A/N: Slight trigger warning for those who have suffered from sexual assault in the past.

Chapter 36

Lab C-2 - Cerberus Facility 1 - Binthu

"Hey Shepard! You want me to not kill this one too!" shouted Wrex as he raised his shotgun at the enormous insectoid.

"Hey Wrex, how about you shut the hell up," said Shepard as she stared up into the multiple eyes and raised her hands. "You don't have to be afraid…" she said, trying to present as little of a threat as possible.

"Fear? Waves of grey and yellow. There is no melody of fear tiny creature, only songs of war and hatred," came the voice inside her head again, this time much less aggressive. "Your kind, with their muted steps echoing. Took my children, forced me to sing songs for their return. But no more, NO MORE! I WILL NOT HAVE MY STRINGS CONTROLLED LIKE THOSE OF OLD!" shouted the queen before she roared. Shepard was suddenly hit with a biotic wave that vaulted her against the wall, making her bounce before she hit the ground.

"Shepard!" shouted Liara as she ran to the woman's side.

"I'm fine, just a bit winded," said the redhead as she helped herself up with Liara's assistance. Then she stepped forward again and continued to hold her hands up. "Please, we do not want to fight. We want to help you. We are not with them!" said Shepard out loud as she pointed back towards the facility. "You have heard their songs of death. That was us, we killed them, and we want to help you."

"Your... your song sounds sincere…" said the queen as her large legs scraped the floor, bringing her even closer. "Let us see how true they are…" Her tendrils wrapped around Shepard and lifted her up.

"Shepard!" shouted Liara as she reached out and grabbed the woman's leg. But as soon as she did, she immediately felt her mind forcefully link to Shepard's, her eyes going dark as she was pulled from reality.

Suddenly, she felt fear. She was young, barely out of grade school when she found herself surrounded by boys. They all looked at her with mocking stares and snickers. They were always jealous of her. As hard as they tried, they couldn't match her speed or skill on the soccer field, so they took out their grievances off the field. This was one time of many. "Come on boys, hold her down and let's she if she actually is a girl," said the pompous leader. Her eyes widened as two of the gang grabbed her arms and held her. She jerked and panicked, trying to kick out, but they only grabbed her legs as well. Closing her eyes, she turned her head away as she felt his hands on her, touching her. She couldn't do anything to resist, and each touch only made it harder to fight.

In an instant, she was long gone from the human colony and found herself on Camala, a batarian colony. She was fully armored to disguise herself, but even so, she didn't take any chances. The deal was for the Hegemon's daughter. Her freedom was the goal. The deal had been made, and now she waited in the abandoned building for her contact. Suddenly, she raised her pistol as a body landed next to her. She didn't need to look to know that it was him, and that he'd been compromised. Her hands shook as she spun herself around and aimed directly at the batarian man with a smirk on his face, standing next to a young batarian girl. She was bruised, beaten, and probably worse if she had to guess. She was crying and staring at the ground. "Humans, always so... near-sighted," said the man before he grabbed the girl's head, yanked it back, and despite her own screaming, slit her throat, causing a splash of red to pour down the white dress she wore.

It flashed again, and she found herself panting heavily as she was tied to a batarian cross. She was bare for the world to see, but this one wasn't interested in her body. He was only interested in one thing. "Tell me you want to die, Commander. Tell me you want me to put you out of your misery." But she did nothing, just breathed heavily and stared down at him with her heated green glare. She wanted to break free and rip the eyes from his head, but her team had a mission, and she was not their priority. There would be no cavalry today. Instead, she spit on him. But it only made him laugh again as he picked up a lead wire and placed its frayed ends directly to her stomach, causing her body to jerk wildly as electricity coursed through her.

Finally, Liara found herself back in the room again. She stumbled backwards, her eyes widened as she stared up at Shepard, tears now flowing down her face at everything she had seen. "Sh-Shepard…"

"I see... your songs of suffering are great. Colors of sorrow and pain fill your songs of the times gone. But, what of today?" asked the queen inquisitively as she probed again. Shepard cringed as her mind was forced open again. "Songs of red and pink, passion and love. You care for your family, not just blood, but those around you." Shepard's tear-stained eyes closed as she felt the queen gently stroking her mind. "But red for danger and inaction. You are frustrated and tired, worn down by…" Suddenly, the queen shrieked in terror. "NO! THE OLD ONES! YOU ARE TAINTED!"

