Garrus offers to go down with her but Shepard declines. She's not sure what will get settled. Or if anything can be settled. Her and Ash's screwed-up dynamic goes far beyond the minor confrontation with Grunt (which was nothing but a final straw for the Commander). This little showdown should be between them only.

The Commander's waiting, clad in a light gray tank and blue sweats. No Cerberus-issue workout gear for her, like the kind Shepard's wearing. Her own clothing budget's gone to what Cerberus doesn't provide—dresses, make-up and a lot of shoes.

"You're not too tired after the rite?" Ash asks, rolling her shoulders. The woman has an intimidating physique—all toned, hard muscle.

"I'm just fine." Shepard mimics the stretch, feels a satisfying pop of bone. "So do we talk or dance first?"

Ash lifts her fists and crouches into position. Fine by Shepard. She balances on the balls of her feet, shifting back and forth as they circle one another.

Ash swings first; a swift right jab. Shepard ducks aside, bringing up her forearms to block the left cross. During their first matches, Jacob had exploited her weak points till she remembered to keep her guard up. Serves her well now, when she's on the defense. She endures the blows to her guard and dances away from the rest. Her opponent still gets a good shot to Shepard's gut.

Shepard turns with the blow, using the proximity to slam her elbow in the Ash's clavicle. The Commander reels back, lifting her arms to block and counter Shepard's quick succession of punches. Ash pivots her body around, swinging a kick to Shepard's waist. Shepard's hands drop to block it, leaving her face unguarded. Shitty move on her part. Ash's fist connects with her mouth.

Shepard splits blood onto the mats. Ash waits, fists still up.

"That how you'll get me to stop running my mouth?" Shepard asks, wiping her lips with her forearm. "Careful. I know where my lips have been."

"I don't care where they've been," Ash scowls. "And some days, I'd kick it out if I could."

"You won't." Shepard moves in, feinting a punch to the left followed by a right hook that glances off Ash's shoulder. "You won't even kick Jack out and she totaled Miranda's office."

Ash sweeps her leg towards, frowning when her target jumps out of the way. "Jack at least listens."

"I listen plenty. I just-" Ash gets in another solid hit, this time to Shepard's eye and the world spins a second before she can block the other blows.

"You do," says Ash. "To everyone but me."

Shepard gives up on talking so she can concentrate on the fight. Ash's punches hurt like all hell and if Shepard hadn't spent so many years building a high pain tolerance, she'd beg for mercy.

Ash accepts the silence and they continue. The Commander's the better combatant but Shepard's gotten pretty good at dodging and timing her strikes. She's a bruised, bleeding mess when they're done but at least she put up a damn good fight.

They lie on the mats, spent and trying to catch their breaths. Shepard feels like laughing but her ribs ache from the slightest chuckles. She can picture the purple-green bruise forming on her torso.

"…It sucks," says Ash after a while.

"You have to be more specific." Shepard's throat is dry but getting her water bottle requires movement.

"The last big mission, against Saren…it took a while for that crew to trust me too." Ash sighs. "Wrex almost turned on me at one point."

"You did something right. All of 'em—Garrus, Tali, Liara—they love you now."

"Had to earn their trust by helping them all." Ash sits up, wiping the sweat from her brow. Her bottom lip is also split open, matching Shepard's. "It didn't help that I had my own distrust of aliens to work through. I cringe thinking about that."

"Is that why we're doing all these personal missions?" Shepard feels odd, lying prone with Ash sitting. She pushes herself upward and rests her chin on her knees

"It was Miranda's idea to make sure everyone tied up their loose ends. Before our 'Suicide Mission.' But yeah." Ash rubs hard at the dried blood on her chin. "I'm good with missions. You…didn't need that to make them like you."

"Hey…" Shepard shakes her head. "You're damn likable. I like you and you didn't have to do a mission for me."

A small smile touches Ash's mouth. "Thanks."

"I'm serious. And on the battlefield? You know your shit. That's pretty important for the leader of a suicide mission."

"And there you go again." Ash shakes her head, amusement and exasperation mingling in her voice. "That's the kind of thing that makes them all stand behind you. And it's not going to stop anytime soon, is it?"

"…No," Shepard shrugs. "I could say I'll never get in the way again. And I'd try. But I'd still do it and I don't want to lie."

"Alright. Fair enough." Ash looks at her. "So what do we do?"

"You could kick me out. Or put me in the brig. But I'd fight you either way." Shepard grins and a corner of Ash's mouth lifts. "Or we could just try to live with each other till the Collectors are history. I can promise that I'll never betray you. If nothing else, I'm loyal."

"I can live with that." Ash gets to her feet and offers a hand. Shepard clasps it, letting the other woman pull her up. "And reserve the right to yell at you for dumb behavior."

"I think this will be a good reminder for awhile." Shepard taps her right eye. "How bad does it look?"

Ash smirks. "Bad enough to make me feel better."

Shepard laughs. "Guess we oughta go see Chakwas. You've got missions to do."

"We both do." They grin at one another and limp towards the elevator.


The list of missions before the final assault shrinks. Garrus and Ash defend Tali to the Quarian Migrant Fleet and prevent Thane's son from choosing the criminal path. Then it's Shepard, Ash and Samara off to retrieve the Reaper IFF. They end up returning with a Geth squad member.

The squad and crew are all wary of Legion. They don't expect Ash to take to it or agree to do a mission for it. If it were Shepard, she'd be a little uneasy. Especially with the Geth using Ash's old armor as part of its plating. Then again, the Commander's found a tentative accord with Cerberus. Maybe Legion's not too big a step after that.

Ash and Miranda go with Legion on its mission and then it's time to plan for the suicide mission. As the Commander and Miranda strategize, they're called away to extract the Turian survivors of a shuttle crash. Ash brings the entire squad down with her to better sweep the area.

They split into four teams. Shepard's with Jack and Zaeed. They don't have much luck finding survivors in their assigned location, but the other three teams keep reporting in discoveries. A Turian Fleet ship contacts Ash halfway through, letting her know they're on their way to bring the survivors home.

"I checked the files," says Jack as they trek further into the wooded area. The trees are blue and green, their leaves like tufts of orange fuzz. It's like a bizarre nightmare or a children's story vid. "Zaeed was your pimp?"

"…More or less." Shepard replies. "I kinda drafted him into it."

Zaeed, batting down the brush with his rifle, grunts. "I was the real brains behind the outfit."

"Huh." Jack squints at the shifting trees before them. "Ever fuck each other?"

"Nope." Shepard makes a sharp motion with her hand, dismissing the thought. "Not once. He totally wants me though,"

"Not interested in jailbait," Zaeed gives Shepard a shove. "Reminds me. How old are you, Jack?"

Jack's eyes narrow. "Too young for you."

Zaeed barks with laughter and they press on, passing insults and jokes. They find two Turians, both female, one with a broken leg. The other's bruised and cut up but still insists on helping Shepard support her limping comrade back to the shuttle. Jack and Zaeed stay in front, clearing a path.

"It's just ahead," Shepard assures the two Turians as they near the rendezvous point. "I think you guys are the last two missing."

"I'm just glad we're all alive," the injured one sighs. "I couldn't bare losing any of us."

"Me neither-"

"Shepard?" Miranda's voice crackles over their comm. links. The trees have been wreaking havoc with the signal. "Shepard, report."

"On our way back with the last two like I reported," Shepard replies. "What's wrong?"

"We…just received word from Joker." Underneath the static, Miranda's voice is wavering. "The Collectors attacked the Normandy. The crew is gone."