A/N: Whew, I got sidetracked for a few months, but I'm getting in the groove again. Mahalo for staying with me.

The Vila – 13 March 2176, 1700 hours

Her head felt like it was ten sizes too large and it throbbed like a bad rock concert. "Ugh, did a krogan hit me?" She rubbed her eyes and tried to open them, but blinding light stabbed her right to the brain and she shut them tight again.

"Shepard…Shepard, shit girl, you had us worried." It sounded like Amanda's voice, but it tinny and hollow, like it was coming through a pipe.

Someone slapped Claire on the cheek a couple of times and then tweaked her nose. "Hey, sleepy head. It's about time you woke up."

"Is that you, Adam? I'm going to rip your head off!"

"Ah, now that sounds more like her." There was another tap on the top of her head and then a tousle of her hair.

Shepard forced her eyes open, enduring the shocking brightness until the stabbing light subsided to a strong glare. She realized that she was in a hospital room, pristine and white. Then, she hardened her gaze at Adam and reached out, trying to seize his arm, but he snatched it back. "Hey!" he said, "All grumpy this morning, huh?"

"You don't know the half of it," she said with a sigh and then a slow smile spread across her face. "But thanks, guys. You had my back and I won't forget it."

Adam put on this 'aww shucks' look, bouncing back and forth with a blush. "Don't mention it. I'm sure you would have done the same for us."

The door to the room opened and then slammed shut after someone passed through. "No, she wouldn't have. This one's in it for herself." It was Hartmann. He pushed right through the team as if they weren't there and glared down in Shepard's eyes. "Can you stand?"

"I…I think so." She eased herself painfully from the bed.

"Don't think…do. Time's a wasting and your team is falling behind."

Shepard hopped down onto bare feet and stretched out her back. A dull ache ran through her muscles like choking vines, but she nodded. "I'm back in the fight, master chief."

He tugged on her hospital gown. "You're going to go out like that?" he said with a smirk. "Now that I'd like to see." He broke eye contact and then sneered at the team. "What are you all staring at? Get the hell outta here and do some work for a change."

The team scrambled out of the room, asses and elbows, shutting the door behind them. Shepard flung a nearby locker open and grabbed a new set of training fatigues. "I'll be ready in a moment, master chief."

He pursed his lips and nodded. "Good to have you back, Shepard," he said. She looked for any expression, any sign of warmth, but she was disappointed. He was all business. "Fall in with your team outside and make it quick," he added and then turned on a dime to leave the room.

Shepard practically dove into her training fatigues and stepped right into her boots as she made for the door. She could already hear yelling and counting as she dashed through the hospital exit. "What are you waiting for, Shepard? A sealed invitation?" Hartmann shouted. She could see the team doing burpies, down to do a pushup then standing back up to jump. Down again, and then back up. "Your team missed you so much, they insisted on more PT."

She felt a flush of guilt and scrambled in line just in time to dive down for a pushup. This time, her muscles ached and she felt just a little lightheaded. She glanced over to see Adam, straining and red faced, but smiling bigger than a Cheshire Cat. "One, two, three, ten! One, two, three, eleven!" Claire called.

"Did someone steal your vitamins?" Hartmann hollered in that mocking sing-song voice. "Did your cat run away?"

"No, master chief!"

"Then why the pathetic, weak-assed, sobbing in your cheerios mumbling? You want to cry? You want a sympathetic shoulder? Then get the fuck out of my Vila and go home! Sound off like you give a shit!"

"One, two, three, fifteen! One, two three, sixteen!"

In spite of her aching arms, Shepard had to laugh on the inside. The master chief didn't miss a beat and it was right back to business. She had been given a second chance and she knew it. And, as much as she hated to admit it, that chance was because of the men and women to the right of her and to the left of her.

The Vila – 14 March 2176, 0249 hours

The next morning came fast…way too fast. There wasn't even a glow on the horizon as the Deltas trotted in formation along a dirt path, their flashlight beams bouncing up and down. Claire wiped crust from her eye with a muddy hand, which only made it worse. A lot of food and her genetics had mostly healed her from her ordeal the other day, but she still ached like she had the flu. Hartmann trotted alongside them, his PT uniform pristine and pressed, his boots shined to perfection.

"You look mighty sleepy, Shepard. You wanna take a nap?"

"No, master chief!"

"Good, 'cause this next evolution will wake you the fuck up for sure. You ready, Golden Girl?"

"Born ready, master chief!"

"Team…halt!" he yelled as he raised a fist. The Deltas came to a stop on a dime, standing lean and ready. Claire could see Grimaldi at a table that was full of ammunition blocks.

"Step up quickly, people," Grim shouted. "Simmunitions and sims only! Power up your stun wands too. Quickly! Quickly!"

Shepard stepped up to the table and Grim slapped a bunch of blocks into her hand. "The clearing barrel is over there," he said, pointing to a black tube mounted on a stand. Claire moved to the barrel and put the muzzle of her assault rifle into the opening and then pulled the charging handle back to do her safety check. You always had to assume the weapon was loaded. Satisfied that her weapon was safe and empty, she jammed a block into the well and slapped the bolt catch to chamber a round. She could hear the eezo core hum as it stripped off a shard of metal into the firing chamber. Being able to grasp these small nuances of the weapon are what separated the professionals from the rabble: the weight, the sound, the feel. The way in which she handled the weapon told those around her that she was a warrior: trigger finger anchored prominently on the receiver, crisp motions of her hands and eyes, and a vigilant but relaxed posture. Putting the rifle back on its hard mount, she did the same with her pistol and then stuffed it back in its holster.

