Shepard stumbled down the short ramp into the comm room, her knuckles mining for sleep crusties in the corners of her eyes. "Who was it calling again, Joker?" she asked, her voice slurring a little. "I wasn't quite conscious the last time you told me." She ran her fingers through her hair, pausing to glance in a monitor. "Oh man, I shouldn't have gone to bed with wet hair. I look like Cruella de Vil." She shook a fist at her reflection. "Bring me those puppies!"

She sighed, shoulders sagging, and ran her tongue over the fur coating in her mouth. "Oh good lord, carpet mouth." What damned time was it, anyway? She wanted to be all warm and cozy, snuggled up against her own personal turian-shaped heating pad. So toasty. Whatever the bastard wanted, whomever it was dragging her out of bed so early, it had better be damned important.

"It's Admiral Hackett," the pilot answered. "Did you get up without putting your brain in this morning?"

She sighed. "Something like that." She patted down her hair. "By the way, lack of brain function does not make my being so short with you yesterday any more acceptable. I'm sorry about that, Joker, but I have asked Garrus to pick up my slack if I'm incapacitated. So on occasion, he may have an order."

"Aye aye, Captain Cruella. Patching the admiral through now."

Yep, still pissed off. Oh well, he'd get over it when he got over it.

Shepard turned away from the monitor and hurried over to the comm terminal. As the holographic image of Admiral Hackett appeared, she snapped a crisp salute. "Admiral Hackett. How may I help you, sir?"

The admiral smiled and returned her salute, then shook his head. "You just roll out of your rack, Shepard?"

Shepard felt her neck heat, and try as she might to keep her hands at her sides, they crept up to pat down the massive rooster tail sticking out of her head. "It's a new tactic, sir. Frighten the enemy to death with terrifying hairstyles." Her hands dropped back to the console.

"And how is that working for you?" One eyebrow raised, stretching the terrible scar across his face.

"Not as well as I would have hoped with the turians." She shook her head. "Terrible hair envy there. I'm considering starting the Hair Club for Turians. I'll make a fortune. Retire." She chuckled and shrugged, her smile fading when the admiral barely cracked a grin. Something major was going on. "As much as I always enjoy hearing from you, sir, you have the look of an officer with a problem more serious than my unique flair for style." She cocked a hip and crossed her arms, not liking the way he stiffened. His was a posture of catastrophic news. "What's happened?"

"We've lost control of one of the VIs that manages enemy tactics at the Luna live fire simulation base. It's gone rogue. Killed everyone on the base. I sent in Adolisky and Neve with nearly a full platoon of Marines. It wiped them out." He leaned back, the mirror image of her closed off posture. She sensed something lurking behind his practiced calm, something other than reaction to losing a lot of good men and women to a VI.

"The VI, sir . . . is it still a VI? Those simulations have to learn, plan, anticipate . . .. Is there any chance it could have grown out of bounds?" The slight play of muscles along his jaw answered the question.

"We're not that careless, Shepard. It's still a virtual intelligence, not an AI. It's not thinking on its own." He dropped his arms and straightened, hands darting to clasp behind his back. "It's not aware."

She allowed a ghost of a smile to lift one corner of her mouth. Full plausible deniability mode. Once upon a time, months could pass at a stretch without her seeing the company man behind the soldier. "What's going on with the Alliance, sir?"

He shook his head, one sharp movement to either side. "Nothing you need concern yourself with, Shepard. Divert to Luna at your earliest possible chance and shut that thing down. I refuse to lose any more people. Understood?"

She opened her mouth to argue. Ice crackled through her cells, chilling her to the core as his eyes told her the exact opposite. They also told her to shut up and play along. "Yes, sir, I understand. Until I do get there, the facility is quarantined? No one in or out?"

"It is." His chest rose and fell sharply with a heavy sigh. "I know you're busy with Saren, but I can't see throwing away any more people when I know you can handle it."

She saluted. "Understood, sir. Send everything you have on the base, armaments . . . anything I might face going in. I'll be there within four days."

"I'll have everything we've got on the base and the VI sent to your terminal by 1200. Good luck, Shepard. Hackett out."

Shepard leaned forward against the console, allowing all the confusion and misgivings that had just pricked the surface during the call to work themselves all the way forward in her head, jostling for position.

