"I..." Kaidan shook his head as he looked at the empty chair. "I can't believe Ash didn't make it. How could we just leave her down there?"
"Williams knew the risks going in. She gave her life to save the rest of us." Too many faces fought for space in his memory.
"But why me?" Kaidan looked up at him. "Why not her?"
It was something of a surprise to realize he didn't actually know how to answer that question. The bomb had been a concern, but... "It wasn't your call, Alenko. I had to choose. I chose you."
"But if I'd done my job, you wouldn't have had to make that call."
That kind of thinking was exactly what they didn't need. Kaidan had done his job. They'd all done their jobs. None of that changed rule ten. "It wasn't your fault. It wasn't my fault. The only one to blame here is Saren."
"Yes, sir. I'm -" Kaidan sighed, and nodded. "We'll get it done."
"Commander?' Liara spoke up. "Excuse me for interrupting." He could have kissed her for interrupting. "But I have an idea. I think the beacon you found in Saren's base was similar to the one you found on Eden Prime. It may have filled in the missing pieces of your vision. I might be able to help you put all those pieces together."
"You want to join our minds again, don't you?" His head already hurt. He stood. "Okay. Go ahead."
It was different this time. The images were still riotous, but there was an order to them. A pattern. He just didn't know what it meant. Liara was staring at him. "Incredible. I..." She shook her head. "I never thought the images would be so..." She smiled. "Intense. I need a moment to collect myself."
"Did the vision make any sense to you?" Ash died for this. It better damn well be worth it.
"It's a distress call, a message sent out across the Prothean Empire. A warning against the Reapers, but the warning came too late."
"What about the Conduit?"
"There were other images. Locations. Places I recognized from my research..." Her eyes abruptly widened. "Illos. The Conduit is on Ilos." She gestured. "That is why Saren needed to find the Mu Relay. It is the only way to get to Ilos."
"Alright." Michael nodded. "We need to get to Ilos."
"Forget it." It was Tali who spoke. "The Mu Relay's inside the Terminus Systems. Alliance ships are not welcome there. Neither are Spectres."
Getting into places he wasn't welcome was kind of his speciality. "The Conduit's on Ilos. That's where Saren is heading. I'll be waiting for him when he gets there."
"Saren will have his entire fleet orbiting Ilos. You will never make it down to the surface without reinforcements. You must alert the Council. We need a fleet to -" Liara started swaying. "I am sorry. The joining is..." She rubbed her forehead. "Exhausting. I should go to the medical bay and lie down for a moment."
"We're done here." He glanced at Kaidan and flicked his eyes at Liara. Kaidan nodded and began helping Liara to the medical bay. "Dismissed."
#
"Commander, there's a comm buoy nearby. I can link us in if you want to report back to the Citadel Council. You know, to warn them about Sovereign."
"Dear Council, giant cockroach incoming. Prepare the biggest fucking boot you have." Michael sighed.
"Sir?"
"Set the link up, Joker. They need to know."
"Patching it through."
The asari councilor glared at him the moment her image appeared. "I hope you don't plan to cut us off like last time, Commander. What you discovered on Virmire is too important."
The turian nodded. "Saren is formidable enough without an army of krogan serving under him."
"Sovereign's the real problem here. The Reapers wiped out the Protheans. We're next."
"Yes, we saw mention of this in your report. Sovereign. A sentient machine. A true artificial intelligence. This news is quite alarming..." The salarian shrugged. "If it turns out to be accurate."
He wondered what it said about salarians that they'd stuck one of their dumbest and most annoying into a leadership role. "Sovereign's real. The Reapers are real. Saren even admitted it."
"He's playing you, Shepard. Saren still has contacts on the Citadel." The turian waved a hand. "He probably saw your earlier reports. The ones talking about your vision. And the Reapers."
"It's highly possible Saren is using false information to throw you off balance. Our own intelligence has never turned up any corroborating information." The salarian shook his... her... dammit...'s head.
That really didn't say much for their intelligence. Fuck, now they had him punning. "I tried to warn you about Saren. You didn't believe me then, and look how that turned out."
"I believe you humans have a saying: even a broken clock is right twice a day."
"Here's another saying..." He narrowed his eyes. "Go to hell."
"Maybe we were wrong about you, Shepard. Maybe humans are too hot-headed to be Spectres."
"Enough." The asari councilor gave the turian a look. "Commander Shepard has performed admirably so far. This..." She folded her arms. "Discussion is only a minor disagreement."
