Last minute preparations were underway. Even Anderson found himself pitching in with the manual labor along with everyone else. He was smiling broadly as he carted a dolly full of food. "Everything set for launch?" he asked Lauren, who was passing him going the opposite way.

She looked down at her datapad. "Almost. I think we're missing a cartload of food," she answered teasingly, patting thee boxes he pushed. "You know where they go?" she laughed.

"I think I can find storage," Anderson chuckled as he walked away. "Check with Alenko and see that all systems are ready," he called back after her.

Lauren turned to find Kaidan walking quickly past her and toward Anderson. "Sir!" he called as he caught up with the captain. "You have a comm from the Citadel. It's the Council. They said it is urgent and private."

Anderson stopped and nodded. "Thank you, I'll be in the comm room. Shepard, can you get this packed away?"

"Yes, sir." Sliding the datapad she was holding into her pocket, she took up the dolly and started pushing it onto the loading bay. "Alenko, come with me."

Kaidan walked beside her as they moved rapidly across the deck. He knew what she wanted before she asked, so he started, "Everything is checking out, Commander. The crew is all accounted for, Lt. Adams says the ships systems are all running green. I would estimate about one hour and we'll be all set for launch."

"Thanks...but I was going to ask you about that comm. What does the Council want?"

Kaidan shrugged his shoulders. "It was just one of their executive assistants that I spoke to. If the Councillors wanted to talk to Anderson, they didn't want to give anything away."

Lauren and Kaidan arrived where the food was stored. Lauren started to place a box on a shelf, but Kaidan stopped her. "Commander, this box goes over here." He took the box from her arms and placed it on a different shelf.

Clearning her throat, Lauren looked amusedly at Kaidan. "Are you in charge of mess too?"

"Ah, no. I don't really cook, but I do organize. Mess Sergeant Chase said she expected an orderly pantry, even on a small ship. She gave me the guidelines and I made sure it happened." Kaidan pointed to another shelf. "That box goes over there. It's perishables."

"Of course," Lauren smirked.

The ship's on-board comm sounded. "Commander Shepard, please meet me in the comm room." The voice was unmistakably Anderson's.

"Sorry, Kaidan...I mean, Lt. Alenko, you're going to have to finish putting away the groceries yourself," Lauren laughed. Kaidan just snorted in response.

In the comm room, Anderson no longer looked jovial. He nodded at Lauren as she approached. "Shepard, we're going to be making a slight diversion before we head to Eden Prime. We'll be picking up a passenger. We'll rendezvous with the PFS Havincaw before we head through the Charon Relay."

Lauren's curiosity was already piqued and this just added interest. "Isn't that a turian ship, sir?"

"Yes, it is. That is all I can tell you now, but I want you to get these coordinates to Navigator Pressly. He'll get it into the galaxy map so Lt. Moreau has the location." Anderson handed her a datapad.

"Lt. Alenko said we can be ready to launch in an hour."

"Fine. This rendezvous is our top priority...time is of the essence," Anderson said firmly. "Now if you would excuse me..." He turned back toward the comm, and Lauren took the hint and left the room. She saw Charles Pressly at his station and gave him the pad. The older man looked at the pad then eyed Lauren. He shook his head. "This is a strange place to go," he said.

"Anderson said it's top priority," replied Lauren authoritatively. She could tell that he was not used to serving under someone this much younger than he was.

"I understand, Commander. We usually rendezvous with ships in areas that have landing zones...this is just the middle of space." Pressly sighed and entered the coordinates, double-checking his work. "We're set to go...make sure Moreau knows what's going on."

As Lauren walked toward the cockpit, she saw the crew settling in to their workstation. It was a pleasant feeling, being busy and excited about what might lay ahead. The Normandy really was a spectacular ship and she was pretty sure that everyone on board felt just as honored as she did to be part of her crew.

Joker was sitting in the pilot's seat, running his pre-flight checklists. He felt someone come up beside him and smiled when he saw it was Lauren. "Hey...Commander," he snickered, drawing out her title.

"Stuff it, Joker," Lauren said, her expression only slightly serious. "This is business. We are making a rendezvous before we head through the relay. Pressly just entered the coordinates for you."

Joker pulled up a screen to see the navigation chart. "Ok...got it. In the middle of nowhere?"

"We're picking up a passenger," answered Lauren. "Don't really know how much more I can say, so that's all you're getting."

"Fine, I see how it is." Joker glanced up and grinned. Lauren put a hand on his shoulder. "Just remember I am your XO."

