Wing Commander: End of an Era

by Worth a Shot

A/U for both wing commander and mass effect: The timelines of Mass Effect and Wing Commander are changed forever when the Kilrathi make a startling discovery at the edge of their empire. This story will contain a number of well known characters from both games. Starts in the middle of ME2 and will continue on through ME3.

20. Chapter 20

Wing Commander: End of an Era
Chapter 20

Citadel Space

Hawking Eta Cluster
Thorne System
Orbit of Mnemosyne

"Got a visual on the Reaper, and there are the two Geth cruisers docked right alongside," Joker reported as soon as the Normandy achieved a stable orbit above the upper layers of the brown dwarf's atmosphere.

Shepard had ordered him not to enter the planet's atmosphere. With two Geth cruisers docked alongside, both marked as Cerberus aligned vessels, she didn't want to take the risk and fly right up to dock.

Joker glanced to his right, "Operation: Loiter above a two kilometer hopefully dead Reaper with two Geth cruisers parked alongside is a go. What's next?"

Seated in the co-pilots seat, Shepard clapped and rubbed her hands together, "Well…I am sorely tempted to simply charge up the Thanix cannon and blast them all into interstellar dust but since we are technically ally's with Cerberus I suppose I should at least give them the courtesy of hailing them and informing them I am seriously considering blowing them all up. EDI, please open a channel."

"Connection with the Geth cruisers established Shepard."

Shepard cleared her throat and just when she was about to start EDI interrupted her.

"The two Geth cruisers have left the Reaper and are headed into orbit. I am detecting several nuclear warheads onboard the derelict ship. Warning, detonation in progress. Providing visual."

Completely taken aback by the situation, Shepard watched her screen as the Reaper wreck was engulfed by a massive explosion. The white flare of light was even bright enough to even illuminate the Normandy's bridge, despite them being far above the epicenter of the blast.

When the light finally faded away and the shockwaves had fully dissipated, nothing of the Reaper remained.

"Holy crap…," Joker said with his mouth agape.

Shepard remained focused, "Status report."

EDI's blue orb appeared on the bridge, "Analysis of the blast reveals Cerberus planted eight warheads in all. Scans of the area show debris measuring less than four millimeters in total is all that remains of the Reaper. The Geth cruisers have left the planet's atmosphere and are holding position sixty-two thousand kilometers to starboard. I can regain communications if you wish to make contact."

"Do it," Shepard replied. "I need to know what's going on here."

"Connection re-established."

"Cerberus cruisers this is Spectre Shepard. I would very much like to speak with whoever's in charge on your end. I've got a few questions I'd like answers to." Shepard was forced to wait a few seconds until her screen lit up with a familiar face.

::Shepard! It's so good to hear from you again!:: Tali'Zorah exclaimed joyfully.

Shepard's jaw dropped, "Tali?! What the hell is going on here?! The last thing we discovered was your team back on Haestrom. We thought you had been kidnapped by the Geth. What are you doing onboard one of their cruisers and why do the cruisers have the Cerberus logo?"

Tali's image nodded quickly, ::I was captured by the Geth after they wiped out my team. They were holding me onboard one of their space stations when suddenly all the platforms began malfunctioning. Next thing I knew, Cerberus soldiers started boarding the station and took it without firing a shot. Shepard, the Geth obey them now.::

The Geth obey Cerberus...Shepard winced at the thought. It seemed things weren't going to go as easily as she had first hoped.

Joker took advantage of Shepard's pause and spoke up, "Damn, Tali, glad to see you're alright. We were really worried about you. Garrus took your capture pretty hard."

Even with her helmet blocking her face you could tell Tali was smiling, ::It's good to see you to Joker. Sorry to make you all worry but I'm alright.::

Shepard coughed lightly to regain Tali's attention. "Look Tali, I'm happy you're safe, really, but the situation we are seeing should speak of the opposite. You disappear for days then suddenly reappear on a Geth ship with Cerberus markings next to a Reaper wreck?" she pointed out uncomfortably. "You're no fan of Cerberus and less so the Geth. How do I know you haven't been brainwashed by either or indoctrinated by the Reapers?"

::Shepard, I can assure you I'm fine,:: Tali quickly countered. ::I'm not entirely thrilled about the situation myself but things have changed in the past few days. The Quarian people and Cerberus are not the enemies we once were. We are working together to retake control of all the Geth.::

"Wait, the Flotilla is working alongside Cerberus?" Shepard asked with a growing frown.

Tali nodded, ::I've been working alongside Cerberus for the past five days. I'm sorry I didn't contact you. Had I known you were aware of my mission on Haestrom I wouldn't have let you worry.

::With Cerberus's help, my father and the other Admirals of the Flotilla, have already begun running cyber-attacks on all outlying Geth outposts surrounding the Perseus Veil. We have been able to take full control of over one hundred Geth platforms, with over ten-thousand Geth programs in all. Each and every one is back to being a complete servant of the Quarian people. This amazing level of success has greatly helped ease the animosity between our two groups.::

Shepard couldn't, didn't, believe it. There is absolutely no way that Cerberus or the Illusive Man would simply give the Quarians the keys to controlling the Geth…

"Okay," Shepard began slowly, "that covers the Cerberus part of the story. Now explain the part about the Reaper you just blew up. How do I know you're not indoctrinated?"

::We've only been here for the past two days,:: Tali answered, ::and I never personally even set foot inside the ship. We used the Geth platforms to search the vessel for us.::

Shepard mulled over everything Tali had told her in her head. It all made sense, as much as a situation like this could make sense, but when dealing with the Reapers there could be no room for error.

"Alright Tali, answer one last thing before I drop the matter completely." She leaned back into her chair with a smile, "The Reaper's level of indoctrination varies based on the amount of control they exert. We learned this back on Virmire. So my theory is this, if you are indoctrinated that means some amount of information inside of your brain must have been pushed aside in order for the Reaper to take control. You don't sound indoctrinated to me so that means that if you are indoctrinated the Reaper is using a very subtle form of manipulation on your mind; which in turn means that you would still be very capable at what you do but must have lost some sort of tiny, insignificant detail about something or other you learned over the years."

From the corner of her eye she could see Joker giving her a blank stare, "Based on everything you have just explained I am convinced Miranda screwed something up putting your brain back together. Did you even understand half of what you just said?"

Keeping her eye's fixed on Tali's image, Shepard used her left hand to flip Joker off, "During our time chasing Saren, you, Tali, spent nearly all of it inside the SR1's engineering bay. Engineer Adams even told me once that you knew more about the Tantalus drive core than he did. So answer me this Tali, in the span of sixty seconds, how many pulses of energy did the drive core give off?"

Without missing a beat Tali responded, ::Twenty-four.::

"Again, in the span of sixty seconds, how many revolutions did the core make and in which direction?"

::One and three quarters and it spun clockwise.::

Joker huffed, "There, are you happy now? Did Tali pass your little test?"

Shepard shrugged still smiling, "No idea. I never spent enough time in engineering staring at the core anyways to know the correct answers. The point was to see if she knew and how long it would take her to answer. If the Reaper was controlling her mind I'm sure asking such a generic and mundane thing about something completely insignificant, she would have panicked and messed up her responses."

Joker's stare was enough for her to tell what he thought of her plan.

On the screen, Tali also brought a hand up to her helmet and shook her head, ::Oh, Keelah.::

Shepard focused back on Tali, "Honestly, though, Tali I am glad you are safe. Now could you put me in contact with the Cerberus commander in charge of this operation?"

Tali nodded and stepped off screen. To Shepard's shock, the next face to appear was all too familiar to her as well.

Oh crap… wait, this could get interesting…

Seeing her expression, Oleg Petrovsky, former Systems Alliance officer turned Cerberus General, smiled.

::A pleasure to see you again Shepard. It's been too long.::

---

Athena Nebula
Parnitha System
Thessia

Lieutenant Kurin, Asari huntress and leader of task force Vendora, fought with all the skill several centuries of dedicated military training had provided her.

She shouldered her Vindicator assault rifle and killed a pair of Vorcha in the open, then charged her biotics and took the head of a third clean off with a warp. Kurin then staggered back as her barrier absorbed laser bolts from the Kilrathi soldiers leading the Vorcha pack. She dropped her rifle and brought both her arms up to try and reinforce her failing defenses. The strain of keeping her barrier up against the Kilrathi's massive laser rifles felt like a Krogan shouting into her ear after a particularly adventurous shore leave.

Realizing she would lose the standoff if she remained in the open, Kurin reached behind her back for her Disciple shotgun, and then used her biotics to charge forward into the group of Kilrathi. The resulting impact sent the cats to the ground and Kurin took full advantage of their state to shoot each one in the chest. Without a kinetic barrier to defend themselves, each Kilrathi was instantly killed.

With the immediate enemy dealt with, Kurin finally had a moment to catch her breath. She replaced her shotgun on her hip and made her way back to the task force's impromptu defensive line of concrete ruble and metal gates.

Surrounding her, the once beautiful Thessian cityscape was being reduced to ruin. The attack had happened so suddenly and without mercy. Kurin had no idea what was going on in orbit around the planet but she knew it wasn't going well for the Asari. The recognizable silhouettes of Kilrathi cruisers in low orbit above her, continually bombarding the planet below, easily testified to that fact. They would only have been able to do so if the Asari navy was in no shape to drive them back.

Kilrathi fighters flew in packs over the city, destroying any hope the Asari had in achieving some level of air superiority. Kurin's own supporting wing of gunships had been shot down in the first few minutes of the assault. All their attempts to call for air support had been denied. Command had told them straight out, nothing was left to send.

Reaching her surviving soldiers Kurin instinctively ducked as she heard the now unmistakable sound of another skyscraper crumbling to the ground. She watched off in the distance as the tower in question fell and knew the Kilrathi had claimed another portion of the city as their own. The main battle tanks being used by their enemy were large, caterpillar-track driven, metal monsters that had two massive co-axial laser cannons mounted on their top. The Kilrathi had been using them to simply level any portion of the city that the Asari had been using for cover, or whatever happened to be in their way.

Kurin turned away from the sight. The main battle was getting closer and closer to her position. Her team had only engaged vanguard patrols consisting of both Kilrathi and Vorcha soldiers and had barely survived each. She had no idea how they were expected to hold out against the approaching tanks.

A huntress ran up to her out of breath. "Our left flank is collapsing!" she shouted out. "They can't hold out against the number of Vorcha being sent against them, and they are running out of ammo!"

"We're all running out of ammo. Those Kilrathi refuse to go down," Kurin said back. "Have outpost nexis abandon their positions and reinforce the left flank."

Kurin then focused on another of her people, "Get command back on the line and get us a report on the Kilrathi's advancement. If we find out where they are going we can try to set up some more ambushes rather than sit here and wait to get attacked."

The soldier activated her omni-tool, "Last reports had the Kilrathi moving toward the city's religious center. Command thinks they may be trying to destroy the temples there to lower morale across the planet."

"Incoming shuttles!" one of the huntresses called out.

Kurin turned to see four Kilrathi shuttles dive out of the sky and land just next to their position. Out of each of the shuttles came eight Vorcha being led by two Kilrathi. Having dropped off their cargo the shuttles quickly departed as the Kilrathi shouted out their commands and advanced their groups toward Kurin's outpost.

"Back to your posts!" Kurin shouted as she dropped behind cover. She reached behind her back and then cursed when she realized that she had left her assault rifle back in the ruble where she had dropped it. The constant state of siege was beginning to affect her judgment. She never would have forgotten her weapon otherwise.