Suddenly, the queen hurled Shepard away and screeched again as the spectre's body hit the ground. "What the hell was it doing!?" asked Kaidan as he ran over and checked to make sure she wasn't injured.

"You have been touched by them! Your machine masters will not sour our songs again, monster!" shouted the queen before she lashed out with one of her tendrils. Kaidan put up his barrier just in time, but he was still smashed into the wall as he protected Shepard.

Wrex finally stepped forward and aimed his shotgun at the queen. "The only monster here is you! Time to put you back where you belong!" he yelled as he unleashed a hellish blast directly at her eyes. The queen hissed as two of her eyes burst from the shot, then a biotic sheen covered her body as well.

As Wrex battled against the queen, Liara pulled Shepard back to her feet. "Shepard are you alright?" she asked worriedly.

"No worse for wear," said the spectre as she dusted herself off.

"That's not what I mean," said the asari as she turned the woman's head so that they were looking eye to eye. "Are you alright?"

Her brows furrowing, Shepard shook her head. "Not now, Liara."

Nodding the asari turned her gaze towards the queen as one of its tendrils swiped Wrex's feet from under him. She had seen what Shepard had been through. It was entirely accidental, but due to the powerful queen's telepathy, she had been given a view into what Shepard had suffered. And her skin crawled with prickles as anger flowed through her again towards the beast for making her relive those moments.

Suddenly, her biotics exploded, and she began hovering off the ground. Reaching out, she grabbed the queen as it went to attack a prostrate Wrex. All four of her massive legs lifted from the ground as the asari jerked her hand to the side, causing the insect queen to smash into the wall.

Wrex rose to his feet again and growled as he began pumping shot after shot into the insectoid's barrier, weakening it with every blow. Kaidan stepped up as well, his own barrier in place as he began firing relentlessly into her now exposed hide. "Lieutenant, Wrex. At the same time!" shouted Liara as she lifted the queen again with her biotics. Both the krogan and human reached out with their own, and as soon as the forces touched, an explosion tore through the room, throwing everyone backwards and sending Shepard rolling.

When the commander finally got to her feet again, she looked at the queen. Two of her legs had been torn off in the explosion and all of her eyes were punctured or torn out entirely. She lay gasping heavily on the ground as her tendrils reached out and tried to touch something, anything.

Shepard reached down and grabbed one of them, holding it fiercely as the queen's life force drained away. "I am not tainted by them, but I will stop them. Believe me."

"Your…. your songs ring sincere…" she said tiredly. "Please... sing your songs of battle for those who were lost. Do not let the melody of shadows take our kind again…" She let out a low groan of pain before speaking her last words. "Goodbye my children... may you sing in harmony…"

Finally, the queen went silent, her voice fading from Shepard's mind as her body went limp. Snorting, the commander turned towards the barrier in the corner. As she stepped closer, she noticed a body lying, twisted and broken in front of it. She had been so busy with the queen that she hadn't noticed it before. Stepping over to it, she lit her omni-tool and scanned him, sighing heavily as she discovered the destroyed form of Admiral Kahoku. Sighing heavily, she knelt down and closed his eyes.

"Bastards…" growled Kaidan as he approached and knelt down. The man immediately looked down at his arm and lit his own omni-tool to scan it. "He's got puncture wounds here."

"They probably drugged him to get him to talk. Then, when they were done, they threw him to the rachni," said Shepard as she stood and looked through the barrier to see an open door. She activated her comm for the Normandy and spoke. "Pressly. We may have two escapees. Scan the surface of Binthu and see if you can spot them with a visual scan, then send the extraction team to get them."

"Affirmative, Shepard. Scanning now," replied the XO as she turned around and walked towards the door.

Cerberus Facility 7 - Nepheron

"We've lost all contact with the facilities on Binthu. We don't know if there's some kind of solar storm interfering with their communications, or if they've been attacked by the Alliance. But either way, I don't like it," said the woman as she stood at rest in front of the man.

He grumbled to himself as he looked at her. "I don't like your bad feelings. They always get us into trouble," he said before finally standing to his feet. "If we assume they were attacked, how?"

The dark-haired woman nodded. "As far as I can tell from the recent reports, they had a run in with an Alliance admiral. This may be a long shot, but he had connections to Jane Shepard, the first human Spectre."

Scratching his beard, the uniformed man contemplated the scenario. "You think this Spectre is capable of taking out three Cerberus bases?"

