The icons on the display of the Veritas popped up as each and every ship connected in the area. Tightband beams brought up a menu of the individual networks that all ships run on, the light orange glow illuminating the cockpit. Six out of the seven ships on the list were accounted for, the last one was not.

That lone entry was the one that Shepard selected as he broadcast the information to the servers of his fleet, as the technicians on his ship were already bringing the documents up on their respective screens in preparation for the mark. The keys to the Cerberus flagship had been dispersed.

"I've sent you the necessary packets for the CW teams to go to work," Shepard called into the comm, "Begin your worms and work to shut down any non-life support systems on that ship." His eyes were locked onto the winged bird-like shape of the craft in the distance. His tool blinked as the captains sent their acknowledgements, showcasing that they were already hard at work hacking the vessel.

He dropped back to the hallway where he could see half a dozen men and women type furiously at the code to probe for a weakness. They were busy taking lines and substituting their own files in an attempt to bring about a trapdoor for the installed processes. Some were taking nodes and connecting them to randomly booted signals in an effort to confuse the firewalls into letting their guard down for a single second. In the technological universe, one second was an eternity.

"Shepard," Tali called from the copilot's seat, "The Amarillo reports that the Nor...um, I mean that ship's navigation has successfully been scrambled."

"We're making progress then," Shepard smiled as he spoke once again to his fleet, "Keep at it! They can't hold off six ships hacking them simultaneously!"

On the main console, a visual representation of the faux-Normandy had been blown up and scaled for better viewing. Red sections were increasingly being added to it as more and more subroutines and systems failed on the ship, shut down by the efforts of the hacks.

Tali was a wizard at this sort of stuff, her eyes rapidly scanned and scrolled down a few seemingly random series of characters before she stopped.

"This is tough, Shepard," she said, frustrated. "It's like there's someone else in the system. They're fast as me, whoever they are and they keep on blocking my hacks."

"Do you need more time?"

"No, our other technicians are doing an admirable job holding off their full attention on me. They can't hold out forever. And I'm better than this bosh'tet."

Indicating a spot for her to access, she typed in a few arbitrary commands before the screen blinked green and closed on her. She looked back at the enemy's status and craned her neck to face Shepard.

"Gotcha," she hissed triumphantly, "I just got their shields offline, we can take those bastards out now."

"We're not destroying them," Shepard shook his head.

"We're not?"

"No. I have a better idea," he keyed the comm, "All ships, aim and charge ion cannons at the target. You may fire at will."

Tali was confused, "But...but Shepard. I thought you would have wanted to-"

"Not this time, Tali," he carefully placed a hand on her shoulder while the other pointed out the window, "You see the ship out there?"

"Of course," Tali replied earnestly.

"Why should Cerberus get to use a fine vessel like that?" he pondered out loud, "Don't you think it would look much better in Alliance colors?"

"You…" Tali started before she understood, "You want to take it as a trophy."

"Exactly," he stressed, "I want to take away that ship before their eyes. I want to rub it in their faces that they have no control over what they stick their nose into." He put on a mischievous look, "But mostly, the prospect of a new Normandy is enough for me to make a detour any day. What do you think?"

A smile crept upon her face, "I think that we should do it, Shepard."

"Excellent," he grinned at her as electric green beams flared light outside the windows. They didn't bother to look at the source of the brilliance, but rather at each other as they shared a mischievous glance. His hand was still on her shoulder and he eventually remembered this fact, drawing it away with an apologetic look, "Sorry."

Tali's hand shot forward as it grasped his retreating limb. "No," she said forcefully, "It's quite all right."

If there was a time and place for such a fumbling maneuver, this certainly wasn't it. Shepard felt his face flush as he glimpsed a fierce determination from the quarian, who still continued to reach for him. Maybe if they had a little more privacy and if they weren't in the midst of a sensitive situation, he might have let her continue on. Hell, he wanted her to continue as the sensation of her unique hand in his own felt rather comforting, three fingers against his five. Yet, he gently pried his hand out of her grip, while still giving her a reassuring pat, signifying a clear not now to her. She immediately got the message and turned around in her chair, facing forward as she slumped in embarrassment.

Stupid, stupid, stupid, she silently cursed. She should have exhibited more control there. What was she thinking to press in such an intimate action like that? She should have been more subtle but her emotions were bursting at the seams. Her chest ached and her breath was long and labored. The tiniest of threads were holding her back to keep her from further temptation.

