II: Prophecy

by RedCenturionG

Many thought the destruction of Sovereign and the defeat of the genocidal geth would spark a new era of peace, prosperity and unity. They were wrong. A month has followed since the events of Enigma and the war is far from over; it's only just begun. A new enemy has arisen from it's hiding place and is ready to declare total war on one enemy alone; humanity. Let the harvest begin.

25. Chapter 24 Prejudiced Intentions

PROPHECY

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR:

PREJUDICED INTENTIONS

August 22, 2185

1628 hours.

Interior Courtyard, Colony Grandeur, Northern Hemisphere, Horizon.

Commander Marcus Lee Shepard, Chief Engineer Tali'Zorah vas Neema, Gunnery Master Garrus Vakarian, Master Thief Kasumi Goto, Mercenary Veteran Zaeed Massani, Professor Mordin Solus, Soldier Grunt, Subject Zero Jack, Second Lieutenant Jacob Taylor, First Lieutenant Miranda Lawson.

"EDI, you need to-"

He had jumped up, helping up Tali up and had gone to order EDI to focus back on the cruiser, but it was a moot effort. The collector vessel's massive rocket thrusters kicked off, propelling a massive wave of dust towards them, that sent his team tumbling over and onto the ground, Tali landing ontop of his chest. Luckily, the heat released from the cruiser didn't reach them, but he could feel the ground shaking and numerous buildings being torn from their foundations due to the force of the blast.

The GARDIANs continued to pound the cruiser's outer hull, but it was no use; the titantic warship was simply not taking any damage. Before long, the collector cruiser propelled itself upwards, flying up into Horizon's atmosphere. He could order the Normandy to engage and disable it, but then he remembered the cruiser's powerful main gun. That thing would tear the frigate in half and it would end up just like it's predecessor. There was nothing he could do as the cruiser disappeared into the clouds.

"Commander, the collector ship just left Horizon's atmosphere," Joker informed him, "It's headed for the relay. Should we pursue and disable?"

"Negative. It's too powerful," Marcus ordered, "Stand down."

Marcus sighed as Tali helped him up once more, standing to look at the spot the cruiser had originally been parked. Great. Now he had let the collectors escape with half of the colony; it was a mission failure. He was supposed to save all of them, but in the end he had lost half of them to the collectors as they escaped. To be taken beyond the Omega 4 Relay where noone could save them.

"The collectors were indeed worthy enemies," Grunt appraised, "I will enjoy fighting them again."

His team gathered around, assessing wounds and sitreps. Marcus didn't notice as numerous colonists began walking around, no longer frozen. Kasumi patted his shoulder, causing him to turn around and widen his eyes at the sight of the unfrozen colonists. He guessed that with the collectors having left, the transmitter for the poison had worn off and the colonists regained control over their bodies, allowing them to move around. He smiled weakly but dropped it when he saw Delan approaching them angrily.

"What the fuck!?" Delan roared, stopping infront of him, "You let those pieces of shit get away with half the goddamn colony!? They got Lilith and her husband! They even got my daughter! You can't let those fuckers get away with this! You have to do something; please! You have to go after them! You have to-"

Marcus placed a hand on the man's shoulder, feeling the mechanic's body stiffen, eyes welling up, "My poor little baby..."

"I'm sorry, sir," Marcus sympathsized, "But there's nothing we can do. We'd need the entire alliance fleet to fight that cruiser, let alone disable it. I'd send my frigate after it, but we just don't have the weaponry to combat it. I'm sorry for your loss; but there's nothing I can do."

Delan looked up at the man an swatted his armoured hand off, causing the spectre to groan silently in pain; it was the arm the collector had stabbed, "I don't need your sympathy, asshole! You alliance retards were meant to stop this from happening in the first place! Worthless morons, the lot of you!" Before Marcus could do anything more, Delan had stormed off, mumbling insults towards the Alliance while smashing everything in his path. Marcus could see numerous colonists weeping over lost relatives or others just being happy to be alive.

He felt a three-fingered hand grip his shoulder and he turned around, hoping to see Tali. Instead he saw Garrus, a look of concern plastered on his turian features, "You okay, Shepard?"

Marcus sighed, nodding reluctantly, "I'll be fine. I'm just so tired. The battle on Haestrom was a close victory and then...this happens."

"I'd call it a victory." Garrus stated.

"How can you say that? We lost half the colony."

"Better result than since the abductions began," Garrus replied, "Before, the colonies disappeared fully. Today, we engaged the collectors on their own terms and came out slightly victorious, having cost them half of their original bounty. It's a phyrric victory, but it's a victory nonetheless."

"I suppose you're right," Marcus stated, "You'd make a great Illusive Man."

Garrus groaned, "I think I'd rather stay a handsome turian with the sniper rifle than become a turian survivalist thank you."

Marcus chuckled as he pushed past the turian, giving him a brotherly hug on his way over to Tali, who simply stood looking over the ruined colony. Not wanting to disturb her vigil, he moved over and stood next to her, looking over the devastation as well. Several seconds were spent in silence before Tali spoke, sighing as she rested her on his shoulder and leaned in closer to him, his own hand moving around her waist.

"So much devastation," Tali said, "And what that mechanic said; about losing his daughter...I feel sorry for him. The collectors took his child away from him to do untold things to her."

Marcus nodded in agreement, "Using her as some kind of experiment for the Reapers..."

Tali cringed; he could tell, he felt her shiver transfer to his skin, "Just promise me that when we finally find the collector homeworld, we'll burn it to the ground. Thes insect bosh'tets deserve to die before they hurt anyone else."

"We will. I promise," Marcus whispered, kissing her on the forehead.

Then a familiar, friendly voice came from behind them, "Argh. Will you two ever get a room?"

Both of them turned to the source of the voice, finding none other than Kaidan Alenko, smiling his same devillish grin. He hadn't changed much from two years ago; he had the same raven black hair, all cropped up. He wore the usual alliance light combat armor. The only new thing he noticed was the mattock looking weapon on his back; one he quickly indentified as a harrier. He smiled as Tali turned around, letting his hand fall from his hand.

