'Spectre Shepard.' Councillor Tevos' musical voice rang throughout Liara's communications room, opening, as she always did, the dialogue with the Council.

Shepard nodded to each of the four holograms before her in turn. 'Councillors. It has been some time since we spoke directly.'

They looked tired. Anderson's hair was thinning, and even with his dark skin, Faith could see his eyes were shadowed with fatigue. Sparatus' posture was less rigid than normal. Valern's hood was uncharacteristically drawn, and his cranial horns were drooping. Tevos' usually glittering green eyes were dull, and her normally perfect dress was slightly creased.

Shepard was not about to make their lives any easier.

'Get to the point Shepard, we're busy.' Sparatus said with a turian scowl.

Faith nodded. 'The batarian relay?'

The Councillors glanced to each other, no clue to their thoughts in their postures. Anderson looked back first, face twisted in concern. Even he did not know what Faith was about to do. Eventually, Tevos spoke up again. 'Information about the incident is classified, though I'm sure you know that the batarian Hegemony is clamouring for a war with the Systems Alliance. It is a matter we are dealing with, and not something that concerns you. We have already assigned a pair of Spectres to investigate the incident, and assuage the batarian hostility.'

Shepard took a deep breath. Once she said this, there would be no turning back. Just ahead of her, out of sight of the camera capturing her image for the Councillors, Liara gave a silent nod, brilliant eyes both determined and worried.

They had discussed and debated this for hours... and everything about the meeting had been meticulously planned. She had donned her new armour rather than a more formal uniform and, wearing it, did not need to be armed. They had decided not to use cosmetics on Faith's scars - slightly faded now after their day of... relaxing, and the following day of tirelessly putting together what they had learned about the Reapers over the past few months- because they, as the armour, were parts of her. Faith would not pretend to be a practiced politician, nor a graceful diplomat. She was scars, skill, courage and bloodshed. It was that strength she needed now.

Taking advantage of her formidable appearance, Faith looked straight ahead at the camera, so each of the Councillors would see the image of her gazing at them. 'I destroyed the relay, acting on my authority as Spectre for the protection of the galaxy.'

As one, the Councillors gasped. Anderson's face creased into an angry scowl: he most likely knew the Alliance's involvement already, and Shepard had just dropped humanity into the deep end. Tevos' usually composed face twitched into shock for a second, before clearing again. Sparatus shook his head angrily. Valern instantly conjured his omni-tool and tapped it a single time: Faith hoped it was to cease any recording of the conversation. The quick-thinking salarian had probably already deduced that as Shepard was no longer Alliance, she was acting solely with her authority as a Spectre - meaning the Council was indirectly culpable, if the batarians ever found out.

'Explain.' Sparatus scowled, eyes narrowing.

Faith nodded, the gesture prompting Liara to send off her mission report to them.

'The Reapers were approaching the Bahak system, summoned by a beacon that I was unable to recover. They would be here, now, if I had not delayed them by destroying their beachhead. The report you just received contains more details, including proof that the batarians were secretly harbouring a relay that would allow their slavers to jump to any other system in the galaxy. If the Reapers took the system, nowhere would be safe.'

The Councillors lit up their omni-tools, accessing the secure data sent over the Spectre priority bands of the galactic communication system, scrambled and bounced across the galaxy so they could not trace Liara's ship.

A deep silence fell as the Councillors quickly scrolled through the information, punctuated occasionally by the audio from the helmet cam videos she had attached. Anderson groaned audibly: the ex-Commander had just implicated the Alliance as well. But Faith could not think of a suitable lie to explain how she had found and investigated the beacon, nor how and why she had organised the Project without informing the Council. The burdens of the action would be hers to bear, but the Alliance would not go unpunished.

Valern spoke first, after close to five minutes of silence in which Faith held a casual parade rest. 'We will leave the involvement of the Systems Alliance in this matter for a private meeting. But once again Shepard, you've given us nothing but vague assertions, disembodied voices and nonsense about "feeling" the Reapers. Did you see them? Did your ship take any long range scans?'

