Sorry all for the delay, massive things going on in real life, so fanfic kinda got pushed to the side. but never fear, it was never forgotten.

Here's the fourth chapter in Rule of Engagement. Also going up today is a new chapter in Convictions. When I started them, I had no idea just how much of a life of their own they'd develop, but here we are now.

As part of full disclosure, this was written after ME3 came out.

Bioware owns the characters, but they're never own, their FREEDOM! (sorry for the Braveheart reference, I couldn't help it!)

Shepard and Ash were working in the CIC. Shepard was at his console, while Ash was leaning up against the railing, going over information on an OSD.

"Ok, Shepard, I give." Ash said. "I've been staring at this duty roster for the better part of an hour, and I can't figure something out…"

Shepard looked up. "What's that?"

"How the hell Miranda keeps this straight. She has notes in here about rotational changes, not scheduling person A on the same shift as person B, time required between shifts… as soon as I find a person to handle a shift, there's one thing or another that disqualifies them. How the hell does anything get done on this ship?"

Shepard smiled. Ash never did like the minutia of being in command, but he knew she was much better at it then she gave herself credit for. "I guess it's all the genetic engineering she went through. She sees patterns in things that I know I can't."

Ash sighed as she put the OSD down. "Well, I guess I'll just have to stumble my way through it. Anyone has a problem, I've have them file a complaint with the personnel department."

Shepard raised an eyebrow at Ash, and quickly got his answer: "Grunt."

He laughed. "I think that's the best job for Grunt that anyone's come up with for some time!"

They both laughed, perhaps a little more than they intended to. They were on their way back to the Citadel, after dropping Miranda and Jack off on Eden Prime. Anderson had informed them that routine maintenance on the Citadel had uncovered a previously unknown area, and he was hoping that the two of them might be able to make some sense of the Prothean technology that they were finding; namely, another beacon.

En route, they had received an urgent message from Liara, asking them to pick her up from her ship. Suddenly very busy, and without their XO, Shepard and Ash were realizing just how invaluable Miranda was.

Fortunately, though, the crew of the Normandy was still working like a well-oiled machine, and aside from the odd misstep every now and then, Ash was proving to be a more than capable administrative assistant. Though I'd still never hire her as a secretary, Shepard chuckled to himself.

"Ash, Shepard? We're about fifteen minutes out from the Shadow Broker's ship." Kelly's voice came from her station. For security's sake, Ash and Shepard had asked that everyone still refer to Liara by her job title, just in case.

"Thanks, Kelly." Ash stretched. "It'll be good for a change of scenery, even if it is just another ship."

"Actually… there might be an issue."

Both Shepard and Ash looked up to the galaxy map as Kelly brought up the image from her terminal. The distinctive white and yellow ships they saw immediately brought Ash and Shepard to full alert.

"What the hell is Cerberus doing here?"

Shepard shook his head. "I don't know. But they're after our friend, and they're not going to get her." Shepard leaned over to the terminal and keyed the comm. "Strike team, gear up, we've got company."

Closing the comm, Shepard looked over to Ash. "Couldn't something go as planned for once?"

Ash smiled as she started for the elevator. "Now where would be the fun in that, Skipper? Come on, let's get ready. It's been far too long since we kicked some Cerberus ass."

Ten minutes later, the assembled strike team stood in the cargo bay. The plan was that the Normandy would dive into the atmosphere to try to take out the seven Cerberus ships harassing Liara's, while the Kodiak would try to land in the shuttle bay to deposit the team.

Ash and Shepard had their teams ready, and were boarding the shuttle when EDI came over their comm units. "Commanders, the time frame on this may have just gotten shorter."

Ash and Shepard exchanged looks. "What's going on, EDI?"

"Sensors indicate a Cerberus capital ship is inbound. Based on its current trajectory and velocity, it should be arriving in orbit within thirty minutes."

Shepard nodded to himself. Of course Cerberus had a capital ship en route, as if they weren't dealing with enough surprises for one day. "Understood EDI. Thanks for the heads up."

As the shuttle took off, Shepard stood in the middle to address everyone. "Alright, everyone, listen up. We have an inbound Cerberus capital ship. ETA is thirty minutes, which means I want everyone back on the Normandy in twenty-five, so we can get the hell out of here. Samara, Thane, and Kasumi, you'll come with me and Ash to get Liara, Feron, and whatever intelligence we can carry. The rest of you will hold the shuttle bay. I'll get a message off to Liara to be ready for us, but we need to expect a lot of resistance. If the Illusive Man found the Shadow Broker's ship, he's going to want to take everything he can."

