Normandy SR2, 2185
"Commander, Ashley wanted you to see meet her in the Port Observation Deck. Something's got her on Edge, but she wouldn't mention what it was," Kelly Chambers called out as John approached the Galaxy Map.

"Thanks, Kelly, I'll get right on that," John replied, releasing the railing and stepping down from the Galaxy Map, walking forwards to the Elevator. Pressing a button, the doors closed as the elevator lowered to the Crew Deck. Outside the door were Jacob and Miranda. Normally, Jacob wasn't on the Crew Deck, but he had been helping Miranda with some Animus equipment. They were just about to head upstairs for more supplies.

"Hey, Commander," Jacob smiled, slapping his hand against John's, moving his hand back to backhand the back of John's hand, and then the other way, clasping them together. John and Jacob pulled each other forward for a one-armed brother-hug. "I want to thank you again for helping me with my father. Good to know he'll have plenty of time to reflect on all the crazy **** he did, in an Alliance prison!" Jacob chuckled. He and Shepard had recently gone down to a Garden World to investigate a distress signal sent by the MSV Hugo Gernsback. His Father had manipulated his crew for 10 years, stealing the rations for his officers and himself, and allowing the lesser crew to eat the local flora, which caused mental degeneration. A Colony of literal Retards and some madman living out a childhood fantasy as Robinson Crusoe in Space did NOT make a good combination. Of course Shepard had to do something!

"And I want to thank you for helping me relocate Oriana…" Miranda chimed in, shaking John's now free hand. "She's safe now, and away from our crazy father…"
Miranda was bred genetically from her father's DNA, and tweaked. Her father had intended to make her truly perfect, mentally and physically, giving her the best of educations that his vast amount of money could buy. Though, he didn't want a family… he wanted a Dynasty. Eventually, Miranda's genetic "twin" sister, Oriana, was created as a means of replacing the now expendable Miranda. Not wanting her to suffer the same, Miranda kidnapped the infant Oriana and kept her hidden from their father for years until he finally got a lead. After dealing with Eclipse mercenaries who had been misled, Miranda finally relocated Oriana and her family to a safe location, at the cost of an old friend, Nikket.

"I care deeply about the lives of my crew. It would be foolish of me to have not helped you!" John replied, saluting his two Cerberus operatives. They returned the gesture and boarded the Elevator. Turning right, Shepard went down the hallway to the Port Observation Deck.

(Facing the Elevator, Port=Left, Starboard=Right. Facing away from the Elevator, Port=Right, Starboard=Left.)

"John, can we talk for a moment?" Ashley requested as she swallowed a drink. She had been sitting patiently at the bar waiting for one of the Shepards to take the call.

"Sure, what's on your mind?" John replied as he took a seat besides Ashley. She was visibly angered by something, but she had never mentioned any discontent besides her being on a Cerberus Ship. Thankfully, Kaidan coaxed her into ignoring Cerberus for the time being.

"Jack shared some of those files, the ones that you let her see on Cerberus?" Ashley began, pouring another drink into her glass, "I came across a very interesting Dossier."

John had a confused look about his face as an awkward silence followed. Breaking the silence, he said, "What was in the Dossier?"

Ashley smirked, bringing her drink to her lips. "A year ago, when you were still dead, I met somebody in the Alliance. A young man named Bruce McCarthy. He was new, right? So I showed him the ropes, and he climbed through the ranks in no time flat. He abandoned the Alliance rather violently, and I was there. But I just read that he ditched Cerberus some time before you came back."

"Was he involved in the Lazarus Project?"

"Of course, and it gets better. Miranda informed me that, after attempting to sabotage the Lazarus Project, he abandoned the base with some stolen tech, and information regarding you and your cybernetics," Ashley added with a slight chuckle.

"Odd, what would he need with those?" John pondered aloud.

EDI spoke over the Intercom at that point. "If I may interject, any amount of information regarding the types of Cybernetics within you right now could give way to an innumerable amount of complications during the mission. Someone can find your weaknesses and exploit them, selling them to the highest bidder. That is the most likely outcome. It is least likely that Bruce is trying to acquire parts for his collection."

Awkward silence once more fills the room…

"That was a joke."

Ashley sighs in frustration. "I think she's trying to be Human. We don't need another Geth Repeat, hell I think they all could have learned something if they watched Terminator beforehand."

"Relax, Ash. EDI's just trying to be friendly. I encourage this side of her. It actually keeps her from devaluing our lives, trust me!" John Shepard teased, nudging her shoulder.

"Well, with a little help, I managed to track our trickster to Outer Council Space. Somewhere in the Ialessa System, but my money is on Sanves. I guess he was trying to hide in the population, but what the idiot forgot was that of the 975 Million people on Sanves, 975 Million are Asari. The Human male is going to stick out like a sore thumb amongst all of those female Asari," Ashley elucidated as she finished her last drink. "If you want to gain my full trust and cooperation, prove to me you have no qualms with killing Alliance traitors!"

"Alright, let's see what we can do," John said, patting Ashley's shoulder. He lifted his head to face the ceiling, "Joker? Set a course for Sanves."

"Sanves?" the Pilot asked, "Right away Commander!"

As the ship flew, a group of people was gathering in the Starboard Observation deck.

"Sanves, right? That Asari world… I'm definitely going to enjoy some Shore Leave there!" Kenneth commented rather tactlessly, earning stern glares from Eleria, Samara, and Gabby.

Kasumi Goto smiled wide underneath her hood. "I heard that there was this massive Diamond. 2,105 carats!" she said, leaning back on the couch.

"2,105 Carats… yeah, I'll believe that when I see it," Crewman Hawthorne sniggered.

"Fun Fact: That sucker was taken on a Galactic Tour to be blessed by a bunch of religious leaders," Alexander Clarke interjected.

"Probably just Turians and Asari, maybe some Hanar," Kaidan responded, crossing his arms.

"Well, actually, Roman Catholic Pope Leo XIV blessed it back in August. I heard that they got the Dalai Lama to do the same, along with Muslim and Jewish leaders. Then it made a stop in India and some Brahmins paraded it in Varanasi," Alexander added, to Kaidan's dismay.

