A/N: I have reached a huge milestone for this story: chapter 40! Honestly, I did not think I would get this far with this story. I thought I would either grow disinterested or no one would be interested in reading it so I would just stop updating. To be frank, I have thought of scrapping this story on more than one occasion but thanks to you, my wonderful, magnificent readers/followers/reviewers I have felt compelled to continue.

I know I do not thank you enough, but I would like to take this opportunity to recognize those whom have stuck with me from the start and been a huge support to me in many ways: Jules Hawk, zulija, Piper Squeaks, The Darkness Knight, SparklyQuarians, Selena Shepard, Lady Velvet C. Peterson, and Sidnika.

To those of you who don't leave a review but have followed/favorited this story, I thank you for your continued support. :)

This chapter contains graphic images and very strong language. Flashbacks are written in italics. Enjoy!


Elissa's hands shook as she tried to lift a power bar to her lips, but between her shaken nerves and her upset stomach, she could not bring herself to take a bite. Lately she had been finding it difficult to keep anything down save for crackers and soup, though this was hardly abnormal for her, since during times of extreme stress she was lucky to eat anything. And right now qualified as extreme stress.

The Normandy was currently en route to one of the last places she had ever thought to return: Horizon. And it was to rescue several kidnapped biotics: Jack's students, some of the biotics division of the Alliance, and her former lover Kaidan Alenko. Not only that but it had been Kaidan whom had sent the distress signal, and after EDI examined the signal they learned it had been sent through Cerberus channels directly to the Normandy. Which meant this was either a trap or Kaidan just did not want the Alliance to know what had happened, whichever, it was a grim situation none aboard wanted to be in.

She threw down the power bar and bit back a frustrated scream that threatened to erupt from deep within her. This was all so wrong; nothing she did or said would make this situation any better, and there were too many unknowns for her liking. Thinking about this mission and what it might entail sent her back to the day when they decided to go through with this assignment.

'And you're sure it's from a Cerberus channel, EDI?' asked Joker as he leaned back in his chair, visibly drained of all energy.

'Yes,' replied EDI. 'I recognized the code immediately. It is one of three used exclusively by Cerberus, and this one is associated with communications between high-ranking Cerberus operatives. Wherever Major Alenko and the others are being held, their captors are Cerberus and possibly one of the Illusive Man's head operatives.'

'Fuck,' muttered Elissa. 'Can this get any worse?'

'SHEPARD!' shouted Jack from across the CIC.

'Apparently it can,' sighed Joker and he pulled his cap over his eyes as he waited for Jack to storm in.

Elissa tried not to groan as she turned around to face Jack, somewhat surprised to see the biotic less than three feet away from her now and soon she was in her face.

'What the fuck is going on?!' demanded Jack. 'Why are my kids on fucking Horizon with your fucking asshole of an ex fiancé?!'

'You tell me, Jack,' said Elissa calmly, knowing this was mainly Jack just releasing the pressure cooker that was her temper. 'Did you do what I suggested and contact Kahlee?'

'Yes,' spat Jack, her rage barely controlled. 'And I couldn't reach her! What aren't you fucking telling me, Shepard?!'

'I had reason to believe Kahlee was dead, and now I've confirmed it,' said Elissa evenly though she had paled considerably. 'Whatever happened to her is likely a direct result of the students' abduction.'

Jack was silent for a few moments, her jaw shifting back and forth as she stood stock still in front of Elissa, apparently undecided between blowing a hole in the ship or accepting the situation.

'And if you thought she was already dead, why didn't you say a goddamn thing about it?' asked Jack through gritted teeth. 'We could've prevented this from happening!'

Elissa had had enough. 'I didn't tell you because I didn't want you running off through the galaxy half-cocked, pissed off and without a plan!' she yelled, standing toe-to-toe with Jack. 'Until now we had no idea Cerberus was behind this and now that we do, we can prepare accordingly!'

Jack and Elissa stood there in absolute silence, save for the irritated snorts of breath coming from Jack. Joker had moved further down in his seat praying that Jack did not notice him or decide to make him her punching bag instead, at least Elissa could handle it.

The biotic broke eye contact first and looked like she was going to spit on Elissa but thought better of it. 'Typical fucking Shepard,' she mumbled as she turned away. 'Too fucking scared to do a damn thing until it's too late.'

Before she could walk away, Elissa grabbed Jack by the shoulders and threw her up against the wall, pinning her there with little effort. Elissa could feel the tendrils of biotic energy emitting from Jack but she was well prepared for this kind of situation, though she really did not want to have to resort to a dirty trick.

'If I were you, I'd calm the fuck down and not do what you're thinking,' whispered Elissa roughly and a few moments later, the energy dissipated. 'Listen to me and listen well: if I had had more information, I would've left immediately to find your students and Kahlee but I didn't know anything. Not one fucking thing. And you throwing a tantrum about our situation does nothing for anyone, except piss me off. Do you want to piss me off further, Jack?'

Jack shook her head and Elissa nodded.

'Good,' said Elissa in a tight voice. 'Now, I'm going to let you go. You're not going to say another word against me. You're going to go find James and Miya and Garrus and tell them to meet me in the war room. Then, you're going to go see Chakwas and let her know that when we arrive at Horizon you are going to be sedated.'

