The young, tank bred krogan was ecstatic. Testosterone, adrenaline and pure fury flowed through his perfect veins. His twin hearts beat with despotic rhythm, as he now had power beyond his wildest dreams. To be able to crush his enemies with but a word, and for his word to be absolute, this was something his ancestors dreamed of.

This was truly being a krogan.

"No!" he yelled at the monitor. The group of fan girls and fanboys wanting to get into Shepard's new apartment all wailed and cried, tearing at their clothes and banging against the wall in protest. It was Grunt's new job that made this spectacle possible: Official Party Security for Commander Spectre Jane Shepard of the Human Systems Alliance Marine Corps. He excelled at it, turning away scores of hangers on and groupies for the past hour. Sure, he was there to party and let his hair down (figuratively, of course.), but that didn't mean he couldn't have some fun while he was at it.

"No way!" he barked at a man in a very expensive suit. On the monitor, the man turned away crying like a baby. Shepard walked up to her baby Krogan bouncer.

"How's it going over here?" she asked.

He turned from the monitor to face his Battle Master, noticing that she was now wearing a more casual outfit of a black, N7 Hoodie and black fatigue pants. Her dark red hair was loose, hanging just below her ears, and her pale skin glowing, presumably from having all of her friends around her, but more likely the result of having a drinking contest with Steve and Joker earlier.

"It's going gooood" he purred.

"I see that." She replied. "Anyone interesting trying to get in?"

"Not really, no. Get lost!" He shouted to a dancing vorcha. He seemed to want to dance his way into the apartment. What the smelly creature thought he was going to do at Shepard's party was beyond him, since she spent most of her career blasting them in various encounters with Blood Pack mercenaries. As he turned away rejected, Grunt chuckled deep in his massive chest. Oh, this was a good day.

Shepard frowned a bit. "You should maybe let me decide that."

"Huh? Okay, but I'm telling you it's ugly out there", Grunt replied as he stepped away from the monitor.

Shepard stepped up and said, "It can't be that bad."

"OMIGOD! ITS COMMANDERSHEPARDOHIJUSTLOVEYOUOMIGAWWD!"

Shepard turned back to her baby krogan and smirked. "Grunt, keep up the good work."

Grunt puffed up his chest and proudly reclaimed his position. "Will do. I told you already; NO!"

"Bub, I don't know who you think I am, but only one person talks to me like that, and she's dead. So unless you wanna see what your internal organs look like, you'd better get Shepard out here now!"

Shepard was half way back to the front seating area when she stopped dead in her tracks, a shiver racing down her spine. No, she thought, it can't be him.

Jack looked up from the group sitting around the fireplace and smirked. "Hey, Shepard! The hell's wrong with you? You look like you just saw a ghost or something!"

James Vega looked up from his seat next to Cortez with concern. "Hey, Lola, wassup?"

Shepard barely heard them, as her heartbeat hammered in her ears. Her eyes were wide with terror and her pale skin had completely blanched. She slowly turned back towards the door and moved next to Grunt.

"Listen, runt, I decide who gets to see Shepard and who gets to take a walk." Grunt growled at the monitor. "Guess which one you are?"

Shepard stared at the monitor and stopped breathing. She never thought she would see the short, gray haired man on the monitor again, and honestly prayed that she never would. He was the only human being in existence that scared her more than the Reapers, and here he was knocking at her front door.

"'Runt'?" Logan took a drag on his cigar and exhaled in a laugh. "I've been called worse by better. Now, get Shepard before I commence to pickin' the lock and kickin' your-"

"Instructor Howlett?" Shepard croaked. "What are you doing here?"

Logan leaned into the camera, as if he could see into the apartment through it. "That you, Red? Come on out here so we can chat for a bit, would ya?"

Shepard swallowed hard. She hadn't seen this man in four years, and here he was again, still gruff and short. The only human being in existence that could instill fear into her, and he wanted to "chat". The last time they spoke, she had barely been able to stand upright as she walked out of the room they had her final exam in for N-School. She hadn't heard anything about or from him between taking command of the Normandy, her return from the dead thanks to Cerberus, nor her incarceration for the Bahak Incident.

