Mads was casually whistling amazing grace as he entered the airlock. He waited for the scan to be complete, and slowly tapped his foot impatiently on the metal floor as the synthetic voice informed him, that the current Captain now was onboard, and the XO stood relieved. It still hadn't sunk in, that he was now the captain. Although he didn't hold the rank officially, he did control an entire frigate. Which would fill out the criteria of being a captain.

The new members stood right in the CIC hallway, looking like lost puppies seeking purpose. They probably just wished for his blessing to go a post of their choice. It was quite weird being the person that should decide and organize something of this size. He had never really been given such an honor. The biggest crew he ever had run was about 52 soldiers.

"Commander." Garrus greeted.

"Garrus. I gather you want to know where you will be staying?" Mads asked, and they all nodded. "Well… Any wishes?" Mads asked further.

"I believe you have an armored vehicle and an armory. I would like to set up camp there." Garrus requested.

"Granted. Have a good one, but if the MAKO breaks down during a mission, it's your ass on the line." Mads replied.

"Aye-aye captain." Garrus said ironically in a way that made Mads want to punch him in the throat. But he let it slide… For now.

"And you Wrex?" Mads turned his attention to the big Krogan, that was already getting a far bit of attention from the crew working on the upper deck and the cockpit.

"I'll stick around in the loading bay, if you need an angry Krogan with a shotgun, you come knocking." He said with his deep voice.

"Well, help yourself." Mads gestured for the aisle leading down the CIC and to the lower deck. Wrex gave a final nod and set off with Garrus, not looking all that fond of the companionship he had been given.

"And what about you Tali?" Mads asked. She looked nervous, her hands were shaking and she was slightly shifting the balance between her feet.

"I was-… I was wondering if it was possible for me to… uhh… Begin in engineering? We Quarians are pretty good with ship maintenance and-… And-… And that sort of stuff." Her voice carried some uncertainty, probably due to a fear that her new superior officer saw Quarian like their public imagine. Like no good thieves, liars and everything else bad beneath the sun. But that wasn't the case.

"If you want to work in engineering, then I see no problem with it. Go down and speak with Chief Engineer Adams, he'll get you sorted right away." Mads gestures for her to walk the path down.

"Thank you." Tali replied in a relieved voice, her shoulders stopped being tense, and her entire body become relaxed.

"No worries. I'm sure you'll be of good use down there." Mads remarked with a smile, and Tali couldn't help but countering with a smile of her own. It was too bad he couldn't see it.

Joker was preparing the final checklist before takeoff, typing away endlessly at the console and terminals within his reach. Mads came up behind his seat, and watched for a moment. He was in charge now, and it gave him an odd feeling. He couldn't shake that he was at a crossroad. Somewhere, it felt right, it felt good, and then… There was the feeling of dread, dread that Anderson had been cut off, had been taken down because Humanity wanted their new spectre to have a shiny toy to show off.

"Well, it's a sad thing. The Captain survives a thousand battles, only to be taken down by back room politics." Joker remarked, somehow sensing Mads standing behind him.

"A sad thing indeed. He deserved better, and in some way, I wished it was him standing here… And not me." Mads replied.

"Not much you could have done about it. And for the record, I don't think there is anyone more suited to replace him than you, commander. You have survived so many things, and I think that under your leadership, there will still be hope." Joker confessed as he continued to type away at the terminal.

"That's mighty nice of you to say. I guess I need to address the crew as well, clear up what is going to happen." Mads said.

"That would probably be a good idea." Joker agreed. "Want to give it a shot now?" He asked.

"Sure, why not." Mads replied and readied himself. Better to let it flow from the heart, more sincere that way. Joker obliged and opened up the main comms channel for the entire vessel, no compartments left behind.

"Crew of the Normandy, this is Commander Romanov speaking. Some of you know me, some of you might not know me. With fast words and a quick sign of some papers, Captain Anderson is now promoted and will be stationed at the embassy here on the citadel. Under instructions from Alliance HQ, I am now currently in charge of the Normandy-" Mads took a second to breathe and calm himself a bit.

"-Not sure if anyone of you turned into the news within the last few hours, but I got a promotion me'self. I'm now officially a citadel Spectre, and the Normandy has been handed over to me for this purpose. That means that all of you are part of the Spectre crew, and I look forward to working with each and every one of you." Mads continued.

"That also means we have a purpose to fulfill. Saren Arterius is the main man we will be hunting. A former Turian Spectre, now turned outlaw. He attacked humanity, and he will feel the full fury of the alliance for his actions. Hunting him down will not be easy, in fact, it will be tough… Tougher than anything he have done before. But, this vessel is filled with brilliant minds, and strong people. If anyone has a shot to take down the fucker, it's going to be us. With our combined strength, intelligence, and strong will, we shall endure, and we shall win. For this, my brothers and sisters, you have my word. I will not stop until Saren is in handcuffs… Or a body bag. I will hunt him to the very edge of the galaxy, I shall fight him everywhere and at any time. For the Lord is my Shepard, as he will be yours. Thank you, and I look forward to serving with all of you." Mads finished, and he could already hear the thundering applause coming from the CIC and further down the ship. He smirked, feeling pleased with himself.

