Lots of reasons why this has been so late, but I won't waste your time with it, and I'll simply promise to do better! Hope you like the new chapter, it's building to some interesting chapters, so have patience with it :)

The team briefing was at eight o' clock the following morning, and Shepard brought the group together to explain the next mission. They were looking to recruit subject zero, also known as Jack, a powerful biotic currently being held on board the prison ship purgatory. Though Cerberus had tried, the prison were unwilling to part with Jack.

"Doesn't that tell us something?" Garrus asked questioningly when Shepard brought this point up. "If they're unwilling to sell Jack to us, when we know this prison has a record for selling convicts, then clearly there's something seriously dangerous about this person."

"True," replied Shepard. "But the Illusive man thinks that Jack's biotics are crucial to our mission."

"What are you planning?" Thane asked, leaning on the table and looking at the holographic plan of the prison ship.

"The trouble we have," Shepard sighed, "Is that we have absolutely no idea where Jack is being kept. There's no point launching any kind of break out attempt until we find that out."

"So we send someone in?" Thane suggested.

Shepard nodded. "We'll need a few people. This ship is huge, and we have to maximise the possibility of hearing something from either the patients or guards."

"Hear something? Why not just send someone in to hack their files and get a look that way?" Kasumi asked.

Shepard shook his head. "They won't take new guards at the moment, at least not those who could get anywhere near the prisoner information…But a new shipment of prisoners arrives the day after tomorrow. I think we could add a few 'prisoners' of our own, accompanied by their own personal guards. That's a pretty common occurrence with really dangerous criminals, and while you won't get near their records, at least it means you can look out for each other."

"So who goes in?" Miranda asked.

"Well, you." Shepard said, looking a little sheepish, "with Samara as your personal guard. Then I thought Thane, with Grunt as the guard. They won't take a Krogan prisoner, the cells aren't built for that, but they'll take one as a guard." Grunt and Thane nodded. "And Casey, I thought you too. You always work well undercover, with Garrus as your guard. Garrus will take care of you" Casey tried to look impassive, tried not to think of the things she and Garrus had been doing by the gun battery only hours earlier, and nodded.

That day, and the one that followed, was all about preparing for the current mission. Casey and the others were expected to stay on the prison ship until they found any information about subject zero's location. That could take a day, or it could take weeks, or longer. She had spent about an hour trying to decide what to pack, until Traynor reminded her that she was posing as a convict, and would not be able to bring anything except possibly a toothbrush.

The night before the mission, Casey found herself in the mess with Garrus, Thane, Miranda, Grunt, and Joker (who had left the EDI in charge of piloting the ship so that he could 'help').

The others were attempting to give Casey some hints on how she should act in order to make everyone believe she was a dangerous criminal. Unfortunately, it wasn't exactly going well, and the group soon realised that Casey had a certain inability to confront anyone, regardless of the situation.

"Ok ok, I've got it," Joker said, sitting up straighter. "Someone cuts in front of you in the line for the bathroom, how do you react?"

Casey shrugged, "I'd be annoyed, but I'd assume they needed it more…"

There was a collective groan from the others, "Casey, you're going into a prison filled with people who kill over smaller provocation than that," Thane said patiently.

"Yeah," Joker added. "So give us your most bad ass response. Pretend I'm the guy who cut in line." Joker got to his feet, and motioned for Casey to do the same. "Ok, I'm the guy," he continued. "Come at me with something!" He turned away.

Casey thought for a moment, then cleared her throat. Joker stayed with his back to her. "Excuse me," she began.

The others groaned again, though Casey knew it was more playful than serious. "Never say excuse me!"Garrus sighed. "That guy doesn't care about excuse me, he cares about people who act."

Casey cleared her throat again. "Hey!" Joker turned around, and she continued. "I don't know if you realised, but you just cut in front of me, and if you're going to do that, even if it's an emergency, you should really say excuse me, because otherwise people might think…" she trailed off, knowing she'd lost her argument. Joker was grinning.

"You're reasoning with him, you need to get up in his face, make him feel scared." Miranda said.

"I'm hardly scary looking," Casey replied.

