We docked at the privately run "prison." It is a company conglomerate which captures highly wanted criminals and charges homeworld governments a very large fee for however long they remain, or they become their problem again. There are many different rumors about this place. My favorite is it's actually a criminal hangout and they are scamming the various governments. Some are darker. Pharmaceutical companies testing dangerous compounds on inmates, psychological experimentation, or worse. Shepard believes this will be an easy mission. Cerberus paid a very generous sum in order to have Jack released into our custody. A first for the Warden. We're bringing our weapons along just in case. Miranda wanted to come with. We had to persuade her to not come. She asked why not and we all gave her the look. She understood and backed off, not before warning Jacob to be careful. I sense some remaining chemistry between the two. I haven't been here long enough to pry.

"Sir, you need to relinquish your weapons. Station policy" the guard stands in front of us.

"That's not happening" Shepard stands his ground.

The warden says "Commander you must know the dangers involved in bringing weapons inside a location such as this. Please comply so that we may proceed" the way he says it makes the hairs on the back of my freshly shaved neck stand straight.

"Cerberus paid you alot of money to bring me Jack. Enough to bend a few rules" the air grows thick. I ready my weapon just in case. It works much better now that Jacob repaired it for me.

"There is no need for hostility. I think the former spectre and his friends are responsible enough to not let sticky fingers endanger my station" the warden orders his men to stand down.

I ask "Former? Were you not reinstated?"

"I haven't been back to the citadel or met the council" Shepard shamefully says.

I ask "Why not?"

"Let's not talk about this now" Shepard follows the guard who leads the way. We pass by several cells containing criminals from nearly every race. Most of them are batarian, and one elcor. Partway through our walk we see an officer beating a human inmate for refusing to answer his question.

"That's just sick" Shepard said.

"Torture doesn't work. He'll say anything to make the pain stop" Jacob said.

"Heeh… Could be 50/50 although he's not even doing it right. That inmate probably had a lifetime to build a tolerance to physical pain. The goal is to overwhelm the nervous system. He should be using something he isn't used to like extreme cold and asphyxiation" Shepard and Jacob tense up. The guard stops beating the prisoner and looks at me wondering what the hell is wrong with him.

"Hey I didn't do it, but it was the revolutionary war. It was winter, the enemy was closing in and we were desperate. I kept the guy who did it in check" I explain.

Shepard is surprised "You fought in the new Terran rebellions? You should be in jail."

"Ok first off, we won. They were the good guys and they had me of course. Second, what is this about new Terran rebellions? SHEPARD I'm not working for the empire, am I? Don't turn away from me, you get back here and answer my question. Shepard!" I fast walk towards my elusive boss.

A few minutes later, they brought us to the viewing area. A large robotic claw snatches the pod containing our frozen prisoner as if it was a giant popcile claw machine. Gusts of air screech from the metal sarcophagus. Oversized screws on either side are loosened and the door raises to reveal the near naked woman.

"Jacks a girl?" Shepard said to himself.

"DROP YOUR WEAPONS!" The guards have us at gunpoint. We raise our hands over our heads.

"What is this?" Shepard asks and tries to understand the situation.

"It's simple. You made a lot of enemies, and your reemergence has made them quite anxious. Keeping a spectre out of the game will make me a lot more money than what you gave for Ms Jack. Not like Cerberus is getting a refund" the turian clickers his jaw in laughter.

"You can't do that. I'll report you to the better business bureau" I said.

'As freighting as they are, I doubt they will be hearing from you" the warden says.

"Huh why is that? Is there no signal out here?" I redundantly ask.

"Do you never shut up?" The warden asks. The entire room violently shakes. Yes! Buying time worked. Jack used her unrivaled biotic strength to free herself and rip a hole in the wall. We use this opportunity to grab the guard's weapon and disarm them. Jacob and I both go after the same guy and punch his stupid helmet. Cracking it in the process. We take the moment to fist bump. The warden slipped away in the chaos. With nowhere else to go, the path ahead is the destruction and chaos the girl left behind. The lights flash and we are in a dark makeshift hallway. I look for any shadows when red alarms temporarily illuminate to tell me if someone is around the corner. I thought I saw one, but no one was around the corner. strange. I thought I felt a presence. Any guards or escape inmates ahead are swiftly dealt with until we came to the boss area. The warden uses these strange reddish purple batteries to supercharge his shield. Groups of three, nine in total. Approximately ten guards fire at us. Jack is in the middle and dealing massive damage to anyone in her way. Her force turns them into ruby powder. So that is what biotics are truly capable of. Shepard yells, telling her to aim for the batteries. Garrus is right. Shepard concealing more of himself behind cover. Before he would be ready to pounce whenever the moment came, and he would not be risking Jack's life to do such a simple task he is more than capable of preforming himself. He's barely letting his shields get hit, instead of halfway depleted then recharge. When I am not dealing damage to these private guards, I take cover and aim for the batteries in a clockwise fashion. More guards arrive and my shield pops. I barely make it to cover.

I hold my arms out from cover and point my weapon straight up. Making sure my money maker is safe.

"WAIT! WAIT! STOP! I said stop" I yell. The gunfire slowly halts. A strange silence fills the atmosphere for a moment until the warden speaks up.

