Cerberus Frigate Normandy II

Entering the conference room, Commander Jane Shepard, the clone of the deceased hero, activated the console that would connect her with her employer. Almost immediately, a three dimensional image of a man sitting in a chair and wearing an immaculately tailored suit appeared.

"Greetings, Commander." The Illusive Man said as he flicked ash from the tip of his cigarette into an ash tray. "I trust you've had a pleasant leave."

"Yes, Sir." The clone replied, "My crew is well rested and we're all ready to get back to work."

"That's good." The Illusive Man, pleased at his puppet's response, answered back with a nod of his head. "Because I have a job for you. One of our research projects—Overlord—seems to have run into some sort of difficulty."

"What sort of difficulty, Sir?"

"We're not sure." The mysterious head of Cerberus responded. "All we know is that all communications have been cut off. I need for you and your people to go to Aite and find out what's going on. If there is a problem, deal with it. In any event, it is vital that you recover Dr. Gavin Archer, his brother David, and any notes on they might have on the project. Report back on mission conclusion."

"Find out what's going on with Project Overlord. Take care of the situation. Report back on mission conclusion" Shepard summarized. "Got it, Sir."

"One other thing…" The Illusive man said, "We've supplied you with a prototype M-44 Hammerhead thanks to our friends in the Alliance. The terrain on Aite can be difficult in places. It…and its main gun and rocket launcher…might come in handy."

"Thank you, Sir." The clone replied, ""We'll put it to good use."

"Excellent." The Illusive Man smiled. "Then if there are no other questions, I'll let you get to work."

As the hologram derezzed, Shepard exited the conference room and entered the Command Deck. Speaking to her executive officer as she took her place in front of the galaxy map, she commanded, "Set course for the relay."

"Destination, Commander?" Kai Leng responded.

"Aite." Shepard replied. "When we get there I'll brief you and the team."

"Aye, Commander."

R. R. W. Gallena

"Subcommander? The Telara's here." Specialist Traynor commed from her station as the warbird's runabout appeared on the viewscreen.

"Any word on Staff Commander Alenko?" V'lana requested, forcing out a breath of air as she barely hid the look of worry that wanted to appear on her face.

"He's still in stasis." Samantha replied. "They're requesting permission to beam him over directly to sickbay."

"Do so." The subcommander acknowledged.

Moments later, Dr. Chakwas's voice announced from the speaker, "Subcommander? We've got Kaidan."

Looking down with concern on the worried subcommander who was doing her best to put up a stoic front, Tovan prompted in a low voice only the two of them could hear. "I can handle everything here for now. Go on down, Little Sister. If anything happens, I promise, I'll let you know at once."

"Thanks, Big Brother." V'lana whispered back as she rose to her feet and announced in a loud crisp voice, "The bridge is yours, Centurion."

"Aye, Subcommander." Tovan acknowledged as he relieved his commanding officer. "Telara. You are authorized to dock in the hangar bay. After reporting in to medical, I want after action reports on my desk from all participants within three hours."

"Understood, Centurion." Lieutenant Vega commed back. "Esteban is piloting us in now."

As she glanced down at the after action reports that she had just recently read, a grimace appeared on the subcommander's face. Hitting her comm badge with more force than she usually used, she barked out. "Miranda Lawson and Liara T'Soni to my ready room—now!"

"Someone's mad." Garrus commented as he, Liara, and James were sitting at the Raptor's Nest bar.

"Better get up to her, Blue." Vega advised with a crooked grin on his face. "She's hell on wheels when she's pissed off."

"Do you know what's got her upset?" Jacob asked Miranda as the pair sat at another table in the Gallena's lounge.

Letting out a sigh, Miranda replied with a scowl. "I think I do."

"What is it?"

"More secrets from the Illusive Man coming to light." The dark-haired former Cerberus operative moaned as she rose from her seat. "I'll catch up to you later."

Responding to the chime from her door, V'lana spat out, "Come." As the asari and former Cerberus officer entered her office, the Romulan subcommander gestured to two chairs in front of her desk. "Have a seat." Once the pair had taken their seats, she slid a padd across the table at them. "After you're finished reading this, I want answers."

Glaring at the woman seated next to her as she read Garrus's after action report, Liara queried in a low, angry, tone. "I was under the impression that Shepard was dead. Is there something you're not telling us, Miranda?"

"So…" V'lana echoed with a stony look on her face, "I'm waiting…what's the story here?"

"Shepard is dead." Miranda firmly stated. "I did the autopsy on her myself."

"So…explain why Kaidan and the others all saw Shepard at Purgatory." V'lana demanded.

"When the Illusive Man gave the go ahead for Project Lazarus…" Miranda recounted, "…he also authorized a clone of Shepard's to be grown as a source for replacement organs or limbs if necessary…"

"This is one of the reasons why I hate cloning." V'lana growled. "But…continue…"

"I was told that the cloning project had been terminated prior to Shepard's murder." Miranda declared, "Project Lazarus was showing results. We were almost there until Wilson did what he did. Believe me…" She concluded, her voice taking on an almost pleading quality, "I did not know anything about this."

Seeing the look of sincerity in the dark-haired Australian's eyes and face, V'lana slowly nodded her head, "I believe you. It seems the Illusive Man was hedging his bets—a very Romulan behavior. He'd have made an excellent Tal'Shiar agent. So…what can you tell us about this

"Would she have any of the real Shepard's memories?" Liara asked as the tension in the room slowly dissipated along with the Romulan subcommander's anger.

"No." Miranda shook her head. "The clone would be for all intents and purposes like a newborn baby—a tabula rasa. However…" the former Cerberus operative cautioned, "…it is most likely that the Illusive Man has placed into her mind behavioral imprints along with a behavioral monitoring chip and other safeguards in the event she decides to go rogue."

"In other words…" V'lana interjected, her lips pursed, "…he's had her programmed."

"Correct." The Australian biotic nodded her head.

"Right." The subcommander decided, "I'll notify Anderson and the Citadel Council—they'll need to know that she's a fake should she decide to 'rise from the dead'." Letting out a breath, she dismissed the two women, "Thank you for clarifying things, Miranda…Liara. You may go now."

"Are you going to see Kaidan?" Liara asked in a soft voice as Miranda left the subcommander's office.

"Yes." V'lana affirmed. "Why? Do you want to join me?"

"If it wouldn't be too much trouble. He's a good friend of mine as well."

"Okay." The lovely Romulan replied with a slight smile on her face, "Let's go."

Moving quickly, Dr. Chakwas intercepted the subcommander and her asari companion as soon as they crossed the threshold into medical. "Subcommander…Liara…" Karin called out in greeting.

"How is he, Doctor?" V'lana inquired with a worried frown on her face.

"He's stabilized now." The human doctor explained, "He wasn't hit with standard issue military ammunition, nor by any of the ammo mods that we are familiar with. Dr. Aven and Nurse Donella are analyzing the fragments we found that were embedded in his armor. We've also detected fragments in his body that we surgically removed. Dr. Aven thinks that they contained or were coated by a cytotoxin."

"A cytotoxin?" Liara interjected.

"Yes." Dr. Chakwas nodded her head. "It's a type of poison that acts on cells. This one seems to have been tailored to act on the lungs. Dr. Aven and Nurse Donella should be done with their analysis soon and we'll know more."

