Garrus shut off the omni-tool as Shepard stomped onto the bridge, his bodysuit and armor back into place, disguising the metal contraption that was his body. The trench coat was also draped around him in preparation for their upcoming mission. Might as well add a little theatricality to the mix.

Garrus nodded as Shepard sat down in the copilot's chair, beside Joker as he was busy maneuvering the Veritas around the maze of Omega. The blip on the navigation display read that the Cerberus base was only a few kilometers away. Just a few minutes until deployment.

"Talking to someone, Garrus?" Shepard asked.

"My men," Garrus answered. "Just called to let them know what I was up to. I told them to lay low for a while, perhaps leave Omega altogether. Some of them were excited to hear that I was back with you, Shepard. Wanted me to send over a signed rifle."

"Wait…you told them I was alive?"

Garrus shrugged, "They weren't going to accept any other explanation other than the fact that my old commander was alive and well and that he needed my help. They understood very quickly."

"Sound like good soldiers."

"They are. I don't know where I would be without them."

"Probably hunkered in a building somewhere," Joker said in toneless sarcasm. "Making a last stand or something like that. You always did have a habit of pissing people off."

"Joker," Garrus sighed. "If you don't shut your face I'm going to have to show you firsthand why I'm called 'Archangel' on Omega."

Joker groaned, "Great, only thing worse than a turian with a stick up is ass is a turian who's beating people to death with said stick."

Both human and turian then chuckled aloud at that. Shepard felt a small surge of happiness from the camaraderie, it was starting to sound a lot like old times. He actually did miss when he could just sit around and trade pointless banter from time to time with his impossible pilot and equally impossible turian. They were perfect conversationalists in this regard, the thought bringing to him a pang of nostalgia.

Garrus turned to Shepard, trying to read the human's emotions behind the black helmet, "So…uh, Shepard. What did you have in mind after we take care of this problem here?"

Shrugging, he said, "Rinse and repeat. Bound to be more where these guys came from, right? We've got nothing else to do, so why not make the most of it?"

Garrus and Joker glanced at each other, "Yeah…about that. You haven't forgotten the real threat that's out there, right? The Reapers? You have no intention of picking up where you last left off?"

"Where I last left off? The last lead we had died with Saren and Sovereign. When we were ordered by the Council to take care of the rest of the geth, we continually found no clues solidify the existence of Reapers anywhere. And apparently, from what I've been told, the Council would like to keep it that way."

"But…the ones who attacked us, who killed you. You don't feel like tracking them down in lieu of Cerberus? You don't think that theirs is the lesser of two evils?"

"Same problem, Garrus. I took a look through the mission report in my spare time." He tapped the side of his helmet for emphasis, "It was listed as yet another 'geth' attack and from what I've heard, no one has found any leads on the strange ship from that day."

"You could give it a shot, try to find them."

"With what resources? An aging ship and a skeleton crew? Garrus, I understand your concern and I also have considered them, but the point is that things aren't the same anymore. I no longer have access to any possible assets that could help us with such an endeavor. We have no crew to assist us, either. It's just us against the galaxy."

"We can always fix that last part," Garrus offered.

"Explain," Shepard said, reclining back.

"It's not like the rest of us died that day, Shepard. The rest of your crew is still out there, all you need to do is get them back."

Shepard barked out a laugh, "That's a good one, Garrus. 'Go and fetch my crew.' Well, it isn't as easy as it sounds, my friend."

"Now you'll have to explain."

"It was purely happenstance that I ran into you and Joker. I initially intended on keeping my so-called 'resurrection' a secret because I was unwilling to accept my new body."

"I would imagine that being a cyborg takes some getting used to."

"Exactly. The point I'm trying to make is that everyone's moved on by now. Kaidan's still in the Alliance, Liara's potentially working for the Shadow Broker, and Wrex is hidden on Tuchanka doing god knows what. They won't be able to come with me and I've accepted that."

"But what about Tali? Every time she comes up in conversation you continuously act like you're avoiding her for some reason. Why is that, Shepard?"

Shepard blinked, brain faltering for a second before he replied, "I just…she was one of the last people to see me alive. I promised her that I would be all right. I…don't know how she'd take it if she found out the truth."

"And?" Garrus tilted his head.

Shepard sighed explosively, "Maybe it's because I don't want another friend to point a gun in my face. But if she ever saw me, my true face, she would just as soon shoot me before any questions were asked."

