I am so, so sorry it's taken so long to post this next chapter. Please, I beg for mercy. (throws himself down on the floor at readers' knees.) To make up for it I offer you this, the longest chapter thus far for Mass Effect III: Union, and the second longest chapter ever written, by me, for a fanfiction. The longest beat this one out, minus the Author's notes, by only a hundred or so words.

Between two job interviews, a "sister" who tried destroying my family, and my side job of working on old video game systems I've just had no time to type this past week. Now, however, the storm is over and here is the next chapter.

Also, please remember that aside from the fact I do not own Mass Effect there is still a poll on my profile page that will run through Halloween, this coming Monday. Thanks to all those who have voted and thanks to those who are going to vote.


ADDITIONAL STORIES BY Guardian Kitch:

Star Wars Episode Zero: Shroud of the Dark Side

Harry Potter and the Touch of Destiny


Chapter 009: Survival of the Fittest

{0881; 8:81 a.m.}

[Location: Black Fleet flagship, Vengeance}

(Earth - Sol System - Local Cluster - Milky Way Galaxy)

This is Garrus Vakarian:

Raised on the Turian homeworld of Palaven, he is a veteran, a survivor. He was once a member of the Turian military but later enrolled with Citadel Security, sworn to protect and defend the citizenry and tourists clogging the political center of the galaxy, a duty and responsibility he took with the utmost seriousness.

He once thought everything of being an officer of the law. He still remembers that heroic feel his father once had, the same way most male offspring feel about their fathers, a feeling only strengthened by his father's prominence in the C-Sec police force. He had been all too happy with following in his father's footsteps, and the day he officially joined up with C-Sec he vowed to make a true difference in those he was sworn to protect.

This, however, quickly faded. All too soon he learned the truth about the job he'd once idolized his father for doing. He'd discovered the bureaucracies and red tape that limited what an officer could do. He experienced the frustrating policies, regulations, and cycle that peace officers restricted themselves to day-in and day-out. No matter what happened, it was always the same: wait, investigate, arrest, watch the suspect get off on a technicality or by cutting a deal, go home, and repeat...within a year he'd realized that being a C-Sec officer made him nothing more or less than a government pawn. While he did his job, got rewards, promotions, and went on with his life innocent people were suffering at the hands of freed criminals he'd arrested time and time again.

He has also suffered a great loss over the course of the past two years. Two years ago, when a Spectre went rogue, Garrus lost (willingly) his C-Sec commission to chase down Saren Arterius and make sure justice was served. One single month later the SSV Normandy SR-1 was ambushed and destroyed above Alchera. The galaxy lost a hero, Garrus a brother. He tried to follow Shepard in his footsteps and become a Spectre, but between the interference run by his father and the hesitancy the Council showed at making a Spectre of a loyal member of Shepard the Troublemaker's squad, it never happened. After six months of nothing, he struck out for Omega, deciding he would truly follow his fallen comrade's example and make a true difference. Assembling an elite, varied squad of experts and professionals from every field, he began waging war on the criminal elements of Omega, forcing them to join forces against him, though it was an act of treason that destroyed his squad. Even then, however, he continued fighting back, making criminals everywhere fear Omega's Archangel.

And here is the sad, dark truth about Garrus Vakarian. Sometime after the destruction of the SSV Normandy, he stopped being the idealistic guardian of peace and justice and became something else, something darker. He became an avenger in the night, seeking to not just protect the innocent but make the criminals, big and small, pay for their actions. Above Alchera the galaxy lost its greatest hero and its most advanced warship. Garrus lost a friend, a man who was his brother-in-arms and his mentor. However, looking back, he sees now he lost something more: he lost himself.

Many would say that this is, by far, the greatest casualty claimed thus far by the mythological, legendary Reapers. To destroy ships is war, and to take lives is cruel. To take another beings very identity, however, is beyond cruel: it is the darkest of evils.

Garrus, however, does not think on this, for he knows that if he does then his war against crime is over: he would never fight again.

Here and now, with the Reapers growing stronger, he is the Dark Knight. He knows that, from a legal standpoint he is in the wrong, and he accepts that. He knows one day he will have to face justice for the criminal acts he's committed in his pursuit to make others pay for their brand of crime, and he accepts that. By degrading himself to the rank of enlightened criminal he is ensuring that hundreds, perhaps thousands, and maybe even millions, of innocent beings live long, crime-free lives. He has lost himself, yes, and while deep down he longs for the day he finds himself he does not focus on this search, for a small part of him believes that this is who he is, and while he fears this possible truth he has also accepted it.

He is an avowed guardian of peace and justice in the galaxy, as proven by his actions on Omega. He is a vigilante bent on vengeance, as proven by his actions on Omega. He is a soldier, as proven by his actions aboard the super weapon called Vengeance. And, while he will never admit so, he is one of the galaxy's greatest snipers. He easily takes shots other snipers would hesitate in taking.

As a grenade explodes yards in front of him, he sees a massive red-orange-skinned being come up behind a distracted Tali and grab her in a massive bear hug, pressing her hard against his armor as he begins constricting her life out of her. Showing his combat prowess, the male being protects his unarmored head from retaliation by keeping Tali's head in front of his own, and as she struggles back and forth it is clear that even the most skilled of snipers will fail in shooting him without injuring his captive hostage.

Garrus Vakarian knows that, and he accepts that. He smiles grimly as he presses his visored-eye to the scope of his sniper rifle. Yes, the shot is impossible to take without harming the Normandy's Chief Engineer, and he accepts this. Never loosing his smile, the Dark Knight snaps off a single shot.

The Vengeance's Chief Engineer's head exploded under the impact of the single shot to his face, sending skin tissue, skull fragments, and brain matter splattering over the back of Tali's hooded helmet as she tumbled to the ground.

Behind her a pair of smaller, faster crewman charged forward, weapons taking aim at the fallen, unarmed Quarian, but Garrus was already moving to cover his comrade as she scrambled for her discarded shotgun. Two more shots echoed out, dropping each target as their heads followed the example set by their slain boss.

One of the slender, run-of-the-mill mechs came forward, firing all the while, but even as the bullets sprayed the deck around Tali, even as Garrus moved to cover her, the Quarian was proving once again that she could take care of herself: in a surge of motion she lurched forward, grabbed the butt of the shotgun, and flipped onto her back, raising the weapon and firing off a single, powerful shot that blew the mech's upper half into the air while the lower half crumpled to the ground.

Garrus rushed forward to cover her as she pulled herself back onto her feet, and together the two proceeded past the corridor intersection, down the same corridor towards a heavy set of blast doors, the only obstacle that now stood between them and the ship's engines.

"Don't suppose you know where Kasumi disappeared to." Tali said as the pair continued walking, their weapons up and at the ready in perfect, two-handed grips.

Garrus let escape a chuckle. "Kasumi being the ghost she is, she's likely hiding right behind us, laughing at us."

