Notes:

AI - Artificial Intelligence

CGC - Center for Galactic Cooperation

FTL - Faster Than Light travel

The Reality of Hope

T'Sere Shipwrights, Thessia, Athena Nebula – 12 Apr 2189

With nothing better to do while Miranda worked at her feverish pace to repair Shepard's nanites, Judea had found herself speaking frequently with Gabriella Donnelly. She had finally convinced the Human woman to, at the very least, take a tour of the T'Sere Shipwrights facilities and speak with the Director of Operations regarding potential future employment. Judea had also explained that she had another engagement coming up – the trip to Thaptos Vineyards with Riana and Sammi – so the window of opportunity was rather tight.

Once the logistics of traveling with the little ones were worked out, Gabby had looked forward to the trip, however hesitantly, because it could very well secure her financial future. Her stomach fluttered nervously as they climbed aboard to get underway. God, please help this work out and let the Matriarch see the value I can add to their company… It would be a blessing to know I can live my life the way I want, raising Ken's children… our children… at the Donnelly homestead. I may actually be able to truly relax for the first time since his death.

So, after a short flight along the shores of Dassus, Gabriella found herself enjoying an as-of-late rare emotion – hope – as the T'Soni VIP-1 swooped in from the southeast to touch down in the visitor's parking area of T'Sere Shipwrights. Thanks to Judea's little push, Gabby was finally going to meet with Matriarch Tralis about the possibility of becoming employed by the starship manufacturer as an FTL Propulsion Engineer. Also compliments of Judea, Lyessa had asked Guard Captain Lyria Tremi to assign a pair of commandos to accompany her, a task that fell to Team 3 Commandos Luenia Raptos and Alicia Axapso; of course, the pair were only too happy to make the trip with the young mother, because of both what the trip represented and the very welcome break in routine.

Once the ship's power plant had spooled down to standby mode, Judea left the flight deck to see to her passengers. "I trust you enjoyed our short flight, Gabby." She gave the nervous Human woman a reassuring smile. "If you'd care to join me, I will introduce you to Matriarch Tralis. She's already dockside in anticipation, so don't you worry about a thing… everything is going to work out just fine."

A touch of pink coloring her cheeks, Gabby replied as she rose from her seat. "She's meeting us here… on the ramp?" She released the harnesses holding the babies' carriers in place; as she moved to pick them up, Luenia interceded. "You follow Judea, Gabby. Alicia and I are happy to carry the children."

"Thank you, Luenia," she sighed. Glancing at Alicia, she said, "I don't know how I would manage without your help today. I'm grateful that Captain Tremi assigned you to assist me."

Luenia grinned in response. "We've already spoken about this, Ms Donnelly. You are not alone here… Lady Liara considers you family; so, we are here to assist you, however we can." She showed her teeth in a dazzling smile. "Besides… spending time with the children is a pleasure for both of us, so we wanted to come." Her statement was punctuated with a quiet chuckle as she scooped Belle up and made funny noises to draw a giggle from the little girl. "Now… you follow Judea and we'll follow you."

Gabby shrugged her shoulders and smiled back in grateful acceptance; Judea smiled again as she turned and led Gabby down the ramp to the pavement. A group of Asari began walking towards them from underneath the canopy where they had awaited the ship's arrival. As they drew closer, Judea whispered, "The person in the center is Matriarch Tralis. House Steward Luana is on her left… your right… and is likely here to relay the results of the meeting to Lady Sashia, the House Matriarch."

As they met just a meter off the end of the ramp, Judea closed her eyes and dipped her head with a smile as she presented her hands, palms up, to the Matriarch. Tralis, completely ignoring the formalities, slipped her arms under Judea's to pull the young design engineer into a warm, welcoming hug. "Goddess, it is so good to see you again, Judea! The intervals between each of your visits always seems longer than they are! Do you ever get any time off from your duties?"

"Not as much, nor as often as I would like, Matriarch. It seems that, even with the war long since done, we are always busy. However, I will be heading out for the Dancing Birds in a few days!" She cast the matriarch a bright smile. "I'm finally getting Riana out there… along with her amantia, Samantha Traynor, to visit Ryati's old sport-flying grounds; something long overdue, I'd say." She pushed back slightly, adding, "Exactly like my visit today! So yes… it is very good to see you, as well."

