Good morning, afternoon, or whatever time of the day it is when you are reading this. Alright, so I suppose that I've already made all of my introductions, blah blah blah. Before I start, to anyone who reads this and has a Facebook account, please like the Demand A Better Ending to Mass Effect 3 page. As the slogan of the Retake movement states, "Hold the line!"

Also, today's song of the day is Drive by Incubus.

Disclaimer! I do not own any rights to these characters or the song.

"Well, right now, if there's one thing I'm thankful for, it's that my shotgun survived the crash." Tali said to Garrus as they walked along the rocky ground of the valley.

They had been walking for the good part of an hour now, having just reached the mouth of the valley. When Garrus and James had told about their scouting operation, Tali was torn between whether to go scout out the shuttle, or to just leave it. After all, the Normandy's crew was not in the best fighting shape and Tali had no idea how many Cerberus soldiers could be on the shuttle. On the other hand, Tali didn't want to risk giving a Cerberus squad the element of surprise. Since the loss of Shepard, Tali and Garrus had become the de facto commanders of the remaining Normandy crew, and Tali knew that her decision decided the fate of the crew.

Not wanting to appear uncertain of herself, the young quarian had called for a council among the senior members of the crew. It had taken a couple minutes of quiet arguing, but it was decided that Tali, Garrus, Ashley, and James would scout out the shuttle. Before they had reached the mouth of the valley, Ashley and James had split off, traveling along the valley ridge to provide overwatch.

"Glad you're comfortable knowing you could hit the broad side of a turian frigate." Garrus muttered irritably to himself as he slowly advanced forward, towards a particularly barren patch of ground.

In fact, the pistol Garrus had in his hands was not unfamiliar to him, but it was definitely no sniper rifle. To say that Garrus was heartbroken when he found the warped and broken remains of his Mantis would have been an understatement. Hours spent calibrating the sights, cleaning the barrel and polishing the frame suddenly felt wasted and it was hard to not feel even more bitter about the current situation. Losing his sniper rifle was more like losing a friend, really. He remembered all the good times he'd had with that gun, besting Shepard and how-

"Garrus!"

Tali's cry snapped Garrus out of his thoughts as he whirled around quickly, gun drawn, senses alert to any hostile in the vicinity. Slowly, sheepishly, Garrus realized that there was no current threat in the area. Rather, too preoccupied by his own thoughts he had strayed too far forward, breaking the formation that Tali and he had developed in the dangerous confines of this valley.

The formation they were using was an old Alliance marines trick, used to counter possible ambushes in hostile or unknown territory with little cover available. Years ago, during a botched expedition on Daratar, a group of Alliance marines were pin downed by a group of Batarian mercenaries. The Batarians were forced to retreat, but harassed the marines by planning small raids in the vast deserts of the world. Knowing that surprise was a crucial element to any battle, the Alliance squad leader devised a tactic dubbed "Look. Shout. Shoot."

In the vast desert of Daratar, the Batarians were able to hide behind small outcrops of rocks and surprise the marines. So, instead of sending his whole squad forward at once, the commander sent a small group of soldiers forward at intervals of twenty meters, while the rest of the squad waited, keeping lookout. The first instruction given to the marines was to shout at any sign of movement, no matter what. Any sneaky Batarians trying to ruin an Alliance soldier's day would have then found themselves pumped full of hot, metal slugs from several automatic rifles.

While the "Look. Shout. Shoot." technique was simple and time consuming, it was also incredibly effective at neutralizing the threat of an ambush. However, it required a vast amount of patience and concentration, especially in a squad of only two soldiers. Garrus mentally scolded himself fiercely, knowing his mistake could have been fatal.

"Sorry, Tali. I was just preoccupied, I won't get distracted again." As he said this, he knew that it was the truth. Garrus was a soldier above all else, this was what he was trained for everyday.

"It's alright Garrus, we've all got a lot on our minds." Tali sympathized.

Garrus nodded once, knowing the mental turmoil Tali must have been feeling these past few days. However, they were in a delicate situation and Garrus knew now was not the time for a fluffy-feely-heart-felt-talk.

Several hours later, when the sun of this planet was at the highest point in the sky, Garrus and Tali made their way to the end of the valley. They scrambled their way up a steep, rocky incline, pausing as they surveyed the vast jungle that loomed before them.

"Alright, the shuttle should be five klicks southeast of this position." Garrus said to Tali, looking along the ridge of the valley they had just passed through. Faintly, he could make out the light blue armor Ashley wore and small flashes as the sun reflected off of the dull metal of James' Mattock rifle.

