A/N: Christ, with how fast I'm going I'll have this thing done in not time at all. Before I really get into the fighting, the missions and the overall badassery of a nano soldier running loose in the ME Universe, I decided to put a filler chapter to set the mood aboard the Normandy and get things ready for much later in the story. And trust me, this will definitely set the right mood for many.

I own nothing

Alexander 'Maverick' Drake

SSV Normany SR-1 - Cargo Bay

July 21, 2183 - 13:52 hours

Time aboard the Normandy was a rather tense since leaving the Citadel. Shepard had made a grand speech about them stopping Saren and the Geth which got a lot of people rallied behind her.

They were now en route to Therum to gather Liara T'Soni, the Commander received intel on the doctor's whereabouts and wanted to collect her. Not only for her relation to Benezia, her mother, but also for her extensive knowledge on Protheans which could aid Shepard in understanding the vision given to her by the beacon.

Alex had spent the last few days combing over the reports sent to him by the Council about what happened on Eden Prime and what information they could disclose on Saren and the Geth.

After reading it with his eyes, he had Prophet store the more vital pieces of information just incase it was needed later.

The Post-Human had also spent his time mostly in the cargo bay tinkering with his weapons and gathering intel on the ship and crew. He believed that there was at least one member of the crew implanted by Cerberus to spy on them and he was intending on making sure that if there was they were silenced quickly and quietly.

Once on the Normandy, Alex immediately knew that the game did it no justice. The frigate was easily twice the size it appeared on a tv screen. The crew deck was larger and housed a rec room for the crew's down time. The cargo area had a small shooting range and a gym with shower facilities. And the mess area was bigger than he would have thought. All in all it was a pretty damn good ship.

At the moment, Alex was doing target practice in the ship's shooting range with his bow. Several members of the crew having come down and watched in slight awe as the 'primative' weapon was just as deadly as any gun.

The newly appointed Spectre let another arrow fly and hit the bullseye on a Human sized target on the farthest end of the range. "Damn, I guess the classics never really go out of style." commented Ashley as Alex folded the bow back up and put it away.

"I've seen that thing in action, surprised no one's thought about mass producing it." said Garrus from his spot by the Mako working on calibrations.

"So far it's one of a kind." said Alex locking up his equipment. "The arrows fired go at a much slower velocity that most kinetic barriers can't detect it until it's hit the target. It is also silent, making stealth and recon missions easy to carry out without detection."

Wrex chuckled from his spot against the wall, "Who needs stealth when you can just blow things up."

Alex looked his way, "Did I mention that I also have arrows that are remote detonated with the force of two frag grenades?"

The Krogan grinned, "Devious pyjack aren't you? I'd like to see how you'd fare against a strong opponent." he said slamming his fists together.

"Name the time and place old man, and I'll be sure to give you a challenge you won't forget." said the vigilante rolling his neck.

Everyone went back to what they were doing before, Ashley approached Alex clearing her throat. "Hay Maverick. I always wondered something." Alex turned to the Gunnery Chief. "Your Human...right? I mean are you just like every soldier out there just with a more powerful suit?"

"You could say that." said Alex after a moment's thought. "Though the suit doesn't make the man, it's the other way around. Without the training, the will and the instincts of the one wearing it a suit is useless. I guess you could say I'm...unique."

Ashley looked around the cargo hold, "Your okay working with aliens? I mean, I know the Commander trusts them after they helped you get the evidence against Saren. But what if they turn on us?"

Alex whipped around quick making the Chief take an involuntary step back. "Are these just fleeting thoughts Williams? Or are you trying to extend the xenophobic olive branch?"

"I'm just saying that this is a Human vessel and we have all these non-Humans around. Should we be so easy to trust?" she asked.

"Your religious, aren't you?" Alex asked. Ashley looked confused but nodded, "It is said that God created us in his image. But our race is made up of different colors, nationalities, sexual orientation, and cultures. Just because something is different doesn't always mean that it is evil."

