Right, next chapter up. The next three chapters were supposed to be one in all, just after finding the whole thing covered nearly twenty pages and for the sake of my and your sanity, i thought it was wise to split it up. Makes it easier to read and will also increase the amount of cliff hangers. Sorry this chapter took so long, i'm in the throes of revising at the moment. However, as they're already written, the next chapters will be posted in quick succession.

Enjoy. Things truly start getting interesting from this point onward.

A single white light midst the sea of orange consoles, the small holo slowly rotated within the rattling noise of the engine room. Picked out in small white particles, the shape of a Quarian life ship hovered only a matter of inches from the surface of the small silver metal disk projector and cast glimmering lights over the walls.

The crew continued to work, the burn through had pushed the ship to its limits and efficiency had improved greatly, the blockage now clear. Even so, with so much work, it seem as though a dark pall hung over the group. Adams, his movements sluggish, waited beside his monitor as with eyes set in a far off expression of deep thought, he stared into the blazing blue of the drive core.

Higgins jogged up and saluted, his mousy hair dragged backward with copious amounts of engine grease, his face daubed quite liberally with the stuff. Even as foul smelling as he was, it didn't gain the attention of the elderly engineer; Adams didn't look round, the old man lost in some thought. Higgins cleared his throat before at last, in an accent most other crew members except Shepard and Chakwas couldn't understand, attempted to gain a response from his commanding officer;

"The capacitors ur alignin' perfectly tae cope wi' th' increase power ootage tae th' med-bay, we're nae gonnae hae onie problems fur noo. God knows whit they're daein' up there…" Adams still didn't respond, though he tilted his head toward the younger engineer "…anyway, we waur wonderin' if we coods jist grab a bit ay caller air. Me ay th' lads waur wantin' a bit ay dinner afair we begin th' nicht shift…" he paused, fiddling with the data pad he had slung under his arm "…we waur wonderin' if ye wanted tae join us…sir?"

"I'm going to have to have you repeat what you just said…" Adams said after a time "…because I can't for the life of me work out what you just said…" Higgins sighed and opened his mouth. "…with the smallest use of Scottish."

"Dinner. Please. Now. You?" Higgins sighed, rolling his eyes as Adams looked away. the Translators were extremely good at dealing with Alien languages, though slang always raised a few issues when it came to crossing interspecies boundaries. Elocution was key, and there was nothing like a new can of worms, when the translator struggled to work its way through the many accents which crawled out of the woodwork. Higgins was no exception, his broad accent raising a few eyebrows amongst the top brass every-time.

One such eyebrow raising moment when Joker was struggling with the controls on his first flight with the Normandy with Higgins screaming into the intercom; "We're givin' 'er aw we've got, th' engines cannae tak' it nae mair…!" There'd been a pause at this point as it seemed that several important pieces of equipment had caught fire in the lower levels. This all filtered through the bridge speakers, leaving Joker and the residents of the bridge with the noise of crackling flames, small explosions which set the deck plates a tremble and gruffly loud swear words. It was a full five minutes before Higgins had returned, Anderson pinching the bridge of his nose between finger and thumb as the rather foul mouthed engineer laid in Joker with; "…Teel th' feckin' radge tae gie his act together ur we're gonnae hae a massife burn through in engineerin'!"

The Turian delegation aboard at the time had all exchanged glances after this small outburst before leaving having each developed a small migraine. Adams had banned Higgins from using the intercom after that.

"I'll be fine for now…" Adams let forward heavily, his arms bowing outward "…you take the others and get a break. We've got a long day tomorrow."

"Understuid, sairrr..." There was the slightest movement beside the head engineer, Adams all too aware that the younger of the team still stood beside him with a vaguely worried expression on his face "…ur ye alrecht, sairrr?"

"I'm fine…" Adams responded quietly, tapping several diagnostic panels "…just calibrating the forward tanks."

"Dornt fash yerse, sairrr. She's gonnae pull through, we've got th' tois best doctors in th' alliance an' otherwise onboard."

