Location: Hades Gamma, Plutus System, SSV Normandy SR-1

Hackett told me that I was going to the Hades Gamma cluster in the Plutus system, but he still hasn't told me exactly what I was doing here and that irked me considerably. I hated being blind or not knowing what was going on, because it's a lot easier to fall into a trap that way.

On our way there I spoke to the combat crew. Thankfully none of them asked about what had happened on earth and they kept our conversations strictly professional. Rylee told me about her visit with Hannah and about how she was upset that I couldn't see her.

I was currently in the gym with Ashley lifting weights and using the treadmill, before we both got tired and sat on the bench. She reached into her bag and pulled out a drink, before handing it to me. "It's Armistice Day, I figured we could have a drink to- you know commemorate the occasion"

"The First Contact War was 26 years ago, seems kind of odd to celebrate that,"

"In my family it's more of an obligation…" she stated. Why would her family be obligated to celebrate Armistice Day? Her face mirrored my confusion before she slapped her forehead and groaned.

"Don't tell me you don't know about my family… my Commanders always find out, it's not in my files or something"

"There's almost nothing in your files. Technical scores and a list of crap assignments," I replied.

"There's a reason for the crap assignments… I'm General Williams' granddaughter, the only human ever to surrender to an alien race."

She then proceeded to explain her grandfather's actions and defend his decision. He had no choice but to surrender; with the Turians killing civilians, his men starving and inability to contact Alliance Command. He was basically neutered after that and ended up a construction worker. I just have to hope that they don't do that to David, well at least he's got Hackett on his side.

"I don't really know how I can help with that situation."

"Look at who I am Anderson. Do you ever hear me ask for help? It's not that bad things don't happen to me. If you stay around long enough, maybe I'll tell you about some of them. But I deal with them myself. I don't need a shoulder to cry on, a knight to rescue me or a man to help me. This is who I am. I like her and you'd better like her too," she smiled somewhat flirtatiously while punching my arm.

"Luckily for you I actually do."

"I know; I am pretty great."

"Now you're pushing it," I smiled.

"I should be careful not to end up on your bad side."

"Being my friend is healthy, you've seen what happens to my enemies."

"If your enemies show up to kill you, don't cry Commander, I'll be here to save you."

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

Location: Hades Gamma, Plutus System, Nonuel

Hackett informed us that there was a criminal leader of some random merc group which controlled raider activity in the Verge. He requested me specifically to negotiate a ceasefire with him. I flat out laughed at the thought of me arranging a ceasefire. I'm more of a shoot your problem until its dead kind of guy as opposed to talking it through. I even suggested that Rylee do this task but the Admiral was adamant that it was me; he even said that Rylee had to come along too. Why would they need the two of us specifically? And why us instead of an Alliance negotiator?

I opted to take Kaidan, Rylee and Liara with me. They were probably the most likely not shoot this asshole if he steps out of line. The weird thing is that I still don't have a name for this guy, all I have is a list of the of sick shit he's done and a personality model. All of which made me want to kill him.

We reached his compound with minimal fuss. His defences were deactivated but there was still an armed guard at the door. This many men were going to cause a problem if we are going to leave here guns blazing. That and they had the advantage of knowing the layout of the facility and they could reactivate defences to stop us from leaving.

"Joker, this is Anderson. We might have a problem here."

"Already? Damn, it normally takes at least a half hour before everything goes to shit and people start shooting you," Joker quipped.

I chose to ignore the comment and continue. "Once we're inside the compound, we're completely at this assholes mercy. Tell Garrus, Wrex, Ashley and Tali to hop in the other Mako and shadow us ASAP. If I give the signal I want them ready to attack."

"Aye, aye Commander."

"What's taking so long? Get out!" One of guards ordered.

"We're still waiting for instructions from Alliance Command. We got thrown at this last minute," Rylee explained. It wasn't entirely a lie, I've only been aware of this for about a day now.

