- Ambassador Udina's Office –

Shepard had been Anderson while Feral went with Tali, Garrus and Kaidan were sitting at the table as the two alliance soldiers talked; just talking amongst themselves as they waited for Shepard to finish talking to his old CO. Shepard had been telling the admiral everything, how they had found Kahoku's body and then how they went off to put the entire operation to bed. Finding Feral after he had torn his way through the base, the fact that Feral was now aboard the Normandy. He told Anderson what this man claimed he could do and how he was inclined to believe him.

Anderson just sighed, rubbing his brow. This was a mess, Kahoku's death was bad enough but the discovery of this super soldier….he didn't know what to make of it, he trusted Shepard's judgement but it was bad situation. From Shepard's story the man was clearly lethal, intelligent and possibly suffering from PTSD. Udina would have had a field day if he'd been there, that thought actually made him feel better about it, annoying the politician always brightened his day even if he knew it was juvenile.

"Shepard, are you sure you can trust him?" Anderson finally said, this was all that mattered. If Shepard trusted the Cerberus experiment then so would he

"Yes sir, until he does anything to make me thing otherwise. Feral can be trusted" Shepard stated, it was true after all. "There's another reason I came to see you about him though, I'm starting to suspect he might have had connections to the Alliance before Cerberus got him"

This caught Anderson's attention, his eyes snapping back up at the commander, the look on his face asking for Shepard to explain his suspicions

"His knowledge of computer systems is clearly well trained, he could just have been a computer hacker but he knows his way around a ships system too well. Then there's his knowledge of Admiral Kahoku, when we told him Kahoku had been killed. It sounded like he knew him Sir"

That last sentence really hit alarm bells in Andersons head. Kahoku had been killed by Cerberus and this unknown man knew him. He really hoped Shepard was right about this man possibly being Alliance, the alternative theories all suggested this man was a mole. "You honestly think that he could have been one of us?"

"I honestly can't say for certain sir, but the way he talks sometimes. He asked me to brief him on the mission. Civilians don't use that terminology, not even mercenaries tend to speak like that unless they were ex-military and he is far too young to be ex-military. All I'm asking is that you check, he said that Cerberus took him 4 years ago. Could Kahoku…"

"Wait…..4 years ago? He said that?" Anderson suddenly stopped the commander

"That's what he said sir" Shepard just nodded

"Kahoku openly suspected Cerberus was a problem a year ago, he said they had something to do with Akuze and then 2 years after that he had deployed an entire marine division to check a planet. Nothing came of it but that mission was 4 years ago. He never gave an official reason for why he suspected that planet, nothing was found but"

"But why do you suspect a planet at random unless you've lost a squad on its surface" Shepard finished Anderson's thinking for him

"Exactly Commander, it's just a hunch but I'll see what I can dig up. It may take me a while though; I can't promise that I can get through years of red tape in a few weeks" Anderson smiled, he was going to be busy for a very long time

Shepard nodded before thanking his old Captain "Thank you sir, just keep this between us though. Feral has access to the Normandy's systems and I don't want him thinking I'm spying on him" Anderson just nodded, he understood perfectly. If the super soldier thought he was being looked into there was a chance he could run.

"Where are you headed next Shepard?" the old soldier asked, curious as to how Shepard's mission was going.

"Noveria, we have reports that Matriarch Benezia has been sighted there. Now that we have Liara T'soni aboard the Normandy we're going to deal with her mother" Shepard said, walking back towards his team mates who stood up as he got close.

"Good luck Commander, god knows you'll need it" were the last words Shepard heard before the doors to Udina's office hissed shut. The small team made their way back to the shuttle bay, stopping briefly along the way to move a Hanar annoying C-Sec along and to be interviewed by some impertinent human reporter, before finally making it into the elevator.

"You really think he could have been Alliance Shepard?" Kaidan suddenly piped up, the elevator was already moving back up to the ship "he could've just been some base brat, picked up the jargon that way" the biotic looked at Shepard

"if that turns out to be the case it might make this all a lot simpler, but If he was Alliance then we should know about it." Shepard just said, the man was a mystery and he trusted his word….but he needed to know.

"Plus if he was Alliance it'd mean he'd be even less likely to completely flip out and kill us all" Garrus purred from the back of the elevator, the vibrations in voice bouncing around the small elevator "Just saying, he hates Cerberus, has nothing against aliens and is supposedly some kind of human-krogan super soldier. Knowing he was once Alliance would make it even more likely that he's one of the good guys"

Shepard chuckled and shook his head at Garrus' statement, but once again the turian was spot on. In all honesty the only thing that truly mattered was that Feral was shooting at the enemy instead of them, but he wanted to help the young man overcome what had happened to him. Knowing about his past would help him do that.