After greeting Luana and the others in the small group, Judea brought a suddenly shy and unsure Gabby up beside her. "Matriarch, it is my privilege to introduce you to Gabriella Daniels Donnelly. Gabby, this is Matriarch Tralis, the Director of Operations of T'Sere Shipwrights."

Gabby nervously extended her hands, palms upward and trembling slightly, as she said, "Pleasure to meet you, Ma'am. Please, call me Gabby."

The Asari placed her hands, palms down, upon Gabby's with a slight chuckle; glancing at Judea, she said, "I'm pleased to meet you… Gabby. I understand you recently gave birth to… two? Is that correct? Two children?" She looked the blushing woman up and down. "Please, forgive my curiosity, but it is simply an event that never occurs with Asari. I assume they are the little bundles Luenia and Alicia have the privilege of toting. Please, may I see them?"

Gabby looked around quickly to see the two commandos approaching from either side. She looked back at the Matriarch and said, "I did… give birth to them, that is. And I had to bring them along with me, as they need to be fed rather frequently." Her face held a worried look as she said, "I hope you don't mind."

A wide grin eased her fear and her smile returned as she watched the Matriarch coo at each of the tiny babies in turn. "Oh! Absolutely not, Gabby! They're beautiful!"

"That's Malcolm Kenneth, and…" Gabby motioned towards the current target of the Matriarch's attention, "… this is Annabelle Edine."

Tralis chuckled as a tiny hand sprang out, grabbed a blue finger and immediately tried to place the prize in her mouth; Tralis held back, as she didn't want this little one ingesting whatever germs she might have on that finger. Belle showed her displeasure at losing her prize by scrunching her face into a scowl and fussing. "Ah, babies… not so different from our own… always so eager to explore whatever they manage to get their hands on by tasting it."

The Matriarch refocused on Gabby, saying, "With the exception of the pale skin and lack of crests, they look remarkably like Asari babies." With a sigh, she continued, "Come, child. Let's go to my office where we may comfortably discuss your future." Placing a friendly arm around Gabby's waist, she added, "This way."

Gabby was in awe; she stared out the large window overlooking the assembly floor, absolutely amazed that the yard had returned to full production capacity so quickly after the war, when so many of the major Alliance facilities were still struggling with supply chains. There were numerous people below, moving among three vessels in varying stages of completion… a virtual beehive of activity.

"Judea is down there somewhere, checking on how her designs are progressing." When Gabby turned questioning eyes around to the Matriarch, she added, "All three of those ships below are Judea's latest designs, Gabby. She's far too modest to allow me to sing her praises publicly, but that maiden is an absolute genius when it comes to designing ships for FTL travel."

Gabby turned away from the window and took a few steps to the upholstered chair Tralis had shown her. "I've been told she's a brilliant design engineer, Matriarch, but to see such actually being constructed…" Leaving the thought unfinished, she leaned back in the comfortable chair and said, "She firmly believes my knowledge as a propulsion engineer would be valuable to your organization, so, I guess we should begin our discussion?"

The Asari chuckled. "Humans," she murmured. "Always in a hurry to begin… or to finish. I believe you're very much like Salarians in that regard."

Gabby chuckled at the comparison. "I suppose there is some truth to that, especially from your point of view, but we generally outlive them by a century or so." She studied Matriarch Tralis for several moments before leaning forward in her chair to say, "I've done a bit of research into Judea's designs, Ma'am; I believe I can design a propulsion system for each of those ships…" she inclined her head towards the windows overlooking the assembly floor below, "… that will improve their overall efficiency in terms of fuel use per hour. That would translate into an increase in maximum FTL velocity with no additional consumption penalty."

The Asari's look of surprise was followed by a skeptical shake of her head. "I don't doubt your abilities, but I have several extremely capable propulsion engineers working for me already, Gabby. I have to wonder, what do you know that they do not?"