"Keelah. I wish I knew how she disappears like that."

"Magic?" Garrus asked as they approached the blast doors. As Tali moved to open the doors a noise escaped her mask, a noise that sounded like a giggle that had transitioned halfway through into a snort.

Garrus said nothing more as he turned his back towards Tali, covering her as she forced the doors open. As his comrade worked, he allowed his mind to drift a little while his eyes and brain remained alert to anything that may try to attack them. His mind first found its way to this mission and the two most recent, if only temporary, additions to the crew of the Normandy SR-2.

He had little respect for the man named Duran. The man was a soldier, true, and he knew how to perfectly wield his weapons in combat, allowing him to lend assistance to the dozen members of the Normandy's ground team, in particular their leader. Duran, however, acted as though without his interference Shepard and his crew would have been mercilessly slaughtered. Garrus had little doubt they'd all have survived the heavier mechs: they had, of course, been in much more dangerous situations countless times in the past. The only real question one should even consider on this point was how much additional ammunition and time they would have wasted to emerge victorious, able to move on.

This, he realized, was what truly bothered him. Duran was arrogant in a way Garrus had rarely ever seen before. He believed himself, Garrus could clearly see, to be superior to everyone he come across, as though he were actually an ancient deity who had taken on a sentient, corporeal form. And, Garrus knew, this was the kind of thinking that often caused one to get himself, and those around him, hurt or even killed. Garrus had, after all, seen it happen many times in the past, especially during his war with the three top gangs on Omega. The day would come when Duran, like so many others across the galaxy, would allow his arrogance to fill him with that absolute certainty that he knew better than his commanding officer. This, in turn, would cause Duran to casually ignore an order that he would then replace with his own decision, and in Garrus's experience such an action was almost always fatal, both for the one at cause as well as his allies. He just hoped that Shepard, with all of his knowledge, wisdom, and foresight, knew this as well and was taking the necessary steps to protect them all.

With the corridor remaining empty of additional threats Garrus chanced a quick, brief glance back at his Quarian companion, who was hard at work, silently slicing her way through the blast door controls. What he saw, however, only confirmed a suspicion that had been forming in the back of his mind for the past several hours.

While she remained focused on the task at hand he could not help but notice that she was anxious about something that really seemed to be gnawing away at her on the inside. Her entire body was as tense as someone bracing for impact with the ground at the end of a freefall. As her hands and arms moved he noticed they were stiff, lacking their usual fluid, experienced movements. Even during the heat of combat, mere moments ago, she had seemed anxious, perhaps even upset, as Garrus had suspected after witnessing her return fire with extra "gusto" on a pair of very unlucky Vengeance crewmembers who had been stupid enough to draw small, light pistols on the Quarian engineer.

Two years ago Garrus knew he would likely never have noticed this. After all, back then his main focus had been to see how Spectres worked and to help Shepard track down and stop the rogue Spectre Saren, who Garrus still viewed as a disgrace to the Turian race. He had gotten to know, on a professional basis, all of his comrades, but it hadn't been until Omega that he'd followed Shepard's example and began to know his allies both professionally and personally. It was, therefore, thanks to this wisdom, obtained after watching and serving for so long with the Hero of Humanity, that Garrus also felt he knew what was causing Tali's discomfort.

Despite the fact that she had not been a member of the Normandy's crew and thus was not present during the Battle of Horizon, Garrus still knew that what Ashley had said to Shepard following their first engagement with the Collectors, along with her refusal to trust her former lover, had marked Tali. He had known Tali to get angry and upset before, but never had he seen her take that anger to this level, a place where she hated even Ashley's sister, who's unorthodox yet brilliant defense was sure to force all charges against Shepard to be dropped, allowing him to retain his freedom.

This, now joined by the fact that Shepard had chosen Ashley to join him and Duran in taking the bridge rather than taking his usual team with him, was likely causing Tali to begin questioning the tentative, rocky relationship that existed between her and the CO of the Normandy SR-2. True, Shepard had been correct when he said that Tali would best serve their mission by joining the team taking the Engine Room, but everyone could see the young Human had other, more private reasons for choosing Ashley Williams over Tali'Zorah.

Of course Garrus knew Shepard had likely taken Ashley along to keep an eye on her: after all, he had seen the painful look in Shepard's eyes back on Horizon, had heard the pain caused by Ashley's betrayal in his voice as he'd told Joker to get them away from Horizon. Shepard, like Garrus before him, had been betrayed by someone close to him, and while Ashley's betrayal of Shepard was on a completely different level than Sidonis's betrayal of Garrus, the Turian still knew how that betrayal felt, though he couldn't begin to imagine how Shepard felt once again working with his betrayer. Yes, Garrus knew that Shepard had chosen Ashley not just for her combat skills but to keep an eye on someone he did not trust: the only question he had on the subject was whether Tali would be able to see that too or instead draw the wrong conclusion about something that had been injured above Alchera and executed on Horizon.

Garrus returned his full attention to the job at hand. He knew that, while the situation between Shepard and Tali could explode later on, they would only die if they allowed anything to distract them while aboard this mammoth vessel. However, part of him admitted he would rather die here, in battle, than be caught up in the storm that would be caused if Ashley's return to the fold, so to speak, did come between Shepard and his Quarian lover.


As Garrus continued guarding their backs in silence, he had no idea that, behind him, Tali was onboard the exact same train of thought he had been riding the past several minutes. He, as it turned out, was not the only one who had noticed Shepard's private (if not unknown) reasons for taking Ashley and Duran with him as opposed to his usual choice of her and Garrus.

Duran, the arrogant bosh'tet he was, was a choice easy for Tali to understand. He had once served aboard this ship and thus knew it better than any of the Normandy's crew could, and his combat skills made him a natural for such an important mission. Ashley Williams, however, was a different story all together.

While she had not been present during the defense of the Human colony on Horizon, Tali had heard about what had transpired between Shepard and his former lover from the two who had accompanied him, Garrus and the Salarian scientist, Dr. Solus, and she had heard firsthand from Joker how Shepard had reacted following his return to the Normandy.

Tali caught herself and forced her anger back into check: it would not do for her to make a mistake that would damage their chances of breaching the blast door that was all that now separated them from the Engine Room.

Why Shepard would chose a treasonous bosh'tet like Ashley over Tali was beyond the young Quarian woman. Sure, his assessment that her knowledge and particular skill-set would be best used in the Engine Room was fully accurate, but part of her refused to accept this logic, refused to believe that his reasoning would be so simple. After all, their main mission was to destroy or disable the Vengeance's engines, not repair them: a couple of well-placed grenades would do the job nicely...something even Grunt could do.