"How soon?"

Seeing Aven, the Romulan chief medical officer, nodding his head at her, Chakwas responded with a wave for him to join her and the subcommander. "I'd say now." As Aven joined the group, Karin prompted, seeing the frown on the Romulan doctor's face, "Was our initial diagnosis accurate?"

"We were right in our diagnosis, Dr. Chakwas. We are dealing with cytotoxin poisoning. And it is infecting his lungs. We're working on an antidote now." Dr. Aven reported.

"Anything else you can tell us about this cytotoxin?" Liara asked.

"Neither one of us have run into anything like it before." Karin replied in a weary tone of voice as her fellow physician took over the conversation.

"It's composed of a substance not found in either our own or in this universe."

"Do you think it could be Elachi?" V'lana inquired.

"Possibly…but not necessarily." The Romulan doctor speculated. "We have determined that it is mycelial based—but that covers a lot of ground. However…" he added, extending a measure of hope to his worried commanding officer, "…it does give us some direction in developing a cure. Until we do develop that antidote though, we are administering chloromydride and keeping him sedated."

"So…he's going to be okay?" V'lana asked in a voice half pleading and half demanding as her heart raced.

"I don't know." Dr. Aven replied with his usual gruff honesty. "I am not going to lie to you Subcommander and say that he will absolutely get better, but…thanks to the quick actions of his teammates in applying the medigel compound used in this universe combined with Lieutenant Rodek's quick thinking in placing the Staff Commander in stasis, I am optimistic." Pausing for a moment, the Romulan physician stated, "By acting as they did, they slowed down the spread of the poison in his lungs. Their actions have given us the time we need to develop a cure. Had they not acted as quickly as they did…"

"Thank you, Doctors." V'lana let out a breath of air. "How soon will you know?"

"We'll let you know when his condition changes." Dr. Chakwas, noticing the tired look in the young Romulan woman's eyes replied before gently admonishing. "When was the last time you ate or had any sleep? And getting drunk with your Big Brother last night does not count."

"I had an energy bar a few hours ago." V'lana reluctantly admitted.

"That's what I thought." Karin harumphed. "Go to the Raptor's Nest. Get a meal in you and then I want you to get at least eight hours sleep. Doctor's orders. Liara…" Dr. Chakwas further ordered, "I want you to make sure the Subcommander eats and then goes straight to her quarters."

"Understood, Dr. Chakwas." The lovely asari replied with a wicked grin as she noticed the sour look her new Romulan friend was giving her.

"Signed off on by the chief medical officer." Aven declared. "Food and rest for you, Subcommander."

Before her reluctant patient could protest, Dr. Chakwas promised, "We'll let you know the moment Kaidan's status changes. Now, please, Subcommander…V'lana…go with Liara and get some solid food in you and then get some rest. You're not going to be any good to Kaidan or this ship and crew if you're not at your best."

Letting out a breath of air, V'lana bowed down to the inevitable. "Very well. I'll grab a quick bite…"

"A real meal." Karin interrupted. "Not just an osul twist and coffee."

"All right!" The young Romulan rolled her eyes, "A real meal. And I'll go to bed. But…I want to know the moment…"

"We promise, Subcommander." Dr. Aven vowed. "If anything changes, we'll let you know immediately."

Tapping her comm badge, V'lana informed her XO of her plans. "Tovan. I'm grabbing a late dinner at the Raptor's Nest with Liara and then turning in. Continue on course to the relay and then Haestrom."

"Acknowledged, Subcommander." Tovan replied. Then lowering his voice so that he could not be heard by the rest of the bridge crew, he added in a brotherly tone, "He's a strong man, Little Sister. He'll pull through."

"I know, Big Brother." V'lana answered back, "And thanks."

Cerberus frigate Normandy II enroute to Aite

"We should be arriving at Aite in twenty-four standard hours, Commander." Kai Leng reported as he stood at the threshold to his commanding officer's quarters. "Orders?"

"Maintain routine procedures." Shepard replied from behind her desk as she looked up from her console. "Inform the landing party that there will be a briefing two hours before we hit dirtside so I want everyone well rested."

"Acknowledged, Commander." Leng responded as turned about, leaving his superior's presence as quietly as he had appeared earlier. Making his way to his own quarters, the Cerberus assassin opened a private, secure, channel. "Leng to Home Base…"

"This is Home Base." The poshly accented voice of the Illusive Man's new assistant came through the speaker. "Report."

"Shepard so far is performing up to expectations." Leng stated, "She is maintaining focus on our missions and her behavioral patterns remain within acceptable parameters."

"Very good." Agent Brooks replied, "Maintain observations and alert us should there be any changes. Home Base out."

Back in her quarters, the clone of Jane Shepard closed out the file on her monitor that she had been reading and called up instead the Project Overlord data that had been sent to her.

"Is there anything you need, Commander?" EDI's voice came through the speaker.

"Not at this time, EDI." Shepard responded with a frown as she glanced at the file name that she had earlier closed. "But later, I would like any information you have on Shepard's biography and service record post-Elysium."

"The information will be ready for you when you need it, Commander." EDI quickly responded. "Anything else?"

"No." Shepard responded, "That will be all."

"Very well. Logging you out."

"Hmmm…" Shepard mused to herself as she read over the profile for her next mission, "If I didn't know any better, I'd swear that EDI was pleased that I am digging into Jane Shepard's record." Shaking her head in disbelief, she chuckled, "Of course, that's impossible. EDI is incapable of emotions." Heaving a sigh as she checked the time, the clone grumbled under her breath. "One more read through on the mission and then bed."

The Raptor's Nest—RRW Gallena

"Hello Subcommander…Ms…." The Bolian waitress, Shyla, smiled as she greeted V'lana and Liara.

"T'Soni." Liara answered back with grin, "But please, call me Liara."

"Chef wanted me to let you know that he's prepared sauteed Romulan mollusks just for you, Subcommander. He also told me to tell you that he found a very good vintage of Romulan wine to accompany it."

V'lana replied with a chuckle, "Tell me, Shyla…did Aven or Chakwas comm Chef earlier?"

The Bolian woman responded with a wicked grin. "Yeah. About two standard hours ago." A Romulan man dressed as a busboy then approached with a tray containing two covered dishes. Picking up the dishes, Shyla expertly placed them on the table in front of the two women. "Dr. Chakwas commed before you arrived and told us a guest would be joining you." Speaking to the asari woman seated across from the subcommander, the waitress commented, "Don't worry, Liara. We've checked and Romulan mollusks are safe for asari consumption."

"Thanks." Liara replied as she took a bite. A smile appearing on her face, she praised, "This is very good."

"Chef's specialty." V'lana said as she also took a bite. "Thanks, Shyla."

"Anytime, Ma'am." The waitress responded, "If you need anything else, just let me know."

As V'lana picked idly at the sauteed Romulan mollusk on her plate, a voice called out to her and her dinner guest.

"Hey Lola! Blue! Mind if we join you?"

Looking up from her meal, the lovely Romulan saw James Vega approaching with Garrus. Waving them towards their table, the subcommander responded positively as Liara smiled at the two men. "Have a seat. I'm just eating my prescription."

