Disclaimer: EVE Online is owned by CCP and Mass Effect by Bioware, I claim ownership of nothing except the storyline.

A bit late on this chapter as I've been spending some time moving house. I think I made up for it in chapter length though as it's easily the longest chapter I've written so far. More action and some actual progress on the ME timeline here, so I hope you guys like it. I've still got plenty of ideas of where to go from here, so this story definitely isn't dead.

Hide and Seek

He was at a crossroad and he wasn't sure what to do. After dealing with Miranda's sister and Eve having done whatever Eve does, Liara had come up with more intel. He now knew where he could probably find both the Drell assassin and the Asari Justicar. The problem was, they both needed to be recruited fast. The assassin was going to strike tonight by all accounts and would probably vanish again soon after. While the Justicar's purpose was still unknown, she was causing trouble for the Eclipse at one of the trading ports. They were known to move from one problem to another quickly and acted as a sort of Specters within Asari space. Needless to say it was unlikely that either of them would stay around for long. The only logical conclusion was to split into two team and tackle both at the same time, but who to send with what.

The entire ground team he had brought with him had met up at the transport hub at the back of the Nos Astra port. Garrus, Miranda and Zaeed were joining the discussion on what to do. Eve on the other hand stood just outside the circle looking out over the balcony to the rest of Illium. He was unsure if she was actually listening, or if she even cared what they did first.

"I'll go after the Drell assassin while you tackle the Justicar Shepard."

OK, so she was listening. Eve had turned around and had the rest of the squad looking at her silently.

"What?"

Miranda was the first to respond. "You don't just get to make the call like that Eve. Shepard is in charge and all he did was ask for our opinions."

Eve just shrugged. "Well then keep discussing away. I just ran most possible scenario's and this was the one that had the best outcome. The Justicar is fighting eclipse mercs, which means in all likelyhood you will need more firepower and a counter to biotics to get through there. The best counter to biotics is to have your own biotics, which means you will need to go with the team after the Justicar. Zaeed and Garrus for firepower also make sense. While the Justicar will also be the most difficult to convince to join you, so Shepard himself going also makes sense."

She tilted her head sideways slightly and continued on. "The assassin on the other hand will only need to be contacted and paid. Finding him while he is stalking a target might prove difficult, but will not require much firepower. It is also done easier with fewer people, it would attract less attention. Either me or Garrus would be best suited for this task. I simply suggested this because I will be more mobile on my own and am used to working that way. Garrus on the other hand is used to working with you in a team and would thus be better suited to joining you. It is simply the most efficient solution."

Shepard couldn't help but smile at her talk to Miranda. "Well it seems she's got you beat there. I like it, but I'm not sending you after the assassin alone Eve. Garrus, you and Eve go after the assassin while the rest comes with me after the Justicar. Radio if you have any troubles and Eve, remember, your part of this team now as well."

She just nodded as she headed back to the cargo shipping area to talk to Liara's contact there. He wasn't quite sure if leaving her with just Garrus was wise, but it was better than leaving her alone. At least he hoped so.

Having Garrus tag along was not what she had planned on, but she would adapt. In the back of her mind a small part of her was still processing market orders and searching for further information on the shadow broker, while the main part of her consciousness dealt with analyzing a myriad of possible scenarios for her current assignment. First she would need to find Liara's contact Seryna though, she would be able to provide a clearer picture of the situation. They weren't far from the shipping terminal and she made it there while managing to not talk to Garrus. Who for his part didn't seem so inclined to talk to her either.

Seryna was easy to spot behind her desk at the far end of the terminal. According to Liara's information she used to be Nassana Dantius's head of security, who was the assassins target. At the very least she would be able to provide further information as to the Dantius towers interior, at best she would be able to give them a way in. Either would be use full. Walking up to the desk was enough to attract Seryna's attention.

"Who are you two?"

Eve was about to reply when Garrus beat her to the punch. "Garrus Vakarian, we were told you could have more information about an assassin named Thane Krios."

