"So, the blue means Palaven?" Shepard squinted, studying the tattoo that decorated Garrus's face and mandibles.

"Kind of." Garrus obligingly held his head still so she could get a proper look. "There's actually more to it. Like where you're from on Palaven or which colony, the history of the area, family lines, that kind of thing. Oh, and what color you are, since you want people to actually be able to see it."

They were walking through the Wards, moving with and through the crowds with the skill that came from spending a great deal of time there. Even now, when it was the equivalent of early evening, it was crowded, and it would only get worse as people came out for a drink at the many bars and clubs. You either ran with the crowd or got run over.

It had been a bit easier with Wrex plowing the way ahead but the krogan had ducked off a few minutes ago, muttering something inaudible, and they hadn't seen him since. Garrus wasn't particularly worried at this point. If they kept to the public venues, he was pretty confident no one would mess with them. It helped that he knew the area and while they were both dressed in civilian clothing, they were both armed.

There had been an amusing moment when he'd first met up with her where he realized she'd never seen him without armor before. She'd eyed him for a moment before declaring that he looked quite distinguished. Looking at him, you'd never know he was a troublemaker, she'd added. And had laughed when he'd dryly pointed out that the same could not be said for her. She was wearing simple black pants and a black vest beneath a long, sleeveless, dark red jacket. She had all her piercings in- so much metal in her face and ears it was almost like she was trying to be turian.

Her fingernails were painted in alternating colors of dark blue and a green so bright it almost glowed. He didn't even want to know how she'd managed that one.

She still looked weary, though. Whatever sadness she was determined to drown tonight was clearly there. Since Garrus was still processing the scene from earlier himself, he wasn't quite sure how to help her there. He'd overheard almost all of what had been said between her and that poor girl. It was a sobering thing to realize it was pure happenstance that had saved Shepard from the same fate. The image of Shepard at the hands of batarian slavers was a distressing one, and he didn't like dwelling on it.

He'd found just talking seemed to lift her spirits a bit, which he didn't mind. Garrus had been a bit wary the more she sought out him out in between missions, but he'd come to find he genuinely enjoyed her company as much as she seemed to enjoy his. She was a sharp, interesting woman who was more than willing to debate things like military strategy between species or talk about human customs without getting defensive, which tended to be rare in both turians and humans, particularly in regards to each other. She'd even spoken a little bit about her life on Mindoir up until the attack, mentioning if they'd taken a page from the turians, they probably would have fared better, which had brought the subject around to turian colonies and the markings nearly all of his people wore to signify them.

Shepard dodged a volus charging down the walk with that unconscious grace that suffused every move she made. "My friend Lin has red markings. Any time I ask her about it, she either says the markings themselves represent where she came from and she made them red because she likes it or she says the color is representative and she just likes the markings."

Garrus didn't think he'd much like Lin from what Shepard had mentioned of her but he had to admit that was a good one. "Charming."

"Lin has a patent on being a pain in the ass. It's why I like her so much." Shepard frowned thoughtfully. "You know, either Saren has silver markings that are hard to see or he's been modified so much they don't show anymore, because I don't recall seeing any on his face."

Garrus snorted. "He's barefaced? That just figures."

"Huh?"

"'Barefaced' is slang. For someone who is untrustworthy. In Saren's case, it seems to be both literal and figurative."

"You don't have a slang term for 'complete and utter cowardly bastard'?"

"'Human'."

Shepard burst out laughing, a low, rich, genuine laugh that had some heads turning and his mandibles flaring into a smile automatically. "Walked right into that one. Run it by Ash, I dare you."

"Maybe I will once she's drunk and I can make sure to get her gun off her."

That got another laugh out of her. The crowd was thinning down as they came closer to Flux and Garrus noticed a pair of turians watching them with narrowed eyes. Who gave a damn? He'd take a thousand pointed glares to hear her laugh like that, especially today.

The disapproval in their gaze made him bristle, however. That was probably why he went on the defensive when someone called Shepard's name and footsteps pattered toward them, turning and letting a hand rest on his gun in an automatic gesture.

He let it fall immediately. The man running up to them was no threat at all, despite the panicked look that crossed Shepard's face. She looked around quickly for a quick getaway or somewhere to hide and Garrus stepped back and prepared for a fight to keep from laughing.

Kaidan had told them about Conrad Verner when he'd pestered Shepard for an autograph and tried (unsuccessfully) to get a picture out of her but this was his first time actually meeting the man.

