Author's Notes:
Sometimes chapters seem to write themselves.

Thanks go out to my beta reader, Lyaksandra, whose patience seems infinite when it concerns my writing and the editing process.

Chapter 21

Miranda stepped through the open doors, briskly entering Liara's data lab, her blue eyes fuming. She ignored Glyph, the holographic information drone that assisted the researcher, waiting for the doors to close before speaking. She knew once they did the room would be secure from any outside video or audio surveillance. This was a fundamental necessity for any one of the Shadow Broker's base of operations—permanent, temporary or mobile. "Liara," she snapped, "what the hell is going on?"

The wall of thirty-three monitors illuminated the room in a brightly lit artificial version of daylight. The individual screens bustled with an assortment of activity—scrolling data feeds, live video from various planets, snapshots of seemingly innocuous moments—all of which flooded the space with a false sense of bustling energy. Maintaining the network and the constant flow of information required a power-hungry and intricately designed network. As expected, the servers and related equipment generated a considerable amount of heat in the relatively small area. In order to compensate, the chasses were embedded within a liquid cooling system, a silent and energy efficient means of maintaining server integrity and a comfortable room temperature.

The lab's unusual power requirements had drawn attention from a handful of Alliance personnel, such as Specialist Traynor who on multiple separate occasions attempted to decipher the high tech room's ultimate purpose. To date, no one other than a few of Lakota's old squad members, the ones who had been on the Normandy while usurping the previous Shadow Broker, knew the significance of the lab. Even less people knew the full extent of its capabilities. That didn't stifle the plethora of benign to absurd rumors floating through the ship, though. The room was the frigate's most well-known secret.

Liara, who stood next to a monitor watching a series of data feeds flow along the screen, turned to look at the newcomer. The bluish hue from the monitor reflected off of her white and blue lab coat, the mix of colors giving it a light grey appearance. "Ms. Lawson," she said calmly, unfazed by the brunette barging into her room. "What do you mean?"

Miranda's gaze narrowed on the Asari, her lips pursing slightly in irritation. "On Earth, Shepard told us we were heading to Eletania, but now suddenly she's changed her mind?" Her scowled deepened as she crossed her arms in front of her chest, then repeated her demand. "So… what the hell is going on?"

Her expression unreadable, Liara replied, "Perhaps you should talk with Shepard about this."

"Then perhaps she should bloody well answer her messages!" Miranda barked, clearly frustrated. "I've sent three already!"

The Asari shook her head, brow furrowing. "Miranda, I can't—"

"Yes, you can," the dark haired biotic said, cutting off the refusal. "I'm on your side, dammit! I want to find out what happened just as badly as the both of you!"

The researcher stared at the former Cerberus officer, contemplating something but saying nothing. Almost absentmindedly she noticed that the brunette had reverted to her familiar if not provocative choice of shipboard attire—a skintight black leather jumpsuit with gold tinting that hugged every inch of her body in highly flattering ways. Despite the annoyance of the current situation, a subtle smile curled at the corner of Liara's mouth. Sometimes witnessing another person's predictability was comforting.

Exasperated by the silence, Miranda crossed the distance to Liara, standing directly in front of the Asari, hands positioned imposingly on her hips, agitated energy radiating off her in waves. "Liara, if you don't trust me with this, then how can you trust me…" She pointed both of her hands toward the monitors, then made a sweeping motion that encompassed whole wall. "…with this?"

Liara sighed, the frown on her face slowly disappearing. "Point taken," she said, sounding somewhat displeased. "Shepard thinks there might be, I believe she called it, a mole on the Normandy."

"A spy?" Miranda said, her eyes widening in astonishment. Then, just as quickly they narrowed while she speculated on the ramifications of such a statement. "Someone in the Alliance?"

Nodding in affirmation, the researcher elaborated on her lover's suspicions and actions. "She believes the reason the Alliance let her take the Normandy so easily, without any pre-flight plan or detailed objective, is because they have someone already on the inside who will feed them information."

