MASS EFFECT DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. BUT I WOULDN'T MIND WORKING FOR BIOWARE, IF YOU GUYS ARE READING THIS. SERIOUSLY, IF YOU HIRE ME, I WILL LOSE MY MIND.

On the one hand, I would love it if everyone got along after Shepard saved the galaxy. On the other hand, I love conflict in fiction, and I get bored otherwise. Therefore… more conflict!

Mass Effect: Legacy

XVII

To someone unfamiliar with her, Alanna appeared completely calm, even bored as the shuttle flew at top speed back to the colony. To those who knew her well, her very stillness was a sign of how stressed she was; the smallest thing was liable to make her snap, and heaven help whoever became the outlet of her stress.

"Any word from the colony yet?" she asked for the third time. "We need to know what we're walking into."

"Nothing yet, Commander," Forde said over his shoulder. "Getting a lot of chatter on the comms, but it's all pretty confused. Everyone is blaming everyone else; pretty sure I even heard someone cursing you out for a minute."

"What the heck did Alanna do?" Korim asked, baffled. "We've been on this planet for, what, two hours now?"

"To clarify, Mr. Forde is referring to a public transmission from a well-known political extremist and conspiracy theorist," Mantle said. "I have already looked up the speaker's file; she is an avowed human-supremacist, and accuses every non-human Alliance citizen of being a Council spy."

"Got it, we'll ignore that crazy bitch," Haley growled. "Anything useful to share?"

Mantle shrugged. "No."

"I do," Forde said. "We'll be at the colony in two minutes, so you guys should get—" The shuttle abruptly jerked to the side. "Shit! We're under fire!"

"Then we don't have time for a standard landing." Alanna switched her Tsunami to cryo-rounds. "Forde, get us to one hundred meters above the colony, and we'll boost down. After we're on the ground, get Dr. Nuwani up to the Sicily."

"Roger that, Commander; good luck!" Forde brought the shuttle under the gunfire; from the few impacts that hit the barriers, Alanna figured that someone was shooting at them with regular weapons, not dedicated antiaircraft weaponry.

"All right, we're here!" Alanna glanced over her shoulder, gave Treeya a two-fingered salute, and jumped out of the shuttle.

Fortunately, the squad landed without incident; there was plenty of smoke to mask their landing, and the organic soldiers had helmets that kept them from suffocating. That was the only good news, because they came under fire almost immediately after leaving the smoke. A handful of people in white armor had taken up positions behind a ruined skycar, and while they didn't seem intent on leaving their cover, the amount of gunfire they were pouring into Alanna's squad suggested that they really wanted them dead.

Alanna's barriers broke after several seconds of sustained fire, and she felt a burning pain as a bullet dug into her hip. Before she could move, Nok put himself between her and further harm; he then proved himself more than a shield by leveling his missile launcher and blowing away the enemies' cover, along with two of the soldiers. With their cover gone and shields heavily damaged, the remaining fighters were easy prey, and the firefight was over quickly.

"You okay?" Haley asked Alanna.

"Not really," Alanna said through gritted teeth as she applied medi- and omni-gel. "Gonna need to get that bullet out of me when we get back to the ship."

"Do you need me to remind you?"

Alanna gave her a look. "You make it sound like I actively avoid sickbay or something."

Haley shrugged. "I'm just saying, you get hurt so often, I was worried you might ignore it."

"Hey, um, not to interrupt… whatever's going on between you two right now," Korim said, "but these dead guys are definitely Cerberus, or at least wearing their logo."

Alanna limped over to one of the dead Cerberus fighters and hacked his omni-tool. "Some files for Intelligence to look at… some credits… huh."

"What?" Tetros glanced her way, then returned his attention to the street, in case more enemies showed up. "You get something good?"

"More like weird." Alanna blinked a few times. "Apparently, Cerberus has a kill-on-sight order on me."

More than one member of the squad did a double-take. "Okay… why?" Korim asked.

Alanna shrugged. "I mean, Dad did kill their boss, and stopped their plans for galactic domination, but since he's dead and nobody can find my mom—"

"And nobody is suicidal enough to go after Miranda," Tetros added.

"Right, so I was probably the next-best target." Alanna chuckled. "You know what? Everyone else in my family has done their best to piss off Cerberus at some point or another, so I might as well get in on it."

"Yeah, family tradition!" Tetros paused. "Wait, do you think there's a kill-order on me?"

"Probably by association with Alanna," Korim said. "That goes for all of us, actually."

Nok grinned. "Good, that means they'll come to us, instead of hiding."

"Speaking of which…" Haley pointed. "We have incoming!"

This time, Alanna got behind cover before another Cerberus squad could shoot her. She froze a sniper before he could set up, and Haley shattered him with a concussion round. Alanna then caught three soldiers in a Singularity, which Korim detonated, and the remnants of the squad were gunned down a few seconds later.

