BOOM! Look who's back with a new chapter? It's been almost half a year, how are you guys all doing? Okay, don't actually tell me, Jesus, I don't actually care, I was just being polite.

Wondering where I was? Why this took so long? What's been going on? What the point of all these questions is? Read the A/N after the chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Mass Effect or any current characters but Faith. If I did I'd be rich, and thus Firefly would be longer than fourteen episodes.

Chapter 10: Prime

April 4, 2183

"Commander Shepard… I can't believe she's our assigned XO."

"I'm sure she's as good as any officer."

"Good's not what I'm talking about," Joker said with a glance over at Kaiden Alenko, who was seated in the copilot seat. "You can't tell me you haven't heard everything about her; it's all anyone on this ship's been talking about."

Kaiden managed to tamp down the desire to tell Joker to concentrate on where he was flying; he was just now getting used to the pilot's lax attitude. "I try not to pay attention to gossip."

"Well it's not gossip; I read her file. Well, what parts of it a non-ranked soldier can access, anyway. C'mon, you can't tell me you aren't a little bit curious."

"Maybe."

"Okay, check this out – you know she's got a contract for this job?"

"Well she's N7, right? That's standard procedure from what I hear."

"Yeah, but listen to what she required for this," Joker said as he brought it up on his screen. "No uniform or hair regulations; a personal supply of alcohol and freedom to use it; a personal computer and comm unit with no Alliance or otherwise bugs or tracking installed… I mean, it kind of paints a picture, doesn't it? She's not a normal officer."

"From what I can tell, few N7s are," Kaiden shrugged. "Besides, I think her service history speaks for itself."

"Which part? Where her entire unit got slaughtered or where she personally slaughtered an entire base of batarians? I mean sure, looking at everything she's done since then makes me confident about her skill, it doesn't exactly ease my mind about her snapping me in half."

"Oh, so you're afraid of her," Kaiden said with a chuckle.

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with being afraid of anything that can kill you. I'm just saying, unstable officers have bad records and I'm not looking forward to getting thrown out the airlock. Skill is great and all, but if you're trying to reassure me that an unstable person isn't someone to worry about, reminding me of all the ways they can kill people is not the way to do it."

The Normandy SR-1 came to rest at the Alliance space station, locking in. As the airlocks connected, Joker and Kaiden both turned to watch it and noticed they weren't the only ones; pretty much the entire crew of the Normandy was gathered around the command deck trying to look busy but glancing at the airlock as it cycled. Captain Anderson appeared as the elevator opened, making his way through them with a slightly amused look.

Then the airlock's cycle finished and the doors slid open.

The woman it revealed was dressed in a standard Alliance Navy uniform, but she wore a floor-length black longcoat over it, unbuttoned and seemingly made of some kind of leather. Her crimson hair didn't meet standard Alliance military protocol but was longer, falling to her shoulder blades and un-styled; in the front her bangs were longer on one side than the other, partially obscuring her right eye. One hand held a large black luggage bag as the other extended towards Anderson, her amber eyes seeming to pay no attention to the others in the ship.

"Commander Shepard, it's an honor to have you aboard," Captain Anderson said as he shook her hand.

"Good to see you again, Anderson," she responded in a slightly tired but strong voice. "What is it, Captain now?"

Anderson chuckled. "That's right. I'm a bit surprised you remember this time."

Shepard shook her head. "It's not worth keeping track considering the speed you advance at. By the time I memorize that you're a Captain you'll advance again."

"I appreciate your confidence." He released her hand and folded his arms. "What do you think of the Normandy?"

Shepard glanced around. "It's not a bad ship…"

"Not a bad ship?" Joker spoke up, getting their attention. "The Normandy's the fastest ship in the Alliance Fleet, and that's not even taking into account the stealth and weapons systems as well as its advanced maneuverability for a frigate class."

Shepard gave him a look and Anderson chuckled. "That's our pilot, Jeff Moreau; he goes by 'Joker'."

"Funny," Shepard said with just the slightest menace in her voice that put everyone in earshot on edge. She turned to Joker, giving him her full attention. "You're right, it's an impressive ship. Can you handle it?"

"Of course I can handle it, I'm the best damn pilot in the Alliance." He spun his chair a bit. "Heck, just ask how I got this job."

