-The encounter at Sur'Kesh-

Elia walked towards the conference room where the leaders of the krogan, the turian and the salarian forces were meeting. She could already hear raised voices.

"Here we go again", she thought to herself, somewhat exasperatedly.

At the very least, she supposed it was a good sign that they'd deigned to meet at the Normandy, with it being a sufficiently neutral party and all. Like she had told Specialist Traynor before discarding her hoodie and slacks in favor of her (rarely used) civilian clothes (something that Elisira, Miranda, and Kasumi had insisted she change into before going over to meet the political heads of the other species), they had to first avoid another war before they could drum up enough support for the formation of an alliance. She also got the feeling she knew what Wrex wanted. Liara's intelligence reports had indicated the presence of some interesting specimens at one of the salarian science bases in Sur'kesh. Either way, she would get what she wanted, with or without support from the Dalatrass. She had to.

"The krogan is in no position to make demands", said Dalatrass Linron, somewhat haughtily, as Elia walked into the room to take her place at one end of the rectangular table. She bristled slightly at the tone the salarian head was using with her old friend, and resolved to put the amphibian in her place.

"This krogan has a name. It's Urdnot Wrex. And I've got my own problems at Tuchanka. Reapers have been spotted by Clan Jorgal in the South. Why should I worry over some spilt turian or salarian blood?", shot back Wrex.

"Enough!", shouted Primarch Victus, over the other two. "This is getting us nowhere. Wrex, tell us what you want...", he added.

Wrex nodded at Elia, acknowledging her presence, and said dramatically, "I'll tell you what I need. A cure…for the genophage."

The Dalatrass flapped her arms in agitation, exclaiming, "Absolutely not! The genophage is non-negotiable!"

Elia decided to cut in, saying, "And why is that so? The krogan have been crippled by the virus. Personally, I think they've suffered it long enough."

"A thousand four hundred and seventy six years, if anyone's counting", commented Wrex.

"The salarians are the ones who uplifted the krogan. We are the ones who know their characters the best. We have seen what their urges wrought upon the galaxy. We couldn't hold them back then. And hence, we turned to the genophage. There was no other solution", screeched the Dalatross. "Curing them will be a big mistake…if we allow these monsters to reproduce as usual, the impact to the galaxy will be unthinkable."

"If a galaxy even exists for us once the Reapers are done", snarled Elia. She slammed her fist on the table. "We've all seen what they do. Now's the time to stand together and forget your millennia-old differences and work together. Damn it! I've been saying that this was coming for over two years. And what did you do about it? NOTHING! Face the facts - the indecision and arrogance displayed by all the so-called heads of every major civilization today has led us to this point. Every species has lost control of multiple systems, and we're losing more and more every single day. Millions die every hour. I've seen blood being spilt. So has Wrex. So has Primarch Victus. We've already realized that our very existence, and that of our species, is at stake, and all the science in the world can't save the salarians from the harvest if they don't have other races backing them up. So, get with the program, and make nice with us and our allies. The krogan aren't monsters - they're far more reliable than you amphibians. If you don't, I will personally see to it that we get what we want, and I won't spare a second thought for any salarian lives that may be lost in the process. And don't even presume to think that a bluff will work on me, or make me feel threatened in any way. I have far more reach in this galaxy than anyone else, and I have left enough of a body count in my wake to attest to that. More groups stand behind me each day, and if it comes to it, I will divide your people down the middle and make them pick a side, and then make sure that the ones who pick wrong are given no aid, and made to die a slow, painful death to the oncoming blitz. DO NOT TRY ME!"

Primarch Victus immediately added, "I stand with Shepard. I'm convinced that all of us are in way over our heads and she's the only one who has a chance of seeing us through it. If we cannot work together, I'll be the last friendly turian you'll ever see. And I'll make all our allied races know of it."

Wrex then dramatically brought up an image on his omni-tool. "I can give my friends a very good target. A salarian named Maelon grew a conscience and tried to cure the genophage. His methods were brutal. Elia here knows of it, because she was the one who put a stop to the horrible things he was doing. She also happened to save his data in case it came in useful, like it will now. In any case, we assumed that all the females died. That wasn't true. A handful survived. An STG squad kidnapped and took them to a top secret military base in Sur'Kesh. They covered it up skillfully, of course. Now, they have a possible piece of the solution held hostage. I think those are the hostages that we need to save first."

