Authors Notes: This covers Mass Effect 2. As you'll notice, the last couple of chapters don't have any summary. But then, those are obvious for what they're about, I think.
Chapter 1 - Meeting Lazarus
POV: Shepard
Shepard has woken up from her sleep and escaped Lazarus Station. Now she's on her way to Minuteman Station, to meet the man behind Project Lazarus
Chapter 2 - Finding Veetor
POV: Tali
A human colony has been attacked, and The Quarians are investigating, mostly because one of their own was on that planet. And so, they send out Tali'Zorah Vas Neema to investigate and Find Veetor.
Chapter 3 - Home
POV: Alex
Arriving home from Lazarus Station, Alex, Irina and Marina go through the files downloaded, and treasure the trove they found there.
Chapter 4 - Heading for Freedom's Progress
POV: Shepard
Sent by The Illusive Man, Shepard heads to Freedom's Progress with Cerberus Officer Miranda Lawson and familiar face Cerberus Operative Jacob Taylor.
Chapter 5 - Chasing Shuttles
POV: Alex
Having received a coded message from Tali, Alex and Marina head for Freedom's Progress, and meeting up with them, putting them on a collision course Reunion...
Chapter 6 - Reunion
POV: Shepard
After a long time, Alex and Shepard are face to face, glad that the other is alive. But, of course, Alex has news to give Shepard, and there's the mission.
Chapter 7 - Separate Ways
POV: Alex
Mission Over, unfortunately neither Alex, Marina nor Tali can join up just yet with Shepard. At least Alex and Tali met Jacob before, so, there's that.
Chapter 8 - Trouble on Omega
POV: Garrus
They knew him as Archangel. They hated him, and he hated them. He knew what he'd become, and he knew that it was only made worse because he'd known it all along. But they killed his team, due a traitor, and now they were coming for him. But would help come too late?
Chapter 9 - Returning to Minuteman
POV: Shepard
They're on their way back to the Cerberus starbase where Shepard had spoken to TIM. But she can't help how she feels, about having seen him again, but his being unable to join her. At least, on arriving back at the station, TIM has something to distract her.
Chapter 10 - Informing Anderson
POV: Alex
On a routine supply run from Citadel to Argos Rho, Alex stops by Councillor Anderson's office, informing him of Shepard's return, and mission. There, he also picks up a mission from Anderson, to rescue an imprisoned Spectre on a Prison Ship...
Chapter 11 - Passing By Purgatory
POV: Alex
With his mission, and unique circumstances, using his alias 'Jack Bristow', Alex heads to the prison ship, knowing that as Jack Bristow, the guards can only find that he is 'worthless' except for a bit of money only he can access, which he is apparently willing to give up for this Spectre. But then, he doesn't expect their response
Chapter 12 - Receiving a Ship
POV: Shepard
She knows what's coming, but still, it doesn't take her long to be overwhelmed by her new ship. With Joker and Chakwas, she knows that soon it would become home. She just wished that the onboard AI wasn't, quite, so uptight. She can't wait to move on, but of course, she must go recruit her squad first...
Chapter 13 - Rescuing Alex
POV: Marina
Upon finding out her Dad has been isolated and imprisoned on Purgatory, the Prison Ship, Marina begins her first solo mission. She's inexperienced, but she hopes she can pull it off. She soon learns though, she can't do it all by herself. Thankfully, when she gets bogged down, she realises just who she can get to help. Of course, will she?
Chapter 14 - Dossier: The Warlord
POV: Shepard
Time is of the Essence, and she needs to get to Doctor Okeer (Or rather, Grunt, as she expects) What she doesn't expect, is Alex to not be there. They had planned out how to meet up after she got the Normandy. Fighting through mercenaries, she can't help but wonder just where her beau has gone. Has he abandoned her?
Chapter 15 - Escape
POV: Marina
A woman with loads of Tattoo's and massive anger problem. Yeah, others would have said it'd be impossible to convince Jack to help her. Just Marina, inexperienced and way over her head. But then, Marina's shuttle was keylocked to only her or her Dad. So there's that. Escaping Purgatory is dangerous, and not nearly as easy as the game ever made it out to be.
