"Boyo, if you scowl any harder, you're going to break your face in half."

Garrus looked over at Howard. He didn't know what a scowl was, but the old engineer's mild tone and raised eyebrows got his point across anyway. He looked back at the Mako. It was unlikely they would need it on Noveria but checking it over gave him something to do until they got there.

Howard was standing near the back of the Mako, watching him with a knowing expression so similar to Shepard's it was uncanny. She'd probably picked hers up from Howard. The human grinned. "Still chafing over our fair haired lady stopping you from killing the psycho doctor, are you?"

"I just didn't want to risk him getting away again," Garrus said stiffly.

"And you wanted him to know he wasn't going to get away from you again. Which he didn't."

"Because we killed him. We could have just done that right from the start rather than deciding to save him on impulse."

Howard gave him an uncharacteristically sober look. "I can tell you one thing about Shepard, Garrus: she never does anything on impulse. She might come up with an idea quick but she always has a reason for it. She probably- knowing her -thought it would give you a whole lot more credit if you dragged his ass in rather than just outright killing him."

Garrus studied him. That hadn't occurred to him. "Why would she even take that into consideration?"

"She cares about you. If there's something that is going to help you along after all this is over, she'll do it." He grinned again at the turian's obvious discomfort. "Same for all the others. If you don't think she's going to make sure all of you get serious credit for hunting Saren down, you haven't been paying attention."

Garrus looked back to the Mako, discomfited. Put in that perspective, he supposed there would have been some benefits in bringing Saleon in alive. "That's assuming we catch Saren...I'm starting to wonder. He's always one step ahead of us." Even now, this new lead wasn't bringing them directly to Saren.

Howard was unperturbed. "He just got a head start is all. You'll catch him."

Garrus paced away, wishing he was as confident. "Saleon getting away the first time was bad enough. The idea of Saren getting away with all he's done...he's a traitor and a madman. Taking him down will restore the good name of turians everywhere..."

Wrex's snicker echoed across the room. "Oh, now, am I glad to hear it. I was losing sleep over the idea of people not liking the turians."

Howard spoke before Garrus could come up with a retort. "Hey, kid, relax, you'll catch him. We get closer to cornering the bastard every day. Eventually, he'll slip up and Shepard will hone in like a missile."

"Do you think she'll turn him in?" He hadn't meant to say that out loud but since he had already...

Howard looked surprised, then eyed him speculatively. "As opposed to killing him outright?"

The human had an uncanny knack for cutting right to the core of things. "The Council was dragging their feet before. He's too dangerous. He might escape, or worse, the Council might let him go..."

Howard was silent for a long time. "I don't think she'll kill him...or allow him to be killed...until she knows everything he knows."

"You really think there's more to know other than he's a raving lunatic?"

"Shepard does."

And for Howard, Garrus knew, it was as simple as that.

For Garrus, it was a bit more uncomfortable. To him, hunting Saren down was necessary to save lives and restore the name of his people after the blight the former Spectre had put on their name. All the talk about the Prothean beacon and Shepard's vision had seemed like a side note, especially since Liara had helped settle things for the commander and she wasn't walking around looking like something was trying to tear her brain apart.

Reapers. He knew that word haunted their commander in a way none of them- except maybe Liara -could understand. Garrus preferred to stay focused on what was in front of him, what he could understand beyond a shadow of a doubt, so he tried not to give it much thought. "You believe someone powerful is backing him up too?" Thinking of it in that way was much less nerve wracking.

Howard was silent again, finally speaking thoughtfully: "It's a scary thought. But do you really think he found some way to control that many geth on his own? You think that asari on Feros was lying about that mind control she was under?" He raised his eyebrows. "Do you think Shepard is as crazy as Saren?"

"Of course not!" Garrus lifted his head indignantly, then settled, aware suddenly that if he was questioning Saren's sanity, he was, by rote, also questioning Shepard's. No matter how you looked at it, there was no comfort to be found.

"Then I guess Saren does have a few questions to answer, eh?"

"Which brings us back to finding him," Garrus muttered.

The comm on the console near Howard crackled and he leaned over, tapping a button. "Yeah? Sure, Shepard, he's here." He looked over at Garrus.

The turian came over so he could hear clearly.

"Garrus? Are you busy?" Shepard's voice held a note of excitement that piqued his interest.

"No, Commander, what can I do for you?"

"I have something I need your help with before we get to Noveria."

Garrus was starting to wonder about his own sanity; he was actually relieved to see Shepard pacing around the comm room and muttering to herself. It indicated she was back to...normal. And the fact he considered that normal...of all people, Williams had put it best when someone had asked her about it: "I dunno, you just kind of get used to it. It stops being crazy and it's just...Shepard."

Or maybe Shepard was just driving them all crazy.

