The dizziness slowly faded as Shepard gazed at her old comrades. She took a step towards them, but halted as a red beam appeared directly in front of her face, just long enough for her to spot it, then disappeared as it moved to target her head. Shepard put her hands up. "What are you doing here?" Shepard asked.

"Probably the same thing you are doing, trying to find out what happened to the colony." Kara responded casually.

"Then we can help each other. Who knows what we'll find?" Shepard reasoned, hoping that Miranda or Jacob wouldn't try anything while she spoke to Kara.

Kara snorted, then released Jacob, who fell flat on his tailbone as she dropped him. Rocket pulled the knife from Miranda's throat, and kicked off her as he jumped off her head.

Miranda teetered as she maintained her balance, and stared angry daggers at Rocket as he landed.

Shepard released the breath she didn't realise she was holding and turned her head right, hoping to see the sniper Kara had posted. She spotted Nora kneeling atop the roof of a building.

Shepard moved to follow Kara, and spotted the rest of Artemis walking out of buildings they'd set up in. Laura, Samantha and Machiko all had Shepard's team in a crossfire when they landed. She scowled, if Artemis could do it, any number of hostile forces could have set a trap. That landing was sloppy.

"Has your team found out anything?" Shepard asked.

"No. All we have are hypotheses."

"Like what?"

"It's not gas, it would take too long, and there'd be traces left in the atmosphere. It's far more likely that drones are being utilized to pacify the colonists."

"What makes you so sure?" Miranda challenged.

Kara plucked an insect-like drone from her belt, and showed it to the humans. "These are equipped with a paralyzing agent which allows for the non-lethal elimination of targets. If I were trying to kidnap entire colonies with no bloodshed, it's what I'd use. Small, quick and efficient."

Shepard, Kara and Rocket, as well as Miranda, Jacob and the rest of Artemis advanced through the abandoned colony, making their way through houses with stoves still burning, and children's toys scattered across their floors.

It sent a shiver down Shepard's spine. This had already happened to dozens of colonies. It hammered home the importance of their work more than anything else could. Kara turned to address Shepard as they made their way through the ghost town. "Just a heads up, Tali is here, along with a detachment of Quarian marines. Evidently they're here looking for a Quarian who was here on his pilgrimage. We were about to push forward to find him when we detected your shuttle."

Laura chimed in. "We were the first here, so we encountered some resistance from the security mechs shipped here to protect the colony, but we cleared out a lot of 'em by the time the Quarian's got here. It's just one last batch we need to deal with"

Kara opened the door in front of them, and sure enough, Shepard saw Tali and a group of Quarians inside, resting on assorted furniture as they waited for Artemis to return. They didn't react to the newcomers arrival at first, then they spotted the Cerberus insignia that Miranda and Jacob wore.

The Quarians launched from their seats, ready to fire, when Kara and the other Hunters stood in front of the humans, simultaneously protecting them, and preventing them from drawing their own weapons.

Shepard spotted Tali near the front of the group, and stepped out from behind Kara.

Tali's demeanor changed as soon as she spotted her old friend. "Shepard? Is that… how are you…"

Shepard interrupted. "I was dead for two years, Tali. Cerberus brought me back."

"But what… what are you doing here?"

"We're trying to find out what's behind all the missing colonists. Kara told us that there's a Quarian who was here on Pilgrimage?" Maybe we could help find him."

"We don't need your help Cerberus." One of the Quarians behind Tali growled.

Tali spun, and stared him down. "I'm in charge of this mission Praza, now either fall in line, or go wait on the ship." Praza backed down.

Shepard felt a smirk on her lips. Looks like Tali had grown up considerably while she was gone. She turned back to face Shepard. "Alright, we'll work together, but keep your Cerberus dogs on a tight leash Shepard."

Miranda scowled, and it looked like she was about to say something, but she stayed silent as Nora turned and snarled at her. Tali continued, "we're looking for Veetor. Be careful, he was always a little... fragile."

Kara walked towards the table the Quarians had gathered around, and gestured for Shepard to follow.

