Author's Note: Thanks so much for all the wonderful reviews and alert adds! It really inspired me to keep writing! Also just a note, I received a review stating that Lieutenant Commander's are generally referred to as just Commanders. However because it would be awkward to have two Commanders; I will differentiate between the Shepard and Harper by naming Harper Lieutenant Commander.

Also, please note that I have decided on Liara for Shepard's pairing, however it will be more a side pairing as opposed to something that receives a lot of focus.

Warnings: Spoilers, Character Death, language, and possible lemons…

Chapter 2

Saren Arterius. The very name stirs a primal hatred within me. I was fifteen when I first encountered the damn Turian. He would attempt to kill me no less than seven times over the next eight years. When I first met the Turian, he went by the name Sadori and was supposedly a former Blue Suns Mercenary. He had been hired to train me in the usage of assault rifles. The bastard destroyed my life two days after he had been hired. Two days and all my friends and teachers were slaughtered by the Spectre. I barely survived the explosion that destroyed the compound. I ran for miles in search of help...only to be picked up by a squad of Alliance Marines. Their armor was what I noticed first. It was the hatred that inspired me to join the military when I turned eighteen three years later. I will never forget how he stole my life from me. And I will never forgive him… - Lieutenant Commander Jaidan Shepard

"This is an outrage! The Council would step in if the Geth attacked a Turian colony!"

Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams sniffed slightly at the raised voice of the Human Ambassador. She hated politicians. It did not matter what views they held, they were all slimy opportunists. The young woman turned her attention to the four men standing beside her. She never would have imagined serving with legends such as Captain Anderson or Commander Shepard. Never mind the fact that the latter would have such a fine ass.

"Bad Ashley!" the Gunnery Chief berated herself. In an attempt to quell the rising blush that threatened to suffuse her cheeks, Ashley turned her attention to the two other men standing next to her. Kaidan Alenko and Jaidan Harper had surprised Ashley with their biotic skills. Despite serving in the Alliance military for over seven years, the young woman had not fought alongside many biotics. It was astonishing what the two men were capable. Ashley had been especially impressed with the Lieutenant Commander's biotics. That slam had been awe inspiring. The young red head was also kind of cute in a geeky sort of way. "Bad bad Ashley," the woman shook her head again, "Lusting after superior officers…this is what you get for not having a lay in over a year. Damn hormones!"

"Everything okay Gunnery Chief," Jaidan interrupted her thoughts, "Your face is kind of red."

"Sorry, sir. I just really hate the fact that the Council is just going to let the deaths of my squad be in vain," and she meant it. The fact that it covered up her true reason for blushing was just a coincidence.

"Don't worry, Gunnery Chief," Shepard spoke up, "We will make damn certain their deaths are not in vain."

"Settle down, Commander," another voice cut in, "You've already done enough to jeopardize your candidacy for the Spectres. The mission on Eden Prime was a chance to prove you could get the job done. Instead, Nihlus ended up dead and the beacon was destroyed. "

"And there goes another politician with all the altruism of a serial killer," Ashley thought irritably, "Damn this Ambassador is getting on my nerves."

"That's Saren's fault, not the Commander's," Anderson suddenly cut in.

"Then we better hope the C-Sec investigation turns up evidence to support our accusations. Otherwise the Council might use this as an excuse to keep Shepard out of the Spectres," Udina paused for a moment before turning to Anderson, "Come with me Captain. There are a few things I want to go over with before the hearing. Shepard! You and the others can meet us as the Citadel Tower. Top level…I will make certain you have the clearance to get in."

The Captain and Ambassador quickly strode out of the room, leaving the marines in the office. Ashley sighed for a moment before saying,

"And that's why I hate politicians."

"You know," Jaidan suddenly spoke in a mischievous voice, "Udina just left us completely alone in his office. I bet I could hack into his terminal and maybe reroute his paycheck to a charity…say a round of drinks for the crew of the Normandy?"
Ashley quick hid a smile and noticed Kaidan do the same as Shepard turned on Harper with a smirk on his face,

"You've been around Joker way too long, Harper. C'mon soldiers, let's get to the Citadel Tower."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jaidan was amazed as he looked out the window of the cab. The Presidium had been beautiful, but the view as he looked out the window was absolutely stunning. The Protheans must have been architectural geniuses to have created something so beautiful. "Gah!" The young man thought irritably, "I sound like a wuss. Shouldn't N7 training have knocked out all cultural appreciation from my head? Whatever…maybe I should talk to the hot Asari piloting this cab…nah…I don't want to seem like a pig…like Kaidan who is currently drooling over her cleavage. Funny, I would have thought him to be more of an ass-man. Well technically the guy is an ass himself, but I digress."

