Anderson had just received a message from Tali'zorah, who confirmed the rumours of both Shepard being alive and him working for Cerberus. However, it seemed as if he hasn't changed at Cerberus wanted to bring him back for some reason.

He took a deep breath before calling up his VI. "Connect me with Admiral Hackett."

"I can't believe it's you Joker." Shepard shook his head as he followed the pilot down the corridor.

"Look who's talking." Joker glanced over his shoulder at him. "I saw you get spaced."

"Got lucky, with a lot of strings attached." He caught another glimpse of his reflection and sighed. His scars weren't too bad, but it did make him uneasy. "How'd you get here?"

"It all fell apart without you, Commander. Everything you stirred up, the Council just wanted it gone." Joker turned down another corridor. "Team was broken up, records sealed, and I was grounded." He led Shepard through yet another office festooned with that stupid logo. "The Alliance took away the only thing that mattered to me. Hell yeah I joined Cerberus."

He raised an eyebrow. "You really trust the Illusive Man?"

"I don't trust anyone who makes more than I do." Joker shrugged. "But they aren't all bad. Saved your life. Let me fly—" He came to a stop in front of some windows. "And then there's this." He pointed. "They only told me last night."

Shepard stared at the familiar silhouette. A frigate with the Cerberus logo. It was an exact copy of the Normandy, but this one was twice the size.

"It's good to be home, huh, Commander?" Joker grinned.

"I guess we'll have to give her a name."

The interior of the ship looked like someone had taken the old Normandy and overfed it for a few months. Miranda and Jacob were a pace behind him. He paused at the entrance to the command centre.

"Welcome aboard the new Normandy, Commander." Jacob gestured.

Miranda began talking. "I've been looking over the dossiers. I'd strongly recommend starting by acquiring Mordin Solus, the salarian professor on Omega." Which was probably why they were currently sitting within spitting distance of Omega. "We know the Collectors use some type of advanced technology to immobilize their victims. We'll need him to develop a countermeasure to protect us."

Shepard nodded. "Without that countermeasure, we'll be helpless if we run into the Collectors."

A new voice chimed in. "Acquiring Professor Solus seemed like the most logical place to start."

"Who are you?" He glanced around.

An abstract blue hologram popped up from a nearby display. "I am the Normandy's artificial intelligence. The crew like to refer to me as EDI."

Shepard folded his arms. "Helmsman aren't happy when someone takes control of a ship away from them. Especially Joker."

"I do not helm the ship. Mr. Moreau's talent will not go to waste," said the AI. "During combat, I operate the electronic warfare suites. Beyond that, I cannot interfere with the ship's systems. I observe an offer analysis and advice. Nothing more."

Shepard turned to look at Miranda and Jacob. "I'm guessing it takes more than just the three of us plus Joker to fly the ship."

"The Normandy has a full crew," Miranda assured. "They're at their stations waiting your orders."

"Final preparations for takeoff are complete, Commander," said Joker's voice over the comm. "When you're ready to go, just pick a destination from the galaxy map in the CIC and I'll plot a course."

"Jacob and I should return to our posts. Come find us if you have any questions." Miranda walked away.

Jacob, however, saluted first.

He soon discover that he had a yeoman. A cute little redhead psychologist named Kelly Chambers. She assured Shepard that Cerberus didn't hate aliens they just preferred humans. Shepard, however did not trust them and made his way to the only person he trusted on the ship.

"Can you believe this, Commander?" Joker swirled around in his chair. "It's my baby, better than new. It fits me like a glove. And leather seats. Military may set the hardware standard, but on a first-gen frigate they could care less if the seats breath. Civilian sector comfort by design."

The blue hologram popped up from a nearby console. "The reproduction is not intended to be perfect, Mr. Moreau. Seamless improvements were made."

Joker sighed. "And there's the downside. I liked the Normandy when she was beautiful and quiet. Now she's got this thing I don't want to talk about. It's like ship cancer."

"It's not the same, Joker. There's nothing here that was even part of the real Normandy."

"There's us. I have to take what I can get. The last two years sucked." Joker leaned back in the seat. "You'll see. Even if an AI is spying on us, no way they'll invest this much just to screw us over. It'll be better than the old days."

"I hope so. I died," Shepard reminded.

Shepard looked around the captain's quarters. There was a tank full of water on one wall. Why bow was that he had no idea. His own personal refresher. State of the art music system. There was even a Cabinet where one could put model ships on.