"Makes sense. The Alliance wouldn't want its recovering hero to disappear without a trace." Gazing directly into the Asari's dark blue eyes, Miranda asked, "Who does she suspect?"

Liara took a deep breath, straightening her shoulders. "Right now, everyone who is under an Alliance commission."

"That's a long list."

The researcher nodded again. "It is. Which is why she is spending the day talking with various crew members. By asking them questions, she's hoping to pick up on something."

"Fortunately, she made rounds like that on the Normandy while we worked with Cerberus." Grinning as though enjoying a private joke, Miranda added, "No one will think it's out of the ordinary at all."

Liara chuckled. "She did the same thing on the original Normandy, said it was the best way to get to know the non-Alliance crew. I thought her dedication toward interspecies cooperation was admirable, until I found out that 'getting to know' her new crew consisted of drinking with Garrus, trading illegal decryption software with Tali and going gambling with Wrex."

Raising an inquisitive eyebrow, Miranda asked, "And how did she get to know you?"

"She got me into her bed."

"That's one way to go about it," the brunette said, a smirk playing on her lips.

"I was pleased by the choice," Liara replied nonchalantly as her gaze shifted to a monitor on the wall. The live video that captured her attention was of relief workers on her home world, Thessia.

Miranda rolled her eyes in amusement. "So the unexpected trip to Pragia?" she asked, getting the conversation back on track.

"A ruse," the researcher explained, returning her gaze back toward the human biotic. "She didn't tell Alliance Command our destination before we headed to the Relay."

Miranda leaned back, sitting on the edge of the desk, her hands positioned on either side of her hips, palms flat on the desktop. "She's trying to bait the mole into sending the information."

"Yes," Liara said simply.

"But how is that going to work?" Miranda asked, looking perplexed. "They could easily have a personal QEC. We've both seen the prototypes. You even used one to talk with Shepard while she was incarcerated. The message, the sender, the receiver, their locations would all be encrypted and untraceable."

"True. But Shepard doesn't plan on tracing the actual communication." Liara's eyes twinkled conspiratorially. "If there truly is a spy, and if they are connected to the Alliance, then she is counting on Alliance protocol to tip her off."

"Alliance protocol?" Miranda repeated. While she knew a lot about the Alliance, the nuances of their command protocol was not something the former Cerberus officer had ever been particularly interested in researching.

"As their rules dictate," Liara stated, "somebody—whether it is the spy or the spy's contact—will eventually make a record of their communication. In that record will be a combination of certain key words: Pragia, Normandy, Spectre, Sol Relay, Shepard. And that record will eventually be uploaded to an Alliance proprietary server."

"How does that help you? The Alliance servers are virtually impenetrable from outside attacks or infiltration."

"And that's still true. But we're not monitoring the servers from the outside, we're monitoring them from within."

"Within their own servers?' Miranda said unable able to keep the astonishment from her voice. "How is that even possible?" Although she didn't know about Alliance command protocols, she did know about Alliance security protocols which were considered some of the most stringent in the galaxy.

A barely perceptible smile curled at the corner of Liara's lips. "Theoretically, you could ask the best thief in the business for help."

"Kasumi…" Miranda whispered, her tone thoughtful, but not surprised. Quickly, she put the pieces of the puzzle together. "Shepard gave her some sort of tracking program. Something that looks harmless to security software, could be uploaded directly to their network, does the job of filtering out specific words and sends some sort of harmless notification when those words are used in connection with each other."

"Without getting too detailed, yes," Liara replied. "That is essentially what happened." She was impressed by the human's deductive skill.

Miranda tilted her head, pursing her lips together momentarily, then sighed softly. "So now we wait until someone—if there is a mole—makes contact."

Liara smiled knowingly. "It's just a matter of time."

Just as she finished her statement, the Asari's attention was drawn to the green light on her omni-tool that had begun to blink, indicating an encrypted message had been received from Lakota. She nimbly typed in a few key strokes into the holographic interface, her expression shifting from curiosity to unmistakable panic as she read through the message. Without looking up from her omni-tool, she sped past Miranda heading toward the doors. When they opened, she heard her named called.

