Sutori-Artifex here! Rewrite of Chapter Two! Woot! Alright, so this should help bridge the rewrite of the first chapter to the rest of the story.

Tell me if Chapter Three needs a rewrite or not or if it's just good enough to spare.

So in terms of current events in the story (Chapter 8 and beyond), I realize that I've got to wrap this Arc of the story up.

The way I see it, Mass Effect: Creed will be split into several story-arcs, like episodes of a TV series. You are reading the SUICIDE MISSION Arc.

Next up are the POST-OMEGA 4 Arc (Overlord, Arrival, Firewalker, etc), the ANIMUS Arc (Obvious), the REAPER WAR Arc (Mass Effect 3 and DLCs), and the RENAISSANCE Arc (Mass Effect 3 Citadel and Post-ME3 free-writing. No knowledge of Mass Effect 4 yet) No spoilers for any one of the Arcs.

But I will need your support in the coming years with writing this story. That being said, enjoy this Chapter 2 rewrite!

(Quick Note: I have a few more stories in the works. I'm experimenting with fandoms to see what gets the most positive attention, aka what I should keep writing for my fans. Potential fandoms include Pokemon and HALO! :D)

I decided to retcon Alexander Clarke's choice of armor. /d4wp5yh

Freedom's Progress, 2185

A shuttle drops down, landing neatly inches above the ground as the doors swing open. A trio of shady individuals hop out, weapons at the ready as they sweep the immediate area.

One, a human female was clad in repainted Inferno armor, engineered from the Cerberus Officer armor set for the benefit of a Sentinel. Highlighting details painted a crisp snow white adorned the scarlet red hardsuit. From behind the red-tinted visor one could see bright, attentive eyes scanning the environment. This Sentinel wielded N7 Hurricanes, two of them to be precise. One, painted white, she would use as a primary weapon, leaving room in the open hand to use biotic and tech attacks. Occasionally she would brandish the crimson Hurricane and wield both SMGs Akimbo in a pinch, after using a biotic attack to buy time to make the draw. Truly her abilities and equipment were remarkable for her rank of Disciple.

Another, judging from her figure, was a Turian. She was the most alert of the group, and she had to be as an Infiltrator. Sniper Rifle in hand, she was most comfortable at long range. This was not to say that she was helpless in melee distance, as she sported two monomolecular hidden blades concealed in the armor of her wrists. Aside from the M92 Mantis she packed an M11 Suppressor Pistol painted a dark ebony. As a Veteran, she was given the best of the best weapons a non-inducted Assassin could possess.

The last to step off of the shuttle, human, male, wore a unique set of armor given to him upon his induction as a ranked Assassin. He sported plated "robes" featuring a dark grey undersuit defended by ceramic-metallic plates colored white and light grey lined with streaks of red. His bulky gauntlets and greaves covered him from fingers, up the forearms, and from the toes up to his shins. On his right arm he bore a metal band of armor that wrapped around his upper arm. Further up, on the shoulder, a large pauldron guarded his shoulderblade. The design was reminiscent of a flathead screw. The other pauldron was far less bulky, and had a streak of red light running from top to bottom facing both forwards and behind. A resiliently crafted and shielded cloak colored red on the backside and white on the inside was attached to the back of the shoulderpad which he used to cover himself from ballistic projectiles when cover was scarce. His chestplate was just as well protected as the rest of him, a red light in the heartspace of the breastplate was visible. Down at his waist was an insignia that resembled a math compass mixed with a Greek lambda character. In the center of that was another red light. Below the waist, his legs were covered by a long lower portion of the robes, layered multiple time with cloth in the undermost layers and ceramic-metallic plating commonly found in Hardsuits on top and in the middle. Regardless of their seemingly rigid appearance, they were actually rather flexible, like cloth, and could be worn while sprinting and climbing. In fact they made the job of climbing things easier. On his person he carried an Automatic M96 Mattock (His "Automattock", he affectionately referred to it as), an M11 Suppressor, and a Lift grenade for emergency purposes.

The man flipped his white hood over his wavy raven-locks, the burgundy fabric on the inside of the hood coming into vision. He reached to his toolbelt and pulled out a collapsable visor, which he placed on his face, over his eyes. It curved over the bridge of his nose and was pressed to his face, held and supported by a band wrapping around his head. From the visor he received a full-area scan and tactical readout of the buildings on the premises. He thrust his arms down and engaged his own hidden blades, walking to the front of the group and looking around cautiously.

After establishing that nothing was there to attack them, they put away their weapons and turned to face each other.

"We stay together. Whatever took the colonists could very well be here. Follow me, there's a small town just ahead which should give us some clues as to what happened here," the human male said.

"Yes sir," the female human replied with a Roman-era salute.

The turian tapped the male's shoulder as they walked towards the town, "Hey, Alex, what do you think did this?"

Alexander Clarke blinked behind his visor and remained silent for a brief moment, "I haven't the slightest clue, but if I had to, I'd put my money on Infrasound Bomb. Drop a beat of High-Powered, low-frequency Infrasound, people explode, and the waves pass through buildings. Wild theory, I know, Sound Bombs are illegal, but still…" he replied, looking over his shoulder at Kairee.

"That's… morbid," Jane Shepard commented, walking a little faster to avoid being caught in the conversation. She approached a townhouse, which, mysteriously, was completely open. Locks unchecked and doors themselves left wide open. Alexander and Kairee stepped inside while Jane kept watch at the door.