'Note that whilst the Alliance was partially responsible for setting up what happened, I destroyed the relay, acting on no orders but my own judgement. The Alliance soldiers would never have activated the Project. As to your questions regarding the Reapers, no, I did not see them. They hadn't arrived yet. And my ship is undergoing retrofits, so I had to bribe my way onto a merchant vessel to get to the system, meaning I was in no position to take scans.' Shepard answered the questions with military precision, before the salarian's words triggered something she had not considered. She had asked Liara to disable Aratoht's defence grid. If it hadn't been done, they might have picked up some sign of the Reapers. That data could have been stolen from the batarians.

Faith had to resist scowling.

We didn't know they were so close. We couldn't have...

Her heart began to pound faster. It was another mistake to add to the mountain she had already made.

We couldn't have known!

Quashing the doubts, she fixed the camera with a steely again. 'I'm afraid you'll have to trust me on the rest. I hope my word as a Spectre is enough. But you've already found enough evidence on the Collector Base of the Reapers' existence, correct?'

The group nodded slowly, faces blank. Shepard continued. 'So it's time to stop these games. We're looking at months until the Reapers invade. I won't let the destruction of Bahak be for nothing.'

'Shepard...' Tevos began, the asari's usual grace absent behind an emotionless mask, 'just because we accepted that the Collectors were abducting humans with the intent to build a creature similar to Sovereign, it does not mean your warnings of an imminent, full scale galactic invasion are to be believed without proof, and it certainly does not mean we will accept your destroying a relay, in batarian space, without question. Spectre authority does not give you the right to act without answering for your deeds.'

Shepard had expected this, but she still resisted shifting on the spot. 'You made me a Spectre on the understanding that I could, and would, do what it took to protect this Council and the space it controls. If I had not destroyed the relay, as we speak the fleets of the galaxy would be scrambling to defend against a galactic invasion we are not ready for.'

'So you say, Shepard, but the truth is you have no proof,' said Sparatus, voice angry, 'and that you took such an enormous action without Council approval does not speak well of your judgement... and this is not the first time it has been questioned.'

Faith allowed the angry frown that she had been withholding to touch her face.

She just wanted them to listen, to... to stop doubting her!

What more do they want from me? I give them more evidence... and now they're attacking me instead?!

Her voice remained calm, softly emphasising the importance of what she did. 'I did not have time, Councillor. I had to act.'

Anderson slowly shook his head. 'You know I believe you, Shepard. But it's never that simple. You just killed hundreds of thousands of batarians. For what? What do you want us to do, without solid proof? Our power is limited. It is the militaries you need to convince, not just us.'

'I want you to prepare for the Reapers!' Shepard pleaded, voice cracking with frustration. 'What more will it take? Another attack on the Citadel? It was too late then, and one Reaper nearly wiped out you and your fleet! I had to commit treason to save your lives last time, and I've just wiped out an entire system to save you this time! What will it take for you to believe me? There are hundreds of Reapers coming. Thousands. Maybe more!'

Clenching her fists and trying with limited success to resist the urge to do the same to her eyes, her teeth, Faith took a deep breath, feeling her chest shudder. She would get nowhere by ranting at them. 'We need to stockpile supplies. Build fleets. Harden communications. Train militias. Share technology and resources! Something, rather than just talking in circles!'

The asari Councillor looked almost sympathetic as she answered. 'You ask much of us, Shepard, without evidence to back your assertions. The preparations themselves would not be as dangerous as telling billions of people that soon they will be at war.' Her soft words lit an angry fire inside of Faith, but before she could say anything the asari continued. 'Without any proof, your actions in the Bahak system may be considered a terrorist action. Your past association with Cerberus, not to mention your own personal history, simply add to this impression. Spectre or not, we cannot simply allow the deaths to be written off as an action for the good of the galaxy, as something you did to save us, without question.'

The asari clasped her hands behind her back. 'We will decide nothing today. Your actions have the potential to spark galactic war, Shepard, and should your warnings of the Reapers be true, if it is not handled correctly they will arrive to find us already tearing each other apart. We will consider the evidence you sent us and continue our efforts to placate the batarians. Given your... history... with the species, it would be best if you ceased involving yourself. We will contact you if we need anything more.'