It wasn't as if he'd wanted this damn job in the first place. "We seem to have a lot of disagreements, Councilor."
"Try to see this from our perspective, Commander. Saren is a threat we can recognize. However, as far as we know, the Reapers only exist in your visions."
"Our decisions affect trillions of lives. We cannot act on the accusations of a single person. Even a Spectre. Not without solid evidence."
"The Council cannot take any official action here. That is why we created the Spectres. You have the authority to act as you see fit."
"If you truly believe Sovereign is the real threat, you must take whatever steps are necessary to stop it. And Saren."
"Good luck, Commander. From all of us."
Their images winked out of existence. He stood there a moment longer, leaning on one of the railings. Then he sighed, and straightened. There was a letter he needed to write.
#
He checked on their salarian stowaways. Kirrahe nodded to him. "My superiors will duly honor Chief Williams for her action. Her sacrifice has earned humanity a great deal of respect from my people."
Alright, so maybe the salarian race as a whole wasn't a total loss. "She knew what the risks were. Any of my officers would have done the same."
"Of course. A grim reality that every soldier must accept." Kirrahe nodded. "Rest assured, Commander, my men and I will not forget what you have accomplished here."
Good.
#
"Commander." Wrex nodded to him. "Things got heated back on Virmire..." He shrugged. "You did what you had to do. I respect your choice."
"I appreciate what you did, Wrex." If anything, the krogan had lost the most down there. "I won't forget it."
"Just make sure it was worth it. Saren has to pay for what he's done."
"No matter what it takes, I'm going to hunt him down and kill him." His eyes went to Ashley's locker.
"I like the sound of that."
#
He sat down on the staircase, and looked at the quarian sitting on the next step down. "Tali?"
"The new armor worked." She didn't look at him. "I didn't get as much as a scratch."
"You did good down there."
"Was there anything I could have..." She leaned forward, and wrapped her arms around herself. "Could I have done something to..."
"I've asked myself that question a thousand times over the years." Michael looked down at his hands. "You can run the scenario through your head, analyze every piece, every motion. If I'd made a different call, Ashley would be alive, and Kaidan wouldn't. Or Garrus. Liara. Wrex. You." He put a hand on her shoulder. "You did your best, Tali. But there is a hard truth, one we have to learn to accept."
"What's that?" She looked back at him.
"You can do your best, do everything right, and that still won't change rule ten."
"Rule ten?"
"Soldiers die."
Slowly, Tali nodded. "I'm going to miss her."
"We all are."
#
"Commander. I know it couldn't have been easy for you down there." Joker touched some of the controls. "Making the call between Alenko and Williams must have been..." He glanced back at Michael. "I'm sorry, sir. I don't know if I could have done it."
"Sometimes making the tough choice is the only way a mission can succeed." Michael looked at the readout.
"I'm not blaming you, Commander. I'm just..." Joker sighed. "It's hard, you know."
"Saren's still out there, Joker. Hold it together. We need you."
"Don't worry." Joker nodded fiercely. "I won't let you down. I want to be there when you make that son of a bitch pay."
#
"Sir, about..." Kaidan sighed. 'About Williams..."
"How are you dealing with that?" Shepard raised an eyebrow, and then gestured for Kaidan to enter the room.
"Dealing, sir." He hung his head. "Sorry for what I said back there. Adrenaline."
"I understand." Shepard looked down at his hands, rubbing the thumb of one into the palm of the other. "I don't like losing people either."
"I've served for years, but never lost a soldier under my command. Not to hostile action, anyway." He hesitated. He hadn't, but Shepard had. "If you don't my asking, how did you deal with the losses on Torfan?"
For a moment, Shepard was silent. "I fucked up. I opened fire on surrendering batarians. I dishonored the uniform, and the sacrifice my team had made." He looked up. "I failed. I vowed not to let that happen again." He looked down again. "Same here. I'll remember her, and I'll do better for her."
"I guess..." Kaidan nodded. It was odd, hearing raw emotion in Shepard's voice. Stranger still, seeing a trace of vulnerability in his face. "I guess that's all we can do." He looked down. "You've never really talked about them."
"Ashley..." Shepard leaned back in the chair. "She reminded me a lot of Bai, sometimes. Same kind of crazy. Bai and I went through basic together. Even dated a while." He glanced at a datapad. "Writing Bai's little sisters was..."
"Yeah." He'd only known Ashley and Jenkins a couple months. It was hard to think about what it would be like to lose a teammate you'd known for years.
