Hooooooooooooowdy Hoooo!

I'm back from the dead! Apologies

I've had a really crappy start to the year and yeah...

Anyways I hope you guys are still interested in seeing whats going to happen to my characters. I apologize once more for the lack of updates.

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Reaper IFF: Part II

December 28, 2185

Somewhere in Dark Space...

The dark figure observed and was pleased. The beginning of the end has finally begun. My agents are all in place. The figure watched as those two human spectres attempt to stop the inevitable. It was futile. Nothing can stop the cycle.

Soon, everything will be in its place and those two humans...

Will be no more.

Derelict Reaper - Commander Shepard - 1330 hours

"Fuck off!" Jack growled as she pushed a trio of husks over the railing and into the dark abyss. "There's so many of them!"

"Don't strain yourself." I advised the young biotic and I killed two husks with a perfectly placed sniper shot. I switched to my assault rifle as I pushed a husk that was getting extremely close to me. "We've still got a long way to go."

As my team disposed of the monstrosities, we began searching through crates and scattered terminals through the long walkways, finding little information of the science team's status.

"Looks like everyone is dead, or turned into one of those things." Zaeed grumbled while checking his vindicator rifle.

Your time is at an end!

I felt something cold on the back of my spine and I quickly turned around towards my team. "What did you say?"

"I said that everyone must be dead or turned into-"

I quickly shook my head and interrupted the mercenary, "Not that. What did you say after that?"

"We didn't say anything Shepard." Amanda frowned behind her rebreather. "Are you okay?"

You will serve us!

"Y-yeah..." I gulped, clenching my rifle tighter around my fists. "I-I'm fine! Let's move on." My bones ached from the cold shiver throughout my body and my gun seemed harder to grip every step I took. The same deep voice seemed to fade, which I was happy about, even though my thermal sensors stated otherwise. I didn't like that voice. The cold isn't much better. I told myself as I looked at the surroundings for any ambushes.

"WATCH OUT!" I heard someone say but it was too late.

The husk's head popped off the rest of its body and fell to my feet, it's body followed shortly after.

"Sniper! Take cover!"

I ran towards one of the shipment containers, where Mordin was taking cover. "Anyone see the shooter?" I yelled out.

"Negative, Commander!" Samara replied.

"Whoever it was, that was a nice hit." Garrus looked at the husk's dead body. "The head came off clean. I'm glad that wasn't you, Shepard."

Me too. I said to myself as I activated my earpiece. "Charlie, you copy?"

"I'm kinda busy here!" Charlie growled at my disturbance. "Husks are fucking everywhere!"

"Yeah, we are encountering the same. There's someone else here. I almost got my head popped by a sniper. We lost sight of him and he or she might be heading your way."

"Cerberus sniper?" He asked after a strained grunt. "Son of a bitch tried to bite me! I hate these assholes!"

"I don't know if it's a Cerberus sniper... My team didn't get a good look at the shooter. Be careful alright?"

"Don't worry, Lawson has my back. Hell, she'd kill me herself if I did something reckless." There was a relieving sigh before Charlie spoke again. "Looks like we're clear. For now anyways. I'll let my team know to watch for this mystery sniper."

"Keep in touch."

"Will do and you too- WHAT THE FUCK! We've got multiple Scions. Everyone spread out!"

As Charlie ended our small chat, Four Scions came into view...with a large pack of husks. I took a deep sigh and wished for a break.

This is going to be a long mission...

On the other side of the Derelict Reaper...

"Charlie watch out!"

I quickly turned and saw that the final scion was about to toss me over the railing but I managed to roll under it's massive stump of an arm, landing backside down next to Ashley with a grunt. "Thanks for that."

"Still getting yourself into trouble, I see." Ashley rolled her eyes.

"At least I'm not unconscious." I drawled, looking at the rest of my team that have been knocked out by the three, now fully dead Scions that Ashley and I managed to take out. "Still, we have work to do." I surrounded myself with a thick barrier and launched myself to a standing position. "How many frags do you have left on your pouch?"

"Two." Ashley replied.

Let's hope that's enough...

"Give me them. I've got a plan."

