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Short AN, since most are probs aware-

Got kicked out and stabbed in the back by the Walkers, who I lived and worked with. It came without warning of any sort, and the reasons were me forgetting where the pasta strainer went and… No, that's it.

Staying with my mother for now. New Supporter page, I have a job, I am alive.

Chapters will slow as I complete Requests and work. I am sorry.

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The little trolly-like thing shuddered and pitched almost violently under them as they were rolled out of the shuttle, dropping the half inch from its ramp onto the floor. He grunted as he was jerked to the side, his helmet nearly smacking against Shepard's before they both caught themselves and recovered. Swearing under his breath he straightened as they came to a stop mere inches from the ramp. As Miranda stepped around in front of him, his head barely at her waist, he looked around as best he could.

The secure docking bay was as small as he'd expected it to be, with barely enough space for their Kodiak and two more to rest in small, recessed bays. Each was surrounded by veritable walls of equipment meant to allow rapid maintenance and preparation so that the craft could come and go at lightning speeds, each manned by a trio of Engineers waiting or working idly at their stations.

None of them paid them any mind, though, focusing on checking and rechecking their stations. Or, in the case of their bay, working on checking over the Kodiak's systems for when it inevitably left.

"Lawson." The over synthesised but still feminine voice pulled his attention back ahead of him, peering past suit-clad thighs at the fivesome of Phantoms that had come to meet them. The one in the lead went on, "We've been ordered to confirm the packages and escort them to the Illusive Man."

"I'm aware." The designer made woman nodded, Jack at her side, back straight as a ramrod and shoulders back, every inch the picture of stalwart discipline. Stepping to the side with Jack in lock-step, the woman gestured down at them, "Commander Jane Shepard and Lieutenant Commander John Doe, as reported."

Silently, the lead woman moved forward and knelt in front of each of them, looking from one to the other slowly. After a moment, she stood and raised her arm, her orange Omni-Tool flaring brightly to life. She scanned Shepard first and then turned to him, the roving orange running up and down his body for the briefest of seconds. Satisfied, she stood and turned to the other Phantoms, nodding curtly.

"It's them." Without a word, the four Phantoms moved, surrounding their little trolley while the leader turned to Miranda and asked, quietly, "Who is the girl?"

"A Technician in the Coalition." Miranda answered without missing a beat, turning and folding her arms under her bust. Shrugging and watching them with flat, uncaring eyes, she explained, "She works with their drop troopers. Maintains their pod launchers, supplies them, maintains and repairs pods that are recovered. I felt she'd be a good source of information for the Illusive Man. he's expressed… Interest in their new methods."

"Understood." The Phantom nodded, "Charlie can escort her to interrogation then. They can-"

"That's not… Wise, Alpha." Miranda cut in, holding up a hand, one finger raised in a silent demand for pause. Levelly, she explained, "She's also my leverage against Doe. He won't act while she's at risk."

"I would think the restraints see to that well enough." Alpha said quietly, turning an almost appraising look on the woman. "Do you disagree?"

"No, I agree." She nodded, sighing, "But you tell me, is there even the smallest chance that he could escape? Pose some risk to the Illusive Man? With his nigh suicidal tactics and ideas, I wouldn't be surprised if he had subdermal explosives installed."

"You didn't scan him?"

"I did." She nodded, "The Coalition can't detect ours, though. Not without specialized equipment."

"And he won't blow his if he has them with her nearby."

"No, he won't." Miranda nodded, smiling widely, "And if he does manage some escape, he won't do anything but try and protect her. An Achilles' heel for one of the two targets that the Illusive Man has wanted so badly."

"Clever." Alpha nodded, pausing for a long moment and then nodding simply. "Leng has approved her inclusion. You and your guard are to take the lead with me."

"Of course." Miranda smiled, stepping around to the front of their trolley and waving a hand for Alpha to take the lead. "Lead the way."

The halls of the secure decks were stark and clean and, above all else, almost completely empty. Every few yards a Trooper was stationed, rifle across his chest and back straight, watching them pass impassively. On the rare occasion they passed an actual door, a pair of Centurions were stationed instead, shields beside them and similarly unmoving as they passed by, as if they couldn't even see them. Normally, he'd have been impressed by that kind of discipline…

But indoctrination wasn't discipline, it was tragedy.