"Brekin and I are the only ones left now." Shepard twitched a shoulder. "I only managed to pull about two-thirds of him out. Asshole named his kid after me anyway. Taught him to call me 'Uncle Mike'."
Kaidan blinked. "Mike?"
"I do have a first name, you know." He looked up at Kaidan. "Just remember this: We won, and a lot of lives were saved. A lot more will be saved, if we keep going. That's a bargain Ashley Williams would never hesitate to make. If there is a heaven, it's got a new valkyrie." He shrugged. "Death closes all: but something ere the end, some work of noble note, may yet be done."
#
"I've been thinking about Saren. I actually feel a little sorry for him now." Liara sat on the edge of the desk.
"He's the last person I'd feel sorry for."
"He is trapped inside his own mind. Part of him senses his identity slowly being swallowed up by Sovereign, but he is powerless to stop it." Liara looked down at the floor. "I wonder how he first fell into Sovereign's trap? Did he think he could somehow stop the Reapers from returning? Or was he simply driven by a lust for power and glory?"
"There's nothing noble about Saren or what he did. He got exactly what he deserved." There was a line. Saren had crossed it before he'd even met Sovereign.
"Yes, I suppose you're right." Liara sighed. "I should not waste sympathy on Saren. Not when there are so many others who have suffered because of him."
"How are you holding up?" He raised an eyebrow at her. "I know you didn't exactly sign on for the whole..."
"No." She shook her head and stood up straight. "I did. And if you are leading up to offer to leave me behind on the Citadel, then I appreciate it, but it is unnecessary."
Michael met her eyes. "You sure?"
"Aside from..." She took a deep breath. "If I walk away now, I would spend the rest of my life wondering. I'm in, Shepard."
"Good to know."
#
"I forwarded the mission update to the Citadel, Commander. We've got confirmation on those reinforcements." Joker's voice came over the comm. "Ambassador Udina wants us to report back to the Citadel. The Council is massing a joint-species fleet to deal with Saren and his geth."
Michael shook his head. "Took them long enough. Back to the Citadel, Joker. I want the Normandy at the head of that fleet." And when this was over, he was going to use Saren's head as a hood ornament.
"Yes, sir."
#
Udina was waiting for them in the council chambers. "Good job, Shepard. Thanks to you, the Council's finally taking real action against Saren."
The asari councilor nodded. "The ambassador is correct. If Saren is foolish enough to attack the Citadel - as you believe - we will be ready for him."
"Patrols are stationed at every mass relay linking Citadel space to the Terminus Systems." The turian councilor clasped his hands behind his back.
For the love of... Had they actually read the report? "You think a blockade's going to stop him? He's on Ilos looking for the Conduit right now. What are you doing about that?"
"Ilos is only accessible through the Mu Relay, deep inside the Terminus Systems, Commander." The salarian councilor shook his... her... ugh... head. "If we send a fleet in there, the only possible outcome is full-scale war."
"Now is the time for discretion, Commander. Saren's greatest weapon was secrecy. Exposed, he is no longer a threat. This is over." Udina turned towards him.
"One ship going into the Terminus Systems won't start a war." Michael narrowed his eyes. "I can be discreet."
"You detonated a nuclear device on Virmire." The turian councilor pointed at him. "I wouldn't call that discreet." For the love of fuck, that had been the salarian team's idea.
"Your style served you well in the Traverse, Commander." The asari councilor spoke up, her voice soothing. "We recognize that. But Ilos requires a deft touch. We have the situation under control."
He turned to Udina. "If Saren find the Conduit, we're all screwed. We have to go to Ilos."
"Ambassador Udina, I get the sense Commander Shepard isn't willing to let this go." Well, the turian councilor could certainly grasp the obvious.
"There are serious political implications here, Shepard. Humanity's made great gains thanks to you. But now you're becoming more trouble than you're worth." Udina glared at him.
"You bastard." Kaidan spoke up before he could. "You're selling us out."
"It's just politics, Commander. You've done your job, now let me do mine. We've locked out all the Normandy's primary systems. Until further notice, you're grounded."
"You backstabbing asshole." Michael shook his head.
"I think it's time for you and your team to leave, Commander. This no longer concerns you. The Council can handle this. With my help, of course."
He brushed past Udina as he stormed out of the council chambers, Kaidan and the rest of his team a pace behind him.
#
Kaidan sighed. On the way back to the Normandy, Shepard had been stopped by two men. He'd threatened to shoot both of them. Now he was punching a locker, and there were a few scattered pieces of an electronic device on the ground. "Commander?" He sighed. "I'm sure there's a way to appeal. We're under Alliance authority, not the Council's."