With no other weapon available to her Kurin removed her Disciple and loaded a fresh thermal clip. She would just have to make do with what she had, and with the Vorcha rapidly advancing, it wasn't like she wouldn't get a chance at the fighting. Her task force numbered only fourteen in all, and that included herself.

The thirty-two Vorcha had only one thing on their side, numbers. Vorcha weren't professional soldiers. They cared little for tactics and simply shot where they were told to shoot and charged when they were told to charge. Kurin's well-trained huntresses would have killed them all in only a few seconds had it not been for the eight Kilrathi accompanying them.

This battle was the first time Kurin had ever encountered a Kilrathi but she had immediately learned to respect and utterly hate them. It was like they had taken the best military attributes of the Turians and the Krogan, and combined them together to make one unstoppable army. The Kilrathi ground troops took Turian discipline to the extreme. They did not break and they never retreated. All fought until victory or their dying breath. And nothing was off limits to them. The Kilrathi destroyed all that stood in their way. Hospitals, schools, and places of worship, anything on Thessia was a potential target.

But it was their weaponry that gave them their biggest advantage. The biotic barrier of an average Asari huntress wasn't capable of absorbing more than a few shots from a laser rifle without falling, and the strain of keeping one up was severely taxing. Kurin knew without a doubt that if she wasn't as gifted as she was with her own biotics, she would have fallen long ago.

Despite being outnumbered, Kurin and her soldiers held their ground and slowly managed to gain the upper hand. Having a military where every member was a skilled biotic certainly had its advantages, and Kurin's task force made short work of the inept Vorcha. The eight Kilrathi proved harder to eliminate. Each was clearly a professional. They stayed in cover and repositioned only when a fellow Kilrathi was providing suppressive fire. But eventually, Kurin was able to get a few of her people into a flanking position and they forced the Kilrathi into the open where they were then quickly gunned down.

The Asari's victory was short-lived as Kurin heard one of her soldier shout out a warning. Another Kilrathi shuttle was on approach for their position.

Kurin's attention was momentarily pulled away from the shuttle as a huntress approached her, "Lieutenant! Command wants all available forces to fall back! They've tracked the Kilrathi's advance and have mapped out their course. They are heading straight for the Temple of Athame!"

Kurin's felt a chill run down her spine. She wanted to believe that command was simply overreacting and that the Kilrathi would never attack such a site but then quickly shook those thoughts away. Of course the Kilrathi would destroy the temple, she had witnessed them annihilate crowded hospitals.

Before she had a chance to order her people to move out, the Kilrathi shuttle landed exactly where the previous four had and dropped off its single occupant, and then to Kurin's confusion, flew away.

This single Kilrathi was immediately distinguishable from the previous cats Kurin had fought. Its armor was painted a blood red rather than the simple brown of the other soldiers, and the Kilrathi's head was free from the confines of a helmet. His brown mane rippled in the wind. Kurin then watched as the cat removed a dagger from his belt and then took a fighting stance.

Kurin had no idea what the Kilrathi was thinking but she wasn't going to wait around to find out. "Open fire!" she shouted.

As soon as she had given the order, the Kilrathi brought his head back letting out a tremendous roar and then…used his biotics to charge into the nearest Asari.

Kurin's heart nearly stopped at the sight. This Kilrathi was a biotic, the first biotic she had ever witnessed, and something she had been promised didn't exist because the Kilrathi lived in a portion of the galaxy where element zero could not be found.

The power of the charge most likely killed the unfortunate Asari out right, but her body flew across the ground and impacted the nearby wall with a sickening crunch. The Kilrathi stood there for a moment, a feral smile across his face, as his barrier absorbed the combined fire of Kurin's entire taskforce.

Kurin had never seen such a thing in her life, and that terrified her completely.

"Bring him down!" she shouted as she opened fire with her Disciple. The rest of her people continued their attack.

Against the Kilrathi before them, Kurin and her huntresses were like flies trying to bring down a thresher maw.

The Kilrathi charged into another Asari and then rammed his dagger into the throat of the other standing within arm's reach. Ripping his dagger free, he raised his other paw and lifted four Asari standing together off the ground and into the air. Launching a warp into the group caused a biotic explosion so powerful the four Asari were reduced to a fine red mist.

One of the huntresses took the opportunity to charge into the Kilrathi from behind, but the difference in power between them was so great that the Kilrathi didn't even budge as she rammed into him. The cat reached out, grabbing the Asari by the throat and squeezed, snapping her neck.

Kurin was becoming desperate. She reached for her belt and shouted, "Grenades!"

Her remaining soldiers all removed a grenade and tossed them at the Kilrathi's feet. The cat had enough time to glance down at the threat before the explosion engulfed him.

The dust and smoke created by the blast obscured Kurin's vision but her hope of defeating the foe was short lived. Out of the smoke the Kilrathi charged forward with another roar, unharmed, and tore into the few remaining Asari with a savage blood lust. In a matter of seconds the only surviving Asari still standing was Lieutenant Kurin.

Kurin steeled herself and loaded a fresh thermal clip into her shotgun and then charged forward. But she didn't charge into the Kilrathi's barrier like the other huntress, Kurin stopped her charge only a foot in front of him and quickly shot him twice at point blank range.

The Kilrathi's biotic barrier rippled as it absorbed the shots easily and as the cat thrust his dagger forward to stab Kurin in the chest, she used her biotics to augment her speed and dashed around the Kilrathi's thrust, to stand at his left.

She opened fire again at point blank range and when the cat twisted around to face her, Kurin charged backward out of his reach and raised her hand to throw a warp at his chest. Again the Kilrathi's barrier easily absorbed both the shotgun blasts and the warp without any strain showing on the Kilrathi's features. In fact the cat just smiled wide and licked his fangs.

To Kurin's disgust, he seemed to be enjoying himself. The Kilrathi said something in his native language before charging forward toward Kurin. A fraction of a second before they collided, Kurin jumped to the side and rolled away to avoid the hit; but the Kilrathi wasn't done. Having missed his prey he raised one of his massive paws and slammed the bioticly charged fist into the ground throwing everything around him back with a powerful shockwave.

Kurin tried to raise her own barrier to take the hit but was thrown back like everything else. She landed and rolled across the ground, losing her grip on her shotgun. When she regained her senses and stood up, she felt a pinch in her chest. The Kilrathi still stood at his spot several meters away with only a raised paw, so when Kurin looked down uncomprehendingly to see the Kilrathi's dagger imbedded up to its hilt in her chest, she could only assume he had thrown it at her all the way from where he stood.

Kurin felt her body go weak and she dropped to the ground on her knees before falling onto her back. She struggled to look up and watched the Kilrathi slowly advance toward her. Weakly, she attempted to crawl backwards away from the approaching cat, but when her back was forced up against some of the concrete ruble surrounding her, Kurin accepted the truth of the situation…

She was going to die.

As the Kilrathi advanced he began to speak to her in his language. Kurin didn't understand a word of it but she was pretty sure this was the part where the victorious cat gloats over his helpless victim. She would have laughed at the cliché but the knife in her chest began to make breathing difficult. Instead she closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable.

Kurin would have kept her eyes closed if a strange noise hadn't caught her attention. When it continued and began to increase she opened her eyes to see the Kilrathi had stopped in his approach. He was still standing several feet away from her and his posture was slouched, his body shaking heavily from convulsions.

The Kilrathi began coughing and brought a paw up to his mouth and pulled it away to see blood. The convulsions started up again and the strength of them brought the large cat to his knees. More blood began to come up with the coughing and then streams of it began to pour out of the cat's ears and nose. The Kilrathi fell forward onto his paws and looked up and stared straight into Kurin's eyes.

Kurin, shocked at the scene, held the Kilrathi's gaze until another series of convulsions sent the Kilrathi onto his back. Only seconds later, with one last blood filled, choking breath, the Kilrathi's body went slack.

Her enemy was dead.

At that moment Kurin didn't really care how it had happened, she was just glad that the monster that killed her squad was dead. With her vision going fuzzy, Kurin knew she was still in danger of dying from blood loss. She had only a few moments of consciousness left. She applied medi-gel around the blade's hilt in her chest and activated her distress beacon. With one last look at the battle torn city around her she then passed out.

---

Serpent Nebula
Widow System
Citadel
Council Private Meeting Room

Councilor David Anderson read and re-read the information on the datapad provided to him by the Asari Republic's new representative, Councilor Irissa. Above all other things he was a soldier first and knew that war was never a simple thing to be easily understood, but what he kept reading didn't seem possible to him.

Prince Thrakhath nar Kiranka of the Kilrathi Empire had successfully assaulted the Asari homeworld of Thessia and, for all intents and purposes, had conquered the planet. The most advanced race in Citadel space was on the verge of losing their homeworld…

"As you can plainly see, our last contact with Thessia describes an extremely unpleasant scenario," Councilor Irissa stated calmly, despite the nature of the subject. She sat straight in her seat with her hands folded on the table in front of her. "We had four dreadnoughts in orbit of the homeworld, accompanied by their respective fleets. Since no ship has left the Athena Nebula to give word on the battles status, we can only assume that the entire fleet was destroyed by Prince Thrakhath and his Hvar'kann dreadnought." She finished looking directly to Councilor Valern, "Have any of you been able to establish a line of communication with Thessia?"

To his credit, Valern immediately understood why the question was directed to him and took no insult and showed no guilt. It was a poorly kept secret that the Salarian Union had spies on every Council homeworld, regardless of their current allegiance. It was just simply how they operated.

Valern shook his head, "We have heard nothing. Either the Kilrathi are blocking all communications attempts or there is no one left alive to report back."

Irissa sighed at the news then continued, "We saw the devastation the Kilrathi are capable of when they were first driven off Illium by the Confederation relief force. Millions dead and a city left in ruin. Now the Kilrathi have conquered the entire system and destroyed all Confederation forces attempting to defend the colony. The Asari Republic will not allow this to be Thessia's fate. That is why I called this meeting. I am here to tell you all that he entirety of the Asari's military power is being redeployed to liberate our birthplace. Every ship and every soldier in our arsenal is being recalled from current postings to gather here at the Citadel, where we will then retake our home."

Anderson knew the seriousness of the situation but couldn't help but bring a hand up to massage his forehead upon hearing that news. He was a member of the Citadel Council and knew he had to put issues of galactic importance above all other things, but Irissa had just made the Alliance's situation that much more difficult.

Every day the Batarian Hegemony continued to press the boundaries established by the previous Council in the Attican Traverse. This region of space were the borders of the Systems Alliance and Batarian Hegemony touched, was a fertile ground of previously untapped garden worlds and mineral rich planets. When told by an earlier Council that humanity would have the rights to colonize this space just as much as themselves, the Batarians had closed their embassy on the Citadel and removed themselves from the galaxy at large, effectively becoming a rouge state. A rouge state that has ever since that day continued to fund all manner of pirates and mercenaries to wage a proxy war against the humans.

Alliance military command knew without a doubt that it was only their allegiance with the Citadel races that had prevented an all-out war between themselves and the Batarians from occurring. Now one of humanity's largest allies had just removed themselves from the picture.

The new Turian representative, Councilor Quentius, then spoke up, "The Hierarchy has given Admiral Drocus the approval for a massive assault on the Kilrathi. We intend to reclaim Illium and lift the siege on the stranded Confederation soldiers still on the surface. Once the planet is firmly back in our hands Admiral Drocus will then take the entire fleet through the relays to engage the Kilrathi at the source. He has been ordered to take control of the mass relay the Kilrathi are using as their beach head. We take that relay and the Turian navy can prevent the Kilrathi from launching any further incursions into Citadel space."