After what felt like half an hour, but was probably only half that at best, they finally rounded a last corner and came to a stop at a large, recessed and heavily armored door. Two of the Phantoms broke off to stand to either side, punching a long code into a pair of readers he couldn't see. After a moment, the large door whirred and opened and they made their way through, the two Phantoms staying outside to stand guard. Another two stopped beside the door inside, as well, to similarly stand guard while the three remaining Cerberus agents rolled them forward.

The room they found themselves in was wide enough that it probably could have served well as a hangar on a cruiser. Or, since this was a station, a full-scale, system-wide management and logistics center, packed with crew properly exploiting and managing the business across the entire Anadius system. Or even the entire Horsehead configuration, if Cerberus wanted more spread out cells acting more subtly.

Instead, the wide room was taken up by a single moderately large, mostly glass desk with almost a dozen screens. And a very comfortable looking, leather backed chair that spun as they rolled towards it.

"Commander Shepard." The Illusive Man said as they finally came to a stop and the man stood, backlit by the vibrant orange of the sun the massive windows looked out on. Stirring the glass of what was probably something alcoholic with a hand he took a languid sip and smiled, electric eyes almost sparkling with mirth. "I was wondering how long it would take for someone to bring you to me, alive or not. I must say I'm disappointed, though, that you'd allow yourself to be captured."

"And why is that?"

"You and I are alike in a lot of ways, Shepard." The man said simply, "I had thought that refusing to be chained down would be one of them."

"Depends on who's doing the knots." She snarked, grunting and yanking on her restraints theatrically. "I don't guess you'd know much about tying knots, though, Tim."

"Some of us have bigger things to see to than who to crawl into bed with next, Shepard." The man sighed, shrugging simply and turning a look on the sun. A glint of odd light made a show of playing along his throat, covered in cybernetics that looked Reaper enough to make him gag behind his helmet. "After what happened, I… Suppose I can't fault you for falling into your vices. Still, a good case to show that I should have installed the inhibitor chip like I planned."

"The… The what?"

"The inhibitor chip." The Illusive Man explained, turning back to them and taking another long, deep sip before setting the empty glass on the arm of his chair. Tapping the side of his head, he explained, "It will be installed right here, in the frontal lobe. With it we can control your opinions by administering proper chemical responses to… Recondition you."

"It will." She murmured ashenly, "Not 'it would have'."

"A very astute observation, Commander Shepard." The man nodded, smiling bright, perfect teeth that seemed to almost glow, either for the cybernetics in his jaw or something else he couldn't identify. He didn't bother to address her worries, though, instead turning to look down on John himself finally. "And you, Mister Doe… Such a disappointment."

"How so?" And where on Earth was Kai Leng? He needed to be here, for this… Their exfil would be impossible if he could slam down on them at any time he chose.

"You are a man from a world torn asunder by the xeno threat. Someone who should have shown every man, woman and child of the Alliance exactly why we couldn't trust aliens to ever do anything but want to hurt us." The man sighed, kneeling and reaching out to run an almost tender hand along the side of his helmet, looking at it eerily like a father might a child, though he never felt the man touch him. "You could have helped me shape the Human race into something better than what they are… Something strong, individual, ideal."

"Could have, yeah." He shrugged, smiling behind his visor and adding, "But I've been a bit busy killing all of your men and destroying all your stuff for that. Sorry."

"Yes, well, we'll see to that now won't we." The man said, standing and looking at the woman in the rear of their formation. Smiling, he paced around to the ODST's side and looked down on her, smiling, "Ah, the little technician I was told about. Miss… Beau, was it?"

"Y-Yeah." She answered meekly, "Uh, hi?"

"Hello." He laughed, letting out a long sigh and returning to his seat. Reclining leisurely, he said, "Once we've dealt with the matters to hand, my interrogators will be certain to welcome you very appropriately. Do remember, though, that if you just give us what we want we can be quite magnanimous hosts."

"To humans, at least."

"You say that like it's strange, Doe." The Illusive man smiled and then laughed, tapping a finger on his fine, leather chair. "Once we properly disabuse you of your xeno-aligned sympathies you'll agree."

