Chapter 3: Gathering Storm

"The chaos of the war has left Alliance territory vulnerable. They lost so many ships during the war, and Earth was so devastated, that they have not been able to rebuild their military. Their sense of unity with the other Council races has only made them soft. We will sweep into their outer colonies and make up for our failure at Elysium years ago!"

Kor'shak pounded the table as he finished speaking and his words were greeted with loud applause. But one of the human captains, Captain Cray, was not clapping. Once the applause died down, he spoke.

"Can you guarantee that Commander Shepard will not interfere? You may recall that he singlehandedly foiled the operation on Elysium. It's why they made him a Spectre. And he has a reputation for looking out for the colony worlds. And the Normandy can get here in plenty of time to throw a serious wrench into your plans."

Kor'shak bristled at this. Shepard had been a thorn in the Batarian's side for years, starting with Elysium. Kor'shak remembered what happened there; he saw it firsthand. And then there was Bahak. Kor'shak's brother had died there during the Alpha Relay explosion. Though there was no solid evidence, it was widely believed that Shepard had been responsible.

"Shepard will not be a problem. I have it on good authority that he will be involved in a mission on Mars. By the time he might even hear about this, we'll be long gone."

"Even without a mass relay to jump through? Can you guarantee that?" Cray was adamant. And unfortunately, he had a very valid point.

"I've arranged a little surprise for the good Commander should he set course for Callisto," assured Kor'shak.

"Very well," replied Cray, "We'll sign on."

It still amazed Kor'shak that one man could strike such fear into the collective heart of a group of pirates. This operation had a much greater chance of success than the Blitz on Elysium had, so there should have been no worries at all.

"Good, because we move in three days. We'll start on Callisto. We'll take control of a large facility to use as our staging grounds and as a place where the humans can be chipped and tagged prior to loading. After that, we go for the smaller colonies. Then we settle up with those of you who are staying, and then we leave the Sol System. We'll have to be put into cryosleep for the journey, but when we awaken, we will have the most glorious bounty of slaves to bring to Khar'Shan in the history of our race!"

#

Garrus and Jacob boarded the Normandy for the first time since the War. Both were pleasantly surprised to see a multi-species crew. While fifty percent of the crew were human, the other half was composed of Asari, Turians, Salarians, and even a few Quarians and a Drell. The two peaked into the cockpit and saw a pilot and copilot who were not Joker and Edi.

Edi had perished during the war and Joker had left the military to do civilian piloting. The loss of Edi had been too much for him. However, in the pilot's seat was none other than Steve Cortez. In the copilot's seat was an Asari.

"Cortez, I thought I might find you here," said Garrus.

Steve and the Asari turned around to see Garrus and Jacob. Steve stood and fired off a crisp salute, leaving his copilot puzzled; She did not recognize Garrus and Jacob was a civilian.

"Great to see you again, Sir!"

Steve then warmly embraced his former comrades in arms.

"Good to see you too, Steve," replied Garrus. "So, you've gone from a Trident to a Kodiak to a frigate. You're not getting any closer to that fighter you missed so much."

"Now that's where you'd be wrong," laughed Steve. "Shepard pulled some strings and stashed a Trident in the shuttle bay. It's come in handy a few times."

"I'll bet!" Jacob was excited at this. He thought of how helpful a fighter might have been when he had worked with Shepard and Miranda going up against the collectors. He wondered how Cortez stacked up against Joker at the helm.

"Sir," said Lieutenant Kariana, the copilot, "Why are you saluting non Normandy crew and a civilian?"

Before any of them could answer, they heard Shepard's voice say,

"Because they are Normandy crew. Garrus is as much a part of Normandy's history as I am; he flew with me against Saren, the Collectors, and in the Reaper war. And Jacob was my XO when we went up against the collectors."

Suddenly she stood up and saluted the Captain, but then fired off a crisp salute to Garrus and Jacob. Steve could not help but laugh.