She almost slapped herself on the head when Garrus said that. Did the man have no tact whatsoever. Seryna reacted as Eve knew she would. "Who told you that?"

Eve simply didn't have time for this. She wanted to move in with the information as soon as possible, Seryna was simply a means to an end. She cut in by tossing a credit chit on her desk. "Ten thousand credits said so, now what do you know."

Almost faster then she could see the credit chit disappeared in her pockets as Garrus flexed his mandibles as he looked at her. She still wasn't sure if that meant he disapproved or was surprised. She made a mental note to read up on Turian facial expressions later. Seryna on the other hand was suddenly talkative. "Yeah I know about Thane Krios. I might have given him information on Nassana's security and the layout of the Dantius towers. Don't know much about him beyond that, just that he was going after Nassana, which was good enough for me."

Eve nodded, she had guessed as much. She had been fired suddenly according to Illium records, probably stumbled on something she wasn't supposed to. "Give us the same information you gave Mr. Krios and we'll call it even."

She seemed relieved that was all she asked for, but Eve didn't care. The information would be enough for her to analyze the best routes to the target and the ones the assassin would most likely take. As Seryna handed her a data pad she immediately copied the information and passed the data pad to Garrus.

"Thank you for your time."

Eve didn't bother waiting for a reply and started heading back to the transport hub. They would need a taxi to get to the Dantius towers. Already she was dedicating a significant amount of her consciousness to plotting routes through the towers, but as she turned a corner Garrus stopped her. "Not that I mind you making that talk quick, but shouldn't we at least get you your armor and weapons first?"

With so much of her mind occupied elsewhere it took her a second to process what he said. The moment she did she couldn't help but laugh. As she turned away and kept walking she called back. "I'm a capsuleer Garrus, I'm always armed."

Walking on she couldn't see Garrus shaking his head as he followed her.

"What had he gotten himself into."

Garrus had insisted on driving the sky car and she had easily relented. She had no interested in driving a vehicle like this, she could better use her mind for the task at hand. She had already judged that there was an easy route up the second tower which she suspected was what the assassin would take as well. The problem would come at the skyway. It would no doubt be heavily guarded and the layout she had gotten off Seryna was not accurate enough to be able to find a wayacross without knowing exactly what kind of defenses they had set up there. The second tower on the other hand was still under construction and would be lightly defended, monitored and thus easily navigated. Despite the skyway to cross, it remained the best chance of circumventing most of the security. Now all she had to do was figure out how to get Garrus to keep up with her.

"So, while I'm busy driving, you find a way into the towers yet?"

Eve couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at that. Did he really trust her that readily?

"I have in fact, you want to see for yourself?"

Garrus steered the car around a corner. "Naw, I think I'll trust you with it."

"Are you always this trusting?"

"Only with people Shepard recruits."

What was that supposed to mean. Did he really trust Shepard that much? Garrus looked over to see her still with a raised eyebrow. Only to chuckle as he answered.

"You'll figure it out sooner or later, trust me."

She wasn't sure what to make of that, but for now his apparently blind trust would be use full. If that meant he would simply follow along with the plan she had come up with.

After a brief silence she opened a holographic map and filled him in. "I'll go up the second tower that's still under construction. It's the least secured way up and the one the assassin is most likely to take. From there I'll need to cross a skyway to tower one where the targets penthouse office is located. Hopefully I'll find the assassin on my way up already. If not I'll have to wait around his target until he shows. I'll keep a low profile, no need to make a fuss. This assassin will stick to the shadows, so to find him so will I."

Garrus flexed his mandibles as he looked at her. "You do realize there is two of us right?"