"We need to get a handle on this," Alanna said. "We'll fight our way to the central administration building, secure Governor Isen, and find out just what the hell is going on."

Their progress was cautious. The streets were clogged with debris, overturned vehicles, and far too many bodies of civilians. Alanna tried not to think of the too-small bodies she stepped around, nor the pain of the bullet that was still lodged in her hip. Instead, she let it all fuel her anger, and when another Cerberus squad tried to ambush them, she cut loose.

"Holy shit, Alanna," Haley said quietly.

"They deserve it," Alanna said, and stomped through the shredded remains of the soldiers she'd tone apart with her biotics. Only one body was intact, frozen solid by her cryo, but as she passed by, she shattered it with a single punch.

"Shepard-Commander, I have intercepted several lines of communications," Mantle announced. "There are multiple firefights outside our destination. Black Star Security is engaged with Cerberus, and both sides are sustaining heavy casualties."

"Can we determine if the mercs are hostile?" Alanna asked.

"Negative, though the governor's security has fired on both."

"That might be a problem," Korim said. "What if they shoot at us?"

"Um…" Alanna thought about it for a second. "Nonlethal takedowns only, let's try not to fight more people than we have to."

"Boring," Nok complained.

Tetros raised his sniper rifle. "It's about to get fun again; we've got incoming!"

Another Cerberus squad charged their position; two of them were carrying heavy riot shields, while the two behind them fired volleys of grenades. Alanna managed to blast some away with her biotics, but she and the rest of the squad had to take cover from the rest.

"Any ideas, Commander?" Haley asked as her assault rifle did little damage to the shields.

Before Alanna could speak, a rocket streaked down and impacted right in the middle of the Cerberus squad. Three of them were killed instantly in the explosion, but one of the grenadiers somehow survived, albeit without his legs. He crawled away from the crater, but only made it a few meters before two people in black armor arrived via a thruster-assisted landing from a nearby building. One of them, a familiar Turian, blew the grenadier's head off with his shotgun without breaking stride.

"Commander Shepard," Vraks greeted. "Things have certainly livened up around here, wouldn't you say?"

"I would," Alanna said. "But I'd say that things are a little too lively. What the hell happened here?"

"Honestly, we're not sure," Vraks admitted. "One second, my men are getting the civilians to their shelters; the next, hundreds of them are coming out of their home in Cerberus armor and shooting at us."

"Whoa, hold up," Korim said, "are you saying the whole damn colony is Cerberus?"

"Not the entire colony," Vraks clarified. "But we've definitely got a full-blown insurrection. My men have reported firefights across most of the city. Cerberus hasn't gathered their forces in any large numbers, but that seems to be deliberate. They've scattered, and are causing as much havoc as they can with small-scale actions, likely to mask their real objective."

"Smart," Alanna said, and then raised her omni-tool. "Dr. Nuwani, you've been on this planet longer than anyone. What would you say is the most valuable thing here?"

There was silence as Treeya thought about it. "If I had to guess, I would say that the only thing truly worth taking from Fehl Prime is the navigational data. Patrols download the most recent scans of the system from the planet-based scanners, to compensate for interstellar debris, or other hazards. If I were Cerberus, I would be able to backtrack that data, and use it to calculate the movements of any Alliance ships that come through the system."

"That's a huge potential security breach," Alanna realized. "EDI, keep the Alliance updated with Dr. Nuwani's theory. Doc, where would that data be accessed?"

"Central Administration, along with most of the colony's resource-management."

"Which we're already headed to," Haley noted. "This could make things interesting."

Alanna nodded. "Okay, new plan: we get to Central Administration, secure any and all vital information, and dig in until reinforcements arrive. Vraks, we can't afford to sort through every civvie and see who's really on our side. Pull your men to Central Administration with us."

"A regrettable, but necessary decision," Vraks said. "Even if I had my entire organization here, we'd be outnumbered by an enemy that knows this colony far better than we do. We'll follow your lead, Commander."

…

Where the Reapers inspired dread, Cerberus triggered fury; there were few organizations that could unite people in their hatred quite like those who sold their humanity to the enemy that nearly wiped out all life in the galaxy.

When EDI reported that Fehl Prime was being attacked by Cerberus—or at least a colony full of people wearing Cerberus colors—Alliance Command could barely keep the military in check. Over a hundred soldiers had already received official reprimands for cutting corners if it meant getting to Fehl Prime sooner.

For possibly the only time in her life, Miranda empathized with the Shepardists, who were using the extranet to call for a literal crusade to wipe away the organization that Shepard had publicly hated so much.

"You really should still be resting," James said, not looking up from his omni-tool. "You're still injured from that op you won't tell me about."

"I can organize a hundred different operations from my desk," Miranda retorted hotly. "My mind can work while my body rests."

"You and I both know that's bullshit, but I'm too busy to argue." James tapped at his omni-tool for a moment longer, and nodded. "Okay, got the last of the logistics set up for the fleet that's headed to Fehl Prime. The warships and troop transports already left, but I got the supplies they'll need following with a few escort squadrons."

