Stardust

by SitOnMyNoFace

Here are some episodic Star Trek esc adventures following fem Shepard and her crew. Follow the morally ambiguous Commander as she foolishly gets in over her head when she decides to indulge her curiosity about her Turian colleague.

3. Noveria

Garrus chilled on his bed with his package from the Spectre Requisitions Office. He opened the package, a black and red Turian helmet sat on top of the rest of the set. He took the helmet out and set it on the bed. Inside the box was tenth edition Colossus armor. Garrus set each piece out on the bed. "This must have costed her a fortune. Interesting color scheme," he observed the boots. The lights in the room flickered for a moment.

"Red alert enemy disruption field detected," the ship V.I notified every deck. Garrus ran down the hall to Mess where he ran into Kaiden.

"What's going on?" he asked Kaiden.

"I don't know. The ship just stopped," they both pondered.

"What's going on, Adams?" Pressly called Engineering.

"We must have triggered a disruption field. I have the emergency systems on for the moment, but we need to get out of this field.

"There's an alien vessel on our sensors. Their weapons are online," Joker notified Pressly.

"Do we have our weapons online?" Pressly asked Chef Engineer Adams.

"Working on it," Adams tried to access the power to the ship's weapon systems.

"Chief, I can reroute the power from non essential systems to the weapons," Tali brought to Adams' attention.

"All due to respect, Tali. Our power grid isn't built for that sort of flexibility," Chief Adams was skeptical.

"Oh, I can do it. I did it on the Rayya. Just give me fifth-teen minutes," she worked from her console. The alien vessel fired a missile at the Command Deck. Sparks flew from the ceiling in Navigation. The Normandy shook from the impact, tossing crewmen across the room.

"Forward hull damage!" Joker updated Pressly.

"Tell her she has five minutes and I want my guns online," Pressly passed on to Adams. Garrus arrived in Navigation.

"Navigator," he addressed Pressly.

"What is it, Garrus? The ship is under attack," Pressly sounded agitated.

"Sir, I can take out their guns. I've had run-ins with Terminus ships before. Just say the word and I'll have them crawling away," Garrus stepped to the plate.

"You have military experience, Son?" Pressly asked him.

"Yes, Sir. Most Turian officers do," he confirmed. The Normandy took another hit to the Command Deck, starboard side. More sparks flew as people in Navigation flew from the right side of the room into the star map railing.

"Sir, Tali has the power redirected to the weapons. They should come online now," Engineer Adams paged Pressly.

"Go! I want them off of our ass," Pressly ordered Garrus.

"Yes, Sir," Garrus ran passed the destruction and fallen rubble to the bridge. "Hey, uh?"

"Joker," Joker finished for him.

"Joker. The weapons should be ready to go online now. Do you see it on your screen?" Garrus asked.

"Coming online, now," Joker turned the guns on from his console.

"Alright, this looks like a Batarian vessel. We can fire a magnetic charge to their weapons, here, and here," he pointed at the Batarain vessel on the scanner. "That will take them weeks to get them back online. If we strike them in their thrusters they'll be lost in space for a little bit. That'll let them know we mean business," Garrus directed Joker and Harvey Gladstone in the tactical seat.

"Yeah, send those bastards limping away," Joker agreed. Harvey started by targeting the ship's weapons. He took them out in one shot each. He targeted the thrusters at the stem of the ship and took them out. "Hell yeah!" Joker cheered. He looked down at a blinking com light on his console. "Navigator, we're receiving a message from the vessel," Joker paged Pressly.

"Patch them through to the Com Room," Pressly agreed to take the call. He stepped into the Com Room and accepted the link. A dark brown Batarian with red marking appeared on the holocom.

"I find it amusing how a human vessel is pulling off Turian tactics," the Batarian sounded surprised.

"You underestimated us. You thought you'd take out our systems and board us while we were dead in the water. How's that working out for you?" Pressly taunted him.

"Ack! You have some gaul, human. What is your name?"

"Charles Pressly. You'd do well to remember it," Pressly threatened.

"Charles Pressly, do you command this human vessel?"

"I'm on shift. Our Commander is off duty," Pressly mentioned.

"I'd like the name of your Commander."

"Her name is Commander Belial Shepard."

"Commander Belial Shepard should watch her back because Ulamok Vran'peros, the Captain of the Crimson Maiden will be watching. Welcome to Terminus space Charles Pressly," Ulamok hung up on Pressly.

"Sir, me and Tali are about to send a radio active pulse to the mines holding us in place. All systems will be back online soon," Chef Engineer Adams informed Pressly.

Garrus met up with Kaiden and Ashley. "Somebody should wake up the Commander and tell her what happened," he suggested.

"I'll do it," Ashley volunteered. "Hey, Commander?" she creeped into my quarters. "Hey," she sat on the bed and shook my shoulder.

"Hm, Garrus?" I woke up from a really good dream.

"Garrus? No, it's Ashley. We need you to start getting ready. The ship was under attack," she explained.

"What do you mean the ship was under attack?" I sat up in my bed.

"We were attacked by a Batarian pirate ship. We're working on getting out of the disruption field they caught us in," she elaborated.

"How bad is it?" I asked, dreading her answer.

"Navigation is pretty banged up. No other deck was hit. Everyone in Nav got knocked around. They'll be alright. Just minor injuries."

"Alright, I'll be out in a moment," I massaged my temples. Ashley joined Kaiden and Garrus in the Mess Hall.

"I can't believe she slept through that," Garrus remarked.

I slipped into my Colossus armor. I was adjusting my poldrens when the ship V.I announnced, "Disruption field cleared." The Normandy resumed coarse for Noveria. I carried my helmet under my arm and walked out into the Mess Hall. Garrus and Ashley were sitting across from each other. Alenko was cooking breakfast. Garrus' eye trailed over to me. He looked sort of docile. I thought if I could tell so could Ashley. I was going to have to prepare for that conversation. One thing at a time. I made a bee-line for my weapons locker.

"You're not going to eat something first?" Garrus asked me.

"No time for that. We're going to be landing soon," I typed in my pass code and opened the door.

"Come on, Commander. We've got eggs and bacon. I'll even throw a slice a toast in for you," Kaiden insisted. The smell of the bacon was too alluring for me to resist. I began equipping my guns. "Can't that wait?" he persisted.

"The ship could be boarded in the condition it's in. I want to be ready the moment we reach Noveria," I reached for my sniper rifle and my stomach growled out loud. "How can I resist bacon," I wiped away my slobber on the back of my gauntlet and grabbed my sniper rifle. The toast popped out of the toaster.

"Look, your toast is already done. I've got your plate right here. Why don't you just sit down and eat real quick," Kaiden held my breakfast out to me.

"Thanks, Alenko," I was touched by his generosity.

"You'll need your strength. It's going to be cold down there," he stared at me with intense eyes. I sat down by Garrus, adjacent to Ashley.

"Who are you thinking about taking with you, if you don't mind me asking?" Ashley asked.

"You and Garrus are coming with me," I took a bite of my toast.

"Me?" she didn't look terribly pleased.

"Yeah, I remember you wanted to go out with me next time. So I figured why not," I snapped into my bacon.

"That's not exactly what I had in mind. I wanted us to dress up together and go bar hopping. I want to go dancing," she gave me a sly look.

"Dancing?" Garrus joined in, "and what's this about bar-hopping?"

"Bar-hopping is basically if I went from Flux to Chora's Den, drinking, and dancing," I explained to him.

"That sounds like fun," he was intrigued.

"We'll have to take you with us. Wait until you see the Commander drunk," Ashley fueled the fire.

"You've never seen me drunk, Williams," I bit into my bacon skeptically.

"I've heard stories. What about that time you were at a frat in academy and you set a pool on fire?" she continued.

"She did what?" Garrus fished for more.

"Now that's the sort of shit I want to see," she bounced her eyebrows curiously.

"I was a kid. I don't do shit like that anymore," I took a bite of my eggs.

"I'd like to see what the two of you call 'dancing,'" Garrus challenged.

"I can dance," I got defensive. "My name is Belial, do you know where that comes from?"

"The Bible?" Ashley guessed.

"That's right. It means devil. When I'm dancing, I listen to the music, and let the devil flow through me. I like improv though. I'm not big on line dancing. If you hear anyone talking shit it's just because I don't know the Cha'cha Slide," I clarified.

"Consider me even more curious," he snuck in a flirt. I concentrated on eating the rest of my breakfast. I thought about dancing, moving the way I tend to, but with Garrus. I thought about us being a piece of moving art with all eyes on us. I finished up my food.

"There, happy?" I handed Alenko my dirty plate.

"Safe journey, Commander. Try to return to us in one piece," he bid me farewell.

"Always do," I reassured him as I headed for the elevator to the Command Deck.

"Good morning Commander," Pressly welcomed me to Navigation.

"How's everything going, Navigator?" I asked him.

"We'll be reaching Noveria shortly," he reported.

"Carry on," I made my way to the bridge.

"This is the Normandy, requesting permission to dock," Joker asked politely.

"You weren't expected, Normandy. Your landing isn't authorized," an abrasive female voice said on the other line.

"Friendly bunch," Joker spoke ironically. Garrus and Ashley joined me in the air lock.

"Wait for me, Commander," Dr. Chakwas ran after us.

"Coming along, Doctor?" I asked her.

"I have a presentation arranged for the debut of that cure you and Garrus helped me synthesize. There are a few doctors interested in my notes," she joined us in the air lock. We waited as we were scanned for contaminants.

"It's freezing out there. I can feel it from in here," Garrus shook his arms irritably.

"Commander, I'm worried about Garrus. Dinosaurs were tropical. What if Turians are similar?" Ashley brought to my attention.

"Everything alright, Garrus?" I asked him. It'd break my heart to see him leave, but I wasn't going to make him come along.

"Don't worry about me, Commander," he tried to soldier through.

"Alright, these guys aren't happy to see us. So be on alert," I warned them.

"Remember this isn't Citadel space. It's a lot more dangerous out here," Garrus mentioned.

"That's why I'm glad you're here. You have more experience with the way things work," I reassured him. The scanner finished up. "Alright team, it's showtime," we walked outside to the docks. We walked down the dock to the entrance of the building. We were stopped by two human women and a Turian.

"Stop right there," the woman in the middle initiated. "What is the business of your party?" she pressed.

"I'm on official Spectre business, looking for an Asari Matriarch by the name of Benezia. I heard she might've come through here. My Chief Medical Officer has a presentation to attend," I was up front with them.

"There are no human Spectres," the other lady said.

"Even if you are who you say you are, weapons aren't permitted on Noveria. We'll take them for you," she offered like she'd be doing us a favor. I could tell she takes her job way too seriously. Me and Ashley knew better than to surrender our weapons. That's how slavery happens. We both had our guns on them, daring them to try. Garrus wasn't having it either. He always seemed to have a good sense of things. They aimed back at us on the defensive.

"I'm not giving my guns to anyone," I stood my ground. Our eyes locked. I wondered if she had the nerve. A second passed.

"Maeko, stand down! We just received their clearance from the council!" another woman said over the intercom.

"Looks like you got lucky this time. I'd do your business and get out if I were you," Maeko put her gun away.

"Pew, pew," I bounced my gun playfully as though I fired at her. We put away our weapons and continued through customs. I walked under a little scanning drone. It beeped unpleasantly, alarming everyone of my presence.

"Don't mind the alarms. They're just picking up your guns. Spectres can actually carry weapons. My name is Gianna Parasini, Administrative Assistant of Administrator Anoleis. I'm sorry about Maeko. She takes her job very seriously," she smoothed over very pleasantly.

"I hadn't noticed," I said dryly.

"What brings you to Noveria?" she asked me.

"I'm looking for Matriarch Benezia. I heard she came through here," I pressed her.

"The Matriarch did come through here. She went to Peak 15. Unfortunately we're under a weather advisory and the Administrator has to approve any request to leave Port Hanshan. You can find his office at the bottom of the stairs to the left," she gave us directions.

"Thank you," I led the way to the elevator.

"That went well," Garrus remarked sarcastically as he loaded onto the elevator.

"Why do you suppose they're so on edge?" Ashely brought to my attention.

"They're definitely hiding something. Keep your guard up, Commander," Garrus warned me. We stepped out of the elevator and walked passed a Hanar owned armory.

"The hotel is this way, Commander. That's where my meeting will be taking place if you need anything," headed North West of the facility.

"I'll be by later to check on you," I assured her.

"I didn't get to go shopping on the Citadel, Commander. Can we go? Please," Ashley looked longingly through the glass of the armory.

"I don't know if we have time," I attempted to derail her.

"It's not fair. Garrus has new armor," she drew my attention to him in the matching Colossus armor I bought us. "I don't match," she drew up a good point.

"Fine, just a minute though," I folded.

"Great!" she went inside.

"I like it. Look at the toes," I giggled, admiring the color scheme of Garrus' armor. "Do you like it?" I put him on the spot.

"It's very comfortable. I feel like a tank. It is kind of stylish. I think the colors are growing on me," he admitted.

"I have to do my part to protect you," I placed my hand on his chest. I almost kissed him when I noticed curious Turian guards, looking in our direction. I settled with smiling at him. My experience had made me weary of prying eyes.

"Thank you," he grasped my hand. As small as it was, it made me blush. He let me go, and followed me into the store.

"Most of this stuff is for alien races," Ashley complained as she filpped through the catalog.

"This one suspects yours is the entourage from the unauthorized ship that just docked," the Hanar owner said to me.

"Word travels fast," I was surprised.

"Most would avoid the Spectre. This one sees an opportunity," he purposed.

"What are you thinking, my jelly friend?" I heard him out.

"This one is wondering if you could pick up an item from the Docking Bay. This one might have a human set of the Colossus armor for the Spectre's friend," he faced towards Ashley.

"This one is interested," I mimicked him.

"Do not tell Administrator Anoleis. That one would levy fees," he warned me.

"Your secret is safe with me. Come'on guys," I reassured him before leaving the store.

"You're not really going to pick up that item for him? We just met the guy," Ashley questioned my judgement.

"I'm sure the Commander has a good reason for agreeing to his terms, right?" Garrus attempted to cover for me.

"I really just want that armor for Ash. I couldn't care less about what some Administrator thinks," I said unapologetically.

"Maybe you'll fit in here after all," Garrus chuckled.

"Come'on, let's get some information on this Anoleis guy. Hey there, friend," I walked down the steps and greeted a Turian guard.

"You're the Spectre that just landed. I was told not to talk to you," he huffed and looked away.

"Nice crest," I complimented him.

"Really? You think so?" he let down his guard.

"It's a shame you don't want to talk to me. I love Turians," I flirted with him.

"I really shouldn't," he rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"What can you tell me about Administrator Anolesis?" I asked.

"He's a corrupt Salarian bastard, but you didn't hear that from me," he spilled.

"You don't say?" I pressed him.

