Chapter Seven

Undisclosed location in the Milky Way galaxy, 1837h

Shepard stared despondently at the plastic tray of food as the guard pushed it through the slot and reluctantly accepted it. He was now able to move throughout the cell, but his arms and legs were still restricted with electronic chains.

"Cerberus' rations are worse than the Alliance's," he grumbled to himself and tore the included package open containing a plastic spork as well as a paper napkin. The questionable meat in the largest partition was likely their idea of a Salsbury steak, and the green mush mixed in with the mashed potatoes was apparently green beans. Shepard had no idea how much time had passed since he'd been kidnapped; all he could do was to count the amount of meals he'd been fed, and he certainly had plenty of time to reflect about his choices in life…

Some were good and more recently…he made a horrible one.

I lied to her…to both of them.

He recalled a very dark time in his life before he served his second tour with Anderson on the SSV Normandy; it happened to him in '78 not long after his famous raid on Torfan. Anderson met him in a VA hospital on Elysium and convinced Shepard to join his crew on the SSV Hong Kong.

They brought a few former asari pirates onboard the ship that had intel that delayed an intentional exposure of tainted element zero on Ferris Fields. One of them became taken with him, and he very quickly fell for her. She, however, had other ideas, and secretly involved herself with one of his superior officers.

The senior officer found out that about her duplicity and attacked her as well as Shepard. When Shepard discovered that he was nothing more than a lustful infatuation…a piece of meat to this asari…

She cruelly even told him to his face that she had no regrets and was not even remorseful for what she had done. That evening, he drowned himself in his heartbreak with alcohol. He destroyed two punching bags the next morning.

Shepard picked up the spork and unenthusiastically shoved some of the meat into his mouth with it.

I just did the same goddamned thing that asari whore did to me to Miranda and Liara.

"The slime on this crappy steak has got more personality than you, you lecherous prick," he murmured and lifted it up again. "You don't deserve either one of those ladies. Being the savior of the galaxy doesn't give you a carte blanche to be an asshole." The gravy dripped slowly and coagulated onto the tray.

Should I even try to beg for their forgiveness?

Several footsteps from outside his confinement interrupted his thoughts.

"Come inside with me," the Illusive Man ordered two soldiers and Agent Morrison as he entered Shepard's cell. They saluted him and followed him wordlessly. "I've considered your offer, Commander Shepard, and a congratulations are in order. I will honor all parts of the bargain, provided that you keep yours." He pointed his finger at the restraints, which Morrison deactivated with her omni-tool. Shepard lowered his wrists to his sides. "However, this," he pointed to the Ochrana bracelet around Shepard's wrist, "will stay on at all times for my personnel's safety. I'm sure you'll understand my reasons."

Shepard nodded. "I do. Have you released Jack and Garrus yet?"

"Name the time they are to be released, and I will do it. I will also make that call to my agents inside the Alliance."

"You'll understand that I demand to be present for that call." Shepard rubbed his wrists to get some feeling back into them.

"Completely." The Illusive Man had Agent Morrison type in the address for the Cerberus agent in charge.

"Operator 14, group alpha, reporting in from the Artemis Tau systems," a male voice answered. "Intelligence reports that Alliance vessels are constructing AA defensive towers in the Knossos cluster. Turian dreadnoughts are also believed to be in the area. There is a joint cooperative mission on the planet En Gedi to expel a rogue mercenary group who call themselves the Silhouettes. They may be an off-shoot of the legendary Eclipse band from the Terminus systems."

There was no live vid feed of the man speaking, but Shepard swore that he sounded a lot like an old Alliance Academy instructor by the name of Steven Kovach. Kovach was a rear admiral by rank, and he taught a course by the name of 'Classical Strategies', which encompassed practically all ancient warfare up to the time that man first invented the gun. He claimed that the invention of the gun made humans truly forget how devastating the taking of a life can be since they can be pointed and fired from a long distance. Guns and bombs made war impersonal. I worshipped this man! Shepard thought to himself. This couldn't be him. Kovach just couldn't be a Cerberus rat.

