Andy looked out onto the fast-approaching atmosphere of Virmire and couldn't help but be awed by the spectacle before his eyes. Ships from the Migrant Fleet were stationed in protective formation to prevent unauthorized access to their world, and at the same time were working on retrofitting new parts to the Asari and Turian fleets. The Salarian ships had already been upgraded and were at that moment stationing themselves strategically throughout the galaxy. They neared the huge station that orbited the planet, and without even identifying themselves were granted access. It was made using their nanotechnology, after all. Quite a few of the crew were planning on going groundside for their shore leave, both in order to get some tropical sunshine and beaches, and to also look at the new cities that the Quarians had already begun building on their new planet. Shepard had given them the use of three drop shuttles for that express purpose, and so while the majority of the crew all hurried down to the cargo bay dressed in swimming suits and carrying towels, Andy, Shepard, and Liara stepped through the airlock wearing their morphic armour that was formed into their casual Normandy uniforms. Jack was on her tenth mission to save another child abused by Cerberus, and not a single person disagreed with her decision to allow that to take precedence over the battle plans her boyfriend was leading - he was, after all, a more diplomatic person.

Generally.

They were given looks of awe by unsuited Quarians as they walked past and looks of respect and wonder from the Asari and Turian population. Finally they came to the very center of the base where the Council was at that moment gathered, and the first thing they heard was a coarse, furious voice exclaiming, "I forbid this from happening! You are allowing a mercenary of all people control you!"

Andy, who at that point had the attention of all the room bar the fuming Udina, chuckled and raised an eyebrow. "And you were allowing the Illusive Man, of all people, control you, Gary. You don't mind if I call you Garry, do you Garry?" Ignoring the rapidly reddening face of the man in question he strode forwards with a friendly smile and shook the hands of Councillors Tyzuris and T'Nius before bowing lightly to Councillor Ilan, who smiled and bowed back. "It's a pleasure to finally meet all of you in per-"

"Guards! Arrest this man!"

Andy didn't even move to stop the approaching commandos, and continued speaking as they were blasted backwards and knocked unconscious against the walls with his biotics. "Person," Andy continued easily, "I had hoped that this idiot had been taken care of," he jabbed his finger at the shocked human representative, "and so I have brought a person I believe perfect for the job with me." A moment later Faith and Daniel walked into the room side-by-side, and Daniel gave Faith a small, reassuring smile and a push before leaning against the door. Andy took in their appearance and shook his head slightly with a disbelieving chuckle. He doubted anybody even knew the old games now, or series, but the two people in front of him had taken on the physical looks of their namesakes. Faith, he remembered, was from a game called Mirror's Edge; an Asian woman with short, feathery black hair and tattoo beneath her eye. The only difference between the two was the tattoo, which was absent on Faith's face. Daniel, on the other hand, had taken on the appearance of one of the Stargate characters.

"Hello," she greeted nervously after a moment, "my name is Faith Adams."

The councillors looked to Andrew for guidance, and he smiled before motioning for Faith to join him. She walked to his side and he smiled reassuringly at her before turning to address arguably the three most influential people in the galaxy. "She is the woman I suggest to take over Udina's position on the Council," he explained, ignoring the indignant spluttering from behind him. "She graduated Harvard Law School on Earth with the highest honours and a perfect score, with a minor in Ethics, and served on the London Police Force for five years before transferring to C-Sec and working there for five years as well. This gives her realistic experience, as well as the capability to look at the situation from a highly moral perspective. Her record is perfect. She is perfect for this job."

Udina opened his mouth to protest, however Daniel was faster and slammed his elbow right into his face; knocking him quite promptly out. Andy stifled a grin when he heard the crunch of bone. The Council all looked to each other before nodding, and then turning back to him. T'Nius was the one that spoke their collective decision. "You have given us hope against a threat that has wiped this galaxy out time and time before us, and so far have not led us astray. You have the power to simply go ahead and do what you wish, and yet you give us the opportunity to be involved in the fight - intimately so. We cannot risk rifts between our races during this war, and it will be a war. Udina hindered our efforts at nearly every turn; just as the late Tevos and Valern did... it is time for him to be replaced. We will trust you in this matter, Andrew Kronos."

