Summary: SSV Normandy Ahoy! Wait...this doesn't seem quite right...

Chapter 6: 2383CE – A New Enemy?

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Shepard couldn't help the bounce in her step as she maneuvered through the SSV Normandy. This was her ship in a way that very few serving officers ever got to claim. Technically, she might only be the XO, with Captain Anderson being the commanding officer. But she and Mira had taken part in the actual design and construction of the vessel over the past two years. In fact, the visual cloak that allowed the oversized frigate to be a true stealth vessel had been almost entirely her work. Not to mention the help she and Mira had given to the team working to integrate a Mass Effect drive core with an Eridium powerplant. They'd needed the Tantalus Drive Core to make the new gravity-based stealth engines work, using it to project a gravity field ahead of the ship for it to 'fall' into. But no human ship, not even one co-designed with the Turians, was going to miss out on Eridium Energy Shields, Energy Torpedoes, and a gravity-lensed main grazer. All of which demanded an Eridium power plant to go along with the Mass Effect based Drive Core.

The resulting vessel had been an expensive R&D project. But it was the first ship ever built that fully fused Mass Effect and Eridium tech, taking the best of both systems and seamlessly working them into a single cohesive ship. It had ultimately necessitated the Normandy's size, the two hundred forty meter frigate being nearly large enough to be called a small cruiser. But with the ability to fully stealth, even from visual sensors, it was still unquestionably a scout frigate…if an overly well-armed one. She honestly suspected they wouldn't build very many of her class. But what they had learned building her would enable both Human and Turian fleets to build cruisers and dreadnaughts that took the best-of-both-worlds-approach.

Shepard was extremely proud of the Normandy, which explained why she had agreed to shift back to a combat role in order to be the ship's XO. That she'd be serving under Anderson again also had something to do with it…as did his hints that something 'more exciting' might be in her future if she went along with it. She still wasn't quite sure what he'd been hinting at. But given the unexpected presence of Spectre Nihlus Kryik on what was supposed to be just a shakedown cruise, whatever it was would be probably be revealed soon. The composition of the rest of her fire team was equally telling, if a little alarming. Kadian Alenko had been pulled straight from N7 training to join her, and a second Siren from the Normandy Project had been recruited to round them out. Miranda Lawson was utterly brilliant, but also passed her 20 years of mandatory combat service. Given how happy she'd seemed to be in R&D, Shepard had no idea what they'd offered her to get her to switch. And whatever they needed two Sirens, an N7 biotic, and a Turian Spectre for…

She shook off the thought as she reached the cockpit.

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Half an hour later, after getting confirmation they'd be arriving at their destination in an hour, Shepard found herself in the ship's small observation room with the Spectre Nihlus and Captain Anderson. From the serious look on their faces, she was pretty sure she was finally going to get some information on why the ship was so heavily loaded for a 'shakedown cruise.' Anderson sighed at her wry expression and started talking.

"Yes, Shepard, there is obviously more to this mission than anyone was told. Two days ago, there was an attack on a secure convoy moving from Eden Prime to the Citadel. Any attack moving between locations that secure would warrant looking into, but the cargo being moved in this case has the Citadel up in arms. Nihlus?"

The Turian Spectre reached forward and tapped a key, bringing up a series of images on the room's holo display. A dig site, and what looked like…

"Some sort of Protean tech?"

The Turian's faceplates shifted in a grimace, even as he nodded.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to how dismissive humans are of Protean finds. This isn't just a piece of their tech, it's a Beacon. A working one. Every time one like it has been found, Mass Effect technology has jumped forward centuries for whoever finds it. So much so that Citadel law now requires all such finds to be shared with the galactic community as a whole, to prevent one race from jumping too far ahead of others."

Anderson's grin was just this side of mischief for a moment as he interjected.

