I buckled the last strap into place, and took a look at myself in the bathroom mirror.

Hm.

I slowly began to turn myself around while looking over my shoulder, continuing my inspection.

Hmmmm.

And after I completed the rotation, I gave a nod of approval to my reflection.

Not bad.

I raised my shoulders and let them fall back down. The suit was definitely heavier than the one I had been wearing since Eden Prime. I didn't exactly find the color scheme to be in good taste either. But it was new. And apparently made with the finest materials and TLC available. I thanked the lord that Shepard didn't decide to confiscate it from me.

"What's that?" she had asked. "Uh, just some armor I found," I had replied back. Kaidan had been eavesdropping and decided to explain the events of its acquisition in even further detail. And when Shepard grimaced, I had totally thought she was going to take it for herself. Thankfully though, what must have been due to divine intervention, she just decided to turn around and walk away without a word.

My eyes wandered up to a corner in the bathroom's ceiling. I had given Kaidan a faux smile after that, and then immediately after, rushed to my locker and shoved it in, officially claiming the gear. Wearing it now, I felt a little weird. As weird as it sounds, I felt like I was betraying my original hardsuit. Like I was abandoning it.

I woke up with my Onyx armor. And we've been through so much together. It's like the first thing I saw. And it saved my life in that Space port on Eden Prime...hm. And what else? I was wearing it when I got flung around by Shepard. Stylishly faced the Council with it. Had it in the firefights at the clinic and alley way. Can't forget those. Therum. Damn that's a lot of shit.

I looked down to where the armor currently lay on the bathroom floor. I was originally planning to sell it, but...I couldn't just abandon the poor thing now. Not after all we've been through. I picked it up and exited the bathroom, making a straight beeline for the Normandy's elevator. Once it descended down to the garage, I walked out and over to my locker, tossing the old hardsuit inside. I stood there for a second, then bent back down and got my pistol from the locker too.

Can't forget the gun. Definitely need that.

I let out a deep breath and walked back over to the elevator. Now I just needed to catch back up with the rest of the crew. About a half-hour had passed since we had docked back at the Citadel. The Non-Alliance Personnel-

Aka Wrex, Tali, Garrus, Liara and...oh...that's it.

-had been the first ones to exit the ship. They had the least amount of stuff to grab before doing whatever they had planned to do for shore leave. I knew Garrus was planning to visit his ol' stomping grounds at C-Sec, and that Tali was apparently going with him, as she still needed to officially register herself on the Citadel. I guess she hadn't exactly been able to get around to it back when all those mercenaries were still after her. I on the other hand, remembered getting registered like a good citizen when we were here last time. Although that was mostly due to every time I passed Avina. The VI would recommend I do so with every encounter. And I had eventually gotten annoyed enough to do so after Kaidan, Garrus and I chilled at Flux. And it wasn't exactly pleasant. It was like waiting at the DMV for a license but twenty times worse. There were sketchy looking Hanar there, creepy ass Elcor that kept glancing at me, and oh god, I never wanted to hear an Asari baby cry again. It was awful.

I pushed the elevator button to go up.

I had no idea what Wrex and Liara had planned to do today. But it was whatever. The rest of the Normandy crew was still packing up. While some had been a little more eager to leave, others were still packing their clothes and other personal effects for their time off. And it worried me a little bit because I thought everyone would still just be 'living' on the ship.

Are we really not able to come back aboard the ship once we leave?

I decided I would just roll with whatever the case was regardless though. It would sort itself all out. As it usually did. I did know that Shepard and the two token Humans still hadn't left yet. At least when I had made the decision to change into my new armor anyway. I could probably be sure they had already left by now, and I could only hope that I hadn't fallen too far behind.

As the elevator door slid open, I found myself walking into the company of three Alliance officers. And I found their eyes all turned upon me with the interruption. I recognized the two on the left as engineers from downstairs, didn't talk to them much but I've still seen them around. The man on their right though, he wasn't someone I was familiar with. Had an oval face that was tanned. Had bright green eyes, grey hair barely noticeable underneath his cap. Long nose, light stubble, dressed in an officer's uniform. Overall, he had the disheveled look of someone who hadn't gotten sleep in days. He still seemed to carry an air of authority with him though. Or superiority.