"Staff Commander Alenko, it's good to see you again," Marcus greeted, taking Kaidan in a brotherly hug. They slapped each other's backs before breaking away, both of them chuckling, "Didn't think I'd see you again. A matter of fact, I wasn't supposed to."

That's when Kaidan's smile died, "I...heard you were working for Cerberus. Please don't tell me that's true. I really don't want to believe it's true."

Marcus shook his head, "For and with are two different words I've become very accompanied to. No, I'm using Cerberus to defeat the collectors, who you just saw, who are abducting human colonies. They're working with the Reapers, so that's an added bonus. Cerberus just happened to be the ones who resurrected me, so I kinda owe them. But when it's all over, I'm leaving them."

Kaidan looked relieved at that, "That's good. Rumors had reached the alliance brass that you were working for Cerberus, but I'm just glad that isn't true. It's good to see that Tali is back with you; you and that quarian always were inseperable. Especially after that shore leave on Noveria after destroying Sovereign."

Marcus remembered it like it was yesterday. Saying goodbye to Wrex. Liara and the crew poking fun at him and Tali. Dancing with Tali. Talking to Pressly and Johnson for what felt like the final time. It was a night set in stone for him; the night where he danced with Tali and didn't feel as embarassed as he thought he would.

"Don't forget Garrus. Tali only recently rejoined the crew. Garrus has been 'round a while." Marcus declared, motioning for Garrus to come over to them, "Haven't run into Wrex or Liara yet. Wrex I know is on Tuchanka, but Liara just seems to have disappeared. I was surprised when TIM told me you were on Horizon too."

"TIM?" Kaidan asked, confused.

He chuckled, "A nickname I used temporarily for the Illusive Man. It kinda stuck."

Kaidan let a grin cross his face, "Of course. I'm going to assume Joker and Doctor Chakwas are back on the ship? Because apparently they went AWOL, according to alliance reports, a year ago."

"Yep. Joker is back flying the Normandy and Chakwas is our medical professional again," Marcus informed him.

"The new...Normandy?" Kaidan asked, wide-eyed.

"Yeah, Cerberus was nice enough to rebuild her too," Tali piped in, not wanting to be a third wheel, "And she's bigger and shinier than the original too. Not to mention she packs alot more firepower. We also got a new, shiny tank called the hammerhead! It's a prototype though, but it still packs alot more firepower than the Mako and Marcus can actually drive it without crashing this time."

"Hey!" Marcus objected.

"So yeah, you'll love it." Tali smiled behind her mask.

"Tali, I-" Kaidan was about to say something, but Garrus' arrival interrupted him, "Kaidan, is that you?"

Kaidan smiled, "You bet."

"Well if it isn't the big biotic boy himself," Garrus stated, taking the man's hand and shaking it firmly, "Good to see you again. Looking forward to having you back on the Normandy."

Kaidan looked visibly distraught, "I'm sorry, but that ain't happening."

The three of them looked shocked, "Why not?" Tali asked.

Kaidan sighed heavily, leaning against a crate, "I'd love to join you guys again, but you know alliance views on Cerberus are clear. I could be labelled a traitor. Not to mention that I'd be listed as AWOL if I abandoned my post."

"That's it?" Marcus asked.

Kaidan was surprised that Shepard wasn't more disappointed, "Yeah, pretty much."

"Good. I'll send Anderson a message asking for your transfer to the Normandy. I'll also make sure you're listed as on temporary discharge until reenlisted."

Kaidan looked flabbergasted, "How the hell...you can't transfer an alliance marine to a ship labelled as an enemy vessel."

"Oh, but it isn't," Marcus added, "You see, I called in a favor with Anderson before leaving the Citadel to have him register the Normandy as alliance property. On alliance records, you'll be listed as being transfered to the SSV Normandy SR-2, not the CAW Normandy SR-2. Besides, I'm pretty sure I've earned a few favors from Hackett and Garrong. They won't mind if one marine goes missing."

Kaidan smiled, "I guess that's settled then. I'll go get my belongings."

Marcus nodded, slapping the man on his armoured shoulder, "Meet us at the shuttle. It'll be just in this courtyard." As he said this, he motioned for Miranda to have the shuttle pick them up in the courtyard. Kaidan snapped a crisp salute, which Marcus returned out of his friend's wishes, and the sentinel walked away, heading into the colony as he turned back to his dextro companions, smiling.

"That went better than I thought it would," Tali stated.

"An unexpected recruit, too." Garrus added in.

Marcus chuckled, "A pleasant one, regardless. It'll be good to have Kaidan back. But don't worry, I'm still relying on you two to watch my back. We're the dextro force, remember?"

Garrus groaned, "My god, you still remember that? And besides, we already stated that Johnson's little name for us was too cliche. However, I do think the Dextro League sounds pretty nice," he then looked at Tali and grinned, "Or maybe the Dextro Bosh'tets."

Tali slapped the turian on his shoulder, shaking her head.

Marcus nodded in approval, "Actually, that doesn't sound bad. The Dextro Bosh'tets. I like it."

"Spirits, what have I created."

"It's like the saying goes: Be careful what you wish for."

"But I didn't even-"

Miranda's voice halted their banter, "The shuttle is inbound. ETA 30 seconds."

Marcus nodded to Miranda, motioning for his two friends to follow him to the extraction point. Kaidan joined them a few seconds later, followed by the shuttle. When they finally left Horizon behind, he sighed. They had fought the collectors on the ground and learnt that they certainly were a tough enemy.

But so were the geth. And soon, the collectors wouldn't just be pushed back behind the relay. No, if he had anything to say about it...

They'd be wiped off the galactic map.

{Loading...}

August 22, 2185

1652 hours.

Mess Hall, Normandy-Class Stealth Frigate CAW Normandy SR-2, In FTL inbound for the Citadel.

Commander Marcus Lee Shepard, Staff Commander Kaidan Alenko, Gunnery Master Garrus Vakarian, Master Thief Kasumi Goto, Chief Engineer Tali'Zorah vas Neema.

