A/N: Hey everyone. It's been awhile since I've written an author's note for a new chapter but this is a special occasion. That's right, it is N7 Day! The day that every Mass Effect fan looks forward to...or at least they used to. Reading some news articles today has made me a little depressed. The worst was where one author said N7 feels like celebrating a dead friend's birthday. Though Mass Effect director Casey Hudson has teased some possible directions the series could take on twitter, it does feel like people have given up on the Mass Effect series.

In spite of that, I personally will never give up. Even if a new entry is never released, my passion for the series will never die. That is why today I proudly sported my N7 jacket, listened to the soundtracks and now, as I my N7 gift to all of you, I present the latest chapter in my ongoing story "Mass Effect: 187". I hope those of you who read this chapter and have been reading this story share that same passion. It's up to all of us N7's to ensure that nobody forgets this legendary feat of storytelling and characterization.

As for this story itself, I know I've been getting worse at updating it but I want to reaffirm to you all that I have every intention of finishing this story. In fact, I'm making it my goal to finish this story by N7 Day next year. An added bonus will be if I manage to also write the one-shot I've been putting off before then. But enough talk, let's get on with the story. Happy N7 Day everyone! (salute)

Both Shepard and Garrus had not eaten anything since breakfast and were feeling hungry. Their first thought was to give Starfire a try but there was still a long line for a table. Wanting to get back home to their wives as soon as possible, they instead went to a nearby fast food place. They got their food via the drive-thru and ate in their skycar after they found a parking spot. While they ate, they brainstormed about their approach for the interview with Jacobson the next day. They finished brainstorming just as they finished eating. Before they could pull out of their parking spot to head back to C-SEC, a transmission from C-SEC dispatch came in on their radio.

"Any available unit," the dispatcher said, "officer requesting assistance. Disturbed individual with a gun at docking bay D17. Any available unit please respond."

Shepard and Garrus nervously looked at each other. Technically their shift was over and they both wanted to head home to rest. However they weren't officially off-duty yet and could still respond to calls if they chose. The call did sound serious but it wasn't like there weren't other officers out there who could help. While all those thoughts entered Shepard and Garrus' mind, they were only there for a brief second. Because who were they kidding? There was no way they were not going to answer the call. There were a lot of people that passed through the docking bays. If the disturbed individual with a gun walking among them were to snap, a lot of people could get hurt…or worse. Their minds made up, Garrus picked up the radio's transmitter.

"This is Detective Vakarain," he said, "show Detective Shepard and myself on route to the officers needing assistance."

"Copy Detective Vakarian," replied the dispatcher, "Patching you through to the ranking officer on scene. He'll give you the brief. Detective Vakarain, you're on with Lieutenant Girard."

"Lieutenant, what can you tell my partner and I about the situation?"

"It's bad Detective," said the voice of Lieutenant Girard, "there is a woman here. She was rescued from batarian slavers a few weeks ago. She's from Mindoir. I guess she was taken in the raid."

The last statement caused Shepard to tense up. There wasn't a human in the galaxy who didn't know about the raid that happened on the farming colony of Mindoir. In 2170, the colony was raided by batarian slavers. They slaughtered most of the colonists upon arriving. As it turned out, the colonists who died were the lucky ones. The colonists who were still alive were enslaved by the batarians and subjected to horrific cranial implants that allowed to batarians to control them. The Alliance military dispatched troops to save the colonists and drive the batarians out. Sadly the rescue efforts were in vain as the soldiers were pinned down by the batarians and could do nothing but watch as the colonists were taken away. When Shepard joined the military two years later, he met some of the soldiers who were there and he saw the guilt they were all feeling for not being able to save the colonists. He also saw the strong hatred they were feeling toward batarians. The attack on Mindoir marked the beginning of the hostile relationship between humans and batarains.

Since the end of the Reaper War, humans and batarains had a more diplomatic relationship and the batarians abandoned their culture's long ingrained practice of slavery. There were still some batarians among the pirate gangs who were slavers but at least they were no longer supported by the batarian government. As for how the events on Mindoir were resolved, the last Shepard heard was that the majority of the captives had been rescued. After a period of time where none of the remaining abducted colonists were found, the Alliance declared them missing, presumed dead. If what Lieutenant Girard said was true, one of them may have finally been found. Sadly that meant one other thing.