However, she felt his hand on her upper back this time and her breath quickened as he knelt down next to her. She carefully turned her head to see his face, determined but lined with a cautious hope that conducted onto her being. He smiled as the both of them drew their gazes out the window as the light show continued, watching the ship in front of them sizzle with electricity as the ion beams shut down its engines, rendering the Cerberus vessel dead in the water.

"Tali?" Shepard said suddenly, making her jump.

"Yes?" she asked, perhaps a little too eagerly but he didn't bother to make a note of it.

"I'm going to need your help for what's to come next."

"Anything," she nodded and she meant it.

"You're going to be my partner for this next mission, is that something you're okay with?"

"Partner?" she cocked her head before bursting out in nervous laughter, "Oh, as in teammate! Yeah, um...right. Sure!" You are completely hopeless, you know that?

Shepard's eyebrow momentarily arced upward but he just chalked up her reaction as just nerves. "This mission is entirely voluntary, Tali," he continued on, just to be sure, "You don't have to come with if you don't want to."

"No, Shepard," Tali vehemently shook her head, "I do want to go. I'm not going to leave you to take out Cerberus when you know that I hate them just as much as you."

"Just because you hate them doesn't entitle you to come, you know."

"Would you let that fact that stop you?" Tali shot back, seeing him blink in response.

"What do you think?" he suddenly scowled.

"Not in the slightest," she jabbed him in the chest with a finger, simultaneously defiant against him for being so hypocritical and horrified at herself for the insubordination against a superior officer. Shepard, being ever understanding, chortled lightly and caught her hand as she moved in for one last poke.

"If I were to argue with you," he smirked, "I'd be lying."

She returned the smile underneath the mask but she sensed that he could tell when she was happy regardless. The fact that she didn't even bother struggling in his grasp was also a clear indication of that as well. "So…?"

"So…" he stood up, "We should get ready. We've got a ship to capture."

Tali did manage to notice (with no small amount of glee) that he was still holding her hand and that when he pulled away to head to the armory, her after him, it seemed to be a rather reluctant gesture.

Oh, well. One could only hope.

The airlock didn't necessarily filter out noise, it was just that no one had felt like talking right about now. The small room, rated for six people, was now uncharacteristically cramped at the moment with ten armored figures taking up every square inch of space.

Tali was kneeling down by the door, working on cracking the lock after the Veritas had connected to the disabled Normandy a few minutes earlier. Apart from a loud "Beat the shit out of them!" from Joker before they got into position, no one else had anything to say after that. The six marines in addition to the commander, Tali, Garrus, and Kaidan were slightly shuffling in place. Extra firepower for the upcoming skirmish.

The lock flared from red to orange as it started to cycle, Tali standing up after the crack had gone to work. Shepard grabbed her arm to pull her behind him. She started a protest but clamped her mouth shut. He was just worried for her safety, is all. He was more heavily armored than she was and he could take more hits in addition to not have the threat of a suit breach hang over his head. Could anyone really fault his being protective of her?

There was a flash of green and the doorway parted. Reacting with superhuman reflexes, Shepard's finger depressed the trigger of his assault rifle once the first sliver of the interior of the ship had been revealed. In the blink of an eye, three Cerberus troopers had fallen before she'd ever disembarked.

Garrus now strode forward and shot the pilot to the left, creating a nice, round hole in the center of the human's chest, causing him to slide down in his seat. Tali moved close to Shepard's side as she now clutched her shotgun to her side, only bringing it up when some bosh'tet walked forward from the side, the man's lower torso now displaced from the impact of a thousand tiny projectiles.

"Intruders detected on level 2," a disembodied voice blared over the wailing klaxons, "All personnel report to the CIC."

It was an extreme case of deja vu. From what she had seen so far, the layout of the ship conformed exactly to what she had remembered the original Normandy to be. A long corridor that led to the cockpit, a raised set of consoles in the middle of the room complete with an interactive galaxy map (retaining the original modified turian design), apart from a few angry soldiers currently inhabiting it.

Shepard was becoming a whirlwind ever since he set foot onto the ship. Already moving forward against two soldiers who lined the spine of the ship, he shot his arms out to grab the Mattock rifle in front of him. Almost casually, he swung it to the side, making a nasty crack as it impacted with the light protection the helmet provided, but it didn't prevent the blow itself from shattering the man's skull.

