Chapter 1

Aboard Admiral Hackett's flagship, at an undisclosed position in space, sat a man in a dark, lit room – handcuffed to the chair he was sitting on. The only light source came from the singular beam in the ceiling that centered on the long table before him. While bright, the light only captured the vagueness of an outline of his cheek and down to his chin. Even though the light caught only a fraction of his features, there was one thing the light didn't need to catch, his eyes.

In the darkness, a faint light-blue light emanated from his eyes, piercing the surrounding darkness. Along with his glowing eyes were streaks of the same light webbing out and away from his eye sockets. These scar-like grooves varied in length. Some were short, only about a half an inch long, while others neared two inches.

"How long must I sit here in darkness?" The man said, leaning forward to ease the discomfort in his shoulders and upper back. "I answered all your questions. Gave you everything I had on Cerberus… I thought we had a deal."

Suddenly, the door to the room slides open, revealing a silhouetted man in the doorway. "That deal entirely depends on what happens next. Lights." The other lights in the ceiling gradually brighten in the room – reveal both men in the room. The one by the doorway was Admiral Hackett, datapad in hand and a scowled look on his face.

"I don't make it a habit of meeting personally with prisoners of war, but this is a special case." Hackett said, as he moved to sit down in front of the man across the table. "Your information proved invaluable to our effort at keeping Cerberus at bay. So much so that we are having this conversation now."

"So, you weren't planning on cutting me that deal then." The prisoner said, gritting his teeth at the mere prospect of being lied to.

"You're dangerous." Hackett said after a few moments of silence. "The very essence of what you are now is… problematic. However, your forthrightness has given you some amount of trustworthiness."

"I don't need you to trust me. What I need is my people safe." He said, anger now billowing up into his chest and back of his neck.

"I can't assure that. This war with the Reapers means that they will be on the front-lines. However, they will be safe within the Alliance. We will scrub their pasts clean of their Cerberus ties, and they will receive what every other marine receives in their service. Luckily for them, they never went under the procedure you went through."

"I suppose I can't expect you to hide them away. Just make sure Cerberus doesn't catch whiff of them."

He looks to the datapad. "Trust me, Mr. Cranston, they'll be where they need to be. But this conversation is about you, not them."

"Fine. What more do you need?"

Hackett scrolls through the information on the datapad and reads through a couple of paragraphs. "From what you've told us, you and your people have been with Cerberus for quite some time. Why is that?"

"Does it matter? We were all betrayed in the end."

"So I've read, but the decision to join them and stay was entirely up to you and your people. So, I ask again, why were you with Cerberus for so long?"

Cranston slumps into his chair and just stares at Hackett. "What do you want me to say? They offered to help us. Offered us revenge. They… they offered us a way to stay together."

Hackett looks him up and down, gauging everything about him and what he said. "Huh, interesting. They failed in every aspect of what they offered you."

"Thanks for stating the obvious."

"Interesting…" He gets up from the table and leans over it. "What would you say if I offered the same things?"

Cranston's eyes squint. "I'm not exactly following. We've already made a deal."

Hackett grabs the datapad and heads around the table towards Cranston. "That deal, however, never involved you. You have a decision to make Cranston."

"What kind?"

He places the datapad back onto the table and slides it to Cranston. Then he nods to the camera in the room and the handcuffs on Cranston's wrists unlock and fall off. "One of two things, Mr. Cranston. First option, you will be tried and convicted of conspiring with a terrorist group. Because of this, and of what you are, you will be executed and disposed of."

"The second option is as it says there." Cranston leans in to read what is on the datapad. "We'll integrate you into an elite Alliance squad. Their sole mission, to shadow the one person saving this galaxy and hopefully maintain those footholds created by her in this war."

"The one person saving the galaxy…" Cranston looks around the room and ponders on who Hackett was talking about. After a few moments and remembering a few whispers within his Cerberus group, it dawns on him. "Shepard. The Shepard. I'm going to be shadowing her?"

"If you so choose to, but again, you will join this squad. You will not be leading it."

"Even though I have one hell of a complication?"

"I won't lie to you; we'll be watching you very closely. The second something comes up you're being taken out."

"Fair enough."

"However, I know this is a personal matter. I won't announce what happened to you to the squad or their leader. I'll let her know to watch you, but it's up to you to talk about it with her or the team."

