April 20, 2183

"There he is! What did I tell you?"

Lt. Kaidan Alenko grunted as Jenkins elbowed him in the ribs and turned to see what had the corporal so excited. Jenkins was staring across the docking bay, not quite pointing at the figure striding across it but looking like he wanted to.

The turian certainly cut a distinctive figure. Tall and dressed in red and black armor, he moved with that predatory grace that seemed inherent to his people. The hard plating that covered his face and swept into a crest over the back of his head was dark and marked with an elaborate white tattoo. Kaidan watched him cross the platform to approach Captain Anderson. "He's a Spectre?"

Jenkins turned to stare at him incredulously. "Are you kidding, man? That's Nihlus Kryik. He's the Spectre. He's on the vids all the time! This is awesome!"

Kaidan said nothing since he didn't necessarily agree with that one. He glanced over as Jenkins straightened up suddenly, brushing himself off. He followed his gaze and rolled his eyes as Commander Shepard walked across the bay, her eyes never leaving her omni tool. Jenkins had a crush on nearly every female on the ship and now the commander too? "You have weird taste."

"You know what that band tattoo around her arm says? The one with the weird hieroglyphs or whatever they are? I was hanging out in the same bar as she was on shore leave once and some guy covered in tattoos was asking about it. He gave this long rambling explanation about how his represented the darkness of the universe or whatever and asked her what hers translated into and she said: 'Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore.'"

"It does not say that."

"Aw, come on, man, that vid is still a classic. Ask her to show you the one on her back sometime, that one is the coolest thing I've ever seen. It must have hurt like hell."

Kaidan just shook his head. He thought she was rather strange looking, personally. Shepard was a long legged scarecrow of a woman who topped off just under six feet, whip thin with an almost boyish figure. Her fair hair was always sticking out in wild tufts because she ran her hands through it when she was thinking, which was pretty much all the time.

Okay, there was an intensity to her that was oddly compelling, he admitted. Kaidan had met the Normandy's XO a few months ago and still didn't quite know what to make of her. He'd been curious at first because she was a fellow biotic. But she'd been evasive about her training and didn't like giving displays of her abilities. She didn't spike very high but she was remarkably...precise...with her powers, demonstrating an eerie level of control that could only have come from extensive training. Kaidan let his fingers rest lightly on the back of his neck, just near the edge of his L2 implant. Maybe he couldn't blame her for not wanting to talk about her training. His own certainly didn't bring back fond memories.

He caught a glimpse of the Spectre again as he and Jenkins headed into the ship. He'd almost forgotten about him. Kaidan frowned a bit, once again wondering what he was doing here. He got the distinct impression the turian had been watching Shepard as well.

"Work, work, work, work..." Shepard chanted under her breath as she padded through the ship toward the command deck, her eyes glued to her omni tool.

She had to remind herself not to run because that was undignified. It had been years since she'd worked on a high grade ship. She'd served in various positions on patrol ships out along the Traverse but formalities and appearance tended to fall by the wayside when most of the time was spent chasing pirates and running to the aid of colonies under attack. It was taking her a bit of time to remember she had a certain image she needed to maintain, especially working beside Captain Anderson. He hadn't exactly come down on her because of her appearance but it was awful hard to run around like a wild woman when he was always so damned composed, and more than anything she didn't want to shame Anderson. The result was she actually took some time to maintain her appearance and made sure she was in uniform all the time. And she walked around the ship instead of running.

She'd served as an executive officer a couple of times as she'd been bounced around and under Anderson's tutelage over the months she'd quickly learned the ups and downs of running a ship like this. Anderson had assembled an astonishing crew that were scarily good at their jobs, but there were still a hundred things that needed attention any given day and especially today.

Shepard was having the time of her life.

She hated having nothing to focus on, was in fact half convinced that left to its own devices with no decision to be reached or no problem to solve or puzzle to figure out, her brain would flip out and devour itself.

"Commander?"

Shepard pulled up short. Damn it. She turned and smiled innocently as the ship's doctor leaned out the med bay door. Dr. Chakwas wasn't having it, her eyes narrowing sternly. Before she could speak, Shepard held up the energy drink in her other hand as a shield. Shepard's tendency to sometimes forget biotics needed extra calories and electrolytes and her odd sleeping habits were a source of irritation to the good doctor. Chakwas had quickly honed in on the fact that emotional blackmail worked well with Shepard by pointing out she had a duty to Anderson and the crew she needed to be at her best for.

Chakwas glanced at the drink, unimpressed. "Did you eat?"

