OneTurianWoman

by IAmElvie

Romance between Garrus Vakarian and Commander Shepard. Spanning all ME games and beyond. Will vary from cannon. I am writing for fun. I'm not an English major, editor, or writer, there will be mistakes.

1. OntTurianWoman Ch 1-9 To Night B4 Ilos

Garrus-femShep

Chapter 1

Normandy SR1

As she was heading to the cockpit of the ship, she heard Joker over the intercom.

"The Arcturus Prime Relay is in range. Initiating transmission sequence," Joker stated.

"Commander," Corporal Jenkins acknowledged as she passed him.

"We are connected. Calculating transit mass and destination," Joker stated.

As she continued around the around the CIC and up the main walkway, Joker came on again. "The Relay is hot. Acquiring approach vector….All stations secure for transit."

She entered the cockpit and stood behind Joker watching their approach.

"The board is green. Approach run has begun," Joker stated. "Hitting the relay in 3…2…1.."

The ship was pulled into the relay, a bright light, a sense of nothing, and then they shot out of the next relay.

Joker continued, "Thrusters…check. Navigation…check. Internal emissions sinks engaged. All systems online. Drift…just under 1500k."

"1500 is good. Your Captain will be pleased." The turian, Nihlus, gave Shepard a long, hooded look, nodded and left.

"I hate that guy," Joker said.

"Nihlus paid you a complement and…you hate him?" Kaidan asked.

"What I did wasn't just good…it was incredible," Joker said with pride. "Besides, Spectres are trouble. I don't like having him onboard."

"The Council helped fund this project; they want to keep an eye on their investment," Kaidan pointed out.

"Yeah, that is the official story…but, only an idiot believes the official story." Joker smirked at Kaidan.

She turned to Joker, "They don't send Spectres on shakedown runs."

"So, there's more going on here than the captain is letting on," Joker said snidely to Kaidan, who rolled his eyes.

"Kaidan, why are you in the co-pilot's chair?" Shepard asked curiously.

"Just wanted to get a little practice with reading the nav boards, it's fascinating…and, to get a better look when we hit the relay," he admitted sheepishly.

She could certainly understand that, Joker had the best view on the ship. "Joker, why were you announcing every move we made earlier?" Shepard asked with a raised eyebrow.

"The Captain wanted me to go by the book and make a good impression with Nihlus on board." Joker shrugged.

Captain Anderson's voice came on the line. "Tell Commander Shepard to meet me in the comm room for a debriefing."

"You get that Commander?" Joker asked.

"Hard to miss Joker... He sounds angry. Something must have gone wrong with the mission." Shepard sighed and turned to leave. She heard Kaidan and Joker continue to banter as she headed down the walkway.

"Pff…Captain always sounds that way when he's talking to me," Joker replied.

"I couldn't possibly imagine why," Kaidan said disdainfully.

She shook her head in exasperation. As she got closer to the CIC, she heard Navigator Pressly.

"I'm telling you he just marched by like he was on a mission," Pressly said.

"He's a Spectre, they're always on a mission," Engineer Adams replied.

"And we're getting dragged right along with him!" Pressly said bitterly.

"Relax! You're going to give yourself an ulcer," Adams told him.

She approached Pressly.

"Congratulations Commander. Looks like we had a smooth run. Are you heading down to see the Captain?" Pressly asked.

"From what I just heard, you don't care much for our turian guest."

"Don't much care for turians. My grandfather fought in the First Contact war against them. We lost a lot of friends to the turians," he admitted.

"That was 30 years ago. You can't blame Nihlus for that," she told him.

"I know. But, it still makes me nervous to have a turian Spectre onboard. We're an Alliance vessel, human military…and Nihlus doesn't have to answer to the Captain, he can operate outside the law," Pressly said in frustration and then sighed. "Something is off about this mission, Commander. Everybody feels it."

"Yes, something is different. What are your thoughts about it?" she asked him.

"If we're just testing stealth systems, why is Captain Anderson here? And Nihlus? He's a turian Spectre….an elite operative. Why would a Spectre be on a shakedown run…it doesn't make any sense. I think they are using the shakedown as a cover." Pressly shook his head in confusion.

Interesting, she thought. He was picking up on the same signals she was. "Do you have concerns about the Captain?" she asked him.

"Not at all, but he is a top Special Forces officer. You don't send a soldier like that on a do-nothing mission. Plus, he's treating this shakedown run far too seriously. Something big is going on," Pressly told her.

"I'm sure I'm about to be enlightened. Good instincts, Pressly."

Pressly nodded, saluted, and returned to his duties.

As she continued towards the comm room she overheard Jenkins and the doctor speaking.

"I grew up on Eden Prime, Doc, nothing ever happens there. No reason for a Spectre to go there. And why is the Captain agreeing to it? Something has to be going on," Jenkins told Chakwas.

"That's crazy. The Captain's in charge here. He wouldn't take orders from a Spectre," Chakwas said.

"Not his choice doc, Spectre's don't answer to anyone. They can do whatever they want. Kill anyone in their way." Jenkins could barely contain his excitement.

"Ha! You watch too many spy movies Jenkins," Chakwas scoffed at him.

"What do you think, Commander?" he asked as she approached them. "I sure hope we won't be staying on Eden Prime too long. I'm itching to see some real action."

"I sincerely hope you're kidding, Corporal," replied Chakwas. "Your 'real action' usually ends with me patching up crew members in the infirmary," the doctor retorted.

"You need to calm down, Corporal. A good soldier stays cool even under fire," Shepard told him.

"Sorry, Commander. I've never been on a mission with a Spectre on board."

"Just treat this like any other assignment. You'll do fine," Shepard said.

"Easy for you to say. You proved yourself in the Blitz, everyone knows what you can do," Jenkins said with respect. "This is my big chance. I need to show the brass what I can do."

"You will prove yourself with time and experience. You're young still. If you jump the gun and do something stupid you could end up with your ass shot off," Shepard warned.

"Don't worry ma'am. I'm not going to screw this up," Jenkins said with confidence.

Shoot me now…please, thought Shepard. Was I ever that young and stupid? It seemed the older she got, the less patience she had with the younger troops. Well, I might as well go in as well armed as possible. She turned to the doctor. "What can you tell me about Nihlus?" she asked her.

"Turians are generally well respected by the other races. They have the largest fleet patrolling Citadel space. They don't always get on well with us though. Some people find them too rigid or still blame them for the First Contact War. As far as Nihlus goes, he usually only speaks to the Captain," Chakwas explained.

"I heard Nihlus took down an entire enemy platoon by himself!" Jenkins said with excitement.

"What have you heard about the Spectres?" she asked the doctor.

"Only that Spectre agents work directly for the Citadel Council, either alone or in small groups. They're a shadow organization with a mandate to preserve and protect galactic stability."

"At any cost," said Jenkins." They are above the law!"

"Why aren't there any human Spectres?" she asked.

"We've been trying for years to get a human accepted into their ranks, but Spectres are usually chosen from one of the Council races: turian, asari, or salarian," the doctor informed her.

"Hey, Commander – you'd make a good Spectre," Jenkins tossed out. "You're a war hero that held off an entire enemy fleet during the Blitz single-handed!" he said in awe.

"Technically I used both hands and even my feet at times, Jenkins….even once used the leg of a dead – Sorry…that kind of got away from me," Shepard apologized.

Jenkins mouth dropped open then slammed shut. He laughed nervously.

"The Spectres aren't interested in recruiting humans, no matter how capable," Chakwas pointed out.

"How do you control agents with unlimited power?" Shepard asked.

"I suppose the Council could revoke their status. It would probably then become a Citadel Security Services problem," Chakwas said.

"No C-Sec grunt could handle a Spectre gone rogue. They'd have to send another agent to take them down," Jenkins corrected Chakwas.

"Tell me about Eden Prime, Jenkins," Shepard said.

"It's peaceful, Commander. It doesn't have city noise or pollution. It was too quiet for me. That's why I joined the Alliance. Even paradise gets boring after awhile."

"I should go. The Captain's waiting for me," she said and headed around the partition to the comm room.

Nihlus was in the comm room alone.

"Commander Shepard. I was hoping you'd get here first. It will give us a chance to talk," Nihlus told her.

"What do you wish to discuss?" she asked him.

"I'm interested in the world, Eden Prime. I've heard it's quite beautiful."

"I've never been there, but I've been told it's a paradise," she replied.

"Yes…Eden Prime has become something of a symbol for your people, hasn't it? Proof that humanity can establish colonies and keep them safe. But, how safe is it?" he asked pointedly.

She cocked an eyebrow. "Is there something you are trying to tell me?"

"Your people are still newcomers, Shepard. The galaxy can be a very dangerous place."

She didn't care for the direction this conversation was taking. She couldn't decide if he was mocking or threatening her. She focused her senses and his aura popped into view. Dark blues with reddish swirls. Attractive, honest, but aggressive and hard, like he was. She wished she could touch him ungloved. It would be so much easier to get a bead on where he was going with this if she could read his emotional state. But that required skin on skin contact and she was pretty sure that would not go over so well with him. She sighed and released her focus, dropping the sight.

"Is the Alliance truly ready for what all of this entails?" he asked with some concern. Are you ready is what he really wanted to ask.

"I think we are ready to be given the chance to prove ourselves. And…Yes, Nihlus, the galaxy can be dangerous. But it can also be beautiful and seductive…keep the danger in mind...be prepared for it. But don't close your eyes to the beauty and seduction or you will find that you have lost far more than any relative safety you might have gained." she said…keeping her eyes locked on his.

"You have an interesting philosophy, Shepard. I'd heard you were…different." He paused for a moment, looked towards the door, and then walked up to her. "When all of this is…behind us," he said softly. He ran his armored hand lightly down her cheek. "I would like to see if we could be…more," he said, looking at her intently.

"More," she said slowly, trying to wrap her head around what he was saying. "I did not think turians liked humans."

"I am not your typical…turian. I don't play by the book. I don't follow the rules. I judge people by their merits not their race. You are a strong, talented and beautiful woman, Shepard. I see much in you to admire and much more I would like the chance to learn." He never wanted to beg for anything in his life, but he thought he just might beg for this...for her, if he had to. Spirits willing, she would see him the way he saw her.

She stripped her glove off and brought her hand to the side of his neck. His emotions were stormy, though you could not tell by his cool demeanor. His convictions were strong. She knew there was more he was not saying, but what he did say was truthful. He liked her…he wanted her. She had to admit he was good looking for a turian, he had attractive chocolate coloration, a long, swept back crest, and beautiful bright green eyes…he was strong, confident...and he intrigued her. "I would like that too, Nihlus," she said with a smile.

He nodded; his mandibles gave a small flare. He took her hand between his and touched his forehead to hers. "Then I hope we can put this behind us quickly." His head jerked up when he heard footsteps. He gave her hand a small squeeze, released it, straightened his shoulders, turned and walked away from her.

David came in quickly. "I think it's time we tell the Commander what's really going on."

"This mission is more than a simple shakedown run," Nihlus told her, his eyes taking in her every reaction.

"Yes, that was obvious," she said.

"We needed to make sure the stealth systems were operational because we are making a covert pick up on Eden Prime," Anderson told her.

"Is there a reason I was left in the dark?" she asked.

"The mission was need to know and now you need to know. A research team on Eden Prime unearthed a Prothean beacon," Anderson paused. "This is big, Shepard. Last time humanity made a discovery like this it jumped our technology forward 200 years. We need to bring the beacon back to the Citadel for proper study."

"This goes beyond human interests alone, Shepard. This discovery could affect every species in council space," Nihlus said. "However, the beacon is not the only reason why I'm here."

"Nihlus wants to see you in action, Shepard. He's here to evaluate you."

She turned to face Nihlus. "I guess that's why I've been seeing so much of you lately. Will I be seeing… more of you?" She raised her eyebrow and gave him a slow wink.

Nihlus caught his mandibles flaring wide, clamped them tight and cleared his throat.

"The Spectres represent the Council's power and authority. If they accept a human into their ranks, it shows how far the Alliance has come," Anderson explained.

"You alone held off an enemy assault during the Blitz. You showed courage and incredible skill. That's why I put your name forward as a candidate for the Spectres," Nihlus told her.

"I'm…thank you, Nihlus," she said, giving him slow nod.

"I've been watching you…your career for awhile now, Shepard. I had to meet you," he said pausing… willing her to know what he was really trying to say. "I needed to find out if you were Spectre material. We are an elite group and it is rare to find an individual with the skills we seek. As the Captain said, I need to evaluate you. Eden Prime will be the first of several missions…together."

"You will be in charge of the ground team. Secure the beacon and get it aboard the ship. Nihlus will observe the mission. We are hoping the beacon will tell us more about the Protheans, they were technologically advanced, yet they mysteriously vanished 50,000 years ago," Anderson explained to her.

"Their Citadel is the very heart of galactic society. Without their mass relays interstellar travel would be impossible. We all owe the Protheans a great debt," Nihlus said.

"True, if we hadn't discovered those Prothean ruins on Mars, we'd still be stuck on Earth," Anderson acknowledged.

"Captain, we've got a problem," Joker broke in. "Transmission from Eden Prime, sir. You better see this!"

"Bring it up on-screen," David Anderson ordered.

Nihlus slipped in behind Shepard, took her hand and laced his fingers with hers. She gave his hand a squeeze. His other arm, hidden from Anderson, stole around her waist and pulled her against him. He wished like mad he was not wearing armor, he needed to feel her. Her scent tantalized him, toyed with his senses. He closed his eyes and breathed her in. His hand splayed across her belly, caressed it as he held her tight.

Shepard relaxed against him and sighed. Being in his arms felt better than expected. She cherished this stolen moment in the dark and looked forward to what they would share in the future.

Heavy gunfire filled the screen. Yelling. The camera bounced haphazardly. It was hard to get a clear picture of just what was happening. A man shouted they were taking heavy casualties and needed evac, just before his head exploded. In the background a massive, tentacled ship landed at Eden Prime and the video feed cut out.

"Satus report!" Anderson demanded.

"Seventeen minutes out, Captain. No other Alliance ships in the area," Joker told him.

"Take us in Joker, fast and quiet," Anderson said. "This mission just got a lot more complicated."

Nihlus released her and stepped back.

"Grab your gear and meet us at the Cargo hold," he told Nihlus.

Nihlus shot her a look. The naked longing in his eyes, thrilled her before he veiled it, nodded and left.

"Tell Alenko and Jenkins to suit up, Shepard. You're going in." When the door closed behind Nihlus, David pulled her in for a hug. "You stay safe out there, child. It is important you bring that beacon in, but don't take reckless chances with your life."

"I'll do my best, David," she assured him.

"Your best has always been good enough for me, child." He nodded then released her.

They met up with Anderson at the Cargo hold once they were suited up. "Go in heavy and head straight for the dig site, Commander," he told her. "Nihlus will scout out ahead. He'll feed you status reports throughout the mission. Otherwise, radio silence."

Shepard closed her eyes and focused her sight. A rainbow of auras came into view. Before every mission she would evaluate auras and take a good luck kiss from the person with the brightest aura during that mission. It was only a friendly peck, but she knew it brought her the best luck possible. Now, that didn't mean nothing ever went wrong or no one ever got hurt, but it did mean that they had the best chance for everything to end successfully. Today, Nihlus' blue and red aura shined the brightest. But she was unsure how a Turian would feel about a kiss or the fact that it was in public. So, she evaluated Kaidan and Jenkins. Kaidan's blue aura was the second brightest. She wasn't impressed with Jenkin's rolling green aura…it was more dull that it should be. If it were her call, she would not be taking him on this mission.

Nihlus came up to her; she felt his hand on her hip, the gentle squeeze he gave her. "Let me see your omni-tool." She flipped it on and held it up for him. He hit a few keys and nodded. "It is my private, encrypted channel. We don't know what's down there and I don't want to make it too easy on them." He said giving her a knowing, hot look. He managed to sneak in a hand squeeze as he breezed past her on his way off the ship. Stars…he's good, she thought. I didn't even see him reach for my hand.

Chapter 2

Eden Prime

Shepard took a quick look around once they were top-side. It was beautiful, in a rocky and harsh way. She couldn't see the paradise yet, but then she'd only seen one tiny piece of the place. She didn't get too terribly far when she noticed strange floating creatures above a nearby swamp.

"What the hell are those?" Alenko asked.

"Gas bags," Jenkins stated. "Nothing dangerous…unless you get too close when they are killed."

Shepard turned to her squadmates. "I know neither of you have been with me long. I'm not sure how much you've heard about my…eccentricities." She noticed they both were flushed. Ok…so they know. "I guess I can tell by your reactions that you've heard something. I can see auras. If I picked my own team, auras would be the deciding factor on who would go with me. Ignoring what the aura says can lead to more unpleasant…outcomes. I also have a good-luck system that works for me. Things can still go wrong, it's not a guarantee, but things would go a lot worse if I ignored my system. The person on my team with the brightest aura I kiss for good luck. No worries…it's a peck, not a sexual harassment molestation," she said, forcing a straight face.

"I'm sure there are those of us that wouldn't mind the molestation…ma'am," Jenkins said.

She saw the cocky grin on his face, but his flush was over the top and she just couldn't keep it together any longer. Her commander mask slipped, she threw back her head and laughed, flashing them both a radiant smile.

Both men stood there, eyes wide, mouths open, and forgot to breath. Her smile nearly brought them to their knees. When they both remembered to breath, they were seeing stars.

She walked over to Kaidan. "Nihlus had the brightest aura, but he left too quickly. So, now you are my good luck giver today, Kaidan. Will you accept my good luck kiss?" she asked him gently.

Kaidan flushed hotter. He didn't trust himself not to sound like he was hitting puberty, so he nodded consent.

She moved in close, put one hand behind his head and the other on his cheek. She pulled him down and slid her lips softly against his. "Thank you," she said before pulling away.

Kaidan's heart pounded within his chest. That was the most sensual kiss he'd ever received. He looked over at Jenkins, who was dripping with envy. He gave a small smile and winked at him.

They headed left down a well used trail and spotted a burning structure in the distance.

"My god…what happened here?" asked Jenkins.

"Shepard," came the private message from Nihlus. "Are you topside yet?"

"Yes, Nihlus. We can see something burning in the distance. Doesn't look good."

"It gets worse the further in you go. This place got hit hard. Hostiles everywhere. Stay sharp…and be careful," he said concerned.

"I'm the one with a team covering my ass…you're the one that needs to be careful, Nihlus."

"Absolutely…I have a lot to look forward to," he said suggestively. "Nihlus out." Nihlus caught himself smiling again. This time he didn't have to worry about looking the fool. The dead weren't talking. It had been years since he had been interested in someone like this. While he had nothing against humans, he'd never considered being with one before. She was just so vivid, so alive, so fascinating. He had never met anyone like her. He was drawn to her courage, her strength…her vital spark. Initially he had been uncertain what his reception would be, he had assumed she would decline his invitation. Life, however, was too damn short not to try to get what you want out of it. You might be pleasantly surprised…as he had been.

As the path began to turn to the right they passed over a few fried corpses. Shepard got a bad feeling. Something wasn't right. She held up her hand to stop her squad. She motioned for them to get to cover. Jenkins wasn't fast enough. He was caught out in the open by two drones and she saw him fall. Damn it, Jenkins! She sent an overload charge at them and lobbed out Grim, her modified AI drone. Another drone popped up and Grim sent a charge at the drone that caused it to explode spectacularly. Grim returned to her side. "Do you require further assistance, Ari?"

"Yes, please remain active, Grim. Scout ahead, find Nihlus and stick with him, send back any relevant footage."

The drone flashed and rolled in agitation. "I do not like leaving you unprotected, Ari."

"I have a team, a combat drone and a turret, I'm hardly defenseless. Now scram."

Kaidan bent low over Jenkins and ran his hand over Jenkins' sightless eyes, closing them. "They ripped right through his shields. He never had a chance."

"We'll make sure he has a proper funeral when the mission is complete. But right now I need you to stay focused on the mission."

"Yes, ma'am," Kaidan replied.

Continuing along the path, skirting some large outcroppings, they were ambushed by a few more drones. They were no better than flies. Went down easy, if you could catch them, but annoyed the hell out of you if you couldn't. They'd just cleaned out that squad of drones when Nihlus commed her again.

"I've got some burned out buildings here…a lot of bodies, Shepard. I'm going to check it out. I'll catch up with you at the dig site," Nihlus said. "Oh, and I appear to have a new sidekick. One of your toys?"

"Yeah, his name is Grim. If you need him to camouflage, just let him know. He'll obey you so long as it doesn't countermand me…. Jenkins fell. He was out of cover when the drones attacked. I knew I should have kissed you," she said in frustration.

"Kissed me? You wanted to kiss me?" His heart slammed in his chest. He had never kissed anyone before, but as he spent time observing Shepard on the ship and realized he had feelings for her, he researched human courting vids. The kiss idea was kind of strange; his mouth was not built like hers, but he wanted to try it with her…

Kissing him. That was an interesting concept. Turians didn't have soft lips; she was curious what it would be like to kiss him. She hadn't originally meant it that way, she'd been thinking of the good luck kiss…but now the idea was intriguing. "Would it have offended you?" she asked him.

"Not at all, Shepard. It is an enticing notion. I would like to kiss you." At least no one was around to see just how true that statement was. "But what does kissing me have to do with Jenkins?"

"Kissing can bring good luck," she told him.

"Interesting concept…Then I wished you had kissed me too…for good luck's sake…and my own." He chuckled.

"Nihlus…be careful…I have a bad feeling. My instincts are never wrong. That's one thing you should know about me as my…mentor. Keep your guard up and…take care."

"I will, Shepard. I – there is much I want to say...we'll talk more tonight."

The path curved around to the right. Huge rock monoliths peppered the ground like giant teeth. They took down a few more drones, rounded a bend and saw a lone female soldier in a standoff against a couple of geth. What were the geth doing here? They rarely left geth space.

"Double time!" She yelled and they picked up speed to get to her in time. She signaled Kaidan to cover and darted behind the same outcropping the female soldier was using. She sent an overload chain, tossed her turret, which sent scorching flames and bullets at the geth. Kaidan overloaded another geth that popped out of cover and they took them down under a haze of bullets.

"Thank you, Commander, wasn't sure I was going to make it out of that pickle…Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams of the 212, are you the one in charge here ma'am?" Ashley asked.

"Yes, I'm Commander Shepard. Are you hurt, Williams?"

"No, ma'am. Just a few scrapes and bruises. The others weren't so lucky…Oh man, we were sent here to secure the beacon site and were patrolling the perimeter when the attack hit. We tried to get out a distress call, but they jammed our communication. I've been fighting for my life ever since."

Shepard looked around. "Where is the rest of your squad?" she asked her.

"We tried to double back to the beacon, to secure it, but we walked into an ambush. I don't think any of the others…I think I'm the only one left," Ashley said solemnly.

"It's ok, Williams. It wasn't your fault. Sometimes the best we can do is survive, and I'm glad you did." Shepard tried to reassure her.

"Yes, Ma'am. We held our position as long as we could, but the geth overwhelmed us."

"The geth haven't been seen outside the Perseus Veil in over 200 years, why are they here now?" Kaidan asked.

"Perhaps for the same reason we are. Not sure how they found out or why they would care, but the timing cannot be coincidence," Shepard pointed out.

"The dig site is close. Just over the ridge. The beacon might still be there," Ashley said, pointing the direction they should take.

"What else do you know about these geth?" Shepard asked.

"Just what I remember from school. They're synthetics. Non-organic life-forms with limited AI programming created by the quarians a few centuries ago. They were supposed to be a source of cheap labor, but they became too intelligent. When the quarians tried to shut them down they fought back and drove the quarians into exile," Ashley explained.

"I meant these geth. Do you know where they came from?" Shepard corrected.

"I think they came from that huge ship that landed," Ashley said.

Shepard nodded. She assumed that to be the case as well. She just wanted to make sure there were not more than one group of enemies they had to fight.

"Do you know what happened to the researchers at the dig site?" Shepard asked.

"No, Ma'am. They had a camp near the beacon. The 232 was with them. Maybe their unit fared better than mine."

"Care to help us with a little clean up?" Shepard asked her.

"Absolutely, ma'am. Time for a little payback," Ashley responded with a curt nod.

"Move out," Shepard commanded.

As they continued down the incline towards the settlement, they passed several huge spikes that had been stabbed through human torsos. The bodies appeared to be in various stages of decomposition. It was horrifying to see and she could only hope they had died before they were impaled.

At the bottom of the incline, a handful of geth popped out of cover to take pot shots at them. Between the three of them, they went down fast. She flipped her omni-tool on and scanned the area, no life signs and no synthetic signatures.

The dig site was well lit up, but there was no beacon and no Nihlus; just more of those freaky spikes with human remains on them.

"This is the dig site. The beacon was right here. It must have been moved."

"Here's your sign," Shepard said, and then covered her mouth. Damn old earth vids.

"What sign, Commander?" Ashley asked confused.

"Tracks!" she said pointing to the faint scuff marks. "Signs it had been moved," she said, thankful for the quick wit fix. Say that three times fast, she thought with a snicker.

"Moved by whom? Our side or the geth?" Kaidan asked.

"The research camp is at the top of this ridge. Maybe they will know the answers," Ashley replied.

Shepard commed Nihlus. "We're at the dig site, Nihlus. I hate to state the obvious…but you aren't here. What happened?"

"Sorry, there was a slight change of plans. There is a small space port up ahead. I want to check it out. I'll wait for you there," Nihlus responded.

"Nihlus…something is very wrong here. It is like a cold in my bones that I cannot get rid of. Come back to me; let us finish this together."

Nihlus smiled. It warmed his heart that she cared about him. It gave him hope that they could have more… be more…together. "Your concern touches me," he said softly. "But you needn't worry. I have worked alone for many years, vela. I'll be fine. Besides, I'm not exactly alone with Grim at my side. You should be here soon. I'll be waiting for you."

Vela? What or who was that? "You have me there, Nihlus. I know much of the turian language…but, vela is a mystery to me."

"Your translator couldn't translate it? I guess that's not too surprising, it comes from a very ancient turian dialect. I will tell you about it tonight," he said.

"I don't have a translator. I don't have any implants," she admitted.

"That's right. I remember reading that in your file. I thought it was an error in the report. You are a remarkable woman, Shepard. I can't wait...Damn - "

She heard gunfire. "Are you okay?" she asked him.

"Yes…fine. Be careful. There are human bodies…husks…they come down off the spikes and attack. A head shot kills them faster. I'll see you soon, vela. Be careful. I hear something – Nihlus out."

"Keep your eyes peeled. Nihlus just informed me that human…husks come down off those spikes and attack. Be ready for anything. He also said to aim for the head." Her omni-tool beeped and footage displayed on the screen of Nihlus's and Grim's fight with the husks. She showed it to her team.

"They're alive?" Ashley gasped. "I thought they were just left there as a warning."

They moved up the ridge. As they approached the camp they could see smoke and debris.

"Looks like they hit the camp hard," Ashley said.

"Keep alert. It's a good place for an ambush," Kaidan replied.

Three spikes began to retract, the impaled bodies flailed. Sparks shot into the husks and they contorted, falling off the spike stands. For a moment they ran around mindless, and then their heads swung in towards her squad. They advanced…Blasts of electricity coming off of them, strong enough to do some serious damage if they got too close.

"Oh God, they're still …alive," Kaidan said horrified.

"We were warned, Kaidan, and we saw the footage." Shepard reminded him.

"I know, but seeing a thing in a vid and seeing it with my own eyes are two different things," Kaidan said.

To stay on the safe side, she kept her team at a distance and took them down with bullets.

As they walked further into the camp, she noticed other dead husks – the ones that Nihlus and Grim confronted. She approached a pair of mobile work stations. She felt a small pull and followed her loot radar – or lootdar into the closest mobile center. She found a stash of guns, which she didn't need and omni-gel, which she could never have enough of.

The second mobile center was locked. She hacked the door and found some of the missing researchers.

"Humans! Thank the Maker! I'm Dr. Warren and this is Dr. Manuel," the woman said.

"Hurry! Close the door! Before they come back!" said the distraught man.

"Don't worry. I'm Commander Shepard. We'll protect you," she assured them.

"Thank you. I think we'll be okay now. It looks like everyone's gone," Dr. Warren said.

"Dr. Warren…you're in charge of the excavation. Do you know what happened to the beacon?" Ashley asked.

"It was moved to the space port this morning. Manuel and I stayed behind to help pack up the camp." Dr. Warren replied. "When the attack came, the marines held them off long enough for us to hide. We could hear the battle outside. Gunfire. Screams. I thought it would never end. Then everything went quiet. We stayed…too afraid to move, until you came along. They saved our lives."

"Saved? No one is saved. The age of humanity is ended. Soon only ruin and corpses will remain," Dr. Manuel said frantically. "Agents of the destroyers, Bringers of darkness. Heralds of our extinction."

Shepard ignored the ranting. She was getting a little worried about Nihlus. "Did you see a turian in the area?" Shepard asked.

"I saw him. The prophet. Leader of the enemy. He was here before the attack," Dr. Manuel said.

"That's impossible. Nihlus was with us on the Normandy before the attack. He couldn't have been here," Kaidan said.

"No, but another turian might have been," Shepard responded.

"I'm sorry; Manuel is still a bit…unsettled. We've been hiding in here since the attack. I know I haven't seen any turians," Dr. Warren told them.

"What do you know about the beacon?" Shepard asked her.

"It's some kind of data module from a galaxy wide communications network. It's remarkably well preserved. It could be the greatest scientific discovery of our lifetime!" Dr. Warren said excitedly.

"We have unearthed the heart of evil. Awakened the beast. Unleashed the darkness," Dr. Manuel cried out.

"What's wrong with Dr. Manuel?" Shepard asked.

"Dr. Manuel has a brilliant mind. But he's always been a bit…unstable. There is a fine line between genius and madness," Dr. Warren replied.

Shepard wasn't too sure she agreed with that statement. She was a genius and she didn't think she was anywhere near mad.

"Is it madness to see the future? To see the destruction rushing towards us? To understand there is no escape? No hope? You can't stop it! No one can stop it! They are coming! They bring the darkness of eternity! No, I'm not mad…I'm the only sane one left!" Dr. Manuel said, his voice rising.

Shepard closed her eyes and focused her sight. She opened them and saw Manuel's beautiful sky blue aura with swirls of yellow, tails of green where the colors collided. She did not see madness in his aura. She approached Dr. Manuel slowly. She pulled off her armored glove. "Dr. Manuel, would you be willing to remove your glove and shake my hand. The touch will allow me to see the truth. Will you let me touch you?" she asked him calmly.

Dr. Manuel bobbed his head and removed his glove. Shepard took his hand and gasped as the jolt hit her. Emotions were chaotic, thoughts were flying. She almost felt like she couldn't breathe. She felt Kaidan's touch on her shoulder.

"Are you okay, Commander?" he asked concerned. She nodded to him and then concentrated on Dr. Manuel, sent him soothing thoughts. "What did the turian you see look like?"

"He wore silver armor, had long cheek crests and wore a black cloth over his head crests. His glowing blue eyes could be seen from a distance," he said in an almost dream like state.

"That's very good. You said he was leading the enemy. What enemy?" she asked softly.

"The geth. But they are just the agents of the destroyers! The destroyers have seen us and they are coming. Our extinction is at hand!" Dr. Manuel's voice began to rise in fear.

Shepard sent more calming thoughts through her touch and he settled back into a dream-like state. "Who are the destroyers?" she asked.

"The ancient ones. I only see the dark. They bring the dark. They will devour us." Dr. Manuel's head dropped. "I have seen it," he whispered.

Dr. Manuel was not mad…but what he had seen had not left him completely sane either. She looked the doctor in the eyes and nodded. "You are not crazy, Dr. Manuel. I believe you. They are coming. But know this…I will not let them devour us. I will fight. I will win." She sent calm, confident thoughts and dropped his hand.

"Thank you, Commander Shepard," Dr. Manuel stated calmly. "I do not know why I think you can beat such astronomical odds, but I do. You have given me…hope… freedom…clarity. Thank you." He turned to Dr. Warren. "I believe we have some packing to finish, are you ready to proceed, Dr. Warren?" He turned and walked to the back of the mobile center to complete the packing.

"I haven't seen him that calm and relaxed in, well…ever. He walks lighter, like a great burden has been lifted off of him. I don't know what you did to him, but thank you," Dr. Warren said gratefully.

Shepard nodded. "All I really did was listen. I should go." She turned and exited the mobile center.

"Wow, that man was cracked. Not sure how you held your patience so long," Ashley said.

Kaidan shot Ashley a dark look.

"What, LT?" Ashley asked.

"He wasn't crazy Ashley. He was seeing more clearly than anyone. I felt the truth of it when I touched him, when I read his feelings. Enough. Let's move out," Shepard said, heading towards the space port.

Ashley looked over at Kaiden in question.

"I will tell you about it later," he told her.

Nihlus heard movement, he darted behind cover. "Camouflage, Grim." He pulled out his assault rifle, took a deep breath and darted out of cover, gun raised, target in the cross hairs. Then, he stopped. It was his old mentor Saren Arterius. "Saren?" Nihlus asked in shock.

Saren turned around slowly. "Nihlus," he said softly.

"This isn't your mission, Saren. What are you doing here?" Nihlus asked.

Saren walked over to Nihlus, put a hand on his shoulder, "The Council thought you could use some help on this one," he said as he walked past him. Damn it, Nihlus! This was not how he wanted things to go down. But no one could know he had been here.

Nilus looked off into the distance. "I wasn't expecting to find the geth here. The situation's bad."

"Don't worry," Saren and then he turned and pulled his gun, aiming at the back of Nihlus' head. "I've got it covered."

Nihlus flipped on his omni-tool and commed Shepard. "Vela, I'm - "

Saren pulled the trigger. An electrical bolt shot out of nowhere and slammed into him. His nerve endings sizzled. Acid burned into his armor. He caught sight of the drone, kept on the move to try to dodge the vicious attack, and sent a volley of bullets into it until it disintegrated. He stood for a moment to try to catch his breath. He'd never seen a drone like that before. It was clearly intelligent; it anticipated his moves and fought him with a skill that was unheard of. The drone had carried an amazing arsenal of weapons and at one point he was sure the drone was going to take him down. He wished he could have captured it and studied it. He shook his head, slapped at the fire still dancing along his arm, and cursed in frustration.

A sigh escaped Nihlus as he fell to the ground. As light faded to dark, his last thought was of a kiss.

"Nihlus! Shit. Nihlus, we're coming…hang on." Saren heard the woman say. Damn it Nihlus – you brought your vela? A part of him wanted to stay and find out who she was. But he did not want to have to kill her. He'd taken enough from the man. Saren gave one last look at Nihlus, turned and walked away.

She heard Nihlus' voice. She heard the gun shot. She heard the thud of a body hitting the ground. She heard the silence. "Nihlus! Shit. Nihlus, we're coming…hang on…Double time!" Shepard yelled. Human husks were on the prowl. She looked longingly in the direction of the spaceport and sighed. Her OT chimed and she released Grim again. "Grim – get to Nihlus."

The drone rolled and flashed. "Ari - "

"Now!"

She lobbed her combat drone and turret and took down three husks that had been advancing on them.

She and Ashley drew their snipers and took out the two geth at the space port that were firing at them and two more husks that were making their way up the hill.

They heard a banging and walked towards the shed. She hacked the locked door and humans came out with their hands up. "Don't shoot …we're coming out – we aren't armed," a man said.

"Is it safe…Are they gone?" asked a frightened woman.

"I'm Commander Shepard; the enemies have been cleared out. You are safe."

"Those things were crawling all around the shed. We owe you are lives," Cole said.

"What happened?" she asked.

"We had been working the crops when the ship showed up and we ran for the shed. The rest of the crew had been over by the spaceport where the ship landed. The ship had been emitting some kind of signal when it descended. Sounded like the shriek of the damned. Only it was coming from inside your own head," Cole told them.

A multitude of techno-babble raced through her head. "It was probably trying to block communications," Shepard explained for simplicity's sake.

One of the farmers, Blake, felt guilty and talked Cole into turning over the military items that someone at the spaceport was smuggling off planet. A few more delicate arm twists and they discovered the man's name was Powell.

She nodded and left. Hang in there Nihlus, she thought. We're almost there. She skirted left around the outcroppings and up the stairs, where she found Nihlus sprawled on the ground, Grim floating impotently nearby. She ran over and knelt beside him. She scanned him with her omni-tool. No signs of life. She removed her glove and placed her hand on his neck. Nothing. She pushed out and tried to merge their auras…she wanted to see if there were any after effects left behind that could tell her what happened. Nothing. No pulse. No emotions. No aura. Emptiness. She bent over and placed a kiss on his mouth. "I'm so sorry I didn't do that sooner…maybe none of this would have happened." She looked down at him sadly, then pulled back, gently placed her hand over his sightless eyes and closed them. "Sleep well, Nihlus. You will be remembered," she said softly.

"Grim, what happened?"

"I tried to tell you, Ari.."

A noise to the right brought her to attention. She spun and pulled her gun.

"Wait! Don't – Don't shoot! I'm one of you! I'm human," Powell said holding his arms up.

"Sneaking up on us that way nearly got you killed," Shepard said, her patience gone.

"I'm sorry; I was hiding from those creatures. My name is Powell; I saw what happened to your...boyfriend. The other turian shot him."

"What happened?" she asked.

"The other turian got here first. He was waiting when your boyfriend showed up. Your boyfriend called him Saren. He relaxed. He let his guard down…and Saren shot him in the back of the head…I'm just lucky he didn't see me behind the crates," Powell explained. "That drone probably saved my life. It distracted Saren, might have even hurt him before it was taken out."

"He wasn't her boyfriend!" Kaidan corrected with indignation.

"Yes, Kaidan, he was." Their relationship might have been brand new, but she was not going to deny Nihlus. Not now. Not ever.

Kaidan looked at her in shock. "I'm sorry for your loss, ma'am." He liked the Commander. Though he wasn't sure how he felt about her and the turian. How could he have missed that? He also knew he wasn't really sorry and that sat wrong with him. But how could he be? He was drawn to her himself.

"So am I, Kaidan. He deserved better." Like she told Kaidan, she would mourn later. It was her fault. She should have kissed him. She ignored her system and he paid the price. Why hadn't he listened to her? Why hadn't she tried harder? She knew better than to ignore her feelings. Saren, she thought. I will find you. I will take you down. Once the vow was made, she returned her focus to the mission. "We were told a Prothean beacon was brought to the spaceport. What happened to it?"

"It's over on the other platform. Probably where that Saren guy was headed. He hopped on the cargo train right after he killed your boyfriend." Powell told her. "Everything has gone to Hell since we found that damned beacon. First the mother ship showed up then the attack. They killed everyone. Everyone! If I hadn't been napping behind the crates I'd be dead, too! The ship made a horrible noise that woke me up and I've been hiding ever since."

"Cole told me you were his smuggling contact at the docks. Are there any weapons around her that we can use in the fight?" Shepard asked him.

"A shipment of grenades came through last week. Nobody notices if a few small pieces go missing from the military orders," Powell admitted.

"You greedy son of a bitch! We're out here trying to protect your sorry ass and all you can think about is how you can rip us off?" Ashley fumed.

"I never thought you'd actually need the grenades! Who'd ever attack Eden Prime? We're just a bunch of farmers," Powell said holding his hands up in submission. "Here," he said, handing the grenades to Shepard. "They're yours. Take them. My smuggling days are over. I swear."

"A lot of marines died here, Powell. Those grenades might have saved their lives. If I were you, I'd think of some way to make it up to them," Shepard told him.

"Okay. I didn't want anyone to get hurt. Really. I'm sorry," Cole said, feeling miserable.

"Move out. We have a beacon to secure."

She gave Nihlus' body a last sad look and a slight bow as she passed it and headed towards the train. "Grim, go find Saren. Record what you can." Geth were on the landing waiting for them. Their warbling had given them away. She scanned the immediate area and 3 synthetic pings were picked up on radar. Shepard told them to each pick one. The farthest one was hers. She pulled out her sniper and took the head clean off its body. Beautiful. The skirted the geth bodies and headed down the stairs.

She pulled up at the bottom and peaked around the railing. She activated both her omni-tools. A large geth destroyer was taking shots at them. She sent an overload charge at it, followed up with an incineration blast. Kaidan sent a wave at it, toppling it over. They finished him off with a volley of bullets.

They stuck to cover and made their way onto the train car. It was crawling with geth. She held her team back. "Take a knee!" She yelled and everyone pulled their snipers. One geth broke away and was heading right towards them. "Geth charge! Bring him down." Several sniper shots later, he was down right in front of them. That was closer than she liked. Probably should have just used her tech, but she loved getting sniper practice in. Despite being an engineer, she was the best shot on the ship and intended to keep it that way.

She took a knee and proceeded to take out the rest of the geth with her team. Poor Kaidan did not seem too enthused with using his sniper, but it was good practice for him. He'll get over it.

Saren left the beacon; he had the information he needed. He approached one of the geth. "Set the Charges. Destroy the entire colony. Leave no evidence that we were ever here." He regretted the need to kill Nihlus' vela. A small part of him hoped she'd departed Eden Prime, but he could still hear the gunfire as she approached. It was better this way. There would be no possible witnesses left.