"You, with a plan?" Ash arched her brow. "Charlie those never-"

"Just give me the fucking grenades!" I hissed, and Ashley conceded and tossed me her grenades. I placed them in my waist pouch and sprinted towards the Scion. The monster roared which meant only one thing. He's about to do a shockwave. I dove into a forward roll. With Ashley distracting him with her assault rifle, I cooked the grenades and stood ready. I flared my biotics and with a pulse, I jumped onto the Scion's shoulders. The monstrosity twisted and roared, trying anxiously to push me off of its shoulders. I slid the grenades quickly into its mouth, quickly forgetting the count in my head, and jammed it shut and I tried to jump off of it.

The explosion rang and I could feel the heat through my armor like a raging volcano that has just erupted. I heard a shout, but I was trying to gain my bearings. The world spun rapidly in a corkscrew motion and couldn't make sense as to where I was. I few moments later, I saw a rail followed by a hand.

I felt the hand grab my wrist which was followed by a punching blow to the ribs. I shook my head and looked downwards. All I saw was the thunderstorm and blackness of space. I gulped and looked up at my savior who was having a hard time trying to pull me up.

"Well this is awkward." Ashley said through gritted teeth.

I grunted, reaching her with my other hand. "Is it a bad time to say how much I'm lucky right now that you're here?"

"Just keep your mouth shut. I could let go you know-"

"You wouldn't." I hope I'm right.

"That's not why I'm here." She looked behind her shoulder and breathed a sigh of relief. "Grunt! Get over here!"

Oh thank God! I breathed of and saw Grunt's head pop over the railing. With his massive hand wrapped around my arm he pulled my up in one quick motion that would have dislocated my shoulder if it wasn't for my armor. Still, I am thankful.

"You are incredibly stupid, do you know that?" Ashley glared at me, breathing heavily. "How have you survived this long?"

I chuckled, "Technically, I died. Now come on, let's get the team up and push forward."

Meanwhile...

"Shepard-Commander."

I stared at the Geth sniper that has saved my life once more, completely lost and confused. "It talks?"

"Yes." It responded, its rotary flaps opening back and forth.

"Shoot to kill?" Garrus asked, his rifle already aiming at the machine's head.

"Not yet." I'm actually talking with a Geth... "Uhh, are you here to kill me?"

"No."

"What about the other squad at the other side of the station?" I asked it.

"No."

"Have we met?"

"We know of you." The Geth replied.

"You mean that I've fought a lot of Geth."

"We have never met." It's head tilted to the side.

"No, we haven't but I've met others like you...well, they didn't talk but I digress."

"We are all Geth, and we have not met you. You are Shepard. Commander. Human. Fought Heretics. Spectre. Allied with Alonso. Commander. Spectre. Killed by Collectors."

"How do you know all of that?"

"Extranet data sources. Insecure broadcasts. All organic data sent out is received. We watch you."

That's a bit creepy. I hope it doesn't know about those pictured I've sent to Li-

"Shepard, what do you want us to do?" Zaeed asked through my daydream, with his rifle also aimed towards the Geth. "I've never talked with Geth before but I know these buggers don't operate alone."

I turned to my team and shook my head. "Stand down everyone." I turned back towards the Geth that seemed calm...if it had feelings. "I don't think it will hurt us. Tell me, you mentioned these 'Heretics'. What are those?"

"Geth build our own future. The Heretics asked the Old Machines to give them the future. They are no longer part of us."

"'Old Machines'? You mean Reapers?"

"Reaper." It paused momentarily, "A superstitious title originating with the Protheans. We call those entities the Old Machines."

"And are the Old Machines a threat to you?"

"Yes."

"So the Geth aren't allied with the Reapers?"

"We oppose the Heretics. We oppose the Old Machines. Shepard-Commander opposes the Heretics. Shepard-Commander opposes the Old Machines. Cooperation furthers mutual goals."

Oh... "You're asking to join us?"

"Yes."

Garrus stepped beside me, his gun still pointed towards the Geth. "You sure about this Shepard?" Garrus whispered to me. "It's a Geth we're talking about here. A talking one. So what if it's saying is true, that these Heretics joined the Reapers to build a 'future'...how do we know this one is one not of them?"

