All was quiet in the War Room. After Shepard's outburst in the CIC, Ashley, Garrus and Liara went back to the War Room in an attempt to see if they could find a solution to their current dilemma. None of them wanted to let Tali be killed but they knew they couldn't condemn ten innocent people to die in order to save her. Unfortunately not much planning was being done as they were all worried about how Shepard was doing.

"Should you go up and talk to him?" Liara asked Ashley.

Ashley shook her head, "not now. He just needs time."

"But we can't wait too long," said Garrus, "the longer we wait to do something, the lower our chances of saving Tali and the hostages."

"He knows that Garrus. This isn't the first time he's been in a situation like this."

"What do you mean?"

"We all know that there have been times where Shepard had to make a decision that could have resulted in the death of a friend. The thing is that's what is bothering him the most right now. The last few times he's been in this position, he did lose friends and now he might have to go through that again."

Garrus and Liara both bowed their heads somberly as they thought back to the times Ashley was refereeing to. The first was back on Virmire during their mission against Saren. Shepard had to leave their squadmate Lieutenant Kaiden Alenko to die in a nuclear blast so that he could save Ashley and the salarian troops she was assisting. He would later get into a similar position during the final moments of the Reaper War. He had been given three choices for how to use the Crucible to defeat the Reapers. The choice he ultimately made resulted in the death of all synthetic life, including the geth and his A.I. squadmate EDI. He wished he could have gone with either of the other options but they had too many unknowns that he was not willing to take chances with.

Ultimately though, the thing that bothered Shepard the most about those moments was he couldn't help wondering if he made the choices he did for selfish reasons. Did he sacrifice Kaiden because he didn't want to lose Ashley? Did he sacrifice the geth and EDI because it was the option that gave him a slim chance of surviving? It took time but he eventually was able to convince himself that he made what he considered to be the best choice at the time. Even so, the guilt over making choices that resulted in the deaths of friends still slightly lingered.

Garrus let out a frustrated sigh and rubbed the back of his neck, "Luciana wasn't kidding when she said the backer was going to make Shepard suffer."

"Indeed," Liara replied, "I just wish I knew what it is the backer thinks Shepard did to them. I'm not saying I believe Shepard murdered someone but that knowledge could help us identify who the backer is."

"For all we know Liara the backer is as insane as Luciana and Toombs are," said Ashley, "they're probably using Shepard as a surrogate for the real source of their problems. We do need to identify the backer but I doubt we're going to do that by looking into something that may not have happened at all. In any case, the thing we need to fully focus on is saving Tali and the hostages."

Suddenly, the door to the War Room opened revealing Shepard on the other side. To the relief of everyone in the room, there didn't seem to be any trace of the anger Shepard showed in the CIC. Shepard only took one step into the room and asked everyone to join him in the neighboring briefing room. When he turned to leave, the others quietly followed him into the briefing room and each took a spot at the table in the center. Shepard stood at one end, Ashley stood at the other, and Garrus and Liara each took one of the sides. Once everyone was settled, Shepard spoke.

"First off," he began, "I want to apologize for my outburst in the CIC. I let the backer get to me and I lost it for a minute."

"You don't need to apologize for that Shepard," said Liara, "we understand your frustration. We all feel the same way. Whatever you need, we're here to help."

Ashley and Garrus both nodded to affirm what Liara said.

"Thanks everyone. I've decided there is no way I'm going to let the backer take another friend from us. Nor do I have any intention of letting those hostages die. The backer said I'm supposed to choose one or the other but I'm not going to. We're going to save both."

"How are we going to do that?" asked Ashley.

"By splitting up. While I was up in my cabin, I made arrangements with Councilor Hackett to send a cruiser to rendezvous with the Normandy. Half of us will take one of the kodiaks to board the cruiser and head to Shanxi. The rest of us will stay with the Normandy and head to Rannoch. Upon arriving at our destinations, each team will take the kodiaks to their target location. Since the shuttles are equipped with stealth technology similar to the Normandy's, we can reach the targets undetected. The rest of the plan depends on stealth and precision timing. It will be difficult but I know we can pull it off and save everyone."