When the train came to a stop Shepard noticed a large bomb sitting right next to the platform. Shit! She knelt over it; her hands flew across the holo-pad as she hacked into the bomb to deactivate it. "If this bomb is any indication…we don't have a lot of time if there are other bombs. Move out!"

Grim sped back to her. "Saren has departed, but there are three more bombs on the other side."

"Thanks, Grim. Go harass the geth."

They ran up the stairs. As soon as she reached the top she yelled, "Take a knee!" Everyone pulled out their snipers. There were geth right across the way from them and another group cater-corner. After a volley of sniper fire Ashley scanned the area, "All targets down."

They picked up speed as they searched for any more possible bombs. Half way across the platform, she yelled "Take a knee!" And they pulled their snipers again. There were a group of geth on the bridge they needed to cross…or would gaggle of geth work? She laughed at her the direction her mind had gone as she took down another geth. When the bridge was clear, they headed out again.

On the other side of that bridge, Grim sent her the locations of the three remaining bombs. She deactivated them and headed back to a stairwell she had passed. Near the bottom of the stairs she threw her hand up to halt her squad. The lower platform was littered with geth and husks. Time to take the trash out.

"Have at it, Grim." She lobbed a combat drone and tossed a turret at the bottom of the stairs to keep the husks from coming up. She turned on both OTs and fired off cryo and incineration blasts, watching each husk freeze and explode. Now that was fun. When her party favors were gone, she helped her team finish off the geth.

Her lootdar sent her to both sides of the platform where she was able to get her hands on some more goodies. Then she headed over to get a look at the beacon. The whole beacon glowed with a green energy; it was also emitting a hum that seemed to interfere with her transmission. She moved further away from the beacon to get better reception and commed Joker. "Normandy, the beacon is secure. Requesting immediate evac."

"This is amazing. Actual working Prothean technology. Unbelievable," Kaidan said.

"It wasn't doing anything like that when we dug it up," Ashley replied and headed back over to talk to Shepard.

"Something must have activated it," Kaidan said as he moved a bit closer to get a better look at it.

"Roger, Normandy. Standing by." Shepard turned around and saw the Kaidan approaching the beacon. She felt a wave of trepidation. "Kaidan – No!" She saw his head start to swing in her direction, but it was too late, the beacon began to flare and started pulling him in. Not on her watch. Flat, elongated disks emerged from her boots and propelled her at Kaidan. She grabbed him tightly and flung him away from the beacon with all her strength. He hit the ground and rolled. She pivoted mid-air, but the beacon grabbed her. The force of the pull was greater than her propulsion system could handle and the disks slid back into her boots.

"Shepard!" Kaidan yelled, trying to get to her.

Ashley grabbed hold of him tightly. "No! Don't touch her! It's too dangerous, LT," Ashley warned him.

A tight pressure built up within her as the beam lifted her into the air. Damn me…this is going to hurt. The pressure continued to build inside her head until she felt a pop, a sharp pain shot through her skull and pictures began pouring into her mind. The pictures kaleidoscoped faster and faster, not making much sense. She saw blood, gaping mouths, torture, torment, death. She saw machines or...synthetics. She saw destruction and ruin. The pictures were dark… alien… terrifying…

The beacon's energy grew brighter and brighter still until it shattered in a wave of energy so strong that Shepard was propelled away from it with great force. She slammed into the ground, the world went black. The beacon smoked and died.

Chapter 3

Eden Prime Aftermath

Saren was aboard the massive Reaper ship that landed on Eden Prime. He called ship Sovereign. He was sitting in his chair contemplating the day's events.

Benezia, and asari elder, or matriarch, approached him. "We identified the ship that touched down on Eden Prime. The Normandy. A human Alliance vessel. It was under the command of Captain Anderson. They managed to save the colony."

"And the beacon?" Saren asked brusquely.

"One of the humans may have used it," she replied.

Saren jumped up from his chair, an angry snarl raged out of him. This cannot happen. They cannot find out what he's doing. They would try to stop him…prevent it. No! His fury was all encompassing. He smashed and threw anything in his reach; growling and snarling…he wanted to break something...pulverize it into a bloody pulp. He stormed over to Benezia and grabbed her head between his taloned hands. Just a little pressure is all it would take…No...no...he can't…he needed her. He released her head and backed away before he was tempted to do something he would regret.

"This human must be eliminated!" he said when he collected himself.

Shepard opened her eyes and blinked. She struggled to sit up. She was on the Normandy. How did she get here?

"Doctor Chakwas? I think she's waking up," Kaidan said relieved.

"You had us worried there, Shepard. How are you feeling?" Dr. Chakwas asked.

"I'm fine now, doc. Fast healer, remember? How long was I out?" she asked.

"About 15 hours. Something happened down there with the beacon."

"It's my fault. I must have triggered some kind of security when I approached it. You had to throw me out of the way," Kaidan said flushing.

"You had no way to know what would happen," Shepard told him.

Kaidan couldn't keep the smile from his face. She forgave him and didn't hold it against him. She was a remarkable woman.

"The beacon exploded. The force of it threw you into the ground and knocked you out. We had to carry you back to the ship," Kaidan informed her.

"Thank you, Kaidan. I appreciate you looking out for me." Shepard turned to the doctor. "How am I looking doc?"

"Physically you're fine. But I detected some unusual brain activity, abnormal beta waves. I also noticed an increase in your rapid eye movements, signs typically associated with intense dreaming," Chakwas explained.

"The beacon showed me a vision…death, destruction…it was horrible to see," Shepard admitted.

"Hmmm...I better add this to my report. It may – Oh, Captain Anderson," Chakwas said.

"How's our girl holding up, doctor?" Anderson asked.

"All the readings look normal. I'd say the Commander's going to be fine," Chakwas stated with a smile.

Anderson nodded and smiled. "Glad to hear it. Shepard, I need to speak with you… in private."

Kaidan stood up straighter. "Aye, aye Captain. I'll be in the mess if you need me." He saluted and sauntered out of the med-bay.

"Sounds like that beacon did a number on you, child. Are you sure you're okay?" Anderson asked concerned.

"I'm sorry about Jenkins. I don't like losing a soldier under my command," she told him.

Anderson waved her off. "I received the reports, Jenkins wasn't your fault. You did a good job, child." Anderson assured her.

"What happened to Williams, can I have her assigned to the Normandy?" Shepard asked.

"She's a good soldier, it's already been done," Anderson replied.

"You said you needed a word, David?" she asked.

"I won't lie to you, child. Things look bad. Nihlus is dead, the beacon destroyed and geth are invading. The council is going to want answers."

"I didn't do anything wrong. The geth were there when we arrived, Nihlus refused to come back to the team, and the beacon couldn't be shut off. The geth would have wiped out the whole colony if I hadn't stopped them."

"I know it's not my business…but was there something between you and Nihlus?" Anderson asked.

"Yes," she replied honestly. "How did you know?"

"I'm not blind, child. Well, that and they spent the last 14 hours decrypting his personal logs," Anderson warned her.

"Well this is incredibly awkward," she said. "We didn't exactly expect things would end the way they did."

"I know, child. If he survived, they never would have looked into his personal files. From what I hear the turian Councilor was rather bent out of shape over it. I doubt you've made a friend in him. Tread lightly around him, child. We need the Council's support." David rubbed her shoulder to try to soften the blow.

"Were they able to find anything on Saren?" she asked hopefully.

"No. He didn't have it activated at that time. They just heard the final shot like you did when he contacted you. Look, child, I'll stand behind you and your report. You're a damned hero in my books. But Saren is what concerns me most. Saren's a Spectre, one of the best. A living legend. But if he's working with the geth, it means he's gone rogue. A rogue Spectre is trouble. Saren's dangerous. And he hates humans," Anderson informed her.

"Why, David?"

"He thinks we're growing too fast, taking over the galaxy. A lot of aliens think that way. Most of them don't do anything about it. But now Saren has allied himself with the geth and it has something to do with that beacon," Anderson said.

"The beacon gave me a vision… I saw synthetics slaughtering people, butchering them. I saw things out of nightmares. Mass destruction," She told him.

"We need to report this to the Council," Anderson said.

"I don't know if that's wise, dad. It was a vision…no more than a dream…though nightmare would be more apt. They'd never believe it," she said.

"We don't know what information was stored in that beacon. Prothean technology? Blueprints for a weapon? Whatever it was, Saren took it and he has an army of geth at his command. You are our only link to that information. I know Saren's reputation. He believes humans are a blight on the galaxy. The attack was an act of war," Anderson said vehemently.

"I will take him down. I've already vowed it. There is no place he can run from me. I will find his synthetic ass," she assured him.

David gave her a thoughtful look. He knew only one way that she could know what Saren looked like. He'd suspected and now he knew. He couldn't protect her before, but he could now. "On your magic broomstick?" Anderson asked with a small smile.

"Funny, dad. I have money, I'll buy a ship…or rent one," she said.

"You'd go AWOL?" Anderson couldn't keep the surprise out of his voice.

"If they did not release me for the mission…yes," she admitted honestly.

"If it comes to that, I will give you leave for the mission." Anderson said solemnly.

"No, David. I would never let you take the heat from the brass for me."

"You wouldn't have a choice, child. I love you. There is nothing I wouldn't do for you. But that's a moot point right now. Saren is a Spectre. He can go anywhere, do anything. That's why we need the Council on our side."

"Then I will prove he's gone rogue so the Council will revoke his Spectre status. I just wish...damn it all," she said. It was so easy to fall back into talking to him like she used to.

"I understand, child," he said giving her a direct look.

She stared into his knowing, kind eyes. Eyes filled with love for her and she sighed. "Plausible deniability, dad."

"I know, i just miss...us," he said sadly.

"So do I, dad. So do I." She pulled him into a hug and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips before pulling away. "But I think I can help better than we ever imagined." She activated her right OT and released Grim. "Grim, I'd like you to send all the footage you took to my OT."

"Already done. Good to see you back with us, Ari. You really should have programmed me with more ways to help. I will research the matter. Do I have leave to upgrade?"

Shepard chuckled and shook her head. "You may upgrade any current programming you have, but anything new must go through me first."

"Do you require - "

"No, go do your research, Grim." The drone flashed a rainbow of colors and darted over to one of the medbay terminals.

She flipped on her left OT and pulled up the footage. Her heart squeezed painfully seeing Nihlus' face. She watched again their battle with the husks. She stood stunned as she watched his death play out. It happened so fast; even Grim had been helpless to prevent it. She saw the battle between Saren and Grim. There was a blank in the footage and then she saw Saren in front of the beacon, lifted as she had been. The camera went wonky and distorted, something interfering with the feed. Next thing that could be seen was his release from the beacon. His words to a geth unit would surely seal his fate. "Nailed you, bastard!"

David looked at her and cleared his throat. This was far more than he'd ever hoped. He kissed the top of her head. "We've got him, child. I'll contact the Ambassador and see if he can get us an audience with the Council. We should be there by now. Head up to the bridge and tell Joker to bring us into dock."

As she left the med-bay, Kaidan waved her over.

"Glad to see you're okay, Commander. Losing Jenkins was hard on the crew…and Nihlus...I'm glad we didn't lose you too," he said.

"A lot happened down there. Are you okay?" she asked him.

"Yeah, you never get used to seeing dead civilians. But at least you stopped Saren from wiping out the whole colony," he told her.

"I didn't do it by myself, Kaidan. We stopped Saren," she reminded him. "I'm just sorry we lost Jenkins and Nihlus."

"You did everything right, it was just bad luck." He paused for a moment. "Was it my kiss?" he asked.

"No, Kaidan. To get the best luck, I'd have had to kiss Nihlus, but I didn't and it cost us dearly. If I hadn't of kissed you our luck would have been even worse. Maybe we wouldn't found anyone left alive. Maybe the bombs would have detonated. Maybe you would have died at that beacon. My system works, Kaidan. I know it is hard to wrap your head around. But I learned the hard way that to ignore it is folly…Isn't a chance for good luck better than nothing at all?" she asked.

"Of course, Commander. You can use me for…luck any time you need to," Kaidan said with a flush. He cleared his throat. "If you had gotten your…luck from Nihlus, would Jenkins have survived?"

"I don't know, Kaidan. Jenkin's aura was off; it was duller than it should have been. Maybe he was just more focused on making an impression than the mission. If it was my call, I wouldn't have taken him," she said matter of fact. That too was something she could no longer share with David...a death that so easily could have been prevented.

Kaidan shook his head. "It's been a hell of a shakedown run. Our first mission ends with one Spectre killing another. The Citadel Council is not going to be happy about that. They will probably try to use it to lever more concessions out of the Alliance."

"You've got a good grasp of the situation. Are you a career man?" she asked, more than a little impressed.

"Yeah, my father served too. Made him proud when I enlisted. Did you enlist because of family?" He asked her.

"Yes, both of my parents served the Alliance. I was a space brat. I just got a little more noteworthy than anyone expected." she said.

"Ah, that's right. The Blitz. I imagine that bought you any post in the fleet," he said with a chuckle. "Word has it that we're heading to the Citadel. Can you tell me why?"

"The Captain hopes the Ambassador can get an audience with the Council, to tell them about Saren," she admitted.

"That makes sense. Whatever happens…we'll be ready, Commander."

As she left Kaidan she saw Dr. Chakwas on her way back to the med-lab and stopped to have a quick word with her. She asked her why she chose to join the Alliance.

"I joined right after med-school. I wanted to travel the stars tending the wounds of tough soldiers with piercing eyes and sensitive souls. Turns out military life isn't quite as romantic as I'd imagined. But if I left the Alliance, I'd feel like I was abandoning them."

"I'm concerned about Lieutenant Alenko. I've noticed he tends to rub his head. Is there anything you can tell me?" she asked.

"Alenko has an impressive service record, with over a dozen accommodations, but he tends to keep to himself. Maybe due to the headaches. He has the old L2 implant and there can be…complications. Like severe mental disabilities, insanity, crippling physical pain. There's a long list of horrific side effects. Kaidan's very lucky. He just gets migraines."

She thanked the doctor and turned away. She noticed Ashley standing not far away, looking anxious.

"Commander," Ashley said as Shepard approached her. "I'm so glad you're ok."

"Thank you, Ashley. It is good to see you aboard the Normandy."

"A part of me feels guilty over what happened. If Jenkins was still alive, I might not be here," she said looking down at the floor.

"Not true, Williams. You're a good soldier. You belong on the Normandy. I would have pushed for it regardless of Jenkins," she assured her.

"Thanks, Commander. That means a lot coming from you. I've never met anyone who was awarded the Star of Terra," Ashley said in awe.

"I just did my job, Williams. Anyone would have done the same," she replied.

"Held off an entire enemy platoon? Alone? With all due respect, Commander, I doubt any soldier could have done what you did," Ashley pointed out.

Shepard gave her a small smile. She knew she was different; it just made it awkward and uncomfortable for it to be pointed out. "Things were harsh down there, are you okay?" she asked concerned.

"I will be. It is hard to see innocent people die, but it would have been a lot worse if you hadn't shown up."

"Well, welcome aboard the Normandy, Williams. I think you'll fit right in," Shepard said with a smile.

Ashley shook her head. "Thanks again, Commander. It's nice when someone makes you feel welcome." Now that was a hell of a smile, she thought as she watched the commander leave. If Shepard's smile hit her that hard, it would be real interesting to see what it did to the men.

Shepard nodded and headed to the walk way behind her. She circled around the elevator and took a sharp right up the stairs. She skirted the CIC and made her way up to the bridge and Joker, her team hot on her tail.

"Good timing, Commander. I was just about to take her into the Citadel. See that taxpayer money at work."

They flew out of the relay and in through the Citadel's open arms, circling around a nearby ship.

"Look at the size of that ship!" Ashley said in awe.

"The Ascension. Flagship of the Citadel fleet," Kaidan said respectfully.

"Citadel Control, this is SSV Normandy requesting permission to dock," Joker said.

"Clearance granted, Normandy. You may begin your approach. Transferring you to an Alliance operator." Citadel Control responded.

"Normandy, this is Alliance Tower. Please proceed to docking bay 422."

"Roger, Alliance Tower. Normandy out." Joker signed off.

Chapter 4

The Citadel

Ambassador Udina stood toe to toe with the holographic council members. "This is an outrage! The Council would step in if the geth attacked a turian colony!" Udina raged.

"The turians don't establish colonies on the borders of the Terminus Systems, Ambassador," Valern, the salarian Councilor replied.

"Humanity was well aware of the risks when you went into the Traverse," Tevos, the asari Councilor pointed out.

"What about Saren? You can't just ignore a rogue Spectre. I demand action!" Udina said sternly.

"You don't get to make demands of the Council, Ambassador," Sparatus, the turian Councilor said.

"Citadel Security is investigating your charges against Saren. We will discuss the findings at the hearing. Not before," Tevos stated before the Council winked out.

"Captain Anderson. The Council is not happy about you accusing Saren of treason. Saren is their top agent," Udina informed Anderson when they walked into the Human Embassy.

"Saren needs to be stopped. The Council has to listen to us!" Shepard interrupted.

"Settle down, Commander. You've already done enough to jeopardize your candidacy for the Spectres," Udina reprimanded her. "You should have proven yourself on Eden Prime. Instead, Nihlus is dead and the beacon destroyed!"

"That's on Saren – Not her! Nihlus refused to return, she couldn't force him to! The beacon was overcharged before she arrived! I will not let you pin this on Shepard!" Anderson shot back.

"It's okay, Captain." She didn't want him taking heat for her.

"No, it's not...Commander."

"Come with me, Captain. I want to go over a few things before the hearing. Shepard – you and the others can meet us at the Citadel Tower. Top Level. I'll make sure you have clearance to get in," Udina said, leaving with Anderson.

"And that's why I hate politicians," Ashley quipped.

They headed left out of the Human Embassy and down another flight of stairs. She turned left through a door and down another flight of stairs to the main Embassy floor below. A receptionist pointed her to Avina, a virtual guide, which was able to give her additional information on the Citadel and the Council races. She then headed right in the direction of the Council Tower. Tight buns today, she thought, as they neared the Council Tower elevator. That was a hell of a walk.

"What the hell is that bug-thing over there and what is it doing?" Ashley asked.

"It's a keeper; it takes care of the Citadel. Beyond that, I really don't know," Shepard told her.

They hopped into the elevator and headed to the top floor. During the ride, Ashley asked, "They're not going to ask me any questions are they?"

"I doubt it. We made our reports. Now we just have to trust Ambassador Udina," Kaidan said.

"No we don't, sir," Ashley replied.

"Damned oily assweasle," she mumbled. Kaidan's eyes popped open and Ashley barked out a laugh.

"I see we agree, Commander. And that's a picture I won't soon forget...I will never be able to look at Udina the same again."

"And neither will I. Thank you, Commander," Kaidan said shaking his head.

"That's what I'm here for."

The elevator opened and they moved out towards the Council chambers. Shepard felt a pull. She looked around but, didn't see anything out of place. She usually associated the pull with loot, though sometimes it led her to people in trouble or something she needed to do.

She followed the pull, but she didn't have to go very far. It seemed to be focused on a pair of turians in a heated discussion not far from her. Damn… Shepard felt her nose itch. Her nose loved to butt into other people's business.

As she got closer to the pair, the pull got stronger. It now seemed to be centering on the lighter colored turian on the left. She wished she understood the pull better. Was she supposed to help him? He didn't look like he needed saving and she sure wasn't going to pilfer his pockets for treasure.

"Saren's hiding something! Give me more time. Stall them," the lighter turian said.

"Stall the Council? Don't be ridiculous! Your investigation is over, Garrus." The darker turian gave him a hard look and walked away.

Garrus…that is the name of the turian she was being pulled towards. Even more interesting…he was investigating Saren…the very man she vowed to bring down. Is this why she was being pulled to him? Were they meant to help each other?

Garrus wanted to shake Executor Pallin so bad he could taste it. An alarm bell went off in his head and his senses went on high alert. He swung his head towards the trio of humans nearby. They were heavily armed, which was unusual in itself, but one of them had a presence so strong it nearly caused him to take a step backwards. The woman at the head of the trio drew his attention. She was remarkable for a human. She had a quiet strength that drew him. Her sense of presence captivated him. She looked so familiar to him. Where had he… Spirits! She was the Commander Shepard. Hero of the Blitz! Awarded the Star of Terra! And…she was going after Saren.

"Commander Shepard? Garrus Vakarian. I was the officer in charge of the C-Sec investigation into Saren."

"I was hoping you'd have found something I could use. It is unfortunate that they will not allow you to continue with your investigation," she said.

Garrus folded his arms across his chest and nodded. "I don't trust him. Something about him rubs me the wrong way," he admitted. "But he's a Spectre; everything he touches is classified. I can't find any hard evidence." Frustration laced every word.

"I think the Council's ready for us, Commander," Kaidan informed her.

"Good luck, Shepard. Maybe they'll listen to you," Garrus said.

"Thank you, Garrus. We will meet again." She shook his hand and nodded to him. There was no doubt they'd be seeing each other again. The pull was still there and she needed to find out why.

"Perhaps, we will." He said softly as he watched her walk away, leaving behind a sense of loss that he couldn't fathom.

They skirted the fountain, went up a flight of stairs, skirted the garden and went up another flight of stairs, where David was waiting for her. "The hearing's already started. Come on," he said.

They walked out onto an extended platform and faced the Council.

"The geth attack is a matter of some concern. But there is nothing to indicate Saren was involved in any way," Tevos said.

"The investigation by Citadel Security turned up no evidence to support your charge of treason," Sparatus said matter of fact.

"An eyewitness saw him kill Nihlus in cold blood!" Udina said angrily.

"We've read the Eden Prime reports, Ambassador. The testimony of one traumatized dockworker is hardly compelling proof," Valern pointed out.

"Dr. Manuel saw him too. Described him perfectly. How could he have described him if he hadn't seen him first hand?" Shepard retorted.

"Ah, yes…Dr. Manuel. I've read his file. He is…of a delicate mind." Sparatus replied.

"Have you talked to him recently? I have. He knew exactly what he was talking about. You need to speak to him, not rely on old files," Shepard stated. "Two different people saw Saren there. Two accountings you are determined to ignore. Two people you are determined to malign, just so you don't have to face the truth about your precious Saren…A traitor responsible for Nihlus' death."

"Your posturing is pointless. Nihlus was simply preoccupied with other matters," Sparatus said, shooting Shepard a cold glare. "He didn't give the mission his full attention."

"That is untrue. Nihlus was a respected Spectre, one of the best. He dropped his guard because he trusted Saren, not because he was preoccupied." Shepard was furious that they would turn this on her. That they would say things like that about Nihlus…they knew his record and it should have spoke volumes.

"I resent these accusations. Nihlus was a fellow Spectre. And a friend," Saren responded.

"That just let you catch him off guard!" Anderson retorted.

"Captain Anderson. You always seem to be involved when humanity makes false charges against me…And this must be your protégé. Commander Shepard. The one who let the beacon get destroyed," Saren said snidely.

"The Eden Prime mission was top secret. The only way you could have known about the beacon was if you were there!" Shepard pointed out.

"With Nihlus gone, his files passed to me. I read the Eden Prime report. I was unimpressed. But what can you expect from a human?" Saren sneered.

"Insults? Really? Know this… I am more than you ever bargained for. I know you were there and I will bring you down," Shepard said coldly.

Saren scoffed. "Your species needs to learn its place, Shepard. You're not ready to join the Council. You're not even ready to join the Spectres!"

"He has no right to say that! That's not his decision!" Udina flared.

"Shepard's admission into the Spectres is not the purpose of this meeting." Tevos reiterated.

"This meeting has no purpose. The humans are wasting your time Councilor...and mine," Saren stated.

"What will it take for you to see the truth? Saren used the beacon. Are you waiting for him to shit Prothean data out his ass? You need to open your eyes."

"Being rude does not help your position, Commander Shepard." Tevos reprimanded her.

"What we need is compelling evidence. So far, we have nothing but the word of two traumatized survivors, which are circumspect at best," Valern stated.

"The Council has found no evidence of any connection between Saren and the geth. Ambassador, your petition to have him disbarred from the Spectres is declined. This meeting is adjourned." Tevos stated.

"I'm glad to see justice was served," Saren replied.

"I will take you down, Saren," Shepard warned.

"You will try…Vela," Saren said and winked out.

Sparatus gave a visible start. He shot a thoughtful look at Shepard. There is only one way Saren could know about the 'vela'. "If you find that evidence..."

A cold smile spread over her face. "Oh, I have the evidence."

Tevos gave her a calculated look. "Why did you not provide this evidence from the start?"

"I needed to feel Saren out. I wanted him to lay his cards on the table. Which he did, but only at the last moment. We are all aware that there is only one way he would know about the 'vela', as that was kept off all reports." She flipped on her OT and held it out. "Hold out your OTs". When they complied, she sent the footage directly to them. "Beamed and received."

"…Set the Charges. Destroy the entire colony. Leave no evidence that we were ever here."

The Councilors looked at each other and nodded. They agreed the evidence was damning and that Saren would have his Spectre status revoked and they would make an effort to bring him in to answer for his crimes.

Udina…being Udina…demanded the Council to send their fleet after Seran. The Council…being the Council…flat out refused. They would not risk war with the Terminus System over a few human colonies.

"There is another solution. A way to stop Saren that does not require fleets or armies." Tevos said.

"No! It's too soon!" Sparatus spit out vehemently.

"If you do not believe my career and abilities meets Spectre qualifications…fine. I will accept the Council's judgment on that. But know this…I will go after him regardless. It is up to you if it is under your command or on my own. The damage he has already done and the damage he is still capable of doing is astronomical. He cannot be ignored. He will not go away. He is a danger to us all."

The Council members looked at each other and nodded, and then typed commands into their consoles.

Tevos spoke up. "Commander Shepard please step forward. It is the decision of the Council that you be granted all the powers and privileges of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance branch of the Citadel. You are the first human Spectre, Commander. This is a great accomplishment for you and your entire species."

"I am honored, Councilors," Shepard said with a small bow.

"We are sending you into the Traverse after Saren. He's a fugitive from justice, so you are authorized to use any means necessary to apprehend or eliminate him," Valern stated.

"This meeting of the Council is adjourned." The Councilors quit the room.

The first human Spectre. One step closer to a seat on the Council…And her best chance to bring down Saren. Not bad for a day's work.

" I need to locate Garrus, the C-Sec officer that was in charge of the case. He wants to take down Saren too. I think we should work together," Shepard stated.

"I have a contact in C-Sec, Harkin. He can track Garrus down," Udina said.

"Forget it. They suspended that loser last month for drinking on the job. I won't waste my time with him," Anderson replied.

"You won't have to. I don't want the Council using your past history with Saren as an excuse to ignore anything more we turn up. Shepard can handle this," Udina said matter of fact, turned and sauntered away.

"I'll take care of it," she said.

"Harkin's probably getting drunk at Chora's Den…a dingy little club in the lower section of the wards. You can also talk to Barla Von, over in the financial district. He's an agent for the Shadow Broker, an information dealer that sells secrets to the highest bidder – but his information will not come cheap," Anderson informed her.

She had money, but she wasn't sure she wanted to use it to buy information unless she had no choice. She would talk to Harkin first."What is this between you and Saren?" she asked him.

"About 20 years ago, I was on a mission with him in the Skyllian Verge to remove a known terrorist threat. Saren eliminated his target, but killed a lot of innocent people. It was swept under the rug. He has no conscience, no hesitation. He likes the violence, the killing. He's twisted, broken…and knows how to cover his tracks," Anderson explained.

"Good to know, Anderson. I'm going to go find Garrus."

"I'll be at the Embassy if you need me." Anderson said.

She nodded and headed out of the Tower. It was time to pay Harkin a visit. Outside of Chora's Den two men attacked her on sight. She moved in as close as she could, using the half-wall to shield her. She pulled her bats and flicked one at a merc, it wrapped around his neck and she jerked him towards her. She flicked her wrist again to loosen the coil and dropped him over the railing to the atrium below. She treated the other to the same level of love. No muss, no fuss, and no bullets wasted.

She headed left and worked her way around the central bar. She heard a loud discussion and her nose started to itch. Damned nose. Shepard's nose grabbed her by the hair and pulled her towards the arguing krogan. She really wished her nose would stay out of things. There's more than one time it ended up bloodied.

"This is Fist's only chance. If he's smart, he'll take it," the scarred krogan said.

"He's not coming out, Wrex. End of story," the bouncer replied.

"This story is just beginning," Wrex warned.

"Out of my way humans. I have no quarrel with you," Wrex said as he pushed his way past them.

"What was that all about?" Kaidan asked.

"Who knows…let's just try not to get caught in the middle," Ashley replied.

Shepard knew her nose all too well. She had no doubt she'd be seeing that krogan again.

Kaidan looked around the seedy bar. "I can see why this place is so popular. It's got quite the...uh…view."

"Hey, Lieutenant, put your tongue back in your mouth before you trip on it," Ashley chastised him and then shook her head. "A million light years from where humanity began and we walk into a bar filled with men drooling over half-naked women shaking their asses on a stage. I can't decide if that's funny or sad."

"What? You don't think they came here because of the food?" Kaidan said sarcastically.

"Can I hit him Commander?" Ashley inquired.

"No, but I might," Shepard said.

"Can I watch?" Ashley asked.

"Only if I break out the leather," Shepard responded.

"Hey!" Kaidan said. "Wait…that could be fun."

Ashley's mouth opened and closed. Shepard had to clench her teeth hard to stop herself from laughing.

Shepard spotted a man that fit Harkin's description and walked over to his table.

"Hey there, sweetheart. You looking for some fun? 'Cause that soldier getup looks real good on that bod of yours…Why don't you sit that sweet little ass down beside old Harkin? Have a drink and we'll see where this goes…" Harkin said winking at her.

So gross, she thought. The man was a filthy butt-weasel. "Maybe later," she said sarcastically.

"Suit yourself, princess. You know, if more marines looked like you, I might've joined the Alliance instead of C-Sec," Harkin replied.

Someone stab me in the eye…please. I just threw up in my mouth…and I really want to spit it all over him. She shook her head in disgust. "I'm looking for a turian C-Sec officer named Garrus."

"I know where Garrus is. But you gotta tell me something first. Did the captain tell you he used to be a Spectre?" Harkin asked. "No? Well, it was all very hush-hush. He screwed up his mission so bad they kicked him out. He blamed Saren for setting him up. The hero's fall. Classic tragedy. Ha!"

"Garrus?" she asked pointedly.

"He was sniffing around Dr. Michel's office. She runs a med-clinic on the other side of the wards."

"Can you tell me anything about him?" she asked him.

"Damn hot-head is what he is. Still figures he can save the world. Always bucking heads with the executor."

"I should go," she said eager to quit this dive.

She cut through the lower markets and headed up the stairs. At the top of the stairs a man waved her down.

"Is that really…wow! It's you!" he said. "You're Commander Shepard, the hero of Eden Prime! I'm so honored to meet you!"

"Sure…Nice to meet you. And you are…?" she asked.

"My name is Conrad Verner. They say you killed more than a hundred geth on Eden Prime!"

"Do they? Damn, that's impressive of me," she said with a smile. "Actually, I spent most of my time just trying to stay alive and help the colonists."

"I know you're probably busy, but can I get your autograph?" he asked.

"Anything for a fan," she said and signed what he handed her.

"Thanks. My wife is going to be so impressed!" he gushed.

She nodded to him, though doubted his wife would give a damn, and hurried on to the clinic.

The clinic door slid open.

"I didn't tell anyone, I swear!" Dr. Michel said.

"If Garrus comes around, you stay smart. Keep your mouth shut or we'll –"the thug said.

As she walked through the door the thug grabbed Dr. Michel.

"Who are you?" the thug asked.

"Commander Shepard, Spectre. You have one chance to let her go. I suggest you don't waste it," she said.

With the thug focusing on Commander Shepard, Garrus knew he wouldn't get a better shot. He jumped out from behind the wall and put a bullet into the thug's head. Dr. Michel screamed when blood and brain matter splattered her as her captor fell to the ground.

Shepard was astounded by both the shot and the audacity he had for risking Dr. Michel's life. The enemies regrouped. With several of them in close proximity, she fired an overload chain and released Grim. The thugs were easy targets, unable to move while their bodies twitched, so she let her team finish them. She focused on the remaining thugs. She held out her hand and blasted them with a sonic shockwave. They slammed into the wall and didn't get back up. She pivoted on her heal, grabbed the bat from her magbelt, pushed a button and it uncoiled at her feet. The whip glowed with electrical energy. She flicked it, ripping the gun from the last remaining merc. She flicked it out again and it wrapped around his neck. A neat hole in the merc's head ended things. When they were all down she turned her focus to Garrus, It was evident that he was the one that fired that shot. She gave the whip another flick, releasing the dead man, it shot back into the small 5 inch bat and she slapped it back on her magbelt.

Garrus looked at the woman approaching him and wondered why she made him feel anything. Granted, she was Commander Shepard, but she was also human. He'd never felt anything but passing friendship for a human. Why did this woman stir anything in him? Maybe it was just because he admired her and appreciated her abilities. Surely that was all it was. At least that's all it had better be. "Perfect timing, Shepard. Gave me a clear shot at that bastard," he told her.

"What were you thinking, Garrus? You don't take chances with a hostage's life! You could have hit her! There is always a better way," she countered.

"There wasn't time to think! I just reacted. I didn't meant to – Dr Michel? Are you hurt?" Garrus asked the doctor.

"Scared out of my mind, but otherwise I'll…I'll be okay. Thanks to all of you." Dr. Michel said gratefully.

"I know you're afraid. But I'm here to help. It's what I do," Shepard assured her.

"They work for Fist," the doctor said nervously. "They wanted to shut me up so I wouldn't tell Garrus about the quarian."

"What didn't they want Garrus to find out? Did the quarian mention anything about Saren or geth?" Shepard asked.

"Yes…Yes, she did. She mentioned she had information regarding the geth," Michel told her.

"Then it's time we paid Fist a visit," Shepard said firmly. She wasn't

"Shepard, I want to bring down Saren as much as you do. I want to be a part of this," Garrus told her.

"Why do you want to bring him down?"

"Saren's a traitor to the Council; and a disgrace to my people!" Garrus said in outrage.

"I knew we'd meet again, Garrus. Glad to have you with me."

"Fisk is going to be waiting for us. We need to take him down hard," Garrus said.

"Then let's head to C'Sec and see if Wrex wants to join the party."

She sent Kaidan and Ashley back to the ship. She did not want to put them on the chopping block with her if things didn't go as planned. She handed Kaidan her credit chit asked that he make a stop for her on his way to the ship. She sent him instructions via his OT. They left the clinic and went down the stairs to C-Sec. As they entered they heard a commotion off to the left.

"Witnesses saw you making threats in Fist's bar. Stay away from him," the officer told Wrex.

"I don't take orders from you," Wrex stated plainly.

"Will you take them from me?" Shepard interrupted.

"Should I know you, human?" Wrex asked.

"Shepard. Spectre. And I'm going after Fist. Thought you might be interested."

"Shepard? Commander Shepard? I've heard a lot about you," Wrex acknowledged. "Though I hadn't heard they'd made you a Spectre…We are both warriors, Shepard. Out of respect, I'll give you fair warning. I'm going to kill Fist."

"Fist knows we're coming. We need to work together," Garrus pointed out.

"Seek the enemy of your enemy and you will find a friend," Wrex quoted and held out his hand.

"Glad to have you on the team, Wrex." Shepard shook his hand. "Let's go pay Fist a visit."

"I've been waiting all day for that." Wrex grumbled. "Let's go. I hate to keep Fist waiting."

They headed up out of C-Sec and hit the rapid transit to Chora's Den. As they approached it they noticed it was eerily quiet. Chora's Den was closed…obviously because they were expecting…company. The door opened as they approached. The room swarmed with armed men. Garrus took down the one hiding on a platform above the bar.

Shepard fired an overload chain to the left; a whopping 6 men were twitching. Probably a bloody record for her. Then she released Grim, her combat drone, and tossed her turret. She raised her hand, shot a sonic shockwave, propelling two men over a table and into the far wall. She unsnapped both bats and smiled as they coiled at her feet. One glowed blue, the other red. Her hands were a blur, she tagged a merc with the red whip, followed by the blue whip, he shattered. She ripped away two guns and shattered three more mercs.

When the initial wave of men were taken down she snapped her bats to her magbelt and headed towards the backroom. Two more men were guarding the door. They were near each other and her shotgun took out both of them at the same time. Their bodies flung away from each other, smoldering masses of ruin.

"You having a bbq and didn't invite me, Shepard? I'm hurt. Smells good," Wrex said as he made his way into the back room.

"Just human, Wrex. Probably stringy and gamey," Shepard said.

"You're right. Turian is tastier. Real tender and flakey if cooked just right," Wrex said, while giving Garrus a good once over.

"Wrex! That turian is mine. You can't eat him. Play nice," she admonished.

"Way to spoil my fun, Shepard," Wrex groused.

Garrus' heart gave a lurch when he heard her call him hers. Maybe because he wanted to feel like he was a part of something bigger. Something that mattered. That he belonged. He never truly felt he belonged anywhere. He wasn't a very typical turian and it made him stand out…and not in a particularly good way. But Shepard was different - she stood out too. Not that he was anything like Shepard…Oh spirits...he needed to find something else to think about, because he was spending far too much time thinking about her.

Shepard opened the next door and two men pulled guns on them. That'll do, Garrus thought.

"Stop right there! Don't come any closer!" one of the men shouted.

"Warehouse workers?" Garrus said surprised. "All of the real guards must be dead."

"Yeah..cause we killed them," Wrex said with a satisfied grunt.

"Stay back or we'll shoot!" the other man shouted.

"Gentleman, I think now would be a real good time for you to beat feet," Shepard told them matter of fact.

The worker looked at the heavily armed trio that had just taken down a dozen men out front. He nodded. "I couldn't agree more. Besides, I need to clean the mess out of my pants before I go home." the warehouse worker complained.

"Do you have an extra pair of pants I could borrow?" the other one asked as they were heading out the door.

"It would have been quicker to just kill them," Wrex grumbled.

Garrus rolled his eyes. "Shooting people isn't always the answer."

Wrex shrugged. "It's more fun."

They wound their way through a crap ton of crates, she stopped to pillage some omni-gel from a locker, and then they made their way through two sets of doors before she heard a very disgruntled man say, "Why do I have to do everything myself? Time to die, little soldiers."

Two defense turrets popped up, with accurate sensors and a deadly spray of fire. She pulled her shotgun, loaded with high explosive ammo; it took two shots to bring the turret down. She turned her attention to the second turret, but her team had already taken care of it. She grabbed her bat, flicked it and watched it coil around Fist's neck.

"Wait! Don't kill me! I surrender!" Fist shouted, dropping his gun and kicking it away.

"Where is the quarian?" Shepard demanded.

"I don't know where the quarian is, but I know where you can find her. She said she'd only deal with the Shadow Broker himself," Fist explained.

"Face to face? Impossible!" Wrex said.

"Nobody meets the Shadow Broker. Ever. But she didn't know that. I told her I'd set a meeting, it will be Saren's men waiting for her," Fist admitted.

Shepard flicked the whip, snapped it to her side, grabbed Fist by the armor and pulled him down to her eye level. "I want the location. Now," she said coldly.

"She's in the back alley by the markets. They're meeting now," Fist divulged.

She nodded and released him. When she stepped away Wrex pulled his shot gun and ended Fist.

"What are you doing?" Garrus yelled.

"The Shadow Broker paid me to kill him. I don't leave jobs half done," Wrex said simply.

"He surrendered! We don't shoot unarmed prisoners," Shepard retorted.

"How many people died because of him? He brought this on himself," Wrex pointed out.

"That quarian's dead if we don't go now," Garrus interrupted.

"Move out," Shepard demanded and the men fell into line behind her. They ran out of Fist's office and into an ambush. As ambushes go, it was pretty weak. Only about 6-7 goons. Really? So below my pay grade, she sighed. She threw out an overload chain, entrapping three of them, sent another crashing over a table and into a wall and let her team mop up anything they felt like mopping. She could still hear Wrex's shot gun as she walked out the front door. Apparently, Wrex liked to clean.

Garrus looked around. What the hell? She was already gone. Damn it!

She ran up the stairs and into the back alley. She put her hand up when her team came up behind her to halt them.

A turian walked up to the quarian. "Did you bring it?" he asked.

"Where's the Shadow Broker? Where's Fist?" the quarian asked.

The turian ran his hand along her arm. "Where's the evidence?"

"No way," she said shoving his hand away. "The deal's off."

The turian backed away and nodded to his cohorts, who pulled their guns. The quarian fired at the salarian troopers, sending them sprawling backwards. They regained their footing just as the quarian ducked behind cover. She snapped her whip at the quarian, it wrapped around her waist, she jerked it and brought the quarian flying at her. She pushed the quarian behind her, flicked the whip and snapped it back to her belt. Hope this isn't overkill, Shepard thought as she amped her OT and sent a massive sonic shockwave. It landed square in the middle of the room, enemy and large, heavy cartons alike were rocked by its force. Bodies smashed against hard containers repeatedly. When the walls started shaking, she ended it. All that was left was shattered bags of goo being held together by armor. Um…yeah, overkill. Oops.

"Interesting solution, Shepard," Garrus mocked her.

"Bite me, Garrus," she told him.

Garrus raised his brow plates. The fact that he found that idea appealing rubbed him the wrong way on so many levels.

