Disclaimer: I do not own either Star Wars or Mass Effect. They're just two of my favorite franchises and I wanted to play in the sandbox.

Chapter Twenty One: Improvised Plans

"You have to be kiffing kidding me!" Fives exclaimed in a hushed voice.

Shepard took a measured breath and replied quietly, "It isn't ideal, but this is the mission."

"Isn't ideal? Shepard, come on." He looked past her shoulder at the small dining table where their target, Jenz Cerkin sat with his wife Merla and two children, a boy of about eight years and a girl of six.

"I've faced some less than ideal circumstances. We aren't prepared for this."

Shepard grabbed his arm and pulled him further into the dark hallway toward the door and out of earshot. "Were you prepared for Umbara? Are you or are you not the same ARC-55-55 that defied his commanding officers, stole alien fighters, destroyed a Separatists supply ship, and talked his way out of an execution?"

He opened his mouth to argue but closed it for a moment. "That's different. Civilians weren't in the middle of that."

"War has a way of putting civilians in the middle. We deal with it, because they are who we're ultimately fighting for." Her eyes steeled. "We're spec ops. We think our way through it and get the job done. Right?"

He matched her expression with a smile at the corner of his mouth. "Yeah."

She clapped his shoulder roughly, "That's more like it."

They emerged from the hallway and joined the family in their kitchen. Merla stood to begin preparing dinner. The kids looked apprehensive, but their nervousness eased when Shepard smiled warmly and sat at the table to introduce herself.

Fives was surprised by how easily she interacted with the young kids. As far as he knew, she didn't have children, yet she knew how to calm their fears and engage with them. She enlisted their help by creating a game in which they had to find the shortest path from the house to their ship on a datapad. While the kids were occupied, it gave them a chance to assess their situation.

"Okay, let's start from the beginning." Shepard stated firmly. "We seem to have some gaps in the brief."

"I pilot supply transports on Ringo Vinda. I've been skimming clearance codes for supply bases and transmitting the intel to Merla. My cover was blown and I had to run but I couldn't leave my family behind."

Shepard's eyes flicked to Merla. She noticed the way the woman glared over her shoulder at her husband briefly before resuming her task. A rod of tension stiffened across her shoulders as her husband talked. The children finished their task and were sent to play in their room. They seemed relieved to leave to kitchen.

"I was out getting supplies when I noticed the bounty hunters following me. That's when we signaled the Republic for help." He continued.

"The brief said you arrived in a ship. Where is it?"

"I stashed it under cover at the edge of town."

"What's the damage?" Fives asked.

"No damage." Jenz answered, slightly confused. "It's low on fuel, but otherwise intact."

They sat at the table and reviewed datapad the children were using. Jenz indicated the location of his ship on the map of the city, which was in the opposite direction of theirs. Shepard showed Fives, who made an approving sound in his chest. As they reviewed the routes the kids mapped out, Jenz stood next to Merla and tried to rest a hand on her hip. She rebuked him with an elbow to the ribs and a scowl before shifting just out of arm's reach to resume cooking. Shepard tapped Fives on the arm and gestured discretely at the pair while they interacted. When they exchanged a glance, he confirmed he saw the was trouble between them as well.

"Mr. Cerkin, you said you saw bounty hunters at the market. How many were there?" Fives probed.

"I'm not entirely sure. One or two?"

"And Cad Bane was among them." Shepard stated rather than asked.

Merla opened her mouth to speak, but quickly closed it.

"You were there as well?" She asked to clarify.

Jenz quickly answered no while Merla simultaneously said yes. They exchanged a tense look.

"Okay, here's the deal. Some conflicting details are expected in situations like this. The conditions rapidly change and we adapt to it. But, if there's something going on here," She set the datapad aside and gestured between the couple. "My partner and I need to know about it and we need to know about it now. We can't ensure the safety of you or your children otherwise."

The tiny space was filled with uncomfortable, thick silence. Shepard looked between the two with calculated scrutiny. Neither spoke.

"Alright then, how about this. We'll go do some recon and give you two a chance to get your story straight. Sound good? Great."