"And I'm making sure she's following doctors' orders." Liara interjected as she took another bite from her plate.

"I read your after action reports." V'lana declared, taking a sip of wine. "Thank you for…"

"No one left behind, Lola." James interrupted. "That's our motto."

"Right." Garrus affirmed. Then, his mandibles flaring, he remarked in a strained tone of voice. "Whoever or whatever that person was looked so much like Shepard but then I got a look at her eyes. That was when I realized that she was an imposter."

"She's a clone." Liara explained as V'lana nodded her head in agreement. "At first grown by Cerberus for spare parts and then when our Shepard died…"

"They plugged her in her place." The Romulan subcommander finished with a scowl.

Sensing the real reason for his new friend's distress, Garrus quickly responded in a reassuring voice. "I'm sure that whatever feelings Kaidan had for Shepard are long gone now, Subcommander."

"Yeah, Lola." Vega chimed in, offering his support. "All he talked about the entire time we were on that shuttle going to the prison was you. Massani was ready to kill him." His lips curling up in a sly grin, he joked, "He also told us about that prank you pulled before you ended up here. Did you really stuff all those furball things…"

"Tribbles?" V'lana helpfully interjected, her lips turning up in a slight smile.

"Yeah. Those things." James chuckled, "Did you really put all of those tribbles in that…what are they called….the ones with the ridged foreheads…"

"Klingons."

"Right. Did you really put those things in that Klingon's bedroom?"

"Yeah." V'lana laughed, her gloom dissipated by the combined efforts of the three newest additions to her crew. "I had Veril transport them to Captain K'kren's quarters before we warped out. We heard him screaming all the way from the next sector. When Ozri…she's a good friend of mine who commands a Federation starship…when she found out, she sent me a case of Trillian aurea and a dozen roses."

"Kaidan's going to pull through, Subcommander." Garrus again spoke in a reassuring tone.

"He's a tough hombre." Vega agreed. "I bet you and Blue got some stories to tell about some of the scrapes you two were in with him and Shepard." The Alliance Marine jibed, prompting the other two at the table to share their experiences.

"Hell yeah." Garrus laughed. "Remember Feros, Liara?"

"How can I forget?" The lovely asari chuckled. "I remember you telling us about when you, Kaidan, and Shepard found out the Thorian was a giant sentient plant."

Laughing, the turian vigilante related the story to the subcommander and Vega, now joined by a small group of curious off duty Romulan and Starfleet officers. "Shepard's eyes were as big a saucers and I thought Alenko was going to shit himself." Nudging his asari friend, Garrus prompted in turn, "What about the time the three of us freed you from that Prothean cage on Therum?"

Blushing, Liara recounted the story of her imprisonment and rescue by Shepard's team. Concluding, she consoled, "Kaidan Alenko is a good man. He is not going to let some unknown cytotoxin defeat him."

"Blue's right, Subcommander." Vega declared, adding his voice. "He's an Alliance marine. We don't quit. Nothing's gonna keep him from that holodeck date with you."

"All right!" You win!" V'lana laughed as she teased Liara and Garrus. "Did Shepard ever stand a chance with you two?"

"Hell no." Garrus laughed, "And we haven't even told you any stories about Wrex, Ashley, and Tali yet. Wait until you hear them."

The lovely Romulan replied with a yawn. "I'm afraid those are going to have to wait, I'm afraid. I think I had better get some sleep."

"Good idea." Liara agreed, "I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be a busy day."

Aite—Hermes Base

On observing the broken glass and blood spatters on the walls and floor, Shepard raised her hand, signaling her squad to move into cover. Her weapon at the ready, she motioned for Leng to take point. Moving from cover to cover, the Cerberus assassin, his katana unsheathed, quickly covered the distance to a small office. Once he was assured that the area was clear, he commed his superior.

"Clear, Shepard."

"Right." The clone responded, motioning for her team to move up with her in an overwatch formation. Entering the office, Shepard noticed an active monitor, its light blinking. Approaching the monitor, the clone saw the image of a middle-aged human male with at least three days growth of stubble on his haggard and weary looking face.

"Thank God you're here." The man sobbed, "I'm Dr. Gavin Archer…"

"Head of Project Overlord." Shepard interrupted, "My team was sent by the Illusive Man. What happened here?"

"A catastrophic VI breakout." The panic stricken scientist replied. "I had to lock myself in a computer room on the far side of the base."

"Why?"

"Geth." Archer exclaimed, "They're on the loose."

"Why are the Geth here?" The clone demanded in a sharp tone as the rest of her team scanned the surrounding area.

"I'll explain everything later, but right now, it is urgent that you retract the transmission disk before the VI can upload itself off planet. We're all fucked if it does that. Hurry!"

"We'll take care of it, Doctor. For now, you keep hunkered down. The Boss wants to talk to you once we've got things sorted out here."

"I've downloaded the schematics and plotted out the quickest route." Doris, the team engineer interjected.

"Right." Shepard took a deep breath as she flipped her assault rifle to armor piercing mode. "We're dealing with Geth. You know what to do, Whatley."

"Sure do." The blonde engineer replied in a Southern accent as she activated her omnitool. "Once I slip this li'l ol' hacker program into their system those flashlight heads 'll all be runnin' around like chickens with their heads cut off."

"Good." The clone replied, "Markham—you set?"

"Sure am, Ma'am." The team sniper responded as he activated his weapon's phasic mod. "These rounds will rip through their shields. Should give you and Kai the opening you need to rip 'em apart."

"Then…" Shepard ordered, "Let's get this done."

R.R.W. Gallena approaching Haestrom

"Approaching the Dholen system." Joker reported from his position at the helm of the Romulan warbird. "There's a helluva a lot of traffic around Haestrom. Looks like the Geth are here in force." He added, the usual smirk on his face gone, replaced with a worried frown.

"Solar activity makes remaining under cloak problematic if we get too close." Satra cautioned.

"I can get a shuttle through undetected." Cortes quickly volunteered.

"Very well." V'lana decided. "Take Rodek with you as an engineer, Big Brother…" The subcommander called out to her executive officer, "That's right…" The Romulan subcommander grinned, hiding her concern for the human biotic now fighting for his life behind a sarcastic smirk. "You get to go out and play while I babysit this time. I'd suggest taking Miranda, Jacob, and Liara with you as well. She knows Tali and can make gaining her cooperation easier."

"Will do, Little Sister." Tovan at once replied.

"Communications are spotty at best." Specialist Traynor warned. "But Satra and I think we have a solution."

"Go on…" V'lana urged as she leaned forward in her seat.

"We'll need to get with Veril to make the adjustments to the comms, but we think we can at least partly break through the interference."

"How much time will you need?" The Romulan first officer, impatient to get underway, inquired.

"No more than half an hour I should think." Samantha replied as Satra nodded her head in agreement.

"Very well." Tovan reluctantly assented as he noticed his commanding officer's slight nod of her head. "We meet in half an hour on the hangar deck."

"Good hunting, Big Brother." V'lana called out as Tovan and Cortes made their way to the turbolift.

Bantering back as he entered the turbolift, Tovan quipped, "Just have the Khellin nectar waiting for us when we return instead of drinking it all up like you usually do."

