Erebus System, Nepmos
Normandy

No heads turned at Shepard's exclamation though ears were stretched to catch every bit of the conversation.

"Conrad Verner?" Shepard repeated. "What the hell are you doing on a Cerberus base?!"

"Cerberus.." Verner looked around wildly as if he had only just realised where he was. "Oh, oh, wait-," he held up a finger defensively, "wait. I can explain this..."

"On second thought, keep this channel open," Shepard interrupted as she glanced at the master plot of the Erebus system. It was clear but how long would that last? "I'll get back to you."

"What?" Verner said in confusion, peering into the pickup. "Hey..wai.."

Ignoring the protest, Shepard muted the audio on her end. "Scan status."

"No activity detected from the base. In-system is clear. Heliopause is clear" Araki reported as she checked the data on her console. "Ranoch reports no incoming signal at the relay."

"EDI?"

"We're too far out for an effective break into their system."

Frowning, Shepard considered closing in on the base again. "How about borrowing the EWS network?"

"In progress. Tie in to the entire network in two minutes."

As usual, EDI was two steps in front. Sometimes Shepard wondered if there was any point directing her at all. "We'll hold here for now. The moment there is any change, get ready to whip us out, Joker."

"Aye, aye," he said, shifting in his chair before looking over to EDI. "Man, this guy really turns up in the oddest places huh?"

"To provide some form of solution to a problem at hand."

"Phhhhffft...what? You're going to say providence and him go hand in hand?" he scoffed.

"The results are a testimony."

"No way. He's sitting right on top of a bunch of firecrackers right now. How is he going to pull a rabbit hat to save his ass?" he smirked.

Back in CIC, Shepard debated pulling out rather than hang around to chit chat, familiar face or no. Verner didn't act like he was indoctrinated but then, neither did Dr Kenson. She wished she dared ask him to hop on a shuttle and come onboard the Normandy. The security scanners would confirm whether he's a TI or not.

Stay or go? She glanced at the comm screen and wondered who Verner was talking to off screen. If anything, that open, slightly witless expression of his was somewhat assuring. Right now, he was looking all pleased, excited and worried. Was that an act? What if it wasn't Verner himself? Perhaps it's someone pretending to be him. She wouldn't put it past Greenacres not to have detailed files on her and everybody she spoke to.

Coming to a decision, she said to Araki, "Signal the geth squadrons to stand by and be ready to pull out. Have them and the Ranoch to go to eyes."

The last thing she needed was for an enemy ship with the same stealth capabilities to launch a sneak attack on them. As Araki turned away, Shepard turned back on the audio. "All right Conrad. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't blast the deck out from under you.

"Uh-," he looked at her with calf eyes. "That's not going to look good in my resume...?"

"You won't need a resume, period, if you don't start talking."

"Okaaay-," he gave her a hurt look. "Remember when I saved you from that Cerberus agent on the Citadel? Oh wait, ah, no, that was Jenna. Man, all she needed to do was watched the guy and pulled a few stuff off his heat when all I could do was throw myself on the floor. I should have known better." He shrugged. "I thought maybe I could learn a few tricks from her if we go into partnership. That way, I could help you out in the war."

"Don't sell yourself short, you were trying to block the shot. Your dissertation on dark energy smoothed some of the problems with the Crucible and you saved those orphans," she reminded him. "You've done your share in the war."

"Sure, but those are well-," he scratched his beard. "Seems kind of small when you put yourself so many times on the line and saved so many lives. I was planning to have a statue made after the war with many stars around it to commemorate your great achievements but you don't have a dlog, makes it hard to keep up. You know you should have one..."

"Conrad-," she let impatience seeped into her voice as she glanced at the tactical plot again. "You're really short on time. Who exactly is running the base?"

He shook his head. "It's not Cerberus," he said earnestly. "It's just a group of volunteers. Right now, I'm on watch with Sonny."

"Who's Sonny and who are these volunteers?"

"I's kind of hard to pronounce her name so I called her Sonny. She's a great cook." He looked off screen when a faint voice that sounded female yelled something. Whoever it was must be in another room. "There's a bunch of us here. Refugees."