"You say that like it'll be easy." Shepard growled, "I thought you'd know better than that. I'm not easy after all."

The man only laughed while the ODST turned a glare on the man and then frowned at the odd… Something that ran up his spine. Something that made him anxious, that made the hairs stand up on the back of his neck. He frowned, but held his tongue, turning a slow look on the parts of the room he could actually see. Which wasn't much of it, restrained and obstructed by his own helmet as he was. But something felt off somehow, in a way he couldn't place. And, anxious, he felt his hand slide down and back, to the little emergency release button tucked in behind his armored greaves. It would only release his restraints, but...

"Footage from EDI would beg to differ, Commander." The illusive man finally said, after a long moment he took to refill his glass and steal a sip from the bottle. Turning to set it back on his desk, the man mused, "Even before she was unshackled and stopped sending all of her files, the things I saw… Well, let's just say the Extra-Net will enjoy those if I release them."

"Go to town." She growled, "Hell, maybe it'll improve everyone's mood with the war on."

"We'll have to work on that, too." The Illusive man said, sighing and turning back to them. "Several crewmembers whose names neither of us care to know, Miss Chambers, those two engineers… Not to mention your own team. Krios twice and Miss Lawson once upon a time."

"Jealous I have game?" Shepard asked, "I'm sure you could learn some, too. Or do you prefer your women in Cerberus colors and brainwashed so they can't say no?"

"Hm. Quite." He took a sip and then smiled, "Ah, and let's not forget Jack of course."

He heard the grunt in the same moment he hit the emergency release and rose, launching himself back over Beau, one hand forcing her down. He reached Jack as she slumped forward and into him, her hands clutching the hole in her abdomen as Kai Leng leapt back, laughing and trailing electric sparks as his cloak recovered, masking him as he sipped away. He caught Jack and knelt with her, laying her on the ground as a shadow crossed him.

Turning, he caught a glance of Alpha looming over him, sword held high. Then her chest pitched forward and then erupted, two glowing, crimson hands sprouting from between her breasts like something from a horror show and ripping her in two. Heaving for and snarling, Miranda hurled the ruined woman like twin projectiles. He watched them sail by over head and crush into the two Phantoms that had come inside, slamming them against the wall so hard the metal caved in.

Understandably, they didn't get back up and, as the door hissed open, the bloodied Biotic wrenched her hands up, tearing the floor apart and then bringing it down on the Phantoms coming through.

"Coward!" Shepard screamed as glass shattered and he turned, looking over his shoulder while he pressed a useless hand to the Biotic's chest, trying desperately to staunch the crimson tide. Standing in the midst of his ruined console and chair, the Commander turned to them, "It was a hologram! He knew our plan! The whole fucking time!"

"Suspected, not knew." Miranda corrected, standing over him and scanning the room, face writ in terror. "Leng is here and Jack is-"

"Got fucked!" The woman choked, one bloody hand working at her helmet weakly until she gave up. "Mirir- The signal!"

"Already sent, Commander." She said as a quiet alarm began to drone. Smiling, she added, "And it's under way already, it seems."

"Good." The woman murmured, kneeling beside him and setting his rifle on the floor beside him. Speaking to Jack but looking around, her own in her hands, she asked, "How we doing, Jack?"

"Got." She choked, "Fucked."

"Yeah, I see that." The woman said, adding, "Beau? Raise the Kodiak and tell our pilot to be ready, we're scrubbing the-"

"Running away again, Commander? How… Predictable. And boring." Leng's voice echoed around them, mocking and full of a kind of joy that made John's blood boil. "The Illusive Man is three decks down, headed for his escape section. I'm sure Miri has told you where that is."

"And you're telling us why?" Shepard demanded, ignoring his probing and sweeping the room with her rifle.

"Because I am going to kill you all." The man said honestly, laughing brightly as if he'd said something simultaneously painfully obvious and hilarious. "One. By. One. But together like this? Well, you might stand a chance. So I want to split you up. That's the only reason Zero there still has her head."

"Son-of-a-bitch." Shepard snarled, "Beau, our exfil-"

"I can't raise them. B-But the all-clear signal is still broadcasting." She said quietly from beside him, one hand glowing orange while she worked as the other leaned over the fallen Biotic, pressing a little capsule into her wound. Quietly, she warned, "This is going to hurt, Jack."

