Foreword: Just as a note, this is not intended to follow canon perfectly. There will be some differences, hopefully all minor, between what happens in the story and what has been proven to be able to have happen in-game. If this is a problem with you, you would probably be better off with a different fanfic. However, if you notice something huge that goes completely against something major in-game, rather than something that was mentioned in one line in the game, please do not hesitate to inform me. Also, I do not own the rights to Mass Effect. If I did, this would probably be a lot truer to the games. Also, I'd be a lot richer than I am.

Trouble in Paradise

After another minute dwindled away, Sera stood in front of the door, watching as Doctor Chakwas discussed with Shepard out of view. When he walked out, a curt nod was his response to her questioning glance. Apparently, he was still a bit sore over her insulting his doctor skills. Chakwas must be a great doctor, if he took it that seriously. Steeling herself, Sera walked into the room.

Commander Chase Shepard turned to face Sera, blond hair falling over one bright blue eye, a green one staring at Sera. "You must be Sera," Chase said. "Commander Shepard."

Sera tried not to show emotion, but her eyes widened at the commander's greeting. No one had ever mentioned her name before her species, unless they were also quarian. "That…That's correct," she said. "Sera'Zarda."

Chase frowned slightly. "Your full name is…?"

Sera looked down. "That is my full name. I'm a colonist."

Chase leaned back. "Of course. No ship, nothing to be the child of or crew of. Now, what happened to you? How did you end up with that gut shot?"

Sera sat on a chair. "We were attacked by geth. I don't know why. We made our peace with them."

Chase looked at her. "Are you sure it was geth responsible?"

Sera smirked. "First off, I'm a quarian. Do you think that I'm incapable of recognizing a geth? Secondly, the flashlight forehead is…a slight giveaway."

Chase shook her head. "You were attacked and razed by an army. You think geth could have the brainpower for that? Especially after what my grandmother did a while back with the geth space station."

Sera tilted her head back. "Well, that was a big station. But it was not the only one. Geth have multiple uplinks all over. Take one out, and you take out quite a few geth. But taking all of them out won't happen. So it wasn't 'the' geth station. Just one of them. Still, you raise a good point. But who would have it out for the quarians?"

Chase frowned. "I don't know. I'll be honest, I don't have any idea. But I want to find out. And I will find out." Chase leaned back, the next sentence casual in form, but not impact. "I always do, for my crew."

Sera's eyes widened further. "Crew? You are offering me a position on the ship?"

Chase nodded. "Engineering needs some help. Between you and me, Mrs. Donnelly has nowhere near the skills of her parents. Assuming my grandmother wasn't exaggerating their talents. And quarians can be quite talented with machinery."

Sera nodded. "I accept your offer. But I'm not just handy with engines. That's a quarian thing, not a Sera thing. I'm quite skilled with a pistol as well."

Chase smiled. "Then welcome aboard, Sera'Zarda vas Normandy."

Sera tilted her head to the side. "No Pilgrimage needed for the 'vas'? Or are you unfamiliar with quarian naming traditions?"

Chase smiled. "You had your village razed, got shot in the stomach, and watched everyone you knew died. I'd say you had a lot of growing up done quite quickly. And isn't that what the Pilgrimage is all about?"

Sera nodded. "I did, at that. Thank you, Commander. Hope most Pilgrimages aren't that…grueling." She turned, heading to the elevator and heading down to engineering. Once there, she looked over the engines, a dismayed look on her face. What had the engineer used to fix the engine? A pistol? You're supposed to fix engines, not make them worse! She started to work on the engine, repairing the errors, all 56 of them that she saw. Unfortunately, she had a hand grab her shoulder and turn her around after only 17 repairs. "What are you doing, quarian? You aren't crew!" The tall, thin woman glared into Sera's bright eyes with her dark green ones, red hair in a tight ponytail.

Sera gazed back, not remotely troubled by the gaze. "I am crew, actually. Sera'Zarda vas Normandy. I was told to work on the engine."

"Natascha Donnelly." She let go. "Sorry, I'm a bit zealous about my job."

Sera nodded. "Good. I like to see that. But zealous doesn't always make up for lack of talent. I spotted 56 errors made. I've fixed 17."

Donnelly looked at her, arms crossed. "Are you saying that I'm incapable of doing my job?"

Sera crossed her arms. "You got sloppy, that's all. I'll show you how to best do it."

Donnelly frowned. "You mean how quarians do it?"

Sera nodded. "We are the best at mechanical stuff. That's not boasting. It's a fact."

While Sera had her "friendly" chat with Donnelly, attempting to get her to see things mechanical the quarian way, Chase leaned back, thinking. "Poor girl," Chase thought. Chase then turned to the computer, thinking, setting it to scan around for Geth stations. That would take a couple of hours. Heading to the bed, Chase laid down. Chase usually was friendly, cordial, but had taken in Sera. That was unusual. Maybe it was Sera's snarky attitude. Maybe it was just feeling bad for her. But Chase had adopted her, like a puppy…or a daughter that she would never have. Chase had no intention of actually giving birth at any time in her life, after all. No, Sera was crew, that's all. Right place, right time. Right?

After a two hour search, the computer beeped. Heading over, she looked at the results. Well, that explained how the geth blitzed without warning, in a way. She headed to the intercom. "Found a Geth station, Rusty." She read him the coordinates.

"OK, first off, that's Steve Restan. Rusty was my nickname in flight school. One crash, and you never live it down. Secondly, I see the coordinates…but isn't that…"

"You're right. 3 units away from Eden Prime. Far enough out of range of their radar to avoid detection. Not too far away for a blitz style attack."

There was a pause on the intercom. "That's funny, Commander. It's almost as if you think they could have planned that attack themselves."

Chase hit her head against the wall. She would have said something, but what she was thinking was not a good way to speak to your pilot.

"I heard that thump, Commander. What stupid thing did I say this time?"

Chase looked at the intercom. "Did I say that the geth planned it? All I said was that the station was in the right place. You assumed that I was an idiot, and thought the geth were smart enough to strategize and execute a blitz attack. They have someone pulling the strings, obviously.. And I intend to find out who the puppetmaster is, then take out my scissors and cut them loose."

"Yeah. Nice metaphor, Commander. Of course, if this is a trap, which it very well could be considering that, you know, they have no stealth systems engaged-"

"Rus-Look. I know this could easily be a trap. But it could also be a lead. Just take us in. How long will it take?"

"Aye, aye, Captain. ETA, 30 minutes."

"And don't bother with the stealth shields, Rusty. Geth don't use windows." Chase rubbed her forehead. "Also, tell Chakwas to send up some pain relievers. I have a migraine."