She placed a large tablet onto the table, and tapped commands into her wrist mounted Ancilla. The tablet flickered, and displayed the visual feed of a drone that Artemis had deployed, showing the space between the gathered forces and the Quarian pilgrim.

Shepard saw another one of those gigantic mechs, as well as a dozen supporting human sized ones, and half a dozen aerial drones standing between them and Veetor.

Shepard crossed her arms. "That's going to be a problem."

She heard some of the Hunters behind her huff, and she turned to face them.

"Actually," Kara started, "We will deal with the mechs. Artemis will push forward and clear the area, and you will secure Veetor."

Jacob spoke up. "That's some serious hardware. Are you sure you can handle that?"

Rocket snorted derisively at Jacob. "Oh yeah, we got this."

Kara turned to address her team. "Laura, Nora, I want you two on top of these two buildings here and here." Kara pointed to two structures that overlooked the courtyard. The display altered, showing the resulting crossfire that would envelope the mechs. "Focus fire on the aerial drones first, then move onto the ground targets. Sam, Chiko, the heavy mech is the biggest threat, so we take that out first. Rocket, you hit the light mechs. We'll all wait until Laura and Nora have engaged." Kara then addressed the rest of the assorted forces. "Wait three seconds after I'm out, then you can advance and engage any stragglers. Understood?"

Tali nodded. "Sounds good, we'll follow your lead."

Jacob spoke up. "We outnumber them. Why don't we all advance?"

Shepard answered before anyone else could. "Trust me, they hit fast and they hit hard. We'd only get in the way. This is the fastest and safest way to get to Veetor; We'll follow Artemis's lead, Jacob."

Kara nodded, then gestured for Laura and Nora to get in position. They took only ten seconds to get into position, an eternity to the others waiting. Kara and the remaining members burst out of the room as soon as they heard the sounds of gunfire.

The rest of the remaining forces readied their weapons and waited the three seconds before charging out. All except Shepard and Tali, who holstered their weapons and casually walked out of the building.

It had taken Kara, Machiko and Samantha just three seconds to dismember and decapitate the YMIR mech, and the remaining light mechs were destroyed almost at the exact same time thanks to combined fire from Rocket, Laura, and Nora. The Quarian Marines, and Miranda and Jacob stood dumbfounded.

Shepard walked up to Jacob and clasped a hand on his shoulder. "Told you this would be over quickly." She moved to join Kara.

Jacob let out a humorless chuckle, shook his head, and moved to follow Shepard, Miranda close behind.

Kara gazed at Shepard as she approached, then jerked her head towards the building behind her. "Veetor's in there. See what he knows."

Tali joined Shepard as they entered the building. They spotted Veetor sitting in a chair on the opposite side of the room, staring at a wall full of monitors, whispering to himself.

"Veetor?" Tali asked. "Veetor you're safe now, we're here to take you home."

Miranda stepped forward to say something, but Shepard silenced her with a glare.

Veetor swiveled in his chair to face them. "No you don't understand, none of us are safe, the monsters will take everyone."

"Monsters?" Shepard asked.

Veetor looked at Shepard for a moment, then activated his Omni-tool. The monitors behind him began to show footage that must have been taken during the abduction.

Shepard saw Humans being stuffed into pods by insect-like aliens, then carted off somewhere. Miranda stepped closer. "My god, I think that's a Collector!"

Shepard shifted to look at the woman beside her. "A what?"

"Collectors are incredibly rare. A lot of people think they're just stories. The people who claim to have met one gave descriptions that look a lot like those things."

Miranda turned to Shepard. "Commander. We need to take Veetor and find out what else he knows."

"You are not taking Veetor!" Tali growled.

Miranda was about to say something, but Shepard cut her off. "No, we're not. Tali will take Veetor back to the Flotilla, and she'll send a copy of whatever intel they find. Right?"

Tali nodded. "Right. Glad to see you're still in charge, Shepard. It was… nice seeing you again."

Shepard felt the urge to ask Tali to join her, but bit it back. Tali had responsibilities to her people, it would be selfish to ask that of her. Shepard simply nodded. "The feelings mutual, Tali. Good luck."

