After fifteen hours, Jane had just about enough of this waiting around garbage. Garrus was looking pale, well for a turian anyhow. There was a distinct lack of shine to his plates that was not improving with mere time, shift-sleeping or medigel. So, she trekked back to the above ground base in search of food. There were a couple MRE packets for her and Frank but, as far as she could tell, little in the way of recognizable dextro sustenance. Not knowing what else to do, she loaded her pack with everything sealed from the fridge and returned to the cavern.

"I'm not sure what this is..." she started, tossing several lumpy, brown packages to Garrus. "But it was everything they had."

He snagged the parcels mid air, alien, lightning-strike reflexes in action, and inhaled deeply. "This smells like... gadabae steak." After scanning the meat ensuring it wasn't laced with poison, he ripped the paper and promptly dropped a huge chunk in his mouth, bluish blood trickling down the chin plates. Quickly swallowing, abashed, he explained. "Sorry I suppose this is my turn to apologize for potentially disturbing you. I know other species find it... unnerving."

"It's not that. But uh... you won't get sick? It's raw. And it's not like I just caught and killed a.. gadabae or whatever."

"Nahh. Turians are capable of eating just about anything without cooking it first. The high acid content in our stomachs destroys bacteria on contact. However, it's considered extremely rude to do so in the presence of other species. So … uh… sorry."

"Don't apologize. If anything I'm jealous. That would've been crazy useful when I was living in the jungle." Jane turned to where Frank was continuing to snore, blubbering a little from his facial injuries. "Should we be worried about him? Sleeping with a concussion is usually a bad idea."

"That's what the tacitaloris and brain scan were for. He'll be fine. Let him rest."

Jane mumbled about not understanding 'fancy new tech toys,' demeanor tempered by the creeping exhaustion they were both feeling. Another hour passed, her and Garrus continuing to take turns napping on the chilly, cavern floor, before Krul's voice finally crackled to life. "You shits alive in there? Finally cut through the jamming."

"Yeah. We're good. Frank and I sustained a few injuries but Jane is unharmed. What's your ETA? There are over a dozen life signs remaining but we're unsure if they're hostiles or captives. We're safe for now though. Jane collapsed a tunnel, trapping them a couple klicks south of our position."

Grundan's voice became distant as if his head had moved away from the speaker. "Hear that Weaver? You can stop with the hissy fit. She's fine." Louder now, he added. "I'll have this gods-forsaken house decommissioned in about twenty minutes. Hang tight."

The squad arrived with bandages, splints, more unrecognizable medications, and much appreciated water bottles. After draining the second and scarfing down another MRE, Jane's hands finally stopped trembling from hunger. Biotics burned off calories like no tomorrow. Her lips quirked up imagining how fussy Nalah was going to be about her eating habits now that she'd be exerting three times the energy on, what she hoped would be, a daily basis. No way he can deny my joining the squad now. Any distraction would be a respite. Idle hands lead to dark thoughts and inconvenient memories.

"So what're we expecting back there?" Krul had arrived riding piggyback on Ripper, a situation that Garrus tried, admirably, not to laugh at.

"Not sure, but we're treating this as a potential hostage situation. So, if a fight does break out, watch your fire. I'll be there to dole out orders from the back. Thanks to this blasted injury, I can't be in the fray if things get gnarly."

In the interest of refraining from bringing the whole asteroid down on their heads, Sensat carefully placed a few charges around the debris and had Jane envelop each in a dense biotic bubble, controlling the explosions. Krul hung back with Frank, who was still unconscious, but the rest of the squad, Jane included, pressed ahead.

The passage spilled into a large, underground grotto with minimal lighting. Lanterns were hung haphazardly on jagged bits of rock, giving the entire area an ominous glow. A mass of bodies huddled along the far wall, eyes wide with fear. Immediately, a turian female hopped to her feet taking up a protective stance in front of the group, shouting, a little desperately. "We're not with them!"

"You're wearing a Talon uniform, seems like a safe bet that you are with them." Garrus's eyes flicked across her face. Taetrus colony markings but no clan affiliation.

"My name's Nyreen Kandros. Ex-turian military. You're… Archangel aren't you?"

"That's neither here nor there. Keep talking."

"The man you just killed? Derius? We served together in the cabals but… I didn't know how sick he'd become before I joined up. When I saw… what he was doing… wrangling slaves, smuggling red sand… I quit. Well, I tried to. Please, I just want to get my people out of here. Someone with your skills must be able to check military records. Verify my story yourself."

Garrus punched in the info to his omni-tool, quickly forwarding it to Krul. "Even if this checks out, am I really supposed to believe this guy when from zero to complete psychopath without you taking notice? Seems a little far fetched. No one goes this far off the deep end without setting off a few alarm bells. Especially not someone you fight side by side with. And yeah, I know how the cabals are structured, small tight-knit groups."

The turian woman sighed, deep and weary. "You may know how the cabals are structured, but not what serving as one is like. We're basically shunned from turian society. Our own people are suspicious of us, even within the military. Derius was always… a little dark, angry you know? But we all were. My own family abandoned me when my powers manifested, as did my unit. Sure Derius always had a few blades loose, but this? No. I didn't see this."

"I don't buy it, the cabals have been highly regarded for years. All that superstition about biotics being capable of mind control wore off ages ago."

