I gathered what information I could, spying, listening… making 'arrangements' with Grizz and another of Aria's men. Eventually I had a data pad of useful things. Archangel was pretty pleased and with Sidonis' information about the guards, he felt we were ready to make a move.

It was the night before and I was up in the dorm room polishing a particularly intricate piece of metal I was planning to add to a rather plain piece of ribbon in my hair. Melenis crept through the door and approached me the way she did when she thought I wouldn't like what she was going to say.

"What?" I snapped, not taking my eyes off the shrapnel.

"Well… I was just thinking… you've never been so focused on a mission before, in fact you usually keep your distance as much as possible." She shrugged. "Just seems a little personal."

My hands froze on the metal I was polishing for a moment before I continued. "If it was it wouldn't be any business of yours."

She sat on the sofa next to me, leaning forwards a little and trying to catch my eyes. "Its ok to talk about thing's Maggie… you can trust us."

I snorted by way of reply.

"Do you have some kind of history with this… cult?"

"Fuck off Mel."

"So you do…" Clever girl. "Were you one of them? Before you came here I mean?"

I gave into her want and let her catch my eye, fixing her with my darkest glare. "No. I most certainly was not!"

"Then what…"

"Don't make me bash your head into a coffee table Mel." I warned.

She sat back a little, her eyes registering some sort of shock. "What?! You did that!?" I arched an eyebrow at her. "Sidonis told me he'd tripped over…"

I actually laughed. "Sidonis is an idiot, but he's not clumsy. No, I gave him that little shiner."

"Little shiner!? You fractured his outer plates!"

"He shouldn't have pissed me off then." I gave her a pointed look. "I'm not telling you anything so you can sod off now."

She sighed and got to her feet. "Fine. At least promise me that whatever is in your history with these people its not going to endanger anyone."

I held up three fingers. "Scouts honour."

She looked confused. "I don't…"

I rolled my eyes at her "I promise."

She nodded and got to her feet. "Alright. I hope I can trust you Maggie."

I snorted again. "I wouldn't."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Taking out the first few guards and getting on board the ship was easy, almost too easy, for Archangel, Sidonis, Monty and me. We made our way to the cargo holds where all our goals were centred; free the prisoners, collect the expensive medical tech to donate to Mordin Solis's clinic and my personal favourite, hack into the ships main database to find out what the fuck these whack's were trying to pull.

We went lower and lower into the ships bowls, meeting surprisingly little resistance, until we reached the main cargo hold.

It was a large square room with an upper walkway. Ten or so human prisoners were in cells to the right. Archangel being Archangel made a beeline for them, working at the consoles to hack through the force field barriers.

Sid and Monty moved to the left to check out the stashes of equipment and salvage there, leaving me to take the centre console to access the ships mainframe.

My hacking skills weren't as finesse as Archangel or Sid's, but they were good enough for this. A few of the access codes I still had from my last run in with this bunch were still working… it didn't really sit right with me, but I wasn't about to question it. Perhaps I should have…

My codes opened a door opposite me, giving me direct access to their computer core. I took the bait, dodging around the console and into the little room, activating my omni-tool and downloading the data I was sent to get.

"We should get going." I heard Archangel say behind me. He'd finished releasing the prisoners and they stood behind him looking frightened. Those that were brave enough went to find guns from the salvage pile Monty and Sid were pilfering through.

My omni-tool blipped, telling me the download was done. I was about to close the link when some files caught my eye. "Give me a minute to finish up here." I called back as I began to download those too.

"Need a hand?" Archangel asked, breaking away from his little group of rescue's to take a few steps towards me.

The files needed a password, I tried an old one I had and it passed. "No I'm good." The files began their transfer and Archangel went back to organizing the prisoners.

"Start getting them out of here." He ordered Sid. The turian picked up his pack of selected salvage and motioned for them to follow him. One by one they moved towards the exit.

I turned back to my download…. Forty nine percent… fifty percent…

There was a loud error message and my stomach dropped. The lights in the cargo hold flickered, there was the sound of initiating systems. The doors up top opened and marching footsteps thundered on the walkway… at the same time to door to the room I was in slammed shut and locked on me.