Leaving the datapad on the table, she and Fives exited the house through the backdoor just off the kitchen. The streets were beginning to empty as the suns had set not long ago and the air was quickly getting cold. They walked toward the location of Jenz's ship. As they walked, Shepard used her OT to map the route. She put and arm around his waist and leaned into him.

"What are you doing?" He hissed in her ear, feeling uncomfortably close to his captain's girlfriend.

"We're being watched." She whispered back. "I counted two on on roof. Relax, okay?"

"What do you make of all this?" He asked quietly, draping an arm across her shoulder.

"I think he's lying, which is why the datapad is recording their conversation."

"That's risky."

"All of this is risky. See anyone else?" She asked.

He chanced a look around. "No, just the two."

They entered the market square and ducked into an alcove. Continuing their ruse as a couple, Shepard pulled Fives close. She took note of the available cover, prime sniper posts, and possible blind spots. It was workable, but largely a fishbowl. Maybe they could get back to the ship for full kits. Peering around his shoulder, she saw a tall, thing figure in a wide hat slowly stroll into the far end of the courtyard. He lingered for a long moment, looking directly at them, before continuing through the way they came in.

"That was Bane." Fives whispered. "We need to mobilize quickly."

"Agreed. I'll head back. See if you can verify how many more there are." She instructed.

They parted ways and Shepard returned to the small dwelling. The family was eating dinner, which she was invited to partake in. She spent the meal observing the dynamics of the pair. Although there was still tension between the couple, they seemed to have resolved some of their issue, or they were putting on a calm face for their kids. She wasn't entirely sure which. After supper, the children returned to their room to play before bed. Unsurprisingly, Cerkin wasn't willing to give her the intel before arriving on Coruscant.

Not long after, Fives returned and they spoke privately to finalize their plan. Shepard set up a small holo projector in the small living room with mismatched furniture and a wobbly coffee table. She and sat side by side for some measure of privacy, despite being only a few feet from the kitchen.

"What did you find?" She asked quietly.

"I counted Bane plus four. Two are watching the house, two are watching his ship and one more at the docks. They aren't on our ship, but they're circling. No one I recognized from from his known associates. I'd guess it's a green crew."

"That would work to our advantage. What do you think is the best play?" She asked.

He considered their routes and options. "I say we split up. You with Merla and the kids together, Jenz and I to draw them away. The bounty hunters shouldn't be more than we can handle, as long as we can flush them out."

"Agreed. Keeping them out of the line of fire will be the biggest challenge." She nodded toward the kitchen.

"Did you find out what's going on?" His voice dropped lower.

Shepard's eyes flicked past his shoulder at the couple talking quietly over cups of tea at the table. "No. They took the conversation to a different room. I couldn't pick up what was said."

"One of them is lying. My gut tells me it's him."

"We have to be moving by dawn." She paused. "I want you with Merla and the kids."

He straightened his posture to protest, but remembered the surroundings and leaned back toward her. "Rex still expects me watch your back, leaving you with him isn't doing that."

"I'm a big girl, Fives. I know what I'm doing."

"I don't trust him."

"Neither do I. If he's going to try something, he's more likely to try it on me, because he thinks he'll an advantage."

Fives cocked an eyebrow at the notion, "No one's that stupid."

She chuckled. "You'd be surprised."

The horizon was just beginning to lighten when they prepared to leave. Shepard dressed in Merla's poncho and hat, while she donned Shepard's goggles and facewrap. The kids were dressed in adult ponchos and fashioned to look like Jawa robes at a glance. Using a borrowed hover skiff, several empty crates were loaded and the kids placed near them for cover. Fives checked the charge of his blasters and verified he and Shepard were linked by comm. He hated splitting up, much less leaving her alone with an aruetii like Jenz, but they were left with little choice under the circumstances.

