Standard Disclaimer applies.

Allo again, everyone! Sorry for the delay in updating, I just couldn't quite nail down how I wanted this to go! That said, Enjoy!

Alright, so….it turns out that being too much of a smart-ass was bad for your health. Who knew, right? Still...I swear she was trying not to crack up...before she cracked my ribs in two places. Yeah, let's go with that. My ribs had mended within the hour, the miracles of modern science proving itself once again, but the good Dr. Chakwas insisted I stay for a full medical checkup and rest at least the rest of the day.

Laying back on a medical bed, staring up at the lights, was mind numbingly boring. Everything screamed at me to get up and move, do something. But…..something kept me from just getting up and leaving. Mainly the feeling that crossing Dr. Karin Chakwas would land me in far hotter water than if I had recorded and spread videos of Shepard's personal life across the extranet.

Yeah…..not gonna chance it.

When she finally let me out of there, we had come out of the Widow Relay, and were nearing the Citadel. It seemed that in addition to recruiting one Kasumi Goto, Shepard wanted to meet with Councilor Anderson. From the information I was able to dig up from the extranet, I assumed there was a near family bond between them, and I couldn't blame her for wanting to let him know she was alive as soon as possible.

Of the four ground crew, only Shepard and I left the Normandy. She only took me because she didn't trust either of the two Cerberus agents, and Miranda had insisted someone go with her. Neither of them were happy with how things turned out, though I would bet that Shepard was the more pleased of the two.

I think it also helped that I opted to nix the Cerberus paint job on my armor. Because, seriously, given the popular opinion on them, I don't want to be broadcasting that I'm with them by having their sigil emblazoned on my chest. Flying in on the SR-2 was bad enough, openly displaying something like that could get me lynched if I wasn't careful.

As soon as we stepped out of the skycar that had brought us to Zakera Ward, where we were supposed to rendezvous with Kasumi Goto, she had told me on the ride over, our attention was drawn to the advertisement that was spazzing out next to a Keeper.

"Judging from the other column over there...I assume that's a bit out of the ordinary….?" I asked Shepard, who nodded, looking at the screen with some concern. There seemed to be some broken audio coming from it so I stepped forward to hear it better. When I caught the word "Shepard" I motioned her closer.

"Commander Shepard. We have the finest companions waiting for you…"

"Perhaps something petite, smart, and Japanese would be your style?"

"When you said the terminal would be different than the rest, I wasn't expecting an escort ad…" I said, rolling my eyes. I could have sworn I got a small wink from the screen in response, though it was gone as quick as it came.

Shepard shook her head, nudging me to the side as she stepped forward. "I'll take it from here, don't wander too far."

"Yes'm." I answered, shrugging as I walked off. I happened to catch her say "Silence is Golden" right before I was out of earshot.

Small though the area was, there was plenty to listen to. I got a small kick out of the drill sergeant berating his men about "eyeballing" the cannons on the ships. It truly was sad that even with all the technology available, people will still find ways to be stupid.

Once he was finished I looked back at Shepard, who was still talking away with the ad. I noticed that she was getting more than a couple odd looks from passersby, but none seemed concerned enough to eavesdrop.

Movement above Shepard drew my eyes to the catwalk that ran above the area. Some sort of maintenance footpath, maybe… It certainly didn't look like someplace where someone would normally be. Yet, there was a woman, her omni-tool active as she paced. One look at her hood that obscured her face and I knew it was the same one Shepard was talking to on the ad.

Before I could move close enough to alert Shepard, the woman I assumed to be Kasumi Goto called down to Shepard with a playful grin. Her grin grew as I moved into earshot.

"See you on the ship, Shepard!" Was her parting remark as she walked out of view of us.

I shook my head, chuckling a little. "Sly little thief…."

Shepard just sighed, obviously not appreciating it as much, considering she had been made to look like a fool. She took it in stride, though. "Remind me to have a word with her later…"

She turned towards the entrance of Zakera ward. "Come on, we might as well stock up on supplies while we're here."

"What kind of supplies? Wouldn't something like that normally be handled by the crew?" I asked, falling into step beside her.

"Well...I mean supplies for the ground crew, see if there are any new weapons or mods that could be useful..that kind of thing. Plus…" She had a small smile. "Since I have such a nice fish tank, I might as well find some fish to put in it."

"Hah, fair point!" I snorted, my skin crawling a bit as the sensors in the hallway scanned us both while we walked towards the other door. We both tensed up when the blue lights in the area lit up red.

The tech near the door waved us over, his face a little confused. "Sorry, it must be a bug in the sensors. They are saying you're….well… dead…"

Shepard sighed. "Well, was listed as missing in action a couple years ago."

The tech nodded. "Well, would you mind checking in with my Captain? He can reinstate you into the system. He's just past the scanners on your right."

Shepard looked a little annoyed but just thanked him as we were let through the door.

"You'll have to make him scream a little. He's not gonna tell you everything just cause you ask." We heard a man order as we stepped into the room. He was talking to a female officer that was sitting at a console to his left. He seemed a little annoyed.

"I-I know sir."

"If you don't have the stomach or you're worried about being reported, I can take care of it."

"NO sir, I can handle it!" She seemed adamant she could handle it and he let it go, turning his attention to Shepard as she stepped up to him.

"Yes? Ah, I see the problem right here, Commander Shepard. My console says you're dead."

Shepard nodded. "Your Sergeant said you could help with that."

"Yeah, with you, I just push this button right here, and you're free to go. The problem is your friend here. I'm afraid I'm gonna have to hold him here for the time being."

"What kind of problem? " She asked, confused. "Why do you need to do that?"

"The problem is, in this day and age, everyone has some kind of record or ID. Those scanners can even pick up DNA from skin flakes, so there's no doubt you're you."

His hand shifted to hover over a button as he spoke. "Your friend here has nothing. Our scanners can't match him to any record or file anywhere."

"In essence, Commander. He doesn't exist."

Ugh, cliche cliffhanger is cliche, I know. Who knows, maybe Nox here is just a figment of everyone's imagination!

Yeah, not really. lol

I promise, things will pick up soon. One more chapter, then it's on to Omega!

To my Guest reviewer: You are both wrong and not wrong. That is all I can say on the matter right now.

Read and Review please!

~Nocturn