It appears FFN ate the first version I tried to post of this. My apologies. Hopefully it works now.

Kara bolted away from the charging massive skeletal creature a half-second ahead of Shepard. There was no way that they could have taken the thing in a straight-up fight. It would pound them into the ground the first chance it got.

"Keep it moving!" Shepard bellowed. "Spread out. If it comes for you, run. If it's coming for someone else, shoot the damn thing."

The creature realized that its prey had moved out of the way and swung around to look at Shepard and Kara. Percussive gunfire sounded off to the side - Vega, Ash, and Liara taking shots while it was standing still.

It raised up on its hind legs as it had done before and roared, then charged at Kara. "Frak frak frak why me?" Kara bolted away from it, holstering her gun as best she could. Shepard's advice to run seemed like the best thing she could do.

The long arm knocked into her from behind, sending her sprawling into the dirt. She felt a brief electrostatic crackle and realized that must be her shields going down. Frak! Kara scrambled to her feet just in time to duck another swipe. "Kill this stupid thing already!"

"Working on it! Just keep it distracted." Ash followed this statement up with a solid single shot that actually staggered it for a moment.

"You keep it - oh, shit." Kara backed away as fast as she dared on the uneven terrain in a desperate attempt to stay out of reach of that nasty-looking pincer thing. She was just fast enough.

"Backing up isn't going to work. Someone tell me which way to dodge!" With that, she turned her back on the thing (which made the skin between her shoulder blades itch something fierce) and ran.

"You heard her," Shepard called. "And make sure it's her direction, not yours!"

"Aye! Left, Kara!"

She followed Ash's instructions, dodging around a small boulder in the process. Her heart pounded hard, a steady drumbeat mingling with the uneven roars of the thing chasing her and the consistent bursts of gunfire from the others - rat-a-tat-tat from Ash and Vega; crack - crack - crack from Shepard and Liara. Almost like some kind of weird song.

Kara tried not to stumble, pelting across uneven and unfamiliar ground as she was, her concentration divided between running and listening for shouted directions, as well as trying to gauge for herself how close the monster behind her was.

Boom.

With a final, angry roar, the monster fell to the ground, the impact throwing Kara off-balance. She hopped around, shedding the excess momentum. That had been a sniper kill. She thought she'd seen Ash carrying one, but surely the situation was too chaotic for -

"Thought I'd find you here."

The voice was turian. Kara had started being able to recognize the distinctive dual tones. She turned around and saw the newcomer standing there, sniper rifle in hand. His facepaint was blue, a bolder design than the ones she'd seen to this point. The right side of his face was scarred, though the injury did not look recent. Covering his left eye was some kind of blue interface - an eyepiece? An aiming aid or something?

"Garrus." Shepard's voice was barely audible over the gunfire, explosions, and screeching of the fight taking place elsewhere on the moon. "You're … you're alive."

Kara's jaw dropped. So this was Garrus Vakarian. She wanted to compliment his shooting, but she didn't need Ash's pointed glare to know that this was not the time.

Vakarian ejected a cartridge from his sniper rifle, then loosened a catch to allow it to fold up. "I'm hard to kill, Shepard. You should know that."

Then Shepard - composed, professional, unflappable Artemis Shepard - holstered her pistol in a quick motion and ran to him, throwing her arms around his back and resting her forehead against his. She was actually trembling. Vakarian just held her close for a few moments before he bent his head to kiss her.

Kara's cheeks flamed bright red with the memory of what it had been like to kiss Septimus. She ducked her head so that none of the others would see. It also helped to tune out the soft words that passed between Shepard and Vakarian, words that were more suited to peace and privacy than a battlefield.

Finally, Shepard seemed to remember her surroundings, turning back to face them. Her face was as red as Kara's had been a moment before as she took in their expressions. "You … knew?"

Liara smiled. "I'm a very good information broker, Shepard. Hello, Garrus. It's good to see you again."

"Likewise, Liara." Vakarian kept one arm around Shepard's waist, keeping them pressed together.

"And you, Ash?" Shepard seemed to be regaining some of her composure, though she was clearly no more willing to pull away from Vakarian than Vakarian was to let her go.