The five of them talked wildly, throwing out questions at rapidfire. It was good to see another friendly face and it had been a long time since he had even talked to Kaidan. He idly sipped his creamy soda, savoring the delicious taste of the ice cold liquid sizzling in his throat. It hadn't been long since the events of Horizon, and the effects of it still hung over the Normandy's crew like a enveloping fog.

Upon the shuttle's return, Tali had nagged him into going to the med bay, to which he finally relented. Chakwas hadn't been happy, seeing as Marcus' wounds were quite severe and there was alot of dried blood, but she had quickly gotten over her anger and patched him up, stating that his arm would be sore for a day or two. He had also had his armor taken to the armoury for Jacob to repair, as it had taken alot of damage from the battle. The Normandy was now enroute to the Citadel to do some shopping; they needed food and supplies, whilst Marcus wanted to buy a new SMG and get better clothing than his cerberus uniform; or at least something to hide it.

He'd also made a personal obligation to thank EDI upon his return. The AI had saved his life and the life of Tali, which mattered to him above all else. The AI had stated that she had been merely following her programming and would never let any harm come to the crew if it could be helped, but he could tell that what she did went above her programming. He had then quickly evacuated the premises when he sensed an argument between Joker and EDI ensuing.

And now they had just given Kaidan a tour of the ship. Kaidan was impressed by the overall setup of the ship and had asked if he could be stationed in the armoury with Jacob, to which Marcus had quickly agreed to. With Kaidan settled in, they had taken to the mess hall, where the five of them now sat. Originally it had been just old comrades; but Kasumi had eventually decided to join in as well.

"It feels like old times now that the everyone's back together," Kaidan stated, taking a sip of his own drink, "Just a pity you haven't found Liara yet. I know Wrex would drop everything to serve on this frigate again."

"I wouldn't be too sure of that," Garrus piped up, "You remember why Wrex left last time. I doubt he's going to drop everything he's doing now. He's got his own race to keep together. Still, wouldn't mind visiting him."

"Agreed," Tali added, "I haven't seen Wrex since I dropped in on him on Tuchanka a year ago. Helped beat the crap out of a krogan named Wreav."

Marcus smirked, "You fought Wrex's brother?"

Tali felt quite proud of herself as she leaned back, grinning away behind her mask, "And won. Big bosh'tet had size, but I had nimbility."

"I'll bet. You must use it quite alot up in the captain's cabin," Garrus remarked, earning an elbow to his ribs from the quarian in question.

Tali snorted, "I least I have it to begin with."

"You wound me, Tali!"

Kaidan chuckled, "I see the humor hasn't died, at least."

"It's still the same old banter," Marcus returned, "It'd be better if Liara and Wrex were here though. And..." he then trailed off, not wanting to mention Ashley's name incase it brought up unpleasant memories. It didn't work though; he could see Kaidan's smile evaporating as it turned from a expression of bliss to grimness in a second, his face taking a less pleasant feature. Before Marcus could say anything, Tali placed a hand on Kaidan's shoulder.

"You miss her alot, don't you?" Tali asked.

Kaidan nodded, letting out a loud sigh, "I think about her every night I sleep. Everytime I close my eyes, I can see her condemning me. I can see her condemning me as she set off that bomb on Virmire, and watched as she died. I just keep thinking of what might have happened if we were never put into that position. If she wasn't pinned down by that geth dropship. If I was the one to be left behind. She might be here instead of me."

"Ashley did what she knew she had to," Marcus replied, "She gave her life so we could escape and so that Saren would be stopped. She didn't die in vain. The Reapers will be stopped. We all owe it to her to see this through."

Kaidan smiled grimly, "I know that much. Ash wouldn't want me to moping around here," He then raised his glass, "I propose a toast. To fallen marines who have died in the defense of our ideals and so that we may continue to live in prosperity and peace; turian, quarian and human. To Ashley Williams."

"Amen."

"Keelah Se'lai."

"Spirits guide her."

"Yasuraka ni nemuru."

Five glasses clinged together, all of them taking deep sips of their drinks as they sat there in contemplation. Kasumi didn't know Ashley and hadn't been present when she died, so she decided to let old comrades mourn. Kasumi her own special someone to mourn and she let a tear streak down her cheek as she thought about him.

Suddenly, Tali's voice broke their thoughts, "Well, sorry to cut this short, but I really should get back down to engineering. It's not fair for me to be leaving all the work on Ken and Gabby." With that, the quarian moved to stand up, Marcus smiling up at her.

"Catch you later?"

Tali merely nodded, waving back at him as she left, entering the elevator.

Garrus nodded, skulking the rest of his drink, "I've got some calibrations to run on the main guns. Also want to read through the schematics on those thanix cannons. We have one of those installed in this ship and any collector ships we come across are going to be sitting ducks. I'll catch up later." Garrus then left the scene, with Kasumi not far behind, activating her cloak and disappearing. With a look at Kaidan, the both of them laughed. It didn't take them long for the whole group to leave. In the end, he finished his drink and went with Kaidan to the CIC. He wanted to see how Mordin was doing anyway.

The elevator was short and the two soldiers went their seperate ways; Kaidan to the armoury while Marcus moved into the tech lab, greeting Kelly as he went past. Just as he entered the empty box to the tech lab, he thought he could hear...singing? He decided he needed to investigate. Palming the interface, he went inside to what was definitely Mordin, pacing the room while singing loudly.

"I am the very model of a scientist salarian. I've studied species turian, asari and batarian!" Mordin sung, all the while Marcus just smiled as he stayed in the corner. He knew the words; although modified, the song Mordin sung was by the composers known as Gilbert and Sullivan; famous human music composers.

"I'm quite at genetics, as a subset of biology, because I am an expert which I know is a tautology. My xenoscience studies range from urban to agrarian, I am the very model of a scientist salarian." Mordin's song finished, the salarian continuing to hum the rest of the song as he hummed. Marcus decided to break the silence.

