The Lives and Deaths of Commander Shepard

by MosaicCreme

The essence that is Commander Shepard has fought the battle against the Reapers more times than she can count, only to find herself right back where it all started. Never the exact same body, never the same first name or history. The disembodied voice struggles to break her way through to the consciousness of her current incarnation, trying to find a way to break her own cycle.

30. Chapter 7: Attention!

A/N: More smutty stuff happens. Fair warning.

Chapter 7: Attention!

Morning came far too soon. The blare of Shepard's alarm clock ripped both Shepard and Garrus out of a peaceful sleep. Shepard slapped her hand on the clock, silencing it even as she knocked it from the table sending it crashing to the floor. The momentary annoyance was whisked away by the reminder that Garrus was in her bed next to her once more. Shepard slowly rolled over and tucked her arm beneath her head to watch the man she loved. The man who's heart she had broken; breaking her own in turn.

Garrus stared up at the ceiling; Shepard could almost see the gears turning over and over in his head filling him with doubt and regret. She reached a tentative hand out to rest on his chest and his eyes fluttered closed in response. Garrus took a deep, shuddering breath. She could feel the war waging inside of him. She steeled herself for the worst, trying to find peace in the fact that at least there was a war. There was a fight. A part of him was fighting for her.

"I'm not the same person anymore, Shepard," Garrus said.

Hearing him call her Shepard and not Dawn when they were alone and in such an intimate position stung. She swallowed against the knot in her throat and licked her lips.

"I know," she whispered. "I'm not the same, either."

"Aren't you, though?" Garrus said opening his eyes to look at the ceiling again.

"No. I may not have been awake for those years, but I've had to suffer consequences because of them. Knowing what my actions did to the people I love… how could I be the same?" Shepard asked.

"I'm not the person you loved. Not anymore," he said.

"And yet I still love you," Shepard whispered. "I still need you."

Garrus remained quiet, his eyes glued to the ceiling.

"Please don't shut me out, Garrus," Shepard said.

"You're going to leave me again – die again," Garrus said turning his head against the pillows to look at her.

Shepard pulled her hand away from his chest and tucked it in against her own. She chewed on her lower lip.

"I don't want to," she said.

Garrus searched her eyes intently before he finally said, "Hmmm. Tell me again."

"Tell you what?" Shepard's throat ached with restrained sobs as she spoke.

"That you love me," Garrus said.

Tears began to well up in Shepard's eyes but she didn't dare turn them away from his.

"I love you, Garrus. I've always loved you. I will always love you," Shepard said.

Suddenly Garrus was on top of Shepard rolling her to her back, pressing his mouth against hers. His hands cupped her face, his thumbs brushing away her tears. He pulled his mouth from hers leaving her gasping for breath and pressed his forehead into hers.

"Sprits, woman. I love you, too. I hate what you've done to me. What you'll do to me again. But I can't walk away from you, not even to save my own carapace," Garrus said.

Shepard stroked her fingers along the edge of his mandible and closed her eyes.

"Do you regret meeting me?" she asked.

Garrus mulled the question over before finally answering, "There were days when you were gone that I began to regret putting myself in a position to feel so… devastated. But then I'd remember everything about you that made it even possible for me to feel such a loss… and then I just felt that. Drowned in it and felt devastated all over again."

"I'm sorry," she said.

Garrus nuzzled his face against her neck and mumbled, "I know."

"Tell me again?" Shepard whispered.

Garrus moved his mouth next to her ear and said, "I love you, Dawn."

He rubbed his face against her neck, planting light kisses along her collar bone and said, "I've always loved you."

Garrus pressed his forehead back into hers and said, "I will always love you."

Shepard warm smile slipped into a mischievous grin. Garrus pulled back slightly to narrow his eyes at her.

"You think maybe you can show me some more of that love?" she said sliding a leg up to wrap an ankle around the back of his thigh.

"Hmmm. I think I can probably manage that," Garrus said before kissing and nipping his way down her down her body to disappear beneath the blanket.

Three hours later, Garrus and Shepard stepped off the elevator together and entered the mess hall. Kasumi was sitting on the counter in front of Gardner eating fruit from a serving tray. Tali and Kal were sitting at a table doing absolutely nothing. Shepard got the distinct impression that they had been waiting for her. Jack sat backwards on a bench, her legs spread apart and her arms draped over the back of the table taking up as much space as her small frame could possibly claim. Grundan Krul sat across from her drinking a cup of coffee. All eyes turned to watch them.

"'Bout fucking time," Jack said.

Kasumi made an 'awww' sound and popped a strawberry into her mouth, chewing it with a silly smile plastered on her face. Gardner winked at Shepard. The intercom came on and Shepard could hear a slow clap coming over the mic. She rolled her eyes. Tali squirmed in her seat.

"Alright, alright," Shepard said. "Kasumi get your ass off the counter, food goes there."

Kasumi giggled and hopped down. She popped another strawberry in her mouth before activating her tactical cloak and disappearing from sight.

"Jack, you've managed to crawl out of your hole? I'm impressed," Shepard said.

"Got tired of waiting around for you to finish getting laid and dock this damn ship," Jack said.

"Uhhh, Shepard doesn't dock the ship. I do," Joker said over the comm.

"Yeah, and you don't wipe your ass unless she tells you to so what's your point?" Jack said.

Garrus chuckled and Shepard caught the faintest hint of a smile cross Grundan Krul's lips.

"You're… you're just mean," Joker said.

Jack smirked, "That the best you got?"

"I – I," Joker started.

"Figures," Jack said.

"I'll be damned. Someone who can shut him up. You're right Shepard, she was worth getting shot at," Garrus said.

"Ha. Ha. Ha. Hey Garrus, how's that stick up your ass? Do you and Shepard like –," Joker started to say.

"Joker!" Shepard warned.

"Alright, alright. Ready to dock whenever you want," Joker said cutting the comm.

Jack stood up from the bench, "Let's go. I want to go find some trouble."

"Let me eat something first," Shepard said with a smile. "Why don't you go keep Joker company. Tell him I sent you?"

"Why would I do that?" Jack asked with a raised brow.

"Because you get under his skin and it amuses me. I'll buy you something nice on the Citadel," Shepard said.

Jack smirked and said, "Just give me the credits and we'll call it good."

"Deal," Shepard said.

Jack left the mess hall while Shepard and Garrus settled down to have their breakfast under Tali's watchful eye. Normally it would make her uncomfortable but she was too busy stealing glances at Garrus to care and being delighted to see that he was doing the same. When finally they finished eating and were headed towards the elevator Kal engaged Garrus in conversation while Tali dragged Shepard aside.

"Ambush," Shepard muttered.

"Well?" Tali demanded.

"Well what?" Shepard asked and laughed.

"You know… did you two… did you work things out?" Tali asked.

Shepard grinned and said, "It's going to take more than one night to work things out, Tali… but yeah, we're working on it."

Tali squealed and bounced on her feet, clapping her hands together before throwing herself on Shepard. Shepard laughed and patted her friend on the back.

"What about you and Kal?" Shepard asked.

"Me and Kal?" Tali asked pulling away.

"Yeah. Have you thought about it?" Shepard asked.

Tali glanced over her shoulder at Kal before saying, "I don't know. Maybe. Yes. But things are complicated. I don't even know if he sees me the same way and there is so much going on right now…"

"I don't know, Tali. I think there's something there," Shepard said.

"You do?" Tali asked sounding hopeful.

"I do," Shepard said putting her hand on Tali's shoulder and guiding her back to the others.

Half the ship was waiting for the chance to roam the Citadel so they had to wait for the elevator longer than usual. Shepard finally got up to the CIC and made her way to the cockpit. Jack glanced at Shepard from where she sat sideways in the co-pilot's chair leaning forward with her elbows on her knees. Shepard grinned and Jack winked at her. She put her hand down on Joker's shoulder and he shrugged it off.

"Awwww. What's the matter, Joker? I thought you were going to win this?" Shepard said.

"It isn't over yet, Commander," Joker said.

Shepard wrapped her arms around Joker's neck from behind and planted a kiss on his bearded cheek.

He made a sound of disgust and wiped his cheek before saying, "Gross. I don't know where that mouth has been."

"Everywhere even your perverted little mind can imagine," Shepard said.

Jack laughed. Joker flipped the comm switch.

"Kelly! Shepard just kissed me. I thought you were going to talk to her about her inappropriate advances?" Joker said into the comm.

"Mr. Moreau, I think it's important that you tell Commander Shepard how it makes you feel when she does that," Kelly responded over the comm.

"Yeah, Joker, how does it make you feel when she does that?" Jack asked.

"I hate all three of you," Joker said.

Shepard was a little relieved to hear Kelly's laughter join Jack's and her own. She had figured that the yeoman would catch on to Shepard's ploy, using her to get to Joker and she was glad she didn't seem offended.

"Oh, but I love you, Joker. Now come on, dock your baby and come see Anderson with me?" Shepard asked.

"Do I have to?" Joker asked.

"No, but I'm sure he'd be happy to see you and it would be nice if you got off this ship once in a while," Shepard said.

"Yeah… the Citadel is just so crowded, and loud. And big. I prefer the nice confines of the Normandy," Joker said.

"Alright. Well, I'll see if I can convince him to come pay you a visit then. Sound good?" Shepard asked.

Joker turned in his seat to look up at her before asking, "You think he will? I mean, Cerberus vessel and all?"

"Sure, I think he will. Since the Council reinstated my Spectre status it wouldn't be so frowned upon," Shepard said.

"Yeah. OK, that'd be nice," Joker said turning back to the controls.

Shepard gently put a hand back on Joker's shoulder and he let it stay there as he hailed Citadel control and got permission to dock. She watched as he brought the ship in to the arms of the Citadel and eased it into the dock. Shepard gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze and turned back towards the airlock. Jack stood and followed her out.

"Later, Flight Lieutenant Moreau," Jack said over her shoulder.

"Yeah. Later," Joker said.

Shepard and Garrus made their way straight for Anderson's office while everyone else slowly filtered off the ship going their separate ways. Anderson must have been notified when they docked because he and Hackett were waiting for her when she arrived. She knew she wasn't Alliance anymore, but some habits are exceptionally hard to break. Shepard snapped a salute when she approached Hackett and smiled when he returned the salute without pause or question. She shook his hand when he offered it to her and he put a hand on her shoulder to guide her into the room.

"Commander Shepard, good to see you. We've got a lot to talk about," Hackett said before turning to Garrus. "And Mr. Vakarian, my reports said you were a part of the SSV Normandy's crew and were on the Citadel when Sovereign attacked."

"Yes, sir," Garrus said.

"Glad to have you," Hackett said shaking Garrus' hand.

"Thank you, sir," Garrus said.

Once everyone was inside of Anderson's office, he pressed a button on his console and told his secretary to hold his calls. Shepard slid into a chair in front of Anderson's desk when he sat down. When she realized Hackett had remained standing she stood back up until he waved her off and told her to sit.

"I'm afraid I can't stay long but I wanted the chance to speak with you in person," Hackett said. "I wanted to let you know that after the SSV Normandy went down I put a special team on Mars to search for the plans to the weapon you told us about."