Dalatross Linron seemed stunned at the venom in both Elia's and Victus' declarations, and by Wrex's revelation. She put her hands on her head, and said weakly, "The females were in poor health. We had to take them off-world to stabilize them."

"Should I assume that their well-being was the ONLY concern you had?", snarked Wrex.

A pregnant pause.

Victus said, "We need to liberate these females. Shepard is a Council Spectre and doesn't have a specific allegiance. She can oversee the exchange, on our behalf."

Wrex commented, "I have no concerns about going ahead with that. Elia has proven herself an ally of the krogan, time and again. She has my implicit trust."

Then, at length, the Dalatrass said, "I will grant you access to the facility to retrieve these specimens, and also let them know to expect you." She put her hands on the desk, as if to steady herself.

"Good. You made the right choice", said Victus, nodding in satisfaction.

"Come on El, let's get the females before these frogs decide to go back on their word!", exclaimed Wrex in excitement.

"Already on it, Wrex. I'll have EDI chart a course for Sur'Kesh, pronto", said Elia, leading Wrex and Victus out the door.

Dalatrass Linron seemed to regain some of her strength as she suddenly screeched behind them. "We will remember this, Commander. A bully has few friends when they truly need them. The galaxy will…"

Elia turned back and cut in, "Be thanking me, and everyone who stood with me, for saving it once this is done", before hitting the poor desk again for added emphasis. Wrex and Primarch Victus looked on, privately amused.

When they were walking together towards the Combat Information Centre, Victus asked, "So Commander, was there any substance to your threats?"

Wrex answered for her, "There's always substance to her threats, Primarch. But, she generally doesn't have to follow up on them. The other party usually sees reason."

Elia shrugged and gave Victus her crooked smile. "Diplomacy takes too long, Primarch. I think I remember you saying something along those lines. The fact is, I know that I need to get everyone working together to even stand a chance of winning this. And I care for this galaxy as a whole, not just my race or your race or even Wrex's race. We have to move past all that and find balance in our diversity. Let go of old prejudices and put our lives on the line for each other. Integration. I've lived among multiple species almost all my life and I know that every living being is just as messed up as the next. They all have their insecurities and dreams, and they're just trying to make a living in this universe. We're fighting to protect that way of life. We're the few fighting so that hopefully, many survive. To do that, we have to rely on each other, and open our minds. We have to stop thinking of our well-being in terms of species, or race, or faction. Cease all thoughts of isolation, and recognize that we are strongest when we stand together."

"An admirable, if unexpectedly idealistic, way of looking at things, Commander. I sincerely hope that your words ring true at the end of all this", said Victus.

"It will, Primarch. You may not believe in Elia now, but I do, and soon, I have no doubt that you will too", said Wrex, with conviction.

Elia blushed slightly, saying, "You do realize that I'm walking right next to you, right..."

Victus and Wrex simply laughed.

-0—

Professor Mordin Solus felt decidedly happy that morning. It had to do with the call he'd just had with Wrex, the krogan leader of clan Urdnot, the biggest and strongest clan on Tuchanka. He was a visionary leader, much unlike the rest of his kind. Except maybe Grunt. Mordin had a soft spot for his former crewmate on the Normandy. Inexperienced, but undoubtedly skilled. He had also had the benefit of training under inarguably the greatest military mind in the galaxy (at least in Mordin's opinion, and Mordin's opinions were mostly correct), Elia Albarn Shepard. From what Wrex said, he was scheduled to ride into the salarian science base at Sur'Kesh that day on the Normandy to carry out the extraction of the remaining krogan females (only one female, regrettably), who'd survived Maelon's experiments to cure the genophage (Maelon's research, though crude and thoughtless, had been effective, in Mordin's estimation, and would help him immensely on the way to finding a viable cure for the species-crippling virus. Good thing Elia had decided to save the data!). That was happy news. However, the news that had Mordin really happy, was that he was bringing some old friends along to make sure the operation went well. Mordin had no doubt whom he meant. He looked forward to meeting his old crewmates, and finally putting his demons (ones he hadn't known he had, until he'd met his former commander on the Normandy) to rest, once and for all.