Faith's heart sank, and she grit her teeth. Delay and obfuscate, as always. If Tevos and the others had their way, they would still be arguing when the Reapers arrived. Shepard would not allow it any more. 'Councillors, as soon as this call is over, I am going public with my knowledge of the Reapers. If you won't commit to action, I will appeal directly to the people of the galaxy, to the militaries that will be fighting.'

'You've been public for some time now, Shepard.' Sparatus said with a sneer.

It was true enough: she had never denied the Reapers, never hidden her opinions from the press. But... 'Not like this. I've prepared and gathered everything I've learned on the Reapers, including some of the stronger academic and scientific theories and papers that have been published over the last few years. I've got ship specs and notes on their technology. I've got warnings on indoctrination, and the truth of what eventually happened to the Protheans, in their becoming the Collectors. Everything I've been sending to you, in a format civilians can understand. The people of the galaxy deserve to see it, and I've got the means to make it happen. When the Reapers arrive, everybody needs to be prepared.'

Faith ducked her head, then looked up again, eyes flashing with conviction. 'This will work better with your support.'

'Dammit Shepard, we need more time!' Anderson exclaimed, gesturing angrily.

'We don't have more time!' Faith snapped in return, both angry and understanding of Anderson's reaction. She sure as hell wouldn't want to deal with the mess she was about to dump on them, but it was their job to protect the people of the galaxy, not just hers. Shepard took a breath, calming herself, before continuing. 'I know you probably won't throw yourselves behind this one hundred percent. And I know most people will probably just pass me off as insane, like they already do. But please, help me. If you can't openly back me, at least put pressure on militaries to prepare. Suggest there might be something to my claims. It's your job to guide and protect the galaxy, if there's even the smallest chance I'm right, can you afford to do nothing?'

The Councillors again looked to each other, before their images froze. They were debating in private. The seconds passed with an agonising slowness, causing Faith to grind her teeth, to clench her gauntleted fists. What would happen if they decided her actions in Bahak went too far? She... she could not honestly say she did not deserve whatever reprisal they cast at her. Even though she had delayed the Reapers - even though she knew she had no other choice - ever since opening up about it with Liara, the action had been haunting her. What if the Council did as they did to Saren, and cast her out?

Could she honestly prepare the galaxy for war, when she was a wanted terrorist? Would she turn herself in then, for whatever judgement they cast, to avoid sabotaging the galaxy's chance against the Reapers? Or... could she go on the offensive? Between Liara and Cerberus, she had the resources, knowledge and the power to perhaps even depose the current Council and shake up politics enough to place agents sympathetic to her views in their place... but even considering the idea made her sick to the stomach. She would not reduce herself to that.

Or would I?

She had to bite down the worries before they spiralled out of control. She would find out soon enough.

Behind their images, the Liara was wringing her hands nervously: as far as she had grown from the shy archaeologist into the formidable information broker - and though she would never let such nervousness touch her if she were the one speaking, instead burying herself in a businesslike attitude - the asari was still uncomfortable in dealing directly with people. Liara preferred to manipulate from the shadows, work in information and details, rather than personalities... and even watching others clash like this made her uncomfortable. Faith had to resist the urge to walk over and comfort her, instead shooting Liara a tight smile and confident nod, which seemed to embolden the asari, as she straightened her back, lowered her hands and replied with a shaky smile of her own.

Before Faith could do anything more, the figures began moving again. Sparatus looked angry, at least as far as a turian's mood could touch his facial expressions. As did Anderson.

Faith's frown deepened as she read the groups' overwhelming reaction to her announcement, casting her gaze across the faces of four of the most powerful people in the galaxy.

'Shepard.' Anderson began, at least sounding somewhat sympathetic. She deduced his anger was directed at the others, not solely her. 'Are you set on this path?'

Standing firmly in her beliefs, Faith nodded strongly in return. 'Yes. I'm going to do this, whatever you say. I won't let the galaxy linger in ignorance any longer.'

The Councillors glanced to each other. Finally, Tevos spoke. 'We cannot endorse this. We will not make any formal decision regarding your actions in Bahak until all of the evidence has been considered, but we will not back any rash action regarding the Reapers on your part. All we can do is urge you to reconsider, and appreciate the upheaval you might cause.'