Shepard raised an eyebrow, glancing at Anderson who sighed, suppressing a smile. "He stole it. Evaded every ship that tried to catch him."

"Made a fool of two fleets at once," Joker said proudly.

Shepard smirked as her eyes moved back to him. "I think I'm gonna like you, Joker." She glanced at Kaiden. "And you?"

Kaiden stood and saluted. "Staff Lieutenant Kaiden Alenko, ma'am. It's an honor to serve with you."

"I'd reserve judgment on that until you've actually served with me," Shepard said dryly, returning his salute. She looked back at Anderson. "Anyone else I need to meet?"

"A few; I'll introduce you on the way, and fill you in on our shakedown run."

As they walked away, Joker looked at Kaiden. "Did you feel that?"

"Yeah…" Kaiden met his gaze. "Let's just hope she stays on our side."

Mass Effect

Two Days Later

"It's Hell."

"I think you're exaggerating a bit, Shepard."

"I'm trapped on a tiny ship surrounded by people. Worse, every single person on this ship knows all about me. They've all read my file."

"Files, Shepard; plural. But you're wrong; they only know what you've done, they don't know you."

"That's still enough to piss me off."

Miranda chuckled, wishing they were having a video chat so she could see Shepard's face. "To be fair, Shepard, there's a very short list of things that aren't enough to piss you off."

"Fine, but I still hate this situation."

"It will get better. Remember that you used to have a team that you liked; that can happen again."

Shepard sighed. "So can the end result… I'll put up with it for now, that's all I can promise."

"That's as much as anyone can ask."

Mass Effect

One Week Later

Shepard stood behind Joker, watching the approaching Mass Relay. Beside her stood the Spectre Nihilus, who was also paying a good deal of attention to the forthcoming jump.

"Board is green… Approach run has begun," Joker said as he moved the Normandy to align with the Relay. "Hitting the Relay in… Three… Two… One," he finished as a tendril of energy jumped to the ship. Moments later they felt the familiar pull as the galaxy faded from view, only to fade back in to reveal the Utopia System of the Exodus Cluster. "Thrusters… Check. Navigation… Check. Internal Emissions Sink engaged. All systems online. Drift… Just under 1500k."

"1500 is good… Your captain will be pleased," Nihilus stated as he turned to leave.

Joker watched him leave before turning back to his controls. "I hate that guy."

Kaiden gave him an odd look. "Nihilus gave you a compliment, so… you hate him."

"You remember to suit up your jumpsuit on the way out of the bathroom, that's good. I just jumped us halfway across the galaxy and hit a target the size of a pinhead, so that's incredible."

"It's also your job," Shepard stated simply.

Joker just waved her statement away. "Besides, Spectres are trouble. I don't like having them on-board. Call me paranoid."

"You're paranoid," Kaiden responded immediately. "The Council helped fund this project, they have a right to send someone to keep an eye on their investment."

"Yeah, that is the official story. But only an idiot believes the official story."

"Any 'official story' is at best twisting the truth and more often hiding it completely," Shepard interjected. "There's no way Nihilus is here just to keep an eye on this ship, anyone could do that; even a Council lackey."

"See? Shepard agrees."

The conversation ended up getting cut off by Captain Anderson's interruption, but Shepard was already tuning out anyway; as she walked towards the comm room, all she knew was that she was getting a bad feeling about things.

Mass Effect

Surface of Eden Prime, sometime later

The whole day had gone to hell so fast she didn't even know how to react yet.

All Ashley knew was that in the morning, it'd been slow and calm and lazy as could be expected on a planet like this. Her unit was joking and laughing without a care in the world, armed and armored but with no reason for either.

Now, only a few hours later, her entire unit was dead, half the colonists had been slaughtered, and that massive ship was towering over everything else like a forbidding fortress of evil. She wasn't sure her mind had caught up yet, but she was just glad her body was reacting. At the moment she was running; Geth – beyond the Veil! – were after her, along with those hovering things that flew faster than she could sprint. It wasn't going to take long for them to overtake her, so she headed for the nearest rock and rolled behind it for cover, barely missing the bolts that dug into the ground she'd been standing on. With quick reflexes she leaned around and gunned the things out of the air, but return fire from approaching Geth forced her to duck back behind cover.