"I've been a military FTL propulsion engineer since I graduated from tech school, Ma'am. Starship engines are as much my passion as ship design is to Judea… I know them inside and out." With a shy smile, she added, "The Systems Alliance considers me to be rather brilliant at my job. I'm also an exceptional physicist… my work pertaining to Mass Effect physics as applied to military propulsion systems is very well regarded, which is the reason they want me back in the lab on the CGC."

"But we're building ships for the private sector, Ms Donnelly. The added expense of producing a military grade propulsion system would make T'Sere ships unaffordable by most."

"Begging your pardon, Ma'am… but I wouldn't be designing military grade systems for your ships." Gabby ducked her head for a moment, then looked up with confidence. "What I would be designing would improve the overall performance of Judea's excellent designs at negligible added cost. I believe my performance enhancements to your ships would make them a more attractive choice than anything your competitors offer, including Turian, Salarian… and Human engineered vessels. You might even have a difficult time keeping up with the increased demand."

The Matriarch sat back in her chair as she contemplated this confident Human. After a few moments, she quietly asked, "If that is truly the case, why would you offer your services to an Asari firm? Why not a commercial builder in Sol? Surely there must be one or two manufacturers that would dearly love to have someone of your abilities on staff."

"Being Human has very little to do with who I opt to work for." Gabby looked down at her hands, clasped together hard enough to whiten her knuckles. Returning her gaze to the Matriarch's eyes, she replied in a tight voice. "There are no small, privately-held ship builders remaining on Earth, Ma'am; the few that somehow managed to survive the Reaper's final assault were forced to consolidate in order to remain in business. Human demand for new personal spacecraft is currently so low, the manufacturers had to resort to making sub-assemblies for repairs… and manufacturing small parts for military applications. We are still experiencing significant logistical support issues… on a global, if not universal, scale."

Gabby rose from her chair, stepped over to the windows and checked her chrono. In an embarrassed tone, she said, "Please accept my apologies for checking the time, but I'll need to take a break shortly in order to feed my babies." Her face held a tight smile as she added, "Their timetable rules my days… and nights now."

"Most of my visitors would never check time of day in front of me… the gesture is generally considered to be somewhat rude in the presence of a Matriarch of any standing." Tralis chuckled as she added, "It's refreshing to be treated like a normal person for a change… especially when I completely understand what being on a baby's timetable is like, and you have two of them… probably never hungry at the same time, so you are up at all hours. I have to wonder how you manage to get any sleep at all."

Gabby smiled. It was obvious this Matriarch knew very well of the demands a newborn placed on a mother. "Honestly, I'm looking forward to the time when I'll again be able to sleep the night through… I assume you have children?"

"Now that's more like it… the Asari way of negotiating, that is." Tralis smiled. "We prefer to get to know the person before we ever think about offering them a job… or accepting an offer from someone. And, yes, I do have children; three." She joined Gabby at the windows as she added, "My middle one, Trina, is the Assistant Director and is down there…" She waved at the furor of activity on the floor below them as she continued, "… somewhere, in the middle of all that. Currently, she's likely hiding in some corner, speaking with Judea about testing results."

Looking down at the ships under construction, Gabby sighed and admitted, "Concerning Terrene manufacturers, Matriarch Tralis, I really don't wish to work for a large, soulless conglomerate. T'Sere is very obviously family oriented; you're not so big that my contributions as a design engineer wouldn't be appreciated. And, having reviewed Judea's designs, I quite honestly believe I would be an outstanding addition to your propulsion engineering staff."

The matriarch stood quietly as she thought about everything Gabby had just told her; a knock at her office door brought her head around as the door opened slightly and Alicia stuck her head in. "Please excuse the interruption, Matriarch, but I believe it might be feeding time."

Gabby grinned at the commando. "I expect you're correct, Alicia." Returning her attention to Matriarch Tralis, she added, "If you will excuse me? I shouldn't be long."

"Of course, Gabby." As the woman turned away and began walking toward the door, the Matriarch glanced at Luana. "We should take the opportunity to speak with Judea during this break." Looking back to Gabby, she continued, "So, we'll meet you back here in… say… an hour? That should give you plenty of time to do what you need… and perhaps give you some time to relax a bit?"

Gabby took a fussy Belle from Alicia's arms as she said, "Thank you, Matriarch." Looking at Alicia, she said, "I presume there's a lounge nearby?"

