I started writing this a few years ago and forgot about it until I found it again on my laptop recently. Planning on creating this story and hoping anyone would like to tag along for this ride. This is a story of my own original characters in the Mass Effect Universe. Please enjoy.

Councilor Sparatus turned as ambassador Orinia stepped into his office. They had enjoyed a productive work relationship since meeting years ago; however he was not really looking forward to the conversation. He had enough on his plate and the whole thing seemed like a bad idea.

"Ambassador Orinia, a pleasure," he said curtly.

She stepped into his office also frustrated with recent events.

"Councilor, you know why I'm here. Let's make this quick."

Sparatus nodded, dreading the conversation.

"Yes, I suppose we should… Thana Arterius… Younger sister of Saren and Desolas Arterius." Sparatus said it impassively. He didn't dislike her and in fact they had never met before. Her two older brothers were a different story though; if she was anything like them, he would prefer her locked away.

Orinia waved him off. She knew what he was getting at.

"I know what you're thinking Councilor, but you need to put your bias aside. She's not like her brothers. She condemned those traitors and wanted to be on the team to hunt Saren down."

Sparatus interjected, "Yes, yes. I know. I'm not condemning her for her brothers' actions. We must be wary though." Sparatus wiped his mandible in contemplation before continuing. "Her record is impressive, but I have concerns."

Orinia rebutted, "She has had some… issues. She tries to do good, but her brothers… it doesn't help. She tries to shoulder everyone's burdens and put the world on her back. When her unit died during the geth attack… she had difficulty adjusting."

Sparatus looked over the Presidium as he took that in. "She did save a lot of lives during the geth attack. Her squad got a lot of people out safely when we lost the Citadel. They held their ground until the end."

Orinia nodded feeling slightly somber remembering their sacrifice. After a few moments of silence she spoke. "After they died she lost it. She headed straight for Saren. In that moment, he was already dead to her. Any resemblance of family bound that may have been there was gone."

She laughed briefly as she continued. "Almost made it to him too, even after losing all of that blood. Commander Shepard beat her to him. Fought all the way there just to become part of the rescue party after they killed Saren. All that blood… Hmm. She should have died."

Sparatus couldn't argue that, she had almost died trying to kill the traitor, he had to give her a chance. "She's a survivor, true enough. But so was Shepard, and we lost her almost two years ago. Is that what we need? Another one? Another martyr."

Orinia grinned, "That's the only person that can protect the galaxy. And we should give her the chance."

Spartus rubbed his neck as he sighed. "Well she's already on the way for her test. We'll see how she does on the mission."

The shuttle sped along to its destination in silence. The occupants sat inside anxiously waiting to arrive. Besides for the mission briefing beforehand, the entire ride had been eerily silent. Only a few hushed whispers had been spoken; all about her.

"Why is she here? Didn't her brothers do enough?"

Another hushed voice chimed in, "We'll just keep an eye on her, just in case she tries to backstab us."

Another soldier interjected, "Maybe that's why that Spectre is here too, to make sure she doesn't try anything."

After her eldest brother Desolas betrayed her species, she had gotten a lot of flak from others. Luckily her other brother had negated most of it by taking their brother down and being one of the most famous of Spectres. Then Saren had to go and betray the Council and attack the Citadel. Since then even after fighting to stop him, she had been cast into suspicion by every turian that knew her name.

Clenching her hands she tried to remain calm from the unjust harsh whispers from the team she had been assigned to for the mission. This was her career now, high risk missions that took her all across the galaxy. No official posting because no one in command could or would trust her because of her family name.

When she was about to snap one of the turians who had refrained from uttering insults about her stood up. She couldn't make out his face from behind the black visor of his helmet. He marched over in the cramped space in the shuttle and grabbed one of the turians by the back of his fringe.

"That's enough."

It was said so directly and with only a hint of anger, yet by the looks of the other two turians who had been whispering, they got the message and immediately stopped. However, the one being held shoved him off, not caring for the orders of his superior officer.