Half of the people in the room tilted their heads with lifted eyebrows in confusion. Alexander sighed when he heard the bewildered chatter. "Pope Leo XIV leads the Catholic Sect of Christianity, the Dalai Lama leads the Tibetan Mahayana Buddhists, and the Brahmins are the highest 'caste' of Hinduism, although the Caste System was officially and unofficially converted into a non-society-affecting formality many, many years ago."

"How do you know so much about Human Religion?" Eleria T'Geya inquired.

"Lots of Studying," he replied. "One cannot be a Guardian of Free Will without first possessing a -at the very least- basic understanding of different worldviews and opinions. You will learn this as time goes by."

"Well, way to make a casual conversation educational, Sensei…" Kasumi groaned childishly, using her nickname for Alexander.

"So the Goddamn Pope blessed a giant rock that the Asari pulled out of any old colony?" Zaeed asked again, chuckling noisily.

"Hey, it's much better than condemning the Asari for not believing in Jesus… like hundreds of Popes before would have done…" Frederico Corado mumbled, reading over a datapad.

"I suppose you're right about that," the Mercenary muttered.

"So I heard Ashley was going after an Alliance Traitor?" Kaiden asked as he uncrossed his arms and letting them fall to his sides.

"Who also abandoned Cerberus," Hawthorne "corrected".

"Yeah, I heard he took a bunch of goodies from the Lazarus Project and slipped out the back door to go pawn it off to some of Shepard's enemies," Eleria answered.

"I think it's about damn time we kicked him in the daddy-bags, as a little 'retirement present'," Kenneth snickered as he cracked his knuckles in a vain attempt to look intimidating.

"Kenneth, I've seen you shoot… no comment," Gabby replied, with a look that seemed to scream "you're an idiot!"

Sanves, Outer Council Space, 2185
The Normandy lands in the spaceport of the Capital city, Etheai.

Before getting off of the Ship, John Shepard quickly selects his squad, and decides to have an extra squad cover his own.

"Ashley, Mordin, on me," he ordered, then turning his attention to the rest of the crew. "Alex, I need you to take a group to the café over there, and wait for our orders to move in. You choose who you take along."

Alex smiled and nodded, quickly picking out Kairee and Jack.

Everyone else was released for Shore Leave. "Everyone's fake IDs, Credit chits, and Cerberus Shore Leave guidebooks are ready for pickup in the conference room," Yeoman Chambers announced to everyone waiting to get off the ship.

"So, Ashley, we made it to Sanves. Do your leads tell us where this guy is?" the Commander questioned as they disembarked the Normandy.

"Not his exact location, but I know it's this city," she replied, her eyes narrowing as she scoped out the scene. A human male should be easy to find in a city of Monogendered Asari.

"Enough talk. Let's just kill something," Jack interrupted, walking off indignantly with Alex and Kairee. Ashley threw John a strange glare.

"I haven't blown up the Teltin facility on Pragia, yet. When this is over, maybe I'll bring you along," John muttered, following after Jack.

Alex, Kairee, and Jack: New Leads

The trio sat alone in the "Athame's Star" café within the Spaceport, quietly listening and watching for any sign of Bruce.

"You know, I've been thinking about Halloween…" Kairee said, placing her hand on Alexander's.

"Our dance?" he asked in response, smiling as he took a bite of his breakfast pastry. When they landed, it was technically morning by Galactic Standard Time (GST), even if the entire night sky was shrouded in darkness. To him, it looked like it would have been 3:00 AM on the Winter Solstice back on Earth.

"Yes, actually," replied Kairee as she traced a little circle on the back of his hand.

"I meant everything that I said, except for the part where I was pretending that we'd just met, of course," Alex said with a little laugh, remembering how he had played dumb when they had masques to conceal their identities.

Much to his annoyance, Alexander noticed a group of Asari checking him out, talking amongst each other. It was clear they were talking about him. He could hear them, but he wasn't sure how. It was as if every other sound had muted, so that he could hear the Asari with complete clarity.

"He's pretty cute…" one with a purplish skin-tone commented, turning to her friend in a blue robe.

"Hey, you wouldn't have a shot with him if you tried!"

Another Asari, with white face-paint around her cheeks and chin, piped up at this point. "Oh hush; you have a bond-mate already."

"If you want him so bad, just walk up to him," the one in blue replied indignantly.

Alexander sighed and put the palm of his hand to his face. The rest of the world's sounds came back to him.

"Something wrong, love?" Kairee asked as the Asari began her approach.

Alexander held up his fingers, slowly putting them back down, one by one. "Three… two…" he murmured inaudibly.

"Hi, I'm Irena," the Asari said, offering her hand and a smile.

"Alexander," the Assassin replied, shaking her hand. "Not to sound crass, but I'm already in a Relationship. I'm not interested," he swiftly added.

Irena's eyes immediately strayed to Kairee. She looked up and down, sizing up her competition. "You aren't even of the same Amino group…" she muttered, a private thought she made aloud without even knowing it.

Jack rolled her eyes and leaned forwards on the table, her face displaying an expression of true hostility. "Hey, look, he's just not into you. Quit *****in' about the Turian and **** off!"

Alexander and Kairee's eyes both widened as Jack only made the situation worse, as much as she was trying to help. "In before catfight…" Alexander said, coughing into his fist.

Irena's biotics flared in anger. "I'm sorry, what did you just say to me?"

"You heard me!" Jack shouts.

"Both of you stop this immediately!" Kairee barked, restraining Irena as she tried to jump over the table onto Jack. Irena shoved her away, into Jack, who then became livid with the both of them. Alexander leapt out of his chair and backed up, bumping into one of Irena's friends.

"Boy, that escalated quickly…" the Asari said, watching on with shock. The three were shouting and striking each other, either with biotics or with blunt Omnitool weaponry. They would be pulling each other's hair… if any of them had any. Kairee and Irena by default did not possess hair, and Jack had her head shaved.

Alexander sprung both of his hidden blades, and as the two biotics prepared shockwaves, he stepped in between the two and held the weapons up to their throats.

"Khvatit ! Ostanovit' etot bred ! (Enough, Cease this nonsense! (Translation may be off.)) Alexander boomed.

"I think my translator bugged?" Kairee said, calming down and checking her Omnitool.

"Wait… what?" Alex asked himself, sheathing the blades and standing aside.