"Oh, yes… nicely appointed with comfortable seating, snacks and juices."

As soon as Gabby said, "Please, lead the way," Alicia smiled happily and pointed to the left, then turned and walked down the corridor at Gabby's side.

Gabby, having fed and changed Belle and Malcom, did have a bit of time to relax before she had to return to Matriarch Tralis' office to conclude their interrupted meeting. Once again seated in the chair facing her desk, Gabby waited patiently to hear what the Matriarch cared to discuss next.

"After speaking with Judea, she indicated you had put together some sort of portfolio?" Tralis smiled at the young woman, stating, "I would love to see what you brought."

"Oh! Yes, absolutely!" Gabby reached down into her bag and pulled out a datapad. "I should have given this to you as soon as we started speaking."

Smiling, the Matriarch activated the datapad and began perusing the data. Being no stranger to propulsion theory, after having evaluated thousands of proposals over the years, a number of items piqued her curiosity. "And all of these are practical applications you've implemented? Not purely theory?"

"Every single one of them," Gabby beamed. "I have been handed propulsion units that have been designed, tested and tuned to their purported perfection… and managed to squeeze anywhere from three to twelve percent higher efficiencies from them than was ever projected." Gabby chuckled. "Of course, the twelve-percenter was an anomaly. A junior member who had all kinds of schools on his résumé was absolutely sure I'd get nothing. The results were so surprising, he openly accused me of altering the test data, and took his complaint to our unit commander."

Tralis, intrigued by the tale, had to ask, "So, what happened?"

"Well, after redoing the tests in front of everyone and coming up with the exact same results, he changed his story, then accused me of stealing his ideas and altering his initial configuration to make my results look better." Gabby huffed, "He wasn't around very long after that. When he refused to back away from the allegations, the design division confiscated both of our workstations, compared the data contained within both, and promptly terminated his contract for theft of intellectual property. Turned out, he had stolen my data, not the other way around, which he then attempted to improve upon by simply altering the fuel nozzle design. His changes adversely affected the inflow-to-output ratios and, subsequently, totally destroyed any gains made with my modifications."

"So…" Tralis paused and focused on Gabby's summary sheet. "According to your own numbers, your average efficiency improvement hovers somewhere between three to four-and-a-half or five percent?"

"Yes… which, as you know, adds up to a significant increase in either speed or range for flights involving interstellar travel." Gabby shrugged and added, "The efficiencies honestly don't mean much when speaking about shorter, atmospheric trips. Route optimization can save you more than adjusting propulsion efficiency any day of the year, especially on high-grav worlds."

Tralis remained silent as she looked over the remainder of Gabby's portfolio. After an additional five minutes or so – a seeming eternity to a nervous Gabby – the Matriarch finally turned off the device and gently slid it back across the desk to her waiting prospect. "When Judea brought you to my attention, I wasn't exactly in the market for a new propulsion engineer, Ms Donnelly, but I've never been one to ignore an opportunity that suddenly drops in my lap, either." Tralis smiled. "So, I've decided to give you a chance to prove yourself."

She paused, perhaps expecting Gabby to protest at having to offer proof of her abilities. When the woman remained silent, Tralis continued. "Judea tells me you won't be returning to Earth for several more weeks, so my proposal is for you to spend that time working with her. She will choose one of the three ship designs currently under construction, for which you will design and submit a modified propulsion system.

Gabby nodded her head and replied, "A test… to determine if my design will be better than the system already planned for the ship."

Tralis grinned. "And to discover if it's economically feasible, not only to construct, but to incorporate whatever you come up with into the ship's structure. Do you think you can do that?"

Gabby nodded as she declared, "I can, but I…" She paused, suddenly unsure of how she wanted to phrase a question that wouldn't insult this Asari.

Tralis picked up on Gabby's hesitancy. "You're worried that T'Sere will take advantage of you in some way. Nothing could be further from the truth, my child. Speak with Judea… She can allay any fears you may have concerning T'Sere's trustworthiness. We will gladly draw up a contract just for this test period… one that will reimburse you a fair amount for the design, whether we use it or not. If it is truly as good as you believe it will be, then you'll receive our normal design fee and the accompanying production bonuses." She smiled and added that Judea currently worked under just such a contract, before finally concluding, "And if, for any reason, we choose not to use it, you will still be paid equitably for your time spent creating the design. Sound fair?"

