A/N 12/27/2012: 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.

I welcome constructive and/or encouraging reviews/critiques. Please leave feedback!

Thank you for reading. Enjoy!

13 June 2183—Zhu's Hope, Feros, Theseus System, Attican Beta Cluster

Corinthia looked around the grassroots colony nervously. "Shep, I don't like it here. Why did you have to listen to me?"

Zhu's Hope was small and struggling. Nestled in miles upon miles of ruined Prothean skyline, the colony had started as a center of Exo-Geni research. Considering how much trouble Exo-Geni had caused and Shepard had to clean up, it was no surprise that the colony was in trouble.

But something cold ran up Corinthia's spine when she looked at the inhabitants. They didn't make eye contact. Any questions posed were avoided or answered so vaguely that they could only be hiding something. As per usual, they were asking for Shepard's help. Thankfully, it was only to gather supplies rather than going and killing things—at least directly; they had to cut through geth and varren to get to anything the colonists asked about.

Shepard had yet to holster his assault rifle, nor was he about to. It was almost impossible to scare him, but the place was getting dangerously close to creeping him out. He would never show his apprehension, but whatever was lurking beneath the surface was not going to be pretty.

Corinthia had suggested that they come to Feros. Shepard had been more than happy to oblige, especially since they had spent the last few weeks doing Hackett's dirty work. The Commander wasn't particularly thrilled to be the Alliance's errand boy, especially after becoming a Spectre, but he hadn't been ready to face Saren again, not yet. To Shepard's shame, it was out of fear—not for himself, but for Corinthia. If she got hurt again, Shepard would lose it. Things would die, slowly and painfully, and Saren would wish he had never been born.

Of course, Saren was going to wish that anyway by the time Shepard was done with him.

He glanced at Corinthia as she shifted closer to him. Although she always did that when she was in a situation she found nerve-wracking, Shepard was wishing she wasn't, partially because he wanted to comfort her in unprofessional ways and mostly because the entire colony was watching them. Alenko was trying to help a woman with the water system, although he was getting frustrated when she refused to explain to him how to help. They had been met at the dock and ordered to leave; whenever that happened, Shepard took out his biggest gun and stood his ground.

He shifted closer to her, although it looked like he was just adjusting his rifle in his arms. "I listened to you, Ci-Ci," he began in a serious tone, "because the last ten missions you insisted I take from Hackett have gotten us some damn good equipment and a shitload of money."

"You know that's a woman's logic, right? Do it for the cash and accessories?"

Shepard rolled his eyes. "Yeah, but I said it like a man. Besides, I saw your face when you got those omni-tool upgrades." It had been like a child at Christmas. He had thoroughly enjoyed her method of thanking him (hugs and kisses… lots of kisses) and made a mental note to always be around when he gave her something. "What are you even complaining about?" he finished. "You know damn well that we can't keep running around with our heads cut off."

Corinthia nodded. "Are we ready, though?"

He could hear her fear. It was the slightest change in her tone, an almost inaudible quiver in her voice, but it was there to hear for anyone who really knew her.

"Doesn't matter," he replied. "The bastard has it coming."

Alenko came back, shaking his head. "Damn, Shepard, that has to be the weirdest thing that's ever happened to me…" He glanced around. "I don't know about you two, but I think that Exo-Geni's up to something. This whole place just smells bad to me."

The ExoGeni Corporation was a research company that specialized in genetics. Like many of their kind, they were known to cross the ethical line for the sake of genetic "pioneering". Governments often took a Machiavellian approach when examining the methods used by such companies ("The ends justify the means"). Without them, humanity wouldn't be able to compete with the other races. Babies could have genetic therapy to correct for things from near sightedness to heart disease to other genetic disorders. Shepard's L-3 and Alenko's L-2 biotic implants were developed by geneticists, just as their amps were.

ExoGeni didn't have a particularly good reputation, either. They'd been in more scandals than a raunchy, rich celebrity.