"Yeah, yeah, and I've already got my finger on the real pulse of the Normandy...ship scuttlebutt...so see if I tell you anything."

"Just tell me if it involves me," ordered Lauren.

Just then Kaidan entered the cockpit and took the co-pilot's seat. Lauren looked at him in surprise. She had really underestimated him. "Alenko, you fly the ship too?" she said.

"Ah, no..." he said with a little embarrassment, "this station allows me to see everything that's going on with the ship. Keeps an eye on engine performance, the cooling systems, the stealth systems. Some redundancies from the pilot's station, but I did help design the interface though, which is why I'm here. But Joker's the only pilot...I mean, I could if I had to, in case of an emergency."

"I'm impressed," Lauren said candidly. "Well, I should go. Looks like you two have everything under control."

She walked away and Joker turned slightly to watch her leave. "You know we've got like the hottest commander in the fleet, right?" he said to Kaidan.

Kaidan coughed slightly in surprise. "The hottest commander?"

"Yeah, she and I had a thing way back," Joker bragged. "We used to serve on the Emden together. It just didn't work out."

"You had a thing?" Kaidan feigned disinterest. "What happened?"

"Oh...she had a guy back on Earth, I guess. Things just heated up with him or something, but then he was killed by batarians in the Blitz. She was never the same." Joker shifted in his seat and looked at Kaidan. "Some people think she's a loose cannon after Torfan, but I think it was justified. I mean, if I could, I'd do the same thing."

Kaidan pondered his words before speaking, and decided to just change subjects slightly. "How well do you know the commander?"

"Well, first of all, her name is Lauren...and I would say pretty well. She confides in me about things," Joker said proudly.

"And yet you still ogle her?" Kaidan teased.

"I am a man with eyes still," Joker said as he lapsed into a rhapsody. "The skin tight armor cradling those curves and that fine, tight ass..."

"Ok, that's enough," Kaidan said firmly. He swallowed to calm his own wandering mind. "She is our XO...it's not very respectful."

"Psh, Lauren and I have never been very formal. I'm not really about to start."

Anderson's voice sounded at the pilot's console. "Joker, we're set. Let's get this show on the road."

"Yes, sir," Joker answered before hitting the ship's comm. "Everyone, this is your pilot, Flight Lt. Jeff Moreau, prepare for take off. We're about to see what this baby can do." He winked at Kaidan at that last informality. He received a shaking head in response.

After launching, Joker relaxed a little and looked back to Kaidan. "So what's your opinion on Laur-I mean, Commander Shepard?"

A sigh escaped Kaidan's lips as he turned his eyes toward Joker. "You're back on this again?"

"Come on, Alenko! We gotta have something to talk about...I just had you pegged as a guy who did all right with the ladies. You have that quiet, brooding thing going on. Girls dig that."

"I'm not much of a ladies man, I guess. Sorry to disappoint."

"Oh," Joker said quickly. "Hey, if guys are your thing...that's cool. Sorry, man."

Kaidan was going to correct him, but then thought better of it. "It's fine. I just don't discuss my personal life on duty."

Joker, however, was not completely deterred. "So then what's your professional opinion of the commander?"

"I think she is a very capable officer. Passionate, determined, loyal, smart."

"Passionate? That's an interesting description."

"She seems to pour herself into her duty...just like you are passionate about this ship."

"Hmm, fair enough. But I think you still have yet to really get to know her," said Joker, as he went quiet for a moment. "We'll be at our rendezvous coordinates in 5 minutes, Captain," Joker said into the comm.

"Fine, prepare the airlock for docking," Anderson replied. "I'll be up there in a minute."

As Joker guided the ship into its parallel position with the Havincaw, Kaidan readied the airlock. Anderson arrived just as docking was complete. He stood at the doorway and waited. Both Kaidan and Joker couldn't help but turn themselves slightly in their seats to see who was boarding.

A dark skinned turian boarded and Kaidan couldn't help the slight apprehension he felt. The resemblance to Vyrnnus was disquieting, so Kaidan turned himself back to face his workstation. Maybe someday turians wouldn't bother him...but not today.

Anderson placed his arm across his chest in a turian greeting. "Spectre Nihlus, it's good to meet you," the captain said. He guided the turian away.

"A Spectre?" Joker gasped as soon as the pair was out of earshot. "Holy shit."

Kaidan was working the controls to release the docking mechanisms and just gave pilot a quick eyebrow raise in agreement. It was highly unusual for a Spectre to come along on a simple shakedown run.