Miranda blinked. "In less than two hours?"

James smiled ruefully. "I was already quietly getting stuff together. By the time Alanna called it in, half the work was already done."

"How strange," Miranda said. "Usually, I'm the one who's several steps ahead."

"Considering how pissed you are, and why, I think you deserve a pass." A knock on the door had James reaching for his pistol. "I could've sworn we said not to be bothered unless it was something apocalyptic."

One of Miranda's arms was still stiff from the injuries she'd received, but her other hand worked to free the knife hidden in her sleeve. With a quick application of biotics, that simple knife could cut through almost anything.

"It's either important, or a polite assassin," Miranda half-joked, and raised her voice. "Come in!"

To their surprise, a familiar face entered James' office. Liara strode through the door with purpose; her expression was serious, but she gave both James and Miranda a quick hug before speaking.

"It's good to see you both so soon, despite the circumstances," she said.

"Likewise," Miranda replied. "How did you get past security?"

Liara smirked. "Please, I know all your clearance codes. As far as anyone is aware, I'm an Asari operative working for Intelligence. It's not even a lie, if you think about it."

James chuckled. "You know, Miranda, Loco told me stories about how Liara was all sweet and innocent when they first met. I still think his memories of her were scrambled when you brought him back to life, because I just don't see it."

Miranda waited for the inevitable flinch from Liara whenever Shepard was mentioned; to her surprise, it never came. Instead, Liara's smile grew coy.

"Actually, John thought my more dangerous side was 'the sexiest thing he had ever seen'. His words."

James pretended to gag. "Okay, I didn't need to hear that."

Neither did Miranda, who pinched the bridge of her nose. "As amusing as this all is, we really should get back on track. Why are you here, Liara?"

Liara transferred several files to their omni-tools. "This whole business with a resurgent Cerberus. Until just a few weeks ago, everyone thought they were extinct; now, they're operating in the open, and brazenly staging an uprising on Fehl Prime. That's upsetting enough, but they did this only a few months after we learned about the Outsiders. We've been through too much to think that's a coincidence."

Miranda frowned. "You think Cerberus might be in league with the Outsiders?"

"It's possible; they have a history of falling under the sway of aliens much more powerful than them."

"That's… a valid point, and one that I'll pass along to Alliance Command." Miranda reached for her comms, but Liara stopped her.

"Wait, hear me out." Liara started to pace, and one finger tapped her chin. "An organization with enough influence and supplies to stage a planetary uprising doesn't hide in plain sight without someone higher on the ladder covering for them. At this point, I don't think we can trust anyone who outranks you."

James crossed his arms. "You got a plan?"

Liara smirked again. "I'm the Shadow Broker. I had a plan for Cerberus' return decades ago."

"One you didn't share with us," Miranda pointed out.

Now, Liara paused. "I'm sorry about that. After John's death, I was rather out of sorts for a few decades. By the time I could spend time with you all again, I had moved on to other projects."

Miranda let the matter drop; besides, unlike her, Liara didn't have a perfect memory.

"Anyway, I want to keep this between us, and anyone from the old days." Liara resumed her pacing. "We'll need to compartmentalize our resources; nobody can know where they fit in the puzzle."

"Easy enough," Miranda said. "My agents are used to operations like that, and SpecForce is used to being a dagger, not the hand that wields it."

"Was that a shot at me?" James teased.

Miranda cocked an eyebrow. "If I was going to insult you, Vega, I would have used a simpler metaphor."

"Ouch." James glanced over the file Liara had sent him. "We'll need a little time to cover our tracks, but we'll get it done." He hesitated. "You want in on helping Alanna?"

Liara took a deep breath. "I do, but I know that you're already several steps ahead on that front, and when it comes to Alanna, I may be emotionally compromised."

"We all are," Miranda admitted. "She's a weakness in our defenses that none of us would ever give up."

Liara smiled weakly. "Believe me, I want nothing more than to charge in there and get my daughter out of there, but as I've come to learn, she's good at taking care of herself."

…

Alanna ducked under a hail of gunfire, and the offending shooter was knocked off his feet by a concussion round from Haley. Alanna barely glanced at the prone Cerberus soldier as she put a bullet in his skull.

"That's the third squad we've run into in the last ten minutes," Korim noted. "I thought these guys were scattered all over the colony."

"That's what my men told me," Vraks said. "But that intel might be out of date."

"I think this is part of their strategy," Alanna said. "Stage one was getting our forces scattered and pinned down all over the colony. Stage two was use the distraction to move more of their guys to Central Administration for their main objective."

Vraks scowled. "If they're moving in, then we don't have much time to stop them."

"How much further until we're there?" Haley asked.

"A few minutes, at this rate."

Alanna checked her barriers one more time. "Then I think we should run faster."