"How, uh; long are you staying on Noveria?" he asked me.

"Thank you for the information. Have a good shift," I rejoined Garrus and Ashley.

"I almost believed you," Ashley praised my performance.

"So did I," Garrus said with a tinge of jealousy.

"Now we have a better idea of what we're up against. Let's go meet this Anoleis," I justified my means. The three of us went down the steps and to the left, where we saw the Administrator's office. It, just like the shop was transparent. "Noveria Port must not have anything to hide," I remarked.

"I doubt that," Garrus counteracted my statement. We entered the office. The Administrator's assistant, Gianna was seated at her desk.

"How the hell did you get down here so fast?" I racked my brain.

"The Administrator is on a call. He'll be with you shortly," she disregarded my question. "Ahem!" she cleared her throat.

"You need a cough drop?" I asked.

"I can't say too much with him in earshot. Anoleis is up to something shady, and I think it has something to do with your Matriarch. I want you to press him if you can. Hm!" she took a sip of water.

An inconvenient moment of silence passed for us to pace and ponder what the hell was going on at this station. My experience on Akuze taught me things aren't always what they seem. These glass offices were, but a façade for something bigger that was going on and I was about to get to the bottom of it. A red light dinged on Gianna's desk.

"Gianna, you can go ahead and send Commander Shepard in," Anoleis' voice came through the speaker on her desk.

"Yes Sir. Hm," she cleared her throat as she made eye contact with me. "Go on back, Commander," she gave me the green light. I led my away team into Anoleis' office.

"You will excuse me if I don't stand up. I have no time to entertain space-born vagabonds," he sniped at me.

"You did your homework," I smiled.

"Only a fool enters negotiation without knowledge of the other party's tendencies. This greeting is a courtesy. I will only cooperate as required by the executive board. Businesses come here to avoid the second guessing of galactic law," he bluntly denied my authority on the matter.

"If you know as much as you say about me, you know I won't be leaving your port without your cooperation," I smiled painfully though I wanted to wring his little amphibian neck.

"I can only assist to such a degree with this blizzard. I understand you were asking about Matriarch Benezia at customs. I'm afraid she took the cable car to the hot labs. You won't be reaching her in this weather. I have the whole station locked down. Nobody is leaving."

"That is unfortunate. There's another person I'm looking for Spectre Agent Saren. Ring any bells?" I pressed him.

"Saren is a big investor for Binary Helix, one of Noveria's backers," he alluded to being in their pocket.

"Binary Helix is supplying him with weapons," I assumed.

"It is possible. Benezia was here as an ambassador for Binary Helix," Anolesis added.

"What does Binary Helix have to do with all of this? What could they be plotting?" Garrus pondered.

"Our investors interests aren't any business of mine," Anolesis swore to neutrality.

"Thank you, Administrator," I took my leave of his office.

"Did you get what you needed, Commander?" Gianna asked.

"That depends. How long do blizzards usually last on Noveria?" I answered her question with another.

"Days, sometimes weeks. Why? You need to get to Peak 15? Talk to Lauric Keane at the hotel. He has a stake in this and he'll help you," she volunteered the information.

"The hotel? We can check on Karin while we're there. Thank you, Gianna," I thanked her.

"My pleasure."

We took our leave into the white labyrinth court yard. Ashley broke the silence on the walk through the plaza, "Do we know what we're dealing with this Matriarch lady?"

"Matriarchs are Asari who have reached the end of their cycle. We're talking centuries of mastering biotics, and tactics we couldn't comprehend in a lifetime," Garrus put it into perspective.

"How are we supposed to take on someone like that?" there was discern in Ashley's voice.

"Careful planning," he reassured her.

"Hopefully diplomacy isn't out of the question," I added, stepping into the hotel elevator. When we arrived at the hotel plaza we passed an Asari.

"Excuse me," she called out to me. I pointed towards myself and mouthed, "me?" "Yes, just a moment of your time," she grabbed my attention. "The male human at the hotel bar, he's a sales rep for Binary Helix. His name is Rafael Vargas. I need you to speak with him," she revealed her objective.

"It just so happens I have an interest in Binary Helix. We might have common goals," I found her request agreeable. "What can you tell me about the company?"

"Much of B.H's work relates to biotics. There are rumors that the Noveria branch has flown in Asari biotics, powerful ones; commandos to be specific. We want to assess any potential risk to Asari copyrights. You will present yourself as a buyer on behalf of Spectres or the Alliance, and discuss their military enhancement programs. Your real objective will be to distract him. I will give you a device that will crack into his personal wireless network. It will upload a variety of monitoring viruses that will infiltrate Binary Helix when he logs onto their Externet. There's a reward of 500 credits if you're interested," she gave me a rundown.

"I have to admit, you have me intrigued," I agreed.

"Excellent. Here is the cracking device. You'll know it's done when it beeps. I've assembled a dossier on Vargas," she handed me her digital notepad with his profile pulled up. "He is impatient with those who waste his time. When I tried to get him distracted, and off topic he concluded I was not interested in his company's services. I noticed he has a tell when a topic makes him nervous or uncomfortable he has a tendency to rub the back of his neck. If you see that press him on the subject. It may distract him enough to keep him talking."

"I'll go see him right now," I took my leave.

"I hope to hear from you soon," she wished me and mine luck.

"Are you sure this is something we should get involved with?" Garrus questioned my decision to help the Asari.

"If getting the Asari involved fucks over Seran in the slightest, I'll take it," I explained my reasoning.

"Fair enough," he chuckled. Rafael looked up at me and I took the opportunity to wave at him.

"Mr. Vargas," I approached him.

"Can I help you?" he sounded cautious.

"Commander Belial Shepard, Systems Alliance Military. I understand you work for Binary Helix," I prompted him to start talking about his company.

"That's correct. Rafael Vargas sales. Were you interested in our services?'

"I am, if the price is right," I opened slyly.

"It was my understanding that the Alliance contracted to Mars Gene for its enhancement programs," he contradicted my statement.

"That is true for the Alliance's research and development on Mars. I belong to the military division. We hold separate contracts. One is for research and the other a more practical use," I bluffed.

"My apology. I thought I had been thorough in my background checks on all clientele. I'm still getting a handle on my negotiating position. First the disclaimer: no genetic enhancement is guaranteed to take. We can maximize the odds, but every strand of DNA is unique. Our patented techniques can provide an eight percent improvement in adrenal response, twelve percent faster clotting, and a measurable decrease in CG muscle degeneracy," he disclosed, scratching the back of his neck.

"Mars Gene's clotting enhancement improves speed by sixteen percent," I pressed him.
"I see you've done some research. That's their official claim, however; we believe the cherry picked their sample to show optimum results. The numbers we provide are strict mathematical averages. I can get you those improvements for 30K credits per head. For a bulk order, I can work in a sensory enhancement package guaranteed 20:15 vision and hearing from twelve to 22,000," he presented his offer.

"You sure that's the best price you can offer? "

"Absolutely! That's the standard rate. Of course if the government moves forward with this on an official level there might be some additional discounts. I have to admit, it surprised me that you were here for business. There are many development projects on Noveria, some not entirely legal," he sounded concerned.

"You see a lot of moral ambiguity in my line of work. I've had to make decisions that would make dodging tax regulations look like charity work," I laughed bombastically out of his cue in a way that made him visually uncomfortable. My device beeped when it was ready. "Excuse me, I need to take that," I pretended to be receiving a call.

"Of course, Commander. I look forward to hearing from the Alliance's military division," he attempted to gain something from our encounter.

"Of course. Thank you so much for your time," I rejoined Ashley and Garrus.

"Military division?" Ashley poked fun at me.

"I guess he needs to be more thorough on his background checks," I stuck to my lie playfully.

"That was quite clever," Garrus applaud my effort. Getting approval was never something I went out of my way for, but when Garrus expressed it I swelled up with pride. We approached the Asari agent.

"Any results?" she asked me.

"Your toy did its job," I disclosed.

"Excellent. I will transfer 500 credits to your account," she transferred the funds on his omni tool.

"I'm interested if you find anything out about their relationship with Saren," I requested.

"Certainly. You will be the first to know. Good day, Spectre," she left, an enigma.

"We should stop by the hotel and check on Karin," I led the way through the plaza. We climbed the steps and entered the hotel lobby. Karin sat on a couch in the living room. "Dr., everything alright?" I approached her.

"Commander, you're just in time. We're taking a brief recess before my closing statement. I'd be honored if you could answer a few questions," she requested of me.

"I don't know. It seems kind of personal," my face got red as I rubbed my head nervously. I looked to Garrus for approval. He was preoccupied with Ashley.

"This research is crucial for strengthening Human, Turian relations. It's hard to shoot someone when you're catching feelings. It could help other couples just like you," her argument was very convincing. Garrus noticed my glance and smiled contagiously. Thinking about it, I did want to help other people like us. "We're bridging a gap that has been keeping our species apart. You could fill in the more human elements."

"Alright, I'll do it. What sort of questions can I expect?" I asked. A bell rang on the intercom, interrupting my question.

"That's us. We better head in," Karin insisted.

"Oh boy," I had to answer personal questions about mine and Garrus' relationship in front of complete strangers, and I didn't even have time to prepare. Beads of sweat trickled down my temples from my hairline. Karin escorted me to the pulpit, enhanced with a microphone where she had been speaking during her presentation.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I present Commander Belial Shepard of the Systems Alliance Military. Without her and her partner this cure wouldn't be possible. She is dedicating her time to answering your questions," she tossed me to the wolves.

"Commander, what is the nature of your relationship? Is it strictly scientific or did it occur authentically?" a Turian scientist asked.

"Well, it was my idea. A combination of attraction and a little human curiosity," I attempted to make light of my swiftness.

"And he reciprocated?" he sounded skeptical.

"Oh, yeah. Our two races are very different. We both find that alluring," I admitted.

"I have a question," another Turian scientist stepped in.

"Ask away."

"Are you the first human to find Turians attractive?"

"Despite our success, I'm not actually the first human to attempt a relationship with a Turian. There were sadly several failures and loss of life in pursuit of this cure," my heart filled with sadness at their misfortune.

"Commander, mentioned your condition was also critical," a Salarian scientist brought up.

"The Commander was almost out of time when her Turian lover returned from a difficult mission to recover the cure," Karin assisted me.

"I just find it puzzling that you think the pursuit of this relationship is worth the risk," he blinked with his large toad eyes.

"Is it worth the risk? I have to take a shot every day to build my immune system so that the contact doesn't kill me. I endure cuts and bruises to my delicate human body. And still it thrills me. I adore Turians. If anything were to happen to my relationship I'd continue to date Turians. Human men are a bore in comparison. To answer your question, I'd say it is worth it. It's worth it for me, and for human women like me," I spoke freely. Karin segued into her closing statement.

"I'll meet you back on the Normandy," she dismissed me early while she lingered. I was surprised when Garrus waited for me alone outside of the hotel.

"Where is Ashley?" I asked.

"She went ahead to scope the bar out for Lauric Keane. How did the presentation go?" he asked.

"Painfully embarrassing," I reflected on their questions in horror.

"You did a good thing," he approved.

"They got me thinking about our first time together," I blushed, averting my eyes.

"I hope you think of it often," he confessed.

"I'd kill for some alone time," I became lost in thought.

"There are some pretty nice suites here if you can afford it," he implied.

"I spent all of my credits on armor," I sighed. He surprised me by brushing my face with the back of his claw. Everything outside of our proximity didn't seem to matter.

"This is all I can give you for free," he kissed me. His mandible twitched as he pulled away. My face grew warm. I wanted to get him out of that masterwork armor.

"Hey, I found Lauric Keane," Ashley arrived just in time to rip away all of my sexual fantasies.

"Great. Let's move out," I begrudgingly let Ashley lead the way to the hotel bar.

"Afternoon! Sit down, have a drink." Lauric greeted my party warmly. After a shot of heated hormones, I figured I could use a drink. The three of us sat down with him. The waiter brought me a petite martini, nothing too crazy. "What can I do for you?"

"I understand an Asari Matriarch came through to Peak 15. What can you tell me about her?" I initiated.

"I did see her. She caused quite the stir with her detail of commandos," he obliged.

"I guess they don't get out much," I ate my martini olive.

"They rarely leave the comfort of their home planet."

"Armed commandos were allowed on Noveria?" I asked.

"I can't say whether or not they were disarmed. Of course one can't confiscate biotic powers. Saren, and by extension Benezia is an important person. By that I mean an investor who might sell stock if denied."

"Why would she go to Peak 15?"

"She claimed to be Saren's assistant here to get a certain project back on track. I suspect she meant Peak 15," a fresh drink arrived for Lauric.

"I need to get out there," I revealed my motive.

"Ah, so you need a pass, how fortuitous. I'm the manager of the local synthetic insight office, for the moment; at least. Mr. Anoleis closed my office. He claims to be investigating reports of my corruption. The Administrator is an interesting man. He's become quite wealthy since he took direct control of rents," there was a spite in his voice. He had a chip on his shoulder, needing my assistance as much as we needed him.

"He's running a monopoly," it was all starting to make sense, why all the secrecy and his assistance's willingness to help us. She must have been an agent.

"Indeed. I acquired evidence of Anoleis' actions, and all of a sudden my office is closed. His goons are ransacking my office as we speak. If you can recover the evidence from my office the pass is yours. I'll even pay you for taking out the trash," he proposed.

"I'm surprised he didn't revoke your garage pass," I pondered.

"Why would he? There's nothing but snow. This pass will get you into my office. It will activate the elevator. The evidence is on my office computer. This OSD contains an encryption key to access it. Slide it into the drive and it will auto execute," he gave me his pass and OSD encryption key.

"Looks like I have my orders. I'll try to keep it clean," I stood from my seat.

"Please do," he requested.

"I have a bad feeling about this, Commander," Ashley said in a concerned voice.

"Speak up Williams," I encouraged her.

"Should we be getting involved with intergalactic politics like this?"

"The Administrator made that determination for us. He had to go and make this difficult. Had he just given us a garage pass I never would have spoken to Lauric. I wouldn't have found out about his corruption. Monopolies are disgusting power plays. I'm always team little guy."

"Does that make it right, taking out the guys he hired?"

"There aren't any laws against shooting mercenaries," Garrus appealed.

"Sounds like an easy job for us," I had every intention to put them all down.

"If we could save them," she looked at me with pleading eyes. Hers were the outward heart of a rookie, still fresh from her first big failure. I saw my old self in her.

"Sure, why not," I caved.

"I know you're hard, Commander, but don't go killing innocent people," she laughed it off.

"When you've been alive as long as I have you see a little evil in everyone," I justified my reasoning.

"There's nothing innocent about being a mercenary," Garrus agreed. We headed down near the garage. I swiped Lauric's key card to open the elevator. We stepped inside and I selected the option to go up to Lauric's office. Garrus' eyes wondered down to my ass. He thought of how sweet it was and what he'd do with it given the opportunity. Ashley noticed his suspicious behavior.