"Operator 14, recall how many operatives are not only in your group, but also the ones that are in the Delta, Omega, and Beta groups," the Illusive Man ordered.

"Yes, sir. There are a total of twenty of us, myself included. Do you have orders for the entire cell?"

"Yes, please hold for instructions." The Illusive Man whispered a command into Morrison's ear, and she muted their side of the conversation. "Shepard, there is a code sentence that I have composed to abort all operations. And as soon as this operative hears it, he will immediately disband the groups, and abort all of Cerberus' work in the Alliance. Is this clear to you?"

"Does he have a countersign to it?" Shepard asked and sat up from the operating table.

"No. We don't work that way."

"What happens after that?"

"All operatives go home."

"And never return to Cerberus?"

"Nowhere in our deal did it say that I had to fire them, Shepard. They'll be distributed elsewhere in the galaxy, unless of course, a few of them want to retire. Rear Admiral Kovach has been loyal to me for the past twenty-two years. He was with us in the beginning."

Shepard nearly felt nauseous. It was his voice! "Fine. Do it."

Morrison reactivated her omni-tool's microphone. "Hades is not merciful," the Illusive Man stated.

"Repeating message for confirmation; 'Hades is not merciful'," Kovach's voice responded.

"That is correct."

"Order received, sir. All Alliance contacts will disband immediately." Morrison closed the communication channel.

"Is that good enough for you?" the Illusive Man wondered.

"Yes. You can release Jack and Garrus at any time now." Shepard arose.

"Once again, Shepard, I am taking a great risk with you. This leap of faith is nearly as big as the first chance I gave you." The Illusive Man pointed at him.

"So am I." And I hope my team gets here before I have to fulfill my second part of the bargain.


Normandy SR-2, Debriefing/Communication Room, 1847h

"We will protect Lieutenant Commander Jacob Taylor to the best of our abilities," Legion declared as they walked inside. He withdrew the geth rifle from his hip holster and maximized the barrel to its full extension.

"How long have I got again?"

"Precisely five minutes. We would advise a brief auditory exchange with Dr. Solus and Dr. T'soni."

"Understood, Legion. Okay, here goes." Jacob interfaced his omni-tool with the Normandy communication relay. "Whew, glad we're near a buoy. The signal should be nice and strong."

Seconds later, Mordin's image came up. "Oh! Jacob! What a pleasant surprise!" the Salarian exclaimed.

"Is Dr. T'soni with you?"

"Yes!" the asari enthused. "Finally! Why couldn't we get through to the Normandy?"

"It's a long story, Liara, but basically, we're really screwed right now. The only two crew members currently aboard the Normandy you can trust are me and Legion. And I don't know how long that will last," Jacob informed them.

"Four minutes left, Lieutenant Commander Jacob Taylor," Legion interrupted him and kept his aim at the door.

"What do you mean?" Mordin queried.

"I don't know how, but somehow the entire crew minus Legion and I have been indoctrinated. I can't talk for long; Legion had to hack through EDI's firewalls for me to even be able to make this call to you. And our position might be compromised at any minute. These are the Normandy's current coordinates." Jacob began to type quickly and hit the 'send' key even faster.

"Coordinates received," Mordin confirmed. "We're on Noveria at the moment. We can be where you are in three hours, provided of course, that you stay your course."

"We're had no reason to do so yet. But if for some odd reason that you can't make it aboard, we'll be going to the Arghos system, in the Sidon cluster, to a planet named Cyprus."

"Three minutes to possible detection, Lieutenant Commander Jacob Taylor," Legion stated once more.

"I've gotta go. I'm going to try and contact Tali next."

"Over and out," Mordin replied.

Jacob typed in another number on his omni-tool, but unfortunately, before he could dial, the doors opened and Dean Watson walked inside. "So, we have a Judas among us," the South African's tone was accusatory.