Fame did not sit well on their commander's shoulders. She would socialize with anyone from the highest ranking members of the Alliance to the poorest volus in the galaxy right up until the point they asked for an autograph. In general, she had a knack for avoiding the press and disguising herself but there had been times she'd gotten cornered- although the persistent Mr. Verner was the first one to manage it multiple times -and it was clear she had no idea what the hell to do. She seemed baffled and embarrassed by the idea she was the kind of celebrity people wanted autographs from. She also had a keen dislike of being photographed, which did not help. She could out-cuss a krogan mercenary or verbally destroy Kahlisah sint bin al-Jilani (not that it was hard) but didn't seem able to even raise her voice to someone nagging her for her signature.

The entire squad, even Liara, found it hilarious that Shepard could face down a thousand year old alien or a geth squad without flinching but was practically terrified of a fan.

Shepard edged closer to Garrus as Conrad stopped in front of her, panting. "Commander! I was waiting for you to get back!"

They'd seen him on the docks but had managed to sneak past him. "Hi..."

"I had this idea and I wanted to run it by you." Verner looked around (a bit dramatically, in Garrus's opinion) as if making sure no one was eavesdropping. "I saw the vids. With all the human colonies being attacked, I'm not sure one Spectre is enough. What if you signed me on as another Spectre?"

Garrus snorted and turned it into a cough to cover it up. Shepard just blinked at the man, as if trying to process what he was saying. She gathered herself up. "It's...um...not really that simple..."

"But I'd be a great Spectre! I'd be right there alongside you showing the Council what humanity is capable of!" Conrad chattered on earnestly. "I know you're afraid to trust people after you lost your team on Akuze, but I'd never let you down!"

Shepard's expression flickered from discomfort to shock for a brief instant before she shut it down, but Garrus caught it even if Verner seemed oblivious. He wasn't even remotely amused now. He would have given the man leeway for the fact he was obviously starry-eyed and probably obtuse by nature, but there was a line between impolite and out and out disrespect. She didn't need to be reminded of two nightmares in one day. Not to mention the fact that being chosen as a Spectre was an honor and a duty to the galaxy as a whole, not something you could flaunt and show off with. First Udina, now this guy. Was Shepard the only human who didn't see being a Spectre as some kind of tool to make humanity look good?

"Spectres usually have extensive training," he growled. Whatever Conrad saw in his face or posture broke through his excitement enough he cast Garrus a nervous, confused look. "Shepard was an exception because of the circumstances and her exemplary service record. You know...in the military. Where the Council chooses most Spectres from."

Garrus must have made some kind of move because Shepard shifted and pressed a hand to his chest lightly, interrupting. "He's right, Mr. Verner, I can't just sign someone up as a Spectre. There are protocols with the Alliance and Council that have to be followed."

Obviously, that hadn't occurred to him. "Oh..."

Conrad sounded so deflated it made Shepard uncomfortable again. "Besides, um...we need people on Earth making humanity strong," she said lamely, obviously trying to make him feel better.

"I just got so caught up in all of it, I just wanted to help," Conrad said unhappily. He sighed. "I'll go home. Thanks for setting me straight."

Shepard watched him trudge off, looking awkward and guilty. "Why do I feel like I just kicked him in the face?"

She looked so chagrined, it made a chuckle rise in Garrus's throat again, breaking his anger. He choked it back, giving her as bland a look as was possible, mandibles drawn tight against his mouth, when she glowered at him. She narrowed her eyes. "Laugh it up, Vakarian."

"I didn't say a word, Commander."

She huffed and stalked toward Flux, tossing her head in an attempt to hide her embarrassment. Garrus started to follow when his omni-tool beeped, signaling a message. He glanced at the sender and paused. Solana...

Shepard had stopped at the door of the club when she realized he wasn't following her. She was looking at him, concerned and he motioned for her to go ahead. After a moment's hesitation, she did.

Solana tended to agree with their father more often than not, so they'd been a bit at odds on and off since he'd joined Shepard's crew but there was only one reason she would be trying to get a hold of him at this hour. Garrus moved to the side of the building for a moment of privacy to take the message from his sister.

Flux was exactly what Shepard thought a nightclub should be: filled with noise and crowded with as many varieties of people as was physically possible. She'd considered dragging them out to her aunt's nightclub but figured they didn't need the shock to the system. Besides, Ashley had wanted to check this place out.

