Kaidan drifted back to awareness as he felt Shepard slide out from under his arm, heard the rustle of the bedsheets beside him and the soft thump of her feet on the floor. He was becoming far more adept at detecting when she was trying to slip out of bed without him.

"Shepard?" he murmured, still bleary-eyed; it had take him awhile to get to sleep last night.

"Get up," she responded, tossing an energy bar at him then unwrapping one for herself. "We'll be hitting Horizon soon and I don't know what we'll find there; I'm gonna need everyone ready."

It was hard to believe this was the same woman he'd held in his arms the night before: devastated, lost, tears attacking her eyes as she fought to keep them at bay. And in fact, in a way, it wasn't. She was the Commander now; she had set the previous day's events aside and was prepared to take action. As she had after Virmire, and after Mars, and, though he hadn't been there to see it, after Horizon as well. And...

"Wait, Horizon? What do you think we'll find there?"

"With any luck, Cerberus." Shepard took a seat at her desk and powered on her terminal. "Traynor and EDI tracked Kai Leng to that relay, so it's- FUCK YOU!" Shepard violently shoved the terminal across the desk; he could see the display shiver from the vibration. "Fucking SHITHEAD! Gonna wish I killed your ass on Thessia!"

"Shepard." He was at her side in an instant, leaning over to view the message, quickly realizing that what appeared to be a communication from the Asari military regarding the Thessia evacuation was, in fact a taunting missive from Kai Leng. His teeth clenched, but he tried to downplay his reaction for Shepard's benefit. "Shepard, he's trying to get a rise out of you, trying to make you careless. Don't let him have the satisfaction."

"Oh, he'll get some fucking satisfaction. The satisfaction of a knife in his gut and a bullet in his head."

Angry Shepard was an improvement over despondent Shepard, though not by much. He rested his hands on her shoulders and leaned down, close to her ear. "You're letting it get personal. Don't. Remember what all this is about; what we're really fighting for."

Deliberately, forcefully, she slowed her breathing. "The Reapers. The goddamn Reapers."

"Right. The goddamn Reapers. Now come on, let's go grab a real breakfast before we have to gear up."

"Hang on," she put up a hand. "I've got an email from my mom, too. And hopefully this one's for real." He began to move away to let her have some privacy. She reached up and took his hand. "Don't. Stay."

Hey,

I heard what happened on Thessia. I know it was difficult for you. And I just wanted to remind you, I believe in you. I know you probably hear that 100 times before breakfast, but remember: I don't say it because you're some kind of figurehead, or icon, or whatever they want to make you out to be. I say it because I know you better than any of them, and I've never seen you back down from a challenge. If there's a way for us to win this thing, you'll find it. Give 'em hell, sweetie.

Love you,

Mom

"So what would Cerberus be up to here?" Kaidan asked as the shuttle descended toward the refugee camp on Horizon's surface.. "Granted, the colony was halfway across the planet, but I didn't see any sign of them when I was stationed there except for, ah, you. Sorry."

"It's okay," Shepard responded. And it was. There was nothing accusatory in his tone; it was just a time in both of their lives that had happened, and it was over. It was refreshing to feel that, to know it for sure, but she pushed the thought from her mind. They had bigger things to focus on. "And we don't even know for sure if they're actually here, or Kai Leng was just passing through. Or if it was just a diversion."

"Well I'm picking up something from the surface," Cortez hollered from the cockpit. "Not sure if it means anything." He patched the message through.

"This is Oriana Lawson. I'm warning you, turn back now, Sanctuary is a lie. Please, turn back-"

"Oriana," Shepard repeated. "That's Miranda's sister."

"And there's our link to Cerberus," Garrus finished.

"Steve, get us down there."

They stepped from the shuttle just in time to see a Cerberus shuttle spiral down and crash in the ruined courtyard beyond. "Look out, Harvester!" shouted Garrus.

Shepard crouched down and scanned the sky, shielding her eyes. "It didn't see us." She stood and headed toward the courtyard. "Keep an eye out for the welcoming committee, though." It didn't take long for her prediction to come true, as a squad of Cerberus troops came pouring from the entrance to the facility.

Dispatching them with little trouble, the trio headed through the front door, where a woman's voice welcomed newcomers, warning them that their possessions would be searched and any communication devices would be disabled. "Bring 'em in and then make sure no one can call out. Seems like an obvious setup," said Kaidan.

"Yeah," agreed Garrus. "But people will agree to a lot when their desperate."

A familiar voice sounded from a nearby vidscreen. "This is a Cerberus facility..."

"That sounded like Miranda," said Garrus.

Shepard ran toward the terminal. "Damnit, Miranda! If you've screwed me..." She activated the terminal to hear the rest of the message.

"If you've made it this far, you're either desperate or stupid. This is not a refugee camp; it's a Cerberus facility run by my father, Henry Lawson. There is no help to be found here. Leave, now."

Well, Miranda was still on their side, at least. "So we've got Cerberus, Reapers and Miranda's crazy father. Now we just need to find out what ties them together. Garrus, find us a way out of here."

Kaidan stepped to her side as Garrus went to try the doors. "Lis, are you okay?"

She shook her head. "I don't know what's going on here, but I don't like it. And now I've got a friend caught in the middle. I won't be okay til we get it figured out." At his sorrowful gaze, she added, "Thanks for asking, though."

"That's a no-go on the doors, Shepard," Garrus called. "They're not controlled by anything locally."

