2

Late night visit

The doorbell rang through the apartment via the speakers and broke the idle state of it. It replaced the snores of the place's only living soul and the muffled stir from the orbit city outside. The door terminal lightened up the hallway and living room. The idle mood of the apartment was changing.

The snoring soul, David entered a state between sleep and wake as the noise reached his ears. Images from his dream were attached to his mind, images of his childhood back on Earth, of his mother. But these were soon fading away and he came to find himself laying on his bed in a darker were only flickering light from the city outside of the window scattered through. The doorbell had ranged and David forced his yet exhausted body in a sitting position on the side of the bed. He was forcing himself to resist the temptation to fall back on the madras and continue the sleep. The digital clock on the wall indicated that the clock was 02:35. Who the hell had the courtesy to wake him up that time of the night?

The doorbell rang again.

"I'm coming!" he shouted out in the corridor, not knowing nor caring whether the person at the door heard it or not. What he really wanted, however was to tell him to fuck off, but even in an annoyed and tiered state he had some courtesy.

He groaned as he felt the pain in the knees when he heaved himself up on feet. The rheumatism reminded him every day of his age and made him miss the youth when he could move freely. When the pain in the knees ceased, he picked up his morning robe that hanged on a chair close to the bedroom door, put it on and entered the hallway.

The idleness in the corridor was disrupted by David's footsteps when he walked toward the apartment door. He did not switch on the lightening since the light through the windows was enough for him to navigate.

He approached the terminal next to the door in the hallway. He touched the command to view the corridor outside the door. They'd better have a god reason, David thought for himself. The image expanded on the screen and he saw two men, one bigger that was a bit stout and one slightly smaller, each with a dress suit.

"Captain Anderson?" the taller asked and looked up toward the camera.

He was not sure what to make about the situation. The men looked somehow familiar, but he could not remember how. Guessing by their dress up, they were either government or corporate people. What made him worry were the stories he had heard about people being dragged away from their homes at night, often for not supporting a faction. A military leader could disappear over one night for not vouching for a higher power and replaced by a "better suited" man the next day, but he was not a high ranking officer.

"That's me" he replied shortly.

"Captain Anderson, we are sorry to trouble you, this time of the night, but we are here in affairs of the Alliance of Men and we would like to talk with you".

David now remembered them, at least one of them. The bigger one was the recently posted general secretary of the Alliance, Boris Yakovlev.

Perhaps leaving them waiting at the door would be rude, and David wondered what a high ranking person like Yakovlev was doing at his doorstep this time of the night. Therefore, without question the visitors business, he activated the doors opening command.

The two suited men entered as the door slide aside with a hissing sound. Yakovlev reached out his hand toward David.

"Boris Yakovlev, general secretary of the Alliance." David grabbed his hand and shook it. "I'm here with chief of foreign relations, Zefirino Santiago."

"Yeah, I know about you." David switched to shake Santiago's hand. "I don't know what what you are doing here at this time, though."

"No doubt you are. Let us explain it over a cup of coffee, if you will?"

"Yeah, sure, just take a seat and I'll make coffee." David pointed with his hand toward the living room.

The two men nodded and went there with their briefcases while David went into a dark kitchen that lightened up by his presence.

David's apartment, 1686 98f 24:30, was not the ordinary kind of living. There was not more furniture than needed and was lacking in decoration. The walls had no paintings or pictures. The furniture was the same that included when the living were given to him and was in the same state with no external decoration. The apartment was sterile, but it was enough for David the few times he was there. To say that he lived there was not much more truth than the fact that he was registered there. He lived mostly on the ships he was serving on. He did not like the thought of living away from the duty and job he loved and the people that he knew.

The apartment was mainly used as storage for the limited amount of things he owned and had gathered over the years. These were inessential things such as old clothing, books, decorations given to him as birthday gifts and other rubbish. The only things of value in there was the medals he had earn with his commendations, picture of the people he had served with and some other things that reminded him of his career in the Alliance fleet. Where ever he lived after the point when he was too old to serve, he would bring up these things and put them where they would remind him of good times, but for now they were stuffed down in boxes with the other stuff, stacked in the guest room.

Sometimes he actually lived in this apartment, but only temporary when he was in Cosmos and needed a place to live at. He would call some local cleaning company to come there before his visit and get rid of the worst of the dust that had gathered when he was not around.

When he had cooked the coffee and dressed up in something more appropriate that his morning robe, he joined his unexpected guests in the living room where they had prepared tablets and papers on the couch table.

"Perhaps you have wonders about this sudden visit of ours? As I said, we are here in affairs of the Alliance that is rather secret .We have come this time of the evening so that what we say don't reach the wrong ears." Yakovlev sat I the couch and he looked in a sitting position more… well, fat.

David noted that the general secretary had done the talking thus far while his colleague remained silent, but he still had the look that he knew that he belonged there.