"Nothing unusual about that, at all."

Shepard spun, her heart taking off like a partridge flushed out of long grass. Pounding on her chest with a fist, she cursed, then laughed. "You just scared the living snot out of me, Kryik." Collapsing into the nearest chair, she leaned back. "You don't carry a defibrillator, do you?"

He chuckled and sat in the chair next to hers, turned so he faced her. "Hackett thinks they have a rogue AI, doesn't he?"

"Yeah." Shepard pushed herself up, crossing her arms as she leaned back. "There's more going on than that, though. He just can't talk about it." She looked him over. "You look better today. How are you feeling?"

"As though I'll definitely survive." He shrugged. "How about you? You look a little ragged around the edges, but your eyes don't look —"

"Shepard?" Joker called, interrupting Nihlus. "You have another call coming in. This one is from an Admiral Kahoku."

Shepard stood and tried to pat down her rooster tail yet again.

"Captain Shepard?" An older, grizzled fellow in an admiral's uniform appeared in front of her.

Shepard saluted. "Yes, sir. I'm Shepard."

"I'm Admiral Kahoku." He snapped a crisp salute. "Thank you for finding my men, Captain." He deflated a little, his shoulders bowing with some unseen weight. "I know their deaths have something to do with Armistan Banes. I've put out feelers . . . even gone to the Shadow Broker trying to find out why they were killed." He shifted into parade rest, his hands clasped behind his back. "The only thing I have been able to turn up is the name of a pro-human splinter organization, Cerberus."

Shepard stiffened as she heard the name and glanced back at Nihlus. "I've heard of them in connection to a shady scientific project. But if Banes is dead, why bother killing the men who found his body? It doesn't add up, Admiral."

He nodded. "I agree. Nothing about this has made sense. My men found the body drifting on that ship, brought it back to Arcturus, and then the paper trail just disappears."

Shepard took a deep breath, debating whether or not to even ask her next question. "Is it possible the body your men found wasn't Armistan Banes? I know an old acquaintance of his who's pretty sure he's still alive and in contact with her."

"The iris scan said it was Banes, but they had no reason to doubt it was him, so just brought him back without further inquiry. If Banes is still alive, who the hell did they pull out of that ship?"

Shepard shook her head. "If the body is gone, we'll likely never know. I'm working with Nihlus Kryik, one of the council's Spectres." She nodded for Nihlus to join her. "Let us dig into this from here on, Admiral. We're already after Cerberus to try to find out why it's involved in this other matter. Whatever we find out, we'll report back to you."

The admiral nodded as Nihlus stepped up just behind Shepard's shoulder. "Thank you both. I can't help but feel as if this entire matter is going somewhere very dark, but hell if I know where. According to scuttlebutt, Cerberus has their hands in assassinations, supposed 'accidental' eezo exposures, experimentation to create super soldiers. Be careful, Captain."

Shepard nodded, then snapped a salute. "You too, Admiral. We'll be in touch when we learn anything."

"Thank you. Kahoku out."

Shepard turned to face Nihlus when the channel closed. "Like we have time for this."

The Spectre nodded. He turned and paced to the ramp, then back. "They're considered a terrorist organization by the council and the Alliance, but we've never heard of them? Barla Von sent a packet of information that the Shadow Broker has relating to them, but it's minimal. The sites of a few bases, some suspicion that they were behind some thresher maw attack that wiped out a platoon on Akuze." He perched on the edge of the closest chair, still looking uncomfortable, but much better than the day before. "Same deal as Kahoku's men, a distress beacon placed where the Alliance personnel would walk into the nest."

"Yeah, I heard about that. Nasty business." Running a hand through her curls, Shepard let out an exasperated sigh. "We're being snowed under here. A side trip to Luna, Wrex's armour, who knows what we're going to need to do after Illium . . .." Throwing up her hands, she thumped down in the seat opposite his. "Now Cerberus … and why the hell am I worrying about this Armistan Banes guy anyway? Dr. Michel is reporting that everything is fine at the clinic these days. Maybe he is dead."

Nihlus just stared at her for long seconds before he asked, "After this base, we're headed straight for Illium?"

