Recap: "I SENSED DOUBT IN YOUR MIND. THE HUMAN CALLED SHEPARD HAS BEEN TROUBLING YOU FOR SOME TIME NOW. THESE DOUBTS WERE UNACCEPTABLE. I RELIEVED YOU OFF THEM. I HAVE IMPLANTED ADVANCED CYBERNETICS TO REPLACE THE ONES THAT HAD BEEN DAMAGED. WE ARE LINKED. WE ARE NOW ONE, SAREN. THE STRENGTHS OF BOTH, WEAKNESSES OF NEITHER." Saren was in awe of the power he felt course through him. All doubt was gone from his mind now. He believed in Sovereign completely. He walked away to begin preparations to Ilos. It was time to herald the return of the Reapers.

Now

Shepard walked up to the galaxy map having heard Joker's call to him.

"What's up Joker?" Shepard asked as he leaned on the rail, looking over the galaxy map.

"I forwarded the mission update to the Citadel, Shepard. We've got confirmation on those reinforcements." Joker replied causing Shepard's eyes to widen in surprise. He knew Valern and Tevos may have believed him, if only a little, but he never thought that they'd actually manage to convince Sparatus.

"Ambassador Udina wants us to report back to the Citadel. The Council is amassing a massive joint-species fleet to deal with Saren and his geth." Shepard's eyes narrowed at that. Saren and his geth? No mention of Sovereign at all. Something was wrong here. Shepard started thinking it over. The Council was probably not really taking it seriously. Then again on the off chance, he could just be nitpicking that one small detail. But sometimes one detail, no matter how big or how small, can make all the difference in a situation.

"Shepard?" Shepard looked up to see everyone looking at him. Apparently he had been deep in thought and hadn't answered.

"Back to the Citadel, Joker. I want the Normandy at the head of that fleet." He ordered absently before turning away to go to his room, still in thought. He had a feeling that he was going to be in some sort of mess as soon as he got to the Citadel.

"Yes, sir!" Joker replied before putting in the coordinates to the Citadel.

A few hours later...

The Normandy pulled into the Citadel docks once again. Inside, Shepard and company were walking to the airlock, dressed in their armor and had their preferred weapons holstered. As everyone else walked into the sterilization room, Shepard moved to where Joker was.

"Something on your mind Shepard?" Joker asked upon seeing him.

"Keep the engine running." Joker looked at him in confusion. Seeing this, Shepard elaborated.

"Look, I get the feeling that this isn't going to go like we think it will. I'm not fully confident in the Council and especially not when Udina's involved. So I'm telling you to be prepared to make a quick get away just in case." Joker's eyes widened briefly before giving a serious nod. He had trusted Shepard this far and had rarely seen him so cautious. He knew that this was going to be tense.

"Right, Shepard. I'll keep her prepped and ready." Shepard nodded and joined in with everyone inside the room.

Around an hour later with Joker

Joker kept the engine ready to go and kept his eyes peeled for Shepard and the gang until he was suddenly locked out of the Normandy's system.

"What the f-?" Joker muttered before he saw the docking clamps latch on and ground the Normandy.

'Shit!' Joker thought.

During that hour with Shepard and the team

Everyone had gotten into the nearest rapid transit and sped to the Citadel Tower. Shepard's paranoia was raised when he noticed that Anderson hadn't greeted them or contacted them at all since getting to the Citadel. Once at the Tower, everyone followed Shepard who made his way to the Council Chambers.

As he walked up the steps, he saw the Councilors at their podiums and Udina at the platform. Once Shepard got there, Udina spoke.

"Good job, Shepard. Thanks to you, the Council's finally taking real action against Saren!" Udina said with optimism. Shepard didn't speak, but merely raised an eyebrow at the human ambassador's confidence. He quickly looked to the Council for any explanation. Tevos spoke first.

"The ambassador is correct. If Saren is foolish enough to attack the Citadel-as you believe-we will be ready for him." Shepard rose his other eyebrow at her. Were they seriously thinking that Saren would attack them now? Is that why they started making this fleet? To protect themselves? Tevos looked to Sparatus, giving him a subtle signal to speak. Seeing this, the turian councilor straightened his posture and spoke with the confidence of a turian commander.

"Patrols are stationed at every mass relay linking Citadel space to the Terminus Systems." Was that it? Just a few patrols at the relays? At best that'll just tell them that he's crossing the galactic border somewhere!

"You think a blockade's going to stop him? He's on Ilos looking for the Conduit right now! What are you doing about that?" Shepard asked raising his voice slightly.

