Hey guys. I know its taken so long but I work a lot so I don't get a lot of time to do this. :)

Chapter 2 : Prisoners of Gratitude

"We aren't your typical mercenaries" Stated the Human leader matter-of-factly.

Although the woman wore full body armour, she stood as though it weighed nothing. The Salarian watched her nervously as she fingered her assault rifle. He had not dealt with this new breed of mercenary. Unlike Eclipse, The Blood Pack and The Blue Suns, these were not mindless guns chasing their next payment, Arcis were smart, organised and effective.

"You want us to do the job, fine we want details. There has to be more to this than just a simple grab and run."

She was annoyed, agitated. She didn't have time for cryptics. She wanted to get on and do her job. But she wasn't an idiot. She wasn't going to send her people into the unknown, towards possible doom. There had to be a catch...

There was always a catch.

"The target is being kept on a secret, high security space station. "

"Well it's not so secret if you know about it."

The Salarian shook his head impatiently. There was so much to do, so many things to prepare. He did not have time for this woman's satire.

"The target MUST be acquired, at all costs."

"Well, I'm going to need all the details."

Davina gazed at the statue. She had never met the man, he died before she was even born. But her mother had told her stories of him. He inspired so many people. He was a leader, a soldier and a voice for humanity. But she had no idea her mother had named her after him.

She smiled at the image of David Anderson. Most little girls would be upset that their mothers had named them after a man. Davina was not most girls. She was proud that she had been named after a hero. A real hero.

Orianna had only just finished telling her this story. It wasn't quite the same as when her mother told the stories. Shepard would have held her close to her and stroked her hair. She would have gazed at Davina lovingly with her single blue eye,thick scars covering where the right eye should have been. Her voice would have been soft, enticing. As much as she adored Orianna, she wasn't her Mommy.

"David Anderson was a great man and your mother really respected him. He was like a father to her."

Davina's awe turned to sadness. Orianna noticed it, and squeezed the small child's hand lovingly.

"I wish I knew my daddy."

"I know sweetheart."

"Mommy tells so many stories but it's not the same. I want to meet him."

"I'm sorry, but you know you can't. I really do wish you could, but it's just not possible."

"But why?"

Orianna pulled Davina into a tight hug and silently answered her by kissing her crest. She knew what it meant for Davina to meet Garrus, for Shepard to be reunited with her lover. But it was not possible. The Council had banned all communications to and from the station. Shepard and her daughter were prisoners of their hosts gratitude.

It was cruel that Davina was never to know the truth. She had been raised to believe that her mother was just an extremely unlucky survivor of the Reaper invasion. She was never to know what Commander Jane Shepard had accomplished. That was the condition that the Council had made...

Shepard could keep and raise her child, as long as Davina remained blissfully ignorant.

Orianna released the small girl from her grip and staggered to her feet. This base had been built purely to heal and keep Shepard alive. Since the retrieval of her badly burnt and scarred body, the base had expanded. Now it resembled the Citadel, Shepard and Davina even had their own apartment, although strict quarantine procedures were in place due to Shepard's condition, nonetheless Davina called it home.

Davina took Orianna's hand, indicating that it was time to return.

They walked slowly, mainly to give Miranda time to finish treating Shepard. Davina being a typical six-year-old, skipping alongside her, finding wonder in everything she saw, despite the fact that this place held no surprises.

Or so Orianna thought...

They were almost within reach of the apartment. It was in sight. But everything happened so fast.

There was an explosion... Gunfire... Darkness. It felt as though it had been hours. The only sound was the terrified weeping of Davina. The base was secure, this should never have happened.

She could feel the little girl clutching her arm.

"It's OK, Davina. It'll be OK."

At least Orianna hoped it would be.

"She's my daughter!"

Shepard was beside herself. This was her greatest fear.

"We are doing everything we can" The Asari Councillor tried to be reassuring, but that just pissed Shepard off more.

"I did everything you asked" ranted Shepard "I stayed here, I never contacted the Normandy, never got in touch with her father. All you had to do was keep her safe."

Miranda just stood watching. Her own sister had been taken. Shepard could do all the talking. She was always good at that. With Davina gone, the Council had no hold over Shepard. She would follow her daughter to the farthest reaches of the universe.

"If I have to grab a shuttle myself I will. Davina and Orianna could be at the mercy of slavers, or much worse."

The thought of her lost family on Mindoir played heavilly on her mind. That would not be the fate of her daughter, or her friend.

"Calm down" pleaded the Turian Councillor , "We are already making arrangements. We are bringing in the best. We will bring your child home."

She shook her head. That wasn't enough.

"When you forbade me to leave, you swore that this could never happen. You told me that the base was secure. How the hell am I supposed to trust anything you say? I am not going to just sit here and hope for the best."

"We don't expect you to. Like I said, we are bringing in the best."

Shepard folded her arms. Her badly scarred right arm tucked under her left. She focussed her remaining pale blue eye on the Turian. They had forgotten how formidable she could be, now losing her child reminded them of who exactly they were dealing with. The woman who defeated Soverign, the Collectors and the Reapers. The woman who not only cured the genophage, or resisted Leviathan's indoctrination, but who also united a troubled universe. This made the Council uneasy, nervous even.

"I will do whatever it takes to bring my baby home."

She turned and signalled Miranda to cut the connection to the vid com, before they could argue with her. She meant every single word that she had said.
Whoever they were, whoever they were working for, they weren't going to get away with this.