A/N 2012: Thanks to GoogleFloobs for thetaing (Check out his story)! Again, this story is currently under revision, so please excuse any inconsistencies. A full plan of my revisions is avail in Chp. 59, Author's Explanatory Note: An Update.

Disclaimer: Mass Effect is copyright of Bioware. Ci-Ci is mine.

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Thank you for reading. Enjoy!

24 May 2183 —Medical Lab, SSV Normandy SR-1, orbiting Binthu, Yangtze System, Voyager Cluster

Corinthia was glued to her monitor, eyes glazed over as she went over the Cerberus data. While the others were getting some well-earned rest, she was determined to find out why Cerberus even wanted rachni and husks. Except the latter weren't the same things from Eden Prime. They were something else... organic, not synthetic.

Worse, all of the research seemed hell-bent on controlling minds. Cerberus seemed to think the rachni pliable, but the data proved the insects far more intelligent than expected. And the husks — what they were calling Creepers — were completely mindless, but were supposed to be controlled by something called a Thorian.

Corinthia rubbed her eyes. She had never liked the organization, but it seemed like they were moving in the direction of controlling humans, turians, asari... all the major sentient species. Well, the rachni had been a major species before the krogan helped annihilate them, but the rachni were also supposed to be extinct. So were the geth.

From what she had gathered thus far, Cerberus hadn't worked on the geth. That took them out of the running for being in league with Saren, at least for the immediate future. Then again, Saren was threatening Humanity and Cerberus was the most notorious pro-human group in the galaxy. There were a few other gangs who were known and had committed a few hate crimes in the last few years, but no one compared to Cerberus for cruelty, malice, and funding.

The trick was finding Cerberus. So little was known about them, to the point that their leader was simply known as the Illusive Man and even the most informed of people couldn't pinpoint the number of members within Cerberus. Corinthia didn't think it worth going to the Shadow Broker for information like that, especially since the Broker didn't charge someone like her — an officer in the Alliance Navy with connections to very powerful and informed people — money for the information he gave. Corinthia would be charged access to the highest possible military secrets. Then again, the Shadow Broker could probably get his hands on them if he wanted to with or without her help, but maybe at a higher cost.

Worse, the Shadow Broker might ask for Shepard. Whether he knew it or not, Shepard had influence in the galaxy. He had been well-known from the Blitz, Akuze, and Torfan, but becoming a Spectre had made him almost a household name. He didn't watch the vids, so he had no idea just how often he was in them. He already had three fan websites, all of which included girls ranging from the ages of twelve to seventy raving about how sexy/amazing/epic/badass/et cetera he was. Admittedly, Corinthia had been tempted to join one at one point, but she had the real man to herself. Unfortunately for the rest of the galaxy, she didn't want to share and, unfortunately for her, her job required that she had to.

He was careful, though. So far, Corinthia was the only one he had trusted with the truth about his past. She would never, ever breathe a word of any of it to anyone. She had managed to keep stories about their relationship in check, which would be all the more important now that they were... well, whatever they were. Together? Calling him her boyfriend just didn't sound, or feel, right. It was more than that. Deeper, on some level, even if all they had done was kiss.

Regardless, Shepard had influence and he wasn't, frankly, the best of men. Corinthia still shivered at the memory of him on Torfan. Her stomach twinged with guilt, too, as she remembered calling him the Butcher. She'd never done that before and the accusation resounded too heavily for her comfort. Even if she didn't intentionally use the power, she knew that she had the ability to hurt him on a level deeper than the physical. Whether it was emotional or spiritual (questionable on the latter, since the words "Shepard" and "soulless" were commonly thought to be synonymous), she didn't know, but she'd seen the hurt in his eyes. In fact, in her eyes, he finished off the Cerberus soldiers and scientists as an apology.

No, no. That wasn't right. He had nothing to apologize for. All he'd done was tell her that she was acting out of character. Sure, he'd never seen her truly angry before... Well, she'd never been angry before, not really. Just upset. With Shepard, mostly. He knew how to deal with anger very, very, very well, since he was almost always angry at something, anyway.

Her omni-tool beeped. Corinthia had forgotten that she'd been letting it run a program to find other Cerberus projects. Their security was top-notch and her hacking program failed, except for a single hit on some planet called Nepheron one system over. She relayed the coordinates to Shepard (who was sleeping), Pressley (who was still on duty as the XO, poor man), and Joker (who would, in all likelihood, just send a message back saying, "Yeah, so?"). Maybe they could end this Cerberus madness sooner rather than later.