"You don't know that, she wouldn't-"

"Oh yes, she would. You know how much she hates the geth. To her, I would just seem like one of them. Another synthetic freak with a computer chip for a brain. That's pretty much what I am now, not human, not organic, just a big, damn robot. Why would her reaction be any different?"

"Because," the turian put a hand on Shepard's shoulder. "She cares about you."

"I cared about all of you," Shepard shot back. "I care about you now. And it's precisely why I care is the reason why I'm choosing to lay low at all."

"I'm not talking about that kind of caring, Shepard. I'm talking about the fact that Tali saw you as more than a friend."

Shepard recoiled, "What are you talking about?"

"You mean to tell me that you were that oblivious? Spirits, Shepard, you're remarkably perceptive on the battlefield but in purely social situations you're hopeless."

"You…you mean that Tali…?"

"She loved you, Shepard. Everyone could see that she adored you. When you died she was completely helpless. It took her a whole week to stop crying. It broke her heart, Shepard, so wouldn't it do to mend that wound now that you have the chance?"

It took a few seconds for Shepard to properly process the information. He mulled it over, picking apart his potential argument before he realized that Garrus was right and that denying it wasn't going to make it wrong. But Garrus was incorrect in one aspect, he had noticed. He knew that something was up whenever Tali would follow him around the deck, asking various questions, starting out small until they eventually elevated to deeply personal conversations. There was a sense of gratification that he got when he talked with her; he had never felt that way about anyone else before, aside from Garrus who was argumentative in nature. He still hadn't decided what he would have done if they had more time together. Would he have done something about his budding feelings eventually? It was a sensation that transcended beyond being human, but the sense that two people could find solace in their togetherness.

Of course, that could never happen at this point.

"You're assuming that my presence will simply heal all the pain that she's gone through over the years," Shepard scowled. "Who's to say that it won't simply reopen all those emotions when she finds out that I'm not the man I once was, even if she did find some common ground between us."

"You wouldn't even consider it for a moment?"

Shepard straightened, trying to muster all the determination he could from his electronic voice box, "Not right now, no." He turned to Joker, effectively ending the conversation between them, "How much longer until we reach the base?"

Joker had slid down to the bottom of the seat as Shepard and Garrus had argued, really wanting to disappear. He awkwardly slid himself up as Shepard waited for an answer, "You know…we docked five minutes ago."

"What? Why didn't you tell me?"

Joker immediately shot his hands up, "You were…indisposed. It seemed a bad time to interrupt you."

"Oh. In that case…Garrus, let's arm up." He rose as he continued to talk, "We've got an errand to run."

"Sure thing, Shepard," Garrus mumbled as he too slowly rose. Both of them started to walk to the armory as Joker stared back at them.

"I'll just sit here," he called lamely. "Waiting on the ship…you know, like I've done for the last few times…"

The alleys of Omega were deserted as Shepard and Garrus strode purposefully down them. Red dust seeped across every crack in the ground, bits of rubbish fluttered away from the small flitter of wind that whooshed past. The whole place stank of decay and rust which was about the same experience anyone would get to witness on the station.

Garrus was glad that his helmet was fitted snugly over his head, that way he wouldn't have to wallow in the filth like the rest of the vermin. He didn't know if Shepard could detect the smell as he could, let alone use whatever remained of his nose to detect a scent at all. It didn't seem like a pertinent question and it could be taken as a rather insensitive query. He decided to let it rest.

The squat, cylindrical tower up ahead was where they were currently headed. It wasn't a large building by any means but it was noticeable enough. Shepard brought up his omni-tool and double-checked it with the coordinates Aria had provided him. He stopped in the middle of the street to talk.

"Looks like the place," he waved a hand.

Garrus squinted, trying to discern a weakness in the building itself, "It seems to be rather fortifiable. Did Aria give you an estimate on the troop strength?"

"She said that there were about forty. Only a small outpost, but it's a start"

"You consider forty small?" Garrus gave a small laugh. "You just had to drag me into hell, didn't you?"

"Come on, Garrus," Shepard patted the turian's arm as they continued forward again. "It'll be fun."

Garrus blinked, "Your idea of fun is probably not even close to what I would define it as."

There were no external defenses that fired upon them as they approached. Garrus was surprised to see that Shepard was merely sauntering up to the door itself. A few glances around showed him that the building was wired with security cameras, of course. Shepard ignored this fact as he raised a fist to tap on the entrance.

"Shepard!" he hissed. "What are you doing?"