"You too Shepard."


The Quarians, along with Veetor filed into their ship, and flew off to rendezvous with the Flotilla. Shepard watched them take off, then turned back, and saw Miranda gazing at her. "I hope you're right about the Quarian Shepard, we need that data."

"The Quarian has a name. Go wait on the shuttle, I'll be back in a second."

Miranda looked like she was about to protest, but relented. "Yes Commander."

Shepard spotted Kara near the center of the courtyard with the rest of her team.

She moved to talk to Kara, while trying to suppress the sensation of feeling like a child in comparison to the group of much larger women in front of her as they turned to look at her.

"Kara, can I talk to you for a second?"

"Of course."

Shepard shifted, and looked over her shoulder at the retreating figures of Jacob and Miranda. "I know what's at stake, but I can't trust Cerberus. I'd like to have you and Rocket backing me up, it'd help to have people I trust in this fight."

Kara nodded. "Of course Shepard." Kara looked at the rest of her team. "While I'm with Shepard, the rest of you go where you're needed. There are a lot of problems besides the Collectors in this galaxy, do what you can."

They saluted, and returned to their own ship while Kara and Rocket followed Shepard. Rocket climbed into one of the too large seats while Kara crouched down and tried to fit inside the tiny vehicle. Miranda visibly stiffened, but Shepard quickly shut down any complaint. "If the Illusive Man wants my cooperation, then that means bringing them along too. We'll need them."

Miranda relaxed somewhat. "Very well Commander." She shifted her eyes to gaze at Kara and Rocket. "If you two try anything-"

"You'll be dead before you realize what's happening." Kara responded.


Shepard stepped out of the shuttle and followed Miranda, flanked by Kara and Rocket, both of whom made a point to remain close to Shepard, which was very appreciated.

Shepard noticed the stares that Kara and Rocket were receiving, some even looked downright hostile.

Shepard arrived at the staircase leading to the COM room, and stepped onto the platform in the middle of the room. The walls flickered, and her surroundings changed, the Illusive Man sat in his chair, reading over the report he'd received from Tali. "Shepard, I'm glad to see your operation on Freedom's Progress was a success. I admit, I had my doubts about whether the Quarians would share the data."

Shepard crossed her arms. "See what happens when you play nice?"

"Diplomacy is great when it works, but is… difficult when others already perceive you as a threat." The Illusive Man took a sip from the drink resting by his side before continuing. "Now onto other matters. I want you to keep working with us to deal with the Collectors, and the Reapers."

"And why don't I just go back to working with the Council, or the Alliance?"

"So they can sick you on the Geth? Nobody wants to deal with the real threat Shepard, and by the time they realize what's truly at stake, it will be too late. I understand you have… reservations regarding Cerberus's methodology, Shepard, but believe me, we are the only option."

Shepard shook her head, frustrated. "Alright. But I'll need a ship and a crew."

The Illusive Man took a drag from his cigar. "We've already taken care of the ship, and I've forwarded several dossiers of individuals I believe will be crucial to the success of your mission."

"I'll take a look."

"And one last thing. I was notified of Kara and her team's involvement on Freedom's Progress. Kara and… Rocket will undoubtedly be invaluable allies in the coming conflict. But I hand picked the crew you'll be working with, and I would appreciate them not being eaten."

Shepard bristled at the insinuated insults. "No promises." She stepped off the platform, and turned to leave. She made her way up the stairs and joined Rocket and Kara.

Rocket looked up at Shepard. "Where're we headed, sheep-herder?"

Shepard smiled slightly. "First things first, I want to see this ship the Illusive Man was kind enough to give me."

"Then allow me to lead the way." A familiar voice said.

Shepard turned around, and she felt a wide smile spread across her lips. "Joker!"

Jeff "Joker" Moreau grinned as Shepard and her comrades approached. "Hey Commander, good to see you up and moving." Joker motioned for them to follow, and Shepard, Rocket, and Kara all fell in line behind Joker as he led them to their new ship.

