Sam's last few days of leave went by without a hitch. She was reluctant to leave again, but eager to begin her first Alliance tour. Kayla was taking her leaving better this time around.

"You'll be back again, right?"

"Of course." Sam was holding Kayla close. "As soon as I can. It should be easier for me to keep in contact with you, too."

Kayla nodded slightly and looked up at Sam. "I'm gonna miss you."

Sam kissed her forehead. "I'll miss you too, Kayla." She squeezed Kayla closer, not wanting to let go. She eventually broke the contact and stepped back. She breathed in deeply and bent down to pick up her duffel bag. She turned and hugged Emily goodbye. She then turned around, and headed up the ramp. Turning around one last time, she waved, and walked into the shuttle. Brooks was already seated, and looking at her.

"Ready to leave, Shepard?" She nodded briskly, and took the seat across from him. "Carter, we're ready to leave when you are."

"Of course you are, sir. I'll have us back in space in no time!" The shuttle lurched slightly, and started moving slowly. Sam looked out of the window, savoring the last view she had of Kayla. "Hold onto your hats, ladies and gentlemen! We're now leaving Earth!" Sam felt the change in the shuttle. The shuttle sped up, and she saw the change in the atmosphere.

"You never get tired of seeing that." Brooks' voice made her jump slightly. He laughed. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you."

She shook her head slightly, sending some stray hair into her face. "I was just so wrapped up in the window, sir. Sorry. I didn't really pay any attention to the ship when I left Mindoir. So this is really my first time experiencing it." She looked down at the fists bunched up in her lap.

He patted her hands softly. "It's alright. I would say I understand, but I don't think I could." He withdrew his hand, and looked out of the window. "We should be coming up on the ship soon." He gestured toward the window, which she looked out of. "It's a breathtaking view as well."

That's when she first caught glimpse of it. "Oh my... It's beautiful!" She leaned forward in her chair, trying to get closer. "It's huge!" As they got closer, her eyes got wider. Brooks just sat back, and smiled at the expression on her face.

"There she is! The SSV Antietam, the finest frigate in the fleet! But only because yours truly serves on it." Sam laughed at this.

"Don't mind her captain, or anything."

"Oh yea, the captain's cool too." Sam laughed even harder.

xXXx

They got off of the shuttle, and were greeted by a tall, tan woman. Her eyes were a bright green, and her black hair was pulled tight into a bun. "Captain Brooks, Lieutenant Carter, welcome back." She nodded at the two men. Turning to Sam, she smiled softly. "You must be Serviceman Samantha Shepard. I am Staff Commander Talia Prescott, XO of the Antietam. Welcome aboard, Serviceman."

Sam saluted before answering. "Thank you, ma'am."

Talia smiled, and extended her hand. Sam took it and they shook hands. "You're welcome. Let's get you settled in." She turned around, Sam following closely behind. "Fresh out of Basic, huh?" Sam nodded. "Good. Your first posting will always stay with you. If you live through it, that is." Talia winked at Sam. Sam felt her stomach drop. "I'm sure you'll do fine though. The captain forewarded me your files. You grasp new concepts quickly, and control your temper well. That can't be said for a lot of FNGs." They entered an elevator and Talia pushed a button. "We'll get you settled into the crew's quarters first, then I'll give you a quick tour of the ship." They rode in silence, and got off on deck five. "If you'll follow me, Serviceman." Talia strode into the hallway, and into a room. She waved her hand. "This is were you will be sleeping. There's a few empty pods, just pick one and put your things in one of the empty lockers." Sam did as she was told, and quickly returned to the commander. Talia was nodding at her. "Good. That was fast." She patted Sam's shoulder. She turned back around. "Let's continue with the tour."

xXXx

The last stop was the mess hall. Which was a good thing, as Sam's stomach started rumbling. Talia turned to face Sam. "The food's ok, it's not five star dining or anything, but you get used to it. Grab some chow, and find a seat. Try and get to know some of these guys. You'll be serving with us for a while." One corner of her mouth twitched up. "They can be a little intimidating at first, but they're generally ok. You could learn a lot from them. Dismissed." Sam walked to the line that was forming. Two people were talking in front of her.

"A new guy? Really? I think we have more than enough people on this boat!"

"I think it's great!"

"Of course you do, Ramirez. It's a girl."

The man named Ramirez punched the other one's arm. "Very funny, Templeton. I just think we need some new blood. I hear she's really capable."

"At what? She just got out of Basic. What kind of real training does she have?" They stepped further up the line, but Sam didn't want to follow them. She hung her head and sighed. She felt a tap on her shoulder, and turned around quickly.

"Hey, it's ok. I didn't mean to startle you." He was smiling at her. "You must be Shepard, right?" She nodded at him. "My name's Maximilian Scarborough. I know, quite a mouthful. Most people just call me Max though." He grinned and offered his hand. She shook it.

"Samantha Shepard. Friends call me Sam. Nice to meet you."

He walked up alongside of her. "Don't let them get to you," he said, gesturing toward Ramirez and Templeton. "They're assholes, and everyone knows it." He flashed a grin at her. She nodded slowly. "So, this is your first tour, huh?"

"Yea. I'm pretty nervous actually."

"Don't be. You'll be fine. The captain's pretty good at recruiting capable people. When he has a choice in the matter, of course." The line moved up slowly, bringing them closer to the food. "The crap they serve here is only slightly better than Basic grub. Not much." It all smelled the same to Sam though. She helped herself to a big plate. Max just looked at her. "Biotic?"

She looked down at her plate, then over to his smaller plate, and nodded. "Is that a problem?" She was a little nervous to find out his answer.