"I didn't know you sung Gilbert and Sullivan," He complimented.

Mordin, apparently unphased by Marcus' surprise visit, stood up, smiling as he took a sample of something back behind his desk, "Yes, performed on Sur'Kesh infront of large crowd during shore leave. Very fun. Kirrahe liked it. Said it was personal favourite. Singing good for personal optimism. Apologize if singing disrupted crew."

The spectre immediately held up his hands, "No, nothing like that. I just noticed you singing when I came to talk with you. It appears biology and physiology aren't the only things you have specialities in."

Mordin nodded, rapidly typing at his terminal, "Have many specialities. Many not pleasant. Others, more so. Singing not a mission parameter though. Defeat of collectors remains number one priority. Cannot delay. Much data. Must contemplate."

"Of course Mordin, I'll let you work," The N7 complied, moving to leave before stopping himself and turning around, "Just out of curiosity; what are you working on?"

Without looking up from his terminal, the salarian answered, "Working on collector data. Have ruled out artificially intelligent virus...unless it's very intelligent...and toying with me! Hmmm..." Marcus chuckled lightly as he left the room. The salarian was a nice addition to the crew and he liked him. Mordin was one of crew members who didn't scream in your face or demand attention. When he found himself standing in the elevator without anything to do, he decided he'd talk with Jack again. Zaeed wasn't exactly going to open up anytime soon and Grunt was...a baby. Tali would be hording the engineers around, so Jack was the last option.

After reaching the engineering deck, he quickly paced through the door and ran down the stairs, moving into the maintenance area. Without fail, Jack was sitting on her bunk, reading through a datapad while eating a sandwich that looked like it contained bacon, salad and mayonaise. When she saw Marcus enter, she finished chewing and swallowed, before taking another bite.

With food still in her mouth, she spoke, "What do you want?"

"Came to see what you were up to."

Jack simply rolled her eyes, "Still checking out your ship and reading up on Cerberus. Decided to put her through the paces when you're not around."

Marcus felt a grin cross his face as he leaned against a steel support strut, "I don't think Joker would appreciate that. At least not when he's working."

Jack decided she was done with her sandwich and placed it on a nearby container, the PDA quickly following it. She then stood up, moving to lean against a bulkhead strut opposite the spectre's, "Relax. Joyriding doesn't have the thrill it used to. Besides, if I wanted this ship, I'd take it."

Marcus raised a brow at that statement, "I think you'd have to go through a mercenary veteran, a krogan supersoldier, me, a quarian brigadier general cross professional engineer, expert sniper, AI that watches everything and many other things. As powerful as you are Jack, I don't think you'll be able to take the ship from us."

Jack scoffed, "Maybe you're right; would be fun to try though. I've been around. Joined some gangs. Wiped out some gangs. Joined a cult. Kept the haircut. Apparently being bald is a cult compulsory. Essentially, I learned how to survive and not be a victim. You say my chances of taking the ship are low? Well, I think they're low too; doesn't mean it won't be a thrill to try."

The spectre didn't exactly agree with the convict's attitude, but he decided to go with it anyways in case of provoking the woman. He then remembered the mention of a cult, "Hard to imagine you in a cult."

Jack snorted lightly while letting a half-grin cross her face for a moment, "I was looking for some answers. Drugs, and sex, and going to a better place? Hmph. Better place. Fan-fucking-tastic. But all they cared about was money. They wanted to take a colony, shake the suckers down to fund their spread and guess who was their ace in the hole? They were just like the rest. Didn't give one fuck about me."

Marcus felt himself feeling sympathetic for the convict. She wasn't a mass murderer, she only killed people because of how they used her. It reminded him of his days in school; where people would be friends with the 'smart kid' only to backstab him when he wasn't looking. But he couldn't help but wonder, in a sick way, what happened to said cult...

"What did you when you...found out?" Marcus asked curiously.

Jack's eyes met his, and he could see anger in them, "What, do you want a hint or for me to state the obvious? I flayed them alive, every last one of them. Fuckers deserved it."

"You must have met some good people in your life."

Jack leaned her head back on the bulkhead, crossing her arms and letting out a little giggle. Considering her reputation, it was hard to picture her as the giggling type. But here she was, giggling, "Everybody wants something. And because of that...everything is fair game. You want to know my crimes to? Well, let's see, uh...murder, assault, kidnapping...drugs dealing, arson. Done it all. Have no regrets. And hey...that's just the boring shit!"

Marcus sighed, "And the, dare I say it, thrilling stuff?" The word came out of his mouth tasting like soap.

"Piracy, Theft of military aircraft, destruction of a space station and vandalism. That one though...that was a good one. Personal...favourite, of mine."

Marcus shook his head at that, "I'm surprised vandalism even came into the equation when you were with that cult. And destruction of a space station? Seems excessive."

Jack let a wicked grin cross from cheek to cheek, "Vandalism? That's what the hanar call it when you crash that space station I mentioned into one of their moons and make a new crater. Ha! They really liked that moon."

"Ever wonder if you could've done things differently?"

"Fuck no."

"Shoudn't you?" Marcus asked, confusedly.

Jack shook her head, breaking eye contact and looking at the ground, "There isn't any reason that I should be alive. But I am. You know why? Instinct. It's worked for me so far and I'm not going to change."

Thinking he had heard enough, he turned to leave, but Jack had left her strut and returned to her bed to sit on it, speaking, "Hey Shepard...nobody's ever asked me about this shit," he turned around to face her, eyebrows raised, "It's strange to talk about. So...fuck you. And...thanks for asking."

Marcus allowed a half smile to cover half his face, "Anytime, Jack. You never told me your actual name though. I doubt it's Jack and only Jack."

Jack grabbed her sandwich and took another bite, looking at her PDA, "I...don't know my real name. I can't remember it. Cerberus called me Subject Zero and still does. I got the name Jack when some pirates offered to take me onboard; it stuck. My old name is nothing but a forgotten memory now. Of course, those pirates only took me in so they could rape me. They met a...painful end when they tried. Anyway, I've got files to read up on. So please...could you...fuck off?"

