A/N: thanks for the lovely review and the favs and follows :)

From: Lucy

To: Uncle Steven

Subj: Update

My yeoman was the only member of the crew to leave when we docked at Omega. Good riddance, really; I was damn tired of her reading my messages and trying to... analyze me. On the flip side, she was one of the few who knew almost every aspect of our mission. I've been waiting for some sort of retaliation from the Illusive Man ever since Kelly left, but we've been to three different systems since we left Omega, taking care of issues for the crew, and I haven't seen a single sign of Cerberus activity.

It's fucking unnerving.

We've been on Tuchanka for a week longer than was necessary to take care of Grunt and find Mordin's former student; Wrex insisted we stay a few days and I can't say no to him. But we're heading out in the morning to meet up with the Migrant Fleet. Tali's been accused of treason; I absolutely cannot ignore that.

After that, I'm not sure what our immediate plans are, but we're inching closer to going through the relay.

I'll talk to you later. Wrex is making a speech. I don't want to miss that!

-Lucy

"Massani? Is something wrong?" Hackett asked as the mercenary appeared on his vid screen.

It was once again the middle of the night, and the call was from the Normandy, but Lucy was nowhere in sight.

"You could say that, yes." Zaeed leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest. "We're on our way through the relay, in a matter of minutes."

"So soon? I thought there was still a lot you had to do yet."

Zaeed shook his head. "T'Soni's people retrieved the IFF for us while we were with the Migrant Fleet. That was the last of it, really."

"So what happened that necessitated leaving immediately?"

"The crew got snatched by the Collectors."

Hackett's eyes widened. "How? When? And where the hell is Lucy?"

"She's fine; bloody distracted but fine. She's off planning with Lawson. The crew got taken while Lucy was busy getting Tali cleared of treason. She told you about that, yes?"

"She did."

"The whole crew, Lucy's crew, had gone by shuttle to the Migrant Fleet while Joker took the Normandy to a nearby system to install and test the IFF. Apparently there was a tracker imbedded in the code; the Collectors found the ship, boarded it and took the entire Cerberus crew, and Doc Chakwas. When we got back, Joker was the only person left on the whole damn ship."

"Damn. Is he all right?"

"He's channeling his frustrations into the final checks before we head through the relay. He hasn't said a goddamn word otherwise."

"Bring yourselves back alive. I don't care that none of you are in the Alliance anymore, that's a damn order!"

Zaeed gave him a mocking salute. "Yes, sir."

"Massani..."

"No idea what the hell it'll be like in there, but I will do my goddamn best to keep Lucy alive."

"And yourself."

"Right."

"And for the love of god, get Lucy to actually call me when you get back."

Zaeed nodded. "I'll do my best."

"Good luck and godspeed. Hackett out."

It was two days before there was word from the Normandy again. Hackett was grateful it was Lucy who contacted him; it had been at least two weeks since they'd last talked face to face.

"We're all back, safe and... mostly sound," she said with a grimace.

"Glad to hear it. Are you in the med-bay?" He'd noticed she appeared to be sitting in a hospital bed.

She nodded. "Got through the base pretty easily, considering we were fighting the Collectors. Couple of people got banged up a bit, Tali got a bit... overheated going through the vents at one point."

"And you?"

"I've got a couple of broken ribs. I kind of misjudged the jump from the platform where we were and the Normandy's airlock, when we were on our way out, smashed into the side of the damn ship."

"Sounds painful."

"It is, for now. Doc gave me some pain meds though, so it won't be for long."

Hackett raised an eyebrow. "I thought you didn't take prescription pain pills, said they made you feel drunk."

"My upgrades lessen the side effects, so I can tolerate them a bit better now."

"I see. So what are your plans now?"

"We were forced to make a pit stop on Omega for repairs. We're leaving as soon as possible." Lucy chewed her lip for a moment. "I'm still waiting for the Illusive Man to make a move. It's starting to scare me that he hasn't."

"Me too, Lucy. Just keep your guard up so when he does retaliate, you'll hopefully be prepared."

She nodded again. "I will. We'll be on the Citadel in a few days."

"All right, I'll see you then. Stay safe."

"You too. Shepard out."