Part of him wanted the contact his friend and the Alliance, but he knew that they were listening devices all around him and it would be too dangerous to contact anyone before he knew where he stood with Cerberus.

He, however, did know one thing if Ashley ever found out that he was alive she was going to kill. Probably twice for not telling her that he was alive and for working for Cerberus. He also wondered how Rick was doing and where he stood on the Alliance these days.

Shepard made his way down to the engine room and found two engineers, a young man and woman. The young man turned and just stared at him flabbergasted.

"You came all the way down here to see us?" he stared.

"You're speaking to a commanding officer," the woman reminded saluting.

Shepard merely smiled. "I'm touring the ship, getting to know my crew."

"I'm engineer Ken Donnelly, handling the power control systems," said the young man. "This is Gabby."

"That engineer Gabrielle Daniels, actually," the woman corrected. "I'm responsible for the propulsion systems."

"What can we do for you, Commander?" Kenneth asked.

"Are you set up okay down here?" Shepard asked.

Kenneth shrugged. "We can't complain. I just wish it didn't take so long to cover the FBA arrays—"

"Kenneth, you're complaining," Gabby pointed out.

"What problems are you having?" Shepard asked.

"When they upgraded the Normandy design, they got a bit sloppy with the FBA couplings," Kenneth continued. "I won't bore you with tech, but there is an array of attenuators in the primary transfer system that channels the field bleed—"

Gabby rolled her eyes and can clearly tell that Shepard had no idea what he was talking about. "Kenneth, you're boring the Commander with tech."

She then turned to Shepard and simplified things by saying that they needed T6-FBA couplings. The only problem was that at certain model was disused and the only place they could locate one was in the Omega markets. Shepard assured that he would look out for one.

"Where did you receiver training?" Shepard asked.

"Both Gabby and I started in the Alliance, serving on the SSV Perugia," said Kenneth.

"She flew in the first wave at the Battle of the Citadel. We saw Sovereign first-hand," said Gabby.

They served in the Alliance he had a mini expecting this. "Why did you leave the Perugia?"

"After you died, Anderson lost political clout. The Council backslid on the Reaper menace."

"They discounted Sovereign as an isolated threat, as a single–"

"Which was bullshit!" said Kenneth firmly. "They said your warnings of a great danger were mistaken or delusional."

"We lost respect for Alliance leadership," Gabby sighed. "We need to fight the real enemy, and only Cerberus seem to be doing that."

Shepard asked the more questions discovered that Kenneth went very outspoken against the Alliance about his warnings, if he had been a good engineer he would have been charged for insubordination. Gabby joined up mainly because the two of them have been partners ever since they graduated from the Academy.

"Carry on," said Sheppard only made his way out of engineering.

Just before the doors closed behind him he heard Kenneth saying, "I'm a Shepard came down to see us."

"I told you he would," had Gabby's voice.

Shepard then went off to see Miranda, who had taken a station on the XO Office.

"Commander. What can I do for you?" she asked looking up from her desk.

"You have a minute, Miranda?"

"No doubt you've got a lot of questions," said Miranda. "Cerberus isn't as evil as most people believe. If I can help allay any of your concerns, I'd be happy to do so. So, would you like to know?"

Shepard then began to ask a bit more questions about Cerberus like how they were funded, how they operate and what their goal was. The answers she gave him made him slightly uneasy, even Miranda didn't know much about the Illusive Man's background, they had no government oversight and they had several different branches in both politics, military and scientific.

He suddenly got a good view of Cerberus, but he knew very little about Miranda. "Tell me about yourself, Miranda."

"I guess that's fair, I've spent last two years learning everything there is to know about you," said Miranda getting to a feet. "Well, you should probably know that I've had extensive genetic modifications. Not my decision, but I make the most of it. It's one of the reasons the Illusive Man handpicked me. I'm very good at just about anything I choose to do."

"You certainly don't lack for confidence," Shepard noted.

"It's just a fact. My reflexes, my strengths, even my looks—they're all designed to give me an edge. No point in hiding from it. It's the reason I'm trusted to oversee the most dangerous, risky, and technically demanding operations Cerberus undertakes. And it's why I was assigned to you. It's my job to make sure you succeed, Shepard."

"What level of genetic modification are we talking about?"

