Disclaimer: The wonderful world of Mass Effect isn't mine. Original characters have been created for the purpose of this story. Eira is mine.

There was a demand in the reviews for a two chapter update – I aim to please, dear readers ;)

Chapter Twenty-Seven

"Whatever is begun in anger ends in shame." – Benjamin Franklin

Shepard was jolted awake by a tremor that shook his bed followed in quick succession by EDI's panicked voice over the intercom.

"What the –

"Commander!" another tremor, "Eira and Jack are currently engaged in combat in the loading bay! Crewmembers have been alerted but I advise immediate intervention!"

"What the fuck!" he said as he stumbled in his hurry to get out of the tangle of sheets that had snared him, "EDI what the hell happened?"

"If you want to prevent one of them blowing a hole in the Normandy I advise we leave the questions for later," she snapped.

It was all he needed.

He bolted for the lift without bothering to grab a shirt and frantically punched his commands into the console, desperate to get to the loading bay before any serious damage was done.

"Come on, come on, come on!" he said through gritted teeth, furious at how slow the damn thing was moving, "EDI! Can you make this piece of shit go any faster?"

The AI didn't answer but the lift suddenly sped up, sending Shepard staggering backwards into the wall. He grunted as his back made contact with the wall and only just managed to right himself when the lift reached its destination with a violent jerk as it decelerated. Shepard fell forward and hit the opposite wall.

"Fuck! EDI!"

"Apologies, commander."

The door opened and Shepard ran through, his frustration with the AI pushed to the backburner, taking the stairs down to the loading bay two at a time.

He saw crewmembers taking cover behind mangled lockers near the base of the stairwell. Some had their weapons drawn but most were focused on maintaining cover as biotic energy swirled around the bay. He turned to find its source, and to his horror found Eira and Jack in the center of it, each hurling attacks at the other.

"Commander!"

It was Miranda.

She had taken cover behind a larger crate a few paces ahead of him. Clearly roused from bed, Miranda's hair was tousled and she wore pyjamas and slippers instead of her usual skin-tight suit and heels. Despite her attire Miranda had her pistol in hand, ever-ready.

Shepard joined her but peeked out from cover to keep Eira in his sights the moment his back hit the crate.

"We have to stop them before they get us all killed!" Miranda hollered over the chaos, "what the hell's gotten into them?"

"Get the crew out of here," he ordered, side-stepping her question, "I'll have better luck getting them to calm down without guns raised!"

"Shepard –

"That was an order, Miranda," he said, "stay here, keep to cover, but get the others out."

He didn't wait to see if she'd listen; he knew she would despite her reservations. Instead, he stepped out from behind cover and slowly approached the biotics with his hands raised.

Eira was bleeding from her brow and had a split, swollen lip. Jack had caught her with a well-timed blast early on after she'd hit her with a barrage of tools and crates she's sent flying with her biotics. The force of her hit had sent Eira stumbling backwards, but she'd recovered quickly and resumed her attack.

She faintly recognized the pain of the blow but her anger and adrenaline dulled it beautifully, allowing her to focus on Jack.

Eira had never felt anger the likes of what boiled in her as she stared down Jack.

She wanted to break her, to use every ounce of energy in her body to hurt so badly the smug grin would fall from her lips.

Everything was wrong and it was her fault.

Nafna, Corrine, all the tests, everything she'd been told…

Eira doubted it all.

And the only thing that hurt more than the pain of it all was her embarrassment.

She wanted to scream and let loose a biotic blast strong enough to rend the metal from the walls and reduce Jack to dust.

But she also wanted to disappear.

"Eira! Jack!"

Her gaze snapped towards the sound that interrupted her thoughts and she saw, much to her alarm, Shepard approaching them.

A long-felt pain returned at the sight of him and she felt her chin quiver as she struggled with the enormity of it all.

"Jack, stand down!" he ordered, "Eira, you too!"

Each biotic held their attack back but neither allowed it to dissipate. Shepard had positioned himself between them, making attack impossible without hitting him. Still, Eira couldn't let it go. The moment there was an opening she was going to take it.

Shepard glanced at her briefly before turning his attention to Jack, who was pacing back and forth like a cornered animal.

"Get out of my way," she growled, glaring at him.

