An: whole mess of quarian terms coming at you in this one. As usual, Lexicon is at the bottom.

Kasumi Goto, SR-2 Normandy

She honestly couldn't help the grin. It was one of those wide, stupid grins that she normally would make fun of somebody for making. But, right now, it was appropriate.

After all, it wasn't her fault that Tali had drug Shep onto the elevator when she had been on it. Tali just charged in the moment the door opened and Kasumi didn't get the chance to leave. As it was, she had to leap up, catching herself on the top of the elevator in an effort to not get run over.

She didn't mean to overhear enough of the conversation to realize something important was happening. Maybe it was the big Breakthrough at last!

Unfortunately, they didn't really say all that much before Tali draggined Shep out again at deck one. But Kasumi was sure something good would come of it!

When she returned to the observation room she had taken over as her's, she was a bit startled by that Gerald guy. He was...weird. He had a weird sense of humor that bordered on morbid. He didn't talk to anybody but Shepard, Tali, Garrus and Joker. And Edi, she supposed. He played a lot of that Galaxy of Fantasy game. Even on duty.

And now he was sitting at the little bar with a line of eight shots in front of him. The glasses were all filled with a dark whiskey, presumably from the bottle next to them. He was idly sliding the glass on either end, sliding them back and forth, to tap into the line and not quite splashing the liquor out of them.

"Kasumi," he said quietly, though he didn't look up.

"How did you know it was me?" she asked, decloaking on the stool next to him.

"It's your room," he snorted. "Who else would be in it?"

"Well," she smirked. "You are."

The man shrugged. "True, but I'm also not invisible."

Kasumi giggled as she spun her stool around. "True enough. And what exactly are you doing in my room? Other than frowning at a rather nice bottle of whiskey?"

"Waiting."

She sat for a moment, but he didn't continue. "Okay, I'll bite. What are you waiting for?"

Gerald frowned darker at the glasses for a moment before sighing. "I've watched you enough to know you aren't going to leave this alone. You poke at things far past the point you should walk away. You end up pissing people off or embarrassing yourself, and them. It's a very irritating habit."

There was a brief silence as Kasumi's stool spun to a stop with her facing him. And she was frowning. "Wow, and this is why nobody likes you," Kasumi scowled. "Reading up on my Cerberus file, or something?"

With a snort, Gerald sat back and looked at the small thief for the first time since she came in. "No, I watched you. I watch everybody. If I didn't, I wouldn't be a very good infiltrator. It also is in my best interest to know your weaknesses so I can kill you if I have to."

Kasumi's eyes widened as she leaned back. "Wait, what?"

"Mister Falwyn was trained as an N7 Infiltrator operative. His specialty is unorthodox, in that it is focused on extraction and escape," Edi's orb appeared.

Gerald made a face as he regarded Edi. "Found my files it seems."

"Yes," Edi confirmed. "Once we knew what to look for. Though it was still difficult to find, and the files we accessed where not very complete."

Looking from Edi, to Gerald and back again, Kasumi rolled her eyes dramatically. "Okay, okay, enough. Just tell me what's going on."

With a shake of his head, Gerald gestured at Edi.

"Mister Falwyn worked with, at the time, Lieutenant Commander Jane Shepard during the Torfon Offensive," Edi answered simply.

"That's one way to say it, I suppose," Gerald shrugged. "It was more that I hooked up with her about halfway through. Not that it matters."

"I...see…" Kasumi swallowed. She was aware of the Battle for Elysium. Just as she was aware of the Torfon Offensive. In fact it had cemented the name 'Butcher of Torfon' for she Jane Shepard. And if Gerald was there…

Kasumi's reverie was broken as Gerald's omnitool beeped.

There was a subtle...shift. The man's jaw tightened. He sat up just a little straighter. A dark look crossed his face as he slid his glasses into a pocket on his jacket. She watched him move, but his presence changed dramatically. He just became, dangerous? Maybe. More like she was able to see under the mask.

Gerald picked up the first glass while looking at it in distaste. "Cruz," he said, then drank it, slamming the glass upside down onto the bar top.

He picked up the next. "Plett."

"Langley."

"Thomas."

"Zhao."

"Kemp."

"Bjornsdottir."

"Sato."

With the last glass, Gerald seemed to deflate to the weak little schlub he had been when she had met him. He turned his head in her direction, but didn't look at her. "Sorry about the mess. If you leave it, I'll take care of it later."

Snapping out of her reverie, Kasumi shook her head. "Nah, it's fine. I can take care of it."

