It had taken a grand total of 15 minutes to get themselves and the Mako off that planet and onto the Normandy.
A quarter of an hour to pull himself out of his armor; to trade several inches of ceramic, kinetic padding, and his suits kinetic shielding, for the several feet of high strength battle-plate of the Normandy.
900 seconds to store his customized sniper rifle, built from masses of omni-gel and upgrades but little else, to put away his high end, modified, prototype HMWSR X pistol; and rely on Joker, the best helmsman in the entire Alliance fleet.
Fifteen minutes to switch out his combat inhibitor, for his biotic nullifier, and hope to whatever is out there that the Normandy's kinetic barriers hold.
He hated this.
He trusted Joker explicitly. The man was egotistical, snarky, and cynical… but Shepard knew a master when he saw one. They were the people who could pull off those zen-moments without even thinking about it, the ones who did their job, their art, their duty, with an off-handed ease and still be far above average. Joker was one of those people when it came to flying.
The Normandy was probably the most advanced, up to date, safest ship in citadel space. Not just Alliance vessel, but all citadel vessels.
That didn't mean he felt safe.
The first, and currently only human Spectre, tugged his boots on and double-knotted the laces. As he always did. Just to be safe.
He strode out of his quarters, his head held high and his back straight. He was the 'Captain' of this ship, and he would act like it. Because that's what he should do.
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I felt uncomfortable where I sat.
This… com room, was not uncomfortable, the walls were as comforting as steel could be, the chair was soft and adjusted to my form…
But the looks the rest of the crew here was giving me… they made me very… uneasy.
They weren't doing it on purpose, at least, all but the krogan weren't. It was only sidelong glances, furrowed brows, raised cheek flaps on the turian, the way the quarian had pulled herself inwards… though I couldn't decide if those were worse than the krogan beside me with one of his solid red eyes focused solely on me.
I shifted some in my seat, my savior (Commander Mason J. E. Shepard of the Citadel Special Tactics and Reconnaissance as I'd been informed), had yet to enter the room, though it seemed that the rest of the major members of the crew were present.
The doors hissed open and I looked up, trying to restrain the eagerness in the action. Insofar, the Commander was the only one who had treated me with any form of trust, I could not help but hope…
It was him.
I blinked. I shouldn't have known that so easily. It could be simply another officer to join the meeting that was a bit late. It could be that the Commander wasn't going to take the last open seat but stand during the debriefing. Logic dictated…
But as his eyes swept over the crew, intense and emerald green, a color not naturally found amongst the asari, or even the salarians... as everyone stiffened slightly when he entered, sat straighter, more exact… the way all eyes were on him, even the krogans… I just knew.
His eyes finally landed on me, I could feel my hands clutch at the pants of my outfit, my mouth opening to say something, anything…
Then he smiled.
The tension in the room evaporated as if it had never been as he walked over to the seat across the room, directly opposite of me.
He reclined in the chair, leaning back as far as it would go, letting his legs lie straight and crossing his ankles, lacing his fingers together over his stomach he swept his eyes over us again with a raised brow. His posture simply screamed 'I'm perfectly relaxed and at ease, what's wrong with all of you?'
After several seconds, he reached over and lightly tapped a button on the arm of his chair, "Joker? Any comments?"
"Well… I'd say it was a bit too close Commander. Ten more seconds and we'd have been swimming in molten sulfur. The Normandy isn't equipped to land in exploding volcanoes. They tend to fry our sensors and melt our hull… just for future reference."
I blinked confusedly even as my savior shook his head and smiled, "We almost died out there and your pilot is making jokes?"
He looked over at me, "Joker just got us out of there, he's got a right to a couple bad jokes…" His smile faded just a bit and the Commander shrugged, "Besides… it's his way of coping."
"I see… It must be a human thing… I don't have much experience with your species Commander," Something that was unfortunately true even now, "But I am grateful to you. You saved my life back there, and not just from the volcano. Those geth would have killed me or dragged me off to Saren."
The only other human male in the room spoke, "What did Saren want with you? Do you know something about the Conduit?"
"Only that it was somehow connected to the Prothean extinction. That is my real area of expertise. I have spent the past fifty years trying to figure out what happened to them."
"Wait," the female who had accompanied the Commander interrupted my thoughts, "Fifty years? How old are you exactly?"
I shifted in my seat uncomfortably, "I hate to admit it but I am only a hundred and six."
"Daamn, I hope I look that good when I'm your age."