It wasn't very spacious. Standard single person colonial starter home; a bed, a table, a chair, a refridgerator, and kitchen equipment such as the usual stove/oven/microwave. Curiously, there was a meal of tenderloin beef-steak laid out on a porcelain plate, which itself sat on a blue square of fabric with silverware set out next to the plate. A glass of wine stood undisturbed next to the plate.

Both the meal and the drink hadn't been touched. The silverware was clean, nothing was moved except the chair, which wasn't even knocked over.

"That's odd…" Kairee whispered to herself as Alexander picked up the wine glass and swished its deep red contents around a little before sniffing it.

"Damn, Chambertin… must have been a special occasion…" he mumbled after having taken a swig. Kairee shot him a bewildered glare and he shrugged uncaringly before setting the glass down. "I don't get it, it's like he just up and left after making this 5-Star meal. No blood, no remains, so no Infrasound bomb… nothing disturbed…"

"So clearly they didn't put up a fight," Kairee replied, crouching down and examining the underside of the bed, hoping to find something of value, whatever it may be.

Jane entered the house and looked around, "It's like the Rapture or something. Jesus isn't here, is he?" she quipped as she placed her hand on the frame of a door leading into the bathroom. There she noticed something odd. On the towel rack, there had been hand-prints made by pressure. There were a few drops of blood on the tile floor under her. Toilet seat was down, lights were off, everything besides the droplets and hand print was in its proper place. "Hey, I got something. Don't know how valuable, but take a look!" she said, and Alexander jogged over. His visor began scanning the bathroom. The blood droplets were legit, and judging from the hand-print, whoever was here had been holding on for dear life for some reason.

"This… this is interesting… doesn't give us a lead but it is interesting…" said Kairee as she approached behind Alexander.

"Clean, circular drops, fresh… not too fresh. Likely made by a fine point. Not a knife or bullet. Would be messier… A sting, perhaps? A needle hastily inserted and yanked out? Judging from the pressure on the towel rack's bar… neurotoxin. Paralysis set in and the man or woman was gripping the bar to spite her captors who pried her off eventually and carried her away," Alexander audibly deduced, clapping his hands together and standing back up.

"…that's incredible," Jane deadpanned.

"Comes with being a master of killing people yourself. I've used just about every conceivable modern weapon to take down my targets… and, once in a miraculous situation, the neck of a guitar…"

"What?"

"Moving on!"

The trio left the empty house and continued through the colony. Before they knew it they were spotting the "corpses" of LOKI and FENRIS Mechs.

"Colonial Defense systems. Recently shot, but by who?" Jane said under her breath as she examined the bullet holes in one FENRIS's "face". A shotgun made this "wound".

"We're dealing with biotics, here," Alexander announced as he held up a charred LOKI mech in both hands. Once he saw that he got his partners' attention with it, he tossed it to the side, "Watch your every step," he added.

They followed the trail of carnage to a spacious courtyard where the pieces of a YMIR Mech lay. It was recently destroyed, and its assailants were closer than the trio thought. "Footsteps, find cover!" Alexander ordered as he and Kairee pulled out their M11 Suppressors and fired upon the floodlights in their immediate area, plunging their surroundings into pitch black darkness for the planet's sun had set, and dense clouds covered the stars above. They ran behind cargo crates and ducked their heads out, their Heads Up Displays activating full-color-spectrum-night-vision.

That was when they saw them. A small group of five people were walking by. Two Quarians, and three humans. Peculiar in itself…

One, male, was fidgeting in the grasp of the other, a female, who sought to console him, as if he had experienced something traumatic. Two of the three humans were what caught the eyes of the Assassins: they were wearing Cerberus uniforms. The third human was rocking N7 armor. Extremely questionable given the N7 Alliance designation and that N7 armor was considered some of the best out there.

Alexander gestured with his hands to engage silently, and he and Kairee circled around, blades at the ready. They slowly moved up behind the African-American and the black-haired female, throwing their arms around their necks in a chokehold, putting the tips of their blades up to their temples. Alexander whistled, and the N7 and Quarians whirled around.

"Get him to safety!" the N7 ordered the female Quarian as he took out his M23 Katana and aimed it at Alexander's head with a single hand. "Who the hell are you?" he shouted, finger twitching on the trigger. Something about his voice was so familiar to Jane, and the data showed that John had been on a Cerberus shuttle when coming down to Freedom's Progress. Still, this was impossible to believe.

"Answers… we all want them. Give us ours first and we'll give you yours. Why are you here? Why are Colonists disappearing, and what does Cerberus have to do with this?" Alexander spat.

John began to glow with biotic energy as a biotic warp began to form in his free hand. "I don't negotiate with Terrorists," he warned, aiming the warp at Kairee's head.

"You seem to get along with Cerberus, so tell me what they're doing here!?" Alexander barked angrily, pressing his blade firmly against the African-American man's head, a narrow trail of blood trickling down his cheek.

"Let them go!" came a mighty roar as the N7 reared back to throw his warp.

"STOP!"

Jane Shepard had taken a leap of faith and thrown herself in the N7's path, ripping her helmet off and throwing it to the ground, hands in the air and towards the N7, positioned as if she were trying to push something or stop a moving force. Her scarlet hair dangled messily down in front of her eyes, a look of desperation plastered on her face. The warp had been thrown, and she used her own biotics to lift a small barrier in front of her, which shattered upon being impacted by the warp. She was breathing heavily, hoping and praying that this moment was as she thought it was, that this was whom she believed it to be.