"Credit for your thoughts, Harper? You have a look of amusement on your face," Shepard suddenly spoke up. Jaidan smirked and decided to have some fun,

"I was just wondering if Lieutenant Alenko was an ass or tits man."

Kaidan began to sputter in confusion as Ashley smacked Jaidan over the head who then let out an unmanly yelp. Shepard suddenly began to laugh as the spectacle further digressed when the Asari piloting the cab said,

"From the looks he has been giving me, I'd definitely say a tits man."

Kaidan finally managed to get past his sputtering and said in a small voice,

"Breasts definitely."

"Gah!" Ashley let out a frustrated yell, "I'm surrounded by pigs!"

The remaining members of the cab began to laugh even harder.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Shepard smirked as the taxi flew away. Harper was certainly helpful in bonding the team. The first step towards becoming a good leader was learning what it meant to have camaraderie with your troops. To be able to know that these men and women under your command were people, not pawns, was essential to being a true Commander. Shepard could tell that Harper instinctively grasped that lesson. Good, now came the hard part. The Commander turned to the three marines and sighed before saying,

"Alenko, Williams, I want you two to speak with the C-Sec Operatives about what they have found. Harper, you are going to come with me."

Alenko and Williams nodded and began to walk towards the two Turians who were standing a short distance away. Harper moved towards Shepard with a calculating look in his eye,

"What did you want to talk to me about, Commander? If it is about what I said in the cab I apologize. It was somewhat vulgar."

"Perception to know I had an ulterior motive despite his naïve nature and humility despite his skills. I can work with this," Shepard thought briefly. The Commander relaxed his face and said,

"Actually I was going to say good job on helping bond Alenko and Williams. The two are somewhat different and I was worried they might not mesh well."

"Oh," Jaidan said in confusion as he used his right hand to scratch the back of his head nervously, "Thanks I guess."

"Not used to receiving praise it seems. Probably never received positive reinforcement in his youth. Even when he was talking about Sadori he never mentioned family, only friends. Interesting," Shepard mentally shook his head. Enough psychoanalyzing. Time to give the kid some advice,

"Jaidan, you are a ranking officer aboard the Normandy. That means you are going to have to take command in some pretty dangerous situations if Eden Prime is any indication. And if not aboard the Normandy, you will find yourself in that situation regardless one day. You have the potential to be a great leader and I aim to see that potential realized. Which is why I am going to give some advice; don't get too close to those under your command. As a leader you will have to choose between who will live and who will die. It is dangerous to be too close to those under you."

The young man had gone eerily silent as he regarded Shepard's advice. He remained quiet for a few seconds longer before saying,

"So grow close enough to foster loyalty and efficiency, but not to the point that you lose sight of the objective. A balance between Nicolo Machiavelli and Sir Thomas More then?"

"I am familiar with Machiavelli. He wrote "The Prince," but I have not heard of More. I take it that he was the opposite of Machiavelli? If so then I suppose a balance between the two would be precisely what makes a good leader. Essentially," Shepard paused at this as if searching for the right words, "the best leaders are Paragades, a mix between a paragon of virtue and a renegade of ruthlessness. Doing what is ethical when you can; but when the shit hits the fan, do whatever it takes to win."

Shepard watched in interest as thoughts played across the young soldier's face. He would make a horrible politician, but a good leader; Shepard was certain of it.

"I will think on what you have said, Commander. Thank you for your advice. You reached the N7 rank for a reason other than killing after all," Jaidan smiled. Shepard let out a low chuckle and replied,

"You will get there eventually and you are welcome. Now let us go speak with the Council. I have a feeling that this will be unpleasant."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jaidan gritted his teeth in anger as the squad made its way to Chora's Den to talk to Harkin. Seeing Saren again had brought up memories best forgotten. "Ever since my fifteenth birthday that damn Turian has been trying to kill me for no reason other than my being the offspring of an Asari. One of these days I am going to kill the bastard and then she will be avenged….I promise you Lillian, I will kill that bastard," Jaidan shook his head. He had not thought about her in a long time.

"I guess you are just as angry as I am about the Council's stonewalling," Williams broke into his thoughts, "We will make Saren pay…one way or another, Jaidan, we will."

"Yes," Jaidan grimaced, "We will."

The conversation was interrupted as bullets impacted on the four soldiers' shields.

"Dammit, looks like Saren's men," Alenko yelled as he took cover behind one of the small walls.

