AN: A big thanks to she-who-does-not-wish-to-be-named for helping me with this chapter. It took me ages to get it right and I'm still not happy with it but it's been ironed out and smoothed over in such a way that I can move the story forward from here. Thank you again oh mighty one.

Transition.

She was running across a desert landscape, her breathing tight but focused, her rhythm unwavering. Stars shone above her, some as big as her fist. Not a sound stirred the landscape and not breath of wind touched her face. She was alone and content to be so, running she hardly felt aware of herself, of her life or of her limitations. She was just… Herself.

"Woah there Tiger," someone said suddenly and the landscape flickered, making her loose her focus. Abby stumbled but quickly corrected herself and turned to see Kelly Chambers standing beside her, her smile twisted in amusement as the desert disappeared.

"I thought Dr. Chakwas said that you should walk, not run like hell."

Breathing deeply to get her breath back, Abby shrugged embarrassed and carefully stepped out of the circle. There was a gym of sorts in the cargo hold of the Normandy. A treadmill that could project a holographic image around you of a landscape of your choice, some weights and an old fashioned punching bag. It helped keep the crew, which was normally ship bound, fit and ready for duty. There was nobody there now, save for Kelly who handed her a towel.

"Sorry," Abby said embarrassed. "I ah… wanted to see if I still could. How fit I am..." In case I need to run again… "That sort of thing. Before this I... still ran. A lot." She grimaced. "I'm not as fit as I used to be."

Kelly raised an eyebrow and smiled, sitting down on a nearby crate so that she could study the vet. "I'd say you're doing pretty well," she said and smirked. "Much better than yesterday."

Abby groaned and buried her face in the towel to hide her embarrassment. The day before had not been her finest moment on the Normandy.

It hadn't been one of her finest moments, period.

She had woken up in Shepard's room, sprawled across her bed and very disorientated. She could not imagine what she was doing there until she saw the Commander sleeping on her couch. There were two empty glasses on the table, a bowl which had held tasteless snacks and a distinctly empty whiskey bottle.

When she tried to sit up, she was enlightened as to why the bottle was empty and spent several minutes trying to get her stomach under control with a throbbing headache. She had no idea what had gotten into her the night before. Since her co-ordination became too impaired she had stopped drinking and even before that she hardly allowed herself to become tipsy much less drunk.

Her only consolation had been that the Commander had been just as jovial with her. True to their agreement, they didn't discuss anything about asari, or Ardat Yakshi or even Reapers. They had talked about their family lives, about their childhood which they had both spend travelling from one place to the other (though Jane's had been through space and Abby's had been through the welsh countryside…). They had shared stories of their youth, of their first crushes and their first heartache.

Abby had even told her of the 'Mastiff Incident' which was quite frankly embarrassing.

Thinking about it, she had gained a lot of respect for the woman, despite the fact that they were both fairly silly during all of this. Jane could've asked her anything during their chat and she would've been too incapacitated to guard what she said. Yet, she didn't – staying within the rules that they had laid down from the beginning.

It had been rejuvenating, but it had come at a price that Abby paid a lot harder than the Commander.

"It's unfair drinking with the Commander," Kelly commented with a smile as Abby sat down to have some water.
"Her body metabolises toxins a lot quicker than normal ever since she's been… awakened. Us mere mortals can't keep up."

Abby chuckled and nodded, thinking that she had never felt as bad as she had the day before. She had managed to get herself back to the Port Observation Room but had spend the rest of the day curled up on her couch, wondering if the ship's artificial gravity had malfunctioned.

"This mere mortal is never drinking again," Abby said. "I still have a headache." She wanted to stand up but Kelly offered her a hand first. She accepted it happily and allowed the woman to pull her up. The yeoman was chuckling as they started moving out of the cargo hold. "I thought Kasumi gave you something for that."

Snorting, Abby frowned when she saw someone coming through the elevator to join them. "It's seeped into memory," she said and stopped, not sure how to proceed. Kelly had no such hesitations as she smiled genuinely and nodded at the newcomer.

"Hi Garrus," she said. "Come to do a few rounds?"

The turian smiled, or what counted as a smile for turians. "Morning Kelly," he said warmly before his gaze turned to Abby. She got the distinct impression that he had not forgiven her for the mites yet. Or rather, the remark about the collar… "Dr. Gable, I must ask that you don't leave yet, I would like to discuss a few things with you."

For a split second, Abby considered telling him that follow up consultations were half price but by the way he was looking at her gave her the impression that she shouldn't try her luck. "Of course," she said cautiously. "Is there... anything that I can help you with?"

