Here is chapter 3... I know 1, 2, and 3 have been really close together but I was kind of on a roll today.

Please let me know what you think! Enjoy!

Luke, Garrus, and Wrex looked around the cargo bay. The frigate was small compared to other ships but they had gotten a peek in the engine room and the drive core caused their jaws to drop. It was massive. The ship would not just fly. The damn thing could out fly most fighters and scout frigates. Not to mention the stealth systems hiding them from non-visual scanners. It was the perfect ship for a spectre.

"Whatever, I'll be over there cleaning my gun." Wrex was obviously not as impressed with the ship as Luke and Garrus were but maybe that was just because he was a krogan. Most would rather shoot things than build or study anything.

The two former C-Sec officers watched the krogan walk away and made their way over to the land vehicle used to ground team insertion, the Mako. Garrus leaned against the tank looking down at his friend.

"You still haven't told either of them who you are yet, have you?" Luke looked up at his friend before sighing and sitting down on the floor using the Mako's massive tire as a back rest.

"What am I supposed to say? 'Hi, sorry I abandoned you after the massacre but hey I'm here now after thirteen years.' Man, I'm not sure if I can ever forgive myself for that. Besides, have you told your dad that you quit C-Sec and are running around with a spectre?" Garrus cleared his throat and started to run diagnostics on the Mako's weapons systems. "I didn't think so."

Luke stood up and saw the marine that had caught his eye in the clinic. Claire had called her Williams when they had attacked Chora's Den. He wanted to say something to her but could not think of anything at all. Should I comment on her combat ability, how she looks in armor, how great she looks in uniform? She looks really good in uniform. Luke quickly realized that he was staring with his head cocked to the side. He quickly straightened up and took a slow breath. He noticed she was taking her rifle apart to clean it and smirked. It wouldn't be smooth, but he had a way in now.

He took a breath and made his way across the cargo bay toward the equipment table. As he came along side Williams he placed his pistol on the table and started working in silence. He noticed her glance at him out of the corner of his eye and turned to look at her.

"Hey." It was all he could manage to get out. What is wrong with me? I have run into burning buildings, taken down gangsters, and wrestled a krogan to the ground. Why is talking to this girl so hard?

"Hey." At least I got a response.

"So I read the reports about what happened on Eden Prime. I'm sorry about your unit." Damn it, you idiot! Don't talk about her massacred unit. Way to kill the conversation.

"Thanks, if it hadn't been for Shepard and the rest of her squad, I think I'd probably be dead too." The girl lowered her eyes and stopped cleaning.

Luke sighed as he ran the cleaning brush over the action of his pistol. "But you survived to fight another day, and now we're going after the bastard that did it."

"And when we find him, I'm going to shoot him twice for every marine in the 212." Luke smiled. He liked her fire. She was independent and driven, not to mention extremely attractive.

"By the way, I don't think I caught your first name." Luke offered his hand. The girl looked over at him with a smile playing lightly across her lips. She placed her hand in his and shook it.

"Ashley." Luke smiled back at her before turning his attention back to his pistol. "What about you? Why would you throw away your career at C-Sec to chase after Saren?"

Luke looked over at her with a little smile on his face. "Because Saren is a bad guy, you should see his files. It is dripping with innocent blood. For all the operations I read through completely, the death count numbered in the thousands, might have even broke ten thousand if we get an accurate count of how many people died on Eden Prime. Besides, when I get a case, I'm like a bulldog with a bone. I latch on and I don't let go until it's done." Ashley smiled and started putting her rifle back together.

"You and Shepard are a lot alike."

"Which one?" Luke asked playing dumb.

"Both of them. The commander always wants to make sure that everyone gets justice and always accomplishes the mission with as little loss of life as possible. The lieutenant is the same but she just doesn't see all the options at once. She can get anything done but sometimes it costs her and the people with her."

"I've heard that they both have reputations as war heros. What's it like having them both on board?" Ashley smiled with a light laugh.

"You'd have to ask Lieutenant Alenko. I only met them about 48 hours ago. But from what I saw on Eden Prime and the Citadel, they live up to their reputation." Luke nodded. And finished cleaning his pistol. "You were pretty good in Chora's Den too."

"Thanks, so were you." Luke held his eyes down and started putting his pistol back together. "Well, I should probably get back to the Mako. Garrus loves tinkering with weapons but he can't tune up an engine to save his life." Luke placed his pistol back in his locker and smiled at Ashley as he made his way back over to the Mako.

"Didn't you clean your gun as soon as you got back to the station with Fist?" Garrus asked as Luke opened the engine compartment of the Mako.

"Yeah."

Claire sat in the co-pilot's seat as the Normandy's pilot, Jeff "Joker" Moreau, plotted a course through the relay system to the Artimus Tau Cluster. She rubbed the back of her neck stretching and put her knees of the arm rests.

"What's on your mind Shepard?" Joker asked. He was the best pilot in the Alliance fleet in but his condition limited him to flying frigates and cruisers. Joker had brittle bone disease. He had trouble moving and if he sneezed to hard it could break his ribs, but he was worth it. No other pilot in the Alliance was as skilled with handling a ship like the Normandy.

"That cop we brought on board, Luke. Do you have access to his file up here?" Claire asked leaning forward.

"Yeah, C-Sec files are pretty easy to get. Um…" Joker scrolled through a few screens before he found a picture of Luke. "Holy crap…"

"What?" Claire jumped to her feet and came up alongside Joker so she could read over his shoulder. "Birthday April 11, 2154 CE. On Mindoir. Resident on the Citadel for thirteen years, C-Sec officer for eleven years." Joker looked up at Claire as her jaw dropped. "This is… he's…" She could not even finish her sentence. She immediately sprinted down the hall and down the stairs, nearly running over Mallory.

