Chapter 1: All Wrong
Shepard could hear herself screaming in agony, her eyes fluttered open and her voice cutoff. A far away whispering filled her mind. Metal and lights were all her blurred vision could pick up on. Her eyes fluttered again. She hurt, everything hurt. She heard people talking nearby. Where were they? Why weren't they helping her?
"She's doing it again," a man's voice said. "Should I set up the camera?"
Wait, she knew this place. She knew this feeling. She just had to think. What was this? Where was she? Who was whispering?
"Wait, something's not right. She's regaining consciousness. It's too soon," a woman's voice said.
A dark haired woman walked into Shepard's line of sight, stopping beside her. The angle of approach told Shepard she was lying down. Her eyes strained to focus on the woman.
"Damn it, Wilson hurry give her the sedative!" The woman said.
Shepard's eyes locked on to the orange and black diamond pattern on the woman's black and white jumpsuit. Cerberus. She was with Cerberus. That was good. She was supposed to be here. Why was she supposed to be here? Her eyes met the woman's face again.
"Shepard, don't try to move," the woman said putting Shepard's arm back down on the cold metal beneath her.
"Miranda?" Shepard said before drifting back off into blissful, drug-induced unconsciousness.
Someone was calling Shepard's name, dragging her out of the darkness of sleep.
"No, no, no. We don't want to get up. Don't want to, it still hurts. We feel it this time, it still hurts. Have to get up though, we have to fight. We always have to get up and fight," Jane said.
"What?" Shepard asked opening her eyes.
Her vision was still blurred and her head was swimming.
"Shepard, you have to hurry, there are mechs headed your way!" Miranda's voice came over the comm.
Shepard sat up and slid her feet over the edge of the cold metal slab. Alive. Cerberus. Miranda. Mechs. Gun in the locker there. She remembered this. Shepard stood on shaky legs, groaning at the aches she felt all over her body and started to move towards the locker.
"Arm yourself, hurry! The locker at the other side of the room!" Miranda said.
"I know," Shepard croaked.
"Well then hurry!" Miranda barked at her.
Shepard made her way to the locker and dug out a set of N7 armor locking it into place as quickly as she could. She knew it wasn't really hers and she didn't want to think about how Cerberus got their hands on it. She pulled the armor on and picked up the pistol. There were no thermal clips. She stood back from the door and waited for it to blow open before heading out of the room to scoop up ammo next to a dead man wearing Cerberus colors.
"It still hurts, we don't like this. Oh, it still hurts. Why did you do this to us?" Jane said.
"Jane, what the hell are you talking about? What's wrong? Pull it together," Shepard thought.
"We felt it all. We died again, and we felt it all and then they brought us here and they cut us open and we felt it. Oh gods, we felt it all. They cut and they cut. They put things inside of us, Dawn, oh it still hurts," Jane said.
"Jane listen to me, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry that you felt it all but right now we're about to have mechs shooting at us, do you remember?" Shepard thought at Jane.
"Remember, yes, yes we remember it all. The scraping and the cutting, the drilling and the screwing," Jane said.
"Fuck," Shepard thought.
She tried to quiet Jane, to push her down to nothing but the buzzing noise that she had grown so use to but she couldn't do it. Jane wouldn't go. Shepard didn't have time to deal with Jane; she could hear the mechs moving in as she vaulted over the low metal desk that someone had tried to use as a blockade. She ran into the next room to duck behind a crate. Wilson. She remembered that a man named Wilson was the one responsible for the attack. He was trying to kill her.
"Wilson's not important. He doesn't matter. It's so loud in here, they won't be quiet. Why won't they stop?" Jane said.
She ducked out of cover and fired on the LOKI mechs. She could feel the remaining effects of the anesthesia wearing off. She was in pain, but damn it felt good to be alive. When the last mech fell, Shepard moved up the stairs and took the ammo that they dropped before moving on. In the next room, Shepard dove behind a low bulletproof glass wall and waited for the door to open on the other side of the room. More LOKIs moved in and she dropped them as fast as she could.
"They just keep coming and coming, we're so tired we want it to stop. It hurts so bad, we shouldn't feel this. We shouldn't feel any of this," Jane said.