"Thanks," Gerald nodded as he stood up.

"Wait...If I can ask, what was the alarm for?" Kasumi looked at the man's face, trying to see beneath the character.

Gerald took a deep breath and stood up straight, looking at her. "We all do it. The survivors. If you want to feel bad for somebody, feel bad for Jane," Gerald smirked and gave her a wink. It was a look of self loathing. "Jane drinks a lot more."

Then, without another word, Gerald put his hands in his pockets and walked out the door.

After a moment, Kasumi stood and began to gather up the glasses. "Edi, what was the date for Torfon?"

"The assault began on, earth date, February twentieth, Twenty-one Seventy-eight. The Battle was officially over March sixteenth of the same year," Edi answered. Her synthetic voice sounded slightly subdued. "Lieutenant Commander Jane Shepard and her team, which included the remains of an N7 unit, including Major Falwyn, where considered missing until March twenty ninth."

Xera'Raan vas Neema gar Rayya, Lazarus Station

She was walking through the bann'pal grass, running her fingers along the tips. The feel of them slipping between her fingers, over her bare skin…. There were no words for it.

Above her, she could feel the warm orange rays of Kaeli'steiz. It was dimmer than a lot of worlds she had visited. It was comfortable for her eyes. She didn't need the opaque visor here.

The soft wind was like silk as it slid over her, and bent the stalks of the . It was warm and carried the scents of flowers, and ual fruit. A certain spiciness tickled her nose as she filled her lungs to what felt like the bursting point, just because she could.

In the distance, a herd of tilgrap grazed as they slowly made their way across the savannah.

The sound of waves came to her then, causing her to turn. Behind her, there was a small hill that had not been there a moment ago. At the top of the hill, overlooking a vast ocean, was a small house.

The house was built in a traditional style. White stucco over long smooth curves ovr the single story building. A haums sat to one side of the door, both made of the same pale jalmn wood.

As she looked at the house, she realized that above it, and over the ocean, the stars of the Perseus Veil spread to the horizon.

Slowly, she walked up the hill. The night wind coming off the ocean began to chill her. Cutting through the pale redselmaas that she wasn't wearing but a blink ago.

Touching the door, it swung open seemingly of its own accord. A warm light spilled from the house as she stepped inside. Around her were large cushions, for sitting and speaking. Warm looking blankets sat in small piles, for use when one felt a bit chilly. An allya stood against one wall, flanked by low tables.

"Why are you here, young one?" a warm feminine voice spoke behind her.

Turning, she saw the female that had spoken. She too wore a selmaas, her's of a darker orange. The female was taller than she was, but she was fairly small. The female's long void black hair spilled down her back, accentuating the lavender skin, several shades lighter than her own.

The female's softly glowing white eyes, with the cross shaped pupils, held humor and caring within them. As did the small smile.

"I…" she hesitated for a moment. "I don't know. I think I was hurt."

Flashes of fire. A burning hot white sun beat down. A metal arm squeezed at her. Something broke.

She gasped as she gripped her left hand. The one that the machine had crushed.

The female gave her a saddened look. "Yes. I am sorry. But it is important that you remember," she said. "You must know who you are."

She looked out the window at the Fleet. Beside her was not a quarian. But was. She was taller than any other quarian she had met. She wore the suit. But she had five smaller fingers on her hands, and five tiny toes on her feet.

Jane'Shepard. They had been lovers for a short time. A couple of months. It was fun. Neither intended for it to go anywhere, they both had other concerns.

"Going out I here," Jane tilted her head in a smile.

She nodded back to the human. She grinned widely. "I am! Got another mission with Tali and Kal!"

Tali...Tali. She Loved Tali. Her pemla'tiyl had started. It was difficult. She knew Tali was on another Path, but she didn't, couldn't stop. She would always be there for Tali.

The world changed. It snapped back to that horrible, bright planet.

She grabbed Tali's belts, spinning the small quarian around and throwing her inside the building. She slammed the door shut, breaking the lock. She turned to face the machines. They would not pass her. Tali would live.

"Xera'Raan," a rough, digitized voice spoke, focusing her attention back up. Next to the female was one of the machines. It stood as tall as the female, but was rougher than the ones that had hurt her. It looked older. She should have been afraid. Instead, she felt sadness.

But the name. Xera'Raan. It was her name. The machine, the geth, nodded slightly to her. "We are sorry, Creator Xera'Raan. Be are broken. Divided. The Old Machines are wrong. Help us turn away. You must live."