Ash shrugged. "Sorry, Skipper. Hackett had me reviewing security footage from Omega. I, uh, could see it. Knowing the two of you as I did."

"Well, we were going to have to tell everyone eventually," Vakarian said with a sigh. "End of the world is as good a time as any."

"Guess you're right." Shepard leaned into him for a moment, then reluctantly pulled herself away. "Garrus, this is James Vega and Kara Thrace. Vega was my guard during lockdown. Kara … has a rather more interesting story."

"Looking forward to hearing it once we get off this rock." Vakarian nodded to Vega and Kara in turn. "What are you doing here, anyways?"

"Council sent me to find the Primarch and escort him to a summit with representatives from the asari and salarians."

"That would require us actually knowing who the new Primarch is. Fedorian's dead. His shuttle was shot down by the Reapers." Vakarian looked back over his shoulder. "Though you did just fix the communications tower, so that will be a help. General Corinthus should be able to get an answer."

"Let's go find him, then," Shepard said, and the group took off back towards the camp.

Nothing, Laura Roslin thought, her temper rising to a near-breaking point, was actually getting accomplished.

It was the first full meeting of the Quorum of Twelve since the fateful jump - since their world had changed, again, putting them in a situation that would have been unthinkable a few days ago.

The Quorum had an endless stream of questions that she could only answer with generalities. Where were they going to live? That would be figured out once things calmed down. Who was in charge of the Thirteenth Tribe? For their purposes, they should consider it to be Admiral Hackett. Where were the enemy Cylons? No one knew. Why were they tangled up in the Thirteenth Tribe's mess? Because they didn't have any other choice.

They wanted to meet with Admiral Hackett. He was far too busy for them right now. What about the civilian leader? There was none; the closest thing was Councilor Udina on the Citadel. Why not him? He's far too busy, but Lee Adama has joined his staff.

That opened up yet another round of questions. Who made that decision? Commander Shepard. Why weren't any of them consulted? There was no time. Who decided that it should be Lee Adama anyway? Herself and Admiral Adama, and a few others.

"Convenient," Tom Zarek said in his usual dry, understated manner. "Yet again you have allowed the Adamas to act unilaterally and consolidate power for themselves."

Laura stood, gripping the edge of the table with white knuckles. "Lee Adama was a member of this body and acting President. These were decisions that neither I, nor father, had anything to do with. He has both military and civilian leadership experience. I defy you to find a better person to represent our people in this new, wider world."

That shut him up, gratifyingly.

She took a deep breath to try and steady herself. "I feel your frustration," she said. "We are all used to leaping from crisis to crisis, to be acting upon whatever it is that needs doing. We should all be grateful that we do not have a current crisis to resolve. The fight with the Reapers is out of our hands." She looked around the table. "Have none of you truly realized how tiny and insignificant we are, compared to the Thirteenth Tribe and all the other alien species out there? Commander Shepard has done us a great favor in ensuring that we are treated fairly and not simply brushed aside, not worth anyone's time. Admiral Hackett is doing us a great favor in having the Galactica repaired and retrofitted, as much as time permits. This is time, these are resources, that could be spent on themselves." She looked around from face to face, meeting the gaze of each member of the Quorum. "Take advantage of this time to learn about the new world, absorb all you can, and then tell your people what you have learned. They are as confused as you are. They know what you know, which is next to nothing."

"I'm not putting that thing in my arm," the representative of Tauron said. A round of muttered agreement followed that statement.

Laura resisted the urge to itch at her own omni-tool implant. She had already wasted breath trying to convince them that this wasn't harmful technology, that it couldn't be hacked. They had seen the Cylons overwhelm their systems one too many times to believe it.

"I will," Zarek said. Once again the room quieted, all heads turning to look at him. "The President is correct. We need to tend to our people. This is a great gift that we have been given - our long-lost cousins, with technology greater than that of the Cylons." He met Laura's eyes and smiled. "It is my honor and privilege to once again take office as Vice President."

Laura had decreed, at the start of the meeting, that the first Quorum member to accept an omni-tool as she had done would become Vice President. Zarek had probably made the decision in that moment, and simply waited for the most opportune time to announce it.

She met his smile with one of her own, and hoped it did not look too forced. "I'm sure the people of Sagittaron will be thrilled to have your leadership in this matter."

