"How are matters with Captain Bailey?"

"Yeah, they're alright." Kolyat looked away from the screen in distraction. "So I guess you survived your suicide mission?"

"Indeed. We returned through the Omega 4 relay a few days ago." Thane linked his fingers together, watching his son over the screen. "I wanted to contact you the first chance I had."

Kolyat looked back, his expression halfway to a sneer but the expression faded. A calm curiosity took over, and it roused a memory of Irikah within Thane.

"What was it like?"

She turns from the expansive view of the ocean through the glass. Her expression is hard but her eyes are kind. "What was it like?" She speaks in a whisper of his childhood, so that the crowds do not hear. Something in her keeps the usual unease of public spaces from encroaching.

"Unlike anything I've ever seen. It took us to the galactic core, on the edge of an accretion disc. The Collectors made their base there, inside a sophisticated mass effect field. But it was not enough to stop our assault..." Thane hesitated, pausing his words as he thought of Shepard. Siha. Something Kolyat could not hear him call her. "The Commander brought us through it, and they are no more."

"She's the one who hit me."

Thane chuckled, unable to keep a small grin away, "Yes. She kept you from prison as well. She has connections."

Koylat shifted in his chair, only visible from mid-chest up. "I guess."

"She asks of you, sometimes. Tell me about your day."

"Why would she ask about me."

Thane's hands parted, spreading out on the table as he gave a small nod, "We often speak."

"About me?"

"About many things."

Running a hand up his shoulder, Kolyat's gaze drifted before looking back at the vid screen. He didn't speak for a moment. Face-to-face communications like this were expensive, but Thane had been able to correct the error of the volus banker to which he'd entrusted his estate. Cost did not factor in. "Bailey's been having me track a slaver working out of Qaezat ward. Kidnaps street kids to sell to paying batarians."

Thane narrowed his eyes a moment, but the expression passed, "That's very admirable work to be doing, Kolyat."

The young man tilted his head, stretching maybe, before he said, "It's getting the kids to trust me. Lots of them didn't grow up with parents, just depending on each other." He laughed coldly, "Guess I can thank you for what you gave me in helping relate to them."

The pistol is steeled in his grasp, he doesn't look up from the kneeled turian. "This - this is a joke. Now?" His voice flanges, and footsteps behind can't draw my attention. His markings are like Irikah's. Just like hers. But his voice is acrid. "Now you show up?"

There was quiet again, and Thane clasped his hands back together to hone his focus and control. It was difficult speaking with Kolyat. It exacerbated the ever-present constriction in his lungs, thickening his throat. He breathed shallow, quick, and quiet. "Are you close to catching him?"

Kolyat's expression softened with thought and memory, "Yeah. I think so anyway. Bailey wants to get all we can before we strike. The guy's somebody that matters. Can't just haul him in."

"I have no doubt you will get your mark."

Their eyes met again and Kolyat held back his biting words, merely saying, "I hope so. They deserve better. No one deserves to be treated like that."

"No." Thane turned through his thoughts before offering, "Did you know Commander Shepard's family was killed by batarian slavers?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

Thane blinked, meeting his son's gaze across the stars. "Merely a note of interest."

"Guess you've been pretty taken in by Commander Shepard."

More than you know, Thane almost chuckled. "She quintessentially represents the best of humanity, and anyone, I would say. She has been through a great deal, but still she remains an inspiring woman worthy to be followed."

Kolyat's eyes narrowed a little, before he looked away, "There's always a lot of talk about her. She's still a Spectre, isn't she?"

"She is."

"Makes it easy to keep outside the law."

Swallowing, Thane pondered his words, "There are some things in life that cannot be bound by laws. But she does not exist to break them for some sick pleasure. It is a last resort." He focused back on his son, "She is trying to save us all. The things I have seen, Kolyat..."

"A lot of people say she's not right in the head."

"People say a lot of things. You're intelligent enough to know when to believe them."

Kolyat crossed his arms and considered his father through the screen. "What do you say then?"

