The Normandy dropped out of FTL. Ahead laid the Anchiorn system. One large blue star with a red dwarf beside it like a child. Six planets orbited the stellar pair. Two radiation blasted rocks, a rocky world with thick fog. One green and teal garden. A Mars sized iceball, and one enormous gas giant which they coasted up alongside.
Commander Shepard was on the bridge ready and even excited to give some real orders. "Pilot. dump heat into that monster's EM field." A crisp 'Yes Ma'am' brought a smile to the woman's face. Running a pseudo-cruise ship for the last eighteen days was okay, but belting out orders to an eager and obedient crew like a real Commander made Shep feel warm and fuzzy inside.
Next was the survey team. "You guys get those scanning satellites ready. We have only a dozen deep probes, so let's get some extra thorough readings before we launch any." Another string of affirmations.
"First orbiter is pre-prepped and ready for launch Ma'am. Would you like to do the honors?" The Asari communications officer asked.
Shep could see her own smile in the tech savvy matron's eyes. 'Pushing' the holographic fire button set off a chain of clunks near the ship's belly followed by a pneumatic thump. Three miniature bundles of plastic, alloys, micro chips and sensors rocketed past the windshield to orbit the gas giant. Each one likely a thousand times more powerful than every computer on the mission's target planet combined.
"EDI, set the remaining survey launches up on a raffle. Just make sure I get the first probe."
"Understood Commander."
'First Human to deploy a satellite in Anchiorn.' Shepard typed this into her omnitool, smiling at the minor yet irrevocable accomplishment. Shep's 'First' list was a carry over from her bootcamp days. First squad up a mountain, first kill in a mock firefight, first platoon member to take four shots of Ryncol and keep it down. First person to flash the Turian drill sergeant.
After her first combat drop Shepard started keeping track of only the serious events. 'First Shepard to rank N7, first Human exposed to a Prothean beacon, first Human Spectre, first Human on Ilos. First Human to kill a Thorian. First Human to kill a Rachni Queen. First Human to kill a Reaper?' Shep frowned at the question mark. Joker still claimed it was his shot that destroyed Sovereign. She's the one who put an assload of rounds in to Saren, twice! The second round that flying metal shrimp pumped all its energy into possessing the Turian's lifeless body. When it died so did Sovereign. All Jeff shot was a giant pinata.
"Lousy cripple." Shep pouted.
"Excuse me Commander?"
Shepard hadn't noticed when Kal'Reegar had shown up seemingly out of nowhere; right on time to hear her bad mouth disabled people of course.
"Just complaining about the SR-1's pilot. We were friends." She wasn't sure if Quarians ragged on their friends, but hopefully Kal wouldn't think her insensitive.
"Must have been a treat to work with Joker Ma'am."
"How do you know-never mind." Salvation. That was the name of a photo taken as the Normandy fired the 'kill' shot on Sovereign. It quickly became an Alliance and C-sec recruitment poster; the Citadel's flag of iwo jima. It was hard to go anywhere in the super station and not find at least one slapped on a wall, or tagged on some freighter. Joker somehow managed to get a contract that netted him two percent of all sales. Now the fragile bastard was sitting on a beach somewhere getting drunk and watching Asari play biotiball when he's not teaching at an Alliance flight school.
"Yep. Real treat. Very professional man."
"Kal! There you are." Bellso called out jogging up to the X.O. "Boss just opened a bottle of Palaven Reserve to celebrate us not slamming into a rogue star or whatever. Come on!" She pulled on the man's arm, intent on dragging him down to crew deck.
"Keep it light marine; we're heading planetside at 0900 hours tomorrow!" Shepard's frown turned to a scowl. She didn't know what it was about the Turian woman that got on her nerves, but Shep just couldn't stand Bellso. It was similar to someone taking your favorite seat, or stealing that ice cream bar you've been set on all day. Worst was how much time she spent bothering Reegar; asking him tons of question, none of which had any bearing on the mission.
"Commander, the survey team is ready for your probing." A round of snickers bubbled up on the command deck. Shepard was now certain that whoever programmed EDI, had been a dick.