Just about then, the shuttle shook violently. Ash heard a loud crash from the cockpit, and she and Jacob rushed up to see what had happened. Their shuttle pilot was slumped in his harness, the control panel in front of him shattered and smoking. It didn't take a genius to figure out what happened. "Shit, Lewis is hit!"

As Jacob unstrapped the pilot, Ash dove over to the co-pilot's seat, and powered up the secondary control panel. She immediately banked the shuttle hard to the right to avoid an incoming missile.

"Joker," Shepard called over his comm unit, "we need some support here! Lewis is down, Ash has the controls, and we're taking fire!"

"Roger, Commander. I'll give you a clear lane."

Ash saw a shadow come over the shuttle, and looked through the windshield. The Normandy was swooping lower, nearly ramming the Cerberus shuttles; in fact, one bounced off the shields of the frigate, and, losing control, spun off into the storm.

Ash's fingers fairly flew over the controls as she focused on the shuttle bay. The incoming fire and lighting from the storm that Liara's ship was perpetually in buffeted the ship back and forth, but eventually she was able to land the craft, if not gracefully, then safely within the shuttle bay.

Ash leapt from the controls. "Jacob, how's Lewis?"

"He's alive, but barely. He's going into shock. He needs to get to medbay as soon as possible."

Ash looked over to Shepard. Neither was willing to lose a teammate, but they couldn't abandon Liara and Feron. What a time not to have Jack and Miranda, Ash thought to herself.

"Change of plans, people. Shuttle's not staying. Jacob, get Lewis back to the Normandy. Kasumi, you go too. Keep Lewis stable until Chakwas gets to him. Ash and I will go and get Liara and Feron, the rest of you will be needed to hold the shuttle bay. We'll take one of Liara's shuttles back to the Normandy."

The team took up defensive positions throughout the shuttle bay, knowing that the Cerberus craft would be back soon. As Jacob and Kasumi took off in the shuttle, Shepard and Ash set off into the ship.

The whole way to the control room was quiet, but now Ash and Shepard could hear weapons behind the sealed doors. They had tried hacking the door, but it was locked tight. Shepard was just about to suggest trying to see if they could find an alternate way in when suddenly, the door hissed open.

Floating there, seemingly oblivious to the gunfire around it, was Liara's assistant. "Hello, Shadow Broker. I was instructed to open the door for y-"

It exploded in a shower of sparks and metal, making Shepard and Ash jump back. Looking into the control room, Shepard saw the main windows had been blown in, and Cerberus troops were swinging in from zip lines, most likely attached to the hull of the ship.

Ash and Shepard immediately went to work prioritizing targets and moving to cover. Before they even got to cover, three troopers had fallen to their fire, though four more had come in through the windows.

Ash looked over to her left, and saw Liara behind one of the several consoles in the room. She was holding her side, her blue blood slowly staining her clothing, though not showing any signs that the wound was slowing her down as she fired with pinpoint accuracy.

She saw Feron on the upper level of the room, trying to make his way to Liara. He was pinned down, but also still able to return fire.

Nodding to Shepard, she readied to run over to Liara. As Shepard threw a grenade, she sprinted to the wounded Asari, the explosion from the grenade giving her the cover she needed.

As she reached her old teammate, Ash pulled out her medkit. "It's always something, isn't it? It can never be 'hey, come on over, we'll watch the game.'"

Liara grimaced as she removed her hand from the wound in her side so Ash could apply the medi gel. "I know you and Shepard like excitement. I hope this lives up to your expectations."

At that moment, the entire ship shook. Ash peeked out from behind the console, and saw a damaged Cerberus shuttle careening away from the ship, obviously having just bounced off the hull. "Sometimes, Liara, a quiet night with a good book can't be beat."

Shepard, meanwhile, was cycling through his weapons as quickly as he could: from his shotgun to deal with the closer enemies, to his sniper rifle to deal with the ones hanging outside the window, it was everything he could do to keep up with the influx of Cerberus troops. "We need to seal these windows!"

Liara shouted back over to him "The controls are to the right!"

Shepard saw the control box, right next to the far right window. Of course, there were eight Cerberus troopers between him and the controls, with more coming in by the minute, so it was going to be a little challenging.