The N7 lowered his guard and removed his helmet in turn. His face was definitely his, his ice blue eyes wide in both confusion and excitement. He brushed his armored hand over his crew cut, smiling awkwardly. "Jane?" he asked as he dropped his shotgun.

The two Shepards stood in the silence momentarily before throwing their arms around each other. "John, it's really you! Damnit I knew you were stubborn but not enough to cheat death!" Jane cried, hugging her brother a little tighter.

And so the memories flooded back to her, amplifying her seemed to slow for them, just so they could process.

Their childhood years they would spend, hopping from ship to ship as spacers in the Alliance Navy. Jane always had a thing for old human culture, and so she'd drag John into watching borderline ancient vids and playing antique vid-games with her friends. They were like glue; they stuck together. Such was the case for twins. The fact that they were both biotics made them even more compatible.

Jane remembered the divorce, and how her father, David, took her in his custody, and John went to their mother, Hannah. They still spoke over email, refusing to sever the bonds they had. When the Batarians hit Mindoir, where Jane and her father lived and worked, she not only lost her father, but all of her friends, and lost connection with John and Hannah.

Alexander and Kairee grunted, their blades retreating into their gauntlets. They shoved Jacob Taylor and Miranda Lawson forwards and crossed their arms. Meanwhile the two Quarians returned after the lack of gunfire got the better of their curiosity. The female put a hand to her mask and gasped, recognizing Jane.

John was experiencing some sweet nostalgia himself, fondly recalling how they reunited on the colony of Elysium some years later. Jane had enlisted in the Alliance Navy and was stationed on Elysium, where she discovered that John had done the same.

Then the Skyllian Blitz happened. The two of them had to prove their mettle not only to each other, but to the resistance that depended on them to hold out against the Batarians besieging the colony. Their defense was made of off-duty marines and civilians. With a rousing speech from John, they were ready for damn near anything. When the pirates broke through Colonial defenses, both Shepards single-handedly held them off and sealed the breach. They would both receive the Star of Terra, a prestigious award marking them Heroes of Humanity.

Then the Normandy. God, it felt like forever since they were both assigned to the Normandy SR-1. The Alliance knew they worked best together, their Stars of Terra cementing this idea as fact. Jane really hit it off with Kaidan Alenko, which, while made things tense between Kaidan and John, boosted Jane's morale during the arduous times to come. The Battle of Eden Prime was hell. Losing Richard L. Jenkins was rough, but the mission was a success, and they rescued a marine by the name of Ashley Williams, whom John took a liking to.

Anyone with their nose in a history book knows the rest; they chased the rogue Spectre Saren Arterius across the galaxy, picking up some friendly faces along the way. The shotgun toting Quarian, Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, who was currently here now as Tali'Zorah vas Neema, the Turian C-Sec officer Garrus Vakarian, Krogan bounty hunter Urdnot Wrex, and the Asari archaeologist Liara T'Soni.

The mission went well, and Saren was taken down, along with his Krogan mercenaries and Geth army. The Reapers, a race of sentient machines, made themselves known to the Galactic Community with Sovereign's attack on the Citadel. In a daring decision by the Normandy crew, the Alliance fleet present at the Battle of the Citadel focused on destroying Sovereign, leaving the Destiny's Ascension to be destroyed.

A new council was elected, handpicked by the Assassin Brotherhood behind the scenes and out of the general public's awareness. This action propelled the Brotherhood to a state of near ultimate political power and cultural influence.

Then… Alchera. When John died, and the Normandy was destroyed, Jane couldn't seem to get past it. Kaidan was off tryharding to please the Alliance and she was left on her own as the rest of the crew went their separate ways.

Kairee Antar recruited her in 2184, after having seen her on the Presidium by herself. Jane worked diligently and her skills as a Sentinel proved useful. She skyrocketed through the ranks and became a Disciple, just a stone's throw away from Veteran.

Seeing her "dead" brother here now filled a void in her soul that was hitherto never replaced by anything or anyone. A few tears streamed from Jane's eyes as they held their hug for a moment longer before breaking away. She waved innocently at Tali'Zorah, who approached behind John without a word.

"So, what brings you back from the grave?" she asked, wiping the tears from her eyes and crossing her arms.

"Unfortunately and Fortunately," John said, glaring at Jacob and Miranda, "Cerberus."

Jane inhaled through her teeth, making a hissing sound as her eyes widened, "Ouch… well, meanwhile for the past year I have been working with-"

"Assassins," Miranda interrupted, leering angrily at Kairee Antar, who returned the glare, baring her needle-like teeth.

John was immediately silenced by the shock wrought by the disruption. "Assassins?! You've been a mercenary for the past year!?"

"Well, you've been with Cerberus. That counts for something," commented Tali, slugging John on the shoulder.

Jane waved her hands rapidly, "No, no! Not mercenaries! Gah, Alex, help?"

Alexander Clarke gave Jacob Taylor a look and flipped his cloak over his left arm, walking up to John with a peacefully slow pace. "I figure as the Cerberusian Templar dropped the can I may as well let the beans spill," he announced at a louder tone than he should have used. Tali's brow lifted from behind her mask, and Alexander's head gently turned to face her. He picked up on her body language, "Human expression meaning to confess something, often a secret or a covered lie. Spill the beans. English doesn't have to make sense so long as ideas are conveyed. Such is the blessing of language. Feel free to speak, my translator picks up on every official Galactic language widely spoken," he told the Quarian, who stepped back, slightly creeped out.

