Author's Note:

Hey, guys, guess what? This chapter was finished in only two days! :D


(Abby)

I finally took Jacob up on his offer for some practice before heading out. Instead of my usual bubbly self I was quiet and serious, and just told him to go with what I did from different attacks. I was concentrating on my current memories from Earth, learning along with my Earth-self during the eight-hour Aikido seminar I'd apparently gotten a full scholarship for. There was no way I was going to be able to do all eight hours worth since we were arriving in four, but I would just look through the rest of the memories at a later date.

Near the end of our training session, I was beginning to think that Jacob was starting to really, really hate being my test dummy.

"Okay," I told him, my gaze defocusing as I ran through the latest technique I was shown in my head. I did the motion with my body, trying to glide smoothly between positions until I felt comfortable enough to say, "Cross-hand grab."

Jacob, who was used to this by now, grabbed my right hand with his own right and gripped hard. The technique wasn't kotegaeshi, but it was some kind of breath-extension throw-kokyuho-that seemed similar. Right now the Sensei was saying it was a type of iriminage... but I wasn't seeing iriminage in there. Anywhere.

I moved quickly, twisting my thumb towards my belly button as I stepped to the side, grabbing the top of his hand with my left, and set up for the kotegaeshi. Then, as my own Sensei, who was being my uke back on Earth, pointed out a flaw in my technique, I switched my hands, slid back smoothly, and slammed Jacob into the mat.

I stood up and straightened out my back, presenting my left hand this time. Jacob took his time picking himself off of the floor, but I had no patience for it. I had to get this right somehow...

I went smoother this time, faster, and Jacob was on the ground before two seconds were up. I could see Zaeed and Jack watching from the upper catwalk, but I didn't really pay attention to them. "Are you good?" I asked, almost as an afterthought as I retrieved my bottle of water.

"What, am I allowed to talk now?" Jacob asked grumpily as he picked himself off of the floor for the umpteenth time.

"Sorry about that, I'm back to normal now." I was lying, but he didn't need to know that. The Aikido seminar was too interesting to miss right now. "Thank you."

Jacob didn't answer and just knelt down to grab his sweat towel and water bottle. Without another word we started to the elevators. I was going to change into something suitable for Tuchanka, rendezvous with HK and Sarah, and get weaponed-up before we hit Krogan World.

I nodded to Sarah in the corner of the bedroom as I entered, still concentrating intently on the seminar. She was sitting at the table, dressed, drumming her fingers impatiently on the surface. I took out a shirt and a pair of tear-resistant pants from my duffel-bag and, making sure the door behind me was still closed, took off the outfit I was currently wearing and changed as quickly as possible. After sharing locker rooms with girls for basketball and in Aikido, stripping down in front of females didn't really bother me, and Sarah was a friend. I wouldn't feel nearly as comfortable stripping down in front of Samara or somebody.

There was an entire process of placing my shields over my body as the key points via small receptor I was meaning to get embedded in my clothes soon. After syncing up with my omni-tool, I went to the adjoining bathroom, brushed the tangles out of my hair and washed my face, then came over to Sarah with a bunch of rubber bands. I pulled my hair into a high ponytail, then handed her two of the bands. "Can you braid up the rest of it?"

Sarah raised her eyebrows and looked a bit hesitant. "Um, sure. Is there... any particular way you want it braided up?" She glanced at the bands in her hand thoughtfully for a moment.

"Just a regular braid," I told her. "I'm tired of having to redo the ponytail three times or so during a fight, and hairspray just doesn't work. The Lion's Mane can only be tamed with a French braid, but a regular one can do, too. I could braid your hair if you'd like me to!" I grinned, trying to be helpful. I was in a really, really good mood.

Sarah eyed the bands in her hand again, and then she simply stood up and set them aside. "Hey, I got a better idea, if you're willing." Then she began to rummage around inside of one of the drawers in the desk.

"What is it?"

As if on cue, Sarah found what she was looking for and pulled it out of the drawer. She raised a large pair of scissors, holding them up. "How about a haircut?"

"When hell freezes over!" I exclaimed, my eyes going wide. "Put those back!" I began to run through all of the knife-disarming techniques in my head.

Sarah made no move-although she did lower the scissors a little. "Come on, just a little bit, maybe?" she asked with an innocent expression-one that looked like a shield for mischief.

"No," I said flatly.

She shrugged and put the scissors in her pocket. They were large scissors; the handle stuck out of her pocket. She then snatched the bands off of the table and began to come toward me. "Okay, I'll braid your hair," she said.

I refused to move close to her. "Give me the scissors," I told her.

She frowned, and then looked a little offended. "I'm not gonna do anything," she stated firmly.

I merely held out my hand expectantly. "I'll sleep better at night," I said.

She rolled her eyes a little, then removed the scissors from her pocket and smacked them against my palm. "Happy?"

"The Abby is now happy," I said, and put the scissors in my duffle bag. Hey, you never knew when you might need them. I walked over and took a seat in the chair. "So what've you been up to?"

Sarah walked up just behind me and began to run her fingers through my hair, as if trying to figure out how she was going to braid it. "Oh not much," she said. "The usual... cleaning, cooking..." She paused. "Getting occasional emails." Was she grinning? I couldn't tell from this angle. "How about you?"

"Whacked Jacob downstairs. There's an Aikido seminar going down back on Earth that won't end for another four hours, but I tried to get as much learning in as possible," I said. "Who are you getting all of these emails from, anyway? 'Cos I've been doing some observing, and Rupert doesn't exactly carry an omni-tool with him."

"Oh um..." Sarah hesitated, and I could feel her braiding my hair-a little bit too tightly. "I've just been exchanging emails with someone, that's all."

I could've sighed, but I didn't. Something was going down, as I suspected. "And...?"

"And what?" I could tell Sarah was working on the second braid-a little too loosely, perhaps.

"Sarah, whenever you drop the hints I can tell you want me to know," I said, grinning a little despite myself. "Did you finally get Garrus's email?"

She finished doing my braids and then took a step back. "Nooo," she said shaking her head. "And uh, I hope that's okay," she added quickly, nodding toward my hair.

I just decided to let it go for now. The series of events would play out like this, anyway: she would think about telling me, decide to tell me, drop some hints, and then, when I couldn't stand it anymore, she would tell me. I loved my friends.

I felt my hair with my hands. I'd only put my hair into one ponytail, not two, and having two braids coming out of there felt a bit strange. "Feels good!" I said. I took an extra rubber band lying over and gathered the two braids together into a knot and made a braided bun. "That's definitely going to hold now."

Sarah grinned. "Great! So um..." She slowly extended her hand. "Can I have the scissors back, for just a moment? I'll give them back in a minute."