"Of course they were up to something," Shepard muttered. "The question is what." He looked to Corinthia. "Ci-Ci?"

She saluted comically and took out her omni-tool. "On it. Estimated time 'til I have access to everything ExoGeni's ever tried to bury: one hour, two if they've gotten better security in the last six months."

"You've done this before?" Alenko asked.

"Don't be surprised," Shepard murmured. "She may not say what she's got her fingers in, but I'm pretty damn sure there isn't anything she can't get into."

"So, basically we can't keep any secrets from her."

"Yeah, basically."

"Hey, I keep the secrets I accidentally find out, thanks," she intervened, not looking at her omni-tool as her fingers kept working. "And I keep the ones people tell me, too. But I know better than to go looking for dirt unless I need it."

"And why aren't you working for the Shadow Broker again?" Alenko asked, legitimately curious.

She snorted. "Are you kidding me? That guy doesn't have a moral code. Hell, mine's pretty loose when it comes to hacking, anyway, but at least I've got something. I mean, it's the only one you can have when you do that kind of stuff, but I like to know who wants what and why. Besides, I'd have to go looking for stuff, not just happen upon it." She stopped when her omni-tool buzzed angrily. "Ooh, they've upgraded their detection software." She found a place to sit and collapsed in a huff. "This is going to be fun… Shepard, you may want to take someone else with you to the skyway." She gestured towards what was left of Prothean skyscrapers and the road connecting them. The ruins had been converted into research labs by Exo-Geni, but were now overrun by geth. "I need to concentrate on this."

Shepard nodded. "Joker, tell the rest of the team to suit up and meet us in Zhu's Hope."

"Aye, aye, Commander," Joker answered. "Not sure if I'll be able to get Liara out of that lab. She was saying something about a breakthrough or something like that. I can't keep track."

"Whatever," Shepard said. Liara was about as good of a biotic as Wrex was, so her absence wasn't any loss. Shepard was still trying to figure out how a krogan was biotic at all, but Wrex was.

Corinthia cursed as she mistyped a line of code. "Damned keyboard... I really need to figure out way to be able to use both my hands... Maybe if I project onto the wall…"

"I don't think she'll notice when the place goes up in flames," Shepard observed. With her that distracted, she wasn't going to be of any use to him on the infiltration squad. "You know how things tend to go to hell when we don't fight together."

Alenko chuckled. "That's one way of putting it, Commander, but I think you're just planning to blow it up."

"Well, that too..."

Liara gulped and used her biotics to lift Williams into the air. Corinthia giggled and said, "Alright, you're doing great. Keep her steady… That's it… BANG!" She mimed shooting a shotgun. "Baddie's dead. So, set her down gently and we're done."

Liara did. Williams nodded. "Good job, Liara. You're getting better."

At Shepard's behest, Williams and Corinthia had been making Liara practice her biotics. Though neither of the human women were biotics, they knew how to fight alongside biotics and were teaching the right way to provide support. Shepard and Wrex had no qualms about tearing people limb from limb with the telekinetics, leaving Liara and Alenko to provide support. With the boys off romping around Exo-Geni—an amusing mission, by the way Garrus, Wrex, and Alenko were bantering—the girls were stuck in the middle of the colony with nothing to do. Tali was off tinkering with some of the colony's infrastructure, saying that it was a good opportunity to further her pilgrimage. Corinthia was still working on getting into Exo-Geni's systems. The security here was so tight that it made the Alliance's Top Security servers look like a cheap lock on an eight-year-old's diary.

Liara smiled gratefully. "Thank you. I am glad. I am not hurting you, am I?"

Williams snorted. "Hell no."

"Good. I am beginning to understand why my mother insisted to attend an academy for biotics for a time…" Liara frowned slightly. "I wonder how she is doing…"

Williams nodded. "Yeah. I heard from my sister a few days ago." She laughed. "Punch some kid in the mouth for coming onto her. You ever done that, Ci-Ci?"