Then the screeching came – not vocalizations, but the screech of metal grinding and tearing. She looked back out in time to see one of the Geth, shorn in two, falling to the ground immobile. Then a rush of air hit her and she looked up, watching as another Alliance soldier landed atop the rock she was using for cover. However, this soldier wore black armor with red accents, and that mark she could never miss – the stark N7 emblem on the chest that denoted the best of the best of the best within the Alliance. More strangely was that the woman wore a dark longcoat over said armor, left unbuttoned, and wore no helmet, leaving her non-military long hair free to wave in the wind the same way her coat did. It gave her an imposing presence, she supposed.

The woman leaned to the side as another Geth fired and then lifted her hand, and Ashley watched biotic energy spring to life around the attacking Geth. The machine was lifted into the air and the soldier simply lifted her other hand and spread them apart; the Geth was suddenly ripped in two. The legs were discarded like trash, but the woman flicked her hand and slammed the upper half into the remaining Geth, effectively turning two Geth into a twisted heap of scrap.

She then dropped from the rock as a male soldier came running up, turning to Ashley. "Report."

The single word contained enough power that Ashley instantly snapped to attention. "Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams of the 212, ma'am. 2nd Frontier Division on Eden Prime."

"Where's the rest of your unit?"

"They… all died, ma'am," Ashley said, forcing through a catch in her throat. There'd be time to think about things later. "They took us by surprise, barely any chance to react. I'm the last one."

The crimson-haired woman barely registered any reaction on her face, but her eyes told Ashley there was a lot more emotion going on under the surface. The woman looked away, taking a moment before looking back to her. "It's not your fault, Chief. It's good that you survived."

"Thank you, ma'am," Ashley said, a little caught off-guard; and she noticed the male soldier looked a bit surprised and filed that away for later.

"I'm Commander Shepard of the SSV Normandy," the woman stated. "This is Lieutenant Kaiden Alenko," she added with a gesture towards him; he and Ashley shared a nod. "We came for the beacon the archaeological teams dug up, but we didn't expect a fight. What happened here?"

"They came out of nowhere," Ashley answered. "Geth, and a lot of them. They overwhelmed us; we didn't even have time to set up defenses, and even if we did this planet isn't built to resist this kind of force. And then that thing came down," she added while pointing to the massive ship.

"I've never seen a ship that big capable of landing planetside," Kaiden said as he stared up at it. "Its Mass Effect Generator must be enormous."

"Yeah, well, after it came down, comms stopped working and everything went to hell even more."

Shepard looked from the ship back to Ashley. "Do you know where the beacon is?"

"Last I heard it was a short ways up from here at one of the dig sites."

"That's where we're going, then. Our mission is to retrieve it." She gave Ashley an appraising look. "We could use you, Williams. How do you feel about getting some revenge?"

Ashley removed her helmet, narrowing her eyes as she readied her rifle. "I feel real good, ma'am."

Shepard gave her a crooked smile. "Good – then let's get going."

About fifteen minutes later, Shepard looked down at the body of Nihilus with a sigh. So much for the invincibility of Spectres…

"One shot to the back of the head," Kaiden said from his position kneeling beside the dead turian. "Clean; doesn't seem like Geth…"

Ashley suddenly raised her rifle. "Commander! There's someone behind those crates!"

Shepard's eyes flashed and she threw her hand out, and the next thing anyone knew the air was filled with seven hovering crates and one flailing human. "Whaaa! Let me down, let me down, I'll talk!"

Shepard kept her left hand stable as she gestured with her right, moving the crates aside and setting them down one by one until only the man was suspended. She then tilted her head, her amber eyes boring into him while Ashley and Kaiden kept their rifles trained. "What were you doing back there?"

"Just hiding from the Geth!"

"Hiding? Perhaps you saw what happened here, then?"

"Just put me down and I'll tell you everything, I swear!"

Shepard gave the slightest of smiles. "Very well." She released him and watched him hit the ground, then walked up to him as the others lowered their weapons.

"How come only you survived?" Ashley asked with a bit of bitterness that Shepard didn't blame her for.

The man sat up with a groan, rubbing his head and averting his eyes shamefully. "Sometimes I like to nap behind the crates… I was back there when it started so they never found me."

"You goddamn coward."

"Hey, what was I supposed to do?! I'm not a soldier, just a dock worker!"

"Just tell me what happened," Shepard asked impatiently, setting a hand on her hip.

