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*POV: AedTorchbearer*

After Shepard had given me a heart attack in the Mako and we got out of said Mako we headed inside the facility. We made it about 3 feet inside before we were again assaulted by Geth. Thankfully there were a lot less of them this time around but they had several rocket geth and Juggernauts. One of which introduced itself by tackling Wrex and since I was next to the big guy I got smacked out of the way.

Shaking my head clear of any lingering ringing I dove into cover before a rocket could hit me. The blast was close enough that it propelled me a bit farther than I wanted and did a number on my shields but I was fine overall.

Standing up I got behind the pillar I had originally dived for and poked my head out. Seeing Wrex still fighting for dominance with the juggernaut I hit the thing with a sabotage which hit Wrex too. However, since he wasn't cybernetic in any way it gave him the opening he needed. He was able to flip the juggernaut over so he was on top and then slammed his shotgun into its face until it went limp.

His satisfaction at the kill was short lived as he got hit by a rocket immediately after. Right in his hump where he was the most armored but it threw him face down onto the metal floor hard. He did not move after that and Liara, in a surprising display of creativity, used a Pull to literally pull him into cover by her.

I couldn't pay it much mind anymore as I spotted 2 hoppers jumping around the room like crack heads. I followed them until one stopped by a pillar and began to line up a shot. One Sabotage and 7 well placed shots later and the geth was dead. Like last time too the other hopper wised up fast and stayed a long way away from me.

With the other hopper wisened up I pushed up on the side towards one of the rocket geth. I somehow went unnoticed long enough to get right below it on the platform. From where I was though I wouldn't be able to do anything else without being seen by it so I went with my best option.

Hitting the geth with a Sabotage it tried to fire its rocket but nothing happened. At the same time he began to fix itself and purge the Sabotage from its system. I jumped up and climbed up the platform behind it. Not bothering with anything fancy once I was up on the platform I opened fire with my rifle and laid into it until it died.

Knowing I was now exposed and on an open platform I dived forward towards the geth's rocket while being pinged by the geth. Grabbing the rocket I hefted it up and fired at another of the rocket geth on the other side. The shot hit is mark and exploded the geth into several large chunks. With that done I jumped off the platform and dived back into cover just as my shields gave out.

Thank god for Predator X armor, best on the market and if I hadn't gotten it I definitely would be dead.

From there with the rocket geth taken care of there was only the hopper, 2 regular geth and a singular juggernaut left from the original force. All of which I didn't even get a hand in destroying. The others did so and all I did was watch and hit the juggernaut with one overload.

When it was all over we regrouped and did the usual check ups. Everyone was okay and Wrex was starting to come back around. He wasn't looking too hot and was a bit wobbly at first but after a minute or so of walking to our next destination he was okay. He was quite adamant about being okay but his armor was pretty scorched on the back.

Going through a couple doors we made it to the next area which wasn't inviging at all. Some of the snow from outside had somehow made its way inside making it crazy cold. Then when we entered we were on the bottom floor with windows surrounding us on all sides making this place perfect for an ambush. If that wasn't enough as we started to move about and follow the ramp up to get out of the kill zone the chittering started.

Now, if this had been our first experience with it we might've been a bit worried but since we recognized it as the same from the Rachni from when we rescued Ceelo we were all terrified. No one wanted to fight those things.

Thankfully these ones were a lot less patient than before and immediately came out of the woodwork to attack us. All things considered it wasn't terrible as there were only 6 of them at the start it got worse as it went along. Not just because more came but mostly because as we made it up the ramp and slowly through the area they would jump down from the ceiling and out of vents from every direction. Not to mention we could hear them chittering the entire time so we were stressed the whole time.

This all resulted in some colorful language from everyone present except for Wrex and Shepard. Both had lived through worse. When we finally did make it through the area we jumped into an elevator and went on our way up.

"So… Rachni?" I started. "Anyone got a theory?"

"I don't want to think about it," Liara stated as she went over her weapon.

"Neither do I," Wrex said, agreeing with her and if that wasn't cause for concern I don't know what else would be.

"I expected you of all people to want to talk about it," Ashley stated looking at Wrex.

"No. This many and in different locations means only one thing and it isn't good."

"A Queen," I stated which brought everyone to a proverbial standstill. All stopped checking their weapons and their nervous ticks before looking to Wrex for any type of confirmation. He stared at me impassively for ages before responding.