Jacob, she had to get to Jacob and help him take out the mechs he was fighting. Where was Jacob? Shepard pushed forward and through a room with an observation window. She could see a man being attacked by a heavy mech on the other side but there was nothing she could do for him. Miranda's voice came back through on the comm, along with the sound of gunfire. Miranda urged her to forward before her voice cut out completely. Shepard pushed ahead and saw Jacob taking cover while firing on the LOKIs across the room from him. Shepard ran and slid into cover next to him.
"Jacob! We've got to get to Miranda. She's in trouble," Shepard said.
"Shepard? Damn, things must really be going to hell if Miranda has you up already," Jacob said.
"He doesn't know us, doesn't remember us. He can't see us, why can't he see us?" Jane said.
They worked together taking out the mechs, Jacob deferred to her immediately following her orders as she directed him to use his biotics to pull the mechs into the air and fire on them.
"Listen, I'm sure you have a million questions and I'll tell you whatever you want to know after we get these mechs down. Sound fair?" Jacob asked.
"Not as many as you might think," Shepard said more to herself than to Jacob.
He raised a confused eyebrow at her but kept firing on the LOKIs.
When the last mech fell, Shepard stood up and started moving towards the door.
"Go, go, go we need to get out of this place. This place hurts so bad. They cut us open and they pumped us full of things. They left things in side of us here, we need to go it hurts," Jane said.
"Shepard?" Jacob said.
She turned to look over her shoulder; the man had bewilderment written all over his face.
"You're Jacob Taylor, former Alliance and now you work for Cerberus. My ship crashed, I was spaced. Cerberus spent the last two years and more credits than I want to know to bring me back to life. Miranda Lawson headed the Lazarus Project, tasked with only one thing. Bring me back to life. I'm here now, and Miranda is in trouble we need to get to her. Are we good?" Shepard said.
"Uh, yeah, I guess so. Did you, uh, find some files or something?" Jacob asked.
"Something like that, let's go," Shepard said.
"Go, go, go. We want to go," Jane said.
"Jane, seriously. Pull it together. I need you on this," Shepard thought.
Wilson's voice broke through Jacob's omni-tool comm. Shepard clenched her jaw but said nothing while Jacob and Wilson talked about the attack and where Wilson was located. She waited for Jacob to finish talking before moving forward. They got to the service room and Shepard was already diving for cover knowing that more mechs were in the area. Jacob yelled at Wilson through his comm, telling him to find them another way out. Shepard focused on taking down the mechs.
They moved out into the halls. Wilson screamed over the comm, saying he'd been hit. Shepard knew it was just his leg, hell he probably shot himself. She already knew that the man was the traitor and she planned on dealing with him herself. Up some stairs and through another door they found Wilson sitting behind some crates clutching his leg. Jacob went straight for Wilson to tend to his injury.
Shepard lowered her pistol at Wilson's head, "Step back Jacob."
"Shoot him already, hurry up let's go. We don't want to be here," Jane said.
"What? What are you doing? Shepard, this is Wilson he's one of ours!" Jacob said.
Wilson tried to scurry away from her, "Jacob, help me!"
"He's the traitor, Jacob. He's the reason the mechs are firing on us. He's trying to kill me. Move back, Jacob," Shepard said.
Jacob stood and took a few steps back, "Shepard? Are you sure? How do you know?"
Shepard avoided answering the questions directly, "He works for the Shadow Broker, Jacob. Take him in to custody and question him or I'm shooting him. It's your call."
Wilson glared at Shepard, "She's clearly insane, Jacob. Something must have gone wrong with the Project. Restrain her, Jacob!"
"Insane? We're not insane. They're insane. He's insane with the cutting and the scraping. Are we insane?" Jane said.
"Yes! Now shut the hell up!" Shepard snapped at Jane in her thoughts.
"What were you doing down here, Wilson?" Jacob asked.
"I – I was trying to stop the mechs. I was trying to save us all but they shot me," Wilson said.
"You belong in the bio-wing, why would you have security mech clearance?" Jacob asked.
"I was trying to save us!" Wilson insisted.
