*** Religious Freedom ***

Shepard looked away from the multicolored nebula beyond the elevator's glass door, and his gaze fell on Tali again. "Oh…" he said, "I almost forgot. I need to get the paperwork started for you to join Normandy's civvie complement." He gazed out the "windoor" in thought. "Hmm…you're the first, so I suppose that means you'll be the civvie complement. Certainly on this ship…probably the first on a ship of this class." He put a single finger to his ear and added, "Victor Indigo, get the paperwork started for a civilian contractor: Tali'Zorah, who is standing here." He pointed at her. The VI generated an acknowledging tone in Shepard's auditory cortex.

Having learned to look by moving her eyes instead of her head, Tali's mask easily hid any nervous glancing around. "Um…then…thank you. If that's appropriate."

"You may not be so grateful once he gets you quartered." Kaidan said, "We have a full set of sleep pods and lockers for a frigate, but the extras are all taken up with the CHA construction contractors until they sign off." He looked at the Commander with concern. "I don't think anyone ever assumed we'd have contractors aboard while we're deployed." He turned to Tali, "Normally, you'd be on a cruiser or a carrier of our Group. I don't know where we can berth anyone else at this point. We're supposed to get our fleet assignment after the shakedown," he glanced at Shepard, "Though the Captain should already have some idea where we'll end up, don't you think?"

"Hard to say. The Saren situation might add a lot of complexity." Shepard looked at Tali. "Well, this stop at the Citadel may be unscheduled, but CHA can probably pull one or two of their people at this point, hopefully more. But until we figure something else out, I assume you'll be okay in a sleep pod. We'll just have to figure out when to cycle you in. We probably have enough extras out of cycle at any given time, but you might want to contact the Quartermaster, Rosamund Draven." His VI generated an icon and placed it on his omnitool, which Shepard pinched and handed to Tali. "Here's her info."

"Thanks." Tali's helmet turned as she glanced at Kaidan and Richard. "Pods only sleep one, right?"

Shepard couldn't help but smile. "Yeah."

"Well that would be just fine as far as I know. Honestly, on the flotilla, we sleep with our families. And that can be wherever. Some people even get good at sleeping while standing up, but I hear a VI helps with that. I've never tried it myself. But if you need me to, I can sleep almost anywhere."

The elevator finally settled to the Presidium Main Level, and the windoor slid into the floor. The group started along the short accessway to the Presidium.

"I've got it," Shepard turned to Kaidan. "The hangar. There was supposed to be a service mech for the LV, but they took it out. There should be room for a set of equipment lockers on the port side by the weapons bench." He glanced at Tali. "You can keep any armor and weapons in there."

"You may not even need to involve Engineering," Kaidan said, "Just have the MFO make 'em."

Shepard shook his head as they stopped in front of the Avina holograph. "Adams will have a grand mal if we don't still involve him in anything that gets attached to the spaceframe, especially stuff that draws power and talks to Security."

Kaidan knew Shepard was joking; Greg Adams was about as easygoing an engineer as could be found, but the point was still valid. "Better put a call in, then."

"I'll bet we can get a bunch of new places to keep stuff." He raised a finger to his ear again. "Victor Indigo, generate a work request for Greg Adams. Message as follows: Sorry to add to your woes, CHENG, but feel free to task the MFO if you're busy with serious stuff. I would like some lockers down in the hangar, next to the weapons bench. I was going to have the MFO make them, but can you figure out how many we can fit? I don't expect to need more than eight, but I remember you'd said the portside FLaGS wasn't staying balanced, and so wanted to get you involved as early in the process as possible. Also would like you to let me know how possible it would be to get some more sleep pods in the available space. Maybe we can stagger them, or turn the mechanism sideways. I don't expect we need them immediately, but it would be nice, so I wanted to get you thinking about how best to do it. Let me know if you need anything else from me, and thanks. Sign my name and send."

The device chirped its acknowledgement.

He looked at Tali again. "How much equipment do you have? Or any personal effects?"

The quarian seemed to draw herself up to her full height. "I carry my home with me," she said.

Shepard looked at her oddly. "You have nothing? No service kit for weapons or suit, not even a backpack?"

"Only what I can carry or wear." Though she had made a reference to Fleet and Flotilla with Shalei's memorable line, I carry my home with me, it seemed no one had understood. She sighed. "While on our Pilgrimages, we're encouraged to be as mobile and self-sufficient as possible. I think it helps you realize all the stuff you use, just living aboard a starship. It even changes how you think about 'home,' and what you need versus what you want."