Instantly he began speaking back in defiance of the order. "You're going to defend that traitorous bitch? For all we know she's just going to shoot us in the back as soon as we land!"

His argument held no sway to the helmeted turian standing before him. Again he seemed eerily calm as he stared the other turian down. A few tense moments passed before he reached down, grabbed his pistol, and then pressed it underneath the other one's mandible.

In a serious and noticeably calm tone, which made it seem more frightening, he responded. "Fall in line Sarius. She's the commanding officer on this mission. Show some respect."

Sarius grumbled as he weighed his options, not that there were many with a gun to his face. In an almost exasperated tone he replied, "Tactus, y- you can't shoot me! Especially for over that traitor!"

That outburst was what finally pushed her over the edge. She could ignore the snide comments and whispers about her as long as the mission got done for only so long. Blatant disrespect, however, she could not tolerate. She stood up and stepped closer to the two men.

In a sincere tone she spoke to Tactus. "Thank you Tactus?" She trailed off waiting to get his full name.

Tactus holstered his weapon without even looking at Sarius. "Tactus Sidros, mam."

Nodding she replied, "Thank you Lieutenant Sidros." Tactus nodded before stepping back to take his seat; watching to see what she was going to do next. Turning her attention toward Sarius, her grin twisted into a snarl.

In a menacing tone she spoke to him. "He may not be able to shoot you but what's stopping me?" His eyes opened wide in shock as she continued. "I'm Thana Arterius. Sister of Desolas Arterius who tried to rule our race and turn us all into mindless super soldiers. And Saren Arterius, who betrayed the Council. What's killing a nobody like you compared to that?"

Fear was evident on Saruis' face as she stared at him. He couldn't refute what she said as she continued. "You will follow whatever I, your commanding officer on this mission, and whatever the Spectre says. Is that clear?"

Sarius looked at the two men he had been speaking to before but both were looking away. Neither of the men wanted to exacerbate the situation by further agitating the threatening woman. Finally he gulped before nodding nervously to Thana.

At that moment the Spectre who had been watching the whole scene finally interjected. "Using your family notoriety to make that imbecile fall in line. Smart."

Thana looked at the Spectre and gave a curt nod. "Sometimes you have to use your weakness to your advantage." She looked back at the men before continuing. "So who are you anyway? All the briefing said was that it was a high risk mission." Thana eyed him up and down before finishing. "Must be to send a Spectre along for the ride."

The Spectre grinned before replying. "Clever and observant, that's good. Guess I shouldn't leave you all in the dark any longer." He back up and broadened his attention to the whole team. "Jondum Bau, Special Tactics and Reconnaissance. Now to the point."

Bau activated his omni-tool that quickly displayed a holographic ship. "As you have all probably know, nearly two years ago the famous Commander Shepard's ship was attacked and she was killed. The ship, the SSV Normandy SR-1, was an experimental prototype built as a collaborate project between the humans and turians."

Clearing his throat he continued. "Say what you will about sensitivities but immediately following her death they began work on another ship, the SR-2."

Thana grimaced as she muttered out, "Assholes."

Bau continued through the interruption. "It was being built at an Alliance shipyard. The human terrorist group, Cerberus, attacked the shipyard and somehow managed to tow the ship to one of their bases of operation."

Tactus who had remained silent interjected. "They managed to attack a military shipyard? And steal the ship? Must have been an insider, wouldn't have happened at a turian shipyard."

Bau waved Tactus off. "Correct on one of those assumptions. There was an insider, he's dead now." Thana gave him a surprised look that he immediately noticed. "Cyanide poisoning during his interrogation. Anyway, the ship was recaptured and sent to a turian shipyard… Again it was stolen."

Tactus coughed as he looked away. He little comment had been thrown right back in his face and feeling embarrassed was an understatement. Thana would have laughed if the situation was less serious. She could tell he felt foolish and ashamed that the turians had been deceived the same as the humans.