Shepard walked over to the irate quarian.

"Fist set me up! I knew I couldn't trust him!" the quarian raged.

"Fist won't be hurting anybody anymore. Are you okay?"

"That's good to know. And I'm fine. Who should I be thanking for the assistance?" the quarian asked.

"I'm Commander Shepard. Spectre. I heard you may have evidence against Saren,"

"I'm Tali'Zorah nar Rayya. You were told correctly. It will give me the chance to repay you for saving my life," Tali said.

"I need to get you to Udina," Shepard informed her.

"Yes," Garrus said. "Your ambassador needs to see this information. Hopefully, it will get Saren's Spectre status revoked."

Shepard smiled at Garrus. "It has already been revoked." She flipped on her OT and showed Tali, Wrex and Garrus the footage she used against Saren. She explained how she'd waited to show the council this information, because she'd been trying to get Saren to lay his cards on the table. In the end he had, because he'd mocked her and called her 'vela', something that had not been released.

Garrus was trying to assimilate all that he'd seen and heard. He was relieved to know that his instincts had been correct about Saren. He was shocked to learn that Commander Shepard had been Nihlus Kryik's vela. He was elated that she'd been able to provide the proof the Council needed to revoke Saren's Spectre status.

Tali looked at Shepard in confusion. "How did you get these recordings?"

Shepard released Grim. "This is Grim. He took the footage for me."

"It, Shepard…not he. Your drone has a camera function. I never thought of doing that. My drone's name is Chatika."

The drone turned to face Tali after it received Shepard's nod of approval. "I resent being called an 'it'. A combat drone is an 'it'…I am so much more. While I have no sexual organs, I am very much aware of who and what I am." Grim flared and darted to Tali's other side. "I am a 'he' and my name is Grim." Tali stood there dumbstruck. Grim nodded and returned to Shepard.

"Thank you for your footage, Grim. It saved the day. You are welcome to go play…don't get into trouble."

"That's an AI, Shepard!"

"Of course not, Tali…that would be illegal. He's a VI with attitude."

Tali shook her head. "Boshtet. I hope you know what you are doing, Shepard."

"I always know what I'm doing."

From everything Garrus had read about Commander Shepard, that statement couldn't have been more apt. She was a scientist turned engineer, with an eidetic memory and an IQ that was off the charts. She would be a daunting figure, except she was so at ease and likable. Most important, she was going after Saren and Garrus was determined to be at her side.

They made their way out of the back ally and took the rapid transit to the Tower. Udina was waiting for them when they arrived at the Human Embassy. "You're not making my life easy, Shepard. Firefights in the wards? An all out assault on Chora's Den? Do you know how many - " Udina chastised her.

"Actually, your source is inaccurate. My team didn't fire a single bullet in the wards – tech only." Shepard responded.

A flush crept up the Ambassador's face. "That's not the point," he said coldly. He paused a moment when he noticed the quarian. "Who's this? What are you up to?" he demanded.

"Making your day, Udina. This is Tali'Zorah nar Rayya and she has more information concerning Saren," Shepard informed him.

"Right. We don't see many quarians here. Why did you leave the flotilla?" Udina asked her.

"I was on my pilgrimage, my rite of passage into adulthood. I cannot return to the flotilla until I can bring back something of value to prove I can contribute to our community. I was investigating reports of geth outside the Veil. When I found a patrol, I disabled and removed the memory core of one of them," Tali explained.

"Don't the geth fry their memory cores when they die?" Anderson asked.

"I know what I'm doing. Much of the core was wiped, but I was able to salvage some data, particularly from the audio banks," Tali responded. She flipped on her omni-tool .

"Eden Prime was a major victory! The beacon has brought us one step closer to finding the Conduit," Saren said with satisfaction.

"That's Saren's voice and it takes us past the point you were able to show us!" Anderson said, unable to hide his excitement.

"There's more," Tali said. "Saren wasn't working alone." Tali replayed Saren's message and then the part they hadn't heard.

"And one step closer to the return of the Reapers," a female voice stated.

"Are they some kind of new alien species?" Shepard asked Tali.

"According to what I could pull from the memory core, the Reapers were a hyper-advanced machine race that wiped out the Protheans 50,000 years ago and then vanished."

"Sounds a little farfetched," Udina snarked.

"No, she's right. That is what the beacon showed me. I saw the Reapers wipe out the Protheans," Shepard stated.

"The geth revere the Reapers as gods, the pinnacle of non-organic life. They follow Saren because they believe he knows how to bring the Reapers back," Tali explained.

"We need to present this to the Council right away," Udina said sternly.

"Let me help you, Shepard," Tali said.

"What about your pilgrimage?" Shepard asked concerned.

"I think saving the galaxy is a tad more important than my pilgrimage. My pilgrimage can wait," Tali told her.

"Welcome to my team, Tali." Shepard shook her hand.

They made their way out of the Embassies and took the rapid transit to the Tower. It was time to confront the Council again. They still needed to have this information.

The Council had already heard the evidence by the time she arrived. Tevos recognized the female with Saren to be Matriarch Benezia, a powerful and revered asari matron. Unfortunately, they considered the Reaper threat no more than a hoax perpetuated by Saren to bend the geth to his will.

No surprise there. The Council needed bitch slapped to see anything beyond its own ego.

Time to set things rolling. But, apparently the fates didn't agree. She ended up having to help Dr. Michel avert a blackmailer, stop a rogue AI, scan over 20 keepers to help a scientist learn more about them, help a woman with her sister, help a C-Sec officer with a mod sting, help a reporter's career, clear up an asari consort issue, and helped a C-Sec agent with an evangelical hanar. She needed to get the hell out of Dodge…fast. It was pretty clear if she hung around any longer her nose would keep her so busy she'd never be able to leave.

Udina commed her and told her to meet him down at the docking bay. Saved by the bell. She couldn't stand Udina, but at least he would give her an excuse for her to keep her nose out of anyone else's business. She needed to check out the ship she'd had Kaidan purchase for her. It was time to go after Saren. They headed down to C-Sec and took the elevator to the docking bay.

Udina and Anderson were both there, in front of the Normandy's berth.

"I've got big news for you, Shepard. Captain Anderson is stepping down as commanding officer of the Normandy. The ship is yours," Udina said.

"Thank you, but I would rather not take his ship from him. I already purchased and outfitted the Hawk," She told Udina.

"Nonsense, Commander. The Hawk is a very nice frigate, but the Normandy is the most advance ship in the Alliance. Her stealth drives will get you in and out of places no other ship could. You need her to help you take down Saren. She's quick and quiet and you know the crew. Perfect ship for a Spectre. Treat her well, Commander," Anderson told her.

"If you are sure, Captain. I'll take good care of her," Shepard replied.

"I'm sure, Commander. If she is to go to anyone else, I'm glad it's you," Anderson said.

She turned to her crew. "Go on ahead and get settled in. I'll meet you on board." They nodded and entered the ship's airlock.

"We had reports of geth activity in the Feros system and around Noveria, you may also wish to talk to Dr. Liara T'Soni, she is Matriarch Benezia's daughter; a Prothean archeologist at a dig in the Artemis Tau cluster," Udina informed her before giving her a harsh look. "You might be a Spectre, but you're still human and your actions still reflect on humanity as a whole. You make a mess and I get stuck cleaning it up."

Shepard wanted to tell the ass-weasel to do his damn job, but instead she sucked down her ire and told him she'd try not to make things harder for him. Though, in truth, try is a very relative word. She watched Udina take his leave.

"Why are you stepping down, David?" Shepard asked. Shepard loved David with all her heart. He had been her father's best friend, her godfather. He'd stepped up to the plate and had been a father to her ever since her dad passed away.

"I was in your shoes twenty years ago, child. They were considering me for the Spectres. I failed. It's not something I'm proud of. I had my shot. Now you have a chance to make up for my mistakes," Anderson said.

"I won't let you down, David. But I know this can't be easy for you," Shepard replied.

"Honestly? This isn't how I pictured my career coming to an end. Pushing papers really isn't my thing. But you're the one who can stop Saren. I believe in you, child. If that means I have to step aside, so be it," he told her.

"I'm sorry, David. This is not how I expected things to work out. I should have just told you both no," She said quietly.

"You did right, child. There was no choice for either of us. You need the Normandy far more than I do. She is your best and maybe only chance for success. She will see you through this," David reiterated.

"And, David… I do not think your career is ending. You have never been one to quietly slide into obscurity. That is not the end you will have, dad. This is only a small hiccup." Shepard reassured him as she pulled him in for a brief hug.

"I hope you're right, child." He told her before releasing her and taking a step back.

"David, take care of the Hawk for me. You can fly her under the Alliance, if they'll let you, but she is not an Alliance vessel. Don't let them commandeer her…if you can avoid it…but try to see that she gets some action. Would hate to see her get fat and lazy. Dry-dock rot is a pain in the aft."

David shook his head. "That was horrible. I'll take care of the Hawk. Now, you go take Saren down hard– and give him a swift kick for me."

Shepard flashed him a smile and turned into the Normandy's airlock.

David's heart skipped a beat when he saw her radiant smile. He shook his head and chuckled… That smile of hers would make the dead stand up and take notice. Damn if he didn't both envy and pity the man who ended up with her. That man was going to have his hands full.

Chapter 6

Feros

She slipped into a royal blue push-up sports bra. It was thickly padded, kept her in place, and gave her cleavage a nice bump. She removed her belly ring, she hated wearing it when she worked out, she'd had it ripped out sparring once and didn't take chances anymore. She pulled on matching sweat-wicking, form-fitting leggings with a white stripe down the side of her legs. She drew a towel around her neck, grabbed a bottle of water and headed for the fitness room.

The fitness room was down below opposite of the cargo bay. One side of the room held work out machines of all types, bolted to the floor of course. Mats wove under and around the machines. There were also uneven bars, a balance beam, and a trampoline. Those were her additions. The other side of the room held only mats for sparring and some practice dummies on one side. She noticed Garrus hard at work with one of the dummies. He was in a tan suit with some blue trim. She assumed it was a turian version of a workout suit.

She put down her towel and water and began stretching, covertly watching him workout. She'd never seen a turian workout before. It was uniquely interesting.

Garrus felt her walk in and did his best to pretend he didn't. He finally came to stop when he realized he was getting a little too rough with the practice dummy. He turned to face her. Spirits! She was wearing his colors. He didn't like how his heart quickened. He didn't like how that made him feel inside. But, damn, she looked good.

Shepard was atop the beam; she bent at the waste and placed her hands on the beam. She slowly lifted one leg off the beam and into the air, the other joined it and for a brief moment she was suspended upside down, then her back began to slowly bend until first one leg than then other made contact with the beam. It was extraordinary to watch. No turian could move like that. And spirits did she look sexy doing it. She pulled herself upright and then lowered herself into a splits position.

Shepard felt eyes on her; she turned her head and saw Garrus watching her. She placed her hands flat on the beam, pushed off, rotated her body until she was straddling the beam and lowered herself back down facing him. She winced a bit; she'd never been comfortable sitting on the beam this way. She can't imagine what it would feel like for a guy, she'd probably be singing soprano the rest of her life. "Can you toss me my towel?" she asked him, pointing out where she'd put it. He tossed it to her; she wrapped it around her neck and patted her face. She stood up, walked to the end of the beam, tossed her towel at him and did a back flip off landing in front of him.

"Now, that was impressive, Shepard," he said, wrapping the towel around her neck. His hands stayed there for just a moment before falling away. Her suit left little to the imagination and he had a fairly good imagination. She was wreaking havoc on his senses. He took a step back and cleared his throat. He headed to his water to take a sip. He needed an excuse to put some distance between them.

"Not any more impressive that what I saw you do to the dummy," she pointed out. "Do you want to dance?" she asked him.

Garrus choked on his water and nearly sprayed it everywhere. "Turians don't dance, Shepard."

She blinked for a moment confused. Then she realized he'd taken her literally. She smiled and then laughed. "Perhaps, we ought to test that theory one of these days. But that wasn't what I meant. I meant do you want to go a few rounds? Spar? Teach me how you fight. I enjoyed watching you and would like for you to show me your moves."

Garrus picked his jaw up off the floor and proceeded to hit himself with it. Why did his mind always fall in the gutter when she was around? He was half tempted to take the stick out of his ass, and beat himself over the head with that as well. He needed to stop seeing her as a woman. She was not a woman. Well, she was. But she was his COMMANDER. Get a grip Garrus. He took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. He was sure it would be a mistake getting that close to her, but he didn't feel he had a good enough reason to turn her down…at least not one he cared to share with her.

They squared off on the mat. He explained a few moves and showed her how they were done. Several times he had to grit his teeth and position her arms and legs to get the precise movement he was looking for. His fingers sank into her muscles. It was so intimate that he had to bite back a groan that would have embarrassed them both. He also had to make sure their hips didn't come into contact, because there would be no hiding what she did to him.

Shepard found herself purposely missing movements just to feel his hands on her body. She and Nihlus really hadn't gotten this far, so the feel of his two fingers and thumb were a unique and strangely satisfying experience.

Once he was sure she knew the particular moves he wanted her to know, they pulled on microfoam guards and began to put the moves into practice. After a few rounds he had to admit he was impressed. She caught on fast and was keeping him on his guard. He spotted a flaw in her movement, stepped in and tossed her onto the mat. She snaked her foot around his and pulled up. He ended up falling on top of her. He landed on his forearms. His face a few inches from hers. They were both breathing hard from their exertions.

She placed her hands against his carapace and laughed. "I'm not big on losing, so I wasn't about to go down without taking you with me."

They both realized he was between her legs at the same time. They froze, barely even daring to breath. Thankfully, he was too far down for her to feel how very much he wanted her.

Kaidan walked into the fitness room, his mouth opened, unable to believe what he was seeing. Garrus moved over her leg and rolled over onto his back, his carapace held him up just enough that his head was only angled down a bit. He was ever so grateful his shirt came down low enough to hide his embarrassment. "I've discovered the hard way that Shepard doesn't like to lose," Garrus explained. "Take her down and she will make sure you go down with her."

Kaidan laughed relieved. "Yes, I learned that lesson the hard way too."

"Laugh it up guys. I'm hitting the shower." And she beat a hasty, albeit cowardly retreat.

For the next couple of weeks they did odd missions for the Alliance, she even took down a few Cerberus and geth bases. She also ended up taking down the two criminal warlords Helena Blake had told her about. She even strong armed the woman into getting out of the business. Here's to good deeds well done.

She had pretty much laid down a schedule. She went to the fitness room the same time every day, unless a mission made her put it off. As the days went by more often than not Garrus was there either before she arrived or shortly thereafter. She liked to think he enjoyed her company, but it was more realistic that he just preferred not to work out alone. When she started putting him on the mats as often as he put her there, he would teach her new moves.

She'd eat dinner in the mess with her crew; she enjoyed getting to know them better. Closer to bed time she would head down to the starboard lounge to watch a vid or read a book and have a few drinks. Occasionally, one or more of the crew would join her. And once in awhile they would all cram in there, drink until dawn and suffer the next morning. All but her, that is. She never suffered from hangovers. She healed too quickly for that. And she rubbed the crews' faces in it every chance she got. Poor sots.

This night Garrus and Kaidan were with her. The vid was over much sooner than expected. They both bid her farewell and took off. She sighed…the night was far too young still. She headed out of the starboard lounge and nearly ran smack into Garrus. "I'm so glad you're here. Tell me you're not tired yet!" she implored him.

"Uh…no, Shepard. I'm er – not tired yet. Did…hmm…did you have something in mind?" he asked uncertain.

"I sure did!" She grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the elevator.

By the time they reached her cabin Garrus was all but sweating. She pulled him into her cabin and the door closed behind them. His nerves were shot. He was about to hightail it and run, he knew he was. Then he saw Shepard go down on her hands and knees, her ass up in the air swaying back and forth as she was going through something at the bottom of her closet. He was mesmerized. He stilled himself when he realized his body had been swaying in time to her movements. He was looking longingly at the door when she shot back up.

"Vid or book?" she asked.

The relief nearly dropped him. He'd been fighting the need to pull her into his arms and he knew it wouldn't take much encouragement from her for things to go that route. And that is not a path that needed to be walked.

The vid was a newer action flick, the Traveling Man. The book was Journey to the Center of the Earth. He fingered the leather bound book. Paper books were hard to come by and very expensive. "I haven't seen too many paper books."

"I've got shelves of them. I like the feel of the paper in my hands. I'm a very tactile person. I like to touch," she said with a shrug.

Yeah, she did and that was part of the problem. He chose the book. She grabbed a bottle turian brandy, a bottle of asari honeymead and a couple of glasses. She pointed to the sofa for him to sit, set the bottles and glasses on the table and asked him to pour. She sat down next to him and crossed her legs. He had one arm on the sofa's arm holding his drink, the other he draped along the back of the sofa.

"I wouldn't have thought you'd have turian brandy in your private quarters. Most humans can't drink it." he said curiously.

Shepard flushed. She couldn't tell him she got it in hopes that he'd be there someday, but she could give him a half-truth. "Tali was here the other night watching vids with me. But no turian brandy doesn't bother my system." She grabbed his glass and took a swig before giving it back to him.

She settled in and began reading. He watched her read, her voice soothing him. He asked questions every now and again and told her how he'd have done a thing if it were him. She liked the interaction. It made the book come to life. She liked debating points with him. After an hour or so she leaned against his side and curled her legs up on the sofa to get more comfortable. Another half hour and his arm settled around her shoulders. She smiled, snuggled into him and kept reading. Her voice eventually started to go. She wasn't used to using her voice this much. She asked him if he wanted to call it a night or if he would like to read for a little bit. She had thought he would leave, but he opted to read.

Garrus had been shocked when she first settled against him. But she did it so nonchalantly that it didn't make him feel uncomfortable in the slightest. In fact, he liked her snuggled up against him. He liked it too damn much. Eventually, he worked up the nerve to put his arm around her. It was a more comfortable position for his arm, he assured himself.

After about an hour of him reading Shepard gave a slight yawn and wiggled down, putting her head in his lap and her hand on his thigh. He very nearly jumped out of his skin. He'd never had someone lay on him like that. The heat of her hand, her cheek burned into him. He prayed she did not move her head too much or they both could wind up seriously embarrassed. He lowered his hand to her shoulder absently rubbing it as he read. Eventually, he heard a soft snore and he couldn't help but smile. He slowly slipped out from under her, marked the page in the book, put up the bottles and glasses, pulled down her covers, then bent over and picked her up. Whoa. He had a bit too much to drink. He walked them carefully over to her bed and laid her gently on it. He pulled up the covers and swayed. He lay down next to her. I'll go in just a few, he thought.

He felt something move against him and he came awake. His brain was still foggy. He'd been dreaming about Shepard being in his arms, his hand upon her breast, her grinding against his hardness. As soon as the sleep cleared from his head he realized it had not been a dream at all. His hand cupped something soft; the heat of her ass was pressed against him. His other arm was under her neck. And he was under the covers with her. How the hell did he get there? He fell asleep on top of the covers. He lowered his hand to her waist and gave her a light shake. "Shepard, I need to go. Everyone will be waking up soon and…hmmm… I'd just as soon not do the dreaded walk of shame."

"You would be ashamed of us?" she mumbled.

Us? In what life could he ever be lucky enough for there to be an us? "No, that's not what I meant. You're the Commander. I wouldn't want the crew to get the – er, wrong idea about us. I wouldn't, uh…want them to think anything happened."

"Something did happen." Her mumbling was almost incoherent.

Yes, he thought. It did. I fell in love with you, Commander Shepard, over a book and a glass of brandy…and I can never tell you. Truth be told, he probably fell in love with her in the Council Chambers when he first saw her, but this was the first time he openly admitted it to himself. "Perhaps, but not the something they would imagine."

She rolled towards him further trapping his arm. She placed her hand on the side of his face. "Thank you, Garrus. I had a wonderful evening. If it wasn't too boring for you, perhaps we can do it again sometime."

He lowered his forehead to hers. "I'd like that," he said thickly, before pulling away. She lowered her hand and lifted her head so he could move. He felt a sense of loss when he was no longer touching her. As he stood up beside the bed he looked back down at her; she was already fast asleep. He couldn't stop himself from smiling. Things were different between them now, even if she didn't know it.

Thus began their evening ritual. She still had her evening vid, card game, or party, depending on how many showed up and the mood they were in, but he would always show up at her cabin a half hour after the evening events came to an end. He was now comfortable enough to just walk in when he arrived instead of comming first. The only things that concerned him were Kaidan's and Liara's feelings. He was pretty sure even Tali was a bit in love with Shepard as well, but she was not openly pursuing her like the other two were. He intended to keep an eye on them. If it looked like she was showing too much interest in someone he would come clean with her, but he hoped it wasn't any time too soon. It was easier to pretend she could love him back than to find out for sure she never would. He had never considered himself a coward before, but that woman had the power to break him with a single word; he wasn't eager to face the block.

"We are approaching Feros, Commander. ETA 15 minute," Joker informed her.

"Thank you, Joker. Com the crew and have them meet at the cargo bay in 15."

"Will do, Commander."

When she walked into the cargo bay she closed her eyes and forced the sight. Goodness, Liara's Blue aura with orange swirls was shining bright today. Kaidan's was the next brightest. She turned to Garrus, a slight frown on her face. She wondered what was disturbing him enough to effect his aura so much.

Garrus had been pacing the cargo bay when he got the comm about leaving soon. He didn't quite know what he was going to do. He was starting to worry his love for Shepard had the potential to become an obsession. The need to be with her, to protect her, to claim her was beginning to feel like an itch he couldn't reach. He knew he was starting to act a little frantic on the days he was left behind and the crew was starting to give him worried looks. He wished like hell he could hide it, but it just seemed to be getting worse. The others assembled in a line and he joined them. When he saw Shepard frown at him he knew he didn't make the cut. No! That wasn't going to fly. This was a major mission; he couldn't bear the thought of being left behind. He didn't know how this aura thing really worked. But the only thing he could think to do is to calm his mind and think only of how much he loved her.

Shepard headed over to Garrus to find out what was bothering him. Half way there she staggered backwards and threw her arm in front of her eyes. She could barely make Garrus out through his aura. What the hell was that? She released the sight quickly. There were still white spots dancing in her eyes, playing havoc with her vision. "Garrus, Liara gear up…be ready in 10."

Garrus turned around to his locker, his mandibles flared wide. He did it. He bucked her system. Now, he just had to hope it continued to work.

It was nice that the Normandy could dock on Feros. She was sure to need some light repairs and a break. As they stepped out of the airlock and onto Feros, Shepard took another aura peek. Garrus' was still a kilowatt aura. She'd have to ask him about that when they had more time. She released the sight and walked up to Garrus. She knew she would have to kiss him sooner or later. That she hadn't up until now was rather surprising. "You are my good luck giver today, Garrus. Will you accept my kiss?" she asked trying to keep the voice level.

Garrus opened and closed his mouth. He didn't trust himself to say anything. His voice tended to crack like a pubescent boy whenever he got too nervous. He took in a deep breath and nodded. She placed one hand on the neck of his armor to pull him down. He wasn't sure why he didn't think to bend down for her… probably because he wasn't thinking so well right now. Her other hand went rested on the back of his neck. He felt a gentle pressure against his mouth as her warm, soft lips slid against his. It was an odd sensation, but a pleasant one. Fire shot straight to his groin. Ok, pleasant was perhaps a bit of an understatement. As she withdrew her hand slid down the sensitive skin of his neck, shivers raced through him, his heart thundered in his chest, and his shaft swelled painfully hard…made all the more painful because there wasn't all that much room in the armor down there. The idea of kissing had never really appealed to him before, but he would never look at it the same again.

Shepard looked Garrus in the eyes . "Thank you," she said thickly, barely able to keep herself from pulling him down for another. His mouth had been firm, but flexible. Strange, but exciting. And she wanted to do it again. Many more agains. She sighed and backed up until she was brought to a stop.

Garrus quickly dropped his hands from her waist. He hadn't even been aware that he had placed them there. He took a step back, squared his shoulders and gave her a nod. She smiled and turned to take point. His groin gave a painful jerk. He was hard as stone entirely too often around her. He was seriously considering getting new armor.

A man was on the walkway to greet them. "We saw your ship. Fai Dan wants to meet with you immediately."

"Who's Fai Dan?" Shepard asked.

"He's our…leader. He needs your help to prepare for the geth. They are making another push - " he said.

Take cover!" Garrus yelled. But it was too late for the greeter, who was torn apart by geth bullets. Then, the three geth open fired on them. She released Grim and hit them with an overload chain. As they fell, more moved in. Grim sprayed acid on their optical sensors and her whips sang out removing heads with a flick of her wrists. Liara threw out a singularity. Large crates and geth bodies crashed together. One geth escaped death by crates, but only because he was flung over the balcony to the hard docking bay floor…very far below them.

"They tried to build a life here; but now all they have are ruins," Liara said sadly.

"I can't believe the colony held out as long as they did," Garrus said softly.

They followed the walkway around a corner, Shepard's radar jammed, more geth were nearby. She saw one fly over her head. "Hopper!" she yelled. Damned geth clung to walls like a gecko. Hard as hell to catch. Garrus brought it down before she could even find where it had landed. He gave her a smug look when she glanced over at him. All right. He earned it. She bowed her head in acknowledgment.

Their radar was clear, so they continued down the path to the colony. The colonists would only talk of their fear for the geth, so they continued on. They passed through a prefab unit and out the other side. Finally, someone was willing to talk.

"I'm Fai Dan, I'm so glad they finally decided to send someone to help us."

"It would have been nice had you come sooner," the woman bit out.

"Look, the geth are – They're here!" Fai Dan yelled.

Shepard unsnapped her AR, sent an overload chain at them and slipped around them as her team took down the helpless geth. She took the head off one that had been too far away to be affected by the overload. She continued down the corridor. She wound her way through the corridor and activated three disabled machines that belonged to the same water system. She hoped they weren't deactivated for a good reason. Guess she'd find out later if this was an 'oops' on her part. At the end of the path was a crazy man talking in riddles. He seemed to be fighting something that caused him a great deal of pain, but he didn't appear to want help, so she left him to his own devices. On the way back she crossed over a bridge. Her radar showed there were signatures beyond the wall. The wall slid open and several geth attacked. They were higher up, she shot out a sonic wave that knocked them down, she followed it up with an overload chain and continued on, knowing her team would make short work of them.

"Damn it, Shepard – I hate it when you do that," Garrus told her retreating back.

She came out of the corridor into a larger room. Three massive krogan charged them. She released Grim, tossed a turret and shot out a sonic wave, pinning two against the wall. Grim sprayed acid in their eyes, blinding them. She released the wave. The turret belched fire and bullets and the krogan panicked trying to get away. She pulled her Viper and put a bullet through the eye of one of them, putting him out of his misery. The second dropped an instant later. Garrus had the same idea.

There was a small room off the end of the larger room and she discovered a large transmitter the geth had been using. She fired on it until it was nothing but smoke and ruin. As they exited back through the wall, her radar picked up organic signatures rather than geth. She wanted to speak to them and make sure they were safe before heading back. She crossed back over the bridge and through the wall on the opposite side. Huge dog creatures slavered, growled, and then attacked them. Liara threw out a singularity. Three dogs were sucked into it. Hot dog. Or dead dog, in any case. She sent an overload chain that froze four in a macabre dance. Well placed bullets took them out. She looked around while she was there and pulled out some salvage from an old tank. Always good to have repair parts on hand, never know when you will need them. Time to head back to Fai Dan and see if there was anything she could do to help the colony.

When she reached Fai Dan he said, "The tower's secure. Thanks to you, Commander."

"I'm just glad your colony is safe now," Shepard said.

"Thank you for your efforts against the geth. It is appreciated," Fai Dan said.

"It won't hold them for long though, they always come back," the woman replied.

"Do you know why the geth have attacked your colony?" Shepard asked.

"I don't know why they're here. The geth's main base is at the Exo-Geni headquarters if you want to look for answers. They are the company that funds the colony. The skyway leads directly to their headquarters," Fai Dan told her.

"Is there anything I can do for the colony before we go?" she asked.

Fai Dan gave her the names of a few key people she could talk to if she wanted to help them further.

Shepard discovered the system she reactivated was the colony's main water supply the geth had deactivated. She also found out the dogs, veran, were a main food staple for the colony, but hunting had become more dangerous since a new pack leader had taken over. She informed the man that the alpha veran would no longer be a problem and they might want to retrieve the meat before it spoiled. She also turned over the salvaged part she acquired. They apparently needed the cells, so she was glad she had thought to scavenge them. She had apparently already accomplished the main needs of the colony. So, now it was time to hit the skyway and take the fight to the geth before they could attack the colony again. They hopped the elevator, when the door opened she heard a man yelling. They drew their guns and ran out firing at the geth attacking the guards. When the threat was cleared they climbed into the mako that had been dropped off for them and headed out the main doors. Garrus hopped in back to ride the guns; Liara sat beside her to run the navigation and scanners. She missed having Garrus beside her, but she knew he was having fun kicking ass with the big guns.

Debris and geth hides littered the skyway. Geth were a major problem. Armatures and geth with rocket launchers were everywhere.

They passed through two waves of geth before they picked up local radio chatter.

"They've got us on visual. They must be close," Liara said.

"Forget about them, we need to focus on the geth," Garrus responded.

"Garrus, have a heart. It won't hurt to take a few minutes to peak in on them. We might be able to aid them or they could have important information that would help us out. We won't know until we check," Shepard told him.

The climbed out of the mako and headed down the ramp into an underground encampment. The small group was safe for the moment. There was a nasty little butt-weasel who worked for Exo-Geni that Shepard wished she could put a bullet into. A woman wanted her daughter found and a man wanted her to collect some data off his terminal at Exo-Geni, but otherwise nothing new was discovered. They climbed back into the mako and back onto the skyway.

After a couple of more geth waves they made it to the end of the line. The door wouldn't open far, but she was able to wiggle the mako close enough that cannon could be fired through the door to weed out the geth hiding within. When her radar showed clear, they headed in. A quick walk through only left one way to move forward. They dropped down through an opening to the floor below. There was no going back that way.

As they cleared the rubble, she noticed veran corpses on the ground. They were not alo – a bullet flew between her and Garrus.

"Damn it! Oh – I'm sorry. I thought you were a geth or one of those veran," the woman apologized.

Talk about shoot first and ask questions later…or in her case, shoot first and look found out she was the missing daughter, Lizbeth, and that she worked for Exo-geni. She had elected to stay behind to download data, but she ended up trapped here. A geth ship latched onto the building and was powering barrier shields to keep people away from the Thorian, a very large, very old, plant-life, which was most likely what the geth were after. She gave Shepard her ID to get her past any locked doors and wished her luck on getting the shields down.

They entered a rear door and heard a krogan yelling at a machine. The machine was nice enough to warn the krogan of their presence and he charged. She hit him with a sonic wave that slammed him into a wall and held him tight. She walked up to him. "You really should control that temper of yours. It can lead to all kinds of …problems for you."

Garrus took him out.

"You know, I was going to ask him if he would surrender."

"And I think we both know what his answer to that would have been," Garrus said matter of fact.

"You are probably right, but it's only sporting to give him the chance," she pointed out.

"I've never met anyone quite like you, Shepard," he admitted.

"And you never will," she said softly.

They were able to get quite a bit of Thorian intel from the VI. Apparently, it controls people through inhalation of its spores and Exo-Geni purposely let it control the Zhu's Hope colony so they could study it. She also learned Lizbeth was aware of all of this, due to her high level clearance. And that was why she became an engineer. She loved science, but hated what the pursuit of it could do to the souls of the people in charge.

They continued past the VI and discovered 2 geth below them distracted with something. She flicked her whips out and relieved them of their heads. Huge geth ship claws were anchored onto the side of the building. They needed to find a way to remove the claws. They followed the corridor around and it opened into a room with several geth…Oh joy…here we go again. She hacked a geth with a rocket launcher and let it do the work for them. Once they were down, she headed left through a red corridor and up a flight of stairs. She followed the corridor until it led to another open room and wouldn't you know…more geth.

When the last one fell they headed up a nearby staircase to the floor above. She moved across the crumbling upper level and looked down at the geth gathered below. She hacked a destroyer. After it took down the other geth she hit it with an overload charge and Garrus shot its head off. At the back of the room was a control for the Shuttle bay door. One of the geth claws just happened to have used that for an anchor point. That would be their best shot to loosen the ship's grip on the building.

She programmed the door's PSI high enough to make it slam down hard. It sheared off the top claw on the geth ship. The bottom two claws could not support its weight alone and the ship dropped off the side of the building and crashed to the surface far below. The energy fields had come down.

"Normandy to shore party, anybody there? Normandy to shore party…come on Commander, please be there." Worry laced Joker's every word. When she answered him she could hear the relief in his voice as he told her that colonists were banging on the hull. She told him to sit tight; the colonists couldn't do any real damage to the Normandy.

They retraced their steps and bypassed the newly opened passage to head up the other side of the stairwell. She needed to retrieve some data for one of the colonists. Several krogan were in the room she needed to get into. She sighed…she'd already killed more than enough today; she was starting to get mighty sick of it. Oh well…another one bites the dust.

With the three krogan out of the picture she uploaded the data and hightailed it back to the newly opened passage.

Lizbeth was waiting for them on the other side of the passageway. She confronted Lizbeth on her lies. The young woman apologized and told them the way to the Thorian was blocked by a freighter the Zhu's Hope colonists put down to cover the entrance to protect it.

Once back at the Exo-Geni group they discussed the infected colonists and how best to manage them so they could get past them. She joined with the Exo-geni scientists, bounced ideas, compared theories and finally helped them formulate nerve gas infused reduced-capacity concussion grenades. She took the grenades and headed to Zhu's Hope. Hopefully, a majority of the colonists could be rendered harmless, allowing them to get access to the Thorian.

Garrus couldn't stop his mandibles from flaring. This was a side of Shepard most never saw. They saw the soldier, the Commander, the capable warrior, the diplomat…but the woman at home in a lab? That was rarely seen.

When they reached the main door a nastified human creature, a husk-like thorian creeper, was waiting for them. When the door opened many more attacked them. You had to take them down before they got to close to you, because their preferred method of attack was barfing green goo in your face. Not a very becoming look. And it didn't feel too great, burned like acid. After they were down they hopped back into the mako and drove it up next to the guards. They climbed out, using the mako for cover; she tossed a sleep grenade at the four humans shooting at them.

The proceeded through the door. She tossed a grenade at the two humans guarding the interior entrance. Heading down the stairs she faced another wave of creepers and more humans. She tossed another sleep grenade, but only 3 went down. Crap...she tossed a second one. Her lootdar went off and she located another stash of grenades…how strangely convenient, considering they had made her batch at the Exo-Geni group. Oh well, best not to look a gift horse in the mouth, it might bite you. She headed up the ramp took out more creepers and lobbed a sleep grenade at the two humans at the end of the ramp.

Heading down the other side of the ramp a crap load of creepers were waiting. No biotics were used, they couldn't risk the colonists. She grabbed her bats she charged one cryo and one incinerate. She started whipping them at the creepers, causing one after the other to explode. Her team waited for them to get close and shot them point blank, that way they could avoid stray bullets taking out the colonists. It took 3-4 more grenades to put the rest of the colonists to sleep.

She hacked into the control and programmed it to lift the freighter out of the way. Fai Dan approached them. He fought the Thorian's control, but in the end he just wasn't strong enough. He chose to end his own life rather than shoot them. It had all happened so fast. Even so, she knew she had time to lob a sleep grenade at him or rip his gun away…why hadn't she? As far as she was aware her head was still on her shoulders and not shoved up her ass. She sighed. It was such a waste of life. They headed down the stairs into the Thorian's lair.

A massive, tentacled, slimy plant…thing barfed up a green asari. "I speak for the old growth, as I did for Saren. You are within and before the Thorian. It demands that you be in awe."

Shepard shook her head. She never much cared for demands. As a soldier she had to swallow a crap-load of them, and they stuck in her craw more often than not. "I'm afraid that's just not going to happen. I'm here to broker a deal. Release your thralls or die. Simple enough for you?" Shepard asked.

The green asari attacked. As soon as she was down, creepers poured out of a side room. Had she mentioned how tired she was of killing? She thought she could feel a blister on her damn trigger finger. She fired an overload chain and walked past the twitching creepers. A huge pulsing tentacle crossed above her head. She pulled out her gun and blasted a hole in the damn thing. The Thorian screamed. Ooh…sweet. I need to find more of those. They headed further up searching for more nerve bundles.

Two more waves of creepers and a green asari later she was able to destroy another nerve bundle. They continued up the stairs. Another two waves of creepers and another green asari later and they located another nerve bundle. This was starting to be like clockwork…but she knew better than to rely on patterns. Patterns, like rules, could be broken too easily.

In a similar pattern they took down two more nerve bundles. Then dropped down to a lower floor and then up a flight of stairs. Prone creepers they had already passed, popped up behind them, flanking them, and came down from the stairs above... catching them in a pincer ambush. Nicely done, Thorian. Still won't save you though.

As they came around a bend, Shepard could see another nerve bundle across the way. She pulled out her sniper and blew it to hell. The creepers didn't even waken from their prone positions. The Thorian grunted, screamed and fell a great distance to the floor below. She sincerely hope it was nothing but a pile of splattered goo now.

An asari fell from a pustule on the wall. "I'm free…I suppose I should thank you for releasing me," Shiala said. She told them that Saren had traded her for the cipher to the Thorian and then sent geth in to kill the Thorian. She spoke of how Matriarch Benezia sought to help Saren walk a gentler path, but had become indoctrinated to Saren's will through the ship he call Sovereign, who had powerful mind control capabilities. She explained that Prothians and their knowledge became a part of the Thorian when it consumed their bodies over 50,000 years ago.

"I need that knowledge to stop Saren," Shepard told her.

"I can transfer the cipher to your mind as I did Saren's." Shiala informed her.

Shepard nodded. As she was receiving the cipher, her head thumped as more pictures poured into it... death destruction, machines, blood…but it included more than the previous vision. She saw two suns and a couple of planets. A possible location or map of sorts? She shook her head. It was a lot to take in and things still weren't all that clear.

"Shepard, are you all right?" Garrus touched her shoulder in worry. "What just happened?"

She put her hand over his and gave it a gentle squeeze. "The cipher seems to have updated what I saw from the beacon. I'm still not completely sure what it's telling me...it's like a partially completed puzzle. Gave me one hell of a headache though."

Shiala told her it would take time for her mind to process the information, but she would eventually understand the vision from the beacon. She also said she would like to stay here and help the people from Zhu's hope recover.

Shepard nodded her approval and headed back to the colonists.

"Exo-Geni will be giving Zhu's Hope all the money it needs to rebuild. It's all thanks to you Commander!" Juliana, Lizbeth's mother, said. She checked on the other people she had met and then returned to the Normandy. "Hit the showers, debriefing in 20," she told them.

When she walked into the comm room, everyone was already seated, waiting for her.

"Commander, you look pale. Have you suffered any ill effects from the cipher?" Liara asked concerned.

"I'm fine. I'm just trying to wrap my head around everything."

"I might be able to help. I'm a Prothean expert. If I joined my consciousness to yours we might be able to make sense of it all," Liara said helpfully…or perhaps hopefully.

When the melding came to an end, Liara explained, "The beacon on Eden Prime must have been badly damaged. The data transferred to the Commander's mind was incomplete. There are large pieces missing from the vision. If Saren has that missing information, then he might have found another beacon." Liara started feeling weak from the meld and asked to go to the med-bay. Shepard dismissed everyone and made her rounds.

Kaidan told her she was important to him and wanted her to know that he would be there for her if she ever needed any help. He then returned to talking about his past, explaining how turian mercs were brought in to train the young human biotics. The one training his group, Vyrnnus, was a nasty piece of work. The turian broke Rhanna's arm because she used her hand to move something instead of her biotics; When Kaidan stood up, the turian beat him and shoved a knife in his face. Kaidan lost it and the turian ended up dead. He ended up losing Rhanna as a friend and Brain camp was closed down not long after. Just goes to show, that good or ill, one person can make a difference.

Liara was feeling much better and they scheduled a vid for later that evening. Shepard asked her about her life as an archeologist.

"I spent most of my life on remote digs; unearthing mundane items buried in long-forgotten Prothean ruins. Not very exciting to most people."

"It sounds dangerous…and lonely," Shepard admitted.

"Sometimes I would run afoul of indigenous life-forms or mercenaries, but I was always careful. Until the geth on Artemis Tau, my biotics kept me safe. As for the solitude, it appealed to me. People expected me to be as my mother was, become a leader of our people. Matriarchs look to the future, maybe that's why I preferred the secrets of the past," Liara explained.

"All children rebel against their parents. It's a natural part of growing up," Shepard stated.

Liara chuckled, "You share the wisdom of the Matriarchs, Shepard. That is exactly what Benezia said when I told her I was going to be an archeologist. But there's more to it…I was drawn to the past…to the Protheans. That is why I find you so fascinating. You were touched by working Prothean technology," she said in wonder.

"Am I a lab rat now?" Shepard asked gently.

"What? No! I never meant to offend you, Shepard. I only meant that you would be an interesting specimen for in-depth study. No – that's even worse!" Liara said, horrified where her mouth was taking her.

"It's okay, Liara. I was only joking," Shepard assured her.

