A/N: I am SOOOO sorry that it's taken me this long to update! I really have no good excuse for it either, other than I have just had a complete lack of creativity.

On a side note, I decided to use a line that Udina utters in ME2, but that I didn't use in Different Horizons.

This is more of a transitional chapter. I thought you guys needed a break from all the suspense and cliff-hangers. ;)

Oh hell no!

The cry of rage and indignation threatened to boil its way to the surface and Shepard had to swallow quickly to keep it from escaping her lips. Instead she whipped her head back to Anderson and seared him with a fiery glare. She managed to get control of her temper only enough to thrust her index finger at Kaidan before she spit through clenched teeth, "You are not putting that man on my ship!"

Anderson's dark brown eyes narrowed as his face contorted in confusion. He studied her, taking note of her blatant opposition, and then turned to look questioningly at Kaidan – who suddenly looked very uncomfortable – before he spoke uncertainly in what he hoped was a neutral tone.

"I don't understand, Shepard. A few months ago you would have given everything to have your old crew back and as I recall, the last time you were in my office you practically begged me for Staff-Commander Alenko's whereabouts."

She didn't give her well-meaning former captain a chance to finish. "That was before Horizon!"

Beside her, Kaidan shifted his feet uneasily and looked down.

"I know that you're upset by our duplicity," Anderson said slowly, "but you must realize that we needed to be certain that you weren't using your association with Cerberus against the Alliance."

Of course Anderson would naturally conclude that that was the reason she was all riled up. He couldn't possibly know that there were other factors involved as to why she didn't want anything to do with the former Lieutenant. It wasn't necessarily something she wanted to broadcast.

Judging from her posture Anderson guessed that it wasn't likely that she was going to be persuaded by his attempts at reconciliation. He frowned and flicked his gaze over to Admiral Hackett, who was still sitting quietly in one of the chairs in front of the councilor's desk.

"Shepard, be reasonable," Hackett finally said. "We aren't asking that much and you would be in good company. It not only benefits the Alliance, but you as well. Like you said, you're down on the number of crew members you have and Staff-Commander Alenko is a valuable asset to have on your team."

She was outraged. The man had practically sat there mute the entire time and now that he'd finally chosen to speak up, this was what he said? And here she thought he was on her side. Where was he when the council had ripped her apart? How hard would it have been to stand next to her and tell them that he agreed with her decision to destroy the mass relay, that there was no other way around it? She wanted to scream all those burning questions in his face, but proper decorum and military regulations prohibited her from questioning and ridiculing a superior officer.

In a desperate attempt to regain control over her emotions, she clasped her hands behind her back, squared her shoulders, and looked Anderson dead in the eye. "Anyone but him."

"I'm not looking forward to this assignment any more than you are Commander," Kaidan asserted quietly. It was the first time he'd spoken since he walked in. Just the sound of his voice was enough to grate on Shepard's nerves.

The lines on Anderson's forehead deepened as he looked at the two soldiers, once great friends now suddenly turned mortal enemies.

"Look you two," he said sharply, "whatever hostility there is between you right now I suggest you swallow it. You both need to put any differences you might have aside and work together as a whole for the good of the galaxy."

"This is hopeless," Udina muttered. He rose out of his chair. "Can you imagine all the fallout we're going to get for this? War with the batarians! All because your spectre – the Savior of the Citadel – is too stiff-necked to follow orders!"

"Isn't there some paperwork you need to be doing?" Shepard snapped.

Udina sputtered, taken aback by Shepard's outward aggression. She could see the indignation rise in his face as he struggled to formulate some kind of reply. In all her time dealing with the Council, she had never spoken to him that way. At least, not aloud.

"Does the words 'political shit-storm' mean anything to you?" he threw back at her with the same force she had used on him.

Anderson quickly intervened by inserting himself between the ambassador and the spectre, and when next he spoke, it was with great weariness in his voice. "Shepard, you must agree to these terms. It is the only way you will be allowed to resume command of the Normandy."

He droned on, but to her his words had suddenly become hollow, meaningless. She felt adrift, lost in a tumultuous sea of hopelessness and despair, and the more she struggled to keep her head above the water, the more the waves came crashing down upon her. The utter loss of control and sense of helplessness she was experiencing was overwhelming. In an instant, once again, her world had been altered and there was absolutely nothing she could do about it.

As she carefully weighed her options she became aware that Kaidan was staring at her, a mixture of anxiousness and contempt written over his smooth features. Part of her – the sensible part – argued that this couldn't be easy for him either. The sharp sword of betrayal and regret had skewered both of them. But she chose to ignore what he was feeling at the moment and instead concentrate on her own inconvenience.

