Note: So this chapter wasn't in the original plan but with addition of an new OC (Isla) I finally figured out how to work in my guilty pleasure Turian, Warden Kuril. :) Don't know why I love that man but I do. This is just a shorty chapter but it works well with character development. Next chapter is right around the corner in the finalization stages and should be posted in the next few days, until then please enjoy.

Thank you for the favorites and follows and as always feedback is welcome.

I give you: Chapter Three: Violence and Negotiations

Mass Effect
"Foreign Relations"

Chapter Three: Violence and Negotiations

Sidda looked over the next dossier in the comm room, 'The Convict'. She found it strange that a prisoner was on the list of people she needed to recruit. Subject Zero, also known as 'Jack'. She harrumphed as the rest of her crew showed up, Miranda and Jacob first then Zaeed and Mordin followed by Garrus and Isla. Garrus was the one she trusted the most, Zaeed was a useful wealth of knowledge but she hadn't figured him out yet. Isla was like Zaeed, she hadn't figured her out yet. Garrus trusted her. Hell, Garrus had romantic feelings for her. She was taller that Sidda, had black hair, and a slight Asian look to her features. She was very pretty and to be honest she was surprised that Garrus went for a human.

"Where are we going next?" Jacob asked as Sidda tapped a few things on the console.

"Prison," she replied. "A ship called Purgatory."

"Purgatory?" Isla questioned. "That's a Blue Suns funded prison ship."

Sidda cocked her head at their resident Blue Suns expert. "You know it?"

Isla nodded. "Yes. Run by a Turian named Kuril, used to be a cop on Palaven."

"Cop turned merc…seems to be running theme," Sidda remarked pointedly toward Garrus.

"Vigilante."

"Nuance," Sidda countered. "Cerberus has negotiated the release of a prisoner called 'Jack'. The Illusive Man paid a substantial amount for Jack's release…but, like everything else so far there's always a catch. One that I haven't figured out yet."

"I know it," Isla said bluntly. "Kuril won't be satisfied with just the payment. He'll want something more."

"How do you know?"

"Because I know him," she replied. "I know him well."

Garrus' eyes narrowed. "How well?"

Isla sighed heavily, knowing Garrus he wasn't going to like this. "I used to sleep with him."

The room went silent as Sidda's brows lifted, that wasn't exactly where she saw that going. Garrus shifted uncomfortably. Sidda ignored it as Isla did. "What do you know?"

Isla had known Kuril for a few years now, they had a history that Garrus really wasn't going to like but she didn't care. "Kuril extorts money from governments to keep and care for the prisoners. If they don't pay he releases them at an undisclosed time and place back into their care. On the other side of it he also sells prisoners to the highest bidder."

"So he's a slaver," Sidda summed and Isla merely shrugged.

"For the most part," she said, Kuril wasn't the worst the Blue Suns had to offer. "He believes the work he does saves lives and makes them better, bent morals or not. He'll honor the deal with Cerberus but the moment he sees you, Commander, he'll want you."

Sidda's brow furrowed. "Why me?"

"Why not? You're Commander Shepard, first human Spectre, Hero of the Citadel, Hero of Elysium, and back from the dead. Batarians would pay an extraordinary amount for you and that's all he'll see." Isla explained and Sidda couldn't argue with the logic. She was right. She looked at Garrus and then to Zaeed, her 'Mercs'.

"So what do you suggest?" Zaeed asked.

Zaeed was the man who first trained her; she was one of the few who knew his true history with the Blue Suns. That tattoo on his neck wasn't merely for show, he was the original. He and Vido began the Blue Suns. Next to Garrus, he was the one she trusted completely. "As I said, he'll honor the deal but I don't think you should be there. I'll go."

Garrus didn't like that at all. Not just because he had a budding personal relationship with her but that she might be just as sought after as Shepard or even him. She betrayed the Blue Suns. "Why you?"

"Because he trusts me."

Garrus scoffed loudly. "You turned on the Blue Suns, odds are he knows that."

"I'm betting he doesn't," Isla replied her tone even and calm. Sidda commended her for it. "Even if he does…I can handle Kuril."

Sidda couldn't argue with her logic and to be frank she was right. "Pick your team."