"I'm not a traitor, Watson. We needed-"

"Obedience is loyalty, Mr. Taylor. Why did you breach EDI's and my protocols?"

"Sir, it was really hard to trust your vision without some kind of outside help. Liara and Mordin are able to help us save Shepard-I bet they came up with the cure to the Ochrana weapon!"

"Your lack of trust is irrefutable." Watson gestured to Legion, who still had his rifle drawn. "Stand down now, both of you, or there will be consequences."

"Negative; this platform has observed that you are an ineffectual leader. You do not produce viable results like Shepard-Commander. You are also attempting to manipulate all organic life on this ship…very much like the Old Machines," Legion said. "This violates what future the geth and organics hope to build. You have improperly usurped Shepard-Commander's position of authority." Jacob did a double take; did the geth just insult a human?

Watson did not reply; his face was completely devoid of emotion. He simply strolled outside of the debriefing room. Seconds later, all squad members rushed inside, armed to the teeth in threatening stances. Outnumbered and overwhelmed, Jacob held up his hands in surrender. Legion turned his head to gaze upon his superior officer, bent down, put his rifle on the floor, and did the same.


Horse Head Nebula System, SSV Calgary Goddess, 2028h

Longoria made herself some coffee and relaxed herself in the cockpit. This ship wasn't as fancy as the Normandy, or even some Alliance ships. It did get her where she wanted to go, burned fuel clean as whistle, and sure as hell needed some new upholstery. The leather was really starting to wear down; the pilot's chair alone felt like a prison bunk. That's what she'd do with the funds from this mission, if she survived it. Then maybe she'd take a real vacation, away from Cerberus, away from the Shadow Broker, and go back home to Toronto. She hadn't been back to Earth for three years now, which seemed like a lifetime ago. Space travel wasn't starting to get dull quite yet, but it'd be nice to go out to a nightclub where there were only humans. All the good human men seemed to be vying for the asari, which was a little obnoxious since most of them were naturally all aesthetically perfect. No competition was there from the quarians-they couldn't show their faces, take off their protective suits, or even have skin upon skin contact without worry of infection. Krogan women rarely left their home planet Tuchanka. Turian women distanced themselves completely from humans since there was still a trust issue. She didn't hate aliens, but she sure didn't love them, either.

Damn. Here comes the asari bitch. Gotta play nice.

"Serena, thank you for your hard work. How long will it take for us to get to the Normandy?" Liara asked.

Come on, where's the fake smile that all of you wear?

"Well, thanks to the FTL drives we've got…I estimate an hour. Want me to take longer? Because I sure as hell can't get us there any faster!" Longoria retorted.

"Oh, by the goddess, no, I wasn't complaining. You must forgive me. My interactions with your species haven't been as thorough as some other asari."

"But you've seen this Shepard in action, haven't you?"

"I beg your pardon?"

Longoria removed her long legs from the chair across from herself and motioned for T'soni to join her, which she did, surprisingly. They're not all as haughty as I thought.

"I asked if you know about Commander Shepard."

"Everyone knows about Commander Shepard. You'd have to be living in a cave or under a rock to have not heard of him."

"Have you met him?"

Liara bit her lip and tried not to reveal any emotional tells. Longoria read her body language all too well last time, and she almost couldn't come up with a credible lie in time to save herself. "Let's talk about something else."

"Okay, like what?"

"Your ship, if that's all right. I won't ask you to disclose any technical details, but how old is it, exactly?"

"Thirty-seven years. It was built in the Mars shipyards. The drive core was modified about fifteen years later, you know, to accommodate FTL. I can't tell you much about the previous owners, other than to say that they took good care of her." Serena studied her for a few lingering moments. "That asari Binary Helix shareholder I mentioned, Matriarch Benezia, seems to share a certain resemblance to you. Am I wrong?"