Faith nodded again, slower this time. 'I've been considering it for months, Councillor, hoping you would make some progress. But in that time I've only seen conversations that go in circles, a slow creep of data that you try to wish away, and a distinct lack of meaningful action. I will not wait any longer. I am forcing the issue.'

'Then the consequences are on your head, Shepard,' spat the turian Councillor, jabbing an angry finger in her direction, 'we cannot, and will not, protect you from your own actions. This call is over.'

The figures faded away.


'She's gone too far this time! We should have known she wasn't, humanity, wasn't ready!' Sparatus still had not sat down, pacing angrily around the table at which the other three Councillors sat.

'She's telling us what we don't want to hear!' Anderson replied, voice exasperated. 'We all know it, don't we? That the Reapers are coming?'

Sparatus stopped his pacing, and leaned over the table towards Anderson. 'She's still not given us-'

'Cut the bull Sparatus, you can lie on the stage to keep people calm, but it's only us here. She's given us more and more evidence, and more than proven herself worthy of the Spectre title.' Anderson overrode, and Tevos nearly dropped her head into her hands in despair.

Goddess... The human and turian had been butting heads like this for weeks, but for all of their hard words, they were actually heading in the general direction Shepard wanted. Humanity had authorised building enough top-of-the-line dreadnaughts - outfitted with the newest Thanix technology, as well as experimental shielding and armour against that same type of weapon - that they would reach the limits imposed by the Treaty of Farixen when they were complete. The turians had responded by rotating huge portions of their fleet into dry dock to upgrade similarly, and her sources amongst the turian military told her that they had plans to authorise building of another five dreadnaughts, allowing humanity to build another three.

As well as ourselves and the salarians.

Tevos looked over to Valern, who had been quiet so far. She was worried about the man. The days and weeks passed so quickly in political life, but she still had decades - or longer if the Goddess wills it - to act as the voice of the asari. Valern did not have that luxury, and Tevos was concerned that the stress of the last few months were catching up to the ageing salarian. Despite, though, not taking part in these near daily arguments, Valern seemed to make up for it with the precise and thought out contributions when the Council discussed matters other than war.

And herself...

Councillor Tevos was torn. The influential matriarchs on Thessia had been in touch with her more and more often over the past years and - Goddess, has it been so long?

For the most of her career, the matriarchs, as the voice of the asari republics, had trusted her to act in their species' best interest on the galactic stage and were very light touch in their instructions. Tevos was not naive enough to believe she held the position purely on her own merit: she was a skilled negotiator, had a good network of contacts, and was willing enough to play to some of the galactic perceptions of asari to gain an advantage over aliens, who were so easily manipulated by a low-cut dress, suggestive glance, or vague promise of the paltry physical pleasure they placed such importance for all of that, Tevos knew that in truth she held her position because she did a good job ensuring asari interests were looked after and the matriarchs - and by extension the asari people - were pleased with her.

She had held her position for decades, now. But over the last few years, the matriarchs had been more and more specific in their instructions to her words in how the asari present themselves. In this instance with Shepard, she had been tasked to keep passions calm and not commit to a decision either way... but she knew soon a more firm choice would need to be made. It was frustrating, and every day she itched to set her people on the path Shepard's admittedly stronger evidence illuminated, but every day she nevertheless waited for guidance from Thessia.

So instead of dropping her head into her hands, she kept her perfect posture, and made a calming gesture. 'Enough. Shepard's status is not the issue here.'

'And why isn't it?' Sparatus said furiously. 'Do you remember why we made her a Spectre in the first place? Saren Arterius destroyed a human colony, and Shepard caught him ranting about Reapers more than once. This situation doesn't seem too different to me.'

'Saren destroyed that colony to try and bring the Reapers back! Shepard did it to stop them!' Anderson stood up too, voice rising.

Tevos was about to raise her own voice to try and calm the passions of the angry pair, when Valern - who had been silent until now - spoke up. 'Should have paid more attention to what Saren was saying, three years ago. Regardless of his crimes, he was one of our Spectres. As is Shepard. We chose them for their strength, intelligence, judgement. Dismissing words and motivations of both,' he turned to look at Tevos, 'and one of your own matriarchs, no matter how unlikely their words were, was foolish. Shepard is right. We're trying to avoid seeing what has been presented to us.'

