20/7 2185

Normandy.

Help me Lord, for I do not know what to do.

How can one person dominate his mind like she did? How can his only thoughts be centered around her? God had been right. One person was really itching for his return. Only now, did he truly understand. It seemed surreal.

You are not worthy of her.

Remember what happened the last time?

And here they come again, the voices. They come and go, but they always leave an impact larger than he would like. He wondered what Tali felt, he wondered if she harbored any feelings for him. A lot of women in this galaxy did, but would she? How could he know God was right? For all he knew, it could have been a trick.

He didn't know, and he hated not knowing. What was he supposed to do? Would it even be worth it? Letting her down? He was the start, and he would be the end. It will always be like that. He was almost certain that his end would come with the final blow to the reapers. It seemed fitting.

He couldn't think like that, at least not now. He had to clear his head. Splashing some water into his face helped a bit. Drew him back to reality. After letting out a sigh, he decided to go some rounds, that would clear his head for sure. He quickly got out of his cabin and down to the CIC. The Normandy was as busy as it usually was during this time.

He walked into Mordin's lab, and was instantly greeting by Mordin. "Ah! Romanov, just who I was looking for. Mind If I take a blood sample?"

Mads could never understand how so many words could leave his mouth in such a short period of time. "What do you need a blood sample for?" Mads asked confused.

"Data. I have already asked and received from several crew members." Mordin replied, already having the needle ready in hand,

"... Fine." Mads accepted, offering his hand. Mordin quickly took the blood and thanked Mads for his help, before turning his attention back to his terminal.

It happened so fast, so Mads was greatly confused. He decided to just roll with it. He went out and down a level to speak with Garrus, who (Like always) was busy doing his calibration on the main cannon. How could he spend so much time with it? No one really knew. Probably a fetish, if Mads had to make a qualified guess.

"Hey Garrus." Mads greeted as he walked into the room.

"Hey Romanov. What are you up to?" Garrus asked as he didn't even turn his attention from the gun.

"Have Mordin asked you for a blood sample?" Mads asked back.

"... No." Garrus replied as he tried to remember if Mordin had asked him for one. "Why do you ask?"

"He just took a blood sample, out of nowhere. Said it was for some data... Not sure if he was telling the truth." Mads answered.

"You seem a little tense. You haven't been smashing your mirror again, have you?" Garrus joked, but Mads could make out some concern in his voice.

"Fuck you." Mads replied. Silence fell before them, before Mads spoke up again. The words sort of just fell out of his mouth.

"Do you think a Quarian and a Human can have a relationship?"

It took only a second for Garrus to understand the meaning. He busted out laughing at the question. So much so, that he was in danger of falling on the ground because of the hard laughing. Mads buried his head in his hands. Why did he have to let Garrus know about it first?

"Yeah, laugh it up." Mads remarked as Garrus' laughter slowly died down.

"I should have known." Garrus said as he wiped a tear from his eye. "You always liked her."

"What? That's not true!"

"Don't lie, Romanov. Since day 1, your eyes have been on her." Garrus teased.

"Doesn't matter, not like she would want someone like me." Mads replied as he shifted on his feet a bit.

"What makes you say that?" Garrus asked.

"Well. For starters, I'm older. I'm a Human. I got a low life expectancy and so on." Mads preached.

"Yeah, how old is she. 23?" Garrus asked.

"24." Mads corrected.

Garrus had a smug face, too smug for Mads' liking. "You really do care about her." Garrus stated.

Mads buried his head in his hands. "Yeah... I guess I do. I can't stop thinking about her. I need to stop." Mads replied.

"Why? You should speak with her."

"And let her know her commanding officer thinks about her? That's unprofessional. In every way." Mads remarked.

"What do you stand to lose? Either she likes you back, or she don't. But, from what I can read, she does hold interest in you." Garrus said.

"Yeah? What makes you certain?"

"Look, I'm not an expert on Quarians. But her body language tells more than she lets on. Try to study it, and you will see the same thing." Garrus explained.

Mads remained quiet for a little while. "Maybe I'll talk to her." He said.

"That's great! Now, if you will excuse me for a moment, I need to calibrate this gun."

"Of course. I should have known." Mads joked as he went out.

"What does that mean?!" Garrus yelled after him.

Normandy, Engineering department

Tali was standing at her station in the Engineering department. Doing her usual work that was way beneath her skill level. She had been surprised at just how friendly her co-workers had been to her. She had expected racism on a higher level from a Cerberus vessel. But not here. Because of her quick work, she had a lot of time to think. There were mostly only two things on her mind, the captain or the migrant fleet. And these past weeks, the Captain had taken up more of her daily day dreaming than she would like to admit.

She had wished for an audience with him. While she spoke with him pretty much every day, she wanted to speak with him in private. But, there was only one problem. Her self-doubt. It was like a stab in the back. Every day, when the Captain would come, she would be unable to say anything even remotely connected to her feelings. Her brain was a trench war between her feelings and self-doubt.

He doesn't care about you! You are just a tool to him

That's not true! He does care about me!

He deserves better than you! He deserves better than a Suit-rat!