"How many ships are you allocating towards this assault?" Councilor Valern asked.

"The Kilrathi's technological advancement gives them a serious edge in this war," Quentius began to explain carefully. "Thanks to the ships provided to us by the Confederation the threat of the fighters and bombers carried in the Kilrathi carriers has been neutralized somewhat. These frigates and corvettes will also provide an effective screening force against the torpedoes launched from the enemy capital ships. However, based on Admiral Drocus's own opinions on the campaign, the Hierarchy is granting Drocus the use of twenty-five of our existing thirty-nine dreadnoughts."

Anderson and the rest of the Councilors were shocked. "That's nearly a full two-thirds of your entire navy!" he exclaimed. "If this attack fails it could very well cost you the entire war."

Anderson could then see Quentius's demeanor change. The new councilor was trying to be firm but a clear apprehension was seen in his eyes. Whatever Quentius was about to tell them, Anderson could see he was preparing himself for the backlash.

Quentius sat up straighter in his seat and took a breath, "Based on our simulations, for the operation to be a full success, no fewer than twenty-five dreadnoughts can be deployed. But you are right, this will be the single largest military action ever taken by the Turian Hierarchy. If it fails we will be in an extremely vulnerable state.

"That is why, by a unanimous vote of all the Hierarchy's current Primarchs, the Turian Hierarchy is declaring an extreme time of emergency and proclaiming the Treaty of Farixen null and void during this time. New dreadnoughts are already being built at all major ship yards. Their construction will continue until the war with the Kilrathi Empire has ended and until such a time as the Hierarchy feels confident in protecting Citadel space from any further attacks should hostilities between our species return."

Before any of the other Councilors could interrupt he continued, "I know you all find this a very disturbing occurrence, without a doubt by the end of this war the Turian Hierarchy will be the sole superpower in Citadel space by a large margin. In the next six months alone we plan to have another twenty dreadnoughts fully operational, and once we reverse engineer the Confederation laser weapons and jump drives the next versions will field these new powerful advancements. I feel it is my obligation to remind you all that the Hierarchy has no intention of hostility toward our allies, this measure is simply to ensure Council space remains secure in the wake of the recent shift in galactic power."

Once again Anderson couldn't help but try to massage away his growing headache. Once the word got out about the Turian's actions the Alliance brass was going to have a fit. It was bad enough they were already outnumbered five to one; based on what Quentius had just said Anderson wouldn't be surprised if the Turian's didn't use this as a chance to increase dreadnought production indefinitely.

Valern seemed to be having the same thoughts as Anderson. "And you simply expect us to accept this drastic change in military power?" he asked with a huff of indignation. "Despite your claims, I find this a very disturbing political action. The treaty was intended to ensure no one race has complete power in this galaxy. Your people's unilateral action threatens the alliances and peace this Council has struggled to keep in check."

Quentius seemed to understand the complaints but remained firm, "As I said, this measure is being implemented to protect all of Citadel space. The Hierarchy would not be opposed to the rest of the Citadel races deciding to increase their own dreadnought productions to keep up with the set ratio established by the treaty."

Valern shook his head, "Of course you wouldn't. The Turian's are the only ones who have the means to build this many dreadnoughts in such a short span of time. For the Salarian Union to build twenty dreadnoughts in six months we would have to abandon all other ships currently under construction and devote nearly half of our entire economy to the task. It would in essence cripple our planetary economy in the long term."

"Regardless of your objections, the Hierarchy's decision stands," Quentius said matter-of-factly. "Do not forget Valern that if the Asari Republic and Turian Hierarchy were to fall to the Kilrathi, the rest of races composing the Citadel alliance would be easy pickings. We do what is necessary to survive."

Councilor Irissa decided to speak up at this time. "Thessia is under siege. By the time we finally liberate the homeworld it may be a shadow of its former glory. And the longer it is in Kilrathi hands, the greater the danger posed to the rest of the galaxy. If the Turians are taking direct action against the Kilrathi than I stand behind their actions one hundred percent." She stared straight at Valern with a cold stare, "Until the Salarian Union decides to enter this war and support its allies in the coming battles, I see no reason for you to have any right in questioning how the Turians fight the war for you."

She then turned her stare on Anderson, "Does the Systems Alliance have anything to add on this matter?"

Inwardly he laughed. If that wasn't a loaded question… Unfortunately for Irissa, he was a better politician than they gave him credit for.

Outwardly he managed a slightly amused look, "The Alliance currently has eight dreadnoughts, with another one under construction. It will be complete sometime next year. We do though have the most carriers online and combat operational in our fleet, with another two under construction. While our fighter technology has proven next to useless against the Kilrathi, they are still a formidable threat against our types of capital ships. So while I can't say that the Alliance brass will be thrilled with the increase of Turian dreadnoughts, I can say that we humans like to be prepared for everything."

He glanced to Quentius to see the Turian give him a good natured smirk. While Turian-Human animosity had dropped in recent years, there would always be that rivalry between their militaries as to who would have won the First Contact War should hostilities been given the chance to escalate.

But then Anderson turned back to Irissa and continued, "Not to underscore the seriousness of the matter, but I would be interested to know how a Kilrathi occupation of Thessia poses a galactic level threat?"

If looks could kill, Irissa's would have wiped out a system. From that alone Anderson knew he had caught something the Asari councilor had mistakenly given away.

"From your previous wording," he continued, "you made it sound like the Kilrathi would gain complete dominance of the war if they stayed on the Asari homeworld. Surely your species can continue to hold its own against the Kilrathi, especially since you have technically only lost two planets since the war's start."

Irissa schooled her features and replied coolly, "We are the most advanced race in Citadel space. If the Kilrathi manage to unlock some of our technological advancements and implement them into the war effort, their current level of military superiority will only increase."

Anderson nodded sympathetically, "Of course, my apologies. I meant no offense. I was simply trying to clarify a misunderstanding."

But based on the looks both Quentius and Valern were now giving Irissa, Anderson knew he had accomplished what he had intended to do.

Councilor Irissa continued to keep her face expressionless as she rose from her seat, "If there is nothing else to discuss, I call this Council meeting to a close. Good day." With that, she strode from the room without waiting for the others to rise.

---

Hawking Eta Cluster
Thorne System
Orbit of Mnemosyne

The Normandy held position as one of the Geth cruisers gently glided up and finally came to a stop along its port side. A docking hatch extended from the cruiser and anchored itself around the frigate's airlock.

Shepard stood on her side of the airlock and listened to the gentle humming noise that signified the docking tube was being pressurized for its waiting travelers. Around her was the entire ground team. All of them armed in case Cerberus decided to try anything.

Shepard herself was back in her civilian clothes. She knew deep down that there was nothing to worry about. The Cerberus General, Oleg Petrovsky, wouldn't try and take the ship from her. But she wasn't going to tell her team that. Sometimes the less said on a subject, the better.

When the humming came to an end, the airlock's holographic lock turned green signifying a successful docking.

"We are locked," Joker called back from the bridge. "Tali is requesting permission to come aboard."

Shepard straightened her posture and was about to give her go ahead when Jack interrupted her.

"This is bullshit," Jack grumbled as she leaned against the wall behind Shepard. "I still say once we get your Quarian we should just kill them all. If your plan is to destroy Cerberus, why can't we start with these guys?"

Shepard sighed but didn't turn around, "It's a bit more complicated than that Jack. We will take Cerberus down but not until at least after we hit the Collectors and stop them from attacking human colonies."

"It's still bullshit. When I joined up you promised me I'd get a chance to kill the fuckers who tortured me. But the way I see you running things makes me think you'd rather be pals with them," Jack continued to complain loudly.

Now Shepard turned around. "I let you nuke a planet. The facility they held you at is gone, completely rubble, and everyone who was in charge of that place is also dead. I understand if you still want a shot at the Illusive Man but until that opportunity arises, you will continue to do things my way." She fixed the younger woman with a hard stare, "Are we clear?"

Jack just huffed, "For now…"

"Awesome," Shepard then faced the airlock again. "Joker, open the door."

A second later the airlock opened and Shepard spotted Tali immediately. Shepard also spotted the two Cerberus soldiers, two Geth troopers, and the General himself, Oleg Petrovsky, waiting just a step behind Tali.

"Shepard! It's so good to see you!" Tali exclaimed as she quickly stepped forward.

Shepard smiled back and gave a quick hug to her friend. "It's good to know you really are alright Tali," she said as she pulled back. "We were all on edge after what we saw on Haestrom. I'm sorry to say no other Quarian we found was alive for us to rescue."

Tali's helmet dropped somewhat in a sad acknowledgement, "The marines did their duty and gave their lives to try and protect me. In fact they may have even in death. Perhaps fighting so fiercely is what convinced the Geth to take me alive rather than kill me to."

Garrus walked up beside Tali and put an arm on her shoulder, "Still, it's good to see you're in one piece. And I'm especially glad I have a chance to return this to you." Garrus reached behind his back and revealed a knife, "I think you left this behind back on Haestrom."

"My knife!" Tali said in surprise. She took it from Garrus, "The last thing I did with it was to jam it into the knee joint of a Geth trooper that was trying to tackle me." She looked up to Garrus, clearly touched, "Thank you for returning this to me."

Looking over Tali's shoulder, Shepard then decided to move things along. She needed to speak with the Cerberus General. In private.

"Garrus, why don't you take Tali down to the mess hall and get her something nice to eat. I'm sure the dextro rations we have aboard are of far better quality than the ones Cerberus have been providing her." Stepping around the two of them she walked up to stand before Petrovsky. "General, if you would be so kind as to follow me up to my cabin. Just you though. If any of your people or the Geth place one foot onboard my ship Jack has my full permission to slaughter the lot of you."

Petrovsky smirked as though amused, "Lead the way Shepard." But then gave a full smile and Shepard knew she was about to regret what he was going to say. "If memory serves me right, the last time we spoke was the week before you took your posting aboard the Normandy SR1. It will be nice to catch up again after all this time."

Shepard didn't need to turn around to imagine the looks on the faces of her team. The damage done, she just smiled sweetly back to Petrovsky and then turned and made her way toward the CIC and the waiting elevator.

Though before reaching the CIC proper, she did turn around and call back to her team, "Garrus, weren't you going to take Tali down to the mess hall?" By the time she and Petrovsky were in the elevator, Garrus and Tali had just passed the galaxy map. The look she was receiving from Garrus was not a happy one. All Shepard could do was shrug just before the doors closed and the elevator began to take them to her quarters.

The two of them rode up in silence. Upon reaching her floor, the doors opened and Shepard walked up to her door and opened it for the General. Standing off to the side she held an arm out ushering him in. Smirking she said, "Age before beauty."

Petrovsky walked inside her cabin with a confidence that made it seem as though he owned the place. Shepard was forced to walk past him as Petrovsky had stopped to stand just inside the entrance with his hands clasped behind his back.

Shepard went to feed her fish and inwardly sighed when she noticed the eel back in his usual coral arrangement staring at her. "You want something to drink?" she asked as she went to her desk and crouched down to open the small cabinet refrigerator. "I have a six pack of beer I was saving for a special occasion. This doesn't really qualify as one but, what the heck, right?"

Petrovsky shook his head so Shepard just shrugged back and pulled one out for herself. She popped the cap off the bottle using the side of her desk and took a long sip as she studied Petrovsky, who was in turn studying her cabin. His gaze eventually landed on her desk and then her glass display case. He furrowed his brow.

