The new bartender at Eternity, the casual bar on Illium, knew something had changed, but couldn't confirm what. Sha'ira had made her scheduled visit and Liara had seemed in a better mood in the weeks following. Aethyta had bugged Liara's office and her primary terminal, so she knew the personal crusade against Captain Mikhailovich had finally borne fruit. Aethyta was proud of her girl; instead of having the woman killed, Liara had actually turned the evidence over to the Alliance and they had initiated an investigation, forcing the woman to retire at the reduced rank of Commander. Aethyta had sighed when she'd heard the announcement and was glad Liara was content with the results. I would have killed the bitch and not given it a second thought. Liara was a better person than that, and Aethyta was proud to be her father. But the fact that the Captain lost her lifelong career was not near enough to explain Liara's extreme change of mood.

As usual, Liara had worked late the night prior. Unusual was that she received a call from one of her prior shipmates, the Quarian, Tali'Zorah. Tali had been vague, Liara had promised to call from home, and immediately closed up the office and left, obviously to finish the conversation from her secure home network. Aethyta had not yet been able to bug the home systems. It was Nezzie's old apartment, but Liara had put three overlapping layers of encryption on the damn door lock, and Aethyta had yet to crack the new codes. All Aethyta knew was that the next morning when Liara walked into work, she positively glowed. Her voice carried a tone Aethyta had never heard and she knew exactly what it meant. Liara was incredibly happy and given the current state of affairs, there was only one thing in the galaxy that could cause it. Aethyta was sure Liara had gotten word that Shepard was alive, but she had no proof. It was great news, but 'My girl is walking on air and happier than I've ever seen her' was not exactly material for a report to the councilor. At the moment, it was all Aethyta had and for her, it was enough.

Archangel sat in the crow's nest with his sniper rifle, picking off mercenary fodder like there would be no tomorrow. Of course, if this kept up too much longer, that could actually become a very distinct possibility. Who knew he'd piss them off so bad that all three main mercenary groups on Omega would actually team up to take him down; it was unprecedented! Those groups never cooperated. Archangel sighed, "Guess I should never say never" as he contemplated just how he got into this mess. He had been angry and frustrated; disgusted with recent turns in his life when he saw that damn Vorcha mugging an elderly human couple. He stepped in and stopped it and the old woman had called him a 'real-life angel.' Later that evening, he was at a bar called Afterlife, telling his story, when he ran into a couple of similar minded folk who were also tired of less savory characters taking advantage of the defenseless and they decided to do something about it. Because of the elderly woman's comment, he decided to call himself 'Archangel' and it wasn't long before others were drawn to the cause and their squad soon numbered an even dozen.

The squad declared war on Omega's criminal elements, and a place like Omega certainly had no shortage. As long as they didn't impact any of Aria T'Loak's business transactions, the Pirate Queen could care less, so they were careful to stay off her radar. The squad was well rounded, with snipers, tech experts, a couple of biotics and a variety of skilled former mercenaries, including a Salarian explosives expert. There was practically no job they weren't willing to tackle, and they even picked up some special high paying security and escort jobs that earned them quite a few credits. They were doing so well that some members of the squad had actually started talking about settling down and living good with their portion of the profits. Then they got word that their team was in the crosshairs; they had made such a name for themselves the three main gangs on Omega, the Blue Suns, the Blood Pack and Eclipse, had all decided to work together to take the vigilante group down.

Somewhere along the way during the course of the Omega gangs' retaliatory strikes, Archangel's second in command, a Turian named Lantar Sidonis, was captured and forced to lay a trap for the squad. Sidonis was coerced to provide Archangel a false lead on a Blood Pack gun running operation, and while Archangel was gone checking it out, a combined gang team bombed the squad's hideout and then gunned down anyone who survived the blast. By the time Archangel returned, ten members of the squad were dead and Sidonis was nowhere to be found. The gangs pursued Archangel, intent on finishing off the squad completely. Archangel finally found a good defensible position with only one readily available way in and out and decided to make his last stand, hoping the gangs got tired of dying in the chokepoint before he ran out of thermal clips. So, there he sat in the crow's nest with his sniper rifle, wondering just how much longer he was going to last when he spotted a familiar splash of auburn hair through his scope. Well I'll be damned. My odds just got a whole lot better.

