Shepard ran after Anderson between the buildings of Vancouver, climbing over debris as they went. She ducked just in time to avoid the flying debris from a ship downed into the building beside them.

"Holy fuck," she breathed. "This is a massacre."

Anderson stopped for second by the prone body of a civilian.

"Dead," he said, checking the pulse.

Shepard swallowed. "We can't save them all."

"It would be good to save even just one, dammit."

"I know," she said. "Can you patch me into your comm link?"

Anderson handed her an earpiece and typed something on his omni-tool. Static crackled in her ear. "We'll catch our breath and then get to the harbor."

"Kaidan," she barked into the earpiece. "You read?"

"Copy. Taking heavy fire."

"Just get to the Normandy ASAP. That's an order."

"Affirmative."

Shepard moved forward, not looking back at the dead civilian. It was only going to get worse.

They climbed out of a nearby window to the roof of another facility and then down a ladder to make it to a building Shepard recognized as one of the Alliance's barracks.

"Husks!" Anderson hissed.

Shepard saw them, handfuls of them crawling across the side of the building, moving like shadows, mere sick caricatures of human beings.

"Watch out," she said and then threw her arm forward with all her might, a dazzling spiral of energy bursting forth from her and slamming into the husks. On impact it imploded in on itself, a singularity of pure gravity. The husks were pulled into it, snarling and groaning. Anderson watched as she gestured again sharply with her arm and another blast of gravity hit them, exploding the singularity in a burst of primal energy and sending the tortured creatures careering off the roof.

She breathed hard, willing her body to cooperate. There was no time to be weak anymore.

"Let's move," she said, leading Anderson down into the barracks. "It's not far now."

Anderson kneeled by a fallen weapons locker and threw her some ammo and a pistol. She took it, not feeling any safer.

"The door's jammed," she said, moving towards the blinking red of the jammed mechanism. "I'll force it open."

She started to wedge it open but gray, dead hands were suddenly grabbing her through the gap. A stretched visage of twisted machinery and organic depravity snarled in her face.

She yelled and drew her fist back, slamming it into its face. The force threw it across the next room. It didn't get up again. If she hadn't seen it happen with her own eyes, she would have barely believed they had once been human.

"Go," she said and Anderson squeezed by her into the next room. She made to follow but there was a sound from a nearby air conditioning grate.

She frowned and in a split second had made her decision. She let go of the door and went to kneel by the grate.

A little boy was in there. A little boy she knew.

"What are you doing in there?" she gasped.

He'd been crying. The tears had left streaks down the dirt on his face. "Everyone's dying."

She stretched her hand out to him. "Come on. I need to get you somewhere safe."

Henry stared at her emptily, already aged far beyond his years. She wondered what he'd already seen, the little boy who only days before had been so happily playing.

"You can't help me," he said.

She stared for a beat at him then turned for just a second when she heard the roar of a Reaper.

When she turned back, he was gone.

"Henry?" she called. "Henry!"

"What are you doing?" Anderson said, grabbing her arm. "We need to move, now."

"The boy," she said confusedly. "He was in there, didn't you see?"

"I didn't see anything."

She stared dazedly until Anderson lightly shook her shoulder. "Get your head on straight, soldier."

"Right. Yeah."

She followed him.

As they neared the harbor the clear view of a dreadnought firing on a Reaper standing over the bay came into view.

"Shit," she swore, momentarily awed. Dreadnoughts were not supposed to be in atmosphere, they were simply too massive and not designed for it. Had they been damaged and descended from orbit?

"Alenko," Anderson said, "your position?"

"Nearing the Normandy now," came the static-filled reply. Then she heard real horror in his voice and her heart seized in fear.

"They're gonna take down the dreadnought. Oh god."

She watched as the ship fired on the Reaper one last time before its read beam cut through it. It must have hit the mass effect core because she saw the flash of the brilliant, massive explosion before she heard it.

She yelled; crouching over as the shock wave rushed over them, so loud and so strong she felt the ground shift and collapse beneath her. She tucked her limbs together as she tumbled down a slope but took a hard knock to her elbow that reverberated down her whole arm.

She landed with a jolt on a sheet of metal. Anderson was crawling to his feet beside her, staring up at the sky as debris from the ship rained down across the bay. She stumbled to her feet, her ears ringing.

"Come on, we gotta keep moving," she said, helping Anderson up a ledge. "Kaidan?"

"Normandy, we're going to reroute," said Anderson.

The only answer was static.

Jesus, she thought, be okay, you asshole. You can't die now.

Anderson and she quickly came across two injured Alliance soldiers.

"Our gunship got shot down, we barely made it" one said. His comrade was groaning, a nasty wound in his side. Anderson applied medigel but Shepard didn't think he'd be walking anytime soon.

"We need a radio," she said.

"There's one on the gunship ," the soldier replied. "But it's gonna be crawling with those things."

"Stay here, son," said Anderson. "We'll get you out of here."

The quickly discovered what 'those' things were. She watched in horror as a walking mass of flesh bent down and began eating a corpse. They could see the gunship but the debris around it was littered with those creatures.

"What the hell are those things?" breathed Anderson.

"Something like husks, I think. Made from something else?"

She stared at the shape of their head, the position of their eyes. "Batarians. Probably."

"The Alliance heard rumors the last few days that the batarians went dark. Nobody on the Citadel could contact them."

"They hit their system first," she said grimly. "They must have. That's how the relay network works. And we were next. Come on; let's put them out of their misery."

Anderson brought up his pistol and shot the nearest cannibal with pinpoint accuracy straight in the head. It twitched and fell.

