My head throbbed as the shrill ringing of an alarm assaulted my eardrums. Too lazy to reach over and stop it, I could only toss and turn in my bed wishing it would shut it itself off. My woes were only worsened when I heard someone slam open my room's door.

"Dude, didn't you have a chemistry exam at nine?"

What.

I flung off my covers and stared at my alarm clock.

9:12 AM

"Oh Shit! Are you fucking serious?!" I yelled flying out of bed. I threw on the first pair of jeans and shirt I found at the top of my laundry hamper. Kicked the garbage can that had been knocked over out of my way. And as I hopped to my back pack with one leg stuck in my pants, my roommate simply responded "Ooh, good luck."

I knocked him out of the way as I finally slung my back pack over my shoulder, and careened out of my room.

Holyyy fuuuuuuck-

As I ran down our corridor and into our living space, I stopped to see the rest of my roommates just chilling around the TV eating breakfast without a care in the world. I paused to see that they were watching the fourth season finale of Breaking Bad.

Oh, such a good-I don't have fucking time for this-

I immediately turned around and moved to put my hand around the door knob leading out of our suite. Then my mom yelled at me from the kitchen as I began to turn it. "You sure you don't want breakfast hon'?"

"MOM, DOES IT LOOK LIKE I HAVE TIME FOR FOOD?!"

Without a second thought, I swung open the door and began sprinting down the driveway. And I ran for what felt like a mile before I realized I wasn't moving at all. Weirdly enough. I looked around me, only to find that I was now floating in space. Up-side down. Everything pitch-black.

I next noticed my back pack straps were gone.

"Where the hell did they go?" I asked myself while staring at my shoulders.

Then my head was blasted with a deafening scream.

I shut my eyes when the sound assaulted my ears, the unpleasant cacophony that came after it sounding like nails being dragged along a chalkboard. Immediately after I shut them, textures, shapes, images, pictures, scenes, worlds flitted by one after another. The incoherent chattering/screams of long forgotten races accompanied them. The chaotic nature of the message pervaded my brain, snaked through every thought. The sounds and images slithering through my head were too much, and I screamed in horror only to find no sound leaving my mouth.

A Blood Red backdrop, A Black world, then nothing.

I woke up with a loud shout.

"HEY! I'm trying to get some Sleep!"

I could make out the faint red tint of Fredricks crew cut across from me in the dark.

"Sorry," I mumbled a little too soft for him to hear several minutes later. The snoring coming from the bunk across from me though told me he had already fallen back asleep. Unfortunately, I couldn't do the same, as beads of sweat still dripped across my face.

It had only been a nightmare. But I could have sworn it was real.

I laid my head back on my pillow.

I thought it had been real.

...Real life.

I realized the dream was relatively 'realer' than anything around me. I'd only been in this nightmare for two days...but it's felt like it's already been an eternity with how much has happened to me.

How much time has passed back home since I woke up here? Does time even pass the same? If it did, two days from Friday night would make it Sunday night. But just waking up now meant I had really started my third, which meant it Was Monday, the start of Finals week.

Oh shit. I'm actually going to miss my exams. I'm going to fail that shit.

I was gripped in panic for a good second before I realized the absurdity of it. Then I laughed. Right now I was in a fucking fantasy world. Living in a space ship, in space, with aliens walking around right below me.

Why the fuck am I worrying about class?

I still had no idea how I had ended here. Although the most obvious answer was right before me, I opted to think on a more optimistic note. Back in the deep recesses of my mind, I fumbled for anything that could explain my insanity.

Was I comatose back in the real world? Lying in my bed waiting for someone to find me? Or was I already found and just waiting for someone to pull the plug? Oh god, I hope I'm not wandering around my room blathering about Shepard and Reapers. That would fucking blow...did I just stop existing when I woke up on Prime, with life going on as usual without me? Was I teleported here in some kind of dimensional shift with the world stopping just as I left it?

