I've never had a period. What? You lot wanted me to focus on the good that came out of my near-death experience as a child. I'd say never having to deal with the cramps to be a pretty good thing. Not that I didn't go through a messy transition all my own for other reasons. But anyway, yeah, I've never had a period. Of course that also comes with that little gotcha of not being able to have kids, but hey, life is full of tradeoffs, some better or worse than others.

But anyway, yeah, there were some other complications as I grew up. For one, I never understood the whole fascination with boys that girls develop during secondary. Which means while my friends and classmates were, experimenting, during lycée and even at the academy, I never felt any inclination to date or anything. That continued after I went into the service, not that it would have been particularly easy to find a mister or missus right, what with the fraternization rules. So, yeah, I pretty much spent my entire life as a single bachelorette. Not sure if that's something I should be regretting or not, since I have no idea what if anything I'm missing out on. Kids, maybe. But I can't have any to begin with, so that's sort of a wash anyway. So, yeah, that tradeoff I mentioned before? What happened to me was a very big one in the royally sucks column.

-Evangeline Shepard, Mandatory Counseling Log 007

Chapter 6

Ductus exemplo

While Shepard was not actually rated to fly a Kodiak shuttle, she did know the controls well enough that, with some assistance from her AI partner, she could serve as a pilot in a pinch. In general though the colonel was more than happy to leave the job to the actual pilots, of which one Thomas Hawthorne was proving to be a perfectly competent example as he sped through the atmosphere towards the drop point.

"The quarians seem to be in something of a rush, ma'am," Thomas remarked.

"Looks like there're still some trust issues going on," Shepard responded from the copilot seat.

One consequence of the rather lean crew assigned to the new Normandy was that there was a lot less redundancy in the various duty stations, so Shepard was not even kicking anyone out of their normally assigned seat. That being said, not having a proper copilot for the shuttle was veering a bit towards outright unsafe that Shepard intended to see about getting that slot properly filled.

"What're they worried about?" Thomas wondered aloud. "Aren't we all here for the same thing?"

Another thing about the current Normandy crew, at least amongst the civilian complement, was a relative lack of discipline as compared to a purely military crew. That meant a lot more chatter and voicing of opinions, regardless of whether it was asked for or not. Shepard for the most part did not put her foot down too hard on the matter, with the understanding that when shit hit the fang, everyone would shut up and do their jobs.

"The quarians might have believed the navy cared about saving anyone that can still be saved down there," Shepard responded. "They have no reason to think the same of a private interest, however."

Whatever their background, at least none of her current crew was stupid or naïve, as Thomas' momentary silence now demonstrated. After all, knowing what questions not to ask also took a degree of intelligence and common sense.

"ETA twelve minutes to landing," Thomas ultimately said.

"Make it ten," Shepard ordered. "I don't want to be second on the ground here."

"Aye ma'am."

Even if the quarians had cause to be suspicious of anyone associated with Cord-Hislop, or the hand behind the company, Shepard was not obliged to accommodate those feelings. Not when she had a job to do. Her confidence in Thomas was amply rewarded when the pilot managed to get them to their target in under her ten minute deadline. As it was, Shepard and her squad ended up waiting a few for the quarians to touch down and disembark.

A full squadron of quarians stepped off their own shuttle, all well-armed and clearly ready for a fight. The one that stepped forward to greet Shepard was however not Tali.

"You're Colonel Shepard?" a male voice sounded.

"That's right. And you would be?"

"I'm Lieutenant Prazza. While you may be personally more familiar with Ensign Tali, I am the senior officer of the Espectus' marine detachment."

Shepard shrugged. "Fine by me. So long as you follow orders as efficiently as Tali, we'll get along just fine."

"Follow orders?" Prazza spat. "I think you misunderstand something here, Colonel. We're here with our own mission, to rescue Veetor. While we won't get in your way if you promise us the same, we're not here to dance to your tune."

From behind, Shepard could see Tali shaking her head in exasperation. Apparently her attempts to talk reason with the good lieutenant had not gotten through his thick skull.

"The misunderstanding is no one but yours, Lieutenant," Shepard stated, emphasizing the rank. "Freedom's Progress is an imperial colony, and the Migrant Fleet has no jurisdiction to be putting boots on the ground without express permission from imperial authorities. While it may be easier to beg forgiveness than get permission had there not been any imperial authorities present, that is expressly not the case here and now. So if you want to risk a major diplomatic incident by trying to force your way past a direct representative of His Majesty, sure, try pushing your luck. Just know that unlike you, I don't bluff."