The spectre nodded as he left the maintenance area, running past Tali who was leading Ken downstairs to work on something. He smiled at her as he walked past, the quarian giving him a short nod as she went past, arms brushing each other. No matter what they did, staying seperate was almost impossible for them.

He just smiled.

{Loading...}

August 23, 2185

1245 hours.

Main Dock, Level 27, Zakera Ward, The Citadel.

Commander Marcus Lee Shepard, Gunnery Master Garrus Vakarian, Chief Engineer Tali'Zorah vas Neema, Yeoman Kelly Chambers, Second Lieutenant Jacob Taylor, Master Thief Kasumi Goto.

The skycar door, was usual, was quick to slide open, the crimson door glistening in the Citadel's lighting. He stepped out of the vehicle, seeing as he wasn't the one who was driving, and moved to open the back door, letting Tali, Kasumi and Kelly out of the back. Garrus had been driving and Jacob had taken another car, landing nearby. He wore the basic N7 armor that he had worn on Lazarus Station and Freedom's Progress, as his blood dragon armor was still under repairs due to the beating it took on Horizon.

Tali's hand quickly found his, his five fingers interwining with her three, squeezing tightly. Kasumi examined the gesture with a grin as she walked by them, Jacob quickly joining the group, taking position next to Kelly and Garrus as they walked into the C-Sec security checkpoint. This time, the turian simply let them through, deciding that it wasn't worth the time arguing with a spectre. After a quick greeting to Bailey, they stepped out into the large crowd of the Zakera Wards.

He quickly turned towards the group, "And this is where we split. Make sure to meet back here when you're all done. And try not to spend all your credits."

Garrus raised his eyebrow, "What credits? I don't have that much. None of us do."

Tali nodded her head, "Agreed. I didn't have much to spend on the flotilla. Most of the credits I earned while fighting Saren is gone now. All I have is fifty credits."

Marcus grinned, glancing at Jacob, "Just like when we were fighting Saren, we are getting funded, just not by the Alliance. I think you'll be happy to see how many credits you have."

Garrus have him a skeptical look and Tali would have to if she didn't have a mask, but both of them immediately checked their omni-tools. Seeing the amount they had, they widened their eyes, "See?" Marcus spoke.

Skepticism placated, the group split up to go to different stores, while Marcus attempted to pull away Tali to some of the shops, but she was quick to object, "Marcus, I'm going to go shop with Kasumi for alittle bit. Where do you want to meet?"

He stopped trying to drag her off and looked at a nearby resturant. It was called the 'Thessian Moonlight' and catered to both dextros and levos. He thought it would be a good place to go on a date with his quarian girlfriend, "Meet me at that resturant. It's time I took you on a date, Miss Zorah."

Tali laughed, "I'm sure. I'm looking forward to it. See you later." She then slowly let go of his hand, nudging his forehead with her visor. Noticing the spectre's confused look, she explained, "Quarians can't kiss because of our masks. That's as close as you're going to get as a kiss from me. Well...at least until I find another way..."

Marcus felt butterflies fill his stomach at the way she said that. It was exotic, sexy and adorable, all in one. It made him love her even more. With a smile, he returned the gesture before letting go of her hand, heading over to a stairway leading up to Level 26. He ran into a few volus and hanar trying to sell him stuff. Upon reaching Level 26, he instantly spotted what he was looking for. A store called 'Sirta Foundation.' Technically it was a store part of a company named the Sirta Foundation that specialized in medical...stuff. Sirta was asari for 'medical' so it was obviously an asari owned store.

He walked inside and went up to the counter, a youthful looking asari, most likely only sixty, greeted him with a large, warm smile, "Good afternoon, citizen. How may the Sirta Foundation help you today?" The asari motioned towards a terminal displaying numerous items ready for purchase.

At first, he found nothing of value; nothing but medi-gel packs or basic injectors. Eventually though, he came across what was only known as a medi-gel pro bundle for 900 credits. It was a top of the range, cutting-edge medi-gel injection system that could hold a large amount of medi-gel in one cylinder, which could come in useful in battle. He decided to purchase three; one for himself and two for his best friends and comrades; Tali and Garrus.

The asari looked at her own console as she calculated the costs. A few moments later, she looked up, her smile still present, "That will be 2,700 credits."

Marcus wasn't willing to pay that much, but he had a backup plan, "Could we arrange a discount? Say I give an endorsement in exchange for said reduction in price?"

The asari's look was skeptical, "And what makes you think you're important enough for an endorsement? Just who are you?"

He felt like he was a braggart with what he was doing, but he really wanted that discount and couldn't help but smirk as he spoke, "Commander Shepard."

The asari's widened in shock, "The Commander Shepard? As in the Hero of the Citadel!?"

He nodded, "That's me."

The asari literally squealed. He would keep telling people how he hated the attention, how he despised the fact that people worshipped him as some kind of invincible soldier when he knew himself as a simple man doing his job. But the way the asari squealed in excitement; the way people melted at his mere presence, it made him feel mirth inside.

"Then a discount you shall get!" The asari cried, "Just speak into this terminal."

Marcus leaned over the counter, still grinning as the words came out of his mouth, "I'm Commander Shepard and this is my favourite store on the Citadel."

"Thank you!" The asari squealed once more, switching off her terminal, "Please, take all three of those items and consider them free of charge. The Hero of the Citadel deserves to have his items free, not costly like those damn weapons they sell spectres down at the academy. Thank you so much for this endorsement."

Marcus nodded, purchasing the items before taking them from the bench and putting them in a provided, plastic bag. As he walked out of the store, he couldn't help but let out a brief chuckle at what had just passed. The first store he had entered and already he had endorsed a shop. By the time he had finished dating Tali, he probably would have endorsed every store on the Zakera Ward. Hell, maybe even the Dark Star Lounge.

After visiting a few more stores, he had headed back downstairs and immediately headed back downstairs and to the asari resturant, checking his chrono as he approached. Two hours spent on shopping. Damn. He waited outside the resturant for Tali, who still hadn't turned up. After another ten minutes, he began to worry. What if some racist asshole has held her up?

