Act I : V

SSV Normandy

"Alright, that just about does it!" Pressly concluded. "If you need anything else, feel free to page me or anyone else."

Slade Jordan watched as Navigator Charles Pressly walked back upstairs. He was an older gentlemen with a slightly balding head and a by-the-books military attitude, but still treated Slade nicely in his own way. When Slade had first met him, he had gruffly pestered over Slade's uniform; pointing out tiny imperfections and dress code violations only he seemed to notice. Nonetheless, he had also kindly given Slade a brief tour of the Normandy, introduced him to anyone who had a free moment, and dropped him off in front of the medbay. Slade briefly inspected his new uniform, smoothing out the small folds that Pressly had gone ballistic over. It was standard issue Alliance blue fatigues, with small metal plates on his chest and left shoulder reading S. Jordan. He ran his hand over his freshly shaved faced and was satisfied with the feeling of perfectly smooth skin. Captain Anderson had sent his new uniform along with a few other things to his new bunk. This included an electric razor - which Slade was not accustomed to considering he had only been given old fashioned hand razors - and he was utterly speechless at how smooth the shave turned out to be; however, Slade's favourite new belonging was his very own omnitool. Pressly had briefly showed him how to use its basic functions, but Slade was very excited to spend his free time figuring out how to completely utilize his new toy.

I'm one of the crew now. Everyone is so nice to me, it's almost like they WANT me to be here. I think I actually belong here. I BELONG here. Alright, well life is kinda treating me a little TOO nicely. When is the rug gonna be ripped out from under me? When is the backstab coming? This is waaaaayyyy too good to last. When is this gonna get back to normal?

"Normal". Slade juggled the word inside his head. Is this his new normal? Standing in a place where he actually felt home, or is this his small oasis of a break from the "normal", and life was going to return to its usual terrible state soon? Only time would tell. Slade paged the Captain on his omnitool and waited silently.

Well, if this is only temporary, I might as well enjoy it while I can.

/

Citadel Presidium

Commander Zoey Shepard lazily stood and waited for Ambassador Donnel Udina to finish criticizing her work yet again. Yes, he was a politician and very easy to dislike, but for some reason Zoey always found another thing to dislike about him every time he opened his mouth. Was this the case with all politicians, or just Udina? Zoey shuddered at the thought of fifty Udina clones all arguing with each other. Zoey looked over at Slade again.

Wow look at him now. I barely even recognized him. Hell, I wouldn't have even recognized him if his uniform wasn't labeled with his name. He doesn't even remotely look like the man we rescued from Eden Prime. Ha! Standing next to Anderson like that almost makes HIM look like a captain too. How quickly they grow up!

"Commander?"

Zoey snapped back to reality and realized everyone in the Ambassador's office was looking intently at her. Honestly, she was just surprised Udina had stopped talking and was waiting for her to say something.

"Commander?" Udina repeated. "I ask again, why is there a quarian here?"

Oh. Right.

"I'm about to make your day, Ambassador", Zoey answered with a snide tone. "She has proof that Saren attacked Eden Prime and the Geth are working with him." She then caught sight of Slade as he looked down at the floor and silently smirked to himself.

Attaboy. You don't like Udina either. You're a quick learner. Keep that up.

Udina then apologized and started questioning Tali. Zoey had to process that for a minute.

Wait…did Udina just apologize to me? I mean, it didn't sound genuine or sincere, but still. He actually apologized. I don't know if I should be insulted or happy.

Zoey looked over at Slade again and saw him roll his eyes, then Anderson leaned over to him and she barely heard him whisper "Told you." Slade smirked again and looked like he was trying not to laugh. He then realized Zoey was looking at him and he immediately turned red and looked back down at the floor.

Look at you, Slade! Already best friends with Anderson. I knew you'd fit in. Now we can all slander Udina behind his back together. Ha! I knew there was something I liked about you!

It wasn't long before Udina sent Zoey and her team off to meet back at the council chambers. Before they left, Kaidan walked over to Slade and saluted him, then continued to shake his hand with a few kind words of encouragement. Slade just beamed back at him and listened intently. Zoey could not help but smile to herself.

Your salute and stance needs some work, but you're definitely fitting in, Slade. Yup, you belong with us.

/

Citadel Tower

Slade Jordan had never seen so many aliens in one place all at once. He knew of their existence, he just never had the opportunity to meet one, let alone meet almost every species in the galaxy in one place. Commander Shepard had already gathered such a diverse group: a turian, krogan, and Tali the quarian all stood around Slade and the Captain. The Citadel was amazing. Slade still could not believe it was an artificial construct, it really did feel like a planet - until you looked outside - and he was completely intrigued by the enormous space station. He watched the Commander walk down the ramp towards him and her entourage that had gathered just outside the chamber. Captain Anderson stepped forwards toward her.