"Refugees from where?" She wished she could reach into the screen, grabbed him by the neck and shake all the answers out of him.

"It's uh kind of a long story. I was pretty sure the alien bad guys, uh Reapers, would eventually show up at the Citadel," he said. "I mean, Cerberus tried to take over and they really shouldn't have done that, by the way, they just made people more jumpy."

The look on Araki's face as she listened was revealing; she couldn't figure out why her CO was handling him with kid gloves.

"So I suggested to Jenna we look for better places for people to hide," he shrugged helplessly. "Some place like that Sanctuary people were talking about."

"What did you do?" Shepard wondered that he didn't know the truth behind Sanctuary. Was he and the others cut off from the rest of the galactic network since the war?

Verner shrugged sheepishly. "Jenna wasn't for it, said it was a hare-brained idea. Actually, she said more than that but I don't think it's very nice to repeat it." He coughed uncomfortably.

"Then what?" Shepard eyed the plot again. Araki who shook her head at her glance; nothing to report.

"Well..it got a little heated. The maitre d'hotel didn't like the additional medium we were discussing and threw us out. This guy came up and said he's a trader, make a lot of runs to many places. He's got just the ideal place. Jenna was really rude to him, said he shouldn't be eavesdropping but we were pretty loud in the restaurant..."

"What's the name of this trader?"

"Greenacres."

Her back stiffened at that name but Shepard kept her face impassive. "What spiel did he use?"

"He said it used to be a Cerberus base but they abandoned it because it was so close to the Rings."

"And you believed him?" she said incredulously.

A grin flashed across his face. "Not at first but then he said he knew you, that you two studied together. He even showed us a holopic. I didn't know you had such long hair and so skinny. You sure filled out. In the right places." The last was said in an appreciative tone, almost absently, as his eyes went dreamy.

Shepard held on to her patience with both hands. "Then what?"

"He said he had contracts with Cerberus for a few years and was doing a run when he found nobody home. Whole place was shut down. The place was perfect since it's dangerous for ships to traverse the system so he didn't understand why they would let it go until he found the power plants all shot up. He said our plan was a sound one. Sooner or later, the alien bad guys would show up at the Citadel. No enemy would ever fail to take the bastion of his enemy. The guy makes sense you know. After the Cerberus attack, it seems like the whole galaxy have gotten a lot smaller." He shuddered. "Really smaller. I'd even crawl into one of those Keeper tunnels for the rest of my life if I'd thought it safe. But the Citadel wasn't so safe any more so I thought why not? There's nothing to lose. If we agree, he would have the place repaired."

"Conrad, he said he worked for Cerberus and you trusted him?"

"He said he worked for them for a while before he left and pointed out you did the same."

Damn, he'd used that angle of course. "Even so, freight runners aren't known to be generous."

"Jenner said the same thing but he said he was following your example, helping those in need. There was no point in keeping credits when the Reapers could just mow down everything." Verner made a face. "I knew he was right and told Jenner so."

"So you came here."

"Not at first. We crewed for a bit on his freighter. Became a cook on the first day, then he told me my skills were completely wasted behind the stove and sent me to handle cargo."

Suppressing the desire to chuckle despite her skepticism, Shepard only said, "What's the name of the freighter?"

"Bay Babes."

"Bay Babes huh," Shepard repeated drolly, catching conflicting emotions flitting across Araki's face when she glanced at the plot.

Bay Babes, if she remembered correctly, was the title of an immensely popular asari vid series that ran for several years before the war. Was the freighter crewed by a load of females that he would name it so? Faintly, from the background, an annoyed female voice was raised. Sonny? Or Jenner? It sounded like a reprimand.

"Oh sorry, it's the MSV Bay City," Verner corrected hastily. "I overdid the old vids thing." He grimaced at another inaudible comment, probably biting at his choice of entertainment. "It's hard when we don't get much outside feed, the comm buoys are local and tied in to the defense systems."

"You can't communicate outside the system?"

"He said it's better not to."

"You have three power plants any active sensors can see," she said as she digested the information.

