EXTRA AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey guys, sorry about double ping today. Heard the upload email was screwing with some people after I deleted "whoops." So I took the chance to add a small thing I forgot during the Miranda scene at the end. And, I just want to make this clear, her views do not represent my own anyway. I do have to kinda... pretend I'm in her mind and thinking like she would after all. You'll understand what I mean when you read it.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey guys, sorry about the late upload, I've got pneumonia as my christmas present and last night I had a shift of work that... did not go well. Was not able to push through. Went home, passed out, despite the chapter being ready to go. So, first thing after waking up is this. Happy New Year, and sorry about the delay!

Commander John Shepard

"Tali!" I shouted. The shockwave had knocked her face first into the wall, and my back had taken the blow. Goddamn Eclipse, going for a Blitzkrieg. Tali's not moving. I swear to fuck if she's hurt… Damn it, I can't check her yet, that bitch is about to try to finish the job. Tearing my eyes away from Tali, I gripped my pistol and angled it upwards, shifting my position to that of a kneel, brows furrowed in a silent fury as the overconfident Asari mantled over the cases we had used as cover, a wide and malicious grin across her features. She expected to find two incapacitated hostiles, instead, one's not only conscious, but prepared. Her shotgun had been angled away, and as her expression shifted to shock, I launched myself upwards, and the barrel of my pistol went straight for her neck. Definitely inside the range of her barrier.

"Fu-" she began. Knowing the shot would hit, and be a killing blow, I pulled the trigger. She had no time for the rest of her curse before the bullet tore through her throat. It reeled her head back, but her body still came crashing onto me. Thankfully, launching myself made it rather easy to quite literally shrug her off. I peeked over the counter. A pair of Eclipse sisters had begun to charge in behind the now dead Asari, having only gotten to the door. They had a moment of hesitation, seeing that they had more resistance than planned. But still, they saw only one. Part of them getting back on track. So, I fired, two shots on the merc on the left, quick as I could make em. The first shot was fully deflected by the shields, the second, broke through, but between what was left of the shields, and the armor, just made the merc stagger.

"Kalis!" the other sister foolishly wasted her only chance to save her friend by turning along her side, her rifle lowering. I had the opportunity for another shot, and took it, straight for the bitch's head. "No! You'll pay for-" the other Asari shouted, before biotics were used to pull her back out of the store. Likely one of their own pulling her back to regroup. An Eclipse hit squad, has to be. Better trained than the usual mercs, but not used to fighting military operatives, or experiencing many losses, it seems. Looks like I got a moment. I rushed to Tali's body, rolling her over onto her back. Oh shit, oh shit. Her visor's cracked. I can't see any more features of her face than usual, just the cracks, and her HUD is flashing, no doubt trying to alert her to a suit breach, but I couldn't see her eyes inside. I ran a quick scan with my Omni-tool, nothing more than to detect a heartbeat. Good, she has one, she's alive, but knocked out.

"Shepard to team. Two Merc's dead, but Tali is unconscious with a cracked visor. Double time it, and get Chakwas on standby," I ordered.

"ETA 90 seconds, Commander," Miranda answered.

"ETA fifteen seconds," Garrus added. Good, do wonder why he's so close though. But later. With my pistol ready I looked over the counter again. The mercs were preparing to attack again. Taking cover along the what should be bulletproof glass at the exterior. Obviously, they knew I could see them, but they didn't care. They still had numbers after all. Another three Asari in Eclipse armor were in position, and a fourth was in cover at the storefront adjacent to the jewelry store. An old antique store. Well, considering the alarm has yet to go off, let's find out if those windows really are bulletproof. They obviously want to wait until I won't be focusing on them. Such as an attempt to reload. Which I've only two shots left in the clip. I glanced back at Tali. Those motherfuckers. I fired at the head of one of the Asari. I shouldn't have, not yet at least. Stall them, test if the glass is bulletproof later. But right now, I'm pissed. The alarms beginning to blare wasn't helping my mood.