Isla sighed as she looked at her Blue Suns armor, it was good armor but it never really had too much meaning for her. Her membership into the Blue Suns wasn't voluntary; she was forced to be there by Vido Santiago to pay off her father's major debt that he racked up with the Suns. Her father may have been trusted in the inner circle but to Vido nothing was out of reach. Sebastian died on an op and left a substantial debt to Vido. Now looking at the armor she had a different reaction, it didn't fit anymore.

She stepped into it blindly like she'd done a thousand times before; painted like the Blue Suns or not it was still top of the line and modified to be even better. For as long as she'd been a mercenary her armor had never failed her. The only time she'd ever been shot was when she was caught without it.

"Hey," Garrus' voice said jarring her from her thoughts. He wasn't happy; she didn't even need to look at him to know that. "Zaeed and Mordin? Any specific reason you don't want me over there?"

She shifted in the armor settling into it. "Because you're barely healed and your armor has been through enough."

"Stop protecting me, Isla, we're not on Omega anymore," he warned and stepped closer. "What's your history with Kuril?"

"I was sent to Purgatory about three or four years ago because Vido wanted a bigger slice of Kuril's little extortion racket," she explained as she secured bits of her armor. "Kuril took a shine to me…like most do."

Garrus stiffened. "Did he-…"

Isla scoffed loudly, she could understand his assumption, as a woman in a criminal merc band the odds of her being assaulted in some way was better than average. "Kuril? Of course not…he's not a Human or a Batarian." The tone in her voice told him all he needed to know. "Garrus, please…just trust me."

Garrus trusted her but he was the protective type. "I just don't want you hurt anymore."

Isla blushed and looked down trying to hide her smile. "I know. That's why I'm taking Zaeed."

"So you trust him but not me?"

She giggled. "You asked me once who trained me," she said and Garrus cocked his head. "I've known Zaeed Massani since I was 9."

"Isla, if he knows what you did-…"

She put her right hand on his uninjured cheek. "I'll be okay, Garrus," she said and stood on her toes to kiss his cheek. "After all…I finally got you, Archangel; I won't let Kuril get in the way of that," she whispered in his ear then left to collect her weapons and meet her team. Garrus had a moment to be frustrated, worried, and in love all at the same time.

Isla's choices for backup were practical, she trusted Zaeed to watch her back incase Kuril was less friendly than she remembered and Mordin used to be Salarian STG. It made sense to bring him along for their new recruit in cryo but he could handle combat if Kuril was even less friendly then she remembered. The Normandy docked and Isla couldn't help but feel a little nervous, Garrus wasn't wrong, if Kuril knew that she was no longer loyal to the Blue Suns this could go very badly.

She hadn't been to Purgatory in over a year but Kuril's operation was state of the art. She knew Zaeed was doing the same as she was, the training that was drilled into her by him, assessing the security. Isla counted four guards in the docking area alone and more in the control center next to the door.

"Welcome to the Purgatory, ma'am, your package is being prepped and will be delivered to you shortly." The guard said after a moment of looking her up and down. She was Blue Suns but arrived on a Cerberus vessel. The Turian looked her and her company up and down. The human man with her was scarred and tattooed; he had a menacing look about him that was enough to deter any questions and the Salarian waited patiently. "As this is a high security facility you'll need to relinquish your weapons here."

What attracted Kuril to her in the first place was her cool confidence. She acted like a boss but was by far smarter than any of them. "Not a chance," Isla replied coolly.

"This is a prison…you're not coming here armed," he stated firmly.

Isla didn't look bothered, prison or not Zaeed's first rule was to never give up your guns when you felt like you were walking into a mess. Meeting with Kuril today could go either way. "Why don't you go get your boss before you try to strong arm me."

"Everyone stand down." A gruff Turian voice said as he came through the door behind his guards and made his way down the steps. "Isla," he began as his tone changed to a low but affectionate one, "welcome back. I was beginning to think you forgot about me."

Kuril was unusual for a Turian; he was in the minority, a barefaced one. She had a soft spot for Turians. They were one only ones she'd met so far that never hurt her. "Sweet talk me all you like, Kuril, you're not getting my guns," she replied flashing him a smile.

Kuril purred a chuckle. "Let them keep their weapons. This is Isla Devereaux, she's one of us." Zaeed was uncomfortable with his tone. He knows. Kuril knew she changed sides on Omega. "If you'll come with me, I'll take you to out processing."