"We are expecting another before starting this meeting". David noticed the circular platform that had been place in the middle on the table. Santiago activated this and a small holographic picture of a man appeared.

"Captain Anderson, this is ambassador Udina of the Citadel embassy. He will participate in our talks."

"Captain" greeted Udina in a professional manner with a nod toward David. David responded with a nod.

"Captain, the reason we have come to you is that we want to talk to you about commander-lieutenant Alex Shepard" Santiago loaded a picture on a tablet and turned it toward David. It displayed the young commander.

What did they want with Alex?

"We understand that you know him well?"

David nodded. "Yeah, I know him. I've known him for twenty years, since he was no more than a child."

"Since Mindoir?"

"The only one who had not been killed or abducted. Has no memories of the whole thing, maybe for the best. I visited him regularly in his days as orphan here in Cosmos."

"Did you become a father figure for you?"

"I don't know if you could say that. The kid had no father and I never had kids on my own, so I guess we have some kind of relationship, but as a father figure? I don't know." He had always asked that question but never found an answer.

"Why are you asking this?" he asked. "What is it that you want with Shepard?"

Yakovlev put away his cup. "Of course, you deserve to know. This is not an interigation."

"The council of the Citadel has again granted our request to recommend a candidate for the next Spectre agent" said Udina. "We are considering selecting Shepard."

Memories came to the surface in David's mind, embarrassment, anger… hell, no good memories, that he tried to put behind him, but always seemed to catch up with him and bite him in the heels.

"Wait, are you want Shepard a Spectre?" David pointed at the picture of Alex.

"We are considering, strongly considering actually. Shepard is the kind of man people would look up to. He is young, handsome and he has gained fame and respect through his actions at Terra Nova which also shows that he is capable."

"He is the ideal poster-boy" filled Santiago.

"Exactly, someone who can be a leading star for humanity."

Yakovlev poured new coffee in his emptied cup. "We have examined his physical and psychological profiles as well as spoken with his relatives. We have agreed that Shepard appears to be perfect for the Spectre program. But we would like your opinions of Shepard." He put his refilled cup on the table instead of drinking it.

Shepard was everything they had described. He had already during his childhood showed signs that he would accomplish great deeds. David had seen this the very moment he met Shepard, injured, traumatized but alive while no one else was. He had been through hell, just as a kid! And another time when he was just twenty, but he had survived and kept pushing through life despite what he had been through. David had no doubt that Shepard would get it done.

"I hope that we can trust our judgment" said Santiago while swinging a pen between his fingers. "Last time the Alliance had an opportunity like this things turned to the worst. Humanity lost all respect amongst the other races and became humiliated by her own media."

David prayed that the minister would not point out his past failures.

"That is why we cannot let anyone know about this until we deliver results" said Udina.

"Indeed, and to ensure Shepard enlistment as Spectre, I and my colleagues has decided to appoint mentors for to his aid. The first is ambassador Udina. He will mostly keep us updated on Shepard's progress. And we had hoped that you would accept to become his personal mentor due to your personal relations with him."

David leaned back in the armchair. "On part- or full-time?"

"Full-time. You will be spending your whole time with Shepard. You will be available at full-time in the Citadel alongside Udina. You will have all expenses covered and be given a fond when your services are used."

David bent forward clutched his hand while thinking. He had pasted his fifties and was getting close to his retirement from the Alliance fleet. Soon they would kick him of the Kyoto and put him in a training camp as instructor, or somewhere else he was not in the way. He would want to spend time with Shepard, helping him to succeed where David did not. He was however afraid of being idle in his new duty – he had never liked it and became marine for the very reason. He despised the thought of sitting around in the Presiduim, doing nothing. Even if he had promised himself to sit down one day to do, well, nothing, he felt that he was not done, not yet. But perhaps following Shepard would lead him to his last adventures?

Would his guests accept a no? – Probably not.

"I guess that means that I get resigned from Kyoto?"

"Yes, but you will not be without a ship." David looked up from the floor at Yakovlev. "There is a project under production, a frigate build on new technology developed by a joint team of both humans and turians. It is intended to serve Shepard when he becomes Spectre, but until then we will let you command it."

What did he really have to lose, other than a sterile, but safe retirement? He was not too old yet, but was not far from it, so one last adventure?

David nodded. "Okay"

Authors notes:

Here it is; the second chapter. Now, in this message I just wanted to let you know that what you are reading here is the very first draft on this chapter and there is no further chapter that exists beyond my mind. So do bear in mind that there are flaws, both form- and content wise and there is more to come. I acknowledge this and recommend to not holding high expectations – after all, I am a mere green-ranger in the romantic literature.

I will review my own work when all chapters are written and fix the flaws in a rework – if I find the motivation to do so! But I would love if you could spared a few minutes to review my work and point out my mistakes and perhaps some advises for the rework as well for future work.

I would appreciate it!