They heard the battle around Central Administration before they arrived—gunfire, explosions, and far too much screaming. When Alanna rounded the last corner, she saw dozens of bodies outside the squat administrative building. Most of them wore the white armor of Cerberus, but many were clearly civilians.

For every dead Cerberus agent, three more were firing at the windows of the building. The return-fire was pitiful in comparison. Alanna decided to even the odds a little.

"Open fire!" she snapped.

Bullets ripped into the back of the Cerberus units, followed by tech-attacks and biotics. Vraks revealed that he was a biotic when he threw out a Singularity, which Alanna detonated. Where Cerberus was clustered together, Nok blew them apart with his missile launcher, and the survivors were sniped by Haley, Tetros, and one of Vraks' men. Korim and Mantle hacked the turrets deployed by several Cerberus engineers, and turned them on their users. Between Alanna's squad, the mercenaries, and the defenders inside, the Cerberus assault force was quickly destroyed.

Rather than thank their reinforcements, however, Alanna had to duck when someone took a shot at her. "Hey, check fire! We're on your side!"

"Prove it!" someone shouted back.

Between the stress of the day and the burning pain of the bullet in her hip, Alanna wasn't in the mood to play nice. "You're being attacked by Cerberus, a xenophobic extremist group. You were just rescued by an Asari, Krogan, Quarian, Geth, and several Turians. There's only one human with us, you think for one second Cerberus would even consider being on our side?"

There was a long pause. "Right, sorry!"

"That's what I thought," Alanna muttered, and led the way inside, where she found only a handful of people huddled behind makeshift barricades. "What's the situation here?"

One of the civilians, a woman with dried blood on her face, stood up from behind the crate she was using as cover. "W-well, Omar suddenly pulled out a gun and started shooting! We stopped him, and then some of the mercenaries showed up to help, but then it all got blurry. The next thing I knew, we were shooting at people who were shooting at us!"

Now Alanna felt bad; these people were just scared. "It's okay. We're here to help, and we're going to keep you safe. However, we need to know if Cerberus got what we think they were after. Vraks, stay here and see if you can coordinate with your men, turn this place into a strongpoint. Haley, keep Nok and Tetros and help hold the line; Korim and Mantle are with me."

"Got it, Commander." Haley gently nudged a jumpy civilian out of her way and set up her sniper rifle. "We'll keep 'em off your back."

"Excuse me," Alanna said to the civilian woman, "where are the central computers?"

"Um, second level, and there are signs leading there." She paused. "But you'll need top-level security codes to access the computers."

Alanna—trained by the Shadow Broker, Miranda Lawson, Tali'Zorah and Kasumi Goto in the art of hacking—glanced at the Quarian and Geth tech specialists. "I think we'll manage."

Alanna led the way upstairs, only pausing to administer more painkillers; her hip was killing her, especially when climbing stairs.

"You okay?" Korim asked quietly.

"Ask me when I get this bullet out of me," Alanna hissed.

Mantle tensed—as much as a Geth could, anyway. "Alert: Cerberus units detected."

Alanna grimaced. "Of course they managed to get ahead of us. Okay, I'm gonna slow you guys down, so I'll cover you from the doorway. Try not to blow up any computers."

"Don't worry, that's your thing," Korim joked, even as he drew his shotgun. "On your go, boss."

Alanna leaned against the locked door; whoever was inside had cut the holographic access, so hacking it wasn't an option. Instead, Alanna used her omni-tool to send a massive jolt of electricity into the systems, shorting it out and forcing it to open. It was a risky move, since there was a chance of permanently sealing the door shut, but they were out of time.

"Go!" Alanna leaned around the door and opened fire with her Tsunami; two Cerberus agents dropped, and another was frozen from her cryo-rounds.

Korim charged through the door, bullets deflecting off his tech armor. He blew the head off a woman in light armor, then rammed an omni-blade into a man's shoulder; he pushed the wounded man into Mantle's path, where he was finished off with a quick burst of plasma. The two of them were then joined by a drone from Alanna, which fired three-round bursts at anything that wasn't them.

"Any chance I can get a drone-maker like that, Alanna?" Korim asked as the last Cerberus agent died.

"I saw your scores during that course," Alanna said. "No offense, but you kind of suck at programming drones. Which is weird, since you're good at just about every other kind of tech-work."

"That is likely because many creators do not like to be reminded of the Geth's creation," Mantle said. "It is nothing to be ashamed of, Creator Dor."

"Thanks, I think." Korim accessed the nearest computers. "Alanna, I think I found the data Cerberus was after. Oh, shit, they got access!"

"Did they transmit it?" Alanna asked as she limped over.

"Maybe?" Korim turned to Mantle. "Hack the omni-tools, one of them might have been transmitting when we got here."

"Hacking now." Mantle paused for two seconds. "Hack successful. Data was partially transmitted. Cerberus will not be able to make full use of it, but could still inflict damage to the Alliance with what data they retrieved."