"Shit!" the Asari on the other side exclaimed, as the alarms began to ring. Different voice than the one who got pulled back earlier. With my off hand, I reached down to my pocket for a spare clip.

"That's it, this fucker dies," another Asari growled, that's the one. Their weak link.

"Idiot," the third muttered as said link moved around cover, forcing them into action. With my replacement clip ready, I fired, immediately ejecting the used clip and slapping in the new. Ducking as 'idiot' fired wildly, charging ahead. Shots impacting the wall, glass, anything but me. I won't be able to get another shot off like this. Let's try something else. I focused on the Asari charging in, eyes staying open. A biotic aura formed around me as I pulled my hand back, clenched in a fist then pushed out, palm open, flat, and forward. The mercs were surprised, they weren't expecting this. I hadn't used biotics in combat yet, but sure seems like I need to now. I hadn't trained on pushes or pulls yet either, but I break up a lot of the boredom during travel time with practice, pushing and pulling that coin. As my fist shot forward, the biotic field focused into a ball that launched out from my palm. All the while I was picturing the Asari being pushed back, straight through the doorway, crashing into her cohorts. And that's exactly what happened. She stopped her run as soon as the biotics had begun to form, and just allowed it to strike her right in the chest. Knocking the wind out of her and launching her and the other mercs back.

"The fuck?! Bounty didn't say he was biotic! Fucker better pay us a nice big bonus," the lead growled as they recovered, quickly getting out of my firing lane.

"For what? Your funeral?" A familiar Turian voice called out from the antique store, behind the merc they had placed there. Shocked, she began to turn, pulling out a knife at her thigh as she spun. She tried to slash open his stomach on the heel turn, but he just stepped back, grabbed her wrist with his right hand, and with his left he slashed at her throat with his talons. I couldn't see the impact, but I saw her free hand go to her throat as she dropped the knife, and her other hand was released, also going to her throat, and she began to slump to the ground. Garrus ran back to behind a counter in the antique store. Less likely that its glass was bullet proof.

"Goddess damn it all," the merc that wasn't the leader, or the young and pissy one muttered.

"Charge the Human, now!" the leader ordered. The three of them began sprinting. All eyes on me. Garrus began firing, but he still had only a pistol after all. I focused my biotics again, glancing at Tali. It's motivation alright, pissing me right the fuck off. Let's give these fuckers something new. I pictured a wave of energy in front of me, surging out and slamming against all three mercs. I pulled both of my hands back, trying to put all my strength into my biotics and pushed out. There was a wave of energy. And it slammed me back against the wall. Shit. That hurts a helluva lot. My head's pounding. I ran my left hand over my face. My upper lip was wet. I checked my palm, finding blood. Nosebleed? Probably shouldn't have… what did I do? Oh fuck, I shot up, pistol still in my right hand. The store was fucked. Anything loose was against the glass walls, and all the glass itself, while not broken, was in various stages of damage. Two of the Asari had been launched, yet again, out the store. They were as dazed as I am, struggling to get back up, one fell back onto their stomach. The third was on the floor, her neck bent at an unnatural angle and her blood against the glass wall.

"Shepard, you alright?" Garrus asked on the comms.

"Y-yeah," I groaned in pain. "Yeah I'm alright."

"Good. Hurry and help me secure the mercs," Garrus responded. I looked back up to see him rush out of the antique store, knocking the butt of his pistol against the one having better luck getting to their feet. We don't have cuffs after all, and better to just have her knocked out. I took a deep breath and climbed over the counter. Garrus gathered the arms of the unconscious merc behind her back and pressed his knee against her lower back, and the barrel of his pistol on her skull. Shaking my head, my eyes having difficulty focusing on anything, and my thoughts being… woozy. I approached the barely conscious merc and slowly pinned her like Garrus had, using the calm to refocus myself. That's a concussion alright. I took a dose of medi-gel to numb the pain and to stop the nosebleed.

"Yeah, you're also seeing Chakwas when we're back on the ship," Garrus remarked.

"Probably should. So, why were you already so close?" I asked. Garrus tilted his head to the side, confused.

