"Commander, glad you could make it." James greeted me with a wide smile on his face, offering me a seat right next to him at the bar.

"Could you stop with the commander shit?" I sighted, watching the barman take two beers, placing them in front of us.

"Lola then, that sounds about right."

"Lola?" I couldn't hold back a laugh.

"You kinda look like a Lola." was his answer and I didn't question it anymore. Anything was better than commander. He then raised his bottle, making a toast, probably sealing the deal with my new nickname.

I take out a cigarette box, half empty by now. "So, what did you want to talk about?" I asked and offered him one.

"Thanks." he took a cigarette and waited while I lighted it for him. "That Asari doctor from the Normandy, what's her name, Liara? She found blueprints for a weapon, a Prothean weapon, on Mars."

"Well, that's great. But why are you telling me this? It's not like I'm part of the crew anymore, though, don't get me wrong, those are really great news." I explained when he looked at me with confusion.

James shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. I thought you'd want to know, I mean, kicking Reapers' asses was always your job."

I laughed and nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right. But you said she found blueprints, so that means it still needs to be built. How long will it take?"

"I don't know, I'm not really into that technical stuff, but it's massive."

"So it's gonna take a while, I get it." I added and he nodded. But just the fact that we finally had a weapon against them means something. Though James also told me that Cerberus was also after it, no doubt considering all the things the Illusive Man would to "help" humanity.

"So, you coming back?" asked James all of a sudden.

"No, not yet, James. Besides, I don't think anyone would welcome me aboard just like that, especially not the Council."

"Well, it was worth a try. But you should know that you're wrong. You have a place on Normandy, that will never change."

"And what do you know about that?" I scowled. He didn't know half the crew of the Normandy, let alone he didn't know me.

"You'd be surprised how much you'll learn from that Asari." he laughed. Of course, Liara can't keep her mouth shut, but that doesn't matter now, just to know that someone on the ship missed me made me happy. But I couldn't go back, not now, not before I did something to prove my point and loyalty. I knew that Kaidan still thinks I'm working for the enemy, leaving the Normandy and turning my back on the Council just made it worse. Garrus was one of those who believed in me, thought that my choice was right, we actually kept in touch after I left him in New York. He sent me a message right after, saying that he was sorry and that he understands, but he still believes I'll come back eventually, that I just need some time to sort things out. And he was right.

Liara didn't contact me, but as I learnt from James, she wanted me back on the ship. For the rest of the crew, they were all spread out, everyone was taking care of their own business, their own homes.

"Thanks for telling me, James. And if it's not too much to ask, could you keep me updated?" I asked, hoping he wouldn't turn me down. I'd hate to see that they'd think of him as traitor if they caught him sending messages to me.

"Yeah, I can do that. I could even send you a love letter if you want, Lola." he gave me a smile and winked at me.

"That's not necessary, but thanks, James." I laughed and shook his hand, while putting the cigarette out.

"Try to keep out of trouble, Lola." he shouted after me.

I turned my head back and gave him a wink. "No promises, James."

As I was leaving the bar, I thought about what Miranda told me, about Cerberus hunting its ex-members, wondering if Illusive Man had something planned for me as well. And maybe he didn't care about me, now that he knew I wasn't working for the Alliance anymore.

I rubbed my forehead, trying to make the pain in my head disappear. I was barely aware of the fact that I entered the elevator through the images circling inside my mind. It was happening again, their voices were ringing in my ears, Ashley, Thane, Presley, but some new voices joined the crowd. I recognized the voice of the Illusive Man.

"-mess, Shepard." I refused to open my eyes to the voice, thinking it was only in my head. But it got louder and clearer every second. "-you alright, Shepard?"

I opened my eyes to see a hologram of the Illusive Man himself right in front of my eyes. At first I thought I was making it up, but then another person came out from the corner and I wondered how come I didn't notice the man before I entered.

"Illusive Man would like a word with you." said the man dressed in black, with dark hair and typical Chinese features, but that wasn't the interesting thing. The interesting part was the sword on his back. I immediately grabbed my sidearm, just to take a grasp of the air, my weapon was gone.

"You won't need this right now." he raise the hand with my sidearm in it and I scowled. I was getting ridiculously careless.

"Shepard, I heard some news about your sudden leave from the Alliance and Normandy." this time it was the Illusive Man talking. "I'll be straightforward, I want you to work with me again. We can save the humanity together, Shepard."

Even though I could feel throbbing in my head, I laughed. "You're still as naïve as I remember you. I won't work for you ever again. My goal is not the same as yours."

"And what exactly is your goal? Stand in the back while the rest of the galaxy fights the already lost battle against the Reapers?"

"None of your damn business, Illusive Man." I replied. "Besides, what do you think you can accomplish? You won't beat the Reapers alone."

"But I'm not trying to beat them, Shepard." said Illusive Man and motioned something to the man behind his back. Before I could ask another question, the hologram was gone and only the swordsman remained.

The elevator stopped and the door slowly opened. I caught my sidearm in the midair and aimed it at the empty space, the man was also gone.