He's obviously an Alliance officer. And we just docked. Which means...huh. This could be that Admiral who inspects the ship! ...Kahoku! No wait-that other dude! What's his face. Rear Admiral-

"-Mikhailovich. And I assume you're one of the non-personnel that was brought aboard this vessel."

"Shield. Marauder Shield," I replied extending a hand, albeit cautiously. The dude was out for blood. I didn't want to accidentally give him any ammo he could use against Shepard. Once he finished his inspection that is.

Of course this means that Shepard should still be waiting just outside the ship too! Yes! Not too late!

He eyed my hand before turning to one of the techies. "Can one of you two show me where the ship's engineering department is? I'd like to take a look at the ship's drive core." One volunteered and led him into the elevator. Once they were gone, the other engineer turned to me. "What an ass."

I waved to Shepard upon exiting the air lock. She raised an eyebrow with my approach.

"Where have you been?"

"Just finishing some last minute stuff," I replied cryptically. Not that there was a reason to.

"You didn't happen to have run into anyone on your way out did you?" she probed.

"Just Rear Admiral Mikhailovich. Seemed like an alright guy," I joked.

"Really? Because he seemed like an ass," Ashley snidely remarked. Seemed to be a real common opinion.

"...Have you guys just been out here waiting for him to finish his inspection?"

"Yes. It shouldn't be much longer now," Shepard said optimistically.

"Right."

I stepped onto the actual dock and turned around to face the Normandy's airlock too. Ashley subtly turned her head to look at me. Her eyes moved up and down my body.

...Is she...she couldn't be...is...is she mirin'?

"Uh...do you-"

"What's up with your armor?"

The question took me by surprise. "…What? What's wrong with my armor?" I looked down at it to see if anything was out of place. But it looked exactly as it did when I put it on. "What do you mean?" I said looking back at her. I didn't have much experience putting the stuff on but it wasn't exactly rocket science-

"Your chest piece. It looks bizarre. Why is it sticking out so much?"

"I noticed that too," Shepard said still staring at the air lock. "It's unusually large for an Alliance combat suit."

"I mean unless there's a generator in there, you think they would have noticed it would be a little over sized for what the average marine is used to wearing," Ashley concluded.

What are they talking about.

I looked back down at my armor. It looked fine to me.

"It might be because it wasn't exactly tailored for him."

I raised an eyebrow quizzically at the LT. "Whatcha talkin' about Kaidan. Of course it isn't."

"I didn't mean that it wasn't specifically tailored for you. But I remember the developer who gave it to you mentioned the armor wasn't exactly designed for regular marines."

What are you talking...Ohhhhh. Oh noooooooo-

"What do you mean?" Shepard asked him.

"IIIII think what he meant was that they were probably going for an aesthetic look here. You know, puff out the chest...for intimidation."

Shepard looked at me then back at Kaidan.

"It's designed for women."

:(

"What?" Ashley asked as if she hadn't just heard.

"The space is for…a bust?" the Commander said connecting the dots.

"Bingo," he replied grinning. Ashley burst into laughter. "Huh. Suits you," Shepard said cattily.

:(

Ashley was still giggling by the time the Admiral exited the ship. Surprisingly, Liara followed him out. Guess she had still been on the ship after all. She continued to walk over to our side once the Admiral had stopped short several feet away.

"Commander. I am not happy."

"Sounds like a fairly common situation," Shepard deadpanned.

"Commander, I suggest you secure your mouth. It's going to get you in trouble."

Ooooooh snap, shit's about go Dooooooown-

The Admiral immediately began listing his complaints. "Who designed that CIC? Putting the Commander aft of everyone else is inefficient. What if he needs to discuss with the operators toward the bow?"

Shepard's response was lightning quick. "There are no amateurs on this crew. They know to keep idle chatter minimized during combat. And I can shout with the best DI's."

"A fair point," he decided to concede. "I guess the design has no chance of becoming standard. No need to worry about a generation of recruits learning things ass-backwards. But along the course of construction boondoggles, I have to shake my head at that drive core of yours. A hundred twenty billion-"

BILLION.

I tried to wrap my head around that much money.

"-credits worth of element zero to make this thing able to move without giving itself away? You realize we could make drive cores for twelve thousand fighters with that money?!"

He acted like Shepard had commissioned the ship herself, and built it with her own two hands. Not exactly her fault the Alliance decided to build the best warship the Galaxy had ever seen.