Maybe after they caught Saren. Which reminded her she had to catch that bastard before Mischa's wedding. She couldn't act as a bridesmaid for her, seeing as she had to save the galaxy and all, but God willing, she could at least throw her bachelorette party for her.

Shepard grinned as she made her way to the bar, willing to bet that Mischa and Ashley would get along quite famously and Tali and Liara might be interested in giving a bachelorette party a try just to see what it was. The idea of Liara at one made her giggle. It was a pity the asari hadn't been convinced to join them though Shepard felt guilty that she found it kind of a relief too. Liara had chosen to go spend some time with her colleagues at the Serra Institute. To each their own.

She spotted the others at a large booth overlooking the dance floor and headed up. She'd flirted with the idea of taking a spin in the casino but decided getting drunk was as far as she should push it. She still had a job to do come the morning.

Ashley waved to her, crowded in the round booth with Kaidan, Tali and Joker. She raised a glass. Shepard didn't think it was her first one. "There she is! Glad you could make it, Skipper! Howard wouldn't come along, said this place was too young for him. My sisters would love this place, though. I'm totally going to bring them here for a girls' night out."

Shepard snorted, sliding in on Tali's other side, setting a bottle of spiced rum and a glass down on the table. The quarian was studying an array of shot glasses with different colored drinks that Ash was arranging in front of her.

"She's going to go back to the Fleet from her Pilgrimage well honored and a complete lush," Joker commented.

"Wasn't Garrus with you, Shepard?" Kaidan said, frowning a bit.

"He had to take a call so he hung back for a second."

"So this is the dextro stuff," Ashley said, finally arranging the glasses to her satisfaction. "Now you can't toss back a shot, but we'll improvise. Show Shepard the thing, Tali!"

"The thing?" Shepard raised an eyebrow. She caught sight of Garrus moving through the club and waited until he looked up to give him a wave.

Tali produced a metal cylinder with some kind of spout at the bottom of it and held it over an empty glass. She picked up one of the shot glasses and poured its contents into the top of the cylinder, shaking it a bit until the liquid poured out of the spout into the empty glass.

"Filter?" Shepard guessed.

Tali nodded, repeating the filtration a couple more times before she stuck a straw into the drink and took a sip. She coughed a little and Ashley clapped her on the shoulder. "There's our girl."

"Damn, Tali, is there anything you can't make?" Shepard said with more than a little envy.

"Or at least make better?" Joker said.

The quarian toasted them with another glass. "Nope!"

Garrus came up and slid into the seat beside Shepard, looking very put upon. "Tell me something, do humans ever make it a point to bring up an incident that happened long ago in childhood when any sane person would have put it aside?"

Shepard shook her head, confused, but Ash started to chuckle. "Those are the words of a man with a little sister."

"So that's a common thing between siblings of any species," Garrus said, shaking his head.

"And you can never win," Ash agreed.

Garrus grumbled something under his breath. Shepard had gotten good enough at reading him to know whatever message he'd gotten had put him on edge, if only a little bit. Having regained her equipoise and fortified with alcohol, she started up their discussion about turian colonies again, this time trying to lift his spirits a bit instead of the other way around. Kaidan, looking interested, leaned across the table to hear over the music and Joker ended up switching places with him so he could get a closer look at Ashley applying herself to the task of being Tali's drink mentor.

Shepard felt the last of the coldness that had filled her after the encounter with Talitha start to fade as the night progressed. She was happily drunk and surrounded by friends.

Tali- tipsy but not quite slobbering drunk, as she had an understandable reluctance to get so drunk she would throw up in her mask -was shyly coaxed to give them a few examples of quarian poetry, which led to Shepard and Ash getting into an argument about whether Edgar Allen Poe could be counted as a poet. (Which he did. Ash could take her Tennyson related snobbery and shove it.) Joker, ever dependable, diffused the argument by asking if turians did the poetry thing and cracking everyone up with what he thought it would sound like. Garrus, looking pained, informed him that he wasn't that far off, which only made everyone laugh harder.

Screw the batarians, screw Saren and screw his great Reaper overlords, Shepard thought, content.

If the information regarding Virmire was right, she might just finally have the chance to tell Saren that right to his bare face.

Denali had, for as long as Arian had known her, a taste for living in style no matter how mean the surroundings. Hell, she managed to pull off elegant and classy on Omega for God's sake.