"Well, I'm out of here, Commander," Ash pointed away to their left. "I've got a drink waiting for me at that bar we were at, and I'm gonna go get it. Either of you want to come with?" She made brief eye contact with Kaidan and Richard.

"After today? You bet," said Kaidan. "I could use that drink. If that guy's still there." He smiled confidently. "And now I can afford to eat there."

Ash turned to Richard. "You're welcome to come," she shrugged. "Hate to leave you here all by yourself."

Richard scratched the side of his head. "Mmm…I dunno. I think I'll wander around here a bit. Might even ride that elevator again, and this time remember to get some PVR. My family would love to see it." He smiled amiably. "But thanks all the same, ma'am."

She grinned saucily. "Well like I said: Have fun, Corporal." She turned left and stepped away.

"We'll probably be there for a bit," Kaidan added as he followed her, "in case you want to catch up with us later."

"Thank you, sir; I'll keep that in mind."

Shepard pointed back at the elevator, spoke to Richard. "Council access is probably only available to people with appointments, but I suppose you'd get the same ride to the Gallery."

"You think the elevator has a VI that figures where you want to go, sir?"

"Probably. I didn't have to touch anything when we used the elevator last time. I suppose it compared DisplaiD with the Council's Event Scheduler, saw we were supposed to be in a meeting with them. Took us there instead of the Gallery."

"Then I guess I'll see you back at the ship later." Richard started back the way they had just come, nodding quickly toward Shepard and Tali. "Take care, sir. Ma'am."

Tali waited until Richard had disappeared into the elevator again before speaking, "He seems nice."

Shepard agreed, "He is nice. A kid from the colonies on his second posting. I hope I can convince him to stay."

"What? What do you mean?"

Shepard shook his head, "Sorry, just thinking out loud." He turned and regarded the quarian. "Now, you said you've been ambushed, so you'll know why this is important. Is that armor, too?" He indicated her suit.

"Well, it functions like armor, but it's pretty basic. Most of my defences are tech. Shielding, distraction, hacking, and so on." She pointed to her shoulder, which looked new. "The material contains AF-3200; you probably can't tell this is where I got shot this morning."

Shepard shook his head as he started walking toward the taxi stand. "Not on my ship you don't. Lucky for you, I just fell into some credits. Let's get you a set of armor."

"You have your own ship?" Tali had to run just a little to keep up with him; Shepard reduced his pace once he noticed.

"No, I'm just the XO…the Executive Officer. I say it's my ship like I'd say Earth is my planet. But I'm pretty proud to be serving aboard her. Normandy's as new as they come; I think they're still peeling shrink-wrap off of stuff. That mission we just had to Eden Prime was supposed to be the shakedown. We've got lots to do yet, but it looks like we may have to do it while underway…if they're going to send us right out again after Saren."

"I might be able to help with that," Tali said brightly, "with in-flight modifications and repairs…that's what we always have to do in the Flotilla. And I'm…well, I'm pretty good with tech, so…I might be able to help."

"That's sure nice of you to offer, but you should check with the Chief of Engineering before you do anything. I'll have to introduce you; his name is Greg Adams."

Tali pointed ahead and stopped suddenly. "Oh, look. You want to watch something funny?"

Shepard stopped, looked where the quarian was pointing. His VI focused mics so he could listen to the conversation they were approaching: A magenta-colored hanar, standing almost the full height allowed by its tentacles, towered over a turian C-Sec officer.

"That tall alien is a hanar," Tali explained. "They worship the Protheans. But it's talking to a turian. For a hanar, to show respect, you go higher than who you're talking to. For a jellyfish, it exposes the vulnerable underside. To a turian, you stand lower, or at least not higher.

The quarian turned to face Shepard, but kept pointing at the hanar and turian. "The more angry the turian gets, the higher the hanar will try to stand, which will annoy the turian more. If we wait long enough, the turian's brain will probably explode or something." She giggled.

Shepard turned to listen as DisplaiD added names to the two aliens.

Hanar Embassy Water Tender Thyofylia. "This one does not understand the nature of the problem, Officer Bakkian."

Citadel Security Officer Jimar Bakkian – On Duty. "It's bah-KEE-an, and I've told you: You're not allowed to do this in here."

The hanar's voice resonated, "This one offers its most humble apologies at mangling the other's name. This one also believes it has the right to move freely through this area."