"What has you in such a rush?" Mallory asked.

"It's… It's…" Claire felt tears rolling down her face. She grabbed her sister's hand and pulled her into the elevator.

"Claire, what's going on?" Mallory was starting to get worried. She had never seen her sister break down like this. Not since the attack on Mindoir.

"Damned elevator's…to slow…" Claire sobbed.

The door opened to the cargo bay and the two Shepard girls stepped out. Luke was up wiping the some oil from his hands after tuning up the Mako and making a joke with Garrus. Claire did not wait to explain her actions. She charged forward tackling the man and hugging him tightly. Caught by surprise, Luke fell back into the Mako before steadying himself and hugging her back.

"I guess you figured out who I am?" Luke said with a smile. Claire leaned back looking at her long lost brother.

"You knew? You knew and you didn't say anything? Thirteen years Luke, thirteen years we weren't sure if you were alive or dead. You didn't even have the decency to send a message to let us know you were alive. Now you wait until you are on my ship and…and…" She started sobbing again. Luke pulled her in for a hug. Mallory was just standing there glued to her spot with her mouth agape.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know how to tell you or Mal."

"How about 'hey, remember me. I'm your brother'?" Mallory spat.

Claire backed away from Luke and wiped her eyes quickly. "Let's head up to my quarters. It's a little open down here." She said looking around at all the eyes that were now focused solely on them.

Luke and Mallory followed their sister into the elevator , right as the door closed Mallory turned and slugged Luke in the jaw. He took a few steps to the side holding his chin before looking up at his sister. "What the hell Mal?"

"You don't get to call me that. You abandoned us in that foster home. You left us and now your back and we are all suppose to be one big happy family." Mallory had tears in her eyes. Luke wiped his mouth and stood up straight again.

"Maybe not happy, but maybe a little less violent." Claire smiled at her brother's remark. He had not changed much from when they were kids, still a jokester and still rather stoic when it came to his showing his emotions. They stepped off the elevator and headed straight for Claire's quarters. Luke noticed out that Alenko was watching them walk by with his eyes glued on Mallory. Interesting… Luke thought.

The doors closed behind them and Luke immediately pulled both girls into a hug. Claire immediately hugged him back, but Mallory just stood there waiting to be released. "I'm so sorry I didn't tell you sooner, I just…I don't know…I guess I figured that if I hadn't forgiven myself for leaving you two, what chance did have that you would?"

"We're all together again. That's what counts. I want hear everything. What have you been doing at C-Sec? What did you do when you got to the Citadel?" Claire was over playing her part. Always the peace keeper. Even when we were kids you would settle arguments between me and Mal. I know you're just as mad at me as she is. Don't hold back to spare my feelings.

"Claire, thanks for trying but Mal's right. I left you two and you are just as mad at me as she is. So just let me say this. I should have called or messaged or something while I was on the Citadel but I did follow you two in your careers. I thought about writing to you both probably a million times and I always missed you but after a few years, I figured you'd forgotten about me." Luke paused refusing to look up at his sisters. "I guess that's why I was working so hard to try and catch Saren. Maybe I could see you two again, convince you to take me with you, and we could…be a family again. I missed you two." Claire smiled slightly and looked over at Mallory.

"Why did you leave?" Mallory asked sitting down in the desk chair. Claire's smile faded as their brother leaned against the wall.

"I don't know. Mom and Dad were gone, we were in a new place, surrounded by strangers… everyone kept asking if we were okay… we were kids. How were we suppose to be okay?" Tears started rolling down his face as the memories broke the dam that had held them back for all those years.

He wakes to an explosion shaking the prefab and the roar of engines above him. Vaulting from the bed he peers out the window to see Batarian slaver-ships descending and shuttles landing. His father appears in the door way with a pistol in his hand. "Hannah, I've got Luke. Get the girls." Then they are running. No shoes and no shirt. His father fires as a batarian that steps in the way. The alien's head explodes. Blood splatters on to his bare chest as his father pulls him along with the girls and their mother behind them. Suddenly, his father lurches forward and falls as a stream of blood spews from his chest. His mother screams falls next to her husband's body. They hear the slavers coming up behind them. Claire grabs Mallory and Luke by the hand and starts pulling them toward the woods. He jerks free and runs back to his mother as she screams her protests at him telling him to run. The next instant, her head jolts to the side and a fresh spray of blood covers him from head to toe. "Mom!" He howls. Stooping to retrieve his father's pistol, he takes aim at the approaching group of slavers and pulls the trigger over and over again until the weapon overheated. He turned and ran.

"We still aren't. I still have nightmares about that day. I dream about the Blitz, Mindoir, Eden Prime, the damned beacon, and a hundred other places. But that is no reason to run off on us…" Claire sat on the bed hugging her knees to her chest. Luke looked up at his sister then over to Mallory. They had been through far more than he had, even as a C-Sec officer.

"I guess I just wanted to get away from everything. Go somewhere that no one would know me or pity me. A fresh start. You know? I'm sorry I left you behind but every time I look at you too, even now, I see mom." Claire nodded. She understood.

"I guess all three of us needed a fresh start. You found yours on the Citadel and we got ours in the Alliance. I do have to admit it, you look a lot like dad." The siblings started talking about their memories on Mindoir, their careers, and some of the relationships they had had over the years.