Consciousness was coming to me, slowly but surely. It required far more effort than I'd have liked for me to sit up on the bed, but I still managed to do so. I tried to rub the tiredness out of my eyes but to no avail, I was still very tired.

I'm in the medbay I know that for sure, however I don't know how I ended up here, but that obviously meant that I survived the bomb blast on Virmire.

"Look who's finally awake. How are you feeling Commander?" Dr Chakwas asked.

"I feel like we've had this conversation before." I smiled gently at her.

"Humour me."

"I feel kind of rough, but nothing I can't walk off," I grunted. I braced myself against the bed before standing up.

"Where's Rylee?"

"Lt. Shepard woke up 4 hours ago, and surprisingly, most of her injuries have healed… almost completely."

"You don't sound too happy about that Doctor."

"It doesn't make any sense, how she is up and about. She suffered very extensive injuries, that should've left her bedridden and out of commission for months. But she recovered in less than 10 hours. I tested her extensively to be sure and I found she is almost completely fine. It's astonishing."

I observed Karin and attempted to read her body language. The most overriding expression I'm sensing is confusion. Her brows were furrowed and she moved her hands absent mindedly, and not with the usual grace she possesses.

"Is she cleared for combat?"

She looked at me sternly for a moment and sighed. "All of my tests show that she's combat ready, but my instincts as a Doctor say leave her aboard and have her do some rehab. Just for my peace of mind."

"We need Rylee out there with us… especially after Kaidan."

"She hasn't spoken about it. She said she'll speak to you about it and no one else."

"She probably holds me responsible for it. I don't really blame her. I chose to let him die."

"No you chose to let Rylee live. Commander… Liara explained your predicament to me and I truly sympathise with you. But one thing you cannot do is allow Rylee to hate you."

I turned and cocked an eyebrow in her direction. Does she know how to read minds now?

Rylee needs someone to direct her anger at. She needs an outlet for her rage and I'm willing to let her take it out on me. It's my fault that someone on my crew has died on this fucking mission.

"What would you have me do Doctor. It's my fault he's dead."

"No, it's not," she replied sternly. Her confusion melted instantly and her grace and strength were on full display.

"It's Saren's fault that Kaidan is dead. Saren is the one who aligned himself with Sovereign. Saren is the one who was creating the Krogan army. He put the galaxy in danger and you did everything within your power to save it. The geth forced you to make the decision and unfortunately Kaidan lost his life but none of that falls on your shoulders. So, don't let it weigh you down."

What she's saying does make sense, but I'm not sure if it's because I believe her or because I want to believe her. I was backed into a corner and forced to make a decision knowing well and good that someone was going to die.

"You're making sense right now, but I just can't believe you. It just feels like it's all my fault."

"No it's not Commander. Don't give in to your emotion. The crew needs you to be strong now. And Rylee will need you to be there for her to deal with the loss. You're her closest friend and if you let her hate you she is going to feel alone and in pain."

That's the burden of leadership in my field. This will get easier over time, but for now it's too raw.

"Thanks for telling me that Doctor… I needed that."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

[Liara]

Once Nate had left the room I entered.

"Thank you for telling him that Doctor."

"I still believe he would have preferred to hear that coming from you, Liara."

"Yes, but it was best he heard it from someone else. He knows I want him to be happy and he might have dismissed it as me telling him what he wants to hear. He knows you will tell him exactly what you think because it's what you believe."

"Even if that's the case. I think now is the time to speak to him, just in case I wasn't enough."

I nodded curtly and went after him. Knowing Nate, he's probably gone to his quarters. He likely doesn't want the crew to see him as confused as he currently is.

At least my decision with the drug paid off. If what Kai has told me about Novaria is true, then we couldn't afford for Nate to be out of commission for any longer.

. ~o~o~o~o~o~

"Kai, how much more of that drug do you have, besides this one you just handed?"

"None," he shrugged.

"Why do you only have two?"

"Why do I even need one to begin with? I'm not fighting or shooting anyone. Won gave it to me when he told me to sneak aboard. He said something about you guys needing it in case Virmire didn't go as planned."

"But I need to give Rylee one too. We need her too, if we want to complete this mission."

