First of all, I do want to inform you of some liberties I am taking with this Shepard. She's got a Colonist background and all three Psychological Profiles (Sole Survivor, War Hero, and Ruthless). If you're uncomfortable with this, feel free to stop reading now.

Secondly, I want to say that, although the Mass Effect series is awesome, I sadly do not own it or any of my characters. Wish I did so I could find a cure for Thane, but I don't so I'll just have to be like the rest of you and pray there is a cure in ME3.

Lastly, I want to say thank you to anyone still currently reading, and I hope you enjoy my story.


If someone had told him years ago that the infamous Commander Shepard would hunt him down, he would have told her to try her best, and yet, here she was standing in front of him blonde hair, blue eyes, and all. He had been shocked when he had seen her bust into the towers and quickly dispatched the mechs guarding the entrance. At first, he just thought that she was nothing more than a hired merc, and it annoyed him that his target could be taken from him by someone that had no training in the art of assassination. He admitted (if only to himself) that she and her team were rather good at taking out mercs; she kept up with him with ease. This had annoyed him to no end at the time.

When he got to Nassana's office, she was right behind him, and he was sure that she would take the shot before he got the chance. He was trying his best to stew in silence in the vent above his target when Nassana had declared who the woman was. Even as he replayed the moment over and over, he didn't believe it. Out of everyone in the huge galaxy that could have been trying to locate him, it had to be Commander Shepard, Hero of the Citadel, First Human Spectre, who had died two years earlier when her ship had been attacked. She apparently had done some work for Nassana earlier, which almost shocked him more than her standing there.

It took him several moments to realize that she was distracting Nassana for him, giving him the chance to make his move. It confused him. The Commander he had heard so much about didn't seem like the type that would condone an assassination. She was supposed to be this inspiring story about a Human surviving impossible odds and horrific events and not letting them change her. She was suppose to be this ideal, an ideal that wouldn't condone his lifestyle. He was intrigued so he dropped from the ceiling and made his kill as quickly and as efficiently as he could. He gave her a show.

Then he tempted her. He bowed his head to pray just like he always did. He said all of his prayers and then waited for her to get impatient. She didn't, but the Turian and Krogan at her back did. When he finally looked up, she was smirking. "I'm not one to interrupt prayers," she said in a voice that, even with its limited range, had a melody about it, but he pushed that thought quickly away, "but I'm rather sure she doesn't deserve them."

"They are not for her," he replied and watched her reactions like a hawk. She simply raised an eyebrow; he didn't know Human facial expressions well, but this one seemed to him like it was a question. Then who? It seemed to say. "They are for me." She simply nodded her head as if she understood, but he didn't think that she did. Besides, he wanted to figure her out; he wanted to push her buttons. She was so still, and she was a blank canvas of neutrality. So he walked around the desk trailing his fingers over it. "A measure of an individual can be difficult to ascertain. Take you for instance," he said with a wave of his hand. He was surprised that she seemed so relaxed. She just stood there with her arms crossed with no hint of reaching for her weapon and no hint of a desire to, but her teammates kept their weapons trained on him. She either had complete faith in their skill or had far too much pride in herself. "All this death and destruction. I wondered how far you would go to find me; well, here I am."

Her eyes stayed neutral as did her tone. "How did you know I was even coming?"

"I didn't," he admitted walking past her and knocking into her as he did so. She moved slighting; with her armor, she was almost like a brick wall. But he did catch the fleeting presence of biotics on her hands as they knocked her arms lose. So that had been her plan; he was almost impressed, almost. "Not until you walked in the front door and started shooting. Nassana had become paranoid. You saw the strength of her guard force; she believed that one of her sisters would kill her."

She smirked. "Knowing that family, I wouldn't be surprised."

He turned to look at her face. She still seemed pleasantly smug. There was a mischievous glint in her eyes that annoyed him. 'Could she take anything seriously?' he wondered. They were talking about a dead woman after all. She might not have been the best person, but she was a person and deserved respect. She just treated her like an unending butt of a joke. He said his next words just to crush her flippancy a bit. "You were a valuable distraction."

