Hi there Readers!

New chapter's up. There's some new stuff and some altered game script in this one.

Fixed 2022

Hope you'll like it!

Escape the Fate

Chapter 2: On the Normandy

*Quinn's POV

"Don't you two have anything better to do than guard duty?" Quinn asked bored, followed with a deep exaggerated sigh at the two soldiers who was keeping her company in the small room. What the hell was this space anyway? Some kind of oversized closet? A storage room? Was it too much to ask for a room with a view? A freaking window? Her tone dropped to a condescending one; "Are your skills so lousy it's the only thing you're good for?"

The two soldiers stood at either side of the door, with the standard Alliance assault rifles in hands as had been ordered and frankly looked quite bored themselves if she said so herself. Or maybe even annoyed. After all, she had been pointing out nearly everything she thought was wrong with them during the hour she had been captured. Everything from their physical appearances to the way they carried themselves. For marines, these two didn't know how to stand up straight. Point was, the more she talked, the more irritated they became. And the more annoyed, the more they came to ignore her, and she could pull and tug at her restrains behind the back of the chair she sat on unnoticed. A tactic which never seemed to fail. How clueless people could be.

Although not expecting them to answer, she still asked; "Am I at least gonna get something to eat? I'm kind of starving here." She leaned forward as much as the chair allowed her, while trying to get to the hidden pin equipped within a small compartment inside of her glow. "No? Well, this is going to be a total bore! Die here from starvation... I didn't know the Alliance could be so cruel."

Finally, she managed to get the compartment to open, and she slumped back in the chair to shift the angle of her hands. Her eyes shifted around the small room to make it look like she was looking for something else to talk about, or at least fake it. In truth, she needed to get out. There was only one door and no ventilation big enough to climb through. Other than that, the room didn't have much to offer. Escape wise nor conversation materials. A few large boxes and crates were lined up along the wall behind her, but she guessed nothing interesting was inside of them and quickly lost interest of it. Not that this room had much else to offer. It was empty and she knew that whatever this room was used for, it was not for keeping criminals. The security on the door was enough to tell her that.

The two soldiers guarding her wasn't that much more of an entertainment either. They looked quite young and probably had only been enlisted for a couple of years at most. The darker of the two seemed to be more intolerant than the other one and she was getting under his skin. 2183 years and racism were still a good card to play to rile up someone who wasn't considered "white". The humans hadn't come as far as they thought. Occasionally the man would flinch, clench his jaw together and maybe even retort back if pushed further. But she guessed she would have to work harder if she wanted him to come at her like she had succeeded with on the Alliance vessel. Too bad her annoying shit of a brother had to show up in the nick of time to "save" the day, otherwise that fool of a soldier would be dead by now, lying in his own pool of blood with a hole in his head.

Finally getting the pin, she slammed her feet on the floor, making it fall into her hand, while the same time demand; "At least bring me a fucking vid, or something! This is so – damned – boring! I need entertainment here!"

The darker guard finally snapped, though sooner than she had expected, and the subject far from anything offensive. Damn, that man needed to learn how to control himself if he wanted to achieve in this stupid career he had chosen. If not, he would be dead before he even got the chance.

"You're not here to be entertained," he spoke through clenched teeth. "You're a prisoner. Act like one!"

"But that was so, so long ago." She whined and pouted as she maneuvered the pin to the cuffs to find the keyhole. "I think I've forgotten how to." Her head tilted to the side as she gave the man a meaningful look. "I guess you have to show me." Then an idea popped into her mind and a wicked smile crawled upon her lips. "I know! Both of you – drop your pants and begin! Don't be shy. I will not tell a soul."

At first, they didn't know what she was getting at. But soon, it clicked and the rage on the darker man was evident on his face. "Why you...!"

"Ah–a!" She shot her legs up to stop the man in his tracks. "You've never been to prison, have you?" Her smile grew bigger as the man growled more. "I guess not. If you had – you would've known that the men fuck the men. So – go at it, I'll watch."