"Trust me I'm fully aware of it. I don't intend to play fair against her security forces and this assassin. After dropping me off at tower two you will cross the street and park the sky car atop this skyscraper. The distance between the tower should be small enough that you can penetrate any glass windows or prefab walls they already have up with your sniper rifle. The penthouse itself will be protected by powerful kinetic barriers so you will not be able to provide any assistance when I make it there. For my approach I'll stick to this side of the building and link your omnitool into my orbital uplink for accurate scan data and live feeds. Likewise I'll be able to follow anything your omnitool feeds through your scope. You'll be providing overwatch and direct fire support if I need it. From there you'll also have a good vantage point on the skyway as that's where I'll expect the most resistance. Just don't engage anything unless I specifically ask for it.

Garrus just nodded. "I can do that, but Shepard sent me with you particularly to look after you. I think we'd have a better chance if we move in together. This won't be my first infiltration you know."

Eve nodded back. "I know, I looked through your record Archangel. This will work better though, you will be useful for intel and still able to provide cover fire should the need arise. If you came with me all you would accomplish is slowing me down. You'd be more of a liability then a help."

Garrus flexed his mandibles at her straight answer, but nodded once. She knew he probably wasn't happy with what she had just said, but he'd get over it.

As he landed the skycar at his first vantage point Eve came over the comm.

"Hmm, more patrols then I had expected. It seems they know the assassin is coming and are clearing out the second tower. There killing the nightshift workers to get them out of the way."

As he set up his rifle on the balcony he answered. "Can you save any of them?"

The reply was immediate. "Negative. All that will accomplish is letting them know I'm here. The assassin is the only target, anything in the way is collateral damage. Do not give your position away for them."

Garrus sighed and shook his head. "Understood."

Just before they left Shepard had told him to just follow along and watch how she would tackle something like this. Already he saw the huge difference between Shepard and Eve. Shepard would have gone out of his way to save the workers, while she considered them little more than collateral damage. Then again, years ago, wouldn't he have made the same decision. Before Shepard had showed him there was more to missions than the objective. That people and rules did matter. Apparently Eve would need the same lesson.

Rifle now setup, he looked through his scope and had his visor track eve's signal. She was already two floors higher then she had started. So maybe she did work quicker alone. Switching to thermal he scanned the floor she was currently moving along. He still had a job to do.

"There are two squads on this level, one in the room ahead of you and moving your way. Looks like there patrolling the entire level. The other is guarding the ramp up to the next level. I don't see a way around them though, you'll need to fight your way through. Watch out when you do that as it'll alert the patrolling squad as well. Call when you need fire support."

He watched her form come to a stop right outside the room the squad was guarding as he heard her giggling come over comms. "Garrus, just to reconfirm, please don't engage anything unless I call for it. Just keep your scope trained around where I am so I get a layout from the building. For the rest watch and enjoy the show, as I'm only gonna do this once."

She just needed to go one level up to reach the elevator that could take her to the top, where the skyway was located. Garrus's thermal images came streaming in her head and were immediately laid over her mental layout of the building. The patrolling squad was about to enter the room she was in, but she was hidden from sight by a large stack of construction supplies. She could just let them walk by and only deal with the guarding squad, but that would take time. Alternatively she could take them out. Ambushing them here would be easy and taking them out would be childsplay. However that also took time, she just wanted to move on. Large parts of this tower were not completed yet though, that left unconventional paths open.

"Up and over."

Servos and inertia dampeners powered to maximum, time to see if this security could keep up. Jumping twenty feet straight up she forcefully dug her fingers into the polymer plastic resin that was the ceiling cover. Not lingering for more than .6 of a second she jumped off again. Grappling a ceiling rail she pushed off and slid along the ceiling through a forty centimeter wide gap in the wall and clung to the column on the other side. Sliding halfway down she pushed off again and landed in a roll that put her behind a pile of unfitted panels and passed the patrol that hadn't bothered to look up while they moved into the next room. Keeping her servos in high gear she sped silently along the hallway, inertia dampeners allowing her movements to be as silent as a feather hitting the ground.