'No fucking chance,' said Jack sternly.

'Okay then,' snapped Elissa. 'How about this: you either cooperate with me or I will personally sedate you. You have until we reach Horizon to decide.'

Jack nodded again and Elissa released her though she did not move far from the biotic, still not sure what her next move would actually be.

'I'll be in my room,' mumbled Jack as she left the cockpit, looking more like a defeated animal than her usual cocky-self.

'Shit, that scared me,' said Joker when she left. 'I thought one of you was going to end up dead.'

Elissa chuckled and sat on his armrest. 'Well, it wasn't going to be me.' She then took his hand in hers and stroked the back with her thumb.

They were silent for a few minutes, both watching the screens as they flashed with various numbers and reports.

'What the hell are we walking into, Jeff?' she asked after a little while.

'Nothing we can't handle, Ellie,' replied Joker and he squeezed her hand reassuringly.

"ETA to Horizon, thirty minutes," said Joker over the intercom, shaking Elissa from her thoughts.

Elissa nodded though she was not sure why or to whom, but by now it was just a reflex. She glanced around the shuttle bay, her eyes resting on each member of the landing party, each one in full armor and armed to the teeth. This was going to be one of the biggest operations they had pulled off as a full crew since their shore leave on the Citadel during the war, and she hoped this would go off without many hitches. There would be a few hiccups; this was, as her crew would say, a "Shepard Mission."

'This is the place we're going to infiltrate, Lola?' asked James, his arms folded across his chest as he glared at the holographic image of the building. 'Fuck, the last time we were here, it was crawling with Reaper agents.'

'I know,' sighed Elissa, running her fingers through her hair. 'Now it's up and running again as a Cerberus laboratory, at least that's what EDI has found so far. We don't know its true purpose but whatever they're doing can't be good if Kaidan's there.'

Garrus nodded. 'I agree, and since he's asked for help, or at least has baited us, we know something suspicious is going on there. So, what's the plan?'

Elissa leaned against the console, blinking a few times to clear them of the heavy feeling and she shifted the image to an aerial view. 'There are two entrances to Sanctuary,' she said, focusing on the images she was referring to, 'the one we went in last time and another one near the back of the main facility. We're going to hit both at the same time.'

'How's that possible with just the four of us?' asked James, he brow furrowed in concentration.

'It isn't,' replied Miya, stepping next to Elissa. 'We're going in with two separate ground teams.'

'Exactly,' said Elissa, giving Miya a brief smile. 'Team Elysium will be composed of myself, Garrus, Liara and Kasumi. We'll fly down in the shuttle piloted by Gunny. Team Akuze will consist of James, Miya, EDI, and Jacob. Steve will pilot your shuttle and you'll be going through the main entrance.'

'Hold on a second,' said James, holding up a hand. 'Why aren't you leading the team heading through the main door? Shouldn't that be where you are?'

Elissa shook her head. 'Technically, I'm a wanted galactic criminal. If I'm seen barging through a secure facility with guns blazing, there is no way I would be able to win in that situation if caught. Especially since I've been stripped of both my command and Spectre status. But you, Jimmy, are completely legitimate so if you attack it looks like you're doing your duty.'

'So how are you going to make sure you aren't recognized right away?' asked Garrus.

'I'm going to be wearing standard issue armor and a helmet like the rest of you,' replied Elissa. 'There will be nothing on there to distinguish me from the rest of you, not even a small N7 insignia. The only one wearing that badge will be James, so those in charge will likely focus completely on the big man with the even bigger weapon.'

'Am I bait then?' huffed James, running his fingers through his dark locks.

'In a sense, yes, but not really,' sighed Elissa, she was tired and wanted this debriefing over with so she could just collapse next to Joker and sleep. 'Your part in this plan is not only about being an N7 but also being in command. I might be planning this infiltration mission but you will officially be executing it since I am unable to. I need you to do this, James, if I didn't think you could do it I wouldn't have involved you.'

James was silent for a few moments, she could see the wheels turning in his head, perhaps he was planning on turning her down since he technically was in charge and she was just a wanted civilian. A small grin stretched across his lips and she knew then that he was still with her.

'All right, Lola,' he said, clapping her on the shoulder. 'As frigging loco as this whole situation is, I'm with you. I want to nail Alenko and Cerberus as much as you do.'

Elissa smiled and patted his arm. 'I'm glad to hear that, Jimmy, though it's not like you had much of a choice.'

'Couldn't just let me live in the illusion, could you Lola?' asked James with a shake of his head.

'Not a chance,' replied Elissa with a laugh.

"How're you doing, Lola?" asked James, bringing her from her thoughts.

Elissa looked over at James and gave a slight nod. "Been better, but it can't be helped. How are you holding up? And I don't just mean about this mission."

James shrugged and a miserable look crossed his features before he recovered. "I'm managing, but it's hard. I mean, I trusted her, you know? And then . . . she does this shit? How? Did everything we have mean nothing to her? Did she just not care?"

"I asked myself those same questions after Kaidan betrayed me," sighed Elissa. "I have a feeling we're both about to get answers, though we probably won't be happy with what we learn."