Chapter 16 - Welcome to Hazard Squad
POV: Alex
It's a surprise, but not unwelcome, when he finds that Marina got Jack to help bust him out. His own abilities at least keep Jack from just knocking him out and making 'Princess' take her someplace where she can hijack her own shuttle. Away from Purgatory, Alex begins the recruitment speech, hoping it would work...
Chapter 17 - Arriving on Omega
POV: Shepard
Omega, the ass end of the galaxy. What a highly-respected Salarian Doctor is doing there, they don't know, but at least they know where he is. Learning from Aria, they realise that Archangel can wait. There are Vorcha seeking to undermine the station, and Doctor Solus is the only one who can fix it.
Chapter 18 - Heading for Haestrom
POV: Tali
She knows she'll find, well, a certain something there, but she knows that the details that made it matter weren't in the game. So, with her team to defend her and the other scientists, her team begin their journey to a system who's sun is dying before its time.
Chapter 19 - Heading for Omega
POV: Alex
Alex, Marina and Jack are heading for Omega. The plan? Speak to Aria, go to Garrus, kill the Blood Pack, Eclipse and Blue Suns Mercenaries. Now that's a plan Jack can get on board with.
Chapter 20 - Dossier: The Professor
POV: Shepard
Shepard, Miranda and Jacob head through the lower Residential section, hunting for Doctor Solus, but they're finding a bit of resistance, then there's the issue of the disease, and convincing Doctor Solus to come with. At least Shepard knows what to say to get him to agree... right?
Chapter 21 - Following Mercenaries
POV: Alex
They were too late to catch up with Shepard before she went off, Aria doesn't know whether to Archangel or Doctor Solus, but at least they know she's here. Picking the more destructive option, The group follow the mercenaries to their base, and preparing for a pincer strike, hoping Shepard will show up.
Chapter 22 - Dossier: Archangel
POV: Shepard
Finally, she's going to see another friendly face. As she signs up with the Mercenaries, she can't help catch a grin and wink from Aria. But, there's no time to waste, the last hovercar is waiting for them. On arriving at the Merc Base, though, she can't help feel saddened that Alex wasn't here, signing up to join up with her here either.
Chapter 23 - Blowing Shit Up
POV: Alex
Sheer Destruction. Absobloodylutely Awesome. 10,000 words of pure destruction. Alex and Jack sure had a great time. Marina's not too pleased though, when her pistol is knocked away and happens to get blown up with the Mantis Gunship...
Chapter 24 - Helping Old Friends
POV: Alex
He can't believe it. They were gone by the time they had finished blowing up the Merc base. He'd seen them go to Garrus, so at least, he hopes, they're alive and on the Normandy. Hell the ship was gone when he arrived back on the main level to report in with Aria. But, he can't exactly catch them on Purgatory either, when he receives a message from Kaidan.
Chapter 25 - Contacting The Illusive Man
POV: Shepard
They're back, and Tim wants a Word. He wants Shepard to wake Grunt, and learns about just who Archangel was. It's a kind of shock, as he mentions that she's had three encounters with old crewmembers in a short time. He sees her sadness when she asks if he knows where Alex is, and he can't help feel sorry for reporting that he has no intelligence on the man. Though the fact surprises him, mainly because Cerberus has tried to keep an eye on him for a long time, since he attained N4 certification.
Chapter 26 - Dossier: Subject Zero
POV: Shepard
She's on the way to Purgatory, hoping that at least here, she will find Alex. After almost getting arrested, and fighting her way to the admin room, she's got a surprise waiting.
Chapter 27 - Readying Horizon
POV: Ashley
With Kaidan off, somewhere, Ashley readies Horizon Colony for the upcoming Collector attack she feels is coming, regardless of all the changes to the timeline, and the cheating that Alex had done.
Chapter 28 - Station Derevko
POV: Irina
Irina arrives 'home', and finds her station self preoccupied. No longer able to 'synchronise' themselves as a singular person, they rely on traditional methods of sharing information. Time to find out what's wrong.
Chapter 29 - STG
POV: Alex
The Hazard Squad arrive on PLANET, and assist the STG unit led by Kaidan. Kaidan is proud that Alex had progressed to N4 now, as the unit clears out the Geth base, they catch up.
Chapter 30 - You Don't Know Jack Escaped?