27 seconds until she reached the squad guarding the ramp up to the next floor. Schematics showed no other way up as of yet but she had no intention of slowing down now. Mission objective was clear and she had no idea if the assassin was ahead of her or not. An eight man squad with four mechs as support, hardly worth stopping for. Most had taking up position around the hall, with two of them standing guard on the ramp itself. Two seconds later she had analyzed all possible reactions and decided on the best course of action. She pulled out two splash grenades out of pockets in on either side of her legs and ran into the hall at full speed.

As she came into visual range she noticed a brief display of shock on the face of the sentinel in charge. The rest were wearing helmets, but she had no doubt that there reaction would be the same. Then again why wouldn't they be shocked. A human girl seemingly halfway through her twenties in a bright red shirt was running at them at around sixty kilometers an hour. She supposed that shock would be a normal reaction. It only lasted for half a second as she burst fully through the doorway and timed the release of her grenades. She reached behind her back for her weapons while she heard four distinct pops as the grenades went off .7 seconds after release. If her implants didn't automatically filter out the effects, she would now be as blind, deaf and hurt by the tiny tritanium balls the grenades released as the mortals around her were.

.4 seconds after the flashes her weapons were fully out. The two Nova knives activated and plasma screamed across the blades as she ran past the two guards standing on the ramp, not having slowed down in the least. At that speed the plasma blades cut through kinetic barriers, armor and flesh like a hot knife through butter. She was up the ramp and around the corner before their heads hit the floor. In and out the hall in a poultry 2.3 seconds. Leaving six stunned guards and four mechs requesting a target behind.

Garrus knew after Horizon that she was a fighter not to be trifled with, but this was a whole new level of rushing the enemy. Calling her fast was like calling Shepard charismatic. It was true, but didn't do reality justice. He was glad he was recording this or Shepard might have not believed it. As he steadied the scope on the next floor she had just ran up to, he had to admit. Maybe he would have slowed her down just a bit.

The elevator was on this floor, but both squads guarding it had massed around the entrance. They would have heard the bangs of her grenades as well, so no surprise attack for her here.

"Unless…."

To her right she spotted a part of the tower where they had apparently been using a crane to move items over a few floors. She could work with that. She pushed off, grabbed a support beam and flung herself onto the next floor. Landing with a roll she took off again full speed. This floor had apparently seen relatively little construction, only a few walls were erected yet. She quickly dodged between them and came to a sliding stop right above the main defensive position in front of the elevator entrance. Four heat signatures glowed directly below her, the twelve others were spread out a bit from there. Two to the left and another two to the right and six fanned out just in front of the main barricade below her. Only two were not within fast striking distance as they were covering from the other side of the room. Well he was here, might as well use him.

"Garrus marking two targets on your visor. On my mark drop them."

The reply was quick and short. "Copy that."

With a soft hum that belied its deadliness the two Nova blades sprung to life again. She positioned herself carefully and then in one swift motion cut the floor out from under her. As she fell she quickly reanalyzed her plan, made some minor adjustments and then locked her moves in.

As soon as the piece of floor she was falling down on hit the ground, instantly taking out two guards, she went to work. A swift strike with her blades took out the two remaining centre units, plasma cutting through armor like it wasn't even there. As the realization of what was happening began to set in with the rest of the patrol she jumped off left towards the two guards there. One had started tracking her with his assault rifle so she cut that in half first. A quick jab with her left made the second guard drop his rifle completely as she sunk her right blade into the first guards chest. Quickly pulling back her left blade cut through the second guards abdomen. 1.8 seconds passed, six down.

She took a short moment behind there cover to mumble a calm "Mark" to Garrus, only to pop out the moment she heard the telltale sound of a sniper round piercing the glass wall. Using her cover as a jump of point she crossed the twenty feet between her and her next target in a flash. Landing with her left foot on his neck, contact with the ground came with the sound of a sickening snap. Placing her right next to his companion, who barely had half a second longer to realize his kinetic barriers were useless against plasma blades. In the mean time the sound of another sniper round reverberated through the room. Four more down, six to go.

