With the ship docked, I figured it would be good to pack up my things while I was gone. Less chance of someone doing something stupid with them. I kept my guns with my, as well as the energy sword. I don't like being unarmed. When I stepped into the elevator and pressed the button, I realized I would probably have a little bit of a wait ahead of me. The elevator was slow enough that I was able to have a conversation just waiting for it to go up one floor.

"Saria, do you have any weapon specs stored?"

"A few, yes. I also have a charger for the sword, so you should be able to keep using it. Why?"

"We're currently parked outside the biggest station around, and I figured we could get some supplies, maybe make a few more familiar weapons. That sword charger would be a bonus. What weapon specs do you have?"

In stead of telling me, she showed me through the HUD. Looking at what she had, I gave a low whistle. In addition to what must be one of my favorite guns in the UNSC arsenal from the war, there was also specs for Warthog mounted weapons, like the LAAG currently mounted on the 'Hog, or a Gauss Cannon. That would come in handy if I need to repair the gun, or switch it out for a heavier weapon.

Saria cut into my admiring the schematics. "Are these good enough?"

"Yeah. Those will come in handy."

Any further conversation was ended when the lift finally made it up to the main deck. I quickly made my way up the stairs to the CIC, then moved forward to where the airlock was, where either Tali was waiting, or I would wait for her.

When I got up there, Shepard was talking with the pilot.

"I'm just saying, Commander, are you sure trusting this guy is such a great idea? I mean, if half of what he says is true, he could probably kill us all. And if not, he's insane."

"Come, on Joker, relax a bit. This guy's obviously got military training, and some pretty advanced armor. That might rule out the crazy part, his story at least. Besides, you trust a Krogan mercenary on this ship. Just think of the Spartan as a military figure. He probably won't kill everyone on the ship."

I decided to butt into the conversation as well. "And besides," I started, obviously startling the two. "If I really wanted to kill everyone, I would have done it before, not when we're pulling into the center of civilization for you. Also, I haven't really fought against people who can throw me across the room with their mind. That might delay me a little."

Joker just look a little unsettled at that. "Great. The killing machine heard me. I'm on his list now. So much for 'I'm the only one who can fly this ship.'"

Shepard wisely decided to end the conversation before it could get worse. "Just drop it, you two. This conversation won't end well."

Joker just gave a clipped, "Aye, Commander," and went back to work as Shepard and I walked back out of the cockpit.

"Is he always like that?" I was wondering. Not the usual attitude pilots back home had.

"Not really. Usually he's more upbeat. I'm fairly sure he doesn't mean half of what he says at any given time. Wonder what's taking Tali so long?"

"My guess, the elevator." At the glare she shot me, I elaborated. "What? I didn't break it. I was just saying it was slow, that's all."

Just then, we could see the elevator doors open and Tali step out. She quickly made her way towards us. Once she got to us, we all stepped into the airlock, waited a second as the atmosphere equalized, and stepped out. At the end of the short bridge to the main walkway, a man in a blue uniform was waiting for us. I assumed that he was some kind of high ranking officer for the Alliance military, but I couldn't be sure. The only ranking member of the Alliance military I had for reference was Shepard, and she doesn't seem that big on uniforms.

The officer saluted. "Rear Admiral Mikhailovich, Fifth Fleet." I guess that confirmed my suspicions.

Shepard immediately snapped to attention, raising a hand in salute. "We weren't told to expect you, sir. I would have prepared a formal greeting." It took a lot of effort to not join her, as the admiral was not in the UNSC, therefore not over me, but I was only partly successful. I didn't give a salute, but I did stand a little straiter.

The admiral wasn't amused. "Spare me the pleasantries. I command the 63rd Scout Floatila. You and the Normandy were slated for my unit after shakedown. Then the Council got their paws ... Claws. Tentacles. Whatever. They got them on our ship. And you. "

If Shepard was annoyed at that last part, she didn't show it. "I still serve the Alliance, sir. As a Spectre, I can advance our interests to the Council."

Mikhailovich didn't seem convinced. He gave a small snort, followed by, "Do you still know what color your blood is, Shepard?"

Shepard didn't have a response to that, so the admiral continued. "I don't begrudge the politicians' decision to throw you to the Council. It's an ... opportunity. I do begrudge this overdesigned piece of tin though. "

I looked back at the Normandy. I hadn't seen any other ships here, so I couldn't gauge whether or not it was overdesigned, but I did know that the stealth system was unique, at least here. It seemed like Shepard agreed with me.

"The Normandy is a fine ship, sir. She's served us well so far. "

"It's a gimmick Commander. Useless in a stand-up fight. This experiment diverted billions from our appropriations bills. For the same price, we could have had a heavy cruiser."

It was obvious the admiral was one of those 'charge at the enemy with the biggest men and guns' type of military strategists. Not that bad on ground based warfare, nearly useless in naval combat. If he had faced up against Captain Keyes, he would have very quickly gotten chewed up.

The admiral was still speaking. "But no, we had to play nice with the Turians. Throw money at this co-developed boondoggle."

Heh. 'Boondoggle.'

"I'm here to make an inspection, Commander. The Normandy is an Alliance warship. I expect to see she's up to snuff."

The commander didn't rise to the bait. "We'd be honored to show her to you, Admiral."

"I'll just bet. Wait here. I won't be long."

The admiral walked off into the Normandy, while Shepard, Tali, and I just stood there, waiting. It was maybe 5 minutes later when he came back out.