That last one would probably be the one to wish for. I wouldn't have to deal with all that other shit associated with the others.

...Was I dead?

I rubbed my eyes.

Ever since I had woken up in that alley way, I realized I hadn't had time to just stop for a few minutes and think to myself with no one around to bother me.

First it had been Powell making things difficult, and then the events at the spaceport. Then focusing on getting to the Normandy, my new appearance, the events of the Med bay, dealing with Shepard, the Trial on the Citadel, Spectres, Saren, FUCKING SHIT.

I now stared at the ceiling again. I had become so engrossed in everything that had happened. Reacting to everything that came across me like it was just part of my daily routine. I had adjusted to everything I had seen way too fast.

Seeing Shepard...I immediately just thought how I was going to get involved in her story. Not that the Space marines or Geth I was seeing were fictional characters. Seeing Nihlus for the first time too...it might have alarmed me to see the Turian dead but the next one I saw was no big deal. It was like that for every alien I saw for that matter. I was ambivalent to seeing freaking aliens everywhere. What the Fuck. And oh my god. Killing that Turian...I actually murdered somebody. You have grandiose daydreams about having to kill someone in self-defense sometimes and being an action hero but...Jesus. And besides the rush of adrenaline and vomiting, I had just gone on without giving it a second thought too hadn't I?

It scared me to think how fast I had adapted to the situation. How fast I forgot none of this was real. How could it be real?

And speaking of real...how do I get back to the real world. How do I get myself out of this place?

I lied in the bunk for several more minutes repeating the question over and over in my head.

Will it happen after I finish the game? After Shepard beats Saren? Will I just wake up in my bed? Or will I have to see the entire trilogy through? Oh shit.

I would have to live to see the entire thing through. Now this line of thought racked my mind.

What happened if I were to die? Would the mission reset? Would I wake up in this bunk on the Normandy? Would I wake up in my actual bed? Would I just straight up die for real? ...Fuck I could already be dead and all this some weird Purgatory.

I wasn't willing to really consider any of those no matter how plausible. I loathe admitting that I waited for a good amount of time hoping some omniscient being might reveal itself and give me the rundown of my situation. It didn't happen. No matter how much I egged it on in my thoughts. So, having no other options available, I resolved to take my predicament into my own hands.

This shit might be fake. My time here might be temporary.

Hopefully.

And even if I was only here for the events of the First Game.

God I hope so.

I decided I would leave this place in the best state possible. I couldn't sit back knowing I had the power to change things for the better in this little fantasy. I'm not that much of a shitty person. And Admiral Kahoku came to mind as this was all decided.

I'm not going to let that ol' bastard die just yet. Aaaaaand its not like I really have any other options available. Might as well make the best of it.

I jumped off the top of my bunk and left the room, proceeding to the Normandy's bathroom. And as I walked out, I happened to pass Shepard who was talking to Kaidan at his personal terminal. But I didn't really overhear anything from their conversation.

Probably just talking about BaAT and L2 biotics-

I then realized Shepard was one too. A biotic that is. And a good one at that. And her service record came to mind next.

The Butcher of Torfan...

What Barla had told me resounded in my head.

Of course she's the Butcher, that's obvious...but what else was a part of your history Shepard?

My first thought was that I should search her name on Mass Effect's version of the internet. Then I realized I still didn't know how to work my Omni-tool. As I next unzipped my pants at the stall, I made getting that tutorial in Chakwas' office my first priority.

Then my stomach rumbled.

Maybe a bite to eat too.

Hours Later.

I walked up the steps. Joker was next on my list of people to talk to. Not like I had anything better to do while I was stuck on the ship. I imagined it would take quite a good amount of time for us to reach Therum even with faster than light travel. Not like this was a video game with a quick travel option. Shaking my head at my predicament again, I went over the reasons for talking to him which included him knowing where we were currently were, how long it would take to get to our destination, and how I was actually kind of hoping the dude could get me in a better mood. He was called Joker for a reason. When is Seth Green ever not hilarious?