"Illos is only accessible through the Mu Relay, deep inside the Terminus Systems, Ghost. If we send a fleet in there, the only possible outcome is full-scale war." Valern replied back, finally speaking up. Before Shepard could say anything, Udina cut him off.

"Now is the time for discretion, Ghost. Saren's greatest weapon was secrecy. Exposed, he is no longer a threat. This is over." He said with an air of finality. Shepard glared at him.

"Secrecy isn't his greatest weapon. The Conduit is!" Shepard refuted.

"Saren is a master manipulator. The Conduit is just a distraction from his real plan to attack the Citadel." Valern spoke causing Shepard to look at him.

"Sovereign's the real threat! Saren is just a servant for the Reapers."

"Only you have seen the Reapers. And then only in visions. We don't invade the Terminus Systems because of a dream." Tevos said. Shepard inhaled and exhaled to calm his rising frustration.

"I can talk things over with Aria. One ship going into the Terminus Systems won't start a war. I can be discreet." Shepard reasoned, having directed his attention back to the Council.

"You detonated a nuclear device on Virmire. I wouldn't call that discreet!" Sparatus said pointing at Shepard.

"Only because it was Captain Kirrahe's plan! He's STG and they're supposed to be the very definition of discreet. Or did that change during my little hunt for Saren?" Shepard shot back crossing his arms.

"Either way," Tevos, ever the mediator, jumped in, "your style served you well in the Traverse, Ghost. We recognize that. But Ilos requires a deft touch. We have the situation under control." Shepard's eye twitched. They have no idea what's coming and they think they have control over it? Oh please!

"If Saren finds the Conduit, we are all screwed! We have to go to Ilos!" Shepard implored. The Councilors stayed silent for moment before Sparatus looked at Udina.

"Ambassador Udina, I get the sense that Ghost isn't willing to let this go." Shepard almost wanted to tell him he was damn right he wasn't but that would've been pointless.

"There are serious political ramifications here, Shepard. Humanity's made great gains thanks to you, but now you are becoming more trouble than you're worth." Udina said. Shepard got the message loud in clear as well as his team.

"You bastard! You're selling us out!" Ashley accused. The rest of the team was scowling at the human ambassador, or in Tali's case, glaring. Udina didn't even flinch at the looks he was getting.

"It's just politics. You've done your job, now let me do mine-"

"Shut up." Everyone quieted down as a cold voice echoed off the walls in the chambers. Udina and the Councilors looked at Shepard in shock at his words while the team remained silent and stoic having gotten used to Shepard's behavior by now even though they were also in mild shock. Granted they knew he could be disrespectful but they never thought that he would actually be like this in front of them.

"I beg your-" Udina began to say before Shepard cut him off.

"I said shut up." Shepard approached Udina until they were nose-to-nose with Shepard having an inch over the man. This time Udina actually did flinch at how close Shepard in his face.

"Don't think for a second that you, or them," Shepard nodded to the Council, "have any power over me. No one, not even Aria really, has it. You can't stop me. I was going after Saren before you and them even thought of it in the first place." Shepard softly spoke so only Udina could really hear him. He then turned to leave and walked down the steps.

"We've locked out all the Normandy's primary systems. Until further notice, you're grounded." Udina said making Shepard stop. Udina smirked briefly thinking he got the drop on Shepard before it was wiped off by Shepard's response.

"Not for long." Shepard replied without looking back before continuing on with his team following after him.

Presently

Shepard was leaning against his personal locker on the Normandy, lightly throwing a rubber ball at the wall and catching it as it bounced back before repeating the action. He let everyone off for some shore leave since they obviously weren't going anywhere soon. He knew the Council would backslide on him like this, but he hadn't expected them to lock down his own ship. He was silently berating himself for having not thought of it before letting it go. Still, he was burned up on the inside having to see that they were basically trapped on this damned station when they should be half way to Ilos right now. Suddenly the frustration built up in him was released as he threw the rubber ball with more force than was necessary causing it to explode on impact. Even the wall was dented by the force used in the throw.

'Whoops. Joker's gonna kill me.' Shepard mildly thought before shrugging and closing his eyes. This was the scene that Liara and Ashley came in on when they heard the loud pop from the ball.

"How you holding up, skipper?" Ashley asked causing Shepard to lazily open one eye to look at them.

"This isn't over yet." He said before closing his eye.

"You're an optimist, Shepard. I guess we'll have to consider this to be humanity's learning experience." Shepard smirked at her droll response.

"We'll figure it out. We have to. Can I count you two to be there?" Both nodded even though he didn't see it. Ashley sighed before speaking again.