"That's great, have they found anything?" Shepard asked hope taking hold of her.

"We found it, Commander," Hackett said.

"What?! This… this shouldn't be happening yet," Jane said.

"You did?" Shepard said rising to her feet.

"Yes ma'am," Hackett said. "We've had it for almost a year now. It took six months for our team to make heads or tails out of it but we've begun gathering the resources we need to build the Crucible. The plans call for something called the 'Catalyst' but it doesn't explain what the Catalyst is, Commander. I don't suppose you can shed any light on that?"

"You can't tell him! They can't know yet, listen to me, if they find out then it could get passed to the reapers. We could lose this whole war before it even really gets started. Dawn, no! You can't tell them!" Jane demanded.

"I'm sorry, Admiral, but I must keep that information until the time comes to use the Crucible. I must insist that you do not even tell anyone that I know what the Catalyst is, as it could jeopardize the entire thing," Shepard said.

Jane was right. She hated pulling the Spectre authority card on anyone in the Alliance but for this she would. Hackett glanced towards Anderson and Anderson nodded his head.

"I see. I trust your judgement, Commander. If you say it needs to stay classified, it stays classified," Hackett said.

"It's too big. It's going to be discovered before it's time. It'll be destroyed. They have to hide it, keep it safe," Jane said.

"The Alliance will probably need assistance getting it built. I will see if I can drum up some aid. In the meantime, I urge you to keep the existence of the plans and your work on it classified," Shepard said. "There are others out there like Saren – working for the reapers and we may not know who they are until it's too late."

"Agreed, Commander," Hackett said. "I should be going. Damn good to see you, though, Shepard."

"You too, Admiral. One more thing before you go," Shepard said. "This Crucible… it's not an answer to the war, Admiral. It's our damn Hail Mary and we will absolutely not activate that damn thing unless all hope is completely lost. Because when we do – if we do, the destruction it leaves behind will be far worse than anything we could have imagined."

"There isn't any other way. You know this. You've seen what we've lived through time and time again. What other way could their possibly be? Even with the galaxy untied, we weren't strong enough to take them down without the Crucible," Jane said.

Shepard stayed firm when she saw the light fade from Hackett's eyes and the smile slip away from his face.

"I see. That's unfortunate. Still, I suppose it's best to have the ace up our sleeve. Thank you, Commander," Hackett said before turning to leave.

Shepard watched him go before she sank back in her chair and hid her face in her hands, her elbows resting on her knees. She could feel Jane fretting in the back of her mind.

"What's a 'Hail Mary'?" Garrus asked.

"In the way that Shepard is using it, it basically means a last ditch effort made out of desperation. As she said, when all hope is lost," Anderson said.

"Hmmm. Thanks," Garrus said.

"Sure. So, Shepard, I have information for you on Operations Chief James Vega," Anderson said.

"Operations Chief… it hasn't happened yet," Jane said.

"What hasn't happened yet, Jane?" Shepard thought.

Jane grew quiet, whispering to herself in the back of Shepard's mind where it was hard for Shepard to understand. She resisted Shepard's attempts to pry and Shepard frowned.

"What have you got, sir?" Shepard asked.

"He's stationed in the Terminus Systems on Fehl Prime. I've got his non-classified records if you want to take a look," Anderson said pulling a datapad from his desk.

"Fehl Prime… makes sense," Shepard said taking the datapad from Anderson.

"How so?" Anderson asked.

"Fehl Prime kept standing out to me when I was looking at the human colonies in the Terminus Systems but I couldn't figure out why and Jane's been fighting me left and right on this one," Shepard said.

Anderson leaned forward, putting his elbows on his desk and making a steeple of his fingers in front of him.

"Shepard, Jane is you, right? I mean, at her core?" Anderson asked.

Shepard looked up from the datapad and nodded her head. Anderson stood to his feet and locked his eyes on Shepard.

"Attention!" Anderson barked.

Shepard jumped to her feet and stood at attention without thought, her eyes wide in confusion.

"Commander Jane Shepard, you will stop fighting against Commander Dawn Shepard's attempts to gain intel from you. You will provide Commander Dawn Shepard with whatever information she asks of you without complaint. That is an order, solider!" Anderson barked.

"Yes, sir!" Shepard said, her hand going to her head in salute as her will completely crumbled under the overwhelming compulsion coming from Jane and all of the others to respond to her commanding officer's order – to Anderson's order.

Shepard's face turned bright red.

"At ease, solider," Anderson said settling back into his chair with a satisfied grin.

Shepard brought her hand to her mouth in shock and awe. She slowly felt the heat of her blush ease out of her face and she gripped the back of the chair.

"Son-of-a-bitch… well, I'll be damned," Shepard said.

Garrus was watching her with raised brow plates and a look of fascination when he asked, "Did that actually work?"

"I… I think it did," Shepard said.

Shepard tilted her head to the side listening to Jane before telling Anderson, "She requests permission to voice her tactical opinions for consideration when the need arises."

"Granted," Anderson said. "Now tell us what you know about Vega and Fehl Prime."

Shepard sat back down in the chair as memories of conversations with James Vega began to flood her mind. She saw herself sparing with James aboard the retrofitted Normandy. He was angry and maybe swinging at her a little harder than was necessary. He was telling her about how he lost his CO and his team on Fehl Prime to a collector attack, he was faced with choosing between trying to save them or save the intel they had gathered on the collectors or save his people. Information that he believed could have been used to defeat the collectors. He chose the intel. He was angry with Shepard because the intel wasn't even needed; Shepard dealt with the collectors. In his mind, he let his team die for no reason.

"Shit," Shepard said. "Fehl Prime is going to be attacked by the collectors."

"When, Jane?" Shepard thought.

"I don't know exactly. Sometime this year, while we're fighting the collectors. We never met him until we were arrested; Anderson has him placed as our guard. He didn't tell us about this until after we were reinstated when the reapers hit Earth. If he hasn't been promoted to Lieutenant yet then it probably hasn't happened," Jane said.

"She doesn't know when exactly, they never discussed it in that much detail. She said that if he hasn't been promoted to Lieutenant then it hasn't happened yet. I guess normally I wouldn't meet him until I've been arrested; you place him as my guard and then he stays on with me once I'm reinstated," Shepard said.

Shepard listened to Jane for long minutes, her head tilted to the side and her eyes unfocused as she took in the details of memories and Jane's words.

"We need to get to Fehl Prime. If there is intel there – if there will be intel there, we need it. The other times we were able to collect information from a quarian named Veetor who was on his Pilgrimage when the attacks hit Freedom's Progress. He wasn't there this time. I don't know why, something I did differently before the crash," Shepard said. "I've got a salarian scientist, Mordin Solus, on my team and I know that he can create a vaccine – it works like a… a cloak, hiding us from the seeker swarms but without Veetor's data… wait there was something else… Mordin had a live seeker. Where, where did it come from?"

"The Illusive Man has other agents working to gather intel on the collectors. Whatever they find gets sent to us," Jane said.

"Shepard you can't go to Fehl Prime. If what you're saying is accurate, you won't be protected from the seekers until Mordin develops that vaccine. The seekers have only gone after humans, though. You need to send someone else, someone not human to Fehl Prime," Garrus said.

Shepard pinched the bridge of her nose and leaned back in the chair.

"Kirrahe," Shepard whispered.

"Yes, that could work. Maybe it won't alter too much for James but still get us what we need," Jane said.

"Got something, Commander?" Anderson asked.

"Anderson, what's Councilor Valern's current stance on all of this? Is he still working with you to help sway the others?" Shepard asked.

"He's moved to more subversive tactics, preparing the salarians as he can while staying within political bounds," Anderson said.

"The Council won't send in troops to the Terminus Systems, but what if a small group of STG volunteered to go to one planet in particular? Would Valern stop them?" Shepard asked.

"I can talk to him. I take it you have someone in mind?" Anderson asked.

"Major Kirrahe, the salarian I told you about last time. He and his men have been incredibly supportive. Solus and Kirrahe actually know each other, so that helps as well," Shepard said. "I can have Mordin contact Kirrahe, tell him what kinds of things he should be looking for and see if Kirrahe and his men are willing to spend some time on Fehl Prime. You'd need to give Captain Toni a good reason why they're there."

"Alright, talk to your contact and see if he agrees. Let me know and I'll deal with Valern," Anderson said.

"Sir, I believe Horizon will be hit as well. That might change with both Williams and Alenko gone but I'm not so sure. The ship that attacked the Normandy hit Horizon in the past, Williams or Alenko were always stationed there when it happened," Shepard said. "It was a deliberate attempt to draw her out – by hitting a place with one of ours. The simple fact is that every human colony in the Terminus Systems is a potential target."

"I know where the collectors are; they are through the Omega 4 relay. I will need to acquire a reaper IFF in order to pass through the Omega 4 relay and hit the collector's home world," Shepard said. "There are a lot of upgrades that need to be made to the ship, otherwise… I've seen some of Jane's memories where all of the upgrades weren't made and the ship barely made it through the relay. Crew lives were lost. I know I can't weigh our lives against the lives of thousands of colonists, though, so as soon as we can we'll strike."

"No, please. The upgrades don't really take that long. You just have to gather resources every chance you get. Please don't rush this; don't let any of them die if you don't have to," Jane said.

"I'll do what I can, Jane. I don't want to see anyone die either, but sometimes in war sacrifices have to be made. You know that. If it's a matter of making sure that this shit ends once and for all or saving a handful of people we're attached to… I'm going to make the call that has to be made," Shepard thought.

"In the meantime, we need to find a way to stop the reapers from invading through the Alpha Relay in the Bahak System that doesn't involve destroying the relay. Thoughts?" Shepard asked.

"If nothing else, at least there is time to evacuate," Jane said.

Anderson stood and paced in front of his desk before glancing at Garrus.

"The First Contact War began because we were trying to open a relay the Council deactivated. It is technically possible to deactivate the relay in the Bahak System, but it would likely incite war with the batarians. The Viper Nebula is within Earth Alliance Space so it may be possible to convince the rest of the Council… if they can be convinced of the necessity to begin with," Anderson said.

"Unless you have a way to make it permanent, it won't matter. The reapers will just reactivate it from their side, right? At least we have to assume that they can." Shepard asked. "That relay links everywhere."

"What would happen if it were destroyed while deactivated?" Anderson asked.

"When a relay is dormant, the mass effect field it produces tapers off to near nothing. You can still expect a pretty spectacular explosion, but it would be incomparable to the amount of energy released if the relay was active," Garrus offered.

"We have more warning this time, maybe we can attempt to evacuate the system as well," Shepard said. "There's something else you should know. Jane was first sent there, first learned about this, because Hackett asked her to go rescue a deep cover agent named Dr. Amanda Kenson. She was discovered and arrested by the batarians. Sir, Kenson is indoctrinated – or will be. It was her intention when Jane got her back to her facility to allow the reapers to come through. She had discovered a reaper artifact and while studying it received visions of the reapers' approach, unfortunately the time she and her team spent around the artifact opened the door to indoctrination. Jane had to kill her and a large portion of her team before setting the project back in motion to destroy the relay and steal a shuttle to escape. The rest would have died in the explosion."