POV: Shepard
On Purgatory, Shepard is simply shocked at hearing the words coming out of the prison's Warden. 'Subject Zero' escaped, was let out by some young woman who tried to free someone else but couldn't get to their top-level security zone, and somehow convinced Jack to help her get the man out. Of course, learning that it was "Jack Bristow", Shepard realises that two of the people Tim wanted her to recruit were missing. If only she knew just who he was.
Chapter 31 - Sudden Attack
POV: Tali
The problem with some knowledge of what to come, was that it wasn't complete. That knowledge hadn't let Tali know just when the Geth would notice their presence, only that they would at some point. She has her people do what they can to bunker in, and hope that by the time Shepard arrives, her team wouldn't be down to just herself and Kal'Reegar.
Chapter 32 - Dossier: Jack Bristow
POV: Shepard
She has no idea who Jack Bristow is. Neither games nor books spoke of any such character, and at this point would be when they'd be called to Horizon. But now, she got 5 instead of 4 Dossiers from Tim, and this is the final one. No sign of Alex, she doesn't know if he's dead or following his own steps of cheating. But she's got this one last recruitment to do, and Tim has intel of where this Jack Bristow will be during a small window.
Chapter 33 - The Fires of Hades
POV: Alex
'Jack Bristow', on another operation, Jack Zero and 'Sydney Bristow' by his side, face severe opposition. Intel was that the base they're going to was a Cerberus base, but this aint no Cerberus Base. They need help, but with comms jammed, they can't get any... right?
Chapter 34 - Aliases
POV: Shepard
"What? Now is not the time to be asking that!" Alex popped out of cover for a moment and fired at the batarian that had been sneaking below my own field of view. I shouted back, "Couldn't you have told me that you would have codenames? I'd have known on Purgatory that you were there! That that was why you weren't on Korlus, Omega or Purgatory!" Alex looked at me, and said, "I was on Omega. You just weren't looking!"
Chapter 35 - The Omega-4 Relay
POV: Aria
She has long been contracted by Alex to watch the nearby Relay. It was easy money. Just record and transmit whenever the Collectors come and go. Normally, it's via smaller ships, transports, but the ship that just arrived through it is, a bit bigger. One she's seen come and go for several events in the past... The Destruction of the Normandy first, then, notably, whenever a human colony would disappear.
Chapter 36 - Normandy SR-2
POV: Alex
Finally. He's finally on the squad, along with Jack who appreciates the part where she's getting paid twice now, and Marina. The Normandy is bigger than he thought it'd be. Smaller than he'd hoped, though, given the plans he'd seen before.
Chapter 37 - Family
POV: Marina
She'd always wondered what her Mother was like. The stories from Irina and her Dad hadn't really done her justice, though. Oh, they really hadn't.
Chapter 38 - Run to Horizon
POV: Shepard
The distress call has arrived, and they're running at full. Time to kick Collector ass and take names.
Chapter 39 - Turning Back the Tide
POV: Alex
The colony's defences are coming online, but they need time. Together, Shepard, Miranda, Jacob, Garrus, Alex and Jack protect Marina and Mordin as they work. It'd be easy, if it weren't for Loads of Scions, Collector Assassins and the Praetorian. After, theres a double-reunion.
Chapter 40 - Meeting the Illusive Man
POV: Alex
After all the time that has passed since Tim began following 'Jack Bristow' and attempting to get information on 'Alex', and the failures involved 'Stephen', He finally gets to meet the galaxy's other 'Illusive Man'. Neither are very happy with the other, but at least TIM knows Alex is a good man, right?
Chapter 41 - Several Dossiers
POV: Shepard
Amused by Alex' reaction to meeting Tim, Shepard gets her turn to report in, and receives the last of the Dossiers... Zaeed is easy, as he's on his own way to the Shadow Sea Cluster. But next up, is Tali. Of course, Shepard will recruit her first. She's in Geth space, and can't wait for her, after all.
Chapter 42 - Taking Shelter
POV: Tali
The Geth has surrounded her and her team completely, and only few are remaining on the Team. And then she gets what she knew would be coming. Shepard is coming, and soon these Geth learn what happens when they piss off Commander Shepard.