"Probably not," agreed James. "Have you listened to Miranda's confession yet?"

"No," said Elissa shortly. "I thought about listening to it but right now, my focus is this mission and when it's over, I'll sit with EDI and watch the entire recording. Do you want to be there?"

James nodded, his jaw set. "Hell yeah, though we might need a big bottle of tequila to get through it."

"I'll bring the limes if you supply the bottle," joked Elissa nudging him with her shoulder and he gave a short laugh. "Something tells me we might need a couple of bottles after we finish this mission."

"I think so too," said James quietly. "I'm still surprised Hackett didn't join up with us for this one, I thought he'd want to go after Cerberus and Alenko just as much as we do."

Elissa shrugged. "He wanted to but it's more important that he and my mom take care of the other families. My dad's still head of the Fifth Fleet and is in a better position to protect them than I am. Plus the ship was feeling a bit overcrowded."

"I agree," chuckled James. "I love my uncle and cousins but dios, it's hard to handle them for so long. At least they're safe with your parents and Samara, I was a little worried about how we were going to be able to do our assignments with so many civilians on board."

"Yeah," said Elissa. "No need to put them in the Psychotic Biotic's war path. Especially if we find what I think is down there."

"Do you really think everyone down there is dead?" he asked in a low voice. "I mean, Alenko's still alive, so the others probably are."

"You might be right, we won't know for sure until we get down there," sighed Elissa, and she motioned for him to get into position, which he did so with a nod.

Elissa exhaled heavily and stared down at the power bar she had thrown down just a few minutes ago, if its broken form was any indication of how this mission was going to turn out, she really wanted it over with. Steeling her heart and slipping her Commander persona back into place, she walked over to her team ready to take on Cerberus and Kaidan once again.


"Approaching drop point B," announced Hilary as she neared the back entrance of Sanctuary. "Prepare to disembark."

"Thanks, Gunny," said Elissa as she watched the building come into view. It appeared that Cerberus had been busy these last few years; any indication that Reaper agents had destroyed this place was gone. The roof was repaired and from the glimpse she got, so was most of the outside processing area. She pressed on her earpiece. "Remember EDI, as soon as you're inside, link up with the system and download everything before they can scrub their files. I want to know exactly what's been going on here."

"Yes, Shepard," replied EDI. Strangely enough the AI sounded troubled.

"Is there a problem, EDI?" asked Elissa, curious as to why the AI was not her normal assured self.

EDI's end was silent for a few moments before she answered. "Yes, there is a problem, but it has nothing to do with this mission."

"Do you want to talk about it?" asked Elissa though she knew EDI would likely tell her nothing right now and wait until the mission was officially over.

"The problem stems from the information I procured from Miss Lawson after your mission on Freedom's Progress," said EDI. "I cannot discuss it with you as you have yet to view the recording."

Elissa was both surprised and confused, it seemed like what EDI knew was troubling her and she desperately wanted to share what she had learned, if anything just to get it off her chest. "Don't worry, EDI, as soon as we're done here I'll sit down with you and watch the recording."

"Good," said EDI and Elissa would have sworn she heard relief in the AI's voice. Whatever she knew, it did not sound good.

"Everything still a-go, Commander?" asked Hilary, turning her head slightly to see Elissa's face.

"Yeah," said Elissa though she appeared tense. "Remember, once you drop us off, rendezvous with Steve and stay out of sight until we signal for you. If anything happens, get back to the Normandy with as many of us as you can. James is the priority, if you have to make a split second decision."

Hilary paled, something was wrong. "Elissa, do you plan to die down there?"

Blue eyes met green as she searched for the answer to the question that hung between them like smoke, though they could not penetrate the stony mask that hid the truth. Hilary gave up trying to figure out what her soon-to-be sister-in-law was thinking and instead focused on positioning the shuttle at the spot she had been instructed. Mentally she made a note to herself to make sure if anything happened, to disobey Elissa and save her even if she protested. She was not going to let her brother lose the love of his life.

"Get ready to jump," said Elissa suddenly as Hilary brought the shuttle to a stop, hovering twelve feet above the ground.

"I'll take Kasumi down with me in a biotic field," said Liara quickly when she saw the nervous look on the thief's face.

Elissa nodded. "That's fine, actually that's a good idea. It'll keep you both protected just in case."

Liara gave a slight nod before activating her biotics and holding onto Kasumi's hand, enveloping her in a field of blue energy and together they leapt from the shuttle. With a slow descent they landed on the platform below, and they quickly went to cover. Garrus looked over at Elissa and nodded before he jumped out of the shuttle, he moved over to where Liara was hiding just as planned. Elissa was about to leap from the shuttle when she felt something on her shoulder; she glanced down and saw Hilary's hand.

"Please," whispered Hilary, she looked like she wanted to say more but could not bring herself to voice her concerns out loud.

Elissa patted her hand softly and smiled. "I won't," she replied before stepping out of the shuttle. When her boots hit the ground she tumbled to the side, tucking into herself before standing up and dusting herself off. The easy part was officially over.

"We have boots on the ground," said Elissa into her earpiece. "How're things looking on your end, Vega?"

"We just landed," he said. "Approaching the door now, Miya's got the bomb ready."