"It's very thorough. Physically, I'm superior in many ways. I heal quickly and I'm likely to live half again as long as the average human. My biotics abilities are also very advanced… for a human. At that some of the best training and education money can buy and, well, it's pretty impressive, really."

"Sounds like you were designed to be perfect."

Miranda shrugged. "Maybe, but I'm not. I'm still human, Shepard. I make mistakes like everyone else. And when I do, the consequences are severe. Everyone expects a lot from someone with my… abilities."

Shepard could tell that she wasn't exactly happy to be genetically altered and he was convinced that she was a liability. "Thanks for the information, Miranda. I'll talk to you later."

"Of course, Commander," said Miranda sitting back at her desk. "Whatever you need."

Shepard made his way to the mess hall and found the mess sergeant. He was certainly quite a character. Shepard in question his abilities, but he would have preferred that the man cleaning the toilets didn't make the food.

"Commander Shepard." He heard the familiar voice as soon as he walked into sickbay. "I watched the Normandy crumble with you on board. It's good to see you alive."

"I'm shocked. You're serving on a Cerberus vessel now?" he stared.

"Surprising, even to me," Doctor Chakwas nodded. "Yet, here I am." She then looked at him with a slight concerned look. "The kind of trauma you endured would've changed most people, but not you, I see. Welcome back, Shepard."

They chatted for a moment before and she said that she couldn't live without flying on a proper warship rather than being stuck in a medical bay on Mars. She also made it quite firm that she didn't work for Cerberus but for him and she agreed with him that Cerberus couldn't be trusted.

Shepard then went to the armoury to see how Jacob was settling in. The man had been put in charge and organising their weapons.

He saluted when he saw him approach. "Commander. There hasn't been time to really settle in and take stock. I want to say that working with you is a great opportunity to do something that matters. It's a privilege to serve on the Normandy, Commander."

"You may change your tune if we end up like the original Normandy," said Shepard leaning back on the table.

"Maybe. As long as the Illusive Man walks his talk, and you do the same, I'll do my best to make sure we succeed. That's been the condition for my service so far. I have issues with certain actions Cerberus has taken in the past."

Shepard took note that Jacob understood why Cerberus has been named a terrorist organisation and acknowledge their unethical projects. "I'm looking forward to working with you Mr. Taylor."

"Likewise, Commander. Let me know if you need anything."

Ashley smiled when she recognised the name on the communication unit, and immediately hit the button. "Tali."

"Ashley, I need you to sit down."

"Tali, I am sitting." Ashley raised an eyebrow at the quarian.

She took a deep breath. "Shepard's alive."

Her eyes widened as she stared at Tali through the monitor. "What?"

"He was on Freedom's Progress, and he…"

"It's not true." Ashley shook her head.

"Ash—"

"I heard that rumour too. It's just a rumour. You know—"

"I saw him, Ashely." Tali sighed. "I spoke to him. And he was accompanied by two members of Cerberus—"

"No!" Ashley shook her head. "Shepard would never—"

"It was him, Kaidan—"

"This isn't funny, Tali. It's sick." Ashley shook her head.

"Ash—"

"Shepard's dead!"

"He—"

"He's dead!" Ashley hit the button to disconnect the signal. Tali almost immediately called again, and she set her VI to ignore it. Her hands were shaking when she stood up.

She went to the window, looking out at the stars. Of all the people to…How could Tali have fallen for an impersonation? She and Shepard had spoken often enough. She sighed. Or maybe she was just the victim of wishful thinking. Shepard had practically adopted Tali. Losing him devastated her as much as a devastated her.

And Cerberus would use something like that against them. All Shepard had done, and Cerberus would dare use his name to… She shook her head, and folded her arms before leaning her forehead against the window.

The last time he'd heard from Garrus had been five months ago. The turian had left the Citadel after he'd quit Spectre training. It was hard trying to keep in touch with Liara when they really couldn't tell each other anything they were doing. And he hadn't spoken to Joker since Joker had quit the Alliance. Without Shepard, it had all just fallen apart.

Anderson had been trying tightly to find proof of Reapers, but that was easier said than done. Despite being part of the Council he was unable to convince the Council and the Alliance of the truth. Everything Shepard had worked for was being destroyed and how could she buy these rumours of his survival. More than two years since Shepard had failed to follow Joker out of the escape pod, and here he was, pining like a teenager. Shepard would have contacted her, if he'd somehow survived.

He actually jumped a little when the comm unit beeped again. He opened the channel. "Councillor Anderson…"