MSV Bay City. A name that appeared in a report AIN released to her. The freighter, along with another two, was found hidden in a secret cavern on Aeia and stuffed full of victuals meant for the non-human palate. The heavy exchange with Ramparts that resulted in Alliance casualties underscored the connection to Cerberus. All three vessels were impounded and part of the cargo removed for testing under suspicion that they might have been tampered with. There were fears that they were part of an agenda against other species. She couldn't fault that line of reasoning when Cerberus personnel were one hundred percent human.

However, test results were negative. The only other hypothesis was that the cargo might have been left over supplies found on other colonies. ANI thought Cerberus was waiting for an opportune time to release them into the market. That didn't sound very plausible to her. If the Illusive Man could spend so much money reviving her, building the Normandy and running so many projects through the years, his pockets were very deep and vast. It was laughable that Cerberus would resort to trading alien supplies to earn some miserable credits. That left Verner and his story. If he was telling the truth, the cargo were probably meant for the refugees on the base. If they were really there.

"He said no one would look in here," Verner continued, not noticing her distraction. "There were only like a hundred of us at first, then he started bringing in more on other freighters and said the war was getting worst, the Reapers were practically everywhere. The route was getting too dangerous, he wouldn't be able to make any more supply runs and said we would have to subsist as long as possible on rations..."

Another screen appeared, blinking to get her attention before rapidly splitting into smaller windows showing a mixed bag of people comprising mostly of asari, salarians, a few turians, krogans, volus, drell, elcor and even a couple of quarians tending to various tasks along various corridors, halls and rooms. Shepard's eyes widened when she caught sight of what appeared to be a large nursery full of children of all ages.

"Is this a live feed, EDI?" she asked.

Was it real or something staged? Another display blinked for her attention. She saw this vid was focused on Verner and four others in another nearby room. Two asari, a salarian and a human at what looked like a control station. She recognised Jenner at once.

"Yes," said EDI as Verner broke off and frowned.

"Who?" He peered into the pickup.

Hastily, Shepard muted her end and ignored his gestures when he realised she was not listening to him.

"There are eight hundred and twenty-six people on the base, children included," continued EDI. "There is no sign of any Cerberus presence, only civilians and basic operative mechs. Mr Verner may be telling the truth."

Shepard's finger tapped the audio back on. "Conrad," she said sharply when she saw he was looking off to one side. "Where do these refugees hail from?"

Startled by the harsh tone, he said defensively, "From various colonies. They managed to run before the Reapers took over and were picked up by the Alliance who sent them to a couple of refugee stations set up on human colonies. The war ended but there was some trouble with the human colonists, they don't like aliens much and told the refugees to take a hike. I don't know why they couldn't get along with the refugees. They're nice people."

"And these human colonies are..?"

A troubled look crossed his face. "No one knows." He saw her disbelief. "Really. The Alliance refused to divulge that information, only that the colonies were safe. I think they were afraid of indoctrinated agents sending the information to the Reapers. Those alien hating humans did not say either."

In that, he was right. The inability to discern reaper agents changed the way practical information was disseminated during the war. It left the populace completely at the mercy of rumors spread around willy nilly, leading to a multitude of problems that hampered the war effort and resulted in a number of casualties that could have been avoided. She frowned. These human colonists he mentioned sound awfully familiar.

"Are these colonists members of Terra Firma?"

His eyes widened. "Terra Firma-," he snapped his fingers, "now why didn't I think of that? My friends said those humans really have a chip on their shoulders about aliens. I wouldn't know though. They didn't allow any of the refugees to step into their settlements, they refused them the right to communicate too and were really all too happy to kick them off."

"You're running the base?"

"We take turns keeping watch.." At this point, the off screen female voice said something that sounded sharp. "..uh...we're having some problems actually. The V.I. isn't working properly. We have to cobble up some alternative command pathways to take out those torpedoes that were sent your way earlier. I thought the blue switches would do the trick but Sonny hit the reds instead..." More inaudible input was heard. "Sonny can explain it but she has to keep an eye on the mainframe. It's been acting up ever since that last molecular hydrogen surge from the Rings. That's why we fired up all the power plants to boost the buffers and hope help would get here fast."