"Anyways, Assassins?" John asked, spinning his hands around each other in a gesture of "please continue".

"Ancient Brotherhood of highly trained freedom-fighters aligned towards the preservation and acceleration of culture through any mediums; arts of all forms, science and technology, military and political influence, and religion and spirituality. We fight under one banner, unlike the should-be-defunct Templar assholes over here," Alexander elucidated, pointing at Miranda and Jacob as he finished the thought. Naturally, both of them scoffed and looked at the Assassin as if he had grown a third arm on his back.

"Beg pardon? Our goals are noble. We fight to protect humanity, and save it from itself. Its in our nature to abuse freedom. Our best option is to restrict it. It's the lesser of two evils, the greater evil being anarchy!" Miranda barked.

Jacob joined in. "We can have plenty of culture in a controlled society!"

Alexander snickered, "And that must be why your Order is shattered, with species forming different clans to vie for the largest shard. Liberation is in our grasp, Lawson, reach for it."

"Hey HOW do you know my name?!"

"Genetically Modified Super-Princess, daughter of Henry Lawson, one of the richest men in the Galaxy, happens to be a Templar, also has small-time ties to Cerberus, also, you're with Cerberus. Shit gets around in the Brotherhood. You're on our hit-list."

"HEY! EVERYONE CALM DOWN!" John shouted, waving his hands up and down. All eyes were on him.

"We can worry about this… issue, later. For now, we discovered what was taking the colonists. The Collectors are behind the abductions!" John exclaimed. A dead silence ensued and Alexander's eyes widened under his hood. "Take that to your Assassins, meanwhile, I have a job I am forced to do. Miranda, Jacob, head to the shuttle. Tali, it was so good to see you again. Get Veetor back to the Flotilla, tell them I said hello. You two, get lost."

Alexander and Kairee scowled and left, gesturing for Jane to follow.

"Sorry we couldn't talk, Jane. It's really good to see you again," Tali said, eyes lighting up in delight behind her mask as she moved to leave the scene with Veetor.

"Likewise, Tali. You've always been the little sister we never had," Jane warmly replied.

"I will come back for you, Jane. This is going to be a whirlwind adventure, I'm sure of it. Can't let you miss out," John added with a joyous grin, which Jane returned as she spun on her heels and followed her team back to their shuttle.

The Citadel, 2185

"The entire Bureau has had it with the both of you bickering over this pointless subject!" Jane Shepard cried, throwing her hands in the air in frustration.

She had been arguing with two novices over previous hostile behavior towards each other. One was a Brazilian-Portuguese human named Frederico Corado. The Order found him a few months ago robbing a bakery. They trailed him to an abandoned building in the Zakera ward, where he was found feeding homeless civilians. He was recruited for his rudimentary biotic ability, speed, agility, and selflessness. Given biotic implants, Frederico proved to be a vicious Adept and near-master of the Singularity. He had a passion for designing – weaponry, not clothing, – and had sketched numerous designs for biotic enhancements to standard Assassin gear, including the hidden blade.

The other was Lora Baan, a female Volus with a love of engineering. She had left Irune seeking to make something of herself. She had a run-in with Terra Firma thugs who began assaulting her. She was rescued by an Assassin doing a free-running sweep of the area. Impressed by the finesse and expertise displayed in the killing of the thugs, she offered to lend a hand in the Brotherhood. She took an interest in the ancient yet still highly effective hidden blades, and began working on schematics for technologically innovative blade types. She had begun work on an electric-blade based off of some pilfered Cerberus "electrocutioner" CQC knives.

The two had been fighting each other over the superiority of biotics and tech abilities, respectively. Lora was standing on a table so that she could be at the same height as Frederico as she spoke.

"Well I have had it with this Volus telling me how to be creative!" Frederico spat, his Brazilian accent rather thick.

"Like you're *hkkt* any better, brute!" replied Lora. Curiously her accent wasn't so nasal, like so many other Volus. It was actually a pleasant sound, yet believable for her people. She kinda sounded like those geeky girls in the old high school/college vids. You know the ones.

"A blade that zaps things? No match for a blade that pulses with biotic energy."

"You know, I started *hkkt* work on a schematic for a *hkkt* flame blade."

"THEY HAVE AN OMNIWEAPON FOR THAT."

"Any better ideas!?"

"I DON'T KNOW, MAYBE TRY MAKING THE HIDDEN BLADE INTO AN OMNIBLADE!"

"You stupid jackass, there is a *hkkt* reason why we don't make omniweapons for the *hkkt* Brotherhood to use! C-Sec would be *hkkt* all over us and trace it back to the Bureau! *hkkt* Our blades are fine. *hkkt* Their alloy is undetectable with contemporary security scanning tech!"

Jane's face was turning red with rage. If one had an imagination it would be like one could see steam coming from her ears. "THE BOTH OF YOU, SHUT THE HELL UP FOR A MOMENT AND LET ME INTERJECT BEFORE I SHOW YOU THE FURY OF BOTH TECH AND BIOTICS, IF I MUST MAKE MY POINT THAT WAY!" she boomed, and both novices reeled in terror for the moment of solace she needed. She sighed, cleared her throat and brushed her hair out of her face. "Look, as a Sentinel, I am a jack-of-all-trades, master of none. I use tech attacks, and I have biotic implants. I zap and warp on my call. You two clearly have a lot in common–"

"Like what?" Frederico interrupted, earning a slap in the face from Jane. He rubbed his jaw and shut up.

