A/N

The Shadow Broker! Here is the next chapter and enjoy! I also wish to thank USMC-recon and Teagann (DeAngelo's Muse) for their wonderful input on the story so far.

~RelayJumper

Shepard's POV

The figure that stood before Shepard was monstrous. The Shadow Broker stood nine feet tall and put the Krogan to shame with his massive body. Liara had said he was a species know as the Yahg, a pre space flight species that slaughtered the Citadel emissaries.

Liara had incited the creatures wrath after posing her theory about it's appearance, and the possibility that it was illegally brought of its home planet Parnack as a pet. The beast stood up and stared them down. With a loud roar, it hurled the terminal it was sitting behind nearly taking out the group. Shepard helped Liara up and saw Tali lying motionless in debris from the Terminal.

"Shepard! Look out!" Liara called out to Shepard as she dove for cover behind a small barrier. Shepard did the same as a volley of rounds deflected off his shields. The Broker was wielding an M-76 Revenant assault rifle. It had a massive clip capacity which was keeping the pair pinned down.

"We need to get his shields down!" Shepard yelled over the noise. He pulled out his Mattock and turned on his disrupter rounds.

"Trying!" snapped Liara.

The Broker started to advance on their position and Shepard chucked an inferno grenade causing the beast to stagger back into the center of the room. The Broker shook of the shock and activated his Kinetic barrier looking to recharge his shields.

"Shepard, nothings getting past that barrier!" Liara unleashed a warp only for it to bounce aside.

"I guess I'm going old school!" Shepard jumped from cover and charged the Yahg. The Broker lurched to the side but not before Shepard landed two heavy blows to the beast's skull.It feels like punching titanium! Was his last thought before the Yagh countered with a shield brought up with his Omni-tool sending Shepard flying through the air. He recovered in time to slip back into cover across from Liara.

"His shields are back up!" Liara yelled, panic creeping into her voice.

"I know! Let me Drive!"

"What?" Shouted Liara as she ducked into cover again as bullets bounced off her barrier.

Before Shepard could reply, he felt a body slide into cover beside him.

"Kyson? The hell you doing here?" Shepard asked as rounds from the Broker's rifle flew overhead. Liara distracted the Broker with a singularity that it was trying to pull away from. The Yagh roared again as it dug in to the steel plate floor by punching through it and grabbing a beam underneath. All three of the members fighting were shocked by the brute strength.

"Holy fuck balls Shepard! What did you get yourself into? And where the hell is TALI?" Kyson said while ducking back into cover. Shepard saw the anger in the young mans eyes. Hell he already told me why, shit…Tali.

"Apparently something called a Yagh. We're having a little party." Shepard leaned out of cover to let off another volley from his Mattock. But he took the time to make a quick glance for Tali, he had seen her still form of to the left of the room.

"She's down Kyson, see if you can flank left and get to her!" Shepard shouted as he provided more suppressive fire even though it wasn't doing much.

"You got it!" Kyson popped out of cover and started to unload a clip into the Broker who was still struggling. Shepard watched Kyson sprint form cover and to the support column only ten feet away from Tali. Liara's singularity had dissipated and the Broker's shields were down again which was replaced once again with the Kinetic barrier. But while the Broker struggled, it had noticed Kyson moving up. So as soon as the barrier was back up, he charged at Kyson who was reaching Tali at that moment.

"KYSON!" Liara and Shepard both yelled at once. Shepard watched as the young engineer looked up in time to roll out of the way as the Yagh pounded into the wall dazing it's self. Kyson picked up Tali and hauled ass towards Shepard who already had his grenade launcher out.

"Get down!" He yelled ad Kyson who rolled mid run. One missle passed just a mere foot and a half from Kyson's face as he looked up while in mid flught himself. Kyson landed with a dull thud and skidded to a stop on his back with Tali still limp in his arms. That's when Kyson saw the Yagh take the hits and how close it was to catching him. The two missiles found their mark on the pursuing Yagh who roared in triumph as he activated his Kinetic Barrier once again

"That's the Third time! Nothings working!" Shepard yelled furiously.

"Use the Mosin! The barrier is designed for modern weapon velocity!" Kyson shouted.

Shepard felt daft for not remembering the riffle slung over his shoulder. He quickly took it off and sighted for what he thought was the center of the Yahg's brain. He was able to pull off one shot right as the Broker moved. It took out one of the eight eyes causing the beast to roar in pain as blood and gore splattered the ground.

"You will pay Shepard! T'Soni and you're friends will die because of you!" The broker shouted in his deep rumbling voice. It turned and charged right a Liara's position. She rolled out of the way as the cover was smashed to smithereens. She sprinted to the cover Kyson had taken refuge behind.