"Must be lonely, being the only Turian aboard the Normandy," she caught his attention, and he immediately stopped.

"Not at all, I rather enjoy the company on the Normandy," he admitted boldly.

"I can't imagine what you have to gain by coming on this mission with us," she snidely questioned his motives.

"I want to catch Saren as badly as the rest of you," he appealed.

"Why? He's a Turian and he's targeting Human colonies," she sniped at him.

"Is that animosity, I'm sensing?" he called her out as the elevator landed. "We'll talk about this later," he took a rain check on her bullshit.

"Is there a problem, Williams?" I checked her.

"No ma'am," she recoiled. She glared after Garrus when neither of us were looking. We headed down the hall, where we met two ERCS guards. A Human woman and a Turian guard stopped us with guns drawn.

"Freeze! This office is sealed," the woman warned me.

"What will you do if I don't?" I threated them.

"You're the specter right? Lauric Keane is under investigation," she argued.

"Analysis is paying you to shake this place down. That makes you a criminal. I can kill criminals," I brandished my auto rifle.

"You're bluffing," she called.

"Everything the commander said is true. I'd step aside if I were you," Garrus recommended.

"He ain't paying me enough to take on spectres, or alliance troops, or whatever. How about this, you pretend you didn't see us? We'll pretend we didn't see you," the two of them left to the elevator.

"Careful Shepard. There may be more of those ERCS guards," Garrus gave me a heads up.

"Proceed with caution," I ordered them. I hid with my back against the wall to my right. I peeked around the corner and saw one lone guard. "Take him out, Garrus," I ordered.

"I'm on it," he poised himself with his sniper rifle. He caught the poor unsuspecting bastard in his sights. With a thundering, "pow!" the guy's head was penetrated and he fell over dead. Ashley and I prepared our automatic rifles for anyone who would come for the sound. Two guard came, and we both mowed them down. We searched the room to the left, only to find a lovely wall fountain display.

We headed for the stairs. We stopped at the bottom of the steps when we heard shots fired. I threw a flash bomb at the top of the stairs to flush him out, and Ashley took the shot. We got to the top of the stairs and it seemed the coast was clear.

"See, was that so bad?" I encouraged Ashley

"I guess it's easier when they're firing at us," she admitted.

"All due respect, Williams," Garrus started.

"It's Gunnery Chief," she corrected him.

"Gunnery Chief, we won't always get the opportunity to decide whether someone is friend or foe. In the Traverse it's them or us. People out here won't play by your rules," he suggested.

"On Earth we don't shoot and ask questions later," she argued.

"I'll be the one to decide when the shooting happens," I diffused the situation.

"Ma'am," Williams stood at attention.

"We'll have a conversation of our own once this mission is over," I tried to hold my anger back. I looked into her dark eyes with disappointment. I wanted to be her friend, but her attitude towards Garrus was starting to really piss me off. "Need I remind you of our objective?" I headed into Lauric's office. I accessed his computer and inserted the encryption key into a USB port, and unlocked the secret data file from his archive. "There it is. Let's go nail a criminal and be on our way to Peak 15," I smiled with enthusiasm.

When we headed out of the office, across the bridge we were met by three ERCS guards. "I don't think you're supposed to be in here, Shepard," this blonde dyke bitch addressed me informally.

"What a coincidence. We were just leaving," I attempted to push passed her.

"You think you're just going to walk out of here?" she mocked me. "Nuh uh. Anolayis will throw you off world for what you did here. I won't. You know what we do to cop killers on my world?"

"Your men are dirty, Sergeant. You're here off duty, breaking the law for bribe money," Garrus called her out.

"I'm tired of your mightier than thou shit, you bull-dyke bitch," I threw a smoke bomb at them and ducked behind Lauric's vikus. We lit them up with automatic rounds. The smoke cleared, revealing the Sergeant as the only one alive. "You don't look like tough shit now," I taunted her.

"Go to Hell," was the last thing she said before I put a bullet in her.

"Good work guys. Let's meet back up with Lauric," we continued down the stairs for the elevator. We boarded and it shifted once I had hit the button to go downstairs to the garage.

"Alright, Gunnery Chief. What's your problem with me?" Garrus asked her.

"My problem is that every Turian I've met so far has had some sort of vendetta against us. The commander might trust you, but I don't. I don't think anything good can come from having you around. You're just some lose cannon, looking to get his rocks off in the galaxy. I'm supposed to let you watch my back? Turians have done nothing for Human kind, but hold us back," her words went right through me. I turned around and lit her face up with the back of my hand. She looked on me in shock.

"Do you hear yourself, Ashley? You question the people I pick for my mission. Do I look like a fool to you, Williams? If this mission is too much for you I'll have you transferred out. Williams!" I chewed her out.

"Yes ma'am, Commander," she stood at attention.

"Will you play nice with your new friends?"

"Yes, ma'am!" she answered with zeal. The elevator touched down.

"I'd like to answer her," Garrus stepped forward. I backed away from Ashley for him to say his peace. "I don't expect you to respect me. That's something I have to earn. I would like for you to learn to trust me though. I have nothing, but the best intensions towards you and your crew. I hope our desire for justice can bring us all together in time. You might not be my kin, but I won't let anything happen to you guys while I'm here. Can you imagine getting around out here by yourselves? You couldn't tell a pirate ship from a distress call," he spoke from the heart to her.

"Garrus," his words moved me. He was a much bigger person than I was.

"We'll see," Ashley cradled her cheek begrudgingly.

"Don't make me regret bringing you along," I looked on her in disappointment. She followed last out of the elevator. Gianna, Anoleis' assistant stopped us outside of the elevator.

"Commander, there have been reports of noise from the Synthetic Insights office. Would you know anything about it?" She asked, very catty.

"It's probably Anoleis' thugs, ripping the place apart," I was a little irritated by her failure to mention the mercenaries. Back-handed politics was beyond my understanding.

"Smart ass, huh? That's fine. I can work with that. You're headed to the hotel, right? Meet me over there in an hour," she headed off.

We walked silently to the hotel café. I sat with my coffee, looking out at the blizzard raging outside. The silence made me think about Ashley's attitude towards Garrus. I remembered what Garrus had said about how we appeared to other people in public. I just wanted us to be together without all of the stigma and persecution. I wanted my one girl friend to get along with the guy I liked.

"Do we really have to go out in that?" Garrus looked outside with a concerned look on his face.

"Hm?" he jerked me from my thoughts.

"You're coffee is going cold," Ashley pointed out.

"Oh," I started drinking on it.

"Something on your mind?" Garrus asked me. I silently looked into his eyes. He gave me a sympathetic look as though he understood without me saying anything.

"This coffee isn't half bad," Ashely tried to break the silence. Her audacity just pissed me off worse.

"Yours is a cheerful bunch," Gianna joined us. "Allow me to reintroduce myself, Parasini Noveria Internal Affairs."

"Internal Affairs?" I questioned.

"The executive board knows about Anoleis' corruption. I've been undercover for six months. I want you to convince Keane to testify before the board. With his evidence this planet can run profitably again," she persuaded me.

"I'd love to ask him to testify against that Salarian bastard, but there's just one thing."

"Isn't there always?" she sounded frustrated with me.

"I still need his garage pass to get to Peak 15," I mentioned.

"You help with my investigation and I'll provide whatever you need. Favor for a favor," she agreed to help us out.

"Anoleis is dirty. It might be best to help her," Garrus agreed.

"Look Shepard, I don't like this either. You Spectres play fast and lose with the law. That's bad for business," she scorned.

"Look, I haven't even been a Spectre that long. Give me a chance before you start making assumptions. I'll talk to Keane for you," I agreed.

"Excellent. I'll be in my office. Come talk to me once it's done," Gianna left as quickly as she came.

"Internal affairs is involved. Anoleis must have pissed off the wrong people," Garrus pointed out.

"Come on. Let's go talk to Keane," I rose from my seat and headed over to Lauric's table.

"Commander. How's the housekeeping?" he asked me playfully.

"Your office is clear. Lauric," I started.

"Is there something on your mind?" he asked.

"You're case is a pretty big deal. If you testify against Anoleis he could be put away," I tried reasoning with him.

"I don't know if I want to go through all of that," he protested.

"I can't make you do anything. Internal Affairs is looking into it. There's a mole watching him. They want your data for processing," I elaborated.

"How do I know I can trust your connection?" Lauric questioned.

"They're actually the one who sent me to help you. I give you my word," I promised.

"If you put your trust in them. Fine, take my data. I'll testify," he agreed.

"Don't you worry, Lauric. We'll get that bastard," I encouraged him before leaving.

We headed back over to Anoleis' office. I gave Gianna the evidence. "Thank you Commander. You're not so bad for a Spectre. Now if you'll excuse me. I have an arrest to make. We could hear Anoleis curse as Gianna arrested him on the other side of the wall.

"Let me go, you bitch!" he argued as Gianna brought him out of his office. "You there! You're a spectre. Convince her to let me go," he turned to me to beg for his freedom.

"We have a saying on Earth. Be good or be good at it. You're neither," I rubbed salt into his wound.

"You humans think you rule the galaxy! You come out here-!" he bitched on the way out the door.

"Shut up! Here's my garage key. Thanks again. Next time I see you I'll buy you a beer," Gianna walked him out.

"The galaxy needs more people like Gianna," Garrus admired her efficiency.

"About damn time. I'm ready to get off this station," the mission had barely started and I was already losing my patience. I led the way back to the garage. I was fuming. Ashley and Garrus looked outside at the blizzard in reluctant anticipation. We climbed into the elevator down to the garage. Awkward lofi music played over the silent tense room. Garrus looked between me and Ashley. He couldn't help but feel responsible for the wedge between us. He started humming to the music pleasantly to break the silence. He came off so goofy. I couldn't help, but crack a smile. He was pleased to see it.

We touched down, and I stepped out first. I thought for a moment I heard an electronic reverb. I took cover behind the door frame. Garrus lined up his sniper rifle. A red dot from a geth stalker made its way into the door way and Garrus took it out. Me and Ashley took out our auto rifles and took cover behind crates scattered throughout the loading bay. A geth destroyer barreled towards us with overwhelming speed. We fired on it. The shield took the brunt, not slowing it down at all. Garrus pulled up the overload interface on his omni tool and took out its shield.

It barreled for us. Me and Ashely fired on it as we fell back behind the shipping containers. Another geth stalker's light took aim at us from the rafters. Garrus overloaded the creature, killing it instantly. "That's handy," I commended him. Another geth destroyer ran out from behind a slope on the east wall. The three of us fired on it at once, taking it out along with its shield.

"What are these things?" a panicked woman ran into the garage to investigate. "Fan out and secure the area. No one gets in or out," she ordered her team. "Commander, are you responsible for these things?" she turned an accusatory finger at me.

"Don't look at us. We didn't pack geth in here," I stood up for my crew.

"Geth? You don't expect me to- Where did they come from anyway?" She directed her questions at the real problem.

"If I had to guess, I'd say Matriarch Benezia packed them in the shipping containers she arrived with," Garrus pointed out.

"I don't believe that. Nothing showed up on our scanners. There were no power sources, no element zero masses," a grave look swept over her. "There were several of those containers, Commander, dozens even."

"And you want us to clean it up for you. I'd update those scanners if I were you, Skipper," I busted her balls.

"I need to report this to the executive board. If word gets out about the geth there could be an investor panic," she headed back to the elevator. I loaded ten credits into the parking meter to rent a mako.

"Damn! I can feel the draft already," Garrus complained as he loaded into the front with me, leaving Ashely to chose the back seat behind Garrus and furthest away from me. I powered it on and threw it in reverse. I backed out of our parking spot and drove forward into the tunnel out. Nobody said a word as the tunnel lights passed over us.

We exited the tunnel into the winter mountain path. I drove down a narrow icy road. I malded in silence over Ashely's behavior. She was at Garrus' throat for the whole mission. Simply having her stand down wasn't enough to satisfy me. I had wanted her to be that girl friend I could get close with. Something I hadn't had since before Akuz. Hearing her talk down to Garrus poisoned me against her. All I could think of was getting a firm grip on her ugly brown hair, and dragging her around like a dog toy.

Garrus read my concentrated face in caution. He could feel my rage and he hated to be the cause of the friction between Ashley and me. He could cut through the tension with a knife. He knew how I wanted to be with him in peace. Realistically he knew how impossible that actually was. He also knew he couldn't change my mind. His stare caught my eye and I gave him a little smile, as big as I could muster in my present mood. Even as naïve as I might have been, my faith in us gave him hope that things would work itself out.

Ashley was grateful she had the seat away from the cliff and away from me. Watching my posture, it seemed as though I went out of my way to not look at her. There were a few things that didn't add up. As out of line as she may have been, she hadn't expected for me to lash out like that. To her, it seemed I had been picking favorites with Garrus. He was even riding up front with me, not that she wanted to be. She wondered if maybe I was kissing his ass for some sort of political gain with the Turians. Whatever it was, she planned on finding out.

The three of us sat silently in the mako with nothing, but our thought, and uneasy feelings. Tension among my away parties were typically something I tried to avoid, but the situation was moot. I instead did what I could to speed the trip up a little bit by hitting the nitrous. I sped along the winding snow path, curve after curve. When I rounded the bin me and Garrus saw a flipped over mako.

"What do we have here?" he asked in anticipation, ready for discovery in his usual rogue cop fashion.

"An ambush?" I crept the mako over the bank of snow to get a better look. "Ashley, you want to man the scope?" I passed her the receiver on the ceiling track.

"Yes, Commander," she was happy to not be completely useless from the back seat. She peered through the window of the receiver to get a better view beyond the snow bank.

"What do you see Chief?" I was short with her without really trying to be.

"Looks like some kind of turret. Heavy duty, looks like rocket caliber. They have a shield barricade up. Our rockets could probably take those out. One, two, three, four geth shock troopers. Looks like one has a rocket launcher," she turned the port hole to get a full view of the battle field. "That's all I see from here," she set the receiver aside.

"Alright, we'll take the heavy turret out first. Go ahead and get that ready, Garrus," I ordered. "We'll work on the shields with our guns while we're waiting for the rockets to charge. When they do, I want you to focus on their center. Try to take out multiple targets at once," I finished briefing.

"Rockets are ready on your mark," Garrus kept his finger next to the trigger.

"Alright, I'm going to use this snow bank as cover. Here we go," I peeked out from beyond the snow bank.

"I have a lock on it," Garrus programed the rocket to hit the heavy geth turret.

"Fire," on my mark he launched the rocket, tossing the mako in a joyful recoil that filled my stomach with butterflies. "Weaken their shields," I guided him.

"On it," he gave the geth barricade a spray with the machine guns.

"Rocket geth trooper incoming," Ashley analyzed the battle field while Garrus and I operated the vehicle. My attention turned to the rocket launcher. The geth trooper launched a rocket right for the mako.