"Why are you working for Cerberus?" Kara said behind them, her voice almost dripping with venom.

"After what happened to the Normandy, the Alliance and the Council tried to bury everything, and they grounded me. The Illusive Man offered me a chance to fly again, so hell yeah I joined up with Cerberus."

"Well at least you had a good reason to hook up with terrorists." Rocket snarled.

Joker turned to face them. "Do you have a problem with me?"

"Yes." Kara growled.

"Oh, okay then…" Joker said suddenly nervous. "Moving on, Cerberus poured almost everything into bringing you back Shepard, and what they didn't, they put into this." Joker said as blast windows lowered, revealing the ship Cerberus had built.

The Normandy SR-2.


Shepard followed Jacob as he led her on a tour throughout the ship, ending at the briefing room. She crossed her arms. "The Illusive Man didn't spare any expenses it seems."

Jacob nodded. "Like I said, Cerberus wants to take the Collectors down." He looked at the table. "Now one last thing. EDI, why don't you introduce yourself."

A hologram flickered into existence, showing a globe resting atop a grooved cone. "Hello Commander. My designation is the Enhanced Defense Intelligence, or EDI."

Cerberus had also built an AI to go with the Normandy. But unlike Serina who was indistinguishable from a human in terms of the way her voice sounded, EDI's voice was decidedly stiff and robotic sounding.

"What's your role aboard the Normandy EDI?"

"I am in charge of our electronic and counter electronic warfare suites, I have no further interface with the ship." That was a relief. Shepard nodded to Jacob, and took her leave.


The new Normandy was larger than the original, outside and in. The ceiling and doorways were large enough for Kara to fit comfortably, something she noticed immediately. Plenty of Humans were barely willing to cater to the needs of those who were divergent from the norm, so the fact that the Illusive Man made a point to build a ship that was comfortable for her made her feel… troubled.

Kara made her way to the elevator, ignoring anyone and everyone on her way, all except a young auburn haired woman. She stepped in front of Kara, and was nearly crushed underfoot as a result. Kara growled at the diminutive woman. "What?"

"I just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Kelly Chambers, It's an honor t-"

"Save it. We may be fighting the same enemy but we are not allies. I studied Cerberus's activities extensively, and everyone onboard this ship has willingly joined a terrorist organization. Which makes you all either dangerously stupid and naive, or makes you a human supremacist, and I know exactly where that kind of ideology leads. I will work with Cerberus to destroy the Collectors, but as soon as that threat is removed, I may very well come looking for you." Kara growled, looking directly at one of the security cameras on the CIC, speaking to the man she knew was listening.

She and Rocket took the elevator to the cargo bay, and spent the next two hours making it livable. With Serina's help, the two of them were able to find and destroy all of the surveillance equipment hidden there, as well as a few on the engineering deck that Kara deemed close enough to catch a word here or there. Shepard soon joined Kara in the cargo bay, and gazed at the pile of cameras and wires in the center of the room. "You've been busy."

Kara hummed and Rocket snorted. "What is it?"

Shepard crossed her arms and sighed. "I need to talk to you about working with Cerberus."

Kara scowled, and turned to face Shepard. "I will speak slowly and clearly so there are no misunderstandings; Cerberus is our enemy. We may be working with them against the Collectors for the time being, but common enemies do not make people allies, having common cause does. And Cerberus's reason for existing is to destroy or subjugate any threat to human dominance, which to them encompasses anything and anyone who doesn't share their beliefs. Do not mistake their intent Shepard."

"I know, trust me." Shepard paused. "But what about the Illusive Man himself? Do you or Serina have any idea of who he is?"

Kara shrugged. "Who he is does not concern me nearly as much as where he is, but I do have theories. The Cerberus manifesto was published in 2157, immediately after the First Contact War, which means the Illusive Man is most likely someone who was directly involved in the conflict. Someone serving under General Williams, either an Alliance special forces operative, or someone utilized in a similar capacity, judging by Cerberus's clandestine operations."

"You don't think it could have been someone from another planet?"