Shepard waded in to the fray, preferring to use her biotics. She was stronger, faster that way. It didn't matter that she was breathless and rapidly developing a migraine. What mattered was leaving Earth. What mattered was survival.

She grabbed one of the cannibals with her enhanced, unnatural strength, her glowing arms wrapping around its neck. With a grunt, she twisted and snapped its neck.

"Fuck," she snarled, whirling and firing with her pistol on another. She glanced for another target, just catching Anderson use his strength to kick another into the water and shoot it there. She almost grinned. He never gave up, never seemed defeated. He was one of the strongest men she knew.

"Nice," she said, noticing the cannibals were dead.

"I'm not completely over the hill," he said, shooting her a look as he searched for the radio.

"Just climbing it slowly."

"Shepard. I found it," he said and she jogged over to where he was bent at the radio. "Normandy! This is Anderson. Do you read?"

"Admiral," replied Kaidan. "What's your location?"

She felt a rush of relief. He made it to the Normandy, thank god. She hoped James had made it too.

"By a downed gunship in the harbor," said Anderson. "I'm activating its distress beacon. Send support. We've got wounded down here."

Only garbled interference replied.

"Kaidan?" she tried.

"Dammit I lost the signal," said Anderson.

She squinted up at the bright sky as cannibals began raining down on their location. She wondered if they were carried inside the Reapers into the atmosphere until they were shed like fleas on the populace to be killed and harvested.

"Let's hope that beacon does its job," she said, taking cover behind a metal frame.

The sweat was sluicing off Shepard with the effort of using her biotics to protect them both. She brought her pistol up but when she pulled the trigger it just clicked.

"I'm out!" she yelled. "I can't maintain my biotics much longer."

"Hope they get here soon.

"You and me both."

Anderson opened his mouth to respond but another voice cut in over the radio.

"The cavalry has arrived!"

She grinned so wide her cheeks hurt as she watched the Normandy swoop down, firing on the cannibals with expert precision.

"Joker!"

"'bout time," Anderson said but there was a note of relief in his voice.

"Let's go!"

She began running as the Normandy turned around towards them, gleaming brilliant and bright in the sunshine. It had been forever and an Alliance paintjob ago.

She joyfully hurdled more debris, running and leaping for freedom. The shuttle bay door opened just as she reached the peak of the debris and Kaidan was there, just there.

Come on, his eyes seemed to say.

She made one giant leap of faith towards him. He reached his arm out and grabbed her as she landed, steadying her and then immediately began firing on the cannibals behind her.

"Welcome aboard, Shepard."

"Thanks." She turned around, gesturing to Anderson. "Come on!"

"I'm not going," he replied, making no effort to leap the gap. Two men from the Normandy quickly helped onboard the two injured soldiers from earlier, but she barely noticed, staring at Anderson.

Her heart sunk. "What?"

"You saw those men back there. There's a million more like them and they need a leader."

"We're in this fight together, Anderson," she argued. Please, please. Don't stay here.

"It's a fight we can't win. Not without help. We need every species and all their ships to have a chance at defeating the Reapers. "

She stared at him, her mind racing. He couldn't be serious. They would never work together and certainly not for Earth. Why was he putting this on her? He'd be better.

"Talk to the Council," he told her. "Convince them to help us."

"What if they won't listen?" He couldn't be asking her of all people. How could he trust her to do this?

"Then make them listen! Now go! That's an order."

She tried one last defiance. "I don't take orders from you anymore, remember?"

He threw her something shiny. She snatched it from the air. It was her dog tags. She stared at them, considering.

Could she really do it? Convince the Council? Could she even try?

She bit her lip. She had to. There was no choice. She had to try and save them. She couldn't bear to live with herself otherwise. She owed it to Miles to try.

"Consider yourself reinstated, Commander. You know what you have to do."

She placed her dog tags back on. "I'll be back for you," she told him, digging her nails into her palm to stop her voice from quavering with emotion. "And I'll bring every fleet I can. I promise."

She started to walk inside but turned back, staring at him for what she hoped was not the last time. They didn't show affection easily. It just wasn't them. But she'd known him for all of her adult life.

How could she do this without him?

"Good luck," she said. Thank you. For believing in me.

She stood beside Kaidan who nodded to Anderson. She watched as Anderson began running.

The ship slowly began taking off but she was rooted to the spot. Kaidan was shaking beside her.

"You okay?" she said.

"My home is burning," he replied. "Not really."

She felt like kicking herself. He was from Vancouver. His parents, his family…

"Kaidan, I'm sorry."

He said nothing, just stared at the burning skyline.

She happened to glance down to where some Alliance soldiers were rescuing civilians, packing them into shuttles. She felt a lump in her throat as she spotted the little boy from the park. Thank god, he was okay. He had made it down.

Somehow, he was able to look up and see her.

They stared at one another. She was strangely unable to break eye contact, unable to look away from his fearful face. She thought of Miles, of his face, of where the boy's mother was. Was she dead? Would the boy be okay? Should she have done more for him?

She watched in slow motion as he climbed into the shuttle, struggling with it. No one helped him. She watched as it rose into the sky and she breathed because he was safe, he was getting away-

The Reaper blew it out of the sky in an instant.

Her eyes widened, a soundless scream escaping her throat.

"Shepard?"

"Oh god, no." She covered her eyes with her hand and backed into the ship, willing herself not to be sick. She breathed through her nose rapidly like a panicking bull.

Kaidan watched her, not able to say anything to comfort her that wouldn't be a lie.

It's alright, Shepard.