"Oh, right, the turian… Well, this other turian came and talked to him, seemed like they knew each other; the first one called him Saren. The one in black turned his back and the one in gray put a round through his head; I don't know why, that's all I know, I swear!"

Kaiden frowned. "Saren? He's another Spectre – why would he kill an ally?"

"Sounds to me like he's not an ally anymore," Ashley said coldly.

"Either way, I don't like it." Shepard looked down at the dock worker. "Go on; run." The man scrambled to his feet and took off as she resumed walking. "None of this is right… There's something going on that we don't know about, and I want to know what it is."

They didn't make it much further before a Geth ambush forced them into cover, but Shepard didn't stay there long; at the end of the platforms she spotted a grey-clad turian disappearing around the corner, and she leapt out of cover without a second thought. Kaiden called her name but it went ignored as she summoned her biotics, leaping from platform to platform past all the Geth until she disappeared around the same corner.

Kaiden cursed, but Ashley stayed calm as she took the head off another Geth. "I just hope she catches up to him."

"There's no way to know what he's got with him – that means we need to catch up with her. Come on, let's get through these Geth and get up there!"

Mass Effect

Saren felt his feet touch the ground as the Beacon released its hold on him, smiling as the knowledge filled his senses. Prothean data transfer was always a unique experience – his mind felt more open every time, more expansive. He could also feel Sovereign's pleased response in his head; the thought worried him only for a moment before he dismissed it. "We have what we came for," he said to the Geth beside him. "Arm the bombs."

The Geth nodded, doing as he said seconds before it suddenly shredded, falling in a coiled heap. Saren turned just in time to leap out of the way as the crimson-haired soldier slammed down, emitting a dome of biotic power that blasted the remaining geth off the platform to the ground below. She stood slowly as Saren appraised her, her hair swirling around her head and coat flapping as her biotics played hell with gravity. "Saren, I presume," she said darkly, her amber eyes boring into him.

"An Alliance soldier," he said calmly. "You must be Shepard, Nihilus' ally to recover the beacon."

Shepard's eyes glanced at the glowing beacon once before refocusing on the turian. "And you must be Nihilus' murderer. I have to wonder why you're working with Geth of all things."

"They're easier to work with than organics; more predictable." He drew his pistol and leveled it at Shepard. "For example, I doubt your team anticipated you'd go ahead alone, and now you're separated."

The soldier's eyes narrowed. "If they knew me, they would have."

There was an explosion of movement on both sides – and for once, Shepard didn't come out on top. Her biotics slammed into Saren, but they seemed to break over him like a wave against a rock. The responding lash of force knocked her off-balance, allowing Saren the instant he needed to get alongside her and slam her down with an overhand strike. Before she could even recover he had a hand around her throat and was lifting her up, placing his pistol to her forehead. She managed to grab and twist it upwards, making the shot go high. She followed up by placing both feet against his chest and enhancing her strength with biotics to kick away from him, flipping to land in a backslide on her feet as he regained his balance.

Several shots followed that she had to dodge or deflect, and she responded in kind by drawing her own pistol and unloading into his barrier. Suddenly her weapon overheated and she barely managed to react in time to leap back from the biotic slam that followed. Surprise crossed her features, followed quickly by anger as she dropped the weapon and performed a biotic charge. Unexpectedly, Saren did the same, meeting her halfway.

Their biotics struggled against each other as they hung in the air, pushing as hard as they could. Suddenly Saren dropped to his back, firing up once as Shepard passed over him. The round penetrated her armor, digging into her side as she hissed in pain and tumbled to the ground, rolling to a stop. Saren was already walking, holstering his pistol as a hovering platform reached the edge of the one they were standing on. "Maybe next time, Shepard," he said as he stepped onto it, giving a wave as it moved away.

Shepard forced herself to her feet, holding her left arm against her bleeding side as she summoned her pistol to her free hand and fired off several shots at the retreating Spectre. It was useless and she knew it; she let out an enraged scream as he disappeared into the horizon, her anger causing much of the metal platform and its railings to twist and bend. It was only a few seconds later when Kaiden and Ashley appeared, moving towards her. "Shepard!"

Ashley looked at her as she turned around. "You're hit! How bad is it?"

"I'm fine," Shepard responded, barely paying them any attention. "Saren got away," she said as everything began shaking – the massive ship was taking off, rising into the skies and beyond their reach.

