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My fingers waved like a hypnotist over my left arm, coaxing the nanites to flow over like a swarm of ants to mend the tears and holes, waxing together and drawing the edges to tightly fit over the nanoweave epidermis.

Once that was done, I reach down and take off my shirt. The bulletholes were many, and they were stuck like ugly little scabs all over my back and midsection. With only my sports bra to cover my top, I reach behind as far as the joints at my shoulder would allow and commanded the Zha'til nanomachines to complete their work. I was too preoccupied to notice the Commander as she emerged from the elevator.

She gasps and looks away modestly, making me smile as I finished up and reach for my shirt. "Seeing me barely clothed scares you, Shepard?"

"Um no." She stares up at the ceiling uncomfortably, "But it isn't proper to stare either."

"Uh-huh." The shirt comes back on, and I return to fixing up the Cradle. The imprints with the Zha'til technologies has given me enough of a blueprint to work on, so it wasn't all too difficult. "Another mission?" I said, noticing that she was w

"Not in a few minutes more, no." She leans on the wreck of the Jaeger. While the interceptor was damaged beyond repair, some parts were intact enough to be salvageable. I didn't trust the Cerberus technicians to do the work for me, so I did it myself. "We still got time, and I just want to talk."

My brows go up as I bent down to tear off a bulkhead from the wings, "Well then, I'm listening."

"So how're you liking the new Normandy so far?"

"Lots of new faces, lots of old ones. Joker's the pilot, and Dr. Chakwas is still the Normandy's medical specialist. Couldn't get better." I look up, "Then there was that…interesting conversation with Dr. Solus." I tilt my head, "That was the least expected situation I found myself in."

"Why? What did he say to you?"

I frowned, "He told me point blank that if I were to be rendered non-functional, would I give permission for him to perform an in-depth study." My head shakes, "This just reminds me why I stay away from every salarian I meet."

"He shows how unique you are, in his own way. I think you'll like him once you get to know him."

I ignore the compliment, "Believe me, I got to know way too much out of him. My word, does he ever take a breath in between those hundred words per minute?"

Shepard shakes her head slowly, "Nope."

"Then Garrus shows up from the medbay, having all these bandages over his head. What exactly happened to him?"

Shepard runs her hand over her left cheek, "Took a missile to the face. Yeah, it's a long story."

I wince, "I take missiles to the face and survive. Just thinking what he looked like when that hit him- Ouch. But, that just shows how resilient turians are. Had a talk with that mercenary using the wall for target practice too. Had to get out in a hurry, I think he doesn't like unexpected visitors."

The Commander laughed, "Don't worry, Zaeed like all old veterans would grow over you in time."

"I doubt it." I move on, "About Kaidan and Ashley, have you contacted them yet?"

She shakes her head, "No. I met up with Anderson back at the Citadel, he just says the Alliance assigned them to some mission. Since I'm working with Cerberus, he won't talk about it anymore than assuring me that they're still alive and well." Shepard tilts her head, "But enough about me, what exactly have you been up to these years?

I look down and yank at some wires, wincing as some sparks flew into my face. "Oh really, nothing much but the same. Hunting down the Board, getting in trouble with the locals when I blew up a factory or a research facility here and there. I mean, the Council already sees me as a terrorist, why not do that same old thing. Makes things easier."

"And after what happened yesterday? Shepard asked, "You seemed pretty banged up by the time I got there. I should have gotten there sooner."

"Don't apologize, it all worked out when it did." I stand with a smile on my face, "And there she was, through the rain pouring down from the sky. Rifle at the ready, finger on the trigger and then-" I squeeze my fingers together to form a pantomimed gun and flex down the thumb with a wink. "Pow!" I chuckle, "2,474 meters! You put my targeting solutions to shame, Commander."

Shepard smiled, "You measured the distance?"

"Calculator in my head." I tap my temple lightly, "On a more serious note, though. Thank you, Shepard. I would never have taken down the Board without you."

She dips her head acknowledgingly. Just then, Joker's voice came over the intercom, "Commander, we're here. Just give the go signal and I'll open the hangar doors for you."

Shepard unfolds her arms and turns to me, "Come with me on this one, Kara. I'll need an extra pair of eyes."

I send the nanites to form the suit over my skin, "Where are we going?"

She walks over and motions for me to get in the shuttle, her silent answer was more than enough to tell me to keep my mouth shut and just follow her. She's all so serious, that's not usually a good thing. Getting into the co-pilot's seat beside her, I watched as the lines on her cheeks grow tighter as she steered clear of the Normandy.

Below us was a planet not unlike Neptune on a bright day. Blue and frought with icy storms, my brow rose to question the reason behind this visit, but I decided to keep silent since I had learned to be sensitive enough to know when it was time to address the tension around people.

Once she landed the shuttle, I understood upon seeing myself.

On a frost encrusted metal wreck, just a wing sticking out of the icy ground, was the word Normandy SR1. The cold wind bit at my skin, making the nanoweave suit double in thickness with a thought. Shepard fell in step with me as we surveyed the scene.

"So this is where it happened." I said as I knelt down, inspecting a piece of metal that seemed to be attached to small chain. Pulling it up, I realized what it was wrapped around in. "This one belongs to Navigator Charles Pressley." The datapad always on his person was there too, scratched and frozen as all the rest of him.

Shepard's voice was solemn, "Now you see why I need an extra pair of eyes. I need to pick up the dogtags around the crash site so I can at least send it to their families. I owe them that much."

I nod, "Let's go." My eyes scan the glacier, "The crash site isn't situated as such that we'll have to go far." We separate, gathering up the tags from old bones, careful not to damage their remains as we did so.

My eyes fell on the Normandy cockpit, my mind playing that simulation program as I stared too long. Something like a person imagining a picture in their minds, that's just as accurate as I can describe.

I could see whatever attacked the ship tearing the compartment apart, with poor Joker still inside. It made me wonder how he got out in time, but when I turned my attention to Shepard, it didn't take much effort to come to a conclusion.

"You were there, weren't you?" I asked as she searched under the piece of metal that was the old Normandy's galaxy map. "The cockpit, you were getting Joker out, but then you didn't get out in time."

"What makes you come to that conclusion?" Shepard answered.

"Joker was evasive when I asked him point blank where he was when the Normandy went down. I didn't need to get Dr. Chakwas, or even Yeoman Chambers to know he has survivor's guilt." I pause, "You saved him, and then you died."

Shepard nodded slowly, "Yeah."

"Makes me wonder if anything could have happened differently if I stayed aboard the Normandy." I say, feeling distant.

Shepard placed the tags she picked up into the small bag she brought, "There's nothing you could have done, Kara. The Council would have taken you into custody, you said it yourself. One way or another, the reality is that nobody would have gotten out of there without loss."

"We lost a hero." I point out.

"And we got back a hero." Shepard said with a smirk under her helmet.

I followed her to the back of the shuttle. The back contained a pair of gold plated parts that assembled into what looked like an Alliance monument. The purpose of the detour made clear, I helped Shepard set it up and stand for a moment of respectable silence.

"I may not have been able to save them. But by God, I sure as hell will save those colonists from the Collectors." Shepard declared.

"Commander, the Illusive Man wishes to speak with you upon your arrival." EDI announced, "He says it's urgent, I recommend haste."

My brows raise, a personal talk with the leader of Cerberus means that another round of epic action isn't far behind. "Well, looks like you'll get that chance to save lives after all."