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Chapter 5: Dossier: The Mysterious Stranger

Revan was barely conscious when Lia returned to their apartment with Shepard and his team in tow. With her concentration on the ill former Jedi Knight before her, Lia missed the stunned and wary expressions of the humans who'd followed her. Turning when they failed to enter the apartment, Lia frowned at the uneasy expressions of the woman and the dark-skinned man as Shepard rubbed at his short dark brown hair in a nervous gesture he'd developed when it was shaved off for his basic training.

"You said he's being affected by the plague?"

Shepard's voice was nervous, but his eyes were resting on the near-human as he stood slowly from the table he was hunched over, snapping his SMG together in a quick and practiced gesture before securing it to the hip of his armor.

"There a reason we have company, Lia?"

The voice was hoarse from coughing and the pale skin of the man who'd spoken stood in stark contrast to the dimly lit room. The man almost appeared wraith-like as he slowly approached the trio of humans with Lia nervously at his side. Shepard found his eyes locked with the dark brown pools of the man, an inhuman flash of gold catching the other man's shadowed eyes as he approached the Cerberus Operatives and the former human Spectre.

"Revan Qel-Droma."

Revan offered his hand to Shepard, smirking viciously at the unease of the humans as they wondered if the plague had somehow jumped to humans. Allowing the trio to stew in their fears for a moment and reveling in the sensation of it, Revan licked his lips unconsciously, the taste of blood nearly causing him to start a whole new coughing fit.

"Commander Shepard."

Surprisingly, the former N7 Operative took Revan's hand and fixed the former Jedi's eyes with his own, a concerned frown crossing his features.

"Your friends going to introduce themselves?"

Revan's lips were upturned and his pale features had become sharp in the filtered light of the corridor as the five sentient beings moved out of the apartment, Lia quickly collecting their scattered belongings and placing them in a field pack before she raced after the humans and Revan.

"Sorry, Jacob Taylor."Getting over his unease at the thought of the plague jumping to humans, the former Alliance Corsair offered his hand to Revan, shaking the taller sentient's hand and banishing his fears. Something about the man didn't seem human and that was enough for Jacob to look past his initial fear. Miranda merely rose a brow, stepping back from the man as he turned to her and smiled cruelly at her unease.

"Lawson… Miranda Lawson."

Shepard glanced at his companions a moment, his expression pensive before he turned to Lia, his question dying on his lips when Revan staggered and collapsed mid-step. Moving quickly, the former Spectre caught the collapsing former Sith Lord, nearly falling himself when nearly two hundred and fifty pounds of solid muscle, bone and armor in a six foot two frame fell against him. Jacob quickly stepped forward, helping the Commander and commenting as he struggled to keep Revan's unconscious weight upright.

"This guy weighs a ton!"

Lia shifted nervously, her hand moving to rest on Revan's drooping forehead and then snapping back as she muttered a quick prayer.

"Keelah he's burning up. We have to hurry!"

Shepard, catching the panic in the young quarian's voice nodded agreement and turned to Miranda, her name leaving his lips conveying the urgency of their situation and what he needed her to do.

"Miranda."

Operative Lawson nodded grimly to Shepard's unspoken command, taking point as her two male companions dragged the third man between them through the corridors and towards Mordin's clinic. They'd cleared most of the Blue Sun and Blood Pack resistance in the area and with Miranda in the lead, the artificially enhanced human made short work of the scattered stragglers. As she worked, the Cerberus Operative felt a strange suspicion forming at the back of her mind as she cast a quick glance at the unconscious man held between Shepard and Taylor as they hauled the man towards aid. The plague didn't affect humans or vorcha. Such a jump would require the plague to be engineered if it were to affect multiple species and she had caught the pale gold, nearly feline light that had crossed Revan's eyes when he'd approached them at his apartment.

She would have to get the Commander's opinion as well as Jacob's, but Miranda recalled the data files that had come with the various alien armor pieces and equipment and tried to place the unconscious man's face over the recording's images of the Mysterious Stranger that had come through the Conduit on the Citadel. EDI would be ale to run a facial recognition scan once she was ale to get a scan of the man and with a small smirk, the Cerberus Operative felt a small sense of accomplishment at their find. Surely the man they were helping was not entirely human. Her enhanced senses had picked that up almost immediately and if a plague she suspected was being manufactured by possible agents of the Reapers was affecting a supposed Reaper agent, Cerberus may have found an important new ally in their war against the monstrous machines that had destroyed the Protheans and countless other species.

