Alert Issued: Normandy-Class

"Commander, we've got an Alliance Carrier hailing us. You'd better get up here."

That was the last thing Shepard wanted to hear early in the AM shift.

"Message coming through." Joker told her as she made her towards him.

"Commander Shepard." A voice rang out through the main interface and into the cockpit. "Prepare the Normandy for docking. You and your crew are to be taken into temporary custody as per pre-trial investigation procedures on your pending charges."

Shepard stood there for a few moments in shock. Nice of them to give me some damn warning.

"Understood." She replied, looking over to Jokers console in front of her. "ETA is thirty minutes until we reach your docking station."

Joker cut the channel. "You ok, Shepard?" he asked, a rare look of concern crossing his face.

"I'm fine." She said quickly, there was no time to waste. "Open a comm to the crew."

Joker's hands flew over the controls in front of him, and he gave her the go ahead.

"Alright everyone, I need your attention and I need you to listen very carefully to what I'm about to say." The harsh tone in Shepards voice echoing back to her from the CIC.

"We are docking on an Alliance carrier in thirty minutes and counting. Everyone - and I do mean everyone on this ship is to be assembled on the CIC in fifteen for further briefing. My team is to be in the mess hall in five."

Investigative Officer Henderson stood unamused at the airlock of docking station 3. He was surrounded by at least forty security officers, a precaution given the size (and diversity) of Shepard's crew.

The XO of the Carrier stood beside him, letting his thoughts on the matter known to him and everyone within a twenty meter radius.

"Aliens" he spat. "Goddamn Spectres, goddamn Shepard."

Henderson rolled his eyes. "But please XO Bryant, tell us how you really feel." His voice dripped with sarcasm, earning a few unprofessional snickers from the security personnel.

"-and fucking Cerberus"

"I don't want any damn trouble, Bryant. I want these procedures done as quickly as possible."

"And why's that?" Bryant grumbled.

"You haven't heard?" Henderson looked at him, raising an eyebrow in amusement. "Things tend to blow up when Shepard's around. So I'd keep your personal views to yourself."

XO Bryant swore again. "Fine, you keep them contained to the area of the ship specified to you. I won't have this crew disrupted further."

And with that he took his leave of the docking bay.

Henderson pinched the bridge of his nose; this whole investigation so far had been the most ridiculous he had ever had to facilitate. His security team and Shepard's crew had almost ended up in a fire fight at the airlock after he'd ordered her to be cuffed for their trip to the interrogation rooms.

Shepard had yelled them all into submission and assured him that they would be civil for the duration of their stay.

He'd forgone the cuffs.

So far the Krogan, 'Grunt', had very little to say. ("Shepard is my Battle Master, and you talk too much.") Jack had sworn at him for 5 minutes before telling him that if Shepard hadn't asked her to cooperate she'd have blown up "half this fucking ship to hell back" by now.

Jacob Taylor had given him the typical military response and proceeded to refer Henderson back to his Alliance personnel files for any other information.

Goto had been reluctantly cooperative and given a similar performance to Taylor, while Massani had a silent staring match with him for ten minutes before he told the older man he could go.

XO Lawson had been interesting though.

Interview #6 – Executive Officer Miranda Lawson

"Here are records from the Lazarus project." Miranda had offered him, pushing an OSD across the table "These clarify Shepard's whereabouts for the two years after she was declared MIA. I can vouch personally if needed."

"Thank you Miss Lawson, but this isn't the focus of this investigation." Henderson said putting the OSD next to his pile of data pads.

"I'm are fully aware of that." Miranda said, leaning back on her chair and crossing her legs over. "But I have no doubt that Shepard's death, disappearance - whatever they'll call it, will come up at the trial."

"That is a fair assumption." he looked back to his datapad "Now-"

"Look." Miranda cut him off. "I know everything there is to know about Shepard from the two years I spent working on her, and I've served with her on the Normandy. I know her judgement is sound and I trust that the she drove that asteroid into a mass relay because she had noother choice."

"Now-" Miranda echoed back to him as she stood up, crossing her arms across her chest. "We'd better be done here, because I have a crew who have already been through enough in the past few months to look after out there."

Interview #17 – Justicar Samara

"A Cerberus vessel. A Cerberus vessel - with their own Justicar."

"We have not been a Cerberus vessel for several months now, and I'm sure you will agree there are far stranger sights in the universe than an Asari on a human vessel." Samara replied, her usual calm demeanour unchanged.

The officer shook his head. "I just don't understand is why a Justicar would travel on thisparticular ship." He looked over the datapad in front of him again "Shepard 's got a lot of good on her record, but it's defiantly not the kind of black and white good a Justicar would seemingly follow."

Samara looked at him curiously. "You have been very well informed about my kind Officer, I must say I find it surprising."

"It's my job ma'am"

Samara gave him a small smile. "Then you will understand what I mean when I say I swore by the Third Oath of Subsumation to Commander Shepard. I am bound to her."