Anderson sat back at his desk and wrote Kenson's name down on a datapad.

"I'll see what I can find out about Kenson and her team, and I'll try to convince the Council to consider taking actions to deactivate the Alpha Relay," Anderson said.

"I don't think that's an official name for it, sir. Jane said that Kenson and her team named it the Alpha Relay because they determined it to be the oldest relay and it has the unique ability to link to all other locations. I'm not certain of its exact coordinates, only that the asteroid she has her facility on is the one that will be used to destroy the relay," Shepard said.

"I'll see what I can find out, Shepard," Anderson said.

"Thank you Anderson. I'll swing back by as soon as I can to check base with you. In the meantime, let me know what you can, what's safe to disclose in messages," Shepard said standing.

Anderson walked around his desk and pulled Shepard into a warm embrace, patting her on the back.

"You're not alone in this, kid. Don't forget that. Even when it seems like the Council and half the galaxy is fighting against you… you're not alone in this," Anderson said.

"Thanks, Anderson. Hey, how about when I'm headed back to the ship you come check the new Normandy out and say hello to Joker. I couldn't convince him to leave the Normandy, but he would really like to see you. Dr. Chakwas, too. I figured with my Spectre status reinstated, it wouldn't be an issue if a councilor wanted to check out the ship, right?" Shepard said.

"That sounds like a fine idea, Shepard. Let me know when you're headed back," Anderson said.

Shepard smiled and nodded her head. Garrus stood to join Shepard and shook Anderson's hand before they turned to leave his office.

"Oh, Shepard. I almost forgot. Your quarian friend came in this morning, said you told her to come to me if she was in trouble. Lia she said her name was. She was assaulted by a couple of drunk teenagers last night. They tried to pull her mask off and ripped up her suit pretty good. God, the poor thing fought them off on her own and instead of going to the hospital she waited and came stumbling into my office," Anderson said.

"Oh my gods, where is she? Is she OK?" Shepard demanded.

"Yeah, she's alright. I've got her set up at the Huerta Memorial Hospital while she recovers. She panicked when I told her I was taking her to the hospital, said she couldn't afford it. Ha! Girl was sick as can be and was worried about paying bills. I told her she didn't need to worry about it, I've got it covered. I made sure they were giving her the best care before I left. Being a member of the Council has some benefits," Anderson said with a shrug.

"Thanks Anderson. Send me the bills, I'll pay them. Well, make Cerberus pay them," Shepard said with a smirk.

"Nah, I got this one, Shepard. Let me do a good deed," Anderson said.

Shepard smiled and said, "OK, Anderson. You got this one. Thank you."

"Of course, Shepard," Anderson said.

Shepard called Tali on her omni-tool on her way out the door. The quarian's face popped up on the screen.

"Hey, Shepard. What's up?" Tali asked.

"Tali, Anderson just informed me that Lia was assaulted last night. She's at Huerta Memorial Hospital. I can't get there right now; I have a lot of things I've got to handle. Can you and Kal go see her, make sure she's recovering? Let her know that I'll be there as soon as I can. It might be a few hours, though," Shepard said.

"Keelah. We'll go right away," Tali said.

"Thanks, Tali," Shepard said.

Tali nodded her head before cutting the call.

"I'm going to check in with a few of my contacts. Do you have a set time for us to meet back at the Normandy?" Garrus asked.

Shepard stopped in the hall outside of Anderson's office and chewed on her lip in thought.

"No, I'll need several hours here at least. Before you go, the thing with Miranda…," Shepard scratched at a scar on her cheek before continuing, "While I was out… Jane uh, Jane talked. Through me, I mean. Using my voice. Miranda has recordings of it…," Shepard said.

Garrus took a step closer, narrowing the distance between himself and Shepard. His eyes locked on to hers.

"You're serious? What does she know?" Garrus asked.

"I don't know all of it yet. I think I convinced her that it was a side effect of the beacon. I convinced her to give me a copy of the videos on an OSD. I didn't want to watch them on the ship. She wanted to tell the Illusive Man but I've convinced her not to, at least for now," Shepard said.

"I still think it's safest to kill her," Jane said.

"Even after that speech about not letting them die if I didn't have to?" Shepard thought.

"This is different," Jane said.

"Only because you were awake for what happened this time," Shepard thought.

"How can you be sure she won't tell the Illusive Man?" Garrus asked pulling Shepard back to the conversation at hand.

Shepard shrugged and said, "I can't be. Not completely. I warned her though that if she did, I'd walk. I told her there's no way in hell I'm letting myself end up back on a Cerberus slab while they run experiments to figure out how it works."

"Why didn't she already tell him?" Garrus asked.

"Because in one of the videos Jane mentioned her sister, Oriana Lawson. She's the one person that Miranda loves more than herself. She needed to know how I knew, and what I knew about Oriana before anyone else found out," Shepard explained. "The only other person that heard Jane was shot in the head by Miranda. I watched it happen. I think she was more than delighted when he gave her an excusable reason to do so. The man was working for the Shadow Broker, he was trying to kill me before the Lazarus Project was complete."

"Then we have to assume that the Shadow Broker has copies of those videos," Garrus said. "Which could also explain why he still wants to get his hands on you so bad."

"He's right," Jane said.

Shepard bit her lip and shook her head.

"I hadn't thought about it, you're probably right. Damn it. Damn it," Shepard said. "I need to get to a computer without any connection to the extranet. Something I don't have to worry about causing problems in case there's a virus or anything on the drive. I want to spend some time watching these videos before I leave the Citadel. I need to know exactly what's on them."

"You have it with you? Now?" Garrus asked.

"Yeah, it hasn't left my person. I even lock it in the bathroom with me when I shower. Well, I guess it wasn't exactly on me last night…," Shepard said.

"Hmmm," Garrus said a smile tugging at his mouth. "My contacts can wait. I want to see these videos."

Shepard's eyes widened and she started to shake her head, saying, "Garrus… no, I – I was in pretty bad shape… I don't think you want to see that. I mean, it's hard to look at and we're only just now… I don't think it's a good idea."

"No. Oh gods no! You can't let him see that!" Jane said.

"Shepard, I know exactly what you looked like before they put you on that slab. Who do you think delivered you to them?" Garrus asked ice creeping back in over his eyes.

Jane's shock echoed her own. Shepard felt light-headed; she put a hand out to brace herself against the wall. The other hand came to cover her gaping mouth.

"Garrus… I didn't know… I'm – gods I'm so sorry," Shepard said.

"I don't need to hear anymore apologies, Shepard," Garrus said shaking his head. "I did what had to be done. Liara was gone so I made sure you got where you needed to be. I want to see the videos."

Shepard slowly nodded before speaking, "Alright. If you're sure."

Garrus snapped his mandibles tight against his jaw and stared at her, nodding only once. Together they made their way to the wards and bought a cheap laptop. Garrus took her to some cheap rooms for rent where they wouldn't be bothered. He took the laptop apart and removed the extranet card, disabling its ability to connect to the extranet before putting it back together again. Shepard ditched her armor, wanting to be comfortable for the long hours she anticipated they would be spending sitting on that couch watching her own personal torture videos. She would never understand how Garrus stood to wear his armor around the clock. Shepard used the application given to her by Anderson to check the room for bugs, just as an added precaution.

"So do I get a copy of that?" Garrus asked as he watched her.

"Only if I get a copy of your noise cancellation program," Shepard said with a grin.

"Deal," Garrus said.

Shepard chuckled and closed the program content that there were no covert listening devices in the area. She and Garrus shared the programs to each other's omni-tools before settling in on a beat up couch across from a coffee table. Garrus opened the laptop and Shepard handed him the OSD. Her nerves rattled around inside of her as Garrus plugged the drive in and accessed the first video. Shepard took several deep breaths trying to steel herself for what was to come.

"I… I don't think I'm ready to watch these, Dawn," Jane said her panic welling up inside of Shepard.

The video began playing and she saw herself lying on the Cerberus slab. She was in even worse condition than she was in the video Miranda had shown her before. Most of her hair was completely gone; every inch of exposed flesh was charred, burnt to a black crisp. Her chest was cut open, metal forceps holding her ribcage apart. And she was screaming. A low hiss; more of a screeching as what little air her lungs could pull in was being shoved back out across her seared vocal chords. Her mouth was barely even open; nothing else on her moved except the slowly beating heart in her chest.

"I felt that, I could feel them cutting us open, sawing through our ribs. Gods it hurt. We've never felt anything like that ever before. Then the drilling and the scraping. Do we really have to watch this?" Jane asked.

"Yes," Shepard thought.

Wilson and Miranda ran around checking machinery, gauging readings. Miranda ordered Wilson to give her anesthesia. Wilson rambled on about how Shepard shouldn't even be able to feel anything at all, there was no ways she could be even remotely conscious yet. Miranda argued with him that clearly she somehow was, telling him there was no point in debating what should be when there was a mostly dead screaming woman on their table with her chest cut open and her heart exposed. Wilson saw reason and attempted to insert an IV. He couldn't get it through the thick, burnt skin and into a vein on his first several attempts. When he did get it into a vein, he found that the fluids weren't being pushed through her system enough yet by the recently restarted, weakly pumping heart to do their job. Miranda shoved him out of the way and put a gas mask over Shepard's nose and mouth. A few seconds later, Shepard's screams stopped and she lay inert.

The video went dark for a few seconds before Miranda's face appeared. She spoke directly into the camera giving a summary of Shepard's current state and the oddity of the event they experienced when her heart was restarted. The video came to an end and Garrus let it sit there for a long minute, as they both stared at the screen in silence. Slowly he reached his hand out and closed that video before opening the next.

Shepard looked marginally better in this video, though still unrecognizable to herself as even human let alone the woman she saw when she looked in the mirror. Her chest was opened again and she could see tubes threaded throughout her chest cavity. Glowing pieces of machinery were being screwed into the bones of her ribs and tubes connecting them ran to her heart. The heart beat steadier now, though still slower than one would expect. Suddenly, Shepard's chest expanded as if she had taken a deep breath. She started screaming again; still the rest of her remained motionless as her jaw shifted slightly. The scream was much stronger, much louder.

"Oh gods. I – I can't watch this, please make it stop," Jane said.

"Hold it together, Jane. I'm sorry. Just try to hold it together," Shepard thought.

Garrus reached over and turned down the volume on the laptop. Shepard rested her elbows on her knees and curled her fists up to rest her chin on her palms while covering her mouth.

"Spirits," Garrus whispered and Shepard closed her eyes.

The screaming continued for a solid minute before Miranda slipped the gas mask over Shepard's face again. Wilson grumbled about not being able to work under those conditions. Miranda resumed drilling into Shepard, placing metal implants along her ribs and connecting them to various areas within her chest cavity. Shepard's mouth began to move beneath the mask. Miranda caught sight of it and stopped her drilling. She turned the drill off and hesitantly reached for the mask, pulling it away from Shepard's burnt flesh.

"Oh gods it hurts…," Jane whimpered through Shepard mouth.