Shepard took the radio from Garrus, "Lieutenant Girard, this is Detective Shepard. Are you saying this woman's been a slave for the last nineteen years?"

"I'm afraid so." Girard replied. "suffice it to say the years in captivity have taken a toll on her. She's a little…messed up. We were transporting her to a counseling center when she got free somehow. She grabbed a gun from one of my guys and now she's hold up here in the docking bay. She…she says she wants to die."

Girard's last statement solved one of the concerns Shepard and Garrus had when they first heard the call. The woman was sounding less like someone who was about to commit a mass shooting. As long as Girard and his men kept any civilians from getting near her, they would be fine. However what the situation was now sounding like was someone who was ready to commit suicide. A person with a renegade nature would say the easy answer to the situation was to let the woman kill herself as anyone who tried to stop her might end up getting killed. But Shepard and Garrus were not renegades.

"We're on our way Lieutenant," said Garrus, "sit tight."

"Thank you detectives," replied Girard "Anything you two can do will be great. I don't want to…this woman's been through enough. I'll have my men stand by for you."

After hanging up the call, Garrus activated the skycar's sirens and drove it out of the parking space. With the sirens clearing the way for them, Shepard and Garrus would have no trouble getting to the docking bay quickly. On the way they thought about what awaited them. A severally traumatized and mentally broken down woman was contemplating suicide and it was going to be up to them to find some way to keep her from doing it.

Shepard and Garrus arrived at the docking bay to find the entrance swarming with C-SEC skycars and a couple of skycars from news stations. Bystanders were gathered around the barricade trying to get a look at what was happening. Not that there was a lot to see as the door to the docking bay was closed. Thanks to the officers on the scene moving the crowds aside to make a path, Garrus was able to drive the skycar close to the entrance. Thus they didn't have to get out of the skycar and walkthrough the crowds and possibly be stopped by reporters. As they exited the skycar, they each put on bulletproof vests. It was best not to take chances when dealing with an unstable woman with a gun. They had just finished strapping their vests on when they were greeted by Lieutenant Girard. To their surprise, he didn't seem too relieved to see them. Most cops would be happy to see the reinforcements they asked for arrive but with Girard it was almost like he was struggling just to give them a polite greeting.

"Detectives," he said, "glad to meet you both."

"Wish it were under better circumstances sir," Garrus said while he and Shepard shook hands with Girard, "is she inside?"

"Yes, she's behind some shipping containers. I've got a sniper positioned, but I don't think we'll need him. She's only a danger to herself. We've been trying to give her a sedative to calm her down, but we can't get close to her. Every step we take gets her more wound up."

Garrus nodded, "okay, how can we help?"

Girard sighed, "honestly detectives, I don't know if you can help. While you were on route, I looked you two up. I wanted to know who exactly was coming to help. Now that I know who you two are, I'm a little confused. No offense, but this isn't a murder scene so why would two homicide detectives be the ones who answered my call for help."

"No offense taken sir," Garrus said, "I can understand your confusion. Rest assured we're not here as homicide detectives. We're here as fellow officers who want to help. As for how we can help, both Detective Shepard and I have negotiating experience so maybe we can talk to her and convince her to take the sedative.

A look of guilt appeared on Girard's face, "okay, you're right Detective. I'm sorry for doubting you two. It's just…it's been tough. I want this end peacefully but I'm running out of ways to make that happen."

Girard glanced towards the loading bay door with a look of concern. It did not go unnoticed by Shepard.

"You seem awfully worried about her sir," he said.

Shepard's statement snapped Girard out of his thoughts, "I…I'm just doing my job, Detective Shepard. Anyway, if you two think you can talk her down, be my guest. Here's the sedative. Just don't push her too hard. If she seems liable to pull the trigger, back off. Or walk away. I'm willing to wait her out. Good luck, Detectives."

After taking the sedative, Shepard and Garrus left Girard to plan their strategy.

"It will be risky but I think only one of us should go in," said Garrus, "two strangers approaching her might set her off. The other person could take over for Girard's sniper and be a failsafe in case things go south."

"Sounds like a plan," Shepard replied, "give me the sedative. I'll go in."

Shepard's volunteering surprised Garrus, "are you sure you can handle it? You're still a little green."

Shepard gave Garrus an "are you serious" look, "I may be green as a C-SEC officer Garrus but this won't my first time trying to talk someone down. You should know that better than anyone."