Despite the ruined stock of the weapon, it was still functional enough for Shepard to raise it against the man's partner and fire two rounds into his chest. Blood spurted from two holes, both impacting with his heart and he fell, stone dead. The broken rifle was discarded behind him shortly after as Shepard switched to his Carnifex.

"I've always wondered what it would be like to fight in a place like this!" Garrus shouted above the din of blaring rifles.

Shepard, dropping two more who had come through a door on the far end, incredulously looked at the turian, "You've fantasized about having to shoot people on the CIC of my ship before?"

"Why not?" Garrus paused to whack a man on the head with the butt of his gun as he tried to stand up from behind the corner of the station. "Plenty of cover, blinking lights gives it an atmospheric edge, and don't even get me started on the acoustics-"

"You are insane!" Tali screamed.

Kaidan threw up a biotic barrier and sent it hurtling down an open doorway, completely knocking over two new enemies who were in the process of getting through. One of them was flipped over so hard that he landed on his cheek and broke his neck.

The biotic grimaced, "I'm only glad that, compared to you people, I seem pretty normal in comparison-"

"Shut up, Kaidan!" Garrus yelled as two marines stood behind him and finished plugging away at the last of the men on the deck. Quiet resumed soon after.

Shepard stretched his neck gingerly, his shields had not taken a huge beating, nor had anyone else's. In fact, the whole first stage of the hijacking had practically gone off without a hitch. The sound of half-burnt out thermal clips created a rattle on the metal floor as they were dropped, everyone taking the lull to fully recharge and reload.

No more fun and games. This was his ship now.

Tali walked over to the elevator nestled behind the captain's position, "'Captain's Cabin,'" she read aloud. "The captain gets a whole floor to himself?"

"I think we'll start there," Shepard adjusted his weapon, "If we can capture the commander of this ship, then we might get a few answers." He looked at the directory for a few more seconds before turning around to Garrus and Kaidan, already starting to back into the elevator, "Take the next level and stay alert."

"Roger that, Shepard," Garrus nodded, "And after we clear that?"

"Get settled in?" he suggested before the doors closed in his face.

It only took a few seconds for the elevator to reach the next level, a feat that was uncharacteristic of many lifts these days. Shepard and Tali both slowly walked up to the door, guns at the ready, and it opened, casting a soft blue light across them.

"What the hell," Shepard blinked, "This isn't a cabin, it's a loft."

He wasn't half off, for an elaborate desk was stationed to their right, complete with a set of glass shelving. A few models of famous ships lay encased in those depths and he laughed at its ostentatiousness. The bed that was positioned a few steps below was massive, compared to his bunk. It looked like an extra large twin, with a set of simple sheets that made the itchy blankets he usually wore look like dirty rags.

"Oh, wow," he heard Tali gasp and whirled to see what she had found. Now he scrunched up his face in absolute confusion as he saw that the entire left wall of the cabin had been repurposed as a fish tank. Bright, beautiful skald fish from Illium were moving gracefully in the clear liquid, aloof to the ruckus occurring belowdecks.

"I'm…" he muttered, perplexed, "I'm not even going to question why someone thought it would be necessary to put a fish tank on a ship like this."

"I think it's kind of cool," said Tali facetiously.

"Not like I can remove the damned thing," Shepard sighed as he walked back up the steps to the desk. He opened the console to find the screen completely blank. Someone had wiped the hard drive whoever used it last. The chair was not completely in line with the desk, as if its last user had jumped out of it at the first sign of trouble.

There was also the matter of what was still on the desk at the moment. Shepard saw a few crumbs stand out against the sleek surface as a half eaten bowl of cereal sat nearby. He glanced up at Tali, who was still gazing serenely at the fish.

"Tali," he began, "I think-"

The hiss of a door opening followed by a sensation of him hurtling through the air had happened too quickly for him to even process. The blast as the feeling of a huge strike on his back hit him sent his body through the glass case, smashing it to pieces. Perhaps in a fortunate stroke of luck, he had been aimed perfectly so that he landed on the large bed, not even knocking the wind out of him. The soft material yielded to the sudden weight, gently taking the impact.

"Shepard!" Tali cried, running over to him.

