M-Angel: I looked at the review count today and was so happy! Never did I think this would be such a hit!

Knight: Remember to review, guys.

M-Angel: Cheer up, you jerk. Love you guys!

Chapter 7: Geth

I looked over at Ann Shepard, who had her head on the table in the Mess Hall. She had bruises all over and a new bandage over her arm. Some armor plating had malfunctioned and had been blown off by an Asari Merc who was laundering and selling Red Sand, along with some sort of white dust that Mordin was now analyzing. Garrus half carried her in. Dr. Chakwas took care of her while Garrus was shaking his head, retelling how they had gone through everything just to bring a Justicar onboard.

So Shepard was nursing her protein drink and trying to ignore the headache she obviously had. I reflected how Jeff had been avoiding me in the last two weeks. I thought it was funny. Jack even wanted to make a bet on how long it would take him to actually take me on my offer. Which made me wonder how she knew.

"Uh, Commander," Jeff said over the com system. "The Illusive Man wants to talk to you."

This should be interesting, I thought. A quick check at my omni-tool told me it was 11:52 p.m. Earth Standard Time. I sighed. It was time for some sleep. After sparring with Thane, I needed a bit of rest. So I made my way down to my room.

I was running. My legs felt heavy, my feet were killing me and I was covered in blood. Running alongside me was Dr. Chakwas and several other crew members. We heard buzzing noises. I turned my head, my jaw dropped in horror.

"Swarms!" I screamed, causing everybody without weapons to run faster. Ahead of us a light appeared, beyond that was the Normandy waiting for us. I saw the cargo bay doors open and Jeff holding a gun. He was yelling something. I couldn't hear him above the noise of people screaming and the pounding of my heart in my ears. Just as I was about to reach up I felt a burning feeling spread through my chest.

I couldn't breathe. Jeff's eyes widened in horror. I fell to the ground only to feel my chest and see blood. I'd been shot. Then a brightness overwhelmed me, along with unimaginable heat. I felt like I was burning alive, but where was the fire? Darkness consumed me.

I woke up drenched in sweat and screaming at the top of my lungs. I was on fire! I was burning! I screamed again as I looked at my hands… and saw blood. Suddenly the doors opened and the Commander and Garrus ran in. I was shaking. They said something and I didn't hear them. I knew I was muttering something, but I didn't know what it was. Shepard took my face in her hands trying to get me to focus. My heart was pounding furiously in my chest. I burst into tears, just losing it.

I don't know how long she held me, but I do know I passed out again into a dreamless state of unrest. When I woke up again I felt something rubbing my back. I turned and saw Jeff sitting there. I blinked at him.

"So...," He began awkwardly. "Ya wanna talk?" He asked as he scratched the back of his neck..

"When did you get here?" I asked.

He smiled. "Commander needed to check something out," He said. "Bren has the controls." he shugged his shoulders.

"The Commander asked me to keep an eye on you," He said uncertainly.

"So…," He began. "You wanna talk about that nightmare you hand? It sounded bad,"

"How bad?" I asked. He pulled at the bill of his hat.

"You screamed bloody murder," He said. "For a moment I thought you were getting murdered or something," He paused and finally looked down at me.

"I've never seen somebody so dam-n scared," He paused. "Kept muttered something like 'blood everywhere', over and over."

"I don't...," I began.

"Don't say you don't remember," He said sternly and glared down at me. "If you feel anything for me, you'll be honest,"

I blinked at him. Now this is a switch, I thought. I'm speechless. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I remembered it. Tears threatened to run down my cheeks. I sat up next to him and pulled my legs up to my chest.

"I was running from something. Seeker Swarms...I think," I closed my eyes. "Dr. Chakwas was running next to me. So were the other crew members. We were...running to the Normandy. You opened the cargo bay doors and began yelling somethin' at us," I looked at him.

"I don't know why, but you looked scared," I turned my eyes back to the closed doors of my room. "Suddenly I felt something burning through my chest. It felt...it felt," I paused as tears ran down my cheeks.

"It felt like hot fire burning through my chest. Your eyes widened and I fell down," I looked down at my clean but shaking hands.

"I had been shot," I paused. "Then nothing. I saw white. Then the fire came back with a vengeance… and then darkness," I looked up at him.

His eyed were wide and his jaw was open.

"Damn," He muttered. "And here I thought my nightmares were bad,"

He took his hat off, letting me see his wild unkempt hair for the first time. I smiled as I realized that it was longer than I thought it would be on top. I leaned my head on his should and felt him stiffen a bit before relaxing.