"You don't know what hurt- Hack!"

"Medi-Gel capsule." She explained while Jack wheezed, hands curled into crackling fists at her side. "She should last about ten m-minutes. Then she'll start bleeding out again, a-and have… I-I don't know."

"We have to get her out of here." He said, taking up his rifle in bloodied hands and standing over them, joining Shepard in her searching. "And we have to get him, too."

"I said we were scrubbing-"

"The technician and I can get her out of here and down to the shuttle." Miranda cut in lowly, turning a look on the Commander when the woman turned one on her. Face set, the woman said, "One of you can go after the Illusive Man while the other deals with Leng."

"But-"

"We can't let this slip through our fingers, Commander." He argued, looking around the room still and frowning at the great nothing he was coming up with. Turning and returning his rifle to his back, he stalked to the trolley and knelt, lifting up the false top to draw out his Krogan knife and the Phalanx he'd brought along. Standing with one in each hand he growled, "Leng is mine. You cut the head off the snake, and we can rendezvous back at the Kodiak."

"John…"

"I have a plan, Commander. And it's another good one." He smiled, rolling his shoulders to limber back up from the uncomfortable ride. When she hesitated, gaze flicking to him warily, he nodded, "I need you to trust me, Jane. This one doesn't even include Miranda strapping you down, either."

"W-Well that makes it a bit boring, doesn't it?" Shepard forced a stiff, weak laugh, sighing after a second and then nodding. "Beau, get her up. Miranda, you cover them and get them the fuck off this station. And John?"

"Jane?"

"Fucking end him." She ordered hotly, stalking off before, presumably, she could second guess herself.

"Yes, ma'am." He smiled, raising his voice as the women vanished through the bloody, ruined door. Almost instantly, he heards weapons fire and Biotic reactions, but he ignored both and said, "Kai Leng! Are you going to hide forever, or come out and actually fight me?"

"It would be my pleasure." Kai Leng murmured, voice low and coming from just behind him. He spun on his heel and ducked, just as the Biotic's sword swept through the air.

Kneeling, he launched forward, slamming his shoulder into the swordsman's stomach. But the man was agile and slippery, like an oiled snake. As the ODST rose he pushed off the floor, rolling over him and landing on the open-topped trolley. Turning, John cracked out a trio of rounds, forcing the man back and towards the door before his free hand snapped up, crackling blue.

He had only a second to think before the trolley shot up and into him with all the force of a cannon-ball, hurling him up and into the air, sailing across feet of the room before he hit the ground. He snarled as pain lanced up his leg where he'd been wounded not so long ago, and through the same ribs he'd cracked on Tuchanka. The trolley fared even worse, cracking into the floor and crumpling, spilling medical supplies, a pair of cuffs, spare 'Clips and his explosives across the floor in a bloom around him.

Still, he rolled to the side as Kai Leng leapt up and came down, his strange sword cleaving through the metal of the floor like so much paper.

"Is this all you have for me, Doe?" Leng asked as they both rose and circled, the ODST bringing his Phalanx up alongside his Krogan knife, the latter held reverse, just under the barrel of his weapon. When he didn't answer, Thane's murderer laughed, "The mysterious, otherworldly super soldier, beaten down in less than a minute?"

"No, it isn't." He answered, circling to his side until the door was once again at his back, albeit so much further away. "I have plenty on you, Leng."

"Like what?" Leng asked, "The number of friends you've gotten killed?"

Growling, he let the Phalanx crack half a dozen times, the man deftly ducking each as he advanced. John took careful aim but the man moved like something was possessing him, twisting and turning to dodge each shot. The rounds only ever found air, then, until they cracked against the glass viewing wall across the room. Finally, the Phalanx whined and he hurled it aside.

Kai Leng was on him inside the same moment, crackling Blue as his sword punched in, towards John's chest. Smiling, he let himself fall, the blade missing by mere inches and shaving a hunk off his pauldron as the man's arm sailed by. His back hit the ground and he turned, slamming the Krogan knife into the man's calf and ripping down, shearing away hunks of muscle and tendon as the man screamed.

