A/N: Hey everybody! Yes yes, I'm back and I apologize. Real life is catching up fast and I'm having a hard time finding time to write, but I still do and have no intention of abandoning this story so it's all good! Well, let's get to it!

Chapter 26
-Misfits-

It's been a few hours since we left Saleon's ship and we are only half an hour from Novaria, but something still bugs me about that mission. I killed Saleon, not because I had to but because I wanted to. That's not what bugs me though, it's the fact that it doesn't bug me is what's bugging me. I've been sitting on my cot for hours now, tipping back liquor into my mouth as I remember every little detail of the killing. I'm tempted to call it murder but I don't want to put the label 'murderer' on myself, I didn't like it when others called me that so I'm not about to do it to myself. Yet I can't think of a reason not to call it a murder, I just desperately cling to the fact that he deserved it.

My Omni-tool blinks and I read the alert, Shepard wants all hands on deck for Novaria and wants everyone to start suiting up. My Omni-tool fades and I let the last bit of scotch drain out of my tumbler into my mouth, letting it wash over my tongue before swallowing it. I grab the bottle that's next to me and look at the last inch of liquor left in the bottle, making a mental note to get more on the next shore leave before walking to my locker. I pack the bottle away and take a quick look around before pressing the auto needle into my arm and injecting medicine into my veins.

I find I'm the last person to reach the armor lockers, as per usual, but it doesn't bother me and I open my locker. By the time I'm done strapping my armor to my body everyone is basically gone except for Garrus who is fiddling with the scope on his rifle, glancing over at me occasionally.

"You sure play with that thing a lot." I say quietly after a few seconds of silence.

Garrus looks up at me, thrown off that I'm trying to start a conversation with him. "It can't hurt to make a few calibrations, a millimeter saved here can save half a meter down range."

"Try not to make a habit out of it." I smirk.

"That ship might have sailed." Garrus chuckles. "At least that's what Ian tells me."

I smile a bit wider as I grab my helmet and inspect it, looking at the few scratches that have built up on it. There aren't a lot and it basically looks brand new but I'll chalk that up to having to replace the casing thanks to a Battlemasters fist.

"So…" Garrus says slowly, looking over his rifle again.

I see he wants to ask me something and I think I know what it is so I speak up. "Saleon?" I ask.

"Yeah." He nods. "Did he say anything before he died? About anything?"

"Nothing you want to hear." I shake my head. "He gloated about what he did to the people on the ship, he laughed like it was some sick game. Then I, well I don't know, something came over me and I just," I pause before continuing, not because I'm shocked at what I did but about how easily I was about to admit it. "killed him. I stuck him deep and watched as his disgusting little life faded away."

"You saved the galaxy from a murderer." He nods in approval. "And saved me a bullet."

"Oh yeah, can't be wasting those can we?" I smirk. "We might run out."

"If we do you'll need to loan me you knife." Garrus says slyly, motioning his head to my kukri.

"Hey I need my knife! Use your claws Vakarian."

"I prefer talons." Garrus corrects as he leans on the table. "It's a bit more menacing then claws."

"Fair enough." I nod. A quiet few seconds pass before I decide to bring something up. "You know Garrus, I didn't have anything to do with this whole Saleon thing. If I knew we still funded him I would've done something, but if it helps it was our idea to use clones instead of people for his experiments."

Garrus looks over me for a few seconds and then sighs. "I believe you but it doesn't mean I trust Icarus, everything you people have been involved in is shady at best. They say they're trying to help people in need and they do, but millions of credits have been poured into your paramilitary division. Something doesn't add up."

"You seem to know a lot about us," I say wearily. "especially where we choose to invest our money."

Garrus loads his rifle onto his back and avoids my gaze for a second before looking me in the eye. "I know some people who know other people, they talk. Some of it gets back to me." he shrugs.

I smirk, not knowing if he's being ominous purposely or not. "You better watch just how sensitive that info you get is." I grab my rifle from my locker and pause, staring at it and then back at Garrus while placing it on my back. "I might just have to send some Contractors after you."

Garrus takes a second before smirking back, reaching his arm up and tapping the butt of his rifle before talking. "If you do this should help, I just sighted it."

"You think a rifle will save you Vakarian?" I laugh, thinking to myself about the redundantness of my question. The guy does hold off endless mercenaries on Omega after all.

"They'll have to get close to kill me." he says as if it's a fact, and it is but it doesn't stop it from bugging me.