And twelve thousand fighters. A hundred twenty billion divided by twelve thousand would be...ten million per fighter. Jesus. That's still TOO DAMN HIGH.

"And what good is it to hide for a few hours anyway?! Useless!"

Kaidan and Ashley turned to Shepard to see what she would say next.

"MEN with limited vision said the same thing about early spacecraft, biotics, and the Alliance itself."

Ooooooh snap! Someone get some aloe vera up in hurrrrr!

"There's two ways I could take that Commander. But that is true. I'm sure though that the first frigates produced worked much better than this thing. And we need to talk about your crew Commander."

"What about it."

"I read the roster. Krogan? Asari?...TURIANS?! What are you thinking Commander?! You can't just allow alien nationals free access to Alliance equipment!"

Although I was standing behind her, I could still tell she was about ready to go for his throat. Her face was practically twitching with rage. Almost comical to see now that it wasn't focused on me.

"I'm the Normandy's Commanding Officer and the regs state that I have the authority to say who does and who doesn't come aboard my ship. If you disagree, send a complaint up the chain of command."

That was...incredibly tame for her. What the hell?

"Sophistry Commander. You know I'm right. You want them on board that bad though? Fine. Just don't quote regs at me." He glanced at me and the others standing behind her. "Do you have anything else to say Commander? Any other justifications for the state of this vessel?"

She took no time in responding. "We showed the Council something they haven't thought of with our fighter carriers. You may disapprove of the Normandy but she's just another way we're out thinking them."

Except that the thing was helped built by said Council races. Or I guess it was just the Turians. But my point remains valid!

I almost had half a mind to interject but I knew better by now than to interrupt Shepard's conversations.

"That assumes the Normandy's technologies can become practical in the future...I'm not convinced the Normandy ISN'T a waste of taxpayer money-

You're telling me taxes paid for this shit?! 120 billion credits!? HOW-

"-but I am convinced that you believe otherwise. And that you'll use it to your best ability. I'll be submitting a report to the joint military council. It will not be as...negative as I had planned. Good hunting Commander Shepard. Don't let us down."

He saluted. The Alliance soldiers returned the gesture. He then gave us a nod and made for the elevator at the end of the dock. Shepard turned around to face us. She stared at Kaidan in particular.

"...what was his name again."

"Uh...I think it was Rear Admiral Mikhailovich. Ma'am."

Shepard's face suddenly turned sinister. "Mikhailovich." She said it with such poison, she practically spat the name. "...I don't know where. And I don't know when. But he's going to regret this moment. I guarantee it." She turned back to the rest of us. "Let's go."

I practically shit my pants as I heard her. Just another reminder to not upset Shepard. Which was unfortunately too late for me-

The elevator ride down was a lot less eventful. Not a word was spoken. We all just listened in silence to the news reports that played over the elevator's radio. Speculation of the next Human colony going to be attacked, a sharp rise in the use of omni-gel in Council space, the induction of the first Human Spectre and yadda yadda yadda. But it was only moments after we had just taken our first steps off the lift that we found trouble again.

"Commander? Commander Shepard? Khalisah bint Sinan-Al Jilani, Westerlund News."

How many side missions are there from the ship to the Presidium...

I came to terms that the day might pass by a little slowly.

"What's with the name? You a practicing Salarian?"

Oh my god...What?

"Wha-What? No! It's Arabic! What kind of-...(ahem). Would you be interested in answering a few questions for our viewers?"

"Not in the mood Miss...Al Jilani."

It might have been just me, but it sounded like she said the name with a blatant amount of contempt.

"People back home have heard a lot of wild stories about you Commander. I can give you the chance to set the record straight. What do you say?"

Shepard stared her dead in the eyes. "Fine. Just make it quick. I have places I need to be."

"Oh, don't worry Commander. This will be over before you know it." I glanced nervously at Shepard then back at the reporter.

Girl. You better hope not.

Khalisah clicked some buttons on her omni-tool and the camera hovering over her shoulder came to life. A light flicked on and the interview started rolling. "Humans have been trying to get the respect of the galactic community for twenty six years. With that in mind, what are your feelings on being the first Human Spectre Commander?"

"We all know it should have happened years ago. It almost did if it hadn't been for alien supremacists. But with my induction, I hope the Council now realizes that we we're not going to be sitting at the kids' table forever."