Bau rubbed his forehead as he continued. "Yes, say what you want to about Cerberus but they are persistent. That's why we are here. Salarian STG team tracked the ship to this planet shortly after it landed. It is of utmost importance that we recapture it before they can get more information. We have reason to believe that they have already began building another one and we don't want them getting information about the new drive core and weapon systems in this one that was built after being reacquired."

The shuttle pilot cut in, "ETA to drop, thirty seconds."

Bau added, "Some kind of interference groundside. Need to find STG team and find out what's going on. No intel on what kinds of defenses Cerberus has set up."

Everyone began to check their weapons in anticipation for the drop. All were trained professionals, yet even so they were on edge. Silence permeated the shuttle as it began to slow down. Thana checked her rifle one last time before closing her eyes and slowly breathing in and out, mentally preparing herself for the mission. Her eyelids snapped open, she was ready.

"Spectre, you in the lead on this Op?"

Bau checked his pistol before blinking and looking at Thana. "No, you take lead. I'll watch."

Sarius grumbled in disdain because he would have to follow her orders. Bau looked at him perplexed before responding.

"I'm a Spectre. Can kill you on a whim. Suggest you follow her orders and not cause a problem. Potential risk to the mission will be dealt with." Bau turned away, not caring what reaction Sarius would have. Thana smirked from the statement because it was said in such an analytically and direct way and with a certainty that no one could question if it was a hollow threat.

As the shuttle approached the drop zone everyone inside could hear gunfire groundside. Thana prepped herself to go out first. Every mission she had led she took point; a firm believer that one leads from the front. The shuttle stopped at the drop zone and remained hovering several feet above the ground. It was a Cerberus base with several small buildings in the area.

Right before the doors opened, Bau yelled out, "The mission's yours now, Arterius!"

Thana gave him a curt nod as the shuttle door opened. Instantly she jumped out and landed. A few cautious steps forward and she heard feet behind her impacting the ground. She turned her head quickly to see Tactus was the first to jump followed by Saruis and the other two turians. Bau pulled up the rear.

Thana quickly surveyed their surroundings and saw blood on the wall of one of the larger buildings. While running towards the building she signaled her team to follow. She leaned towards the left of the door as the rest of her team stacked up with her. Activating the door they waited a few moments before it opened.

Immediately they poured into the room checking every corner as they went. They saw what looked like a small war had gone on in what looked like a reception area of the building. A few human bodies dotted the floor and a salarian lay in the middle of the small battle's wake.

Thana approached it to examine it closely. Weapon fire dotted his torso and she could tell he must have died quickly. In a tone that had a hint of remorse she voiced her thoughts. "STG, recognize the armor. Must have drawn the defender's fire."

Behind her she heard one of the turians on her team approach a locked door. Thana turned and began to approach him. "Wait for the team."

The turian paid her no attention as he used his omni-tool to open it. Thana snarled a bit before yelling. "I said, wait for the team!" Before she could reach him, the door opened and Cerberus operative opened fire on her teammate.

"Shit!" escaped from Thana's mouth as she raised her weapon. She wasn't fast enough as she watched a bullet go through her teammates head. As he dropped she used her rifle and took down the assailant before he could turn his attention to anymore of her team.

Running over to her teammate Thana panicked. She already knew he was dead and a bit of an asshole from the flight over, but he was still under her command. No matter how much of a dick someone could be to her she would still put her own life on the line to protect them and yet she failed him. Thana reached her teammate and knelt down and looked closely at him. A moment passed in silence before she stood up to see everyone looking at her. "We can't do anything for him now… We need to finish the mission."

Sarius stepped forward snarling as he pointed at her threateningly. "You heartless bitch! You expect us to follow your traitorous ass around knowing you don't give a shit about us!"

Bau watched to see how she would react. He didn't expect her team to follow her orders. This was their first outing together and her name alone aroused suspicion. How she handled situations like this was one of the reasons why he recommended her to the Spectres.