She cracked her knuckles. She really should have slept before starting any attempts to get into Cerberus's mainframe, but there wasn't time for it, not really. Cerberus's research had to be stopped and, from what Corinthia could tell, she was only scratching the surface of what they were up to. They didn't have time to go hunting down terrorists, as they were hunting Saren, but the moment they caught the turian, Corinthia was going to get herself a nice little group of people — meaning, she was going to respectfully request the Normandy and her crew — to finish off Cerberus.

As she put her fingers to the holo-keyboard, she hesitated. After Saren... That was farther in the future than she generally thought, but there was also more to her life, now, than the Alliance. There was Shepard. Yeah, it was probably a dumb idea to start thinking about their lives together when they'd only been together a couple days. No, three. Now it was three days.

Corinthia dismissed the thoughts from her mind. Shepard wouldn't have liked her daydreaming, anyway, especially about something so trivial. Oddly, though, it was comfort enough for Corinthia to know that she had him — really had him — for whenever something went wrong.

Someone knocked on her door.

"Oi," she answered, not looking over. However, she minimized the screen showing all of the Alliance's intel on Cerberus, none of which she was supposed to have access to.

Of all people, Garrus stepped inside. "How you doing, kid?"

Corinthia shrugged and spun around in her chair. "Meh. I'm alive, aren't I?"

"Shepard said you weren't taking it well."

"He says — Wait, he talked to you?!"

Garrus chuckled. "You're not his only friend, Ci-Ci."

"Apparently..." She absently ran her fingers through her hair. "I don't know, Garrus... You know the kinds of thugs Cerberus are. What else was I supposed to do?"

"We all have one thing we want to see destroyed," Garrus murmured.

Corinthia nodded. "Yeah, I guess so." She hadn't been involved in the incident, but Garrus had been hunting down a rather sadistic salarian calling himself Dr. Heart, who had escaped the Citadel, to Garrus's chagrin. Garrus had never really forgiven himself for it, either.

"Shepard wouldn't say what happened in the last base, other than that it was his responsibility."

Corinthia groaned. "Seriously? You want the mission report?"

"Must've ended badly for them if even he wouldn't explain," Garrus answered innocently.

"It's not that." Corinthia's stomach twinged with guilt. Now that someone was asking what had happened, she was almost ashamed to say. No, wait, no. She wasn't guilty. Her expression hardened into an emotionless shell once more. "I vented the rooms. No survivors."

"What about the Admiral?"

"Already dead."

"Damn, Ci-Ci..." Garrus wasn't sure what else to say. She wasn't cold like that. At all. She was one of the most caring people he knew. "I didn't expect you to be capable of dealing with anyone like that."

"What? Am I too nice or something?"

"Yes, something like that," Garrus replied. "You're not like Shepard."

"No, I'm not." Honestly, she didn't think the comparison was an accurate one, either. She turned back to her screen. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get into Cerberus's mainframe and destroy them from the inside."

Garrus nodded. "That sounds more like your style of revenge."

"Who ever said that this was revenge?"

"You're expression. I've seen that look plenty of times."

"Garrus..."

"I never said it was a problem. It's nice to know that you can act as dangerous as you really are. Then again, you may only be dangerous because of that innocent grin of yours, but what would I know about that? I can't grin. Damned side effect of being a turian."

Corinthia laughed. "Aw, Garrus, you know you can smile. It's all in your eyes, when you get someone's forehead in your rights and get that perfect headshot... THAT'S when the grin comes out. And a corny line about getting the shot."

"Point."

"'RIGHT IN THE NOGGIN'!'"

"I do NOT say that."

"No, you don't. But it'd be funny if you did."

Garrus shook his head. "You need to sleep."

"Later. I have this to finish."

"Want me to get Shepard in here?"

"Eh, don't wake him up."

"He's not asleep. So, go to sleep or else I'll get him to make you."

"He wouldn't mind at all."

"He w — Why wouldn't he?"

Corinthia blushed, shutting off her console and scrambling to her feet. "Uhm, nevermind. I'll just go bunk up. Yeah, that."

Garrus watched her curiously as she passed. Maybe they all needed some rest.

Agony. Brutality. Horror. Hopelessness.

Their arms reached for him, begging to take him into their embrace. For the first time in his life, he wanted to run and hide, but there was nowhere to go. There was only him, standing alone against the monsters as they destroyed the lush utopian world.

All around him, creatures screamed for mercy in foreign tongues, but he understood every word. Frozen, he couldn't help them. He couldn't put his fingers on the trigger of his gun, let his biotics flare to life. He couldn't speak and radio for the Normandy to rain fire down on the monstrous things before him. His squad lay dead at his feet, all dead by different gruesome means.