"Haven't you got a dinner to go to?" Adams said flatly, Higgins saluting quickly before disappearing in a cloud of oil odour and grease. Adams turned back to his work with a deep breath. His left eyebrow twitched…of course the forward tanks were elevated and perfectly calibrated, the numbers displaying so burning round his fingers. But the thoughts of the hand desperately grasping his own down in the exhaust pipes still clouded his eyes…

And in the corner of the room, the Holo continued to hum away to itself

The rumble of engines was ever present in Shepard's mind as groggily he came to. The whine and click of machines filled his ears with song, his disorientation soon dissipating as the Dr's familiar voice filtered into his hearing. She spoke of lengthy reports, medical tests, REM recordings, these all flooded his mind as still blind, Shepard made to rise.

"I would stay still if I were you…" A familiar male voice accompanied the arm that pushed him back down onto the table. Without the restraining straps which held him down, Shepard would've been able to break from the weak grip of Dr Wynne. As he couldn't, he merely growled loudly. "…ok…I'm happy to see you too, Commander…" there was a slight intake of breath as if the man in question was attempting to say something long winded "…Ok. I'm going to be performing surgery on you, commander. We are installing twin optical implants to restore your vision…down boy…" not sensing a threat, Shepard slumped back down onto the bed, allowing the Dr to continue "…give you a few boosters; maybe influence your long range vision. Of course the alliance fitted you with optical lenses to monitor you movements ahaha…" Shepard felt slightly colder as gloved fingers tugged at the corners of his eyes "…remove those. I've got a lovely pair of grey to replace your lovelies. We'll have you seeing in no time…" there was a faint tinkle of metal and plastic as a slight pain of something digging into Shepard's arm broke through the noise. Shepard winced as the drug began to push its way into his system. He could feel muscles relaxing, sinking into the soft….soft….felt of the bed….oh this was lovely….Shepard let his head loll, a quick but gentle hand pushing him back into a more accessible position.

"Ok…Commander…I've just administered the sedative. I'll be requiring to test your vision when you get up. Recovery will be short so be prepared for anything I throw at you. Reaction in your optical muscles will need to be quick if we want you to return your usual vision parameters…oh…" there was a faint click as several scapels were pulled from a plastic container "…and don't try to punch me when I get up. I know you're still angry at me so please try to be a little nice to me. I am fixing your eyes after all…"

"Nrrrrghh…."

"Good, just the response I was wanting. Right, this may sting a little…" there was another noise, something along the lines of a sniff, a long intake of breath through the nostrils "…actually just kidding. This is going to hurt like hell."

Shepard fled into blissful ignorance, his thoughts now becoming one with his dreams as in his mind's eye; Wynne raised a scalpel, shook his head and extracted a cleaver from the mess beside him. Even in his stupor, Shepard hoped this wasn't true.

Cold hands pushed round the sides of his eyes, their touch soothing. He could feel rain falling his face, his hands gripping someone else's, he could feel the rough skin of each digit of the others, the faint intake of breath as his grip tightened. The cool fingers still rested beside his eyes as Shepard struggled to rise. But it felt as though something was missing, a dull painful emptiness up his left side.

"Shepard." It was spoken forcefully but with such an undertone of pity that Shepard felt his inside shrivel. He fell back into unconsciousness with the cool hands still on his face and the pitter patter of rain filling his hearing.

Shepard slowly surfaced from his sleep to a world filled with pain. In the cool air of the med bay, Shepard kept his eyes closed for a second, just trying to ignore the stinging sensation of his weakened skin. The lights burned into his vision as if it was the brightest of days as with some difficulty he levered his eyes open and glared out into the light filled world beyond. …his vision…Shepard laughed, finding his chest free from the restrictive belts which hung from the metal table. His face hurt, stung even, his optical implants resting quite comfortably in his eye sockets though the scarring round his eyes would take some time to heal. Shepard felt tender skin, open wounds around the edge of his eye sockets, his fingers roving over the edge as he pulled himself upright. A hard substance, gel like to the touch but solid and structured when pressed hard. Shepard winced as the image in his left eye fizzled, coming slightly unclear till he withdrew his finger…