"The hell was that?" Jack asked as Irena, visibly disturbed, backed away slowly.

"I think I just… spoke Russian."

Jack rolled her eyes, "I don't care if you're speaking Keelish."

At that moment, amidst the confusion, Alexander heard a broadcast from a Galactic News terminal behind him.

"A platoon of Blue Suns mercenaries landed in the Etheai Planetary Spaceport yesterday, with questionable motives. When approached, they demanded we shut down our drones, as they would not give the name or location of their contact. One brave deserter divulged the identity of said contact. 'Bruce McCarthy', ex-Alliance scientist. Our anonymous source is now under Police Protection. If you see anything suspicious, please call the number you see below with any information."

Without thinking, Alexander activates his Omnitool and forwards the broadcast to Shepard's team, earning a thank you from Ashley. "Keep your eyes peeled for Blue Suns in the area," she said.

John, Ashley, and Mordin: Interrogation

Shortly after receiving the tip from Alex, Shepard and his team discovered a lone Blue Suns soldier loitering at the back entrance of a bar, within the city. Ashley Williams, unable to control herself, immediately lunged forwards, pinning the merc to the wall. "Answers, now."

"Ashley, what are you doing?!" John said, noticing that his M77 Paladin was missing from his side… and now pressed against the Merc's face.

The Batarian gasped, trying to get some air as Ashley pressed harder against his throat.

"The location of your contact, Bruce McCarthy!" she clarified angrily, finger teasing the trigger.

"Like I would tell the likes of you?" the Batarian taunted with a sly smirk.

"You really want to try the woman with the gun in your face?"

As Ashley was about to pull the trigger, John rushed to her side and wrestled the gun from her hand in one swift movement, of course, keeping it aimed at the mercenary in case anything funny was attempted.

"Watch yourself, Williams. Start shooting randoms on the street and you are no better than him!" he warned. He turned to the Batarian and sneered. "My friend wants to know where you're keeping Bruce McCarthy hidden. I sincerely suggest you tell us what you know. You're in Council Space, and if it wasn't obvious… Commander John Shepard, Spectre."

The Batarian actually gulped nervously when he heard this, understanding the power that the Spectres could wield: They were above the law.

"Doctor's recommendation: tell us what you know," Mordin says, sniffing deeply before continuing, "John's enemies… have a tendency to disappear."

"Bruce McCarthy, Human scientist. He was offering data on your cybernetics in exchange for protection and a way to contact someone. He's holed up outside the city! Some kind of camp was set up in the forests. I don't have the coordinates, I'm just waiting for my officer!" the Batarian merc shouts in panic, holding his hands up in surrender.

"Thank you for your cooperation," John said, lowering the pistol and nodding his head. "Do you mind if we can wait for your officer with you?"

The merc just groaned and hit his head against the wall.

The four waited for what felt like hours before a small group of Blue Suns approached.

"Bok'lathan, what is the meaning of this!?" an Asari boomed, raising her shotgun in John's face. In retaliation, Ashley lifted her M8 Avenger, and Mordin his M6 Carnifex.

"Drop the Eviscerator, now." Ashley said, modding her ammunition to "incendiary".

"The only way I'm putting this down is if you…" the Asari tried to say as John took the Renegade interrupt. He ducked under the barrel of the gun and stood back up, bringing a clenched fist with him, uppercutting the Asari right in the jaw, knocking out a few of her teeth as she crumpled to the ground.

"Knocked it out of your hands? I think Gravity already did that for me…" John scoffed, looking up at the other Blue Suns. "Anybody else want to go? I wasn't armed that time," he added with a cold laugh.

The mercenaries threw their weapons down in surrender, opting to NOT die today. With a sly smirk, Mordin bent down and collected the weapons. With a sniff, he began ranting on the possible effectiveness of the weapons. "AT-12 Raider. Excellent, Batarian Shotgun. Would be very effective for Krogan… or Human, in which case… will let Jack know she has a new 'killing-buddy'."

"Hey, you can't take my gun!" the mercenary on the left shouted, stepping forwards, only to have Ashley put the barrel of her Avenger in his face.

"Yes we can," she said, turning her head in Mordin's direction. "Hey, Solus, do you mind if I can have first dibs on that M55 Argus?" Ash inquired, looking down at the Assault Rifle. Odd how a bunch of Mercs had it, when it was originally meant for Law Enforcement. She guessed that the Blue Suns thought themselves the de facto police force in the Terminus and purchased some M55's to "prove" it.

"Of course. Here you go…" Mordin replied, making the switch with Ashley as he walked off to set the guns down for safekeeping. "Ask the shuttle to pick them up. Later, of course."

John returned his attention to the mercenaries. "Give us your officer's coordinates. Is a man with such a traitorous reputation worth your lives?" he asked, trying to persuade the two to give him what he wanted. Their own lives were the best bargaining chip, he figured.

The mercenary on the right sighed, kneeling down over his officer to steal the coordinates from her omnitool. He then forwarded it to John, leaving a special "gift" for him.

"Thank you, I'm a man of my word. You're free to go," John said with a smile, standing out of the way.

Bok'lathan and the other two mercs ran off in a hurry, leaving John and his squad alone in the alley.

"Joker, send the shuttle to pick us up. Alex, if you're on this channel still, we've acquired the coordinates to Bruce's base camp!" Ashley commanded.

"Right away, Ash!" Joker replied.

"Alright. Forward them to me. I keep hearing about my "fan club" here in Sanves, so I'm sure we'll have a ride of our own," Alex said over the comms. John shrugged and sent the coordinates with his Omnitool. "We got them. Headed there now. Ashley, do you want us to take care of the problem?" Alexander inquired.

"No. Bruce is mine," Ashley replied coldly. After a few minutes, the shuttle arrived to pick them all up.

Search…

The shuttle ride back was lengthy thanks to traffic. John had found a way to pass the time, listening to some music through his armor. The playlist was loaded into his Omnitool as music came from inside his helmet. It was loud enough to hear from the outside.

"Living on a Prayer" by Bon Jovi. Ashley snickered as she heard the now ancient drum beats and guitar riffs…

John sang to himself the refrain of the song, unconsciously raising his voice to a yell, oblivious to the attention he was getting from Mordin and Ashley.