After she hung up with Tali, Liara felt Riana's steadying hands on her shoulders. She carefully pushed the chair back and stood to face the stalwart commando, realizing her face was bright with joy at Liara's welcome news. Liara just closed her eyes and shook her head while she and Riana clasped each other's forearms. Liara spoke very softly. "Riana. You are always here when I need you. You have been a pillar of support, a good friend to me in my darkest hours. I am glad you were here to share the happy news as well, but I must beg for your discretion." Liara opened her eyes and looked at Riana for understanding as she continued. "Please. Tell no one of this until I sort things out with Shepard. You heard what the Seer told me, but until I am sure... Until I actually speak to Shepard and truly know in my heart, this cannot go beyond the two of us. I cannot bear the questions people would ask during my uncertainty."

Riana nodded but did not break eye contact. Her eyes blazed with unwavering devotion as she spoke, "I understand, Mistress. I will not break your confidence, but I must tell you... neither will I bear your self-doubts, nor any doubts of Shepard's love for you. I fully believe in the truth of the Seer's vision and will do what is necessary to defend it." Liara had no words that could express her emotions, so gently squeezed Riana's arms in thanks before releasing her and sitting back down at the terminal. Liara couldn't even think of sleep, so she spent some time sending messages. She did not notice when Riana drifted back to her own room to bed.

Liara's first note was to Hannah, apologizing profusely for not staying in better contact, but that she had important news to pass on that could not be done over the message system. She hoped that Hannah would somehow find her way to Illium in the near future; otherwise Liara would just have to figure out how to get a message to her, perhaps via private courier. The only thing she could confirm was that they must absolutely communicate in some manner and that she preferred it be in person.

Liara also sent a quick message off to Armali. Liara had only kept two things from Alchera with her, the dog tags and Shepard's journal; everything else had remained in Armali. She asked Matriarch Mozia to ship all the storage crates with Shepard's personal belongings from the Normandy to the apartment on Illium. Liara wrote that she wanted to put some of the armor and accessories into the apartment display cases, and then determine the disposition of the remaining items, stating it was time to clean house and move onto the next stage of her life.

Hannah was sitting on a beach in Rio enjoying the last few days of her leave period between assignments when her omnitool chimed. Glancing at it, she suddenly bolted upright and opened the message. Liara! It's about damn time, girl! Where the hell have you been? So many questions ran through her head and only one of them got an answer as she read through the extremely vague message. She typed an extremely short reply that was not nearly as ambiguous. 'On Earth, on leave, between assignments...will try to be on Illium tomorrow evening. See you soon. Love!' Hannah stood up, picked up her belongings and returned to her visiting officer's quarters at Vita Militar to pack and arrange for shuttle transport. She had been staring at the surf, reminiscing about visiting 'The Villa' while Samantha had been in Rio de Janeiro going through her N-School training at the Interplanetary Combatives Academy. Sam had always loved the sounds of a night beach; the quiet calls of night birds and the soft sound of a gentle surf on the shore. Hannah's tranquil thoughts were interrupted by fears of what was so important that Liara had broken her self-imposed exile to contact her. The Asari hadn't even attended Samantha's memorial service. All Hannah could think was that Liara had discovered something about the Reapers or found some information on the colonial disappearances in the Terminus. God, I hope those two thoughts aren't connected! Hannah suddenly found herself packing with a bit more urgency, eager to see Liara and yet... not.

Matriarch Aethyta was sound asleep when the insistent chiming of her omnitool woke her. She was going to ignore it until she realized it was Mozia. She cursed under her breath and hit the accept key. "What the hell you want, Mozia? You know how early it is here?"

Mozia laughed, "Thyta. It's 10AM. That's not exactly early."