Shepard likewise checked the charge ofher pistol and shotgun while keeping a careful eye on her ward. She made mental note of the small blaster he carried as well as his wrist comm. A man like him would have a few surprises up that particular sleeve. Unsurprisingly, he was more concerned about how long it would take to get to his ship than showing concern for his family. He repeatedly, unconsciously rested a hand against the right side of his stomach. Shepard suspected that's where he kept something very valuable.

"Keep comms dark unless you get in trouble." She reminded. "If you get to the ship and I tell you to go, you go. Period."

Fives set his jaw but nodded briskly in understanding before whispering. "Watch your back."

"Always." She replied with a wink and turned to Jenz. "Time to go."

The streets were empty and quiet. They walked at a quick pace, staying under the cover of the sun diffusing canopies and overhangs as much as possible, darting quickly across the street junctions. Jenz seemed inclined to fall a pace behind, but Shepard corrected him by grabbing his jacket at the waist and pulling him back to her right side to keep him in her peripheral.

They opted for the shortest route, which she had mapped the prior night. Although it left them exposed through the market, the exposure intentional, so the pair would be targeted over Fives, Merla, and the kids. Halfway there and they were making good time. Shepard was acutely aware of the sniper following them via the roofs. She also took notice of a Trandoshan following several blocks behind and at any moment she expected to see the slender outline of Cad Bane ahead of them.

The path stopped at a dead end. An entry to the right opened up to the market. Later in the day the area would be bustling with vendors, but as the second of the planet's two suns was just beginning rise, it was empty of people. An dried up, sand-filled well occupied the middle of the square. Vacant market stalls, abandoned crates, and the occasional broken droid dotted the perimeter. The ship was half a mile off the square. All they had to do was get through the fishbowl to the far end. Above her, she heard the shuffling of boots on the roof. A sniper was moving in to position.

"Be ready. Run for cover, got it?" She instructed, drawing her pistol and throwing aside the cumbersome poncho and hat.

"Got it." Jenz replied.

Shepard launched herself from cover, dragging her charge by the collar so he'd keep pace. As she expected, the sniper began firing from the rooftop. Projectiles bounced off her shield. She blindly launched an incineration charge in the direction of the shots. They jumped into the middle of the well. Jenz fired wildly as Shepard checked her targets. The Trandoshan she spotted earlier stood around corner they had just occupied and second sharpshooter took a pot shot at them, just grazing her shield. She chanced a look at the exit to his ship to see it occupied by a the same slim silhouette she saw the night prior.

"You have something of mine." His gravely voice called. "We can do this easy or hard. It's up to you."

"You must be Cad Bane." She called loudly, hoping to she'd be able to get him talking for a moment. "Any chance you're open to negotiating?"

Several shots from his blasters burning into the stone edge of the well was the answer.

The hard way then.

As she checked her weapon charge, Jenz tried peeking over the counter. She grabbed his collar and yanked him back to cover as a sniper shot burned a hole in the stone where his head had just been. As she held him down, she fired three shots at the hooded sniper's head with her pistol, but all three missed.

Bane and his crew immediately opened fire on them. Using a singularity, the first sniper was pulled from their hiding place and quickly eliminated. Both the body and the rifle tumbled to the ground. Jenz provided cover fire as she aimed at the second sniper. A thermal detonator suddenly dropped between them and both scrambled out moments before the explosion. They sprinted across the fishbowl for a stack of crates as the Trandoshan rushed their position.

Shepard drew her shotgun and waited. When he was within range, she rapidly fired five rounds into his chest. His massive body flew back and stilled. Taking no chances, she fired two more into his head to ensure he stayed down.

She commanded Cerkin to provide cover fire and darted from cover to retrieve the two thermal detonators from his belt and the blast rifle. Her shield broke as she dove behind the crates. The remaining sniper was quiet, waiting for an opportunity. She thrust the blaster at Jenz, dropped the detonators at his feet, and instructed him to keep Bane pushed back in cover.

Her shield recovered. She activated her cloak and sprinted to the fallen sniper. Snatching the dropped rifle from the ground, she took aim but it didn't fire. Clearing the barrel, she grabbed a shell from the sniper's belt and loaded. A shot bounced off her shield. She cocked the rifle. Her OT flashed a warning as a second shot dropped her shield to critical. As she aimed, a third shot penetrated and grazed her right temple. Exhaling and squeezing the trigger, she hit her target in the forehead. Pink mist lingered in the air as the body fell back.