"Like your passion for engineering weapons. Both of you have very similar diagrams for new blade modifications. Why not work together or blend your blueprints to make something twice as powerful? Two heads are better than one, so we humans say. Take it from she who has the best of both worlds," Jane said, finishing her thought.

Both novices paused and looked at each other for a brief moment before exhaling. "She… has a point," Frederico conceded, tossing his hands up and letting gravity bring them slapping into his thighs.

"Good. I expect the two of you to work together from here on out rather than against each other," said Jane, smirking as she straightened the collar of her shirt.

Lora gulped nervously and pointed in Jane's general direction. The latter whirled around, expecting something horrible.

Instead she got John.

"Bro!" she called out, slugging John on the front of the shoulder. "You kept your promise!"

"Y-Y-Y-You're-You-You're… You're Dead." Frederico stuttered like an idiot, shaking fearfully. John looked over Jane's shoulder and gave the novice a look like he was insane.

"Novice," Jane replied, rolling her eyes.

John nodded in understanding. "Well, I have three special surprises waiting for you at the docking bay in Zakera. One, I got you clearance to join our… issionmay against the ollectorscay" he said, bringing the sentence down to a whisper once he hit the Pig-Latin, lest Frederico and Lora overhear.

It took Jane a second, but she deciphered the meaning and smirked, "Won't be necessary," she said, "The Pig Latin, I mean. Alexander Clarke and Kairee Antar both know about the Collector attacks. It's on the Brotherhood's radar at this point, so I don't see why they wouldn't let me help you."

"Good. Go get your superiors and fill them in on the details. Cerberus is involved however, warn them of this."

So Jane turned and left for the Bureau, breaking into a sprint. John sat down on a nearby bench and waited patiently for his twin sister to return. His gaze wandered briefly before moving to Lora and Frederico. To his dismay, just as his eyes fell on the two, Lora pressed her face against Frederico's cheek. While her helmet got in the way, Frederico got the point of the gesture, his face turning brick-red as his eyes bulged. Lora jumped down off of the table and walked off after Jane. Frederico's eyes rolled in John's direction, and he flipped his hood on, stuffing his hands into his sleeves and fleeing the scene.

Time went on, and an hour and a half ticked by. As John was contemplating leaving a note and heading off, Jane whistled for him. She was followed by Alexander Clarke, Kairee Antar, Frederico, Lora, and two Asari. All of them with the exception of one Asari were in armor, carrying luggage behind them. He stood up and jogged over to them, meeting them halfway.

One Asari, Ayana T'Lona, extended her hand for John, who shook it eagerly. "Master Assassin Ayana T'Lona. You are Commander John Shepard, recipient of the Star of Terra for your actions on Elysium. Hero of the Citadel. It is an honor to finally meet you. I am the Den Leader of the Kithoi Ward and District Master of the Council District, second-in-line for the esteemed title Mentor of the Assassin Brotherhood," she said, bowing politely.

"A lengthy title. You must be quite powerful," John remarked, checking his surroundings.

"I hold direct authority of Assassin Ops on this Ward of the Citadel and play a heavy role in Assassin Ops in Council-Space. I would agree with that point, Commander Shepard."

Alexander interjected, "She has accepted your request for aid, on the condition that Jane bring us for the ride. We're aware of the properties of the mission," he said.

John blinked and backed away, "Hold on a second. I only got permission for Jane to come aboard. I didn't say anything about… one, two, six other people!"

Ayana chuckled warmly. "I will not be coming aboard. As much as I would like to, I am needed on the Citadel. In my stead, Alexander Clarke will have command of the Assassins working with you. Kairee Antar is working towards her induction as an Assassin Rank One, and these three novices seek to train under them. Frederico Corado is the human, Lora Baan is the Volus, and Eleria T'Geya is the Asari to my right. I hope this isn't a problem, sir."

John shrugged, studying the three novices. "No, not at all, but… The Illusive Man might have a problem with it."

"Not an issue. We sent a maximum security encrypted message to the Illusive Man telling him to reply should he agree to the joint-operation. Our enemies are the Collectors, and by extension the Reapers. Besides, what good is weakening each other when both factions are ever-vigilant of the looming threat? We got an equally secure reply with the A-OK."

That solved that. "So, I also wanted to ask… is there any chance that I could learn more about this Brotherhood?"

"You seek membership?" Ayana inquired, activating her Omnitool, holding it up.

"Why not? Best way to learn is to experience something."

"Hold out your O-Tool."

John reluctantly did as asked, and Ayana waved hers over his, transferring a code. John watched as his Omnitool gradually turned from neon orange to a bright white before his eyes. "What did you do?"

"Simple. Spliced your Tool's ID code with information regarding the Assassins. You're marked as one of us should you be questioned in regards to whatever Cerberus ship you're flying," the Master Assassin replied, deactivating her Omnitool.

"Thank you, I guess?" said John, lifting a brow as he checked his Omnitool for anything suspicious.

"So, ready for surprise number two?" John loudly asked as the group of seven approached the docking bay.

"What is it, a ship?" inquired Jane. She was immediately muted by her surprise when she laid eyes on her.

The Normandy SR-2. It looked just like the old Normandy, only this one was bigger! Jane beamed immensely as she sprinted towards the stealth-frigate to check it out. The ship door slid open as Surprise #3 revealed himself. A familiar face limped into view, arms spread wide with a cheesy grin. "You couldn't have forgotten about me right?"