Jaidan growled as he observed three Turians with assault rifles. Yes, they were definitely Saren's men if the face paint was any indication. Soldiers who served under Saren all had that same face paint. Fuck it! Summoning a massive amount of biotic energy, Jaidan flung all three soldiers off the bridge and smirked as the Turians fell to the bottom of the Citadel Wards, screaming in fear.

"That was cold, Lieutenant Commander," Alenko spoke up.

"But also efficient," Shepard cut in, "Good work, Harper."

"Thank you, Commander."

The marines quickly entered Chora's Den and Jaidan felt his body react at the sight of the scantily clad women dancing throughout the bar. "Thank goodness my armor hides my reaction. That would be most embarrassing," Jaidan thought with a slight blush.

Shepard quickly moved through the crowd, asking for Harkin's location. Soon they arrived at the table of the most pathetic human Jaidan had had the displeasure of meeting.

"Wwwhattt cannn I doo for the famous C-commander Sssshepard?" Harkin slurred.

Jaidan watched in interest as a harsh glint entered Shepard's eye. The Commander grabbed Harkin and brought him to his feet.

"You are a disgrace to humanity," Shepard slowly enunciated, "I would be doing the galaxy a favor by killing you right now; unfortunately I need some information. Tell me how I can get some dirt on Saren Arterius."

The man's eyes suddenly changed from drunk to frightened and Jaidan realized that the man had been acting. Bastard…

"A-a-lright! Please don't kill me! You need to talk to Garrus, a Turian C-Sec Agent. He found something. I think he is near Dr. Michel's office here in the wards. Oh god! Please don't kill me!"

"You will live…for now. You might want to change your pants though."

With that Shepard dropped the man back into his seat and turned to his squad. Jaidan felt an odd sense of admiration for Shepard's methods. Harsh, brutal, and completely effective. Nice.

"Let's get to Dr. Michel's office."

The four marines quickly made their way to the exit, but stopped when the Commander held up his hand and turned around. The Commander turned to Jaidan and said,

"I've got a feeling that we will be back here soon. If not for Harkin then for drinks with this Garrus. I want you to talk to some of the locals here. Scout the place out."

"Understood Commander. I will begin immediately," Jaidan responded in a slightly irritated tone. He wanted some action damn it! Shepard must have noticed his tone before pulling out a credit chit and saying,

"Treat yourself to a drink and think of it as interpersonal training."

Jaidan smirked, realizing he was being manipulated but, hey, free drinks.

"Aye aye, Commander."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Urdnot Wrex grunted in irritation as he moved away from the Krogan bouncer protecting Fist. This was the extent of the Krogan's glory. Security detail and if you were lucky you might get to punch someone. It made Wrex sick. "This shithole almost makes me long for the Rachni Wars. Now that was glorious!"

The ancient warrior slowly moved over to the bar. If Fist was not coming out for awhile, the least he could do would be to get a drink. Wrex quickly took his place by a squishy-looking human with red-hair and smirked as he heard the boy order,

"I'd like a shot of brandy if you would."

"Wimp," Wrex grunted quietly.

The human turned to him and for the first time Wrex noticed the N1 armor he was wearing. Ah a trained wimp. This could be interesting.

"Excuse me, I believe you just challenged me."

"That I did whelp. What are you going to do about it?"

The human smirked, or at least Wrex thought it was a smirk with human expressions being quite weird, and said,

"I think I will take you up on that challenge. Barkeep! Do you have any Balkan Vodka?"

The barkeep, another human, seemed startled before saying,

"Yeah I do, but it is expensive."

Wrex grunted and said,

"I will pay for it; I want to see what this squishy human can do!"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Shepard sighed as he gunned down the last of the mercenaries. It seemed he could not go anywhere without starting a firefight. In a way, it almost made him wished he could have brought Harper. The kid needed the combat experience, but Shepard knew he also needed to start developing contacts. Having contacts was a requirement for N7 Operatives if you wanted to complete your missions. Unlike the rest of the Alliance Military, N7 Operatives were given free reign over their missions. You were given a task and you completed it with optimal efficiency. Having contacts augmented that efficiency.

"Perfect timing, Shepard; you gave me a clear shot at that bastard."

Shepard turned to the Turian and nodded. Garrus was obviously more skilled than the regular C-Sec officer with the way he marked that head shot.

"You took him down clean. Dr. Michel, are you hurt?

"No," the doctor responded in a thick accent, "I'm okay thanks to you. All of you."

"What did those men want?" Alenko suddenly spoke up.

"They worked for Fist," the doctor responded, "They wanted me to shut up and not tell Garrus about the Quarian."

"What Quarian?" this time it was Ashley who spoke.

"A few days ago a Quarian came by my office. She had been shot, but would not tell me who had done it. I could tell she was scared and on the run from someone. She asked me about the Shadow Broker. She wanted to trade information in exchange for a safe place to hide."