I snap on my helmet and glance back at him. "I guess that's true, you're a good shot I'll give you that. But Garrus," I say, my tone changing to a more serious one. "if they do, they will."

"They won't." he replies, even toned and steely eyed.

There's a moment of quiet, a moment of staring. The tension is almost welcomed at this point, its familiar and I can honestly say a part of me missed it. I decide not to say anything and walk up to the elevator, opening it and stepping inside. Garrus steps into the elevator with me though and I quickly realize that our subliminal threatening words and my cool walk-away moment is starting to fade.

The elevator begins it painfully slow accent as Garrus and I stand in the elevator, the room so quiet I can hear the fabric on my pouches flex as I shift my weight. I start to snicker though, the awkward elevator ride becoming more ridiculous as it inches upwards. I hear Garrus chuckle too, the situation dawning on him.

"Just don't shoot me ok?" I laugh softly.

"No promises." He says, not letting on if he's serious or not but I don't care.

After decontamination the entire crew walks down the narrow path that funnels towards the first security check, I immediately notice the cold air in the hanger but unlike everyone else, except for maybe Alex, enjoy the cold weather. Once we round a corner I notice three people in black armor waiting for us, one of them is blonde and I instantly remember her and instantly dislike her.

"That's far enough." One of the three guards warns, a tone of professionalism and boredom in her voice.

"Don't worry," Shepard says, raising her hands in compliance. "we're not here to cause problems."

"This is an unscheduled arrival." The guard notes, her tone not changing. "I need your credentials."

"Sure." Shepard nods. "After you tell me who you are."

"We're the law here." The blonde bitch speaks up, her voice dripping with bravado. "Show some respect."

I nudge Tali, getting her attention as I whisper to her. "Twenty credits say that she's going to be a bitch and give us trouble."

"50 credits says we have to kill her." Alex adds, popping his head in between Tali and I.

Can you believe this sneaky little fuck? I mean the thought crossed my mind to say that but I'd never actually do it, it makes me smile though and actually like the guy more though. Of course I can't let him win either.

"I'll take that." I nod. "Double it for whoever does her in."

"Are you…" Tali says nervously, almost in shock. "gambling on who gets to kill this woman?"

The two of us don't really have an answer for her so we just stare until she moves away closer to Art, I see the two whispering as I feel a hand bump my arm. The hand is Alex's and he shakes it at me trying to get me to shake on the bet, and I do.

"I'm a Spectre." Shepard speaks up. Shit, I missed out on some dialogue here, hopefully it wasn't important. "My name is Shepard."

"Load of horse crap, ma'am." The bitch sneers, causing me to get frustrated enough to speak out.

"Hey, she's the law her now." I say, pointing at Shepard. "Show some respect."

She looks back at me and does a disgusted double take when she sees me. "Great, more of you Icarus assholes." She mutters. "The last thing I needed was more of you on this planet."

The mention of more Icarus 'assholes' on the planet sparks my curiosity enough to forget about her bitchy attitude. This place isn't known for legal dealings but that was never a problem with me, I'm more interested in getting help for Novaria and Peak 15.

"We will need to confirm that." The more reasonable lady says, attempting to calm the annoying one. "Also, I must advise you that firearms are not permitted on Novaria."

The mention of no weapons makes the crew on edge, everyone's hands shifting slightly to their weapon like a child does to its favorite toy. The next this she says doesn't make anything better.

"Sergeant Stirling, secure their weapons."

That's all it took for the entire crew to draw their guns and flare their biotics, the officer and sergeant draw their own weapons as more guards join the Mexican standoff.

"Don't try it." Wrex warns, he probably doesn't mean it though and would rather a fight but the thought was there.

"Stand down." Shepard orders, causing everyone to look at her with a confused glance. "Their house, their rules."

"Don't come crying to me when they slice your gut open." Wrex mutters.

"Oh no..." I say, a sarcastic worried tone clearly evident in my voice. "What am I going to do without my gun?"

"No idea, that's a shame." Kaidan adds, no doubt a smirk hiding beneath his helmet. "Liara, do you know what we'll do?"

"Not a clue." She adds, the lack of helmet giving her smile away. "Without it I'll be defenseless."

"Don't worry Liara." I chuckle. "I'll protect you, just like on Therum."

"Great," Wrex groans. "That means I'll have to protect you." He says, motioning to me.