"Wow. Are you telling us that there was a Human candidate being considered to join the Spectres before even you?"

"Yes, although I'm not at liberty to say more."

That couldn't have been good to mention. Anderson probably wasn't going to like that at all. The reporter continued with what was quickly becoming an alien smear piece. "Very interesting. Let's continue with your last comment. Some believe that without firm action on our part, the Council will continue to treat us with 'poor relations'. Have you encountered any situations where the Citadel asked you to place its needs before the needs of Earth?"

"I think they know not to ask me to work against my own people."

"I think our viewers will be glad to hear that Commander. It's also rumored you've been given command of an advanced Human warship for your missions. Is there anything you'd like to say about it?"

"The Normandy is a triumph of Human engineering. Like our development of fighter carriers, it shows other races that we're able to think 'outside the box.' "

But it wasn't! The Normandy was only made with the help from Turians you racist-

Or was it speciest?

-Tool!

"That's gratifying. Many defeatist officers claim that the Alliance can't compete with the naval power of, say, the Turians. Do you think it was appropriate to hand Earth's most advanced warship over to the Citadel?"

"Miss Al Jilani, do I look alien to you? If you haven't noticed, I still wear the Alliance uniform. The Normandy hasn't been handed over to anyone. And if you think anyone other than me says where the Normandy goes and what it does, you're sadly mistaken."

"No offense intended Commander. I'm sure you have to follow the orders of your superiors. Of course, now your superiors are aliens."

Ohhhhh! Oh no she did entttttt!...Wait!

I opened up my omni-tool discretely and activated the holo-cam feature as fast as I could.

Thank god for that manual! I need this on tape. I can't believe I almost missed it-

"One last question Commander."

...Any second now-

"Rumors back home say you're tracking a rogue Spectre named Saren. Do you have any comment on that?"

"For a long time, the Council sat on their hands with regards to Saren. I have to wonder where their thumbs were."

...

"Strong words. It's a good time for strong words."

...

"Good luck with your mission." The camera's light flickered off. "...And thank you for your time Commander Shepard. I'm sure you'll look great on camera."

...no. What? no.

The reporter turned to walk away with her little camera zipping behind after her.

Shepard's straight renegade. There's no way. She can't meet Al Jilani and NOT punch her. NO.

The moment had passed though. I dropped my head in disappointment and slowly turned off my holo-recording. Then I heard Shepard speak.

"Hey Jilani."

I raised my eyes back to Shepard who was now jogging to catch up with the reporter.

"Yes?-"

CRACK.

Her body hit the floor with a thud. "I think everyone's had enough of your snide insinuations."

AW!

She turned to the rest of us standing who were all standing with our mouths ajar. "We should go."

The Massacre reported on Torfan. The slander of the XO who had command there. The nickname of the Butcher. Apparently all were done to Shepard by one Miss Al Jilani. That was certainly a shock to hear. And it seemed the rest of the crew agreed. As soon as she heard that, Ashley had gone all 'Serves her right then!' while Kaidan on the other hand, was all like 'But was that really necessary?' And then Shepard had gone all like 'Heeeeell yes.' Then she dismissed the whole affair and assigned us our tasks. Shepard determined that her, Kaidan, and Liara would report to Anderson about our most recent mission and find out where to go next. Ashley and I on the other hand were apparently being sent to find Admiral Kahoku, and were to notify him about the death of his marines. Which I was glad to.

No, not glad to tell him about his dead marines of course. No, that part would suck. It was being given the opportunity to actually make my first real difference was what I was excited about. I was going to save his life. Cerberus was not going to be assassinating any Alliance Admirals on my watch. Not this time.

But for how long would he stay safe with just a warning? Wasn't he already wary of Cerberus already? And how would I even convince him?

'Fuck it' I told myself, 'I'll think of it on the fly.' Then I told Ashley that the Admiral would probably be hanging around the Citadel tower and we should look there first. Didn't want to waste time and go asking around like Shepard had previously asked. Luckily for me, Ashley thought it couldn't hurt and now here we were, riding the elevator up to it. I hadn't really talked to her since she had modded my gun for me and so far, we had ridden the lift up in complete silence.

Suffice to say...it was pretty awkward.

"So..." I quietly said under my breath.

"What?"

Oops. Didn't mean to say That out loud.