I went to my bag and tossed them to her (yup, no concern about safety there!) and sat on my bed. I wasn't concerned with her cutting my hair now, anyway. I just needed to keep her in front of me in case she got a bit... overzealous. "Maaaan I can't wait until we get to the end of this thing," I said, lying down.

"I can't wait to get there," Sarah said out loud, moving toward the bedroom mirror. She held the scissors in one hand as she eyed her reflection intently. She began to run a hand through her hair and she grabbed her hairbrush, brushing it thoroughly.

"Giving yourself a haircut?" I asked, marginally surprised by this.

She cast a brief glance over her shoulder at me. "Maybe," she said as she turned back to her reflection. "Thinking about it, at least."

I got up and approached her. Her hair was just brushing past her shoulders, thick and brown. I'd probably guess the length better if it was wet, but I could see where the dead ends were beginning to form. "Need about a half-inch off. I could do it for you."

I, however, did NOT want a haircut. During the Nyxeris fiasco Tali had to cut my hair loose from the strange torture table I was on with her boot knife, and Kelly had fixed it up for me to even out the length a bit once I'd gotten back. It was growing back faster than usual, which I loved, and now hung maybe a bit further down than Sarah's did. I loved my brownish-blonde hair, the curls it had, and the texture. It was a goal of mine to grow it down to my waist, despite how hard it would be to practice martial arts.

"Well... I was thinking about taking more off than an inch," Sarah said, still looking at the mirror thoughtfully. "I'm getting tired of having to put my hair back whenever I clean, and it takes forever to shampoo and dry it. Short hair is much easier to maintain."

"Chin length?" I asked, trapping a thick strand of hair between my two fingers to indicate the length.

"Yeah, about like that," she nodded.

"We have about fifteen minutes before we have to be downstairs," I said. "I could do it now if you want." I was kind of excited about the prospect, as well.

"Eh, go ahead if you really want to," Sarah said, smiling a bit. "Besides... if I got sloppy with the scissors I might end up looking like Jack." She winced at the prospect.

"Wouldn't want that," I muttered archly. I led her into the bathroom and wet the brush in some water. After making her hair damp enough to work well with, I held the length between my fingers again. "Now, are you SURE?"

"As long as you keep it all even, yep," Sarah said with a nod-then immediately stilled her head, obviously realizing it would not be wise to move during this.

My cousin had gotten his ear sliced open by scissors once, so I was careful to cut evenly and carefully, keeping the length extremely straight and not choppy-looking. The hair fell to the ground in large clumps. "And we're done!" I said about a minute or two later. "You like?"

She peered at her reflection for a long moment, and then nodded a little. "It'll do fine," she said simply with a little shrug.

I nodded. I wasn't expecting a standing ovation or anything, and, really, it had just been a pretty simple thing to do. I went into the closet and retrieved a small broom and dustpan-yes, they even had these ordinary items on the Normandy-and began to clean up the hair, humming a song.

"Thank you," Sarah said. Then she glanced down at herself. "Hey, do you think there is enough time for a shower? I mean... I've got little bits of hair all over my shirt and on the back of my neck now. If I go out like this, I'm gonna itch all day."

"Ah, just change the shirt, no time now," I said. I threw the hair in the trash and stretched out my back.

Sarah didn't look like she liked that idea very much. "Can you maybe help me rinse my hair and neck in the sink real quick?" she asked. "That way I wouldn't have to take a full shower."

"Actually, most of the hair is wet still," I said, coming up behind her. I began to pick some off of her shoulder. They stuck together, as wet clumps of hair did, and it was mercifully easily to pick them off. "There, that should be most of it," I said about a minute later.

"Hey thanks," Sarah said with a grateful grin. "Say... do you think anyone will notice my hair?" She looked in the mirror again, running a couple of fingers through her hair thoughtfully.

"Yeah, it's shorter," I said, stating the obvious. Okay, maybe that wasn't the best thing to say. "I think it frames your face better. It really suits you." I grinned and left the bathroom to lay on my bed a bit more. I'd probably head upstairs to the armory in three to four minutes for my weapons, then head back down to the Kodiak shuttle.

"Say if you're gonna get some rest for a few minutes, mind if I go... show off my haircut?" Sarah asked, already moving toward the door. "I just want to see if anyone notices."

By 'anyone' I was guessing Garrus. "Naw, go ahead," I said, gesturing to the door. "I'll be out in a second."

With that, Sarah headed out of the room. I began to run through the recent memories of the seminar in my mind, wishing with all my heart that I was there...

I was also taking my 3rd Kyu test soon as well... on the 17th of this month of September, a week before I generally would. Even now, in a whole different reality, I was nervous and happy at the same time.

There wasn't any time to stop and take stock of that, though. The suicide mission was coming closer every signals day, and I had to be prepared. I had to be ready.


(Sarah)

I wasn't entirely sure where everyone was, but I figured they were probably at their usual posts. Or in their quarters. Or maybe getting something to eat.

But hey, usually I was stuck with cleaning and whatnot. Or I seemed to have a knack for causing trouble. At least this time I was doing something pretty harmless. I just wanted to see if anyone would notice my haircut without me saying a word.

I decided to start with the easiest. I walked down the hallway and headed straight for the kitchen area; sure enough, Rupert was there.

I walked up toward the counter. I was more or less "off duty", at least where my cleaning duties were concerned, because he knew I was going down to Tuchanka. "Hiya," I greeted him with a smile, hoping he would notice.

Rupert was cooking something for the crew's lunch. From the smell, it was French Onion soup. Ever since Shepard had gotten him those supplies on the Citadel his cooking had improved dramatically. "Hey, there, kiddo," he said in his rough, generally positive voice. "You ready to hit the road?"

"Yep," I said with a nod. I then ran a hand through my hair-a casual, but pointed gesture, hoping he would notice. "It'll be fun," I added with a grin.

"Hey, you got your hair cut!" he said, and then his eyes narrowed. "Now don't come over here. It don't look like you have hair on your shoulders, but I can't have anything falling into the soup, now. Looks good on you, though."

I grinned. "Thanks-and don't worry I'll stay away from the food!" I had no intention of going behind the counter or anything anyway. "I want to see if anyone else notices." With that I turned and began to head toward the weaponry-a room that... I actually hadn't been in for a considerable amount of time.

"Hey, watch out for pyjacks!" Rupert said loudly, causing many heads to turn in our direction.

Oh yeah, those little monkey food-thief things, right? I grimaced a little. Sometimes I wished he wouldn't do that-it was a little embarrassing when he shouted at me from across the deck. But I simply nodded in his direction, giving him a little wave to let him know I'd heard him. Then I hurried up the corridor toward the weaponry.