Over the next half an hour Faith looked almost out of her depth, despite the fact that she was one of the most advanced AIs in the Universe. The three Councillors sat her down and explained to her the duties that came as part of being one of them, among other important topics, until, following a very short initiation service witnessed by all those conscious in the room, she was inducted into the Council, and Udina was thrown out in disgrace. The man in question was escorted unconscious to the nearest escape pod with his entourage before being launched at the nearest vaguely habitable planet. They would arrive in one month, and then a rescue signal would be sent out to Alliance Vessels.

Andy felt that justice had been served.

For the next four hours Andy was given the tour of the huge vessel they were on while the now-complete Council contacted the Human Alliance to join the fight against the Reapers. Questions, of course, were asked about the whereabouts of Gary Udina, however the Council simply replied that he had been deemed unfit for service after ten independent investigations and psychological evaluations and so had been replaced. He was just sitting down for lunch when a familiar presence teased at the edges of his awareness, and he turned around with a wide smile. Several seconds later Jack walked into the room looking just that little bit lighter and more alive, and she smiled broadly when she saw him waiting for her. Ignoring the fact that they were in the public eye she eagerly walked into his open arms and rested her head on his chest as he swayed softly. "It went fine," she answered his unasked question. "It was only recently they begun trying to recreate me... but he was pretty messed up. The medibots and Chakwas agreed that he'll make a full recovery though, even if it does take a couple of years."

He nodded into her hair and then let her go, smiling down at her with his hands resting on her shoulders. "Good... and I'm proud of you for doing this."

She blushed, but a small, pleased smile tweaked the corners of her lips. "What else was I supposed to do?"

He didn't answer, and instead sat her down before giving her his plate which he had yet to touch and walking back over to the counter to get another meal for himself. They ate in a comfortable silence, at least until Shepard and Liara joined them. "The Alliance-"

"Has agreed to fight against the Reapers and are cycling their fleets to be retrofitted over the next two weeks," Andy finished, and smiled at Shepard's depressed expression. "I know. Faith's been sending me updates."

"So what'd you do to that fuck Udina?"

"Nothing," Andy admitted, regret rampant in his tone as he turned to his girlfriend, "Daniel did that for me. Elbowed him right in the face. The weak pea-brain went down like a sack of bricks; dead to the world. We fired him off in an escape pod, and the rescue signal should activate in thirtyish days."

"...That's kinda tame, Fucker."

Andy held his hands up with a raised eyebrow. "Hey, he hasn't gone and killed anybody. He was just a corrupt little shit, and with some of the things Izzy and Ellie've done to his criminal record, as well as the incriminating evidence we've put in his systems, he won't be getting away scot-free when he gets rescued. He'll at the very least be disgraced publically."

Jack looked searchingly at him as if to look for any signs of weakness, but then gave a small nod before resuming eating. "I suppose that'll do until I can get my hands on him."

Andy didn't even bother trying to convince her not to do anything to the corrupt ex-Councillor. The four ate in relative peace, simply discussing matters of little importance, as well as Shepard informing Andy that Miranda would have control of the ship whilst he visited his mother that evening - both to warn her of the upcoming threat and also to say his possible goodbyes just in case everything turned bad. Andy would've liked to say the same to his family, but such a thing was impossible.

They eventually parted ways; Andy and Jack to head to their quarters to discuss their plans, and Shepard and Liara to board one of their drop ships to visit Hannah Shepard. Thirty minutes after lunch Jack and Andy sat down in their quarters - the latter handing his lover a glass of iced tea; something she had become rather fond of after he had introduced her to it.

He kept the thought that bastardising it with five spoons of sugar was sacrilegious to himself.

"So how was your boy really?" Andy asked after a moment, and Jack looked at him in surprise before shaking her head with a small smile.

"I can't hide anything from you, can I?"

Andy leant forwards and rested his hand on her knee as he shook his head. "We're partners Jack, and I know you better than anybody in the universe - so the answer is no, you can't hide anything from me. The fact that I have unleashed biotics doesn't help in hiding secrets either."