"Well, let's get to that relay," stated Joker. "Next stop Eden Prime."

x-X-x

Lauren was in the captain's quarters sitting at a table with Anderson and the turian Spectre. "Shepard, this is Nihlus Kryik. He is joining us on the Normandy's maiden voyage..." Anderson seemed to be hesitant in speaking. "Since the Council has a vested interest in the project...they want an objective eye. Nihlus was the nearest Spectre, so he was assigned to be that observer. We have a few hours to reach the Charon Relay. Check out the crew and see that the stealth systems are running smoothly and ready to go. We'll be testing them out when we get past the relay."

The door quickly closed behind Lauren after she walked out of the room. "Strange..." she muttered and headed down to engineering. After checking with Adams that the internal emissions sinks were primed for optimal performance, she walked back into the storage area and checked out the Mako.

"Can't wait to take you out for a little spin," she said to the truck, patting its side. When she turned toward the elevator, Nihlus was standing there, arms folded, just looking at her. Getting on the elevator, she gave him a nod. The turian did not respond.

On the crew deck, Lauren checked in the Dr. Chakwas. "How are you settling in?" she asked.

"Oh, just fine, Commander," the doctor said. "It is quite a feat of engineering, this ship."

"Agreed. I've never seen an engine like this before."

"I'm sure that is true, but I was talking about the interior. This is one of the largest medbays I've worked in. I don't know what's missing to give me so much room, but let's hope it wasn't important." Chakwas lightly chuckled at her own joke. "Anything you need, Commander?"

"No, I just checking in..." Lauren paused. "I'm sure you saw the turian?"

"Indeed, lucky for him I have a little expertise in turian physiology. I try to keep myself apprised of other races...just in case. But I don't think that's what you meant, is it, Commander?"

"Not really, I just wondered if you knew any more than I did about why he is here?"

"A Council Spectre? Your guess is as good as mine."

"Well, thanks anyway, Doc. I'll see you around," Lauren said as she left. And there was Nihlus again, eyeing her wordlessly from across the mess. Lauren was starting to feel a little self-conscious. She walked back to Anderson's quarters and pushed the summoning button. The doors swished open and Lauren walked in. Anderson was sitting as his desk alone.

"The IES is at optimum, sir. We're ready for stealth operation after the jump," she reported.

Anderson grunted an affirmation. "Head up to the cockpit. I'm sure we're nearly to the relay."

Nihlus was gone when Lauren exited the captain's quarters. Finally, she thought. Guy just got on the ship and I already feel like he's breathing down my neck. She wove her way through the crew making her way up the stairs and across the CIC to see Nihlus standing in the cockpit behind Joker.

"The Arcturus Prime relay is in range. Initiating transmission sequence," Lauren could hear the pilot say. "We are connected. Calculating transit mass and destination. The relay is hot. Acquiring destination vector. All stations secure for transit. Board is green...approach run has begun."

Lauren was in the cockpit beside Nihlus as the ship was caught in the relay's pull. Her skin tingled, the effects of the eezo core of the relay with her biotics. She rubbed her arm to discharge some of the static. She looked over to see Kaidan do the same, as well as run his hand through his hair.

As Joker engaged the stealth systems, he spouted off his post-jump checklist, ending with, "Drift, just under 1500k." Lauren rolled her eyes. Always the braggart.

Nihlus didn't seem impressed. "1500. That's good. Your captain will be pleased," was his dry reply. Then he turned on his heel and walked away.

"Ass," Joker mumbled. Kaidan looked back at Lauren, who just gave him a bemused smile.

"Problem?" Kaidan asked.

"Yeah, there's a Spectre on board. I don't like him and I'm sure as hell he doesn't like me."

"He's been up here, what, maybe five minutes? How can you tell?"

"I don't know," said Joker. "Just call me a good judge of character. Something's not right here. Spectres don't come on shakedown runs..."

Lauren piped in. "He's been on my ass the whole time. Tailing me, watching me, it's..." She was interrupted by Anderson's voice on Joker's comm. "Joker! Status report."

"Sir, we just cleared the relay. We are running silent. Thirty minutes to Eden Prime," Joker said.

"Good, have Lt. Alenko send reports to Alliance brass before we reach the planet...oh, and tell Commander Shepard to report to the comm room...for a debriefing."

Joker gave Lauren a smarmy smile. "Good luck with that."

A/N: Now we are into the beginning, so just sit back and enjoy the ride...thank you for the favorites, follows and reviews!