Chapter 14: The Team part. II

Miranda's quarters:

"So when were you going to tell Shepard about the Cerberus troops on Sur'Kesh?" Garrus questioned. He'd come to her office to question her about her involvement on Suur'kesh. Shepard had yet to

"Would it have mattered? " She said, never looking away from her monitor. "The teams I sent there obviously saw the Krogan moving off world as a threat and acted accordingly."

"People died down there! What is Shepard going to tell the council when they receive the report?"

Miranda was frustrated, for about a year she'd dealt with the council at arms length at the request of Shepard. Giving them technology from the collector base at the cost of the organizations advancement. "Do you think this is a game Vakarian?" She circled around her desk, toward him. Her tone was angry, her gaze was cold and unfeeling. "An alliance between the krogan and the council will only serve to strengthen it's hold over galactic affairs. And when the reapers do arrive enforce they'll leave humanity out to fend for it's self."

She stared Garrus down. "Humanity can't always depend on the council. Look at how quick they were to brand Shepard a traitor and send a spectre to hunt you and the crew down less than a year ago!" She jabbed her finger in his chest. "We can't always rely on the council and when the Reapers get here it'll be every man for its self!"

"When the Reapers do get here we wont survive by mistrusting our allies!" Garrus shot back. "We're all in this together Lawson, humanity isn't fighting these things alone and the sooner you realize that the better we'll be."

"We'll definitely see, wont we?" She went back behind her desk and proceeded to typing on her monitor. "If there is nothing else I'd like to..."

Shepard has requested that all squad mates report to the briefing room. E.D.I interrupted.

The cockpit:

"So we finally get some page time?"

"Who are you talking to Jeff?" E.D.I asked, puzzled by the pilots rambling.

"Oh, never mind."

Joker looked over to the blue hologram. "E.D.I with all the things we've been through do you ever worry about ending up like the old Normandy?"

"I have thought about it on occasion and while staying functional is preferable to destruction, `death` is a reality of our service."

"Figured you'd say something like that."

"Why do you bring it up, Jeff?"

Joker turned back to the controls. "No reason... I just..." The screen flickered in the bottom right corner. Someone was paging them.

Briefing room,

15 minutes ago:

Shepard was preparing for the coming verbal flogging he was no doubt going to get from the council. He didn't account for Cerberus troops to be there and the STG had no doubt alerted the council before he could step foot on the ship. He couldn't explain why he froze up down there and if it wasn't for Jack crushing that mech, he would have been done for.

"Shepard you are getting a transmission from Alliance command, labeled urgent." E.D.I announced, her blue avatar popping up in front of him.

"Put them through." He ordered, hopping to prolong a meeting with the council.

Admiral Hackett here and Shepard we need your help.

"I'm listening."

A research base of ours on Caleston has recently gone dark and the garrison in orbit wont respond to our calls.

"Were we studying there, Admiral?"

The admiral took a deep breath, his face dropping. We were studying a reaper artifact, along with a group from Noveria that was examining some prothean ruins on the other side of the planet.

"Another Reaper artifact?" Shepard said dryly. "The last time we got lucky enough for the council could keep it quiet and to pin it on the fact several Reapers are already in the galaxy and blamed it on them."

I know Shepard. And I wouldn't ask you to do this if it wasn't important. We got this distress signal almost a day ago.

This is Captain David Anderson of New Project base! Base security has been compromised, we are requesting immediate extraction!

That's all we got before the transmission cut.

"I'm on my way admiral."