He was alone: the last barrier between the aggressors and the rest of the galaxy... the galaxy's last and only hope.

Shepard sat bolt upright in bed. God damn those nightmares... After two weeks of peace — after joining minds with T'Soni — he'd hoped that they'd be gone, but they weren't. He sucked in air, attempting to calm down, but it wasn't working. He needed Corinthia.

Ignoring his shirt, he walked barefoot out into the mess hall. He glanced at the the sleeping pods to see if she was there and started when he saw that she was. For some reason, he'd expected her to be awake and working on the Cerberus assignment. After glancing around for snoopers (of which there were none), he used the control panel to open the pod.

Corinthia's eyes fluttered open and she yawned. "Shepard?" she asked, confused. "Uh, where's your shirt?"

He grabbed her hand and led her back to his quarters. She swallowed hard. "J-John? What's going on?"

Only then did he realize just what he may have been suggesting to her, but he waited to speak until the door had shut and locked behind them.

"That fucking vision," he started, voice choking in his throat.

Any apprehension in her expression vanished. "Oh, right," she replied, moving closer to him. Her fingers brushed his cheek. "What do you need?" she asked quietly.

"You," he answered, gripping her waist. "However you'll let me."

Corinthia smiled. "Who'd have known that you were considerate?"

"I don't think you're ready to sleep with me."

She blushed. "Point... I mean, I kinda did."

"No 'kinda', Cassie. I didn't even start." Shepard pulled her against him, attempting to take some comfort in her proximity. Whenever he blinked, the beacon's images appeared. Seeing Corinthia so near to him lessened the pain, but only barely. All it did was turn a premonition into a nightmare.

"Oh, right." Corinthia looked away, embarrassed. She hated not knowing what to do with him. Although he'd reassured her that he would have no issues holding her hand through the process of the physicalities of their relationship, she still wished she, at least, had some idea of what he was talking about. Maybe some research would be in order... She took a deep breath before putting her hands on his chest. "I... I don't know what you need..."

"Damn it, Cassie..." Shepard groaned.

Corinthina stomped a foot in frustration. "It's not like I've had a boyfriend before! And it's not like you're gonna go crying into my shirt."

If he wasn't still shaken by the vision, Shepard might have smirked and taken the comment as an invitation to cuddle against her breasts. But he was still distressed. Not enough to refuse such comfort if she offered it, but enough to not be suggestive or romantic.

Corinthia's expression softened. "Do you want to talk about the dream?"

"What else is there to say?" Shepard quietly replied. Although, as he spoke, he realized that she hadn't been part of the vision. Not this time. Maybe his fear of losing her had diminished or his fear of being the last resort had taken precedent.

"I don't know," Corinthia answered. "But it bothers you, doesn't it? And you don't get shaken easily. I've never seen you this bad..." She wilted. "I just feel... useless, that's all. You know? Like I don't know what I can do."

Shepard took a deep breath. "As soon as we're done on Nepheron, we go after Saren. That's the only thing we do. Any other missions are secondary or we're just going to ignore. You said that he wanted this vision." He gripped her tightly. "I'm going to rip him limb by limb if I have to. He's going to tell me what he's after. I bet Wrex knows some good ways to take apart a turian."

Corinthia shivered. She hated it whenever Shepard sounded murderous, even if she understood why. "I-If you say so..."

Shepard met her eyes. "You don't like the plan."

"I don't like it when you talk like that, but... It's nothing against the plan, John. I - I just worry about you, that's all. When you're all vengeful and stuff. I know why you are, but I keep thinking... It's stupid. Forget I said anything."

"No," Shepard answered firmly. "You're going to finish your thought."

"What's gonna happen when there isn't anything left to fight?"

Shepard shrugged. "How the hell should I know? Do you really think that day will come? Because I don't."

"I hope it does." Corinthia wasn't about to tell him how she was starting to get tired of the Alliance, of the fighting, of everything. In reality, she just wanted to sit in her home — wherever that ended up being — and spend the rest of her life doing something with computers. Or work with salarians again. She missed them, honestly. That life, though, meant less Shepard. Maybe even no Shepard. THAT she didn't know if she could handle.

Besides, she was already trying her damnedest not to mention her fantasies about their lives together. If they had a life together. Marriage, kids, whatever. She was already unsure enough about how things were supposed to progress, really, or even what their relationship status was. Not that it mattered; frankly, it was better that they didn't set any definitions in case the Alliance came snooping.