Liara swallowed a lump the size of a krogan dumpling down her throat. "In what way?"

"I'm not sure what traits you asari pick up, especially when you have different species for parents. Scientists seem to be in a debate about it. I'm not a geneticist myself, so I can't even begin to ballpark it. Your ages are so hard to nail down, too, since you live for so damn long."

"Sometimes some asari wish they didn't. A thousand-year lifespan isn't always a blessing."

"Mind if I ask your age?"

"I'm only 108, still in what we call our 'maiden' stage. The matron stage occurs in our bodies in a few centuries later, then, of course, the matriarchal stage after that."

"You mentioned that your interactions with humans haven't been as thorough as some other asari. Have you been living under a rock?"

"I'll admit that I did spend a great deal of time as an archaeologist. I spent fifty years studying the Protheans. So, sometimes, yes, I guess I did live under rocks, so to speak. My life was greatly sheltered."

"So what drew you away from the dig sites to the corporate world? And don't say money, because, frankly, that's bullshit. You don't look like someone who's lost her soul to that blood-sucking world."

"And you're not the heartless mercenary you pretend to be," Liara pressed. "Your eyes have seen much pain."

"Touché. I'll tell you what, Dr. T'soni. Give a little, get a little. If either of us feel that it's too personal, there's always the great void to stare at. Besides," she looked at the dashboard, "our flight time is down to forty-five minutes now."

"Hmm…a few more minutes speaking to another woman, especially a human woman, could be most insightful. Tell me, Miss Longoria-"

"Serena."

"Okay. Tell me, Serena, what kind of things might a human male find attractive in an asari, besides the obvious physique?"

"Oh, God, really? I can't believe you're asking that question! All they ever seem to want your race for is for that reason!"

"You've never seen a human male love an asari for who they are?"

"Well, supposedly, love comes in all flavors, so to speak, but that's not the case I've seen."

"Oh." Liara's tone became depressed.

"I'm not one to judge, Dr. T'soni-"

"Liara."

"Yeah, fine, okay, Liara. I'm not one to judge, Liara, but you should cut your losses and walk away. Besides, can't you all mate with one another?"

"Most definitely so, yes. There is always a risk, though…"

"A risk of what?"

"Well, naturally, two asari can bond. And when they do, sometimes, there is a heightened risk of the offspring having genetic flaws."

"Like what, an arm missing or something?" Longoria sipped some more of her coffee from her mug.

"It could be as simple as that, but of course, depending upon both parents' genetics, there have been cases of the children contracting terrible diseases. The most serious form is that of what we asari call an 'Ardat-Yakshi'."

"And what color are those things? They don't sound like aliens I'd want to be around."

"They look like any other asari and are extremely rare. However, when one mates with another of hers or any other species, there is not a placid merging of nervous systems. Instead, the Ardat-Yakshi overpowers her mates and can overload their systems to a maximum capacity. Unfortunately, they are also sterile."

"You mean that this thing can fry her partner's brain into oblivion, even if she doesn't mean to?"

Liara mused over this metaphor for a few seconds, and then nodded. "Yes. That is why many asari do not choose to partner with one another any more. They do not want to risk having a potential psycho or sociopathic child. When the disease is diagnosed, the Ardat-Yakshi can live in seclusion if she chooses to do so."

"Well, that's kind of an embarrassing situation for your race. Okay, I get it. So that would explain an insult I heard on Illium once."

"I'm guessing you heard the word 'pureblood'?"

"Yep. Good to know in case I run across one." Longoria glanced at the dashboard. "Thirty minutes left. My turn to ask a question. Since I mentioned earlier that I'm in the information business, I'd like to know something else from you."

"Expected company profits for the semester?"

