Garrus could feel Tali tugging persistently on his arm, hear her worried voice, but for the moment these things had no meaning. He was locked in an internal battle as his mind struggled to reject the reality of the situation. As the elevator opened and more of the crew, directed there by Joker, poured into the docking bay Garrus argued with himself. He knew that Shepard had been on the ship when it was stolen, realised that she would only have sent that message in the direst of emergencies, but a part of his mind stubbornly insisted that she always had a plan. At any moment she would appear next to him, cursing and furious at the theft of the ship but already devising a strategy to get it back.

Stop it, he finally ordered. Every moment you waste here the chances of finding Shepard decrease.

That did it. He mentally shook himself and surveyed the now crowded docking bay, assessing the situation. Most of the crew had arrived in the brief time he had been frozen and were now talking amongst themselves in fast, hushed tones. Tali was at his side, hand still fixed firmly on his arm as she stared up at him. He didn't need to see her face to know how worried she was. Shepard had built friendships with everyone she had recruited in the past months, but she had a closer relationship with those who had been with her during the hunt for Saren. Garrus, Tali, Joker and Chakwas were more than friends to Shepard; they were family.

When Tali spoke her voice was desolate. "She was on the ship, wasn't she?"

Garrus nodded, taking her hand and squeezing it gently. "We'll get her back," he said firmly.

A murmur ran through the crew as they realised the implications of Garrus's words. Miranda pushed to the front of the small crowd that had formed around Garrus and Tali. "What are you suggesting, Vakarian?" she demanded. "That Shepard has been abducted?"

"I think so. She was on the ship and the message she sent was a codeword for danger."

A collective cry of denial rose from the crew.

Garrus raised his hands and called for quiet. To his surprise, the noise from the crew ceased almost immediately. For the first time he was grateful that Shepard had placed him in charge of the fire team at the Collector base. At the time he had resented not being able to fight by her side, but apparently it had given him a certain amount of authority with the others. Hoping that he sounded calmer than he felt he said, "We need to move quickly if we're going to have a chance of finding her."

"Wait a moment, I am Shepard's second-in-command," said Miranda indignantly. "If anyone is going to give orders here it will be me."

"Like hell you are!" interjected Jack. "You were second-in-command when the Normandy was a Cerberus ship. In case you hadn't noticed, we don't work for Cerberus anymore. I'd rather take orders from the turian."

He glowered at Jack, cursing her silently. He had no interest in seizing Miranda's position and power, and a struggle with her would only delay their search for Shepard. He was painfully aware that with every moment that passed the Normandy hurtled further away from the Citadel. Unfortunately, some were now voicing their agreement with Jack. Talented and powerful as Miranda might be, she had never tried to ingratiate herself with the crew. Without Shepard's support and confidence to back her up, most were transferring their allegiance to him.

Ignoring the others he turned to focus solely on Miranda. "Officer Lawson," he said, addressing her by her official title for the first time, "I suggest splitting up. Someone might have seen something and there might be something on the security vids. Anderson might be willing to help us, too."

She stared at him with surprise and another emotion that he couldn't quite fathom. It was only when she spoke that he realised it was gratitude. She nodded infinitesimally, acknowledging what he had done for her, and said, "I agree." Turning her attention away from him, she raised her voice and directed herself to everyone else. "We need to question anyone who might have seen something."

While Miranda gave instructions to the bulk of the crew, Garrus drew a few select people to one side. He spoke to Thane and Tali first.

"Are you still in touch with Bailey?" he asked Thane.

Thane inclined his head slightly. "He keeps me informed of Kolyat's progress."

"Good. I need you two to head over to C-Sec to check the security feeds. Get Bailey to watch them with you. If we get lucky whoever did this might have slipped up and hired someone with a record."

"We're on it," said Tali as the two turned to leave.

"Stay in contact," he called after them. "I want to know the moment you find something."