"Yes."

Once the word was out of his mouth the elevator dinged open and we didn't get the chance to contemplate that type of conversation. We were immediately assaulted by Rachni and their exploding babies. Being trapped in an elevator while they bulldozed towards us wasn't a good place to be and if they had been there in force we probably would've died.

That being said, there were only 3 actual Rachni and the rest were babies. We made relatively quick work of it but my arm got acid on it courtesy of one of the exploding babies. Burned right through my shields and corroded the armor. Didn't pierce the armor but the piece would have to be replaced.

When the room was officially cleared Shepard ordered Tali and Kaiden to follow him to the VI station to get it back up and running. The rest of us were told to stay in the main corridor and wait for them. Everyone just relaxed with the time given to us but didn't let our guard down, weapons in hand just relaxed. Shepard and co would regroup with us after a few minutes.

"If we're going to get to Benezia we'll need the reactor back up and running and we'll have to reconnect the landlines on the roof," Shepard started once he was back. "We'll split up into two teams to deal with this. Kaiden, Wrex, Ashley and Garrus you'll take the landlines on the roof. The rest are with me and we'll be going to the reactor. Any questions?" No one said anything in protest and when that became apparent we got on our way.

We went through the door directing us to the reactor and got no resistance before finding an elevator. Taking it down it opened and we were all ready to be assaulted again but nothing came at us. Still we weren't taking any chances and Shepard ordered Tali and I to prepare Overloads while he and Liara made sure their biotics were ready.

Still, the first room we entered after the elevator exit held nothing for us and we were all silently hoping this would be easy. However, looking around the room we could see into the reactor room and it was a veritable maze of large tubes for maintenance and the like. A good place to bog people down for an ambush.

Something that got confirmed almost immediately with me on point as I rounded the corner and into the first tube. There I was greeted with a hopper sitting on the far wall looking straight at me. To make matters worse a geth Destroyer was full on sprinting right at me.

"Destroyer!"

I shouted and then fired off an overload at it with Tali jumping beside me and firing one at it too. It didn't seem to do a damn thing to it and just kept on charging. I held my ground though and positioned myself so the hopper didn't have a shot on me because of the charging Destroyer. As it got within 20 feet I prepared another overload and pushed Tali back towards Shepard and Liara.

Just as it was about to hit me I dove out of the way and hit it with an overload while in the air. It slammed into the wall just missing me and though it couldn't be stunned it did take a second or two to recover. That was all the time we needed as Tali hit it with another overload and Liara and Shepard hit it with dual Warps. Then we all unloaded on it with me on the ground from the dive. It didn't survive long enough to move out of cover.

When it died Shepard picked me up and we pushed through the tube. There weren't any more Destroyers or regular geth for that matter but there were plenty of hoppers. We responded in kind by hitting them with as many sabotage's we could muster. It was slow and rather painful work as even though their shots wouldn't pierce shields (if they were full) they would still hurt a ton. Something that all of us found out while we made our way to the Reactor controls.

Getting there Shepard gave Tali the order and she got to work on the reactor controls. She made it about halfway through before a Juggernaut interrupted us. It didn't last long though and got stuck in a singularity from Liara. Then got it by an Overload from me and a Warp from Shepard at the same time ripping it apart and exploding the singularity. The shrapnel from the exploding Singularity did more damage than the juggernaut itself.

That was the end of that though and not much longer Tali was all done. All we had to do now was initialize the restart by hitting a couple of buttons we could find in the tubes. That took us a couple of minutes because of the travel time and we didn't know if there were more geth waiting for us. We didn't run into any and made our way through it all without a problem.

Heading back to the elevator we went back up to the main floor and made our way back to the VI area. Only to barge face first into a mini firefight. We didn't have to do anything as Wrex and the others exploded the 2 Rachni that were there. When it was done we got a good look at the others.

They had snow all over them and generally didn't look to be happy campers. I could see soot and a bit of acid damage on Wrex. Plus several new scratches on everyone's armor.

"Rachni?" I asked innocently. Wrex didn't respond verbally but gave a huff of annoyance. That was the only answer I needed.

"Are you okay?" Shepard asked the group and they gave him nods of affirmation. "Then it's time to go to the Tram."

And with that he walked off following the directions to the Tram. We silently followed him as we made our way down the path. Then onto the elevator and up we went. When it opened we all prepared for a fight but when none came we made our way forward still checking all the corners and getting prepared.