Then when I reached the door to my destination, I hesitated for a brief moment. I wanted to make sure my omni-tool was off, even though I was pretty sure that Kasumi was getting ready to go and so she was nowhere near Garrus right now. Yet for all I knew, maybe she would try to be bold and get a snapshot of me and Garrus near each other just for the hell of it. Okay, maybe I was being paranoid. But I just wanted to be safe than sorry; I didn't want that thing to beep when I was standing close to him.

Then I went inside. As usual he was standing over the console, no doubt working on "calibrations" or whatever it was he did in there. I think I saw him glance briefly in my direction as I walked in-perhaps he'd heard the door open. Wouldn't surprise me, considering turians had good hearing.

"Hi," I said simply. "I um... haven't been by here for a while, so I thought I'd say howdy."

"I hear you're heading to Tuchanka," Garrus said. "Good luck down there. Those krogan can be a handful."

He did glance in my direction while he spoke, but he didn't turn around or anything. And then he continued to look at his console. Well... maybe this was just a bad time. Maybe he was right smack in the middle of doing something. Still... I kind of wanted to see if he had actually noticed or not. For all I knew though, maybe turians didn't care, or didn't really notice, if a human cut her hair.

"Thanks," I said. "But I'll be okay as long as I stay close to Wrex down there." Come on, I thought. Just turn around and get a good look at me. Please?

"Yeah, uh... you might want to be careful around Wrex," he said, scratching his chin thoughtfully. He glanced at me, not long enough to get a good look, and turned back to his computer. "He's not like the rest of us. He won't put up with a lot of foolishness. Stay close to Shepard and do what she says. She actually came in here a while ago and asked me if I'd like to accompany you down there-" my heart skipped a beat "-but she cancelled it a few minutes ago so Kasumi could have a chance outside."

So Shepard DID ask Garrus if he may have wanted to go. I felt a tad disappointed, but still... Kasumi was a cool person, even if she made me nervous. And... well maybe there would still be time to hang around with Garrus, somehow or other. "Just curious," I found myself asking, "if Kasumi wasn't going, would you have gone?" It was pointless to ask, I know. I simply had to know.

"Shepard asked," he said, shrugging. "So yeah, I would have. I'd like to see Wrex again, see how he's doing. And somebody needs to keep you out of trouble," he pointed out.

"Maybe you could come with us, if Shepard will allow it," I suggested casually. Hey, part of me could hope, right?

Garrus snorted. "No, thanks. As much as I want to see Wrex, I wouldn't exactly be welcome on Tuchanka."

"Heh, I guess you have a point there," I added with a nod. "Well... want me to pass on any messages for Wrex or anything?" I had momentarily forgotten all about my hair, and the fact that he hadn't noticed it.

"Just tell him I said hello. I'm surprised that Shepard isn't even bringing Tali down." Now he looked. "Hey, did you do something to your hair?" he asked quizzically. "It's shorter."

I beamed. "Yep," I said brightly. I ran my fingers through it a little. "I figured, well... you know, with all the cleaning I do-and if I go somewhere-it's just easier to have it short. It doesn't get tangled and there's less chance of it getting dirty, not to mention it takes less time to wash..." Okay, I was rambling now. "Besides, Shepard keeps hers short," I added quickly.

"Yeah, but Shepard's a military woman at heart," Garrus said. "Regs say you can't have it past your chin... but yours looks good."

"Thanks," I said with a little girlish giggle-and I felt stupid afterwards. "So um... how're things going in here?" I asked quickly.

"Boring," he answered. "I'm getting tense. Things are about to come to a head soon. I can feel it coming." He sighed. "But we still have things to do before we hit the IFF, so I suppose I should be happy for the boredom. Right?"

"Yeah," I agreed. "Heh sometimes I get bored when I'm doing a lot of cleaning or whatever, but... after we get the IFF, things are gonna heat up really fast, trust me." I swallowed, thinking about the Collector attack on the Normandy that would be coming up after that. I still wondered if I was going to get captured or not... or if I was going to die.

"I had a feeling," he said with another long sigh. "Nothing's ever easy."

"Yeah... I still wonder if I'm gonna die or not," I muttered aloud before I could stop myself. Hey, the prospect of one's mortality was something that could weigh heavily on the mind.

Garrus chuckled. "I think we're all wondering that. But you probably won't. You know everything that happens, don't forget. Besides, I'm looking forward to some shore leave some time soon. I know the Yeoman is going to book us a hotel spot on the Citadel to celebrate after we're done."

He looked a bit sad, though. "The fact of the matter is, we're going to lose people, there's no way around it. I don't want to lose my friends again, and this crew, well... it's become more of a family than my own is now."

That made me think a little, too. Would I see my family, or my home again, after all of this was done?

Well... even if I didn't... at least I would be able to say that I was a part of this crew. And that I got to serve on the Normandy herself, and probably one of the most awesome commanders in video game history. That is every fan's dream come alive, and in many ways I have been blessed to be a part of this, right along with HK and Abby. There were probably millions of other fans who would never ever get this opportunity in their lifetime.

"Hey," I said with a small exhale of breath, moving to sit down on the edge of one of the crates. "You know, well... I've really had a hard time fitting in around here sometimes; at least it's felt like that. And um... sometimes I've been scared out of my wits. But I just want to say, well... I really loved meeting all of you and getting a chance to be with everyone, and I'm really honored to serve on the Normandy." I wasn't quite looking at Garrus; I was looking at the wall. I had a trouble looking people in the face when I was making cheesy speeches where I expressed my feelings. "And um... I was wondering if maybe you could tell Shepard I said that. I don't think I could say that to her face, not without getting tongue-tied."

"We've all enjoyed serving with you, too," Garrus said, sounding somewhat surprised. "Okay, well, most of the time." He chuckled to let me know he was joking. "But I think you should say that to Shepard herself. It would really mean a lot to her."

"Heh, maybe I should try saying it... after the Tuchanka mission," I said. Then I frowned. "Hey, come to think of it I wonder if it's time to go yet." I had lost all track of time.

Garrus checked the time. "Get going. Now, before Shepard leaves you here." He shooed me out. "Tell me how it goes, good luck."

I muttered a quick "Thanks!" before I ran out of the weaponry-the door barely had enough time to open before I slammed into it. I raced down the corridor toward the elevator.


(HK)

Shepard had called us all into the docking bay on Deck Five soon enough. I arrived down there with Miranda, who was going to see us off, and Abby was already down there. Grunt was, too, and Mordin arrived shortly after we did.

"Be careful," Miranda told Shepard. "Tuchanka is not welcoming to aliens. Even if you have a friend down there, it's not a civilized place."

"We'll be fine," Shepard assured her.

Miranda glanced at me. "And don't get tackled by another krogan. With both you and Sarah down there, there's a good chance to make an enemy out of the whole planet."