The elevator slowly slid up to the hanger, hissing open the trio stepped out to see Tali and the armour clad Feral sitting on a crate next to the docking port. Walking up to the two he could start to hear idle conversation, apparently Feral was showing her how to improve the performance on her omni-tool

"The hardware is basically the same and sure you can tinker with it, but the software is the big difference between top and bottom of the line. Scrubbing up junk data speeds up your omni-tools performance massively. Truth is that's usually all the top of the line models are, they are more expensive because some technician has to spend hours cleaning it out" Feral shrugged before they both snapped their heads over to Shepard's group "Hey commander, Tali said we should wait for you to get back before hopping aboard"

"Hey! I did not say that! You just complained that you didn't want to be stuck in the Normandy after getting out into fresh air for the first time in years" Tali said, emphasising the word you in a way that made it sound like she was purring it through her lips.

"You know you could've just stayed down there for longer, you didn't have to be back before us" Shepard said, he was surprised they back before him at all

Feral rolled his eyes and winced, breathing through his teeth before finally chuckling "Yeah…well we would've but I think C-Sec might have objected. Hey I didn't hurt anyone….not seriously anyway…..he may have pissed himself though….."

Garrus just sighed, the old C-sec agent was so happy he wasn't still with the force. The paperwork for this…incident would've given him such a headache.

"What did you do Feral? I thought I told you not to get into trouble" Shepard was stern, frustrated that Feral had drawn attention to himself when it should've been a simple shopping trip

"I'm sorry commander" Tali suddenly peeped up "It was technically my fault" all 4 men looked straight at her "I should've known that being alone in the markets would've caused trouble" she was rubbing her hands again, something Feral had noticed she did whenever she was under scrutiny. "Some bosh'tet started calling me a thief and got a crowd all riled up, Feral defended me and shouted at the crowd until they ran away"

That….that wasn't what Shepard was expecting, he thought Feral had just flipped and scared some poor shopper senseless. The idea that he had actively defended the small quarian with the same rage he had shown back in the Cerberus base. It was good, he still felt sorry for the man who received the brunt of his rage and he would eventually have to try and get him calmer but…he was making friends and defending them in public. The man was becoming more and more trustworthy every minute.

"Well then…..good work Feral" after a couple of seconds this earnt a snort from Feral

"Not going to chew me out Shepard? You said no trouble" he smirked and raised an eyebrow at the commander

"Not for defending someone….although next time, try not to scare someone until they piss themselves" Shepard just laughed as he took off down towards the Normandy's airlock. Garrus and Kaidan followed him, nodding approvingly at Feral before jogging up behind him.

Tali and Feral just sat on the crates in silence for a brief "and you were worried he was going to be angry" Feral just smirked over at Tali as he bounced up onto his feet, stretching out his arms and shoulders as he got used to the feeling of combat armour again. He turned around to look at her and sighed "Hey….what you said to Shepard about it being your fault. Just realise this, you did nothing but stand in a market place and some…..bosh head starting something. If you honestly believe it was your fault then he's won, he's made you lesser than you really are. It wasn't your fault and I defended you because you're a good person and my friend. End of story….ok?"

Tali looked up at him and smiled, he was right…if she started believing she was to blame the man would win….and she wouldn't let him but first things first "Bosh'tet, its Bosh'TET~" she simply said back to the man, emphasizing the tet loudly for Feral to hear

"…..what did I say?" Feral looked blankly at her

"Bosh head" Tali replied, giggling as Feral rolled his eyes and rubbed his hand down his face

"Seriously?...ah crap, and that speech was going so well" Feral chuckled, holding out his hand to Tali "Come on, let's get back on board. Shepard will probably be wondering what's taking us so long" pulling the woman back up to her feet he made his way towards the airlock with her walking beside him.

"Bosh'tet…I'm going to have to use that word more often"

- 1 hour later, Communications Room –

Shepard had gathered his entire squad into the room for a briefing before they arrived on Noveria. He wanted to quickly go over the details of what he wanted them to do once they had landed, he stood next to the communications board that he would eventually talk to the council on after the mission was over, leaning on it as he waited for the entire team to file in. Garrus, Kaidan, Tali and Feral were already in the room still in their gear after being on the citadel. They had spent time talking in the cockpit before Joker finally kicked them out, something about not being able to concentrate on shooting them across the galaxy with all the noise.

Garrus was mainly trying to pry out information from Feral, anything he could get his talons on, the stories from Kaidan had peaked the turian agent's interest and he was just throwing question after question at the super human. Feral not budging on much but accidentally letting slip he could take a bullet to the head when Garrus threatened to start interrogating him like he used to in C-Sec. Feral made the slip up of saying not even a bullet to the brain can put me down permanently so nothing you could do would get a word from him.

