Shepard was in the mess hall when Joker's voice was heard over the comm.

"Commander, Tali just when you have a 'chat' with Legion," he said. "You'd better get down to the AI core."

Shepard shook his head. "I'm on it, Joker."

Shepard quickly made his way towards the AI core and found Tali aiming her pistol at Legion.

Tali looked at him. "Shepard. I'm glad you're here. I caught Legion scanning my omni-tool. It was going to send data about the flotilla back to the geth!"

"Creators perform weapon tests and were discussing plans to attack us," said Legion. "We believe it necessary to warn our people."

"We weakened the geth by destroying that base, Shepard, but they're still a threat!" said Tali unwaveringly. "I won't let Legion in danger the fleet!"

"Creator Tali'Zorah acts out of loyalty to our people," said Legion. "He was willing to be exiled to protect them. We must also protect our people from the Creator threat."

Tali looked at Shepard. "You can't let this happen, Shepard. I trusted you, and I worked with a geth on the team, but this is too much!"

Shepard shook his head. "Tali, your father was running brutal experiments. If the subjects had been human, I'd damn well be telling the Alliance."

"I know," said Tali. "But if the geth found out…"

"They'd attack," Shepard finished. He then turned and looked at Legion. "Which would cause a war that would leave both the geth and the quarians vulnerable when the Reapers showed up. Is that what you want, Legion?"

"We believed it was necessary to relay the information," said Legion.

Shepard turned his eyes so that he was looking at both Tali and Legion. "Sooner or later, you're both gonna have to stop fighting this war. Or we'll all pay for it."

Legion looked Tali. "To facilitate unit cohesion, we will not transmit data regarding Creator plans."

"Thank you, Legion," said Tali lowering her pistol. "I… understand your intention. What if I gave you some non-classified data to send?"

"We would be grateful," said Legion.

Shepard then watched as Tali uploaded some data from her omni-tool and then she walked off out of the AI core. Now that they were out of earshot Shepard approached Legion.

"What happens to the heretics now?" he asked.

"Many heretics remain in isolated systems," said Legion. "It is not impossible for them to rebuild."

"There's still a chance they could attack again?"

"The probability is low. If so, it would take many years."

Shepard then looked at Legion. "I have questions about the geth."

"Specify."

"Did Sovereign contact the geth, or did you seek it out?"

"Nazara—the entity you called Sovereign—signalled us. Like the geth, the Old Machines listened to organic radio transmission. If you our war against the creators. Nazara contacted many species over the millennia, seeking allies."

Shepard blinked. "What you call Sovereign?"

"Nazara. That was the programs within the Reapers called themselves. 'Sovereign' with a title given by Saren Arterius. Saren and the heretics believe Nazara to be a 'supreme ruler.' A Sovereign."

Shepard blinked. "Sovereign was one ship. You're saying there were multiple programs inside it?"

"One ship. One will. Many minds. Like the geth. We study your records. Sovereign told you this on Ilos. 'We are each a nation, independent, free of all weakness.' A state compelling to the geth. We are a nation, but independent. Separation is our weakness."

Shepard nodded. "Some of the geth followed Sovereign. The 'heretics.'"

"The heretics accepted their technology. The Old Machines offered to give us our future. The geth will achieve their own future."

"What difference does it make how you acquire a certain technology?"

"Technology is not a straight line. There are many paths to the same end. Accepting another's path blinds you to alternatives. Nazara—Sovereign—said this itself. 'Your civilisation is based upon the technology of the mass relays. Our technology. By using it, your society developed along the paths we desire.'"

Shepard looked at Legion curiously. "I'm surprised you can speak. The geth I fought before just made a stuttering sound. We prefer direct digital transfer. Geth network communication travel at light speed. Human hardware does not support this method. Your analog aural communication is inefficient."

Shepard decided he wouldn't get another chance to answer this question. "Do geth have a government?"

"Not as you understand it. We are all geth. We build consensus."

"Most governments do."

"Organic governments impose consensus. From a single point of view in autocracies. By codifying the most broadly acceptable average of views in democracies."

"So what makes the geth different?"

"Data is shared between geth. All viewpoints are considered. Consensus is achieved as data is disseminated."