I rolled my eyes. I'd probably never live the krogan incident down. "Both Sarah and I will be alright, you don't have to stand down here and go over everything with us. That's Shepard's job," I told the second-in-command. "Soon enough you'll be saying 'Eat your vegetables, people, or I'll come for you'."

Miranda scowled. "Just get in the damn shuttle."

I chuckled, and as I climbed in, I notice the elevator open up again, and Sarah emerged.

Miranda looked back to Shepard. "We'll be on standby if anything goes wrong."

Sarah waved a little as she moved toward the shuttle. "Hi guys!" she said simply as she climbed aboard. She was either tuning out Miranda or didn't hear what she said.

"Hola," Abby said. She wasn't sitting down yet, but peeking out the front door to watch our conversation. "Hey, Miranda, no worries. We got this."

"Well, there are no fire alarms on Tuchanka, so you should," Miranda told her, and I couldn't tell if it was an attempt at a joke or a serious remark. Probably the latter.

I looked at Sarah. I raised an eyebrow once I saw her hair. "Wow, you got a haircut."

"Yep I did," she said simply as she sat down. She glanced briefly at Abby, and then strapped herself in.

Abby's answering smile to Miranda's remark was icy. "We all set, guys?" she asked the room at large.

"Strap in, we're leaving now," Shepard said, moving to the seat in the far corner. Abby took hers next to Mordin and struck up a conversation with him. The doors closed. "Be ready," was all Shepard said, and then fell silent.

The only seat left was the one next to Grunt, which unfortunately, I had to take. I slowly sat down beside him, and strapped myself in. I only hoped that he could hold his murderous urge in for a little while. He'd get to slaughter everyone and everything soon enough.

"This better work, Shepard," Grunt commented. "I'm getting sick of this."

Soon, Grunt, you'll love this.

Shepard glanced at us. "It will," she simply said.

Sarah was looking at Shepard intently, almost to the point of staring. She looked as though she might have something she wanted to say, but was hesitating.

"-and my dad told me that as you choke them you bring their back across your knee, you know, taking their balance, pulling them deeper into the garrote. I was wondering, does that work with salarians, too?"

"Yes," Mordin replied. "Salarian trachea marginally softer than human or asari. You would have a much more difficult time with a turian."

"And don't even try krogan, right?" Abby asked.

"Krogan trachea can withstand twenty pounds of pressure, unlike humans. Human can only withstand eight, turians can withstand ten. Salarians-five. Comes with muscular structure, you see. Salarians are more flexible than asari, however. Each species has its merits, different ways for quicker assassinations. For example, with krogan, stabbing a knife through the side of their neck would not work as well as stabbing their eyes-if you can get that close. Most likely that the krogan will bite you or charge you. Their humpbacks are very sensitive, too, which is why krogan do not generally go around without their armor on."

"Hey," Sarah chimed in just then, leaning forward a little. "One of my friends on DA-I mean, back home-once told me that it's possible to rip out someone's esophagus with their hand, from the outside of the throat. Have you ever heard of this...technique?"

Grunt cackled. "Yes."

Abby nodded, grinning. "I don't think I'd do that one, though. That's too Dark Side for me."

"Messy, with inconsistent results," Mordin said, shaking his head. "One would have to have the victim in a subdued position. Much easier to break neck, solves all problems."

"What about you, Commander?" Abby asked Shepard curiously. "Any weirdo kill techniques you've come across?"

Shepard just stared at us with an unamused expression. "It would probably have to be Admiral Kahoku's death," she said bluntly.

That shut us up.

The silence continued for a few seconds. Then Sarah cleared her throat softly, as though she wanted to say something-or was at least thinking about it. She was staring at Shepard again.

Shepard turned away and began to made adjustments to her omni-tool. Grunt was moving around impatiently in his too-small seat. "I want to kill something," he growled in frustration. We felt the pop of the shuttle slipping through the cargo hold floor, and then the engines took over and guided us out. "This better work or I'm going to be pissed."

Sarah leaned back in her seat and proceeded to gaze out the side window. She seemed to be losing herself in her own thoughts, tuning the rest of us out.

I sighed. In a way, I knew what Sarah was doing: She wasn't taking the first initiative, and just making small notions for someone to say something first. She'd done it before sometimes, on MSN, I'd noticed. It was something that most of us did at some point in life; I had done it in my day as well.

I decided to take the bait. "Something to say, Sarah?" I asked.

She glanced at me sharply, as if surprised. I could guess that she hadn't been expecting me to say anything to her. "Oh, um..." She sat up straighter in her seat. Now she actually looked... sheepish. She glanced around herself, as if taking in the fact that there were so many people around her, and in relatively confined space at that. "Well I sorta had something on my mind that I wanted to say, to Shepard at least, but I'm not sure if this is the right time or place," she said. She then turned away, looking out the window again.

"Yes?" Shepard said.

Well, whether she liked it or not, Sarah was in the spotlight now, more or less. I saw her looking at Kasumi for a moment, almost as if she was... pleading for help, perhaps? But Kasumi did and said nothing, and Sarah quickly turned to look at Shepard before things could get much more awkward.

"Well I was talking to Garrus before we left, and I told him something... and uh, he said that I should tell it to you personally," Sarah began, obviously stumbling with her words a bit.

"Yes?" Shepard asked again, staring at Sarah. When Sarah hesitated again, she said, "Just tell me."

"Well... basically I told Garrus that... despite the stupid things that have happened involving me sometimes-and I know I've had a hard time fitting in sometimes, well... I'm deeply honored to be part of this crew. And I think you're the best Commander in this dang universe." Sarah then turned away, at least partially. She looked sincere, but sheepish.

Shepard blinked. She certainly hadn't been expecting that, I could tell. Probably another "So I met Jack in the bathrooms and..." story. "I appreciate it, Sarah," she said after a moment of digesting this. "You've come far since you've arrived."

"Thanks," Sarah said, looking at Shepard. This time she actually made eye-contact. "Just wanted you to know that... um... in case I die or something." She lowered her gaze.

"What makes you think you're going to die?" Shepard asked.

Sarah glanced away, looking toward the floor. "Oh no reason. Don't worry or anything... I'll be perfectly fine on Tuchanka." That was her way of trying to drop the subject and clam up about it.

Shepard just sighed. "Okay, then."

"Predictable in some ways," Mordin said. "Simplify absolutes, make us think of when, and of where. Might as well just come out and say it unless it reveals too much light on future events."

"Everything's gonna die," Grunt said, though I wasn't even sure if he was just speaking his thoughts out loud or actually trying to chime in on the conversation.

Sarah simply blurted out, "Well either I'm gonna die, or just get captured and rescued, or be okay. I don't see any other way around it." Then she shrugged, almost as if she was trying to make it seem like no big deal.