"I'm sorry, but I was told that Nate was the priority. I've given you the drug, it's up to you what to do with it. You know the squad better than me, so you can make the right choice."

~o~o~o~o~o~

I'm grateful I managed to get him some of the drug too. I feared that the section I had given him wouldn't work as effectively. I had to give Rylee a larger portion since she was in worse condition. It seems that I was very fortunate.

"Nate?"

"Come on in"

When I entered he was leaning against the wall. He looked relieved to see me, as though he thought I was the one in danger. The bruises on his arm were brutal but it's good to know that the medi-gel dealt with the cuts. His arm was almost as it was before the mission even began.

"How are you feeling?"

"Not as bad as I was before. Arms a little banged up but nothing I can't deal with. To be perfectly honest I was worried when I didn't see you in the medbay."

"Sorry about that. I just wanted to be alone with you after you woke up. Kaidan's death must be taking a toll."

He fell back on his bed and stared at the ceiling. He patted the spot beside him and patted it, inviting me to join him. I laid beside him, as he continued staring at the ceiling pensively.

"You'd think I'd be numb to it now given my track record. Slavery, Akuze, Zay, Jenkins, the list goes on. People around me have been dying as long as I could remember. So why does Kaidan's death hurt so damn much. It's just another death… isn't it."

"Do you want me to tell you what I think?"

"No I don't want to. But I think I need you to do it anyway."

I need to phrase this very carefully. I don't want him to become even more upset than he already is. "The other situations were beyond your control and you had no power to change them. Isaiah was shot by Darius, the slaves were killed by your masters and Jenkins was shot by geth before you could react. With Kaidan you had a choice. But just because you made that decision it doesn't make it your fault."

"We are responsible for the consequ-"

"No, you are not responsible for this one. Saren put you in that position and you did what you could. Yes, Kaidan is dead… but you also have to remember that Rylee is alive."

He turned from the ceiling and looked at me with furrowed brows. "Rylee is alive because of you Nathan. She gets to see Hannah again. She is alive because you saved her. Kaidan is dead because Saren killed him."

His eyes looked so lost and tired. They were longing for something, desperately staring into mine. They soon began glistening and spots of water threatened to fall but they didn't.

"I don't think I've ever told you about Torfan. Actually, I don't think I've spoken to anyone about it, so here goes." He began.

Nate's body tensed at the memory of the event. "The Batarians had been performing raids in the system for years and we found their primary stronghold on Torfan. We were given explicit orders to take down their leaders by any means necessary. Major Kyle was leading the assault but he split us into teams. I was 4th in Command of the second team. As it happens all 3 officers ahead of me died so it fell to me."

"Then what happened."

"I… slaughtered every Batarian I saw. If you had a gun in your hand I killed you without hesitation. Even if you surrendered you'd still get a bullet to the brain." He winced.

"I killed entire families of Batarians and I never gave it a second thought. I threw frag grenades in every house that I could… there were children in some of those houses. But I never gave it another thought. My hatred of them blinded me to the point I was willing to kill innocence."

He looked at me expectantly but I didn't react and it was taking a herculean effort on my part. I read the stories when I first came aboard the ship. That story did strengthen my opinion that he was nothing but a thug and a monster.

"I never once felt an ounce of guilt about what I did until recently. It was interacting with aliens like you, Wrex, Tali, Garrus, Thane, the Council and others that I realised the you guys are people too. Then I realised Batarians are people too. And those families… those children didn't deserve the fate I dished out."

I reached to touch his shoulder but instead he turned and grabbed my hand.

"Why are you still here? Can't you see I'm just another monster. Just like the people who enslaved me. I never gave it a second thought when it came to-"

"I know what you are trying to do Nathan. It's not going to work," I interjected.

He tried to reply but now it was my time to talk so I placed a finger over his lips. "Nathan, I knew about the story already. You are not telling me anything I did not already know. Telling me this now is not going to change how I feel about you and you are not going to push me away."

I placed my other hand on his and guided it the bed. "I'm going to be here for you whether you like it or not."

He looked ready to argue but didn't, instead he stared at his hand. I had entangled my fingers with his, and he didn't resist.

"Um… I need to address the crew… I need to tell them what our next move is," he declared before wriggling out of my grip.