"No, this is something more personal, and you can choose to go with the answer as far as you'd like. I sound like a complete hard-ass sometimes, and I'm sorry when I come off that abrasively. I lost my mother early on in life, so my father mostly raised me. He was a lumberjack from Halifax, Nova Scotia, and when my mother died, we moved to Toronto so he could expand his company. He turned into one of those cold-blooded corporate asses I'm so bitter against; he treated me more like property than a little girl. My question to you is this: what's Commander Shepard like?"

Liara was taken aback; she certainly hadn't expected her agent to open up to her like this! She wasn't sure how to respond at first…this was awkward. She didn't want to give Longoria too much information; she was an agent of the Shadow Broker. That was a business relationship, but Longoria could actually be looking for a friend.

Liara carefully worded her response. "What makes you think that I know him?"

"Female intuition. I know for a fact that he's not on the Normandy; I wanted to meet him myself. I've only seen what the media hypes about him, and since I just found out that he's not dead anymore, I figured that you might. The question you just asked before previously kind of precursors mine."

"I think it's best that we avoid the topic for now, to keep ourselves focused upon our mission." Liara arose from her seat. "However, perhaps sometime in the future, I will answer you."

"Uh-huh," Serena nodded with disbelief. "Whatever floats your boat, there, Liara. We're almost there. Anything I need to know about what we expect to find on the inside?

"Like what?"

"Well since you couldn't tell me where the Normandy was at first, I don't expect that we'll be met with boxes of candy, flowers, champagne, and lays. This ain't gonna be a warm welcome. I like to be prepared before I go stick my neck out for anybody, which might not be the case if you don't come clean with me."

"Very well, Serena. You deserve the truth, and you are correct. We will most definitely meet a lot of heavy resistance to our arrival. I'm not sure if they will fire upon our ship or not. Do you have a stealth system here to mask your heat emissions?"

"Kinda, yeah. Doing so burns up a crap load more fuel, but, I saved some while waiting in Port Hanshan," Longoria chuckled. "You got any weapons on you?"

"I have my biotics and I did bring a pistol, yes. I believe Dr. Solus is armed as well; he is an engineer."

"Then you might want to suit up if you brought some armor with you. Ten minutes to our destination. Five until I fire up the cloaking generators." Liara left without another moment to lose.


Five minutes later, the SSV Calgary Goddess began to shake violently. Both salarian and asari rushed up to the cockpit. "What's going on?" Liara demanded.

"Our cloaking field is working. Didn't say that the stabilizers would work, too," Serena shouted back.

"Do you have control of this thing?" Mordin inquired.

"Relax, I know what I'm doing." Something flashed across her ladar readout as they came closer to the Normandy, which was just in visible sight. "What the hell was that?"

"Have they seen us?" Liara panicked.

"We'll know when we get closer. I just saw something on my ladar scope; it was another heat signature."

"I don't know if I want to take the chance on this," Liara gulped.

"My FTL drive core is on standby, Liara. Take a chill pill." The asari's face was a question mark. "You ready to go if the shuttle can get into the cargo hold? We're getting pretty close."

"I'll be ready," Mordin stated and attached a breather mask to himself. "Moving to the lower deck for a quick evacuation."

"Thank you. Glad someone's keeping their head screwed on straight," Serena remarked, rolled her eyes, and slipped on her helmet again. "All right, the ship is on auto-pilot. Let's go." Liara took the hint, also secured her breathing mask, and followed the Broker agent downstairs. Serena fired up the shuttle's engine and remotely opened her ship's docking bay.

"Look over there! I think I saw another shuttle!" the asari exclaimed. "I can't identify its markings from here, but…"

"We'll have to assume that it isn't friendly. You said to expect heavy resistance on the inside, correct? Are there any friendly forces?"

"A black young human…uh…sorry, I'm not good at judging human age, but I do know that he is the only black person aboard the Normandy. And also a geth."

"I think this piece of crap is blocking my hearing. Did you just say that a member of the geth would be friendly towards us? Those flashlight headed robots that attacked the Citadel two years ago?"

"It's complicated," Mordin replied. "But those are the friendly parties we can trust."