"We are willing to provide information on a Heretic base for you, Shepard-Commander and to Alonso-Commander." The Geth spoke.

Heretic base? This might be too good to pass up. If what this Geth is saying is true, we have a chance to wipe these Heretic Geth...lessening the advantage the Reapers have against us. "What's this base you speak of?"

"Heretic station, is home to a Geth data core. It sends messages and throughout large portions of the galaxy to other platforms. It is located in the Sea of Storms sector or the Phoenix Massing system." The Geth opened his omni-tool and began sending me a package. "Coordinates have been sent to you Shepard-Commander."

I took a brief skim of the data and wasn't willing to go ahead with this assault without talking to Charlie. "I'll talk to Charlie before we make any sort of decision."

"Acknowledged." The Geth nodded and turned. "We will scout ahead. Alonso-Spectre and his team will be there soon. The consensus suggests that you hurry, Shepard-Commander."

"Right," I nodded. "We'll see you soon." I turned to look at my team and gave further orders to advance towards the drive core, giving Charlie a quick heads up on some friendly company.

"You mean to say that the sniper from earlier is a Geth...?" Charlie paused through the comms. "And it talks?" I groaned to myself and kept silent until we rejoined his team a few moments later. "So what did this Geth look like?" He asked, standing up from on top of a vanquished Scion.

"More than likely he looked like a Geth, Chuck." Miranda rolled her eyes and turned to me. "I assume it headed for the drive core Commander?"

I gave her an affirmative nod. "It said it was going to scout ahead. I have the feeling we should head in there as soon as possible."

"Are you sure we can trust it?" Tali asked, looking nervous that a single Geth has able to survive out here on it's own."

"If this Geth was truly one of the bad guys, I would be dead by now. Don't worry Tali, I'm sure it's on our side." I gave Tali a warm smile that seemed to calm her worries. I turned to Charlie and asked, "How were things on your end?"

"My team decided to take a nap while Ashley and I did most of the grunt work." Charlie grinned. "We're fine though. Couple of cuts and bruises but we aren't out of the woods yet. Let's head inside. Tali, see what you can do about the blast door." Once the door opened, I saw the Geth get sideswiped by a husk as it was hacking something on a terminal at the other end of the platform. "Move up!" A barrage of fire echoed through the hallow room and husks fell down to the floor. "Spread out, look for the IFF and watch each other's backs! We could get surrounded any moment!" Charlie ordered just before punching the ground sending husks flying every which way.

The team spread out into small groups around the large central platform, minimizing the threat even though there were husks all around us and more of them crawling the walls and ceilings. The bright light that emanated from the Reaper's drive core flickered on and off, distracting me enough to get pounced by a pack of husks. I fell hard on the ground with the weight of three husks on top of me, sending my rifle over the railing. I struggled to get to my sidearm, punching and elbowing to reach it. It all stopped when a biotic blast sent all of them over the railing into their ends.

"Hey." I turned to see Charlie seven feet away, tossing his rifle towards me. "Stay with me." He reached for his shotgun and blasted a husk that was sprinting towards him. I got up quickly and resumed my fight, helping Tali and Amanda fight enemies. "I got the IFF!" Charlie shouted moment later, "Garrus, Zaeed, Shepard! The Reaper core! Shoot it down. Everyone else cover them.

I can do this by myself. I grinned, reaching for the Cain on my back. "Don't worry, I got this!" I charged it and let it loose, sending the core to smithereens. HA!

"Let's get the fuck out of here! Joker, where are you!"

"Thirty seconds out Charlie. Hurry up, I don't know how much more damage the Normandy can take!"

"You heard the man, let's go!" Charlie ushered us out, "Grunt, carry the flashlight over there. We're taking it with us." With the Geth on the Krogan's back, we dashed outside towards the Normandy. The ground shook hard, causing Grunt, Charlie and myself to tumble around. "Come on! I'm not dying again damn it! Go!" The Normandy began getting higher and higher and then I realized, The reaper is already falling towards the black hole! I sprinted harder with the other two close behind. "Jump!"