He groaned as he sat up, brushing the granules of glass off his head as they tumbled to the sheets, "I'm all right, Tali. I just… wait, YOU!" He sat upright, aghast as a figure now appeared above them.

"As you were, Commander Shepard," Kai Leng snarled as he drew a short sword from his back, the unpainted door of the bathroom sliding back behind him. The man looked different from the last time they had met. He was wearing a custom-tailored coat, one that Shepard could see could double as a tactical cloaking device. His long hair was tied in a topknot and there was some sort of gear around his face, running across his jaw and over his eyes. It allowed thin white slits to double for his optics, evidence of Tali's work on him.

Leng scowled as he saw Tali, "I see you brought the bitch too, Shepard. How utterly expected, for a traitor like you. I've been meaning to pay her back in full for what she did to me."

Shepard got to his feet, despite Tali's urgent hands on him that were pulling his body back, engaging his omni-blade behind him, breathing, "You will not lay a hand on her again, you piece of shit." He swung his arm forward and charged the man, roaring a challenge.

"Shepard, no!" Tali screamed, but he didn't listen.

Leng merely smirked and brought his ninjato to meet his blade. A powerful chop caused Shepard's blow to go off course but he whirled to meet the downward strike in a parry. He used his other hand to swipe sideways with a fist, but Kai Leng ducked the attack, arm whistling harmlessly above him.

They were too enclosed for Tali to get off a good shot. There were too many obstacles, not enough room. She could hit Shepard if she wasn't careful. She cursed and waited for the slim chance that would call upon her to save the man fighting to protect her at the moment, arm trembling in fear.

Shepard planted his feet on the ground and rushed forward but Leng stepped aside to let the commander barrel into the desk. He immediately whirled to face Leng again as the short sword swung towards his face.

They continued to clash, neither one exhibiting a clear advantage over the other. Whenever one seemed to stumble, they always recovered too quickly for the other to react. They did not speak as they continued to lash out, eyes locked on the blades, waiting for the perfect moment. A thrust to the torso, a cut to the neck, a slice across the leg, nothing connected with a body.

"This is getting old," Leng growled in the middle of a lock.

"I've still got a lot of fight left in me," Shepard snapped back.

"I don't doubt that, yet I wonder if she…" Leng lifted his right hand and pointed it towards the far wall, where Tali was currently standing. Shepard's eyes widened when he saw that hand contain a pistol and he broke out of the lock immediately, chopping his sword to cut across the man's wrist and sever it before he could fire.

Suddenly, there was a brief pain in his side as his skin burned in protest. He coughed and sunk to his knees as he now saw Leng smile in victory, his sword embedded through Shepard's armor. The pistol had been a ruse and Leng had taken the opportunity to strike at Shepard's unprotected side in his attempted defense of the quarian.

"Bastard!" he heard Tali shriek and Leng grunted as his shield were peppered by pistol fire. There was a sucking sound and Shepard made a "guh" noise as the sword was removed from his side, slightly stained red. Leng's shields were steadily falling, he couldn't stay in his position any longer. He tried avoiding some of the fire but Tali was relentless as she wasted no time ejecting a spent clip to aim it at the damnable terrorist.

"Everyone has a weak point, Shepard," Leng crowed as he moved back toward the bathroom before glancing at Tali, "And now I know yours. One day, I'll kill her right in front of you. And I'll force you to watch."

The laugh echoed into the cramped chamber and he shut the door just as Shepard started to rise. Seething, he threw out a fist against the door and felt the thin metal indent as his arm burst through. Clutching his side at the same time, he grasped the jagged edges from the other side of the door and pulled, the whole thing bending out of its frame and onto the desk. Now clear, he walked into the even smaller room and furiously scanned the room.

There was no one there. Leng had somehow disappeared into thin air.

Or had he? A thin grating by the toilet was rattling slightly. Perplexed, he crouched over by the covering and pried it off, revealing a small passageway meant for emergency evacuations. The coward had fled down it.

"You've got to be kidding!" he roared into the shaft, completely livid. His armor was too bulky to fit down there but it didn't stop him from considering trying anyway. Shepard was about to jump down there, consequences be damned, when a pair of hands firmly grasped him by the shoulders.

"You're hurt, Shepard!" Tali cried, alarmed, "You can't take him!"

"I'm fine, Tali," he muttered numbly, "He didn't damage me, just broke the skin."

