Rana sighed and shifted in the pilot's chair to gaze out the shuttle window. She'd been sitting alone in the quiet cockpit for the better part of an hour with only the blinking of various controls for entertainment. She'd tried the comm system, tried to program a new course and tried to pull up the extranet but encountered annoying permission issues every time. The odd android who put her in the shuttle must have locked it down and sent it here but hadn't bothered to inform her what to do when she arrived.

If she'd arrived, that is.

Her mind wandered to Roksar and how she'd feel about Rana's sudden flight from Tyr. She didn't think the old Krogan would be offended at the idea itself but the timing was another matter. The mottled brown and white planet floated and slowly spun in her view to the port side, and if she squinted her eyes she could make out the smudgy tail of one of the asteroids destined to collide with their home.

Suddenly that vista was eclipsed by a dark shadow that enveloped the craft, making her jump in her seat. A huge vessel with an open back hatch settled in front of her only to gently reverse course and swallow it. She heard and felt the thunk of the shuttle's frame making contact with the deck, magnetized probably, before being pushed back into her seat as the big ship began immediately accelerating with her inside the hold. The light outside brightened and she could see people moving around her in the large space outside the shuttle. It didn't take long for her to realize her worst fears weren't materializing; they were just...working. In a scant minute the shuttle hatch was lifting and Rana gathered her belongings to debark.

A fair haired human man and bronzed human woman that triggered a fuzzy memory appeared once the hatch was out of the way, blinking in confusion at what they saw...or rather didn't see. They shared a glance before looking at her once again, the woman melodiously asking, "Um, who are you ?"

The gentleman was more brusque. "And where's EDI?" he demanded, a suspicious look growing on his face while he looked around the inside of the shuttle where she was standing

Right , Rana thought, EDI . That was what Jack had called her .

She didn't, however, have time to respond before the same voice that she'd heard from that android made itself known from somewhere nearby.

"I have left myself a data cache and synchronization is complete," came the voice. "I appear to have voluntarily stayed on the surface. This is Rana Thanoptis, a scientist who was working for the Krogan but aided our escape plan."

As the looks of confusion grew, even on her own face, there was a loud bang and the whole ship lurched suddenly to the side. The dampeners were good and no one lost their footing, but emergency lights began to flash and a cynical voice was the next to speak out of the air.

"Commander, looks like they found us. Initiating evasive maneuvers."

"Shit," she said, then tapped her Omni before speaking into it. "Condition One. Battlestations. This is not a drill." Her words were broadcast from every corner of the hold and she lowered her wrist before looking to her companion. "Prepare to repel boarders."

"Aye aye, Ma'am," he said and he set off at a run, destination unknown. The next look the Commander turned at her was sharp, as if to measure her worth in all this.

Rana shrugged helplessly. "We had a plan to escape… the others decided not to come."

"Jack disappeared deeper into the complex just before departure," the computerized voice stated plainly. "I believe she wished to liberate Grunt from where he was imprisoned. Such an undertaking required assistance."

The woman sighed, but nodded and gestured for her to exit with a quick wave of her hand. "It's not safe for you here. I'll take you to quarters."

Rana stepped out spryly, following the woman as she jogged toward a central elevator. "What's going on?" she asked, ducking around soldiers who were quickly arming themselves.

The armored woman didn't speak until they were in the car and the doors were closing. "Short version, we were trying to avoid the notice of 3 Spectres in system but our little pickup appears to have put us on their radar."

" Spectres ? Why are Spectres looking for you?"

A flicker of a smile graced the woman's lips before the ship lurched enough for them to brace themselves against the car wall. "A story for another day," she said after a moment, "Happen to have any combat experience?"

She shook her head but the answer didn't seem to rattle the human much. "I am a surgeon, though," she offered just before the doors slid open.

"Good enough," was her reply and they stepped out to an immediate pair of lefts and into a larger room. A few strides brought them to a set of sliding doors that opened into a medical bay.

"Dr. Chakwas," the Commander said and the older woman turned from where she was readying the medical beds.

"Commander?"

"This is Rana and she says she has medical skill. Can you put her to use?"

"I'm sure I can find something," was the immediate reply, paired with a curious steel-eyed look at her new visitor.

But the Commander was turning away, speaking again into the air. "Joker? What's the damage?"

"Nothing we can't handle, Commander; barely scratched us. Asshats don't know who they're tangling with."

His confidence with regard to fighting Spectres definitely caught her interest but then the doors closed, leaving her alone with the Doctor. Rana smiled disarmingly at her, but the sharpness never left the woman's eyes. She walked over to her slowly, age clearly weighing her limbs, and held out a hand in greeting which Rana politely took.

"Welcome to the Normandy, Rana," Chakwas said, "But I'm afraid we're a bit constrained on time. What's your area of expertise?"

Rana blinked several times at the name, her brief recognition of the woman who escorted her here clarifying into memories of countless historical news vids. "I'm sorry," she said, "Did you say the Normandy ?" At her perplexed nod she continued, pointing back the way she came, "So that was...Ashley Williams, the Spectre?"

The Doctor's brow furrowed and she clucked her tongue. "Did no one mention any of this to you?"

