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They arrived back on the Citadel to find repairs in full swing. There was still a long way to go, but things were coming along. Shepard's first stop was Bailey's office. He got up from his chair when she came in, one hand going to his side as he did so.

"That's not healed yet?"

He waved dismissively. "It's fine."

"Doesn't look fine. Shouldn't you be in the hospital?"

"If I'm breathing, I'm working. You come back for an update, or to give me crap about my health?"

Shepard smiled. "Both."

"Well, bad news first. Your Cerberus pal was smoke and mirrors. Not only did we lose him right off in the tunnels, we couldn't even get an ID on him. He released a VI into the Citadel's system that erased footage of him wherever he went."

"He likes to fight too much to go completely to ground. I'll see him again," Shepard said grimly.

"Pardon me if I don't find that reassuring."

"Don't you? I do. I owe him one."

"We all do. The boy's taking it okay. He knew it was coming. Guess we all did," Bailey added softly, "but I'm sure that doesn't make it any easier."

"No. It doesn't. If it comes up again, the assassin's name is Kai Leng. Apparently he has some history with the Alliance."

"Thank you. I'll make a note of it, let my people know to keep an eye out."

"How are things here?" Shepard gestured for Bailey to retake his seat, which he did with a sigh of relief he couldn't quite cover.

"We're reeling from the implications of Udina having been in league with Cerberus, and trying to murder the Council. Hasn't done humans any good with the rest of the galaxy, that's for sure."

"Just what we needed."

"Right?"

Shepard frowned, thinking through the long-term consequences of what had happened here. "Can you defend the station?"

"We've patched the internal security breaches, but we lost a lot of good people. We're dangerously low on staff. Doesn't help that we've had to grill all our own people to find out if Udina had help, and if so, how many of them are still here." Bailey sighed unhappily. "I hate having to suspect my own people."

"Bailey, did you ever wonder? About Udina?"

"Well, he always rubbed me a little wrong. Still, that traitorous bastard upped me. Probably made me for an idiot. I guess I proved him right."

"Hey. He's dead and you're still here. Remember that."

"Thanks to you, Shepard. If you hadn't shown up, Udina and Cerberus would be dancing on my grave."

"You'd have found a way. You were still facing the enemy with a gun in your hand, if I recall correctly. They hadn't licked you."

"Nice of you to look at it that way, but I know the truth." Bailey shook his head. "Everyone around here's been walking around in a daze ever since." He gestured at his side. "Or, in my case, limping. I don't know if we'll ever be the same. I guess the war finally found us."

"How are people handling that?"

"Shutting down and shutting in, mostly. I hear a lot of praying. And crying. They're saying this is the war to end all wars—and I haven't seen anything to say they aren't right."

"How about you? You hear anything from your family?"

"Not a peep. Always thought I'd get to tell my ex-wife a few things, but … I guess not." He stood up, turning away from Shepard and bringing a hand up to rub across his face. "I was supposed to visit my kids on Earth. First vacation in years, but I had to cancel when I got promoted."

"Don't give up hope, Bailey," Shepard said softly. "And when you do hear from them—take that vacation. Don't wait."

"Yeah. That sounds good. Thanks, Shepard."

"Anytime. You take care of yourself, Bailey. Give us a shout if you need anything."

"I surely will."

She left his office, consulting her omni-tool for the list of other things she needed to get done this trip. The leader of the turian refugees was easy to find. It was a bit harder to convince him to trade his military-grade medical supplies for the basic ones his refugees could use that were currently stored on the Normandy, but eventually she brought him around to the idea that the whole galaxy was in this together. If only it was that easy to convince everyone, she thought.

And then she froze, feeling the familiar cold cylinder of a gun barrel pressed against her head. "Commander Shepard."

She risked turning her head just enough to recognize the batarian standing there. "Balak?"

"You should have killed me on that asteroid over Terra Nova. I've been waiting for this, for you. Everything that has happened to my people is your fault."

"My fault?"

"Yes. After you ruined my plans, my government accelerated research efforts on the Leviathan of Dis!"

"Leviathan?"

"The ancient organic dreadnought my people recovered from Jartar twenty years ago. Sound familiar?"

"A Reaper. Your people were studying a Reaper corpse."

Balak hissed in assent. "Hundreds of our best scientists."

Shepard winced, certain of what was coming next. "And they became indoctrinated."

"When the Reapers reached Kar'shan, our own people betrayed us. Defense grids were deactivated, ships fired on allied targets … We were destroyed from within. Because of you."

"Because of the Reapers," she corrected.

"We were a proud race. A beautiful race!" The pain in his voice was sharp. "Have you seen what the Reapers have done to us? I am the highest ranking military officer left in the Hegemony. I can't save my people! But I can end you."

"Balak, listen to me. Your people are not alone. Every race is suffering. We need to help each other! It's the only way any of us survive."

There was silence, and she felt the gun waver just slightly. And then it was moved away from her head entirely. "Baaah!" Balak shouted in frustration. "Our ships are yours." He walked off, still muttering to himself.

A C-Sec officer came hurrying up to Shepard. "Sorry, Commander. I couldn't get through the crowd any faster. Do you want me to arrest him?"

Watching him go, Shepard sighed. "I want you to put a bullet in his head, Officer … but I guess we're all making some sacrifices today."

The officer looked confused.

"Stand down," she told him firmly.

"Yes, Commander."

Shepard checked her omni-tool. Almost time to head back to her ship. She always forgot how exhausting the Citadel could be.

When she looked up, she saw Steve Cortez coming up to her, a big smile on his face. "Commander! Just the person I was looking for."

"What's on your mind, Steve?"

"You, and me, and Purgatory."

"You want me to go to a club with you?"

"Not just me—all of us. Come on, get your glad rags, and let's go show 'em how it's done!"

Protesting mildly, she let him drag her off, wondering if anyone had thought to tell him that Commander Shepard really had no idea how it was done.