"Hey I wa—" I start to defend myself but am quickly cut off by a PA speaker.

"-Captain Matsuo! Stand down.-" a voice blares from nowhere. "-We confirmed their identity. Spectres are authorized to carry weapons here, Captain.-"

The guards all lower their weapons, making the Normandy crew comfortable enough to lower theirs. The captain turns to Shepard and at least pretends to be sorry as she starts to speak. "You may proceed, Spectre. I hope the rest of your visit will be less confrontational. Parasini-san will meet you upstairs."

"Behave yourself." Stirling warns, sneaking her little two cents in at the end.

Shepard starts to move through the doors to the rest of the security check but I notice Stirling walk off to the side and despite my better judgment I decide to go talk to the bitch, I have to know what she meant when she said there were other Icarus on the planet.

"Hey." I say, getting her attention and look of disgust.

"What do you want?" she sneers.

God I hate that woman.

"You said there are more of my people here in this port, what do you know about them?" I say calmly.

"Just that they're a bunch of assholes who try to find every loophole they can to get what they want, they almost were allowed to bring their thugs into port to protect some sort of ambassador."

"Who's the ambassador?"

"Remembering his name isn't really something I give a shit about." She says dryly.

"You know you should be nicer to people." I say, faking a cheery tone as I start to walk away. "Today could be your last day alive!"

I leave that bitch to watch over her ledge, hoping she falls off it to her death so I don't have to waste the effort to kill her. Shepard nods to some lady wearing a pink dress as I catch up and then starts to walk into the port, I join the herd of crew members and we enter the port.

The amount of guards is different from the game, the civilians are just like the guards, different as in there's a fuckload more. Seriously, this place is packed, there are people everywhere. We all look to Shepard for direction and she turns to us to give it to us.

"Alright, I don't need all of you marching into Mr. Anoleis' office so I'll be only taking Liara, Garrus, and Ian with me." she announces, pointing out the aforementioned people. "The rest of you are to explore the port, find anything of value, I don't care if it's information or new gear just don't get us kicked out, and secure it. I will send update alerts as I go, stay out of trouble."

Most of the crew splits up immediately, some of the usual groups going off with each other and some people even go off alone. I am one of those people. Normally I'd tag along with someone or ask someone if they want to come explore but I need to find these other Icarus personnel, they could help me.

I search through a few spots, looking for the pronged I marking that will give the person away. Most of the shops are packed but not so much that I can't see most of a person's body when I'm inside, all of the shops however are devoid of any Icarus logo apart from my own. I make my way to an elevator and check my Omni-tool to find that it leads to the Synthetic Insights office and the bar just outside of it, seeing as that's my last place to check I can at least get a drink afterwards.

Once the elevator opens I see a group of people sitting by the bar and a familiar turian whose name escapes me talking to a man whose back's to me. There are many other people discussing who-cares business, half of them I can't even see but I'm sure they'll move around if I don't. I do however see something very interesting at one of the tables, a young not from this universe Dylan and a brown eyed Ashley having a nice talk.

I'm having trouble deciding whether or not to interrupt them when I see Dylan nod over to the bar and start to get up, so I decide to cut him off and ask him how things are going. I move over to the bar as Dylan seems to double check what Ashley ordered and by the time he's a few feet from the bar he notices me.

"Hey Mav, thought I'd find you here." He smirks, motioning to the bar that I'm now leaning on.

"Funny stuff." I say dryly. "So, I can see you're very busy finding information for Shepard." I smile, mimicking Dylan motions and directing them at Ashley.

"Yeah well uhh…" he stammers. "We were going to look into… umm… Synthetic Insights!" he says suddenly, finding his excuse. "But the rep is busy right now so we deciding to get a drink and talk."

"Drinking on duty?" I raise my brow. "Not like miss Williams."

"You're right." He chuckles. "We're just having some water."

"That sounds more like her." I say, examining the lounge for Icarus logos. "So how are you two doing by the way? Asked her to go to dinner yet?"

Dylan pauses at this and I expect him to deny him even liking her but to my surprise he doesn't. "No I haven't, I can't find a good time for it."

"Now's a good time." I point out.

"Now is not a good time." He shakes his head.