"Okay, could be better, could be worse." Alanna sighed. "Guys, I want you to find out exactly what Cerberus has, and compile a full report for Intelligence. If we're lucky, they'll plug the holes before the whole ship sinks."

"Commander, come in," Vraks said over the comms; Alanna could also hear gunfire in the background. "More Cerberus troops are coming in from the west, and I've got twenty of my men en route from the east. We need to cover my guys so that Cerberus doesn't catch them in the open; once they're here, we'll have the numbers and defensive position to hold out until the Alliance arrives."

"Understood." Alanna limped over to a window, shot out the glass, and rested her Tsunami on the frame. "Korim, Mantle, get back downstairs and help out. I'll cover from up here."

"You sure you want to be up here alone?" Korim asked.

"We don't have a lot of options right now, but as soon as Vraks' guys get into position, have Haley and Tetros join me up here, along with any snipers Vraks can spare." Alanna punctuated her words by firing a long burst into the approaching Cerberus force. "And don't take your time on this, okay?"

The next few minutes passed in a blur; all Alanna could focus on was the enemy in front of her, and the throbbing pain in her hip that spiked every time a bullet left her gun. Only her instincts, honed over decades of harsh training, made her aware of two snipers joining her.

"You good?" Haley asked tensely.

"Been better." Alanna noticed that Haley's armor had a nasty crater, just below her heart. "What happened to you?"

"Enemy sniper got lucky," Haley said. "I got knocked down, but my barriers and armor stopped the worst of it. I think I just got a bad bruise, a fracture at worst."

"I think she just wants to keep up with you when it comes to scars," Tetros joked, even as he blew the head off a Cerberus soldier.

"Please don't," Alanna said absently. "Despite what Garrus says, not all women are into scars."

"I'll keep that in mind." Haley peered through her scope. "Four guys with rocket launchers, hiding behind the wrecked hovercar. They're about to move."

"Wait for it…" Alanna kept her eye on the car in question, until she saw movement. "Fire!"

Only one Cerberus agent actually fired a rocket before he was killed, but it failed to do any meaningful damage to the building.

"How the hell did Cerberus manage to sneak in this much hardware?" Tetros asked. "They've got to have enough firepower for a whole battalion!"

"Well, the governor was able to hire a mercenary company without the Alliance noticing," Alanna pointed out. "That wasn't exactly subtle, so if Cerberus really wanted to keep things quiet…"

"That's something that's bugging me," Haley said. "Why didn't they keep things quiet? With so many people, they could have just infiltrated high enough and stolen the data they needed."

"Actually, I think I have an idea about that," Alanna realized. "I think it was the Outsiders. They almost destroyed the planet, and that threw off Cerberus' plans. If this whole thing hadn't happened today, there's a good chance Cerberus would have gotten away with the data."

Tetros chuckled. "Look at that, a grey lining."

"Silver lining," Alanna corrected.

"Whatever." Tetros let out a breath, and pulled the trigger; an instant later, a head exploded down the street. "We've got more incoming."

Alanna sighed. "Oh, it's just going to be one of those days, isn't it?"

…

The battle for Fehl Prime lasted another six hours. Alanna's squad and the mercenaries held out for four hours of grueling siege before reinforcements arrived.

The first Alliance ships to arrive in orbit had already been briefed on the situation by EDI, and the marines they sent to the surface knew exactly where they had to go. Within minutes, sniper teams were dropped onto rooftops by gunships, which then opened fire on the heaviest Cerberus units. The rest of the Alliance ground forces used the strongpoint created by Alanna as a foothold, or kept watch on the colony's perimeter.

By the end of the battle, over thirty thousand Alliance soldiers had poured into the colony. Despite being horrifically outnumbered, Cerberus continued to put up a fight, doomed though it was. After two hours of hard fighting, the Cerberus soldiers were dead or captured, and the rest of the colonists were put under guard, in case there were more sleeper agents.

In the weeks following the many interrogations, Miranda would report to the Alliance leadership that almost thirty percent of Fehl Prime's population were either card-carrying members of Cerberus, or supported those who were.

The death toll had been awful. Of almost twenty thousand people—Cerberus or otherwise—that called Fehl Prime home, nearly nine thousand were killed, and over half of the rest had been injured. The innocent would be forever scarred by the experience; betrayed by their friends and neighbors, and distrusted by their own government. For the second time in the Alliance's history, Fehl Prime had a black mark.

Unlike before, there would be no more civilian homes in the future.

…

Alanna sank into her chair in her quarters with a groan. "I hate my job."

Haley, sitting on the couch, grimaced. "How bad was it today?"

"Anyone who isn't getting sent to prison is going to a refugee camp on Elysium for a while. After that, they're going back to Earth, to their families."

"The colonists have been here for decades," Haley protested. "If they have family on Earth, they've probably never met in person."

