Michael looked over the last two dossiers. Both were on Illium. He told Joker to set a course, then stared at the stupid water tank for several minutes. Then he shrugged, and headed to the elevator.

#

"Shepard." Tali bounced a little when she saw him. "What can I do for you?"

"Have you got time to talk?"

She glanced around, then nodded before gesturing for him to follow her closer to the engine. "We didn't really have time to chat while taking out geth on Haestrom, did we?" She leaned back against one of the railings. "I can't believe so many people died. Thank you again for getting Reegar out alive." She shook her head. "All for data about stars blowing up. I hope the Admiralty Board gets some use out of it."

"Have you heard any word about Kal'Reegar?" He raised an eyebrow. "Did he survive his injuries?"

"He sent me a message. It looks like he'll make a full recovery." She waved a hand. "Any time you get a suit puncture, it's a matter of luck. Reegar got out with a relatively minor infection."

"Having any trouble settling back on the Normandy?" Maybe it was his imagination, but the ship just seemed to run better with her down in engineering.

"I like the quiet. I miss the old faces, though. Pressly, Engineer Adams, all of them."

He managed not to clench his fists. "I'm told Pressly didn't make it."

She folded her arms around herself. "His funeral was the day before yours." She shifted her weight. "It doesn't seem right having Cerberus in charge of this ship. Are you sure working for them is the right thing to do?"

The right thing was a big gray area at the moment. "I caught some tension back on Freedom's Progress and again when you first came aboard. What happened between Cerberus and the quarians?"

"They attacked one of our ships, the Idenna." She paced the small engine room. "It seems they were attempting to kill or control a young human biotic who was on the Fleet. I don't really know the details." She turned to face him. "I do know that Cerberus made an enemy of the quarian people."

"Does it look like they're pulling the strings, Tali?" Cerberus was the only way he currently had to pursue this mission. "I'm not working for them. They're working for me."

Tali folded her arms and tilted her head up at him. "So you ordered the listening devices and tracking beacons that are all over this ship?" She shook her head. "I know you need resources to fight the Collectors, but be careful, Shepard."

He sighed, and then conceded the point. "I don't like working with them any more than you do. But we need them."

"I know. Just watch yourself. You're their best weapon right now." She let her hands fall to her sides. "But as soon as you no longer serve their needs, be ready for them to turn on you."

"Yeah, this is definitely a rule 9 situation."

"Rule 9?" She tilted her head.

"They are definitely out to get us."

She nodded. "Well, we do still have rule 3 to fall back on." Tali patted his shoulder.

"Good to have you back, Tali."

"I should get back to work. Thanks for coming by."

#

Rule three. A rule he really couldn't follow on a Cerberus vessel. At least, not entirely. Trust your team, verify everything else. He looked at the elevator door. Trust his team. There were two on his team he knew he couldn't trust, and three others who were still mysteries. Michael turned away from the elevator and headed down the stairs.

Jack was pacing the space. She looked up when he entered. "I got thoughts like little bugs crawling in and out of my head. I can't stop them." She walked past him to sit on the stairs. She was silent for a moment, then she shook her head and looked up at him. "You know I have a history with Cerberus. You know how far back it goes?"

Rule three. No, not just rule three. Shivering beneath the staircase of an old warehouse. Moving old crates to make the space smaller so the tiny heating unit he'd stolen could keep the four of them from freezing to death. Angry little Anna, cussing every other word as she passed around the food she'd lifted. "I'll listen to anything you have to say, Jack."

"Your pal, the Illusive Man? Never seen him before, but Cerberus raised me. First thing I remember is my cell door in a Cerberus base." She looked up at him. "They did experiments. Drugged me. Tortured me. Whatever chance I had to be normal, they stole it by trying to turn me into some super-biotic. The doctors..." She leaned forward. "The other kids..." She shook her head. "Every one of them hated me. They let me suffer."

"What did they hope to gain by torturing a little girl?" What did any of them ever have to gain?

"It was something about pain breaking down mental barriers, and how it might clear the way for more biotic power." Jack shrugged. "I'm sure there was a payoff due at some point, but I wasn't going to see it. I was wired up in a cell."