"It's a possibility, but it's far more likely that someone who wasn't involved with Shanxi would just invest in the Terra Firma party. The motivation, experience, and skills required to build Cerberus would require first hand knowledge, as well as backing from high ranking Alliance personnel. I've already tasked Serina with going through the names of everyone at Shanxi who fits such a description."

"You think Cerberus was sponsored by the Alliance?"

"Was being the operative word. I don't think it's a coincidence that so many Cerberus agents start out in the Alliance. It probably was funded by the Alliance as part of some dark-op at one point, but has since become… independent."

Shepard considered this. The idea that the Alliance created Cerberus was troubling, but not unrealistic. Governments used state sponsored terrorism all the time. It made sense, and that worried her. "On a lighter note," Shepard said, "Have any of you met EDI?"

Serina chimed in. "You mean the construct that Cerberus built to try and take my job? We are aware of it, yes." Shepard was a little taken aback by the venom in Serina's voice. And she didn't fail to notice that Serina had referred to EDI as it.

"Alright, that covers pretty much everything. We're on our way to Omega, and I want you two with me."

"Understood, we'll be ready."


As the Normandy approached a docking vector with Omega, Shepard decided to bring Miranda and Jacob; she didn't trust them, but if their first encounter with Kara and Rocket was any indication, they wouldn't be a problem if they tried anything.

Kara and Rocket joined the others on the docking umbilical and followed them through. As they entered Omega, Shepard spotted a Batarian flanked by twelve other armed personnel approaching, his hand on his sidearm while he stared pointedly at Kara. Shepard turned to face her comrade. "Friend of yours?"

"Sure." Kara huffed.

The Batarian came to a stop about five meters away from Shepard and her team. "Aria wants to see you Shepard."

She crossed her arms. "How do you know who I am?"

"Our systems had you tagged the second you entered the Terminus systems, you're not as subtle as you think."
"Where can I find Aria?"

"Afterlife, now."

As the Batarian turned to leave, Shepard spotted their third recruit on Omega: Zaeed Massani. The aged mercenary was occupied with some poor Batarian at the opposite end of the corridor, and he didn't pay any mind to Shepard's team as they approached. Shepard crossed her arms, and gazed down at the Batarian. "Please, help me he's-"

Before Shepard could even consider his plight, Serina's voice chimed in over their COM. "Ignore him. Believe me, whatever Zaeed's doing to him, he deserves worse." Shepard decided not to press the issue, and waited for Massani to turn around.

He kicked the Batarian in the ribs, and turned to face Shepard. "Let's not waste time Shepard. The Illusive Man's payment was good, so that means I'm yours, one on condition." Naturally. Shepard thought to herself. "I've got a prior engagement. The Blue Sun's captured an Eldfell-Ashland refinery on Zorya, and the goddamn bastard in charge, Vido Santiago is using the people there as slave labor. They wanted me to liberate it."

Shepard nodded. "As soon as we have time, we'll take care of it. For now we have some work that needs doing here on Omega."

Zaeed nodded, and while Shepard and he talked a little more, the Batarian made a run for it. He made it all of two steps before Kara wrapped her hand around her throat. She looked at him disdainfully. "You don't need him alive, do you?"

Zaeed shook his head, and Kara tightened her grip, crushing his throat. She dropped his lifeless corpse, and Zaeed spat on it. "I'd better turn this piece of shit in before it starts to stink, be right with you."


As the six of them moved through Omega, Shepard looked at Kara out of the corner of her eye. "Have you been to Omega before? Those guys seemed to recognize you."

"I have. Aria sent four men to escort me to her. I killed all but one."

Shepard stopped and stared at Kara. "Was that necessary?"

Kara shrugged. "I've known people like Aria before, all the poverty and crime here? She's to blame for it, and I wanted nothing to do with her."

Shepard thought for a moment. "Do we actually need Aria's help?"