Sarah, you big mouth!

Abby sighed audibly. "Okay, can we all just stop the conversation now?" she asked pointedly. She looked at Sarah. "We can continue the conversation in private."

"Fine by me," Sarah murmured. Her eyes looked thoughtful though; as if she was considering different scenarios or possibilities of future events, and what she might be able to do or not do, through her mind.

Abby sighed again. "Okay, so about garrotes and the awesome things about them..." she was directing this towards Grunt, now, and obvious ploy to get him talking. "What's the best way to take out a krogan? In your opinion."

And so the conversation went on and on until we, finally, landed on Tuchanka.

I sighed. Although I hated to make those comments about Sarah, even in private, the woman kept revealing facts a bit too early, but ah well. Maybe it was for the best, who knew. Or, hopefully, Shepard would just brush it off.

Shepard opened the hatch, and we all stepped off the shuttle, one by one. Tuchanka looked more interesting, and a lot more rundown, in reality than it did in a game.

"Well, here we are," I muttered.

Sarah stayed right where she was, although she unfastened her seat restraints. She stared out the doorway with widened eyes. Indeed she hadn't really had a chance to go out and explore a planet since Haestrom. She had been on Aeia, but she had stayed on the shuttle the entire time. "Looks... windy out there," she commented.

Abby seemed excited, and Grunt had an air of hardness about him I'd never seen before. "This... is my homeworld," he said, stepping out. He took a deep whiff of the air. "It's a pisshole, but it'll do. I want to see Urdnot Wrex."

Sarah inched herself toward the edge of her seat, but didn't stand up yet. It almost looked like she wanted to be the last one to exit the shuttle. She continued to stare out the open door.

"I want to see Wrex, too," I said, trying to sound confident, but I still didn't know what Wrex would truly think of us. Abby went on about him liking us, but Wrex didn't seem like the type to randomly like anyone.

"Hey I have a question," Sarah called out suddenly, getting everyone's attention. She then stood from her seat and slowly moved toward the doorway, placing her hand on the edge of it. "Um... do krogans ever eat humans?"

"I'd eat you if I were starving," Grunt said, "but only if there's no other meat left. Okeer's implants tell me that you're too salty. You'd only dehydrate us."

"I'm sure you won't be hungry enough to eat a human, Grunt," Kasumi said calmingly.

He shrugged. "Never know. Thought about it once, when the cook was taking too long."

Sarah had finally stepped out of the shuttle... but she seemed to be staying behind Kasumi, keeping close to her-and keeping the woman between herself and the young krogan.

I glanced around, and saw a couple of the krogan on the side of the landing pad giving us weird looks. Aliens on Tuchanka were a very rare sight, even Wrex himself commented on that. I also spotted that poetic krogan and his asari lover, who Shepard must have reunited back on Illium.

I was glad to see that, for two reasons: They got to be happy, and Shepard had more Paragon points. I was still unsure as to whether the 'points' actually existed now, since this was real. However, if they did, she'd need them real soon.

"Can we go find Wrex?" I asked, looking to everyone else.

"That's on the agenda," Shepard said, taking a quick look around. "Stay close."

One of the krogan just glared at us as we passed, fingering his assault rifle as though it was a dear wish of his to take it and shoot us all down. Another group met us at the bottom of the small landing pad, armored and dangerous. "Commander Shepard," said their leader in a rough, aggressive voice. "Don't you cause trouble here, or we'll take care of you. Understand, human?"

"I'm here to see Urdnot Wrex, the clan leader of this area," Shepard said coolly. "I suggest you let me pass."

"Wrex wants to see you," he grumbled, "but we're watching you. The ripples of what happened on Virmire are still felt harshly here."

"Understood. I won't cause any trouble for Clan Urdnot," Shepard said. She motioned to the door they were blocking with her hand. "Any more warnings you want to hand out on a silver platter, or can we get this thing moving?"

The krogan merely glared at her and took a step back, allowing her to pass.

Sarah looked a bit nervous as she passed by all of the krogan. As we all passed through the entrance of the long corridor that would take us toward Wrex, I noticed she was tentatively reaching for Kasumi's hand-perhaps wanting to make sure they didn't get separated. Or maybe she just wanted to clutch onto her "protector" somehow or other.

We took a left at the next hall, and heard those krogan babbling on about killing turians. As they did, I hoped that Sarah wasn't getting too alarmed at the thought of her beloved turians getting slaughtered by krogan.

"He should be past this door up ahead, and up a little ways," I told Shepard.

Shepard merely nodded and continued onwards, Grunt right behind her. The doors opened, exposing the krogan landscape. It smelled strange, just... alien. The distinct smell of fried food, pheromones, and an ammonia-based scent seemed to cloud the air in front of us. I pointed towards Wrex's general podium and Shepard followed my lead, speeding up.

Sarah began to quicken her pace, hurrying to keep up with all of us. And that's when her foot caught on a piece of rock or debris that was sticking up out of the ground. She fell flat on her face, sprawling out on the ground, into the dusty soil.

"Sarah!" I shouted instinctively, darting out of the line towards Wrex's throne and rushing to her side. I glanced to Abby for a moment, before looking down at our friend. "Are you alright?"

Sarah pushed herself up out of the dirt. She swiped some dust out of her eyes. "Ow," she grumbled out loud. "Yeah I'm fine... help me up before a krogan comes along and steps on me."

"Whoops." Abby went over to help me get her up. "You good?"

Once Sarah was back on her feet she placed her hand on her forehead, and then winced. "I think I have a bruise, but I feel okay," she said simply.

"Ugh, I'm sorry," I told her with a frown, before looking back to Shepard. I hoped that she wasn't frustrated with us and our antics already. "Uh, I think we can continue now."

Sarah muttered a "yeah" and hastily straightened out her shirt, and then she marched on ahead of us, straight toward Shepard. Kasumi was standing nearby, peering at us; apparently she was taking her responsibility to heart.

Shepard simply nodded, and we all headed up the small ramp-type path to Wrex's little area. However, two guards turned to us, and immediately stepped in front of Shepard.

"Halt! You must wait till the clan leader summons you. He...is in talks," the guard said, looking back to Wrex.

And there was the guy that was going to be a big thorn in Grunt's side within several minutes: Uvenk. He was arguing with Wrex, like always.

"...Clan Urdnot must respond," he continued. "Your reforms will not go unopposed. You risk appearing weak at a critical time."

Wrex seemed even more bored by what Uvenk was saying than he did in the game. And rightfully so: Uvenk just babbled on and on about krogan traditions. I tended to like re-formers like Wrex more than krogan traditionalists.