Kelly raised an eyebrow and left before Garrus replied. The turian shifted his weight as he followed Kelly's form out of the room. Then, he turned to her – his reptilian like eyes sharp. "Shepard told me to evaluate your weapon's efficiency," he said blankly. "You will be accompanying them down to the ground when you go to explore this Tetra planet."

Abby went cold when she remembered her attempt to free herself from Fedora's crew, when she had grabbed the woman's gun without really knowing how to fire it. It felt as if it was a life time ago. It dawned on her suddenly that she had been here, in this world, for an earth week. The though made her mouth go dry as the enormity of her predicament dawned on her. What was she going to do if they just decided to leave her? Was this really happening? All of this?

"Dr. Gable?"

She blinked and took a quick breath, avoiding looking at Garrus. "I'm sorry," she said carefully. "I missed the last part."

The turian snorted. "You don't miss the nearly microscopic mites that roam around my person, yet you fail to hear what I say when standing right in front of you?" When she didn't answer, he sighed and shook his head – settling back a bit. "Dr. Gable, I get the feeling that we got off on the wrong foot."

Abby blinked surprised, wondering where that came from. She searched for a reply but when she didn't know how to respond she shrugged and gave him a sceptical look, waiting for him to finish. The turian seemed to have been waiting for a reply from her but when she didn't speak he sighed and shook his head.

"Look, I'm grateful for what you did," he said. "It's wonderful not feeling as if I want to tear my own skin off. I'm sorry if I was irritable when you and Shepard were there. It was just vexing to have the Commander laugh at me like that. And your comments weren't helping."

Here Abby had to smile as she shrugged. "I wasn't going to put a collar on you," she said. "I promise."

Garrus perked up and motioned her to move to another section of the cargo hold. "Good," he said. "And I promise not to put a bullet in you if I can't help it." She missed a step immediately but he laughed and patted her roughly on the back. "Just kidding Dr. Gable, just kidding..."

"I want to get off at Omega, if that is appropriate. I believe that we'll be entering their system later today."

Hunching over Joker as she looked at some of the continuous data that they were receiving from the Reaper IFF Jane froze, her mouth running dry as she tried to process Samara's words. She straightened up and turned around slowly as she fought against a sense of vertigo, wondering if this was what it felt like to have your world fall apart without the help of a Collector's particle beam...

"Why?" Her voice was steady, but it felt as if the bridge had become a void.

Samara's face was impassive as she stared at her without blinking. "I have been informed that there were several similar deaths to those in Illium in the past week. I believe that this Ardat Yakshi had time to travel from Banrio, to Omega and then to Illium. There might be someone there who can help us put a face to this woman. Abby has not been very forth coming on her features."

She breathed and was painfully aware of her heart beating as her mind latched onto the word 'us'. Samara still saw herself as a part of the crew or at least a part of this venture... Realizing that she had to reply, Jane breathed in carefully.

"We might be able to do that on Tetra," she said slowly, keeping her voice level. "I would've thought that you would like to go there."

Samara blinked for the first time since Shepard had turned around to look at her. "A Justicar is not always welcome in a rogue asari community," she said. "Remember, we represent justice and are compelled to deliver. Better that they don't know I'm involved – if there is somebody there."

Jane nodded slowly but her gaze remained fixed on Samara. She remembered the way it felt when Samara touched her hips, the electricity that flowed from her fingers where she accidentally brushed her neck. The feeling of her arms wrapped around her.

Fight for her, had essentially been what Abby had told her. If you don't fight for her, you're going to lose her.

"I'll consider it," Jane said carefully. "Of course – in the event that we make the detour - I expect a full report when we come to collect you again."

The temperature dropped several degrees. Behind her, Joker seemed to have frozen, his eyes fixed to the console. He wasn't ignorant when it came to emotions and could judge a situation very quickly for all his immature comments. She had no doubt that he could sense the tension between the two of them.

"A full report?" Samara queried, her voice betraying a hint of surprise.

Feeling a little bit more confident Jane nodded and started to turn back to Joker. "Yes," she said simply. "As I've told you Samara, you are still a member of this crew and until such time you leave, I will take responsibility for you and your actions. In return, I expect a report on them." Shepard hoped that she made it clear enough to the Justicar that she will not release her of her oath when she left for Omega and that she will hold her to it until she returned to the Normandy.

Samara seemed genuinely shocked as her eyes searched Jane's face. If they were alone, she was sure that the asari would've said something in protest. But, they were on the bridge of Jane's ship – in front of members of her crew. If she crossed her here she would not only undermine the Commander's authority but she would bring her own oath under question.