Thana did not disappoint him. She stepped forward and grabbed Sarius by his mandible. In a neutral tone she spoke softly to him. "Listen because I'm only going to say this once. That idiot disobeyed my order. I can't do anything for him now. If you want to get through this alive and in one piece, you will listen to me. Because for some strange reason, I want to- No… I need to protect your undeserving ass. Now, fall in line."

Thana let go of him as she watched his jaw fall dumbfounded. She turned her gaze at the rest of her team staring each one in the eye. The other turian she didn't get the name of turned away in shame. Both Tactus and Bau gave her a nod.

She looked into the room that the Cerberus operative was hiding in to see it was practically empty. Must be a storage room… Wasn't used. Thana turned back to look again at her fallen comrade. Never even got his name…

Thana walked quickly to another door in the reception room. She signaled to the team to follow as she opened it to reveal a long hallway. Peering down it she heard gunfire. "Let's move!" Her team followed as she sprinted down the hall. Sarius hesitated a few moments before finally following her lead. Luckily there were no rooms to check along the way to impede their progress.

Bullet marks and blood covered the unusually long passage. A little more than a dozen humans and four more salarians littered the floor, all dead. As they got to the end Thana pushed the door open to find herself in a rather large laboratory. Quickly accessing the situation she saw at least ten more humans lying in their own blood.

Hearing a few grunts she went through another door to see a lone salarian with three humans. Before she could help him she saw him completely dismantle them. One of the humans grabbed him from behind trying to administer a chokehold. The salarian pointed his pistol up and exhausted the last of his clip into his capture's head.

As the lifeless arms slacked he quickly got out of the hold and pistol whipped the human in front of him before narrowly dodging getting shot point blank in the face by the third human. He didn't completely dodge it as blood splatter and his left cranial horn was no longer recognizable. Thana tried to turn her weapon to the third person but the salarian moved in front of her sights. She wasn't that knowledgeable about salarian biology, but she didn't think he should still be conscious after getting most of his horn shot off.

The salarian then knocked the gun out of the man's hands and kicked in his knee. The man stumbled and almost quicker than her eyes could see, the salarian seemed to appear behind the Cerberus operative. Right away he grabbed his head and twisted snapping his neck like it was a twig. The rest of her team stood behind Thana staring incredulously at the scene.

Salarian's weren't known as the strongest compared to other species, but what they witnessed was sheer brutality. The salarian took a restful knee as he rubbed his missing horn. He began to apply medi-gel to stop the bleeding. Rubbing his face for a few moments he finally looked at the newcomers.

"You the team they sent in to get the ship?" he asked in a tired voice.

Thana nodded as she lowered her weapon. "Commander Arterius. Guessing you're the STG team?"

The salarian nodded as he surveyed the dead Cerberus troopers. "Yes or what's left of it... Lost most of my team when we infiltrated the building. You see any survivors?" Thana shook her head in response. The salarian breathed in before letting out a heavy breath. "Damn… Well, thanks for the assistance."

He took a moment to compose himself before seamlessly transitioning to a more professional demeanor and hesitantly standing up. "Captain Jaren Kirrahe, STG. We picked up their trail and followed them here. Too much interference to let you know the situation on the ground. Ship got shot as soon as we came in. Most of my men suffered injuries before we even got in the fight. Add to that, they set up turrets in that hallway."

Thana nodded, "Yeah looked like a deathtrap. Surprised you made it his far."

Kirrahe nodded. "STG for a reason. Cerberus made it look like this was the main building, most guards and whatnot. Fell for it. Good news though, sent three men to another building. Should head there."

Thana looked at her team then back at Kirrahe. "What building?"

Kirrahe took a few uneasy steps forward as he bent down and picked up his pistol. "The least conspicuous building a few clicks south of this one. Just in case this wasn't it." He looked at her men and motioned for them. "Got any spare clips?"