"I have an idea. If you two can get him into the middle again, I can bring down the stored energy from the lightning." Shepard looked up at the ceiling and noticed it was not just a light, but a massive lightning capacitor.

"Alright!" Was all Shepard said and he sprinted into the middle of the room.

"Hey ugly, I'm over here!" Shepard cycled the bolt on the Mosin and took aim. The Broker roared and charged straight at him. Kyson overloaded its shields at the same time Shepard pulled the trigger.

The round struck the Broker in the knee causing it to go down hard. Shepard sprinted out of the way as Liara charged up her biotics. With a feral snarl she shattered the containment field with a warp and pulled down the stored energy right on top of the Broker. It let out one final roar before being incinerated in a blinding flash.

Shepard held an arm up to shield his eyes, from the light. The giant capacitor's warning systems blared and activated the emergency shields, reigning in the stored energy before flooding the room. Shepard saw Liara standing off to the side, trembling. She started to collapse from the strain and fell into Shepard's arms.

"Whoa there, you did good babe." Shepard picked Liara up into his arms and carried her over to a nearby sofa near a large window.

"Thanks. It was…nothing. Just need a moment." Shepard set her down gently and turned to see Kyson hovering over Tali. Damn. Shepard walked over to find Kyson shaking her.

"Wake up! Come on, this isn't funny! Shepard, her vitals are fine but…" Kyson had a grimace on his face. Shepard kneeled down to check for himself. But as he got close, Tali began to stir and reached out to Kyson.

"What…happened?" Was all she could manage to say.

"You got hit by the Brokers terminal. You missed a good fight." Shepard was relived to see Tali back in action. He saw that Kyson had her well in hand and walked back to Liara, who was standing in front of a massive display of multiple screens.

"Shadow Broker, systems went temporarily off line. Need status update." He watched as Liara struggled with something in her mind as more operatives checked in. Liara walked up to the main panels and activated the voice control.

"This is the Shadow Broker. The situation is under control." Liara said into the panel, a voice altering program concealing her true voice and the change over of control.

"We experienced a power flux while upgrading our hardware. It momentarily disrupted communications. However we are now back online. Proceede with standard procedures. I want status reports on all operations in the next solar day. Broker out." Liara turned around to see all eyes on her. She noticed the door to the hall open and Feron followed by the other members of the team rush in.

"Liara? How…I thought…" Feron lowered his pistol and stood dumbfounded.

"It's ok Feron. I'm glad to see you made it out." Feron just smiled and turned to the group.

"You have good friends. Glad you could bring them along. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go lie down." Feron walked off to the sofa with a slight limp. Shepard who was joined by both Kyson and Tali walked up to Liara.

"You up for doing this Liara? Being the new Shadow Broker?" Shepard had seen how consumed Liara had been back on Illium. He was not going to loose her again.

"I am John. I can use the Brokers resources to help against the Reapers when the time comes. This…will allow me to repay you for not being there when you first needed me." Liara looked as if she was about to say something more but held back. Shepard pulled her close.

"I understand why you didn't come along Liara. I just don't want to loose you again to your work." Liara just shook her head and looked up. She saw Kyson and Tali starting to walk off, giving the pair some space. Liara let go of Shepard.

"Tali, are you ok?" Liara asked. She was ashamed that another one of her friends got hurt because of her.

"I'm fine Liara. I'm just glad everything worked out for you." Tali winced as she placed weight on her left leg. Kyson saw the hesitation and slung Tali's left arm over his shoulder. Liara knew after today's fight that Kyson was a good man. She smiled at him and shook his free hand.

"Thank you Kyson for showing up when you did. I don't know what would have happened otherwise." Kyson smiled back but looked at the ground when Shepard jumped in.

"I thought I told you to stay with the others." Shepard was frowning again. Tali looked from Kyson to Shepard, realizing what must have happened.

"You disobeyed orders? Kyson!" Tali knew why Kyson had really come. It filled her heart with joy knowing that he cared so much, but abandoning his post was wrong.

"You should have been with Kasumi watching the hall, but no. You had to come rushing in headlong into a situation you didn't know…and if you hadn't…who knows. Thank you." Shepard walked over and patted Kyson on the shoulder. Liara had a slight smile and returned to the panels waiting for updates.

"Just next time, I'll call if I need help." And with that Shepard walked off to address the other teammates.

Kyson's POV

Kyson knew he was lucky. Shepard had every right to be pissed. If he had been wrong, he could have been booted off the Normandy. He helped Tali walk over to the remaining team members who were spread out talking amongst themselves.