An alarming thought. But on the other hand, it ensured that life was never boring.

"So I was arguing about stocks and investments with my uncle...my personal business stuff, I mean, he helps me out a lot with it...and it was like a shot in the brain. Maybe coming close to Noveria the Home of Evil Corps put the idea into my head, but I kept wondering why Benezia would go there, of all places. I mean, sure Saren has the geth, but he also has assassins and information brokers and such...enough money to lure an agent away from the Shadow Broker for chrissakes. So follow me here: how does an enterprising turian bent on galactic domination ensure he has his claws in a lot of pies?"

"Claws in...er, what, Commander?"

"Oh, sorry, human saying. I mean how does he ensure he has plenty of resources spread around?"

His mind was racing. "Business deals...investments...damn, I should have thought of that sooner..."

"So should I, so let's accept that and move on, shall we?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"And don't call me that, it makes me feel old."

Yep, she was definitely back. Stifling his amusement, he went to one of the free consoles and brought up information on Noveria. "Of course...like you said, it's home of the evil corporations...he probably has investments all of the place. Narrowing them down won't be easy..."

"Look for companies specializing in advanced engineering and possibly genetics."

They both turned to see Liara standing in the door to the room. She'd been very still and quiet the past few days, which he supposed he couldn't blame her for. She insisted she could deal with facing her mother, but it couldn't have been easy for her to know the possibility they might have to kill Benezia was a very real one.

The asari came into the room, seating herself on one of the chairs. "Logically, he would want to invest in something that would help him with his goals...like building an army."

Shepard nodded. "Yes, that's a good start...it's still going to take some time though..."

"I've been looking, but my mother and I have not spoken for several years. I am uncertain what she might have invested in before she joined with Saren." Liara's lips tightened into a thin line. "She was very certain we...the asari...needed to have more of a role in the galaxy. She might have had even more resources across space than Saren did. I...she is very smart, Shepard. And resourceful."

"I wouldn't have expected anything else from the woman who raised you."

"The idea Saren has enough influence to break someone as strong willed as her down is...disturbing. She was the most forward thinking person I've ever known. One of the reasons I started looking toward the past was to escape the pressures of being her daughter...now I think I'm starting to regret that...it's like Saren has turned her personality around completely..."

Both Garrus and Shepard were silent, though Shepard sat down quietly in the chair next to her. Garrus turned back to the console to give her some time to compose herself. The room grew quiet as they sorted through the myriad of possibilities for Saren to have invested in. Garrus kept to the console, eyes narrowed at the screen, Liara worked on her omni-tool, and Shepard moved between two consoles restlessly.

She looked up when Joker's voice crackled over the speakers. "Hey, Commander, I've got Emily Wong on the line. She says Anderson sent her through."

Shepard cocked her head, looking surprised. "Go ahead and patch her through, thanks." She moved to the console. The reporter's image appeared, her agitated voice echoing through the room. "Shepard, glad I got a hold of you. Have you seen it yet? Captain Anderson gave me permission to get a rebuttal on screen the second you release it."

"Rebuttal?"

"Haven't you been watching the vids? It's been all over Earth and half the Citadel too! Damn it. Hold on..." Her image vanished for a moment and static crackled over the link. After a beat, a holo screen appeared, presenting the smug face of Khalisah al-Jilani.

"With His Holiness Pope Leo XIV coming forward to express his doubts about Commander Shepard- doubts echoed over the past weeks by both political and religious leaders all over the galaxy as the rogue turian Spectre Saren Arterius remains at large and causing significant damage to human colonies -the controversy over humanity's first Spectre has spilled out of Alliance Navy ranks into public forums."

"The Pope actually came out against me? Is it bad that I find that flattering?" Shepard said to no one in particular. She was fingering her St. Jude medal absently.

"Over the next half hour, we will be conducting interviews with several key figures both within and outside of the Alliance Navy as well as taking calls to get your opinion. With more and more public figures looking beyond Shepard's much vaunted and played up service record, the question that is becoming more and more common is: can someone who appears to hold the worst qualities of humanity really be trusted to represent it?"

Shepard raised an eyebrow. Liara sputtered, outraged. "The worst qualities of humanity?"

A mini screen appeared beside al-Jilani and expanded, showing them a fat human man with frizzed out black hair, his eyes hidden behind round mirrored shades. He was leaning over a desk, snarling, pounding a fist against the desktop as he spoke. Garrus had always found the mouths on human males to be odd looking. With females, they resembled the asari (Shepard's was actually rather nice in that regard) but on the males it looked weird. On this guy...the name flashing across the screen said Kirk Bando...it was outright repulsive. His lips were thick and rubbery and Garrus found himself almost mesmerized with disgust as he spoke, spraying flecks of spittle that were visible even on camera. "...Took the most advanced starship in the Alliance out and stuffed it full of aliens and what do we have to show for it? That turian bastard is still out there preying on human colonies and what is she doing about it? It just goes to show that something like this shouldn't have just been left up to the Navy officials. Everyone should have had a say in it!"