"Nice speech commander, did you practice it in front of the mirror this morning?" Joker asked.

"Very funny." Mads replied with his best you-won't-get-me voice, but the smile still creeped up on his face. He gave an order for Joker to fly them to Therum, where the Dr. Tsoni was hiding out, he had already cooked up an arrest warrant for her, considering she could be a dangerous foe with her mom pulling some nasty strings.

Tali had no issue finding herself at home within the drive core and engineering department of the Normandy. Chief Engineer Adams had welcomed her with open arms and had already given her several sets of assignments. She couldn't shake the odd feeling of serving on board an alien vessel. It was almost unheard of within the Quarian community, and especially one that is as top secret as the Normandy.

It was Adams that asked her to take a break, since she lost track of time. Truth be told, she wouldn't have minded stayed at that post until she passed out. Everything was new, and learned new engineering tasks and problem solving was her favorite pass time. Nothing that was handed to her was hard, she would figure out a way quickly, but she feared that asking for more serious work would shoot her down. The Normandy has to protect its secrets… Right?

She isn't really tired as she sits down in the mess. Its pass normal supper time, and there are only two or three crewmen currently present. The food isn't all that greater either, it's Turian MREs, so she resorts to her own stash of food so kindly provided to her to by her father before she took off on the grand adventure.

The thought about the exceptions of her father lingers in her mind. She had gotten extra training, and had been given better equipment that most Quarians. But, being an Admiral's daughter also meant that a lot was expected from her. She had to bring back something worthwhile. She became nervous as she failed to think of anything good to bring back. She simply couldn't let her father down. It was too much of a burden to think about what would happen otherwise.

So, she decided to distract herself. She was curious about her savior, the dashing commander that had come to her rescue within the dangerous wards of the citadel. She would be lying if she said she didn't find him a bit attractive. She couldn't place her feelings at this point, and so she decided to bury them. But still, she wanted to know more about him.

The extranet is great in every sense of the word. So much information at the press of a button. Though, even with the great knowledge that the extranet could provide, information on the commander was very limited. There were a few articles, one about actions on Elysium, for which he is considered a hero of the alliance, and one very recent about his admission into the spectres. Both highly praising of him. There was no concrete information on his age, origin or anything else of the sort. She was a bit confused about this. Very few people could keep their identity hidden so well. She searched on, and was genuinely interested in knowing more, but that would probably mean asking the man himself.

Anderson's former office, also known as the Captain's quarters wasn't half bad. Compared to the sleeping pods assigned to normal crew members, it was heaven. Mads placed down his small wooden crate of personal belongings on the table in the middle of the room. He still had trouble realizing that he controlled the vessel now, and this was one of the privileges that came with it.

Mads dug in to the crate to find what he had brought with him on this journey. There was the usual two bottles of liquor, mostly to help him sleep at night. There was a photo album that he was given by the current living Romanovs, an object he held dear to his heart. The framed photo of him, his parents and his siblings. Taken right after the 75th annual victory march in Moscow. It would sit nicely on his desk.

Finally, he dug up the bible. A younger version of himself would have slapped him across the room for spending his evenings drinking and dwelling in to a book of which he used to discard, but now he believed in. But, after nothing made sense in the current world, he had resorted to faith to carry him… Well, faith and a bottle of Vodka. He wasn't a perfect man.

His reading would vary between the bible and the codex of the galaxy. Sometimes, it felt like every stereotype fitting him so perfectly, haunting him to no end. Still, he placed the ashtray on the desk, placed the framed photo in view, poured a glass of vodka, and then slowly opened the bible to read on. He liked it, it was peaceful for him. No doubt the other crew members wouldn't approve.

Hours passed as he read, drank and smoked. With each pour, the photo became more and more judgmental. With each turn of pages, came another revelation about himself and how much of a fuck up he is. He can't escape the voices that plague him deep in to the night. The voices that he can sometimes put a face on, and sometimes he can't. They judge him. They make him border the line between sane and insane.

"What the FUCK DO YOU WANT FROM ME?" Mads yells at the picture of his family. They just smile back at him.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO?" He asks, still no answer. Just… Haunting silence, the worst treatment.

"What could I have done?" He voice lowers as his rage leaves his body, and it is in that moment, they return.

You could have done better. You could have survived, you could have endured. But, instead you let down everybody.

What about us, huh? You always think of yourself. You are greedy.

Mads is on the verge of ripping his hair out. His head hurts, and feels like it will go boom at any second. He breathes, in through his nose, and out through his mouth. A trick he was taught in the army to calm himself. With extra oxygen traveling to his brain, the voices slowly fade out. But, the exhaustment takes a toll. He slowly slides down the side of his bed frame. He sits there, a pathetic mess on the ground.

"What could I have done?" He sobs as he repeats the question over and over again. Eventually, sleep claims him, but it is not freedom, it is simply other outlet for the demons, It's just one where he has even less power.