The three of us jumped towards our ship, floating as we exited the Reaper's gravitational pull. Grunt made it easily, sliding towards the Normandy wall but for Charlie and I, it was a different story. Time seemed to slow when it looked like I wasn't going to make it. Is this what Charlie felt like two years ago? Feeling scared, but empty? I reached and reached but I was beginning to go under it...until a pair of hands reached my hand. I looked up and saw Garrus and Samara grabbing on. I breathed a sigh of relief as they began pulling me up. Charlie reached over once he climbed aboard to grab onto my arm.

"Damn, you're heavy." Charlie said between breaths and I answered him with a glare. "You're welcome by the way." He added, falling back down on the floor next to Samara and Garrus, who were out of breath themselves. "Let's get out of here Joker." Came his next order which was followed by, "I need a drink." Before he collapsed dramatically.

"I hate you." I glared.

SSV Normandy SR-2 - Commander Alonso - 1500 hours

After a few hours of sneaking into Miranda's quarters for some snuggling action, I went to the mess hall finding Jack sitting at one of the chairs looking towards Miri's office. "Getting a post-mission fuck?" Jack grinned darkly. "So, I never asked, how is she?"

"None of your business, Jack." I hissed, "Why don't you go bother someone else."

"You're much more fun to tease," She shrugged, "I love making that bimbo bitch furious."

"She's not the type of person to make fun of, Jack." I shook my head in disappointment. "I don't mind light banter now and then but you go way too far."

"Oh boo hoo! Don't tell me you're getting all soft of me. I liked it when you were all rough and tough...got me all wet."

"The hell is the matter with you?" I growled as Jack laughed loudly, causing passerby's to watch our exchange. "I suggest you go down to your little hole Jack, and stay there."

"Ha, of course your majesty," Jack mocked and left.

"What a pain in the butt huh?" Kasumi appeared, sitting on the kitchen counter.

I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. "You were listening to the whole thing weren't you?"

"Yep! I'm fascinated that you could get Jack turned on. I wonder what Miranda would say if I told her."

My face paled at the thought. I quickly turned to her with my best threatening stare. "You wouldn't."

"To cause some steamy drama on board the ship? Why not?" The petite woman said with amusement in her voice. "Oh Chuckles, you wound me! Don't you trust me?"

"I'm not so sure." I muttered. "You would say anything to stir some drama."

"Hm." Kasumi paused. "Oh, I guess you're right. Well, I should get going. See you later!"

I sighed and pulled my hair. "Kill me now!"

"I'm still here you know!"

"Oh will you be quiet!"

I turned to grab my mug off of the coffee maker and was about to take a sip when Shepard startled me with a poke in the ribs.

"I was wondering if you could come with me to talk with the Geth."

I sighed deeply, "Why don't you go do it. You're the one who brought it aboard my ship. I have a headache Jane and I am hungry."

"Fine, we'll do it after we eat. Have you talked to The Illusive Man?"

Shit, I totally forgot. I shook my head, "No, I should probably do that too huh?" Jane replied with a nod. "Alright, I better get on with it. I wouldn't be surprised if he already knows about the Geth in EDI's core room."

After the ride up to the CIC and a quick walk to the briefing room, I was patched into the Illusive Man's office.

"Commander, Miss Lawson has sent me the report on the mission."

"Then you realize that Chandana and his team were indoctrinated and turned into husks." I crossed my arms. "But not that you care about people's lives anyway-"

"On the contrary, they made sacrifices that will not go in vain. They will be remembered when this is all over. Has EDI scanned the IFF?"

"That is still in the works. We should have an assessment in the next few hours. We also have an inactive Geth in EDI's drive core."

"Yes, I also saw that in Lawson's report. Send it Minuteman Station and we'll have our experts analyze it."

"I don't think we will. The Geth sent us coordinates to a Geth Station that we will invade. Shepard and I are going to talk to it in just a few minutes-"

"Geth don't talk, Commander. Send it to Minuteman station and we'll handle the rest." I could see the Illusive Man's glowing eyes glaring at me, causing me to shutter internally.

I steeled myself and said, "This is my ship, Illusive Man. If we salvage a Geth and it wants to help, we'll accept it. When it comes to fighting the Reapers, we'll take all the help we can get. Even if the help comes from a Geth."