What was it going to be like to have him back on the Normandy? God, she didn't even want to think about it. And what was she going to tell Garrus? She imagined the turian wasn't going to be too happy about the newest addition to their crew.

Thinking about the crew filled her with dread. Telling them about the sudden adjustments was perhaps going to be the hardest of all. None of them, including her, had any idea the Council was going to make such outrageous demands. Betrayed wasn't an adequate enough word to describe how she felt.

She had mixed feelings about the Alliance to begin with, ever since they declared her dead and disbanded her crew the first time. On one hand, working with them again was like putting on an old worn out shoe; comfortable and familiar. But on the other, the sting of the decisions they made back then still lingered close to the surface, like a freshly healed wound just waiting for a chance to reopen and fester.

Least of all, she disliked the feeling of being trapped. She wouldn't go as far as to say it was blackmail, but it got pretty damn close. What decision did she have really, except to agree and try not to let it get in the way of their mission.

"I want a chance to tell my crew first," she said. "I don't want to have to explain his presence aboard the Normandy and then inform them that they're being replaced."

"Very well," Anderson agreed. "Kaidan, you will report to the Normandy at 0800 tomorrow morning."

"Aye, aye Sir."

He gave a stiff salute, and then left the office without a backward glance at Shepard.

Chicken-shit, she thought with a scowl.

With nothing else left to say, and knowing full well that she would go into a tirade if she did, she started for the door. "Well, this has been fun and all, but I have a lot of work to do in order to prepare for this new arrangement."

"Yes, about that…"

Placing her hand on the metal door frame to steady herself she twisted around with a tired sigh. "You already have my full cooperation on everything. Whatever else you need, email me."

And with that, she left.

XXX

Never before had the air on the Normandy felt so oppressive. During the shuttle ride and then the walk back to the airlock Shepard had racked her brain trying to figure out a delicate way to inform the crew of everything that had transpired as a result of her meeting with Anderson and the Council. Now here she was standing inside and she still had nothing.

What made matters worse was the time frame she had hanging over her head. It wasn't like she could bury her head in the sand and hope everything would sort itself out, not that she was the type to do that anyway. But it seemed extremely unfair that she not only had to tell certain crew members that their presence was no longer desired on the ship, but that they also had less than twelve hours to figure out what to do with themselves afterward.

And then there was the fact that Kaidan would be coming on board. She didn't even want to think about that yet.

In the end she decided that it would be best to collect her thoughts, maybe prepare some sort of speech or words of comfort before she talked to the crew, and with that thought she set across the CIC to the elevator.

"Shepard! Shepard, did you hear?" Kelly cried out as she tried to sneak past.

Inside her head an alarm started to sound. How could she possibly know about the changes so soon? Then she stopped herself. Of all the people on her crew, Kelly would be the one to have first hand knowledge of anything going on. She claimed that being in on all the dirt helped her to do her job more effectively, but Shepard was no dummy. She knew the bubbly redhead really enjoyed the gossip and most of the time, so long as it didn't start any trouble with anyone else and didn't interfere with her actual duties, she didn't mind if Kelly kept an ear to the ground.

However, this was not one of those times.

Kelly came running over to her but was brought up short when Shepard grimaced.

"Just keep it on the down low Chambers. I don't want everyone else finding out about this just yet, okay?"

"O-okay." Kelly blinked a few times. Confusion and hurt clouded her green eyes, making them darken. "We'll talk later then."

"Thanks," she muttered.

It wasn't until the elevator doors closed that she allowed herself to let out the breath that she'd been holding in. Punching the button that would take her to her cabin on the first deck repeatedly she tried to ignore the rising panic in her chest. If Kelly knew, how many other crew members had gotten wind of it?

As soon as the doors open she bolted through them and into her quarters, thankful for once that Garrus was still busy down in the main battery tinkering with his calibrations.

"Son of a bitch!"

Picking up an innocent looking data pad from her desk she flung it across the room with enough force that it would have shattered into several large jagged pieces, or at least fractured the screen in a dazzling display of sparks if it hadn't landed soundlessly on her bed.

She stomped down the steps and collapsed on the bed beside it with a heavy groan, covering her face with her hands. After a while the anger slowly dissipated, leaving an empty space in her chest in its wake. Nothing was guaranteed to last forever, and she should know better than to get so attached to her crew. The past was enough to remind her that things could change in the blink of an eye. But it still didn't make the upcoming task any easier to digest.

After a while of lying there, brooding over her predicament, she decided that it was best to get it over with quickly, like one would rip off a band-aid. Better to just grit your teeth and pull, because it often hurt less than peeling it off inch by agonizing inch.