Both men growled in pure frustration. This was really getting on their nerves and neither knew how long they could take it. Both would like nothing more than to make the pirate shut the hell up. They had been warned though, but they hadn't expected it to be this difficult to not shoot something. But as much as they wanted to, they could do nothing to stop her, and she knew that. The Alliance did not torture nor hit their prisoners if not given a justified reason to do so. The darker guard grunted out his displeasure at that before returning to his spot by the door. If he wanted to keep his sanity, then he needed a distraction from the damned pirate. Although he was told not to take his eyes off her, he still opened up his Omni-tool to read some of his mails. Maybe he could find a good one from his girlfriend or parents to keep him occupied. His fellow guard followed soon after and too, opened his Omni-tool.

Tilting her head a little, she knew she finally got them where she wanted them. These two may be soldiers, but they still had so much to learn. Inexperienced was a bliss sometimes. Only a little further now, she thought with a satisfied grin.

"Don't worry, boys, I won't tell anybody if you don't." Her head tilted to the other side and let her eyes wander up and down the two men's bodies. "It's' not like it'll be your first time."

The man finally snapped, and a dark expression crossed the man's eyes. A furious growl escaped the darker man, and he quickly crossed the small distance between them with ferocious steps. "I'm going to shut you up myself!"

The fist she saw coming, but as prepared as she was for it, it still didn't soften the blow. Feeling her teeth slip a little by the force to the side of her jaw, she pushed the coming disorientation aside and turned her head back to the man to eye him with a knowing smile, challenging him to repeat his action. A moment ago, he avoided to meet her stare, but now he faced it head on.

"That's exactly how you treat a prisoner. I'm gonna enjoy this." She licked the blood from her split lip and tasted it all the while keeping her eyes at the man who was about to striker her again.

The paler man got up in his way, stopping the man from laying another hand on her. "Stop it, Gladstone! She's not worth it." The darker man hesitated for a moment, keeping his resentful stare at her before breaking it and reluctantly stepped away. "And you–" The paler man turned to her, his expression the same as his comrade had. "Would you stop it already? You're not going anywhere. So just – deal with it."

Quinn calmly and innocently looked at the man before leaning forward and challenged; "Make me."

Before it could develop any further, the door slid open. The two men turned their attention to whoever was about to enter and quickly saluted. Although the two stood in her line of sight, she could not tell who it was. But as their demeanor suddenly changed, she guessed it was someone they hadn't anticipated. As quickly as they had pulled the salute, they dropped it even quicker, and their bodies stiffened. It wasn't many people or in this case, races, who had that effect on humans. And with only one known none–human onboard this vessel, she could easily guess who it was.

The two guards parted, and her eyes immediately met with familiar green eyes that was staring back at her. They were exactly how she remembered them. The light in his eyes wasn't just because of his turian blood, but also from the fire that drove him. Determination was staring back at her, joined with a coldness he had put up to keep her at bay. He was in full Spectre mode, and he wanted her to know it. So, he was after something specific then.

Nihlus turned his eyes to the two guards who he had interrupted but they turned away from his gaze, before he returned to stare at her with a knowing look. His mandibles twitched with frustration as he knew very well what she had done, and a satisfied grin spread upon her bloody lips. He had always been a clever one.

As the two returned to their spots by the door, their eyes were more on the newcomer than the prisoner. Further showing their distrust towards the turian. She even though she saw one of them clutch his weapon a bit more closely. If she didn't know any better, she guessed they thought he was here to break her free. If only that was the case... But she knew Nihlus. He may have let her go in the past, but his eyes told a completely different story now.

"Well, well, well. Isn't it the famous Spectre – Nihlus Kryik," she spoke with as much sarcasm as she could master. "Never thought I would run into a Spectre out here. Least not you." She tilted her head a little. "Last I heard you were on the other side of the galaxy doing some boring Spectre shit for the Council."

He eyed her in silence for a moment. Trying to read her. He knew she was going to try and get under his skin. First, she was going to test him, see how far she could take the subject until she got a certain reaction from him, then turn the table and push him until he would bite back. Sometimes it worked on him, he had to admit. But it couldn't now. Although with his complex hearing, he didn't miss the slight warmth hidden underneath the sarcasm.

"Here I was thinking the same thing," he said with an icy tone, yet in his heart it was a completely different story. "Thought you were in the Traverse."

He walked up to her while he took in the sight of her. Except for the bruise she was currently getting on her jaw and the fresh cut over her right eye which would leave a visible scar, she looked pretty much the same as she had done when he had last seen her. Her golden fringe – hair– may be a bit longer now, down her shoulders and middle of her back. Her body fit, but slender. Great curves at just the right places that could rival most of female turians. But what had him captured would always be those amazing eyes.