"We fear that which we don't understand. And if we can't understand it, or control it, we fight to destroy it. It's not just Human nature. The First Contact war is evidence of this. Had Humanity and the Turians attempted to use diplomacy more properly in the beginning countless lives could have been spared."

He motions across the room at Garrus and then at Wrex, "A person's a person. No matter what they are. And it's a big galaxy out there. If we cannot learn to overcome our prejudices, then we will forever be the odd ones out. Always behind everyone else because we can't look past our own noses to see what's going on around us. That's why I believe Commander Shepard let Garrus, Wrex and Tali aboard. She believes in equality among everyone."

Ashley's brow crinkled in thought. Alex rested a hand on her shoulder, "I know all about your family's history Williams. That your grandfather surrendered at Shanxi and the Alliance brass blacklisted your entire family for it. They were wrong. Your grandfather did the right thing."

She looked up at him in shock, "Had he not surrendered, more people would have died. He did the one thing both sides of the war should have done. He put his guns down and used his words. And in the end he saved lives on both sides. In my book, that makes him a hero, not a traitor."

The Chief's eyes shimmered, but she was too proud to let tears fall. "No ones ever thought of it from that point of view. People were so quick to mark my family as that of a traitor and that our military careers were tainted for it." she said evenly.

"Your grandfather would have been damn proud of your achievements. But don't let misguided fear of the other races out there make you into someone your not. Follow his example and follow your heart, not your fear." said Alex sagely.

Ashley smiled, "Who would have thought our resident vigilante had a philosophical side."

Alex shrugged, "You can thank my folks for that. They instilled good morals in here." he said lightly tapping the side of his head.

Nodding, Ashley went back to her station thinking over what they talked about. Alex smiled under his helmet knowing he got through to her and opened her eyes to the bigger picture.

With his practice for the day done, he activated his cloak and slipped into the shadows to continue his intel gathering on the crew.

X

Jane walked her usual rounds through the CIC before stopping off in the cockpit where Joker was preparing a FTL jump. "Hay Commander, finished getting to know all the strays?" asked the pilot.

"In a matter of speaking. You should try a little socializing yourself Joker, might give you a few new perspectives." said the Commander.

"Nah, better leave that kind of stuff to you. I'll just stick with flying the ship. And besides I'm a little worried about that vigilante guy hanging around like a shadow." said Joker.

Jane crossed her arms and leaned on her right leg, "You mean Maverick? What's so bad about him?"

"Other than the fact he can crush any of us like a toothpick and could probably take us all out with a fork from the mess without being seen? Nothing at all." said the pilot. "The guy just creeps me out, call me paranoid."

"Your paranoid Joker. If Anderson can trust him than so can we, but don't worry, I'll be sure to keep the forks under lock and key in the armory so you don't get too scared." Jane said grinning.

Joker rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up Commander."

Shaking her head, Jane walked back through the CIC and took the stairs down to the crew deck before entering the medbay. "How are things Karin?" she asked Dr. Chakwas.

"Everything is going fine Commander, I just about finished going over almost everyone's physical examinations." said the doctor going through her terminal.

"Almost everyone?" Jane asked confused.

Chakwas sighed, "Yes, it seems that Maverick isn't very cooperative with the examination. Everytime I tried to do tests he remains in his suit and uses his cloaking ability to slip away before I can stop him."

"Is it really that bad?" asked the Commander.

The older woman turned around in her chair, "Not entirely. He's rather easy to talk to considering his reputation. But he avoids the examinations like a plague, saying something about it being 'safer this way'. I am concerned about him Commander. Anderson warned us that he may keep to himself and try to avoid certain things, but I cannot make a medical profile on him if he doesn't allow the proper tests."

Jane nodded, "I'll speak to him about it. Though whatever's keeping him so reserved is obviously something he doesn't want to tell just anyone. Give him time, I'm sure he'll come around."

"Very well Commander." said Chakwas turning back to her terminal. Jane went to leave when the older woman's voice stopped her. "How has your sleeping habits been Jane?"

The Commander sighed, "I'm getting by. The sleep aids are helping."

Chakwas nodded before turning around and meeting her gaze. "Just remember, the crew aren't the only ones that need an ear to listen every so often. You deserve to let out your thoughts every now an then too."