"I'm not going to let you destroy my ship!" Shepard said with surprising calm, "Whatever grudges you two have, I'm not going to let you risk the lives of those onboard to settle them!"

Jack snorted, "Princess here made the first move…"

Shepard looked back at her over his shoulder.

"Eira?" he asked, brow arched quizzically.

Trembling, she said nothing.

There was so much she wanted to say, to both Jack and Shepard that it all caught in her throat and rendered her speechless.

She simply stared at him.

He eyed her hand, which still held the shockwave she'd intended for Jack and after meeting her gaze, took a tentative step towards her.

"No!" she screamed, backing away to put more distance between them.

Shepard stopped in his tracks.

"See?" Jack said, "She's unhinged!"

Shepard rounded on her.

"Get the out of here," he said in a cold tone that left no room for debate, "get out before I let her space you."

Jack seemed dumbfounded. The biotic energy that had been pulsing around her faded, but she made no move to leave. She just stared at him and shook head in disgust.

"Fuck you," she spat, "if you want to defend her, fine, but I'm sick of it and I'm done with all of you. You want me to fight Reapers? Fine, everything else doesn't matter."

She stormed away without so much as a backward glance, pushing past Miranda as she headed up the stairs.

Eira eyed her as she left but never once thought of letting go of her shockwave. As much as she hated her, as badly as she wanted to shut her up, she wasn't about to attack her when her back was turned. Her attack faded from her palm but the flare of biotics that enveloped her remained.

Emotions still heightened, she couldn't bring herself to relent.

She's right…oh god, she's right…

Her chest tightened painfully as she struggled to rein it all in, making it impossible to take a deep breath. Her hands were shaking and cold, hanging limp at her sides.

"Eira?"

She glanced up meekly and saw Shepard slowly approaching her.

Tears welled in her eyes and she bit her lip as she tried to hold them back.

"Go away," she said in a shaky breath, "just leave me alone…"

Shepard shook his head. His gaze was gentle and calm, devoid of the icy intensity she was used to. It took her off-guard.

"I'm not about to do that."

Eira took a small step back.

"No…"

"It's going to be alright," he soothed, nearing her, "get control of your biotics so I can help you."

Tears spilled free and rolled down her cheeks. She shook her head, unable to believe him given all that had been revealed.

"You can't help," she muttered, "you can't change the fact she was right…all along she was right…"

"Jack isn't," he said without hesitation, seemingly unwilling to back down, "did Teltin raise questions? Yes. But it doesn't change who you are, Eira."

"Who I am?" she asked with a snort of sad amusement, "all the tests they ran, the simulations they put me through…I was an experiment, Shepard."

Feeling as though a dagger had pierced his heart, Shepard reached out to her in a desperate effort to comfort her.

"Eira –

"No!" she snapped, swatting his hand away, "just leave me alone!"

"Please –

"Everything was a fucking lie," she gasped as she sobbed, "I'm such an idiot! Why didn't I see it? Why didn't I fight back?"

Ignoring the biotic energy that emanated from her, Shepard closed the distance between them in a tight embrace. Eira let out a heart-wrenching cry and struggled against him weakly, too exhausted to do anything with the energy that tingled on her skin.

Overwhelmed, her legs gave out from under her and she slumped into him.

"Woah, Eira!"

She was suddenly dead weight against him.

He held her as best he could but ultimately eased her down to the floor, where she settled on her knees.

She immediately rocked forward, curling in on herself as she wept uncontrollably. Her hair had fallen forward to obscure her face, which made her appear smaller somehow; more vulnerable.

Faced with her pain, he felt helpless; which scared him more than he thought possible. He knew he had no right to the feeling, which made it all so much worse.

Shepard knelt beside her and, after some initial hesitation, began rubbing her back. She immediately tensed and he heard her breath catch, but she made no attempt to halt him and eventually relaxed into his touch.

"Why…are you even here?" she managed weakly after some time had passed.

"I…"

Instinctively, he went for what was safest.

"I had to make sure you and Jack didn't tear the ship apart."

Eira righted herself and brushed the tears from her cheeks with the back of her hand as she sniffled. She didn't look at him, but he watched her closely. Blood from her brow had smeared down the side of her face and another smear from her busted lip coloured her chin. She looked as though something had broken inside of her and he hoped silently that it was only exhaustion.