There was a long staring contest as we looked at each other and neither of us flinching. "Very well. I hope you make the right choice, Commander." The Illusive Man terminated the call after a death glare and I heard a huff behind me.

"I'm glad I'm not in your shoes, Commander." Miranda purred at my title as she leaned against the wall. "What's our next move? Still thinking about activating the Geth?"

"I don't see a problem." I shrugged, leaning on the opposite wall, the briefing table rose as I stepped out of the QEC platform. "According to Shepard, it wants to help us."

"Hm, according to Shepard, yes I see what you're saying. Still, The Illusive Man is right. We could have our specialists analyze the platform and could ready troops with weapons to fight against the Geth. It could help save a lot of lives."

"Just as much as it could help save lives by fighting alongside of us," I shook my head, pushing myself off of the wall and making my exit. "As much as I like you trying to seduce me into your way of thinking, I'm not changing my mind. I'm on my way to see Shepard now so I'll see you later." After a quick kiss goodbye, I headed down to EDI's storage room behind the med-bay where Shepard was already face-to-face with the Geth. "Glad to see you're following orders Jane." I gave her a playful reprimanding glare but quickly turned to the Geth that was just as tall as Grunt, maybe taller. "So, finally get to meet a talking Geth...nice to meet you, uhhh...what's your name?"

"Geth."

"Yes, I know you're a Geth but what's your name? Specifically."

"We are all Geth."

I groaned and turned to Shepard, who had an amused look in her face. I hate you. I sighed and looked back and the Geth. "What is the individual in front of me called?"

"There is no individual. We are all Geth. There are currently 1,183 program active within this platform."

"Oh for fuck sakes! Name! It can't be this hard can it? If you don't come up with a name I swear to God-"

"My name is Legion, for we are many."

I glared at EDI's orb that appeared beside me. "Seems appropriate, don't you Charlie?" Shepard chuckled, punching my rib.

"Fine, whatever! Welcome aboard to the- Hey! Why do you have my old N7 armor welded onto you?"

"You just noticed? That's the second thing I noticed, apart from the huge hole in its abdomen."

"When we were sent to find you, we were sent to Eden Prime. The location where you first encountered the Heretics. After the Old Machine's attacked, it was heavily defended. We were discovered. This is the impact of a rifle shot."

I whistled as I took a look at the large crater once more. "You may have some competition Shepard. Continue."

"We visited Therum, Feros, Noveria, Virmire, Ilos. A dozen uncharted worlds. The trail ended at Normandy's wreckage. You were not there. Organic transmissions claimed you death. We salvaged this debris from your hard suit."

"But that doesn't really explain why you have a piece of my armor on you." I gave it a challenging stare as Legion paused.

"There was a hole."

"But why didn't you fix it sooner! Or with something else?"

Legion paused even longer this time, tilting his head as the sections on its head flapped up and down. "No data available."

Jane grinned beside me. "Looks like you have a fan!"

"Yeah, well join the club! I'm out of here. Have fun talking to it. I'm grumpy and hungry. Later."

SSV Normandy SR-2 - Commander Shepard - Shepard's Quarters - 1600 hours

"A talking Geth?" Anderson seemed surprised at my big news drop. "Are you sure it can be trusted."

I chuckled and nodded, relaxing in my chair. "Of course, I would be dead if it was an enemy. I honestly think we can trust it. Legion... the Geth," I quickly clarified when he gave me blank stares, "gave us the coordinates of a Geth station with means of destroying it. The ground team will be having a briefing shortly."

"Yes, we saw a brief report from Lieutenant Williams." Anderson's face grew soft, "I don't need to tell you three to be careful with Alonso especially." Anderson ended with a grin.

I chuckled once more, "We'll be careful Anderson. Don't worry, Charlie may be reckless but he isn't stupid."

"Hey, Shepard! Let's go!" Charlie and Ashley stood by the doorway together, both looking like small children waiting for their mother to come down and play with them. I rolled my eyes before looking back at my terminal.

"Duty calls. Talk to you soon."

A long, boring ride in the elevator later...