Take this place. It was the kind of fancy hotel that Denali fit into like it was made for her and Shepard had never felt comfortable in. It had people to open the doors and push the elevator controls for you, which she didn't get, and they folded every piece of cloth from napkins to towels into pretty triangles, which she got even less. Had a great view though. Shepard was standing naked at the window, a cigarette balanced between two fingers as she gazed through the privacy screen that allowed her to look out but kept prying eyes from seeing in. Denali's room was near the top floor and the Presidium stretched out in front of her, not quite as wildly lit as the Wards were...it was edging toward morning, after all...but lit up enough to be a sight.

"You know, Ari, you're making this deal with your Liara complicated when it's really very simple."

She turned to look at Denali, who was still stretched out on the bed. She didn't bother to cover herself as she propped up on one arm, studying Shepard in the dim light that filtered through the screen. "When is the last time you ever met anyone with that kind of innocence? Who wasn't a child? Well, not by your standards. She's only just out of childhood by ours."

"Thanks for making me feel even more creepy." Shepard glanced away. "I know that's part of it...maybe all of it. She was mine for the taking, 'Nali. Just for a second, she was completely open to me and it was..."

"Brought our witch out of the shadows, kind of how she comes stalking up in you whenever you're really pissed off. That innocence in her draws you the same way she's compelled by what she saw."

"Yeah..."

"She won't stay innocent she gets tangled up with you."

The words were gentle, trying to tone down the statement. It was harsh, but it had the advantage of being true. Shepard blew out a breath. "Yeah."

"I also can't believe this is the first time you've gotten laid in months. That might be a factor, don't you think?"

Shepard choked on a mouthful of smoke and bent over, hacking. Denali chuckled.

"For the record, I think you did the right thing. Given time, who knows. It might work out if you're meant to be."

Shepard glared at her through watery eyes, though there was no real malice in it. Her voice was choked. "Sure, because you're the perfect person to take seriously on relationship advice."

Denali gave her a playful pout that had just a whiff of the real thing. "Hey, I'd be happy to try a proper relationship if given the chance."

Something about her tone had Shepard turning and raising an eyebrow at her, stubbing the cigarette out. "What's this I'm hearing? Is there actually someone who has managed to resist your legendary wiles?"

"Besides you?"

"I think the fact I'm here now kind of proves I can't resist you."

"You could too, you just needed to get rid of some tension." Denali grinned wickedly. "So did I."

"I'm waiting, 'Nali."

Denali breathed out a sigh. "She's another asari."

"Ah."

"Very traditional, comes from an entrenched family on Thessia that goes back all the way to the days when Athame was still worshiped."

"What the hell is she doing on Omega, then? No self respecting denizen of Thessia would be caught dead on Omega."

"Oh, thank you so much."

Shepard laughed. "You've never even been to Thessia."

"I suppose I'll have to visit it when I finally win her over. As to why she's there...she's a little older than your Liara, which means she's entering the maiden stage. And she's a little more adventurous than most. Which explains my attraction."

"Plus, you know, there's the fact you're getting into the middle of your maiden stage. Need to find someone to settle down with, Denali, you're getting past your prime."

The asari lunged up and grabbed her arm, yanking her down. "And yet, I'll still be young and beautiful when you're dead."

"Touchy, 'Nali, maybe you haven't worked out all your tension yet," Shepard purred, flopping onto her back.

"Probably not..." The asari smiled at her lazily, sliding toward her. "My ship out of here doesn't leave until evening. How long do you have left until you have to be back on the ship?"

"A few hours." Shepard drew her close, tangling her legs with the asari's.

"Mm. No time to coax someone else to join in."

Shepard snorted. "You're the one that likes so many people they're falling off the bed."

"I wonder how much the news stations would give me to hear how often I managed to rope you into bed with a couple more people, though. Sometimes literally."

"Not much. Keep up with the times, Denali. The fact that I'm a whore is old news."

"Oh, yes, I forgot you were sleeping with your whole crew. Well, damn it, and the turian wouldn't join in even when I invited him. He's cute too."

Shepard cocked an eyebrow. "Garrus?" She chuckled at the very thought.

"Well, he was sort of hanging back while everyone was helping that human woman and the little quarian on board right when I found you, so..."

Shepard sat up, wide eyed, realizing she was serious. "Denali, you didn't."

The asari's eyes were gleaming. "I think he might have more experience than he's letting on. He didn't start stammering and blushing until I brought you into the offer."

Shepard didn't want to laugh, she really didn't, but the thought of poor Garrus having to deal with Denali made her snort with laughter helplessly. "God, and people say I'm bad."

"And there's my witch all smiles and at peace with the universe again..." Denali murmured with a smile, stroking her fingers along her cheek.