"Commander, I'm not happy."

Shepard seemed a little confused, but she didn't show it. "I'm sorry to hear that, sir."

Mikhailovich took that as an invitation to explain his problems with the ship. "Who designed that CIC? Putting the commander aft of everyone else is inefficient. What if he needs to discuss with the operators towards the bow?" Granted, this is a valid concern, but he should be bringing it up with the designers. Not the commanding officer.

Shepard didn't even miss a beat. "Modified Turian style. They prefer their commanders looking over their subordinates, rather than in the middle of them. We wanted to see how effectively they can command with that setup." Specific answer. Either Shepard put a lot of research into the Normandy's design, or she's making it up as she goes. Either way, the admiral seemed to,accept that answer.

"Hmm. Reasonable goal. But they should have studied it in a lab, not on a front-line warship. I have to shake my head at that drive core of yours. 120 billion credits of element zero to make this thing move without giving itself away. You realize that we could have made drive cores for 12,000 fighters with that money? And what good is it to hide for a few hours, anyway? Useless!"

"We can loiter in an enemy system and monitor traffic, or drop infiltration teams on enemy worlds. The Normandy can be more useful than the Salarian STG."

Mikhailovich still didn't seem convinced. "Maybe, maybe. But that's not the job of a proper warship. We're supposed to find and kill the enemy fleet, not count how many times their garrison goes to the bathroom. And we need to talk about your crew, Commander."

I could see Shepard tense up slightly. I could guess where this was going.

Mikhailovich continued. "Krogan? Asari? Turians?And a Quarian and ... What exactly is that thing behind you?"

Shepard turned back a little to look at me, and I answered with a shrug. "Spartan."

Mikhailovich seemed a little confused before continuing. "And a ... Spartan." He paused a second to glare at me. "What are you thinking, Commander? You can't allow alien nationals free access to Alliance equipment!"

Shepard seemed a little annoyed at the admiral by that point. "Between Saren and the Geth, we have enough enemies out here. Treating other species with suspicion and distrust won't win us hearts and minds."

As much as I hated it, Mikhailovich voiced almost exactly what I was thinking. "That assumes the hearts and minds are worth winning. That hasn't been proven yet. You have anything else to say, Commander? Any other justifications for the state of this vessel?"

I could see Shepard take a deep breath, acting as if ready to begin a speech. On a whim, I stepped forward. "Actually, Admiral. I have a few things to say about the ship, with Shepard's permission, of course."

After a small nod from Shepard, I continued. I could see the curiosity in her eye.

"Let me start off by guessing that this is the Alliance's first stealth ship, am I correct?" With a cautious nod from Mikhailovich, I continued. "Now, since you have been spacefaring for a very short time, and have had no major battles, I will cut you some slack, and give you a little tactical advice about a stealth ship. Stealth ships are NOT 'front-line warships'. They are not built to take or give hits. They are not designed to perform as frigates in battle. They are designed to be used to infiltrate enemy lines, collect intel, and sabotage what they can. The most they can do to participate in a 'real fight,' as you would probably call it, is sneak behind enemy lines and get a few hits in on important enemy ships before fleeing. They are not designed for direct confrontation, and should not be deployed as such without wasting their assets and abilities. They should be deployed to where normal warships can not go, such as on a hunt through potentially hostile systems on a hunt for a rouge SPECTRE threatening all of Humanity. And as for the non-Human crew, the only one with access to classified Alliance tech is that Quarian, and with what the others say of her skills, I'm sure she could have found some other way of gaining the intel. Thank you for listening to my counter-points." With a small nod, I stepped back behind Shepard.

Mikhailovich was stunned. It took him a minute before he could talk again. "Well, Commander. This has certainly been an ... interesting ... tour of the ship. I just want you to know, my report on your ship will not be as negative as I thought. My other report though," He again turned to glare at me, before turning back to Shepard. "Who can say?" And with that, Admiral Mikhailovich turned back, and walked away into the elevator.

Shepard turned to me, then started laughing. "Thanks for putting the Admiral in his place. If we had brought Ash with us, she wouldn't have been able to keep a strait face up halfway through that speech."

I gave a small snort. "All I did was say what we were all thinking. I was just the only one able to say it because I won't be charged with insubordination, or have caused a diplomatic incident. I may be military, but I'm not Alliance, so he's not my chain of command."

Tali gave a small laugh as well. "I just have one question though. Why did you say you were a Spartan, not a Human?"

I sighed. "Call me paranoid, but somehow I don't feel like we need to announce that there is a Human with highly advanced tech claiming to come from another universe. At least, it would cause a minor diplomatic incident for themAlliance until they can actually prove I am from another universe. At most, the STG, or some other group, will put a bounty on my head for all the advanced tech I have. Now though," I turned to look at the elevator, coming back up to our level, opening empty. "I'm not sure how long I can remain in anonymity."

Shepard just turned to me and said "You're paranoid. Now lets get down to the wards marketplace and look for whatever it is you need to get settled in."

We walked into the elevator, and I settled in, prepared for the worst, but hoping for the best. A fast elevator.

Well, sorry this is late. You know the deal around this time of year. Schools ending, last minute projects finals, the usual. On a side note, this chapter was originally going to be longer, but this took me long enough to just get this out. On the upside, I will hopefully get more time to write after school's over, meaning either faster updates, or longer chapters.