"You sound like you have doubts about how the Navy went about with the Spectre candidacy, Mr. Bando," al-Jilani's voice came from off camera.

Bando jabbed a finger forward. "I don't think the rumors she traded sexual favors to rise to her position are unfounded, especially with her getting on the Normandy, with her kind of background..."

"Yeah, why work when you can fuck your way to the top?" Shepard murmured dryly.

"...Hell, she might have used it to get the attention of the Spectre that was allegedly sent to recruit her!"

The commander actually laughed out loud at that one. "Oh, now he's onto me. I seduced Nihlus within hours of meeting him on a ship full of humans."

Now it was Garrus's turn to sputter.

Shepard grinned at him. "Maybe I should try that tactic with Saren, what do you think?"

"Commander!"

On screen, Bando wasn't finished. "And now it's like she's trying to find every possible way to embarrass us to live out some kind of little pirate fantasy. Took a ragtag group of alien freaks and forced good men and women of the Alliance to join in along side them." That wiped the smile off of Shepard's face. She narrowed her eyes at the holo. "I say alien freaks literally. Two of them aren't Council races and one of them is actually the daughter of one of Arterius's right hand people! And she expects our boys to just sit back and accept it..."

"I've seen enough Ms. Wong." Shepard's voice was sharp, her eyes glittering with anger. The holo recording flickered off and the reporter reappeared. "I don't know who that asshole is, but he's got no call going after my crew..."

"He's a political pundit and a popular one, Commander," Wong said. "And him going off on your crew is the least of your worries. People are listening, Shepard, and public opinion is starting to turn with him...against you."

"That's why I don't watch the vids."

"Look, both you and Anderson have helped me out a lot, Shepard. You need to give me a rebuttal to put live before this gets any worse. I hear Ambassador Udina is seriously steamed."

"When is he not? I can only give you that the search for Saren Arterius is ongoing, Ms. Wong, and we have a solid lead. And what progress we have made is owed equally to the soldiers who have chosen to aid me on this ship and those 'alien freaks'. If you'll excuse me." She cut off the connection, shaking her head.

"Shepard, you can't let them get away with that, you have to defend yourself!" Liara said, outraged. "We're almost right on top of a solid lead to Saren."

"Exactly." Shepard glanced down as her omni tool signaled an incoming message, probably Udina, and ignored it. "No one knows we're headed to Noveria and I want to keep it that way. Especially your mother."

Garrus nodded slowly.

Liara glared at the console as if she could reach through with biotics and throttle the people speaking out against her but she nodded slowly. "I...yes. My mother has most likely taken precautions as it is but..."

"If she knows for sure we're coming, she'll take even bigger steps." Shepard shrugged, glancing over at the console. "I'm a soldier and a Spectre, not a media shill. I'm not going to care about a public opinion that's going to turn like the tide and neither should you, sugar. We've got a job to do."

Kaidan, who was much better about keeping up with the news than Shepard, was fuming as they drew into Noveria's docks. "I can't believe people listen to that guy. Can you believe what he implied about you and Anderson...that you..."

"Uh, Kaidan, do you honestly think that's the first time someone has suggested I slept with Anderson to get on as the Normandy's XO?" Shepard looked bemused. Ashley thought she sure as hell looked like she belonged on Noveria. She had a few of her piercings in, silver studs that glittered in the low light, and a wide band of metal and leather around her head that held a targeting visor over one of her eyes. With a long, heavy coat worn over dark, tight armor, her pale hair slicked back away from her face and those gray eyes, she looked like some kind of cybernetic Viking queen. When she'd told her so, Shepard had laughed and said to pull that look off she needed one of those awesome helmets with the horns. If only they could make those an Alliance uniform standard, Ash thought. That would be so cool.

Ash stirred when Shepard spoke, raising an eyebrow at Kaidan. "LT, whenever a woman starts rising in the ranks there's always some asshole saying she made it there on her back. Doesn't matter how good her record is." She grinned at Shepard. "And they get all offended if you ask them if they made their way to their rank on their stomach...or knees."

"Actually, my favorite response is asking for credit for going down on the female officers too. Maintain equality," Shepard said casually. Kaidan turned beet red and Ashley snickered. The commander snapped a clip into a pistol and holstered it, giving Kaidan an amused look. "But if none of you object to being led by a godless whore, I can live with it."