Next came Kasumi and Jacob. He beckoned them away from the others and they came quickly, eager for instruction. "I need you to go back to the club. Hopefully Joker has the sense not to work everyone into a panic, but there's no guarantee. Keep everyone together and keep them calm." He paused, realising that without the Normandy they would need a place to house everyone. Without access to Cerberus resources that could have proved problematic. Fortunately Shepard had gone to great lengths to conserve the credits they earned, probably foreseeing their eventual break from The Illusive Man and his funding. Punching instructions into his omni-tool he said, "Look for somewhere to put everybody until we get the ship back. I've given you access to Shepard's account. There's enough in there to last for a while, providing you don't put everyone up in a fancy hotel."

Kasumi smirked as they turned to leave. "You sure know how to spoil my fun."

When Garrus returned to the main group it was clear that Miranda had finished briefing them. They were now heading to the elevator, most looking relieved that they had something useful to do. Shotgun in hand, Grunt looked positively gleeful at the prospect of interrogating bystanders. Garrus winced, pitying whoever had the misfortune to stroll past the krogan. He slowed his pace, allowing the others to walk ahead of him and falling in step with Miranda. "Do you think this could have been Cerberus?" he asked quietly.

She paused, waiting for the elevator doors to close on the others before speaking. "Has to be," she replied without preamble. "You can't just walk onto a ship like the Normandy and take it. There are others who could have been responsible. The people who designed and built the original ship might know enough about it to be able to steal it, but I wouldn't waste time speculating about their involvement. Cerberus has the knowledge, the resources and the motive."

When they arrived on the Presidium Garrus was relieved to see that even though it was night on the Citadel, Anderson's door was open and a small light illuminated his room. The Councilor was seated at his desk, rapidly making notes on a datapad between intermittent glances at his terminal. Engrossed in his work, it took him a long moment to realise that visitors were hovering anxiously in the doorway. When he finally looked up and saw Garrus, he smiled openly. Although they were never exactly friends, in the months following the Normandy's destruction they had developed a firm respect for each other. They had worked closely together on coordinating the search teams that hunted for Shepard's body, and when they had finally given up Anderson had made a point of consulting him about the funeral. He had even offered to throw his new political weight behind Garrus's Spectre candidacy if he chose to renew it.

"Officer Vakarian," he greeted Garrus warmly, addressing him by his old C-Sec title out of habit. "I wasn't expecting to see anyone so late. Did Shepard send you to make sure I got the report?"

"No," said Garrus bluntly. "She's gone. Someone has taken her."

Anderson, who had half risen to welcome them, fell back into his seat. "What happened?" he demanded.

Garrus felt a rush of gratitude that Anderson had been a military man long before he became a politician. There was no sidestepping the issue or stalling; he cut directly to the point. He explained the situation quickly and concisely, leaving Miranda to voice her suspicions of Cerberus's responsibility. As they spoke the warmth in Anderson's face vanished, replaced by familiar lines of tension. When they finished he sat silently for a moment, absently pushing a datapad around his desk as he concentrated.

"There's no point in asking the Council for help," he said quietly, almost to himself. "They can't be seen to be assisting a woman who worked for a known terrorist group. No use going to the Alliance, either. If they publicly aid a former Cerberus crew then they risk provoking a reaction from the Council. Perhaps there's another way."

He sank back into silence and Garrus had to resist the urge to snap at the Councilor. Patience had never been his strong suit, which was one of the reasons why he had been so unhappy at C-Sec. Omega had taught him some. Running head first into danger and risking your own life was one thing, it was quite another to drag a squad in after you. The moment they were murdered, however, he had reverted back to form. If Shepard hadn't found him, and he had somehow survived the combined attack by three merc groups, he probably would have continued on his reckless path until it killed him.

"This needs to be handled quietly," said Anderson firmly. "Under no circumstances can this become public knowledge." He rolled his eyes, exasperation flitting briefly over his features. "God knows what a reporter like Al-Jilani would make of this. The only solution I can see is to find a discrete commander willing to put their ship in your hands."

His eyes met Garrus's and he knew exactly which commander Anderson had in mind.

"No," he almost snarled, startled by the heat in his voice. He caught Miranda's swift glance, the almost amused lift of her eyebrow, but ignored her.