Anderson immediately sat down, turning excitedly to Valern. 'Are you saying you're ready to put your vote with Shepard?'

The salarian shook his head. 'No. Simply saying we stop this pointless arguing, stop looking at the evidence with the intent of dismissing it. Need to be more open minded. Salarian governments and scientists have been analysing data Shepard sent us, samples from Collector base. The technology is beyond anything we've developed, we all know that. What if she's right?'

Sparatus sat down with a sigh. 'And what if she's not? It's my government, my species, who will be leading the militarisation of the galaxy. My government who'll be tasked with keeping the peace as we arm up, my responsibility if it turns out the human is wrong!'

'Can we afford that kind of doubt, for "what ifs"?' Anderson replied, temper cooling almost as quickly as Sparatus'.

Tevos nearly shook her head at the sudden shift. The emotions of these short-lived species seemed to come and go so fleetingly, as if they sensed their own imminent demise and hurried for it. The asari, as always, had to be the voice of calm reason. 'Anderson, you know that whilst Shepard has given us much, nowhere is there undeniable proof of an invasion on the scale she warns us of. Hastiness in this matter will cause only hardship.' She turned her head. 'Sparatus... you are correct that if we go ahead as she wishes, your species will be the hardest pressed, financially and otherwise. But the turians have never flinched in their duty, and if war is coming, you will not be fighting alone. We will not ask anything we cannot give ourselves.'

Tevos wished her words were purely conciliatory, but she also appreciated that though the human's words and actions were almost painfully blunt, Shepard's timing with this ultimatum was surprisingly subtle. If they spent the next few months trying, again, to bury Shepard's warnings and discredit her, the authority of the Council would be shot if the Reapers did arrive. Her, and the others', careers - not to mention, their lives - would be over. The Council had accumulated just enough evidence that they could no longer dismiss Shepard, and the human knew it.

Glancing around the table, Tevos was glad the passions had calmed, and continued. 'Councillor Valern is correct. This is an issue we should not have deflected, when Spectre Arterius, Matriarch Benezia and later Spectre Shepard all accepted the Reapers as truth. Regardless of their crimes, none of these three were fools, not to mention they all acted, or believed they were acting, not out of self-interest but for the good of the galaxy.'

The matriarchs would probably be upset she said such a thing openly, and had finally given a declaration that was more than simply a delaying action, but her vacillation had to be becoming suspicious to the other Councillors. Her next words were carefully designed to ensure she was not committing herself either way, but sounded like she was, until the matriarchs gave instruction as to what the asari's next course of action would be. 'We would do well to heed what they believe as truth, and perhaps should have done so earlier. But we cannot linger on whatever decisions we may have made in the past. I recommend-'

Before she could finish, her omni-tool let out a loud beep. As did the omni-tools of all of her colleagues. In private meetings such as this, only the Councillors' personal assistants would be allowed to interrupt them, and they would only do so for important emergencies.

The four shared a glance. Was this Shepard's gambit? So soon?

Tevos tapped her tool, and her assistant's attractive face, decorated with pleasing red tattoos, filled the small projected scene, creased with worry. 'Councillor, you need to see something, it is all over the extranet, the news, everything.'

Tevos nodded, seeing the others in the room having the same conversation. 'Patch it through to the display in here.'

As the large visual screen lit up, and all four Councillors held their breath.

After a second that lasted a lifetime, a very familiar sight filled the screen. Sovereign. Crushing the Citadel fleet, blasting ships away with unimaginable power, even ploughing straight through a turian cruiser, the dreadnaught completely undamaged as the turian ship exploded over its hull. The footage was taken from one of the many satellites constantly in orbit of the Citadel. The destruction it caused was absolutely astounding: she had seen this before, of course, but not for a long time...

Goddess... seeing it again...

How could they have so readily dismissed the attack? She and the others were barely evacuated in time - her memories were a blur of C-Sec agents almost bodily dragging her to an emergency shuttle, and even then only Shepard's words had the Alliance sacrifice their own fleet to save them. Being close to death was a fact of life for a Citadel Councillor, but it was rarely so physically obvious... the force of the assault was terrifying.

