson either." They dumped his brand new ship position on her without a second thought. Shepard never wanted to replace the Captain, but here she was, taking away all the things her mentor worked for. She pinched the bridge of her nose. If they were going to pursue Saren, she needed to get the crew back on task and in the right mindset, including her. "We'll figure it out. Do you mind setting up the intercom for me?" Everyone who paid attention to their messages knew about the crew rearrangements and her big "promotion" by now, but she should take the time to address things the right way.
"Uh, sure..." Joker leaned forward in his seat and pressed an orange key. "Knock yourself out. We could probably use a pep talk right now."
"I'll see how Pressly's handling his duties." Kaidan slipped past her after mouthing good luck. Ashley looked almost as annoyed as Shepard felt, but kept it tucked away.
"If we're about to chase after more Geth, I'll check the field gear. See you later, Commander…" She cut through the Combat Information Center behind the Bridge to the locker space below. Shepard took a minute to compose what she should say, and then activated the angular dashboard's mic.
"Attention, Normandy staff and servicemen." Her voice carried through the entire frigate, bringing the crew to a momentary standstill. "This is Lieutenant Commander Shepard speaking. Captain Anderson is tasked to work with our embassy. I'm your replacement CO, and Navigator Pressly is now the Executive Officer." She paused. This would create friction, but lying to the crew about her position just damaged their willingness to trust her. "I've been given permission to utilize this frigate and crew for Spectre purposes. By order of the Council, our main objective is finding Saren Arterius to bring him to justice. We will investigate any possible link to his current activities and location. And under my jurisdiction, we are authorized to use any means necessary to achieve our goal. This includes working with specialists from outside the Navy." Which was why she had three aliens lurking in the decontamination chambers. Her stomach predicted that this brilliant recruitment tactic would get mixed reactions, but the Alliance had made no move to stop her.
"I ask that you treat our guests with respect, no matter their appearance or origins. I've invited them to assist operations, not to hinder or replace your regular duties. The Normandy remains an Alliance Navy vessel, and the Admiralty Board trusts its crew to demonstrate our skill before our Citadel allies." Shepard needed to be firm, but hopefully they'd understand the importance of staying cohesive and comply with her orders, no matter what they felt about other groups on a personal level. "That is all. Return to your stations." She motioned for Joker to cut the link.
"...You're really serious about this cooperation stuff-" The side doors unlocked, letting Tali, Garrus, and then Wrex into the ship. Joker's eyes widened, but he kept his mouth shut until the Krogan left the room, then scratched the back of his head nervously. "Jeez. I'm not judging the friends you make, but give me a warning next time you find a dinosaur." He slumped back in his seat. "Now let's get out of here."
"Will do, Flight Lieutenant." She flashed him a grin and let the helmsman be. She didn't hear any fights breaking out, so she guessed that her integration attempt went as well as it could.
The Galaxy Map took up the center of the Normandy's command deck, directly below her raised station. Kaidan and Pressly, an aging but experienced Navigation Chief, leaned over the overlapping star charts to plot their next course.
"Our next destination is Therum. Artemis Tau Cluster, Knossos System. We'll be cleared to leave soon." Joker ran through launch preparations faster than most pilots.
"Aye aye, Commander, " Pressly answered. "Locking in our course. We'll arrive in three day cycles by estimation if we take the route with the lowest Relay traffic."
"Keep an eye on how much fuel we burn. Line us up with a station if needed." Shepard moved on to Kaidan. "Staff Lieutenant, I need a backup ground team along with a Mako on standby for deployment before we jump to that star system. It's an industrial colony turned dig site, but I want to play it safe." She doubted they'd need extra soldiers, but better having them ready than not. They barely knew anything about Matriarch Benezia on a personal level, let alone if her daughter was involved in her plan to help Saren. This could be an elaborate trap. "I'll select my scouting team once we have more information."
"Understood." Kaidan saluted, humoring her professionalism. "Requested Marines and the M35 will be prepped and waiting at the hangar."
"And where are our three additions?"
"Vakarian and Urdnot are in Storage with Ash. I think Tali went to Engineering." Pressly made an interesting noise after hearing that, but kept his eyes on the map coordinates. "Why don't you go check on Adams and the crew downstairs?" Kaidan suggested. "We'll be alright up here, I think." Shepard scanned the entire command deck one last time. Her helmsman could untether without supervision, and her officers kept themselves busy with their new order. No fires to put out here.
She left the CIC and took the stairs into the Living Quarters, then the short elevator to the frigate's "bottom" floor. Just as Kaidan said, she spotted Garrus and Ashley talking to each other near the parked Mako. A few Marines tucked away their loose gear while Wrex stood all the way across the garage by another set of lockers. Shepard let them be and followed the faint humming of a drive core into the closed off Engineering space. She found the Quarian girl working on something next to a taller, red haired man in Navy blues. A pair of younger Engineers watched the panel with interest. Adams looked up from what he'd been demonstrating and stood at attention.
"Ah, Commander!" Lieutenant Adams was their Chief Engineer, and he'd served on every type of Alliance vessel in production. "Good to see you. Caught me waxing poetic about Core Efficiency to our visitor."
"I've never seen a Drive Core this size in such a compact ship!" Tali exclaimed. Her hands gripped the railing in excitement as she watched the huge mass effect engine at work. "And so quiet…"
"She's one of a kind," Adams told her with pride. "Takes quite a bit of adjusting to maintain top performance, but it's worth the effort. And speaking of effort…" He turned to Shepard. "This young lady you invited on has more of a knack for engines than half the teams I've supervised. Give her a few more months onboard, and she could teach our Engineers a thing or two." The two crew members nearby groaned, earning a laugh from him. "Some friendly competition never killed anyone, boys." Tali looked at her feet in embarrassment.
"Oh no, I'm sure that's not true…" she said. "When you're on a ship your entire life, you have to learn how everything works so you know when something's gone wrong."
"Is that so?" Shepard asked. "I don't know much about how the Migrant Fleet operates."
With that bit of prompting, Adams and Tali quickly segued into the topic of starship maintenance with and without the use of a dock. Shepard took it as a sign they were getting along well and left Engineering, though she would have to check back with Tali later for sleeping arrangements. That'd be an issue for Wrex and Garrus as well, since the sleeper pods were designed for humans. The frigate rumbled beneath her feet for a few seconds before its artificial gravity system kicked in, steadying the ship.
"SSV Normandy is aweigh," Joker called over the speakers. Shepard made her way to her new Captain's Quarters to change into a proper uniform. Three days until they reached Therum.
AN: Finally in space. Next chapter, I'd like to experiment with other perspectives a bit now that Shepard's had time to be established as a character to some degree.