Author's Note: Bioware just announced two new Mass Effect DLCs. One is single player, set on the Citadel, and the other one is multiplayer. They come out on March 5th for Xbox 360 and a little later for PS3. They look awesome!

Chapter Twenty Seven: Fun with Batarians

The first thing Shepard saw when he woke up was little Rosebud. She was stretched out on him, with her little head on her large paws. The light was exceptionally bright, making him shield his eyes for a couple seconds. It looked like he was in the Med Bay, but why?

"Hello?" Shepard's voice was surprisingly normal.

"Ah good, Commander. You're up," Doctor Chakwas said. Her shoes tapped against the flooring as she walked over to his bed and tapped at some medical equipment. "How are you feeling?"

"Well it's safe to say that my stomach feels like it was trampled by a pack of Emus, or is it flock of Emus?" He wondered aloud. Colt was petting little Rosebud's head as she was trying to lick his face.

"You don't exaggerate much, do you?" Doctor Chakwas said while laughing.

"Never," Shepard answered while chuckling. "Okay, okay. Jeez Rosebud!" The little varren was now launching a full licking assault against his face. "So Doc, why am I here?" Shepard asked between Rosebud licks.

"Well Commander, I'm afraid that you were poisoned on Illium. Don't worry, the poison was easily neutralized," Chakwas said while giving his hand a reassuring pat.

"Good to hear. Miranda would've had to take my place, and Garrus would've taken her job. Can you imagine his administrative work? It would be like scribbles and some doodles of God knows what. Can you imagine how pissed the Illusive Man would be? An alien sending him reports…," Colt trailed off as he considered how delightful that would be. "I think Garrus has a new job now."

Chakwas was now laughing quite hard, but managed to say, "You can leave whenever you want. I think the sooner the better. Some people want to see you."

"Alright, come on Rosebud." Shepard slid off the bed and onto freakishly steady feet. He picked up the varren and made his way to the Med Bay exit.

Outside the doors he found the majority of his crew either pacing or sitting at the mess tables. Everyone looked up hopefully at the same time. "So, who wants to add this incident to the Shepard Death Count?" Shepard asked.

"Was this just a ploy to make us forget your dance moves?" Someone called out.

"We don't talk about that," Shepard replied. "So anyone mind telling me what happened?"

"I will," a familiar voice said. Shepard almost couldn't believe his eyes or ears when Liara walked towards him through the crowd. He almost dropped poor Rosebud.

"Hello Shepard," Liara said with a kind smile. He noted that she didn't appear to be the least bit shy.

"Hi. How are you?" Colt said lamely.

"I think it's safe to say that we had ourselves a night," Liara started.

…

Liara was desperately running towards the bathroom that Chakwas said Shepard was in. When she got there, the door was locked. In a matter of seconds, she unhinged the door with biotics and burst through. Shepard was lying on the floor, presumably unconscious. His lips were blue and his breath smelled strongly of musk.

Liara turned him over on his left side and looked in his airway for vomit; all was clear. So she waited for either Chakwas or the other doctor she'd called to come. Chakwas' time was impressive, because she was at their location in under five minutes.

"Liara, go find his drink," Chakwas called to her while opening her medical bag. Liara did what she was told and rushed out to the bar. She found what she thought was the drink and went back to the bathroom.

"He's stable for now, but we need to transport him back to the Normandy." Chakwas was typing something. The other doctor came in through the door and her assistant wheeled in a stretcher.

…

"Then we brought you back here, and Chakwas found out what the poison was. It is apparently really easy to identify and reverse the effects," Liara finished.

"Well, I guess I'm lucky you were there," Shepard said gently, completely entranced by Liara.

"Yes, you were," Liara replied smugly.

Colt looked around and noticed how much in public they were in. He cleared his throat before saying, "So what piece of shit poisoned me?"

"Some Batarian," Garrus called out. Shepard could feel his blood boiling at the mention of Batarians. His stomach knotted and he felt heat behind his cheeks.

"Say that again," Shepard asked through clenched teeth.

"A Batarian poisoned you," Garrus said again. The crew had been milling about before, after seeing Shepard was alright, but now everyone's attention was back on Colt. They were watching him like they expected him to start vaporizing people left and right. But his anger wasn't for them and he certainly wasn't in the business of creaming his allies and friends. He released a little biotic flare before willing himself to calm down. Everyone looked confused by his sudden change of mood.

His body was still ignited with rage when he stormed towards the elevator. He needed to talk to Joker about heading for Illium again.

…

Shepard's anger radiated throughout Illium. Almost his entire crew, plus Liara, followed in his wake. Shepard wore his iconic N7 armor, and a faint biotic corona could be seen. People standing around shops and gift booths stumbled out of the way, knowing that something was happening - something dangerous. Law enforcement officers tried to stop Shepard several times, but he stated it was official Spectre business, and if they interfered they would be directly violating galactic law.

Liara found the walk to the bar where she'd first found Shepard agonizing. Colt walked slowly and with purpose, as if deciding what would happen next. Even when they reached the bar, he was the definition of calm.

"I think it would be in your best interest to leave this bar," Shepard's commanding and room-filling voice reached all the ears of the bar patrons. They left in a hurry when they felt Shepard's rage. Only two people remained and they were the bartenders.

Liara knew that biotics were somewhat new to Shepard and he occasionally had trouble controlling them. This was a whole new thing, however. Biotic blue completely surrounded the Commander's body until it was a massive ball. It turned violently around his body, like his own personal hurricane. A huge blast of biotics hit one of the tables, shredding the metal and plastic. The tiny pieces of it showered the crew.

Liara and the crew remained where they were. Either too afraid to move or too captivated. The bartenders cowered towards the center island.

"Get out," Shepard gestured to one of the Batarian bartenders. The Batarian wasted no time leaving.

Shepard's eyes never left the other Batarian. "Poisoning military leaders from other species will only get you so far," Shepard growled at him. Liara wasn't sure, but she thought Shepard's biotic swirl had gotten bigger.

"Are you crazy? I didn't-," The Batarian didn't even have time to finish his sentence before Shepard lashed out a hand so fast, Liara couldn't even be sure it happened.

Colt held the man firmly, and then moved his hands once again. A sickening crack reverberated throughout the bar. Shepard laid the man on the ground before walking away. Everyone scrambled to move out of his way. His deadly biotics dissipated and then disappeared completely. Liara had known that Shepard was a powerful biotic, but this was a whole new level. A terrifying level.

"Shepard, don't you think that was a little...extreme?" Liara asked. Breaking someone's neck was much more different than shooting them. It was personal.

"Liara, I didn't become one of the galaxies' best soldiers by being kind and gentle. I didn't become the deadliest person to live by accident," Shepard replied. And he was right.