She sighed as she continued working on her omni-tool, which she had linked to the door's control panels. No, she knew that Shepard's reasoning behind the decision to take Ashley along with him was far more complex than that: she had seen it in his eyes. It had been a mere flicker, there one second and gone the next. However, the fact still remained: it had been there. A cross between pain, grief, and remembrance, it had still been there. He had once cared greatly for the woman who was now Humanity's second Spectre, having followed directly in his very footsteps.

By no one's accounts had she ever been considered, even for a mere moment, stupid. Even among her native people, Tali'Zorah nar Rayya had always been held high as a genius in every sense of the word: there had been more than whispers that she would, one day, likely sooner rather than later, surpass even her great father. That higher-than-standard Quarian intelligence was now allowing her to see what Ashley Williams was doing with stunning clarity.

While she may never have said it, Ashley obviously regretted her words and actions on Horizon: the woman who'd greeted Shepard on the Cairo was not the same woman Garrus, Joker, and Mordin (in his professionalism) had described.

No. She had become a Spectre, like Shepard before her, making her one of only two Humans (the other being Shepard himself) to achieve this highest honor possible. She had persuaded her sister to defend Shepard from the Systems Alliance court-martial, resulting in Kitch Shepard's perfect, eccentric defense. She had volunteered to help them protect Earth, and she was planning to redeem herself by following Shepard into the most dangerous situation any of them could be put into.

Tali could now feel that anger being replaced by sadness, a grief that was quickly rising up through the Quarian's body, a hurt that threatened to spill tears, hot, burning liquid drops that only she would ever know about.

From the moment they had met, that fateful day over two years ago when Shepard had saved her life aboard the Citadel, Tali had cared greatly for the man. At first she had been like a little girl watching her greatest hero, but over time that had evolved. Tali had begun to realize the feelings she possessed for Shepard.

"What could I possibly be suggesting? I mean, a young woman gets rescued by a dashing commander who lets her join his crew and then goes off to save the galaxy? How could she possibly develop any kind of interest in him?"

She could still remember telling him those exact words not all that long ago...had it been even a week since she'd spoken those words? Nah, surely not.

At "night", when total silence had claimed the SSV Normandy for its own, she had fantasized about what it might be like to be able, to be permitted, allowed, to act on those feelings. Of course, she had never acted on nor alerted him (or anyone else) to these feelings, and the one time she'd given serious thought to doing so she'd fought the urge back. After all, between the hunt for Saren, the constant threat haunting them, and Shepard's growing relationship with both Liara and Ashley, doing this would have done nothing more or less than caused trouble for them all, and they might well have perished before being allowed to save the Citadel.

And then Alchera had happened, and she, along with the rest of the galaxy, had lost the greatest being ever known. She had forced herself to move on with her life, dedicating all she had and all she was to the betterment of the Migrant Fleet and her people. After two full years of constant grief and pain she had finally begun to get over Shepard's death.

Until Freedom's Progress.

How could she (or anyone else) ever have known that her mission to find a lost, endangered Quarian on his pilgrimage, like she had been during her journey with Shepard and his crew, would see her crossing paths once more with a man so great that he had cheated Death itself?

She could still remember the way she'd felt, looking upon him for the first time following his resurrection. She'd first thought it was either a ghost or a trick of her mind, triggered by the similarities between that assignment and her past adventures with the Commander. But he proved all too easily that he was more than a mere ghost, that he was very much alive and the same man he'd been following his "death". The war against the urge to charge forward and hug him had been much more difficult than fighting the Reapers with a mere twig could ever be.

Sure, she had felt stricken, betrayed, by the realization that he was working with Cerberus, an enemy of the Migrant Fleet. She would never, not as long as she lived, have guessed that such a great man, an honorable, heroic being would ally himself with such terrorists.

However, in the end she had still trusted him. Where Ashley Williams had turned her back on him, Tali had decided to trust that he knew what he was doing, and that he would continue being the one in control, no matter what the Illusive Man or anyone else said.

And then, weeks later, there had been Haestrom. She had led a team of elite Quarian marines into Geth-controlled space, far behind enemy lines, and from the beginning her mission had fallen apart: all but two members of her team had died. And, when it looked like she and Kal'Reegar would join their fallen allies, Shepard had arrived, riding the Normandy like a medieval Human knight on his gallant, white stallion to her rescue. This, in turn, only strengthened Tali's feelings for him.

And then she'd heard about Horizon, and she'd been there for her friend, and that had been the beginning of the budding romance between Lieutenant-Commander Kitch Shepard, Hero of Humanity, and Tali'Zorah vas Normandy, Quarian genius.

True, officially Shepard and she were nothing more or less than lovers. He had not courted her, had not asked her to be anything more, and thus if Shepard did end up choosing Ashley over her she would have no real say in the matter...

NO! Tali found herself somewhat surprised that she had not actually shouted this word out aloud. She refused to believe that what existed between her and Shepard was nothing more or less than a physical, sexual attraction.

Sure, Shepard had showed her something far beyond her dizziest daydreams that night, as they'd been preparing to commit suicide by jumping head-first into the heart of the Collector base, just beyond the Omega Four Relay. Yes, she had enjoyed it...immensely. Surely, sex like that, for any species, could not be common. Some might say that they had both been caught up in the moment, assaulted by the joined forces of lust-turned-desire and certain, approaching doom. Tali, however, did not believe that was all there was too it. She had never done such a thing with anybody else before, no matter how much she'd fantasized about it. As she'd told Shepard, linking suits was the most intimate act of trust a Quarian could commit. While she hadn't come right out and said it, she had given herself to Shepard because she felt more than adolescent-staged lust and desire for him, and she had certainly not done this because she'd been staring her own death in the face: she'd long since gotten too used to Death's companionship.

'Shepard may be the first and only person you've ever linked suits with,' A voice that sounded both familiar yet alien said coldly. 'But you are certainly not Shepard's first. Who knows how many women have given themselves to him in the past? How many other women have spread their legs for his prize? And don't forget; before you there was Ashley-'

This mysterious voice cut off as pure, white-hot raged replaced the sadness and anger. She had known long ago about the short-lived relationship between Shepard and Ashley: it was what had her so worried now. Now, however, she was facing the possibility that Shepard, whom she had known for so long, might not be quiet the honorable Human she'd believed him to be, and this-

No. Tali refused the thought, destroying it before it could go on. Whatever anyone ever said about Shepard, his honor, his word, could never be doubted. He would not hurt her...no, he would not do something so cruel. Whatever his reasoning for taking Ashley along with him, she refused to believe it was because he wanted to rekindle what they had lost.

'Just because you believe something as being true does not mean it is true.' That voice said again. 'For all you know Shepard could, even as you work here, be talking to Ashley, accepting her endless apologies and realizing that his feelings for her still exist, and that they are far stronger than what he may or may not feel for you. After all, she was before you, and while you returned to the Migrant Fleet she stayed with him even as the Normandy was ambushed and crumbled into a hundred pieces.'