The last statement caused Garrus to flinch. Shepard was referring to the personal mission he had helped Garrus with during their mission against the collectors. Garrus had wanted Shepard to help him locate and kill the man who had betrayed him on Omega and caused the deaths of his entire squad. They traced him to the Citadel and Garrus got into a sniping position and instructed Shepard to lure the target into his line of sight. Garrus' plan was working perfectly until Shepard intentionally stepped between Garrus and the target. In spite of Garrus ordering him to step aside, Shepard stood his ground. It took some careful talking with Garrus and the target but Shepard managed to talk Garrus out of carrying out his plan for vengeance. Garrus nodded to Shepard to indicate he understood and handed Shepard the sedative. He wished Shepard luck before heading off to relieve Girard's sniper. Once Garrus was gone, Shepard turned and walked towards the docking bay doors.

Garrus had to get in his skycar to head to the sniper position as it was located at the top of a tower on the opposite side of the loading bay. Fortunately C-SEC had blocked off all traffic so he was able to fly over without having to stop. Along the way, he radioed Girard to inform him about his and Shepard's plan. Girard replied that he would let his sniper know he was coming. Once Garrus parked, he pulled out his M-97 Viper sniper rifle. He quickly checked to make sure there was fresh thermal clip loaded in the chamber and headed towards the sniper position. A salarian officer was waiting there and stood to greet Garrus when he approached.

"I'm Officer Larka," he said, "The lieutenant radioed that you were coming, Detective. He said you were taking over for me?"

"I am," Garrus replied, "my partner is going in to talk to the girl and I want to be the one watching his back. If you want to stay and help, I could use a spotter."

"Copy that, sir."

As Garrus and Larka set up their gear, Garrus got his first good look of the loading bay through its viewing area. It was deserted except for one lone figure pacing back and forth by some crate. A quick glance through the scope of his rifle confirmed it was the girl and he saw the pistol in her hand. He could also see her lips moving and guessed she was nervously mumbling to herself. As tense as the situation was, there was one thing Garrus was grateful for. With no other people in the loading bay, he didn't have to worry about accidentally hitting an innocent civilian. Even once Shepard got inside, he would not step into Garrus' line of sight unless the situation was on the verge of being resolved. In short, Garrus would have no trouble making the shot if things went south.

"Shepard," he said into his radio once he was settled, "I've got eyes on the loading bay."

"Copy that," Shepard's voice replied, "any final instructions before I head in?"

"Keep your mic open so I'll be able to hear what's going on down there. Also we should set up a codeword for you to use when you want me to fire."

"Agreed. Let's just keep it simple and go with 'failsafe.' It worked for us before so it should work again."

"Copy. Codeword is 'failsafe.'"

"And Garrus?"

"Shepard?"

"I really want to bring this girl in alive so do not fire unless I say the codeword. Promise?"

"I promise. Go get her partner."

Shepard had finished his radio call with Garrus but kept his mic open per Garrus' request. He took a few calming breaths to prepare himself and walked through the loading bay doors. The doors opened and Shepard thought he heard a small gasp coming from inside. The woman heard the doors open and likely knew someone was coming. Shepard remained still for a second in case the woman came out from her hiding spot to investigate. When she didn't appear, Shepard slowly proceeded forward. He hugged the wall as he approached the corner. The crates the woman was hiding behind were just around it. There was no turning back now. He raised his hands and slowly stepped around the corner and then the crates.

"S…Stop! What do you…What are you?"

The voice made Shepard freeze where we was. He was now face to face with the woman and staring down the barrel of the pistol she had pointed at his head. As quick as he could, he ran through the first step of his impromptu plan to talk the girl down. At that moment the woman was stressed out because Shepard's presence was creating a lot of unknowns for her so he needed to remove one of those unknowns by introducing himself. He also needed to learn the girl's name. Knowing her name would make it easier to build a rapport with her.

"My name is Shepard," he said calmly while keeping his hands raised, "Lieutenant Girard sent me to talk to you. What's your name?"

Hearing Girard's name seemed to make the girl relax a little but not enough to make her lower her weapon.

"Animals don't get names," she said, "the masters put their symbols on her. Hot metal all over her back. She screams when they do it."

Hearing the woman call herself an animal made Shepard realize this was going to be harder than he expected. He was also getting a grim picture of some of the tortures this woman had endured. The batarians had conditioned in her mind that she was nothing but an animal and their property based on the symbol they branded on her. On the other hand, it also gave Shepard a way to talk the girl down. It was going to be tough given that she had been having batarians tell her other wise for almost two decades but he needed to help her remember her life before she was abducted.