"So what you're saying is, Cord-Hislop really does speak for your government?" Prazza sneered.

Shepard raised an eyebrow. "Who said a thing about Cord-Hislop? I'm here as a member of the Imperial Cadre."

"Oh? So why the hell're you wearing those colors? And that logo?"

"The same reason every navy ship has the logo painted on at least some time during its life cycle. Cord-Hislop is a major contractor, and they build a lot of the navy's ships and gear. Or should others assume the Migrant Fleet is a bunch of pirates just because you have a few decommissioned batarian ships within your ranks?"

"Listen, you-"

"That's enough, Prazza," Tali finally interjected. "Colonel, I apologize for the lieutenant's attitude, but the Migrant Fleet has had been a few, incidents, involving humans wearing those colors. To see you in them is, more than a bit unsettling."

"Duly noted," Shepard said, then glanced over at Miranda. "Your boss and I will need to have a few words about what Charlie Foxtrot you people got into to make the Migrant Fleet so pissed." Then back to the quarians. "Now, can we get to work, or do you still need to get more chest thumping out of your systems."

"We're ready," Tali said, shooting Prazza a very cold look. "How do you propose we do this, Colonel?"

After waiting a beat to see if the quarian lieutenant would interrupt again, Shepard held out her hand and projected a map from her omnitool.

"Freedom's Progress has three different shelters that the colonists can evacuate to in case of attack." Dots appeared on the map, denoting each location. "Since we have three fireteams, that's one for each of us. The Bravo and Charlie sites I'll leave to your squad, my fireteam will deal with Alpha. Tali, can you tie us into your comm net?"

"Can do, Colonel," Tali affirmed, daring any of the others to challenge her.

When none did, Shepard continued. "We still don't have any idea of what exactly hit the colony, but there are suspicions that the Collectors are behind it."

"The Collectors?" Prazza spoke up. "What, you humans go chasing after myths and boogiemen often?"

"The Reapers were also a myth," Shepard said before Tali had a chance to reprimand the lieutenant. "Then one led a geth fleet and attacked the Citadel. How high do the bodies need to be piled up before the Collectors stop being a myth too?"

Remarkable how easily the quarian could be read even with his face obscured. Then again, the stiffness of his form told anyone that cared to notice the smoldering anger he felt. Shepard had seen it all before, a hotshot junior officer that cared more about being right and not getting shown up than getting the job done. He would not last long in the trenches, and certainly would not be seeing further advancement, at least not if his superiors were not equally bullheaded. But Prazza's long-term career was not Shepard's problem, she just needed to see through this specific mission and make sure the quarian did not screw anything up too spectacularly. Fortunately having been shut down again, Prazza seemed willing to keep his mouth shut, for now.

"There is also circumstantial evidence that the Collectors are agents of the Reapers," Shepard added.

That caused Tali to gasp, and a few of the other quarians even exchanged nervous murmurs.

"Our mission is a simple one," Shepard continued the briefing. "Neutralize any hostiles, secure the sight, and if we're lucky, find any survivors. If we're really lucky, we'll also find something that points to the identities of the attackers, be they Collectors or not. Now, while it doesn't look like there whoever hit the colony left any surprises behind, Freedom's Progress does have a large complement of LOKI mechs to serve as security. If they've been activated, they will treat you as hostiles, so obviously, respond accordingly."

"Can they be shut down?" Tali asked.

"Not all of them," Shepard answered, "at least not without access to the main control systems. You could arguably hack them one by one, but it'd probably be faster just to shoot them. We can worry about data recovery later."

"Roger that."

Shepard deactivated the projection and lowered her arm.

"The moment any team finds something, notify the others and we'll all converge. Move out."

The quarians exchanged looks before setting off, with Tali bringing up the rear. As she passed Shepard, she offered another apologetic nod to the colonel.

"Do you think they'll actually stick with the plan, ma'am?" Jacob asked once the quarians were out of earshot, beating Miranda to the punch and likely phrasing it a bit more tactfully.

"I trust Tali to keep me in the loop even if Prazza tries to go cowboy on us," Shepard responded. "Besides, the Alpha shelter is the one where the emergency controls are supposed to be set up. If the mechs are active, that should mean survivors managed to get there."

While she was not being overtly obstructive to the quarians, it was clear Shepard was not giving them free reign either. For the moment, that seemed to satisfy her squad mates.

"Alright, let's get going."