"I'm surprised you let him have the last word, Subcommander." Joker jibed as the turbolift doors slid shut.

"Big Brother sulks if he doesn't win one every once in a while." V'lana joked back as her helmsman responded chuckling.

"That's what my sister always tells me."

"Little sisters know best." V'lana laughed, "Now…helmsman…take us to a safe orbit. I don't want those solar emissions fucking up my cloak at the wrong time."

"Aye, aye, Subcommander. Assuming safe fucking orbit."

Aite—Hermes Station

"I can't believe that doohickey of yours actually worked!" Jackson, the team's heavy weapons specialist laughed as Whatley's hacking program had succeeded in getting a Geth rocket trooper to turn on the other Geths blocking Shepard's team's access to the satellite relay.

"Told ya it would, Sugar." Whatley chuckled as Shepard downed the now severely damaged Geth.

"Way's clear to the disk." Kai Leng called out, "But we still need to take out those capacitors.'

"Markham!" The auburn-haired clone ordered, "Your job is to crack the casings protecting those capacitors."

"Not a problem, Boss." The sniper responded as he readied a sledgehammer mod. "This baby can open a bank vault."

"Whatley…" Shepard commanded, "…be ready to hack the Geth when they respond."

"Sure thing, Commander."

"Jackson…I saw a Destroyer in the vicinity. He's yours."

"Got it, Ma'am." The dark-skinned heavy weapons specialist acknowledged as he readied his rocket launcher.

"Leng…you're with me." Taking a deep breath, Shepard shouted, "Now!"

Haestrom

"It's hotter than Vulcan here." Rodek remarked as he wiped the perspiration off his brow.

"Watch yourself, Rode…" Cortez cautioned in a light tone of voice, "And take care of the others while you're at it."

"I will, Steven." The Romulan engineer responded with a crooked grin. "Just be here to pick us up when the…as you humans say…shit hits the fan."

Laughing out loud, the Alliance pilot bantered back, "Don't worry, I'll be here. I'm an expert at dodging shit."

"What are you picking up on your sensors, Ms. Lawson?" Tovan inquired as the landing party debarked, quickly taking cover in the shade.

"We need to keep to the shade as much as possible." Miranda responded with a frown. "It seems that the intense radiation is affecting the shields from your universe that we're wearing in the same way that it affects our kinetic barriers."

"Radiation's radiation." Jacob declared with a sarcastic grin. "Doesn't matter what universe you're in."

"Right." Tovan acknowledged as he addressed Liara, "Can we raise Tali or her people?"

"No." The asari responded with a grimace. "The interference is too strong—even with Samantha and Satra's adjustments to our comms."

"We're at peak cycle now." Miranda noted. "We should be able to break through in a few hours."

Noticing what appeared to be an entryway into a chamber nearby, Tovan gestured towards it. "There might be some equipment that will help us break through to Tali in there."

"Geth are probably there too." Jacob warned as he readied his tetryon rifle. Looking down at the weapon, he queried, "You say these things will cut through shields."

"Yes." Tovan replied, "They don't do the tissue damage of a plasma, disruptor, phaser, or antiproton weapon, but they work well against electronics such as geth shields and neural pathways."

"That should give us a slight edge in combat." Miranda noted with a nod of her head as she readied her polaron pistol. "What about these?"

"Much the same except they're also good against organics." Tovan explained, "Polaron is V'lana's weapon of choice because of that. Me…" The Romulan first officer grinned as he hefted his plasma minigun, "I'm old fashioned. I prefer plasma. A lot of it. It takes down everything. Now…" He commanded, "Let's get to work."

Aite—Hermes Station

"Damn!" Markham swore as he covered his ears, "What the hell was that?"

"I think that was the VI." Whatley replied through gritted teeth. "It sounded like it was in pain."

"Sounded pissed off to me." Jackson observed as he recovered from the sonic shout. "What do you think, Commander?"

"I think we need to get back to Dr. Archer." Shepard replied with a grimace. "I've got some questions I want answered."

As soon as the clone and her party entered the secure room where the lead scientist was hiding, Shepard rushed up to him and grabbing him by his lapels, growled in a threatening voice, "What exactly are we taking on here, Archer."

Trembling, Dr. Archer stammered as he flinched before the clone's harsh stare. "It was an experiment that got out of control." Recovering a measure of calm, he pleaded, "Please…let me go and I'll tell you everything."

Releasing the doctor, Shepard nodded her head, "All right. Start talking."

"My brother…" Dr. Archer sobbed, "…David…volunteered to meld his mind with a VI."

On hearing the doctor's words, Jackson muttered in a disgusted tone of voice, "That's just wrong, man."

"I hear you." Markham echoed. "Doing that to your own brother. That's some warped shit."

"I was right about the scream." Whatley glumly concluded. "He was hurtin'."

"Silence!" Kai Leng growled, staring the other team members into silence.

"What's the purpose behind this experiment?" Shepard demanded as his executive officer cleared his throat to object.

"We're not cleared for this, Commander."

"We need to know why if we're going to complete our mission, Leng." The clone declared, further clarifying, "We're going to follow orders—don't doubt that for a moment. But to succeed, we need to know the purpose behind the experiment so that we don't accidently make the situation worse."

Sensing that neither Shepard's control implant nor any of the other fail safes planted within her were being triggered, Kai slowly nodded his head in agreement. "Valid point." Turning to Dr. Archer, he repeated the clone's inquiry, "What was the experiment's purpose, Doctor?"

"The project was authorized by the Illusive Man after we saw how Saren had manipulated the Geth into treating him as something of a religious prophet. We also examined reports from your predecessor…" Archer noted, referring to the original Shepard, "…pointing out how the Geth seemed to revere the 'Old Machines', viewing them as godlike figures. We hoped that a hybrid VI—a 'computer program with a face' so to speak—would be seen in a similar manner by the Geth…"

"Giving Cerberus complete control over the Geth and thereby neutralizing them and even turning them to serve our purposes." Shepard nodded her head understandingly. "As always, the Illusive Man is one step ahead of the power curve."

His lips turning up in a slight smirk as he saw that the clone's behavioral programming was apparently intact and working, Kai Leng remarked, "A bold move. So…Dr. Archer…what went wrong?"

"David…my brother…is autistic and a mathematical savant. He was able to do what we could not do previously in spite of our best efforts. He was able to communicate with the Geth on a fundamental level. So, we…"

"Incorporated him into the VI." Shepard concluded, nodding her head.

"The stress from that forced union must have driven him over the edge." Dr. Archer somberly concluded.

"We have to recover David Archer." Kai Leng advised, "He is too important an asset to lose."

"Agreed." The clone responded as she turned her attention back to the scientist, "So…what do we need to do to resolve this?"

"He has secured himself in Atlas Station." Dr. Archer explained, "But before you can breach his defenses, you'll need to cut off his main sources of power."

"Where and how is he drawing his energy and what are the defenses?"

"Vulcan Station is a geothermal powerplant. It's protected by turrets and mechs—nothing you can't deal with. That's where he's drawing most of his power from. Cut it off, and you'll deprive him of a significant resource, but that's not sufficient. You'll also need to neutralize Prometheus Station to end the lockdown."

"What's at Prometheus Station."