"Having some trouble with your scale models?" he asked.

About half of her normally clean-ish desk was covered in parts and pieces of various abandoned model ships. Much like the models she had seen on Admiral Coleman's dreadnought during her meet with the Alliance Admiral. Shepard's attempt to duplicate the feat had met with a slight snag. So, true to N7 form, she had improvised.

Shepard let out an embarrassed laugh as she held up her hand, "It's kind of hard to do that type of delicate work when my hands are shaking." She nodded to the display case, "What do you think of my solution?"

Petrovsky fixed her with a strange look prompting Shepard to laugh again. Her 'solution' was to still buy the models when she had the chance, but after two unsuccessful attempts, she had decided to just place the entire box on its stand inside the case.

Shepard motioned for him to join her on the couch. When they were both seated on opposite ends, she put her beer down on the table and leaned back to relax as she crossed her legs.

They sat in silence for nearly a minute before she finally spoke up.

"You're a gigantic asshole," she stated simply.

When Petrovsky didn't respond she waved a hand around the room and explained, "It's okay to talk here. On day one of me moving in I removed the cameras Cerberus had installed. Why they had bugs in my quarters is beyond me, bunch of sick pervs… and as far as the mics go, I had removed all of them except one so I could communicate with EDI when I wanted to. As soon as I knew you were coming aboard, I got rid of that one as well. Nobody else is listening, soldiers honor," she joked taking a finger and crossing it over her chest.

"So, beginning again," she said as she pointed around the room, "my cabin is clean and you," she now pointed to Petrovsky, "are a gigantic asshole. Why the hell would you feel the need to share the fact that we know each other to my entire crew; a group of mixed races I have continually told that Cerberus is an evil organization that needs to be stopped?"

"The last time I checked, you had declared war on Cerberus. Apparently you have forgotten that I am a member of this group. Why should I feel the need to make your life easier?" Petrovsky responded in a tone as if he were explaining things to a child.

"Um, how about a little thing called tact?" Shepard replied. "You don't see me standing atop the Citadel shouting all of Jack Harper's secrets to the entire galaxy. At least not yet…"

Shepard stopped when she caught Petrovksy's response to the Illusive Man's real name. She smiled, "Oh my god…this is priceless. You really didn't know did you? All this time serving as his number two and good ol' Jack Harper shares basically nothing with you in the grand scheme of things. How long have you been working for him? You were there right at the beginning weren't you, just after the First Contact War." She pretended to be sad and pouted, "This is so sad. Mr. Harper doesn't trust you as much as you thought."

She could tell that she had pissed Petrovsky off but he was easily capable of keeping his emotions in check. That had always gotten Shepard angrier in the long run. Petrovsky was simply the better soldier. But right now she was happy to know that she had really outmaneuvered him for once.

Petrovsky frowned but his voice was still even, "You should know by now that your attempts to distract me will always be met with failure. I believe in the Illusive Man's –"

"Jack Harper," she cut in.

" – the Illusive Man's," Petrovsky stressed again, "vision for the Alliance and all of humanity." His features softened then somewhat and he leaned forward slightly. His tone lost its hostility, "What happened Jane? It wasn't so long ago you first took the Normandy from Cerberus and from your immediate transmission to the Illusive Man, seemed content to simply let things pass without incident. I believe your exact words were 'fuck off'," he finished with a small smile.

"I lied," she replied back simply. Reaching for her beer she took another sip and held the bottle in her lap. She looked down at the bottle and began to lightly pick at the label.

The room was silent for a few moments as Petrovsky waited patiently for Shepard to say what she needed to say. Another trait of his that always got to her. No matter how hard she tried to hide her feelings, Petrovsky always knew how to read her.

"I can't let it go," Shepard finally said speaking softly, her gaze still firmly on the bottle in her lap. "I can't forgive him for what he took from me. After Mindoir I had absolutely nothing left inside of me but hate. Daphne changed all that. Daphne was soldier just like me, but at the same time, nothing like me. She never judged me, never scolded me, and never tried to re-educate me. Daphne just let me… be me. She would let me rage, she would let me rant, she would let me scream, and during all of it just sit there and listen. She made me a better person by simply being my friend when I needed one most. Daphne allowed me to be a part of her family… and I loved her for that…"

She looked up straight into Petrovksy's eyes, "Do you have any idea what I felt when I was briefed on Akuze? When I was told that nobody who had landed on the planet made it off alive?"

Petrovsky nodded slowly, "I can imagine."

Shepard just laughed. "No you can't. You have no idea what I felt. But we're getting off topic. I let you aboard my ship to get some answers from you. So that's what we are going to do now. Answer some questions."

She placed her beer back on the table, "How did Cerberus get the Geth to obey them?"

Shepard was surprised to see the concern on his face linger past her question. But after a moment it vanished to be replaced with amusement, "You don't really expect an answer do you?"

"Well to be honest, I was hoping for a little bit of a hint," she said back jokingly. She hopped to her feet and walked back to her desk, "Tell you what. I'll trade you the information I want in exchange for information Mr. Harper most likely wants from me." Reaching her desk she quickly searched for a datapad and once it was discovered, returned to her place back on the couch.

She held the datapad up in her hand and waved it slowly, "I may be new to the position of Shadow Broker but that's how these things go right? I want something from you, so I'll trade it for something you want."

Petrovsky eyed the datapad in her hand wearily, "And what could you possess that would be of interest to Cerberus?"

Shepard smiled, "Everything. This datapad contains absolutely everything I plan to do in the days, weeks, months, and if we survive the Reapers, years into the future. Then again, it won't be of much use to Mr. Harper considering he will most likely already be dead for a large part of this plan of mine. Oh well, hopefully it's still enough." She held the datapad out to Petrovsky, "You tell me what Cerberus intendeds to do with the Geth and why they are so willing to give the technology to the Quarians, and in return, I give you me."

Score another point for Shepard. Based on the amount of shock on his face, she was pleased to see she had caught him off guard twice in one meeting. This was a new record.

Petrovsky did recover quickly though and frowned, "I know you aren't foolish enough to actually hand over that type of information to someone who wants to see you dead. Whatever's on that datapad is probably encrypted or complete nonsense. What are you really up to Shepard?"

Shepard placed the datapad on the table between them. "Nice to see the years haven't dulled your mind Petrovsky," she said with a smirk. But then she became more serious and leaned back into her seat while crossing her arms, "What I'm really up to should be perfectly obvious to you though. Cerberus allies with the Quarians to subjugate the Geth; not something I'm going to allow without knowing the specifics of your plan. Especially since the Geth are working alongside the Reapers."

Now it was Petrovsky turn to smirk, "The Geth are allied with the Reapers? That's news to me. The last time I checked the Geth had split into two different factions. The Heretics are the ones that support the Reapers while the true Geth still remain behind the Perseus Veil."

"You're kidding me, right?" she deadpanned.

"Not at all," he replied. "Thanks to Cerberus's efforts, we have captured active Geth programs and mined their memory databanks for information. The Geth have experienced a cultural shift, roughly splitting their population in two. The Heretics, the Geth programs supporting the Reapers, have left the Perseus Veil to aid their new masters. These are the programs we are currently overriding to serve us."

"Wow. I didn't expect that sort of thing from a civilization of AI's." Shepard took a minute to think over what that could mean for the galaxy. If she played her cards right it could at least mean another ally in the fight against the Reapers. But that was a long time off. And wouldn't happen if she didn't learn how Cerberus was controlling the Geth.

"Thanks for the info, but you still haven't answered my question." She reached forward and picked up the datapad again and held it out to Petrovsky, "Tell me how you're doing it and you get all my plans. Do we have a deal?"

Petrovsky shook his head disapprovingly, "Are you taking any of this seriously? Cerberus is not to be underestimated. The organization has survived attacks by the Salarian Special Tasks Group and the Spectres multiple times over the years. It still exists. The Illusive Man –"

"Jack Harper," she cut in again.

"This is what I'm talking about!" he snapped. "I have always said you would end up sabotaging your own career. You've been lucky so far, but your luck has run its course. This is the final straw Shepard. You go against the Illusive Man and you will find yourself going against me."

Shepard rolled her eyes. "Just take the damn datapad," she punctuated her statement by pressing it into his hands. She reached for her beer and took another sip as she leaned back in her seat. Petrovsky continued to glare at her so she asked, "Do you remember how our last chess match ended?"

He continued to glare but still nodded. "Yes I do. I won that match, just like all the matches before it."

Shepard chuckled, "Uhh, no you didn't. I won the last one."

Petrovsky sighed, "I had you in check, pinned your rook with my queen and prevented any escape with my bishop. You had lost, but instead of accepting defeat, you simply took your hand and brought it across the board knocking over every piece still standing." Petrovsky then was forced to give a small smile, "You always acted like a child when you lost."

Shepard stuck her tongue out at him, "I just hate to lose to you over and over again. And you're missing the point here. In chess if you kill the king you are the victor. I tipped over all your pieces including your king. So in essence you lost."

"You also tipped over all of your own pieces, so by the same logic, lost the match as well," he pointed out. "Even with this incredibly flawed mental process of yours, the match can only be considered a tie."

Shepard leaned forward in her seat. She raised a finger and said, "Technically you're wrong. If we take my solution and expand it to everyday life, I won. I defeated the king. I killed my enemy." She leaned forward some more, "I lost the battle but in the end still won the war. Sometimes clearing the board of all the pieces is the only way to be sure of a absolute victory. And if there is one thing I am good at, it's clearing a board."

Petrovsky studied her carefully before he spoke. "I don't know whether to be intrigued or deeply disturbed by what you have just told me."

"That's because you haven't read the datapad I gave you yet," she replied with a wink. Shepard then jumped out of her seat and walked to the cabin's door. She stopped in front of it and turned to see Petrovsky just passing her desk.

He held up the datapad and gave it a look before focusing on Shepard. "You really are going to let me walk out of here carrying this?" he asked skeptically.

"I really am," she answered honestly. "But what you do after reading that thing is up to you, and I won't judge you either way. Give it to Mr. Harper or keep it for yourself. Hell, throw it out an airlock if you want, I don't care."

Petrovsky continued to look her over before relenting and making his decision. "I respect Operative Lawson too much to discuss the details of her operation; so I will have to point you in her direction if you want to learn anymore about how Cerberus has discovered ways of controlling the Geth."

Based on the look he was giving her, Shepard had the skill to be able to read between the lines of what Petrovsky had just said. And he had said a lot.

He then added, "I will however say that Cerberus's intentions towards the Quarians are entirely pure. No malice is intended, we really are just trying to help them once again become a galactic power."

This time Shepard was the one surprised, "Really? You're being absolutely serious right now?"

Petrovsky frowned, "I make a habit of taking my operations extremely seriously." He then reached into his suits pocket and removed an OSD. "While onboard the derelict Reaper my science team was able to extract the Reaper's IFF and merge it with the sensor data collected by the Shadow Brokers spy satellites you provided us. This disk contains a fully functional Reaper IFF code that will allow you to pass unharmed through the Omega-4 relay and assault the Collector homeworld."

Shepard could admit she was impressed. She reached out and took the OSD from Petrovksy's hand. "So this is it then? We really are going to hit the Collectors where they live." She glanced up from her inspection of the disk and smiled, "Kind of exciting in a way. Passing through the relay into the unknown… I doubt any other race has ever managed such a thing successfully before."