Thana looked at Kirrahe in surprise. "You sure you can fight?"

Kirrahe nodded. "Takes more than this to take me down. Now if you would." He finished as he motioned for ammo. Tactus threw him a few thermal clips that he immediately took and reloaded. She had to hand it to him, he certainly was tough if he was still moving around with a head wound like that.

Thana gestured for him to follow as she started doubling back through the long hallway. Kirrahe breathed out heavily as they stepped past his fallen men. As they stepped outside, they were presented with something unexpected.

Tactus voiced everyone's thoughts first. "Whose shuttles are those? Not familiar with that symbol."

Thana looked at them in suspicion. She knew they weren't getting any backup on the mission. That and they weren't Cerberus. Looking at Kirrahe and Bau she could see their perplexed cautious stares. One of the shuttles approached them as several turians jumped out and landed.

Kirrahe looked at them before commenting. "Friends of yours?"

Thana was about to respond until one of the turians raised his rifle towards them. Quickly they fanned out as the intruders opened fire. Everyone took cover as they tried to contemplate what exactly was happening and who their unexpected guests were. Thana fired a few shots over the cover of a rock she was crouched by as she scanned her surroundings.

There were only eight hostiles shooting at them at the moment. For her it wasn't too much of a big deal but they didn't really expect the ambush. She breathed in a few calming breaths before popping out of cover and firing a concussive shot at the group of enemies. It impacted one in his chest before exploding and killing the turian.

At that moment Tactus used his propulsion packs to launch himself in the air before coming down on one of the combatants and impaling him with his omni-blades. Thana watched as he fired a few shots before activating his cloak and disappearing.

Damn, he's pretty good. Glad he's with us. Another shuttle neared snapping her out of her thoughts. She waited a moment before firing another concussive shot at its thruster. On impact it exploded turning the shuttle into a massive fireball. She smirked as it crashed nearby. He's good, but I'm better.

Kirrahe watched and nodded before leaping out of cover and taking two of the hostiles down with his pistol. One of the troopers turned on him but not fast enough as Kirrahe slid past him while dropping a grenade at his feet. Kirrahe leaped away just in time to avoid the explosion before firing again at the enemy.

Thana was impressed. She knew STG were the elite of the salarian military but this guy was something else. As for Sarius, he just sat back taking a shot or two every few moments, not really contributing. She would have been furious if not for Bau. He was sitting in cover and shooting a few shots every few seconds. Each one made impact but it was not really helping.

Calling out to him, she yelled, "Bau, what the fuck are you doing?"

He looked at her perplexed before popping out of cover and nailing one of the hostile turians right between the eyes before going back into cover. In a neutral tone he replied. "I can take them out, but it's your mission. Show me what you can do."

Show him what I can do? Spirits this is infuriating. Why is he even here if he isn't going to help? Something wasn't on the up and she knew it. Even without the hostile turians something seemed fishy to her about the assignment. Why would a Spectre be sent on a mission and not help? That and why would the Spectre want to watch her?

A stray shot hit her shield bringing her out of her thoughts. "Alright, we're too open out here!" Thana said through their comms. "Sidros, stay camouflaged and flank left, everyone else, follow my lead."

Thana sprang from cover shooting and killing another one of the enemy combatants with ease. Tactus grunted in response as he followed her orders. Everyone else tried to keep up as she sprinted south towards the building Kirrahe sent his men to. The pace they were running seemed to help them dodge most of the fire coming at them besides for the few that impacted their shields.

As they neared the building Thana saw most of the drop shuttles were leaving the facility. Shit, all their troops must have landed. There must have been around thirty ships, maybe even forty. Unknown enemy, unknown numbers. Not good.

Before reaching the door she spun around and took a knee to provide cover fire for her team. Tactus reached her first and followed her lead. Everyone rushed past and went through the door to the building. It was not a moment too soon as the enemy combatants were converging on the building. Numerous shots began to riddle their shields bringing them dangerously close to failing. Tactus motioned for her to go into the building first as he continued to fire.