"I'm sorry sir, I didn't recognize them."

"It's alright," Shepard replied, returning her salute. Turning to Garrus and Jacob, he said, "So, you ready for the tour?"

"Damn straight, Shepard," replied Garrus. "I hope you've stocked up on that Turian brandy you'd promised to have on hand if I ever stepped back on the Normandy."

"Yeah, Shepard," chimed in Jacob. "You think your liquor cabinet can survive and assault by Taylor and Vakarian?"

"We'll find out. And when we get to Mars, I'll take the crew to Jack Zero's."

"Jack Zero's?" Steve, Garrus, and Jacob all asked in unison.

"Yeah, Jack Zero's," replied Shepard. "Bar and tattoo parlor. Jack served her tour and then opened up the place. I wish Miranda were with us …"

"You'll find her, Shepard," assured Jacob. "I know Miranda. She's out there waiting for you. She won't give up on you any more than you'd give up on her."

"Thanks. Say, you both know Steve, but you haven't met Normandy's copilot, Lieutenant Salanah. Salanah, Garrus Vakarian and Jacob Taylor. Garrus and Jacob, Salanah."

The Asari stood and shook hands with them both.

"It's an honor. I've heard so much about you. Both of you. I'm sorry I didn't recognize you earlier."

"Hey, I'm a civilian now," laughed Jacob. "It's nice to just be a normal guy, you know?"

"I wouldn't know," observed Shepard, "But I do know that there's someone who will be very glad to see you both. Come on."

#

Tali Zorah Vas Normandy was going over some last minute items before the voyage. It was routine, but as the chief engineer of the Normandy, she knew that things could go from routine to red alert in seconds. As she shut off her omni-tool, she heard the door open. She heard Gabby's voice call out,

"Captain on deck!"

Ken turned and saluted as Shepard rounded the corner. Tali quickly did the same.

"At ease," laughed the Captain. "I've brought some old friends."

"Garrus! Jacob!"

Tali ran and embraced Garrus while Ken and Gabby shook hands with Jacob. She looked at Jacob and had to admit that he had kept himself up in spite of having left the military. And Garrus looked as striking as ever. Even without armor, Garrus was an imposing figure.

Garrus and Jacob both took long looks at Tali. With the retaking of Rannoch and the Geth help in adjusting to the environment, Quarians no longer needed to wear an exo-suit. Though Tali still wore the colorful garb of her people, her clothing was more functional, and undoubtedly more comfortable.

But it was her uncovered head that had caught their attention. Free from a helmet, Tali's long, ebon locks cascaded past her shoulders, and her face was beautiful to behold. Though very similar in appearance to humans, her exotic appearance marked her as anything but. Her skin was a pale lavender, and she had a pair of gracefully arcing stripes that ascended from the inner points of her eyebrows to the upper corners of her face. Similar markings adorned her neck. And her eyes glowed a soft white, a glow that had been visible through her mask and had earned her the nickname, Sparks from Vega.

"Damn, Tali," exclaimed Jacob, "You look great! Good to finally see you! I mean 'you' and not your suit!"

"I must agree," said Garrus, "This is much better!"

"Thank you both," she replied, a mild blush coming to her face. "Garrus, I think you'll like it here; more Turians on board means better meals for those of us who eat Dextro foods."

"It's interesting," noted Garrus. "This ship is a vessel of Turian/Human design, designed with a Turian command structure in mind, and is now captained by a Human who is commanding a crew of Humans and Turians."

"Best of both worlds," boasted Shepard. "I'll leave the three of you to catch up. I've got to get the Normandy moving. Once we're moving, we'll get together in the lounge. Until then, I should go."

The five of them laughed loudly when Shepard said this.

"What?" He looked puzzled.

"I should go. That's what," laughed Tali. "You always say that. Wrex and I used to think that it was some weird Earth thing, or that all Humans said it, but it's just you. Kind of like your dancing; it's just you."