Still trembling a bit, she spoke into the comm. "Okay, sir. Be out in a second." She replied.

Grunt looked down at his Battle master. "'Sir'? You actually know that little runt, Shepard?" he sneered.

Shepard straightened herself, pulled the zipper for her hoodie up a bit and said, "Yes, Grunt. He was my Battle Master, so show respect."

Grunt seemed to choke as he stared at her with wide-eyed wonder. "Your battle master? That shrimp doesn't look like he can get out of bed without having to take some medi-gel and a nap first!"

Shepard headed to the door and smiled slightly. "That shrimp can probably get past you and kill everyone in this room before you hit the floor, Grunt. And that would be with him having to get through me first." She paused and shook her head slightly. "My Cerberus implants might give me more of an edge now, but something tells me that it would only piss him off and give him more of a license to actually cut loose. Now go on and get something to drink. I'm sure a perfect and pure Krogan such as yourself can handle drinking a few with the likes of Joker."

Grunt barked a short laugh. "Ha! I'll drink that brittle-boned wise ass into next week! Lemme at him!" He stalked off in search of some booze as Shepard exited the apartment.

There he stood, little more than five feet tall, but he still seemed to have the strength that he needed to bust her into shape during ICT. He was chomping on his cigar as he smiled that scary, feral smile of his.

"Evenin' Red." He greeted her, extending his right hand. She took it and shook it firmly, noticing how unbelievably warm it was. "Sorry to show up unannounced, but I was in the neighborhood and figured it was time to check up on ya."

Shepard raised her eyebrows at that. "In the neighborhood? Seems a long way from the Villa, sir."

Logan rolled his eyes at her and said, "Call me 'sir' one more time and we're gonna have a problem. It's Howlett, okay?"

Shepard shrugged and replied, "If you insist, "Howlett". So what's the real reason you're here?"

Logan smiled at her approvingly. "Your BS meter went off, didn't it?" She nodded and he continued, "Truth is, I have been wanting to see you since you got back from banging on the Collectors and get a new assessment of you. I told you before about letting 'her' loose, and for a minute, it looked like you got a handle on that."

Shepard leaned her back against the wall and stuffed her hands in her hoodie pockets. Hanging her head a bit she said, "Yeah, then I blew up a relay."

Logan grunted at that. "Well, ya, but it was only one, right?" Shepard looked up at him to see a small grin on his face. "Not like you made a habit of it or anything."

"The night is still young, Howlett." Shepard replied. They both chuckled at that before she became somber. "300,000 people is nothing we should be laughing at, you know."

"And that's why I know you only allowed it to happen because it was the only choice you had." Logan admonished. "I've read all your mission reports, Shepard. Hunting Saren and Cerberus at the same time, then using Cerberus to defend the Terminus colonies and get more intel on the Reapers? Rannoch, Eden Prime, Tuchunka? You made a career out of thinking outside of the box, darlin'." He dragged on the stump of his cigar before extinguishing it under his boot and continued. "I'm proud to call you a graduate of the ICT program, Shepard. Make no mistake about it."

Shepard looked at the older man in shock. Anderson had told her he was proud of her before. Hackett kissed up to her so she would keep wailing on the Reapers for him, but never really said he was proud of her. But this man, this "Breaker of Souls" as the other N-school recruits called him, his pride in her made her feel almost invincible now. It was the last thing she had expected from him, and she would treasure it in her heart until her dying day.

On the surface, however, she merely nodded and said, "Thank you. That means a lot."

Logan waved her off. "Please, girl. Facts are facts, nothing to get maudlin about." That got a chuckle out of her and he walked over to the wall and leaned against it next to her. "So, this your final shindig?"

Shepard sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "Yeah, looks like it. Needed to blow off some steam, especially after Thessia."