Shepard sighed. "I've only got one theory about why Saren would want that vision: it's about the end of it. When those ships come... The ones that unleash the monsters onto the world. It wasn't the geth that were attacking; it was something else, something worse. That's what Saren's after. He wants that power."

At the back of Shepard's mind, Shepard wondered if Saren was trying to stop those monsters. Its was the only thing that Shepard could think of doing. He didn't love the galaxy or the species or even his own species, but he wasn't going to sit by while everything was destroyed. He had never been they type to run from any challenge. In fact, he rose to them, especially if they were worthy.

Shepard had read Saren's file. The two of them were alike in may ways, from how they executed their missions to their morals. Saren was a war hero. People like that didn't turn traitor without a damned good reason. The beacon's vision, if the Council had ignored the evidence, was a damned good reason. Then again, Saren had never been the type to approach his superiors with his plans. He just did things. Even now, Shepard did not have that freedom. Anderson required almost constant update, which Pressley or Corinthia provided, and the Council was intent on talking to him whenever they heard he had just finished a mission.

"Why?" Corinthia asked, frowning as she thought things through. "What could he need that amount of power for?"

"Ask a madman why he mutters," Shepard answered.

Corinthia rolled her eyes. "Okay, okay, I get it: we don't know. It just doesn't make sense to me, you know?"

"Yeah, I know. That's why I want to talk to him."

Corinthia pressed her lips together. "You aren't going to join him, are you?" she asked quietly. "If he's... you know, not crazy."

Shepard took her face in his hands. "That bastard tried to take you away from me, Cassie." His fingertips slid over to the scar on her temple. "You think I'd let that mother fucker draw breath without doing to him what he did to you?"

She blushed. "And if he hadn't... Would we be here?" she asked quietly.

Shepard frowned. The fact was that it was likely they wouldn't have been, at least in that exact moment. He had no idea how long it would have taken them to get together otherwise, but it didn't matter; Saren had tried to kill her and forced Shepard to recognize his feelings.

"Does it matter?" he asked quietly. "We're here. You want this. If you actually want to take this back, you're doing a very bad job of proving it to me." He smirked, his expression reminding her just how eager she was for his touch. Of course, she was nestled against him as closely as she could, a latent smile resting on her lips.

"Uh... Yeah, no. No way in hell I'm taking it back," she said, grinning.

"Good. So stop being so damn insecure and come to bed."

"I take it you're feeling better."

He headed towards the bed, feeling slightly disappointed that she wasn't immediately following. "Enough to sleep, I think... If you stay."

She darted past him and jumped onto the bed. She bounced on the thin mattress and off onto the floor. Shepard dashed to her side. "You alright?" he asked, unable to hide neither his concern nor his amusement at her clumsiness.

She laughed and got to her feet. "Yep! Just fine. Might get a bruise, but, eh, I'll manage."

Shepard swallowed a lewd comment about examining her for damage. "Sit on the bed, this time," he ordered, crawling under the covers. After a second of embarrassment, she joined him. He immediately rolled into her arms, nuzzling her neck.

She blinked in surprise. "So you're not alright," she observed.

"Avoiding another nightmare," he answered, putting a gently kiss on her throat. It took most of his self-control to stop there, but he did. "And you're here to comfort me, remember?"

She idly stroked his shoulder, her eyes drifting closed. "I know..." she murmured. Even if she was conscious of Shepard's presence and couldn't get her heart rate under control, she didn't want to be anywhere else in the galaxy at that moment. It didn't even matter what else was out there, trying to destroy the galaxy or whatever it was people like Saren and Cerberus did; she had Shepard all to herself.

25 May 2183 —Comm Room, SSV Normandy SR-1, en route to Nepheron, Columbia System, Voyager Cluster

Shepard stared at the screen. Why was it that ever damned secret base had to be in the middle of nowhere? Well, it wouldn't be secret, then, but it was a fucking nuisance to hunt them down...

Corinthia was still sleeping. She needed to, too. Between the mission and everything else that had happened in the last few days, she needed to really rest. She'd ended curled up in his arms when he woke, clinging to him like he was the only thing able to comfort her. Leaving without waking her had been difficult, especially since he'd just wanted to laze about, but there were things to do. He had to finish off Cerberus, get a jump on Saren, and end the whole damned ordeal.

Cerberus... He still wasn't sure if he was supposed to say something or nothing about her behavior. He would've killed everyone a bit more brutally, certainly, but it gave him chills to think of how coldly she'd dealt with the situation. Unfortunately, he didn't know if they were chills of arousal, fear, or both. Both, probably.