And she knew that she would have to start with her XO.

XXX

"Do you have a minute Miranda?"

The pretty ex-Cerberus Officer looked up from a stack of datapads on her desk, her lavender eyes questioning the reason why Shepard would be in her office so late in the evening. Shepard had breathed a small sigh of relief on finding that Miranda was still working. Usually the XO had her nose to the grind stone just as much as she did, but it would have been extremely awkward if she would have had to pull her aside from the rest of the crew to explain what was going on. She didn't want to raise any suspicions and risk having to tell everyone else before it was time. She and Miranda hadn't always seen eye to eye, but she at least respected her enough to tell her privately first.

"Can it wait? There's a lot to do Shepard. Taking Cerberus's name off the Normandy's registry is proving to be more difficult that I first imagined."

"It wasn't a request," Shepard said quietly.

Miranda's eyes narrowed as she placed her hands in front of her on the desk and laced her fingers together.

"I've come to discuss some changes in personnel," she began, slumping into one of the chairs on the other side of the desk. How was she going to put this delicately? "My meeting with Anderson and the Council didn't go exactly as I had planned."

Miranda hadn't moved. She watched her stonily, her features betraying the inconvenience she felt at being interrupted.

"Well…they ambushed me, I guess," Shepard continued with a heavy shrug of the shoulder. "That's the only term I can think of that even comes remotely close to what they did."

"Uh huh."

Everything about Miranda's tone suggested that she just wanted Shepard to go away and leave her alone to do her work, which only made what she going to say all the more difficult.

"The Alliance is retaking control of the Normandy," she blurted. "And now they think they can make all sorts of demands and I'm just supposed to follow them like a good soldier."

Finally, a flicker of emotion danced across Miranda's eyes. But it wasn't the sympathy or concern that Shepard had been hoping for, rather it was a look of cold understanding. She sat back with a sardonic smile and folded her arms.

"And let me guess, they aren't taking too kindly to the fact that you have 'Cerberus people' on board."

"Ex-Cerberus," Shepard reminded her. She attempted to smile but failed miserably at it. "But no, they aren't. I've been ordered to inform the crew that anyone with Cerberus connections that doesn't have a prior military background with the Alliance is required to vacate the Normandy by 0800 tomorrow morning."

"I see."

"You're the first one I've told."

Miranda pushed away from the desk and stood up, placing her hands on the top of the chair. "I figured it would come down to this sooner or later."

"Miranda, you have to believe that I tried everything in my power to stop it from happening."

"I'm sure you did."

"Please don't be like that. You're a damn fine operative Lawson and an asset to my crew. I hate to see you go."

Miranda's gaze softened a bit. Wrapping her arms around herself she walked slowly into the rear of her quarters and stared out the window. Millions of winking stars glittered back at her.

"I'm sorry Shepard," she said after a long moment. "I know you really weren't given a choice. I had a feeling something was up when they made me and Garrus leave. And truthfully, maybe this is for the best. I've been wanting to take some time to get to know Oriana better anyway. Now I'll actually have a chance to do that."

That tidbit of news made her smile. Miranda's sister had been a big part of her life, even though she mostly got to observe her grow up from behind the scenes. Now she had the opportunity not just to watch from afar, but to actually be a part of her life, and Shepard knew that Miranda wanted that more than anything else. Perhaps something good could come of this after all and she left the office feeling a little more comforted by that knowledge.

When she rounded the corner she spotted Kelly sitting forlornly at one of the tables in the mess hall, idly twirling a bottle of water on its surface. Perennially perky, Shepard had never seen the yeoman look quite so glum before, even on their worst days. But Kelly was still burning from Zaeed's rejection and that only added to the guilt the commander was feeling at having yet another piece of bad news to give her.

"Hi Kelly. This seat taken?" Shepard asked, indicating the empty chair across the table.

"Oh hey, Commander. No, go right ahead."

She slipped into the seat and a few moments passed by as she tried to think of a good way to start the conversation.

"I thought now would be a good time to talk…you know, about earlier."

"Oh good! Cause it was killing me holding it in!" Kelly gasped.

"Well, as you already know, there are some chang–"

"Zaeed sent me a message!"

"What?"

"Mmmhmm," she nodded emphatically, pretty emerald eyes wide with excitement.

Frantically Shepard's mind tried to switch gears. "What did it say?"

"Well, Zaeed's never been much of a talker," she replied with a laugh. "But he said that he gave Vido what he deserved and then wrote that he wasn't quite sure what to do with himself now that he's through seeking revenge."

