Serina drifted through the Alliance network, scouring through decades of classified information, looking for any hint to the Illusive Man's identity, or location.

Kara's suspicion that the Illusive Man had close ties to the Alliance was reasonable, the amount of time and resources, not to mention skills it would take to build an organization like Cerberus from the ground up would take years, if not decades.

And yet it's growth had occurred practically overnight. It was a safe assumption that very powerful people had aided the Illusive Man. Serina combed through reports detailing Alliance activity on Shanxi. Just as Kara predicted, there was a report filed by General Williams, regarding the transfer of arms and armor for the purpose of training the local militia

Serina began to analyze the files the Alliance had on these militia members, and managed to account for all but three. The files weren't just classified, nearly every file she'd read was classified. No, these filings were just missing. There were allusions and references that clued Serina to their existence, but there was no hint as to their identities. It aggravated the AI to no end, nothing bothered her like a puzzle with missing pieces. "Serina?" Kara's voice echoed through the AI's mind, breaking her train of thought.

"Yes Ma'am?"

"Do you have the files Jack requested?"

"Yes, EDI gave them to me twenty nanoseconds ago. I'll transfer them to a datapad."

"Thank you Serina."

"I also have an update regarding the Illusive Man."

A datapad next to Rocket chirped, indicating the download was complete, and he picked it up before leaving to find Jack. "What have you found?" Kara said as she dragged her tail across Rocket's snout as a way of bidding him goodbye.

"General WIlliams did train the Shanxi militia, and I've managed to account for every member, except for the leadership. There isn't any data as to who they are."

"You believe the Illusive Man did some cleaning?"

"I do."

Kara rested her chin in her hand as she thought. "What about the Turian's? They might have more intel; contact reports, or intel briefings on members of this militia."

"I'll start digging right away."

Rocket slapped the data-pad against his palm repeatedly in discomfort. He had no idea how he was going to approach Jack on what she'd been through. He sighed as he stepped down the stairs leading to the deck she was living in. Or hiding in, as Kara would say.

He spotted the tattooed woman resting on a crate, and Rocket brandished the data-pad. "Got your stuff."

"Shit, didn't think you guys would pull through."

"Kara ain't Cerberus, she keeps her promises."

Rocket handed the data-pad over, and Jack settled back onto the crate. Rocket shifted uneasily, and Jack stared pointedly at him when she noticed he wasn't leaving. "What?" She asked, aggravated.

"I uh… I wanted to get to know you better."

Jack scoffed. "Believe me, you don't. Get lost, rat."

"Because you're an asshole, right?" Rocket spat back, suddenly irritated.

"Yeah, because I'm an asshole. Let's not waste time with each other alright?"

"I don't think you're a waste of time."

"Yeah? And what makes you think that?"

"Because I wasn't."

Jack's brow furrowed. "Don't pretend you know anything about me."

"I know everything about you. I know you grew up in a glorified cage. I know you were tortured and experimented on as a kid. I know you're still haunted by it, that you're afraid to go to sleep because you're afraid you'll end up right back there. I know you've thought more than once about putting a bullet in your head, or drinking so much you don't wake up, I know you do anything you can just to try to forget about what happened to you, but none of it works."

Jack recoiled slightly, taken aback, then she snarled. "And what the fuck makes you think you know anything about me?"

Rocket was about to reply, when he closed his mouth. He simply turned around and removed the top of his jumpsuit. Jack was about to speak, only to fall silent when she saw the cybernetics grafted to Rocket's spine, and the bare patches and scars on his back.

Rocket pulled his jumpsuit back on. "I'm probably one of the only people in this whole flarking galaxy who knows what you've been through, Jack." With that, Rocket walked up the stairs, leaving a stunned Jack to herself.

Shepard planted a hand under her chin as she read the file on their next potential recruit: A Krogan, warlord Okeer. From his file, Shepard could tell that Okeer had an… unusual disposition for a Krogan, Shepard couldn't remember ever hearing about a Krogan scientist. She idly wondered what Wrex would have to say about him. The only other recruit they had yet to meet was one Kasumi Goto, who according to her file was currently on the Citadel.

Shepard leaned back in her chair, considering where to go first. She probably wouldn't get shot at if she went to the Citadel, but she would face a political nightmare, with the Council finding out she wasn't dead. She'd honestly almost rather get shot at.

She pinched her nose and sighed, better to rip this bandage off now rather than later. "Serina?" No answer.

Shepard leaned back in her chair, feeling a sense of slight amusement at the realization that she defaulted to calling upon Kara's AI companion rather than her Cerberus counterpart. "EDI?"