"Whatever. Want me to try and establish contact on the inside and let 'em know we're coming?"

"You can try," Liara nodded.

Serena opened a channel, but there was no response to her voice. Suddenly, the Normandy's kinetic barriers just went up. "Oh shit. They know somebody's here."

"What kind of shields do you have on this vessel?"

"Some, but this baby is built for stealth and speed. I'm not sure I could take a shot from those cannons head on. I'm having some serious thoughts about turning around and beelining for another system, folks."

"But we've come so far!"

"You said that you knew where the Normandy was headed. Maybe we can make a break for it now and head there instead, beat 'em to their final destination."

"We'd prefer to board the Normandy now," Mordin emphasized the last word. "What was it you said, Longoria? No pain, no gain?"

Longoria sneered at his remark. "Yeah, now I think I'd like to say 'only one hit, we're in deep shit'." Her gloved fingers prepared to access her FTL drives.

"Wait!" Liara yelled. "Something's happening!"

Suddenly, the Normandy's kinetic barrier went down, and the cargo bay's door opened. "Go, Serena, now!" the asari screamed.

The Shadow Broker agent obeyed and flew inside. Seconds later, the door closed, and the Normandy broke into an FTL jump.


Normandy SR-2, Miranda's Office, 2117h

Both Watson and Miranda sat upon her couch, drawing up plans on her omni-tool. "What do you expect us to do when we infiltrate the base?" she questioned him.

"Orders are as follows: all or nothing. No one inside must survive-Cerberus is Shepard's enemy-our enemy. A threat to Shepard is a threat to all of us. Am I clear, Miranda?"

"Perfectly, Commander." She picked up her mixed drink from the table and clinked it against the one in his hand. "To the savior of the galaxy."

"I'll drink to that," he beamed.

"Listen, what did you do with Jacob and Legion?"

"Jacob is in stasis in a sleeping chamber, and Legion has been deactivated in the AI core. I'll deal with their mutiny later. Shepard's rescue is the priority."

"Mmhmm, indeed it is," she agreed and arose. "I think it's best that we get a good night's sleep."

"That's why I'm here," he winked.

"You seem to forget that I didn't spend that night with you voluntarily," she stated and shook her head no. "Can't exactly remember why I passed out, but...well, my head seems to be really bothering me tonight for some odd reason." She rubbed her temples. "I can't possibly understand why; I never get headaches."

"I understand, Miranda." Watson put his half-finished drink on the table in front of him. "See you in the morning."

After he left, she began to pace around the office and massaged her hands as she pondered the situation. "Why would Watson think that Jacob was betraying him? Why did I point my gun at him and Legion like the rest of the crew?" A sudden flare-up caused her to grimace in pain and stumble into her desk. She recovered her balance a few seconds later and exhaled deeply.

"Ms. Lawson, your heartbeat is erratic and your pulse is elevated. Would you like me to page Dr. Chakwas for you?" EDI suddenly inquired.

"Thank you, EDI, but no. I'm sure that I just need a decent night of sleep."


Normandy SR-2 Cargo Bay, Deck 4, 2136h

Serena, Liara, and Mordin quietly exited the SSV Calgary Goddess' shuttle. "There. That's the shuttle I saw!" Liara remarked in a hushed whisper and pointed to the mysterious craft.

"That looks like a piece of crap. You sure?" Longoria gibed.

"Let's get closer and find out," Mordin suggested. They made their way closer to the foreign vehicle, so far without detection. "Hmm…not so good with hieroglyphs, but Dr. T'soni may be. Could these be of Asari origin?"

"Yes, but they're really old, perhaps from a different dialect."

He turned on his omni-tool's flashlight to examine the markings more closely, and that's when the biotic field encompassed him without warning. Liara drew her pistol, and Longoria's finger moved to her assault rifle's trigger. Their attacker revealed herself; she was wearing scarlet armor with white golden jewelry around her neck and face. "No!" she harshly whispered to Serena and lowered her own gun. "Put down your rifle, Serena!"