Miranda smiled, "neither am I, but that doesn't stop me." She stood up and walked over to Joker, hissing, rather than shouting: "You cut in line again you little piece of shit and I'll rip your throat out with a biotic pull so strong not even your mother would recognise the bits of you I decide to wear as a necklace!"

There was a collective cheer from the group, and even Casey had to grin, Miranda was definitely a much scarier prospect than she was. "Ok", Casey began, and she and Joker sat down again. "I get Miranda's whole scary thing, but what about Thane?" She looked over at him, "I mean, I don't think I've ever heard you threaten someone like that."

Thane shook his head, "Not usually."

"Ah but he's different," Joker shrugged. "He's got that whole quiet, shadowy assassin thing going on." The others were nodding. "You take one look at that guy and you can tell he could kill you without even standing up."

Casey sighed. "I can't look tough, and I can't look like a…shadowy assassin…how is this going to work?"

"We could shave your head?" Grunt suggested.

"Uh…no."

All prisoners were transported to Pergatory in stasis, so Casey had no idea how long it had taken to get there. All she knew was that when she went to sleep, Garrus had been at her side, pretending to be checking her vital signs on his omni-tool, but actually muttering reassurances under his breath that he would be there when she awoke, and that he would not let anything happen to her. Now she was awake, still wearing the civilian clothing she'd gone to sleep in, and sitting in a room with what seemed to be twenty or so other people. She didn't recognise any of them at first, but then noticed Miranda some distance away, wearing what appeared to be a long red ball gown. They had to look as though they'd been put in stasis immediately upon being captured, and Casey guessed that this looked like a reliable way of backing up Miranda's back story that she was a woman who killed and robbed rich socialites. Miranda caught Casey's eye, but did not give any sign that they knew each other. Casey couldn't see Thane anywhere. Slowly she got to her feet, still feeling slightly shaky from the stasis. The others around her seemed to all be awake, and were climbing unsteadily to their feet too. But Casey saw no sign of Garrus, Samara or Grunt. In fact, there were no guards in this room at all. She felt a slight sinking feeling in her stomach: she was locked inside a room filled with dangerous criminals.

It was cold, and Casey rubbed her hands along her arms to try and warm up.

"I'll keep you warm if you want," came a gruff voice to Casey's left. She turned and saw a Batarian man standing next to her, eying her hungrily. "I'm fine thank you," she replied, then kicked herself for being so polite.

The Batarian grinned, edging closer. Then someone else stepped in front of her, and Casey almost did a backflip in celebration when she realised it was Thane. "I think it's time you left," he said silkily. The Batarian surveyed him for a moment, and then backed away. Casey felt embarrassed, Thane's words, though perfectly polite, conveyed a threat that Casey's could never hope to carry. Thane turned to face Casey, putting his hands on the wall behind her, so that they sat either side of her head. "I do apologise," he whispered, "but that Batarian probably thinks I scared him off so that I could make my own move. Just try to look uncomfortable."

No problem there, Casey thought, having never been this close to her Drell squad mate before. It felt like unearned proximity, and she tried not to look into his eyes. It wasn't altogether unpleasant being in such close quarters, she was safe, and Thane smelled like a mixture of spices and grass after a rainstorm. But her thoughts were on Garrus, and how safe she always felt with him by her side.

They didn't have to stay in that position long, as soon enough a fight broke out at the other side of the room, and the guards, who must've been watching on one of the many cameras Casey had soon spotted on the wall, flooded in. They didn't break up the fight however, instead standing on a platform high out of the prisoners reach. Casey watched over Thane's shoulder as one of the guards, clearly someone high level judging by his uniform, made his way over to a small panel of switches. Almost lazily, he flicked one, and it was as if Casey were suddenly encased in warm jelly. She could only just move her hands, swishing around inside the blue goo. She looked around, every other prisoner was in their own field of what looked like blue light, however Casey knew it was the same jelly-like substance she herself was in. She had no idea how she continued to breathe, but was just grateful she could.