Besides, she had been acting like herself the night before. Whatever had happened on Binthu... It wasn't past, but it wasn't at the forefront. It was a flash of her darker side, but that shadow did not outweigh the light within her. He was glad she could snap back to being the woman he had come to care about. Not that he wouldn't or didn't when she acted differently, but it had just been strange.

He wasn't going to bring it up if she didn't. If she did, it would probably be in some flood of remorse and self-pity over what had happened. He'd gladly hold her through it and tell her whatever she needed to hear. Yeah, he knew she was strong, but he wanted to be able to protect her. Help her.

Garrus came up next to him. "Your move, Commander?"

"Clean house," Shepard answered. "Get rid of them while we're ahead."

"Sounds like my kind of plan," Garrus murmured. "You going to tell her?"

"She needs some rest. We're still twenty hours out."

Garrus glanced around for eavesdroppers. "She thinks the crew doesn't know."

Shepard glared at Garrus. "And who, exactly, does know?"

"Alenko and myself, for starters. The others will figure it out before long. Turian ships allow fraternization so long as it doesn't get in the way."

"What's your point, Garrus?"

"We're going out of our way."

Shepard tapped his fingers against his arms. "That all depends on how you look at it."

"So what are you telling the Alliance?"

"I'm taking every possible route as I hunt down Saren," Shepard replied, smirking. "And if I get to fuck Cerberus along the way, all the better for me."

"And Ci-Ci."

Shepard hesitated. "Yeah, for Ci-Ci."

"You're doing this for her, aren't you?"

Shepard gritted his teeth. "What's it matter?"

"I understand revenge, Shepard. Believe me, I do, but —"

"What's a few days?" Shepard retorted. "I need my crew focused. Every last one of them. If I have to stop on every planet for some damned missions, I'll do it. Saren isn't going to get very far, not with me hunting him. Not when I'm at my best. He's just as lost as I am in this, looking for some fucking trace of Prothean culture. I bet he's got to do all kinds of stuff to keep the geth in line. I bet we can't be the only ones fighting him."

"Cerberus is pro-human. What if they were?"

"Then they'd damn well better stop standing on my way and get on my side." Shepard pointed to the readout of Nepheron. "And we're already in the area, so why not deal with it now before it's a problem? Besides, did you even see what Cerberus is up to?"

Garrus shook his head. "No."

"Mind control experiments on every species... Humans included." Shepard met Garrus's gaze. "I'm not a xenophobe, but that doesn't mean I care about every species equally. It's a lot easier to hear about the batarians slaughtering salarians than it is to hear about them slaughtering humans."

"So it's worse when it's your own species, huh?" Garrus asked.

"Don't tell me you don't agree," Shepard replied.

"Not sure, Shepard. I've seen some pretty nasty things in my day, done by every kind of species. Even hanar, the jellyfish. But, yeah, I guess you're right: It is worse when it's your own kind."

"Do you get why I have to finish this now, then?"

"Oh, believe me, I get it," Garrus answered, crossing his arms. "I just wanted to make sure this wasn't just about the girl."

"Why do you even care if it's about her?" Shepard demanded. "What's between us is between us. That's where it ends."

Garrus shrugged. "Someone's going to have to cover your asses when the time comes. I figure I should get my story straight before then."

"You'd damn well better," Shepard replied. Somewhere, he was grateful that Garrus would be willing to do that, but then again any member of the crew had to do it. Who'd risk the wrath of Shepard?

"Well, if you have any specifics you thought of, let me know. I'll adjust."

Shepard snorted. It sounded like something Corinthia would say.

"Whatever. Just get ready for the next mission."

"Are you taking everyone this time?"

Shepard shook his head. "Just you and Alenko. Ci-Ci... Shit, I'll need her along, too, won't I?"

Garrus shrugged. "How about you go with her and Wrex. I'll hold down the fort up here."

"Joker won't like that."

"The ship's half-turian, anyway. He'll get used to it. I've just got one of those charming dispositions. Females just have this soft spot for me, and since Joker is one... I almost feel bad for the guy."

"Almost."

"Hey, Commander, I've got Captain Anderson for you," Joker radioed.

Shepard frowned. "What the hell does he want?"

"Wouldn't say. The guy just sounds annoyed."

"Put him through."

Garrus started towards the door. "I think it's best if I'm not here."

Shepard nodded. "Just get ready to go out there. Tell Wrex, Alenko, and Ci-Ci the same."

"Of course, Commander." Garrus left.

Anderson's hologram appeared in front of Shepard. "What's the report?"