When it wasn't. When it wouldn't be ever again.

She stormed into the armory, practically collapsing on the bench as she felt the Normandy break atmosphere.

Shakily, she wiped her face of the sweat and blood.

Kaidan collapsed beside her, his face a waxy mask of horror and despair.

She said nothing to him, completely out of words.

What could she say? I just saw a small child I knew get incinerated. Our child you never knew about could be dead right now and you disappeared for months while I was in a hospital. I am so afraid I could piss myself and Anderson has just made me responsible for the galaxy's survival when I was under house arrest not one day ago.

She bent forward and promptly threw up on the floor.

She felt his hand on her back, just resting softly there. She stayed bent forward, just breathing, staring at her own sick, until James stormed over. Kaidan removed his hand.

"What the hell is going on?" demanded James. "Where are we going? Where's Anderson?"

She stood, heading to the bench with some armor on it. It wasn't hers but it would do for now.

"We're leavin'," she said.

"Leaving?" he repeated incredulously.

"What's going on?" said Kaidan more calmly. He looked better now. She knew he was compartmentalizing, burying things internally in order to project his patented air of professionalism and calm. She wished she could. She felt anything but.

"Anderson wants us to go to the Citadel," she said. "Get help for the fight."

"Bullshit!" swore James. "He wouldn't order us to leave."

"Well, he just did," she snapped. What the fuck? Was he calling her a coward? "We don't have a choice. Without help this war is already over."

"Forget it!" he yelled, "Drop me off some place because I'm not-"

She felt a rush of anger at the insubordination. "Enough! We're going to the citadel. You want out you can catch a ride back from there."

He turned around, his eyes blazing, but he didn't challenge her again. Kaidan watched quietly, examining the weaponry.

"Commander!" Joker called over the intercom.

"Long time, Joker."

"Still alive and kicking. Got an emergency transmission from admiral Hackett for you."

"Patch him through."


Mars.

Shepard pulled on her armor quickly, her mind racing. Across from her, Kaidan and James did the same. What could Liara be working on here? A way to defeat the Reapers? Shepard could scarcely believe her friend had found something so miraculous. She willed herself not to get her hopes up. It probably wasn't even real.

But Liara was smart. One of the smartest people she knew. What if there was a way? Shepard would do anything for that information.

"Do me up?" she asked.

She turned around, feeling Kaidan move to stand behind her. She felt his hands ghost up her back, clipping the pieces on her armor. She felt his hands move her hair out of the way.

"Thanks," she said quietly.

"What were you so afraid of?" he said in a whisper so James wouldn't hear. "Before… before the world fell apart; outside the Alliance war room?"

She bit her lip, staring up at him. He looked tired and sad and suddenly old. She wondered if his parents died today.

"I did something," she said. "You might be mad. I should have told you the truth long ago. I'm just afraid you'll… not understand."

He frowned. "What won't I understand? What truth? Is this what Miranda Lawson was so upset about?"

She blinked. "Miranda? When did you see Miranda?"

His eyes darted away from hers guiltily. "A few months back. On a job."

"What did she tell you?"

"Nothing. She wouldn't tell me anything."

"Oi, you two," interrupted James, looking annoyed. "You done there or we getting on the damn shuttle?"

Shepard frowned at him and snatched up her helmet. "Meet me in my cabin after this, Kaidan. I'll tell you everything."

He made the ghost of a laugh. "That would be something new."

They climbed into the shuttle, James settling into the driver's seat.

"Oh don't start," she sighed, taking a seat next to Kaidan in the back. "You always start."

"I do not," he said.

"You do. All the time." She said it with no real heat, amused and suddenly cheered a little to have him speaking to her cordially, not on opposite sides for once, only one big lie between them instead of a thousand little ones.

"What do you think we'll find down there?" he asked suddenly.

She shook her head. "I have no clue. It better be worth it. I want to get onto the Citadel soon."

He looked at her sideways. "You seem tense."

"I just want to get onto the Citadel and contact a few friends is all," she said uneasily, thinking of Miles in a galaxy at war. Even if Anderson hadn't ordered her to leave she probably would have been compelled to anyway with thoughts of Miles. She wondered if that made her a terrible person. She just had to make sure he was alive and safe.

"I've been trying to reach Mars on secure channels," said Joker over the radio, distracting her from her thoughts with a new problem. "No one's answering."

"Any sign of Reaper activity?" she asked.

"Negative."

"EDI?"

"The base appears to be online. It's possible the inhabitants were evacuated," said the A.I.

Shepard frowned. "I guess we'll know soon enough. Joker, be ready... just in case."

"Roger that. Normandy out."

On the ground, a huge red storm could be seen approaching them. Shepard eyed it warily through her helmet's visor. They would need to be quick. Get Liara, get the information, get out.

"Still no contact from base," said James, checking the shuttle comms one last time. "But we've got a massive storm heading our way.

"Yeah, noticed that," Shepard said tersely. How long until it hits?"

"Half an hour, tops. After that we're gonna have difficulty keeping up comms with the Normandy."

"Got it."

"Damn that's a huge storm. Looks a lot bigger in person."

It was indeed big, a sheet of red billowing over the landscape.

"Pretty average for Mars, actually," said Kaidan.

"Nerd," she quipped.

James still seemed angry. "Glad you're both so optimistic."

"Yeah, we're got Reapers invading Earth, the station here is offline, a little dust storm seems the least of our worries," Kaidan snapped.

She glanced at him.

James at least was appropriately chastised. "Fair enough."