"They tortured you just to see if they could make a strong biotic?" Michael folded his arms. "That's it?"

"Wasn't in a position to ask, Shepard. All I know is, a little girl crying in a cell, begging for the pain to stop..." She glared.

"How did you get out of there?" He leaned at the wall, feeling the cold anger running through his veins.

"There was some kind of emergency and I made a break for it. The other kids came out of their cells and attacked me. So did the guards." She smirked. "I just killed everything in my way and ran. Guess my biotics had developed faster than they thought. I managed to get a shuttle off the ground. Drifted until a freighter picked me up. The crew used me, then sold me. That's my uplifting escape story."

He looked down, then back up at her. "You're absolutely certain that Cerberus was running the facility?"

"I was a kid, but I wasn't dumb. I know how to listen. It was Cerberus. Don't care how far down the chain it was." She leaned back. "They thought they were so clever. Turns out, mess with someone's head enough and you can turn a scared kid into an all-powerful bitch. Fucking idiots."

Slowly, Michael nodded. "The Illusive Man better have some very good answers."

"He'll just deny everything." She shook her head. "That's not what I'm after anyway. I found the coordinates in your files. I want to go to the Teltin facility on Pragia, where they tortured and drugged me." She stood up and walked toward him. "I want to go to the center of the place, my cell. I want to deploy a big fucking bomb. And I want to watch from orbit when it goes."

"Soon as we are done on Illium, I'll set a course for Pragia." Michael nodded.

A momentary look of surprise crossed her face, and her eyes momentarily became wet. "I owe you, Shepard."

#

"Garrus put some crazy tech into the main guns. It's almost doubled their power draw." Engineer Donnelly looked up as he walked past.

Next to him, Daniels smiled. "But they seem pretty wicked."

"Indeed." Donnelly nodded. "Don't worry. A few tweaks to the forward capacitors, and the balance is back in line."

Michael slowly nodded, then headed for the elevator.

#

"Garrus."

"Shepard."

"What's this about you messing with my..." Michael trailed off as Garrus handed him a datapad. He glanced down at it, then walked off still scrolling through the specs.

#

"That..." Michael looked out the view screen. "Is one shiny planet."

He stepped back to the airlock and joined his team. They hadn't gone far into the docking station when an asari flanked by two guard mechs approached them. "Welcome to Nos Astra, Commander Shepard. We've been instructed to waive all docking and administration fees for your visit." Okay. That was either good, or very, very bad. "My name is Careena. If you need information about the area, it would be my pleasure to assist you."

"Why do I get the free pass?" He raised an eyebrow.

"The order came from Liara T'Soni, who paid all fees on your behalf." Careena touched her omnitool. "She also asked that I direct you to speak with her at your convenience. She's near the trading floor."

Michael blinked. Liara? "Thank you." He walked a few steps forward, then turned to look back at Garrus. "I'm an asshole."

"Yes." Garrus nodded. "But why bring that up now?"

"I, uh..." Michael sighed.

Garrus clicked his mandibles. "You haven't touched base with Liara yet."

"Yeah."

"You're an asshole."

"Thank you for your support, Vakarian."

"I'm going to..." Garrus looked around. "Get out of range and behind cover."

"Liara know you were on Omega?" Michael folded his arms.

"I, uh..." Garrus clicked his mandibles again. "Well, not exactly..."

"You're an asshole." Kasumi piped up.

"Thank you, Kasumi. How'd she know we were coming here, anyway?" Michael frowned.

"I told her." Tali shook her head. When they both turned to look at her, she just shrugged. "We keep in touch. I'm not an asshole."

Jack glanced from Michael to Garrus. "What's so scary about this Liara?"

"Nothing." Tali shook her head. "Liara's sweet."

#

"Have you faced an asari commando unit before? Few humans have. I'll make it simple. Either you pay me, or I flay you alive. With my mind."