"He's a mercenary, I'm sure he'll think of something." It wasn't the best thing to say, but it was the truth. Shepard really didn't have much sympathy for the man since he broke Kelly's heart.

"He…" Kelly trailed off. Absently she started wringing her hands together. "He wants me to come out there with him. I know you're angry Shepard, but I really want to go!"

She blinked. "Angry? Why would I be angry?"

"Well because earlier…you…you told me not to talk about it and looked really upset that I tried to bring it up."

She had to stifle the sudden impulse to laugh with relief.

"You mean that's what you wanted to tell me? You don't know what happened with the Council?"

"No." Kelly frowned as confusion set in. "What's going on?"

Shepard told her of the demands the Council had made and how the Alliance had stipulations now that they had partial control over the Normandy, all the while keeping an eye on Kelly's reactions. Kelly was understandably angry over the revelations, but more for Shepard's sake than her own. Shepard could have told her that she had to cut off one of her arms and she would have done it gladly so long as she could still be with Zaeed.

"Well, I think we need to have one more girls' nights before I leave," Kelly said after Shepard was through.

"God knows I could use one."

She liked the idea. As happy as she was that the yeoman was finally getting what she'd been hoping for, it was still hard to say goodbye to a good friend. Kelly had always been there, offering advice or a shoulder to cry on when Shepard needed someone. It was hard for her to drop the 'commander' façade and just be herself, but Kelly proved to be a gentle soul with a knack for getting her to open up. And truthfully, she enjoyed and looked forward to those times they talked. She was going to miss them.

"Great. I'll get with Kasumi and we'll meet around, oh let's say eleven?"

"Sounds good." That gave her about an hour and a half to finish her rounds and inform the rest of the crew about the new changes. "Before you do, have EDI make an announcement that I want everyone to meet in the debriefing room for a staff meeting in half an hour."

"Okay."

A shadow fell over the table.

"Shepard? When did you get back?"

She looked up to see Garrus standing before them, his arms folded over his chest. He searched the faces of the two women before fixing his grey-green eyes on her. To this day he was the only turian that she knew of whose eyes changed with his mood.

"I'd better get going," Kelly said and started toward the elevator. "See ya in a few Commander."

Slowly Shepard stood up and threaded her arms around Garrus's waist, resting her cheek on the cool metal surface of his armor. She didn't know how he could wear it all day long while he was working away in the main battery. The tiny room got unbearably hot. But then she remembered what he had told her every so often back on Noveria, that turians really didn't like the cold so he was probably right at home in the sweltering temperatures of the enclosed space.

"What's that for?" he asked, returning her embrace.

"I just wanted you to know that no matter what happens – I love you."

"I take it things didn't go well with the Council."

"Do they ever?" she quipped. Letting go of him she stepped back and ran her hand through her hair.

Just then EDI's voice came over the comm with the instruction that everyone was to meet in the debriefing room in twenty minutes.

"Crap." She leaned in closer to him and whispered, "Listen, I still have to talk to Legion but the short version is the Normandy is now under the Alliance again and they are mandating that everybody associated with Cerberus must leave the ship."

"What?" He flashed her one of his cocky smiles and laughed, but one of his mandibles twitched when he realized she wasn't smiling back. "Seriously?"

"Yeah. It's a helluva way to say 'thanks for saving our asses again', ain't it?"

A sneaky plan started to form in Shepard's head as soon as she walked into the AI Core. From the beginning she had seen the potential of having an active geth on board, despite Jacob's protests that the machine could turn on them in the blink of an eye. Just like any other member of her crew, Legion had proven himself to be a loyal and invaluable asset to her team. One that she wasn't ready to relinquish, even if the Alliance was forcing her to do so.

"Shepard Commander," Legion greeted.

"I have a mission for you Legion. You interested?"

The fluttering of the tiny metal pieces around the light told the commander that it was. Funnily enough, she often caught herself thinking of Legion as an actual person and not just a machine and would focus her attention right at the light as if she was speaking to its 'face'.

"I want you to find out how the 'Heretics' are adapting since we rewrote them. Were we successful, have they rejoined the rest of the geth, do they still worship the 'old machines'? That kind of stuff," she said. "This is a highly classified mission. No one is to know that you are working for me on this. Can you do that?"

"We are forming a consensus."

"And?"

A few clicks and robotic noises followed as it reached its decision. "Yes Shepard Commander. We will investigate the 'Heretics'."

Shepard smiled. "I'm gonna miss you Legion."

XXX

"Everybody calm down and be quiet for a minute."