They walked across the red dust, Shepard watching it kick up beneath her feet. What a desolate planet. She'd hate to be stuck in the archives here but Liara probably thought it was heaven surrounded by Prothean lore. Or whatever the asari called heaven.

"Body," said Kaidan.

Sure enough, just down a ladder closer to the facility was a dead Alliance soldier.

"Shit," she said, her headache intensifying.

Kaidan manifested his omni-tool, scanning him. "He's Alliance. Sergeant Reeves. Didn't put up a fight before he died."

"What does that mean?" queried Shepard. "He was shot by someone he knew or wasn't expecting it?"

"This isn't right," said James. "Something screwy is going on."

She had no idea what was going on. This was supposed to be a simple mission (pick up the information, pick up Liara, leave) and the longer it went on the more she became anxious.

"Alright, be on guard," she said. "And let's pick up the pace."

They followed her down to where the buildings came in sight. In front of a cluster of utility vehicles and crates there were two men in blue on their knees, surrounded by six men in black, white and yellow armor.

"Shit," she said again, motioning Kaidan and James to take cover with her by some crates.

As she leaned against the metal she glanced at Kaidan beside her. He was frowning at her through his visor.

The gunshots seemed to echo in the red dust.

"Holy shit. They're executing them," exclaimed James.

Shepard peeked over the crate, aiming her pistol. The distance was iffy but her pistol at least had more range than biotics.

"This would be better with a sniper," she breathed but took the shot.

One of the Cerberus men's brains exploded outward. Beside her, Kaidan and James began firing.

After they were dead Kaidan walked over to one of the fallen bodies and kicked him onto his front.

"These guys were Cerberus, weren't they?" James said. Shepard had already figured that out. The armor was a dead giveaway. That complicated matters.

"Sure looked like it," she said with forced calm. She checked her ammo reflexively.

"Cerberus," Kaidan said slowly. "What are they doing here on Mars?"

There was that awful note of distrust back in his voice. Shepard hissed in a breath between her teeth.

"Good question."

"You don't know?"

She whirled on him. "Of course I don't know!"

James look between them, then raised his eyebrows. "I'm uh, gonna be over there. Securing the scene. Yeah."

Kaidan and Shepard paid no attention to him.

"You have to admit it's a bit… convenient," Kaidan said.

"Convenient?"

"Them arriving here just as we do."

"I'm not with Cerberus if that's what you're asking."

She was trying very hard to hold on to her temper but it wasn't easy. She knew she'd done a lot of bad things… okay, really bad things. But that was over. She was free from Cerberus. Why couldn't he just believe her?

"Really."

Kaidan said nothing.

"Come on, let's get what we came for," she snapped, moving ahead. She didn't have time for his distrust anymore.

They found more Cerberus personal and their vehicles outside the facility.

"I thought you said you told Cerberus to screw off, Commander?" asked James. Oh not him too. She needed at least one person who thought she wasn't a traitor.

"That's exactly what I did, James." She bent by one of the prone Alliance soldiers. "I would have expected them to put up more resistance." His blood was leaking into the dust, an even more brilliant red. Definitely dead.

"Doesn't look like they came here in force," James said.

"Yeah," agreed Shepard. "Just a few vehicles."

"They must've had help from the inside," said Kaidan. "No way they could take this facility with anything less than a full battalion."

Inside the elevator, Shepard pressed the button for pressurization. She felt the hiss of oxygen. As the room sealed, they pulled off their helmets.

Kaidan had that awful look on his face, the one that told her she would not like what he had to say.

"Shepard, I need a straight answer."

"About what?" she said, heart thumping. Not now, Kaidan. Not now.

"Do you know anything about why Cerberus is here?"

So it was back to Cerberus. Again. It was almost a relief, except that when it came to Cerberus and Kaidan, it was a nightmare.

"How should I know?" she said archly.

"You worked for them, for god's sake. I literally had to fight you, you were in that deep. How do I know you haven't gone back, or been in contact with them?"

"Christ, Kaidan," she snapped. "Yeah we were real big buds while I nearly died in hospital. If you had any idea what they've put me through…"

James was watching closely. "Commander Shepard has been under constant surveillance since being brought- Wait…" he said. "Please tell me the other night you weren't contacting them? Did you play me?"

Kaidan's head snapped to him. "What? What happened the other night?"

Shepard shook her head. "No! No, okay, I wasn't."

"Who were you contacting then?" Kaidan asked suspiciously. "You were on lock down, I know that much."

"Not that it's any of your damn business," she snarled, "but just a friend. Samara. She's taking care of something for me and I wanted to check in. Besides, I was lonely. Not like you visited or anything." It was a low blow but she needed to deflect him somehow.

Kaidan sighed, rubbing his face. "I tried. I've been kept busy."

"Sure," she said but it was only for the sake of the argument. She knew he probably really would have come to see her if he was allowed. She was being unfair, she knew that.

"Kaidan-" she said, trying to diffuse the argument. She said it in the way she would have said in the bedroom: gentle, intimate.

"Don't 'Kaidan' me. This is business," he snapped.

It was the wrong approach when he was like this, apparently.

James raised his eyebrows so high Shepard was half convinced they'd slip into his hair.

"You've been lying to me for so long I don't even know when to believe you now. You and Miranda run around with your little secrets and I'm left picking up fragments of the truth and covering for you," Kaidan said, leaning against the railing. She stood beside him. "You were working for them four months ago. What's changed?"

"Everything," she said. "I promise everything had changed. Everything is different for me now."