His refusal was a knee jerk reaction. He was honest enough to be able to admit the some of his dislike of Kaidan had been founded in jealousy. Back on the SR-1 he had been forced to watch the progress of Kaidan's awkward flirtation with the commander. He hadn't then realised that his feelings for Shepard ran deeper than admiration, but seeing Kaidan walk purposefully to the commander's quarters the night before Ilos had left him irritable and unsettled. It had moved far past that by now. As far as he was concerned, what Kaidan had said on Horizon was unforgivable. Shepard had tried hard to hide it, and had succeeded with the rest of the crew, but Garrus knew her well enough to see how much the accusations of betrayal had hurt her.

Anderson stared back at Garrus calmly. "Can you think of another option?"

"I doubt that Commander Alenko would be willing to help Shepard. He thinks she's a traitor."

Miranda inclined her head towards him and said quietly, "Speed is vital, Vakarian. We can't afford to stand here arguing when the Councilor is offering us a viable option."

He glared at her, wanting to snap that working with Kaidan Alenko was not a viable option. Unblinking she held his gaze. He grunted, trying hard to relinquish his hostility before it got Shepard killed, and turned his eyes back on Anderson. "If Kaidan agrees to this, how would it work?"

Anderson nodded in relieved approval, casting a brief but grateful look in Miranda's direction. "You will have full control of the mission – and when I say you I mean you, Garrus."

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Miranda draw herself up, readying herself for a fight. "Councilor Anderson," she said, her voice icily polite, "as Shepard's XO I should be in charge of this mission."

"I appreciate your position, Miss Lawson, but I can't allow it. As a former Cerberus operative it will be a struggle to convince Commander Alenko to admit you onto his ship at all."

"Speed is vital, Lawson," murmured Garrus, unable to keep the dry amusement out of his voice.

Miranda's head whipped around to glower at him. This was becoming an unpleasantly frequent occurrence for her. First Shepard had chosen Garrus over her to lead the fire team and now Anderson wanted to place him in charge of the rescue mission. Although no sign of it showed on her face, Garrus knew that she was waging a battle with herself. Her desire to cling onto her position of power warred with the knowledge that Anderson would not back down on this issue. After the scene with Jack on the docking bay, she had to realise that most of the crew would probably support Garrus if she chose to start a power struggle.

"Fine," she conceded unwillingly. "Vakarian heads up the mission."

"Good," said Anderson shortly. "Now, while you will have complete control, the crew has to believe that Commander Alenko is still in charge. All instructions must be given to him privately, and he will then relay them to the crew. They're to know as little about the mission as possible. I'll work with Kaidan on creating a false reason for your presence on his ship."

He reached down and tapped something into his terminal. Garrus caught sight of several images as they flashed up on the screen: Thane, Samara and Grunt. Before he could wonder why the Councilor had pictures of them Anderson said, "Shepard reported a reasonably sized permanent crew and a large number of specialists. You can't take all of them, not even all of the specialists. Apart from there being far too little space, that number of people would attract a lot of unwanted attention." He looked directly at Garrus. "I suggest you choose no more than three people to take with you."

"I'm going," said Miranda immediately.

"I'll leave you to discuss it privately," said Anderson tactfully. "I need to contact Commander Alenko."

Nodding to them both, Anderson withdrew from the room. Garrus suspected that he could have contacted Kaidan just as well from his office, but he wanted to give them the chance to thrash out any issues in private. He needn't have bothered. Garrus knew that he had no hope of finding Shepard without Miranda's knowledge of Cerberus, and she was more than smart enough to realise that Anderson wouldn't give them any assistance without someone he trusted in charge of the mission. The only problem was choosing two people to accompany them.

Left behind on the Citadel, some of the more volatile crew members might grow dangerously restless. Jack would almost certainly chafe under anyone but Shepard's leadership, and Grunt recognised only the authority of his battlemistress. They might return to find the team irreparably fractured or missing a couple of members, and then they would be weakened for the looming battle with the Reapers. He shook his head as if trying to physically rid himself of that thought. He couldn't think about that now. The priority was to find Shepard.

"As much as I may come to regret this I suggest that we take Joker," said Miranda drily. "Finding Shepard is our priority but we must do all that we can to recover the Normandy. If we find it we'll need him to pilot it."

He nodded in agreement. "He might be able to help us on Alenko's ship, too. I don't know if they still are, but they used to be friends."

"They've exchanged several messages over the past few months."