"Yes commander?" EDI's holographic projection appeared to Shepard's left.

"Can you tell me if there are any rumors about me being alive floating around in Citadel space?"

"Yes Shepard." Several seconds passed. "There appear to be a few unsubstantiated rumors of your actions in the Terminus systems. The Council may be aware of your status."

"Tell Joker to set a course for the Citadel."

"Right away commander."

Kara accompanied Rocket as he took the elevator to the mess hall on the third deck. She spotted the rest of Shepard's team in the mess, seated on different tables than the Cerberus operatives. Kara took a plate for Rocket while he took his seat beside Garrus. Rocket sniffed the tray of bland chicken and rice as she set it down in front of him. "Still can't shake the feeling I'm gonna get poisoned, eating the crap they give us."

Garrus paused as he brought a spoon to his mouth, then gazed at the utensil in distrust. "Thanks Rocket, was looking forward to going hungry."

Rocket snorted. "Any time."

"Relax. I don't think Cerberus would go through the trouble of recruiting all of us just to poison us. They'd just shoot us instead." Kara said.

Garrus shrugged. "Hey, been meaning to ask you something. What outfit are you exactly? Like special forces?"

"I'm part of the augmented branch, which operates as part of NavSpecWep, naval special weapons."

Kara heard the elevator doors hiss open, and Shepard stepped around the corner. "How'd you... get like that? I watched you take a missile to the gut back on Feros, and an hour later you're clearing the colony all by yourself, so you're obviously some kind of super soldier."

Kara snorted. "I hate that term, but you're right. As for how I became part of the augmented branch… You don't "sign up", you are selected as a potential candidate, and if you are interested in undergoing the augmentation process, you are then briefed thoroughly on the procedure, and how your life will change as a result."

"So how do you get "selected"? Shepard asked.

The fur on Kara's neck twitched. "By killing an oathbreaker."

Kara spat the words with such venom, it was clear that in her mind there was nothing worse. Shepard looked at Garrus and Mordin, and they both looked like they wanted to ask the obvious question, but they wisely kept their mouths shut.

Zaeed on the other hand? "Who'd you kill?"

Kara turned to look at the aged human. "Someone who at one point, I would have said was my closest friend, before he betrayed me and everything my kind hold sacred."

Garrus and Shepard stared daggers into Zaeed, who shrugged. "Now onto a lighter note. Shepard, did you know it's almost Halloween back on Earth?"

"You celebrate Halloween?" Shepard asked, intrigued.

"Of course! It's my favorite human holiday."

"What's Halloween?" Garrus asked, trying to stay part of the conversation.

Kara answered before Shepard could. "It started as the Celtic festival of Samhain. They believed that on the night of new years eve, the barrier between the living and the dead would weaken, and the spirits of the deceased would walk amongst them. To protect themselves, they would dress up in animal heads and skins during the festival. In the 8th century, a pope created the holiday All Saints Day, and many elements of Samhain's festival were incorporated, and it eventually evolved into Halloween. People would dress up as monsters and ghosts, and me looking the way I do, it was always a perfect excuse to walk around freely, unnerving everyone with how lifelike my "costume" was." Kara let out a small chuckle. "I remember I told my children that story, and my son, ever the little miscreant, had the unmitigated gall to say I wasn't scary!" Shepard snorted, and bit back her laughter at the sight of how annoyed Kara looked.

"And how'd you react to such an offensive idea?" Garrus asked.

"I made him clean the dishes, and when my husband got back I told him what happened, and he just laughed in my face." Rocket smiled as he heard the joy in Kara's voice as she spoke about her old life.

Shepard regained her composure. "So you had kids? A husband?"

"Yes, though that was… in another life." Rocket wrapped his hand around one of Kara's claws as she seemingly deflated, and she smiled at his touch.

Garrus downed the final contents of his glass, then cleared his throat. "Well for what it's worth Kara, I think you're terrifying."

Kara placed a hand on the Turian's shoulder. "Thank you."

The Normandy arrived at the Citadel, and Shepard notified Kara and Rocket to meet her and Garrus at the umbilical. Shepard nodded to Kara once she spotted her, Rocket riding atop her shoulder as usual, and the four of them proceeded through the docking tube.

Shepard's attention was immediately drawn to a nearby advertisement display. The device flickered, and showed a hooded figure. "Hello Shepard. Use your code to get access to our limited time offer now!"

"Silence is golden."

Kara's fur twitched as she felt the movements of the eccentric thief above her in the rafters, but she made no move to indicate she was aware of Kasumi's presence. "It's good to finally meet you commander, you certainly keep peculiar company."