Chapter 43 - Landing on Haestrom
POV: Alex
Simply put? Stay Out Of The Sunlight. Feeling like he's in a particular episode of Doctor Who, but reversed, Alex and the Squad make their way to rescue Tali. Having a psychotic Biotic on his squad is certainly helping, but then, since when was anything simple?
Chapter 44 - Dossier: The Engineer
POV: Shepard
Back to killing Geth, she's enjoying herself, going against those she knows how to defeat. She's fitter, tougher, and the old squad are far better than before. Alex, Garrus, Ash, Kaidan, they've all improved drastically in the two years since she 'died'. And Marina, while inexperienced, is quickly catching up, she's certainly learned more in the less-than-a-month she'd been with the Normandy than Alex had in that same time span. Jack is amazing to watch just go at it, and neither Miranda nor Jacob are slouches in combat, either. But she really misses Tali. Fighting or not, Tali will always have a big place in her heart.
Chapter 45 - Better than the Last One
POV: Tali
Tali's on the SR-2, and she's really impressed. The newer Tantalus Drive Core, and the upgraded and improved Stealth System are wonders to behold. If only it weren't a Cerberus Ship, but can't have it all ways. Adjusting quickly, she quickly gets back into arguing like siblings with Garrus, playing games with Alex, teaching Marina and spending time with Shepard, whom she missed a lot.
Chapter 46 - Visit to the Citadel
POV: Alex
Visiting the Citadel, while the crew take shifts of Shore leave, Alex, Shepard and Marina plan on taking a day out as a family. While Garrus chases down some leads in finding the traitor that got most of his team killed, and Tali stops by some of her friends she made on the Citadel, Miranda and Jacob make a quick pickup, and various other little jobs by the rest of the Squad, Alex and Marina show Shepard some of their more secret Cheats, in addition to other things.
Chapter 47 - Spectre Status
POV: Shepard
Shepard and Alex take a trip to the Presidium, and meeting with Anderson, Shepard learns that she still holds Spectre Status, thanks to earlier intervention from Alex, although Anderson isn't pleased that she didn't check in earlier. Afterward, she and Alex spends time alone, just decompressing.
Chapter 48 - Checking In
POV: Alex
Their supply run over, Alex and Marina make the rounds of contacting their various sources and contacts in the Council Races' governments for intelligence, as well as Irina, who is on a self-assigned covert operation somewhere in the Terminus Systems.
Chapter 49 - Tracking
POV: Marina
Marina makes a chance discovery while on a little shopping trip to the Taysari Wards, and she follows, curious as events unfold before her. But, before she knows it, she's in a lot of trouble, both with Alex, and with what she'd been Tracking.
Chapter 50 - Meeting Kasumi Goto
POV: Alex
Alex had worried sick about what happened to Marina, when he first heard the news from C-Sec about the situation, but he and Shepard quickly intervened, only to realise that their assistance was a little too late, but in the good way. Marina had been helped out of trouble by Kasumi Goto, Master Thief. Not quite what he'd been expecting.
Chapter 51 - Loyalty Mission: Garrus
POV: Alex
Alex, Marina and Tali help Garrus track down the traitor, before he leaves the Citadel.
insert more detail
Chapter 52 - Family Time
POV: Marina
Back on the Normandy and heading out on a new assignment, It isn't long before Marina realises how much she liked spending time with her mum and dad, and if she's reading the signals right, she thinks her mum loves it just as much.
Chapter 53 - Time Passing By
POV: Alex
Five Star Systems, several missions. Same old side missions. Jacob got to chat to his dad, Miranda's sister got in touch to the Cerberus Operatives' confusion, Jack got to blow up the Cerberus facility that she'd been held in, and Zaeed killed the guy who shot him point blank range in the eye after the Normandy 'mysteriously' passed by the dead-man-piloting's ship. Just another day on the Normandy.
Chapter 54 - Welcome To Illium
POV: Alex
They've got leads on Thane Krios and the Justicar, Samara. And both are apparently on Illium. To the confusion of the rest of the crew, the 'Old Normandy 6' are excited to be getting back in touch with Liara after so long, longer for some.