Corinthia shook her head. "Shep always does it for me. It isn't like I'd noticed if they were paying me attention, anyway. Shepard practically had to—uh," Corinthia blushed deeply, "forget I said anything."

Liara raised an eyebrow. "What did the Commander have to do? I am curious." Although Liara knew of the incident in the Mako, she had purposefully attempted to ignore the implications for her friend.

Williams examined Corinthia for a moment before breaking out into a knowing smirk. "You know, that's against regs, Ci-Ci."

Corinthia wilted bashfully. "Yeah, well…"

Liara put her hand on Corinthia's arm. "It's alright. I will not report you to your superiors."

Williams nodded. "Same."

Corinthia's expression of fear turned to gratitude. "Thanks, guys. It's… Well, I mean…"

"It's not a secret," Williams said. "We all see you going into his cabin and not coming out until the next morning."

"We're not doing anything!" Corinthia protested.

Williams narrowed her eyes. "You know, there's no point in lying. We all already know what you're up to."

Corinthia flushed. "I'm not lying. We really aren't doing anything."

"Then why are you blushing?"

"I haven't even talked to him about it, okay?"

Williams could hardly believe it. Then again, this was Corinthia. Shepard could probably dance naked in front of her and the girl would have no idea what was going on.

"Seriously? You sleep next to the guy and not with him? Damn, Ci-Ci, are you blind?"

"No," Corinthia muttered.

"Or is he? Does the man even have that much self-control?"

"He's not—I mean, if he's… I don't know! He doesn't look at me like that, at least that I've noticed, and—" Corinthia was avoiding thing about how hungry Shepard's kisses could be, let alone how he'd hold her...

"Chill out," Williams interrupted, putting her hand on Corinthia's shoulder. "I'm just saying it's surprising. Not that it's bad. Probably keeps some of the drama on the down-low."

"Well, not all of it, but, yeah, sorta avoids other problems, too, you know?" Corinthia didn't want to talk about it. Shepard hadn't even mentioned sex other than to state as fact that she wasn't ready for it. She was grateful, since she still wasn't completely relaxed in his arms, but she was starting to wonder if she was missing something… Starting to want him. Well, she'd wanted him for a long time, but now she was starting to be brave enough to consider acting on it.

"That might explain why he's been in a good mood for the last month," Williams observed. "I had been starting to think that he was just always pissed off about something."

"He kinda is, anyway," Corinthia answered. "Speaking of which…" Corinthia checked her omni-tool and put a finger to her ear's radio. "Still working on the firewalls, Shep. They've got catacombs under their mass grave."

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Shepard asked angrily. From his breathlessness, he was either in a fight or had just finished one.

"They're burying things under what's already buried," she answered.

"That makes even less sense. Just tell me when you've got it."

"Okay. Be safe."

"Yeah… You too." He sounded reluctant to have even said the words, but they were out. "Shepard out."

Williams was trying not to laugh. "'You too'?" she repeated. "He says things like that?!"

"No," Corinthia answered. "Not really. It's usually 'watch your ass' or something like that."

Liara smiled. "Love is wonderful, do you not agree?"

Corinthia's cheeks burned even redder than before. "I-I wouldn't know."

Williams snickered. "Even if you don't, he has to."

"Huh?"

"Look, I've had boyfriends before. Men like Shepard take what they want. Since he's not taking it, he's gotta really care about you enough to respect that."

"Caring about me isn't love," Corinthia retorted.

"Would you even be with him if you didn't think he loved you?"

Corinthia opened her mouth to retort, but any words died on her lips. She hadn't thought about it. She hadn't even started to imagine why she was with Shepard at all, other than that she cared about him more than anything else and had never even tried to imagine being with anyone else. Sure, she thought that Kaidan was kinda cute, as was Garrus in an odd turiany way, but Shepard was just… weak knees, gaping mouth, oogly eyes, and a strong desire to cuddle.