"Cool…" Shepard allowed his legs to swing down over the edge of the bed, marveling at the sight of his own hands, his feet touching the ground, the colour of the ground and the beauty of the lighting which filled his sight with soft colours. He dragged a robe from the bed, draping it around his form, knowing exactly what backless hospital gowns usually warranted, he didn't want to give Joker new material to spew over the intercom. Elation…Shepard could feel his heart soaring. Just been able to see all this, so familiar and yet so welcome. The familiar lines of the ship, the confined spaces of the med-bay, Chakwas's potted plant beside her desk was flowering and Shepard took in the pink colours of the flowers. Everything had a new edge, as with the wonderment of a child seeing the world for the first time, Shepard slowly turned, his sight taking in the many glowing colours of the Med Bay.

The med bay was empty, Shepard tightening the belt of the gown round his waist, padding quietly across the floor toward the door. It opened with slight tone, the lights of the mess hall blinding him for a brief second. Shepard's eyes stung, staggering backward as he struggled to register the dark, blurred shadows which passed through the room before him.

In that minute of blindness there was the scraping of chairs before something thundered across the floor, catching Shepard off guard. A red haired, peppermint smelling thing slammed into him, a single white sheet waving before Shepard's face as the Commander, attempting to fend of his assailant found his ears filled with a single roaring voice, each word merging into one, the speed and ferocity of which they were spouted making it seem to most like a single long noise.

"Readireaditreaditreaditreadit!"

"Argh…!" Shepard waved the blur away, struggling to register the line of black text which had been printed onto the piece of paper "…ah crap! A Z F G J H Y I O…!" his fist met something solid and there was a cry of pain "…doesn't make sense!…Q Z X V G H S F H R T…!"

In that split second, Shepard felt his sight return, the room becoming sharply focused. He was greeted by Chakwas slowly stalking round the far corner, having been up on the bridge. Her face lit up as she spotted him, his blue med bay gown tightly secured across his form, his fist still curled into a fist as the single scrap of crumpled white paper fluttered before his vision.

"Shepard…!" she said, smiling quite happily as confused, Shepard managed a lop sided grin "…I see you've got up! And your vision is back I see the implants are fine…"she took a quick glance at the white paper, her smile becoming slightly fixed"…and I see you've just punched Dr Wynne…damn it…"

"Oh…" Shepard turned his head slightly to see Wynne beside him, still waving the sight chart, clutching at his nose "…sorry."

"Don't worry…" Wynne managed, his eyes watering "…I'm fine…I'm fine…just….arggh…I think you may have broken my nose…"

"Ouch…" Shepard looked vaguely sheepish as with a warning glare, Chakwas gathered her colleague up and marched him off in the direction of the med bay "…I'm sorry…just a bit of a nervous reaction."

The med bay door whirred shut, leaving Shepard with the blue and silver plastic of the portal. There was a rather uncomfortable silence, Shepard realizing that there had been a slight draw of breath. The entire ground team was frozen in place, a hastily put together breakfast scattered across the table before them. And they were all watching him, most with spoons half way to their mouths. Only Wrex, smirking as usual, didn't look shocked.

"What…!" Shepard put his hands on his hips "...what are you lot looking at…!" he waved his arm exasperatedly and made to pass them, making for the security of his quarters "…haven't you got something better to do! Get your stuff…in-fact…" Shepard scratched at his chin as there was a yell of complaint from the table, the crew gesturing at breakfast bowls "…I don't care!...Everyone gear up!...Now!" there was a chorus of 'Yes Sirs' and one, 'Fine, Andrew'. Shepard raised an eyebrow at the last comment, Liara reddening as she made for her locker on the lower levels. He let it slide, but took her arm as she passed.

"And how are you Miss Tsoni?"