Jane gave another nod before leaving to finish her rounds. Chakwas shook her head and went back to work, hoping the young Commander found something to help her stay grounded after everything she had been through.

X

The Normandy was about another day from Therum, most of the crew awas gathered in the mess hall for one last good meal before they went after Benezia's daughter. Jane and most of her newly formed ground team were seated together talking about random things.

Tali was still in engineering learning about how to tend to the ship's drive core and wouldn't be up for a little while longer. Wrex had finished his meal early and decided to return to his corner of the cargo hold to clean his Claymore before they reached the planet.

Garrus was talking with Kaidan about his time at C-Sec while Jane and Ashley listened in when everything seemed to come to a stop. All talking and the sounds of forks on plates ceased as everyone present looked in the same direction.

Alex walked into the mess hall still in the nano suit as he approached the kitchen and gathered several things on a tray. Normally this wouldn't be anything surprising. However; this was the first time anyone had seen the vigilante turned Spectre in a public area.

Most of the crew were lucky to get glances at him as he skulked around the ship or seeing him down at the shooting range. Seeing him in the crowded mess hall was a bit of a shock.

After gathering everything he needed, The Post-Human looked around at everyone making them go back to what they were doing. Pretending like they weren't staring moments ago, as he walked back through and disappearing down the hall to his private quarters.

"Doesn't eat with the crew, doesn't socialize really, and he moves about like a ghost with no one able to see him. What do you think he's up too?" wondered Kaidan.

"He's not up to anything as far as I know Lieutenant." said Jane drinking her coffee.

"I talked with him for a bit down in the cargo hold." said Ashley getting the attention of everyone at the table. "He's full of strong morals and fights strongly for them. Christ, he had my head spinning after a few sentences."

"He's always been like that." said Garrus.

"You've known him longer than the rest of us Garrus, what can you tell us about him?" asked Jane.

The Turian looked serious, "When I first heard about him I thought he was nothing more than a punk trying to take the law into his own hands. When I started seeing his handy work and how quickly and precisely he was taking down mercs across the Citadel I realized he wasn't just some common vigilante. His skills and what he was able to do would put a lot of those in the Turian Spec Ops to shame. And that suit of his is something no one had ever thought was possible to create."

"Any idea on who he might be?" asked Kaidan.

"There were a few good leads, but all lead to dead ends. Maverick's able to cover his tracks better than most which makes me wonder how he's actually doing it. He was able to wipe out entire warehouses and office buildings filled with mercs and slipped away without being seen. The only reason we could connect him to the attacks was how the mercs were killed." said the detective."

Jane leaned back in her seat, "Let me guess, military style execution." The Turian nodded. "How come you didn't think it was a paramilitary group or something?" she asked.

Garrus brought up his omni-tool and showed holos of three shell casings, "No military group I've ever read about uses gunpowder based guns. His weapons are antique at best, yet they work just as effectively as our regular arms. They're powerful, and the slugs punch through armor more easily and have more stopping power than a regular mass accelerated round."

"Just how was C-Sec unable to catch him?" asked Ashley now very interested.

"You may have noticed, and if not you will soon enough, but he's one strong and intelligent sonovabitch." said Garrus. "We had him surrounded by dozens of C-Sec officers, plus a Council Spectre, and he escaped like he had the whole thing planned out ahead of time."

That piece of information caught their attention, "He fought a Spectre?" asked Jane surprised.

"And beat her using non-lethal methods. In fact he never raised a gun to any civilians or C-Sec personnel. It was one of the many things the guys down in the offices liked about him; he cared enough not to endanger innocent lives needlessly." said the detective.

"And the attack on the Citadel tower over two years ago? How did he fit into all of that?" asked Kaidan.

Garrus' mandibles clicked a moment, "The whole time he was attacking the Blue Suns, Maverick was gathering intel on what they were really up to. When he found out what their true plans were he contacted a friend of mine, a fellow investigator named Chellick, and gave him a copy of all the data files he collected. It revealed that the mercs were using the service tunnels under the Upper Wards to gain access to the power conduits to the sector."