Chapter 55 - Hey Little Sister
POV: Alex
Alex goes to meet Liara, and finds it somewhat annoying that Miranda tags along, and under the watch of the Cerberus officer, Alex is reunited with his Little Sister, after over a year of hearing nothing. Of course, once she is invited into talking with the adoptive siblings, Miranda gets to know just how the 'Stephen *********', 'Alex Mcpherson' and 'Jack Bristow' facets make up the person. To facilitate friendship between herself and Alex with Miranda, Liara has arranged through her contacts for Miranda to meet her own Little Sister, and asks Alex to go along to watch her back.
Chapter 56 - Dossier: The Assassin
POV: Shepard
Thanks to Liara's job as an Information Broker, Shepard, Alex, Jacob and Kasumi head to Dantius Towers to find and recruit Thane Krios, who's an oddity in the criminal underworld: He's an assassin with ethics. But on arrival, it's clear that forewarned or not, it isn't going to be as easy as any of them thought. For one reason, or another, the towers are protected and patrolled by a lot of Blue Suns.
Chapter 57 - Nassana Dantius
POV: Alex
Getting up the towers seemed to be the easy part, when it comes to the final floor to gain entry. Of course their arrival, particularly the bit about who is among the group, shocks Nassana Dantius, owner of the building. Expecting Thane's arrival, Alex senses the moment, and takes down half of the Blue Suns. What happens next shocks no one.
Chapter 58 - Why You Shouldn't Follow Justicars
POV: Marina
Shortly after the others left to recruit Thane, Marina was just shopping, minding her own business, when she noticed the Justicar. Getting the go ahead from EDI and Miranda, Marina was just following from a distance, trying to be discrete. Of course, when she finds the Justicar dealing with some Mercenaries sent by Morinth, she realises just Why You Shouldn't Follow Justicars.
Chapter 59 - Dossiers: The Justicar
POV: Shepard
Thane is on the team, and just as they leave the Towers, EDI comms in to report that Marina is tracking the Justicar. When they arrive, however, they find Marina is unconscious, bleeding heavily from multiple gashes, and she isn't healing. While Alex is frantic and quickly rushes Marina back to the Normandy, Shepard, Jacob, Kasumi and Thane head on, following the trail of dead Mercenaries after the Justicar. After finishing the job, and recognising Shepard for who and what she is, the team then hear about how bad Marina is, and learn who it was that did that to her. Shepard is livid, but barely contains her anger. Upon boarding the Normandy, however, everyone learns a new rule.
Chapter 60 - Kryptonite
POV: Alex
Taking Marina back to the Normandy, Alex notices very little in his rush, and before he knows it, Marina is on a bed in the Normandy's infirmary, being treated by Chakwas who can't get two words about Marina's physiology from Alex, making her job doubly hard. Of course, learning who did it to his daughter means he's not thinking straight when the team arrive on the Normandy half an hour later.
Chapter 61 - Isolation
POV: Mix
Alex has sealed the doors to the Infirmary, and only Chakwas can get through. Liara had visited, both in an attempt to speak with him, to provide comfort and to visit Marina, but even she was denied entry. The crew, those both Cerberus and those recruited specifically to be on Shepard's Crew, all pray that Marina can pull though. While they may not know just what she is to both Shepard and Alex, they do know that she is very important to the two. Even Shepard has isolated herself, in the Captains' Cabin on Deck 1, and no one at all can get through. While those two have dealt with what happened by physically isolating themselves from everyone else, Tali has put herself into her work, and all attempts to speak to her are met with silence. Garrus, who didn't know Marina much, similarly throws himself into his work, but he at least speaks to people, when they seek him out. Miranda, who got to know Marina a bit as well, seems particularly thrown by the incident, given the cause. Mordin, on the other hand, is too busy trying to help somehow that no one gets a chance to speak to the Salarian. All anyone else knows is that he keeps running between the research lab and the infirmary, and occasionally makes private encrypted calls from within Alex' shuttle – to whom, no-one knows. Of those who aren't isolating themselves in some way, though, Kasumi is hit harder, given how she'd met 'the kid'. And what everyone wants to know, is how Samara can be so calm, considering what she'd done to the kid.