-0-

Urdnot Bakara was feeling decidedly dull. The last surviving female member from among the test subjects used by Maelon to fashion a cure for the genophage, she had been forced to stay in her containment cell for the past few weeks. The only known krogan in the galaxy to be immune to its effects, and she was stuck in a laboratory, deep in Salarian territory, on Sur'Kesh. She still hoped, however. Centuries of hoping for a 'Hail Kalros" to save her species made every krogan female rather good at that. And the new doctor she had attending to her seemed nice. Mordin was how he'd introduced himself. She'd spotted him doing some decidedly un-salarian things when nobody else in the lab was looking (and funnily enough, he didn't try to hide what he was doing from her). He kept reassuring her every day that salvation was close at hand, and even spoke to her about random topics in his free time. They were almost friendly. She felt comfortable with him around. A lot more comfortable than Maelon had made his test subjects feel.

Mordin seemed even more excited than usual that morning, for some reason.

He told her in a faster-than-usual (which considering his usual speed of speech, was effectively almost unintelligibly fast) voice, "My lady, there is a favorable probability that today is the day we start curing the genophage in earnest. Wanted to let you know. Keep your spirits up."

Bakara did feel her spirits lifting somewhat. Mordin had never given her more than words of encouragement or information on what he was working on (using terms that Bakara did not really understand; she had to follow his facial expressions very carefully to gauge if the development had been positive or negative) to save her species. For him to boldly claim that the day held more promise than usual, was new to her.

"What makes you so sure, Doctor?", she asked, somewhat intrigued.

Mordin replied, "Just received word. Clan leader coming our way."

Bakara thought for a bit and said slowly, "That in itself does not mean much, does it?"

Mordin shrugged his shoulder and said, "Big development. First krogan allowed into the Sur'Kesh airspace in centuries. He's bringing friends. Also friends of mine. Suffice to say, I have faith, however unscientific that may sound."

Bakara asked, "Friends of yours are coming to help? Who are they?"

Mordin replied, "The crew of the Normandy", his enthusiasm level rising considerably, almost as if he were indicating to her that he'd considered his statement a big reveal, and hence was her cue to clap or do something to show her excitement.

Bakara, instead, tried to recall where she'd heard that name. Normandy…Wait, wasn't that the ship that Urdnot's clan leader, Wrex, had been on prior to his return to Tuchanka. She also remembered seeing whom she assumed was the ship's captain meeting with him. A human. Her name, Bakara could not recall. There was reason to be in awe of her, though. The fact that her charge, Grunt, now of clan Urdnot, had been the only second krogan in a millennium to bring down the thresher maw during his rite of passage had caused a sizable splash in Tuchankan society.

"I recognize the name. I believe that Urdnot's clan leader, Wrex, once served on it, and it houses one of clan Urdnot's promising new initiates, Grunt."

Mordin nodded his head vigorously, with what passed as smile on his salarian face. "Yes. The same one. I was on it too. Saving the galaxy with friends. A most satisfying sojourn. Will be good to go back, even if only for a short while."

Bakara looked at the doctor with interest. So, he had also been a part of the famed Normandy crew. A surprising turn of events, for sure. "That's surprising to hear, Doctor. From what I remember, the Normandy was led by a human female. I forget her name, but I remember her vaguely from when she was on Tuchanka. Am I correct?"

Mordin nodded, and his face took on a slightly dreamy quality. "You are correct. The Normandy is led by one Elia Albarn Shepard. She is…a most remarkable person, to put it in a few words."

Bakara asked, "Remarkable how?"

Mordin considered the question for a few moments before saying, "Too difficult to explain in short. Chances high that you will meet her soon. That also means that the chances of cure are high. She has wanted it to happen for the krogan for years. And with my help, she will not fail. In any case, I don't believe she ever has failed in whatever she did, with or without me."

Bakara knew that Mordin wouldn't make such claims lightly. This Shepard must really have been something special. Even so, she was still skeptical. A history of centuries of failure tended to do that. She asked, "But, can just one woman really make such a thing happen?"

Mordin nodded. "Yes, she is just one woman. But, she makes things explode. Very persuasive. Born leader. Incomparable combat ability." Mordin broke off, seemingly remembering something. "Will talk later. Just remembered that I need to make preparations. Shout if anything needed." With that, he hurried off, leaving Bakara alone to her musings.

So, Mordin believed that a human woman named Shepard would be the salvation of her species. Her hopes hadn't really risen substantially. Even so, there was a rise, which was still an important thing. Of course, it was mostly in response mostly in response to Mordin's glowing appraisal and infectious excitement. She found herself hoping that Mordin was right, and that she could meet this person before the day ended.