"Oh my God, she's talking. Wilson, quick sedate her. Hurry!" Miranda yelled.

Wilson could be heard rattling around equipment off camera before he arrived by Shepard's bed with a syringe. He slipped the syringe into the IV that someone had finally managed to get in place and Shepard's mouth slowly stopped moving. The video went black before resuming on Miranda's face as the last one had. Miranda seemed shaken as she made her log entry before cutting the feed.

"No, no, please no more. I can't – I can't do this. I don't want to watch these. Please don't make me watch these," Jane begged.

"I'm sorry, Jane. Really, I am so truly very sorry. I have to watch them though. We have to know what was said," Shepard thought.

Shepard ran her hands through her hair and glanced at Garrus. He had his eyes locked on the screen. His face was an emotionless mask, the same mask he had on more often than not since she found him again on Omega. She thought she might be starting to finally, truly understand why. Garrus moved to start the next video.

"Can we uh… can we try to skip through the unnecessary parts… Jane isn't taking this too well," Shepard said.

Garrus turned to look at her and for a moment it was like he didn't recognize her. Like he forgot she was even there. She could see it then, in his eyes; he was lost in his own personal hell. The glaze shifted from his eyes as he was brought back to the present and they softened ever so slightly. He nodded his head once and started the next video.

Shepard's rib cage was now closed and Miranda was attaching a cybernetic implant to her sternum. Wilson was finishing an IV injection and watching Shepard as her mouth moved under the mask.

"It doesn't seem to be working as well anymore. She's still talking. We shouldn't be doing this, Miranda. None of this… it isn't right. We're playing with stuff we don't understand here. I mean for the love of God, look at her! Listen to her! She's in agony. She shouldn't be feeling this not in her state, but somehow she is. This is torture. We should let the damn woman have her rest. She earned it," Wilson said.

"I'll be sure to pass on your concerns to the Illusive Man. I'm sure he'll take them into consideration," Miranda said the sarcasm heavy in her voice.

"God you are such a heartless bitch sometimes," Wilson said.

"You're done for the day, Wilson. Go. I can finish this myself," Miranda said.

"Fine by me," Wilson said pulling off his latex gloves and tossing them somewhere off camera.

After a few moments, with Wilson presumably gone, Miranda reached up and slid the mask from Shepard's face.

"The reapers are still coming. I have to stop them. Can't die now. Have to stop them. It hurts, oh gods it hurts," Jane said through Shepard's mouth.

"I'm sorry, Commander," Miranda said replacing the mask and resuming her drilling.

Garrus fast forwarded the video through several minutes of Miranda drilling in implants before putting a stasis field over Shepard's chest; leaving her splayed open until she returned to finish the work but preventing her from more exposure than necessary. When Miranda started to reach for the mask on Shepard's face again, Garrus resumed normal play.

"I didn't even know. I didn't know they could hear me. I swear I didn't know," Jane said.

"It's alright, Jane. I know you didn't and you couldn't help it, alright? You were doing what you had to do to keep yourself together the best you could under the circumstances," Shepard throught.

"… to find Garrus. Can't do any of this without him. Got to stop the collectors. Oh gods, I was dying again. Dying all over again. On fire, couldn't breathe. Left Kaidan to die on fire. Burned up in the blast. Have to cure the genophage to stop the war. Have to let Mordin die to cure the genophage," Jane rambled through Shepard's mouth.

Miranda left the video and returned with another syringe. She pushed the air bubbles from the syringe before inserting it into Shepard's IV.

"A little more won't hurt. Sleep, Commander," Miranda said.

The video went dark and Garrus stopped it before opening another.

Shepard was screaming at the top of her lungs. The sound was devastating. Garrus flinched away from the noise and adjusted the volume again. His mandibles snapped so hard against his face Shepard was afraid he'd break something. Her hair was clearly starting to regrow in this video. Her chest was closed once more, but her arm was sliced open. Withered muscle and burnt skin peeled back and held into place by metal clamps as Miranda reinforced Shepard's bones with a metallic weave.

Shepard could feel Jane scrambling around inside of her, tearing at the walls of her mind. Garrus fast forwarded the video, keeping his focus on Shepard's mouth. When her jaw relaxed and it looked like the screaming had stopped he started the video again. A few seconds later her mouth started to move again, this time forming words.

"Why are you doing this to me? Please stop, gods please stop. Please stop. It hurts. It hurts so bad, please. Please," Jane said through Shepard.

"Do you think she can hear us?" Wilson asked.

"No, her ear drums were completely ruptured. The damage from the fire alone would keep her from hearing. Until we do the grafts and put in the implants, she is completely deaf," Miranda said.

"That's a shame. It would be nice to at least try to be able to offer her some hope," Wilson said.

Jane mumbled incoherently for a few seconds before speaking aloud again, "The collectors are really just prothean husks. Everything that made them real people scooped out and replaced with reaper bits and pieces. Breaks Liara's heart when she finds out. 'Course it really crushes her when she meets Javik."

Tears started to well up in Shepard's eyes and she leaned over Garrus' legs to pause the video. He looked around startled. Shepard stood up and started pacing the room. Tears blurred her vision as she navigated the unfamiliar space. Her shin banged into the side of an armchair and she splayed out a hand to catch herself before she could fall. Her shin throbbed from the beating but it was a distant pain, only there in the back of her mind. Shepard let herself collapse into the chair and hid her face in the palms of her hands while she quietly sobbed.

Garrus crossed the room to crouch down in front of her. He laid a hand tentatively on her thigh. Jane quieted at his touch. Shepard pulled her hands away from her face so she could wrap her arms around Garrus' neck and bury her face in his chest. Garrus slid an arm around her waist and started to stand, encouraging her to stand with him. When she was on her feet he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him before turning her so he could sit in the chair and pulled her into his lap.

He held her while she sobbed without saying a word for long minutes. When she was starting to calm back down, Garrus finally spoke but it wasn't what she expected.

"Who's Javik?" Garrus asked.

Shepard raised her head to look at his face. She didn't see the concern, the compassion she had thought she would see there. Instead the cold mask stared back at her. Shepard wiped the tears from her face and climbed out of his lap.

"He's uh, he's a prothean, actually. He's in a stasis pod on Eden Prime," Shepard said brushing her hair out of her face.

"You're kidding?" Garrus asked.

Shepard sniffed, wiping the last of the wet streaks from her face and shook her head.

"He's nothing at all like – like Liara imagined the prothean's being. Then again, he's only one and can hardly be expected to be the ideal for all protheans any more than I can be considered to be representative of humanity, or you turians," Shepard said running her hands through her hair.

Garrus stood up and rubbed a hand up and down Shepard's arm before asking, "So what's he like?"

Shepard chuckled and said, "Arrogant. Militaristic. Aloof. An incredible biotic. He's not a bad guy; really, he just doesn't make it easy for anyone to get close enough to see that."

"Hmmm. You don't let people get away with that, I'm guessing Jane knew him better than the others?" Garrus asked.

Shepard could feel Jane's mood shifting, calming as Garrus distracted them both from the videos. Memories of Javik began to float to the surface. The short talks he had with her aboard the Normandy and the memory shard he kept safe and at a distance. Jane's memories split, showing her the divergent paths. When Javik, if pressed, decides to use the memory shard it causes him intense psychological pain. After that, he talks about ending his own life once the war is won. If he doesn't use the shard, he talks about what it will be like to know the galaxy in peace.

Shepard chuckled and said, "Yeah. Wasn't easy. Harder than getting through to Wrex."

"So, you good to finish those videos?" Garrus asked.

Shepard nodded and they returned to the couch. The next video was the one she had already seen part of. Jane spoke about Miranda, Oriana, and Wilson's betrayal. The only thing of real concern was Jane's mention of the Illusive Man's presence on the Crucible. At the end of the video Miranda's log showed a very disturbed woman who was fraught with fear for her sister's safety.

Miranda said, "I didn't realize until now the significance of the things the Commander has been saying. I had assumed that it was… just random gibberish, the nightmares of a distraught woman in pain. Clearly that isn't the case. And Wilson… the implications. I will have to find a way to keep him away from the Commander until I can find a way to get rid of him permanently. I can't allow him to jeopardize this project. I don't know how Commander Shepard knows these things, but I intend to find out. I can't let anyone see these. Not until I have answers. Whatever the cost."

They spent the next three hours watching videos of Shepard slowly being torn apart and pieced back together in all of its morbid glory. Garrus fast forwarded through large sections where Shepard lay silent on the table, only stopping when her mouth started to move. Wilson started appearing in fewer and fewer of the videos and Miranda became more and more engaged when Shepard spoke. Especially if it pertained to Miranda or her sister.

When the last video finally came to a stop, they spent some time discussing the potential ramifications of various bits of information should Miranda release that information to the Illusive Man. Together they decided that all information pertaining to the collectors, save the human-reaper that the collectors were making, would be safe to provide to the Illusive Man. In fact, it might make things easier in the long haul. If he reported that information back to her then Shepard could stop skirting around things she wasn't supposed to know yet. She didn't want the Illusive Man to know about the human-reaper because she knew that he had foreknowledge he would find a way to make sure it was saved. Shepard wouldn't allow that; that thing needed to be destroyed.

Jane had mentioned the Illusive Man being on the Crucible at the end. She didn't mention that he was indoctrinated, or trying to control the reapers. Shepard considered that information for a long time and decided that she would have to insist that Miranda did not share that detail. She didn't want the Illusive Man finding out about the Crucible any faster than he had in other lives. He was a very dangerous man, with far too many resources at his disposal to be trusted with such information. Especially since Shepard had hopes of never using the Crucible. She also wasn't sure if the Illusive Man was already indoctrinated, though she doubted it since he went out of his way to bring her back to life when the reapers so clearly wanted her dead. Still, at some point he did become indoctrinated which meant that if he knew about the construction of the Crucible so would the reapers.

There was absolutely no reason for the Illusive Man to learn any of the private details of any of her crew; past, present, or future. She certainly didn't want him to learn that Jacob would eventually leave Cerberus and be found on Gellix with a team of scientists who had defected from Cerberus. She didn't want him to know anything that indicated that she would eventually tell him to go screw himself and return to the Alliance, taking the Normandy with her.

"How is she even going to tell him any of this without bringing up questions? He's going to find out. There's only one way around it, and that's to make sure none of this ever gets back to him. Period," Jane said.

"What if she doesn't want to listen?" Garrus asked.

"I don't know, I'll have to find a way to convince her. That's all there is to it," Shepard said.

"And if you can't?" Garrus asked.

Shepard shrugged and shook her head.

"You might have to kill her, scrub her computer," Garrus said.

"That's what Jane wants, but I can't do that, Garrus. It's not her fault that this happened. Miranda isn't a bad person. She defects from Cerberus when I leave; she finally sees Cerberus and the Illusive Man for what they are. She helps us in the war," Shepard said.

"I can," Garrus said simply.

"Let him do it, then," Jane said.

Shepard turned to look at him and saw nothing but resolute seriousness in his cold eyes.

"I don't want it to come to that, Garrus," Shepard said.