His complex eyes rapidly blinking, Thane's gaze wavered as innumerable instances s wove into his thoughts. "More than would fit in this conversation. But a war is on the horizon. And she will be the General of the rising tide that meets the coming storm." He paused before adding, "She needs me."

"Being a soldier is a lot of responsibility. A lot of commitment."

"So I'm learning. Perhaps if I live long enough, I will come out of this all a better person. Until it is over, I will be a part of her crew."

The snide edge was gone from Kolyat's expression, even as he sat back, arms still crossed. "I have to go. Will you be on the Citadel anytime soon?"

The query warmed Thane's heart. "Hopefully. I will let you know as soon as I do."

Kolyat nodded, and reaching forward, the vid terminal blanked. Bridging his hands together, Thane exhaled the breath in him, the sound shallow. There was fluid in his lungs. As much as he wished to venture into the markets and prepare a surprise for Shepard when she returned, it might have to wait.

The day had been long. Somehow she'd been baited into going shopping with Kelly and a few of the girls from the crew. Shepard hated shopping. It made her almost miss having a ticking clock over her head, sweat down her neck, and a smoking pistol in her hands.

"You should have gotten that dress, Commander."

Kelly squeezed her arm, leaning in close, and it brought a smile to Shepard's lips. The woman was attractive, that could never be denied - and it was always clear how much Chambers enjoyed flirting.

"I don't wear dresses, Kelly. Just gets embarrassing."

The yeoman's eyes sparkled as they walked up the gangway back onto the Normandy. She leaned in closer so the two crewman behind them couldn't hear.

"I bet Thane would appreciate it."

Standing in decontamination, Shepard disentangled her arm from the red-haired woman. Behind, she could see the two female navigators smiling.

"As would Joker, Jacob, Matthews..."

"And you, Kelly." The dark-haired woman piped in.

"Yes, and you, Kelly, there's the real reason isn't it." Shepard peered at Chambers, slowly grinning as the second pass of the decom-barrier swept over them.

Kelly's jaw dropped and she looked away, hurriedly saying, "Commander! I'm surprised at you." She moved just out of reach as she added, "You don't need to be in a dress for me to admire you."

Laughing, Shepard looked down, and she put her hands on her hips, almost feeling a warmth on her cheeks. The other ladies laughed too. Thane would have seen it. He'd teased her once about it, noting that the modifications to his eyes no doubt allowed him to see the flush that would be missed by others.

The ship doors opened to grant them entrance and Shepard cleared her throat, "Now if you'll all excuse me, I have some work to do."

Striding away from the smiling women, Shepard ran a hand through her hair. The time in port was healing people well, and there was exuberance in the crew that she was unaccustomed to. More than anything, it let her smile. She had to take the time she could get, as did they. Walking into the cockpit, she found it empty.

"Hmm."

"Commander?"

"Joker planetside?"

"Jeff has been in Nos Astra for the last 6 hours. He didn't wish to share where he was going. I can track his location if you wish."

"No need, EDI, thank you." Shepard turned the pilot's chair and sat down, running a hand over the leather. "Actually, I wanted to speak with you."

"How may I assist you?"

Shepard smiled, "No assistance. I just wanted to see how you felt about ... well, keeping us as a crew - me as a captain, as it were. Since you're the Normandy."

"You are my crew, Commander. I have and would protect you in anyway I can." The lights on the blue representation of EDI flickered with the words. "While I may be an AI, I support your coming campaign against the Reapers. The heretic geth were proof that they will not treat other non-organic life as equals."
Swaying back and forth in the seat, Shepard's lips pressed together, expression softening, "I just didn't want to exclude you, EDI. You aren't 'just a machine'. I know we wouldn't have succeeded in our mission without you - and I'm sorry I didn't come to thank you sooner."

There was a moment's hesitation. "You do not need to thank me, Commander. There were many reasons for me to protect you and the crew." The AI's voice softened, as though it could, "Jeff firmly believes in what you are doing. We have spoken at length about it. We are a team."

Smiling, Shepard's eyes turned up from meandering over the locked holographic interface. "You are. I'm glad you're with us."