"Liara," the former Cerberus officer said, a look of concern blanketing her face. "What's wrong?"

Glancing back over her shoulder, Liara opened her mouth, but then closed it just as quickly, her eyes taking in the open doors, the breached security. "Find Garrus," she said, the tone of her voice brooking no argument, "then meet me at the Starboard Lounge."

Not waiting for a reply, the Asari turned and quickly made her way toward the elevator.

…

When Major Kaidan Alenko stepped off the elevator, he realized how exhausted he felt and offhandedly wondered if he would ever take the vacation time that was due to him. Then, he speculated whether or not Spectres were given vacations or if time off was just considered the time between assignments. He made a mental note to do some research when this mission for the Alliance was over.

As he headed down the corridor, he shook his head ruefully. Despite spending months living on it, the new frigate with its Cerberus influenced design and all of the recreational space still felt odd to him. All of his years serving on Alliance ships compelled his fondness for a more pragmatic layout and he couldn't help but think that there were a lot of superfluous amenities on board. Even the Alliance's retrofit couldn't remove all traces of luxury. He also missed the MAKO, though he would never reveal that bit of information to Shepard… or Vega. He didn't trust either of them in the driver's seat.

He entered the Starboard Lounge walking over to the observation window and sighed heavily as he stared out into the vast expanse of the starry backdrop. Although he enjoyed being out in space, right then, after all that had been lost and sacrificed during the war, he felt a longing to be back on Earth with his family.

A minute later he heard the doors open and the footsteps of someone entering the room. He turned around in time to see Lakota place a small locking mechanism on the door. Its shape was similar to two suction cups connected by a round metal pipe. He watched as she positioned it so a circular magnetic was on each door panel, then she pressed a button, locking it into place to keep the doors from sliding open.

"Shepard?" Kaidan questioned. "What's going on?"

His eyes followed the dark-haired woman who remained silent but moved to the left through the rectangular shaped room stopping near the small oval coffee table next to the wall of books, the lounge's library. She placed a small circular object on the table top, then pressed its center button.

A look of suspicion crossed his face when Kaidan recognized the device as a signal jammer. "I guess you really want to talk to me in private."

Lakota turned toward him and nodded once, a coldness coming to her pale green eyes. "Good guess."

"There are easier ways to make that happen, you know." Kaidan pointed his right index finger at the door lock. "That seems a little excessive."

"You never struck me as guy who took the easy way out," Lakota said, smiling without humor. "Apparently things have changed."

Kaidan tilted his head, his eyes narrowing, trying to decipher the female Spectre's cryptic words. "What are you getting at, Shepard?"

Lakota crossed the room to stand in front of the observation window, as though admiring the contrast of the seemingly endless sea of blackness that was brimming with shining points of light. "You once told me that the way a thing goes down mattered. Knowing that you acted with integrity mattered." She turned her head to the right, enough to catch sight of the Alliance Major, who was a few feet away, in her periphery. "How's that integrity thing working out for you these days, Kaidan?"

Stifling the sudden irritation that flared through his body, he retorted, "If you've got something to say, just say it."

"After Udina's death you said that you'd never doubt me again. That you had my back." Lakota scowled as she straightened her posture, throwing her head back, the end of her dark ponytail brushing along her shoulders. "Tell me…" she growled, now looking at him directly, "when did watching my back become the same as stabbing me in the back?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Kaidan said, startled by the accusation.

"You're sending messages to Alliance command," she spat accusingly. "Sending them confidential information without my consent."

Kaidan's eyes grew wide in astonishment. "Hold on. It's not what you think."

Lakota snorted. "Well at least you have the decency not to deny it."

Raising both hands defensively, Kaidan said, "Let me explain…"

"Explain what?" Lakota brusquely interrupted. "How to rationalize betrayal?"

The Major shook his head. "I'm not betraying you, Shepard," he said.