"I volunteer to be on the team that goes to Rannoch," said Garrus.

"I figured you would Garrus."

"Shepard," said Ashley, "I think Liara and I should go to Shanxi and you should go with Garrus. That way we have one Spectre on each team. You never know if having someone with Spectre status might come in handy."

To Ashley's confusion, Liara seemed unsure about her suggestion. Liara then looked over to Shepard with questioning expression. Shepard held up his hand to in an attempt to wave off any questions she seemed to be about to ask. Ashley then looked to Garrus who seemed to be making every effort to avoid making eye contact with her.

"What is it?" Ashley asked.

"Well…" Liara started to say before noticing that Shepard was shaking his head. She then saw that Ashley's confused expression was now turning to one of impatience. She sighed as she decided that she was going to continue despite Shepard's warnings. "Forgive me Ashley, but are you sure that you're well enough to go on another mission?

Shepard hand smacked against his face as he continued shaking his head. Garrus took a step back from the table in anticipation for whatever explosion came next. And from the mean glare Ashley was giving Liara, an explosion was imminent. Liara held up her hands in a surrender gesture and continued.

"It's just that you didn't look well on the shuttle ride to the facility."

"I'M FINE!" Ashley said aggressively. "I told you and Garrus that it was just nerves! You don't need to worry about me."

"She's right Ashley," Shepard interrupted, "I actually had the same idea you did but then I realized we forgot to have you see the doctor regarding the way you've been feeling lately. Before I decide to let you come with us, I need you to see Dr. Chakwas so that she can determine if you're fit for duty."

"Shepard you can't be serious. Tali and those hostages need our help now. We don't have time to waste for me to get a checkup."

"You were willing to get a checkup a few minutes ago."

"That was before all of this started happening. I'll get it after Tali and the hostages are safe."

Shepard put his hands on the table and leaned forward as he spoke with a stern tone, "Commander Williams need I remind you that I'm the captain of this ship. If I say I need you to go and see the doctor, then you are going to go and see the doctor."

Now both Garrus and Liara had nervously stepped back from the table. It was clear from the shock on Ashley's face that she couldn't believe Shepard had actually pulled rank on her. But instead of getting angry at Shepard, she looked like she was about to cry. Everyone else exchanged nervous glances as they waited for Ashley to give some kind of response.

"Permission to speak Captain," Ashley said while struggling to keep herself together.

Shepard almost denied her request immediately but then his eyes locked with Ashley's. Suddenly his stern expression disappeared. He knew that as Ashley's commanding officer he should be denying her request right then and close the matter. But as Ashley's husband, he didn't like seeing her like this and didn't want to make it worse by cutting her off. He let out a frustrated sigh. He knew this was why the Alliance had strict rules against soldiers fraternizing with each other and would normally not allow married soldiers to serve in the same chain of command. If it wasn't for his and Ashley's record showing how well they worked together and their Spectre statuses, they probably wouldn't have been in this situation. Even so, he had no regrets about being able to work with Ashley.

"Granted," he finally replied.

"I know I said that I'm scared because I don't know what's wrong with me right now. But the only thing that scares me more is the thought of losing Tali. I meant what I said at the café when I said she is like a sister to me and you know how much it would destroy me if anything happened to my sisters. If my coming along on this mission can help us ensure that both she and the hostages survive, then I need to come along. I promise that I won't be a liability and I will get a checkup once the mission is over."

All eyes were now on Shepard as they waited for him to make a decision. Being in this position was an experience Shepard was all too used to being in. Throughout the entire Reaper War, people were always looking to him to decide the next course of action. This current decision he needed to make didn't have such far reaching consequences as the ones during the war but it was a tough one all the same.