Wrex glanced at us, and immediately rose to his feet. "Shepard!" he simply said, starting to approach us.

"Good enough?" Shepard asked the guard, brushing past him. I smirked slightly. "Excuse me."

Shepard and Wrex both seemed rather happy to see each other, rushing towards one another. "Shepard! My friend," Wrex said, immediately giving her hand a good shake. "You look well for dead, Shepard. Should've known the void couldn't hold you."

Sarah was standing very close to Kasumi, unsure how the large krogan was going to react when he saw us-or got introduced to us. She stared at the Urdnot leader with a combination of awe and fear in her eyes. After all, this was Wrex-one of the most awesome krogans in the Mass Effect series.

"Looks like helping me destroy Saren and the geth has worked out for you," Shepard said, and she sounded happier than I had heard her in a long time. "I'm glad we didn't have to kill each other on Virmire."

"Ha! You made possible the rise of clan Urdnot. It was a turning point for the krogan, though not everybody was happy about it." He shot a significant glare towards Uvenk. "Destroying Saren's genophage cure helped free us from his manipulation. I used tat to spur the clans to unify under Urdnot."

"You abandoned many traditions to get your way," Uvenk growled. "Dangerous."

Wrex merely looked at him. He recoiled a bit and struck hard with his head. The sound of both skulls colliding was loud and sharp, making every non-krogan member of our party wince. "You will speak when spoken to, Uvenk," said Wrex as Uvenk slinked away. "I will drag your clan to glory whether it likes it or not."

Shepard shot a slight smile Uvenk's way, who was rubbing his head, as Wrex took a seat on his stone throne. "Now, Shepard, what brings you here? How is the Normandy?" he asked.

"Destroyed in a Collector surprise attack," Shepard replied. "I ended up getting spaced."

"Well, you look good," Wrex said. "Ah, the benefits of a redundant nervous system."

"Yeah, humans don't have that."

"Oh, it must have been painful, then," said Wrex. "But you're standing here now and you've got a strong new ship. Takes me back to the old days. Us against the unknown... killing it with big guns."

Shepard turned around and motioned to us. "Go take a look around for a while," she said. "I'll call you back in a while. Kasumi, Mordin, Grunt-watch after them."

Sarah glanced around herself. "Guess we should watch our step," she murmured, rubbing the bruise on her forehead thoughtfully.

Abby was bouncing up and down as we descended. "Ohhhh I wanna talk to Wrex," she all but cried.

"I would like to talk to that krogan doctor," Sarah commented, glancing around again as though trying to figure out which direction would lead her to him.

"I do too, but I guess we can in a bit," I said, looking to my companions. I looked around the trashed world. "So, what should we do?"

Sarah glanced at me and Abby, then at Kasumi. "Well... could we go look around?" She glanced at Mordin and Grunt as well.

"I'm gonna go play with Urz," Abby said, and bounced away before we could stop her.

"Oh no you don't!" Kasumi said, reaching out to grab her hand. "Who's Urz?"

"I don't know what he is, but he's cute and he reminds me of a dog," Abby said. "Pleeeeease can I go play with him?"

"Not... advisable," Mordin said, looking around. "Not in this climate."

Abby put out her lower lip.

Sarah was still looking around a bit. "Hey is it okay if I go that way, just for a little bit? I'll be right back, I promise," she said. Obviously she wanted to go check out something, and didn't feel like just standing around here.

"Oh no. We're going places as a group or not at all," Kasumi said seriously. "Where do you want to go?"

"Pleeease can I go see Urz?" Abby asked.

"Later, we'll go see Urz later!"

"But when Shepard gets back she's going to want to head out for Mordin and Grunt, and I'm going with her. Come on, Kasumi, I won't get in any trouble, I promise."

Kasumi sighed. "What did I get myself into?" she asked out loud. "Fine, go, but be back soon!" Abby took off. "Now, Sarah, where do YOU want to go?"

"I'd like to go meet a krogan doctor," Sarah said. "I believe he's right up that way, up there and inside that building." She pointed to an area where the ground rose steadily, almost like the cross between of a natural ramp and a small hillside. I recognized it from the game; that was where the shaman would be, along with the emissary for the female camp, and a few other krogan.

After a moment, Sarah seemed to rethink this a bit. "Wait a minute, actually I think he's THAT way," she said quickly, pointing in the opposite direction.

Thank goodness, she probably would have run up to some random krogan, asking if they were the doctor, and would've gotten a punch in the face.

"He's down by the truck," I told Sarah, gesturing in that direction as well.

"Then let's go!" Sarah said, already moving. She obviously wanted to get moving, hoping that no one would change their minds. I also knew that this would take us by Abby, too, because they would take us right by Urz. Sarah still glanced over her shoulder as she walked, though; she didn't want to lose sight of the rest of us.

I shrugged at the others, and followed Sarah. I tried not to look at the other krogan, but any alien walking freely without Shepard probably made them blink even more than Shepard walking around here. However, I tried to act non-chalant about it, and hoped the others did the same.

At one point, Sarah apparently became a little more confident that she knew the area-perhaps she was remembering the details of Tuchanka from the game. She began to quicken her pace, moving a little bit ahead of the rest of us.

We continued to follow Sarah, Grunt uttering a few words about murder that I tuned out, because I had grown accustomed to Grunt's random cravings for action by now. We were approaching the truck, when we walked past that krogan with the varren.

Out of nowhere, the varren lunged at us, causing me to jump slightly. "Sheesh," I muttered under my breath.

"Some upperclassmen I've known tame varren... they also get very nasty bites. I'd suggest you stay away from them," Kasumi said.

We pressed on until we entered a building where the krogan doctor was. There were several makeshift beds upon which a few krogan lay, and there was also a lot of equipment within the room. The krogan doctor stood on the far side of the room.

And this was where Sarah began to act more nervous. She actually fell behind us a bit as we all entered.

I raised an eyebrow, looking to Sarah. "You were the one who wanted to speak to him," I whispered.

"Yeah I know," Sarah whispered back. "Can somebody else get his attention first?"

"Nope," Kasumi answered, pushing her forward. "You're up to bat."

Sarah looked a little startled, and then she shot Kasumi a look. However she did proceed toward the krogan doctor... slowly.

She finally stopped just behind him. Well, about five feet behind him. For her that was probably extremely gutsy. "Hi," she finally spoke up-and then I could almost swear I heard her throat shut down with an almost audible "click".

"Yes, what? What do you want?" the krogan asked, irritated. "I have better things to do than put up with you."

Sarah took a step backward. "Um... I guess you're busy?" She winced, apparently realizing how stupid that probably sounded.

I watched curiously, and began to wonder why Sarah liked the krogan doctor so much. Out of all the people that she liked, I didn't recall her mentioning him.