"Thank you, Shepard." EDI's blue glow flickered before she continued, "Thane has been in your quarters for just under an hour."

"Oh has he?" Shepard sat up more, attention diverted. She changed topics, "Have you been monitoring transmissions in the dock?"

"Yes, but nothing worthwhile as of yet. I have not recognized any Cerberus encoding."

Shepard bridged her fingers, tapping them against her lips as she looked out the window. The sky was washed with brilliant hues, much like they had been her first day landing on Illium.

"Please keep monitoring, and compile any useful information you come across. Maybe I'm being paranoid, but I don't think it'll be long before they react." Shepard sighed. "The Illusive Man seems like the type to have contingency plans."

"I believe that is an accurate assumption, Shepard. Though, I regret to inform you that the usual channels which I was able to obtain Cerberus information are now blocked from their end."

Sucking in a breath through her teeth, Shepard nodded and said, "Not surprising. Has Liara T'soni contacted us regarding the information exchange?"

"Not yet."

A telltale shuffle caused Shepard to spin around in the pilot's chair, a smile brandished as she saw Joker walk up.

"What's this, I'm gone half a day and I lose my spot?"

Shepard pulled up out of his chair with a chuckle, "Just keeping it warm."

"Yeah. Thanks, Commander." Joker rolled his eyes. "This when I say something about your hot ass?"

Shepard laughed, "You're lucky you're brittle. I might slug another man for saying that."

Joker waved a hand as he settled into the pilot's chair with care, "Oh yea, lucky me! Porcelain bones and all. What more could I want?" He slid a small box onto the dash beside the console.

"I'll catch you two later." Shepard turned and strode back through the CIC to the elevator, poignantly ignoring her message terminal. Whisking into the elevator, she took it up to the loft and stepped out into her cabin, and the door opened to dim light and a drell within.

A smile crept onto her lips as her pace slowed, and Shepard stood at the top of the stairs looking down to where Thane read a data pad. Keying something in, he stood and strode to meet her.

"I have missed you all day, let me tell you." Shepard sighed, the smile softening as she touched over his cheek. "I am not made for shopping with the lady folk."

Thane chuckled and turned to kiss the pads of her fingers, his hand up hers to hold it to his lips. "I apologize. It was in part my doing."

"You're kidding me."

Inclining his head, Thane admitted, "No."

Drawn down the stairs, Shepard saw the spread of fresh fruits on the table, and her lips parted, "Those must have cost you..."

"My profession kept my pockets well lined. And I was able to find a supplier in the city. There are not many who specialize in growing human foods this deep."

Reaching down, Shepard snagged a piece of papaya, and her eyes closed as the juicy fruit sweetened her tongue. It was something simple - but it was often the simple things she missed most in life. Once more, she realized the advantage of being with a man who remembered everything. No idle word of what she enjoyed, what she loved, what made her laugh, went undocumented.

"Oh Thane...do you even like any of it?"

His dark eyes met her as she turned, his usually sombre expression warmed to a subtle smile, "This isn't for me, siha."

They had barely seen each other the past few days, with much of Shepard's time spent on planet or in communication with others. She was awaiting replies from both the Council and the Alliance, and had been progressively meeting with each of the crew to inquire about their next move.

Shepard's hand strayed down to take a slice of peach, thumb running over the fuzzy peel. "How is Kolyat?" The piece disappeared past her lips, and she sat down on the sofa.

"Well. He is tracking a slaver in the wards. Someone who sells orphans to batarians."

Licking her lips, Shepard hesitated, hand half way to the dish. "We should go help him."

Sitting beside her, Thane leaned back and raised a hand, "It wasn't my intent to suggest that."

"No." Shepard leisurely ate a piece of pear, looking over the colourful assortment of fruit. "I need to go to the Citadel as is. And any opportunity I have to stop another child from becoming a slave, I will take."

"He is paying his debt to C-sec through his work."
"I won't stop that." Leaning back, Shepard sighed. Thane reached to trace a few fingers through her hair, and she closed her eyes. She tilted her head his way.

"How have your meetings been going?" Thane hadn't pressed her since the day she disappeared into the city, refusing his request to join her.