"You and Tali were off to a district with a strong Eclipse presence. With the orders you had just given, EDI saw fit to let me know, and I decided I'd make sure I was nearby," he explained. Now confusion flashed across my own features. "You didn't know?" I shook my head, again, clearing my thoughts.

"We're in a mall, Garrus, not walking along the streets and back alleys. I guess checking didn't really cross my mind."

"Well, then this just goes to show how much influence a merc group can have on this world. Everything on the surface might as well be an alleyway." Garrus got on comms again. "Miranda, it's Garrus. Mercs are down, two prisoners. Tali is still unconscious, Shepard took a bad knock to the head but he's up and conscious, just dazed. Else he'd have called you before I did," he explained, sending a slightly joking grin my way.

"Understood. Entering the mall now and standing down. Be advised, police shuttles were starting to arrive," she answered.

"Got it, just head on over to our position. Take over the prisoners, take care of Tali. Shepard and I will handle the police."

"Will do. Mordin caught us just before we departed. He was in the middle of an experiment and couldn't answer on his own, left its stabilization to Lia."

"Stabilization?" I asked.

"No reason for alarm. Simply could not leave experiment unsupervised. Reaction being halted carefully to resume later. If fluctuations dangerous, throw of switch enacts safeties. Now, condition of patient?"

"Still unconscious with a cracked visor. Didn't have time for a medical scan," I answered.

"Understood. Will use Omni-gel to seal visor and administer antibiotics and immunoboosters until back on ship." Just a moment later, the others came around the corner to our barren little corner of the mall. Mordin was already staring at me inquisitively, so I pointed back to the jewelry store.

"Behind the counter." The doc nodded, making his way there. Grunt was very clearly annoyed at having missed the fight, while the others were surveying the damage. Miranda was particularly curious of the damage in the jewelry store. Grunt and Samara approached Garrus and I while the others secured the area.

"You wish for these assassins to live and sent under police custody, Commander?" Samara questioned. There was no hint of argument or disagreement in her tone, just a pure question. Like a machine asking for confirmation. I nodded. "Your will, be done." Grunt and Samara secured the mercs as Garrus and I stood back up, holstering our pistols. The mall intercom came to life.

"Nos Astra Police Department. All of your exits are blocked. Come out with your hands up!" Could they turn it down? That would be nice. Head's still pounding. Garrus and I shared a glance and made our way towards the mall entrance the others had used. We holstered our pistols, and when we arrived at the doors, raised our hands, stepping out, the doors automatically opening for us. There was a line of officers, two squads of the local SWAT equivalent. All the regular officers were wearing ballistic vests and no doubt had shields, taking cover behind their vehicles. A gunship overhead shining a searchlight down on us, almost blinding, and making my head pound even more.

"Council Spectre!" I shouted. "Eclipse tried to have me killed and bit off more than they could chew. It's over now. We have wounded, and two captive mercs for you to take into custody." A male Turian's voice answered, his voice amplified.

"There are no Human Spectres. Get on the-" He stopped, the Officers still aiming at us, but waiting for the go-ahead from their… on something with this much police attention, maybe their Commander. But maybe it is just the district Captain. Titles can vary from Department to Department. He must be talking with someone. Now there was another voice in his place.

"Didn't expect to see you again so soon. Stand down, coast is clear." Detective Anaya, of course.

"Sorry we took the fun from you, Anaya!" I called back, chuckling as the Officers lowered their weapons, the gunship no longer blinding us.

"You should apologize for the headaches. You said you had wounded. Need a lift to the hospital?"

"No, just a fast ride back to our ship. Our doc is more than capable of taking care of her."

"If you say so. Head on back to your people. I'll be inside with a squad in just a moment to take the mercs, and fill a report."

"Got it. We'll be waiting." Garrus and I returned inside towards the others.

"Guess I should have said that you'll handle it," he remarked.

"We're just lucky we ended up in Anaya's district. Made things leagues easier," I shrugged. We returned to the others. The merc Garrus had pinned was awake again, and Mordin had brought Tali out from the store, and had just finished a scan. He looked over to see me and the very visible nerves I had.