"Yeah it is!" I say, giving him a smack on the shoulder. "Any time is a good time! Location and what's going on doesn't really matter, women will say it is but it really isn't. It is what you say and how you say it, don't just say 'hey lets go to dinner'. Be suave about it! Make her know that you couldn't possibly wait any longer, that you had to ask her right at that moment because waiting any longer would literately kill you! That's what you have to do, say the right thing and be charming and witty and she will remember that and the look you give her and nothing else. Not the place, not the time, nothing."

"Easier said than done." He replies instantly. "That's something you can do maybe, I can't do that."

"Yeah you can." I sigh. "Just clear your head and let out what you're thinking, if you like her as much as I think you do then you'll be just fine."

"Yeah, you're probably right."

"I'm normally right." I correct him with a cheeky smirk. "Now go over there, give her her water and ask her."

Dylan stands there a moment, probably working up a bit of courage before nodding at me. "Ok, I can do this."

"Fuckin' right you can do this, you're Dylan Owens!" I exclaim, patting his shoulder as we stand up. "You survived a geth attack on Eden prime, the lava world of Therum, more geth on Feros, and other assorted things that try to kill you on a daily basis. So I think this will be easy for you."

"Thanks Mav! I'll let you know how it goes!" he says as he walks back over to the table with Ashley.

I smile as I turn back to the bar, noting the two bottles of water left behind on the bar. Guess he wasn't really worried about those anymore, but he did pay for them so it'd be a shame to waste them. I pull up a bar stool and remove my helmet, placing it on the bar while I open one of the bottles and start drinking it.

A minute or two goes by and a man walks up next to me and knocks his hand on the bar getting the bartenders attention. "Two beers! You can't celebrate without a drink, its bad luck you know." He says and the voice instantly is paired with a face in my mind, and a smile creeps onto my face as I turn to greet my friend.

"Fancy meeting you way out here." I say with a big grin, the man turning to see me and smiling too.

"James?! Great to see you! What are you doing out here?"

"The one and only!" I smile as I hold out my hand for a shake. "It's been a while Broadway, what are you up to on Novaria?"

Broadway shakes my hand and his infectious smile spread and makes me smile so hard I think my face is going to split open, I'm pretty sure it's even spread to people not even in our conversation. "I'm here on business, to be honest with you it's been the most challenging negotiating I've done in a long time!"

"Yeah the people here are a bunch of shitheads." I nod, taking a sip of water and getting a few glares.

"It's not a bad thing!" he shakes his head. "I love it! It's a challenge, and it makes me feel useful for the first time in weeks."

"You were always useful Broadway." I say. "Let's just say you took a break for a while huh?"

Greg smiles and nods his head. "Yeah I suppose you could see it that way, still though, nothings free here and not everyone can be talked out of things. I've made a hard deal today for Saylem, he's asked me to look into artificial intelligence. I don't know a damned thing about it, but a little research and charm can take you a long way."

"I don't doubt it!"

"So what are you doing here?" he asks, taking two beers in his hands and motioning for me to follow him.

"I can't talk about it now but if you really want to know just read my debriefing, Pac should give it to you."

"I'll do that." he says, he nods to a turian sitting at a table and gets his attention. "Maverick, this is Lorik Qui'in, the former owner of the Synthetic Insights branch on Novaria."

"Pleasure to meet you." He nods. "You're friend Greg here has taken a huge weight off my shoulders by helping me get rid of this corporate hell."

"So…" I say, coming to a realization. "You're not in charge of Synthetic Insights anymore? Like you don't have access to the office or anything like that?"

"No, not anymore."

"But you do right?" I say, looking at Broadway.

"Yes I do, everything was 'liquidized' and transferred into Icarus' possession." He replies.

"I thought you weren't allowed any escorts in the port Greg?" Lorik mentions, glancing at my weapons.

"No I wasn't," he nods. "but Maverick isn't with me, he's with the Spectre that's here."

"Ahh, that makes sense."

"You have escorts?" I ask, thinking I might be able to borrow them for Peak 15.

"Yes, Pac sent Misfit squad with as protection." Broadway nods, taking a sip of his drink.

"Are they good?"

"From what I've heard they are, they're the best at what they do and are pulled from different races as a test for interspecies squad cohesion." He says, thinking about the words he used that Pac probably told him. "They're… an interesting bunch, but they're good at what they do. From what I've heard anyways."

"I was wondering if I could borrow them for some work I'm doing with Shepard." I say, getting to the point. "I could use the help and to be honest I think you'll be safe here in port."