"We didn't," she said quietly, "and she's gone…and you're here."

"I…I supposed I wanted to make sure you were going to be alright."

She gave a short laugh and shook her head.

"I'm really not…"

"Eira –

"She was right all along," she turned to him, "you knew she was, didn't you?"

Shepard felt as though a hand was tightening around his throat. He could hardly breathe and words left him.

But she didn't need to hear them.

She looked away, a far-off gleam in her eyes.

"Of course you did. Commander Shepard knows everything…"

"Eira, I…the only thing I knew for sure was that we didn't know everything. Whatever it was…whatever was kept from you…you have to believe me when I say I didn't want Jack to be the one who told you."

Eira choked on a sob she'd tried to hold back.

"You didn't deserve this…"

He caught movement from the corner of his eye and saw Miranda near the stairwell.

"Come on; let me get you back to your room."

He wanted to scoop her up in his arms, to keep her as close to him as possible. He couldn't though, so he stayed close to help her balance as they made their way slowly to her room. The stairs were the most difficult but he didn't rush her, instead only extending an arm behind her to make sure she didn't tumble backwards.

When they finally entered her room and the door closed behind them, he stepped from her side to tidy the covers of her bed.

She collapsed into bed with enough force to smack the frame of the cot against the wall. He lifted her feet up and pulled the sheets over her.

After digging through the boxes at the foot of her bed, he found a clean washcloth and began to wipe away the blood from her face.

"I don't think you'll need stitches…" he said quietly as he moved from her brow to her split lip, "Some medi-gel will do fine."

Eira's gear was scattered across the room but he found her omni-tool easily enough. Once the gel was applied he sat on the edge of her bed.

"How's your head?" he asked.

"Fine."

He looked at her, his doubt evident.

"Really."

Shepard sighed, "Chakwas will have my head if –

"I'm fine," she said with more bite, "might have a headache in the morning but…it's nothing. I'm just tired."

She rolled over under the covers but avoided looking his way.

"Do you feel safe down here? What with her so close?"

Eira nodded.

"You're sure?"

"Yes."

Her response was cold.

"Is there anything I can get you?" he asked awkwardly, unsure what else to say but not wanting to leave, "Are you –

"I should have listened to you…"

"Hmm?"

"About Pragia," she said sadly, sniffling, "I shouldn't have gone along."

"Eira…don't think like that."

"I can't help it. It's all I've thought about since we got back," she admitted, "it felt so fucking familiar…"

"We'll figure it out."

"How?"

It was a good question, one he certainly didn't have the answer to. He couldn't expect Cerberus or the Illusive Man to be forthcoming after all. But there were sources that were bound to have intel on the organization and its various projects. Aria came to mind, and if the asari didn't pan out he was more than willing to seek out the Shadow Broker; Liara might be able to help in that regard.

"We just will," he said finally, strangely confident.

Eira pouted, not convinced.

"Maybe it's better not to know the truth. This…this hurts enough."

Shepard turned to her, "Whatever you decide…I'll help you."

"I…"

He suddenly felt exposed and nervous. Instinct urged him to shut his mouth but after everything that had happened between them – Alchera, Tuchunka – it just didn't feel right. So he forced the words out.

"I've…fucked up a lot when it comes to you, Eira. I…I can't fix it all," he looked away and rubbed the back of his neck, "but I wish I could. I..."

He stood, looking everywhere but at her.

"I should let you get some sleep."

He left the room in a hurry and only let out the breath he'd been holding when the door closed behind him.

A few paces from her room he stopped.

"EDI?"

"Yes?" the AI said over the comm.

"Monitor the inside of her room and keep tabs on Jack."

"Yes, commander."

"Any changes, you alert me immediately."

"Understood."

"And monitor her vitals."

"Of course."

He made to step onto the lift but paused.

He looked down the hallway towards her room then, thinking of something better, allowed the lift doors to closed and headed back the way he'd come.

Shepard sat on the floor against the wall and crossed his arms. He was only a few feet from Eira's door.

"EDI?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Wake me if anyone heads this way."

A pause and then:

"Yes, commander."