First off, this is a sad excuse for a chapter but I'm working on a three-parter for Ilos and the final battle.


One month later…

For once, Brandon could say something wasn't his fault. Okay, maybe he made it worse trying to fix it, but that didn't mean it was his fault.

"Anything Garrus? There's still no power to rear axle." Brandon called out from under the Mako.

"How about you undo whatever you just did, at least then the axle had power." Garrus replied from the Mako's engine compartment. Brandon slid out, sitting on the scooter to continue talking to Garrus.

"Then the thing wouldn't be able to go anywhere! You know the axle's controls got reversed after hitting… whatever you hit with the Mako this time."

"Chalk it up to your brother, he's a sucky driver."

"Can't argue with that."

"Hey! Less talking, more working!" Ashley hollered from atop the auto-missile mechanism. Kaidan pulled himself out of the Mako, quickly followed by Tali. Brandon winked at Tali, then slid back under the Mako's body.

"We're all done on the inside. Tali upgraded the shields and I got the thrusters to stop misfiring." Kaidan explained, satisfaction clear on his face.

"You guys had the easy parts. And if you're done, then lend a hand. We never know when we'll need this thing again." Garrus grumbled, then yelped as an engine part pinched his hand.

"I'll help Brandon!" Tali exclaimed, quickly sliding under the Mako next to her boyfriend. Kaidan circled the Mako and then climbed up next to Ashley. Garrus could only grumble as Wrex watched from his side of the cargo bay.

"Done!" Brandon called out a few minutes later. He and Tali scurried off, heading for the elevator. When the two had disappeared, the remaining squad took a break to share a collective sigh.

"It's almost too sweet. I'm regretting my hand in this." Garrus stated, looking to the other humans for confirmation. Apparently they weren't as open about their opinions as he was.

"Oh come on, you're just mad that Brandon has a girlfriend and you didn't ask out that doctor when we were on shore leave." Kaidan replied. Garrus threw a wrench at Kaidan, who deftly knocked it aside with a bit of biotics.

"Frankly, I just find it strange that Brandon has been so…lovesick. I mean seriously, I didn't think I would see the day that he recited poetry. Quite poorly I might add." Ashley responded, ignoring the near-miss of the flying wrench.

"Please tell me you have videos. Please." Garrus begged, not believing a word of it. When Ashley nodded and sent him a copy, Garrus could barely hold back his laughter. This was too much for him.

"Let's just let them live a little. He's happy and so is she. And if the kid has any issues, he's grown up enough to take care of it himself." Wrex explained, shocking the others. The krogan had been so quiet, no one had actually noticed his presence. Which really worried them, considering Wrex was… well, Wrex.

"That was… profound Wrex. Wasn't expecting that." Garrus said. Wrex shrugged and silently walked over to help Garrus finish the repairs on the Mako's engine.

***************************ME: The Gift************************************************

"Shepard, we have found Saren's base. The team sent to scout and report back sent a distress call." The asari Councilor told Shepard as her hologram flickered. Shepard was surprised to hear that. A month of following dead ends and random missions and now they knew where Saren was holed up. Shepard took a moment to thank them and then promptly hung up. Thank God for intercoms, Shepard thought. With a simple press of a button and a few words, the entire combat squad was assembled for debriefing. And Tali was sitting next to Brandon, holding his hand. He should be happy for his brother, but it still made Shepard jealous. He couldn't exactly lead the meeting with Liara next to him, so he settled for using her chair as his podium. Liara took advantage of his position and held onto his hand as he took control of the situation.

"Okay, we've got him. A team of salarians STG located Saren's base on Virmire. Our job is to rendezvous with them and if at all possible, apprehend Saren before he escapes again. Wrex & Garrus, you two are with me on this one. Everyone else, be ready for a ground assault after we meet up with the salarians." Shepard ordered and then the squad dispersed. All except Liara, who took advantage of everyone leaving to steal a kiss from Shepard. Shepard hated to watch her go, but he had some more things to do before the mission. Sometimes life isn't that fair.

********************************ME: The Gift*******************************************

"Let's do this guys!" Shepard told his copilots in the Mako. Garrus opened fire while Wrex grunted an affirmative. They knew they needed to destroy the AA guns before the Normandy could land and rendezvous with the STG team. A few clearing blasts and they were off to deactivate the guns. Each time they stopped and wrecked the enemy defenses with an almost casual air. They had been fighting together so long that they already knew how to anticipate what the others would do. Within a half-hour they were finished and the Normandy was landing at the STG camp. Shepard pulled up, and began to look for the leader of the salarians.

Brandon was over with one salarians asking questions about their current equipment; Tali was working their communications specialist to try and cut through the interference; Garrus quickly found the group's sniper and now they were taking potshots at geth drones from the cliff; Liara started going through the STG databases, adding things to their and the Normandy's databanks; Kaidan and Ash stood off a bit, directing Normandy crew members who were hurrying through the camp; Wrex just stood off to the side, watching the chaotic circus go on around him.

