Chapter three: The start of something.
AN/ Now freshly beta'd and resubmitted. Thanks goes to Rhiannon for giving the next two chapters a good looking over.
Shepard was in the port observation enjoying a drink alone after his meeting with the council. He had given the crew that the Alliance had supplied, leave for the night and was on the ship by himself. Doctor Chakwas was off probably getting medical supplies and Joker was in the cockpit most likely arguing with E.D.I about him leaving his toe nail clippings on the dash board.
The Alliance crew was very helpful and didn't seem to mind the non Alliance issue luxuries on the ship and for the most part got along (if not uneasily) with the Cerberus crew on board. At first there were some small altercations but eventually every one was content enough to mind their own and work together cooperatively.
Shepard turned around as he heard the doors opening. It was Garrus Vakarian who had stayed with Shepard after the battle at Arcturus. "Shepard have you got a minute?" He asked with a hint of concern in his voice.
"If I tell you I'm calibrating something will you leave?" Shepard asked, turning back around.
"I'm afraid it can't wait." Garrus said, pulling up a chair at the bar next to Shepard. "Tali's worried about you." Garrus said. "Hell I'm even starting to worry!"
"What about?" Shepard groaned, downing a drink.
"The last couple of missions we've been on you've been a little... unfocused."
"I've got things under control." Shepard dismissed. "Nothing to worry about." He lied. For the past few months he felt anything but in control and judging by the look on Garrus's face he picked up on the deceit.
"You're an awful liar." He stated.
Shepard gave a weak laugh and shrugged his shoulders. "Damn looks like you caught me!"
The commanders face turned more serious. "It's the Reapers." He sighed. "They're pushing deeper into Council space and they've destroyed every colony along the way."
"And we can't do any thing to stop them."
Garrus had a feeling there was more than just what Shepard was telling him. "Do you think we can win?"
"Sure we could." Shepard mumbled, staring into the empty glass in front of him. "The collector base was supposed to ensure that we could beat the Reapers, but I don't think that will be enough any more."
"I never thought I'd see you giving up Shepard." Garrus said quietly, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Giving up isn't in me. I'll fight until either we win or they kill me." Shepard said, trying to reassure Garrus that he wasn't quitting on the galaxy. "It's just... " he exhaled heavily, anger showing on his face. "Every thing I do only seems to slow them down!" He growled, slamming his fist onto the bar table.
"I stop Sovereign, I only stop them from using the Citadel rely, the Collectors blow up the Normandy, I kill the Collectors, the Reapers used the rely nexus at Arcturus to just get a few of them in the galaxy anyway!"
"They're always one step ahead Garrus!" Shepard said bitterness lacing each word.
"Shepard you're not fighting them alone. The Reapers are a threat to every one." Garrus said trying to put Shepard's mind at ease, putting a hand on his commander's shoulder.
"I guess even the savior of the Citadel doubts himself a little." Shepard whispered to him self, walking to the window looking out into the void of space.
The turian got up and headed towards the door. "If there's anything I can..."
"No Garrus I'll be fine." Shepard interrupted, staring out into space. "Just take your leave, you might not get another one."
Garrus nodded and left the Commander to his thoughts. Garrus had stayed with Shepard after the mission to the collector base and even helped him escape from the councils trial. Of every one on the Normandy Garrus was the only one besides Ashley he felt he could talk to about his worries with the Reaper threat. He'd helped Garrus deal with Sidonis and right now Shepard was wondering how to get his own version of revenge.
He'd already destroyed the Collectors, in the past year and a half he's helped kill a few Reapers and from what Miranda and Ashley told him the Illusive Man was dead. Shepard wondered if he would get a chance to find his own Sidonis or if like Zaheed - whom he had left on Zorya - was being consumed by an unobtainable revenge that would play a part in killing him.
"Um... Commander!" Joker squawked over the intercom. "Jack's on deck three and she's not happy about... "
"Hold on a second!" Shepard interrupted. "Did you just say Jack was here?" He questioned in disbelief at the statement.