Shepard saluted before crossing his arms. "What report?"

"On Saren. On the geth. I've given you leads."

Shepard rubbed his eyes. "I got the doctor. She might be useful."

"Your last report said as much."

"That was two weeks ago. You can't expect —"

"Time is of the essence here, Shepard. Now, I know I didn't make a mistake in nominating you for Spectre."

"You didn't, sir," Shepard growled, fist clenching. "This mission was necessary. Cerberus murdered an admiral. Did you expect me to leave that unresolved? I don't think so."

Anderson thought for a long moment. "I understand, Shepard. I just don't want you to forget why you're out there."

"I can't, sir. Saren hurt Ci-Ci. Betrayed his own kind when he killed Nihlus. I'm starting to get an idea of what he's after." Shepard's eyes narrowed. "I'm not going to let him get it."

"What is he after?" Anderson asked.

"I'll tell you when I know for sure. Anything else, sir?"

"No. Glad to hear you're making progress, Shepard. Don't let me down."

"Yes, sir." Shepard ended the transmission. He didn't like being watched or checked up on like that, but he understood where Anderson was coming from. Saren was the priority; Shepard just didn't care at the moment.

26 May 2183 —Nepheron, Columbia System, Voyager Cluster

Shepard really, really, really hated it when Corinthia's omni-tool was out. Not only did it give him this bad feeling that she was doing things she wasn't supposed to, but the glow also distracted him. Well, she did. The light cast certain shadows on her body that made him stare at places he shouldn't. Well, since she was his now, he could, but not while on duty.

"Looks like a pretty basic setup," Corinthia started, voice all business. "Should be a quick in and out, depending on how long it takes me to hack into their systems."

Garrus checked his sniper rifle one last time. "We've got you covered, Ci-Ci," the turian assured her. "I doubt Shepard's going to let anyone live, anyway."

"I won't, either," Corinthia answered coldly.

Shepard met Corinthia's eyes. He couldn't read her expression, not with how her omni-tool was reflecting against her irises. As if attempted to assure him that she was still herself, she offered him a faint smile. Frankly, a stupid grin would have been better. They hadn't exactly spoken since Binthu and he was worried. Well, that and he wanted to have her in his quarters for a few hours so they could... bond. Physically. Get her over her squeamishness and used to his hands on her. That kind of thing. Or, at least, he assumed that was how she'd be — nervous, giggly, uncertain, and generally insecure about being with him or what to do.

He checked his thoughts before they wandered too far. When every last Cerberus bastard was dead, then they could celebrate in his quarters.

As things stood, Cerberus had proved no challenge, not really. The 'soldiers', if you could even call them that, were poorly trained — little better than hired guns. Shepard had yet to have a challenging mission against the terrorists.

Then again, terrorists weren't supposed to be a challenge. They were supposed to be nothing short of insane, led by some fucking fanatic who'd kill every last member of his group before giving himself up, and even then they only might die for their cause.

Shepard may have sent soldiers to their deaths, but — No, there was no but. Shepard was a survivor; he always had been. Getting him to die for anything would be... difficult. He had to care and, so far, that word only applied to Corinthia. His eyes flicked to Garrus. The turian was coming dangerously close to being his friend. So was Alenko, now that Shepard thought about it. Those two knew more about Shepard than anyone except Corinthia and Shepard was starting to actually trust them.

This was not good. Friends were weaknesses. Then again, Alenko and Garrus could more than take care of themselves. Alenko may have been a little awkward, but he was a talented biotic and had good battle instincts. Garrus's sense of honor was just about the only thing keeping him from being as ruthless in battle as Shepard. Now, though, Corinthia was headed down the same path, finally becoming the soldier she was supposed to be.

The base came into sight over the horizon. The orange sky clashed against the grey-blue earth of the planet. The rounded entrances to the underground lair stood silhouetted against the setting sun.

Alenko slowed the Mako to a near halt. "Orders, Commander?"

Shepard glanced at Corinthia. "What's the resistance?"

"A few turrets and some gun fodder," she answered. "Nothing Garrus couldn't take out in a few minutes."

"Can you get into the turrets?"

"If I get closer, yeah."

Alenko kicked the Mako into gear and they tore towards the base. Garrus manned the gun turret.

"Just in case Ci-Ci takes too long to get in," the turian explained.

She snorted. "Yeah, right." Her fingers flew through her omni-tool's interface, screens of code popping up and disappearing in the blink of an eye. Before they were even in firing range, she smirked victoriously. "Got 'em."