"This must be what he came for," Ashley said as she slowly approached the Beacon. "Why didn't he take it with him?"

"Maybe the Commander stopped him from doing that," Kaiden said with a shrug.

"I hope you're right," Shepard muttered with a glance at the thing. Suddenly Ashley locked up, struggling as she was pulled towards the Beacon and unable to break free of it. She was nearly there before she felt Shepard's grip on her wrist tearing her away and flinging her back. She landed in time to watch Shepard lift into the air, shuddering as the Beacon suddenly began pulsing and flashing with lights and colors. Shepard felt her mind get torn apart – invaded by an otherworldly force. Images and sounds were shoved in where they didn't belong, shattering her organized thoughts into a thousand pieces. Pain, fear, and death consumed her, and the last thing she saw was a dying planet before the Beacon exploded and flung her away like a ragdoll.

"Shepard!" Ashley stumbled to her feet and ran over as Kaiden began contacting the Normandy for extraction, inspecting the unconscious soldier. She still seemed alive – but she didn't look good. "What the hell just happened…?"

Mass Effect

Shepard opened her eyes, sitting up on instinct and immediately regretting it. She hissed in pain and clasped her head as Doctor Chakwas put a hand on her shoulder. "Easy now – you're not in the best condition yet."

The redhead groaned, clamping her eyes tight even against the dim light of the medbay. "What the hell happened to me…?"

"We were hoping you could fill in the blanks."

"The Beacon did something to you," Ashley said, causing Shepard to open one eye after realizing she was there. She looked embarrassed – ashamed, even – but concerned enough to still be there. "After you threw me out of the way, it picked you up and did something before exploding. It would've been me, but…"

"Don't worry about it," Shepard said softly, turning to hang her legs off the table. "You'd have done the same."

Ashley smiled and Chakwas examined Shepard's eyes. "How do you feel?"

"Normal," Shepard stated, receiving a distrustful look from the doctor in response. "Like the morning after a hard drinking binge, which is normal enough for me."

"Fair enough," she said with an amused smile.

Anderson entered then, asking to talk to Shepard alone. As the others filed out, he looked to the soldier. "I'd hoped to give you a better first mission aboard this ship, Commander."

"Nothing's ever easy," she replied with a sigh. "No one could have foreseen a rogue Spectre with an army of Geth dropping in."

"The others told me what happened – I wish I could say I was surprised at Saren's involvement, but given his history it's all too easy to believe."

"Sounds like there's a story there."

"There is, but that can be shared later. The Beacon – what did it do?"

Shepard sighed. "A message," she stated distantly. "It gave me a message. Lots of death… It was a warning of some kind, like the Protheans were warning each other about something. I don't know what it means."

"Whatever it means, that's what Saren was after, so we have to figure it out. For now, we'll be reporting to the Council – your bid for Spectre isn't over just because of Nihilus' death. Go tell Joker to dock with the Citadel as soon as we arrive."

"Got it." Shepard dropped off the table, grabbed her coat and left the medbay. She checked over her shoulder before immediately changing direction to get to her room, activating her comm unit to send a message. She retold everything that had happened, filling in the details with what she'd heard from Ashley. "And Miranda – get me all the information you can find on the Spectre, Saren. I have a feeling I'm going to need it if I'm going to avoid losing a second time." She closed and sent the message before wiping the history and leaving the room, running into Ashley on the way out.

"Oh, Commander… Are you feeling well enough to be up?"

"I heal fast," Shepard said as she relaxed and studied the other soldier.

"That's handy. Listen, I wanted to thank you for what you said back on Eden Prime."

Shepard shrugged. "It's fine. So, I guess you're staying with us?"

She nodded. "Captain Anderson said you could use me; I hope that's okay."

"You're a good soldier, no matter what happened on the planet."

Ashley smiled. "Thanks, Commander… I hope you don't mind, but while you were out I read your file… I think I get why you were so nice about that."

Shepard smiled sadly. "Shared experience, huh?"

"Yes, although…" Ashley nervously looked away. "I miss my unit, my friends, but… Your wife… I'm sorry."

Shepard sighed, closing her eyes and running a hand through her hair as Ashley studied her. "Thank you. Look, I… I have a hard time talking about, that, so let's ignore it." She opened her eyes and focused on Ashley. "I know you feel like you failed, but you didn't. Sometimes surviving is the only thing you can do, and you did that. As long as you're still alive, you can keep going."