Chuckling humourlessly she nodded before sinking into a small silence. "He was pretty bad," she admitted after a moment. "Never anything as bad as... well, you know... but pretty bad. He'd been through conditioning to enjoy violence, his biotics were powerful for a human, and I could feel hugely enlarged Eezo reserves in his body. No way in hell they were natural. Only way we could get him out of there was to knock him out, and we'll keep him out until he can be transferred to a secure facility that has the capabilities to hold him so he can be treated." Andy watched her pause mid-sip, and then let her cup drop to rest on her knee before looking down at the slightly rippling surface. "I only wish somebody had gotten me when I was only that fucked up." She looked to him after a moment and sent him a small, sad smile. "I only wish I'd met you earlier."

His concerned look softened and he reached over to rest his hand over hers with a small smile. "I wish I'd met you earlier too, Jack. I wish I'd been here and been able to break you out of your pain before..." he trailed off, but both of them knew to what he was referring. "But I couldn't have." She looked to him curiously, and he gave a small smile outside the window; his eyes focussed on the stars. "So much of me, almost all of me, hates what happened to you." Her eyes hardened, and he felt her hand tense beneath his own, but she didn't push him away. It was a testament to how she had changed that she hadn't jumped to conclusions. "It's so selfish, and I feel horrible for it... but I keep on thinking that if that shit hadn't happened to you then we wouldn't have met." Her hand relaxed. "I keep thinking that if you hadn't been through such a horrible existence then you wouldn't be the woman I've fallen in love with. In a way I hold Cerberus in high regard - because not only did they bring me here, but they gave me you. Despite the fact they tortured you, forced horrible experiments on you, tore my family away from me and turned me into an experiment... they also gave me the chance to fall in love."

He turned his eyes to hers, and found himself transfixed; unable to look away from her warm chocolate orbs. "And I fell harder than I ever thought humanly possible. I didn't think it was possible to feel the way I do about you, and I wonder if it is... because we're not really human anymore. Our biotics are permanently in sync - I know you've felt it too. It should be impossible for something like dark energy to work with a secondary source, but we do. My biotics are in complete harmony with yours, and vice versa. It gives us something deeper than I've ever read about, or have heard about." He gave a small, single happy chuckle. "It's like Shep said; we share something more intimate than sex without even thinking about it. I wouldn't trade what we have for anything."

Jack looked shocked before giving a small smile, though the hate was still present in her voice when she spoke. "I- I never thought about it like that. I suppose that if Cerberus had never fucked me up then I might just be an ordinary twenty-something walking around with friends, going to the movies on the weekends, worrying about looks..." She looked at him for several seconds before moving with a speed that no human could follow, and landed straddling his lap and cupping his face in her hands; her eyes boring into his as she shook her head. "But... you're right. I'm thankful that I got the chance to fall in love with you because of what they did. I hold no remorse they are gone, but I am thankful for what they did in some capacity." She leant forwards and captured his lips in a tender kiss, lingering just long enough to convey the depth of emotion she was feeling before pulling away and resting her forehead on his; her eyes unblinking. "I love you, Andrew White - more than anything and everything. I always will." A smile slowly grew on his face before he pulled her into an almost crushing hug, and though confused she still returned it with a smile from the crook of his neck. "What was that for?"

"For loving me," he murmured by her air; his voice soft, "for letting me in."

She felt his arm move slightly from where it rested around her upper back, and then a small hiss sound before the quiet, almost imperceptible slap of an impact. She frowned and pulled back, and tried to look behind her but found herself stopped by Andy's other arm bringing her attention back to his face. She almost gasped at the life and emotion flowing through his eyes - the whirlwind of feeling manifesting itself as a literal glow burning in his sapphire orbs. "You know, when I met you you were nothing like I thought you'd be, despite the fact I 'knew' you in the game. It did you no justice as a person, at all. You were, still are, so complex that meeting you was almost overwhelming - but the way you acted was completely different from the game as well. I remember you thanked me for getting you off Purgatory." He saw her give a small smile at the memory. "In the game there was no way in hell you'd have done something like that with Shepard. Hell, you never even called him by his first name even when in a paragon relationship... but then you started calling me Andrew, and Andy. I knew then that there was something special between us."

