A Human woman stood up from the audience. She was dressed in a modestly long light brown dress. Her chestnut brown hair fell down to her shoulders. Silently she walked down to the Tribunal floor. The stand guards parted to let her by, and she walked to the right towards the witness stand where she took her seat.

The VI turned towards her. "Mrs. Girard. Will you testify to the fullest extent of truth and honesty in front of this court?"

"Yes." Talitha said with strength.

"Prosecution. Your witness." the VI said calmly, then dissipated.

Cassandra Jagdhund walked calmly up to the witness stand. Her demeanor was strictly business and intimidating. "Mrs. Girard, do you know the defendant?"

Talitha looked over to where Shepard stood. Shepard continued to look straight ahead. "Yes."

"How well?" Cassandra asked as she began to slowly pace back and forth like a hungry wolf.

"I met the Captain on the Citadel about twelve years ago." Talitha said, her view still focused on Shepard.

"I'm sorry. Who did you meet on the Citadel twelve years ago?" Cassandra responded in a patronizing manner.

Talitha turned to face Cassandra, annoyed. "I met Captain Shepard on the Citadel. At the time her rank was Commander."

Cassandra gave Talitha a quaint smile. "I see. Please refrain from recognizing the witness by a rank she no longer has."

Shepard's jaw clinched slightly, but she said nothing.

"What were the circumstances under which you and the Defendant met?" Cassandra asked.

"She helped me. I'd just arrived on the Citadel...and I just needed help. By the way, if you weren't aware, the Defendant does have a name." Talitha responded, with an equally quaint look on her face.

"I understand that, Mrs. Girard." Cassandra barked back snobbishly. "What exactly was the Defendant helping you with?"

Talitha's face hardened a bit and she lightly licked her lips, looking back up into the audience.

Cassandra's smile brightened somewhat. "Mrs. Girard, you are under oath."

With renewed strength Talitha locked on to Cassandra. "Captain Shepard stopped me. She stopped me from hurting myself...I had ran away on the Citadel after Alliance soldiers had freed me..."

"Freed you? From what?" Cassandra said an instant later.

For a moment panic set into Talitha's face but she forced herself to continue. "I was... she...was a captive of Batarian slavers." Tears started to form at the edges of her eyes.

"She? Do you mean the Defendant?" Cassandra asks satisfied.

Talitha weakly shook her head. "No...I was..." She said quietly, but still loud enough for all to hear her.

Cassandra turned her head as if to feign deafness. "You were what?"

Talitha lowered her head, unresponding.

"You were what Mrs. Girard." Cassandra struck forcefully.

Talitha had begun to shake.

"Stop it." A commanding voice spoke. Its tone was civil, but was imbued with immense power.

Cassandra looked over to see El'Jaid looking at both her and Talitha. Her face was unreadable. Yet in her eyes, her eyes betrayed a weakness. Cassandra displayed another viciously quaint smile.

"There is a similarity that you and the Defendant share isn't there Mrs. Girard." She began to pace back and forth. "To be poetic, a striking sense of kinship maybe? You both grew up on Mindoir didn't you..."

"Ye..Yes." Talitha said weakly. She was trying to reinforce her strength, but all the eyes around her could tell that she was quickly crumbling. They could tell that while healing had happened, the wounds ran deep.

"You were taken by Batarian's Salvers in the raid weren't you." Cassandra shot the Batarian Ambassador at the Jury table a withering look. He just scowled in return. "I understand it was horrifying..."

"Stop it!" This time El'Jaid voice was louder yet still controlled. But Cassandra continued unabated, and Talitha again looked down trembling.

"They burned the colony. Killed most people outright. Took young children and implanted them with control chips..."

"No...don't want to go back there. Another person...her...not me." Talitha said incoherently. "I was taken...she just wanted to help the masters...Dirty girl..."

"Stop it! Stay away from my wife! That's enough! She had had enough!" A cry came out of the audience. A Man came running down the steps. We was dressed in a light brown suite with a red tie. The C-Sec guards caught him and held him back, though he struggled as best he could without striking back to be free of them. All he wanted to so was to reach his traumatized wife.

"Did you know Shepard lost her family there? She lost them to the Batarian Slavers. Shot. Killed. Burned. I am sure you wanted to kill the Salvers for what happened to your parents..." She looked back at the Batarian Ambassador who was roiling in his seat.

"Mommy and daddy...Burning!" Talitha cried out.

"Back off from her! Haven't you had enough!" El'Jaid roared in indignation. She was gripping the railing and her eyes were roiling embers.

Talitha had now curled up on the witness stand. She was shaking and sobbing, speaking incoherently as she tried to deal with the waves of emotion and memories.

"It changes things doesn't it..." Cassandra said with a satisfactory smile, as she looked over to El'Jaid. "But responsibility still rests on you even after such things happen. Please let the man go to his wife." Cassandra said airily as she walked back to the prosecution's desk.

Mr. Girard immediately ran over to his sobbing and shaking wife wrapping his arms around her. Cradling her to him "Responsible? You heartless woman! How was my wife responsible for what happened to her?" He roared back at Cassandra.