"I know I'm not the easiest person to get to know. So I'll do you a favor, just this once." She said before giving a peck on Shepard's cheek causing Shepard open both eyes in surprise.

"I- We want you to be happy. Whatever you need, we'll help." Ashley said with a light tint of pink on her cheeks and Liara's cheeks turned slightly purple.

"Shepard... I cannot believe they did this to you. I am sorry." Liara apologized making Ashley look at her in confusion and Shepard to look at her.

"Its not your fault." Liara shook her head.

"Its not right. You did everything they asked and more! Nobody else could've done what you did!" Liara said with her voice getting more passionate. Shepard looked at her with great interest, waiting for her to finish what she wanted to say.

"The Council owes you everything. Everything! Instead, they strip you of your command and ground the Normandy." Shepard gave her a sly smile.

"To be honest, I don't care if they ground me, but they refuse to go after Saren. If they don't stop him from finding the Conduit, we're all dead. But I'm working on a plan to correct that. Honestly though, I just want a break, but I can't get that when I know Saren's location."

"So, what? Are you giving up?" Liara said making Ashley look at him now.

"No. We may be out of the game for the moment, but I'll find a way back in." Shepard said before he felt Liara kiss his cheek. He almost broke into a cold sweat when he realized that this just happened in front of Ash. He steadily braced himself for the fight that would happen until he noticed Ashley was completely calm.

"That's what I like to hear. We're with you every step of the way. We believe in you." Liara said, obviously pleased. Shepard was even more confused now. They weren't using 'I' but instead they used 'we'. Both women walked out of the room giggling at his expression. Giggling! He could accept Liara giggling, but Ashley? He didn't even think those words could be put in the same sentence without punch being involved somehow. Could they actually be getting along now? That thought made a cold jolt go through his spine.

Before he could think on it more, Tali came barreling in with Ashley and Liara following her, looking bewildered at her entrance.

"Shepard come on! Its Garrus!" She said frantically causing Shepard to push off the wall.

"What? What happened?" Tali ran up to him and with surprising strength for her size, the quarian started pulling him to the stairs.

"He's been hurt!"

"What?!" Shepard asked as he began to run with her. What the hell happened?

A few minutes later Shepard, as well as the girls, had made it to Garrus outside the Normandy and what he saw made him angry. Garrus was sitting on the ground clad in his armor and weapons but he was beaten up pretty badly. He had cracks on his carapace and even had a little blood here and there. Kaidan was beside him looking him over while Wrex just watched with his arms crossed. Shepard could tell the krogan was more than a little annoyed at the situation.

"What the hell happened to you, Garrus?" Shepard asked as he kneeled beside him.

"I had been talking to this human negotiator who needed some kind of neural stimulant for this negotiation going on with the salarians. He was convinced that his assistant would be able to handle it since he was, in his words, an alien sympathizer. He believed he needed to be there to show the salarians who was in charge. It became apparent to me that he was an addict and I talked him down from it, take treatment and to allow his assistant to take charge. After that I walked around, heard the news about how the deal went which was mutually beneficial to both parties and suddenly I got ambushed by 5 humans. Said I meddled in their affairs deliberately to help the salarians. Said I cost them a few billion credits because the assistant took over and gave an even deal with the 'aliens'."

Shepard was pissed off before he began talking.

"Did they mention anything else?" He asked in a tight tone. Garrus mulled it over for a minute before blinking in realization.

"Yeah, they mentioned someone named Charles Saracino." Shepard rose an eyebrow at the name before getting out his omni-tool. He typed the name in and the man's profile came up.

"Charles Saracino, leader of the Terra Firma party. Oh great." He said in annoyance while Ashley muttered 'Jackals' at the group name.

"What do we do? report this to C-Sec?" Kaidan asked. Garrus answered as he got up.

"Don't bother. Without any real evidence besides my word, they won't look into it and even if they did, this politician guy good easily claim to not be aware of his men's actions."

"And so what? Let them get away with it?" Tali asked.

"I don't think that'll be necessary." Shepard said as he began typing on his omni-tool. Suddenly someone's face showed up on the screen.

"Shepard! What do you need?"

"Hey Chun, how are you?" Shepard asked making everyone look at him, wondering who he was talking to.

"Oooh can't complain. Chora's Den has been making me lots of credits but it's beginning to get a little stale in here."

"That's what happens when you spend so much time in one place." Shepard mildly chastised.

"Oh well. So what do you need?"

"How do you feel about radicals?"

"Are you talking about Terra Firma?" Shepard blinked in surprise.

"How did you know?"