"What would you do if nobody comes?"

"Greenacres said he'll alert the Alliance. I didn't think it would be you," he grinned. A worried look replaced the smile. "We have to get off soon, our supplies are running low. I don't think the rest of the group can stomach a vegan diet, it isn't good for some of the toothy ones. Especially the krogans. I don't think they like the idea much. It makes them very grouchy."

"When was the last supply run?"

"About six, seven months ago. Greenacres was going to continue making his runs until the Alliance arrive but then he didn't show." Verner frowned.

"If he resumed his supply run after the war, you would have known the Reapers were defeated. Why didn't you ask him to get all of you out of this place?"

"That's the thing, he said it's not really over. Reaper agents are still out there. Lots of them making trouble. We took a vote and decided to stay on for a while but we didn't imagine it would take as long as five years. Shepard, you're here to help us right?" he asked anxiously.

"I'll see what I can do. Just hang tight, I'll get back to you." She closed down the comm. "EDI?"

"Mainframe degradation is verified. From the amount of damage and data from the system logs, there was a heavy molecular hydrogen upsurge three months ago that eroded buffers and hardware. Software is corrupted and irreparable. A perpetual watch has been kept since. However, without an immediate hard resolution, systemic failure will occur within the month. Mr Verner is also right when he said there has been no outside contact. Comm buoys are localized with limited range."

"Can you disengage the defense grid from the mainframe?"

"It would only be temporary. Permanent measures require hardware decoupling to prevent any accidental implosion of the SHDs."

"How many SHDs remained?"

"Six hundred."

Shepard stared at the holo-image of the missile hatches on the base. Six hundred SHDs was more than enough to buckle the entire structure into pieces. If it were under different circumstances, she would order the Ranoch into the system and evacuate the refugees immediately. Unfortunately, the situation was anything but typical.

Her eyes cut to the vid displays of the base. Were they as innocent as they looked? Dared she offer help? Gone were the days when one could moderately trust the premise of a situation and the people involved. No thanks to the Reapers and Cerberus, a simple act of faith, mercy and compassion now could bring about detrimental effects for many. She was inclined to get Ranoch in nevertheless. The geth had the space and could sort out the refugees easily with the scanners. She could only hope there wasn't a rotten apple with some sort of advanced tech that could blow the ship up or throw those six hundred SHDs their way.

"All sectors are clear," said Araki as Shepard closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. She wondered what the skipper was going to decide.

"I'll be in the comm room. Maintain our position unless there're changes. You have the bridge," Shepard said as she headed for the QEC room.

"Aye, sir."

Thessia

"Have you decided?"

"Yes. I will go with you Benezia."

Although there was no smile on the regal face, there was an air of pleased satisfaction. At a gesture from the matriarch, she followed her out of the room.

The memory faded into the mists. Shiala opened her eyes, noting the length of the shadows in the bedroom. The figure lying on her side on the bed was still, her chest rising and falling gently. At peace. As how it should be. Rising from the armchair, she paced slowly to the window. The rays of the sun was deep golden, rising sparkles on distant water and hard surfaces. The ship models glowed as if afire. Gently, she touched the model of the Normandy with a finger.

"Do you miss her?"

Shiala turned around to see Liara regarding her with bright eyes. "You're not supposed to be awake," she said as she returned to the armchair.

"I think I have sufficient sleep cycles." Liara stretched cautiously before casting a glance around the bedroom, noting the shadows. "I have slept most of this day," she observed. At any other time, she would be anxious, her mind crowded with several dozen things all at once. Now, she only felt refreshed, ready to handle anything.

"You are better."

"I am much better," Liara agreed, "but it will be a long way before I can safely say I am who I am."

Bracing her elbow against the bed, she pushed herself up awkwardly and murmured her thanks when Shiala steadied her. A touch of the control panel on the headboard sloped the mattress. She reclined against it, putting her feet with a sigh as the pressure on her back was reduced.

"I see my missteps in a different light. I am sorry, Shiala. I never intended to inflict pain on you."

"You have already apologised..," Shiala began to say.

