Shepard and Mirithea got shown to their room by one of the turians on board; the bags had already been neatly been set on the bunks.
"I had my reservations about taking a turian cruiser," Mirithea whispered putting away some of the bags.
"I didn't want to take the cruiser to Juxhi," Shepard replied softly also putting her bags away. "I'm trying to blend in, not stand out."
"Councilor Sparatus wouldn't take no for an answer," Mirithea answered. "It was the cruiser or we wouldn't be allowed to leave."
"Splendid," Shepard said annoyed. "Maybe I might convince the Captain to let us take a shuttle before we land."
"I doubt he would let us," Mirithea said. "All turians hold Councilor Sparatus in the highest regards. They wouldn't care to disappoint him."
"I guess not," Shepard mumbled taking a seat and taking off her heels. "This is supposed to be a covert mission."
Before Mirithea could reply, there was a knock on the door interrupting them. Both of them shared a look before Mirithea stood to open the door; it was the turian from earlier the one who showed them to their room.
"Can I help you?" Mirithea asked politely.
"Yes," the turian replied. "The Captain has requested Dr. Lang's presence in the Command Center."
"I will let her know," Mirithea replied, letting the door closed.
"Most likely introductions and the I run this mission speech," Shepard mumbled, putting on her heels again.
"Turians are known for speeches," Mirithea replied, chuckling softly.
Shepard grunted in response and headed out of the room to the Command Center. She got a few looks on her way but no one spoke to her. The Command Center's door swooshed open letting her enter; it was empty except for two turians looking at a screen. Shepard made her way quietly over and stood next to the tallest turian of the two. She stood there waiting to get noticed by either of them, but they were still enthralled by the screen.
"Are those the projected landing for Juxhi?" Shepard asked, also taking an interest in the screen. "I would suggest landing on the other side of the planet and taking a shuttle from there."
Both turians got rigid and turned to face her as quickly as they could.
Shepard stared at them and smiled, "Am I interrupting something?"
They were both speechless with mouths wide open.
"When-" the turian with reddish plates began to say.
"Oh, I haven't been here long," Shepard replied, smiling again.
"I guess that why they are sending in an infiltrator to do this job," the red tint turian said.
"I couldn't say," Shepard replied, smartly. "I just know how to blend."
The red turian grunted and walked away from the screen. Shepard followed him and wait for him to speak.
"I am Captain Nihlus K. A Spectre," the turian said introducing himself. "Behind you is Commander Garrus Vakarian, also a Spectre."
Shepard fought the urge to turn around and gape. If she had known Garrus was a Vakarian, a Commander, and a Spectre, she may have thought twice about speaking to him. It was a known fact that Shepard wasn't too fond of Spectres; only because of her brother.
"We will be monitoring your progress through your mission," he continued, leaning against one of the stations. "We have placed several sleepers in the Academy to ensure your safety, the flow of information between the Command Center, and yourself."
"How often are the communications between us?' Shepard asked also leaning against a station.
"Every few weeks," the Captain replied. "Or as much as possible without detection. We will equip you with video cameras for surveillance. That way we can see and hear what you do."
"Have you taken into consideration the possibility that those surveillance devices may not work due to possible interference?" Shepard asked, trying to get a feel for the Captain's capabilities.
"We have some long-range equipment that will help with any interference," Commander Vakarian said, finally speaking up. "The program loaded in the device will automatically filter out any known interference."
"Let's hope it works," Shepard replied, not feeling too confident of their surveillance equipment. "Only time will tell."
Shepard made it a habit to never trust anyone else when she was going into an unknown mission area. It was her way of making sure she took responsibility for her actions during the mission.
"I've read your file," the Captain stated. "You're supposed to be the best infiltrator the Council has at their disposal."
Shepard didn't reply, choosing to stay silent.
"Do you know what I find odd?" the Captain asked, staring at her.
Again, she didn't reply. Shepard got the feeling he was about to tell her.
"Your profile doesn't mention your real name."
Shepard smiled but didn't reply. She made one request from the Council before she accepted their offer to work for them; keep her name out of records and change her appearance during every infiltration mission. So far, they had kept their word.
"You don't need to worry about that," Shepard replied. "By the end of this mission, Dr. Lang will be dead and I'll go back to being a nobody."
The Captain and Commander stayed silent neither of them speaking.
"Was there anything else you need to speak to me about?" Shepard asked ready to take her leave. "We don't want to rise suspicion."
"That'll be all Dr. Lang," The Captain replied, finally. "I'll send one of my people to let you know when we are about to arrive."
Shepard thanked them and went back to the room. Mirithea was nowhere to be seen when she arrived, most likely she was out making friends. Hoping for no more interruptions, Shepard took off her heels and grabbed a change of clothes. As she settled down and grabbed the notes Councilor Valern, there was a knock on the door.
Shepard gave a heavy sigh and went to get the door.
"Commander," Shepard said, surprised. "Did the Captain want to see me?"
"I- No," he replied, rubbing his neck. "I was going to see if you were going to eat anything. The mess hall is open and I saw your assistant eating with the crew."
"Your chef has levo food?" Shepard asked, curiously. "I didn't think a Turian battle cruiser would carry anything but dexo ingredients."