"Understood," said Elissa firmly. "Moving into position now."

The line went dead and she motioned for the others to follow her. With guns drawn, they crept to the backdoor keeping a lookout for any snipers that might be posted around the towers. While none of them were sure if they could trust Kaidan, the distress call he had sent had allowed EDI to hack into the primary network and put the facility's external sensors and most of their cameras on a continuous loop. This was to ensure that they had no time to scrub the system and escape before they were able to get any information from either the personnel or the files. EDI would have approximately ten seconds after the bomb went off to gain complete control of Sanctuary's systems, which according to her was too much time. Maybe some of Miya was rubbing off on the AI.

Elissa positioned herself on the right side of the door; Garrus immediately parallel with Liara crouched behind him, Kasumi was kneeling in front of Elissa's legs, her omni-tool active as she started hacking the door. Elissa's omni-tool pinged twice, the signal that the bomb was officially attached to the door; mentally she started counting down the timer. It was set for ten seconds, and these were probably the longest ten seconds of her life. When she reached one, Kasumi's omni-tool lit up and the door's lock immediately went from orange to green.

"Move!" shouted Elissa and they burst through the door. She paused for a moment to check her omni-tool, almost immediately she was greeted with a digital layout of Sanctuary, which meant EDI was now in control. Silently she thanked every god she could think of and then focused in on the area marked 'Laboratory'. It was fairly large and the most likely holding place for Jack's students as well as the other biotics. Wordlessly she conveyed the direction to Garrus and the others, and with a nod they headed off towards their destination.


The halls were littered with freshly dead bodies. More specifically, Cerberus lab technicians and scientists with their heads blown completely off, apparently Mordin had been right about bombs being placed in their mouths. Nothing else could have cleanly blown their heads off in such a magnificent fashion. Adding to the new décor was the smell of burnt flesh and hair, both of which were putrid in their own right, but together and very fresh just made the smell worse. In the enclosed space, it was almost impossible to breathe.

"Goddess, I think I'm going to vomit," said Liara, and two seconds later she dry-heaved.

"Oh spirits, can we open a window?" asked Garrus, trying to breathe through his mouth but that was not helping either.

"Something's wrong with the helmets," gagged Elissa, the smell even too much for her and she had smelled Thresher Maw acid burning through human flesh. "They should filter this but apparently they decided to crap out on us today."

Garrus snorted. "Obviously." Then he gagged. "Oh, I can taste it! Shepard, can we please duck into a room with a window? I think this is going to kill me."

"You know things are bad when the Turian's complaining," quipped Kasumi but she too was trying to hold down the contents of her stomach.

Elissa was trying desperately to ignore the smell but it seemed like the further into the area they got, the worse the smell became. There was something very, very wrong. She checked her map again and saw they were drawing close to the main laboratory; the rooms they were passing right now appeared to be storage facilities and equipment areas. They would have to come back later and check those rooms out but right now her focus was on getting to where she was sure Cerberus was conducting their primary experiments.

"James, how are things on your end?" she asked, looking for any distraction from the horrid odor that seemed to be seeping into her pores.

"We hit a small snag but we recovered," he said after a few moments of silence. "When EDI integrated into the system, she wasn't able to stop the facility wide security breech signal that someone sent. All of a sudden people's heads started popping like bubble gum bubbles."

"Thanks for the visual," groaned Elissa as she stepped over a body. "Everyone we've encountered is a head shorter as well, guess whomever was in charge of that procedure was fast. No one we can question now."

"Sadly no," sighed James. "But we do have all of their files, so that's a victory. EDI's been reading them as we progress through, though by the look on her face, I'd say she's disgusted by humans."

"A fairly accurate statement," chimed in EDI. "The experiments that have been conducted here are abhorrent even for Cerberus."

"Care to enlighten us?" asked Elissa as she approached a large double door.

"Not really but I will," replied EDI as Kasumi started hacking the door.

"So what has Cerberus been up to here?" asked Elissa as she waited by the door, praying that the smell would be less when they entered this room as she took off her helmet.

"Dissections," said EDI as the doors opened, and a grisly sight greeted the four crewmembers. "Human dissections."


The room was right out of a horror vid. Nothing they had faced before could have prepared them for what they were seeing now. Before them was row after row of incubators, each one containing at least one human body part, the various pieces were suspended by wires and pulled apart at different points by hooks. The pulled back skin exposed the tendons and ligaments that were normally shielded and upon closer inspection, small tubes full of what appeared to be element zero were pressed into arteries. This sight was more sickening than the smell in the hallway.

"Jeff," she said quietly as she looked at someone's arm, "are you seeing this?"

"Unfortunately," replied Joker, he sounded disgusted. "Ellie, I'm getting some weird readings off of these body parts. EDI's scanners are registering them as still living."

She was about to remark that that was impossible when she saw the fingers on the hand she was looking at contract almost into a fist before relaxing. This was definitely not rigor mortis, something horrible was happening here.

"James," she said as she watched the hand twitch again. "You need to get over here, now."

"Are you sure, Lola?" he asked. "We still haven't found the person in charge."