Petrovsky nodded and took a step toward her, "It will be a feat of daring long remembered but this time you will have to share some of the glory. The Illusiv -" he caught himself at her look, "- Jack Harper is unwilling to allow you to go through with this mission alone. The last time he made that mistake you became the new Shadow Broker and started blackmailing him for continued support. This time you will have Cerberus assets backing you up."

Shepard's eyebrows rose, "Really? What sort of assets is he willing to commit to a suicide mission?"

"Enough so that you can stop calling it a suicide mission," he replied with a smirk. "I'm coming with you through the relay and I'm bringing four Geth cruisers along with me. Their firepower, coupled with the dozens of mobile platforms ready for deployment, will allow us to destroy the Collectors and gather any useful technological advancements they will be so willing to provide us."

Shepard read between the lines here to and smirked, "In other words, he doesn't want me gaining any more of an edge than I already have." She sighed dramatically, "Well if I had to be stuck with a babysitter at least I got a capable one."

She opened her cabin door and led Petrovsky into the elevator. When they reached the CIC Shepard made her way to the airlock explaining, "Well I don't know about you but I need to make one more stop before the mission. It's going to take a while so how about I just meet you in the Omega Nebula and from there we can launch the assault together?"

"How long will this detour of yours actually take?" Petrovsky asked curiously.

Shepard shrugged, "Oh, I don't know… Should take about eight hours to get there and then another eight to reach the Omega-4 relay. Just to be safe, give me about eighteen hours to re-fuel, re-stock supplies and check over my ships systems to ensure she's combat ready."

Petrovsky nodded, "Very well. We will commence the operation at the Omega-4 relay in eighteen hours."

They had both reached the airlock and rejoined everyone still standing guard. Shepard was glad to see Petrovksy's men still standing on their side of the threshold. She had meant it as a joke but she was pretty sure Jack really would have killed them if they had set one foot on the Normandy.

Garrus had also apparently finished showing Tali around the ship. Both of them were already at the airlock conversing with the rest of her squad.

"Oh! Just a thought that my save your life if you get there before me," Shepard said quickly as she remembered the situation in the Sahrabarik system. "The Omega station may still be under Aria T'Loak's control but the Kilrathi have a presence of their own. If any of their ships are in orbit and they start acting aggressively, make sure to tell them that you are working alongside Spectre Jane Shepard on behalf of Kahaln Graldak nar Sutaghi. They should keep their distance after that."

Petrovsky raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued, "You are on a first name basis with a Kilrathi? There's a story there I'm sure."

Shepard gave an uncomfortable smile, "A story still being written and so far it's been a…interesting one to say the least." She held her hand out, "See you at the relay in eighteen hours General."

Petrovsky returned the handshake but held on and gave her hand a firm squeeze, "You are positive this is the course of action you wish to take?" His gaze dropped down to the datapad still in his free hand.

Shepard nodded, "I'm sure."

Once again she could see a small amount of concern on his features but they disappeared as quickly as they had last time. He gave her hand a shake and then released her.

"Good day, Shepard." Petrovsky turned and walked to stand amongst his men. Shepard was then surprised to see Tali make her way forward as well.

Tali stepped alongside Shepard, "I'm sorry I can't join you on your mission just yet Shepard. With everything that has happened recently, the Flotilla needs me to work alongside Cerberus to gain control over more of the Geth. This is where we part ways again." Tali looked back to Garrus and then walked past the airlock to stand alongside Petrovsky. "Take care of yourselves, okay?"

Shepard smiled back, "Please, what's the worst that could happen?"

Tali laughed and shook her head, "The last time the SR1 blew up."

Shepard chuckled, "We can take the Collectors this time." She then looked to Petrovsky, "See you around." With that the airlock doors closed.

And as Shepard turned back to face her crew she was instantly thrown into the airlock door with a biotic push and then had Jack's right hand firmly around her throat keeping her there.

Jack couldn't have looked any angrier if she had tried; her face was contorted with rage. She raised a bioticly charged fist threateningly, "What the fuck kind of game are you playing Shepard!"

Shepard winced as she struck the doors but remained calm and kept her hands at her side to try and appear less threatening to the clearly pissed off woman holding her by the throat. But even though she kept her posture relaxed, she had to admit, this was clearly a disconcerting situation.

Jack tightened her grip, "Answer me!"

Shepard fixed Jack with a hard stare, "Jack, you are going to let me go right now. Then I'll answer your question."

Jack just huffed, "I'm not doing shit until you explain how you know a man that works for Cerberus! What haven't you been telling us? Tell me or I'll crush your skull in!"

Shepard didn't even flinch, "Really? You'll crush my skull in? You won't even manage to ruffle my hair; because in the time it would take you to thrust your fist forward I'll have activated both my omni-blades and cut both your arms off at the elbows." She pushed forward slightly against Jack's grip, "Either let me go or try and kill me. I just hope you're ready for the consequences."

Jack was still angry but Shepard could see the shock at hearing her threat. But before Jack could make her decision Thane stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Let her go Jack. There is nothing to be gained by starting this fight."

Still uncertain, Jack looked back between him and Shepard before she finally released her with an angry shout.

Bringing a hand up to rub her neck Shepard gave a nod of thanks to Thane but then focused on the rest of her squad, "I have to admit, it's a little disheartening to see all of you letting your commanding officer get attacked like that and not do anything about it." She looked to Garrus last.

"Jack brings up a fair point Shepard," Garrus replied evenly. "You know the Cerberus General personally. I wasn't aware you knew anyone in Cerberus that well, especially considering your feelings toward the organization."

"My feelings are just that, my feelings" Shepard countered defensively. "You don't know how I truly feel about Cerberus." But looking around the group she could see that while some like Zaeed and Grunt seemed only mildly interested in what was being said, others like Jack, Kasumi, and Garrus weren't going to be willing to let this go; at least not without an explanation.

She sighed and brought a hand up to massage her head. After a moment of thinking things over, she relented, "All right, all right. I guess I knew this was going to happen eventually so I might as well explain the situation to all of you." She maneuvered her way to the bridge first and called out, "Joker, please set a course for Noveria. We have a shipment of mechs waiting for pickup."

"Aye, aye Shepard," he replied.

Shepard then made to leave but stopped and turned back toward Joker, "Since I'm guessing you'd rather stay up here, make sure to have the mics on in the mess hall so you can hear me drudge up all the exciting details about my past."

This time she could hear the smirk in his voice as he answered, "Oh don't worry about me. I'm always listening… always."

Shepard smiled and turned back toward the CIC. She raised a hand a waved to the center of the ship, "Everyone who wants to hear this, gather in the mess hall. Apparently if I don't give all you children a story you'll be grumpy all the way to Noveria."

As everyone made their way to the elevator, Shepard stayed behind to watch them. She took a breath and blew it out loudly. "Its days like today that make me miss Alliance military discipline," she grumbled to herself.

-()()()()()()-

Cerberus controlled Geth cruiser
Captain's Quarters

Oleg Petrovsky closed the door to his cabin behind him and walked across the room to his desk.

Cabin was a generous term for the type of room he was in. Geth had no need for quarters or general facilities required for organics to travel through space. After hastily modifying the Geth cruiser to house the new organic crew, the Cerberus engineers simply repurposed any cargo holds inside the ship to be the new crew quarters. Petrovsky happened to be occupying a room that once held an Armature.

His cabin now contained a bed, one desk and a computer. That was all. All of his personal effects were still at Atlas Station, where the primary Geth control satellite links were housed.

He had waited on the cruiser's bridge until the Normandy had jumped out of the system. Now seated at his desk, Petrovsky placed the datapad Shepard had provided him next to his console.

For a time he simply pondered the thought that the datapad might contain some sort of tracking program that Shepard had installed to watch his movements. Or perhaps a virus meant to infiltrate Cerberus systems and lie dormant and harmless until activated by an outside signal.

These thoughts were washed away though when he activated the datapad and found it completely unlocked and open to his examinations immediately, without the need for him to plug it into his computer.

Surprised that Shepard didn't try something more malicious, he picked the datapad up off the table and held it before him. Accessing the storage drive of the device, he was again surprised to see that it was nearly empty. Only a single folder was present and said folder only took up a minuscule amount of the datapad's true storage capability.

He highlighted the folder and read the name. 'A cunning plan that cannot fail'. He shook his head, amused at the title. As long as he had known Shepard, she had always had a flare for the dramatic… at least when it suited her purposes.

Ready to now see what Shepard had in store, and why she was so certain handing him this device wouldn't jeopardize her life in some way, he opened the folder and read the text file inside. Its small size was now made clear as the text document was only a single word.

'Hannibal'.

Slowly, he leaned back into his chair, still staring intently at the one word displayed. But he was no longer interested in the word itself, but its greater meaning.

Shepard hadn't lied. This datapad told him absolutely everything. This one word gave away all of Shepard's hopes, all her aspirations for the future. This one word, 'Hannibal', was Shepard's ace in the hole. And if he was judging Shepard's chances fairly, it gave her a serious edge against Cerberus…and beyond.

Now realizing her intentions, Petrovsky gently placed the datapad back down on the desk. He stood from his chair and clasped his hands behind his back as he purposefully paced the room.

To the Illusive Man, this one word would mean next to nothing. There were only two people in the entire galaxy that knew of Shepard's long term goal, and one had died by his organizations hands. He was the other. While Shepard had never placed the same amount of trust in him as she had Daphne, he had been able to slowly piece together the plan over all the years they had known one another.

Until now he had always thought that Shepard had no idea she was slowly saying so much to him; only giving him bits and pieces that he had painstakingly managed to cobble together. But now, with this message, he wasn't so sure he was being as clever as he thought.

And at that, he stopped his pacing midstride. He looked up from the ground and stared at the blank metal walls of his cabin.

She didn't ask me to come aboard to talk about the Geth… he forced his brain to slow. Now was not the time for mistakes. Shepard asked me aboard as a pretense to have a valid excuse to give me this message.

But if that were true, than Shepard really had handed over her life to Petrovsky. If he really knew her plan, he could go straight to the Illusive Man and tell him everything. Cerberus could begin to prepare and strike before her plans came to fruition.

He spun in place to stare back at the datapad on his desk.

Would he though? Or could he…

There was always an alternative. Petrovsky believed in Cerberus. He truly wanted humanity to become the dominant power in the galaxy. That way he could live comfortably with the knowledge that his species' place in the stars was secure.

But there were always several paths available to reach the same goal if someone knew how to look for them. And if one word could be used to describe Shepard completely, Petrovsky knew which he would choose.

Desperate.

And Shepard's desperation would drive her to finish what she had tried to start so long ago.

Making his decision, Petrovsky straightened his uniform, picked up the datapad and swiftly exited his cabin.

-()()()()()()-

Normandy SR2
Mess Hall
En route to Noveria

Shepard relaxed against the kitchen counter in the ship's mess hall. Her crew was scattered around the area. Kasumi, Thane, Zaeed and Dr. Chakwas were seated at the dining table. Jack was seething quietly as she leaned against the glass wall of the med-bay across from Shepard. Mordin standing only a foot off to her side. Grunt was actually rummaging around behind her looking in the refrigerator for anything to eat; something about not being able to focus on the story without a snack. Garrus was directly across from Shepard, leaning against the railing along the steps that led to gunnery control.

"Okay then," Shepard said loud enough to be heard over Grunt's grumblings about there not being any properly flavored Varren thighs left. "What do you guys want answered first?"

Jack jumped right in. "How long have you known that Cerberus bastard?" she questioned forcefully.

Shepard glanced at the ground, "Well that's difficult to say." She looked up around the room, "What's today again?"

"Thursday," Zaeed answered.