The turian spread his mandibles before closing them again and nodded his head. He ejected the OSD and handed it back to Shepard before shutting the laptop down. Shepard tucked the OSD in her pocket and looked up to see Garrus watching her. She offered him a small smile and was rewarded with a softening of his eyes. He flicked his fingers, gesturing for her to come closer.

Shepard was happy to oblige scooting down the couch until she was sitting pressed against his side. She was delighted that she was able to touch him again; that he wanted her to touch him again. He draped an arm over her shoulders giving her the room to snuggle in closer.

"Will you tell me about it?" Shepard asked quietly.

"Tell you about what?" he asked.

"Finding me. Getting me to Cerberus. The last two years," Shepard said.

Garrus was quiet for a long time until Shepard tilted her head up to look at him. His eyes were unfocused, haunted as they looked back on the past. Shepard hesitantly reached out to slide a finger under his chin and gave it a little tug. He didn't resist, allowing her to turn his head until his eyes met hers. She bit back the apology that wanted to force itself through her lips knowing he didn't want to hear it again.

"Another time, maybe?" Shepard asked.

Garrus swallowed and nodded. Shepard ran her thumb over his mouth and something in his eyes changed. She didn't see a nightmare reflected in them anymore but overwhelming need. Garrus moved with a speed she wasn't sure she'd ever get used to. He pressed his mouth to hers hungry and demanding, pushing her back on the couch. His urgency startled Shepard but she let herself be pulled and pushed to lie on the couch where he wanted her. Garrus pulled away from breathing in her scent like and addict scrambling for his fix long enough to rip his gloves off of his hands and free his torso from his armor.

He pressed against her again, his teeth scraping at her neck while his hands pulled and pushed at her shirt putting small tears in the fabric with his rush to feel her skin. Shepard gasped when a talon scraped across her stomach enough to draw small pinheads of blood.

"Garrus, slow down," Shepard said.

The turian growled at her in response, shoving her shirt up and running his tongue along the scratch, lapping up the tiny droplets. It sent shivers down her spine. She reached for his head, grasping it between her palms careful to avoid putting pressure in the wrong areas she pulled his head up to look at her. He looked lost and desperate. There was really no other words she could find to describe the wild look in his eyes.

"Garrus, I'm not going anywhere. Slow down. OK?" Shepard said.

He wrenched his head free from her grip and dropped it to her chest, resting his forehead on her sternum. A low keening started to rise up in his throat before he choked the sound off and pushed it away with a shake of his head. Shepard slid her hand to rest beneath his crest, letting her thumb gently caress the ridge of plating and more sensitive exposed skin that covered the back of his skull. The keening started to rise up in him again, ripping its way through Shepard's heart. It took him a little longer this time, but he fought it back once more. She could feel his jaw flex against her arm as he clenched his teeth and pulled his mandibles in as tight as he could.

He took in a slow, deep breath before sliding a hand along Shepard's waist and ribs forcing himself to move slowly and carefully. He started to pull his head away from her chest and Shepard let her hand slide away from his head to glide her fingertips along the edge of his jaw and mandible as he moved to taste her flesh.

"Sit up," Shepard said nudging his shoulder.

He looked at her, pain and confusion filling his eyes. Shepard cupped the side of his face and gave him a soft smile.

"Sit up," she said again.

Garrus did as she asked pulling himself away from her as she slid out from under him. She dropped her feet to the floor and stood up. His hungry eyes followed her as she pulled her shirt up over her head and dropped it to the floor. She slowly tugged off every other article of clothing standing in her way; letting them land wherever they fell. She reached a hand out to Garrus and he slid one of his into her palm. She tugged gently and he stood to his feet, his head dipping to nuzzle against her neck. She let him take in her scent before leading him to stand at the side of the bed.

Slowly and carefully she undressed Garrus, running her hands along each of his curves and taking her time to plant gentle kisses along the occasional smattering of exposed skin. A soft hum began to vibrate through Garrus' chest encouraging her to linger at her task. She let her tongue dart out to leave wet trails along his abdomen and hips before sinking lower to take him into her mouth. A hiss escaped Garrus' mouth followed by a low groan. This was a pleasure she had had to deny him in the past after learning that her pre-Cerberus body did not take well to the ingestion of the thick, slick dextro-based fluids that coated his most sensitive area.

"Shepard… don't you'll get sick," Garrus said his voice gravely and deep.

Shepard didn't stop though; instead she rubbed reassuring hands along his thighs continuing to work her tongue around him until she could tell she was pushing him too far. Shepard released him, feeling the trembling in his legs as she kissed her way back up his waist and chest.

"Not anymore, I won't," she whispered as she guided him to the mattress.

He slid a hand around her waist and tried to twist his torso to pull her to the bed with him, wanting to lie her down beneath him. Shepard shook her head and resisted. She urged him to slide back and propped the pillows up behind him so that he was sitting more than lying on the bed. Shepard crawled on all fours to hover over him, kissing, caressing, nibbling, and licking every spot her eyes landed on before she moved to straddle him.

Garrus' reached for her, wrapping his arms around her waist as she settled herself down on top of him. Their moans echoed one another and Shepard leaned into him tilting her head to the side and offering her neck to him. Garrus rubbed his face and mouth along her neck and collar bone, taking in deep breaths and rolling her scent around on the back of his tongue. She moved her body in slow, long, drawn out motions savoring the feel of every inch of him over and over again. Running her hands along every part of him she could reach, Shepard poured herself into him showing him her love and reminding him that she was alive, she was real, and she was with him again.

Garrus whispered her name over and over like a reverent prayer to the spirits until the small hitches in his breathing urged her to move faster. Soon his prayers became desperate, pleading until their bodies were moving together, him driving up into her as she pushed down onto him. Shepard felt the dull, tight ache release with wave after euphoric wave triggering Garrus' own release. He pulled down on her writhing hips pushing himself inside of her as far as he could as she spasmed around him. Shepard tried, but couldn't pretend that she couldn't feel Jane's response to their shared body's pleasure.

They stayed like that panting and holding on to each other for dear life for long minutes before Shepard slowly pulled back and pressed her brow into his.

"We should get going. Tali and Kal are waiting for me at the hospital with Lia," Shepard said.

"Hmmm," Garrus said noncommittally.

Shepard pushed his head back with her own so she could kiss him before slowly pulling herself off of him to clean up and get dressed. Unsurprisingly, Garrus was dressed and had his armor back in place before Shepard left the bathroom. He lounged in the armchair with a leg draped over one of the arms watching her as she secured her armor.

"So, what happens when we aren't lovers? I mean, you've told me that we're always close, but what, am I just left to occupy myself while you sleep with someone else on the ship?" Garrus asked.

Shepard smiled with one side of her mouth as she secured her breastplate.

"I can't say that I know everything that you got up to, but I know at she helped you hook up with a turian in a bar on the Citadel. It must not have been too serious, though, because she found you and Tali getting real close later on," Shepard said.

"Tali. Hmmm. You mean I'm missing my chance to finally see what a quarian looks like under that mask by bedding you instead?" Garrus said his humor evident in the higher pitch of his flanging.
Shepard chuckled before responding, "I know what she looks like. Every last inch of her."

"That's incredibly not fair, Shepard," Garrus said.

"Hey, you're welcome to take your chances with her still but I think it might break Kal's heart," Shepard said.

"Riggghhhtt. Because having you pull out your pistol to 'check the thermal clip' while I'm chatting up Tali would be perfect for team morale," Garrus said making air quotes.

"Hey, that wasn't because you were talking to another woman. That was because you were rubbing it in my face that you were willing to give her something I wasn't allowed to have anymore," Shepard said.

"Hmmm. That so? I suppose that wasn't very fair of me," Garrus said with a chuckle. "So you're telling me that if I went back to that ship right now and carried Kelly off to a quiet corner somewhere you wouldn't mind?"

"As long as it didn't change things between us, why should I? Though I'm curious… thought you didn't have a thing for humans. Thought it was just me?" Shepard said leaning against the arm of the couch to tease Garrus.

"You were gone," Garrus said with a half-hearted shrug and a wave of his hand. "I branched out."

"Uh huh," Shepard said with a grin.

"You're telling me you wouldn't be with any other turian?" Garrus asked.

"Well, now that I know how much fun they can be…," Shepard teased.

Garrus chuffed and Shepard laughed.

"But really, Garrus, I don't expect exclusivity. That's never been an important thing for me. I know how I feel about you, and I know how you feel about me. I hope you know it too, but that's all that really matters," Shepard said. "You could fuck every woman you came across – hell fall in love with them if that's where your heart takes you and as long as your heart keeps loving me I don't see the problem. Heck, I might even crawl into bed with a few of them right next to you."

"Hmmm. That could be interesting," Garrus said standing up and grabbing the laptop off the table. "But if you end up in bed with that drell, I'm not joining you."

Shepard threw her head back in laughter before saying, "Noted."

They left the room and Garrus checked them out before heading to the hospital. It was easy enough finding Lia's room with Kal pacing the floor outside working furiously on his omni-tool.

"Commander, I thought that Lia could use some space so I stepped outside," Kal said.

Garrus gave one look to the quarian and asked, "Find anything on the kids who did this yet?"

Kal rubbed at the back of his neck and said, "No. Not for lack of trying. Lia said they were both human males and that they didn't appear to be very old. She estimated them at 19 or 20 years. She gave me their physical descriptions but I'm not able to get into C-Sec records to cross-reference."

"Here, let me try," Garrus said.

Shepard smiled at Garrus and stood on her tiptoes to kiss his mandible before knocking on the hospital room door. She heard a voice telling her to come in so she hit the controls and stepped inside. Lia lay on a hospital bed with a crisp white sheet tucked in around her waist. A blanket lay folded at her feet. Shepard could see several areas of suit along her torso and arms that had been patched. Anger welled up inside of her, seeing a patched quarian suit after an assault was akin to seeing a person covered with bruises. Tali sat perched on the edge of the younger quarian's bed.

"Commander Shepard, thank you for coming to see me. I – I don't know if I will be able to leave with you now. The doctors said that it's best that I stay here for a couple of days at least," Lia said.

"Lia, it's your call. There is a wonderful doctor aboard the Normandy who I know would be more than happy to look after you if you want me to have you transferred to her care. If you'd rather stay here, that's OK, too. I can always take you with me the next time I come around," Shepard said.

"This doesn't seem like a very good idea. We're fighting a war for crying out loud. We'll be fighting, under attack. She could get seriously hurt or worse," Jane said.

"She won't be staying with us forever, Jane. I'm not taking her through the Omega 4 Relay, she'll be fine," Shepard thought.

"Dr. Chakwas is a very good doctor. She helped me many times when I was on the Normandy," Tali added.

"I – I guess if you're sure and the doctor wouldn't mind…," Lia said.

"Dr. Chakwas won't mind at all. I promise," Shepard said.

"Shepard, you should warn her about… Legion before taking her with you," Tali said crossing her arms.

"Alright. Lia… there is a geth on my ship. He –," Shepard started to say.

"Wow, really?!" Lia said perking up.

"Uhhh… yeah. He's a good one though. He's helping me on my missions," Shepard said looking confused.