-0—

Major Kirrahe wasn't sure if Elia Albarn Shepard would remember him. Her pre-planned appearance at Sur'kesh had made a big splash among the STG. No doubt it'd be spoken of for a while, now that her group's actual entrance had been quite… eventful thus far.

His fears were unfounded. The woman herself walked up to him and addressed him by name.

"I remember you. Captain Anders Kirrahe", she said.

Kirrahe replied, "Of course. Commander Shepard. It's Major now, however. An honor to meet you once again", he said, holding out a hand that was shaken warmly by Elia.

Garrus also walked up and held out his hand, "Pleasure to meet a friendly face, Major."

Kirrahe looked up at the turian and smiled, shaking his hand warmly as well, "Ah, Garrus Vakarian. Always a pleasure. I see you're still riding around with Shepard. As is Dr. T'Soni, I see…"

Garrus replied, "Nowhere else I'd rather be, Major", to which Kirrahe laughed.

Liara held out her hand and said, "Good to see you again, Major". Kirrahe shook her hand warmly.

He spotted Kasumi as well, and told her, "Ah, Miss. Kasumi Goto. Nice to meet you as well."

Kasumi shook hands with him as well, saying, "Likewise, Major."

Elia didn't know Kasumi and Kirrahe were acquainted. She had to find out from her lover later how she knew him. She surmised that her thief had gotten mixed up with the STG in some heist.

Re-introductions complete, Elia said, "Sounds like the STG did something right at least, Major. They promoted you. And please, you should know I have no rank."

Kirrahe replied, "To the first question: yes, and it was in no small part due to our actions at Virmire. Hold the line. I'll never forget that you saved my men that day. As to the second part, I did hear that you had declined reinstatement. However, you still commandeer the Normandy, and your legend was cemented with your defeat of Saren, as 'Commander Shepard'. That made the name stick, I suppose."

Elia shrugged non-committally. "I guess. Though, I was never a great soldier. Feels better to be a stateless entity."

Kirrahe chuckled. "More your Alliance's loss, in my opinion."

She shrugged again in response, and predictably, fished out her cigarette packet and looked around. "Is it legal to smoke these things here?", she asked Kirrahe.

"I don't think anyone will bother too much. You can go ahead."

Elia nodded and offered the pack first to Kasumi, then Liara, both of whom accepted gratefully. Turians, salarians and krogan didn't smoke – it did nothing for their systems. Elia lit up her companions' cigarettes before lighting her own.

At length, she replied, "Well, it is a win-win, I suppose. Anderson and Hackett don't need to feel obliged to keep me in line. I get the operational freedom that I need…that I've always needed."

Kirrahe nodded. "Glad to see you are all right. Though, I hear that the things happening back on your home planet are not very pretty."

Elia nodded. "Earth was hit pretty badly. Though I've never actually lived there for any length of time, I did feel angry at how easily and quickly they struck and dismantled the Alliance's defenses. However, I can't go around all my life thinking, 'if only they had listened'. After shit hit the fan, people started being more receptive to my ideas, and waking up to the threat that has been very real for the last few years. At the end, I need to do what I've always done. Do whatever it takes to win."

Kirrahe chuckled, and said, "If I may be so frank, even back at Virmire, I could sense that you were a different breed of person altogether. As a combatant, and as a military operative. It seems that the years have not dulled any of your intensity. And your crew still follow you no matter what."

Elia smiled. "Yeah, I owe them a lot. Oh, we also have Wrex with us. You might have seen his entrance."

Kirrahe smiled. "Most certainly. Our bases three moons away saw that entrance. Your stand-off with him is legend within STG."

"Well, he wasn't too pleased about the treatment of guests here", commented Liara.

Kirrahe shrugged. "Better that, than an angry krogan walking around with a shotgun. Our med bay couldn't handle the casualties that would have resulted."

Elia laughed, then said, "Yeah, well. He's here helping me out with krogan support for the war effort."

Kirrahe nodded. "I heard. Before on Virmire, you had to destroy a genophage cure, however horrid it was. Now, you need to help create one to save the galaxy. We always do seem to meet under interesting circumstances. Reapers and the Genophage virus seem to be common themes."

Elia smiled, saying, "Well, you got me there."

Kirrahe nodded, as they stood in a companionable silence for a while.

At length, Kirrahe said, "On a different note, what has the Alliance been up to? I hear rumors of a new super weapon being built with the help of all your allies."

Elia smiled, and said, "No comment, Major. They have a lot of rumors that aren't really true in our galaxy. People said I was dead two years ago too. Shouldn't really believe everything you hear."