Chapter 62 - Returning to the Citadel
POV: Mix
Time is of the essence, Marina has very little time and normally, the Normandy wouldn't make the trip in time, but everyone is working overtime, getting every scrap of speed from the ship as they can. Irina and the Salarian team who created both their genetic structures are waiting in the Citadel's STG facilities. With priority access, the Normandy quickly docks at the best spot to get Marina to the facilities quickly. As Anderson learns of some of the sorts of people Shepard has been recruiting, he can't help but be angry at the Asari's Justicars in general for allowing this sort of thing to be 'acceptable'. Shepard comes out of hiding, and she and Alex both stay by her side throughout the trip and the operation. Tali, Kasumi and Garrus also go and provide the two with some moral support, while Ashley and Kaidan wonder if something on the horizon for them should end before it begins.
Chapter 63 - Loyalty Mission: Thane
POV: Miranda
While Grunt isn't exactly sociable, or willing to admit that just maybe the others have skills, Miranda knows that Grunt wouldn't say a word about Marina, after what happened to Samara. Zaeed, on the other hand, is quite vocal, but in support of them, rather than against, contrary to her expections. Of course, Samara has isolated herself to avoid conflict with the Crew. It's no surprise to her that both Alex and Shepard are with her, waiting for news from the doctors, nor that Mordin is part of that team alongside Chakwas. Even Tali and Garrus are there, and she knows that Ashley and Kaidan want to be there as well, but there isn't enough space for more than 4 visitors. The biggest surprise to her, was Jack's reaction to what had happened to Marina. Even she isn't brave enough to say anything about Subject Zero's attachment, however. None of those three are in any frame of mind to get to work but a rather time sensitive matter has come up for Thane. Miranda knows that only she and Jacob can really work on this. A small crew is preferable over the usual large one, anyway. And considering what she'd do if her sister was in this predicament... well it's kind of personal to Miranda to see this through.
Chapter 64 - Upgrading the SR-2
POV: Tali
Marina is on the slow road to recovery and on her way back to her home on Intai'sei. As much as tali wants to go with her and help her, Tali knows can't as she has her duties to the mission, to the ship, and to Shepard, and she must put her loyalties in that order. While Shepard, Alex and Doctor Chakwas are away in the Argos Rho cluster, The Normandy pulls into the Minuteman Stations' Drydock for some oft-delayed upgrades, and she must oversee them. Thankfully, her ability to talk with any of the four on Intai'sei from the Horse Head Nebula is in no way affected by the distance.
Chapter 65 - Chasing Down a Problem
POV: Irina
Much as she wanted, she couldn't stay. She had seen how Alex and Shepard were, watching over their daughter. She and Alex may have had to pretend, before, on their 'Jack and Laura Bristow' missions, but they were not married, and their affection was merely platonic. But while he had been off gallivanting around the cosmos rescuing spectres, assisting STG units, and working on his Bristow identity, then working on the Normandy, she'd been busy working on the more nastier elements to the Collectors, and the races' connections to many nasty biological experiments. And unfortunately, one old acquaintance of theirs had contually escaped them, until now. Tough choice as it was, only she could chase him down.
Chapter 66 - Loyalty Mission: Kasumi
POV: Shepard
Back on the ship for a day, and this was just what she needed. Not. Kasumi's attempt to lift Shepards' recent personality shift doesn't go down well, but she does try at it. Unfortunately, Kasumi realises that she doesn't know the Commander well enough to know when to leave alone. She's pissed off, angry, hurt and worried sick, and with the others giving her room to deal, she doesn't deal well, reverting to her old behaviour patterns. The Bitch is Back and she's angrier than ever.
Chapter 67 - N5
POV: Alex
Marina is well enough that even she has told him to stop mothering her, and that she'd be up on her feet in no time, ignoring that the effects of the Reave had severely reduced her healing ability for a long time to come. Even Shepard had left, and frankly, he hoped she wouldn't. Angry at that, pissed off still at Samara, and in general worried sick about the possibility of complications, Alex leaves, and decides to express his anger in the final stage for his latest MVC certifications – becoming an N5. To become an N5, however, the certification relies on the final task being a real honest-to-god genuine mission, and not just a live-fire excercise in a holographic simulator.
Chapter 68 - Picking Up a Package
POV: Alex
His company, formerly Jormangund, has completed a phase of upgrades, and he gets to test the latest piece. Still yet to return to the Normandy and with a fresh N5 badge to affix to his armour of choice, Alex heads out on his own to the Eagle Nebula, to deal with the Infected VI mission on his own. Of course, when you're fighting on your own, with probably no intent on not just succeeding but surviving to, tends to make you more liable to not on either count.