"Then I've known Petrovsky for fifteen years," she said back to Jack.

Everyone in the room was slightly shocked by that. Chakwas recovered first. She looked at Shepard conflicted, "That means that you've been in contact with a Cerberus operative the entire time you were enlisted in the Alliance military. Shepard… why didn't you ever report him?"

"Do the math doc," she said back. "What happened exactly fifteen years ago in Alliance space?"

Mordin quickly answered, "Batarian funded slaver raid on Alliance colony world Mindoir."

Shepard nodded, "That's right. The Batarians hit Mindoir." She paused and swallowed before continuing, "And on that day when it took the Alliance Navy several hours to respond to our distress signal, and nearly everyone had been rounded up or killed by the slavers, do you know who is responsible for saving the few of us left? Cerberus. Cerberus had a team on the planet within the first half hour of the attack, and that team was being led by Oleg Petrovsky."

"How was Cerberus able to respond so quickly to the attack on your world?" Thane asked neutrally.

"I asked Petrovsky when I had the chance," Shepard replied. "He informed me that Cerberus had been spying on the nearby Batarian pirate bases after communications were intercepted going between them and deeper into the Hegemony. Cerberus had correctly assumed that the Hegemony was giving them funding and supplies to launch an attack into Alliance space. Once the target of their assault was clear, a rapid response team was sent in to try and save as many people as possible."

Shepard brought a hand up to massage her forehead. Talking about this wasn't doing her any favors but she reasoned that her crew deserved some answers. "Petrovsky didn't have many men, I think there were only sixteen total if I remember right, and they were only lightly armed to stay fast and mobile. His job was to get in, save as many as he could, and then get out and bunker down until the inevitable Alliance cavalry arrived to push the invaders back.

"When the Batarians first landed," she continued, "they did so on the opposite side of the colony center from where my farm was located. This gave my family and many others a chance to try and form up a defense line along with whatever planetary militia members that had survived the first wave. Needless to say, a bunch of farmers armed with hunting rifles and a few militia stood no chance when the Batarians came for us. First their frigates came in low and bombed the area, and then the drop ships arrived and began… began unloading their troops. The building next to mine completely exploded, I could feel the heat of the blast through the windows and nothing but a crater was left of it. There were over thirty people… and I knew most of them. I, um… that was the first day I ever killed another, and then my rifle jammed so I looked to my dad just when h-his head snapped back…"

Shepard stopped there and was glad her hand was still up to shield her face from her crew. Both of her hands were trembling terribly now. Everyone remained silent and after several seconds and several more deep breaths she had recovered enough to continue.

Shepard cleared her throat, and then began, "I won't go into any more detail than that, suffice to say that Petrovsky and his team arrived in time to save me and at least a dozen others from the horrors the Batarians then inflicted upon their surviving prisoners. That was the day we first met."

"What, that's it?" Jack remarked, still angry. "He saves your life and you simply become best buds because of that?"

"Of course not," Shepard scoffed back. "I was sixteen, had just lost everyone I ever knew in an extremely traumatic experience, and you think I just swooned over the guy because he happened to be in the right place at the right time to rescue me and a few others?" She glared at Jack, "How did you feel the day you woke up in the Teltin facility? Eager to meet new people?"

She had pissed Jack off but kept talking before the biotic could respond, "I don't know why but one day after one of my counseling sessions he just showed up. I recognized him as the leader of the soldiers who had saved me and Petrovsky recognized me because I was the only young girl out of our group that survived. Our quick hello to one another ended up lasting the rest of the day. I would talk, he would talk, and at the end of it, Petrovsky was actually the one who convinced me to join the Alliance to ensure another colony never suffered the same fate as Mindoir."

"So you felt indebted to him," Chakwas added softly. "That's why you never reported him to the Alliance."

"Not even close doc," Shepard replied with a small shake of her head. "I told you, I wasn't looking for a friend. He was simply another face in my life but different because he tried to give me direction rather than a hug. I never turned him in because once I had joined the military; I wanted to do whatever I could to help make humanity stronger. So, over the years, Petrovsky and I would meet up and do just that."

She winced inwardly watching Chakwas's expression slowly change form confusion to disappointment, as the doctor said, "I have a very distinct feeling I'm not going to like the rest of this conversation."

Kasumi was openly gaping at her, "You were a spy for Cerberus?!"

Shepard just shrugged, "Call it what you want, but I prefer the term informant. Spy makes it seem as though I was working for Cerberus, which I never was. I never met anyone inside the organization except Petrovsky. Sometimes we would meet up every few months, or not see each other for almost a year. Our meetings were nothing fancy, some we would have lunch together, while others were quick conversations over the holo. But every time we did meet, we would try and catch up, find out how the other was doing and just talk. Petrovsky is one incredibly intelligent man… I've learned a lot from him over the years."

The mess hall was silent again as everyone around her just stared. Curiously, while glancing around the room, the only two people taking any of this well were Thane and Mordin. Thane's expression had never wavered once; he had remained calm and stoic the entire time. But Mordin… as Shepard had been slowly reading the room to see how each one of her team was reacting, Mordin was the most unusual. She couldn't understand it but the scientist was looking at her in a new light. Something about their relationship had changed but for the life of her, she couldn't tell if it was for the better.

Zaeed broke the silence, "I always knew you had balls Shepard but I never realized just how big they were," he finished with a grin.

Shepard made a face at his wording but still smiled slightly, glad in the knowledge that at least one of her crew still supported her one-hundred percent.

Said smile vanished when Garrus spoke up. "When was the last time you spoke to Petrovsky Shepard?"

She looked to Garrus, "The week before I took my post as Executive Officer of the Normandy SR1. This is actually the longest time we have ever spent out of touch, what with me being mostly dead for the past two years."

His next question made her visibly flinch, "And over these fifteen years of working alongside the Cerberus General, what was the most significant piece of information you have supplied him?"

Clearly his skills as a C-Sec detective hadn't dulled over the past two years. Shepard immediately understood the purpose of the question. He wasn't pulling any punches; her answer would determine whether or not they remained friends after this.

Shepard dropped her gaze and focused on her shoes, "Nothing I ever gave Petrovsky ever resulted in another race being harmed. Except for the Batarians, I shared every bit of intell my Alliance clearance allowed me to see with him on those four-eyed freaks. But if you want to look at the straight value of the information I gave him," she looked up and nodded to the mess hall, "you don't need to look any further than right in front of you."

::Holy shit! You gave them the Normandy!?:: Joker yelled over the internal comm.

Shepard and the others winced at his shouting. She brought a hand up to her ear, "Yes, thank you for explaining it so nicely for us Joker." Then she looked back to Garrus, "I gave him the plans for the SR1. Being an N7 and the ship's second in command gave me access to all the Normandy's specifications."

Before anyone could interrupt, Shepard pushed off from the counter and walked forward, holding an arm up to point around the room, "And can you see what they did with what I gave them?! Just take a moment to really think about it. In just two years, this is what they did with the plans I provided to them."

She dropped her arm and looked around to everyone in the mess hall, "There was no denying the SR1 was the most advanced ship in the Alliance fleet. It was simply incredible. And it proves how hard the Citadel Council has been holding humanity back."

Shepard turned to face Garrus, "I have nothing against the Turians as a whole, but come on! The frigate was a joint effort by our two species to create something special. And the SR1 is what we got… Compared to this ship, it was nothing but a joke.

"This version, the SR2, is leagues better," she continued. "And this ship is one-hundred percent human made. Twice the size, twice the speed, twice the power, and all of it purely human. This ship is what the SR1 should have been at the beginning. The Turians have had space flight centuries longer than humanity. Every race that's part of the Citadel is far further along than humans. So when we come to the Council for help and they give us the chance to build a prototype ship alongside the Turians, oh man, what an opportunity! And yet, the SR1 is what we got."

She walked forward to stand just in front of Garrus and looked him in the eye, "I have tremendous respect for you personally Garrus, but your people screwed us over. It took Cerberus two years to make the SR1 into the ship we ride on today. That is the perfect example to showcase the strength and ingenuity of the human race. Imagine what we could do in another two years, or five, a decade, a century from now." She gave a small smile, "Imagine what humanity could do without the Council holding us back."

She held his gaze for a moment before turning around and walking back to the center of the room. "I am not a human supremacist. I don't believe humanity has the right to simply rule over all the other races in this galaxy. But I do believe the Systems Alliance is being held back by a bunch aliens who have no right to dictate how we develop as a species and defend ourselves against outside threats. If our government would just grow some backbone and leave the Citadel alliance humanity would finally have a chance to reach its potential."

Shepard stopped her speech there when she realized how she must have sounded to everyone. She fidgeted awkwardly, "Well that got pretty dramatic didn't it? Let's see…did I forget anything? Death of a colony, re-birth as a soldier, met Petrovsky, and the Alliance is run by idiots. Nope, looks like that was everything. How'd I do Jack? Satisfied I'm not some Cerberus spy waiting to stab you in the back?"

Jack was just staring at her with the same stunned expression as everyone else, but her surprise disappeared when she was addressed by Shepard.

Jack shook her head, "Your pretty messed up, you know that Shepard?"

"Didn't you join a cult?" Shepard countered.

Jack pushed off from the med-bay window with a shrug, "I liked the haircut." Without another word or backward glance she headed for the elevator and left the mess hall.

"Oookay then, looks like we are done here," Shepard said as she clapped and rubbed her hands together. "Thanks for listening; you've been a wonderful audience. In about eight hours we will reach Noveria. We will take on supplies there and then head straight for the Omega-4 relay and assault the Collector homeworld. Feel free to do whatever it is you people do during your free time. I will be up in my cabin but will be unavailable for questions because of the massive amount of alcohol I will be consuming to forget this little discussion ever took place."

She had just passed by everyone in the mess hall when she then stopped and turned saying, "Just one more thing before you all go." She stood straighter and clasped her hands behind her back, "I shared all of this with you, not because I trust you, but because our mission to stop the Collectors depends on us working together effectively as a team. This is the same reason I helped every one of you clear up all your personal business you had wanted to take care of before the mission. When we hit the Collector homeworld I still expect the same level of discipline you have all demonstrated up to this point. I'm still your commanding officer until this endeavor is complete. If I give you an order you had better damn well follow it, without question, or face the consequences. You give me your complete obedience and I promise to do all I can to get us all through this alive."

Glancing up she asked, "EDI, how goes the installation of the Reaper IFF code given to us by Petrovsky?"

"The installation has already begun," EDI responded promptly, "but it will take time to fully integrate the reverse engineered Reaper technology into our systems. Installation should be complete by the time we arrive at Noveria."

Shepard nodded approvingly, "Sounds good. If there are any problems with the installation you are to bring it to Garrus's attention."

"Very well, Shepard."

With that, Shepard turned back toward the elevator, saying as she went, "Now excuse me but I have a date with a bottle of whiskey in my cabin."

---

Eight hours later…

Horse Head Nebula
Normandy SR2
Five minutes out from Noveria

Shepard groggily opened her eyes after hearing someone calling out her name. She was lying on her back over her couch, one pillow under her head, the other being gripped between her arms over her chest.

Bringing a hand up to clear the sleep from her eyes she looked around her cabin before hearing her name called again at the foot of the couch. Glancing in the direction of the voice she saw a servant of death standing over her.