"Commander Shepard, glad you could make it. We found Saren's main base of operations. We will need your support to mount a proper offensive now that the krogan breeding facilities are operating." Captain Kirrahe told him. Wrex glided in front of Shepard with surprising grace and leaned down to look the salarians in the face.

"Saren has krogan breeding? How. Is. That. Possible?" Wrex enunciated to try and intimidate the captain. To his credit, Kirrahe didn't flinch.

"Saren has created a cure for the genophage. Something we have to destroy."

"No. We can't destroy the only thing that can save my people from extinction."

"Even when the rachni were the immediate danger, the krogan were a mistake to…" Wrex cut off the salarians with a growl.

"We are not a mistake!" Wrex stormed off and went to the edge of the camp, shooting his shotgun into the air.

"I suggest you do something about the krogan while I try to come up with a plan." Kirrahe told Shepard before turning to talk to his men. Kaidan and Ashley walked up to Shepard, looking in Wrex's direction.

"You might want to talk to him Commander." Kaidan offered and Ashley shook her head.

"If you go over there, I'm going to be watching for any signal to put him down." Ash told Shepard as the commander started to walk towards Wrex. He turned back, a look of fury directed at Ash.

"You will do no such thing, understood?" Shepard told her with a deadly calm in his voice. A quick nod from the gunnery chief ensured he was understood. He went over to Wrex, ready to talk to the old warrior.

Shepard, Garrus, and Wrex were in position waiting for the salarians signal. Talking to Wrex hadn't been hard. The krogan understood that this was necessary, but he said he didn't have to like it. Kirrahe's plan to hit the facility with the salarians serving as a distraction for Shepard's squad to infiltrate. On the signal from Ashley who was with the salarians, Shepard and his two friends surged out of hiding and set to work. As they went, they could hear the salarians intermittently asking for any assistance they could give. And they gave it all they could. Satellite uplinks, refueling depots, and even alarm systems were destroyed to buy the salarians the advantage.

By the time they got into the facility, practically nothing stood between them and Saren's office. After meeting Ranna, the asari secretary, and having her open the office they advanced towards Saren's inner sanctum. When they found the Prothean beacon, Shepard activated it, reliving the vision in its complete form. They talked to Sovereign, finding out the flagship of their enemy was an actual Reaper. After deactivating the final defenses of the hideout, Shepard led his squad to the Normandy rendezvous point. After getting through the few enemy squads between them and the landing zone, Shepard was surprised as the rest of the squad looked ready to join the fight. When Ashley radioed in the salarians' distress, Shepard didn't say a word as Brandon, Tali, and Liara followed him and his squad. As they made their way to the AA gun, they heard and watched as Geth dropship landed back with Kaidan and the bomb. Shepard stopped running as he activated his radio.

"Kaidan, get out of there!" Shepard ordered.

"I can't. Geth are all over the place. But I have to do something first." Came the response.

"What are you doing?"

"Making sure this bomb goes off, no matter what. Now go Commander, save Ash."

"That's not your call Kaidan. LT go get him." Ash interrupted their argument. Shepard stepped to a railing nearby, the decision weighing him down. A hand slapped down on his shoulder, shaking him free of his moral contemplations.

"We got this Shepard. Go get Kaidan." Brandon told him, leading Tali and Liara to the elevator bank to the AA tower. Shepard looked at his two remaining squadmates.

"They'll be fine." Garrus told him. With that reassurance Shepard led the charge back to the bomb site. He could hear Brandon giving orders intermittently over the radio as he approached the bomb site. Shepard wiped out the geth that were laying siege to Kaidan's position. Once they were wiped out, Saren showed up. Shepard tried to convince Saren that they could work together to stop the Reapers, but it didn't work. Saren attacked, forcing them to fight.

"Incoming!" Brandon shouted over the radio, only to be cut off as the channel cut out. Primal fear and anger filled Shepard, spurring him on as he fought against Saren. He eventually forced the rogue Spectre to land his platform and come after Shepard in person. Saren grabbed Shepard, ready to finish him, only to pause. This gave Shepard the opening he needed to punch Saren and force him to escape. With Saren scared off and the other squads not responding, Shepard called in an evac from the Normandy. As he helped Kaidan up the ramp, Shepard saw the salarians, Ash, and Brandon's squad all waiting for them. As Shepard finished getting the others onboard, Joker warned them to brace themselves as they outraced the impending explosion. With the base destroyed, the crew gathered to debrief.

"That was… challenging. But everyone managed to work together, and because of it, we're all still here." Shepard opened the meeting with. When no one said anything, he continued, "But now we have a much bigger issue. We know what Saren is planning, but we still need to find out where this Conduit is. Liara, if you could..?"

Liara took her cue to meld minds with Shepard again. After she finished, she confirmed that the place they needed to get to was Ilos. With the debriefing done, Joker patched the Council through.

"Shepard, we've read your teams' reports. Return to the Citadel for a discussion." The Counciors told him before hanging up. Shepard was shocked, especially since they hadn't tried to question his motives, or anything for that matter. Without a thought, he told Joker to head back to the Citadel ASAP.