Alenko pulled his shirt on over his head, feeling oddly paranoid. He knew what it was: suddenly they were shackled to the Citadel. There was no one to fight. There was nothing really that they could do for the war effort. It was strange being completely off the front line. Even with all the hurry-up-and-wait, being on the Normandy meant being close to the action, being the tip of the spear.

Now though, he was here on the Citadel, having finished with the Council, and was beginning to wonder what to do for supper…

…and whether he could convince Shepard to abandon whatever busywork she'd assigned herself long enough to join him. She was probably having a worse time than he was: this had been her war for years—her interruption of being dead did not count, since it was missing time as far as she was concerned. She had never been off the front line: Saren and Sovereign, the Collectors and Harbinger's baleful presence, now the Reapers and Cerberus in full force. Sometimes he wondered how she got out of bed in the mornings.

"Major Alenko," EDI suddenly announced from the shipboard speakers.

"What is it, EDI?"

"Shepard and Jeff have run into possibly difficulties. Please proceed to the NavPoint."

His omnitool flared. "Trouble? Already?" The second question just sort of slipped out—trouble on the Citadel was all too in character for Shepard. It was also too much like their first group visit to the Citadel: she'd ended up in trouble then, too, bullets and all.

Why? Why couldn't she be on station or more than an hour before bullets started flying in her direction?

He took a calming breath. "What kind of trouble?" Cerberus? The Reapers? The list of people who would like to cause trouble for Shepard was long. "Is she okay?"

"Yes, as far as I—no. The situation has changed. Confirm hostile presence. Please proceed to the NavPoint immediately. I will inform the others and meet you there."

Alenko cued his omnitool, found the NavPoint and isolated where it was.

A restaurant. It made sense: Joker would be about as edgy over leaving the bulk of EDI's being in the hands to shifty technicians as Shepard would be about being truly off the line.

He was about halfway there when EDI spoke again. "Major, the situation has changed. I am patching Jeff in."

"They dropped her through the floor!" Joker almost shouted, distress in every sharp note. "Through the frikkin' floor!"

Alenko's stomach jerked. A 'fall' like that could be a long, long way down. "EDI, can you patch me through to Shepard?"

"She is not responding to communications. It is entirely possible she cannot." A faint click indicating the channel was open.

"Shepard? Can you hear me? You okay?"

Nothing.

"Jalissa, wake up," he commanded, hoping she was just unconscious and not…

…he couldn't finish the thought. He couldn't. His heart wrenched as cold flooded his guts and extremities.

"Jalissa, please."

A soft breathy groan, as of someone coming out of a deep sleep.

She was alive…for the moment.

"EDI, can you redirect me to where she would have landed?" he asked, ready to change the CRT vehicle's destination.

"Done."

He input the coordinates and remained on the edge of his seat. "Jalissa?"

Her breath hitched, as if somewhere in her head she heard and recognized the call to consciousness. The hard part was getting her brain to start up properly. But her breathing grew more audible, shuddering with pain.

"I'm up…" she slurred, groaning as she apparently moved.

"Shepard, I'm coming for you, so you need to stay put."

"Negative," Shepard answered. "Until I know what we're dealing with…just catch me up."

"It is good to hear you alive," EDI announced.

"Hey, EDI. If you've got my locator's signal stream it to Alenko…"

He could imagine her drunkenly wobbling off, impelled only by force of will and simply habit. "Anyone want to tell me what we are dealing with?"

"Tools," Shepard answered with effort.

A soft click indicated EDI had switched him to a private channel. "It is, I believe, Harbinger's way of remembering the Sack of Mindoir. Shepard has been understandably…distracted...and has possibly relegated the fact to the periphery. I believe we are facing a small group of Indoctrinated Mindoiran citizens. It is possible the movement is larger, but I do not think that a larger group could get past C-Sec."

"Son of a bitch," Alenko growled as EDI returned him to the open channel. "Are you badly hurt, Shepard?"

"I dunno," she answered. "I hurt, though. Definitely feeling that drop. Anyone call Bailey, yet?"

"I have put in a notification. He is sending reinforcements to the restaurant. I will see that they are redirected to your location once you are safely in the Major's custody."

"Shit…Joker, is he okay?"

She must have had a bad knock on the head to still be slurring that way and to not have asked that question before now.

"I'm fine," Joker answered shortly. "Are you?"

"I'm up and moving…that's something, right?"

"…yeah…Alenko, you can do something for her, right? 'Cause she sounds really out of it."

"I'm still five minutes out," Alenko answered, resenting the CRT car's limitations.

"Oh, dude—you should see Bailey's face…" Joker grinned. He could hear the man grinning.

"I have snapped a holo for later," EDI announced.

Shepard gave a soft gasp and a dull thud followed.

"Shepard?" several voices demanded.

"I'm okay…just…" Her breathing went into controlled gasps. A moment later, "I'm okay. Just dizzy."

"Hang in there," Alenko said bracingly. "I'm coming to get you."

"I'm across from a skycar lot," Shepard announced. "Cision Motors."

"Good. Go in, sit down, and wait for me." It would be faster to get to a car dealership than to follow on foot.

"…I don't think that's a good idea…"

"Let me think right now. You sound like to you took a real knock to the head."

Shepard chuckled weakly. "Yeah."