"They're on the station. Something about getting their leader a seat in the Alliance Parliament or something like that. They've been harassing my girls here and I'm not happy about it." Shepard's eyebrows rose in fear. Whenever Chun wasn't happy, things tended to get broken.

"But what pisses me off even more is the fact I may lose business if I do something about them."

"And what if I told you I had a solution?"

"Let me guess, they did something to someone you know?" Shepard nodded.

"And I'm not a happy either, so here's the plan..."

An hour later (Inspired and similar to scene from the 1983 movie: Porky's 2. All credit goes to them, just as anything else in this goes to the owners accordingly.)

Shepard and company were gathered together in a dark room waiting.

"What's the point of this?" Wrex grunted.

"You'll see soon enough." Shepard replied before a door opened up with Chun leading a group of human men inside, including Charles Saracino.

"So where's Shepard?" Saracino asked before Chun closed the door and the room was pitch black again.

"What the-?" A spot light lit over and shined on both the Terra Firma party and Shepard and his team. The team was clad in their armor looking intimidating while Shepard wasn't wearing any of his, was sitting down in a chair looking as relaxed as he could be. Chun was right beside him in his morning suit and glasses.

"Afternoon, gentlemen." Shepard said with his team giving as serious of greetings themselves which were no more than grunts. The only exception was Chun who said howdy.

"Thought you liked to meet a friend of our's." Garrus walked out from behind Wrex and Kaidan, giving stone cold glare to them as some of them laughed at him.

"Yeah, I remember him." One snorted. He was older than the others if his grey hair was any indication.

"You did a mighty fine job on him!" The one beside him said, nudging him.

"And I didn't even ask for a tip for the trim!" The other said causing the rest to laugh save for Saracino who never took his eyes off Shepard. He knew they were in trouble now.

"Well now, in leu of a tip why don't we just return the favor?" Shepard asked looking smug. This caused the others to stop laughing and look at him in confusion.

"What? What did you say?"

"Why don't we give you a trim?" Shepard clarified.

"Oh you snot-noses aren't going to give us a trim!" He said pointing to Shepard and then themselves before laughing.

"Us and few of our friends." Shepard replied smirking. The man who had been speaking pointed to the group.

"You and these friends here?" He asked before laughing with the group.

"Well you better bring the army boy. You better bring the whole fucking army." Shepard smiled as if he was hoping he said that.

"Well actually we have something slightly different in mind."

"Oh yeah?" Shepard nodded and raised his arm.

"Oh yeah." He snapped his fingers and the room lit up. What the lights revealed was something that made the Terra Firma party go deathly quiet. They saw that they were in what must have been an old court. For what, they didn't know nor care once they saw what, or specifically who was sitting on the bleachers. Non-humans. A lot of them. Including asari, turians, salarians, even a few krogan. All of them were glaring at the radicals with their arms crossed. The radicals however were looking around with ever growing fear.

"Ah shit! Look all them fucking aliens!" They continued to look at them while the spokesman started getting more and more scared. The crowd's general expression hadn't changed.

"Oh shit. That's a lot of aliens." Shepard and his group started chuckling at their expressions.

"They're not happy. These aliens aren't happy." The spokesman muttered looking at the ground now, sweating. They tried to back away but Shepard stood up from his chair and grabbed the spokesman.

"Well now, don't be shy." Shepard said as he led the man to the chair and practically shoved him into it.

"Now in consideration of your obvious status in your party, we've thought of something very special for all of you." Shepard gestured to Chun. "Now, I'd like to meet a friend of mine. This is Chun and he dabbles in the religion of Judaism and he will be our mohel for the day." (Weren't expecting this were ya?) Shepard turned to the Terra Firma group to see one of them mouth 'what the hell's a mohel'

"And what you ask is a mohel? Well, a mohel is a jewish barber." Shepard stated causing himself, and the humans in his group to laugh while the non-humans didn't understand.

"But not exactly." Chun said still smirking. Shepard smacked the spokesman shoulder.

"Go ahead, ask him." He commanded. The spokesman hesitated before asking.

"Alright what the hell is a mohel?" Chun grabbed a box, opened it and took a small clamp-like object out of it.

"I'm glad you asked. See a mohel is someone who performs a bris." Chun said observing the metal object.

"What the fuck is a bris?" The spokesman asked getting more nervous. Shepard decided to answer.

"Well, a mohel is someone who performs a bris or in more common terms... a circumcision!" Shepard said having an evil smile.