"So…" He looks down at the datapad. "Death or complications."

"Wrong. The choices are escape or fight and survive."

Interesting perspective. Cranston thought to himself. Even though I'm a danger, I don't want to die. I also don't want to be with a bunch of random people either… but again…. I don't want to die.

After taking the few moments given to him to weight the choices, he leans back over the datapad, scrolls through it, and presses his thumb into the outlined box at the bottom of the written up contract.

"Excellent choice Mr. Cranston." He pulls the datapad from him. "Once we've analyzed your armor, we'll send you on your way to the Citadel, where we've based the squad. You'll have an apartment and twenty thousand credits supplied to you." He gestures for Cranston to follow him out of the room. Once they made their way out of the room and into the hall, Hackett continues.

"In two days' time, Lieutenant-Commander Lykain Karlid will contact you and bring you into the fold. Be aware that her squad has already been through eighteen missions, so a fresh addition won't exactly be met with… gratitude."

"They're all Alliance though. It shouldn't be that much of a problem, right?"

Hackett just smiles. "This war calls for uncommon fighters, and how to fight it. While Lieutenant-Commander Karlid is from the Alliance, her team isn't. They're a mishmash of mercenaries who have numerous amounts of issues and problems, but Karlid has led them admirably."

"Strange… I'm both terrified and excited to meet this team."

Four hours later…

Lykain paced around her living room as she went through her notes from her last mission. Even with this being her eighteenth mission, she still wasn't used to the feeling of 'following' in the path of Commander Shepard. While she too was an N7 like her, she knew she couldn't compare with her. Though the idea of what Hackett wanted was clear to her. Sweep in and make sure nothing was left standing from Shepard's incursion, and no matter what, she was going to accomplish that task.

As she finished entering her last thoughts and opinions of her last mission into the datapad, her communication device let out a soft tone. "I imagine that's Hackett once again." She said as she moved to the screen and, after activating it, saw that she was right as his face appeared on the screen.

"Admiral Hackett." She said with a salute. "You have another mission for me?"

He returns her salute. "Of a sort. I'm adding an addition to your team."

She rapidly blinks a few times. "I uh… okay. Is there something wrong with my current team that we need an addition?"

"Karlid, if there was something wrong with your team, it would have been disbanded by now."

"Of course, Admiral." She said, standing just a bit straighter.

"You need the best beside you, and that's what I'm giving you. Sending you his dossier."

After a few seconds, a message popped up on her datapad, making her to open it up. "Lamont Cranston… interesting name." She mumbles to herself as she reads the next few lines before freezing on one thing she wasn't expecting to read. "Ex-Cerberus." She looks back up at Hackett's image.

"Will that be a problem Lieutenant-Commander?"

"May I speak frankly?"

"You may."

"I don't have a problem with it… well… maybe a little, but the Asari on my team, Sha'tal, has a history with Cerberus." She pauses for a moment to come up with the right words. "There's a reason why our run-ins with Cerberus have been rather bloody, border-lining on unnecessary. It's because of her."

Hackett rubs his chin and ponders for a moment. "Are you telling me you can't control her?"

"No sir. She knows where I draw the line. I'm just airing out my concerns."

He just nods. "I know this won't be easy, but his combat capabilities and his insight into Cerberus will be invaluable. Their incursions are on the rise, as you well saw on Sur'Kesh." Lykain nods. "But as always, keep your eyes on him, like the others on your team. He has his own baggage that could go at any time."

Terrific… She thought to herself. "Can you elaborate more?"

"I'm leaving it up to him to say. What happened to him cut rather deep, and he's still processing it."

She looks down at the floor, recalling the various things that had happened to her so long ago. "Fair enough." She said as she looked back at him. "When should I expect to receive him?"

"He'll be arriving in two days' time. He knows where he'll be staying so there's no need to escort him, but you do need to contact him."

"It will be done Admiral."

"Good." He said with a nod. "And Karlid, not everyone who has had Cerberus ties is a bad person. They're just more complicated." He then gives her a crisp salute, which she returned, before closing the call.

Interesting comment to end on, and I can't really argue with it either. She thought to herself, brow furrowed and her face ever so slightly contorted. Shepard proved that anyone with good intentions can have an unfortunate tie with Cerberus and come out of it relatively unscathed. Not that I would know she actually has. Eh, whatever.