Logan turned to face her and stuck a finger in her face. "You know that wasn't your fault, right? Damned Asari hadn't been playing God with the galaxy, we would have found that VI sooner and been ten steps ahead of Cerberus instead of playing catch up!"

Shepard rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Anderson already gave me the pep talk, boss. It sucks, especially since two of my favorite people are Asari, and it hurts them too. But, I'm getting better. Got to, since I plan on handing Kai Leng his ass next time we meet."

Logan stepped back and folded his arms. "Yeah, Anderson told me about that bastard. Wouldn't mind getting my hands on him for a few minutes. Make sure you get a few in for me, okay?"

Shepard smiled widely at that. "Howlett, it would be my distinct honor and privilege to carve an "N7" in his chest when I'm done with him."

"That's my girl." Logan smiled. He turned towards the apartment as the noise level increased, fueled by music and free flowing booze. "That's a good group you got, Shepard. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

Shepard nodded and replied, "Yeah, even though it's short a few members. Lost a few along the way."

"Well, you ain't 'The Good Shepherd', Shepard. You're gonna lose a sheep or two along the way."

Shepard sighed. "Yeah, I know. Doesn't mean I have to like it, though."

"Not supposed to. You're a 'Butcher', yeah. A 'Heartless Bastard'? No, I know better. So do you." Shepard ran a hand through her hair and exhaled sharply. Logan took a look at her and said, "Something on your mind, Red?"

She looked at her former instructor and said, "What about Kaiden? He was so damned sure he was right, and I hesitated. He's dead because I didn't act."

"No, he's dead because he got shot by an expert marksman at damned near point blank range, Shepard. I saw the vid feed from your suits, and read the testimony from the Councilors your group rescued. He was too damn stupid to be real, and his death is not on your head, got it?" Logan stepped in front of her and took her by the shoulders. "He went from loving you like you popped his cherry to treating you like you pissed in his cereal every morning. It was his indecisiveness that forced that situation, not yours. You were trying to stop Udina and save the Council. He got in your way. Know what I say to that?" Shepard shook her head and he answered, "Screw him. Got what he deserved."

Shepard tried to turn away, but he held his grip firm on her, keeping her in place. "Hey, it's not your fault, got it? You did the right thing. He screwed up, and your boy Garrus backed you up like he was supposed to. That other kid? Vega? He would probably put a bullet in his throat a second after that if Vakarian didn't. You have a good squad, and anyone else just wasn't meant to be there at the end."

He released his grip and she turned her head to look at him. "Okay. I got it." She whispered.

Logan nodded and said, "Good, cuz I start charging by the hour after the first therapy session, okay?" She chuckled and he said, "Besides, it's not like you don't have someone new keeping you warm at night anyway, right?"

Shepard stood stock straight and went wide-eyed at him. "How the hell…"

Logan put his hands up. "Relax, Red, it's a gift, that's all. He's not a bad kid. You could have done worse than Vega." He shrugged and said, "Could have done better, but he's not bad."

Shepard narrowed her eyes at the older man and snarled, "And what does that mean?"

Logan laughed and shook his head. "Hey, hey, he's a good kid. I've seen the ICT invite, and hanging out with you can't hurt his chances later. Just make sure to save some energy for the war, that's all."

Shepard stepped back and shook her head at him. "Yeah, yeah, you nasty old man." She joked.

Logan reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small, thin black box. He offered it to her and said, "Hey, before you head back, I wanted to give you something. It's a . . . well I guess you could say it's a 'present'." She reached out and took it gingerly. Logan cleared his throat and started to explain.

"Years ago, there was a man I knew. He was an idealist, always looking for the bright side of things. He had a dream that I bought into along with some others like me. He dreamed of different people with special talents being able to live with other people without those talents in a peaceful, productive society. Some people thought he was crazy, that it would never happen. Us? We fought, bled and some even died for that dream." He took a breath and continued. "When he died, we thought the dream would die with him, that it was all over. But we kept on going, fighting the good fight and trying to change the hearts and minds of everyone we met. No matter how impossible things seemed, we kept going."