Shepard was... She wasn't sure how to explain it. Someone as callus as he didn't let their emotions trickle though, but whenever they were alone, his entire demeanor shifted. He wasn't as determined in his movements, although the confidence remained. His expression would show his actual feelings—happiness, contentment, amusement. He could relax around her, maybe even let down his guard just enough that she could really know if he was troubled. Even if he didn't say exactly what he was feeling, he still felt something, and it was strong enough to start to change him.

In the last few weeks, he'd gone from saying "fuck" fifty times a day to twenty. He hadn't snapped at Pressley for something inconsequential. He let most of the crew take shore leave on the Citadel and stayed behind himself (although, of course, it was really an opportunity for him to sleep and be with Corinthia without as many prying eyes). He had even started to joke around with Joker a little. He was starting to open up a little to the rest of crew. It wasn't in the same way as Corinthia, who he could be weak around, but he was starting to show that he did have a sense of humor. This was also the longest he had ever worked with the same team before (Corinthia didn't count) and, for once, they were all competent—even the basic crew of the Normandy.

So maybe he was changing because of Corinthia. Or maybe he was just in a situation where he could make friends for the first time in his eleven and a half years of service.

"This is Shepard we're talking about," Corinthia finally said. "It took him eight years to even, you know, admit he likes me. If he liked me from the start. I don't think… Ack, everything just rolls back around to Akuze. That's when we became friends, really. So six years. Whatever. Too long!" she concluded, slapping a hand down.

"What is the normal duration in human courting rituals?" Liara asked.

Corinthia blinked. "Uh…"

"Courting rituals?" Williams repeated. She exchanged looks with Corinthia before they both burst into laughter.

"What have I said?" Liara asked, confused.

"It depends on the man," Williams finally explained, between breaths.

"And how drunk he is," Corinthia added.

"So for Shepard…"

Corinthia tapped her chin. "An hour, if at a bar with a single-minded purpose."

Liara frowned. "He has don't that in the past?"

Corinthia's eyes flashed with jealousy. "Yeah. Let's not talk about it." Her omni-tool started blaring and flashing red. "That's not good," she muttered, checking it. "That is very not good." She opened her radio. "Shepard, there are geth dropping in everywhere—"

"Tell me something I don't know!" he answered angrily, gunfire echoing in the background. "Their entire goddamn system is down. I've got to reset the whole fucking thing. Any ideas?"

"Yeah, yeah. Let me get you a program…"

Liara zoned out as Corinthia started spouting technical jargon and instructions to Shepard. Liara was extremely intelligent, but only in regards to Prothean history and technology. Much like Corinthia, she wasn't familiar with social protocols. Still, listening Corinthia go off was daunting. The woman was speaking faster than a salarian on caffeine pills. Her fingers blurred as they flew through the interface.

Williams came over, not wanting to interrupt Corinthia as she gave instructions. "We about to get into a fight?" she murmured to Liara.

"I am not sure," the asari murmured. "But I think it best we find Tali."

"Agreed. I'll get her." Williams went off without another word.

Liara nervously toyed with her fingers. She wasn't used to being a fighter just yet, but she had a bad feeling that another conflict was coming. In a way, it was thrilling. To feel the rush of power from the biotics… To maybe, one day, be as strong as her mother… How could Liara have ever wanted to be a scholar? Her natural curiosity was one thing, but she was enjoying the fight against Saren too much for that to have truly been her destiny.

Williams ran up, Tali in tow. "Guys," Williams started, "I think something's going on."

The citizens of Zhu's Hope milled around aimlessly, dropping into silence. Liara raised an eyebrow curiously as they all shuffled towards the entrance to the skyway.

Tali fidgeted. "They only started acting his way a few moments ago. I'm glad Ashley came to find me when she did."

Liara moved towards Corinthia. "Ci-Ci… Everyone's acting oddly."

"Hang on," Corinthia answered distractedly. Her fingers flew through her omni-tool's interface as she manipulated the security systems of the Exo-Geni headquarters.