"Now that everyone is calm, I can begin." The Turian guard who had pushed the button was speaking calmly, yet loud enough for everyone in the room to hear. "My name is Warden Kuril," he continued, "and you have just proved exactly why you're here. Within ten minutes of waking up, you have fought, attempted to rape, and done all manner of unpleasant things to each other. You prisoners are the scum of the galaxy, and that is why they send you to me: you're a disease, and I'm the cure." Silence followed this statement, though Casey felt sure that if everyone weren't encased in the jelly, at least a few convicts may have argued with this closing statement. But with no chance of that, the warden continued uninterrupted. "You're on my ship now, and so you follow my rules. Keep out of my way, don't cause any trouble, and my men will have no reason to put a boot in your skull. Some of you will be assigned a personal guard, some of you will not. All of you will play nice. When your name is called you will be released from your current state, and you will proceed to check in. Enjoy your stay." And with that, Kuril gave a little smirk and left the room, followed by most of his guards, though three stayed on the platform, guns slung over their shoulders.

Casey watched a group of four Turians enter a door on the other side of the room, her heart did a little flutter: one of them was Garrus! Of course, she still couldn't move. She watched as prisoners were called one after another, including Miranda and Thane, but under different names of course.

"Isla Philips." Casey suddenly found herself free. This was her code name, the name Kasumi had used to spread stories of Casey's 'crimes' all across the extranet. Casey walked slowly, but what she hoped was determinedly, towards the check in. A little desk had been set up, with files covering the top. Casey caught Garrus' eye, but he looked through her in an almost bored fashion. She knew this was part of the act, but it still hurt a little. "Isla Philips," repeated one of the Turians, while another scanned her with his omni-tool. "Twenty counts of murder, that have been reported anyway, seventeen counts of theft, twelve counts of arson…" He looked her up and down. "Doesn't really look like one of ours does she?" He asked his colleagues. Casey wondered whether she was meant to say something 'tough' here, like they'd practiced, but before she could, Garrus jumped in. "That's how she gets you," he said confidently. "Looks innocent, helpless, like she couldn't even hold a gun. But believe me, she might be one of the most dangerous criminals you've got here."

Two of the Turians looked mildly impressed, even a little wary, but the third rolled his eyes. "You would say that Vakarian, you're getting paid to guard her." He nodded to the Turian scanning Casey, who nodded in reply. "But regardless, she's here now. Philips you're just in time for dinner. Head to the showers first and get changed into your jumpsuit, then Vakarian will take you down to dinner."

He called another name, and Garrus took Casey forcefully by the arm and led her out of the room.

They walked through the corridor in silence, before Garrus muttered, "There are cameras everywhere, but they only record visuals, no sound. Are you ok?"

"Yes," Casey replied.

"Still want to do this?"

"Of course," Casey nodded, though her words didn't exactly sound as sincere as she would've liked.

"I can't come with you into the showers-" Garrus began, and Casey felt a grin spread across her face, remembering the last time he had. Garrus caught her eye, and was clearly fighting a similar urge. "Don't smile," he pressed, "you're not meant to be happy to be here."

Casey tried to make her face impassive, which was lucky, because as they rounded the corner they passed another guard. Once he had disappeared, Garrus continued. "Anyway, I can't come in, but it's only women in there so you should be safe. And I'll be waiting outside to escort you to the mess hall. So try not to get in any trouble in between my leaving you, and picking you up."

Casey threw him a wink as he left her at the door. She entered a small room, where a bored looking human woman was sitting at a table. "New?" She asked.

"Yes, my name is-" Casey began.

"I don't care. Just don't cause trouble." The woman growled, passing Casey a towel. "Get undressed in there, leave your clothes in the booth. But the towel on and go into the showers. Leave with the others."

Casey had to interrupt, "My personal guard, he told me to go to dinner with him."

The woman eyed her suspiciously. "Personal guard?" Casey nodded. The woman continued, "Well leave the showers with the others, the guard will be waiting outside." She leaned in closer, "and if I get any clue that you're causing trouble in there, I'll make sure you're showering with the men for the next month."

Casey felt a lump in her throat, but nodded, and made her way to the booth to take off her clothes. Clearly they all took the personal guard thing seriously, she just hoped the prisoners felt the same and left her alone.