"Initiating hydraulics," I opened a glass case and hit a big blue button. Our nitro powered hydraulics activated, lifting us into the air over the rocket. We touched down with a bounce.

"Firing rocket," Garrus aimed at the barricade's center and launched a rocket, taking out three geth shields and two geth troopers. He finished the remaining two with the machine guns. "These guns are pretty powerful," he was overjoyed to be in his element.

"Doesn't she just make you feel invincible?" I enthused, unable to mask the smile on my face.

"You pilot it so smoothly," he complimented me shamelessly.

"This will be your first time riding with me," I pointed out to Garrus.

"Yeah," Ashley answered first, making the whole thing awkward.

"Well, expect a fun time," I pulled the mako into the tunnel through the hole Garrus had punched through. More geth waited for us up ahead. This time they kept a company of two geth rocket troopers, and no room to maneuver. "Focus on the rocket troopers," I ordered Garrus.

"Got it," he shot a rocket, at the first geth rocket trooper to the right. I focused on driving, and dodging gunfire and rockets. I directed their fire to the right, and then maneuvered to the left. I brought Garrus in close to take out the remaining enemies with our machine guns.

"We make a pretty good team," I looked over at him.

"I could almost read your mind," he said in an almost mistakenly flirty way. We exited the tunnel and back into the cold wilderness. "There's a fire up ahead," he brought to my attention.

"Here, Ashley. What do you see?" I passed the port hole receiver back to her. She peered through the window of the receiver.

"Looks like another wrecked mako on the cliffside," she panned the porthole to the right. "I see another geth barricade. I'll have to be brought in closer to see behind it," she operated within her parameters.

"Let's get a little closer," I crept the mako forward around the bank.

"What the hell is that?" Ashley looked through the receiver and saw a large kneeling robotic creature. It unfolded from the ground and extended to half the size of the mako.

"Garrus lock on that thing," I commanded, wanting to blow that thing into orbit.

"Already done," he didn't want a prolonged battle with it either. I pulled around for him to get a better shot. He took down the shield on the geth armature.

"It's firing a pulse cannon!" Ashley alerted me.

"It's not hitting the mako!" I made a sharp turn around the curve of the cliff's edge to dodge the blast. Ashley took a deep breath as she looked down at the ravine with a clear view from her window, making her regret her decision to sit behind Garrus instead of me. Garrus finished the creature with the machine guns.

"Two rocket troopers," Ashley maintained a tactical view of the field. I brought the mako in for Garrus to get a lock on them. "They're firing!" I was able to dodge one rocket, but the other projectile hit. "We lost our shield," Ashley began to panic a little. Garrus fired our rocket at the space between them, taking them both out in one shot. I pulled over at the top of the hill.

"Stay here Ashley. It's dangerous. Me and Garrus will handle the repairs.

"Yes ma'am," she was too rattled to argue. Me and Garrus put our helmets on and headed out into the blizzard.

"That was one hell of a fight," Garrus enthused to me as he started working on getting the shield back up.

"What's it look like?" I asked him.

"The element zero catalyst is damaged. If I had a replacement I could get it back up. You wanna check that other mako while I run a scan?"

"Yeah," I was happy to help. As I walked over to the mako ablaze, I noticed my shields were draining. I had to hurry before I lost environment control. I hurried to access the shield computer. There was the element zero catalyst. I extracted the hazardous mineral carefully and headed back up the hill to help Garrus.

As Garrus ran his scans his shields began to glitch out. He began to feel the frigid cold from outside and it was overwhelming. He almost couldn't stand to operate the computer. Everything started going numb. He was starting to lose focus when I showed up with the element zero.

"Garrus, we gotta hurry and get back in the mako. This storm is draining our shields," I informed him.

"Oh, th-at. It already damaged my shield," he took the element zero and began installing it. "G-good work. With th-this I'll h-have it running in n-no time," he praised me.

"I never should have brought you along for this mission. Ashley was right, you're not suited for cold climates. I was just excited to go out on an adventure with you. I'm so selfish. Then she said all that shit on the elevator," I wallowed in shame. I could barely face him for my decision.

"Belial, you can't protect me from the crew forever. They're aloud to have their impressions of me. I'm glad you brought me on this mission," he reassured me.

"You are?"

"I've gotten to prove my use to you as an engineer as well as a badass sniper. I hope in the future that will be what guides your decision to take me on away missions. Besides, I want to be here to protect you," his confession made me feel warm all of a sudden.

"Garrus," was all I could muster as my heart raced.

"You'll never be stranded as long as I have a say in it," he continued to butter me up.

"Did you get it working? We need to get inside," I reminded him.

"Yeah, they're coming back online."

"Inside now, that's an order," I demanded.

"Yes, m-ma'am," he climbed back inside the mako. Once I got back in I started down the path, passed the burning mako.

"How was the vacation, Commander?" Ashley picked at me.

"Garrus lost his shields to fix the mako's. I just hope it was worth it," I expressed my concern for his safety.

"Protecting our means of travel is always a priority in Turian companies," his tone was cold and collected. I pondered how their ends justified their means. All I could think of was how I wouldn't want to sacrifice Garrus for any cause. I turned the heat up for him.

"Warm enough for you?" I glanced at him.

"I'm fine, Commander," he looked away, embarrassed that I had to ask.

Ashley sat silently in the backseat. I couldn't imagine what she had been thinking. Was she really so indifferent towards him that she wouldn't have cared what happened to him. The very insinuation made me seethe. I wasn't going to feel better towards her until she caught my knuckles. I thought about what Garrus had said about how the crew felt towards him. I didn't know how I could change that. Why couldn't they accept Turians like I did.

Garrus watched my fixated expression and decided to break the silence. "What do you think we'll encounter at Peak 15?" he asked openly to either of us.

"We know it's some sort of research lab," Ashley added.

"What could they be researching in the middle of a blizzard, atop a mountain that requires Lady Benezia's attention?" Garrus pondered.

"Must be something Saren is also interested in," Ashley continued to build his case. They seemed to both enjoy a good mystery.

"They're building an army. We know that because they're using the geth," I joined in.

"They're working with Binary Helix so it must be organic," Ashley pointed out.

"You're right, but organic can be anything from super soldiers to some sort of creature," Garrus narrowed it down.

"Space monsters," I entertained the guess that was most fun to shoot.

"Damn, that could be anything. Expect something large," Garrus guessed based on how most alien war lords think.

"But what if it is something small. It is a lab. It could be bacteria or insects," Ashley put her guess on the table. I considered them both. In the event of a bacteria breakout it would be ideal to sterilize and quarantine. Not nearly as fun as shooting things.

It had been a long drive. Our conversation got us through the most of it. Another tunnel appeared out of the blizzard, off in the distance. I took the mako behind a rock for cover from the straight path ahead. "See if anything is up there, Williams," I passed her the viewing receptor. I took her out of cover to get a better look.

"Pshh! Three guys, one rocket launcher," she wasn't impressed.

"Garrus-" I started.

"Take out the rocket trooper with the rocket?" he asked ahead of me with a snarky expression.

"Take him out, ma'am," I corrected him.

"Yes, ma'am," he tried taking me more seriously.

"Well, since you already know what you're doing, you won't mind me charging," I ran the straight path for the tunnel. "They didn't even throw up a barricade," I couldn't help, but feel insulted. Maybe Benezia didn't expect anyone to get this far, and started getting sloppy. Garrus fired the rocket at the geth trooper with the RPG. I swung around and let him take out the other two with the machine guns. He really didn't need me telling him what to do. We operated so smoothly he felt more like my right arm. It was nice to have a guy I liked fell my enemies for me.

I charged through the tunnel. The storm raged through the windows. The opening of the tunnel was just ahead. Ashley checked through the port hole to see what laid ahead. "There's a heavy geth turret, waiting to ambush us," Ashley notified us.

"Ready," Garrus locked on to it.

"Thought she'd get us comfortable and snuff us out at the end of the tunnel did she? Damn you Benezia! You won't take me out so easily!" I punched it. Garrus took it out with a rocket. I dodged the rocket the turret shot, and drove through a cloud of smoke. This was becoming personal.

I started down the winding path. When we came around the bin there was a tall building shaped like a mass relay on the cliffside. We started down a path that circled around the ravine to the other side. Heavy geth turrets were armed across the ravine. The first fired on us.

"Incoming!" Ashley alerted me.

"Hang on! We're going to out run them!" I floored the mako. The heavy turret on the other side fired at us one, after another. I stayed ahead of each shot. We'd make it passed one and the next one would take it's turn while the one behind tried to reach us. One rocket blast became two, and two became three. We rounded the curve to the other side.

"I'm taking my shot," Garrus lined up and took out one of the turrets with a rocket. We came around the corner. Ashley looked ahead through the port hole.

"Two'o'clock on the mountain side, Garrus," she directed him.

"I'm on it," he took it out with our machine guns. I flew down the winding mountain road. We finally reached Peak 15. We stormed the castle. Garrus fired a rocket on the heavy turret at the door. That was all the resistance we met outside the door. I parked the mako off to the side.

"In the house, Vakarian; move it!" I urged him.

"Yes, ma'am," he jumped out first and ran to the door. We took out our auto rifles for a full ground assault. We headed inside. Climate control was clear. We headed inside the building. We entered what appeared to be a dead end. A garage door on the west side flew open, catching us off-guard. It was a vast docking bay full of storage containers. An overwhelming amount of enemies fired on us at once.

Everything went white. I blacked out. When I came to I was behind a crate. I looked around, there was gun fire showering our hiding places. Garrus had taken cover on the other side of the door. Ashley was crying in a ball beside me.

"I won't let them die again. I won't let them die again," she repeated over and over. She must have grabbed me when she picked this location.

"Garrus!" I yelled at him.

"Yeah?" he called back.

"You better stay the fuck down or I'm going to kick your ass!" I threatened him.

"Got it!" he maintained his cover.

"Ashley? Ashley, what happened? Did you save us?" I placed my hand on her rattled shoulder.

"Ah! Commander? What's going on?" she came to.

"Ashley, we were ambushed at the door. We need to push the enemy back and take control over the field.

"Yes ma'am," she took hold of her gun.

"I'm open to suggestions," I remained pinned down. Ashley peeked around the corner at our ten'o'clock.

"There's a geth trooper on the upper level."

"Get him with your sniper rifle. We need to be able to peek our heads out," I told her. She switched over to her sniper rifle and loaded incendiary rounds. She stalked the geth trooper through her scope. When his flashlight head came around the corner she popped him.

"Got'em," she returned.

"Good work chief. What has us pinned down?"

"Looks like a geth juggernaut," Garrus got a better view of it.

"I said down, Vakarian!" I raised my voice.

"You'll never take it out at full shields," his tone suggested he was plotting something.

"Garrus, don't you do anything risky," I could call across the room all I wanted, but I was powerless from my position. I couldn't stand it. I couldn't lose him on this mission.

"Don't worry. I got this," he crept around the side of the crate he hid behind. He peeked out and saw the juggernaut seemed to be focused on us at the moment. He took the opportunity to overload its shield. He drew its fire from his narrow spot.

"Garrus!" I tried to get its attention with a few rounds from my auto rifle.

"Careful! Its shield has only been halved," he called out to me. The juggernaut turned its attention to me. It fired rockets at our cover one after another. "Come on, come on. Work damnit," he waited on baited breath for his next charge. He tried overloading the shield again. "Got it, ladies! Take it down!" he drew its fire again. Me and Ashley came out with our auto rifles and fired on the juggernaut. We fell back as we pulled its fire. Then Garrus jumped in with his auto rifle to finish it off.

"Push forward!" I commanded the two of them. We each took cover behind smaller crates towards the center of the docking bay.

"Krogan!" Ashley looked ahead through her scope. "Three krogan taking cover at eleven, twelve, and two'o'clock," she took in the field.

"I'll pull their fire with the auto rifle. You guys snipe them. Don't let them get close," I coordinated the two of them. I tossed a grenade at eleven'o'clock Krogan and drew the other two's fire with my auto rifle. Garrus picked off the one to the right and Ashley got the left one with an incendiary round. The krogan died slowly as he caught on fire. I finished him off. Garrus put down the krogan that got caught in my bomb.

"All clear," he stood out from his cover.

"Great work guys. Let's move out," I took point. I approached the stairs off to the west side and an AI voice came on the intercom.

"User Alert. Over fifteen facilities have suffered a great deal of damage. Biohazard materials present throughout the facility. Virtual intelligence user interface offline," her voice echoed through the docking bay. I headed up the stairs and across the catwalk.

"We'll need to get the reactors back online," Garrus mentioned. Once across we entered a door. We all flinched at two automatic turrets placed inside a sealed area. They were faced inside.

"That's strange," Ashley commented.

I chuckled darkly, "You think attempted escape is a regular occurrence?"

"Maybe. Or maybe it's a measure against the biohazardous materials present throughout the facility," Garrus' was the most likely answer. In which case meant I would get to shoot monsters after all. To the left of the door was an elevator. We took it up to the next floor.

"Stay on your toes. It could be anything," I prompted them. After all of our speculation we were finally in the thick of things. The elevator came to a stop. We exited into an icy hallway. "Take cover," I had Garrus and Ashley hide out of sight of the door at the end. The very second I opened it we were met with gun fire. Two geth troopers guarded the area. One straight ahead and the other at the bottom of the staircase to my left.

I took cover behind a large metal crate and pumped the geth trooper off the stair case with hot led. I drew the other one's fire as I changed positions to the stair case. Garrus and Ashley caught him off guard and took him out. As I proceeded down the stairs shots flew passed from behind me. I turned around to protect my flank from a scout trooper on the other side of the door we came through. Garrus took it out with his sniper rifle.

"I got your back," he winked at me. His flirt caught me off guard and made me blush. I did enjoy having him with me. Though it worried me, him not having shields. Another shock trooper made his way for the stairs. I stopped him in his tracks. Ashley sniped one from the rear and Garrus took out the last one, hiding behind a corner. "Looks like that's the last of them," he said, in relief. We heard a strange noise of what sounded like the unnerving squeal of some sort of beast.

"Biohazardous material," I mentioned.

"Throughout the facility, yeah," he switched to his auto rifle.

"Behind us!" Ashley unloaded a clip on a swarm of small neon green insects. "See, I called it," Ashley bragged to Garrus.

"Look, there. In the glass," Garrus pointed out large bug creatures that stalked the hall we needed to get through. We fell back as they filed onto the top of the stairs. We kept the heat on them, felling them while they remained at the top.

We carefully moved to the top of the stairs. "I doubt that was all of them," I remained on high alert. I moved into the room at the top of the stairs. There was a computer, sitting on a table. I checked what had been running on it. "Research for gravity weapons. Snag," I pocketed the flash drive.

"You think that's floaty gravity or black hole gravity?" Garrus chimed in.