She looks down at the datapad and reads his class and capabilities. "Great, another Vanguard on the team. Sha is going to get along with him so much." She said, letting out a heavy sigh as she rubbed her forehead.

Two days later…

"Well… this is a view I didn't expect to have." Lamont said as he stood, various bags in hand, in his new apartment. The view outside was indeed quite a spectacle that a fair portion of the Citadel's habitants didn't really get to experience. Water fountains, various species of trees, and other plant life littered the sprawl in front of his window. Among that, the melting pot that was the Citadel's populous walked throughout the many walkways in between it all. He couldn't help but crack a smile at the sight of it all.

"Yeah, I think I can get used to this."

Unfortunately, as much as he enjoyed his new accommodations, he couldn't help but think about his people – his family. In fact, it was mostly all he could think of these past couple of days as he traveled to the Citadel. He was their leader, but he was also a survivor, like the rest of them.

Still standing there with his armaments bag and recent clothing purchases, he lets out a sigh and looks at the nearby couch. "Well, I suppose I should get situated and wait for that contact I was supposed to hear from."

He goes through the motions of gathering his new purchases and puts them away. Bag after bag, sifting through clothing, food, and personal items until he pulled out the last item he bought. Because of his condition, he had to hide away the very revealing cybernetics around his eyes. The Alliance was kind enough to give him a covering visor, but it was a bit clumsy and not all too subtle. Something a bit more stylish was in order.

It wasn't exactly easy to find a place that fit his needs, but he eventually found a place that had a more… unique style set. 'Cutting edge fashion, something that most people wouldn't go for because they had no taste or vision.' At least, that's what he thought they said as they were trying to sell him various shoes and clothing. Of course, he wasn't there for the odd fashion, just the pair of glasses he was now holding in his hand. The lens on the outside was mirror like, inside was crystal clear. Any kind of light that emanated from his cybernetics from inside the glasses would be completely blocked, or at least he thought.

He pulls off the visor given to him, tossing it onto his bed, and heads to a nearby mirror in his bedroom. As he stared at his scarred image in the mirror, he felt disgusted. No, not disgust, hatred. He knew his life was ruined. Even though Hackett gave him a shot of having a life, he knew it would never be normal. Even if he pushed the growing noise out of his head, he wouldn't be able to explain what this was.

"Welcome to my new life." He said as he put on the glasses. Leaning in close to the mirror, he checks around the edges to see if any of his cybernetics were showing. "Man, this looks god awful… but at least it covers it all." He gently pulls down his cheek to see if anything would pop out from the glasses, but nothing did.

Suddenly, the speaker near his door lets out a soft ringing tone. "Hello?" He said, looking at the door. When there was no response, his instincts quickly set on fight mode. Even though his new commanding officer was supposed to contact him, he didn't think that she would come to meet him personally. It also didn't help that he defected from Cerberus, so it wouldn't be a surprise if they sent someone to eliminate him.

Heading to his armament bag, he swiftly rummages through it and pulls out his pistol. Another tone goes through the speaker as he carefully walks up to the door. "I'll just be a second." He said with his head turned to the side to throw off whomever was listening beyond the door.

Once he reached the door, he pulls his gun just behind him as he hits the panel to open the door. There in front of him stood a woman wearing a long-sleeved purple top with slits cut from the pits down to the brim on either side, along with a type of athletic black sweatpants. Even though she was wearing a dark grey beanie, her red hair peeked out of the front and sides in an almost messy yet stylish way.

"Uh, hi. Are you Lamont Cranston?"

"Yes… yeah, I'm Lamont. Who are you?"

A slight smile creeps across her lips. "I'm Lykain. Lykain Karlid, to be more precise."

"Lykain Karlid… Oh! Lieutenant-Commander Karlid. I'm so sorry, I didn't expect you to come to see me in person."

She quickly holds up her hands. "It's okay. Outside of combat, I'd rather keep a chill persona. No need for rank and file here on the Citadel."

"Right, right…" He said, letting out a nervous chuckle.

They both stand there in silence for a few moments before she leans to her side to peek into his apartment. "So uh, are you going to invite me in or shoot me?"