As a moderately sized colony, Freedom's Progress sprawled a bit, which was one reason multiple shelters were necessary in the first place. The place felt even bigger due to the relative emptiness of its streets, even the hum of machinery added an ambiance that made it not completely quiet. With her suite of sensors and backed up by probes deployed by the Normandy, Shepard was able to get a pretty good look at the colony's layout and even track the quarian teams as they progressed. There was minimal chatter on the radio, probably Prazza's attempt to cut Shepard out of the loop, but for now Shepard was prepared to let them do their own thing.

A beep indicated a moving contact and Shepard raised her rifle in response. Jacob and Miranda followed suit, and out into their field of view trudged a skeletal bipedal mech. Shepard did not even wait for it to notice them before blowing its head off with a single burst.

"All fireteams be advised, mechs are active," Shepard warned over the radio. "Tali, what do you have for anti-armor, over?"

"Just a missile launcher or two," Tali answered. "We're not geared for a heavy fight."

"Acknowledged. If you run into any heavy mechs, signal for help."

"Will do, Colonel."

"You expecting we'd do better, Colonel?" Jacob asked.

"What, with three biotics and my rifle? I'm sure we could take out a heavy mech or three."

The fireteam would probably need to get a bit creative, but neither of the other two disagreed with Shepard as they pressed onward. It was not long before shots in the distance could be heard. No one called for help, and from her overhead view Shepard could see the quarian marines easily taking down the light mechs that crossed their paths. At least it looked as if they were putting to good use their expertise in taking out robotic enemies.

"Fast moving contacts detected," Shepard announced over the radio, "likely aerial drones."

"Roger that, Colonel." Again it was Tali sending back the acknowledgment.

"And looks like we've got incoming of our own," Shepard said as she watched three contacts vector towards their position.

"How do you propose we deal with them, Colonel?" Miranda asked. "Seeing the somewhat limited range of some of our weapons."

Shepard glanced over at Jacob. "Well Taylor, want to try proving your shotgun's worth?"

Jacob snorted. "Yeah, no, it might have more range than a normal shotgun, but it's still a shotgun, ma'am."

To that Shepard gave a chuckle of her own. "Fair enough. How far out do you two think you can hit something with a stasis?"

The two immediately understood the colonel's intent.

"Just say the word," Jacob said confidently.

"Bogies Alpha and Bravo, hit them once in range," Shepard said, marking the targets. "I'll take care of Charlie."

The trio quickly found what cover they did, no point in advertising themselves too openly as targets after all. The whine of the drones' engines grew louder as they approached, and then quieted abruptly as Miranda and Jacob peeked out. Two of the drones began a precipitous drop before slamming into the ground, while the third continued streaking ahead for a few moments longer. That changed as a burst of rifle file punctured its thin frame and a smokey trail careened into the ground, adding a third crater.

"Easy-peasy," Jacob declared.

After doing a quick scan of the vicinity to make sure there were no further threats, Shepard pointed towards one of the hab modules.

"Through there, we can cut over to the shelter."

No further mechs emerged to impede their progress so the squad made good time, for all the good that did as they approached the wide open blast doors.

"Huh," Shepard remarked as she scanned the place.

"Looks like the colonists didn't make it," Jacob said, anger mixed in with regret in his voice.

"Then who activated the mechs?" Miranda asked. "Could it have been the Collectors themselves?"

"It wouldn't fit the pattern," Shepard said, "but we don't have much data to-"

Motion from within the shelter caused Shepard to clamp up and raise her weapon. The return from her sensors marked the approaching contacts as more mechs, these ones quadrupeds. There were three of them as well, a common enough grouping for the FENRIS units that came charging out. The mechs got about ten meters before a burst of gunfire tore through their lightly armored shells. Sparks sizzled from the holes and they tumbled over to a halt.

"Huh, odd," Shepard remarked.

"What's odd?" Miranda asked.

"We've only run into active, intact mechs," Shepard said. "If the colonists had gotten them activated when they were hit, I'd have expected to see at least some of them scrapped." The colonel gave the broken down mech a slight kick. "Or most of them, considering how poorly they seem to work."

Before they could ponder the point further, the radio crackled.

"Colonel," came Tali's voice. "We've just sighted a YMIR mech parked outside of the Bravo shelter. We could use a bit of help here, over."

"Wilco, on our way."

"A YMIR mech," Jacob remarked as they hustled. "Freedom's Progress must have been doing pretty well to afford something like that."

"Let's hope it's the only one," Shepard said.