On the one hand, Shepard didn't want to send Ashley into the field if she wasn't at her best. He had already lost too many people he cared about thanks to the backer and he didn't want Ashley to be the next one to be lost. On the other hand, he knew that Ashley would never forgive him for what might be considered as "overprotecting" her. One of the things Shepard loved about Ashley was how she handled herself in dangerous situations. He never had to worry about her when they were on missions together because he knew she was capable of taking care of herself. If he kept her out of the field, it might look like he was losing that trust.

Then Shepard realized that he was thinking like a husband. Innocent lives were hanging in the balance and he needed to be thinking like a soldier. While he would normally not allow someone under his command to go on missions if their health was in question, for this one he was going to need all the help he could get. Besides he wasn't sending Ashley in alone. She would be with Liara who was one of the few people Shepard could trust Ashley's life with unconditionally. Shepard had made his decision.

"All right, you and Liara will head to Shanxi while I go to Rannoch with Garrus."

A small smile appeared on Ashley's face, "thanks skipper."

"I'm not finished," Shepard continued, "I'm also allowing you to take point on your part of the mission. If however at any point during the mission you feel uneasy, then Liara is to take charge. Am I clear?"

Ashley snapped to attention and saluted, "aye-aye Captain."

Shepard returned the salute and then turned to Garrus and Liara, "you two head down to the cargo bay and get your gear together. Ashley and I will go over the details of the plan and meet you down there. Crew dismissed."

Garrus and Liara nodded and left the briefing room. Shepard then began to push some buttons on the table and the glass wall behind him began to show a series of images. As he started to go over his plan for the rescue mission with Ashley, a part of him was silently hoping he had made the right decision.

It may not have been the Normandy, but Ashley knew that the SSV Shanghai would get her and Liara to Shanxi without much difficulty. While not much different from other cruisers, Ashley couldn't help but feel in awe being aboard it. She had heard the stories about what the Shanghai did for the colony on Uqbar during the Reaper War. The Reapers were about to reach the colony and the Shanghai was the closest ship that could assist. Unfortunately, being a cruiser, the ship couldn't land on the medium-gravity world. So the captain dispatched all the ship's shuttles to evacuate the colonists. Making an impressive 41 shuttle runs in a single hour, the Shanghai managed to evacuate the entire remaining population, leaving nothing for the Reapers except an empty colony that resembled a ghost town. Everyone in the Alliance knew of the heroics of the Shanghai and now Ashley was aboard it.

After saying their goodbyes to the Normandy crew, including a farewell kiss Ashley shared with Shepard, Ashley and Liara took one of the Normandy's shuttles to board the Shanghai. The ship's captain personally welcomed them aboard and took them to one of the ship's observation decks that had been cleared out for Ashley and Liara's use. Once they were settled in, Ashley and Liara began going over their plans for when they reached Shanxi.

According to the latest reports from the Alliance negotiators on the ground, the terrorists inside the trade center had finally reached out to them. Unfortunately the terrorists weren't interested in negotiating. All they said before hanging up was that the only ones who were allowed to approach the trade center were Captain Shepard and his crew. If they saw anyone else trying to get inside, the hostages would be killed. Other than that, there was nothing new to report since the last time the negotiators reported to Alliance command.

"What do we know about the hostages?" Ashley asked Liara as they were going over the reports.

"The ten hostages still in the building are the CEO's of major companies based in Alliance space," Liara replied, "they were on Shanxi to attend a conference hosted at the trade center. Among the companies represented are Nashan Stellar Dynamics, the Sirta Foundation, the Morrison Company and the Exogeni Corporation just to name a few. These people are essentially the ten wealthiest people in Alliance space. Their influence over their respected companies makes their survival essential. If these people die, their companies could take a long time to rebuild their organization structure and there's no telling what could happen to the Alliance economy as a result."

"Well we're going to make sure nothing happens to them."

"So what's the plan that you and Shepard worked out?"

"Basically once you and I get to the trade center, we're going to try to infiltrate the building undetected and locate the hostages. The hard part though is we have to reach the hostages without engaging the hostiles in any way."