As we followed the path we came up to the entrance of the Tram only to see Rachni sitting there. Though they weren't moving and just sitting in there. No one said anything as we watched them sit there and moved ourselves into the adjacent control room. There was a dead Salarian and a recording that I didn't pay attention too.

The others started to talk about something but I just tuned it out. Instead, I went up to the controls and hacked them so the purge system went active. A few seconds later all the Rachni that were in the entrance were incinerated by the purge system. I turned around satisfied with that only to see everyone looking at me.

"What?"

"That answers that question," Garrus said in a deadpan tone of voice.

"What question?"

"Doesn't matter. Our path is clear, let's go," Shepard said and no one argued as we went through the entrance.

The walk to the actual Tram was a bit longer than expected but we came across no more Rachni or Geth. That was a big plus and something we needed. A rest would do us good right now. Getting on the Tram too we actually got to sit down.

The actual drive for the Tram lasted about 15 minutes. None of us really talked during the wait and just went over our equipment. I still had all my grenades left and my shot counter was still in the thousands for now so I was all good. Nothing going wrong and all in good shape, not much else one could ask for in this situation.

When the Tram ride ended we got out and followed Shepard to our destination. It wasn't the Hot Labs but rather the main Science area and the path eventually led us to an elevator. One we would have stuffed ourselves in but decided against it in case anything was waiting up there for us.

I got stuck with the second group with Liara, Garrus and Kaiden. Garrus and I exchanged idle conversation while we waited for the elevator to come back down but that was about it. Nothing actually important and Liara and Kaiden didn't say a word. Not even when the elevator came back down and we got in it.

When it got to the floor we were meant to be on, it opened to reveal the others talking to the head of security. I didn't trust the man just from taking a look at him, though that might be because I know he'll betray us. Either way he was a shifty character already.

He was seemingly saved by the bell though when 2 Rachni soldiers dropped down in front of us and behind Shepard. My group opened fire unprompted and put down both rachni before they could do much. They were still able to get one of the guards but no one important was hurt. When that was all said and done Shepard turned back to the captain.

"You were saying?" He asked the man.

"Most of the Geth are down in the hot labs. You'll have to take the elevator you came up on back down and then the other elevator. That's the only way you'll take care of the Rachni around here," Shepard nodded in understanding. He then stepped away and grouped everyone up before proceeding to give us our orders.

"We'll be doing that then. Tali, Garrus, and Liara; you three will stay here. Do any investigating you can. The rest of you will be coming with me to take care of the Hot Labs. Let's move."

We didn't need to be told twice and while Garrus, Tali and Liara stayed we all moved to the elevator and made our way down to the elevator. Getting in we went down and after a minute or so we had made it back down to where we were meant to be. Stepping out of the elevator we spotted the Hot Labs sign and immediately jumped into the elevator.

The ride down was quiet and filled with tension and my paranoia meter was off the charts. It wasn't directed at what we would find down there though. They Rachni were expected but that wasn't what had me paranoid. Something else was bugging and I couldn't put my finger on it.

As the elevator stopped the door opened and we stepped out to see another door closed, unlike the game where it was already open. Stepping forward Shepard ordered Kaiden to hack it open and he did so revealing a lone researcher sitting on a chair in the middle of the room.

Cautiously walking up the man he stayed in his chair as we walked towards him. Looking down at his tag it pronounced him as Dr. Tartakovsky. I remember this guy. He's the one that gives us the code to perform the neutron purge.

"I'm Spectre Shepard. Who are you?"

"Dr. Tarakovsky. I am Operations Director. I would stand and shake your hand but you must listen."

"Then talk while you can."

"Binary Helix. Company in charge made a mistake. We found an egg. A Rachni Egg on derelict Rachni Ship. Adrift for thousands of years. Queen. We have been trying to use her to create workers to sell."

"You fucking idiot," Wrex snapped at the man.

"Da. We are. But it can be stopped, initiate Neutron Purge. Kill everything on floor and below. Rachni are only below. Above ones are isolated."

"How?"

"With command code. Here."

Dr. Tartakovsky made to get up to give Shepard the code but before he could a Rachni popped up from the ven behind him. It wasted no time and pierced its pincer straight through his chest spraying us with blood. Three more popped up from other vents and we wasted no time in going hot.