"Nice voice, Mr. John Bon Jovi…" Ashley teased, crossing her arms.

John finally took notice and paused the song, removing his helmet. "Oh hush-up," he ordered, shaking his head with a smile. "I'm not that bad am I?" he asked.

"No, you were pretty spot on. I just didn't expect you to like that old stuff…" Ashley replied, uncrossing her arms and leaning forwards.

"Says she who still reads Alfred Lord Tennyson," John quipped, rolling his eyes and slipping his helmet back on.

"Hey, Tennyson wrote true classics!" Ashley retaliated, pointing an accusing finger.

"Hey, okay, to each his or her own, right?" said John, who threw up his hands in mock surrender, hiding a smirk under his helmet.

As the Shuttle docked in the Normandy, John immediately hopped out, followed by Ashley and Mordin in single file.

"Joker, load up the Coordinates on the map. I want to see where we're deploying!" he commanded, raising a finger into the sky, as if to signal Joker to speak.

"Already done, Commander," EDI's voice said as it reverberated around the Cargo Bay.

In the CIC room, John leaned over the railing as he viewed the holographic display of Sanves. "Right here, in this forest," he announced, pointing his finger at a yellowish blip on the display.

"We're tracking 'Ghost Squad' now… they are en route to our destination in a black Skycar of human make," EDI said, as the globe of Sanves shrank back into the projector and was replaced with an image of a Skycar.

"Good to see Lamborghini is still in business…" Kelly Chambers jibed, giving the display one look and then sniggered at the fact that it looked almost identical to the old Lamborghini Aventadors…

"Leave it to Alex to ride in style…" Ashley commented as she turned and walked into the Armory.

"Alright. When Ashley's done preparing, we'll get on the shuttle. Joker, send for Kaidan. We'll need his versatility in combat," John commanded.

A few minutes later, Ashley emerged from the Armory, equipped with the M55 Argus, modded for higher clip capacity and a scope, and an M92 Mantis

Kaidan stepped out as well, rocking a M15 Vindicator. "Ready to go, Commander," he said, inserting a thermal clip.

"Before we go, I wanted to ask," John stated, holding a hand up in a gesture of patience, "Ashley, you speak about Bruce like this whole thing is personal? What aren't you telling me?"

Ashley bit her lip before speaking, "Bruce McCarthy betrayed the Alliance, taking vital information with him to Cerberus, then betraying them, taking vital information with him to these Blue Suns thugs. I… tried to stop him when I caught him snooping around in classified files regarding your records. He managed to get away, but not before landing me in the hospital," she explained. "That little ass is going to get what he deserves, whatever he's up to, I don't care as long as he doesn't get away with it…"

John frowned in disgust. "You must be glad to know that two years of his work are about to go down the drain, along with his blood," he said with a rather gung-ho tone of voice as he pounded his fist into an open palm.

…and Destroy.

"Approaching the LZ," announced an Asari in white and red, cloth-like, skintight armor as she piloted a Skycar down into the Forests below.

"Set us down gently. I don't want to have to meet resistance this early in the mission," Alex requested, looking out the window.

"Stealth is my middle name!" the Asari joked as the Skycar came to rest in a clearing. The doors opened, and the Assassins filed out, with Jack the last to exit.

"So why the Hell are we sneaking around when we clearly have the strength to run right in?" Jack asked with a scoff, loading her shotgun.

"Well, normally I would opt for that," Alexander said with a nod, "But I don't have an M920 Cain."

"Why does that matter?" Jack sneered lifting her gun up and looking around.

"Meh, I could just end the fight with one shot if I had a Cain, but because I don't, we need to be careful with our approach," Alex explained, reaching for his M11 Suppressor.

"Do you even see their camp?" Kairee asked, looking out into the forest for any sign of sentient life. Alexander looked straight ahead and immediately saw something worthy of suspicion.

"Hand me your Sniper Rifle please, honey?" Alex asked, holding out his hand as Kairee placed her rifle in it. Alexander looked down the scope and zoomed in as far as he could. He could see a large cabin up ahead, a good distance from their current location. Even on maximum zoom, the cabin was pretty small in perspective, and it was still pitch black at the moment, the planet's sun had not risen, so the only trace of the Cabin was the light from a bonfire. "Good, we're far enough away to not have been noticed," Alex said, handing the Rifle back to Kairee and walking forwards toward the Cabin. He pulled his hood up and attached his "helmet", really a mask that covered the bottom half of his face with material similar to his hardsuit. It projected a visor HUD over the upper half of his face if the wearer activated it.

The Asari driver hopped back into the skycar and piloted it away from the LZ. "We're not coming back. You'll have to wait until Shepard's shuttle arrives!" she said as the Skycar flew over the trees.

"John won't be here for a while. I suggest we scout ahead," said Alexander as he left the clearing. The others soon followed, and as they approached the cabin, Alexander ducked down, hitting the dirt and hiding in a bush.

"Sniper, get down!" he said in a hushed but audible whisper as the other two dropped low. Sure enough, a Blue Suns merc was patrolling the rooftops with a Krysae sniper rifle. "Pray that he's not using a Thermal Scope…" Alex muttered as he crawls out of the bush slowly, taking his time as to not rustle the bush and it's leaves. He picked himself up and ran to the side of the building, pressing himself to the wall, hiding under the roof. The Sniper readied his weapon when he heard the light "thunk" that came with Alexander's armor hitting the wood. Alexander took a deep breath, raised his hand to the air, made a gesture, and made a bird call, somewhat like an owl's. At this signal, Kairee stood straight up, drew her rifle and lined up a shot. One pull of the trigger and all that was heard was a 'splat'. Alexander looked up to see the mercenary's body drop from the roof and onto the grassy ground beneath him. "I'm willing to bet you No-Scoped him," Alex joked as Kairee stepped out of the bush and put in a new Thermal Clip.

"Wasn't that hard, considering the distance, lack of wind, the fact that he was a non-moving target. That and the Silencer acts as an extended barrel so…" Kairee rambled, admiring her rifle.

Jack rolled her eyes and stepped out of the bush. "Enough tech-talk. Let's kill this fool and go!" she snarled, walking ahead of the two.

"Jack, we're not here to kill Bruce, we're here to stealthily reduce his guard force," Alex explained.

