Woo, I'm back! Don't be excpecting nothin' too drastic though, since as I've stated before, I have frequent writer's block. Once more, bear with me. Reviews please!

Chapter 6

"I've been in the Alliance for over 10 years. Long enough to see the worst this galaxy's got to offer, at least by human measures, and obviously impress quite a few high rollers."

"How so?", Shepard inquired as he motioned for his teammates to leave, now that it was clear the man wasn't hostile.

The man slowly turned to face Shepard once more, and answered:

"You think you were the only one they considered for the Spectre position? As far as I know, I was in the top 10."

The man turned back towards the wall and his eyes turned glossy, as if looking a lot further than at the medical bay's plain metallic wall. Minutes passed.

Shepard sat down in Dr. Chakwas chair, patiently looking at the man squatting on the operating table. Innumerable questions rolled around through his mind. How much did the man know about what he'd been captured for? What he was capable of?

Finally, the man continued speaking.

"They called me Subject 101 at first, after they captured me. Guess they got tired of it, since I got a nickname pretty soon. Jim, I think."

He smirked.

"Guess you can't ask for originality from terrorist groups."

Before an awkward silence could settle over the room, Shepard asked:

"When did they take you?"

"I think it was about a year ago", he responded, sounding grateful not having to be the one to re-initiate conversation, "Though I can't remember much more than my wife's face. And that I was going to have daughter. Ironic that the one thing that kept me going was the one thing that kept me from leaving that place."

"What do you mean?"

Jim looked back at Shepard, finally, though his grey eyes didn't seem quite as intimidating as before.

"They knew that would make me strong. Stronger than they could control. They knew they needed something to keep me from breaking out. So they used Emma."

Shepard didn't interrupt, presuming "Emma" was his wife.

"And make no mistake, I could break out anytime I wanted. There were times I was so frustrated I thought of just killing everyone in that place, hijack a ship, and race home. But I knew they would get a transmission out way before I could even get off-world."

"And now you're afraid something's happened to your wife."

Jim looked silently at Shepard, then returned his gaze to the wall.

Again trying to prevent a new moment of silence, Shepard said:

"You don't know why they did this?"

Slightly less grateful this time, Jim answered:

"They were indoctrinated. I suppose they wanted to use me to kill you, clearing the way for the Reapers."

This actually made Shepard speechless for a moment. There was actually more people out there other than him and his crew that knew about the Reapers. When he finally was able to speak, all he got out was:

"You know?"

Ever staring at the wall, he replied, "First thing they told me. Still having trouble grasping it. Can't say it helped motivating me when they told me how I factored into their return."

Jim leaned his head back against the wall, and said:

"Could I get some time?"

"Of course."

Shepard got up and clicked the med-bay door open, but before leaving, said:

"When you're ready, the crew and I are gathering up in the briefing room. Ask EDI, the ship AI, for directions."

Jim didn't respond, and Shepard left.

The mood in the brief room was tense, to say the very least. Mordin was pacing around even more than usual, Jack was leaning against the wall, ice queen as always. Everyone else were keeping busy with trivial tasks to pass the time, except for Grunt, Samara, and Legion, who all stood quiet and patiently at their stations. All of the equipment they'd seen on the holo-display before were strewn out across the table.

And suddenly the doors slid apart.

Jim had a presence that was know all the more noticeable when in the presence of such an impressive group of operatives. Even in a plain set of scrubs, he stood out in every way. His posture, physique, the way he looked around the room, all screamed he was engineered for intricate, high-scale violence.

The only one of the crew members who responded to his entry were Samara and Legion, both slightly bowing their heads, the second mimicking the first, and Shepard was the first to speak.

"Welcome. I'd like you to meet the crew of the Normandy SR-2."

Shepard introduced everyone in the room in turn, and both Garrus and Thane followed Samara and Legion's example of bowing their heads in greeting. Jim however, remained perfectly immobile.

Finally, the last crew member was introduced, and Shepard motioned for the table.

"We were hoping that you could make some sense of this."

Jim moved forward and instinctively, the closets crew members took a step back.

"I can."

To the mixed feelings of the female members of the crew, Jim suddenly pulled off his shirt and let it fall to the floor. He then reached out his hand, and several of the matte, black straps flew to his hand with the usual hum of biotic use. With a few quick motions, he strapped them in a cross over his chest, over his upper arms, and his thighs, and reached out his hand again. This time, a pair of the talon-adorned gauntlets reached his hand, and he donned them without a word.

He pressed a previously invisible button on the back of the right gauntlet, and suddenly the straps on his body started shimmering and crackling with Element Zero energy. They expanded and wrapped around his body, merging together were they met into a glossy, figure-hugging weave.

Flexing his hands and limbs, biotic energy flared up around him, and the remaining objects on the table wobbled and lifted about half a feet over the table surface. The blades slid into their sheaths, the guns were assembled and compressed, and it all floated over to Jim, attaching to different parts of his suit. A rifle fixed to his back, a longsword on either side, whilst a pistol attached to his hip, a shotgun to his lower back, twin sub-machine guns to his calves, and dual knives above his waist.

Jim slowly stretched his neck and calmly stated:

"Questions?"

... Well, he said it.

Hopefully this'll keep you satiated until I the urge to get another chapter up. Hopefully it won't take quite as long this time.

Cheers. GoblinCrusher.