And so I immediately racked my brains for a question. "I, uh, was just curious...when did you first join the Alliance?"

Small talk is hard.

But it WAS a genuine question. I actually had no idea. It wasn't like that time I had asked Kaidan a loaded question back on the Normandy, to get him to talk about his BAaT training. I still kind of felt weird about that. Like I was some sort of Facebook stalker or something.

In fact...having all this information about their lives at my finger tips...and just using it to make them like me...so weird-

"Ugh, that feels like forever ago. I was only sixteen when I joined so..." She started counting her fingers doing the math in her head. I was a little more caught up in the fact though that-

"You joined the Alliance when you were SIXTEEN?!" I was probably a little too surprised. But damn.

That's sooooo young. For the military anyway-

"Yup. It must have been the year 2174 when I enlisted. Faked my credentials to enlist early. Dad wasn't happy about that but I was eager to start my career," she replied.

"How old are you now?" I asked absent-mindedly. I regretted opening my mouth as the question left it.

It's 2183. Do the math. She's like twenty-something. Why did you just ask that? Idiot.

"Didn't your mother ever teach you it's impolite to ask a girl's age?" Ashley teased. I'm pretty sure my face was turning red because she started to grin. "If you really must know, I just turned twenty five."

"Oh really? Then Happy Belated Birthday...wish I had gotten a card."

"Thanks."

Then she leaned against the elevator's glass paneling and looked out. And out of nowhere, she suddenly seemed to take a thousand yard stare. Apparently lost deep in thought. "You know...back then? I really was eager to join the Alliance. Stupidly enlisted before I was even legal." She didn't seem to be talking to me in particular. "You should have heard my dad when he actually found out. He was furious with me. Heh...we must have argued about it the entire day." She paused. "But right before dinner...you know what he said to me?" I held my breath, not wanting to interrupt. "He told me 'I don't know whether to be proud or angry. But if this is really what you want, then I support you kid.' " She gave a half-hearted laugh. "That was dad for you. The most stubborn man alive until he had to go up against his girls. We were all just as hotheaded as he was. Prime examples of an unstoppable force meeting immovable objects."

I still stood there in silence, waiting for her to continue. Something was obviously wrong here. She's never been this open with me about anything. But in any case, here we were, both staring at the Presidium below us silently. With the intuition of a fiver year old, I deducted that something was definitely bothering her.

...What would Shepard do?

"...Hey...Ashley...what's wrong?"

She took a deep breath and turned to face me. "Sorry. Didn't mean to get all touchy-feely there. Just remembering when I first enlisted...it brought back a memory of him." She took another breath. "Today's the day he passed away."

Oh shit...

I didn't know what to do. This was literally coming out of nowhere. And I wasn't a grief counselor. I didn't know what to say. I didn't even know if we were close enough friends for me to pat her on the back.

Well...at least say something man!

"Oh my god. I'm so sorry," I ended up just pathetically whispering.

"Hey, it's not your fault he died."

...Thaaaat can't be a healthy joke to make.

Then the elevator doors slid open. "Come on," she said. "We got a job to do." I almost opened my mouth to protest. I felt like I should probably follow up on what the hell just happened. But I just mouthed "Right," before following her out.

We found Admiral Kahoku in the same spot as before. I guess he came to this particular console often.

"Admiral?"

He slowly turned around to face us. "To whom do I-oh! Correct me if I'm wrong but weren't you part of Commander Shepard's detail?"

I'm surprised he recognized me. "Oh, Yeah! Nice to see you again Admiral."

"Same to you...you wouldn't happen to have any word on my missing men yet would you?"

"Uh...yeah. Actually, we do." Then I scratched my neck and looked away. I didn't know how to break it to him.

He stood there in shock. "No..."

Looks like I had already told him. In the worst way possible. I looked back up, to face him in the eyes this time. "I'm so sorry Admiral. We found them on Edolus. We believe they had been checking an Alliance distress beacon when they were ambushed by a thresher maw."

"A...a thresher? But that's not-why was there a beacon placed in the middle of a thresher nest?!"

"We don't know...but we suspect foul play. It looked like someone placed it there on purpose," Ashley responded.