"There's more to it. They rebuilt you-"

She closed her eyes, trying not to think of what Liara had shown her during her freaky mind melding, the awful pain, her baby crying-

"They gave you a crew, a ship. You even wanted to work with them for a while there, tried to convince me."

"I was wrong," she admitted. "Back then, I was making the wrong choice. But I'm not anymore, I promise."

He turned to her and stared. She met his eyes defiantly, trying to show them the truth in her eyes.

"You of all people should know me," she said. "You know what I'm about."

He let go of a long breath and the nodded. "Alright. "

They left the elevator, walking beside one another.

"Please trust me," she said softly.

"I do, Shepard. I'm sorry."

She gave him a small smile. "Look, I'm sorry too. We'll talk properly soon, okay. Let's just sort this out first."

There was a scraping noise coming from the vents in the large room they walked into. Shepard motioned for them to take cover and watched, awed, as Liara climbed out, threw a singularity at her pursuers and then coldly executed them with a pistol.

Shepard whistled. "Nice shootin'."

Liara looked around in surprise. "Shepard! Thank the goddess you're alive."

Shepard grinned and jogged over to her friend. To her surprise, Liara wrapped her in a hug. "How are you holding up?" she whispered to her ear. "Earth, Miles?"

Shepard shrugged sadly. "Honestly, I have no idea. He's with Samara."

"Have you told him?" Liara whispered, her eyes darting to Kaidan who was explaining to James who she was.

Shepard shook her head. "I haven't found the right time. I just want to finish here first. Then we'll go get him together. I mean, Miles would like to meet his dad, right?"

Liara smiled tremulously.

"Are you okay?" Shepard asked seriously, examining her friend.

"I am fine." She raised her voice. "But why did you come here?"

Kaidan and James came over.

"Liara," Kaidan said, nodding to her.

"Kaidan. I'm sorry about Earth."

"It was hard to leave like that," he admitted.

"Hackett said you knew what was going on." Shepard said.

"I do, follow me," Liara replied. "I think we've discovered a way to defeat the Reapers."


Shepard sent James back to the shuttle to cover the exits, and together Kaidan, Liara and she raced through the facility, trying to make it to the archives before Cerberus.

For the first time since Earth fell, she felt a little less lost, like maybe they all had more of a future ahead of them than just struggling to survive. If the device Liara described really existed… maybe she could dare to hope.

Comms cut from James as they crossed from one section of building to another. The massive storm encroaching made it hard pressed to communicate.

Shepard swore impressively as she tried again to raise James on the radio.

"Goddamn storm. Why does it have to be so big."

"It's caused by the warmed air from the sunlight hitting the planet, the warm air rises to meet the cold but it brings dust particles up with it. The dust particles are slightly electrostatic on Mars," Kaidan explained. "It's why the radio can't cope. Too much electrical interference. Several storms sometimes combine into one this big."

Shepard dropped her hands from her earpiece and stared at him.

"What?"

"Nerd."

He laughed.

"This airlock isn't supposed to be open," Liara said slowly, pointing to the entrance gaping open just ahead.

"Alright, heads up, people."

Inside it was pitch black. Shepard turned the light on her pistol. The beam fell on a body on the floor.

She walked forward, examining their face. They were pale and still.

"Dead," she said. "Suffocated."

"They must have vented the room while they were still inside," Kaidan said, horrified. "They died clawing at the door."

They walked slowly through the dark room. Shepard tried not to look at their faces very closely. They didn't deserve this; they were just civilians, scientists. She tried not to think about suffocation, how it felt, how frightening. Her gaze fell across a dark-haired woman curled into the fetal position.

"Sick bastards," she said thickly.

"This is brutal, even by Cerberus' standards," said Liara.

"Yeah," agreed Kaidan.

They took cover just in front of a row of windows. Beyond them she could see a group of Cerberus commandos speaking.

"Who wants to do the honors?" she whispered.

"Allow me," Liara said, pulling out her pistol and shattering the windows with a headshot to one of the Cerberus soldiers.

It must be hard for her, Shepard thought. She worked with these poor people.

Kaidan and Shepard finished off the rest easily and together they vaulted through the broken windows. Just inside was a small security station.

They watched together as Liara played the footage of a woman Liara identified as Dr Eva Coré venting the room.

"Guess we know how Cerberus got in. She was their inside man," Shepard sighed.

Liara looked stricken. "I should have realized it when I met her. I should know these things. I was just so focused on finding a way to stop the Reapers."

"Stopping the Reapers is the only thing we should be focused on." Even as she said it, Shepard felt like she was admonishing herself. Lately, her focus had been on something else.

"It's not your fault," she said truthfully. "You can't blame yourself."

Liara didn't turn from staring at a security console. "But what if we're wrong? What if there's no way to stop them? What if these are our last days and we spend them scurrying around trying to solve a problem we can't fix?"

There was an awful silence. Kaidan was guarding their backs just outside the room but even he had gone still.

"I can't believe that," said Shepard, swallowing. "You know I can't. Come on, Liara."

Liara looked away from the console and met her eyes. She had tears in them but they hadn't fallen.

"I know. I shouldn't think that way," she said. "I don't know how you do it. You never give up. You've always stayed focused even in the worst situations."

"When there's so much at stake, I just think of what I'd lose if I fail," Shepard said but she was looking at Kaidan as he glanced at her. She thought of his hand on her back and Miles' toothless smile.

"That's a terrible burden," Liara said a little thoughtlessly.

Shepard frowned at her. "Maybe. But it's the price you pay when you care about someone."

Kaidan watched her carefully.

Shepard cleared her throat. "We'll stop them, Liara," she said, patting her arm.