"You're not an animal," he said, "your parents? What did they call you? Do you remember them?"

The girl thought for a second and then nodded, "she remembers a lot of things. Talitha. They call her that. Sh…She doesn't remember the rest. Leave her alone."

The girl now known as Talitha may have been hesitant to go on but Shepard knew he had to keep going. Learning Talitha's name was a big step in the right direction. She had also confirmed she remembered her parents. It was time to see how much she remembered about them.

"What happened to your parents?"

"There's…She sees them. They're yelling. Run. Hide. They hit the masters. But the masters, they have lights and hoses. Daddy's…He's melting! Sh…She doesn't want to see that! Don't make her look. Don't look! Stupid, stupid!"

Talitha's gun was no longer pointing at Shepard as she was now using her hands to hit herself on the head. It was as if she was trying to knock the memory she was having out of her head. This would have provided Shepard an opportunity to charge Talitha but he was still too far away from her to risk it. The only thing he could do was keep his present course.

"I know it hurts, Talitha. I'm sorry. But you need to deal with this. What happened to them? Think."

Talitha stopped hitting herself in the head and began to tear up, "when she thinks, water comes out of her eyes. The masters beat her when she wastes water. So she doesn't think anymore. She sees them. Mommy and Daddy. Burning in white light. Melting. Going to pieces. They can't ever say anything to her. They're dead, Shepard. They try to save her, and the masters burn them. Can she stop remembering now? Please?"

Talitha appeared to have significantly calmed down since Shepard first saw her. Her using Shepard's name also indicated she was becoming comfortable talking to him. It was time for him to close the gap between them. Both figuratively and literally.

"I'm going to take a step towards you now," he said, "Okay?"

With extreme caution, Shepard took a step towards Talitha and slowly lowered his hands. He was just about to bring his back foot forward to join his front foot when he noticed the room seemed to be getting lighter. Glancing up, he saw that none of the overheard lights were turning on. Where was the light coming from? Suddenly he noticed his shadow was rising off the floor and enveloping Talitha. The light was coming from behind him.

The light had now caught Talitha's attention and she looked behind Shepard to see a skycar hovering outside the large window. A logo on the side of the vehicle indicated that it was from one of the news stations that was covering the situation. Her eyes widened in terror and she quickly raised her gun and pointed it in the direction of the light which was now directly behind Shepard.

"No!" She screamed. "she's no good. Don't want to be handled again!"

(BANG!)

"I'm going to take a step towards you now, okay?"

Through the lens of his sniper scope, Garrus had been watching Shepard's talk with the woman now identified as Talitha. From what he was seeing so far, Shepard was making slow but good progress. Talitha was not pointing her gun at him anymore and he was getting ready to step closer to her. Garrus estimated that Shepard would need to make two more steps before he would be able to give Talitha the sedative. Things were going according to plan.

"What is that?"

Garrus' focus was interrupted when he heard Larkin speak next to him. He looked in the direction Larkin was and saw what prompted him to speak. What Garrus saw made his heart sink. A news skycar was approaching the docking bay. Knowing that he needed to keep his comm. dedicated to hearing Shepard, Garrus took Larkin's radio to call Girard.

"Lieutenant," he said urgently, "a news vehicle is inside the perimeter and heading for the docking bay. Requesting.…"

Before Garrus could finish his call, he was temporarily blinded when the news skycar turned on a spotlight. When it got closer to the docking bay, it turned the light so that it was pointing at Shepard and Talitha. Eventually the skycar stopped moving forward and was now hovering in a stationary position. Garrus looked though his scope and was horrified to see that skycar was in a position that completely blocked his scope's view. Though he could no longer see what was happening, Shepard's open mic allowed him to still listen. The next thing he heard was Talitha screaming.

"No! She's no good. Don't want to be handled again!"

(BANG!)

"Dammit!" Garrus shouted when he heard the shot.

Waiting for reinforcements to clear away the news skycar was now out of the question. Garrus needed to see what was happening and he needed to see it now. Taking quick aim, he fired his rifle at the skycar. The shot damaged the skycar so that it couldn't stay afloat. Fortunately for the occupants, Garrus ensured that he didn't damage the skycar's stabilizers meaning that the car would be able to land safely. With the skycar out of his view, Garrus saw that despite the gunshot, Shepard was still standing though Talitha had her smoking gun pointed at him again.