The cyborg's head turned in his direction, "Opening the door, what else?"

"Opening the-…what?"

"Trust me."

His arm still raised, he loudly rapped on the door five times, the deep reverberations echoing through the large steel. With his other arm, he placed a planted charge on the door and stepped away from it. Understanding, Garrus moved back with Shepard to find a spot with cover. There was a small barricade near the entrance so they crouched behind it, hearts racing with excitement.

Counting backward from ten, Shepard sent the charge a radio burst, which promptly proceeded to explode inward, flame and metal showering everywhere. There were a few staggered shouts but nothing that denoted the size of a medium-strength platoon.

"Door's open," Shepard rose. "Let's go."

Breaking into a light jog, both unhooked the shotguns from the magnetic strips on their backs. They waded through the flames (Shepard's coat was flameproof so he didn't worry about it becoming ablaze) into the facility. Lying crumpled near the remnants of the door, were two bodies in what used to be white armor. The soot from the blast had coated them in a black film, the bodies twisted and mangled, the flesh seared beneath. One was ripped open from the midsection and the other was missing the lower half of his body. No need for a double tap, they were clearly dead.

Before he could snarl a witty remark, a trooper burst out of the hallway only feet ahead of them. His fate befell his comrades as Shepard and Garrus brought their weapons to bear. Two blasts emerged and the man's head and a good portion of his chest vanished in a meaty red cloud, the pulpy mass making a disgusting sound as it hit the ground.

The training was all coming back to him. Using hand signals, he indicated Garrus to check the left side of the hallway while he took the right. Timing their searches of the rooms, they only took five seconds each to determine signs of life in the area. The schematic of the entire facility had been uploaded to Shepard's memory at that point so he was made aware of all the entrances and exits to the building.

All of the rooms on the bottom level were empty, oddly enough. Even though they were all barracks, they had only come across the three men in the beginning. The rest of them couldn't possibly fit on the second floor, could they?

"I'll take point," Shepard whispered into his comm. "Cover the rear, just in case."

Garrus nodded and holstered his shotgun, swapping for his assault rifle. He swept the weapon across, covering all corners as Shepard headed up the stairs. Once he finished his ascent, he gestured for Garrus to follow. Both side by side again, he peeked into the next room ever so cautiously.

The blasts from Mattock rifles caused chunks of the wall to spray out where Shepard's head was positioned. He flinched backwards as his shields took a dive. His optics had recorded exactly how many people were in the next room in that brief moment that he could perceive.

"There's only six of them," he said.

Garrus tilted his helmet in confusion, "Six? Did that floor look like it could fit roughly thirty more?"

"There were a few extra rooms but not that I could see."

"This doesn't make any sense. They certainly weren't prepared for any attack here so this isn't the beginning of an ambush. In the middle of moving out, perhaps?"

"Let's find out. You ready for this?"

Garrus grabbed the Tempest submachine gun from his back as Shepard now brandished two Carnifex pistols. Both checked the status of their weapons before the turian grinned underneath the helmet.

"Let them do their worst."

With a grunt, Shepard flung himself out the opening, charging into a combat roll as the initial shots passed over his body. As the troopers struggled to correct their aim, Garrus now stepped through and methodically aimed his gun, shredding a man's neck with a trio of well-placed bursts.

Exiting out of his somersault, Shepard's twin pistols barked and two soldiers fell, large portions of their skull missing as the organs sloshed around inside. His shields were now starting to spark and fall as he continued to rise from his initial trajectory but the assault lessened as Garrus' shots felled two more as holes in their chest spurted blood.

The last one was only inches away. Seeing his chance, the omni-sword flared to life from Shepard's arm and the upward swing cleaved the man's jaw in two through the helmet his was wearing. Blood gushed down his chest as the shock made him collapse in a heap. Shattered bits of bone mixed with the blood and Shepard kicked the body over, placing a bullet in the man's head for emphasis.

All clear.

Now that they had a moment to breathe, Shepard and Garrus looked around the room for any indication of where the other thirty-one soldiers had gone. Other than a single, solitary door that they hadn't checked yet, there were no other signs of life. Shepard was confused, was Aria's data off? Or had they arrived at an inopportune time for these guys? There was the possibility that the rest of the platoon had gone off on a mission somewhere and that these were only the rear guard. So now they only needed to check where they had left to.