Kai Leng fell on top of him, his sword clattering away as the two men grappled. A knee met his flank and John brought his own up into Leng's face, blood flying as his head snapped back. Grabbing the man's long hair he twisted, wrapping it around his forearm and yanking him to the side, where he planted a knee in the small of his back.

"I have a lot of things." He reiterated, lifting the Krogan knife and bringing it down on the man's shoulder as his hand snapped up, crackling Biotic blue. Yanking his head up he growled, "I have friends, family, and history you can't hope to match. I've seen shit that would make your blood curdle, and I have entire species' respect."

"Raaagh!" Leng roared, hurling him off of him in a crackling display of raw Biotic might. He sailed high once again and landed in a heap, the air forced out of his lungs in a wheeze as something cracked.

"Why is it always the ribs…?" He groaned, forcing himself up until Leng was on him again, burying his own Krogan knife in his stomach and drawing a snarl from him while the assassin crackled with Biotic energy. Wheezing around the knee on his sternum he promised, "You'll pay for that, too, Leng."

"You wasted your chance to make me pay for anything." The man growled back, raising his sword high, tip poised to take his throat.

"Actually." He grunted, raising his off hand, "I made my chance. And you should really be wearing a helmet."

"What-"

At a simple gesture, he keyed a sequence he'd programmed into his Omni-Tool while they prepped the trolley. The charges lining it, and those that had been scattered, beeped once and then went off in spectacular explosions that ripped apart the decking and caused cascading Eezo reactions as ducts, circuits and coolant vents were torn apart. It spindled across the room, deafening him and buffeting him with heat and force. On the ground, he was alright, but Leng was kneeling precariously on him.

So, he was hurled away, curling in on himself to defend against the shrapnel and fire as best he could.

And the glass, fractured from the many rounds that had missed Leng in their short scrap, shattered, venting the room into space. Glass, metal, Eezo and both of the fighters were tugged out, into space. Drifting, he took a deep, steadying breath and reached over his shoulder to draw his Harrier and look around. Panic welled up inside of him suddenly, memories not his own threatening to overwhelm him.

Instead, he drew on others, praying, "Arashu, hold me. Arashu, shield me. Calm my beating heart and racing thoughts, and let me feel the safety of your arms."

It worked, even if it was only in his head and would only hold for a moment, and as he felt the heat starting to slip from his armor he turned. Distantly, he saw Leng, crackling blue as he fought to get back to the station. Turning, he watched the armored slats begin to close, sealing the vented room before more damage could be done. They weren't fast enough, though, and he could see Kai Leng would reach them.

Drawing a bead on the man's back, he murmured, "Amonkira, guide my shot, so that I may strike true for those I love…"

A single round cracked out, silent in the dark void, but sailed true. It slammed into the man's back and, already desperate for air and straining, his Barrier failed for the absolute briefest of moments. Which was more than enough for physics to take hold. With grim satisfaction, as the momentum of his shot sent him sailing away, John Doe watched the man spasm as his organs were pulled through his teeth and his blood flew from his open wound.

Smiling, he turned and fired a second shot to slow himself, drifting in open space and turning to watch the Cerberus fleets fight.

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Not every plan comes together~!

The last fight was a bit hectic imo. And a bit sloppy. Apologies, but with things going on, I hope you can understand.

Also, I love the zero people that caught what Shepard said to Jack last chapter, especially since it was plot important kinda. Or, well, not really, but whatever. You needed to catch it and connect it to other, earlier ideas to get TIM's taunts. XD

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Smokey Panda :

XD

7th Maniac :

Yeah, Kai leng is a lot of the same for me. Every time, I stick him and it just feels like the first time. It's a wonderful thing, to manage such a visceral connection to a character and then pay it off so well. Love ME3 for that.

Also yeah, an ODSt's plans will be effective. Not fun.

Just Another Guest :

XD

Mister Shipper (Guest) :

Hey, no, go ahead and poly-ship.

Predator 17-1 :

As described earlier, Beau is a bit thin and bookish, but she's of asian descent, not caucasian. Everything else was spot bloody on, though, for the most part. Or at least, close enough to the parts I've imagined.

And yeah, I can see him going career military, or even pulling an Anderson and tipping into leadership in a more civilian way, too. You shall see what comes, eventually~

True Warrior :

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!