I was not comfortable with letting that go as it was, "A century may seem like a long time to a short lived species like yours, but among the asari, I am barely more than a child," I noted her eye roll at my comment but ignored it, "That is why my research has not received the attention it deserves. Because of my youth, other asari scholars tend to dismiss my theories on what happened to the Protheans."
The Commander sat up, the chair creaking slightly as he did, and the room fell silent. His hands steepled, his emerald eyes gazing straight at me. He let the silence hang for a moment more before speaking, "Dr. T'Soni, I feel I just might know what caused the prothean's extinction."
That startled me, "I'm sorry, but with all due respect Commander, I have heard every theory out there. The problem is finding evidence to support them. The Protheans left remarkably little behind," I followed that vein of thought, beginning to feel comfortable and in my element, "It is almost as if someone did not want the mystery solved. It's like someone came along after the Protheans were gone and cleansed the galaxy of clues. But here is the incredible part: According to my findings, the Protheans were not the first galactic civilization to mysteriously vanish. The cycle began long before them."
The lone quarian in the room spoke up, "Wait a second, I thought there wasn't any evidence…"
It was a good point, but I had an answer, "I have been working on this for fifty years. I have tracked down every scrap and shred of evidence. Eventually, subtle patterns start to emerge. Patterns that hint at the truth…" I trailed off for a moment, trying hard to put what I knew into words, "It is… difficult to explain to someone else. I cannot point to one specific thing to prove my case. It is more a feeling derived from a half century of dedicated research…"
"But I know I am right. And eventually, I'll be able to prove it. There were other civilizations before the Protheans. This cycle has repeated itself many times over."
The turian was the one to inquire this time, "If the protheans weren't the first, then who was?"
"I don't know. There is barely any evidence on the Protheans. Even less on those who came before them. I cannot prove my theory but I know I am right!"
"The galaxy is built on a cycle of extinction, each time a great civilization rises up, it is suddenly and violently cast down. Only ruins survive."
"The Protheans rose up from a single world until their empire spanned the entire galaxy. Yet even they climbed on top of the remains of those who came before. And then, like all the other civilizations throughout galactic history, the protheans disappeared. I have dedicated my life to finding out why."
The Commander spoke after a moments pause, "They were wiped out by a sentient race of machines, called the Reapers."
"T-The Reapers-? But I've never heard of-" A very large part of me doubted that the Commander was the type of person to make fun of my ideas, tease me, or even begin to offer an theory on how the Protheans disappeared, let alone say he might know, "How do you know this? What evidence do you have to support it?"
"Not too long ago I encountered prothean technology, a… beacon of sorts, it burned images into my brain."
"A beacon…?" I searched my mind as quickly as I could, "Yes, of course, the beacons were designed to transmit information directly into the mind of the user… Finding one that still works is extremely rare."
If that had been on Eden Prime… "Now wonder the geth attacked Eden Prime. The chance to aqquire a working beacon, even a badly damaged one, is worth almost any risk."
A thought occurred to me, "But… the beacons were only programmed to interact with prothean physiology… whatever information you received would've been confused," I searched for a word that could express it, "unclear…"
My respect for my savior had risen even higher, "I am amazed you were able to make any sense of it at all. A lesser mind would have been utterly destroyed by the process… you must be extraordinarily strong-willed Commander…"
The human woman spoke up harshly, "Yeah, well, this isn't helping us find the Conduit or Saren."
I was reminded yet again why I preffered digs to actual interaction, "Of course. You are right. I am sorry; my scientific curiosity got the better of me. Unfortunately I do not have any information that could help you find the Conduit, or Saren."
"Well, regardless," Shepard stood, "I don't think it would be smart to leave you somewhere Saren could find you."
I couldn't help myself, I smiled and stood as well, "Thank you Commander. You are right, Saren might come after me again. I cannot think of anywhere safer than here, on your ship," I almost slapped myself, and thanked the Goddess I wasn't blushing, I should not have emphasized those words like that, nor have gotten this close, "And my knowledge of the Protheans may be useful later on."
The krogan, now behind me, spoke up in his deep bass, "And her biotics will come in handy when the fighting starts."
Shepard smiled some, "Good. Everybody wins," he paused for a moment and a comically pensive expression crossed his face, "Well… except Saren. He's going to get his ass kicked."
A.N.): Alrighty! It might be a while before I can update again. I don't know how long. Just thought I'd give you all fair warning.
YamiDchan: Thank you so freaking much! I started to write her part in third person, decided it didn't work, and switched to first. But I missed that! Thank you! And blast, you caught me, yes, it's going to be a Mshepard/Liara story. There are going to be other pairings but that's the main one.
Bandgsecurtiyaw: Thanks for the review!