The salarian councilor stared down at him. "We're sending you into the Traverse after Saren. He's a fugitive from justice, so you are authorized to use any means necessary to apprehend or eliminate him."

That part was good, at least. "I'll find him."

"This meeting of the Council is adjourned."

Anderson held out a hand. Michael took it. He was starting to feel like one of the times he'd been shot in the head. "Congratulations, Commander."

"We've got a lot of work to do, Shepard." Udina was having trouble not smiling. "You're going to need a ship, a crew, supplies..."

"You'll get access to special equipment and training now. You should go down to the C-Sec Academy and speak to the Spectre requisitions officer."

Udina gestured. "Anderson, come with me. I'll need your help to set all this up." He walked off. Anderson nodded at Michael again before following.

Williams shook her head as she watched him go. "Not even a thank you from the ambassador."

"What do you expect from a politician?" He gestured. "Come on."

"Right behind you, Commander."

#

He stopped when he saw Garrus and Tali standing at the base of the steps. Wrex wasn't far. He walked over to them. "You still want..."

"Yes." Garrus didn't let him finish asking.

Tali bounced a little. "I want to help."

"I'm in." Wrex said from where he was standing.

Michael raised an eyebrow. "You are?"

"Tired of the Citadel." Wrex shrugged. "Too much white."

A cop, a krogan, and a quarian. With luck, he'd be able to convince Anderson to let him hang on to Alenko and Williams as well. They worked well together. And they were starting to grow on him a bit.

He felt his stomach twist. Shit. Did this Spectre thing mean he was a cop now? The universe was laughing its ass off.

#

Wrex and Garrus went to take care of their own preparations, while Michael dealt with his unfinished business on the Citadel. The reporter was absolutely ecstatic about the OSDs. The elcor was something about the datapad the general had provided. And the Consort was... really awkward and never to be spoken of again.

Tali didn't have anything other than what she was actually carrying on her. It occurred to him he'd have to make sure whatever ship he ended up with was stocked with rations for Tali and Garrus.

He took Anderson's advice about checking out Spectre requisitions, and put a dent in his bank account purchasing a new sniper rifle. After a bit of thought, he upgraded his omnitool as well.

#

Udina and Anderson were waiting for them at the docking bay. And there was definitely some tension. Michael headed towards them, hoping whatever was going on wasn't going to bite him in the ass. Udina nodded when he approached. "I've got big news for you, Shepard. Captain Anderson is stepping down as commanding officer of the Normandy. The ship is yours now."

That was... What? Anderson folded his arms, and nodded to Shepard. "She's quick and quiet and you know the crew. Perfect ship for a Spectre. Treat her well, Commander."

"This isn't right." Michael shook his head. "The Normandy belongs to you."

"You needed your own ship. A Spectre can't answer to anyone but the Council. And its time for me to step down."

Next time he was in Udina's office, he was going to steal all the screws from the desk. They could discuss it without Udina as an audience. "Any leads?" They quickly filled him in. Noveria, Feros, and Matriarch Benezia had a daughter somewhere in the Artemis Tau cluster. A daughter that specialized in protheans. "Artemis Tau sounds like the place to start."

"It's your decision, Commander. You're a Spectre now. You don't answer to us." Anderson nodded.

"But your actions still reflect on humanity as a whole. You make a mess and I get stuck cleaning it up." Udina glared.

It likely would have been best if Udina hadn't reminded him that in addition to a stealth warship and unlimited judicial authority, he now had a personal public relations cleanup crew. From Anderson's wince, he agreed. Michael shrugged. "I'll take care of Saren. You take care of the political fallout."

"Not exactly the answer I was looking for, Shepard." Udina shook his head. "Remember: you were a human long before you were a Spectre. I have a meeting to get to. Captain Anderson can answer any questions you might have." He stalked off.

Michael shook his head before turning towards Anderson. "Come clean with me, Captain."

Anderson sighed. "I was in your shoes twenty years ago, Shepard. They were considering me for the Spectres."

"Why didn't you ever mention this?"

"What was I supposed to say? 'I could've been a Spectre but I blew it?' I failed, Commander. It's not something I'm proud of." He waved a hand. "Ask me again later and maybe I'll tell you the whole story. For now, all you need to know is I was sent on a mission with Saren, and he made sure the Council rejected me. I had my shot. It came and went. Now you have a chance to make up for my mistakes."

"Captain, I don't have a great track record of making up for my own mistakes." Michael looked over at the Normandy. "Saren's not going to get away this time."

"I know. You're an asshole, Shepard. But you've never failed a mission." Anderson nodded to him.

Michael shrugged in acknowledgment of the words. "This isn't right. I feel like I'm stealing the ship from you, sir."

Anderson shook his head and chuckled. "It's not like it's the first ship you've stolen." He shook his head. "It's not even like it's the first ship you've stolen from me."