"Very funny," replied Shepard as the rest of them laughed.

#

Ashley Vega was just wrapping up her workout. She had been taking out the stress of the day on the heavy bag and felt like she was really on fire. She still had that snap and power. As she hooked the bag to the ceiling, she heard her husband clapping.

"Damn, girl, you've still got it!"

James Vega walked in and the two embraced.

"Thanks, James. I need to be careful; I don't want to get as big as you. Then I'd have to … you know; go shopping. Yech!"

"I hear you. So what's got you all fired up? I know you work out regularly, but this was exceptional. I feel sorry for the bag!"

"Well for once, it's not frustration, but jubilation; Shepard contacted me about the Ranger program. He really wants me in on it. Like in a top level position in on it. I mean, my rank wouldn't change; he's the captain, I'm a commander, but we'd be at the top of a brand new force. Gotta say that I'm psyched!"

"Did he mention little old me?"

"He always mentions you, James. Speaking of which, I'm technically not supposed to tell you this, but you're my husband, so I'm going to anyway. They've built a new SR-2; the London. They had a list of names for her skipper, but Shepard made sure to put your name in the running and really pulled for you. He said that if you don't want it, he understands. But if you so, it's yours."

"Damn! When he said he'd look out for me, he wasn't kidding! But what do you think?"

"I think that it's a huge honor, James. As it is, we hardly see each other. Rangers are like Spectres; they don't usually have their own ship. With you in command of a frigate, we might actually see each other more. I think that as the second Human Spectre, I might have a bit of pull to hitch rides on the London." Ashley wrapped her arms around him as she asked and kissed him. "What do you think of that?"

"I think I'll say yes, that's what I think."

"Good, because he's coming here to make the offer in person. The Normandy should be here in a few days. Garrus, Jacob, and Tali are with him. You know, Liara is at the Mars Archives right now. Maybe a little Normandy crew reunion is in order?"

"This day keeps getting better all the time! We'll have to stock up on the cerveza, though."

#

The pirate fleet moved in towards Jupiter, careful to avoid any Alliance listening posts. Most had been destroyed during the war, giving the pirates an advantage. Kor'shak had amassed a fleet over one hundred strong and there was no indication of any resistance from the Alliance. Good, thought. He would finally have his revenge on the Alliance. And Commander Shepard would be far away. That was the sweetest revenge of all; Kor'shak's pirates would be able to take all of those people and Shepard would be helpless to stop them.

They began taking out the various satellites in orbit; no communication could be allowed. They would not dispatch aid immediately over loss of communications. And by the time they did, it would be too late.

#

Delan arrived at the principal's office early in the morning. He had no kids; he had been called in by his friend to fix a faulty HVAC unit at the school.

"Good to see you, Delan!" Principal Fuchs greeted him warmly.

"Good to be back in to colony living," replied Delan. "Cheryl and I were so glad to get away from Earth. After Horizon and the Reapers, we thought we'd never get away."

"Same here. I'm just glad we left Horizon after the Collector attack. I heard that what Cerberus did …"

"Yeah, the less said the better." Delan's gruff voice was tinged with sadness. "So, let's take a look at your busted unit. I'll get her going again if I can."

"Right this way, Delan."

As they turned to leave, the door opened and a beautiful woman stepped into the room. She was tall and had long, luxuriant hair. And a look of supreme confidence. Delan recognized her immediately.

"You! You're Cerberus!"

#

"Sir, we've lost all communications."

"All?" The Colonial Administrator was confused. "How are we speaking then?"

"Surface communications are unaffected," replied the Colonial Communications Administrator. "I'm talking about communications with Earth and the other colonies. All communications off of Callisto are down. Even the extranet is down. Our satellites are unresponsive; they abruptly stopped communicating. However, we did get an image from one of them just before it went dead."