A few seconds later all the rachni in the room were dead. Knowing we didn't have much time I grabbed the codes and gave them to Shepard. We made a beeline for the command room and Shepard turned on the VI in charge of the area. He plowed through the protocols of the VI and uploaded the command code for the purge.

When he did so my paranoia screamed at me and while he did so I hacked the VI so that instead of the 2 minutes you got in the game to escape we got 5. When it was all said and done and the process for the Purge started we heard screaming and chittering back the way we came.

Opening the door we saw the whole room filled with Rachni and their exploding babies. I immediately grabbed three grenades of my bandolier and threw them at the biggest mass of exploding babies. It had the desired effect and took most of them out while fucking up the other Rachni. Still, it barely put a dent in their numbers.

We expended everything we had at our disposal to kill the Rachni in the room. It took a surprisingly short amount of time but at the end of it I was down to only 2 grenades out of the 10 I usually carried. Not to mention I had fired on full auto the entire time timing it just enough so I wouldn't overheat my gun but I still expended over 300 rounds. The same could be said about everyone else.

That being said they just kept coming into the room and we saw to other option than to just sprint to the exit. As we did so I got tripped up by a Rachni. It brought it's other pincer down to impale me but I rolled out of the way at the last second and shoved my gun down its throat firing. It blew its head off but when I got back up and started running again I saw Kaiden at the second door staring at me.

That was the moment I realized why my paranoia had been acting up. I could see the others still running towards the elevator and he was the only one looking at me. He shut the fucking door.

Not only did he shut the door he hacked it closed and destroyed the other side's controls. I could tell as I tried to hack it open for a second but I got no connection. Turning back around I turned my Overkill on for my AR and held the trigger down.

That gave me a few moments to think of a plan and I wanted to rage but now wasn't the time. Nor was it time to panic. Revenge can come later.

Looking down at my bandolier I took my final two grenades off and slammed them into the door. Taking a few steps back they went off and I jumped through the small hole they had created. Knowing I had next to no time to think and that the hole would be big enough for a quick Rachni I sprinted to the elevator and hacked the door open.

Jumping inside I grabbed the handles of the ladder on the far side and began to pull myself up as fast as I could. I made it only a few feet before something stabbed into my left calf. Looking down there was a Rachni there falling down the shaft. I guess it had tried to hold onto my calf by stabbing me but it didn't work. It still hurt like a mother fucker and I could see the blood seeping out of my calf.

Throwing that aside my adrenaline surged inside me and I started climbing like a mad man. Jumping up 2 or 3 rungs at a time much to the protest of my calf. It hurt but I wasn't going to die here. No fucking way.

"Sam! Put my shields in overcharge!" I screamed as I continued jumping up the ladder trying to get to safety.

Yes Pilot

I could feel my omni-tool spark in protest as it had been used to its extreme but I couldn't care right now. It was a mad dash up the ladder and a minute after I had my shields overcharged the Purge went off.

Now, I've felt pain. It's been a friend of mine for years but when I say that the purge was the most painful thing I've ever felt I mean it. It was like someone took a cattle prod to my body and cranked the setting to its absolute max. Electricity coursed throughout my body but it refused to give out and it refused to let go of the ladder rungs. I screamed the whole time too and when it finally subsided my throat was raw.

My body was exhausted and everything was hurting but my day wasn't done. Not by a long shot. I still had to make it back up, to my surprise I could actually see the elevator only about 30 feet above. Sighing in relief I made my way up to it but that's when I hit another snag.

I couldn't enter the thing and the door wasn't opening. Plus, my omni-tool was currently out of commission and I don't know how long it would take for it to boot back up. So for now the only way for me to go was up. Fantastic.

"Sam you there?"

Yes Pilot. Are you okay?

"No Sam. No, I am not… Do you record what you see?"

No pilot. Do you wish me to from now on?

"Yes. Please. Please ask me after every mission if I want you to delete it or not but keep all the footage you can."

Of course Pilot.

Well there goes my evidence to fuck Kaiden over but it wasn't exactly the thing to worry about right now. Now, I had to go up even more and did so by going to the other side, for the elevator that took us to the Science area from earlier. It wouldn't be a fun time.

It wasn't and it would take me almost 30 minutes to get up to the other elevator. Still, my omni-tool was out of commission and I couldn't hack the door open. Great, up we go again.