"You've always been so quick to tell me how you support me, all the while questioning me, my intent, my actions." Anger reverberated through Lakota's words as she took a step forward, closing some of the distance to the male Spectre. "And now here you are, showing me just how far your support stretches. Just far enough to try to hang me!"

"You've got it all wrong," Kaidan began, trying to explain.

"I've got it wrong? Again? Damn, I've got to be the most dimwitted soldier in history to get it wrong so many times," Lakota sneered mockingly. "Or wait…. maybe I don't have it wrong, maybe it's just that you don't approve." Shaking her head in disgust, she added, "I'm so sick and tired of your judgments, your sanctimonious scrutiny of my decisions."

"We may not always agree," Kaidan said cautiously, "but I've always supported you."

"You've got one hell of a way of showing it. On Horizon, you knew what I was up against. You knew what I was doing and yet you said nothing. Offered nothing." With devastating accuracy, she added, "You just walked away."

The remark obviously bothered Kaidan, because he turned to her and exploded, his hands wildly punctuating his rebuttal. "Just because I didn't join you, doesn't mean I didn't support you! And I wasn't the only one who said no. Liara turned you down too!"

"That's right," Lakota agreed, and there was a dangerous edge to her quiet voice. "But she refused because of debt she owed to someone else, not because she was casting judgment on me. You were so quick to condemn me for working with Cerberus even though they were the only ones intent on finding out what happened to the missing colonists. Then on Mars, just after we escaped Earth, knowing that I'd been incarcerated there for six months, you grilled me about Cerberus again. Accused me of working with them still!"

"I had my reasons," he said sharply.

"You read the reports; you knew damn well that I'd cut all ties with them!" She bit back a caustic laugh, her eyes narrowing angrily. "But you didn't think twice about Udina, did you?"

"I didn't know he was working for Cerberus," Kaidan snapped defensively.

"And why is that? Why didn't you scrutinize him the same why you scrutinize me?! There was a time when you thought Udina was doing more harm than good. Then he dangled something shiny in front of you, Spectre status wrapped in a big red bow, and you snatched it up without a second thought."

Thoroughly roused now, Kaidan retorted hotly, "That's not fair."

"Bullshit! After all you accused me of, it's more than fair."

"For all the wrong that you think I've done, I never got into bed with Cerberus!" Once the words were out of his mouth, he knew he had delivered a low blow and wished he could have taken them back. His irritation had gotten the better of him.

"Goddamn, you can be such an arrogant ass!" Lakota snarled. "You were groomed to be a Spectre by Udina, a man who worked for Cerberus! A man whose actions led to Thane's death! You may not have gotten into bed with them, but you certainly benefited from their agenda."

Kaidan stepped back before the controlled fury in the female Spectre's voice.

Lakota forcibly took in a long, deep breath and then exhaled slowly, her body relaxing as her outward agitation seemed melt away. "But you know," she said softly, her tone sounding almost like an afterthought, "during all of that crap, through all of the years that we've known each other, I never… ever… questioned your loyalty!" Fixing a hard, callous stare on the man before her, she took a step forward. "Until now."

…

"What do you mean you can't open the doors?!" Liara said, a subtle panic etched in her voice. She was standing in the corridor just outside the Starboard Lounge with Tali, Garrus and Miranda.

Tali was kneeling next to the doors, in front of the control panel with her plasma torch in hand sorting through a nest of multicolored wires attempting to override the security lock. She stood up and placed her hands on her hips, tilting her head enough so that the fluorescent lights reflected off of her visor in harsh glare. "I mean," she quipped sarcastically, "that the doors won't open."

"Shepard probably installed some sort of manual security lock," Garrus said. "It's what I'd do if I wanted to pummel someone privately." When all heads turned toward him, he shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "I'm just being honest."

Liara rolled her eyes in exasperation. Although hidden beneath years of practiced reserve, her frantic demeanor was apparent to those who knew her well, like those sharing the corridor with her. "EDI? Have you had any luck with the surveillance feeds? Can you see or hear anything that's going on in there?"