He was now trying to stop the turian from asking what else he could survive, Tali was just laughing and enjoying that the questions about her immune system had stopped.

"What about a missile to the face?" Garrus asked, sitting forward in his seat and looking to the human next to him, hoping he would answer

Feral just groaned, and he was about to tell the turian the answer when the door to the room opened and the rest of the squad filed into the room. Ashley, Wrex and Liara walked in and sat down in their seats 'Oh thank god! Another question and I was going to have to borrow Tali's shotgun' Feral mentally sighed, readjusting himself in his seat

Garrus sighed in defeat "Fine, another time Feral. Maybe I'll get lucky and we'll enter an elevator together" the turian just chuckled as he sat back in his seat. Feral smiled at that, Garrus asked a lot of questions, but he was a good guy and from what he had heard. A damn good shot. It was going to be fun working with him that was for sure.

Shepard then took the lead and for the next 15 to 20 minutes he detailed why they were going there. Matriarch Benezia, Saren's right hand woman was on the base and they were going to find out why. Shepard was aware of the political situation on Noveria….it was a nightmare, so Garrus and Feral would come with him off the bat with everyone else looking useful inside the complex until Shepard needed them. A full team would be useful, create a presence and he'd have a full skill set to choose from at any moment.

He had chosen Garrus because of his C-Sec carrier and Feral for his lie detecting, politicians were going to lie to him and he needed two people who could help pick them out from whatever truth there was. Plus if anything did kick off he was fairly confident that the combination could handle it pretty efficiently until the rest of his squad arrived.

He told the rest of his team to suit up and get their equipment ready, he may not need them to handle the politicians but Benezia wasn't going to be alone. He needed them all to be on hand in the event of anything she could throw at them. Best case? More Geth. Worst case? Asari Commandos. He really didn't need that but if they did turn up, he'd need biotics of his own. That's where Kaidan, Wrex and Liara came in and that's where another problem arose….Liara

They were chasing and most likely going to kill Liara's mother. She insisted on coming with him when he went to face her and he was going to let her, but he'd have one of the other biotics there as well. She was still fresh to the whole combat idea and trying to pull the trigger at your own mother could make anyone seize up. Time would tell but he planned to be there for her when it was over.

So that was it, everyone knew the job. They knew what had to be done and they knew what was at stake. Benezia knew what Saren was up to, without her information. They would be even more steps behind the rogue spectre.

- Planet Noveria, Port Hanshan –

Shepard stood in the airlock with Feral and Garrus. They were standing there, waiting for the doors to open, in full equipment with their weapons ready for anything that happened…safeties on of course. The only threats for the next few hours would probably be politicians and shooting them would really only halt their progress. Feral groaned, hitting his head on the wall. Garrus and Shepard both stared over at him.

"What? This thing takes longer than the citadel elevators" he stated, slowly hitting his forehead on the wall.

"That reminds me Feral, I'm still waiting for an answer to the missile question I asked earlier" Garrus purred out slowly, tilting his head to one side and as if on cue the airlock doors immediately open and before anyone could say anything else Feral was out of the Normandy and walking out into the port. "….guess I'll just have to wait won't I?" Garrus chuckled as he and Shepard caught up to Feral, who was wearing a long sleeved shirt under his armour. Shepard told him that it was going to be cold and he really wasn't joking.

It was fucking freezing and if it weren't for the long shirt Feral would have been shivering which was….well…it just wasn't threatening for a soldier to be shaking constantly.

The 3 made their way along the walkway towards the main entrance of the Port, when they were stopped by an almost equally armed trio. Feral and Garrus just glanced looks at each other, it looked sketchy and the two just silently agreed to be ready with their weapons.

"That's far enough" the woman in the middle stopped the three, her companions on either side of her; a blonde woman and a turian.

"I'm Commander Shepard and I'm here on important business for the council Ms…." Shepard replied back

"Captain. Captain Maeko Matsuo and this is an unscheduled visit"

"I'm a council spectre, I don't need to schedule a visit" Shepard was sure that was going to be the end of it

"Bullshit ma'am! There are no human spectres!" the blonde haired woman shouted "I say we just send them back off by force" she began to raise her weapon up into her shoulder, something both Feral and Garrus had been waiting for

Feral's pistol came flying up and pointed straight at the blonde woman's head, Garrus quickly following with his assault rifle pointing at the turian "Bad idea lady" Feral said loudly and clearly, shaking his head as she went to raise her rifle the rest of the way. Putting pressure on his trigger, ready to fire off a round if she went any further.

Shepard was about to tell the two to put their weapons down before a voice suddenly rung out, beating him to it.

"Captain Matsuo stand down! We've confirmed their identity. Let the commander through" the loudspeaker rang out.