"...Dammit. I had a bad feeling since they all disappeared. An Alliance beacon used as bait, my unit wiped out, and nobody seems to know anything about it!" He let out a dejected sigh. "Marines, I appreciate you bringing me this information. Give my regards to the Commander for her help. Now I just need to do my part. The families of those marines need to know the reason why they died...thank you again." He began to walk away.

NO! NOT YET!

"Admiral! WAIT!" I said a little loudly. He stopped in his tracks and turned back around perplexed.

"What is it?"

"We'll find out what happened to your marines for you. You...you don't need to do any more investigating. What you're looking for...it's...it's going to get you into trouble." I tried to make myself sound as concerned as I could. I still think I inadvertently came across as a little threatening though.

"What do you mean by 'trouble'?"

Ashley joined in. "Yeah, good question."

I started to get a little frustrated. "Look. I've had a sketchy past Williams. You know that. But I'm with the Normandy now. And I want to make up for any mistakes by helping Shepard and the Alliance." I turned to Kahoku. "And that means by keeping you safe Admiral. If you go down this road..." My voice dropped to a whisper. "...Cerberus will-"

"CERBERUS!?" he hissed through his teeth. "They're involved in THIS?! How do you know!?" He got the look of a mad man.

Shit...why did I say that. So many better ways to have done this...why didn't I think this through. Why did I say that. Shit.

"I...know a lot of things I probably shouldn't." Looking into his eyes as I spoke, I surprisingly found them staring back with an intensity so strong that the man almost caused me to take a step back in fear.

"What do you know?!" he hissed again.

His eyes are scary...scary eyes...wa-why am I looking at his eyes? Because...wait. Who else has scary eyes...(gasp) someone who has eight of them! The Shadow BROKER!

The answer to everything.

"What the hell is Cerberus?" Ashley joined in whispering too, taking the hint something big was going on.

"Doesn't matter," I replied ignoring her. "What matters is that YOUR life will be in jeopardy if you push your digging Admiral."

He continued his furious whispering. "Is that a threat?"

"No! But it's dangerous-"

"You can't just expect me to drop this! We have to take action. If you know about them, then you know they're rogue. And if you've heard of them, you know how dangerous they are! If we don't stop them-"

"Alright! Alright. I'm on your side Admiral. If you won't give this up, then there's one option." I came a little closer. "Talk to Barla Von on the Presidium. Ask him for whatever information he has on them. And while there, ask for protection and safe asylum too."

"...you're talking about the Shadow Broker, aren't you? Why would he do any of that?"

Uh good question.

"Because you'll tell them that if you're given the information, you'll send it to Shepard. And whatever information she obtains from the stuff you sent, you'll tell them that she'll send it right back. Return it to the Broker as payment."

"Uh, you're just gonna include the Commander in this little scheme of yours just like that? Without even asking her?"

"This is bigger than you think Ash," I snapped back at her. "Once she learns what's at stake, she'll help no questions asked."

Kahoku thought the plan over. "Yes...that might work." He met my gaze. "Are you sure that will be enough for them to help?"

Nope. But what other choices do we have? ...actually...one.

"No, you're right. If it isn't...tell them..."

I could give him information that he could use as a trade just in case. But what?!...There's Tela Vasir...but why would I want to reveal their connection. She's working WITH the Shadow Broker. Knowing that would paint him as a target. That would be stupid...there's Alliance raid on those Batarians from Keiji's graybox?...might not have happened yet...uh...what else...AHA!

"Tell them that you also have information on an agent of Cerberus. An important one. Kai Leng." I whispered. I realized three grown adults crouching in a corner of Citadel tower whispering probably seemed a little suspicious. I stood up from where I was crouching and motioned for the rest of them to do the same. Then I continued to tell him what little I could about the dude. "-We'll walk you back to Barla's office, just to be safe. And please, just stay safe. Don't do anything that can jeopardize your safety."

"...alright. If you're sure about this, you have a deal." He extended his hand and I shook it. "I don't know why you're doing all this, but I'm thankful for it nonetheless."

"Just trying to do the right thing," I responded.

"...What the hell is happening?" Ashley said still totally lost.

Codex Entry:

Broker's Network on the Citadel

Retrieved from Encrypted Data Pad picked up in Kithoi Ward:

Ketch. I just happened to be wondering why we were one of the last ones to find out that Shepard has just arrived on the Citadel.

Apparently, someone missed the ship's request to the Alliance tower for docking. In fact, an Alliance official was already there to inspect the thing when it landed.