He readjusted her easily on his lap, still keeping his left arm behind her back, so that she was resting almost like a princess in his arms. She blushed at their position, but didn't make any move to change it. Andy gave her a small, loving smile as he looked down at their bodies. "Something like this? I thought it would be almost impossible. Snuggling is one thing, but this? This is one of the dreams little girls have; being held by their Prince Charming - not that I'm being arrogant or anything," he got a grin for that comment, "like she is the most important thing in his life. Like he would do anything for her. Like he would die, kill, live... do anything for her." He waved his free hand at how she was laid across his lap, and she followed his motion. "That's what this means, Jack. I don't hold you like this just because it's comfortable." He saw dawning realization in her eyes, slowly but surely, and continued. "I know how much your demons mean to you. To let me know them was one thing... to let me know your dreams was entirely another. Demons can hurt you, but you can hold them off with dreams.

"If you let me into your dreams... and if I shattered them, then you would die. I could ruin you, completely." He watched her staring into his chest, her expression unreadable, and smiled to himself before murmuring, "The Bridal Carry." She jolted in his arms, and he smiled knowingly to himself as she stared up at him with shock and an almost desperate fear. "It was a guess," he admitted after a second's looking deep into her eyes, "but I could feel your complete elation when I moved you to being like this, and when I carried you back from the Illusive Man's base. I wondered... if you were so happy, so blissful at being simply carried in such a way... what would you feel like, what would you do, what could you be if you knew that it didn't just mean all those things, but if your dream of all dreams was actually coming true? What would you become knowing that I knew your deepest wants and granted you them? What would you do if I did this?" He slowly withdrew his hand from her back, and her wide eyes dropped from his eyes to his hand when it finally cleared her side. Her reaction to seeing the small, black velvet box in his hand was to slap her hands over her mouth and stare at it as if it was the devil and god at the same time. "What would you do, Jack, if I asked you to marry me?"

She shook her head as the tears streamed down her face, and she leaned away from the box. "You can't know," she whispered with unveiled desperation, "you can't know about that."

"I didn't until I begun this conversation," he told her softly. "But I guessed. Just like with the tellytubbies, one of your lesser dreams of having a childhood... but this one..." He stared at her, trying to get her attention, but she never broke fearful eye contact with the box in his hand. "This one is your deepest. This one, if broken, will lead you to death." He saw her fear turn even deeper, and he reached forwards and lifted the lid to the box. He saw her face fall and her mind begin shattering when she saw the empty cushion inside, but then shook his head with a small smile as he lifted her hope-broken face to look at him. "The difference between what you think is happening, and what is happening, Jack, is that I'm not asking you to marry me. I already have." The deterioration in her eyes halted for a moment, and her brow furrowed in confusion - at least until he lifted her limp hand from her lap and lifted it up so that it broke their eye contact.

And brought the ring on her left ring finger into her line of sight.

He lowered it after a moment so that he could see her expression, and he saw her wide eyes follow her hand as it made its slow decent. He watched as she, with infinite carefulness, touched the pure white band as if it would disappear before her very eyes, and then jerk her fingers back as if burned when she felt the hardness of the pure blue gem that rested in the center of it. "The difference to what you thought, Jack, is that you've already told me yes." Her eyes slowly made their way to his, and he shook his head with a small smile. "This," he motioned to the ring, "us," he motioned to the position of their bodies, "isn't one of your dreams, because this is real. This is not going to disappear. I am not going to leave. You are not going to leave. There is nothing you would do that would make me leave you. Ever. Not only would I kill for you, die for you, and live for you - I'd live with you. I will live with you. Forever. I'm not leaving, ever. Just say the word Jack, just the one word that would make me the happiest man in the Universe. Just say yes."

For several seconds she looked even more broken than she had when she thought he had shattered her dream, but it wasn't the dream that was broken anymore.

It was the barrier of distrust she had built around her deepest sanctuaries.