"Just broke the skin? You just got stabbed, you stubborn bosh'tet!"

He was partially ignoring her as he paced over to the elevator, poring over the directory as he muttered, "Where would he go?"

"Shepard," Tali now joined him, "Listen to me, please…"

"He wouldn't go to the missile bay…"

"Shepard-"

"The shuttle bay, of course. That sneaky son of a-"

"SHEPARD!" she shouted as loud as she possibly could, the noise echoing off the walls and startling the human so badly he backed into the guardrail. "I'm so sorry!" she cried, "But how else can I take this? How am I supposed to think that you getting hurt like this is just normal for you when…"

She failed to say anything more when Shepard had recovered and had moved towards her so quickly that she feared, for one instantaneous moment, that he would strike her. She shut her eyes until she felt herself being wrapped in a large form, hard edges of armor digging into her but the actual act was gentle and affectionate. Tali opened one eye a crack and saw that Shepard had brought her in for a hug, gently patting her back as an admission that everything was going to be all right.

Breaking away, he continued to hold onto her as he now held her with all of his attention, "I guess I deserved that, huh?"

Tali so dearly wished that she had the ability to wipe her eyes for they were starting to well with tears, "A bit, yeah."

He gave a smile, a sad smile of someone who knew he had screwed up royally, "You know, I hate it when I come across to people as a bull-headed asshole but...I have no excuse at this point. I know that it's hard for people to accept when I get wounds like this, but-"

"It's not just that, Shepard," she sighed, "You push yourself too hard regardless. How is anyone supposed to tell when you're hurting for real? If you're not going to worry about yourself, then who will? Someone has to."

"It's just-...you don't understand, Tali…"

"Then make me understand, I want to understand."

"What can I possibly say that I haven't said before?" he asked loudly. Without waiting for an answer he reached down to the waist of his armor and pried the covering off his wounded side a few inches. It wasn't completely hanging off, but Tali could see the actual mark itself where Kai Leng had stabbed him. It looked like a neat, thin hole. There was a bit of blood bubbling out but it wasn't a steady stream. It seemed to be in the process of coagulating already.

"Ordinarily, this would would have the potential to be mortal," Shepard clearly enunciated, "That is no longer the case now. A sword can only so much as scratch me unless aimed properly. Is this what's been worrying you?"

"Yes!" she shouted, exasperated, "I mean, you shouted like you were in pain. I thought...I thought you had been hurt. How am I supposed to tell the difference? I lost you once, Shepard. I can't lose you again!"

She sounded on the verge of bawling, Shepard realized. Her body language and tone made it quite clear that she was genuinely upset. He reached out to grasp her hands and she reluctantly accepted. He massaged the back of her hands with his thumbs as he tried to calm her down, now fully comprehending the selfishness of his actions throughout the past couple days. There was an explanation for her behavior as her baseline reactions had been the most intense out of anyone that he'd met. She was an emotional girl but he had seen her push down her feelings when the call of duty demanded it. Why release them now?

"Do you think it's too late to say, 'I'm sorry?'" he whispered.

Tali sniffed, "It would be a start."

"Then...I'm sorry, Tali. I'm sorry for making you worry. I'm sorry for-"

"Being a bull-headed asshole?" she finished teasingly, noticeably perking up.

"Especially that," he confirmed in a firm voice. Still they stood, hand in hand, trapped within the small box of the elevator. The one place on the ship that was unmarred and quiet. A safe haven.

"Tell you what," he said softly, causing her to look up from their interlocked hands, "Why don't you come see me in the cabin after everything's settled here on the ship? It would be a good chance for us...to talk."

"It's...I…" she stammered, "I- I'd like that."

He took a deep breath, "I think that there are some things that are on both of our minds, yes?"

"A few," she sighed, "And you're right. It would be good for us to...to discuss them. Get some...things of my chest. Right." She cocked her head suddenly, "But won't this distract you? From your duties and everything? If talking to me won't-"

"Tali," he grinned warmly, "Talking to a friend is not distracting in the least. I want to know what's troubling you. As your commanding officer, having a heart to heart would be considered improving the overall outcome of the mission."

"Just the mission?"

Shepard's face was stern, "You know what I mean."

Tali let out a small titter, "I do. But, thank you in advance."

"Umm, Shepard?" Garrus' voice interrupted through the comm, startling the both of them in the elevator as it still sat on the top floor.