"Wait," Henderson hadn't been surprised in one of his own investigations for a very long time "You aren't just travelling as a part of the crew, you swore yourself into her service?"

"That's correct." Samara continued. "But I think that what you need to know from me is what I told Shepard at that time I swore my service to her - that should she make me perform dishonourable acts I would kill her myself when released."

"And?"

"She has given me no reason to do so."

The mess was chaos when Shepard got down there.

"What in the hell is going on?" Her XO yelled to her over the noise.

Shepard motioned for Miranda to wait, and jumped straight to the top of one of the mess hall tables.

"ENOUGH!" She yelled to drown out her teams barrage of questions. "We don't have time for this. They are not after any of you; they are here because of me and my mission to the Bahak System."

The mess went unusually silent, only the hurried steps of the other crewmen going to and from the elevator behind them could be heard in the room.

"I know I've asked you to do a lot for me." Shepard said to her team, all of them were paying close attention now. "But now I have to ask again."

Interview #22 – Thane Krios

"Your file indicates that up until joining Shepard's team you working for the Hanar, is that correct Mister Krios?"

"Yes."

"And what was your job?"

"I was a contractor." Thane smiled. The Hanar keep their business well classified.

Interview #14 – Doctor Karin Chakwas

"It says here that you were posted at the Mars Naval Medical Centre after the loss of the Normandy SR-1."

"Correct."

"And you joined Cerberus and the SR-2 about six months ago?"

"I joined Shepard on the SR-2 - but yes, that is correct."

"What I'm trying to piece together is," the Officer studied the doctor from his side of the table. "Why an individual such as yourself, with a long and reputable career with the Alliance suddenly up and joins a human supremacist group."

"Cerberus," Chakwas started, annoyance clear in her usually calm voice now, "gave me the opportunity to continue serving on a starship, and more importantly they brought Shepard back. You will find, officer, that this crew is here for her - not Cerberus."

"No matter what happens, I don't want any violence." Shepard told them, purposely shooting a look to Jack and Grunt, which earned her cry of "fucking bullshit" from the biotic.

"If you feel comfortable with the question, answer it. If you don't, then don't. I don't care how. Just don't make anything up and don't lie." She continued, "the only thing I'm going to ask you to do is not to mention EDI or Legion to them under any circumstances. The last thing I want is the Normandy grounded and them with the intention to strip the AI core from the ship."

"I'd like to see those goddamn bastards try." Zaeed called from his spot, leaning against the counter in the mess kitchen.

"That's just it." Shepard pressed. "I wouldn't."

Interview #11 – Helmsman Jeff "Joker" Moreau

"It's the legs; seriously, you would not think that Shepard was that calibre of smoking hot under all that armour - you can put that down." Joker continued on, seeing the look of disbelief Henderson was trying it wipe from his face.

"I mean, don't get me wrong, I don't have a thing for superior officers or women who could break me with their pinky finger, but damn."

Henderson narrowed his eyes at Joker. "I was not asking about how… aesthetically pleasing you find Commander Shepard, Mister Moreau."

"See I didn't think that either" Joker replied airily. "But I figured since you already have all my information from the Alliance, all of Shepard's data as well and her entire team to get the good information off that all you had left to talk about were the aesthetics."

"That is, to say the least, incorrect Mister Moreau."

"Yeah, well," Joker gave him an annoying smirk. "Now you know how it feels to have someone waste your time."

Interview #16 – Science Officer Mordin Solus

"Purpose of interview not clear." Mordin said, pacing back and forth behind the chair placed on his side of the table.

"I need to ask you various questions about Shepard and yourself Doctor Solus." Henderson explained, exasperated by the Salarian. Solus talked like he'd had twenty cups of coffee before walking into the room.

"Open ended questions ineffective." Mordin stopped and looked at him "Want to know something specific, then ask."

"Fine." Henderson quickly looked at his datapad and then back to Doctor Solus. "Is Shepard… stable?"

"Have examined Lazarus files and done personal observations and tests." Mordin rattled off, "physical condition perfect. Mentally stable. Old crewmates verified personality intact."

They were all still listening intently as she jumped from the table and back onto the floor with a soft thud "Miranda, you take charge of the crew and keep them settled."

Her XO nodded in response.

"Garrus," she said turning to the Turian "You keep charge of everyone here."

"But-"

"What about you Commander?" Tali cut in from beside Garrus.

"I will be fine." Shepard assured her. "Now all of you get moving."

Interview #21 – Chief Engineer Tali'Zorah vas Normandy

"You can't just throw a Tantalus Core like that into any ship, the amount of heat it produces can cook the whole damn crew alive if you leave it running silent for too long! It'd fall right out of the sky in a ball of flames!"

Henderson just blinked several times at the Quarian, he didn't have a damn clue about ships. "You did not answer the question Miss 'Zorah."