Jack scoffed and crossed her arms. "Then why the Hell did you bring me along?" she asked, putting one hand to her face. Covertness was not exactly her thing. Especially since she had the power to light this entire building on fire, with her bare hands and a couple of biotic strikes.

"Not too sure, but seeing the amount of Blue Suns here, I'm glad I did," the Assassin replied, crouching and sneaking to the corner of the wall. He peeked around the corner and assessed the situation.

"Three guards at the door. Five at that picnic table. Mostly Batarians, armed with Shotguns. A few Turian assault troopers are having a conversation by that skycar… I think it's about…" Alexander whispered to his squad. His face twisted in confusion as he heard the details of the conversation. "Fornax models?"

Jack sniggered and smiled wide, "No doubt Asari," she said.

"Turian," Alex corrected. Kairee scoffed in disgust and stuck her head out to try and hear. Of course, she didn't pick up a word.

"You're messing with me. I can't believe my people would sell themselves like that!" she hissed.

"Believe it, Antar. People would do damn near anything for money. It's a natural rule of the Universe," Jack retorted, patting Kairee on the back. She snickered and looked down at Alexander. "Alright, Turian strippers aside, what do we do now, Bat-Boy?"

Alexander cleared his throat, ducking back and flicking his wrist to reveal his hidden blade. He lowered his arm to the ground and began to draw shapes in the dirt. "The O's represent the Guards, and the X's represent us. Kairee, you shot down the sniper. Climb up and see if we have an entrance, like a chimney or a glass sun-roof. If we can't get in, try to find someplace where we can hear conversation inside." Alex explained. "Jack, run into the forest. Start screaming, send out Biotic shockwaves, blow stuff up. Draw their attention. When they arrive, rip their heads off!"

"Hell ****ing yeah! Some action around here!" Jack cheered, immediately dashing off into the forest.

Drawing a line from Alexander's X, to a group of O's, Alex himself spoke once more. "Obviously they have to use their brains at some point. We're going to have a few left behind to keep watch. I'll dispose of them myself. When the Perimeter is cleared, we can signal Shepard to land, bust down the door, and take Bruce down!"

"And that's a reason I love you so much. You come up with the devious plans and the daring escapes," Kairee said, placing her Turian mouth on Alexander's cheek, of course after she pulled his hood down. "Alright, I'm headed up," she said, pulling Alex's hood back up. She then turned and dashed up the wall, jumping back and grabbing onto the roof, hauling herself up and rolling onto the roof.

Jack: "I will destroy you!"
The woman known as Subject Zero raced through the thick foliage of the Sanves forests, hollering at the top of her lungs to draw as much attention as possible, throwing waves of Biotic Energy at the trees, causing them to split and fall.

"TIMBAAAAHHHH!" she screamed, leaping five feet into the air, and with a charge of biotic energy, roundhouse kicked a massive tree, splitting it down the middle with a clean cut produced by biotic and kinetic energy. Right on cue, too. A patrol of Blue Suns, had arrived on the scene. The kicked tree leaned to its side, and with an ominous cracking sound, plummeted to the earth, smashing three mercs like pancakes with a loud splat.

"Holy ****, I didn't know screwing around with trees would be so fun!" Jack taunted, using her biotics to painfully warp several other mercenaries, throwing them into the sky as their molecules were torn apart. A hail of bullets was unleashed upon her as Jack flung herself into the air, then using her powers to crash into the ground, releasing a nova that shattered the mercenaries' shields, armor, and bones. Only one survived, and not for long as Jack charged towards him and threw her hands around his neck. Her biotics flared up, and with one final roar, Jack sent a small shockwave down her arms, through her hands, and into the poor mercenaries head. Jack released the now dead merc and inspected her handiwork. "I guess helmets aren't as safe as they say…" she jokes, shaking her head. She stepped over the mercenary's caved-in skull and wandered off.

Alexander: Traditional Assassinations
Alexander peeked around the corner. There were five guards left over. They were sparsely arranged, spread too thin. This was good!
One was at the campfire, two were at the picnic table, one was standing at the door, and the last one was on the outskirts, hanging out by a tree.

No matter what he did, he'd be noticed by the guards at the door. The saw the entire camp. Crouching low, he moved into the forest, tracing the perimeter until he reached the guard by the tree. The mercs by the door were still keeping watch. Alexander took a deep breath, picked up a small stone, and stood up.

Within the span of five seconds, Alexander whirled to the left and with his right hand, hurled the stone past the mercs by the door, drawing their attention long enough for his next move. He spun rapidly in the opposite direction, and with his left arm, flicked his wrist and buried his hookblade in the mercenary's throat, yanking him into the foliage and concealing the body there. His arms were crossed in an X as he finished his attack. Quickly putting his arms back to his sides, he pressed himself back up against the tree.
"One down," he murmured to himself.

Vigilantly, he drew his M11 Suppressor and aimed at the heads of the guard by the door. "Six shots…" he reminded himself mentally as he pulled the trigger. The guard dropped dead, but hit the ground audibly enough to draw unwanted attention.

"****!" Alex hissed as one Batarian readied his M15 Vindicator.

Thinking fast, Alexander jumped out of cover and made a mad dash for the guards at the picnic table. As they stood up, Alexander jumped onto the table and brought both blades into their heads, killing them instantly. He soared into the air and drew his pistol once more, sending two bullets towards his target. One missed, and one landed in the Batarian's neck, snapping his brain stem.

With a mid-air barrel roll, Alexander touched down on the ground, stumbling slightly as the recoil threw him off. A good landing, besides that.

"Perimeter cleared," Alexander said into his communicator. Jack simply gave an "okay".

"I know, I watched. Another reason I love you: You carry out your devious plans in the most stylish fashion. The Legends would be proud of you, Alex," Kairee said, waving to Alexander. Sure enough, she was just sitting on the roof, admiring Alexander's skill.

"You think it's enough to survive a suicide mission?" Alexander inquired.

"Don't even think like that, Alex. We're both going to get out of this alive!" Kairee scorned.

"Hey, don't forget about the all-powerful b**** here. I just chopped a tree in half with my foot!" shouted Jack.