It took me another 10 minutes to get to the next door and by this time my omni-tool was starting to come back to life. Still, I had to wait about 5 more minutes before I could use it on the door.

As soon as I had the opportunity I opened it up and pulled myself through dropping onto the balcony in exhaustion. I layed there breathing in and out in relief and satisfaction that I wasn't dead yet. That would've been such a shitty way to die.

My reprieve lasted all of about 5 seconds as I heard gunfire below me. Pushing myself up I looked down and about 15 feet below was Matriarch Benezia, Shepard and co, a bunch of Asari Commandos. The geth that had been here were all dead and lying around the area. As for the commandos there were only a few still alive. Those numbers were dwindling quickly too.

Going unnoticed up top I made my way to where a commando was and waited for my moment. I didn't have to wait long as her squadmate near her was cut down by a sniper round from Garrus. With that she was isolated from her four other squadmates on the other side of the room and my opportunity presented itself.

As she put a barrier on herself and made to move to her squadmates I made my move. Taking out my dagger I hopped over the barrier and landed right on her slamming her face down into the metal floor. It completely shook her concentration and dissipated her barrier as a result. A single stab from my knife to the back of her head and she was dead.

Not waiting around I sprinted to flank her squadmates. As soon as I got behind them I unloaded with everything my gun could give me. The commandos were prepared for this course of actions and 2 of the four turned to face me. However, that was all the opening Wrex needed with only 2 shooting at him and not all four. He charged them and had killed the closest one before the other three knew what was happening.

As much as I wanted to join in the fun I knew my body wasn't in good enough shape to get into a melee fight with commandos at the moment. That being said I didn't have to; Garrus had been right behind Wrex and he went to town on another Asari. They killed three of the four while I finished off the last one.

They both nodded to me and came over to me. Together we went to Matriarch Benezia from my side while Shepard and the others went to her from the other side. No one said anything as we made our way to her but she looked like she was struggling to stand up straight. Then all of a sudden her posture relaxed.

"This is not over. Saren will not stop and his light fills my mind. I will not betray him. You will… you," she took a couple steps towards us and we all raised our weapons in response. "You must listen. He still whispers in my mind but I can hold him off briefly but the indoctrination is strong."

"Exactly like the Asari on Feros but you chose this. The price of choices," Shepard replied.

"You have no idea what it's like to be trapped in your mind. To be just a passenger in your own body as you destroy and torture. Nothing but a tool for Saren. For which he sent me here to find the Mu Relay. Lost in space thousands of years ago."

"Tell me."

"Of course," she reached into her dress and grabbed out an OSD disk and tossed it to Shepard. Who deftly caught it.

"The location isn't enough. We need to know where to go from there," I spoke up as no one else seemed to be willing at the moment. I took this moment to get my pistol out for when she turned.

"I do not know but you will have to find out quickly; I sent him the coordinates before you arrived. You… You have to stop me. I… can't -

"Mother fight it. Please!" I could hear the pain in Liara's voice as she reached out to her mother. Her mother who only smiled in return.

"I always loved you Little Wing. I will always love you."

I could see her eyes start to dim and lose control and just acted before she could defend herself. I angled my .45 up from my hip leaning back with it and put a hollow point right through the middle of her chest spraying blood out her back. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Liara jump in shock and bring her hands up to her mouth releasing a choked sob.

Before she could hit the ground I shot forward and caught the Matriarch lowering her to the ground softly. She still had some life in her as she stared at me.

"Thank you young man," I nodded to her.

"May you pass in peace and find serenity in the afterlife."

"But… there's no light?" I could see her despair.

"The lord gives light to everyone. Don't worry, his light will find you," those were the last words she ever heard as she passed away as soon as they were out of my mouth.

As I laid her on the ground I stood up and looked at the rest of the group. They looked like they were about to say something but were interrupted by a dead Asari a few feet from me slowly getting up. Everyone raised their guns on the formerly dead Asari but did nothing.

"This.. one serves as our… voice. We cannot sing… in these low spaces. Your musics are… colorless," again Shepard took the lead in responding. Though the voice was spacy and depressing, like someone who knew they could die soon.

"How are you even capable? We put you down hard."

"This one is at the edge but she… struggles. You cannot see her magnificence… we are breathing on the embers. WE are the mother… we sing for those left… behind, the children you though silent. We are Rachni," as she spoke I stepped forward past the Asari with Shepard next to me and we both peered into the tube containing the Rachni Queen.