Aethyta growled. "It is when I work a bar job that doesn't end until three and because of 'other assigned duties' I didn't get to bed until nine... Shit! I'm too old for this. What's up?"

"Sorry, dearest. I honestly did forget about your odd hours, but I think this is important." Mozia then went on to explain the unexpected request she had received from Liara. "Do you think this is delayed fallout from Sha'ira's visit, or has something happened there?"

Aethyta sat up...things were starting to come together, so she explained to Mozia what little she knew about the call from Tali'Zorah and Liara's subsequent reaction. "I guessed she'd heard something about Shepard, but had nothing to confirm it. The girl's good at keeping secrets... This, however...this certainly puts a positive spin on things. Pretty sure we can say Shepard is alive and kickin' and Liara is preparing to return her stuff to her. I'll try to find out if she's making any travel plans."

Mozia agreed with Aethyta's assessment and said she'd pass on their suspicions to Tevos. "I'll send one of the commandos to deliver the personal effects, and see if they can find anything out while they are on Illium. I'm sure she'll have a need to quench her thirst while visiting. You can exchange updated information then. Thanks for your time, Thyta. Get some more sleep, dear."

Aethyta grumbled, "Like I can sleep now, with all this shit running through my head? Gonna be a long day if I don't, though... thanks, Mozia." Matriarch Mozia was laughing as she signed off.

Back in her office the next day, Liara caught herself humming as she went through her data feeds. She felt better than she had in a long time, with good reason, but was a bit apprehensive about meeting Hannah again after such a long silence. Liara could imagine nothing but the woman being very angry with her for disappearing after Shepard's 'death.' Her good mood vanished as she contemplated just how she was going to explain everything. Her thoughts were interrupted by a chirp of her omnitool indicating a message from Riana. Hannah's shuttle would be arriving at 8PM...along with an 'accompanied' shipment from Armali. Liara sat back in her chair; that was... unexpected. She had given no indication to Matriarch Mozia that she wanted or needed express shipment of the articles, nor that they needed to be hand delivered by one of the commandos! Liara typed a quick message to both Riana and Judea and explained that she needed private time with Captain Shepard, so Judea and their unexpected visitor would bunk on the Aletheia for the night while Riana escorted the Captain and the cargo to the apartment. Liara added a note for Judea. 'Feel free to take Huntress Shasia out for food and drink at Eternity and see if you can find out the real reason she is here. Brokerage expense account. Have a good time...'

With everything going on, Liara almost overlooked a short note from one of her better Salarian information agents. He had used one of the heavily classified encryptions, and even once decrypted, the message was still not plain text. It contained a separate code word to indicate the existence of a Shadow Broker agent on Illium. The open text following indicated the Broker agent was simply known as the Observer. For the Salarian to use triple safeguards, he must believe their message system to be compromised. Liara very carefully manually transcribed all the decrypted data to an unlinked data pad, ensuring none of the text she typed would compromise either of the encryption or decryption algorithms used. Once completed and triple-checked, Liara deleted the original message and ran the scrubber program. Having a direct agent on Illium was bad, but it also provided an extraordinary opportunity. The Observer was no intermediary; there was no extra level of protection. If Liara could identify this agent, it would be the most direct link to the Shadow Broker she will have found since the start of her hunt.

Liara called Nyxeris into her office, informed her of the new information and handed her the datapad. "Please put your talents to use to track down some leads on this. To have a Shadow Broker agent so close is not good, so consider this your top priority. We must be extra vigilant until we have identified the threat. Please be careful, and as I know you can be, certainly be discrete." After her assistant had read through the data pad, Liara made sure she had no questions on the task and sent her on her way. As soon as Nyxeris left the office, Liara locked the door and pulled up her detection program on her omnitool, putting it to work scanning the office. It would be time consuming, but with a local agent in the immediate vicinity, Liara added it on her personal task list to accomplish a scan every three days. This was a very special program, designed specifically for her by Tali, and Liara trusted no one else with the precise coding the program contained; it was exceptionally thorough. By the time it was done, Liara had discovered every one of her office terminals had been bugged, plus there was an audio capture device planted on an upper corner of one of the windows, virtually invisible to the naked eye. Every one of them transmitted through a random multi-hop program, and every time the back-trace program got to the third node, the nodes self-destructed, terminating the trace. Whoever had done this was a professional...but Tali was better.