For once Shepard didn't squirm under her gaze. Blackmail successful. "Yes, ma'am."

She thought she saw a hint of amusement in Chakwas's eyes at her meek tone. "Someone in engineering mentioned you were still up when he got off duty last night."

Howard, you're a big, fat tattletale. "No, ma'am, I just got up a lot earlier."

Stalemate, since she couldn't prove otherwise at the moment. Chakwas continued to study her, then she sighed and nodded. Shepard excused herself politely and hurried off before the doctor could speak again, reminding herself to head down to engineering at one point and threaten to crash the Mako purposely if Howard ever told on her again. That would fix him, he'd fallen in love with that six wheeled monster.

She paused and glanced back. "Have you seen the captain, Doctor?"

Chakwas shook her head. "Not today, I overheard someone saying he was talking to the Spectre agent. I can't remember his name."

"Nihlus Kryik," Shepard said absently, nodding in thanks as she moved away. The whole ship was buzzing over the fact one of the Citadel Council's best agents had joined them. No one believed for a moment he was there to check the ship's new stealth system. What bothered Shepard in particular was the fact the captain hadn't mentioned anything to her about the agent other than the Council had sent him as a representative. That meant Anderson knew what Kryik was here for and was deliberately holding something back, which wasn't like him at all. Or it meant he didn't know, which was troubling.

As a Spectre, Agent Kryik answered to the Council and the Council alone, which meant he could pretty much do whatever he damned well wanted. Their hands were tied on that which pissed off some of the more conservative crew members. Others, like Jenkins, were kind of in awe over the Spectre's reputation. Shepard had never met him before...or any Spectre agent for that matter...so she was trying to keep an open mind. To give him credit, Kryik was perfectly polite despite the suspicion aimed his way and hadn't thrown his weight around in the slightest. But all the secrecy on an already tense mission wasn't good for the crew.

Not for the first time, Shepard felt a glimmer of unease she couldn't quite define.

Jeff Moreau, known more or less affectionately as Joker, the ship's pilot, announced that they were heading through the Arcturus Relay, distracting her from her thoughts. Suddenly the subdued activity of the ship became frantic. Here we go.

"Hey, Commander!" Jenkins bounded around her.

Shepard smiled at him as he passed and strode up onto the command deck. One of the younger technicians wasn't paying attention and almost crashed into her, jumping back with a startled squeak and losing her balance. Shepard reached out to steady her. "You okay there...Chase, isn't it?"

"Y-yes, ma'am. Sorry, ma'am." The younger woman's face was beet red.

"Not a problem, we've all got a case of nerves."

"I've never made a jump quite like this one before," Chase blurted out. She went even more red.

"Nothing to it. Joker can do it in his sleep. Don't tell him I said that, though."

Chase smiled before she realized it, taking the edge off her embarrassment. Shepard chuckled and continued on.

On the screen, Shepard is leaning back in her chair, her head slightly turned and her eyes focused on some spot just beyond the camera's view, not looking a the doctor.

The doctor sighs. "Commander, do you wish to help humanity advance our position in the galaxy?"

Shepard turns her head and blinks, an odd expression on her face. "Advance our position?"

"Yes, wouldn't you like to see a human Spectre? And see us get a place on the Council?"

She appears to give the question some thought. "Sure. Is Ambassador Udina making everyone come on camera and say that?"

"All major officers on the ship are being interviewed, yes. You're aware the Normandy is a large step in our advancement?"

Shepard laughs suddenly. "Well, I guess that depends on whether we prove we're worth the investment, wouldn't you say?"

Nihlus didn't turn his head as Shepard came up beside him, but he'd been watching her out of the corner of his eye since she'd entered the bridge.

Joker glanced back at Shepard and caught sight of Nihlus. He looked away quickly but Nihlus had enough experience reading humans to know he wasn't pleased. He'd had plenty of such looks over the past few days. Most were probably suspicious as to why he was here. Shepard glanced at him before turning her attention to the window. She'd been cautious at first but not hostile, which matched up with what he'd expected from his research. Particularly that interview vid he was quite sure Ambassador Udina wouldn't be happy to know he'd seen.

The mass relay loomed in front of them and Nihlus squinted as the bright light of it flooded the bridge. Joker leaned forward in his seat. "Hitting the relay in 3...2..1..."

There was that odd vertigo of awareness and utter disconnection from thought, a timeless stillness as the relay threw them and then everything suddenly catching up to them at once. Shepard gave herself a little shake and stepped forward to look at some of the readouts as Joker ran a check to make sure all their systems were online and functioning correctly. He nodded and leaned back, smirking. "Drift just under 1500 K."