"It's not a perfect solution, but there's no way they can stay here." Alanna dragged her hands down her face. "The Alliance is turning the whole damn planet into a military hub. EDI told me Miranda is considering having Intelligence run ops in the outer colonies from here."

"That really sucks." Haley sighed. "Any word on when we can finally leave this place?"

"Tomorrow," Alanna said, with no small amount of relief. "The reports are finalized, we just need to drop Treeya off, and then we'll get another mission."

Haley sighed again. "Finally! I haven't been able to get off this ship in two weeks, and I'm going stir-crazy. Wait, where are we taking Treeya?"

"Earth," Alanna said. "She decided to take up General Vega's offer to stay with him."

Haley grinned. "Ooh, the general's gettin' some hot Asari action, huh?"

Alanna grabbed a stylus off her desk and bounced it off Haley's head. "Right now, she just needs a friend. This is the second time she's lost her home on this planet."

"Shit, you're right." Haley's smile vanished. "Any word from Director Lawson about why Cerberus was here?"

"She's busy, but EDI gave me some intel." Alanna scowled. "According to some initial findings, our theory was probably right. Cerberus wasn't working with the Outsiders, but they saw their actions on Fehl Prime as a serious threat to their plans, so they decided to go for broke before the Alliance brought the hammer down."

"Bastards."

"Agreed." Alanna pushed herself out of her chair and sat down next to Haley. "We're shipping out in twelve hours. Can you help Nok in the armory? I'd ask Tetros to do it, but he's filling out a dozen reports to the Hierarchy, and Mantle is working with Korim on some upgrades."

"Sure thing." Haley kissed her before getting to her feet. "You need anything else?"

"I'd consider it a personal favor if you could make the galaxy nice and quiet again."

"I wish I could, but I think that's a Shepard job." Haley looked into Alanna's eyes. "You're exhausted. Get eight hours of sleep; I'll tell the crew you're not to be disturbed unless there's an emergency."

"Sleep sounds good." Alanna had been running herself ragged, and her only rest had been when she'd undergone surgery to get that bullet out of her hip. "I'll just take care of a few things, and then I'll clock out."

"Good." Haley knelt to kiss her again. "See you tomorrow."

Alanna waited until she was gone before speaking. "EDI, can you set up a connection with my mom?"

"Certainly, Alanna," EDI said. "One moment, please."

Thirty seconds later, a hologram of Liara was projected from the ceiling. "Alanna, is everything okay? You don't normally ask EDI to set up a call like this."

"Everything's fine, Mom," Alanna assured her. "It's been… well, it's been a crappy couple of weeks."

"I'm sure." Liara's expression darkened. "I had hoped that this new Cerberus was just a fringe movement. I believe the human term is 'wannabes'. Sadly, I was wrong; if they were capable of a colony-wide uprising, then Cerberus has returned in force."

"How much of a problem are they going to be this time around?"

"The Alliance worked very hard to root them out, both during and after the Reaper War. We all thought they had been wiped out, which was why we weren't looking. Now that we know they still exist in a meaningful capacity, we'll use every resource available to destroy them again." Liara smiled bitterly. "Don't worry, we won't leave it all to you."

"Yeah, Miranda told me about how pissed Dad got whenever everyone dumped all their problems on him and his squad." Alanna rubbed her eyes. "We'll be going to Earth soon. Any chance we'll still be there for the reunion this year?"

"Considering all you've been through these last few missions, it wouldn't be hard to get you a few days of leave." Liara's smile became more genuine. "It'll be good to see you again. It's been years since we saw each other in person more than once every few months. Oh, that reminds me: Wrex said I should make another reservation, but he didn't say why."

Alanna blinked, and then she blushed. "Oh, uh, I wanted to bring my girlfriend."

Now it was Liara's turn to blink. "Girlfriend?"

"Haley."

"Your XO." Liara grinned. "Wonderful! There's only so much I can learn from her file, so I can't wait to meet her."

"Just… please don't threaten to flay her alive with your mind, okay?"

"I make no promises."

"Mom!"

…

The Sicily reached Earth after two days of travel, and was allowed to dock after thorough examination from a team of Intelligence operatives. Even if that wasn't standard procedure after a mission, the Alliance's encounter with Cerberus meant they weren't taking any chances.

Eventually, Alanna was brought to the Lawson estate for a personal debriefing from Miranda; her squad was with her, as was EDI's body, and Treeya. Alanna wasn't surprised that James was there as well, but she was surprised to see Samara. She always showed up for the reunions, and this year's was only a few days away, but she usually kept to herself until the actual date.

Still, Alanna remained professional, and repeated every detail of the mission on Fehl Prime. Unlike the rest of the Alliance at the moment, Miranda wanted to know more about the brief encounter with the Outsiders.

"If there's one thing everyone seems to agree on, it's that it is extremely unlikely that Cerberus was working with the Outsiders," Miranda said. "Still, we can't say for sure. Cerberus fell under the sway of the Reapers, and while we have no evidence that the Outsiders have anything like indoctrination, we can't rule it out."