"Of course!" Greg smiles. "They're on my ship, Partisan, in the docks. You have clearance to get inside and to take command of the squad I believe."

"Perfect." I say as I look to the elevator. "I hate to just ask for a favor and leave but I've got things to do Broadway."

"It's not a problem Mav." he nods in understanding. "I'm glad to have run into a friendly face out here."

I say a quick goodbye to Broadway and Lorik, noting that Ashley and Dylan seem to still be talking and are all smiles so I assume that went well, but I eventually make my way to the elevator. It's time to get some more guns for Benezias commandoes.

Once I find the ship I scan my Omni-tool and it alerts me that I have full authority and access over literately everything that's inside the ship, which is nice but not really something I'm interested in. I'm more interested in finding Misfit, I find a PA system and a map on the wall to the left of the CIC. I locate the armory on the map and activate the PA system.

"Attention crew." I say, pausing to think of exactly what I'll say next. "This is Captain Matticks, CEO of the contracting division. I'm requesting Misfit squads immediate presence in the armory, the rest of you continue on with whatever work you were doing before." I finish as I let go of the PA systems talk button, looking around as if to receive some sort of validation to one of my first real orders.

A crew member walks by and I stop and get her attention. "So did you uhh, did you hear that? Was that ok?" I ask her, causing her to look at me funny.

"Started strong, ending was a little weak." She says nonchalantly before going about her business.

Ok, gotta work on that. Be more professional, or at least not as awkward. I think that's something I can do, I never had a problem telling people what to do or giving direction but it's not really a position that I seek out either. Nonetheless I can still do it, I just need to sound like I've been doing it for a while.

I follow my map and find the armory, it didn't take too long but it was long enough so that when I got inside there was a squad of soldiers loitering around. I instantly notice that there's not a single pair of the same race, each one belongs to a different species. They all turn to look at me and I stand straighter as I do a mental head count.

There are six of them, an asari, a human, a krogan, a turian, a batarian, and a salarian. Each one sports black plated armor, the krogan, the turian and the batarian wearing heavy plates and the rest medium, and each one has a red Icarus logo on their chest. The krogans logo however has a white I, letting me know he's the squad leader.

I walk up to him and look him over, his orangey yellow scales and green head plate are scarred and worn from battle and his red eyes seem to be stacking me up as well.

"What's your name and rank?" I ask.

"Lieutenant Curr." He grumbles.

"Tell me about your squad." I say, trying to sound official.

"This is Misfit squad." He nods, moving around me and to his squad who's now standing in a line.

"This is our medical officer, Enya Missou." He tells me, pointing out the asari. She's tall and has light teal skin and looks fairly young and inexperienced, she also keeps looking at me but looking away when I look at her eyes. She seems nervous.

"This is our tech, Eric Rhoads" he moves on, now looking at the human. He looks older than me, maybe around thirty and has dark hair and eyes with a gruff scruffy face. He looks at me and almost rolls his eyes as he looks away, he doesn't really care who I am or why I'm here and I get a vibe that he's an asshole.

"This is our marksman, Tyckus Corolious." He says, shrugging to the turian. The turian seems to have a cool yet agitated demeanor that goes well with his plain tan skin and plates, he looks more professional then the others and keeps looking at them as if they're bugging him just by being around.

"This is our point man, Graff Sur'mesh" He goes on, onto the batarian now. The batarian has orange and dark stripes on his skin and is notably shorter than the rest of the squad. That doesn't stop him from having thicker plating then the rest of them though, clearly this man is the first one in every door and the first to get shot at.

"And finally this is our infiltrator, Pidion Gee." He finishes. The salarian seems pretty twitchy and has green and orange coloring. Nothing else remarkable about him though, despite the fact that I think he may actually have Parkinson's disease.

"That's everyone, why did you call us here?" Curr asks.

"I need you to assist me in the assault of Peak fifteen." I say, noting that the mention of action gets everyone slightly more interested.

"Who are we attacking?" Graff asks, crossing his arms while he leans back on a table.

"Matriarch Benezia." I answer simply, getting Enya to actually gasp. "Her commandos, her geth army, and probably some sort of unholy experiments for shits and giggles."

"You contractors don't fuck around do you?" Eric asks, raising his brow.

"Depends on what I'm doing really, attacking Matriarchs though is where I try and be professional." I reply.

"Is that why you're using the cheapest gear on the market?" Eric chuckles, pointing at my weapons.