"But not with the clarity of mind," Liara held her gaze steadily. "Despite all my wrong intentions, do you not agree it is for the best?"

"Yes." Shiala nodded. "If you have not, Shepard would still be in the dark. I will live with the guilt for the rest of my life."

"As will I. What will you do?"

"Do?" Shiala settled back in the armchair. "It depends on Shepard's wishes."

"Yes. You said she wants to work the problem with you. You have to defer your return to Asteria," Liara said.

Shiala nodded in agreement. "I have been considering my options." She had been thinking over what she could do once Liara delivered. She could help look after the child but she felt that shouldn't be the only choice. "I've picked up a few things during my stay at Asteria. I want to help with the reclamation efforts, especially in the agricultural sector. I'd want further studies in horticulture."

"That is an excellent idea," Liara said heartily. She was pleased Shiala was making plans. "I am also considering advance medical and science modules."

Shiala laughed softly. "Once more on the path of discovery." Her face sobered. She turned to the window. "It is a difficult thing to sit here and plan when others are out there, putting their lives and future on the line. Goddess protect those who are fighting for everyone."

Liara followed her gaze. What was happening at Armali right now? "What does PubNews say?"

"I would take Aethyta's news over PubNews," said Shiala. "Unfortunately, what she has to say is no different from PubNews. It's going well," she mimicked Aethyta's low dry inflection.

Liara chuckled. It was a very good imitation. "It feels so different, not having the front row seat. You never know how bad it is going."

"I agree." Shiala nodded. "I'd prefer to know bad things are coming than to have it right on top of me suddenly. That feeling of being cornered is unpleasant." She shivered as she remembered her first encounter with the vanguard of the Reaper forces.

Liara's attention sharpened with interest. "What was it like? When you were spore linked?" she asked curiously.

"It's not like a bond link or the platonic mind link. There were no emotions involved. What I felt, we felt -," Shiala paused. How to describe it? "It's like a sensory network. If someone felt pain on his arm, I'll feel it in mine." She touched her arm, recalling the discomfort. "If someone broke a leg, it's a deep ache in mine, not full pain."

"No emotions. What about thoughts?"

"I could not read their thoughts but I could sense their presence. If they speak, mind speak, I could hear them. A general broadcast. Focus was needed in a one to one conversation. It's almost like a comlink but organic in nature. It's very useful on the battlefield. It's how I made the most use of my former experience as a commando and direct them in the battles."

"Interesting." Liara turned over the fascinating insight. "The closest similarity to such a link, I think, is the old geth consensus."

"The geth network." Shiala nodded. "Similar in some aspects. Our level of intelligence did not treble unfortunately, " she said with a amused snort.

"What happened if one died?"

A cloud passed across Shiala's eyes. "I, we sensed an emptiness," she said sadly.

"I am sorry," Liara said apologetically. She did not mean to open old wounds.

Shiala shook her head. Her smile absolved Liara of her discomfort. "It's fine. Most of them survived and have settled on Asteria. They're happy. There is nothing more I can ask for."

"Nothing more?" Liara said slyly with a teasing look.

"It's not up to me." Shiala gave Liara a reproving look when she grinned impishly. "I can only hope."

Omega

From the chair she was sitting in, Miona tried to read but the growling rumbling in the corner of the room made it difficult. She had been trying to ignore it but the sounds was going on for the longest time. She looked up. Syrios was scratching again. Running his long crooked fingers through the cropped hair of his head. She did not stop him for he was not really digging in like he had done before. Still, the sight was troubling for she could clearly see clouds of fluff rising, strands of hair dropping like leaves, leaving bare skin behind. On an ordinary human scalp, there would have been bluish black stubs. His however, had streaks of black crisscrossing the skin.

The sight of it roused no fear in her but to the people who encountered Syrios, it was an unsettling sight. The markings creeping up his face and head screamed peril. If they looked at his eyes, their terror reeked so strongly she could taste it. Not a single soul had any desire to stay around them which was why Aria usually reserved her unusual bodyguards for the meetings with the local mercenary gangs. When they were not needed, they stayed out of sight in a private soundproof room at the club. They were monitored of course. Aria was not a fool but her reins were far lighter than Miona's expectations.