Stopping just barely out of the reach from her feet, he crossed his arms over his chest and looked down at her, his green eyes trying to pierce through her own blue and green ones. "What are you doing here?"

Straight to the point, huh? she thought. Must mean he's in a hurry. She put on a hurt expression and let it mix in her sarcastic tone. "Really? That's all I get? Not even a "hello", "how've you been", "long time no see" or even a "how many people have you killed this time?" Growing smug, she gave him a knowing glance to go with it. "Those usually are your top greetings, to name a few."

"I think most of those are yours," he stated simply, ignoring the looks he knew the two humans behind him were giving them. She was going to use their relationship to get the guards to grow even more suspicious of him.

From the looks of it, it would probably be easy to turn the guards against Nihlus if she played the cards right. Even if he knew what she was doing, the guards didn't. She may be the criminal here, but the guards had already made it clear who they trusted the least.

"Yeah, I guess." She gave away a heavy sigh. "But getting right down to business is so–" She pretended to think of a good word to put in, making him think she was leaving him in suspense. "– formal, don't you think?"

"No."

"You're not even going to ask me what I've been up to for the last year and a half?"

"No need. I know exactly what you've been up to. Killing innocent people. Robbing any Alliance vessel, you've gotten your hands on. Selling stolen goods."

"Innocent?" She snapped at him and lunched as far as she could in the chair, startling both Nihlus and the guards by the sudden action. Growling, she said; "No one is truly innocent. No one."

That fact was something she had learn way too early in life and had not changed since. People was cruel one way or another towards each other even if it was done knowingly or not.

Smothering the anger, she relaxed back in her seat and her tone grew lighter. "I don't think I like that word very much." A meaningful glance was thrown up to him and she spoke her true thoughts; "Who to say any of them were truly innocent? Depending on whose mouth it comes out of, anyone can be. Even myself."

Whether he saw the hidden meaning behind it, he did not give a tell, and kept his tone cold. "They were just doing their jobs when you plundered those vessels. And you killed them ruthlessly."

A dark look fell upon her. Of course, he was only going to see it like that. Not that it was many other ways to interpret it. She was the criminal, and they were the honor bound dogs doing their jobs.

"Everyone has done at least something to make that word futile." With a slight amuse snort, she averted her eyes from his as she said with a slight mixed tone of betrayal and resentment; "You haven't changed at all." Her two-colored eyes turned back to him, meeting his green ones. "Still playing the good guy when we both know you're more than that. Weren't you the one killing that officer just so I could escape?"

She did not deny who and what she was. She knew very well what she had done, and she was not sorry for it. For her, that was survival. But for him to act like he had never done anything terrible was something she could not accept. Condemn her – fine, but don't go thinking she couldn't do the same.

He knew she was purposely avoiding answering his question, so he asked it again; "What are you doing here, Quinn?"

An amused smile crossed her lips, followed with a small chuckle. "Well, talking to you, of course, hon. What does it look like?" Her head tilted to the side as she looked deep into his eyes. He knew very well she was playing him, yet she searched his eyes for anything useful to use against him. But he kept his distant mask and held it tight. Almost like his sanity depended on it. Other than that, she could not read his thoughts.

A movement in the corner to Nihlus' right made her break their intense stare. Instead, she switched it to the pale nameless guard, who quickly turned his head away to avoid it. Not obvious at all. Of course, both must find their conversation to be far more interesting than looking into the wall. Also, they would naturally be curious to why a Spectre and a pirate spoke to one another like they knew each other. It's not like that is a common thing. Only now and then, did he turn his eyes back to see if she was still watching him or not.

"My guess is that it has something to do with the weapons the Alliance was shipping to Eden Prime," Nihlus stated.

Hitting the nail on that one, sort of anyway. Eden Prime had not been of any interest of her until she had boarded the vessel, but of course he didn't know that.

Turning her attention back to the turian, she said with a slight smile; "You're quite right on that, Honey pie."

"That's it?"

"Should there be another reason? Does it really have to be more complicated than that?" She shrugged and made a dumbfounded expression, which clearly made the turian frustrated as he knew it was just an act. He could read her just the way she like… "Can't I just keep it simple for once?"