"Any progress we made was decimated the day Saren went rogue. Trust me, we're under the scrutiny of the entire Hierarchy now. And all that talk of people unwittingly falling under his spell? Yeah. To put it in the words of an asari, we kissed freedom goodbye that day."

His posture softened a bit on hearing that. "How'd you wind up on Omega?"

"A pretty face and a series of bad decisions. When I ran into Derius here, it was like finding an old friend in a sea of enemies. I thought… it doesn't matter what I thought. I was going through a bad breakup and he was like a breath of fresh air, how wrong I was."

Garrus turned to Jane, searching her face. Like Krul, she was a walking, breathing lie detector – attuned to the slightest changes in demeanor. While his sharp, turian vision was marvelous at tracking movement and could see several more colors than a human, she was capable of catching the most subtle changes in a person's body language. After all, she sussed out his lie about Shepard within weeks, despite the fact that he was the first turian she'd ever met.

A slight nod. The truth then. Motioning Ripper and Weaver forward to scan for weapons, he holstered his rifle and continued. "So, who are all these people? Ex-Talons?"

"Some. Others are would-be slaves, many are addicts looking for a better life now that they've had the living spirits scared out of them."

Forty minutes and a background check later, Garrus was beyond ready to head back to base. This woman clearly posed no threat, she possessed the backbone and honor every turian marine had drilled into them despite her unfortunate taste in company. So, he gave her a stern warning about reinventing The Talons and set off. It was slow moving considering Frank's ample frame had to be carried between two disgruntled squad mates. After an hour of trading off hauling the man, they finally arrived home. With his hand on the door, Jane piped up.

"Oh, before I forget your friend Tali called."

"Wait, what?"

"Yeah. Plays a damn good Dread Knight too." Seeing the look of shock cross his face, she added. "Stop worrying I didn't give her my real name."

Then she, and the rest of the squad rushed inside, each in various states of exhaustion, eager to reach the sweet embrace of bed. Or, in Jane's case, a hot shower.

Well, this will be fun.

Sitting at the end of his bed, he punched in Tali's omni-number almost hoping she'd be angry. It'd be far more enjoyable to drop the bomb on her while she was midway through calling him a 'turian bosh'tet.' She answered on the third ring.

"Garrus? There you are!"

"I wanted to catch you before you set off again. Anyone else nearby?"

"For once, I actually have the room to myself. The girls are busy working in aquaponics and merchant services today. My captain decided to stick me with a less-geeky crowd, probably in an effort to hone my social skills. I don't know that many people on the Neema yet." She paused, and with a few beeps, transferred the call to her private, suit-channel so they wouldn't be overheard.

"You and a lack of social skills really doesn't belong in the same sentence Tali."

"Compared to the rest of the quarians, I'm downright introverted. Plus, I'm practically a celebrity after the whole Saren fiasco, it's a little weird."

"So, I hear you met our little biotic, Jane."

"Yes! I hope she called you a bosh'tet on my behalf. I was promised all sorts of juicy details about this supposed op you pulled off and then you disappear for months leaving me at the edge of my seat!"

His voice pitched several octaves higher, enjoying every minute. "To be fair, you were busy with your super-secret geth missions whenever I was free… You can hardly place all the blame on me."

"Ugh! What!? What is it that you've been taunting me with all this time!? I have half a mind to reach through the projector and wring your stupid, turian neck you giant bosh'tet. Stop teasing and tell me already!"

"Jane Shepard."

Tali went very, very still. "Wait? Do you have new information? Something for me to decrypt? Because I can… I mean, I would if you need me to."

"Well, you just played Galaxy of Fantasy with her….. So, I suppose that counts as new information. Nothing to decrypt though."

With the helmet, all he could discern was an abrupt, wide-eyed blink. But it spoke volumes, as did the speechlessness. Normally, the energetic little quarian talked a mile a minute, never running out of things to say. It was a special treat seeing her standing there at a loss for words.

It took awhile, but eventually, she regained control over her vocal cords. "That was… Keelah."

"Thought you'd want to know."

"You… you found her?" It wasn't so much a question as the mutterings of a woman not quite over the wave of shock. "And she's… okay? I mean she seemed so normal."

Their conversation continued for nearly an hour, Garrus giving Tali every detail, aside from what Jane had told him in private of course. It was incredibly rewarding, not to mention companionable, to catch up with a Normandy team member. Everyone had drifted apart after Shepard's death. He was the glue that held them together after all.

Eventually, he heard a small commotion in the living area indicating that Nalah and Mordin arrived to tend to Frank. After much cajoling from the two women on base, he caved and allowed the salarian knowledge of their location. While the doc still stuck under his plates like a bad cold, he had to admit, he'd earned their trust. Bidding Tali good bye, he set off for the living area with a spring in his step.

A/N I've only read a few ME comics and none of the novels. Everything in this fic is extrapolated from the games. Naturally, I will be trampling all over certain aspects of the above.

Also, it has come to my attention that ME Legendary Edition will be out in less than a month. I started this fic before it was announced, after the pandemic and a tree hit our office I had a crapload of freetime and renewed my interest in the ME universe. Anyhow, when I heard the news, I set a fairly unreasonable goal to hit ME2 by the time it went live. I knew that it was a lofty thing to aim for, given what I have planned, but I did not expect to still be in Part One/Book One: The Dark Knight. By now, I thought I'd be at least mid-way through Part 2. So, I'm trying to carve out more writing time. We'll see… I have busy week ahead of me.