A/N: I thank everyone again for the support especially those who have left a review and let me know some of the things that I've done wrong or missed. I've been rushing to get these chapters out for a certain reason and I'm not proof reading enough and things are being edited out so Theodur and KE12 I apologize for my rant and thank you for listening to my crap.

And has anyone played the new assassins creed game. Nice little Garrus shout out to him as the guy under the desk is doing his calibrations.

Hope you all enjoy and as always feedback is appreciated

Audioslave

"Light My Way"

In my hour of need

On a sea of grey

On my knees I pray to you

Help me find the dawn

Of the dying day

Won't you light my way... Won't you light my way... Won't you light my way ...Won't you light my way

A bullet is a man

From time to time he strays I compare my life to this

To this I relate

And I'm willing To listen to your answers

And I'm not ashamed

To tell you I need you today

So when I'm lost Or I'm tired and depraved

Or when my high buller mind

Goes astray won't you light my way

Won't you light my way ...Won't you light my way

"The Quib Quib? That doesn't make any sense, that ship was destroyed during the war!" Shepard says in disbelief at the news her and Liara had been going over for the past few moments. There wasn't much to look at, as most of their agents hadn't responded back after the initial reports were sent but just the thought of a Quarian ship loaded with civilians on it exploding was making them both a little nervous and impatient as to what had happened. The only thing they both want to know was if Tali was alright. Everyone they had tried to contact either didn't answer or said they couldn't talk due to the recent events unfolding and they were both becoming more frustrated as the moments passed.

"Apparently the Quarians repurposed and rebuilt most of their damaged ships after the war and they renamed that particular ship the Quib Quib. I was only able to get a small amount of information on it but from what Feron had sent me they needed to rebuild any ship that they could due to the fact that Rannoch was not ready to be lived on yet. I guess we will know more as time goes on but I do hope Tali is ok." Liara says turning towards Shepard.

Their discussion on Feron that morning brought up some unpleasant memories and with the Drell offering his assistance, Liara didn't want the same thing to happen each time his name was brought up. Shepard had finally revealed that she truly didn't care if she spoke to him or not but getting the visions of that time out of her head was not going to be an easy thing to do. Liara told her love that this was all apart of their healing process and to give everything time and accept Ferons's assistance as just that. As soon as he found out that Liara was pregnant he even offered to take over for her which is a topic still being discussed. Now is not the time to be thinking of issues that they had went through, now there is a crisis and both of them want to go and help but there is no way for them to get off of the planet. The shuttle they were given by Ashley was limited as far as space flight yet neither of them had any idea of what they could possibly do to help anyway.

Neither one of them wanted to risk anything happening to each other, especially with Liara being pregnant and Shepard still recovering. They had been in a recent firefight but that was different, they were forced. This was supposed to be a time for them to enjoy each other and up until recently it was but with the recent devastation they both were worried Shepard would be called back in under council order. Even though Liara had basically told Hackett and Tevos that her love was done with all of it, nothing was official. They both discussed it further after Shepard had woken up and as much as Kerry had always been the one at the front of everything, she had to start thinking about her own well being as well as her families. Being in the Alliance Navy, an N7 graduate and a Spectre was something that the human took great pride in but having a family was something that trumped it all. None of the accolades and medals could compare to the fact that she had a family again. Hers was taken away in the blink of an eye and the more she thought about them the more she realized that making them proud and doing good by their memory with all her military accomplishments were one thing but having a spouse and a child was something completely different and that is all her parents ever wanted for her. With all that being said though both Liara and Shepard knew the commander would jump back into action if it meant helping one of their friends and Liara would be right next to her.

"I just hope Tali wasn't on that ship." Shepard says, her voice cracking a little at the thought of her friend who had become a sister to them both, dying." And I seriously need to have a talk with someone about this 'renaming ships' thing. First the Normandy then the Quib Quib, I love my ship but they might as well have called it the Arizona or the Titanic." Kerry says to lighten the mood a little. She knew it wouldn't work but getting worked up about things that were out of their control wasn't going to help anyone. "Plus that's a horrible name the Quarians came up with anyway...I mean who..."

"Goddess no!" The Asari nearly screams as the new reports come in, tears stream down her face, not believing the recent findings.