"Kaidan, you have any idea how many in the Alliance brass I've pissed off over the years?" Shepard leaned against the locker and shook his head. "Any appeal would take time we don't have."
"So where do you think the best view will be when the Reaper's roll through?"
"I vote we grab a couple beers and go skinny-dipping in one of those lakes in the Presidium." Shepard twitched a shoulder.
That mental image threw him for an abrupt loop. Kaidan shook his head. "I've heard worse plans."
"I don't like being sidelined. And I've never been one for following all the rules of the game. I'll think of something." Shepard took a deep breath. "I need you to be there while I figure things out."
"You know you can count on me." Kaidan smiled. "Or any of the crew, Commander."
"Kaidan, I can get a salute from anyone on this ship. You..." Shepard shrugged, and slumped down to sit against the locker. "I'd have shot him."
"Sir?"
"Finch. If you hadn't been standing a few feet behind me, I'd have killed him."
That... Kaidan leaned against the wall. He wasn't sure what to make of that comment. "Well, I always leave a way out. You know that. I'm here for you, but we're in a rough spot and the last thing I want to do is muddy things." He sighed. "Especially when it's not all that clear to start with." He was surprised to find he'd said that part out loud. Kaidan straightened up. "Are we the pride of the fleet or not? Are we valued agents, or just peons?"
"You can't just pull out a good old fashioned 'it'll be alright' can you?"
"It's that easy, huh?" Kaidan smiled. "Okay then. Everything will be alright, Shepard. You'll figure it out." Who knows, maybe he would too. He offered Shepard a hand back to his feet.
"Anyone ever told you you're a shit liar?" Shepard gave him a half smile. "Well, we've got some downtime, and life as we know it is about to come to an end, so..." He threw an arm around Kaidan's shoulder. "Want to go rob a bank?"
He laughed. "I-"
"Sorry to interrupt, Commander..." Joker's voice came over the comm. "Got a message from Captain Anderson."
"Are you spying on us, Joker?" Shepard raised an eyebrow.
"No sir. Just knew you were on the ship and figured I'd pass the message on. Captain said to meet him at Flux, that club down in the wards."
"Right." Shepard shook his head and stepped away from Kaidan. "Hey, stay close to the comm. We're going to need a getaway driver later."
"Well, I guess you'd better go then." Kaidan shrugged. He wasn't sure what he'd been about to say, but it probably would have been stupid.
"Come on." Shepard gestured.
Kaidan smiled as he followed.
#
"I'm glad you came, Shepard. I heard what happened." Anderson nodded when Michael, Garrus, and Kaidan joined him at the table.
"The Normandy's been grounded." Michael signaled the bartender for a round of drinks.
"I know. I'm sorry. I wanted to warn you, but there was no way to get a message to you before you docked." Anderson leaned forward. "I know you're pissed off right now, but you can't give up. They all think this is over, but we both know it's not. You have to go to Ilos. You have to stop Saren from using the Conduit."
"The problem is there's only one ship that can get me into the Terminus Systems undetected, and she's grounded."
"You say that like it's a problem." Anderson folded his arms. "I assume you have a plan for stealing the Normandy."
"Sir, I resent the implication." Michael straightened his back.
"Shepard." Anderson narrowed his eyes.
"Sir..." Michael raised an eyebrow. "I seem to recall you were very clear about what would happen the next time I stole an Alliance ship."
"Without my permission." Anderson's lips twitched slightly. "I meant without my permission." He raised an eyebrow. "Or do you expect me to believe you don't have several contingency plans for stealing the Normandy?"
Michael shrugged in resignation, earning him amused looks from his companions. "Taking over the ship is easy. Taking off with the ship not so much. The problem is the Citadel has the ship in lockdown. I can't fix that from on the ship, and the red flag will go up too fast for me to make a pickup. Ground team gets left behind, and -"
"Tell me what to do, and I'll take care of it." Anderson nodded.
"I may have been a bad influence on you, sir. Alright..." He ran through the options quickly. "Easiest way would be to use Udina's system. He's got the authorization to lift the lockdown, so we can just override his previous orders."
"But you'd still need his passcode to get into his office."
"Well..." Michael rubbed the back of his neck.
"You've got a copy of his..." Anderson narrowed his eyes. "Shepard, if I find out you've got a copy of my passcode I will shoot you."
"I promise that you won't find out." He fiddled with his omnitool briefly before offering Anderson the datacard. "You know you'll get arrested for this, sir."