Ashley smiled. "Thanks, Commander."

"Just call me Shepard. Or Kira. I really don't care."

"Whatever you say, Shepard."

Shepard nodded, putting a hand on her shoulder as she passed and heading towards the bridge. When she arrived, Joker looked over his shoulder.

"Oh, hey, Commander. I guess we get to tell everyone 'I told you so', huh?"

"I'd rather have been wrong," she said as she moved to stand beside his chair.

"Still, it's a nice consolation price. Too bad about Nihilus, though."

"Soldiers die."

"You know, you should really do a seminar about inspirational speeches, 'cause you're really good at it."

"Here's some inspiration – do you know how much force it takes to crush a human skull? Because I do."

Joker held his hands up. "I got it, I got it." He focused back on flying the ship, watching the Citadel grow larger as they approached. "Ever been to the Citadel, Commander?"

"Several times," she replied. "Once for pleasure, rest for business."

"Pleasure?" He gave her a look. "You do things for pleasure?"

Shepard shook her head, not taking her eyes off the Citadel. "I used to," she said quietly. "The Captain says to dock when ready," she added before walking away.

Joker watched her leave before turning back and shaking his head. "Good job, Jeff. Way to work that charm."

Mass Effect

About an hour later, Shepard stood on the Citadel with Ashley and Kaiden nearby. Shepard was a short distance from the other two, but all three were leaning on a railing watching the traffic fly back and forth and staring at the lights of the other Ward Arms. The Council hadn't believed them about Saren, but she didn't blame them for that; she wasn't even angry. Honestly they had no evidence, it was simply her word against his and he was a Spectre. However, that meant they needed to find evidence, and she wasn't sure how hard that would be.

As she looked down at the city, she smiled as she felt a hand lay atop her own. "The city's lights are so pretty, aren't they? It's like looking at the stars…"

Shepard nodded, looking down as she turned her hand over to thread her fingers through the other woman's. "And just like those, each one signifies its own world… A billion stories all playing out at the same time."

Faith smiled. "You're so deep and thoughtful, Kira… Why don't you ever let anyone else see this side of you?"

Kira looked back out at the city, but didn't see any of it. "Because you're the only person I've ever been this way with. This side of me doesn't exist without you."

Faith looked at her sadly. "That's such a waste… You have so much more to offer than anger."

"Not anymore," she stated sadly. They were quiet for a few moments, simply listening to the sounds of the Citadel. "I remember when we first came here," she stated after a few minutes, breaking the silence. "All the other tourists flock to the Presidium, but you wanted to go into the Wards."

Faith smiled. "Do you remember what I said?"

"'All the real people are there, living out their lives normally; the Presidium is full of fakes,'" Kira quoted without hesitation. "You always had a strange way of seeing things…"

"But you liked it."

"Of course I did…" Kira remained quiet for a bit before looking into Faith's eyes. "I don't know if I can do this…"

"You haven't said those words in years."

"He beat me, and I don't even have the evidence to get a rematch."

"I don't remember anything like that ever stopping you." Faith gave her a soft smile, lifting a hand to run it through Kira's hair. "Take things one step at a time, just like before. Other people will help you; you're not alone this time."

"When have I ever been alone?" Kira asked with a meaningful look at her.

Faith just smiled.

"Commander?"

Shepard looked to her right at Ashley. She took one last look to her left, but the space was empty. She sighed. "Yes, Chief?"

"I'm sorry, you just looked really lost and thought and… I guess I should have left you alone."

Shepard gave her a sad look that made her forget her original intentions. "It's alright. I was just… remembering my first time here."

"Oh…" Ashley grew quieter. "Was it… with your wife?"

She nodded, leaning back on the railing and looking back out at the city. "Better days," she said softly. "Everything was so simple."

"The past always seems that way," Ashley said carefully. "Was it simple at the time?"

Shepard smiled. "It was. I was with Faith, so there was nothing I wanted but to make her happy. With every action based around that simple concept, it didn't require a lot of thought."

"What was she like?"

Shepard chuckled. "That's the first time anyone's ever asked me that… I can't really do her justice with words." She set her hands on the railing and stood straight. "All I'll say is that even now, six years after the last time I saw her, she still consumes nearly every thought… and still has the ability to make me happy by thinking about her."

