(A/N): Should I have introduced nanites into this story from the start? I mean that as well as nanites do help to explain some leaps in actual science to fictional science, it doesn't help put my mind off the fact that nanites (nanomachines, or whatever you or some other writer may call them) is the sci-fi equivalent of the easy button. Because nanomachines, son. Then again, I suppose the same could go with biotics and mass effect rays in... well, Mass Effect, so I guess it's neither this nor that in the long run.

Chapter 2: Lesser of Two Evils

I should stop being surprised by these "chance" encounters, because whatever forces direct my life are addicted to bullshit. Additionally, I should be less surprised that this loser is still alive and has somehow managed to gain some influence in the world of business. Unfortunately, I don't have the luxury of looking a gift-horse in the mouth. I need this to happen if I'm to gain any forward momentum again.

Aug 24, 2184

10 hrs/30 min/30 sec

Taitus, Talava System, Caleston Rift

"So give me a recap. What sort of system improvements have we implemented?" Fredrick asked.

The engineer brought up a projection of the Harvester data with his omnitool and recited, "With the data we've collected, we've developed a fail-safe to prevent the Harvesters from simultaneously hijacking our neural hub and controlling all of us indirectly or worse. The system now recognizes a few different strands of Harvester coding and will deny the user off access, both information in and out."

"Good to hear about the progress." Fredrick turned to the window of the lab to look at the docking yard of various ships under rework, repair, or construction. "Anything we've managed to get on the Collectors?"

"I'm sorry, colonel. They've stopped their direct attacks as of last November, and the mercenaries they do send haven't been given any tech or data to work with. Whatever Harvester they are working along side probably has some tactical expertise." The engineer turned to walk back to work elsewhere in the lab.

Turning his gaze away, Fredrick began to walk back to his office. As he calmly strolled over the catwalks, he watched the cranes, mechanics, and various other machines do their work. Punching the code to his office in, the door silently opened and closed behind him before turning on the lights, illuminating how he sunk into his swivel chair. The promotion from major to colonel was a leap in command he was not prepared to make, and has been an exhausting, even if he mostly watched lab rats do their work and grease monkeys tack on more hardware than the dreadnoughts would ever need outside of a Harvester confrontation. Turning to his desk monitor, he booted up an old game centered around shooting demons on a space station in the Sol system. He found it soothing, and realism could literally go to hell for all he cared. About half an hour into a mission, his monitor rang with an "incoming call" notification. Rolling his eyes and pausing the game, he switched back to his work monitor and accepted the call.

As the call initiated, Jack Harper's face appeared on the screen. "Hello Colonel Müller, hopefully you haven't forgotten our brief encounter at the end of First Contact," Harper greeted after a long draw of his cigarette.

Fredrick let out a small, uncontrollable chuckle. "Who could forget something like you, Jack? What the hell are you even calling me about?"

"Ever since our last encounter, I've established an organization invested in the betterment of Humanity, looking to achieve something similar to what you Terrans have made. You better know this organization as Cerberus," Harper continued.

Fredrick was barely able to speak through his chuckling. "You- you're not s-s-some proxy for me to recognize instead of some other sinister face?"

Jack was clearly not amused. "No, I am the defacto leader of-" He didn't get a chance to finish his answer before Fredrick broke out into hysterical laughter, tipping back in his chair and falling to the floor.

For almost three quarters of a minute, Fredrick was on the floor, gradually putting his chair back up and getting back in his seat. "I'm sorry, the fact you are the leader greatly explains your philosophies and how you approach the Galaxy the way you do. I'm sorry I'm coming off the way I do, but you've came across to me as this horrendous mix of smart and stupid. Smupid, if you follow. You've been alarmingly perspective and well educated in how to interpret a problem, but applying the knowledge towards solving or approaching something has been your weakest link. Interestingly enough, this has been a trait that has carried over to your organization as well."

Taking a swig from a glass of scotch, Jack answered, "I'll keep that in mind. In the mean time, I've found myself in a position of need for assistance on your part. See, for almost a year now, my Lazarus division has been working on reviving Linda Shepard. Before you accuse me of lying, in the weeks after you and Shepard were attacked by the Collectors, we'd managed to obtain her body before they did and have been putting her back together."

Fredrick went all but silent during this claim. "How did you manage to come by her remains?" He asked seriously.

Disposing of the cigarette butt in an ash tray, he answered, "A former teammate of yours, Liara T'soni had gone through great lengths to do so. She and a coworker of hers had been dodging the Shadow Broker's forces to keep her body out of the Collector's grasps."

"So what do you need from me then?" Fredrick said, getting a drink of his own from a small fridge under his desk. "I'm pretty confident that you can manage this project on your own seeing the resources you have at your disposal."