Shepard looked at Kara and Rocket out of the corner of her eyes. "I need to meet with the Council before doing anything else, can you set up on the Normandy while I deal with them?"

"Of course Shepard, just don't forget about our deal." Kasumi said, refering to the deal the Illusive Man had made with Kasumi.

"I won't. Everybody else, let's get this over with." Shepard stepped through the door leading into the wards, and entered a sparse hallway, a Turian standing guard on the opposite end.

He raised a hand. "You'll have to hold still while we perform a scan."

"C-sec really stepped up security since I left." Garrus muttered.

The scan finished, and Shepard stepped forward at the Turian's instruction. Something had him visibly confused. "I'm sorry ma'am, we seem to be experiencing a glitch, the system thinks you're dead."

"I was declared MIA for the last two years."

"Ah, that would explain it." He paused, and his head tilted to the side, indicating someone was speaking to him through COMs. "Please, step on through." Shepard nodded, and Kara followed.

As the door opened, Kara caught the tail end of a very interesting conversation. "-scream a little, he won't tell you anything otherwise."

Kara glowered at the man who spoke, a human with short trimmed blonde hair, she immediately despised him. Shepard approached the man. "Commander Shepard, Captain Bailey. So what brings a dead spectre to the Citadel?"

"I'm here to meet with the Council."

Bailey nodded. "Well, you were "dead" for two years, so there's a lot we'd need to discuss before you could see them, but you're obviously in a hurry, so let's forget about all of that." Shepard watched as Bailey input commands into his computer.

"Now that that's taken care of, is there anything else I can help you with?"

Shepard crossed her arms. "There is one thing. Why are you beating suspects?"

Bailey seemed taken aback for a moment, then he slammed his fist into his desk. "This isn't the Presidium! The worst they have to worry about over there is somebody's poodle crapping in the grass, but over here-"

Kara cut him off with a sharp hiss. "Save it, nothing justifies torturing people in your custody, regardless of what they're accused of. Their safety and well being is your responsibility, and whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty and basic sapient rights?"

Bailey glowered at Kara, but said nothing. Serina?

Yes ma'am?

I want this man's job, he's clearly not fit for service, and take anybody who you think might have known about his abuses.

Yes ma'am.

Shepard sighed. "We've got more important things to do than put up with this guy, come on."

"Fascist pig." Rocket sneered as Kara turned to follow.

Shepard knocked on the door to Ambassador Udina's office, and was pleasantly surprised to hear Captain Anderson invite her in. She stepped through the door, followed by her team. She fought the urge to smile as she saw Anderson, settling for a nod.

He beckoned her over, and she saw that he and Udina were speaking to the Council. The Turian Councilor crossed his arms as Shepard stepped into view. "Ah, Shepard. Perhaps you can explain to us why you're working with a terrorist organization."

Shepard raised a hand just as Anderson was about to defend her. She appreciated the thought, but she was technically working with Cerberus, so the hostility from the Councilor was fair. "We have a common enemy. Human colonies in the Terminus systems are disappearing, and Cerberus recruited me to help them."

"And do you think they have an ulterior motive?" The Asari Councilor chimed in.

Shepard scoffed. "It's Cerberus, of course they do. I don't trust them blindly, I'm working with Kara on a way to take them down when we need to."

The Councilors seemed satisfied with that. "As long as you know what you're getting into. Now onto the second matter; you were classified as KIA following your disappearance two years ago, and your status as a spectre was revoked. We would be willing to reinstate you."

"As long as you keep your activities to the Terminus systems." The Turian Councilor added.

"Of course. Thank you, Councilors."

The holographic displays of the Councilors disappeared, and Shepard breathed a sigh of relief. "That went better than expected."

She turned, and saw Captain Anderson with a slight smirk on his face. "You just love to make trouble, don't you Shepard?"

She chuckled and shook her head. "I don't think I make it, I'm just really good at finding it."

Anderson nodded, a small tug at the corner of his lips. "I trust you Shepard, but you need to be careful. Cerberus can't be trusted."

"I know, which is why I'm glad to have them on my side." Shepard looked over her shoulder at Garrus, Rocket and Kara.

"What are you going to do next?"

Shepard paused for a moment. "Probably going to try to recruit a Krogan warlord."

Anderson huffed. "Let me know how that works out for you."

Kara was listening halfheartedly to Shepard and Anderson's conversation when Serina whispered through her helmet. "Ma'am, I have news about the Turian intel."

"Go on."

"They do have intel on the Shanxi militia, that's the good news. The bad news is it's physical data only."