"Yeah. I was planning on taking Liara, Shiala, and Ashley to meet with Aethyta. Did you want to come with? I'm hoping whatever legacy Benezia left behind helps us out." Her eyes narrowed as she finished, evaluating his condition the best she could through the plates and his even more inscrutable stoicism. "How did you come through yesterday? Any new damage?"

He chuckled, the sound warm and reassuring. "I'm fine. You did more damage wrestling with me on the floor of the ladies' head."

She winced. "Yeah, sorry about that. I really am a terrible drunk."

"Shepard?" Joker's voice came through over the intercom once again.

"What can I do for you this time, Flight Lieutenant?" she asked, turning toward the console. She needed to get showered and go over the OSD Benezia had given her.

"Another call for you, Captain."

Sighing, she pushed herself out of her chair. "Aren't I just the most popular girl today?" Spinning on her heel, she stalked back to the console. "Who is it this time? An admiral needing me to pick up his dry cleaning? Take his dog to the groomer? Organize his sock drawer, maybe?"

"No, ma'am. He said his name is Armistan Banes."

The ice that Hackett had sent slithering through her solidified, freezing her in place for a moment before it shattered, melted away by the hope that she might catch a glimpse of the hand manipulating the puppet. She nodded and took a deep breath, searching through the detritus left behind by the weeks of stormy seas to find the old Shepard. The smart ass who took no prisoners.

"Put him through, Joker. Thanks." When the channel opened, she almost laughed. Someone had been watching way too many spy vids. Armistan Banes, if in fact that was the identity of the person in front of her, sat shrouded in shadow, only a faint profile visible in the darkness.

"Captain Shepard," the figure said, shifting slightly in his seat. "I hear you've been trying to get in touch with me?" A faint flash of light glowed orange against clean shaven, pronounced features as he lit a cigarette.

She smiled and clasped her hands behind her back, feet shoulder width apart. "That depends on who I'm speaking to."

He chuckled, a warm sound that made her skin crawl, an infestation of termites eating away just under the surface. He pulled a long, slow drag on his cigarette. "I'm sure the irascible Lt. Moreau told you my name."

"Yes, he told me a name. Whether it belongs to you remains to be seen. My information says that Armistan Banes is dead and has been for quite some time." Watching him carefully gave her no clues as to his identity or whether he was telling the truth. Although, her gut pointed toward truth.

"Death is very often a useful cover for those wishing to disappear, but between Admiral Kahoku, his men, muscle who can't keep their mouths shut and you . . .." He sighed. "Well, let's just say that I didn't expect to be so diligently hunted without first having broken several major laws."

She shrugged. "Oh, I don't know about diligent. I've had a few more important things on my mind. The good doctor Michel seems to be just fine now with her krogan body guards looking after her. If Kahoku hadn't just called me, I'd have forgotten about you completely." She shrugged, hands flipping in a helpless little flourish. "So many things for little ol' me to keep crammed into my head."

Banes chuckled. "Come now, Captain, we both know that what resides between your ears is much more maze full of tricks and steel traps than the cotton you'd like people to believe fills that space." He took another long drag, making a show of tapping and cleaning the ash off the end of his cigarette as he blew the smoke out. He shrugged. "Kahoku no longer interests me. He is tilting at windmills."

Shepard watched Banes, narrow-eyed and calculating. He only showed his weaknesses in the tiniest glimpses. Everything about him read false: an actor playing a part. Her gut twinged, but she packed the reaction down. He was reading her with the exact same level of scrutiny. She needed to be a mirror. "If the admiral no longer interests you, why am I speaking to your carefully constructed image right now?"

"Because you interest me, Captain, and because you interest my employer even more so. He thinks you possess a great deal of potential." He shifted in his seat, uncrossing his legs to lean against the arm of his chair. "The other call you took this morning also greatly interests me. A rogue VI? Ah, the possibilities there are intriguing indeed, aren't they?" He leaned toward the camera a little. "Has the Alliance been colouring outside the lines on AI research?" He smoked for a few seconds then shook his head. "No, they're too busy trying to suck up to the council to risk anything so interesting. That leaves spontaneous self-awareness." He sucked in an eager breath. "Oh, that is exciting, isn't it? The birth of a brand new baby. Not ideal it being born with its hands full of guns, though."