Chapter 69 - A Tough Choice
POV: Irina
She's finally found where the man only known as 'Sarge' has hidden himself, when she gets a distress beacon from Alex. She doesn't know if delaying to kill the man would mean Alex would die, but as she intends to do just that, the moment of truth, she gets an urgent message from Marina. Save Alex, or let him die to kill Sarge. Touch Choice.
Chapter 70 - Collector And Geth Ambush
POV: Shepard
Tim has contacted Shepard, he's got a new mission for them, now that the crew are... mostly... together. Considering that the ones he didn't want on the ship aren't on it, meaning Alex and Marina, he feels that it is better to go ahead and make sure they don't return to the crew, as those two held the most sway over Shepard. Of course, the mission he gives them isn't above board. Thankfully, Shepard and Tali know what's coming, kind of. It's time, to board a Collector Ship.
Chapter 71 - Hide and Geth Seek
POV: Alex
It was a trap, but a trap involving the Geth too. Trapped on the Collector ship, Shepard and her squad try to hide from the collector and Geth hunting them within the labyrinth that is the Collectors' vessel.
Chapter 72 - Reinforcements
POV: Irina
Getting Alex back up to speed, both with his health and with what is happening in the greater Galaxy, the pair make way to the Collector Ship and make an entrance that the Expendables would be proud of.
Chapter 73 - Loyalty Mission: Ashley
POV: Shepard
Authors Note: Hadn't any idea for this one.
Chapter 74 - Welcome to Tuchanka
POV: Alex
The Normandy arrives on Tuchanka, and the ground team all meet Urdnot Wrex. While Shepard, Alex, Garrus and Tali are welcomed by Wrex, not many of the others are.
Chapter 75 - Loyalty Mission: Grunt
POV: Shepard
"Survive a Thresher Maw attack. Easy, Alex said. Yeah, well, he's eating his words. At least grunt's having fun. But Me? I'm in full flashback panic attack mode, only unlike most, I don't become useless while I'm having them. They say payback's a bitch. Well, it's my middle name. For all my fallen friends on Akuze."
Chapter 76 - Partying
POV: Alex
Wrex told her not to go, out of respect for her past. Surprised not only at the smile on her face, but the results too. Urdnot clan begin an impromptu celebration.
Chapter 77 - Loyalty Mission: Mordin
POV: Shepard
Simple. Find Mordin's protégé. Shepard and Alex know what they'll find, however, and so far their work on Mordin has born fruit. Will he revert, though?
Chapter 78 - Wanted
POV: Alex
It began with something simple. A mission. How else? Then, something went wrong. Then another. Then another, until eventually, the Alliance, the Council... we're wanted, now. We're "criminals". But with the fate of the galaxy on our hands, we can't just let them cuff us, chuck us in a cell and throw away the key.
Chapter 79 - Hiding in Argos Rho
POV: Alex
We ran, and we ran hard. It's kind of easy when you have an incredibly fast Frigate with a zero-emission propulsion and stealth system. It's kind of hard, though, when you need to resupply and all ports are shut. Well, nearly all. The one in Argos Rho isn't. Of course, explaining to Miranda Lawson that I hacked a Mass Relay pair and shut down the connection for all other traffic after a long period of making people believe it was unstable and forced them to evacuate that cluster, a cluster which they believe has no other connections to other clusters? Yeah.
Chapter 80 - Welcome to Intai'Sei
POV: Alex
Wanted fugitives, that's us. Shepard and I are showing the folks around our house on Intai'sei, while the Normandy's systems are in overhaul at my private shipyard. The joys of that. Of course, we still have to leave on occasion and investigate, or purposely pop up our heads to make sure our disappearance isn't so total as to cause suspicion.
Chapter 81 - Home is Where the Heart Is
POV: Marina
With Alex and Shepard on Intai'sei, Marina gets to catch up on her missing time. Not the circumstances she'd hoped for, but still. She's healthy, and wants to work on her abilities. At least the 'just-a-bitch' is staying on the Normandy, though she wants to kill the cow.