"With you? No. Never."

Narrowing her eyes suspiciously, she knew he was fishing for something and that something, if she had to guess was of a certain Prothean artifact she had been hired to fetch. Mentioning Eden Prime had been his dead giveaway and then she knew for sure that this particular artifact was important. Damned, she should have asked for a million instead! If a Spectre was interested in it as well as the Alliance, then it was totally worth more.

A devious smile crawled upon her lips as she leaned forward and whispered; "Are you trying to find out if I know something about Eden Prime?" Relaxing back into the chair, she carelessly said; "I know only what these two stupid pyjacks has told me. – That we're going to Eden Prime."

Nihlus turned to look at the stunned, slightly frightened guards who both began to shake their heads frantically and spoke in chorus; "No, sir, we didn't. We haven't spoken a word to her about anything!"

"Don't be so modest boys. You were just going to show me a porno you both made there on your last shore leave before Nihlus here, walked in. Or more accurately; demonstrate it."

"We haven't told her anything, honestly."

"We would never do that!"

Turning his attention back to the pirate, he couldn't hide his frustration as his mandibles flexed. "Leave us," Nihlus ordered over his shoulder, matching his tone to the frustration he felt.

The two guards clearly hesitated, not sure if they should listen to the turian's order as he wasn't their superior. But a firm now from the turian, sent them running out of the room with their tails between their legs. How refreshing to see someone else intimidate someone for a change.

"Want me all to yourself, huh?" She mocked with a flirtatious wink of an eye. "That's fine by me. A foursome is kind of overrated. But I could go for some bondage."

"Cut the crap. What do you know about Eden Prime?" He bit back and he meant it.

With a heavy sigh, she looked up at the roof as she said with a flatter tone; "That depends. Do you want to know about the tourism or the history my people have with it?"

His mandibles flexed again in annoyance. "Nothing else?"

With an emotionless expression, Quinn looked him in the eyes. They had always been good to read one another. As much as it was about what they said, it was also about what they didn't. Dance around the subject too long would give away what he already knew she knew. She had to give him something.

"All I know is that you're here." Tilting her head a little, she continued; "And if you're here, then there's something big going on here. A Spectre on board an Alliance ship?" She raised a brow. "That's a big giveaway. So that means it has something to do with the Council as well. Am I right?"

He didn't answer, just kept looking at her. Underneath the frustration in his eyes, she could still spot the love and affection he had once held for her, although he did his best to keep it at bay. One and a half year had not been enough to vanquish that. But the same thing could not be said about her. She had crushed that feeling long ago. Although she cared for him still, she couldn't say it was love anymore. The scars from their last departure had not fully healed yet and she refused to give him a chance to get back in.

"As soon as we're done on Eden Prime, I'm finally taking you to the Citadel." Nihlus turned around and headed for the door.

"Can I at least get something to eat while I wait?" She shouted after him.

As soon as he had stepped out of the room, the two guards came right back in and retook their previous positions. Having grown tired of their faces long ago, she sighed heavily before resuming her taunt with them and going back to free herself from the cuffs.

*John's POV

The Combat Information Center was surprisingly empty as John stepped through the door. He though the Captain was in there wrapping up his talk with the Alliance committee, but he guessed he was too late. Their talk about their current and unexpected prisoner had been quicker than he had first expected. Not that he could see that being a quick chat. It was complicated on more accounts than he would like to think about. Both for the mission and him personally.

Having any criminal onboard would be hard enough, but Quinn wasn't just that. She was known throughout the galaxy and was in the top wanted list all over. Although she and her merry band of pirates had targeted mostly Alliance ships, they had not failed to prey on other ships coming their way either and had earned a reputation of being ruthless and rarely left survivors. It had been easy to let himself separate the sister he had known from the ruthless criminal that was currently locked up down in the lab. He had done so for the last eleven years, but he couldn't do that anymore.

Ever since he had heard of her dishonorably discharge from the military, he had hoped it wasn't the same person. Although the Alliance hadn't revealed her true crimes, they had indeed revealed her true identity and that was how he had learned she had served in the first place. Before then he had thought she was still somewhere on earth doing or rather hoping the worst thing was petty crimes than the serious offenses she was conducting in space. In his mind, she was still his sweet, yet rebellious little sister. Not this crazy woman who had no problem slaughtering people for her own sick greed.