When the colonists began arming themselves, Liara put a hand on Corinthia's shoulder. "Ci-Ci…"

Williams and Tali drew their weapons. "Ci-Ci!" Williams added, voice rising.

"I said hang on," Corinthia snapped, only looking up in shock when Liara but a biotic barrier between them and the citizens. Corinthia blinked, mouth flopping open and wondering where the hell she put her helmet. "Shepard, gotta go. We've got a fight on our hands."

"WHAT?!" he asked, almost angry. There was still a firefight on his end, but his tone made it clear that he was in no mood to help.

"The colonists are acting like zombies," Corinthia continued, running into cover as the fight escalated. "I've gotta make a concussion grenade or something so I don't—Argh!" she grunted as she took a shot to the shoulder. The armor stopped any damage, but she was really starting to wish she had head protection. "Just—Just hurry up and do something!"

"Are you kidding me?! I've got geth crawling all over my ass and you want me to come there and help?"

"Or just find something that'll help me out down here! This is a moment where my tactics are better than yours."

She could hear Shepard gritting his teeth. "I'll see what I can do. Wrex, Garrus, and Alenko have it in hand. We've got researchers up here who owe me, too."

"Ci-Ci!" Liara called. "I can't hold this for much longer." Williams and Tali were shooting over the colonist's heads, but they weren't even reacting.

"Working on it," Corinthia growled. "There's only so much I can do with this. Right, get ready to dodge. I've got a recharge ready for our shields. And it's not like they can shoot well, anyway. There's better cover over there. Ready?"

"No."

"Well, get used to being surprised. Now!"

Alenko let the Mako cruise to a halt. "So, let me get this straight," he started. "Ci-Ci, Liara, Ashley, and Tali are hiding under one of the housing units and waiting for us to save them from the, ahem, 'super psycho-crazy zombified colonist people' so that they don't have to kill any of them."

Shepard nodded, a little surprised that Alenko managed to repeat Corinthia's words so accurately. "Basically."

"So we have to use the grenades that girl gave us to gas them into unconsciousness."

"Yeah."

"And we can't just knock them out… why?"

Shepard thought for a moment. "Broken jaws? Law-suits? Liability? Ci-Ci has to make it complicated?"

"So, really, no good reason," Garrus concluded.

"What he said," Shepard replied. "Pistols only. If you have to shoot, nothing vital."

In almost any situation where he was under attack, Shepard was more than willing to reciprocate with lethal force. The rare exceptions had previously been limited to bar brawls and a few friendly spars with fellow soldiers. The only past situation where collateral damage had been a problem was the Skyllian Blitz, and even then all had been dismissed as the fault of the mercenaries. Despite the fact that his squads tended to take high casualties, Shepard had no civilian deaths on his record, nor was he about to start. It was one thing to shoot at another fighter, but another one completely to fight someone that, for all he could tell, was under the influence of some fucking mind-control plant. Whatever the hell Exo-Geni had been up to with that 'Thorian' thing was beyond forgivable. It was the researchers that would feel his wrath, not their test subjects. The only reason those researchers still lived (albeit one particularly loud-mouthed one was now sporting a broken jaw) was because a girl, Liz-something, had helped them at the headquarters.

Of course, Corinthia had asked him to find a way to knock the colonists out. That damn woman was going to be the death of him one day, but he'd rather die in her arms than die without her. If the Alliance got wind that his actions had been at her behest, they might get him into trouble. Might. She always had a way of making any bad situation seem good—the silver lining in every cloud.

Admittedly, the women's current situation was only half-way Corinthia's fault. She had ordered them into better cover, only to have the colonists use a crane to drop a crate to block them in. Their situation was only critical in that they were cramped down and, probably, breathing in the same thorian spores as the rest of the population.

Of course, Shepard just didn't like it when Corinthia was in trouble. His feral, protective nature came out with a vicious howl and it took all of his self-control to stay on task. Despite her reassurances that everyone was quite alright and that they would find a way to entertain themselves in the meantime, Shepard had doubled his team's pace in the Exo-Geni headquarters and made Alenko floor the Mako all the way back to the colony.