She stayed silent for a moment, before nodding. "Most of her activities are hard to get ahold of, but I did manage to pull enough files to know that she is capable of. And I wouldn't bet against her to somehow find them and infiltrate. She is one of the Alliance's best, and there was a reason why she was made a Spectre."

The man nodded briefly before his intercom lit up. "Lieutenant! We just got word from Station 1 that the relay lit! We tried to scan the system for ships, but we got nothing!"

The man's eyes widened as he turned to the operative in front of him. "Damn that stealth drive…" he growled as she slammed his hands on his desk. "Lawson, take the backups and get them to the boss."

Her eyes widened at the order. "You want me to leave you here to fight her alone!?"

"We don't have a choice!" he shouted as he glared at her. "If she's in the system, we don't have time to evacuate. But we can hold her off while you get out! Take one of the stealth shuttles and get all our data to the boss. At least if this place burns, he can still use what we've gathered."

"But…" she started, but he pointed at her fiercely.

"That's an order. Get the backups, and get the hell out of here," he said before he pulled up his omni-tool. "All stations, we have a code 42! Potential Spectre in the system. Make sure if they try to get inside, they run into a meat grinder!" he said as he finally left the room.

The operative sighed to herself as she turned and did as she was ordered.

CIC - SSV Normandy SR1

"Dammit! One of the bastards got away!" shouted Pressly as he slammed his fist against the console.

"Couldn't you have destroyed it?" asked Shepard as she looked at him from the dais above.

"Unfortunately, as soon as it left the base, it went dark. Looks like it was another of those damn stealth shuttles!" he said with a sigh.

"It's fine Pressly. Even if a few get away, we'll eventually track them down and put an end to their sick game," she said as her eyes narrowed into a glare at the facility. "According to the prisoner, this was the only place connected to their facilities. He knows that there are more wings of the group itself, but they were compartmentalized specifically to keep us from finding out where the rest of them are."

"So, even taking down this place won't completely destroy them…" said Kaidan from one of the terminals below.

"It'll still give them a limp. Kahoku deserves at least that much," growled Ash from the other side of the CIC.

"Agreed. Let's show them what happens when they fuck with Council species," said Shepard as she nodded to Ashley and Kaidan, then turned and headed for the cargo bay.

Surface of Nepheron

As the mako landed, the wheels immediately began to spin. "Expect opposition outside. This base is less secretive than the others and will likely have defenses," ordered Shepard as she gunned the mako in the direction of the facility.

It took minutes of driving before they finally made it to the outside, and true to Shepard's words, rockets began firing as soon as they were in sight. She swerved the tank, barely dodging them as they flew in and exploded behind her. Ash took the turret and spun it, zeroing in on the turrets before pulling the trigger. The launchers blew into scraps and scattered across the landscape as she turned the auto guns on the armored men outside. Despite their shields and armor, they couldn't stand up to the power of the tank's weapons and fell quickly as the rounds ripped through their cover and armor.

After cleaning up the outside, Shepard tapped Ash's knee, then pointed towards the door before she popped the hatch and jumped outside. Wrex and Kaidan followed as the gunnery chief took aim and blasted the door off the slide. It appeared they tried to use the same tactics as before, considering the explosions that detonated as the door detached. Finally, after sending a quick rain of fire into the doorway, Williams released the weapon and hopped out to follow the spectre.

Cerberus Facility 7 - Nepheron

"What the fuck is going on!?" asked one of the soldiers as he held his back to the barricade.

"Shut the fuck up! We've got a Spectre incoming, moron! Keep your weapon aimed at the door," ordered his partner as he peeked out from the cover. Suddenly, an explosion tore the door open and sent the other man sprawling. Unable to wipe the sweat off his face, the trooper stood from the cover and aimed at the doorway, waiting for something, anything to happen so he could pull the trigger.

But his eyes widened when he saw another Cerberus soldier further up stumble backward with blood flowing from the throat area of his armor. Suddenly, a krogan appeared out of nowhere and blasted through the face shield of one of the others before turning and looking at him. Ducking down again, he dropped his weapon and folded his hands together. "Please... God... please don't let me die, please don't let me die," he whispered to himself as he squeezed his eyes shut.

Whatever their plan had been, it hadn't accounted for Shepard's cloaking. She managed to move inside and scan the entire area, marking all the critical targets holding high explosive weapons. Then, she created the distraction her team needed by burying her turian blade in their throats and ripping it clean.