"That all depends on if we survive this wonderful mess."

Miranda mentally scolded her distracted thoughts as she pulled back, her biotics flaring as she brought up a barrier and moved around the corner again, grappling a Vorcha sniper and sending the alien into a wall before her SMG was trained on the staggering creature and ended its life. Shepard and Jacob quickly joined her while Lia attended to Revan's unconscious form and the Blood Pack that had ambushed them really stood no chance against three highly trained and well-equipped humans.

"Jacob, did Revan seem particularly… inhuman to you?"

Miranda took the break in combat to voice her thoughts to her fellow Operative and Jacob cast a quick glance over the battlefield, firing a single shot from his pistol into a flammable container, the resulting explosion and fire holding off a Krogan that was trying to reinforce the failing Vorcha defense.

"You got that too?"

Jacob spared Miranda a quick glance, catching the woman's expectant and blank expression before turning back to the battle and letting off a several quick shots into the Krogan as it charged Shepard's position.

"Of course you did."

Jacob commented as Miranda joined in on the trio's fire, making short work of the Krogan as it was riddled with Shepard's assault rifle fire, Jacob's incendiary rounds and Miranda's SMG bursts. Once the battle died down, Shepard joined his two companions and caught the shared look between the two at his approach.

"There a problem?"

Shepard's voice was calm, but the undercurrent of his tone promised a swift response if he didn't like the answer. He knew his two Cerberus companions thought he was wasting time helping Lia and Revan get to Mordin's clinic and in a sense he was but the delay was not so much that he would leave the two to their fate.

"Commander there is… an incident I think you should know about. It occurred nearly a month ago… when you were still being… rebuilt."

Shepard rose a brow at that. Much as he hated thinking about what had happened when he was dead, Miranda rarely brought up anything unless it was of vital importance.

"Do you remember that device I was working on when you came to speak with me after leaving Freedom's Progress?"

Shepard nodded, recalling the strange cylinder that Miranda had been obsessing over since the end of Project Lazarus. He'd been curious, but the woman's standoff attitude to his questions when he'd tried to get to know her initially had kept his treading lightly and he'd only asked professional and safe questions instead.

"The Conduit was activated over a month ago. Odd since the Council and a Salarian STG Unit secured the one from Ilos. The only conclusion was that there are other Conduits left behind by the Protheans. A… man came through the Conduit and was subsequently processed and ordered to be terminated by the Council when it was confirmed he was carrying illegal weaponry in the Presidium and was artificially enhanced by small sentient machines."

This was all news to Shepard and the former Spectre felt a chill go down his spine at the Council's actions while at the same time he was perplexed as to the origin of the being that had come through the Conduit. The Reapers didn't know about the Conduit until Saren's vision from the Prothean Beacons on Eden Prime and Virmire.

Shepard flinched at the thought of Virmire. He'd left a good soldier and a friend to die there and even after two years, most of which he spent unconscious, he still couldn't get over Ashley's death. Still, he'd had to save as many as he could and Kaiden had been pinned down with several of Kirahhae's men and it was the numerically sound decision. Give up one to save a dozen. It still hurt to think about it and Shepard pushed the dark thoughts to the back of his mind, collecting himself as he voice his own thoughts on the matter.

"That doesn't make any sense. The Reapers didn't know about the Conduit until Saren… They'd have had to build one if they wanted to use it and it would have had to be aligned to the one on the Citadel. It would have to be from a Prothean source otherwise or a test by the Salarians."

Miranda nodded, failing to catch the approach of Lia as the quarian caught part of their conversation in her enviro-suit's audio-receptors. Nervously, Lia glanced towards Revan's unconscious form and ran a hand over her shotgun uneasily. She didn't want to fight the humans but she would if it meant protecting her companion. She'd made a promise to herself that she would help him and until he either no longer needed help or told her otherwise, Lia would keep that promise.

"My thoughts exactly, Shepard. The Illusive Man also believes the being's origin to be beyond our galaxy which would rule out the Salarians as the culprits. I'm beginning to believe this plague was manufactured, Commander and if that is so, only a handful of organizations would have the resources to covertly create and release it. The Collectors are one of those and if I am right… that would make the man who appeared through the Conduit a month ago an… outside player if you will."