Jane's expression only got brighter as she laughed, hugging Joker gently, mindful of his Vrolik's Syndrome. "Never in a lifetime, Joker."

"Fantastic. Great to have you back, Jane. I really missed the deadly combination of blue explosions and electrical hazards on the daily," Joker quipped, breaking the hug and stepping back, "What'dya think of her? Bigger, better, faster, stronger, stealthier… far more comfortable furnishings, and probably better suited for our mission than any other ship I can think of!"

"A flattering but untrue description of the SR-2. Multiple ships have similar if not better designs and qualities, Mr. Moreau," said a synthesized voice that seemed to come from the ceiling.

"…is that an AI?" Alexander asked as he stepped into the Normandy, having heard the voice.

"…and then there's the part I don't like to talk about. I preferred her when she was nice and quiet. Now she's got this thing I hate. Like ship-cancer. Meet EDI. Enhanced Defense Intelligence," Joker grumbled, waving his hand dismissively and limping back to the bridge.

Alexander shrugged and made a face that seemed to say, "not bad", before venturing further into the CIC deck, where he was occasionally pelted with trash; the crewmen saw his Assassin insignia. Of course, his shields were only irritated slightly by the soft impact of the cans of Tupari and mint tins as he walked by. Following him were the other Assassins. They gathered around the Galaxy Map and awaited their CO or XO, whoever arrived first.

"Alright, I assume we have new squadmem…bers… oh shit…" Miranda Lawson said, then groaned, when she laid eyes on Alexander, who smiled passive-aggressively at the Cerberus operative.

John and Jane arrived in the CIC to brief those currently gathered. John especially spoke of how difficult this mission would be, and that everyone needed to pitch in and support each other in the months to come.

Alexander would take the stand next, addressing his Assassins on proper conduct around the Templars they volunteered to work with.

"My 'Ten Commandments' are as follows:

1. No Killing. Period.2. No Stealing.3. No Unprofessionalism.4. Respect Higher Ups in both factions.5. Only take orders from Assassins and designated Officers of either alignment.6. #5 Is null if an order is to break #1-4 in direction of the opposite faction of the one issuing the order.7. Report instances of #6 to Alexander Clarke or Kairee Antar immediately.8. NO MISSIONARY. Conversions are probably impossible anyways.9. Thou shalt not be stupid.10. Thou shall attempteth to get along with fellow crewmen.

"If anyone has a problem with any of the above, talk with me about it."

After that brief introduction, Miranda announced the importance of building a competant team to combat the Collectors with. EDI's suggestion: Mordin Solus, Salarian Scientist, however, by Popular Demand, they decided to recruit Okeer, Krogan Warlord, and Subject Zero first, as they were both on-the-way pickup missions.

Korlus, 2185

In which the Assassins get their first taste of Shepard insanity. After meeting with Okeer on Korlus, John Shepard, Alexander Clarke, and Lora Baan were sent to deal with a Blue Suns leader and her goons, who had been systematically releasing and killing Okeer's genetically crafted Krogan berserkers.

Armed with a rocket launcher and a YMIR mech, at first she proved to be a nasty challenge. However, with some clever hacking on Lora's part, the YMIR turned on the berserkers and mercenaries and brought them down easily before self-destructing. John Shepard, a vanguard, charged into the fray and cleaned up what the mech missed. Alexander, also a vanguard, went straight for Jedore, the mercenary leader. With a mighty biotic charge, he planted his hidden blade in Jedore's chest, severing her aorta, killing her in the allotted three seconds. Regardless of that, the sheer impact caused her heart to explode anyways, killing her in a shorter timespan. Flicking the blood off of his blade and sheathing it in his wrist armor, he bowed his head and gave Jedore his Assassin's blessing of peaceful rest. "Your deeds condemn you, rest in peace," he murmured before turning and following John and Lora back to Okeer's laboratory.

He was dead. Poisoned. He had left a message recorded for Shepard, telling him to protect his legacy: The Ultimate Krogan Soldier.

Accessing the console, John received a readout on the tank-bred Krogan next to him.

"Perhaps if we cannot have Okeer join us, we can activate the tank and release the Krogan within it," Alexander suggested, studying the being inside the birthing tank.

"I'm not so sure that's smart. I mean, you saw what the others did down there, what makes you so sure that this one won't try to kill us?" replied Lora as she scanned the tank with her Omnitool.

John merely grunted and activated his comlink, "Shepard to Normandy, Okeer's a no-go. Joker, bring her around for a package pickup… and he's a big one."

Normandy SR-2, 2185

"The subject is stable, Shepard. Integration with onboard systems was seamless," EDI announced as Jane Shepard approached the tank.

"Stand by, I'm going to open the tank and let him out," Jane replied, eyes on the Krogan. They had placed his tank and set up life-support on the engineering deck, at the room on the end of the hall left of the elevator.

"Cerberus Protocol is very clear regarding untested Alien technology," EDI sternly responded, refusing to open the tank.

"He's either a powerful addition to the crew or a time bomb. I'd rather deal with it now," Jane said, unmoved.

"Very well, Shepard. The controls are online. The switch, and consequences, are yours."

Jane stepped forwards and pressed the console, then moved back and watched eagerly as the nutrient fluid in the tank drained and the door opened. The Krogan fell on all fours and coughed the rest of the fluid out before standing and eyeing Jane with malicious intent. Taking a second to wake up, he charged into her, picking her up and slamming her into the far wall. "Human. Female," he muttered, pinning the woman to the wall by her throat, with his forearm. "Before you die, I need a name."