Shepard shook her head and cocked a hip. "There's nothing to say it is an AI. As far as I know, it's a VI with a penchant for killing Alliance soldiers. I don't know how you found out about it, but if I see anyone other than my team at that base, I'll treat them as the enemy." A cold smile of warning blew over her features, freezing them in place.

He dismissed that with a wave of one hand. "Oh, don't worry, I have no intention of running between you and an entire Alliance firebase full of weapons operated by a mad VI. I leave the dodging of bullets to others." He held up his hands. "These are the hands of a precise sort of scientist . . . a surgeon if you will." He shook his head. "Besides, my employer is curious to see Captain Shepard face a worthy challenge."

Shepard paced to the edge of the camera's range and back. "I don't take requests. Your employer gets the urge to have someone dance for his amusement, there are many fine gentlemen's clubs." She leaned into the console. "You both just need to stay away from me, Dr. Michel, and Admiral Kahoku. Don't make me bump you up to the top of my list of priorities."

He nodded. "You aren't my department, Shepard. I agree we should give one another a wide berth, for Admiral Kahoku's sake. He's getting up there, and his heart isn't what it used to be. You and my employer are on the same side of this whole Reaper invasion unpleasantness. To that end, he wanted me to extend this courtesy. Stay out of his affairs, and he'll do the same. He'd hate to have to bump you up his list of priorities."

Shepard opened her mouth to tell him where to shove his threats, but he held up one finger as his other hand stubbed out his smoke. "Take care, Shepard. We'll talk again, I feel certain of that."

For nearly thirty seconds. Shepard stared at the spot where the enigmatic figure had been projected, chasing the encounter and all its elusive subtext through her thoughts. It hadn't been about warning her off, of that much she felt certain. It hadn't been about Kahoku either, she sensed that they didn't care either way if she helped the old man investigate. They intended to mow him over without the care put into digging out a weed or pulling a splinter. She'd send a message to Hackett to keep an eye on Kahoku, but if the admiral insisted on taking on Cerberus, they'd find a way to kill him.

No, that conversation had been about something else entirely, and the real message had been written under the surface.

"That wasn't meant to scare you off," Nihlus said, stepping up behind her again. "It was meant to entice you." He shook his head. "I've heard a lot of whispers about Cerberus and seen a lot of damning testimony, but that call was the only thing that has ever made me nervous. They want you in a bad way, Shepard."

She scowled and looked up into his eyes. "They do, but hell if I know why. Maybe they're just held captive, bound and helpless by the amazing allure of my sultry beauty."

Nihlus shrugged, his mandibles sweeping thoughtfully, but then they dropped and he shook his head, deadpanning, "No, that's not it."

Shepard laughed and elbowed him gently. "Very nice. Be still my heart. You turians and your hopeless romanticism." After a second, she shook off the lingering dread from the call. "Come on, let's go kick some mercenary butt. We have enough real enemies lined up in front of us. Don't really need to be inventing any."

"I blame you," he said, a warm chuckle following the words out. "You're an enemy magnet. Everywhere you go, everyone hates you."

Shepard cackled. "I know. It's great, isn't it?" She palmed the door and slipped past him. "I think it's a magical power."

He shrugged. "It's something." When she took another swing at him, he just reached out and placed his hand on her head, holding her at arm's length. "Ha! Why didn't I think of this weeks ago?"

Shepard spun, ducking out from under his hand, bringing around a kick that she halted right before it impacted his midsection. "That would be why, smart ass." She walked through the door down to the crew deck and trotted down the stairs. At the bottom, she turned to face him. "I am going to grab a shower and tame my bedhead. Meet you in my quarters at 0800 to go over Noveria and Benezia's disk?"

"Sure. See you in a bit." He ducked off toward the crew quarters and his closet.

When she walked around the table into the galley and saw the med bay door, Shepard groaned. Damn, she needed to go in and get her head shrunk. No time for showers or even breakfast. Life was cruel, especially since she felt pretty good, all things considered. Head didn't hurt, thoughts seemed clear and unmuddled with memories. Oh well, she needed to make it through the fight, and if that meant talking about her childhood invisible friend named Mr. Roofydoofus . . ..

"Shit, I hope I don't have to talk about that," she sighed, heading for the med bay door. "I'll sound like an idiot."