Liara looked at Ashley like she was crazy, "that's going to be difficult. We have no idea how many hostiles there are between us and the hostages. There may be enough that it could be impossible to sneak past them all without attacking."

"If the hostiles are communicating with each other, they will notice if we take someone out. When that happens, they will know we're coming. As soon as they do, they will then call their people on Rannoch and we will have lost Tali. Shepard did say that this was going to require stealth and timing. While he and Garrus try to find the hostiles going after Tali, we need to get as close to the hostages as we can. Once Shepard gives us the signal that Tali's safe, we swoop in and save the hostages before the hostiles guarding them are told what happened on Rannoch."

"How will they signal us? They can't communicate with us via our comm. or omni-tools from across the galaxy."

"No but the comm. specialist here on the Shanghai will be using the ship's QECs (quantum-entanglement communicators) to communicate with Traynor on the Normandy. The two of them will help relay messages between us."

"I guess that will have to do."

Ashley was about to continue the briefing when a familiar feeling began to overtake her. She tried to press on but this one was stronger than the previous times she felt this way. Liara quickly picked up on Ashley's discomfort and raced to bring over a nearby waste basket. The basket barely reached Ashley before she threw up. Ashley then kept the basket close to her mouth in case it happened again. As she did, Liara helped her over to a couch to sit down. No sooner had Ashley sat down that she did indeed throw up again.

Liara shook her head and sighed as she watched, "Ashley you need to see a doctor. You're in no shape to go on this mission. It's going to be hard enough for us to sneak past the hostiles without the risk of you throwing up."

"No Liara it's fine," Ashley said as her nauseous feeling started to go away, "if I'm throwing up now then I'm sure I can get through the mission before it happens again."

"I'm sorry Ashley but I can't let you come. Shepard said I was to take charge if your health was in question. You're staying on the Shanghai and I'll get some of the marines on board to help me."

"Liara I'm not going to sit this one out. Besides, as much as I hate to say it, having the marines go with you is a bad idea. You and I are the only ones who know about everything that's at stake here. As far as the marines will be concerned, the only thing that matters is helping the hostages. Even if we told them about Tali, it's going to be hard to convince them to go with our plan. Like it or not Liara, you need me. Please."

Despite Ashley now looking at her with pleading eyes, Liara shook it off and started to head out of the observation room. However she stopped when she was in the doorway. From Ashley's point of view it looked like she was trying to move but something was holding her back. Finally Liara turned back to face Ashley.

"I'm going to regret this but I'll let you come and stay in charge," she said, "but I take charge the minute you feel sick."

"Thanks Liara," Ashley replied as she got up from the couch and went back to look at the reports, "now where were we?"

Down in the Normandy's cargo bay, Shepard and Garrus were in the armory picking out their weapons. As they did, Shepard was going over what he had learned regarding Tali's trip to Rannoch.

When he made the arrangements with Councilor Hackett for the Shanghai to transport Ashley and Liara's to Shanxi, Shepard had also asked him to tell Councilor Zaal'Koris to call him. He was not willing to try and navigate the quarian embassies' phone chain again to call the councilor directly and knew Hackett would have an easier time getting through than he would. The reason for the request was because Shepard knew that if anybody could explain why Tali had been sent to Rannoch, it was him. He got the call shortly after he finished his call with Hackett and when Shepard had finished explaining the situation to him, Koris was understandably distraught and asked Shepard how he could help. He then told Shepard that Tali had been sent back to Rannoch to witness and give a speech at the opening of the Geth Memorial Park. Koris explained that his duties as councilor kept him from being able to go himself so he had asked Tali to go in his place. The last thing Shepard asked for was any documents that could show him the layout of the park and show any neighboring structures.

Koris then asked Shepard if he should call Rannoch and have them increase the security measures for the ceremony. As much as Shepard wanted to do that, he knew that the backer's forces could be alerted to the extra security and would then order the execution of the hostages at Shanxi. So he told Koris not to do anything. Despite some initial hesitation, Koris agreed saying that he owed Shepard for saving his life during the Reaper War and ending the quarians' conflict with the geth. He then wished Shepard luck and ended the call.