Tali walked up beside Garrus, staring out at the strange beauty of this foreign world. "So, what do you suppose we'll find at the landing site?"

"Trouble," Garrus said, a light tone in his voice, "it is Cerberus after all. Though, it was only one shuttle, so I doubt it will be too much for us to handle."

Tali smiled slightly, "We just faced a whole army of Reapers. Facing a Cerberus squad right now will feel like a walk through the park."

Both companions smiled at each other, as Ashley and James emerged from a grouping of trees, walking to meet up with their squad mates and friends. James ran a hand through his mohawk, knocking a few leaves from his hair.

"So Sparks, how are we gonna go about doing this?" James asked, using his nickname for the quarian admiral.

It was a true shame that James wasn't able to see Tali glaring at him through her mask. However, Tali had already grown accustomed to James' nicknames for the crew, and was quick to let it go.

Tali thought for a moment, before deciding that a simple approach would be best. "Well, I suppose we'll have to see how many Cerberus soldiers there are, and then try and flank them. Hopefully we'll catch them by surprise."

James nodded once, already slightly feeling the effects of adrenaline pumping through his blood. This was a feeling James knew well, the heightened awareness, the faint sound of his own heartbeat in his head, the small knot in his stomach. He always felt this right before going on a mission. What separated James from most soldiers was that while a normal man might tense up from these feelings and become nervous, James let these effects come naturally. James had mastered the difficult art of letting his body relax before a fight, something that had saved his life numerous times.

Garrus let a moment pass before pointing toward the direction they were headed, saying, "Alright, let's move out. I want a five meter spread, keep sharp everyone."

After that, with nothing else needing to be said, the squad began working their way through the dense forest, aware of the fact that this could end in complete disaster.

"Goddamnit! How did I lose again! This is bullshit and you know it, you cheater!"

Field Commander Kate Caruso simply giggled as her friend and squad mate raged uncontrollably at his third lost hand in a row. Well…his losing streak didn't really have anything to do with his bad luck, as the aces hidden in Kate's boot could attest to, but Kate decided that it was best for her health if she left that little fact unsaid. Kate had been smart enough to see the opportunity to best Griffon in a few games of poker, but she was also smart enough to realize when her luck would run out. She knew that after one more lost hand, Griffon would know she was cheating, so she decided to cut her winnings now.

Pulling the pile of berries they had been using as bargaining chips towards her, Kate smiled up at the raging youth. "Always remember, don't try and best your superiors," she said, a knowing smile lighting up her beautiful face.

Griffon simply snorted, not falling for Kate's charms. "More like don't try and best your elders," he muttered, earning himself a death glare.

In reality, Kate was really only seven years older than Griffon, who was a tall, muscular, blonde youth of nineteen. Kate, on the other hand, was short, around 5'5", and very slim. Her long, wavy black hair was as black as midnight, and it framed a beautiful face that bore the marks of battle and stress. She was the kind of women that could turn a Krogan's head, and just as easily make that same Krogan piss himself.

Ignoring Griffon's snide remarks, Kate leaned back against the tree she had been sitting next to, hearing the rough bark scratching against her combat armor. Making a small pile out of the berries on her lap, she picked one up and popped it in her mouth, cherishing the way the sweet juices tasted as she chewed the berry slowly. She could practically hear Griffon salivating on himself and smirked to herself slightly. Serves him right, she thought.

Knowing he would not be getting any of the hard scavenged treats, Griffon huffed to himself, wiped a little drool form his lip, and went to sit by the campfire. He made a large show of sitting down, making as much noise as he could manage, and sat there, poking the fire. He even threw in a few grumbles, which Griffon thought was a nice touch, yet Kate was either too happy eating, or just chose to ignore him.

Eventually, Griffon decided that no matter how hard he tried to be annoying, Kate was just too stubborn and selfish to share. Just the thought of those berries set his stomach grumbling, and Griffon clutched at it pitifully.

"I can stand all of the huffing and puffing, but tell that bear of a stomach of yours to keep quiet, will ya?"

Griffon jumped slightly, startled, at the sudden abrupt demand from the deep voice behind him. He twisted his head over his shoulder, staring at the black bundle of clothes that was nestled in the crook of a nearby tree.

"Yeah, well at least it wasn't as bad as your snoring, Skinner." Griffon shot back, glad his friend was finally awake.

The man untangled his arms from the blanket he was using, stretching them high above his head, his muscles aching from lack of use. He scratched the back of his head absently, yawning as he did so, replying through the yawn. "I don't snore."

Griffon grinned, "Oh? So what was that noise coming from your mouth? I believe it's something people do when they are asleep…oh yeah, it's called snoring." In truth, Skinner had not been snoring at all, but Griffon was prone to exaggerate, and he needed something to argue about.