"Yes, I am busy, obviously. If you're going to stand around stating the obvious then I'll throw you out despite the Chief's orders."

"I was... just curious if you knew anything about humans," Sarah spit out hesitantly. "I mean... human genes, human biology, and whatnot."

"No, and I don't care. Is there something specific you wanted, human?" He checked the readings of an unconscious krogan patient, forcibly opened his mouth, and tilted a bottle of liquid down his throat. The krogan coughed, revealing that he'd only been sleeping. "You're going to drink that and like it," said the doctor, walking away.

Sarah seemed to change her mind about whatever she had wanted to talk to him about... at least mostly. But then she blurted out a question. "Hey do you know anything about implants?"

Behind us, I heard Mordin sigh.

"Yes, I do," said the doctor. "I know a lot of things. Is there a specific reason why you're asking me this, or are you just going to stand there sputtering all over my floor?"

"Well..." Sarah cast a wary glance toward Mordin, and then focused on the krogan doctor. "I was just wondering if you knew about any... unique or useful ones. I have credits..." She shrugged in what she probably hoped was a non-chalant gesture.

"Yes, I do," said the krogan, looking my way. He seemed genuinely interested now. "No. No. Go ask one of your own doctors. I only perform the procedures on krogan. Your body is too tiny to handle my care."

"Well... I was wondering if you still might have something, though. Or know where I might be able to get something? You wouldn't have to operate on me... I could just ask someone else to do it," Sarah insisted quietly.

"This isn't a good idea, Sarah," Kasumi said in a low voice. "Forget about it."

"Agreed," said Mordin. "Made that clear last time."

The doctor only shook his head. "No. Go ask a fancy human doctor. I'm here trying to save the krogan race, not to help the friend of the woman who destroyed the Virmire base and the genophage cure!"

Sarah made a long face. "Saren had to be stopped," she said simply, taking a couple of steps back. "Shepard would say the same thing if she was here."

"No, I understand why she destroyed it, but that doesn't make me happy," he said. "Go away. I'm not going to help you."

"What if I gave you... ten thousand credits?" Sarah asked persuasively.

"I am Lord High Researcher Fortack of Clan Urdnot-I do not waste time on humans. Urdnot Wrex has me researching things too important to drop for even ten-thousand credits. The answer is no."

"You seemed interested a second ago... twenty-thousand?" Okay that had to be her final offer; she didn't have much more than that.

Kasumi placed a hand on her shoulder. "We'll be going now," she said.

"Don't bother coming back unless you're dying," Fortack mumbled, turning away from us. "Don't count on much then, either."

Once we were all outside of the building, I saw Sarah glance toward Mordin. There was a stubborn glint in her eyes. "Hey, Mordin..." she began.

"No, I am not doing it, and it would be wise to stop asking!" Mordin snapped.

"Okay," Sarah said with a shrug. But that look in her eyes didn't leave. "I just won't ask you again." She began to walk forward, beginning to lead the way in the direction where we'd come from-back toward Shepard and Wrex, and hopefully Abby.

I blinked. I knew of Sarah's constant pushing to become a biotic, and in reality, who could blame her? Although we were all facing death, Sarah knew that more than likely, she would be captured. And if we didn't get there fast enough, there was a good chance that she would die.

I highly doubted that Abby or I would let that happen, though. Especially not Abby. Not that she loved Sarah anymore than I did; I loved her to death. Abby was just a lot more defiant and persistent. She'd probably go hi-jack the cockpit from her favorite character and get us to the Omega 4 Relay herself if it meant Sarah lived.

However, the fact was, nothing was 100% guaranteed, so you could definitely understand why Sarah wanted biotics so badly. I just hoped that it was getting through her head that she wasn't getting any, because no one was willing to do it.

I just looked at the others. "So, what now?" I asked, rubbing the back of my neck.

"Hey," Sarah spoke up, stopping and looking at each of us. "Would it be possible for me to speak directly to the Illusive Man as soon as we get back to the ship, or maybe a little while after we get back?"

My jaw dropped, and I almost wished that Abby was here, wondering what she would say to this chain of events.

"Umm, well, I guess it's always worth a shot," I started, not wanting to shoot Sarah down immediately. However, I also did need to keep everything a bit real. "But several problems: I am not sure if you can speak with him yourself. The only time we've seen anyone other than Shepard do it is when Jacob asked about his father. Not to mention, if you want biotic implants...I'm not sure he'd go for it. It sounds like a big investment, and I have no doubt that Miranda has been giving him thorough updates on what all three of us have been up to. He may not be our biggest fans, depending on what he's heard."

"Like I said though," Sarah insisted, "I think it's worth a try, at least. I won't know anything if I don't try."

"Sarah, it's a horrible idea," Kasumi said seriously. "First of all, you aren't even eligible. At all. You haven't been exposed to eezo in the womb, which would give you that potential in the first place and we would all know it. All an implant does is boost whatever talent you already have. You can't be a biotic, and trust me, Cerberus has been trying to control biotics but it just isn't working out for them. It's the reason they're regarded as terrorists in the galaxy. All the Illusive Man can do is take you from the ship and use you as another body to test. Do you really want that?"

Sarah seemed to think about that for a moment. Then she finally said, "No... I don't want to be a lab rat or anything like that." She was silent for a moment. "Well, what about other ideas? Like... cybernetics, or an adrenaline boost or something?"

I looked to Mordin. This was his area of expertise.

"You'd need a brain surgeon back on Earth," Kasumi said gently.

"As I already told you," said Mordin. "That, and months of recovery time."

"I'd listen to Mordin if I was you-he knows his stuff."

"So you're telling me there's nothing can be implemented and work fine after just a few days or weeks?" Sarah persisted. "Nothing at all?" She was looking directly at Mordin now.

"No!" Mordin said again, for what sounded, to me, like the umpteenth time. "Researched after you came to me and told you we couldn't do it. Don't see why you continue to ask and ask. Use your natural resources, why supplement them with technology? Illogical."

"Well, it's just a nice thought at least," Sarah shrugged. "I mean... sometimes technology can make things stronger and better. At least it seems that way in some books and movies."

"Books and movies irrelevant," Mordin said. "Fool to think you can make yourself better by relying on technological upgrades that are just as likely to work correctly as not. Also, genetic mutations are against Citadel law."

"Yeah, Miranda, Jack, and Grunt weren't exactly created legally," Kasumi pointed out.

Grunt snorted.

"Don't the asari have some kind of legalized genetic modifications?" Sarah was obviously trying to chase after any possibility she could think of.