"I'm fine, Shepard…" the Asari allowed her gaze to linger on the gnarled hand which dug into her upper arm "…I was a little worried…it's…please tell me if I'm wrong to be so forward…" she smiled slightly "…it's good to see you back."

"I'm not fully back…" Shepard tapped the corner of his eye "…at least not all of me."

"That's not what's important…" Liara patted his arm "…but I mean it all the same. We need you Commander…This Ship and its crew needs you to be here."

"Hmm…" Shepard looked back into the group, the groundside team busying themselves with their lockers or taking a long swig from their coffee cups. Ashley gave them one quick look, bit her lip and disappeared into the lift "…one thing…Liara."

"Yes, Shepard?"

"Where's Tali?"

The Normandy pushed through the cloud layer with a roar, water vapor playing round the super heated thrusters as Joker adjusted the Mass Fields and coasted the last three thousand metres. The harbor was a vast metal wall; remains of some cruiser, the name of which most of the population who thronged the streets below had long since forgotten which blotted out the sun as Joker pushed on. The Normandy was tugging under his fingers like a horse, wanting to be let free, which Joker refused grudgingly, powering down the major drive systems with a half contented smile of a job well done.

The Hanger was welded and secured to the side of the massive remains of the cruiser by a series of heavy duty perma-steel wires, blue running lights illuminating the dark metal of the dock and the silvery steel gantry of the landing ramps. Within the confines of the old wreck, many ramps, usually thronged with people and goods all coming off the ships, were the only access routes to the ships. To not put too harsh a point on it, they were normally contingents of Blue Suns, Smugglers or Pirates looking for a little shore leave in the many strip joints and bars which littered the large township. Even here, however, this was a massive civilian centre, not every house was some shadowy crime syndicate of some description or other. Even so, it paid to be cautious; a small tone warning Joker each time a Batarian Sensor was pinged by their presence. Shepard had taken it upon himself to strip the Normandy's exterior of any Alliance related regalia. This idea was quashed when Liara pointed out that the ship was white, red and black; the alliance colours. Shepard had gone to bed at that point, complaining of a migraine.

With one last pat of the main console, Joker tapped the main drive core modulator, the board flashing red before with a murmuring whine of engines, the Ship allowed itself to be engulfed by the mouth like docking ports.

"Why in God's name are you tagging along?"

Shepard's voice rang hard through the lift, the small crowd who shifted nervously within its confined interior, looking rather sheepishly toward the rather erstwhile man who stood, by the door, a large grey bag slung over one shoulder, two buds of tissue paper shoved up either nostril. They were a little bloody, Wynne wrapping one hand round the black plastic strap of his satchel.

"Because I need to keep an eye on you, Shepard. With your implants been new, I would need to be present just in case you have any accidents. Remember, if you see…"

"Black and White, yes I know, get you to fix me…"

"Exactly…and…?"

"Don't look at bright lights."

"…and…?"

"Don't look into the muzzle flare…"

"…and…?"

"Don't itch my eyarrrgh…." Shepard winced as Wynne extracted his hand from the back of his head, smiling rather widely "…why'd you do that for!"

"Because you dug that grubby little finger into your eye socket and we know what happens then, don't we Shepard?"

"Yeah…you bloody punch me…" he eyed the slightly giggling Asari beside him. The Normandy lift was packed with the Normandy small group of irregulars. Shepard let his brows sink down a little lower to take on a rather dead pan, bored expression. Garrus was down in the hold; his head in the Mako's interior as he removed the running struts which held the turret in place. Everyone else was here especially Liara who was trying not to laugh at Shepard's elbow. Wynne looked ridiculous, he wasn't wearing armour, just grey trousers with many pockets, a large grey jacket and a black shirt. Things within the jacket glinted, the satchel not been the only thing Wynne was carrying….but he stood there with a vaguely enthusiastic expression on his face, his hand wrapped round one strap with not a care in the world.

Light cut through the lift's interior as they stepped out into the chaotic interior of the hold. Soldiers were jogging to stations by the doors, several stationary turrets been dropped into place to cover the doors. Shepard eyed the rather large turrets;

"Are they really necessary…?"