Across Illium in the residential section an omnitool chirped. Chirped again. Chirped again. Chirped a fourth time and fell silent. A bleary-eyed Matriarch squinted at the messages and sat up in her bed. "Fuck!" All three terminal taps and her audio device had been discovered, traced and burned. Aethyta fell back onto her bed; she was back to ground zero on monitoring that damned illusive Liara T'Soni. That girl was, at the very least, as smart as her mother, and she was also starting to be a pain in the ass.

Morning came early for Shepard, her night's rest too short after spending most of the night wondering what stars Liara was looking at. When she did finally find sleep, it was disturbed by dreams of being unable to breathe in the black expanse of space. Sometimes she was able to redirect her thoughts to the Thessia beach, but last night was not one of those times. She groaned as she rolled to the side of the bed and dropped her legs over the side, slapping at her omnitool to make the alarm shut up. She got up and dressed, not even caring if Miranda was watching. She wished she knew the exact camera placement just so she could stare at it in an attempt to make Miranda uncomfortable with the intrusion while she dressed. Instead, she just faced the wall and tried to ignore the world. She put on her armor and headed down to the mess, saying hello to Gardner and grabbing something that resembled scrambled eggs and bacon and a large cup of coffee. Taking a large swig, Shepard immediately spewed it out over the table she was sitting at. "Ahhhg! What is this?" she yelled.

Mess Sergeant Gardner laughed, "That's black Pekoe tea, ma'am."

Shepard practically threw the cup at him. "Tell me you actually have coffee on this God forsaken boat!" Gardner pointed at a hot water dispenser and instant coffee packs. Shepard stood up and glared at him. "If you want to survive more than the next 48 hours, we will find a brew pot and coffee somewhere on Omega and it will be on this ship before we depart the station. I don't care how much it costs, but I am NOT drinking instant coffee. Ever. Am I being perfectly clear, Mess Sergeant?"

Gardner dropped what he was doing and stood at attention, shouting, "Ma'am, yes Ma'am!" Everyone around the table who hadn't gotten tea spit all over them sniggered, but stopped as soon as the commander's glare swept the table. Suddenly not wanting to eat with the group, Shepard dumped her entire plate into the trash disposal, grabbed a few packs of battle rations, and stomped to the elevator to head to the armory.

Miranda and Jacob were already there prepping weapons, and fell silent when Shepard entered the room. Sensing her foul mood, Miranda ventured forth with a question, "Everything ok, Shepard?"

Shepard glared at her. "No. I'm tired, I'm hungry, and this stupid ship has an AI and leather seats but ya'all couldn't install a real coffee pot?" Shepard grabbed an Eviscerator shotgun, a Locust submachine gun, and a Phalanx heavy pistol, docked them on the hardpoints on her armor and grabbed as many thermal clips as she had storage for. Saying, "Let's get this done," she immediately headed for the airlock as Miranda and Jacob scrambled to dock their weapons and catch up.

As soon as they entered Omega station, a jittery Salarian showed up welcoming them to Omega. He hadn't gotten very far in his introduction when a Batarian showed up and chased him off. The Batarian, named Moklan, looked the group over and then faced the commander. "Blasted scavengers. Welcome to Omega... Shepard."

The commander just looked at him and queried, "You know who I am?"

Moklan shrugged his shoulders and answered almost dismissively, "Of course. We had you tagged the moment you entered the Terminus Systems. You're not as subtle as you think." He was basically just a message boy, sent by Aria because she wanted to see the 'dead' Spectre. Shepard waved him off, and figured she'd get around to Aria eventually, but she had some things to accomplish first. The passageway from the docks to Omega proper was actually pretty quiet, so Shepard took advantage of it to dole out orders. She sent Jacob down to the shopping district to get any mods and upgrades he could find and told him specifically to find a pair of the T6-FBA couplings, coffee and a brew pot. Edi transmitted over the comm that there was a quarantine warning in the slums where Dr Solus ran his clinic and to anticipate resistance at the transport station because the area was locked down. She then added information about a mercenary recruiting station in Afterlife that was looking for volunteers to go after Archangel.