"From there they'd implant a virus that would shut down the power throughout the sector leaving everyone vulnerable. Maverick wasn't able to stop them from shutting down the power or gaining access to the Citadel tower, but he gave C-Sec and the Council enough warning to mount an effective resistance."

"Soon after the attack he just came out of nowhere. Killing mercs and saving civilians and overrun C-Sec personnel alike before punching a hole through the Suns' defenses from within the tower, giving us a chance to gain a foothold and take the tower back floor by floor."

The Turian was silent a moment before continuing, "He saved a lot of lives that day. And when the Council honored him for his bravery he wouldn't accept it. Saying that the true heros of the battle where the officers who gave their lives for the station and it's people. Never thought I'd see something like that after everything that had happened to him. But he had more honor that I thought he did, now I never doubt him for doing the right thing."

The mess hall fell silent. Several of the servicemen who overheard the story were talking among themselves while the three soldiers at the table thought over what Garrus had told them.

Having thought long enough, Jane stood up and headed toward the crews quarters. "Where you headed Skipper?" asked Ashley.

"I think it's about time I talked with my fellow Spectre." replied the Commander.

X

Alex sat at his desk in his private quarters, his helmet sitting on the table in front of him as he ate the food he collected from the mess hall. And he honestly couldn't believe that even after nearly 200 years military food still didn't get any better.

Still, it was better than nothing at all.

Finishing his meal, The Post-Human brought up his omni-tool and started going over the data he collected. Most of the crew checked out when it came to their backgrounds, but Pressly troubled him a bit. The man made no attempt to hide his discontent about having aliens aboard the ship, going as far as to bring up his distaste to Shepard which caused the two to have an argument in the middle of the CIC.

At least Ashley had been willing to give them a chance before his talk with her. He'd have to keep a close eye on the Normandy's XO just to be safe.

Closing down his omni-tool, Alex picked up his helmet and looked at his reflection in the red visor. He hadn't worn the nano suit this much since he was in New York City fighting the Ceph. But he didn't want to run the risk of showing his identity only to have someone report it back to those who would use it at leverage against him.

A knock at his door caused his head to snap up. Quickly slipping the helmet back on, he sealed it in place and activated his voice filter. "Come in." he said leaning back in his chair.

The door slid open revealing Commander Shepard. "Maverick, I was wondering if you have a moment to talk?" she asked.

Alex nodded, allowing her to enter the room and stand in the center of the room. "Is there something you needed Commander?" he asked giving her his full attention.

"Just getting to know my crew. You've been the hardest to get close to. You're always off doing something or your nowhere to be found." said the Commander now standing in front of him.

"I like my privacy. I'm used to working alone, but I do know how to work with a team if need be." he replied.

Jane nodded in understanding, "Doctor Chakwas says your refusing a physical. Mind telling me why exactly?"

Alex leaned back in his seat a little more, "I tend to keep to the shadows and leave little record of me behind. I didn't want the Alliance getting ahold of my medical report and using it in some way. It may sound harsh, but that's just how I feel on the subject."

"You don't trust the Alliance?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I trust and respect a select few in the Alliance. But trust and respect are both earned. And no one else has attempted to earn it from me. Just trying to buy off my loyalty." said the vigilante evenly.

"What about me?" asked the Commander. "Can you trust me?"

Alex smiled behind his visor. "I know I can. Your actions during the Blitz speak volumes, Commander. But I can read your personality as well as a datapad. You're the type of leader that earns the respect of her crew, then fights to her last breath for them as though they were family. That makes you a better person than most, and someone I can come to trust very quickly."

Jane smiled as she thought of something else. "Why did you suddenly want to join the Spectres? You said before that Humanity wasn't ready, but you changed your tune when the Council was debating whether to let me join."

"Honestly, they needed the push." was the reply. "Tevos and Valern wanted me to join after the Blue Suns' attack, but Sparatus felt that it was too soon. I agreed simply to appeal to their views. But also because I didn't want to work under their thumb, and Udina would have used me as a political pawn to gain more support for Humanity instead of looking out for those in trouble."