"Not sure the drop shuttle counts, sir." Michael shook his head. "I gave it back." When Anderson raised an eyebrow, he amended the statement. "Most of it."

#

Michael told the aliens where they could settle in, then headed up to the cockpit. Garrus had to pull Tali along when the quarian kept stopping to look at various displays. A lot of the crew turned to stare as they passed.

"I heard what happened to Captain Anderson. Survives a hundred battles, and then gets taken down by backroom politics." Joker glanced over his shoulder. "Just watch your back, Commander. Things go bad on this mission, you're next on their chopping block."

"That's what I like about you Joker." Michael folded his arms. "Your constant optimism and cheer." He shook his head. "Captain Anderson should be here."

"Yeah, the captain got screwed. But it's not like you could've stopped it. Nobody's blaming you." Joker looked up at him. "Everyone on this ship is behind you, Commander. One hundred percent." He pointed. "Intercom's open. If you've got anything you want to say to the crew, now's the time."

He stared at the intercom then leaned forward. "Crew, this is Commander Shepard. We have our orders: find Saren before he finds the Conduit. The galaxy is watching. Let's show them who we are." He straightened back up.

"Well said, Commander. Captain would be proud."

"Fancy speeches won't stop Saren from finding the Conduit." Michael gestured. "If we really want to make the captain proud we better get this bird in the air." He turned to leave the cockpit.

"Yes, sir."

#

He checked on Williams, and learned she'd taken him up on his offer regarding Spectre requisitions. She was all but cooing as she fitted the modifications to her new shotgun. Michael shook his head, and went over to speak to Garrus.

"Thanks for bringing me on board, Commander." Garrus straightened up from where he'd been examining the mako. "I knew working with a Spectre would be better than life at C-Sec."

"Have you worked with a Spectre before?"

"Well, no." Garrus's mandibles clicked slightly. "But I know what they're like. Spectres make their own rules. You're free to handle things your way." He gestured. "At C-Sec, you're buried by rules. The damn bureaucrats are always on your back."

"Being a Spectre does have its advantages." He needed to find out just what kind of reports he was going to be expected to file.

"Exactly my point." Garrus threw up one of his hands. "If I'm trying to take down a suspect, it shouldn't matter how I do it, as long as I do it. But C-Sec wants it done their way. Protocol and procedure come first. That's why I left."

Considering how often he'd been able to game the system, the guy probably had a point. And for that matter, how many cops had wasted their time with his piddling bullshit rather than going after serious criminals just because it was easier? "You quit because you don't like the way they do things?"

"There's more to it then that." Garrus started unpacking some of his gear, checking over his armor as he stowed it into one of the lockers. "It didn't start out bad, but as I rose in ranks, I got saddled with more and more red tape. C-Sec's handling of Saren was typical. I just couldn't take it anymore. I hate leaving..." He unpacked a sniper rifle.

Michael moved in to get a better look, and Garrus offered it to him. The scope was oriented differently than what he was used too. "You did the right thing. Life's too short to sit around waiting for things to happen." He peered through the scope, and realized it must be designed to work with the visor Garrus wore over his left eye. It would be interesting to see how it functioned in the field. He'd always found the eyepieces more trouble than they were worth. He offered the rifle back.

"Yeah. You're probably right." Garrus packed the rifle away carefully. "Either way, I plan to make the most of this. And without C-Sec headquarters looking over my shoulder, well, maybe I can get the job done my way for a change."

"As long as you do your job well, you're free to go about your business as you see fit."

"Thank you, Commander."

#

Wrex was... well, he hadn't pulverized anyone yet, so it seemed he was getting along alright. He seemed inclined to keep more to himself. After a couple minutes of searching, he found Tali in engineering. Adams was all but doting on her. She waved when she saw him enter. "Your ship's amazing, Shepard. I've never seen a drive core like this before. I can't believe you were able to fit it into a ship this small." She waved towards the engine. "I'm starting to understand why humans have been so successful. I had no idea Alliance vessels were so advanced."

"The Normandy's a prototype. Cutting edge technology." He nodded.

She ran a hand along one of the consoles as though it were a work of art. "A month ago, I was patching a makeshift fuel line into a converted tug ship in the flotilla. Now I'm sitting on board one of the most advanced vessels in Citadel space." She made a sound somewhere between a purr and a sigh. "I have to thank you again for bringing me along. Traveling on a vessel like this is a dream come true for me."

Her enthusiasm was almost infectious. "I had no idea you found ship technology so interesting."

"It comes with being a quarian." She examined one of the readouts. "The Migrant Fleet is the key to the survival of my people. Ships are our most valuable resource." He listened as she went on about her people for a while. It took some time before he got around to his reason for locating her, and asked her about the geth. Unfortunately, she didn't have a lot more information to offer than what was available on the extranet. Recovering the memory core seemed it had a lot more to do with her knack at engineering rather than special quarian knowledge.