"Mask sealed, though will need replacement. Medications administered. Will survive, of course. No damage to spinal cord, but is at least suffering from a heavy concussion, hence, unconsciousness. Lack of damage to skull implies it is only, concussion. Should wake soon then, determine further extent. Clearly exposed to contaminants, will undergo standard immuno-response seen by Quarians with exposed heads. Perhaps ear and sinus infection. Bed-rest and standard medication. Will be fine," he explained.

"Exposed head? Isn't it all covered up though?" Grunt asked.

"Crack exposed head to air, if not eyes. Air contaminated. Bacteria, dead cells. Air exhaled by Shepard, mercs, earlier patrons and workers. Fortunate most, maybe all contaminants levo, limit patient's reactions to allergic, if severe."

"How do you know it was all levo?" I asked. I'm sure he'd have checked to see if the breach got her in contact with some Dextro germs, but I don't know what it could do to her. I don't like not knowing things.

"Simple. Gunfight in jewelry store. Not popular amongst Turians. Seen as frivolous. Further, majority of males in most species not interested in jewelry, least, not for self-decoration. Interesting coincidence. Might research on side in future. Further, Illium has low Turian population, lower Female Turian population. When on ship, detailed scan will confirm." Mordin explained. Ok, good, she's ok. I began to calm down, the adrenaline wearing off. My mind wandered to what Garrus said earlier. This area had a heavy merc presence. I didn't think to check that, as I told him. So, they got this opportunity because I was stupid. Shit. My thoughts were interrupted again by the sound of footsteps behind us. Anaya had arrived with four officers and a Turian male. The officers were two Asari, a Salarian, and a Human male.

"Detective, good to see you," I offered a hand.

"You too, Shepard. Just wish this time you could have caused trouble in someone else's district. I've already got more paperwork than I'm happy with," she remarked, still keeping it friendly.

"Which is any paperwork at all," Garrus joked.

"You could say that." She looked over my shoulder to Samara. "It's an honor to see you again, Justicar."

"It is a pleasure to see you as well, Detective." Anaya smiled, and then looked at Tali and the two mercs.

"I see you got another two Eclipse mercs for us. And I recognize the Quarian as one of yours. The wounded?"

"Concussion and a suit breach. Doc says she'll be fine," I answered.

"Good to hear. Shepard, this skeptic here is my boss, Police Colonel Trevis."

"I'm here to verify. Why don't you show me those credentials, corpse?" Hostility. Great. The grin I was showing for Anaya faded, brows furrowing. Westerlund news must either not be a popular network around here, or there were officials discrediting her story. I activated my Omni-tool and showed him the ID, Spectre status active. He huffed as he read. "So why were Eclipse trying to put you back in the ground?" Anaya stepped in.

"That'll all be in my report, sir. I can handle this from here." He just eyed me again, shook his head, and left.

"Sorry about him. While he's been on the force for years, he's spent too much time playing bureaucrat," Anaya stated once he was out of earshot. "Now-"

"Ugh… Keelah, what happened?" Tali groaned, waking up and sitting up. Head in her hand. She made a noise under her breath, maybe stifling a curse. Anaya didn't stop me from getting down on a knee to check on her. "John?" She looked around, her body wincing as her head still pounded. "What's everyone doing here?"

"You don't remember?"

"Common in concussions that leave victim unconscious. No cause for alarm," Mordin reassured. Ok, good.

"Eclipse ambushed us after dinner. We took cover in a jewelry store, called for backup, then got charged. The first one in launched a shockwave that knocked you out cold. Cracked your visor too, b-"

"What?! Where!" she pawed at her mask frantically, searching for it.

"It's sealed! It's sealed," I reassured. "Mordin sealed it with omni-gel but you were exposed to the air for a few minutes. Once we're done here, we're taking you back to the ship to be under Chakwas' watch." She took a deep breath.

"Thank you, Mordin." The doc just nodded. "Go, finish… whatever you need to do. I don't want to be here any longer than I have to." I nodded, and gave her a grin, standing back up.

