So I realized that this chapter took forever to publish, and that would be because of the mountain of writers block I had this past year. But, I'm over the block and back to writing. I'll now be responding to reviews and answering questions at my blog at, .com

Feel free to bother me there with question about the story.

Shepard worried. He worried about Garrus, he worried about Legion and the Geth, he worried about he Collectors and the Reapers. He knew that the best cure was to distract himself, and yet he could not help that the thoughts kept sliding to the forefront of his mind as he walked out of the armory after depositing his armor there for repairs along with his weapons before stepping into the elevator, taking it up to his cabin. He stepped inside and looked around the spacious room, his eyes passing over the desk and shelves, the plexiglass windows that held a model of the SR-2, the large aquarium set into the wall. His gaze settled on the large bed that took up the center of the back end of the room. The white spartan sheets and wide, soft looking, pillows beckoned him. He fell on the bed with a groan, squeezing his eyes shut against the pain that shot from his bruised body. The bed was soft and inviting, so different from the hard mats and pads he had been accustomed to in the Alliance. It was extravagant. Even as the captain on board the SR-1 his bunk had been nothing more than a pair of racks pushed together. He lay there for moments in nothing but the skin tight black suit that he wore beneath his armor. With a groan he pushed off the bed to his feet, the want of a shower and a hot meal came shouting from his tired bones.

He let out a moan as the hot water misted against his skin, a rough cloth helping to scrape away the feeling of grime and filth that always accompanied time in a hard suit. He flinched as the cloth ran over his arms, the limb giving a dull throb of pain. His brow furrowed as he saw that his arms were no longer black and blue, but the yellowish color of a bruise a few days old instead of one fresh. Chakwas had said that the Geth nanites would increase his ability to heal, but he hadn't thought it would be to that extent. Cleaned, yet no more at ease, he dressed in a simple grey T-shirt and a set of military-cut cargo pants. After a careful inspection to ensure of no Cerberus logos, a pair of black jungle boots finished the ensemble.

"EDI." He spoke to the empty room, wagering that even here he would have no privacy from the AI.

Sure enough, the femininely synthetic voice answered him, "Yes, Shepard?"

"Where's Legion?" He tucked the laces into the top of the boot, rolling the excess fabric of the pants legs into classic airborne roll over the lip of the boot.

"Legion is currently in Engineering."

'Oh no...', He thought as he brought a hand up to rub his eyes, "What's he doing down there?"

"It would appear that he is attempting to give his services to the engineering chiefs."

Shepard moved quickly to the elevator, foot tapping in impatience as the elevator made its way down the decks to Engineering. The elevators were faster than the freight elevator of the SR-1, but that was not a difficult feat of engineering to accomplish. With a ding the doors slid open and he practically ran into Engineering. The doors slid open greeting him was the sight of a pair of Cerberus engineers cooing over Legion like a newly found dog, or perhaps a classic car.

"Gabby! Just look at its muscular structure! It's got to be a hyper dense carbon-fiber nano weave..." The man's rough Scottish brogue caught Shepard off guard for a moment before he coughed loudly to gain their attention.

"Oh, shi- Captain on deck!" The woman, who had to be Gabby, snapped to attention and raised a salute before elbowing her partner to do the same, hissing his name "Kenneth!"

"Wha-? Oh! I didn't expect you to actually come down to see us, sir." Kenneth dragged his attention away from Legion, snapping a quick salute.

"I was looking for Legion, he hasn't been giving you any trouble?" Shepard looked from the engineers to Legion and back.

"Trouble? Ach, no sir. In fact, that machine probably knows more about technology than Gabby and I put together." Kenneth rubbed the back of his head, giving the commander a rather sheepish look.

"Really? Well thats not that...wait. The two of you aren't bothered by having a Geth on board?" Shepard had not expected to find a lack of animosity from a pair of Cerberus Engineers.

"Why would we?" Gabby asked as she shifted from attention to parade rest, "We all got the brief on the Geth situation, commander. Hating Legion just because he's Geth would be like...hating everyone of a certain religion just because some other people from that religion attacked you. Doesn't make much sense to us, is all."