On top of that, Westerlund News somehow had knowledge of their arrival too. They had a reporter ready to interview the Commander before she even took a step into C-Sec.

This isn't amateur hour Ketch. WE WORK FOR THE DAMN BROKER. YOU THINK HE'S GOING TO LET THIS SLIDE?! WESTER-FUCKING-LAND NEWS KNEW BEFORE US.

WESTER-FUCKING-LAND.

You better hope you can get something for the Broker he doesn't already know. Majoris might be lenient here on the Citadel but I can tell you for damn sure the Broker isn't.

I pray for your sake that you can get him some information quickly for your fuck-up.

And I hope to whatever god you believe in that you're not stupid enough to be selling this information to them yourself instead of handing it over to us.

The Broker doesn't take betrayal lightly.

Retrieved from Encrypted Credit Chit picked up in the Presidium:

I promise you this isn't my fault! Its my usual contacts! They've all suddenly grown consciousnesses and are ignoring my messages! The operator I know in Alliance tower cut off my access to the Alliance docking logs. And the dock hands I've been paying are avoiding me now! I haven't been able to catch them around their usual haunts.

Gellix. I think someone's trying to make a move. These guys have been under my thumb for years. I know Jackson personally and the dock workers literally go to the same bar every night. There's no way they'd suddenly just stop now! And my usual guy in C-Sec, you know the one. The guy that told us about that Krogan Jax's illegal gun smuggling ring? He was found dead in an alleyway! Professional hit! No witnesses that heard anything. No evidence left behind. Nothing! And the investigators in charge are just chalking it up to some junkie! The whole thing reeks! I honestly think someone's stupid enough to be gunning for the Broker in this area! Put out some feelers! I'm telling you! You'll find something! Someone's messing with our network, I just know it!

And I'll get you something as soon as I can! Please, just tell the Broker I need some more time. People willing to give you sensitive information just don't appear out of the blue! All I need is some time.

Retrieved from Encrypted OSD in the Presidium:

Majoris. Apparently the duct rat was telling the truth. I was about to pay him a personal visit before his body was reported found in a dumpster. It might have been a personal vendetta. But after his last message, I doubt it. Someone might be actually be trying to make a move on our network in Kithoi Ward. I'm planning to report this to the Broker. But I'm giving you these so that you can take a look into this. Probably earn you bonus points with the boss if you find out what's going on before he asks. If you ask me though, I really think its you know who. I don't know if you're in the loop but the Volus recently just sent a request to the Broker himself for info on them. You might not believe they exist, and call me paranoid all you like, but I'm damn sure they're at least involved with this in some small way. They always are. I'm sure though the Broker will tell you himself what he thinks soon enough. I'll contact you if anything else comes up. Gellix out.

Author's Notes:

Did you guys know Ashley joined the Alliance when she was 16!? I sure didn't. If you check the ME timeline, you can actually find when she was born in 2158 and when she joined in 2174. I mean hot damn gurl. Respect. Also, apparently Kaidan joined just a year before her. Looking at the disparity in their ranks, you can really see the Williams' Curse in action. And just so its out there...I know some of the convo's are almost word for word. I do want to stick to the game's script since its so damn good. Just think of the story as an almost, partly, kinda, but pretty much novelization of the game with AU elements too. And look forward to the next chapter. I'm really hoping it turns out well.

Also, Responses:

Wolfy - If you had a PM I'd send you one personally. But I just wanted to say thanks for the advice man, and the compliments of course too, I really appreciate it. If more people gave their two-cents like you, I'd be a happy dude. The Arcs within a chapter are something I'll definitely start keeping in mind, and like you, I really hope my writing improves as this story continues. And I think so far each chapter averages 4700 so I guess we're at a good place. In summary, thanks again for your input brah [and for reading the AN too :) ].

Guest - I appreciate your enthusiasm. I know we haven't seen eye to eye and you seem to often flip flop in your opinion of the story but I appreciate that you let me know at least whenever you change your answer. I almost feel like your two different people though. Or several. Not that multiple personality disorder is a bad thing. But you should check your account's safety...I think there might be multiple people using it!

In the Next Chapter: ...Can I get a break now? Oh wait, I have to hear a horrible nightmarish back story first? Aw maaaan.

Tune in next time on Mass Effective: A Hero Made!