"It's Tortuga…" Wynne dropped onto the deck plates as the rest of the crew disembarked. "…you leave the ship unguarded and Mr Munroe will be flying a ship without an engine core. And I think you can guess how well that'll turn out."

"Stop talking to me…." Shepard rumbled, allowing Williams to pass, several large bundles clutched in her arms "…you just ruin everything. Talking to you is like been shrunk…like really small…" Shepard turned to Wynne in the chaos, the rest of the ground team passing them by "…you talk…I feel very insignificant."

There was a roar of engines as the Mako rolled out into the rust covered metal of the harbour, the white picked out in the heat of the day. The Turret was missing, the compact gun emplacement replaced with one large top hatch. Garrus was slowly making his way out of the interior, dusting his hands off, enjoying the high temperatures and sunshine of Tortuga.

"Aww… I'm hurting your feelings." Wynne said vaguely apologetically, Shepard narrowing his eyes at the pathologist.

"Why have you started grinning like the cat that swallowed the pigeon…?"

"Canary." Wynne ventured as they approached the beached ground vehicle, stepping out into the blocks of light outside the shadow cast by the docking ports. Far below, the sandy soil was covered with many black specks of Tortuga's residents as they made their way to some business or other. Garrus withdrew his head from the interior as they approached nodding to Shepard.

"We all set, Garrus?"

"The troop bay's been extended; don't expect much leg room though." Garrus fiddled slightly with his talons as Shepard squinted up into the blue sky visible through one large hole in the old ship's hull. It was obvious the Turian wanted to say something; Shepard let him stew, the human closing his eyes reflexively as the sky was suddenly blocked out by a rather ramshackle tramp freighter.

"You can drive…" He said eventually, rolling his head back down. "…but I need you out with Williams at the location been forwarded to your HUD."

"Aww. I'm having Williams as my spotter again…" Garrus whined, Shepard waving him away with one gauntleted hand "…but Shepard."

"No buts. Go get your Exhaust clips and find Williams, she has your sniper rifle up and ready to go."

If turians could pout, Garrus would be doing then. He clanked off, his armor's neck piece obscuring his lower jaw. Nearly inaudible, several Turian expletives were floating back to Shepard, Garrus making use of the high collar to obscure his mouth.

Wynne watched him go, raising an eyebrow as Shepard patted the Mako with one hand.

"So What? You were saying something about a Pigeon."

"Canary…" Wynne turned to face Shepard as Liara passed them, disappearing into the hold of the mako, closely followed by Alenko "…the phrase is 'the cat that swallowed the canary'."

"Ah…well I did use to own a very large cat….anyway…doesn't matter…what are you grinning about…?" Shepard nodded to Wrex as the Krogan trooped past and bundled into the Mako's already confined interior. There were several voices of complaint from within.

"Effortless Sarcasm, Commander."

Shepard looked vaguely grimmer "I hate you..." he looked up, his implants focusing on a grey clad soldier emerging from the dark of the hold "…double time Williams. You all set?"

"Aye Aye Skip…" Ashley, her head uncovered, her skin after several weeks out in the field having become rather tanned hiding one or two of the scars which usually graced her features. "…all the gear's squared away, I've got Garrus on the sniper and I've knocked together a monocle for the spotter gig. You sure you don't want me to come with you into Badger's?"

"No. I should be ok with Wrex and Liara. No one will argue with Wrex and Liara knows how to talk to people."

"Good for the eye candy as well." Ashley ventured, Shepard folding his arms as beside him, Wynne glanced out into the sky, toward the city far below.

"That was very forward of you, Williams. I doubt Miss Tsoni would much appreciate you saying that. I would think of her more then just 'eye candy'."

"Well, the men are more likely to listen if an asari talks."

"Williams…" Shepard cut through her speech without a moment's hesitation "…in. Now."

"Sir."