Garrus sighed, disappointed, and left the gun. "You know, sometimes the rest of us want a chance to get the bastards."

A panel showing the turret's point of view appeared, along with a small control console. Corinthia maneuvered the turrets to face the snipers. The Cerberus soldiers panicked, diving for cover as she set the gun to blast away at them.

Shepard raised an eyebrow. She had never enjoyed killing, not really. Thankfully, the expression on her face wasn't one of enjoyment. Instead, her visage was blank, utterly devoid of emotion. This was just a job. Whatever revenge she had felt was absent. Maybe. Shepard couldn't be sure, not with how withdrawn she'd been.

"Clear," she declared after a couple minutes.

Alenko halted the Mako before the entrance. After they had all secured their helmets, Garrus opened the hatch and climbed out, checking the area for other enemies. "Missed some," he observed, firing three shots into one of the sniper nests.

Corinthia snapped her fingers. "Damn," she muttered, somewhat sarcastically.

"But thanks for leaving some for me," Garrus continued. "I need to practice to keep my skills up."

Shepard got out of the Mako, assault rifle ready. This mission was already feeling too easy. There hadn't been much resistance at all, other than Alenko accidentally driving them into a thresher maw nest. Corinthia landed on the ground next to him with a crunch. Her arms flailed as she attempted to regain her balance, but she righted herself before too long.

Shepard rolled his eyes. If she was going to be a klutz, she was going to stay with the Mako. Unfortunately, she was already at the door and hacking her way through it. Well, maybe not unfortunately. She was into the facility in less than two minutes.

Alenko popped his head out of the ATV's hatch. "Stay with the Mako?" he guessed.

Shepard glanced at Corinthia.

"No idea what's inside," she said, shrugging. "Your call, Shep."

"Then get your ass on the ground, Alenko," Shepard ordered.

Compared to the forces on Binthu, this mission was more than easy. Between Garrus, Alenko, and Shepard, every last Cerberus soldier was taken down. Corinthia barely even registered that there was a fight going on, as she seemed intent on getting to the upper level and the computer there. By the time Shepard caught up, she was screaming at the console and doing everything in her power to stop... something.

"What the hell, Ci-Ci?!" Shepard demanded.

"Gall-fricking-damned-poo-poo-kermuffin-kniggitts!" she huffed, kicking the computer when the screen went black.

Alenko raisaed an eyebrow. "Was that even English?"

Corinthia accusingly pointed to the computer. "That DAMNED thing started erasing everything the second I tried to get in. I've never seen such good firewalls. This must've had access to the Cerberus mainframe. It's the only explanation."

Shepard was trying not to snicker. As bad as it was to have lost potentially vital information, Corinthia was throwing a hissy fit. She'd gone from cold vengeance to hissy fit and, as immature as it was, he was grateful that she was herself.

"Calm down," he ordered, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Is there anything else for us to get?"

"No," she answered, sulking.

"Then we're leaving. We've done enough in this cluster. I swear, if Hackett calls, I'm going to the Fifth Fleet to take him down myself."

24 May 2183—Shepard's Quarters, SSV Normandy, en route to the Citadel

Corinthia snored. Frankly, Shepard wasn't surprised. She seemed like the type. As soon as they'd gotten back onto the Normandy, Joker informed them that they had to get their reports of the events in ASAP. So, after cleaning up, they retired to his quarters and spent six hours doing paperwork to explain how and why they couldn't save an admiral. Corinthia had passed out on Shepard's bed after that (he still had to do his Spectre reports) and he hadn't had the heart to move her. It wasn't that she was cute when she slept (she looked closer to a drooling monkey), but instead that he didn't think he could lift her if he tried. She had this way of going completely limp and effectively doubling her body weight. He was strong, but he was exhausted. The best he could do was roll her onto her stomach and sleep on the other side of the bed. He stripped his shirt, boots, and socks before settling at her side.

Corinthia sat straight up as soon as he lay down. "What the—" She squinted at him. Her hair was half plastered to her face and half sticking up comically. "Are we on a cruise ship?"

Shepard chuckled. "No. We're on the Normandy."

"Oh." She fell back and stared at the ceiling. "I thought I'd fallen asleep on the lido deck and someone was trying to steal my seat."

"You did fall asleep in the middle of the bed."

"I should move, shouldn't I?"

"You can stay, if you like."

She blushed, but still rolled so that she was leaning her head against his neck. He curled an arm around her shoulders.

"Do you think Joker'll interrupt?" she asked, stifling a yawn.

"I muted the intercom."

"He can override it."

"Don't worry about it."