"How was any of what just took place even relevant to this trial! What can be gained by dredging up a tragedy that is more than twenty years old? The Prosecution was badgering the witness!" Giana called out to the Council.

Cassandra turned to look at him, and the greater part of the audience with a confident smile on her lips, and an unwavering voice. "She wasn't responsible for what happened to her Mr. Girard. But, like Shepard she is responsible for what happened in her life after she was free from the Slavers." She turned to the Council. "Such events tend to either make unfortunate victims of people..." The she turned to look at El'Jaid who had recovered some of her composer. "Or people who thirst for revenge..."

"Objection! The prosecution is drawing a very thin conclusion from the testimony." Giana called out.

"The Prosecution would also like point out that the neither the Defendant, the Defense, or the Prosecution can 'coach' a witness." Cassandra bit back.

"What!" Giana said aghast. The Councilors sounded the gong to rule in order.

It was quiet for a moment as Cassandra took her seat. The air was stifling warm, and the tension made the silence all the more unbearable.

Councilor Valern was the first to speak. " We did not see that the Prosecution was badgering the witness. Obviously the witness is still recovering from the trauma she had endured as a child. As such the Defense's objection has no grounds."

Giana looked at the desk in frustration.

Councilor Tevos was second. "While we will let the testimony stay on the record, we will agree with the Defense that the Prosecution needs to be more careful regarding...how it presents it's position. Acting without proof...is not a wise course of action."

"Understood Councilor." Shomon said eloquently and he bowed his head. Valern in turn bowed his in acknowledgement.

"Would the Defense care to question Mrs. Girard?" Daice asked.

Giana looked over at Mr. and Mrs. Girard. Talitha's eyes stared out in to space as she clutched fast to her husband, who was quietly speaking to her.

"No. The witness is in no condition to endure any more."

Udina nodded in understanding. "Very well. Mrs. Girard you can go, and the Defense will be allowed to question the next witness first." His voice was quiet and solemn.

As Mr. Girard gently led his wife away the court room quietly bustled with conversation.

[][][][]

"What a Bitch! What a total and complete Bitch!"

Joker couldn't believe what he had just heard and turned around to look wide eyed at Dr. Chalkwas. He blew out a whistle in response.

"What? That Jadghund woman is...is... insufferable!" Chalkwas said crossing her arms in front of her chest. "How could she just toy with that young woman like that? After all she had been through."

The bridge of the Ardennes was nearly entirely empty. The rest of the crew was in the mess area, or the hold watching the trial take place. Joker had stayed up in the cockpit, and both Dr. Chalkwas and Anderson had joined him.

Joker had never settled back in to the Alliance after the war. Neither had Chalkwas for that matter. He rubbed the back of his neck as he sat back, the holo-display was muted as clueless commentators and 'experts' tried their best to act like they knew something about it.

"She creeps me out." Joker said at last. "That woman just really creeps me out."

"I thought Shepard creeped you out." Chalkwas said with an amused smile.

"No. Shepard has the ability to scare the shit outa me. If she's pissed at you, you know it." Joker said.

"Prior experience Jeff?" Chalkwas asked with a raised eye brow.

Joker blushed and let out a nervous laugh, as he quickly changed subjects. "Now that Cassandra woman. She will smile all nice to your face, and yank your balls off at the same time. For the fun of it."

Anderson sat back in his chair, his head down, his eyes lost in thought.

The comm rang in his apartment on the Citadel. Groggily he rolled over in bed and checked the time. 3:00am Citadel time. The comm continued to blare away at him, and he knew he couldn't ignore it. But he wanted to. Given the situation of things, no News was good News. But here is was right right on his doorstep...

He picked up the comm and settled heavily back in to bed. "Yes?" He asked. He never bothered to say who it was, he never had to. Only those who needed to know had this frequency.

"I'm sorry to wake you Councilor. But I thought you would want to know. We have her." It was Admiral Hackett. His voice held the sound of exhaustion, relief, and sadness all at once.

Anderson closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. Not dead...she's not dead... He thought. "Give me the long and the short if you would Admiral." He said cooley.

"She gave herself up, and in the process gave the crew of the K2 a good scaring. Commander Alenko didn't seemed that surprised though." Hackett said nonchalantly.

Anderson couldn't believe what he had just heard. "Hackett. Did I hear you correctly? Shepard gave herself up to the SSV K2? That ship wasn't supposed to leave the Sol system till tomorrow."

"I know. She came to the Ship." Hackett said shortly. "The Normandy SR2 appeared just like the flying Dutchman along side the K2, and disappeared as soon as Shepard's shuttle departed it."

Anderson narrowed his eyes. "I thought the K2 had the equipment to detect Normandy class ships, even when they were cloaked. And where is the SR2 Now?"

"The K2, and almost every other Alliance Dreadnaught, Carrier, and Cruiser have been retrofitted with the new LADAR equipment, but it seems that Shepard has done some upgrades." Hackett responded.