As I passed by the ships' star map, I noticed Pressly pretending to bend over a control panel, glancing at me out of the corner of his eye. The look didn't seem particularly friendly, so I pretended I didn't see him as I walked on by.

"So, you must be that criminal informant we have on our ship?"

Aaaaand of course. God Dammit.

"Uh...I wouldn't exactly call myself a criminal," I remarked.

"But you do work for the Shadow Broker right? From what I've been told, he runs one of the biggest criminal consortiums in the Milky Way."

I gave him a look indicating he was out of his mind.

"He's not exactly a criminal...per se. The dude sells and buys information. Sometimes legitimately. And sometimes in a less than legal fashion. If you don't like the way he does business though, take it up with him. I just work for the guy."

The back and forth we had for the rest of the conversation was pretty much just this. I would say the Broker isn't a criminal mastermind (which he was) and Pressly would argue otherwise. Even though the dude admitted he had never heard of the Broker until recently. Honestly, it was like the guy just wanted to bitch about something. And I guessed if it wasn't about the aliens Shepard had brought aboard, it would be about the one outsider that Shepard actually seemed to hate too.

I had the dark thought of letting him go down with the Normandy in the Collector attack months from now.

But even you'll be saved when I'm done here Pressly. Mark my words. Whether I like it or not.

I was eventually able to end the conversation with a "Nice meeting you," and escaped before he could say anything else. Master stroke on my part if I must say so myself. I then continued further down the bow of the Normandy until I finally reached the seat of our pilot and my destination. I decided to saddle up next to him and lean against his chair, getting comfy. He was still staring at the Normandy's interface when he spoke.

"Oh hey Rod, long time no see. How you adjusting to military life so far?"

"...Guess again," I said, thinking he had mistaken me for someone else.

"Huh? ...wasn't your name Rodder something? I thought it'd be easier t just shorten it to Rod. If it's not-"

"Oh. No it is...and in that case, never mind then." To be honest I actually kind of liked it. More than people calling me 'Marauder' or 'Shield' anyway. The name had definitely quite kind of turned out to be a bad idea. Who names themselves after obscure references anyway. "To answer your question though, it's been aight."

"Good to hear, good to hear. Oh, before I forget, you ever find that Beginner's guide for omni-tools downstairs?"

"I did actually," I beamed proudly. "And it was actually pretty helpful. These things are a lot easier to use than I had thought." I activated my omni-tool to demonstrate. "Impressive right?"

"Yeah, they try to make those things simple enough so even children can use them...no offense," he added after finishing.

Touché.

I grinned. "None taken."

He looked up at me for the first time. "So...did ya want something in particular? Or are you just here to keep me company?"

"Just curious on where we were headed."

"Well," Joker started. "There we were, just entering the Athens System when all of a sudden, Admiral Hackett from Alliance Command radioed us. This is the guy in charge of the entire fifth fleet by the way. Although you might've already known that." I nodded my head as he asked. "Anyway, he said some slavers were in the area and asked us to check it out. Suspected their base of operations was somewhere in the Macedon system, SO that's where we're currently headed now."

Slavers? Macedon? Neither of those are Therum. And I definitely don't remember fighting any slavers for a UNC mission.

"Uh, wasn't the Asari we're looking for in the Knossos system? Why aren't we headed there first?" I asked.

"I don't know man, I just fly the ship. Shepard and Pressly point out a place on the map, I get us there. If you have a problem take it up with them."

He seemed to get really defensive at my question. His reaction to it actually caught me off guard. "Hey, I didn't mean to second guess Shepard or anything. Just asking."

He let out a sigh. "Yeah well...sorry. I didn't mean get all pissy with you. I guess I've just been a little on edge. Some of the crew on the ship, Pressly, Adams-" He stared back at the red head behind me who had teased him the day before. "-and others are still questioning if I'm 'qualified' to fly this ship. Whenever someone has a question for me, it's usually just disguised criticism. When everyone's gunning for you, you tend to stay on guard."