"Where are the mechs that attacked you, Wilson? They just shoot you in the leg and walk away? That sound like the mechs we've been fighting so far, Jacob?" Shepard asked.
"No. No it doesn't," Jacob slowly shook his head. "Shepard's right, Wilson. Something isn't right here."
He walked over to the nearby first aid station and brought back some medi-gel for Wilson.
"Patch yourself up and get on your feet. I'm taking you to Miranda. She can figure out what's going on here," Jacob said.
Wilson did as he was told, flinching when Jacob urged him forward with a pistol in the center of his back. The door opened up across from them and Shepard shot out the tanks that were blocking the path. They exploded and wiped out the mechs. Shepard ushered them forward through the halls until they were almost at the shuttles. The room filled with LOKIs and while Shepard was focused on taking them out, Jacob took his eyes off of Wilson to help before she was overwhelmed. Wilson ran for the shuttle door and started to hack through.
"Wouldn't do that if I were you, Wilson!" Shepard yelled over her shoulder.
"I'm not getting paid – Miranda!" Wilson said as the door slid open.
"No, no, we don't want to see her! She hurt us, that bitch cut us open from head to toe!" Jane said.
Miranda stuck her gun against Wilson's throat and pulled the trigger before moving into the room to help Shepard and Jacob finish off the mechs. When the LOKIs were cleared, Shepard turned and started walking towards the shuttle stepping over Wilson's body. She heard Jacob questioning Miranda about why she shot Wilson. Miranda confirmed that Wilson was the one to sabotage the mechs.
"Jane, I don't understand what's going on with you. I promise as soon as we get someplace where I can talk to you alone we'll figure this out. Miranda was doing what she had to do to bring us back to life. You remember that, it's happened before, right?" Shepard thought at Jane.
"Not like this. Never had to feel it, to hear it oh gods," Jane said.
"Shepard, where are you going?" Miranda called after her.
Shepard turned and gestured towards the shuttle, "I'm leaving. Isn't that the idea or did you want to stick around for something?"
"No, of course not. Our boss will want to see you and I need to ask you some questions to be sure that your neurocognitive functions are intact," Miranda said following her to the shuttle.
Right. Questions. Illusive Man. Freedom's Progress. Tali will be there. I remember. The sooner I can get through this the sooner I can get the ship and see Joker. Then I can go find Garrus. I need to find Garrus.
"Shoot," Shepard said.
She climbed in the shuttle and sat down. Miranda and Jacob exchanged a look, to which Jacob shrugged. They climbed in the shuttle behind her and set the course for another Cerberus location. The shuttle took off and Miranda eyed Shepard warily.
"Commander, how are you feeling?" Miranda asked.
"I'm fine. Still a little sore, but I imagine that's to be expected," Shepard said bouncing her leg impatiently.
"Shepard, you do get that you were just brought back from the dead right? I mean, I can't believe you're taking this so calmly. You don't even seem to care," Jacob said.
"Yeah, I'm aware but right now I just want to know what the progress is on the reaper invasion and if the Council is doing anything about it. I want to know where my friends are, if they're where I think they'll be or somewhere else. I want to know that they're OK. I want – gods – I want something to eat. I'm starving," Shepard said.
She turned from the window to look at Miranda who had a perfectly sculpted eyebrow raised. Jane was suddenly filled with fury and she was pouring it into Shepard. She wanted to lunge forward and rip the woman's face off. Shepard closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the wall.
"Let's see if I can speed this along for you: My name is Commander Dawn Shepard, I was the first human Spectre. I was born on Mindoir, my parents were killed by batarian slavers. I lost all of my men on Akuze when thresher maws attacked us," Shepard paused to drive home her point. "Well, not really all of them, Toombs lived but I didn't know that until I found him killing off the Cerberus scientists that were responsible for the attacks. They'd been running tests on him, pumping him full of thresher maw venom to see what would happen. I brought him back on the Normandy to try to help him but he slit his wrist while I was on Virmire. Guess you didn't know about all that, huh?"
Miranda and Jacob both stared at Shepard. She could tell that they were concerned with her behavior but she just didn't care. She knew that eventually they would come to trust her and she them, unless too much had changed but right now that trust hadn't been established and she didn't want to deal with this crap.