This time Tali was powerless to stop the tear that formed up in her eyes. That voice, whether it was real or merely a figment of her imagination, had put to voice the guilt that had invaded her the moment she'd heard of the destruction of the SSV Normandy and the death of its Commanding Officer.

From then to Freedom's Progress and even now that guilt had eaten away at her. She'd never gotten to say goodbye to her hero, and she'd abandoned him to his fate. True, she'd returned to the Migrant Fleet to complete her pilgrimage and serve them, but she'd always secretly believed that, if she had stayed, she might have been able to do something to save Shepard.

When this guilt coupled with the fear that perhaps that voice was right, that Shepard was now being covered not by her but by a woman who had betrayed him, a woman who clearly wanted more than just a professional alliance, the tear at the bottom of Tali's eye was joined by many, many more, and together they fell from their resting place.

Her eyes now blurred from the stinging tears, Tali could not properly see what she was doing, and before she could resolve this problem she made one small mistake in her calculations, and, like small mistakes often do, this one transformed into a colossal mistake.

Sparks flew from the consol next to the blast doors, and seconds later a second, far heavier, set of doors hissed shut, making it all but impossible for them to enter the Engine Room.

Shouting an ancient Quarian curse she'd learned years ago, the results of a little girl, up later than she should be, happening across her father one night as he too stayed up too late, letting his anger get the better of him as another experiment failed, Tali spun around, shaking her head towards the turning figure of Garrus: she didn't trust herself to speak yet, not without giving away her emotional state.

To his credit, the Turian seemed to understand what her head's shake meant, but before he could speak a hidden hatch directly above the intersection of the corridors yards ahead of them opened, and over a dozen heavy mechs and flesh-and-bone crewmembers, all armed to the teeth, fell out, taking aim at the pair from over their fallen comrades' bodies. Immediately both Tali and Garrus raised their weapons.

"Keelah Se'lai." Tali gasped, forcing all thoughts of her Human lover from her mind: she would handle it when-and if-the time came. Right now, however, she had to worry about her and Garrus's survival and hope that Kasumi soon revealed herself to help them...if she was still alive.


Meanwhile, several decks up, Kitch Shepard led Duran and Ashley to a lift that, according to Duran, would take them up to the Command Deck.

They had traversed almost the entire ship, journeying through the maze between the Hanger Bays and the Bridge, and even for a veteran of Shepard's caliber he could feel the first, fleeting symptoms of fatigue setting in.

Between the walking, running, and fighting, he felt the desire for his bed back in his quarters aboard the Normandy, but he effortlessly put those thoughts out of his mind, willing his body to ignore the fatigue. He was a soldier, a warrior, and if he and/or his squad failed then Earth wouldn't stand a chance. The mysterious warrior named Duran had given him a quick rundown of the ship's firepower capabilities, and that information alone had nearly overwhelmed the Human Spectre: if Duran was telling the truth then this ship had the firepower equivalent to half of the total Alliance fleet. Yes, Shepard knew what would happen if this ship was not destroyed; Earth would be glassed, trillions of Humans would die, and the Human race would be pushed to the edge of extinction. Suddenly his fatigue was gone, replaced by a new surge of determined energy.

Allowing his new-found energy to fill him up and force all hints of fatigue from his mind, Shepard raised his rifle as the trio approached the lift door, and when it failed to open Duran came striding passed him, his large, armored hands moving with a hint of gentleness over the consol to the door's side.

"Damn it all." The man said a second later. "It's been locked down."

"Can you override it?" Shepard asked, turning to cover his new ally.

"Hell yeah, but it's going to take me a couple of minutes here: even for someone who knows this ship inside and out-" "Like you?" Ashley asked, moving to stand on Shepard's right.

"Like me." Duran confirmed. "Even for a genius like me it's going to take some time to override the controls. Cover my six, Paragon."

Shepard, however, had no chance to respond.

"Delta Leader to Alpha Team, Delta Leader to Alpha Team, do you copy?" Miranda's voice squawked in Shepard's ear, keeping her words and meanings disguised as Shepard had suggested, a precaution he'd decided on to protect them from possible eavesdroppers aboard the Vengeance.

"Alpha One here; copy that Delta Leader."

"We've arrived at destination and are prepared to deliver the package. What's the address?"

"Duran," Shepard said, not turning to face the other man. "What's the self-destruct codes for your the fleet."

"972201 AZ Gamma Sierra 66 Fire ZAS, Sequence Four."

Shepard quickly repeated the code through his mic, and two minutes later Miranda's voice returned, informing him that the CIC was destroyed and the self-destruct code was active, set for five minutes.

"Copy that Delta One." Shepard responded. "Rendezvous at Waypoint Echo with Echo Team."

"Copy that, Alpha Leader, Delta Team out."

"CIC has been taken care of." Shepard explained to his two companions. "Self-Destruct code's been set for five standard minutes from now."

"Bloody cowards are getting off light for their treason."

"You call death light?" Shepard asked.

"Of course: under normal circumstances I would've simply activated the sleeping gas controls, knocked them all out, tortured them into insanity, and then they would have died."

"Is there any way the self-destruct of the fleet can be stopped?" Ashley asked. This question, however, merely caused Duran to laugh.

"That code is reserved for the highest echelons of our military chain-of-command: only a handful of people know it even exists, and only one other person has the power to stop it...he's not even here."

The door hissed open.

"Now, if you don't mind." Duran answered, stepping forward into the elevator. "Earth won't stand for much longer against this fleet, and even if the rest of the ships are destroyed Earth will die while Vengeance survives."

Shepard and Ashley walked side by side into the lift, and as the door began to shut Shepard turned to face Ashley.

"Listen Skipper," She began, taking his gaze as a sign for her to begin speaking. "About Horizon: I know I sent you that message, but I still need to say it in person...I-"

"Forget it, Ash." Shepard cut her off with a shake of his head. "It's in the past now."

"I know that, sir, but I still need to say it."

"Say what?" Duran asked with a yawn, as though he were bored. Both Humans ignored him completely.

"I'm sorry for what I said to you back there. I should have trusted you to know what you're doing, like Garrus did. I mean, if a Turian trusts you working for Cerberus then why I can't I?"

"You were doing your duty." Shepard countered, not fully understanding why he felt a growing sense of awkwardness closing in around them. "You were there to defend the colony from a possible-"

"I succeeded so spectacularly too." She answered sarcastically. "I was paralyzed by that seeker swarm, just like everyone else. If you hadn't showed up, I'd be dead right now. You saved my life, and I repaid you by hurting you-"

Shepard opened his mouth to speak, but instead he closed it, finding he had no response to those words. In all fairness, she was right, and his mind had echoed these very words that day back on Horizon.

"You've more than made up for it since then." Shepard said at last. "You persuaded your sister to defend me when she didn't have to, and you've got my back here and now, when I need it. You did your duty to the Alliance on Horizon, Ash, and you're doing it here too."