No further comment arose, likely because no one else wanted to taunt Murphy. The Bravo shelter was unfortunately some distance away, closer to the colony's industrial site than the residential district. While cutting through a few more houses shaved off a bit of time, it was not as if they could instantaneously get there. That meant a window existed wherein something could go wrong, or someone could do something stupid. As it turned it, there were a lot of someones and plenty of stupid to be had.

"Shepard!" Tali called, this time sounding much more frantic. "Prazza's ordered his squad to engage the YMIR! He's trying to break through to the shelter before you get here!"

Shepard wasted only a single breath on an expletive. "Can they take it?"

"With just the rockets we have? No way!"

Little wonder Tali was so panicked. Shepard was also not terribly surprised by the quarian's response, considering her own familiarity with the YMIR's specs. Heavily shielded and armored, it was perhaps the biggest, baddest combat mech produced by a terran company. Indeed its impressive performance was seeing it widely exported even to Council race clients, though how widely it had disseminated out into the Terminus Systems was a more open question. The quarians about to get their asses handed to them at least did not seem to have much familiarity with the mech, otherwise they would have kept their heads down and waited for Shepard. That might not have been the most courageous thing to do, but it would have at least showed some degree of sanity. Loud bangs suddenly sounded, indicating the fighting had started.

Shepard and her squad were already going out in a full sprint, so it was not like they could get there any quicker. Such exertion however did not stop them from preparing their moves for when they did arrive.

"Jacob, Miranda, I want barriers up here and here," Shepard said. "Get the quarians out of the line of fire as quickly as you can."

"Aye Colonel," Jacob immediately acknowledged.

Miranda at least gave a choppy nod, so she was at least not opposed to the colonel's priorities.

"Once the quarians are clear, lock down that mech with whatever you can," Shepard continued. "We need to stop it from moving. I'll keep it distracted until you're ready."

"You won't have long to wait, Colonel," Miranda said, asserting her confidence.

The cannon fire was growing louder.

"Alright, here we go!"

Jumping over a railing, the three came upon a scene of pure carnage. Two quarians were still on the ground, telemetry indicating they had already flatlined, while a few others were either trying to crawl away or hunkering behind whatever meager cover they could find. Tali was fortunately still alive, directing her drones to dance around the YMIR to try and distract it from her wounded compatriots. The drones were however fragile things, and even a glancing hit from the mech's autocannons were enough to take them out.

The blast of electricity that coursed over the mech did a slightly better job attracting its attention, as it began turning about to face its newest opponent. The burst of rifle fire that followed was able to deplete its weakened shields and pound the underlaying armor, but for now they held. While Shepard engaged the YMIR almost singlehandedly, Jacob and Miranda threw up barriers around the wounded quarians and began pulling them away from the fight. Those still on their feet took the opportunity to do likewise, and soon all that could be saved were out of immediate danger at least.

As quickly as they could move however, that still took time, during which Shepard was under immense pressure all by her lonesome. The colonel slid behind some cover actually thick enough to offer protection from the mech's cannons, for the moment, and popped a pair of grenades. They wouldn't do much actual damage, but anything that kept the pressure on and kept the YMIR from being able to cycle its shields was helpful.

A momentary lull in the gunfire was Shepard's signal to toss the grenades, but to also get moving herself. The colonel's intuition was well rewarded as seconds later a missile slammed into her previous cover, turning it into a rain of shrapnel. The mech rose slightly as it stopped bracing and resumed its ponderous march towards Shepard, unfazed by the small blasts that peppered its frame. And then the thing came to an abrupt halt, even as its servos were clearly straining to continue moving.

"Shepard!" Miranda's voice sounded.

Behind the mech, Shepard could see Miranda and Jacob both unleashing their biotics to pin the YMIR. The effort was clearly difficult and there was no telling how much longer they could keep the mech frozen. Hopefully it would be enough, as Shepard shouldered her rifle and began a running charge. A glint of metal flashed in Shepard's hands even as a blue sheen of energy enveloped her form. She was still some distance from the YMIR however when it lurched, finally breaking free of the gravitic grip.

"SHEPARD!"

The cry this time came from Jacob, in a much more panicked tone too. The YMIR angled its autocannon and let loose, and its barrage of fire sliced through what was now empty air. A loud, shrill ring cut through the sound of gunfire, followed by an equally loud but much lower pitched metallic crunch. From a flash of blue light, Shepard careened through the air and managed a hard but still upright landing. The ground around her fractured from both the impact and the waves of gravitic energy she still exuded, the focal point of which was the huntress sword Shepard gripped.