Kairee: A Stealthy Entrance…?
As Alexander's assassination spree came to an end, Kairee stood up and searched around the room once more. Out of pure boredom she began humming a tune she heard at the Halloween dance, finding it rather catchy. She found it odd that the cabin was of Human architectural make, rather than ASARI, considering that this was an Asari colony… Smoke was rising from the chimney.

"Alright the Chimney's a no-go. Someone lit a fire and I do not feel like becoming a Turian Torch," Kairee warned through her communicator.

"And I don't feel like playing Santa Claus today," Alexander quipped, searching the perimeter mindlessly.

"What's that?" the Turian inquired as she kicked the chimney.

"Doesn't matter," Alexander responded, "Can you find any… I don't know, loose boards? Glass Sun-Roofs? Can you hear anything?"

"No Sun-Roofs, but there are a couple loose boards. I think there's a balcony right here… Nobody's on it. Haha, morons… this would have made a wonderful sniping perch."
"Try the Balcony?" Jack suggested as she made her way to Alexander's location.

Kairee performed a handstand, gracefully swinging down from the roof and onto the balcony. She turned to see what must have been twenty or thirty mercs, all congregating in different parts of the room. Not one noticed her, yet. Her face contorted with shock and worry as she reversed her previous motion, swinging back up onto the roof. "No, no, no, no, no, no!" she stammered.

"Sliding glass doors?" Alexander inquired with a low chortle.

"Sliding glass doors." Kairee repeated, lacking the inquisitive tone.

"I told John that the perimeter was cleared. The shuttle should arrive soon,"

"Good. Hey, there were some loose boards over here…" Kairee mentioned as she began tugging on the board, ripping it off. It revealed an empty closet. "A stroke of luck!" she added gleefully. "I'm going in. There's a closet or something here. I should be able to eavesdrop."

"Good luck, baby," Alexander said with a smile.

"You too, honey," Kairee replied, blushing slightly.

"You may kiss the bride," Jack quipped, rolling her eyes.

Kairee shook her head and hopped down the hole in the boards. Upon standing, she looked in the direction of the door and saw that it was open.

"Aw ****…" she groaned, narrowing her eyes before a hand was cupped around her mouth. A monomolecular CQC knife was pressed against her neck.

"Sssshhhh…" hissed a sadistically calm voice. Boy, what an oxymoron.

Kairee felt something wet pressed against her mouth and nose and, eventually having to breath, she instinctively gasped for breath, only to welcome sweet unconsciousness.

Her captor only gave a deep snicker as he stepped over her and dragged her out for the Mercs to see. "Take her weapons. Tie her up, or something. I don't care what you do as long as we can interrogate her later. Thanks again for the Turian drug."

Complications
An hour went by, without any word from John or Kairee. Considering Kairee only stopped communications recently, Alexander began to worry.

"Kairee hasn't responded. You think she was…" Alexander tried to say, wincing at the notion.

"Hey, she may be a total Girl Scout, but she knows what she's doing," Jack replied in an attempt to console the young Human assassin. "Besides, I want to know what's taking John so long!"

"Probably the woods are making the signal choppy? I don't know. But, thanks, Jack, I thought for a second that…"

Suddenly, mid-sentence, a loud cry of anger emanated from the Cabin.

"For the last time, and this is definitely the last time I'm asking nicely… Who SENT YOU!?" said the voice.

Alexander glared at Jack irritably, and she threw her hands up in surrender. Her face seemed to say, "whups!"

Running up the Cabin's walls, Alexander ran across the roof to find the hole that was left behind. Without thinking, he jumped in. This time the door was closed. No signs of resistance. Carefully, Alexander opened the door and stepped through, readying his M11 Suppressor. He only expected about ten or so Mercenaries, but by the time he reached the stairs, one creak was all that was needed to seal his fate. All 30 mercenaries whirled around, assault rifles pointed at the assassin. A few lasers dotted his chest and head. A couple of snipers were in the crowd.

As tempting as it was to simply charge in and unleash a Nova, Alexander discovered he could not as one man in the crowd snatched a barely conscious Kairee up. He wrapped one arm around her neck, and held the barrel of an M77 Paladin to the side of Kairee's head. "One move, and I turn your girlfriend into a smear on the floor!" he cautioned.

"You Bruce McCarthy?" Alexander asked, pistol still raised defiantly.

"I don't know, who are you?" Bruce said in a mock Brooklyn accent.

"What is this, the Godfather? We're not mob bosses here!" Alex spat, knowing fully well that the accent was heavily exaggerated with an Italian flair.

"Yeah, I'm Bruce McCarthy," Bruce replied, teasing the trigger of his pistol.

"First of all, how did you find out about us?"

Bruce laughed like a maniac before continuing, "You really thought that you guys could chat it up on your radio on an unsecured channel and not be noticed?"

Alex blinked, before slapping his face with the palm of his hand.

"Aaaarrrgghh… Novice mistake!" he whined.

"Ha, you got that right," Bruce jibed, "And your lady friend here keeps telling me that Commander Shepard sent you guys. Shepard's dead, my friend. Me and Wilson helped sabotage the Lazarus Project. Those mechs should have destroyed everyone, even that smug little Test-Tube baby, Miranda."

"Why are you doing this?!" Alexander questioned, hands tensing up on his M11.

"I know it was the Collectors, my friend. The Collectors killed Shepard. Think about it, they were out in the Terminus Systems looking for Geth. One small colony disappears without signs of resistance, four ships go down in the area, and then the fifth: The Normandy meets her doom over Alchera. I read all the files and put together the puzzle. The Collectors want Humans for some reason. I'm a human myself. I don't want to die, or be some mythological monster's experiment! If I'm going to do something to keep myself alive as long as I can, I might as well gain power from it! Keep the freaks away from me even longer!" Bruce began shouting.

"So why take records on Shepard's Cybernetics if you believed him to be dead? Your story doesn't add up!"

"Because, regardless of the precautions I took, I figured it'd be a good idea. I wanted to see who'd be willing to pay the most to protect me if Shepard died, and who to barter with if he lives!"

"Sir, that's got to be the worst plan I've ever heard," Alex responded, shaking his head slowly. The Stupid was painful.

"It's a perfect plan! Shepard dies? Then I sell a ****ton of new technology. I can find a way to pay off the Collectors. Shepard lives? Then I trade technology and information to the Collectors in exchange for preserving my life!"