The elevator doors to the third deck opened to a cacophony of noise that was coming from the lower part of the deck. Shepard hurried through the doors and down the stairs. On the way down the stairs Shepard nearly got hit by a crate that whizzed passed his head. Shepard watched for a moment as a smaller tattooed woman said a number of expletives and tossed another set of crates with her biotics.
Noticing Shepard, she turned around. "What the fuck is all this shit!" Jack yelled, pointing at the pile of crates she created.
"Extra storage I decided to put in here because no one was using it." Shepard replied with a wide grin on his face. "It's nice to see you Jack but what are you doing here?"
Jack sat down on the cot she sleeps on. "Ran with this merc group for a while." She said, leaning back against the wall. "They had a real hard on for Cerberus so I joined up and we hit some basses."
"Okay that's still not answering the question."
Jack rolled her eyes. "They got boring so I came looking for you."
"So you just left?"
"Yep." The ex-convict answered simply and to the point.
"Any way I heard you'd be on the Citadel and I thought I might as well join up with the only person to treat me like a person instead of their personal attack dog. " She explained. "So here I am, lets go right now, no strings attached and lets save the galaxy... again!"
Shepard couldn't shake the shocked expression on his face. "I'm not complaining but why help me when you wouldn't even talk to me after the suicide mission?" He questioned.
"Well when you play mind games with some one who's had them done to her all her life ." She explained . "They feel a certain way about it!"
Shepard glared at the biotic. "I was only trying to be your friend Jack. You made it more than it was."
"Ya should have told me you were spoken for." She said, ignoring Shepard.
Shepard gave a confused look to Jack and from the looks of it she picked up on it."That chick who busted your ass out of that trial must have some serious shit." She said looking away from Shepard, sounding more serious than he'd had ever heard her.
"But yeah, send someone to move those boxes, because I'm not carrying shit!" She said, the expression on her face changing completely.
"Commander, Miranda wants to see you in the comm room." Joker announced over the intercom.
"Still dealing for the Illusive Man and his cheer leader?" Jack sneered.
"The Illusive Man isn't doing much of anything these days." Shepard replied, walking away from the biotic.
Jacked laughed. "You kill him?" she asked.
Shepard turned around. "Actually Miranda did."
Jack only nodded and when Shepard got up the stairs he heard the faint laughter coming from Jack getting louder.
Shepard walked into the middle of the of the com room, an orange grid ascending from the floor. The room went dark and the only thing visible was Miranda sitting in a chair and a red star glowing in the back ground. "Commander Shepard." She said.
Shepard crossed his arms and smiled. "Illusive Woman?" He jeered.
Miranda returned the smile. "Don't ever call me that again."
Shepard shrugged. "Sorry couldn't be helped ... so what do you need?"
"After you get off the Citadel I want you to go to the Feros colony." Miranda ordered. "Shepard ... we lost contact and I haven't gotten a report from my contact there in weeks!"
"Doesn't sound too good." Shepard thought to himself. "Do you know any thing else?" he asked, interested in finding out more.
"No and that's the problem!" She got up from her seat and walked towards Shepard.
"I wouldn't ask you to look into this if it wasn't important, but... "
"Say no more Miranda, I'll look into it." Shepard interrupted. "Anything I should know before going down?"
Miranda turned around and paced around the room. "I sent a team of Cerberus commando's, I got a code Omega from them."
"Meaning what?" Shepard asked. Thinking it suspicious that Miranda sent Commando's to a colony.
"That means they encountered a hostel species and that they were in a position in which they couldn't set up proper communications!"Miranda snapped. Shepard wasn't sure whether or not she meant to put so much venom in her words but ignored it.
"So that rules out the Reapers destroying the colony." Shepard said to himself.
"Oh and one more thing." Miranda said sitting back down in her chair . "Make sure Jack behaves herself." She spat before cutting communication.