It did sound as though she could make herself useful as part of his crew. And after listening to gush some more about about her pilgrimage and what coming along meant to her... If he made her leave now, his entire engineering department would mutiny.

#

Kaidan hesitated a moment when he saw the commander walk by. "Commander, do you have a minute?"

Shepard shifted trajectory to walk over. "I always make time for my officers."

He took a deep breath. "Off the record, I think there's something wrong here. This Saren is looking for records on some kind of galactic extinction. But we can't get backup from the Council?" He shook his head. And they'd sidelined Anderson. Shepard had proved to have skills, but he didn't have the same clout Anderson did. "Sorry, Commander. There's writing on the wall, here, but someone isn't reading it."

"The Council doesn't want to believe anything's wrong. I'd call it human nature, but..." Shepard shrugged, then leaned on the wall across from him.

"I hear ya. I -" Kaidan folded his arms and leaned on the railing across from Shepard. "It just seems like a group that's been around as long as the Council should see this coming." He chuckled. "It's funny. We finally get out here, and the final frontier was already settled. And the residents don't even seem impressed by the view. Or the dangers."

"Well, well, you're a romantic." Shepard shook his head. "Did you sign on for 'the dream,' Alenko? Secure man's future in space?"

A small laugh escaped him. "Yeah, I read a lot of those books when I was a kid. Where the hero goes out to space to prove himself worthy of the woman he loves. Or, you know. For justice." He shrugged. "Maybe I was a romantic in the beginning. But I thought about it after Brain Camp -" He caught a moment of confusion on Shepard's face. "Ah, sorry, 'Biotic Acclimation and Temperance training.' I'm not looking for 'the dream'. I just want to do some good. See what's out here." He rubbed the back of his neck, belatedly remembering he was talking to his commanding officer. "Sorry if I got too informal. Protocol wasn't a big focus back in BAaT."

"Tell me about it." Shepard gestured for Kaidan to follow him into what was now his office. He'd only seen Anderson behind the desk once, but it felt a little weird seeing Shepard there. It didn't take him long to start to relax, and he found himself telling Shepard about Jump Zero. Shepard encouraged him to speak freely. "There were other kids in the same boat, right? At least you weren't alone out there."

"That's true." Kaidan shrugged. "We did have a little circle that'd get together every night before lights-out. We didn't have much to do, though. It was a research platform then, and Conatix kept Jump Zero off the extranet. To prevent leaks."

"Must have had plenty of time to get to know each other."

"Yeah. We'd sit around and bull every night after dinner. Play cards or network games." He smiled fondly at a couple of the memories. "There was this girl named Rahna who had a little circle grow up around her. She was from Turkey. Her family was very rich. But she was smart, and charming as hell. Beautiful, but not stuck up about it."

"The one that got away?" Shepard raised an eyebrow.

"I suppose you could say that." Kaidan ducked his head. "Things never fell together. Training. You know."

"Sheila." Shepard spun an old fashioned Earth coin on the desk. "We robbed this little boutique, and tripped the alarm." He sighed at the memory. "She took off in the car we'd stolen for the getaway vehicle, left me holding the bag."

Kaidan blinked, and sat up straighter. "Are you..." Robbing a store and stealing a getaway car? He tilted his head. "Serious?"

"Did two months in St. Nicolas Juvenile Rehabilitation Center. I was fifteen."

"Were you successfully rehabilitated?" Kaidan raised an eyebrow.

"I learned a better method of hacking security systems. Almost the same thing." Shepard shook his head.

"So she was..." Kaidan's lips twitched slightly. "Literally the one that got away."

"Alenko." Shepard narrowed his eyes, but the corner of his mouth lifted just a little. "Pun on my ship, and I'll toss you out the airlock."

"Sorry, Commander." Kaidan composed his face again. The commander had a reputation, but he'd never heard anything about the guy doing time. He hesitated. "You make a habit of getting this personal with everyone?"

Shepard actually looked surprised by the question, and it took him a moment to answer. "No." He leaned back. "No, I don't." The communication unit on the desk beeped, and he glanced at it. "We'll talk again later."

"I'll uh -" Kaidan stood. "I'll need some time to process that, Commander." He nodded. "But I'd like that."

#

Michael stared at the communication unit for several seconds before answering. "Just heard the news. Congratulations."

He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Admiral Hackett. If I find out you had anything to do with this..."

"You'll get your ass kicked again?" There was a trace of amusement in Hackett's voice.

"Not sure me running around the galaxy with a stealth warship and a free rein is the best idea, sir."

"You're on an alliance warship, Michael. Wearing an alliance uniform. Representing humanity. Our skills. Our drive." Hackett sighed. "Our unwillingness to get pushed around. Our tendency to cause a great deal of trouble for those who piss us off. Our inability to shut up. Our..."

"Getting the point. You know, I was just thinking 'the galaxy at stake isn't quite enough pressure.'"

"You've got a big job to do, son. Get to work."