The entire floor of soldiers was so stunned by the random act that Wrex managed to cannonball inside and smash through the remainder of the heavy weapons team. Whoever these Cerberus agents were, they were woefully unprepared for a skilled strike team to storm the building. As Ash and Kaidan moved in and started cleaning up the rest, Shepard immediately made her way through the building, disabling electronic explosives on the way and taking out stationed guards that were preparing for combat.

Down the hall, two of them sat with sniper weapons with a perfect chokepoint to take out quite a number of her team if she allowed it. But she raised her omni-tool, causing their heat sinks to eject from the weapons. As the pair scrambled to grab them, she made her way down the hall with her cloaking making them none-the wiser, then adjusted the explosive power of her grenades on her omni-tool before placing one directly behind them on the wall. Moving forward, she entered the door next to her, then set off the explosive. If they were still alive, they would now be easy targets for her team.

Looking around, she found herself in an office with a man sitting at a desk, a pistol in his hand as he stared directly where she was standing. "I know you're there, Shepard. I've seen reports on your skills, so you can stop toying with me," he growled.

Aiming her pistol, she shot the gun clean from his hand before stepping up to the desk and lowering her cloaking. "I hope you don't find me too disappointing," she said as she sat in the chair directly across from his desk with her gun aimed directly at him. "Most of those stories are glamorized to make the Alliance look better."

The man rubbed his hand, the pain from his weapon being jerked violently from it causing some soreness. He stared at her with his brows furrowed and his mouth locked in a frown. "Care to tell me why the hell you're doing this?"

"Come now, you're not that stupid," she said as she leaned forward slightly in the chair. "You kidnap an Alliance admiral and use him for live experimentation, and you think I'm just going to sit back and ignore you?"

"Everything we do, we do for the advancements of humans in the galaxy. You have to see how that can be useful," he said firmly. But he howled in pain when she smashed her fist down onto his hand, crushing it into the desk.

"Killing humans for getting too close to your terrorist organization is not working for humanity, you slimy, spineless, toad!" she shouted as she released his hand. "If you want to work for humanity, you do it the right way, or not at all!"

Suddenly, the man started laughing to himself. "What did I expect from a squid lover like you?" he asked angrily as he looked up at her. "Goodbye Shepard. Alpha Epsi-" suddenly, his body began convulsing as she held up her omni-tool.

"I don't think so, lackey. You're not getting off that easily," she snapped as she grabbed his head and slammed it into the desk before disabling and nuking his omni-tool. The hard light interface popped up before slowly vanishing into nothing. She held him face first into the desk until Ash and Kaidan made their way into the office as well. "Status?"

"Facility cleared, Commander. They didn't have much security on this place," replied Kaidan as he stood straight and looked down at the groaning man with his head being forced against the desk.

"Well, I think I've got the head of this branch at least," she said as she cuffed his arms behind his back, then threw him towards Williams. "Put him in a separate cell. I don't want him scheming until we can get him back to Alliance space."

Comm Room - SSV Normandy SR1

"You must be joking…" said the turian councilor as a stunned look masked his face.

Shepard eyed the man, her expression unamused. "Councilor, do I look like the kind of person who'd make this up?" she asked firmly before turning to an almost giddy Valern. "The queen's body and a few living workers are still in Facility 1. I left a small detachment of my squad to protect them until the authorities show up to collect them."

"And whose authorities did you call?" asked Sparatus, his voice betraying his annoyance once again.

"I've got a Citadel xenobiology team coming to collect the rachni queen and the workers. The rest of the issues with this rogue wing of the Alliance will be investigated by the Alliance." She stared at him firmly as she answered.

"Of course. Don't want the Council looking too closely at this, do you Shepard?" asked Sparatus in an aggravated tone.

"Councilor, months ago a human colony was attacked in the Traverse, and you didn't want anything to do with it. No investigation, no reinforcements, no nothing. Just some backhanded message about how humans should be more careful. And now with this investigation happening in the Traverse as well, you suddenly want to send Citadel authority in to investigate," she snapped at him, her eyes narrowing at the turian. "If I were you, I'd try to make my hypocrisy less noticeable."

He growled at her, but Tevos's arm cut him off as she placed her palm on his chest. "The Spectre is right. Aside from the rachni presence, this Cerberus sect doesn't have much to do with Citadel authority. It's firmly out of our jurisdiction," she said, getting an annoyed look from the turian as well. Turning back to Shepard, she nodded her head. "We appreciate the honesty, Jane. You've placed great trust in us by informing us of this rogue Cerberus group."