Her shields no sooner recovered than Bane opened fire with his two blasters. Shepard dropped the rifle and slid behind the rubble that remined of the well and returned fire with her pistol. From the crates, Jenz activated and threw one of the thermal detonators at Bane. As it exploded, the second one landed at her left side. The rapid beeping became a steady trill as she dove away.

The pain in her inner ear was immediate. Most of the blast was absorbed by her shield. Her hearing was muffled despite the deafening high pitched ringing in her left ear. Warmth trickled down her face. She touched her cheek and blood stained her hand. Her head pounded with every adrenaline fueled heart beat.

Staggering to her feet, she saw Cerkin sprinting down the corridor in the direction of his ship. The ground wouldn't stay under her as she momentarily struggled to keep her balance with a ruptured ear drum. She quickly scanned the rubble and didn't see Bane. There was no time to stop. Pushing forward, she found her feet and charged after her target.

"Shepard." Fives called over the comm. "We're at the ship about to depart. What's your status?"

"Pyjak tried to frag me after I cleared the path!" She yelled as she ran. "Get to the edge of town ASAP. We have to cut off his exit. Bane may still be in play."

"Understood. On our-"

The comm suddenly cut off, but she didn't notice. Arms and legs pumped furiously. The pain in her head dulled as she sprinted down the long, unbroken stretch of stucco block houses. Her eyes darted to the alcoves where someone could be laying in wait. To her luck, no one did.

Shepard slowed to a jog and drew her pistol as she neared the end of the corridor. Pistol aimed, she checked the corners and jogged to Cerkin's ship, which was little more than an escape pod. He was inside, desperately trying to power it up.

"Having some trouble?" She sarcastically asked. "Hands up. Turn around slowly."

Reluctantly, he complied. "Your clone sabotaged my ship."

"As much as I'd like to take credit, it wasn't us." She grabbed his collar and dragged him out of the ship. "But you don't get to lie to me without consequences. Where's the intel?"

"That intel is the only thing keeping me alive."

She buried the barrel of her pistol in the back of his neck. "I'll can it off your corpse just as easily. Cooperating will exponentially improve your odds of survival right now."

"Hold on there, little lady." Bane called, with both blasters drawn and aimed. "You've caused me enough trouble. Hand him over and I might let you walk away."

Shepard shifted Cerkin to just behind her left shoulder, though she kept a grip on him, and aimed at Bane. "I'm a little hard of hearing at the moment, you'll have to speak up. All I heard was a bunch of bullshit."

"You have something of-" He tried again louder.

"What!" She yelled loudly.

"Have it your way, then." He sneered back.

Shepard's ship suddenly flew low overhead, landing just the right of Cerkin's pod. They all had to shield their eyes from the maelstrom of sand kicked up by the engines. Internally she worried Fives had been injured give the unsteady flight path and bumpy landing.

Cerkin seized the opportunity and shocked Shepard with a taser. Her body only hummed from the jolt thanks to her shield, but it was enough to loosen her grip on her blaster, which he seized, as well as her shotgun from the mag-strip on her lower back. He held the shotgun between her shoulder blades and aimed the pistol at Bane.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I'll be finding a new buyer for these clearance codes."

"You can run from me boy, but I'll track you down. No one breaks a deal with me." Bane warned.

The ramp lowered. Shepard expected to see Fives charge out, blasters blazing but instead her stomach dropped as Merla was led out by a young Twi'lek. The same one who'd made contact with them in the bar just a day ago. She aimed a blaster on the trembling woman's head.

"You were supposed to take care of them, Pren!" Cerkin yelled, "What are you doing?"

"I told you, I don't do kids!" She shouted in reply. "Bane's deal was better than yours. Hand over the intel and I'll let her go."