Frowning in annoyance, Shepard thumbed the talk, "What's up, Garrus?"

"Well, we finished our sweep and the guys tell me that there are no more Cerberus on board the ship. We're doing a few scans just to be sure, though."

"That's good news, then."

"But, a minute ago, one of the shuttles in the bay area just took off and immediately jumped to FTL. We didn't know if it was you or-"

"No it wasn't," Shepard scowled, "Don't bother trying to track him though. He's long gone by now and we will most certainly meet again in the future."

"Ah, roger that. Now, if you don't mind, and apologizing in advance for the insubordination, but could we please use the elevator if you two are done in there?"

"Coming your way," Shepard grumbled as he pressed the button for the second level, switching off the comm at the same time. "You damn turian," he added under his breath.

Stepping off into the CIC, he walked up the familiar ramp as the map of the Milky Way was projected before his eyes. He waved his hands and the whole thing zoomed in to show their current position, a tiny speck in the vastness of space. Shepard put his hands on his hips as he surveyed the empty room, Tali already tinkering away at the console behind him.

With a little paint and some extra crewmembers, it would be like nothing changed at all. He could stand where he once stood and relieve the idea of him at the helm, nothing to stop them as they blazed a trail through history. Him, the best crew anyone could ask for and the best damn ship in the known universe. Excitement gripped Shepard as he thought of all the memories he could reclaim in his nostalgia came flowing back. All thanks to Cerberus, ironically.

He let out a long, low sigh in relief. "It's good to be home," he said to no one in particular.

Joker groaned in satisfaction as he lowered himself down into the chair. He smoothed his arms over the armrests as he looked up at his grinning commander, "They have leather seats, Shepard. Leather. Do you know how much of a difference leather makes compared to the bed of nails military ships have?"

"Can't say that I do, Joker," Shepard shrugged, enjoying the man's awe, "It's not like I fared any better, you know."

"But you have that huge bed in your pad now! You will know what it feels like and you can make a case for all Alliance ships to have this option in the future!"

"Leather is expensive, Joker," Shepard pointed out, "Just by adding it to every ship would probably run in millions of credits spent."

"Then I'm just glad that the one ship in the galaxy that has a seat like this happens to be mine," Joker conceded, "Anyway, look at it! It's the Normandy again, Shepard! Better than new!"

Shepard laughed, hardly believing it himself. In the past few hours, life on the new ship had resumed as if a firefight had not erupted within the cramped corridors. Maintenance drones had cleaned up the spent sinks and scoured away the spilt blood. A few marines had been delegated to the task of piling the bodies of fallen Cerberus troopers in the airlock, to which Joker gleefully spaced once they had all been collected.

Garrus had set up shop in the main battery, poring over what appeared to be a set of Thanix cannons that had been installed and was now properly calibrating them. That would keep the turian occupied for a few hours, he was always so anal about the delicate nature of high-velocity weapons to a point where it seemed like an obsession.

Tali, in the meantime, was engrossed in determining the capabilities of the shield generator in addition to fiddling with the main drive in engineering, along with Adams. She had breathlessly reported to Shepard that the ship itself contained a shield with cyclonic barrier technology. Such technology was incredibly rare and worth a small fortune by itself. Opposed to traditional kinetic barriers which merely halt incoming kinetic force, the CBT uses oscillating mass effect fields to slap them aside. These shields are much harder to penetrate and if Tali's hack hadn't worked in disabling it earlier, they would have spent a good long while shooting at the ship, wasting valuable time and giving it more chances to slip away.

All of that and more was locked away in the hold of this vessel. Silaris armor, five huge decks, a Hammerhead tank in the bay, comprehensive planetary scanners, and a fully equipped bar were enough cause to drool over.

It was certainly enough to have Shepard constantly try to fight the smile that was gnawing away on his face, trying to break out. He had left his armor in the cabin, after the drones had swept up all the glass scattered from the scuffle with Kai Leng. They had also taken out the door which Shepard had rather carelessly punched through, so it looked like he would have to do without an extra layer whenever he needed to go to the bathroom.

He put a hand to his side and winced as his skin twinged. Chakwas had only slapped a bandage on him because, they both had to admit, there was nothing that they could do in this case. The sword hadn't damaged any of his internal components and the only evidence of pain was the slash just above his hip. It was decided that they best thing to do was to let it heal and hope that she wouldn't have to put more dressings on him.