The turian raised a claw and pointed a talon at the soft-looking alien. "Tiptoeing from one side of the plaza to the other and back fifty times is not the same thing. You're trying to skirt the law about proselytizing, and you're creating a public disturbance. It's against Citadel regulations!"

"This one is unsure why the other would not wish word of the Enkindlers to be spread."

Shepard stepped forward to interrupt, "Officer?"

The turian bristled; his fringe twitched once as he pointed at the hanar. "Stay right there." Turning toward Shepard, he spoke through his teeth, "Yes, may I help you, human?"

"I overheard you talking about the hanar skirting Citadel laws. Is there a way I can help?"

"That hanar refuses to listen to reason," the turian snapped. "Why can't it act in an orderly and lawful manner?"

"Are there laws actually being broken here? Or is this a victimless crime?"

"Victimless–?!" The turian checked himself. "I suppose to you it might seem like it, but this could be used to set a precedent. Imagine a dozen street preachers crowding this plaza." He glared momentarily at the hanar, and made a grinding sound. "Blah blah Enkindlers, blah blah True Path, blah blah eternal bliss…vek!" He waved dismissively; Shepard's ARO put a callout on the turian's face and added, Speaker is aware of listener in blind spot.

Shepard waved a hand toward the expansive plaza. "Then everyone else would avoid the area, and the hanar and others would only be talking to each other."

The C-Sec officer pointed to his left. "This is the wards access for Sector Nine, a high-traffic area for pedestrians. That's why the jelly marches back and forth all day. It's looking for people to babble at."

"It's not forcing anyone to listen, though…right?"

"I am not unreasonable, human, and neither is the law. The hanar is free to spew its nonsense once it purchases an evangelical permit."

"So if the hanar gets a permit, it's allowed to preach? If I purchase the evangelical permit myself, would that take care of things?"

"As long as it stays in approved areas once it has the permit…yes. That would solve the issue for me. But registered evangelicals must still follow regulations. There are specific areas where preaching is legal, and this is not one of them. Failure to follow the regulations results in the forfeiture of the license."

"What's the purpose behind the evangelical permits?"

"Forcing religious evangelicals to register for a permit weeds out undesirables. It keeps the area safe. Have you ever heard a batarian Chrossagh get started? Do you even realize the vorcha have a religion, and that it involves ritually eating one of their number? The Citadel is too important to become a battleground for a religious war."

"Why don't you just arrest the hanar?"

"I could arrest the jelly, but my superior has requested that I find a solution that does not anger the hanar people. The hanar become…vocal…when they feel their religious beliefs are being suppressed."

Shepard's ARO displayed a message, Tali'Zorah_nar_Rayya: It's true. They have a shriek that carries well underwater, but it's painful in the air. It sounds like a TMP seizing up.

Shepard gestured to dismiss the text window. "If you'd like, I could talk to the hanar for you."

"I have argued with the stubborn jelly all afternoon. You…are certainly welcome to try." The C-Sec officer lit his omnitool gauntlet and turned away to interact with it.

Shepard looked at the hanar, which had begun to slide closer as if hoping to engage him in conversation. Its strangely-echoing voice seemed to come from behind him, "Do you desire to learn of the Enkindlers? Or has the honorable C-Sec officer enlisted assistance?"

"Both are more true than false," Shepard folded his arms. "But I have a question for you: Are you allowed to preach here in the Presidium?"

"The words this unworthy one speaks are merely observations of the truth, not preaching. The C-Sec officer requested that this one purchase an Evangelical Permit to spread the truth of the Enkindlers."

"So you don't have the permit. Which means you're breaking the law by preaching without a permit right now?"

"The C-Sec officer states that preaching in this place is forbidden, and preaching anywhere on the Citadel requires a permit. This one humbly submits that it is not preaching to state the truth of the Enkindlers any more than to state that force equals mass times acceleration; thus, no permit should be necessary, and stating the truth here should be allowed."

"So buy the permit. You'll be able to preach…or spread the truth of the Enkindlers…almost anywhere else on the station. Is the permit more than you can afford?"

"Finances are only a partial limitation. This one does not believe one should pay in order to speak the truth." It paused, seeming reluctant to continue. "However, this one also does not possess the 150 credits necessary to purchase the permit."

"I knew it." Shepard shook his head. "You're not just evangelizing, you're panhandling."