As her shields absorbed a few shots she retrieved another splash grenade from her pocket and threw it towards the closest four front guards. In one fluid motion she then threw both of her Nova knives to the remaining two guards on her right and took off for the four in front of her as the grenade went off. From the corner of her eye she noted the knives imbedding themselves into the heads of their targets as she reached the first two of her dazed and wildly firing opponents. A quick kick to the first assault rifle caused him to fire at his own men, killing one of them as she snapped his companions neck. Turning around quickly she jabbed the first one in his neck, crushing his windpipe and causing him to choke to death. She was about to jump for the last one as a sniper round rang out again and the guards head exploded.

"Thought I'd make myself useful."

Eve merely smiled as she went to retrieve her knives, while she hacked into the elevator controls and called it down. Holding the knives at her side she stood in front of the door waiting, more busy with still analyzing the best way across that sky way, when it opened. Revealing two sentinels and a Krogan warlord. Even Eve didn't have time to analyze, theorize or plan now, she reacted purely on instinct. Fight or flight. She could have easily jumped back behind cover, but after decades of war her flight instinct was all but gone. All that was left was fight, so attack she did. The sentinels went for their guns, giving her at least .8 of a second for a response. The Krogan was more used to battle apparently as he was quicker, forgoing his gun he pulled back for a punch. Eve was quicker still as with a flick of her wrists her blades activated again and both were flung towards a human head. Two sentinels dead, she had no more time to dodge and took the Krogans punch head on.

She literally flew backwards from the impact as she hit the slabs of concrete the guards had previously used as cover with her lower back and vaulted over. She quickly restored balance and landed on her feet, sliding several feet still before she came to a stop only a few feet before the edge of the floor. The Krogan meanwhile let out a battle cry as he reached for his shotgun and charged her. This time she had a full two seconds to analyze. She brushed the damage reports on her face and back aside as nanobots flooded her system to repair any damage. As with her fight with Grunt, a Krogan was too much to take on in a straight up fight. Redundant nervous systems made precise jabs an unlikely option as well. His double wind pipe served as the only exposed weak point. Her eyes quickly judged the distance between her and the Krogan and his speed as he would reach her. Best course of action found.

She stood her ground as he charged. Four feet away Eve ducked as the Krogan fired its shotgun missing with most of the shot, the rest bouncing of her shields. She jumped up as he went in closer for melee, vaulting over the Krogan. Before he had time to stop she pushed off his back again with both feet, sending the Krogan flying over the edge of the tower. She landed neatly in a roll and walked towards the elevator as the Krogan's scream ended in a muffled thump. As she hit the elevators button she called Garrus over comms.

"All clear, move to your second vantage point."

Shepard hit the button for the elevator and it shot off to the eclipse local headquarters. Things were decidedly not going to plan. He had found the Justicar, but police, Eclipse and whoever Samara's target was were all standing between him and recruiting her. Still he would move on, assaulting an eclipse base would hardly be the most difficult thing he had ever done. Simply fight a way in, get the ship name and fight your way out. Nothing ever was that easy though was it. At least the key he got from Pitne For worked.

As he readied Miranda and Zaeed for combat he idly wondered how Garrus and Eve were doing.

When the elevator had opened to a small four man squad she had initially just started killing them, when an idea had hit her. The ideal way across the sky bridge would be to simply walk across it. She had tucked away her knives and calmly killed the remaining two by hand, careful not to damage the suit of the female. The female had turned out to be an Asari under the helmet and the armor was slightly too large for her. However since she still wore her own stripped down recon armor and t-shirt beneath it, it fit just well enough.

As she walked along the skyway at a brisk pace she noted that what had been true in New Eden worked, just as well here. Look like you belong and act like you belong, then everyone will assume that you belong. She had not seen any sign of the assassin along her route, which meant she was either early or he had gone through tower one. Either way she would need to wait around his target and this disguise would allow her to do just that.