Isla sensed the same thing that Zaeed did and the quick glance from him was all she needed to confirm. Her exterior was cool as ever but inside the wheels in her head were spinning, trying to figure out his angle. The Warden prattled on about his ship and business, Mordin asked questions, Zaeed casually insulted him but Isla remained silent…she'd seen it all already. She knew his racket inside and out.

"Doctor, if you follow Bradley here he'll take you down to processing so you can supervise the release of Jack," Kuril said and looked to Isla. "I am going to verify the funds have transferred. Isla, would you care to join me?"

If she said no he'd be suspicious, in the past Isla enjoyed coming here, she could care less about the prison and the extortion, the prison was safer than Omega and Kuril was nice for a tough guy. She gave a single nod and casually turned to Zaeed.

"He knows," Zaeed said quietly and Isla cleared her throat.

"Yeah," she replied quickly. "Go with Mordin and handle the trade-off. I'll handle Kuril."

Zaeed nodded even though he didn't like it, Isla grew up on Omega surrounded by mercenaries and criminals. She hung around people like Vido and himself, and was trained by him; he had complete faith in Isla's ability to handle herself. Didn't mean he was comfortable with it.

Kuril's quarters hadn't changed, for a prison ship, he lived like a king. With as much money he raked in he better live the high life. She used to love being here; Kuril treated her like a Queen when she was there. He tapped the screen on his terminal and grunted satisfied with the enormous amount of money that dropped in then collected the glass of clear liquid he poured and moved to Isla. "Here."

She took the glass he offered her. Kuril kept a bottle of premium Vodka just for her. "Operation looks good, Kuril," she commented to him. "Side business must be booming."

The Warden didn't fence with her. "What are you doing on a Cerberus ship?" he asked downing his glass of Rellus, Turian Scotch, in one shot; normal behavior for him.

Isla sipped her drink and sighed. "Just an assignment."

"By who?"

She cocked her head at him maintaining her calm demeanor. "Kuril…why so nosey?"

Kuril set his glass down. He shared a drink with her, his form of an icebreaker, he'd done it when they first met and made friends, now he wanted to know what she was doing on a Cerberus ship. "I haven't seen you in over a year. You used to make regular visits."

That was true, at least until Archangel caused more trouble than he was worth for Omega. "Yeah, Omega had a little suicidal vigilante fiasco."

Kuril leaned against the far wall; he was feeling her out which threw her theory that he knew she was not Blue Suns anymore into question. Kuril was a careful man, he spent years as a cop on Palaven and even longer as a mercenary. "I heard about that. Heard it all ended in a firestorm too."

"Mercenary population was thinned considerably, that's true," she replied staying a cool as ever. Isla was a good interrogator among the Blue Suns, she was very good at reading people and Kuril knew that. "Too bad I wasn't there for it, been on 'special assignment' with Cerberus for the past couple months."

Lie. He didn't tip his hand but she lied to his face. "What do they want with Jack?"

"I'm not really sure who Jack is…just assigned to help Cerberus pick him up," she replied taking another sip. This time there were no half-truths to it, she really didn't know anything about the convict known as 'Jack'. "What can you tell me?"

Kuril's expression was mixed but she got surprise from it the most. "Cerberus didn't tell you? Jack is a dangerous, crazy, and very powerful biotic. Done it all from theft to murder to drugs to terrorism."

"Sounds perfect for a terrorist organization," she muttered and Kuril grumbled.

"What's really going on, Isla?"

"Just an assignment, Kuril." Another lie, it had to be. The Blue Suns would never send one of theirs to work for Cerberus. Tarak liked her Omega as an enforcer and interrogator. Vido liked her as a toy and a good negotiator. That's how she and Kuril met; Vido let her off Omega to negotiate for a bigger piece of Kuril's operator. Neither Tarak nor Vido would let her off Omega to work with Cerberus.

"Isla," Mordin's voice came through the comm, "transfer complete. Taking Jack to docking bay now."

That was Isla's cue to leave. As nice as it was to see Kuril again she wasn't comfortable, he was fishing. "Pleasure doing business with you, Kuril," she winked and the Turian looked down. Isla admitted there was still an attraction to him but the only Turian she had on her mind was Garrus, since the day she met him he was all she wanted.

"And it's been a pleasure having you back," he replied and Isla felt the familiar feeling of a pistol barrel pressed into her left temple. "But you're not going anywhere."

Grace under pressure was a key skill as a top class mercenary. Isla had always prided herself on the fact that she had that skill well in hand, but still, having a gun poised to blow her head off was a nerve racking experience. "What the hell are you doing, Kuril?"

