A steady tap of her foot was all that stopped her from going insane. Blue eyes scanned the room for something to do, or take. Her mouth turned into a scowl, as she again mentally scolded herself. How she was so easily captured, it put a stain on her perfect record. But then again, it was the perfect job they set up. With the whole disappearing colonies thing, the thief had hardly any time to practice her trade. A large sigh escaped her lips, and she checked her nails, making sure none were chipped or were actually Collector spawns.

You can never be sure these days.

A loud and deliberate cough bought her out of her thoughts, and she smiled wickedly at the Salarian standing at the door of her cell.

"It's about time I got some company. I was getting so lonely..."

"Please, your flirting won't work on me. The captain wants to see you." He stated, and quickly took hold of her hands cuffs.

"I didn't realise you people like this kind of stuff." When he shot her a confused look, she elaborated. "I mean with the hand cuffs and all, I kind of like it... Kish." She smirked at his surprised face but continued walking.

"How do you know my name, human?"

"Release me, and I'll let you know."

"I'm not stupid."

"You keep telling yourself that, because it's on your uniform." He growled in her direction, and she simply blew him a kiss. They walked down the same corridor for about five minutes; every now and then the prisoner would wave at a staring onlooker. Her hips swayed from side to side, and she winked at all the soldiers looking at her, even the females.

"Would you stop that?" Kish spat, turning towards a less occupied area. He tapped on his Omni-tool, and then stood waiting while they were de-contaminated.

"Stop what?" A worried look crossed her face, but he knew it was an act. When the metal door slid open, a puffed looking human waited for them. "Hello sweet thing." The prisoner purred, fluttering her eyelashes.

"H-hello... Kish, captain wants to see you, ASAP! I wouldn't keep him waiting!" And with that he nodded, and ran away. Everyone in the lower part of the station was rushing around, most on calls or yelling out orders. They continued walking in a forward direction, hardly any paying attention to the Human and Salarian.

"Retreat Echo team and send in Fox! I want those injured pulled out of there!" A man practically screamed into his Omni-tool. He turned and saw the woman with a raised eyebrow and stubborn look on her face. "Release her." Kish did so, and then moved out of the way, placing his three digit hand on his side arm. "Commander Smith was looking for you Kish, go find him."

"Bye kitten, don't forget about me." She now winked at him, and Kish saluted and made his way out of the room.

"I would appreciate if you left my people alone, Miss Winter. Your presence distracts them." The captain sighed and rubbed his temple, trying to relieve the stress of the day. "They have enough to worry about then a thief on the ship."

"Then release me, and then no worry will be on your crew." Winter was tired, and wanted to go home to her hidden and secluded house.

Maybe I'll have a hot bath, or eat some chocolate.

"I lost two of my top squads today. I welcome you not to be a smart ass."

"Obviously they weren't that good then." The captain turned and gritted his teeth, his aura burning with rage.

"My son was one of those people, you ice queen." His spat, and she did nothing but tisk.

"A good captain stays cool, even under fire. You let your emotions get to you."

"And that's a bad thing? At least I have emotions." He retorted, glaring daggers at her.

"Maybe, maybe not. But it's how I've survived all these years." They watched each other closely, nether breaking eye contact. Winters looked over the Captain, scanning his face like a machine would. His eyes were a dark brown, almost black, but the way he watched her, like a parent would secretly watch their child. She thought about his son, what he might have looked like if he inherited his father's looks. His hair looked as though it had been shaved recently, so she couldn't quiet give it a colour. No facial hair was poking out, and no tattoos were visible. He was an ordinary person who just happened to be a Captain in the Alliance Navy. After a while, she sighed and turned her back to him, looking out the window that was place conveniently next to his desk. There was no dirt or grass or even water visible, only a black canvas filled with little stars. "What do you want from me Captain?"

"Nothing. It's what I need from you. What the galaxy needs from you." She scoffed and turned to face him. He looked as though he actually believed in his statement.

"I don't recall stealing anything from the Alliance." He raised his eyebrows at her, and she quickly clarified. "Recently, that is." He smiled, and she did too. She always tried to make people smile, even if it wasn't the best time for jokes. He returned to his desk and sat, offering her the seat opposite of him. She declined and remained standing next to the window. "Well, since you oh so much about me, what's your name Captain?"