"That reminds me Nathan. There's something I need to tell you," I said.

~o~o~o~o~o~

"Let's get this out of the way. How the hell did a child stow away aboard a military vessel and no one noticed! That's unacceptable from all of us. Nothing and no one gets aboard this ship without either mine, Lieutenant Shepard and Navigator Pressly's say so! Do I make myself clear!"

"Aye, aye sir!" the crew replied in unison.

"I understand that Kaidan's loss has rocked us to the core. He was an integral part of this crew and that's no secret, but we must push forward. Lieutenant Alenko died dealing Saren a critical blow. We substantially reduced Saren's army and we now have the other vision. We've got him running scared and disoriented. Novaria is where we finally get one step ahead of the bastard. So let's stop this bastard and get payback for every single thing he's taken from us."

He turned to face Garrus, "Besmirching your species' reputation."

"Your people," he nodded towards Wrex.

"The 212," he directed at Ashley

"Your safety" he said to Tali

"Your mother," he said to me.

"Every single life lost on Eden Prime!" Pressly added, getting a rousing cheer from the crew.

"Kaidan Alenko," Rylee said.

"Kaidan Alenko," Nate repeated, looking straight into her eyes

"Saren will pay, and he will pay by our hand!" he declared, receiving a raucous cheer from the crew.

He truly has their support now. It's amazing that he has managed to win over the crew in such a short span of time. Some seasoned leaders among the asari never receive as much loyalty and respect as these humans are showing for Nathan. He is far more charismatic than he believes and he has a way of making us feel like we're 10 feet tall. He makes mountains feel like hills,

He pulled Rylee into his quarters, likely for the talk that needs to happen between the two of them regarding Kaidan.

~o~o~o~o~o~

Nate had called a team meeting in the Comm-Room. Ashley, Rylee, Garrus, Wrex, Tali, Nate and I were all in attendance. The atmosphere was as sombre as you could imagine considering what had happened. We all looked to Kaidan's usual chair, and the fact it was empty was just another knife to the gut. A sensation I have become all too familiar with thanks to Kai.

"As you all know we are currently on our way to Earth. But there's been a change of plans. Liara pointed out that with Kai already aboard the Normandy it makes more sense to drop him off at Novaria."

"There's no guarantee that the information Won gave you is accurate," Garrus stated.

"Yes, but right now it's our only lead, so we're going. Besides, without his first tip, we wouldn't have known about the cloning facility and we wouldn't have the other half of the beacon."

"Which means you have to meld with Liara again."

"Let's do it," he said before standing in the centre of the room.

"Are you sure, Nate. Last time…" I began.

"Forget about last time. This is for the sake of the mission."

I stood silently and walked up to the Commander. "Embrace Eternity."

############

This time moving through his mind felt much more natural. The beacon vision is probably going to be in the recesses of his mind, somewhere deep, so he won't have to deal with it constantly. However, this time I must be careful. It turns out what I see is brought to the surface.

I ignored the memories that contained his life as a slave. The images where graphic enough without me reliving it from his perspective. I swam through his subconscious looking for the beacon memory. It should be around here somewhere.

I haven't been this deep in his subconscious before. What's troubling is that there are no memories of his life before slavery. I can see that there are more connections, but they are badly damaged. Likely due to melding with the Ardat-Yakshi. It still amazes me that there is someone capable of surviving melding with one.

In my search for it I realised that there was a memory blocking the site where the last vision was stored. This memory seemed to relate to Kai. Since it's blocking the vision, then I must look into it. I am so sorry Nathan. I'm invading your privacy again.

It's a memory of what happened after he was rescued from the Ardat-Yakshi. Samara, the real Justicar had awaited the arrival of the Council craft. Nate was taken to the Citadel by the Council team.

People claiming to be his parents arrived and claimed him. The joy he felt was unrivalled. He had finally been reunited with a family he never knew he had. Even though he was happy he didn't let it show. He looked at the man and woman with such marvel. They looked like him. He shared features with the both of them.

There was another blank that caused the memory to skip a week.

After a week in C-Sec custody he was released into their custody. They got on the shuttle and took him to another planet. The entire time Nate didn't speak. The only time he ever spoke in C-Sec was when he needed to relieve himself or to eat. He never asked them any questions.