As she ascended the stairs in the barricade that they had set up at the end of the skyway she did note one thing. They would not just let her waltz into the penthouse office, she needed to come up with a reason or a distraction. Distraction should do it. She grabbed the last three splash grenades she had with her as inconspicuously as she could and radioed Garrus.

"Wait for a flash, then take out the commander and at least three other targets at the base of the barricade in quick succession."

Garrus was to the point again. "Roger."

She casually turned the corner at the top of the stairs and dropped one of the grenades down the stairs as she did. The other two she dropped at her feet as she approached the commander of the barricade. The Asari commander looked up as she approached and then the world turned white for her. Eve wasted no time as she bolted for the penthouse door, the sound of a sniper round hitting flesh behind her. She stepped through the door and observed the room as it closed again behind her. Four more mercenaries inside as well as the assassins target, Nassana Dantius. Eve had no interest in her dead or alive, she was simply bait. However to stick around she would need to fit in.

"Were under attack at the barricade. Reinforce the door and cover it."

They didn't even question her. Two took cover behind Nassana's desk while the other two joined her to cover the door. Another sniper round could be heard through the door as well as some return fire now, while Nassana cursed behind her. Faintly she picked up another audio signal that didn't belong though. Above her, the air ducts. So that's how he got in, only a matter of seconds now then.

As quickly as it started the noise outside quieted down again and the mercenaries in the room shifted uncomfortably.

"What?" Nassana cried out.

One of the mercs next to her at the door responded. "I thought I heard something."

Nassana sighed. "Check the other entrances."

Quickly the merc moved away from her position at the door and moved back behind the desk to check the entrance behind it. Then a green blur dropped down. She noted he was fast, even for a Drell, as he took down the three guards by hand with ease. Then she saw the gun track towards her. Two shots in quick succession, the merc next to her dropped dead as she dropped to the floor at lightning speed. The down side of her disguise became apparent as the Drell lined up another shot after having knocked out Nassana with a kick to the head.

She quickly pushed off the wall towards the desk and ran a few scenario's in her head in the .6 of a second it would take the gun to track her again. She didn't have time to take off the merc armor like this and there was a high probability he wouldn't believe her with it on. Her shields had already been depleted on the skyway and her stripped down armor would no longer be able to withstand a close range shot of his hand cannon. That left only one quick option open, disarm the Drell and create time to convince him.

Something was wrong. A merc shouldn't have been able to dodge his shot like that. She had pushed off the wall and slid behind the desk. One round went through the desk, but he saw only the floor through the hole. Nassana would remain out cold for a while yet after his attack and he had hacked the doors so no reinforcements were coming anytime soon. It was him versus her. Still, she was quicker than a normal human or Asari, but he had seen no indication of biotics. He would need to be quicker and more cautious with her, never underestimate your opponent. These thoughts passed through his mind as he rounded the desk at a safe distance, his gun lined up for a shot.

Then things happened all at once. The human women had thrown off her helmet to reveal blue hair and steely light blue eyes as she rounded the corner and flung a seemingly glowing knife at him. He dodged and squeezed of another round as she let loose her second knife. His round nicked her left arm, but no response registered in her eyes as she rolled out of her jump. Her second knife meanwhile hit his M5 head on, almost cleaving the weapon in two. She had somehow anticipated his dodging motion and thrown her second knife accordingly. He let go of the now useless weapon and wasted no time closing in while she steadied herself in a combat pose after her roll. She ducked under his left jab and blocked his right while turning and countering with her left elbow. Her arms felt odd on contact. Muscle mass as expected, but the bones underneath harder than they were supposed to be.

He dodged her elbow with a quick step around that flowed into a high kick from his left. The kick was stopped dead in its tracks as the women before him did something he knew was impossible, but she had done it anyway. She had turned back again and had blind grabbed his leg in the air with her left arm, her grip was almost painfully tight around his leg. That was not was caused him to almost show surprise on his face though, nor was it the sly small smile that had spread across her face. To catch his legs her fingers had just flexed backwards, that got his attention. The half a second hesitation cost him as she followed up with a low kick to his standing leg, bringing him down to the floor at a startling speed.