Serina chimed in over Shepard's comms. "Not technically. There's a lot of chatter about our potential recruits; Dr. Solus has set up a clinic inside a plague zone, and the other person we're looking for, "Archangel", is under a lot of pressure from assorted mercenary groups. If we want to get to Archangel, we could take a shuttle and fight our way through the mercs, or we could meet with the recruitment agent in Afterlife. If we do that, it would probably be wise to meet with Aria, not doing so might make our objectives unnecessarily difficult to accomplish."

"Alright, let's go meet with Aria then."

"Oh goody." Kara muttered under her breath as she moved to follow.


Rocket sat atop her shoulder, and took in his surroundings, Omega reminded him of Knowhere. An isolated station floating in space that no one in their right mind wanted to end up. Which would have made it the perfect place for him, were he not a married man now.

Shepard led them into Afterlife, and while Rocket took in the bar, he heard Kara absentmindedly mutter: "And so I followed a dead woman to the Afterlife." Rocket snorted in amusement as he observed the bar. It was circular, and at the back were two staircases which led to a platform. Looking down at the newcomers from said platform, was a purple hued Asari, the infamous Aria. She scowled when she saw them, then withdrew far enough away from the edge of the platform that Rocket could no longer see her.

One of her guards by the staircase gestured for them to proceed, and they moved up the stairs, painfully aware of the guards watching them. Shepard took point, and Aria stared her down as she approached. A Batarian stepped in front of Shepard, halting her. "Hold still for the scan." Shepard gazed at him disdainfully until he indicated she was clear.

"You keep strange company Shepard. That thing already killed my men." Aria said, her voice dripping with venom as she sneered at Kara. "There's only one rule on Omega: Don't fuck with Aria. And she already fucked with me. So why shouldn't I have my men kill all of you right now?" Aria's guards raised their weapons. Miranda, Jacob and Rocket all brandished their own weaponry, while Kara clenched her fist, and a crackling blade of white hot plasma protruding from her Ancilla hissed into existence.

Shepard however, didn't seem bothered at all. "You can try to kill us, but do you really think that would go over well for you?"

Aria analyzed the people in front of her for a moment, then sighed. "Stand down."

Her guards immediately lowered their weapons, and Shepard's team relaxed.

"So, what brings a dead Spectre to my corner of the galaxy?"

"We know where we're going, just wanted to introduce ourselves."

Shepard said as she turned to leave, feeling like she needed a shower. They went back down the stairs, and walked through the door on their right, and spotted a recruiter for the blue suns. The Batarian's demeanor shifted from bored to startled as he saw Shepard's team approach.

"I hear you're the guy to talk to about that Archangel job." Shepard said casually.

"You're in the right place. A few things I have to say before I sign you up: One, this does not make you a member of Eclipse, the Blue Suns, or the Blood Pack. You are a freelancer. Two. you'll need your own arms and armor, looks like you've got that covered. Three: the fee is 500 credits, you'll get your cut after the job is done, and your friends don't collect your share if you die. Any questions?"

"Where're we headed?" Shepard asked.

"Take a right as you leave Afterlife, then talk to the Blue Suns rep there, he'll give you a shuttle, or two in your case. Next!"

Shepard turned to leave, and caught a brief glimpse of what looked like some 17 year old walk past her. She immediately turned around. "Is this the recruiting station?" The kid asked.

"You sure you're old enough to be here?" Shepard asked.

The boy turned around and sneered. "Hey I grew up on Omega! I know how to handle a gun okay."

Kara snorted from behind Shepard. "There's a lot more to fighting a battle than knowing how to handle a weapon, boy."

Shepard saw the kid's ire rise. "I already dropped 40 creds on this thing, so- Hey what're you!" He yelled as Shepard suddenly yanked the weapon out of his hands.

She aimed the pistol at the corner of the room and pulled the trigger. Smoke billowed out of the weapons heat vent as it misfired. "Get your money back." She said as she handed the paperweight back to him.


Shepard had found the aforementioned Blue Suns merc, he told them to speak to Sergeant Kathka when they arrived, then it was a short shuttle ride to their destination. Shepard could hear the sporadic crack of a sniper rifle as she made her way through the Mercenary's encampment. Kara looked around her, making sure their conversation wouldn't be heard before she spoke. "We should look for opportunities to weaken their forces while we're here."

