Team Milky Way

[Marishal]

(HK)

"Hmm. Getting closer and closer to finishing counter measure for Collector seeker swarms. Thought I almost had it, but turned out to be countermeasure for bee stings. Ah well, progress is still coming along. Hopefully, Shepard will be pleased with the results." Mordin said, constantly walking around the lab.

I listened to him drone on and on, tuning out on occassion. I loved Mordin, but sometimes you couldn't understand half of what he was saying, especially with his confusing way of communicating.

However, he wouldn't be Mordin if he wasn't like that, would he?

I had come to see him simply because almost everyone else had been out in Purgatory, and I had no interest in spending too much time with the crew or Miranda. Shepard and Abby had just returned, but I hadn't gotten the chance to see either one of them yet.

Things had been...very interesting. Sarah had apparently become a janitor now, which was strange, but it fit her...Sarah had always done a good amount of housework, from what she told me. And she had such a hard time with the training, maybe she could work better as a crew member than a party member. And in Shepard's eyes, or Paragon Shepard's eyes, the crew was just as important as the party.

And Jack was here. I liked Jack in the game, but it would be scary to be around her in real life. She was one of the...weirder party members. I felt comfortable around Jacob and even Garrus, after all the training, as well as Shepard. But the verdict was still out on Miranda, Zaeed, and now Jack.

I could hear some commotion in the briefing room, though. One of the voices sounded like Shepard's.

"You know, Mordin, this has been fun and all, but I think I'm going to go see what everyone else is up to in the next room," I said, smiling at him as I stood up from the chair I had been in.

Mordin nodded. "Alright, must continue work anyway."

I turned and left, going out into the small corridor, then taking a sharp left into the briefing room. Inside were Miranda, Shepard, Abby, and Jacob.

"Shepard, you are not authorized to just hand out Cerberus files!" Miranda yelled, irritated like she always got in the game. "Especially not to convicts!"

"It was the only way that she would join the team," Shepard argued calmly. "And she is under our watch. I doubt she can do much harm."

Miranda just shook her head, conceding to defeat. I had always wondered how she truly felt about being under Shepard's leadership all of a sudden. Sure, she had worked for two years so they could eventually be at this point, but still...a top Cerberus operative, then a day later under the command of someone that wasn't exactly Cerberus.

I looked at Abby, she looked...a bit roughed up. "Wow, what happened to you?" I asked.

"A heavy mech exploded in my face," she said a bit ruefully. "But it was fun." She grinned that Abby grin of hers, and Jacob pursed his lips in disapproval.

My eyes widened, though I wasn't shocked that she had enjoyed it. "Are you okay?"

"You really should get down to Chakwas." Shepard suggested, turning to look at the young girl.

She felt her head gingerly and winced. "Alright. And... give Jack the files!" She ducked out of the room, leaving me standing there wondering. She poked her head back around the corner. "Come on, HK!"

I shrugged at the three left in the room, then turned to follow Abby. We walked out of the briefing room, and headed towards the elevator. "So, I take it that you enjoyed Purgatory?"

"Uh... no." She sounded serious, too. "It was... gorey. Really gorey. And we didn't make all of the Paragon choices. We skipped Billy's cell..."

My jaw dropped. I was beginning to get concerned, and was suddenly alot more grateful that we were away from everyone else. "This is...this is alarming," I said, lowering my tone to a whisper as we boarded the elevator. "First Daniel, and now Billy...I am not sure if the Charm/Intimidate bars even exist anymore, but she's...not saying the right things."

That almost sounded wrong in itself; to say that someone wasn't saying the 'right' thing, but it was the only way to put it.

"I know," she said worriedly. "And the fighting... the fighting isn't what we've experianced before, even at Mordin's. It was crazy out there. Like a madhouse. We were just slaughtering everything. I killed a lot of humans. By the time we got to Jack I was just ready to get it the heck over with."

I nodded, actually agreeing with Abby on fighting for once. "Its just...this is all becoming alot more real. I wondered if it would from the beginning, but now I know it. Its not just a simple game anymore. Its just...I want Shepard to be able to say the right things in the conflicts. To say the right things in the loyalty quests...if not, it could be disasterous."

I shook my head at all of this as the elevator stopped, and we stepped out onto Deck 3.