"Biotic amps," Kasumi said patiently. "Technically, even medi-gel isn't legal, but since it does so much good it's still in production. You can make your eyesight 20/20, you can cure slight genetic abnormalities like cancer or scoliosis, but modifying a perfectly fine human to be some kind of super-soldier is wrong. Miranda's very unhappy about her past, and so is Jack, to give some two human examples. There is nothing-anywhere-that says genetic modifications are good."

"Well," Sarah argued, "I know that's true about both of them, but I also know that the reverse can be true as well. Some perfectly normal people can be unhappy with themselves."

"Wonder who the hell that is," Grunt grumbled.

"The answer is no, Sarah," Kasumi said firmly. "No implants."

Sarah looked at each of us, but said nothing. She simply shrugged and seemed to let the subject drop. At least for now. There was no telling when or if she might try to bring it up again, though.

I nodded in agreement, but it was disappointing. I couldn't help but feel bad for Sarah: It seemed like she was just out of luck. At this point, all she could do was hope that we-or rather, Shepard-came through and got her out of the Collector base in time.

Suddenly, our omni tools buzzed, and Shepard informed us that she was ready for us to return. Apparently, she had gone over everything with Wrex, and had news for both Grunt and Mordin...and we could also meet Wrex.

As we headed back towards her, I felt a bit nervous, but at the same time, a bit excited. Wrex was one of my favorite characters, and I downright refused to let him die at any time in ME1. However, to actually meet the krogan was a bit...scary. Would he like us?

We walked back up to where he resided, and he sat on his 'throne', watching us, while Shepard stood in front of him.

Abby appeared at my shoulder almost out of thin air. I nearly expected her to announce 'I'm here!' as she often did, but to my relief she didn't.

Wrex studied all three of us intently from his throne, and then abruptly let out a bark of laughter. "And these three have tagged along with you since the beginning, Shepard?" he asked. "I'm surprised. You've gone a bit soft."

"It's a long story," Shepard said, "and you wouldn't believe the half of it. Short version: they've earned their keep on the new ship. HK and Abby-" she pointed us out to him "-are innovative fighters. I've never seen somebody guess an enemy's tactics correctly one-hundred percent before. Sarah is also an instrumental aid on the Normandy, and a brilliant tactician."

"Hmm." Wrex motioned us closer to him, and we all took a few hesitant steps in. "Not bad," he said after a few careful moments of observation. "No fear of me. No fear of the others. Sharp minds. Agile. And you've impressed Shepard. Not an easy feat. Are you going to talk, or what?"

"I just want to say you're a credit to the krogan race, Wrex," Abby said respectfully. "They need you. You're on the exact right track."

Sarah waved shyly but with confidence. "Hi, Wrex," she grinned.

"Yes, you're a great krogan. The perfect leader for clan Urdnot and everyone else," I told him, trying to keep a steady tone to my voice. I was also lightly smiling, trying not to break out into some huge grin.

Wrex snorted. "So, you know about the shitty situation here. Hah, it's hard to miss." He reached out and pushed Abby's shoulder roughly, causing her to back up several steps. Shepard watched us intently from the sidelines. "I can't imagine how you humans fight the way you are. Now tell me, are you prepared to die for Shepard?"

I blinked, taken off guard by the question. However, I supposed it was a valid one. "Yes...yes we are," I replied quietly.

Wrex turned his vivid red eyes on Abby, who nodded. "I haven't come all this way just to watch the Commander die. We'll make sure everybody gets out alive."

Sarah's eyes widened a little when the krogan leader to gaze at her, obviously expecting an answer from her as well. I could tell that the fact that she could die or get captured by Collectors was still fresh on her mind, especially in light of the discussion we'd had just a few minutes ago. She opened her mouth and closed it. She looked like she was unsure how to answer... or perhaps she was trying to figure out how to phrase her answer.

Wrex merely looked at her, and then snorted. "Well, it's probably a good thing you aren't ground crew, then," he rumbled. He motioned for us to go back to our original spots, and then told Shepard, "They'll do."

Before Sarah moved, she finally blurted out her answer. "If I die, I at least want a death I can be proud of." She seemed... mostly satisfied with her answer as she returned to her original spot.

"Dying for Shepard isn't something to be proud of?" he asked crossly. "Go back home, live a good human life, and die in your sleep for all I care. Or, better yet, be the hunter instead of the prey. Either way, nobody cares about your death except you and the ones who want to kill you." He chuckled. "Isn't that right?" he asked the Commander.

"My death is something for somebody else to worry about," Shepard said with a tight smile.

"That line was from 'Star Wars: Dark Rendezvous,'" Abby whispered to me with a light cackle.

"What?" Shepard asked, looking at us.

"I said 'I think he wants to rendezvous,'" Abby lied, gesturing to Mordin. He was standing a ways away, beyond the small guard, alongside Grunt and Kasumi. "With the guard over there who knows about his student."

Wrex and Shepard exchanged a look. "Bring me the salarian and Grunt," Wrex said suddenly.

"You three go get them," Shepard said. "And then stay there with Kasumi until we're done."

I nodded, and we all turned away. I was still glad to see Wrex, but it seemed that Sarah had gotten on his bad side. The poor girl had a real hard time making any friends in the ME universe, but we probably shouldn't focus on that right now.

"So, we'll have two loyalty quests down, soon," I murmured to them.

"Nearly, nearly," Abby replied, nodding. "I think Wrex likes us. He's so cool!"

"Yeah, at least he likes you guys," Sarah murmured.

I sighed. "Yes, I love Wrex. I'd never let him die, and I am glad that he does like us," I said, glancing to Sarah. "And I'm sure he doesn't mind you, Sarah. Maybe he even likes you in his own way."

"Maybe," was all Sarah said.

"Hey, Wrex wants to see you two," Abby said as we approached Grunt and Mordin. "Go on."

"So how'd the meeting go?" Kasumi asked anxiously as the two walked past us without another word.

"Uh... interestingly," was all Abby would say.

Sarah looked like she was almost going to say something, but she kept her mouth shut.

It may be best to just not pursue that right now. "Yes, it went okay. It was nice to meet Wrex in person, he's always been a favorite of ours," I replied. "But now I think Shepard's ready to get down to business. I imagine the other two are, too."

"I wish Wrex could come with us," Abby sighed. "Oh... uh, do you think Shepard is going to take us with her to take care of Grunt's issues?"

I raised an eyebrow. "I'm, uh, not sure...she'll need a lot of firepower, but on the other side of the coin, she may want us to stay here for our own sakes," I replied thoughtfully.

"Wonderful." Abby winced.

It wasn't long before the Commander was done talking with Wrex. She approached us five minutes later with Mordin and Grunt at her heels. "Get ready, we need to go talk to the shaman."

"Grunt's up first?" Abby asked.

Shepard merely nodded. Grunt was uncharacteristically silent, glaring around the Urdnot camp as though committing the place to memory.