"So will you. I expect you to break us out." Anderson took the card. "At least I know that's also something you can handle."
"I've never broken out of a prison before." Michael shook his head. When Anderson raised an eyebrow, he shrugged. "That was a rehabilitation center. Not a prison." When Anderson continued staring, he sighed. "That doesn't count either. I broke into, not out of."
"I am so glad I'm not with C-Sec anymore." Garrus chuckled.
"Get to the Normandy and be ready. You can be in the Terminus Systems before anyone even knows you're gone." Anderson stood up.
#
"When did you work out a plan to steal the Normandy?" Kaidan asked as they started out of the bar.
"About ten minutes after I first set foot on it." When Kaidan gave him a look, he shrugged. "It's not like I intended to actually do it..."
Kaidan laughed. "So you just randomly plan to steal ships?"
"And cars. Bikes. Boats. Transports. Shuttles." Shepard shrugged. "Space stations." He took something out of his pocket and flipped it up into the air before catching it again. "Udina's credit chit." He casually tossed it over his shoulder, letting it bounce down into the common area near where a bunch of teenagers were sitting around. "Oops."
"You pickpocketed Udina?" Kaidan stared at him.
"Remind me to tell you sometime about how Hackett and I actually met."
#
The light on the console turned green. Michael glanced down at his pilot. "Let's go. Get us out of here, Joker. Now."
He let out the breath he was holding as soon as they got through the first mass relay. "Well, we are now officially fugitives."
"Aw, damn it." Joker sighed. "No sign of pursuit? I was hoping the Council would send some ships after us. I was looking forward to putting the Normandy through its paces. Figured I'd get to see what this ship can really do."
"The way our luck runs?" Michael flicked Joker's hat. "You'll get your chance."
Pressly grinned at him as he walked by, heading to the CIC. "I can't believe we stole the Normandy. I know we'll all be court-martialed if this doesn't work out. But part of me loves this."
Yeah. He'd definitely been a bad influence on these people. Michael smiled.
#
"I can't believe we stole the Normandy." Garrus adjusted the sight on his rifle. "I mean, I'm not surprised after everything you've told me. But still..."
"Worried?"
Garrus's mandibles clicked. "No, not really. If you're wrong, we'll pay for it. But if you're right, and we did nothing, I think we'd regret it a whole lot more. I just hope we can catch Saren before they realize we're missing."
"Garrus?" Michael folded his arms. "I made it one hundred and seven miles in a stolen food cart when I was fourteen. This is the Normandy. We'll get him. Be ready when we do."
"You stole a food cart?"
"Yeah, not one of my better ideas. I broke the refrigeration unit and it was a really hot day. The cops actually got into an argument over which ones had to be in the vehicle with me on the trip back."
"You know, I've got thank you, Shepard."
"For what?" Michael raised an eyebrow.
"For everything. Taking me with you. Letting me be part of your team. I've learned a lot." Garrus nodded. "I've thought a lot about what you said. About eliminating the threat immediately. Regardless of the cost. You were right. You were right about Dr. Saleon, too. Killing him was the only solution."
"So what now?"
"Well, assuming we don't all die or go to prison, I'm going to reapply for Spectre training. It will probably kill my father, but I've got to try. If that doesn't work, I'll do just about anything..." Garrus shrugged. "Except go back to C-Sec. I'm done with them. No more red tape. No more politics. From now on, I do things my way."
"It occurs to me that when this is done, after we break Anderson out of prison, we could always go the merc route." Michael leaned on the mako. "Freelance asskickers. Lot of folks out there the law can't quite touch."
"That's..." Garrus's mandibles clicked again. "Not a terrible idea."
#
"Son, what the hell are you doing?" Hackett stared at him.
"I believe the term is mutiny, Admiral." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry."
"You better..." Hackett sighed. "I'll keep a channel open. But if you're wrong, I won't be able to help you this time."
"If I'm wrong then..." Michael nodded. "Then my crew was following my orders, both as their commanding officer and as a Council Spectre, sir. And I technically kidnapped Liara, Wrex, Garrus, and Tali." He met Hackett's eyes. He didn't have to point out Hackett owed him that one. They both knew it.
"Understood." Hackett nodded, and then pointed at Michael. "Don't think this is going to get you out of getting your ass kicked."
"Well, look on the bright side. You'll probably be able to requisition a squad of MPs to give you an actual chance."
"Shepard?" Hackett folded his arms. "Win. That's an order. Hackett out."