"Trust me, Vega," said Garrus, taking over for Elissa whom seemed lost for words now. "You need to see this, but keep Jacob on the hunt for whomever's in charge here."

"All right," said James. "Heading over to your location now."

"See you when you get here," said Garrus and he approach Elissa, putting a talon on her shoulder. "Shepard, we need to keep moving."

"What could they possibly gain from doing this to people?" asked Elissa, though it was completely rhetorical. "I mean, Cerberus is pro-humanity, why tear apart other humans in this manner?"

Garrus shrugged his shoulders. "I have no idea, Shepard. This just seems sick and excessive."

Elissa tore her eyes away the twitching hand and looked directly at Kasumi, not trusting herself to look anywhere else. "Kasumi, see if you can find any locked rooms close by, that might be where they're keeping the rest of the bodies."

"Sure, Shep," said Kasumi quietly; she seemed as upset by the sight as the rest of them and she headed towards the back of the room.

"Jeff," she said, barely keeping her anger and disgust under control. "I need you and EDI to do a complete scan of Sanctuary, see what comes up now that EDI's in control. And . . . tell the crew to prepare for a memorial service, it's past due to honor Adams and now we have these people to send off."

"Understood, Ellie," said Joker. "I love you."

Elissa smiled, he was throwing her a lifeline. "I love you, too, Jeff. See you soon."


Joker leaned back in his chair and rubbed his hands over his face, not because he was exhausted physically and was trying to stay awake but he was trying to come to terms with what he was seeing on his screens. What kind of sick bastards could do something like that to fellow human beings? How could they knowingly cut into a person without any thought to who that person was or how much pain they might be in? This was like Cerberus but yet at the same time this was not. Whatever was going on here was bad and needed to be stopped, immediately.

"Have they found anything?" asked Tali as she entered, Talissa in her arms. She had volunteered to babysit while Liara was down on Horizon.

"See for yourself, but hide the baby's eyes," warned Joker as he expanded the nearest screen.

Tali stared at the image for a moment before gasping. "Keelah, are those parts of humans?"

Joker nodded, the sight making his blood boil. "Yeah, looks like Cerberus has decided to pull apart humanity in other ways. Shepard's going to try and find survivors and the bastard in charge of this twisted experiment."

"Good," said Tali with conviction. "The last thing we need is someone continuing whatever this is somewhere else and with more people."

"Reminiscent of the Collectors," said Zaeed as he entered the cockpit. "Though these people aren't being reduced to black sludge."

"That would be mercy compared to this," said Tali, rocking the squirming baby in her arms. "At least then it was over quickly."

Joker nodded and he spun his chair around, unable to stand looking at that room any longer. "Hey Tali, can you do me a favor and go inform the crew that when Shepard gets back we're going to hold a memorial service for Adams and these victims?"

Tali nodded. "Of course, Joker. Would you mind holding Ali while I'm gone? She's falling asleep and all of the movement might keep her up."

"Uh, sure?" said Joker in a questioning tone and then Tali was placing the little Asari baby in his arms, tucking the blanket she was wrapped in around her. "What do I do now?"

"Hold her and make sure she doesn't fall," replied Tali sternly. "If she starts to cry, rock her a little and if that doesn't work then she probably needs her bottle. Liara left one in the mess, so it's there if you need it. I should be back before you need to feed her, so just keep her happy until then."

Zaeed chuckled as Tali left, obviously amused. "Something tells me fatherhood isn't your thing, Joker. You look like you're afraid of breaking her."

"I am," said Joker as he cautiously moved his arms into a more comfortable position while trying not to disturb the baby. "The only things more fragile than me are babies and it's likely one of us is going to break. Why didn't you offer to take her?"

"Babies are frightened of me," replied Zaeed with a shrug. "Guess my face is only handsome to women like Shepard and Miya."

"Are you saying your face is ugly enough to make a baby cry?" asked Joker with a wicked grin.

"Pretty much," said Zaeed. "You know, she is kind of cute in that Asari way. Who's the father?"

"Remember that Drell, Feron?" asked Joker as he gently held Talissa's hand and Zaeed nodded. "That's her father, though he hasn't met her yet."

Zaeed's eyebrows shot up. "Seriously? Damn, I almost feel sorry for him."

Joker nodded. "Yeah, but apparently Shepard's going to change that soon, at least that's what she planned on doing until this little mission cropped up."

"Yeah," said Zaeed quietly. "Think that boyfriend of hers is still alive?"

"He's not her boyfriend," snapped Joker. "And he probably is, unless Cerberus decided to kill him after he sent that distress call."

Zaeed snorted. "Something's telling me you're hoping he's dead."

"Am I wrong for wanting that?" mumbled Joker though he hardly expected sympathy from Zaeed.

"No, I suppose not," replied Zaeed nonchalantly. "I mean, it's not like there's a chance of Shepard going back to him, right? She's shacking up with you now."

Joker had to fight down the urge to punch Zaeed; nothing would be gained from that, especially for him. "Zaeed, why don't you go someplace else? You're scaring the baby."

Zaeed rolled his eyes. "If you wanted me to leave, you could have come up with a better excuse than that." Before Joker can make a smart remark, Zaeed leaves the bridge.

"Good riddance," muttered Joker and he relaxed in his chair.