She clambered up into the interior, the heated space beyond full of the glitter of metal and the whine of Hard Suits powering up. There was a flash of cold blue eyes before Ashley's face as she sat down in the seat opposite Liara's. The Asari was staring at her rather grimly, her usual studious expression replaced with a rather hard glare which would make most curdle.

"I know, isn't it wonderful. We're getting along so well." Wynne said quite happily, continuing the conversation, as Shepard signaled to Garrus to hurry up. The Turian did so, a large black plastic bandoleer pulled around his chest, the all too familiar sound of sniper exhaust clips coming from within.

"Anymore of that, and I'll have you strapped to the roof of the Mako before you can say 'Bad Parking'." Shepard said, a rather dangerous edge creeping into his tone, reaching up to grab the handle beside the open Mako hatch.

Wynne's smile slipped slightly, gripping his bag vaguely tighter. Even half way in to the crowded interior of the Mako, Shepard could see the cogs whirring in Wynne's mind, the thought processes going on within the man's cranium must be chaotic at best.

"Ok. Shutting up now."

They broke from the Harbour in a cloud of dust, the Mako following the main drag toward the large brown grey blob of the township. In the sky above, Junks hovering on old style mass effect cores cast obscure shadows across the sand below. In the Junks' shadow the rusted metal and concrete of the shanty towns which surrounded the main body of township. They were truly in the thick of it now; the road side was covered with scavengers of many races. Humans, Batarians, Turians, Korgan and the occasional Quarian all scrabbled in the dirt, their hands grime encrusted, each searching for some part they could sell for credits on the many markets which made up the trading centres within Tortuga's many townships and colonies. This particular town ship went by the name of Muerta…one of the largest shipping ports on Tortuga.

Shepard let the site history data pad fall down onto his lap, resting his head on the head rest of his chair. The air would have been close and thick within the dark interior, there was little in the way of interior lights and the vehicle, designed to carry three people, was not exactly the most comfortable of rides. However, Wrex had opened the top hatch and Shepard, enjoying the dry air which washed in as the Mako rolled along, sunk a little deeper into his chair.

"So…" Ashley looked up from her rifle which spread across her knee as Kaiden snapped open his Data Pad and called up a violent orange display "…are we all clear how this is going to work."

"I'm with Garrus…" Ashley said, snapping a clip into the side of the rifle, rewarded by a sudden burst of light from the many LEDS which covered it's surface. "…window over looking Badger's shop, on the furthest corner of the Eastern Markets."

There was a click and a whine, a single holographic map of the township rising up from the small projector set into Kaiden's Omni tool.

"Eastern Markets…" Garrus didn't break his concentration with the road ahead, the console twitching beneath his fingers "…simple option, easy view of the shop, streets below as well as the areas above that including the roof tops and sky."

"Just incase there are drones…?" Liara scratched at a loose amour plate, setting the grey piece of metal back into the correct position "…aren't we been a little pessimistic?"

The force with which the Asari spoke was a little unlike her, the usually softly spoken Dr now seemed to be fuming, her gloved hands wrapped round one of her pistols as her forehead knotted and twisted. Beside her, Wynne shifted to one side, looking a little worried.

"Can never be too careful…" He said, tapping a small rhythm on the top of his satchel. "…best to keep all options covered. Sharp Shooter procedure usually requires that all possible areas of attack must be covered and controlled to limit risk of discovery before shot is taken and also allow the sharpshooter and his spotter…if he has one…" Wynne grinned widely at the crew "…to escape through perfectly planned escape routes. What…?"

"Nothing…" Kaiden exchanged a glance with Ashley "…just not exactly buying the Doctor act if I'm honest. I mean, I thought you were supposed to have a Hippocratic Oath or something?"

"Well…" Wynne sighed "…that's more medicine role. I'm a pathologist, I know what kills people. Military training is just something I picked up on my travels. I don't tend to use weapons, more medicine. Hurts more…lasts longer…bullets can be healed by medigel. For example use Omni tool to convert enemy's medi-gel to a mild acid, removes healing capacity, causes discomfort, pain, loss of concentration."