The YMIR shifted, trying to turn around to face Shepard again, but took only a single step before it began toppling over. Sheer lines rippled from its chest across its armor, and then its head fell off outright. The finale came as the ruptures reached the mech's power cells and they detonated in a most spectacular pillar of flames. The fireworks at least made for a pretty backdrop as Shepard sheathed her sword and approached the others.

"No further contacts on sensors," the colonel said nonchalantly. "Casualty count?"

Tali took a moment to gather herself, the quarian a little unsure of what surprised her more, Shepard nearly singlehandedly taking down the YMIR or the colonel's apparent apathy at the achievement.

"Umm, Prazza's KIA, along with a third of the squad," the quarian began as she surveyed the aftermath. "I think I've only got two left still on their feet, the others all took hits and have suit ruptures. I need to get them back to our shuttle to stabilize them as quickly as possible."

"Jacob, give them a hand evacuating the wounded," Shepard ordered. "Miranda and I'll check the shelter."

"Got it, thanks Shepard," Tali said.

As the quarians plus Jacob began tending to the wounded, Shepard and Miranda turned towards the shelter entrance. This one was definitely sealed, and would have required heavy weapons to breach. Fortunately that would not be necessary.

"EDI, see what you can do about this lockout."

"Attempting overrides," the AI responded.

A few seconds passed as the two women waited, then a full minute.

"EDI?" Shepard inquired.

"Standard emergency imperial overrides are not working," EDI answered. "There appears to be a quarian security protocol overlaid on the original terran security matrix."

"Hrmm," Shepard murmured, then activated her radio. "Tali, hate to bug you, but we've got a quarian security lockout augmenting the standard terran security matrix. Do you have any overrides that we could try?"

"A quarian lockout? Just a sec, Colonel, I'll be right over."

"Your squad going to be okay?" Shepard inquired.

"The worst of the wounded have been patched up at least, and Jacob is helping carry them to our shuttle," Tali said even as she closed in. "They'll keep. If Veetor's still alive, he'll need my help much more than the others."

"Fair enough," Shepard said, giving the quarian a nod as she arrived.

"This should just take a moment," Tali said as she began working her omnitool. "Umm, you have a new AI partner, Shepard?"

"Ah, yes. EDI, this is Tali'Zorah?" Shepard began.

"Vas Neema," Tali helped fill in. "Tali'Zorah vas Neema. It's nice meeting you, EDI."

Shepard flashed the girl a slight smile. She had come a long way since her initial wariness of Artemis.

"The pleasure is all mine, Tali'Zorah," EDI responded. "Will you be needing any assistance with the overrides?"

"If you could take care of the terran security protocols, I'll take down the quarian ones."

"Understood, awaiting your input."

Despite having only more or less met, the two began working together in remarkable synchronicity. In under a minute, the sound of locks disengaging could be heard and the blast door began parting.

"Nicely done both of you," Shepard complimented.

"Thank you, Colonel," Tali said. "And thanks for the help, EDI."

"You are welcome, Tali'Zorah."

"Just Tali is fine," the quarian said. "Any friend of Shepard is a friend of mine. And seeing you're her AI partner, you're probably a few degrees closer than just a friend."

The colonel chuckled at that. "Oh you have no idea. Remember when I told you about my time as a synchronizer going through puberty?"

"Yes," Tali said dryly, "and it's still too much information."

The moment of levity passed as the doors widened enough for the trio to squeeze through. The darkened interior revealed little, at least until the lights mounted upon the guns flicked on. Stepping in, Shepard took the lead and swept the area.

"Clear," she declared.

The immediate entrance into the bunker revealed nothing, not terribly surprising since anyone hiding would naturally seek shelter deeper. At least there were no more mechs waiting to jump them either, or any other hostiles. The silence broken by their footsteps was not so still however that a faint hum escaped their notice. A hum, and an even softer whimpering that was growing louder.

"Contact," Shepard said quietly. "Multiple contacts. Stay sharp, but keep your trigger finger in check. I don't want any colonists getting shot by us."

"Roger that, Colonel," Miranda said.

Whimpering turned into sobbing, and the reason why became clear enough as the trio entered into the main shelter room. Inside, huddled together were a half dozen kids, fear reflected in their eyes as they winced at the light shone upon them. Lowering the intensity, Shepard slowly approached.

"It's alright," she said. "We're here to help."