"But, you were dead…"

Elia looked puzzled. "Was I? I don't recall", she commented, smirking.

Kirrahe laughed. "I suppose I can't blame you for...how do you humans say it…keeping your cards close to your chest?"

At Elia's nod, he went on, "But, let me tell you this", he leaned in closer, and went on in a lower voice, almost conspiratorially, "Whatever our politicians decide, you can count on my support in your fight."

Elia looked surprised. "You'd do that? For me?"

Kirrahe replied, "Every action in the galaxy has consequences, Shepard…It will be an honor to fight alongside you again. I'll make sure to bring some friends too." He winked.

Elia nodded, stubbed out her cigarette, and held out her hand to Kirrahe, saying, "It was nice catching up with you, Major. And thank you."

Kirrahe shook her hand warmly, "Always a pleasure, Commander. Good luck, and I'm sure we'll meet again. Good day!"

-0—

Elia and her entourage walked out the elevator into a large hall, and were greeted with a familiar sight - Dr. Mordin Solus, formerly STG and part of the Normandy crew that had taken down the Collectors. Mordin spotted his old commander entering the room and immediately made his way over, saying, "Shepard. Good to see you here."

She got over her initial surprise and managed, "Mordin!"

"Ah, glad to see your eyesight hasn't been compromised. Yes. Surprise understandable. Did not expect to come out of retirement. Collector mission showed Reaper threat very near. Humans, turians under attack. Need krogan support to mount a challenge and buy time for counter-attack; I rejoined STG, took over cell with sick krogan female from Maelon's experiments. Nursed back to health. Unfortunately, only one survived. But still, there is still hope for krogan!"

Elia looked at Mordin wonderingly, and said, "So the inside source Wrex mentioned…it was you?"

Mordin nodded, saying "Yes". He then leaned in conspiratorially, whispering, "Let Urdnot Wrex know about surviving female from experiments, got him to create pressure to transfer custody of female to krogan so we can create genophage cure. Create common front under your leadership to fight Reapers. Salarians will come around eventually. No choice for them but to follow you."

Elia nodded, smiling. "We'll need to get the female out first, Mordin. We'll decide our next course later, on the Normandy."

Mordin nodded back in agreement. "Understood, Shepard. Will enjoy being a part of the crew again. Very enjoyable experience before. Different circumstances, same purpose."

Elia smiled warmly. "It will be good to have you back, Mordin."

Mordin smiled back happily. He was genuinely fond of Elia, and like every one of her crew, he would follow her into hell willingly if she requested it of him.

He replied, "Yes. But first, need to extract female. Follow me. We can go meet her."

Mordin led Shepard and her companions to the opposite end of the hall. He stopped by one of the pods, which housed several bodybags. He sniffed and said, "Died from the experiments. Couldn't save them. Only one left alive", he intoned in a faraway voice.

Elia put her hand on his shoulder and squeezed, comforting him saying, "You did all you could, Mordin. What matters now is that their deaths are not in vain."

Mordin nodded. "Surviving female in next pod."

He walked the short distance to the next pod. A krogan wearing ceremonial garb was contained there.

Mordin said, "Can talk to her. Be careful. Krogan slow to trust."

Elia walked up to the pod and said, "You're a shaman!", wonderingly.

"Yes", replied the krogan.

Elia shook her head. "Where are my manners…I'm Elia Shepard of the Normandy. Have they been treating you well here?"

The female replied, "I saw my sisters died one by one, human. So, are you here to kill me?"

Kasumi commented sadly, "She must have been through hell."

Elia replied, "No, most certainly not. Urdnot Wrex and I arranged for your release from this facility so that we can cure the genophage. Why do you ask, though?"

The female replied, "I'm dangerous in many ways, being immune to the genophage virus. And that makes me a prime target to several people."

Elia replied, "Well, I'll concede the point, but I'm here for different reasons. Doing my bit in righting a severe injustice. And saving the galaxy, while I'm at it."

Suddenly, Elia's communicator cracked to life. Wrex appeared on screen. "El, Cerberus troops are attacking the facility. We need to get the female out of there now." He'd been left behind as the salarians had not seen fit to provide him clearance into the more sensitive areas of the facility.

Elia nodded. "Understood, Wrex. We're on it."

Wrex replied, "Okay, I'll get on a shuttle and give them hell. Meet you at the landing zone."