Michael stood in the doorway, staring at Liara. Okay, apparently he'd missed a few things in the last couple years. Maybe Garrus had something with that whole 'out of range and under cover idea. He was considering a tactical retreat when she turned around. "Shepard!" Her eyes widened. "Nyxeris, hold my calls." And then he was being hugged. "Shepard..." A small smile came to his face as he hugged her back. "My sources said you were alive, but I never believed..." She gave Tali a slightly guilty look. "It's very good to see you."

"It's good to see you, too, Liara. How are you doing?" Tali was blowing up giant mechs, Liara was intimidating goons... If there was a heaven, Ashley was sitting up there laughing her ass off.

She turned away and looked out the window. "I'm doing well. I've been working as an information broker." She shrugged and turned back to him. "It's paid the bills since you..." She trailed off. "Well, for the past two years. And now you're back, gunning for the Collectors with Cerberus." She sat down at her desk.

He sat down across from her. "If you know that, then you know that I could use your help."

"I can't, Shepard. I'm sorry. I have commitments here. Things I need to take care of."

"Trouble? Anything you need me to shoot?"

"No, no trouble. But it's been a long two years. I had things to do while you were gone. I have debts to repay." She wasn't meeting his eyes. And kept turning away from him. Yep, there was going to be something at some point he was going to need to shoot. Probably a lot. "Listen, if you want to help, I need someone with hacking expertise, someone I can trust." She finally looked at him again. "If you could disable security at key points around Illium, you could get me information I need. That would help me a great deal."

"I can do that."

"When you hack one, a server will open somewhere nearby for a short time. You can download data from there, if you hurry." She smiled. "Thank you, Shepard. This my help me pay a great debt."

"There's an asari named Samara here on Illium. Do you know where I could find her?"

"Samara..." Liara glanced at her desk for a moment, then nodded. "Yes. She arrived recently and registered with Tracking Officer Dara." She looked back up at Michael. "You can find Dara at the transportation hub."

"Why would Samara have to register with a tracking officer? Is she a criminal?" Michael raised an eyebrow.

"No, in fact she's quite the opposite. Samara is a justicar, one of an ancient sect of asari warriors. Dara can tell you more."

Oh. Lovely. 'Justicar'. Sounding very cop-ish. "I'm looking for Thane Krios. He's supposed to be here on Illium."

"The assassin. Yes, he arrived here a few days ago. My sources tell me he may be targeting a corporate executive, Nassana Dantius. He contacted a woman named Seryna. Seryna has an office in the cargo transfer levels. Perhaps she can tell you where Krios is."

Michael shook his head. "That was all just off the top of your head?"

"I'm a very good information broker, Shepard." She smiled. And Tali was shaping up to be a fairly good hacker. With a big mouth. "The world of intrigue isn't that different from a dig site. Ecept that the dead bodies still smell."

"Thanks for the help. That's all I needed to know."

"Of course. If there's anything else I can help you with, let me know."

#

"Seryna?"

"Who wants to know?" She didn't even look up from her paperwork.

"Name's Shepard. Liara T'Soni said you might have information on Thane Krios."

She stood, and turned toward her coworker. "Tana. Cover for me." She started walking then gestured for Michael to follow her. "Over here." She stopped in an out of the way area. "Yeah, I know who Thane Krios is. I might have passed him some information, but I didn't hire him. What do you want to know?"

"Just tell me what you know about him."

"I ran security for Nassana Dantius. Then I found out she was having people killed to cover up her dirty secrets." Seryna smirked. "She fired me when I confronted her. Her loss. I might have been good enough to stop Thane from taking her down."

"Why does that name sound familiar?" Michael frowned.

"She was a representative on the Citadel a few years ago."

"You killed her sister," Garrus prompted.

"Oh, the slaver thing and that whole blackmail bit." Michael nodded.

"I thought that was just a rumor." Seryna shrugged. "Well, you know what she's capable of, then. She has even more power here in Nos Astra. She uses it to keep her friends in check and her enemies dead."

"So where do I find Thane?"

"The Dantius Towers. Penthouse level of Tower One." Seryna pointed at a building off in the distance. "There's a second tower, still under construction. If Thane is smart, he'll go in from there."

"It doesn't sound like Nassana's just going to let me in." If Seryna had a schematic or an idea for an entry point, it would save them time.