"Thanks. I want to believe you."


They pushed further in, meeting heavier and heavier resistance, culminating in a turret mounted to the ceiling.

"They've activated the facility defenses," said Liara.

"Jesus," said Shepard," They're not fucking around."

She stretched. "Guess we'd better not get shot."

"I'll go first," Kaidan said to her surprise, dashing around the corner and to cover.

She shrugged, following him and together they made their way around the turret's fire by carefully picking their way around the walkway.

Shepard was impressed if she was honest with herself. Damn impressed as she watched his speed and ferocity as he fought. He was an even better fighter than she remembered.

She wondered if she'd just gotten slower, which was entirely possible she reminded herself. She was shot and spent most of the time barely able to walk the last few months. Not that her brain hadn't worked overtime, thinking about him, Miles, the whole damn mess.

Maybe also a tiny, crazy part of her wanted to kiss him senseless and had been thinking about it a while. Which really was a horrendous idea of hers. They could hardly spend any time together anymore without fighting. Not to mention the lying she seemed entrapped in.

"Stupid sexy Alenko," she muttered as she dived behind a crate near him.

"Shepard, your mic is on," came a dry voice in her ear.

"Fuck!" she swore, jamming it off.

She heard laughter from the next crate over and dived for it, the turret far too slow to hit her.

"I hate you," she said, watching him dive to where the turret couldn't reach. She followed a moment later, landing hard on her behind.

He pulled her up. "Yeah, sure you do."

She snatched herself away from him moodily and brushed her armor of imaginary dust.

He didn't stop smirking.

When Liara joined them, they cleared the next room of Cerberus soldiers.

"Where do they keep coming from?" Shepard panted and then quickly and painfully head-butted one who tried to grab her.

There was a sick crack but he fell back and didn't get up again, blood oozing from his helmet.

"Ow," she muttered but recovered quickly to throw another into the wall with a wave of her hand.

"Jesus," said Kaidan, "Go easy there, Wrex."

"Seriously," she said as they finished off the last wave. "I didn't think they had this much personnel. Where are the numbers coming from?"

Kaidan looked at her blankly. "Maybe you don't know as much about Cerberus as you think you do."

"Ouch," she sarcastically. "Why don't you tell us how you really feel?"

He winced. "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that. What I meant was, the Illusive Man may have been hiding more from you than you or even Miranda knew about."

Shepard shrugged. "I'd say that's a given."

After they cleared the room Liara went to the security console again, checking the surveillance feed. Kaidan went around checking they were clear and tying up any of the Cerberus soldiers that weren't quite dead yet.

Shepard watched Eva Coré give orders and shot out the camera.

"Nice lady," she snapped.

"Looks like they've made it to the archives," said Liara.

"And I doubt they'll just send us a tram," said Kaidan, coming over to them.

"Can you override it?" she asked Liara.

Liara tapped a few buttons on the console and then shook her head. "The archives are on a separate network. We're completely locked out."

"Not if we can find a short-range communicator," said Kaidan suddenly. "Helmet to helmet."

"And?" said Shepard, not following him.

"And we convince them that we're on their side, tell them the Alliance forces have been taken care of."

Shepard could have kissed him. "Good idea. See what you can find."

Kaidan nodded and started searching the nearby room.

Shepard turned around. Liara was staring at her, smiling.

"What?" Shepard said grumpily. "It was a good idea."

"You're still in love with him," Liara said matter-of-factly.

Shepard choked on her own spit. "I am not. Don't be silly."

"No?" Liara said teasingly. "Why not? You have a beautiful boy together, you get along well-"

"When we're not trying to kill each other," Shepard interjected.

Liara ignored her. "You make each other laugh, you're attracted to each other, I heard the mic-"

Shepard blushed. "Alright, alright, you've made your point. Just don't say that around him, okay? It's embarrassing enough."

"What is? That you're in love?"

Shepard leapt over to her and clamped her hand around her mouth. "If you say that again I will shoot you."

Liara pulled her hand away, laughing. "You're too easy, Shepard. Oh but I've missed you."

Shepard gave her a quick squeeze on the shoulder. "I missed you too, T'soni. When did you become such a tease?"

"When I realized why everyone teased me. Watching you blush is funny."

They sat for a beat in comfortable silence.

"Besides," said Liara lightly. "He does have a nice ass."

"LIARA."

"Shepard!" called Kaidan. Shepard threw Liara a nasty look. "I found something!" He hadn't heard them though. When Shepard jogged to where he was, he was pulling the mask off a Cerberus soldier.

"He's got a transmitter in his helmet, if I can-"

He fell back in horror.

"My god. He looks like a husk."

Shepard stared at glowing sightless eyes set in the mottled grey face. Holy shit. What was the Illusive Man doing to them?

Not for the first time, she thanked any god that would listen that she'd gotten herself and Miles out of their clutches.

She bent down closer to the dead man, squinting at his features. He still looked partially human, identifiable almost. "Yeah. Not quite. They've definitely done something to him."

"And by 'they' you mean Cerberus. They did this to their own guy? Is this what they did to you?"

Shepard stood up, gaping in insult. "How can you compare me to him?!"

Did he think she was a monster? How could he say that?

And more importantly… Miles was a Cerberus project too. What would he say about him? She couldn't bear to hear those words come out of his mouth about her son. He was not a monster.

Her face set stonily as she stared at him, daring him to say more. She couldn't believe that only moments ago she had been joking with Liara about him, thinking how much she admired him. Why did he have to say things like that?