"….stand down Sergeant, you heard the lady" the Captain finally said, the turian and blonde haired woman slowly lowered her rifle; she was glaring at Feral as she did. Who simply smirked in response as he spun his pistol around his finger before locking it back onto his thigh.

"Told you it was a bad idea" he just laughed as he walked up the stairs and into the reception with Garrus and the Commander. He could've sworn he heard the woman say something along the lines of 'says the man wearing coloured contact lenses' oh….oh he hoped she turned up again.

The following conversation with Gianna Parasini was interesting to say the least. Apparently Benezia had passed through with a contingency of asari commandos. Garrus scoffed at that, they had had trouble getting in but a small platoon consisting of people that could kill you with their brains had gotten through with no trouble. Feral couldn't help but agree, he was good but even he couldn't do that. That wasn't all though, the Asari had come through with several big crates. God knows what equipment she had piled in there. The small conversation was brief but there was something that Feral had caught up on. He was doing as the commander had told him, pay attention. Anyone hear could be lying to them and he had picked something up. Parasini had been totally honest with them except for one statement. She was the assistant to Administrator Anoleis, she wasn't completely lying but there was something….like it was only a half truth. It wasn't much but it might be worth mentioning once they get into the port properly.

The trio finally stepped through the main doors and walked into the large open room. The entire team was silently impressed by not only the size of the place but the magnitude of the storm outside.

"That's going to make things interesting. Peak 15 is only accessible by vehicle and we have an administrator to get through. Christ give me Geth any day" Shepard just rubbed his brow gently before turning to Feral "So Parasini, was anything she said true?"

"Amazingly yh, there was something though. Very small but…when she said she was the administrator's assistant…I don't know. It was like she was only telling a half truth. She didn't lie to us but she's definitely hiding something" Feral just shrugged

"Yh but I doubt there isn't a single person in this place telling anything other than half the truth. Probably nothing to worry about Commander" Garrus shrugged off Feral's suspicions but Shepard just sighed.

"We'll keep an eye on her, but for now. Let's concentrate on getting to Peak 15" Shepard said "You two head over to the office, I'll call the rest of the squad over. Don't go in until I get there, I'll just be behind you"

Garrus and Feral just nodded in agreement and started walking in the direction of the head office.

"So…..about that missile?"

"Christ Garrus….I hope you're this relentless when it comes to killing things" Feral just snorted as they headed towards the main office.

- 5 minutes later, outside Administrator Anoleis' office –

"That….could've gone worse…" Garrus sighed

"Anything? Anything we could use against him?" Shepard looked over towards Feral

"Not a single thing he said was the truth….except that last comment about missing messages" Feral sighed "but no….nothing useful we can use…unless you don't mind becoming a politician. Sorry commander, guess we're looking for another way to get a pass"

The trio were just passing Parasini's desk as Feral finished that last sentence

"I believe I can help you there gentleman" she suddenly piped up, the squad stopping and turning around to look at her. "Anoleis isn't the only man in this place with a pass, try the bar. A turian named Lorik Qui'in has one, you might be able to convince him to part with it" she smiled before turning back to her desk.

Shepard just looked over to Feral who nodded; again…this woman was telling the truth. This time all three were suspicious, why help them? It didn't matter now, if Lorik Qui'in had a pass. Then they needed to get it. The rest of the team was still coming from the Normandy so they had time to run to the bar and get the pass. Shepard noted that Garrus and Feral had made a bet; Feral was convinced Parasini was hiding something and it had to do with her being Anoleis' secretary. Garrus called it, god knows what they were betting with but it better be something other than his spectre budget.

Qui'in turned out to just be another middle man in the search for a pass. The turian worked for synthetic insights and his offices were being scoured by Anoleis' men, if they wanted the pass to Peak 15 they were going to have to go to his office and get what they were looking for. Feral confirmed Qui'in's story, he didn't even bother to figure out the turians motivations but he definitely had a pass and he definitely was willing to give it to them. It was their best option and it was better than doing Anoleis' dirty work to get the pass. The administrator rubbed all three of them the wrong way and quite frankly helping Qui'in avoid his thugs would feel good. Feral grabbed the OSD Qui'in was giving them before the squad trekked off towards Qui'in's office.

'Another elevator….fucking yay' Feral sighed again, they were seriously starting to be the bane of his life. This time however the squad wasn't talking, they were checking their equipment. They were expecting trouble and it paid to be prepared. They all had their assault rifles at the ready and when the doors finally opened, Garrus and Feral followed Shepard's lead as they snuck up on the two guards immediately in front of them. Once the door between the two teams opened the guards spun around the two guards being greeted by three heavily armed soldiers.