Luckily, the room they were in was some sort of command center. Holographic displays lined a wall of the area so Shepard and Garrus walked over to it. Interfacing with the software and providing a basic crack, Shepard was in the network within minutes. He scrolled through the list of troop movements (it was organized from oldest date to current, oddly enough) until he reached the last entry. It denoted that thirty troopers had been pulled from their duties on Omega to join up with a combined task force on the 34th Fleet.

"Garrus," he called. "See if you can bring up any movement for the 34th Fleet on the main display."

The turian complied, fingers racing across the keyboard as he punched in the search request. Within seconds, the panel flared as a galaxy map sprang to life. The distance that the fleet hopped was relatively a distance of a quarter of the diameter of the galaxy, coming to rest in a system in the upper right corner.

"Zoom in on that," Shepard pointed.

The display widened as the indication of the fleet materialized in the system indicated as the "Far Rim."

"Know anything about the Far Rim, Garrus?"

"That's about where 'geth space' starts. Other than that, nothing else of note."

"Well, there has to be something that would cause at least twenty ships to fly out into that area. Do you think Cerberus is planning to take on the geth?"

"If they ended up killing each other, I wouldn't mind. But here's the thing that's a little concerning. The manifest here shows that thirty men were pulled from this location. We only killed nine, so that means…"

Both of them turned to the lone door in the corner. Giving each other a look, they pulled their pistols out as they cautiously approached it, taking each step very slowly, very carefully.

"You sure we cleared the bottom floor?" Shepard asked.

"Positive, unless one managed to escape in the confusion."

Garrus hit the button for the door and it slid aside to reveal a dark staircase headed down. The steps were steeper than normal and it was poorly lit. The two of them hovered near the edge as they assessed this new fact.

"This wasn't on the schematics," Shepard said.

"Leads to a basement, probably a new addition."

"We might be able to act casual if an alarm was never raised. Stay frosty."

Clambering down the steps, they soon found themselves in yet another dim room. The place was damp and stank of mildew. Another door loomed on the other side of the floor to which they moved to. Crouching in a door, they could hear something emanating from beyond. The noise was muffled but it sounded like a man. They couldn't make out any words but they were confident that their fortieth man was now accounted for. They were about to give him a rude welcome when Garrus suddenly held up a hand.

"Wait, Shepard. Look at this door, it's been padded. Soundproofed."

"Then he's not expecting us. Open it."

Truthfully, once that door opened, neither Shepard nor Garrus were expecting horrid sight as it was their turn to be surprised. Their initial hypothesis was indeed correct as there was a man inside but he also had company, not the willing kind.

The man's back was to them but what struck them first was that he was not wearing any clothes at all. The soldier seemed to be in the middle of a private affair as he was noticeably thrusting into someone hidden from view. Arching an eyebrow in apprehension, Shepard maneuvered to the side for a better view. What he saw next brought what little blood he had in his body to a boil.

There was an asari who was forced over on a table. Like the man, she was not wearing any clothes at all. Her stomach was pressed flat on the ground as he took her from behind. Her hands were bound and her mouth was taped shut so the only noises she was capable of making was a pitiful whimper as the man continued in his dastardly work.

"Motherfu-" Shepard managed to say as he grabbed the man and forcibly separated him from his captive. The cyborg roared and he bodily threw the man against the wall, stunning him for a few moments. Garrus ran over to the asari and cut her bonds loose with his knife. Exhibiting care, he gently pried the tape off her mouth, to which she immediately began crying.

There were a heap of clothes lying beside the table. Shepard grabbed them and held them out to the girl, who shakily tried to cover herself up. The man was still groaning on the floor, but he was starting to get up. Shepard seized a chair nearby before picking the trooper up and depositing on it. An enormous backhand across the face rendered him dazed, giving Shepard plenty of time to grab the roll of tape from the table and tie his arms and legs together. The man struggled against his bonds but the tight material did not yield.

Gesturing to Garrus, he said, "Get her out of here and someplace safe. I'll stay here and learn some more."

"Wait, Shepard," Garrus put a hand on his friend's arm. "Don't do this. You once talked me out of taking revenge years ago. You told me that if I go down that path that there is no redemption. Just leave him there and we can-"

"I have to know what Cerberus is up to, Garrus," Shepard interrupted with a frustrated tone. "There is no redemption for me at this point. I have no choice."

"There's always a choice."

"Then my set course is locked. There's nothing you can do. Go on, Garrus. I don't want you to share the fall with me."

Garrus gingerly started to guide the girl to the door before turning back to the cyborg, "What happened to you, Shepard? What happened to the man I knew as a friend? The human who valued compassion over cruelty?"