"I didn't realize your work space was so hostile," I replied with honesty. "They're people gunning for you?"

"Uh, yeah. You remember how I mentioned I was the best pilot in the Alliance?"

"Yes."

"A lot of people don't feel that way...despite all my impressive commendations and records. You know, I wasn't even originally supposed to fly this ship."

The events of his stand-alone comic were still pretty fresh in my mind.

"Oh my god, you were the one who hijacked the SR-1 for a test run weren't you," I said feigning to connect the dots, like I had heard the story from some second hand source. I wasn't really in the mood for an entire synopsis of it.

He eyed me warily. "...I heard you can do that."

"Do what?" I asked genuinely curious.

"Knowing about secret things that should be...secret." He looked around like someone was eavesdropping. "What else do you know? Have any other dirt on me?"

I grinned at the chance to really freak him out.

"Alright, sure Jeff Moreau. Let's see. Graduated flight school top of his class. Was often passed over though because of his affliction with Vrolik's Syndrome. Resulted from absence of gene therapy in the remote colony of Tiptree that he was born in." Although I probably should have used a little more restraint telling him his life story, I decided to continue as the face Joker was making was hilarious. "After learning about the Normandy's first test run, you hijacked it by locking the original pilot in a shuttle. Would have been court martialed if not for a Turian general. Still has a father and sister back home. Has a fetish for-"

I didn't know where I was going with that last one but he stopped me before I could continue.

"Alright, alright, enough. Geez." He sat in his chair looking stunned. "Was me having brittle bones that obvious?"

"What? No, I would never have guessed. I only knew that from your file," I lied.

"My file?! Oh my god...do you know how paranoid you have to be to think every moment of your life was being watched? That there are people keeping tabs on everything you do from when you eat to when you take a tinkle? And then imagine that you actually discover you and your crackpot theories had been right all along?" He seemed to contemplate that his entire life might have been entertainment for some sick twisted pervert. Which was unfortunately true. I tried not to think about the implications. "Well...at least I know someone cares."

On that note, I thanked him for his time and turned back the way I came. It looked like Shepard planned to do some-

I shuddered at the thought.

-side quests before Therum. And ones I had never heard of before to boot.

One Elevator Ride Later.

Stepping out of the elevator, the storage area-slash-garage-slash-cargo bay of the Normandy seemed to be bustling with activity. Garrus was on top of the Mako, seeming to be hard at work messing with the mass accelerator mounted on it. To my left, Williams was hovering over the work bench taking a Lancer apart, piece by piece. It was the first time I had seen her out of her armor since I met her, and she actually had her hair down too Mass Effect 3 style. Strange stuff. Closest to me was Wrex who was digging through what I assumed to be his locker. And so, I decided to interrupt the one not hard at work.

"Whatcha up to there Williams?" I asked as I looked over her shoulder.

"Depends on who wants to know. Alliance regs state that marines shouldn't talk with civvies while they're on duty."

"...you aren't on duty now are you?"

She turned her head around and gave me a look that I determined was a combination of "Leave me alone" and "Fuck off jagaloon."

In response, I then took the safe move of doing the exact opposite of what she wanted.

"Hey, I'm sorry we got off on the wrong foot back on Eden Prime. I know I came across as a jack ass, and I just want you to know that I have nothing but the utmost respect for what you and your unit did back there. I wouldn't be alive now if it wasn't for them. I meant no disrespect when I put on your uniform."

She took a moment to register my apology before turning around to fully address me.

"If you really respect those marines, then you'd take off said uniform."

I would have been glad to take it off right then and there...if it wasn't the only thing that had kept me alive over the past couple of days. And that I had nothing else to wear.

"I promise the first chance I get to buy new clothes, I will Chief."

That finally seemed to win her over. Enough for her to lose the disgust on her face anyway. In fact, I think I almost saw a smirk.

"Just call me Ashley."

"Ash?"

