Sarah stepped out the shuttle, followed by Jennifer and another new recruit named Jason. They silently walked down the corridor, until they entered a small room light only by the large map. Standing beside the map was Anderson. He looked up, giving Sarah a small nod, before saying, "It's good you three are here. I've been told to help you kids through your first mission."

"What are our orders, sir?" Sarah asked.

"We suspect that the batarians have a large store of munitions on this world here." Anderson said, highlighting a single planet. "According to our intelligence, this was supposed to be a small cell. But, the previous team we sent in quit responding."
"Why send rookies if the previous team was taken out?"
"You've all been chosen for this because the Alliance thinks you have talent. This is a chance to prove that you do. If any of you impress me, you're on the fast track to becoming an N7." Anderson replied.

"Understood, Sir. So, we are to go in and find out what happened to the team, and make sure that- if the worst has come to pass- we finish the mission for them?" Sarah inquired.

"Correct. We move out in two hours. Have your gear ready by then."
"Understood sir!" Sarah replied as she headed out of the room.

Outside, Jason said, "So, we're supposed to go in and do what a team of experienced personnel couldn't? And they want it to be search and rescue too? Are they trying to get us to fail."

"N7's are like Spectres or asari Justicars. They're given an impossible objective and told to get it done." Sarah replied, "This is a test to see if we have what it takes."

"What makes you think that's what N7's do? You aren't one, and you haven't been to the training, so that can't be it. And, if one told you about it, that would be treason." Jason said.

"You ask too many questions. That'll get you killed one day if you aren't careful." Sarah said.

"Are you threatening me?"
"No. I'm just saying that if you aren't careful, you'll disappear. The only way I'd be involved in it would be that I'm the one who gets the order from the Alliance. Beyond that... no way would I be the one to make you regret asking too many questions." Sarah replied.

"You don't seem to be very fond of the Alliance. Why do you work for them?"

"Because it's the only way I can do good in this galaxy. In the coming years, with what we're going to face, humanity is going to need heroes. I plan on being the one people turn to fix everything when shit hits the fan."

"What makes you think you can do it?"

"Because, if I don't, Miri and my dad would be disappointed in me."

"Why would they? I mean, you're just one woman."
Sarah laughed, and said, "Not anymore, Jason. Not anymore."
"What?"
"Sarah says some weird stuff." Jennifer explained. "Half the time it's best to just smile and nod."
"If you just smile and nod I'll know you're faking it. No one just smiles and nods."

"I do all the time, when I have no clue what you're talking about." Jennifer said.

"Yeah, I know." The Lieutenant replied, "Rendezvous at the shuttle in an hour. No delays, we clear?"
"Are you planning on going AWOL?"

"No. I'm planning on being prompt. Anderson likes it when his N7s are prompt. Makes him think that we treat the job seriously."

"Alright." Jason replied. "God I could go for some whiskey right now."

"No." Sarah said. "If you drink before this mission, I will make you disappear. This is very serious. If these batarians keep that weapons depot, they will make another attack on one of our colonies. Do you want tens or hundreds of thousands of people to die because you needed some alcohol to steady your nerves?"

"No." he replied, looking horrified. "I was just trying to ease the tension."
"We're about to go into a very fucking serious mission." Sarah growled, "Tension is fine. It keeps you on your toes."

"What's your problem?" He said, "You're usually much less like the bosses before a mission."

Sarah took in a deep breath and said, "Wow. You don't pay much attention, do you?"
"What?"

"My homeworld was attacked by batarian raiders when I was just a little girl. Those monsters killed both of my sisters, and my father. They would have killed me too, but I was hiding under a pile of bodies. I hid under that pile for three days before rescue arrived and drove out the batarians. Do you have any idea what that's like? How much it hurts as you start to starve to death? I bet you haven't gone more than a day without eating your entire life. So, why am I so serious? Because this is personal. As personal as it can get for me without the enemy taking Miri and holding her hostage in exchange for my cooperation."
Jason nodded, and said, "I'm sorry. I didn't realize..."

"It was brought up four times in training. You weren't paying attention ANY of those times?"

"I must have forgot. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said it."
"Correct." Sarah said, before walking away.

After she was out of earshot, Jason turned to Jennifer and asked, "Who's this Miri Sarah's always talking about?"
"Her girlfriend." Jennifer replied. "And, do not try to flirt with her. You'll find yourself ripped in half before you can say hi."

"I didn't think Sarah was that fast, or that strong."