X

X

X

X

Palaven; a planet dubbed "A silver world of fortresses and fire" due to its poor shielding from the sun. A planet that had a strong military, historic greatness and a proud people. Today is a day that tribute was paid to the fallen of the war and Garrus Vakarian, war hero and colleague of Commander Kerry Shepard wished it was a day he could forget. After hearing from his sister that her and their father had successfully left their home planet relatively unharmed, his father was injured after they reached a place thought to have been a safe zone. As the door to the ship they were all on opened a group of husks attacked and he threw himself in front of everyone and saved everyone onboard. Before Garrus was able to get back to his family and his planet his father succumbed to his injuries but unlike his mothers funeral he made this one and he wished he could have spoken to him one last time.

His father was someone who believed in all Turians standing together, a man who had been a part of C-Sec and pushed for his son to follow in his footsteps and he did. Up until he met Shepard, Garrus had made his father proud and been the best officer he could be. Even with all his frustrations of being stonewalled with his investigation into Saren he still strived to be all that he could. Meeting Shepard gave him the freedom to follow his intuition and prove that the Turian Spectre was involved in something illegal and with the Commanders help, destroyed the rogue Spectre.

Even with all that being said and his son saving the galaxy from the initial Reaper attack, the Collectors and finally the Reaper invasion, Garrus's father never agreed with his son leaving C-Sec and following the human. He had told his son that humans were no good and to get involved with one would be a horrible career move. That statement was given even more merit when it was reported that the council had not backed what Shepard had said about Saren and he continued to push for his son to leave the Normandy and return to his roots. If Garrus no longer wanted to be a C-Sec officer than he'd come back home and join the Turian military.

The younger Vakarian went against his fathers wishes once again after the ship he was on was attacked and the Commander thought dead. He tried to reach out to Garrus and convince him to come home to no avail and lost track of his son as his son found himself on Omega. Even after resurfacing alongside the human Spectre, contact was made by his sister, informing him that their mother was ill and may not live but it didn't deter Garrus from choosing to stand by his human friends side.

The elder Vakarian became furious and all but banished his son after his wife's funeral. Knowing Garrus was out fighting for those who couldn't, protecting the innocent, it didn't matter. He disobeyed one of a few things a Turian never did, family. Growing up each of them were taught at a young age the importance of loved ones as well as their commitments to the Turian people as a whole. Three things were ingrained into each youngling; follow orders, never abandon your post by fighting until your last breath and protect and honor your loved ones at all cost.

Not coming home for his mothers funeral put more tension into the family that was already at odds with each other. But leaving with the human Spectre when their home world was under attack sent the elder Vakarian into a frenzy and Solana, Garrus's sister became caught in the middle of the father and son rift. Solana desperately tried to reason with the both of them to the point of contacting the Alliance Navy and the Councilors office on the Citadel to try and get a hold of Shepard but it didn't work and Garrus was less than helpful when she asked him to see if the first human spectre would grant him leave, at least temporarily. Garrus's only response to his sister was that the Commadwr was under enough pressure to save the galaxy and that his family problems needed to wait. Solana held no grudge against Shepard at first but after seeing Garrus at their fathers 'Lay to rest ceremony' all of her frustrations erupted.

"You just had to follow her didn't you?! That human, the one who turned her back on her own kind...she could have saved everyone without your help. You had a duty to us... To your people! I had to watch both of our parents die...I had to give father excuse after excuse as to why you weren't here." Solana had told him after everyone had left. Garrus was standing alone looking out over the vast landscape of his home planet trying to come to grips with all the devastation that had taken place and as soon as she had him alone expressed all her frustrations and fears.

"I didn't even know if you were alive or not. You sent no messages after mother died... None! I stood by and fought with our people...watched as our father threw himself in front of one of those...abominations to save us...save me." Her voice barely above a whisper, loosing the accusatory tone, to one filled with sadness as all of her memories over the past few years played out.

Garrus could only stand there and look at his sister and listen to her words but said nothing. What could he say? His sister knew what he had done; saved the galaxy but he wasn't there for his family and this had been the first time in years that brother and sister had seen each other. Part of him knew that if he were to have informed Shepard she would have allowed him to leave and take care of his family, be with his mother during her last days but thought if he would have left and something were to happen again that he'd never forgive himself. He loved Shepard like a sister, more actually but as his heart belonging to Tali long before the reapers attacked, Kerry's belonged to Liara.