"SON OF A BITCH!" she screamed as she then panicked and rolled off the couch onto the ground where she then struck her forehead on the steel floor. Grabbing her head with both hands she groaned, "Son of a bitch…"

Still holding her head with one hand she used the other to help herself into a sitting positon against the couch. With tremendous effort she looked under her hand back to the figure to see Garrus standing there staring down at her. Suddenly, all the events of the other night came flooding back to her. After her talk with the crew she had come up to her cabin, kicked off her socks and shoes, and removed her emergency stash of alcohol from its hiding place under her bed. The rest of the night kinda blurred after that…though she was getting flashbacks of a death stare contest with her snapping eel. Perhaps it was better to not remember everything…

She moaned, "Garrus… holy crap, has anyone ever told you that you look like a crazed demon from the underworld in the early morning hours?"

To her great annoyance Garrus wasn't even trying to hide his amusement at her reaction. He smiled shaking his head, "Spirits, that was amazing. I wish I had recorded that. It would have been a perfect gift to share with Liara."

"Like either of you need any more blackmail material to hang over my head," she grumbled as she got to her feet. She rubbed her forehead and winced, "This better not leave a bruise." She dropped her hand and then asked, "What are you even doing up here?"

Garrus ignored her and bent down to pick up one of the empty bottles of whiskey Shepard had left on the table. "You really weren't kidding about the getting drunk part where you? There are three empty bottles here," he said giving her a look. "How are you not hung-over right now? And where have you been keeping all this stuff?"

Shepard was already searching around her room for her socks and shoes. Finding a clean pair she sat down on her bed and began pulling them on. "Okay, first, the location of the whiskey and any other alcoholic substances that may or may not be in my cabin at this time is a closely guarded secret I will take to my grave. I've seen how Zaeed and Grunt drink. I have a right to protect what's mine. As for the hung over part, I can thank Cerberus for that. I apparently still get drunk but my new and cybernetic enhanced liver ensures that by the time I wake up my body is free of all toxins."

Shoes on, she stood and put her hands on her hips, "So what's up?"

Garrus placed the empty bottle back on the table, "We have arrived at Noveria. I took the liberty of contacting Lorik Qui'in and he has provided us coordinates on the surface for us to land the Normandy. Apparently the cargo we are here to pick up is too large to fit them all inside the shuttle."

A smile quickly appeared on her face. Her mechs were finished.

"How's the weather on the surface?" she asked. "Can we even land?"

"Sunny with clear skies," Garrus replied. He then grimaced, "Still cold though. It is a world covered in snow after all. We should arrive at the facility in just a few minutes."

Shepard's smile instantly grew. Even the weather was on her side today. She went to her closet and removed her N7 hoodie from the rack. Pulling it on she walked back to Garrus, "Well we shouldn't waste time then. Let's get down to the cargo hold."

They exited her cabin and walked into the elevator together. As Shepard zipped up the front of her jacket she glanced to Garrus. "How's the crew?" she asked with more nervousness in her voice then she would have liked.

Garrus was smart enough to know what she was really asking. "There are good, but everyone is processing it at their own speed," he explained back. "Zaeed and Grunt don't really care one way or the other. I'd have to say the same about Thane and Mordin, though between the two, the Salarian is actually the harder to read. Joker's still stunned about the Normandy. Dr. Chakwas and Kasumi aren't mad but I would say there are…disappointed. I guess they just didn't realize the depth of your feelings. Jack's back on board, but you know her. We'll just have to wait and see. I didn't have a chance to ask either Donnelly or Daniels. Both were down in engineering when you told all of us in the mess."

Shepard gave little shrug, "I wouldn't worry about them. They already knew about my ties with Cerberus before I even told them. I was forced to explain it all to them a couple of days ago. They seem okay with it."

Garrus looked at her slightly shocked, "How did they figure it out?"

"I screwed up when I asked them to help me build a new set of armor to go with my new jetpack," Shepard replied with a small smile. "You see, the Ajax armor that I'm currently using is actually a Cerberus developed suit that was then leaked to the Alliance for their use. It won't be in main stream production for some time since it's still in the prototype phases of development, but when Donnelly and Daniels were recruited to join Cerberus their curiosity over all things technical got the better of them. Turns out that besides working on the Normandy the two of them have had an input on several other projects. When I brought the idea of the armor to their attention, Daniels put the pieces together and the next day while working on the jetpack, the two of them called me out. Afterwards I asked them to keep what I had said a secret and they agreed."

Shepard chuckled lightly, "Outmaneuvered by a pair of engineers, I must be getting sloppy."

Garrus smiled along with her and then Shepard found herself in an uncomfortable silence. She glanced at the elevator's read out to see that they had just passed the mess hall. If Shepard didn't know any better she would have sworn EDI had slowed its pace on purpose just for this discussion.

"So I noticed you left one person out," she pointed out to Garrus. "How do you feel about what I said?"

Garrus sighed and let his head drop. "I can understand your feelings Shepard," he said slowly as if choosing his words before he said them. "Looking back, I guess I can only blame myself for not seeing it. I was a detective after all. But you did a good job of hiding your true beliefs. I even remember an event back on the SR1 when I was calibrating the Mako. You were having a discussion with Chief Williams about all the aliens onboard an Alliance ship.

"Williams said that it was a mistake to bring all the aliens onboard the most advanced warship in the Alliance Navy. You replied back that the Alliance needed to branch out and work more closely alongside its allies in order to gain the other species respect and trust." Garrus turned to look at her. "You really didn't mean a word of it did you?" he asked.

Shepard shook her head, "No, no I didn't. But as commander of the ship I had to ensure all my people could work together effectively as a team. The same way I'm doing things now."

Garrus at least nodded back understandingly. But then he said, "I won't hold anything you said against you Shepard. You are a product of your past; nothing can be done about that now. But I am hurt at what you said afterwards, right before you left. You said that you were sharing this with us because we needed to know, not because you trusted us." His features fell as he asked sounding hurt, "Do you really not trust me just because I'm a Turian, even after everything we've been through together?"

The pain in his voice affected her more than she liked. She pulled a hand out of her jacket's pocket and reached out to grab his own. She gripped it tightly and looked him in the eye, "Garrus, I want you to really listen to what I'm about to say. I trust you dearly as a friend. I wouldn't put my life in your hands otherwise every time we go into combat. You're smart and witty, almost as good a shot as I am, and most importantly, you have never ever doubted me; even now, after everything you've just learned about my past, you have given up everything to follow me into hell not once but twice.

"But you were there at the beginning. You, Kaiden, Liara, Wrex and Tali were all with me when we learned the horrible truth about this galaxy. You know the Reapers are real, and you know that we have to prepare and find a way to stop them. So why is it after the destruction of the SR1 and my death, each and every one of you stops fighting? The last time we talked you had decided to throw your name back into the lot to become a Spectre. Imagine my surprise waking up two years later to find you waging a private war against Omega's gangs. How was that going to save the galaxy? In fact, out of everyone, only Wrex has made any real stride toward preparing for the Reapers arrival. He has been trying to unite the Krogan race and get his people back into fighting shape for when they return.

"Kaiden decides to go straight back to the Alliance and slowly succumbs to the mountain of propaganda being spewed by the Council. Tali returns to the Flotilla and focuses all of her energy on fighting the Geth. And Liara, she successfully gets my body to Cerberus and starts the whole Lazarus project, but then goes to Illium and wastes two years trying to bring down the Shadow Broker and save one Drell. A noble goal only someone as dedicated as Liara would be willing to undertake, but the life of one Drell pales in comparison to the lives of everyone in the galaxy. She could have at least tried to continue her research into discovering how the Protheans fell and what tactics they used to try and save their people before the collapse of their civilization."

Still holding his hand, she squeezed her eyes shut, "Even after all this brain of mine has been through I still have the Prothean visions inside my head. I have seen them being hunted down and wiped out by the Reapers more times than I can count." She then opened her eyes and looked at Garrus, "Those two years I was gone, they were a gift. A gift so many gave their lives for to stop Sovereign… and those two years were completely squandered. So you tell me Garrus, tell me how do I put my faith in anyone anymore when even my closest friends won't continue the fight when I'm gone?"

Finally the elevator reached the cargo bay and the doors opened. Shepard let go of Garrus's hand and began to make her way to the forward cargo bay doors. The Normandy shuddered slightly signaling its descent into the planet's atmosphere. In just a few short moments, Shepard would have the beginnings of her new frontline force defending this galaxy from the Reaper threat.

::The facility is in sight,:: Joker called out over the comm. ::There's a nice large landing platform I'll be parking next to. Looks like Lorik Qui'in is already there waiting for us.::

"Thank you Joker," Shepard responded. She had never been to the research station Lorik had needed to lease in order to build the actual combat mechs. But from what the Turian had told her, Synthetic Insights had built a landing platform on the side of the mountain face in order to allow shuttles or small ships to land and help deliver resources directly into the factory. This platform would also be perfect for the Normandy to hover beside and retrieve the mechs once they were completed, especially since a Kodiak shuttle was physically incapable of carrying more than two at a time.

She didn't turn around but was aware that Garrus had come up to stand just behind her. But she was surprised to hear the elevator behind her open again and apparently drop off Zaeed and Grunt. She knew it was Grunt because of his heavy footfalls and Zaeed because…

"I hope you aren't planning a picnic on this barren rock of a planet Shepard," the mercenary grumbled out loudly for all to hear. "Blasted snow…do you know how hard it is to fight knee deep in snow? I remember this one time I was hired on for a job in the Terminus systems. My employer wouldn't tell me where we were going, claiming it was a security risk, the bastard. Turns out he simply didn't want his new crew to know that we'd be fighting in subzero temperatures with less than a meter of visibility thanks to an ongoing snowstorm."

He finally made his way up to Shepard's side as he continued, "If I didn't have the foresight to pack a thermal imaging scope for my rifle I never would have made it off that ice cube alive. I fucking hate snow…" He then glanced up remembering, "Job paid great though. Wonder if they're still hiring on."

"Is there any situation in the galaxy that you don't have a story to go along with?" Shepard asked with a raised eyebrow.

Grunt huffed, "Snow cannot stop me. I pity any fool who dares challenge me, no matter the situation or landscape. A pure Krogan is unstoppable."

"Hopefully, my new mechs will be as well," Shepard replied glancing back to him. She was then surprised to see Mordin had actually accompanied the both of them. He was standing behind her alongside Grunt.

She gave him a nod in greeting, "Mordin. How goes the lab work?"

Mordin smiled, "Very well, thank you for asking. Have compiled spreadsheet of all feasible ways to kill Collectors with every weapon in Normandy's armory, including the use of farm equipment in desperate circumstances. Sent it to your terminal for review."

"Farming equipment? You think we'll run into much farming equipment on the other side of the Omega-4 relay?" Garrus asked Mordin.

Mordin just shrugged, "Circumstances on other end of relay completely unknown. Have taken into account all possibilities to be prepared. Personal experience has taught me to never underestimate a garden rake. Quite effective at piercing tissue."

Shepard was forced to smile but the conversation was cut short when the cargo bay doors began to open. Immediately the temperature dropped to just below freezing and Shepard was forced to raise a hand to protect her eyes from the bright sunlight. When they finally adjusted, she was able to make out a heavily dressed Lorik Qui'in walking toward the Normandy's fully lowered loading ramp. She made her way out of the ship and down the ramp to meet Lorik. Once her feet touched the snow covered landing pad Lorik greeted her.

"Welcome to Peak 8 Shepard," Lorik said as he held out a hand toward Shepard. She returned the handshake quickly and put her hands back into her jacket pockets for warmth. "I'm proud to say we have completed all simulations and lab tests on your new mechs. The first six models are ready for the field."

Shepard smiled at the news but still asked, "How did you get these mechs built so fast? It was only a few days ago that you had been able to lease out this station."