"EDI, bring of the schematics." Charlie stood at the head of the table, Miranda and I standing beside him on both sides. A scaled down size of the once Quarian ship appeared. "According to Legion, six million Geth units are stored here and the bad Geth, The Heretics, are attempting to upload the virus that will make the normal Geth turn to ally themselves with the Reapers. Correct?" He nodded towards Legion who stood at the opposite end of the table.

"That is correct, Alonso-Commander. The consensus is beginning to calculate the odds of success."

"Never tell me the odds." Charlie quickly shook his head. "I assume there will be plenty of things to kill so I want everyone in on this again. The Illusive Man hasn't sent me any other missions so we'll go as we wait for EDI to test out the Reaper IFF. By the way, how are the simulations coming along?"

The Heretic Station disappeared and EDI's sphere appeared before us. "I have just finished calculations and I am ready to implement the Reaper IFF into the Normandy. The Normandy will not be operational while the upgrade is in effect. I suggest taking the Shuttles on away missions."

"Very well, make it happen and try to be careful." Alonso added, "I want everyone ready within the top of the hour, we're going to this Heretic base and destroy it. Any questions?"

Some shook their heads before we were all dismissed. "Skipper, mind if I walk with you?" Ashley accompanied me out of the conference room and the two of us headed towards the armory. "I have a feeling someone is out to get Charlie."

I leaned my backside against the center workbench and shook my head, "Who isn't out to get him Ash?"

"Shepard, I'm serious!" Ashley hissed lightly, before activating her omni-tool and began playing a message...

"I have the upmost confidence that Lieutenant Williams can do the job." Udina's weasel voice replayed through the message. "I have data confirming that ex-Spectre Alonso and Williams were close. Intimately close. She will get his allegiance and get us concrete proof to bring the traitor in, trailed, and executed!"

I growled with anger. "That no good son of a bitch!" I pounded the table with a closed fist.

"There's more, Skip."

"He's already working for Cerberus. That alone should be enough to incarcerate him in Vancouver. I will get a seat at the council and you, my friend, will take Hackett's place as leader of the Fifth Fleet."

"The other he was talking to was Rear Admiral Mikhailovich. I believe he was the one that inspected the SR-1 two years ago. He seemed kind of shady when he came down to the loading bay. I remember him snarling at Garrus and Wrex."

"Well he's not very smart if he gave a look to Wrex." I chuckled. "Anyways, good work Ash. We can't do anything right now unfortunately. Send me a copy and I'll send it over to Hackett and Anderson. Hopefully they can do something with it." Seeing that Ashley still looked unconvinced and worried, I asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, its just... I don't know. I miss him, and I worry about him... I just feel so guilty. About Horizon." Ashley frowned.

"He took it kind of hard. But he moved on and he's happy." Shit... I cursed as I saw Ashley's face dropped. "Sorry."

"He's with someone else?" Ashley's eyes met mine. "Who?"

I winced painfully and exhaled. Me and my big mouth!

SSV Normandy SR-2 - Operator Lawson's Quarters - XO Miranda Lawson - 1610 hours

"As you can see from my report Miss Lawson, Rear Admiral Mikhailovic has support from Ambassador Udina in the incarceration from Commander Alonso."

"Yes..." I read the many reports from Agent Gibson, one of my double agents inside the Systems Alliance. Udina and Mikhailovic have had a few run-ins with Chuck before; most of them negative. When Charlie was only just a corporal and an N5, Mikhailovic was his superior officer. On a covert mission out in the terminus systems, Charlie disobeyed clear orders and openly attacked a small batarian colony, killing most of the population, save for the women and children. As a result, he was demoted to an N3 and suspended and incarcerated for a year. His service record surely helped his case during the long sentence hearings. "Continue with your surveillance and send me your updates as quickly as possible-"

The door to my office opened and in stormed Lieutenant Ashley Williams. Her eyes focused on mine and I quickly knew what this was about. She knows. And it's about bloody time. I am disappointed that it took her so long but I couldn't help myself by smiling innocently towards the woman who was now standing in front of me.

I took a moment to look at Agent Gibson. "I will send you further instructions in a moment. Good work Mister Gibson." I quickly terminated the call and confidently placed my feet on my desk. "Lieutenant, what can I do for you?"

Williams tsked, "Who was that? One of your 'agents' you've fucked in the past?"