From the imbedded intercom in the wall, the serene bodiless voice replied. "I am able to access the monitoring equipment, but there is no current data available. It appears Shepard also installed a signal jamming device."

Garrus chuckled knowingly. "I wonder where she could have gotten her hands on one of those."

"That's not funny," Liara snapped, sounding a little guilty. She knew exactly where Lakota had gotten such a device. In fact, she knew exactly what drawer it had been stored in.

"What about cutting through the door with a plasma torch?" Miranda said. If the sensible options weren't going to work, then it was time to get creative.

"Or blasting them open," Garrus offered.

"Engineer Adams has thermal compound that could be used to cut an opening," EDI suggested.

Tali raised her right hand, the one holding the plasma torch. "Um… I know this may seem overrated, but has anyone thought about knocking?"

…

"Okay Kaidan," Lakota said grimly, her arms crossed in front of her chest, "explain yourself. How are you not betraying me?"

The male Spectre sighed heavily, self-consciously rubbing the back of his neck with his right hand. "I could really go for a cold beer right now."

Despite her anger, Lakota smiled. She wanted to believe that the man before her was the one she thought she knew. The dedicated friend who had risked everything, his life along with his Alliance commission, to stop Saren and Sovereign; the soldier who did everything he could to get the Normandy and its crew back to Earth after the war. "We both could," she said agreeably.

Kaidan turned around, heading toward the coffee table and chairs in the corner of the room. He sat down in a chair with a thud, like a puppet whose strings had been cut, both hands rubbing his face. Lakota followed him, but waited for him to look up, for their eyes to meet, before she sat down.

"It's not what you think," he began. "They approached me right after the Normandy got back to Earth."

"They?"

"What's left of Alliance Command," Kaidan replied cynically.

"Hackett?"

Kaidan shook his head. "I don't know, but it wouldn't surprise me if he knew something about it."

"What did they say?"

"They want to know everything that happened after you disappeared in the Citadel's beam. They figured that as your friend, I would be privy to unreported data, and that as a Spectre, I could observe you without recourse. They made it very clear that they were going to keep an eye on you, one way or another."

"I knew they would have someone watching me, but I didn't expect it to be you."

"If it wasn't me, it would have been someone else. Someone less sympathetic. I thought I could feed them enough scraps of information to keep them satisfied until you were able to sort everything out. Obviously something I sent caught your attention."

"I just have a keen sense of observation," Lakota said with a fleet grin. She believed the Major's words, but wasn't going to reveal her secrets to him just yet.

Kaidan frowned momentarily, collecting his thoughts. "I used to believe, I still do, that if you give something your all, it doesn't matter if you win or lose, as long as you've risked everything, put everything out there. I've seen you do this time and time again. And so have others. You only have two hands, though, and they weren't meant to bear the weight of the war, but Alliance Command is trying to shackle you with it." He shook his head ruefully. "I was just trying to divert some of that weight."

Lakota sat in silence, her eyes unfocused, pondering what had been said. While she didn't like the secrecy or covert actions, she understood Kaidan's point of view and why he thought both were necessary. Then she looked up, chuckling softly. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. After all, I started out chasing down another Spectre, too."

Kaidan glared at her, the amusement in his eyes negating any misconstrued irritation. "You don't have to laugh."

With that simple, light-hearted comment, Lakota felt the last threads of tension between them melt away. She leaned back into her chair, finally able to be completely at ease with the dark haired man sitting across from her. "I do, actually," she said jokingly. "It's a character flaw. I laugh at nearly everything. Eventually."

"The Alliance should be treating you as a hero not a martyr."

"Show me a hero and I'll write you a tragedy," Lakota parried. "That's from F. Scott Fitzgerald… and I happen to think he's right. So I can do without the hero label and the tragedy that inevitable comes with it." She sighed heavily while readjusting her position in the chair. "Kaidan, I know you and I won't always agree on things. I don't expect it. I don't need it. But what I do need is for you to trust me. Without that, I can't trust you."

