Chapter 2

An new assignment

The text cursor was still flashing in the empty box on her screen. She'd never been shy about expressing her opinions but wasn't very good with words. Perhaps that was why she had a love for poetry. Other people say things better than I do, she had once said.

She sighed and lent forwards staring at the screen but unfocused, deep in thought, her elbows rested on the desk in front of her. She was sat in her private cabin. A small space, as was the case on all Alliance military vessels, but it was all hers. The plaque on the other side of the door read "Operations Chief", and she was the ranking officer on board. The chief commanded a small company of 6 marines and had been sent to investigate and prepare against a possible attack on the human colony of Horizon in the Terminus systems.

Inside the room was sparse and generic. The room was no different from the rest of the ship, cold and hard, impersonal. It was after all, a military ship, civilian comforts were deemed a waste of money. A single bed lay behind the desk the chief was sat at, cushioned with a thin firm mattress and a thin sheet. A small bag of personal belongings was at the foot of the bed; its contents spilling out added the only touch of personality to the room. She was used to it; she had served in the alliance since she was fresh out of high school. Family tradition.

Come on! She knew she had to write something. The screen was still blank. Just be honest.

She sat up straight and rested her hands on the keyboard. Paused. The words were hard to find.

"Shepard-

I'm sorry for what I said back on Horizon. When I lost you two years ago, it tore me up. I prayed for you every day. I read a lot of Tennyson, thinking about you, just like I did when my dad passed. And then you came back, and it was like my prayers were answered. But I'm not who I was then, and neither are you."

The words flowed easier now, the gates had opened. She kept writing, trying to ignore the clang of boots on the metal flooring as the crew went about their duties outside. She would be needed soon.

Better keep it brief.

I don't know what's true anymore. Part of me can't believe it's really you. I keep going back to that night before Ilos, our night... I haven't let myself think about those memories in over a year.

I wouldn't have expected you to work for Cerberus, but I know why they sent you to Horizon. I saw how many people were lost there, and if anyone can stop the Collectors, you can. I can't go where you're going, but I can wish you luck.

Just stay alive out there... Skipper. I don't know what the future holds, but I can't lose you a second time.

-Ash

She finished off with an excerpt from Tennyson's Ulysses, her father's favorite poem, and one she knew by heart. She was sure Shepard would understand. She heard the comms channel come to life as she moved the cursor to send. She heard the pilot's raspy voice.

"Chief Williams? Sorry to bother you, ma'am. We'll be arriving at the citidel in just under 10 minutes."

"Thanks, Alcock."

She turned back to the screen. Better get going. She clicked send.

The Hougoumont was a small frigate, its usual Captain and crew were putting the newest additions to the fleet through their paces before the ships would be allowed to embark on regular duties, and as such the Hougoumont was placed in the hands of Ashley Williams, along with a small crew. Ash knew almost nothing about the running of a ship and felt more like a passenger than an officer.

Ash left her room and turned left, and made the short walk into the elevator. An engineer held the doors as she approached, and saluted her. She gave a slight nod in appreciation. The doors screeched as they closed and the car began to ascend.

The engineer and Ash rode up to the command deck in silence. The engineer always felt awkward when alone with high ranking officers and Ashley was trying to steady her emotions and get herself composed.

Councilor Anderson had requested that she come to his office on the presidium. The events on Horizon were beyond anything either of them had imagined. They needed to talk.

She saw Navigator Joliet, her second in command, talking to one of the servicemen and made her way over.

"I expect you to be here as soon as possible, like everyone else. We don't do these drills for fun, marine. I won't warn you again. Am I clear?"

Jake stayed still and focused straight ahead, like he'd been taught, avoiding Joliet's piercing stare. He had been in the showers when the announcement to gear up had been voiced over the comms, and had gotten to the command deck just a little bit slower than the other five marines, but experience taught him not to argue back.

"Yes, Sir!"

The navigator shifted his gaze as he saw the commanding officer step into view. He turned and saluted, the marines followed suit.

"At ease, guys."

The seven men shifted into a relaxed pose, and waited for orders.

"I'm going ashore to meet with Captain Anderson. Wait here until I call." She turned a gestured Joliet to walk with her. They walked towards the bridge and Ash stopped in a quiet area, out of earshot of the crew.

"Keep the men ready to move," She said. "The situation is serious, if we're going to do anything about this; we're going to need a bigger ship and more men. I hope to head out again soon as. "

"Do you think the council will listen, ma'am?"

"They damn well better." Ashley sighed. "I hate politicians."

The presidium looked much the same as it had the first time she had visited two years ago as part of Commander Shepard's team. The keepers had done a remarkable job since Sovereign attacked, clearing up the place and putting everything back in the right spots.

Ashley had been there, fighting hard alongside Shepard and remembered that day well. Despite all the hardship and struggles she had faced, it was one of her fonder memories.

Fighting alongside Shepard, kicking geth ass, what more could a girl want? Ash almost let herself smile.

She moved along the walkway along the lakes edge towards the human embassy where she was to meet Anderson. The water looked beautiful, clean and deep blue. A couple of birds floated nearby having a drink, others were flying overhead. Ash still preferred the action of the wards to the serenity of the presidium.

A wide variety of Alien species lived in the citidel, the capital of the galaxy and where the galaxy's politics took place, at least for the council controlled regions of space.