Thana nodded as she fired a concussive shot at a group to their left before going through the doorway. Tactus began to back up before his shielding completely overloaded. Damn. A round ripped through his leg as he tried to get inside. Stumbling he pushed on into the building before a sniper round pierced through his chest, splattering blood onto Thana's face.

Bau shut the door before smashing the locking mechanism to buy them some time. Thana knelt down next to Tactus to examine his wounds and take control of the situation. "Medic, get over her!" Thana yelled out.

The other turian on her team rushed over and began to examine his wounds. "By the way, what's your name?"

The turian responded without looking at her. "Chief Viderius." He pulled up his omni-tool as he did a quick scan. Immediately he began to apply medi-gel vigorously to his chest wound. Thana began to apply some to his leg to stop the bleeding there.

Slightly unnerved she asked him, "How bad is it?"

Through a gurgled cough Tactus reached up and pulled off his helmet to reply. "Just a scratch."

Viderius continued to try to patch him up with a look of concentration and worry. "It's bad… Medi-gel won't fix this. Might stem the bleeding but he needs surgery. Already losing enough blood as it is."

Thana looked on as Tactus gave a grim smile. Reaching over she clasped his hand to give it a reassuring squeeze before standing up and rubbing the bridge of her nose. Fuck. She turned her head to see Kirrahe staring at one of his men riddled in bullet wounds.

Thana walked beside him to stare as well. A few terse moments passed before she offered all she could. "I'm sorry about your men…"

Kirrahe took a deep breath before responding. "Me too. Me too… We need to move before they get in."

Bau surveying the scene agreed. "We need to move fast. Don't know how long it'll take them to break through but I'm betting it won't be long. This is a security checkpoint. Set up here while the rest go deeper in."

Sarius who had remained quiet for an unusually long time replied. Me and Viderius will cover. The rest of you can go ahead."

Tactus coughed out, "Set me up over behind the desk. Can't really move but I can still hold them back."

Thana didn't like the idea but they didn't have many options. They couldn't carry him while they checked out the building; they wouldn't be able to move fast enough. A pounding on the door forced her to make her decision.

"I don't like it, but we don't have time. If you can't hold them back fall back. Don't be the hero. Get to us and we'll try to fight our way out together."

She gave everyone a sincere look before opening up the next door to go into the building. Another long passage was set in front of her. Again more Cerberus bodies lined the hallway. With a final look at her team she began to run down the hallway.

Bau followed behind along with Kirrahe in tow. Kirrahe stopped and turned. "As my brother would say, hold the line. Don't let my men die in vain."

Tactus gave him a nod that he gladly accepted. There was still a chance his last man was alive but the odds were not high. He hoped they could at least complete the mission so it wouldn't be for naught. Kirrahe ran down the hallway to catch up to Thana.

Thana ran and jumped over dead troopers as she made her way down the hallway. She could see that Kirrahe's men were just as capable as he was. The dozen dead Cerberus troopers were direct evidence of the fact. At the end of the hallway was another door. Thana opened it to see an elevator. Every mission there's an elevator. Wonder if anyone else has to deal with this? The door slid open to reveal Kirrahe's last man in a pool of blood.

Kirrahe shouldered past her as he kneeled by his man. "Dokon! You're still alive!"

Dokon wheezed as he gasped for air. Blinking his eyes once he replied. "We tried sir… Lost Maerot back there." He let out another gasp as he struggled to get enough air to breathe. "The ship… it's here. I couldn't break their line…" Dokon gasped one last time before his body went limp.

Kirrahe rubbed his own face before using his hand to close his comrade's eyes. The last of his men had fallen leaving Kirrahe the last of his team. Thana tried to place a reassuring hand on his shoulder but Kirrahe took a step forward as he checked his gun.