"Yes… very fair… but…" Gabby's shoulders slumped, unsure how much Judea had told the Matriarch regarding her desire to work from home, so was unsure about how to proceed.

The Matriarch cupped her elbows with her hands as she leaned forward slightly. "Gabby, I swear to you that T'Sere will not use any design you produce without your explicit consent, and we will never sell your designs to others without your approval and a signed commission contract with you. If your designs are good, we will sign you to a contract that's fair and generous… and you will be able to design propulsion systems while living on Earth… or did I totally misread your intent?"

"Not at all." Gabby smiled quickly, the possibility of earning a substantial income from home finally looking like a real possibility. "My intent is to work from my home on Earth, but I have to wonder… T'Sere is a small ship manufacturer, Ma'am. New designs that require new propulsion systems cannot be introduced that frequently. I expect I would run out of work rather quickly."

"Do not let that trouble you, Gabriella. T'Sere has a fair number of existing designs already flying. Their owners frequently request that we design and install upgraded systems, with the most frequent requests being enhancements to a ship's propulsion system." She paused, finished her cup of tea, then continued. "Each design we produce is an improvement on a previous model. It is an expensive proposition to replace a ship's drive core, but many of our customers are willing to pay for the best."

Tralis laughed lightly, before concluding, "Make no mistake, Ms Donnelly. If your designs are as good as you say… as good as I believe they will be, then you have a bright… and steady, future with T'Sere Shipwrights. I just may be sending every design currently in our inventory your way, to work on at your leisure. An active marketing campaign with pre-designed propulsion improvements? That's a market we've never really had the talent to explore… a potential new service from T'Sere Shipwrights!"

Gabby grinned and nodded enthusiastically. "Your offer is more than fair, Matriarch. My only other concern at this point is security… against industrial espionage. I will need to arrange for some remodeling of my house in Edinburgh before I can begin working from there. It will need hardened entry doors and windows in order to prevent someone from easily gaining access to the servers that will need to be installed inside."

Tralis' expression grew thoughtful; after several moments in quiet contemplation, she said, "If you sign a contract with us, any security issues you may have at home become our concern, but… let's not worry about that problem just yet, my dear." With a grin, she said, "Let us see what you can create to power Judea's latest design. After that?" She shrugged her shoulders slightly in imitation of a Human expression. "Only the Goddess knows." She smiled, stood and reached across the desk to shake Gabby's hand. "She generally doesn't like to let us mere mortals in on Her plans too much in advance… so we'll just go ahead with what we have."

Gabby also stood, a wide smile spreading across her face in answer. "I'll begin immediately, Matriarch… as soon as I'm back at the estate. Thank you for giving me this opportunity."

Tralis chuckled as she replied, "It will be our pleasure to learn from you, Gabriella Donnelly."

Systems Alliance Landing Zone, Earth, Sol – 14 Apr 2189

Spectre Ashley Williams stepped off the Nalotir's loading ramp and looked around the field. In the 22 months since the end of the Reaper War, it was readily apparent a lot of progress had been made in finishing the demolition begun by the Reapers – debris had been cleared, new buildings had been constructed – even the air smelled sweeter, a pleasant by-product of the elimination of so many charred and burned-out structures.

She gazed longingly in the direction of Farnborough Field… she had not told Andreas she would be visiting for the day; no doubt the Lieutenant Colonel was working in his office, oblivious to her presence. Haven't talked to him since end of January… even worse, haven't held him in my arms since Christmas. The thought of his gift to her… and her family… brought a tightness to her throat, along with a bit of extra moisture to her eyes. We swore we could make this work, but damned if it's easy!

She heaved a heavy sigh as she turned and began walking towards the administration building. Thinking, May as well get this done. If I'm still unable to find a Human propulsion engineer to work for me, I'll return to the CGC… keep my appointment with Ferank… make sure he's committed to working for me.