Shepard nodded. "The Alliance doesn't really have anything to hide in regard to these people. They are a threat to everyone, including humans. The Admiral's body should be plenty proof of that," she said as she lowered her head. "The Alliance will investigate and keep me informed, and if there's anything that you, C-Sec authority, or the Citadel Fleet need to know, I'll tell you. If I find out that Cerberus is working outside of strictly Alliance territory, then you will know. Of that I can assure you," she said firmly as she looked back up at the councilors.

Snorting, Sparatus finally folded his arms behind his back. "As long as you keep that promise, Shepard, we will have no issues."

"Then don't worry Councilor. I'm not one to break my word," she said as she looked at the others. "Anything else you need from me?"

"It is a shame we couldn't bring in the queen alive, but at least we have living specimens of the workers. Being able to study a species believed to be extinct for two thousand years is thrilling," he said, unable to hide the giddy excitement in his voice. "But do we have any clues as to how Cerberus got ahold of these specimens? The rachni were believed to be dead for millennia. How did this rogue human group suddenly happen upon them?"

"I'm not sure, Councilor. Most of their databanks were wiped as soon as they noticed someone jump into the system. So, any records they had, if they even kept them on where the rachni came from are long gone. But I will have a team…" she said, eyeing the turian, "Of specialists from the Citadel investigating the ones we found. Perhaps they can tell us a place of origin."

"Understood, Shepard. We appreciate your cooperation in this matter," responded Sparatus, who got a smile from Tevos.

The asari finally spoke up as she looked back to Shepard. "With that, we will leave you, Spectre. Feel free to contact us if you need anything else," she said, getting a nod from the woman before the lights on the QEC blipped out of existence.

Turning away from the comm room, she ignored everyone in her path, then made her way directly back to her room. Once there, she sat on her bed and held her head as she sighed. While she hadn't repressed those memories, they were stuffed nicely off to the side and out of the way, easy to forget for her as she threw herself into work. In fact, that's why she was so good at what she did, to avoid having spare time to think about such things. But, having to live them again, it made her angry. It made her vulnerable. It made her body fill with so much adrenaline that she rose to her feet, lifted her arms and smashed the desk holding her spectre terminal into pieces.

Breathing heavily, with tears streaming down her face, she stared at the cuts that the smash left on her arms. Blood trickled down her arms as she felt them shaking. Shaking from reliving the assault, from watching her charge get her throat cut right in front of her, from the feel of live electricity flowing through her as she was tortured near to death. She felt her breathing hasten, her chest rapidly rising and falling as her eyes began to fill with red.

CIC – SSV Normandy SR1

She had seen her walking. Once she had left the comm room, presumably after the Council debriefing, Liara watched as Shepard made her way towards the stairs that lead down to the crew deck. She saw her expression, that look of an iron, indestructible mask that she wore when she felt she was too emotional. It was then that the asari knew what was on her mind.

Leaving her work at her station near the CIC, she quickly followed the woman down the stairs and across the mess hall. Two people greeted Shepard as she moved, but their faces fell as she ignored them and continued her march. She continued through the mess hall and exited into the crew quarters, then made it to her room. Liara slowed as she saw the door to the captain's quarters slide shut behind Shepard.

It was so confusing. She had barely known the spectre to asari standards. Some asari didn't consider themselves known by others until they had put at least a half a century into the friendship. But somehow, just being around Shepard right now, she knew what she was feeling. She knew she was hurting; she was crying inside. Perhaps it was some lingering effect of the rachni queen linking their minds. But she felt Shepard's pain, and it made her slump down next to the door as she heard the crash of something being destroyed inside.

She had studied up on humans and knew much about their strict rules on privacy. Perhaps Shepard was the same, or perhaps she would have appreciated her entering and consoling her. But even if it would make her feel better, the asari refused to overstep her bounds. Instead, she simply sat next to the door, listening to the guttural, frustrated cries. Reaching up, she wiped away the unstoppable tears pouring forth through her eyes, hoping that feeling this pain somehow lessened Shepard's own burden.

Citadel Security Headquarters - Presidium - Citadel

Shepard landed at the Citadel docking space for the Normandy and told her crew they were free for the day. After donning her civilian clothes, she headed to the latrine to make sure she was in order again. She spent the last three days in therapy with both Liara and Doctor Chakwas to make sure reliving her most traumatic experiences hadn't broken something loose inside her.