We waited for a few minutes before I received the signal from the other Mako. "Commander, this is Garrus we're in position."

"When I give the signal you attack, if we go dark for 30 standard minutes then attack anyway."

"Copy that Commander, good luck"

With that taken care we were able to enter the compound with an armed guard. And even at the door to the main room there were two armed guardsmen with some pretty expensive firepower. I'm also assuming that most of these men and women are highly trained, and not all of them by the Alliance judging from how they hold their rifles. Some were Turian trained, whilst others were asari trained, which probably meant they were biotics.

Since I've entered this compound I've counted 10 guards armed to the teeth, and that's excluding this main room and outside. On the exterior there were 13 guards plus the missile defences.

Upon entering the room I could see 9 more guards, but those were the ones I could see.

A bald, Asian man appeared at the top of the platform above with a soul patch. He looked very familiar. The longer I looked at him the more and more he reminded me of Darius. But it couldn't be that dickhead. He was never smart enough to get himself this kind of set up.

"Are you the guy in charge here?" Rylee asked

"I hoped the Alliance would take this meeting seriously, but instead they send me a woman. Were you supposed to use your, assets to win concessions from me?" he mocked derisively. So he was a sexist asshole to add to a pirate.

"According to your file you're some kind of war hero from the Blitz, I guess they'll hand medals to just about anyone nowadays," he mocked.

I saw Rylee's hand jerk for a second, almost reaching for her pistol. I may not be the one who shoots this guy.

"I don't believe my background is relevant here Mr…" Rylee trailed off.

He smirked arrogantly. "Actually given my rank I'd prefer that you call me Lord Darius" he announced.

No freaking way is this him. This smug opportunistic bastard used to be one of the Triads before striking out on his own. I never thought that he would get to where he is now, I'd be impressed if he weren't such an insufferable twat.

"You can't be serious?" Rylee asked in genuine confusion.

"You dare disrespect the ruler of this system!" he bellowed. His voice was grating against my ears and his shear presence makes me want to reach for my pistol.

"My apologies…" she took a deep breath and swallowed the disdain in her throat. "Lord Darius," she gritted through her teeth.

"I accept your apology Lieutenant Shepard. Is there any reason you brought such well-armed guests to my manor?"

"You didn't honestly expect us to waltz in here to a pirate's den without any protection did you?" Liara asked. I saw this as innocent curiosity on her behalfm with regards to humans, but Darius saw this as a challenge to his authority.

"How dare you, you Asari trash. We are not pirates! We are the inhabitants of this system, not common thugs!" Darius seethed.

"I thought-"

"What you thought is irrelevant… stupid bitch," Darius spat.

It is getting much harder for me to bite my tongue. The more he talks down to my crew the more difficult it becomes to keep my temper in check. My biotics were threatening to flare. I was tempted to give Garrus the signal right now and fix the Alliance's problem my way.

"Please calm down Lord Darius, she only meant to say it was a precaution," Kaidan defended.

"So do you always negotiate peace treaties with firearms huh soldier? Maybe you should take a cue from your friend in the black there, shut your mouth and speak when spoken to welp!"

Do not reach for your pistol Nate… try and let Rylee handle this peacefully, because if I takeover then a firefight is going to ensue.

"Men would you please relieve these soldiers of their weapons immediately. There will be no need for them during negotiations," Darius ordered.

That's it! I've bitten my tongue long enough.

"Darius you smug, pathetic, bottom feeding, opportunistic, parasitic, shitbrained, dickheaded, wretched bastard. If you think for one second I'm relinquishing my fire arm, then you really are as stupid as I remember" I shouted.

From the corner of my eye I could see Rylee fighting the smile threatening to don her lips.

"You can't talk to me like that!" he bellowed. My visor picked up infra-red signatures resembling red dot sight. The IR showed that snipers had their scopes trained on my stomach and head.

I took my helmet so he could see who I was. I'm not sure if he'll recognise me, last time I saw him was 10 years ago and I had a high top, fade with curly hair, and it was sun dyed.