Cerkin sighed. Without hesitation, he raised the pistol and fired. Pren dropped to the sand and gurgled for a moment before expiring. He shifted his aim to his wife. Shepard yelled for the Merla to run as she grabbed his arm. She twisted his wrist, forcing him to drop the pistol. He tried to fire the shotgun in her gut, but it wasn't cocked. Before he could, she had her ka-bar in hand and drove it into his throat. There was a moment of surprise in his eyes when she withdrew the blade and blood began pouring from his neck. He collapsed on the sand, which was quickly stained red. With a sneer she turned to Bane.

"Looks like you brought a knife to a blaster fight." He chuckled and held out a hand. "I'll have that intel, now."

"Try me, asshole. I've killed bigger with less." Biotics glowed around her body.

Bane's hat suddenly flew off his head with the unmistakable crack of her sniper rifle echoing in the calm air.

"I got your back!" Fives called from the top of the ship.

"You're move, Bane." Shepard persuaded, collecting her weapons. "Last chance to walk away. He won't give another warning shot."

The bounty hunter briefly deliberated before scoffing and collecting his hat. As he turned, he calmly gave her a parting warning. "Let's hope our paths don't cross again. I won't be so compromising next time."

Shepard watched him go and quickly recovered the data drive from Cerkin's body. As expected, he kept it tucked into a pocket in his vest. Giving the scene one last look, she walked up the ramp to her ship and sealed it. Fives dropped down the ladder from the exterior hatch. He flashed her a cocky grin with her Black Widow slung across his shoulder.

"Another successful mission." He concluded.

She returned a half-hearted grin, as she climbed the short ladder from the small cargo bay to the main deck. "Let's get out of here before Bane changes his mind."

Fives went to the cockpit. Moments later they were off the ground. Shepard peered into the cabin and saw Merla sitting on her bunk, holding her kids. They were shaken, but unharmed. She sat in the pilot's seat and made contact with the Jedi Council to confirm they had recovered the intel. As instructed, Fives set course for Coruscant. With a flash, they were in hyperspace.

Shepard sat back with a sigh and looked at her blood stained hands. "I gotta wash up. I look like a horror vid."

"You should let me look at that ear too." Fives replied.

She rolled her eyes and relented. "Will you grab me a some fresh clothes? I don't want the kids to see me like this?"

In the 'fresher, which was just off the galley, she peeled off her sweat, sand, and blood stained jacket, shirt, and pants. She aggressively scrubbed her hands and arms until she was certain they were clean. The last thing she wanted was the kids to see her stained with their father's blood. When she emerged, fresh clothes were waiting. Fives stood at the weapons cabinet with his back to her, returning her Black Widow to it's proper place.

"I gave your rifle a quick cleaning. Any chance you could get me one?"

"I doubt I'll be able to expense another one to the Citadel Council, but I'll see if I can sweet talk Cortez out of one the next time I see him." She chuckled as she pulled the shirt on over her head and fastened her pants.

When she sat sideways on the bench at the table to fasten her boots Fives set the med-kit on the table. He used a lighted scope and looked in her left ear.

"It's definitely perforated. I need to clean it first." He filled a bottle with sterile water and added a saline packet.

"How do you know how to field dress a ruptured ear drum?" She cocked eyebrow at him.

He grinned as he gave her a drip bowl to hold under her ear as he gently began cleaning her ear canal. "Echo taught me when we were shinies posted at Rishi Station. We almost didn't graduate training, so when we did, we were wanted to get into the middle of the fight. Instead we were sent to a listening post, about as far from the fight as we could get. Better than scrubbing toilets, but it was so boring. Hevy had a really hard time with it. He was always itching for some action. One day, while we were off duty, he and Cutup started a slap game..."

"Oh, no." Shepard knowingly groaned.

"Started with the backs of their hands, which got boring so decided to see who could take the most slaps to the face before quitting or getting knocked out. After a few rounds, Cutup quit. Droidbait lasted one hit and surrendered. I had more fun watching and didn't get involved."

"Which left Echo." She concluded.

"Yep." He looked in her ear and was satisfied it was clean. "Hevy prodded at Echo until he'd had enough and agreed."