So, she seemed to gather herself and incline her head ever so slightly. "Of course Commander," she said and turned to leave, breaking eye contact. There, she paused and turned back to Shepard.

"Would you like the report in writing?"

Jane blinked, but didn't miss a beat. "A meeting will be fine," she said and nodded at Samara. "Thank you." She turned back to Joker, not bothering to look at Samara as she left without a word. It was only when they were sure that the asari was gone that Joker let out a short breath and turned to look at her, his blue eyes studying her features intently.

"That was... harsh," he said. "From both of you. What's up Commander? You've never asked for reports. That's more... Miranda's forte."

Jane didn't answer, but took a moment to close her eyes and try to regain her composure. She had known that Samara would lash out to her in some way or another but experiencing it still hurt. Yet, when she took a calming breath, she felt better. No matter how she had achieved it, she felt as if she had taken back a little bit of the power that Samara had taken from her two days before when she rejected her. She could sense that Samara wanted to run, to disappear in Omega and not come back to the Normandy and to distance herself from the Ardat Yakshi situation now that her daughters weren't involved.

Well, it might've been a childish attitude from her side but she wasn't going to let the woman get away this easily. There was a lot of things that they still had to say to each other and Jane was going to make sure that they get round to it before they went their separate ways...

When the dummy clip dropped again, Abby found herself closing her eyes so that she could gather herself and avoid seeing the anticipated frustration in Garrus's gaze. He had been drilling her for the past hour and a half, first testing her ability to handle a gun and then refining the areas which he found lacking. She could shoot, having grown up hunting rabbits with her brother. That had taught her to have a quick eye and steady hand but in recent years, she hardly touched a gun. When her hands were steady, she shot well but they soon realized she only had one or two shots that could truly count for something. When it came to changing the thermal clips though, she fell off of the wagon completely. She lacked the coordination to slip it in at the speed which Garrus insisted on. They practiced it over and over and over again but to no avail.

Her hands were simply too stupid.

When she opened her eyes she found that Garrus had picked up the clip and was holding it out to her. He kept insisting that eventually, she'll get it right. That the repetitive motion would become a part of her, that it had to become a part of her.

"Whether you stay here or on your own," Garrus had told her when it became clear that it was not going to be a quick exercise. "The galaxy is going to become a very unstable place. Shooting is a skill that you must pick up like breathing."

His words had depressed her and killed what little focus she had left. Again her mind turned to the fact that she had already been here for a week. She had no idea what waited for her in the week to follow as she had no plan of action. She didn't know what she was going to do if Shepard decided to leave her on the next planet – she didn't even have a credit to her name. Looking at Garrus as she took the clip from him, she sighed and slowly slipped the dummy clip into the gun to remind herself how it should be done. Her fingers trembled and the clip almost dropped from her hands again.

"When you're ready," she said simply, knowing that he was going to time her. A part of her knew that she could ask that they stop, that doing this over and over again was futile without success... But, she couldn't make herself admit that she was quitting.

Garrus looked surprised when she was ready to try again and hesitated, his reptilian eyes studying her. "I believe it was your Einstein who said that the definition of madness is when you do the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result."

Abby hesitated and chuckled, letting the gun drop to her side. "I believe that he was also the man who said that he wasn't smart but that he just stayed with his problems for longer. One more try?"

The turian shook his head and looked at his omni-tool. "Why don't you keep the gun?" he queried. "It's a dummy, so you won't be able to shoot anybody with it. Practice in your own time, then we can pick up where we left off when there's time again."

Abby hesitated then carefully gave the gun back to Garrus. "I think it's been established that I won't be the best person carrying one of these out in the field," she said. "I'm sorry I've wasted your time Garrus, you can tell Shepard that I'm deplorable. I think that would be safer."

The turian chuckled and shrugged. "No argument there," he said but pushed the gun back towards her. "Practice Dr. Gable. Are we going up together?"

She paused before she shook her head, looking at the gun. "I think I'll stay here for a moment longer," she said. "But, thank you for your time Garrus."

He nodded and left the cargo hold. Abby stared after him then looked at the gun as it trembled in her unsteady hand. There was a faint hum around her from the engines but, when the elevator left, the room suddenly felt very empty – the hum disappearing into silence as she realized that it was the first time she was alone on the Normandy. There was nobody around, not Kasumi, not Kelly or Samara or Shepard. She was on her own.

