Prologue X
"A vision? A vision of what?" Anderson asks with interest.
"I saw synthetics… Geth, maybe. Slaughtering people. Butchering them." Sampson says with a thousand-yard stare.
"We need to report this to the Council, Commander." Anderson says.
"And what are we going to tell them? I had a bad dream?" Sampson retorts.
"We don't know what information was stored in that beacon. Lost Prothean technology? Blueprints for some ancient weapon of mass destruction? Whatever it was, Saren took it. But I know Saren. I know his reputation, his politics. He believes humans are a blight on the galaxy. This attack was an act of war!" Andeson shouts in outrage.
"He has the secrets from the beacon. He has an army of geth at his command. And he won't stop until he's wiped humanity from the face of the galaxy!" Anderson continues.
"Don't worry, Captain. I'll find some way to take him down." Sampson says with determination.
"It's not that easy. He's a Spectre. He can go anywhere, do almost anything. That's why we need the council on our side." Anderson reiterates.
"We prove Saren's gone rogue and the Council will revoke his Spectre status." Sampson says as he picks up Anderson's meaning.
"I'll contact the ambassador and see if he can get us an audience with the Council. He'll want to see us as soon as we reach the Citadel." Anderson says laying out the next steps to take, "We should be getting close. Head up to the bridge and tell Joker to bring us in to dock." Anderson says as he turns to leave.
After a few moments, Sampson makes his way out of the infirmary to see Ashley sitting at the mess table with Sapphire.
"Hey, Commander." Ashley says waving Sampson over and motioning him to take a seat.
"I'm glad you're okay, Commander. The crew could use some good news after what happened at Eden Prime." Ashley says.
"Yeah, Jenkins was a valuable part of the crew. And he'll be missed during recovery." Sampson says.
"Part of me feels Quilty over what happened. If Jenkins hadn't gotten injured, I might not be here." Ashley says with reservation.
"Hey, don't sell yourself short. You're a good soldier, Williams and you belong on the Normandy." Sampson reassures her.
"My brother's wrong about most things, but he's right on this. You held your own down there in the face of overwhelming odds. If that doesn't earn you a place on this ship I don't know what will." Sapphire says giving Ashley a solemn smile.
"Thank you. Both. I appreciate that." Ashley says with a smile.
"Things did get pretty hairy down there. You holding up okay?" Sampson asks.
"I've seen friends die before. Comes with being a marine, Sir. But to see my whole unit wiped out…" Ashley looks away before composing herself, "And you never get used to seeing dead civilians. But things would have been a lot worse if you hadn't shown up when you did."
"We couldn't have done it without you, Williams. You gave those walking flashlights hell!" Sapphire says with praise.
"Thanks, LC. I have to admit, I was a little worried about being assigned to the Normandy. It's nice when someone makes you feel welcomed." Ashley says, relaxing a little.
"Don't worry, we're sure you're going to fit in here just fine, Williams." Sampson says, before noticing Chakwas taking stock of the medical equipment in the squad lockers, "Excuse me, got to talk to the Doctor." As he stands up to leave.
"Sure, see if they can make you a better shot while you're at it." Sapphire jokes.
"Still more accurate than that scattergun on yours." Sampson quips back, before leaving the girls to talk on their own.
Coming over to Chakwas, she looks up from her inventory noticing his arrival, and asks, "Yes, Commander? Is there something you need?"
"I was curious about Alenko, have you served with him long before my transfer here?" Sampson asks curiously.
"I'd never worked with him before this mission. But he has an impressive service record. Over a dozen special service commendations. Tends to keep to himself, though. Maybe because of the headaches. It's not easy being an L2." Chakwas comments sympathetically.
"An L2? Aren't most biotics on the L3 grade amps?" Sampson asks in confusion.
"That's true, most bionics in the alliance now use the L3 implants. Lt. Alenko was wired with the old L2 configuration. Sometimes there are complications." Chakwas says trailing off.
"Complications? Like what?" Sampson ask in confusion.
"Severe mental disabilities, insanity, crippling physical pain. There's a long list of horrific side effects. Kaiden's lucky. He just gets migraines." Chakwas explains.
"I see, what about the Captain, what do you know about him?" Sampson asks.
"I've served with him for a few tours now. He knows when to let things slide and when to crack the whip. The crew knows he's seen pretty much anything they'll ever run into. And he cares about the people under his command." Chakwas says, reminiscing on old tours.
"Good to know, how did you end up serving on an Alliance ship?" Sampson asks.
I enlisted right out of med school. Earth always seemed boring to me… Too safe, too secure. I figured the colonies were teeming with exotic adventure." Chakwas reminisces, "I wanted to travel the stars, tending the wounds of tough soldiers with piercing eyes and sensitive souls." She laughs at her earlier naivety, "Turns out military life isn't quite romantic as I'd imagined."
"But humanity needs the Alliance if we want to keep expanding through the Traverse, and the Alliance always needs good doctors. So I stayed to do my part." Chakwas explains her reasoning.
"Ever think you made the wrong choice?" Sampson asks curiously.
"Sometimes I think about opening a private practice back on Earth, or maybe taking a position at one of the new med centers out in the colonies. But there's something special about working on soldiers. If I left the Alliance now, I'd feel like I was abandoning them." Chakwas admits.
"Thanks for the talk, Dr. Chakwas. I hope to speak again soon." Sampson says before politely excusing himself as he sees Kaiden coming down the stairs and heading for the kitchen.
"Evening, Commander. I'm glad to see you're okay. What happened to Jenkins was hard on the crew. I'm glad we didn't lose you, too." Kaiden says pulling out an MRE.