A small smile had been creeping onto Shepard's face as he listened to her talk, "I'm guessing you two weren't originally Cerberus?"

Kenneth spoke first, "No, sir. We were Alliance. We both served on the Perugia, when Saren attacked the Citadel. I'm Engineer Kenneth Donnelly, I handle the Power Control systems. And this is Gabby."

"Thats Engineer Gabriella Daniels, actually. I'm responsible for the propulsion systems." Gabby gave speared her partner with a withering glare that was returned with a comical grin from the ginger haired Scotsman.

"Good to meet the both of you. If you need anything down here, let me know. This ship is going to be just as much my home as it will be yours. I'd hate for it to fall out of the sky because my engineers didn't have the right parts or equipment." Shepard said as he began to turn to speak to Legion, who had been quietly standing to the side. He hadn't even finished taking a breath before Donnelly spoke up.

"There is one thing, Commander. If you happen across some T6-FBA couplings, we'd much appreciate it down here. Cerberus supply chains can't get it for us, and without them we don't have time ourselves to try and find some due to the maintenance upkeep. If you can find them, Commander, it would be much appreciated."

Shepard paused for a moment, lips pursed. He had just said that the ship was just as much his home as theirs, and what kind of commander would he be if he didn't at least try to help those under his command? "I'll keep my eye out in the shops. Now, back to work you two." With a salute he sent the two engineers back to work before turning to the Geth, "Legion, walk with me."

"Affirmative, Shepard-Commander." Legion fell into step at Shepard's side as the left engineering. Shepard headed to his left to the empty storage room. He had a thought dancing about his skull as he looked at his synthetic compatriot, "Legion, you're coming with me on the next shore party on Omega."

"Shepard-Commander, you had previously agreed with Lawson-Miranda that such an action was too dangerous as factions aboard Station-Omega would attempt confiscation of this platform. You have changed your opinion?"

"When we went to get Garrus we took out a big portion of the gangs here on Omega. I'd say we won't have to worry about them coming after us to get their hands on you. Words going to get out, Legion. That I'm working with Cerberus. With the Geth. Might as well let the people see you doing some good." Shepard leaned against the bulkhead, arms crossed across his chest.

"Does Shepard-Commander believe that this will cause the organic powers to begin preparations for the return of the Old Machines?" Legion inquired.

"If it doesn't, those 'exploration fleets' you talked about certainly will. By hook or by crook, Legion, we're going to get this done. If we don't...I don't think we'll have any chance against the Reapers." Deep down Shepard knew that if they had any chance against the Reapers, it was a slim one, "We'll be heading back onto Omega to get the professor soon. Grab what gear you need and meet me by the airlock."

With that Shepard turned back towards the elevator, only to run into Zaeed.

"Shepard. I was hoping to run into you. Nabbed this off a merc when we were going after your man, Archangel. Thought you might want to take a look at it." Zaeed said as he handed Shepard a bloodstained data pad.

Shepard raised an eyebrow at the old mercenary before taking a look at what he had found. His eyes flicked over the words on the screen, "Can you confirm this?"

Zaeed shrugged his shoulders, "Hell, I can't, but sure as shit Aria can. Might as well send it her way."

The pair looked up as Legion walked past, moving towards the elevator. Zaeed shook his head, saying, "I'm never going to get used to having a bloody Geth on board. I'll let you get back to work. Let me know if you need anything, Shepard."

Shepard stepped next to Legion as he waited for the elevator to open. The pair remained silent as the waited the few moments before the doors slid open to reveal that it was not vacant. Shepard blinked in surprise as he saw the Turian standing there, half his face covered in a bandage, his black and blue armor scorched and pierced from the rockets impact, "Garrus?!"

"Shepard, I was..." It was in that moment that Garrus noticed Legion standing besides and slightly behind Shepard. Garrus lunged, an arm reaching out to push Shepard to the side as he cried, "Geth!" a blade swinging into his hand from a hidden slot in the armor's vambrace.