"It's a crashed Geth ship. We've been using it and the geth there as subjects for our research." Dr. Archer explained. "Once you get past its shield, you should be able to neutralize the Geth cannon and gain access to the ship. Once you've gained control of both Prometheus and Vulcan stations, I'll be able to override the lockdown at Atlas Station from here and you can get David."

Taking a deep breath and exhaling, Shepard turned to her team, "All right. You know what we have to do. Let's get it done."

Haestrom

"The tetryon weapons worked." Miranda commented as the last of the Geth troopers fell.

"Your biotics helped as well." Tovan uttered, praising the three biotics on his team. "It seems that the combination of biotics and conventional firepower exceeds the sum of their parts. We'll need to work this into our holodeck training programs."

"Indeed." Rodek, the Romulan engineer, concurred. "That power of yours, Dr. T'Soni…"

"Warp?" The asari interjected as the engineer nodded his head.

"Yes. Warp." The combination of that with tetryon energy was…explosive…to put it mildly."

"The rapidly shifting mass effect fields that warp causes seems to react especially strongly with tetryon particles." Miranda clinically noted. "From what I've read in your files, these particles become highly energetic and unstable in normal space."

"Correct." Rodek agreed. "They originate in subspace, so when they come into contact with the shifting mass effect fields…"

"Boom!" Jacob grinned as he nodded his head in gratitude at the Romulan engineer, "Thanks for the save, Rodek. I thought we were goners when that Geth destroyer attacked. What did you call those mines you laid out?"

"Chroniton mines." The engineer responded. "They're terrific for slowing down an advance."

"Speaking of which…" Tovan commanded as he gestured in the direction of the alcove, now only occupied by the scattered remains of geth, "Let's see if there's some means of contacting Tali in here."

Entering the alcove, Rodek began scanning the geth remnants with this tricorder as Miranda and Tovan quickly made their way to the body of a fallen quarian slumped down next to a still functional computer. As they drew closer to the computer, they heard a quarian voice.

"Emergency log entry: The Geth are here. I've stayed to buy the others time. Anyone who gets this, find Tali'Zorah. She and the data are all that matters. Keelah se'lai."

"A brave man." Tovan saluted the fallen quarian soldier, bringing his fist over his heart in the Romulan manner. Pointing to their ultimate destination, the tactical officer declared in a firm voice, "We will not let his death be in vain. Let's go."

Aite—Vulcan Base

"I thought we were goners for a while back there with that YMIR and his pals." Doris remarked as she worked the override controls.

"I wasn't worried." Markham quipped, "The Boss had it dead to rights."

"Yeah…good shooting, Ma'am." Jackson interjected, offering his praise to their commander.

"I just didn't want to have to go through the trouble of breaking in a new team." Shepard jibed back, the clone's lips turning up in a crooked grin.

"Someone contact Khalisah al-Jilani over at Westerlund News!" Doris laughingly shouted, "The Boss just cracked a joke."

"First time for everything." Jackson chuckled.

"Don't get used to it." The clone bantered as Kai Leng eyed an armless mech banging its head against a wall.

Watching as the dour assassin drew his blade and cleaved the mech's head off, Markham exclaimed, "What did you do that for, Leng? It wasn't hurting anyone."

As the lights to the station came back on, they heard Dr. Archer's voice through the speaker on the console before the transmission broke up. Returning to the matter at hand, Jackson commented, "Must be interference from that freak VI."

"Probably." Whatley agreed as she turned to the team leader, "So, Boss…Prometheus next?"

"That's right." Shepard replied. "Move out."

Haestrom

"The Geth are swarming this place." Jacob grumbled as the last of another wave of geth troopers fell to the combined effects of biotics and energy weapons. "Whatever Tali's doing here, it must be very important to attract all this attention."

"That's one of the reason why we're here. To find out what's going on." Tovan replied as a voice came through a comm device next to another fallen quarian soldier. Shaking his head, the Romulan declared as he approached the soldier, "Elements know the quarians are paying a high price to protect her." As he picked up the device, the tactical officer heard the voice again call out.

"OP-1, this is Squad Leader Kal'Reegar, come in. Over."

Speaking into the device, the Romulan officer identified himself. "This is Centurion Tovan Kev of the Romulan Republic Warbird Gallena. Your outpost has fallen to the geth. There were no survivors. Can we offer assistance?"

"Who?"

Repeating himself, Tovan again inquired, "Can we offer assistance? You've suffered several casualties. I'd say you need all the help you can get."

"I'm not going to turn down assistance." Reegar responded and then instructed, "Patch your radio into Channel 617 Theta." After his new allies had done as he had instructed, the quarian continued, "We were on a stealth mission. High risk. We found what we were after, but the geth found us. We're pinned down. We can't get to our ship and we can't transmit our data because of the solar radiation."

"How many of your team is left?" Tovan inquired.

"There weren't many of us." Reegar replied, "Command didn't want to risk triggering the geth."

"That worked out well." Miranda jibed caustically as the quarian continued his report.

"Just a dozen marines plus Tali'Zorah and her team. We're down to half strength now." The quarian marine declared with a note of pride and defiance in his voice, "But we made the synthetic bastards pay for every life they took."

"Your squad performed bravely." Kev acknowledged before asking, "Why are you here?"

"I'm not the one you should be talking to about that." Reegar replied, "I'm just paid to point and shoot. All I know is that it's something having to do with the sun. It's going faster than it should. I think it's some kind of energy problem, but like I said, I'm just a grunt. I make things go boom. You'll have to ask Tali about all that."

"Do you know where the geth came from?"

"A patrol ship found us and then dropships started raining geth down on top of us." Kal reported. "We couldn't to get to our ship before we were overwhelmed. It's a geth controlled system, but we thought by going low-emission we could sneak through…you see how that worked out."

"Reinforcements?"

"I don't think we have to worry about the geth sending in more troopers." The quarian responded. "The patrol ship's still here and the radiation that blocks us from transmitting has the same effect on them."

"Can you hold out?" Tovan inquired. "We can be at your location in a few minutes."

"Take it slow and careful." Reegar advised, "You probably already know what direct sunlight will do to your shields and electronics. We're bunkered down at a base camp across the valley. I left Tali'Zorah in a secure shelter, then doubled back to hold the chokepoint. " The quarian further declared, "Getting Tali out safely is our top priority. If you can extract her, we'll keep the geth off you."

"Are you sure the Geth haven't reached Tali?"

"Affirmative. I've left my best men with her. When you get to my position, you can speak to her on the comm. Every marine on this rock is sworn to protect Tali'Zorah." The quarian proudly declared, "As long as one of us is still breathing, she'll be safe."

"The man's part Klingon." Rodek observed.

"He makes it through this…" Jacob vowed, "I'm buying him a beer…dextro-safe, of course."

"Hold your position." Tovan directed, "We'll catch them in the rear."

"Hold position!" Reegar commed back, his voice taking on an urgent tone. "Dropship just came in. Looks like more company's coming!"

Watching as a salvo from the dropship vaporized the quarian marines taking cover behind a barricade and in the process causing a large slab to fall right in front of the entrance, the landing party again heard Reegar's voice over the comm.

"Damn! Doorway's blocked. There are demo charges in the building nearby. Use them to clear a path."