"Ashley."

I'll take what I can get.

"Well then, nice to meet you...Ashley," I said outstretching my hand. She stared at it and for a second, I thought she wasn't going to go for it. But then I suddenly found it being crushed in hers.

"I'm looking forward to working with you...all of you," I added.

"Just try not to get in the way alright?" Then the marine looked around awkwardly for a second before adding, "Hey...I don't think I ever told you thanks for telling me about Samesh. I would have no idea he was at the Embassies if it wasn't for you. Helping him get Nirali back...it...I...it really helped a lot to see her given a proper send off."

"I just pointed you his way."

"Still," she said. "Thanks."

I realized the conversation was suddenly getting dangerous close to the topic of her dead squad again and I decided to expertly steer clear.

"So...you disassembling that rifle?"

"Oh this?" she said turning around and giving the gun a good thump on the table. "Just giving it a tune-up. Definitely seen a lot of action over the past couple of days. I'll probably just end up checking its coil and ammunition block though, might add a dampener mod while I'm at it."

I feigned interest as she went off on a tangent about how it was a heap of junk, but still insanely reliable. Like most Alliance standard military gear apparently. Hahne-Kedar supplied a majority of the arms used by marines in the Alliance, and the stock they received was only on par with the average firearm. If you wanted some quality equipment, apparently you should get products made by companies like Rosenkov Materials and Kassa Fabrication. They might cost you a pretty penny but was worth it in the long run. Or so she said. I still made a mental note of it regardless.

What I mainly learned though was that Ashley could talk your ear off. I was desperately searching for an out before we suddenly heard Shepard yelling out across the garage. "Williams! Wrex! Grab you're gear! We're up!"

I turned around to see Shepard, Kaidan, and those two Alliance marines named Emerson and Fredricks approaching the Mako.

"Looks like it's time for me to split," she said with a grin, making a move for her locker.

Garrus hopped off the vehicle as the soldiers started getting in. Shepard made a rude gesture at him to move aside. After that, I briefly made eye contact with her as she was about to board the death trap herself. But as I began to approach them, about to ask if I could tag along, she apparently read me like a book, and already knowing my question, shook her head no. She then disappeared within the vehicle. Just a few minutes later, Wrex and Ashely were aboard the Mako too and a loud hissing could be heard as the ramp of the Normandy opened. Blinking, I missed the Mako as it rocketed out of the ship backwards and plummeted to the planet below. And my heart sank a little bit.

I had just been left behind on our first assignment.

Thankfully, so was Garrus. I at least had him for company with everyone else was gone. And he seemed to share the sentiment.

"I"m pretty sure she had room for at least one more. I'm beginning to get the feeling that Shepard doesn't like me," he confided.

"You and me both," I replied.

"I don't want to say it's because I'm a Turian but..."

Shepard HAD seemed like quite the racist-

Or was it speciest?

-back on the Citadel when Udina first mentioned him.

"I can understand why though," he then spoke next however. "A lot of Turians still harbor resentment toward Humans for what happened during the Relay 314 Incident too."

"I'm pretty sure she doesn't JUST hate Turians," I decided to add.

He seemed to disagree. "I don't get the feeling the Commander is like that. Not with how she interacts with the others. She doesn't seem to have any reserves when speaking to Wrex or Tali."

"True," I conceded. For he was right in that regard. Shepard hadn't argued against my vote for taking Tali along with us, and practically welcomed Wrex with open arms in C-Sec. I suppose in her own special way. "But I'm sure it's just because she doesn't know you. She'll come around eventually."

"Thanks," he said. "Though I have noticed that a lot of the Normandy's crew doesn't seem too partial to me either. You should see some of the looks I've been getting..."

It was almost as funny as it was sad that racism still existed 100 years into future.

...or was it speciesism?

"I'm sure you'll grow on them once they all realize you're just a regular Joe too."

"Grow on them?"

He seemed to be confused by the mention of Joe as well.