He woke up the following morning, probably way past alliance allowance, but he was a spectre now, after all. His service magnum was still clutched in his hand, it was a thing he couldn't sleep without. He would feel paranoid if his weapon wasn't within an arm's reach. Considering he was up, and had no intention of going back to sleep any time soon, he settled on a morning workout.

With that sorted, he took a hot shower. Absolute bliss considering the alliance couldn't always ensure that on some vessels. As he stepped out of the shower, he spend the next couple of minutes shaving what little had grown since the last time he shaved. He slowly got dressed after that, tugged his feet in the boots and buckled the belt on, for adjusted the holster so it sat perfectly. He then called for an officer meeting, mostly to get a feeling for what the status was on the ship at the moment.

A few hours later

Tali was back at work. The work was still easy, since it was mostly maintenance, and she had learned all about that on the migrant fleet. Since the work didn't prove a challenge, she let her thoughts dwell on other issue, like her own pilgrimage. She was lining out what could be acceptable to bring back to the fleet.

With her mind running down this rabbit hole, she became unaware of her surroundings. Sure, she did her work wonderfully as she thought about the pilgrimage, but she failed to hear the otherwise distinct sound of hobnails on metal ground. It was only the light tapping on her shoulder that forced her back in to reality. She swung around, and was quite alarmed at what she saw.

It was the commander, and she immediately tensed up. Bad thoughts rushed in to her mind at an alarming speed. Has she done something wrong? It wasn't normal that a commander would come down to engineering, since he had a whole ship to run.

"Oh, commander… erh… Didn't see you there." She greeted weakly. Her body was nervous, and while she tried to hide it, it did show in her gestures.

"That much is clear" Mads laughed.

"How can I… erh… Help you?" She asked, she calmed a bit down since his tone seemed friendly.

"Well, I'm checking up on the newest crew members to see how they are settling in. There are a few things I want to run by you, however." Mads requested as he shifted his weight from one of his feet to the other.

"Okay, I'm listening." Tali replied.

"I want to apologize ahead of time for the lack of Quarian rations upon the Normandy. I'm afraid we were ill-prepared for the alien team members we brought on. We do have some Turian rations, but that's all." Mads explained.

"That's alright, I have enough food to last me the next month." Tali reassured him.

"That's good, but we can get some Quarian food next time we hit civilization. But, there is another matter. We had an officer meeting this morning-" Tali tensed up. She was now certain she had screwed up and Adams had complained to him.

"Adams had nothing but positive things to say about your first day. He considers you a valuable asset and your thirst for knowledge and learning will get you far. Do keep it up." Mads congratulated her and padded her on the shoulder. She smiled in relief behind her helmet.

"Thank you." She replied.

"No thank you needed. Keep up the good work. I have to check in with the other crew members." Mads smiled as turned around to leave. Tali watched him every step of the way out of the engineering department.

"So, Officer Vakerian. Got anything interesting to say?" Mads asked as he leaned against the Mako. He was doing some work on the nearby terminal.

"Commander." Garrus greeted, never taking his eyes of the terminal. "I do believe this vessel is quite a thing to behold. It surely beats desk duty for the rest of my life." Garrus joked.

"You happy with your retirement from C-sec?" Mads inquired.

"Sure am. Couldn't get anything done in c-sec, too much red tape to get anywhere. The bureaucracy is astounding. The fact they managed arrest anyone at all is quite a feat." Garrus replied as he took a wrench from the tool box, and got down on one knee to have a look on the wheels.

"Alliance is the same way. That's the issue when dealing with Terrorists." Mads remarked.

"How come?" Garrus asked.

"We have rules, they don't." Mads swiftly answered.

"Well said. I do believe we will get along." Garrus smiled.

"So long you don't mess up the Mako." Mads teased.

"It will work far better when I'm done. We Turians understand military machinery better than the humans." Garrus fired back.

"No, they do not." Mads stated. Garrus smiled.

"Your pride comes in the way of seeing the truth." Garrus said.

"And alliance regulations comes in the way of losing all of your teeth." Mads joked. Garrus laughed. "I'll see you around Garrus." Mads said as a final note, and Garrus just waved him off.

Mads spoke with Wrex next. They discussed his motivation for coming along, and they ended up chatting about the Krogans as a whole, where Wrex had some strong opinions about his own race. But he could understand that some bitterness lingered beneath the surface. He wouldn't press him for answers, mostly because he didn't want to piss off a Krogan in a tight space like this.

Next up, he talked with Ashley. He was surprised to find she was religious like him. He wouldn't fully admit his devotion, but it did spawn an interesting conversation. She was tough as hell, a soldier through and through. There was a reason she didn't die on that colony, she was simply to stubborn to die. It is a good trait, especially for a soldier.

He could feel that the crew he had assembled was going to serve him well in the battles to come. He had no doubts that if they all pitched in, they might just get this done. Saren was going to feel the blade of righteousness one way or another.