Time slowed to Shepard as he watched Garrus' lunge. His arms rose and his hands wrapped around Garrus' wrists as he struggled to keep the Turian from harming Legion. He shouted at Garrus as the Turian moved to free himself by attempting to toss the commander to the side, "Garrus! Garrus, the Geth is friendly!"

Garrus hesitated, pausing in his struggle only to cast a questioning eye down at Shepard. The blue and black orb stared into Shepard's own white and icy blue eyes as he he growled, "The Hell are you talking about, Shepard? It's -"

"A Geth! Yes. Will you calm down and let me explain?!" Shepard had planted his feet in a wide stance, but he knew that even with his upgrades that Garrus could easily toss him about if it came down to it. Only the Turian's hesitation kept Shepard from being slammed into a bulkhead.

"Shepard-Commander speaks the truth. This platform means no harm and is allied with the Commander." Legion's synthesized voice snapped Garrus' attention from Shepard.

But before he could make a move back towards Legion, Shepard shifted his weight and spun Garrus back into the lift before slamming his fist down on the up switch. He and Garrus stood on either side, staring at each other in silence as the elevator carried them to Shepard's cabin.

"Shepard, what in the name of the Spirits are you doing? That was a damned Geth!"

"We were wrong about the Geth, Garrus. They're just as divided as us organics. I found the ones who want to help us." Shepard stepped out of the cramped confines into the slightly more spacious antechamber.

"Help? Help?!" Garrus' sub-vocals flared loudly as he followed Shepard, "Like they helped Saren?"

Shepard's fist curled into balls, "Different Geth. These are-"

Garrus' sub-vocals warbled audibly As the Turian raised his voice, "Shepard, have you completely forgotten what the Geth did? To Eden Prime? The Citadel? Virmire? Are you going to spit on Kaidan's -"

"Did you spit on the memory of the Turians who died on Shanxi when you worked with me to take down Saren?! Did you, Garrus?" Shepard stabbed a finger at Garrus, who stood muted by the accusation rendered at him.

Shepard watched Garrus' mandible clamp together in the Turian version of a clenched jaw. Shepard pushed on, "You remember those Geth we saw on Feros? The ones who were worshiping at that Reaper altar?" He watched Garrus give a sharp nod, remaining silent as Shepard continued, "A few of the Geth, Legion says less than two percent, worship the Reapers and worked with them. The rest just want to be left alone. But the Reapers won't let that happen, the Geth are as much a threat as we are. The Geth know the Reapers are coming, and they need to convince the Council of that fact. That's where I come in." That was it, Shepard had laid his cards on the table for Garrus to see. He hoped that Garrus would see the truth in his words, see that he should stay and help, "Please, Garrus, I'm a little short on people I trust to watch my back." He watched, his hands curling and uncurling and curling again, as Garrus mulled over what he had been told.

The Turian shook his head slowly, mournfully, as he spoke, "Shepard, I would walk through Hell beside you, just like old times. But the Geth...if I get one whiff of betrayal from those flashlights, I'm gone. But till then," Garrus shifted till he was halfway facing Shepard, "I guess I can keep my scope off your metal friends."

Shepard let out a sigh of relief, "For a moment there I thought I was going to have to do this without you."

Garrus' face was still as a stone before he gave Shepard a curt nod. He began to walk out of the cabin before turning to state, "I'll be in the forward battery if you need me. See what Cerberus put into the new girl." With that he left Shepard alone.

(Line break)

Shepard racked the bolt on the pulse rifle, tilting the weapon to it's side, checking to ensure that the thermal clip had seated properly. Looking up he watched as Miranda, Jacob and Zaeed all checked their prefered weapons. A hiss from the other side of the room preceded Garrus' entrance into the armory. Shepard reached over to grab the nutrition bar that sat next to him on the table, "Don't even bother, Garrus. You're not coming."

Garrus's face took on a mix of shock and being insulted, "Shepard, I appreciate that you might be worried about me, what with taking a rocket to the face, but-"

"It's not because of that, Garrus, it's this virus." Shepard managed to get out around a mouthful of food, if the dense nutritional block could be called that. Shepard swallowed, tossing the bar back on the table, "EDI, can you bring up what we know of this virus?"