"And this," Chun said gesturing to the object, "I'm sure you've already guessed." He made it do a snip sound causing the radicals eyes to widen and fear. The non-humans of the group finally understood what might happen now and on instinct, Garrus and Wrex backed away from Chun.

"Now this has been used to chop off hundreds of foreskins." Chun said putting the clamp in front of the mans face.

"Hundreds." Shepard echoed.

"Hundreds." Chun confirmed.

"Amen." Ashley said with grin making Shepard and Kaidan snicker.

"So what better way to shave the heads of a bunch of pricks like you?" Chun asked. The spokesman jumped out of the chair.

"The fuck you will!" He said.

"Alright thats-" Saracino said as him and everyone else looked to leave until their audience stood up. The radicals froze knowing what would happen if they even tried to move to the door. Saracino looked around and gestured to the chair.

"Sit down." He commanded his spokesman who reluctantly did so. As he sat down, all the non-humans took their seats again.

"Line up boys." Shepard replied as Chun got his instrument ready. Saracino nodded and tried to negotiate.

"Ok, ok now. Let's talk this over. This is getting out of hand. So I'll tell you what I'm going to do. We're gonna let you off this time with a warning. Deal?" He said with some of his members nodding. The spokesman looked at Shepard from his seat.

"Now that sounds fair. You got to admit that is fair?" The spokesman said nervously. Everyone looked like they were mulling it over before going "Nah." Shepard looked at the group with a smile on his face.

"Line up boys." He reiterated.

"We will certainly have to retire this instrument after this job." Chun stated with a smug grin making them chuckle.

Two hours later...

Shepard walked into Flux and immediately spotted Anderson. A few minutes ago, Joker called him and told him that Anderson wanted to meet him at Flux. Shepard almost didn't recognize Anderson considering he wasn't in his dress blues but rather Alliance fatigues. Guess to help make it a better cover or was he really taken down that far? He walked to the table and overheard some patrons talking about the group of humans who ran through the wards naked. Shepard smirked knowing exactly who they were talking about. He quickly moved his attention back to Anderson and sat down at the table.

"I'm glad you came, Shepard. I heard what happened." Anderson said as he poured Shepard a drink.

"The Normandy's been grounded" Shepard stated before drinking. Anderson nodded.

"I know. I'm sorry. I wanted to warn you but there was no way to get a message to you before you docked. I know you're pissed off right now, but you can't give up. They all think this is over, but we both know it's not. You have to go to Ilos. you have to stop Saren from using the Conduit!" Anderson said. Shepard sighed.

"That's the thing Anderson. There's only one ship that get me there undetected and she's grounded."

"Citadel control's locked out all of the Normandy's systems." Shepard nodded.

"Yeah, Udina mentioned that."

"But if we override the ambassador's orders we can get them to bring the Normandy back online. You can be in the Terminus Systems before anyone even knows you're gone." Shepard thought it over.

"Hmmm the only places we could do that would be at the Citadel control center or Udina's office in the presidium. If we steal the Normandy, you're the one holding the bag though." Shepard said thinking it over.

"And if Saren finds the Conduit, life as we know it is over. The Reapers will destroy us. Humans, asari, everybody!" Anderson countered even though he knew Shepard knew the stakes. Anderson could still some reluctance in Shepard's eyes, however.

"You're the only one who can stop him, Shepard. So I'll do whatever it takes to get you on the Normandy and off this station."

"Stealing the Normandy is considered mutiny. What if the crew won't help me?" Shepard knew that despite the time he had spent with them, he wasn't Alliance. He wasn't the one they would normally give their loyalty to. They only took his command because they were ordered to. Didn't they?

"The Normandy's your ship now, Shepard. Her crew will follow you to the ends of the galaxy. We both know that." Anderson said with a small smile. Shepard felt one beginning to form on his lips too. Anderson was right, of course. And he knew them far better than Shepard did.

"Okay. What's the plan?" Anderson leaned over the table, his voice lower than before.

"I can unlock the Normandy from one of the consoles in the Citadel control center, like you said. You'll have a few minutes before anyone realizes what's happened." Shepard shook his head.

"That's a restricted area patrolled by armed guards. How are you going to get in?" Shepard asked leaning in as well. He knew he could probably do it with Isaac but even then it would be difficult to do. Anderson won't have much of a chance.

"Leave that to me. Just make sure you're in the Normandy when the systems come back online." Shepard shook his head no.

"There's got to be a better way." Shepard stated.

"Ambassador Udina did issue the lockdown order. If I can hack into the computer in his office, maybe I can override it." Anderson suggested.

"You know he won't stand by and let you use his computer."

"Hopefully he won't be there. If he is, I'll just have to think of something." Shepard raised an eyebrow.