"What's wrong with my gear?" I ask, glancing over my shoulder at my lancers rifle stock. "They work."

"Yeah they're great!" he laughs. "I know this baby pyjak hunter, he swears by the Lancer. There's another guy I know, his job was to punch button holes and—"

"I get it." I say, raising my hand to interrupt him. "I haven't had time to upgrade between chasing rouge Spectres and platoons of geth."

"We've got a good supply in the armory here, lots of prototypes too." Graff speaks up in a low quiet voice, moving to a locker as he speaks. "I can help you out, give me a minute."

"Thank you." I nod at the batarian before looking to Curr. "I need your squad to assist me with the assault of Peak fifteen, get yourselves ready. Expect lots of targets, close quarters and hallways."

"You heard the Captain!" Currs voice booms loudly. "Ready up! Interior mid to close range, hostile rich engagements! Dress for the weather." He mumbles as he makes his way to his locker.

I feel something slam into my chest and I raise my arms to catch it, looking down to find Graff has shoved an assault rifle and a shotgun into my hands.

"This is the M22 Eviscerator, point and pull and it will die." He says simply as he takes my Katana off my back and tosses it on a table, muttering negatively on its quality. "This is the prototype M53 Argus heavy rifle, controlled three round burst or fully automatic. Full auto makes it over heat after 15 rounds though, stick to burst and you'll last longer." He finishes and then walks away.

I look at the rifle and notice it's slightly heavier than the Lancer, but the added power will be nice. I sling it onto my back and turn to look at the squad who has now transformed into a state of combat readiness.

Curr has on the standard krogan armor and helmet, and is wielding a huge Revenant assault rifle. Graff has found himself a large solid shield that reminds me of the Cerberus troops in ME3, and he also has a Tempest submachine gun and an Eviscerator on his lower back, a staggering amount of overlapping plates leading up to a Death Mask helmet. Tyckus has a Viper sniper rifle but I note that the barrel is shorter to a point where it's barely sticking out from the guns shroud. Enya has a Tempest submachine gun and a full helmet that I haven't seen before, it has a full visor except for plates over the cheeks making a fat T visor. Finally Eric has a Vindicator assault rifle and a helmet which resembles a pilot helmet from my time, the snowboarding goggle like visor being a reflective orange and also has a metal plate above it that looks like it comes down to cover the visor from blasts. Pidion has a Vindicator rifle as well and sleek black armor with a recon hood which looks ridiculous on a salarian because of their huge eyes.

"Alright, looks like you're all ready." I nod, looking over them all. "From here on in, you are under my command. Congratulations, for the next few hours you are Contractors."

They all look among each other and for the most part look excited, body language wise anyways because they're all wearing helmets so I can't see their faces. Curr nods at me, hesitating a little but still nodding.

I can't help but smile at the soldiers in front of me, for some reason the thought of leading them makes me excited. "Let's get on with it then."

After a small argument at customs that was sorted with the logic of I'm with Shepard and they're with me so they're with Shepard and can come in and took longer than I would've liked. The good news of waiting longer is that I could read Shepard's updates and track what's going on, she's managed to get into Synthetic Insights to get whatever she needed to put away Anoleis with the help of Broadway, and now she's asked everyone to meet outside the garage. As I make my way over there I get two messages, one from Alex saying I owe him 50 credits and one from Shepard telling me I'm last to arrive again. At least this time I'll have a reason.

I reach the garage finally after drawing every eye in the port with my squad, but I don't care and Misfit certainly doesn't. The Normandy's crew stops their conversations and looks at Misfit and I, the two squads now staring each other down.

"Who are your friends Mav?" Shepard asks.

"This is Misfit squad, I found them just waiting around in a ship outside of customs so I thought we could always use the help." I say as I activate my Omni-tool and walk over to the Normandy crew. I find my bank account and move 50 credits to a credit chit and my Omni-tool flash forges a small credit card, I squeeze past some people and hand the chit to Alex and he nods a thanks.

"Well alright," Shepard shrugs. "just keep them in line and they're you're responsibility."

"You got that guys?" I say back to Misfit, a chorus of mumbles is my answer and I look back to Shepard. "Don't worry, we'll be fine."

"Then let's go." Shepard orders loudly.