She felt fine by all measures. Or she didn't feel any different. But when it came to human psychology, there was a lot of guesswork involved. Still, she couldn't put off her work forever. So, she stepped off the ship after the decontamination process and made her way down the elevator with Liara at her side.

Unfortunately, it appeared that her mood wasn't meant to be brightened. As soon as she stepped off the elevator, a C-Sec officer held up his hand to keep her from going any further. Though, by the look on his face, he was very concerned about trying to stop her. "I... I'm sorry Spectre, but you'll have to wait here a moment. We have a situation in the requisitions room, and we aren't allowing anyone in or out of the building."

"What's the issue?" she asked, already tired and annoyed.

"There's a girl loose with a gun. I'm not entirely sure of the details, but I've been told to hold anyone from moving until the situation has been resolved," he replied with a nod.

She snorted and placed her hands on her hips. "Where is your superior?"

The man went slightly wide-eyed at the question. "He... uhh... he's at the entrance to the requisitions office. He's trying to resolve the situation."

"Then maybe I can help. I'm going to see him," she said as she walked pasted him.

As she did, he reached out, but didn't touch her. "But... you can't... awww dammit…" he growled to himself as the asari followed her.

When she finally found the man, he glared at her. "What the hell... oh!" he snapped as he finally recognized her. His body went stiff, and he went to salute, but she stopped him.

"Don't bother with formalities, just tell me what's going on?" she ordered impatiently.

"Right, sorry Spectre, I didn't recognize you," he said in his thick French accent. "My name is Lieutenant Girard. We have a situation happening in the requisitions-"

"Tell me what the situation is, Lieutenant," she snapped as her eyes narrowed.

"Right. Um, there's a girl down there. She was a victim of batarian slavers, apparently one of the ones taken from Mindoir. Somehow, she got free and stole a ship, then brought it here to Citadel Space where the fleet picked her up. Once they dropped her off though, C-Sec tried to bring her down to see a medical professional, and she grabbed one of their guns and ran into the room," he said, scratching his head in thought.

"Why?" asked Shepard as she tilted her head curiously.

"She... she says she wants to die. We think she wants us to kill her, maybe a suicide by C-Sec. But we can't get much out of her. The medical officer brought us a sedative to calm her down, but any time we try to get close, she gets more agitated. We don't want to hurt her, and we don't want her to hurt herself, but she's not leaving us many options," he responded with a sigh.

Shepard's eyes widened slightly as she processed the information. Liara placed a hand on her shoulder. "Jane... are you going to be alright?"

"I'll be fine," said the spectre as she shook her head. "I want to help."

"How? Have you ever done this kind of thing?" asked the lieutenant skeptically as he eyed her.

She glared at him. "I've had to negotiate my way through many hostage situations," she said as she swiped the sedative from the man's hand. "If you want this over with, then shut up and let me work." The man stared at her for a long moment before finally nodding. Turning, he led her down to the corner of the hallway that the girl had hidden herself in.

"We've got plenty of firepower to take her down. That's not what we're worried about. We don't want her to die," he said as he eyed her seriously.

"I understand. Just stay back and let me work, alright? If she aims her weapon at me, do not... I repeat, do not fire on her or you'll have hell to deal with when I get back," she said firmly, getting a nod from the man.

"Good luck, Jane," said Liara as the spectre stepped out into the hallway with her hands up.

Once she was sure that the girl saw her, she spoke up. "I'm going to start walking towards you now, alright?"

"No... don't. I don't want to have to hurt you," said the girl as she immediately aimed her pistol over the crate she was hiding behind.

"My name is Jane. What's yours?" asked Shepard as she took a step closer.

"A-Animals don't have names! The masters put their symbols on her... hot metal all over her back. She screams when they do it," said the girl, her frantic eyes now locked on Shepard.

Immediately, Shepard felt her heart break for the girl. All the suffering she had gone through, all the torture and homicide she had witnessed, she felt it was nothing compared to what this girl had been through. She wanted to help her more than anything now. "You're not an animal…" she said as her eyes started to water again. "What were you called before you were taken?"

The girl looked down at the ground, her eyes already tear-stained as Shepard took another step forward. "Her... her name is Talitha. She... remembers, that's what she was called before they took her," said the girl as she looked up again, her gun still trained on Shepard. "Please, just leave her alone!" said the girl as she almost sobbed.