Doh. Stupid cultural barriers.

"Sorry, Human idiom. It basically means once they get to know you."

"Ah."

In fact, he inquired a little more about Human culture with that prompt. How we addressed friends, greeted people informally, all that and more. The works. I had to admit it was kind of fun being the representative for an entire race. And I had to say I was surprised with how curious he was.

"Out of you, Wrex, and Tali, I wouldn't imagine you'd be the one asking me about all this," I mentioned honestly after he had finally run out of questions.

"Oh? And why is that?"

"I thought they would teach you that kind of stuff at C-Sec. To help you deal with all the different races you meet and things," I replied eloquently.

"If it was to address multiple cultures with proper etiquette than yes. But informally when we were off the clock? Not so much. I didn't have too many Human friends back at C-Sec so I never quite learned how you Humans interact with your familiars...I was actually thinking that learning some of your customs that might help me win over some of the crew giving me the cold shoulder."

I had to say, it was admirable to see how much he cared about making a good impression on all the racist-

Or was it speciest?

-crewmen on board. And I decided to tell him that.

He seemed flattered. "Well, back when I served on the Serrikan, my commanding officer used to hammer into us that each and every crew member should be able to trust one another with their lives. If they didn't, the mission you were on was most certainly doomed for failure." He paused staring off into space.

"Huh. So what did you do if you had two guys who didn't get along? With how much your captain seemed to like team work, I imagine he had to have had a few tricks to get people to play nice."

"Corinthus usually did it with violence."

The name sounded familiar.

" 'Let your talons do the talking' is something he always liked to say. A lot of Turian ships you see usually have training rooms for exercise combat sims and even full-contact sparring. So whenever two crewmen were at each other's throats, he would throw them in the ring to settle their differences. And at the end, both parties would settle their grudges amicably, and walk away with a new found respect for each other. He had apparently been doing this ever since the Relay Incident. And most of the time, it seemed to work."

Wait. This couldn't be...

"Really? ...all the time? ...were you ever in one of these situations?"

"Yes actually. It was the night before a big mission. We were about to hit a Batarian pirate squad, very risky. And this recon scout and I had been at each other for most of the trip. Nerves mostly. With a mission like that coming up, the Commander hinted we should get over our differences. Settle it in the ring. Not subtly mind you. I was hesitant at first, but she goaded me into it."

No way...

"She was a woman? I hope you took it easy on her," I mindlessly said, practically hanging on the edge of my seat waiting for the thing.

"Actually, she and I were the top-rank hand-to-hand specialists on the ship. I had reach, but she had flexibility...it was brutal. My eye plate got cracked, and I'm pretty sure I knocked one of her fangs loose too. After nine rounds of going at each other, the judge had to call it a draw. There were a lot of unhappy betters in the training room that day."

"So...what happened with you two afterwards?" I asked eyes as wide as dinner plates.

"We...ah...ended up holding a...tiebreaker in her quarters. I had reach but she...uh...she had flexibility."

Aaaand there it is. Classic Vakarian.

A Turian grin crept across his face. "More than one way to resolve a grudge I guess."

I found myself grinning at the end of his story too. "Going to try that with Shepard?"

That had the dude at a loss for words. He just kinda stood there with his mouth agape now, mandibles slacked, mind broken with the aforementioned hypothetical. Luckily for him, a familiar face was now approaching us from engineering. Adams had just finished talking to her and had taken the elevator up. And she had just spotted us as he had left.

"Garrus, Shield, did you not go planetside with Shepard?"

Garrus welcomed the distraction, breaking out of his trance, and wheeled around to face her. "Uh, no...there wasn't enough room for everyone. She ended up just choosing who she thought best suited for the mission."

"Who else did she take? I thought the Mako had room for eight?" the Quarian asked innocently.

Eight?! WHAT?! Why the hell did you only take two squad mates at a time then!?

"It was her, the Lieutenant, and the three other Alliance marines. Oh, and Wrex," he didn't fail to include. "The Krogan probably took up half of the seats in that thing alone," Garrus speculated.