"Joking? Oh, by the Goddess! How could I be so dense? You must think me the fool. This is why I prefer to spend my time with data and dig sites; I tend to embarrass myself around other people," she said apologetically.

She went down to the cargo bay to visit with the rest of her crew. Garrus told her that he has learned a lot from her both from speaking with her and watching how she operated. He told her he couldn't imagine a better teacher…or a better friend.

Oh stars…the friend zone. Maybe she should tell him how she felt? "Garrus, you are more than just a friend to me…" Oh dear…no...she can't do this. He had become too precious to her and she wasn't about to risk what they had. "You are my dearest…my best friend. I don't know what I'd do without you." She took his hand, gave it a squeeze and turned to go see Wrex. At least she was able to weave some of what she felt into that.

Damn it, Garrus thought. He had hoped she was going to tell him she wanted to be more than friends…maybe even that she loved him…not relegate him to the friend zone. That's ok. He tried to reassure himself. Maybe that's what she needs right now. He knew how much pressure she was under. If that's what she needed from him, then he would do his best to give it to her.

She asked Wrex to tell her an adventure story. So, he told her about an asari commando he met when they both held the same contract. They split the kill, each taking part of the man, each getting paid for his death. Unfortunately, he discovered one contract he accepted was for the asari's death. When he caught up with her, they shared a laugh over it and then he asked her where she wanted the fight to occur. She chose a merc hangout and they battled for two days. She was injured and he was about to go in for the kill when the space station's core went critical. He barely made it out. He watched it blow from a distance and never saw her leave. When he later received notice she was alive, he notified the diplomat that set the contract and ended up being his personal bodyguard until the day he died. Boring, but easy credits. She laughed at his caginess and moved on to have a word with Ashley.

As she was talking to Ashley she was able to learn more about her. Her grandfather was General Williams, the Shanxi garrison's leader, the only human to surrender to the turians during the First Contact war. That was why her father couldn't advance up the chain of command and that was why she had a long list of crap assignments. Shepard told her that she respected the man. He saved a lot of lives, both military and civilian by surrendering. She also tried to reassure her that she was a valuable member of her team.

Tali thanked her for treating her like a part of the crew, an equal, rather than a second-class citizen. Not many treat quarians that fairly. She appreciated Shepard's thoughtfulness. Shepard assured Tali that she was a highly respected member of her team and that she would miss her when she returned back to the flotilla.

As the days went by they were sent on more grunt missions for the alliance. At least the Alliance was asking rather than demanding her help. That was a nice change. She deactivated a bomb, killed a negotiation with a merc, retrieved data from a lost probe, killed a diplomat's blackmailing, criminal sister and various other assignments. But, they were simple missions, left her with a lot of down time in between. Mass relay travel and FTL speed were nice, but not instantaneous, at least not in most cases.

Garrus also came to realize his beating her system trick didn't always beat the system. Perhaps because his need to protect her and claim her was getting stronger. Or perhaps he wasn't the only one who figured out the system.

They were on their way back to the Citadel for gas and supplies, and then off to Noveria. When she stepped up to the galaxy map to set in coordinates for the Citadel, Joker informed her she had a top priority message coming in. She headed to the comm room to take the private call.

The Council informed her they had a special task force that sent a message on a critical alert channel, but the message was garbled. It haled from the planet Virmire and pertained to Saren. The assured her they didn't want to know the details of what she intended to do, they just wanted to inform her of the Virmire option. She thanked them and headed back to the map. She would be sure to hit Virmire as soon as they left Noveria. After this she was damn well going to take a vacation. At least she sure as hell hoped she could. She and her crew needed a break. A couple of weeks of shore leave would do everyone a lot of good.

Chapter 5

Liara T'Soni

Shepard boarded the Normandy and continued onto the bridge.

"I heard what happened to Captain Anderson. Survives 100 battles and then gets taken down by backroom politics. Just watch your back, Commander. Things go bad and you'll be the next head to roll," Joker said.

"I hate it. It's like I'm stealing the ship from him. I had already bought my own ship, the Hawk, but Anderson and Udina both believe the Normandy is my only real chance in stopping Saren," Shepard admitted.

Joker whistled. "Yeah, the captain got screwed. But they were right. The Hawk is a damned nice frigate, but I don't see how you can accomplish the mission without the Normandy's capabilities or my piloting genius. Just know, everybody on this ship is behind you 100 percent, Commander," Joker replied.

Shepard opened the com. "This is Commander Shepard. We have our orders: find Saren before he finds the Conduit. The fate of the entire galaxy is at stake. There has never been a more important mission and I can guarantee it won't be easy. Our enemy knows we're coming. Wherever he goes…we'll be there. We will hunt him to the very ends of the galaxy and take him down! I promise you all…Saren will fall!" She released the comm and took a deep breath.

"Nicely done, Commander. The captain would be proud," Joker said.

"The captain gave up everything so I could have this chance. We can't fail. We won't!" Shepard said grimly and quit the bridge.

"Yes, ma'am," Joker replied.

The first thing she did was move her stuff from the XO's cabin to the captain's cabin, so that Pressly could have her old cabin. She settled Geordi's cage on a shelf and smiled. Geordi had been her pet hamster since she was 10 years old. She had chosen him because he was blind. It had been her goal to make him see again.

She had spent months in the lab, researching theories and running simulations. She settled on using her frozen cord stem cells. To get the aggressive growth and response she needed she chose a particularly nasty virus. It was painstaking work, altering and molding the virus into something usable. By the time she merged virus and stem cells, she knew she had something…maybe something big. The cells tore through every infected blood sample that she tried them on. Then, she did the one thing that every mad scientist fell victim to. She tested the cells on herself. Genius or not, she was only ten years old.

With no adverse reactions, she tried it on 4 mice that had been exposed to something fatal and were quarantined in the lab. Within hours they were showing more signs of life, within two days you'd never know they'd been ill. She took blood samples and compared them to healthy mice. Outside of the cells moving and reproducing faster than normal, there were no other anomalies. She felt comfortable giving the treatment to Geordi.

She'd taken fastidious notes, outlined every step she took along the way. Within hours you could see the milkiness begin to fade from Geordi's eyes. Within a day his eyes were clear and black…he could see. Her dad was the lead doctor on the ship. She had been so excited about what she'd done. When she'd showed him her notes, he had at first been impressed. He had her show him the blood slides and the mice she'd used. By the time he'd poured over ever step and its ramifications, he'd become frantic. He injected the mice, putting them down. He then collected everything, her notes, the blood slides; he took it all down to the incinerator and tossed it in. Through the door they could see the mice dancing in the flames, before there was nothing left of them.

Her dad shook her. "Remember this, Arianna. By all rights I should throw Geordi in there as well. Leave no trace at all of what you've done. But he is the best reminder I can leave you. Never experiment blindly. What you've accomplished might look like a good thing…but those blood samples? They were as fresh and alive as if they were just drawn. Those mice? They were dead, but didn't stay dead. And you have that inside of you. Come on." He grabbed her hand and headed back to the lab.

They put their heads together to try to create a kill-switch. He looked down at his daughter. "Do you know why I destroyed everything?"

"Because I created something bad?"

He grabbed his daughter's hand, held it immobile and sliced her palm with a scalpel. She hissed in pain and tried to pull away, but her father's grip was tight. The wound knitted back together. He stared at the pale scar line. "No, not bad per say…and you didn't create it with malicious intent…but if what you did was ever discovered, it has the propensity to be used for great evil, even by our own government. Imagine super soldiers who could heal instantly and not be killed? Sounds good at first, but the atrocities they could commit are astronomical. And eventually they would turn on their handlers, their commanders, because power corrupts, it is the nature of the beast. And when they turn, very little could stop them. Before you ever do a thing, you must think of the future ramifications, and see the whole picture, because the road to Hell is often paved with good intensions. I know that is cliché, but there is nothing more absolute…or more true."

They had little luck finding a kill switch, but they were able to alter the cells just enough that if they left her body, they died instantly. She couldn't accidently infect someone if she were injured, nor could blood removed from her body be studied. It wasn't the perfect solution, and until her dad died when she was fourteen, he never gave up trying to find a kill-switch. The day her dad died was the day she stepped out of the lab and never went back.

She turned her brain towards technology. The lessons her dad taught her she took to heart. Any toy she created would only respond to her DNA or her fingerprints. She shook her head, breaking free of the past and gave Geordi a scratch behind his head.

She wanted to check in with her crew and make sure everyone was getting settled in okay. She took the stairs down, circled around the elevator and saw Kaidan busy working at a terminal. They had a brief talk about the Eden Prime mission and the Council, and then she headed back to the elevator and took it down to the cargo bay. When the door opened she looked around. Wrex was talking to a crew member, Ashley was busy cleaning and modding weapons and Garrus appeared to be tinkering with the mako. Sure as hell hope he knows what he's doing!

She went to speak with Garrus first. There wasn't really much of a choice. She was drawn to him and needed to find out why. He wasn't really her type, so she knew that couldn't be it. She preferred beautiful men, muscles, big eyes and sensitive, romantic demeanor. She knew that was shallow of her, but you can't help what turns you on. Garrus was skinny, small eyed, hot-headed, and being a turian – probably as sensitive and romantic as a rock. Ok, that wasn't really fair. She did find herself liking Nihlus and he was a turian. If she was honest with herself, she was probably just a bit put out with him for firing on the man holding Dr. Michel. Taking out the man was more important to him than insuring the doctor's safety. That just didn't fly with her. Come to think of it she was put out with Wrex for killing Fist, but then she wasn't drawn to Wrex.

"Garrus, how do you like the Normandy?" she asked him.

"It's beautiful ship, Commander. I can't wait to put her through her paces. See what she can do." His mandibles spread wide in anticipation.

"Shepard, please…I'm flying as a Spectre now, not military."

"OK...Shepard," he said slowly.

A shiver went down her back. Damn me if he doesn't have a sexy voice. "Did you find something wrong with the mako?" she asked.

"Nothing I couldn't handle. I was just calibrating the weapons and shields for greater efficiency." He responded with a shrug. "I wanted to thank you for bringing me on board…Shepard. I knew working with a Spectre would be better than life at C-Sec."

"What do you mean? Have you worked with a Spectre before?"

"Well, no," he admitted. "But I know what they're like."

"Do you?" she said with a smile. "We are not all alike, Garrus…and I think you will come to find that I can be very…different."

"Then we will share that distinction, Shepard. At least I will not be different alone now," his mandibles gave a slight flare. "But what I meant was Spectres make their own rules. You're free to handle things your way. At C-Sec, you're buried by rules. The damn bureaucrats are always on your back."

"True, but those rules are usually there to provide safety for everyone involved," she responded.

"Maybe. But sometimes it feels the rules are only there to stop me from doing my job. If I'm trying to take down a suspect, it shouldn't matter how I do it, as long as I do it. That's why I left," he said frustrated.

"If you become what you hunt, then you are no better than the criminal. Saren never let anything or anyone get in his way. He would kill hundreds if they came between him and his target. Is that what you want to be? Ruthless and cold? Finish the job at any cost?"

"Well, no. Not when you put it that way. That's not what I want to be," he said pausing a moment. "How C-Sec handled the Saren case is very typical. That's why I joined with you, er – teamed up with you. It's a chance for me to see how things are done outside of C-Sec. It will be nice to get a job done without all the red tape."

"I still have a moral code that I follow, Garrus. I did not sacrifice my soul to become a Spectre. I do not put innocents in danger for the sake of the mission. I find a better way. If this is something you can agree with, then I'm sure we will work very well together."

"I understand, Shepard. And thank you. I look forward to being under you." Shepard's smile nearly knocked him on his ass. He wheezed in a breath before he remembered to breathe again. Spirits. That was going to take some getting used to. What did he say to earn that smile? Then his mouth fell open and his mandibles dropped. He did not just say that to his commander.

"I know what you meant, Garrus, and I'm glad you are here. I look forward to being…on top of you," she said with a wink and headed over to check in on Wrex.

Wrex was an interesting man. They discussed how the deployment of the genophage had caused most krogan babies to die in the womb, that it was slowly causing his people to go extinct. He also told her how krogan preferred fighting to science and therefore were not trying to find a cure for it. He had pretty much given up on krogans all together.

"Sometimes a single person can make a difference, Wrex," she told him.

"I'm not you, Shepard," he grumbled.

"You don't have to be," she said with a smile.

Wrex watched her go…still a little fazed by her smile. He just knew things were going to get interesting with that one.

As she approached Ashley, she noticed the woman looked sad. "What are you thinking about, Ashley?"

"Eden Prime. I just wish you could have gotten there sooner," Ashley admitted.

"I know. I do too. We came as soon as we got the distress call, but even with the fastest ship in the fleet, there was just not enough time."

"You did everything you could. It's my fault. I should have been more prepared…more alert." Ashley rocked her hip against the table in aggravation.

"It wouldn't have mattered how alert you were. There were too many. That you survived at all is a bloody miracle," Shepard assured her and took her leave.

One more crew member and they could be on their way. She knew not every captain spent time with their crew, but she intended to. She wanted to get to know them. She wanted them to know they were important to her, that they weren't expendable. She was determined to earn both their respect and their trust.

As she stepped into the engineering room, Chief Engineer Adams waved her down.

"That quarian is amazing! I wish my guys were half as smart as she is. Give her a month on board and she'll know more about our engines than I do! She's got a real knack for technology. I can see why you wanted her to come along," Adams said with respect. He noticed Shepard eyeing his console and shook his head. "Don't even go there, Commander. You were not brought aboard the Normandy to improve her or maintain her. That's my job. I don't care how smart you are…you need to stay focused on Saren and let me do my job…with all due respect, ma'am." Adams flushed.

Shepard chuckled. "Not so subtle, Adams. Carry on," she said with a nod and continued on to Tali.

"Your ship is amazing! Most of our ships are second-hand, some as old as 300 years. I can't believe you fit that drive core in a ship this small. I had no idea Alliance vessels were so advanced," Tali stated with excitement.

"The Normandy is a turian-human design prototype. Cutting edge technology."

"Well, thank you for bringing me with you. Being on a ship like this is a dream come true for me."

The days rolled by quickly as they made their way Therum and T'Soni. She was glad they had this time to get to know each other and be more comfortable around each other. They were soon going to have to depend on each other and that is easier if it's not a stranger at your back.

When Joker had informed her that they were nearing Therum, she commed Tali and Kaidan and told them to meet her in the cargo bay in 5.

She was surprised to see her team lined up. "I assume you were made aware of my...eccentricities?" she asked.

"Yes, ma'am," Kaidan said. "I brought them all up to speed on your operation protocol."

"Thank you, Kaidan, it sure helps with the awkward explanations," she said shooting him a smile. She closed her eyes and forced the sight. When she opened them a beautiful rainbow greeted her. "I'm not sure if any of you care to know what your auras look like, but I will tell you anyway, for grins and giggles."

"Tali, your aura is pale green with light grey swirls, sweet, caring, yet determined. Wrex, your aura has oranges and reds pulsing together, assertive. Kaidan, your aura is a mirage of blues, calming, centered. Garrus, your aura has greens and blues throbbing and rolling like the waves of an ocean. Ashley, your aura has greens and browns swirling together, strength and fortitude. You all have strong, clean aura's, but two are just a bit brighter. Wrex and Garrus suit up."

Shepard made her goodbyes and headed to her cabin. Time to have a chat with Dr. T'Soni. She suited up and headed down to the Cargo bay. Garrus and Wrex were waiting for her beside the mako. She closed her eyes and focused her sight. She looked over both men and nodded to herself. "Did Kaidan explain my good-luck system?"

Garrus' mandibles made a quick up and down movement and Wrex gave a bark of laughter. "He sure did...so which of us gets the first kiss?" Wrex asked with a big grin on his face.

She walked over to Wrex, pulled down on the neck of his armor and placed a soft kiss on his lower jutting lip. He picked her up, spun her around and let her go with another bark of laughter. He slid a look to Garrus and caught the cold glare before Garrus turned around. Wrex gave another bark of laughter. This was just too much fun.

The moment Garrus saw Shepard walk towards Wrex a wave of relief hit him hard. It was better this way. Better or not, he could not stop the tide of jealousy and resentment that washed over him when he saw their lips meet, when he saw Wrex wrap her in his arms. He turned around and stepped into the mako.

The Normandy's rear hatch opened and mako rolled out. She fired the thrusters as the neared the ground to lessen the impact. Garrus sat beside her taking care of navigation and scanners. Wrex sat behind her on the guns, just the way he liked it. Garrus scanned the area and pulled up a map. Stars, Joker…did you have to drop us so far away?

They rounded the first bend and were just about to round a second when a geth dropship dropped two armatures in front of them. Damned shield suckers. She rocked back and forth trying to avoid fire while Wrex took them down.

They crossed another land bridge and Garrus warned of enemy targets ahead. She slowed down and approached cautiously. Three rocket turrets defended a large metal door. She used the rock outcroppings as cover and hung her ass out far enough for Wrex to take pot shots at the turrets. In this way they were able to take them out without much damage to the mako. As they approached the hanger they realized there was no way in, so she backed up to circle around and find another entrance.

They slipped through a break in the rock wall and followed it around, as she drove under a metal platform another turret fired on them. They were in the open and exposed. "Wrex! Take it down!" she yelled.

"What do you think I'm doing back here? Scratching my ass?" Wrex grumbled loudly.

They edged around the turret after it was destroyed and several geth troopers began firing at them . They jumped from the mako. She ordered them to cover. "Take a knee!" She told them as she took out her sniper. They looked at her strangely until they saw her take out her sniper. Garrus nodded his approval, Wrex grumbled.

The head flew off one of the troopers. Nice shot. She looked over at Garrus when he yelled, "Scratched one!" He turned to her and spread his mandibles wide and nodded. Looks like she was in for a bit of competition. She wasn't about to let anyone take her title without a fight.

They hopped back into the mako when the last geth fell and proceeded into the facility. She needed to get the doors open, so time to explore the buildings. In the first one she entered she found some interesting mods, but nothing more. A geth was stationed in the second building. She sent an overload charge at it and kept going. The gunfire behind her told her that her team was taking care of the geth. She grabbed some omni-gel out of a locker and slammed her hand to big green pad and the doors cranked open.

They headed across the compound to the other buildings. Wrex grunted, "Nothing but, rocks, dirt, and lava…reminds me of home."

"Sounds hospitable..." she said sarcastically.

"Not even on its best days," Wrex said with a smile.

Absolutely nothing in the first building. Another geth was found in the second building. She raised her hand, sent a sonic wave and moved on to slap the green release pad. She could still hear the geth warbling; apparently when she tossed it had gone through the open ceiling. Oops. She flipped on her omni-tool and scanned the area. She followed the ping out of the building to the catwalk between the buildings. She could hear it, but she couldn't see it. She fired another sonic wave. It tossed the geth to the ground a few yards away, it put up a holo-shield. She poured bullets into the shield, but it wouldn't go down. What? It was like she was firing blanks. She was going to turn her pistol into Williams and have her look at it. She pulled her shotgun, but Wrex and Garrus had already blown it to hell. She shrugged. Can't win them all, and headed back to the mako.

As they exited the facility a geth armature activated. Did these geth have no sense of self preservation? Apparently, they too had to complete their mission regardless the cost. And the cost was going to be great indeed, because she had no intention of letting that happen.

Seems the road was going to be littered with armatures. They took down a second rounded a bend and three fired down at her. By the time the second was downed, Garrus yelled, "Shields are at 20% back off, Shepard." As she was backing away they were nailed again by another ball of energy and a warning started beeping, shields were all but gone. She dodged behind a rock outcropping and the wait was on. It was a slow nightmare waiting for mako shields to repair.

She turned in her seat to look at Garrus while he was making small talk with Wrex. Why was she being pulled towards this man?

Garrus felt the weight of her stare and turned towards her. Neither seemed to be able to look away. Neither said a word.

"So that's the way it's going to be," Wrex said looking from one to the other. Both ignored him. He wasn't much used to that and didn't much care to be ignored. "You can gawk at each other later, lovebirds, our shields are up!" Wrex growled loudly.

They both jumped and faced forward. Garrus cleared his throat and scanned for enemies. Shepard felt the heat creeping into her face. Damn she hated blushing. What was that? Was she attracted to him? Is that what the pull was? No, couldn't be. She'd been attracted to people in the past and had never felt the pull. So, something else was up. Attracted to him or not, there was another reason she was being drawn to him. She just needed to figure out what it was.

"I'm seeing six enemy signatures ahead, Shepard" Garrus said, his voice cracking over her name. He cleared his throat again. Spirits. He needed to get his head out of his ass. That was his commander, a woman he respected. He needed to take a step back and regroup. He would control this…whatever it was he was feeling. He would not let it interfere with their mission.

She pulled up next to a rock outcropping and they disembarked. "Take a knee," she said and pulled her sniper. They took the geth troopers down pretty fast. But she'd put five high explosive rounds into the geth colossus and it looked no worse for wear. Time for the big guns. Shit! A ball of blue was coming at her. She dove to the side; her face still tingled from the energy ball's near hit.

"That was cutting things a bit close, Shepard," Garrus said, unable to keep the worry from his voice.

"I'm tougher than I look," she told him.

"Maybe so, but let me have a look," Garrus said. He gently touched her chin and moved her head to the side so he could see the damage. The side of her face was bright red with a few blisters. "That's going to sting for awhile," he said softly and gave her a dose of medi-gel.

"Not as long as you'd think."

He raised his eyebrow plate, dropped his hand from her chin, and backed away to put some distance between them so that he could breath…and think.

"I heal quickly," she assured him. She cocked her head at him. "You don't have to stand so far away. I don't bite…well, not too hard anyway," she said as she hopped back into the mako.

That thought sent a shiver down Garrus' back and he didn't want to look too closely at the why of it.

They headed up the ramp to a tunnel. "Two signatures scanned, Shepard. Probably at the end of this tunnel." As they skirted through the tunnel, no enemies ambushed them, so Garrus had been correct. She pulled over and climbed out of the mako. She pulled her sniper, hunkered down and made her way to the edge of the tunnel. There were three geth firing rockets at them. The rockets were hitting low, so she took aim blew the head off the farthest one. The one on the left exploded, while she took a bead on the geth that was lying on the ground shooting rockets. She pulled the trigger and it spun off to the left, a flaming wreck.

They climbed back in the mako and took the ramp down.

"You're a pretty good shot there, Shepard. It takes a lot to impress me, but I'm impressed. Of course, you're not as good as I am, but very impressive for an engineer," Garrus said.

She slammed on the brakes and Wrex gave a bark of laughter.

She swung her head around and sent Garrus a cold stare. "Impressive for an engineer? I couldn't have been more offended if you'd said impressive for a human or impressive for a woman. I'll have you know that being an engineer does not hamper my ability with a gun. I can out-shoot just about anyone and I'm the best shot on the ship…and it's not because everyone else is lousy…it's because I'm that damned good!" She told him crossly.

Garrus held his hands up. "I'm sorry, Shepard. I didn't mean to offend you. I've just never met an engineer that has had that kind of training in weapons. I just wanted to give you a compliment. My wording was…thoughtless."

"No...I'm sorry. You couldn't have known that was a touchy subject with me. I had to work hard for people to see past my brains and take me seriously as a soldier. But just so you know…I don't intend to just hand my title over to you. If you want best shot on the ship, I'm going to make you work for it."

Garrus threw his head back and laughed. "That's a challenge I can't ignore. And when I win that title, I expect you to present it to me personally."

They shook on it. "Your face is better, by the way," Garrus said quietly.

"I told you I heal quickly."

She drove across the rocky plain towards another tunnel in the distance. Once in the tunnel Garrus warned them of two synthetic signatures up ahead. They took them out and continued until Garrus warned of more synthetic signatures. She hopped out, took a knee and head shot two geth with her sniper. There was one more down there, but she couldn't see it. She aimed and shot its cover. It jumped away from the cover and she shot him in the chest. He burst into flame, flew into the air and went flying into the lava lake nearby. Sweet! Double death! She turned to Garrus and gave him a smug look. "Ah, Garrus you are making this too easy for me. If you intend to take my title…you best do better than that."

"Is that how it's going to be, Shepard? You're on. You, dear lady, will soon be under me..er – title-wise," he said, very grateful turians couldn't blush…or at least grateful that it didn't show. He caught another smile from Shepard and his heart gave a painful thud.

Wrex saw Garrus stiffen. Poor kid, he must have been struck by one of her smiles. It could bring the best of us low, he commiserated. He walked over to Garrus and gave him a pat on the back. Garrus stumbled forward, but tried to remain cool about it.

They climbed back into the mako. When the path came to an end, Garrus pointed out a small opening. "Looks like we're on foot from here," Garrus said.

"Perhaps not," she said. "Hang on." She rammed the rocks and turned to the right. She backed up and rammed it again, her tires caught and the mako tilted on its side. She got hung up on a rock outcropping on the other side. She backed up and rocked forward, turning towards the left. Still stuck. She backed up a bit further, turned the wheels towards the left and was able to pull free. They were in. And immediately under fire. "I have nowhere to go…just shoot!" she told Wrex.

"I'm shooting! I'm shooting!" he growled.

They took down three geth and proceeded up the path. They came to a heavily fortified area. Geth were shooting from the ground and from on high. She had no place to go, so she and Garrus just sat there watching Wrex blow each of them away with the cannon.

"Maybe we should get out and play. Wrex here is having all the fun."

"I have a feeling we'll be getting out all too soon. But no reason why we can't have a little fun while Wrex is busy. What would you like to do? Compare embarrassing stories? Play a card game? Or…?" she asked Garrus.

Garrus' mandibles dropped when his mind went somewhere it shouldn't. "Fun, yes...I, er – hmmm…I think I have a deck of cards." Cards...right. Because cards were certainly topmost on his mind right now. Spirits. Someone needed to bitch-slap his mind out of the gutter, because his armor was getting more uncomfortable by the minute.

"Very funny you pyjaks – Wrex wants to blow up more geth, so get a move on it."

They made their way slowly through the maze of rocks up the hill towards the compound. When they reached the compound a geth dropship rained down more toys to play with. Wrex laughed in glee and started blowing everything to bits.

Shepard and Garrus looked at each other. "I've got something to pass the time. My grandpa told me this when I was little:

Ladies and Gentlemen, do not doubt,

I'll tell you a tale I know nothing about;

The Admission is free, so pay at the door,

Now pull up a chair and sit on the floor.

One fine day in the middle of the night,

Two dead boys got up to fight;

Back to back they faced each other,

Drew their swords and shot each other.

A deaf policeman heard the noise and came and shot those two dead boys.

But if you doubt my lies are true,

Just ask the blind man, he saw it too!"

Garrus' mouth and mandibles dropped. What the hell was that? "That was absurd."

"Absolutely. I never said he was a poet!" she said with big grin.

Garrus' mouth opened and closed, but nothing came out.

"Will you stop smiling at the kid, before you kill him," Wrex said. He chuckled when he caught the cold glare Garrus sent him.

"Right…Death by smile, eh Wrex?" she said beaming her smile at him.

Wrex stopped for a moment and just looked. He shook his head. "Don't smile at me either," he grumbled. And it was Garrus' turn to laugh.

"Tough crowd," she mumbled to herself.

"Scanners are clean, Shepard," Garrus told her. They exited the mako and made their way up a ramp and down into the mine. A geth was at the first walkway landing, she blasted it with her shotgun, but it didn't go down. A red ball of energy struck her; she staggered back and fell to a knee.

"Shepard!" Garrus yelled, taking out the geth.

"I'm okay," she said, shaking it off. She caught sight of a geth below them out of the corner of her eye. She turned and blasted it. It screamed and melted into sludge. That's more like it, she thought. Nodding in satisfaction. She released Grim.

Another geth came running across the platform from the right. She raised her hand and sent a sonic wave; it was picked up and thrown to the ground below. She nodded to Garrus and he blew its head off for good measure.

They took the walkway down to an elevator. When the elevator doors came open 3 drones ambushed them. "Overload them!" she yelled and sent an overload charge at the closest one and took it down. The one Garrus sent an overload charge at exploded.

"Shields down!" Garrus yelled.

Shepard jumped in front of him, extended her shield barrier to include him, sent another overload charge at the third drone, but it dodged. Grim sent a bolt at the drone, but Wrex claimed the kill shot for that one. Who was she to argue with an 800 pound krogan?

Garrus nodded and was released from her shield barrier. "Thank you, Shepard. You know I've never seen a Prothean ruin before…besides the Citadel."

"That's not exactly a ruin," she said with a chuckle.

"Point. But I wonder what Dr. T'Soni is looking for in here. Most Prothean ruins have nothing more than dead instrumentation."

They continued down the ramp and into another elevator. This one shorted out before reaching the next level. They jumped down to the ramp below and heard someone calling out.

"Hello? Can someone help me please?" a female voice inquired.

Shepard walked up to the blue field, which contained an asari.

"Can you hear me out there? I am trapped. I need help," the woman said.

"Are you Dr. T'Soni? Are you okay? What happened to you?" Shepard asked her.

"Thank the Godess; I did not think anyone would come looking for me. Listen. This thing I'm in is a Prothean security device. I cannot move, so I need you to get me out of it." She said.

"Your mother is working for Saren, are you?" Shepard asked.

"What? No! I may be Benezia's daughter, but I'm nothing like her. I have not spoken to her in years. Please just help me get out of here," Liara said.

"How did you end up in there?" Shepard asked.

"I was exploring the ruins when the geth showed up, so I hid in here. Can you believe that? Geth! Beyond the Veil! I activated the tower's defenses. I knew the barrier curtains would keep them out. When I turned it on I must have hit something I wasn't supposed to," Liara explained.

"We'll find some way to get you out," Shepard assured her.

"There is a control panel in here that should deactivate it. You'll have to find some way past the curtain though. Be careful. There is a krogan with the geth. They have been trying to get past the barrier as well."

"Grim, get in there with Dr. T'Soni and keep her covered."

As she turned around she caught movement in the distance. "Take a knee!" She pulled out her sniper and a geth hiding behind what appeared to be a very large engine. She turned it to sludge and focused on the geth that had been beside it. She managed to take it down before it could get into cover. A third geth had come from the side of the engine and lobbed a red energy ball at her. She rolled out of the way; the disks slipped out of her boots and propelled her down to the geth. But one of her team took it down in the span it took her to get there.

"Damn it!" Garrus swore and took off after Shepard, Wrex hot on his heels.

She scanned the floor, but could not pick up any more signatures. Her lootdar sent her over to a storage shed. She collected the ammo she found and ignored the guns in the second shed. She didn't need them.

Then she turned and headed back to the huge engine and discovered it was a mining laser. She hacked into it and a molten laser beam cut into the rock, melting its way through to the other side of Liara's chamber. They gave it a few moments to cool and headed into the newly made tunnel. They passed through a non-activated chamber and found an elevator lift that they took up to Liara's chamber.

As they approached her backside, she turned her head as far as she could. "How did you get in here? I didn't think there was a way past the barrier," Liara said.

"I used a mining laser. Now, how do we get you out of there before more geth arrive?" Shepard asked her.

"That button there," she said pointing, "should shut down my containment field."

The containment field winked out. "You know that would have been a lot easier had you given me hands."

"A drone with hands. Why didn't I think of that? Oh! Maybe because you're a hologram? Don't be sore, Grim. Despite your limitations, you still managed to bring the curtain down."

Liara turned to face her rescuer gratefully. "That's quite the impressive drone you have. It kept me at ease and made me laugh, while it was trying to deactivate the curtain."

"Grim…well, he's one of a kind. Do you know the fastest way out of here?"

"There is an elevator back in the center of the tower. At least, I think it's an elevator. It should take us out of here…Come on, it's this way!" Liara told them. "Do you know why the geth are after me? Do you think Benezia is involved?"

"Saren's looking for the Conduit. You're a Prothean expert. He probably wants you to help him find it."

"The Conduit? But, I don't know - "

A rumbling noise startled them. "What the hell was that?"

"These ruins are not stable. That mining laser must have triggered a seismic event. We have to hurry; the whole place could cave in," Liara said as she activated the elevator.

"Joker! Get the Normandy airborne and lock in on my signal. Now," Shepard demanded.

"Aye-Aye, Commander. Secure and aweigh. ETA in eight minutes," Joker replied.

"I don't think we have eight minutes, Shepard!" Garrus pointed out.

"If I die, I'm going to kill him!" Wrex growled.

When the elevator came to a stop four geth and a krogan approached them. Liara ducked down on the ground. "Guard her, Grim!" She turned her attention to the enemies.

"Surrender. Or don't." The krogan shrugged. "That would be more fun."

"Fun for me, I imagine…not so much for you." Shepard warned him.

"Ha! I like your attitude!" The krogan said.

She fired an overload charge at the krogan, and then hit him with a cryo bolt. She turned to focus on the geth. She grabbed her bats and uncoiled them. She flicked each hand at a geth. The coils wrapped around the necks, she gave a sharp jerk and the heads rolled free. She left the remaining geth to her team when she saw the smile spread on the krogan's face. She held up her hand and sent a sonic wave that slammed him up against the wall and held him there. "I believe I told you this wouldn't be fun for you. Care to know how this ends?" she asked him.

The krogan gave her a smile "I'm Ganar Cleet; you'd make a damn fine krogan."

Shepard smiled at him. "Commander Shepard. Spectre. If I let you go will you walk away?"

Cleet stared at the woman in front of him. Her smile left him breathless, his heart slamming in his chest. "Saren wants the asari. I will bring her to him," he said thickly.

"I will kill you if you try to take her," Shepard pointed out.

"I'd rather die by your hand, pretty lady, than Saren's. I trust you will kill me quickly?" he asked.

Shepard nodded. "That is unfortunate. Good bye, Ganar Cleet." She held her shotgun under his chin and pulled the trigger. When she turned the last geth was falling.

The rumbling began in earnest and they beat feet like the hounds of hell were licking at their heels. The shaking intensified, dust and boulders rained down upon them. "Move it!" she yelled and followed her team. She made sure she was always the last to leave a location, the last to board the ship. As they hit the exit of the mine shaft, a belch of sulfer and ash followed them out.

She was never more thankful that she had brought the mako in with them. They hopped in the mako and hit the thrusters, slamming in through the cargo bay's open hatch, while Joker got them out of there.

"Hit the showers everyone, we'll meet up in the comm room in 20." She knew she stank to high hell. The sulfur clung to her like a second skin. She dropped her armor off at the armory to have it finely detailed, and then she hurried off to her cabin, careful to avoid as many people as she could. She peeled off her under-suit, tossed it down the laundry chute and stepped into the hot shower. She grabbed her luffa, poured a liberal amount of vanilla spice gel onto it and scrubbed her skin pink.

As she walked into the comm room, Joker was quick to voice his opinion on their departure.

"Too close, Commander. Ten more seconds and we would've been swimming in molten sulfur. The Normandy isn't equipped to land in exploding volcanoes. They tend to fry our sensors and melt our hull. Just for future reference," Joker said sarcastically.

"We almost died out there and your pilot is making jokes?" Liara asked.

"It's a coping mechanism, you'll get used to it," Shepard explained.

"I see. It must be a human thing. I don't have a lot of experience dealing with your species, Commander," Liara said. "But I am grateful to you. You saved my life back there. Not just from the volcano. Those geth would have killed me or dragged me off to Saren."

"What did Saren want with you? Do you know something about the Conduit?" Kaidan asked Liara.

"Only that is was connected to the Prothean extinction. I have spent the last fifty years trying to piece together what happened to them," Liara told them.

"Fifty years? How old are you, if you don't mind me asking."

"I hate to admit it, but I'm only 106," Liara said with embarrassment.

"Damn! I hope I look that good when I'm your age," Ashley said in awe.

"Among the asari, I am barely considered more than a child," Liara admitted. "That is why my research has not received the attention it deserves, why my theories are dismissed."

"What is your theory?" Shepard asked her.

"According to my findings, the Protheans were not the first galactic civilization to mysteriously vanish. This cycle began long before them; it has repeated itself many times over. The galaxy is built on a cycle of extinction. Each time a great civilization rises up, it suddenly and violently cast down. Only ruins survive. I've dedicated my life to figuring out how and why they vanished."

"They were wiped out by a race of sentient machines. The Reapers," Shepard told her.

"The Reapers? But I have never heard of – How do you know this? What evidence do you have?" Liara asked skeptically.

"There was a damaged Prothean beacon on Eden Prime. It burned a vision into my brain. I'm still trying to sort out just what it means."

"That makes sense. The beacons were designed to transmit information directly into the user's mind. Finding one that works is very rare. But the beacons were programmed to interact with Prothean physiology. I am amazed you were able to make sense of it at all. A lesser mind would have been utterly destroyed by the process. You must be extremely strong willed, Commander," Liara said in awe.

"This isn't helping us find Saren or the Conduit," Garrus interrupted. He didn't like the asari fawning all over Shepard like that.

"If Saren wants you dead or alive, I can't think of a better place for you to be than here," Shepard told her. "Welcome to the team, Liara."

"Thank you, Commander. I am very grate – whoa." Liara's took a weak step backwards, her hand going to her head. "I'm afraid I'm feeling light-headed."

"Dr. Chakwas should look you over," said Kaidan.

"Yes, we can talk more after you've seen the doctor, Liara. The rest of you…dismissed," Shepard said.

She sent her report to the council and commed them for a debriefing on the mission. Sparatus was an ass as always. She doubted he'd ever forgive her for becoming involved with Nihlus. The other two were remarkable cordial to her and wished her well.

Time to shake down her crew...it would be awhile before they arrived at their next mission. Kaidan was at his usual spot, so she stopped in to see him first.

"Can I have a word with you, Commander?"

"Absolutely. What can I help you with?"

"Saren is off to bring down all galactic civilization and the council doesn't want to help? Sorry, Commander, but the writing's on the wall here and someone isn't reading it," Kaidan said frustrated.

"I guess it is in the nature of all beings to ignore what they don't want to face." She then questioned him about his past.

He told her about 'brain camp' where the first human biotics were studied and trained. How perhaps all element zero exposures weren't accidental… And about a girl named Rahna that he'd been sweet on. "She was smart, charming as hell; beautiful, but not stuck up about it. Like you…ma'am," he told her. "Out of curiosity, do you make a habit of getting this personal with everyone?"

She flushed a bit. "I guess I do. I tend to have a big nose. If it makes you uncomfortable, let me know."

"I'm not uncomfortable, just trying to…uh, figure you out," he said.

Shepard laughed and shot him a smile. "If you manage it, let me know…I've been trying for years. I've enjoyed getting to know you, Kaidan. We'll talk more later."

"I'd…like that," he said, his voice cracking. How does she do that to me? He thought as she walked away. A look...a word…a smile…and I'm blown away. She's my commander. I have no business feeling this way about her. But whenever I'm around her, I'm this tangled mess inside. He turned to get back to the work he'd been doing. But he couldn't keep his mind focused; it kept slipping back to his commander. Time to hit the fitness room…give himself another outlet.

Shepard headed over to the med-bay to check on Liara and see if she was feeling any better. She asked Dr. Chakwas about Liara and she pointed to the back room. Shepard nodded her thanks and continued in to the next room.

Liara jumped up from her console. "Commander, are you coming to check up on me?"

"Shepard please, Liara. You are looking much better. How are you feeling?"

"Dr. Chakwas assures me I'm going to be fine. I was impressed with her knowledge of asari physiology."

"You're in good hands with Chakwas. She's the best. I trust her."

"I know you took a chance bringing me aboard this ship. I have seen the way your crew looks at me. They do not trust me," she said sadly. "But I am not Benezia. I will do whatever I can to help you stop Saren."

"I trust you, Liara. And they will too in time."

"Thank you, Commander. That means a lot to me," Liara said in relief.

"Just call me Shepard, Liara," she reiterated. "You don't have to be so formal. Do you know why Benezia would have joined with Saren?"

"I don't understand it, this is not like her. Something changed. She was always so outspoken about the need for the asari to become more involved with galactic events. Maybe she thought allying herself with Saren would somehow be for the greater good in the long run. At least, I hope so."

"We'll figure out what happened," she assured Liara with a smile, before turning and leaving.

Liara sat down in her chair. Hard. Goddess! That was some smile, she thought…still in a bit of shock. It seemed she was going to have to guard herself, for she was already liking Shepard too much as it was.

Shepard circled around to the elevator and took it down to the cargo hold. She nodded at the supply man and headed over to Garrus.

"Shepard …It's good to see you," Garrus told her.

"Glad to hear it. It'd be a might awkward if you couldn't stand being around me," she said with a smile.

"Er – Yeah…hmmm," he cleared his throat. "I don't think that will ever be a problem…I mean it takes a lot for someone to stay on my bad side."

"Good to know. Out of curiosity, why did you choose to become a C-Sec officer?"

"Hmmm…Good question. Probably the same as most officers. I wanted to fight injustice and help people. I guess my father had something to do with it too. He was C-Sec. One of the best. I grew up hearing about his accomplishments or seeing his picture on the vids after a big arrest. He's taking my resignation pretty hard," he admitted.

'He's not impressed that you are going after Saren?"

"He thinks I'm being too rash…too impatient. He's worried I'll become just like Saren. He actually talked me out of becoming a Spectre when I was younger. For the same reasons."

"You were asked to be a Spectre?" She was impressed.