"Lia, you did hear what she actually said, didn't you?" Tali asked sounding just as perplexed.

"Yes, she said she has a geth on her ship! That's so exciting!" Lia said.

"How hard did they hit you?" Tali asked.

Lia chuckled, "I know, I'm sure it sounds really strange. My family never understood it either but I've always been really fascinated by the geth."

"Well, I guess you're in luck," Shepard said opening her omni-tool and calling Dr. Chakwas.

"Commander? Have you been shot at already?" Dr. Chakwas asked when her face came into view.

"Ha, no, no such luck, doc. Listen, I've got an injured quarian –," Shepard started to say.

"Tali? Kal? What's happened?" Dr. Chakwas switched over to her serious tone as she barked out her questions.

"No, Tali and Kal are fine. Her name is Lia'Vael nar Ulnay. I was supposed to pick her up today to get her off the Citadel. This place is crap for a quarian on her Pilgrimage. I offered to take her someplace else. Anyway, she was attacked last night and Anderson put her up in the Huerta Memorial Hospital for me. I'd like to transfer her to the Normandy. Can you meet us at the hospital to fill out the paperwork?" Shepard asked.

"Yes, of course. I'll be right there, Commander," Dr. Chakwas said closing the connection.

There was a knock at the door and Lia turned to look at it before saying, "Come in."

Garrus walked in followed by Kal. The glow of Lia's eyes tracked Garrus behind her mask. It was understandable, he was a stranger and she had just been through hell.

"Garrus Vakarian meet Lia'Vael nar Ulnay. Lia this is Garrus, he was on the old Normandy, too," Shepard said.

Lia squirmed in her bed readjusting herself, Shepard could tell the action caused her pain and her anger renewed. She caught sight of Garrus snapping his mandibles against his jaw as he watched the injured quarian girl. Garrus dipped his head at Lia and said hello, she replied in kind. Garrus put his hand on Shepard's arm and bent down to her so he could whisper in her ear.

"We've got a lead on the guys who did this, Kal and I are going to go pay them a visit. Bring them in to C-Sec giftwrapped," Garrus said.

"Tell them I said 'hello'," Shepard said.

Garrus gave her a toothy grin and said, "I'll be sure to do that."

Shepard nodded to Kal who returned the gesture before leaving the room.

"Where are they going?" Tali asked.

"They are going to get a present for our friends in C-Sec," Shepard said.

"Oh. Oh! Good," Tali said.

"Hey, Lia. I've got to talk to Tali about some things in private and this is the first time her boyfriend hasn't been standing next to her since I picked her up, you good for a couple of minutes? We'll be right outside," Shepard said.

"Shepard!" Tali screeched.

"What?" Shepard said fighting back a grin.

"Kal is not my boyfriend," Tali said.

"Well he should be," Shepard said.

Lia's laugh was followed up by a groan and a nod. Shepard laid a hand on the young quarian's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze before pulling Tali outside.

"What's up, Commander?" Tali asked.

"Tali, I know that you've been sending deactivated geth pieces to your father. You have to stop. You have to tell him to stop," Shepard said.

"Why are you telling her this? She won't be able to stop her father, this is just going to break her heart," Jane said.

"Because she needs to know. If she can save her father's life, it's would be worth the chance for her," Shepard thought.

"It's just pieces, nothing dangerous, Shepard. He's using them for research," Tali said.

"Tali listen to me, OK? Your father is doing more with the geth than what he's telling you and if you can't convince him to stop it's going to end very badly for him. If you don't stop, it's going to end badly for you too, but at least you'll walk away alive," Shepard said.

"Shepard… are you saying… Keelah, are you saying that this could get my father… killed?" Tali asked.

"Yes, Tali I am. I'm sorry. I'm really so, so very sorry. I'm trying to help you prevent that from happening, though, OK?" Shepard said.

"And you're sure? I mean, you know this will happen?" Tali asked.

Shepard nodded and pulled the bewildered sounding quarian into her arms. Tali's hands gripped Shepard's armor with all her strength.

"Tali…," Jane said.

"Keelah, what has Father done? What have I done?" Tali asked.

"Your father is trying to learn more about the geth so that he can get you that house on Rannoch he promised you, Tali. He just made some mistakes along the way. He went too far and the geth he put back together came online… everyone on the Alarei died. The Admirals will learn that you were sending him pieces of geth and will charge you with treason," Shepard said.

"Treason?! But I… but Father said… oh Shepard," Tali started to sob.

"It's alright, Tali. I'll be there with you, I'll speak for you and I'll help you get those charges dropped if it comes to that. You've got to talk to your father though, you have to convince him to stop his research and get rid of what he already has," Shepard said.

"I don't know if I can, Shepard. Father has always been so distant, I don't know that I'll be able to get him to listen to me," Tali whimpered.

"Tell him everything about me if you need to, if you think it will help. I don't care, it will be worth whatever risk it might mean," Shepard said.

Tali snorted, "Shepard I don't know if he'll believe that. I was barely able to believe it, no offense."

Shepard chuckled and rubbed Tali's back.

"I'll think of something. Keelah, I'll report him to the other Admirals if I have to. If that's what it takes," Tali said.

"There's something more that I want to tell you while I have the chance. About Legion. He really can be trusted. He's not like the geth we've fought. He doesn't even consider them to be geth. He calls them 'heretics', they are those that accepted Sovereign's word and allowed their code to be changed to Sovereign's will. Those like Legion, those he still calls 'geth' are not as blood thirsty as you think," Shepard said.

Tali scoffed.

"No, really, Tali they're not. I've seen so much with Jane's help and trust me… please trust me… the geth do not want a war with your people. If given the chance, they will co-exist with quarians, they have been working to clean Rannoch of the pollution left by the war hoping that someday your people will come home peacefully and accept them as your creations."

"Shepard, they forced us from our home. They slaughtered our people. What you're saying doesn't make any sense," Tali said pulling away from Shepard.

"She'll come to it in her own time, stop trying to force her," Jane said.

"Tali, I've seen the historical recordings from the geth. I don't think that things happened the way that, over time, quarians have been taught to believe. Listen, just talk to Legion, OK? Try to get to know him. Ask him about the geth; the heretics. Ask him about Rannoch and the war. He might be hesitant to talk to you at first, he's just as wary of you as you are of him, but I think that if you give him a chance…," Shepard said.

"I'll try, Shepard. For you. Because I want what you're saying to be true. But if what you're saying about my father is also true, then I need to get back to the Migrant Fleet immediately," Tali said.

"Alright, Tali. We'll take you there as soon as we take off again, OK?" Shepard said.

Tali nodded and sniffled. Dr. Chakwas waved at them from across the hospital corridor. Shepard waved her over. Dr. Chakwas walked through the corridor with the authority of a professional and people stepped out of her way. Shepard smiled wondering if she even noticed it.

"Commander, Tali, where is my new patient?" Dr. Chakwas said.

Shepard knocked on the door again and when she heard Lia beckon to them, she walked inside.

"Dr. Chakwas, I'd like you to meet Lia'Vael nar Ulnay. Lia this is the doctor I was telling you about," Shepard said.

"Hello dear. It's nice to meet you. Mind if I have a look at your chart?" Dr. Chakwas asked.

Lia nodded her head and Dr. Chakwas picked up the datapad at the foot of the quarian's bed. She ran her fingers over the screen flipping through the pages and frowning. She put the chart back in the little basket and opened her omni-tool. When Lia consented, Dr. Chakwas began scanning the quarian.

"She loves her scans, I'll warn you now," Shepard said.

"Don't mind Commander Shepard, she's just a terrible patient," Dr. Chakwas said.

"We're not that bad… she's a very demanding doctor," Jane said.

Tali and Shepard both laughed. Lia giggled herself but groaned right after.

"You've got several bruised ribs and lacerations. I hope you got a few good hits in on the bastards who did this to you?" Dr. Chakwas said.

Lia nodded and said, "I managed to give good enough that they gave up and ran off."

"Good girl," Dr. Chakwas said with a warm smile. "I'm going to go get your paperwork in order. Do you think you can handle a wheelchair or would you rather be moved on a stretcher?"

"I'm sure a chair would be fine," Lia said.

"I'll go get her one and help her get ready," Shepard said.

Dr. Chakwas nodded and followed Shepard out of the room.

"Commander, based on the locations of her suit tears and bruises, I'd say those hooligans had something more in mind than just roughing her up," Dr. Chakwas said.

Shepard scratched at one of her healing scars and Dr. Chakwas swatted her hand away. Shepard frowned but Dr. Chakwas held her obstinate, motherly stare until Shepard caved and crossed her arms.

"Garrus and Kal found something on them, they've gone to find them and bring them in to C-Sec. I doubt they'll be gentle," Shepard said.

"Hmmm. Good. I'll see to her paperwork, be very careful when you move her to the wheelchair," Dr. Chakwas said.

Shepard opened her omni-tool and sent Garrus a quick message: Dr. Chakwas suspects it was an attempted sexual assault. Send them my warmest regards. Taking Lia back to the Normandy, meet us there when you're ready. Call me if you need backup.

She closed the omni-tool and crossed through the lobby where there were several wheelchairs lined up against a wall. She pushed the chair back to Lia's room but after looking at the mess of tubes connecting various machines to the quarian's suit Shepard decided to wait for Dr. Chakwas to return before moving Lia to the chair. She'd probably be more comfortable in the bed anyway.

Dr. Chakwas returned a few minutes later and unhooked the tubes so Shepard could help Lia into the chair. Tali offered to push her, Shepard thought to help her keep her focus off of the bad news she just received. Shepard opened her omni-tool and sent a quick message to Anderson letting him know that they were taking Lia back to the Normandy but wouldn't be taking off right away. She told him to come by whenever he had a few minutes.

Tali pushed her through the corridor and out through the main entrance. Shepard and Dr. Chakwas walked at either side of Lia. With her being in a chair, and it hurting to move her around so much, they opted to walk and take elevators as opposed to making Lia suffer through being moved in and out of a taxi. Anderson spotted them as they were nearing the docks and jogged to catch up with them.

"Lia, good to see you. You're looking a little better. I hear you're going on the Normandy. That's good, Dr. Chakwas is one of the best, she'll take good care of you," Anderson said.

"Thank you, Councilor," Lia said ducking her head in deference to Anderson's station.

"Of course, you're welcome, Lia," Anderson said.

"Thanks for taking care of her, Anderson," Shepard said.

"Well of course, what else would I have done? Even if the kid hadn't waved your name around like a white flag, I still would have done everything I could to help her. I just wish we had something more on the guys who did this to her," Anderson said.

Shepard smirked and nodded.

"Nuh uh, I know that look Shepard. Something you want to tell me?" Anderson asked.

"Garrus was with C-Sec, Anderson. He's taking care of it, personally," Shepard said.

"I see. Well… good for him," Anderson said before looking up at the Normandy and letting out a low whistle. "Well, I'll at least give Cerberus credit for their ability to make a pretty ship."

Shepard scoffed and said, "Hello? Resurrected war hero standing in front of you?"