"Shepard," Garrus said over his comm., "you good?"

Shepard was not able to speak nor was he able to turn to acknowledge Garrus. It was only when Garrus looked at Shepard's hands that he got his answer. One hand was held up towards Talitha in what looked like a calming gesture while the other seemed to be pointing in Garrus' general direction. Shepard was waving that hand up and down to silently give Garrus the "stand down" order. In that moment, Garrus let out the nervous breath he didn't realize he was holding. Despite the skycar's intrusion, Shepard still had things under control.

"Detective!" Girard screamed over Larkin's radio. "Are you out of your mind?! You can't just shoot down a skycar! You're lucky that no one in that car was hurt otherwise…!"

"No sir," Garrus said calm but coldly, "they're lucky I'm as good a shot as I am. They are also lucky that my partner is still alive despite them spooking the girl. We still have a chance of ending this peacefully but you need to tell your men on the perimeter to do their job and keep those jackals back. If I see another skycar trying to approach the docking bay, I won't be as gentle shooting it down as I was with this one. Now if you'll excuse me Lieutenant, I need to get back to watching my partner's six."

With nothing more to say, Garrus tossed the radio back to Larkin returned his focus to his scope. He tuned out everything around him and steadied his breathing. All he could do in that moment was watch, listen and wait. He would only react when and if Shepard used the codeword.

"It's okay Talitha," said Shepard, "the skycar's gone. No one else is going to interrupt us. It's just you and me now, okay?"

Talitha initially kept her gun pointed at Shepard's head. A drop of sweat started to slide down Shepard's forehead. The skycar was a completely unexpected distraction and Shepard was worried that it just blew away his chance of ending the situation peacefully. Thankfully, it appeared the rapport he had built with Talitha made her trust him enough that she lowered her gun. Not wanting to give her a chance to rethink her decision, Shepard decided he had to get her talking again.

"Tell me Talitha," he said, "what's the last thing you remember from Mindoir?"

A tear appeared in Talitha's eye as a memory entered her mind, "fires. Smells of smoke and burning meat. Animals screaming as the masters cage them. As they put the metal to their backs. Put the wires in their brains. She pretends to be dead. If she's dead, she can't work. But they know. She hopes they'll leave. But they put her in the pen. She didn't fight. She was already broken when they put the wires in."

Shepard felt like he was starting to see the whole picture. It wasn't just trauma that was troubling Talitha. There was also guilt. Guilt because she felt like she should have done something to fight back against her abductors. That wasn't surprising. of people who go through experiences like what Talitha had been through always feel like things could have turned out differently if they stood up and fight. But Shepard knew that in Talitha's case, it wouldn't have made a difference.

"Talitha," he said, "you were what? Six years old? No one blames you for staying quiet and hoping they'd go away. The only person blaming you is you."

Talitha bowed her head, "she wants to believe that. She wants to believe nothing would change. She doesn't want to be there anymore. In the pen. In the cages. Lying quiet while they do things to her."

The last line was almost a whisper. Shepard felt that was a sign that Talitha was calm enough that he could make his next move.

"I'm going to take a step towards you now. Okay?"

One step closer. Shepard was now only one step away from being in the prime position to offer Talitha the sedative. He contemplated taking another step but Talitha put a stop to that thought. Seeing Shepard approach her caused Talitha to take a step back towards the wall.

"She doesn't want…Don't touch her!"

Despite Talitha taking.a step back, Shepard still only needed to take one more step. The wall behind Talitha guaranteed that she couldn't widen the gap between the two of them anymore. All Shepard needed was to keep Talitha talking just a little bit longer. Fortunately he knew exactly what to talk about as it was the one piece of Talitha's story he hadn't heard the details about yet.

"How did you get here?" He asked. "Did you escape?"

"She can't escape," Talitha replied, "they have chains. Wires. Needles. You go too far, they take your brains away. Animals like her come. Animals with guns. They make the masters explode. She tries to fix the masters. So they won't be mad at her. She puts all the reds and purples back in, but they don't move. The other animals take her."

Shepard had to resist letting out a depressed sigh. What should have been the happy ending to the story was just as sad as the rest of it. He was now going to have the mental picture of Talitha kneeling by her dead captors and trying to fix them while her rescuers likely had to drag her away. As sad as it was to hear however, Shepard couldn't blame Talitha for her actions in that moment either.