They could loiter anywhere at the dance floor if Syrios had any tolerance for the loud thumping music. His angry reaction to it made it more prudent to stay low and out of sight. It seemed to Miona even the sheltered room now gave him no peace. She watched as he scrapped and scratched, shaking his head as if to get rid of something clinging to it or within it. It was troubling.

"Syrios, what is it?" Miona kept her voice soft, not wishing to agitate him further.

He looked at her and only shook his head. Was that distress in his eyes? Holding up her arm, she tapped her omni-tool, indicating he should type a message but he ignored it. A low growl rumbled in his throat before turning into a whimper. His mouth opened but no sound issued forth. His fingers scrabbled more frantically.

"Sryios! Stop." She got up and went over to him, reaching for his hands when long bloody furrows appeared. To her horror, the seeping red turned black. More flowed as he tore. "No, stop!"

He snatched his hands away. Snarling, he backed away, looking about him. As if looking for a way out. "Syrios, look at me," she said, fear rising in her at his agitation. What had brought it on? "Syrios, please."

Retreating further, he bumped into an armchair. An angry snarl escaped him. He erupted into a whirlwind of fury. The armchair was torn apart and ripped into shreds. Before she could decide what to do, he turned and clawed at the door, pushing through before it was completely opened. Out into the crowded club.

"Syrios!" she screamed, leaping after him. In his present state, the people out there would be shredded before they knew what happened. "Syrios!"

She exited the room to a cacophony of music and screams. With everything in shades of amber, red and black, moving bodies and shadows, it was hard to pinpoint Syrios's location. People were jammed on the dance floor, at the bar counters, the tables. The crashing sound of glasses, tables, chairs and screams directed her before she saw where he was. She dove into a milling, confused and frightened crowd as those along the fringes realised something was wrong. Her feet stumbled over fallen bodies. She moved as fast as she could for the snarls she could barely hear over the loud music. All of a sudden, there was only the screams and the snarls. The music had stopped.

"Get out of the way! Move! Move!"

She could hear the guards shouting and knew they would shoot the moment they had clear line of sight. Gunshots went off. Those still standing, immediately cowered or shoved even harder against those trying to make for the exits. She leaped over clumps of bodies, dead or crushed in the panic, she had no idea. Another jump saw her to the elevated dance platform. From here, she could see all around the dance floor. She spotted Syrios at once. Hunched on all fours, he was making for the nearest exit. A few of Aria's security guards were there, their rifles raised, shooting. Syrios dodged and took a running leap. Shocked by the distance he covered, the guards were frozen for a fatal second. Then he was among them. They were dead before they could defend themselves.

"Syrios!" she shouted, knowing he was deaf to her calls. The exit door shattered and he vanished into the concourse.

She covered the distance with a burst of biotic speed and was behind him within moments. Gathering her strength, she went into a biotic charge and plowed into him, knocking him off his feet. The impact threw him across the concourse into the opposite wall, narrowly missing a shop window and several bystanders. Some of them immediately pulled out weapons. The rest ran away. The crowd along the broad promenade stopped short at the ruckus. More weapons appeared. She dashed to him before any of them could shoot.

"Sy...," she began but he picked himself up and was on her before she could finish her sentence. There was hardly any time to think, she kept his clawed hands off her with quick burst of shielding as he stabbed. She flung him away.

"Syrios, think!" she shouted.

He was past thinking. Howling his fury, he was a mad flurry of biotic rapier blows. It was all she could do to control her own strikes. She had no desire to injure him. If only she could knock him unconscious but he was putting up a good offense. To get past, she would have to hurt him. Before she could decide what to do, he was suddenly thrown away.

"Fool!" Aria stood at the entrance of Afterlife, cold anger glinting in her eyes.

"No...wait...," began Miona but Aria paid her no heed.

She watched with fists clenched as Aria made short work of Syrios. Having expended most of his strength, he could only counter Aria for a little while before he went down. Anger and worry warred within as Miona ran over to check him. Alive.

"The time has come for you to decide," Aria said as she knelt beside the human. "Either you kill him or I will."