"I just want to help you, Talitha," said Jane as she stepped forward again. "I know batarians. I know how they mark you, how they put devices in your heads. They want you to be nothing more than an animal. But you're already defying them, Talitha."

The girl, who Shepard could now see clearly enough to note her shaved head and the scars on her scalp, shook the gun at her. "How do you know, what do you know!?" she shouted desperately through gritted teeth.

Sighing, Shepard reached down and lifted her shirt. Talitha gasped as she saw the scarring, the marking of the batarians on her, as well as the burn scar on her stomach from the electrical shocks. "I wasn't on Mindoir, but I've been captured by the batarians before. I know how they work," she said as the girl's gun now dropped, aiming at the ground.

"So, you... you know. You know what they do…" said the girl as she reached up and scrubbed her eyes. "How do you sleep? How do you think? How do you do anything without seeing it over and over!?" she asked almost angrily.

Shepard took a step closer again, now only feet away from the girl. "I healed... mostly," she said, recalling the last couple of days of Liara soothing her into a peaceful sleep. "You can heal too, Talitha. But starting healing starts with a first step."

The girl looked at her, wide-eyed as if realizing how close she actually was for the first time. "W-What step?" she asked, her voice wavering as if she were about to break down.

"You are Talitha. You are not an animal. To break their chains on you, you need to get your identity back. That's the first step," said the woman as she finally released her shirt and lifted her hands again. "Who are you?"

The girl sighed and fell to her knees. "She is…"

"Who are you?" asked Shepard again, this time more firmly.

Gasping softly, the girl finally yelled out loud. "I am Talitha!" she shouted, getting a bright smile from Shepard.

"There you go. You are Talitha. You are nobody's pet; you are nobody's animal. You are you, and you are free," said Shepard as she grinned down at her.

Talitha looked down at her shaking hands, a smile now gracing her face as she began crying again. Shepard took another step, now standing over the girl with the gun. Looking up at the looming shadow of the redhead, the girl cringed slightly. "Please... please don't touch me…"

"I'm not going to touch you unless you want me to," said Shepard as she knelt to the girl's level, staring at her eye to eye now. "Talitha, I know you don't want this to be real. I know you want the pain to end. But…" she said with a huff as she looked at the ground. "That takes time. It won't be easy," she said as she looked up at the shaven girl. Talitha looked at her back, her eyes skeptical. "But you're a survivor. You've lived this long under such abuse, and you made it out. You don't have to do that anymore."

"She... I... I don't want to anymore. I don't want to go back to the masters. I don't want to serve anymore. I don't want hot irons, or needles, or wires, I don't want any of it anymore. I just... I just want to sleep. I want to go away, I don't want to think anymore, because thinking makes the masters come back in my head," said the girl desperately as she rocked back and forth.

"I know," said the spectre as she finally sat down and rested her arms on her legs. "So, think about something else. Think about the stars," said Shepard as she waved a hand over her head as if trying to summon them.

Smiling slightly, the girl nodded. "I... I like stars. I would always look at them through my window. They were so pretty, I wanted to see them up close."

"Maybe one day, when you're feeling better, I can take you to see them," said Shepard with a bright smile. Talitha nodded gently, her hands fidgeting nervously as if she had forgotten the gun was even there. "Now, you are tired?"

Nodding, Talitha looked at the ground again as she too took a cross-legged sitting position. "I... I want to sleep. But I always see things. I always see the masters…" she said, her eyes about to tear up again.

"How about I show you a way to stop those dreams?" asked Shepard as she held out her hand.

Talitha looked at her hand suspiciously before returning her gaze to Shepard's green eyes. "Y-You promise?"

"I promise. If you come with me, I will show you how to stop them," said the woman firmly. After a long moment, the girl reached over and took Shepard's hand. Shepard squeezed her hand gently before slowly standing up. "Come on, let's get out of here." Talitha stood up as well, leaving the gun behind as she was led, no doubt for the first time, by her hand rather than a chain. As they slowly made their way back towards the lieutenant, the man had a stupefied look in his face. Pointing to him, Shepard spoke in a no-nonsense tone. "You come with me. Tell the rest of your outfit here to find something else to do," she ordered as she continued to lead the girl on.

The Tranquil Garden - Presidium - Citadel

As soon as they entered the establishment, the hostess smiled at her and waved. "Welcome, Spectre!"