Once again we all mindlessly follow Shepard like sheep, and a metaphor dawns on me. We enter the garage and we see crates littered everywhere and an old Grizzly tank centered in the room. I note that the fanfic crew members instantly start scanning the ceiling for geth and before I can join them Dylan raises his rifle and open fires. The burst of his rifle echoes away just as a thud of a geth hopper gets everybody's attention.

"More geth incoming!" Kaidan warns as he points to the far end of the garage, multiple geth coming into view as well as four towering destroyers.

"Eric!" I turn and shout, Deja Vu instincts taking over. "Get to the Grizzly and man the turret, Graff and Curr cover him! The rest of you find cover!"

I quickly find a crate to crouch behind and instead of fighting I watch my squad, seeing how they operate. Eric, Curr, and Graff instantly move to the tank, Eric and Curr staying behind Graff as he tries to run sideways to keep his shied in the way of enemy fire. Once they reach the tank Eric opens the side hatch as Graff slams his shield into the ground, firing back at the geth as Curr fires overtop the shield.

I see the turret whir to life as I look at Tyckus, Pidion and Anya. Tyckus and Pidion are letting off rounds at a steady rate, Tyckus' rifle firing after every movement and Pidion firing in short controlled bursts to avoid overheating. Anya joins in the fight with her Tempest but she filches after every shot and her form is amateurish, I'm hoping she makes a great medic because she's not a good soldier.

I spot a geth step out of cover and instantly get hit with an overload, without waiting I line up my Argus' sights and the guns sends a three round burst downrange. Each shot hits my shoulder harder than I thought they would but I manage to keep it under control and it pays off, two shots hitting the geth's chest and the last smashing through the flashlight. This new rifle hits hard, I like it.

The shooting stops within a minute and everyone starts to stand from their cover, a security guard burst into the garage and starts to make a commotion but Shepard moves to handle it. I walk over to my squad who is waiting by the Grizzly.

"Everyone's good?" I ask.

"We're fine." Curr answers for the squad.

"Anya." I say getting the young asari's attention. "Are you a good field medic?"

"Yes sir." She nods nervously.

"Which is good because she's a shit shot." Eric mutters.

"Enough." Curr grumbles.

"Alright." I sigh. "Everyone link up with the Normandy's ground coms, the channel is theta twelve."

Misfit raised their Omni-tools and joins the team chat, once they do my HUD lights up with their names and vitals. Everyone has a normal heart rate for someone coming out of battle except for Anya, hers is higher than everyone else's. I walk over to her and tap on her shoulder, she turns to see me and her heart rate elevates again. I guess I make her nervous.

"Are you ok?" I ask.

"I'm fine." She says quickly.

"Have you seen much fighting?" I ask, knowing the answer but I still ask regardless.

"No…" she sighs reluctantly. "I haven't, this was my first firefight outside of the simulations." She admits, hanging her head in shame.

"That's ok." I say, causing her to look up. "You're still alive, that's all you can hope for. Next time try aiming though ok?"

"I'm sorry!" She stammers quickly.

"What?" I cock my head. "Why are you sorry?"

"For not aiming." She explains. "I will next time, I promise!"

I take a pause and stare at her, the pause making her heartbeat quicken slightly. "It was a joke Anya." I sigh. "Is there something wrong with me?"

"Sir?"

"Do I make you nervous?" I ask, narrowing down my question.

"I…" she stutters. "Yes."

"Why?"

"Because you're a Contractor." She tells me. "You're the Contractor, you run the whole division. I've heard rumors about you guys, black ops and other things like that. My first real mission is with you, and you're working with a Spectre who's hunting another Spectre that has a geth army! Of course you make me nervous!"

I look at her and understand why she's nervous now, that's a lot of pressure for a new soldier. "You're going to be fine, you've got a good squad with you and now you have the best squad in the galaxy with you. You're probably in the safest place in the galaxy right now, even with all the AI shooting at you. So don't worry, ok?"

She looks at the people around her and seems to relax. "Yes sir." She answers, snapping a salute before walking back to the rest of the Misfits.

A sudden feeling of happiness washes over me, the fact that I could help someone under my command gives me a sense of pride. I walk over to Shepard with a smile and get her attention. "Anyone who won't fit in the Mako have them pack into the Grizzly, that what we'll be taking up the peak and I'm sure there's plenty of room."

"Sounds like a plan." Shepard agrees, walking back to her squad and starting to give orders as I walk to my own squad.