"You all focus on the colonists," Shepard ordered.

"While you get your damsel in distress. Got it," Alenko finished.

Shepard shook his head. "Fuck you, Alenko," Shepard muttered. Though it hadn't been a mistake to confide in Garrus and Alenko about his feelings for Corinthia, it had built a camaraderie that Shepard was still a little unused to. Not unnerved, but just something he would have to adjust to having. Like being with Corinthia. He relished every second they had, but the newness of it all threw him into a daze at times.

The colonists had set up pathetic barricades. Shepard put up a biotic shield and just ran through, elbowing and punching anyone that got in his way. His actions certainly were less violent than normal; in general, if he was going to hit someone, they would not have a face when he finished landing his blows.

"Shepard, where are you?" Corinthia radioed. "Oh, wait, nevermind. I see your boots."

Shepard stopped, elbowing a colonist in the gut. "How am I supposed to move this thing?"

"Uh, the crane? Biotics? I don't know," Corinthia replied. "Thank you, Shep."

He could feel her stupid, almost sarcastically over-the-top grin as it seeped out onto his boots. It wasn't her most attractive of faces, but it was one that let him know that she was, at least, completely unharmed.

After knocking out the three colonists attempting to subdue him, Shepard finally found the crane controls and lifted away the crate in front of Corinthia, Tali, Williams, and Liara.

"All clear," Garrus radioed. "We've knocked out all the colonists. Hopefully they won't get up before we kill the thorian."

"Bet you didn't expect that," Shepard, barely managing to suppress a smirk, told Corinthia. He felt a little pleased with himself for pulling it off at all. After all, he did enjoy killing things.

Corinthia shrugged and grinned sweetly. "So you're becoming a knight in shining armor. How adorable."

"I don't appreciate the sarcasm," he muttered darkly. Also, something just seemed off about her…

"Uh, what sarcasm?" Corinthia replied, running her fingers through her hair. Her bangs stood on end, showing off her scars for a moment before she smoothed them back down.

"Nevermind. Where the hell is your helmet?!" he demanded, realizing what had been bothering him.

"I dunno!" she protested. "I had it, and then I took it off to get into Exo-Geni's stuff, and then there was the fight, and now it's gone."

"Damn it, Cassie, after what happened on Eden Prime… How the fuck can you be so stupid?!" Shepard snapped. If something had happened to her… She should have known better. She almost died because Saren shot her and now she was running around without protection? She probably wasn't thinking and probably knew better, but that didn't change the fact that she was standing in front of him, hair sticking up and carbon scoring on her armor.

Corinthia shuffled her feet. He was upset, certainly, but in a worried way, not an "I'm about to smack you" tone that he could sometimes adopt.

"I'm sorry, Shep," she murmured, not offering any other explanation. There was no need to, really. He wouldn't listen. Sure, he was right and it was stupid for her to be in a fight without protection, but she didn't like being told off. Even if it was kind of adorable how his expression turned when he was worried.

Shepard took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Yeah, well, don't do it again." For a second, he wanted to hold her and apologize for yelling, but he couldn't with the others watching.

"Kiss and make up?" Williams offered, smirking.

Shepard rounded on her. "Who asked you, Williams?!"

"Eesh, calm down, Commander. We all know," Williams answered, not at all perturbed. "Did you really think the crew wouldn't notice that you're spending the night together? Besides, no one's going to talk. It happens all the time. Just usually not with commanding officers." She nudged Corinthia over to Shepard. "Go have your moment."

Corinthia was crimson. "After that helmet discussion, I think I really ought to find mine and that he shouldn't take his off," she muttered, starting her search for her missing equipment.

Shepard glanced around at the scene. "Get the colonists into the modulars and bring Dr. Chakwas out here to take care of them," he ordered Williams as he started after Corinthia.

Williams saluted. "Yessir."