"How are you even alive?"

"Luck… the ones that slew us now walk towards the same fate… The children we birthed were stolen… never shown the beauty… of our song… They are lost to silence… thank you for… ending their… suffering. They would only cause… harm."

"You're welcome?"

"But now… we stand before you… What will you sing? Will you release us? Are we to fade away once more?"

"What will you do?"

"We will… leave. Make a… home… for our...selves. Leave you… alone."

That seemed to open a can of worms no one wanted to open before. Everyone started shouting for both sides. Either against sparing or for sparing. No one seemed to get a foothold to actually speak without being interrupted. Only Shepard and myself were quiet. Though I wasn't paying attention to them.

I strode forward to the tube/cage and stared at the Rachni queen. For several seconds I stared at her behind my mask before I decided to take it off. The clicking of the clasp coming undone silenced everyone and as I took it off I stared at the Rachni. A stare that she moved her body to return, staring at my eyes as I stared back into hers.

They say the eyes are the window to the soul and right here, right now I believed it. I saw everything that made her who she was and she saw everything that made me who I am. It was surreal at that moment. Beautiful and enchanting yet inherently dangerous. That didn't stop me from asking my question though.

"What do you want?"

"We will -"

"Not what I asked," I said, raising my hand. "You say you will rebuild your people but what do you want? You are the last queen of your race. The one who will decide their future. What do you want?" The Rachni Queen stilled for a few moments contemplating the answer. The Asari puppet answered.

"To be free… of the sour song… To make… ourselves anew… That is what… I want," I nodded my head at her before putting my helmet back on and looking at the group.

"I say she lives."

There was silence from the group and then they all looked to Shepard. They had all tried to make their arguments to him but he paid them no mind. He strode forward and hit a few buttons on the console. As the tube began to go up he stared at the Rachni Queen.

"Do not make me regret this," the puppet answered.

"Never," and with that the puppet collapsed and tube went to an exit and let the Queen go.

"I hope you know what you're doing Shepard," Wrex stated, obviously agitated.

"As do I."

He answered Wrex walking back towards the group. I followed right behind him concealing myself as best as possible. As soon as we closed in on the group I spotted Kaiden and moved to face him pulling out my .45 and putting it against his helmet.

Ashley responded by raising her rifle at my chest. Garrus by putting the barrel of his sniper under her chin. Wrex had his shotgun pointed at Kaiden's chest and Tali had hers against Ashley's. The only ones not to react were Shepard and Liara who both immediately tried to go into damage control but I pulled the hammer back on my pistol. At that Ashley put her gun down and Garrus put his down while Tali switched to Kaiden.

"I knew the kid wouldn't die there," Wrex stated chuckling as he kept his shotgun steady.

"Why?" was the only word out of my mouth as I held the gun against his head. He looked furious but took several deep breaths before responding.

"I made a judgement call. The Rachni were right on your heels and would've gotten to us if I hadn't closed the door."

That was complete and total bullshit and we both knew it. I wanted to pull the trigger and end Kaiden right there but it wouldn't help anyone. So, I did the next best thing I could and threw the hardest punch I could into his face. He sprawled out backwards and I re-holstered my pistol and looked down at him.

"So much for no man left behind huh?" Silence hung in the air for a few moments before Shepard broke it.

"We're leaving. Tali, help Wynne."

So we did. Tali was right at my side slinging my left arm over her shoulder to support me. About now was the time that my adrenaline was wearing off and my calf was starting to ache like hell. Not to mention the rest of my body ached from the involuntary electroshock therapy I got subjected to. As for everything else Tali helped me back to the Tram and set me down on one of the benches.

The tram ride went incredibly fast this time around but when we got back my body was giving out on me and I could barely hold myself upright. Tali promptly gave me off to Wrex as she could lift me. Wrex just threw me over his shoulder and I was too tired to try and protest. Besides he didn't carry me long, just back to the Mako. The Mako ride back was just as short as well.

Well, I wouldn't say that. I was in and out of consciousness the entire time but I got snippets of the drive back and the subsequent way back to the Normandy. The entire time in which I continually had someone in my face making sure I was staying awake. It was annoying and I was just so fucking tired. Being slung over Wrex's shoulder again kept me sufficiently awake however.