"Samara plants to disembark once we start out again - unless she can find passage into asari space or possibly Omega. She conceded when I said Illium probably wasn't the best place to return to just yet."

"A pity. I have enjoyed the few conversations with her."

Shepard hesitated, a piece of fruit in hand, "You've spoke? Aren't you concerned her Code will force her to kill you?"

"No, we spoke of that as well. She has not witnessed any injustice committed by my hand - she doesn't really have proof or extensive knowledge of my past."

"Thankfully, I haven't necessitated her killing me through my actions either." Idly eating a few more pieces of fruit, Shepard continued, "Grunt has asked to disembark on Tuchanka. I know this time in port is driving him mad."

"Mm."

"And I'm certain Jack will disappear shortly," Shepard sighed.

"That seems likely. What about the Cerberus crew?"

Shepard's eyes focused as the back of her hand caught her eye. She knew the weaves and tech buried there. Her modded eyes refocused on the imperfections, the small scars from her surgical procedures that refused to fade. Proof of the debt to the organization she'd turned on the first moment she thought she could break free. She closed her fist.

It wasn't a matter of any betrayal. Shepard had always maintained the memories of the horrors she'd seen before her death; the bases she found, what they did to Admiral Kohaku. Even if her memory didn't cooperate at times, in place of a clarity was a feeling. She didn't ignore those. Cerberus wanted advancement, not safety and amity.

"They seem keen on staying with me. Maybe it's easier thinking that the hard part is over." Shepard ate a few red grapes before saying, "They don't realize it was just one hurdle. There's always another mission."

Thane rested his arm on the back of the sofa, fingers on her shoulder, "You hold on expectation of peace?"

"Not as an absolute. As a moment, in a specific place. But in a galaxy? A system? Even a planet or a city - thinking there is some overarching safety or permeating warmth that can be achieved..." Shepard closed her eyes and sunk back into the sofa more, leaning her cheek to his touch, "I'm a soldier. It'd be nice if I weren't needed, but I'm not going to lie to myself."

"I wouldn't have imagined you to try and convince yourself otherwise," Thane leant forward to retrieve a drink he'd poured for her.

Accepting the glass, Shepard offered a private smile, "What would I do otherwise - now, I mean. After everything, I couldn't just go live some normal semblance of a life. Would I even want to?" She ran her fingers around the top of the glass, before taking a sip of the nectar and putting it down, "Mmm... that's nice, what is it?" She stood up and went to dismantle her armour.

"An asari blend. I found it a few years ago." Thane idly watched her, Shepard's motions fluid but precise as the pieces came off.

Once Shepard had thought she could find some normalcy - she had felt close to it. Never had she even put thought to children and a family, but with Liara... there had been odd dreams. Not having to carry the child appealed to Shepard more than she'd admit. And now, she had been informed, it simply wasn't an option. Not a piece of hardware Cerberus had included.

She saw what a threat she could be to Liara, let alone offspring. Maybe it was fortunate her whole family was dead. She didn't know how she'd react if someone tried to harm those she loved to get to her.

Shepard looked back to Thane, running her hands around her neck, rubbing where her armour sealed skin tight. "I met with one of my old crew members in Nos Astra the other day."

"Liara T'soni?"

The bun of Shepard's dark russet hair came loose, and she turned to Thane, "Yes. We... used to be involved. Before I died." No matter how many times she said that, it never sounded right.

Thane took up his own glass of the asari nectar, still watching Shepard from where he sat, "That is why you didn't wish me to join you."

Shepard's hands were cool, drained from the nervous flutter in her stomach. She was glad for the distance between them suddenly, and she carried on, assembling her armour. "Yes."

Standing back up and pushing a drawer closed with her foot, she felt Thane behind her, a hand on the curve of her hip.

"Tell me about her?"

"She's not the person she once was."

Thane had read all about the Commander's former and current crew when he had originally come aboard. Young for an asari, Liara had been a Prothean archaeologist, taken in on Shepard's mission against Saren due to her mother's relation to the traitorous Spectre. He had found snippets of rumours that pegged them as a couple. Thane wove his hands around her waist and pulled her against him.