Once her clothes were off, Casey wrapped herself in the towel and proceeded to the large shower room. It took her a moment to allow her eyes to adjust to the steam, and she saw at least fifty shower heads on each side of the room, with as many women standing beneath them. She could see Humans, Turians, and a few Asari, but no other species so far. Most of the women seemed to be talking and laughing, and Casey was reminded of a high school locker room. No one seemed to notice her, and Casey walked with her head relatively low towards the nearest empty shower. She didn't like how out in the open it was, and especially didn't like all the cameras dotted around the room. Reluctantly she hung up her towel, and turned on the shower, grateful at least that the water was hot. She couldn't see Miranda anywhere, but a few of the other women seemed to have caught sight of her by now. She tried to keep her head down, but eventually felt that there was someone standing behind her. She turned around to find an Asari and two humans, all naked, looking her up and down. The Asari had light purple skin, and delicate red markings around her eyes.

"Umm, hi?" Casey said, wondering what they could possibly want, other than to make her feel as uncomfortable as possible.

"Hello," the Asari replied. "What's your name?"

Casey caught herself before she said her actual name, "Isla," she replied. "Isla Philips."

"The human who was killing all those people on Omega?" The Asari asked, and Casey nodded. "We've been following your progress on the extranet, you did well not to get caught for so long."

"Thanks," Casey replied, not sure what to say, seeing as it was clear she had been caught now.

"The trick is," the Asari said, moving closer, "Not to tell them where the bodies are. Means they always have a reason to keep you alive." She grinned wickedly, and Casey wondered how many people she had killed. "You'll need friends in here," the Asari whispered, moving closer again. Casey gulped, and tried to look like she wasn't terrified. "It doesn't matter how dangerous you were on the outside, in here you're a no one without the right friends." She continued to move closer until she was practically standing on Casey's toes, and though Casey didn't look, she could feel the Asari's breasts against her own. "I can tell you things about this place that will help you," she had her hand on Casey's arm now.

Suddenly there was a loud buzzing sound, and all the showers turned off on their own. The Asari looked mildly annoyed, but then smiled at Casey. "We'll talk about it tomorrow," she whispered, turning away. "I'm Eileena", she said over her shoulder.

Casey dried off and changed into her new prison jumpsuit quickly, joining the others in line. Outside the prisoners with a personal guard were asked to leave the line, and Casey saw that Eileena was one of those women. There were only eight others, Miranda being one of them. Samara was standing beside her, looking haughty and uninterested. When all the other prisoners had been led away, the high security women and their guards followed.

"Are you ok?" Garrus muttered under his breath.

"I think so," Casey replied.

"Be careful in there, I found out-" but he was cut off as another guard came to escort the women inside. "You wait for her at the table Vakarian," the guard said, pushing Casey roughly towards the others. She joined the line for food, grateful that there were several women between her and Eileena.

"She's got her eye on you." Casey turned to find herself facing the first Salarian woman she'd seen in the prison. "I saw her in the showers," the Salarian continued. "You need to be careful in there."

"Why?" Casey asked, scanning the huge mess hall. It seemed that women and men sat at separate sides, but still ate the same time. Most of the men kept glancing at the women hungrily, but none crossed a red line that ran down the centre of the room.

"They pump hallex into the showers, in gas form," the Salarian replied.

"What?" Casey turned back, not sure she'd heard correctly.

"Only a small amount, just enough to lower inhibitions and make the women feel more…friendly towards each other. Didn't you see the cameras?" Casey nodded. "The guards are watching, if any women put on a good show, they sell the footage to the highest bidder, and those women get favourable treatment for a few days. Eileena knows the score, and she obviously thinks she can do well from you."

Casey felt her stomach drop and muttered her thanks to the Salarian for the warning. This was not what she was expecting. She thought Eileena had been scared of her at first, maybe even seen her as an equal, but she clearly just thought Casey looked weak, and would be easier to manipulate. How would she ever get information from these women if they all saw her as easy bait?

Walking back to the table with her plate of what could only be described as mush, with her mind on Eileena, Casey tripped slightly and stumbled into someone. She held her breath, waiting to see what the reaction would be.

"You do that again you little piece of shit and I'll rip your throat out with a biotic pull so strong not even your mother would recognise the bits of you I decide to wear as a necklace!"

Luckily, it didn't sound quite so scary the second time.