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Hammerhead and Mako teams went on ahead, scouting for any more groups of mercs. Shepard was about to follow them with Wrex and Kaidan when Glyph appeared in front of her. "Commander, the other you wishes to pass on a message."

"I'll bet she does," Shepard said grimly. "What is it?"

Glyph played a recording of the clone's voice. "Shepard, save yourself the trouble. Once I have what I came here for you won't matter anymore."

"What the hell did she come here for? What could be such a game-changer in the Archives?"

"You know, if she can hack the Archives, she could alter the historical record," Kaidan suggested.

"You mean, like erase me?"

"Or alter something so that she seems like the real Shepard in the files."

Shepard growled in anger. This clone thing was really starting to piss her off—and Kaidan's explanation sounded very plausible. "I have just about had it with this! Let's get in there and get this over with, once and for all."

Wrex nodded in approval. "We got you, Shepard."

As they made their way up a ramp to the next level, Shepard checked in with Hammerhead, alarmed to get no response. Was the clone jamming their signals?

Then Brooks' voice came through. "Hammerhead's gone ahead, Commander. We're trying to clear a path."

"Great. Thanks, Brooks." Shepard frowned. Why was Brooks relaying that information to her and not one of the others? "Team Mako, we're coming up behind. What's your status?"

Brooks again: "We're under—" A burst of static drowned her out.

"Mako, where are you?"

After a moment, she heard Brooks' voice again, shouting "The other you is jamming our radios!"

"Why now?" Kaidan asked. "Why not all along, if she could do that?"

"I don't know, but I don't like it. Stay close. You, too, Wrex."

"You never let me have any fun."

They came to the top of the ramp, the doors sliding open in front of them just as Brooks called out over the comm, "Hammerhead and Mako are going ahead to try to cut her off, but I've been hit and need help! Please hurry!"

Kaidan put a hand on Shepard's arm. "You think any of our team would have left an injured companion behind?"

"Not a chance," Wrex said decisively.

Shepard nodded in agreement. "Move very cautiously. We're about to walk into a trap. Maybe the others already have."

In the room ahead of them, an empty vault sat open, ready to be filled with artifacts. On the other side of it, temptingly in the middle of the room, sat an apparently injured Brooks. Shepard moved to the edge of the vault. On impulse, she pulled one of her guns and tossed it inside. Immediately, the doors of the vault slammed closed.

Since the vault walls were clear glass, Shepard could easily see the clone step out of the shadows at the sound, and the triumphant look on Brooks' face as she turned around. Both of them glared at Shepard in shock and anger when they discovered she and the others weren't inside it.

"Oops. Looks like the vault sealed itself and I can't get to you," Shepard said. "Was this really your big plan? Trap the two human Spectres and the leader of Tuchanka in a vault and hope no one noticed we were missing?"

"Unless you have a clone of me." Wrex chuckled. "Two Wrexes; no waiting. Actually, if you have one, could I take it back to Tuchanka?"

The clone's mouth had thinned with her rising anger. "Why would anyone bother to clone some krogan?"

Shepard shook her head. "You really are blindered, aren't you? You think in this entire galaxy, only humans matter, when in fact, we're rather unimportant to the rest of the races. We've had to fight our way, tooth and nail, to gain respect and acceptance. You would destroy that in a day, the way you act."

The clone sauntered over to a terminal nearby. "You think you're so clever, but you won't be able to stop me. Your friends all fell for my trap. They'll be forgotten … well, forever."

"Again," Shepard said impatiently, "you have no idea who you're talking about. Tali'Zorah is a quarian admiral! They're going to notice she's missing."

"Quarians," the clone snapped dismissively. "Oh, and if you're waiting for the Alliance to stop us … well, what do you think, Staff Analyst Brooks? Are they coming?"

"I guess I forgot to call them." Brooks smirked across the vault at Shepard. "Possibly because I don't actually work for them."

"No," Wrex said. "You're kidding."

She either missed or ignored his sarcasm, smiling at Shepard.

"I'm going to kill you," Shepard told her.

"I don't think so. If the Illusive Man hasn't found me yet, you never will."

"The Illusive Man?" Kaidan echoed. "You're Cerberus?"

"Was. Mr. Illusive and I didn't see eye to eye. He's a ruthless madman, whereas I'm just ruthless. Remember your 'suicide mission'? The one where you and your team were supposed to die? I'm the one who put together the dossiers. The salarian doctor, the asari justicar, the drell, not to mention the krogan, the quarian, and the turian."

Brooks didn't pause over the mention of Thane, which Shepard took to mean they didn't know about her relationship with him—or they didn't take it seriously.

"They were all mistakes," Brooks continued. "We were a pro human group who started looking to aliens for help."

Shepard was rapidly losing patience with these two naïve fools. "You have no idea what you're talking about. Humanity can't stand alone in the galaxy—we couldn't before the Reapers attacked, and we certainly can't now."

"That's where you're wrong," the clone said. "We're stronger on our own."

"Then how are you going to defeat the Reapers? What's your plan?"

There was a pause as the clone and Brooks looked at each other. At last the clone said, "I don't have to tell you anything."

Shepard rolled her eyes.

"What was the point of all of this?" Kaidan asked.

"All we really needed was your Spectre code. You were supposed to die in the restaurant … but then, when you couldn't manage to get that right, we had to improvise."

"You killed the arms dealer."

Brooks nodded. "Now we just have a few loose ends to wrap up, and then we'll be taking your ship and making this galaxy our own."

She clearly had no idea how foolish she sounded. "The minute … no, the second I get out of here, I'm going to take your head and mount it in the Normandy CIC."

"Don't do that, Shepard. Then we'll have to keep looking at her," Kaidan complained.

"Good point. Maybe I'll make Javik happy and let him blow both of them out of the airlock. He's always wanted to do that."

Brooks gave that superior smile again and was about to respond when behind her the clone banged her hand on the terminal in frustration.

"Problems?" Shepard asked.

"The handprint. The one thing that can't be cloned. Life gives it its shape, not DNA. I need to replace yours with mine, but this damned system won't let me in."

Brooks joined her, looking over her shoulder. "What's the problem?"

"It needs her name."

"Make one up! Like anyone cares."

"I tried," the clone snapped. "It won't accept it. You!" She glared at Shepard through the glass. "What's your name? Jennifer? Janice? Julie? Joyce? Jasmine? Jessica?"

Shepard smiled at her.

The clone turned to Brooks. "What is it?"

"I don't know. The Illusive Man couldn't find out. All her paperwork is just the initials."

"Then make her tell!"

"Ha!" Wrex snorted. "Fat chance."

Brooks scowled at all of them. "Fine," she said at last. "We don't need to change the handprint anyway. They'll be here for hours trying to find their friends—let's get out of here."

She grabbed the clone's arm, and they ran for the doors.