Shepard crossed his arms, casting a quick glance and frown at Lia as the young quarian drew her shotgun and glanced around nervously as she crouched beside where he and Jacob had set Revan down. Doing a quick check of his surroundings, the former N7 Operative chalked it up to nervousness before focusing on the conversation again.

"What the Hell does this guy who came through the Conduit have to do with the plague?"

Shepard made a gesture of his surroundings to his companions, his voice clearly heard by Lia as she quietly spied on the conversation. She didn't know who the Illusive Man was, but most of what the human woman had said measured up with what she'd learned of Revan and his initial appearance in her galaxy. Had she known the humans were working for Cerberus, her next reaction would have been violent rather than relieved.

"I will need to run a facial scan of the man as he had shoulder-length hair and a beard at the time but if I am right then Mister Qel-Droma over there is the man who came through the Conduit then this plague affecting him would confirm that he is neither a Reaper agent nor entirely human. He could be vital to our efforts against the Collectors and the Reapers if this is true. The man's equipment that was recovered from C-Sec has shown a level of advancement that the best minds the Illusive Man has working for him have failed to grasp in its simplest form. The lack of eezo in any of the devices is also… unheard of when you consider the power output the devices are capable of."

Shepard let that sink in for a moment, disbelief crossing his features as his blue eyes narrowed. If what Miranda was saying was true, the Council had tired to execute a man from a new species. A first-contact situation gone horribly wrong.

"Did he kill anyone on the Citadel?"

Shepard had to ask. To stop the Collectors who he was beginning to suspect were working for the Reapers, Even if they weren't, the Collectors were still a serious threat and he would do what was needed to stop them from abducting anymore innocent people.

"No, he hasn't killed anyone since he came here. I've been with him since he left the Citadel and I know he wouldn't harm anyone without a good reason."

The new voice drew the three humans gazes to Lia as she approached, her shotgun holstered at the small of her back as she nervously looked between them, hoping her trust wasn't misplaced with these humans. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if they harmed her companion, but she wasn't about to shoot them without just cause. Shepard glanced from the quarian youth to his companions, his expression pensive for a moment before he locked his gaze on Lia and offered her a reassuring smile. Miranda had nodded to confirm the quarian's statement and Shepard relaxed his guard, which had been up since they'd walked into the quarantine zone. Hell, since he first stepped foot on Omega and was accosted by Aria's thugs, a swindler and a Cerberus-hired mercenary that he was sure was going to shoot him if the pay was better on the other side. One of the reasons Zaeed was on the Normandy settling in and not on this particular mission.

"Well… I guess we've got a doctor to visit and a first-contact with someone from another galaxy to see to."

Shepard's companions relaxed and the Commander moved back to Revan's unconscious form, lifting the man with Jacob's assistance and continuing on to Mordin's clinic. He still had a Salarian to recruit and a quarantine to break. Hopefully Doctor Solus had a cure or it would be a long time before any of them left the quarantine zone. He wouldn't risk bringing the plague out of Omega, let alone these slums with what he'd seen of it so far and Commander was sure the Illusive Man would investigate the plague and come up with a solution if his investment in Shepard was lost because of the Commander's refusal to leave the slums until it was safe for all species and not just humans.

Aria T'Loak wasn't kidding when she said not to get Mordin started. Once Shepard's group had arrived at the clinic and the Salarian had seen Revan's unconscious form held between the Commander and Jacob, there was no stopping to get a word in edgewise.

"Human? Affected by plague? Impossible! Others would have shown signs of plague, none in weeks. Perhaps a different disease? No, no. Symptoms too similar, reactions identical to Batarian and Turians to plague. Deficient immune system? Extensive medications required if the case, none available within district. Possibility. More information required."

The Salarian spoke his thoughts aloud while Miranda and Jacob exchanged glances and Shepard merely looked on in disbelief. Lia was listening to the Salarian intently, shaking her head and trying to speak up as Mordin scanned Revan's unconscious form and stared in shock at the readings.