I see them landing on a densely-vegetated planet. His parents walked him through a facility and led him to a cell, before locking him in with two other children.

There's another blank in the memory. It skipped to him in the same facility.

He was among other children. Only this time they were all human. They were all dressed in rags and they looked badly beaten. Some looked to be highly intoxicated, others had scars and burns inflicted upon them. All looked tired and fearful.

Then it skipped again. The only way I could explain this is that melding with the Ardat-Yakshi must have had an effect on his short-term memory at that time. It would be entirely possible he has no memory of this incident.

Nate was taken to a ring where he had to fight a little girl. She was ungroomed. Uneven hair, dried gravt on her cheeks, blood stained on her shirt. She looked feral and rabid, as though she had just been introduced to civilisation.

I could feel Nate's fear of this little girl. She was going to kill him and that was clear in her eyes. This girl who couldn't have been much older than 8 was going to kill him.

The ensuing battle was brutal. She outmatched him in almost every sense. She was faster, more agile and possessed a frightening amount of biotic power. He was constantly on the defence and his barrier was being pushed to the limit.

Due to her dominance, his opponent became cocky. She started toying with him, tossing him around. She grabbed him by his neck and got ready to finish him off. In her lapse in concentration, Nate had managed to concentrate enough biotic power in his fist to punch her on the jaw.

No matter how strong she is she's still a child, and taking a hit like that from someone older than her was bound to do some real damage. It sent her skidding along the ground, unconscious.

Nate had told me about the times he was forced to fight other slaves for the entertainment for the 'masters'. His instinct was always to finish off his opponent. He sprang to his feet and prepared to kill the unconscious girl.

That was before he felt an electric shock on the back of his neck, causing him to collapse. The last thing he saw was an armed man in black, going to pick up the little girl and taking her out of the arena.

Oh, by the Goddess. I always knew that this sort of suffering happens all over the galaxy, but to witness it is unnerving. It seems that nothing about Nate's life has been what any normal person would consider to be pleasurable or good. He has been through so much, and yet here he is. Constantly fighting, whether it's for his own survival, his gang, his crew or the whole galaxy.

He deserves a rest from fighting so he can enjoy everything that he has fought for. But this also worries me.

I'm not sure if he can cope in a time of peace. Conflict might be too ingrained in his life for him to live without it in some way, shape or form. I just hope that when this is over I can help him enjoy the rest of his life.

After seeing the memory, the vision was clearer. I could see the reapers in their thousands descending upon Prothean colonies, the destruction they caused was unparalleled. Then the focus shifted to a familiar looking planet. I've seen it before in my research, but what was it called?

There was a mass relay floating inside the core of the planet. I remember seeing a planet directly connected to the mass relay in one of the books in mother's archive.

############

"That was… far more intense than I had anticipated. I need a moment to collect myself," I sighed. This melding business if far harder than I anticipated.

"Did the visions make sense to you?" Nate asked.

"Yes, there was a planet in this one. I've seen it before in my research, but I can't seem to remember what it was called."

"Was there anything else in the vision that was useful?" Rylee inquired.

"Not really but I now know what the visions are. They are a distress call, a message sent across the Prothean Empire. A warning against the Reapers, but the warning came too late."

"But what about the Conduit?"

"The Conduit… I feel like I've heard it in the vision. I am lost. I kept hearing them say something along the lines of I am lost or I lost. Is it because they lost the war with the Reapers?" Nate guessed.

Nate had just triggered an epiphany. "It was not I lost. It was Ilos. It was a Prothean planet. If my memory serves correct, then it was in the Pangaea Expanse, in the Refuge System. The Conduit is on Ilos!" I cheered.

There was a visible buzz within the room. For the first time since Kaidan's death, they were all excited. And my cheer is part of that reason. However, I wish I had contained my excitement long enough for me to give them the bad news.

"We've got him. Saren has got to be on his way to Ilos now. We have to head there right now," Ashley hollered.

"Wait, there's a problem," I began.

"You're right there is. If Saren was going to head to Ilos, then why would he have been on Virmire just a day ago. As far as we know the only thing he had over us was the other half of the beacon," Garrus assessed.

"What do you mean?" Tali wondered.