"Griffon Hayrick Driscoll, the day I start snoring, is the day you learn to shut your damn mouth." Skinner replied curtly, standing up and stretching out his muscles as he did so.

Chief Warrant Officer Vincent "Skinner" Taylor was, without a doubt, one of Griffon's best friends, and had been the one to recruit Griffon into Saber squad. Tall, slim and lithe, Vincent was built like a runner, able to run for hours on end, one of the reasons why he was the squad's recon commander. Unlike Griffon's short blonde hair, Vincent had dark auburn hair, reaching the middle of his neck, and spiky in the front.

Even after knowing Vincent for at least a dozen years, Griffon had never managed to cajole Vincent into talking about his life before being recruited into Saber squad. All he could manage to get out of Vincent was that as a child, he had often been the victim of much abuse for his heterochromia iridum.

Like his mother, Vincent had been born with a lack of melanin in his right eye, causing it to become hypo chromatic. The result was the iris of his right eye changing from a dark, rich brown, into a bright, vibrant blue, giving Vincent a slightly manic look. Griffon had grown accustomed to Vincent's stare, but even so, could only hold eye contact for about twenty seconds at most.

Griffon grinned, unperturbed by the use of his full name, "So you're saying that day will never happen?"

Vincent smirked, something he did often, "Exactly, glad to see you've finally understood that." Turning to Kate, Vincent made a flourishing bow, holding his head down and his knee bent. "Kate, looking more beautiful every time I blink."

Kate smiled, knowing exactly what Vincent wanted. "So you think a few compliments will get me to share with you, huh?" Vincent smiled innocently, aware that his intentions had been found out. Sighing in mock irritation, Kate decided she would not be able to eat in peace, so she chucked a few of the decedent berries at Vincent's face, who caught them happily.

"What! How come he gets some, but I-" Before Griffon could begin another rant, Vincent held up on finger discreetly by his side. Instantly, Griffon quieted, knowing that while Vincent kept up the pretense of chewing, he was concentrating very hard on something. Kate had also seemed to find something to occupy her interest, in this case, the dirt stuck in her boot, but was listening intently.

Griffon knew instantly that Vincent had detected some type of threat, had heard some noise that was different than the normal noises of the jungle they were in. Griffon busied himself with tending the fire, adding small twigs to it while he waited anxiously.

Slowly, very quietly, Vincent said, "Griffon, over my left shoulder." When Griffon turned his head to look at the direction, Vincent shook his head unobtrusively. "No, don't turn your head, just look with your eyes. Use your peripheral."

Understanding dawned on Griffon, and seeming to look at Vincent's face, he was really staring slightly over his shoulder, searching. Still searching, he tried to strike up a conversation.

"So, what's up with you Skinner?" Griffon asked, using Vince's nickname.

Vincent raised an eyebrow, "What's up with me? Well, let's see, we're on a deserted planet, barely any food, scarce ammo, and you woke me up from my nap. What's up with you Grif?"

Being so focused on his current task, Griffon found it hard to come up with a crushing reply, so he instead settled for a small shrug. After an intense amount of searching, Griffon decided that there was no threat and Vincent had been wrong. For once.

"Well, I can't see anything Skinner, maybe you're just losing your touch?" Griffon said, grinning, at the same exact moment he heard a soft click, right next to his ear. Whirling around, Griffon realized something was blocking his vision. A gun barrel, to be exact.

Sighing, Vincent pressed his fingers to his temples, completely unsurprised at the sudden appearance of the four soldiers. In fact, Vincent had allowed them to overtake the campsite, knowing that a fight would be disastrous to both sides, but mostly to teach Grif a lesson.

"Alright, put your guns down, and then put your hands behind your heads." Said the turian, whom Vincent guessed was the leader of the group, considering the amount of command in his voice. This one, Vincent thought, would be a bit of a handful.

Slowly, Vincent and Kate, who had had her hand ready to draw her weapon, tossed their pistols to the ground, kicking them towards a muscular looking human soldier.

Grif, who was still staring, somewhat cross eyed, at the barrel of the gun, noticed who was holding him captive, and smirked slightly.

"Well now, who might you be, sweetie?" He asked to the very attractive brunette that was glaring down at him.

The brunette in the light blue armor glared even harder, putting as much venom into her voice as she could, "I'm the one who's about a half pound of trigger force away from putting a whole between your beady eyes. Give me a reason not to."