"Seeing her so different than I remembered - this is when I first came to Illium, to find you - it was one of the largest shocks of missing two years." Shepard's head dropped forward, her voice quiet, "It was difficult."

Sometimes she still wasn't sure certain memories were real, or even hers. But nothing had happened yet to demonstrate otherwise. Garrus and Tali had always just acted like she were... her.

"Either way, meeting with her confirmed that things are over. I ... I should have told you about her."
"I never asked."

"You reassure and support me when I speak of my past and love for Irikah."

"That's different."

"Is it? Irikah is alive in my memories, as real there as she was in life. Even if her body has gone to the sea." Thane's lips pressed into the curve of her neck, skin exposed by the tank top and black cotton pants she was left wearing without her armour. "One love doesn't negate the creation of any others, siha."

Closing her eyes, Shepard leant back into Thane, relishing the proximity of his cool skin. Quiet for a time, she finally said, "She was the first person I really loved. Took me almost 30 years to trust someone enough. Took someone literally able to meld with my mind to feel some connection." Her voice softened with a private laugh, "Guess I had to die to find you."

Thane chuckled, the smile on her lips growing playful as she turned in his arms. Shepard's hand slipped under the collar of his jacket, and she pulled him in. Tilting his face against her skin, Thane closed his eyes and breathed her in.

It was his own impending death that led to their meeting in many ways. Taking the Dantius commission under the assumption it would be his last job. And it had been. Now he followed a crusade on the wings of a fierce angel.

Her arms steel through the fatigue, sweat on her creased brow as she pulls from cover. My body responds, crouched, suppressing fire to match the other to protect her from the onslaught. A golden beam slices through, the herald's call clarion as it finds its quarry. The fluid filled tube bursts, machinations sparking as she ducks by my side with feverish breath. The suspended beast shudders, and another wave advances.

"Thane?"
The tip of his nose traced along the curve of her jaw, harkening a smile once more. Shepard sighed, tilting her face to follow till his lips took their place on her skin.

"Liara knows about us."

The edges of Thane's lips rose, his ghost of a smile, and his dark eyes met hers. "She is an information broker."

Shepard leant into his lips, the kiss there before any words, and stepping in close, Thane retreated for comfort, only to find his legs pressing back against the bed. Her hands flew through the snaps of his coat, and his shoulders dropped back to ease it off, leaving it in her hands.

Urged back, Thane sat on the bed, and Shepard climbed into his lap, hip-to-hip with him as she renewed the kiss. His lips parted, and her breath caught against him as his hands traced up her sides, a ginger caress over the sealed bandage adhered to her hip.

"Enough talk." Shepard breathed against his lips, her tongue flicking with his before his hands reached higher. His fingers caught in her hair, inclining her head back to allow his lips to trail down her neck, eliciting a throaty sigh.

Leaning into him, Shepard pressed Thane back onto the bed, lips parted as she pulled from him. Her hands snuck down, snapping open his trousers as she kissed him before slipping down his body, stripping him down. Kicking her own pants away, she ran a hand up his thigh.

Dipping her head, she kissed up along his shin and knee, fingers tracing alongside to detail the contour of his muscles. Thane sat up on one arm to reach for her, but Shepard's hand came back to push him away as she kissed higher, eager to let her lips explore and play.

His jaw was wired shut. But that didn't keep the man from trying to cry in protest as the implant was pressed against the base of his skull. The insidious device punctured in, activated by a nearby omni-tool, and the close-lipped scream renewed itself as a trickle of blood crept down his neck.

"There. All better now, isn't it, Jordan?"

Blinking laboriously, his eyes chanced to look up to his captors, and the man shivered as he felt the presence in the back of his mind. The doctor brushed his shaggy, dark russet hair down over the small implant. His pulse rushed unnaturally, and it made his legs twitch, arms clamped to the chair he sat in.

Eyes trying to focus in the harsh, medicinal light, the young man's head bobbed and rolled to the side, following where the person who sedated him walked. Their voices were muted, watery to his ears. His translator was gone.