He quickly looked around to see what could be of use. He heard a loud whistle from his left. He looked, and saw Ash was pointing to the sphere of screens that Liara had put together in the middle of the room. Shepard nodded, understanding immediately what Ash intended.

Readying himself, and waiting for Ash to signal that she was ready, he took note of all of the Cerberus troopers he could see, memorizing their location. Ash nodded at him, and gave a quick countdown on her fingers: three, two, one. "NOW!"

Shepard flung a grenade into the screens, detonating it immediately. As the flash faded and the shrapnel fell onto the troopers, Shepard leapt from his cover, and started plowing his way through the troops between him and the controls. Right behind him, Ash was sprinting as well.

Using his heavier armor, Shepard cleared the way, making a path for the more lightly armored Ash behind him. As they reached the controls, Shepard turned, and started laying down fire as Ash closed the windows.

As she hit the button, she heard the distinct hiss-click of each window sealing, except for one. The window closest to them was being blocked by a trooper, holding it open to try to get in.

She ran over, knocking the trooper's rifle out of his hand as he tried to bring it up on her. She swung for his faceplate and connected. Pressing her advantage, she pulled her shotgun from her back and fired it point blank.

She was rewarded with the scream of the trooper as he fell through the sky to the planet far below, before being shut out by the closing of the window.

Turning, she dove for cover, seeing Shepard do the same. With the two of them now on one side of the room and Liara and Feron still on the other side, they were able to create a kill zone in the middle, quickly eliminating the rest of the troops.

Ash and Shepard quickly went back to Liara, finding Feron was already tending to her wound. "I'm no medic, but this should suffice for now," the Drell said.

"Liara, what happened? How did Cerberus find you?"

Liara looked up to Shepard, seeing the concern on his face for her. "I knew it was only a matter of time. Even though I'm the one who recovered your body for them, they're still after the Shadow Broker. I doubt the Illusive Man realizes that we're one and the same."

Ash looked at the mission timer on her HUD. "Regardless, we're running out of time. We gotta get out of here before that capital ship gets here."

Shepard nodded. "You're right." He keyed his comm unit. "Garrus, come in. We have Liara and Feron. Liara's been hit, but we're coming back to the shuttle bay."

"Negative," came the shouted reply. "We're completely outgunned here. We can make it to Liara's shuttle, but they'll just knock it out of the sky with one of the Atlas mechs that they just landed. We need an alternate route."

Shepard looked over to Liara. She thought for a moment. "There's an emergency safe room down near engineering. It has a small, two person escape pod. If we can draw them down there, then launch the pod, I would have to believe that the primary Cerberus forces would pursue that, and give us a chance to get to the shuttle."

Shepard kept his comm open. "Got that Garrus?"

"Yeah, that's a fine plan, but who's going to draw them off?"

Before anyone could say anything, Shepard heard Samara's voice. "Thane and I will."

Shepard looked over to Ash, who shared his surprised expression. "Samara, we're closer to engineering, we'll draw them to us and let you guys secure the shuttle."

"Cerberus is looking for an Asari and a Drell, and we've already heard them report that they have the Shadow Broker in the shuttle bay. They're concentrating their focus on us. This will give you time to get your wounded friend here."

"Besides," this time, it was Thane's voice, "acting as a distraction is not advisable for someone who is already wounded. We will draw them off, and give you a chance to launch."

Shepard looked over to Liara. "Is there any other way off the ship?"

Liara shook her head. "No, only the shuttle bay or the escape pod. The electrical storm outside will make it impossible for Joker to bring the Normandy in close enough for us to climb aboard. My predecessor was quite paranoid."

Shepard didn't like taking chances like this. "Can we bring the shuttle over to engineering to pick Samara and Thane up there? Is there any sort of access there?"

Feron spoke up. "Once the pod is launched, if they can climb out of the port onto the exterior catwalk, there's a small platform. We should be able to pick them up there."

Shepard nodded. "Samara, do you copy that?"

"I do, we will meet you out on the catwalk."

"Alright. Garrus, fall back into the ship, then double back to the shuttle bay to clear out anyone who's left. We'll meet up with you, take the shuttle, and then go get Samara and Thane. Everyone clear on this?"

"Affirmative," came Garrus' reply. Ash and Liara simply nodded. "Alright, let's do it. Samara, you and Thane be careful."