Was Shepard right? Valern as well? Were they simply trying to bury the truth from themselves, because they were scared?

The damage that ship had done was incredible.

Shepard's voice, hard and confident, rang over the video. 'Three years ago, the seat of galactic government was almost destroyed. This ship, Sovereign, led a geth fleet...'

In silence, the Citadel Council watched as Commander Shepard unravelled the greatest lie the Council had ever told.


'An... interesting... ploy, Shepard.'

The Illusive Man sat back in his chair, and Faith could see a screen to his side still playing through some of the information she had distributed. Liara was at her station in the main office area of the Broker's ship, managing the distribution of the data packet: it had gone out across high priority channels to governments and news organisations almost instantly, but they had not wanted to block anybody else's communications, so were slowly managing the method it was sent out to the people of the galaxy. The asari was also keeping an eye on the reaction to the data, ready to inform Shepard if anything unexpected happened. The Illusive Man had called her, which was surprising: Cerberus had been in sporadic contact over the past few months, mainly giving updates on their investigation of Reaper tech, and she was usually the one to call them, speaking to a nameless operator.

They had made limited progress in understanding the "huskification" process: enough, at least, to understand the horrors involved. Liara was keeping a very close eye on the experiments Cerberus were conducting through her moles in the organisation; they were currently using only cloned organic flesh, not actual people, and extensive animal testing. It was still distasteful, but better than the alternative - they would not accept human, or sapient alien, testing.

Indoctrination was another target of their investigations, but from what Faith understood Cerberus had ceased using live Reaper tech - such as that recovered from the derelict Reaper - for the experiments, given the dangers, and were instead following the path Saren had taken in using data from the Thorian, and that recovered from Virmire.

Faith nodded, leaning back on one still armoured foot. The new, heavy armour Liara had given her was her uniform whenever on a call now - she was preparing for war, and others needed to see it. 'I was sick of waiting around for them to do something.'

The head of Cerberus shook his pixellated head. 'The move was rash, Shepard. People might know about the Reapers now, but to what end? To say nothing of the political blowback you're going to encounter.'

'I don't care what happens to me. The Council can't bury this any more, no matter how hard they try, and the more they try to discredit me, the weaker their own position becomes when the Reapers arrive. I know that, you know that, and they know that. I expect that they'll hedge for a while, which will hopefully give us time to find something bigger to use to convince them and the militaries.'

Taking a deep breath and trying to resist scowling at the man before her, Faith tried to push aside the sick feeling that welled within her whenever she conversed with the head of the dangerous organisation. Dealing with Cerberus still did not sit well with her, and she could not shake the feeling the Illusive Man knew more than he let on. But Cerberus were still the best allies she had in that they accepted the Reapers and were actively investigating and preparing for them. Thinking about what she hoped to accomplish, the advice she had seeded into the information she had published, Faith continued. 'But with any luck we'll have more people of all species signing up to their militaries, requesting assistance in setting up militias in the colonies, and even just getting supplies in for themselves and their families. It's not going to stop the Reapers, but it's a start.'

'Your optimism is unrealistic, Shepard, but as you say the action is done. We have high-level agents in the Alliance who can help ensure you are not discredited there, but I can't promise anything in the alien militaries.' He shook his head again. 'I'd have advised caution - your implicit trust in the goodwill of aliens is naive at best. The specialists you work with are not representative of their entire species, and certainly not their militaries. They will see this as humanity rattling its sabre, and take action accordingly.'

Feeling a deep throbbing in her temple, Faith wished she could simply discount his warning as xenophobic nonsense, but she was not as naive as he imagined. The Illusive Man was right: humanity did not have a monopoly on xenophobia, and the militaries were usually - by necessity - the worst. 'I gave the information to everybody so they wouldn't think that. If it gets them building ships, a few months of tension is better than being unprepared.'

The Illusive Man stayed silent for a moment, resting casually in his chair, looking into his drink. Faith could see the supernova behind him, still raging endlessly, illuminating whatever base he lived on, casting shadows across the camera lens. Eventually, he spoke coldly. 'And if somebody kicks the hornet's nest before they arrive? If the batarians drag everybody into conflict? We can't afford a war.'