"Udina won't forgive this, Anderson. You might be charged with treason. Are you really ready for that?" Shepard asked. Anderson looked at his drink with a grimace before looking back at Shepard.

"We don't have a lot of options. I break into the ambassador's computer, or I take my chances with the patrols in Citadel control." He stated as he swished his drink inside the glass. Shepard sighed before finishing off his drink and getting out of his seat.

"You'll have a better chance of breaking into that prick's computer." Shepard said before tossing a small OSD. Anderson caught it.

"I was hoping you'd say that. The ambassador's made this personal. What is this?" Anderson asked looking at the OSD.

"Something that'll help with the computer's security."

"You were already planning this weren't you?" Shepard smirked.

"Maybe." Anderson chuckled at him before downing his drink and rising from his chair.

"You ready to get the hell of this station, Ghost?" Shepard's smirk turned into a grin.

"Been ready since I docked." Anderson nodded.

"I'll take care of the lockdown. You get down to the Normandy and tell Joker to stand by." Anderson ordered before walking away. Shepard immediately got on his omni-tool and signaled for his crew to drop whatever they were doing and to get aboard the Normandy.

With Anderson

It felt somewhat empowering to walk forward through the presidium knowing what he was about to do. He wouldn't admit it, but he was silently hoping the Udina was there just so he could punch him. He glanced at the OSD Shepard had given him before he came up to the Ambassador's office. The door slid open and he saw the smug politician typing away on his terminal. Immediately Anderson felt anger course through him as he marched up to the man. Udina noticed his entrance.

"Anderson? What are you doing here? I didn't send for- ghuh!" Anderson closed the distance between the two and socked the politician with a strong right hook. The blow knocked the man unconscious. A small part of him swelled with pride knowing he still had it as he sat down and began typing. Looks like he wouldn't need Shepard's OSD after all.

He sent the order swiftly to bring the Normandy's systems back online as he heard Udina start to rouse.

'The rest is up to you now, Shepard. Good luck.' He thought before he heard Udina start to yell at him.

Meanwhile in the Normandy

Shepard and Joker were both in the cockpit, waiting for the green light to go. Joker was rubbing his fingers out of tense boredom before glancing at Shepard. Shepard hadn't taken his eyes of the red light which indicated they were still a no go. Suddenly the red switched to green and they heard the clamps detach from the ship.

"Let's go. Get us out of here Joker. Now!" Shepard ordered before he zoomed toward the galaxy map to place in the coordinates to Ilos. Joker nodded and smirked before his fingers danced on the controls.

The Normandy backed out of the docks and quickly flew out of the Citadel and towards the relay. A few ships broke form the fleet and flew after her, nearly opening fire just before she hit the relay. The Normandy was gone.

"The Normandy has gone through the relay. Permission to pursue?" A turian pilot requested over the comm.

"Unnecessary. It's just one ship. Let it go and return to the fleet." A feminine voice replied from the Destiny Ascension.

"Understood, Matriarch Lidanya. Retuning now." The pilot replied before he and his squadron flew back to the fleet. On the Destiny Ascension, the commanding officer, Matriarch Lidanya, looked to the one who gave her the order.

"Madame Councilor, are you sure it was wise to let them go like that?" She asked. Behind her Councilor Tevos smiled.

"Yes, I do believe it would be best. They have been hunting Saren for some time now and not only that, but I don't believe Shepard wouldn't have put up such a fuss unless he had a good reason to. Besides, I doubt they would make much of a difference here instead of being out there. Isn't that what you believed Councilor Valern?" The salarian in question walked up beside her, nodding.

"Yes. Ghost's abilities are best put to use on the field. And if anything, he will at least slow Saren down." Valern said. They had only managed to get sparatus to agree to make the fleet but he wouldn't budge on anything else. So they had to improvise this time and go behind their fellow councilor's back. Not to mention the manipulation of the patrols in the Citadel control center, but apparently Ghost and Anderson thought differently. Oh well, no real harm done.

Back on the Normandy

"Aw damn it. No sign of pursuit? I was hoping the Council would send some ships after us. I was looking forward to putting the Normandy through its paces. Figured I'd get to see what this ship can really do." Joker griped in disappointment.

"Saren's still out there. Maybe we'll get a chance to play hide-and-seek with Sovereign." Shepard replied back dryly.

"You know, it doesn't seem like much fun when you say it, Shepard. So the coordinates are in?"

"Were in before we hit the relay. Ain't that right Pressly?" Shepard said looking toward the Normandy's navigator.