She nodded her head, blinking rapidly. "I did do my duty to the Alliance, yes, but in doing so I failed in my most important duties; I failed to obey my duty to mankind, and I failed in my duties to you."

Shepard begged his mind to come up with a proper defense to this argument being given to him by his former comrade-turned-lover, but his mind seemed to be in a less-than-helpful mood at the moment, leaving Shepard to figure out a response on his own.

He had brought assigned Ashley to his team of three not because he'd felt her skills would best serve them there, but because he'd wanted to keep an eye on her. He had read and re-read her message following Horizon, and it was one of a handful he'd saved to his private terminal aboard the Normandy, and he'd believed every word she had said, both then and now. However, he also knew Ashley enough to know she was a soldier through and through, and no matter what else might happen she would do her duty to the Systems Alliance, even if it killed her, as it nearly had on Eden Prime and again, later on, at Horizon's Human colony.

He had not, he admitted to himself, trusted Ashley anywhere else. At least, he had reasoned with himself, if she was with him and was forced to choose between her duty to the Alliance and doing the right thing, even if it clashed with said duty, he could make sure the right thing, no matter what it might be, would be done. He trusted her, and yet he didn't, and while she was with him he could keep a very close eye on her.

"Look Ash," He said at last, giving careful thought to the words he was preparing to speak. "You hurt and betrayed me, yes, but I never stopped to look at it from your viewpoint. I mean, you were with me a lot of the time back during our hunt for Saren, and you helped me bust up our fair share of Cerberus cells; you are as well aware of what they're capable of as I am, if not more so. To see me back from the dead and working with that same organization we once wanted nothing more than to destroy had to have been a stab to the heart-"

"It was, Skipper." She admitted. "But, like Tali and Garrus, I should have trusted you to do the right thing. I did not. My feelings for you haven't changed, Shepard-"

"I understand, Ash, and I do still have feelings for you too." He admitted, hoping like crazy that Tali never heard of this conversation. "However, what happened between us-Horizon and everything else-is in the past. 'I'm not who I was then, and neither are you.' That's what you told me in your message, and you were right. You have redeemed your family's name, you've gone from infantry to being an officer and now a Spectre. I died two years ago, and when I was resurrected I learned it was done using advanced cybernetic technology: technically I'm part cyborg now, no longer fully human."

Shepard felt his skin grow cold as he finally said aloud the very feeling that had been haunting him for the past several weeks. However, he forced himself past it: he could deal with these fears once the Reapers had been vanquished.

"I don't know what the future holds either, Ashley." He said at last. "Right now my main goal is to make sure we have a future at all. Perhaps our futures will be forever entwined, or maybe not. For now, though, we are in the past too. What's happened between us has changed us both, maybe for the better, or maybe for the worse: I don't know right now. I'm not saying we won't return from the dead later on, but for now, for me, we consists of me and Tali. I don't know what the future holds," He continued, again quoting from memory the message she had sent him following Horizon. "But I can't lose you a second time: that's why I've forgiven you, Ashley, the same reason you forgave me and asked my apology. I am truly sorry if this hurts you, Ash, but I believe you and I can still be the friends and comrades we once were."

He extended his hand, and while Ashley looked stricken at his words she merely nodded her head, her long, dark hair waving around as she did so.

"Of course, Skipper; at least we've not lost each other." Her voice, Shepard noticed, while hurt was as genuine as anything he had ever heard before.

She took his hand. They shook firmly, warmly, and now the awkward, hurt relationship that had existed between them was gone, replaced by the camaraderie and friendship that had existed before they'd become lovers.

"I think I'm going to be sick." Duran sneered, and all too late Shepard remembered that he and Ashley were not alone. "Go get a room you two-"

"Okay," Shepard allowed. "If you're so set on changing the subject then why don't you tell us more about you?"

"Come again?" "What are you doing here at Earth to begin with? Are you human? Where do you come from?"

"What are you, a bloody psycho-analyst?"

"I'm the man who's trust his life and the lives of his crew and his entire race to you, despite the fact I don't know anything about you, other than the fact that you're the most arrogant being I've ever met."

"You're trusting me because you have no other choice, Paragon. None of you know this ship like I do-"

"Somehow, I think we'd manage: we had no inside help when we destroyed the Collector base." Shepard pointed out.

"So you didn't." He conceded, his head bowing as though he were deep in thought. "Okay, I'll tell you, but I swear, as the gods are my witnesses, if this knowledge goes beyond the crew of your ship, you will all die."

"I'll remember that."

"My business here is my own, so don't try to coax me into telling you, because believe me, it's not happening anytime this eon. I, thank the gods, am not a Human: I'm a Pyronian."

"A Pyro what?" Ashley asked.

"I'm a Pyronian. Don't worry: there's little chance you've ever heard of us before: as far as the rest of the galaxy is concerned we've been extinct for approximately fifty millennia now."

"Extinct?" Shepard asked, raising an eyebrow.

"In the eyes of the galactic community, yes. We were once one of the most dominant races in the galaxy, but eventually, as all great empires do, we lost our power and standing, so what was left of us returned to our home system and we've remained there ever since?"

"And no one's just happened upon your race's system in the past?" Ashley asked. "Why do I find that hard to believe?"

"Because you're stupid." He answered. "We have had visitors find us by accident, yes, but we've always made sure they kept our secret."

"How?" Shepard asked.

"We 'interview' them to find what information they have, and once we're done we kill them."

"You what?" Shepard asked, suddenly alarmed at what their newest teammate was saying.

"Come now, Paragon, surely you can't be that naive." Duran scoffed. "There's one law that all races, no matter how different, abide by. As you Humans call it, it's Survival of the Fittest. The strong lead, the weak follow. Those who are smart enough to adapt and strong enough to fight survive: the others die. The hunter hunts, the prey dies. Nature at its finest."

"But-" Ashley began, only to be cut off mid-sentence.

"But nothing." He barked. "My people have become the strongest race in the galaxy by utilizing our greatest asset: secrecy. We know all too well how big the galaxy is, but unlike the rest of the galactic races we've learned from our past. We now stick to our own system, we don't attack anyone unless attacked first, but we're also powerful enough to destroy anyone who stumbles upon us.

"Over the course of the past fifty thousand years you could count on your hands the number of Pyronians who have ever ventured out beyond our system. Until myself and this fleet, it's been over two thousand years since a Pyronian has viewed space from beyond our native system."

"So then, who is the commander of this ship?" Shepard asked.

"A treasonous piece of worm-ridden scum not worth the time it takes to kill him. That'll be enough for you."

"And you're the person they send after him...with no reinforcements."