Shepard found Corinthia crawling under a fallen column, stretching to reach her lost equipment. Aside from the fantastic view of her ass, it was rather amusing how she was cursing under her breath. His anger at her for being so careless abated and he leaned against the wreckage.

"Find it yet?" he asked.

"Oh, hush," she answered, annoyed. "Oh, come on." She wriggled a little and finally managed to retrieve her helmet. Crawling out from beneath the wreckage, she grinned at him. "Happy now?"

"A little," he replied, ruffling her hair. How she managed to act so innocent, he'd never understand. "What happened here?"

She shook her head. "Exactly what I described, really. They went nuts, started trying to kill us..." She shrugged and got to her feet. "I dunno. It was weird..."

Shepard crossed his arms. "Did you find anything in ExoGeni?"

"Yeah. And it wasn't good. All kinds of nasty stuff going on, there. I don't envy whoever's gotta do the cover-up."

He took a step towards her, almost as if he was about to embrace her, but he stopped short. "Are you hurt?" he murmured.

"No," she replied. "Freaked out, but otherwise I'm fine." She smiled reassuringly. "You weren't worried, were you?"

"Yeah, I was." He still wasn't sure how he was going to confess — or even word — whatever it was he had been feeling, but he knew that he would have to before the end. However, he had time. After Saren... Maybe then he'd have the words.

She rolled her eyes. "You wouldn't think that you were even capable of that, but you get this adorable little frown..."

"And if you get yourself into trouble just to see it, I won't be happy," he growled.

"But you'll still save me, right?"

He sighed. "Yes..."

She grinned and patted his shoulder. "So stop pouting. I'll be fine. I am fine, you know?"

"The scars say otherwise," he muttered.

She smoothed her bangs over the marks. "Yeah, point." She had been thinking about getting them removed. There were skin grafts and things, and now that she was with him, her appearance actually mattered. It seemed like it shouldn't have, since he hadn't cared before, but maybe she was only just aware of it for the first time. That she wanted him to think she was pretty, or something equally silly.

Shepard took off his helmet, wiping the sweat from his brow. He needed to get his envirosuit tweaked; he'd been sweating his ass off every time he wore it for the last few missions.

"Cassie," he started, "don't do anything this fucking stupid again."

Corinthia frowned a little, but nodded. "I know. I won't."

He took a breath and put his gloved hand to her cheek. His fingers stroked over her scars, almost as is to prove that he didn't care that they were there. "Good. About time you listened to me," he muttered. As harsh as his words were, his voice was soft.

Just as Corinthia was getting on tiptoe to kiss him, Garrus's voice blasted through the radio."Commander, you're going to have to see this."

Shepard groaned. "Fuck..."

Corinthia shrugged. "Eh, we'll finish later, right?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

"Debriefing in your quarters?"

Shepard looked at her, almost positive that she had no idea what that phrase implied. "Something like that." Then again, if she did... Shepard was going to have to find something else to think about for the rest of the mission before he got too distracted.

Corinthia pushed on her helmet. "Ack, I need a different hairstyle," she muttered. "My bangs are getting everywhere..." She headed towards Garrus.

Garrus, Tali, Wrex, and Liara were standing by a gap in the modulars, looking down into a cavern.

"I think we found the thorian," Garrus said.

"Let's kill it," Shepard answered.

Liara frowned. "Commander, are you sure? It's the only one —"

"Positive," he snapped, putting his helmet on as he stepped into the hole. "There are enough mind-fucking mind-controllers in this galaxy already."

"You know, I sill never managed to get all the way into ExoGeni," Corinthia mused. "I heard your half of the conversation about the thorian, so what... is..." Her eyes widened as she saw the thorian. It was as large as the Normandy and hanging down ten stories into a pit. It looked between a banana slug and a root that had started to rot, dripping slime, with a tentacle for a mouth. "That's… large…"

Shepard took out his assault rifle, looked at it, looked at the thorian, and then back at his weapon. "We're going to need bigger guns."