"I'm Commander Shepard and I don't take threats lightly. I suggest you relax," Jane said in a deadpan tone. Nothing was broken, but she would feel the bruise for a while after this.

"Not your name, mine. I am trained, I know things, but the tank… Okeer couldn't implant connection. His words are hollow," the Krogan said, in a shockingly calm but still intimidating enough voice, "Warlord… legacy… Grunt. Grunt… it has no meaning. It'll do. I am Grunt, if you are worthy of your command, prove your strength and try to destroy me."

"You wouldn't prefer Okeer?" Jane asked, lifting an eyebrow inquisitively, "or Legacy?"

"It's short, matches the training in my blood, the other words are big things I don't feel. Maybe they fit your mouth better," Grunt replied, shrugging his free shoulder. "I feel nothing for Okeer's clan or his enemies. I will do what I am bred to do – fight and determine the strongest – but his implant has failed. Without a reason that's mine, one fight is as good as any other. Might as well start with you."

"I have a good ship and a strong crew, a strong clan. You'd make it stronger," Jane said without a hint of fear in her voice and every trace of honesty one could pick up on in a statement such as that.

"If you're weak and choose weak enemies, I'll have to kill you," Grunt said bluntly, strengthening his pin on Jane.

"Our enemies are worthy. No doubt about that."

"Hmm. Hmph! That's… acceptable. I'll fight for you."

"I'm glad you saw reason", Jane said. It was revealed that she had been holding an M3 Predator to Grunt's stomach the entire time.

Grunt looked down with, well, a grunt, as he took notice of the pistol. He smiled a little bit, "Ha! Offer one hand, but arm the other!" he said as he released Jane. "Wise, Shepard. If I find a clan, if I find what I… I want, I will be honored to eventually pit them against you," he added with a polite bow of the head, walking off to stand by next to the tank.

Purgatory, 2185

"I DO THE HARD THINGS CIVILIZED GOVERNMENTS ARE UNWILLING TO! THIS IS FOR THE GOOD OF THE GALAXY!" boomed Warden Kuril as he attempted to shoot John Shepard in the head with his gun. Luckily he just hit a crate used as cover.

John, Kairee Antar, and Frederico Corado had boarded the prison station Purgatory expecting no trouble in purchasing "Jack", Subject Zero, and bringing her onto the Normandy. Upon being scammed and threatened with imprisonment, the trio had blasted through Blue Suns mercenaries and released Jack, who decimated the station single-handedly, setting it on fire, with her fists and biotics. They encountered the Turian, Warden Kuril, as he was leading his men to recapture Jack.

"Frederico, singularity!" Kairee ordered as the Brazilian did just that. It suspended several mercenaries in the air and drained Kuril's shields. Kairee herself pulled out her M92 Mantis sniper rifle and lined up the shots, blasting each floating mercenary in the vital regions she had been trained to aim for, before firing a round into Kuril's forehead. It finished off his shields, broke his tech-armor, and the impact of the mass-accelerated pellet caused his head to break open at the front. The Warden's lifeless body hit the ground with a thud, and John charged up to the platform he was standing on to finish the rest of the mercenaries with shotgun blasts. "Rest easy, Spirits have mercy on yours," Kairee brusquely said as she drew back the rifle's bolt and put in another thermal clip.

After finishing that skirmish, the trio returned to the docking bay where they found Jack in a full-sprint as she took down the guards posted at the entrance without even stopping. She turned her head, saw the Cerberus insignia on the Normandy, and became flustered, pacing back and forth and spitting venomous words of profanity to nobody in particular. John led his team up to her and fired a bullet into a guard that Jack had failed to notice in her tirade. She turned back to see John put his pistol away and open dialogue. "What the hell do you want!?" she barked, eyes fixed on Shepard.

Oh. Going to talk that way? "I just saved your ass!" John growled.

"He was already dead. He just didn't know it."

"My name is John and I'm here to get you off this ship."

"I'm not going anywhere with you… you're Cerberus."

"I'm offering to be your friend. You don't wanna be my enemy…"

Frederico snickered and stood At Ease, "I haven't seen much of Shepard in action but I know of him. His enemies have a way of dying by Biotic Charge, shotgun blast or smack to the face, or ran over with a poorly driven tank."

"You show up in a Cerberus frigate to take me away somewhere? You think I'm stupid?" Jack snarled, giving John that look.

"This ship is going down in flames, I've got the only way out, I'm offering to take you with me and you're arguing."

Kairee slapped a hand to her face and sighed, "Just… knock her out or something. I think Alex has some antique Auditore Renaissance smelling salts we can borrow to wake her up."

"I'd like to see you try!" Jack boomed, biotic energy swirling around her arms.

"It might just come to that," John replied with a sly smirk.

"You'll have to kill me… Look, you want me to come with you, make it worth my while…"

"Tell me what you're thinking?" asked the Commander as he stepped up closer to Jack.

"I bet your ship's gotta lot of Cerberus databases. I wanna look at those files, see what Cerberus has got on me," answered the psychotic biotic. "You want me on your team? Let me go through those databases!"

"I'll give you full access." John replied without a moment's hesitation.

"You'd better be straight-up with me… so why the hell are we still standing here?!"

"…move out."

Normandy SR-2, 2185

"Welcome to the Normandy, Jack. I am Miranda, John Shepard's second-in-command. On this ship, we follow orders."

Jack was leaned against a wall. She scoffed and looked at Jane Shepard. "Tell this Cerberus Cheerleader to back off. I'm here because of the deal with your brother.