He longed for his Quarian lover to be with him but she had her own responsibilities to attend to and they had both promised each other to meet up when they could. Tali had expressed her deepest sympathies to her Turian upon hearing of his father passing and pleaded to other Admirals to let her head to Palavin before she helped the Alliance. They refused mainly due to the fact that the Quarians were finally going to be accepted into the galactic civilization and even have a seat on the council so personal matters needed to be put on hold. They were only able to spend a few days together as both of their planets were summoning them back.

They spent the entire time together, Garrus waiting on her hand and foot since she was still injured and had an untreated infection. Knowing the Quarian quite well, Garrus knew exactly how to help her but now is different. Now comfort was needed for each other as they did when Tali's father was found dead and Garrus's mother had passed. That was when they became close and now the same comfort was needed. They each had there own people to help in one aspect or another and as much as Tali was wanted here by his side he knew it was not an option, not with his sister admonishing everything they had all done. He knew eventually Solana would insult his girlfriend and as much as he wanted to lash out at her for attacking Shepard, he held his tongue but doubted he'd be able to do the same if Tali was dragged into this.

Solana was hurting and he couldn't think of a single thing to say to her. What was the right thing to say? He let her vent all her frustrations out on him and took any and all verbal punishment she threw his way. Solara was right, he wasn't there for his family even though he did all he could to ensure their survival and he's just happy to have a family and a planet to come home to. Convincing his sister that he was truly staying was another matter all together.

"Don't you have anything to say to me? After all this time and everything that has happened I deserve something." Solara continues as tears stream down her face. She felt horrible for some of the things she had said to Garrus, most were what their father had said in the past and she knew he was hurting too but felt she deserved an answer.

"Solara, the only answer I can give you is that I did what was needed to be done. Yes I went against fathers wishes but I did it so we could have a galaxy and a planet to come home too. I know my going with Shepard was not the 'Turian thing to do' according to our father but if I didn't watch her back and keep her as safe as I could then none of us would be standing here today. She risked everything to include her bondmate and their baby to make sure we had a future. I wish our parents were here to meet her, so i can show them who she is... I wish I could have been here more than I was but it's not how it played out."

Finally receiving a nod of acceptance at what he just said they both stare off into the distance of their once proud and beautiful home world. Almost five billion died on Palaven; the majority of their population gone within a short amount of time but they'd rebuild and recover as one.

Hearing someone approaching from behind they both turn around to see Primarch Victus and another Turian, Garrus recognized walking towards them. Every Turian who was still alive attended the ceremony to include the Turian Councilor. He barely made eye contact with Garrus and quickly left after the ceremony was over. Vakarian was relieved a little due to the fact that he doubted he could keep his tongue or his fists to himself while talking to the Turian representative.

Victus was different though. He was an amazing leader on the battlefield and as much as he did not want the position that was cast upon him after Fedorian was killed, he excelled at moving the talks along and getting the Krogan support everyone needed. Much like Garus, Victus did not want to leave Menae but knew if he didn't and help was not received then Palaven would have been lost. He chose to keep his position after the war and continued to be a voice for and to his people. Having firsthand knowledge of what would be needed from all other races in order for them to recover, he was more then capable of leading any and all discussions and convince whomever was in attendance to listen, apparently his unorthodox style on the battlefield that won him praise from his subordinates, carried over to his new life as a politician. He never would openly admit it but he enjoyed being able to tell the council to kiss his ass without actually saying it. Victus never thought he'd see the day when politics would be enjoyable but as long as he could serve his people in one fashion or the other he was content with whatever position he was in. He currently hoped that the Turian in front of him would be able to appreciate his new role.

"Garus, it's good to see you and I'm sorry about your father...he will be missed."

"Thank you Primarch." Garrus says still a little unsure as to why he was being approached by the Turian leader. He had spent some time talking to him aboard the Normandy but with the war going on most of their conversations were limited. Still, they both had a mutual respect for one another. After introductions are made between Solana and the retired general Septimus Oraka, Victus continued.

"I know this is a difficult time for you and your family Vakarian but I wanted to see what your future plans were?"

"I haven't really thought about it really. I just got back a little while ago and wanted to spend as much time as I could with my sister. Why?"

"Well after some consideration we want to offer you a high ranking position in our military. With your background and status, you have the respect of the soldiers already and I think the title of General suits you. We need good leaders in this time of need. As I'm sure you know there are millions of people suffering and need help."

