Dragon's Teeth: Mass Effect 1 (Shenko)

Chapter 1

"Human life, its growth, its hopes, fears, loves, etcetera, are all the result of accidents."   ~ Lord Russel

Milky Way/Arcturus Stream/Arcturus Station -- Earth year: 2183

Kaidan was on a shuttle at 0500 Monday morning, en-route to the Alliance Space Station near Earth where the SSV Tokyo was docked.

He, Captain Anderson and Chief Engineer Adams were passengers on the Tokyo, having each been reassigned to serve on the SSV Normandy SR-1 (Systems Alliance Space Vehicle Normandy Stealth Reconnaissance - 1). They were on their way to Arcturus Station where the Normandy would be launched for her shake down cruise.

Kaidan wandered the crew deck, saying his goodbyes to the friends he'd made during his years aboard the Tokyo. In someways, leaving the Tokyo felt like leaving home. But he couldn't deny the excitement of transferring to a smaller class ship - the Normandy was a frigate built for stealth while the Tokyo was a cruiser.

He wondered what kind of missions he and the Normandy's crew would be assigned. Given that the Normandy's primary function was stealth operations, it made her an optimal ship for stealth and planet-side missions. As much as he would miss his time aboard the Tokyo, he was very much looking forward to serving on the Normandy.

Within a few hours, the Tokyo had reached Arcturus Station and he, Captain Anderson and Chief Engineer Adams had boarded the Normandy and stowed their gear. They had arrived ahead of schedule so Kaidan took the time to introduce himself to the crew,as it was now his new role as the ship's Staff Lieutenant.

He started with Adams and although they'd been on the Tokyo together, they hadn't had much contact.

"Have you seen this Lieutenant?" Adams asked as he approached, sounding excited.

"Not till now." Kaidan said, amused by Adams' enthusiasm. "It looks impressive."

"Impressive?" Adams replied in disbelief. He couldn't believe Kaidan's lack of awe. "This drive core is a marvel of engineering! No other ship in the entire Alliance fleet can hold a candle to the Normandy's drive core."

Moving closer, Kaidan leaned up against the bank of monitors that overlooked the massive core. "Why don't you tell me about it?"

"I'd love to Lieutenant." Adams replied, launching into his list of all the prototype components that made the Normandy better than any ship in the fleet.

When he left Adams to meet with Dr. Chakwas, he knew enough about the drive core to understand that she could maintain stealth drive longer than any other ship in the galaxy. She could also maintain FTL (faster-than-light), speeds for longer distances before needing to discharge the core. He was happy to know Adams not only appreciated it, but was in awe of Normandy's specs. Adams was more than qualified to serve as Normandy's Chief Engineer and Kaidan knew they were in good hands.

His meeting with Dr. Chakwas was brief but informative. She was engaging and easy to talk to and he came away from their visit knowing she was most at ease serving on a military vessel and preferred space to colony life. The best kind to have aboard, Kaidan thought before heading to the CIC (Combat Information Centre) on the bridge.

He met with Navigator Charles Pressly then, who was speaking with Corporal Jenkins. He could tell Pressly was losing patience with Jenkins, who was bursting with barely contained excitement.

"But aren't you excited Pressly?" Jenkins was saying.

"Of course Corporal." Pressly replied. "But I'm also a professional. I've served on new ships before.

"But this is a prototype!" Jenkins pressed. "Top secret military design!"

"It's a ship Corporal." Pressly said, exhausted by the young man's enthusiasm.