"You got it, Paragon. I am worth a legion of firepower all on my own. I have been trained in stealth, retrieval, destruction, hit-and-run warfare, survival, and any other possible skill that enables me to get the job done. Unlike you other beings, we have no choice but to train this way. Most beings consider safety to be in numbers: a Pyronian is as safe alone as he is with a thousand fellow warriors. Imagine, you pathetic Humans, the live-span of an Asari, the intelligence of the Salarians, the physical strength of the Krogan, the tenacity of the Humans, the military strength and prowess of a Turian, the mysteriousness of the Quarians, the ruthlessness of the Geth, and brutality of the Batarians all mixed into one species...that perfect species is known as Pyronian."

Shepard said nothing as he realized the impact of this statement. If, as Duran claimed, such a race did truly exist then they had the potential to be just as dangerous as the Reapers were...though Shepard had a sneaking suspicion that this arrogant Pyronian, as he had called himself, was greatly exaggerating.

"The commander of the Vengeance and this fleet is Pyronian?" Shepard asked.

"Yep."

"Then why would he bring such a massive fleet out of millennia-old hiding, and why would he attack the homeworld of a species that now sits on the Citadel Council?"

"That means something?" Duran scoffed. "I believe he wants us to once more rule the galaxy, and while we could do it, easily, I might add, we're smarter than that. He risks exposing our people: I will stop him."

The elevator at long last came to a stop, and as the door slid open Shepard led Ashley and Duran out into the corridor below.

"Remember, Paragon: he's mine; anyone who gets in my way will die."

"What if I told you he may not be at fault for this?" Shepard asked.

"You know something I don't, Paragon, then you better say so now." He growled in response.

"This commander has been indoctrinated."

"You mean mind-control?"

"In a sense, yes."

"I'm not stupid: no species in this galaxy has the power to override a Pyronian's Will-"

"It's not from this galaxy." Shepard answered. Duran, now walking beside Shepard, stopped dead in his tracks.

"What? Did? You. Just. Say?" He asked, saying each word as though it were its own sentence.

"A race of extra-galactic beings known as the Reapers are trying to invade the galaxy to start over anew with a cycle of extinction that's been going on for hundreds of thousands of years. They have the power to indoctrinate-" "It doesn't matter to me." He answered, and through his mechanically-filtered voice Shepard could hear he was lying. "If he was weak enough to allow himself to be controlled by a myth then he deserves to die nonetheless. That's the Bridge up ahead-"

"Where's his security?" Ashley asked.

"We're safe for the moment." Duran answered. "He wants us to reach the Bridge, for whatever reason."

"A trap." She concluded. "What's our next move?"

"Spring the trap." Shepard and Duran answered simultaneously. The trio moved forward to the set of blast doors that protected the Bridge, but this time they didn't have to work on the consol: the doors slid right open.

The Bridge was massive. A wide walkway led to the front of the room, where a thin, cloaked figure stood with his hands clasped behind him, staring out of the massive viewports, watching the Battle of Earth unfold below. On either side of the walkway were depressions, stations for the Bridge's crew to do their work.

"I was beginning to question whether or not my modest security forces were too powerful for you, little brother." A cold, shrill voice laughed.

"He's your brother?" Ashley asked, outrage etched in her voice.

"You're one to talk, Second Lieutenant Ashley Williams." That same voice now defended his brother. "After all, is your grandfather not the first, and only, Human to surrender to an alien force?"

"How do you-?"

"Give me some credit, woman: do you truly think me stupid enough to attack a planet like this without doing my research beforehand? I attacked Earth for a very specific reason, among them the fact that the infamous Commander Shepard was being court-martialed here today.

"I knew, as anyone knows, that if Earth were attacked while Shepard was here then he would do anything to protect it, even giving up his own life."

"So you want to kill me?" Shepard asked. "And here I thought perhaps the high and mighty Pyronians might get a little creative."

"Bravo Leader to Alpha Team. Do you copy, Alpha-"

"You have a sense of humor." The man stated as Shepard ignored Garrus's voice.. "How nice. Yes, I do admit I will be ending your pathetic life again, but this time there will be no miraculous resurrection. However, before you meet your destiny my superiors would like to have a final conversation with you."

"Bravo Leader-" Shepard again ignored Garrus's voice.

He turned and gave a lazy wave of his hand. Behind the trio the blast doors sealed themselves once more, and judging by the sound of it they had locked themselves as well. In the middle of the broad walkway a large circle opened up, and from the depths rose a massive conference table.

A flash of blue light lit up the table, and instantly a holographic image appeared, giving them a perfect view of the Reaper that had taken up station outside of the battle.

"Commander Shepard, at last we meet." That deep, booming voice said. "I admit I was beginning to fear you had been killed before I could meet the infamous thing that destroyed Sovereign and has Harbinger in such an uproar."

"What are you, another vanguard?" Shepard asked.

"I am. While my fellows continue their search for a way into this galaxy to begin their attack I am collecting data on you all."

Shepard nodded, pleased that his theory had indeed been correct.

"Compared against such deities as us, you are nothing: all of you are but nothing."

"The Pyronians aren't the only ones needing to get their own material." Shepard said.

"At least," The Reaper continued. "This is what most of my fellows believe. They fail, however, to understand that you have slain a Reaper and made yourself the first being to ever postpone our glorious trek into this galaxy, and thus by doing so you have become something when compared to us. They fail to understand that we now face a galaxy capable of eliminating us once and for all."

"Is that original enough for you?" Ashley asked. Shepard, too, was stunned. He had never expected to hear a Reaper admit they were possibly about to be destroyed. Sovereign and Harbinger had both declared that nothing could stop the massive fleet of Reapers.

"Why have you attacked Earth?" Shepard asked, his mind reeling. "Surely you know additional fleets are en route to support us."

"I assumed as much. I am sure, Human, that you have already figured this out."

"You want to learn our strategies and tactics for the coming invasion. If the attack succeeds then Earth is gone and Humans are no longer a threat. If it fails you will escape, along with valuable knowledge and intelligence about us."

"It would appear," Kakist said suddenly. "That one of your silly little teams managed to infiltrate my CIC...the fabled Black Fleet is now down to only the Vengeance."

Shepard glanced beyond his enemies out to the planet below, and to his relief the hundreds of Pyronian capital ships had been engulfed by balls of fire as bright as Sol itself.

"I must confess that based on what I have seen from your Alliance so far does nothing to impress me. They rely on only one, and his flawed skills, to protect them. I had believed that perhaps you could finally be the ones to stop us; I was wrong, and perhaps Nazara was correct...perhaps you are nothing compared to us. Servant, destroy them all, and then move ahead as planned. Destroy your ship and flee this system to await my further instructions: allow these puny Humans to enjoy their 'victory'."

"As you wish."

The Reaper vanished, leaving them alone with Duran's brother once more.

"Kakist, you fool!" Duran roared, stepping forward towards his brother. "Do you not see what you're doing? That thing knows what we're capable of, and now you're going to weaken us for them."