"I don't understand," Xera looked from the geth to the female.

"Your time here is coming to a close," the female smiled. "But know that you are important, Xera. You can be the bridge. With your help, there can be peace. Our people can come home."

"Home…" Xera looked out a window, over the ocean. The sky was brightening and the beginning of the dawn. "How can I bring us home?"

"Stop the Old Machines," the geth answered.

"Commander Shepard, and Tali'Zorah," the female stepped forward. "They are important. Together, they will show the impossible. Help them. You have the strength within you. As they will connect our people with his, you shall connect us with our lost children."

"Others will come," the geth poke again. "There are many lost children of Rannoch. Not all of them are what you think. The three of you will find them. You can bring them all home. And together, you can save everything."

"Go, Xera, help my daughter," Meru smiled as she laid a gentle hand on Xera's cheek. "The Ancestors are not for you. Not yet."

Xera's eyes snapped open as she gasped for breath.

"Welcome back," a salarian smirked.

John, SR-2 Normandy

"How long, Joker?" John asked, as he paced behind the cockpit.

"Twenty minutes less than the last time you asked, Commander," Joker grunted. "Seriously. Go find something else to do. Your going to wear a hole in the deck."

John scowled as he came to a stop. "This isn't a laughing matter, Joker."

"Okay, ignoring the irony of that statement, Nobody's laughing. But your pacing behind me is not productive, and is irritating the hell out of me," Joker spun his seat around. "Maybe talk to Tali? Eat something? Take a nap? I don't care, just go someplace else and do it."

He could feel the hot ball of anger rise in his stomach, but John pushed it back down. Joker was right, after all. There were things he could, should, be doing. Taking a deep breath, John nodded. "Yeah, sorry Joker. I'll leave you to it. Anything happens, let me know."

"Of course Commander," Joker nodded. "I'll get us there before they could say 'Keelai….' whatever it is Tali says all the time."

John chuckled as he shook his head. "Keelah Se'lai."

"Yeah, that's it," Joker shrugged as he spun his chair back around. "Now get out of my cockpit."

Armory

"Okay...how bad is it?" John asked as he looked at the armor that was, at one point, silver. Now it was a black streaked mess. The beating it had taken on Haestrom had pretty well put the armor into the 'fucked up' list. And that was before Purgatory, or that whole Overlord bullshit.

"Shepard," Gerald pinched the bridge of his nose. "This isn't armor anymore. You have a pile of scrap metal. There are hole in places that you should not have survived having holes. Large holes." To punctuate his point, Gerald stuck his fist through one of the hole in the armor's midsection.

"I need something that I can wear onto the quarian ship. So it has to be sealed," John sighed as he leaned back on one of the weapons tables. With Jacob gone, Gerald had been rounded up to fill in as armorer. And he wasn't quite as well organized as the younger operative.

"Yeah?" Gerald snorted. "That would not be this crap. Crap that I will point out, I got for you. And that you immediately ruined it. Aslo, if you are going on a quarian ship, any of the Cerberus armors are right out."

John was quiet for a moment as he looked at the dead armor. "What about the N7 suit your took of mine?"

Clearing his throat, Gerald shifted a bit uncomfortably. "Yeah, no. I fucked that up on Haestrom myself."

"So…" John mused, raising an eyebrow at the man. "You also had armor for one mission, and ruined it?"

"Fuck off," Gerald grunted. "I'll swap parts around and repaint one of the Cerberus suits. I'll be uncomfortable, but it'll seal, and not look like Cerberus armor."

"Do it," John nodded. "When we get back to civilized space we can restock some."

"Yeah, well," Gerald shrugged. "Try not to get into any firefights."

"I'm going to be on the Quarian Fleet," John said indignantly.

"So?"

Miranda Lawson, SR-2 Normandy, Quantum Communications

"There is no way to justify that!" Miranda spat. "I wouldn't even want to try, if I could!"

"Miranda," TIM took a pull from his cigarette. "You have to look at the bigger picture."

"Bigger picture?" Miranda looked aghast. "What bigger picture is there? Archer plugged his brother's brain into a computer! It almost unleashed an entirely new AI into the galaxy that was pissed off at humans, specifically, and was able to control geth!"

"Accidents happen," TIM nodded slightly. "Agents, at times, go beyond their orders. It is a shame, but I have a difficult time faulting their desire to help humanity."

"Accd-," Miranda shook her violently and began to pace the room. "Accidents like Teltin? Akuze? Everything with the Greyson's? We turned the quarians against us with the Idunna incident, and almost shattered what the Alliance and quarian projects."