The two Admirals - one Colonial, one Alliance - stood side-by-side on the deck of the Hong Kong, observing the hustle and bustle of the dockyards.

"I wish," Hackett said, for what felt like the hundredth time, "you'd reconsider my offer. It might be months before your ship is ready."

Adama shook his head. "I won't leave her. I can't. We've been through too much together."

"Your XO said the same thing." Hackett chuckled. "To be honest, I think I respect the pair of you more for refusing, as much as I want you in command of one of my ships."

"We know nothing about your Alliance, your people, about anything in this world," Adama said. "We couldn't effectively lead."

"You know tactics, and you'd be shooting Reapers. Not much nuance there."

"My answer is the same."

Hackett nodded. "I'm sorry. I won't ask again."

Adama's mouth quirked into a wry smile. "You will. I'd be doing the same in your position."

"Well, I'll just have to take advantage of your expertise in a different manner." Hackett folded his arms across his chest, turning slightly to look at Adama. "Based on everything we know about the Reapers, we could be in for a long fight. A war of attrition. Like what you've just been through. Tell me what I need to be aware of."

"Fatigue," Adama replied instantly. He was sure that much of what he had to say would be intuitive, but Hackett had asked, so he would give everything he knew. "I know you've already taken heavy losses. You'd be asking your people to do double, triple their usual workload. Burnout rates are going to be high. Replacement rates… potentially low." He shrugged. "We brought in some civilians to train. Some of them worked out better than others. You'll probably want to start recruiting now."

"We've gotten a fair number of volunteers," Hackett said. "Some are useful. Some aren't. A lot of people seem to be heading for some place called Sanctuary." He shook his head. "If I believed it was actually safe, I'd encourage people to go there - but I don't. I don't think anywhere in the galaxy is safe right now. I think the surest path to safety is supporting whatever Shepard's doing."

"You place a lot of trust in her," Adama said. "What's the plan if she fails?"

"I don't have one," Hackett admitted.

"That seems unwise."

"I know, always have a backup." It was Hackett's turn to give a wry smile, turning to look at the transport traffic again. "Thing is, Adama, the First, Third, and Fifth Fleets took a beating from a single Reaper, two years ago. Yes, we were focused on protecting a single ship. And there were a handful of geth ships." He shook his head. "There were hundreds of Reapers surrounding Earth. Hundreds. God only knows how many there are around Palaven, Sur'Kesh, Tuchanka, Thessia."

"Turian homeworld," Adama said, to keep the knowledge fresh in his mind. "Salarians. Krogans. Asari."

Hackett nodded approvingly. "Only if we rally everyone together can we push back on even a single planet. We'll take heavy losses. Then, once the Reapers figure out we're concentrated, they'll come for us. We can't hold out against the kind of push they'll be able to make. Which means we need another way to defeat the Reapers." He waved a hand. "Don't ask me exactly what that would be, I haven't the faintest idea. But that's why I asked Dr. T'Soni to go to the Mars Archives. She approached me, knowing I'd take her seriously and give her the backing she needed. I was only too happy to do so." He turned back to Adama. "We can't win this war conventionally. Neither could you."

Adama shook his head. "We didn't win, Hackett. We ran."

"Too bad," Hackett said, "that we don't have anywhere to run to."

"You're both forgetting something." The two men turned and saw D'Anna Biers standing there. She gave them both a wry smile before stepping forward. "Apologies for the interruption. I couldn't help but overhear part of that conversation."

"What is it that we're forgetting?" Adama asked. The Cylon had been following them both faithfully, making sure that she was included in discussions as often as possible. Adama hadn't specifically meant to exclude her from this one, and he thought that was the case for Hackett as well. It was just easy to fall into speaking with Hackett the way he'd used to with Saul.

"Us," the final Three said. "The Cylons. Our ships are in good order and well-crewed. Now, based on your assessment of the Reapers, Admiral Hackett, I don't think that even our basestar would be enough to turn the tide. But we have a certain advantage that none of you do." Her smile broadened. "We're machines. We might be able to do something to the Reapers. Hack them. Sabotage them with a virus."

"You Cylons are very good at that," Adama agreed.