"This is going to save us a whole metric buttload of time," Shepard said, letting out a half-sigh, half-chuckle as she moved over the 3D holographic map of Saren's compound on Virmire. "I was going to head there and do all this mapping after Illium, but this frees us to go straight to Luna."

Nihlus leaned over the table, peering down at the map like a giant raptor. "Do you believe we can trust it and the intel Benezia provided? She was indoctrinated. This information could be a trap." He looked up at Shepard without lifting his head. "We need to confirm it before we act on it for sure."

Shepard nodded. "We do." She sighed. "Keep that eagle eye on me. I want to trust this too much. I want to trust the queen too much." She shoved away from the table and paced to her desk. "I'm not a trusting person, Nihlus. I don't trust anything. Add that to how much is messing with my head . . .." Spinning on her heel, she turned back, meeting and holding his gaze. "So, please, keep an eye on me."

A quick nod answered her request. He straightened and stepped around the table. "What do you want to do with this information?" Three long strides carried him across the few metres between them.

"I don't want to take a couple of days doing the surveying just to prove we had correct information to start with." She leaned her hip against the edge of her desk. "See if Barla Von can confirm the information." A smile softened her frown lines, easing the tension between her eyebrows. "He's going to start feeling like our personal information broker soon." That thought started with a chuckle, but then as it settled, opened up an avenue of doubt. "Should we be trying to secure some independent sources of intel? Having all our eggs in the Shadow Broker's basket might not be the best plan."

Nihlus laid his hands on her shoulders. "If it helps, I trust Von. The Broker, no, but Von has done nothing but excellent work for us. I'm sure we can trust what he brings us, if only because what we're giving him back has more than compensated him." He gently pushed Shepard toward the bed. "I want to get some intel of a more pressing nature at the moment."

She frowned up at him, but let him guide her. "And what would that be?" She sat on the edge, watching him through narrowed eyes as he sat next to her and turned, lifting his knee onto the mattress to face her.

He stared at her for a second, then shrugged. "I want to know what's going on, Shepard. You've been off for days, and now you're telling me to keep an eye on you like you think someone is controlling you. It's time to bring me up to speed." Surprisingly, she relaxed under his scrutiny, the contact supportive, not at all uncomfortable as it had been a couple of weeks earlier.

Shepard shook her head a little. For almost a month, they'd wandered a winding and painful road to get back to where they'd been on the second or third day. She'd pushed him too hard back then, so sure of herself, so convinced that she could just flirt her way into a relationship that she could control. God, how could she have been so insanely naive? In the intervening weeks, tornados and hurricanes ripped through, shredding the blissfully ignorant town of Shepard, leaving mobile homes and prefabs sticking upside down out of trees and in ditches.

And yet, look at what you've found with this team, with these two amazing torins, Janey. No control, but maybe something a little more real? Maybe?

"Yeah, I suppose you need to know." She slumped a little and settled back onto the bed. "I don't want it to be common knowledge, though. If things get bad, if my decisions and actions become questionable, then we'll take it to the team." She hardened her stare, warning him without a word that she wouldn't tolerate that knife being turned on her.

He nodded. "You can trust me, Shepard."

Twenty minutes later, Shepard checked her chrono. "We'd better get suited up. It's time for Urdnot Wrex's krant to swing into action." She herded Nihlus to the door. "Are you going to contact Barla Von about confirming Benezia's information?"

Stopping before she could chase him all the way out, he turned back to face her. "Thank you for trusting me." He palmed the door. "As soon as I get into my armour, I'll call Von."

She nodded and stood in the door, watching him walk to the elevator, moving in long, easy strides. At least she didn't have to worry about his injuries any longer. By the time they saw any real action on Luna, he'd be healed up just fine.

Shepard started back into her quarters, but stopped just inside the door and peeked out at the sound of Garrus's voice.

"Wrex!"

The turian walked over to the table, more hesitant than she could remember seeing him. Usually he strode right into things, but he minced as if being dragged to his execution.

The battlemaster glared up at him through narrowed, red eyes. "What do you want, Vakarian? Shouldn't you be suiting up?"

Garrus cleared his throat, but didn't back down. "I may have been . . . um . . .." He cleared his throat again. ". . . insensitive when I listened to the cockpit recording after Shepard drove through that thresher with you and Alenko in the Mako." Taking a deep breath, he straightened until his back cracked. "I wanted to apologize for that."