"How stupid do you think I am? The entire faction on Omega wiped out but one or two survived the bloodbath with Archangel." Isla was thankful he wasn't a mind reader; she was cursing in every language she knew. "They reported to Vido and Vido sent it down the chain. There isn't a fucking place you can hide in the Terminus where the Blue Suns won't be gunning for you as a traitor."

"Kuril-…"

"Shut up," he growled sharply. "Now, your friends can leave with their package as Cerberus has held up their end of the deal but you stay."

She didn't snipe, didn't retort, and didn't even scoff. "That's not gonna happen."

"Then they all stay. You think I don't recognize Zaeed fucking Massani? Your mentor? I keep Jack, and who knows how much Vido will pay to get his hands on you."

Isla banked that was a bluff, Kuril would probably just keep her here but so far she'd overestimated her hand. "You know what he'll do to me, Kuril; you know what he's already done."

Kuril knew, he knew all too well what a son of a bitch Vido Santiago was, Isla was his favorite toy and she was never willing. "Then you shouldn't have lied to me."

"Kuril, I'm not kidding, don't do this." He ignored her and his Omni-tool lit up giving her the moment of distraction she needed. He was in armor so getting him to drop the weapon was going to require brute force; she brought her left hand up trapping it under her arm stepping into Kuril and punched the Warden hard in the face, then a second time, the third one was blocked but before he could counter attack she ducked under the arm she had trapped bending it back unnaturally. He dropped the pistol as she heard a crack and Kuril howled. All species were venerable at the knees and Turians were no different so when she kicked the back of his right knee he dropped down to a more manageable height. He struggled as she still held his right arm with her right and put her free arm around his neck. "Don't do this, Kuril, you've always been good to me I don't want to hurt you."

At this point, Kuril's affection for her had two categories; one, she was a traitor and she lied to him so he'd take great pleasure killing her himself and two, he liked a woman with spirit and Isla was kicking his ass right now. He'd never wanted her more. He fought back, damning her hold on him. He was still bigger than she was and she couldn't hold him for long. Kuril dug his talons into the one around his neck and his body bucked forward flipping Isla over his head and thus freeing himself from her hold. Kuril favored his right arm but his left was just fine and before she could get to her feet he was over top of her with his left hand around her throat.

Isla pulled the pistol she was carrying but despite the injury to his arm Kuril stripped it from her with eerie ease. "Kuril!" she croaked out as his grip tightened. He was either going to kill her or choke her enough until she passed out. Garrus and Zaeed were right. She'd been too overconfident with her ability to 'handle' the Warden if he knew. Her focus narrowed in a biological response to being strangled. "Kuril, stop!" Trying to push a Turian away while being strangled wasn't particularly effective. Turians had longer arms which still afforded them the leverage needed to continue the task. Isla put the palm of her right hand on his chest and sent an overload through his armor.

Kuril grunted at the voltage and went rigid tightening his grip briefly before collapsing onto her.

Isla gasped for breath as his grip was released; she took a moment to breathe again before pushing the unconscious Turian off her. "Oh, fuck me," she cursed and coughed as she spoke. Garrus was going to kill her. She staggered to her feet and coughed more, she wasn't sure what his staff knew but Isla wasn't going to chance it. She needed to keep them busy and if she remembered correctly Kuril's terminal could run the whole prison if he needed to. All she needed to do was release a block and his guards would have hours of fun. The Warden wasn't dead so she was on the clock and needed to do this quickly. The tech in her took over as she used her Omni-tool to clone his and bypassed the security on his terminal. From there it was simple matter of overriding the security of the cell block and releasing the prisoners. The maximum security wing was the one she chose. Sure, they were the worst of them all but they would keep his guards busy for a long time. Alarms sounded immediately and she ran leaving the Warden unconscious on the floor.

Isla tried not to look too terribly suspicious as she scurried out. Guards were already preoccupied with the alarm indicating a cell block failure. It was a drastic move that she hoped Mordin and Zaeed weren't stuck in the middle of. The guard at the door to the docking bay was one she knew, a human who was also from Fhel Prime. She tried to relax and act casual which she found hard since Kuril just tried to kill her. "What's going on?" she coughed a few times to mask the hoarse voice.

"Looks like a malfunction in the max wing, better get out of here." He said and she patted his arm.