The Asari sighed eloquently while shaking her head in the negative. "I'm a neurologist primarily," she finally offered, "With surgical training."

The human nodded curtly, "You have experience with human physiology? They represent the bulk of our complement."

"Not really, no," she replied. "My work has centered around Krogan for the past decade."

Dr. Chakwas nodded again and moved to a terminal in the corner by a locked hatch. She quickly brought up a series of texts and stepped back to motion to the chair before the station. "You should probably brush up on human fundamentals. If you have any questions, ask. I'm just going to finish stocking for triage."

Rana moved hesitantly toward the waiting chair. Spectres were bad news. Where they appeared, chaos followed and if her previous encounters with Spectres had left her with that sour of an impression, being in the vicinity of a Spectre being hunted by other Spectres was a nightmarish prospect. She honestly wondered if she might have been safer back on Tyr; but regardless her life now depended on one so she supposed she should assist.

The human must have noticed her trepidation because she returned back to her side and offered an understanding smile. "I wouldn't worry my dear; this is the finest crew in the galaxy on one of the most advanced ships ever made," she said. "We've been through a lot worse."

The Normandy . Of course they had. Of course.

"Can we trust her?" Ashley asked in the lift.

"I don't possess enough data to make that assessment," came EDI's voice.

The Spectre shook her head and huffed. "Well she's not gonna take a scalpel to Karin, is she?"

"Unlikely. I will monitor her activities and inform you if she displays… homicidal tendencies."

Mid-grin the door opened to the CIC. Mid-step out of the lift the ship took another hit, lurching her into the frame. She could hear Joker cursing all the way back here and broke into a run around the ship and galaxy display.

"I thought you were losing them!" she barked as she skidded to a stop behind his chair.

"I did!" he shouted back. "Then his buddy found us!" His fingers flew over the controls and the stars outside spun. The dampers kept them on their feet but Ash saw the bright trail of a missile sailing away from them to port.

"We are stealthed, right?"

"Stealth systems are fully engaged, Captain," EDI calmly said.

Her hands gripped the leather headrest in front of her a bit tighter. "Well they're tracking us somehow. EDI, you having any luck with their firewalls?"

"Their defenses are significantly hardened in comparison to standard military equipment," she replied. "The speed of their adjustments suggests the use of artificial intelligence. It will take some time."

"Well that sure as shit ain't regulation," Vega spat from the seat he was clinging to for dear life.

"Looks like they're rolling deep," Joker growled as he boosted their speed. He turned his head to glance back at his commanding officer. "It'd help if I could take the damn gloves off, you know."

"Oh you don't know just how much I wanna punch 'em in the throat," Ashley answered in the same tone. "But the second we return fire we declare war on pretty much everyone. Fuck." Her mind spun looking for ideas.

"Okay," she said after thumbing her lips. "Sensors can't pick us up so they've gotta be using visual cues...watching assigned areas since they have multiple ships. We need to break their line of sight and make 'em reset."

"Could prolly lose them in the asteroid belt," Jeff posited, "If we can get there, that is. We've got a third ship on an intercept."

"I may have a solution, Captain," EDI intoned.

Ashley waved her hand impatiently. "All ears, here."

"I suggest we disable our stealth systems."

There was a chorus of 'Whats?' in the cockpit.

"I may not have full access to their systems," she continued, "But if they abandon the use of visual sighting I may be able to insert false data into their sensor reports."

"Make them chase echoes?" Joker asked hopefully.

"Yeahh, but they won't stop looking out their windows until they can spot us on sensors," Vega agreed.

"We're gonna have all three of them shooting at us until they take the bait," Williams added. "How are the shields doing?"

"Holding at 43 percent," EDI informed them.

"Don't you worry about that," Joker challenged while adjusting his position in the pilot's chair. "I can still cut a rug."

There was a moment of silence before James spoke up, "Uh, cut a what?"

Ashley was smiling. "Dance, honey," she said. "He can still dance."

Ten minutes later found them catching their breath with the Normandy nestled in a crevasse of one of the many asteroids in the belt.

"Damage report," Williams requested, ship-wide.

Sam's voice came back. "Damage is minimal, Captain. No casualties."

She nodded, mostly to herself. That had been too close.

"Stealth is back up. They're still sniffing around but we've lost them," Joker confirmed.

"Can't stay here forever, though," Vega said in a low voice.

He was right. They needed a plan. She took a deep breath to slow her heart before lifting her chin to talk to the ship again. "EDI, we just risked our lives to pick up a shuttle that had none of the people we needed on it. Can you tell us anything at all about what's going on down there?"

"Grunt is being held captive somewhere in the compound and according to Jack is heavily guarded. While we made ready to depart she disappeared, presumably to rescue him on her own. There was an N7 class soldier Jack had recently freed who, rather than escape, chose to assist her."

She and James locked eyes.

"That soldier named Katrin Turner by chance?" he asked.

"They addressed her as 'Kat'."

"Well," Ash grunted, "That's something at least."

Vega clenched his jaw and shook his head. "Don't think they're gonna make it outta there in time, mija."

"Time to impact, EDI?"