The children exchanged glances amongst each other, before the oldest looking one rose slightly. She could not have been more than six or seven, and crouched down as she was she looked even smaller. The reason why she did not rise further became evident as light was cast upon her stained hands. Tali inhaled sharply, and even Miranda winced. Lying against the wall, surrounded by the children, was a suited quarian. The hands pressed against his suit were doing so to keep pressure on a wound, to keep him from bleeding out. Even so, there had only been so much the children could have done without training or proper medical equipment. But what they had done, it had been just enough.

"He's still alive," Shepard said as she registered the wounded quarian's body temperature.

That was all the prompting Tali needed as she rushed over to her fellow quarian's side.

"Hang in there, Veetor," she pleaded, breaking out her first aid kit and getting right to work.

The girl keeping pressure on the wound let go, her motions stiff as she was finally able to relax her arms. She stared down at Veetor as Tali examined the wound and worked to properly seal it, an emptiness to her eyes.

"Hey," Shepard said, kneeling to be level with the girl's gaze. "You did good." She caressed the girl's head gently. "You did good."

The girl stared back at Shepard for a few moments, before tears leaked out from her eyes. She sniffed once, twice, and then the floodgates opened as the storm of emotions boiled over. As the girl cried, Shepard took her into her arms and gave her as comfortable a hug as she could manage in the armor. The other children also began crying, finally having an outlet for all the pent-up stress that they had experienced. Miranda was soon right there with Shepard, trying to offer some measure of comfort to the children. To the orphans, for that was what they had become this past day. But they were at least here, they had at least escaped whatever horrid fate that the Collectors would have otherwise subjected them to.

"W-wha?" a weak voice sounded.

Looking over even as she held onto the girl, Shepard saw the wounded quarian stir.

"Veetor?" Tali said. "It's alright. You're alright now."

"Wh-who?"

"It's me, Tali. Remember? We spoke before you left on your Pilgrimage."

"Tali," Veetor murmured. "The-the others. I tried, tried to stop them. Tried to turn on the mechs. But, took too long. Couldn't get to main controls, had to hotwire controls here." A deep wheeze sounded. "Wasn't fast enough. Had to seal the bunker. Had to-all those people." Now a sob. "All my friends, they took all my friends."

"You did everything you could," Shepard spoke, softly but firmly. "You saved these children with what you did. And for that you're a hero. You hear me, Veetor? You're a hero."

Veetor did not stop crying, but he did not try to deny Shepard's words either. Eventually he faded into unconsciousness again, Tali having administered a sedative and painkiller so she could continue stabilizing him. Leaving Tali to her work, Shepard rose, even as she continued cradling the girl that refused to let her go.

Off to the side in the room was a somewhat mangled console, obviously what Veetor had tried to hotwire and turn into a second command unit for the colony's mechs. Its displays were still working however, and Shepard watched intently the recording that was looping. One moment, all was quiet throughout the colony. The next, people scrambling to flee from something, and then one by one all froze up as if they were immobile statues. Finally, into the field of view of the camera stepped forms that Shepard had never seen before.

They looked insectoid, what with the angled arrangement of the two pair of eyes and the bulbous, tapered head. Then there was their orangish, chitinous exoskeleton. Despite their feral appearance, these creatures were obviously capable of higher-level coordination, as seen by their organized sweep over the colony along with their employment of various tools that shared in their chitinous aesthetic. There was even one creature that appeared to be a leader unit of sorts, visibly less bulky than the others and pointing in the manner that implied it was issuing orders. All this and more the recordings revealed, which meant despite the heavy, heavy cost, this mission could be considered a success. Yes, over a thousand innocent colonists had been lost. But now, they had solid proof that the force behind the disappearances was a physical, concrete one. And with a face to the enemy, they also knew who to kill.

While the Normandy did not possess a proper forensics team, there were enough crewmembers with comparable skills that they were able to do a passable sweep of Freedom's Progress and find additional actionable intel. Case in point, the inert insectoid probe held inside of a well shielded stasis container that Shepard was looking at.

"How many of these did the team find?" she asked.

"Just the six," Miranda answered, also regarding the container. "And only because they had gotten stuck inside of the bravo bunker's outer section after Veetor managed to seal the place up."

"Looks like we owe him another one," Shepard said as she straightened. "EDI, what can you tell us about these, things?"

"Scans indicate a biomechanical construct modeled after common insectoid physiology," EDI said. "It appears to carry a small biotic charge that produces a stasis field when discharged. That field is likely what allowed the Collectors to completely immobilize the colonists and prevent them from calling for help."

"So the Collectors deploy swarms of these things first, stop everyone in their tracks, then sweep through to pick everyone up and clean out any evidence of their presence," Shepard said. "Clever bastards, I'll give them that much." The colonel took a deep breath. "So, how do we defend against these things?"