"Then what?"

"I put her in contact with Fist. He is an agent of the Shadow Broker."

"Not anymore," Garrus broke in, "Now he works for Saren and the Shadow Broker is not too happy about it."

"Fist betrayed the Shadow Broker?" Dr. Michel responded in a surprised voice, "That's stupid, even for him. Saren must have made him quite the offer."

"That Quarian must have something Saren wants," Garrus said thoughtfully, "Something worth crossing the Shadow Broker over."

"Hmm," Shepard rubbed the fringes of his light goatee, "She must have something that proves Saren is a traitor. Did she mention anything about Saren or the Geth?"

"She did! She mentioned that it had something to do with the Geth."

Shepard quickly noticed the fire that awoke in Garrus's eyes. So this Turian was the overeager sort…lovely. Shepard's thoughts were interrupted as Garrus responded in an enthusiastic voice,

"She must be able to link Saren to Geth. There is no way the Council can ignore this!"

"Slow down Garrus. We need to find the Quarian first. Time we paid Fist a visit."

"This is your show Shepard, but I want to bring Saren down just as much as you do. I'm coming with you."

Shepard looked into Garrus's eyes for a brief moment before nodding and bring his hand up to his earpiece,

"Harper! Do you copy!"

"Aye Commander! And I've got a bit of a situation!" Shepard grew worried as a shotgun blast sounded through the earpiece, "Aw damn it Wrex! That was my kill!"

"I need a situation report, Harper!"
"Sorry Commander, I was just having a few drinks with this Krogan when suddenly all the bouncers come out guns-a-blazing and killing some bystanders. Well Wrex, the Krogan, has a contract for Fist's head so I figured I would help out since the damn guy killed some innocents."

"Take down as many as you can, Harper; but when you reach Fist, find out the location of the Quarian he is setting up. She has information that could possibly implicate Saren for Eden Prime. Your first priority is achieving the Quarian's safety!"

"Understood, Commander! Harper out!"

Shepard turned to Alenko and Williams and noticed the worry in their eyes most likely mirrored the emotions in his own. Harper was skilled, but could he handle himself on his own?

"Let's double-time it people! I'm not abandoning one of our own!"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Shit! Shit! Shit! They never covered bar firefights in basic or N7 training. Thank God I got a Krogan Battle Master on my side," Jaidan thought as he leaned out of cover and gunned down one of the Turian bouncers, "Okay! Time to prove to this bloody Krogan I'm capable."

Jumping out of cover with biotic power burning brightly in his left hand and Storm shotgun in his right, Jaidan activated his biotics to enhance his speed and the world slowed to a near stop. The young man had first discovered this ability one year ago during a particularly tiresome simulation during N7 training. Using his biotics, he could enhance his body's speed and processing power to the point that everything else moved in slow motion. It was an extremely tiring technique and always left him with the worst migraine this side of a hangover, but it was damned effective.

Easily dodging the bullets from the bouncers, Jaidan ran towards the two Krogan guarding the entrance to Fist's back area. Rolling beneath the bullets peppering where he had been standing several milliseconds ago, Jaidan bounced back to his feet a mere yard from the two Krogan. Pointing the shotgun at one of the Krogan's heads, Jaidan blew the alien's brain matter across the wall. Then, turning to his left, Jaidan rammed his left hand through the Krogan's armor and into the fleshy part of its body; and then ripped out its two inter-connected hearts.

"Okay," the biotic stared at the two hearts for a second before dropping them to the floor, "I'm never doing that again."

Turning his attention to the bar behind him, Jaidan noticed the majority of the bouncer's were dead from Wrex's killing spree. The remaining bouncer's were attempting to run, but could not escape before Jaidan snapped their necks with a flick of his wrist.

"Damn human!" a deep voice yelled out in surprise as the Krogan realized that several kills had been stolen from him., "I did not think you humans were capable of such biotics."

"I'm a special case," Jaidan replied with a sad grin. It had not been easy killing fellow humans. The young man felt his stomach begin to rebel, but pushed it down. He did not want to disappoint the Krogan, "Shall we take out Fist now?"

"Follow me human."

"Just let me talk to him before you kill him. My Commander needs some information from his sorry ass."

"Understood."

The two warriors entered the back offices and were surprised to see two cargo-workers aiming pistols at the N1 Commando and Krogan Battle Master. Jaidan nearly smirked when he saw one of the workers had not even flicked the safety off. He nearly laughed when the same worker yelled out in what was supposed to be a menacing voice,

"Stop or we will shoot!"