"Well, I got part of the story now. Tell me all of it?" the Detective asked.

"Technically, we were ambushed after taking cover in the jewelry store." That gave her some confusion. "We noticed that almost out of nowhere, we were suddenly the only ones in a mall. Instincts kicked in, it was suspicious as hell. I knew that the glass and counters in that store would be bulletproof, and that when damaged, well, the cops would respond to that alarm a lot faster than some clothing store. Then they showed themselves with the charge and shockwave. The firefight ensued, causing all that damage, and Garrus was the first of my backup to arrive, took care of the merc in the antique store there."

"And do you know why the Eclipse wanted you dead?" she asked.

"I heard them refer to a bounty several times. My guess it's that they're pissed at me and one of their higher ups put a price on my head. When I helped Samara, that wasn't the first time I had screwed over Eclipse operations." Or take away a big client of theirs. But I won't say that part.

"Adds up. One last part. I need to know what you and your friend were doing here in the mall."

"We went out to dinner and she wanted to walk around. Window shop." She gave me a look. One that said, 'Dinner, huh?' I don't think she believed that was a lie, but I do believe she was catching on that maybe Tali wasn't just my friend. I also didn't see any disgust.

"That should do it for my report then. We'll take the mercs, and you can go back to your ship." We handed them over, the officers slapping on the cuffs, while I helped Tali along back to the shuttle. She may have insisted she didn't need it, but she also didn't stop me from putting her left arm over my back and me putting my right hand on her hip. Miranda led the group back to our shuttle outside. A majority of officers were still in the process of pulling out, and a small handful seemed to be holding off the press. Definitely want to get out of here now. We entered our shuttle, and everyone but Grunt took a seat, who just paced around the cabin, grumpy, while Miranda went into the cockpit. The shuttle took off, and brought us back to the Normandy. When we did arrive, Grunt stormed off to the elevator ahead of anyone else, which just left him waiting, annoyed, in the elevator while everyone else got in. That was where people began to disperse. Jack and Grunt at engineering, Miranda, Thane, Samara, Mordin, Garrus, Tali, and myself at Crew quarters. Mordin, Garrus, and I brought Tali to the medical bay. Mordin, it seems, was still viewing Tali as his patient. And just as the door opened, Chakwas waiting on standby, Tali sneezed. A high-pitched and sudden noise. It sounded cute, in a way. Despite it meaning the sickness was setting in.

"Bed. Now," Chakwas ordered. With a sniffle, she did just that. "Mordin?" The doc nodded, and his Omni-tool lit up, he pressed some keys, and a second later, Chakwas did. Must have transferred the data from his scan. Chakwas skimmed it, and scanned her again as she sneezed yet again. "How's her memory?"

"She didn't remember anything after the dinner," I answered. "Don't know if there's anything else."

"I know we're on… Illium. We've a mission against the Collectors," Tali spoke up. Chakwas nodded.

"Memory's intact, though her short-term was distorted. I'll check it again soon. Mordin, all you gave her was anti-biotics and immunoboosters?" she asked. The doc nodded.

"Then I'll have a new dose for her in a few hours. And for the Concussion…" Chakwas went to her supply cabinets, looking for something specific. "There you are." She returned with a small canister and syringe. "Painkillers. They'll make you drowsy, but I need you to stay awake a while longer before I can safely let you nod off. Lift your arm for me?" Tali complied, Chakwas turned it so the inside of the arm was facing out, revealing the part of the suit she needed. Right at the inside of her elbow, an injection site. Chakwas inserted the needle just a slight bit, not getting to Tali's skin, but what's essentially an airlock in her own suit. The needle end is at a mid-point between the exterior and interior, the fluids are released, the suit takes them in and transfers it all to where it needs to go, injecting Tali with the meds where they need to go. "Now, you." Chakwas turned her attention to me. "You know the drill." I held my hands up defensively, and got into the other medical bed. Chakwas ran her scan on me. "You didn't lose consciousness and I know your memory was intact enough to fill in the gaps for Tali. Anything that the scan can't tell me?"