"Alright Misfit!" I yell, getting their attention. "Time to move, load up the Grizzly and get ready for a road trip! Next stop, Peak fifteen!"

[I]
ICARUS
-PERSONNEL DATABASE-

ID Code_A-01-G

Name: Gregory Broadway
Position: CEO
Call Sign: Spotlight
Status: Active

Species: Human
Height: 183cm
Weight: 88kg
Hair Color: Black
Iris Color: Brown
Skin Color: White

Leadership Proficiencies

Icarus employee A-01-G has outstanding negotiation skills and often uses them to close deals for the Syndicate branch, though his talents are better served in a government position. A-01-G has proven his political skills and value during his time governing over Hamelin on the planet Watson, cleaning up the crime rate by 88% and achieving the lowest crime rate out of all of the human colonies in the terminus systems.

Psychiatric Evaluation

Work Relations: A-01-G maintains excellent work relations with any Icarus employee, regardless of their rank in the company. A-01-G's charismatic and diplomatic approach to situations makes him one of the easiest CEO to approach according to a worker poll.

Personal Mental State: A-01-G is incredibly level headed and shows almost no signs of a troubled past, however, when A-01-G's past is delved into it appears to have had a long lasting effect on him. Haynes' ruthless disassembly of A-01-G's life left him without a thing to his name, endless streams of blackmail and smear campaigns bringing down his reputation. A sensitive topic with A-01-G is the alleged charge of molestation of a Merissa Broadway, when further questioned A-01-G shut down completely and refused to talk to anyone and eventually left the Icarus human resources offices.

R/R

[CamFou182: Well only time will tell, nothing changes overnight right?

[masterdude94: Thanks man! And yeah it's been a while, sorry about that. Yup! The TAC team was odd weren't they? Well don't worry, you shouldn't have to wait long!

[Spiritstrike: YEAH MA IS BACK! I'm glad you liked the chapter, more glad that you agree with the fact that Saleon had to die!

Yeah, she's alive! That twist got a few people! You liked the TAC team eh? Well you're right, you'll learn about them some more but right now there are some Misfits to learn about!

Really appreciate the kind words, makes me feel welcomed back to the fanfic world! Thanks for the wishes and I'll try to find some more time for a little chat.

[Ranger Station Charlie: That's what I thought, glad someone agrees! Not everyone ever gets along, you just try to tolerate them while you work. Sorry I didn't answer any questions you had about the station, but they'll probably be coming later on!

[general-joseph-dickson: Yeah no doubt, its fucking Shepard right? Not even the reapers could beat her.

[V-rcingetorix: I don't think I meant it to come off like it upset him that Saleon died, more so that he wasn't the one to oversee it. His reward for hunting him down was just someone saying "we got him" so it was lackluster for him.

[OBSERVER01: I'm not sure who this 'excellent' person is you speak of but you're damn right he does!

[DavidJ647: Oh no worries about that my friend, it's probably just going to take longer than I expected. No abandoned stories from me! Glad you liked the chapter and the events that went down, so thanks for the love!

You too eh? It's not a bad idea, government work, pension, schooling, it all seems like it'll pay off after the hard work so if you think it's for you then go for it man!

[Leonsk1997: Happy that you thought it was great! I hope you like this chapter too.

[Guest Q: Yeah, you and a few other people were shocked by that!

[ : Thanks man! Yeah that's something I have a plan for, I think people should like it. I know I do!

[Guest1: Thanks man, glad I exceeded you expectations!

[Guest2: Cheers!

[Guest3: Happy you think the fanfic guys are meshing well!

[Flamingcheesepie: Well if I can help you out with the fact that you don't like the "goody two shoes Mav" I'll say that it doesn't last. Great that you like the rest though, I appreciate the criticism.

[Selias: I'm happy you gave the story a chance unlike some people, so thanks for that! Hope you enjoy the rest of it.

[Kelborn Ordo: Icarus will be good… for the most part.

[trninjakiller: Yeah it's a part of the story, a small part though. Too bad you stopped reading, I agree with you my writing was weak during the beginning but it got better. Oh well, your loss I guess.

[Narutochi: Hmm, I'm not sure I would make a cure for indoctrination. It's too much of a major weapon for the reapers and they need to stay a dominant scary force.

[Blake Tourdner: Don't worry my man, I'm back! Hope you like the new chapter!

[tdychko: Thanks man! Happy that you like the story and I'm glad you like the mix of humor and seriousness.