Without thinking, she lifted the gun to her temple and pressed it there, closing her eyes. She stood there for several heart beats then let out a quick breath and straightened, dropping the dummy gun to her side as she shook her head to dispel the sensation that it had left against it. She gathered up her things and turned around to go to the elevator only to realize that someone had been watching her. When she lifted her head to the windows that looked out over the cargo hold from Engineering, she saw Jack standing there, her arms crossed as her sharp eyes studied her. Abby met her gaze defiantly, wondering what the young woman was thinking but Jack straightened up and turned away from her, her slight hands making an almost rude dismissive gesture as she seemed to wave Abby from her mind.

Watching her leave, the vet sighed and went to the elevator. She still felt a deep sense of melancholy and apprehension when she realized that she had no control over her future, that it had become as uncertain as her mobility. She had thought that she had taken control of her life before she arrived here yet now that control had been yanked away from her as surely as she was standing in the elevator. She could take it back… But, there was no telling where she would end up then.

Exhausted suddenly, she took the elevator up to the living quarters and went to the Port Observation room to get her stuff. She wanted to take a shower, but when she went out, she noticed that Samara was at her own door. To her surprise, the asari had a small satchel over her shoulders and was wearing a coat as if she was expecting to go out. She frowned at the woman, who met her gaze as she turned away from her door. The asari stared at her for a long time before she inclined her head ever so slightly and went to the elevator. For a brief moment, Abby considered following her, but her own uncertainty held her back and she stayed behind, wondering if it would be the last time she ever saw the Justicar.

When the elevator opened, Shepard was there – waiting for her. Samara didn't blink or show any sign of surprise at the abrupt appearance of the woman, but she still felt her heart skip a beat when Jane Shepard turned her brilliant green eyes on her face. She looked at the satchel around Samara's shoulder and raised an eyebrow. Without giving her time to step out of the elevator she joined her and closed the door immediately.

"Shepard," Samara started, unconsciously stepping to the furthest wall away from the Commander as she turned to look at her. "I want to go to the airlock."

Shepard raised an eyebrow and shook her head. "That would not be necessary," she said and punched a number on the console. To Samara's dread, the elevator started moving upwards, to Jane's cabin. "We're not going to Omega."

Samara sniffed sharply and frowned at her. "Commander, I asked..."

"Yes," Jane said shortly, interrupting her as the elevator stopped. "Come with me Samara."

The Justicar looked at the door leading to Shepard's room and, for the first time in a couple of hundred years, balked. "No," she said – keeping her voice level as Jane stepped out of the elevator. "I ask again Commander, take me to Omega."

To her surprise Jane's mouth thinned in a brief sign of humour as she turned back to look at her. "Ask?" she queried. "Like that? That's a command Justicar – and this is still my ship. You are not going to Omega because you will be of more use to us on the Tetra planet. Justicar or no, you are an asari and we will need you. I will not let your personal feelings jeopardize this mission."

Samara blinked and took a step back, glaring up at the ceiling of the elevator as if she could see into the core of the AI. She wanted to tell EDI to take the elevator down to her quarters immediately but she knew that the AI wouldn't go against Shepard's command.

"This mission?" she queried. "This is merely a task which we took on Shepard. Our mission is complete. We have gone through the Omega-4-Relay and come back to tell of it. I have done what I have signed up for. Let me go."

Shepard shook her head vigorously and crossed her arms as she looked up at Samara. "You came to me with this task," she reminded her. "And how just is it if you only feel as if it is any of your business when your daughters are involved. You're in this until the end Samara – so, you will come to Tetra with us and then we'll all go to Omega. That's the end of it. Besides, do you really think that I'm stupid?"

Here, Samara blinked – clearly surprised. "Excuse me?" she queried making Jane shake her head sharply.

"Do you think that I would just let you go?" she queried. "After what happened? Do you think that I could just see you leave? I knew you were planning on finding some reason to leave the Normandy. There are plenty of unjust on Omega and you were going to use that to leave here..." Samara tried to object but Jane held up her hand. "I'm not stupid Samara," she pointed out. "And neither are you – so stop acting like it."

Frowning slightly Samara carefully shook her head and finally stepped out of the elevator. The door closed immediately and it disappeared down to the lower levels. "I have not, for one moment, thought that you are foolish Commander," she said slowly. "I would never think that of you."

Jane closed her eyes in a pained manner. "Then what do you think Samara?" she queried. "What happened? How did this happen?" She motioned between them. "Ever since Abby's arrived we've been... disconnected."