"Once the adrenaline from the fight wore off, everything seemed a bit loud for my tastes. And on and off, focus was a bit more difficult, but, that parts over now."

"Good. Now, strangely, I'm reading that the implant in your skull, the one for biotics, underwent some strain. The scan also shows that your brain in that area has some minor bruising. No serious damage, I believe. I'll want Miranda to take a look at the readings later, but for now, I'm prescribing the same I am for Tali. Painkillers and bed-rest. But you should be back to normal tomorrow," Chakwas explained.

"Will leave patients in your care. Return to own experiments," Mordin stated.

"Thank you, Professor. It's good to no longer being the only one patching up John."

Miranda Lawson

Shepard and Tali have both been back aboard for a few hours now in the care of Doctor Chakwas. I believe they're both asleep now. The Eclipse putting a price on the Commander's head is concerning, but I can't say it's surprising. But what's really keeping me up, is how much has gone on today that I don't understand. Why did Shepard and Tali go for a meal, but didn't want Garrus to join them? The three of them are old friends, I know that, but what is there that the two would talk about that they wouldn't want Garrus to hear? As for why they went to the kind of restaurant they did, I can understand Shepard may have wanted to treat himself, and get his friend to eat more than just nutrient paste. That fits how he treats the two. Maybe-

No, no. The rumors of the crew are just gossip. On long missions they'll jump on any piece of gossip like that to entertain themselves. And besides, she's a Quarian, he's Human. They're not the same species, how could they get such an interest in one another? Especially when one doesn't know what the other looks like? And it's not like there's any sexual deviancy on, that doesn't seem to be in Shepard's character nor would it even be simple enough to allow for quick and careless releases like that. Add in how they wouldn't be able to reproduce, I believe that further rules out those rumors. If she was an Asari, just maybe I could see it.

I was reminded again of my own... condition. I swallowed the bitterness. I can't have a child of my own, and yet it's something I wish for someday. To have a child of my own and raise them in a way my father never could. I know that if, somehow, I met a man who could somehow bypass my own infertility, I might well jump at the chance. Tying it back to those two, I can't see anyone being with anyone who they can't reproduce with. Of course I'm aware that same-sex relationships can't reproduce either, but in turn they artificially inseminate. For two women, they pretend so hard that both are the biological parent, and to their own minds, it becomes true. For two males, it's the same but with the addition of the third party female.

I shook my head, thinking on and on like this makes me no better than the crew when they gossip. And none of this has anything to do with the real concerns. The damage to the jewelry store. It doesn't make sense. It's like grenades went off but explosives would have blown open the glass, and caused more damage to the display cases. It could be biotic attacks from the mercs, but the extent of the damage was too wild and haphazard. A biotic detonation? No, that would have caused far more damage. Hm, maybe… yes, that's a possibility. Shepard may have pushed himself under the circumstances to do what he wasn't ready for yet. True, it may well have been necessary. I need security footage.

"EDI, get me on the line with Detective Anaya," I ordered. "Tell her it's a member of Shepard's crew who has a question about tonight's events."

"At once, Operative Lawson." It answered. I waited at my desk a few moments as the call went through. I imagine she is busy.

"Detective Anaya." the Asari began.

"Good evening, Detective. This is Operative Miranda Lawson. I'm the Commander's XO."

"Evening, Lawson. What can I do for you?"

"I'd like to request a copy of security cam footage from the mall moments before, and through the duration of tonight's assassination attempt."

"Yeah, I should be able to requisition a copy for you, given the Commander's a Spectre and all. But the paperwork's gonna need to know why you want a copy," Anaya explained.

"The damage sustained by the Jewelry store leads me to believe there might have been the use of unstable biotics. If I'm correct, there might be dangers to the Commander's health."

"Got it. Do you want footage from the entire mall, or just the ones around and at the attack?"

"The latter, thank you."

"I'll send a copy down this line in a few hours. Give the Commander and his girlfriend my well wishes." Again, people just assuming such an outlandish thing.

"I'm sure they'll appreciate it, Detective. Thank you."