Something about his tone chilled Faith. 'I'm guessing you have some ideas on that.'

The Illusive Man nodded again. 'The main peacekeeping force, where humanity is primarily based in the galaxy at least, is the Council. We need to make sure they are listening to you, following humanity, not indulging anybody who wants to wage war on us.'

Faith scowled. 'I don't want to be threatening or blackmailing the Council. Or whatever other plan you might have. They'll come around.'

'Not them directly. Unlike you Cerberus does not use brute force tactics. We lean on their advisers. Use economic pressure. Cajole them through-'

Faith swiped an angry hand before her. 'No. We are going into this war together, with the other species willingly alongside us. The last thing we need is somebody finding out Cerberus is manipulating the Council's actions. We need you to bolster humanity's position, not drag the others down.'

The silence dragged out, each glaring at the other.

Is this worth it? It would be so easy to have Liara find them, and wipe Cerberus out for good...

Everything The Illusive Man said and did had her on edge: the man was a viper, whose vision of humanity's greatness was skewed with anti-alien sentiments, and thoughts that their race should lead based on some assumption of superiority, rather than be part of something greater. Humanity could, and should, stand tall on its own merits, just as the other species did. She knew much of Cerberus' record. They did some horrible things; the experiments on Jack on the other children at Pragia amongst the worst. But the Illusive Man had ordered Pragia shut down when he heard of the brutality there... showing Cerberus was not some cold, demonic organisation, and did have levels they would not stoop to.

They stood up for humanity in ways the Alliance would not: bolstering and protecting colonies in the Terminus. Research - usually with clean experiments - that had extended human life expectancy and medical advances. The other species all had their equivalents: the governments and militaries were expected to play nice, but underneath that, they all had groups that looked out for their own species' best interests.

If she could just take the best of Cerberus, she would... but for now she would take it all and try to assuage the worst.

Eventually, the man drew out a cigarette and lit it, drawing in deeply. 'I didn't bring you back just for us to fight, Shepard. Whether we like each other or not, we need each other. Your move might prompt Council action, but I think you're wrong on this. If I see any hint of them turning against you, I won't hesitate to act.'

It was about the most she could ask for. At least he wasn't going to act pre-emptively... if he wasn't lying. She would have to ask Liara to increase her surveillance of Cerberus activities. 'And if I think you're going too far, I won't hesitate to stop you.'

A flicker of annoyance passed across his face, before it cleared. 'I'm glad we understand each other. I'll be keeping a close eye on any developments.'

She nodded, just as he cut the call.

Faith's shoulders slumped, and she was about to begin shedding her armour when she heard soft footsteps enter the room. Shepard turned to see Liara, wide eyes full of worry, standing awkwardly in the doorway. Faith crossed to the asari and, for the first time that day cursing the armour she showed the world, took Liara's hand as delicately as she could. 'That was... not as positive as I hoped,' she said, pre-empting Liara's question. 'He was talking about "cajoling" the Council. I hate to think what that means.'

Liara looked thoughtful for a moment, then nodded. 'That... that is something I admit to have considered myself. All of this is so uncertain, and I know there is enough here I could use to help... persuade them, or-'

Faith quickly shook her head. 'I won't say I haven't considered it, but I don't want to do it that way, Liara. Maybe... when there's no other option. But I don't want us to be blackmailing the most powerful people in the galaxy when there's a chance they could come around on their own.'

Liara instantly ducked her head, looking contrite. 'O-of course. Goddess, with all of this... power... knowledge... it is easy to forget...'

Faith gently raised Liara's chin with her other hand, as softly as she could in heavy armour. 'I know what you mean. It's easy to lose perspective, when it's just us, out here... but I don't want the Council to have any reason to start actively working against us. They've got one hell of a job on their hands as it is, the last thing we want is to push them too far.'

Faith suddenly shook her head, self-deprecating smile working across her face. 'Not that it wouldn't be satisfying for them to actually do what they should be doing for once. But it has to be done right, -ish at least, and we're the ones to do it.'

'It...' Liara's gaze flickered away, until she finally re-captured Faith's dark eyes. 'It scares me, sometimes. During those years I spent alone on Illium, I did some... terrible things.'