"If that's what you believe, feel free to do so. You wouldn't believe the truth even if I told you. But that isn't why you're here now is it?" I shook my head, smiling. "No, I don't believe so. You're here because you've discovered-"

"You stole him from me." The Lieutenant hissed, slamming her strong fists on my desk. "You stole a man that was important to me. IS still important to me. You used that plastic body of yours and used it towards your advantage!"

"Stole?" I laughed, "Is that what you think I did." I placed my feet on the ground and stood, calmly walking around my desk to face the woman that claims I stole the person that was rightfully mine all along. "If I remember correctly, and my memories are clear, YOU were the one who left the Commander and made his life miserable. You broke his heart." I paused, satisfied at the saddened face of the so-called Lieutenant. "I've had the pleasure to gotten to know him while the Normandy was hunting Saren and I have come to care about him since the start of this mission and I know the feeling is mutual for him. If you think he's still in love with you, why don't you go ASK him YOURSELF!" I smirked, knowing I know that Chuck would never leave me. "The question is, Lieutenant Williams, what are you going to do?"

SSV Normandy SR-2 - Port Observation - Commander Alonso - 1620 hours

"Ha, I win again!"

The whole table groans as Jane collects the pot with a huge smile on her face.

"I still think you were cheating." Kasumi pouted.

"I never cheat." Shepard winked.

"So you say," I take a sip of my beer, "I however know too much about you my dear friend." I smirk, knowing of one time she cheated on a few people that were once romantically involved with the redhead. "How about that one time-"

"Charlie, come quick!" Amanda and Tali come rushing into the room, both of them tugging me by the arm, "Ash and Miranda are having a catfight!"

"Oh this will be fun." Said an amused Jack with Grunt quickly agreeing with a laugh of his own.

I surrounded myself with a barrier just before rounding the corner, just in case Miranda was using biotics against Ashley. If that was the case, I had to protect Ashley from harm. The two were exchanging hard punches as well as verbal threats while the two rolled on the ground. "Break it up!" I ordered but given the fact to the grunts and moans, none of the two ladies complied.

I guess we'll do this the hard way. I pushed the two away from each other and placed them both in a temporary stasis. "I gave both of you orders to stand down. Now, what seems to be the problem?" I sighed in relief as neither of them looked like they seriously injured.

"The Lieutenant knows about us, Commander." Miranda crossed her arms and tapped her boots as she glared at Ashley.

"I see." Avoiding eye contact with Ash once she threw a glare of her own towards me. "Well I guess the truth is out then."

"That's a little harsh, Charlie." Jane spooked me, standing off to the side. I turned around and noticed everyone standing right behind her.

"This is none of your guy's business!" I turned to Ashley, "Ashley, follow me." The two of us quietly and awkwardly climbed into the elevator and went inside my quarters. "Look I am sorry I never told you-"

"I'm just so hurt that you didn't tell me."

"You're hurt?" I growled, "Well then you know exactly how I felt back on Horizon, Ash. You and I are finished and I found someone that I can trust."

"But look at how she dresses!" Ashley exclaimed irritably.

"What's that supposed to mean? Are you calling her a whore?"

"She dresses like one." She mumbled, which caused me to glare at her even more.

"That's uncalled for. If you had a body like hers, I would most likely guarantee you'd flaunt it too."

"So that's what this is about? You're with her because she's good in bed?"

I sighed and slapped myself in the forehead. "Of course not. She's a fucking human being Ashley. I've happen to know her past and she want to live a normal life! I don't have to explain why I love her, Ash. I just do. If you can't accept that, then I don't know what to do." I frowned, looking down at the floor. "I don't know if this brings you comfort but I would still like you to be in my life. I still care about you and that is why I didn't tell you about Miranda and I. I didn't want to hurt your feelings." I stared back up at her and saw her nodding. "I'm sorry."

"So am I." Ashley began to smile. "I want to be in your life too. It's going to take some time getting used to...this but, friends?"

I nodded, smiling back. "Friends."

Dark Space...

Two months.

That is all the time we need to start the invasion. With the fools known as Batarians that have fallen into our trap, we have begun using them as slaves. They have found one of our relics.

The cycle will continue.