I wasn't sure if I should scream, cry or simply let it all pass by.

Damn you, Alenko!

I couldn't contain my anger when I remembered his words, his facial expression, and hammered my glowing fist into the table. It squeaked in pain, but didn't break (thankfully…). Jacob looked slightly over at me, but kept his mouth shut, which for the moment was a wise decision.

And the worst part? Shepard had been silent through the entire trip back to the Normandy…

He had delivered his report to the Illusive Man, sounding mad, and then he had retreated to his quarters where he had been for a while now. We were still in orbit with Horizon, had no orders to follow and both the commanding officers were still shaken from the experience in the colony.

I admit, I hadn't expected Kaidan to ever look at me like that. The last time we saw each other was with smiles and laughter, but now he had looked at me as if I was carrying the worst possible decease and begged him to help me, knowing I was contagious. I was traitor in his eyes, filth, a criminal… Well, not sure if the last counts as something bad, though…

I sighed deeply, pushed myself away from the table and left the armory, throwing a quick apology to Jacob for startling him, before venturing to the bridge. I'm sure more than a few of the crew wanted to crawl under a rock to hide, hoping my, apparently obvious, wrath didn't hit them too. I even vaguely heard Hadley whisper to his side-mate that he felt sorry for Joker…

"So, am I supposed to be worried you might tear some of my equipment up here, or have you settled down?" Joker asked as I came to stand a meter from his chair, and he turned around. "Even I could hear your little stunt in the armory." He said, making me sigh and lower my head.

"I…" I tried, but even I could see how foolish that had been. "I'm sorry…" I said, my voice smaller than usual. Joker moved a little in his chair, apparently uncomfortable about my current condition.

"Ah, come on. I didn't mean it like that. Just… take a little care of my baby. I just got her back, you know." He said, making me huff with a smile.

"Don't wonna lose her so soon?" I asked and looked at him, trying to get back to my usual self. His teasing was making me feel better.

"Well, if it stood to me, I'd never lose her. Ever." He said and had a small break. I smirked at him and sank into a hip.

"There's probably a few superiors who'd disagree with you." I said.

"Yeah…" he lowered his head, and then looked back up at me a minute later. "Maybe I could go pirate." He said enthusiastic, making me laugh lightly. Jeff Moreau, ladies and gentlemen. My saving grace… I shook my head, smiling, and before I knew it I had stepped forward and hugged him in tightly. Joker went rigid, clearly not sure what he should do in this situation.

"Umm… What are you doing?" he asked, almost sounding like he had never felt a hug before. I huffed lightly.

"I don't know what I'd do without you…" I whispered and felt him pat me lightly on the back.

"Yeah, okay. I like you too, Shay. Now, come on. You're making me scared here." He said and untangled my arms, gently pushing me away. I knew it was simply because he hated to see me so emotional, and especially for me to show it so openly in front of Cerberus personnel. I smiled as he adjusted his hat.

"So… feel any better?" he asked softly, and I nodded.

"Yeah… But I still wonna tear out a bulkhead, or something. No offense." I said and walked past him so he could turn his chair around again, focus on his work, and I could keep an eye on the personnel.

"Can't have been easy… I mean, it was probably a set-up or something, but at least we know Kaidan's doing okay." He said and then looked up at me as I glared down at him for mentioning Kaidan. He lowered his voice, avoiding my look and cleared his throat slightly.

I eased up and sighed softly. "Yeah… It was good to see him. I just…" I said, and sighed again. "I just wished the reunion had been better…"

Joker nodded, not really commenting, which gave me time to think of something.

"Can't really say I blame him, though." I said, and his head snapped up, looking at me in confusion. "Back when I met up with Shepard at the Citadel… If I hadn't seen the proof I needed to know I was dealing with the real Shepard, I wouldn't be here now." I stated and closed my arms around myself.

The thought of not being here, on the Normandy with the people I loved and cared for, was terrifying and even made me shudder. I could have ended up like Kaidan! Well, sort of… I would still have had Thaleon and Shade, and the few survivors of my team, but I would probably be suspicious of everything related to Cerberus, just like him…

"Well, in that case, I'm glad you did." Joker leaned back in his seated, visually satisfied, and then looked up at me with a soft smile. "The Normandy isn't the same without you…" he said and I felt my chest lighten up.