Shepard stopped and looked at Miranda. "Looks like we'll go see Aria after all. Probably need her permission to go into the quarantine zone, and the recruiter is in her bar, so I imagine she'd be a bit pissed if we walked into the joint and then ignored the queen."

Miranda nodded in agreement. "I agree, Commander. However, before we go anywhere, that mercenary right at the end of the hall bears a striking resemblance to the dossier photo of Zaeed Massani. Shepard glanced down to where Miranda had pointed and saw a merc beating the crap out of a Batarian.

As she approached, the Batarian begged for help. Zaeed backhanded him, saying, "No one said you could talk, jackass!" It didn't take much time to establish that the Batarian was a bounty, and Zaeed was a no bullshit kind of guy who knew his business and knew how to handle himself. What TIM had neglected to put in the dossier was that Zaeed had accepted another mission before signing with the Normandy, to deal with some Blue Suns who had taken over a refinery. Shepard agreed that if it was part of the deal, she'd make it happen as soon as there was a break in the mission schedule, but couldn't guarantee when it would be. Zaeed shook her hand and agreed, but pressed that he preferred it be sooner rather than later.

Shepard spoke plainly, "We'll get to it when we get to it, Zaeed. Can't promise you anything else. Now, turn that bounty in and meet me in front of Afterlife. While you're doing that, I've got to talk to Aria." With that, Shepard and Miranda walked into Omega proper. When they walked in the door, Shepard wasn't sure what was worse, the noise or the smell. At least Afterlife was easy to find, as it was direct in front of the dock entrance. Shepard guessed Aria wanted her 'guests' to not have any excuse for not finding her right away. There was a waiting line to get in the door, but the commander blew it off; after all, the Queen had summoned her.

The doors to Afterlife opened and Shepard was transported to another world. Inside was loud music with a throbbing beat, and multiple exotic Asari dancers were working their own rhythms, either on a pole or private table dances. Shepard instantly understood where all the misconceptions about Asari sexual promiscuity came from; places like this. Shepard passed a bar, then stopped and backed up, asking the bartender if they just happened to carry Serrice Ice Brandy. They did, so Sam paid for a couple bottles to be delivered to Dr Chakwas aboard the Normandy. They then proceeded to the back of the room; as soon as Shepard had walked in she had noticed the elevated viewing platform at the rear of the club. She was sure the Queen's throne was up there, with a commanding view of the entire establishment. As she came up the last set of stairs and saw a sole Asari standing alone, she knew it was Aria. Her assumption was confirmed when the Asari spoke. "That's close enough."

Aria's guards all drew weapons, but Shepard just looked at them all with disdain, doing nothing. After a few tense seconds, the smallest nod of Aria's head made them all stand down and one of them directed Shepard to stand still so he could scan her. As he waved a scanner in her face, Shepard grabbed the front of the collar on his armor, pulling him close. "Try it, and you'll be scanning the inside of your colon."

Aria laughed quietly as she said, "I'd almost pay to see that." Then her voice got serious again as she finished, "But it's not an option. You want to talk, you get scanned. Can't be too careful with dead Spectres. That could be anyone wearing your face."

Shepard pointed at Aria and said, "I was told you were the person to talk to if I had questions." At that, Aria turned around. She had very distinct facial tattoos, and Shepard thought she was actually very attractive, and not just physically. She held an aura of power that had been earned over centuries of experience, a stark contrast to Liara's tranquil beauty. Where Liara's aura spoke of serene empathy, Aria's spoke of controlled rage; they could not be more polar opposites. Shepard snorted to herself, thinking the last thing she needed in her life was more rage.