Nihlus nodded, impressed. "1500 is good, your captain will be pleased." He glanced at Shepard again and turned away, heading across the deck to seek Anderson out, keeping his hearing tuned back behind him out of habit.

"I hate that guy." He heard Joker mutter, not quite quietly enough.

"There's a shocker." Shepard's voice was dry.

"He gave you a compliment...so you hate him?" That was the man in the copilot's seat, Alenko, Nihlus thought his name was.

"You remember to zip up your jumpsuit on the way out of the bathroom? That's good. I just jumped us halfway across the galaxy and hit a target the size of a pinhead. So that's incredible!"

Shepard made a snorting sound. "Aw, it's not his fault. Turians just aren't well built to kiss your ass, Joker, they don't really have the lips to do it properly."

Nihlus was pretty sure the humans on the ship didn't know enough about turian expressions to see his amusement. Oh, yes, Shepard, I'll need to see you in action but I think you'll do.

She came off as cool and rather slow witted at first, but you didn't get as far as she had against so many odds without fire and the intelligence to use it. He knew that better than most.

Anderson was in the comm room, ordering a status report at one of the consoles. He looked up and nodded as Nihlus entered. Nihlus jerked his head back the direction he'd come pointedly and Anderson nodded again.

Joker's voice crackled over the comm. "Just cleared the mass relay, Captain. Stealth systems engaged. Everything looks solid."

"Good. Find us a comm buoy and link us into the network. I want mission reports relayed back to Alliance brass before we reach Eden Prime." Anderson leaned back. Nihlus kept silent. One of the best things about being a Spectre was not having to report in every damn step of the way. Sometimes the Council actually preferred not to know how something had gotten done at all.

"Aye, aye, Captain. Better brace yourself, sir. I think Nihlus is headed your way."

Anderson closed his eyes and shook his head slowly. "He's already here, Lieutenant."

Nihlus kept his gaze on the screen showing Eden Prime and politely didn't say anything.

Anderson sighed. "Tell Commander Shepard to meet me in the comm room for debriefing."

He hit a button, cutting off communication but obviously Joker had forgotten to do the same, allowing the two of them to hear as Joker shifted, probably turning to Shepard right behind him and saying sarcastically: "Hey, Shepard, the captain wants you to meet him in the comm room for debriefing."

Shepard's voice was fainter but still clear. "What a good little messenger you are."

"I'm just the best at it all, Commander."

"You forgot to turn the comm off, boy wonder." There was a shuffling sound and Joker yelped in protest. "I'm on my way, Captain."

"I told you, don't touch the hat-" Joker's outraged voice was cut off as the comm went silent.

Nihlus turned and spoke to spare Anderson the need to apologize. "How much have you told her?"

"Nothing, but I don't doubt for a second she's figured out there's more going on than she's been told." There was an edge to Anderson's voice, he clearly didn't like the secrecy. He glanced up as someone buzzed him over the comm. "I'll be right back." He moved out of the comm room.

Anderson had come as a shock. Saren hated the man, though to this day, Nihlus wasn't exactly sure why. The captain he'd seen work over the past few days was nothing like the arrogant, incompetent fool Saren portrayed him as.

But then again, maybe Anderson had changed over the years. Saren certainly had. Nihlus turned back toward the screen of Eden Prime. He hadn't spoken to his mentor and closest friend for a while now, no one was quite sure what he'd been up to. Over the years, he'd been adamant about not allowing a human candidate into the Spectres, had been furious that the Council was even considering it. However, even when he'd found out Nihlus was the one reviewing the human candidates, he'd seemed oddly subdued about it. If anything, he'd been slightly mocking, a strange, smug look in his eyes.

Footsteps drew him out of his troubled thoughts and he turned to see Shepard approaching. She hesitated, glancing around for Anderson before she turned completely toward him. He nodded. "Commander Shepard. I was hoping you'd get here first. It will give us a chance to talk."

She cocked her head slightly to one side, a very strange gesture that somehow managed to convey both caution and curiosity. "What about?"

Nihlus half turned away to give him a chance to gather his thoughts. Saren's warnings about the humans' rapid expansion flashed through his mind as well as the vid of Shepard's own interview. "I'm interested in this world we're going to- Eden Prime. I've heard it's quite beautiful."

She looked at the screen. "I've never been there, but they say it's paradise."