"One way to find out," I rang gleefully. "Let's keep moving," I made a bee-line for the door at the end of the hall. It had a little orange snowflake over it. We went through it and down the hall through another door with a little orange snowflake. Inside was another elevator. It took us up and touched down in seconds. Unloading onto the landing, there was a door off to the left that bared a symbol of a core of some sort.

When we stepped through I could see the core depicted above the door at the end of the hall. More of those little green insects scurried down the hall. We lit up the room with our auto rifles. We shot anything that moved. Once things calmed down we started taking in the area. There were three areas this room led to. The orange neon sign on the left looked like a tram. We'd probably need that to get to where Benezia is. In the center was the image of the core again and below it was the image of a sun dial. To the right appeared the snowflake again.

"Looks like a back up power source, commander," Garrus suggested the core would be the first place to check.

An V.I voice came from inside the room with the core. "Critical startup error: virtual intelligence user interface offline," she diagnosed herself. Behind the core appeared to be a dead end.

"That looks like it goes down," Garrus suggested we step onto the platform at the center. As he had predicted it started taking us down inside of it. There were buttons and interfaces I couldn't comprehend. Garrus jumped on it right away. "Looks like the power needs shifted. I'll have to adjust it in such a way where the wires don't overlap and fry itself out," he started connecting and reconnecting wires and shifting chips around. He was like a duck in water. "Got it!" there was a pleasant ding and the power came back on. The elevator took us back up.

A V.I hologram of a lady with a bob appeared before us. "It looks like you're trying to restore this facility. Would you like help?" she offered her assistance.

"Do you monitor everything?" I asked.

"This system is monitored to respond to the name Mira. May I ask your name?" she was very cordial.

"I'm Commander Belial Shepard. I work for the Citadel Special Tactics and Reconnaissance," I indulged her.

"One moment, please," she processed the information I gave her. "Council authority confirmed. You are entitled to secure access of all systems. Please note that queries relating to corporate secrets require privileged access. Privileged access is only available to Binary Helix executives. This system is ready to process queries. You may access me at any holographic interface within peak 15."

"I'm personally here for Benezia," I got to the point.

"Lady Benezia departed on the passenger tramway to the rift station subsidiary labs. User alert, the tramway system is currently inoperable," she bared more bad news.

"What's the situation with the tramway?" I asked.

"One moment, please. Diagnostics in progress," she diagnosed the tramway. "Critical failure: main reactors shut down in accordance with emergency containment procedures. Manual restart required. Critical failure: landline connections are disabled. Passenger tram systems are offline. Report complete. Do you have an additional system status query?"

"Why was the reactor shut down?" I pressed her.

"I'm sorry, but I was offline at the time. Shut down could occur if reactor breach seems likely or in the case of catastrophic laboratory containment failure. Emergency guidelines suggest the frigid environment will kill biological contagions. It may also damage mechanical ones."

"What do I need to do to get the power back on?" I submitted.

"The valves to the helium-3 fuel line must be opened. This can be done at the controls on the reactor assembly proper," she explained.

"How do I do that?" I wished she would just be up front about it.

"The land lines are designed for easy reconnection. The router for the landlines is on the roof of operations. Simply activate the controls and the hardware will reconnect and reboot automatically," she elaborated.

I started rubbing my temples in frustration, "That's all for now, "Mira, thanks."

"Very well, Commander. Logging you out," she vanished.

"Phew!" I sighed in relief.

"User alert, main reactor shutdown in accordance with emergency containment procedures. Manual restart require," Mira blasted on the innercom.

"God damn it," I cursed her for being such an annoying V.I. The door on the south side of the room unlocked for us to take an elevator to the roof. We went up a set of stairs and across the hall to the elevator and took it up.

"Now exiting to the roof," Mira found it necessary to narrate everything we did. She kept repeating the same information about the tram being disabled.

Garrus could read me like a book. "Not a fan of V.I, Commander?" he poked fun at me.

"I fucking got it already! They treat organics like we're children. Then do childish nonsense like this," I popped off. The elevator stopped and we unloaded on a landing that veered to the left. We took out our auto rifles and headed to the door down the hall. I signaled to Ashley and Garrus to stay clear of the door. I opened it, and nothing outright attacked us. I crept inside, careful not to make a sound.

We heard the scurrying of insectoids throughout the room. The smaller insects tried to swarm us. We maintained our distance and lit them up. We shot anything that moved. First we took out the smaller ones, leaving a nasty green mess wherever they were.

One after another, the larger insectoids came after us. With our combined effort we managed to fell six of them before they got too close. Once we were clear Garrus jumped on the center left console. He interacted with it for a second. "There. That should do it," he assured us.

'Let's not waste any time," I took point back to the elevator. Mira started spouting the same shit over and over again. We went passed the core, and back into the first room we entered.

"Now we just need to restart the main reactor, and we should be good," Garrus took up our rear as we headed for the door with the snowflake. With his back to the ventilation system he was caught off-guard by one of the larger insectoids.

"Garrus! Look out!" I urged him to turn around. I watched in horror as he took the thing out at close range. He took it out, but not before it hit him with a green substance similar to what the smaller ones left behind. "Garrus? Are you alright?" I approached him. I don't know what I was expecting. He had been hit with an unknown substance with no shields at close range. He wobbled and started coughing. His hands and knees hit the floor, and he started throwing up into the vent. "Can you stand?" I had half a mind to carry him if I needed to.

"I don't think so. I feel very weak. I'm afraid if I move too much the poison will spread," he gave it to me straight.

"I can't just leave you here. More of those things will come," I tried to keep a level head, but I could feel tears fighting their way through. "You think-, you think a medigel would work?" I asked him with a modicum of hope.

"It couldn't hurt to try," his voice was so weak. It was a Herculean task not to break down.

"I always carry at least three on me. Let's see," I checked my first aid kit. Each of my viles had suffered extreme ice damage and broke, ruining all of my medigel. "No," everything was starting to fall apart. If he had any medigel it would have also gotten ruined from our time outside. I turned to Ashley for help. "Do you have any medigel on you Ashley?"

"I'm afraid not," she didn't seem to look, but I took her word for it.

"Help me get him in the core room. We can't leave him like this," I wrapped one arm around my neck and Ashley got the other idea of carrying him by myself was a joke. It was hard enough just to support him. He was dead weight with that poison in his system. We walked him back to Mira's core and gently set him down on the platform. "How's that?" I asked him.

"My insides feel like they're on fire," he coughed.

"Me and Ashley are going to get the tram running and find you some medigel. Maybe we can find a fix for your shields too," my voice started to crack a little.

"Can we do it on our own?" Ashley contested.

"From what I've seen the interface is simple to use. I have faith in you," his voice was but a whisper. I started to lose my veneer. Ashley watched curiously, at my behavior towards him. There was an intense pain in my chest.

"You're going to stay right here, and we'll be back for you. You hear me?" I peered into his eyes, trying to fake a smile, but there were tears in my eyes. Ashley knew that look I was giving him, like my world had imploded. She had known female soldiers who cried like that when their lovers fell in battle. There was no mistaking my passion towards him. It all made sense, except for him being a Turian. In her mind that made no sense at all.

"I doubt I'll be going anywhere," he tried to reassure me. It hurt me to leave him by himself. I tore my eyes away from him.

I turned to Ashley, "Let's go." She was still processing my behavior towards Garrus. She silently followed me out of Mira's core. "It's just the two of us, Williams. Stay close. Those things can pop out of anywhere," I alerted her.

The next room remained peaceful for now. We headed through the snowflake door to the left and headed down a narrow hallway that continued ninety degrees to the left. The second hall ended through two sets of doors that led to an elevator. Her silence started to unnerve me. "What's on your mind, Chief?" I asked when we boarded the elevator.

"I'd have to speak frankly, ma'am," she looked for my approval.

"Go ahead," I insisted.

"I respect you Commander. You pulled me out of Eden Prime, and let me come work on the Normandy under your command," she meandered in a way that was starting to tick me off.

"Get to the point. You respect me, but," I set up her next thought.

"I've been noticing your affiliation with Turians," she blind sighted me. I tensed up, and prepared to be scolded to some capacity. "At first I thought your flirt with that Turian guard was a simple work. I thought maybe you were using Garrus to gain the Turian's favor," her statement brought my temper to a boil.

"Take it back," I growled as I grabbed her by the collar of her armor.

"No, I know better now. I saw the way you and Garrus look at each other. You're in love with him, aren't you?" she called me out. I thought about it for a moment. I hadn't tried giving what we had a title. "You don't have to say anything. You betray yourself. I'd like to ask you 'why,' if you'd permit me," once again she sought my approval.

"Why what? Why Turians?" I let go of her.

"Yes, why Turians?" She went on a ditrive about why they're bad and we were at war with them. I phased out all of her nonsense to ponder exactly why I am attracted to Turians. "I know that's why you hit me in the elevator. You love him, don't you?" The more she said it, the more it sounded like a no brainer.

"Garrus is just a cool guy. I like spending time with him," I tried to justify my feelings.

"You couldn't find a cool human guy to spend time with?" she pressed me. I hadn't realized it until she put it into words. I really wasn't attracted to human men anymore.

"Garrus is waiting for us. We don't have time to discuss this right now," I closed the elevator so we could take it down.

"Now entering main reactor," Mira narrated unnecessarily. We touched down.

"They're just so strange looking. What do you see in them?" Ashley stepped out of the elevator behind me.

"Shh," her nosey prying was beginning to get on my nerves. We rounded the corner to the right and down the hall to the door at the end. We had our rifles out, ready for anything. Very carefully, I opened the door. The room was empty except for the terminal in the center. There was two doors. One to the left and one to the right.

"Which way?" she asked me.

"Left," I chose. The moment I peeked around the corner I was met with geth fire. Just inside was a destroyer, and a stalker on the ceiling with its sniper beam on us. "Try to focus on the geth destroyer. Don't let it near us," I set a priority for us. Another geth stalker jumped down into the runway. We combined our fire power and melted the stalkers health quickly. We then turned out attention to the geth destroyer. We unloaded as much as we could before he launched a rocket at us. We hid behind the door, but the shrapnel caught us in the narrow area, taking out our shields. We finished it off.

Another geth stalker jumped into the walkway. We took it down with relative ease. A second destroyer emerged from the left ramp. He pushed forward, laying the heat on us in a typical geth destroyer fashion. We fell back further and further, taking shots at it each time we peeked around the corner. By the time it reached our position we took it down.

I peeked through the door again and a geth stalker blindsided me, and took a shot right into my left shoulder. "Agh!" I reeled behind the door in pain.

"Commander!" Ashley finished the sneaky little shit.

"I'm fine. We're pressing on," I was willing, but I could no longer steady the weight of my auto rifle. I switched out to a heavy pistol.

"Are you sure?" she questioned me.

"Yeah, come on," I winced for a moment. I led the way up the ramp. We headed down the catwalk over our previous battle field, and rounded a corner to the left. There was another door. Ashley hid around the corner. I hid in the door frame as I opened it. Inside was an empty office. "See anything useful?" I encouraged her to search the area.

"Looks like they were packing. Must have expected things to go south. Not soon enough if their things are still here," she rummaged through the absent stranger's belongings. "Awe, what a cute little girl," she took out a family photo of a man and woman, and their small daughter. "I hope they got out okay," was her wishful thinking. "No medigel, or anything useful," she informed me.

"Alright, let's keep going," I opened the door and there was a geth juggernaut on the other side. I tossed a grenade inside and closed the door. "Nope," I listened to the explosion on the other side. The juggernaut was the only geth on the platform that looked like a dead end. Ashley broke into a locker off to the side.

"Commander, there's a medigel in here," she brought it to me. "You should heal yourself," she suggested.

"Thanks. I'll save this for Garrus," I stored it away in my first aid kit.

"How did this whole thing come about?" she stuck her nose back into my business.

"Not this again," I doubled back for the catwalk, dismissing her question.

"Come on! What possessed you to try Turians out?" she caught up with me.

"What do you mean 'try out'?" she made it sound so vile. "Listen, I find Turians attractive, okay. It doesn't make any sense, least of all to me. I can't help it that every single one of them is oozing with sex appeal," I explained the best I could.

"Lust is a sin, Commander," she judged my behavior.

"So? I'm named after a demon. I don't mind your Christian thing, but you better keep it over there, Williams," I glared with the corner of my eye.

"Alright, no preaching. What made you like Garrus?" she chased me across the catwalk.

"Awe, I thought he was cute when we met at the Citadel," thinking about it brought a smile to my face.

"Turians, cute?" she questioned my reasoning.

"Look, if you don't like it then fuck off. Quit asking me about it," I stormed off the ramp and started under the catwalk where the geth destroyer had been earlier. I took a right down a lit runway. It took us to a red path off to the right. The path took us to the console for the fuel lines. I worked on getting them back online.

"Have you guys, you know?" she insinuated.

"Jesus Christ, Ashley," I tried to focus.

"How do you, you know?" she was being so annoying about it.

"Turians aren't that different from us," thinking about it made me blush.

"So you have seen him. What does he look like?" she overstepped gleefully.

"What's it matter? You don't like them anyway," the system dinged once it was done loading. "Done. Let's move out," we doubled back and continued down the lit path. It split off down a hall to the right. The hall was long, and quiet.

"Do you sleep around with whichever ones will entertain you, or is it just Garrus?" she pried smugly. I had enough of her shit. I turned around and got up in her face.

"Listen to me really good, Williams. By picking a fight with Garrus, you've picked a fight with me. Now I'm sick of your taking liberties with taking shots at him, taking shots at me. I have every intention of sorting you out when we get back to the Normandy. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, ma'am," she went back to being mindless robot Ashley, but I still felt her snideness in her tone. To the right at the end of the hall was a door. We went through and entered a bronze room with two doors. The door to the left had the familiar snowflake symbol. We went through that one. It took us to a hallway that veered left. At the end was an elevator.

The elevator took us up. We rode in silence. I longed for the levity Garrus offered. I hoped we hadn't been too long. I wanted him at one-hundred percent so I could feel invincible again. At least I enjoyed being around him, unlike Ashley who was being a nosey cunt. Our elevator landed. We exited to the left and went through a door with the symbol for Mira's core. We went through and down a hall to the right. When we came out we were back where we had started, Mira's core.

"Garrus? Garrus, are you alright?" I kneeled over him. He was in too much pain to say anything. It hurt for him to breath, let alone speak. Instead he looked me in the eyes and smiled. "Here, I got you," I gave him the medigel. It took him a few seconds, but he came around.

"You came back for me," he kidded.

"Of course we did. I can't leave without my gunman," I smiled.

"You're damn right. Did you get the trams online?" he sat up.

"We'll head out as soon as you're up to it," I allowed him to set the pace.

"I've held us up enough. Let's go find Benezia," he hobbled to his feet. He led the way back into the previous room.