"Yeah. She could be on Jupiter while you're on the Citadel. It wouldn't make a difference."

"That's not possible."
"With Sarah, impossible is the norm." Jennifer replied, in a bad Australian accent.

"What was with the accent?"
Jennifer laughed, and said, "I was just mimicking Miranda. She said that one time, when Sarah shot a guy right in the left testicle from over a hundred meters away, without aiming."

"What? Why?"

His name was Vernus. Some turian slaver. Tried to kidnap a group of young women, sell them to some asari drug lord. Sarah put an end to it by... well killing him."

"Is that her solution to everything?"
"From what I've seen." Jennifer replied.

-=0=-

Sixty minutes after leaving Jennifer and Jason, Sarah stepped into the hangar, where both of them were standing beside Anderson. The soldier said, "Good to see you two showed up on time. I thought you wouldn't."

"Ouch." Jennifer said. "You don't think you scare us enough for us to not do exactly what you tell us to?"

"I thought you people had more guts than that." Sarah said, turning to Anderson. "We're ready to move out when ever you need us to."

"Good." the N7 said. "We'll start the trip now. Get in."

Once the small ship had taken off, and Jennifer and Jason were off talking with the pilot, Anderson motioned for Sarah to follow him. Inside his office, he said, "What am I supposed to say to people about what you did?"
"Nothing. Keep it under wraps." Sarah replied. "If anyone finds out it could create paradoxes that destroy the universe. That would accomplish the opposite of what I was trying to when I initiated the second reversal."
The older soldier nodded, and said, "You know what we're going to be going up against."
"Balak and his 'elite' corps. Don't worry, it won't be a problem. I made my peace with what they do after I killed them all the first time." Sarah said. "Do you want me to take command of this mission?"
"That would raise too many questions. You may be better equipped, but I still have to give off appearances of being more experienced than you. Since inconsistencies could cause issues." Anderson said. "Just do what you do best, and we'll be fine. The batarians on the other hand..."

"I will kill them all." Sarah said, "Is there anything else you need, Anderson?"
"John seems to be more involved this time. Rumors are popping up in various locations that a man who looks suspiciously similar to a dead N7 Operative has been showing up in strange locations, interrogating a couple of people, and then they never say a thing about him. They don't even seem to remember him."

Sarah said, "Clever. Make that fucker Halthas now he's looking for him, but also make it impossible to get tracked down himself."
"Who's Halthas?"
Sarah was silent for a moment, then said, "The bastard who had Udina arrange Miri's abduction last time."

"About that... he's betrayed us already. He'll do it again."

"Don't worry, he won't get a chance to do anything this time."

"Are you going to kill him again?"
"Yes. Sooner. Once I come back from... there again, I'm gonna drop by the Citadel, pick up a couple of friends, and take care of any potential issues."
"What other issues?"
"I don't want to talk about 'em." Sarah said. "Let's just say there's a specific individual who will be on the Citadel for a specific set of days and I am going to have quite a few very choice words to say to him."
Anderson nodded, and said, "Just be careful not to waste any more time on it than necessary."

"He'll find my point of view preferable to his own in about five minutes. You'd be surprised how easy some people flip on their beliefs when they realize that you can, and will, do things so horrifying even hearing about them will give them nightmares for over... thirty-five years." Sarah replied, leaving the office.

-=0=-

Miranda stepped into the communications room, and said, "You wanted to talk to me, Sir?"
"I have noticed you spending an inordinate amount of time with an Alliance soldier. One Sarah Shepard. Do you think that she would be a valuable asset?" The Illusive Man asked.
"What, or who, I chose to do in my free time is not your business, Sir." Miranda replied.

"If you're going to give them Cerberus info, Miranda, it is my business."

"I am not going to betray Cerberus. And, anything that I could tell Sarah she already knows. I don't know how, but that woman seems to know everything there is to know."
"Is that how she knew about your sister? You didn't tell her?"
"If I did, I have no recollection of having done so." Miranda replied. "She offered her assistance with the matter without the topic having been broached before."

The Illusive Man took a deep draw from his cigarette, and said, "I see. Where do you think she is getting her information? The Shadow Broker?"
"I have done some investigation into where she could get that information. There's nothing that has come up. No transmissions, no meetings. It's like she just... knows."
"I see. So, how long ago was the reversal?"
"What are you talking about, Sir? What is the reversal?"
"Don't play dumb. A woman who you care for when there's no evidence of any contact between the two of you? Someone who mysteriously knows everything that there is to be known? How long ago did Shepard reverse time for one reason or other?"