He rolled out and away as she did the same but in the opposite direction. It took only half a second to figure out why. A blazing knife came flying around the moment she had completed her roll, but it went wide. Did she miss by that much? The sound of her blade impacting flesh told him otherwise. The knife was implanted neatly straight into Nassana's skull. He stopped for a moment, his guard still up, but something was very wrong. A merc wouldn't kill his own employer like that.

"I see that got your attention."

She knew the only way she would get him to listen to her would be to do something unpredictable, something no mercenary would ever do. That's why she had shown of her ability to flex her fingers both ways and now killed Nassana. She had profiled Mr. Krios while they had fought. He was good, very good. Quicker than she had initially anticipated and he read her movements perfectly. If she were a normal human she would have been dead a while ago. Thankfully she was not a normal human. This also meant that this Drell was a true professional, not a single move was wasted and precise movements came seemingly effortless. No emotion shown as he killed Nassana's security detail and no outward show of surprise when she literally dodged his bullet. She could work with a professional.

"Your target is dead, contract fulfilled, time to move on Mr. Krios. As you've by now realized I'm not part of Nassana's security detail, I was here simply waiting for you. Now that I have your attention, we need to talk."

Still nothing registered on his face, though she was unsure how she would read a Drell's facial expression in the first place. "What is it you wish to discuss?"

She smiled at his neutral response, definitely a professional. "Your next employment if you're interested."

A simple nod in his part motioned her to continue. "I'm associated with someone named Commander Shepard and he'd like your help on a job. He's putting together a team, the best of the best only, and you made the list."

He finally seemed to relax, as far as an assassin ever did she supposed. His arms folded behind his back he took two steps closer to her. "I'm familiar with Commander Shepard and his work. It seems unlikely whatever he is planning is a simple hit, or that it will be simple at all for that matter."

She nodded, so the Commanders reputation precedes him. That would be useful. "You're quite right. Shepard is after the Collectors, they have abducted entire human colonies and he intends to stop them."

The Drell's eyes widened ever so slightly, before he turned to look out the window. "Taking down the Collectors would require traveling through the Omega 4 Relay. No one has ever returned from there."

She smiled again at his response. No true professional would ever say no to a job like this, he was driving up the price. Luckily she had not been idle during this conversation either, her scans of him had noted something odd. "I think we can both agree that Shepard has a way of accomplishing the impossible. Even then, I didn't think a dying Drell would be concerned with low survival odds."

That made him turn back to look at her. "Skin slightly paled and slight whitening of the fingertips. Blood flow faster than normal and traces of anticlotting agents present in it. Of course the small clots in your lunges are the main give away. Kepral's syndrome I suppose?"

It remained silent for a few seconds as she let him process what she had just said. "You're quite right. It does not impact my performance though, not yet anyway. The universe is a dark place; I'm trying to make it brighter before I die. You're right that low survival odds don't concern me, the missing colonists do. I will work for Shepard, free of charge."

She had not expected that, the emotionless professional had a conscience. However if it saved her money, she wouldn't complain. Might be worth mentioning that fact to Shepard though, if he was done recruiting the Asari yet.

"By the Code I will serve you Shepard. Your choices are my choices; your morals are my morals. You're wishes are my Code."

A flash of biotic power followed as Samara rose before him. She would definitely be a powerful ally and if Garrus and Eve had been successful his team had just gotten a hell of a bit stronger. They might actually pull this off now. He thanked the detective as his comm. pinged, probably Garrus about their end of this mission. He was slightly surprised as EDI came over the comm. For the next thirty seconds he listened careful his eyes widening a bit the longer EDI spoke. As he closed his comm. he barked at the rest of his squad to hurry as he quickly contacted Garrus to rendezvous back at the Normandy.

Cerberus had piped them a distress call on their next dossier on the list. He felt his heart tighten just a bit as he thought about it.

Tali was in trouble.