"You have to trust that I know what I am doing, Miranda," TIM paused to take a small drink from the tumbler that sat on the arm of his chair. "I've been doing this for quite a while."

Miranda stopped and slowly looked up at the man. "The quarians and the krogan are the only races that believed Shepard when it really came down to it. They are the only ones doing anything to prepare for the Reapers. Getting in the way of them and the Alliance…."

"Didn't happen," TIM smirked. "And now they are closer than before. Teltin got out of hand, but it made us Jack, who, it turns out, can be very useful, if handled properly. Akuze...well. Sometimes things happen. Now. Don't contact me again for such a pathetic reason. Do what I put you there for. What I trusted you to do. Kelly's reports have you becoming quite close to the Commander. Give him a little more of a push and what you want can happen."

Miranda's eyes shot wide as her hand went up to her mouth. She fought down the tears that threatened to spill, as she nodded. "Yes, sir."

Without another word, The Illusive Man disappeared and the rooms normal lights came on.

"You son of a bitch," Miranda sniffed as she rubbed angrily at her face. She was done with crying. It was something that she swore. There was nothing else she could do about….it. She was over it.

But...there was a chance?

"Kelly has us getting close?" Shepard's voice startled her, spinning her around as her biotic field came up out of instinct. Shepard just gave her a small smile and held his hands up. "Sorry, Miranda, I didn't mean to eavesdrop. I was coming to discuss our stop at the Quarian Flotilla."

Miranda gave him a weak smile. "How long were you there?"

Shepard gave an uncomfortable shrug. "About when you said you couldn't justify what happened."

Blanching, Miranda turned away from the man. "Must have been satisfying, seeing me humbled like that."

There was a long moment were Miranda stared at the conference table that had risen back up from the floor.

"No, Miranda," Shepard said quietly as he stepped next to her, and turned so that he could lean against the table itself. "We have worked together long enough for me to get an idea of you you really are. And you are a decent person. What I just saw proved that."

Letting out a small laugh, Miranda glanced at Shepard. "And what makes you think that wasn't some kind of elaborate scene, designed to lull you into a false sense of trust?"

"Hmm," Shepard looked up at the ceiling for a moment, as if thinking. "Probably the fact that I had to hack the door."

Miranda blinked for a moment before chuckling. "I didn't even stop to think about the fact that the door should have been locked."

"So...what is this about you getting closer to me?"

Quarian Lexicon

Bann'pal: The long thick grasses that covered a majority of the savannahs on Rannoch. They stood roughly waist high on a quarian, and look much like earth wheat, though aren't edible.

Kaeli'steiz: Name used in the ancient text of the Ancestors. Literal meaning: Warmth's Herald. The home star of the quarian race.

Ual: A small, sweet fruit that grows wild on bushes along rivers. Before the war, children were known to eat so many at once, during the growing season, that they would develop stomach aches. Native to Rannoch.

Tilgrap: Large herbivore, native to Rannoch. Tilgrap, alpha female of the pack. Tilgra refers to the other members of the pack, both male and female. Moving in packs, the tilgrap uses snarling, huffing and shear mass to force the pack to move where she decided to lead them.

Haums: A quarian lounging chair, designed to provide not just a place to rest upon but to give shade from the sun's warmth. Usually designed for two, singles ones were known but most preferred to not announce to all that could see that it's owner had lost their lifemate.

Jalmn: A type of tree that would grow in thick bunches along the rivers of Rannoch. The tree stood up to forty meters of straight trunk that ended in a puffy bunch of long thin leaves. If a human saw it, it would look something like a cross between a palm tree and a dandelion.

Selmaas: Traditional female quarian garb. Consisting of long, colorful, light robes with a matching head covering. Though the head covering or scarf was very optional and usually worn only for formal occasions. After space travel became fairly common among the quarians, the selmaas were becoming less frequent as more utilitarian clothing was adopted.

Allya: Display cabinet used only to hold the most valued items of a family such as pictures of their children or parents.

Pemla'tiyl: Term for courtship. Literal translation: Pathway to the mind, the first of the three phases that lead to bonding. The period of time where the couple learns of one another through a deep sharing of thoughts. May lead to bonding or just a very deep friendship.

AN: Technically, the Quarian home star was given a name, Tikkun, in ME3, but I like Calinstel's better, so I'm going with that one.

Before anybody asks, the shots thing is something my Grandfather started in my family. This one was a bit of a katharsis for me. You all are all awesome and I appreciate every one of you.