"Yes, sir." Pressly said with an excited undertone which Shepard caught.

"You sound excited." Pressly nodded.

"I won't lie, I can't believe we stole the Normandy! I know we'll all be court-martialed if this doesn't work out. But part of me loves this!" Shepard nodded with a grin.

"There always is a little excitement of doing something you're not supposed to." Shepard chuckled before walking down. There was no mutiny at all. He gave them the chance to leave before Anderson went to Udina. None left. Shepard was humbled by their loyalty. If was going to make it count. He made it to the mess where he saw Chakwas and Adams talking at one of the tables.

"Heard we're heading into the Terminus Systems, Shepard. Don't worry, sir. The Normandy's a hell of a ship. She'll get us through this." Engineer Adams said upon noticing him.

"I can think of no other ship that could do so."

"Its strange, being a fugitive from the Alliance. This crew has sacrificed everything for you, Shepard. Don't let us down." Chakwas said bringing his attention to her. He could see that she made a pretty tough decision staying with him on this mission if the sad look in her eyes was any indication.

"I won't." He said with all his resolve. That seemed to lift Chakwas' spirits.

"Good." That was when Tali came in.

"We're fugitives on the run. Very exciting Shepard. I wonder what the Council will do to us if we get caught?" Tali wondered aloud.

"You think your father has some political pull? I don't think he'd let his little girl stay in jail." Shepard said teasingly which Tali seemed to miss. She crossed her arms.

"You don't know my father. Stealing ships is a capital offense among my people. He'd probably want to execute us himself." Shepard gritted and looked away briefly thinking about how much trouble Tali would be in if her father found out. He looked back at her with some confidence.

"The Normandy's the best ship in the fleet. They'll never catch us." He said proudly. Tali nodded. It didn't hold her usual energetic personality though.

"I hope you're right." She said before walking back to the elevator. Liara passed by on her way to the med-bay. Shepard briefly wondered where Benezia was before remembering the dropped her off on the Citadel. It was her choice of course and it was before they made the plan to escape, but Shepard hoped she was alright.

"This will all be over soon Shepard. One way or another." Liara said in passing.

"Yeah? Well, it'll be our way if I have anything to say." Shepard said back causing her to smile a little. He knew it wasn't easy for her. She was obviously worrying about her mother and herself. They both had committed treason now, even Benezia was free of her charges she could still catch some backlash from this.

"Stealing an Alliance ship. Risky stuff. But I'm right behind you, Shepard. It's the least I can do." Wrex said coming up from behind him. The krogan seemed to be taking it the best out of everyone here.

"Everyone else thinks I'm crazy" Shepard stated blandly thinking of everyone else's reactions. The krogan merely smirked at him.

"Sometimes crazy is the way to go. I just hope they don't catch us before we get our hands on Saren." Wrex said as his smirk was replaced with a serious visage.

"They won't" Shepard stated with conviction.

"With you, anything's possible." Wrex said nodding before moving to the fridge to get some food. That was when Garrus came from around the corner.

"I can't believe we stole the Normandy. After everything you told me... It seems a bit extreme, don't you think?" Garrus asked thinking that maybe what they did was wrong.

"Stealing the Normandy is a trivial risk compared to the threat of Saren." Shepard stated which made Garrus nod.

"Yeah I suppose you're right. If your wrong, we'll pay for it. But if you're right and did nothing... I think we'll regret it a whole lot more. I just hope we can catch Saren before they realize we're missing." Shepard hmmed at Garrus' hopeful thinking.

"We'll catch him just be ready when we do." Shepard replied before walking to his room. He had already Ashley's and Kaidan's responses. They approved it knowing what would happen if they didn't.

The hours rolled by as Shepard got his equipment and made sure it was ready. All mods and upgrades accounted for and installed in his armor and weapons. His bio-amp was ready to go as always as well as his omni-tool. He could only hope everyone else had done the same for their own equipment. knowing that there was no one else listening in Shepard talked to Isaac.

"Isaac, you ready for this?"

"As ready as I can be." Shepard looked down at the floor and gave a mirthless chuckle.

"I never thought we would be roped into this. Did you?"

"No. I never thought I would ever have to fight my own kind." Shepard's eyes narrowed.

"They're not your kind Isaac."

"They are synthetics."

"But they are not your kind, Isaac. I'm an organic, but you won't see me being lumped in with asari or any other non-humans. The geth are different from Sovereign, who is incredibly different from you. If you want, you can call yourself a 'human-synthetic'. But you are not them, Isaac. You don't seek genocide." Isaac was quiet for a few seconds longer after Shepard's words. He had always thought that his artificiality was what defined him from others. Was what linked him to the geth and Sovereign, but then... Shepard was right. Isaac had gained an admiration to life during his time with Shepard and wanted to continue to see that life flourish. Life which Sovereign and the geth would destroy.