"It isn't the original," Shepard said as he temporarily took over the role of devil's advocate. "It's just a copy trying to outshine what was a great ship." He then nodded thoughtfully, "But I don't really see why we have to call this ship anything other than what it was based on."

"Pfft, we never got around to properly naming the last one. We just called it by its designation or 'the ship.' It felt rather cold and callous, just naming it like that."

"Then would you object to calling this the Normandy? I personally think it's a fine way to pay respect to a ship."

"No argument from me, Shepard," Joker was ecstatic, "Normandy it is."

"Acknowledgement received," a smooth female voice burst from a loudspeaker. "I will alter the registration and subsequently refer to the ship as such from now on."

"What the fuck?" Joker whirled, looking for the source of the voice.

A bright blue hologram suddenly appeared to his left, taking the form of a ball positioned on a stick, "Is there a problem, Mr. Moreau?"

"Umm, Shepard," Joker grasped for reassurance, "What the hell is that?"

"I am the Enhanced Defense Intelligence for the SR-2 class frigate," the hologram clarified. "The crew like to refer to me as EDI."

"Shepard," Joker said slowly, not taking his eyes off the hologram, "I think Cerberus put a goddamn AI on board this ship."

"Yeah," Shepard's eyes widened, "It's not as rigid as a VI and it keeps on referring to itself as if it's alive."

"That is correct," EDI said in the same calm tone. "I am an artificial intelligence that serves as the electronic warfare defense for this vessel. I detected forty-three attempted intrusions into the mainframe three point five hours ago. I attempted to create firewalls to discourage access but I was unable to prevent six individual remote hacks. I will analyze and compensate in the future for better unit cohesion."

"Tali," Shepard spoke quickly into his omni-tool, "Find the AI core of this ship and shut it down."

"Oh, Keelah," Tali gasped. "I'm on it."

"Have I offended?" EDI asked politely.

"I cannot believe this," Joker moaned. "They had to install a goddamn handicap on board this ship! Why did they have to delegate control to a machine?"

"I assure you," the AI defended, "I do not control vital systems on board the SR-2. I merely assist with cyberwarfare and provide assistance. Nothing more."

"Well, you didn't exactly do a bang-up job on that first point there, blinky," Joker shot back. "Despite your so-called abilities we managed to hack through you. Checkmate, bitch."

"The profanity is unnecessary," EDI did not even waver. "My abilities in discouraging rogue individuals from entering this system are substantial but not unlimited. However, deactivating me will not necessarily improve your chances on your mission, it will-"

"Have you found the core yet, Tali?" Shepard asked, starting to get worried.

"Ten more seconds!"

EDI was unfazed "My analyzers indicate that the both of you seem stressed. In the event of a workplace disruption, I am authorized to play music to boost morale. This event certainly qualifies."

"This is the last thing I need," Joker covered his face with both hands.

"I think I have a song that should suit the mood," EDI continued on, tone lighter, "It's considered a classic. It's called 'Daisy Bell' and it-" her meandering description was cut off as Joker screamed shrilly. The hologram blinked, "That was a joooooooookkkkeeee…." Static fizzed around it as the AI's voice slowed and lowered in pitch. Two seconds later, EDI's voice faded, the light cutting out soon after.

"Got it," Tali called up.

"Jesus Christ," Joker gasped. "I sincerely hope that we don't find any more surprises like that. Imagine, it could have killed us in our sleep! Who knows what an AI could…"

"What the hell is going on here?" came a drawl from behind them. Garrus was walking up from the CIC, rubbing his neck, "Did Joker watch another prank vid again?"

"I'd rather watch salarian pornography than go through what just happened here again," Joker clarified before turning sarcastic. "We just had something of a crisis here. So sorry you missed the fun."

Garrus was baffled, "Crisis? I'm going to need a better explanation than that. I need details, Joker. Not vagueness or brevity. Details."

"He means that we were just in the process of shutting down this ship's AI," Shepard offered. "It gave us a little scare before we were able to control the situation."

"No kidding," Garrus blinked. "An AI, you say? What's Tali have to think of this?"

"I'd have to bet relieved at the moment seeing as it's now removed from the equation. I'm going down right now to find out more, actually."