Kaidan could say, do, think and write whatever he wanted. I knew I was working with the right people for the right cause, despite our resources came from a terrorist organization… And I would work hard to keep these people safe, even from previous teammates.

The silence between us seemed to make Joker a little uneasy, as he removed his eyes, cleared his throat and adjusted himself in his seat. I smiled and pushed myself from my spot. "Better get back to work…" I said, and he hummed a small reply.

A few steps from his chair, I turned however, walked back, grabbed his shoulder and planted a soft kiss on his cheek. "Thank you…" I whispered, before leaving for good this time.

After talking with Joker I had found a lot of confidence, for some reason, so I had walked in and talked with Shepard, only to find that he wasn't as affected as I had feared. Sure, it had hurt, but he was still needed for the future missions.

"Besides, I have you to support me…" he had said, before he had stood up and claimed my lips, and for once it had simply been a kiss. I hadn't felt any sexual intentions in it, like I usually did. It had been… different. But there were definitely some emotions in it…

We had talked about what to do now, where to go and who we were looking for. Thane Krios and Samara… Going over dossiers with Shepard like this brought me to think about my time with Thaleon back as Palaven the Merc. The Drell almost always had some sort of information for me, and always wanted to discuss in private (he was probably hoping for extra action…).

Sitting with Shepard made me think of the Drell, but it also seemed like something we had done before. Honestly I couldn't remember if we had ever gone over next missions on the original Normandy, but it just felt right…

We agreed to head for Illium as fast as possible and when I left Shepard's cabin I felt a little excitement coming up. We were about to get our hands on Thane Krios, a character I had romanced countless of times in the games. I could hardly wait to meet him in person!

I had barely stepped into my room before I noticed the message on my console. It was from Mordin. He requested my presence if I had time. He wanted to talk about the test results.

Crap! I had completely forgotten about those! I thought and quickly typed I was on my way.

The Salarian was smiling lightly when I came into the lab and apologized. "No need, Shayla. Am aware of mental condition. Verbal rejection… must have been hard." He said, inhaling deeply and sounded concerned. I nodded and rubbed my arm.

"You have no idea…"

"But! Have news. Analyze complete, test results found, interesting data." He said, quickly breaking into a smile to lift the atmosphere. Something told me he was talking about my blood and tissue samples. "Shocking discovery! Horrified of possible methods, yet curious. Failures must have been astronomical. Needed perfection…" he babbled, so I tilted my head. He looked at me and shook both head and hands.

"Getting off track! Found traces of both Turian and Krogan DNA strands in your blood. Very complex structured!" he said, bringing something on screen so I moved over to see what it was. I saw DNA strands, but none of the numbers or text made much sense to me.

"So, this proves it? I really am a Human-Turian…" I said low, and saw how he nodded fast.

"Yes! But. Not just Turian. Krogan, Asari, Drell! All found! All complex structure! Beautiful design! Yet… haven't found linkage." He said, still with the same enthusiasm. This must really have been a dream project for him… challenging, complex and full of mystery…

"Linkage?" I asked.

"Yes. DNA structures too diverse between species. Dexto-amino acids. Levi-amino acids. Toxic to one another. Strands put together, collapses. Yet, holds in your DNA." He said and typed something on the console. "Linkage sequence needed. Neutralizes toxicity, binds together, holds structure, forms… new specimen." He said with a small inhale, stopped typing and looked at me.

I wasn't entirely sure what to say. Did he mean I was a completely new species of humans, or a new species in itself?! Whatever it was, I wasn't sure I liked it. So I looked back at the console, hoping I could change the subject slightly.

"Okay… what else have you found?" I asked, and he instantly found new files, again in formats I couldn't read or understand.

"Constant new cells. Possible regeneration from Krogan. Suggest in-depth study to clarify. Also. Blood sample suggest heavy bone structure. Skeleton practically impenetrable. Probably never broken anything before." He said, again typing as if analyzing my response to all of the data. I shook my head.

"I've broken my arm twice." I said and it made him lift his hands from the console, clearly thinking.

"Interesting. Sample analyze suggest otherwise. Could be mistake in calculation? No, no! Right method! Am certain! Need to ask. When did you break it?" he asked, now turning his entire attention on me.