Stuttering as she spoke "Freeze! Hanshan Security, this office is sealed" hopelessly trying to talk down the armed men.

"At this point, I don't think you really have that much authority. You're here trying to cover Anoleis' back. Is that really worth dying over?" Shepard just replied, he could hear Feral snorting behind him at the guard's pathetic attempt to gain control.

The woman just looked back at her turian friend and then turned back to the commander "No…no I guess not. We didn't see you if you didn't see us" Shepard just nodded and stepped to one side as the human and turian quickly shuffled out of the office and into the elevator.

"Well that was easy" Feral said unbelievably, he was certain that this was going to have gone down in a rain of gun fire.

"Yh well maybe we're finally getting a break" Shepard replied before a loud crack and a round whizzed past his head "Or maybe not, COVER!" The three quickly dived behind any cover they could find. Shepard and Feral pushed their backs up to the column nearest to the door, and Garrus found cover in the small alcove next to the entrance.

"I got 4 shepard, one's staying up top but I think the other three are coming down the stairs to our front" Garrus called over to the commander who just nodded. He could hear the 3 rifles firing, the rounds landing around the cover they were in. He guessed the last must have been waiting for them to move out of cover. Garrus was putting down as much fire as he could, trying to suppress the slowly advancing group of 3.

"Feral can you see anything on your side?" he watched as Feral slide along the wall, turning to face the stone as he slowly moved his eyes to the side of the rock before a loud crack and a bolt flew past his head. Luckily for Feral the round had struck his kinetic shields, the bullet grazing his cheek instead of turning his head inside out.

"AH! FUCK IT!" Feral shouted, ducking back into cover and resting back against the wall "Sniper Shepard, he's waiting for us to move" Shepard just watched as the cut on Feral's cheek closed up as fast as it had been made. "And with the ones coming down the stairs we need to get up under his position so we can flank them"

"Think you can make it to the other end of the room?" Shepard looked at him, if Feral could get into position then he and Garrus could draw the main group's fire as Feral finished them off. Then they could move up and finish off the sniper.

Feral sighed, he could make it but if that sniper got a cleaner shot at him he probably wouldn't be as lucky. One good shot would punch a hole straight through his shields and the power of that rifle could take his head off…no coming back from that "Give me covering fire and no problem commander." He nodded at Shepard who moved up in line with him. Feral kneeled down and put his rifle onto his back; he was going to have to sprint as fast as he could and holding a weapon would slow his pace down.

"Ok, when I tap your shoulder I'll fire a burst and when I stop you go. I'll put down as much as I can after that but if the sniper gets a round off I won't be able to follow up so get there fast and wait for another signal" Shepard stood behind Feral, rifle at the ready and aimed up towards the balcony.

A few seconds passed, the sound of Garrus and the enemy squad firing was rattling around the room and in a slight lull of the fire. Shepard tapped the man's shoulder as he stepped around the corner, pulling the trigger straight away and sending a wave of bullets in the snipers general area. The second it ended Feral leaped up and sprinted down the hall way as fast as he could. Feral could hear a second burst of fire before a loud crack cut it off, he slid into the wall. The balcony hanging over him as he looked back, where he saw a hand poke around the corner. Thumbs up, Shepard was fine and he was in position.

He grabbed his rifle and hugging the wall he moved along, sliding towards the stairs slowly as he kept his weapon raised. To his right he could see where Garrus was, the turians crate was covered in bullet holes but he could see he was fine. He knelt down, slightly back from the corner at the bottom of the stairs. An almighty hail of fire rained down the hall pinning Garrus down again, Feral just laughed at the turian who rolled his eyes back at the man.

Suddenly he heard footsteps barrelling down the stairs, one of them was making a break for the same column he and shepard had been using. Feral put his rifle down on the ground and waited. The moment he saw the figures rifle appear at the stairs he lunged forward, grabbing the weapon with his inhuman strength and tearing it out of the man's hands before he grabbed the collar of the figures armour. Dragging him around the corner and slamming him into the wall, the impact winding the guard but before it even had time to take an effect. Feral drove his knife straight into the man's chest, his strength and the sharp point of the knife easily piercing the armour and plunging straight into his rib cage. The last thing the guard saw were the deep red, slitted eyes of his assailant before he succumbed to his wound, going limp before Feral let him slide down the wall. Wiping his knife clean before he sheathed it and picked his rifle up again.

Garrus had just watched the whole thing in awe; Feral had been quick and precise. Every single movement had been near perfect and not a second had been wasted. The turian was very impressed but even so they still had 3 left and he still couldn't raise his head without it being blown off and turians were not very good at ducking. He hoped either Shepard or Feral had a plan.