The footage appeared on the screen. A fleet of ships approaching, one of them firing, and then the picture and sound went dead. The Colonial Administrator was pale. Pirates. Batarian pirates. Just like on Elysium. He was there. He would have been dead had it not been for Commander Shepard. But now, Callisto had no communications. And Shepard was not here.

"I'll call Jim. He's the head of security; maybe he can think of something. You get to work on restoring some kind of off-world communications."

"Sir, I don't have the tools or the skills to do that!"

"If we can't get help, we're dead. Or worse."

#

Jack Zero's was full of Alliance marines, the current Normandy crew, and patrons who were ecstatic to see them. In the VIP room, Jack Zero hosted a Normandy reunion; Jacob, Tali, Ashley and Vega, and of course, Shepard and Garrus.

"Good to see you guys again!" Jack had come a long way from the hardened sociopath Shepard had first sprung from the Purgatory. The collector mission had taught her to trust others again. Her hard heart had softened; she began to let people in. Her time as an Academy instructor had softened her more; she had become a protector, a teacher. When the Academy was under attack by Cerberus, Shepard, Garrus, and Vega had shown up in the Normandy to save them. Then she served in the Reaper war with the Alliance military. Jack had become a completely different person.

But though her heart had softened, her combative edge was as sharp as ever. She was glad to see that the same was true of the rest of them. Except Tali; she had never had a combative edge. Jack laughed. We should all be dead, she thought. A thousand times over, we should all be dead. But they were not dead. Shepard had seen to that. And now, they could enjoy the fruits of their labors: peace and lots of alcohol! The alcohol was great, but she missed the action.

"You look great, Jack."

Shepard hugged her. It was one of those warm, brotherly hugs.

"Thanks." She held him tightly. She had no family. No parents, no siblings. But if anyone were family, it was the people in this room. And if anyone were her big brother, it was Shepard.

"Alliance blues, Shepard? They look good, but you aint goin soft on us, are you?"

"With the crew here, I thought it best to provide some command presence," he laughed.

"Hey, Garrus. Your face still looks like shit."

"Charming as ever, Jack," Garrus replied with a laugh.

"Man, the last time I saw you, you were bald and we were going after the Collectors," exclaimed Jacob. "Now you're respectable. Bet you still pack a punch, though."

"That's a good bet, Jacob." Jack hugged him.

She never thought she would ever hug him; when they had met, he was a Cerberus officer. But those days were past them now. Jacob had quit Cerberus, Shepard had taken Cerberus down, and then they had all gone through the Reaper war together.

"So, I hear you and Ashley are putting together a group to replace the Spectres. What's the scoop?" Jack had to know more about this.

"We're calling it the Rangers," explained Shepard. "It's a multi-species force specifically designed to facilitate rapid response and cooperation in the event of a large scale threat. They also serve to help keep the peace and mitigate disputes so that innocents don't get caught in the cross-fire. Like the Spectres, they're the first and last line of defense. Unlike the Spectres, they don't have the latitude to act outside the law."

"Damn, Shepard," Jack laughed. "Where's the fun in that?"

"It isn't fun when you get someone like Saren," Ashley reminded everyone. "Or that rogue Spectre, Tela Vasir that Liara and Shepard ran into on Illium."

"Yeah, that was a bitch," Jack conceded. "Well, let's drink to your new venture! And to all of us being alive to drink to anything!"

#

"You! You're Cerberus!"

Delan would never forget the nightmare of Horizon. Cerberus had turned the remnant of the once vibrant colony into a living hell where colonists and refugees were duped into becoming lab rats in experiments with Reaper-tech. Fuchs and Delan had left after the Collector attack, but not before Delan had a run in with Commander Shepard. The one time he met the war hero, harsh words were exchanged. Half the colony had been taken by the Collectors before Shepard had arrived and driven them off. Somehow, he had been able to fix the Guardian lasers that the Alliance rep, Chief Williams had been unable to fix.