Ashley watched her. "Do you believe in God, Commander?"

Shepard sighed, lifting a hand to rub her neck. "I don't know. Maybe; maybe not."

"I do; and I believe the dead don't just disappear. I think she can still make you happy because she's still there trying to."

Shepard looked at her and gave her a soft smile. "…Thank you, Chief."

Mass Effect

Garrus moved slowly, tightening his grip on his pistol. Doctor Michel was currently backing away from a thug while the other three watched from nearby. He was figuring out how to make a move when the medbay door opened and gave him his answer – the humans he'd run into earlier walked inside, surprised to see the standoff going on. However, the second they lifted their rifles the crimson-haired soldier raised her hand and blasted the three off their feet, sending them into the walls with a sickening crunch. Garrus took the opportunity to shift around the corner and put a round in the last thug's head, dropping him behind the doctor who looked both terrified and grateful at the same time.

Garrus stood and looked at the soldier, who was giving him a look that clearly asked for explanation. "Thanks for the distraction, Commander."

"Good shot," she responded, walking up beside him as Ashley and Kaiden checked the thugs she'd taken down. "Although I'm pretty sure I did more than distract."

"We'll call it even," Garrus said in an amused tone before looking at the doctor. "Doctor Michel, are you alright?"

"Thanks to the both of you," she said in her thick accent.

"So what was this all about?"

"A quarian," she responded. "She said she had information about Saren; these thugs wanted to know where she was."

"And where is she?"

"I sent her to Fist – he works for the Shadow Broker."

"Not anymore he doesn't," Garrus stated.

"Fist betrayed the Shadow Broker? That's stupid, even for him."

"Shepard, I'm coming with you," Garrus said, drawing her attention.

"The more the merrier," she said as she turned to leave.

"In that case, I've got an idea where we should stop first…"

Mass Effect

Shepard watched the krogan argue with the security personnel, until he pushed his way past and towards her. Their eyes never shifted from each other as he towered over her. "Wrex, right?"

"What's it to you?" he responded in a voice befitting his massive frame.

"I hear you're going after Fist," she replied calmly. "So are we. We thought it'd be better to work together than compete."

"Fine by me," he stated simply. "So long as you understand that I'm going to kill him."

"Works for me," she said with a shrug as she turned around. "One less bit of scum is no skin off my back. I was probably going to kill him after he talked anyway."

Wrex chuckled. "I think I'm going to like you, human."

Mass Effect

It wasn't a pretty scene; Fist's thugs lay scattered in a path behind them, some splattered on the walls, others simply gunned down or in broken heaps. In the office, two smoking wrecks of metal that used to be turrets flanked Shepard as she stood calmly with her arms crossed, looking up at the man that was held suspended against the wall a few feet above them with biotics. "Now that's not the answer I wanted to hear," she said in a disappointed tone. "You can do better than that, I hope; otherwise you're no use to me and I just hand you over to my krogan friend," she finished with a nod towards Wrex, who grinned and cracked his knuckles.

Fist swallowed as best he could, sweating nervously. "Okay, okay – I set the quarian up! She thinks she's meeting the Shadow Broker, but there are assassins waiting for her; it's in the alley nearby. But even if you go now, it's too late!"

Shepard shrugged. "Then I guess it's too late for you." Wrex raised his shotgun and put a blast directly into Fist, silencing him instantly and messily. Shepard let his body drop, looking at the krogan. "You couldn't have used a pistol? I've got blood all over me…"

"Pistols aren't really a krogan's style, Shepard," he responded with a chuckle.

"We've got to get to that quarian," Garrus interrupted. "She doesn't have much time."

"If Saren's assassins are waiting for her she might already be dead," Ashley added. "We'd better hurry!"

Mass Effect

Garrus and Wrex were beginning to get used to the way things seemed to work with Shepard. This time it didn't even surprise them as they entered the corridor to see the quarian under attack only to watch the assassins lift into the air and slam into opposing walls, pinned there. They reacted fast enough to put rounds in them before the Commander dropped the bodies and walked towards the quarian.

"Who are you?" she asked as she stood up and put away her pistol.

"Commander Shepard, Systems Alliance," the soldier responded as she took in the quarian. "You don't look hurt. I heard you have information on Saren; we're the ones trying to take him down."