"The data suggests some sort of biotic field would be able to counteract the initial discharge," EDI said, "but I do not have enough data to extrapolate a solution in further detail."

"Meaning we need actual specialists to look into the matter," Shepard said, looking around the lab. "Someone that can make use of the facilities here." Then to Miranda. "Still no luck finding someone like that?"

"There are a few promising candidates, but due to the nature of their background tracking some of them down to make an offer is proving difficult," Miranda said. "We may have to go find them ourselves."

"If that's what it takes," Shepard said. "In the meantime, I want these things kept on ice. The last thing we need is any of these activating and messing with either the crew or the ship."

"Agreed," Miranda said.

Before another topic could rear its head, the door to the lab slid open and the pitter-patter of small feet sounded.

"Angie!" Kelly called out to no avail.

The girl raced through the door and upon sighting Shepard immediately rushed over to latch onto the colonel.

"I'm sorry Colonel," Kelly said, right on the girl's heels, "but she got fidgety and ran off to find you."

"That's alright," Shepard said, picking the girl up and cradling her in her arms. "We were just wrapping up here, right Miranda?"

The other woman nodded. "We'll continue later, Colonel."

And took her leave. For that matter Shepard and Kelly did not linger in the lab either and the two left, with the girl resting her head on Shepard's shoulder. All of the surviving children had been brought aboard the Normandy, and though the ship was hardly equipped to serve as a daycare, the crew had pulled out all the stops to try to make the children comfortable. That started with a hot meal and bath before they were all tucked away in Shepard's bed, the largest one aboard ship, and Kelly had been keeping a watchful eye on them all throughout, at least until she had come here chasing after one girl in particular.

"Where are the others?" Shepard asked.

"Down in the mess hall," Kelly answered. "Gardner's looking after them. He really is quite good with kids."

"Not too surprised," Shepard said, then to the girl in her arms. "C'mon, let's get you back with the others, Angie."

The girl in question responded by tightening her grip on Shepard, making clear what she thought of that. Kelly chuckled lightly.

"Looks like she's gotten quite attached to you, Colonel."

"So it seems," Shepard said, giving the girl a comforting pat on the back. "This is only going to make things harder, though."

"Yes," Kelly agreed with a tinge of sadness. "Yes, it will."

The children could not obviously stay aboard the Normandy, they would have to be dropped off at a station and given into the care of the authorities. They would be well taken care of, physically that was, that much Shepard could assure with her connections to the crown. But emotionally, the sense of security that the children were obviously drawing from their rescuers was going to be taken from them once they parted ways. And that, inevitably, was going to cause some hurt all by itself. Until then, Shepard was prepared to do what she could to help soothe the hurt that already throbbed within all the children.

"Colonel, the Espectus' captain wishes to speak with you."

If only the rest of the universe would deign to accommodate her.

"I'll take it at my station," Shepard said, diverting from the elevator with Angie still in her arms.

When she reached the station, she crouched down and slowly unwrapped the girl's arms. There was a stubborn look in Angie's eyes, but Shepard did not relent, not completely at least.

"You can stay with me," she said, "but I need to take this call, alright?"

Angie gave a quick nod. Satisfied that she would behave, Shepard straightened and let the girl lean against her leg. With a flick of her hand, the colonel brought up the channel onto her display.

"Captain Bentus," Shepard greeted.

"Colonel Shepard," the quarian responded. "My ship has completed preparations for departure. I just wanted to pass on my gratitude for the assistance you lent groundside, and my regret that things turned out the way they did."

In fact Bentus was being very reasonable, considering the fatalities and multiple wounded his marine complement suffered. That he was mature enough to not ascribe blame to Shepard spoke well of him, as a person and as an officer.

"I won't pretend I'm happy with how things went either, Captain," Shepard said. "But I do appreciate your understanding." The colonel tilted her head. "Is Veetor doing okay?"

"We have him stabilized," Bentus assured her, "along with the other marines that you helped save. Once we get them back to the fleet they'll be able to get more comprehensive treatment. Likely aboard the Nightingale herself, actually."

To that Shepard cracked a slight smile. "I'm glad that ship seems to be serving your people well."

"That it has," Bentus agreed, before pausing a beat himself. "A word of caution, Colonel. Tali'Zorah has always spoken highly of you, and you have doubtlessly acted as a friend to my people in the past. But the colors you wear, there have been others wearing the same whom have sought to harm the Migrant Fleet."