"No, don't trust her she hurt us. She cut us open and put tubes and metal inside," Jane said.
"Let's see, what else. Oh, I had to leave Kaidan Alenko to die on Virmire to ensure that the mission was a success. It broke my heart. I tried like hell to keep everyone alive on that mission but it managed to go sideways regardless. Did I miss anything? Or did you want to ask about my relationship with the turian aboard my ship as well?" Shepard asked.
Miranda leaned back and crossed her legs, "Well, this is certainly not what I was expecting, Commander but it appears that your memory at least is intact. I am not yet sure about your personality."
"I'm fine. I'm me. Just a really annoyed me who doesn't have time for this crap. What can you tell me about the war?" Shepard asked.
Jacob leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees, "Not much, really. The Council pretty much did their best to shut down talks about the reapers. Your video is still circulating in some underground areas. Support is still being rallied but after two years and no sign of an invasion, people are starting to believe that you were wrong."
"Damn it," Shepard said tapping the back of her head against the metal shuttle wall.
"Is Anderson still on the Council?" Shepard asked.
"Yeah, Anderson is there with all the same folks that were there before your accident," Jacob said.
"What about Valern, has he shown any sign of going against Tevos and Sparatus?" Shepard asked.
"If he is, he isn't doing it publicly," Jacob said. "Why do you ask about the salarian?"
"Before the Normandy went down, we were engaging in talks. He was taking the threat more seriously than the others – well, aside from Anderson," Shepard said.
Miranda rummaged around in a footlocker before tossing Shepard a couple of packets of dry rations and a warm bottle of water. Shepard didn't care, it was food. She tore them open and started eating.
"Thanks," Shepard said.
"Just try to take it slowly, Commander. Your body may not be prepared to take in much just yet," Miranda said.
Shepard grunted in response but tried to slow down.
"I need a secure connection. I have people I need to contact. They need to know I'm back," Shepard said.
"We'll see about getting you everything you need after you speak with the Illusive Man," Jacob said.
"Jacob!" Miranda scolded.
"What? She already knew. I didn't tell her anything. She founds your logs or something before she found me," Jacob said.
"I see, I suppose I should have expected that, Commander. Perhaps your personality is intact," Miranda said.
"You guys do know that everyone in the Alliance knows that the pretty little diamond pattern you're sporting is Cerberus' logo, right? I wouldn't have had to see anything here to know that you two are Cerberus," Shepard said.
Miranda glanced down at the pattern on her chest and Jacob absently touched the one on his. Shepard hid a wolfish grin with a swig from her water bottle. She had seen the consoles spread out through the Cerberus facility but she didn't need to access them to know what they would tell her. She already knew and so much more thanks to Jane. By the time Shepard had finished her rations and water, they were coming up on the Cerberus facility.
Shepard hopped out of the shuttle when it landed and walked in like she owned the place. She didn't care if it caused Miranda to get her panties in a twist; in fact it was a little amusing. Her eyes scanned over the area, there was only one place she could go and that was through the hall and down the stairs at the far side of the room.
"The Illusive Man is waiting to speak with you," Miranda said walking past Shepard and heading to a computer console.
Shepard made her way down the stairs and stepped inside the circle on the floor that would allow her to communicate with the Illusive Man. She waited as the holographic grid rose up into place around her. She could see into the Illusive Man's secret base. Only it wasn't as secret as he thought. Not to Jane. She studied the massive star through the windows at the back of the room and the console set up between them and the Illusive Man.
Shepard didn't give him the chance to speak, "I tried to contact you. Twice."
The Illusive Man took a long drag off of his cigarette before blowing out a thick cloud of smoke. He tapped the ashes off in an ashtray set into the armrest of his chair. Shepard could see the blue glow of the implants he had in his eyes better than she could see him. It didn't matter; she knew exactly what the smug bastard looked like.
"Yes, Commander Shepard, I received your vague messages requesting a meeting. You'll forgive me if I was hesitant to respond considering the circumstances. I did respond, however. I was just too late. You are here now," the Illusive Man said.
"I am. Two years later. Gone and wasted with the reapers on their way," Shepard said crossing her arms.