After spending several hours speaking with several people in the Assignments Division, Ashley finally accepted the unhappy truth; any starship propulsion engineer that was worth a damn was already assigned to an Alliance warship. Reading through the résumés of those put forth as being good enough to work on a state-of-the-art, Council-owned frigate had also been disappointing; she had politely expressed her gratitude for their time and efforts, then slowly walked back to the Nalotir.

Ship's XO Leon Rensch was waiting for her at the top of the ramp. "There are a couple of messages on your personal comms terminal, Ma'am." He closed the space between them slightly; in a voice meant for her ears alone, he added, "Happy birthday, Ms Williams."

Eyes widening in surprise, she gasped, "Why, thank you, Leon! I had nearly forgotten all about it." With a suddenly suspicious expression, she asked, "No one's planning a party, are they?"

It was Leon's turn to look surprised. "Why, no Ma'am. At least, nothing has been said by anyone." He cocked his head slightly as he continued with an increasingly huge grin, "However, with everything that's been going on, I expect a real 'blow-the-walls-out' party would be good for everyone's morale."

Ashley chuckled, the disappointment of once again coming up empty in her search for a competent propulsion engineer momentarily forgotten. "I imagine you're correct, but we need to be on the move tomorrow morning… best not to fly this bird while we're all hung over." Moving past Leon, she concluded over her shoulder as she walked towards the elevator, "I better check those messages."

Once in her quarters, Ashley keyed on her personal comms unit. The message from Garok Ferank confirming tomorrow's lunchtime meeting was expected. What surprised her was a message from Dré; it began with a 'Happy Birthday' salutation, followed by an invitation to spend the evening off the Nalotir in his company. How in Hell did he know I'm here?

After responding to Falk's invitation, she spent a few minutes conferring with her XO while quickly packing an overnight bag. Telling Leon she'd return in the morning in plenty of time for their departure, she descended the cargo ramp once again, only this time, her mood was much lighter.

She had scarcely left the ship when an official-looking X3M approached from the direction of Farnborough Field. As the speeder eased to a halt beside her, the canopy lifted to reveal the love of her life. "You look like you're waiting for someone."

Ashley nodded and replied, "There's an extremely good-looking man… rank of Lieutenant Colonel… works as a logistics director on the British side. Do you know him?"

Andreas, playing along, replied in a slightly snarky tone, "Wouldn't know anyone fitting that description… I was sent to provide transportation to a Council Spectre with a captain's rank, Ma'am. Supposed to drive you to officer's country inside Farnborough."

With a silly grin lighting her face, the Spectre tossed her pack in the back of the speeder and climbed in to sit beside Andreas Falk; in a remarkable display of restraint, she waited for the deeply tinted canopy to lower and latch. Shielded from public view, she twisted in her seat to throw her arms around Falk in an awkward hug. After thoroughly kissing the surprised man, she sat back and declared, "I am yours until the one-hour-out show time for tomorrow's 0900 departure. Suppose you can think of a way for us to occupy the intervening hours?"

"There's a really nice restaurant close by the base… a new place, just opened. I'll take you shopping, we can do some sightseeing, then enjoy a quiet dinner… maybe even some expensive wine? You can tell me all about your adventures captaining the Nalotir. What do you say?"

Reaching across, she grabbed his inner thigh as she delivered a reply with a smoldering gaze and a wicked grin. "Just as long as you serve yourself up as dessert afterwards."

CGC, Widow System, Serpent Nebula – 15 April 2189

After two weeks of recovery time, Shepard found herself in Councilor Tevos' office, along with Liara and the Human Councilor, Dominic Osoba, personally delivering the Orestes Station after-action briefing. Having left out any mention of the assisting Shadow Broker forces, Shepard and Liara fell silent once they had explained nearly everything that had transpired. They sat back in their chairs in order to give the councilors time to absorb everything that had just been revealed to them.

"Holy shit, Shepard." Osoba blinked quickly a few times before finally continuing, "And you honestly believe there are more of these… constructs… out there?"

"Do you honestly dare to risk thinking there aren't any others?" Shepard countered.