"Sounds like a great guy." Shepard said, playing with the box in her hands.

"Yeah, I thought he was an idiot at first. All I was looking for was a way out of the outfit I was in at the time. He gave it to me, and I followed him through hell and back. Sound familiar?"

Shepard looked at him quizzically. "What, me? How in the hell does that sound like me?"

Logan laughed softly and ran a hand through his short, gray hair. "A Turian sharpshooter, a Quarian engineer, Asari info broker, an Organic-Friendly Geth, Krogans, Drell, humans and you in the middle. Kid, you and your crew embody his dream more than anyone else I've ever met."

"The threat of mass extinction makes for strange bedfellows, you know." She said dismissively. "No one wants to die alone, that's all."

Logan turned on her fiercely. "Really? That why you got that biotic nut-job teaching kids to be better than her? A real life Prothean taking orders from you? The King of the Krogans wants you to call him 'Uncle Urdnot'? C'mon, kid. It ain't the war. It's you and your belief in their abilities, their loyalty and their love for you. No one else has done this, no one else could do this. All that Cerberus tech in you? That's just making it easier for you to kick the ass you're kicking."

"Oh yeah, dodging Reapers is easy if you know how." She quipped.

"I ain't about to go out there and do it, so you might as well." Logan replied. Shepard punched his arm playfully, breaching that bubble of familiarity for the first time ever.

"Ow, I think I felt that one, kid." He laughed while mockingly rubbing his arm.

"Seriously, though, I'm just doing my job, Howlett." Shepard said, steering them back to the subject at hand. "Everyone is doing their job, pulling their weight. Not just me. Hackett may call me the Tip of the Spear, but there is still the rest of the spear to contend with."

Logan looked at her seriously. "Jane, don't let anyone tell you differently than I'm telling you now: You are the resistance. You and the Normandy, you are gonna win this one. I've seen wars before, but nothing on this level. I've been a part of this level of dedication and teamwork once before, and while we didn't win the war, we won our fair share of the battles."

He pointed to the apartment and continued, "Your family, your crew, they are gonna kick so much Reaper ass they won't know what hit them." He pointed at the box and said, "That's something my people used to wear. It was a badge of honor and a target all at the same time, depending on how ya look at it. I want you to have it and hopefully wear it with pride."

Shepard had yet to open the box. She was almost scared to. She knew nothing of the man except what she just heard from him now. Yet if what he told her was half true, his "people" must have been legends in their time. So for him to want her to consider herself among them, it was a heavy honor.

Logan took a breath and reached in his jacket for another cigar. He lit up and blew out a plume of smoke. "Hey, enough of me. Get back to your party, and enjoy your time together. Tomorrow is coming soon, and you don't want any regrets if someone doesn't make it to the end." He reached out and patted her on the arm as a way of saying goodbye. "See ya later, kid. Give 'em hell."

The older man turned and walked away, not looking back at the young soldier. She held the box to her chest and watched him leave, wondering if they would see each other again when she least expected.

"Goodbye." She whispered, and he lifted a hand to wave in return. How the heck did he hear me? She wondered to herself. He couldn't have…nah.

She returned to the apartment and closed the door behind her. The crew was in full party mode when she came in, seemingly oblivious to her return. She took comfort in that, seeing it as a sign that, should she not survive the war, their lives would go on. She smiled as she saw the now familiar tight shirt and faux-hawk she had come to adore trying to arm wrestle her baby Krogan.

"James!" she called out. "What do you think you're doing?"

James looked up, still gripping Grunts hand on the bar. For his part, Grunt seemed to be barely straining as James tried to slam him.

"Hey Lola!" he said through gritted teeth. "Where you – ugh- been?"

Shepard smiled at the sight. She had come to admire and maybe even love the young marine in recent months, and seeing him relaxing and partying with the rest of her veteran crew made her happy. A seamless blending of her "families" from the previous Normandy crews was a relief for her. She walked over to the bar and stood behind James. "Oh, just talking with an old instructor from the Villa, that's all. Why are you trying to get your arm broken so badly?"