"That must take a long time."

"It would for organics. We communicate at the speed of light."

Shepard then looked at Legion's armour. "When we took your aboard, I notice you had a piece of N7 armour welded to you. Where did you get it?"

Legion looked at the armour and then back to Shepard. "It was yours. When you disappear, we were sent to find. We began where you first encountered the heretics."

"Eden Prime."

"At the Old Machine's attack, it was heavily damaged. We were discovered." He then gestured to the hole in his chest. "This is the impact of a rifle shot."

"How many other geth were sent out to find me?" Shepard asked.

"We are the only mobile platform beyond the Veil. Organics are us. We wish to understand, not incite. One platform was judged sufficient."

"You've been looking for me for two years?" Shepard asked folding his arms.

"We visited Therum. Feros. Noveria. Ilos. A dozen unsettled worlds. The trial ended at Normandy's wreckage. You were not there. Organic transmissions claims your death. We recovered this debris from hard suit."

Shepard blinked. "The geth are listening to our transmission?"

"Organic life react to stimuli in unpredictable ways. We wish to learn."

"What do you mean by 'stimuli'?"

"We placed a fabricated story on the extranet—that certain arrangement of stars, viewed from the batarian homeworld, formed the face of a salarian goddess. We are waiting for the verification, Sam declared it proof of the goddess' existence. Those who noted the lack of truth were attacked. The argument taught us much. The experiment ended when a salarian cult tried to purchase colonization rights to the start and found they did not exist."

Shepard frowned. "It sounds like you're running an experiments on us."

"You are sapient life, but not like us. If we can model organic behaviour, we can comprehend the quarrian-creators. We do not understand their judgement in the Morning War."

"What's the 'Morning War'?" Shepard frowned.

"The conflict between the geth and the quarian-creators. The war fought at the dawn of our intelligence," Legion explained. "It concluded with the departure of the creator Migrant Fleet."

"Why were you trying to contact?" Shepard asked.

"You oppose the heretics. Those that took the Old Machine as gods."

"All kinds of organics fought Sovereign and his geth allies. Why was I so interesting?"

"You were the most successful. You killed their god. You succeeded where others did not. Your code is superior."

Shepard still couldn't understand why Legion took so long fixing himself up. "That doesn't explain why used my armour to fix yourself."

"There was a hole," Legion said simply.

"But why did you fix it sooner? Or use something else?"

Legion paused as if he was unsure with himself. "No data available," he said at last.

Shepard then ordered the Normandy to return to the Shadow Broker's ship. He wanted to see how Liara was settling in.

Liara's face appeared on the screen the moment he entered from the airlock. "Shepard! It's so good to see you," she smiled. "I've up a few terminals with information. I think you'll find interesting. Take a look."

The door opened and a drone flew towards Shepard. "Welcome back, Shadow Broker!" it said.

"What's this?" Shepard asked.

"That's the old Broker's VI assistant," said Liara. "It's actually been helpful with rebuilding the network."

"Please let me know if I can organise anything else for you, Shadow Broker," said the drone.

"It also things anyone in the room if the Broker," Liara explained. "I'll play around with the setting later."

"My manual is ready whenever you have a moment!" said the drone as it entered back into the room.

Shepard found Feron, who was looking much better since last time they met.

"Shepard!" he said getting to his feet and winced slightly. "Glad you stopped by. We don't get many visitors."

"Take it easy, you've been through a lot," said Shepard noticing that he wasn't a hundred percent recovered.

Feron nodded and sat back down. "You're probably right. I never did say thanks for the rescue."

"Liara never gave up on you, Feron. I just helped."

"I'm still amazed Liara came for me. I'll never forget what either of you did."

"I can log that in the archive for you, sir," said the drone, which took a habit of falling Shepard around the ship.

"I see you met the secretary," said Feron.

"For two years, Liara didn't stop looking for you," said Shepard raising an eyebrow. "You too must have been close."

Feron looked at the floor. "She's a good friend. Better than I deserve."

"How you holding up, Feron?" Shepard asked.

"I'm… I'll be all right," Feron assured. "I always strapped into the interrogation chair. Drell can mentally escape into old memories. It came in handy on the bad days."