Aria invited Shepard to sit, which she did, and after Aria highlighted Shepard's miniscule import in Aria's domain, they engaged in conversation about Solus and Archangel. Because the team figured they'd make more than a few enemies while retrieving Archangel, they decided to save him for last so they could beat a hasty retreat should the need arise. That meant they were headed after Solus in the quarantine zone first. Being a space station, each of Omega's outer zones was self-contained to prevent catastrophic failure in the event of a breech; it also made it extremely easy to close any section off, whenever necessary. Aria's quarantine procedures were tight as a drum, so the team was forced to go through the standard entry gates between zones. Once they arrived, they found a Turian guard at the door that required a bit of convincing, but he did provide a bit of information in the process. He confirmed Shepard's suspicions that Mordin was more that a doctor. He had apparently wreaked havoc among the Blue Suns, so he was not just a member of the Salarian STG in name; he could take care of himself quite well. Openly displaying the team's various weapons, Shepard easily convinced the Turian door guard they were well prepared to take on a few mercs, stating, "What you need is to get this problem solved right now. That's what we do... solve problems. Let us in, and we'll get this district straightened out." The large number of shotguns, assault rifles, SMGs and heavy pistols distributed amongst only three people, along with the blue trails of biotic power rolling off the two women's fingertips sold the guard, so he radioed ahead and told the second layer of security they had some 'problem solvers' headed their way, into the zone.

Shepard, Lawson and Massani walked through the door and into a war zone. As gangs competed for territory, the plague was the least of their worries. Immediately inside the door were two Blue Suns which Shepard took out with ease. She pulled up her biotics and charged into the first, then blasted the second with her shotgun at short range before turning back to finish off the first one she crashed into with her charge. There was a sick Batarian sitting on the floor, showing initial symptoms of the plague, and after convincing him she was there to help, he had some information on the Clinic. He couldn't get there because of all the gang activity in between so Shepard promised to send help back once she cleared the path; then the team pressed on. They moved through a residential district, and it was evident the Blue Suns were raiding empty rooms, and locking in plague victims so they couldn't spread the disease. It was a cruel way to die and they were given no chance to get to Mordin's clinic. Shepard decided she didn't much like the Blue Suns, and Zaeed's mission was looking more enticing by the minute.

After penetrating the next Blue Suns barricade they ran across, the team stumbled upon a human couple hiding out. They had some insight into the plague; even though Human's were being blamed for the plague, it was the Vorcha who were profiting. They were moving into Blue Suns' territory as the Blue Suns became too weak to defend it. Vorcha weren't smart enough to create the plague, but they could certainly be the agents responsible for spreading it. It also gave the team a heads-up that the closer they got to the clinic, the more Vorcha they would be seeing, instead of the Blue Suns like they had been running into. Shepard couldn't stand Vorcha. They were the vermin of the galaxy; nothing but bipedal rats with big teeth and a nasty disposition. Even on their home world, they had no global government; it was a mess of competing clan chiefs and riddled with tribal warfare. They were formidable adversaries though, with a naturally aggressive disposition, disease resistance and regenerative capabilities.

They did run into one group of Blood Pack before they reached the clinic, with Vorcha, a couple of Krogan and some varren, but found the clinic quickly after blasting their way through the relatively small group. Once they got to the clinic, Mordin was a piece of work; his mouth ran a mile a minute, and he talked to himself constantly. Actually he didn't really talk to himself, it was more of an out loud thought process. Shepard wasn't sure if it helped Mordin think or if he just liked to hear himself speak. She walked up and interrupted his soliloquy by saying his name. He immediately scanned her and started rattling, "Hmm. Don't recognize you from area. Too well-armed to be refugees. No mercenary uniform. Quarantine still in effect. Here for something else. Vorcha? Crew to clean them out? Unlikely. Vorcha a symptom, not a cause. The plague? Investigating possible use as bio-weapon? No. Too many guns, not enough data equipment. Soldiers, not scientists. Yes, yes. Hired guns, maybe? Looking for someone? Yes! But who? Someone important. Valuable. Someone with secrets. Someone like… me."