He squinted his eyes before smirking at the realisation that it was me. "Nate… I remember you, you were Jaden's pet thing."

"And you were Chang's little errand bitch, all grown up and in hot water with the Alliance. Do you want a medal?" I mocked.

Darius was visibly fuming at the development.

"What's the meaning of this Shepard? Is the Alliance actually serious about these negotiations? Because if they were, they wouldn't be sending a woman and a runaway slave who got his unit killed on Akuze and Torfan"

"Keep trying my patience Darius and you'll see what happens," I threatened, before putting my helmet back on.

"YOU'RE ALLIANCE OWES ME NATE! YOU SEE THIS GUN. THIS IS YOUR GUN! YOU'RE MILITARY SET ME UP HERE AND NOW IT WANTS TO ACT LIKE IT DOESN'T KNOW ME!" Darius snapped. "But I know the truth. The Alliance needed me here. SO TREAT ME WITH THE RESPECT I DESERVE!"

Rylee put her hand in front of me. Her expression told me to calm down, but she didn't know what Darius is like. "You said we set you up, did the Alliance give you weapons?" Rylee inquired.

"After the Batarians were driven out of the verge, the Alliance wanted to stabilize the region. I had the strongest syndicate in the area. They gave me the weapons and money I needed to take over. SO DO NOT PRETEND THAT WE ARE SO DIFFERENT SOLDIER. I DESERVE YOUR ALLIANCE'S GRATITUDE, NOT THESE ATTACKS" he shouted.

"Does he have to be so loud?" Liara commented.

Being near this bastard was making my blood boil. But I need to remember, this is a negotiation not a blood fest.

"What's it going to take to make these raids stop?" I asked

"This wasn't some criminal raid. This was a legal military action to address Alliance trespasses. Alliance miners were illegally extraction Element Zero from an asteroid in my territory. Punitive attacks were the only appropriate response. And I demand an apology from the Alliance" he demanded.

Rylee took a deep breath before saying. "On behalf of the Alliance, I extend my sincerest apologies. We didn't realise you'd claimed that asteroid."

"I'm pleased that the Alliance is willing to admit its responsibility for this situation. Now that clear boundaries have been established, I believe we can find a solution that benefits both sides. The miners are welcome to mine Element Zero on my asteroid, in exchange for certain considerations."

"We're willing to discuss that. What kind of considerations did you have in mind?" Rylee asked.

"The miners will pay a reasonable fee for the right to extract and export Element Zero from my territory. In addition, they will give us a monthly quantity of Element Zero, as well as refining equipment to produce red sand."

It was at that moment that I knew these negotiations had just gone to shit. There was no way Rylee, Kaidan or Liara would ever agree with that, and if we encourage this idiot by giving into his command he'll get bolder as time passes.

I knew something was suspicious about this entire set up for a little bit now, but now this confirms it. Hackett set me up. This was never a negotiation to begin with, we're just here for show to make it look like we tried our best to avoid bloodshed. Stupid backroom politics.

"Garrus, move in." I said into my comm.

"You've got to be kidding me. Do you really think the Alliance would allow you to make red sand?" Kaidan fumed.

"You're Alliance has allowed me to do far worse, Soldier," Darius smirked.

"Liara, Rylee, Kaidan get ready," I whispered. To which they all nodded.

"You are the most pathetic, power hungry fool I've ever met in my life. Are you so pitiful that you had to come to the most remote pocket of the galaxy to find people weak enough for you to play king. Is this little setup your crowning achievement in life, because if it is then I feel sorry for you because your life has amounted to nothing," Alenko ranted.

They couldn't see it underneath my helmet but I was wearing the biggest grin. Kaidan's showing some damn balls! Rylee could no longer supress her smile and Liara too was surprised by Kaidans rhetoric.

"Stop the raids, get off the asteroid and I'll kill you quickly," I threatened.