"Any suggestions?" Shepard asked as they pushed forward.

"Blue Suns and Eclipse forces frequently utilize mechanized infantry. That'd be a good place to start."

Shepard nodded. "You heard her, keep an eye out for their charging station, and anything else we could mess with." They nodded.

Shepard ran across an opening, and hissed as a shot hit her shields, draining them. Kara responded by firing several shots at the shooter, forcing them back behind cover.

"Only one man is fending off all this?" Miranda asked.

"He has good sight lines, a superior position, and they have next to no cover. A good sniper can do a lot of damage in the right place."

"Still," Jacob started, "even for you, it's damn impressive."

"Indeed." Kara responded.

And that was when Shepard reached the mech charging station. She spun as she walked slowly, doing a sweep to make sure no one was watching, then gestured for Rocket to hack the mechs.

Kara raised a hand to her shoulder, and Rocket climbed on, holding onto her thumb as she lowered him to the console. His fingers danced across the terminal expertly. Jacob leaned over Rocket as he worked. "What're you doing?"

"Makin' these things not our problem. Now flark off, you're in my light." A few more seconds passed, then Rocket flashed a thumbs up to Shepard.

"What'd you do?"

"I "fixed" their IFF system, whoever flips the switch on these things is getting a nasty surprise." Rocket cackled.

"That'll come in handy." Zaeed said.

They kept walking, and caught a brief glimpse of Archangel as he sent a round downrange from his perch, catching one in the throat, arterial blood spraying from the wound. Shepard kept to the left, and walked into the open makeshift garage there, sparing a glance to the gunship residing therein.

She approached one of the men standing there. "You Kathka?"

The man shook his head, then gestured behind him to a Batarian, busy working on the gunship. They moved out of the way, and Shepard approached Kathka.

He turned, and tapped the side of his helmet, un-polarizing his visor.

"So you're the new recruits. You look like you can do some damage."

"You have no idea." Rocket smirked.

"Good, because Archangel's held out for several hours now, in spite of everything we've thrown at him. But his luck isn't gonna hold out much longer."

Kathka paused, and raised a hand to his helmet as orders came through. He turned his attention back to his computer. "Shepard." Rocket whispered. She turned, and the raccoon jerked his head at Kathka, indicating Shepard should take care of him.

She nodded, and approached him from behind. She raised her right arm, and reached down just above his collar bone, and snaked her arm around his throat, grabbing her left bicep for leverage, using her left hand to control his head. He struggled for only two seconds before the pressure Shepard applied rendered him unconscious.

She gently lowered him to the ground, not wanting to make any noise that would alert his comrades, and turned just in time to see Kara raise Rocket to the top of the gunship. He disappeared atop the vehicle for several seconds, then reappeared. Shepard looked at him with curiosity. "What'd you do?"

Rocket smiled an equally malevolent and mischievous smile. "I put a bomb on top of the thing. Should make things a lot easier."

Shepard smirked. "Good man, now let's meet Archangel."


Shepard and her team crossed the makeshift barrier the mercenaries had hastily erected to use as cover, and raised their weapons.

"Open fire!" Shepard barked, and her team opened fire into the unprotected backs of the first wave of mercenaries, slaughtering them.

Shepard pushed forward into the building, and her team cleared the first floor, before proceeding up the stairs to the second, where two shots from Kara's rifle killed the two men trying to get through the door to the room Archangel was shooting from.

Shepard ordered Miranda, Jacob and Zaeed to watch the stairs to cover their six. Kara and Rocket remained close to Shepard as she entered the room. She spotted Archangel taking aim at someone on the bridge. Shepard glanced behind her, and saw that Kara and Rocket had their weapons pointed in Archangel's direction, their fingers hovering over the triggers.

Shepard cautiously approached, and was about to speak when the Turian raised a hand, requesting silence. Two seconds later, he sent another round downrange, which Shepard was sure resulted in another kill.

He placed the stock of his rifle on the floor, and used it to help him stand, then moved to the side of a nearby couch, and removed his helmet.