"Who are you?" Longoria did not obey; she kept a defensive stance as the asari came closer towards them.

"I must ask that of you. I recognize Dr. Solus and Dr. T'soni, but you are unknown to me. I see a weapon in your arms prepared to fire at me. I am loyal to Commander Shepard, and I have come for him. What say you?"

"Serena, this is Samara, an asari justicar. I would advise you to cooperate; she's on our side," Liara said more quietly.

"You said that the only two friendlies we'd meet are a robot and a black man. She doesn't exactly fit that description," Longoria reminded her.

"I would prefer not to resort to violence, but if I must do so, I will," Samara stated authoritatively. "Are we friends or enemies?"

Finally, the Shadow Broker agent stood down and lowered her rifle. "There's no sense in turning down another potential ally."

The biotic field around Mordin dematerialized, and Samara joined them. "You have made a wise decision, human. I do not take lives without good reason; it does not give me pleasure. But there is a Code that I serve, and if it is violated, I will act upon it. I must apologize for my actions, Dr. Solus."

"No harm done," the salarian muttered with a shrug. "We are fortunate that you are here."

"I do not believe that I have had the pleasure of meeting you in person," Samara said and glanced at Liara, who sheathed her weapon. "Your face is reminiscent of a matriarch I recognize from long ago."

"Dr. Liara T'soni. This is Serena Longoria, from Earth."

"Wait a minute," Longoria paused. "Which matriarch?"

Liara and Samara exchanged glances; thankfully, Longoria could not read all asari body language. "If Dr. T'soni chooses to share that information with you, that is her business. I will not dishonor her wishes." After a beat, Samara spoke once more. "I came here because I could not communicate with the Normandy for the past week. I did not know why Shepard had not responded to me, until just now. There is an evil presence aboard this ship."

"What do you mean, evil presence?" Longoria interjected. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Mordin open up one of his briefcases and re-arm the tranquilizer gun with his nanomachines.

"Shepard is not here," Liara explained. "Cerberus took him while he was visiting me, in a surprise attack, I'm afraid."

The salarian crept up behind the younger asari and injected her with the gun. "Oh!" The sting surprised her, and Samara gave Mordin a bewildered expression.

"Whoa," Longoria exclaimed as she witnessed Liara's limbs start to quiver. Both she and Mordin caught Liara as she fell to the ground.

"Samara, Cerberus invented new countermeasure against biotics, although they call it the 'Ochrana'. Observe restraining bracelet around Serena Longoria's wrist. Was able to remove device from Dr.T'Soni earlier but did not give her the treatment. Best way to defend ourselves. Can also inject mixture into your bloodstream as well." He held up the tranquilizer gun.

"I would prefer to undergo this option only should it become necessary," Samara stated and gazed upon Liara's unconscious form. "Will she be all right?"

"Human seemed to recuperate well within half an hour. All depends upon Dr. T'Soni's immune system."

"Yeah, well, let's hope," Serena sneered. "You could have told her that you were gonna do that. Now we have to wait here until she's back on her feet, and who knows how long that'll take?"

"Can formulate a strategy to take back the Normandy in the meanwhile. Agreed?"

"Gotta start somewhere, I guess. You know this ship pretty well, right?" Longoria pointed at Samara, who nodded yes.

"There are four decks: engine, crew, combat, and personal captain quarters," she responded coolly.

"How do you know Dr. Solus? Thought he was some scientist in Binary Helix."

"I am a well traveled asari justicar. Biotic equipment is needed for some of the battles I find myself in. Sometimes, Dr. Solus would give me some of his prototypes, and in return, I would escort him throughout the galaxy for his business trips. I believe that there is a laboratory on the second deck of this ship that will suit your needs, Doctor."

"Good news. Will be excited to find it. Now, let's get to work," Mordin replied.