Shepard couldn't see what was happening, but Garrus looked over at him and held his only two fingers. He hoped that meant Feral had killed two of them but the volume of weapon's fire still pinning them down clearly showed that Garrus meant there were two left. They needed a chance to get some precision fire on the guards, they only needed a moment.

Shepard reached around to his back, gripping at one of the small circular disc grenades. He held it up for Garrus to see, the turian acknowledged. The moment Shepard threw it he would wait for the explosion and use the diversion to try and get a kill shot off, hopefully Feral would get the idea as the disc flew past his position.

He turned and stepped out again, bullets bouncing harmlessly off his shielding and armour as he threw the grenade as hard as he could. Aiming just behind the position of the two guards taking cover on the stairs, he didn't want them moving back up the stairs. The disc flew out of his hand and cut its way through the air, he saw Feral briefly before he stepped back into cover; the super human was ready and waiting for Shepard's move.

An almighty explosion rocked the offices, those H.E. mods had been worth it, and the blast had knocked the guards over and taken a serious toll on their shields. Something Feral and Garrus found out as they both burst out of cover, putting well aimed rapid-fire straight into the two recovering guards. Their fire cut through the last of the shielding before well placed shots from both the turian and super human ended the two guard's lives.

The second the two guards were confirmed KIA, Feral spun around his cover and hugged the wall as he jumped up the flight of stairs, two steps at a time. Garrus and Shepard sprinted forward to join him, a large crack coming from their side. The sniper had moved positions too late to do anything about the rest of his squad, but he was now in a relatively defensible position again.

"Good job you two" Shepard said quietly as he took the lead again, his squad mates following close behind him. They had two options; slowly work their way towards the sniper and keep their heads down or rush the bastard. His rifle couldn't fire as fast as the combined fire they could put out. While it sounded more dangerous, the rush option was the better choice. Three armed men charging at a lone sniper meant he was likely to mess up his first shot, and then he'd be totally exposed. He explained the plan to his team mates quickly.

Garrus and Feral would unload as much fire on the snipers position as possible. Shepard would then use an adrenaline rush and charge down on the lone gunman's position. The room was filled with tension, the once loud racket of constant gunfire replaced by total silence. It was the eye of the storm and as fast as it had started, Garrus and Feral's rifles tore through the silence as the two opened fire, bullets bouncing off the rocky walkway the sniper was positioned on.

It had ended within seconds; Shepard had barrelled down on the sniper even faster than Feral had sprinted earlier. His adrenaline spike letting him cover distance like a bat out of hell and the moment he had a clear shot he took it, the round passing straight through the snipers Kuwashii Visor. The sniper was dead and the gun fight was over.

"Nice one commander" Feral suddenly piped up as he and Garrus jogged over. "Like I said…..that was easy" he just smirked as he walked down walkway, stepping over the dead sniper. "Qui'in said his office was in there, it'll only take a minute to get the evidence he wanted" Shepard and Garrus just followed him down into his office, shaking their hands at how easily Feral shook off everything that just happened…including nearly getting his own head removed.

It took about a minute for Feral to work his way through Qui'in's computer, the OSD had taken off all the information on Anoleis the moment it had been plugged in, but the commander wanted him to check the rest of his system for anything else they could use. Sadly there wasn't anything helpful, at least not on Qui'in's system and not without Feral hacking the database of a galaxy wide corporation. Shepard told him not to bother; he didn't need a corporation stepping at his heels. Saren was bad enough. The squad collected their gear and started to make their way out of the office, only to be stopped by a familiar face.

"I don't think you're supposed to be in here Shepard, and if you think you're leaving after killing my men you have another thing coming" the blonde woman coldly stated

"You're men were crooked, they were off duty and breaking the law for bribe money. They shouldn't even have been here" Shepard replied, his fingers tickling the side of his pistol, ready to grab it at a moment's notice.

"Doesn't matter, Anoleis pays my checks and if he wants this done it'll be done. Now, want to know what we did to cop killers on my home planet?" she grimaced as a blue aura surrounded her, the table suddenly flying towards Shepard and his team.

They ducked for any cover they could find, leaping behind the crates in front and behind them. 'FUCK!' Shepard mentally screamed, it had to be a biotic. None of them had any biotic skills and that was bad, if she was even half decent it would prove problematic. A quick burst of fire at the woman confirmed his fears. Her barriers were good; the bullets had bounced off like nothing. Directly in front of him Feral was huddled up behind the table that had been thrown at them, his rifle had been knocked out of his hands and was out of reach but he still had his pistol.

"I HATE BIOTICS!" Feral shouted over the sound of the gunfire raining down on them from the blonde's crooked team of guards. There were three of them but they had the advantage, biotic barriers were protecting them and they didn't need cover. The fire was constant. They needed to do something but there were suppressed. They needed to break the biotic's concentration, halt the fire or both.