Fives paused to laugh for a moment at the memory then opened the medi-gel applicator. Shepard hissed slightly at the sting as he filled her ear canal. He then gently applied a bandage, trying to keep her hair out of the adhesive.

"Hevy let him go first. We all thought Echo was going to get knocked out. Instead, he stood up, studied his brother for a minute, popped him in the face so fast we almost didn't see it, and ruptured Hevy's eardrum. Like that." He snapped his fingers for emphasis. "Hevy dropped to the deck, bawling in pain and Echo went back to his datapad like nothing happened."

Shepard's mouth dropped opened for a moment. A chuckle bubbled in her gut and they both broke into laughter, though she was cut short by the pain in her ear. She held the side of her face and swore.

"Echo found the treatment guide for the wound and showed me how to dress it. He said it wasn't the power of the blow, but how and where he hit." He cupped his hand slightly to demonstrate. "He forced a pocket of air right into his ear. If you do it fast enough, your ears can't equalize the pressure and - POP!"

"You're right. I would have liked Echo. I wish I could have met him." She said with a sly smile.

He nodded thoughtfully. "I noticed a graze on your head too. Can I take a look?"

She sighed, "Only to get you to stop bugging me about it." She turned so her right side was facing him.

He carefully parted her hair and examined the blistered wound with a whistle of surprise. "It needs cleaning, but it's mostly healed already. You heal really fast."

He went about cleaning the sand and dust away with care. Silence fell between them.

"I can thank Cerberus for that." She eventually said darkly.

"You've mentioned the name a few times. What are they? A division of your military?" He applied medi-gel for good measure.

"They were an Alliance black-op turned pro-human terrorists organization."

His brows raised in surprise, "And you worked for them?"

"Not for them but..." She tried to find the right words. "You remember that story I told about Alchera?"

"Yeah, when you died." He slid into the bench across the table from her, intently watching her.

"Before my body had even stopped smoking, there was a race to find my corpse. Thankfully, Liara got there first. She gave my remains to Cerberus who resurrected me with cloned tissue and cybernetic augmentations."

"Are you...you or a clone of your remains?"

"Edi and Doctor Chakwas confirmed I'm still me here." She tapped her head. "My helmet kept brain intact and they didn't use any cerebral implants, but the rest of me is replicated."

"How long did that take?"

"Two years."

"How much did it cost?"

"An egregious amount." She vaguely replied.

Her aversion to a direct answer was out of character and he wasn't going to let it go. "Why won't you tell me?"

Her jaw shifted in annoyance at his persistence. "Because it's insensitive. While I was buying pet fish between missions, your brothers were being slaughtered in droves on Genosis and Christophsis and a hundred other planets. It just makes me angry that Cerberus spent a fortune to bring me back when I'm just one person while you and your brothers are treated like you're..."

"Expendable." He finished.

"It's not right." She shook her head.

"Do you still think something bigger is brewing?" His eyes narrowed slightly.

"I know it is." Her tone was grave. "I just don't know exactly what or why yet."

"Do you think you can stop it?"

"I'll either stop it, save those I can, or die trying."

"Is there anything I can do to help you?"

"I don't think so." She shook her head slowly as her eyes dropped to her hands. "Four billion credits."

His brows shot up. "F-four..."

"Billion. I don't know what the exchange is, but, yeah. Cerberus nearly bankrupted themselves bring me back thinking I'd be another one of their indoctrinated pawns."

"How'd that end for them?" He asked with a devious smile.

"I played their game for as long as I had to, but as soon as the job was done, I took everything that wasn't nailed down and surrendered it to the Alliance. The Normandy, intel, contacts, scientists, all of it."

"You planning the same here?" He was genuinely intrigued.

She shrugged. "When it's over I'm hoping a few of you might follow me home. I'm sure Jack would be happy about that."

Fives smiled boyishly in reply. "Yeah, just have to win this war first."

He stood and returned to the cockpit. Shepard watched him go. For his sake, he hoped it would be that simple.