James grunted hard and kept pulling at Grunt's arm. "Hey! I'm working, *ungh, here! Don't say, 'trying'!"

Grunt laughed deep in his chest. "Yeah, "working" on getting your arm broken. I'm the purest Krogan there is. You can't stop me; you can only hope to contain me!"

Wrex sauntered over and chimed in. "You may be the purest, but I'm still the sexiest. Don't forget it, Junior!"

James strained against the baby Krogan, barely causing him to flex his muscles. "Yeah, well, I'm still, ugh, giving you a, ugh, workout!"

Grunt snorted and flexed his arm, slamming James' arm to the table hard. Everyone groaned at the impact, and James bounced from the chair onto the floor. "Heh, a workout? Call me when you grow a real quad, shrimpy!"

Shepard went over to James, crouching down next to him. He looked up at her from the flat of his back and smiled. "Hey, Lola? I had him, I swear!"

She smiled down at her man and said, "Yeah, I know. C'mon, I wanna talk to you."

She stood up and offered his her hand, helping him up. He got to his feet and rolled his shoulder. "You wanna talk or, you know, 'talk'?"

Shepard smacked him in the chest and started walking to the stairs that led to the bedrooms on the second level. "Come on, Vega. Follow me and find out."

The party was over, hangovers nursed, bail paid, equipment restocked and a purpose renewed. It helped to continue fighting a seemingly unbeatable foe when you were reminded what it was exactly you were fighting for. Commander Jane Shepard had gotten herself together and was ready to finish the war, one way or another. She would do whatever it took to get her family through to the end.

She followed James up the gangway to the airlock for the Normandy. She was admiring the view when she felt something tickle in the back of her head. She had a sort of sixth-sense developed from her ICT Training, so she listened to it. She stopped and turned around.

Down on the dock, she saw Howlett again. He stood there, watching her make her way to the ship. He noticed her and stood at attention, saluting her. She smiled and returned the salute. James came back and touched Shepard on the shoulder.

"Lola?" he asked. "Who you saluting?"

Shepard turned to acknowledge him and said, "Hmm? Oh it's…oh!" She turned back to show James the man on the dock, but he was already gone, blended into the crowd. "Damn, he is good." She whispered.

James looked at the dock, trying to see whoever it was that had caught Shepard's attention. "Who are you looking at, babe?"

Shepard turned back to James, and reached into her pocket. She retrieved the box that Howlett had given her and showed it to James. "Hey, I got this from my instructor at the Villa the night of the party. Haven't opened it yet, though."

James took the box and turned it over in his hands. "What is it?"

Shepard shrugged and said, "Dunno. Like I said, I haven't opened it yet."

"You scared or something?" James asked with a wicked smirk on his face.

Shepard snatched the box out of his hand and snarled, "NO! I'm not scared. Not really, just, you know, not ready. At least I wasn't. Here, let's see."

She pried the box open and looked inside. She pulled out a small, flat disk about the size of her hand. She held it up for James to see, and he gave it a puzzled look.

"A badge?" he guessed. Shepard turned it and looked at the front of it. It was a simple red disk with a black "X" across it, closed in a black outline along the edge of the badge.

"He said it was a badge of honor and a target, depending on how you look at it. An old unit he was with used to wear them, like I wear my N7 badges."

James took it in his hands and turned it around. "Oh, yeah, I guess. See? Turn it like this and it's an 'X'." He rotated it and showed her, saying, "Turn it like this, and it looks like a set of cross-hairs. Make sure Garrus doesn't see that, or he might shoot it out of reflex." He handed it to Shepard and asked, "What does the 'X' stand for?"

Shepard chuckled and took the badge, placing it back in the box. "Not sure. Maybe it's so classified, it can only be noted by an 'X'. It's magnetic, so it'll stick to my armor. Matches the N7 badge I already have on it." She looked at James smiling and said, "C'mon, Vega. Let's go kill some Reapers."