"She's as smart as she is paranoid. No one's getting in or out of there without a fight." Seryna looked around before looking back at him. "I can get you in, but you'll only get one shot. You'd better be ready."

"You're just offering your help? No strings attached?" Michael gave her a skeptical look.

"You're going to look for Thane. Nassana's mercenaries will try to stop you." Seryna waved a hand. "At the last, you'll distract her guards. Take a little fire, give Thane a clear shot. I didn't hire him to kill Nassana, but I won't shed any tears when she gets what's coming to her."

#

"Alright..." Michael looked at his team. "Seryna can only fit three of us in her skycar. Garrus, Jack, you're with me. Tali, you and Mordin see if you can find the stuff for that multi-core shielding you were talking about earlier. Grunt, Zaeed, eat anybody that hassles them. Kasumi, if she can't find it for sale, steal it."

"Heh." Grunt nodded.

"What about us?" Jacob asked, gesturing at himself and Miranda.

Michael shrugged, then nodded. "You mentioned something about heavy ship armor? Alright, you two go with them." He turned his gaze back to Tali. "We need the Normandy as tough as possible."

"Got it." Tali nodded.

#

"The towers are heavily guarded, and you'll find more resistance closer to the penthouse." Seryna glanced at him from the corner of her eye. "So, this assassin - you planning to stop him?"

"I'm just here to make sure he survives."

"Hmm..." Seryna nodded. She maneuvered the skycar through traffic at a speed just a hair shy of ludicrous. "There they are: the Dantius Towers." She nodded at the buildings. "You'll have to get up the second tower and cross the bridge to the penthouse. Her mercs will fight you every step, but it's your best chance."

Michael nodded. "We might find him before it goes that far."

"Maybe." She shrugged. "At least you'll know where he's headed."

"All right. Let's do this."

"Hold on." She dove through the traffic, swung a hard left followed by a harder right, and landed them next to a rather overblown fountain. Then she popped the door for them. "Don't linger too long; they'll be here to greet you soon enough."

He nodded, and closed the hatch before looking up at the tower. She took off, vanishing quickly back into traffic. Michael glanced at Garrus. "We should learn what driving school she went to."

"And nuke it from orbit?"

"Exactly." They headed for the door, and saw a couple salarians cowering inside. Michael blinked as mechs came in, shooting the unarmed salarians down as they fled. He slung his rifle off his shoulder and saw Garrus do the same thing as Jack started to glow. "Move."

#

"Help..." The wounded salarian gasped.

"He's still alive." Garrus sounded surprised.

Michael couldn't blame him. The salarian was sitting in a puddle of his own blood. "I can't feel my legs..." He wheezed. "My chest is killing me."

"Just be glad you're still breathing." He knelt next to the wounded man. "What happened?"

"We were just night workers. Nassanna..." The worker gasped. "Sent them after us..." He coughed. "She sent the mechs to round us up, but we didn't hear..." He managed a small shake of his head. "They just started shooting..."

"They just attacked you?" Clearly, he shouldn't have stopped at just killing the sister.

"Yes... we were too slow. It was horrible. Everyone... screaming..." He twitched. "The mercs said there was no time. Nassana wanted us out of the way... immediately. Then... the dogs..." He spat out blood.

"He's not going to make it if we don't help him." Garrus clicked his mandibles.

"I can't breathe... please... help me..."

Garrus had a point. Michael touched the controls on his omnitool, and applied a dose of the medigel. Kaidan could have done a better job. "Here. That should ease the pain and keep you alive until help arrives."

"He doesn't know where the assassin is." Jack shook her head.

"Take your time." Michael helped the salarian back to his feet.

"I think I'm... better..." The salarian winced. "Find the other workers. Help them."

#

"I don't like this place." Michael checked his grenade count. "Let's go redecorate it."

"Some new curtains, a rug..." Jack sent out a wave a biotic energy that splattered an oncoming mercenary against the wall. She smirked. "And some paint."

#

"Get your ass in there. Nassana's not paying you to stand around."

"Fine... But I..."