"I'm afraid I don't understand the nature of your complaint, Commander. Is it that I didn't respond to your messages sooner or that I didn't bring you back from the dead sooner?" the Illusive Man asked taking a drink from his tumbler.
"Both. Let's cut to the chase. I needed your help in dealing with the reaper threat. I'm assuming that you recognized a need for me as well or I wouldn't be standing here," Shepard said.
She had considered telling him everything she already knew but she didn't have a plausible way to explain it to him without revealing the presence of Jane. If ever there was someone not to trust with her secret, it was the man sitting in front of her. She knew what he was capable of; what Cerberus was capable of and she had no doubt that if she were to try to convince him of Jane's existence it would only land her back on that cold metal slab while Cerberus tore her apart all over again to try to find out everything they could about Jane. No, she was going to have to be very careful what she said around him and anyone else wearing Cerberus colors that she didn't already know and trust with her life. She might eventually win Jacob and Miranda over, but until that point, there was no telling how they would respond to Jane.
"Indeed, Commander," he took another excruciatingly slow drag from his cigarette before continuing, "You accomplished great things in your time. You made great strides towards securing humanity's rightful place in the galaxy and became a key figure, a symbol of the best that humanity has to offer. Humanity needs that now, Shepard. We need you at the head of this charge, even if the rest of the galaxy doesn't yet realize we are at war."
"What can you tell me about the last two years?" Shepard asked.
"Unfortunately, Commander Shepard, not a great deal has changed in your absence in regard to the reaper threat. The Council is still denying your claims despite Sovereign's attack on the Citadel. The Alliance lost a great deal that day and their primary focus has been rebuilding their fleets and establishing the new political foothold you gave humanity with a seat on the Council," he said before taking another drink.
"In the meanwhile, entire colonies of humans have been disappearing and no one seems to care enough about it to find out why. That is why humanity needs you, Commander Shepard. We believe that whoever is responsible for these missing colonies is working for the reapers," said the Illusive Man as he stood to walk closer to the projection of Shepard.
"How many have gone missing?" Shepard asked.
"Hundreds of thousands from remote locations," he said. "The reapers are targeting humanity, Commander. Perhaps because you made it clear that we are a threat."
"What have you got on the colonies that have been targeted?" Shepard asked.
The Illusive Man took a drag off of his cigarette; the smoke he exhaled swirled up around the image of Shepard scattering the light of the fine lines of the holographic grid. She fought the urge to fan away smoke that wasn't really there on her side of the communicator. The Illusive Man turned and walked back to his chair.
"I can have the full reports sent to you when you return from Freedom's Progress, Shepard. There's a shuttle waiting to take you there now. Miranda and Jacob can fill you in on the details," he said after he sat back down.
"Before I go, your man Wilson was working for the Shadow Broker. I suggest you make sure no one else on your payroll is doing the same," Shepard turned and walked out of the comm circle.
Once up the stairs, she headed straight for the doors to the shuttle hangar, "Alright, let's go."
Miranda and Jacob followed after her piling into the shuttle behind her and setting the coordinates. They took turns talking, informing Shepard that they were headed to Freedom's Progress because it was the latest location of colony abductions and they hoped to be there before anyone else. They were always the last to arrive on the scene at the previous locations, and all reports indicated that nothing was found to implicate the party responsible for the abductions. Shepard nodded her head as they spoke, trying to pretend that they were providing her with valuable information. Miranda watched Shepard in a cold and calculating way; appraising Shepard's every movement and word.
When they both grew quiet, having told Shepard everything they thought she needed to know; Shepard closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the wall. She schooled her features, and tried again to quiet Jane.
"Jane, please, you're making it very hard to focus. Try to pull it together. I get it, you felt terrible things and they hurt. It's got you all messed up but I need you to calm down. No one is hurting us anymore, OK?" Shepard thought.
"It's over, yes. No more cutting. Why are they being so loud?" Jane asked.
"They're not even talking right now Jane. Miranda and Jacob haven't said a word for like five minutes," Shepard thought.
"No, no, no the Shepards. They're all being so loud. They're burning through my thoughts," Jane said.