The young biotic quickly rose up his hand to stop Wrex from charging the idiots and said,

"I just killed two Krogan, five Turians, and seven humans. This Krogan beside me managed higher than that. What chance do you think you have against the both of us?"

"Aww shit! Fist does not pay us enough for this," the two workers lowered their weapons and walked out the door. Wrex looked at Jaidan and smirked,

"I would have killed them."

"Yeah, but think about it this way, they probably are going to get help for Fist which means we will have to fight our way back out."

"I like the way you think human."

"I figured you would. Now let's get to Fist."

The two warriors quickly entered the office and were surprised by machine gun turrets popping up beside Fist. Jaidan quickly rolled to his right and took cover behind one of the walls. He watched in awe as Wrex suddenly glowed blue and formed a singularity near Fist which caused the turrets to be ripped from their position and thrown haphazardly about the room. Fist attempted to fire his pistol, but the weapon was ruthlessly ripped from his grasp by Wrex's biotics.

"Damn," Jaidan said in awe.

"I could not let myself be shown up by some, pup," the Krogan grinned.

"You're not going to kill me! I will kill you Urdnot Wrex!"

Wrex looked in annoyance at the man who was charging him with a long bowie knife.

"Stupid human."

The powerful Krogan swatted the man to the side where he violently hit the wall. Jaidan picked up the knife and smirked at the bar owner,

"Hello Fist. You are going to tell me where the Quarian is or I start cutting off fingers."

"You wouldn't!"

"I would."

So saying, Jaidan froze the man with a biotic stasis and walked over to him. The N1 Commando sighed ever so slightly. He had never wanted to use the enhanced interrogation training given in N7 camp, but it seem he had no choice. Lifting up Fist's hand, Jaidan slowly began to saw through the bar owner's index finger. It was bloody. There was a lot of screaming. Jaidan felt a scar cross his soul. And Fist lost four fingers before he squealed the location.

"He's yours, Wrex. It was good serving with you," Jaidan turned to the Krogan with a sigh. That had not been easy.

"You too, pup. I hope to see you around. Now go save that Quarian."

Jaidan nodded and quickly rose his hand to his earpiece,

"Commander, I am transmitting the Quarian's location to you. The Quarian is in great danger."

"Affirmative. It seems you are still closer to the Quarian. Get to her coordinates ASAP."

"Understood, Commander."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Tali cursed her environmental suit for the thousandth time as she felt her nose itch. Sometimes the worst part of the suit was not being able to scratch itches. The young Quarian female sighed as she tried to turn her attention elsewhere. Hopefully the Shadow Broker and Fist would be here soon with a way to get her to safety. "Oh Keelah…I just had to get myself involved with some of the most dangerous people on the Citadel. I think my father would be proud at least," the young Quarian sighed exasperatedly. Even when she had left for her pilgrimage, her father had barely said more than a couple sentences to her. Was it so hard to show the littlest bit of affection?

Tali's thoughts were interrupted as a Turian and four Salarians entered the alley she was positioned in. The Turian was obviously in charge according to his body language. Tali could not read his facial expression as well as his body language , but he seemed to be…leering? Tali felt her heart jump into her throat as she began to get paranoid.

"Did you bring it?" the Turian walked towards her.

"Where's the Shadow Broker? Where's Fist?" Keelah she was scared. What if these were Saren's men?

"They'll be here," the Turian said and began to stroke her mask. Tali shivered. This was getting very uncomfortable. The Turian's next words raised her paranoia even higher, "Where's the evidence?"

"No way," Tali said as she felt her heart hammer in her chest, "The deals off."

Tali's paranoia reached an all time high as she read an intention to attack in the Turian's and Salarians' posture. She was just about to attack when a knife pierced the Turians skull and he fell down dead. She looked to her left and was surprised as a grey-reddish blur rushed past her in a haze of blue energy. The grey-reddish blur quickly snapped one of the Salarian's neck. From there the blur slowed down and Tali could make out the form of a human male. The human pulled a shotgun from his back and blew the brain matter out of one of the Salarian's heads. The two remaining Salarians by this time had realized they were under attack and had pulled out their weapons. The weapons were violently ripped away in a blur of blue energy and the Salarians were quickly killed with a flick of the human's wrist.

Tali felt her heart hammer as the human turned to her. His face was grim for a moment before turning into the most brilliant smile she had ever seen. The young man spoke,

"My name is Lieutenant Commander Jaidan Harper, and I'm here to save you."

And Tali felt her heart flutter.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Author's Note: I apologize if that last line was over-the-top cheesy, but I could not resist. This will actually be the first story I am writing that has a romantic tilt, so I ask you to bear with me as I learn. Please review!