AN: :) Not much to say. Thank you to all who are reading. And especially to those who have reviewed. ;)

The 'box' was a claustrophobic, coffin like alcove build into the wall of the ship's lower level. Abby had fought all the way when they put her in, but her legs were very quickly tied together, her arms strapped to her sides and she was posted into the alcove like a letter.

And shut in.

The air around her reeked of human fear and filth, hinting that its previous occupant had been in here for days. The dark within the box was so terrifying, so suffocating that Abby forgot her own pain for a few minutes as she yelled and thrashed, praying that she could somehow, someway attract Commander Shepard's attention. It was only when she thought this that she started laughing hysterically and lay back. There was no telling whether the crew of the Normandy had boarded the ship and – if these boxes were where they placed people they wanted to keep hidden, they would undoubtedly be sound proof.

Her laughter soon turned to silent sobs as her adrenaline worked its way out and she was left with nothing but the burning pain in her leg, the warm sensation of blood slowly seeping from her thigh and the knowledge that she was completely helpless, more so than she had ever been in her life. When the Normandy left, taking her chance of being saved with it, she was going to be left at these people's mercy and there was no telling what they were going to do to her then.


"As you can see Commander," Fedora was saying as they stepped onto the lower deck which served mainly as a cargo hold, "we are truly between jobs. We have very little cargo with us at the moment. Aside from the odd crate with merchandise we're sailing empty."

Shepard looked around the dimly lit cargo hold and considered asking Miranda to form a ball of biotic light. But, she was afraid that it might alert Fedora to the woman's talent, something she had no intention of doing. Mordin, as he did with the previous level, went off to investigate some of the nooks and crannies around them where as Miranda remained close to Shepard, her arms crossed and her blue eyes dissecting the asari before them.

"When is your next job due?" Miranda asked, keeping her voice neutral as she eyed the two Blue Sun guards that were lounging around, seemingly unconcerned with their activities.

"We are on our way to Omega," Fedora said. "There, we will drop off what's in the cargo hold and take whatever new contract the other mercenary groups are willing to offer us. And, yes – before you ask, we did hear of this Archangel but we never encountered him and luckily he's dead now. I didn't want to get involved."

Shepard raised an eyebrow, taking note of the way the guards shifted when Mordin neared one particular section in the wall. He scanned the area and then moved on quickly, going to a row of crates that were stacked up against the wall.

"Why?" she queried, turning her attention back to the asari. "That was quite a big show down – or so my resources told me."

Fedora smiled but her expression wasn't friendly when she shrugged. "Jaroth was a fool," she said. "I had cautioned him years ago to choose his battles wisely, but he is a true salarian. Quick to make decisions, quick to make mistakes. Their battle wasn't my concern."

"Are you with the Sisterhood?" Miranda asked quickly, a question that was met by a soft chuckle.

"Trust Cerberus to know the depths of our organisation," she said and brightened. "Yes, I am with the Sisterhood, I have been for the past three hundred years. Since before your species could space travel, I believe."

Shepard raised an eyebrow and glanced at Mordin who was fussing with a crate. "I have heard that they have some strict initiation rites," she said. "How much of it is true?"

The asari shrugged, for the first time noticing with what Mordin was busy with. "It's all rumours," she said quickly. "Hey! Salarian! Those are more valuable than anything in this hold combined, including your worth to your Commander."

Mordin looked up, his eyes shining. "Apologies," he said quickly. "Fascinating ornaments. Really unique this side of the galaxy. A request please? May I show Commander Shepard?"

The asari blinked at him as if he had gone mad, then she seemed to remember that he was a salarian and made a wave of her hand. "Sure," she said dryly. "Knock yourself out. Commander, if he breaks any of that – Spectre or no Spectre I'll charge you."

Shepard chuckled; smiling at the woman in a manner which she hoped would put her more at ease. "I'll get him to back off," she said. "Don't worry." She turned and quickly went to him while Miranda remained with Fedora.

"What is it Mordin?"

"This is truly fascinating," Mordin said as he waved Shepard over and knelt over the box. "These designs have been created to fool the eye." He dropped his voice to a whisper as she bend over the container, putting her ear close to his face. "As have this cargohold. An untrained eye cannot follow the lines. Created by the Volus. Space too narrow according to ship schematics. Their art is rare outside their planet. Normally not stable in oxygen." He lifted what looked like round, scribbled on vase.

Shepard put a look of bored interest on her face, sharing a clear look with Miranda who rolled her eyes, much to Fedora's amusement.

"Why?" she asked, watching as Mordin lifted the vase above his head, clearly making Fedora nervous as she made to take a step closer but stopped, showing that she trusted Shepard to handle the situation.

"Minerals that react with hydrogen in air," he said happily. "Takes me back to my youth. Lots of fun in science class." He stuffed the vase into Shepard's hands and bend down again. She went down with him, slowly and carefully putting the vase back into the container. "False wall," Mordin whispered again. "Hundreds of pockets slavers use to hide cargo. Can't be scanned by conventional Citadel troupes. And, I detected human blood on the floor. Oh look at this one!"