"Sir, are you sure someone hasn't put something in your drink? You're acting very strange. I've never known you to jump to absurd conclusions before."

"The data is similar to what several trusted sources have told me would happen if the Crucible were constructed, and one who has the potential to end a several billion year old problem activated it in a manner that neither created... nor destroyed. A kind of... fourth option."

Miranda said, "Sir, I have no idea what you are talking about. The reason there is no evidence of Sarah and I making contact is that I was highly uncomfortable with coming out about the relationship until recently. There were several communications that were run through channels that have no actual link to me. We used those at first."
"How did you meet without it being noticed? Two very attractive woman going to bed together is difficult to hide."

"If one of them is wearing a disguise that makes them appear to be a man, it isn't as difficult."

TIM said, "Every last one of the men you've been with have had lives. Files dating back at least twenty-five years."
"Sarah has a natural talent for creating false identities that are uncrackable."

TIM sighed, and after taking a small drink of his bourbon, he said, "I have all three of the men you bedded in the last seven months ready to talk about the nights you spent with them. So, Miranda, quit lying. I have nothing against the reversal. I trust that it would only have been done in a moment of utmost need. I just need to know when the Reapers are going to arrive. How much time do we have?"
"Quite a while. They won't be here before twenty-one, eighty-six." Miranda said.

TIM sighed, and said, "You are to cut off all contact with Shepard."
"No." Miranda said, "That is non-negotiable."
"I didn't think you 'd be the kind to fall in love, Miranda. Do you really value Shepard above your sister's safety?"
"If you tell my father where Ori is, you won't get a chance to regret it." Miranda growled.

"Then we appear to be at an impasse. I cannot allow you to be in a relationship with a woman who gave us so little time to prepare for the Reapers."
"She stopped them from showing up in 2183. Her actions prevented the Citadel relay from opening. Then, later on she destroyed a relay to prevent them from having another back door."
"Where?"
"If I tell you, your actions will create paradoxes. You don't need to worry about the Reapers. Sarah and her allies are working on a plan to take them out of play."
"I don't want to destroy them, Miranda. I want to free the species held within. Free them from the Leviathans."
"The Leviathans don't control the Reapers. An AI does."

"Not an AI." TIM said. "The AI you are thinking of is just another victim of the Leviathans."

"That can't be right. How do you know this?"
"The same way that I know that synthesis must be stopped no matter the cost. The same way that I know that before time began, there was the King. The same way that I know of Halthas."
"You contacted them?"
"His majesty contacted me. The King of the Lucis Entia."
"Why?"
"Because he needed a mortal working towards the same goal as him. The freeing of the Reapers, the annihilation of the Leviathan species, the death of Halthas, and the establishment of a lasting peace through the previous goals."
"What? Have the Reapers as an enforcement unit? If anyone gets out of line they will crush them?"
"The King, the Reapers, and myself agree that once they are freed and Halthas and his allies the Leviathans are gone that they should leave this galaxy."

"Why would the King of the Lucis Entia speak with you, if he won't even talk with his fellow Lucis Entia."
"Because he knew I hadn't spoken with Halthas. He knew there was no danger of me being compromised by a taste of the power Halthas can wield. Since my incident while hunting an insane turian, I cannot become like the Lucis Entia. Willingly or not." TIM replied.

Miranda nodded, and said, "Sarah is opposed to Halthas. When she did this reversal, he had me kidnapped. Hoped to use me to force her to cause synthesis. But, she outsmarted him, and started the reversal."

"I see." TIM said. "I still believe seperation would be for the best. So that she can focus on becoming a warrior capable of defeating Halthas. And you can focus on bringing us to where we were in twenty-one, eighty-six."

"No. I won't change the timeline. I've been warned too many times by the Lucis Entia about how it could create paradoxes that destroy the universe if the timeline is drastically changed."

The Illusive Man nodded, and said, "Very well, Ms. Lawson. But, if we lose this war, it will be on your head."
"I'll take full responsibility." Miranda replied. "Is that all, Sir?"
"For now, Miranda." he replied.

-=0=-

A/N: Sorry for making this one so short. But, I wasn't feeling very inspired about this chapter. I have been struggling to get anything written in it for a long time. So, here's a shorter chapter, I figure that's better than no chapter for several more weeks.

Anyways, thanks for reading, and please follow/favorite/review. Those are greatly appreciated.