"You were afraid," he said, "all you'd know for nineteen years was the "masters" abuse. So you tried to heal them."

"She doesn't want to see other animals. They're not real. They can't be real. They can't see her. If the animals can see her, then this is real. But it can't be. The wires. The chains. The hitting. This doesn't happen to her. It's another girl. A dirty girl. A stupid girl. She deserves it! It…It happens to her. Doesn't it? They see her, so it's real. She doesn't want it to be real."

Whether it was because she had fully come to trust Shepard or because the events had made her exhausted, Talitha was now in the calmest state she had been since Shepard first saw her. It was now the moment of truth. Slowly Shepard reached into his pocket for the sedative. To keep Talitha from seeing and misinterpreting what he was doing, he spoke.

"I'm going to take a step towards you now. Okay?"

"Please don't touch her," Talitha said as Shepard took a step, "she's dirty. You'll catch it."

Unlike the previous times she had told Shepard to stay back, Talitha didn't speak in a scared tone. Shepard was amazed that she was still standing based on how exhausted she looked. With the sedative now in hand, he held it out for Talitha. She looked initially unsure about to do with it but then she to took it from Shepard's hand, put it in her mouth and swallowed it. Within seconds, she collapsed as the pill took effect. It was only thanks to Shepard's quick reaction that he was able to catch her before she hit the floor.

"Talitha," Shepard said as he gently helped Talitha down, "that pill I gave you will make you sleep. Once you fall asleep, you'll be taken to a place where you can get better."

"Will she have bad dreams?" Talitha asked as her eyes slowly started to close."

The truth was Shepard didn't know the answer to that question. From his own experiences, his dreams were full of nightmares for a time after he experienced a traumatic event. However he felt that even his worst experience was nothing compared to the years of torture and abuse Talitha had been through. But there was no way he would tell her that. Instead he was going to give her hope for the opposite to happen. After all, she likely had given up hope of being rescued and that still happened. With that in mind, Shepard stepped around Talitha so that he was behind her. He gently lowered her so that they were both sitting down. The wall behind Shepard providing him support and he providing support for Talitha. He the proceeded to rock side to side like he was rocking Talitha to sleep.

"You'll dream of a warm place," he said as a tear appeared in his eye and fell down his cheek, "And when you wake up, you'll be in it."

Though he couldn't see her face, Shepard had a feeling that Talitha was smiling.

"She'd like that," she said, "It hurts when she…when I remember me. But she…she wants to….remember."

After barely finishing her last statement, Talitha fell asleep. Even so, Shepard didn't stop rocking. He figured it was best to play it safe and give it a few minutes for Talitha to be in a deep enough sleep that he could safely be moved. Knowing his mic was still open, Shepard didn't have to lift his arm and touch his ear to communicate with Garrus.

"Garrus," he said in a barely audible whisper, "the situation's code four. All clear. Talitha took the sedative and is falling asleep."

A relieved sigh from Garrus was the initial sound Shepard heard over his comm., "that's great Shepard. Good work. I'll radio the lieutenant and tell him that he and his men can come get her."

"No," Shepard replied, "tell him to wait a few more minutes before coming in. Talitha's been through enough. Let's give her some time to just sleep."

"Understood. Good job, partner. I'll meet you at the car. Vakarian out."

Once Garrus signed off, Shepard continued to rock Talitha back and forth. Initially he stayed quiet but then a thought came to him. He wanted to do all he could to ensure she didn't have a nightmare. To that end, he silently sung a lullaby that he had been learning to sing for his and Ashley's baby. It was his hope that singing the song to Talitha would help her dream about the warm place he told her about.

I see trees of green, red roses too

I see them bloom for me and you

And I think to myself what a wonderful world

A/N: As some of you may have figured out, the events of this chapter are based on the "I Remember Me" assignment from the first Mass Effect game. Since my Shepard has the Earthborn background, he never experiences the assignment. However, the assignment was so enjoyable the one time I played the game with a Colonist background that I always wished there was a way for the assignment to be incorporated with the Earthborn background. Through the magic of fan fiction, I am able to do just that. But the events of the assignment are not just being thrown into this story for my personal enjoyment. As you'll see in the next chapter, this event is going to play a part in one of this story's sub-plots. Stay tuned to find out how.. Until then, take care everyone.