Griffon smirked more, liking the fire in this young woman. "Well, I can give you several right now. I'm very attractive, charming, and I can play the guitar pretty well, if I do say so myself." Slowly, dawning of what the woman had said worked its way through Griffon's thick skull and he scowled slightly. "My eyes are not beady, thank you very much." He said with slight indignation.

Before the brunette could reply, Vincent and Kate, much to Griffon's chagrin, uttered a few barks of laughter, catching the four soldiers off guard.

"Grif, yours eyes are even more beady than a varen's." Vincent said, uttering a few giggles from Kate.

Overcoming his shock, the turian tilted his head slightly, "You seem awfully calm, considering the situation you're in."

Vincent smiled easily at the turian, who didn't seem impressed and said, "Well, I figure that if you wanted us dead, you could have already shot us by now, no?"

Conceding the point, the turian nodded, and then asked, more seriously, "Alright. Now, who are you? We already know you are Cerberus, but Cerberus was destroyed. What are you doing here?"

Vincent thought for a moment, then decided that he would risk asking a question of his own. "Well…first, how about we all sit down around the fire, yeah?"

The turian laughed, a laugh devoid of humor, and stared at the Cerberus operative slightly, "Why should we let you do that?"

"Well, we would all be more comfortable, and I figure that we could have a civil conversation, yeah? I mean, you also already took our weapons, what harm can we do?" Vincent smiled disarmingly at the turian, trying to get him to see his logic.

"Garrus."

The turian, whom Vincent now knew as Garrus, turned to look at the quarian, who had been quiet so far. The quarian slowly lowered her shotgun, but Vincent noticed she still kept it ready in case she needed to use it.

The quarian nodded slightly, saying, "Don't worry Garrus, I don't trust Cerberus at all, but they have no weapons, and my legs are a little sore from the walk here."

Garrus shrugged slightly, and lowered his pistol down, nodding at Ashley and James to do the same.

Vincent smiled at the quarian, motioning for everyone to come sit down around the campfire. After everyone was seated somewhat comfortably, with the four Alliance soldiers on one side of the fire and the three Cerberus operatives on the opposite side.

"Well, I suppose that since we are the captives, we may as well start answering the first questions, no?" Vincent asked. Before he received a reply, Vincent stuck one of his hands out at the quarian.

"I'm Chief Warrant Officer Vincent Taylor, Recon Commander of Saber Squad." Vincent said, his slight Russian accent coming out, which Griffon noticed. Vincent's accent never really showed, until he was either incredibly angry, or on edge.

The quarian simply stared at his outstretched hand, making no attempt to shake hands. Vince smiled slightly to himself, understanding why he was being greeted with such hostility and he took no offense.

"Well, this beautiful woman to my left is Field Commander Kate Caruso, formerly assigned to Heavy squad. This ugly bastard to my right is Staff Sergeant Griffon Driscoll, Saber squad."

As Vincent said their introductions, Kate bowed her head deeply, while Griffon simply grunted. Vincent then made a small gesture with his hand, signifying that he would now like to know the name of his captors.

The quarian took the lead, but not before hesitating a moment, "My name is Tali Zorah nar Rayya, admiral of the quarian fleet. Garrus Vakarian, former C-Sec officer. James Vega, N7 soldier. And finally, Lieutenant Commander Ashley Williams."

Upon hearing these names, Tali could practically see Griffon's eyes popping out of his head, while the leader, Vincent, and the woman, Kate, were more subtle about their surprise.

Slowly, Vincent rubbed at his goatee, narrowing his eyes slightly. "You were all Commander Seán Shepard's old crew members, weren't you?"

Slowly, Tali nodded her head, no doubt aware that Cerberus had had extensive bios about Shepard and all of his old squad mates.

Faintly, the crunching of twigs and the sound of voices carried through the wind, reaching the ears of everyone at the campsite. Garrus and James quickly stood up, guns drawn, while Tali and Ashley locked their sights on the three Cerberus soldiers across from them.

Standing up slowly, Vincent held up his hands, "Don't worry, don't worry. Miss Tali Zorah, please, don't worry, those are just our companions coming back from a scav search."

Tali narrowed her eyes at Vincent, gun held level with his eyes, "You mean there is more of you?"

Vincent nodded, still holding his hands by his head, "Yes, we sent the rest of our squad out for a scav search a few hours ago. Please, calm down. We have not been associated with Cerberus for a while now, we are not here to cause you any harm. After all, we are all stranded together, no?"

Tali, eyes still narrowed, slowly lowered her gun, motioning for Garrus, Ashley and James to do the same. "Alright then…lead the way."

Vincent smiled at the quarian admiral, a smile that Tali found to be quite cute actually, and said, "Well alright then. Come, let's go meet the rest of the squad, shall we?"