She did, in fact, feel pretty much at peace and languid and happy. That thought produced an unexpected chill, her first instinct to assume it was the calm before a bad storm. When Denali frowned a bit and murmured her name, Arian shook her head slightly, pulling her close and capturing her mouth in a hard kiss as she rolled her beneath her. If it were true and this was the last moment of peace she'd have for a while, she was going to enjoy it while it lasted.

Saren leaned back in his chair, Dr. Thanoptis's latest report hovering on the screen in front of him.

He still had his little krogan army, even if he'd lost the rachni. And Benezia.

That was an unexpected blow. He truly hadn't thought Shepard, even with the Matriarch's daughter at her side, could take Benezia and her followers down. If the Reaper had not been impressed before, it certainly was now, he thought sourly.

Although...he'd had doubts about Benezia's abilities. Just little things, tiny mistakes here and there that grew more frequent. Mistakes she'd never made before. He'd sent her to take care of the rachni because he thought it would keep her clear of Shepard at least for a while longer. He hadn't expected the bitch to track her down to Noveria.

A tiny mistake of his own, perhaps?

His eyes kept rising to a single line in Thanoptis's report, stating her belief that the more indoctrinated the individual became, the less physically capable they became. Benezia hadn't appeared to be weaker but the commandos following her...

Well, that just proved that it wasn't the case with him, didn't it? He was still as physically sound as the day he'd found Sovereign. A small voice in the back of his head noted he, unlike Benezia or her followers, had a few cybernetic enhancements. Perhaps to combat the physical weakness...

Saren shook his head violently. He wasn't indoctrinated. He wasn't. He had been smart enough to see the bottom line. What had to be done. He didn't need to be indoctrinated because he'd proven he was useful without it. He was right. He was certain of it.

Desolas was certain he was right too, right up until the very end.

Saren physically jerked back, wondering where in the hell that thought had come from. He hadn't thought of his brother in years. But once thought, it was like opening a floodgate. Desolas and his damned monolith. His brother had found it beneath a temple on Palaven. He'd been absolutely convinced that if he could learn to control it, he could use it to accelerate evolution itself and turn the turian race into the strongest in the galaxy. Had used it to turn a group of turians...and even a human...into cybernetic creatures. Creatures of flesh and blood shot through with blue lit cybernetics.

Like the husks the geth made with those dragon's teeth on the human planets.

Everything in Saren froze. For a moment, he was unable to breathe. How was it possible he had never put two and two together there? The monolith beneath the temple on Palaven was destroyed, bombarded and buried...along with his brother. But it had to have been Reaper technology. He'd seen too much of it to mistake it now. If Desolas had been indoctrinated...

But that was different, he calmed himself enough to start thinking reasonably. Completely different. If the monolith Desolas had found, the one that had driven him crazy, was indeed of Reaper origin, his mistake had been presuming he could control it. He'd always thought that had been Desolas's mistake. His brother should have destroyed the thing when he realized it was technology beyond his ability to understand.

Like he had. He'd sought out Sovereign hoping to find a piece of technology that would give the turians...no, everyone...an edge against the spread of humanity. But when he'd found the Reaper, when he'd heard its voice, he had not made the mistake his brother made. He had recognized a force beyond his ability to control. That's why he was doing what he was doing, after all. And why Sovereign had allowed him his own mind. He was no good to the Reaper as a puppet. A mere puppet couldn't get the Reaper to the Conduit, couldn't help it start the Cycle.

Saren leaned back, the worst of his fears pushed into the back of his mind. They would need to do a quick check on Virmire again, to check up on the army...and maybe see if the experiments on those captured salarians had brought up anything interesting.

Then they would find the Conduit. Once the cycle started, thanks to him, the Reapers would already know who was useful and who was not. Maybe he'd give them Shepard, the troublesome human who had managed to thwart them time and time again, as a gift, primed and ready to be indoctrinated and re-purposed.

The image of Shepard twisted into a Reaper weapon made him smile until it brought back the image of Desolas and his followers and the monolith that had completely enslaved them, even without a Reaper anywhere nearby.

He shook the thought off, turning away from the console. That had been different from his case.

Completely different.

AN: Oh, Garrus, I pick on you so much because I love you. All that about Saren's brother and the monolith and such is the plot of the Mass Effect: Evolution comic. I wasn't a huge fan of it, personally, but I did find it odd that Saren never made any connection to the Reapers and the monolith.