She didn't have a mental response to that, and her eyes began to water at the thought. Who was she kidding? Of course he didn't want her. He could pick any woman in this galaxy he wanted. Tali wanted to rid herself of her own feelings, but it proved impossible.

Then, she heard the one thing she didn't want to hear right in that moment. The sound of hobnails against the metal floor, signaling the coming of the captain. She stood at her station, and awaited the usual tap on her shoulder he would always do. In was in moments like these, that she was glad she had the helmet. This way, he couldn't see the tears rolling down her cheek.

"Tali?" She heard his voice. She took a moment to turn around, he already stood in armor. One thing was off, on his left gloved hand there was something tied around it.

"Hey Captain. What's that?" She asked as she pointed to his left hand.

"Oh this?" Mads said as he raised his left hand. "This is a Rosary. Meant for a special kind of prayer. Each knots or beads used to count the component prayers. Figured it would be good to have with me." Mads explained with a smile.

"That's pretty cool." She stated as she studied it. Her hand found its way to her necklace.

"Yeah. Can I speak with you for a moment?... in private." Mads requested.

"Uhhh... Yeah sure." Tali was curious at what he wanted to discuss. They walked to the drive core. Mads cleared his throat when he was certain that they out of ear drop from the other crew members.

"So... erh..." Whatever words he wanted to say died down in his throat. Tali eyed him with curiosity as he tried to find the right words.

What was wrong with him? Words usually didn't die down in his throat. Was he... Nervous? It couldn't be. He had faced down terrorists and rouge spectres alike, yet this was too much? How could this be? How was Tali able to do this to him?

So, what did he do? He changed the subject to something else; something he in reality didn't come down to talk about. "Are you interested in accompanying me to Illum?"

Tali took a second to respond. "Sure, I would love to."

"Thanks. It will be just like old times." Mads promised. She smiled under her visor. "I'll see you later." Mads said as he went out. Tali wondered if this would be a good time to tell him his feelings. And, for a moment, her doubt wasn't there. She was free of her chains for just a moment. "Romanov?"

She launched forward as soon as he turned around and held him in a tight hug. The action took him by surprise, but he welcomed it. They held each other for a little while. Then, her self-doubt came back, and it came back fast. She pulled away, she was unable to even look him in the eye.

"Tali, are you okay?" Mads asked concerned. Her gesture had taken him by surprise. Garrus was right, there was something. At least, Mads would think as much.

"I'm fine. I'll see you later?" Tali dismissed.

Mads decided to not push it further right now. There was a time and a place for everything, but this wasn't the time. "Right, catch you later." Mads bid farewell as he left. She had given him food for thought.

Later that night

Illum

They had arrived in the evening. It was already dark outside. Garrus and Tali were with Mads as he walked out of the Normandy and unto the Asari colony. They were jumped by an Asari, who seemed to have been waiting for them.

"Hello! And welcome to Illum!" The Asari greeted.

"Good evening." Mads greeted back.

"I take it you are Captain Romanov?" She asked.

"The one and only." Mads replied.

"I'm here under the request of Liara T'Soni. She wishes to speak with you. I should also let you know, that the parking fee for the ship has been paid by Dr. T'Soni." She explained.

She left, leaving Mads in a confused state. So many questions. What was Liara doing here? How did she have the money for all these things? Best thing to do, was to get the answers from Liara herself.

It was a short walk. The colony was clean, but there was still something shady about it. He knew this was Noveria 2.0. Business was king here. Everything was about money. "Okay, listen to me." Mads said to get Garrus' and Tali's attention. They both gave him their undying attention.

"Don't sign anything, don't agree to anything. Garrus, I don't care how low the interest rate is, don't take it. Tali, I don't care how sweet the promises are, you don't listen. Am I clear?" Mads asked, awaited an answer.

They were taken back at his choice of words. But they both knew, that he was the expert in commercial dealings. So they both nodded.

"Good. Now, let's go see Liara." Mads ordered. They both followed closely behind. They walked up to the office that was marked L. T'Soni. The secretary quickly let them in under orders from Liara. The office wasn't large, but it was well decorated.

Liara's eyes lit up when they saw the trio entering. They all took a seat in front of Liara. She smiled at them. "It's good to see you again." She started.

"And it's good to see you as well, Liara. I see you have done well for yourself." Mads remarked as he looked around the room.

"Yeah, well... I had to pay the bills somehow." She replied.

"I see that. And I'm happy you decided to pay the parking fee, but we could have as easily have done it ourselves." Mads said.

"I know that. Cerberus does have huge financial support." Liara remarked. Mads shifted a bit in his seat. How did she know? Then it dawned on him, she was an information broker. Of course she knew things like that.

"Not my proudest moment." Mads commented.

"We all have to do what needs to be done, Captain. I'm no different. Is there any way I can help you?" Liara asked. There was something about Liara that seemed... Different. Her tone, it was much more cold than before. Mads tilted his head to the side as he studied her for a moment. He would dig a bit after he got the information,

"Thane Krios." Mads requested. He knew that was all she needed to hear to give some information.