"So what've you been up to this entire time Tali?" I inquired.

"Oh, just working with Engineer Adams on the drive core! Did you see how large it is? I can't believe they were able to fit it into a ship this small! I'm starting to see why you Humans have been so successful. I had no idea you had ships this advanced!"

"Well, the Normandy is special," I told her in place of a crewman that actually knew what they were talking about. "Prototype with revolutionary technology never seen before. I'm fairly certain a regular Alliance frigate would be less than impressive in comparison to one of your live ships in the Flotilla."

"I don't know about that," Tali replied.

"I have to say, I would love to see what that drive core on this thing can do in a fight," Garrus chimed in.

"From what Engineer Adams has told me, the Normandy is built for stealth, not combat," Tali relegated to him.

"But with the ship's advanced weaponry and the stealth drive adding a new tactical level to space combat as we know it, think of the possibilities! Surprise attacks, undetected flanking maneuvers..."

"Truth be told, if it comes to a fight, I'd prefer a flotilla ship. It's easier to trust what you know works. Some of our ships have been working for over several hundred years."

"Oh, sure they're reliable. But if you can't detect your enemy-"

Well. Here I am, just chillin' with the Fleet and Flotilla. And you know what? I'm actually glad I didn't go down. I'm sure this is way better than dealing with Shepard barking orders at me.

I sat back and listened as the two went on passionately about their hypothetical space battles and their own experiences aboard other spaceships, feeling a sense that could only be described as geeky glee. A freudian slip out of nowhere about massive drive cores suddenly had what I assumed all of us blushing in short measure.

Definitely better.

She stayed seated at the Mako's wheel. The rest of the team had already exited the vehicle, but she alone had decided to stay in her seat. While their mission was successful, it had not been what she was expecting. Instead of Batarians, the holdout they sieged was a random assortment of alien mercenaries who just happened to be as sick in the head as those four-eyed freaks. The fact that some of them had even been Human infuriated her.

How the hell could they betray their own race?

The head of the whole operation being Asari just puzzled her further. They were supposed to be the best the Galaxy offered, the most advanced species in the galaxy, and coincidentally were the closest to resemble Humans. Yet here one was replicating one of the most heinous crimes in the Milky Way. Shepard wasn't one to usually stereotype but she expected better from their race. She would have to report all this to Hackett too. She rubbed her head, getting a migraine just thinking of the paperwork. She then decided she would ask Kaidan to help with it. He always usually did.

Getting over her post-mission reflection, she exited the vehicle, only to find Shield be the first thing to pop up before her.

"Hey Commander! How was the mission?"

She wasn't in the mood. So she continued to walk toward the elevator.

"I'm assuming it went...well?"

She didn't respond.

"I'll take that as a yes. What did you guys find down there?"

She maintained her stride, ignoring him.

"That bad?"

His pestering had finally been enough.

"Oh? I thought you would already know by now," she said sarcastically. "The Broker didn't happen to tell you yet?"

The cheery disposition of the Broker's operative vanished. "If you didn't want to talk, you just had to say so."

"I don't want to talk."

Shepard then continued to the elevator and pressed the button to take her up. Shield didn't follow her up. She hadn't failed to turn around to make eye contact with him for a fraction of a second before the door sealed shut however.

Only a few more days...

Once she exited the elevator, she headed up the stairs toward the Command Deck. She needed to consult with Pressly about the best route for travelling to the Sparta System now. As much as she wanted Shield and Wrex off her ship, she had told Kaidan she would investigate the Admiral's missing marines next. Especially since she found the mystery of their disappearance concerning as well.

Reaching the top of the steps, she ran into Private Emerson.

"Oh Commander!" he spurt saluting. "I just wanted to say again that it was an honor to work with you. Watching you do a number on those slavers was amazing. That'll teach them to think twice about doing that anywhere near Alliance Space!"