What upset him about Zaeed's comment was not that it was inappropriate, but the fact it had hit the bull's eye of his insecurities about his relationship. His disease was only part of why he was so doubtful about whether his relationship with Elissa would last, the rest had to do with the fact of who her previous partners had been. The one she had dated in high school did not come into play, but Malcolm Dixon did and so did Kaidan. Dixon they had both known from N-school and had been the typical Marine, James was actually like him in many ways and Dixon had been head over heels for Elissa and she for him. Hell, she had fallen to pieces when he died and both he and Miya had thought she would never recover, which was an obvious sign of a deep love. Then there was Kaidan, a powerful biotic and good-looking Marine whom had wooed Elissa almost immediately. Compared to those two, he was just a nerd trying to compete between two jocks. If Kaidan came back into the picture, how could he be sure that Elissa would stand by him? Yes, she had said she loved him and had for years, but Kaidan was everything he was not, and he had been her first love after losing Dixon. Maybe the history between them would be enough to bring them back together even after all he had done. Joker could not help but doubt that Elissa would remain with him, despite everything that had happened.


"Are you through, Kasumi?" asked Elissa impatiently. The thief had been trying to break into the room for a while now and seemed no closer than she had been when she started.

"Almost, Shep," replied Kasumi. "This would be easier if EDI could hack into it and help."

"As I told you before, Kasumi, this door is on a separate system I cannot access," said EDI from behind her. "Once you are through, however, I can gain entry into this other system."

Kasumi sighed as she entered another code. "I'm glad Keji isn't here, if he saw how long I'm taking at opening this door, he'd be laughing his ass off. And I really don't need that right now."

"So is that your way of telling me not to laugh at you?" asked Miya from her position against the wall.

"Like it would stop you," huffed Kasumi then the lock gave way. "There! I'm through!"

"And I have access," said EDI as the door opened.

Cautiously they entered the dark room, their weapons drawn and movements controlled as they moved beyond the door. The room was quiet save for some strange beeping noises and what sounded like pressurized oxygen being delivered through tubes. When the group was fully in the room, EDI activated the lights and the sight of more incubators greeted them, only instead of containing body parts, they contained people.

Elissa nearly fell to her knees when she saw the state these individuals were in. Most were missing limbs and many had their torsos cut open with tubes and syringes and wires attached at different places. Upon closer inspection, Elissa could see that most of the people had their heads cut open and their brains exposed, with what looked like metal knitting needles protruding from their brains. She looked down at the nearest incubator and almost threw up; she was looking at one of Jack's students, Rodriguez. Around her she saw several more of Jack's students and even a few members of Kaidan's biotics division, she was sure if she looked throughout the room, she would find the rest.

"Looks like we found our missing biotics," said James gravely.

"Fuck!" screamed Elissa and she punched the nearest wall, leaving a considerable dent in the metal sheet. "How did no one know?! Why did no one notice they were missing?!"

Her legs gave out and she fell to the ground, unchecked tears rolling down her cheeks as suppressed sobs wracked her body. These people were innocent, they had done nothing wrong yet had been subjected to horrific torture and were being used as human guinea pigs for this sick organization. She was devastated that she had not been able to rescue them sooner, even if they were still alive, it was unlikely that they would survive. She could tell that the machines they were hooked up to were for the purposes of life support, and if they turned them off, none would live beyond a few minutes at most.

Suddenly she felt arms wrap around her and for a moment she was terrified that she was going to be attack but then she recognized James's armor and she relaxed.

"It's okay, Lola," he whispered, hugging her tightly against his chest. "At least we found them before more harm could be done."

"Not soon enough," whispered Elissa in a hoarse voice, she was trying to keep down the sobs that were bubbling up in her throat but it was a losing battle. "We have to find Kaidan. We have to find him! Even if it's just his body."

James nodded and held her tighter. "Don't worry, Lola, we'll bring him home. I promise."


Joker wanted to scream, cry, and swear as loudly as he could. Hearing Elissa crying and begging James to find Kaidan broke his heart, all it did was confirm his worst fears that when he came back, she would willingly fall into Kaidan's arms once more. He had just been a placeholder until Kaidan came to his senses again, that was all he had been. Everything they had discussed and planned had been for nothing she had been planning on going back to Kaidan all this time and did not even have to courtesy to tell him. When this was done, he would give up his position to Steve and leave, he refused to stay on the ship and watch Elissa and Kaidan be a couple once again. It had hurt him in the past and he wanted to avoid that pain again, even if it meant leaving the people and ship he loved so much.

Talissa squirmed in his arms and he started to rock her as Tali suggested, the motion quieting the little girl almost immediately.

"In another life, you would have been my daughter's best friend," whispered Joker as a tear rolled down his cheek. He was losing so much more than just a partner; he was going to lose whatever children might have come from their love, whatever life they might have led. The moment Elissa returned to Kaidan's side, he would lose his future.


"My scans indicate that there are at least four live beings still in Sanctuary," said EDI. "That is excluding our team members, of course. Though it appears that Jacob is drawing close to one of them."

"Can you tell me where you think Kaidan is?" asked Elissa, hugging herself. All she wanted to do was find Kaidan, get some answers and leave so she could curl up next to Joker then start planning their wedding.