Wrex held the glare for a moment, then nodded and harrumphed. "Sure. No hard feelings." He held out his hand, but instead of shaking, at the last second he opened his omnitool and hit a button.

Garrus's frantic, flanged curses roared through the galley gaining in volume and pitch until Shepard flinched, covering her ears.

The crowd at the table burst into raucous laughter, and Wrex stood, buffeting the turian with a sharp slap to the shoulder.

"Thanks for the apology, Garrus," he said, a deep rough chuckle chasing the words out of his mouth.

Garrus spun to face Legion, who was replacing his chest panel with a piece of male armour. "Legion!"

The geth looked up, his head flaps shifting in a gentle sigh of movement. "Officer Vakarian?"

The turian stormed over, every inch of him bristling with fury and indignation as he towered over the geth. "How did Wrex get that recording?"

"We were told the information was needed for educational purposes," Legion replied, his tone remaining so completely even that Shepard began to worry that Garrus might just start peeling off head flaps.

"Hey! C-Sec!" she called, stepping out through the door. "May I speak with you for a moment?"

Glowering, Garrus hesitated before spinning on his talons and stalking toward her. The second he passed through the door, however, she stopped worrying for Legion's welfare. All the rigid fury drained from his features, the actor stepping off the stage. Still stalking, but playful rather than angry, he closed on her.

"You called, Captain?" he asked, mandibles fluttering a little. "Did you need something, or just distracting me from giving Legion a 7.21 calibration error?" He laid his hands on her shoulders then slid them down her arms, warm and familiar, intimate in a way that sparked a small nova in her gut. Fear whispered beneath it, but she pushed it into the fire, turning it to ash. A mission waited, a chaperone pacing outside her door to be sure things weren't allowed to go anywhere terrifying.

Shepard grinned as she looked up into his eyes. "I was worried about Legion for a moment or two, but now . . . Legion who?" The grin widened as he returned her smile with a sly, turian one. "Too bad we have a mission in a few minutes."

He chuffed and shook his head. "There's always going to be something that needs doing, Shepard. It all just depends on your priorities."

Her smile melted, candle wax sliding down her jaw to drip on the floor. "This war, finding Saren . . . stopping the Reapers . . . they have to be my priority, Garrus. I can't let anything distract me from that." One hand lifted to hover between them for a moment before lowering, her fingers brushing his hand on their way back to her side.

He caught them. "I know, and I understand, Shepard. That wasn't what I meant. My job is to support you and make sure you have what you need to pull out the win. Sometimes that will mean seeing how many different ways I can get your skin to do that gooseflesh thing." His grin brought hers right back as he added, "Right now, that means chasing you out to your locker and admiring the view while you suit up." His large hand cradled her neck and most of the side of her head. "That's better."

"Let's get moving. The Alliance tossed another mission at us, so we'll be heading straight from Illium to Earth. One of the training VI's has gone rogue on Luna." She stood on tiptoes to kiss him, still needing to grab onto his yoke to pull him down before she pressed her lips to his mouth. Her smile deepened as his arms slipped around her waist, pulling her in. She'd never experienced the simple but amazing feeling of just wanting to kiss someone and have him hold her. After a second, she shook off the sentimentality and pulled away. "Urdnot Wrex awaits, and he is one hell of a taskmaster."

Garrus straightened. "He is."

As she slipped into her armour and made their way down in the elevator, they discussed the problems inherent to uniting the krogan under a single leader, of which there were many. Just like trying to bring the quarians and geth together, it was a road laden with hurdles that had no easy fixes. It required a great deal of cooperation and trust from a people unused to even trusting each other.

Most of the team had already assembled in the cargo bay when Shepard and Garrus arrived. Wrex paced at their head, practically vibrating with eagerness to spring into action.

"Captain?" a soft voice called from behind Shepard's right shoulder.

Shepard turned to face Shiala, her brow furrowing a little as the asari and the rachni queen walked toward her. Garrus touched the captain's shoulder and headed off to join the rest of the krant.

Despite the fact that Shiala said she hadn't felt anything other than peace and beauty in the queen's thoughts, Shepard worried about the queen's influence and possible control over the asari and the rest of them. Still, despite her concerns, the Reapers and Saren had tried to subvert the rachni because they were an enemy that posed a serious threat. That meant a level of trust she could only pray paid off.