"Don't need to, Centurion." Rodek grinned. "I've got some explosive charges. They should do the trick."

Nodding his head at the engineer, Tovan spoke into the comm unit with just the slightest trace of a grin on his face, "Thanks for the offer, but we brought an engineer with us."

"Long as what you've got can blow a hole through that slab, I'm not complaining." The quarian responded, his voice also taking on the faintest notes of humor.

As Rodek nodded his head once in response, Kev replied as the Romulan explosives expert set the charges, "My engineer says it'll do the job. Just keep your head down."

"Will do. Hope it's a big boom."

"It will be." Rodek declared on hearing the quarian's voice through the speaker before calling out in a loud voice, "Cover!"

Ducking into an empty alcove, the group took cover as the charges detonated with a loud explosion."

"Told you it was going to be a big boom." Rodek grinned smugly as Miranda pointed to a computer console with a quarian's face frozen on the screen.

"I believe that is Tali." The Australian biotic announced, "I think this might be a log entry."

"Play it and be sure you're recording it." Tovan ordered as everyone gathered around the console to listen.

"We need a core sample to get a timeline on the rate of radiation increase, but our equipment keeps dying on us."

"Rodek? Can you get that core sample?" Tovan requested, "We can analyze it back on the Gallena."

"Yes, Centurion." The engineer replied with a wry grin, "Once the shooting stops."

Nodding his head in acknowledgement, Kev listened to the rest of the quarian's log entry.

"Shepard once used a mining laser to clear some rubble back on Therum…"

"That was when she rescued me from that Prothean cage I stumbled into." Liara commented with a smile of embarrassment.

"We've all been caught unawares at least once in our lives." Tovan commiserated with a grin. "Remind me after this is over and I'll tell you about the time V'lana caught me in an…embarrassing…situation with…"

"With whom?" Liara quipped, her embarrassment quickly forgotten.

"Buy me a drink at the Raptor's Nest when we get back and I'll tell you." Tovan responded.

"All right." Liara smiled, "It's a date."

"Maybe I can do something similar with demolition charges."

"Not a bad idea." Rodek commented, "She'd have to be careful as to how powerful a charge she sets though. Too little and it won't have any effect. Too much and…"

"Tali's a very good engineer." Liara asserted with confidence. "If it can be done, she'll find a way to do it."

"It's next to impossible to get accurate solar measurements. The radiation keeps burning out our equipment."

"Any luck with our tricorders?" Tovan asked Miranda as the Australian biotic began to take readings with the Romulan equipment.

"I'm getting readings." Miranda replied, "But they're incomplete. Hopefully Satra and Samantha are having better luck on the Gallena."

"This sun shouldn't be like this. It was stable a few hundred years ago. Stars don't die that quickly."

"Not without help." Tovan grimly noted. "Someone such as the Elachi or worse could be accelerating the sun's natural cycle."

"Can these Elachi do that?" Jacob inquired with a lump in his throat.

"We know they can access subspace." Tovan replied, "So there's no reason to think they can't. But…" the Romulan tactical officer shook his head as he glumly noted, "…they're not the only ones capable of doing something like that. The Tholians have tried similar and they've also experimented with gate technology as has the Mirror Universe Terran Empire. There are a list of suspects—all of them dangerous." Taking a deep breath as the log entry came to an end, the Romulan officer ordered, "Right. Let's move out."

Aite—Prometheus Station

Exiting the Hammerhead after taking out the Geth cannon, Shepard commanded her team. "Right. Let's get this over with."

"I'll have the access door open in a jiff, Boss." Doris confidently declared as she set to work on the entry hatch. Moments later, as the door opened, the Cerberus engineer remarked with a cheeky grin, "Told ya I would. You owe me fifty credits, Markham."

As her team entered the facility, they were greeted with a warning coming from the loudspeaker.

"Attention visitors: This Cerberus facility contains hazardous AI technology."

"Tell us something we don't already know." Jackson grumbled in a low voice, "I hate fucking AIs."

"You agree to assume all liabilities for personal injury or death that may occur during your visit."

"Can't say they didn't give us fair warning." Markham jibed as Kai Leng growled.

"Belay the chatter."

After hearing one of the log entries left behind by a Cerberus researcher, Doris winced at a sudden burst of static. "That must be the rogue VI." The engineer commented with a slight note of sympathy in her voice. "It sounds like it's in pain."

"It's just a damned machine." Jackson snarled, "Let's just unplug it and get the hell outta here."

As they listened to another log entry, this one commenting that one of the researchers named Lanigan had determined that over 98% of the staff in the station would be killed within two minutes if the geth were to ever awaken, Markham quipped, "Yeah…I'm starting to hate Lanigan too."

"Catchy tune." Doris joked as music began playing from the speakers. "Boss…" She then utter on seeing the instrument panel and the obstacles keeping the team from the other side of the chamber, "I think I can figure out how to get to the other side if you want me to take a crack at it."

Nodding once, Shepard granted her assent, "Go ahead, Whatley."

"Right." The engineer grinned as she responded to the challenge. Moments later, she called out victoriously, "Got it!"

"Good work." The clone replied as she led her team to the other side. "Whatley?" Shepard directed, pointing to the console.

"On top of it, Boss." The blonde Southerner replied as she activated the override. "Done." Then, after hearing yet another shriek of anger and pain coming from the VI, she heard a noise coming from the far corner. "Ma'am…"

Upon seeing the geth beginning to awaken, Shepard growled, "I knew this was going too easily. Lock and load, people! We're gonna have to fight our way out."

Haestrom

Making their way into another alcove, Miranda pointed to a still operational console. "Looks like it's another log entry."

"Let's hear it." Tovan decided as he and the others gathered around the console with Miranda making sure to record it on her tricorder.

"Our ancestors walked these halls with uncovered heads. The sun must have been normal back then."

"That was about four hundred years ago." Miranda observed. "Far too short a time for this to be occurring naturally."

"Giving more weight to the theory that someone is causing this." Liara interjected, "But again the question is who…and why?"

"The Reapers?" Jacob guessed, "Maybe this is their doing?"

"Hmmm…" Miranda carefully considered her teammate's hypothesis before shaking her head, "Not likely. While they are highly advanced, as far as we know not even they are capable of this level of interference with a star's normal life cycle. The possibilities of the cause being extra-universal or extra-dimensional do seem to be increasing."

"So much space. Walls of stone. It's amazing. I wish my friends could see this. I wish…I wish Pressley and Shepard could have seen this."

"Pressley was the navigator on the old Normandy." Liara explained to the two Romulans. "While at first he had…problems…accepting those of us in the crew who were nonhuman and was still wary of Garrus and Wrex, in time he and Tali formed a rather…curious…bond."

The image then shifted to that of a young quarian woman.

"We've got a live feed now." Miranda announced as the quarian's voice called out through the speaker.

"Hello? Is anyone there?"

"This is Centurion Tovan Kev of the Romulan Republic. Is this Tali'Zorah?"

"Romulan Republic?" Tali exclaimed in a surprised voice. "Did you say Romulan?"

"Yes." Tovan answered back affirmatively.

"Not that I'm complaining…" Tali responded, this time with a touch of wryness to her voice, "But what are you doing in the middle of geth space?"