"It is likely he is close to our current position," said EDI and then she looked around the room. "There." She pointed to a spot on the wall that appeared to be of no significance until they moved in closer, evidence of a quick repair job was noticeable.

Elissa put an ear against the large patch job and waited for a few moments, suddenly she heard a groan that sounded like Kaidan and she started pounding on the wall with the butt of her gun. James and Garrus quickly realized what was going on and started assisting her, both slamming the ends of their weapons against the wall, the repair job quickly crumbling with their combined effort. When a large enough hole was made, everyone started pulling at the wall, large chunks falling away as they dug to where EDI said Kaidan was. Within minutes they had broken through and before them was Major Kaidan Alenko, strapped to the wall by metal clamps, his body battered and bruised.

"My God," muttered Elissa as she looked at Kaidan. "Get him down, now."

James and Garrus nodded before approaching Kaidan. They made quick work with the bindings and he fell forward, the only thing that prevented him from hitting the floor was the combined effort of James and Garrus. He opened his eyes and they crossed for a moment before focusing on Elissa.

"Shepard," he mumbled wearily, giving her a relieved smile. "You came."

"Not soon enough, it seems," she replied coldly. While she was glad to see that he was alive and intact, she was still angry with him for betraying her and the crew. Not to mention she wanted to make it clear that she was not interested in him romantically any longer, she felt this had to be made evident right away.

"He needs medical attention, Shepard," said Garrus and James silently agreed. "I think we should radio Cortez and have him pick us up so Chakwas can see to the Major."

Elissa nodded. "Yeah, right now he's the only one that can give us any answers about how all of these people ended up here. Take him, and then tell Gunny to make herself ready."

"Shepard!" came Jacob's voice through her earpiece.

"What is it, Jacob?" asked Elissa calmly; glad she had finally regained her composure.

"I found the guy in charge," he growled. "You're not going to be happy to know who."

Elissa ground her jaw. "Tell me now."

"It's Archer, Shepard," snapped Jacob. "Gavin Archer is the bastard responsible for this massacre. I have him pinned down in a hallway close to you position, he was headed to the lower facilities."

"Do you know why?" asked Elissa as rage blinded her.

"Something about his brother," replied Jacob. "And about another project being kept down there."

She wanted to hit something, it had to be Archer, it just had to be him. "Keep him there, I'm on my way," she snarled. "Garrus, you and James and Kasumi get Kaidan back to the Normandy. Radio Steve and let him know. Miya, EDI, Liara, and I will investigate what Archer was up to."

"Understood, Shepard," said Garrus and those she had instructed moved out of the room, taking extra care not to harm Kaidan further in the process, though God knows they were tempted. Elissa and those remaining ran out another door towards where Jacob and Archer were.

Kaidan looked around the room as they left. "Rahna, where's Rahna?"

"Don't know," replied James sharply before pressing his earpiece. "Lola, keep an eye out for some woman named Rahna, I think she was taken too."

Elissa clenched her jaw as she ran but did not protest the request. "Fine, I'll see if she's here. Just get the hell out of here."


They soon found Jacob standing over Archer, whom was being held upside down by a biotic stasis field and it appeared that he had a bullet wound in his leg. Jacob looked unbelievably angry, angrier than when they had found his father being King on his own planet.

"Put him down," said Elissa and Jacob nodded before letting Archer fall to the ground. The scientist tried to scramble away but Elissa tackled him to the ground instantly, maneuvering him beneath her so he was looking her square in the face, so he could see the pure rage in her eyes.

"Shep—" he started but was interrupted when Elissa slammed her fist into his mouth.

"Where's David?!" she screamed as he spat blood on his chin.

"Just listen—" he tried to explain but again Elissa's fist prevented him from fully completing his thought.

"I don't give a fuck about your excuses!" she yelled in his face. "Where is David?! Or so help me God, I will kill you with my own hands!"

Miya stepped forward and kicked the scientist in the back of the head. "And I'll help her, you sick, twisted fuck."

Archer seemed to realize how dire his situation really was and if he wanted to live another minute, he would have to give into Elissa. "He's down in the first containment facility. Strapped to Project Overlord."

Elissa shook with fury, that sweet young man was once again the subject of his brother's and Cerberus's twisted experiment. Without thinking she started punching Archer as hard as she possibly could, one hand on his throat so he could not move while the other fist just laid into him with merciless intent. She wanted to kill him, wanted him to die for everything he had done. There was no way in hell that she was going to let this slippery snake get away from her again, he had proven himself unworthy of the second chance she had so generously given him.

"Shepard!" shouted Jacob. "Shepard, stop! You'll kill him!"

"Good," said Elissa in a deadly voice, her gaze stone cold as she lifted Archer's head up by the throat and slammed him into the ground. She lifted her fist once again only to feel a great deal of resistance, looking over she saw it was being held in place biotically by Liara, the Asari was obviously terrified but knew it had to be done.

"Lizzie, you need to stop," said Miya calmly as she put her hand on Elissa's shoulder. "You need to find David, make sure he's still alive then you can beat this asshole to a pulp."