"I guess not. I have to admit that I agree with you, on more than just the likelihood of their existence." He shook his head. "It's the next stage of Human evolution… the physical body augmented by cybernetics… and the mind augmented by an AI assist? It's almost… frightening is the only word I can think of at the moment."

"I understand how seeing one that looks… looked… like you would be upsetting, but what I fear even more is the possibility of there being a clone of Jack Harper out there as well, somewhere, with similar modifications." Tevos quickly cut to the heart of the matter, putting into words another one of Liara's and Shepard's greatest concerns. "Living and spreading his poisonous philosophy, even though we believed him long since dead."

"I didn't even think of that possibility, Tevos!" Osoba's eyes opened wide at the prospect. "The whole idea of a resurgent Cerberus, with a modified Jack Harper once again leading the organization? Thanks for stuffing that nightmare into my mind!"

Shepard chuckled at Osoba's reaction. "We've seen no evidence of that… at least not yet… but we've only been to two of the fifteen or so known stations we believe still remain. We have a lot of clean-up work yet to do, Councilors."

"Our concerns, however," Liara interjected, "are not focused entirely on the destruction of the potential adversarial clones."

Shepard nodded and took up the explanation. "While we were raiding Cerberus facilities during the war, we made a number of discoveries – or, more correctly, uncovered a number of Cerberus discoveries – none of which would have ever seen the light of day, all because they didn't directly benefit Humans."

Tevos leaned forward and interjected, "Like the advanced biotic amp interfaces and improved medi-gel formulae you delivered to Huerta!"

"Exactly." Liara reached over and grabbed Shepard's hand out of pure reflex – thinking about just how carelessly the nanite data could have been unintentionally obliterated – as she continued, "Those breakthroughs were cached in archives that very easily could have been lost had I not downloaded every research database we came across, assuming I had the time to do so. We have no idea what has already been inadvertently deleted or destroyed… and we should avoid making those same mistakes again unless, of course, our hand is once again forced, and we have no choice."

"Agreed," responded Osoba. "So, what do you propose, Shepard?"

"We would appreciate you, meaning the Council, making this mission a priority. Pull in your top Spectres… in point, those who just recently received the Andromeda Project stealth vessels or already have their own stealth craft… and hit all the remaining stations as soon as possible, in rapid succession." Shepard glanced back and forth between the two councilors. "Divide and conquer with low-risk infiltration missions. Get in, copy the data, get out."

"And, there's no indication that any of the stations have any contact with the others, so news of the cyber-attacks is unlikely to spread," Liara continued. "Then, once all of the missions are complete, you send the fleet out to destroy them all within a relatively short period of time."

"Why wait?" Osoba's brow knit in confusion. "Why not destroy each station as we go? Wouldn't that be a lot easier?"

"That kind of fleet movement would be extremely difficult to disguise and would most definitely raise some red flags, generating way too many questions. If at all possible, we don't want to draw any undue attention to either the fleet or those facilities… at least until we're done with the data collection… Just in case the Illusive Man, or some other protégé who has stepped up, is actually hiding out there somewhere." Shepard focused on Osoba as she answered. "A single stealth vessel slipping in and out is easy to hide… a Council Heavy Fleet? Not so much."

"Which is the exact problem I see with this plan." Tevos blew out a heavy breath before adding, "Not all of these stations are within space that's under Council influence. Honestly, I don't see much issue with the Batarian sectors, not anymore… but the Terminus? I cannot even begin to guess what Aria would demand from us for the privilege to enter her territory with a Council battle fleet!"

"We have a fairly decent working relationship with Aria, so I can be your envoy for that." Shepard looked at Liara and she nodded in agreement, so Shepard continued. "I personally assisted her… Cerberus took Omega Station from her during the war, so we helped her take it back, in exchange for her troops and eezo for the war. Hackett told me then that he didn't want to know how I got her cooperation, so we never told anyone… but that's the skinny of the whole deal."

"But if she paid you back already…" Osoba's frown indicated he didn't necessarily approve of such an exchange as he asked, "… How does that help us now?"

"That's easy. Hell," Shepard chuckled. "She might even take care of the stations herself once we tell her Cerberus is still parked in her backyard!"