"Shortly after I woke up on the Citadel, I ran from C-Sec and fell down some stairs. My arm broke in two spots." I said and he nodded, waiting for the next explanation. "And then I broke my arm less severely during the fight with Saren on the Citadel. Haven't broken anything since, though…"

He tapped his chin fast, humming and looking up at the ceiling, but he didn't seem to come up with anything. "Interesting. Would like to perform a few tests. Scans. Reaction to certain elements and chemicals. If you please." He said and gestured towards the small bed.

"What do you want me to do?" I asked, feeling a little uncomfortable about the fact that he wanted to do tests on me. But I had said that I trusted Mordin and I wasn't about to go back on my word now!

"Undress and lie on bed. Will do the rest." He said, and went to prepare some equipment. As I sat on the bed, he gently asked for my arm, sterilized an area and placed a needle with a tube in me. I asked what it was for. "Easier distribution of test elements. No need to worry. Won't harm you. Now, please lie down." He said, and I did as told. First he did a few full body scans, searching for different things. At least, that was what I interpreted from his talk with himself, or as he said, his dialogue for his report. He had always claimed experiments were best done by stating each and every observation along the variation of the experiment, and it kept his mind running.

Honestly… Who can't love this Salarian scientist…?

"Ah… Shepard…"

After the blow from Kaidan, suddenly watching Liara approach Shepard so casually, even hugging him, I don't know… Something felt off… Can't say I wasn't glad that she hadn't rejected us like a certain marine, after all… even I got a hug.

"It's good to see you too, Shay. I heard Palaven had retired from Illium." She said, and looking at the Asari archeologist it was clear to see that the two years apart had hardened her. Even her speech felt different from what I remembered, but it was a welcoming change.

"Didn't have much choice. Someone had to keep Shepard in line." I joked, and despite Shepard shot me a glare, the feather light laughter from Liara lifted his lips to a smile. Kaidan wasn't going to keep me down, or Shepard for at matter, and we were both glad there wasn't going to be a repeat of Horizon so soon.

"You just needed someone to help with your heat since you couldn't find me." Garrus joined in and clapped me in the back. I was slightly shocked at his comment considered how closed and slightly cold he had been lately, but then I blushed as I realized what he was saying. I jabbed his shoulder while listening to Shepard's laugh.

"I could have managed…" I mumbled, and the conversation was steered in the direction of Liara's work these last two years and the information we needed to find our people.

Of course, Shepard wanted to help Liara like he used to, so we ended up looking for information about the observer. We decided to split up to cover more ground and get it done faster, and I got the honor of getting it from Eternity. I had barely started to download before I felt a hand on my ass and a warm, stinking alcohol breath on my cheek.

"Hey sweetheart. Nice outfit. Pretty snug and everything." The drunken human tried to say, but his voice was so affected I had to strain my ears in order to understand him. All the while he talked he was shamelessly groping my ass, feeling me up. Thank God, I'm not in heat! I thought and then shot a look towards the bartender.

"Excuse me!" I called and she looked over. I pointed at the drunkard. "If I don't break any interior, can I break his jaw for groping me?" I asked and felt a light tension in him.

"Knock yourself out, sweetie." She said, shrugging her shoulders. She had barely given her approval before I clenched my fist and planted it firmly on his jaw, which sent him flying through the room. A few seconds of silence went by before several other customers cheered in joy. I bowed slightly and was told he was a troublemaker, but no one had encountered a situation where they could do anything about him.

After getting a free drink, and the information for Liara, I met up with Shepard and Garrus again, and then we decided it was time to get our assassin. Honestly, I couldn't help but to get a little excited about meeting Thane. He was one of characters I romanced the most in my games, and despite I knew his time was limited, his personality and nature made him all the more attractive.

I think Garrus could feel a bit of my excitement, for he was constantly looking at me, so I tried to keep it together. He confronted me.

"That happy we're gonna have a Drell among us?" he asked, slightly growling in annoyance.

"If he accepts, that is. But, yeah… I'm kinda looking forward to meeting him, at least." I said, and then the memory of what happened two years ago returned to me. I vaguely heard Garrus mumble something as I recalled the situation…

A black figure rushed down from the vents, flashes of green moving so fast I barely saw them. The commando was dead long before any of us really understood who, what and why.

It made me wonder… Was it really Krios?

Well…

I guess I was about to find out…