The Deltas quickly locked and loaded and circled around Hartmann. "Take a knee, people!" he called out and they knelt as one. He tossed a data pad to LaRosa. "Sitrep," the master chief added, asking for the mission briefing.

Adam read the word stream on the data pad and grunted several times. "Oh, great."

Amanda scrunched up her face in displeasure. "You gonna sit on all of that info or you gonna share with the rest of the team?"

"Sorry," he said and looked up. "Situation: deep space SIGINT has picked up comm chatter that a biotic extremist group will stage an attack on a population center. The Office of Naval Intelligence believes that they are bringing in a weapon of mass destruction, type unknown. J-2 has a HUMINT source on the inside that is willing to cooperate."

Joe leaned over Adam's shoulder, trying to get a look at the data pad. "What's the story on the source?"

"Just getting to that," Adam said with a hint of impatience. "Okay, J-2's been developing sources inside extremist groups and they have one who can provide immediate traction on the situation. There are some grid coordinates here," he said, pointing to a GPS map on the pad. "The source is waiting for us here and we're to provide the following parole for authentication: Nature. The source is to respond with 'calls.' The source will have a red scarf out as an identifier. Our first mission is to meet with the source and gather actionable intelligence. From there, we are to neutralize the threat and recover the weapon. For this mission, we will be joined shortly by Teams Alpha through Echo. Delta Team has ten team members in which to prosecute the operation. Our armaments include small arms, grenades and hand weapons. We can expect no further reinforcements or resupply. Any questions?"

"That's right, people," Hartmann said with all seriousness. "This is a major action. All teams will be playing. This is not a competition. You will be judged on teamwork. You will need to bring all of your skills to the table today. This is where you will become N Operators or you will take the long walk home. Are you ready?"

"Ready, master chief!"

"Well, what are you waiting for…a directive from Parliament? Get your asses moving!"

The Deltas broke ranks and fell into a loose formation, advancing towards the meeting site. Adam stabbed his finger at Amanda and Claire. "Scouts out front. You two have point." As the two double timed it ahead, Adam switched his radio to the common frequency. "All teams, this is Delta checking in."

"Copy Delta, this is Charlie. We'll be leading the way in to meet with the source. You guys anchor the flank with Echo. We'll let you know how it goes."

Adam shook his head. "So much for teamwork," he said to Amanda and Claire.

The two ladies split up and hustled out 50 meters ahead of the formation in the tall grass. Shepard flipped down her NVG's and the world turned a sickly color of green for her. She scanned the terrain ahead, sweeping back and forth with her rifle. She saw buildings up ahead and what looked like a vehicle depot. A Grizzly tank sat dormant near a fueling station. There was movement up ahead and Claire took a knee.

"This is Delta Two, hold up. I've got movement up ahead in the urban center." She saw ten operators leapfrogging up to the first building. "It's Charlie Team. I'm moving to a covering position." In a crouch, she scurried up to a fallen tree and placed her rifle over it, muzzle downrange, ready to engage any hostiles. "In position. Holding cover."

"This is Delta One. I'm on your left," Amanda said. "Fifty meters."

"This is Delta Three. The rest of Delta will hold here," Adam told them. "We're ready to move in on your call."

Claire tapped her omni tool and added the Charlie's frequency to listen in on. She moved some of the dirt around at her legs to get more comfortable and popped a stick of gum in her mouth. In a couple of chews, that sweet flavor coated her tongue, taking the edge off of the chilly morning.

"Charlie Five and Six, move up," the Charlie Team lead ordered. "Take position at the corner of that building. Charlie Seven and Eight, cover."

Claire watched as two operators hustled up to the corner of the building leading to the vehicle depot. It looked pretty vanilla.

"This is Charlie Five. I've got movement in one of the structures past the Grizzly. It looks like…like an asari. She's got a red scarf. That's got to be our contact."

"This is Charlie Three," the team lead said. "One and two, move up. Make contact with the source."

Two other operators bounded ahead, crouching low and sweeping the area with the muzzles of their rifles. They moved past the Grizzly up to the asari.

"This is Charlie One. We've made contact," he said. "Nature."

There was some static on the line, but Claire could just hear "Calls" through Charlie One's mike. She breathed a short sigh of relief.

"This is Charlie One. Source identity confirmed. We are proceeding into this structure to hear the source's intell."

"Copy that," the team lead answered.

The two operators followed the asari through a door and passed out of Claire's sight. She took a breath and relaxed, anticipating a few minutes of respite. She dug into her pack to pull out an energy bar. A little nutrition before it got hot and heavy would do her good. She reached into her mouth and pulled out the gum, sticking it on the log to save for later. As she took that first bite of bread and raisins the skin on the back of her neck crawled. She froze and then slowly turned her head to the right.

"Fuck me," she whispered. Three crouching figures were spreading out around her position, submachineguns and shotguns sweeping for her. Behind them came a loose formation of troops, all glowing faintly blue. Shepard silently shifted her body, moving her rifle towards the threat. "This is Delta Two. We got company on the right flank," she whispered into the mike.

Claire peered into the optics of her rifle, placing the red dot right between the lead scout's eyes. She held her breath and began pressing the trigger. Just as the shot broke, the building in which the two Charlie operators had gone into exploded into a ball of blue flame. Shepard saw the lead scout collapse and then turned to sound of the blast. Her eyes grew big as the Grizzly tank came to life and fired its cannon right into Charlie Team.

"It's a fucking ambush!" she called into her mike as small arms fire erupted around her.

CODEX:

PT – Physical Training.

SIGINT – Signals Intelligence. Gathering data by electronic means.

J-2 – Joint Intelligence Command

HUMINT – Human Intelligence. AKA sources.

GPS – Global Positioning System