"Will do, Shepard. You as well."

Shepard closed the channel. "Ok, let's get out of here."

"Wait, Shepard, we haven't thought about the information here. If it falls into Cerberus' hands, the Illusive Man will have intel on everyone in the crew, the reapers, the protheans, and not to mention access to the biggest intelligence gathering operation in the galaxy."

Liara smiled wanly. "I've been anticipating this day for quite some time. I've already de-centralized most of the operations to secondary bases, and as long as I have this," she motioned to a briefcase size computer next to her, "then I'll be able to keep up my operations anywhere. As for the intel still here…" Feron pulled out a small device from his jacket with a small screen built into it. "This ship and the information aboard it were never going to fall into the Illusive Man's hands. This responds only to mine or Feron's finger print."

"And what does it do when it responds to your fingerprint?" Ash knew the answer already, but had to make sure.

"The capacitors on the outside of the hull deactivate, and the engines begin to overheat. Between the two, this ship, and anything within a two kilometer radius, is vaporized."

Shepard looked over to Ash with a small smile on his face. "How's that sound?"

Ash just shrugged. "Fine, if big explosions and taking out a whole squad of Cerberus troops is your thing."

Feron strapped the briefcase to his back, and then gently raised Liara up, putting her arm around his shoulders. Shepard and Ash took the point position, making sure their way was clear. For the most part, they didn't encounter any resistance.

However, at an intersection right before they started the straight run to the shuttle bay, they found Samara and Thane taking cover as they lead the Cerberus forces behind them down to engineering. Shepard motioned for everyone to take cover, lest the Cerberus troops see them. Shepard, though, could still see Samara, who was looking directly at him.

Samara nodded to Shepard, then indicated for them to stay hidden. Shepard could only nod back, as Samara then sprang from cover and took off down the hallway, following Thane. Shepard and the others stayed in cover as the mass of soldiers took off down the hallways after their prey.

They waited a moment before moving on down the hallway, Shepard casting a long look after his two teammates. Eventually, they reached the shuttle bay, where Garrus' team was assembled around the smoking wreckage of an Atlas mech. "Samara was right, once we started to fall back, the majority took off after her. When we got back here, there was just a few left for us to mop up. I think the other Atlas is up on the hull, though, we didn't see it when we got back."

"Ok, we'll deal with that when we can. For now, let's get loaded up into the shuttle. I want to be ready to go get Samara and Thane as soon as they're ready."

As the team moved toward the shuttle, Shepard opened a channel to the Normandy. "Joker, how're we looking?"

"Not good, Commander. Capital ship just launched fighters, and they're closing in on your position. ETA is three minutes. I can come get you now and we can avoid all that."

"Negative, we're still waiting on Samara and Thane."

Almost on cue, Samara radioed to Shepard. "We are inside the safe room. Thane is working to eject the pod, but it seems to be stuck. Cerberus is burning through the door. We don't know how much longer we can hold them off."

Shepard looked over to Ash. They both were very aware of the clock right now. Shepard readied his assault rifle. "I'm coming, Samara."

"Negative, Shepard. You must get the rest of the team out. We will get the pod launched, and will meet you on the catwalk, as planned. If we don't get it launched, you must leave us."

Ash looked at Shepard. She nodded once, and then went to the cockpit. Shepard felt the shuttle start to lift from the bay floor. "We'll be there in twenty seconds. Joker, be ready for us."

The shuttle slid out of the docking back, and over to the side of the ship where Feron was indicating. As they skirted the hull, the shuttle was buffeted by lightning strikes, though it was nothing Ash couldn't handle. As they reached the designated spot, Shepard heaved a sigh of relief as he saw the pod fly out in front of them. As hoped, the Cerberus shuttles all scrambled after it, leaving the team in the Kodiak alone, at least for the time being.

As they pulled in close to the catwalk, Shepard opened the door, and Zaeed, Garrus, and Legion immediately took up positions right at the front. As they looked on, Shepard saw Thane climb out of the empty port, then take cover and start to fire back into the safe room.

"Thane, come on!"

The assassin looked back to the shuttle. "Cerberus just broke through the door, Samara is pinned down! Need cover fire!"

Shepard slapped Garrus and Legion both on the shoulders. "Take 'em out!"

