Matte black. John groaned inwardly. Cleaning bird crap off that thing was going to be a<span style="font-style: italic">bitch</span>. Other than that, the<span style="font-style: italic">Midway</span>was a fine ship. Unlike Shepard's stolen and hastily refitted<span style="font-style: italic">Normandy</span>, this girl was built from the ground up to Alliance specs with all the weapons, armor, and shielding an Exalted could ask for. A pair of point-defense laser turrets had to be switched out to make room for two long-range ordnance launchers, but the trade-off in firepower was well worth it. If they had to engage their point-defense weapons, they were probably already dead anyway.<br/><br/>As a gesture of cooperation, the ship's crew consisted of a mix of humans and turians. The hard utilitarianism characteristic of turian engineering was quite evident in the gunnery stations and paneling, though the bridge took on a more human aspect. Unlike the<span style="font-style: italic">Normandy's</span>galaxy map, podium, and inward-facing crew stations, the<span style="font-style: italic">Midway</span>had something a bit more conventional. The captain's chair stood on a slightly raised platform in the center with a pair of control consoles and holo-projectors on its armrests. Just slightly forward of that, one had engineering, mission control, and comm consoles. The weapon stations lined the 'neck' of the vessel, while the pilot's seats remained up front. Everything was top of the line and cutting-edge, from the main guns--a pair of miniaturized thanix cannons--to the synth-diamond heatsinks to the ridiculously comfy seats. No doubt about it, this ship was a hell of an enterprise.<br/><br/>'Commander,' said a voice behind him. How in the hell did--<br/><br/>John turned. Oh. That was why.<br/><br/>'Jondum Bau, Chosen of Journeys, Special Tactics and Reconnaissance.' A Spectre. A stealthy one, at that. Bau saluted. His armor was nondescript black and yellow, and his features were utterly unremarkable for a Salarian, but the Caste Mark demonstrated his true nature.<br/><br/>John saluted back. 'Commander John del Pilar, Zenith Caste, Alliance Navy. These two are Lieutenant Esone and 042, both also Exalted. If you don't mind me asking, what's a Spectre doing here?'<br/><br/>'The Council requested that I oversee this upcoming operation on Eden Prime. Your Commander Shepard put forth you three as potential candidates. Officially, I'm here as a formality. Unofficially, I'm here as your recon and mission control officer.'<br/><br/>Wow. Well, that was unexpected. 'She must have forgotten to tell me, then.'<br/><br/>'She wanted it to be a surprise.'<br/><br/>John rolled his eyes and extended a hand. 'Typical Shepard. Good to have you aboard, Bau. Are you all settled in?'<br/><br/>The Spectre shook his hand. 'I am, Commander. Thank you. I took the liberty of setting up my bunk in one of the storage compartments while it's still empty. In return for your accommodations, I've also brought aboard a little extra hardware for your use down in the hangar.'<br/><br/>Okay, that was a bit of an understatement. As the Exalted descended into the<span style="font-style: italic">Midway's</span>bottom level, they saw Bau's little gift. It was a pair of Salarian recon speeders. Fast, reasonably armored, and highly maneuverable, the KX-7 Recon Speeder was a thing of beauty. One had a heavy anti-vehicle gauss rifle mounted on its turret, while the other bore a heavy machine gun. Admiral Hackett had been unable to requisition a spare Mako IFV for this ship, but Bau's speeders would fill the role quite nicely. The two vehicles were tethered to the deck right beside the ship's Kodiak drop shuttle.<br/><br/>John let out a low whistle. 'Welcome to the team. Now let's see what other cool things are on this ship.'