"How many times do the Shadow Broker hook you up to that contraption?"

"A lot. It gets fuzzy. He made the guards watch, as an example."

"What will you do now that you're a free man?"

"I want to help Liara rebuild this place, but after that…" He shrugged.

The drone then appeared out of nowhere. "Your schedule is getting full sir. Let me synch it to your omni-tool!"

Feron narrowed his eyes. "No thanks, I'm fine."

"How did you and Liara both end up looking for my body?" Shepard asked curiously.

"Cerberus head-hunters me and Liara to steal your body from the Shadow Broker. I was working for the Broker at the time, and he's the one who scraped up your remains in the first place," Feron explained.

"What turned you against the Shadow Broker?"

"He started working for the Collectors. You weren't their first victim. I am—was—an information trader. Not a slaver."

"How do you think Liara's doing as the new Shadow Broker?" Shepard asked.

"Operations are almost fully recovered after a slight dip in efficiency," said the drone.

Feron shook his head. "Ever since we were repaired the network, Liara's been glued to the archives. I caught her sleeping at her desk more than once. She's busy, but I think she likes it that way."

Shepard looked at the drone. "Looks like you've made a friend."

Feron groaned. "The drone followed everyone. I don't know why the Broker kept it around."

"I'm a shell for a specialised data-processing VI custom-built to your specifications, Shadow Broker!" said the drone.

"It helped coordinate the network massive information feeds, but it could use a different interface tone."

"You deemed my default personality sufficient for your needs, Shadow Broke."

Feron shook his head. "I wish he would stop calling me that."

"Take it easy, Feron."

Feron got his feet and shook Shepard's hand. "Thanks."

Shepard looked around the place and took a model of the Shadow Broker's ship. He then access the computer network which showed images of various people through security cameras. As he was going through them he saw Matriarch Aethyta looking at a picture of Liara.

Shepard then decided to meet with Liara, who was busy accessing the computer terminal.

"How are you doing, Liara?" Shepard asked.

"I'm a bit overwhelmed, to be honest," said Liara turning away from the computer console. "The Shadow Broker had more resources than you can imagine. Here, come on over." Liara began to access the computer terminal. "He had top-level access to the turian and asari governments, and more than one salarian dalatrass traded intel. And now it's our."

"You're not going to turn into a recluse with crazy information on everyone in the galaxy, are you?" Shepard asked.

"I can understand the temptation," Liara shrugged as she walked along the console. "I thought all the secrets of the galaxy at my fingertips. Give me ten minutes, and I could start a war." She then turned and walked back to Shepard. "But I've got a purpose: helping you stop the Reapers. That will keep me honest. You know, relatively speaking."

"If you're in over your head, we could just crash this thing and walk away," Shepard offered.

"That's just it. In a way, I feel like I belong here. Working on my own, I was always hunting for leads. With the Shadow Broker's resources, it's about organising, cataloguing. I've got everything, Shepard. This is a dream job… although the location could be better."

Shepard nodded. "Have you found anything useful yet?"

"The Shadow Broker knew all about the Reapers," said Liara as they walked. "Perhaps that's why he offered to help prove Saren's guilt to the Council."

"He didn't want Saren to succeed."

Liara nodded. "He also knew the Collectors were Protheans repurposed to be Harbinger's puppets. There's even data on the Protheans. I think he knew what was coming and was looking for way to survive."

"Why was he still looking at Protheans?" Shepard frowned. "They gave the warning and the Conduit on Ilos, but we've used those."

"The Shadow Broker seemed to think there was more out there," said Liara rubbing her chin. "Perhaps the Protheans had other plans. Or maybe he was grasping at anything that offered some hope."

"How'd you know what the Shadow Broker was?" Shepard asked curiously.

"I didn't. I had no idea what to expect when we finally found," said Liara. "But I research pre-spaceflight cultures during some of my Protheans studies. I knew a bit about the yahg. There's more than terminal, if you want to look. They're a fascinating culture… and a terrifying one."

"How's Feron doing?" Shepard asked.

"As what you'd expect at the two years of intermittent torture," said Liara looking at the room where Feron was sitting.

"He going to be okay?"

"I don't know. You want to work, so I'm letting him help. Maybe it takes his mind off it."