"Yes," came a tiny whisper as she looked down at her left hand and the ring that was gleaming there. For several seconds she was silent, until her head jerked upwards and she revealed her face to him. Tears were streaming uncontrollably down her cheeks, but the eyes they were streaming from told him everything. They were free; completely devoid of any hesitation; filled with life. They were beautiful.

They were saying one word to him.

"Yes," she repeated as she slammed into the crook of his neck as she cried and squeezed him with every ounce of strength she had in her body. "Yes! Oh my God Yes!" she sobbed into his shoulder, and he gently wrapped his arms around her with the widest smile he had ever had in his entire life curving his lips as he cradled her body protectively. "This isn't a dream," he heard her whisper disbelievingly to herself, and he smiled as he shook his head.

"No," he murmured gently into her hair, "this is not a dream anymore. This is us."


Andrew White awoke slowly.

As his consciousness slowly swum into awareness he considered the interesting order his senses came into readiness. First touch, then hearing, followed sluggishly by smell, and then finally sight - if one was to open their eyes. Andrew White didn't need to. He could feel the perfect, soft contours pressed against the length of his body; could hear the almost inaudible snores from his lover; could smell the sweat on hers and his bodies. He gave a small shiver as a deep, unconscious sigh tickled the skin on his chest, and smiled like a man who had never before seen and had just gained the gift of sight.

He was blind, and now he saw.

The body against his shuffled slightly, and he felt smooth legs tangled with his own as a slow, drawn out hum of contentment vibrated through his lover before she fell still once more. That had never happened before. Every time he was awake when she stirred in any capacity he felt her wake up, at least enough to check their position and to confirm he was keeping his promise of doing nothing 'funny'. Now however, she had stirred and stayed asleep. Her subconscious had completely accepted him, and that small action made him feel like all was right in the universe. He carefully moved his hand around until he found her left hand resting against his collarbone, and then started fingering the ring that adorned her finger with a beaming smile on his face. He was now engaged to be married to the love of his life.

After finally consummating their love the night before Jack had lain down next to him looking as if she could finally see him clearly, for the very first time since she had met him. Her disbelieving questions of, "This is real?" and, "You really mean it?" had continued until he had made sweet, tender love to her once more. She had cried she was so happy.

"Was I dreaming I'm engaged to be married to the man of my dreams?"

He turned his head to the side and finally opened his eyes, bringing Jack's into sharp focus right in front of his own. He smiled and touched the ring again, delighting in watching her eyes follow the touch and light up with pure, innocent happiness upon seeing the white gold band encircling her finger. "No. No dream."

She stared at him fiddling with the ring for almost twenty minutes before speaking once more. "Did you do this because the Reapers are coming? Is that why you proposed now?"

He twirled the ring one last time before looking up to meet her eyes, and then shrugged. "Yes and no. If you're asking if I rushed this, then no. I'm very ready to have you as my wife," he watched her eyes light up at the word, "but it may have sped up my asking - it's hard to tell. All I know is that it felt right last night and it feels right now."

She leant up and pressed a lazy kiss to his lips, languidly long and tender, before shuffling so that her head was on his shoulder and she was draped over his torso. The smile on her lips looked as if it could never be wiped off. It was an indescribable feeling for Andy to see her so relaxed and happy. That feeling was nothing compared to what Jack was experiencing. She had never trusted anybody as much as she trusted Andrew at that moment. She doubted it was possible to trust anybody more. "I love you."

He smiled down at her and kissed the top of her head; the white hair tickling at his chin and nose. "I love you too."

They didn't rush that morning; there was no feeling of need to do so. There were no missions to be done; the fleets were getting outfitted and stationed at strategic strongholds; and on the Normandy it was Sunday which, despite Shepard not being religious, was a day on which the crew did only the base tasks they needed to. According to Shepard it was just as good a day as any to have a break on. After nearly three hours Andy felt a low vibration against him and felt Jack's face heat up. He gave a laugh and carefully extracted himself from her embrace; all the while chuckling at the blush she was sporting. "Hungry from last night love?"

She slid out of bed herself, her gaze running with slight lust over his body, and then finally met his eyes with a raised eyebrow. "How could I not be?"