Suddenly, his omni-tool began to beep. Checking his contacts, he found it was from Kasumi. Selecting 'Accept', he held up his omni-tool so he could see Kasumi, "Kasumi, what seems to be the problem? Where's Tali?"

Kasumi gulped, "That's just the problem Shep," her eyes darted to the side nervously, "We were up on Level 26 when we saw this volus walk up to this quarian gal, who was minding her own business mind you, and the volus starts spewing crap about how she stole his credit chit. Tali saw that the officer was going to arrest the poor girl and she intervened. You better get here quick. She looks about ready to kill that volus."

With a shake of his head, he nodded, ending the call and deactivating his omni-tool, running towards the stairs leading up to level 26. When he got to the top, he instantly spotted the source of the commotion; Tali's easily recognizable, purple-suited form was located next to a information terminal, squatting next to a volus and arguing with him while a C-Sec officer held Kasumi against a wall and checked her for weapons, the quarian in question standing aside and watching helplessly. He made best speed towards the group as best he could.

Upon arrival, his hand landed on the officer's shoulder, "Officer, this search is over."

The C-Sec didn't even bother turning to look at him, continuing his search, "And who the hell do you think you are to interfere with police law enforcement?"

"Commander Shepard, Special Tactics and Recon, that's who."

The officer suddenly whirled around to face him, eyes open in shock, "Sir! I... I didn't realize it was-" The man snapped a pathetic salute, but Marcus simply ignored it in favor of pushing past him. The man was shocked to be treated in such a way by him and tried to regain some of his dignity by backing away. Marcus quickly used his omni-tool to undo the omni-cuffs around Kasumi's wrists, allowing her to move. The officer had only just started looking for her weapons it seemed, as all her weapons were still there. He turned to the volus and Tali.

Who was still threatening the idiot. Volus tried to interrupt her, "You clanless are all the same! Leave-"

The response was Tali shoving him, "Quarians are only forced to steal when people like you won't give them real jobs."

The volus was confident and brave; that was amendable, "And to think my taxes pay to support you here. Go back to your fleet, clanless."

Marcus was about to step in but once again, Tali beat him to it, "I am Clan Zorah, crew of the starship Neema, and you sir are an idiot. Stupid bosh'tet." Finally, Marcus stepped in, only for Tali to get one final threat in, "I should jack your suit's olfactory filters so that everything smells like refuse. Not that your body doesn't produce enough of that anyway."

Kasumi let out a low whistle, "Damn girl! Give me five!" Kasumi held up her hand, only for Tali to stare at it weirdly. Kasumi, hanging there awkwardly, just grinned broadly. Finally, ableit awkwardly, Tali moved forward and slapped her hand against the thief's, the latter laughing under her breath at the volus' pouting.

"I see the Earth-clan seeks to assist the clanless," the volus puffed, "Just shows their true colors."

Marcus crossed his arms as he heard Kasumi mumble, "Funny that he got that from us earthlings in the first place..." Marcus ignored this to look at the quarian, who he finally got to get a decent look at. She was female, with a aqua blue visor that was so dark it almost made it impossible to see the glowing orbs of her eyes beneath it. Her long, flowing veil was a light green. She was slightly shorter than Tali, who was basically his height and she carried herself with a less than respectable posture. It reminded him of Kenn on Omega. He wouldn't stand up for this anymore. He moved closer so he could speak to the quarian.

"Excuse me, but your name miss?" Marcus asked.

The quarian was too surprised by his respectful tone to answer, allowing Tali to say it for her, "Lia'Vael nar Ulnay. She's a pilgrim."

Marcus nodded, "Well, Miss nar Ulnay, please explain the situation to me from your perspective. Why is this...volus, harassing you?" He almost called the volus out on his racist bullshit. Called him a self-righteous prick. But he had to be professional.

Lia begin fiddling with her fingers, a gesture that reminded him of Tali once more. Definitely a quarian thing, "Well...I left the flotilla a few months ago looking to get some decent work on the Citadel. You see, I'm not an engineer like most quarians and Miss Zorah. I specialize in science; mostly biology, chemistry, physiology, that sort of thing. Top of my line in school. I came here looking for work, but all the signs said they weren't hiring."

"Then, in the middle of the night, some must have stolen my credit chits and shuttle, because when I woke up, both were missing. I had no choice but to seek refuge in a turian shelter on Level 31. I get fed well, but I still couldn't find a job. All the signs said 'no hiring' or 'not hiring vagrants.'"

Marcus felt a pang of sympathy for her. Tali just felt empathy. Tali had been through the same situation, except with people trying to kill her and losing a friend. But at least someone helped her and she ended up becoming a hero. Lia was just...trapped. Nowhere to go.

"So what happened to get this volus upset?" Marcus asked.

"Well, I was going over to the used ships dealer," Lia explained, "You see, he sells used ships at low prices and I thought I could get a bargain, but I was rejected. So on the way back to the shelter, this volus bumped into me. I said sorry and moved on but when I pop up here later on, that volus appeared along with some officer and started accussing of stealing his damn credit chit. Few minutes later, fleet-sister and your hooded friend came to help me out. It looked like the officer would arrest them too until you showed up."

"I see."

Suddenly, a voice sounded from behind them, "Excuse me! Sir!" All of them turned to see a salarian clerk running towards them, holding a chit in his hand, "You forgot your chit!"

Tali shot a glare at the volus and Lia reciprocated the gesture. Kasumi typed on her omni-tool while Marcus followed the other two ladies in glaring at the volus. Unlike Tali and Lia however, he acted, taking the chit and thanking the salarian, saying he could leave, before throwing the chit at the volus' feet.

"You big, fat, round liar," Marcus growled.

"Well..." the volus tried to object, "Well...she could have stolen it!"