Now that they knew what Tali was doing on Rannoch, Shepard figured that the best time for the backer's forces to kill her would be during her speech. At that point, all they would need to do it was a trained sniper. Given the fact that Toombs alone had already been able to snipe two people and get away undetected, it would make him the best choice to do it. It was true Tali never worked for Cerberus but then again neither did Shepard. As with Shepard, all it would probably take for Toombs to be willing to kill Tali was the fact that she willingly worked with Cerberus on the Collector mission.

"So the plan is for us to do some counter-sniping?" Garrus asked as he was putting a thermal scope mod on his sniper rifle.

"Exactly," Shepard replied, "according to the documents Councilor Koris sent me, there's an apartment building that will be behind Tali when she's giving her speech. That building offers us the best vantage point to see everything that is in front of Tali."

"What if the shooter decides to use the same building we are?"

"He won't. The building gives an ideal view for us but not for him. Tali will be speaking on a stage that they built in the park and it has a large backdrop directly behind her. Even from the top floor, the shooter would not be able to see over the backdrop making it impossible for him to line up a shot. He'll be in one of the buildings that face the front of the stage. All we need to do is find him and then we wait for the signal from Ashley and Liara that they've reached the hostages. We'll then take out the shooter and that will be their cue to save the hostages."

Garrus nodded to acknowledge the plan. By all accounts, it sounded like a simple plan. The only thing making it hard was the fact they had to time everything with Ashley and Liara's operation. It slightly bothered him that they wouldn't be able to take out the sniper as soon as they found him. Normally, once Garrus had his target in sight and the shot lined up, he would take the shot right then. He understood why they had to wait but while he would be having the shooter in his sight, they would have his fiancé in their sight. He quickly shook his head in an attempt to get the thought out of his mind. This caught Shepard's attention.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

"No it's…." Garrus began to say before a thought cut him off. He sighed. If the thought he had about Tali earlier came back during the operation, he might be tempted to do something stupid and this mission could not afford that. To Shepard's surprise, Garrus stopped working on his rifle and set it down on the weapons bench.

"Shepard," he continued, "I want you to be the one doing the sniping."

"What?" Shepard asked confused.

"This mission is too important to risk my personal feelings getting in the way. You know the mission and you have the focus to see it through."

"Garrus you're the better shot between the two of us. It needs to be you."

It was hard to say for sure but Shepard could have sworn that Garrus then gave him what seemed to be the turian equivalent of a sly smile.

"I'd like to believe that Shepard," he said, "but you and I both know the only reason I beat you when we had our shooting match on the Citadel was because you missed that last shot on purpose."

Initially Shepard was surprised by Garrus' statement but then he chuckled. He remembered that day well. On one of their visits to the Citadel during the Reaper War, Garrus took Shepard up to the Presidium and challenged him to a shooting match so they could finally settle who the better shot was. When it was Shepard's last turn, he knew that he would be able to hit the target easily. However, he chose instead to miss the target deliberately to give Garrus a little confidence booster. Taking the loss was worth it to hear Garrus shout "I'M GARRUS VAKARIAN AND THIS IS NOW MY FAVORITE SPOT ON THE CITADEL!" Now the cat was apparently out of the bag and Garrus knew the truth.

Garrus continued, "in my opinion Shepard, you're the better shot between the two of us and that's why I'd rather it be you who takes the shot."

Shepard thought about it for a second and then nodded, "okay Garrus. If you want me to do it, I'll do it."

"Thanks Shepard."

At that moment, they heard Joker's voice over the ship's intercom, "bridge to Captain Shepard, we're approaching Rannoch."

That was Shepard and Garrus' cue to get ready to leave the Normandy. They gathered their gear together and headed for the waiting shuttle.

"Garrus," Shepard said while they loaded up their gear, "don't tell Ashley I said this but in my opinion you're the best shot that I know."

Garrus laughed and gave Shepard a playful shove as they stepped on board the shuttle.