Her smirk faltered for a moment, and that was the extent of his victory of words over her. "You used me to get to her..." she said with a sour note on her voice before the smirk returned. "Smart boy."

'Now she thought she could demean him as well?' he thought, holding back his rage only because he had trained so long to control his emotions. Surely this woman's purpose was not solely to mess with his head. "I needed a distraction; you needed to speak with me," he said tersely, and he knew that he had allowed the woman her victory when she motioned for her teammates to put away their weapons. He collected himself quickly so as to not give her the satisfaction she looked for again. "You certainly fulfilled your end of the bargain. What would you care to discuss?"

"The collectors are abducting entire Human colonies, and I'm recruiting a team to teach them why that's a bad idea," she said looking at him expectantly. The Collectors, huh? Now there was a worthy opponent, and if they were abducting colonies, it would give him a chance to atone for the lives he couldn't save here today.

"Taking on the Collectors would require passing through the Omega 4 relay," he said catching her eye. He wanted to see her reaction to this. Would she be scared of the possibility of death? Based on her reaction, he would know if he wanted to join her endeavour or not. "No ship has ever returned from doing so."

She waved it off like it was nothing. "They said that it was impossible to get to Ilos too or to save Elysium. I'm good at suicide missions; I'll prove them wrong," she said surety shining in her eyes. Yes, this one had a lot of pride in her; perhaps as much as himself.

"A suicide mission," he said closing his eyes in consideration. Then she did know the odds she was facing, and she was facing them anyway. Her reputation for bravery and recklessness seemed to be true. "Yes, a suicide mission will do nicely." He turned towards the sunrise and looked up at it. It was almost the same color as Irikah's eyes; he wondered what she would think of this. "I will join your mission, Shepard," he said turning back to the woman in armor. With any luck, she would lead him to the sea and, from there, Irikah. The woman gave him a look as if to ask if he was sure. "Low survival odds doesn't concern me," he encouraged her. "The fate of your colonies does."

"Why would you want to save Human colonies?" she asked with a hint of anger. It was said that the Council had turned Shepard away many times simply because it was a 'Human' problem. He could understand her anger.

"They are innocent, correct?" he asked neutrally but turned back to the window. "I'm dying."

He could almost feel the woman jerk away from him in shock. He didn't think that it was disgust, but he could have been wrong. "How long do you have?" she asked as if she was truly concerned, then she shook her head as if to clear it. "Are you contagious?" she asked instead. Now that was a reasonable question.

"The problem is not contagious," he assured her, "and I should be fine for your mission. If you would like, we can discuss the details on your ship."

She nodded her head in agreement. "Welcome aboard, Mr. Krios," she said with a shake of her hand. "Now let's get the hell out of here before Illium law enforcement get here. I'll send Grunt with you to help you with your things," she said with a wave towards the Krogan.

"What!" the Krogan exclaimed in surprise and anger. Thane agreed with him.

"That is not necessary, Commander," he said with a bow. The suggestion might have been ridiculous, but she had been trying to be considerate. It would serve him well to be polite.

She levelled him with her eyes. "Once you join my crew, you go nowhere alone," she said levelly. "I have many enemies and so do many members of my crew. I will not risk the mission by allowing said enemies the chance to harm any of you. If you do not like it, then you are still welcome to walk away." And she waited. She spoke as if it was a reasonable choice, but he thought she was just being paranoid or refused to acknowledge his skills. He would not be caught unawares by simple mercenaries; he was insulted that she would imply such a thing. "Besides," she said turning her gaze at her Krogan companion, "young Grunt here decided that charging a Krogan Battlemaster and two Asari Commandos was a good idea earlier today. It would do him well to learn some patience."

He wanted to argue; he wanted to turn her offer down, but he could tell from the look on her face that he would not win. He could not join her crew and turn her down in this regard. Out of all the frustration today, this moment was more than all of them combined. So he consented despite the frustration. It seemed to him that his new employer was incredibly frustrating, and he wondered if the chance to redeem himself was really worth it.