Tali looked about ready to unload a shotgun shell into the volus, but Marcus' words stalled her, "Enough of this bullshit. If anything, you should be arrested for attempted framery and forgery of justified complaint. A matter of fact, Bailey might like to hear about that." Just the mere thought apparently told the volus it was time to run, the fat thing waddling away like a penguin. The C-Sec officer tried to melt away, but quickly found the spectre's hand clasped around his throat, Marcus' face in his.

He growled, "What's your name?"

"O...offi-cer...G...host..." he stuttered.

"Well, Officer Ghost, if something like this happens again, you'll be out on your ass. And I'll make sure Bailey knows about it. So if you don't want to lose your job, get out of here and never pull that crap again."

With that, he dropped the officer and he immediately ran away, not looking back. With a satisfied expression, he turned back to the trio, Tali reassuring Lia while Kasumi crossed her arms and watched on. Finally, Marcus nodded for Tali to break away so he could speak to Lia.

Lia spoke first however, "Commander Shepard, I just wanted to thank you for what you did. Noone's ever shown me such kindness. I wish I could repay you with more than words."

He shook his head, "I don't do this for the reward; I do it because you don't deserve that crap. I certain quarian showed me that." He gave a wink in Tali's direction and even without seeing her face, he could tell she was blushing while smiling.

"But if there's anyway..."

"No. No repayments. This was free of charge."

"Thank you." Lia said at last, "Well, I'd better get going. I need to get some rest and think of what to do next for my pilgrimage. I just hope it turns out better than last time." With that, Lia turned on the spot and left. Marcus smiled grimly, wishing the quarian luck. He wanted to give the quarian credits, but she had left faster than he could say 'hang on.' Suddenly, he found Tali at his side.

"Marcus, I was thinking..."

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"I...wait, sweetheart?"

"It's a term of endearment to a person we love," Marcus responded.

"Okay then...sweetheart, I was thinking...could we...maybe...well I don't know if we could but...could we...please...oh how do I word this..."

He turned to face the quarian, smiling, "You can tell me anything Tali. I won't redicule or scold you."

Her blurting it out wasn't what he expected, "Could we let Lia join the crew?"

Marcus felt himself stiffen up, "I don't know Tali...our mission against the collectors is extremely dangerous."

"You recruited me to fight Saren and the geth."

"Yeah, but you had a shotgun."

"I'm not saying she has to come with us on ground missions. You heard what she said. She works on biology and physiology. She's a scientist! She could work with Mordin in the lab."

Marcus seemed to think about this for a bit. Eventually, he came to the decision that it would be a good idea. Not only would Lia get good pay and be surrounded by friendly people (generally) but she would have a fellow quarian to talk to, which would do good to increase her self-esteem. It would be good for her in the long term.

"Okay," Marcus stated, before turning to the thief nearby, "Kasumi, go ask Lia if she would like to join the Normandy. Ninety-Seven percent chance she'll agree after some persuasion, so we don't have to worry. Right now..." he turned to Tali, "You and me have a date."

Taking the engineer's hand, he lead her downstairs and to the moonlight resturant. They continued to hold hands even as they walked inside. Tali found herself worried by the lingering looks of a few people around them, but Marcus didn't seem to care; he treated her like a equal. She loved that. She found herself not wanting to ever let go. Finally, they reached the counter of the resturant, a salarian clerk looking at them with piercing eyes behind the desk.

"Names?" He asked curtly.

"I'm Marcus Shepard," The spectre stated, dropping his rank. He motioned for Tali, the salarian waiting for her to say her name.

"Tali'Zorah," She finally said, shortening her name. The salarian nodded and typed their names into a terminal before standing up, "Please, follow me this way and I'll show you to your table." Marcus and Tali did just that, following the salarian inside.

The resturant was quite beautiful, with large windows to the right allowing a fantastic view of the Citadel central ring itself and the numerous alliance, hierarchy, union and republic warships orbitting it. The carpet was a light blue with many of the tables being made of polished marble. Tali cringed at the overly exaggerated focus on looks in the place, seeing it as a waste of resources. Old habits died hard it seemed.

Finally, they found their table. Marcus had made sure it was right at the edge of the windows so they could see the Citadel below as they ate. The salarian showed them to their seats before promising that a waiter would see to them soon. He smiled over at Tali from across the table, just watching her beautiful, glowing eyes.

"Feel...extravagant yet, Tali?" Marcus asked teasingly.

Tali giggled in response, "A little too extravagant. Still, it's nice to be people to sit down and talk with you. Not on a warship or on a battlefield with people trying to kill us, but in a resturant where we can talk with noone to distract us."

"Couldn't agree more," He returned, taking the default glass bottle of water and pouring them both a drink, "It's been a while since we had a proper conversation actually. Last time I remember was on Noveria when we booked out that apartment building."

Tali hummed in reverie as she placed a straw in her drink so she could drink it through her vocalizer, "That was fun. Two weeks to ourselves and noone to annoy us. Well, maybe except Garrus and Liara."

Marcus chuckled, "Oh yeah, they were annoying."

For a moment, both of them went silent, looking through the many things to eat and drink. Finally, Tali spoke up again, "You know...I've already met your mother, but you still haven't met any of my family yet."

Marcus groaned, "That means I have to meet your father, doesn't it?"

Tali sighed, "Indeed it does. Also, be prepared to block a few punches, he'll be very hostile. He's already lectured me once over it. As for Auntie Raan...she'll still be pretty angry about it, but I can't say she won't get over it quickly. Especially seeing as how you treat me."

An idea formed in his head, "You know what? What we should do is book a reservation at a resturant and invite your father, my mother and your auntie. That way we can all meet and discuss these things in a civil matter."

Tali hummed at the thought of the idea, but any reply was cut short by her short squeal, "Yes! Deas'tuu!"

"Sure wish I could have it. I would have a whole stockpile of it just so you could do that again. You're cute when you do."

Their playful banter continued for much of that morning. They ordered their food and enjoyed it as they talked, one on one. No colonies to save. No collectors to stop. No Illusive Man sending them on random errands. It just them. Together. Talking. Enjoying each other's company. Marcus knew the likelihood of ever seeing the woman behind the mask was nill; but he simply didn't care.