"Right now we are in the exact same position Saren has been in for the past few months. We have the Cipher and the whole vision. Saren's had those ever since before we left Feros and that was months ago," he continued.

"Damn, I didn't think of that," Tali said.

"That either means he's already been to Ilos, found the Conduit and he's missing something," Ashley added.

"Or he doesn't know where Ilos is and he's spent all this time searching for it," Garrus finished.

"I'm afraid it's the second. The only way to reach Ilos is through the Mu Relay," I said.

The mention of the relay caused Wrex to grunt. "That relay was in Rachni space. They were the only ones who knew its location. It's too bad we can't ask them nicely where they found it."

"Yes, since a supernova pushed the relay into dark space the relay was lost. The geth could come up with an algorithm to determine its possible coordinates after 4000 years. But even with that, it would take centuries for them to locate the relay. Mass relays are cold so they won't be picked up by thermal scans."

"And I'm willing to bet that's exactly what Saren is after on Novaria. This informant probably has information that would reduce the search area or if we're lucky, tell us exactly where the damn relay is."

~o~o~o~o~o~

[Nate]

I dismissed the team so they could get more rest before we reach Novaria. If it's anything like Virmire we need to be on our game.

The only one who stayed was Liara, whom I specifically told to go to see Dr Chakwas. But I had an idea of what it is she wanted to speak about so I didn't mind too much.

"Commander, when we melded… I'm sorry but to see the vision. I had to look into another one of your memories."

I tensed slightly at the unfortunately, necessary invasion of my privacy. "Don't worry too much… what did you see?"

"I saw you after being saved by the Justicar, Samara. You were taken by people who claimed to be your parents to a facility where you were forced to fight other children. One of the children was frighteningly strong. Her biotics almost killed you."

"That's weird… I have no recollection of that ever happening to me. After my meeting with the Ardat-whatever, I just remember being back in the cell. I don't remember ever going to the Citadel during that time."

"That's what I... saw," she said before nearly collapsing.

"Listen go to Dr Chakwas. I would take you but right now the Council are waiting."

"That's alright, I can manage. Good luck with your meeting."

It seems that there are a lot of things that happened that I have no memory of. I'm not entirely sure if that's a blessing or a curse. I don't want to remember my former life… but would I be any better if I just had all those years blanked from my memory.

There are days, they are very rare, but they happen. When I think that the blanks in my memory hurt more than the slavery. There might have been a good part of my childhood, but I don't remember it. I could have a family, I could have childhood friends. I could have played catch with my dad, or had my mum nurse scraped knees and elbows.

There's a huge part of my life I don't remember and it… maybe it's better that I never find out what it is that I lost.

After she staggered out of the room I told Joker to patch the Council through.

Tevos- Commander Anderson. I'm pleased to see your mission on Virmire was a success.

Sparatus- Saren is formidable enough without an army of Krogan serving under him.

"Yes, but Sovereign is the real threat. It's a Reaper."

Valern- Yes we saw mention of this on your report. Sovereign. A sentient machine. A true artificial intelligence. This news is quite alarming… if it turns out to be accurate.

"Saren said it himself. I spoke to Sovereign. I even showed you the recording from Liara's suit of my conversation with Sovereign. What is it going to take for you to believe me? Do I have to bring the entire armada before you?"

Sparatus- He's playing you Anderson! Saren still has contacts on the Citadel. He probably saw your earlier reports. The ones talking about your vision. And the Reapers.

The way that turian speaks really gets on my nerves. He thinks anything I come up with is crap.

Valern- Saren is likely using false information to throw you off balance. Our own intelligence has never turned up any corroborating information.

"Your own intelligence isn't too much to rave about considering that you wouldn't have known about Virmire without me."

Tevos- Our intelligence has also pointed you in the direction of Feros and Therum.

"That's true, but my intelligence has turned up something new. We're headed to Novaria. One of Saren's contacts is currently planet side and we're going to catch them. Maybe you'd believe them if they told you about the Reapers."

Tevos- Please try to see this from our point of view Commander. Saren is someone we can recognize, whereas the only evidence of Reapers you've showed us is your visions and a conversation with a what looks like a VI.