The unplanned plan may have been improvised but all things considered it went well, she couldn't get through the door fast enough and swiftly made her way to the airlock with Zaeed, Mordin, and the cryo chamber.

By the time she got there she was shaking like a leaf as the adrenalin crashed. "What happened to you?" Zaeed asked and she doubled over bracing her hands on her thighs.

"Doesn't matter." She coughed, her throat was sore but not like a cold, and she hit the airlock button. "Moreau, get us out of here and step on it."

Zaeed was worried, she was shaken. It was hard to shake her up and he could see the red marks on her throat. "What happened?"

"I just made an enemy."

The mirror reflected her mistake, Zaeed saw the proof, Garrus saw the proof, and now she saw what she felt. It had been nearly two hours and Kuril's left handprint was damn near perfect around her throat. She grimaced when she prodded the tender flesh; it was a bruise that you tell stories about, survived a notorious Turian Mercenary hand to hand. Something told her she wasn't going to be proud of it. Zaeed was going to grunt and glare and silently lecture her for being stupid but then again he was the man who nearly got strangled by a Hanar merc. Garrus was going to be the worst, he was against her going over there in the first place and she told him that she could handle Kuril. Turned out Kuril nearly handled her.

"Perfect," she grumbled and her voice sounded like she smoked a pack of cigarettes.

"You said you had it handled," Garrus said loudly as he barged in.

Isla pulled the plain grey shirt over her head leaving her barefoot in Cerberus' white and black pants and a simple shirt. "And I handled it," she croaked and then hacked a few times, it was no use this was not a cold or something stuck in her throat.

Garrus' blood boiled seeing the marks of Kuril trying to choke her. "Isla…," he growled irritated and upset.

She glared at the heavens. "For the love of…he knew," she admitted but managed to sound all the more annoyed. "You were right. Zaeed was right. He knew I flipped and tried to force me to stay. He was going to ransom me off to Santiago."

"So much for the 'Turian you knew'," he snipped in a condescending hiss.

Isla grumbled. "Garrus, shut up," she snapped back. "Kuril may have wanted to kick my ass for lying to him and betraying the Blue Suns but he protected me against Vido many times. He never would have handed me over." It was a complicated battery of emotions that she felt; she'd had a connection to Kuril and found herself actually mourning that loss.

Garrus' eyes narrowed. "You didn't kill him."

Isla paused. She should have, she really should have. "I couldn't." Garrus read her tone and didn't say anything to that even though he really wanted to yell at her for it. "I could have and I should have but I couldn't."

Garrus backed off; it was easy to forget with all they had been through already that they didn't actually know each other that well. "Are you okay?" he asked realizing that he really should have led with that.

Her hand went to her throat and she nodded. "Yeah. I'm alright, Garrus…I was just hoping not to burn every bridge I've ever created. He'll be a problem later."

"Don't worry about that. If he wants you he'll have to come through me," he said and she couldn't be as optimistic as he was but she shrugged and turned from him.

"How's it going out there?" she asked changing the subject.

Garrus allowed the change of topic; he didn't want his worry for her to ruin any relationship they might have. He was a hot head and he knew that. "Oh, well, that's fun. Turns out 'Jack' is a psychotic super biotic ex-con with a really foul mouth and a chip on her shoulder."

Isla harrumphed. "Kuril seemed surprised that we wanted…her. Why does Shepard want her?"

"To save a galaxy," he answered and Isla paused in pulling her hair, still wet from the shower, into a ponytail. She scoffed and Garrus read her mind. "Don't laugh, it's true. Sidda already kicked Saren and Sovereign in the teeth, I have complete faith that she can do that with the Collectors."

"You sound like you're in love," she teased and Garrus snorted loudly.

Garrus shrugged. "Many Turians do," he replied and she gave him a strange look. "But I'm not one of them. The two that do…it's like a Skycar wreck, you just can't look away."

"Oh…someone likes the soap operas," she chuckled.

"Way more explosions than that," he muttered. "Sidda did want to talk to you though." She nodded quietly and started to pass him. His right hand gently gripped her arm, effectively stopping her. "Isla, I…," he began and then suddenly stopped, he'd spent a lot of time and effort keeping her at a distance it felt strange to voice his feelings. "I'm glad you're okay… don't scare me like that anymore."