"Kyson, how could you leave your post? It could have jeopardized everything." Tali started concern laced in her words.

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't live with myself if you had gotten killed. I trust Shepard but I knew in my gut that I had to come." Tali was quite for a moment as Kyson helped her sit on the floor by the back door and joined her.

"Thank you. I…was worried when that explosion went off earlier. I thought…" Kyson took her hand and squeezed it lightly to reassure her.

"I'm right here, and so are you. Alls good." Kyson looked up when he heard someone move towards them. Miranda was standing over him.

"Shepard might let you off easy, but I won't. You get to pull double duty with Mr. Gardner." With that said, she walked off. Kyson knew that the next few weeks were going to suck. But Miranda wasn't the only one who wanted a piece.

"Hey, Bro. Nice to see you still like going AWOL. When we get back to the Normandy, We need to talk. Tali, I would love it if you would join us." Kyson just nodded not looking forward to that new chore either. Tali told Teagann that she would be there and Teagann walked off. Shepard walked into the middle of the group a called for everyone's attention.

"Good work everyone. Liara is going to help us out here by using the Broker's resources. Now, we're going to get off the ship before the remaining forces know that the old Broker was usurped." Shepard motioned toward the back chamber.

"There's a secondary docking pad just outside. Everyone get ready to disembark. Once on board the Normandy, Get some rest. That's an order." Everyone acknowledged and headed to the pad. Kyson got up and the scooped up Tali.

"Kyson, I can walk." But her words fell on deaf ears. Kyson was to busy working out what would come next. The Broker had been taken down and replaced with a powerful ally, no, a good friend. Now he could take the time to focus on his own lot in life.

The two had arrived at the pad where the Kodiak was waiting for them. Kyson set Tali down gently but decided to stand grabbing an overhead rail. He looked at all the faces on board and noticed Shepard missing.

"Where's Shepard?" Kyson asked to no one in particular. Garrus let out a small laugh.

"He said he had unfinished business." Kyson grinned. Good. They have been through a lot. He hoped Liara would be ok.

"Shepard's a lucky man" Kyson said admiring what Liara and Shepard had. Kasumi shook her head.

"He's not the only one Kyson." Kyson looked over to her understanding what she meant. He looked back at Tali as the Kodiak lifted off.

"You're right. Shepard's lucky, I'm just awesome." Garrus looked like he was going to gag, while Teagann buried her face in her hands. Tali kicked him lightly with her good leg playfully.

"If I remember correctly, I thought I was the awesome one?" Kyson took the seat next to her and propped her up on his chest.

"Yep, you're the level after awesome," Kyson said as he tried to casually put his arm around her waist.

"And what would that be?" Tali asked in a seductive silky tone.

"The word Goddess comes to mind…"

"Oh get a room already" grunted Garrus. Tali looked over to him.

"My shotgun wants you to volunteer yours Garrus." Garrus shifted towards the door and looked out the window mumbling something about elevators. The Kodiak had docked with the Normandy and was in the pressurization phase. Once the all clear was given, Kyson took Tali up to the Med bay. Dr. Chakwas was already waiting to treat any wounds. Kyson helped Tali onto one of the medical beds.

Dr. Chakwas scanned her with her Omni-tool and frowned. She continued her work in silence while Kyson stayed next to the bed. He wanted to know the results. The Dr. looked up and shook her head.

"I swear the two of you can not be separated. She's going to be fine Kyson, just a bruised thigh and a good bump on the head. You'll be fine Tali. Just take it easy for a few days." Kyson was relived at the news. He was getting ready to pick up Tali when the med bay doors opened and Teagann walked in.

"Ok, time to talk." Dr. Chakwas was about to tell off Teagann when Kyson intercepted.

"It can wait till we get back to my room." Kyson picked up Tali who thanked the Dr. with a wave as they passed. Dr. Chakwas smiled and went back to her desk. The elevator ride down was spent in silence. Once down in the bay, Kyson turned right to his room and opened the door.

He was going to put Tali down on the bed but decided to put her in the hammock instead. It would keep her leg elevated. He grabbed a pillow for her while motioning for Teagann to sit on the bed. He then took off his chest plates tossing them aside. He found his whisky and poured two glasses, handing one to Teagann. He also grabbed a sterile bottle of water and a tube of nutrient paste and handed them to Tali.

"Ok, what's so important?" Kyson asked leaning back against his workbench. Teagann took a sip of her whiskey before talking.

"Well, I wanted to apologize for what I said back on Illium." Kyson held up a hand stopping her.