Both Garrus and Legion switched over to their sniper rifles, and took aim through the empty port. Shepard could see Samara taking cover behind a control panel, while Cerberus troops poured in through a ragged hole that had been torched through the door. As he looked, Garrus fired, dropping one trooper, then Legion fired, dropping another. The two of them kept a steady stream up, giving Samara time to get up and run toward the port.

Just as she was climbing through the gap, a grenade detonated within the safe room. The force tossed Samara against the side back first, before depositing her onto the catwalk near Thane. Shepard could see the explosion itself hadn't harmed her too much, but as Thane reached her and pulled her further to safety, he noticed that there was something wrong.

Shepard hastily keyed his comm unit. "Thane, how is she?"

"I fear her back is broken. She cannot move her legs."

Shepard looked around the shuttle. Before he could finish his plan on how to get Samara aboard, he heard her voice over his comm. "Shepard, you must leave me."

He looked back over. "No one gets left behind, Samara. Hold tight for a moment, we'll get you."

"No, Shepard." The calm, almost serene tone in her voice felt totally surreal to Shepard. "We have no more time to waste. You must get the rest of the team out of here while you still can."

Before he could say anything, he saw Samara pick Thane up in a biotic field, and push him from the catwalk to the inside of the Kodiak. After he was aboard, she released him, letting him gently down, as she sunk back to the metal grating beneath her.

"They think I am the Shadow Broker. If I get aboard, every fighter and shuttle will chase you. I can buy you time to get out of here. Besides, I am broken. It is best if I am allowed to, as you humans say, 'go out with a bang,' instead of spending the rest of my days as a cripple."

Shepard felt his insides go cold. He knew she was right. They could take the time needed to get her on the shuttle without hurting her further, but then they'd be swarmed with Cerberus fighters, and dealing with the Capital ship. While he knew that the Normandy could take the ship, the virtually unarmed Kodiak could easily be shot out of the sky by the fighters.

This is a war, there will always be casualties. That thought did nothing to make the decision any easier, but it put him in motion. "Ashley, take us out."

As the Kodiak moved away from the ship, Shepard made sure to keep Samara in his line of vision for as long as he could. He saw the Cerberus troops begin to pour out of the port, and Samara raised a biotic barrier, while pulling her SMG out.

Eventually, though, Ash had to bank away from the ship. Shepard thought he saw Samara's barrier fall, but couldn't be sure. Feeling totally empty, Shepard sat down next to Liara. He could feel the unease in her, and knew what she was trying to bring herself to tell him. He spared her the effort. "Liara… do it."

With a sad nod, Liara took the detonator out of her jacket pocket. With a deep sigh, she placed her thumb over the screen.

In the cockpit, Ash heard Shepard's simple order to Liara. She saw they were outside of the blast radius, but fortunately, the Cerberus ships were not. In fact, the fighters had just come up along Liara's ship, getting ready to pursue the Kodiak, when Ash saw the first explosion start. After only a moment, the entire ship seemed to crack apart, before being engulfed in flames.

With a grim satisfaction, she saw that all but one of the Cerberus ships were caught in the explosion, and the remaining one, a fighter, was too damaged to be able to follow them. It broke off its pursuit, and fell back to where its ship was.

Remembering that they still had a Capital ship in bound, Ash focused back on getting to the Normandy. As they cleared the atmosphere, she saw it turning. Joker brought the ship behind the Kodiak, and used the Normandy's greater speed and momentum to catch the shuttle in the cargo bay, neatly swallowing up the smaller vessel as he charted a course out of the system.

As the Kodiak settled in the cargo bay, and Ash powered down the engines, she noticed the unearthly quiet in the shuttle. As she climbed out of the cockpit, she saw everyone still sitting in their seats, not looking at each other.

After a long moment, Shepard stood. He popped the door open, and stood to the side. "Come on, people. We need to get to the Citadel."

As the team slowly filed out of the shuttle, Ash came to stand next to Shepard. "She gave her life so that we could escape. It's a death that any justicar would be proud of."

Shepard couldn't look Ash in the eye. "I know. But she was still a friend. And it's still hard to see a friend die."

As Shepard stepped down into the cargo bay, Ash could barely hear what he said next: "And it's even harder to know you could have done more to stop it."

Before she could say anything, though, he was walking swiftly to the elevator, leaving her alone in the cargo bay.

Coming up next time, a trip to the Citadel, a new beacon, and a madman tries to commit genocide...