Or maybe not as after he threw me over his shoulder the next thing I knew I was in Dr. Chakwas office. She was doing something with the scanner over my body and just looked down at me. I could see the worry in her eyes and face as she looked down at me.

"Will you stop getting hurt please."

"But you're my favorite person here doc," I groggily got out.

"I wonder what Tali would think of that?" She raised an eyebrow at me.

"No hablo inglés."

"Eres idiota."

"Si," I got a soft chuckle and a shake of the head at that. That ended up being the last thing I remembered before passing out.

*POV: Commander Shepard*

I sat at my desk looking over my mission report I was about to send to the council. While I did that Kaiden stood at attention in front of me not blinking as he stared forward. Satisfied with the report I sent it off to the council and I had maybe 5 minutes before they demanded to speak to me. Time to make this quick.

"Lieutenant Alenko."

"Yes sir," he stayed in attention, never moving his eyes.

"Aedon Wynne, known to us as Torchbearer, was left behind by us and more specifically you. You closed the door and destroyed the controls. Not only that but you lied to my face saying that the Rachni got him. Something that he proved wrong simply by showing back up. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I made a judgement call Commander. I did what I thought was right," Kaiden had a good poker face but I was well versed in bullshit.

"Bullshit… Now, I will ask again. Why did you leave him behind?" My voice was cold as I stared at Kaiden. Kaiden was a good man, or so I thought, and Wynne was the same but at this moment right now I could see Kaiden was at a crossroads. Who would he decide to be, I had to help guide him as best I could. Though I never got the chance as Joker's voice came over the speaker in my room.

"Commander. Council wants to speak to you."

"Thanks Joker… Stay here Mr. Alenko. We aren't done," using his last name that way hurt him in a way I knew it would. He had to be hurt at this moment to see what he had done wrong. Either way our meeting ended he had lost my trust on the battlefield, as well as everyone else's. Wrex and Tali especially were ready to throttle Kaiden and that was half the reason he was staying in my room for the moment.

I made my way to the conference room and didn't wait to start up the comm. The councillors appeared in front of me immediately.

"You wanted to talk?"

"Indeed. Sparing the Rachni Queen. Are you insane?" Spartacus shouted as he glared at me.

"I made a call sir. I chose not to judge the single surviving member of a species for the actions of its predecessors," that shut them up quickly.

"Then I hope your decision pans out," Valern said before continuing. "You don't know where they went?" Oh fuck you buddy. So you can capture and study her and repeat the same mistakes. Go fuck yourself.

"No sir."

"A shame."

"It happens."

"Commander." Tevos spoke up, breaking up Valern's conversation with me. "We have received intel that Saren has a base on Virmire. We dispatched an STG team to gather intel but have received no word except for a call for reinforcements. You will be the reinforcements."

"Yes ma'am," finally! "Anything else. Otherwise, we'll head there right away."

"Go with speed Commander," Tevos responded.

"Good luck," Valern said and cut his comm along with Tevos leaving only Sparatus. He stared at me silently for almost a minute before talking.

"Be the Tsunami Shepard," I snapped off a crisp salute that he returned and then his comm cut off.

Leaving the room I called Joker to tell him to head to Virmire. He gave the affirmative and was going there. Told me it would take about 3 days to get there. I didn't acknowledge it and went back to my room. Entering my room Kaiden was still standing there in attention seemingly not moving at all. I stood in front of him before addressing him.

"I'm not going to ask for anymore excuses or anything you have to say. If we didn't have a mission directly from the Council I would drop you off at the Citadel and leave you there. As of right now you are nothing more than a private and will be doing the duties of one. You will still accompany us on the ground but you have lost my trust. Something I can't have on the battlefield and the only reason you're joining us is because we may need you. That is all Private Alenko, I will put forth an official indictment after this mission. Leave and report to Sgt. Garcia."

Now, I couldn't actually make him a private but for everything else I said that was something I could do. Rank means nothing when you are stripped of everything that accompanies it. Garcia never liked Kaiden either so right now with the email I quickly sent him he was getting his early christmas present.

God damn it Kaiden… At least Dr. Chakwas said Wynne will be fine. Only a day of recovery and he'll be fine.

I wonder what Virmire has in store for us?

And there we go folks. I hope you enjoyed. I sure did.

I was on a fucking role writing this chapter. Did it in 2 days and it let me do a good amount of editing. I love y'all. Keep reading and keep reviewing :)