"Shepard, it's damn good to see you." Her old friend said.

Shepard grinned, and spread her arms. "Garrus! What are you doing here?"

He shrugged. "Target practice, keeping my skills sharp, you know how it is." Garrus nodded to Kara and Rocket, they nodded back, and moved to join Shepard and Garrus.

"What was your plan to get out of here?" Kara asked.

"I didn't have one. But now that you're all here, we can figure something out."

Garrus walked back to the balcony he'd been shooting from, and used his scope to see what the mercs were doing. "They know their first wave failed by now, so they'll probably-" Garrus went silent as the sounds of gunfire coming from behind the barrier could be heard, even a few tracer rounds. Garrus smirked. "You messed with the mechs, didn't you?"

"That ain't all." Rocket said as he brandished the detonator for the charge he'd placed on the gunship.

Garrus smirked, then turned his attention back to the bridge as the gunfire stopped. "Looks like they've taken care of the light mechs, probably not gonna risk using the heavy ones now."

Kara spoke from behind them. "So about that plan to escape…"

Shepard and Garrus turned. "You've got an idea?" Shepard asked.

"I do. The only way we can leave is the way we came, but we can make that work. I'll head down to engage them myself, and just before I make contact, Rocket will detonate the explosives. The resulting confusion will prevent them from making an effective counter-attack."

Garrus looked from Kara to Shepard, who nodded. "Let's do it."

Kara nodded. "Wait one minute, then follow me." Kara gingerly lowered Rocket from her shoulder, then stepped over the balcony, and fell the two stories to the bridge. Kara readied a sidearm, and pulled a black handle from her belt in the other hand. She raised the grip, and the telescoping spear extended to nearly a meter in length. She activated the plasma blade, and a crackling blade of plasma precisely one meter in length hissed into existence, then she charged.

She was halfway across the bridge when Rocket detonated the explosives, the explosion sending a ripple through the floor beneath her, and she heard startled cries coming from behind the barrier. When she was almost at the barrier, three Eclipse agents popped up, ready to fire. Kara lashed out with the plasma lance in her hand with a sweeping strike that beheaded the three of them. She quickly hopped up the crates leading up to the barrier, and leapt over it in two steps, then landed in the mercenary camp.

She saw a gaggle of panicked and confused men and women running to and fro. She saw the leaders of the three mercenary bands in their midst, trying to restore order. Kara snarled as they saw her, then roared as she barreled down on them.

She raised her spear, and tossed it, the weapon impaling the Salarian in charge of the Eclipse through the chest. The plasma blade burned straight through him, and the weapon embedded in the wall behind him, the metal around it glowing white hot as it was turned to slag.

The Krogan in charge of the Blood Pack roared back, and charged at Kara, firing his shotgun.

Kara spotted a Blue Suns merc readying a grenade, and she skidded to a halt as the Blood Pack leader barreled down on her. He threw the grenade, and Kara smirked as she caught it, then lunged forward, throwing her shoulder into the Krogan as he reached her. He stumbled backwards, gasping, and Kara shoved the grenade down this throat, then kicked him towards the cluster of Blood Pack behind him. The grenade detonated, his body exploding from the inside, showering his subordinates in his entrails.

And that broke them. All of the remaining mercenaries panicked and retreated, firing poorly aimed shots at her out of fear and their panicked withdrawal. Kara considered returning fire as they fled, but decided against it as she swept her gaze over the remnants, stopping at the particularly grisly remains of the Blood Pack leader. No, she'd already won. Any further violence would simply be cruelty.

She retrieved her plasma spear, and deactivated it. The plasma dissipated, and she collapsed the handle, placing it back on her belt, then turned to face the barrier behind her as she felt the rest of Shepard's team approach. They swept their weapons across the abandoned camp in case it wasn't, then lowered them, satisfied it was indeed clear.

Shepard approached Kara. "So now what?"

"We call in shuttles and leave, the mercenaries are in full retreat, they won't be a problem."

Shepard nodded, and she hailed a cab.