EDI's disembodied voice read off a list of symptoms, finishing the list with a last little tidbit of knowledge, "There are only two species currently known to be immune to the virus: Humans and Vorcha."

Shepard gestured with his rifle at EDI's empty pedestal, "Humans and Vorcha. I don't know if your helmet will be able to filter this virus, and judging by the fatality reports we're getting, I'd say it won't. So, as I said, you're not coming. Anyway, I need someone I trust to stay and watch my ship."

Miranda let out an insulted scoff that was ignored by all but Jacob, who quietly chuckled.

Garrus gave a soft laugh, "That'll do, for now."

"Good." Shepard placed his rifle down and picked up the Geth sniper rifle, tossing it to Garrus with a shouted, "Catch!"

Garrus deftly caught the large rifle in his three fingered hands. Turning the weapon over, investigating the Geth weapon.

"Single shot, requires a two second charge time for the mag rails, but it packs a hell of a punch." Shepard had hopped off the table, gathering his gear into a neat and orderly group.

Garrus made an unsure grumble, "Not quite sure how I feel about using a Geth weapon, Shepard. It feels...wrong."

"Than don't use it. It's better than anything we have onboard, and it's not like you to turn down a fine piece of military equipment." Shepard shrugged as he started putting on his armor.

Garrus grumbled as the away team donned their gear, slotted their weapons onto mag strips, and left the armory. He looked down at the weapon in his hands and shrugged as Shepard and his squad left the armory.

At the air lock Legion awaited them as Shepard had instructed. The sight of the Geth platform, with weapon in hand, caused Miranda to balk and cast an accusing glare at the Commander.

"Shepard, I thought we had agreed that the Geth would not be coming with us?" Miranda's voice carried an icy sharpness to it as she watched Legion's eye flick between her and Shepard.

"We agreed to nothing of the sort. I thought this was my mission, or do you mean to tell me otherwise?" Shepard responded with a cool tone to his voice, "Legion is joining us. With most of Omega's gangs dead I don't expect much trouble. End of discussion, so let's move out." With that he shouldered past the others to the front of the squad and walked out on to the station, leaving Miranda to either keep up, or stand there fuming.

As was to be expected, Legion drew stares even though most of Omega's denizens were intelligent enough to keep them to sideways glances, or a peek over the shoulder once they had passed. Shepard took it all in stride, while Legion seemed not to notice at all. The same could not be said for the rest of the squad.

Zaeed's head was on a swivel, the mercenary's hand pressed against the butt of his pistol. Jacob seem to exude a cool demeanor of calm, his eyes covering approaches and scrutinized every approaching person. Miranda fumed. Shepard could feel her eyes burning holes into the back of his neck as he walked at the the front of the squad.

He paused as a chime from his omni tool drew his attention. He glanced down at his wrist as he scanned the message.

"Shepard,

Thanks for forwarding that info. I don't know how that slipped past my net, but heads will roll. I owe you one.

Aria"

Shepard closed the message and turned to the squad, "Before we head into the quarantine zone we're going to hit the shops. Pick up anything you think we might need. Don't worry about the cost, I'm sure the Illusive Man won't mind footing the bill. Legion is with me, the rest of you meet us at the checkpoint in 10."

Legion followed Shepard as they split off from the others, heading deeper into the bustling market. They stopped at a couple of stores, searching out weapon mods amongst the occasional model ship and junk most of the vendors sold. Heading down a flight of stairs and past a group of Vorcha mulling around a corner they came across a lone Quarian manning a stall.

The Quarian's back was turned to them as he worked on cutting apart a piece of scrap metal. Shepard didn't know how the Quarian knew they were there but he stood and turned to face them, and with a tired voice said, "Hello, welcome to..." The Quarian's voice trailed off as his glowing eyes settled on Legion as he stood behind Shepard's shoulder.

"Welcome to...welcome... Umm, excuse me sir, but there is a Geth behind you." The Quarian pointed at Legion, who turned around to look behind it self.