"Shepard, I don't know what you are, or who, not since Cerberus rebuilt you. For all I know, you could be their puppet, controlled by the Illusive Man himself."

She stared at him, letting the hurt play across her face. "I am nobody's puppet. Not anymore. And I'll be damned if I'll stand here and let you say those things. I'm human. I'm trying. And it's shitty of you to say that."

He had the grace to look sorry. "I didn't mean-"

"So what?" she snapped. "You don't know 'what' I am but you'd still fuck me just months ago. Is that it?"

"No, I didn't mean it-" he tried again, looking stricken. "It's just… nothing has been the same with you since Cerberus and I can't-"

"I died, jackass. Try that. Try having-" She bit her lip. "Nope. No. I'm not doing this here and now. I'm not doing this in an argument."

"Look," he said placating. "I just wanna know. Is the person that I followed to hell and back, the person that I loved; are you still in there, somewhere?"

She crossed her arms and looked at her boots. "'Loved'? Not 'love'?" she asked in a small voice.

He looked away. "Shepard… you know how I feel about you."

"I don't, actually. And I don't think words will convince you, will they."

He sighed and wiped his face. "Probably not."

She exhaled through her mouth, blowing a stray hair out of her face. Then she bent down to the radio on the dead Cerberus soldier. "You were always stubborn."

"Me?" he laughed incredulously. "You're the queen of stubborn."

"Come on," she said, taking the radio. "Let's see what Cerberus is up to and maybe we'll both get some answers.


The archive chamber was bathed in the green light of the Prothean data columns. Shepard noted the strange structures, wondering how the data was even organized or entered. It was a miracle the scientists could even make anything out.

"Reminds me of Eden Prime," said Kaidan, staring at the columns in the center of the room too.

"That feels a long time ago," Shepard said quietly. "A lifetime. As long as this thing doesn't explode, I'm good. Let's grab the data and get out of here."

The three of them ran to the center of the room. Liara began typing as fast she could. Shepard watched Liara's back with Kaidan, the streams of data flying on the holographic display utterly incomprehensible to her.

"Shepard."

God no, she thought. Not him.

The voice belonged to a man she hoped never to speak to or see again.

She spun around, pulling her gun in one smooth movement. It was pointless. The blue of a hologram winked back at her.

"Illusive Man."

He stood there casually as if he owned the room, a ubiquitous cigarette between his fingers.

"Fascinating race, the Protheans. They've left us all this to discover but we've squandered it."

"Drop dead," she snarled. Kaidan blinked in surprise beside her.

"The Alliance has known about the archives for more than thirty years. And what have they done with it?"

"I really don't care," she huffed. "What do you want?"

"What I've always wanted," he said calmly. He looked up at the data columns. She followed his gaze, frowning.

"The data in these artifacts holds the key to solving the Reaper threat."

"I've seen your solutions," said snapped. "You're morally bankrupt."

He smiled. "They're being improved. I improved you."

"Get out of here," Kaidan said, fury in his voice. "Before I find and end you."

The Illusive Man smiled sickly. "Kaidan Alenko, Shepard's knight in shining armor. Back again, I see."

Shepard felt a trickle of fear down her spine.

"Kaidan, go."

"Like hell I'm leaving you here to listen to more of his lies. You're poison," he said to the Illusive Man.

The Illusive Man mock frowned. "It's funny. I thought you'd be angrier when she told you." He made a little gasp that she knew he was faking. "Unless… she didn't tell you, which, if I know my dear Shepard, is likely."

"Kaidan," she begged, "Don't listen."

"Tell me, Shepard. How is that dear boy? Little Miles? Why, he must be getting close to his first birthday by now, am I right? Will you have a party? Do send me an invite."

Kaidan frowned at her in confusion. "Shepard… what is he talking about?"

Shepard couldn't move. She couldn't breathe. Beside her, Liara was staring at the Illusive Man, horrified.

"Please, don't," Shepard begged of the Illusive Man. "Not like this."

His eyes gleamed at her.

"This was your one thing, wasn't it? A choice you got to make. Well, Shepard. Like so many of your choices, I am taking it away."

He turned to Kaidan whose face was a mask of confusion. "The little boy I refer to is your biological son. He was resurrected as an embryo when we resurrected Shepard and grown inside her as she revived, thanks to Cerberus. He was born shortly before she woke up. You really should thank me. And Miranda Lawson."

Shepard shut her eyes, biting her lip so the tears wouldn't leak from her eyes.

"You're sick," Kaidan said automatically. "Tell him he's lying, Shepard."

"Never knew she was pregnant, did you?"

Kaidan watched him, his eyes widening.

"Don't feel too bad. I suspect neither did she."

He turned to her. She shook her head wordlessly.

"Shepard?"

"I-I can't."

"You're lying!" Kaidan exploded at the Illusive Man. "God, what is wrong with you?"

"Why else would she do what I say? Commit treason? My perfect little puppet," smiled the Illusive Man. "You should have seen her face, begging and crying for me not to hurt him."

"H-hurt him?" Kaidan stammered.

The Illusive Man took a deep drag of his cigarette. "Control is quite subtle and effective. All you need is the right emotional trigger."

Kaidan took a step back. "How could you lie to me?"

Shepard shook her head.

"How could you lie to me all this time?" He grabbed her by her arms and spun her around to face him. "Look at me. Is it true? Do we have a son?"

"It's true," she whispered. "He had him so I hid him."

"Oh god, he's not on Earth is he?"

She shook her head. "I hid him."

"So you see, Kaidan Alenko, my little puppet here didn't desire to be a tool any longer. Such a shame. We could have been great together."