Isaac realized what had truly defined, divided and united all races: Belief. It wasn't shape, size, race or background which made people who they were. It was their beliefs. Their choices and opinions. What they held dear or acceptable. Maybe if the geth had realized this, and had the quarians been open-minded, maybe synthetics wouldn't be so persecuted like today.

"You're right, Shepard. I'd rather not let Sovereign win. I like this galaxy as it is, for the moment. I'd rather not see it purged. We'll stop him, even if it's the last thing we do." Shepard smiled at his longtime friend.

"Whatever comes our way, we'll grab onto it, kick its ass or go down fighting." That was when Shepard felt something at his door. Isaac noticed Shepard's reaction and quickly turned silent. The door opened to reveal Ashley and Liara behind it. Both walked in.

"Shepard? May we speak with you?" Liara asked.

"Hey you two. What brings you here?" Shepard asked getting up from his bed and walking to them.

"We've been thinking about you... and what we are about to face." Liara said as her cheeks went purple and she looked away slightly.

"I do not know what is going to happen once we get Ilos. I hope we will stop Saren, of course. But part of me fears we are already too late. There is something I-we must tell you. In case we fail."

"We're not going to fail. I promise." Shepard with a strong voice hoping to comfort her distress. Liara must have noticed this because she got an annoyed look.

"Please, I'm not looking for comfort. Saren might've already found the Conduit. It is time to be completely honest with each other. These could be our last moments together." Shepard looked to Ashley for anything she might've wanted to say. Seeing this, she spoke.

"I'm not a 'word person,' Shepard. Other people say what I mean better than I do. We're mutineers, sailing a stolen warship into the most hostile system in the galaxy. I couldn't blame the Council for calling us reckless or aggressive." Shepard looked at her a raised eyebrow.

"Just a few months ago you would have." He teased. She blushed and looked away.

"I've had some things to think about since coming aboard." She said before quoting from one of her favorite poems. Liara thought it was beautiful and seemed to fit Shepard perfectly.

"We'll get home again, Shepard. I believe you'll lead us through. 'O Captain. My Captain.'" Shepard closed his eyes and smiled. First Alfred Tennyson and now Walt Whitman. Ashley always managed to surprise him. He thought things over the past few weeks. He knew they accepted what was going to happen if they survived this. That he would go back and be a father. That they would most likely never see each other again. He knew neither of them wanted that. He FELT it. So after fighting off his feelings for the last few months, he caved and gave in. If this was to be their last time, why should it be spent being alone? He knew what he was going to do would be incredibly selfish. For all of them. But now...

"Is that all you see in me?" He asked them which they gave him a questioning look.

"I know you know I can't give what you want. What I want." They looked down sadly. He was going to reject them again. They knew he probably would but they thought together he would-

"But I can give you one night. If you'll have it." They looked at him with hope in their eyes which was reflected back through his. Liara moved first and claimed his lips. Shepard's focus was brought on her as he reciprocated back with equal passion. He wondered what Ashley was doing before he felt someone sucking on his neck and grabbing his ass.

'Hmph. Two can play that game.' He thought before grabbing her tight ass which she moaned out before resuming her attack on his neck. As Shepard felt them tugging his clothes his last thoughts of were how fun the next hour would be.

I'm back (Fans point all kinds of guns at him.) Whoa, whoa! Hey kill me and you definitely won't see the end to this story! (Fans point there guns away from him, but still keep them ready.) Whew!

Alright, now I know you guys are pissed or are going what took you so long. To tell the truth, I got burned out. Everyday I tried to get back into it but I couldn't I lost my spark! But now after having to actually talk with HayabusaDragonForce and looking back at the reviews I had gotten especially the one from whomever GM is, (thank you for that by the way I love reviews like that, it always helps) MY SPARK IS BACK AND I'M WRITING AGAIN. I fully intend to finish this story just so you know and if you want me to write faster, just do what everyone else did during the Virmire Arc. Post Reviews that are more than 4! Also for the next chapter, you want a lemon, send it in! I'm not good at those.

I hope you all enjoyed this new chapter will continue to read this story and hopefully take a look at my Dragon Age story. It's not as good as the games but it is acceptable.

Please Review and have a good. And just because I feel so great today here's a little something for the people who were born on this day or have someone they care about who was born today: HAPPY BIRTHDAY!