"The Collectors aren't going to keep their word, Bruce," warned the Assassin.

"Of course they are. You are trying my last nerve, good sir!" Bruce boomed.

"Where the hell is Jack?!" Alexander muttered to himself. With his heightened senses, he could here something outside. Either Jack was preoccupied or briefing John and co.

"In case you were wondering, I used a Turian date-rape drug on your friend here. It would be a shame to see it go to waste as a simple sedative…" Bruce growled, trying to find a weakness in Alexander. What he didn't realize is that he just made a horrible mistake.

"I swear to God if you so much as touch her…" Alexander said, before being rudely cut off.

"I'll tear you limb from limb, I've heard that one before. I was going to throw her to some of our Turian mercs. Like hell I'm risking an allergic reaction from a Dextro. It boggles my mind why you're willing to risk it," Bruce laughed, shoving Kairee to the side for a Turian Blue Suns merc to grab her. "My reward for… whatever it was you gave me."

Alexander's right eye twitched, before he swerved his gun arm over to the Turian's direction.

"Risking the mission for a girl?" Bruce taunted, "My, my, for somebody who thinks of me as the foolish one, you've got some pretty bad strategies yourself!"

Alexander was now conflicted. The Angel and Devil were on his shoulders, metaphorically speaking. He turned his gun on Bruce, then back to the Turian, then in between the two, debating with himself what to do.

"Can't decide? I'll make it easier on you," Bruce chuckled, "Daxian, take her out back. Whatever you decide to do with her is fine by me," he added with a dismissive wave of his hand. Daxian dragged Kairee to the back door with little difficulty.

Alexander snarled, ready to attack, but relaxed slightly as he heard the door open.

A gun was pressed against the back of Bruce's head. "I don't quite like that idea, McCarthy," Ashley Williams proclaimed.

"No bloody way…" Bruce murmured, refusing to turn. A few Blue Suns turned and aimed their weapons at Ashley, as John and Kaidan approached.

"Duck," John cautioned with a sly smirk.

"What?" Bruce inquired as the three crouched down. In the distance, Bruce noticed Jack, who was running towards the door like she was insane, which, technically she was. With a victorious roar, she leapt forwards and over the heads of John's squad, causing a contained biotic explosion that swept the mercenaries' off their feet.

"Now!" Ashley bellowed, raising her M55 Argus and opening fire on the Mercenaries. John and Kaidan followed. A good number of them escaped the slaughter and went to find cover.

"Haha! Like fish in a barrel, no?" Kaiden commented, overloading the shields of a Captain.

Alexander slid down the railing and lunged on top of a Blue Suns Commander, flicking his wrist and plunging his blade into the back of the merc's head. He fired off three shots, hitting each target, before sliding in a new thermal clip, putting the pistol away.

"I need more firepower!" Alex shouted. In response, Jack threw him her shotgun and switched to her sidearm. A mercenary tried to rush him, with a Monomolecular CQC knife in hand. Raising his arm sideways, Alex pulled the trigger and shattered his assailant's head.

"The Hell did Bruce go!?" John yelled, looking around as the chaotic firefight continued.

Almost automatically, Ashley twirled around to see Bruce making a mad-dash for the Shuttle. "You're not getting away!" she shrieked, disengaging from the firefight and jumping out of the door.

"Ashley, recover the data!" John demanded.

Jack and Alexander both made eye contact amidst the melee and nodded. Each of them sent a large shockwave in each other's direction, watching with glee as they swept up a group of mercs, then colliding with each other to cause another explosion. "Haha! Fatality!" Alexander jested as he rolled to the side to evade a surprise attack, quick-drawing his pistol and shooting his target in the crotch and then the head in two quick bursts.

Meanwhile, Bruce McCarthy was halfway to the shuttle…

"See you in another two years, Williams!" Bruce taunted, picking up his pace.

Ashley froze in her tracks, knowing she couldn't catch up in time. Instead, she reached back and grasped her M92 Mantis. "Ring out the False, Ring in the true…" Ashley said to herself, lining up a shot. She took a deep breath and held it as the crosshairs met her target's back. She fired a round and smirked as it made contact, causing Bruce to scream in agony as he hit the ground hard. "Alfred Lord Tennyson…" Ashley murmured, reminding herself of who originally said that quote.

Walking over to Bruce, she smiled and knelt down over him. She flipped him over and searched his coat for a datapad with information regarding John's cybernetics. "This is it?" Ashley thought to herself as she scanned his Omnitool. More data on Project Lazarus, including who worked on it, how much it cost, what they were trying to do and why.

Bruce let out a bloody gurgle before snickering smugly, "You have what you want… I know how much you despise Cerberus… take the data for yourself. Give it to the Alliance… Shepard is being controlled, Ashley. They put a control chip in him. He'll just betray you when this is all over!" he tried to say, coughing up a bit of blood. Ashley gave a look of disgust as it dribbled down his cheeks.

"I don't believe you," she replied with a low growl.

"Why should you? I'm just giving you advice… warning you… you don't have to heed the warning, no…" Bruce groaned, turning over and coughing more blood onto the ground.

"Even if it is true, I'm fighting to defeat the Collectors. We'll deal with John if he's really being controlled. Besides, he's got a sister who isn't being manipulated," Ashley reasoned, in an attempt to rationalize what she was being told. Truth be told, she was severely conflicted. She could keep the data and review it later, but there was a chance she'd be allowed to see the data after turning it in to John and the others.

"It's your… choice, Williams…" Bruce replied, attempting a wicked cackle. He would remain his egotistical self until his final demise. He refused to give Ashley the pleasure of her victory.

"And I choose to trust John until somebody confirms your story," Ashley said, standing up and aiming her Sniper Rifle at his face. "Rest in Peace, McCarthy," she said as she pulled the trigger. Turning back towards the Cabin, she placed her sniper back on her back and ran inside. The rest of the mercs were dead. To Ashley's horror, when she turned to her left, she saw Alexander slumped against the wall. John and Kaidan were knelt besides him, applying medigel to his wounds. He was resisting them, trying to stand up.

"Let me go!" he shouted, hissing in pain. His biotics were flaring up in anger.

"You're wounded, calm down and just tell us what happened!" Kaidan responded, pushing Alexander back to the wall.