A few hours later I walked into the medbay and saw Chakwas was shaking her head, looking at the AI Core doors.

"What's going on?" I said, startling her.

"Bloody Hell," She said, "Serena, you gave me quite a start," I giggled.

"Laugh it up," She said. "As for what's going on… We have a 'friendly' Geth aboard. Its name is Legion," She shook her head.

"I'm starting to wonder about the Commander's sanity," Chakwas said sardonically. "You okay, sweetie? I heard you've had quite a rough night."

I nodded. "I'm fine Dr-,"
"Carolyn," She interrupted, "We're partners, and I'd rather my friend and partner call me by my name, as you'd want me to call you by yours,"

"I'm fine, Carolyn," I said, giving her a reassuring smile.

She gave me a once over and nodded. "Looks to be a slow day. You can have today off," She said and walked over to her terminal. I turned around and made my way to the CIC.

"Ah, Serena," Came the irritating Aussie voice of Miranda Lawson. Ever since she had said those things about Shepard I just wanted to put a bullet in between her eyes.

"What do you want, Lawson?" I asked as I pinched the bridge of my nose. "I'm in no mood for you right now,"

"The Illusive Man wants to talk to you," He said snippily. "I can't imagine why, but he does,"

Somebody's got their panties in a bunch.

I walked into the briefing room and saw the table lower into the floor, activating the holo communications. I felt the cool prickles of electricity.

"Miss Lavargus," Came a voice behind me. I turned to see a man sitting in a chair dressed in an expensive suit, a cigar in one hand and a liquor product in the other. His eyes gave off a cool blue glow.

Mechanical eyes?

I raised an eyebrow. "So you're the Illusive Man?" I asked. He gave a nod.

"Huh. Life's full of surprises," He chuckled.

"So what do you want?" I asked

"Right to the point," He said. "Just like Shepard. I like it, and so does she. I'll be brief. You're an unknown quantity, Miss Lavargus. My people don't know much about you. No one does. I don't like surprises, Miss Lavargus and you, well, you're a surprise waiting to happen,"

I frowned. What the hell? "What's that suppose to mean?" I asked.

"I've known about the Reaper's far longer than anybody else," He said. "I've looked for ways to strengthen Humanity, delving into the unknown for answers to our survival," He paused. "Strength is in knowledge. I know who Shepard is. I know every member of the Normandy's crew. I know what they want and what motivates them. But no one knows you. You appeared on the Citadel out of nowhere, seeming to step from antiquity, an area of the world that no longer exists. People don't just appear out of nowhere. I want answers,"

I chuckled, trying my best to hide how scared I was. "You and me both," I said. "I don't know a whole hell of a lot more than you do. But look, my loyalties are with Shepard. And her loyalties, as fickle as they are, are with you. I will help her as long as she needs me. I'm not the best fighter, hell I'm not a fighter at all, but my gun's with you guys. The Reapers aren't something we can stand divided against.

He nodded. "Good to know. Still doesn't answer the question of your origins,"

"Guess that'll be my little secret," With that, I ended the call and walked out.

The Illusive Man sat there a moment thinking. This Serena Lavargus wasn't who she said she was. There was nothing on her. This was an age of records of every kind; medical, dental, genetic, tax… hell, there were records on how much you spent on gas station gum. He'd spent vast amounts of resources making absolutely sure that his own records were blank. But there was more on him than there was on Lavargus. The unknown was a vulnerability, and Shepard's mission was far too important to risk. His mind made up, he activated another comm call.

"Yes?" Came a familiar voice.

"When you're on the Collector Base," He began thoughtfully. "Take Lavargus out."

"Yes sir,"

"And Miranda," He began, "Until then, keep an eye on her. Don't trust her,"

"Yes sir," And the connection was cut.

M-Angel: Haha, didn't expect that, now did ya?

Knight: It doesn't matter what story I read him in, whenever I read TIM's perspective I read it in that one voice. XD Martin Sheen, I think. Right?

M-Angel: Huh. Maybe….. Review please? XD

Knight(TIM Voice): It's quite simple, my friends. Five seconds for a review is low-cost compared to a shallow grave.

M-Angel: XD

Knight: I don't always make stupid meme jokes. But when I do, I prefer TIM voice. Stay thirsty, my friends.

M-Angel: ?

Knight: ROFL