Likewise Andy was staring at her own lithe form, though answered as his eyes tracked appreciatively over her small but pert breasts. "I would have to agree there, love." She was about to pull on her panties when he caught her arm, and looked down with a small, confused smile to where he was kneeling. "I always found it odd," he murmured as he took the piece of fabric from her fingers, "that when people make love or have sex they take off each other's clothes... but afterwards they don't help them put them back on." He held them out and she gently stepped into them; blushing and smiling as he slid them up her legs to rest against her crotch. He met her eyes with a small smile, and it turned crooked when he stood and held out her bra. "This, however much I would like to help you into it, poses a problem."

She held out her arms with a small, throaty chuckle. "I'll show you how to do it." After burning the instructions for how to put on a bra in his mind they both stepped into the small metallic puddles on the floor, and seconds later they were fully dressed in their 'lounging' wear. It was perhaps one of the only times Jack wore pink; her flannelette pyjama pants a light rose colour. Andy gave her a raised eyebrow when he saw her black t-shit proudly proclaiming 'TAKEN' over her breasts in white lettering. Her ensemble was completed with a pair of black slippers with 'Part A' on the tip of each. She pointed to the top, "Self-explanatory I thought."

He grinned and nodded happily. "I figured that, but what's Part B?"

"Anybody's ass that pisses me off," she quipped back as she walked over to the mini-kitchen, and he grinned as he cycled through a few of his own presets before settling on an almost identical attire to his fiancé - only with his pants in dark blue. Their breakfast that morning felt completely different to the one the day before, and Jack turned to Andy with confusion written all over her face. He finished his mouthful and smiled at her, reaching over and taking her hand to bring attention to the ring that rested there. "This is the first day of the rest of our lives. Until we die you and I are going to be eating breakfast together - give or take a few days."

Her eyes lit up and then softened with joy as she looked down at their joined hands, and she intertwined their fingers before continuing to eat her cereal. Andy had no problem eating with one hand if he got to see that smile on her face. Finally they decided to go walk-about to see what the crew was up to, and to see how long it took for people to realize the difference between them, and exited side-by-side with their hands brushing together every few steps. "Jack! Andy!"

The two turned to see Miranda approaching them at a brisk walk, and Andy sent her a small smile. "Ah, my favourite XO, what can we do for you?"

She came to a stop in front of them looking ruffled, and they both cocked their heads to the side in confusion. The forthcoming, "Tali and Legion are having an argument," made everything crystal clear however, and upon seeing the looks on both the biotics' faces she turned on her heel and led the way. They travelled quickly down to the engineering deck and Miranda made a beeline right for the engine core where Tali's very angry voice was making an appearance, and a synthetic reply was chipping in on occasion.

"What the fuck's going on here?" yelled Jack, and both of the arguers hushed immediately - jumping, if at all possible for Legion, from the shock of the sudden outburst. Seeing that she had their attention, Jack glowered at the pair, and even Legion took a step back. "We're gonna get this sorted fucking pronto! What. The. Fuck. Is. Going. On?"

Legion was the first to recover. Not having much emotional range could have had something to do with it. "We discovered data on Creator Tali'Zorah's Omni-tool that was imperative to the Geth infrastructure."

Andy clapped his palm to his forehead and let out a sigh - he'd forgotten about this. "Tali?"

"I walked to my work station after breakfast and I found this Geth hacking away at my omni-tool! It didn't ask; it just tried to steal what it wanted!"

"So let me get this straight. Legion, you took Tali's omni-tool without permission, cracked through her protection algorithms, and then attempted to data-mine and transmit your findings to the rest of your kind. Am I correct?"

There was a small silence, and then a synthetic, but slightly timid, "You are not incorrect in your evaluation."

Andy stared at the optics of the Geth for a moment before turning to Tali with a raised eyebrow. "You do realize that your data was completely safe, right? Ellie and Izzy check all communications before they leave the safety net of the Normandy, and they would have undoubtedly seen it suspicious that sensitive data was being sent to someone other than the Migrant Fleet from your omni-tool."

Her lips twisted slightly, and a frown marred her brow. "That may be," she admitted after a moment, "but it is the principal. Legion tried to steal from me."