Samara sighed and shook her head, letting her satchel drop to the floor. "It's been before that Jane," she said and looked the Commander in the eyes. "We've just had time to process it. Which is why I should've left the moment we returned from the Omega-4-Relay."

She could see the way Jane looked at her in disbelief, the way the woman closed her eyes as she tried to grasp and comprehend the fragile emotions that danced around them. It was what made her different from Samara, why she seemed unwilling to let this go – to let Samara go. The Justicar had learned a long time ago not to think about life and emotions for too long. When you've resolved to kill your daughter, you don't think about the moral consequences. And you certainly don't try to plan your life, or build it around fantasy of what might be…

"I don't understand Samara," Jane said honestly, voicing her thoughts. "I really don't understand why you feel that it is so crucial for you to leave. Why can't we have this? Don't you think that we of all people deserve… This friendship. Each other's company?"

Samara shook her head and turned away from the woman, pacing to the railing so that she could get away from Jane's piercing eyes.

"Because we are who we are Jane," she said. "You serve the galaxy the same way that I serve my Code. We cannot have love and we can certainly not have the friendship of an equal. There does not exist such a thing for us."

"Why?" Jane asked again and this time, Samara turned around to face her.

"Because of who we are Jane," she said again, sharply. "And of whom we need to be. We each have a purpose Jane. I am a Justicar. I have been for longer than you have been alive, for longer than your family has existed in this world. I cannot turn away from that – but you, you make me wish that I can. That's why we can't be together."

Jane blinked at her surprised and took a step back.

"Samara, I'm not asking you to change," she said. "I respect you for who you are and I'll never ask you to choose between me and... and being a Justicar. I don't understand how you can come to that."

Samara shook her head sharply and stepped forward abruptly, taking Jane's hands because she knew that her touch would be the one thing that would force the woman to concentrate. "I'm not saying you will Jane," she said softly. "I'm saying that one day – I will be forced to stand before a choice. Follow my code – or follow you." Jane's hands were surprisingly soft and warm as her recent resurrection have not given her body enough time yet to form all the calluses normally associated with a soldier's hands. As the woman looked into her eyes, Samara once again found her body compelled to movement without her control. She reached up and gently caressed the woman's cheek. "Also," she said softly as Jane's eyes met with hers. "I would hate to put you in the position between choosing to save me and choosing to save humanity. In the war that we are facing, that day will come."

Jane blinked and pulled back a little. "That will never happen," she said with a vehemence that spoke of denial.

Samara chuckled softly, bitterly and shook her head. "If you believe that you are either naive or a fool," she said softly. "And I do not think that you are either Commander Jane Shepard." She let her go and stepped back, crossing her arms over her chest. "It is inevitable that you will one day stand before a choice to sacrifice a few to save many, those closest to you included. You will know then that you cannot save everybody. Just like you couldn't save Lieutenant Alenko."

Grimacing at the mention of her once squad mate, Jane shook her head sharply and turned away from Samara, her face twisted in a frown. "That's low Samara," she said with a touch of irritation. "You have no call to bring that up."

The Justicar smiled sadly and shrugged. "But I'm right, aren't I?" she said.

Jane closed her eyes and shook her head as she took a steadying breath. When she opened her eyes again she had taken a hold of her emotions and looked more than the ship's Commander than the woman trying to court her.

"Fine," she said simply though Samara wasn't quite sure what she was agreeing too. "But you are still coming with us to Tetra Samara, you are not going to Omega. We'll need you there. We'll need your eyes, your judgement and your knowledge of Ardat Yakshi to try and piece together why that planet is so significant in all of this. Then, we'll go to Omega together – if Tetra does not point us in another direction."

Samara raised an eyebrow and sighed, smiling slightly as she shook her head. "Fine," she said softly. "And we will keep it professional?"

Jane raised an eyebrow and barked a laugh. "Professional?" she queried. "If you wish. If it keeps you from running away sure. We'll keep it professional."

Here, Samara had to frown. "Running away?" she queried. "Jane – I'm not running away."

She didn't like the look of knowing that entered the Commander's green eyes as she pushed past her and walked to her room. "Yes you are," she said simply. "And as I have to realize that I'll have to choose one day, you have to realize that. If you could do me a favour and tell Abby that she needs to get some rest. We'll be at Tetra in an hour and she's definitively coming down with us." She closed the door without another word leaving Samara to stare in her wake.

She blinked and turned to the elevator, wondering if she was doomed to keep finding herself here.

"I'm not running away," she said softly and called it up. "I'm merely protecting us from ourselves."

The End of Chapter 25