"Goddess, Shepard!" Tevos laughed with her before adding, "That's brilliant. She won't be able to stand the idea of them at her back; you are absolutely correct. If I know Aria, she'll be seething at the very idea they've been there this whole time and she didn't know. I feel sorry for her chief of security and truly do understand our need for stealth, now. If she gets even a hint about this, she'll be destroying those stations before our agents ever set foot on them!"

"So, we have a plan?" Shepard asked hopefully.

Tevos and Osoba each looked at the other and nodded. Looking back to the Spectre, Tevos answered, "Apparently, yes… we have a plan, Shepard. We'll bring it up at the next Council meeting. Expect a joint mission planning session with the Commanders of each of those vessels around the first of the month. Sound good?"

"Sounds great… and thank you." Shepard glanced at Liara, gave her hand a final squeeze before pulling away. She pushed her chair back and stood, Liara quickly following her lead as Shepard asked, "And what would you have us do in the interim? Any tasks on tap?"

"And… with an Asari-sponsored Spectre now speaking with her Councilor… that's my cue to leave." Dominic stood with a smile. "Good to see you again, Shepard… Liara. And it's good to know you're still Human enough to invite me to this meeting, Shepard. Some of the Admiralty are still rather upset… seething, actually… over what they see as your defection, but don't let it bother you."

"No worries there. That complete lack of consideration was part of my decision to do what I did in the first place." She smiled, not letting the old irritations ruin her mood as she took Liara's hand again and added, "Considering the fact that my children will be Asari and will be raised on Thessia, I have little intention of ever returning to Earth for anything more than a visit. It's a shame they simply couldn't see that side of it all. Besides, you're not telling me anything Fleet Admiral Lindholm hasn't already relayed to me."

"What?" Osoba sounded honestly shocked. "Did Lindholm actually accuse you of defecting… or being a traitor? I can't believe…"

"Of course not." Shepard cut him off with a wave of her hand. "Quite the opposite, actually. She informed me there had been some talk… and that she told those involved, in no uncertain terms, that I was the one responsible for them still being around to bitch and moan, so perhaps they should just shut their damned mouths and be happy they still had their lives. She concluded the discussion by telling them that if they continued to disparage the savior of the galaxy, especially in her presence, that their supposed job security in the post-war Alliance could very quickly become a thing of the past."

Osoba laughed. "Now there's the Admiral I know and respect! That sounds more like it!" Looking to his fellow Councilor, he dipped his head, saying, "Tevos… always a pleasure," before turning and taking his leave.

As soon as the door closed behind him, Tevos was out of her chair and around the table, giving both Shepard and Liara rather enthusiastic hugs. "Thank you so much for coming on such short notice. Dominic came to me with your message only moments after I received the same thing from you. He must have read it and come here directly." She took a deep breath and added, "I consider it good fortune that I was actually sitting at my desk when you sent the message, so had also read it and called you as a result." She shook her head in dismay. "His impulsive, unreasoned response to the situation was… disconcerting… at best."

Shepard dipped her head in embarrassment. "Sorry about that, Rae. Definitely my bad. I never thought he'd bolt over here the second after he read it." Chastised, no matter how nicely Tevos had said the words, Shepard grimaced. "And I most definitely know better than that. I shouldn't have put you in that position."

"It was only by sheer luck that I read your note, found it shocking and, hence, called you immediately." The tattoo above her left eye arched as she directed a pointed glance at Shepard. "Knowing you were enroute was the only thing I had to convince him to put off the discussion… giving me your travel time to put some thoughts together regarding our options."

Shepard started to respond but was halted by a raised hand on the part of the Councilor. "Fortunately, this time, there was no harm done, Samantha. But, I would ask that should you desire to share something with the Human councilor again in the future, you let me know before you do, so I have some time to prepare before he shows up at my doorstep. Please do keep that in mind for the future?" Tevos gave her a little smirk.

"Absolutely." Shepard smiled softly. "It will never happen again, I swear."

"Good. Now, with our formal business concluded, would you two care to join Sha'ira and me for a bit of refreshment, so you can tell us what you've really been doing over the past couple of weeks?"

"It would be our pleasure, Raesia." Liara smiled conspiratorially at their friend. "We have some great news to share!"