"I was targeted as a possible Spectre candidate. Me and about a thousand other turian military recruits. My father didn't allow me to have special training. He despises Spectres. He hates the idea of someone having unlimited power with no accountability. He wouldn't like you, Shepard. No offense," Garrus remarked.

"I can understand his concern. Power and corruption usually go hand in hand," she acknowledged.

"But we need that power if we want to nail Saren. Saren isn't going to play by the rules and I don't think we'll be able to either," he told her.

"Just because you can break the rules, doesn't mean you have to. I don't need to stoop to Saren's level of depravity to stop him. And neither do you, Garrus," she admonished.

"Thank you, Shepard. I will think about what you've said. And Shepard?"

"Yes?"

"I've never seen anyone fight the way you do. Your tech could rival any biotic - and your weapons…Grim…, they are like nothing I've ever seen before. You're an impressive woman, Shepard. I'm surprised your Alliance hasn't reproduced them in mass. Though, I'd hate to see those weapons in the hands of anyone else."

Shepard flushed. "Thank you, Garrus. The Alliance cannot reproduce them. I will not release the specs on them…the specs are in my head and nowhere else. My toys are programmed for my DNA and fingerprints and if anyone tries to use them or disassemble them…well, they are in for a rude awakening…my toys will self-destruct. Oh not in a grandiose fashion, no one will be hurt, but the interior will melt into an unrecognizable mess. My father taught me a long time ago to think ahead. Consequences can ripple out in unimaginable ways. As an old vid once said, 'With great power comes great responsibility.' My brain is my power…my greatest weapon and I must always wield it with judicious care."

Garrus was stunned by her forethought. Not only was she smart, beautiful and deadly – she was also wise. An intriguing and rare combination. "I wish more people held your conviction."

She nodded, gave him a soft smile and headed over to talk to Wrex.

Garrus watched her go and sighed. She did it to him again. Spirits…How do you prepare yourself for a smile like that? Maybe he would have to suck it up and talk to Wrex. Maybe he had the answers. He watched as Wrex melted into a puddle at her feet. Damn. There goes that idea. Probably for the best anyway, Wrex didn't need any more ammunition to use against him. He turned back to the console, but couldn't concentrate. Maybe he'd just go hit the fitness room…a workout might do him some good.

Shepard was smiling when she walked up to Wrex. She was eager to find out what neat little tidbits Wrex would tell her today. Even more surprising today's story involved Saren. Apparently, he and a bunch of other mercs had been hired to raid a massive cargo freighter, a volus trading vessel. Nothing on the ship but food and medical supplies. In walks Seran. He said he got a really bad feeling about him and got the hell off the ship without pay. He found out later all the other mercs had turned up dead within a week.

She let him go and went to Ashley. Ashley wanted to talk off the record. She was concerned with all the aliens onboard. Didn't think they should have access to the ships more sensitive areas. She didn't consider the council races anything more than surface allies. She thought we should learn to rely on ourselves, because the council races may not always be our allies. They then went on to discuss boot camp, surprised they had gone to the same one.

"I can understand where your concerns are coming from, Williams. But this is a multilateral mission. You're going to have to work with aliens. I hope it will not be a problem for you," Shepard said with concern.

"It won't be a problem, Commander. You say 'jump,' I say 'how high?' You tell me to kiss a turian, I'll ask which cheek," Ashley responded.

"If there is any turian kissing, I imagine I'll be the one doing it," Shepard said with a laugh and turned to go.

"On that we can agree, ma'am," Ashley said under her breath. She turned back to Shepard's pistol, determined to find out why it went belly up.

Last stop on her rounds today was Tali. As she walked up to her she noticed her shoulders were stooped. "Are you okay, Tali?"

Tali explained how things were so much different here than on the flotilla. It was quiet here, nearly empty, it just felt wrong to her. Like too much was missing. "When I was home I couldn't wait to leave on my pilgrimage, get away from it all, now I miss it," she admitted.

"Maybe the pilgrimage isn't just about finding resources, but about teaching you to appreciate your people and culture," Shepard pointed out.

Tali agreed and thanked Shepard for listening.

"I'm always here for you. Any time you need to talk."

Time to hit the fitness room. She'd been getting a little lax lately.

Chapter 6

Feros

She slipped into a royal blue push-up sports bra. It was thickly padded, kept her in place, and gave her cleavage a nice bump. She removed her belly ring, she hated wearing it when she worked out, she'd had it ripped out sparring once and didn't take chances anymore. She pulled on matching sweat-wicking, form-fitting leggings with a white stripe down the side of her legs. She drew a towel around her neck, grabbed a bottle of water and headed for the fitness room.

The fitness room was down below opposite of the cargo bay. One side of the room held work out machines of all types, bolted to the floor of course. Mats wove under and around the machines. There were also uneven bars, a balance beam, and a trampoline. Those were her additions. The other side of the room held only mats for sparring and some practice dummies on one side. She noticed Garrus hard at work with one of the dummies. He was in a tan suit with some blue trim. She assumed it was a turian version of a workout suit.

She put down her towel and water and began stretching, covertly watching him workout. She'd never seen a turian workout before. It was uniquely interesting.

Garrus felt her walk in and did his best to pretend he didn't. He finally came to stop when he realized he was getting a little too rough with the practice dummy. He turned to face her. Spirits! She was wearing his colors. He didn't like how his heart quickened. He didn't like how that made him feel inside. But, damn, she looked good.

Shepard was atop the beam; she bent at the waste and placed her hands on the beam. She slowly lifted one leg off the beam and into the air, the other joined it and for a brief moment she was suspended upside down, then her back began to slowly bend until first one leg than then other made contact with the beam. It was extraordinary to watch. No turian could move like that. And spirits did she look sexy doing it. She pulled herself upright and then lowered herself into a splits position.

Shepard felt eyes on her; she turned her head and saw Garrus watching her. She placed her hands flat on the beam, pushed off, rotated her body until she was straddling the beam and lowered herself back down facing him. She winced a bit; she'd never been comfortable sitting on the beam this way. She can't imagine what it would feel like for a guy, she'd probably be singing soprano the rest of her life. "Can you toss me my towel?" she asked him, pointing out where she'd put it. He tossed it to her; she wrapped it around her neck and patted her face. She stood up, walked to the end of the beam, tossed her towel at him and did a back flip off landing in front of him.

"Now, that was impressive, Shepard," he said, wrapping the towel around her neck. His hands stayed there for just a moment before falling away. Her suit left little to the imagination and he had a fairly good imagination. She was wreaking havoc on his senses. He took a step back and cleared his throat. He headed to his water to take a sip. He needed an excuse to put some distance between them.

"Not any more impressive that what I saw you do to the dummy," she pointed out. "Do you want to dance?" she asked him.

Garrus choked on his water and nearly sprayed it everywhere. "Turians don't dance, Shepard."

She blinked for a moment confused. Then she realized he'd taken her literally. She smiled and then laughed. "Perhaps, we ought to test that theory one of these days. But that wasn't what I meant. I meant do you want to go a few rounds? Spar? Teach me how you fight. I enjoyed watching you and would like for you to show me your moves."

Garrus picked his jaw up off the floor and proceeded to hit himself with it. Why did his mind always fall in the gutter when she was around? He was half tempted to take the stick out of his ass, and beat himself over the head with that as well. He needed to stop seeing her as a woman. She was not a woman. Well, she was. But she was his COMMANDER. Get a grip Garrus. He took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. He was sure it would be a mistake getting that close to her, but he didn't feel he had a good enough reason to turn her down…at least not one he cared to share with her.

They squared off on the mat. He explained a few moves and showed her how they were done. Several times he had to grit his teeth and position her arms and legs to get the precise movement he was looking for. His fingers sank into her muscles. It was so intimate that he had to bite back a groan that would have embarrassed them both. He also had to make sure their hips didn't come into contact, because there would be no hiding what she did to him.

Shepard found herself purposely missing movements just to feel his hands on her body. She and Nihlus really hadn't gotten this far, so the feel of his two fingers and thumb were a unique and strangely satisfying experience.

Once he was sure she knew the particular moves he wanted her to know, they pulled on microfoam guards and began to put the moves into practice. After a few rounds he had to admit he was impressed. She caught on fast and was keeping him on his guard. He spotted a flaw in her movement, stepped in and tossed her onto the mat. She snaked her foot around his and pulled up. He ended up falling on top of her. He landed on his forearms. His face a few inches from hers. They were both breathing hard from their exertions.

She placed her hands against his carapace and laughed. "I'm not big on losing, so I wasn't about to go down without taking you with me."

They both realized he was between her legs at the same time. They froze, barely even daring to breath. Thankfully, he was too far down for her to feel how very much he wanted her.

Kaidan walked into the fitness room, his mouth opened, unable to believe what he was seeing. Garrus moved over her leg and rolled over onto his back, his carapace held him up just enough that his head was only angled down a bit. He was ever so grateful his shirt came down low enough to hide his embarrassment. "I've discovered the hard way that Shepard doesn't like to lose," Garrus explained. "Take her down and she will make sure you go down with her."

Kaidan laughed relieved. "Yes, I learned that lesson the hard way too."

"Laugh it up guys. I'm hitting the shower." And she beat a hasty, albeit cowardly retreat.

For the next couple of weeks they did odd missions for the Alliance, she even took down a few Cerberus and geth bases. She also ended up taking down the two criminal warlords Helena Blake had told her about. She even strong armed the woman into getting out of the business. Here's to good deeds well done.

She had pretty much laid down a schedule. She went to the fitness room the same time every day, unless a mission made her put it off. As the days went by more often than not Garrus was there either before she arrived or shortly thereafter. She liked to think he enjoyed her company, but it was more realistic that he just preferred not to work out alone. When she started putting him on the mats as often as he put her there, he would teach her new moves.

She'd eat dinner in the mess with her crew; she enjoyed getting to know them better. Closer to bed time she would head down to the starboard lounge to watch a vid or read a book and have a few drinks. Occasionally, one or more of the crew would join her. And once in awhile they would all cram in there, drink until dawn and suffer the next morning. All but her, that is. She never suffered from hangovers. She healed too quickly for that. And she rubbed the crews' faces in it every chance she got. Poor sots.

This night Garrus and Kaidan were with her. The vid was over much sooner than expected. They both bid her farewell and took off. She sighed…the night was far too young still. She headed out of the starboard lounge and nearly ran smack into Garrus. "I'm so glad you're here. Tell me you're not tired yet!" she implored him.

"Uh…no, Shepard. I'm er – not tired yet. Did…hmm…did you have something in mind?" he asked uncertain.

"I sure did!" She grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the elevator.

By the time they reached her cabin Garrus was all but sweating. She pulled him into her cabin and the door closed behind them. His nerves were shot. He was about to hightail it and run, he knew he was. Then he saw Shepard go down on her hands and knees, her ass up in the air swaying back and forth as she was going through something at the bottom of her closet. He was mesmerized. He stilled himself when he realized his body had been swaying in time to her movements. He was looking longingly at the door when she shot back up.

"Vid or book?" she asked.

The relief nearly dropped him. He'd been fighting the need to pull her into his arms and he knew it wouldn't take much encouragement from her for things to go that route. And that is not a path that needed to be walked.

The vid was a newer action flick, the Traveling Man. The book was Journey to the Center of the Earth. He fingered the leather bound book. Paper books were hard to come by and very expensive. "I haven't seen too many paper books."

"I've got shelves of them. I like the feel of the paper in my hands. I'm a very tactile person. I like to touch," she said with a shrug.

Yeah, she did and that was part of the problem. He chose the book. She grabbed a bottle turian brandy, a bottle of asari honeymead and a couple of glasses. She pointed to the sofa for him to sit, set the bottles and glasses on the table and asked him to pour. She sat down next to him and crossed her legs. He had one arm on the sofa's arm holding his drink, the other he draped along the back of the sofa.

"I wouldn't have thought you'd have turian brandy in your private quarters. Most humans can't drink it." he said curiously.

Shepard flushed. She couldn't tell him she got it in hopes that he'd be there someday, but she could give him a half-truth. "Tali was here the other night watching vids with me. But no turian brandy doesn't bother my system." She grabbed his glass and took a swig before giving it back to him.

She settled in and began reading. He watched her read, her voice soothing him. He asked questions every now and again and told her how he'd have done a thing if it were him. She liked the interaction. It made the book come to life. She liked debating points with him. After an hour or so she leaned against his side and curled her legs up on the sofa to get more comfortable. Another half hour and his arm settled around her shoulders. She smiled, snuggled into him and kept reading. Her voice eventually started to go. She wasn't used to using her voice this much. She asked him if he wanted to call it a night or if he would like to read for a little bit. She had thought he would leave, but he opted to read.

Garrus had been shocked when she first settled against him. But she did it so nonchalantly that it didn't make him feel uncomfortable in the slightest. In fact, he liked her snuggled up against him. He liked it too damn much. Eventually, he worked up the nerve to put his arm around her. It was a more comfortable position for his arm, he assured himself.

After about an hour of him reading Shepard gave a slight yawn and wiggled down, putting her head in his lap and her hand on his thigh. He very nearly jumped out of his skin. He'd never had someone lay on him like that. The heat of her hand, her cheek burned into him. He prayed she did not move her head too much or they both could wind up seriously embarrassed. He lowered his hand to her shoulder absently rubbing it as he read. Eventually, he heard a soft snore and he couldn't help but smile. He slowly slipped out from under her, marked the page in the book, put up the bottles and glasses, pulled down her covers, then bent over and picked her up. Whoa. He had a bit too much to drink. He walked them carefully over to her bed and laid her gently on it. He pulled up the covers and swayed. He lay down next to her. I'll go in just a few, he thought.

He felt something move against him and he came awake. His brain was still foggy. He'd been dreaming about Shepard being in his arms, his hand upon her breast, her grinding against his hardness. As soon as the sleep cleared from his head he realized it had not been a dream at all. His hand cupped something soft; the heat of her ass was pressed against him. His other arm was under her neck. And he was under the covers with her. How the hell did he get there? He fell asleep on top of the covers. He lowered his hand to her waist and gave her a light shake. "Shepard, I need to go. Everyone will be waking up soon and…hmmm… I'd just as soon not do the dreaded walk of shame."

"You would be ashamed of us?" she mumbled.

Us? In what life could he ever be lucky enough for there to be an us? "No, that's not what I meant. You're the Commander. I wouldn't want the crew to get the – er, wrong idea about us. I wouldn't, uh…want them to think anything happened."

"Something did happen." Her mumbling was almost incoherent.

Yes, he thought. It did. I fell in love with you, Commander Shepard, over a book and a glass of brandy…and I can never tell you. Truth be told, he probably fell in love with her in the Council Chambers when he first saw her, but this was the first time he openly admitted it to himself. "Perhaps, but not the something they would imagine."

She rolled towards him further trapping his arm. She placed her hand on the side of his face. "Thank you, Garrus. I had a wonderful evening. If it wasn't too boring for you, perhaps we can do it again sometime."

He lowered his forehead to hers. "I'd like that," he said thickly, before pulling away. She lowered her hand and lifted her head so he could move. He felt a sense of loss when he was no longer touching her. As he stood up beside the bed he looked back down at her; she was already fast asleep. He couldn't stop himself from smiling. Things were different between them now, even if she didn't know it.

Thus began their evening ritual. She still had her evening vid, card game, or party, depending on how many showed up and the mood they were in, but he would always show up at her cabin a half hour after the evening events came to an end. He was now comfortable enough to just walk in when he arrived instead of comming first. The only things that concerned him were Kaidan's and Liara's feelings. He was pretty sure even Tali was a bit in love with Shepard as well, but she was not openly pursuing her like the other two were. He intended to keep an eye on them. If it looked like she was showing too much interest in someone he would come clean with her, but he hoped it wasn't any time too soon. It was easier to pretend she could love him back than to find out for sure she never would. He had never considered himself a coward before, but that woman had the power to break him with a single word; he wasn't eager to face the block.

"We are approaching Feros, Commander. ETA 15 minute," Joker informed her.

"Thank you, Joker. Com the crew and have them meet at the cargo bay in 15."

"Will do, Commander."

When she walked into the cargo bay she closed her eyes and forced the sight. Goodness, Liara's Blue aura with orange swirls was shining bright today. Kaidan's was the next brightest. She turned to Garrus, a slight frown on her face. She wondered what was disturbing him enough to effect his aura so much.

Garrus had been pacing the cargo bay when he got the comm about leaving soon. He didn't quite know what he was going to do. He was starting to worry his love for Shepard had the potential to become an obsession. The need to be with her, to protect her, to claim her was beginning to feel like an itch he couldn't reach. He knew he was starting to act a little frantic on the days he was left behind and the crew was starting to give him worried looks. He wished like hell he could hide it, but it just seemed to be getting worse. The others assembled in a line and he joined them. When he saw Shepard frown at him he knew he didn't make the cut. No! That wasn't going to fly. This was a major mission; he couldn't bear the thought of being left behind. He didn't know how this aura thing really worked. But the only thing he could think to do is to calm his mind and think only of how much he loved her.

Shepard headed over to Garrus to find out what was bothering him. Half way there she staggered backwards and threw her arm in front of her eyes. She could barely make Garrus out through his aura. What the hell was that? She released the sight quickly. There were still white spots dancing in her eyes, playing havoc with her vision. "Garrus, Liara gear up…be ready in 10."

Garrus turned around to his locker, his mandibles flared wide. He did it. He bucked her system. Now, he just had to hope it continued to work.

It was nice that the Normandy could dock on Feros. She was sure to need some light repairs and a break. As they stepped out of the airlock and onto Feros, Shepard took another aura peek. Garrus' was still a kilowatt aura. She'd have to ask him about that when they had more time. She released the sight and walked up to Garrus. She knew she would have to kiss him sooner or later. That she hadn't up until now was rather surprising. "You are my good luck giver today, Garrus. Will you accept my kiss?" she asked trying to keep the voice level.

Garrus opened and closed his mouth. He didn't trust himself to say anything. His voice tended to crack like a pubescent boy whenever he got too nervous. He took in a deep breath and nodded. She placed one hand on the neck of his armor to pull him down. He wasn't sure why he didn't think to bend down for her… probably because he wasn't thinking so well right now. Her other hand went rested on the back of his neck. He felt a gentle pressure against his mouth as her warm, soft lips slid against his. It was an odd sensation, but a pleasant one. Fire shot straight to his groin. Ok, pleasant was perhaps a bit of an understatement. As she withdrew her hand slid down the sensitive skin of his neck, shivers raced through him, his heart thundered in his chest, and his shaft swelled painfully hard…made all the more painful because there wasn't all that much room in the armor down there. The idea of kissing had never really appealed to him before, but he would never look at it the same again.

Shepard looked Garrus in the eyes . "Thank you," she said thickly, barely able to keep herself from pulling him down for another. His mouth had been firm, but flexible. Strange, but exciting. And she wanted to do it again. Many more agains. She sighed and backed up until she was brought to a stop.

Garrus quickly dropped his hands from her waist. He hadn't even been aware that he had placed them there. He took a step back, squared his shoulders and gave her a nod. She smiled and turned to take point. His groin gave a painful jerk. He was hard as stone entirely too often around her. He was seriously considering getting new armor.

A man was on the walkway to greet them. "We saw your ship. Fai Dan wants to meet with you immediately."

"Who's Fai Dan?" Shepard asked.

"He's our…leader. He needs your help to prepare for the geth. They are making another push - " he said.

Take cover!" Garrus yelled. But it was too late for the greeter, who was torn apart by geth bullets. Then, the three geth open fired on them. She released Grim and hit them with an overload chain. As they fell, more moved in. Grim sprayed acid on their optical sensors and her whips sang out removing heads with a flick of her wrists. Liara threw out a singularity. Large crates and geth bodies crashed together. One geth escaped death by crates, but only because he was flung over the balcony to the hard docking bay floor…very far below them.

"They tried to build a life here; but now all they have are ruins," Liara said sadly.

"I can't believe the colony held out as long as they did," Garrus said softly.

They followed the walkway around a corner, Shepard's radar jammed, more geth were nearby. She saw one fly over her head. "Hopper!" she yelled. Damned geth clung to walls like a gecko. Hard as hell to catch. Garrus brought it down before she could even find where it had landed. He gave her a smug look when she glanced over at him. All right. He earned it. She bowed her head in acknowledgment.

Their radar was clear, so they continued down the path to the colony. The colonists would only talk of their fear for the geth, so they continued on. They passed through a prefab unit and out the other side. Finally, someone was willing to talk.

"I'm Fai Dan, I'm so glad they finally decided to send someone to help us."

"It would have been nice had you come sooner," the woman bit out.

"Look, the geth are – They're here!" Fai Dan yelled.

Shepard unsnapped her AR, sent an overload chain at them and slipped around them as her team took down the helpless geth. She took the head off one that had been too far away to be affected by the overload. She continued down the corridor. She wound her way through the corridor and activated three disabled machines that belonged to the same water system. She hoped they weren't deactivated for a good reason. Guess she'd find out later if this was an 'oops' on her part. At the end of the path was a crazy man talking in riddles. He seemed to be fighting something that caused him a great deal of pain, but he didn't appear to want help, so she left him to his own devices. On the way back she crossed over a bridge. Her radar showed there were signatures beyond the wall. The wall slid open and several geth attacked. They were higher up, she shot out a sonic wave that knocked them down, she followed it up with an overload chain and continued on, knowing her team would make short work of them.

"Damn it, Shepard – I hate it when you do that," Garrus told her retreating back.

She came out of the corridor into a larger room. Three massive krogan charged them. She released Grim, tossed a turret and shot out a sonic wave, pinning two against the wall. Grim sprayed acid in their eyes, blinding them. She released the wave. The turret belched fire and bullets and the krogan panicked trying to get away. She pulled her Viper and put a bullet through the eye of one of them, putting him out of his misery. The second dropped an instant later. Garrus had the same idea.

There was a small room off the end of the larger room and she discovered a large transmitter the geth had been using. She fired on it until it was nothing but smoke and ruin. As they exited back through the wall, her radar picked up organic signatures rather than geth. She wanted to speak to them and make sure they were safe before heading back. She crossed back over the bridge and through the wall on the opposite side. Huge dog creatures slavered, growled, and then attacked them. Liara threw out a singularity. Three dogs were sucked into it. Hot dog. Or dead dog, in any case. She sent an overload chain that froze four in a macabre dance. Well placed bullets took them out. She looked around while she was there and pulled out some salvage from an old tank. Always good to have repair parts on hand, never know when you will need them. Time to head back to Fai Dan and see if there was anything she could do to help the colony.

When she reached Fai Dan he said, "The tower's secure. Thanks to you, Commander."

"I'm just glad your colony is safe now," Shepard said.

"Thank you for your efforts against the geth. It is appreciated," Fai Dan said.

"It won't hold them for long though, they always come back," the woman replied.

"Do you know why the geth have attacked your colony?" Shepard asked.

"I don't know why they're here. The geth's main base is at the Exo-Geni headquarters if you want to look for answers. They are the company that funds the colony. The skyway leads directly to their headquarters," Fai Dan told her.

"Is there anything I can do for the colony before we go?" she asked.

Fai Dan gave her the names of a few key people she could talk to if she wanted to help them further.

Shepard discovered the system she reactivated was the colony's main water supply the geth had deactivated. She also found out the dogs, veran, were a main food staple for the colony, but hunting had become more dangerous since a new pack leader had taken over. She informed the man that the alpha veran would no longer be a problem and they might want to retrieve the meat before it spoiled. She also turned over the salvaged part she acquired. They apparently needed the cells, so she was glad she had thought to scavenge them. She had apparently already accomplished the main needs of the colony. So, now it was time to hit the skyway and take the fight to the geth before they could attack the colony again. They hopped the elevator, when the door opened she heard a man yelling. They drew their guns and ran out firing at the geth attacking the guards. When the threat was cleared they climbed into the mako that had been dropped off for them and headed out the main doors. Garrus hopped in back to ride the guns; Liara sat beside her to run the navigation and scanners. She missed having Garrus beside her, but she knew he was having fun kicking ass with the big guns.

Debris and geth hides littered the skyway. Geth were a major problem. Armatures and geth with rocket launchers were everywhere.

They passed through two waves of geth before they picked up local radio chatter.

"They've got us on visual. They must be close," Liara said.

"Forget about them, we need to focus on the geth," Garrus responded.

"Garrus, have a heart. It won't hurt to take a few minutes to peak in on them. We might be able to aid them or they could have important information that would help us out. We won't know until we check," Shepard told him.

The climbed out of the mako and headed down the ramp into an underground encampment. The small group was safe for the moment. There was a nasty little butt-weasel who worked for Exo-Geni that Shepard wished she could put a bullet into. A woman wanted her daughter found and a man wanted her to collect some data off his terminal at Exo-Geni, but otherwise nothing new was discovered. They climbed back into the mako and back onto the skyway.

After a couple of more geth waves they made it to the end of the line. The door wouldn't open far, but she was able to wiggle the mako close enough that cannon could be fired through the door to weed out the geth hiding within. When her radar showed clear, they headed in. A quick walk through only left one way to move forward. They dropped down through an opening to the floor below. There was no going back that way.

As they cleared the rubble, she noticed veran corpses on the ground. They were not alo – a bullet flew between her and Garrus.

"Damn it! Oh – I'm sorry. I thought you were a geth or one of those veran," the woman apologized.

Talk about shoot first and ask questions later…or in her case, shoot first and look found out she was the missing daughter, Lizbeth, and that she worked for Exo-geni. She had elected to stay behind to download data, but she ended up trapped here. A geth ship latched onto the building and was powering barrier shields to keep people away from the Thorian, a very large, very old, plant-life, which was most likely what the geth were after. She gave Shepard her ID to get her past any locked doors and wished her luck on getting the shields down.

They entered a rear door and heard a krogan yelling at a machine. The machine was nice enough to warn the krogan of their presence and he charged. She hit him with a sonic wave that slammed him into a wall and held him tight. She walked up to him. "You really should control that temper of yours. It can lead to all kinds of …problems for you."

Garrus took him out.

"You know, I was going to ask him if he would surrender."

"And I think we both know what his answer to that would have been," Garrus said matter of fact.

"You are probably right, but it's only sporting to give him the chance," she pointed out.

"I've never met anyone quite like you, Shepard," he admitted.

"And you never will," she said softly.

They were able to get quite a bit of Thorian intel from the VI. Apparently, it controls people through inhalation of its spores and Exo-Geni purposely let it control the Zhu's Hope colony so they could study it. She also learned Lizbeth was aware of all of this, due to her high level clearance. And that was why she became an engineer. She loved science, but hated what the pursuit of it could do to the souls of the people in charge.

They continued past the VI and discovered 2 geth below them distracted with something. She flicked her whips out and relieved them of their heads. Huge geth ship claws were anchored onto the side of the building. They needed to find a way to remove the claws. They followed the corridor around and it opened into a room with several geth…Oh joy…here we go again. She hacked a geth with a rocket launcher and let it do the work for them. Once they were down, she headed left through a red corridor and up a flight of stairs. She followed the corridor until it led to another open room and wouldn't you know…more geth.

When the last one fell they headed up a nearby staircase to the floor above. She moved across the crumbling upper level and looked down at the geth gathered below. She hacked a destroyer. After it took down the other geth she hit it with an overload charge and Garrus shot its head off. At the back of the room was a control for the Shuttle bay door. One of the geth claws just happened to have used that for an anchor point. That would be their best shot to loosen the ship's grip on the building.

She programmed the door's PSI high enough to make it slam down hard. It sheared off the top claw on the geth ship. The bottom two claws could not support its weight alone and the ship dropped off the side of the building and crashed to the surface far below. The energy fields had come down.

"Normandy to shore party, anybody there? Normandy to shore party…come on Commander, please be there." Worry laced Joker's every word. When she answered him she could hear the relief in his voice as he told her that colonists were banging on the hull. She told him to sit tight; the colonists couldn't do any real damage to the Normandy.

They retraced their steps and bypassed the newly opened passage to head up the other side of the stairwell. She needed to retrieve some data for one of the colonists. Several krogan were in the room she needed to get into. She sighed…she'd already killed more than enough today; she was starting to get mighty sick of it. Oh well…another one bites the dust.

With the three krogan out of the picture she uploaded the data and hightailed it back to the newly opened passage.

Lizbeth was waiting for them on the other side of the passageway. She confronted Lizbeth on her lies. The young woman apologized and told them the way to the Thorian was blocked by a freighter the Zhu's Hope colonists put down to cover the entrance to protect it.

Once back at the Exo-Geni group they discussed the infected colonists and how best to manage them so they could get past them. She joined with the Exo-geni scientists, bounced ideas, compared theories and finally helped them formulate nerve gas infused reduced-capacity concussion grenades. She took the grenades and headed to Zhu's Hope. Hopefully, a majority of the colonists could be rendered harmless, allowing them to get access to the Thorian.

Garrus couldn't stop his mandibles from flaring. This was a side of Shepard most never saw. They saw the soldier, the Commander, the capable warrior, the diplomat…but the woman at home in a lab? That was rarely seen.

When they reached the main door a nastified human creature, a husk-like thorian creeper, was waiting for them. When the door opened many more attacked them. You had to take them down before they got to close to you, because their preferred method of attack was barfing green goo in your face. Not a very becoming look. And it didn't feel too great, burned like acid. After they were down they hopped back into the mako and drove it up next to the guards. They climbed out, using the mako for cover; she tossed a sleep grenade at the four humans shooting at them.

The proceeded through the door. She tossed a grenade at the two humans guarding the interior entrance. Heading down the stairs she faced another wave of creepers and more humans. She tossed another sleep grenade, but only 3 went down. Crap...she tossed a second one. Her lootdar went off and she located another stash of grenades…how strangely convenient, considering they had made her batch at the Exo-Geni group. Oh well, best not to look a gift horse in the mouth, it might bite you. She headed up the ramp took out more creepers and lobbed a sleep grenade at the two humans at the end of the ramp.

Heading down the other side of the ramp a crap load of creepers were waiting. No biotics were used, they couldn't risk the colonists. She grabbed her bats she charged one cryo and one incinerate. She started whipping them at the creepers, causing one after the other to explode. Her team waited for them to get close and shot them point blank, that way they could avoid stray bullets taking out the colonists. It took 3-4 more grenades to put the rest of the colonists to sleep.

She hacked into the control and programmed it to lift the freighter out of the way. Fai Dan approached them. He fought the Thorian's control, but in the end he just wasn't strong enough. He chose to end his own life rather than shoot them. It had all happened so fast. Even so, she knew she had time to lob a sleep grenade at him or rip his gun away…why hadn't she? As far as she was aware her head was still on her shoulders and not shoved up her ass. She sighed. It was such a waste of life. They headed down the stairs into the Thorian's lair.

A massive, tentacled, slimy plant…thing barfed up a green asari. "I speak for the old growth, as I did for Saren. You are within and before the Thorian. It demands that you be in awe."

Shepard shook her head. She never much cared for demands. As a soldier she had to swallow a crap-load of them, and they stuck in her craw more often than not. "I'm afraid that's just not going to happen. I'm here to broker a deal. Release your thralls or die. Simple enough for you?" Shepard asked.

The green asari attacked. As soon as she was down, creepers poured out of a side room. Had she mentioned how tired she was of killing? She thought she could feel a blister on her damn trigger finger. She fired an overload chain and walked past the twitching creepers. A huge pulsing tentacle crossed above her head. She pulled out her gun and blasted a hole in the damn thing. The Thorian screamed. Ooh…sweet. I need to find more of those. They headed further up searching for more nerve bundles.

Two more waves of creepers and a green asari later she was able to destroy another nerve bundle. They continued up the stairs. Another two waves of creepers and another green asari later and they located another nerve bundle. This was starting to be like clockwork…but she knew better than to rely on patterns. Patterns, like rules, could be broken too easily.

In a similar pattern they took down two more nerve bundles. Then dropped down to a lower floor and then up a flight of stairs. Prone creepers they had already passed, popped up behind them, flanking them, and came down from the stairs above... catching them in a pincer ambush. Nicely done, Thorian. Still won't save you though.

As they came around a bend, Shepard could see another nerve bundle across the way. She pulled out her sniper and blew it to hell. The creepers didn't even waken from their prone positions. The Thorian grunted, screamed and fell a great distance to the floor below. She sincerely hope it was nothing but a pile of splattered goo now.

An asari fell from a pustule on the wall. "I'm free…I suppose I should thank you for releasing me," Shiala said. She told them that Saren had traded her for the cipher to the Thorian and then sent geth in to kill the Thorian. She spoke of how Matriarch Benezia sought to help Saren walk a gentler path, but had become indoctrinated to Saren's will through the ship he call Sovereign, who had powerful mind control capabilities. She explained that Prothians and their knowledge became a part of the Thorian when it consumed their bodies over 50,000 years ago.

"I need that knowledge to stop Saren," Shepard told her.

"I can transfer the cipher to your mind as I did Saren's." Shiala informed her.

Shepard nodded. As she was receiving the cipher, her head thumped as more pictures poured into it... death destruction, machines, blood…but it included more than the previous vision. She saw two suns and a couple of planets. A possible location or map of sorts? She shook her head. It was a lot to take in and things still weren't all that clear.

"Shepard, are you all right?" Garrus touched her shoulder in worry. "What just happened?"

She put her hand over his and gave it a gentle squeeze. "The cipher seems to have updated what I saw from the beacon. I'm still not completely sure what it's telling me...it's like a partially completed puzzle. Gave me one hell of a headache though."

Shiala told her it would take time for her mind to process the information, but she would eventually understand the vision from the beacon. She also said she would like to stay here and help the people from Zhu's hope recover.

Shepard nodded her approval and headed back to the colonists.

"Exo-Geni will be giving Zhu's Hope all the money it needs to rebuild. It's all thanks to you Commander!" Juliana, Lizbeth's mother, said. She checked on the other people she had met and then returned to the Normandy. "Hit the showers, debriefing in 20," she told them.

When she walked into the comm room, everyone was already seated, waiting for her.

"Commander, you look pale. Have you suffered any ill effects from the cipher?" Liara asked concerned.

"I'm fine. I'm just trying to wrap my head around everything."

"I might be able to help. I'm a Prothean expert. If I joined my consciousness to yours we might be able to make sense of it all," Liara said helpfully…or perhaps hopefully.

When the melding came to an end, Liara explained, "The beacon on Eden Prime must have been badly damaged. The data transferred to the Commander's mind was incomplete. There are large pieces missing from the vision. If Saren has that missing information, then he might have found another beacon." Liara started feeling weak from the meld and asked to go to the med-bay. Shepard dismissed everyone and made her rounds.

Kaidan told her she was important to him and wanted her to know that he would be there for her if she ever needed any help. He then returned to talking about his past, explaining how turian mercs were brought in to train the young human biotics. The one training his group, Vyrnnus, was a nasty piece of work. The turian broke Rhanna's arm because she used her hand to move something instead of her biotics; When Kaidan stood up, the turian beat him and shoved a knife in his face. Kaidan lost it and the turian ended up dead. He ended up losing Rhanna as a friend and Brain camp was closed down not long after. Just goes to show, that good or ill, one person can make a difference.

Liara was feeling much better and they scheduled a vid for later that evening. Shepard asked her about her life as an archeologist.

"I spent most of my life on remote digs; unearthing mundane items buried in long-forgotten Prothean ruins. Not very exciting to most people."

"It sounds dangerous…and lonely," Shepard admitted.

"Sometimes I would run afoul of indigenous life-forms or mercenaries, but I was always careful. Until the geth on Artemis Tau, my biotics kept me safe. As for the solitude, it appealed to me. People expected me to be as my mother was, become a leader of our people. Matriarchs look to the future, maybe that's why I preferred the secrets of the past," Liara explained.

"All children rebel against their parents. It's a natural part of growing up," Shepard stated.

Liara chuckled, "You share the wisdom of the Matriarchs, Shepard. That is exactly what Benezia said when I told her I was going to be an archeologist. But there's more to it…I was drawn to the past…to the Protheans. That is why I find you so fascinating. You were touched by working Prothean technology," she said in wonder.

"Am I a lab rat now?" Shepard asked gently.

"What? No! I never meant to offend you, Shepard. I only meant that you would be an interesting specimen for in-depth study. No – that's even worse!" Liara said, horrified where her mouth was taking her.

"It's okay, Liara. I was only joking," Shepard assured her.

"Joking? Oh, by the Goddess! How could I be so dense? You must think me the fool. This is why I prefer to spend my time with data and dig sites; I tend to embarrass myself around other people," she said apologetically.

She went down to the cargo bay to visit with the rest of her crew. Garrus told her that he has learned a lot from her both from speaking with her and watching how she operated. He told her he couldn't imagine a better teacher…or a better friend.

Oh stars…the friend zone. Maybe she should tell him how she felt? "Garrus, you are more than just a friend to me…" Oh dear…no...she can't do this. He had become too precious to her and she wasn't about to risk what they had. "You are my dearest…my best friend. I don't know what I'd do without you." She took his hand, gave it a squeeze and turned to go see Wrex. At least she was able to weave some of what she felt into that.

Damn it, Garrus thought. He had hoped she was going to tell him she wanted to be more than friends…maybe even that she loved him…not relegate him to the friend zone. That's ok. He tried to reassure himself. Maybe that's what she needs right now. He knew how much pressure she was under. If that's what she needed from him, then he would do his best to give it to her.

She asked Wrex to tell her an adventure story. So, he told her about an asari commando he met when they both held the same contract. They split the kill, each taking part of the man, each getting paid for his death. Unfortunately, he discovered one contract he accepted was for the asari's death. When he caught up with her, they shared a laugh over it and then he asked her where she wanted the fight to occur. She chose a merc hangout and they battled for two days. She was injured and he was about to go in for the kill when the space station's core went critical. He barely made it out. He watched it blow from a distance and never saw her leave. When he later received notice she was alive, he notified the diplomat that set the contract and ended up being his personal bodyguard until the day he died. Boring, but easy credits. She laughed at his caginess and moved on to have a word with Ashley.

As she was talking to Ashley she was able to learn more about her. Her grandfather was General Williams, the Shanxi garrison's leader, the only human to surrender to the turians during the First Contact war. That was why her father couldn't advance up the chain of command and that was why she had a long list of crap assignments. Shepard told her that she respected the man. He saved a lot of lives, both military and civilian by surrendering. She also tried to reassure her that she was a valuable member of her team.

Tali thanked her for treating her like a part of the crew, an equal, rather than a second-class citizen. Not many treat quarians that fairly. She appreciated Shepard's thoughtfulness. Shepard assured Tali that she was a highly respected member of her team and that she would miss her when she returned back to the flotilla.

As the days went by they were sent on more grunt missions for the alliance. At least the Alliance was asking rather than demanding her help. That was a nice change. She deactivated a bomb, killed a negotiation with a merc, retrieved data from a lost probe, killed a diplomat's blackmailing, criminal sister and various other assignments. But, they were simple missions, left her with a lot of down time in between. Mass relay travel and FTL speed were nice, but not instantaneous, at least not in most cases.

Garrus also came to realize his beating her system trick didn't always beat the system. Perhaps because his need to protect her and claim her was getting stronger. Or perhaps he wasn't the only one who figured out the system.

They were on their way back to the Citadel for gas and supplies, and then off to Noveria. When she stepped up to the galaxy map to set in coordinates for the Citadel, Joker informed her she had a top priority message coming in. She headed to the comm room to take the private call.

The Council informed her they had a special task force that sent a message on a critical alert channel, but the message was garbled. It haled from the planet Virmire and pertained to Saren. The assured her they didn't want to know the details of what she intended to do, they just wanted to inform her of the Virmire option. She thanked them and headed back to the map. She would be sure to hit Virmire as soon as they left Noveria. After this she was damn well going to take a vacation. At least she sure as hell hoped she could. She and her crew needed a break. A couple of weeks of shore leave would do everyone a lot of good.

Chapter 7

Noveria

Commander, we are approaching Noveria. ETA 27 minutes," Joker informed her.

"Thank you Joker, have the crew assemble in the cargo bay in 15. Out of curiosity, do you ever sleep?"

"Absolutely, Commander. I just had the back-up alert me when we were an hour out. Don't you worry, Commander. I get my required sleep. I wouldn't fly too tired…I wouldn't risk the Normandy," Joker assured her.

"Thanks, Jeff, I feel the love," she said sarcastically.

"You know she's my baby, Shepard."

"Of that there is no doubt."

She rolled over in her bed and slammed her head on something hard. Damn! What the hell. "Lights on," she said rubbing her forehead. The lights slowly got brighter, when she could see she discovered she was nose to nose with Garrus. Garrus groaned and covered eyes. "What's the matter? Hung over, big guy?" She asked in a chipper voice.

"Leave me alone," he grumbled.

"No can do. ETA 25 minutes out of Noveria."

His eyes popped open. "What?" he said sitting up. He grabbed his head and fell back into the bed. Ohh…never again would he drink that much. He glared resentfully at Shepard's enthusiasm. "I thought we were hitting it tomorrow," he groused.

"Change of plans. We arrived earlier than expected."

He rubbed a hand over his face. "What time is it?"

"8:30am, sleepy head," she said full of cheer.

He jerked to a sitting position again. He grabbed his head, cried out, but stayed sitting up. Oh crap! He'd never make it out of Shepard's room without being seen now. Kaidan practically camped right outside her door.

Shepard walked over to her closet, pulled out a suit and handed it to him.

"I wondered where that went!" he said in wonder.