"Don't push yourself," I urged him, following closely behind.

"Yeah, yeah, " he dismissed my caution and led us through the door with the image of the tram over it. It led us down a hallway. At the end to the right was an elevator.

"Now entering decontamination and transit hub," Mira announced as the elevator took us up.

"How did everything go with getting the reactor online?" Garrus dug up a painful memory of Ashley berating me with questions. "Did you run into more of those things?" he asked.

"We had another run-in with the geth," Ashley brought up.

"Benezia must have not wanted anyone following her to the hot labs," Garrus started making the connection.

"So she cut the main reactor, shut off Mira, and disabled the tram," Ashley put two and two together.

"Exactly," he applauded her reasoning.

"User alert, loose contaminants in the decontamination chamber. Access to passenger tramways inoperable," Mira announced as we landed.

"Loose contaminants, huh?" Garrus took out his auto rifle.

"Yeah, more of those things," I wasn't looking forward to dealing with more insectoids. We walked down the walkway and to the right was a door to decontamination. Inside we could see the insectoids, trapped on the other side of the glass. "Now what?" I was baffled on what to do next.

"Try accessing the hologram interface," Ashley suggested.

"Oh, no," I walked away. I wasn't dealing with that thing again.

"Fine, I'll do it," Ashley turned on the interface and summoned Mira.

"Yes, Shepard. Do you have a new query for me?" she asked Ashley.

"Any suggestions on how to remove the contaminants?" Ashley worded simply for her stupid computer brain to understand.

"There is a failsafe system in place that if activated could sterilize the decontamination chamber. There is a code-," Mira explained.

"I got it," Garrus accessed the panel and hacked the system, initiating an incinnoration function. The insectoids screamed as they were burned alive.

"Satisfied?" I teased him.

"Very," he admitted. I led the way this time. We left Decontamination and started back down the hall we were in. We went though the chamber where the insectoids had been. The moment I opened the door swarms of the tiny green bugs came at us. We peppered them generously, leaving the walls splattered with neon green guts.

The hall was long and quiet. We could see the storm raging through the windows outside. The rails creaked from the cold air. "How are you holding up?" I thought to ask Garrus about the cold.

"This part of the station isn't as bad as where we started. I could tell the scientists working here tried shutting off as many environment controls as they could to take care of the insectoids," he answered honestly.

"Why are there insectoids here anyway?" Ashley asked.

"If I had to guess why an alien creature is in a lab, I'd say they were likely studying it. That could involve a number of tests, subjects dying, and breeding them as well," Garrus answered her rather frankly.

"Why insectoids though? What do they want?" she pressed him for more.

"The Commander mentioned it earlier. Saren wants an army," he struggled to wrap his own mind around it.

"Eww!" his statement gave her the creeps.

"Maybe there's more too it than that. We'll know when we find Benezia," I encouraged them to maintain focus. We got to the end and the hall veered left. The area opened, to the right at the end was the transit station. We walked the platform to the tram. The three of us boarded the tram. Ashley and Garrus took a seat while I configured the direction of the tram.

"Departing Central Station. Destination Rift Station," I couldn't tell if it was Mira, or a V.I voice used by the Citadel. I had a seat on the other side of Garrus.

"You think they're trying to raise an army of those things?" I asked him.

"I think if Saren is willing to bring back the reapers with an army of geth there's no limit to what he's capable of," he was beginning to learn the depths of human naivete.

"How would he control, or even utilize them?" Ashley asked him. She hadn't realized it, but she clang to him for answers like a child.

"If Benezia is here, I'd say she's looking for a way to control them. Saren has been targeting human colonies. He'll probably attack human outposts, research stations, and colonies," he realized that might have sound all that sensitive. "Of course we'll try everything to prevent that. Hopefully our efforts here will play a part in preventing them from spreading," he tried to sound more hopeful.

"You're gonna help us?" Ashley questioned him though she figured he'd say as much if we were seeing each other.

"I'm here aren't I? I'll try to help save as many Humans as I can," it came from someplace very personal inside of him. Ashley could see that. He began seeing a piece of me in all of humanity. "Let's change the subject. What's a warm place you ladies would like to be right now?"

"Florida," Ashley answered.

"Bora Bora," was my answer.

"What's it like there? Describe it to me," he wanted to live vicariously through our experiences.

"Florida is a peninsula on the south coast of the North American continent. It has the most beautiful beaches," Ashley went first.

"Bora Bora is a small island in a coral reef. It's a place for lovers," I disappeared into the fantasy.

"You'll have to take me there sometime," he said rather bluntly. His audacity made me blush. Our behavior made a lot more sense to Ashley now that she knew my secret.

"Sure. Imagine we're there now," I closed my eyes and encouraged him to picture it.

"Yeah, I'd be laying out on the beach. What do Humans usually wear when it's hot out?" he asked us.

"A two piece bathing suit," I answered him.

"Alright. I'm in Bora Bora. It's warm, the sun is out, and there are beautiful women running around in bathing suits," Garrus closed his eyes.

"Can you smell the salt water?" I encouraged him.

"Yeah," he took a deep breath.

"Feel the breeze. It's just cool enough," I egged him on further.

"That sounds great," he started getting comfy.

"Now arriving at Rift Station Binary Helix research facility," the V.I voice came online, waking Garrus from his fantasy.

"Awe, damn," he cursed as we landed in Rift Station. At the end of the platform was two doors. The door to the labs remained closed. We instead exited through the door to our left. Inside was a room that led to two doors, one with a flaming flask, and the other was an image of the tram. The flaming flask door was locked, so we went through the one to the right. It was an elevator. It took us up in only a moment.

When we landed, we were greeted by what looked like a Human barricade. "Stand down," the captain commanded his troops. "Sorry, we couldn't be sure what was on the tram," he justified our armed welcome.

"I doubt those insectoids could have gotten the transit back online," I laughed at his caution.

"I'd like to know who you are before I let you walk around freely," he requested.

"Belial Shepard, I'm a Spectre," I attempted to put his mind at rest.

"Huh? I won't look a heavily armed horse in the mouth. The insectoids overran the hot labs last week. Only Han Olar got out and he ain't all there anymore. First we knew the bastards were clawing into my command post. We had a lot of our staff then. The board sent an Asari to clean up the mess. She went to the hot labs yesterday. We haven't heard from her since. All I can do is hold out here and protect the civilians. There's an emergency elevator out by the trams. This card will let you activate it. It can take you down to the hot labs," he handed me a key card to the emergency elevator.

"If you need any first aid Dr Cohen's downstairs in the Med Bay, " he continued. Our conversation was interrupted by an assault of insectoids, coming through the vents. We fell back behind the barricade and assaulted them with auto rifles from a safe distance.

"Everyone alright?" I checked on mine and the Captain's people. "Those are some nasty bugs. Garrus here was taken down by the venom they emit," I brought up.

"Thanks for the help. Every few hours a group comes up the tram tunnel. It's been better since we locked down the elevator. I don't know why they keep throwing themselves against out defenses. Even animals should learn not to stick their noses where it hurts," he shook his head. He looked tired.

"I go this way?" I started through the door behind him.

"Yeah, right through that door," he encouraged me. We went through a containment chamber and another door. At the top of a couple sets of stairs was a locker room. We went down a winding path through two doors. This had been where the remaining survivors were being held up with hospital beds and crates of supplies.

"If we hadn't come when we did," Garrus felt sympathy for these withered souls.

"I don't think they'd still be here," Ashley finished his thought.

"Come on, let's see if we can get help with Garrus' shields," I urged them forward. There was an Asari scientist off to the west side of the room.

"What?" she sounded annoyed with me approaching her.

"Commander Belial Shepard, Human Spectre," I introduced myself.

"I didn't ask," she was outright a cunt.

"My friend here lost his shields in the storm. You know anyone who can repair them?" I asked her.

"I don't know any engineers. My team are all genetic specialists," she had to be the snootiest nerd lady I ever met.

"I should be able to repair it if I could get a replacement shield generator," Garrus mentioned.

"The armory is down those stairs," she hinted off to the east side of the room.

"I have something you can help us with. A countermeasure to the venom," he brought to her attention.

"Ah, now you're speaking my language. I can sell you antitoxins for your suits," she obliged.

"We have to pay?" Ashley sounded irritated.

"Three please," I didn't care the cost. I forwarded the credits on my omni tool and she gave me the vials for easy installation. I handed them out to everyone. There was a port in our chest plates for such upgrades. After we put them in we headed down the steps to the armory.

Garrus combed through the spare suits for a shield generator. "Think I found one," he grabbed a chest plate and sat it down on a work table for extraction.

"You're a pretty good engineer," Ashley tried to make small talk with him.

"I especially love operating computers on large scale weaponry. I can configure firing algorithms, shield generation. Shit, with the right materials I could upgrade our suits," he bragged.

"See why I bring him along," I gave Ashley a prideful smile.

"It's not because I'm handsome, or funny, or charismatic," he kidded while he worked. "Got it," he extracted a tiny little black box from the suit. "Now if I just," he opened a compartment on his chest plate and inserted the new generator. He finished installing it from his omni tool. His shields visually encompassed him for a moment. "Shields are back online," was his pleasure to announce.

"Great. Let's go down to the Medical Bay. We'll stock up on medi gel, and see what the situation is down there," I noticed Ashley looked down and away from me. "Something wrong, Williams?" I hadn't forgotten the transgressions, but I was willing to end this mission with everybody getting along.

"It's nothing Commander," she seemed uncomfortable.

"Okay. Well, let's head out," I placed a mental pin in Ashley's strange behavior, and led the way back upstairs. We headed back to the west side of the room for the Medical Bay. We went through the door and down two flights of stairs. Inside of the Medical Bay was a few occupied beds, basic machinery, and equipment. One man oversaw. I startled him.

"W-w-what do you want?" he was on edge.

"Chill. I was just stocking up of medigel," I approached with my hands up.

"Oh, my apologies. That's quite alright. I'm just distracted," he admitted.

"What happened here?" I asked.

"They're suffering from a toxin," he started.

"Poor bastards," Garrus sympathized.

"There was an accident. I have a non-disclosure agreement. I shouldn't discuss it with anyone outside of the company," he hesitated.

"Okay, cool. I'll get my medigel and just be on my way," I went to the back wall where the medigel was.

"Wait. You want us to help, right? What can you tell us to help these people," Garrus tried to get him to cooperate.

"You know Mira, the V.I for peak 15? She handles the safety protocols for our experiments here," he explained to Garrus.

"Yeah, I reactivated her on our way through Central Station," Garrus mentioned.

"That was you? I'm grateful. Until she came online, the automatic equipment wouldn't work. We lost connection to Mira in the middle of an experiment and the quarantine failed. These three were exposed to a toxin. Something we were working on. It can't be passed from one person to another. Left to oxidize it breaks back down to simple proteins. If someone could go to the lab I left my notes on synthesizing an antidote," the doctor explained.

"That doesn't sound impossible. What do you say Commander?" he asked for my opinion.

"Yeah, we'll head down there after with restock," I agreed to help. I restocked my first aid kit with three medigel vials. Garrus came in behind me and exchanged his damaged vials for new ones. "You gonna restock, Williams?" I had a nagging feeling since I asked her for one to help Garrus.

She mumbled something and followed it up with, "Ma'am."

"Could you repeat that, Williams?" I pressed her.

"I don't need any medigel, ma'am," she looked me dead in the eyes. My mind went to how bad off Garrus was and how that made me feel. She had the audacity and disrespect to lie to my face about it. I blacked out, and my hand flew. I back handed her across the face. I saw her cradle her cheek where it drew blood. I wasn't finished. I went to jump on her, but Garrus caught me. My fists flew passed him as I pressed all my weight against his to get at her.

"Hey, hey. Calm down," he tried talking me down.

"Look how gentle he is with you," Ashley taunted me.

"You bitch! You lied to me, and I knew you did, but I wanted to give you the benefit of a doubt. You're a selfish cunt, and a shitty teammate. You'll be lucky if I ever bring you on another away mission," I yelled around Garrus.

"I don't know if I missed something while you guys were gone, but we have shit to do. These people are sick. They're in as much pain as I was," he tried talking sense into us.

"Fine! I'm going to go talk the Captain into letting us go through quarantine," I stormed off.

"Thanks for keeping her off of me," Ashley's audacity extended to Garrus.

"I don't think I've ever met a Human as racist as you," he called her out in his own subtle way. "You would have let me died back there?" he gave her a pitied look.

"Yeah. I guess that makes me a bad person," she thought on it.

"Yeah, you are. It's a shame. You're a really good detective," he voiced his disappointment with her.

"You really think so?" she was flattered.

"Was there something you figured out when the two of you left to restart the reactor?" he pressed her.

"I just saw the way she looked at you when you were hurt," she admitted.

"And you would have let me died anyway?" he was blown away by how selfish she was.

"Even if I could understand it I still wouldn't approve," she furrowed her brow.

"We don't need your approval, Ashley," he looked away, irritated with her. "I may have kept her off of you, but I agreed with everything she said. I have no idea what a 'selfish cunt' is, but it sounded appropriate," he took a shot.

"That's fair," Ashley didn't contest. When I came back I found them awkwardly facing opposing directions. So much for teamwork.

"I got permission to go into the quarantine lab," I announced.

"Great, I was just thinking about wanting to leave," Garrus took second, heading out, leaving Ashley at the rear. We headed out of the Medical Bay and back up the stairs. We went through the door to the right of the exit. At the end of a long hallway was an elevator. It started taking us down. Garrus looked around in awkward silence. He was done talking to Ashley. "Hey," he called to me.

"Hey," I tried not to smile at him.

"What all did the Captain say?" he tried making small talk.

"Just that he'd have the guard let us in at our own risk. If anything strange comes back we won't be let out," I casually brought up. The elevator landed, and we got off. At the end of the hallway, through a series of doors was a poorly lit open area. A tiny little Volus man stood in the middle of the room.

"You came to find out about them, didn't you?"

"Huh? You mean the insectoids? My friend got badly hurt by one," I crouched down to his level.

"Yes. I'm the only survivor from the Hot Lab, you know?" he mentioned casually.

"I wouldn't mind knowing more about them," I encouraged him to continue.

"About the Rachni, you mean?" he called them.

"Rachni?" I couldn't recall the name.

"How is that possible? The Rachni were wiped out by the Krogan ages ago," Garrus doubted their resurgence.

"Where did they come from?" I asked.

"They found it in a Derelict ship, an egg waiting since the last battles. They brought it here," he explained rather vaguely.

"Shut up! God! You want to get us killed?" A balding Human male yelled from the east wall.

"I don't have any control over who lives or dies here. Do you?" the Volus snapped back.

"If you're going to be crazy, be the quiet kind," the Turian with the other guy spout.

"Crazy? I'm sane. God, am I sane," the Volus muttered to himself. All of the hostility started making me feel out of place.