"At first, we tried cloning her lost components along with some cybernetics to patch other parts together, but there's been a minor schism within the Lazarus branch. We're behind schedule as is, but I find myself reminded of your biological capabilities. Regardless of how strange this request may seem, I need some nanite glands to help accelerate what is left of the project in exchange for some information concerning the Collectors. You know how much all of us need this project to succeed and you have no doubt by now heard of the various disappearances across various Human colonies in the Terminus Systems. I can understand if you don't take this request lightly, but the Reapers are on the move and the Alliance is not doing much with the helpful insight you have so generously provided them," Harper answered.

"No, I find this request perfectly understandable. I'll provide what you need, just provide me a time and location," Fredrick returned, turning his attention to another window to make an order to the lab.

"Three days time, in the Zakera Wards loading docks. I hope you don't mind if I also deploy a small detachment of troops to make sure the doctors make it back with the package," Jack said between swigs.

"Of course. We have a deal. Just make sure that she doesn't have anything that will allowed her to be controlled, I can't afford her to be compromised post resurrection. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got another call to make."

17 hrs/48 min/06 sec Local Time

Illium, Tasale System, Crescent Nebula

Over the course of the last year, Liara had been an incredibly busy woman. With one half of her time, she'd been an information broker. During the other half, she'd been running a PMC funded by the profits of her work and the resources left to her by her mother's will. It was a nice change of pace after running around, keeping a cautious eye on her back to watch for the Shadow Broker's henchmen. If none other than the Terrans and Cerberus would prepare for the Reaper threat, then she would with the few resources that she had in comparison to some of the "bigger" fish in the Galactic playing field as many of the Humans on the Normandy would call it.

Nyxeris, her secretary, buzzed over the desk intercom, turning her attention from the view of Illium back to her desk. "You have an incoming call from Colonel Müller, Ms. T'soni."

"Thank you Nyxeris." Taking a seat at her desk and opening communications, she saw the distinct angular face of the Wolf, stuck in what seemed to be a pose of annoyance. "Fredrick. It has been a while," she answered with a tired tone.

"I can understand if you are exhausted from a day's work, but I've only got one question and I'm only going to ask it once. I've recently been contacted by some nobody I met a long time ago, who has... acquired quite a bit of power since I last saw him, named Jack Harper, call-sign the Illusive Man. He claimed that you helped to collect Shepard's remains. Is this true?" Fredrick asked straight away.

Sighing, Liara returned, "Are you trying to threaten me? Illium has plenty of prying eyes and ears just listening for something to abuse."

"I don't have time for chapter and verse about safety precautions, Liara. Jack just offered me a deal to supply him with some Terran tech to help accelerate the resurrection procedure due to a workplace incident. If I will be walking into this deal, I need confirmation that this is real and not a scheme to leak some of our greatest technological secrets, so don't go bullshitting around the question, Liara." Fredrick was on the verge of breaking something.

"I did. And I lost a good friend while doing so, so make the effort count," Liara answered snappily in return, slamming a fist on her desk.

"Thank you. Was that so hard? Like I said, life is tough as is, but I need everyone to cooperate if w-" Fredrick was interrupted by a cracking of glass within his office, followed by Fredrick looking at his window. "Oh, for Christ's sake. That's the fiftieth time that this has happened this year. Keep in contact, Liara. Allies are few and far apart these days." Before the call ended, she heard Fredrick barking orders. "I want the bastard brought in so I can tear him limb from limb!"

"Not surprising," Liara thought, turning her attention back to the world outside.

Aug 27, 2184

08 hrs/18 min/00 sec

Citadel Station, Zakera Ward docks

He strolled alone along the otherwise empty platforms of the docks as dawn still rose over the Citadel. He'd temporarily excused himself from his post at Taitus to exchange the cooler of three nanite glands for an OSD on the Collectors. He was aware of the risk of going alone, but he was confident that the Cerberus troops were nothing he couldn't handle. In the distance, he noticed a small team of white, black, and sand yellow soldiers approaching him, led by a Caucasian woman with black hair, blue eyes, pronounced assets, and a white catsuit with black arms and boots, as well as an Asian man with shoulder-height hair, and some rather interesting implants of his own.

"Fredrick Müller, in the flesh. An honor to meet you," the woman started. "I'm Dr. Miranda Lawson, head of the Lazarus Project and the Illusive Man's right hand. This is Kai Leng, a former N7 Operative and field tactician. Interesting that you'd prefer to show up on your own."

Fredrick raised an eyebrow and glared at the team of Cerberus troops before him through his bronze tinted visor. He took note of the soldiers' light armor compared to his significantly heavier, Miranda's lack of combat protection, and Kai Leng's rather lacking cybernetics. "If you were to start a fight with me, I'm confident there would be nothing I couldn't handle. I assume the Lazarus Project has consumed a great amount of funding?"

"We're over-budget, but the Illusive Man is willing to contribute many of his resources to the cause," Miranda answered simply.