Anderson let out a breath. That part didn't surprise him. He had read the reports of the beings that had joined Shepard's crew. They included highly skilled scientists , technicians and engineers. Not to mention one of the best pilots in the Galaxy was at the helm.

"As far as where the Normandy is, I don't know. It could still be in system, or it could be half ways across the Galaxy by now. I'm also not going to waste any resources trying to find it. From what SAI has gathered so far on it, which is almost next to nothing; and from what happened when I last met with Shepard, I wouldn't even send the Everest support after it. Even if the Everest was leading a full task force." Hackett said thickly.

"What if her crew tries to come for her." Anderson asked.

"Then we will deal with it then, but I doubt that is going to happen at this moment." Hackett responded. "Just call it a hunch."

"So what happens now?" Anderson asked. He knew the answer. His chest was tight from knowing what was coming for her.

Hackett gave out a heavy sigh. "She goes to trial."

Anderson squeezed his eyes shut. He had seen Shepard's report. A report that would never see the light of day, and simply did not exist. She was going to trial for the destruction of an Entire solar system, of the deaths of roughly 300,000 people. Most of which were slaves...

She wouldn't...not like that...Would she? He had mused.

He knew his old XO's hatred for Slavers and pirates, but he also knew she wouldn't kill a Slave to get to a Slaver.

...but that is exactly what it looked like.

He shook as a chill passed through him. "What have the Batarian's said?" Anderson asked at last.

"Nothing. We have been trying for hours to reach them, but they are as silent as a tomb. The Alliance Military is on Red Alert, most think that the Batarian's are going to war at any time..." Hackett responded.

"What do you do you think? You and I know this trial is nothing more than a gamble to stop open war. What kind of chances does Shepard have?" Anderson said.

"Honestly? It's too quiet. The Batarian's are always looking to capitalize on a propaganda or media level, but so far nothing has been said. It's too quiet... " Hackett responded thickly. "As far as Shepard. Best case? Prison for life. Worst case? Firing squad."

Anderson shut his eyes again slamming a fist in to his bed in silent protest. And that's the best we can do for her? He yelled in his mind.

"I know that's not what you wanted to hear, but she won't just simple walk away from this. She can't even if she did buy us time..." Hackett said mournfully.

The present ensconced itself around Anderson again. She did buy us time, and more. We didn't believe her. And this is what she gets for our treachery. Not accolades and pendants, but accusations and a coffin. He mused sourly.

"Anderson?"

His mind started to rise from the well of s of thought and memory.

"Are you ok Sir?"

He turned his head to see Joker, EDI, and Dr. Chalkwas looking at him quizzically.

"Yes. Just...this reminds me too much of the past." He said weakly.

The cockpit was quiet, the trial had not yet resumed, and the images still muted as commenter's still prattled away.

"uh..humm." EDI 'cleared' her voice, as Joker had proceeded to pay her no mind.

"uh..humm!" EDI responded a little more insistently, both Anderson and Chalkwas gave Joker curious looks.

Joker shut his eyes. "What is it EDI..."

"You owe me 20 credits." She responded.

"Wha...for what?" Joker looked incredulously at the AI.

"According to our 'bet' from 9 years, three months, nine hours, and 27 minuets ago." She responded.

"Oh really. And what bet was that miss smarty pants." Joker retorted.

EDI started playing a recording.

"I'll bet anyone 20 credits that Dr. Chalkwas will never curse in front of anyone in the next 10 years." Joker said aloud.

"I'll take that bet Mr. Moreau." EDI responded.

"Your kidding. And how are you going to scrape up the money for that?" Joker added.

"A lot can happen in ten years. I'm sure I'll manage." She fired back.

"Ha! Your on!" Joker said triumphantly. "Easiest money I've ever made."

The recording ended.

"Time to pay up." EDI chirped gleefully.

Joker slammed back in to his chair. "Son of a... you surely have to be kidding!"

"I don't kid. And don't call me Shirley." EDI responded smartly.

"And just what are you going to do with credits?" Joker groaned.

"...A girl has needs you know." EDI replied smarmily. Her tone still uncomfortably neutral.

"Fine! Here, and I hope you choke on it!" He growled as he punched in some figures to his omnitool, as he turned away from everyone else's view.

"Pleasure doing business with you. As always" She responded calmly, as her image dissipated.

The cockpit was silent for a moment, but Joker could just feel Chalkwas' and Anderson's eyes drilling in to the back of his chair.

"Joker...do you lose often...to the Ship?" Responded Anderson with a snarky smile on his face.

Dr. Chalkwas gave him an amused smirk and a raised eyebrow, but said nothing else. Not that she needed to.

"Me lose often to EDI? No! Never!" He said in a rush. "Well ya look at that! The trial's back on!" He said quickly as he jammed the volume up in an effort to drown out EDI and any more questions that could have been thrown his direction.

Author's Note: Happy Holidays everyone! Interesting how this is Chapter 24 posted on December 24. I know this is a short'ish chapter, but I wanted to get this out in time for Christmas. I wish everyone, regardless of your beliefs, warmth, light, and happiness.