Shepard had no idea how long he would have continued, so she finally broke his discourse simply by interrupting him. "For the love of the Gods, Mordin, take a breath. I'm Commander Shepard, and I came here to find you. I'm on a critical mission, and I need your expertise."

Mordin took off again, "Mission? What mission? No. No, no, no. Too busy. Clinic understaffed. Plague spreading too fast. Who sent you?"

"Ever heard of an organization called Cerberus?" When Shepard asked, Mordin's entire demeanor changed; he definitely recognized the name.

When he responded, his tone changed and became lower, more serious, more deliberate. "Crossed paths on occasion. Thought they only worked with Humans. Why request Salarian aid?"

Shepard answered directly, "I'm on a mission to shut down the Collectors, and I need your help."

Mordin dropped back into thinking aloud mode; his hand placed contemplatively on his chin while he considered the possibilities. "Collectors? Interesting. Plague hitting these slums is engineered. Collectors one of few groups with technology to design it. Our goals may be similar. But must stop plague first. Already have a cure. Need to distribute it at environmental control center. Vorcha guarding it. Need to kill them."

Shepard was deadly serious when she responded. "I can take care of the Vorcha and distribute the cure. If I get it done, can you come with me?"

Mordin agreed; then mentioned his assistant Daniel had gone out to distribute the cure and hadn't come back and asked Shepard to keep an eye out for him. In return, Shepard mentioned the sick Batarian out near the entrance, and the human couple that should be straggling in any time. Shepard quickly headed the team out the door to find the environmental control center and hopefully find Daniel somewhere along the way. As they came out into a main foyer, they ran into a huge group of Blood Pack. The group had a number of Krogan and Vorcha carrying flame throwers so Shepard concentrated on them first. She took a couple of serious shots from one Krogan who closed a lot faster than she anticipated, and had to rely on Miranda to cover her ass. It made Shepard realize how much she missed her old team, not necessarily because they were better fighters, but because they had worked together for so long they had established a battle rhythm. This new group lacked experience fighting together, and didn't know yet how to take advantage of each other's strengths. They finally polished the group off, and climbed the stairs they were guarding.

As they reached the top, there were two doors. Door number one revealed three Batarians holding Mordin's assistant Daniel at gunpoint. The Batarians were not pleased, convinced that Humans started the plague and Daniel was in the process of spreading it. Shepard scoffed, "I know you're scared. Of the Vorcha. Of the plague. But this man isn't to blame. If he was spreading the plague, why would he come into Vorcha territory? They're immune." Fortunately, the Batarians were not infected by the plague and still had their full mental faculties, so they saw the logic. Once Shepard promised them free and safe passage, they released their victim and quickly vacated the area. Shepard promptly told the young medic to get his ass back to the clinic; that Mordin needed his help and Daniel had no business being out here without weapons training, at least enough to defend himself. Once he was safely on his way, the team continued on theirs.

Stepping through the next doorway devolved into a protracted hallway by hallway fight, and the team found themselves facing numerous Vorcha, some with rocket launchers, and a Krogan. When they finally battled their way into the Environmental control room, a Blood Pack Vorcha ran out yelling, "You no come here. We shut down machines, break fans! Everyone choke and die! Collectors want plague! Then Collectors make us strong!" Shepard realized Mordin was right when he theorized the Collectors had designed the plague, she just didn't understand why. Not that it mattered at the moment. What did matter was killing the Vorcha so they could get the fans turned back on and the cure distributed via the air circulation system. Shepard started firing, and Zaeed and Miranda quickly followed suit. Knowing how close they were to completing the mission, Shepard let loose. Her mind flashed back to Eden Prime, when their team was getting close to being overwhelmed and she played ping pong with the husks. She swapped her shotgun for her heavy pistol for the faster fire rate and, once again, she called on her biotic charge and started flying.