Being stunned for a second into silence as the words spoken begin to sink in, Garrrus can only stare blankly back at the Primarch. He had lead people before on Omega and it turned into a disaster and he began to doubt that he was the right person for the job but the Primarch was waiting for an answer. He was about to decline until Oraka makes a noise of contempt.

The retired Turian General did not agree with the decision made and hearing the Primarch make it official only made it more difficult to stomach. Garrus hadn't served with his people. He had abandoned them in the middle of everything to fight next to a Spectre and apparently that was all that was needed to receive a high ranking position. He didn't care who Garrus was and especially didn't like the human regardless of who she was. Victus left as well but to get help, not to make sure his name would be written in the stars.

"Something to add to this conversation, Septimus?" Victus asks. He knew the retired Generals stance on this but didn't care considering what Oraka had been doing during the war. He had survived the war and since he was a hero in the Turian army the Hierarchy decided to use his connections as much as they could. Unfortunately for Victus, Oraka had been assigned to aid the Primarch.

"It's nothing." Septimus responds.

"No I want to hear what you have to say." Garrus says as he moves in front of the retired General. He knew who he was as well, since the fight with Saren, when the lowly Turian had issues with the Consort. Garrus had a feeling what he was planning on saying and was in no mood for his crap. His choice to say no is slowly receding as the more he starts to think about it the more he realizes people like Oraka do not need to be involved in any of the recovery efforts. He is only interested in one thing, money.

"Fine...honestly you've been around humans for too long...I just think the position would be better suited for someone who didn't run from the fight on Palaven and Manae. The fight and the glory was here not running off with some human. What's to say he won't up and leave again when his whore comes calling again..."

Hitting the retired General gave Garrus a feeling he hadn't had in a long time...not since he got his revenge on Sidonis on the Citadel. He would have continued assaulting the other Turian but his sister and the Primarch had grabbed a hold of him in an effort to calm him down. It worked but Garrus was not about to let him off by just knocking him on his ass.

"You say another word and I'll put a bullet in your skull! Yes I left to help fight but where the fuck were you? On the citadel sitting on your ass collecting money... Waisting Shepards time so Aria didn't put a bullet in your sorry ass. So don't you dare say another word about Shepard or anyone else." Garrus was seething with anger and if it wasn't for his sister standing there he would have ended the retired Generals life. He turns his attention to Victus and gives his answer.

"Primarch, I will do whatever is necessary to help in Palavens recovery as long as that two legged rectum isn't around." He tells the Primarch as he points to Septimus. Receiving only a smile and a nod from Victus he turns towards his sister who had an amused look.

"Two legged rectum?" She asks, not having a clue as to where her brother had heard an expression like that.

Shrugging his shoulders as his mandibles flap in amusement he laughs a little at how much Shepard and all of her weird sayings had rubbed off on him. "He's right, I have been around humans too long."

"One more thing General Vakarian." Victus says solemnly. "There's been an incident and the Alliance and the Quarians are asking for our help in the matter."

X

X

X

X

The debris was everywhere and as Ashley looks out towards the wreckage of the Quarian ship she can only hope and pray that everyone onboard is alive but with the devastation she is witnessing she doubts anyone could have. The Normandy's crew was lucky they had such an experienced pilot in Joker considering some of the pieces from the wreckage were three times the size of any dreadnought the Alliance had in its arsenal. After they avoided colliding with what was left of the Quib Quib they had contacted the rest of the ships that were supposed to follow them after they went through the relay. The Normandy was supposed to make sure that it was safe to go through the relay and eventually they'd communicate back and let the remaining ships know to come through. No one thought that anyone would try and take out one of their ships but with the majority of Earths civilization on each of the Quarian ships no one was taking any chances. The remaining ships were told to hold there current positions.

After the comm link disconnected from the remaining Admirals she ordered a scan of the entire area for any ships that may have attacked the Quarian ship and any possible escape pods that may have been jettisoned. Ashley doubted there was enough time to get anyone off the ship before it disintegrated, since they had been directly behind them and it hurt to think about all that was lost. She made a decision and sent over a squad of her Marines, some where he friends, one was her lover and then there was Tali, she was the worst to think about. She was a sister in arms and went from a scared 'kid' when they first met to an Admiral in the short amount of time that Williams had known her. She was there for everyone, was one of the few who followed Shepard during the fight against the Collectors, pushed past all of the pain that her fathers death caused and her people accusing her of treason. She survived the suicide mission, the Reaper war and was there for Shepard at the hospital when the Commander needed her the most and pushed past all of her injuries to make sure she was there on the Citadel, rescuing Shepard and Liara. Now with the scans EDI had performed returning no signs of life or escape pods that had been used she had apparently died before she had a chance to truly live.