"Genetic variance from humans over twenty-five percent! Impossible! No species aside from Asari able to reproduce with other races! Genetic experiment? No, cellular decay too pronounced. Subject contains both human DNA and an unknown contributor. Aged nearly thirty human years. Predates human expansion through Relays. Unknown mineral detected in bloodstream… Nanites? Fascinating! Repairing damage from plague to subject. Plague spreading faster in response. Confirms intelligence behind design of plague. Who would have resources? Off subject, more scans needed to confirm cure isn't danger to subject."

Shepard had been following Mordin's rambling and jerked in surprise at the mention of a cure. Speaking up, Shepard interrupted Mordin's train of thought as the Salarian typed away at his Omni-tool with a frown.

"Wait, you have a cure?"

Mordin ignored Shepard's question, continuing his scans of Revan before frowning at the results.

"Odd. Variance in scans, unidentified organism hidden in subject's genetic code. Small… too small for normal scans. Serves no purpose? Unlikely. Possible reason for genetic bonding of unidentified DNA? Still doesn't explain subject's origins. Speculation, unimportant. Unidentified microbes unaffected by plague. Current cure viable for subject, administering now."

Mordin quickly took a syringe from a nearby tray, stabbing the needle into Revan's jugular and depressing the injector. The reaction was immediate. Lia made a noise of protest, Jacob and Miranda both palmed their weapons and Shepard looked on with a confused and slightly incredulous look.

"Gah! What the Hell!"

Revan's reaction was much more violent. The former Jedi Knight jolted violently, his entire body overcome with a massive spasm before he sat upright with a shout of surprise, his brown eyes glowing golden as he panted heavily and gazed around him in a slight daze. Spotting Lia, Revan forced his breathing to calm and absently rubbed his neck before he turned his eyes to the Salarian staring at him with a curious look.

"I feel… better."

Lia was sagging in relief while Mordin quickly ran a scan and looked on in surprise as the unidentified microbes he'd detected in the man worked with the cure flowing through Revan's bloodstream, augmenting and accelerating the healing and recovery process to unheard of levels while the strained nanites in Revan renewed their attack on the damaged tissue left behind from the plague, mending the man at an almost impossible rate.

"Amazing! Even Krogans do not regenerate this quickly. Microbes augmenting healing process. Nanites responding with marked intelligence to plague remnants. Possibly sentient? Must know, how do you hold two species' DNA patterns?"

Revan continued to rub at his neck, frowning down at his body and how weak it had felt before. He was stronger than this, stronger than to be killed by a simple plague, yet he acknowledged that his expedient recovery was beneficial.

"My mother was a half-breed Taung from the planet Mandalore. My father was a human. The microbe you're talking about is actually present in just about everything though it is too small for most devices to pick up. That is a powerful scanner you have there, doctor."

Mordin smiled at the compliment, feeling a bit of pride in the praise his upgraded and personalized scanner received from Revan before introducing himself.

"Ah, manners. Forgive me. Mordin Solus, Doctor. Fascinating background, must know what is Taung? Have never heard of species."

Revan's demeanor changed quickly from polite to closed off and his expression darkened slightly as he stood slowly from the medical bed Jacob and Shepard had lain him on.

"Extinct since the end of the Mandalorian Wars… or nearly anyways."

Mordin's expression shifted as he gazed down at the floor and sighed, shaking his head.

"Wasteful. No species deserves extinction. Each has something to offer if only others would listen and accept different cultures. Sad fate, tragic."

Revan closed his eyes for a moment, drawing in a deep breath and trying to banish the horrific images of Malachor V shattering under the affects of the Mass Shadow Generator and watching his people and the soldiers that had trusted him with their lives die by the millions. Wasteful, yes, but entirely necessary to end the war. Opening his eyes, Revan merely nodded to Mordin's words, his eyes locking with Shepard's and flickering to Lia's faceless mask for a moment before returning to the Commander's.

"Shepard was it? I owe you a great debt for bringing me here and making sure Lia arrived safely as well. Whatever you need, just ask."

The statement from the other man sounded like an oath and Shepard frowned, shifting uncomfortably at the hard and unmoving gaze of Revan. Cerberus would want to question the man and despite their interests, Shepard himself had some questions to ask the man who was seemingly from another galaxy.

"Well, Revan. It just so happens I have some very important business at hand. Human colonies are being abducted by a race known as the Collectors."Mordin started at that, turning to Shepard and giving the nearby patients under his care curious looks.