"Will we be going after Cerberus, ma'am?" Alanna asked.

"Not at the moment," Miranda said. "For now, the Outsiders will remain your priority, unless Cerberus directly interferes with your mission."

"They kind of did on Fehl Prime," Alanna reminded her.

"Only because you were both after the same thing." Miranda's voice grew stern. "Don't let your hatred for Cerberus blind you to the real threat. Besides, the Alliance is already cracking down on Cerberus; we've located seven of their bases over the last two days, and have destroyed or captured all of them. We have a mountain of data to sift through, but we've already learned a great deal."

When it looked like Miranda wasn't going to elaborate, James took over. "Looks like this new Cerberus isn't compartmentalized like before. They have connections to other groups, and we're tracking down more leads."

"What about future infiltrations?" Alanna asked. "If so many people could actually be Cerberus on Fehl Prime…"

Miranda sighed. "From the data we've already gathered, Cerberus is focusing its recruitment on the outer colonies, specifically among worlds with a human majority." She scowled. "They've been using private servers to spread their xenophobic rhetoric. Free speech is all well and good, but not when it leads to insurrection."

At that point, the only civilian in the room was getting uncomfortable, and James noticed. "Hey, Treeya, why don't I help you get settled in?"

Treeya smiled gratefully. "Thank you, James, I appreciate it."

James offered her an elbow, which she accepted, and the two quickly left.

"Thank you for giving me a place to stay," Treeya said as they walked through the halls.

"Of course, Doc." James winked. "And Miranda pulled some strings; as far as anyone is concerned, you're my new housekeeper."

Treeya blinked. "I have a doctorate in anthropology, and you want me to be your maid?"

"No, I want you to be my housekeeper; big difference." James laughed at her outraged expression. "I'm just kidding, Treeya. Actually, Miranda got a few interviews lined up for you in a couple universities, if you're up to it."

Treeya blinked again. "I'm being offered a teaching position?"

"Asari can learn more than most humans ever will, and there's a new initiative going around that we need to learn more about other cultures." James sighed. "If we can understand each other, maybe we can prevent another war."

"That's rather optimistic; some might even say naïve."

"Well, between me and Miranda, one of us has to be hopeful, and she's already taken the job of Cynic-in-Chief."

Treeya laughed. "Come on, James; you can tell me all about what I've missed over the years."

"I'm looking forward to it, Doc."

…

Several days later, Alanna parked her skycar just outside the Normandy memorial. Despite the tragedy at Fehl Prime, the reunion was more upbeat than the last few Alanna could remember. Then again, maybe she was just in a better mood because she got to see her extended family, while introducing them to her girlfriend.

"Stop fidgeting, you look great," she said to Haley as they got out of the car.

"Are you sure I'm not overdressed?" Haley asked; she was wearing a knee-length skirt, and a tight jacket over a white blouse. The skirt and jacket were the same shade of blue as the Alliance Navy uniforms.

"Probably not," Alanna said; she wore black pants and a silver shirt that complimented her skin nicely. "Miranda and my mom usually go to these things in formal-wear."

"Only usually?"

Alanna shrugged. "Okay, so you've got fifty-fifty odds that you'll be overdressed."

"That is not helping."

"Hey, you're the one who wanted to look her best." Alanna took her hand in her own. "Come on, let me introduce you."

"I'm pretty sure I know everyone here already."

"Yeah, but now I get to introduce you as my girlfriend. Come on." Alanna waved to someone Haley couldn't see, mostly because Grunt was blocking her view. "Hey, Uncle Garrus!"

Alanna resisted the urge to grin when she felt Haley stiffen; she was actively trying not to salute the Turian Primarch.

"Hey, Alanna." Garrus walked over and gave her a hug. "Thanks for lending me Tetros for security today."

"He could have just come as a guest," Alanna said.

"Yeah, but he's technically been on leave since he joined your squad, and this way, he can collect on a paycheck." Garrus chuckled, and then looked at Haley. "I'm guessing Sergeant Cole isn't just here as a friend."

"Nope." Alanna tilted her head and planted a kiss on Haley's cheek.

Garrus grinned. "Try not to be too proud, Cole; you're not the only human with an Asari on their arm."

Both women blinked, and then grinned right back when they saw James speaking to Wrex, with Treeya leaning into his side.

"I totally knew he was still carrying a torch for her," Alanna gloated.

Garrus shrugged. "Despite what he says, he's getting close to retirement. I think he's looking for what happiness he can while he's got time."

Alanna winced at the reminder that James probably didn't have more than a decade or two left, while she would live another nine centuries. She felt a pang of pity for Treeya; if their relationship got serious, their time together would be a blink of an eye for an Asari, and she might spend centuries grieving.

That got her thinking about Haley. How would Alanna feel if she outlived Haley by centuries? Would she withdraw in on herself like her mother? Would she eventually move on? She knew that the only Asari who didn't have to worry about these kinds of things were those who bonded with other long-lived species, like Krogan or other Asari.

"Hey, you okay?" Haley asked.

"Huh?" Alanna shook her head. "Yeah, just got lost in thought for a sec. Come on, I see my mom."

Liara smiled as her daughter approached. "Alanna, it's so good to see you again. And Ms. Cole, it's nice to see you in a less formal setting."

"Thank you, ma'am." Haley smiled uncertainly. "Um, please, call me Haley."

"Okay, Haley." Liara pulled her into a hug, but only so that she could whisper in her ear. "I'm sure your intentions towards my daughter are genuine, but on the off-chance they aren't, know that there is nowhere in this galaxy that will hide you from me. Understood?"

Haley hastily nodded, while Alanna looked mortified. "Y-yes, ma'am."

"Good girl." Liara stepped back. "Enjoy the party, you two."

"Oh, I'm having so many regrets right now," Alanna groaned when her mother left to speak with Miranda.

"Sorry," Haley said.

"Whoa, this isn't your fault!" Alanna gave her a quick hug. "Of all the things that are embarrassing me right now, you aren't one of them."

Haley smiled. "Aw, thanks. Do you think we can get through the rest of the introductions without any other threats to my life?"

"Well, Miranda is on the list, so…" Alanna shrugged. "Maybe?"

…

Liara watched in open amusement as Alanna tried to have one conversation with the extended family without getting embarrassed, and failed every time. What her daughter didn't know was that Liara had already told everyone, and encouraged them to tease as much as possible. She didn't do it to be mean, but simply to give Alanna some time to have a normal life. Alanna had spent decades training to be a soldier like her father, and though she had a social life, it wasn't much better than Liara's own.

Besides, after everything her daughter had been through lately, Liara wanted Alanna to have some fun that didn't involve thresher maws.

"I don't think I've ever seen her this flustered," Miranda said as she sat next to her, sipping champagne.

"It's good for her," Liara said. "I wish you all had teased John and I about our relationship. It would have made for some fun stories later."

Miranda smiled, especially when she watched Alanna bury her face in her hands after a particularly lewd comment from Wrex, and Haley patted her back in sympathy.

"I'm going to need her more than ever," Miranda said quietly; her smile remained, but her tone was completely serious. "The Outsiders almost destroyed a planet, Liara. This is becoming a greater threat every day."

Liara hid her frown behind her own drink. "Do you have a mission for her?"

"Intelligence is compiling a briefing as we speak." Miranda glanced to her side, and Samara, who had been shadowing Miranda since they'd arrived, subtly nodded to signal that it was safe. "But I need a favor from you. It involves a member of the family we haven't seen in a long time."

Liara only nodded, to show that she was listening.

"I promised that I wouldn't ask about him unless it was urgent, but I need you to get in contact with Javik."

Only a century as the Shadow Broker kept Liara from spitting out her champagne. "You know what he's been doing."

"Like I said, this has become important enough to ask." Miranda paused to wave as Alanna and Haley passed by. "Can you set up the meeting?"

Liara sighed. "I'll see what I can do."

"That's all I ask."

Liara highly doubted that. Miranda often asked a great deal; unlike the Illusive Man, however, Miranda only made sacrifices for the good of the Alliance, not just humanity. Liara just hoped that those sacrifices didn't reach her daughter.

Okay, so the battle for Fehl Prime is over! I realize that I skipped a couple hours of content, but it would have boiled down to 'Cerberus attacks, Alanna and co. throw them back', until reinforcements finally showed up. Considering how badly Fehl Prime suffered, I thought I'd end the chapter on a fluffier note.

Except for the thing with Javik. I got many messages asking what I'd done with him, and you will all find out soon. But there's a good reason why he's been absent for the last hundred years. Also, there is no information on how long Protheans live, so I'm going to say that they probably did some genetic tailoring to extend their lifespans past a couple centuries, which is why Javik will be in the story at all. He will still be old, though.

As always, please consider buying my book, Alpha Sanction, by Josh Gottlieb. You can find it on my website (link in my profile), or on Amazon as an eBook or physical copy. If you like this story, I really think you'll enjoy my book!

If you want to support me in other ways, I would appreciate donations via my P-atreon page (link in my profile). I'm making far less money than I used to, so I'm relying on your goodwill far more than I did before. Patrons in the higher tiers get chapters early, and the highest tiers even get a PDF of my book!

And now, I'd like to thank the following patrons for just being awesome:

Serious Muffins: Nimrod009, Aaron Meek, Matthias Matanovic, Red Bard, Lokthar, Hakuryuken, Anders Lyngbye, Kristen Tyler

Incredible Muffins: RaptorusMaximus, Crazyman844, CherryGoesBoom

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Next Chapter: Alanna is let in on a secret, and discovers some of the consequences of her father's actions…

I'm Commander Shepard, and this is my favorite Muffin on the Citadel.