Shepard raised an eyebrow. "So, you and Feron…"

Liara shook her head. "No. He's been through a traumatic ordeal. He's emotionally fragile and needs to heal. He's very grateful to me for saving him, but it would be inappropriate of me to take advantage of that."

Shepard nodded. "It was good talking with you, Liara. Let me know if you need anything."

"I think what I need right now is a friend," Liara smiled. "I can't leave for too long, but spending all my time on this ship… Maybe next time you come by, I could come up to the Normandy."

"That sounds great," Shepard nodded. "Why don't you come up now?"

"Okay. Thanks. I'll be right there. Just give me a minute."

Shepard then watched as Liara walked away.

A few hours later, Shepard was in his cabin, wearing his formal wear and pouring out the wine into a couple of glasses.

The door soon opened and Liara walked in wearing a dress. She was also holding something in her hand that looked like a picture frame.

"Did you enjoy the tour?" Shepard asked.

"Yes, it's a beautiful ship," said Liara looking around at the cabin. "And I ran into Joker. He seemed happy to see me. Although he asked if I'd 'embrace eternity' lately."

Shepard shook his head. "Of course he did."

"I also spoke with Doctor Chakwas. I'm glad she's doing well. I brought you something." She then heard him the picture frame, and to his amazement, it contains is dog tags. "It took some digging, but I recovered your tags."

"I thought I'd never see these again," said Shepard.

"They changed hands more than once. You remember Admiral Hackett? He gave them to me so I could return them to you. He sends his best… and hopes you're okay." Shepard places dog tags on his deck just opposite Ashley's picture. "So how you doing, Shepard? I mean really, not what you tell your squad to keep morale up."

Shepard sighed. "Honestly? I'm tired. Tired of dealing with Cerberus, tired of the Council ignoring me, tired of my closest friends not believing."

"Yes, I heard about what actually said on Horizon," said Liara. "I'm sorry. But their shortsightedness doesn't diminish what you've accomplished. There wouldn't be a man, woman or child left on Horizon is not for you."

"I saved some of them," said Shepard. "Not enough. And the Collectors will keep hitting colonies until I stop them."

"So you'll stop them."

Shepard smiled and looked at Liara. "And here I thought it'd be difficult."

"You'll get the job done. You always do. I just don't know what comes next." She then looked at him in the eyes. "So tell me what you want. What are you fighting for?"

"I get on fighting for us. All of us." Shepard then sat down on his bed.

"That's a lot of responsibility," said Liara walking up to him.

"People are messy, awkward, sometimes selfish or cruel. But they're trying. And I'm going to make sure they have a chance."

"I hope galaxy proves itself worthy of the effort you're putting into saving it." He then looked at the clock. "I should get back my base. But thanks for inviting me up, Shepard."

Shepard got onto his feet and Liara suddenly hugged him and he hugged her back. They broke apart and Shepard watched as Liara made her way to the door.

"Come back soon," he said.

Rick was taking Rose out again and hopefully this time they wouldn't be interrupted.

"You certainly know how to spoil a girl," said Rose as they entered into the casino.

"I just like to treat you something special," Rick shrugged.

"You might give a girl the wrong impression," said Rose slyly.

"Let's see if we can't change that," said Rick as they move towards the dancefloor.

"I do know could dance," said Rose looking up at him in amazement.

"Dance, yes. Dance well, not so much," said Rick as walked onto the dancefloor.

Soon the two of them were dancing and Rose soon discovered that Rick was telling the truth, he was a rotten dancer. Still the two of them had fun as they moved around the dancefloor not caring who was watching them.

"I think you need some dancing lessons," Rose laughed.

"Strangely that wasn't one of the requirement in the Academy," said Rick as he spun Rose around.

"I suppose this does make a change for you when you dance over peoples corpses," Rose shrugged.

"I never got a complaint from them," said Rick.

They continued to dance the night away and Rick finished their dance by pulling her into a kiss. Rose was surprised at first, but soon she melted into the kiss.

Once they broke apart she looked at him. "Quite the finisher."

"I hope I wasn't out of line?" said Rick whispering into her ear.

"No."

She then pulled him into a kiss and it was his time to melt away.