The surveillance room housed a dozen monitors, mounted in a grid along one wall. In the middle of the room were two rows of terminals where analysts parsed and collected data. Garrus stood before the bank of monitors, his attention focused on the one displaying Shepard's cell. She was curled up on her side, her eyebrows furrowed in a frown. She tossed and turned in the throes of a nightmare. She would thrash now and then, her blanked partially spilled onto the floor.

He wondered what was plaguing her dreams. Sleep deprivation was one of the various supporting techniques used in interrogation, but he didn't particularly enjoy using it. Usually, the prisoners inadvertently did it to themselves anyway, their anxiety keeping them from a good night's sleep or from sleep entirely.

The door at the back of the room slid open and General Victus entered. The analysts all stood up at the same time to salute the general, who waved them off to go back to work. He stood next to Garrus and surveyed the monitors.

"How are we doing, General?"

"Not good, not bad. The Alliance has been pretty quiet," Adrien replied. "A bit too quiet, if you ask me. They're planning something big. I just don't know what." His gaze fell on Shepard. "Hopefully she can tell us."

"I'll do my best, sir."

The general nodded and turned to leave. Garrus turned as well, "A couple of questions, sir." Adrien stopped and looked at Garrus, giving him a nod to continue. "How did the Alliance learn of the outpost? Shepard had mentioned that the information was taken from one of their captives, but hardly anyone knows of it. It's in an obscure location, and honestly, inconsequential. Why did the Alliance think it was important enough to actually hold encryption keys?"

"Hmm," Adrien paused to consider his words. "I may have divulged the location to a couple of recruits in a bar. They were excitedly sharing that they were to leave for a mission the next day as back-up to an infiltration team sent to get the Alliance's keys. So I dropped a hint that the outpost had ours."

Garrus coughed. The general was known for his unorthodox methods, and here was another one to add to the list. "Interesting strategy, sir. Did it pan out as you expected?"

Adrien frowned. "While I prefer that none of us are captured by the enemy, it is inevitable in this war." He gave a small shrug and clasped his hands behind his back. "If they didn't send anybody to infiltrate the outpost, then, other than the soldier, we have lost nothing. If they did, there was no way for me to tell who'd they send of course, but it could be safely assumed that it would be someone of Shepard's caliber."

"Any other questions?"

Garrus shook his head and saluted. "No sir."

"Good luck, Vakarian." With that, Adrien turned to leave.

The mess hall was a large well-lit room. Most of the permanent staff and visiting military personnel spent their downtime here. There would always be at least one person sitting at a table at any hour of the day. At the moment, it was early in the morning and the room was filled with staff preparing for another day of work.

Garrus and Lantar took their seats in a back corner, their trays piled up with food. The next session with Shepard was in an hour, and Garrus wanted to go over a couple of things with Lantar, staring with: "'How about a drink after all this is over?' Are you starting a human fetish or something?"

Lantar paused, a sliver of food halfway through his mouth. He popped it in, chewed it a bit and swallowed. "Naw, I was just teasing," Lantar said with a dismissive wave. He paused, then looked at Garrus with sudden interest. "Why? Want her for yourself?"

"Wha—", Garrus sputtered and raised an eyebrow at Lantar. "I don't think I want to know you arrived at that conclusion."

Lantar chuckled at his friend's discomfort. "So, is there something specific that we need to get out of Shepard?"

Garrus swallowed and took a sip of his drink. "General Victus mentioned that the Alliance has gone quiet."

Lantar nodded in understanding. "They're planning something big, and it's about to happen soon."

"Right, so we need to find out what it is. At the very least, we need to keep the casualties at a minimum."

"Well then," Lantar said after taking his last gulp. "Let's get to it!"