"Ah, the assassin. Heard he was taking on a new mission. He arrived just a few days ago. I believe he was planning on taking on Nassana Dantius."

Mads chuckled. "Nassana Dantius?" Mads asked. That bitch. Of course she was going down.

"Yes. You should be able to find someone able to take you to her down by the Cargo transfer office. Her name is Seryna." Liara advised.

"Thank you. You wouldn't happen to know anything about the Justicar named Samara, would you?" Mads asked further.

"Ah yes. The presence of a Justicar is highly unusual here on Illum. She is taking on a mission. Speak with Tracking Officer Dara down by the transportation hub." Liara informed.

"Great." Mads thanked. "Tali, Garrus. Would you mind to wait outside a bit? I would like to speak with Liara in private." Mads requested. They both nodded and went outside. When the door closed, Mads turned to Liara.

"What's going on?" He asked harshly.

"What do you mean?" Liara asked back.

"Everything about you is different. You are... I don't know... More cold?" Mads suggested.

"A lot changed after your death. I had things to do."

"Like flying to Illum to become an information broker? Seems like an odd thing you had to do."

"You don't understand. You can't. There was things I to do. Now, there are debts that need to be paid."

"That the hell have you done?" Mads asked in an even harder tone.

"You won't understand."

"You don't trust me?"

"That's not the issue. This is Illum, there are eyes and ears everywhere."

"You are not the same person I meet on Therum. What happened to you?"

"I became more like you."

"MORE LIKE ME? Is that what you want?"

"I spent so much time with you! How can I not become like you?"

"Do as I say Liara. Not as I do."

"You are a hypocrite, Romanov. You want to help? You can hack these stations."

"Oh, you want me to hack terminals? Is that what I am now, a hacker?"

"I won't discuss this any further. I believe Garrus and Tali are waiting for you."

"We'll have this discussion in full length sooner or later, Liara." Mads finished as he stood up from his chair went towards the door. Garrus and Tali were waiting patiently outside the office.

"Did it go well?" Tali asked, but she grew concerned when she saw the hurt in Mads' eyes. "No." Was the simple answer she got. She knew she couldn't dig anymore information out of him for the time being.

"Let's go recruit this assassin then." Mads ordered, they both followed him.

Illum had massive buildings, and this one was no exception. Thane was already there, probably close to his target. Mads needed to move quickly, which meant he couldn't go the stealthy route. Not that he ever was one for stealth. Nassana had employed mechs and mercs alike. Seryna had been kind enough to fly them there, even filling them in on things they didn't already know.

As Mads, Tali and Garrus kept getting further and further up the building, they kept running into different kind of workers trapped inside rooms. They all claimed a man from the shadows had saved them. It was a tough fight all the way up.

Mads saw the merc standing by the window, probably talking to some of his friends. Mads unholstered his 44. Magnum and brought it up to the man's skull.

"Oh shit." The merc remarked as he felt the gun barrel.

"I'll make this simple. Where is the assassin?" Mads requested in a rather calm voice.

"Why the hell are you after him?" The Merc asked.

"I don't really think you are in a position to ask question." Mads replied coldly. He pulled the hammer back to let the Merc know he was serious.

"Even if I knew where he was, I wouldn't tell you." the Merc stated with the same level of coldness.

Mads drew his Magnum back. "So be it." Before kicking the man so hard, he broke the window and fell all the way down to his death.

Why did Mercs always have to believe they have the upper hand? Bunch of dumbasses. Doesn't matter, what mattered was getting to Thane in time. He didn't seem like the time to stick around too long after killing someone.

After a fight over a bridge, they finally came to her office. Where she had locked herself in with about as much security as she could. Tali hacked the door open quickly and the trio went inside. Thane hadn't claimed his victim yet. So all they had to do was wait.

"Captain Romanov. Back from the dead to kill me?" Nassana asked.

"If I wanted you dead, I would have done it already. Not that you don't deserve it." Mads replied as he got closer.

"Then why are you here? Just to look on?"

"I'm here for the man who really wants to kill you."

"What do you mean?"

"You'll see soon enough."

And true to his word. The vent broke and (Who Mads believed to be Thane) jumped down. His movements were quick and well planned. His hands hit right where they were supposed to hit. His victims never stood a chance. And before Mads knew it, they were all dead. Nassana was shot as well. She died in the arms of Thane.

Then, Thane began to pray. Mads moved closer. Before Mads could even say anything, Thane spoke up. "A Rosary…. Interesting."

"Thane Krios?" Mads asked. He was pretty sure it was him. Not many dwell around these days.

"Yes. I must admit captain. I admire your handy work, even if it less than practical."

"Is that so?"

"Indeed. I prefer my kills to be quiet. I see you believe the opposite."

"I needed to get to you quickly."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. I need your help."

"Interesting. I'm listening."

"I'm taking on the collectors. They are taking entire human colonies. I need to find out why and put a stop to it."

"A noble course." Thane remarked as he thought about it for a moment. "I will join you. Free of charge."

"Really? Interesting." Mads replied as he shook hands with Thane.

"Yes. I will join you on your vessel. We can talk further there." Thane said. Mads nodded.