"As for the - " he stopped abruptly as Miranda's words sank in. Mandibles drawn tight in tension, he stared at her in undisguised shock. He wasn't surprised that she had been spying on them, had known that Cerberus would monitor their communications, but he had never expected her to admit it. "Do I want to know how you know that?" he asked.

"Probably not," she replied, a smile playing around the corners of her lips.

"Right. As I was saying, I think we should bring Tali." There was no way he could leave her on the Citadel. Apart from their obvious need for her abilities, she would not tolerate being left behind, helpless and unable to do anything to help her friends.

"Agreed," said Miranda without argument, surprising Garrus again. "Cerberus bases always have heavy security, we need someone capable of bypassing it. Kasumi probably has superior experience, but if you prefer to take Tali-"

"I do," he said firmly.

" – she will be more than capable."

Garrus's comm crackled into life and the voice of the woman they had just been discussing sounded in his ear. "Garrus, I think we have something," said Tali.

He waited while Miranda rapidly punched instructions into her omni-tool, allowing herself into the conversation. When she indicated that she was ready he asked, "What have you found?"

"We're not completely sure. The last person to leave the ship was you and no one boarded after that. No signs of a fight either, the Normandy just took off. But when I looked further back I realised there was something we overlooked – there were people onboard who weren't crew."

"Non-crew?" he asked, perplexed. They very rarely let anyone who didn't belong to the ship's crew onboard, and EDI would have informed them if someone had entered the ship without Shepard's permission.

Miranda interrupted his train of thought with a hissed curse. "The engineers," she muttered. "I told Shepard they were a bad idea."

He stared at her blankly until realisation hit. To give the crew the night off Shepard had hired engineers to install the last components they needed. When he left he had thought that the ship was empty except for Shepard, but it was entirely possible the engineers were still onboard. Silently cursing himself for his carelessness he said, "You think they had something to do with it?"

"The security vid shows them entering the ship but not leaving it. Either it was a coincidence and they are incredibly unfortunate or they're involved somehow."

"Nobody is that unlucky," muttered Miranda.

Garrus was inclined to agree with her. "Are you done at C-Sec?" he asked Tali.

"Yes."

"Then find Kasumi and Jacob, they should have arranged a place for everyone to stay by now. We'll join you when we're finished with Anderson."

Tali agreed and broke the connection, but not before requesting that he contact her if he found out anything new. The moment she was gone Garrus contacted Jack. "We may have something," he said immediately, foregoing a greeting. "I need you to go to the place we got those parts earlier. Do you know it? "

"The store on the lower wards?"

"That's right. We think the engineers we hired there have something to do with this. If the place is empty then search for anything that might tell us who or where they are. If someone is still there then find out whatever they know." He paused briefly, considering, before adding, "Take Grunt and Zaeed with you."

Jack snorted. "So it's that kind of questioning you want."

Ignoring the comment he ordered, "Let me know as soon as you're done."

"Got it, boss."

Breaking the connection, he turned back to Miranda to find that at some point while he was speaking to Jack Anderson had slipped unnoticed back into the room. He was talking quietly with Miranda who had wisely opted out of the conversation with Jack, assuming that her interjections would just slow things down. Seeing that Garrus was done Miranda turned her attention to him. "I was just appraising the Councilor of Tali's findings."

"Good," he said shortly, grateful that he didn't have to waste anymore time. "What did Kaidan say?"

Anderson paused before answering, worried eyes briefly flicking to Miranda before coming back to rest on Garrus. "Commander Alenko had agreed to the plan on the condition that he be allowed to search Officer Lawson's omni-tool data."

"What?" Miranda demanded, outraged.

"He feels that before he can allow a Cerberus officer - "

"I am not a Cerberus officer," she interrupted. "I broke ties with The Illusive Man when Shepard did."

"Even so," said Anderson through gritted teeth, calm slipping, "he won't let you board his ship unless he receives some sort of assurance that you no longer work for Cerberus."

Normally Garrus would have been annoyed by the hypocrisy of her outrage: only minutes ago she had admitted to reading the personal communications of the crew, and yet she was horrified at the thought of someone invading her privacy. Now, when her delaying of the inevitable was wasting yet more time, it grated on his already taut nerves. If he had to he would order her to hand the omni-tool over. He didn't want to, knew that it would make a tense situation worse, but he would if she left him no other choice.