It was the first time she really pushed her biotics since her Cerberus augmentation, and the speed at which she was able to recharge and move again was astounding. The Blood Pack never really stood much of a chance. The Vorcha were relatively easy, but even the Krogan had difficulty believing that a puny squishy human could slam into them like a freight train and then finish them off with a pistol shot to their exposed throat. At some point during the fight, Shepard felt something rake across her hip, but being in the middle of a melee with Krogan, she didn't exactly have time to stop and think about it. After the series of repeated charges, pistol whips and biotic explosions, the room fell deathly quiet. Shepard squatted in the middle of the room, down on one knee, head hanging while trying to catch her breath, on the verge of trembling with exhaustion and thanks to her armor's auto-application of medigel, forgetting all about her hip. Zaeed emerged from cover and spoke with a bit of awe in his voice. "Jesus Fucking Christ, Shepard. In all my years as a merc, I've never seen anything like that."

Shepard chuckled softly, as loudly as her lack of breath would allow. "Not the first time I've heard that, Zaeed. Welcome to the Normandy, the land of misfit warriors." She finally took a deep breath and stood up.

The minute she was on her feet, Miranda came rampaging over, "Shepard! Are you bloody suicidal? What the hell were you thinking? You could have been killed!" Shepard would have laughed, but as she turned to Miranda, she noticed the look on her face was deadly serious. She was getting ready to make some retort when Miranda's face went white. "Oh, God. You've been injured. We need to get you back to the Normandy!" At Shepard's questioning gaze, Miranda blurted out, "Your side, Shepard! Can you not feel that?"

Shepard looked down and saw a huge gash on her right side, starting just below her ribcage and flowing down across her hip. "Hmm. That's gonna leave a mark. Guess we'd better adjust the pain sensors and medigel application system in the armor; settings must be off. Come on, let's head to the clinic and get Mordin. Then we head to the Normandy." Miranda just shook her head in bewilderment as she silently watched Shepard turn and walk away.

When they walked in, Mordin started rattling on again, "Environmental systems engaged. Airborne viral levels dropping. Patients improving. Vorcha retreating. Well done, Shepard. Thank you." He turned to face her and stopped in his tracks. "Hmm. Sustained injury. Blood loss likely problematic. Will require stitching. Do you desire treatment, Commander?"

Shepard looked at Mordin and declined. "Thanks, Mordin, but no...just throw a quick patch on it and I'll head back to the Normandy. You ready to help us stop the Collectors?"

"Yes, Unexpected to be working with Cerberus. Many surprises. Just need to finish up here, make sure things ready for Daniel to take over clinic. Won't take long. Meet you at your ship. Looking forward to it."

Shepard closed out the conversation, "No hurry. We're docked for a rest period, and then we have more work on station. You have at least six hours. If I'm not available when you arrive, Jacob Taylor can show you to your lab and I'll catch up to you later."

When Shepard got back to the Normandy, she went straight to the med bay. Karin glanced up as soon as she walked in. "I told you not to worry about the brandy, Commander. So instead, you deliver not only one bottle, but two?"

Shepard smiled. "Told you I would. The first one was to fulfill my promise, the second is payment."

Karin quirked an eyebrow questioningly. "Payment, Commander?"

Shepard shed her armor and plopped herself up on an exam table. "Yeah... for this... and a few more I'm sure are headed your way in the future." Shepard waved her hand at her right side as she pulled up her compression shirt and tugged Mordin's temporary bandage off. "I figure keeping you happy might spare me a tongue lashing or two."

As she stood up, Karin smiled and shook her head, saying "Good luck with that, Commander!"

Karin walked over and looked at the torn flesh. She actually laughed, "Well, it's nice to know that some things just never change now, do they, Shepard?" Karin pushed her back on the table and connected a sedative drip. Miranda informed her a standard sedative would be processed too quickly by the commander's system, and she would wake up before Karin was able to complete her work; thus, she required an initial standard dose, plus a continual drip for the duration. The commander would awaken relatively quickly once the drip was discontinued. "Good night, Commander. See you in a couple of hours." Last thing Shepard saw before she fell asleep was Karin, still shaking her head and smiling.