"Captain?" Shiala called again, her face creasing to match Shepard's frown. "Are you all right?"

Taking a deep breath, Shepard shook off her hesitancy, glad for her suspicions, but needing to set them aside. "I'm fine, thanks." She looked from the asari to the queen. "Is there something you need?"

Shiala hummed softly as if undecided about speaking then stopped, her head tilting as she presumably listened to the queen. "The queen understands that you are accompanying Urdnot Wrex on a mission? That this mission will help turn his song from darkness to hope."

Shepard nodded. "Yes, we're recovering artifacts that belonged to his people. It will help restore the krogan people's pride and connection to their forebearers."

The queen made a melodic trill, carrying beneath it the eerie whisper that Shepard could just about understand. It infused her with understanding and empathy.

"The rachni pass their memories down from queen to queen," Shiala said. "Each new generation is born with that ancestral memory intact. To the rachni, losing the memory of the ancestors is a huge tragedy . . . it is the loss of everything their people are."

The queen sang again, bringing to the cargo bay an atmosphere of cohesion, purpose, pride in identity. Within two breaths, Shepard saw the effect on the team as they prepared for the mission. They stood straighter, pulling together as a unit in the truest sense of the word. Manipulated by the queen's song or not, they'd go out and kick ass. That alone could prove priceless beyond measure in the coming battles.

Shiara opened her mouth to speak, but then spun around, staring into the queen's face. "No, you can't. You don't have any weapons, any defenses." While Shepard watched, puzzled by the outburst, the asari closed her eyes and let out a long sigh. "Very well." She turned back to Shepard. "She wishes to accompany you on the mission . . . to help Wrex retrieve the memories of his people."

Shepard frowned, turning her attention over her shoulder for a second as she felt someone walk up behind her. Seeing it was Nihlus, she turned her scowl back to the queen. "How do you answer about defenses or weapons? I can't send you into a firefight if you're unable to defend yourself."

"She says that she is neither helpless nor risking herself foolishly." Shiala shrugged. "She's very determined, Captain. The crew of the Normandy are afraid of her and view her with suspicion. She believes this will help."

Glancing back at Nihlus, Shepard raised her eyebrows in query. If the queen didn't think herself at risk, who was Shepard to tell her no. It wasn't even Shepard's mission.

Nihlus bobbed his head in a shrug, but his mandibles spread and flicked hard in a way that made her think of a boy being allowed to take his most impressive toy into school to show his friends. "If she thinks she can handle it, I say leave it to Wrex. It's his show." He chuckled. "I doubt she'll take any fire. Between her and Legion . . . those mercs will run for their lives."

"True enough." Shepard levelled a scowl of mock disapproval at him and gasped. "Oh! I see how it is. You want to get your picture taken looking all badass next to a rachni. Strut down the Citadel admiring your image on posters, t-shirts, and lunch boxes." She shook her head. "Sweet baby Jesus, that's shameless. I feel a little sick."

He chuffed. "Yeah, you have that effect. Lunch boxes?" Brow plates raised, he shook his head. "Sometimes I swear that nothing but crazy falls out when you open your mouth."

Giving the Spectre a flippant shrug, Shepard refocused on the queen. She hoped Nihlus was right about the rachni not taking fire . . . the terrified enemy could decide to invest all their bullets in taking down the giant spider. One could never be too sure which way fear would turn. However, if the queen assisting Wrex on his mission helped smooth the path to cooperation between the two species, it could prove well worth the risk.

"If she wants to help, I have no issue with it, but she needs to clear it with Wrex. Whatever he decides, stands." Shepard started toward the cargo ramp and the pacing krogan, but paused after a couple of steps. "If he agrees, be careful. If you draw fire, take cover behind the rest of the team. You're not expendable."

The queen replied by way of a stately dip of her head.

"I've lost my mind," Shepard grumbled, returning to her path across the bay.

"We figured that out weeks ago, ma'am," Jenkins said, his face expressionless. His eyes glanced her way for only a split second, then returned front. "Surprised you haven't puzzled it out until now."