Between the almost half a million humans plus the Quarian crew onboard the Quib Quib the death toll was almost as large as the first reports that had came back after the Reapers attacked. As mush as Spectre Ashley Williams could contain her emotions the weight of her recent decisions were too much and before she lost all of her composure she leaves the bridge to go up to her cabin.

Who was she kidding, it wasn't her command or her ship, it was still Shepard's. She was the true Commander of the famous ship and the more she began to think about everything she began to believe that she wasn't the right person for the job. That person was the next in a long line of people she had to contact to include the Quarian Admirals before there was a mass panic on the rest of the ships still waiting, to inform them all that they needed to set different coordinates, that the relay they went through had been damaged somehow and it wasn't safe. It would buy only a short period of time but it had to be enough so she could contact Kerry and ask her for her help. It wasn't fair for her to do this as she was still recovering but Ashley's confidence in herself as a leader had diminished considerably.

Hackett would be the next and final call letting him know he needed to reinstate the first human Spectre and to tell him as well as the rest of the Council she was stepping down. She knew it wasn't the correct decision and she may just need some time but time is something they don't have the luxury of having and once the rest of the Quarian fleet finds out about the destroyed ship she knew she'd have to make another choice and deal with the panic that would happen as a result and did not want that on her conscience if something else were to go wrong. Everything was turning into Vimire and Earth with Vega all over again. Kaidan wasn't her fault directly but it might as well have been and Vega...he had survived the war just like Tali only to be killed afterwards and for what? The answer wasn't coming to her as the only thing Williams can think of while on the lift to her cabin is what would her grandfather think of her? Shaking her head to clear her thoughts the doors to the lift open and as she walks through the door she nearly walks into her mother who was coming to find her.

"Ashley what happened, why are we stopped?"

"There was an accident but I need to contact Hackett and Shepard about all of this I need to let them know what's going on. I need..."

"Ash please...stop for one second..."

"I can't...we don't have time and I don't know what to do...half a million people are dead! I can't do this anymore..."

"Are you sure?" Her mom asks in shock.

"Yeah...EDI ran scans all along the reckage and all the planets around the area...there was nothing." Williams says barely above a whisper, not able to get the vision out of her head of all those people who had survived the war only to die trying to get to there new home world. Fear was written all over their faces as they boarded each ship, mainly the fear of what the future held but at the time they all knew they had one. She knew giving up wasn't an option, not now since there were still people out there waiting for the ok to come through and start their new lives but the thought of another tragedy happening was almost too much for the human Spectre to think about. Ash could see the worried look her mother was giving her and knew she was trying to think of anything to say to comfort her but doubted it would work.

"Sweaty listen to me. You have been given an opportunity to do great things and just because something went wrong no matter how horrific, there are people out there counting on you. You all have been through so much and have not stopped since the war ended...Shepard's not the only one who needs to recover and I have no idea why she's the only one out of all of you not here dealing with all of this. And before you say anything I do not begrudge her anything, she earned it...you all did but don't give up...learn from this and don't put all of this on your shoulders. Ask for help but keep going and show everyone...especially yourself that you are in the position you are in because you deserve it." Ashley's mom says with a smile. She could see the conflict written all over her daughters face, just like her husband had done so many times before. She could see her daughter was at the point of giving up and knew she had to comfort Ashley and the more she spoke the more the tension seemed to drain from Ashley's body.

"Alright mom...and thanks but I still have to get in touch with Shepard...im sure she'll want to know about Tali."

As she places her call to Liara's secure network there is a longer than normal pause before the call is answered. Ash figured they'd both be glued to their screens and want to know what was going on. Finally the call is answered and Williams sees a panic stricken Asari on the other end of the vid conference.

"Goddess Ashley I need help...please get me Miranda...we heard about Tali's ship and... Shepard collapsed and is not responsive. I don't know what to do!"