"It's fine. You have every right to be pissed." Kyson thought back on the years he had dropped off the grid. He looked over to Tali who was quietly eating her food. It was time for her to know some details.

"I'm the one who has a lot to account for. I was fucked in the head after Cynthia. And even before that really." Kyson noticed Teagann swirling her drink saying nothing.

"When I was in the Reds, I started doing odd jobs. Hacking and repair work. But not long after I joined, they had me going on raids. I didn't want to go on killing spree's I just wanted to work on the gyrocycles and equipment." Kyson remembered the raid in which he spared Cynthia's life.

After he hid her away, he linked back up with Samantha and slaughtered the remaining residents of the shanty town. They had pilled them up in a large mound in the center before looting the rest. Samantha had dragged him atop the pile. He tried to resist but another member was waiting to take a picture. Samantha smiled and punched Kyson in the arm to do the same. He had wanted to throw up.

"But they saw my talents and put me to use. I came home time to time to check on you Teagann, but I couldn't stay long or risk the family. Once I had saved up enough creds, I took Cynthia and myself off world and tried to cut ties." Kyson lit another cigg and followed with a long swig from the bottle. Teagann stood up and walked over and poured herself another drink.

"Look bro, you could've asked for help. Dad would have blown em to hell and you know he would have." Teagann downed the second shot and continued.

"I lost a brother and a sister that day. So what you pulled was a bunch of crap. But, I see it was for the best. If you hadn't, we wouldn't be here and…" Teagann cut off and looked to Tali for support. The two had been trading messages over the past two days. Tali sat up straighter in the hammock.

"If you hadn't done what you had, we never would have met…" Tali's words sunk into Kyson's thick skull. She was right.

"Teagann and I have talked about it before the mission. You did what you had to in order to survive. It's ok." Tali gently rolled out of the hammock and placed a hand on Kyson's shoulder.

"It's time to let go." Kyson's dream flashed into his mind with her words. He wanted to run, but knew it was the wrong move. It was time to let go.

"I know." Was all he could manage. Teagann smiled and gave her brother a hug.

"See, better already. Take care of him Tali. I'll catch ya'll later." Tali embraced Teagann before lying back down in the hammock. Teagann left the two of them alone and headed back to deck three.

Kyson finished taking off his armor and threw himself on the bed. He was tired. He activated his Omni-tool and put on some music. He rolled over and picked up his guitar and played along quietly. When the song was over, he played some of his own songs. It helped him sort things out. Once he was finished he turned it off and rolled back over in his bed not sure what to do with himself.

"I like listening to you play." Tali said from across the small room.

"You liked that?" He asked opening an eye to look at her.

"I do. It's calming." Kyson sat up.

"I'm glad. How's the leg?" Tali shifted in the hammock and settled in.

"Much better, I took some pain killers so I should be fine. You mind playing some more?" Kyson picked up his guitar and sat down next to the hammock and continued the mellow melodies. He decided to lie down and use one leg to gently rock Tali, simulating a breeze by the ocean.

"What are you doing?" Tali asked feeling the slight movement.

"When I was little, I would lie in one of these on the beach in a place called North Carolina. The ocean breeze would be the right temperature to sleep in and would rock me to sleep as the sound of the waves crashed in the background." Kyson looked up to see Tali staring at the ceiling.

"I wouldn't know what that's like…with this suit and all." She sounded distant and sad.

"Well, I'm sure Mordin could help us out. If he can do all that work on the Genophage, I'm sure he could boost your immune system." Kyson wasn't so sure of his own words, but she needed hope. She looked down at him with those glowing eyes which caused him to stop playing.

"You might be on to something." She rolled back and continued to stare at the ceiling.

"Kyson, will you take me to the beach?" Tali asked. Kyson smiled.

"I will. It'll be fun." Kyson resumed playing while rocking her gently. He must have stayed like that for over an hour. When he couldn't stand the floor anymore, he got up and checked on Tali. She was sound asleep.

He closed the shutters looking over the bay and picked out a change of clothes. He went up to deck three and hopped in the shower. After getting all the grime from the past mission off, he took the time to shave. Damn that feels amazing! Feeling like a new man he walked over to the small kitchen and fixed up and egg over easy, and put in on a grilled pepper jack n cheese sandwich.

He was watching a vid on his data pad when Legion sat across from him. Kyson paused the vid and finished the bite in his mouth. He motioned the sandwich towards the Geth.

"Want a bite?" Kyson asked with a straight face.

"We don not understand. Geth do not need food." It said in its synthetic voice.

"I know, but the fact that I offered means kindness and the willingness to share. It's me wanting to be nice." Kyson as well as the rest of the crew had taken it upon themselves to show Legion the positive sides of organics.