Fortunately, Miranda chose to delay that inevitable confrontation.

While Garrus was thinking she had been watching Anderson closely, gauging how far she could push the issue. Realising that Anderson was immovable she relented. When she spoke her voice was reasonable, if tinged slightly with resentment. "I suppose I can't hold it against the commander." She slipped the omni-tool off and held it out in the palm of her open hand, waiting for Anderson to take it. "I would do the same in his position."

Anderson hesitated momentarily, hand hovering over the omni-tool as if expecting a trap. When Miranda remained unmoving, her stance relaxed and expression neutral, he took it.

"Thank you for cooperating, Officer Lawson," he said briskly. "If there's nothing else we need to discuss, I think we're done for the time being. I need to get this to Commander Alenko and I'm sure you need to liaise with your team."

Garrus murmured an agreement, his mind moving away from Anderson and back to the crew. As he arranged to meet with the Councilor in a few hours and strode from his office, he was already thinking about tracking down Tali and going over her findings in more detail. By the time that was over Jack and the others should have returned from the store, hopefully with some fresh information. After that would come the uncomfortable moment when he would have to tell everyone that most of them would be staying behind on the Citadel.

Wrapped up in his thoughts, it took him several seconds to realise that Miranda had said something. "What?" he asked, irritated at the interruption.

"I said we have a problem, Vakarian."

He could almost laugh. "Another one?"

She grabbed his arm, forcing him to turn and look her in the face. Her eyes were slightly wider than usual and her normally pale cheeks were flushed pink. It was with no small amount of surprise that Garrus realised Miranda was panicked. Or as close to panicked as she ever came, anyway. "There is data on my omni-tool that it would be... inconvenient for Commander Alenko to find."

He extracted himself from her grip. "What kind of data?"

"Transmissions to The Illusive Man."

He waved his hand, dismissing her concern. "Kaidan already knows you used to report to him."

"These transmissions are recent."

Garrus grew still. He narrowed his eyes, scrutinising her closely. "How recent?"

She hesitated for what seemed like an unbearably long time, mouth pressed in a tight line. Finally she said unwillingly, "They were sent a few hours ago." Seeing Garrus rear up, hand flying to his holstered pistol, she hurried on, "It's not what you think! Shepard asked me to maintain contact with The Illusive Man in the hope that we could feed him false intelligence."

"Sure," he sneered. Although his voice was steely, his hand paused over his gun. "Why am I only just hearing about this?"

She rolled her eyes. "Broadcasting my new responsibilities to the whole ship would hardly make me an effective spy. No one else could know."

"How convenient."

"Think about it, Vakarian," said Miranda, practically growling in frustration. "Why would I still be standing here if I still worked for The Illusive Man?"

"It could be part of a plan-"

"Which would have failed the moment Anderson demanded my omni-tool," she interrupted. They glared each other in silent dislike, both refusing to look away. It was finally Miranda who relented first. "Look, we don't have time to argue. I need your help. Alenko won't let me within a mile of that omni-tool. It might be possible for someone he knows to get into his office and delete the incriminating data. I thought you would be more amenable to the idea than Tali."

He gaped at her. "Do you really think I'm going to help you?"

"Do you really think you have a choice?" she snarled. "You need me if you want to find Shepard. You'll never find where Cerberus is holding her without my help."

With that she pushed past him, heading back to the elevator. She stepped inside but stopped the door as it began to slide shut. "Think about it, Garrus, but don't take too long," she said quietly. "For all we know Shepard doesn't have much time."

She allowed the door to shut and was gone.

Garrus knew he should go after her, detain her in case she tried to escape or send more secret messages to Cerberus, but right now his mind was focussed on the dilemma she presented. It was entirely possible that Shepard had asked to Miranda to act as a double agent of sorts. It was also possible that the woman who truly believed in Cerberus's aims could not bring herself to transfer allegiance away from its leader. They would need her knowledge of Cerberus bases to track down Shepard, but if she was lying then they could walk into a trap of her making.

He had a decision to make, and Shepard's life hung on the outcome.