Liara had told her about them, slowly, hesitantly, as they lived worked together over the previous months. The asari felt such guilt about some of what she had done, but Faith was always supporting, always accepting. Liara had been working to prepare for the Reapers, in a way she herself could never do or understand: she was a soldier, she didn't have Liara's incredible temperament and intelligence and gift for the subtle manoeuvring of knowledge and power.

'And that was just with what I had accumulated myself! Small things, that could at most scandalise governments, or... or cause death, to individuals, if it found its way into the wrong hands.' The asari swallowed thickly, keeping Faith's eyes, worried voice tearing at the human's heart. 'Here, I could start wars, shatter planets' economies, change the very course of the galaxy! I have only been doing this for two years, Faith, and I am only one hundred and nine years old! And... and I just presented blackmailing the Citadel Council as a viable course of action!'

Faith, frustrated by the cold, heavy gauntlets enclosing her hands, quickly unsnapped the clasps of the right one, and shook it off, letting it clatter to the floor. She carefully took Liara's hand again, knowing how her physical touches reassured the asari. 'If it was anybody other than you, Liara, the Shadow Broker would be no more. I'd have crashed this ship into the planet and let the galaxy find out its secrets on its own.'

Liara took a small step away, but did not release their intertwined hands. 'You have such trust in me, Faith.'

'Just as you do in me, Liara.' Faith replied, squeezing Liara's hand. 'Nobody else could do this. You're the most intelligent and best person I know.'

'B-but, the Council...' Liara trailed off, looking back at Faith, beautiful face twisted in concern.

I hate seeing her like this...

For all Faith fought for these days, for all that she and Liara, and their friends, had to do... seeing the effect on Liara was heartwrenching. As proficient as she was in this job, as deep as she had to bury herself in layers of cold calculations for her work, Liara was a good person with a gentle side the hardness of her life had yet to stamp out, and every day spent out in deep space, on this horrible lonely ship, saw another worried crease appear on her face, another degree of sadness added to her eyes. Faith wished she could say truthfully to Liara that it would all be ok, that they would pull through, just to lift that burden from her shoulders, see her smile... but neither of them were so naive as to think it was that simple.

It was all Shepard could do to support and accept Liara, and add whatever happiness she could to the asari's life, as Liara did for her.

Faith raised her bare hand and softly caressed Liara's cheek, feeling the cool, lightly pebbled skin give to her gentle pressure. 'You weren't suggesting that for any reason other than the protection of the galaxy. Don't think you're like Cerberus or anybody else who would abuse this.'

Faith looked around the cold video room. She felt drained from her work, and the armour was heavy on her back. They were done with work for the day... and they were done with this ship. Perhaps getting off of it would help; amongst the friendlier environment of the Normandy, with their room, with Joker's ever present sarcasm, with Kelly's almost annoying cheerfulness, with the new faces she was looking forward to properly welcoming, and all of the other residents and luxuries of her - their - home, the work would seem less cold and heartless.

Or perhaps that was just wishful thinking. But imagining, hoping, was nice, and gave Faith the strength she knew Liara needed now.

Faith took a short breath, and delicately kissed Liara on the forehead. 'Neither of us could ever properly prepare for what we have to do now. I...' Faith shook her head, 'I'm terrified, Liara. I have no idea if Cerberus is going to go off the rails, if the Council is going to arrest me, or of the galaxy at large is just going to laugh at me, again. But we have to... we will do this. Together. I'm here for you.'

The small smile that pulled across Liara's face lit up Faith's heart. 'I... okay.' The asari took a deep breath, before looking around and gesturing softly. 'Please Faith, promise you will stop me from... losing... myself, in all of this. From losing sight of what we are doing, and fighting for.'

That, she could do. Faith softly pulled her lover a step closer, and spoke quietly, but with absolute belief. 'I promise, Liara. We're fighting for us, and neither of us will forget it.'

Liara closed her eyes and took a deep breath, as if drinking in Faith's words. When she opened them again, fixing Faith's dark eyes with sparkling cerulean, the small smile across her navy lips widened into something wonderful. 'Thank you.'


A/N: Thank you Jay8008 and Vector 71 for all of the help.