"What is it? Have you realized the situation you are and going to surrender?" he asks.

"Nah. My shield finally recharged. We can continue" I pop out of cover and kill a couple guards with a grenade. I can't believe that worked. I think Shepard destroyed the far batteries and I am able to get a few shots at the warden. He's pissed at me. I will use that against him. I taunt him relentlessly to draw fire. He should have paid attention to Jacob and Jack. Jacob destroyed the remaining battery and Jack used her biotics to crush her captor's skull like it was nothing. She's across the room and I can feel her overwhelming wraith and her biotics are nearly as strong. A familiar feeling. The station is no longer operable. Guards and inmates are fighting for escape pods. We group up and meet at the docking bay. Jack stops when she notices outsdide the window, the Cerberus logo on the normandy.

"Nu uh. I'm not going anywhere with any Cerberus bastards" her biotics flare and her fists clench.

"Relax I'm not really with them. I'm commander Shepard first human spectre" that is his pitch?"

"Oh we finally got one of those? Did you steal that ship?" Jack asks.

"No it belongs to Cerberus. We are working together for the time being" this reignites her rage.

Jacob asks "how long were you in there?"

"Don't know. It doesn't really matter, does it?"

"Look this station is going down and I have a ticket off this metal trashbin. Do you want to die here?" Shepard asks.

"I ain't going with some damn Cerberus dogs who are too busy fucking up little kids for god knows what shitty purposes… unless you give me access to some files I'm after" Jack states her price.

"Shepard I'm not privy to most of those files but giving her access may endanger the mission. Think carefully about this? ********* are you alright? You won't stop staring at me and are turning red" Jacob said.

I have been keeping my eyes away from her. I am extremely uncomfortable. Painfully so. I don't wish to see anything I am not meant to. I keep affirming to myself don't look don't look DON'T LOOK!

"I'll be alright. Jack would you like my jacket to cover up?" I start tearing my top layer off immediately.

"Nah I like what I'm wearing" she said.

"YOU CHOSE TO WEAR THAT!" I shout.

"What's the deal with you?" Shepard asks.

"Shepard. This may come to a shock to you but I am actually quite prudish" I confess.

Slowly he says "You're kidding? What about all those sex jokes you made in the past?"

'I never said any of the bad words and I only said what I said to give you guys the mental image. I was never that vulgar about it" I said.

"Are you serious?" Shepard asks.

"YES! I was raised there is a time and place for that kinda stuff and I'm getting very uncomfortable here" Also doesn't help my amplified emotions of improper conduct of the act make me feel horrible. I am not pure, but I'm far from a degenerate.

Shepard turns to Jack "I will give you whatever you want if you can get him to shut his annoying mouth" oh god please no.

"Deal" they shake hands.

"Let's get out of here" I walk away from this awkward conversation.

"Hey you're not so bad on the eyes. It will be fun to break you in" She squeezes my chair resting muscles. A strong and sudden jolt travels up my spine. I jolt into the air and yell from the shock. Did she really just do that? The black fire in my tighten chest returns. My head lowers as well as my voice box lowers. I turn to back and stare vehemently at her eyes.

"You will not do that again!"

"Calm down I was just having a little fun" she mockingly makes grabbing gestures. This enrages me more!

"I DON"T FU..nhm CARE!" My rage nearly overpowers me for a moment. I won't allow that to happen ever again. I see a red tinted circle in the center my vision. My pupils illuminated red for a moment. The look on her face, I terrorized her. I stop. Jack blows it off and says "whatever" then heads towards the ship. I mentally speak to myself to calm down. Relax. Let it go. You weren't much better than her and you had a support system. She doesn't. Let it go. You felt enough anger. My soul deserves peace. Let it flow away from the present moment.

"********* are you well?" Thane asks behind me. He scared me. I yelped and turned around. How did I not sense him? I look at him flabbergasted. My chest goes up and down with every quick breath.

Shepard explains "Oh he was with us the whole time. I wanted another pair of eyes just in case."

"And it paid off. I was able to release some of the restraints on Jack which allowed her to produce such a theatrical distraction" Thane explained.

"That was you? I'm going back to my room to recharge" This was a mentally taxing day.

"I was under the impression human males liked physical contact from the females" Thane said.

"Not like that apparently" Shepard said.

"Intriguing your species intimidation display. I didn't know you race could change colors like the asari" Thane said.

"What? Oh no we can't do that. I saw it too. Looked super creepy. Must have been a reflection from the alarms going off. He has weird timing" Shepard said.

"I misunderstood," Thane said.

"He's weird. I should go talk to him. It's very rare to see him angry. Let's go before the station falls out of orbit" Shepard said.

That was no mere light reflection. My assassin training heavily involved how light travels through multiple environments. Outdoor indoor, large or small space. How brightly lit. Useful to find blind spots and evade the enemy. There is no conceivable way the scarlet glow came from the alarms, nor from any angles present. I reexamine my memories to confirm. The source was from him. ********* is not a cyborg. I scanned him while he was distracted from cooking. No matter his kindness or goodwill, my instincts alerted me the day I met ********* to be cautious around him.

That human is hiding something.