There was a thud followed by silence. Michael glanced back at his companions. "Call it a hunch, but I think our assassin may be in the building."

#

He hacked the lock on a door to find a room full of... Michael sighed. Unarmed salarians. "Please... don't kill us. We'll go... we'll go..."

"Hey, look..." One pointed. "They're not Eclipse." He gave Michael a hopeful look. Actually, Michael wasn't entirely sure on the he part. Was there a polite way to ask someone their gender? "You're here to help us..." The salarian blinked. "Right?"

Michael holstered his sidearm. "It's okay to come out. Have you seen anyone suspicious who isn't a merc?"

The first salarian rubbed his jaw. "Well, whoever sealed us in here..."

"When he found us, I thought we were dead. But he just closed the door and locked us in."

"Looked you in?" Garrus glanced at Michael. "Sounds like our assassin was trying to keep them safe."

"Assassin?" The first salarian started fidgeting.

"Here for Nassana, I bet." The other one nodded. "She's got it coming. You treat people like this; it always comes back to bite you in the ass."

He got some intel from them. Fastest way up and through and what little they could tell him about the mercenaries. "I wouldn't stay here too long. It should be safe down on the lower floors."

"I was just thinking the same thing." The first salarian rubbed his forehead. "Let's go, everybody."

"Thank you." The second salarian turned back to him. "And tell your assassin to aim for her head..." He shook his head. "Because she doesn't have a heart."

#

"He really said that, didn't he?" Michael shook his head.

"Come on, it's not the cheesiest line I've ever heard." Garrus clicked his mandibles and headed towards the elevator.

"Maybe on a vid, but in real life?"

"Hey Garrus, want to play cowboys and robots?" Garrus waved a hand.

Jack snorted. "What moron said that?"

"That's not what I said." Michael glared at Garrus. "And I think the fact that we drove a mako through a mass effect relay and landed it on a bunch of geth renders any dialog leading up to that point as cool simply by association."

"For Tali." Garrus shrugged.

#

"I haven't heard from Teams Four or Five. Don't worry, my team is always ready to go. I don't know where he is, not yet. Don't worry about it. We don't need any reinforcements. I'll take care of it. It's under control. I'll go down there myself."

Michael watched the mercenary talk into his radio as they walked up. He glanced over his shoulder to look at Garrus, who just shrugged. Jack responded the same way when he looked at her. Michael gave a shrug of his own, and walked to within a few feet of the oblivious mercenary before pulling out his sidearm. "Turn around, very slowly."

The mercenary stood there for a moment. "Damn it." He turned around.

"Tell me where the assassin is, and I might let you live." Michael took another step toward him.

"If I knew that, I wouldn't be wasting my time talking to you." The mercenary shook his head. "You're not one of Nassana's mercs. Who are you?"

"You've got two ways down: express or coach - your choice." Michael waved his hand at the window.

"Look pal, even if I knew where he was, I wouldn't tell you." The man held up his hand.

"Not the answer I was looking for." Michael took another step forward.

"I've got nothing more to say to you. If -"

Michael shoved him backward through the glass. He screamed as he fell. Michael glanced down. "How 'bout 'goodbye'."

"Harsh." Garrus shrugged. "But I guess he had it coming."

"How about 'goodbye'?" Jack shook her head. "Really, Shepard?"

"Fine." Michael turned toward the sound of mercenaries coming their way. "Next time, you can throw them out the window with a witty one-liner."

#

Michael glanced at the broken window, then looked back at Jack. "You forgot the one-liner."

"Have a nice trip?" She raised an eyebrow.

"You used that one already." Garrus shook his head.

"Elevator going down?" She frowned.

"That one too." Michael tapped his omnitool to jam the signal on one of the mechs. It started shooting at the mercenaries.

"Meet you downstairs."

"That one's just terrible." Garrus clicked his mandibles.

"See..." Michael tossed a grenade before looking back at her. "It's not as easy as we make it look."

Jack narrowed her eyes. She suddenly glowed blue as she grabbed a tank and hurled it at some mercenaries. "I will destroy you." The tank bounced, caught fire, and took the mercenaries with it as it careened outside the window. Then exploded.