"Well, I didn't stay long to notice if she managed to grab anything to eat," he replied, a bit embarrassed.
"That's kind of you," Shepard said, smiling. "I think I packed some levo snacks to hold me over until we arrive."
"I may have also packed some levo food by accident," Garrus said, looking embarrassed again. "You're more than welcome to go through it and grab what you want."
"Oh, no," Shepard replied. "I don't want to be a bother. I'm sure you bought the levo food for a reason."
"It's not a bother," Garrus answered quickly. "I got levo snacks for a friend."
"Thank you, Commander. I appreciate your willingness to share."
"I stop by later and bring you what I have," Garrus replied, rather happy. "Don't want to rise suspicion."
"Of course not," Shepard said. "See you later then."
*POV Change*
Garrus went back to his room deep in thought. He had a nagging suspicion that he knew Dr. Lang from somewhere. He wasn't sure from where but he left as he knew her. But how was that possible? He shook his head, there was no way he knew her, it was just his mind playing games.
Garrus grabbed his bag and got out the snacks he had brought with him. He would have given them to Aster if she had been around but he was glad to have found a purpose for them. He put them all inside a small container and left it on the bed before heading out to the mess hall. He didn't want to appear too eager to anyone who may have noticed his interactions with Dr. Lang.
The mess hall was packed when he arrived, he noticed Dr. Lang's assistant was no longer around.
"Commander," Chellick called out when he saw him. "I saved you a seat."
Garrus waved back and went to grab a plate. Dr. Lang was right, there was nothing levo being served tonight. After another wave, Garrus went over and sat down.
"Full house tonight," Chellick commented, looking around. "Everyone looks like they are on their best behavior."
"Yeah, they do," Garrus agreed eating his food.
"You wouldn't know anything about that would you?" he asked, trying to be sly.
"No," Garrus answered.
"So, no news why we have a human and an asari on board?"
"Can't say I do," Garrus repeated, going back to his food.
Chellick grunted but didn't push the issue. Soon after most of the crew began to leave and mingle somewhere in other places.
"Nyreen was looking for you," Chellick said after a while. "She said something about dinner and dessert."
"I'm sure she doesn't need me for that," Garrus said, not interested.
Chellick looked at him in surprise. Garrus wasn't known to turn down an invitation from Nyreen. There were rumors that the two of them were an item. Not that Garrus would ever confirm if those rumors were true.
"You feeling alright?" Chellick asked, concerned for his friend. "You-"
"I'm fine," Garrus interrupted.
"Alright," Chellick said not believing him.
Something must have happened when he touched down on the Citadel for two days. After dinner Garrus, as calmly as he could, grabbed the bag of snacks from the bed and went to Dr. Lang's room. He knocked and waited for the door to open.
"Commander," Dr. Lang said, smiling at him. "How was dinner?"
"Doctor," Garrus replied. "It was fine, nothing special."
"Is there something I can help you with?" she asked, cocking her head a bit.
She was teasing him.
"I brought you some snacks," he replied, handing her the bag. "I brought everything I had on me."
"Thank you, Commander," she said, her smile growing bigger. "That's so kind of you."
"Your welcome," he replied. "Let me know if there is anything else, I can do."
"I will," she replied.
"Have a good night, doctor," Garrus said, taking his leave.
"Good night, Commander," she replied closing the door behind him.
Garrus went back to his room still thinking about that smile. He definitely knew her from somewhere.
*
At 0300 hours Galactic time, Shepard and Mirithea woke up as their alarm began vibrating. They should be touching down on Juxhi's moon soon enough. Shepard took a quick shower and got dressed as the Captain announced their arrival on Budmi. Thankfully he had common sense and had listened to her. It wasn't a good idea to dock a battle cruiser on Juxhi, not if they were just going to drop her off.
"Dr. Lang," Mirithea said as she packed their bags. "The Captain stop by to let us know that the Commander and another turian will escort us to Juxhi. If we're lucky they'll let them stay with us."
"I would rather they didn't," Shepard mumbled, putting on low heels. "This is supposed to be an infiltration mission, not a fucking party."
"I have informed Councilor Valern and Tevos of our situation," Mirithea replied. "They're not happy. They were so kind as to remind us that this mission must not fail."
"I know," Shepard replied, sternly. "I better let them what's at stake."
Once the battlecruiser had touched down on Budmi, Shepard and Mirithea took their bags to the cargo hold where the shuttle was waiting for them. The Commander and a female turian were waiting for them.
"I'm only going to say this once," Shepard said, as they arrived at the shuttle. "You fuck this up and I'll personally put a bullet through you. I'll even make it look like an accident. Got it?"
"Yes, Dr. Lang," both turians replied.
"Good," Shepard replied. "Let's go."
Mirithea packed their bags in the shuttle and waited for Shepard to be seated before climbing on board and closing the shuttle door behind her. Garrus and the turian got in with Garrus taking the pilot seat. The launch from the cruiser went smoothly until they approached Juxhi.
Approaching shuttle, state your business.
"I'll take it from here," Shepard replied before Garrus could reply, "This is Dr. Lang. Identification number N07BD. Requesting permission to land."
Stand by for confirmation, the voice replied. A few minutes went by without a reply. N07BD, request confirmed. Welcome to Juxhi, Dr. Lang.