Isla flushed at his words and turned to face him, she stood so close to him she could feel the body heat. Garrus usually shied away from the close proximity but they weren't on Omega anymore and she reached up pulling his head to hers in a kiss. Kissing was an emotional display foreign to most Turians, he'd never been kissed before but he understood the meaning and pulled her close.

Isla wasn't particularly thrilled with the Cerberus crew; they were terrorists, Human supremacists. As a former Blue Suns mercenary she figured the Cerberus crew eyed her with the same opinion and suspicion. The Blue Suns may have started as a legitimate security organization but it certainly wasn't now; they were criminals. Garrus had told her that Sidda and Cerberus didn't really get along so it was perplexing to see her on a ship full of them. She was the boss, that was clear, but it still begged the question. Garrus trusted her and for that she gave Sidda the benefit of the doubt.

Sidda's quarters were three times bigger than what she had on Omega. The bathroom alone was half the size of her apartment. The fish tank was a nice sight; Omega didn't have many of those, only Aria and those rich enough to support it. The colors were beautiful and she smiled just looking at it.

"So where are you from?" Sidda asked taking her away from looking at the clear blue tank.

"Fhel Prime," she answered as the Commander popped the top off a bottle of Scotch. "Though I haven't been there since I was 8, practically grew up on Omega."

Sidda raised the bottle to offer a drink. Isla shook her head, she never liked Scotch. "Colony kid," she commented with a snort and Isla gave a slight smile. There was no mean tone in the comment and Isla was proud of being a colony kid. "That explains the toughness."

"Proud of it, you?"

Sidda was born in the Medical Bay of an Alliance ship. "SSV Nightingale, Alliance hospital ship."

"Oh, an Alliance Brat," Isla replied as Sidda offered her a seat on the couch. "You were born for this."

"Literally," she chided. "Are you okay?" she asked gesturing to the marks on her neck. Isla didn't say anything but she nodded. "So what happened?"

She didn't want to get into the whole thing, no one liked to admit when they totally fuck up. "Kuril knew. He gave me an ultimatum and we disagreed."

Sidda liked Isla, she so unassuming. The smile, the accent, the pretty face…no wonder Garrus liked her. "Well, I wanted to thank you for helping today. Who knows what would have happened if I went."

Isla knew. It was one thing she knew for certain, she knew exactly how Kuril would react to someone like the undead Shepard showing up on his doorstep. "He would have tried to capture you and if that didn't pan out kill you and keep his payday."

Isla's words were decisive and left little room for any interpretation other than her own. But Sidda knew that Kuril wasn't dead. He'd be a problem later. "So what are your plans? Obviously, your Blue Suns status has been revoked and if all your buddies respond like Kuril, nowhere is gonna be safe for you."

"I can take care of myself."

The marks on her neck, familiar to Sidda as a Turian's hand, said otherwise but the flipside to that was that she was still alive which meant she overpowered the Turian to some extent. "No doubt," she replied. "But Garrus will kill me if I don't invite you to stay. Someone with your knowledge of the Terminus and Blue Suns activity could be incredibly useful. You are welcome to stay."

From what she had been told by Garrus, Sidda was going to need all the help she could beg, borrow, or steal. "Garrus tells me you're going to save the galaxy from the Collectors."

"And the Reapers."

Reapers, the boogeyman of the galaxy. She remembered a lot of noise going around about the Reapers a few years ago when the Citadel was attacked by the Geth and Saren. Then it all seemed to stop about six months later. Isla wasn't sure if she believed it, how could a hyper evolved race of malevolent machines exist? "Right," she said and sighed, the only reason she was here was because of Garrus. She ran across a bridge in a firestorm to get to him and she wasn't about to leave now. "If anything else, I'll stick around to make sure Garrus doesn't try to eat anymore rockets."

Sidda chuckled. "He is a hot head isn't he?"

Sidda would know better than she did. What Isla knew of him personally would fill a shot glass; it was hard to get to know someone who lived in the shadows under a codename, who never took his helmet off, never spoke of family, or his past out of fear that anyone he got close to became an instant target. "He's a lot quieter now but I suppose you're right…you don't become 'Archangel' without a little flare of the dramatic and hot temper. He lost his whole team…he's changed."

"I noticed," Sidda commented. Garrus didn't want to talk about that yet and she wasn't going to go behind his back and ask someone else. She got the impression that Isla wouldn't tell her anyway. She wouldn't if the roles were reversed. "So what do you know about Korlus? I have a Krogan to retrieve."