She would have been lying if she had said she didn't find the Drell attractive. Any woman with eyes could see that, but she could also see the confidence sliding off of him like waves. The Drell was over confident and most definitely proud. With all the different egos on the ship, she wondered how it hadn't sunk under the weight of them yet, and then he started to play around with his words in a way that insulted her. He implied that she enjoyed the killing and the destruction (which she had of course), but he was making it sound like it was an evil, something bad. She knew that her pride was probably one of the biggest on the ship, but it was the only one that really mattered so, every time he purposefully pushed her buttons, she pushed his right back.

By the end if their conversation, she was pretty sure that she had effectively pushed him away and he would refuse simply to spite her. Instead he looked out the window and told her that he was dying. It had simply shocked her. It shocked her so much that she had asked questions on instinct rather than sharp thought. It had been so long since she had acted on instinct that it worried her, especially since the night before Ilos hadn't turned out all that well; the only thing that she had walked away with from Horizon was a shredded heart. The last thing she wanted right now was another man to drag her out of her comforting, logical mind and into another emotional entanglement. Those never went well; someone always ended up dead.

These thoughts plagued her all the way back to the ship, so much so that she allowed Garrus to drive. Despite the fact that he didn't have any combat or evasive driving training, he did rather well; she didn't feel the need to grab onto anything for the entire drive. Perhaps she would let him drive more often, at least, when there was an unlikely chance that they would need to dodge anything, gunfire or whatnot.

As he parked the car, he looked at her concerned. "What's up, Shepard? You're not acting like you usually do."

"Just thinking about Horizon," she lied to him with a smile so he would believe her. She moved to get out of the car, but he locked the doors.

"You're either going to talk to me or Chambers, Shepard," he said when she turned her most intimidating look at him. Being best friends with some of the crew seemed to have its downside after all; they knew that you wouldn't actually break their face in and toss them in the brig.

"Fine," she answered still rather pissed at him and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Kaidan really mess you up bad, huh?" he asked, but she seriously hoped that it was a rhetorical question since she had no intention of answering it. Thankfully he continued. "I wish I could get my hands on him for what he said to you; I still can't believe that he suggested that you had betrayed the Alliance."

"He's hurting, Garrus," she said closing her eyes and leaning her head back against the seat. This was the same argument that she'd been having with herself since she got back from the planet. "I left him and then showed up without any warning in Cerberus colors."

"You did the same thing to me, and I didn't label you a traitor or turn my back on you," Garrus reasoned back. It seemed he agreed with her angry side; she had said the same thing to herself.

"No, but you didn't really have many choices when I found you," she argued back. "It was either me and my questionable loyalties or death at the hands of several merc bands. Besides, you didn't love me or watched the ship go down in flames; survivor's guilt is one of the hardest emotional roller coasters to get over."

Something about what she had said hit Garrus hard since he was quiet for a moment before he unlocked the door and stepped out. They walked in quiet for a while, but there was definitely no peace in it. As they went to walk into the airlock though, Garrus turned to her. He had obviously just come up with something to say to her. "Even if you had showed up three days earlier, Shepard, when my team was alive and Sidonis hadn't betrayed me yet, I would still have come with you without a moment's hesitation."

This shocked her a bit. There was something in his gaze that caused her to shift uncomfortably. "Thanks, Garrus," she said with a smile and entered her ship. 'Great,' she thought, 'now I have more to think about.'


She was standing in the conference room with Jacob, who seemed irritable for some reason. She didn't have time to ask him about it before Thane walked in after finishing his tour with Kelly. He wasn't strutting like he had been in Nassana's office; he didn't seem like he had any desire to test her, but she didn't really understand his facial expressions. He seemed to hide his emotions before they made it to his face. Something told her though that he was just tired and annoyed; perhaps she shouldn't have sent Grunt with him alone, especially after she pissed him off. She could only image the difficulty that Grunt had given him.

"I've heard impressive stories, Krios. It sounds like you will be an asset to the team," Jacob said courteously then he turned to her. "That is, if you're comfortable having an assassin watch your back." This side of Jacob surprised her. She hadn't seen him as the prejudiced type, and out of everything, this was the one that had surprised her the most. It simply caught her completely off guard; she hadn't known what to say.