"I swiped it out of laundry before they had the chance to put it in your closet. Figured there could be a day like this." Of course, she'd hoped it would have been after a long night of loving instead of a hard night of drinking.

"Spirits! You think of everything!" he said gratefully. "I'll make sure to get another one over here just in case we mess up again." He stumbled off to the bathroom to get showered and changed.

She heard the water running and wished like mad she could join him. She heard the speed dry flip on and grabbed a clean bodysuit. He was out in 5 minutes flat bless him. He walked over to her, put his forehead against hers. "Thank you, Shepard," he said simply and headed for the door. When the door opened, he turned to her and said loudly, "Thank you again for your help this morning, Commander."

"Anytime, Garrus. I'm just glad I could help you out of that bind," she said with a big smile.

He stood there a moment and just looked at her. Then he cleared his throat, shook his head, and took his leave. He nodded and said good morning to Kaidan on his way to the elevator.

She hopped in the shower, for a quick wash, hit the speed dry and was out the door in another 5. She grabbed three nutrient bars and crammed them in her face on the way down to the cargo bay. When she arrived at the cargo bay she could already hear the vestiges of last night's party. She walked into the middle of the room and said, "Good morning, everyone!" Groans greeted her and she laughed.

Kaidan approached her. "A moment, Ma'am...you have something…hold on." He took a thumb and gently grazed the side of her mouth, removing a wayward crumb. He brought the offending crumb to his lips, his tongue flicking out to capture it. "Nutrient bars, eh? Maybe tomorrow we can get a real breakfast…" he said softly.

Garrus took a step forward, fists tight, as anger ripped through him. When he realized what he was about to do, he drew up and closed his eyes. He needed to get control of himself before he did something he would regret. He gritted his teeth when he heard Shepard thank Kaidan and tell him that would be nice. Couldn't she see what Kaidan was doing? No, he sighed…she couldn't. As accomplished as she was in everything she did, and despite her IQ, when it came to affairs of the heart she was blind.

Shepard didn't even need the sight to know who would be joining her today. But she forced it anyway and she had been correct. Only two people didn't get drunk off their asses last night. "Tali, Kaidan gear up and be ready in 10. Everyone dismissed"

Garrus walked up to her. "Shepard…" he said urgently.

"Garrus, you are in no condition to be going down there with me right now. Don't even try to talk me out of it," she said firmly.

He knew she was right, but it rankled him to no end that she was going down there without him. On a highly critical mission at that. He knew that Kaidan loved her and would do what he could to protect her…but he also knew that no one could protect her the way he could. "I know, Shepard," he said softly. "Just be careful," he said, lowering his forehead to hers for a brief moment.

"I will…and for the record I wish you were coming. There is no one I trust more to cover me than you," she said with a smile. Shepard donned her commander mask and left.

Double whammy, he sighed. Mind in the gutter and a breathtaking smile…he was hard as stone. As soon as the VI told them that XO Pressly had the deck he began to pace. When Wrex started laughing at him he headed to the elevator… he had to search out someone to vent on, his nerves were shot... and Wrex was only a last resort. It seemed like it was getting harder and harder to find anyone about. It was crazy…a ship full of people and he was lucky to find someone. Where the hell did they all go?

In the airlock she checked the auras of her squadmates. "Kaidan, will you accept my good luck kiss?"

Kaidan flushed. "Always...ma'am."

Shepard placed one hand on the back of his neck, the other on his cheek and gently brushed her lips against his. "Thank you for your luck, Kaidan."

When they arrived at Noveria's port entry, guards attempted to confiscate her weapons. Not going to happen. As a Spectre she was legally allowed to bring her weapons anywhere. Before the scene could turn too ugly, the administrator's assistant verified Shepard's Spectre status and thus her right to bear arms.

She went up the stairs to speak to the woman who cleared them. As she approached the counter alarms went off.

"Weapon detector alarms, nothing to worry about. I am Gianna Parasini, assistant to Administrator Anoleis. We apologize for the incident at the docking bay."

"Thank you for your support. Has anyone unusual come through here recently?" Shepard asked.

"An asari matriarch, Lady Benezia, and a group of commandos passed through here a few days ago," Parasini told her.

"Where is she now?" Shepard inquired.

"She went up to Peak 15 research complex. As far as I know she's still there."

"Then that is where I need to go."

"You will have to get approval from Administrator Anoleis to leave this port. His office is on the left of the main floor."

Mr. Anoleis was a cold, abrupt and rude salarian. He had no liking for Spectres and gave her only the barest courtesy. He basically told her she was shit out of luck. Peak 15 was private and a blizzard had shut down access in any event.

She was getting nowhere fast or slow with him so she left his office. Parasini waved her down and told her to talk to Lorik Qui'in if she wanted a pass to leave the port. Thank you, Parasini. At least someone in this bloody port was pleasant. She headed to the elevator and the hotel bar to find Qui'in.

Shepard liked Qui'in right away. He was one of the nicest and most polite people she'd ever met. He explained how he was the manager of Synthetic Insights and he had found information on Anoleis accepting bribes and other nefarious deeds…now Anoleis claimed Qui'in was corrupt and had his office closed while hired goons ransacked it trying to locate the information Qui'in had found. He told her she was welcome to his garage pass if she could bring him that information. She agreed, took his security pass, and hopped the elevator down to the main floor.

As soon as she entered the Synthetic Insights offices she ran into three of the hired goons. A little muscle flexing and the goons decided they might be better off if they took a walk. As soon as they stepped away several others attacked. When they were taken care of she searched the office downstairs. Nothing. She headed up the stairs. The office far to the back had the information Qui'in wanted.

They headed back around to the stairs and were confronted by another group of Anoleis' thugs. Just how many did he hire? They seem to multiply faster than dust-bunnies…and that's saying something. She grabbed her bats and smiled. Guns were flying out of enemy hands in record time. In the time it took them to pull their back up weapons, her team was taking them down. Her hand shot up, a sonic wave plastered the leader to the wall. When the last of the leader's squad fell, Shepard released the woman and asked her if she wanted to surrender.

The leader yelled, "Eat this bitch!"And pulled her shotgun. Shepard sighed and shook her head. Kaidan took her down. Did these idiots all go to the same school? Did no one ever think things through? It always ended the same way…but she kept hoping that someday someone would grow a brain.

Parasini was waiting for her when she stepped off the elevator. She asked her to meet her at the hotel bar before she talked to Qui'in. Then she turned and walked away. Shepard sighed…just another fly in the lotion…according to Qui'in.

She entered the hotel bar and found the fly right away.

"Allow me to reintroduce myself...Gianna Parasini, Noveria Internal Affairs."

"Why is internal affairs here?"

"The executives know of Anoleis' corruption. I've been under cover for six months. I would like you to convince Qui'in to testify before the board. With his evidence this planet can run profitably again." Parasisni stated.

Shepard agreed to talk to Qui'in.

"Always a pleasure, Spectre. Any news on that matter I had you look into?" Qui'in inquired politely.

Stars. She was really starting to feel like a heel. She really liked the old turian.

"An internal affairs officer contacted me. She wants you to testify against Anoleis so they can bring him down," Shepard told him.

"Now that you have my property, you want to dictate how I use it? I have no interest in a public spectacle," he said in irritation.

Ouch. "Everyone on this station is chafing under Anoleis' extortion. You would be a hero," she pointed out.

"My employers rely on the goodwill of the Executive Board to work here."

"The Board is investigating Anoleis. They know he is corrupt. They are concerned about the worm in their own fruit," Tali informed him.

Qui'in sighed. "All right! It is obvious that I cannot dissuade you. Very well. I will testify. Make whatever arrangements you need with your contact. I will wait here."

"I should let you go," she said.

"Let me go? Do humans consider conversing to be some sort of imprisonment? No wonder so few are willing to sit and talk."

Shepard gave him a bright smile to try to take the sting out of what she just did to him. She felt like she had just kicked a puppy. It wasn't a good feeling. Despite knowing that taking down Anoleis was for the best, it left a foul taste in her mouth.

Kaidan and Tali looked at each other when they saw the old turian's face go slack. Smile shock. It will bite you in the butt every time. And the look on the shockee's face was always priceless. It's much more fun when someone else gets nuked with her 40 kiloton smile; they'd learned to stay out of blast radius if at all possible, because fallout tended to be embarrassing. They took the elevator back down to the main floor. As they entered Anoleis' office, Parasini greeted her.

"Spectre. Have you given any more consideration to my offer?" Parasini asked.

"It took some persuasion, but Qui'in has agreed to testify."

Parasini sighed. "That's a world of stress off my back. I'll take the evidence for safe transport. Hmf…I didn't think you'd help me. Being a Spectre and all. I guess some of you can be all right."

"You don't seem particularly thrilled," Shepard said with a frown.

"I'm ecstatic. But right now, I just feel like a long day of work is ending. While you were working on Qui'in, I got you a garage pass. Be careful up there," Parasini warned. "Now, I have an arrest to make. Wish I had time to change into something easy to move in. I hate skirts."

"This is an outrage! I'll see that you never work in this sector again!" Anoleis yelled.

"Yeah, yeah. Get a move on," Parasini said dragging the hand-cuffed salarian away.

"You! Shepard! I demand that you place this bitch under arrest!" Anoleis ordered.

"You have the right to remain silent. I wish to God you'd exercise it!" Parasini implored him. "See you around the galaxy, Commander. I owe you a beer."

Shepard watched them leave and then followed them out. She ran back up to the hotel to check on Qui'in again. Why? Because she wanted to. She really liked him and felt awful for pushing him to do something he didn't want to do.

"Ms. Parasini contacted me as she lifted off-world. The Board is placing me in protective custody. I expect I'll be testifying in the next few days," Qui'in said resolutely.

"I really wish you all the best, Qui'in. For what it's worth, I'm sorry I put you in the situation you are in. It is for the best, but it doesn't mean I don't feel bad about it," Shepard admitted.

"I know you were only doing your job, Commander. I don't hold that against you. Maybe once Anoleis is put away and this is all behind me, I'll feel like I accomplished something worthwhile. Stay safe out there, Commander," Qui'in said earnestly.

She bid him farewell and went back down to the main floor and over to the garage. She showed her pass to get in. As soon as the doors closed behind them geth opened fire.

"I guess we know what Benezia had in those crates now," Kaidan said.

When the geth were cleared out, they climbed into the mako class tank and headed out into the blizzard. There were a few geth pockets stationed here and there, most of them centered around tunnels, but there were turrets lining the path. They kept their speed steady and relatively slow. With the narrow paths, snow and ice, the terrain could be treacherous.

When they reached Peak 15 they were surprised to see a burning tank. Apparently, someone had recently arrived and had not been as lucky as they were.

They climbed out of the mako, entered the building, up a small flight of stairs on the right and into a large loading bay hangar. Geth, of course, were waiting there to greet them. Nothing like the welcome wagon. Surprise! There were even a few krogan who joined the fray. Shepard Released Grim, a combat drone, and tossed out a turret. She hacked a destroyer and Tali hacked a geth with a rocket launcher. Tali shot Chatika to the balcony above, on the left, to nab a krogan that was taking pot shots at them. Both Shepard's OTs were humming, shooting out cryo and incineration blasts.

Grim shot to her side. "All contacts eliminated."

"Stick with us, Grim. I'm sure the fun is far from over."

"User alert. All Peak 15 facilities have suffered a great deal of damage," said an automated feminine voice. Biohazard materials present through facility. Virtual Intelligence user interface offline."

"We need to get the reactors back online," Tali informed her.

Shepard knew Tali was just trying to be helpful, but it rankled a bit that everyone seemed to think that she couldn't figure things out for herself. She didn't think she looked stupid, but at times she wanted to look into a mirror and double check.

She headed up the stairs on the left to the walkway. She followed it around to a door. At least they were getting somewhere…It was the blind leading the blind right now, since no one had any clue where they had to go.

They entered the door and discovered two turrets facing the wrong way. Guess they didn't want their own people leaving.

"Why are the turrets facing the wrong way?" Tali asked.

"They want to keep their people in more than they want to keep others out apparently," Kaidan responded.

When the door at the end of the hall slid open her lootdar went off and she turned to the left to pillage for supplies. With pockets getting full, she retreated back to the other door she bypassed earlier. It was an elevator. Must be our ride. It was a slow ride up. When the door opened the hall was covered in snow and ice. Odd, since they were indoors. As they moved through the next door it opened up into a very large room that had geth sprinkled across the snow like multi-colored candy. Stars…her mind traveled to some weird places when she was hungry.

She raised her hand up and sent a sonic wave that sent three of them crashing against the wall. She set off an overload chain to the right and let her team deal with the twitching, frozen geth. She looked at the disarray of the room. The disarray she caused. If it looks like a tornado hit, Shepard must have passed through. Destruction…thy name is Shepard. Ah…if you can't poke fun at yourself…don't let anyone else…

A loud chittering screech broke into her musings. What the hell was that?

"Animals? Wind? This place is in bad shape." Tali looked around nervously.

A swarm of cat sized roaches charged them. Thankfully, they were easy to kill...if you could catch them, that is. But they weren't shy. They raced straight for you and exploded on their own when they got close enough. Shepard looked around, and then she looked up when she heard a noise. She saw a large, butt ugly tentacled bug thing on the upper walkway. She shot a sonic blast over the glass half-wall and the thing rose up into the air. A second joined it. She hadn't even known there were two up there. Kaidan hit them with a lift wave to keep them airborne. Once dancing in the air, they were easy to shoot. Didn't have to get anywhere near them, thank the stars. She didn't like bugs on principle…big ones were even worse.

She headed up the stairs towards where the creatures had been. She wanted to make sure there were no more…Plus, they kind of had to go that way anyway. In the second room up there that she explored, a giant bug thing jumped out of the wall at them as they left the room. She guessed her team wasn't too keen on bugs either, because the nasty thing was no more than a scrap by the time they were done pouring bullets into it.

The hit the door at the end of the walkway and took the elevator up. It opened up to a narrow room…and more little bug things. The bug things were rank. They exploded when they died, spraying green, putrid mist everywhere.

"Look, Shepard. A backup power system. Must be for the station mainframe," Tali told her.

"The damage doesn't look to be extensive. It could be repaired," Kaidan informed them.

Shepard tried to reactivate the backup power system.

"Critical startup error. Virtual Intelligence user interface offline. Manual boot required," the automated voice said.

They proceeded to the end of the hall and made their way around the mainframe core. It opened in the back and she stepped onto the platform. She nearly freaked when it started lowering her down. But she bit her cheek and kept her cool, she did not want the commander mask to crack while she screamed like a girl. Not so good for her image when that happens.

She completed the task needed to manually reboot the core and the platform returned her to the surface. A feminine form VI shimmered into view.

"It looks like you're trying to restore this facility. Would you like help?" the VI asked.

"Yes, help would be nice. You are the VI that runs this place?" Shepard asked.

"This system is monitored to respond to the name Mira. May I ask your name?" Mira inquired.

"Commander Shepard. I work for the Citadel's Special Tactics and Reconnaissance."

"One moment, please. Council authority confirmed. You are entitled to Secure Access of all systems. Please note that queries relating to corporate secrets require Privileged Access, which is only available to Binary Helix executives," Mira informed her.

"I need to find Matriarch Benezia."

"Lady Benezia departed on the passenger tramway to the Rift Station subsidiary labs. User alert! The tramway system is currently inoperable." The VI then told them the main reactor helium-3 fuel lines valves needed opened and tramway landlines router needed to be activated manually for them to get to Rift Station. She also mentioned the heat had been turned off to damage or kill biological contaminants.

And it was an icebox in here. She had frozen ice cubes for nipples. She was worried they would crack and fall off.

"That's all I need for now."

"Very well, Commander. Logging you out," Mira stated.

Shepard exited the core and ascended the stairway leading to the roof. They entered another elevator and made their way to the rooftop. As they walked out on the roof Grim shot ahead. They were ambushed by a horde of bugs, both big and small. "Slap them with a lift wave, Kaidan!" Shepard grabbed her bats, she amped them icy and hot…the whips began to sing their song of death. She preferred using her whips to blasts with closer combat. She could maneuver them a lot faster than she could shoot off blasts. Every last bug was dead before the lift wave wore off.

They took the elevator back down, circled around the core and another damned big bug jumped up out of the floor at them. How the hell do they do that? She hit it with a neuroblast and left it for her team to take down. She continued on towards the main reactor. She entered the door on the left and followed the corridor to an elevator that went down to the reactor. When they stepped off the elevator, she walked around the corner and her radar jammed. That always meant geth nearby. She triggered the door on the right. First a hopper crawled through the door, then a juggernaut. She swung around when Kaidan grunted. Another juggernaut was pushing into him. Someone must have backed up too far and triggered the other door. She turned and stood back to back with her team. She was facing one door, they were facing the other. When the geth stopped barreling through, she noticed her radar was still jammed. She stepped out of the door on the right and proceeded slowly down the catwalk, looking everywhere carefully. She heard a warble behind her. She spun around and a geth destroyer was on an upper catwalk. She palmed her bats. She flicked her wrist and it coiled around the geth's neck. She gave it a solid yank. The geth came flying down from the upper balcony. It was scrap before it hit the ground.

Her radar was still jammed. How many were there? She went back through the room and saw long fingers sticking through the bottom of the door. That meant a crouching hopper. When she got close enough, the door opened and she fired straight down into its head. Crap! Still jammed. She headed out the door and followed the cat walk to the right. There was a side ramp going up, so she followed it. At the top of the ramp they found the hopper that was jamming them. As soon as it was down, the radar was clear. She found more goodies in the two rooms at the top of the ramp, but her pockets were full, so handed the goodies off to Tali.

She headed back down the ramp and took the main catwalk around, found the cut fuel lines and repaired them. Done and done. Peak 15 was up and running again….for good or ill.

"The appeal of winter fades very quickly," Tali griped.

"Yeah, I know. I wish we could pop off some incendiaries," Kaidan added.

"You're not kidding…I'm wearing an envirosuit and I'm still freezing!" Tali said.

"True…it's nippy and I think I've got snow in my boots," Kaidan complained.

"Is all that grousing warming you two up?" Shepard asked.

"It gives my mouth something to do besides chatter," Tali told her.

"All-righty then." Shepard said as they hopped the elevator back up to the main floor. As soon as they stepped into the main core hall another huge bug thing jumped out of the floor. Really? She hit it with a neuroshock blast and walked on through the door leading to the transit hub. As they stepped into the elevator a new message was being played.

"User alert! Loose contaminants in the decontamination chamber. Access to passenger tramways inadvisable," Mira stated.

When the elevator opened, she headed to the first door on the left. It was a room that controlled the decontamination chamber that they would have to walk through. Giant bug things were trapped inside the passage.

"I could bypass the door. It looks like the trams to the subsidiary stations are beyond this passage way," Tali told her.

A grate popped up from the floor and another huge bug-thing sprang from below. She hit it with a sonic shockwave that propelled it into the air and turned to look over the control console while her team took care of it. She slapped a big red button that screamed 'hit me'. Flames shot through the decontamination chamber frying the bug things to crumbling ash. Yes! Further on in the room, they caught a garbled message from a salarian scientist who had been so terrified (or perhaps guilty) by what happened that he had killed himself rather than face it.

She walked over to Mira's stand and activated her. "Tell me about Rift Sation."

"Rift Station has been locked down by the staff. There are currently no contaminants within the facility."

"Why is it locked down?"

"Each facility must lock down to prevent spread of contamination. It would also appear that there are several employees quarantined for medical treatment."

"That's all."

"Very well, Shepard. Logging you out."

She entered the decontamination chamber. Her radar showed lifesigns on the other side of the door. Grim spun and flashed in excitement. She suspected they would not be friendly in nature. Whips in hand she moved slowly towards the door until it sensed them and slid open. The cat-sized roach bugs darted in and self destructed, covering them with reeking toxin before they could take out very many. Tali was fine in her suit. But Shepard was thankful she and Kaidan had toxin mods on their armor or it could have gotten messy.

Grim chuckled. "You all are looking green and smelling ripe."

"Bite me, Grim!"

"I'm a holographic orb, Ari. You did not build me with the ability to obey that command." Grim flashed brightly and spun away. Shepard rolled her eyes.

They followed the corridor until it opened up into a large passenger platform. Finally, the tramway. They boarded and rode it until it stopped at the Binary Helix Rift Station. During the ride she flipped open her OT and sent out a quick message. They disembarked. A survey of the room showed that most of the doors from the tramway were locked down. In fact, only one door was open, so they took it and hoped for the best. It led to another set of doors, again only one open to them. It eventually opened up into a room being guarded by a few armed men.

Garrus stopped mid-rant when his OT chimed. He flipped it open. He couldn't stop his mandibles from flaring after he read the message: [Wish you were here…you're missing one hell of a fight]

= Rub it in, because it can never sting too much…Wish I was there too.

He closed his OT and looked around. The corporal had already made a swift retreat. But that was okay. Now that he'd heard from her, he could rest easy for a bit longer.

"Stand sown," the leader said.

"Sorry for the armed welcome, we couldn't be sure what was on the tram."

"I don't blame you. I'd have done the same thing. What's happening here?" she asked him.

"Bugs. Zillions of them. Coming up from the hot labs. Look, you're human so I won't shoot, but I'd like to know who you are."

"My name's Shepard. I'm a Spectre."

"Captain Ventralis. Huh. I won't look a heavily-armed horse in the mouth."

"The bugs overran the hot labs last week. Only Han Olar got out. The board sent an asari to clean up the mess. She went to the hot labs yesterday. We haven't heard from her since," Ventralis informed her.

"I'm not going to let any more of your people die," she assured him.

"There's an emergency elevator out by the trams. This card will let you activate it. It can take you to the hot labs. If you need any first aid, Dr. Cohen's downstairs in the med-bay.

'"I've got work to do."

"Yeah, I hear tha - " he began. Another noise was heard. "Hell! Man the perimeter!"

Two large bug-things popped up through grates on the floor. There are just too many damned floor grates around here. She fired out a sonic blast and Kaidan hit them with a lift wave. Everyone opened fire and took them down hard in a haze of bullets.

"Thanks for the help. Every few hours another wave comes up the tram tunnel," he said.

"I'll do whatever I can to help."

She entered the door behind Ventralis and followed the path around until it eventually opened up into a large main room. She'd remembered Mira telling her about some sick people being quarantined, so the first thing she did was head to the med-bay to see if there was anything she could do to help.

"What? What do you want?" Dr. Cohen asked.

"I hadn't meant to bother you. I just wanted to find out if there was anything I could do to help those that are sick," she told him.

"They were infected with a toxin. Mira, the Peak 15 VI handles the safety protocols for our experiments. When she went down quarantine failed and these three were infected with Thorin-B. It's a bio-weapon. We've engineered it so that it kills individual species, but won't spread like a pandemic. We just wanted to limit the danger. I don't expect you to understand. Our notes and equipment to make the cure are locked in the quarantine labs, but Ventralis won't let us in there," Cohen said.

She was disgusted at the thought of biological warfare, but she didn't want to see men die. "I will see what I can do," she told him and left to head back to Ventralis.

"Something you need?" Ventralis asked her.

"I want to go to the labs and get the toxin cure."

He sighed. "You're not under my command. You want to risk your lives, fine. I'll have the guard let you in, but the guard will lock the door behind you. If you don't pass a full body scan, you stay in there," he warned.

"That sounds like a reasonable precaution," she agreed.

"Good luck in there," he said, shaking her hand.

They returned to the main room and entered the passageway to the quarantine labs. Near the labs she ran into Olar, the volus that survived the hot lab incident. Olar explained that a rachni egg had been found in a derelict ship and they hatched it, bringing the rachni back from the dead.

The guard let her in the quarantine lab. "If you got a death wish you should stand watch on the barricade," He'd told her as she slipped through the door.

She read the notes and mixed the concoction for the cure. She turned around and -

"Your mission ends here, Shepard," an asari said.

"What happened to the guard?" Shepard demanded.

"I didn't have permission to come in. He got in my way. I was ordered to eliminate you, should the opportunity arise. And here you are, trapped in this lab."

"You have one chance to walk out of here. Surrender or you will never leave this lab," Shepard warned her.

The asari laughed. "Weapons free!"

Shepard flung out a neural blast, stunning the asari. And hit the geth with an overload chain. She snaked her whips and took off two twitching geth heads. She flicked her whip at the asari and it coiled around her neck. "Say hello to your goddess." She jerked the whip and a loud snap reverberated off the walls. When the bodies hit the floor, she kicked the asari in the head on the way out the door. Oops.

"Damn, Shepard...and you brought us, why?" Kaidan asked.

"She doesn't play around, does she?" Tali responded.

"Not one bit," he agreed.

"Right here guys. I'll try to remember to give you two some equal play time."

When they stepped out of the lab, Olar stopped them. "They came out of the door there," he said pointing.

"The geth?" Shepard asked.

"Benezia brought them with her," Olar explained.

"How do I get into the maintenance area?"

"A team lead would have access. Like Dr. Cohen, he's in the med-bay," Olar replied.

They returned to the med-bay with the cure.

"Is that the cure?" he asked her.

"Yea, it was a little hard to mix dodging gunfire."

"You were attacked? I can't even stand conflict. I've never even fired anyone. I let the receptionist do it. Look, the soldiers have been on edge since you arrived. I think they've been expecting you. There are more labs in the back. Secret stuff goes on back there. They won't even let me in…only people with clearance.

"Do you have access to the maintenance area?"

"Yes, of course. Here, take my pass. There's nothing but snow back there." He took the phial from her. "I just can't thank you enough, you saved their lives," Dr. Cohen said enthusiastically.

"That's what I do. I'm just glad they'll be okay," she said and headed out the door. They made another trip back down to the quarantine labs, because the maintenance exit had been located in the same area. She passed Olar with a wave and headed out the maintenance door. Brrr…back into the snow. They were literally inside a tunnel of snow. At the end of the icy trail was another large rachni. She raised her arm, hit it with a neuroblast and entered the door as her team ghosted the rachni.

The pathway eventually led to two doors, one to the secret labs and one to the secure labs. She might hit the secret labs later for grins and giggles, but right now it's time to face Benezia. A part of her wished Liara was here, that maybe she could talk her mom down. But from everything that she'd heard about indoctrination that would be highly unlikely. If her mom had to die, she didn't want Liara to see that.

As soon as she entered the lab, she spotted a figure that could only be Benezia. Her very recognizable voice confirmed her suspicions.

"You do not know the privilege of being a mother. There is a power in creation. To shape a life. Turn it towards happiness or despair…Her children were to be ours. Raised to hunt Saren's enemies...Have you faced an asari commando unit before? Few humans have," Benezia said as she flung out multiple stasis fields, encapsulating each member of Shepard's team.

Shepard could only watch as she waited for her suit to counteract the stasis. Her suit exterior rapidly heated, expanding the field until it tore open. Grim was sending bolts, acid and flame at the commandos. Shepard released a combat drone. She sent out a neural shockwave and two commandos fell. Her team came out of stasis and took out the two downed asari. Her OTs hummed as she fired blasts of hot followed by cold. When the commandos went down Benezia froze them again while geth and a few more commandos poured in through a door in the back. She tore out of the stasis field, lobbed another combat drone and ducked to avoid a rocket that flew past her head. She amped her OT and sent a heavy neural blast at the asari that was flanking her immobile team. When stasis released them she and her team circled the catwalks, taking out geth and working their way to Benezia.

Shepard took a bead on Benezia and once again felt herself unable to move as more geth filed into the room. Damn, that bitch is strong. Her suit heated quickly. The stasis field broadened until it tore…she stepped out of it.

Benezia frowned. "How do you keep doing that? It's not possible."

"I've got a determination issue…just ask anyone."

"This is not over. Saren is unstoppable. My mind is filled with his light. Everything is clear. No. I will not betray him. You cannot…" Benezia's features contorted and then relaxed. "You must listen. Saren still controls my mind. I can fight his compulsions…briefly. But the indoctrination is strong."

"We talked with Shiala on Feros, she told us of the indoctrination."

"It was a terror being prisoner in your own mind. Waking up to see your hands covered in blood and death."

"Why were you able to break free of his control now?" Shepard asked.

"I sealed a part of my mind away from the indoctrination. Saving it for a moment when I could help destroy him. It will not last long," Benezia told her.

"So you would turn on me again?" Shepard asked.

"Yes, but it would not be my will, Shepard. People are not themselves around Saren. You would do anything for him. The key is Sovereign, his flagship. It is a dreadnought of incredible size and its power is extraordinary. The longer you stay aboard, the more Saren's will seems correct. It was subtle, I thought I would be strong enough to resist. I was wrong. He sent me here to find the location of the Mu Relay," Benezia explained.

"How does something that big go missing?" Shepard asked.

"Four thousand years ago, a star nearby went supernova. The shockwave propelled the relay out of its system, but didn't damage it," Benezia told her.

"Did someone on Noveria find it?"

"Two thousand years ago, the rachni inhabited that region of our galaxy. They discovered the relay. Queens inherit the knowledge of their mothers. I took the location of the relay from the queen's mind. I was not gentle."

"You can make this right. Give me the information that you gave Saren."

"I transcribed the data to an OSD. Take it. Please. You must hurry I sent him the coordinates before you arrived…You have to stop me…" she said, turning away. "I can't…You should - ," Benezia swung back around to face them, "DIE!"

Benezia and several commandos picked up the fight again. Shepard threw a neural blast at Benezia and was surprised it caught her; she must have really depleted herself. She amped her OT and sent a neural shockwave at two commandos, leaving them for her team to deal with while she focused on bringing Benezia down, as she was the most dangerous. Kaidan took bead on an asari that was stumbling around, blinded from Grim's loving ministrations.

When Benezia finally went down, she looked too weak to do any more real damage, so she joined her team to bring down the rest of the commandos. When nothing else begged for her attention, she returned to Benezia, hoping the woman would surrender now. Benezia, though greatly weakened, had made it back to her feet.

"I cannot go on. You must stop him, Shepard," Benezia said weakly.

"We've got medi-gel, maybe we can - " Shepard began.

"No," Benezia interrupted. "I cannot be healed, not when Saren is still in my mind, controlling me. I am not entirely myself and I never will be again… I could never be trusted. I don't want to hurt anyone else. I need it to end."

"Your daughter is with me on the Normandy. I know she would be proud of your strength...that you were able to help us."

"My little wing. I am so proud of her. Give her..." she gasped, "...my love." Benezia said as she sank weakly to the ground. "No light? They always said there would be – ahhh." A last breath escaped from her lips before her eyes saw no more.

Damn it! Shepard had really hoped they could have brought her in, for Liara's sake. This was not how she'd wanted things to end. Perhaps she should have forced the medi-gel on her. But she couldn't bring herself to do it. Benezia was tired of the fight, she sought release. "Sleep well, Benezia. May you rest in the arms of your Goddess," Shepard said quietly.

Shepard turned and made her way over to the massive rachni queen in the holding tank. The queen pushed herself up against the side of the tank and Shepard jumped back in surprise, knocking into someone. "Sor-" Stars…it was one of the dead asari. What the hell was going on? Shepard amped her OT, ready for anything. Her team had their guns trained on the asari.

The asari shambled her way over to the tank and then turned to face Shepard. "This one. Serves as our voice. We cannot sing. Not in these low spaces. Your musics are colorless," the asari said.

"Musics? Our language?" Shepard asked confused.

"Your way of communication is strange. Flat. It does not color the air. When we speak, one moves all. We are the mother. We sing for those left behind. The children you thought silenced. We are rachni," the asari stated.

"How are you speaking through the asari?" Shepard asked.

"Our kind sing through the touching of thought. We pluck the strings, and the other understands. She is weak to urging. She has colors we have no names for. But she is ending. Her music is bittersweet. It is beautiful. The children we birthed were stolen from us before they could learn to sing. They are lost to silence. End their suffering. They cannot be saved. They will only cause harm as they are," the queen explained.

"Why are your children killing people?" Shepard asked.

"These needle-men. They stole our eggs from us. They sought to turn our children into beasts of war. Claws with no songs of their own. Our elders are comfortable with silence. Children know only fear if no one sings to them. Fear has shattered their minds," the queen said. "Before you deal with our children, we stand before you. What will you sing? Will you release us? Are we to fade away once more?" she asked calmly.

"There is acid in those tanks strong enough to kill anything. They wouldn't have installed that if they weren't afraid of the consequences of her getting loose," Tali pointed out.

"Commander, there are a lot of grudges in the galaxy. She has done nothing to us. If you kill her you kill an entire species," Kaidan retorted.

"Your companions speak the truth. You have the power to free us or return our people to the silence of memory."

"If I let you go, will you hurt others?" Shepard asked.

"No. We –I do not know what happened during the war. We heard only discordance. Music the color of oily shadows. We would seek a hidden place to teach our children harmony. If they understand, perhaps we will return," the queen replied.

"Are you a survivor from the war?" Shepard asked.

"We were only an egg. We heard our mother's screams. Others came. The musics changed. Singers were forced to sing to its sour yellow note. We awoke here, the last survivor of the singing planet. The skies are silent," the queen lamented.

Shepard looked down for a moment gathering her thoughts. What right did she have to commit xenocide? Kill an entire species out of fear over just a possibility. What if she was unleashing an old threat back into the galaxy? Would they ravage the galaxy once more? Was it as she said – that someone controlled them, took away their free will, during the war? Would she honor their agreement and slip into obscurity? The ramifications of this decision could be exponential.

Shepard sighed and looked at the queen. "I won't destroy your entire race. You'll go free."

"You will give us the chance to compose anew? We will remember. We will sing of your forgiveness to our children," the queen assured Shepard.

Shepard walked over to the control console and released the queen from her prison. The tank rose up to the loading platform and the asari dropped back to the floor, her body no longer a vessel. The queen turned, gave Shepard a last look, chattered an acknowledgement and scurried away.

Shepard looked around. The only exit open to them was back to the tram. So they followed the corridor back up to the main tram platform. This worked out perfectly, because she still needed to make it to the hot labs. Once at the elevator door, she used Ventralis' key card to gain entrance. The lab was empty but for a lone man sitting upon a chair.

"Are you here to secure the situation?" he asked.

"That's right, I'm a Council Spectre. Who're you?"

"I'm Yaroslav Tartakovsky, the operations director. I would stand and shake hand, but…Ehh.." His voice faded a bit with discomfort and pain. "You must listen to me. If we do not contain our mistake, they will drop bombs from the battle-stations. You understand?" he asked in desperation.

"You let these things out?" Shepard asked in irritation.

"Ehh. I am only following the orders. Binary Helix found an egg. It was on a derelict ship, thousands of years drifting. This was rachni ship. Inside they find many eggs in cryogenic suspension. That this egg survived is miraculous. Binary helix planned to clone rachni. Mass-produce them. Create an army. But when they get here, they find this egg is a queen. After she lays eggs, they move her to Rift Station. They are thinking that without her, they can raise the babies to be obedient," he explained.

"Wait a minute. Don't you need a male to get eggs?"Kaidan asked.

"Queens are born carrying the genetic code of their fathers. Queens can lay eggs in hours, and have a colony in days. This is how they spread so quickly," he said.

"Separating them from their mother was a bad choice," Shepard said, remembering what the queen had told her.

"Right. This was the exactly wrong thing to do. I'm thinking without the queen, rachni do not develop properly. Her mind is shaping theirs. These rachni are uncontrollable."

"You're right. Something needs to be done quickly," she said with a bit of impatience.

"I am thinking that the neutron purge must be set off," he told her.

"I'm not familiar with the purge system," she admitted.

"It creates burst of neutron radiation. Kills everything within the station. Things beyond get genetic damage of varying degree. It is very powerful. Mother always said I would meet a bad end," he said sadly.

"How do we set off the purge?" Shepard asked.

"Arming controls are nearby. All you do is insert the key. Then I will give Mira destruct co - , Uh!"

A rachni pincer pierced through his heart, lifting him into the air and flung his dead body to the side. Shepard raised her hand and hit the rachni with a sonic blast. Grim darted over to the dead man, scanned him and then spun around, shooting flames at the large bug just for spite and then returned to Shepard.

"I scanned Tartakovsky and have sent the destruct code to your OT."

"Thank you, Grim. Don't know what I'd do without you."

"I don't think you want me to answer that."

She headed for the rear door; her team followed her after they took down the rachni. She activated a Mira pedestal.

"I have full access to the facility, and am at your disposal," Mira said.

"Are there any survivors in here?" Shepard asked.

"There are no living crew members alive within the lab structure."

"Good. Initiate the neutron purge," Shepard told her.

"I'm sorry, but I can't do that without proper code authorization."

"Code input: 875-020-079. Code Omega local execution," Shepard replied.

"Code Omega execution in 120 seconds," Mira stated.

"We don't know what we face out there. Keep your guns ready, but focus on running your asses off. We need to get to the tram. Move out," Shepard commanded.

When the door slid open a horde of rachni solders rushed them. Grim took point, keeping a solid spray of fire going to try to help clear the path. She kept up a barrage of sonic blasts, tossing them out of the way as they made their way towards the far door. They were tenacious bastards and far too many for them to deal with in a straight up fight, so they did what they could and relied on swift feet and fast dodging to get to the door.

Once past the door, they beat feet to the tram car. All other exits were locked to them, so they took the tram back to Peak 15. They made their way back out to the mako, climbed aboard and drove back to the main port. She had to admit the drive back was a lot more relaxing. She, Kaidan, and Tali talked about everything they had seen and how best to break the news to Liara concerning her mother. They all agreed that Shepard would be the bearer of bad news. The joys of command.

When they arrived at the port, they climbed out of the mako and made their way back to the hotel bar. Shepard bought them each a round. The mission had been grueling, they deserved it. In actuality she wanted to come back here to check on Qui'in. She wanted to say goodbye to him once more before leaving, but he was no longer here. He must have been put into protective custody already. She wished him the best.

They walked out of the port and back to the Normandy. She told them to hit the showers and get a bite to eat, debriefing in the comm room in 30.

Garrus stood in front of the door leading to the lower level. He peered across the room and watched as Shepard came in through the airlock. It was taking everything in his power not to rush to her side. His eyes drank in the sight of her. She appeared unharmed, though looked thoroughly exhausted. Her armor was covered in green ichor. He darted through the door and ran down the steps when he noticed she was heading his way. His heart was racing, but at least his mind was now at peace. She was ok.

He headed to the mess and picked up a large tray of food. It was piled with both human and turian edibles. He finally caught up with her as she was heading to her room in her body suit. He was glad she'd stopped off at the armory to detail her armor; because he was pretty sure it smelled as bad as it looked.

"Oh, bless you...food…come on in," she said as she walked into her cabin. She grabbed a piece of fruit from the human side of the tray and popped it in her mouth. She closed her eyes and savored it. Using her OTs drained her reserves so much she constantly needed to eat to refuel herself. When her OT charge ran low they would siphon the energy...the electrical impulses from her body to remain active.

She walked over to her closet, pulled off her body suit and slipped on a navel ring. It was a rose gold tear drop. She grabbed a fresh set of clothes and a towel. Due to company she left her underwear and bra on and headed for the shower. "I'll be just a minute. Please wait," she said as she disappeared behind the door.

Garrus' mouth dropped open, but his heart slid to the floor. He'd never seen so much of Shepard's creamy white, soft skin before. It was truly intriguing. And utterly appealing. His hands wanted to touch her so bad that he was forced to shove them under his thighs to make sure they behaved. The sad part was it was very obvious just how much in the friend zone he actually was. He had to admit it hurt.

Garrus heard the water turn off and the speed dry go on. He grabbed a piece of food and pretended nonchalance when she walked out clean and fully clothed.

Shepard had to admit she was a little put out that he hadn't even noticed she was running around nearly naked. What did she have to do to get his attention? Was she so far in the friend zone that he couldn't even see her? That was certainly a painful ego kill. She plopped down on the sofa next to him, curled into his side and began making short work of the repast he'd brought her.

Garrus dropped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her in closer. He loved their peaceful moments together like this. He didn't just love them, he lived for them. It was a bit of a shock to discover just how dependent he had become on her. How much his life revolved around her. So much so that he could not picture his life without her in it.

Shepard was just finishing off the human food when her door chimed. She got up, stretched, and headed for the door. Kaidan was standing there holding a tray heaping with food. "More food! Wonderful. Come on in. I'm still hungry," she said with a smile.

Kaidan stood a moment and gaped. Damn smile left him standing around like a scatter brained moron. He shook his head to clear it and walked into the room. He noticed Garrus lounging on the sofa and an empty tray on the table. He put his tray on top of the empty one. The doorbell chimed again. While Garrus and Kaidan glared at each other Shepard went to see who was there. Liara stood with a tray piled full of food.

"I thought we'd have a bite to eat before heading for the debrief," Liara said.

Shepard stood back and bid her to enter. Liara looked from Kaidan to Garrus and gave a nervous laugh. She placed her tray next to the other one and they all sat around the food eating and talking. Shepard broke the news to Liara about her mother. If the news hurt Liara at all, she didn't show it, though there was a visible start when she'd heard the term 'little wing'. She took her mother's death in stride. Other than the news about Benezia, she didn't talk any more about the mission, since she was going to have to go over all at debrief anyway.

When it was time for debrief, they each grabbed the tray they brought and took it back to the mess before heading on to the comm room.

Shepard went over what occurred down on Noveria. Tali and Kaidan filled in what they could, so that everyone was up to speed on what happened and what they needed to do next.