"And why don't we get the benefits of that, I ask you?" Wrex bared his teeth in a grin. He was clearly trying to make them uncomfortable and succeeded with Garrus and Kaidan, though the turian hid the discomfort a bit better. "We could try introducing hybrid kids into Tuchanka. If nothing else, it would be funny to take you there and watch some of the clans kill each other off fighting over you."

Shepard didn't even bat an eye. "Wrex, you flatterer. I need to save my energy for finding Saren. Sorry."

This whole conversation was highly unprofessional...but the 'making the uptight guys uncomfortable' game was awfully fun. "And it's so rare to find a godless whore who's all about equality too."

"Rest assured, Ash- if you were into girls, I would make you my special bitch. The female half, anyway, as I would have to have one of each, you understand."

"Awww, thanks, Commander. Good to know you at least have a good taste in women. I've noticed you kind of have bad taste in men."

"No, I have a taste for bad men; there's a difference." Shepard looked up as they landed and the engines powered down.

Kaidan seemed on the verge of saying something but at that moment the doors opened and the cold slammed into them like a slap in the face, stealing their breath away. Except Wrex, of course, who sneered at them.

"I hate the cold," Shepard muttered, turning up the collar of her jacket to shield her face, her eyes narrowed against the wind. "You know no one here is up to any good, why would you willingly live here unless you had something to hide?"

Given the fact the Noveria Corporation inhabited the planet and leased the place out almost specifically to people doing research and development too controversial or risky to be done in Citadel Space, that assumption wasn't too far off. The only reason Shepard was trying the direct approach, Ashley was pretty sure, was because Spectres had special privilege as per an agreement between the corporation and the Council.

That was put to the test almost immediately. They had barely left the ship when they found a main entry way blocked by three officers, two human women and a turian. Shepard strolled forward, flipping her collar back into place. The leader, one of the humans, stepped forward, holding up a hand. "That's far enough."

Shepard obliged, stopping and cocking her head to one side in a quizzical gesture. "Problem, officers?" Her voice was perfectly pleasant.

"You better hope there isn't." That came from the other human, a woman with short blond hair and a sour face. Ash didn't like the look of her at all. There was hot aggression in her eyes and her fingers remained tight around her gun, clear signs of someone who was a little too trigger happy. She glared at Shepard with open suspicion and dislike. Ashley moved silently so she was mirroring their position, standing directly across from the other woman and glaring right back, daring her to try anything.

The leader shot her subordinate a warning look, then focused on Shepard. "This is an unscheduled arrival. I need your credentials."

Shepard nodded. "Lt. Commander Arian Shepard at your service. I'm a Spectre."

The blond snorted and looked at the leader. "Load of horsecrap, ma'am." Her head jerked around as Shepard reached into her coat. "Keep your hands where we can see them!"

Shepard gave her a mildly contemptuous look and produced an identification card. "Ease up, kitten." She put just enough of a sneer in the word to make it insulting. The blond narrowed her eyes dangerously.

"Stirling, calm down." The leader took the card and did some sort of scan with her omni tool. "I'll need to confirm that."

"Of course."

The leader glanced up. "Also, I must advise you that firearms are not permitted on Noveria. Sargent Stirling, secure their weapons."

Oh, hell no... Ash thought, narrowing her eyes at the blond, who came forward eagerly. She heard Garrus and Wrex both pull their guns behind them and the buzz as Kaidan's biotics flared. The turian officer pulled his gun along with Sargent Stirling.

Shepard hadn't moved a muscle, her face expressionless, her eyes never leaving the leader. The two women studied each other for a long, tense moment.

Before the standoff or the clash of wills could come to a head, a voice came from a speaker somewhere. "Captain Matsuo! Stand down."

Matsuo glanced to the side and signaled to her officers, who lowered their weapons, the blond with visible reluctance.

"We confirmed their identity. Spectres are permitted to carry weapons here, Captain."

"Ash," Shepard said quietly. Ashley nodded and holstered her weapon. Shepard glanced over her shoulder and the rest of them did the same.

Captain Matsuo handed the identification card back to Shepard, who tucked it away with a nod. "You may proceed, Spectre. I hope the rest of your visit will be less confrontational."

I'll take the Vegas odds on that one, Ash thought.

"I have two more coming in a bit later, an asari and a quarian," Shepard said, jerking her head back toward the docks.

The captain blinked, her eyes flicking to the rest of the group, probably adding in a quarian and an asari to the already eclectic mix, but kept an admirably professional demeanor. "I'll make sure they're allowed through. Parasini-san will meet you upstairs."

"Behave yourself," Stirling snapped, glaring at them.

"Thank you, Captain," Shepard nodded politely, ignoring Stirling as she moved toward the doors that would take them into Noveria.

Author's Note: Digital cookies to anyone who can name what game the "Bad taste in men/taste for bad men" exchange is dedicated to!