Shepard adjusted herself on the shuttle's bench seat, "I don't know, Jane. Maybe because it hurt them, too? Or maybe just because you're so shaken up right now?"
Jacob cleared his throat and Shepard opened her eyes, "We're uh, we're almost there, Shepard."
"Thanks, Jacob," she said turning to watch the approach.
The shuttle lowered itself onto a concrete landing zone in the middle of the colony. Shepard stepped out and let her eyes roam over the area. Her training had her drawing her pistol before she advanced forward and into the prefab connected to the landing zone. As expected, the place was empty. Plates of old, uneaten food left on the table were the only sign that the owners weren't coming back anytime soon. There were no signs of a struggle; no overturned furniture or blood splatters. Shepard moved through the building and out the back door taking the stairs down to the courtyard below the landing zone.
She moved to the large door at the far side of the courtyard and slapped her hand against the switch. When it opened she had her gun up ready to fire at the mechs she expected to be stationed across from her at the next row of buildings, but they weren't there. Shepard swung her gun around as she scanned the area. Nothing. No LOKI mechs shooting at her from the porches and no FENRIS mechs charging in to harry her team.
Shepard moved slowly and cautiously forward out onto the concrete deck and towards the stairs expecting mechs to show up at any minute. None came as she moved up the stairs and into the next building. The building was as empty as the first one, bunk beds lined the walls. She left that building and crossed over to the stairs to the next. A million thoughts flooded through Shepard's mind about what she would say to Tali when she opened that door. Would the quarian be happy to see her, even after the message that Shepard had left to be delivered after her death? Would she understand? Would she be ready to help even though she never was in Jane's memories?
Shepard opened the door and the room was empty. Tali wasn't there. She stopped in her tracks and her eyes scoured the room. Her confusion must have been evident because Miranda moved to her side.
"No Tali, where's Tali? Tali is supposed to be here. Tali is always here, we always find her here. This is wrong. Wrong, all wrong," Jane said. "What did you do? You broke it!"
"Commander Shepard? Are you feeling unwell? It might have been too soon to have you out on the field. I can call in for another team to come and finish things here. We should get you to a lab and checked out," Miranda said.
"No, I'm fine," Shepard went with the first lame excuse her mind threw at her, "I just uh, remembered something unpleasant. This place reminds me of somewhere else. I don't really want to talk about it."
"You're sure?" Miranda asked.
"Yeah, let's keep moving," Shepard said.
She moved through the back and down a set of stairs to a lower landing. The next building was as empty as all of the others. Still no sign of mechs or Tali. Something was very wrong. Shepard looked around, still expecting to see drones flying down to attack them as they made their way across the walkways to the next building but there were no drones either. Empty building after empty building, Shepard pushed her team forward. When they reached the garage door, memories of the door opening to reveal the group of quarians that had escorted Tali being slaughtered by an YMIR mech filled her mind. When she opened the door, the area was quiet.
Inactive mechs stood in neat rows, the LOKIs curled down to save space sat lined up next to the FENRIS. An YMIR stood behind them. Shepard made her way through the rest of the rooms just to be safe before heading in to the security room where she would normally find Veetor. The terrified quarian wasn't there.
"No Veetor. Did the collectors take Veetor, too? We liked Veetor. Where's Veetor?" Jane asked.
Shepard moved over to the security systems, "I think we might be able to find something here. It looks like there are cameras set up all over the colony."
She began digging through the footage hoping to see some sign of Tali and her men or even of Veetor but she found only footage of human colonists and then the collector's attack. Shepard sat back in the chair at the desk and watched as the collector's swarms paralyzed the colonists before the collectors came and put them in floating coffin-like pods to take them back to their ship. She froze the frame on a collector and stood up from the chair.
"My God, I think that's a collector!" Miranda said.
"The collectors. The collectors took Veetor, too. They're gonna turn him into a reaper with all the rest," Jane said.
"No, Jane, I don't think that's what happened. The collector swarms only target humans before, remember?" Shepard said.
"Changing, changing everything. The collectors took Veetor. They're going to make a reaper that looks just like the quarians next. Maybe they took Tali and Prazza and the others too," Jane said.
"That it is, that's our target," Shepard said trying to block Jane out.