Alexander Clarke, the Assassins' briefing representative, chuckled and uncrossed his arms. "I like her. I might have to use that, 'Cerberus Cheerleader'."

Jack simpered at Alex but said nothing to him. "Miranda will let you into the system," Jane said, "let me know what you find."

"Hear that, Precious?" Jack said in a faux-childlike tone to Miranda, "You and I are going to be friends!" Her tone began to gradually become more and more smug and mocking, "You, me, and ev-er-y em-bar-ass-ing little secret. I'll be reading down in the hold, or somewhere near the bottom. I don't like all the through-traffic. Keep your people off me. It's better that way."

Omega, 2185

"WHAT ARE THESE THINGS ANYWAYS!?" John Shepard shouted as he fired his new M6 Carnifex at a group of Vorcha "boom-squads".

"Vorcha. Discovered them this year, actually. Extremely quick, freakishly regenerative, adaptive to nearly any environment, including the airless one they're trying to create right now," Alexander Clarke explained, throwing a biotic shockwave into a Vorcha "soldier" that tried to pounce and maul him. He watched with a chuckle as it was sent careening into the far wall where it was splattered by the force of the impact. "Drop them in the desert, they adapt on the spot to not need water for longer time periods. Drop them in a glacial desert, they mutate to increase body temperature on the fly. As a result they live for only 20 years and evolution has halted. Thankfully medicine won't do jack to increase their lifespan!"

John stopped firing to give Alex a classic "what the hell" look before standing back up and firing his pistol once more. A bullet struck a Vorcha in the shoulder, ripping a hole in it. To his alarm, the shoulder flesh regenerated and the Vorcha merely hissed in ire, going berserk and charging straight for John. Alexander leapt forwards the way one would when attempting a somersault. He plunged his hidden blade into the Vorcha and knocked it off course, tumbling with it until he had it pinned down. He began to bash the Vorcha's head in with biotic-empowered punches until it went limp.

"Light them on fire, freeze them and shatter them, or destroy the head with a high-powered weapon! Goddamn Vorcha are vicious if you neglect to do one of the three!" a man with greying hair and crude yellow armor shouted, firing a concussive round into the head of an incoming Vorcha. The expected results were realized.

The squad had met with Dr. Mordin Solus, a genius but vicious-when-angered medical doctor and geneticist who sent them to distribute a cure for a plague through the life-support systems of Omega. Inadvertently, in the process they met with Zaeed Massani, a mercenary hired by Cerberus to help the Commanders Shepard and their crew. He was here now, helping John with the cure. The Vorcha had shut down life support systems after their plague proved ineffective due to the quarantine, so objective #1 was to clear out the Vorcha.

It took a while but they did it. Both fans were activated and they finished off the rest of the Vorcha. Making their way back to Mordin, he agreed that a promise was a promise, and that he'd come aboard the Normandy. He occupied the tech laboratory on the CIC deck, opening up new opportunities for upgrades for both ship and crew. Lora Baan and Frederico Corado would become assistants of his in the way of technology.

Normandy SR-2, 2185

After the recruitment of Mordin Solus, the Normandy crew took a brief moment to relax before going after Archangel, the last on the list of dossiers. Over the days of recent, the crew had begun to warm up to each other, at least enough to cease constant bickering. Mordin's prying eventually led to the Assassin-Templar war becoming known to the newly recruited squadmembers Jack, Grunt, and Zaeed, as well as the till now ignorant crewmen. Previously they assumed that Alexander led a group of common assassins: precise mercenaries.

Jack naturally took the side of the Assassins in the inevitable debate regarding secrecy of the war, with the Assassins veering towards speaking of the war with those crewmates aboard the Normandy and the Templars itching to keep their existence clandestine in the eyes and ears of new teammates.

Grunt stayed impartial, waiting to see who the mightier force was, but subtly implied that he had faith in the Brotherhood, as they had the most territory and military strength.

Zaeed, predictably, just wanted the paycheck, and given that his current client was Cerberus he sided with the Templars. "No need to complicate the mission with Goddamn conspiracy theories. Next thing you know we'll have some idiots wearing aluminum foil hats! Just pay me and my gun is your gun."

Joker had a few wisecracks along the lines of "Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good… well, anything actually. Me? Give me a ship to fly and I'm happy. Who gives the orders, I don't care, as long as it's John and Jane."

Dr. Chakwas was intrigued by the concept of the war, but otherwise uncaring as to the outcome.

So, fortunately, nobody quite minded the Assassins and Templars as long as no moves were made to impose their philosophies on each other or any neutral parties for the remainder of the mission.

Now all that was left to do was find Archangel…

Sutori-Artifex again with some updates.

Hope you enjoyed this rewrite!

I changed Frederico's nationality/race from Portuguese to Brazilian. They both speak forms of Portuguese anyways, so not much fanon is damaged here.

Changed Lora Ban to Lora Baan. Lora worked in the Volus tongue, "Ban" was too English for me… so I took the lazy way out and slapped an "a" on it :D

Figured out a way to recount the recruitment and loyalty missions I don't feel like writing for: brief summaries of the missions at the end of a chapter. It keeps my sanity in check, and doesn't completely betray the audience in terms of the course of events in-between chapters. You won't be left wondering what happened exactly.

I WILL be rewriting chapter 3, and as a result may have to rewrite the rest of the story, at least everything before The Rogue Brother (Thane's recruitment).

Peace. C: