"Let us hypothesize that during a resource scanning mission, we locate the remains of a starship. There are 4 survivors on board but they appear to be thieves or pirates rather than crew due to lack of identification. Would you rescue them?" Kala asked, her camera zooming in on my attempt to solder a new chip in place. My brow scrunched up at the distraction.

"Well, that depends. Do we know they are pirates, do we have the facilities to hold them until we can take them to the correct authorities? If we do, then we 'arrest' them and then we would hold them in the makeshift cells until we can get police to take them. Otherwise it would not be a good idea to let them on board. Mum wouldn't, she values the ship, the crew and our data too much to let 4 pirates near them. Besides, if they are pirates, they'll probably try and shoot us so they'd be dead anyway," I said, double checking the board with a volt meter. Everything looked solid.

"I see, I shall program environmental circumstance into my decision process. Although I am still confused why you would not tell your guardian you were having problems, such as sleeping. To what are the parameters for that?" Kala asked. My eyes lifted from the task at hand to the nearby computer screen. Kala's emoticon window held a small face with question marks floating over it. After a quick flick through the extranet, she designed the interface to show her 'emotions' – more like her emotional intent but details – since AI's couldn't 'feel' the same as organics. It lowered the chance of a misunderstanding if she said something. A sigh slipped at the third time asking this question, she didn't seem to get it. Maybe it was the lack of processing ability or the shackles themselves. Explaining emotions to a computer was harder than it looked. Another tiny processor, the size of my pinkie nail, eased off the static proof paper, delicate hands inching the tweezers until it slotted into place. The thick, flexible material used for under-armour shuffled over the desk, the material riddled with powerful microprocessors and flexible circuitry.

"Again, it depends. It depends on the person, the timing, their current mood and the situation. If I was having problems and mum is stressed, I wouldn't want to burden her with more things to worry about, It would only make her worse. I would tell Ray or Cops first since they could keep it under the covers from mum but still help me. If she wasn't stressed, then I would tell my mum because then she wouldn't have a meltdown. If mum is having a bad day, or is busy or even having the best day of her life, I don't want to ruin it or make it worse, so there are other situations where I would go to Ray or Cops first. Is that processor working now?"

"A moment," Kala said. As Kala ran the chip through its paces, my attention diverting to checking the pins on the final processor. As with all scavenged pieces of tech, making sure the damn thing worked before putting in place saved a lot of hassle later. A massive spike on Kala's screen fluttered as Kala pushed the processor, looking for faults. "Yes, it is functioning as expected. I… cannot find sufficient words to express what the increase in available processing ability is. I can start complex decisions and thoughts now,"

"Well, mum would never let you onto the Starquake servers, so I can't give you everything. If I can make it even a little more comfortable, I'm happier," I said, a smile lifting as the last processor slid into place.

The material slid off the desk, mindful of the processors. In the corner of the room, a heat press designed to meld under-armour together warmed, ready for use. Engineering let me borrow it until my project finished, but they wanted it back as soon I was finished with it. After lining everything up, the massive plate lowered down, steam erupting from the press. My stomach twisted, hands quivering until the timer dinged. The damn thing needed more force than I thought to hold it in place The plate rose in seconds. The material melded into a single piece, a sleeve. Desperate to see if the press burned the circuitry, my omni-tool snapped free. The sleeve took a minute to cool down, but once it did, it slipped on my left arm. The orange veined material stretched from wrist to triceps, filled to the brim with powerful microprocessors scurried from the Constellation. A miniature sever, a server no one would expect. The omni-tool lined up over the flexible, metal square on my wrist. Once snapped on, the omni-tool burst to life.

"How is that, Kala?" I asked.

"Far better than the temporary desktop unit, although I miss having 1000 zettabytes of processing power. I would recommend following a new blueprint I drew up to improve the desktop machine. It can act as a main hub for when you do not have access to the serve sleeve. It would be useful at night. I do not wish to discomfort you. Unlike yourself, I need not rest," Kala said, her expression changing to a haughty expression. A scowl pulled my lips down.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I'll just go buy my own ship with my monopoly money and get you a big fancy server," I snorted. Kala's expression fluttered, shifting to sulking.

"It is a game of luck, Gideon. There is little logic to it when you compare it to the reality of the housing market," Kala grumbled. My chest puffed out, a swaggering grin spreading wide,

"You're just sore I bankrupted you," I said, tongue dancing towards the camera on the desk. She rumbled in my ear through the visor.

"I would prefer chess," Kala said. "At least there you do not have to worry about a random chance of losing money because of a card," A giggle fought to the surface before sitting back by the desk, task done. My finger raised, pressing a button on the earpiece, the yellow visor zipped over my eyes. A maze of windows danced before me, sending my brain into panic stations. The conflicting information from my senses fought until they could sort through the mess of information. My head shook, a light action should nausea rise and I'd have to explain to mum why there was puke everywhere

"I can show you around the Starquake, if you want. It would give us a good chance to test the link between the omni-tool and the storage banks," I said. A smiley face popped up in the corner of my visor, Kala testing another new feature she had been working on for the visor.

"I would like that," Kala said. A grin rose, a flutter breaking in my chest. A bound to my feet, the door whisked open and the bright hall opened.

After a cautious poke out the door, to make sure no one crashed into me. Also to make sure no one scolded me for the visor, mum freaked when she saw it for the first time, something about my eyesight. The hall was empty, not a soul to seen and better yet, no mum in sight. It let me scurry down the hall and into the elevator. Kala's expression turned curious, using the visor's cameras to peer around. First port of call was deck 2. With work in progress, the deck had few people scattered around. A handful said hi while inside the various crew social areas, bedrooms lining the walls behind solid walls. Near the bow of the ship, the multitude of gyms passed Kala's scrutiny. A thud jolted me as Iona threw Phentos to the ground on the sparring floor, the female turian smirking as the brass turian struggled back to his feet.

"Who are they?" Kala asked in my ear, watching the sparring with keenness. My omni-tool popped open to respond, also adding that mum and Iona didn't meet eye to eye often after explaining who they were. Kala processed this with interest and already a backlog of questions filled a log file for later once the tour finished. Iona's squeal snapped me awake, gawking as she landed face first on the ground. Phentos dusted his hands off. A murderous rage flashed over her eyes as she threw herself back on her feet. There was no way they were getting me involved with this! The sound of the pair clashing together vanished as the doors slammed shut behind me.

On the third floor, starting with the rear. The storage rooms were quick visits, even I didn't know what each room held. Only mum and the crew who needed to know did. Next was the kitchen. Kala examined every dust particle as she took in the room and the aliens inside. Shayan sat here, relaxing with a coffee through a straw. He sat across from Saria T'keve, the new asari advisor Uncle Julian sent. She shifted her eyes upon hearing the door, her gaze steady if curious. A small smile spread, stomach twisting at the new alien before visiting the levo-fridge to hide my true intentions. After a quick look, we escaped towards the bow. The bar lounge wasn't in use with everyone still on duty, the neon lit room soon abandoned after a scan around the area. The entertainment lounge, just opposite, had one or two people. Seth Ferrins, a grumpy, pale human in the Intel team, stared down the snooker cue as Zar'Koris, a purple masked male quarian, watched heartbroken behind. That expression alone told me enough. Seth was kicking his ass. Leaving now would enrage the grumpy man, so a few seconds after he made his shot, I made my escape. He would blame me for messing up his shot. And then kick my ass! The other lounges weren't much different, so after a quick look, we burst into the upper bridge-

"No, Raisha, you are the one who doesn't understand!" Cops thundered. The words snapped every muscle still, knees trembling as they lowered my behind the banister, clutching the metal rails. The camera feeds masked me from view, letting me eavesdrop without fear. All the commanding officers apart from Shayan gathered around the Control Ring. Something had happened but what…

"I concur, it is not wise to talk down to your superior officer. What you say to her on the Starquake or in private, however, is none of my business," Drutus said.

"She lost her head! What do you expect?!" Marruns snapped. "I can't believe she has the nerve to call me a child when she throws a tantrum like that!"

"Dellion has said nothing nice about Shepard in all the time I've known her," Diri said, a frown severe enough to cut stone on her face. "And you expected her to handle the shock of seeing him – a dead man, a ghost from the past – standing before her? One who tortured her about something she couldn't control?"

"It is the only way the girl will learn," Ray sighed. Cops fumed before her.

"Well I was enjoying it," Rosmani shrugged with a grin. "I think she needed to punch the hell out of him, though. She's got a lot of pent up frustration to release. It's not healthy to bottle it,"

"And doing so in the middle of negotiations is not the correct time," Ray added.

"I think," Sassy interrupted, staring them all down with his silver speckled navy eyes. "That both Dell and Raisha are idiots," Ray pulled herself straighter. "Yes, Dell should have kept her head and must have a better handle on her emotions and we must work with her on that, but as Raisha mentioned in the meeting: our dear Captain must deal with a much stricter Council now, and her own brother demanding to know every muscle she has moved in the last week. On top of this, as Indira has added, a dark ghost from her past is now back on the scene and she is struggling to cope with that bombshell. We should have seen this coming and prepared before boarding the Normandy. Raisha did not,"

"The situation calmed," Ray defended.

"At the expense of Dell's reputation and pride. Dell would not want Shepard to know her weaknesses and being belittled by your XO like a child does neither any good. Dell has a strong sense of pride, any embarrassment sends her into a fluster worse than her fury. What do you think they will tell the Illusive Man, hmm? That Dell enters a blind rage around Shepard but appears to more like a puppet to her XO, accepting hints and falling passive to her? That we can manipulate her using her anger and XO's discipline? Or they bypass her and head for the true top dog?" Sassy folded his arms. Ray blinked. "Well?" he pressed. Ray breathed, calming herself.

"Given the situation, I feel I reacted in the proper manner. I hope the situation never materialises again, however," Ray said. Sassy kept his chilled gaze on her, emotionless.

"We shall see what becomes of this then," Sassy stalked away from the ring, vanishing from view as he returned to the labs. Cops snapped his mandibles together before giving Ray a fiery glare, stomping towards to the elevator. Diri took a few steps to leave, pausing before Ray. She glanced up at this.

"Dellion won't forgive you for this, y'know," Dira said. Ray sighed.

"I hope that time will be a gracious healer," Ray said. Dira turned, mirroring Cops' steps. "Return to the scanning recon, Lanster. Standby for further orders,"

"Sorry, XO. I've got orders from Dell" Lani said, his tone off from his usual. Raisha frowned. "We're heading back to the Citadel,"

"Why?" Raisha asked, turning towards the cockpit.

"Oh, I don't know, let me turn on my telepathy for a moment," Lani said. Raisha scowled.

"Stating she did not say would have sufficed," Raisha rumbled. "I shall go a speak with the Captain,"

"No can do, XO. Captain has requested quiet time," Lani answered. Raisha frowned further. "And good luck trying to get in. I've secured the doors,"

"Lanster," Raisha warned, her tone vibrating the air.

"Unlike some, Raisha, some of us respect our Captain's right to privacy," Lani said, tone borderline ready to snap. Raisha blinked, sucking in mighty breaths. She stalked away from the bridge, disappearing into the hall. From here, her expression hid behind her mighty frame.

A held breath rushed out, cleaning the souring air. My weakened knees quaked as they pushed me up. What the hell was all that about? Did someone hurt mum's feelings or something? Did they have a fight? Dammit, this is what happens when I lock myself in my room all the time! The nearby stairs curling down to the lower section drifted past my vision. My hands grabbed the handrail before clambering down, striding towards the cockpit. Despite attempts to keep my feet quiet, to take a peek at Lani's security cameras, eagle eyed Mari spotted me. She cleared her throat as she flicked her hand over some windows floating before her. Lani turned around, the charcoal turian blinking as he caught sight of me. A window vanished from before him, the camera feed to mum's room no doubt.

"Gideon! Long-time no see," he grinned. A smile lifted, weak as it was.

"Hi Lani. I-Is mum ok? I… overhead in the bridge…" I said, shuffling closer to him. He shrugged but his shoulders were tight.

"Yeah, she's fine. She just needs rest. She got a big surprise when Commander Shepard revived himself and come back to haunt her," Lani said with a wave of his hand. My weak smile collapsed as my eyes drifted to the computer windows, spotting the security cam feeds. Mum's room was missing. Dammit, Lani, why do you always know what I want?

"Well, I'll go check on her then!" I chirped, turning to leave. Two steps later, a yelp burst free, my wrist yanked back. Lani gave me a stern look as his grip tightened on my apprehended wrist.

"Just leave her in peace, Gid," he said. My eyebrows snapped down.

"But I just wanna-" I began. Lani sighed as he glanced to the window beside him, blinking for a moment as he took in the stars. He glanced back.

"Life lesson time, Gideon," he said. My throat tightened, my bonfire now flickering embers. Life lesson time always left a sour taste in my mouth... "Sometimes, people need their own space. Your mother is one such person who when they get upset, needs to be alone for a while. She is a very prideful creature and knowing people are seeing her in a weakened state… it hurts. Your mum and Raisha disagreed about something, had fight and now your mum needs space from everyone right now. Give her time," Lani pressed. My eyes drifted to my held wrist, struggling with myself. B-But I wanted… dammit, was she was alright? That's all I wanted. My muscles tensed, body trembling as Lani's words and my desire battled. They slackened, defeated.

"Alright," I muttered. Lani ruffled my hair.

"At a boy, now behave. We've got a lot of work to do later. I'll take you back out for some shuttle practice a little bit later too," Lani winked, turning back to the controls.

My grumbles went unheard as my sulking march took me out of the cockpit, across the bridge and down the hall to the elevator. Even the prospect of more time learning to pilot didn't comfort the burning desire to see if mum was alright. Kala's expression bounced with a billion questions, which only aggravated my mood. After all of this, and my soured mood, now wasn't a good time to answer questions. Mum and Ray had a fight, ending up with mum upset, Cops pissed off at Ray, Sassy in a trigger finger mood and Diri far too serious for my liking. My feet faltered at the elevator, wondering whether to continue with the tour or go back to my room or… something. A finger rubbed my nose, a sigh erupting. After a heartbeat, the elevator disappear behind me, heading towards the labs.

The labs were quiet for once, no major experiments needed attention today. Sassy stood on the far side, overlooking the massive drive core. He wouldn't tell me a damn thing, there was no point in asking him. The labs on either side of me blinded me with the bright walls before I retreated, side-stepping into the server room seeking peace. The room was darker than the labs, blue lights staining the edges of the ceiling as it lit the room in a low, blue light. Combined, the Starquake servers took up most of the room with several rows of serves on the back wall, but there was a separated server near the door to the room. The Reaper Server.

My knees gave out, landing on the hard, metal floor behind the server with a thud. Kala's omni-tool blinked open. A groan escaped at the insane amount of questions and comments she had noted down during the past few minutes. Most of them asked for identification of certain people, and explanations to the hostile behaviour seen in the bridge. It prove how little organic to organic interaction Kala had. The mountain of things to teach her reared, not just of organics but of the galaxy too. Her own erratic behaviour seemed almost Indira like in comparison, as if she couldn't form a solid personality yet.

"You are well, Gideon? I am picking up a dejected expression," Kala asked. A scowl formed.

"I'm fine, just… feeling useless and that I have so much to learn. I'm not good with people," I muttered. Kala's expression turned confused in the corner of my visor.

"You have much to learn? Gideon, I am not even sure how to describe emotion let alone understand the ballet of etiquette surrounding interaction with organics. You say it is difficult, yet I have noticed no criticism towards you," Kala answered. She didn't react to my snort.

"You've not seen me and Uncle Julian," I grumbled. Kala's expression scrunched up on one side, although it was hard to tell if it was scepticism or confusion.

"Sir Shaik is a difficult man to understand, Gideon. The Saboteurs reprogrammed him once already, tortured at least 3 times by the Ravager and tormented by each Saboteur he comes across. Over the past 10 years, there have been 1'532 attacks on the Constellation Fleet by Saboteurs or their indoctrinated servants. The fleet is moving to avoid them. Before Miss Shaik… my apologies, old habits dying hard. Before Captain Shaik vanished, Sir Shaik was her personal guard, she was never apart from him. All because of an internal attack by indoctrinated servants about a year and 8 months before she vanished. I do not think Sir Shaik has ever stopped to gather himself over the past decade. On top of this, should Captain Shaik fall, we will lose both Shaiks, either to death or their Reapers," Kala explained. My eyes blinked. "In a nutshell, for the confused," her expression turned amused. "Sir Shaik has more than enough reasons to be harsh, if I am honest,"

"In my opinion," I corrected with a sigh. A small animated ring of dots spun in the lower left corner, her 'processing' symbol. She found it amusing to use a buffering symbol. "I get it, I get it, don't be a pain in the ass to Uncle Julian," I said, hugging my knees, leaning against the Reaper Server. Kala fell silent for a moment, calculating her next words. Whether she wanted to probe me further or change the topic, I don't know. She was still learning when to do what.

"May I examine the Reaper Server, Gideon?" Kala asked. My eyes bulged, heart leaping.

"Wha… no, no! Kala, the data is dangerous, it could do weird stuff to you!" I exclaimed.

"Gideon, I have 291 barriers programmed to deal with Reaper based programming. I think I'll be fine. I have worked with Reaper data," Kala drawled, rolling her eyes. My scowl deepened.

"No-" I grit my teeth.

"Trust me, Gideon. I'll be fine," Kala pressed, sounding like a fed up teenager. Her words sent me into a sulk, glancing to the black servers at my back.

"Fine, but if you eject people into space, I'm deleting you," I grumbled as an omni-chip slipped free from my omni-tool, a chip Kala had programmed to give her access to whatever it inserted into a computer.

A panel into the interior of the server opened, revealing a panel with an array of lights, slots and banks and banks of storage discs. The chip slipped inside one of the omni-chip slots on the panel. My visor lit up like a Christmas tree as huge streams of data soared past my vision. My mind fought to stare past it to avoid throwing up. Kala's processing power skyrocketed as she delved into the data. Why she wanted to search the data, she may never tell me. Her emotion was 'focused', dealing with data at exponential rates. She scavenged the entire server in about a minute. Then her emoticon turned puzzled and she piled through it more. Had she found something? My heart thundered, waiting for her verdict.

"This… huh. This is strange," Kala voiced. My frown deepened. "This data has come from the Constellation, yes?"

"Yeah, Uncle Julian gave us everything," I answered. Kala's emoticon scrunched up.

"No he has not. There is no data on the Shell names, specialisations or activity. I recall seeing several Shell names not in Captain Shaik's database you've showed me," Kala said. My back straightened. There was missing data? Uncle Julian was… holding back on my mum? My hackles rattled.

"Then we'll get that data," I said. Kala raised an eyebrow.

"Gideon, that would require slipping past Marshal. My processing ability is lower than Marshal's. I cannot overcome him. Besides, the security to the server room is high, Marshal would not let you into it," Kala explained. My eyes rolled, pulling her chip free before slipping it back into my omni-tool.

"What, you chicken?" I asked. Kala glowered.

"I am not 'chicken', good sir. I am saying overcoming him will not be easy," Kala said.

"Good, then draw up battle plans… right after you scan your own data to make sure no Reaper code has slipped past those fancy shields of yours," I sang, smirking. Kala grumbled in my ear as her processing power maxed out, scouring her code. My eyes looked over the Reaper server as the cover clicked back into place, already hardening myself for the upcoming battle. Maybe this would cheer mum up.

"I need to use the gym, I could be like mum and be nimble and climb up and swing off of stuff… that can help me get away," I grinned.

"Perhaps, but while you are on the Constellation, you cannot escape Marshal or Sir Shaik," Kala reminded. My grin tumbled to pieces, kicking myself. Well… shit. My only hope would be to get back to mum before Uncle Julian found me…

"Keep scanning, Kala." I sang. She grumbled more. "I'll work something out… maybe," I sighed.

"No,"

"Julian, don't be stubborn. You just lost 3 guys to this Saboteur. Let me strike her, we have the resources, connections and authority to do it!" I pleaded.

"Delly, she crushed 3 of my people to death. There isn't even enough remaining of the bodies to put into coffins to return to their families. Why the fuck would I put my little sister in that kind of danger by telling her where to find the fucker?" Julian snarled, his blond hair ruffled, the streaks of grey around his ears mangled. Stress frazzled our hair, a genetic trait we shared. My shoulders sagged as my blue eyed brother continued to dig his heels in. Yes, the stubbornness was another trait that seemed bred.

"We talked about this, Julian," I muttered. "You promised to let me take action, to let me get involved. Why are you holding me back now? Doesn't this conversation sound familiar? We've talked about this 4 or 5 times this week alone!" Julian laughed, a coldness seeping in that set me on edge worse than Mat'al ever could.

"Not a chance. If there was a Saboteur on Earth, maybe. But she is far, far too dangerous and I refuse to let you endanger yourself because of your inexperience," Julian growled. "For God sake, we don't even know what specialisation she is! She kills our people too quick!"

"And the elcor are losing their defence systems as we speak!" I snapped, the chair flying back until it crashed the glass separating the two tiers of the room. Julian set his jaw, eyes narrowing. "Their defence systems are nothing like the turians, I'll admit. All the more reason to step in now before they are so damaged they will still be non-functional when the Reapers get here! They'll be defenceless without intervention now, then what will happen?" I demanded.

"Delly, when the Reapers arrive, no defence system will hold them for long," Julian sighed, exhausted of the argument already.

"They don't. They just need to survive long enough to allow people to evacuate. How can people escape if everything is collapsing around them?" I pleaded. Julian narrowed his eyes, setting his shoulders back.

"I have made my decision, Delly. You are not going anywhere near that Saboteur. If you wish for something to do, however, I could use your Council connection. I have rumours of activity on the Citadel. I'm not sure of the species but there have been strange changes to several documentation relating to trade between the volus and the asari. Raise it with the Council if you can and rout this out. I cannot reach the Citadel with my fleet, we're too much of a threat for their liking. I will send the relevant documentation so you can begin your search," Julian ordered. My teeth snapped together, hot breaths burning my nose.

"First Shepard appears on the scene again and now my brother has given up on our agreement to let me help destroy Saboteurs… Fine! I'll speak with the bloody Council and sit on my fat, lazy ass being useless," I snapped, my arms flying above my head. Julian's shoulders sagged, even if his expression soured and muscles contorted with a scowl.

"Thank you. I'll speak to you again in a few days' time," Julian said, the blond asshole vanishing from the screen.

A heartbeat passed, two passed. A mental countdown to 10 began, slow deep breaths trembling in my lungs. At 10, a scream ripped free, limbs lashing out. My foot connected with the desk, a flash of pain running up my leg. My eyes stung, every muscle shuddering. The force of the kick dismantled a few rock samples, the stones rolling onto the floor in terror. Asshole! The utter asshole! He promised he would let me help, promised me I go could toe to toe with a Saboteur if I thought I was ready to deal with it. Promised to let me get involved when something was too big for him! And what does he do?! 'Oh no, that's too dangerous', 'Forget about it, you'll get hurt'. For God sake, it didn't matter if I got hurt or died. If that happened, then it meant one less Saboteur to worry about after the Reaper invasion. I could understand his reasons for being protective, despite how it boiled my blood. I was his sister and in the past, I had depended on him to protect me. He still had those instincts. On top of which, he had his own Reaper to worry about. If something happened to me, the chances of him losing his fight shot up to levels no one wanted to consider. My teeth grit. Shit, the whole thing was a mess!

Anger flung the chair upright once more, slamming down on the chair so hard it creaked. My fingers slammed into the holographic buttons, wishing for nothing more than something physical to vent my frustrations on. A secure connection to the Citadel blinked on the screen before me. A week since Shepard returned to the scene and my blood hadn't cooled down. Between him being alive, my brother being a dick and Raisha and I exchanging the fewest words possible to ensure the ship ran, my blood pressure hadn't come down in a while. While ignoring Raisha may be childish, the fact she embarrassed me in front of Shepard had stung my pride in a way that made me quiver in rage. That was despite scolding Shepard.

"My, my, someone looks ready to strangle a puppy," a voice sounded. My skin crawled and jolted, my eyes snapping back to the screen. Holograms of the Council stood before me. Sparatus raised a brow at me. My cheeks stained pink before clearing my throat.

"Apologies, Councillor, I'll try to keep a safe distance from any baby animals," I said, sucking in a deep breath. "I've been having issues with my Saboteur contact, he is proving to be difficult to get details about other Saboteur's locations. He does not wish to endanger me any more than necessary,"

"That will be the least of his worries when the Reapers arrive," Valern said. His words reignited the fire my body had just put out.

"That's what I said but the bastard won't listen!" I snapped. Tevos tilted her head, turning my cheeks a darker shade of red. My eyes shut until the flush eased. "Sorry,"

"So what is the purpose of your call, Shaik?" Udina asked. "Not to rant about your contacts, I hope," My hackles rattled at his words, the flush only burning a shade brighter. God sake, when would this damn blush leave me in peace?

"No, Councillor, it is not," I said. "My contact has been in touch about obscure trade documents floating around the Citadel. Based on the evidence, I believe a Saboteur on the Citadel is playing up, or at least is making mistakes my contact picked up and passed to me," I explained. "I am not sure of the species, though, but perhaps you can track whoever is behind this,"

"Do you have anything relating to this documentation we can use to trace it?" Tevos asked.

"My contact is sending copies over as we speak. I'll forward them once I have them," I said. "Although the situation on Dekuuna is deteriorating. My contact has lost 3 of his men to the elcor Saboteur there within the past few days. However, I cannot get to the planet to investigate or intervene," I grumbled.

"What is stopping you, Captain?" Udina asked. My lips snapped down.

"First, Dekuuna is a big place. The only person who knows who we are dealing with to any degree is my contact, but they are refusing to disclose the exact co-ordinates. Even if I went, there would be no guarantee I can find the Saboteur. I do not have a name or description to go on," I said. "And then my contact might still be in the area. He has disabled our ship before, it was how we first met, so I know in my mind if he has friends in the area, we won't get close to the planet before something stops us," Without telling them about Marshal, it left me dancing on a fine line between truth and tale. The Council did not need to hear about an AI running around the Galaxy. It would just put a target on Julian.

"A simple bait and hook may work. Sometimes the simpler the plan, the better," Sparatus said. My frown eased, mouth opening the slightest.

"Councillor?" I asked. The remaining three Councillors turned to their colleague.

"You wish to go to Dekuuna, then you shall go to Dekuuna. We can have you and your crew travel on a turian ship to the planet, bypassing your contact and any attempts to prevent you from your mission. The Saboteur will be more difficult, but not impossible. We need something that can lure the creature towards you, to reveal itself," Sparatus stroked a mandible as he thought.

Lure the Saboteur to reveal herself? My arms folded over my chest, body stretching into the back of my chair. What would a Saboteur want, something tempting enough to reveal themselves to someone who wanting nothing more than to ripe out their spine? The Saboteur had attacked Julian's crew – on multiple occasions – but beyond that, all other information Julian guarded like a dragon to its hoard. Did the Saboteur want to provoke Julian, force him to make a mistake? Could we use that against them? Maybe we could disguise someone as- no, no, that wouldn't work! Saboteurs can feel each other a mile away. There would be no way in hell that someone dressed as Julian could entice a Saboteur. Would I be a large enough target for the guy? Would they even be interested in attempting to fight me with my Saboteur kill streak?

"The Saboteur may want to lure my contact into a trap. They want them weak, distracted and out of the way. Over the past few months, they has been hitting the Saboteurs hard and they are not happy. They want them dead," I said, drumming my fingers. "I don't think they'd be willing to put themselves in that kind of danger, though. And we can't even dress someone up as them either as Saboteurs can feel each other. I… Apart from using myself but I am not sure if they would even be interested in targeting me. Not with my body count," I sighed.

"Perhaps Commander Shepard could be of assistance," Udina said. My jaw dropped, blood turning cold at the mention of the name. Why would they… hang on a second.

"That reminds me. You know Shepard is back?!" I snapped. A series of frowns and furrows crossed over the faces.

"We reinstated his Spectre status when he came to the Citadel 2 weeks ago," Udina said. "I wished to inform him of your current situation when he asked for updates for any surviving crew members, but the other Councillors did not agree. We are trying to keep you and your mission under as much cover as possible,"

"Well you fucking failed since Cerberus led him straight to me! Would've shot his ass off had that ship of his not been so nimble!" I thundered. Tevos leaned back at the force of my rage. Hot breaths burned my nose, a vague shiver from my knees alerted by the crash of the chair once more. A shuddering breath soaked my throat, scratching the dryness aching my throat. My hands scrubbed my face, unstable legs pacing beneath.

"Cerberus could track you?" Valern asked, voice peaking as the Councillors mumbled between themselves.

"Yes," I said through gritted teeth.

"We will speak with Shepard once he comes in contact with us, we cannot deal with the issue at this time. However, for the time being, we should focus on the Dekuuna Saboteur. We cannot risk the Elcor falling into Reaper hands at this early stage," Tevos heeled, giving a meaningful look to us all. My cheeks stained a pale pink. "We shall provide you with a ship and aid you in anyway regarding laying any bait. I am sure the elcor will want this Saboteur flushed from their systems as soon as possible. If there is anything else you require, inform us as soon as you are able," A heavy sigh built up in my chest, but refused to exhale.

"Aye, aye, Councillor. I shall discuss the idea with my commanders before committing. We're already on our way to the Citadel as we speak," I said, a sour grumble rolling my chest.

"We have a few surprises for you, Captain. While your ship is in dock, we have engines upgrades to add. They will increase fuel efficiency and output more power, shaving time off your travel times," Valern said. A slow breath eased the sigh from me, fighting to tame the fire burning in my throat. At least we had something to look forward to.

"Thank you, Councillor. That will be most welcome," I said. "I'll report in before we land in the Citadel with the plan,"

"Very well, Shaik. Please hurry, we must control these Saboteurs as soon as possible. We cannot allow a single race to fall," Tevos reminded.

"I know, Councillor," I rumbled. Fingers touched my wrinkled forehead, straining to keep the hand steady as the holograms faded. My hand collapsed to my side. Well that was a cheery reminder! My hands scrubbed my face, seeking relief. The chair clanged against the desk after a rough shove, hands thrusted into my pockets before marching from the room. Now to plan something that a) worked and b) wouldn't put me in hospital. Shepard had no experience of Saboteurs, but he had training in heavy gravity situations, something I needed and needed done in a few days. But damned if asking Shepard was on the agenda.

My eyes skimmed past Indira's door, frowning as my mental rant halted. For this mission to succeed, we needed stealth and patience. Indira worked as a spy for the hanar before joining us, she must have at least some of the qualities despite her bounciness. Maybe even just an idea of how to help us out or where to even plan. My shoulders rolled back, setting them before knocking on the door. My fingers flexed while the door opened. The sight that greeted me ripped a groan from my throat. Indira balanced on her desk chair, standing on tiptoes to reach something on her highest shelf. Her eyes flicked over, wide and blinking. Her expression burst into a wide grin as she waved and continued her rummage. My eyebrows drew down.

"You are a biotic, right? Would that be easier?" I asked. Indira snorted.

"Yeah, but this is more fun!" she laughed. My head shook, red hair flying as she pulled a well folded, map like booklet of paper. She hopped down to the floor. "So, what can I do for you? Need more tinsel in the engineering large parts storage?"

"Serious hat, Indira," I sighed. Indira's grin dropped, spine straightening as she took in my tone. "We have a situation and I need advice on how to lure something to me,"

"Saboteur?" she guessed. My head bobbed.

"Julian just lost 3 guys to an elcor Saboteur on Dekuuna, however he is refusing point blank to let me step foot on the planet. The Council has agreed to give us a turian ship to sneak onto the surface in case one of his ships is still in the area. But I need to lure the Saboteur out, I still don't have an ID for the fucker," I sighed. "I was thinking of using me as bait or trying to get someone to look like Julian but with the whole Saboteur detection thing..."

"Yeah, that's the main problem we're facing. We can't do covert Saboteur missions with you around since they can feel you 10 miles away," Indira said, scrunching her face. "These are hyper intelligent machines. If you want to get their attention, you need to hit them where they cannot ignore you. Using you as bait may not be as straightforward as you think. If we arrived on Dekuuna, they would suspect us of Saboteur hunting and they'll go to ground until you left. Or worse, lay an ambush with other Saboteurs. That's what I would do anyway. Even if you convinced Julian to help you on this mission, the Saboteur may be even more cautious. He knows how wary Julian is about going toe-to-toe with them, unlike us. With both the Enforcer and the Advocacy… no, the Saboteur would flee the area and return when we left," Indira shrugged.

"That's… wow, Indira, I don't think I've seen you this… professional," I said. Indira winked.

"Nice little surprise for ya. I need to bring this side out more often in front of the other commanders since they keep forgetting I have my uses," she said with a shrug.

"So, hit them in an area they cannot ignore… what would that be?" I asked. Indira rubbed her chin.

"Since we don't know if this is the military or the political elcor, we need to convince them we aren't there to hunt Saboteurs. So maybe have something arranged with the Council to make it look the Council forced you there. Keep your schedule full during the visit so the Saboteur – if it is in the area – will realise you don't have time to wander around and look. Go with several defence specialists and examine the defence systems. If you reverse all their hard work, they'll get real pissy. And if you keep yourself busy and make it appear that you were forced there to help repair the system instead of Saboteur hunting, the Saboteur may be more likely to reveal themselves since they would think you were not expecting them. But all this is guess work. No one can predict them," she admitted.

"So my advice would be to head down there, head to where the defence issue lie and stay there and help fix the issue. If you mess up all the Saboteur's hard work and your meddling is getting far too inconvenient for it, it might show itself or snap. I doubt these machines have much in the way of patience these days, not with all the delays that have happened for this 'cycle'. Far better than going down there, wandering around and not getting anything," Indira said.

"Sounds solid, thanks Indira, what would I do without you?" I asked. Indira smirked.

"Wasting your time," she winked. My face fell, lips snapping downwards, making her laugh.

"I'll speak with the Council later and see if we can't get something arranged. Keep this quiet, it will be a secret mission," I warned. Indira's eyes lit up.

"I love secret missions! Deal, Dellion," Indira cheered, bouncing in place with her face alight with joy. My eyes rolled, backing out of the room as the drell dashed around her room as if high on a sugar rush. Now to decide on a ground team and speak to the Council about getting this covert mission off the ground. All the while trying to keep appearances with Julian for those days or weeks it could take to complete the mission on Dekuuna. It would not fun, not that anything I did these days were.