"Exactly. That's what I'm worried about. I'm not gonna lose Tali or... other people. Totally not doing that. We can't. But if we tell Shep exactly what happens... wouldn't that screw everything up? And there is this thing that may or may not happen that I have no control or idea over. Before we got here... there was another DLC that was about to be released, called Overlord."

"I really have no clue...so far, it seems like all the downloadable content already exists in this. So anything in the future that is going to be released is likely already here...the question is on whether we end up actually doing any of that content, aside from Zaeed and Kasumi," I speculated. "By the way, when does she come into this?"

"Oh, Shep has the email," she said. "Probably the Hammerhead email, too. When we go to the Citadel, it will be to pick Kasumi up, I bet you. We'll probably do her mission while we're there, too." She stumbled a bit on her way to the MedBay and winced. "Okay, I think Chakwas should take a look at me. I didn't even feel whatever it was hit me."

I nodded. "Good idea...I'm assuming she'll want to examine you without any interference, so I can just stay out here," I said. "See you later?"

"Sure," she said. "I'm starving! We'll get dinner."

I nodded, as Abby walked into the MedBay. After the door shut, I took a deep breath and looked around. There were those two eating, or talking, at the table like usual. Rupert was at his station, but the one difference was that I could see Zaeed walking in.

"Your new assistant is bat-shit crazy," he commented.

I blinked.

I don't want to know.

I walked away from them, deciding to not even listen to what was going on with Sarah now...but no one had screamed or blew their top yet, so I assumed it was nothing major.

However, I saw Miranda approaching. At first, I thought she was simply heading back to her office, but she was staring right at me. She had a hardened look on her face, but what else was new?

"You," she said. "My office. We need to chat."

"Ummm...okay then..." I replied slowly, raising an eyebrow while I turned to follow her. I wondered what the heck she could want.

We entered, and she took her place behind her desk, and gestured for me to take a seat in front of it. I did so, and felt like I was in the principal's office.

"Apparently, Shepard has decided that you will go on the next mission. She and Jacob both believe that you can handle it, and they wanted to give Abby a rest after all that happened on Purgatory. Since your other friend has taken up the local janitor role, you were the obvious choice." Miranda told me, folding her hands while she stared at me. "I will be going on this mission, as well, and I hope that you are up for it."

My heart dropped, and I wasn't sure what to say. I had done considerably well in shooting lessons...I had grown attached to that gun that Mordin gave me, and was using it well. I was able to beat Jacob at sparring. I had been trained well, but I still needed alot more training before I was an expert, and Korlus was far worse than what I had encountered on Omega.

"You handled yourself well enough on Omega, and that was before you got proper training," Miranda continued. "But every mission seems to get worse, and we are recruiting a krogan. This will be no piece of cake."

"Trust me, I know..." I said, trying to muster up some kind of meaningful sentence. "I-I...I'll try to do my best."

I had no clue what else to say. If Shepard wanted me to come, I would...technically, wasn't I under her command now, anyway? And I was not going to outright refuse it, either way...if Abby could handle Purgatory, I could handle this.

But that didn't stop me from being nervous. Maybe my nerves would be a bit more controlled than they were on Omega.

Oh, and of course, there were a bunch of mad krogans on Korlus, courtesy of Okeer and Jedore. Krogans had just become my favorite enemy on Omega.

This time, though, I would have a gun, and proper hand to hand skills.

Miranda was silent for a moment, and I wasn't sure what she was thinking. After a moment, she exhaled a large breath, and stood up. "You know, I am well aware of my reputation around here. I also know that you three probably hate me more than anyone, because of how I first reacted to your...presence. I still do not have a complete opinion on you, but I want you to know that, especially with all the training I oversaw, I have adjusted to you...and I am not doing this just to lecture you. I want you to realize how high the stakes are."

I was actually impressed. The only one you ever saw Miranda open up to was Shepard...even if this wasn't exactly opening up. "I don't think any of us hate you...and we know just as well as anyone else how high the stakes are, with all the...info that we have, and I totally understand what you are doing." I told her.

"Humanity is at risk, and we all have to be at our be-" she began.

"The entire galaxy is at risk." I corrected. For some reason, I had to interject that there. I always got tired of them preaching on and on about humanity in the game.

Miranda shot me a look. "I don't see asari and turian colonies being abducted."

"True, and I understand that humans are the ones being hit hard right now...but we all know that the Reapers are behind this. They aren't out to just get rid of humans, they are out to get rid of all organics. This is much bigger than Cerberus's ideals." I explained, though right after the words escaped my mouth, I realized that I should have termed the last part better.