"Acknowledged. Elia out." Elia looked around and made her way to the salarian scientist who seemed to be controlling the pods, Mordin following in her wake.

She cleared her throat and said, "We need to release the female krogan's pod. Cerberus terrorists are attacking the facility and her life is in danger."

The scientist replied, "This is most irregular. Protocols state that…"

He was cut off by an overload blast from Mordin's omni-tool. Mordin said, "Objection noted. Now, please release pod."

The scientist complied, not willing to risk the possibility that Mordin would electrocute him once again. As they walked back to the pod, Mordin said, "I'll remain with her in the pod, Shepard. Need to look after patient. Require your help to clear checkpoints to reach landing area."

Elia nodded. Mordin made his way into the pod control room. Elia looked at the female krogan and said, "There's been some complications. We'll have to get you to the landing area so that we can extract you to our ship immediately. Sit tight."

The female replied, "In that case, I hope you brought an army."

Mordin cut in, saying, "No need to worry. You don't need an army when you have the Normandy on your side."

Elia smiled at that. Mordin turned to Elia and said, "Next checkpoint in the floor above. Need you to clear us through. Meet you there." Elia nodded, and Mordin launched the pod on its slow journey upwards. Elia turned back to her companions, smiling mischievously, and eyes glinting with a fire they recognized all too well.

Kasumi shook her head and chided her, saying "You enjoy this way too much, El-chan". Nevertheless, she cloaked herself and set off. Garrus readied his rifle, Liara cast a barrier around herself. Elia put on her beloved Umbra Visor, and said, "Elevators are probably under lockdown, we'd better take the stairs." She looked around for an exit, spotted it, and jogged off towards it, Liara and Garrus following, Kasumi always nearby.

-0—

Elia and her crew ran up the stairs to do as Mordin had directed. There was pandemonium on the upper floor. Cerberus were shooting down salarian scientists, who were running around mindlessly, fear obviously numbing their senses. She decided she'd do something about it and cloaked up, quickly running forward and assassinating two centurions who were standing side by side. Garrus, Liara and Kasumi went to work as well, and they cleared the floor of Cerberus troops in record time. Elia saw several cells, housed with different creatures – she could recognize a varren, a klixxen, and a yahg by sight. On impulse, she unlocked their containment pods, figuring that they could add to the general chaos and help them out somehow.

Once they'd temporarily secured the floor, she walked up to the containment cell containing Mordin and the female krogan, and tapped at the controls to clear them through to the next checkpoint, on the floor above.

Mordin said, "Shepard, appetite for distraction intact, I see. Meet you at the next checkpoint."

The female krogan croaked, "Why are you helping us?"

Elia replied, "Because nobody deserves the suffering and pain of the punishment enforced upon your species for so long."

The yahg took care of the two Cerberus centurions in her way. Elia knew she'd made the right choice when she'd unlocked the pod on a whim. She was about to regret thinking that too soon when it turned around to face them. However, it ran forward and jumped off the ledge.

She snarked, "Well, our next Shadow Broker didn't seem overly pleased to see us."

Garrus added, "Could have sworn he kept muttering 'T'Soni' under his breath the whole time."

Kasumi piped up, "Can we go catch him later to keep around? He seemed kinda cute."

"But we already have Urz and the fish and the hamster and the pyjak and...", said Elia, referring to her menagerie of pets.

"All right, I get it! But you know what they say, the more the merrier. Right, love?", replied Kasumi.

Liara rolled her eyes at all her companions, simply saying, "Not funny, you guys. Not funny at all."

Elia laughed as she led them around the flames shooting from the side in their path, and they went up a floor to the next checkpoint.

-0—

"Commander, Cerberus are setting up turrets and are trying to take control of the floor", said Kirrahe, who had taken cover behind a wall.

"Major, good to see you here! Yes, we have seen them before. Specialist engineers. Any ideas on how to take them out? They could do some damage if we walked right in…"

Kirrahe smiled and nodded. "Of course. I'll do something about the first line and give you the chance you need to move in."

The major took out a white pistol and ran across to the opposite side, from where he shot (something that looked like) blue pellets of some gelatinous substance at the Cerberus troops' turrets. After a few moments, all three of them exploded. Garrus looked at the pistol in wonder, and asked with some amount of envy, "How come I don't have one of those?"

Elia and Kasumi cloaked up to take out the engineers before they could spawn more turrets, while Liara comforted Garrus saying, "I'll see if I can't get a hold of some of them…", before trapping three centurions in a singularity field.