"Okay." Garrus nodded. "That one was pretty good."

"Explosions really do sort of negate the need for words." Michael popped a new heat sink into his rifle.

#

They rescued more salarians, despite one of them being dumb enough to pull a gun. It appeared the assassin was doing all he could to help the non-combatants. Interesting. They came up a ramp and looked out across the bridge. Mechs. Mercenaries. Rocket launchers. Wind. And no railings. "Well..." Michael took a deep breath. "This looks fun and exciting."

"Loser buys the beer." Garrus checked his ammo load.

Jack smirked. "Keep your beer. You boys are buying me whiskey."

Michael activated his cloak, and headed in.

#

"Hacking the rocket launchers is cheating." Garrus glared.

"How do you figure?" Michael shook his head.

"And that invisible thing held me back." Jack folded her arms. "Couldn't throw shit around without worrying I was going to hit you."

"That's touching, Jack." Michael put a hand over his heart.

"People crazy enough to offer to help me blow up a planet are hard to come by." She shrugged.

"Wait, what?" Garrus glanced back over his shoulder at them.

"Get the door, Vakarian." Michael waved a hand. "You're holding us up."

#

"Shepard? But..." Nassana turned toward him. "You're dead."

"I got better." Michael shrugged.

"And now you're here to kill me." She put a hand on her chest.

"Maybe I just missed you."

"Screw you, Shepard." She waved a hand at him.

"Charming as ever." He smirked.

"I'm sure you find this all very ironic." She walked toward the window, then looked back over her shoulder at him. "First you take care of my sister, and now you're here for me." She turned, and walked back toward him, keeping the desk between them. "Well, you made it this far. Now what?"

"I wouldn't waste time hunting you down, Nassana." She really was a rather arrogant little snot. Actually, if he hadn't seen the bodies of all the salarian workers, he'd probably have let her live.

"What do you call this?" She gestured. "You've practically destroyed my towers."

"I wasn't looking for you." He heard a quiet sound from one of the air ducts overhead.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Nassana gave him a confused look. "Is it credits? Is that what you want? Just tell me your price. We can make this problem go away."

The sound again. A faint scraping noise. "All the credits in the world won't make this problem go away, Nassana." It would be interesting to see this assassin fellow in action, instead of just noting his aftermath.

"Who the hell gave you the right to play god?" She folded her arms. "I may not be perfect, but look at you." Nassana gestured at him. "We both kill people for money. What's the difference?"

For a moment, he considered pointed out he'd never actually killed anyone for money. "You've brought this on yourself. I wouldn't stop it even if I could."

She blinked. "What do you mean? Of course you can stop it. Just don't..." Her guards finally became aware of the noise in the ducts, and starting pointing their guns in various directions. "What?"

"I heard something." The asari among them replied.

"Damn it. Check the other entrances. You..." She actually pointed at him. "Stay put." Michael would have rolled his eyes, but the assassin chose that moment to drop down from the ceiling and start killing her guards. Quick and efficient. "When I'm finished dealing with this nuisance, you and I are going to..." And then he had Nassana. "Who...?" She gave him a confused look before he shot her.

The assassin laid her back gently on the desk, and folded her arms over her chest. Then he clasped his hands together and stood there with his eyes closed. Michael exchanged a look with his teammates. Garrus just shrugged. "Impressive. You certainly know how to make an entrance." The assassin ignored him.

Michael walked closer, giving the assassin an appraising look. The man was a drell, green skinned and vaguely reptilian though still capable of passing for human in really bad lighting. He carried fairly minimal weaponry, but his hand to hand skills were apparently formidable. "I came a long way to talk to you."

"One moment." The assassin's voice was gravely. "Prayers for the wicked must not be forsaken."

"She certainly was wicked." Michael frowned.

"Not for her. For me." The assassin secured his sidearm, then walked around the desk toward Michael. "The measure of an individual can be difficult to discern by actions alone. Take you, for instance. All this destruction..." He looked around the room. "Chaos." He waved a hand. "I was curious to see how far you'd go to find me. Well..." He met Michael's eyes. "Here I am."