"3 hours, 27 minutes before the first asteroid makes landfall."

Ashley followed up with another question. "Do you agree with James' assessment?"

There was a pregnant pause before EDI answered. "Yes."

Her eyes narrowed with curiosity. "Then why'd you stay behind?"

Another pause. "While the odds of their escape are small, they are greater than zero," she said. "The loss of my body would be unfortunate but my assistance will improve their chances. Jack is one of us, Captain. I could not abandon her."

The cockpit got quiet. "I understand," Ashley said finally and sighed. "Is there anything that can be done to help at this point?"

Joker's chest rose and fell in a silent huff. "Could screw over Bakara and destroy the asteroids." He turned and looked over his shoulder at the silence that greeted his statement. "Oh what, you think Shepard wouldn't at least consider it? You asked the question, not me."

That stung. "We stop those asteroids," she protested, "And there's a Krogan civil war. The Salarians win."

Joker banged the edge of his console with a fist. "Those asteroids are gonna kill hundreds of thousands of Krogan along with our friends. They win either way. It's kinda their thing ."

"If I may interject," EDI said calmly, "Each of the objects is greater than 10 kilometers in width. The Normandy does not possess enough firepower to destroy asteroids of that size."

Ash lifted a hand as if to award her a point.

James stood up from his seat and turned to the pair. "We don't have to destroy them. We just need to buy our people some time."

Williams wasn't convinced. "Do you really think they have a shot?" she asked. "The second we leave this hidey-hole we're gonna have to deal with those Spectres."

"The way I see it they've got three things going for them," Vega answered, holding up three fingers only to tuck one with each of his next statements. "They've got EDI . They've got an N7 Marine , and they've got Jack . You telling me you'd bet against that crew? After what we've seen?"

He looked back and forth between Ashley and Joker before spreading his hands matter-of-factly. "Look, this clusterfuck might be what the Salarians do, but standing tall when the chips are down is what we do. We gotta give 'em that chance."

Ash looked deep into her husband's eyes and found fervor and passion but importantly, no trace of doubt. "Alright," she sighed in grudging agreement, "Let's have another look at those rocks."

EDI helpfully pulled up a simulation of the planet and asteroid vectors on a side panel. An area in yellow was marked on the sphere's transparent surface: The Krogan base. Ashley started off by asking which asteroid would land first and it illuminated in a cherry red.

"So we could land on the asteroid and redirect the engines to try and deflect it away from impact," she said, pointing. "Assuming it has that capability," she added, unsure. "But how much time would that buy them?"

EDI spoke. "The next asteroid will impact within an hour of the first."

Ashley looked at everyone. "Is that even enough?"

"Excuse me Captain," Mitch Abercrombie said respectfully from behind them, having entered while they were occupied. When all eyes turned to him he cleared his throat and straightened. "If you're just wanting to give them time to evacuate, why worry about any asteroid that's not gonna hit them directly?"

"Each one would be a planet-killer on Earth," James replied with a shrug of his shoulders. "And there's six of 'em. I'm no scientist but I don't even know if there'll be solid land to stand on when they're done. Earthquakes, volcanoes, you name it, it's gonna happen; and they're all huddled up underground ."

Ashley's eyes had narrowed in thought, though. "EDI, show us where each asteroid will land."

The simulation moved forward faster with each strike marking the planet's surface in order, one of them much closer to the Krogan base than the others.

"Oh yeah," Joker grunted, "That second one's a problem."

Ashley leaned back against the opposite console and folded her arms. "Even if our plan works I don't think we can handle more than one in time," she said with a sigh. "Esheel knows why I'm here and those Spectres will be watching for any move towards Tyr; so we'd have to send a team with the Kodiak." Her face tilted to EDI's hologram. "Assuming we can handle that asteroid, what happens when the first one strikes?"

"Nothing will survive within a radius of approximately 1500 kilometers," EDI stated flatly. "The seismic shockwave will travel through the crust and mantle and cause an earthquake of 10.0 or higher on the Richter scale on approximately 62% of the planet's surface. The Krogan base is within that wider radius and any infrastructure they possess will be severely damaged when it arrives. My calculations suggest a quake will strike that area within 45 minutes of impact."

The assessment widened a lot of eyes before the AI added, "With the number of Krogan that need evacuation, casualties are unavoidable."

"How many are there again?" Ashley asked with a quick look at James.

"Half a million is our best guess," he admitted.

She took a breath and held it, then released it slow and steady before speaking to him again. "Well," she shrugged, "I was never any good at politics anyway. Call the Alliance, call the Rachni, hell… put out a mayday to anyone with a boat in this system and a beating fucking heart. They've got 4 hours."

Vega nodded and stood. "I'm on it," he growled and headed aft at a jog.

Ashley stood and followed him as far as the cockpit exit. "Get Sam to help," she called after him, "And suit up!" Then she looked at Mitch. "You too. We're heading to that asteroid. Joker?"

Jeff's head swiveled to meet her gaze.

"Keep our friends out there occupied."

"Weapons free?" he asked with determined eyes.

Her lips tightened. "Do what you have to. This is our home."

"Ay-firmative," he replied with a grim smile.