The indignant cries and protestations of injustice were to be expected, especially since Shepard had had the exact same reaction after she was told. Fortunately most of the upset came from the crew members who hadn't been informed, and not from those that were being forced out. Miranda and Kelly sat off to the side, each taking the news in stride. Once again she was grateful for the serendipity at play that made parting ways with them easier.

"Listen," Shepard called out, raising her hands in the air to encompass everyone in the room. "Anyone former Cerberus operative with priority military service with the Alliance is exempt, so long as you're willing to re-enlist."

"What about those of us that were never under the Alliance's jurisdiction Shepard? Tali asked.

"The same rules apply now as it they did on the old Normandy. I'm not forcing any of you to remain here. You're all free to leave whenever you like." She gazed around the room, slowing taking in the face of each crew member as if to memorize them so that she could pull up their image at a later date and remember everyone as they were. "Stay with me and I'll continue to fight for what's right and do whatever it takes to bring down the reapers and save the galaxy from their assault."

"What, leave and miss the big fight?" Donnelly said. "No way. I'm in this till the end!"

"Me too!" Daniels agreed.

The rest of the crowd was quick to join in with them.

"I think we all are Commander," Chawkas told her.

"Good," Shepard smiled. "I'm not going to lie to you; things are going to get worse before they get better. Between Thane, Samara, Zaeed, and Grunt leaving, losing Miranda and Kelly, and sending Legion on a 'mission'," she stated, hooking her fingers for emphasis, "we are down half the crew. In the next few days I want to sit down with each of you and get your suggestions for potential new recruits."

She paused and scanned the room again. Jacob was trying to have what looked like a heated conversation with Miranda while Jack seemed intent on picking invisible dirt off her pants.

"The Alliance has already selected their liaison and he will be here bright and early tomorrow morning," she said. She had to force the next sentence out of her mouth and looked pointedly at Garrus as she said it. "Some of you are already familiar with Staff-Commander Kaidan Alenko."

"Kaidan's coming back?" Tali all but squealed. Shepard had to remind herself that the quarian was not on the team back when she had encountered Kaidan on Horizon.

Garrus had grown terrifyingly still, his jaw and mandibles set in a tight frown of disapproval. She could see that he was forcing himself not to react, but his hands were clenched into fists at his sides and a slight tremor reverberated through his entire body. He hung back after she had dismissed everyone and waited until the room was clear.

"When were you going to tell me?"

"Actually, I was hoping that if I put up enough resistance and shot him a few scathing glances that he would lose his nerve and ask to be reassigned, and then I wouldn't have to."

To her surprise Garrus actually chuckled.

"Are you okay with this?"

"No, she replied softly. "But it's not like I really have a choice in all of this anyway." She reached up and brushed her small hand against the jagged indentation on his right cheek, the scar that was a gift to him from the gunship on Omega. "Don't worry though; nothing's going to change between us. I promise."

"Of course it won't. Kaidan's got too many insecurities and none of my swagger."

Shepard snickered, finally releasing the tension she'd been feeling for most of the afternoon and evening.

"If it's all the same though," he drawled, "I'm still going to mark my territory."

Taking one step forward he used the length of his body to guide her back and then pushed her against the wall, bringing his mouth down to the bare spot of skin that was peeking out of the collar of her uniform. When she felt his razor sharp teeth sink into her flesh she squealed and playfully shoved him backwards.

"Oh! Garrus, no!"

"What?" he asked innocently.

"You can't do that!" she protested half-heartedly. "Everyone will see."

"That's the idea."

The mischievous look in his eyes faded into one that was entirely predatory. He reached for her again, this time clasping his hand on the small of her back, and pulled her to him.

"Wait!" she giggled. "What time is it?"

"Who cares?" he answered, trailing his tongue up the side of her neck in a way that made her shiver with delight.

"Be-because, I'm meeting with Kelly and Kasumi for one last girls' night," she managed breathlessly. His ministrations felt so good, she really didn't want him to stop.

"Girls' night?" He frowned. "You know what happened the last time the three of you had one of those."

"I got you out of bed and tried to confess my undying love for you?"

"Uh-huh," he said dryly, and then added, "Do I need to check the mess hall later to make sure you're not passed out ass up on the floor?"

"No!" She marched toward the door but stopped once she got there, pulling the corner of her mouth into a devilish grin as she turned around. "Well…maybe."

A/N: Okay, it's time to review people! Normally I don't come right out and ask for them, but I haven't heard from some of my readers from Different Horizons yet and I miss you guys. Plus, it would be nice to get a sense of how many new readers are out there. It would be totally awesome to hear how I'm doing on this story! As always, thanks for reading! ~J