The hanar replied as if personally hurt, "This one desires no charity. It only desires to spread the truth of the Enkindlers."

"Even if I purchased the evangelical permit for you, do you know what would happen?"

"Of course. This one would immediately lose the permit for speaking the truth here."

"And yet that doesn't stop you."

"The truth of the Enkindlers must be made known!"

Shepard paused, still looking for a place on the very alien alien where he could make eye contact. "Okay, I have a few minutes. Who or what are the Enkindlers? Are they just religious figures, like…seraphim, houris, or dryads?"

"Your people know them as the Protheans. They are the true creators of this one's people. The Enkindlers raised the hanar from ignorance into consciousness by granting this one's people the gift of speech."

"Oh." Shepard pursed his lips in thought. "So you've made history into mythology. Or you're calling your mythology history. Either way, you're still breaking the law, right? Is this how you really want to represent the Enkindlers?"

"The truth of the Enkindlers must be made known. They gave the hanar language, and gave the universe the mass relays. This one only wishes to spread the truth to any who will listen. There is no intent to cause trouble."

"If you're deliberately ignoring the effects of your actions, your intent is irrelevant. So why do you insist on breaking the law?"

"This one can offer an example, if the other is willing to listen."

"Okay." Shepard folded his arms again. He looked quickly over his shoulder at Tali, who seemed to be looking around at the Presidium.

"The humans have largely removed slavery from their domains," the hanar said. "Does the other find slavery offensive?"

Batarians sprang instantly to Shepard's mind. "You bet I do."

"Surely the other would want it known that slavery is wrong, especially in places where it still persists. Is this not critically important?"

Shepard nodded. "Yeah, I could understand that…at least why you would break the law. It took a lot of good people breaking bad laws to get it changed on Earth, but that was centuries ago. What is so important about the Protheans that only the hanar know?"

The hanar inched forward. "Does the other desire to learn the secrets of the Enkindlers?"

Tali'Zorah_nar_Rayya: Nothing you'll care about. I have spent a lot of time with hanar because they offer dextro food if you listen to their Enkindler talks. Their religious views are complex and tedious, and sometimes physically impossible for anyone but another hanar.

Shepard read the message and nodded to himself. "Uh…well, let me talk to the C-Sec officer. Perhaps I can explain the situation."

"This one would be most grateful for the assistance. Please let this one know if success is achieved."

The C-Sec officer had moved closer to the wards access; Shepard took a couple of steps toward him.

The turian looked up. "Any progress with that hanar?"

"Is there a way to let the hanar preach in the Presidium?"

The turian flinched visibly. "The Presidium is a place of culture and respect! It should not be filled with zealots shouting their idiocy!" The officer paused, steadied himself. "Why should the jellies get special treatment? Every other species understands and obeys the laws."

"It sounds like you think the best solution would be for the hanar to go away."

"Yes!" The turian took a deep breath, paused, and then added, "Yes. I don't care what you have to do. Take it home and put it in an aquarium for all I care. You can have your very own aquatic missionary. Just…get rid of the hanar."

Shepard turned to find the hanar again; the jellyfish had crept up behind him, unnoticed.

Its ethereal voice asked, "Has the C-Sec officer been assuaged?"

"The C-Sec officer is just doing his job. You're causing trouble."

"This one is too humble to suggest the C-Sec officer is personally biased."

The turian's fringe twitched again. With a muted snarl, he moved away, toward the wards access.

I suppose turnabout is fair play, Shepard thought.

The hanar continued, "This one only wishes to spread the truth of the Enkindlers to any who will listen."

"Is this how the Enkindlers would want you to use the gift of speech?"

"The Enkindlers would wish for their message to be spread to all sentient species," the hanar pleaded.

"Even if that's true, they wouldn't want it done by breaking local laws. Why don't you start a PVR forum instead? Or even a blog? Point people to that and you'll narrow down your audience to people who are actually interested. And you won't have to keep looking over your shoulder for C-Sec."

"The truth of the Enkindlers is universal. This one humbly believes that the truth should not be suppressed. Exacting payment as a means of imposing limits upon the truth is an abrogation of this one's religious freedom."

Shepard opened his hands toward the hanar in a gesture of explanation. "Religious freedom means you are free from having a religion forced upon you, either by a state, or by any other person. For you to go up and talk to people about your religion – who have expressed no interest on their own – abrogates their religious freedom."

There was an awkward pause.