Lorik nodded in understanding, "For that you can thank your friend Dr. T'Soni. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised to hear Synthetic Insights had a new security force helping to guard this factory. Even more so to find them delivering most of the supplies and mechanized man-power needed to get this place up and running." He looked at her and cocked his head with a sly smile on his face, "One day you will have to tell me how you managed to acquire all these new resources of yours."

Shepard chuckled back, "Tell you what Lorik, you keep building these VI's and mechs, and one day I may need someone on this planet with a little bit more pull than a Synthetic Insights manager can provide." Seeing that he understood what she said, Shepard then made a show of looking around the landing pad. "I do hope though that you built the mechs to the scale I required. They aren't buried in the snow are they?"

Lorik laughed, "Fear not Shepard. I'm afraid that I needed to indulge myself with a bit of showmanship. Here are the first six Hannibal VI's you requested, fully installed in our brand new line of combat mechs." Lorik pulled a remote from his jacket pocket and pointed it to the facility's outer doors. With a button press, said doors began to slide open, and Shepard got her first look at her new force.

With rhythmic heavy steps, the six mechs walked out of the factory in a single file line, blowing the light layer of snow away with each step, until they came to a point about three meters in front of her and Lorik. When reaching this point, the line split into two halves. One went left while the other right, until they stood lined up in front of the group.

Shepard stood in open awe of the mechs she had helped designed. They fit her specifications perfectly. They were human in shape, each standing seven feet tall, and were four feet wide at the shoulders. Their arms were thick and ended in five fingers for precision tasks and their legs were jointed with both forward knees at the middle and rear facing joints just below for added speed and mobility. Both of its feet were tipped with two downward pointing spikes to provide extra grip on unstable surfaces. The main body of the mech was cylindrical in shape and contained the 'face' of the mech.

When Shepard was designing the new machines, one of her primary concerns was the structural weakness current designs had when dealing with the head. Both of the current generations of the LOKI and YMIR security mechs had heads. Heads that were easily recognizable and targeted by enemy forces. These heads, which housed the VI's controlling the body, lacked heavy armor plating or kinetic shielding and could be easily destroyed by enemy fire, rendering the entire platform useless despite taking damage to a single part of its body.

To fix this weakness, Shepard actually looked to the past for a solution. Her mechs did not have a head. Instead, their 'face' was located directly in the upper portion of the body. This face was an omnidirectional sphere that housed three different cameras that served as the mech's primary eyes. One large lens occupied the left side of the sphere while two smaller lenses sat vertically on the right side. Being partially housed in the mech's chest meant that there was no obvious head to see and thereby target, and the spherical design allowed the mech a complete sightline of all objects directly in front of it without the need to twist a neck to look around.

Each was a stone grey color and they all had a red stripe that ran along the entire length of their right arms. All of them that is except for the last one in line on Shepard's right. That one had been painted a jet black and had a red stripe running the length of both its arms.

The mechs were each all carrying their weapons on their backs in magnetic hard points, like standard hard suits used by militaries around the galaxy. Behind one shoulder, every mech had a newly redesigned and enhanced Revenant machine gun, resized for their use and improved to fire a higher caliber round that had proven to be just under the hitting power of a Mako's machine gun turret. Behind the other shoulder, each mech also carried a heavy weapon. Two were armed with the M-100 grenade launchers, two were armed with the ML-77 missile launchers, and the last two were armed with the M-622 avalanche cryo guns.

Behind her, Zaeed let out a low whistle. "Damn, those are some big robots."

Lorik turned to face him, "Actually the word robot comes from the Earth Czech language, specifically robota meaning forced labor or slave. And as someone who has dedicated his life to creating and understanding advanced virtual or artificial intelligences I can guarantee you that these are not mindless slaves ready to only provide meaningless repetitive actions."

Zaeed just stared at him before letting out an amused snort, "Alright then, sorry I said anything. So what are we calling these things then?"

"KNIGHTs," Shepard relied back without averting her gaze at the mechs in front of her. "The designation for these new machines will be KNIGHTs."

Grunt looked to both Garrus and Mordin with a confused expression, "Nights? What does night have to do with these things?"

"Not nights, KNIGHTs," Shepard loudly corrected without turning around. "But remember the VI's currently inside and controlling the mechs are still designated Hannibal."

"Oh…"

Grunt was still completely lost prompting Garrus to add, "I'll fill you in later." He then looked up to Shepard, "Not to hurry this along but why did you name them KNIGHTs?"

Why indeed… she thought with a mischievous smile. Without answering him she walked forward until she stood only a few feet in front of the line of mechs and then turned to walk down the line until she stood in front and to the side of the jet black colored one. As the mech's cameras swiveled to look down at her Shepard brought a hand up to her head and playfully twirled a strand of hair around her finger.

Seeing the action, as one, all six mechs spoke up.

"Full program initialization commencing. Hannibal Virtual Intelligence fully active. KNIGHT combat systems fully active," all six mechs said perfectly synchronized, in a smooth male voice, only slightly filtered to alert someone that it was being spoken by a machine. Again, as one, all six mechs activated a three foot long omni-blade and angled it across their chests as they all dropped down on their right knees to bow before her.

At this point the temperature could have dropped to absolute zero and Shepard wouldn't have noticed. She was grinning like a lunatic and didn't care in the slightest.

The jet black mech raised its body slightly, and its camera swiveled to make eye contact with her, "Diagnostic scans complete. We are prepared and ready for your orders, my lady."

She was bouncing slightly at this point as she clasped her hands in front of her and spun around in place to finally face her crew. She was happy to see they were all impressed with her new force; each and every one of them was brought to the point of speechlessness.

"You're joking right…?" Zaeed finally managed to just blurt out.

Well…almost speechless.

She frowned, confused at Zaeed's response. Shepard then looked to Garrus to see her friend holding a hand up to his forehead and shaking his head lightly. Mordin ws eyeing her wearily, while Grunt continued to mutter the word 'night' to himself.

Garrus dropped his hand and looked to Lorik desperately, "Tell me you didn't install that into the VI's for Shepard?"

Lorik was just as stunned as everyone else as he replied, "I swear, that wasn't in the programming I knew about."

Shepard dropped her hands to her sides and looked to all her teammates. "What?" she asked, still unsure what they were worried about. She knew the VI's programming was safe and secure. These new VI's wouldn't pose a threat to anyone she didn't want them specifically to harm.

Garrus brought a hand back to his head and sighed, "Honestly Shepard…"

"What?" she asked again, more forcefully this time, as she put her hands on her hips. "What is it?"

---

Athena Nebula
Thessian Orbit
KIS Hvar'kann
Command Hall

Prince Thrakhath nar Kiranka stood before a large viewport on the bridge of his flagship as he looked down to the home world of the blue females. He had a feral smile across his face that displayed his fangs. And he had a right to be happy. His assault on the Asari was proceeding on schedule.

He was pulled from his thoughts when Melek nar Kiranka, his senior chee'dyachee, or retainer, approached him from behind.

Melek was slightly shorter than the Prince he served and had none of the gold or red coloring in his fur that adorned the royal family member. Melek's fur was a dark brown and black.

"My Prince," Melek started as he cleared his throat, "our forces on the surface report they have reached the temple and have found the artifacts. They are being loaded onto transports as we speak and will be onboard this ship in a matter of hours."

Prince Thrakhath frowned and turned, "Hours? Why will this take so long?"

Melek dipped his head in respect, "There were many more artifacts present in the temple than we were led to believe. It will take time to remove them all and do so carefully enough as to not damage them in the process."

Prince Thrakhath lost his frown but remained agitated, "Deploy more soldiers to the temple and double our efforts. I want this task done so I can return to the Empire and finish my conquest of the apes."

Melek nodded, "Of course my lord. It will be done." But instead of leaving he remained by the Prince's side.

"What other news do you bring?" Prince Thrakhath questioned.

"I have a report on our new forces my lord," Melek quickly added. "The ones that underwent the procedure to become the very incarnation of Sivar's holy wrath. It is ill news I'm afraid. The procedure to artificially induce biotic abilities into our people has failed its initial testing. Of the four hundred we began with, only three eights are still reported alive and fighting on the planet's surface."

Prince Thrakhath looked to Melek for an explanation, "Those numbers are unacceptable. What happened? Were they killed in combat by a superior force of Asari?"

Melek shook his head, "Not at all my Prince. I am pleased to report that our own artificial biotics are far stronger than nearly all of the Asari they have faced by a wide margin. The problem lies in the complications that occur from the procedure and the resulting after effects.

"We have reports of some Kilrathi dying from sudden strokes or heart attacks," Melek carefully explained. "Others still are suffering from multi-system and organ failure. Some of our new warriors have even lost control of their new powers, resulting in the uncontrolled biotic fields ripping them apart at the molecular level. If we want to include these new troops as a staple of the Kilrathi military, we must continue refining the procedure and discover how to counter these fatalities."

The Prince huffed as he turned back to the viewport and looked down to the planet, "There is no need Melek. Why should we waste our time and energy trying to identify a problem that these Asari have most likely already solved for use? Each one of these blue females is a natural biotic. They will reveal their secrets to us and provide us the means to prefect the procedure.

"Once all the artifacts have been removed from the temple and are safely aboard my ship, give the order to have all our forces spread out across the planet," Prince Thrakhath commanded. "They are to leave no building unsearched, no computer untouched, and any Asari with knowledge on this matter is to be captured for and brought here for interrogation. We will pillage this world and its inhabitants of all their secrets, and then…when we have what we need…I will give the order to burn this world to ash. Thessia will be a prime example to the other races in the galaxy that none can oppose the might of our Empire."

---

Author's Note: Congratulations on reaching the end of this chapter. You have just read over 20,000 words; that's double the size of one of my normal chapters! I couldn't find a good spot to just cut off and since its been a while since my last update (again...) I figured I'd just keep going until it felt right.

And now for something completely different... Shepard's new force of combat VI's and mechs.

Since I have the imagination to write this story but still lack enough of one to come up with a brand new robot, I mean, combat mech; for those of you having a hard time visualizing what they look like, fear not!

I based the KNIGHT class mechs off of the Atlas class titan from the recent Titanfall xbox game. They look awesome and are still 'modern looking' enough to give the full impression that these machines are a completely new style of mechanized warfare in the Mass Effect universe. So I did my best to describe what the Atlas titan looked like but I want all of you to imagine them a little more streamlined and smooth like the current LOKI and YMIR mechs in Mass Effect. Once you've done that, scale the Atlas titan down to the size I described and you have a KNIGHT standing before you.

But remember, the KNIGHT is just the name for the frame. Each KNIGHT is being controlled by one of Shepard's Hannibal VI's, created to adapt and learn until they reach the point of self-awareness and become true artificial intelligence's. In the next chapter I will provide you a more detailed explanation of the new VI's and combat mechs capabilities in the field. You may even get to see some in action... wink, wink, nudge, nudge.

A great deal of this chapter was devoted to helping you all learn what makes the Shepard in this story tick. I need all my readers to really understand what's driving her to do the things she has and is planning to do. This is one of the reasons I really like Mass Effect. It allows us to create our own story for our characters and then behave in the game based on this history. For me, I always found the colonist, war hero background to be capable of creating a very different and complex hero. Throw in the fact that this Shepard has also fought on Torfan and was effected by the events on Akuze and well, we got ourselves a story.

If anyone has any lingering questions on the story, just ask, and I will be happy to try and answer them.

Until the next time folks! Thanks for reading and reviewing!