"You wanted to talk to me, Admiral?" Shepard asked.
The FTL projection did not entirely hide the squint in her eyes evidencing that he'd woken her up for this call, not the traces of bruises or the split lip. If she had been anyone else, he'd have suspected a bar fight that got out of hand, but Shepard neither got into bar fights nor would she come out the worse if she did.
"Commander." He returned her salute easily, looked her up and down. "You look a little rough."
"I feel really rough."
"You ready to come home?" It would take a little maneuvering, but he was sure he could arrange something. It wouldn't be without consequences, but her service record was sterling, Anderson had re-instated her as a Spectre, and Shepard would not jump ship with Cerberus without taking whatever assets she had on hand with her.
"Yes." Shepard eyed Hackett closely. "You ready to fight this war, sir?"
She came to that aspect pretty quick. But Shepard was not one to beat around the bush once the time for pleasantries was over. It made her easy in some respects, to deal with. "That's what this is about, Commander."
Shepard came to full alert, her entire attention bent on him with the fixity some people found so discomforting,
"I need someone I can trust, and you have the necessary clearances. And the necessary credentials."
"You don't want this to come back to you."
Accurate and astute, but not entirely correct. "The situation is delicate. I don't ask for favors very often, Commander, but I am asking now." 'Asking.' That made this very important, since he wanted her willing cooperation.
"Where am I going?"
Straight to business, then. Good. "Into the Terminus Systems."
"Can you be more specific?"
"Ever hear of Aratoht? It's in the Bahak system."
"No. Sounds batarian, though."
She would know. "Very good, Commander."
"Sir, with all due respect, I don't think sending me, of all people, would be at all delicate."
"With all due respect, Commander, it would be the most delicate: you have more incentive to keep your head down than anybody else."
Blunt usually worked best with Shepard. Deep down, Hackett knew—and could admit to himself—that Shepard did not exert herself to be slippery or difficult with him. She felt she had no reason, so she didn't waste the energy. If she ever changed her mind, though…that would be an interesting day. "What do you need from me?" Shepard asked after a few moments of studying his face.
"A deep cover operative, Amanda Kenson, recently reported evidence of an imminent Reaper invasion…I thought that would get your attention." For, upon the word 'Reaper', Shepard's aspect that changed: her lips thinned, her face grew set, as though carved in stone, and even across space he could almost feel the quivering intensity gathering about her. "Now you know why it has to be you."
"Yes." The one word left the door open to further instructions.
"She was arrested on charges of terrorism by batarian authorities early this morning."
Shepard's lips thinned. Batarians weren't known for keeping their prisoners long.
"Infiltrate the prison, get Amanda out."
"Anything else?" Shepard asked tersely, evidently ready to set off at once.
"Yes. I want you to go in alone, no big team, no questionable help. I want one of my best N7s to conduct this operation quietly and efficiently."
Shepard's eyes narrowed, then she nodded. "Yes, sir."
"Let's get to it, Commander."
Shepard saluted sharply. "I'll do what I can, then be in touch."
-J-
Shepard severed the connection, standing in silence for a moment before turning to EDI's display nook in the wall. "EDI, can you authenticate that message?"
"I can. It is authentic," EDI responded.
Shepard put that concern aside; not that she really expected an elaborate trap, but something about this mission set off warning bells in the mind of a well-trained soldier. It would not be her first covert operation, or her first solo operation…maybe it was just the fact that the mission was smack in the middle of batarian space (as far as she was concerned, that was exactly what this was). "EDI, find me the Bahak system and redirect us."
"Done. Done. Coordinates have been entered in the galaxy map," EDI replied promptly.
"Good. Take us out. Let me know when we have an hour's ETA."
There was bad voodoo about this, an extra incentive not to get caught. Oh, the press would have a field day…and she understood in a very graphic way why espionage operatives so often employed cyanide teeth. No, she had powerful incentives not to get caught. She'd need to make sure her tactical cloak was in good working order. And pack a second on—if she could find one—just in case.
And take her particle beam. And her shotgun. A full loadout, of course. Extra ammunition. Extra shields. Could she carry the Cain as well? Half a charge would do impressive damage, and she might need a distraction like 'impressive damage'…
She shook herself, quenched the paranoia with the ice water of longstanding practice. In, rescue Kenson, ascertain the Reaper threat being researched, report back to Hackett. A tactical cloak should be all she needed—apart from a full loadout. She'd need to fly the Kodiak, leave it somewhere safe, then she'd proceed on foot.
No problems there: the Hegemony might make itself look impressive on paper, but Alliance intel had always supported the theory that the Hegemony was impressive only on paper. She was unlikely to come up against any particularly sophisticated containment or security systems.
Shepard sat down at her desk, rolling a stylus around with one finger, brooding over the unpleasant turn things had taken. Well, high-risk missions always made an impression on those who ever heard about them; if she completed this operation successfully, maybe that was what Hackett would need, both to bring her home and to start preparing for a war.