The hanar's corpus turned to the left, seemed to consider the turian for a moment. "This one hears and yields to wisdom. Perhaps enthusiasm has clouded judgement in this matter. This one departs now, and will not intrude upon the Presidium again." As it struggled its way across the plaza toward the wards access, Shepard considered that it was no small feat for it to do so. It was working hard to bring its message to others. Part of him was momentarily disappointed at having extinguished such commitment. Hopefully, he'll devote all that energy and time to helping others. Or she will. Whatever.

His reverie was broken as the C-Sec officer said, "I see the hanar has left. Thank you."

"Happy to help."

"Citadel Security will officially thank you for your assistance in this matter. Now, if you'll excuse me, I should report to my superiors."

Shepard's omnitool chirped. Payment offered from Citadel Security: GCr1058. He blinked at it in surprise.

Even though one of her suit VIs had already informed her of the transaction, Tali asked, "What is it?"

"I got an EP…or something like it." Shepard looked up from his omnitool. "It's an Encouragement Payment. Some municipalities use them in the Alliance too, but the amounts of money they throw around here are really surprising."

"It's a what?"

"Encouragement Payment. It's a positive social control instead of a negative one. Do something bad, and you have to pay a fine, or do community service. Do something helpful, and get a little tip from the government for doing it, like…" he waved his hands, momentarily unable to think of an example, "oh, I don't know…putting rubbish in a recycler, or taking down pirate advertising." He touched the green holographic key on his omnitool, accepting the payment. "I suppose the Alliance has made an arrangement with C-Sec, because it just popped right through all my p-net security layers. I'm surprised at how much it is, though."

Tali sighed. "I wish we still had an embassy. I could use that sort of thing."

I wonder what happened? Must be a hell of a story…assuming she even knows it. "Well, I can't fix that big of a problem today, but I can help you," Shepard pointed at Tali, and then pointed ahead. "Let's go get you some armor."

As they walked, he continued, "If there's anything else you could really use, we can probably get it made aboard Normandy, but if there's something unusual, or something that humans simply would never think of, this might be the best time to try to find it."

Tali walked carefully, quietly trying to stay close without getting in his way or being an annoyance. And yet she was beside herself; this alien seemed to be treating her like a peer, had valued her work, and actually wanted to help her; more importantly, her VI "harem" was telling her the same thing. Probably best just to keep quiet for the moment, she realized.

Shepard stopped at the taxi stand. "I know there were a bunch of shops near that little burger joint. So unless you know someplace that sells a set of armor you've already got an eye on, let's start there."

"Um…no, I've never had a dedicated armor layer before. I never thought I'd need one. But I know a soldier who always told me it would be a good idea to have a set in local storage. So I have a license to a set of Hydra III, but I've never had it fabricated; it would be too heavy and uncomfortable."

As they boarded the skycar, Tali struggled to process the day's events. She'd gone from being unconscious after an assassination attempt to consultant on a human ship. She'd been betrayed by the Shadow Broker, or his agent at least. She'd been to two embassies and several rides in Citadel taxis. The week before, she'd watched four people get killed. It would have been intoxicating if it weren't so terrifying.

As the taxi cruised through the Citadel's eternal evening, she realized she had things to do; she sent a message to Keenah that she'd been recruited to a position on a ship, and wished him safe travels. With a glance at the human in the seat next to her, she switched to Lewadar and clipped some notable segments to send home. She could hardly wait to tell her friends how her pilgrimage was going, but it would be another 12 days before her "message window" opened again.

'So much lost, so much gained,' Tali thought. It was just a line when Bellicus had said it. But now that she had lived through the past week and thought it herself, it made her feel so…old. But that's exactly what I feel today. She sighed. At least things are getting better now that

"What are you doing over there? You look like you're meditating."

Tali looked up. "Oh…nothing important. Sending some messages, remembering a line from my favorite series, picking out the exciting adventures to tell my friends about back on the flotilla."

"Just sitting there with your fingers touching?"

"I can control a lot of my suit with my internal HUD and vision tracking. It might look like BCI or BMI, but it isn't really. A full neural interface is kind of unusual…um…isn't it?"

"It's pretty unusual in my experience. I know that people who are seriously injured will use them until their rebuild is complete. Though I know a couple of people who have the full haptic digit implant. Still, not knowing what sort of tech your suit uses, I thought you might have it."