He laughed. "Nah, it's cool. I just wanted to make sure. It was either that, or you have one hell of a metabolism." He grinned at her again, and she felt her shoulders ease a bit. Yea, I think I'll fit in just fine around here.

xXXx

Her first real day on the ship started out almost like Basic. Wake up, make her bed, get dressed, get breakfast. That's when Talia found her. They saluted each other, and Talia nodded. "Serviceman, good. I was just about to go and find you."

"Is everything alright?" Sam was a little apprehensive.

"Oh yes. We just need to set up a training schedule for you." Talia motioned for Sam to follow her. They walked over to a terminal, and Sam saw that her personal file was pulled up. Talia leaned over and tapped the table, looking intently at the screen. "Hmm, no zero-grav training, or HEAT." She turned her head slightly to Sam, seeing her confused look. "Hostile Environment Assault Training, but you can get that in the field. Zero-grav might be more of a problem, though." She pushed herself up, and brought a hand to her forehead, shaking it slightly. "I really wish the Captain would do some research before recruiting people." She sighed, and typed something on the keyboard. Sam saw the screen flash, and Talia nodded curtly. "Here we go." She turned to face Sam, who quickly stood to attention. "Serviceman Shepard, you seem to be extremely lucky. There's some simulations we can have you run through here, on the ship. It's not quite the same as the real thing, but it will make do for now." She quickly made her way to the elevator, Sam following silently behind. Talia pressed a button, and the doors closed.

"There's a combat simulator on the ship, ma'am?"

"Yes, Shepard, there is." She smiled softly before continuing. "It's state of the art, and comes loaded with everything we'll need." The elevator stopped, and the doors opened with a slight ping. Talia stepped briskly out of the elevator, and headed down the hall. She entered a dark room, and flicked the lights on. Sam looked around the mostly bare room. There were some terminals setup in one corner, but in the middle was the combat simulator. A chair with a wrap-around monitor. Talia walked over to the terminals, and grabbed a helmet. "Here, put this on." She threw the helmet at Sam, who caught it easily. She turned it around in her hands, feeling the weight of it. This thing must get heavy on your head after a while. It appeared to be just a plain, black helmet, until she put it on her head. She could still make out the room, but everything appeared to have a green tinge to it. "Go sit in the chair. I'll get this thing started up." Sam cautiously walked toward the chair, the helmet heavier than what she was used to. It was throwing of her balance a bit. She climbed into the chair, and sat back, looking up at the monitor. The screen flickered to life, and her surroundings changed.

She found herself in what looked like the blackness of space. Everywhere she looked there were stars. "Wow." She hadn't even realized the word had escaped her mouth.

"It is amazing, isn't it?" Talia's voice seemed far away. "Just give me a moment to set something up for you." Sam took this opportunity to try and move around. She tried swimming, like she did during the summers on Mindoir. The breaststroke is getting me nowhere quick. She heard Talia's laugh echo around her. "It's almost like swimming, but with no water to offer resistance, it's slightly different. You'll have to work on your technique, Shepard. But you'll get it." Sam shook her head slightly, almost turning herself completely around. She took a deep breath, and tried 'swimming' again, kicking her feet slightly. She went much farther than she had wanted to. Ok, less kicking then? She kicked one foot out slightly, and only moved a little bit. "Good. That's good. It usually takes a lot longer for people to get used to moving around. Probably because most people don't know how to swim very well." The scenery changed again, and Sam found herself standing on a dark gray, metal surface. She could still see stars around her. "This is mag boot training." Sam looked down, and tried lifting her foot. It was stuck to the metal surface.

"So, how do I move?"

"Just move your feet slightly to the side before trying to walk. You'll have to train your body to move differently, and that might take a while. But that's what the training is for." Sam nodded slightly, unsure if Talia could see it. She took her right foot, and tried moving it to the side, before picking it up. Her foot went flying wildly to the side, and if it wasn't for her other foot still being stuck in place, she would have spiralled out into space. Her weak knee bent awkwardly, sending waves of pain through her body. Sam bit down a scream, and tried to straighten herself out. She forced her right leg down, hard. The mag boot clicked back into place, and she bent over. Rubbing her knee a bit, she straightened herself out, and rolled her shoulders. I'm going to do this. She attempted to move again, using her left leg instead. Sam's results were almost identical as before. "Try using your ankle to slide instead. Just your ankle, Shepard. If you try to lift up your heel at the same time, you risk breaking your ankle, if not your entire foot."

Sam attempted to maneuver her ankle slightly, without raising her heel. It was a lot harder than it sounded. She could feel shards of pain in her ankle. "Dammit!" She breathed in deeply, trying to steady herself. She stretched her arms above her head, clasped them together, and bent slightly backward, stretching out her entire body. Standing up straight, she let her arms fall back down, swinging slightly. And she attempted to walk again. Again and again, she failed, but she was determined to do it. The last time she tried, she almost did break her ankle. Talia ended the program and rushed over to Sam.

Sam removed the helmet, letting it fall from her fingers. Her face was twisting in pain. "Let me see it," said Talia. She gently lifted Sam's leg and prodded at her ankle. "Some swelling, but I don't think you broke it. Let's get you to medical." Talia helped Sam up, supporting Sam's side. They made their way, slowly, to the elevator. "You did better than I thought, but stop pushing yourself so hard. You don't have to get it right the first time. That's the point of training, Shepard." Talia gently patted her shoulder. Sam just hung her head, trying to keep her weight off of her foot.

A/N:Sorry it took so long to get this one out. My updating seems to be sporadic, I know. Between hectic work weeks, killer headaches, and some finally gorgeous weather, I've been distracted lol. Hope you all enjoy this one. :)