"Collectors one of few who could engineer plague. Lack of human victims would indicate interest from Collectors in harvesting humans for unknown purpose. More information needed, but possible connection with plague and disappearances. Would like to help… but need to cure first."

Shepard nodded in understanding to Mordin's statement, waving his hand to his human companions.

"I'm working with a secret organization to stop them. If this plague is part of their agenda than it needs to end. We'd like your help, Doctor Solus. Yours as well, Revan… if you're interested."

Revan was frowning while Mordin went off on another tangent about a missing assistant and necessary information and after sharing a quick glance with Lia and seeing the young quarian offer an undecided shrug, Revan decided to take a chance, after clarifying what secret organization he was working for. He wanted nothing to do with the Citadel until he got his lightsabers back and until then he was able to understand the nuances of this galaxy's politics, Revan wanted to avoid exposure as much as possible. He'd need to program his nanites to broadcast human life signs and disguise themselves when he had time but until then, questions needed answers.

"Secret organization? I don't have to worry about being dissected or incinerated because of variant DNA or Intelligent Nanites do I?"

Shepard answered before thinking, believing honesty to be necessary if one was to trust who they were working with. Part of the reason he didn't trust Cerberus. Jacob seemed like a good man and many of the crewmen of the SR2 Normandy seemed like good and honest people who simply wanted to do something to make a difference when their own government wouldn't, but he'd fought Cerberus and seen enough of their experiments to have any delusions as to how good the people his crew ultimately answered to were.

"Cerberus. it's a human-run former black-ops organization that-"

The sound of a shotgun extending and a heatsink activating stopped Shepard's explanation as he turned to stare at the angry quarian pointing a shotgun directly at his head. Depending on the strength of Lia's weapon, the shot would likely be fatal if not catastrophic with or without his kinetic barriers and Shepard slowly raised his hands, quickly waving off Miranda and Jacob's immediate responses of raising their weapons.

"You are working with Cerberus! You Boshtet! I should kill you where you stand!"Lia turned to Revan, her voice urgent while Mordin had backed away, looking between the two opposing groups with indecision. He would act to avoid violence in his clinic, but until the situation was more clear, a proper response was diplomacy.

"Weapons unnecessary. Clinic, young one. Not the place for violence."

Lia was trembling with anger as she kept her weapon on Shepard for a moment longer before she signed and lowered the shotgun, her head bowing in shame as she thought of her reaction. All quarians knew of Cerberus' attempt to destroy one of their ships and the resulting deaths within the fleet. The fleet was family and it meant her own family, despite not being related by blood was murdered by Cerberus Operatives.

"That wasn't our Cell."

Miranda's interjection was unhelpful and Revan frowned at the violent reaction from his companion, surprised at the fire he saw in her demeanor. Obviously it was more important to the quarian than the casual disregard the woman had addressed the situation with and Revan palmed his SMG thoughtfully, ignoring the tensing of the Cerberus Operatives.

"Lia. They're telling the truth."

Lia glanced at Revan, her body motionless for a moment before she reluctantly retracted her shotgun and secured it to her back. Shaking her head, Lia made a move to storm out of the room before remembering her promise to help Revan.

"You can't ask me to work with them, Revan. I won't betray my people!"

Revan shook his head, pulling his hand from his weapon and moving to Lia's side slowly, using the Force to calm the young woman before he spoke his own thoughts on the matter.

"They have connections. Information we- information that I need. I need my armor and my weapons back. Especially my mask if I want to get back to my own galaxy. They'll know who I need to talk to, who I need to kill if necessary to get it all back."

Shepard cast a glance to Miranda, seeing that the woman was not going to offer anything and made a quick jerking motion of his head to Revan as he lowered his arms. Miranda rolled her eyes at the Commander's conscience, sighing heavily as she offered Revan the incentive he needed.

"Actually… Mister Qel-Droma. Cerberus was able to recover your… belongings from C-Sec security shortly after your escape. I- I don't recall a mask being on the manifest for the crate but the items have been placed under by supervision and I can… have them returned to you for your assistance in-"

Revan was across the room and had Miranda's throat in his left hand in an instant while his right was held out and an invisible Force held Jacob and Shepard in place. Even Jacob's biotics were unable to work as a screaming, blinding pressure built in his head as he tried to resist Revan's powers and Revan leaned in to Miranda's personal space, his face inches from the Operatives as he spoke in a low, harsh tone that despite her training and experience, terrified the young woman.