"Not me," Tali said. "That would be expensive. The haptic implants require surgery, and they're just an add-on to a conventional physical experience…like gesturing, or my optic controls." She waved a hand at part of her faceplate, indicating the sensor array. "But direct thought control? They might have it in a lab somewhere, but I've never seen anyone using it. Or maybe I have and just didn't know it."

# # #

Udina scrolled his way through the Citadel's digital bureaucracy as he walked. "You won't be able to stay on as Captain if Shepard is a Spectre. Too much potential for conflicting interests."

Anderson's mood was too buoyant for him to care. He felt vindicated, both about Saren finally being hunted, and now about Shepard getting made. "Well, good for him. I have to admit I did see this coming. Admiral Kodai was making noises about putting me in one of the new cruisers rolling out of Arcturus, but I think I could do more good aboard a carrier. Or a dreadnought."

"Jockeying for command of a big boat?" Udina glanced away from his omnitool just long enough to give Anderson a cynical look.

"Oh, quit it. You know better than that. There are too many of those positions already filled with wannabe power brokers and social climbers. I could have retired last year and a seat in Parliament if I wanted. Hell, I should FTL to the nearest dacha and leave no forwarding address." He glanced at Udina, sighed, and shook his head quickly. "But there's too much to do."

They continued in silence for a moment, climbed into a taxi. Udina raised a hand to one ear, spoke to his VI. "Mary Sue, message Admiral Bronson's staff. I've arranged with the Council for the handover of the Normandy along with Shepard's administrative reassignment to the Council, but I still need to get approval from the Joint Chiefs for the actual transfer. We're going to try to keep this quiet; I don't want a lot of wailing and crying from Terra Firma, John Birch, or anybody else about how we spent all this money on our best ship, and then gave it away. Notify me as soon as they have an answer."

He lowered his forearm, looked at Anderson. "I assume you haven't gotten too well entrenched aboard the Normandy."

Anderson shook his head. "No. As I said, I could read the writing on the wall. This was all about getting a human Spectre. Hackett said as much when he asked me to command Normandy; he wasn't hiding anything. I just expected it to last a few weeks or months while Nihlus was putting him through his paces." He shrugged. "If they accepted him into the program, I didn't expect to stay. But at this point, I'm happy for both of you. I just…have some choices to make."

Udina remembered their first Council meeting after the Eden Prime massacre, and Saren's ever-hateful attitude. "Shepard's going to have that bird's hide for a doormat; I'm surprised you don't want to wipe your boots on it."

"I do. I'm just not as angry anymore."

"The hell you aren't. If you don't think so, you need to get in touch with your outer self."

The Captain chuckled; Udina had never been one for subtlety. "So do you, old boy."

The ambassador turned his head quickly. "Yes?" He raised a hand to an ear.

"Speaking." He listened silently for a moment.

"In fact I was aware of that expectation, but the decision has been changed."

He listened again. "No. Remind him that there is more at stake here than a prestige ship added to his command. Please inform the Admiral that it is not my decision. Like him, I have stakeholders above me who see things differently.

"Yes. Hm, I don't know about that, but I'd suggest he call Trident if he wants the assignment changed."

He paused, listening again. "I'm sorry, but no. Not even if he stamps his little foot or holds his breath. The Allied Chiefs have already approved, I'm just waiting for the official copy to get to the embassy. There is nothing I can do, and it would probably be more trouble than it's worth to change it at this point.

"Good, thank you. Yes, good day to you."

Captain Anderson had rendered his omnitool gauntlet and been inspecting event trees. "I notice you haven't asked about the crew reactions to the change, either."

"Why should I? Why should they?" Udina looked at the Captain just long enough to know he was moving the transfer process forward. "The Alliance isn't a republic. Besides, nothing really changes for them."

"If you think that, you've never been through it yourself. It's like a change in Prime Minister." He shrugged. "Though with a frigate, maybe a bit less so." His omnitool flashed a reminder callout at him; Anderson lifted a hand to his ear. "Pressly, this is Anderson. When you get today's shakedown report from CHA, shoot it back to them and find out how fast they can get cleared out. I want to switch this to Phase III, ideally before we leave the Citadel, so we can get as many contractors off the ship as possible." His ARO prompted him with the Contract Manager's name, though he knew it from repeated usage, "Anita said they were down to the point of handholding only for new tech, and they can just do that remotely going forward."

Udina looked away as Anderson's omnitool winked off. "You're still talking like you're the Captain."