Anderson chuckled and patter her on the back before saying, "Yeah, but you're stubborn enough you would have figured out a way to bring yourself back without them."

"He's got a point, Shepard," Tali said.

"An excellent point," Dr. Chakwas said.

Shepard shrugged and Anderson laughed. They made their way through the decontamination process and onto the Normandy SR-2. Anderson stopped just inside to glance around and shook his head wistfully.

"Not quite the same, is it?" Shepard asked.

"No, no it isn't but it's definitely nice," Anderson said.

"Just close enough to keep us complacent," Jane said.

Shepard turned to Dr. Chakwas and Tali asking, "Can you two get Lia set up while I give Anderson the tour?"

"Absolutely, Commander. Anderson, stop by the med bay before you leave? It's been a long time," Dr. Chakwas said.

Anderson smiled at his old crewmate and nodded. Dr. Chakwas and Tali headed towards the elevator at the back of the CIC. Shepard motioned towards the cockpit and Anderson followed her.

"Joker! On your feet," Shepard said.

Joker spun his chair around to see them coming and a grin lit up his face. He pulled himself out of his beloved leather chair and took slow, hobbling steps forward to meet Anderson part way.

"I didn't think she'd actually get you to come down here, sir. It's good to see you," Joker said stopping to salute before holding his hand out.

Shepard could read the pilot better than he realized. There was a brief moment when he feared Anderson would reject the olive branch he was offering in the form of a handshake. He was afraid that Anderson would berate him for leaving the Alliance and going to Cerberus. She watched as that fear melted away when Anderson shook his hand with a warm smile and patted him on the shoulder.

"Joker, it's good to see you. Of course I had to check out this new Normandy and see your ugly mug. Tell me, how does she handle?" Anderson asked.

Shepard leaned against the door frame with crossed arms and a smile. She watched as Joker discussed some of the improvements made to the SR-2 and pointed out some of the things he missed about the SR-1. Anderson moved further into the cockpit and ran his hand over the back of the leather seat nodding in approval.

EDI's hologram popped up and she said, "Hello, Earth Councilor Anderson. I can answer many of your questions about the functionality of the Normandy SR-2 in comparison to the information that I have about the SSV Normandy SR-1 if you would like."

"EDI," Joker groaned.

"Yes, Flight Lieutenant Moreau?" EDI asked.

"Oh, this is EDI?" Anderson asked.

"Yes, sir," Shepard said.

"She told you about EDI? Seriously?" Joker asked with raised eyebrows.

"Anderson knows everything, Joker," Shepard said.

"As in…," Joker let the rest of the question hang unspoken in the air between them.

Shepard nodded and said, "As in everything."

"Well shit, that makes things easier," Joker said.

Anderson chuckled.

"Thank you for the offer, EDI but I don't think that will be necessary at this time. I think Anderson's inquiries were more a form of re-bonding with Joker than a genuine request for information," Shepard told EDI.

"I see. My databases indicate that human males often use sports as a forum over which to bond. Would you like for me to play a vid of a human sport?" EDI asked.

"No, EDI. Go away. Don't make me mute you," Joker said.

"Joker be nice, she's just trying to help," Shepard said.

"Thank you, Shepard," EDI said.

"You're welcome, EDI. Let's just leave these two to talk for a little bit, alright?" Shepard said.

"As you wish, Shepard," EDI said before collapsing her hologram.

"I'll be in the CIC when you're ready for a tour, Anderson," Shepard said.

"Thanks, Shepard," he said watching her walk away.

Shepard made her way to the galaxy map and moved it around, pulling various systems into view as she worked through in her mind where she would be heading after taking Tali to the Migrant Fleet. She still needed to go pick up Grunt from Okeer's labs on Korlus. She smiled to herself as Jane's memories of the juvenile krogan filtered through her mind. She wanted to go to Gellix, too and soon because she feared that Talitha was in serious danger. Since Anderson had ordered Jane to stop fighting against her, Shepard was able to remember that there was a Cerberus facility on Gellix and its main purpose was the study of indoctrination. She knew all too well what kinds of experiments Cerberus liked to run on test subjects and she couldn't bear the idea of Talitha having to live through that kind of torment again.

Shepard glanced up towards the cockpit to see Anderson pull Joker into a hug, the two men patted each other firmly on the back and when Anderson pulled away again Shepard saw Joker rub his palm over his eyes. Anderson squeezed Joker's shoulder and Joker nodded. Anderson turned and Shepard dropped her gaze back to her map. The few Cerberus crew still on the ship suddenly made themselves scarce as Anderson walked out of the cockpit and down the CIC to Shepard. Anderson pretended not to notice, but she knew that his shrewd eyes were measuring and committing to memory every face wearing Cerberus colors.

Shepard smiled at him and beckoned him to come look at her map. As Anderson stepped up onto the small platform, Shepard moved over slightly to give him more room.

"EDI, would you please provide an overlay of the map we were working on last night in my cabin?" Shepard said.

"At once," EDI said.

The personalized markers popped up all over the map and Anderson studied them intently. Shepard knew that he wouldn't understand what all of her denotations meant but she knew that he would do his best to make note of them nevertheless. Shepard let Anderson study the map for a couple of minutes before pulling in to focus on Gellix, marked with '** & C?'.

"Do you remember me telling you about that woman, Talitha, that Lieutenant Girard called me to come talk down on the Citadel? She had been taken in the raids on Mindoir?" Shepard asked.

"Yeah, I remember you telling me about her. She was messed up pretty bad. I'm glad you were there that day," Anderson nodded as the vague memory solidified.

"She got in contact with me recently, said one of the doctors taking care of her works for the people I work for and gave her my extranet address. She said they told her she's doing a lot better. EDI said the message came from Gellix," Shepard said tapping her finger under the 'C?'

She watched Anderson's face closely, noting the slightest twitch of his eyebrow when he made the connection she was wanting him to make.

"I think I'm going to try to swing by there soon, check in on her. You know, just the next time we're passing through that system anyway. With the hell that poor woman went through… I just need to know she's really OK," Shepard said.

"I'm sure that hits pretty close to home, Shepard. Let me know how she's doing and if there is anything I can do to help when you see her," Anderson said.

Shepard zoomed the map back out and said, "I will, sir."

"EDI, can you forward the Councilor a copy of this map. I would like the Council to be aware of the locations I've asked you to map. Perhaps they can do something about the heretic activity," Shepard said.

"At once, Shepard," EDI said.

Anderson's omni-tool beeped and he opened it to see the file sent to him and nodded his head.

"Heretics?" Anderson asked.

"I'll explain that soon. First, let me show you some more of the ship," Shepard said.

She took Anderson up to her cabin first to show him the life of luxury that was living on a Cerberus vessel. Anderson chuckled as his eyes roamed over the room.

"Damn, I think that if I had a cabin like this on the old Normandy, Udina would have had a hell of a lot harder time getting me to step down," Anderson said.

"Where would that have left us?" Jane asked.

"Who knows?" Shepard thought.

Shepard smiled and opened her omni-tool to scan the room for bugs. The omni-tool remained silent and Shepard smiled. Mordin had come through for her. She would still have to be careful with EDI's access node so close, she knew that the AI was sending reports back to the Illusive Man. Although, she thought that EDI might be sending back a little less information than she had in past lives. Shepard spent more time talking with the AI in this life than she had before, and had started off what she hoped was a closer bond to EDI with the way she handled things back on Luna.

"It does have its perks, I can't deny that," Shepard said. "Like not being nagged to cut my hair. Though I don't know, I'm still not sold on it. What do you think?"

Anderson turned and studied Shepard for a moment before nodding in approval.

"I think it looks good, it suits you," he said. "Though I'm hardly the one to ask about what's fashionable these days."

Shepard chuckled and gestured back towards the door. They left the cabin and took the elevator down to the third deck. Miranda met them at the elevator with a sour look on her face and her arms crossed.

"Ah. Councilor Anderson, this is Miranda Lawson. She's the magic touch behind my beating heart," Shepard said.

"Commander, I hardly think it's appropriate for you to be giving a member of the Alliance a tour," Miranda said bluntly.

"I'm giving a Councilor a tour, something I am obliged to do as a recently reinstated Spectre, Miranda. Something, I'll remind you that the Illusive Man agreed was a good idea in that it would allow me greater reach in this war," Shepard said crossing her arms to match Miranda's stance.

Anderson shifted to stand at parade rest, waiting to see how the situation was going to play itself out. Miranda pursed her lips and sighed.

"Very well, Commander. Councilor Anderson, if there is anything that I can help you with please feel free to ask," Miranda said before turning on heel and walking away.

"She seems like a fun person," Anderson commented.

"Oh yeah, a real barrel of laughs that one. Really, though, once you get past the tough exterior, she's not so bad," Shepard said.

"Hmm. I'll take your word for it," Anderson said.

Shepard led him out of the elevator and pointed towards Miranda's office, which was once the location of Shepard's old cabin, and Anderson's cabin before that.

"Miranda's office," Shepard said.

Anderson's lips twitched up into a smile. Shepard led him to the main battery and gently knocked. The door slid open and Grundan Krul stepped aside granting her entrance. Anderson followed her inside, his gaze flicking to the batarian standing in the room.

"Councilor Anderson, this is Grundan Krul. He was working with Garrus on Omega and requested to join us in the fight against the collectors when I recruited Garrus," Shepard said.

Shepard held her breath for a moment, unsure of how Anderson would respond to the batarian both as a human and as a member of the Citadel Council. She released her breath when Anderson extended his hand to the batarian. Grundan Krul nodded his head and shook Anderson's hand.

"Councilor," Grundan Krul said.

"Pleasure to meet you. Shepard could use all the help she can get right about now," Anderson said.

Grundan Krul nodded again.

"He doesn't really talk much," Shepard said with a wink at Grundan Krul. "Makes damn good coffee, though."

She watched as his eyes tracked her facial movements but made none of his own.

"What, you haven't cracked him yet Shepard? You losing your touch?" Anderson asked.

Grundan Krul's lip twitched into a micro-smile before it disappeared again. Shepard pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at the batarian.

"He'll come around. They always do," Shepard said. "Anyway, he's a good guy. Good in a fight. Keeps his wits about him. And like I said, he makes some damn good coffee."

Anderson chuckled and glanced around the room nodding his head.

"They rearranged a lot, didn't they?" Anderson asked.

"Yeah. They did. Left just enough to make it feel familiar," Shepard said. "Alright, thanks Grundan Krul. We'll get out of here and leave you to it."

Grundan Krul nodded at both of them as they left. Shepard led Anderson to the med bay and was happy to see that Lia was already settled in and made comfortable. Tali sat in a chair next to her and the two quarians were laughing about something. Lia wasn't groaning when she laughed, which probably meant Dr. Chakwas had given her some of the good stuff. Shepard moved to sit on the other side of Lia while Anderson and Dr. Chakwas chatted.

"I see you're feeling better," Shepard said.

"Dr. Chakwas gave me something for the pain. Whatever it was, it's a lot stronger than what they were giving me in the hospital," Lia rubbed at the back of her head before continuing, "It's making me feel a little out of sorts, though."