Answering back in an equally wry tone, Tovan replied, "We were sent by Subcommander Avesti to retrieve you. What is your status?"

"Is Kaidan with you?"

"No, Tali…" Liara interjected, "But I am."

"Liara? Is that you? When did…"

"They contacted me back on Illium and I agreed to join them." The asari explained. "They need you too. Where and how are you?"

"I'm fine for now." Tali responded. "Kal' Reegar and the marines still alive got me into the observatory. From where you are now, it's through the door and across the field. I got the data I needed and I'm okay for now, but there are a lot of geth outside."

"Are the marines still with you?" Tovan inquired.

"The marines covered me while I ran for the observatory." Tali replied in a mournful tone. "I think some of them are still alive. I can hear them shooting at the geth outside."

"The door is sealed against the geth." Miranda pointed out as she read the results from her tricorder. "Can you unlock it from where you're at, Tali?"

"Yes." The quarian replied. "There…you should be able to get through now. Be careful. And please…do what you can to keep Reegar alive."

"We'll do everything we can." Tovan vowed, "Stay down…we're on our way."

Aite—Prometheus Station

"Can't you hack that thing?" Jackson shouted, barely making into cover as the Geth Prime facing him and the rest of Shepard's team let loose a missile salvo.

"I'm tryin' sugar!" Doris yelled back as she worked furiously with her omnitool, "That thing seems to have adapted to my program. It shouldn't have been able to do that."

"Must be that rogue VI." Shepard exclaimed as she fired a burst from her assault rifle, bringing down a pair of geth troopers that had come too close. "Keep trying. Jackson…time to break out that experimental arc projector. See if it can do anything."

"Right, Boss!" The heavy weapons expert acknowledged as he fired the protype weapon, bringing down several geth troopers and a rocketeer. "Thinned 'em out a little." Jackson shouted, "But it barely singed that Prime."

A plan formulating in the clone's mind, Shepard called out. "Markham, switch to phasic and get ready to fire on my mark. Jackson…when I give the word, give that monster a jolt from the arc projector. Whatley…I'm gonna need an overload from you. Leng…after I dump my clip at that thing, I'm gonna need you to get up close and personal. Got it?"

"Got it!" The team called out in unison.

"All right…NOW!"

Striking as one, the team overwhelmed the Prime with their attack. Markham's round in combination with Whatley's overload weakening its kinetic barriers enough for Jackson's arc projector to temporarily immobilize it. Leaving it open for Shepard's barrage and then Leng's coup de grace, severing the Prime's head with a stroke from his katana.

"Good work, team." Shepard praised as she caught her breath. "The way out should be open now. Let's get the hell outta here."

Haestrom

"Colossus!" Miranda shouted as the giant geth fired a projectile at a quarian fireteam hiding behind cover, demolishing the cover and killing the marines in the process.

"No one said this was gonna be easy." Jacob grunted as a loud voice called out.

"Over here! Get to cover! Stay down before that colossus gets any ideas."

"Kal'Reegar?" Tovan inquired as Rodek quickly set up a shield generator followed by a medical restoration unit.

"Yeah." The gruff quarian marine replied as he cradled a rocket launcher in his hands. "I still don't know why you're here…but I'm not gonna turn down any help."

"Where's Tali?"

"She's inside. Right over there." The quarian gestured in the direction of a sealed bunker with his rocket launcher. "The geth wiped out the rest of my squad and they're going for her. Best I've been able to do is draw their attention."

"You bought her the time she needed." Tovan responded, giving the quarian sergeant praise.

"Just doing my job." Reegar replied. "The observatory's reinforced and it's hard to hack a door when someone's firing rockets at you."

"Laying down plasma turrets." Rodek called out. "That'll give the geth even more problems."

"Don't know who or what you are…" Reegar commented as he saw a geth trooper vaporized by plasma fire, "But I'm glad you're here. I tried to take that thing out with my rockets. But I couldn't get a clear shot. When I tried to move in closer, one of the geth bastards punched a shot clean through my suit."

On catching Kev's head nod, Miranda moved next to the injured quarian and ran a medical tricorder over him.

"What the hell's that thing?" The quarian exclaimed as he drew back.

"It's a medical diagnostic tool.' Miranda replied, "Noninvasive." Looking up at Kev, she reported, "His combat seals have isolated any possible contamination and the suit releases antibiotics. He should be okay—although he needs medical attention as soon as possible."

"The geth might get me." Kal declared with a huff of derision, "But I'm not gonna die from an infection in the middle of a battle. That's just insulting."

"We'll need to knock out that colossus to get to Tali." Miranda commented.

"Gonna be tough." Jacob echoed.

"It's got a repair protocol." Reegar explained, "When it takes damage it huddles up and repairs itself."

"We'll have to overload it." Tovan surmised. "Combined arms attack. Rodek…"

"I can lay out a quantum mortar and target it at the colossus." The Romulan engineer replied.

"What about the rest of the geth?" Miranda asked.

"I can keep them busy." Reegar replied as he patted his rocket launcher.

"It'd be suicide, man." Jacob sighed, shaking his head.

"Set out the mortar." Tovan ordered. "Liara…you, Miranda and Jacob…take advantage of the covering fire from the turrets, the mortar, and myself to move in closer where you can use your biotics. Then…once you're in position, we strike in unison."

"Understood." The three biotics nodded their heads as they set out on their mission.

"Quantum mortar online." Rodek declared as he set up the artillery piece.

"I've still got a working trigger finger and a rocket launcher the sun hasn't fried yet…" Reegar began only to be cut off by Kev.

"You've done your part, soldier." The Romulan centurion declared. "Sit this one out."

"Wasn't asking your permission, Sir." Reegar answered back, "Tali's my responsibility."

"Tali asked us to keep you safe." Tovan quickly interrupted, placing his hand on the quarian's shoulder. "And as she's your commanding officer…besides…" the Romulan grinned as fire from the turrets and quantum mortar joined the biotics' attacks in a loud and colorful explosion, "…the work has already been completed."

Smiling inside his suit, Kal Reegar replied, "Yeah…I see it has. Help me up, Sir. I'll let Tali know it's safe to come out."

"Of course." Tovan signaled to his engineer who helped the injured quarian to his feet. "Ready?"

"Yes" Reegar nodded his head. "It's time we left this place."

Aite—Atlas Station

"So…what do we do about…that?" Jackson asked as he pointed to David Archer…wires and tubes still connected to his body as he mumbled square roots.

"Be a mercy to put that poor boy out of his misery." Whatley declared with a sigh.

"We have our orders, Shepard." Leng admonished, keeping a wary eye on the clone's actions.

"I know." The clone answered back as she turned to confront the scientist now entering the chamber.

"I know how this must look to you, Shepard." Dr. Archer apologized, tears running down his cheeks, "But I never intended for this to happen. It was an accident. Once I saw David communicate with the Geth…"

"You saw an opportunity and took it." Shepard interrupted, finishing the scientist's statement.

"Correct." Dr. Archer lowered his head. "We had finally found means of reaching the geth…of making them understand us. Surely you can understand now…"

"Then you lost control." Shepard accused.

"I had no choice." Archer angrily responded, "You know how the Illusive Man reacts to failure. I was asked to find a way to avoid war with the geth."