"I am the Captain. And I'm going to make this transfer as seamless as possible." He looked at Udina again. "But l like I said, you haven't asked how the crew will react. I assume because you don't know or care."

"The ship's too new, things are changing every day. Though I saw the launch on the news, and the turian press in particular were less than forgiving about the…incident…with your pilot. You had the chance to change him, but you didn't." [Reference to Mass Effect: He Who Laughs Best]

Anderson smiled to himself. Ah, you old crank, if only you knew. I did change the pilot assignment, but only after Joker had stolen the ship and shown us what that oversized drive core could do in the hands of a genius. "It's true he isn't the pilot I thought I was going to get, but honestly, I didn't think he'd have that much passion for the ship."

The ambassador shook his head. "Well, it is just a ship."

Anderson shook his head, then turned and looked out the window again, watching the skycar slow as it descended toward the embassy landing zone. "Always the politician, eh Donnel?"

The craft thumped as it touched down; the door clunk-hissed open and the ambassador stepped out. As the Captain lifted himself from the taxi, he saw the ambassador had rendered his omnitool gauntlet and was wiping and poking his way through the interface when he put a hand to his ear again. "Yes? Speaking. Ah. Admiral, I hadn't expected you to get back to me so quickly, I had just tasked my–"

He stopped in mid-sentence. "Oh. You did? Well, that's unexpected, but timely. Thank you, that's good to know. Prepare yourself to get an earful from Admiral Mikhailovich, though.

"No, he had his Chief of Staff call me to protest. I tried to explain the value of the Alliance having a Spectre, but suggested he call you.

"Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm, yes.

"Good, I'm glad to hear it. I'm glad we had this chance to talk, then. Yes, thank you, Admiral. And good day to you, too." His omnitool went dark.

"Good." He nodded at it and looked up at Anderson, "The Allied Chiefs have just approved the transfer of the Normandy to the Council. We should get the Final Transfer Orders momentarily." He started walking toward the embassy. "They've added a clause that reverts ownership to the Alliance in the event of Shepard's death. At my recommendation, of course."

Anderson kept his expression static, but inwardly rolled his eyes. "Of course. But at what point do we tell him he's taking command of Normandy?"

"We have confirmation from the Joint Chiefs," Udina thought aloud, "I suppose by the time we get to the embassy, the official form should be there. But I don't want a word of this to get out until it's done."

"You're going to have a Command Transfer Ceremony, aren't you? It's his first command."

"This isn't a transfer within the Alliance, it's just being loaned to the Council with an expert crew. I don't see how we can do it without calling attention to it."

"It'll be handled on an Alliance dock; if you insist, we can do it with no press. But a transfer still needs to take place. The crew has to know who their CO is, and it's not something you just video around the ship."

Udina exhaled noisily. "This will take time, and probably money, won't it?" The ambassador's omnitool vibrated, informing him that messages were starting to accumulate. "Time we don't have if Saren is to be stopped. You should know better than anyone that the Council revocation won't stop him. He's still out there causing trouble."

The Captain scowled. "I don't think you understand how these things need to be handled. There are traditions, things people expect at times of transition like this. I'm also sure Admiral Hackett will be unhappy if you deny it."

"Fine, whatever. You're the Council's Alliance Liaison for the Spectre project, can you handle this, too?"

"Of course." Anderson nodded as he turned away, and then smiled. That was what he had wanted to hear.

*** Glossary ***

AF-3200: Picoforge-based autoweaving fibrewire, a self-healing technology for EVA-rated suits

BCI: Brain-Computer Interface

BMI: Brain-Machine Interface

"Big boat": colloquialism for a carrier or dreadnought, command of which is a high-prestige position; it is from the commanders of these vessels that most of the flag officers are selected; sometimes they become political figures or celebrities

CHA: Cord-Hislop Aerospace

Chrossagh: one who instructs in the Pillars of Strength

CHENG: Chief of Engineering

COS: Chief of Staff

Event tree: an administrative planning tool similar to a Gantt chart, but which adds another dimension of contingency timelines

FLaGS: Forward Lateral Gravity Stabilizer

LV: landing vehicle

MFO: Master Fabrication Officer

p-net: personal network or devices; from bloodstream computing to wearables to carried VI-equipped devices

PVR: Polyphase Virtual Reality

TMP: turbomolecular pump, the kind used to create the vacuum in a vacuum chamber. The hanar shriek is on the order of 100dB at 1m, and oscillates between 10kHz and 15kHz.