"Humanity had no issue with that, of course. We barely used Mass Effect technology, after all. When this thing turned up, we were happy to pawn it off on the Citadel." The mischief fled from his expression as a grimace took its place. "At least we were. Right up until someone hit our convoy. It was escorted, of course, but only by a frigate wolfpack. We might not care much about the Beacon, but we still didn't want to draw too much attention to it."

Nihlus took over again as he tapped a key, showing the aftermath of the battle. Mostly, floating hulks that used to be ships and a debris field.

"The biggest issue is exactly who hit the convoy. There is strong evidence that it was a Geth attack. Strong enough for us to have moved a Turian patrol fleet into the Hades Cluster to try and cut them off from the Veil. Thankfully, that effort succeeded, even if it cost the Citadel fleet more than I'd like to admit. Particularly given that it didn't even finish the job. The Geth vessels disabled didn't have the Beacon on board, meaning that the one vessel that fled the battle still has it. It fled into the Hoplos system, where a human survey team reported spotting it crash-landing on the world of Trident."

Anderson reached over, tapping the controls himself, to bring up the data on Trident. A glance told Shepard the story in a few lines. A water world, with barely any land mass, and covered in violent weather. Of interest due to some valuable resources, but currently uninhabited.

"Our job is simple. Get it, retrieve the Beacon by any means necessary, get back out and retreat to the Citadel. Conditions on the surface mean using a small team will be better than trying to land serious forces, so we were elected for the job. Which does bring up one more point. Nihlus?"

The Turian nodded, even as Anderson turned the holo display off.

"Obviously, this isn't what I was originally assigned to the Normandy for. It was merely convenient that we were already ready to be deployed. What I was actually assigned for was to assess you, Commander, for potential inclusion in the Spectre program."

Sae blinked, caught off guard by the unexpected revelation. Before she could fully process that revelation, Anderson spoke up in a voice she recognized as his best attempt to pitch a crazy idea to her.

"I know you've been considering getting out of the military entirely Shepard, despite how unusual that is for Sirens. This would be a good step for you, to get out from under a lot of the red tape that annoys you, while still making use of your skills. Not just your combat skills, either. Spectres often handle specialist operations that mean your technical skills are just as valuable to them as your combat ability."

Nihlus nodded at that.

"While all Specters are capable combatants, the truth is that the majority of us have other skills as well. I, myself, am a criminal investigator. My mentor specialized in technology, being familiar enough with the bleeding edge of cybernetics and near-AI to be assigned to a lot of cases of suspected research violations in either area. Saren was, in fact, one of the Spectres that helped clear the Siren Program's cybernetics as within legal limits of Citadel law. Most Specters have one or more similar areas of specialization."

That…made a lot of sense. It didn't quite fit the general image of Spectre Operatives that the public had, but it certainly jived with the little she knew about their operations from Alliance briefings. She hadn't really looked into them, as she'd been back in R & D by the time the Alliance had finally been pressured into accepting Spectres in humanity's space. Specifically, in fact, she'd been working R & D for the Normandy. Even so, she'd picked up bits and pieces here and there, and put out a few feelers when she'd learned at the last minute that there would be a Spectre aboard the Normandy. Putting what they'd both said together with what she knew, she had to admit it made a potentially good fit for her. Still…

"That's a lot to take it. I genuinely don't know enough about the Spectres to even consider it properly."

Nihlus nodded, seemingly unphased.

"You still need to be evaluated by a current Spectre, anyway. Which is why I'm here. We'll work together on a few operations, starting with the recovery of the beacon. Then go from there."

Reasonable. She gave a curt nod, even as she put the Spectre idea to the side for the moment. Right now, there was still a mission to be completed.

"Right. So, Miranda and I are both Javelin rated. Do you think we should insert from orbit with them or…"

Anderson was quickly pulled back in as the three of them planned out their operation, at least as much as they could based on the scant information they had access to…

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A/N: So, a few little changes, huh? Well, how far off the rails could this possibly go...