The anger he had tried so hard to suppress resurfaced and this time, he didn't know what to do with it. How could his own flesh and blood do something so horrendous? He could not for the life of him understand it. Murder someone in cold blood. Crush someone's skull. And repeat it over and over again. It was insane!

He had heard about what the ruthless pirate warlord Quinn Shepard had done, but not until he had seen it with his own two eyes, did he believe it. Denial had protected him, and he was ashamed to say that he was grateful for it. If it wasn't for that, then he would be driven insane himself from knowing that his own sister was this psychopath. He should have done something long ago, maybe then all this could have been prevented. The anger turned to guilt once more. These thoughts had been going through his mind for nearly an hour now and no matter how much he tried to come up with a solution or a reason for all this, he could not find one. Instead, he had to remind himself to stay professional and keep his emotions at bay. They would do nothing good for him now nor later. She had been caught and was going to face justice. He could take comfort in knowing she was going to be locked up and not be able to harm innocent people again.

From what he had witnessed on that ship, the brutality done to all those people, he considered that prison may be too good for her and that she may even deserved an even worse punishment than imprisonment for life. But he also didn't believe in death penalty.

The door suddenly slid open and broke him from the never-ending thoughts that pulled him further and further down into anguish and despair. Not to mention the burning anger and resentment that threatened to take a hold of his actions.

"Commander," Nihlus greeted, and John thought he heard frustration in the turian Spectre's tone, but when he turned to greet him, he could not tell by the expression on his face.

"Nihlus."

The turian walked down the ramp calmly which made John doubt even more that the turian was anything else than composed. Once he was in the center of the room where John had phased back and forth for a while now, the turian spoke again.

"I was hoping I'd get here first. It will give us a chance to talk."

"Sure. About what?" he asked, sounding blunter than he had intended.

Nihlus eyed him for a few seconds, shifting his sight from one eye to the other like he was trying to read his thoughts or searching for something. What that was he couldn't guess but the turian had acted differently since a certain pirate had come onboard. If he could be blunt then he felt like the turian Spectre had avoided him, when in fact before they had returned that distress call, they had almost stumbled on each other everywhere they went.

Nihlus turned away from him and began to phase back and forth as he opened his mouth to speak. "I'm interested in this world we're going to – Eden Prime. I've heard it's quite beautiful."

Beautiful was quite an understatement. He had been there many times on shore leave during his first years of service and it differed to many planets he had been to. Nature there was like a fantasy made real. Yet, he shrugged and said simply; "They say it's paradise."

Stopping with his back towards him, Nihlus said in a low, but thoughtful manner; "Yes... a paradise." Turning to the human again, he continued; "Serene. Tranquil. Safe. Eden Prime had become something of a symbol for your people, hasn't it?"

Not sure where the turian was getting at but couldn't shake the fact that he was fishing for something, all John did was raise an eyebrow to that and cross his arms over his chest.

Nihlus continued. "Proof that humanity can not only establish colonies across the galaxy, but also protect them. But how safe is it, really?"

Nothing could ever be completely safe no matter how protected and secure it seemed to be. As a soldier, he knew that and the turian knew that as well. But as a Spectre, he had intel that John could only dream about so why ask him about it? From what he knew, Eden Prime had not had any incidents or attacks. None that had been reported at least. Yet the turian was fishing for something and John didn't like it.

"Do you know something?" he challenged.

Nihlus turned an eye to him before phasing again. "Your people are still newcomers, Shepard. The galaxy can be a very dangerous place. Is the Alliance truly ready for this?"

Growing quite annoyed by this vagueness, John was about to tell him to be straight, but the door slid open, and the captain walked through it.

"I think it's about time we told the Commander what's really going on," Anderson spoke as he walked down the ramp to join the two men at the center of the room.

With a simple nod of agreement, the turian's whole demeanor changed and instead of being vague, he was straightforward. "This mission is far more than a simple shakedown run."

That thought had already crossed John's mind. Turning to the Captain, he admitted; "I figured there was something you weren't telling us."

A small smirk appeared on Anderson's lips, and he stated simply; "We're making a covert pick-up on Eden Prime. That's why we needed the stealth systems operational."

Not satisfied by that simple answer, he pushed; "There must be a reason you didn't tell me about this, sir."