Shepard laughed, "What happened, Garrus? I died."

With a mournful shake of the head, the turian departed, along with the asari. It was just him and this pig of a man. Shepard locked the door from the inside before taking his time to approach the captor turned captive.

The man wouldn't meet his gaze. A cut on his lip bubbled blood as he occasionally struggled to loosen the tape around his limbs. His extremities were probably starting to feel a little numb at this point as the blood was slowly constricted out of them.

Shepard crossed his arms as he appraised his hostage, "How old was she? The asari?"

The man now looked at him, trying to perceive whoever was behind the helmet before hocking and spitting at him, "Mind your own fucking business, shithead."

"Wrong answer," Shepard unsheathed a knife he always kept in his chest holster. Demonstrating deftness, he pressed the tip against the man's cheek and quickly sliced. He shouted in pain as blood was drawn, already starting to drip down his face in rivulets.

"She couldn't have just started her maiden stage, you prick," Shepard snarled. "Do you know what kind of psychological pain rape does to a person?"

"Hey, chill out man," the soldier said with a forced laugh. "She was over eighteen, legal enough for me, at least."

The knife in Shepard's hand suddenly found itself embedded in a leg, causing the man to shriek in pain. Blood was spurting out in even bursts around the sharp metal as he writhed in the chair.

"Asari don't age the same as humans!" Shepard screamed. "What...have...you...done, you son of a bitch?!"

The man was still screaming, even after Shepard withdrew the knife from his leg. The hypocritical nature of the man's conduct was astounding, but there was an underlying motivation behind it. It was not a gesture of the culmination of love that caused the man to lay with the asari but a cruel demonstration of power. He was showing her that humans could control anyone, the implications of inter-species mating were callously disregarded. The man was still wailing like he had just been gelded, which Shepard was seriously considering at this point.

"Shut up!" the cyborg barked. "Your artery wasn't hit nor did the knife grate on your bone. If you continue to antagonize me, you'll find out that my patience wears thin rather fast. Answer my questions fully and truthfully and I may let you scurry back to the Illusive Man as a messenger. Otherwise, well…let's just say the mess would take hours to clean up afterward. Get the picture?"

The man was gritting his teeth in pain, not acknowledging him. Shepard started to move the point of the knife towards his navel, causing him to suck in his gut to avoid the sting of the sharp edge.

"All right! All right!" He screamed. "I'll talk, man. I'll talk!"

"Straight to business then," Shepard said. "Recently, this place was given an order to draw three fourths of its personnel to the 34th Fleet, where did it go?"

The first question was a test, to see if the prisoner truly meant his promise to tell the truth. If he wanted to live, he would give the correct answer as soon as it would materialize in his tiny head.

"The Far Rim!" he cried. "They were going to the Far Rim."

"The Far Rim…" Shepard pretended to muse. This was a good sign, it meant that he was truly interested in cooperating. This would not be as difficult as he thought, clearly the man valued his own life much more than his cause.

Black helmet tilted down, he fired off the next question, "Why the Far Rim? Does it have to do with the geth?"

"No, man!" the soldier pleaded. "It's the quarians! They were going to attack the quarians?"

What? Shepard knelt down as he crushed the man's shoulders with his powerful grip, "What was the purpose of attacking the quarians?"

"Shit, I have no idea!" The man winced as his shoulders were painfully grasped, "They only gave a name for us to go after, I don't even know who it was! They wanted this one bitch for…like a black project or some shit! That much they didn't tell us, man. They only gave a name!"

"Who? Who was it?"

"I'm thinking!" The man sounded close to tears, "It was…something that…maybe started with a T. Tani…Dani…Dali…."

"Tali?"

"Yes, that's the one!" the man nodded happily.

"Tali…Zorah?"

"Yes! Yes! That's her! I'm sure of it!"

Shepard screamed in rage as he suddenly kicked the man's chest, toppling the chair over. Shepard was next to him in an instant, brandishing the knife inches away from the man's eyeball.

"Cerberus is going to the flotilla for Tali'Zorah? Why?"

The man was completely flabbergasted as he struggled to breathe, "I…don't…know, man. Please."

Shepard slammed the knife down into a shoulder, this time biting into bone. The resulting screech of pain grated on Shepard, it was the most horrible sound he could ever imagine possible. His captive was now sobbing openly as he muttered dimly, "Why….why….why…"

As he brought the chair upright again, Shepard tried to make all of the hate and rage pour into his voice as he snarled, "They're going after the quarian –after Tali- to get to me! They're trying to draw me out by having you bastards maim and mutilate the people I know!"