"James." He scratched his stubbled cheek, and then turned his back to look at a large monitor. It displayed the current location of his and others squads, from N7 groups to just plain old soldiers. "Not my first name, but too bad." She raised a brow at him but ignored him anyway. The screen grabbed her attention also, showing officers from the Alliance scanning what looked to be an abandoned colony.

"What are they doing? That settlement looks deserted." He nodded his head, and turned his gaze to her. It was remorseful, but furious as well.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about. This new threat, it's brought nothing but pain and hurt to humans. From male to female, adults to babies, they disappear without a trace, and if we have any chance of discovering the enemy here, or finding those missing, we need the best of the best." Determination clouded his eyes as he turned and looked at Miss Winter. "We need you."

"Wait, wait, wait! Need me for what?" The look he gave her made her want to simply refuse whatever he was talking about straight away. But when he pointed to the screen that now had a blank line in front of the word Division, something clicked. "Oh, no, no, no, no!" Was he glaring at her or attempting the puppy eyes. "No!"

"It's either that, or you stay in prison." She buried her face in her hands then desperately looked at the floor, hoping a knight in shining armour would burst out of the floor and galloped away with her on his trusty steed.

"First of all, what squad would I be joining?"

"That's the best bit. You're not joining one, you're making one."

Oh, it gets better and better, doesn't it? Well there goes my hot bath...

"Not that I'm questioning my abilities, but I don't think I could lead a squad, not again anyway." She tried to stare him down, but him seemed too happy and smug to take her all the seriously.

"Nonsense! I've seen you in battle before, and I know about your past with Cerberus. I can get you a full squad in less than a week." With a questioning look, she turned and faced the screen that was now blank. A long and deliberate sign was pushed out of her throat.

"Does everyone know about me and Cerberus?" Silence followed, which answered her question, but she continued on. "If you do, then you must know that they are still trying to kill me and what not."

"Of course I know, everyone in the galaxy knows you, and the fact that more than half of those people are trying to kill you is impressive." A frown pulled at her features, but in a sudden courageous outburst, she mockingly swooned and placed a hand over her heart.

"Oh dear, sweet Captain, you must think me such a tyrant! But alas, I am just a dear maiden hoping to find true love!" He burst out laughing, and she simply frowned again.

"You should be in a theatre..." The conversation went silent then, and it seemed that James was giving her time to think. Be the leader of this apparent squad, or stay behind bars. Her mind started to betray her, as did her heart.

Maybe it's time to start again. I wasn't so bad last time... Besides the whole murdering thing.

Something, or in fact, someone swam around in her memory like a pathetic bug that she desired to squish. Damn... Her brain simply ran around in circles for a bit, until she got frustrated.

"Fine! I'll make a stupid little squad or whatever. But if I so much as hear a whisper of the word ma'am from any of these people, I'll ring that fat neck of yours." And with that he smiled and extended his hand. Her pride demanded that she simply smack that smug face of his and walk away, but she physically forced herself to shake it.

"Welcome aboard, Miss Winter. I will have Kish escort your temporary room." The Salarian in question marched into the room some minutes later, and pulled out some hand cuffs. His attempt of cuffing her failed when the Captain placed hand in front of him and explained. "She's with us now." He groaned, and she suspected it wasn't in pleasure. With a quick, but questioning salute, Kish exited the way he entered.

"Don't sound so excited, Kish! Anyone would think you hated the idea of me slowly rising to outrank you." She didn't miss his silent growl, but she decided not to bother with him anymore. They walked in silence and she kept herself from flirting or eyeing anyone. They all seemed too busy to notice the two anyway. "So, how did you end up here?" He seemed surprised with her question, but simply shrugged.

"None of your business."

"Oh, so you're going to be like that are you? Fine, two can play at that game." And so two could, as both stayed silent for the rest of the four minutes it took to walk Winter to her 'temporary' room. She was incredibly thankful that it was temporary, because it was small. And she didn't exaggerate, not all the times anyway. The room look like it was two by two meters, and it only had a single bed in it. "So what, this used to be the old broom cupboard or something?" Kish smirked and started to walk away.

"Bathroom is four doors to your right. If you need anything else, don't find me."

"Arsehole!" With her accent, the word sounded a lot more vulgar. He ignored her and rounded a corner, leaving her with her thoughts. Again. With a defeated sigh, she moved towards the bed and plopped down onto it, struggling to find a comfortable position. After a minute or two of squirming about, she lay on her stomach and fell into a restless sleep.