As much as I hate to admit it she has a point. From their perspective, my evidence is flimsy at best. In their position, I would be sceptical. But I've done just fine without them for the last few months, I can keep doing it without them now and into the future.

Sparatus- You assume too much of the Commander. His past decisions and interaction with us, clearly show he is narrow minded and he can't see the big picture.

I took a deep breath to calm myself. "Joker."

"Whoops, looks like connection failed, funny how spotty it is when you speak to the Council," Joker chuckled.

"It's a mystery for the ages."

~o~o~o~o~o~

Location: Horsehead Nebula, Pax System, Novaria, Port Hanshann

[Nate]

I opted to have all hands-on deck for this one, including Rylee. Despite what Dr Chakwas said, we do need Rylee. As far as I can tell she's at 100% and we're going to need as much help as we can get for the rest of this mission.

I had Kai stand behind me just in case anyone tried anything. "Who is going to pick you up?"

"Miss Parasini. She knows where my friends are," he informed.

"Okay. Now remember, just stay behind me. I don't think anything is going to happen, but you never know," I said.

"Very comforting, Commander," Ashley drawled.

"You're not meant to say that sort of thing to children." Tali whispered.

"What did I do wrong? I just told him the truth."

They both simultaneously facepalmed, then shook their heads. "You know what, forget about it." They said in unison.

Just like everything else that seems to involve me lately, armed guards approached us. Their weapons were holstered but definitely visible. They're clearly security.

Their leader was a petite human female, dark of hair and eyes, wearing light combat armor. "That's far enough. This is an unscheduled arrival, so I need your credentials."

"You first." I replied.

"Captain Maeko Matsuo, Elanus Risk Control Services. I'm in charge of security for Port Hanshan."

"Commander Anderson. Special Tactics and Reconnaissance."

Another guard decided to add her piece. "A Spectre? Load of horseshit, ma'am. There are no human Spectres."

"I don't give a shit if you believe me, it's the truth." I spat.

Captain Matsuo looked uncertain. "We will need to confirm that, Mr. Shepard. I must also advise you that private firearms are not permitted on Noveria. I'll have to ask you to check your weapons here for return upon your departure."

I wanted to draw my weapon before they could do it to me but I didn't want this to escalate. Kai is still behind me and I can't risk him getting hurt in the crossfire.

"Not going to happen, Captain."

"We are authorised to use lethal force if you don't surrender your weapons in 3 seconds."

"Don't shoot, there's a child behind me," I urged before showing them Kai.

"Captain Matsuo, stand down!" a voice boomed over the PA.

Matsuo raised a hand to restrain her subordinates. The blonde woman rolled her eyes in exasperation. I can tell this one has bloodlust.

"We've confirmed their identity, Captain," the voice continued. "Commander Anderson is a Spectre. Him and his associates are authorised to carry weapons Captain."

"Very well," said Captain Matsuo. "I hope the rest of your visit is less confrontational." Her and her guards walked away from us. However, the blonde stared us down for a long time before following her leader. There's definite murderous intent behind that stare.

"Why don't we start every day like this?" Garrus said.

"That was a warm reception wasn't it," Tali added.

"Blake told me about this place. It's a corporate haven. They come here where they can conduct experiments without Council law oversight. The Administrators here have only one allegiance and that's to the Executive Board. And guess who's on the board," I asked.

"The corporations who invest here," Rylee replied.

Gianna Parasini was a tall, elegant, black woman, with green eyes. Her dress hugged her figure and accentuated her features. But something about the whole thing seems off.

As soon as we walked through the gate alarms began ringing. "Weapons detectors, don't mind the alarm."

"Commander Anderson. I apologize for the incident in the docking bay. Welcome to Port Hanshan."

I looked at her and I could detect her discomfort. But she wasn't nervous, so it's not about me or my crew. It's something else. It's got to be something on her person or what she's wearing. "Don't worry about it. I've been through worse."

"I'm assistant to Administrator Anoleis, Gianna Parassini. I'm responsible for the orientation of new arrivals. Do you have any questions?"

"Has anyone of note passed through here or anyone suspicious?"

"An asari Matriarch passed through here a few days ago."

I turned to the side to look at Liara, but she herself was looking at Kai. Is this the second piece of information that Won promised me back on the Citadel.