"One of you pull that feed, I'm sure your boss will want to see it," Shepard said.
Jacob moved to do as she ordered, moving it to an OSD.
"We have what we came for, let's get out of here," Shepard said.
They way back to the shuttle was just as eerily uneventful as it was to the security room. Shepard was trying desperately not to worry over Tali not being here. She had changed a lot of things before she died, so it was easy to see that Tali might be somewhere else this time but that didn't explain why Veetor wasn't here. He was always here. Did she cause something to happen to the young quarian by changing the events of the past? There was no way Jane was right. It couldn't be the collectors.
Shepard stayed mostly quiet on the ride back to the Cerberus facility while Jacob and Miranda speculated on what the collectors could want with human colonists. The grim reality was so much worse than either of them suspected. When they got there, Shepard went straight down to talk to the Illusive Man again.
"Shepard, good work. Miranda has already forwarded me the video surveillance. It confirms my suspicions that the collectors were behind the attacks," the Illusive Man said stubbing out a cigarette in his ashtray.
"What do you know about the collectors?" Shepard asked.
"Little is known on their species, they tend to stay to themselves only periodically traveling into the Terminus Systems to exchange technology for living specimens. It isn't known what they want them for, but when their transactions are complete they leave again through the Omega 4 Relay," the Illusive Man said.
"By specimens I assume you mean living, breathing people," Shepard said.
"Let's not mince words here, Shepard. The important thing is that we now know with certainty who is behind the abductions and now we can work towards stopping them," he said.
Shepard shrugged, "What are we doing standing around talking then?"
"Very well, Commander. You'll be given dossiers on several people who have been chosen for this mission based on their specific skills and qualifications. The salarian scientist, Mordin Solus, in particular could prove useful in counteracting the collector's swarms. As more information arises, you will be notified. Be ready," the Illusive Man said.
"I've prepared a ship for you and hired a pilot, it's someone you know. I hear he's one of the best," he said tapping a button on a small holoscreen.
Shepard was already turning away from the Illusive Man to see Joker walking down the stairs. The comm's hologram closed itself as she took a hesitant step forward. Joker came to a stop in front of her. He looked cross with her; she could see the hurt in his eyes. She had sentenced herself to death right in front of him, after all.
"Joker, I –," Shepard's apology was cut off when Joker held up a hand.
"I need proof, Shepard," Joker said.
Shepard gave him a half grin, "Good. What's it going to take? You want me to recount some of our conversations in the cockpit? Tell you about how you teased me about Garrus?"
Joker crossed his arms and leaned against the wall.
"Want me to tell you how I sent you to save the Citadel from Sovereign because you're the best damn pilot there is and the Alliance needed you to lead their fleets?" Shepard continued.
She saw the corner of his mouth twitch. That was a good sign.
"Do I need to tell you how horrible of a person I am for those last moments, or can I just hug you now? Please?" Shepard asked.
Joker made a big show of sighing and rolling his eyes before he pushed himself away from the wall and opened his arms.
"You with your touching. C'mere. Be gentle," Joker said.
Shepard stepped into his embrace and gave him a gentle squeeze.
"I got your video, Commander. We all did. Thought you must be crazy but then when Cerberus got in contact with me and told me they had you… I had to come. Doesn't mean I forgive you, though," Joker spoke softly next to her ear.
"I know. I'm sorry, Joker. It had to be done," Shepard said.
Joker stepped back from her but left a hand on her shoulder, reminiscent of old times when she would visit with him on the Normandy.
"Come on, come check out my new baby," Joker said.
Shepard let Joker lead her to where the new Normandy was docked, smiling as he gushed over the ship. Finally Joker looked at her expression and sighed.
"But of course you already knew, didn't you?" Joker asked.
Shepard nodded, "Probably best we don't talk about that much where Cerberus ears might be listening."
"Right, that makes sense. Sorry, Commander. So the uh…," Joker trailed off gesturing towards his head.
Shepard nodded.
"So weird. Alright, she needs a name, Commander," Joker said turning back to the ship.
"We'll call her the Normandy, if that's alright with you?" Shepard said.
"Perfect, Commander," Joker said.