The first time she had stepped into the citidel was also the first time seeing many of the aliens with her own eyes, and had some trouble distinguishing between the animals and aliens. She hadn't worked with aliens much before, and had only met the council species, the Asari, Turians and Salarians. She was surprised when she first heard an Elcor speak and again when meeting a preaching Hanar. She had been mistrustful at first, but had worked with several alien species to take down the rogue Spectre Saren and had become to place a lot more faith into them.

She turned right into the embassy district, past a Volus who was asking Avina where to find a shop that sold amps that were fit for a biotic god. The embassies were busy today and she squeezed past a crowd surrounding a particularly flustered looking Asari receptionist. She headed up the stairs and a short walk to the right found Andersons office.

"Williams. Come in" Councilor Anderson stood up to greet the Chief and gestured with his right hand towards the seat opposite him. Ashley walked over and they both sat down. Anderson leaned forward.

"This is bad, Williams. Real bad. I tried to warn the council, but they just won't listen."

"Like always." Ash interjected.

Anderson sat up and sighed. "True enough." He stood up and took a few steps over to the balcony and looked out over the presidium. "I thought things would be easier now that I'm on the council" he said, turning his head slightly towards Ash "But they just don't want to believe there is anything wrong. Besides, Terminus systems aren't a concern to them."

Ash knew they wouldn't listen; she had no faith in politicians. Anderson was a soldier by trade, and she respected him. He knew action was needed, not talk.

"We have to find a way to help the colonists, sir. We can't sit around and wait for the council to do something, we need to take action!" Williams had a hint of anger in her voice; Anderson ignored it.

"I read your report, Chief. A whole colony immobilized, including you. I'm not sure how we can an enemy like that, we need to find a way, but until we do I can't risk sending more soldiers to certain death defending colonies in the terminus. The council would never allow it anyhow."

Ashley walked over and mirrored Anderson's position, leaning on the balcony wall, looking down at the hustle and bustle below.

"Shepard found a way. Those bug things didn't attack him or his crew. He must have some technology that can help us. Sir, I… I can't believe he is alive. And working with them." She was still emotional .It was a lot to take in. She had seen the man she loved die two years ago suddenly waltz in to save her life, and with a team from Cerberus, a terrorist organization. How was he alive, why was he with them?

"I can't believe it either. I don't trust Cerberus, but I do trust Shepard. I have to believe if he is with them, then he is doing it for the right reasons." He turned his head and looked into her eyes. "Do you believe it is really him?"

Ash met his gaze. "I, uh… yes, I do. The fire that the Commander always had… It was still there. You can't fake that."

"I believe it too. He came here a few days ago. I reinstated his Spectre status. Mainly a symbolic gesture, but if anyone can stop the collectors, he can."

Ashley stayed silent. She wanted so much to go after Shepard, to help, but she couldn't trust Cerberus. This is wrong. She thought. He should be here, working together with the Alliance.

"What's on your mind, Williams?" Anderson asked, sensing her pain.

"Why is he with them? Cerberus, I mean? If he came here already, why aren't we helping him stop the collectors instead of those terrorists? Sir."

"It's not that simple. If I had the power, I would use it, but the rest of the council doesn't trust him, even after everything he's done. They still won't see the truth of the reapers; they aren't prepared to go into the terminus systems and risk starting a war based on the word of the ghost of a dead Spectre who's working with an enemy."

"We can't just do nothing." She replied flatly.

Anderson walked back to his desk and beckoned Ash to follow him.

"We won't." He sat back down and Ash returned to the seat opposite. "We need to know how Cerberus managed to counteract the swarms you encountered on Horizon before we can fight."

"We've had barely any luck tracking down Cerberus bases, how are we going to do that?" Ash felt like they were fighting an impossible battle. Maybe if the council had put a little more trust in Shepard, he could have shared the technology himself. Now he had vanished into the terminus systems and there was little hope of finding him.

"We do have one lead." He picked up a data pad from the cutter on his desk "A merchant ship picked up a distress signal two days ago from Binthu."

"Binthu?" Ash questioned, the name sounded familiar.

"You should recognize it as the planet where you and Shepard raided a Cerberus base and found the body of Admiral Kahoku two years ago."

"We cleaned that place out. I was there."

"Still, a distress beacon was activated and the ID tag was from Cerberus." Anderson handed the data pad to Ashley and let her read.

"Why was the merchant ship in that area? There are no inhabitable planets in that cluster."

"The captain of a merchant ship was talking bribes to pick up crates of something from a base on Binthu. One of the engineers discovered the distress signal and forwarded us the information. Guilty conscience perhaps, he claims he disagreed with the Captains orders but couldn't afford to lose his job. "

"What was in the crates?"

"He doesn't know, the crew was forbidden from going near them."

"You bring them in?"

"Not yet, we alerted the authorities on major hub cities, knowing the content of those containers could be useful. But we have bigger things to worry about right now." He let Ash finish reading.

"It's not a lot to go on, Captain." He may be a councilor now, but he was still the Captain to her. To her it separated it from the politicians.

"It's the only lead we have. Perhaps we missed something down there, or maybe Cerberus has returned." He looked down at the desk as he paused. He looked back at Ash and continued; "The timing is pretty coincidental. It may be connected, and if not, well there might be something useful. Maybe we'll get lucky."

"I hope so, Captain."

Anderson knew he should at least be sending a Lieutenant to do the job, but he trusted her and she was a damned good solider. She deserves to Lieutenant anyway, he thought. Trust was an important issue, not many wanted to believe the threat of the reapers and he needed someone who would take it seriously.

Ash got up and turned to leave.

"One more thing," the Councillor said as he stood up to see her leave, "Good luck Chief."

"Aye aye, Captain."