"I am no fool, little brother." The man answered. "Only a fool remains on the losing side. I know what these Reapers are capable of, and I will not be erased into nothingness like the rest of the galaxy. I will be rewarded beyond my wildest dreams."

"You're not the first fool to believe such lies." Shepard answered. "Saren-"

"Saren was stupid: I am not." The figure turned, pulling off his cloak as he moved. He wore armor exactly like his brothers, though the armor was bright red as opposed to black. His skin was reddish-orange and his eyes blazed with a bright yellow fury.

"You want to know what Saren's 'reward' for his loyalty to Sovereign was?" Ashley asked. "You want to know what he got in return for his work: destruction...he's dead-"

"As are you." Kakist answered as he sealed a matching red helmet with a black visor over his head. He gave his right hand another lazy wave and once more the blast doors behind them opened, but as Shepard turned to look he noticed there were now well over a hundred heavy mechs coming down the corridor, weapons raised as they prepared to come within firing range.

"Not today." Shepard answered, and with the movement of the seasoned veteran he was Shepard had unholstered his rifle, loaded with cryo rounds, and took aim. Before Kakist could move to defend himself, before Duran had a chance to stop him, Shepard depressed the trigger and held it there, spraying a tidal wave of bullets towards the enemy commander. After several seconds the fire finally stopped as his clip emptied out, the Bridge now filled with Kakist's laughter.

"An infant could have hit me from such range, and yet not a single shot touches me."

"I wasn't aiming at you." Shepard said, now smiling.

"What-"

Shepard suddenly burst into movement, grabbing Ashley in his left hand and Duran in his right as he moved, and thanks to the surprise of his motion he was able to pull both of them off of the walkway and into the starboard depression reserved for the ship's crew.

"Hit the deck, now!" He shouted, and as they complied with his words the sound of the Bridge's viewports shattering filled the air, the oxygen howling around them as anything not bolted down to the deck was sucked out into space.

The trio grabbed a hold of elegant chairs that were bolted down, and in silence they held on, waiting for emergency shields or shutters to close tight over the breach...provided Pyronians incorporated such a feature into their capital ships. If they did, then Shepard was confident the battle was over. If not...oh well, he sighed: the battle would still be over.


Tali heard the door behind her hiss as it opened and without even thinking she backed up into the Engine Room, followed closely by Garrus, and until the door had shut and sealed itself neither of them lowered their weapons.

"I leave you alone for ten minutes and you bring half the neighborhood over to party." Kasumi's light-natured voice said, and this joke, so normal for the thief, helped expel much of the fear Tali had been feeling, destroying much of the anxiety Tali had felt at Shepard choosing Ashley to accompany him.

"Yes, your timing is impeccable." Garrus said as Tali moved to begin disabling the engines.

"Aww, did you miss me Garrus?"

"Like a hole in the head."

"Ouch." Tali said, her heart and mood both now much lighter than they had been moments before. "That was cold."

"Yeah." Kasumi agreed. "No wonder he's not got a girlfriend."

"Why do I need a girlfriend?" Garrus asked. "I've got you."

"I'd rather date Grunt." She countered, and this time it was Garrus faking the hurt voice.

"Who's the cold one now?"

Tali listened as the pair joked and laughed: it helped her concentrate a lot better now as she set the Engines to shut down, making sure that in the process no one could come along and restart them before the ship was destroyed.

She knew there was nothing between Shepard and Ashley. Sure, Kitch had ulterior motives for taking Ashley with him, and she knew that, once he got the chance, Shepard would explain those reasons to her, and then she really would feel like a fool for ever doubting her, a feeling doubled by the fact that it had caused her to cry, making her mess up and nearly costing her and Garrus both their lives.

It took only two minutes to complete the process, and once done Tali stood, activated the signal, and immediately the engines fell silent as smoke and flames began to hiss from them.

"Engines offline." Tali muttered, turning to regard Kasumi and Garrus. "Now what?" She asked. "We can't go back the way we came."

"Here." Kasumi answered, pulling up a piece of deck plating that had been neatly cut away. "I entered from below; we have to go down to the deck below, get to the nearest elevator, and go back up seven decks to the Hanger Bays."

Garrus went first, dropping down to the deck below, and once he gave the all clear Tali followed suit, and a moment later they were joined by Kasumi, and together the three of them made their way down the narrow corridor, looking for any sign of the lift that would take them up to the Hanger Bay.

"Bravo Leader to Alpha Team." Garrus said, now working to hail Shepard. "Do you copy, Alpha Team?"

They continued walking with no answer from Shepard. Tali decided to ignore the hint of worry in her voice.

"Bravo Leader to Alpha Team. Do you copy, Alpha Team?" Garrus asked, his voice not changing, showing no hint of frustration or worry.

Again there was nothing.

"This is Bravo Leader hailing Alpha Team. Respond, Alpha Team."

Nothing.

"Something's not right." Tali said, and Garrus nodded his head in agreement.

"Let's rendezvous with the others. If he's not there when we arrive then we'll decide how to proceed."

"Garrus, he could be-" Tali began, only to be cut off by her Turian friend.

"We've both known Shepard for years Tali: if a Collector ambush didn't destroy him I don't think an unknown race of beings with oversized mechs will either. He's likely preoccupied-"

Tali ignored the possible hidden meaning one might be able to take from that sentence and instead forced herself to again trust her Human lover.

"To the Hanger Bays." Tali said, voicing her reluctant agreement with Garrus.

The trio took off, searching for nearly five minutes before they found the set of elevators that looked like they would be the ones to take them to Hanger Bays. As they soon discovered, however, the lifts were out of service.

"Now what?" Tali asked, wondering how hard it would be to repair them.

"Stairs." Kasumi answered, opening a bare door to revel stairs beyond it.

"Wow." Garrus laughed.

"Better than nothing." Tali answered, following Kasumi up the flights of stairs.

In silence the three climbed the stairs, pacing themselves so that they would not run out of energy before making their rendezvous.

After another five minutes of climbing they passed another open doorway, and without thinking Tali glanced through it, taking in the long, narrow corridor with a Quarian standing at the end of it, looking directly at her.

Tali stopped climbing as she realized what she'd just seen. Turning around she descended back down to the door, and looking through her visor she realized she wasn't seeing things...there was another Quarian aboard this alien vessel.

"Hey, you!" She shouted, and in response the mysterious Quarian took off to the left, running as fast as she could. Tali, without thinking, gave pursuit.

"Tali!" Garrus and Kasumi shouted after her, but Tali was no longer paying her friends any attention, her mind now too focused on what another Quarian would be doing onboard a fleet of unknown warships attack the planet Earth.

She turned left and continued chasing the retreating Quarian, determined not to lose her target. She could hear Garrus and Kasumi running after her, still yelling at her to turn around. Tali, of course, refused.