"Damn!" The area they were in was bound in on the far side by a huge pool; she wasn't looking forward to swimming with armor on. A control panel stood beside the ladder leading down to the water. "What about this?"

Garrus joined her. "Let me take a look." He knelt beside the panel. "Nope, nothing running to the doors... wait, what's this?"

The pool began to drain before their eyes. Kaidan whistled. "Hell of a back door."

The devices revealed by the receding water looked familiar. "Hey, guys, does that remind you of anything?" Shepard asked, worried.

Kaidan nodded, while Garrus spoke. "Yeah, it reminds me of Saren's base on Virmire."

"Yeah," she agreed, "that's what I was thinking, too. Reaper tech."

They descended into the empty pool and passed through a nearby door. Security cam footage looped on a nearby screen. A Cerberus scientist was placing an unconscious refugee into what looked like some kind of sleeper pod. Then...

"They're just... killing them," Garrus said, horrified.

"Not just," Kaidan added, pointing to another pod on the screen. "They're turning them into husks."

"Fuck everything about this place!" Shepard had had it by this point. The Illusive Man could say that they had the same goal, that he was just trying to protect humanity in his own way, but she couldn't wait to hear how he'd try to justify this. There was no excuse.

She slammed the door control to the next room. She heard a familiar sound, faint at first but growing louder. The sound of husks scurrying toward them, husks that had once been desperate refugees. "Bastard," she said under her breath. But there was nothing she could do for them now. Shepard sent out a Shockwave as the husks drew into range, taking out the bulk of the forces and scattering the rest.

She worked methodically, now, picking off the husks one by one with shotgun blasts, or swiping at them with her blade. Garrus and Kaidan might have been helping, too. She wasn't sure. Shepard was a machine, focused, with a job to do. Find Miranda. Find Kai Leng. Find out why the Illusive Man was doing this, and end it. Other Reaper forces followed the husks She barely noticed as she Charged a Marauder, dropping its shields, then finished the job with a point-blank shotgun blast to its head. Relative silence filled the room as she slowly turned around now, making sure no enemies were still standing. She was ready to give the all clear when she saw the banshee rounding the corner, its barrier glowing with barely contained biotic energy. She sighed; they didn't have time for this. "Out of my way, bitch!"

She fired up her own biotic field, and Charged.

"Shepard, don't!" Kaidan shouted too late, as Shepard flew toward the banshee. What was she doing? Had she forgotten how deadly those things were up close? Nononono, he pleaded as he whittled down the banshee's barrier with his rifle. It didn't seem to slow it down, though, as the banshee picked up Shepard with its long, clawlike fingers. Kaidan froze as the banshee wound up for its final strike.

Fwoot! Kaidan swung his head toward the sound to see the barrel of Garrus' sniper rifle, then turned to where it was pointing to see the banshee crumple to the ground, dropped by Garrus' headshot. Shepard lay motionless beside it. He raced to her side, pulling off his gloves. He pressed his fingers to her neck, relieved to feel her strong pulse beneath them.

Shepard stirred beneath him. He opened his mouth to speak but felt Garrus's hand on his shoulder, pulling him back. "Let me talk to her."

"But I..."

"That's not what she needs right now. I'll talk to her."

Kaidan nodded. The turian was right; Shepard needed the no-nonsense, What happens to the galaxy if you die? speech. Not the How could you do that to me? version. She'd get the other one later. Now she needed to get up, calm down, and lead them, competently, through their mission here. Still, he caught her eye from across the room as Garrus spoke to her, hoping to remind her that while everything Garrus was saying was true, there was still someone here who cared about more than what she had to do right now. Who cared about her.

"Alenko!" she called as Garrus helped her to her feet. "Let's move!" Her face was hard and determined as Kaidan hurried to join him, but she reached back and briefly squeezed his hand as he neared her side.

Henry Lawson stood with his back against the huge observation window, pistol to his younger daughter's head. Miranda knew her father well. He wasn't going to be convinced he was wrong; her only chance was to try to bargain with him. "Look, I have no problem with you. I just want Oriana and your research data."

He sneered. "You want a lot."

"You get your life in return. How much is that worth?"

He hesitated. Shepard continued to stare at him, unflinching. "All right." He released his hold on Oriana, letting her fall to the ground. "Take her, but I get out of here alive. Deal?"

Shepard lowered her weapon, but she heard the crackle of a biotic field to her left. Miranda had left her hiding place to join them. "NO DEAL!" she shouted, Throwing Henry Lawson through the glass to the factory floor below. She then hurried over to where her sister had fallen, helping her up and pulling her close.

Shepard turned away to give them some privacy, heading toward the console where Kaidan was already trying to pull up the facility's research data. "I think I have what you're looking for," said Miranda, approaching them from behind. She activated her omni-tool for the data transfer. "All my father's notes from this facility, all the work they were doing here."

"What werethey doing here?" Shepard asked. "Reaper tech is dangerous; what were they trying to accomplish?"

"My father told the Illusive Man he'd found a way to control the Reapers."

"Control the Reapers? That's-" Shepard lowered her voice as the pieces fell into place. "That's why he's been so dogmatic about this, interfering in everything I've tried to do. He's trying to sabotage the whole damn war effort, so he can swoop in and take over with his own personal Reaper army."

"But we can stop him," said Miranda. "I managed to put a tracker on Kai Leng's ship. He's bringing the research data back to the Illusive Man. And now we know where that is."

Shepard clenched her teeth. "About time we caught a break. Looks like Kai Leng's gonna be bringing more than just the data."