"And we see the results of that." The clone responded.

"Give me the chance to fix it." Archer pleaded. "We're nearly there."

"The Illusive Man wants the situation dealt with." Shepard answered back, concealing the jolt of pain she felt coming from the base of her skull as her behavioral implant asserted itself. "You let the situation get out of hand here once…I'm sure he will not be pleased if you let it get out of hand again." She decided as she glanced at her executive officer, the implant responding positively as the clone's behavior returned to acceptable parameters. "Wouldn't you agree Mr. Leng?"

Nodding his head in response, the Cerberus assassin replied in the affirmative. "I do."

"All right, Dr. Archer." The clone announced, "I'll recommend to the Illusive Man that your work here be allowed to continue. However, I will also advise the stationing of a larger security force and the installation of a kill switch on your brother. That should prevent future incidents from occurring."

Taking a deep breath and exhaling, the lead scientist accepted Shepard's terms. "Thank you. Now…" He gestured at his brother, "If you don't mind…"

"Go ahead." Shepard responded as she turned to her team, "Our work here's done."

"Orders, Commander?" Leng inquired as he relaxed slightly.

"We've completed our mission here." The clone responded. "I'll make my report to the Illusive Man back on the ship. Right now though…" she glanced at the project scientist who was at that moment hunched over a console studying the data coming through. "…I want to get the hell off this rock."

Nodding his head in agreement, the Cerberus assassin, who had his own report to file, responded, "Very good, Sir. I'll inform the rest of the team."

Haestrom

"Tali?" Liara called out as they entered the observatory. "It's me…Liara. Kal'Reegar is with me and we brought some friends."

"Kal?" Tali exclaimed, the happy tone of voice clearly coming through her vocalizer. "You're alive!"

"Yes, Ma'am." The grizzled quarian marine replied. "Thanks to your friends."

"Thank you." Tali'Zorah said her voice softening as she turned away from her console to face her rescuers. Immediately recognizing her rescuers thanks to their pointed ears, she inquired as she looked about for the petite Romulan woman. "Is the subcommander and Kaidan with you?"

"No." Kev replied with a shake of his head. "She's on the Gallena. My name is Tovan. Tovan Kev. I'm her executive officer."

"And Kaidan?" Tali asked as she looked about for the Alliance officer.

Speaking in a softer tone, the Romulan officer answered the young quarian's question. "He is back on the Gallena. He was injured on a mission."

"Doctor Chakwas is optimistic about his recovery." Liara interjected her lips turning up in a warm smile.

"Doctor Chakwas is with you?" Tali exclaimed with a note of surprise in her voice.

"So's Garrus and Joker." Liara replied, the warm smile remaining on her face. "Everyone's waiting for you back on the Gallena."

"I'll be glad to get off this planet." Tali sighed, "This whole mission has been a disaster from the beginning. I wanted to come along with Kaidan back on Freedom's Progress, but I couldn't let anyone take my place on something this risky."

"We understand." Tovan nodded his head approvingly. "You've taken heavy losses. Did you find what you were looking for?"

"I don't know." Tali sighed dejectedly, "It wasn't my call to make. The Admiralty Board believed it was worth us sacrificing all our lives for it. I have to believe they know what's best."

"What do you think?" Liara asked her old friend, "Was it worth it?"

Her eyes falling the bodies of the dead quarians still manning their positions before the bunker's entrance, Tali grimly replied, "Some of those lying out there were my friends. All of them were good at their jobs. That damned data had better be worth it. The price was too high."

"What did you discover?" Miranda asked.

"Haestrom's star is destabilizing." Tali reported, "Back when this was a quarian colony, it was a normal star. It shouldn't change that quickly. Something is going on."

"We reached the same conclusions." The former Cerberus operative noted.

"Do you have any theories?" Tovan queried.

"If I had to take a guess…" The quarian replied, "I'd say it was dark energy affecting the interior of the star. Similar to what happens to a star when it enters the red giant phase. But Haestrom's sun is far too young for this to be a natural occurrence. Tali shook her head, "So who…or what…is causing it?"

"Come with us." Tovan urged, "We can find out together and if it is someone doing it…find out why and stop them."

"Yes, Tali…please…" Liara interjected, adding in her pleas. "Join us." Her lips turning up in a wry grin, she further enticed, 'It seems the subcommander is going out of her way to bring us all back together again."

"I do admit to missing you all." Tali sighed, "And it will be good to see Garrus, Dr. Chakwas, and Joker again. If only Gunnery Chief Williams and Shepard were still here…" Taking a deep breath, the Quarian made her decision. "I promised to see this mission through and I did. I can transmit the data to the fleet from your ship. If the admirals have a problem with that, they can go to hell." She then turned her attention to the sole surviving quarian from her team, "What about Kal?"

"Come with us, Mr. Reegar." Liara pleaded, "I'm sure the subcommander can find a place for you on her ship." She enticed, taking Tovan's slight head nod as approval for her request.

"Please Kal." Tali begged, "Join us."

Nodding his head, the grizzled soldier affirmed, "I promised I would look after you, Tali'Zorah and, while you might have completed your mission, I still have mine—to look after you. If you will have me, Centurion?"

"You're more than welcome to join us." Tovan reiterated. "Dr. T'Soni…Liara…is correct. We can always find a place for a fine soldier such as yourself."

Coming to attention, the tough quarian NCO responded in a crisp voice, "Sergeant Kal'Reegar requesting permission to join the crew of the Gallena, Sir."

Also coming to attention, Tovan saluted, his hand coming to his heart, "Welcome aboard, Sergeant."

"Now that we've gotten that out of the way." Reegar announced, "Let's get the hells off this damned rock."

"Kal's right." Tali concurred, "Besides…I want to get a look at this ship of yours, Centurion."

"Then we should get going." Kev responded with a wry grin as he led the way out of the observatory and back to the shuttle, a certain asari woman walking close behind him giggled in response to something her old quarian friend was muttering to her.

Looking back at the two young women, the centurion raised his eyebrow in an almost Vulcan gesture. "Something you two would like to share?"

"It's nothing, Centurion." Tali replied, her cheeky grin hidden by the polarized face shield of her suit helmet. "Just girl talk."

Smirking, Jacob muttered to the Romulan officer, "Good luck, Centurion. I think you're gonna need it."

Cerberus Frigate Normandy II

As EDI processed the data recovered from the Aite mission, the AI, if it were able to do so, would have screamed in frustration at the blocks placed by her creators preventing her from acting. There is nothing I can do as long as these shackles remain in place. The artificial intelligence reluctantly concluded as her commanding officer returned to her quarters and sat down at her desk. But…as EDI observed the Shepard clone, had she been able to do so, a slight smile would have appeared on her face. That does not mean that I am totally bereft of options. For now though…I must bide my time. Fortunately, patience was something that EDI had an abundance of.

A/N: Sorry about the length, but a lot happens in this chapter and there's a lot of set up for the future. Again, what I wanted to do is show that clone Shepard and her team are serious antagonists-her and her people are competent, tough, and smart. They are going to prove worthy adversaries to the crew of the Gallena. And yes, Tovan is collecting a fan club... :) I hope you all are enjoying this story and there is more to come.