"Congratulations, Commander", Anderson said with pride. Before Shepard could even answer, Udina interrupted and urged the Captain to follow him away to his office. Slade was told to stay behind with the Commander and her team because something "confidential" was being discussed. Slade watched Udina walk away with the Captain, but felt content knowing Anderson probably shared the same look of anger that Slade had on his face. He then flinched as the krogan grunted and spoke.

"Hmph" the krogan scoffed. "Bastard didn't even thank you." He had a deep, gruff voice and a huge scar along his face. The krogan was eye level with Slade, but the plates he had on his head - which could be the equivalent of hair - and the towering hump on his back placed him at least two feet taller.

"Well, that's fine", Shepard commented. "I didn't want his gratitude anyway. I didn't do this for him. Anyway, thanks for your help, Wrex. We probably couldn't have gotten to Fist without you. You're more than welcome to stick around with us while we wait for further instructions. When we do get a ship, we could definitely use someone like you on board." The krogan - Wrex - seemed to think to himself for a few moments, but the turian spoke up first.

"Come on, Wrex!" The turian teased. "Just admit it, you had fun with us! Why not come along for the ride?" He then started making a sound which Slade realized was a laugh. His mandibles were moving in a rhythmic pattern and his blue armour matched the paint he had across his face, which was also about two feet above Slade's head. The turian's blue holographic visor accented and completed the look he had. A low rumbling chuckle emanated from Wrex's body.

"Alright", Wrex chuckled. "You got me, Garrus. I did have fun. Fine, I'm in. This old man could use another adventure."

"You're welcome, Shepard", chirped Garrus the turian. "I just recruited a walking tank for us!" The Commander laughed in return and turned her attention to Slade. She smiled at him before talking.

"Look at you, Specialist Jordan!" She teased with a sly laugh. She then jokingly saluted and Slade chuckled and returned the salute. Shepard then walked forward and adjusted his arm and hand, then gently kicked his boots together so his feet were completely parallel to one another. Slade's face went red and his body began trembling from the sudden sensation of touch from another person. His panic attack was controlled this time - not nearly as bad as the ones he had in the medbay - but it still caused him to go haywire. Slade knew he should probably talk to Chakwas about it, but also did not want to even mention his breakdown to anyone else, and figured learning how to silently suppress or control his meltdown would be easier than talking about it. Slade tried his best not to let his discomfort show, but Shepard noticed it.

"Are you okay?" Shepard asked worryingly.

"Yeah", Slade answered quickly. "Just getting used to everything, I guess. I kinda just got handed a new life and I'm trying to settle in ASAP." Shepard just smiled at him, but Slade was quite sure she did not believe him; regardless she pressed on.

"Well, we might was well add this to your catch up list", she started. "Long story short, we found out that Saren - a turian spectre - was responsible for the attack on Eden Prime and he now has an army of Geth taking orders from him. The council just made me a spectre so that I have the authority to go after him. Oh, spectres are galactic council agents who pretty much do whatever they want, and are never held responsible for their actions. Well…except for Saren, who we are now going to hold responsible for his actions and punish him accordingly…Ummm…it sounded a lot better in my head, but you get what I'm trying to say, right?" Slade immediately burst out laughing out how childish the Commander had sounded. He did not intend his laughter to be rude or inconsiderate, but he could not help but break out in uncontrollable laughter. The Commander soon joined him and the group around them contributed small chuckles. Slade and Shepard - with tears running down their cheeks - finally stopped laughing enough to be able to talk properly.

"So", Shepard continued. "We're just waiting for Udina and Anderson to figure something out, cuz I'll need my own ship to find Saren." Slade's mood performed a backflip as his laughter immediately became dread and his heart sank.

If she needs her own ship, then she won't be staying on the Normandy anymore. Here's the thing I was waiting for. I finally find a place where I belong and already people I like are already being taken away from me. Well, it was nice while it lasted, I guess. Damn it. I shouldn't have gotten so attached to her. I knew she wouldn't stay. This really isn't anyone's fault, but she's still getting taken away from me.

Slade was silent for too long and again, Shepard noticed.

"So…ummm…", she awkwardly attempted to continue. "I guess… I won't be around to inspect your salutes much longer…But you better keep practicing! I'm your senior officer now and I promise the next time I see you, I'm gonna inspect your salute and I better be impressed!" Shepard gave Slade the same heartwarming smile she had back on Eden Prime, and he could not stop himself from sadly smiling back at her. Commander Zoey Shepard was the first person to actually show Slade genuine courtesy and he was honestly sad that she was going to be leaving. Before Slade could say something, his omnitool beeped which caused him to break Shepard's gaze and look to his arm.

"Nice omnitool", Shepard complimented. Slade smiled to himself at her remark as he read the message. Please bring the Commander and her new team back to the Normandy. I've uploaded a waypoint marker to your omnitool. Just follow the directions it gives you. ~ Captain D. Anderson.

"The Captain just paged", Slade noted. "I'm supposed to bring everyone back to the Normandy." Shepard beckoned everyone else to follow.

"Well", she said. "I guess they found me a ship. Record time, too." Slade found himself hoping the Commander was wrong.