Shepard had been appointed a Spectre and given the mission to go after Saren. At present he, Nihlus, and Anderson were busy discussing... something. I'm guessing the next course of action. The rest of us were all on the Normandy, in the cargo bay, standing near the wall Wrex was always leaning against in the game.

"So you lied to us," Ashley said, pouting slightly as she looked at me.

"Well, technically," I said, "It was more of an omission than a lie... I never actually said Nihlus was dead. I just said we'd been ambushed."

Kaiden was smiling and shaking his head, amused by the whole situation, "And when we assumed he was dead, you just didn't correct us."

I shrugged, "Pretty much."

Ashley scoffed and shook her head. I could see her trying to fight back a smile, but she was failing horribly at it.

"I have to say, the way Nihlus walked in like that, without pausing, the sarcastic banter between you two as he stepped past you before he spoke to the Council," Garrus stated, "That was pretty flashy."

"Flashy?" Ashley asked, finally just smiling, "That was damn epic!"

"I have to admit, it was rather...oh, how do I put this?" Tali said tilting her head down as she thought before looking back up and making an offering gesture with her hand, "Awe inspiring, I suppose."

Wrex shifted his weight and gave a nod of what I assume was agreement, "The guy everyone thinks is dead, coming in at just that moment and walking in so nonchalantly? Sounds like something you expect to see in a vid, but never in real life."

I smiled happily at the conversation until Ashley turned to me, "So does this mean you were acting about being useless in combat too?"

My mouth twitched, "Heh." Why'd she have to say it so cheerfully? She was so sure of herself in that assumption that I just couldn't bring myself to disappoint her, but I didn't want to lie either. So, seeing no other options, I just went with awkward silence, rubbing the back of my neck and avoiding eye contact.

Her smile disappeared when she saw that I didn't want to give an answer, which I suppose in and of itself was an answer. "Yeah," I muttered, "I know theory behind combat, but as for actual experience..."

"... You're green," Kaiden offered with a bemused expression.

I took in a deep breath and let it out before responding, "As the grass."

A short silence settled over all of us. It wasn't quite awkward, but it wasn't comfortable by any means. Finally it was Kaiden who decided to speak, "Listen, Dazac, I know we apologized for blaming you for Nihlus dying already, but I feel it should be said again. We shouldn't have jumped to conclusions. That being said however... There's still a lot that just doesn't add up. I mean, I want to trust you. Nihlus certainly seems to, but it feels and seems as if you're keeping something from us that would make all of this... easier."

I looked at the ground to avoid making eye contact while they all waited for a response. I took a deep breath and let it out before gathering my thoughts and giving them an answer I hoped would suffice for now.

"You're right," I started, "I do know more about what's going on than I've shared. I mean-... I want to tell you about it. I will tell you about it, all of you. But right now, for your safety and mine, there's nothing I can really say..."

I felt their eyes on me and chanced a glance up at them. It appeared that they were all frowning.

"Sounds like a pretty big secret," Garrus commented.

"What kind of secret is it, exactly?" Tali asked.

I took another deep breath and bit my lip. Once I'd found the words I replied, "The unbelievable kind. The enraging kind... the pitiable kind."

I felt a lump form in my throat and my eyes started to become irritated from the tears I found myself suddenly holding back. "Seems like this is really weighing on you," Kaiden said. I just nodded, not trust my voice at that moment. This was hard. Harder than I expected. Here I was surrounded by people I wanted to call friends, but who all were hesitant to trust me.

"Why can't you just tell us?" Ashley asked. I could tell she was trying to hold back her frustration. It seemed that ever since she saw Nihlus, she wasn't quite so quick to get upset with me. Then again, I guess I started that back on Eden Prime when I snapped at her for an innocent question.

"I-if...if-if I tell you," I said, struggling to get the words out, "It could cause a lot of problems later on... problems-problems this galaxy can't afford." I took a quick breath before continuing, finding a bit more strength to put in my words, "I will tell you what it is. I will. But I can't right now, not until..."

"Until what?" Wrex asked, his gaze never leaving me.

"Until everything is in place," a voice behind me said. I spun to find Nihlus striding toward us, every step with purpose. He came to stand next to me and addressed the others. "You don't need to worry about being in the dark for long. I've just informed Shepard and Anderson of a few vital pieces of information. You will be debriefed on your way to Therum."

He turned to me then, "Dazac, you're coming with me. I read the Eden Prime reports and spoke at length with Shepard. He doesn't want you here when you have no real training to speak of. We'll be going to Arcturus Station."

"Arcturus?" Ashley asked, obviously surprised, "Why are you going there."

"To meet with Admiral Hackett and several others," Nihlus explained. "They also have top of the line facilities that I can use to give Dazac a crash course in combat, among other things." He looked at me and then started turning, "Come on. Once they're done on Therum they'll be heading to Arcturus as well. We should all be back together within eight days, at which point," he looked to the others, "All will be answered."

I looked at the others and gave a pathetic wave as I turned and followed Nihlus. Once we were in the elevator I spoke up, "We're telling them so soon?"

Nihlus nodded in affirmation, "Yes. As I said before, this is not the story you know. The sooner that the people we can trust with this information know about it, the better the ultimate outcome will be. In order to do this all as quickly as possible though, you are going to need to learn very fast how to use a variety of weapons, tech skills, and biotic control."

I nodded dumbly as the information sank in. This was going to be a long week, I could tell.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Shepard's POV

I was standing in the comm room surrounded by the ground team. We had been talking for several minutes now. What Nihlus had revealed to me before he left with Dazac had been...enlightening in the worst of ways, that is, it had given some answers, but only raised many more.

"Sir, with all due respect," Ashley said, "This is just making things more confusing. He knows about a larger threat to the galaxy than Saren? That Saren is just a puppet for something far more dangerous? That doesn't make any sense! How does he know this?"

I shook my head and looked at her, "Unfortunately, that was something Nihlus refused to divulge. I think it can safely be said though, that whether he ends up truly being an ally or an enemy, Dazac Praeletum is going to be playing a central role in whatever it is that's coming."

"Somehow, I don't see Dazac being too keen on that," Kaiden commented.

"I've got to agree with the lieutenant," Garrus added, "While talking down in the hold, he looked like he just wanted to crawl under a rock and hide from everything."

"He does from what I understand. Nihlus seems to know his whole story," I explained, "But Nihlus also said that while Dazac didn't ask to be in his current situation, he does want to do some good with the things he knows."

"And these things he knows," Wrex said, "They're things like Tali's name?"

I nodded, "Yes. In fact he apparently knew all of our names before we said them. Nihlus also hinted that Dazac may very well know a bit about our personal lives, or parts of our past. He also knows about specific locations we need to go to, which is why we're heading to Therum. The Council only knew that Benezia's daughter, Liara T'soni, was in the Artemus Tau cluster. Dazac knows which planet she's on."

"Is there anything that he doesn't know?" Tali asked, partly awed by the knowledge that Dazac knew so much he shouldn't.

"How to aim," Ashley replied instantly.

I couldn't help myself, and neither could the others as we all broke out in laughter. Williams definitely had a quick wit. Calming myself I addressed them all one more time, "All of you get some rest. Nihlus told us to expect heavy geth resistance on the surface. Crew dismissed!"