She spurred ahead, and even with such a distance separating the hunter and her prey Tali could still make out a familiar figure, as though she'd once met this Quarian, perhaps had even known him...

Her. Tali corrected herself. This Quarian was definitely a female, something Tali could make out by her shape alone...male Quarians weren't as slim as the Quarian Tali was now chasing.

The fleeing stranger entered another emergency stairwell and began climbing rapidly, and moments later Tali was following suit, her heart now beating furiously in her chest as it raced to keep up with the need for blood throughout her body.

Two decks higher the female Quarians entered a narrow corridor that was much shorter than the others Tali had thus far encountered, but Tali kept up, jumping through a set of open doors moments later to emerge into a deserted mess galley.

The other woman was on the far side of the galley, poised to run through another set of doors. She had, however, stopped, and was now turned to face Tali, and Tali found herself screeching to a halt.

This woman had a white enviro-suit with various shades of light blue, and her visor was a dark, beautiful emerald color. Not many Quarians wore green visors. There was no real reason that Tali knew of other than the fact it wasn't done. In fact, she suddenly realized, the last Quarian she had ever known to wear a green visor had been-

"No." She gasped as the sounds of Garrus and Kasumi's footsteps echoed ever closer.

The ship shook as it took a particularly violent hit, likely the result of combined fire from the various space stations surrounding Earth. The female Quarian took off once more, and without thinking Tali took off, vaulting over tables that lined her path as she approached the door.

It couldn't be. No, it was impossible. Now, after so many years, there was just no way this woman could or would be here. The chances of this woman being here were like the chances of Grunt becoming a scientist. This, however, only spurred the young Quarian woman on.

As she passed the doorway there was a bright flash of light and an explosion that threatened to shatter her helmet's reinforced visor. As she continued running she could hear the sound of deck and metals from above crashing down to the deck of this level, blocking off her pursuing friends. Tali never slowed down.


At long last, just as Shepard had begun to fear he'd not be able to hold on much longer, the sound of heavy, reinforced doors slamming shut over the ship's breach echoed dully throughout the Bridge, and a moment later the howling call of vacuum was over.

"You kriffin' Paragon!" Duran shouted, climbing to my feet. "I told you he was mine, and yet you let him escape: that suit protects us from vacuum long enough to-"

"I know." Shepard countered. "Don't worry; as long as he's working for the Reapers we'll cross his path again. Right now, however, my main concern is destroying this ship and saving Earth."

Duran began stalking towards Shepard.

"I don't care-"

"I do." Shepard answered, dropping his rifle and pulling his shotgun free and taking aim at Duran's head as Ashley followed suit. "Revenge on a wayward brother is secondary to protecting Earth and rallying the Alliance to prepare for war against the Reapers."

"We could you use your help." Ashley added. "You're great under fire, and we can help you find your brother and destroy him later on."

"You can promise me that? I'm a wanted fugitive as far as your Citadel Council-"

"We're Spectres." Shepard countered. "Your helping us save Earth should be enough to get you a pardon from the Council."

"If you can get me a pardon from the Council that lets me move through their space freely then I'll stick with you until these Reapers are destroyed."

"Deal." Shepard answered, holstering his shotgun and bending down to retrieve his rifle. In response Duran jumped back up to the walkway and took off for a terminal at the front of the Bridge, the two Humans following right behind him.

"I'm going to lower the Kinetic Barriers, set the self-destruct, and then we're clear."

As Duran worked Shepard reloaded his rifle and then holstered it once more, now patiently waiting for Duran to finish his work.

"Okay." He said a few minutes later. "The Kinetic Barriers are down, all security measures have been shut down, and in fifteen minutes this ship will go nova. I suggest we withdraw, now."

"Let's go." Shepard said, leading his squad back towards the blast doors and the corridor beyond.

"Alpha Leader to Bravo Team, I read you. I apologize for-"

"Shepard." Garrus cut in. "Tali's gone."

"She's what?" Shepard asked, his heart freezing where it beat.

"We were climbing a set of emergency stairs because our lifts went out. She saw someone and took off after them."

"Who?"

"Don't know. We tried following her but the ship's beginning to take damage now...we've been separated. I'm sorry-"

"It's not your fault, Garrus." Shepard said, deciding that since their enemy now knew who they were the codes were no longer needed. "You and Kasumi rendezvous with the others: I'll go after Tali. What level?"

"Four."

"Copy that."

"Skipper, surely you're not planning on going alone-"

"I am." Shepard answered.

"But-"

"Ash, if something happens to me Humanity will need its only other Spectre to finish what I've begun with the Reapers. Now, you and Duran rendezvous with the others: Tali and I will meet you there."

"Aye, aye Skipper." She answered.

"Hey Paragon, take a right at the intersection ahead. Those lifts will take you directly to Level Four: if she's headed forward from the Engine Room you might be able to intercept her."

"Thanks Duran."

"That's two you owe me now."

Shepard nodded his head in silence and without further ado he was gone, once again racing against time to make sure none of his crew got left behind.

"Charlie to Alpha." Zaeed cut in. "Life Support's disabled: headed to rendezvous now."

Shepard failed to acknowledge the former Blue Sun leader and founder, his mind now totally focused on finding Tali and getting her off of the Vengeance before it exploded into a miniature supernova of its own.

Who in the world, he asked himself, could she be chasing that was important enough to risk her life aboard a doomed warship?


Oooh, a mystery. I love mysteries.

So, does anyone know who this Quarian Tali's chasing might be? I know, of course, but I can't ruin the surprise, at least, not until the next chapter. If anyone has any ideas leave them in a signed review and I will announce those who get it right in the next chapter.

I know this chapter may seem spotty and fast-paced, but I promise you: as of right now this may be the single most important chapter in this story. There are many secrets hidden in this chapter, waiting for the readers who can find them to come along.

And before you say anything, don't ask me why I described Garrus as the Dark Knight, because really, it was a spur-of-the-moment deal. I was watching Batman Begins and The Dark Knight a few days ago and I began seeing some similarities between Bruce Wayne/Batman and Garrus Vakarian/Archangel. For example, they were both once great law-abiding citizens who realized that law enforcement was losing the war on crime and they both became vigilantes to do something about it.

Another thing that was spur-of-the-moment was Tali's fears about the possibility of a continued relationship between Ashley and Shepard. I mean, yes, there were the events of Mass Effect 2, provided you chose Tali as your romance option, but even then there is much about their relationship left to the imagination. Officially, at the end of Mass Effect 2 they are only lovers...at least, in my evaluation, which I will admit could be wrong. So yeah, like I said at the beginning of the first chapter all those months ago, while this may be a Shepard(M)xTali fic, it doesn't mean their relationship's road has to be smooth, right?

And I believe that's all I've got to say so far. Thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far: I am honored you would take the time to tell me what you think.

Oh, and don't worry, the next update will come much sooner than this last one did.