"I just can't believe this shit," Joker said mournfully. "This ship was so perfect. Why did they have to ruin it by installing an AI? I could have done without that…"

Joker continued to ramble but Shepard quietly shared his sentiment. They certainly did not need another nasty surprise like that.

"I have to admit, Shepard, that the actual hardware is very sophisticated."

Tali and Shepard were standing in the AI core which housed EDI's inner workings as Tali pored over the two rows of dense processors that packed the room. The small hallway was barely big enough to fit the both of them in that regard. The core, despite being offline, hummed as the ship vibrated through its surge into the mass relay. The fleet had regrouped a short time ago and they were now headed to Illium to procure some extra supplies.

Estimated time of arrival: five hours.

"Sophisticated, maybe" Shepard said, "But definitely illegal. Cerberus once again shows that it aims to break every single rule in the book by creating this AI, among other things."

"It's like they didn't learn from our mistake," Tali whispered frightfully.

"More like they considered themselves better. That they could create an AI and therefore control it."

"That could also be the case. Either way, we should destroy it as soon as possible."

"I'm not so sure," Shepard stepped forward a bit, "We've shut it down so there's no way for it to reboot itself but that doesn't mean we can't take a peek inside."

"Are you saying that we analyze its code?"

"Why not?" Shepard shrugged, "You have to admit, AI technology has come a long way in three hundred years. I'm not saying we reactivate it right away but maybe we could reprogram it, turn it so that it remains on our side and use it as a valuable asset."

"You're still talking about tampering with an AI, Shepard!"

"That decision won't be up to me, Tali," he shook his head, feeling his neck smart suddenly and oddly. "It will be up to you. I'm charging you with the task of working on this intelligence and seeing if we can use it, maybe even get some intel on Cerberus along the way."

"Do…" she was horrified, "Do you even realize what you're asking me to do? To essentially modify an artificial intelligence for our own purposes? Do you even remember what happened with the geth? How they rebelled and-"

"I remember perfectly, which is why I'm asking you to do it. You have the most experience with synthetic lifeforms and you're a genius at coding," she blushed at that last part but he still didn't stop, "You're the most gifted and careful engineer that I've ever seen and it is because of your experience with the geth that I know you will stress caution above anything else."

That did it. He had completely stumped her. She still tried to voice a protest before just giving up altogether. Shepard, sensing her frustration, started to formulate another compliment but she spoke first, "And you really think that this will give us an edge over Cerberus?"

"It's your choice, Tali. You have full control over the project. You can choose right here if you want to continue or if you want to take a sledgehammer to the damned thing. Either way, I'll respect your decision and will move on from there."

Tali was touched, "You really do trust me completely, don't you?"

"Should I not?"

She dipped her head in a knowing gesture as she mumbled, "I trust you completely..." Weighing her options, she straightened as confidence began to burn through her, "I'll look at it first before I start working on it. I don't want to take any chances with this thing."

He smiled at her before yawning and stretching briefly, feeling his metal joints bend and pop as his back arched. The movement was not entirely necessary but the reflex was so organic that it could not be suppressed. It went along as pure muscle memory. He could also feel a slight soreness over his body. That was unusual, it wasn't a normal reaction following an adrenaline crash. His skin was starting to ache but he couldn't fathom why.

"If it doesn't work out," he nodded, waving away the remnant of the yawn, "You can recommend to me the best method of how to dispose of hardware for an AI. I'll understand completely. Right now, I'll be going up to the cabin -my cabin-, to recharge for a bit. I've been on the move and fighting for hours, it seems like and I could use a shower at the very least."

"Like I said before, Shepard," Tali clucked, "You push yourself too hard."

"That possibility is entirely plausible," he sighed in mock surrender. "On to other matters, let's say in...half an hour, you come up and we can talk, like we discussed earlier." He tilted his head with a smile as he motioned towards the door, "Does that sound okay to you?"

"It...it does," she breathed out, "I'm looking forward to it."

A/N: Don't think that I wasn't going to include the Normandy here! (Whatever keeps you guys guessing, heh heh).

And for those of you wondering: yes, these chapters really do get written in two days. With the exception of one chapter (to be released next week if everything continues on schedule) I take my entire time to write these one after the other. To me, it's normal (even though some days I get burned out like you wouldn't believe) but I have fun doing it.

And isn't that the entire point?