Then he remember what he was taking cover behind and how it had reached him in the first place, Shepard saw the smile on his face and realised what he was planning. Looking over at Garrus he signalled for the turian to be ready, the moment the Feral acted they needed to be on top of them.

Feral rolled over onto his back and put his feet up against the bottom of the table, making sure he had placed his feet in the right position he rolled onto his upper back. Bringing his knees up to his chest before he rocked forward, slamming his feet into the furniture as hard as it could. The table flew towards the enemy squad, flying straight into them before they could even react.

That was it, the break they all needed. Feral just sat up on the floor and raised his pistol, pumping round after round into the table as it lay over the once dominant guard squad. Garrus and Shepard quickly joined him, pouring rounds into the steel table. The sheer weight of fire eventually punching through the table top and into the struggling bodies of the people underneath it. Garrus and Shepard advanced slowly, Garrus helping Feral up off the floor with his left hand.

"Thanks Garrus" Feral was panting gently, the table had been heavy but if a biotic could throw it across a room he could push it back along the floor. The teams reunion interrupted by a small groan under the scrap metal that used to be a table. Shepard slowly stepped over, kicking away the blonde woman's weapon. Her barriers had protected her from the majority of their response but she was bleeding. She was dead regardless, bleeding out under the very weapon she had used against them in the first place.

Shepard and Garrus just walked off towards the stairs, but Feral stepped over to her. Looking her dead in the eyes as her own orbs slowly started to glaze over. "There are not contact lenses" He noted the look of surprise on her face before she finally passed, smirking as he stepped off. Following the rest of his team back into the elevator.

They had made their way back to the bar were Lorik Qui'in was waiting, he had better hold up his end of the bargain. They had just waded into a field of fire for his data and they hadn't even begun to chase after the Matriarch. They were about to walk up to the turian administrator when they heard a voice from a table behind them.

"Commander Shepard. Gianna Parasini, I believe it's time I properly introduce myself. I'm with Internal Affairs" the woman called over from her table beckoning for Shepard to join her.

"YES! I knew it" Feral just smiled at Garrus, smirking happily as the turian just groaned.

"Ok ok ok, I won't ask you about the missile anymore Feral" Garrus finally managed to laugh "well played though, I was starting to doubt that nose of yours"

Shepard walked over, leaving the Garrus and Feral to their own devices as they walked off to the bar. Gianna looked a little shocked as she watched the pair stroll away laughing.

"Erm…what was that all about?" she finally asked

Shepard laughed "Feral, the one who looked happy, can smell lies. He told me that you weren't being totally truthful when you said you a secretary. They made a bet together and turns out he was right" he just chuckled as his statement raised more questions than it answered. He quickly moved the officer back onto track. She told him that she was there to take Anoleis down and the evidence Lorik Qui'in had gathered could be vital to her prosecution. Shepard told her that he needed the pass to Peak 15 and Lorik was the only one who had it, Parasini just reminded him that is Anoleis was taken care of, she'd have the ability to grant him anything he wanted. Shepard sighed, she was right and Anoleis needed to be removed. He really hoped he could convince Qui'in to testify, if he suggested it and couldn't convince him, the turian could change his mind on giving him his pass.

- 20 minutes later, outside Anoleis' office –

"Get your hands off me! Spectre! I demand you take this bitch into custody" the corrupt Salarian screamed as he was dragged out towards the space port. Shepard's entire crew was there and they couldn't believe what Garrus had told them, they'd been gone for under an hour and they'd already managed to completely usurp the power in Port Hanshan.

"Shut up" Parasini, slammed the salarians head into the wall before looking towards Shepard "Thanks commander, I'll send word to the garage that you have clearance. If we ever meet again, I owe you a drink" the woman said as she walked off with Anoleis. Shepard nodded in thanks before he started to walk off towards the parking garage. The Mako had been dropped off there and they were going to need it to get to Port 15. He had decided to take Wrex, Liara and Garrus along with them. He needed the biotics and the force of a Krogan against asari commandos would be very helpful. The rest of his team would stay in the Port; they didn't need anything coming after them when they are stranded in the science facility.

The group of 8 made their way towards the garage, the guard at the door letting them into the parking lot. "Ok so everyone knows their job. Let's get this over and down with, I'm sick of the cold already" Shepard stated about to advance further into the garage when all of a sudden a geth stalker landed in front of him, its optics clicking before it leapt away again. "GETH! TAKE COVER!" Shepard managed to yell before an eruption of gunfire filled the room.

The entire squad took cover; Feral grabbed Tali by the waist and tugged her down next to the M-29 Grizzly. The young woman had been slow to react to the Geth assault and Feral had tugged her down just as a rocket flew past where she would've been. "Thanks Feral" it was drowned out by the fire fight, both sides pumping round after round into each other. Liara, Wrex and Kaidan were throwing biotic warps and lifts at the advancing Geth troopers and juggernauts.