Not just because it was nice though. They were all hoping to help the Geth realize the mistake they made when they drove off the Quarian's off Rannoch, their common home world.

"Understood, then…thank you Kyson Sorley." Legion just remained sitting there while Kyson finished his food. It freaked him out being studied. But he understood why it did what it did. Once Kyson was finished, he washed his tray and pan. When he turned around Legion was right behind him.

"Um…can I help you?" Kyson was not sure how to handle having his personal space be violated by a robot.

"No. But we have a question. Is creator Tali'Zorah recovering well?" asked Legion. The question surprised Kyson. The two had a rocky start from what he had heard.

"Yes, she's resting right now. That was…nice of you to ask." Kyson nodded to Legion and walked off to head back to his room. Legion just stood there watching.

A polite one that Geth, but what a creeper. Kyson quietly got back to his room and finally the exhaustion hit him. He curled up with his favorite pillow and waited for sleep to take him. He was just about to drift off when he felt an arm drape over him and a familiar three fingered hand grab his. He glanced over to her and thought he saw tears behind her mask. It was hard to tell.

"Tali…" he started but stopped when she shook her head.

"It's ok, just bad memories." Her grip tightened on his hand.

"You know you can talk to me." He rolled over to better face her.

"I was just thinking about how my father promised me a home on Rannoch, the trial, how I felt when that girl stabbed you. It's kind of catching up…you know." Tali was holding on to him for the feeling of security. Kyson understood completely.

She had never talked about how the trial had affected her. She had recounted the whole thing to him a week ago in a monotone, as if it was a bad history lesson. He hadn't known that her father had died trying to keep her out of the politics until she freaked out over his off color joke about him.

"Shepard is trying his best to help me and so many others. When he died, a part of me did as well. It seems petty to complain…"

"Tal…"

"But you promised me the galaxy, the way you said it, I believe you will do anything you can to do it. It keeps me going." Kyson smiled back on that moment from a day ago. He had meant it.

"But I'm scared. What Shepard said about bonding…" Kyson tensed. He felt that this was going to come up.

"Shepard kinda filled me in on it before we left on the Kodiak." Kyson still wasn't sure what it meant. But he would find out.

"He did?" She asked her eyes widening a little.

"Yeah. Something about once Quarian's mate, it's permanent. That's all I know." Kyson saw Tali fidget in place.

"I see…well…um…are you ok with that…I mean, it's never happened with a Human before…as far as I know of." Kyson understood her concern. He did have an answer for her though.

"I'm here now. And I don't see myself going anywhere without you." Kyson looked into her eyes again and thought he could make out a smile.

"Kyson…you need to know what it means when Quarian's bond." She hesitated, the emotions roiling insider her like a maelstrom, but she had made it this far. She owed it to Kyson to be forward with him.

"It's more than a final choice and basic loyalty. When we bond, it starts with us thinking about each other constantly, always wanting to be together." Kyson shrugged his shoulders.

"That sounds normal so far." He said.

"Yes but, there's a point where our minds shift in perception, we connect with that person's very being. It becomes permanent, if the other were to die, the other…" Tali trailed off and quivered slightly.

"Tali, what happens?" he needed to know.

"They become distant, a hollow shell of whom they once were. When we bond, we become a part of them. It is a choice at first, but when it happens…you just know." Kyson thought on her words trying to figure it out.

"So what you're saying is if you were to bond with me, you could never do so again?" Tali nodded.

"How does one know if they are bonded? Any clear signs?" Tali propped up on one elbow and looked at him.

"Well…you kinda displayed a sign on the mission…" Tali said vaguely.

"Oh yeah, When was that?" Kyson had no idea what he did that could resemble what they were talking about.

"When you left your post, why did you do it?" her question had a point to it and he was beginning to understand.

"I left because I couldn't go on another day not seeing you…It was the same reason I reacted so quickly back at that Alliance base…" Tali just stared at him.

"Now Kyson, imagine how I felt when that explosion went off because of you." Kyson could only imagine. He would be loosing his mind.

"I'm…sorry. I didn't want you to go through that…wait; you're saying that you're bonding to me?" Kyson was about to loose his cool. Not in a freaked out kinda way, but how serious things just got. You know what; I want this, to be happy. But he wasn't prepared for what happened next.

Kyson was staring at the ceiling when he heard an odd hiss. He looked over to Tali and his heart stopped. Tali was smiling at him without her mask.

"I think I am" was all she said before kissing him.

A/N

So now Kyson is starting to move on...kinda. But it's never that easy is it?