A matter of fact, he couldn't care less. All he cared about was that she was there for him. And he was there for her. And no amount of collectors or reapers could stop that.

{Loading...}

August 23, 2185

1936 hours.

Tech Lab, Normandy-Class Stealth Frigate CAW Normandy SR-2, In Dock with Citadel.

Commander Marcus Lee Shepard, Professor Mordin Solus, Gunnery Master Garrus Vakarian, Junior Assitant Lia'Vael nar Ulnay.

"You've got to be kidding me. How many more random, out of the blue recruits are we going to pick up? This isn't a fetish, is it Shepard?" Garrus asked. Marcus hadn't been surprised when he found Lia was ecstatic to be part of his crew. After returning from his wonderful date with Tali, the quarian had retreated to his cabin to move her stuff up there before working in engineering for a couple of hours. During this time, he had taken Lia over to the tech lab to introduce her to Mordin. Garrus, somewhere inbetween, had decided to join up.

"I wouldn't call it a fetish, Garrus," Marcus replied, "Just...last minute volunteering."

"This place is amazing!" Lia exclaimed as she checked the lab, Mordin watching idly from behind his desk as the quarian explored the lab, smiling away. When he had told the salarian about his new assitant, he had expected the former STG agent to be angry. But instead, he was actually quite happy about having an accomplice. He seemed even happier at the prospect of her being quarian. If not more ecstatic.

Finally, the quarian turned back to Marcus, bowing, "Thank you so much for this oppurtunity Mister Shepard! I promise I won't waste it!" She then turned to Mordin, "Or you Professor Solus. I will make absolutely sure that I am not a liability. I-" Lia continued to drone on as Garrus remarked under his breath, "Hehehe. Liability. Get it? Liability?" Marcus simply elbowed the turian in the ribs, causing him to give off a exaggerated grunt. He rolled his eyes.

Finally, Lia finished, "-so, um...where do I begin? Where do you want me to work? Anywhere in particular...?"

Seeing that this was now getting boring, Garrus took his leave, leaving through the CIC entrance. Marcus smiled at Lia, who was now getting shown where to work by Mordin. He knew Lia would prove to be an asset to the team and immediately knew it had been the right decision to listen to Tali beforehand, even if he had done it just to appease her to start with. He was about to enter the CIC when EDI's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Commander," EDI stated with urgency, "The Illusive Man is trying to contact you through the QEC. The transmission is marked priority alpha one."

Seeing it was serious, he acknowledged the AI by a curt nod, moving back into the tech lab and towards the debriefing room. Once inside, he waited for the transmission to clear up and for the Illusive Man to appear. When he had, the spectre spoke first.

"What's going on? EDI tells me you had something urgent to tell me. This isn't another collector attack is it?"

The Illusive Man immediately dropped his whiskey cup back into a position on the arm of his chair, standing up as he moved towards Marcus' hologram, "No, completely the opposite in fact. This has nothing to do with the collectors but requires immediate attention."

He was skeptical, but after crossing his arms, he obliged, "Okay then. Shoot."

Stopping his approach right infront of Marcus, he circled his holographic position, "We've recently lost contact with one of our research bases on the planet Aite, in the Typhon System, the Phoenix Massing Cluster. All communications have gone dark. This is extremely worrying. I need you to go in there and find out why they went offline."

He raised his eyebrow almost immediately, "Wait, why are you sending me and why is this so worrying? Can't you send your own commando teams to investigate this?"

TIM shook his head, "Too risky considering the secrets that base holds. I'll give you the short story. Some scientists lead by lead scientist doctor Gavin Archer were working on a secret program called Project: Overlord. We fear that overlord may have gone rogue."

"Wait...gone rogue? Just what is Project: Overlord?"

"A backup plan...incase resurrecting you didn't work."

"Illusive Man, what is Overlord?"

"You want the full story or short summary?"

"I want to know what the fuck I'm dealing with before I jump onto Aite blindfolded." Marcus demanded.

TIM finally sat back in his seat, conceding to his point, "Very well, I guess you should know. Overlord is Cerberus' operation to construct the ultimate VI/AI hybrid. If resurrecting you failed, we would use Overlord to destroy the geth and stop the Reapers. Many of Overlord's base processes are based off of the wreckage of Sovereign, making it just as intelligent. Archer told me it would work. But if Overlord has gone rogue...then we are in a whole lot of trouble. Overlord possesses five times the processing power of EDI and theoritically would end up smarter than the average geth. But that's where a second problem comes in..."

"Something tells me I won't like this."

"Quite," TIM stated simply, "We managed to capture many geth platforms to help with our work. The problem is, Overlord was also built to communicate with the geth; to speak in their language. To control them. This means that if Overlord has gone rogue, it will have geth at it's disposal. So go in heavy when you land."

Marcus rolled his eyes, "And here I thought I'd be dropping in with my omni-tool playing 'kumbaya' while holding hands with the geth and singing merrily. We'll deal with Overlord."

Before he could leave though, TIM spoke once more, "Shepard, if you can, try and preserve as much as Overlord as you can. Or at least enough to have basis to build up on again. Overlord could prove a valuable ally in the fight against the Reapers."

"If that thing is insane, I'm destroying it," Marcus growled, "I'm not going to let a angry grizzly bear slaughter people." With that, he ended the connection, giving Joker the coordinates. He had barely finished arriving back at the Normandy before moving to deal with more problems. Still, it would do good to put a stop to Overlord. If what TIM said was true, that thing was lethal.

And he would bomb it if the need came to pass.

"Overlord...I..."

- Tali'Shepard pav Rannoch.

"I know. It's one of the most disturbing missions I've ever been on."

- Interrogation Subject 001.

"And why is this?"

- Commander Reia'Inas pav Earth.

"Because the things they did in there...it was horrific...terrible. Inhumane. Unethical. And it turned out that most of it wasn't even Overlord's fault. A matter of fact, Overlord was as much a victim as any one else."

- Interrogation Subject 001.