In a somber tone he spoke. "Let's go. I'll honor my men later." Thana reluctantly agreed. She knew what it was like to lose someone on her team and the pain Kirrahe was going through. His resolve to finish the mission impressed her and she wasn't about to stop and mourn the dead soldier. They had a mission to complete and were running out of time.

Bau followed the two into the elevator. Thana activated it and they rode down in silence. Thana remained quiet to focus on the mission at hand while Kirrahe's silence was one of remorse, guilt and anger for losing all of his men. A pool of anger waiting to boil over at any second. Bau on the other hand merely kept quiet and observed the two.

As they rode down the elevator, Thana looked at Kirrahe's face and saw the pain barely being suppressed by him. In a neutral tone she spoke aloud. "I'm sure they were good men. We couldn't do anything for them. I want you to know that."

Kirrahe didn't reply right away. Uncharacteristic of his species he processed it for a few minutes before replying with a heavy sigh. "I know… And they were. They were the best. They did their duty. Doesn't help that I ordered them to their deaths."

Thana shook her head. Wholeheartedly she disagreed with that train of thought. "You can't think that way. You gave them orders and they did their duty, just as you said. It's not your fault, Kirrahe."

The captain just shook his head his before replying. "It is my fault, you know that. Everyone in command of soldiers with common sense knows that. We order them to their deaths, like pawns. We all just have our own way of dealing with it."

Thana's jaw slacked at hearing that. The remorse he had moments ago had turned into the brutal calculus of war. What could have triggered the change? "How could you say that about your men? They're not mere pawns!"

Kirrahe stared at her with tired eyes. Blinking slowly he exhaled before responding. "I'm not saying they are merely pawns. We all have a part to play and mine was their leader. I failed them, I know that. But the game keeps going with or without them, or us."

Thana interjected, "You think this is a game? Those are people?"

Kirrahe rubbed his face as he continued. "Poor choice of words but the analogy stands. I recognize their sacrifice. They didn't deserve that and I'm not suggesting that they are merely tools, but every good leader will have to make choices sometimes that will lead to tragedy, no matter the outcome. We just try to get them through it alive and bear the burden of the consequences."

His words flooded through her mind as he finished. That wasn't her, she couldn't see life like that. However, she couldn't really argue it. Many times she had given orders that have gotten soldiers in her command killed. It was never intentional but it happens and she felt guilty every time it had happened but that didn't help the current situation.

Though not dwelling on it at all though would make it wrong. It would be dishonorable to toss their sacrifice as just the cost of completing the mission. Yet she knew when she was alone she probably dwelled on their deaths too much. It couldn't be healthy, but at what point is it okay to lay it to rest, if at all? She didn't know.

"I don't mark it up as just a necessary death. And I remember each and every one of the faces of the lives that've been lost under my command."

At that moment Bau who had remained quite decided to speak up. "Unwise. Dwelling on past failures can cause great psychological distress."

Thana gripped her rifle tighter as she become more frustrated at the two. Irritated she replied, "Well I've been doing fine so far."

Bau continued, "Remembering and honoring is different than dwelling. You dwell on their sacrifice. You dwell on the dishonor of your family. You can't move forward if you dwell in the past."

Kirrahe added, "You can be a person, or a killer of people, but not both. You must accept that fact. To do what we do you trade part of yourself. Or it will weigh heavily on your psyche or taint your soul. Whatever you want to call it. That's the only way to get through it."

Thana breathed out heavily as the elevator began to slow. Right as they began to stop she replied. "Maybe I dwell but I use it as a strength. A constant reminded to do better. To push myself so I don't make the same mistakes. I won't compromise my beliefs just so I can feel better. Now follow me."

The elevator door slid open and she stepped out into a large hanger. Bau looked at her impressed. Seems I made a good choice.

Thana took a few steps forward only to stop and stare in surprise. Kirrahe approached and stared too. Thana spoke first. "Well… Looks like we found the ship." Unfortunately her voice alerted what was left of the Cerberus forces on the small base looked at the three surprised at their presence.