"We detect no other Geth platforms on this station. The creator is mistaken."

Shepard's eyebrows furrowed together, "I got to say, you're the first Quarian I've met who hasn't wanted to shoot my metallic friend here."

"I'm... Not exactly against the Geth. I'm a part of admiral Zaal'Korris' faction. We believe that since the Geth are a sentient species, they have just as much right to live as we do. Although I've never seen one up close." The Quarian walked around the counter and stood in front of Legion, looking him over as the Geth waited patiently during the inspection.

"I didn't know there was such division between the Admiralty Board." Shepard leaned forward, resting his elbows on the counter as he watched the Quarian shop keep.

The Quarian paused in his inspection to look at Shepard, "You know of the Admiralty Board?"

"Yeah, I had a Quarian mechanic on my old ship. Tali'Zorah nar Rayya." A smile crept onto his face as he remembered Tali's time aboard the Normandy.

"I know of Tali'Zorah! She is a hero of the Migrant Fleet! She fought alongside Commander Shepard against the Geth, and showed the galaxy the good Quarians can do when given the chance! Wait, you don't mean to tell me... That you... You are Commander Shepard?" By the end the Quarian had slowly stood straight, fully turning to face Shepard as his voice trailed off into an almost unbelieving whisper.

"The one and only."

"Keelah…"

"So what is a Quarian like you doing here in a place like Omega?" Shepard had stood straight and moved to the shops inventory menu, flipping through it.

The Quarian hung his head, "I was on my Pilgrimage, and I decided to come here, to try and find a ship to bring back to the Fleet for cheap. I got robbed my first day here, took all my credits. Harrod," He motioned up towards the next level, "Has got me selling junk at a high price. I've been here a year and I'm still trying to save up enough credits to buy a ticket off this boshtet of a station."

Shepard looked up from the menu, studying the Quarian, "How much do you need?"

"A thousand credits, why?"

Shepard reached into one of the pouches on his belt and drew out a credit chit, "Here."

The Quarian stammered, "I...thank you! Here, have a discount at the store. It's the least I can do, and I won't be coming back here."

The team had re-assembled outside of the market, just beyond a mixed species crowd surrounding a ranting Batarian "prophet". A few people glanced nervously back at them, unsure of the lone Geth standing amongst the heavily armed humans, but most kept their rapt attention on the Batarian.

Shepard nodded to each member in turn before they turned and walked down a short alleyway that lead to the entrance of the Gozu district and their target. At it's end stood a Turian guard arguing loudly with a human woman who screamed profanities at him as she demanded he let her through.

"Listen lady, this is a quarantine zone! No one goes in, no one come out. So lay off." The guard, who looked like every guard of any species who had to deal with someone they didn't want to, waved a finger in the human woman's face.

The woman, with an exacerbated scream, pleaded reason with the guard, "I'm Human, you idiot! Human's can't get the plague!"

"I'm not taking a risk! So back off!"

Shepard had stood back and watched the exchange. Stepping forward he asked, "The district is closed to everyone?"

The Turian guard seemed relieved to deal with someone else besides the woman. He turned to talk to Shepard when he noticed Legion standing there, "Ye...I...is that a Geth?"

Shepard looked back at Legion before shrugging his shoulders, "It's not a Geth." Which was not technically a lie, seeing as Legion was over 1000 Geth, and not a individual. "Would it matter?"

The guard blinked, "No, I guess not. Than that's one hell of a bot. What do you need, human?"

"We need to get into the district. We're trying to find the Salarian doctor, Mordin Solus. Now your stuck here till this thing is dealt with, right? If the doctor has a cure, he might just need help getting it out."

"I know of him...look, you guys actually seem to be able to take care of yourselves. You think that you can get to the doc? Alright, I'll let you through."

The woman, who had been standing to the side, let her jaw drop. "You're going to let them through, but not me?!"

"You don't have a pet Geth, lady. Get lost."

The guard nodded to Shepard and stepped aside after unlocking the door. Shepard and his team walked through the door and into the Gozu district.