"They got her, Kairee, they drugged her. Bruce ordered some Turian to get rid of her, she's outside, let me go!" Alexander roared, blasting Kaidan and John backwards with a Nova. He picked himself up and began limping over to the back door. In a rage, he blew it open with a biotic shockwave. The Turian from before had not joined the fight, choosing instead to hide like a coward. Kairee was tied to a support beam, her upper body armor had been torn off recklessly, her sniper rifle's barrel snapped in half. Her bracers were lying on a table to the side, out of reach. This meant she didn't have her hidden blades. The Turian merc was behind said support beam, holding a knife to her throat. "You let me go and she lives!" he said, in an attempt to bargain with Alex.

Kairee had pretty much regained full awareness at this point, but was visibly in pain. A headache from the drugging. Alexander raised his pistol, but couldn't find a way to make a clean shot. Suddenly, as the merc's two fingers loosened their grip on the knife, Kairee raised her foot into the air and slammed it down hard on her captor's own foot, breaking through the shields and armor. A cracking sound was heard as the Turian Blue Suns merc dropped his knife and cursed repeatedly in an unknown Turian dialect.

Alexander sprang into action, using his hidden blades to cut the ropes tying Kairee to the beam. Almost immediately after that, Kairee picked up the dropped knife and flourished it briefly before throwing it down into the mercenary's helmet. "Thanks for the rescue," she said, turning in Alexander's direction.

"Actually, you should thank Ashley for interrupting. Had she not shown up when she did, I'd have just charged in and gotten myself killed," Alexander replied with a laugh. "Are you hurt?"

"No, not really. I feel violated, and I'm totally living out the 'damsel in distress' cliché, but I'm not hurt," Kairee admitted, scratching her mandible nervously, "Let's just get off of this planet."

Assassin Mission Report: Mission Success
Alliance Traitor Bruce McCarthy, on the run for 2 years, has been killed on Sanves trying to sell data regarding the Lazarus Project to the Blue Suns. The Collectors were mentioned in Bruce's clichéd monologue. His logic was flawed, but further investigation is required to tie the Blue Suns with the Collectors. Better save than sorry. Data returned to Cerberus. Mutual Cooperation benefitted us both, as we were allowed to see non-classified information regarding the resurrection process. Could be useful in the future. Ashley Williams is now focused on the task at hand, having had history with the now deceased Bruce.

Cerberus Mission Report: Mission Success
Alliance/Cerberus traitor Bruce McCarthy killed on Sanves. Lazarus Project data recovered, Blue Suns mercenaries have been dealt with. Subject Nuovo, aka Alexander Clarke, mentioned that McCarthy spoke of a potential connection between the Collectors and John Shepard. With Bruce out of the way, Ashley William's mind is now cleared and she can focus on the mission.

Normandy SR2, 2185
"John!" Ashley said as she bumped into him on the way to the Armory. "I wanted to thank you for helping me take down Bruce!"

John smiled and shook her hand in a professional manner, "Hey, anything for an old friend, Ash," he replied.

"I'm ready and raring to go for this mission. I think I'm even looking forwards to this Suicide Mission. Not as stressful as you may believe!"

"Good to hear. Oh, and Miranda wanted to see you in her office downstairs. You're not in trouble, she just wants to have a conversation while she has the time," John said, stopping Ashley for a moment longer before walking off.

Downstairs, in the Mess Hall, Alexander, Kairee, and a few Crewmen were having a conversation over their meal.

"So you got hit with a biotic throw in the leg?" Crewman Hawthorne inquired, raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah. Nothing that bad, though. My shields were up, but it felt like I got kicked by a horse at the time," Alexander confirmed, rubbing his thigh and wincing at the memory.

"Oh that's an exaggeration!" Hawthorne laughed, "If it felt like a kick from a horse, it'd probably be broken!"

"I'll believe that, but I refuse to believe you killed five men in under 30 seconds," Crewman Rolston chided.

"No, I actually did. Maybe in a day or two I'll demonstrate for the whole crew, if you're interested. I'll need training V.I.s though!"

"So, Kairee, how are you? I heard they drugged you at some point. Are you alright?" Crewman Goldstein inquired worriedly.

"Been better. I have this slight headache, though, and I'm still pretty tired," Kairee replied, "smiling" at the Crewman's sympathy.

"And you, Alex?" Goldstein added. She knew that it was no rumour that the two were together.

"I'm perfectly fine besides the leg," Alexander said, placing both hands on the table.

An awkward silence filled the mess hall for a brief moment…

"Alright, I'm a piping hot mess," Alexander finally confessed, running a hand through his hair, "Have you ever experienced something... y'know, actually LIVE IT, and even while you're living it, you just can't explain it? I mean, Heroes coming back from the dead? Collectors? Genetic Memory? Assassins working together with Templars? Hey, I'm just a man whose Ancestors knew how to hold a weapon exceptionally well!" he laughed, shaking his head to show his disinclination towards the mission.

"You really feel that way? I've seen you in action. We're going to give the Collectors true Hell with your help!" Crewman Rolston said in praise.

"Thanks for the compliments, Mr. Rolston, but I'm just lucky to have squeaked in when I did."

"Well, all of the negativity aside, I enjoyed our conversation," Kairee announced, pushing her seat back. Before she got up, however, she leaned to the side and whispered in Alexander's ear. "I'm going to go take a shower, mmkay?"

Alexander turned his seat around the face Kairee as she stood up. "Alright, then," Alex casually replied, patting the armrests.

Kairee gave a sly smirk before turning and walking away. She took a few steps and stopped, moving her upper body around to face Alexander again, "And you're taking one with me," she added. A couple of Crewmen snickered as Alexander blushed slightly.

Alexander clapped his hands together once, looking around the room. "Even better!" he said, dismissing the stares from the other Crew members. He stood and followed after Kairee.

"Hey, take pictures!" Hawthorne called after him. Alexander did not turn or react verbally. He thrust his fist into the air with his hidden blade sprung between his index and ring finger as he walked off.

((Dirty Jokes lol. That last convo was actually based off of a conversation between Tony Stark and Pepper in Iron Man 3. So this is one of my better chapters, I'm positive of that. I write so much better when I'm not restrained by censors. It's also why this story is M rated.))