The Major nodded. "Obviously I'm not always the best at showing it, but you've got it, Shepard. I do trust you."

Kaidan had always been a man of principles, so Lakota decided to go with her instincts and take him at his word. "Well, then," she said, "I guess we just have to decide what information to send to Alliance Command."

"The recipe for a good Omega Bomb?" Kaidan offered with a smirk. "Traynor shared it with me the other night at the party."

"I was thinking more along the lines of feeding them largely inaccurate mission data."

"That could work."

"Probably help you keep your job, too."

Kaidan playfully agreed. "Getting paid would be beneficial."

Lakota opened her mouth to reply with a pithy comment, but was interrupted by a noise at the door. "Does that sound like someone knocking?" she asked, as she stood up.

"It does," Kaidan said, his gaze following the Spectre as she headed toward the door.

…

Miranda placed her hands on her hips, staring at the doors with a force ten glare, as if her attitude alone could pry them open. "I told you knocking wouldn't work."

"Can they even hear it?" Tali asked, placing a hand on the metal frame. "Maybe it needs to be louder. Or maybe the metal is too thick? Or maybe the doors are sound proofed. Or—"

"It was a better idea than cutting through or blowing up the doors," Liara said, prematurely interrupting the Quarian's imaginative list of theories.

Garrus leaned against the corridor's wall, contemplating their dilemma. "We could go through the floor. Or the ceiling."

Tali shook her head. "That's not helpful."

Miranda rolled her eyes. "It would cause too much damage."

The Turian chuckled. "Maybe we should get Grunt. I bet he could head-butt the doors open."

"Still not helpful," the Quarian retorted, although she appeared to be scrutinizing the tensile strength of the metal.

"How about Jack?" Garrus suggested as an alternative. "She could use her biotics to blast the doors open."

"Along with half of the ship," Miranda chided reproachfully. "Somehow I think we should avoid that."

"Traynor's toothbrush?" he suggested. "I heard it was useful last time we got locked out of the Normandy."

Liara, who was still examining the door, turned abruptly, scowling at the Turian's suggestion. "Absolutely not."

"Tali's shotgun then," he said. "That would put a nice hole in the doors. Then we could squeeze right in."

"Right now," the Quarian quipped, "I'd be pointing it at you."

"Okay, no shotgun," Garrus backtracked hastily. Then, his eyes lit up as a new idea came to mind. "What about Samara? I bet she could use her Justicar mind tricks to open the doors."

Liara stepped in front of the doors defiantly, her arms crossed in front of her chest radiating an inflexible pose. Adamantly, she stated, "We are not going to ask an Asari Justicar to open these doors for us!"

At that very moment the door swooshed open to reveal Lakota standing on the other side of the threshold. "Why didn't you guys just knock?" she said simply.

All eyes zeroed in on the Spectre.

Liara quickly spun around, a look of astonishment on her face. Slightly dumbfounded, she stammered, "We did… you didn't… you weren't…we weren't..."

Then, Kaidan stepped up behind Lakota. "Everything okay?" he asked innocently.

All eyes in the corridor shifted to the new Spectre, each pair with its own varying degree of surprise.

Straightening her posture, Liara said, "Everything is fine, Major." The tone of her voice was crisp and concise, as though nothing was out of the ordinary and the group of them in the corridor was an everyday occurrence.

Kaidan shrugged his shoulders. "Okay. I'm heading to the Star Bar for a beer. You joining me Shepard?"

"Right behind you," Lakota replied. She had both the locking mechanism and signal jammer, now turned off, in her hands.

As Kaidan stepped passed her, Lakota's eyes met Liara's which silently conveyed the message "you have a lot of explaining to do." Although amused, Lakota nodded in agreement.

As both Spectres headed down the corridor, Garrus whispered, "Well, that was awkward."

Tali slugged him hard in the shoulder. "Still not helpful, Vakarian."