Garrus dropped all three with perfect headshots, and replied, "Thanks a bunch, Li", not specifying if he meant it for lining up three easy kills, or for promising to get him a new gun to play with. Liara simply smiled.

Seeing that the coast was clear, Liara and Garrus made their way down the passageway, staying alert.

On turning the corner, they saw Elia charging two centurions, before she decapitated them with her trusty sword (a specially engineered fusion blade: a gift from the president of Rosenkov Materials, rewarding the Normandy crew for a job they had done for them the previous year…Elia had played poker with the crew for ownership and had won. Now, the blade was simply called 'Raze', named after the sword Elia had owned previously, and lost during the Battle of the Citadel nearly three years prior) in one deadly swipe.

The floor seemed to be clear of all hostiles. Kirrahe came into view, took a position in cover at the end of the passageway and said, "Was a pleasure working with you again, Commander. I have to say - you haven't dulled in the slightest. You can keep going straight down that path. There is an emergency staircase leading upstairs past a ledge. I'll stay and make sure they don't come behind you from here."

"Thanks, Major." Kirrahe nodded and resumed his oversight posture, keeping an eye on any movements in that floor. The STG facility might have been compromised, but that Shepard always found a way to complete her mission successfully. She would succeed here too. Of that, the Major was confident.

-0—

The upper floor had scant resistance, surprisingly. Elia and her group made quick work of them before she made her way to the pod.

"Last checkpoint before landing area, Shepard. Krogan mostly stable", said Mordin.

"Good to hear", replied Elia, before turning to encourage the female krogan, saying, "We'll get you to safety soon enough." She cleared the pod through the final checkpoint, and the lifting apparatus grabbed hold of the pod, taking it on its slow journey up to the top of the building.

Wrex's voice piped up on the communication link. "Hey, Shepard. How's it going?"

"Last checkpoint, Wrex. The pod will be at the landing pad soon", replied Shepard.

"Good to hear. We'll start making preparations for landing." A pause. Then, "Hmm, there's something in the sky…wait, it jumped right out…and it's big...heading downwards!"

Elia looked up at the sky, but could not make out anything. "Something jumped out of the sky? You getting senile in your old…" Her taunt was cut off by the deafening sound of a heavy metallic object striking the concrete floor. She turned around, and saw a huge weaponized robotic apparition. There was a Cerberus trooper sitting in what looked like its cockpit.

"Holy shit!", said Kasumi, in awe. "We gotta get one of those", she added.

"Scratch that. There's a mechanical monstrosity to take care of here, Wrex. Going silent", said Elia, before cloaking up.

The robot didn't seem to be able to move particularly fast, but its attacks did pack a punch. This fact was immediately demonstrated when it attacked the lift carrying the pod up and caused it to stop. The pod dropped a meter, hitting the bottom of the cage (that had been built in with the lifting apparatus, probably meant to protect the cargo in events such as the one that had just befallen it) with a thump. Mordin and the female krogan were both jolted. Mordin got up and hit the window a few times, before saying, "Locked in, Shepard. Will require help to get rid of the new hostile to safely make our exit." Elia nodded (not realizing that nobody could see her nodding, what with being optically cloaked). With all the advanced tech her squad had at their disposal, they didn't take long to take it down (though there was one scary moment when the monstrosity almost grabbed Garrus). It was rather anti-climactic.

Once he was sure the robot had been felled, Mordin began activating the failsafe mechanism that would let the pod be placed safely on the same floor. "Seems clear now, Wrex", said Elia into the comm channel. A few minutes later, the Normandy shuttle came into view. Mordin managed to work out how to open up the pod entrances and jumped out, nodding to Elia when she looked enquiringly at him, in order to ascertain if he had any injuries. The main pod door was also open and female krogan was standing at the door. Mordin made for the entrance to give her a hand, when he was pushed out of the way by Wrex, who offered his hand instead. The female just slapped Wrex's hand aside, snatched his shotgun, and fired off two shells at a Cerberus trooper who had presumably snuck up on them. She then gave Wrex back his shotgun and trudged off towards the shuttle. Wrex shrugged his shoulders and shook his head at Elia as if to say, "Women!"

Elia simply smirked as everyone made their way to the transport. Behind her, another Cerberus trooper was still alive. She fired off a round of her Locust to stop his movement permanently before she boarded the shuttle.

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