Elissa seemed obviously conflicted between going to look for David and continuing to punish Archer for all he had done to these people. With a great deal of reluctance, she relaxed her hold on Archer and Liara released her fist, then she got up from where she had Archer pinned to the floor. "Keep him right here," she said, her tone telling everyone that now was not the time to contradict or question her orders. "I'll go find David and then we deal with him."

"I wish to come with you, Shepard," said EDI. "The last time you confronted Project Overlord, I downloaded the schematics of the machine that held David. I know how to disengage it so he will be released unharmed."

"Unharmed physically, perhaps," she said in an angry whisper. "Alright, EDI, you're with me. The rest of you, watch over Archer and make sure he doesn't get away. You don't want to know what will happen to you if he gets away."

"Roger that," said Jacob as he put Archer back in the stasis field. "If he so much as coughs wrong, I'll let Miya have a whack at him."

Elissa nodded and then motioned for EDI to follow her as she descended to where David was being kept.


They found David exactly where Archer said he would be, which would have been a point in his favor had the man not put his brother back in the goddamn machine. EDI went right for the controls while Elissa stood beside David; the machine was no longer standing straight up and down but had been rebuilt vertically, though the power source was still housed in the center by several metal arms and needles. The halo from before was jammed into David's head once again.

"Commander Shepard," said David once Elissa pulled the large tubes from his mouth. "I knew you'd come." Tears poured down the young man's face, though this time they were not from fear.

Elissa smiled and wiped away his tears. "I'm so sorry, David. I wish I had come sooner."

"It's alright," said David with a small smile. "You wouldn't have been able to, I only recently accessed Sanctuary's systems, I would not have been able to free Major Alenko sooner than I did."

"You released Kaidan?" asked Elissa, slightly bewildered.

David nodded. "Yes, I knew he would call for you to save us. I helped him get to the control tower so he could send the message to you, and gave him Normandy's codes so you would get it right away."

"At least we found you and stopped your brother," she said, stroking his head. "Do you know if there's anyone else here? Anyone else alive?"

To her surprise David nodded again. "There is Project L7, he is located in the room next door. You should go to him."

Elissa hesitated. "I think I should stay here with you, at least until EDI's freed you."

"It is okay, Commander Shepard," said David in his usual calm voice. "I will be fine with your friend, L7 needs to be saved as he cannot save himself."

"You have everything under control here, EDI?" asked Elissa, glancing at the AI as her hands flew across the console.

"Yes, I should have David released from this machine in a matter of minutes," replied EDI. "I suggest going to the room next door, Shepard, if my scans are correct there is a living being located there."

Elissa nodded and with one more reassuring smile to David, she dashed out of the room and into the one David mentioned. When she arrived, she was completely floored by what she found: in a growth tank was what appeared to be a two-year-old human male. She looked around the room and saw another body sized incubator located not too far away from the little boy, when she was able to see in, her heart dropped to the floor. Inside was Rahna, her body just as brutalized as the others, though it appeared that some of her injuries were those consistent with a caesarian section.

Elissa knew it was Rahna because when Kaidan first mentioned her, she had grown curious about the woman that had captured his attention as a teenager and while several years had passed since then, there was no doubt in her mind about who this woman was. She checked the monitors located on the outside of the incubator and saw there were no signs of life: Rahna was dead. Then she saw a delicate silver ring on her left ring finger, and without thinking twice she opened the container and gently removed the ring before tucking it in one of her pockets for safe keeping. Whomever she was married to would likely want this returned once it got out what had happened here.

"I'm sorry I couldn't save you, Rahna," whispered Elissa. While Kaidan might have tried to start a new life with this woman when she was dead, that was no reason to be glad she was gone or to be spiteful in any way. Despite the fact Kaidan had reconnected with her while they were still together, she was not angry towards her. They had never met before and holding a grudge against someone who had done nothing wrong except love the same man she had was pointless.

She turned her attention back to the boy in the growth tank, it was obvious he was still alive, the monitors overhead were beeping with each heartbeat. There was a datapad on a nearby workbench and she picked it up, she had a gut feeling that this had to do with the little boy.

Project L7

Status: all systems are functioning at optimum levels, demonstrating a great potential for strong biotic abilities. It is likely he will surpass the powers of his parents and develop into the strongest human biotic conceived.

She read some of the older entries, hoping to figure out who this child's parents were and she found the entry she had been looking for.

Project L7 has officially gotten underway; in a few short weeks he will be extracted from his mother's womb and placed in the growth tank so as to cultivate his natural biotic abilities. He is the strongest candidate for inherited genetic biotic powers, as his genetic material was obtained from the two most powerful L2 biotics: Kaidan and Rahna Alenko.

Elissa must have read that last statement at least half-a-dozen times before it finally sank in. This little boy was Kaidan's son! Not only that but Kaidan had married Rahna after all, though it was clear this child had been engineered by Cerberus and was not the result of natural conception.

"Gunny," said Elissa into her earpiece. "There's a special delivery down here that we need to pick up immediately and tell Chakwas she is to prepare for another patient."

"Roger that, Commander," said Hilary. "ETA six minutes."

"See you then," said Elissa before she released the button and she looked at the little boy. "Hold on, kid, you'll meet your daddy soon."