"THAT'S IT!"

I knew he was going to order my execution that second so I dropped my smoke pellets. I then projected my omni-blade and I turned to jam it into the guards neck.

Thanks to this SPECTRE gear I had equipped them with; their armour emits a unique wavelength which can be detected by our visors. That meant that in situations like this I can always tell who's on my squad.

I reached for my shotgun and went to work. I teamed up with Rylee whereas Kaidan paired up with Liara. I dropped another smoke pellet to keep them distracted.

Rylee's sniper rifle was making them drop like flies. "God I love this SPECTRE gear," she praised before switching to her assault rifle.

They started pumping rounds into the smoke to try and force us out and it worked. We hid behind one of the computer stations whereas Kaidan and Liara hid in the blind spot near the staircase.

"What are you idiots waiting for. FLUSH THEM OUT!" Darius bellowed.

"Liara, lay out a singularity at the stairway entrance," Rylee instructed. That was smart, create a chokepoint and restrict their numbers significantly.

When they opened the door each of the mercenaries were floating in the air, waiting for death to come.

"Grenade!" Liara shouted as the grenade was launched at Rylee and I. Instead of panicking, I kept my cool and caught the grenade in mid-air biotically and threw it at the guards suspended by the singularity.

The guards in the room before this one were active so they needed to be taken care of. I took out my shotgun and began to mentally prepare myself for my assault in the room which the grenade came from. I threw a flashbang into the room and charged through. The hostiles were disoriented which made my job a lot easier.

The loud bang of my shotgun blast rang through the room, as did the thuds of heavy armoured hostiles flying into the wall. However, I couldn't get to every hostile before the flashbang wore off. Two of them started spraying bullets.

They managed to drop my shields to 48% before I found adequate cover. If they had half a brain then they'd flank me and finish me off. I need to go on the offensive right now.

I popped out of cover and lashed one of the mercenaries and threw him into the other. While they were down I ran up to them and killed them both with one shot.

Ok of the 21 confirmed guards I've seen in the building interior, I've killed 6, and my squads killed 13. But with the gunfire I could hear from the main room, I'm certain that I was wrong about my initial estimate.

"Hey ingrates! Why are you still outside? GET IN HERE AND HELP!" Darius commanded.

I immediately trained my assault rifle at the door and waited for the next wave to show up.

"I'm sorry but they're going to have a little trouble hearing you… there's a hole where their heads used to be," Garrus bragged whilst entering the compound.

Wrex, Tali and Ashley followed closely behind the Turian marksman. "Good job, Vakarian. Now let's go and kill Lord Darius."

We entered the room to find that most of the guard were dead and now Darius had dispensed his security MECH's to protect him.

"Tali, if you wouldn't mind," I offered.

"It would be my pleasure Anderson," she obliged. She fiddled with her omni-tool and one of her drones was dispatched. Within seconds of its arrival just about every MECH was malfunctioning.

"Hey Nate, I have a question for ya. How's Isaiah doing?" Darius mocked.

That snide remark made something inside me snap. The fact that he had the nerve to mention Zay's name like there weren't any consequences really pissed me off.

"Wrex, Ash, Tali you're all with me. I am going to gut him alive," I said. My morality and my conscience had become completely detached and this was now the only outcome that would satisfy me.

Darius thought that he was smart, lining his stairs with C4 which could explode when he wished. He didn't account for us having Tali. Within seconds the bombs had been deactivated and we were free to venture up the stairs.

Two of the guards were using the wall as cover and they prepared to flank us, but Tali's recon drone already tagged them. Ashley and I charged up the stairs together and shotgun whipped each of them, knocking them to the ground.

Wrex and Tali finished them off and it was now Darius and us face to face. Upon raising his weapon, Rylee shot it out of his hand. Darius looked at her in horror, since her sniper was still trained on him.

The former Triad began backing away slowly, and my approach quickened. He turned around and ran to the door on the opposite of the path. I trapped him in my pull field and placed him right in front of me.

