The Cerberus leader stands firmly with a cigarette in hand gazing out into the red hues of the blazing sun that his station overlooks. The room was befallen by its usual darkness with no other soul in his presence. The only sound in the isolated room was the faint sizzling of the cigarette in his hand.

Relations with the human Spectre known as Shepard had quickly circled the drain ever since the defeat of the Collectors and the destruction of their base. How could this have happened. Everything unfolded exactly as he had planned from the beginning. The Lazarus project was supposed to resurrect the one man that would ensure humanity's dominance in the galaxy. Instead he let his idealism thwart the Illusive man's grand design. Now he was desperate. After Sovereigns release, the Spectre permanently erased all contact with him. He had no intelligence as to his whereabouts or his current mission. Without Shepard's support, he needed a new foothold.

The holographic projector flickered to life at the far end of the room and revealed the image of a man in an expensive white suit; his face being hidden in the shadows of the room he was broadcasting from.

Taking a drag from his cigarette the Illusive man says "Things are changing more drastically than I could have anticipated."

"You know it's not safe to contact me." replies the man in the image projection. "I've set myself up quite well here and I'm compromising it just by speaking to you."

"Set yourself up?" retorts the Illusive man. "Surely you haven't forgotten that's it's only because of me that you stand with your current position and title, or am I in need of reminding you?"

"...No." The man replies like a scolded child. "Of course not..."

"Good. Then now that we are finished with our pleasantries, I'd like to discuss a certain matter of importance with you."

"I do hope this call is worth the delicate amount time to explain it." the faceless figure says.

"Patients was never your strong suit. Very well..." Turning around, the Illusive man walks toward the projection of the unknown man and begins to explain. "As you probably already know, Shepard has refused any further contact with myself and all of Cerberus for that matter..." He takes another drag from his cigarette.

"Shepard is still our only hope against the Reaper invasion, but no longer a player in humanity's rightful future. Therefor I've taken the liberty to devise a "Plan B" if you will..."

"I'm listening..." says the elusive figure.

"My original plan was for you to be humanity's first councilor. But things didn't exactly unfold as I predicted as I'm sure you remember..."

"Yes, Shepard recommended Anderson for the position."

"That's what this call is all about. Without Shepard's support for Cerberus, we are now in need of that political power. But to do that, Councilor Anderson must die."

There is a brief pause as the Illusive man takes his seat and puts our his cigarette in the ashtray beside his chair.

"That's an awfully risky proposition. And how do we even know that the council will nominate me to take his place should he be found deceased?"

"There are no others with as much knowledge of both human and intergalactic politics such as yourself. I'm perfectly confident they will fall back on you to continue to represent the interests of all humans." replies the Illusive man. "I figured you'd be more than happy to hear this."

"Interesting..." says the shadowy figure. "What do you need me to do in the meantime?"

"What you have been doing for decades Ambassador, I'll take care of the rest. An agent will contact you soon with the details. Till then, remain under your ruse."

Tali noticeably stiffened at Kal's request to speak with her privately. She had a pretty good idea about what it was he wanted to talk to her about. Shepard turned and looked down at her hands nervously rubbing together. He then brought his gaze up to her visor. After a moment she looked up at him and nodded hesitantly; letting him know that she could handle herself. Being reassured, Shepard turned to Kal.

"Of course Kal." He turned back to Tali who now stared at the floor. "Well then...I'll leave you two alone to catch up..." he then moved past Kal, giving one last look at his nervous fiance, then walked into the elevator.

Kal began pacing around Tali as soon as the door shut with his hands clasped behind his back and his head held high. Tali, finding the courage to speak, kept her gaze on the floor as she felt him walk beside her.

"Kal, I had to-"

"You didn't have to do anything!" Kal shouted. "Dammit, 2 more minutes of oxygen deprivation and you wouldn't be here!" Tali looked up to see Kal pointing angrily at her.

Kal sighed; dropping his head in shame. He then turned around and took a few steps away from her with his hands on his hips.

"Kal, I had to do it or we all would have-" Tali halted in her speech as Kal proceeded to furiously sweep the items off Shepard's desk.

"That's not what I'm angry about!" yelled Kal. Tali recoiled at his sudden outburst and raised her hands defensively as he stomped back over to her.