They were human. He was certain they were. The timbre of their laughter confirmed it, even if he couldn't understand their words. Under the influence, his eyes slowly closed, the clench of his teeth releasing as he slipped into unconsciousness.

"No, I was quoted 10,000 for the pair."

Shepard's lips pressed into a fine line, pacing through the CIC as she squeezed the bridge of her nose. The tech supplier bubbled over the comm with a rebuttal but she cut him off.

"I can assure you I will be a repeat customer if the prices I was offered are upheld. My repairs are fluid, I'm sure I'll need more."

They were well into their second week in Nos Astra. The repairs were going slowly despite their best efforts. Gabby and Kenneth, with Tali out in the city most days bargaining for salvage they could use to cut costs, had dismantled a large portion of engineering. The problem was that the Normandy was state of the art, incorporating older tech just complicated things more half the time.

Nearby the doors to the lab split and Mordin walked out, signalling to the Commander. She raised a hand, still distracted as the woman on the other line conceded.

"Great. Deliver them to dock A24, and leave a list of your other supplies." She grinned at the salarian before adding, "Thank you." Touching her comm she sighed and said, "Enjoying the shore leave, Mordin?"

"Have been compiling Collector data. Intriguing work. Beyond that, also spent time on something else." The scientist grinned, the quirk of his lips rousing suspicion in Shepard. She'd seen that look on his face before. But she entertained him.

"Oh? Is that so?"

"For you, Shepard."

Shepard raised her brow, grinning, and her voice almost cracked, "Me? I don't need anything, Professor."

"On the contrary. Not about your need, specifically." Mordin motioned her to join him, and she walked towards his lab. "Used data collected during surgery to more effectively study your implants."

"What can you tell me about them?"

"Fascinating technology. Did research regarding tissue regeneration in my time on Omega. Modified weaves could have other uses."

Shepard ran a hand around the back of her neck, breathing in, "Makes sense."

Wandering over to his workstation, Mordin encouraged Shepard closer, "Have run scenarios to see how well modifications might impact internal organs."

Grinning, Shepard leant onto the worktable, "I appreciate that, Mordin. Trying to keep me from death's door again. I'll be nigh indestructible when I face the Reapers."

"Indeed. Though modelling was more specifically done for drell physiology."

Shepard's expression blanked as she stood up, "What?"

"Gained access to work done by Illuminated Primacy through old contacts. Used it as basis for comparison. Regenerative weaves effective when coupled with proper nano-tech. Still theoretical, but work is sound." Mordin looked down as he set another sequence to run, fingers moving even as he looked up at the Commander. "Thought you would be glad to know."

"I.." Shepard looked away, as she let her thoughts go where she often kept them from, "I am. Have you spoke with Thane?"

"Work has kept me, sought you out first, Shepard."

"That's sweet of you, Mordin. But it's really something he deserves to know more than me."

"Would venture otherwise, but will seek him out."

Thoughts running amok, Shepard asked, "Are there any supplies you need?"

Mordin's grin reappeared, and he nodded, inputting something into his omni-tool. "Can help with funds if needed, key apparatus need restocking."

Shepard almost laughed, looking at the list transmitted to her own device. "I don't know if I can get them... I don't even know what these are, Mordin. How do you find time to do all of this?"

"Have also listed potential suppliers in Nos Astra." Mordin's head bobbed as he continued, "Need very little sleep. Multiple projects to trade between while others compile. Thought this worthwhile. Had not thought of drell plight before." He raised a hand, casting a sideways glance at Shepard, "Purely altruistic, I assure you."

Putting her hands on her hips, Shepard smiled inwardly, a zing of hope through her as she said, "But of course, Professor. Need to think of the big picture."

"Precisely."

A blip on Shepard's omni-tool drew her eyes, and she sighed, seeing who it was. Another supplier getting back to her. Why hadn't she delegated this task?

"I have to take this. I'll come see you later, Mordin? And send Thane your way?"

"Will be here if you need me, Shepard."

The Commander was already walking away, her voice crisp and professional as she addressed the merchant over her communicator.