"That's not my point," Fredrick began. "For starters, the soldiers you have before me not only wear a distinct color patter only associated with your organization, but also is barely a grade above what the Alliance supplies their own troops with. Despite whatever weapons you have on you, Dr. Lawson, you look like you just got off your shift at Chora's Den. Kai Leng, based upon what I can tell so far, has implants that would easily be torn apart by a Krogan warrior. Just by being here, all of you are seriously threatening my belief that you can do anything competently."

"Don't misjudge me," Kai threatened, pulling out a monomolecular blade from his belt, angling it with Fredrick's helmet.

Fredrick simply burst into laughter. "The best you can threaten me with is a sword, kid?!" Fredrick's hand dashed up and snatched the end, leveling it with his own torso. "God, you're like a baby, thinking you're bigger than you really are because, 'Hey! I've got cybernetic limbs!' Listen, Leng, before you even remotely hit the tick mark of 'Posthuman' much less 'Transhuman,' it's not so much adding stuff on as it is growing into it." As Fredrick lectured, a puddle of nanites formed over the site where the blade hung over before plunging it in. Shoving the blade further back, another puddle formed on his back, where the blade protruded out of his torso until the blade fully punctured his chest cavity. The others excluding Miranda were taken aback by the act until Fredrick lifted his hand with another puddle of nanites, taking the deconstructed component of the blade and rebuilding it. "By the way, sorry about the knife. It was a really nice piece of kitchenware while it lasted."

Kai Leng was gradually filled with rage as he watched the three pieces of his sword drop to the ground. "You really are content with playing magic tricks, Mr. Müller," Leng growled.

"That's merely pulling the rabbit out of the hat compared to what else I've done for the last hundred years. Now, I still believe there's an OSD you have to trade?"

Rolling her eyes and uncrossing her arms, she beckoned to a Cerberus soldier who came forth and handed off the OSD before receiving the medical cooler and peaking inside. Turning around, the soldier confirmed, "The package is secure, Dr. Lawson."

"Stay in contact, colonel. We're constructing a team for Shepard to take down the Collectors with, and you're on the list," Miranda said as she handed Fredrick a datapad.

Briefly glancing at it before turning his attention back to the group. "I'll be looking forward to it. However, do not fail the reconstruction process. I will be coming forth with any complaints that I have." Turning his attention to Kai Leng, who was retrieving what was left of his monomicroblade, he tossed him against the docking bay wall before mocking, "Get back to me when you are capable of something more interesting than wielding an ancient weapon." He initiated his cloak, turned, and walked off with the OSD and datapad in hand.

Aug 28, 2184

13 hrs/31 min/05 sec

Taitus, Fredrick's office

Cautiously plugging the OSD into his computer, Fredrick quickly proved that Harper wasn't lying when she said that Cerberus had information on the Collectors. Without a second thought, Fredrick sent the information back to HQ before calling Admiral Hashimoto. "Admiral, are you getting this?"

"Unbelievable! How did you manage to get this information?" the admiral asked.

"I made a rather lucrative trade Cerberus, who is making efforts to revive Commander Shepard. I'm not sure how they did it as they didn't give me the specifics, but I wanted your input on this change in events," Fredrick answered.

"If this is the case, you probably know better than I do considering you were the man aboard the Normandy last year," Hashimoto returned.

"The officers I met up with said they'd be putting me on Shepard's team again. I know the last thing we need is something detrimental on the record, but I feel that getting recognition towards the issue at hand is the first step towards ensuring people besides us survive," Fredrick commented.

"Any idea when Shepard will be ready to return?" the Admiral asked one last time.

"That's still a ways out sir. Still, I'll need a replacement while I'm away."

"Are you sure Nazara wasn't simply crumbling under something unforeseen? There is no reason that we should pursue-"

"I'm certain. I've taken account of all of Nazara's files, and I've come to a conclusion. Ensuring Shepard's death or humiliation is a secondary goal now, but this Fredrick is more than simply a coincidence, and has simply existed to combat Nazara in his effort to restart the Relay. Of course, this has resulted in his distraction from his objective and resulted in the significant delay. Now that Fredrick has caused yet another delay, it should be seen through that he be dealt with as soon as possible."

"Yes. In addition to this, the project has made significant progress, but we'll need significantly more resources than the systems we are sweeping through may be capable of producing."

"It won't matter. We'll be wasting significantly more traveling than we would waiting for another vanguard to be constructed. The signal won't work on the Keepers until we get in and properly repair the damage done by the cycle before. For now, keep stalling Shepard's resurrection, if not destroy it. We need more time."

"It will be done."

(P.S.): It's been a while since I've done a short one, and not much happens between ME1 and ME2, at least for Fredrick anyways. I might as well get what he's essentially been up to out of the way.