"Right…" Kaiden at last broke the awkward silence which came after, a rather nervous glance been shared amongst the crew "…remind me to never piss you off."

They all jolted forward as they hit pot hole, Garrus apologizing loudly from the driver's seat.

"So…what else can you do?" Ashley slotted her rifle into place, beside her chair. Wynne also caught sight of grey pupils in the black; Shepard was defiantly watching him from his seat. He sighed, settled back into his seat and laced his fingers;

"Pathology, cybernetic development, AI, I specialize in soldier counter measures too as well as psychology, reducing some ones effectiveness by speech, playing with their heads…" there was another group worried glance "…outside of combat, gourmet cooking, pathology, politics, reading, music, Origami."

There was a slight shifting amongst the crew, a rather uncomfortable few seconds past as most fiddled with armor plates or rifles. Wynne looked quite please with himself, turning to glance out at the road ahead. In the heads of the ground team, Soldier Countermeasures stuck quite plainly, most imagining some horrible method of dispatching a small squad…like them. Each then made a mental note not to say anything to annoy Wynne. To piss him off was quite unlikely, he sat there, quite content and carefree. Not looking as if he could hurt a fly...so that you never ever saw him coming...

"Riiiiggghhttt…." Kaiden broke the silence at last, tapping away at his data pad "…lets get back to the job in hand. Liara…"

"Yes…I'm with Shepard. I know." Liara stated flatly, glaring rather hard at Ashley.

At this point, only Garrus had any idea where he was, the street outside obscured by the thick walls of the Mako. Only the smell gave any clue to where they were. The stench of engine oil, Eezo fragments, spiced food and open sewers wafted in through the roof. Behind his head piece, Wrex flared his nostrils, savoring the smells;

The Mako pushed through the bustling streets with little issue, the people moving aside with a minimal amount of prompting. Garrus was watching the people with one eye, the usually hawkers who were trying to peddle their wares unable to reach the hard to get to top hatch, the only open area of the vehicle. It was getting harder to move here, the large metal walls of the buildings on either side were closing in, reducing the possible maneuverability of the machine. They must be near one of the markets…Garrus squinted at the map beside him, tightening his grip on the controls. They rolled to a stop at the entrance to a large square, hundreds of metres of awnings stretching as far as the eye could see while over bearing, blue and white clad soldiers stood guard on high pedestals. There were snipers in several of the watch towers that surrounded the site, Garrus could easily see the glimmer of scopes from the people within, his talon's itching for the feel of his own rifle at this point.

"Looks as if this is as far as we can go." He said, setting the controls down with a groan, looking into the crowds through narrowed eyes "…me and Ashley will go on foot from here. Shepard, the roads round to the Badger Compound is clear, so you won't be restricted using the Mako.

"Right…" Shepard emerged from the dark behind Garrus, slumping into the passenger seat beside the Turian. "…take the nearest window. I want no surprises…"

"Don't worry…" the Turian raised a hand "…you can trust me to make this work, Shepard. Me and Chief Williams will get the job done."

"It's not getting the job done that worries me, Garrus…" Shepard moved backward to allow Garrus to rise from his seat, the Turian ducking out into the burning air outside "…more you ability to get the job done well."

"What…!" Garrus said imploringly, taking the sniper rifle from Ashley as she to emerged from the Mako "…I always get the job done properly and efficiently. I mean….what could possibly go wrong?"

"Don't say that!"

Shepard dropped down into the seat, sealing the Mako door with a flick of his finger and spurred the vehicle forward, leaving the Turian and his human companion in the dirt behind them.

Above, beyond the blazing blue of the sky, the Mass Relay fired once, a cloud of debris rolling from its depths as from the blue flames, some rusting metal 'thing' pulled itself into existence. Its goal was easy to see as it fired its main thrusters, the engine core leaking a great deal of blue fluid into space around it. Surrounded by chemical leaks, rogue heat vents and nearly on fire, it fired its engines once again, its nose tipping downward to take in the planetoid far below. And…with a gout of blue fire, it began to drop...