I screamed and banged my fists against the metal. I could hear shouting in the room beyond and…gunshots.

The lights in the little room went out, plunging me into darkness. Just as quick a VI holo interface lit up behind me, making me spin round to meet the eyes that haunted my every nightmare.

"I knew you'd come back to us Eve." Came the mans dark voice. The sound made my skin crawl, filled me with paralyzing fear.

He was in his early fifties, his gray hair slicked back behind his ears neatly. His eyes were dark brown and filled with a look of righteous insanity. He wore black priest's robes with a large silver cross hanging from a simple silver chain. He held out his arms like he expected me to embrace him.

I backed against the door, my eyes wide with terror as I beheld him. "This was a trap!" I gasped. "You were waiting for me!"

He smiled, it was full of false love. It made me sick to see. "We always knew you needed us Eve, we had to find you."

"Go to hell!" I screamed. "You sick pervert! Leave me alone!" I spun around to bang desperately at the door again. "Archangel! Garrus! Help me! Please!" My voice grew horse with the shouting.

"The heretics have poisoned you against me." Said the eerie figure. "They must be punished. But you… my daughter. You will be washed clean…"

His words turned my fear to rage. "I will never be yours!" I shouted with all that I had. I drew out my gun and shot at the interface… once… twice… three times. It frazzled, then went out, plunging me back into darkness, but at least free from that demon's watching eyes.

There were still gunshots outside, I was terrified for my new found comrades, for Archangel. I bought up my omni-tool, using it like a torch and lighting the little room in flame orange light. I looked around for something… anything that might aide my escape.

To my luck there was a maintenance hatch in the ceiling. Climbing on the computer systems I was just able to reach it. Blasting the grated hatch open with my gun, I pulled myself up and into the vents. Still using my omni-tool for light, I followed the tunnel along until I found an exit. Kicking it open, I emerged to find myself on the maintenance walk, looking down a line of snipers aiming downwards at my comrades below.

I drew out two hidden combat knives and with a roar enough to startle my adversaries I charged at them.

My blade hit the first man's neck, his hands came up to fruitlessly attempt to stem the bleeding of his jugular vain. I pushed him aside and struck at the second man, digging my first knife into his chest, then spinning round to catch his neck with my other.

The third man had by now drawn out a pistol and was firing at me. I ducked low and slashed at his knee's. He howled in pain and fell to the ground; my high heeled boot stamping on his neck as I passed to the fourth man, also firing his gun at me. I grabbed his wrist, slammed it against the railings of the walkway and forced him to drop the gun. Then I grabbed his upper thigh and threw him over the railings after said gun.

The fifth and last man just stared at me, too stunned by the death of his friends to make a move. I drew back my fist, allowing flames… my own brand of biotics… to engulf my fingers. I struck him with all the strength I could muster. His flew back into the wall behind him and slid to the ground motionless.

This left the five snipers on the opposite walkway. I turned to face them, throwing out my flaming hand as I did sending a shock wave of fiery explosions over to them and detonating canisters on the walkway like bombs. The entire walkway creaked ominously, then, with a loud snapping noise, it fell. No survivors.

I took a moment to compose myself, bringing my own fire back into myself. I stood there, shaking and staring at the five corpses around me.

"Maggie!" Archangels dual toned voice snapped me out of my dark thoughts. Remembering what I was in the middle of I looked over the walkway to my companions.

There were no prisoners below, Archangel was looking up at me, his own sniper rifle drawn. Sid was bending over Monty a little way to the left, the human having taken a shot to the leg. "Time to go!" He barked.

I nodded once and grabbing the railings of the walkway I vaulted over, landing neatly on my feet in front of him.

"Did the prisoners get out?"

He nodded. "Yeah, they didn't seem bothered about stopping them, just shooting us. They got out fine."

"Then we need to get the fuck outta here."

Sid already had Monty on one shoulder and called to Archangel for help. Between the two of them they carried the injured human, the four of us making our way out of that god forsaken ship.

We rounded a corner, the exit in sight… and several guards blocking our path. Not in any kind of mood to be delayed I let my fire burn one last time for that night, throwing it out in a wave in front of me and reveling in the tortured screams of the captured victims.