"That's enough for now. You take care," I stood upright and rejoined my team. I looked around the room for the quarantine lab. There was a room up some stairs on the west side. Above the door was a flash, and the door was guarded by a Turian.

"Think that's where we need to be," I led Garrus and Ashley up the steps.

"You're not part of the crew!" he pointed out the obvious.

"Nothing gets passed you. Captain Ventralis gave us permission to go in at our own risk," I gave him the rundown.

"Yeah. He radioed. He said you have to be cleared to leave. I hope you know what you're doing," he let us inside. "If you had a death wish you should have taken a watch at the barricade," he mentioned as the door closed.

"You're much more charming," I complimented Garrus.

"I would hope so," he agreed mater-of-factly. The lab we entered had three doors off to the right, and was crowded with storage containers. At the end of the room was a desk with a computer monitor and a small cheistry set. I logged onto the doctor's computer.

His notes where as follows, "We've isolated four chemicals that can be combined to counteract the toxin. The must be mixed in precise quantities. As each chemical is poured, the equipment will mark the minimum and maximum amount that will work. Too little or too much will spoil the result."

"Does this make any sense to either of you?" I asked them.

"No idea," Ashley leaned in to read the monitor.

"I could give it a try," Garrus carefully read the instructions. "Alright, so this is the first one," he jumped in on the chemistry set. He mixed the first three chemicals around 60% and the last at 40%. He distributed the mixture into three vials for the poor souls upstairs. A crowd of footsteps rushed in behind us. When we turned around it was the genetic specialist we had bought the upgrades from, leading a team of geth troopers.

"Oh, you know. I didn't want to sound racist by asking, but it turns out you're working for Benezia after all," I applauded her.

"This is the end of the road for you Shepard," she pointed her heavy pistol at me.

I smirked, "Do you know my history, little girl? I've been ambushed before. It never works out for the other party." I calculated in my head, one, two geth. Small troopers, nothing spectacular. The problem would be her biotics. I banked everything on Ashley. She hadn't used her grenade yet.

"Little girl? I guarantee, I've live twice as long as you have," my taunt kept her distracted just long enough. The geth troopers made it to a center formation.

"Ashley, now!" I ordered her to read my mind.

"I'm on it," she tossed her grenade into the center between the three of them.

"Dammit!" she jumped out of the way, but the blast from Ashley's grenade caught her. The troopers were decimated. The Asari jumped behind a crate. I took a breath. I had hoped the grenade would work. Otherwise we would have been sitting ducks. I signaled silently to Garrus and Ashley to surround the Asari on either side. Ashley grabbed her up by the wrist.

"Let me go!" She used her biotics to repel Ashley. The Asari made a run for it. Garrus tackled her to the ground, and she let out a scream.

"Phew! Good catch, Garrus," I made my way over to them. "You're going to answer a couple of questions for me," I walked around to where her head was.

"How do you figure?" she threatened resistance.

"I was going to let you go. I just have some questions. Tell me what your mistress is doing here?" I started off simple.

"She received our distress call. She's here to clear the pathogens," she explained.

"I'm having a hard time believing that. See, her cooperative Saren has stock in Binary Helix. I think he's the one who sent her here. Can you tell me why?"

"I don't know this Saren you speak of," I sensed a sort of veil from her.

"I'm going to let you go, but I'll mess up your pretty little face if I think you're lying," I pressed my boot on her cheek. "Where did she get the geth?"

"I don't know!" she yelled in protest.

"Why did she want us dead?" I pressed.

"She said you were following her, so she set up traps. She said you were going to steal our research. She was interested in our research on the Rachni when she discovered our distress signal from orbit. I swear, I don't know anything about geth or Saren," she spilled. I started bounding her wrists together. "What are you doing? You said you'd let me go," she stressed.

"Yeah, I sort of lied. See I was just going to kill you if you didn't talk. Now I'm putting you under arrest," I was pleased with myself for leading her on.

"What?" she yelled and cursed furiously.

"Let's get the antidote to the doctor so we can find Benezia," I ordered Garrus and Ashley to finish up. Ashley picked herself back up while Garrus grabbed the antidotes. We left the yelling Asari and got back on the elevator. The walk back to the Medical Bay was quiet. We made a bee-line straight there. "We have the cure, but that Asari scientist in the Mess Hall tried to kill us on our way back. I left her apprehended in the lab," I explained to him. Garrus presented the vials with the cure to him.

"Alestia? That's unbelievable. I- I uh, don't know much about her. She arrived a month ago. One of the shareholders pulled strings to get her here," he explained.

"If Saren got her hired a month ago she must have known him," Garrus deduced.

"That little bitch lied to me," I snarled.

"Why would he get an Asari hired unless he wanted a plant? The Asari has more information than she let on," Ashley added. The whole thing was just a bruise on my ego.

"Your matriarch passed through security. If you take the maintenance area you can get around security. Here's my pass. That will let you through. It's the least I can do for the risk you've taken getting these here," the doctor handed me his card key. "All of this talk about infiltration has me on edge. The other shareholders won't like this," he expressed his concerns.

"Thank you Doctor. Good luck with your patients," I wished him well before taking my leave.

"It's a good thing you left her alive, Commander. We can question her about Saren later," Ashley tried to be reassuring.

"A whole month. How long do you think he's been planning this?" I asked openly to either of them.

"Who could say. Could be months or even years," Garrus answered.

"Damnit! He's so far ahead of us," I broke out in frustration.

"We'll find him. I'll make sure of it," he laid a gauntlet covered claw on my shoulder in reassurance.

"Thank you. I feel like I have the two best detectives with me. If only you could get along," having them at my side brought a smile to my face. Maybe I would catch him no matter how far ahead he got. "Come on. Let's go find Benezia," I led the way back to the elevator down to the lab and maintenance area.

I unlocked the door, revealing an icy cavern. Me and Ashley looked at Garrus. "It's actually not that bad since I got my shields back online," he appreciated not being outside, working on the mako. I took point with my auto rifle out. The cavern was quiet aside from the leaking of the ceiling top into the puddles below. I tried to hone in on any mechanical sounds the geth would make. We passed a couple of crates. When we rounded the bin a rachni took me by surprise. I was spitting distance from it.

"Shit!" I fired on it, and began falling back. It spat at me. Garrus grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the way. Ashley lit it up with her auto rifle and took it down. "What would I do without you?" I looked up at him.

"We have antidotes, remember?" He let me go.

"Oh yeah. The rachni are so terrifying. It slipped my mind," I winced.

"I know. I just reacted. I didn't want you to get hit with that toxin. We should probably keep our distance whether we have an antidote or not," he suggested.

"I know, I know. I took the thing down. Thanks Ashley," she sniped with an unappreciated glare at me.

"Good job Chief," I gave her a little smile. Where as I was thankful for her saving my ass, I still hadn't forgotten her behavior towards Garrus. It wasn't something I could tolerate, let alone forgive. I rounded the corner to the left through a door. Inside was a winding cat walk. It turned to the right and took us through a door with a flask on it. Of course that's where she'd be. There was a platform and one more door to the lab. I took a deep breath, "You guys ready?"

Ashley changed clips and Garrus loaded his rifle. "Oh yeah," he confirmed enthusiastically.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Ashley agreed.

"Alright, let's see what all the fuss is about," I opened the door. It was a quarantined lock that led to another door. Inside of the lab was large. It stretched out vertically up and down stairs, and with several crates to hide behind. My ideal battle ground. Benezia stood on the platform of the first flight of stairs. "Benezia! We need to have a little chat about the friends you're hanging out with," I charged inside.

"You do not know the privilege of being a mother," Benezia went of on some insane nonsense.

"How would you know?" I didn't care much for her assumptions.

"There is power in creation, to shape a life, turn it towards happiness or despair. Her children were to be ours, raised to hunt and slay Saren's enemies," she looked over at something.

"What's she looking at?" I whispered to Garrus.

"Let me see," he honed in with his visor. "Appears to be some sort of containment cell. I'm reading the heat signature. Looks rachni, larger than the ones we've faced," he passed on as Benezia monologued.

"Have you faced a commando unit before? Few humans have," she bragged.

"You're not going to settle with diplomacy then?" I aimed my gun at her.

"Foolish child!" she put me under a stasis. I was powerless to move as the commandos filed in with their guns on us.

"Shit! What do we do?" Ashley looked to Garrus for answers.

"Get her under cover," Garrus took out a commando girl before falling back behind a crate.

"How does she come out of this?" she pulled me behind another set of containers.

"It'll wear off. Right now it's just us," he was up to the challenge if she was. "Don't worry. Just do what we've been doing. You draw their fire and I'll pick them off," he suggested.

"Sounds like a plan," she was nervous to work together with a Turian by herself, but their strategy had been solid this far. She put the pressure on a couple of Asari on the platform Benezia had stood on. Garrus peaked out from behind his crate, and took out the one in front.

"We have to lead them away from the Commander or she's done for," he crept off to the east side of the lab behind a couple of crates.

"Got it," Ashley put pressure on them as she followed behind Garrus. When she peeked out again one of the Asari launched a biotic attack at her. She ducked back down just in time.

"Watch out for that," he mentioned.

"Their barriers are pretty tough," she pointed out.

"Just focus on that and soften them up for me," he advised. Ashley stood from cover and focused on taking down the commando's barriers. She fired and ducked when they retaliated.

"Ten'o'clock, Garrus," she told him when they were ready to be finished off. Ashley took point as she drew fire and changed cover. Garrus stuck with her, backing her up as she weakened the commandos. They were moving along great until Benezia flanked them. I decimated her hand with my sniper rifle, disarming her before she could get a drop on Garrus.

"There she is," Garrus perked up. I winked at him. We regrouped back at the entrance where I had been hiding.

"Good job, holding out," I congratulated the both of them. "We're not done yet," I switched back to my automatic as the doors opened and geth shock troopers came in. "Spread out," I took center as Garrus took my right and Ashley my left. The lab lit up like a rave party. I had a rocket trooper on my location, pelting my cover with exploding projectiles.

I baited it from the right and drew it's fire. My plan worked, and I flanked it from the left. I looked at Garrus' position. He was pinned down, surrounded by shock troopers. I took out a couple of them with my automatic rounds. Ashley finished off the rest. "Garrus, keep an eye on Benezia," I called out to him.

"Got it," he called back.

"Ashley, we're going to take out the rocket troopers and pick off the little guys when we can," I told her my plan.

"Yes ma'am," she huttled behind cover with me. I fired on the first rocket trooper, and drew its fire. My bait gave Ashley the opportunity to take it out. We rotated back and forth, confusing the enemy enough to punch a hole through. We moved closer to Garrus to give him cover while he searched for Benezia. A geth destroyer sat up a barrier, blocking Garrus from going any further. He used his omni tool to shut down the shield. Me and Ashley took it by surprise.

When we headed up the stairs we were greeted by geth trooper fire. Me and Ashley took cover across the cat walk from Garrus. "Nevermind these guys, keep looking for Benezia!" I yelled. I drew their fire so Ashley could pop out and flank them. Garrus used his head gear to scope across the room where Benezia was. He lined up his shot, careful to disable her without killing her. He took out her dominate hand. Me and Ashley finished off her geth troopers. Benezia used her biotics to fling Garrus across the room.

I let out a war cry in a fit of rage before hurtling towards her. I grabbed her by the throat and pinned her against the container she stood in front of. "Go ahead! Fess up you demi-sexual cunt! Saren is building an army of rachni, isn't he?"

"This is not over. Saren is unstoppable," she prattled on out of her mind like she was under some sort of spell.

"Listen to you! You're a matriarch! Why are you letting him use you like this?" she frustrated me further.

"My mind is filled with his light. Everything is clear," she went on like an old dementia patient. I lost my patience and I slugged her.

"Where is he? What's his next move?" she went silent. "Answer me!"

"I will not betray him. You will- You-," she struggled to articulate her thoughts. "You must listen, Saren still whispers in my mind. I can fight his compulsions briefly," she disclosed.

"Yeah, Turians are cool and all, but I'm pretty sure they don't have mind melding capabilities," I contested.

"I sealed a part of my mind so that I may resist him. It will not last long. People are not themselves around Saren. You come to idolize him, worship him. You would do anything for him. The key is Sovereign, his flag ship. It is a dreadnought of incredible size and its power is extraordinary," she continued.

"Sovereign. Yes, I saw it on Eden Prime. It's the size of a skyscraper," I recalled. "Where did he come across such a vessel?" I pressed her.

"I cannot say. The geth did not build it. Its technology is far more advanced than that of any known species. The longer you stay aboard the more Saren's will seems correct. You sit at his feet and smile as his words pour into you. It is subtle at first. I thought I was strong enough to resist. Instead I became a willing tool, eager to serve. He sent me here to find the location of the Mu relay. Its position was lost thousands of years ago. I took the location of the relay from the queen's mind. I was not gentle," she confessed.

"Why does Saren need this relay?" I asked.

"He believes it will lead him to the conduit. I wish I could tell you more, but he kept me at a comfortable distance. I was but a servant to his cause. I- I wasn't myself. I transcribed the data to an OSD. Please take it," she handed her drive to me. "You have to stop me! I can't! His teeth are up my ear, fingers on my spine! You should! You should!" she went into a mad fit. I took mercy on her by ended it quickly with a gunshot to the head.

"You think we could have saved her?" Ashley came at me with her white horse morality crap.

"She said she extracted the information from the queen," I recalled.

"What queen?" Ashley voiced my thought. We both came to the conclusion to approach the container. As I got closer I noticed something moving inside. I heard the scuffing of feet dragging.

"Ashley?" I figured it had to be her.

"Hold it right there!" Garrus attempted to yield a reanimated Asari at gunpoint.

"Eeek!" Ashley screamed as a dead Asari limped towards her like a zombie.

"Oh shit!" I aimed my auto rifle at her and backed away quickly.

"This one serves as our voice. We cannot sing, not in these low spaces. Your musics are colorless," the Asari belted in a wise elderly voice as she danced like a disembodied puppet.

"You're uh, controlling her from in there?" I peered through the glass.

"That is correct. Your way of communicating is strange, flat. It does not color the air. When we speak one moves all. We are the mother. We sing for those left behind. The children you thought silenced are rachni. You are not in harmony with those who hoped to control us. What will you sing? Will you release us?" the queen pleaded almost innocently through the body of the Asari girl.

The logical side of me saw a sentient being imprisoned by my enemy. Her plead warmed to my better nature. I wasn't at all familiar with the Rachni war. I couldn't fathom their potential as an asset. If she wasn't anything like the Rachni we faced, I had no problem in letting her go in peace. Of course I had conditions in mind.

"I'll let you out on a few conditions," I prefaced.

"Whoa!" Ashley protested.

"Commander, may I recommend we activate the failsafe on her capsule, and dissolve her in highly corrosive acid?" Garrus threw his two sense in.

"I don't know. I don't think I can," I smiled indulgently.