Kara's fur bristled. That meant if they wanted to find out more about the Illusive Man, Artemis would have to infiltrate Palaven. "Commander? A word."

Shepard stopped, and turned to face Kara. "What is it?"

"I have a lead on where to get more intel on the Illusive Man, but I'll need to contact my team."

Shepard nodded. "Alright, have them rendezvous with the Normandy."

Kara nodded. She didn't like the idea of Cerberus operatives getting a look at the Dreadnought, so she decided to have her team arrive in a dropship. She tapped several commands into her Ancilla, and sent the order to Artemis Actual. The trip back to the Normandy was uneventful.

When Kara stopped in front of the Normandy's elevator, to her pleasant surprise, Rocket told her he was going to speak to Jack more. She kissed him goodbye as he got off on the fourth deck, then took the elevator down to the cargo bay to await the arrival of her team.

Rocket felt an increasingly familiar sense of butterflies in his stomach as he stepped off the elevator. He still wasn't all that great at talking with people, much less listening to them and their problems. He sighed, and stepped out of the elevator, then walked down the stairs.

He spotted Jack resting atop a crate nestled in the far corner, her eyes staring intently at the data pad in front of her, twitching slightly as she read.

Rocket cleared his throat, and Jack immediately bolted upright, and the air around her distorted as she readied her biotics before seeing the diminutive raccoon. "Fuck man, I almost killed you. Don't sneak up on me like that."

Rocket looked down at his feet. "Sorry, I'm just really good at sneaking."

Jack scoffed. "What do you want?"

"Wanted to know if you found what you're lookin' for in those Cerberus files."

"And how would you know what I'm looking for?"

"Come on. It doesn't take a genius to know you're lookin' for "home"."

Jack's brow furrowed. "Yeah, I found it."

"And how are you planning on getting there?"

"I don't know. I'll figure something out."

"Maybe I can help. Kara's meeting with the rest of Artemis, and she'd probably be willing to give you a lift." Rocket stood and beckoned Jack with a gesture, and turned to leave, but stopped when he didn't hear Jack follow. He turned back, narrowing his eyes as he looked at her. "Sittin' there ain't gonna get you where you want to go any faster, come on." She hesitated, then followed.

After checking with Kasumi to see if she was settling in well, Shepard took the elevator down to the cargo bay to join Kara as her team arrived. She watched in interest as Kara greeted the rest of Artemis. Laura took Kara into a tight hug, then waved the rest of the team over. "So what're we doing here boss?"

Kara cleared her throat, and Serina's holographic avatar appeared. "I've learned where we can find some concrete intel on the Illusive Man. It's on physical files located on the Turian homeworld of Palaven."

"So we're gonna have to break in?" Laura asked.

"Nora and Machiko are going to infiltrate the facility. We're still new here, and I don't think the Turian's will take kindly to the two of you showing up with weapons, so you'll have to go unarmed." Kara stopped as she felt the elevator descend, and she smiled as she saw the newcomers. "Rocket. Jack." She nodded to Jack, who mumbled to herself.

"What're you doing here?" Shepard asked.

Rocket pointed to Jack with his thumb. "Jack found the place they were keeping her as a kid, and she needs a ride."

"I'd be happy to provide one, as long as I drive."

"You got a problem with my flying?" Rocket grumbled.

Shepard smirked, and turned to Kara. "I might need you when we pick up Okeer."

The fur on Kara's neck twitched, and she looked at Laura and Samantha, and jerked her head ever so slightly to Shepard. The two nodded. Laura flashed a smirk at Shepard. "Looks like me and Sammy are gonna be keeping you company while Kara's gone." She said as she leaned down and placed a hand on Shepard's shoulder, a cheshire grin on her face. "Let's make it memorable."

Jack climbed into the dropship Artemis arrived in, alongside Kara, Rocket, and Nora and Machiko. There weren't any seats in the vessel, rather there were hand holds along the ceiling, well outside of Jack's reach. Machiko turned slightly, and extended a hand tentatively. "May I?"

Jack grunted, but took the offered hand as the ship twisted, and she shifted to maintain her balance.

Kara guided the ship back through the wormhole, and as she approached, she saw the distorted image of the Dreadnought on the other side. She let the autopilot take over and guide the dropship into a pressurized hangar. She nodded to Nora and Machiko as they left, then turned to Jack. "Where are we headed?"

"Pragia, and we're gonna blow it the fuck up."

So it's been almost a month since last update, things have been a little chaotic for me (nothing too serious) but it did mean that I wasn't able to focus on this story as much until recently. Just dialogue and character interactions this chapter, but next chapter will have a little more action.