Kaidan let go of Shepard. He was pale and shaking when he said, "I promise you, I'm gonna kill you for what you did to her and the... baby."

Shepard turned back around. "You'll never find him," she promised the Illusive Man. "I'll die first."

He waved his hand dismissively. "I'm afraid I've grown bored with that particular toy. The Reapers are what interest me now. The life of one insignificant although genetically interesting boy will mean little to me when I can control and harness the Reaper's power."

"You're insane," she managed to splutter. "You've lost it."

"You've always been short-sighted, Shepard. Hasty. I've little use for you now. It's only a shame Toombs missed his mark."

She balked, utterly lost with the reference to her old comrade. "Toombs?"

"Another easily manipulated tool."

"Liara!" Shepard yelled, and Liara began typing again. "I've had enough of him. You're dead," she said to the Illusive Man, "You hear me?"

"Shepard?" Liara gasped. "The data, it's not here! It's being erased."

Shepard turned just to watch the Illusive Man smirk one last time and then disappear.

"It's local," said Liara, "Someone's uploading it from this room."

She turned to Kaidan. "Let's-"

"Don't speak to me," he said coldly and ran off around the outer ring to search for the Cerberus agent.

Liara glanced at her sympathetically but kept working. "He'll come around. He just needs time."

She choked back a sob. "Sure."

There was a yell from the other side of the room and a thump. "Kaidan?"

A woman dashed by them.

"She's got the data!" Kaidan yelled, climbing to his feet from where the woman kicked him over. "Stop her!"

Shepard chased after her, pumping her legs hard. She could feel the others behind her, but she daren't stop for a moment. Her chest began burning with effort as she dodged crates and slammed doors open. She couldn't think for a second about what had just happened, how he found out, how her control was taken away again. If she looked back for a second, she was lost. And so was Earth.

"She's too fast!" she yelled. "Not human!"

When she was well, Shepard could run a mile inside five minutes, easily beating Kaidan or anyone else on the SR1. Thane had been faster to her consternation. This woman was way faster than that, faster than even Thane.

Out of options, Shepard threw her arm out, launching a blast of energy at her. It bounced off.

"What the fuck," she gasped. Stunned for a second and lightheaded with exertion, she missed her step and tripped over a crate. She crashed to the ground, bouncing her chin off the metal floor. The helmet saved any real damage but it stung like hell.

"Shepard!" she heard Kaidan call.

"Keep going!"

Kaidan dashed past her, Liara there moments later pulling her up.

"You okay?" she puffed. Liara was never very good at running.

Blood streamed down Shepard's chin. "Yeah."

She couldn't do it anymore. She was spent. She could barely breathe. Shame flooded her. "Chest," she said, breathless.

"I know," breathed Liara.

They slowed a little, realizing Kaidan would either catch her or no one would. Shepard barked into her headpiece.

"James! You read me?"

Garbled static answered her.

"Cerberus has the data! Radio the Normandy, get them down here now."

They climbed another ladder only to watch Eva Coré climb into a Cerberus shuttle just ahead of Kaidan.

"NO!" she yelled, just making it up the ladder. She stood beside Kaidan, watching hopelessly. He was breathing so loudly it almost flooded her earpiece.

"James? Normandy? Anybody!"

For a moment, all hope seemed lost.

Then she saw a blue shuttle streak across the sky.

"Holy shit," she heard from Kaidan and then they were both diving out of the way.

James' shuttle slammed into Eva Core's shuttle. It exploded into flames and crashed inches from where they had just been standing.

Shepard rolled over, her whole body in pain.

"That man is insane," she said more calmly than she felt.

James parked the shuttle nearby as she climbed to her feet, every muscle protesting. Close by, Kaidan was helping Liara to walk towards the shuttle. She seemed rattled but mostly unhurt.

"Dude," Shepard said as James climbed out of the shuttle. "What the hell was that?"

"Creative driving. Normandy's en route. They'll be here soon." He shook his head, a little dazed.

"That was the-" Shepard wasn't sure if she was going to admonish or praise James but she never got the words out.

Liara screamed.

She turned and watched in slow motion as Eva Coré climbed out of the burning shuttle sans skin. Kaidan shoved Liara away from the murderous bot and shot at it but it was too quick.

It grabbed him by his whole head and lifted him off his feet, its strength unreal.

"Kaidan!" she screamed.

The bot spoke to herself. "Orders?"

Shepard knew who would be giving the orders. Shepard knew who it worked for. And Shepard knew what the answer was in a split-second.

The bot turned with Kaidan.

"NO!"

The bot slammed him into the side of the burning shuttle by his head again. and again. and again.

Shepard ran forward as it dropped him boneless to the ground. She pulled her pistol and shot as the bot charged towards her. Only on the third headshot did it stop.

"Kaidan!"

Shepard ran to him, trying to see if he was still alive. She touched his shoulder, calling to him. He didn't respond.

"Grab that thing!" she ordered James, pointing to the bot.

"Shepard, we've got Reaper signatures in orbit!" she heard Joker say over the radio.

As the Normandy landed near them she picked him up over her shoulder. There were black shapes in the red sky.

"Don't be stupid," she said. "You're fine. You can't die on me now."

As she walked up the Normandy ramp and watched the red storm and Reapers engulf the facility, she finally let the suppressed tears fall down her face.


Finally! He knows, amirite?This was a bit tricky as it covered events already in game and I know rehashing is boring. Hopefully it was just enough different to keep it interesting. The rest of the game will be different, I will mostly be covering off hours, not missions. Thank you sincerely for reading this far and so long with me.