"This comes down from the top, Commander. Information strictly on a need-to-know basis," Anderson explained, his voice stricter. "A research team on Eden Prime unearthed some kind of beacon during an excavation. It was Prothean."

Now it made more sense. Prothean artifacts was extremely rare and even more valuable. If that knowledge were made public, then the peaceful planet would be filled with raiders wanting to take it and then sell it to the highest bidder.

"I thought the Protheans vanished 50,000 years ago," he said with disbelief.

"Their legacy still remains," Nihlus explained. "The mass relays, the Citadel, our ship drives – it's all based on Prothean technology."

He knew that. Yet it still amazed him that something so old functioned to this day.

"This is big, Shepard," Anderson empathized. "The last time humanity made a discovery like this; it jumped our technology forward two hundred years. But Eden Prime doesn't have the facilities to handle something like this. We need to bring the beacon back to the Citadel for proper study."

"Obviously, this goes beyond mere human interests, Commander," Nihlus cut in. "This discovery could affect every species in Council space."

He knew that Prothean technology was invaluable, but not to that very extent. He could see why they wanted to keep it discreet, yet something told him that they hadn't succeeded. "Are we expecting trouble?"

Flexing his mandibles, Nihlus answered with a fact; "I always expect trouble."

With their unexpected guest who just happened to be close to the planet, John though it was a good conclusion. Although the Normandy wasn't a ship designed to hold prisoners, he was confident the pirate couldn't escape. If it did happen though, she wouldn't be able to get far.

"The beacon's not the only reason I'm here, Shepard," Nihlus suddenly declared, and John turned to the turian with a questioning expression.

But it was Anderson who explained. "Nihlus want to see you in action, Commander. He's here to evaluate you."

Raising a brow, he spoke with a light tone; "Explains why I bump into him everywhere I go."

The turian shifted his mandibles at that and John took that as a turian's equivalent to a smile or a grin.

Anderson started to walk back and forth as he continued to explain. "The Alliance had been pushing for this a long time. Humanity wants a larger role in shaping interstellar policy. We want more say with the Citadel Council. The Spectre represent the Council's power and authority. If they accept a human into their ranks, it shows how far the Alliance has come."

"You held off an enemy assault during the Blitz single-handed," Nihlus said with somewhat of an awe. "You showed not only courage but also incredible skill. That's why I put your name forward as a candidate for the Spectres."

Speechless for a moment, all John could do was look at the turian in complete shock. He couldn't deny that being a Spectre was something he had wanted to become. But he also never expected that humans would be able to join the ranks or at least not for a few more years. Not only that, but there was also plenty of other people who deserved that honor to become the first human Spectre more than he did.

But the shock soon turned to suspicion. If it had been a human who had made the proposition, he would be able to accept it without question. But a turian? Nihlus didn't know him and judging someone from only reading one's achievements would be nothing but foolish.

"Why would a turian want a human in the Spectres?"

The turian Spectre didn't seem to get offended by his suspicion and easily explained his reasons; "Not all turians resent humanity. Some of us see the potential of your species." There was a slight pause as the turian turned away from them. "We see what you have to offer to the rest of the galaxy... and to the Spectres. We are an elite group. It's rare to find an individual with the skills we seek." Then he turned back and resumed his spot, and his tone was sincere and straightforward. "I don't care that you're human, Shepard. I only care that you can do the job."

Sensing the truth in his words, John accepted his answer. "Just tell me what I have to do."

With an approval nod from the turian and another shift of his mandibles, Nihlus said; "I need to see your skills for myself, Commander. Eden Prime will be the first of several missions together– Em, well, the second."

"You will be in charge of the ground team," Anderson told him. "Secure the beacon and get it onto the ship ASAP. Nihlus will accompany you to observe the mission."

John nodded and accepted the briefing. Although in his mind it sounded too simple. Turning to Nihlus, he asked; "When you said you were expecting trouble, did you mean Quinn? You think that's why she attacked that ship?"

The turian seemed to clench his jaw from the question. But not only that, even if John couldn't read turian facial expressions, there was no doubt that Nihlus got a dark look about him.

But it was Anderson who spoke. "The Attican Traverse isn't the most stable sector of Citadel space. There are plenty of raiders and criminal groups active in the region. They might figure a Prothean beacon is worth the risk of attacking an Alliance ship. Plus, Eden Prime is almost at a straight jump to the Terminus Systems."