Chapter 82 - Alias
POV: Marina
Finally going on a mission, the powerhouse that is Shepard, Alex, Irina and Marina go undercover to investigate just how the incident went the way it did. Jack Bristow, accompanied by 'Laura Bristow', aka Irina, 'Katherine', aka Shepard, and 'Sydney Bristow', aka Marina,
Chapter 83 - Finding Evidence
POV: Irina
Splitting off from the group, 'Laura' makes a connection that she doesn't like, and thanks to her identity being unknown, she can go and use her own connection to the company.
Chapter 84 - Fighting for Freedom
POV: Shepard
They had found the evidence that exonerates them, but they can't exactly get it out there. Now with alliance platoons out in force waiting for them, with shoot-to-kill orders.
Chapter 85 - Bristow Strikes Back
POV: Alex
His own company had betrayed him, and he's pissed, as is Shepard. But as his identity as Jack Bristow isn't established – otherwise Tim would have known who he was – Alex gets to wage war on the company, and they're not going to like his methods.
Chapter 86 - Wait, What?
POV: Shepard
Back on the Normandy, Shepard and the squad are told about a reaper ship. Well, maybe, just maybe, they don't need the IFF, but of course, Alex points out something else they do need from the ship. Legion.
Chapter 87 - Operation IFF Replacement
POV: Alex
Instead of installing the IFF, Alex has a different plan. He's going to hack the Omega-4 Relay, and together with Tali, reverse-engineer the IFF, to avoid that pesky 'trap' bit. Not exactly how things go, though.
Chapter 88 - Ambush 2.0
POV: Alex
The Normandy is ambushed by a pair of Collector vessels. It's a ground-stomp, but not for the squad. Shepard doesn't believe it – it's like 2 years ago, all over again.
Chapter 89 - Rescuing Survivors
POV: Tali
The SR-2 has been destroyed, and many of the crew lost. While all of the Squad got out in time, only some got free. Leading an infiltration team, Tali must rescue her friends, including alex.
Chapter 90 - Into the Heart of Hydra
POV: Alex
To their shock, the Mass Relay to Argos Rho was destroyed. They don't know how, or when. But they have a back way in. A very dangerous one, that Alex planned to never use or need. They must go into the heart of a Gas Giant, following currents of low pressure, to get to a buried Mass Relay that is inactive.
Chapter 91 - Normandy SR-3
POV: Alex
Alex reveals to the squad just how expansive his plans were, more so than the Illusive Man. No longer under Cerberus' watchful eye, Alex details with Shepard and Marina just how they got through the things they had, and that Alex had been planning for the eventuality that the SR-2 could be destroyed as well, and just why he'd gone on to own a company under multiple assumed names, and cut off an entire cluster from the rest of the galaxy. He's built a new Normandy, completed only very recently.
Chapter 92 - EDI's New Home
POV: EDI/Others
While the others explore the ship, EDI is installed into the network on the SR-3, and finds that as similar as it is to the SR-2, it is very different. Where the SR-1 and SR-2 were both Frigates, the SR-3 is a cruiser, with all that entails.
Chapter 93 - Final Visit to the Citadel
POV: Alex
Shocking the council, who'd heard of the SR-2's destruction, the Normandy SR-3 arrives, bearing no Cerberus logos, and causing a massive stir. They have business to attend to, and they do it in style.
Chapter 94 - Uploading a Virus
POV: Irina
Irina and Legion are operating on their own, working to turn the Geth around from that which Sovereign, Saren and the Collectors had made them into. Heading deep into 'Heretic' territory, Irina and Legion infiltrate a Geth station, and Irina pulls off an IncrediblyLamePun, to her own surprise.
Chapter 95 - N6
POV: Alex
Alex is surprised when Shepard tells him that she put through the paperwork for his N6 certification already. The way he handled things in the last few months have impressed Alliance brass, even though he himself is not an Alliance soldier.
Chapter 96 - Departing for Omega
POV: Alex
Irina and Legion have returned from their mission, and everyone is ready to embark on the Suicide Mission. At least here, they had no time constraints, like having to rescue the crew of the Normandy SR-2.
Chapter 97 - Loyalty Mission: Samara
POV: Shepard
Chapter 98 - Through the Omega-4 Relay
POV: Alex
Chapter 99 - Collector Base: Gaining Entry
POV: Shepard
Chapter 100 - Collector Base: Countdown
POV: Alex