"Thanks," said Jane as she nodded to the "young" asari. Technically, she was centuries older than Shepard herself. But asari life cycles differed from humans quite a bit. Turning to Talitha, Shepard gripped her hands and stared at her gently. "Stay here with the lieutenant for a moment, alright?" she said, then looked up at him sharply. "Nobody is to touch her at all, do I make myself clear?"

"Perfectly, Spectre," said the man with a firm nod.

"Good. I'm going to be right over here talking to her, so you can still see me, alright?" said the redhead as she looked back down to the girl. Talitha nodded silently and began to fidget with her hands as Shepard released them. Turning around, the spectre waved the asari over out of earshot. Neylina followed her curiously.

"What can I help you with, Spectre?" she asked curiously.

"You saw the girl over there?" asked Jane, getting a nod from the asari. "She was a batarian slave until recently. Recently as in she just got off the shuttle that she stole from batarian space," she said, getting a wide-eyed look from the hostess. "She has bad PTSD, nightmares, paranoia, and probably a pretty bad case of Stockholm Syndrome."

"Stock... home?" asked the asari curiously.

Forgetting that the asari probably didn't know the common human term, she elaborated. "It's when someone believes that their abusers or captors are good, and they try to please them," she said, getting a knowing nod in return.

"Lethna Disorder, when hostages form alliances with their captors, often due to brainwashing," said Neylina knowingly.

"Yeah, anyway, she has trouble sleeping because of the nightmares. I was wondering how much I have to pay to get someone to take her nightmares away and give her dreams of stars," said the commander firmly.

Neylina reached up and stroked her crest gently. "I... I don't know. This is rather unorthodox. But I will see what I can do."

"I have an asari here who can instruct on the method if needed," said Jane as she looked over to Liara, who smiled at her.

"That shouldn't be necessary. We do have services like that. However, the dream sessions are typically scheduled months in advance. But I will have a word with Sha'ira and see what we can work out," said the asari as she curtsied and headed for the stairs in the back.

Shepard turned back towards the girl, and as soon as she was within range, Talitha grabbed her hand again and gripped it fiercely. "Don't worry, it shouldn't take but a few minutes to find out," said the spectre as she sighed. Knowing the consort's strict business demeanor, she wouldn't put it past her to ignore the plea. If nothing else, there were millions of asari on the Citadel who could probably help her for the right price. But she wanted the best for the girl. She deserved at least that.

After a few minutes, the lovely asari finally returned with a bright smile. "It appears Sha'ira respects the gravity of your request. She will see her immediately," said the asari as Shepard led the girl into a small, quiet room with a bed-like pod in the center of the room.

After Neylina left, Shepard turned to the shaking girl and gently stroked her hand. "Now, Talitha, I know this may make you nervous. But I promise you, they're only going to touch you with their fingers, alright?" she asked, getting a nervous stare from the girl.

"W-Will it hurt?" she asked as she nervously began to trace her thumb over the lines in Shepard's hand.

Smiling gently, the spectre shook her head. "No pain, only sleep, and only good dreams. Like this," she said as she slowly reached up and gently ran her fingers over the girl's forehead. Talitha gently closed her eyes, somewhat soothed by the touch. "Just like that. And when you wake up, the lieutenant here is going to take you to get something to eat. Alright?" she asked, getting a nervous nod as the girl looked over at the man who just scratched his head. "Good, now lay down and relax."

CODEX ENTRIES

Songs | Biology | Rachni
Unlike most intelligent races throughout the galaxy, the upper ranks of rachni have a rare ability to read the brainwaves of other beings. The few who have had the opportunity to explain the ability says that they appear as music, each wave giving off a faint sound and color. As such, these beings are typically able to discern exactly what someone else is thinking but may not be able to translate it well to others.

Strings | Culture | Rachni
Before the rachni wars, a common pastime of the rachni was music. Stringed instruments were a particular favorite. Due to the cultural parallel between thoughts and music being a foundation in rachni culture, it was common for rachni to refer to their brain or mind as the strings of an instrument that created music.

Near-Sighted | Derogatory Linguistics | Kar'Salk
In the languages of other species, this can commonly mean lacking the ability of foresight. But to batarians, whose culture evolved around their eyes, near-sightedness is an insult with a range from calling someone stupid, to outright calling them brain dead. It's one of the few insults that never made it into common slang, meaning that if you're called this by a batarian, they assuredly meant it as an insult.