"I want my beauty sleep. Of course I'm worried!"

"I wouldn't exactly call it that…"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, you aren't exactly… pretty when you're asleep."

"Huh?"

"You snore and flop."

"Then I'll leave." She tried to sit up, he wouldn't let her. "Okay, you're doing that mixed signals thing again."

"I was making an observation, not objecting."

She settled back down against him. "You're weird. And warm. And not very squishy…" She rapped her knuckles against his abs. "Yeah, not squishy at all."

He didn't know if he was supposed to be flattered or not. At least he was amused. "And this is a problem why?"

"I was making an observation, not objecting," she retorted, attempting (and failing) to mimic his voice.

"And you're a twig. What happened? You were bigger when you enlisted."

"I know you're the master of tact, but you're not supposed to mention a woman's weight."

"Do you care?"

"Sorta… I mean, who can't?"

"You look amazing. Just saying that you used to have more… curves."

"What? I had bigger boobs?"

"That's part of it."

"Are you complaining?"

"Of course not. I'm just saying that you aren't 'squishy' either."

She snickered.

"What?" he demanded.

"You said 'squishy'."

He rolled his eyes. "Cassie…"

She giggled. "That's me!"

"Just go to sleep."

"Dunno if I can."

"Uncomfortable?"

"No. You're warm. I'm used to sleeping in the cold."

He pulled her closer, a smirk playing across his lips. "Get used to it."

"Not sure how much I can, considering regs..."

"Fuck regs," he muttered, shutting his eyes and making it clear that he intended to sleep. "As if I care. I want you more."

She grinned sheepishly. "Cue the romantic music and—Mmph… Okay, that too—" She pushed him away as he leaned in to kiss her again. "Shepard —" She put her hand up, catching his lips on her palm. He grabbed her wrist and pushed her hand aside, aiming again for her lips and hitting his target. "Shep —" She ducked, making his next attempt for her land on her eyelid. "John —" He smirked as he grabbed the back of her neck and pulled her to him. When he drew away for breath, she put her hand over his face and pushed him away. "Honestly! I'm trying to sleep!"

He almost laughed as he pulled her closer to his chest when she tried to escape. "You started it. Don't try and blame me."

"I'm not!"

He pinned her to the bed. "Wuss."

She stuck her tongue out. "Hopeless romantic."

"And?"

"I'll give you a handkerchief next time you go marching off into battle, my knight," she replied dramatically, putting on an English accent for effect. "And, prithee, where is thy armor?"

Shepard was tired enough to be willing to play along. He ran a knuckle gently against her cheek. "Thou hast found its weakness, Lady, so I need it not."

"Ooh… Shakespeare."

"No, Shepard."

She put her arms around his neck. "Close enough for government work. I think you owe me a kiss and a sonnet."

"The first I can give you." He did, lightly, with more tease than anything else. "And don't hold your breath for the second."

"Aw…"

"Can your eyes get any wider?"

"Don't think so. This is the best pitiful look you can get from me."

"Well, it's pretty damn good. Fine, you'll get a sonnet. But later. Right now..." He hesitated before saying, "We're done with Cerberus."

Corinthia inhaled deeply and slowly released the breath. "Okay."

He shifted so that he could look her in the eye. "If anything else comes up, we report it to Hackett and move on. We need to get Saren. Anderson just chewed me out for being... distracted."

Corinthia started. "He knows?!"

"Calm down!" Shepard groaned. "It's not like he'll care, not with Saren out there. Cerberus isn't a priority, that's all."

"I never said they were." Corinthia extracted herself from his grasp and sat up. "Then Shadow Broker contacted me. He wants the information we got."

"And?"

She shrugged. "What do you think? I told him to fuck off."

Shepard stared at her for a second before he started laughing. "That I would've wanted to see... What's that bastard look like?"

"Nothing. Just a voice. And a large offer of money. Not that I need it. Well, maybe I do. I don't know. Either way, it's just stupid to deal with that guy."

"I always thought you'd end up working for him after you left the Alliance."

"If I didn't die on the job, you mean."

His expression darkened. "That isn't going to happen. I'll die first."

She gratefully smiled. "I know. I still haven't figured out why — Well, I mean, I know why, I think. I guess. Maybe. If I keep thinking about it, I'll just be jumping to conclusions and I don't want to do —"

Shepard cut her off with a kiss before she could talk herself into her own grave. "Shut up," he ordered sternly, grating his teeth along her bottom lip. "This kind of thing doesn't involve thinking at all. Besides..." He pinned her down on the bed, smirking. "You still need the practice."