Thankfully, Krios did. "I have accepted a contract," he said simply. "My arm is Shepard's." She looked at him. Was it really that simple? All she had to do was wave around an impossible mission and she had her own personal assassin. If she had known that, she might have tried to get him to join her against Saren. The thought amused her. She wondered what he would have said to Wrex's favorite question, 'If you and the Commander got in a fight, who would win?' When that thought brought Kaidan's answer to her mind, she pushed the entire idea forcibly from her mind. Suddenly, she wasn't in the same good mood anymore.

"Uh huh," Jacob said crossing his arms in disapproval. Oh, this was getting so trying; surely he would let this go, right? She didn't need another Miranda/Jack fight going on. She rarely had time for herself with one; she couldn't handle two. "Unlike you, I'm loyal to more than my next paycheck."

Now there was an opening she could use to her advantage. "Obviously so is he, since he is doing this mission gratis," she said allowing her voice to carry a little of her frustration; perhaps it would chide him. "What's your concern?" She wanted this out in the air now, if possible. If they could come to terms with it quickly, she could continue her routine of checking up on everyone on the ship after every mission.

"I just don't like mercenaries," Jacob responded and actually lifted his nose in the air. "An assassin is just a precise mercenary." Okay, it might have been a little too simplistic, but she understood the thought. She was about to come back with another response when Krios spoke up again.

"An assassin is a weapon," he clarified. "A weapon does not chose to kill; the one who welds it does." He's still standing near the doorway; his hands behind his back. It seemed like his natural stance, his favorite stance. She thought that it seemed a bit forced, but she had to admit that it was easier to defend oneself from attack in this stance than her favorite with her arms crossed and her weight on her back leg. It didn't have the right air about it though. "Where shall I put my things?" he asked politely turning his gaze to her instead. "I would prefer someplace dry if anything is available."

'Someplace dry?' she thought annoyed. That was not something she noticed about a room. If he asked someplace warm, then she would have been able to advice him, but someplace dry? She had no idea; TGFE, thank God for EDI. '"The area near the life support plant on the crew deck tends to be slightly more arid than the rest of the ship," the computer answered popping her holoform into the room.

"Ah," she heard the assassin... exclaim wasn't exactly the right word, but the closest thing she could think of at the moment. "An AI? My thanks." So he decided to treat EDI like she was a person. Good, she wouldn't have to give him 'the talk' later. She was rather amused when Krios bowed to the room and turned to leave. She bowed her head in response but was unsure if he noticed. At least he was interesting.

"He seems quite civil," EDI pronounced before popping her holoform back out of the room. She agreed with the AI's assessment.

"We need all the help we can get," she said, keeping her harsher tone when she turned to face Jacob. "He's not what I expected in an assassin. He may surprise you."

"Yeah," Jacob answered, uncrossed his arms and headed out of the room, "and he may not." He didn't salute like he usually did. Something was definitely up; she would have to remember to have Kelly talk to him about this.

Before he was out of the room, she spoke up one last time. "I would be greatly disappointed, Jacob, if you were not able to get around this. I do not have the time for another Miranda and Jack on board my ship. Do I make myself clear?"

He turned to look at her, and she saw a twinge of anger in his eyes. He probably objected to the fact she was even giving him this lecture; he probably didn't think that he had done anything wrong and that she was being unfair by not talking to Krios as well. She would though. This was a two part problem, but the Drell needed time to settle in. She would go check up on him in a couple of hours. There were a couple of things that she wanted to discuss with him. "Perfectly, ma'am," he answered. "If he can keep civil, so can I."

'Good,' she thought as he left the room. She pinched the bridge of her nose to try to ward off the migraine that was building in her head. Perhaps she would take a nap before dinner. "Commander," she heard Joker say over the intercom, "Miranda and Jack are in the mess hall..."

"I'll be right there," she answered as she walked towards the elevator. Example one of why she didn't need a second Miranda/Jack.