Shepard pivoted back to face the queen and raised both index fingers to point at the corporal. "This one. If you're fired on, take cover behind this one right here." She elbowed Jenkins as she passed.

"Twenty minutes to Mako drop," Joker's call over the intercom interrupted any protests from Jenkins. "Thirty five to touch down."

"Roger that," Shepard replied. "Bring us right in on Actus's front door, Joker."

Shepard stepped up beside Wrex as the battlemaster faced the team. "So, Urdnot Wrex, how does it feel to be leading your multi-species platoon into battle for the last time?" She looked back up the cargo bay to the pile of crates containing the krogan artifacts seized in the first two raids.

The krogan chuckled, a low, rumbling grunt. "If you're not careful, you're going to inflate my hump, Shepard." He turned to face her, the humour draining from his face. "Thank you." He held out his hand, squeezing her fingers in a strangle-hold when she took it. "Forgot what it felt like to take pride in being krogan." He cleared his throat and let her go, straightening. "Maybe I never knew."

"I'll leave you to it," she said, slapping him on the shoulder and retreating back to the second line, elbowing her way in beside Ashley.

Shiara and the queen approached the krogan battlemaster, but Shepard couldn't hear what they said. Wrex stiffened for a second then shrugged, his voice carrying as he said, "Fine, but you stay with me. If you even twitch the wrong way, I'll put you down. They take you out, it's no skin off my hump, just one less bug uglying up the galaxy." He jutted out his chin and grunted. "Get in line."

Shepard chuckled softly, one eyebrow raising toward her hairline. She hadn't expected Wrex to go along with it. "Curiouser and curiouser," she muttered under her breath, wondering if the queen had used her song to influence the krogan.

"Alenko," Wrex called out, a sharp bark of sound that yanked Shepard from her thoughts and made everyone jump, "you're piloting the Mako. Vakarian, canon. Chase, turret. Intel shows four sniper perches and a small platoon of ground troops with portable cover. You'll have fifteen minutes to take them out before we land." He waited a second as those three stepped out of their lines, snapping off sharp salutes. "I want to walk in there like I already own his ass. Make sure I do." He nodded toward the Mako. "Go!"

Shepard grinned as the entire assembled team jumped again, startled by the krogan's bellow. He had them all scurrying like FNG's straight out of zero g training and still green around the—

"Shepard! Kryik! Williams! You're team leaders. The building has one entrance. When we go in, Shepard will lead Team Pyjak to the left and up the stairs. Clear the upper level so we aren't taking fire from above." He stalked back and forth along the front line as irascible and ornery as ever, but with an air of command that held everyone's attention in a strangle hold.

Shepard stepped forward and saluted, calling out, "Yes, sir," before stepping back in line.

The air seemed to shimmer around Wrex as if the gravity of his personality pulled it in, shaping it into a physical manifestation to propel them off the ship and into action. Shepard's heart beat strong and fast, her muscles tightening, a broad smile spreading across her face. She'd rarely experienced the privilege of serving under a leader with the power and presence of Urdnot Wrex. To her right, the Mako roared to life, the throbbing rumble of its engines adding to the palpable alacrity.

Wrex ignored the competition for their attention, easily out-roaring the machine. "Kryik, you'll lead Team Princess down the center and clear the left side of the building. Williams, Team Varren Pup follows me down the right hand side. We'll be the first team through the doors, give the other two cover as they move into position." He paced for a second, long enough that the assembled crew began to lean toward him. As if a timer went off in his head, he snapped around, a crooked, wicked grin making him look more intimidating rather than less. "This isn't a nuclear bomb, it's a tactical strike. Put a few down and let them crawl home to whine to their mommies about the thrashing the Normandy's crew gave them. The rest . . .." He chuckled, a deep, slow-rolling growl of sound. "The rest die screaming with piss sloshing in their boots."

"Mako drop in five minutes," Joker's voice called over the comms.

"All right, we're ready to move, princesses! Team leaders, organize your squads. It's time to show the galaxy that the krogan are stepping out of the shadows . . . that I won't let them be ground into dust under anyone's heel." His grin widened and his eyes narrowed. "We're going to save them from the Reapers, whether they want us to or not." His voice rose through the sentence, reaching a crescendo at the end that had Shepard hollering "Oorah!" along with the rest of her crew.

Wrex nodded. "Move out."