He nodded slowly, springing off from that to try and get his point across. "Yes...a paradise. Serene. Tranquil. Safe. Eden Prime has become something of a symbol for your people, hasn't it?" She was watching him, listening closely. "Proof that humanity can not only establish colonies across the galaxy, but also protect them." He turned away. "But how safe is it, really?"

"Is there a particular reason it wouldn't be?"

He could hear it in her voice, didn't need to look at her to know she was going tense, automatically setting herself against an enemy she didn't know. He turned back and noted with approval he'd been right on the mark about that. "Your people are still newcomers, Shepard. The galaxy can be a very dangerous place. Is the Alliance ready for this?"

Her hand moved up, her fingers touching the side of her neck in a gesture he didn't think she was aware of, brushing over the very edge of what he knew to be a massive scar. A souvenir of Akuze. She studied him thoughtfully, an odd, intense look in her long gray eyes. Before she could speak, Anderson came up behind her and she turned.

The captain looked at him pointedly. "I think it's about time we tell the commander what's really going on."

He nodded. "This mission is far more than a simple shakedown run." Of course, she already knew that one.

"We're making a covert pick up on Eden Prime. That's why we needed the stealth systems operational." Anderson made a slight gesture indicating the ship around them. She raised an eyebrow, one of those curious human expressions Nihlus had found could mean any number of things. "A research team on Eden Prime unearthed some kind of beacon. It was Prothean."

Shepard frowned for a moment, then her eyes widened slightly. "That's...what they found on Mars, right?"

"Close enough. It's the same for everyone. The mass relays, the Citadel, our ship drives...it's all based on Prothean technology," Nihlus said.

"So you see how big it is, Shepard, you know the Mars ruin jumped our technology forward two hundred years when we found it. But Eden Prime doesn't have the facilities to handle it. We need to bring this beacon back to the Citadel for proper study," Anderson said.

She was nodding slowly, understanding perfectly now. Or so she thought.

Nihlus studied her carefully. "Obviously, this goes beyond human interests, Commander. This discovery could affect every species in Citadel space." Anderson had already told him there were a few in the Alliance ranks that didn't agree.

Shepard blinked at him. "Well, of course..." Something in Nihlus eased, a small niggle of doubt fading away. "It certainly explains why you came with us."

For the first time he was fully confident about his choice. "The beacon's not the only reason I'm here, Shepard."

She did that odd head tilt expression again and looked from him to Anderson. The captain spoke quietly: "Nihlus wants to see you in action, Commander. He's here to evaluate you."

It took a moment for that to register. She stared at Anderson, then looked at Nihlus quickly, a startled expression on her face. "Me?"

Nihlus met her gaze. "Not many could have survived what you went through on Akuze. You showed a remarkable will to live- a particularly useful talent. It's one of the reasons I put your name forward."

For just an instant, Anderson allowed a small measure of pride to show. Of course, he was one of the reasons she'd even been considered at all and though he'd come in later in her life than some had, he'd obviously had a hand in shaping her. Even Nihlus had noted a level of marked improvement in several of her areas of skill under Anderson's command. "Earth needs this. We're counting on you, Shepard."

She was quiet for a long moment, her head tilted down as she studied the floor. She looked up suddenly. "Does Ambassador Udina know?"

"He didn't really have much of a choice in the matter," Nihlus said dryly before Anderson could speak.

"I just didn't hear any reports about him committing suicide."

"Shepard."

She ducked her head, attempting to look contrite. "Sorry, Captain."

Nihlus was careful to keep his voice neutral. "I'll need to see your skills myself, Commander. Eden Prime will be the first of several missions together."

And there it was. She kept her expression carefully professional but her eyes were gleaming. Challenge. Excitement. Eager to prove herself. Nihlus wondered if this is what Saren had seen when he'd chosen him as a protégé all those years ago.

Anderson motioned toward the screen. "You'll take the ground team and secure the beacon. Get it to the ship ASAP. Nihlus will accompany you to observe the mission."

"Captain!"

Joker's voice had all three of them turning.

"We've got a problem."

"What's wrong?"

"Transmission from Eden Prime, sir. You'd better see this!"

"Bring it up on screen."

The peaceful screen of Eden Prime vanished, replaced by utter chaos obviously filmed from someone's omni tool or a helmet transmitter. Soldiers were battling, one of them calling out and pleading for evac while a woman shouted orders in the background. Nihlus narrowed his eyes, trying to make out exactly what was attacking them. The camera jittered wildly, suddenly swinging toward the sky and focusing on...

They all stared for a long moment. Shepard finally broke the silence, her voice hushed: "What the hell is that?"