"All advanced galactic civilization is based on Prothean technology. Even yours." Nihlus explained.

"If we hadn't discovered those Prothean ruins buried on Mars, we'd still be stuck on Earth." Anderson continued. "That was just a small data cache. Who knows what we can learn from this beacon? What if it's a weapons archive? We can't let it fall into the wrong hands."

Nihlus crossed his arms, and his voice grew darker. "Once we found her on that ship, I had my suspicions. After I had a talk with her, I am more convinced that this is the reason she's here." He turned to look at Anderson. "I've spoken to the Council; they are not happy about this. Quinn Shepard is a dangerous criminal, and it would do a lot of good bringing her in for justice." He turned back to John, but here was a growl in his tone that hadn't been there before. "But the Council is afraid by doing so, they risk an all-out war with the Terminus Systems."

The Council wanted them to release her? Were they insane? Did they really not know what she had done? She had killed nearly everyone on the ship! If they hadn't intervened, then there would be no survivors and she would have gone off to do the same again. As much as he understood that a war with the Terminus Systems would be terrible for all species. They still needed to stop the raids and killings when they got a chance. And they had one now! But as much as the Council wanted to avoid an all-out war, the Terminus Systems had just as much to lose.

"If the Terminus Systems attack, it's an act of war," he spoke coldly.

"Technically, yes," Nihlus agreed, and it was clear in his tone that he was just as unhappy about the situation as John was. "But some of the species in the Terminus might be willing to start a war over this. Quinn has contacts and is a key player."

Anderson got a thoughtful look about him and a hand reached his chin as he spoke. "Her influence with the other warlords could indeed make that happen. She has a following and we don't know how many. As much as I would like her to be brought in, we do not want to risk a war. There is too much at stake."

Growing even more frustrated, John demanded; "What do you suggest we do with her then? If we let her go, she will kill again. Who knows, she might even try to steal the Normandy now when she knows it exists."

Anderson turned his gaze up to him, his tone stern like he was scolding him. "She may be a criminal, but she's not without skills. Before she left the Alliance, her leadership skills were ruthless, yes, but effective," Anderson said, recalling a few memories. "Her biotic was quite impressive back then but my guesses are that it has improved since those days."

Not fully able to comprehend what the captain wanted to have said with all of that, all John could do was stare at the man. Turning to Nihlus, he needed to make sure that it wasn't just him who didn't understand where Anderson was getting at. The turian seemed to have the same expression as he did, at least that was what he wanted the silence coming from the Spectre to be.

"You want her on the ship?" Nihlus finally asked to break the silence. But his voice was far from happy.

"Wait What?!" Complete shock came over John and he turned his eyes back to the captain. The turian must have misinterpreted what had been spoken, because there could be no other explanation for it. "You're going to have her work with the Alliance? Are you crazy?! Did you miss the part in my report where she was trying to crush my skull in? Or did I just imagine writing it down?"

"To avoid unnecessary complications, this was the only option." Anderson's factual responds did nothing to relieve him of the apprehensive feeling he felt about it. "We can't let her go and we can't keep her locked up. I suggest we use her instead."

"And after?"

"We deal with that when we come to it."

Knowing there was nothing else he could say to change the captain's mind, there was nothing else for him than to just accept it for now. He could see his point, but that did not mean he liked it. After a frustrated and defeated sigh, he spoke reluctantly; "Fine. But if this comes back and bite us in our asses, – and it will – just remember it was your idea."

Anderson responded with an affirmative nod, then turned to Nihlus. "When the mission on Eden Prime is over, Nihlus and I will have a chat with her and convince her."

The c aptain barley finished speaking before the ships' intercom buzzed and Joker's alarmed voice broke through the speakers; "Captain! We've got a problem."

"What's wrong, Joker?" Anderson asked, his voice turning to the usual impatient tone he had whenever he spoke to the pilot.

"Transmission from Eden Prime, Sir. You better see this."

"Bring it up on the screen."

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And the teaser comes now...

But – this – she had a problem with. This – she felt guilty about. She was not going to allow him to die for her. No. Not if she could do anything about it.

"Don't worry," a reassuring voice spoke and almost penetrated her agony. "You will see each other soon enough."