"And as for joining with you? I decided to bite the bullet." he explained.

"'Bite the Bullet'?" asked Jane.

"The Council was still at a crossroads with the idea of letting Humanity into the Spectres. I figured with my track record with helping out around the Citadel would give them something to ease their minds. Having two Spectres track a rogue is better than anything. Especially if one of them has helped the Council before." said Alex.

The Commander nodded, "It makes sense. But we were both elected, why don't you want to lead this mission too?"

The Post-Human shrugged, "It's mainly your show ma'am. You were there at Eden Prime, you saw what was in the beacon and saved the colony while fighting to get justice against Saren. I think that warrants you being leader between the two of us."

"But if it wasn't for the evidence you found Saren would have gotten away with it. You helped get this whole thing started, and you got us both into the Spectres to track him down. To me, that means we share the responsibilities." Jane argued. "Believe it or not, I know I can't do this alone. I need a good team on my side, but I also need someone who can coördinate with me through the mission."

She smirked, "That, and having to people fill out reports is better than one."

Alex chuckled, there really was no arguing with this woman when she set her mind to something. He had originally wanted to step aside and let her take her role as the galaxy's savior. But the more he thought about her words the more he realized that it may not matter anymore.

In the end he was the one who found the evidence against Saren and start the manhunt against him. He helped get Shepard into the Spectres. The timeline for this universe has already drastically changed because of his presence. So at this point, he was no longer going to hold back anymore.

"Well when you put it that way it's logical. Alright partner. You think you can survive sharing the glory with someone like me?"

Jane's smirk widened a little, "I'm a big girl, I think I can manage."

At that moment, Alex's eyes roamed over the Commander's form. She stood at about 5'9'' and had a physic to die for from the way the uniform hugged her. Hard abs, a thin waist with curves in all the right places, long tone legs and C-cup breasts created a body most women would envy.

Pale creamy skin with crimson red hair cut short and framed her heart-shaped face where a pair of captivating green eyes showed so much life, but also loss and pain. The only flaw he could see was the lone scar on her cheek that was an inch long just under her eye. But that didn't take away her overall beauty, or the aura of respect that seemed to form around her.

While Alex was observing her, Jane was doing the same to him

Her jade green eyes tracing every line of his body that was defined by the black and silver suit he was wearing. A part deep within her mind wondering what he looked like with it off.

Mentally shaking her self, the Commander asked a question that had bugged her since they left the Citadel. "How come you never remove your suit? Every time someone sees you, your wearing it."

Alex sighed, he was preparing for his question. "Because I don't want people knowing who I am. My first meeting with the Council I told them some bullshit story about the suit, well not complete bullshit anyway. But I have friends on the Citadel who know who I really am and I don't want anyone going after them to get to me. I've made quite a few enemies in the last three years."

"I can understand that Maverick. I just hope at some point you'll trust me and the crew enough to share more about yourself. Despite your good deeds, you intimidate a lot of people." said Jane.

"And I will some day soon. But I have to be sure that I can trust you all too before I can. There are a lot of things about me that will make you question if I'm even Human anymore under all of this." he said motioning to the suit.

The Commander nodded seriously, "I won't push you on the subject if you're not ready to share. Just know that I'm there if you need to talk. My door's always open."

The Post-Human Spectre nodded, "Thank you Commander, I'll remember that."

Jane gave him one last smiled before leaving the room. Alex watched her go and began to wonder how long he could keep his identity a secret.

Even though he had the squad's respect, there was still mistrust considering what he could do. He was a complete unknown even after all of this time and that worried people. He needed to figure out what to do about that and fast.

Leaning his head back against the chair, he couldn't help but think; "Life's too fucking complicated...no matter what universe you're in."

A/N: And there you go, working with the crew, some one on one time with Shepard, and a dilemma that our Post-Human hero will have to solve and soon. The next chapter is Therum, and we'll see first hand on how a nano soldier stands up against the Geth.

Updates are lighting quick guys, and I haven't run outta juice yet!