"Then I guess I get the chance to repay you right away."

Mass Effect

Shepard stood on the dock outside the Normandy, holding tightly to the hand she felt in hers. "So… Spectre," the voice said proudly. "There really is no limit to how far you can go, is there?"

"We'll see," Kira said with a sidelong glance at Faith. "This is just the beginning… And I have no idea where any of this is going to go." She sighed, looking at the floor. "Saren, the Geth, an Asari Matriarch, the Reapers… All of this sounds insane, even to me. We're talking about the end of galactic civilization… How is this not bigger than me? How can I possibly handle this?"

"The same way you've handled everything else," Faith said as she stepped in front of her, lifting Kira's chin to look into her eyes. "You have a ship. You have a new team. You have Miranda. You can do this."

Kira looked into her eyes, allowing herself to believe what Faith was saying. "I will do this… I'll do everything I can to keep your sacrifice from being wasted."

Faith smiled, laying a hand on her cheek. "That's my girl."

Shepard blinked, and then she was alone. She sighed, closing her eyes and standing there for a few minutes more before turning around and heading onto the Normandy.

"Hey Commander," Joker said as she entered. "I've got the PA ready if you want to say anything."

"Thanks, Joker." Shepard moved to the console, taking a minute to look off at nothing. She stayed like that for a few more seconds before suddenly hitting the button, her voice filling the rest of the ship as the crew looked up and listened.

"We've all lost something," she started, staring at nothing as she spoke, her hand tightening on the edge of the console. "I don't know why Saren's after what he's after; all I know is that he's killed a lot of innocent people to get it, and he's going to kill more. I don't care if he's a turian or a human or a krogan, I don't care if he's killing quarians or asari, I don't care if he's a rogue Spectre or a fucking mechanic. All I know is that this shit is going to stop. We're going to hunt him down, we're going to take him down, and we're going to put him down. It's time to show the trash of this galaxy that if you fuck with us enough, we fight back. This mission isn't going to be easy; which is exactly why we're doing it. Whatever you did before this, now you're part of the team that took down Saren. The second he made us his enemy, he made his last mistake. Now… It's only a matter of time."

As she released the button, Joker nodded. "Hell of a speech, Commander. The Captain would be proud."

"The Captain isn't here," Shepard said, drawing Joker's attention to her… which caused him to move back. Whether she realized it or not, her eyes weren't their usual amber; they blazed a bright azure blue with biotic power, burning with an inner glow as strong as the galactic core. "This is up to us now," she said as she turned and stalked away, leaving the room colder than before she'd entered.

Joker turned back to the displays, blowing out a breath. "Yes ma'am." I sure hope whatever planet we catch him on has insurance.

Mass Effect

A/N: READ THIS EVEN IF YOU DON'T NORMALLY READ AUTHOR'S NOTES, PLEASE

Hi. So remember how I said I was publishing a book? Yeah, it's out in ebook form on Amazon, and here's the best part – as of today and tomorrow (August 23 and 24 to be specific), it's absolutely free. As in, you don't have to give me any money to get it. You can find it several ways – check out my blog (theseventhshadow dot com) for a link and some info about it; or just search Amazon for "Silence In Numbers Jake Taylor".

If you don't have a Kindle to read ebooks on, no worries – you can get a Kindle App for free on the computer or phone you're reading this on.

I would really appreciate any of you getting it / reading it and especially reviewing it, as that would make it more visible and more likely to get me money when it's not free, which I hear is useful for buying all those silly things like food and clothing and housing. And seeing as I have no marketable skills aside from writing, it's really important that I make money or I might have to… like… work or something. Ugh.

Anyway, thank you for reading! No review responses this time unfortunately, but if you said anything you'd like a response to or asked any questions you want answered, include them in a review to this chapter and I'll get to them next time. This story should now be back on a regular updating schedule – I apologize for the extremely long wait, but I swear it's not abandoned! I was just dealing with the inordinate amount of shit that comes with going from finishing a book to selling it – who knew it was so annoying? I also apologize for the lack of Miranda in this chapter, but there wasn't much room to fit her in considering the amount I'm compacting the first game. I want to get to the second game pretty fast, for obvious reasons.

If you've got any scenes or specific things you want to see from the first game (or changes to events in the first game that you think fit this story), let me know and I'll try to put them in!

Thanks!