"Why, thank you for the compliment, Admiral." D'Anna was positively beaming now. Adama wondered if the game he was playing with her was just a little too dangerous. "Sadly, we don't know the first thing about the Reapers. Oh, I know you scavenged some tech from Sovereign - but it's not enough for us to go off of. If we're going to help you - if we're going to hold up our end of the Alliance - we need an intact Reaper to study."

"Do you have any idea how tall of an order that is?" Hackett demanded.

"I suppose 'intact' is probably too much to hope for," D'Anna conceded. "And a smaller one might do just as well as the larger."

"The smallest ones we've observed are still 160 meters tall."

"Then it's a good thing that our basestar is larger than that."

Hackett's eyebrows went up. "I keep forgetting how large your ships are." He looked to Adama. "Can they do it?"

"I know what they did to Galactica in the past," Adama said wearily. "How that translates to damaging or disabling a Reaper - I have no idea."

"Worth a try, at least," Hackett concluded. "If we can find a suitable engagement."

"Well, perhaps Commander Shepard might be able to help with that," D'Anna said. "Since she is the Reaper expert. The one out there on the front lines. Tell her that we need a chance to take on a single Reaper. Perhaps she can even create an opportunity."

"I'll see to it at once," Hackett promised.

"Good." D'Anna's smile faded. "Don't keep shutting me out, Admirals. I can't pretend that the Cylons I represent are the equals to the Alliance or any of the other major military bodies in this galaxy. We were once, but those days are gone. We are, however, equals with the Colonials." Her gaze turned on Adama. "And since our basestar is in better shape than Galactica, I might even argue that we're currently the stronger. But I won't." Adama snapped his mouth shut on the angry retort that had almost slipped out. "The Cylons are committed to peace with the Colonials. We're also committed to making common cause with the Alliance. I'll expect an update as soon as you have one. Admirals." She turned and walked away, leaving an uncomfortable silence behind.

Lee resisted the temptation to itch at his arm, just like he'd seen Kara doing - had it really only been yesterday?

It was hard to believe that so much had happened in just two days. Jumping into Earth. Meeting Shepard. Going through the relays. Meeting Hackett. Coming to the Citadel. Stepping into an apartment called an "efficiency" that felt like unimaginable luxury. He'd stared at the containers of take-out in Jason's fridge for several long moments before bursting into hysterical laughter at the sheer luxury of it all.

Then he'd gone to work. Sat through paperwork that Udina's asari assistant Rieshin had clearly expected to take forever, but that Jondum Bau had breezed through with his Spectre authorization.

And now he was back in the apartment, staring out at the view of the ward below him. He was finding it hard to switch his mind back into thinking of millions and billions instead of hundreds and thousands. His head was stuffed with names of planets and space stations, details of major events in Earth's history.

The more overwhelmed he became, the more convinced he was that Shepard had been right to insist he take this job. This was their home now, as strange and unfamiliar as it was. Hadn't he said to Tyrol during their recent conversation - gods, he was losing track of the days - that there was no way the Fleet could be convinced to jump away from civilization? They were stuck here, with these people. These aliens.

His stomach growled, reminding him that it had been a long time since lunch. He opened the fridge, a wealth of leftovers available for him to choose from. He hoped none of it was made from algae. He could go the rest of his life without eating another algae-based meal.

Selecting one mostly at random, he grabbed a plate and dumped the contents out.

"I'd be careful if I were you. That's really spicy."

Lee jumped and whirled around, the plate bouncing off the counter and onto the floor. He reached for a gun that wasn't there, heart pounding in his ears. All he saw was a shadowy figure in one corner. "What - who -"

The figure stepped forward into the dim light of the kitchen, her face still half in shadow from the hood over her head. She smiled, a strip of purple-red in the middle of her lower lip. "Relax, Lee. I'm a friend."

"Really?" Lee's voice rose in pitch. "This how you greet all your friends?"

"Yes, actually. Shepard finds it nearly as annoying as you."

"Shepard." Of course it would be Shepard. She was disgustingly well-connected. Then Lee remembered whose apartment he was standing in. "Would that be, uh, Artemis or Jason?"