"I do want to talk to you..." Michael shrugged. "But how did you know I was here?"

"Gunfire and explosions. I prefer to work quietly. If I have to fight through guards, I've made a mistake. I rarely make mistakes." The assassin walked past Michael to give Garrus and Jack appraising looks. He did a pretty good job of ignoring the fact that Garrus was still pointing a rifle at him. "You disrupted my plan, but your distraction eventually proved valuable."

If he let the man keep talking, there was a good chance he was going to punch him. And that probably wouldn't end well. "Let's cut to the chase. I need you for a mission."

"Indeed?" The assassin clasped his hands behind his back.

"You're familiar with the Collectors?"

The assassin... Thane? Went back to pacing. "By reputation."

"They're abducting entire human colonies. Freedom's Progress was their handiwork."

It took a few moments for Thane to respond. "I see."

"We're going after them."

Thane turned to face him. "Attacking the Collectors would require passing through the Omega 4 relay. No ship has ever returned from doing so."

"They tell me it's a suicide mission." Michael shrugged. "I intend to prove them wrong."

"A suicide mission." Thane turned to face the window. "Yes. A suicide mission will do nicely." He glanced at Shepard. "I'm dying. Low survival odds don't concern me. The abduction of your colonists does."

Well, that was... Something he should leave to Doctor Chakwas. "I take it that means you're on the team?"

"I will work for you Shepard." Thane held out his hand, and Michael took it. "No charge."

#

Miranda raised an eyebrow as they landed near the rendezvous point. "Where did you get the skycar?"

"Stole it." Michael shrugged. "Was considering keeping it, but it corners for shit. How'd you do?"

"We found almost everything we needed." Tali bounced a little. "Except for -"

Kasumi blinked into visibility and held up something. "Got it." She vanished again.

"We're good." Tali nodded.

"Pretty sure the Illusive Man is paying you enough to afford a cab." Jacob shook his head.

Michael stared at him for a moment, then just sighed and rubbed his forehead. He held up one hand. "The point." He put his other hand a couple feet lower. "You." He shrugged. "Let's get back to the Normandy."

#

"I've heard impressive stories, Krios. Sounds like you'll be an asset to the team." Jacob folded his arms. He glanced at Michael. "That is, if you're comfortable having an assassin watch your back."

When it came to comfort levels, an assassin ranked somewhat higher than a Cerberus operative. Thane spoke up. "I've accepted a contract. My arm is Shepard's."

"Uh-huh." Jacob gave him a skeptical look. "Don't know about you, but I'm loyal to more than my next paycheck."

And yet, he worked for Cerberus. "Obviously he is, too. He's doing this mission gratis. What's your concern?" Michael narrowed his eyes at Jacob.

"I don't like mercenaries. An assassin is just a precise mercenary."

Thane remained calm. "An assassin is a weapon. A weapon doesn't choose to kill. The one who wields it does." He turned his eyes toward Michael. "Where shall I put my things? I'd prefer someplace dry, if anything is available."

EDI's hologram appeared. "The area near the life support plant on the crew deck tends to be slightly more arid than the rest of the ship."

"Ah. An AI?" Thane nodded. "My thanks." He actually bowed before taking his leave.

"He seems quite civil," EDI said.

Michael turned to face Jacob. "Anything else you want to say?"

"Not sure you'd listen." Jacob frowned.

"Then you listen. You were Alliance. You turned your back on that. So as far as my trust goes, you're pretty low on the totem pole. You're a nice guy, Jacob. But sometimes I wonder if you have any clue what it is you're actually fighting for." Michael narrowed his eyes. "Dismissed."

#

He touched the communicator, and then immediately saluted. "Admiral Hackett."

"At ease." Hackett nodded to him. "Report to Arcturus station."

"Sir?" Kaidan blinked.

"You've been transferred back to my command." Hackett reached for the control of his communication unit. "Hackett out."

Kaidan stared at the comm unit. He'd been expecting to go back to... He sighed, and sank down into his chair. Was Hackett looking out for him or Shepard? "Probably both..." He shook his head. Then he stood, and headed out to get some fresh air.