She didn't have time to humor him.

"Emerson, I need you to write an additional mission report and turn it in to the Lieutenant. He should be updating the Admiral before we leave the system so I need it done in the next hour."

He snapped to attention. "Of course ma'am!" He also added, "Thanks again for taking me groundside," before running the rest of the way down the stairs.

She abstained from lecturing him that he had done less than satisfactory on the planet's surface. He was only marginally better than Shield at shooting, and he completely forgot that he could return fire from cover. And Fredricks fared little better. They were both honestly mediocre marines at best. She thought that guard detail on the Normandy had been beneath them but seeing them out on the field...

If the Krogan does betray us on Therum, they'd be ripped apart.

Seeing Wrex barrel through five mercenaries in a row without even losing his shields reinforced that notion. They could handle Shield, but the Krogan Wrex would be a different story entirely.

And what are my other options?

Servicemen Tanaka and Felawa had severely low technical scores for their assignment. She suspected they had only gotten posts aboard the ship due to political connections or nepotism. She had reduced them to simply high-paid sentries, watching for any suspicious activity happening on the ship. She had thought Emerson and Fredricks would have at least had the potential to join the ground team, but they had shown otherwise once they had actually stepped out on the field today.

The only real good news from the mission was that the Gunnery Chief really could hold her own. Fist's bar was filled with thugs who barely knew the right side of their guns. But the criminals in the base they sieged were significantly more dangerous. Yet the Chief had still fought commendably. Her survival on Eden Prime really hadn't been just due to cowardice. Williams definitely earned her spot aboard the vessel. In comparison to the others at least.

She tapped Pressly on the shoulder as he was apparently too preoccupied in whatever he was working on to notice her.

I'll have to congratulate Williams later.

Navigator Pressly had a navigation route planned to the Sparta System by the time she had finished asking. At least their Chief Navigator had assuredly earned his post. He and Shepard sent the course immediately to Joker, and the pilot assured them they'd be there within the next couple of days.

And that will be more than enough time to take stock of our current supplies.

She hadn't had time to do so with how quickly they had reached their first assignment. She left the two on the bridge and headed back downstairs to the mess hall. Apparently Anderson had also left her a gift before the ship was taken from his command too.

"Hey Commander, got a sec?"

She looked up from her personal locker to now find Lieutenant Adams standing above her. It'd still take time for her to adjust to gaining all of the Captain's duties. Aggravating as they were.

"What do you need Adams?"

Author's Notes:

Oh Shepard. Thinking Wrex and Shield are working together in a conspiracy when they haven't even spoken a word to each other yet is hilarious! While we're on the topic of miscellaneous thoughts, I was imagining this (31. media. tumblr dot comm / tumblr _ m1qheqqvuf1qd33gj. jpg) reaction for Garrus when asked if he was going to try popping his heat sink with Shephard. Yeah yeah you can't actually click the link but if you're curious, hit it up :]

Turian facial expressions are hilarious!

Also, thanks to alienvx0 for pointing out the glaring mistake. I've made the fix so the Commander's name now reads 'Shepard' instead of 'Shefard'. ...Embarrassing.

On another note, the story's now (practically) a month old! Milestone achieved! Though 11 chapters released in a month seems to me like I didn't write that much, it almost amounts to about three days per chapter. Which is decent. You can applaud if you want. I just wanted to give a heads-up though after heading back to school, and having homework, and projects, and stuff; I'll probably be updating much less frequently. It doesn't help my free time to write that I also just got DA:I and that I'm also a lazy fuck. Give a week tops until the next chapter. Definitely going to finish though, because I'll be damned if don't see this thang through.

(2016 EDIT: AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHA. '11 chapters in a month doesn't seem like a lot'. HAHAHAHHAHAAHHA-)

In the Next Chapter: Lava, Heatsinks, and Geth. I definitely didn't ask for any of this. My First Assignment!

Tune in next time to Act 1 of Mass Effective: A Hero Made!