"Please… Nate you're better than this…"

"Ssshhhh" I hushed. "Who's out of his depth now? Who's in over their head now huh?"

"That was 10 years ago Nate… you can't possibly hold a grudge over that."

I smirked at Darius "This is for Zay you son of a bitch," I cursed before shooting him in the head.

After I shot him I just felt numb. I wasn't feeling anything, not satisfaction, not anger or hurt. I just felt empty. Looking at his mangled head didn't help either, in fact it made me want to throw up. To be completely honest, I thought avenging a 10-year grudge would feel a lot better than this.

"Grab whatever's useful and head to the Normandy. Rylee, the two of us need to have a chat with Admiral Hackett," I informed.

Location: Hades Gamma, Plutus System, SSV Normandy SR-1

I headed straight for the Comm room with Rylee, without even bothering to remove our weapons or armour. Hackett needed to answer my questions.

His voice rang through the speakers. "Commander, have you finished your assignment?"

"I don't like being used Hackett," I warned.

"What are you talking about…"

"Drop the crap Admiral, you used me and you know it. At least give me enough respect to say it to my face,"

Hackett was visibly shocked by my outburst. "Fine, yes we knew about your connection to Darius."

"Would someone please catch me up here," Rylee demanded.

"Simple. The Alliance needed Darius dead, he was becoming a problem and he needed to be removed. I'm guessing that only a few people are even aware of his existence. Which is probably why they reached out to us, they couldn't sanction this through the proper channels." I guessed. Hackett's stern expression was the proof I needed.

Rylee's facial expression showed that she was putting the pieces together. "They knew he'd piss you off so you'd kill him. That and your SPECTRE status means they can disavow you with no consequences."

"Sometimes extreme measures must be taken to ensure humanity's safety. Or did you think you were the only one willing to break the rules to get the job done?"

"I don't care about the killing Hackett; I would have gladly done it if you pointed me in his direction. What I care about is that you didn't tell me exactly what I was dealing with there. If the Alliance wants me to keep helping out, then I need to know everything about whatever mission you send me on. Otherwise you can forget about it. I'm not putting my crew in danger simply because you don't think mission critical information is need to know,"

Hackett nodded at me, which could literally mean anything. "Your assistance on the matter is much appreciated Commander, Lieutenant, Fifth Fleet out" he cut off communications with the Normandy, thus leaving me and Rylee on our own in the Comm room.

"When did you realise that you were being used?" Rylee asked.

"As soon as Darius started being difficult. Mother Theresa herself would have taken a shot at him. They just needed a SPECTRE to kill him, my history with him was just convenient."

"I know you've got quite a few questions. Meet me in my quarters in about an hour."

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

In 2173, Darius was a mid-level drug supplier. He was our plug for a couple of months. But I think he started realising that we were moving a lot more than what he was giving us. We had more than one plug and we raided other small time drug dealers to get our collection up.

Darius broke into our trap house and cleaned us out. Vidilicet, Red Sand, Creeper, Hallex, Eximo, OE, you name it we had it. after Darius and his men cleared us out he lined us all up. Isaiah, Jaden, Me, Aldis and some other REDS all kneeled on the ground whilst Darius gloated about his superiority and how we were kids playing an adults game.

I remember telling him that these kids almost put him out of business. I got pistol whipped as a result. When I got up they had bagged all our drugs up and they were preparing to leave. Just as Darius was leaving the house he turned around and laughed. I'll never forget his exact words.

"Nate, if you decide to get brave and try to take it back," he never bothered finishing the sentence. Instead, he shot Isaiah in the head. He did it with such maniacal glee and his annoying raspy laugh he got from smoking cigarettes wasn't helping.

When I finished my story, Rylee never said a word. It usually shocks people when they find out the extent of my gang activities. Most tend to assume that I just did your run in the mill car robbery and stupid kid stuff.