"What's our next move, Commander? Head to the Mu Relay?" Ashley asked.

"The Mu Relay could link dozens of systems. Unless we know exactly where Saren's going, we'd just be wasting our time," Shepard responded.

"Shepard is right. We cannot rush off blind. We still need to learn more about Saren," Liara seconded.

"Who put you in charge? Did the commander resign when I wasn't looking?" Ashley asked snidely.

"We're all on the same team here, Williams. She's just trying to help," Shepard said calmly.

"Sorry, Commander," Ashley replied.

"This is a tough mission. We're all on edge. Everyone go get some rest," Shepard said standing up. "Crew…dismissed!"

As they filed out the door, Joker said, "Noveria report is away, Commander. You want me to patch you through to the council?"

"Not this time, Joker. Don't really care to face the music concerning the rachni queen."

"I hear that, Commander."

It was time to make her rounds. She took the stairs down and decided to check in on Kaidan first.

"I didn't think the debrief was the right place for me to tell you how ridiculous this all is. Seems like every other race in the galaxy is so wrapped up in their own problems they can't see what's coming." Kaiden said in frustration.

"Wanting to believe everything is fine? Sounds like human nature to me," Shepard said.

"Yeah, I guess some things carry across to other species. Vyrnnus had been horrible. But he made me see how human aliens are. They're not different or special. They're jerks and saints, just like us."

"That they are. The turian Councilor comes to mind…and a saint he's not," Shepard said with a laugh.

"I'm glad I'm not the one that has to deal with that ass," he said with a chuckle. "I'm not sure how you manage it. I –it means a lot to me that you have been there for me. That you're willing to listen. Not just talk to me, but really listen. I've never met anyone like you before. You're an unforgettable woman, Shepard," Kaidan said clearing his throat. "It will be good when this Saren business is behind us, so that we can make future plans. I'm …uh…looking forward to some shore leave," Kaidan told her.

"Ooh…You have a woman you're looking to woo, Kaidan?" Shepard asked with a cocked brow and a smile.

Kaidan cleared his throat and blushed. "You could say that…ma'am," Kaidan said softly.

Shepard gave him a wink and turned towards the med-bay. She needed to speak to Liara. Shepard walked into the back room of the med-bay slowly. She didn't want to disturb Liara if she was busy. Liara looked over and stood up from her desk.

"If you are here to talk about Benezia's death, you needn't bother. She brought it upon herself," Liara said rationally.

"Don't pretend it doesn't bother you. She was your mother."

"She was…but she was not. I prefer to remember Benezia as she used to be, before she was corrupted by Sovereign's power," Liara said solemnly.

"The best part of your mother lives on in you: her determination, her intelligence, her strength," Shepard assured her.

"That is kind of you to say. I appreciate your concern, but I'm fine," Liara insisted. "Benezia chose her path, just as I have chosen mine. I am with you until the end, Shepard."

She told Liara how much she appreciated her and that she would see her tonight for the vid. Shepard strode out of the med-bay and made her way back up to the bridge. Call her a coward, but she was pretty sure she'd get an earful from Wrex and Ashley about letting the rachni queen go, so she decided to hold off talking with them until tempers had a chance to cool. No sense stepping in a pile when you can walk around it. Joker heard her approach.

"Boy, I am glad to be off Noveria. I don't know which was worse: the cold or the corporations. One will freeze your balls off; the other will sell 'em out from under you. With all due respect, Commander," Joker said with a shiver.

"Well, at least that explains what happened to my balls," Shepard said drolly.

"Good one, Commander!" Joker laughed.

Chapter 8

Virmire

Over the next three weeks, Shepard was contacted more and more by Admiral Hackett of Fifth Fleet, who needed her help with several more missions. She helped a diplomatic hostage, cleaned out a base that had been taken over by biotics, helped two ex marines suffering from PTSD, took out some Exo-Geni scientists who refused to come in, found and dealt with a survey team that had been turned into husks, took out crap-load of rachni that had overrun a couple of Alliance posts, and a few other mundane missions that apparently only she could handle.

It's hard to get a serious gripe going when the in-between down time is so damned nice. Her teammates were beginning to feel like family. With things starting to come to a head, she wondered how many would choose to stay on with her once Saren was brought down. Tali needed to get back to her flotilla, but the rest – would they stay on? As far as she could tell no one else had anything to really go back to. She didn't want to see any of them leave. She had grown too attached to them, even more so to Garrus.

They had finished their last mission a few days ago and have been waiting in the Hoc system for confirmation. The wait was now over. They just received word, on a private channel, from a Citadel infiltrator on the surface of Virmire – there has been a visual on Saren. They were heading in.

She met her team for the lineup down in the cargo bay. Her brain would have chosen Garrus and Tali for this mission; they were the best team to handle geth. But her sight chose Garrus and Ashley. Ashley? That's certainly nowhere she would have gone. Well, she knew not to argue with the sight. "Garrus, Ashley gear up be ready in 10. Dismissed."

As they approached the planet's surface Kaidan said, "Check out those defense towers!"

"Drop the mako. We'll go in hot and take them out," Shepard instructed.

"I'll get you in underneath their radar, Commander," Joker replied.

Shepard turned to her team. Garrus' aura was brighter. She asked him if he would allow her a good luck kiss and he agreed. When their mouths touched, her lips clung to his a moment longer than necessary. As they took a step away from each other, neither was too steady. Shepard was starting to worry. It was getting harder to walk away after one of those kisses.

Ashley grunted in disgust. She didn't know how her commander could stomach kissing all those aliens. It was awkward enough when Shepard asked to kiss her for good luck. For the sake of the mission Ashley accepted those kisses stoically. But aliens?

Shepard followed her team into the mako. Ashley took guns and Garrus took nav and scanners. It felt good to have him next to her again. While Garrus might have preferred to be on guns, he could read nav and scanners a hell of a lot better than Ashley.

The Normandy's cargo door slowly opened and they rolled down its incline and out into the bright sunlight. She fired the thrusters and they landed with only a slight jar.

"We got a clean drop, Commander," Joker said.

"Stay out of range and continue evasive maneuvers until I bring those AA towers down," Shepard ordered.

"I know the drill. Meet you at camp once those towers are off-line. Joker out."

As they moved down the shallow river she noted that steering was a bit more awkward, probably due to the traction and pull of the waterway. Garrus notified them of synthetic signatures on the radar. They could now make a visual on some sort of walking robotic crab-things patrolling the water. Ashley fired on one and it exploded. Shepard told her to hold up. They weren't firing on us, so they may not actually be hostile. She wanted to save their ammo, unsure how much it would take to get through this mission. She hoped that was the right call. It would be a trifle embarrassing and dangerous if those things activated later and flanked them.

Shepard was in awe…this was the most beautiful planet she had ever been to. If she could retire anywhere, this would be the place. It was a tropical paradise.

As they rounded another bend, two drones fired at them. Shepard sighed, it was too long between rockets and guns were a bitch against something so agile. If she had her way, they'd ditch the mako and do this on foot. Um, yeah…she did have her way. "Everyone out. We're doing this on foot," She ordered.

They looked at her like she was nuts. She shrugged. "I need the exercise," she said. Then, they looked at her like she was crazy, everyone knew how intensely the commander worked out. "Okay, those drones are far too agile for the mako's large guns. So buck up and enjoy the scenery."

She released Grim and they headed out on foot. As they proceeded they took out the drones from a safe distance. She overloaded any geth they came across and let her team take them down. It was a nice, working system. They arrived at a gatehouse. They took out two geth below. One had been next to the stairs leading up to the gatehouse bridge; the other had been in the water in one of the open gateways. They took down another geth on the gatehouse bridge above them. She ascended the stairs and worked herself to the other side of the bridge, taking out any geth that popped up along the way. She made her way back down the stairs and continued further down the shallow river bed.

Around the first bend they discovered their first armature. Armatures were a wee bit more of a hassle. She hacked it and while it was confused she fired an overload charge followed by hot and cold blasts, while her team filled it full of bullets. They fell too; it just took more…finesse. Though, brute force was a good option too.

They were approaching their first gatehouse with one of the giant AA guns. It was much heavier fortified than the other gatehouse had been.

"There's our target, Shepard," Garrus said.

They took out several geth on the ground and veered up the stairs on the right.

"There must be some way to shut that gun down," Ashley stated.

You think? Shepard rolled her eyes and continued making short work of the geth that sought to stop her from making it to the other side of the bridge, where the controls were obviously located. They took down the geth guarding the control room, slipped through the doorway and shut down the gun. She turned and located a control that opened the gate doors. She could hear the grinding as the doors opened.

"I'm reading that the grid is down, Commander. On approach to the salarian base now. Out," Joker stated.

"When you set down, send a team out to fetch the mako. We hoofed it."

"You did what?" Joker's voice cracked. "I mean... Roger that, Commander."

Shepard chuckled.

They went back across the bridge and descended the stairs. They continued onward. When they rounded a bend they saw a second gatehouse. Three geth were waiting outside and one at the top of the gatehouse made itself known. When those were dealt with she went up the stairs on the right. Four more geth were waiting at the top. She fired an overload chain and moved on, trusting her team to do clean up the twitching, dancing geth. Going through the second half of the bridge brought her face to face with two more geth who had been blinded and tortured by Grim. She flung her hand out, shot out a sonic blast that dashed them hard against the wall. She put a bullet in each out of spite. Then she used the console to open the gate.

"That's it. Nothing left between us and the salarian camp now," Ashley pointed out.

They made their way back down the stairs, thankful that they were almost there.

"Commander. Normandy's touched down at the base, but it looks like we are grounded. The salarian captain can explain when you arrive," Joker informed her.

Grounded? She wondered what that was all about. As she approached Kaidan she heard him ask," So what are we supposed to do now?"

"Stay put until we come up with a plan," the salarian said.

"Are you in charge here? What's the situation?" Shepard asked the salarian.

"I'm Captain Kirrahe, Third Infiltration Regiment STG. You and your crew have just landed in a hot-zone. Every AA gun within 10 miles has been alerted to your presence."

"Well then, we will have to do something about that. We were sent here to investigate, your distress call wasn't clear," Shepard told him.

"That's a repetition of our task. I lost half my men investigating this place," Kirrahe said.

"What did your investigation turn up?" Shepard asked him.

"Saren's base of operations. He's set up a research facility here, but it's crawling with geth and very well fortified. He's using the facility to breed an army of krogan," Kirrahe told her.

"How is that possible?" Wrex asked.

"Apparently Saren has discovered a cure for the genophage."

"With the geth and an army of krogan, he'd be unstoppable," Shepard said with a shiver.

"Exactly my thoughts. We must make sure that this facility and its secrets are destroyed," Kirrahe stated.

"Destroyed? I don't think so. Our people are dying. This cure can save them," Wrex admonished.

"If this gets out the krogan will overrun the galaxy again. We can't make the same mistake," Kirrahe said.

Wrex got up in the salarian's face, his finger jabbing at the skinny chest. "We are not a mistake!" he growled and stormed off.

"Is he going to be a problem? We already have enough angry krogan to deal with," Kirrahe said with frustration.

"I'll talk to him, try to bring him around."

"I'd appreciate that, Commander." Kirrahe walked off to talk to his men.

Shepard approached Wrex slowly. She wasn't sure exactly what she was going to tell him.

"This isn't right, Shepard. If there's a cure for the genophage, we can't destroy it," Wrex told her.

"I understand why you are upset. But we both know Saren's the enemy here. He's the one you should be angry with," Shepard said.

"Really? Saren created a cure for my people and you want to destroy it. Help me out here, Shepard. The lines between friend and foe are getting a little blurry from where I stand," He grumbled.

"This isn't a cure, it's a weapon. And if Saren is allowed to use it, you won't be around to reap the benefits. None of us will."

Wrex pulled his pistol on her. She responded by throwing her arms up and moving in front of Wrex. She expanded her shield until it surrounded him as well.

"What are you doing, Shepard?" he asked. "You look the idiot."

"I'm pretty sure you don't want to die. Which will probably occur if I don't keep myself between you and them," she said pointing behind her to Ashley , Kaidan and Garrus who had their guns ready and trained on Wrex.

Wrex grunted acknowledging the truth of her words and snapped his pistol back to his hip. "Nothing else matters. That's a chance we should be willing to take. This is the fate of my entire people we're talking about!" Wrex growled angrily. "I've been loyal to you so far. Hell, you've done more for me than my family ever did. But if I'm going to continue following you, I need to know we're doing it for the right reasons."

"Wrex, these krogan are not your people. They are slaves of Saren. Tools. Is that what you want for them?"

"No. We were tools for the Council once. To thank us for wiping out the rachni, they neutered us all. I doubt Saren will be so generous," Wrex admitted.

"Saren destroys everything he touches. Leaves no evidence behind. You know that, you told me what he did to the mercs that he hired. I'm not saying your people don't deserve to be cured. They do. But do you honestly believe they have a good enough government in place to keep them in line?" Shepard asked. "If your people were cured, what would they do with it?"

"Go after the salarians and turians for payback," he told her honestly.

"Exactly so. What would happen if they did seek revenge?" She asked.

"Another galactic war," Wrex said.

"Yes. A repeat of history. Is that what you want for your people?"

"We could win this time," Wrex said.

"There are just too many races that would join against you. And humanity has been added since the last war. And we're a cagey bunch," Shepard said with a shrug and a smile.

Wrex's face slackened. He shook his head. "All right, Shepard. You've made your point. I don't like this, but I trust you enough to follow your lead. But just so you know, I want Saren's head," Wrex told her in no uncertain terms.

She retracted her shield and stepped back. She gave Wrex a calculated look. "Wrex, perhaps you should consider going back to your people and becoming the leader they need. With a strong enough leader to take them in a new direction, perhaps they will be ready to have the genophage cured," she said softly.

"I already told you that I'm not a hero, Shepard."

"Everyone can be a hero, Wrex. How big a hero is up to them. But you are a reasonable man, Wrex. I think you'd make a damn fine leader. You just need to believe in yourself to make it happen."

Wrex rolled his eyes, grumbled about humans in general as he walked away.

She looked at his retreating form. If I can save the cure I will, my friend, but I won't be giving it to you just yet. She turned around and headed back to the rest of her crew.

"Nice work with Wrex. I didn't think anything would calm him down," Kaidan said appreciatively.

"It won't be an easy fight, but we're ready when you are," Ashley told her.

"I can't believe you were able to calm Wrex down. Okay – that's not true. If anyone could calm him, it would be you. You just have a certain something about you, Shepard. But you shouldn't have shielded him from us. He could have..." Garrus said and cleared his throat. He couldn't finish that thought.

She placed a hand to his cheek and gave him a soft smile before dropping it. "When we go in, if you find the cure - I want you to save for me. I'm trying to convince Wrex to assume control of the krogan. If he does, well - we'll see what the future holds." She nodded at Garrus' stunned look and returned to Kirrahe.

"Thank you for speaking with the krogan. The assault on Saren's base will be difficult enough as it is," Kirrahe told her.

"What's the plan of attack?" Shepard asked.

"We will convert our ship's drive core into a twenty-kiloton ordnance. Crude, but effective," Kirrahe said.

"Nice! Drop that nuke from orbit and Saren can kiss his turian ass goodbye," Ashley said smugly.

"Unfortunately, the facility is too well-fortified for that. We'll need to place the bomb at a precise location on the far side of the facility. Your ship can drop it off, but we'll need to infiltrate the base, disable the AA guns, and pacify any ground forces first," Kirrahe responded.

"You want us to go in on foot? We don't have enough men," Kaidan said.

"I'm going to divide my men into three teams and hit the front of the facility. While we've got their attention, you can sneak your shadow team in the back."

"It's a good idea, but your people are going to get slaughtered," Shepard said with concern.

"We are tougher than we look. Though, you are right. I do not expect many of us will make it out alive. And that makes what I'm going to ask even more difficult. I need one of your team to accompany me. To help coordinate the teams."

"I volunteer, Commander," Kaidan said.

"Not so fast, LT. I'll go with the salarians," Ashley cut in.

"With all due respect, Gunnery Chief, it's not your place to decide," Kaidan admonished her.

"Why is it whenever someone says with all due respect they really mean kiss my ass?" Ashley retorted.

Shepard held up her hand to quiet the bickering duo. She thought over her squad. Kaidan offered the best leadership skills. He was the senior ranking officer and he was calm under pressure. Garrus was too rash, Wrex had a grudge against the salarians, and nobody else had leadership abilities. She closed her eyes and focused her sight. Kaidan's aura glowed the brightest. It was good indeed when aura and mind agreed. Kaidan it was.

"Alenko, you're with the captain. Keep it simple and stay safe, understood?" she told him.

"Of course, Commander. I have too much to look forward to. I won't take unneeded risks," he told her with a smile.

Kirrahe nodded. "I will have the ordnance loaded onto the Normandy and brief your crew on its detonation sequencing. Do you have any questions?" Kirrahe asked.

"I know the Normandy is picking my team up, but how will you escape the blast?"

"We will engage the geth as long as possible. Once the bomb is in place, we will fall back to try to escape. If we move quickly, we should be able to escape with acceptable casualties. If not, then our memories will live on as martyrs to a greater cause," he explained.

She hoped it didn't come to that. "Shadow seems clear enough, what will the other teams be called?"

"Aegohr, Mannovai, and Jaeto. They were the initial settlements on our first three colony worlds. They are at the heart of salarian territory to this day. They will remind my men what they are fighting for. "

"Give me a rundown," Shepard said.

"We will create a distraction while your shadow team infiltrates the base. Make your way to the breeding grounds; disable the AA guns so the Normandy can deliver the nuke. Place the bomb next to the geothermal taps, and then get out before it detonates," Kirrahe explained.

"How reliable is the bomb?" she asked.

"The drive system is highly impervious to damage from external sources. Once armed, very little can stop it," Kirrahe responded.

"We're ready when you are, Captain," Shepard said.

"Excellent. If you will excuse me, I need to prepare my men." He walked around her and stood at the head of his troops.

Shepard turned to face Kaidan.

"Before I go, I just need to tell you that I - " He looked over at Ashley. "I, ah…I just wanted to say it's been an honor serving under you, er – with you, Commander," Kaidan said with a flush.

"This isn't over by a long shot, Kaidan. So, don't leave here thinking you aren't coming back. I've got your back, just as I always have. Count on it," Shepard told him.

"Understood, Commander," Kaidan replied.

She shook his hand and turned as she heard Kirrahe speak to his men.

"You all know the mission and what is at stake. We were trained for espionage. We would be legends, but the records are sealed. Glory in battle is not our way. Think of our heroes: the Silent Step, who defeated a nation with a single shot. Or the Ever Alert, who kept armies at bay with hidden facts. These giants are not all that we are. Before the networks, there was a fleet. Before diplomacy, there were soldiers. Our influence stopped the rachni, but before that we held the line. Our influence stopped the krogan, but before that we held the line! Our influence will stop Saren! In the battle today, we will hold the line!" Kirrahe's voice boomed his conviction. He turned to face Shepard once more. "Good luck, Commander. I hope we will meet again."

"Me too, Kirrahe. It's been an honor." Shepard shook his hand. They synced their comm channel. She turned to the rest of her team. Ashley, being the only other alliance soldier on the team would be staying with the ship and the bomb. She focused her sight to evaluate the others. What if I took all four of them? Would I have a better chance of success? She gasped when she saw all their auras turn black. A shiver ran down her spine. She'd never seen that happen before and knew she never wanted to again. Perhaps, if she took them all they would garner too much attention or maybe the camp would be overrun, preventing the Normandy from delivering the bomb. Ok. Who do I take with me then? The auras colored up and two shined brighter. Interesting. With krogan involved that's not who she would have chosen…but there had to be a reason. "Garrus, Tali you're with me," Shepard said.

Wrex approached her. "Shepard, I already told you I want Saren's head."

"Wrex, when the time comes, you will have it. But I do not think we will be taking it this day. As much as I wish what happens today will end things, in my heart I know that it will not. My feelings are never wrong, Wrex. I need you and Liara to stay here and defend the ship and the camp. If the camp falls the Normandy won't be able to deliver the bomb. Let me know of any new developments." He grumbled discontent, but accepted her words. He knew the camp...the ship needed to be defended at all costs and he knew he could do that better than anyone else.

"Comm check. Do you read me, Commander?" Kirrahe asked.

"Loud and clear," she told him.

"Good. We'll start our push. We'll try to make it to the AA guns, but it might be up to you to finish the job. And, Commander? If you see any way to undermine their defenses, we could definitely use the help."

"Roger that. I'll do what I can. Shepard out." She told Tali the same thing she'd told Garrus about the cure. She wasn't sure who would be a position to obtain it when the time came and she needed them all on the same page. She turned to her team, evaluated them and asked Tali if she could kiss her for luck. Tali agreed. This was the first time Tali had showed up as the good luck charm. She moved in to place a kiss on her helmet and Tali shook her head.

"I've been taking supplements, boosted my immunity and nerve stims since I learned about your system," Tali admitted blushing. "I didn't want to take the chance of my mask preventing proper good luck." She removed the face plate of her helmet.

"You are very pretty, Tali." Shepard leaned in and slid her lips against Tali's. "Thank you for the honor."

Tali blushed brighter red. She quickly replaced the view plate and programmed another antibiotic boost.

They started forward through the shallow river bed on their way to the communication tower.

"Shadow team is on the ground. I repeat shadow team is on the ground. Lieutenant Alenko, with Aegor team! Mannovai, Jaeto teams, move! Time to get some attention!"

"Fire is coordinated on Mannovai team. We can't reach the geth turrets. They're out of range!" Kirrahe shouted.

As they approached the tower, several geth on the ground began to fire at them. She ordered her team to take cover. She grabbed her sniper and blew the head off one on the upper deck of the tower. She snapped it to her back and pulled off her AR and started up the stairs. Two more geth were heading down to greet them. One geth lost his head, spun around and toppled over. Way to go Garrus. She blasted the second with a sonic wave that sent it flying further than she thought it would. She rounded the corner at the top of the stairs and another geth went down. Garrus was on top of things. She located the control console and deactivated the communications tower. Hopefully, that would disorganize the geth a bit and make things easier for the other teams.

They moved out. Next stop would be the Satellite Uplink. Her radar picked up synthetic signatures ahead. They rounded a bend in the riverbed and took out the two geth there. She noted more signatures, so headed back and took the other bend in the riverbed. A geth and several drones greeted them. The geth was easy to take down, the drones not so much. She launched Grim. Garrus took one down with an overload. The other was proving to be very good at dodging, but it couldn't get away from Grim. "Good job, old boy!"

They could make out the station ahead.

"Something scrambled their targeting. We've got a shot! Lieutenant Alenko, take the heat off Mannovai!" Kirrahe commanded.

They took down two geth on the ground.

"They're calling for sat-strikes! Jaeto, watch comm stations! Alenko, can you see anything?" Kirrahe asked.

She ran up the stairs, shot a geth and slammed a krogan with a neuralblast. She saw the satellite panels above her and started pouring fire into it until it started to come down. Garrus plowed into her, sending them both flying to the left. The panels crashed down where she had been standing.

"Thank you, Garrus. That was very impressive." She told him.

Garrus lowered his forehead to hers. His heart was racing, his breath ragged. The fear he felt when he saw those panels coming down was still tearing through him. "Have a care," he said softly, trying to regain some semblance of control. He rolled off her and helped her to her feet.

Tali gave small smile, tinged with sadness. Before Shepard, Tali never would have thought she'd fall for a woman. But it was hard not to fall in love with Shepard. There was just something about her that drew people in. It was painfully obvious Shepard and Garrus were in love and just as obvious that neither knew. Guess it was time for her to place a wager in Joker's pool before it was too late. She couldn't help but feel time was drawing short before those two would open their eyes and see the truth.

"Aircraft drones heading to perimeter stations to refuel. Bunker up before they come back!" Kirrahe ordered.

They worked their way out the back of the station and a pull led her in the right direction. Tali's drone shot ahead, sending shock bolts at anything it came across. Grim twirled around the drone, reciting its shortcomings and then darted off to sow mischief of his own. She followed the platform walkway, took out a geth that popped up in her path and continued on and found a refueling platform heavily defended by drones. She took out the two tanks, which in turn took out several drones, and then they focused on the remaining drones. Had she mentioned how annoying they were? She locked onto and hacked one of the drones. Chatika was busy harassing them and Grim was sending them to their maker. When they were down she continued on until she saw the research facility. Instead of heading directly in, she took another platform walkway and circled back around. She did not want any enemies sneaking up their asses. Her gamble paid off. Several enemies had already begun to flank her. They were even able to take out more troops stationed at the facility when they found a nice little sniper perch.

When all the targets were down they made their back to the facility.

"This world is so beautiful. Too bad it's been contaminated by Saren and his geth," Tali remarked.

"Yes," Garrus said. "It reminds me of where I grew up on Palaven. Minus the geth, of course…and it's not as hot here."

"Probably less radiation as well," Shepard said with a laugh.

"Okay, you have me there," Garrus admitted.

"When I retire, I'd like it to be in a place like this," Shepard told them.

Garrus scoffed. "You? Retire, Shepard?" Garrus laughed. "You are likely to stay in uniform until the day your wrinkled body is laid to rest."

"You might be right. But I have a feeling, when all is said and done, that retirement will start to look pretty appealing," she stated.

"The air threat has not materialized. We may be getting some help from Shadow," Kirrahe remarked.

That you are, dear man, she thought. Once at the rear of the facility, her lootdar directed her to the left. She found a nifty stockpile and then headed to the right. There were no more enemies found guarding the rear of the facility, they had managed to take them all down from a distance. Her lootdar led her to a safe on the wall, where she was able to pick up a couple of nice mods. She slipped in through the door, trying to draw as little attention as possible.

"Shadow team must be getting close. Hold the line, men! Hold the line!" Kirrahe ordered.

She followed the walkway around until it led to several locked doors.

"Hostile contacts!" Garrus warned as enemy signatures popped up on his radar.

The signatures were coming from inside the building. She walked up to a console and asked Garrus to get the doors open.

"We've got access to base security. We should be able to cut the alarms from here. Might even be able to trigger alarms on the far side of the base. It'll clear guards out for us, but they might be too much for the salarian teams to handle," Garrus informed her.

"Just disable the alarms. We can handle any guards inside," Shepard told him.

She decided to go through the far door and work her way up. Inside the building there were crazed salarians and more geth. Some mighty large geth at that. Grim sped around the room spraying acid on optic sensors and dodging bullets.

"Salarians? Right. The captain said he had lost some men. I thought he meant they died," Garrus said.

"They were indoctrinated. What's going on in this place?" Tali asked.

"I don't know, Tali. But I intend to find out," Shepard assured her. "Grim!"

"You bellowed?" The drone said as it spun around her.

"Sorry about that. I need you to record everything from here on. I want proof of anything Saren's doing."

When the main floor was clear, she headed up the stairs. A geth destroyer was up there waiting. She hacked it and while it fought the control they filled it full of holes.

They went through the rear door, found nothing in the next room, so continued forward. Through the next door she heard a salarian yell, "Is someone out there?" She looked over the railing and saw several salarians imprisoned in cells below.

The next door opened up into a large room with two crazy salarians that had to be put down, several terminals, two doors and an elevator.

"Give a little ground, Lieutenant. We don't want them to bunker-up. Draw them out," Kirrahe informed him.

This must be the security office. But which door to explore first? She found a couple of stashes of guns, but left them. She didn't need them. She opted to take the door to the left of the elevator. She followed the steps down. It led her to the imprisoned salarians she had seen before.

"Well, you're not a geth. And you're not wearing a lab coat. I guess I'm glad to see you," the salarian said. "Lieutenant Ganto Imness of the Third Infiltration Regiment, captured during recon. I assume the fleet was called in to destroy the base?" Ganto asked.

"I'm Commander Shepard. The transmission wasn't clear. The fleet is not coming," Shepard told him.

"I see. Then you must be the infiltration team. I know the captain. He will want this facility destroyed. My team was altered, indoctrinated. The captain knew about the breeding grounds. But the indoctrination is a greater threat, and far more horrifying. I watched good people get reduced to mindless husks. There wasn't anything left. Others died during the experiments. I envy them."

"Do you know anything about the experiments they were conducting?" Shepard asked him.

"They were studying indoctrination. Symptoms, progress. Saren uses it to control his people, but I don't think he fully understands it. I don't know much else. I just saw what it did to the others. Turned them into empty husks. I can't end up like that. Please – let me out!" he implored her.

"I'm opening your cell, but then you're on your own. We are going in deeper to bring this place down. It isn't safe to stay with us," she told him.

"Don't look back and hope to outrun the blast, hmm? A better chance than I had before you showed up," Ganto replied. "Thank you."

When he ran out the door she looked into the next cell. A group of salarians were just standing there. Not doing much of anything.

"These look docile. Their minds are gone," Tali said sadly.

"Why would Saren do this? There is just no reason for what he's done," Garrus said.

"Open the doors. Give them a chance to outrun the blast." Shepard said.

"Are you sure? They could hurt themselves or attack us," Tali pointed out.

"Let them out, they won't hurt us," Shepard assured her.

The door opened and they just continued to stand there.

Shepard sighed. "It's all we can do for them."

They took the stairs back up to the security office and on to the door on the right of the elevator. She ascended the stairs and was led to another row of salarian filled cells. These were far worse off than the ones below were. Aggressive even. She finally found one with the power of speech.

"What do you want? I told you everything! I – Who are you? Alliance, right? I knew someone would come. It tried to break me, but it couldn't! I shut it out!" the salarian said frantically.

"Slow down, I need to know where you came from," Shepard said to him.

"Private Menos Avot of the Third Infiltration Regiment STG, ma'am! Captured while on reconnaissance six days ago. Glad to answer, ma'am! Never any questions from these bastards. Just whispers and poking and cutting. I'd have said anything to get out and get some payback. That's not too much to ask is it? A little payback?" Avot asked.

"What did they do to you, soldier?" she asked him.

"Experiments, but I don't know what for. The effect of incessant whispering on my shortening temper? Who knows? I just need out!" Avot said frantically.

"Something is not right here, Shepard," Tali said.

"Agreed. Setting him free could endanger the mission. I can't take that chance," Shepard said.

"Can't take that chance…no chance. I need to do what it says. I have to! Let me out!" Avot said in desperation.

The salarian grew very agitated, he ran to the front of his cell, slamming his head against the glass. "Let me out! Let me out! Let me out!"

Shepard backed up and shook her head in sorrow, they needed to move on. They took the stairs back down to the security office. Only the elevator left.

When the elevator doors opened, she saw a number of scanning devices, each containing a husk. The husks were released and an asari charged them.

"No! What's going on? Where's Saren?" a krogan asked.

Grim darted around the room spreading his tender touch to any who opposed them. One by one the asari and husks were taken down.

"No! Stay back!" Dr. Droyas said. "This is important work! This is the glorious salvation of my species!"

"This is horrendous, not glorious…nor is your species ready for it," Shepard said sadly, hitting the krogan with a neuralblast and moved on to let her team take care of him. She'd never met a krogan scientist before and she couldn't bring herself to kill him outright. He was indoctrinated, but he had been a rarity.

Outside of some more goodies, there was nothing of any importance that they could find in the lab. Except, perhaps the terminals. "Spread out and pick a terminal. Try to find the cure."

"I found something encrypted!" Garrus said.

"So did I."

"Great upload the files to your OT or an OSD if you have one. We'll hope for the best and worry about decrypting later." She too found some encrypted files. When they were finished with their uploads they went through a side door and followed the walkway; it ended at a door with two geth guarding it. It didn't end well. At least not for the geth.

Inside the office an asari popped up from beneath a table. "Don't shoot! Please, I just want to get out of here before it's too late," the asari begged.

"Commander Shepard. Spectre. Let's hear it. Who are you and what are you doing here," Shepard demanded.

"Rana Thanoptis, neurospecialist. But this job isn't worth dying over. Or worse. Sooner or later Saren will want to dissect my brain, too!" Her eyes followed Grim as though she saw him as the larger threat.

"I thought this was supposed to be a breeding facility," Shepard said.

"Not at this level. We're studying Sovereign's effect on organic minds. At least, that's what I assumed. Saren kept us in the dark as much as possible," Rana said.

"You helped him and you didn't even know why?" Garrus asked in irritation.

"I didn't have the option of negotiating. This position is a little more…permanent than I'd expected. But I can help you. This elevator behind me goes to Saren's private lab. I can get you in," Rana said. She walked over to the elevator console and programmed it. "See? Full access. Are we good? Can I go now?"

"Tell me about Sovereign's effect on organics," Shepard stated.

"It begins with a tingle at the back of the mind. A whisper that you can't quite hear. You're compelled to do things but you don't know why. You just obey. If you don't you will feel great pain until you comply. Eventually, you just stop thinking for yourself. But there is a balance between control and usefulness. The less freedom a subject maintains the less capable it becomes. I think Saren's scared it might be affecting him. My first test subject was the man I replaced. I just want to get out of here before it happens to me," Rana explained.

"I'm going to blow this place to hell and gone. If you want to make it out alive, you'd better start running," Shepard told her point blank.

"What? You can't…but I'll never…ahh!" Rana yelled as she ran for the door.

Garrus looked over at Shepard, his mandibles spreading just a bit. "You enjoyed that, Shepard."

"Maybe just a little," she admitted with a smile.

They followed the path to Saren's private lab. They entered an elevator, which took them up to the next floor. As they stepped out of it they saw a green glow.

"Shepard, look over here. It's another beacon. Like the one on Eden Prime," Garrus told her.

"Stay back both of you. Grim front and center," Shepard said as she approached it.

"Shepard - " Garrus warned her out of worry.

"We need this, Garrus. You know we do," Shepard told him. She carefully approached the beacon. It flared, latched onto her and raised her up. Pictures poured into her mind. Death…blood…the map. When it released her she fell to her knees.

"Shepard-" Garrus said as he started towards her.

"Stay back, Garrus! Let me just get my bearings," Shepard said.

Garrus waited impatiently for her to rejoin them. When she did he grabbed her chin gently and moved her face from side to side looking for…hell if he knew what he was looking for, he just felt to need to touch her...to make sure she was ok.

"I'm fine!" She told Garrus. She knew he was only worried about her. She softened her voice, "Thank you for your concern, but I really am ok," she said, laying a hand briefly on his cheek. Then she turned and walked over to a red glowing console to see what she could learn from it.

What looked to be a red glowing holo of a massive bug came into view.

"This is not good," Garus stated.

"You are not Saren," came the deep automated voice.

"What is that? Some sort of VI interface?" Garrus asked.

"Rudimentary creatures of blood and flesh. You touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding," the thing said.

"I don't think this is a VI," Garrus said.

"There is a realm of existence so far beyond your own you cannot even imagine it. I am beyond your comprehension. I am Sovereign!" it boasted.

"Get over yourself," Shepard told the machine. "Sovereign isn't just some Reaper ship Saren found. It's an actual Reaper!" She told her crew.

"Reaper? A label created by the Protheans to give voice to their destruction. In the end, what they choose to call us is irrelevant. We simply are."

"The Protheans vanished 50,000 years ago. You couldn't have been there. It's impossible!" Garrus argued.

"Organic life is nothing but a genetic mutation, an accident. Your lives are measured in years and decades. You wither and die. We are eternal. The pinnacle of evolution and existence. Before us, you are nothing. Your extinction is inevitable. We are the end of everything," Sovereign warned her.

"Know this. I am something you cannot comprehend. I am the herald of your failure…The portent of your demise. The last thing you will remember before you die is me," Shepard said coldly.

"Confidence born of ignorance. The cycle cannot be broken. Organic civilizations rise, evolve, advance. And at the apex of their glory, they are extinguished. The Protheans were not the first. They did not create the Citadel. They did not forge the mass relays. They merely found them, the legacy of my kind. Your civilization is based on the technology of the mass relays, our technology. By using it, your society develops along the paths we desire. You exist because we allow it. And you will end because we demand it."

"They're harvesting us! Letting us advance to the level they need, then wiping us out!" Tali said in outrage.

"They will not wipe us out. Their days of destruction are over... You've wiped out your last civilization. You will fall before me. And I will smile."

"You can always try the smile now, Shepard. Maybe it will fall in love with you and leave us alone," Garrus said only half joking.

"Very funny, Garrus. Besides, if it didn't work on you, it sure won't work on that...thing." Shepard threw at him.

Garrus froze and blinked. "Well, it couldn't hurt." Damn, but he'd almost told her it had worked on him.

"My kind transcends your understanding. We are each a nation. Independent, free of all weakness. You cannot even grasp the nature of our existence. We have no beginning. We have no end. We are infinite. We are legion. The time of our return is coming. Our numbers will darken the sky of every world. You cannot escape your doom."

"That's where you're wrong, big guy. You are so filled with arrogance that you cannot even see the danger right in front of you. You're just a machine. And machines can be broken. I will end you all," Shepard warned it.

"Your words are as empty as your future. I am the vanguard of your destruction. This exchange is over," Sovereign said disdainfully.

"About damn time," Shepard said drolly.

The windows to the right of them exploded. Garrus pulled her into him and turned his back to the windows as glass sprayed everywhere with the powerful blast of energy.

"Did you have to piss it off, Shepard?" Garrus asked softly into her ear. He felt her shiver and his heart slammed in his chest. He released her and took a shaky step back.

Shepard cocked a half smile at him. "Its never-ending boasts were getting on my nerves," Shepard admitted.

"You don't say," said Garrus sarcastically.

"Commander? We got trouble," Joker broke in.

"Hit me, Joker."

"That ship, Sovereign? It's moving. I don't know what you did down there, but that thing just pulled a turn that would shear any of our ships in half. It's coming your way, and it's coming hard! You need to wrap things up in there - fast!" Joker warned.

"That console's been disabled. Orders, Shepard?" Garrus asked.

"Let's head to the breeding facility. Time to blow this place to hell."

"Right, Commander. I'll meet you there. Joker out."

They took the elevator back down. It was time to end this. As they exited the labs a geth destroyer was waiting for them on the walkway. She hit it with an amped overload. No time for war games. She heard gunfire and knew Garrus must be shooting the shit out of it for grins and giggles.

"The geth are turning from your position, Jaeto. Looks like Shadow kicked a sensitive spot! Alenko, head them off! Hold them out here!" Kirrahe ordered.

They entered another door and bore left on the catwalks. Three krogan were kind enough to give them a welcome. She was kind enough to give them a goodbye. She fired an amped neural shockwave and bypassed them, letting her team take the trash out.

"Shepard!" Garrus yelled in exasperation. He hated it when she took off alone like that.

She entered a doorway, followed the hall around a bend and ended up back out on the catwalks. The walkway was ramped in an upward direction. Because they were heading to higher ground, she expected an ambush while the enemy had the vantage point. So, she had her team progress slowly. This worked in their favor, as they made it close enough to the enemy to fire before being seen. There was a krogan on the walkway's shoulder. And three drones that had kill-me stamped all over them. Grim shot off after the drones. We were anything if not obliging. They spotted the massive AA gun that protected the facility.

"That turret could punch some nasty holes in the Normandy!" Garrus said appreciatively.

They proceeded up the ramp and ascended the stairway. At the top there was a control room and an elevator. She used the control console to deactivate the AA gun and turned to enter the elevator.

"Look out! They followed us up!" Garrus yelled.

She grabbed her bats, charged them electrically, then took their heads off. Beautiful.

"That's it. We need to clear the geth and set those charges," Kirrahe said.

They hopped the elevator down and went through another door that opened up into what had to be the breeding chamber. Water, or some liquid, covered the floor. Tanks lined both sides of the room. Geth were at the far end. One of them got a shot off at her and red electricity danced along her shields. Garrus, who seemed to have designated himself her guardian angel, took down the geth that shot her. She and Tali took down the others.

As they neared the door, Kirrahe broke in again. "Charges set! Everyone bunker down. Bunker down!"

Both guns were down. The massive door lifted and they waded out into cooling water.

"All right! Nice work. That's one less thing to worry about. Commander, I'm bringing us in. I'll get as close to the site as I can," Joker said.

As the ship descended, Shepard and her team made a run for the far side to avoid getting downed by their own ship. Squashed by Normandy was not a welcome epithet on her grave marker, especially after the boasts she'd made to Sovereign.

Workers carried the bomb down the Normandy's cargo bay door and set it down next to the geothermal taps. Ashley walked over to her, then spoke to someone on her comm. "Bomb is in position, we're all set he-"

"Commander, do you read me?" Kaidan asked.

"The nuke is almost ready, Lieutenant. Get to the rendezvous point!" Shepard ordered.

"Negative, Commander. The geth have us pinned down on the AA tower. We've taken heavy casualties. We'll never make it to the rendezvous point in time," Kaiden replied.

"Joker. Get them out of there now!" Shepard demanded.

"Negative. It's too hot! You can't risk it. We'll hold them off as long as we-" Kaidan broke off.

"It's okay, Commander. I need a couple of minutes to finish arming the nuke. Go get them and meet me back here," Ashley told her.

Shepard nodded. "Grim, stay with Ashley, the rest of you…up to the AA tower. Move!"

They moved back through the massive breeding chamber door. She could hear the warble of geth before the door even opened very far. She amped her power and fired an overlaod chain to the back of the chamber as soon as the door was open enough to do so. Geth and krogan alike were electrocuted, the water became a live wire. The three of them took down the hapless idiots. When the electrical current stopped dancing along the water they made their way to the far door, stepping over the corpses that littered the ground.