"They…" the man mumbled. "The briefing never…mentioned…you."

"And why would it? Killing quarians sounds like a day in the life for someone like you. The normality of what goes on at Cerberus is sickening. You think that by slaughtering non-humans makes you better?"

"Why would you care?" the man slurred from the loss of blood. "They're just quarians…you can't even see their faces…why should anyone ever care about them if you can't even view their expression? Why should you care about what we're doing to them?"

"I'll tell you why I care…" Shepard was incredulous. His fingers then shot to the clamps on his helmet, fumbling for a bit before ripping the covering off and throwing it to the ground where it rolled into a corner. His metal head now exposed, the skull-like face leaned close to the Cerberus trooper before a voice screamed from it, "Because you did this to me!"

Shepard was wrong, there was now a new sound that was the most horrible noise he could imagine possible.

Garrus glanced upward as he heard the door of the Veritas slide open. Shepard walked over to the copilot's chair, causing strange looks from Joker as he shrugged off his coat, which was now partially stained with red, and the helmet, which he placed atop the dashboard.

Garrus walked over to the chair, sour mood rising. Sensing a presence behind him, the cyborg occupying the chair turned to address him.

"I know what you're thinking Garrus, and you have every right to be angry at me."

Garrus sighed, "Is this what it's come to, Shepard? Torture and murder at every turn? You may be different now but you're still alive, damn it! Of course I'm angry at you!" The turian was only growing more urgent with every second, "When did Commander Shepard ever have to resort to things like that? You sincerely believe that your actions are justified purely because you wanted to die and that was taken from you? You don't think-"

"I know, I know…" Shepard raised a hand. "I know, Garrus. And you're right. It isn't justified. I didn't…I just want to wake up from this nightmare. I...I don't want to keep on killing for the rest of my life…but I don't know what else I'm good at anymore!"

Garrus leaned forward, "You don't have to continue doing this, Shepard. You can stop this nightmare, you just need to snap out of it."

Shepard stared out into space, "Stop this nightmare? Garrus, I just executed a man after violently torturing him for information. I had received everything I needed from him already but I made him suffer all the same. I've never done anything like that before. I've killed in cold blood, yes, but I've never tortured anyone to death for information. From what I've done, I'm convinced that there is no stopping this nightmare. I've become exactly what Cerberus wanted me to be: a killer. I…" He shook his head, "I've seen what I can do in my position, how I'm slowly pushing everyone away from me. Every fiber in my being is telling me to resume my life where I left off, but I know that it's impossible."

"It's not impossible, Shepard. We can go back to the Alliance and you'll be able to convince them of what happened. They can't put you back together, but they can mend you. Come on, my friend. Let's go back to the Citadel and get your life straight. I'll be there with you the whole time."

"So will I, Commander," Joker piped up.

Shepard huffed, "Do you really think it will be that easy? For me to look the people who abandoned me in the eye and force them to accept the truth? They never accepted the fact that Sovereign was a Reaper, why should they accept that this…robot is actually me?"

"Because there is only one Commander Shepard," Garrus stated. "That's all the proof anyone needs."

Shepard reclined back as he considered his friend's words. The truth to them was overwhelming, he had to admit. The turian was still staring at him in a combination of concern and regret. Shepard, in that one moment, sympathized with Garrus and wished that he could have exhibited the foresight to look through someone else's eyes and see himself as the monster he was turning into, not the monster he thought he started out as. If he could really reach out and grasp his destiny once again, then Garrus was right. What did he have to lose?

"Okay," Shepard said. "You win. But first, we make one little detour. There's something we need to do before I get my life back."

"Spirits, Shepard. This better be an important side trip. What could possibly be so necessary that it could convince us to delay this crucial step any further?"

"Trust me, Garrus. I will go back to the Citadel but there is one thing that we all need to take care of, otherwise the last two hours will have been for nothing. Watch."

Shepard's dexterous fingers punched in the coordinates on the mini-map in the center console. The projection of the galaxy widened as the focus was now primed upon the Far Rim. A beacon was then placed on the far side of the Dholen system as he marked it "Quarian Flotilla." Garrus' eyebrows rose in what had to signify a touch of acceptance, of understanding.

"Now you see why this is so important. Tali is in danger and we're going to save her. Strap in."