"In the two years I've served under you, all you've done is try to sacrifice yourself for everyone around you! Do you really think your life is that worthless! God dammit, do you even care!" Kal turned around once again and stood in silence as Tali took in his harsh words.

"Being selfless doesn't mean you have to get yourself killed at ever chance you get ma'am..."

"Kal...I..."

"Rael'Zorah..." Tali gasped at the mention of her father's name.

"Before Haestrom, your father came to me. He was different...sincere I guess..." Kal turned back to her and continued. "He made me promise that no matter what happened to him, or on Haestrom, that I'd make sure you were safe. That with every breath of recycled oxygen I breathed, I'd use it to protect you..."

Tali found herself at a loss for words. She had secretly hated her father for so long. He was always so confined to his duties that he never made time for his daughter. He wasn't even there when her mother's body was given to the void. She felt that he hated her, that she would never be good enough to earn to his love, to earn his recognition, to earn the sight of his face...

Tali began to tear up at this new realization. "He...he told you that?" she said, her voice quivering with emotion.

"I know for a fact he didn't just mean Haestrom...he wanted me to keep you safe as long as I live. And Keelah, I intend to keep that promise ma'am. But I can't do that if your always going to throw yourself in front of a missile for someone!"

"I'm sorry..." she said as the tears dripped into the pit of her mask.

"Don't apologize to me, apologize to your dead father; the man that wanted the best of everything for you."

Tali yelled through her tears. "My father never gave me anything but a fleet of dying people who so quickly turned on me and tried to have me exiled with the excuse of the good of the fleet!"

Kal placed a hand on her shoulder which only made her tremble. "Don't take this the wrong way ma'am, but your father would have gladly let all 17 million of us die if it meant saving you." Tali began to sob silently as he continued.

"Rael'Zorah loved you more than he ever did the fleet. He didn't know how to show it, but he tried his best...

"Get out..." whispered Tali, on the brink of breaking down. Kal slowly walked towards the door in compliance; realizing that he came on rather strong. Before exiting he said one last thing.

"I don't know how long you and Shepard have been involved. But I think you owe him an apology as well. You don't have to forgive your father, but at least forgive yourself." He left the room and headed for the elevator upon finishing; leaving Tali sobbing alone on her knees.

Shepard sat by himself at the mess hall table going through the logs over their last mission on his datapad. Taking a short break he looked around the room. Through the med-bay window he could see Dr. Chakwas at her terminal; probably freshening up Quarian biology so as to better help with the recovering Vel'Lara. Thane, Samara, and Aranya sat at the other table with a few other crew members sharing casual conversation. He took note that Zaeed wasn't among them. Either he wasn't hungry or just plain avoiding the Asari commando which he couldn't blame him for.

His thoughts drifted to Kal's unexpected request. It wasn't like the hardened marine to ask for privacy when talking to another individual. Usually he was so open and formal. He wondered what they were talking about, or whether he should pry her for answers later. Maybe it was nothing to worry about. Probably just Quarian talk. It wasn't often that Quarians had any real privacy to chat anyway with how crowded the Migrant fleet was.

The taping of footsteps to his left startled him. He had been so lost in his train of thought that he didn't notice Miranda take her seat across from him with a food tray of her own.

"Commander, I'd like to speak with you if you have a few moments."

"Is it something important?" he asked

"It concerns our new crew member, the one you acquired on our last mission."

"You mean Aranya?"

"Pardon me commander, I guess what I should have said was possible crew member."

"The Prothean DNA..." he said raising a brow.

"I know it isn't ethical to create a sentient life-form only to take advantage of it. But I think I speak for the whole crew when I say we need what it knows."

"I'm not making any decisions right away. We even know if it will survive the process."

"I understand commander and I trust your judgment. But think about this Shepard." She said straightening her posture. "You said so yourself the Prothean AI told you that their greatest secrets were contained in what you found. They must have intended for the next civilization to find it and use it to fight the Reapers. Can we really afford to let that go to waste?"

"I appreciate your opinion Miranda. But I still need to think this through. Otherwise I'd be no better than Saren when he cloned an army of Krogan just to die fighting."