He started to lift out another vase but Shepard put a quick hand on his and shook her head. "That is fascinating Mordin," she said loudly. "But about as much as I need to know. If they are truly rare here, I would hate it if you incinerate what is left. Right Miranda?"

"Of course Commander," the ex-Cerberus operative said calmly. "Are we ready to leave?"

"I think so," Shepard said and turned to Fedora. "I really appreciate your cooperation. Now, I'll appreciate it even more if you show us the rest of your cargo."

In her defence, Fedora clearly wasn't stupid. The moment Shepard said those words, she reacted – a lot quicker and violently than they had expected her to. With one brief motion of her hand, her guards moved in, but Mordin quickly moved to the left, incinerating the Blue Sun's turian, while Miranda hurled the other guard out of the door as she started moving right. Shepard had drawn her heavy pistol and aimed it at Fedora but the woman threw a ball of bright biotics at her which Jane quickly avoided by diving behind an empty container. Having seen Samara in action, she didn't trust older asari's skills – knowing that they have had a lot of years to practice their biotics.

"You are making a mistake Shepard!" Fedora yelled at her from her cover. "Picking a fight with us is always a really bad idea. Your people are outnumbered and I have given the order to break away from your ship. I'm giving you one last chance to just walk away."

"Can't do that Fedora," Shepard said and looked out from behind the crate to see more guards coming towards them. "You have something I want and it's not ugly volus art. Now, I don't know what you know of my reputation but I would suggest that you tell your people to back off and let us out of here. Spare yourself the trouble of cleaning up later. If you're around to do it."

Fedora chuckled as more guards joined them. "I will not be threatened on my own ship," she said. "And, I don't care about your reputation. You're flesh and blood – no more. Guards, do some damage."

Keeping her pistol in one hand as she loosened her sniper rifle with the other, Shepard looked to Miranda. "Let's lay down cover," she barked her order. "Mordin, you open the alcove. Get her out of there." She hoped that the scientist was right and that it wasn't some other poor miserable soul that was trapped in there. There was no way of telling who was in there and whose blood was on the floor.

"Affirmative!" The salarian said as Miranda added her own. "On it!" She and Shepard started picking off the guards as they tried to move into the room. The lucky thing was that the entranced formed a funnel through which they could pick them off two at a time, and – there was very little place for them to take cover in the corridor. Mordin meanwhile went to a section of the wall and started waving his omni-tool over it, muttering to himself as he tried to decipher how to open it. He let out a jovial cheer when a small door popped open but the space was empty.

"Damn it," he muttered. "Wrong alcove."

"MORDIN!"

He moved to the next and started his waving again.

Miranda and Shepard meanwhile managed to move forward and take cover by the door, dealing with the guards as they came down the stairs. "He thinks he's a bloody wizard with all of that waving," Miranda snapped as she pressed her shoulder against the wall, her body flaring with biotics. "Yeoman Chambers gave him Lord of the bloody Rings."

Another alcove door popped open, this time revealing a dark head.

"It works for him," Shepard said. "Mordin?" She turned to see what he had found just in time to see him grab the person by the shoulders and pull her out of the alcove.

"Out you come," he said happily. "Let's see..."

The woman look terrified, her face pale and her dark eyes fixed on Mordin as she tried to squirm away against the wall. The salarian seemed oblivious to her fear and was dealing with her restraints. Shepard glanced at Miranda for permission who nodded tightly, giving her leave to investigate.

"We have to get a move on Shepard," the dark haired woman said. "Get her up and get her going."

Mordin had just managed to untie the woman's feet when Shepard reached them. She couldn't tell if it was horror or relief that shone in her dark eyes as she pushed herself up, her hands covered in her own blood. Her leg was also covered in blood, which accounted for her extremely pale features.

"My name is Shepard," Jane said quickly and motioned to Mordin to go and help Miranda. "We're here to help you. Can you walk?"

The woman blinked and began to push herself up. "I'll fly if you get me out of here," she breathed. "Please."

Jane nodded and helped her up. "What's your name?" she queried and propped her against the wall when she saw the grimace of pain that crossed her features. "Here, wait for a moment." She knelt down to inspect the damage. "This shot is recent."

The woman chuckled bitterly, winching when Shepard touched her leg. "I almost escaped. Almost. Just now. They shot me… Close range." She swallowed and leaned heavily against the wall. "My name is Abby."

Shepard ripped open the hole in Abby's pants and quickly applied some medi-gel with her omni-tool. "That should stop the bleeding for now," she said and glanced at her crew. "Are we ready to move out?"

"When you are Commander," Miranda said. "Is she moving?"

Shepard stood up, not missing the way Abby kept her eyes closed, her face tight with pain as she waited for the medi-gel to work. Before she could reply though, Abby pushed herself away from the wall and nodded. Shepard supported her to where Mordin was.

"Can you help her?" she asked the salarian scientist who nodded and smiled at Abby.

"It is not a well known fact," Mordin said as he pulled Abby's one arm over his shoulders. "But, salarians are excellent weight carriers."

"That is great for future reference Mordin," Shepard said lightly and winked at Miranda who rolled her eyes. "Okay everybody, let's go!"

The End of Chapter 7

Coming Soon – Chapter 8 – The Normandy