"So I've been finding out," Shepard said. "I won't ask you to make any allowances for anyone that does try to harm the Migrant Fleet, but I also ask that you not just write off someone because of the colors they wear."

"If I were to extend the benefit of the doubt to anyone in those colors, you'd be the one," Bentus said.

A shame Prazza had not been willing to do the same, otherwise the quarian lieutenant might still be alive now.

"Before we depart, Tali'Zorah also wished to have a few words with you," Bentus said. "Until we meet again, Colonel Shepard, keelah se'lai."

The channel switched, replacing one quarian with another.

"Shepard," Tali greeted.

"Hey. How you holding up?"

"Could be worse," Tali said frankly. "I'm sorry things went the way they did down there, Colonel."

"No reason to blame yourself over someone else's mistakes, Tali," Shepard tried to assure her. "At least we managed to do some good down there."

Tali sighed. "It isn't easy, is it? Actually being responsible for the lives of others instead of just being the one following orders like on my Pilgrimage."

"And it never will be," Shepard stated. "But don't let that pressure crush you, Tali. Use it to sharpen yourself into a better leader."

"Yeah," the quarian nodded. "Yeah, I'll do that. Thanks, Shepard. Somehow you always keep making sense."

The colonel chuckled. "Of course I do. Incidentally, I don't suppose your available for another job with me?"

The suddenness of the offer seemed take Tali aback as the quarian took a few moments to muster a response.

"I, don't think so. At least, not right now. Sorry, Shepard, but as a full-fledged member of the flotilla, I have a lot more responsibilities and expectations, so I can't just go harrowing off without warning."

"Fair enough," Shepard said. "Do check with your superiors, though. Stopping the Collectors isn't going to be easy, and I want as many trusted eyes watching my back as I can get."

Tali nodded. "I'll see what I can do. And if these Collectors really are Reaper agents, they're also a threat to the flotilla. I'll see if our own network of contacts can turn anything up. We've still got plenty of people on Pilgrimages, after all."

"Thanks, Tali," Shepard said. "And speaking of Pilgrimages, what's going to happen with Veetor's after he's recovered? Is he going to need to go out again?"

"I think he'll get a pass on that," Tali said. "I mean, it's not like he hasn't already proven he's a hard worker, and that he pulled through Freedom's Progress shows he can overcome adversity. The only thing is going to be which captain's willing to take him, since it'll take him some time to fully recover and he probably won't have anything to gift back to the flotilla."

"Ah. Well, in that case," Shepard picked up Angie again so that she was visible on camera. "I'll be passing on word of what Veetor did for us at Freedom's Progress. I expect once the paperwork is all properly filed, he'll be getting a commendation from our ambassador. A little token to let everyone know we acknowledge his heroism."

Tali took a moment to muster a response. "That'll definitely help. Thanks, Shepard."

"It's the least we can do. Good luck, Tali."

"And good hunting, Shepard."

End of Chapter 6

One can rightly presume that the Normandy's crew are now really, really motivated to go find and kill some Collectors.

So this was my version of ME2's opening mission, Freedom's Progress. Much as with the Eden Prime mission, I've tweaked and modified it so that it's not quite by the numbers, even if I didn't diverge quite as heavily. Though to be honest, Freedom's Progress was never going to be a very long mission, since the only thing we're up against is the colony's security mechs. That made it pretty straightforward to get through the main beats and even deal with the fallout.

Let's be honest here, in the games the squad mates aren't actually that much help against the heavy enemies, so it really is just mostly Shepard bringing them down, albeit not as spectacularly.

While Shepard is sterile, she did go through puberty, or at least a form of it, and it was even less pleasant for her than it is for others since her hormonal swings got really messy as she both resynchronized with her implants and they tried to repair the damage that came about from their prior deactivation.

I accidentally screwed up Shepard's counseling log entries. We're actually on entry 7 now. It's been corrected in my master draft, but at this point I'm not going to bother uploading new versions.

Work has, stabilized, sufficiently that I was able to squeeze a bit more time out to conceptualize and write. It also helped that I had most of this block of the story pretty much mapped out because of how self-contained it is, relatively speaking. Even so, I was able to sneak in some foreshadowing here and there in preparation for future chapters.

Well, things seem to have gone to hell with remarkable rapidity. If only I could be convinced the authorities at the federal level possess the competency to not bungle the response. Bloody idiots. Anyway, stay safe, all of you, and listen to the advice from the actual qualified health experts. And please stop panic buying all of the toilet paper, the rest of us still need to wipe our asses as well.