"What do you mean, you don't think you can? You can't kill the alien spider monster that almost killed your boyfriend?" Ashley contradicted me.

"She seems nice though. Those other ones were little assholes. Now you listen to me sing. My first condition is most important. I need you to stay out of Council space. It would be incredibly dishonorable to me to show up here and bring catastrophe under my hand," I laid down the line with her.

"We will honor this one's request," she agreed.

"The second thing is you definitely owe me one. If and when I come calling, you'll come to my aid," I burdened her.

"However you wish," she obliged.

"My third condition is I'm going to have to kill both Saren who tried to enslay you, and all hostile Rachni I come across. Do you oppose?" I waited for an answer.

"We- this one would consider it a kind favor. Children who have not heard a mother's voice become lost," she sounded rather favorable.

"No contest from you then?" I confirmed as I began unlocking her cell.

"Wait!" Garrus attempted to yield my acton from afar.

"Commander!" Ashley yelled almost insync with him. It was too late. For once, I had chosen life when it seemed best suited. She stepped down on her creepy insectoid legs.

"Step down my lady, you are free," I quoted a nerdy wizard from one of my old story books. She dropped her dead Asari puppet, making a horrendous flesh to metal sound. When she stepped out onto the ramp she looked at me with her unsettling glance. I felt gratitude from her. It filled me with pride and validation to see her leave peacefully without any trouble. She disappeared in a shuttle with just her skin.

"I can't believe you let her go," Ashley was gobsmacked.

"Can't say it was the decision I'd make, but I trust your judgement Commander. Do you think she will make a valuable alley?" Garrus asked me. His insufferable ass-kissing made Ashley even more irritated.

"Who can say? I just want to make friends with Saren's enemies. My interests in Alien culture and ancient Citadel history are all fairly new. It's not exactly something I studied at academy. So my knowledge of the Krogan/Rachni war is very limited. I don't know what they're capable of as a society. Only time will tell," I simply hoped for the best.

We took the tram back to the lab and doubled back to the garage to fetch the mako. "How's your suit holding up?" I asked Garrus as we stood outside the mako.

"Loads better. It'll be nice to not have to worry about getting shot at on the way back," he climbed into the passenger seat with me.

"Good. I'm glad to hear it," I climbed into the driver side. I watched Ashley climb in through my rear view mirror. She reminded me how my blood boiled. "Are you ready for your beating?" I initiated before starting down the road.

"All due respect, Commander. I think you should let it go," Garrus looked at me with pleading eyes. My desire to stand up for him trumped any disapproval he may have had.

"No, you might as well call her 'babe' or 'sweetie'. This trying to be professional shit is all just a joke," Ashley sniped at him despite his attempt to defend her.

"You're not going to talk to him like that, especially not with me here," I tried putting my foot down, but was interrupted by a call from the bridge of the Normandy on my Omnitool.

"Commander? I've been trying to reach you for an hour. You're signal just came back up. Are you guys okay down there?" Joker checked in.

"We're fine, Joker. On our way back now. How are the repairs?" I asked him.

"That's why I've been trying to contact you. We finished repairs an hour ago. We're ready to take off whenever you're ready," he reassured me.

"Excellent, we'll leave on my mark," I glared at Ashley through my mirror with the intent of bludgeoning her before departing. My fierce eyes caught hers. She wasn't amused with me either. Whatever sort of breech of morality I had committed in her eyes had lost any respect from her. I would be the first to admit that isn't ideal for commanding a crew as well as I needed to. The cat had been let out of the bag and I needed to reestablish my place as her commander. I'd oblige gladly if it made me feel better too.

When I boarded I went straight for my cabin. The V.I announced our arrival on the bridge. "Hey Commander, got any cool stories about Noveria?" Joker spun around in his chair to harass me first thing.

"Sure, some snow, more geth, and a lab taken over by giant insectoids that shoot acid," I summarized.

"Insectoids that shoot acid?" he repeated with great enthusiasm.

"And she let one go," Ashley threw me under the bus as she walked passed the bridge. I pursued her.

"Hey, I have questions," he called after me.

"Later, Joker," I dismissed the conversation.

"Yeah right. There won't be a later," he contradicted me pessimistically.

I caught up with Ashley. "Meet me in the Cargo Bay," I whispered sinisterly. My hands shook from anticipation of coming into contact with her.

"I'll be there," she chose to face me head-on like soldiers do.

I was changing out of my chest plate when my door buzzed. "Enter," I unlocked the door from a button on my desk.

Garrus wondered inside. "You're not dressed? That could have been anyone," he caught me with my tits out.

"This upsets you?" I laughed, referring perversely to my bare figure.

"Not at all, but that's not why I'm here," he struggled to restrain himself.

"No, you're here to talk me out of fighting Ashley. Though I could think of some better ways to relax me," I took my shot.

"I really wish you wouldn't," his stubbornness made me give up my antics and went back to changing into something more casual while he spoke his peace. "She challenged your authority, I understand that," I listened to him as I changed into my Alliance shirt from academy. "I don't think it's a good idea to pick fights with our own people for simply not getting along with me. You don't expect Wrex to get along with me?" I went to him after I finished changing. I touched the side of his face. "You can't force people to change their minds," he tried talking reason.

"She would have let you died," I looked into his pleading eyes.

"If that's what it comes down to, my cause is hopeless," he wasn't getting through to me.

"Garrus, don't be a hypocrite. You know you'd do the same if it were me," I wrapped his arms around me, waiting for him to admit it.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," he admitted.

"You can come watch," I invited him along.

"I don't think that's the best thing right now. You're mad enough at her without me being there," he refused.

"Suit yourself," I left him in my cabin and headed down to the Cargo Bay. He hated to see me so quick to violence. He couldn't see a way back from this for mine and Ashley's relationship. And it was all his fault.

Ashley waited for me in the Cargo Bay. I was prepared, had my tank from the academy. Comfortable, flexible, ready to scrap with a crewman. "You ready?" I clanked my fists together to intimidate her.

Ashley had been thinking quietly about how I had betrayed not only my race, but my crew by fraternizing with Garrus. She couldn't understand what would possess a woman to want to do that in the first place. She thought about the affect he had on me, and how quick to anger I was. She had built vitriol of her own. "You kept me waiting, Commander," she stood up to face me.

"Let's see what you got, Chief," I taunted her. I wanted to give her the reigns and see what she was capable of. I raised my fists to block a one-two she launched right for my head. Her strength wasn't on par with a man's, but her speed was impressive.

I lowered my fists to let her get a few shots in. She aimed for the eyes. Her first blow blacked my right eye and threw me off balance. Her second hit ripped a tear in my left cheek. Her third shot hit my right temple. The torn flesh there leaked blood into my eye. I looked at her with my left eye open and started to laugh.

"Quit toying with me!" I pissed her off. Great for me since each blow she landed got me angrier and angrier.

"Is that all your rage is worth to you?" I could tell I was creeping her out. She looked on me in disgust. I drew her right and blocked with my left. I blind-sighted her in the left eye with all of my shoulder and back strength. She reeled back on her heels to set up another attack, but I knocked her off balance. I sent her flying with a left uppercut to the jaw. She pushed herself up from the ground. "I don't need two eyes to express my rage," I dug my heel into her gut, making her whimper like a small dog. "Get up Williams," I nudged her with my toe. As she stood she met me with a nasty glare. I burst out laughing, "What's got you so pissed off?" I tried to come up with any sort of offense I had committed. All I could think was that I had gotten into a relationship with an alien which wasn't a crime last I checked.

Ashley thought differently. She flew at me in a bitter rage. Her fists flew so fast all I could do was block, and wait for an opening. "You betrayed your own race!" she stayed on me with a righteous rage.

"It's not a crime to date aliens, Williams," I focused on her pattern.

"Turians attacked us when we were just exploring space," she kept them coming.

"That was generations ago," I called her out on her bigotry.

"They look like velociraptors and think they're better than us! How could you?" her movements got more predictable the more emotional she became. Her footing needed work. I waited between blows to tackle her down to the Cargo Bay floor. I climbed onto her chest and started wailing on her.

"What business is it of yours if I date him? You keep saying 'they'. Garrus is just one guy. He's really cool, and you would have let him die over something he can't change. Do you have any idea how fucked up that is?!" I started seeing black. "You're serving on a Turian and Human made vessel. Not a fucking First Contact War ship!" I lost control.

"Jesus Christ, Commander! You're going to kill her," Requisition officer, Postle pulled me off of her. It took a minute for me to calm down in his grasp. Ashley sat up slowly, her face a mess. "Requisition officer Postel to Sick Bay," he called on his omnitool.

"Go ahead Postel," she prepared for a medical consultation.

"I have two officers in need of medical care," he reported.

"You're joking. We just left the mission unharmed," she expressed her confusion.

"Yeah, well a fight broke out," he remained vague in my presence.

"Alright, bring them over," hung-up with an irritated sigh.

"Can you walk, Commander?" he asked me.

"Yeah," I cradled my arm. I wasn't thrilled to be facing the good doctor under these circumstances.

"Alright then, you walk. I'll help Williams," he assisted Ashley to her feet. I waited for them inside of the elevator. Ashley hobbled in, hanging onto Postel. The short trip to Sick Bay was quiet and miserable.

"I have two beds ready," greeted as the door opened. "Commander Sheppard and Chief Williams. Look at you two. You're a damn mess. Have a seat. I demand an explanation," she sat me down on the first bed, and Ashley on the second. She got to work on stopping Ashley's bleeding first. "Thank you for bringing them, Postel. I'll take it from here," she dismissed him.

"Yes ma'am, Chief, Commander," he left very professionally. I was lucky to have such a respectable crew. I couldn't figure out where I went wrong with Ashley.

"Alright. What the hell happened?" she blamed me first and foremost.

"Someone was having a hard time working with the team she was on," I threw Ashley under the bus.

"Yeah, well the Commander is fraternizing with the crew," she threw back at me.

"Oh?" Karin gave me a knowing look.

"Nothing that is my business is as bad as withholding medical supplies from a teammate who needs it," I sniped back.

"However bad your differences may be, surely it doesn't warrant a broken orbital bone, Commander," here she came with the morality talk. Maybe she was right, but I felt better. Instilling fear into my crew could be every bit as effective as winning their respect through other means. "All due respect, Commander I don't serve this vessel to clean up your messes. I can't have you just cracking skulls whenever you feel like it. I'll pull rank if I have to. I don't want to do that because your relationship with Garrus has made you a very interesting patient. You need to adjust your attitude before I'm treating the whole ship for something mundane when an actual emergency happens," she laid on me.

"She's right about me being out of line," Ashley chimed in surprisingly. "It's difficult for me to see a Turian as a teammate, but you're right. I should never have withheld medical supplies. I can't see myself doing that with any of our Alliance people," she tried to come off like a good soldier.

"You don't get a choice in the matter," I reminded her. was now working on her orbital bone.

"Ow! I know that. Listen, Commander there's something you should know about me," all of a sudden she sounded like the Ashley when I first met her. Like a girl alone and afraid. That girl could bring out a maternal sisterly instinct I never knew I had.

"I'm listening," I was placated.

"I know you think I'm backwards for still holding a grudge over the First Contact War. The truth is it's always with me. I haven't been able to progress in rank because of my family's involvement," she broke down into soft sobs.

"Williams, Williams," I pondered.

"General Williams was my grandfather," she filled in the blanks.

"He's the one who surrendered to the Turian fleet," I put two and two together. I didn't see that as a bad thing at all. Thanks to him I had Garrus and the Normandy. I wouldn't trade that for anything.

"Thanks to him my military career was over before it began. I've never been able to forgive him or the Turians," she cried.

"Well, if I have any say you'll move up, but not at this rate. I'm not going to tolerate your cruelty towards Garrus or any member of my crew. Your story doesn't justify your actions," I narrowed my glance at her

"You would help me move up in rank?" she sounded on the edge of excitement.

"Of course. It'd be an honor if any of my crew went up in rank. I'll be your reference as long as you behave yourself," I offered her peace.

"I know I can't justify my behavior, but hopefully now you understand the way I acted," she sounded relieved. Dr. Chakwas moved onto me now. She cleaned the blood from my eye and began patching up the cut on my temple and cheek.

"I know you may not think what your grandfather did was a good thing, but he did make it possible for relationships like mine and Garrus'. That's not lost on me," I smiled at her.

"I still don't support your relationship with him. It's a betrayal to Humanity after what they've done. But I wouldn't agree with any alien relationship, for what it's worth," she chose her hill to die on.

"Any problems on the mission Miss. Williams?" Karin asked her.

"I did have an episode," Ashley disclosed reluctantly.

"An episode? That's right, she froze in the middle of a gun fight," I collaborated her story.

"She suffers from PTSD attacks from the massacre on Eden Prime. You went through something similar when you got out of Akuze," Karin reminded me. That was right. It was something I felt close with Ashley over. We both lost our companies, comrades in arms for years, and saw them die in horrible ways. "I'd like for you to help her get through these attacks if you're willing," she tasked me.

"What can I do?" I wasn't sure how I'd even help her if I couldn't stop her attacks outright.

"I have her on medication and keeping a diary. She writes down what brings on the symptoms. Offer her guidance, and help her write her diary. She can't perform as a soldier if she doesn't get through it," her bedside manner left room for desire.

Ashley broke down into tears at the idea of not being able to serve as a soldier. I went over to her bed and attempted to comfort her with a hand on her back. "It's going to be alright Ash because I'm going to help you," I hugged her.

"I'm so sorry, Commander. I don't deserve your mercy," she closed her eyes and cried in my arms.

couldn't believe the difference between us arriving and us getting ready to check out. She felt like she understood my character a little better. I was like a man in the way that I could beat the pulp out of someone, then turn around and be their friend. "You haven't had your shot today, Commander," she reminded me.

"You have to take a shot?" Ashley asked, feeling sympathetic towards me all of a sudden.

I pulled away from her, "You remember when I was laid out?" I reminded her.

"Yes, I was on the mission with Garrus to find a cure. You have to take a shot daily now?" she pressed.

I sat back down on my table and let prep me for a shot. "Yeah, I got messed up from having spontaneous inercouse with a Turian," I admitted.

Ashley though back on that mission, and how determined Garrus was to get that cure to her. He had blamed himself for it. "You don't have to take it," she reminded me.

"Sure I do. I don't get to be alone with him that often, but I like to have an immunity built up just in case," I reassured her.

"Is it worth all that?" she asked me.

"Oh yeah, he's worth it," I left it at that.

All of a sudden it made sense to Ashley why I'd become so defensive over Garrus. I was willing to make sacrifices for him. She couldn't understand why I would, only that I was willing to. Her and I left on better terms than we had be on earlier.

"Hey Joker, you ready to hear about the Racni queen and how I shut down an intergalactic swindler?" I joined him in the cockpit. I set a course for Xawin in the Strenuus system.