"Is the situation with Isaiah the reason you joined the Alliance?"

"It's what finally pushed me over the edge. After rescuing me, David would constantly visit me and check in on how I was doing. He recommended that I join the Alliance but I never took him seriously. The gang life was so much fun, it was almost like a game to me."

"I remembered some of my earlier years as a RED. The way that they accepted me and took me in when some of the kids in orphanage didn't, it was nice. I felt like I belonged there with the parties, drug dealing, doing drugs and the excitement of running from police."

"What happened to Zay really opened my eyes to how pointless the life really was. Zay was a good kid, he hated the lifestyle but he knew it was the only way he was going to survive. He planned on joining the Alliance when he turned 18 but never got the chance. His death made me realise that I had to get out of the trap before it trapped me. So Jaden pulled some strings and got me the documentation that I needed to join the Alliance ASAP,"

"Hold on… how old are you, Nate?" Rylee inquired.

"I'm 28. To be perfectly honest I'm not even sure if Nathan is my real name. Talitha and the others would call me Nathan so I went with it."

I don't have a birth certificate or any documentation other than what Jaden gave me. So as far as I'm concerned I'm 28 turning 29 in a few months.

I know I'm over 25 that's for sure. I've been in the Alliance for 10 years now and the youngest I could have been when I enrolled was 15. And I was close to adolescence when I was rescued. So my age could be anything from 25-30.

"OK Nate. Since you've revealed so much about your past in the last few days, whether you intended to or not it's only fair that I tell you a little about mine," Shepard said.

"Rylee this isn't quid pro quo. You don't have to-"

"I want to Nate. You've been through so much in your life and after hearing it I completely understand why you don't like talking about yourself. But if you're willing to share those memories then I should be able to tell you about my brother."

She took a deep breath to steady herself. "I had an older brother a long time ago, back when I was a toddler. He was so annoying and he always teased me, but he never hesitated to protect me… when I was 4 years old the Batarians raided Mindoir and they started slaughtering people. My dad took us on this cub scouts retreat there. Since my mum is a soldier, he needed to be the stay at home dad to take care of us. He was one of their first victims, they shot him when he tried to tell us to run away," she explained.

"Rylee, if you're not comfortable then-"

"I was only four so I couldn't run that quick and my brother was 8 so he couldn't run that quick either. Some of the grownups picked us up and started running but the Batarians killed them all eventually. At some point me and Nate were looking for somewhere to hide. The Batarians were closing in on us, so he pushed me into an abandoned building. Since the house what collapsed from one of the explosions they never bothered looking inside. My mum found me a few days later. I had to spend the next 10 years in therapy and that didn't help at all. Nothing will make me happy until the people responsible for taking my brother are captured."

"I'm surprised that you don't want to kill the people in charge of taking him."

"I refuse to lower myself to their level. Killing them won't bring my brother back." she proclaimed. I wish I had that sort of sense of justice. The only code I ever learned was an eye for an eye. You never let anyone take you for a bitch, always get your payback or you're just another mark.

"What was his name?"

"His name was Ethan. He would be 26 this year."

"I'll try and find the people who took your brother. He could still be out there like Talitha was," I hoped.

"Or more likely he's dead. Please don't give me hope Nate. I spent most of my childhood hoping to find him, coming to terms with his death is the only thing that's provided me any sort of closure."

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

I sat in Liara's room waiting for her to return from her trip to the med-bay. Dr Chakwas was still monitoring her health from when we found her. That much time without water and food can have a lasting effect on anyone.

She strolled into the room wearing a smile. She found me leaning against the wall drowsily. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Commander. Dr Chakwas assures me that I am going to be fine. I was impressed with her knowledge of Asari physiology."

"It's her job; if she wasn't good then we'd get a new one," I stated. I will only accept the best on this mission

"What is it you wanted to talk about, Anderson?"