They headed left after the elevator door opened. A geth ship could be spotted above.

"Reinforcements. We better hurry," Garrus said.

"Chief. We just spotted a troop ship inbound to your location," Kaidan alerted her.

"It's already here LT and it's bleeding geth all over the bomb site," Ashley said.

"Can you hold them off?" Shepard asked her.

"There's too many, I don't think we can hold them. I'm setting the bomb, now," Ashley stated.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Williams?" Shepard demanded.

"Making sure this bomb goes off. No matter what." Ashley paused a moment. "It's done, Commander. Go get the Lieutenant and get the hell out of here!"

"Belay that, Commander. We can handle ourselves. Go back and get Williams," Kaidan answered.

Shepard poured over the facts. There were 2-3 people at the bomb site. There were several more at the AA tower. The bomb was already set; there was a chance they would not make it anyway. Shepard forced the sight. Should she send someone back to help Ashley? She watched as her friends' auras turned black. No matter who she sent to aid Ashley, they would die with her. She hung her head. "Alenko, radio Joker and tell him to meet us at the AA tower."

"Yes, Commander. I…" Kaidan said solemnly.

"You know it's the right choice, LT!" Ashley admonished.

"Ashley, I'm sorry. The bomb is set, I can't change that. There are more lives at stake at the AA tower. I wanted to send someone back to you, but their auras showed they would die if I did. If there was anything I could do, I would do it. Forgive me," Shepard told her as she made her way to the AA tower.

"I understand. There is nothing to forgive, Commander. I don't regret a thing. Grim and I will hold the fort for as long as we can," Ashley told her, while firing her gun at the incoming geth.

They ran through the far door and into the elevator. They had their guns in hand and hit the ground running as soon as the door opened.

"Commander, you have to hurry! We can't hold these things off long. Watch the corners! Suppressing fire!" Kaidan yelled.

"We're already here…taking out the enemies flanking you," Shepard assured him. She released a combat drone and tossed a turret at the closest geth.

As the last enemy fell, Saren flew down on his platform. He threw a powerful biotic blast at her; she jumped and rolled to get out of its path.

When he got off the platform she stood up to meet him.

"This has been an impressive diversion, vela. My geth were convinced the salarians were the real threat…but look at you here – It appears I've underestimated you."

Garrus shot her a curious look. Why the hell was Saren continuing to call her vela?

"You do not have the right to call me that!" Shepard said coldly.

Seran laughed. "Of course, it was all for nothing. I can't let you disrupt what I have accomplished here. You can't possibly understand what's really at stake. You've seen the visions from the beacons, vela. You, of all people, should understand what the Reapers are capable of. They cannot be stopped."

"That is where you are wrong. They will fall before me, Saren. I will stop them," Shepard assured him.

"Do not mire yourself in pointless revolt. The Protheans did. Trillions died. But what if they had bowed before the invaders? Would they still exist? Is submission not preferable to extinction?" Saren asked.

"Do you honestly think they'd let us live? They have destroyed countless civilizations!" Shepard admonished.

"Now you see why I never came forward with this to the Council. We organics are driven by emotion instead of logic. We will fight even when we know we cannot win."

"Once they have used us up, the Reapers will not let us live. Or if they did, there would not be enough of our minds left to survive on our own. You, of all people, know what indoctrination does!"

"I was aware of Sovereign's…dangers. I had hoped this facility could protect me," Saren admitted.

"But it hasn't, has it? Even now you are falling victim to it," Shepard retorted.

"Sovereign needs me to find the Conduit. My mind is still my own…for now. But the transformation from ally to servant can be subtle. I will not let it happen to me."

"Why would the geth follow Sovereign?" She asked him.

"They believe Sovereign to be some kind of god. But the reaction of their deity is most telling: it is insulted. They are just tools, and no amount of belief on their part will change that."

"You were a Spectre. You were sworn to defend the galaxy. Then you broke your vow and allied with a Reaper…that wants to kill us all," Shepard said in disgust.

"Sovereign will succeed. My way is the only way any of us will survive!" Saren insisted.

"You are deluded! If we are indoctrinated, we cannot survive!" Shepard pointed out.

Saren growled. "You would undo my work. You would doom our entire civilization to complete annihilation. And for that, you must die…vela." He said and threw a stasis field at Garrus and Tali.

Looking back at her team distracted her. A blast of energy caught her unaware and sent her flying. Saren stormed over, grabbed her by the throat, drug her to the edge of the platform and dangled her over its precipice. She stared him in the eyes as he just looked at her. Time seemed to stand still. She amped her charge and shot a sonic blast at Saren, propelling him backwards. Reflexively he dropped her. Disks shot out of her boots and propelled her forward. He was already lifting off on his flying platform. She rose to give chase, but her eyes fell to her team and she hovered a moment watching him get away before lowering herself to the ground.

They were out of time. She ran towards her team, who were just being released from the stasis field. Her legs started shaking, due to shock, adrenaline, or exhaustion...she wasn't sure. Garrus picked her up and ran for the Normandy.

Kaidan sent Garrus a vehement glare, which Garrus completely ignored. That rankled Kaidan all the more. If anyone was going to carry the Commander, it should be him.

"Everybody hang on!" Joker said as they burst into FTL to avoid the blast.

"Debriefing in 30," Garrus said and strolled out of the airlock and down the stairs. Garrus noticed Kaidan was still following and rolled his eyes. "If you want to do something useful, get her some food. She's drained." Garrus pointed out.

Chapter 9

After Virmire

Kaidan nodded and headed to the mess. Angered that he had to be told to do this. Why hadn't he thought of it first? He had been too focused on his jealousy to think straight. It was a humbling thought. And Garrus had the right of it. He never would have picked up the Commander without her approval, and even if he had her approval, he was pretty drained himself and would probably have dropped them both on their asses. Garrus made the right call. He piled the tray full of food, even added several pieces of turian - whatever the hell it was and headed back to her cabin.

Normally, she would not tolerate being treated like child in front of her crew. She needed to be strong at all times in front of her crew. But, she was enjoying herself more than she wanted to admit. Garrus strode into her cabin and deposited her on the sofa and sat down next to her holding her hand. "Are you ok, Shepard?" he asked concerned.

"I'll be fine. I think it was a combination of delayed shock and adrenaline…perhaps a touch of biotic exhaustion." She blushed. "I know that doesn't make sense, since I'm not a biotic, but I…let me show you something." She touched her wrist and her OT popped into view.

Garrus looked at it stunned. She gave him a soft smile. "Since I have no implants, I designed my OT to have optical camouflage." She turned it just enough that he could see the small metal nodes on the bottom of her OT that sat against her wrist. "These nodes allow the OT to draw from my body's electrical impulses when its charge runs low. So, like a biotic I need to constantly eat to recharge myself, especially during times of heavy use."

Garrus nodded, released her hand, jumped up and started pacing the room. "I could see everything that bastard did to you and I couldn't lift a hand to help you. I don't ever want to feel that helpless again. Not where you're concerned," he said aggravated.

Shepard shook her head. "You were in stasis. There was nothing you could have done."

"I know that. That doesn't make it any easier to swallow. I couldn't protect you," he said bitterly.

She walked over to him and placed her hands on either side of his neck and sent soothing thoughts to him. "I'm a big girl, Garrus. I don't need to be protected all the time."

His arms went around her and he pulled her in for a hug. Yes…yes, you do. He lowered his forehead to hers and wished he could feel her lips on him again. He felt her hand move against the skin of his neck and fire shot through his veins. He closed his eyes trying to control the fever within him. For just a moment he thought he would lose it and crush her to him, take what he needed most. Then the chime from the door broke into his thoughts. He released her and backed away to answer the door. Kaidan, Liara, and Tali came pouring through.

She plopped herself back down on the sofa. Kaidan and Garrus sat on either side of her and Liara and Tali took the chairs. They all dug into the food and talked quietly amongst themselves.

When the plate was all but licked clean, she bid everyone farewell and hit the shower. By the time she made it to the comm room, everyone was already there.

"I…I can't believe Ash didn't make it. How could we just leave her down there?" Kaidan asked.

"If we'd have had time to save her, we would have. Retrieving her body would have killed us all. Williams knew the risks going in. She gave her life to save the rest of us."

"But why me? Why not her?" he asked.

"The bomb was already set. We may not even have had enough time to get to her and safely get away. Also, there were only a couple of people at the bomb site. There were a lot more people at the AA tower. The needs of the many outweighed the needs of the few. I'm sorry, Kaidan"

"But if I'd done my job, you wouldn't have had to make that call," Kaidan insisted.

"You did do your job. It wasn't my fault, it wasn't yours. Saren is the only one to blame for what happened on Virmire," Shepard pointed out.

"Yes, ma'am. He'll get what's coming to him," Kaidan said.

Everyone agreed with that.

"Shepard? Excuse me for interrupting. But, I have an idea. I think the beacon you found in Saren's base might have filled in the missing pieces of your vision. I might be able to help you put all those pieces together," Liara said shyly.

"You want to join our minds again. Okay," Shepard said standing up. "Go ahead."

Liara grabbed both her hands. "Relax, Shepard. Embrace eternity," Liara said and her eyes turned black as she melded their minds. Shepard pushed out and merged their auras, sharing thoughts and feelings over the images that flew through her mind. Liara gasped and clung to her tighter. When it was over Shepard released their auras.

Liara opened her eyes and stood there stunned. The feelings and pictures had overwhelmed her and the loss of the connection was painful. She had never felt so connected to another being. It had been as intimate as asari bonding could be. She never knew a human could be so empathic. Shepard was better than any asari she'd met when it came down to it. They'd just bonded intimately in front of a room full of people and no one knew the depth of it but her. Liara knew that Shepard would probably never see her as anything more than a friend, but for Liara it was too late. Gone was the school girl crush, the hero worship. When they merged together so completely into one being, she fell absolutely, madly in love with Commander Shepard. And that thought terrified her. She was only 106, after all. "I…I never thought the images…the feelings would be so…intense."

"Did the vision make any sense to you?" Shepard asked.

"It's a distress call, a message sent out across the Prothean Empire. A warning against the Reapers, but the warning came too late," Liara told her.

"What about the Conduit? I saw a map of sorts. I've never seen that location or I'd be able to recall it."

Liara nodded. "There were images. Locations. Places I recognized from my research….Ilos! The Conduit is on Ilos! That is why Saren needed to find the Mu Relay! It is the only way to get to Ilos," Liara said with excitement.

"Then we need to get to Ilos!" Shepard stated matter of fact.

"Forget it. The Mu Relay's inside the Terminus Systems Alliance ships are not welcome there. Neither are Spectres," Tali reminded her.

"The Conduit's on Ilos. That's where Saren's going. I'll be waiting for him when he gets there!" Shepard responded.

"Saren will have his entire fleet orbiting Ilos. You'll never make it to the surface without reinforcements," Liara pointed out.

"We're done here. Dismissed," Shepard stated.

"Commander, there's a comm buoy nearby. I can link us in if you want to report back to the Citadel Council. You know, warn them about Sovereign," Joker said.

"They're not going to believe any of this. Not without proof. We'd just be wasting our time," Shepard told him bitterly. She'd thought about sending them Grim's footage, but decided to hold off. She wanted to see how things were going to play out. Grim's footage would really only show them Saren's study of indoctrination, the breeding grounds and a hologram, which could very well be construed as being fake. She had no way of showing them the vision in her brain, nor making them believe it. There was just not enough irrefutable proof.

"Aye, aye, Commander. Sovereign will be sitting on the Citadel's roof before those bastards listen to us." Joker agreed.

She noticed Kaidan fidgeting at his work center outside her cabin. She couldn't help but be worried about him. "I wanted to see how you were dealing with Ash's death."

"I'm dealing, ma'am," he said. "If you don't mind my asking, how did you deal with the losses on Elysium?"

"It was my job to get everyone out safe. I failed. I vowed not to let it happen again. Same here. I'll remember her, and I'll do better for her," Shepard admitted.

"I guess that's all we can do," Kaidan agreed solemnly.

"She died a hero so that we could take Seran down," Shepard reminded him.

"You're right. We're so close now. When we deliver everything, the Council will have to mobilize around us. And you've been at the forefront, even back in the Blitz. You'll probably get another Star of Terra out of this…I don't think I've ever met a woman like you," Kaidan said in awe.

"And you'll never meet another. I'm…different. I think they broke the mold when they made me. Not sure the galaxy could handle two of me anyway," Shepard said with a wry laugh. "What do you think about what happened on Virmire?"

"Hell, I don't know. We're fighting giant machines from outside the galaxy. Should I be afraid of them? Or in awe of them? Anything so old, so intelligent…" he said.

"We gave the turians a boot in the ass…we'll give them one too," Shepard assured him.

"I think we're going to need a bigger boot," Kaidan responded.

Shepard laughed her way all the way down to the cargo hold. She wanted to check on Wrex and their salarian guests.

She wanted to get the talk with Wrex out of the way first.

"Commander. Things got heated back on Virmire…You did what you had to. I respect your choice," Wrex told her.

"I appreciate what you did, Wrex. I won't forget it."

"Just make sure it was worth it," Wrex grumbled. "Saren has to pay for what he's done."

"He will, Wrex. We will hunt him down and one way of another he will pay for what he's done."

"I like the sound of that!" Wrex growled.

She nodded and walked over to their salarian guests.

"It was an honor working with you, Commander Shepard. Despite the losses, our mission was a success," Kirrahe told her. "My superiors will duly honor Chief Williams for her actions. Her sacrifice has earned humanity a great deal of respect from my people."

"Ash was a hell of a soldier. She knew what the risks were, but she did what she had to," Shepard said proudly.

"Of course. A grim reality that every soldier must accept. Rest assured, Commander, my men and I will not forget what you have accomplished here. We will leave your ship as soon as you reach your next destination. Perhaps we will have the opportunity to work together again someday," Kirrahe told her.

"I hope so, Kirrahe. It's been an honor," Shepard said with a smile and shook his hand.

Kirrahe's mouth dropped open in shock. Wrex and Garrus broke out in a chorus of guffaws. They'd been waiting for that to happen. Priceless.

She shot Wrex and Garrus a sour look. Not sure why they were laughing so hard. She returned her attention to Rentola, glad to see he was ok too.

"You have my gratitude, Commander. Most people would have left our team behind," Rentola commended her.

"I'm just glad I could be there for you," She smiled and shook his hand too.

Rentola's mouth gaped and he took a shaky step backwards. A new chorus of laughter broke out, this time Kirrahe joined in.

She spun around. She looked down to make sure she her pants were still up where they were supposed to me. If her pants weren't at her ankles, then what the hell was the joke? "What's so funny?" she asked the room in general. "Maybe I want in on the joke," she complained.

The laughter broke out again, this time harder.

"The joke is on us, Shepard. Not you. We were laughing at ourselves," Garrus assured her.

She gave him a sour glare and stomped into the elevator.

"Someone's in the dog house again!" Wrex said with glee, and started laughing his ass off.

Garrus shot him an icy glare and took off after Shepard. He could still hear Wrex laughing as the elevator began to rise.

Kirrahe looked over at Wrex. "They don't know, do they?" he asked.

Wrex shook his head. "Not even a clue. Do you want in on the wager?"

Kirrahe looked at Rentola. They both nodded. And two more were added to the wager pool.

Garrus stopped by her cabin, she wasn't there. His next stop was the Starboard Lounge, but again she wasn't there. His last stop was the fitness room. She was busy working the uneven bars. Garrus was in awe. The way she flowed around the bars, it was almost sensual. When she pointed her toes and spread her legs he about damn near swallowed his tongue. She did a few more loops and twists before a final flip off the bar. She landed in front of him.

"Can I help you with something?" she asked as she breezed around him and grabbed her towel. She flung her towel around her neck and dabbed her hair line. She picked up her water, tilted her head back and began to drink. Trying to pretend he wasn't there.

Garrus shivered. He could feel the cold coming off her words. I guess that would mean yes, he thought, answering his own question. "I wanted to see if you were still upset with me." He watched her throat muscled move as she swallowed water. Damn, he was in bad shape if he couldn't even watch her drink water without it turning him on.

She put her water down, a little hard. "At being made the butt of a joke that no one cared to share with me? Why would that upset me in the slightest? Not too many people like being laughed at Garrus. Laughed with, yes…laughed at, not so much. It hurt."

Ouch. Prickly. He grabbed the ends of her towel in one hand and pulled her to the left. He backed her up against the wall and put hands to either side of her caging her in. He put one leg forward to keep her from sliding out. He knew she was allowing herself to be trapped by him. "We were not laughing at you. Do you honestly think I would do something to hurt you? Do you think I'd let someone else? You should know me better than that," he said, more than a little hurt himself.

She heard the pain in his voice and felt bad about her suppositions. She removed his visor and laid on the table to the right of her. She brought her hands up and gently stroked his brow plates, drew her fingers down his mandibles. "I'm sorry," she said softly. "Then what were you laughing at?"

He closed his eyes and shivered at the sensation. He felt her fingers trailing down both sided of his neck. He knew she was trying to sooth him, but it was having a very opposite effect. Fire laced through his veins and his body swayed towards her. He felt the heat of her core on his thigh. He had forgotten that he'd put his knee out to prevent her from getting away. His eyes popped open and burned into hers until her words sank into his brain. "We really were just laughing at each other," he said thickly.

She could feel the truth of his words through her touch. She was also very aware of his thigh between her legs and the havoc it was creating with her senses. It was taking all of her control to not hump his leg like a dog in heat. She could only imagine the look on his face if she were to do such a thing. That brought a smile to her face.

Garrus…well, Garrus swallowed his tongue. He backed away as a coughing fit hit him.

Shepard grabbed the front of his carapace to keep him from getting away. She placed her other hand on the side of his neck and sent calming, soothing waves at him. Her hand felt a little warm, but she kept it up until his coughing subsided. Then she let him go.

"Thank you. I'm…hmmm…not sure what happened there."

"No biggie, it happens to us all," she assured him. "You want to dance?"

"If that means I can throw you on your ass, you bet."

They had gone a few rounds when Kaiden walked in. He saw them sparring, pulled his shirt out of his pants. Since his pants were form fitting, nothing would be hidden and if he was sparring with Shepard, he needed every bit of coverage his shirt could give him. Kaidan spent a couple of minute stretching and then jumped into the fray.

Whoever lost the round had to sit it out and play the winner of the next round. After several rounds she noticed the boys tended to play a little rougher with each other than they did with her. "Are you two holding out on me?"

Kaidan swung his head around to look at her. Big mistake. Garrus took advantage plowed into him and flipped him head over ass and landed on top of him…hard, knocking the breath out of him. Garrus gave him a hand up as he wheezed, trying to draw air into his lungs. He then gave Kaidan a thwack on his back, it sent him forward a few paces, but opened up his airways.

"Don't ever let yourself get distracted. Your enemies will use it against you every time," Garrus warned.

"Duly noted," Kaidan said.

"Sorry about that, Kaidan. But I noticed you two spar harder with each other than you do with me. I don't want you holding back just because I'm a woman."

Kaidan flushed. "No, ma'am…it has nothing to do with that."

"He's right, Shepard. Kaidan and I have a few – er…differences. We probably get a little…carried away during the matches."

"Just see that you work it out there and that it doesn't carry over into the field," she said giving them each a stern look.

"Aye, aye, ma'am…in the field we've got each other's backs," Kaidan assured her.

Garrus nodded his agreement.

"Good to hear." She picked up her towel, twirled it and thwacked them both in the ass. "Hit the showers boys, we have a meeting with Ilos." When she saw their eyes pop open in shock she shot them the biggest smile she could muster and burst out laughing as she headed out the door. Priceless.

The two men stared after her. Gasped and then sucked in huge mouthfuls of air. They looked at each other and laughed. They would surely be glaring at each other later…but right now they were in the same boat, riding out the tidal wave that was Shepard.

Garrus went and retrieved his visor and left the fitness room to Kaidan.

Shepard stripped off her workout clothing and tossed it down the chute. She put a green jade 4-leaf clover in her navel and headed to the shower. She picked up her waterproof b.o.b. that she kept near the shower and spent a little time with it, wishing it were Garrus, but needing the release nonetheless. She hit the quick-dry, slipped into another cammo suit and headed to the CIC.

Clean, refreshed, relaxed and ready to go. She stepped up to the galaxy map.

"I forwarded the mission update to the Citadel, Commander. We've got confirmation on those reinforcements. Ambassador Udina wants us to report back to the Citadel. The Council is massing a joint-species fleet to deal with Saren and his geth," Joker informed her.

"Took them long enough. Off to the Citadel, Joker. I want the Normandy at the head of that fleet!" Shepard turned and headed back to her cabin.

Garrus was already waiting for her in her cabin. "I hear we're headed to the Citadel. That the Council is finally ready to back us up."

Shepard fell onto the sofa, stretched out and put her head in his lap. "I don't know Garrus. That's the word. But it's just hard for me to believe they will actually pull through." She gave a small yawn and fell asleep.

Garrus peeled off his thin glove and ran his talons through her hair carefully. He loved the feel of her silky hair upon his skin. He sighed, put his glove back on, and slipped out from beneath her. He picked her up, carried her to bed and lay down beside her. He pulled her against him and joined her for a brief nap.

"Commander, ETA 17 minutes out," Joker informed her.

"Thank you, Joker," she mumbled.

Joker chuckled. "Have a nice nap, Commander?"

"Could have used a longer one," she groused.

Joker laughed some more and cut the line.

She rolled over in Garrus' arms and rested her forehead against his. "Time to get up. We've got to face the Council. I'm taking you with."

They rolled out of bed. Garrus hit his radar and picked up the life sign blip on his radar. "Kaidan's out there."

Shepard shook her head and smiled. She commed Joker. "Joker, have Kaidan meet me at the airlock in 10."

"Right away, Commander," Joker responded.

"You are devious! Is it any wonder that I – er…think you're the greatest?" Garrus asked.

Garrus cleared his throat and turned his head as she changed out of her cammos and into her bodysuit. She slid on her armor and was ready to go.

When Kaidan's blip disappeared Garrus slipped out of her cabin and ran for the elevator. He only had a few minutes left to suit up and get to the airlock.

They threaded their way through the tower and across the platform to face the Council.

"Good job, Shepard. Thanks to you, the Council's finally taking real action against Saren!" Udina said.

"The ambassador is correct. If Saren is foolish enough to attack the Citadel –as you believe – we will be ready for him," Tevos said.

"Patrols are stationed at every mass relay linking Citadel space to the Terminus Systems," Sparatus informed her.

"You think a blockade's going to stop him? He's on Ilos looking for the Conduit right now! What are you doing about that?" Shepard asked with irritation.

"Ilos is accessible through the Mu Relay, deep inside the Terminus Systems, Commander. If we send a fleet in there, the only possible outcome is full-scale war" Valern pointed out.

"Now is the time for discretion, Commander. Saren's greatest weapon was secrecy. Exposed, he is no longer a threat. This is over," Udina said with certainty.

"One ship going into the Terminus Systems won't start a war," Shepard pointed out.

"You detonated a nuclear device on Virmire. Things seem to explode around you Shepard!" Sparatus said coldly.

"Your style served you well in the Traverse, Commander. We recognize that. But Ilos requires a deft touch. We have the situation under control," Tevos assured her.

"If Saren finds the Conduit, we're all screwed! We have to go to Ilos!" Shepard stated firmly.

"Ambassador Udina, I get the sense Commander Shepard isn't willing to let this go," Sparatus stated.

"There are serious political implications here, Shepard. Humanity's made great gains thanks to you. But now you're becoming more trouble than you're worth."

"You bastard! You're selling us out!" Kaidan said bitterly.

"It's just politics, Commander. You've done your job, now let me do mine. We've locked all of the Normandy's systems. Until further notice, you're grounded," Udina said.

"More trouble than I'm worth? I'm worth 10 of you!-" Shepard began.

"I'd say 100, Commander," Kaidan and Garrus interrupted at the same time. They smiled and high fived…or perhaps high threed in Garrus' case.

"I will remember this, Udina. You will rue this day, mark my words. Nobody stabs me in the back, Udina. Nobody," Shepard said with a cold smile.

"I think it's time for you and your team to leave, Commander. This no longer concerns you. The Council can handle this. With my help, of course," Udina stated snidely.

She made her way back to the Normandy, threw off her armor, pulled on a workout suit and headed to the fitness room. She tackled a dummy with a vengeance.

That is where Garrus found her. "Are you trying to kill it, Shepard?" he asked gently.

She turned around and slid down onto the floor, resting her back against the dummy. "I was pretending it was Udina," she admitted.

"Do you want to dance?" he asked her.

"No, in the mood I'm in I'd probably hurt you," she said truthfully.

"I think I can handle it, Shepard."

"Garrus, in the best of times I'm too much woman for you to handle…and these are not the best of times," she said with a grin.

"Ooh…you so did not just say that. I can handle anything you can dish out," he told her.

"Really? We'll just have to test that theory one of these days. I bet I could drop you to your knees," she said smugly.

"I know you could and I'm sure we'd both enjoy every minute of it," he said softly. He shook his head. This conversation was going in a direction he hadn't intended.

"Cagey, aren't you?" She laughed.

"You know I am…About the Council. I can't believe they wouldn't listen to us. Can the decision be appealed?" he asked.

"I pushed them as far as I could, they won't budge."

"So that's it? We just sit here? We let them win and damn us all?" he asked surprised.

"We lost the battle, not the war. I'll figure something out."

"You know I'm here for you in any way that you need, right?" he asked her softly.

"Any way, Garrus?"

"Whatever you need, just name it."

Shepard chuckled. "Be careful what you say, big guy. I may just need more than you are capable of giving me."

Garrus scoffed at her. "I am more than capable of taking care of your needs." Her smile stunned him. What did he say to – Spirits! His mandibles dropped.

Shepard started laughing. "Promises…promises, big guy…I'm glad you're here with me Garrus. You always make me feel better. I don't know what I'd do without you."

And I you, he thought. "You looked like you were ready to ream the Council. Much as they deserve it, it's probably better not to burn a bridge you may need to cross later." He shook his head. "That left a bad taste. I think I just threw up in my mouth."

"Tell me about it… I think we need to take a little initiative," she said with a wicked grin.

"That's my girl. That's why I lo—like you so much." He said with a nervous chuckle. He held out his hand and helped her up and into his arms. He put his forehead to hers. "We will do this, Shepard."

"Damn straight we will," she said. "Garrus?" she asked softly.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Would it offend you if I asked you for a good luck kiss…I mean, I just feel - "

Garrus lowered his mouth to hers. She rested one hand on the back of his head, running her fingers along the skin between his plates, and the other hand rested on his cheek. She moved her soft lips against his, they lingered a moment. Then she put her forehead to his. "Thank you," she whispered.

"You don't ever have to thank me for that, Shepard," he said thickly, trying to calm his racing heart. "There can never be too much good luck." His mandibles spread in a smile.

She couldn't keep playing this game. She had to tell him how she felt. "Garrus? I think I need to tell you something. I - "

"Sorry to interrupt, Commander. Got a message from Captain Anderson."

"What did he say?" she asked.

"Only said to meet him at the club in the wards. Flux."

"Thanks, Joker."

"Do you want to go with me?" she asked him.

"Do you even need to ask?" he inquired incredulously.

"Joker. Tell Wrex to gear up and meet us in the airlock in 15."

"Aye, aye, Commander."

"Time to fly. I've got to shower and gear up…see you in a few," she said and breezed out the door.

They met up at the airlock and headed out onto the Citadel to meet up with David.

"It must be pretty hard for you Garrus to know that all this death and destruction is caused by a turian Spectre," Wrex said trying to push Garrus' buttons.

"Saren is either a traitor or a madman; either way bringing him down will restore the good name of turians everywhere," Garrus stated.

"Good. Cause I was losing sleep about people not loving the turians," Wrex grumbled.

On the way to Flux an anti-alien Terra Firma Party member stopped her asking for her support. Was he kidding? Did he not see who she was traveling with? A turian? A krogan? She told him he was entitled to his opinion, but she believed we needed to work peacefully with other races. She made her goodbyes and left before she could say something rude.

She made her way up the stairs to Flux and another idiot stoped her wanting her to purchase mental stims for him so he could negotiate against the salarians rather than leaving the matter to his alien-appeasing assistant. Some days she just wanted to shoot everyone she saw. She went over to the med-clinic and purchased a depressant. That damn thing must kick in fast, for he knew what she had done nearly immediately. He called her a bastard and alien loving scum…but, she'd been called worse...though never a bastard...bitch? Yes. Bastard? No.

Wrex and Garrus laughed over her deviousness. "Remind me to stay on your good side, Shepard," Garrus told her.

As they walked into Flux, she spotted David sitting a one of the tables.

"I'm glad you came, child. I heard what happened," Anderson said regretfully.

"They pulled me off the mission. Just like when they forced you to give up the Normandy," she admitted.

"I know. I'm sorry. I wanted to get word to you, but there was no way to get a message to you before you docked," Anderson replied. "I know you're pissed off right now, but you can't give up. They all think this is over, but we both know it's not. You have to go to Ilos. You have to stop Saren from using the Conduit."

"There's only one ship that can get me into the Terminus Systems undetected, and she's grounded," Shepard pointed out."I thought about upgrading the Hawk before I left, but in the end...damn, it's biting me in the ass now. I knew better, why didn't I listen to myself?"

"No time to worry about that now. Citadel control's locked out all the Normandy's systems. But if we override the ambassador's orders we can get them to bring the Normandy back on-line. You can be in the Terminus Systems before anyone even knows you're gone," Anderson explained.

"No, David. That doesn't work. If we steal the Normandy, you're the one left holding the bag."

"And if Saren finds the Conduit, life as we know it is over. The Reapers will destroy us," he reminded her. "You're the only one who can stop him, child. So I'll do whatever it takes to get you on the Normandy and off this station."

"Stealing the Normandy is mutiny. I won't force my crew to go along with it."

"You wouldn't have to force us, Shepard. We're behind you every step of the way…we always have been," Garrus told her. And I always will be…

"I can unlock the Normandy from one of the consoles in the Citadel control center. You'll have a few minutes before anyone realizes what's happened."

"That's a restricted area patrolled by armed guards," Garrus pointed out.

Shepard shook her head. "No, David. You'll get yourself killed. There must be another way."

Anderson thought for a moment. "Ambassador Udina issued the lockdown order. If I can hack into the computer in his office, maybe I can override it."

"The ambassador won't forgive this, Captain. You'll be charged with treason, a capital offense," Garrus pointed out the obvious flaw.

"We don't have a lot of options here," Anderson said in exasperation.

"I'm leaning towards Udina…but it's your call, David."

"I'll break into the ambassador's office. He made this personal."

Shepard walked around the table and gave David a hug. "You better keep yourself safe, David. I love you and couldn't bare it if anything happened to you."

"I love you too, child. And what you are about to do is far more dangerous than anything I will do. Stay safe and make me proud," Anderson told her as he hugged her back.

"Don't I always, dad?" she asked with a wink.

"Make me proud? Absolutely. Stay safe? Probably not," he said giving her a knowing look.

"I'll come back in one piece. I promise." She gave him a blinding smile.

David sat stunned for a moment. Then shook his head. "You ready to get the hell off this station?"

"I was born ready."

I'll take care of the lockdown. You get down to the Normandy and tell Joker to stand by," Anderson instructed her.

They practically flew to the Normandy. The guard was no longer there. That was a good start. She ran to the cockpit and stood waiting for the red light to flash green. She hopped on the intercom. "We are about to commit an act of treason against the Council and the Alliance. We are stealing the Normandy. Everyone who does not wish to accompany us needs to disembark now. Do not collect your personal belongings. They will be returned to you later. Leave now! Shepard out."

Time seemed to trickle by. She and Joker looked at each other worried. What if something had happened to David? Neither one gave voice to their concerns. Fearing that to speak it would ensure it. Finally, the light turned green and they both gave a sigh of relief.

"Let's go. Get us the hell out of here, Joker. Now!"

"Already gone, Commander," he said with a smile.

Chapter 10

The Night before Ilos

Shepard paced the small confines of her cabin, filled with urgency, dread, frustration, guilt, and many more emotions she'd rather not look to closely at. They were heading to Ilos tomorrow. An impossible feat she had to accomplish and it had set her on edge. Then Kaidan, whom she'd been innocently flirting with on and off for some time, had come by her cabin professing love and wanting to take their relationship to a deeper level.

She liked him well enough, and might have even considered the prospect herself, if another hadn't caught her eye. She was drawn in a different direction…a direction that was not reciprocated. A direction that had no future; yet, she was helpless against the pull and had been from the moment she met him.

Flirting with Kaidan had at first been due to honest interest but eventually become more of a fun, harmless way to relieve tension. Or so she thought. She had not taken into account his growing feelings; hadn't even noticed things had changed between them. His visit tonight had caught her off guard. She had been sorting through the ramifications of getting to Ilos and her growing attraction to a man who had her firmly placed in the friend zone. When she finally understood just what Kaidan had come for, she had to turn him away. She could see the confusion and hurt that he was trying to hide under a veneer of gentlemanly manners as he left her cabin. Guilt had been added to her emotional upheaval.

Guilt. Great. That was all she needed. It was her fault, she knew that, but it only made the pill harder to swallow. She had to relax before she did something she would regret. She hung her head wearily and headed to the bathroom for a hot, steamy shower. Wishing, not for the first time, they had installed a bathtub instead.

She toweled off and stepped into a black silk and lace teddy and lace French cut panties that only covered half of her bottom. She may have to don the commander mask and man up all day, but the nights belonged to her, at least the nights she had to herself…she could let her hair down and revel in her femininity. It was her guilty secret. A secret she kept close to her heart. One of many secrets kept close to her heart.

She dimmed the lighting, grabbed a bottle of wine, a glass, and her e-pad and curled up on the sofa for a bit of light reading. Eventually, she realized she'd read the same paragraph 8 times in a row and still didn't know what it said. She tossed the pad down, absently drank wine and began to pace her cabin again. She wasn't tired and couldn't sleep. She missed Garrus. Kaidan had been staying up later, so Garrus hadn't been able to come by as often lately. She was restless, anxious, and romantically frustrated. This was silly. She was a grown woman; a confident woman. She tossed on the black silk and lace matching wrapper, belted it at the waist (not even realizing it displayed more than it covered), donned some black slippers and headed out the door. She was going to do it. Yes, she was. She was going to head down to the crew quarters off the cargo bay, wake his turian ass up, and she was going to tell Garrus Vakarian just how she felt about him. Maybe he would shoot her down. Maybe he didn't see her in the same light, but didn't she owe it herself…to them both…to see if there might be something more?

As she made her way to the lift, the floor swayed beneath her feet. Bloody wine. She didn't encounter any other night owls prowling the deck. She was relieved. She wasn't in the mood for small talk. She entered the lift and hit the down button. The elevator seemed to take forever to reach the lower deck. As it descended she became more and more nervous. No, she thought, if he was asleep she wouldn't disturb him. Tomorrow was just too damned important. No….no…no…tonight was all wrong. What was she thinking? Could her timing be any worse? If they survived Ilos she would talk to him.

The elevator came to an abrupt stop. She placed her hand on the door and rested her head against it. So close. So far away. She dropped her hand, backed away and hit the up button. The door slid down as it opened and in walked the man she'd be obsessing over. He had on a dark green and tan outfit. His waist was so slender. What would it be like to wrap her legs around it? Her face flamed at where her thoughts were going.

As he entered the lift he turned to hit the up button and realized he was not alone. He hadn't expected anyone else to be up at this hour…and spirits…his mouth dropped open in surprise, mandibles flaring. There stood his Shepard in the smallest most revealing black outfit he'd ever seen. He had seen her in her under things a time or two…but this was all lace…a very see through lace. So much soft, white, human skin was exposed. If the lace shifted just a little bit he suspected he just might blush as hard as she was right now. By the looks of her she must not have expected to run into anyone either.

"Shepard, I…," he cleared his throat…,"I wasn't expecting to see you…er, anybody. I couldn't sleep. I just…um…," he cleared his throat again…, "finished up some last minute calibrations on the mako. I was …ah…hmm…just heading to the lounge to…a…relax before heading to…er…bed," he said, his voice cracking over the last word. His eyes wandered all around the elevator, looking everywhere except where he wanted to look the most. He tried so hard to ignore what she was wearing, but spirits…he wasn't dead.

He'd been drawn to this fiery woman since he'd first seen her walking towards him outside the council chambers. He'd been arguing with Executor Pallin and getting nowhere. He had recognized her right away. She was famous; he knew he had been suffering from a bit of hero worship back then. But, who could blame him? This was the Commander Shepard. He knew even then that it went beyond hero worship, though he hadn't admitted it to himself until sometime later. The fact that he was drawn to her had disturbed him for a long time. He was a turian soldier, she was a human and his commander. End of story.

As the months had worn on, under her tutelage, hero worship became a great respect. She had helped him grow…to become more than he was, more than he thought he could ever be. She had become a central fixture in his life. A life he couldn't comprehend without her. He found himself growing more and more protective of her and he knew she was becoming more and more dependent on him. He went with her on nearly every mission… on the rare ones where he was left behind he knew he acted crazy, pacing and snarling at anyone who ventured by; the crew fastidiously avoided him at those times, so much so he would have to hunt someone down to vent on them…and spirits forbid if she came back with so much as a scratch.

Shepard and he were a team…a well oiled machine…moving together as one. They knew what the other would do before it was done and react accordingly. What they had was special. An unbreakable bond forged in blood and sweat, in victory and fear, in close calls and desperate measures. No matter the mission, the only goal he had was to keep her safe. Nothing else mattered. Nobody else could protect her like he could. Nobody ever would. And, nobody better EVER come between them.

He knew he loved her just as he knew he shouldn't; his head and heart constantly warring over the right and wrong of it all. Failed turian soldier, failed c-sec officer…what right did he have to even think of this woman…This very human woman, who had never even given him the barest hint that she saw him as a man. And, how could she? He was well aware his race was not considered attractive by a majority of the other races. But, that was ok… it was better this way. She was his commander…he was turian…he would respect what that meant, it was how all turians are trained…he sighed…at times like this he wished he was a better turian.

"Garrus," she said breathlessly. Was it hot in here? The elevator had never seemed so small before. "I'm glad you're awake." What she said was, "I was hoping someone was," what she really meant was: I was hoping you were. "I was so edgy, I couldn't go to sleep. I miss our evenings together. Mind if I join you for a night cap in the lounge before I turn in? Of course, if you prefer to be alone I understand."

"No, Shepard, I'd be..ah..hmm…grateful for the company." As they rode in silence his eyes kept traveling to the barely clad woman at his side. For every inch exposed he wanted to see another. He had never seen a naked human woman…never wanted to…well , except for this woman next to him, truth be told…and that he certainly never expected to happen. He knew his place. This would certainly be a test of his turian fortitude, he mused as he followed a half naked Shepard out of the elevator.

As they entered the starboard lounge, he walked over to the bar and poured himself a turian brandy and her some asari rosewine. he knew she preferred the honeymead, but there was none to be had. Likely, she reallocated all the bottles to her cabin. His mandibles flared at the thought. He handed her the glass and settled on the sofa facing the large window, resting his arm on the sofa's arm, gently twirling the dark amber liquid. She settled in against his side, just like old times, only there was no book or vid to occupy them…just the dark of space and the randomly winking stars. He put his other arm around her and she snuggled in. If she had a clue what this did to him she'd probably freak.

She was staring raptly out the window, sipping her wine, so he took a moment to look at her while she was occupied. Her long legs, which she had tucked in were exposed nearly to the hip. The slim fabric had slid up when she laid against him. The deep lacey "v" of the outfit went to her navel. But it had shifted and her breast lay exposed through the lace, its peak tight and hard. He swallowed the lump in his throat and turned his head forward so that he too was looking at the stars. "So beautiful," he said thickly, though he wasn't thinking of stars at all.

"Yes," she sighed. "And so very peaceful. I wish it could be like this always…with you…" Her words fading into silence…followed by a light snore…

Garrus closed his eyes and his mandibles spread in a smile. Shepard could fall asleep anywhere. He looked down at the woman that he loved and a sense of peace filled him. "So do I," he whispered. He placed his empty brandy glass on the table, gently removed her glass from her hand and placed it next to his. He gathered her up in his arms, adjusting her slightly to the side so his carapace didn't dig into her, held her closely to his heart and headed for her cabin.

He had tucked her in countless times. This time shouldn't be different, but it was. She was all but naked in his arms. He had seen her breast, yearned to touch it, to feel its softness. His desire for this woman right now overwhelmed him, nearly brought him to his knees.

He entered her cabin, laid her gently on the bed and pulled the covers up to her waist. He noticed the "v" had parted even further, completely baring one breast to his hungry gaze. He had to touch her; just once. He removed his thin glove, his taloned fingers hovering just over the heat of her breast. He slowly touched the white globe, feeling its softness, running his thumb pad gently over its peak and he watched in wonder as it hardened and puckered. She moaned and moved into his hand. He closed his eyes tightly, shaking with need, fighting the urge to wake her up and make love to her. Every part of him screamed to take her. To make her his. His eyes shifted focus, his control slipped, he could feel something pushing to get out and it turned him cold with fear. He pulled the covers up to her chin and slipped out of her room at a near run. Nobody would hurt his Shepard…not even him.