"You will not dictate to me what is done with my own property. You will hand it over freely or die horribly, is that clear?"

Something was pressing at her mind, compelling her to agree and Miranda could only nod feebly, her face pale as Revan applied slight pressure to her neck, his fingers not actually adding the pressure, but his very thoughts.

"Wise move."As quickly as the violent, overbearing presence had come, it had vanished. Two Cerberus Operatives gasped for breath while a former human Spectre rubbed at his head and warily eyed Revan. Lia had watched the display in surprise, never having seen Revan act so violently and Mordin was entranced with the sight, his quick mind racing with the possible explanations to the near-palpable yet invisible power Revan wielded so easily.

"We have common goals. The plague and the quarantine. We end both and kill anyone involved. That includes the Collectors if they are truly the ones responsible for its release. I was General to a galaxy-spanning armada, Warlord to a race of beings so powerful it would send any I've seen since coming here to your galaxy fleeing in terror. You do not and you never will dictate terms to me. I am helping you because we have common interests. Do not take me for a tool you can wield at will or someone you are capable of being dishonest to."

Shepard moved to stand between Revan and Miranda, giving the former Jedi Knight a hard stare and a tight frown. Whatever the Hell had just happened was different form anything he'd experienced, including biotics and his entire body was screaming at him to get out of the other man's way. He couldn't though, it just wasn't who he was.

"As long as you're working for my crew, you answer to me. You step out of line and we leave you here. I don't care who you were before you came here or what you can do. You want my help you toe the line and say yes sir, do you understand me?"Shepard ignored his rain screaming at him to turn tail and run and got right in Revan's face, his synthetically-enhanced eyesight catching the murderous look that flashed across the man's face before it smoothed and Revan's eyes locked with his own. The two men stared each other in the eyes for several tense moments before Revan smirked, respect entering his eyes as he stood at attention and offered an alien salute, his closed right fist crossing over his chest and resting over his heart.

"Aye, Commander."

Shepard kept his gaze locked on Revan's before he came to the conclusion that the other man wasn't going to look away first and relented, fixing his eyes on Lia's mask.

"Miss Vael nar Ulnay. I am not Cerberus, my name is Commander John Shepard and I am a former Council Spectre and Alliance N7 Marine. I worked with one of your kind to stop the rogue Spectre Saren two years ago… Tali'Zorah vas Neema, formerly nar Rayaa. I also provided her vital information on the Geth that she aided me in recovering for her pilgrimage and I understand your mistrust of Cerberus. I myself am responsible for ending many of their illegal experiments and I hope you understand that I have nothing but respect for the Migrant Fleet and the Quarian people. My only reason for working with them is to stop the abduction of innocent human colonists by the Collectors. I am certain you can see why I would be compelled to work with them when the Alliance and Council have failed for months to do anything over these attacks and abductions."

Lia reluctantly nodded her agreement with Shepard's eloquent and long-winded explanation of his mission and she shared a glance with Revan, seeing the Mandalorian-raised former Sith Lord nod reassuringly to her to confirm Shepard's honesty.

"Then I suppose if you have Revan's help you have mine as well. If it were my people suffering, I would do what was needed and I respect your honesty and your reasoning, Commander. Please forgive my… reaction earlier at hearing who you work through. Cerberus is an enemy of the Flotilla and I couldn't trust them with my- my friend."

Revan rose a row at Lia's use of the word friend in regards to him and the former Jedi Knight shifted uncomfortably, stopping when he caught sight of Miranda smirking at his discomfort.

"Bitch."

Revan muttered to himself, sneering slightly at the woman before shaking his head and glancing at Mordin. The Salarian had been watching the interactions of his guests in silent fascination, cataloguing their responses and reactions mentally and observing them, making his own conclusions as to the people he would be working with once the plague was taken care of.

"Might I suggest we… get this plague taken care of, Commander?"Shepard turned from Lia to Revan, offering a neutral nod to the man and still trying to shake the unease he felt at the shift in the man's personality. It was going to be an interesting day.