Shepard had the help of a human woman and a Turian. The Turians all looked the same to him, but the woman stood out. She was beautiful. And cold. The look in her eyes sent chills through him. And he remembered the logo on her uniform; Cerberus. Delan would never forget her, and this was her, standing in front of him in a school full of children.

"Excuse me?" The woman cocked her head and raise her eyebrow.

But deny as she might, he knew it was her. He backed away quickly. "Fuchs, you've gotta call Colonial Security! This woman's a menace!"

"Miss Cordell? She's one of my finest teachers," protested Fuchs. "You must be mistaken."

"I aint mistaken, George!" Delan was not going to let her slip under the radar. "She was on Horizon with Shepard wearing a Cerberus uniform!"

"Then she … helped Shepard to save us?" George Fuchs was confused. "I fail to see the problem."

"She's Cerberus, George! This woman aint no schoolteacher; she's some kind of operative! I'll bet her credentials are forged. Whatever she's doing here, she's trouble. You gotta get her away from the kids!"

"I don't know who you are," Miri Cordell replied, "But I love the kids and I am a schoolteacher. I'll advise you to refrain from such libelous accusations!"

"Libelous? It's only libel if it aint true! And it's true! You're ex-Cerberus! I don't know what you're doing here, but whatever it is, it aint no good for this colony!"

"Delan, you've been my friend for a long time," said Fuchs. "I trust you, but I have to question your assessment. This woman has been here for some time and the kids do love her. And she has demonstrated nothing but love for them. And she's an excellent science teacher."

"Yeah, well I'm calling security," growled the mechanic. "We'll see if they believe her bullshit story."

"On what grounds?" she protested. "What have I done? I did my part during the war, and I'm a dedicated teacher. And you want to call security on me?"

"Delan …" Mr. Fuchs began, but Delan cut him off.

"George, I aint crazy. Trust me! I'm right."

As if on cue, security came into the office.

"What was fast," noted Miri. But they weren't there for her.

"George, I just got the word from the Colonial Security Administrator. We've got a fleet of Batarian pirates on the way. They've taken out interplanetary communications. We're getting everyone to the town hall for safety."

"Town hall?" Miri protested this. "That will put them all in one place. Batarians come to colonies for one purpose and one only: slaves. And I won't allow any of my children to be taken by those damned Batarians."

"Like we should trust you," sneered Delan. "You're Cerberus."

"This true?" the officer looked at her with that look police had before arresting you.

"No, I am not Cerberus," she protested. "Cerberus is dead anyway, so nobody is Cerberus. Not anymore."

"I saw you on Horizon with Commander Shepard right after the Collector's attacked! You wore a Cerberus uniform!"

"So I helped to save your miserable life and you want me arrested for it?"

"No. You're organization turned Horizon into a death camp where you tricked refugees into becoming lab rats for Reaper tech."

The officer was looking at his omni-tool. Sure enough, a warrant for a Miranda Lawson came up as a match for Miri Cordell's image, wanted in connection with Cerberus.

"Miss Lawson, I'm placing you under arrest," he said hesitantly. "With incoming pirates, we can't risk you being free."

Miranda could not believe it. Her carefully crafted life had just come apart because of that sniveling coward from Horizon. She was tempted to use her biotics to blast them, but she refused to do that at the school where she taught.

"Can't risk me being free? If I am who you say that I am, then I'm the one who brought Shepard back. I was at his side when he took down the Collectors, and I helped him to blow up the Collector base. If I am who you say I am, I quit Cerberus and helped Shepard to stop Cerberus on Horizon during the Reaper War. What did you do Delan? Hide in your bunker again?"

As the officer put cuffs on her, Delan slugged her.

"Bitch!"

"Why are you hitting Miss Cordell?"

A boy and an Asari girl happened to be walking past and see the exchange. The boy looked livid. He ran at Delan, but Mister Fuchs restrained him.

"Zack, don't," Miranda admonished. "I can handle myself. And Officer, if we've got pirates coming our way and no means of getting help, then if I am who you think I am, then I'm the only hope this colony has."