"Artemis, of course. Jason's a good enough kid, but he's not really the type to make friends with a thief." The woman began pacing the edges of the room.

"What do you want?" There was, Lee reflected, some benefit to having lived for three years with constant excitement and surprises. It made it a lot easier to bounce back.

"For starters, I want to know who you are and how you got Shepard and Bau to vouch for you, since you didn't exist until you stepped off the Normandy." Her grin grew wider. "Nice trick, by the way. How'd you pull it off?"

"I came from another galaxy."

"Fine, don't tell me."

"I'm serious," Lee said, teeth clenched.

She stopped her pacing and studied him for a long few moments. "You are. How strange. Ah, well, it seems impossible, but that's just Shepard in a nutshell. You'll have to tell me the whole story sometime."

"Yeah. Sometime. Look, uh -"

"Kasumi. Kasumi Goto."

"Kasumi. Okay. What do you want?"

"I have a certain… shall we say, professional interest in Jondum Bau. He's a good Spectre. He didn't tell Valern who you really are, even though Valern got very angry by the end." She tilted her head to the side. "That's the salarian councilor, by the way."

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it. Anyway, Valern was grilling Bau because he thinks something's going on with Udina."

"Such as?"

"Well, that's where you come in."

Lee took a deep breath, reaching for a roll of paper towels and then bending to the floor to start cleaning up the mess. "You want me to spy on Udina?"

"Nah, that's too much to ask of you. Besides, if you really are from another galaxy, you'll have a hard enough time keeping up with everyday matters."

He wanted to bite out a sarcastic retort, except that that was pretty much what he'd been thinking before she announced herself. He took the excuse of standing and throwing out the ruined meal to give himself a few moments to calm down. "So, what, then?"

"There have been a number of other new hires in Udina's office recently. A lot more than usual. Udina claims it's because he's now acting as President and Councilor, after Arcturus was destroyed."

"Seems reasonable to me."

"Me, too," Kasumi confessed. "Even with my naturally suspicious nature. Sure, they're unconventional hires, but Udina's working with what he has. And that's not much. Except that Valern seems to think there's more to it than that. He's likely working with intel from STG." She paused. "Do you know what that means?"

"You might have to refresh my memory."

"Special Tasks Group. Model for the Spectres, centuries ago." She chuckled dryly. "My kind of people."

"You think that STG warned Valern about Udina's new hires."

Kasumi placed a finger on her nose.

"Okay," Lee said, feeling like his brain had finally started working again, "so my question is still: what can I do? I don't know what's … normal for all of you. How am I supposed to find something out of place?"

"That's where I come in," Kasumi said. "You watch. You tell me about your colleagues. I'll be the one to determine what is and isn't out of place."

He narrowed his eyes. "How do I know you'll do the right thing with that info?"

"You ask now and not before?"

"You kept me a little off balance until now. I'm guessing deliberately."

"Oh good, you're not a complete idiot," Kasumi said cheerfully. "Would you accept footage from my omni-tool of me and Shepard?"

"You could've faked that." Lee didn't know how exactly, but since it had been possible back in the Colonies, he assumed it was doable here.

"Better and better!" Kasumi rubbed her hands together. "Tell you what. Ask Bau about me, next time you see him, or Shepard herself. I'll be back in a few days. If you haven't figured it out by then, well … your loss." She walked over to the fridge, opened it, and rummaged around for a moment. "Here. This place is really good." She put the container on the counter, pulling one of the menus off the front of the fridge and placing it on top of the container. "Not so spicy. Of course, maybe you like spicy. Your call. I'll see you around, Lee Adama."

She turned and walked - not towards the door, but the windows, opening one and grabbing onto a rope Lee hadn't noticed before. She gave him a cheerful salute and began to haul herself up, using a foot to kick the window shut.

Lee just stood there for a few moments before he shook his head and picked up the container Kasumi had selected. Putting the menu aside, he opened it and took a sniff. It did smell good. He decided he'd ask Bau about Kasumi Goto, since he'd be seeing the Spectre tomorrow morning. Besides, if he tried to ask Shepard, there was no guarantee she'd be available any time soon. He idly wondered how she and Kara were doing on Palaven, before walking over to the microwave to heat up leftovers from the life he'd stepped into.