Andy had to agree, and turned to the Geth whose flanges on the side of its head were flaring nervously. "Legion, your actions could have spurred a war between the Quarian people and your race. Right now the last possible thing we need is conflict between races - as it will detract from the unity needed to fight the Reapers. The data you may have found on there was likely out-dated plans against the Geth. The Quarian people, while still holding a fair amount of animosity towards the Geth, now have something to calm their anger. Not only do they now have a planet to call their own, but their immune systems have been fixed on a genetic level. The planet they now inhabit, Virmire, is to any species more beautiful than Rannoch. It is not as arid, and it is has a far more welcoming environment." He could see Tali wondering where he was going with his speech, and so concluded, "And you are willing to ruin their new lives because you found some out-dated plans?"

Tali looked surprised for a moment before turning to Legion, and the Geth silently deliberated what Andy had said for several seconds before letting its omni-tool drop and disappear from its arm. "Kronos Andy is correct." He turned to Tali. "We apologise for the conflict; some of our platforms had not been synchronised with the data on the Quarian people's new circumstances."

Tali stared critically at the Geth before giving a small nod, but unlike the game made no move to offer any compromise. Andy frowned and wondered at why that had happened, but shrugged it off as Tali and Legion broke eye-contact and went back to what they had been doing beforehand. He looked to Jack who rolled her eyes and gave a small chuckle before wrapping his arm around her waist and walking slowly back towards the elevator. They smiled when they saw Miranda holding it for them, and joined her in the journey back to the Crew Deck. "You two're up late," the black-haired Australian commented after a couple of seconds and the two biotics shared a small, knowing smile.

"Late night," Jack quipped back easily, "I finally saw the light and understood I'd been doing something wrong."

Miranda looked at her oddly, not understanding the cryptic answer, but before she could pry further the two lovers bade her goodbye and stepped back onto the crew deck before quickly joining the queue for lunch. The sat down at the table containing Shepard, Liara, Gabrielle, and Kenneth, and were met by welcoming smiles and greetings. They chatted idly about how things were coming along with various projects, but overall enjoyed the comfortable comradery they all shared - only moving at one point to make room for Miranda and Joker. Jack flicked Andy an amused expression, and he hid his return smile by taking a sip of water from his cup. Shepard had decided to take a drink at the same time, and was idly looking around as he lifted the rim to his lips. Mid-mouthful, however, he caught sight of something that rendered Joker, who was sitting opposite, covered in a fine spray of water that Shepard had spat out in shock. All conversation stopped at the spectacle, as it wasn't often, if ever, that they had ever seen John Shepard make such a spectacle.

John Shepard couldn't have cared much less at that moment - too busy staring at the stunning white-gold band that encircled Jack's left ring finger; the sapphire in the middle of it glinting back at him. His eyes tore away from it to look at the heavily amused and blissfully happy couple with a slack jaw, until a slow smile started spreading over his lips. The moment it begun it sped up until it was covering his entire face, and he dove over the table to tackle the two to the floor with a yell. The two biotics easily softened their landing and prevented the momentum from injuring them, but grinned over Shepard's shoulders at each other as the normally-stoic man hugged them. He pulled back after a moment, taking a second to look at the two's beaming faces filled with an unbreakable happiness. "Congratulations," he muttered, his grin not diminishing in the slightest as the engaged couple helped him to his feet. "You two deserve this."

There was another gasp from somebody else as they caught sight of the object of attention, and then a wave of exclamations burst out as those few pointed it out to their neighbours. Before anybody else could comment however, Izzy came running into the mess with Ellie hot on her heels; her face grave despite the fact that she could easily see what all the congratulation and shock was about. Andy only needed a fraction of a second to gather what their expressions meant and gave a small nod to signal that he understood. He received a nod back before they ran from the room, and he turned to Shepard and Jack, both of whom looked confused at his sudden change in mood. The rest of the crew soon followed when they noticed his complete lack of merriness, and Andy looked around before giving a nod to himself. "As much as I would have loved to announce that Jack and I are now engaged," wide smiles met his announcement, though tinged with confusion, "it cannot be." He pointed out the window on the far wall with his eyes darkening with power.

"The Reapers are here."