"What?" An icy chill goes down his spine as he realized he forgot about the gun he was now lazily hiding behind his back. "I'm sorry. Yes, please come in."

As soon as he moved away from the door, she pushed her way in but never turning her back to him. "Look, I'm not normally like this." He said as he grabbed the barrel of his gun with his free hand and then placing it on the nearby counter. "I'm certain you were informed that I defected from Cerberus."

"I do. Your file was a bit… sparse on the details on hows and whys of your defection or escape. Though, based on your reaction here, I take it was an escape." She said as she leaned against the nearby couch and eyes squinting ever so slightly at him.

"I mean, it was an escape, but I think either case would have the same reaction."

Lykain just laughs a little. "They don't kid around, do they?"

"No, they don't." He takes a moment to study her demeanor. Unfortunately, she wasn't giving away much. She was calm and collected. For someone who was potentially holding a gun against her, it didn't faze her. The only thing that was telling was the piercings she had.

Both ears were lined with various studs. Some smooth, some angular, almost pointed. She also had one smooth studded piercing on her lower lip. While not concrete evidence, Lamont knew having a good number of piercings on one's body usually meant a broken past. His friends either had gotten tattoos and or piercings after their experiences with tragedy.

"So, um… Admiral Hackett said you'd contact me, but didn't really go beyond that."

"Yeah, he does that. He likes for us to figure things out on our own if time allows it." She looks to the ground, tilting her head as she does. "Speaking of which, what exactly is your baggage?"

Lamont watches as her seemingly innocent look shift into a more serious and demanding look. He couldn't help but feel her stare through him and into his dark core.

"Well. I… I think you've already experienced it."

"That?" She said, pointing to the door. "That was just a surface detail. There's a why behind it, and I'm giving you an opportunity to reveal it in an honest way." She said, her tone calm yet stern.

"Is that an order?"

"No. I wouldn't be giving you an opportunity if it was."

Silence fills the room as Lamont recalls what Hackett told him. '…it's up to you to talk about it…' The phrase echoes in his mind over and over.

It's up to you. Up to you… Up to you… Tell her. Tell her. Tell her. The whispers continue, the words shifting their pitch and length. It's up to you… Tick, tick, tick… Tell her. Tell her. If you don't, it will get worse… Tick, tick, tick, ticking time bomb.

"Lamont." She said, leaning in slightly with her arms crossed. "It's okay if you don't want to talk about it."

"No, no, it's okay." He said as he shook off the whispers. "With permission, I would like to discuss it with the entire team."

A small smile crosses her lips. "I told you it wasn't an order, but that'll work." She gets up from her lean against the couch. "I'm sorry if that felt a bit blunt from me, but I just had to see."

"See what?"

"Your reaction. I needed to see what kind of person would work with Cerberus."

"And what kind of person do you see?"

She pauses for a moment. "Someone who was used. Even with those… goggles… glasses of yours can't hide that kind of damage."

"Ha, yeah, these." He said, reaching up to them. "Yeah, I'm a bit sensitive to light. Had to find something that could completely protect my eyes."

"Interesting. That's not going to be a problem?"

"No, no, of course not."

Liar… The whispers said, once again elongating the word.

"Well, this should smooth over some ruffled feathers with the team." She said, more to herself than to Lamont. "I'll be straight with you. Your tie to Cerberus will be a complication. Most of my girls will be able to look pass it, but there will be one that won't. I'll do my best to watch and have your back, but you'll mostly be on your own with her."

"That bad huh."

"Yep. Almost to the point where she might kill you."

"Well, I guess I'll just have to kick up my charm." He said with a forced smile.

"Doubt it would work, but you're more than welcome to try." She walks up to him and lays a hand on his shoulder. "It's going to be tough to get in with us, but I think this will work out."

He looks at her hand on his shoulder, then back at her. "I hope this works out."

"It will." She then pats his shoulder a couple times before backing up slightly and activating her omni-tool. "There's an Alliance base of operations nearby C-Sec's primary facility. It's where they train their recruits or just train in general. I'm giving you the address so you can meet us there. We'll be doing a training run together after we break the ice with everybody. Be there at twelve-hundred hours tomorrow. That one is an order."

He pulls his hand up in a salute. "Yes, ma'am."

She lets out a chuckle. "Take care Lamont. See you tomorrow."