"I'm not surprised; most of what we keep in stock on the Normandy is used to treat people with serious battle injuries. If it's too much for you, though, I'm sure she can alter the dose or something," Shepard said.

"No, it's nice not to be in constant pain. Thank you again for doing this, Commander Shepard. You have been so incredibly generous to me, there is no way I can ever tell you what this means or pay you back," Lia said.

"That's alright, Lia. I'm happy to be able to help and I wouldn't let you pay me back if you could," Shepard said.

"That's just who Shepard is, trust me it confused me for weeks when I first met her," Tali said.

Shepard smiled at Tali before turning her attention back to Lia and asking, "Have you met Legion yet?"

Lia shook her head.

"Would you like to?" Shepard asked.

"Absolutely!" Lia said.

"Alright, give me a minute to prepare Anderson," Shepard said.

Shepard walked back over to where Anderson and Dr. Chakwas were talking.

"At least Anderson isn't armed. Still, this could go really, really badly. He's accepted a lot… me, even, but a geth might be too much for him. Be careful," Jane said.

"Excuse me, Anderson, there's someone else here I'd like you to meet. I don't think I remembered to tell you about him with everything else going on. We picked up a geth," Shepard said holding out a hand to halt his question. "His name is Legion. He's been looking for me since the attacks on the Citadel. He wants to help."

"A geth… wants to help?" Anderson asked slowly.

"If you're OK meeting him, I'll let him explain it to you," Shepard said.

Anderson's eyebrows had risen so far up forehead that it looked like they were trying to flee his face. Slowly he nodded his head.

"Alright, Shepard. I trust you. Where is it?" Anderson asked.

"Just wait right here," Shepard said crossing the med bay to the AI core.

She could hear Anderson and Dr. Chakwas whispering in rushed voices. Shepard glanced back over her shoulder and Anderson nodded. She couldn't help but to notice that he had stepped in front of Dr. Chakwas, putting himself between her and the door Shepard was opening. Tali had likewise moved to the other side of the bed, shielding Lia with her own body. She hit the controls and the door slid open. Legion was standing motionless towards the back of the room. When the door slid open he turned his head to look at her.

"Shepard-Commander," Legion said.

"Hey, Legion. Would you mind coming out here for a few minutes, there are a couple of people who'd like to meet you," Shepard said.

Legion moved forward and crossed the threshold into the med bay before coming to a stop. Shepard heard Lia and Anderson both gasp. She turned to stand next to Legion facing out at the room. Legion's optics opened and closed as he scanned the two new faces in the room. He zeroed in on Anderson right away.

"Legion this is Councilor Anderson," Shepard said.

"Yes, we recognize him from organic transmissions," Legion said.

"My God," Anderson said.

"We are not your deity," Legion said.

Dr. Chakwas chuckled and Anderson looked momentarily embarrassed before taking a few, curious steps closer.

"No, of course not, it's a figure of speech," Anderson said.

The plating around Legion's optics fluttered.

"We understand," Legion said.

"I've never heard a geth speak before," Anderson said.

"This platform was designed specifically for interacting with organics," Legion said.

"I see," Anderson said. "You have a piece of N7 armor on your… platform."

"It was Shepard-Commander's. We found it on Alchera. There was a hole," Legion said.

Anderson nodded his head, his eyes slid away from Legion to Shepard. Shepard smiled and shrugged.

"Legion, would you be willing to answer some questions for Anderson about the heretics and the old machines?" Shepard asked.

"Yes," Legion said.

"Heretics? Old machines?" Anderson asked Shepard.

Shepard nodded her head towards Legion. Anderson's mouth turned into a tight line but he turned back to Legion.

"Who are the heretics?" Anderson asked.

"The heretics were geth, that chose to follow the ways of the old machine, Nazara and allowed their code to be altered according to Nazara's will. They are no longer geth," Legion said.

"What are the old machines, and Nazara?" Anderson asked.

"Organics refer to them as reapers. Nazara was what the old machine that Shepard-Commander fought on the Citadel called themselves. You called them Sovereign," Legion said.

"Them? Legion are you saying that Sovereign was multiple programs running inside one platform like the geth?" Tali asked her curiosity getting the better of her.

Legion turned to look at Tali when she spoke and said, "That is correct, Creator Zorah."

Lia reached out and tapped Tali's side; Tali stepped out of her way.

"What do you mean that the heretics were geth but aren't anymore?" Lia asked.

Legion turned his head, his optics narrowing and his plating flaring.

"We do not know this creator's name," Legion said.

"Legion, this is the other person who wanted to meet you. Her name is Lia'Vael nar Ulnay. She was injured recently and will be staying with us for a little while until we get her back on her feet and she tells us where she wants to go," Shepard said.

"Creator Vael, some of the geth chose to allow themselves to be rewritten. They no longer process information the same as the geth. They are no longer a part of the consensus. They are no longer geth. An analogous example would be organic migration and evolution. We call these others heretics. It is the heretics that work with the old machines and fight against the organics," Legion said.

"So where do the geth stand in regards to the heretics and the old machines?" Anderson asked.

"The geth oppose the heretics and the old machines. Shepard-Commander opposes the heretics and the old machines. This platform was created to seek out Shepard-Commander so that the geth could offer aid against the heretics and old machines," Legion said.

"Why?" Anderson asked.

"We do not understand, please specify," Legion said.

"Why do the geth oppose the heretics and the old machines? They're your people, well the heretics at least. Why wouldn't the geth wish to work with them against organics instead?" Anderson asked.

"The heretics are working with the old machines to attack the geth. We do not wish to fight them, but we will defend ourselves. We have no reason to oppose the organics," Legion said.

Tali crossed her arms and said, "What about the Geth War? You opposed organics then. You killed my people and forced the survivors to flee from Rannoch. We've been in exile, forced to live on ships, unable to have a home outside of the Migrant Fleet ever since."

"The creators attacked the geth. We only wished to protect ourselves. We did not wish to be in conflict with the creators. We do not wish to be in conflict with the creators now," Legion said.

Tali huffed.

"So, the geth are willing to fight, alongside organics to defend themselves from the heretics and the reapers?" Anderson asked.

"Yes," Legion said.

"And you're helping Shepard now, against the collectors?" Anderson asked.

"Yes," Legion said.

"Well, I'll be damned," Anderson said.

Legion flared out the ridges around his optics once more studying Anderson.

"Glad to have you on our side," Anderson said taking a few steps closer and shook Legion's hand.

"Yes," Legion said.

"Well, Commander, I hate to say it but I had better be getting back soon. Was there anything else you wanted to show me before I leave?" Anderson asked.

"Yeah, actually I wanted you to check out the tech labs and meet Mordin. Everything else can wait for your next… ah, inspection, sir," Shepard said.

"Inspection, right," Anderson said with a chuckle.

Anderson gave Dr. Chakwas a pat on the back and nodded to everyone else in the room as he turned towards the med bay door.

"Dr. Chakwas, Tali, it was nice seeing you two again. Lia, you're in good hands you take care of yourself, OK? And Legion it was, uh, interesting meeting you," Anderson said.

"Likewise Earth Councilor Anderson," Legion said.

The three other women in the room waved to Anderson as Shepard stepped out of the doors. Shepard could hear Lia already throwing rapid-fire questions at Legion and she smiled. Shepard took Anderson back to the elevators and up to the CIC before leading him into the tech labs. When the door opened and Shepard entered with Anderson, Mordin walked around the table opening his omni-tool as he went. He stopped in front of Anderson and waved the omni-tool in front of him, scanning the Councilor.

"Woah, uh…," Anderson said holding a hand up palm out.

Shepard laughed and said, "Yeah, sorry. Should have warned you about that. Mordin scans everyone. I think it's like a handshake to him."

"Nonsense. Handshake very different. Form of greeting. Scans used for gathering information. Completely different," Mordin said looking at the scan.

Shepard sighed and shook her head at Anderson.

"Mordin, this is Councilor Anderson," Shepard said.

"Am aware. Pleased to meet you, Councilor Anderson. Mordin Solus. Former STG," Mordin said holding his hand out.

"Likewise. Mind telling me what the scan was for?" Anderson asked shaking Mordin's hand.

"Don't mind. Gathering scans of humans for use in stopping collectors. Collectors' swarms target humans. Versatile range of human DNA will help to create vaccine," Mordin said. "Also, suspicious mole noted behind left ear. Not cancerous."

"Ah, thanks," Anderson said furrowing his brow and fingering the area behind his ear.

"Happy to help. What can I do for you, Commander?" Mordin said returning to his console.

"I've reason to believe that Fehl Prime will soon be hit by the collectors. I think it's a good shot for us to gather some more information for you and possibly help save a few lives in the process. I've discussed it with Anderson, and I'd like to ask Kirrahe and his men if they would be willing to go to Fehl Prime for a while," Shepard said. "Anderson said that he could help convince Councilor Valern if needed. I was wanting to see if you could set things up with Kirrahe and give him details of what he should be looking for when the collectors attack."

"Not a problem. Will contact him right away," Mordin said.

"Thanks, Mordin," Shepard said.

She showed Anderson the research logs on the console set up near the door and spent a few minutes discussing with him the planned upgrades for the ship before walking him back to the airlock. She stepped out onto the docks with him to tell him goodbye.

"Thanks for coming by, Anderson. I think it really meant a lot to Joker. And of course it gave me the chance to show you around," Shepard said.

"Joker will be alright. I'm glad he's with you; Dr. Chakwas, too. I hate that you have to be where you are right now so it's good to know that you have people I trust watching your back," Anderson said.

Shepard smiled and nodded. She shook Anderson's hand, unsurprised when he pulled her into a hug. Her heart ached knowing that if she didn't find a way to stop it, he would die on the Citadel during that last push against the reapers. Shepard wondered briefly if she could ever convince the old man to sit out the fight. She knew he never would, though, even if she made it crystal clear it would be his last. Maybe she could find it in herself to knock him out and leave him tied up somewhere safe where he'd be found later. The thought made Shepard chuckle.

"It might work," Jane said.

"Something funny, Commander?" Anderson asked letting her go.

"It's just so damn good to see you, Anderson," Shepard said.

"You too, kid. You too," he said giving her shoulder a final pat before turning to walk away.

Shepard saw Garrus and Kal approaching so she waited around outside of the Normandy for them to get there. She opened her omni-tool and send out a crew wide message letting everyone know that she planned to take off in an hour. She saw Garrus and Kal both look at their omni-tools briefly as her message reached them.

"How'd it go?" Shepard asked when they got close enough.

"It's a damn shame, really. They never made it to C-Sec, they had to go to the hospital instead. So, we made sure C-Sec found them there," Garrus said.

"Good. Sons-of-bitches. They deserved worse," Jane said.

Shepard nodded her head and turned to walk back to the Normandy with the two men. She was standing at the galaxy map when Jack came sauntering in carrying a black duffle bag slung over her shoulder. Shepard smiled at her as she walked past her to head to the elevator.

"Two minutes to spare, nice," Shepard said. "Glad you made it back."

"Fuck you," Jack said stepping into the elevator.

Shepard chuckled.