"Oh," Tali moved her head to the side sheepishly. "I went aboard the Normandy SR-1 during my pilgrimage, I saw Shepard again two years later after I'd finished a mission for the migrant fleet. I was officially transferred to the SR-2 after that, but that's already in your files I'm sure."

"It is," he said. "Why would you have your ship name changed to that of a human ship though, seems rather odd for a Quarian."

Tali cross her arms over her chest defensively "Don't think you knowQuarians just because you read some files. The change wasn't originally my idea, but I've kept it because the Normandy is my home, Shepard is commanding officer and one of my best friends."

She leaned forward, and slammed her three fingered hands onto the table. "The rest is none of your damn business, you nosy Bosh'tet"

Interview #25 – Gunnery Officer Garrus Vakarian

"And you love her?"

"I don't see how that's relevant." Garrus said back, mandibles tight against his face in annoyance.

The officer leaned forward looking over his notes from the other 'interviews.' "The crew seem to have indicated that your relationship with Shepard goes beyond friendship. A lot of the questions I asked them about Shepard they referred me back to you to answer them"

Garrus shrugged. "I don't see how that indicates anything other than the fact that I've known the Commander for longer than many of them have."

"Indeed." Henderson replied suspiciously. He moved another datapad to the top of sprawled pile. "'Says here you fought in the battle for the Citadel."

"A lot of aliens fought in the battle for the Citadel."

"And Shepard?"

"Fight with her sometimes too."

The officer was trying to stare him down now "Is there any reason why you are so insistent on derailing all these questions."

"It's none of your damn business." Garrus glowered at him. "I'm not Alliance and I've done my time for the Turian military. Shepard's been a friend for a long time and the best damn Commander I've had the honour of serving with. All this hasn't got a damn thing to do with why we're all here in the first place either."

"Many factors need to be taken into account in this Officer Vakarian." Henderson told him. "It's the sort of thing that can make or break a case."

"Commander" EDI's bright blue orb sprung up from one of her stations as she was exiting the Crew Deck. "Legion has secured himself in one of the vents under the AI Core."

"Excellent, the second we leave the ship you lock down every console and door. Then keep yourself running silent alright?" Shepard replied quickly.

"Yes Commander." EDI's hologram flickered but didn't disappear, "and thank you."

"You look tired Officer Henderson, I hope my crew weren't too much trouble." Shepard was sitting calmly in the only other chair in the room, not looking like she'd just spent over seven hours in isolation.

He didn't reply straight away, seating himself across the table from her. He only had one datapad with him this time. "That's a very loyal crew you have there. But then I can tell by your record you have a tendency to inspire that quality in people, Commander."

"Show you get things done and people are willing to come along."

"It's more than that." Henderson studied her carefully, most people by now were angry, impatient, not making wisecracks at his expense. "This procedure hasn't just been about getting reports from your crew."

"I know." Shepard interrupted. "You take everyone off a ship, separate them from object of the investigation and spend hours interrogating and agitating the crew. Not for any real information, you already have that. But to try and find those few people who know what's going on and don't agree with it. They have what you want"

Henderson was slightly taken aback. "And how would you know that Commander?"

"I grew up on starships and space stations." She explained. "People I knew went into very different areas of work, I've heard about a lot of things."

With that, he was done. "Like I said Shepard, you have a very loyal crew." Henderson slid his datapad over to the Commander. "The details for your trail, and I wouldn't be worried about the report I'll be making. You and your crew can go"

Henderson mentally reprimanded himself as he noted the look of the Commanders legs as she picked up the datapad from the table and left the room.

"I cannot take any more of this fucking waiting around!" Jack cried as she continued to pace back and forth in front of the door to the crews large holding room.

"Settle down Jack." Garrus ordered darkly from his post next to the door. "Everyone is tired, hungry and pissed off. We go when Shepard says we can go."

"We don't even know where the fuck Shepard is!" Jack yelled at him.

"Why can't I just remove the door again?" Grunt asked, knocking his fists together.

The rest of the human crew was getting a little nervous now.

"Because," Spirits I am sick of this same conversation over and over."Shepard said not to cause trouble. As much as I would love to follow you out that door to go find her - we can't."

"It's not a matter of can't, it's a matter of we are currently choosing not to."

"Not helping Tali."

"Fuck this!" Jack threw her fist against the holding room door and started yelling at the top of her voice "You ugly motherfuckers tell us where Shepard is or I will rip your spinal cords out with my bare-fucking-handsfor Grunt to use as toothpicks for when we're done with you!"

There was a moment of silence as the whole room was jolted awake by Jacks raving. To all their surprise, the door opened.

"Is it really necessary to call me ugly?" Shepard asked with a grin as she stepped into the room to take them all home.

Prompt: Y'know the scene from Bushwacked (an episode of Firefly) where the entire crew is being interrogated by Alliance officers. The entire Normandy crew needs to be interrogated (maybe as a part of Shepard's trial).