"Benezia T'Soni?"

"Yes, how did you know?"

"Call it a hunch. Did she arrive with anyone else unusual?" I asked.

"No, but she did come with a squad of Asari Commandos."

Asari Commandos… shit they must be indoctrinated too. Even if they weren't they are probably fiercely loyal to Benezia. Maybe if I could convince Benezia to stand down the Commandos could follow suit. Rylee managed to break through to Saren albeit briefly, hopefully she can repeat the feat.

"Where is she currently?" Liara asked.

"Lady Benezia left several days ago for the Binary Helix research complex at Peak 15. To the best of my knowledge, she is still there."

"How do we get to Peak 15, then?"

She smirked, only for a split second, that was undeniable. "You're going to need Administer Anoleis' clearance if you want to leave this port. His office is on the main level, left at the top of the elevator."

She's playing us, but why?

"Cut the crap. He's not going to let us leave is he." I sneered.

"Of course not," Rylee said, now face to face with Parassini. "I know Corporate types. He's just like Ethan Jeong, more fearful of Executive backlash than SPECTRE threats. And I'm sure the last thing they want is a SPECTRE snooping around and possibly reporting them to the Council. So why don't you tell us what you tell us what you need."

"Very perceptive aren't you. Meet me at these coordinates in 15 minutes and I'll tell you what you need to do. For now, I think I'll just take Kai off your hands."

"Kai, do you know her?" I asked him and he nodded.

"That's Gianna."

"That's all I need to know. Take care of the kid," I said rather stiffly.

"I will Commander."

Kai began saying individual goodbyes to each member of the crew I brought with me. During the journey here, he spent a lot of time just talking to them. The consensus is that he's a good kid. Very nice, kind and respectful and I have to agree. He addressed everyone by Mr or Miss's unless told otherwise. He thanked us all for our hospitality and for saving him on the Citadel.

Then he came up to me. He spread his arms, inviting a hug, so I knelt down and embraced him. What I didn't expect was what he said to me. He didn't thank me, and to be honest he's already done enough of that.

He gave me advice. Something I didn't think too much about until he first said it to me.

"Don't let Liara kill her mother."

~o~o~o~o~o~

[Liara]

My mind wondered back to my final conversation with Kai before he left with Gianna Parassini. He walked into my usual space just after I'd seen Dr Chakwas. I was still recovering from the tiredness brought on by the melding.

"Liara, just so you know, I had another drug. I gave it to Nate when Dr Chakwas left to check up on Rylee in the cargo bay."

"Then why did you lie to me and say you had one."

"I wanted to see what you'd do."

"You were testing me… why now?"

"You see a person's true character when a difficult decision needs to be made. And what you did showed me the type of person you are."

"Enlighten me."

"You're a good person. You want to help people in need and you will try your best to aid the most vulnerable"

"Thank you."

"It also showed me you're not a leader and you aren't cut out to be in charge. You're not ruthless enough and you don't have what it takes to look past your kindness for the better of the mission. You let your compassion cost you."

"What do you mean?"

"What you gave Rylee was enough. But what you gave Nate wasn't. if I didn't slip him one, then he'd probably still be unconscious. And it's likely you would still be on course to Earth."

"And what was the point of this test?"

"Didn't I just answer that?" he sneered.

I in turn shot him a glare that made the blood drain from his face.

"As I've been saying I just wanted to know the type of person I was dealing with. And now I do?"

After he said that he left. That boy is far too intelligent for his age. He shouldn't be that perceptive or that manipulative. Yet he is. I've heard of tales of other species training children in the art of espionage. After Kai mentioned the Hanar, I did some research. The Hanar train Drell to be soldiers, assassins, spies, politicians or whatever it is they need. They can start as young as 5 years old.

Is that what happened to him. Did he get recruited by a mercenary band as a child? It would make sense. But if that was the case, then why would they go to all that trouble to get him back. He's a special one. But I wonder just how special.

A/N

Sorry for the late update but studies have taken up a lot of my time lately. I doubt I'll update again for a while so sorry in advance.

I'm going to run this for about another 4-5 chapters and I'm thinking of doing an ME2 story as well.

Guess which ME2 character made an appearance in this chapter.