I explained what happened with Isaiah to her and some of my more colourful drug dealing tales. She didn't show any signs of shock or appreciation, I guess she can hold a good poker face.

"You've led a very interesting life, Anderson. I must confess you are not exactly what I was expecting."

"What do you mean?"

"I assumed you were merely a thug. Especially after you let your friend go when he murdered a store clerk. That and the way you treated me made me come to loathe you," she explained.

"Loathe? That's pretty strong."

"You must remember Commander, you refused to call me by my name and only referred to my title and race. You were always dismissive with me and you sneered whenever we made eye contact. It seemed to me that you were going out of your way to make me look like a burden, even with the help that I provided," she vented. The emotion in her tone grew with every breath she took, as her voice became slightly more hitched.

"Liara I am so sorry for what I did, I know what it's like to be unwelcomed and ignored by a new set of people. I should never make anyone feel like they don't belong on this ship. You've all proven yourselves worthy to be on this mission, and you deserve to be treated as such."

"Thank you, Anderson."

"Whenever we're alone, you can call me Nate, Liara." I corrected. Considering how much I've told her about myself and how much she found out, we should be on a first name

"I just realised that I don't know much about you Liara,"

"Me? I am afraid I am not very interesting, Nate, I spend most of my time on remote digs, unearthing mundane items buried in long-forgotten Prothean ruins."

"That does sound pretty boring, but it sounds lonely too," I guessed.

"Sometimes I would run afoul of indigenous life forms, or stumble across a small band of mercenaries or privateers, but I was always careful. Until the geth followed me to Artemis Tau, I never found myself in any situation my biotics could not handle," she explained.

"You probably should have told us about that in the beginning, so we'd have fewer worries about your combat skills."

"Would you have treated me any differently?"

"Probably not, but Ash, Garrus and Wrex would've been more comfortable taking you into a firefight. But continue."

"As for the solitude, well, that is one aspect that most appealed to me. Sometimes, I just need to get away from other people."

"You don't like other people?"

"I suppose it comes from being a Matriarch's daughter. People expected me to follow in Benezia's footsteps. They wanted me to become a leader of our people. Matriarchs guide their followers into the future, they seek the truth of what is yet to come. Maybe that's why I became so interested in the secrets of the past. It sounds so foolish when I say it out loud. It sounds like I became an archaeologist simply to spite Benezia."

"She must have been annoyed by your decision."

"No, in fact she understood the path I had chosen. She claimed that all children rebel against their parents. But there was more to it than that. I felt drawn to the past. The Protheans were these wondrous mysterious figures. I wanted to know everything about them. That is why I find you so fascinating. You were marked by the beacon on Eden Prime, you were touched by working Prothean technology."

That sort of scientific curiosity sends chills down my spine. It's the same sort of fascination brings about bad memories. On the operating table, with a salarian scientist injecting me with red sand and other drugs to test human physiology. Having to go through the withdrawal whilst another person dispassionately lists the symptoms and when their done just throw me back in the cage. Then hearing about his findings on the news, knowing well and good I was the crash test dummy.

"Commander… are you alright? You've become fairly quiet."

"It's nothing Liara, just thinking about something I heard on the news… it's nothing relevant now."

"Commander… Nate you can tell me anything."

We've only known each other for just over three weeks and I've distrusted her, loathed her, tried to kill her and now she's my council. That's a lot of things to experience in such a short period of time, combined with everything I've been through the past month. I'm not entirely sure what to make of her.

On one hand I know she can help me get over my past. But on the other hand there was still a part of me that wanted her dead. My anger hasn't fully subsided yet, that voice in my head is still telling me to pounce and strangle her now, but I'm fighting it.

To further add to my confusion, I was… becoming attracted to her. She was constantly in my thoughts, invading my mind like a parasite that refuses to go away.

"Yeah… I know."

A/N

Thank you to the people who reviewed, followed and favourited my story, I really appreciate it.

The next few chapters are going to be side missions from the game but with twists that link with Nate or Rylee.