"I'll standby whatever decision you make commander. One more thing, with the Hammerhead destroyed, we're going to need another. The Illusive man might be able to-"

"Miranda, I wouldn't ask for his hand if I were dangling from a cliff." he interrupted.

"Alright, it's that's how you feel, then I suppose its up to you to find us another all-terrain combat vehicle." Miranda sat up and then walked over to the other table to socialize with the rest of the crew.

"ETA to Migrant Fleet 1 hour commander. Might wanna let them know we're coming so they don't blow a hole straight through the Cerberus logo on the Normandy." said Jeff over the intercom.

"I'll make sure they go easy on us Joker."

"Aye aye."

"EDI?"

"Yes Shepard."

"Have you relayed the mission report to the council?"

"Yes. I included your request to send patrol ships to the relays surrounding Geth space as well."

"I hope you left out the part about the Prothean DNA."

"Of course Shepard."

"Good work. I just hope they're feeling generous."

Tali's three-digit hand waved across the wall sensor and the instantly heated water flowed from the shower nozzle. Her frail, petite form recoiled at first before quickly becoming accustomed to the steaming water that beat down against the top of her uncovered head; feeling every sensitive pour in her body being cleansed. Sighing, she grabbed the bar of soap and began glazing each scar that covered her skin. Each one gained over the past 2 years serving the fleet, each one carried with it a memory without a happy ending. Her life had always been for the fleet. Just another mission, usually successful but without any reward or recognition. Not even from her father. Would it have been so hard to at least send a private message letting her know that he was glad she was safe? That he loved her? After all the pain and suffering she endured the only thing he could do was ask her fellow soldier to be her shield? To not even have the courage to tell her himself?

Tali found herself caressing the scar on her left arm. The one she received while liberating the Alarei. The wound took her to a place she wished she could forget. One of the worst days of her short life. Rael'Zorah openly expressed an act of love for his daughter, something she waited so long for. But in the end he even managed to twist that. Hundreds of Quarian scientists dead, his daughter accused of treason, and an a small army of Geth left behind for her to clean up. There was nothing genuine left for her. Not from him, not from the fleet.

Even amongst all that chaos though, there was always Shepard. The one person in her life that kept her going. That gave her meaning, a greater purpose than being a simple engineer. How quickly it seemed he had come in to her world and changed it forever. This human that trusted her enough to give her complete access upon coming aboard the Normandy SR-1, even giving her a copy of Geth evolutionary data. That was the day she knew he was unique. Not just as a person, but in her perspective, in her heart. He changed her outlook on the galaxy. Died, and rose from the dead to come back for her; to tell her everything he wished he had before his untimely death. To share his mind, body, and soul with her.

Her hatred for her father was strong, but that didn't keep the lessons he had taught her from controlling her actions. Complete selflessness, always willing to take a bullet for her crew. Kal was right. His words weren't meant to make her forgive her father, but to motivate her to live for those around her. She owed him an apology. More importantly she owed one to Shepard. It must be hard enough for him to love a woman that cannot share the feel of her skin without a supplement of antibiotics; a woman that is willing to throw away her life without hesitation to save those around her. He was never the kind to show his worries and anxieties openly. But even with his never faltering positive attitude, she was sure that under that barrier of muscle and cybernetic enhancements, there was a man deeply afraid for the loss of his fiance. Fiance...she liked that human word. Soon it would be wife, life-mate. She was ready to change and give up everything to be with him. But to have this future she so desperately longed for, they first had to eliminate an enemy that threatened to consume every hope she, and the galaxy alike had of one.

She waved her hand across the sensor and shut off the shower nozzle. Stepping out, she wrapped her naked form in a towel and grabbed the pregnancy testing device she had set down next to the sink. Negative it read, still nothing. Maybe Mordin's gene therapy drug wasn't working. Could it be that life was also denying her a child to have with the man she wanted for her husband? Whether it was or not, she wouldn't give up. There's a way around anything. Shepard had taught her that from his impossible achievements.

"Miss Zorah." EDI suddenly chimed in startling Tali. "We are approaching the Migrant Fleet. Your presence is required in the helm."

"Tell Shepard I'll be right down." Tossing the towel aside, leaving herself still somewhat damp, she walked over to the discarded portions of her suit and began dressing herself.

"Keelah." she muttered. "Shala is going to kill him..."