"Thank me when this is over and we're both still alive!" he laughed back, the adrenaline rush of heavy fire apparently exciting the red eyed human. The soldiers amongst the group, bouncing up every so often and popping a few rounds into the synthetic beings, taking a couple of the troops down, but the juggernaut was still advancing and it was proving problematic.

That was when Tali realised what she was sitting next to, the grizzly had a cannon and the door was only locked by a relatively simple lock. She got to work, her actions going unnoticed by the rest of the team as the Geth in front of them took precedence. She had gotten through the lock in no time and climbed up into the tank.

"HEY TALI! I need you to help me take out the juggernaut's shields. If we hit it with an overload at the same time it might knock them out for good!" Feral shouted over his shoulder, waiting for a response that never came "Tali?" He spun around to see the hatch of the grizzly open before the entire room shook. The juggernaut being torn open as the high explosive shell connected with its body, blowing it to pieces. "….or you could….do that…instead" He let his rifle drop to his side as the purple tinted face plate peeked out from the hatch, surprised at the entire team just staring in silent shock.

"…..what? it worked didn't it?" Tali eventually piped up, feral laughing as he put a hand on her shoulder.

"Yh it definitely worked" he pointed over to the smoking remains of the juggernaut "in fact I'd call it over kill, you monster" sticking his tongue out slightly as he walked off and sat down on a crate. Tali just giggled, she was glad that Feral was joking but she was even happier when Shepard spoke up.

"Good job everyone and good thinking Tali, now then; Wrex, Garrus and Liara head over to the Mako. I'll be there in a minute" Shepard said as Captain Matsuo stepped into the room with a small squad. He quickly went over to explain what just happened; the revelation that Benezia had brought dozens of crates with her was unpleasant. It meant Geth resistance would be high all away along the pass. Regardless, the mako would be able to handle it. He nodded over to Tali, Feral, Ashley and Kaidan as he stepped past them and over to the mako.

- An hour later, Port Hanshan's garage-

Feral was relaxing on top of the grizzly, he was resting his head back on his arms. He'd barely slept since his release from Cerberus and he was enjoying the break. He looked up as a thump came from in front of him, Tali had hoped up onto the tank with him. "Hey Tali" he slowly sat up and swivelled around, his feet hanging off the edge as Tali took a spot next to him. "What's up?"

"Not much, just a little bored. Kaidan and Ashley are trying to stay in contact with Shepard but the storm is making it hard. I used your software upgrades to help boost the signal, where did you learn how to do that?" Tali squeaked, it was rare that she found more talented than her at software but she didn't mind. She still had him beat in hardware.

Feral chuckled "a lot of tinkering time as a kid, I spent more or less my entire life on computers and….I just figured things out over time. I had a small amount of training later on in school and….other places but it's mainly just playing around until something works" he smiled over at the quarian.

Tali understood perfectly, she had spent most of her life on the flotilla just playing around with machinery, taking it apart and putting it back together. Eventually you just got the hang of it, do it for long enough and you learn things no one can teach. She then looked at his right cheek; there was a small smear of blood on it. "Hey when did that happen?"

Feral raised his fingers to his cheek; looking at them he noticed there was a small red tinge to his skin. "Oh it was back when we were getting that evidence. Sniper round bounced off my shielding and cut my cheek. It was only open briefly but I guess I must have bled a little before it closed up, I hadn't even noticed it until you said something" he just shrugged

"….can you heal any wound?" Tali slowly asked, unsure if Feral really wanted to talk about his regenerative capabilities, jolting back as he held up his left hand. Wiggling his little finger for her to see.

"Not all of them, I can't regrow lost limbs or appendages. So a bullet hole? Sure. Something that can blow large holes in me? Maybe, depends how much I lose. I can heal a lot of wounds that could kill just about anything but I'm not immortal. I can die Tali and I'm fully aware of that" Feral sighed

"It almost sounds like you want to die…." Tali said quietly

"I used to, I used to beg for it. 2 years of experimentation does that to you. I wanted nothing else but death…but now…" he looked at Tali before looking back out across the garage "Right now I have a purpose, I'm being useful and I'm meeting people that make death seem less and less favourable" he smiled weakly at that.

Tali was going to respond to that statement but she was interrupted by Kaidan.

"Hey you two! We have to go" The marine shouted as he and Ashley walked towards the grizzly. "We're taking the tank to Peak 15, Shepard needs our help"

Feral snorted "Shepard needs help? What's next…the Rachni are back?" he was about to laugh but Kaidan just looked at him

"You're fucking kidding me"