"Cerberus's ideals?" Miranda repeated, looking shocked and frusterated. She wasn't raising her voice at all, but I could tell that what I had said got to her. "Cerberus is the only thing trying to properly protect humanity. Humans need something to rely on, and the Alliance doesn't cut it."

"But Cerberus takes it to the extreme. Really, Miranda, I like you...but I can't really agree with Cerberus. I'm of course going to work with them...and the Illusive Man probably has good intentions, but don't you think that sometimes the group gets a little...erm, insane?"

Miranda still looked surprised. "You truly are an interesting group," she commented. "I don't think I've ever heard a human talk like this. Most typically complain about humans and the treatment they are given...yet you endorse it?"

"The humans got a Spectre and Council seat long before the volus and elcor did, that's for sure." I told her, smiling slightly.

I was surprised that I was doing this, or part of me was...but I had never been exempt from having little debates like this in real life. It was never anything violent, but when I had a strong opinion like this, I didn't hold it back for too long.

Miranda scoffed. "How in the hell could a volus Spectre even exist? Or an elcor one? They are not able, HK...humans are. It took far too long for a human Spectre to exist, much less a Council member."

I shrugged. "You do have a point, but still...the only things humans are the victims of right now are colony abductions. And that is why we are all here, on the same ship: To stop it. So lets not get too deep into discussing something that was rectified two years ago, if you want to call it that."

"That is something we can agree on. Just be ready...even you can acknowledge that having a krogan on the team will be risky." Miranda warned. "Now, I have to get back to work."

I got up and began to leave...indeed, having a krogan on the team would be risky, she was right there. Especially when it wasn't even the krogan they expected to get.

And then it hit me.

I stopped immediately once out of Miranda's office.

"Dangit, dangit, dangit..." I muttered, deciding to continue walking once the initial shock wore off. I had to go to our own quarters to think about this.

I was going with Shepard to get Okeer...but Okeer was going to die, and I knew it. No one else did, but I did...and conflicting thoughts began to grow in my head.

I could tell Shepard all about what would occur on Korlus, about how Jedore would end up killing Okeer through toxic fumes...and we could somehow save him. But wouldn't that dramatically alter everything? Grunt would still be along, but with that nut of a scientist, he would likely be very different. And who knew what else Okeer could possibly do.

On the other hand, I could just stay silent...let Okeer die, and everything would continue on like normal. In the end, it was alot more safer option...but I'd be sending someone to his death. And then, it would probably come into question on why we let him die in the first place, because everyone knew about our abilities by now.

I approached our quarters, but I stopped when I saw Sarah peacefully listening to music. She probably didn't want to be disturbed right now, especially after whatever happened with Zaeed.

I sighed, turning back around. I had to discuss this with somebody. I just had to.

As much as I hated to disturb her after all that she had gone through on Purgatory, I felt like I needed to talk to Abby about it...she sometimes could offer words of wisdom on these type of things. So could Sarah, but she had been a bit strange lately.

I headed for the MedBay.

Once inside, I saw Chakwas sitting down at her desk...Abby was on one of the beds. It looked like Chakwas had just finished up with her.

"Ah, Dr. Chakwas, hello...I am just here to discuss something with Abby."

Chakwas nodded. "Alright...she must stay in bed, for now though. She has a concussion...but I will leave you two alone. I probably should go see if anyone else from the mission has injuries, as well."

Chakwas left, and I approached Abby. "Hey, uh, I really hate to bother you but...I need to talk to somebody." I said, my alarm present in my voice.

Her face was completely scrubbed clean of the blood, though a nasty-looking gash stretched from her eyebrow to the center of her hairline. Orange medi-gel sealed the wound, and it looked like Chakwas has just finished stitching the skin together. A raised brown bump on her right temple made her look like she'd just walked out of a car accident. Her brows furrowed when she saw me, and she nodded, concerned. "What's up?"

Her wounds nearly made me shudder, but I was just glad that she was alive at this point. "Miranda told me that Shepard is taking me on the next mission. I'm going to have to fight through Korlus," I explained, gulping. "But...thats not what is bothering me. Its, uh, Okeer. He dies in the game...we all know that. But now...I know he's going to die. All three of us do, and I...I am conflicted on the entire thing."

"Shh," she said sharply, her eyes flickering over to EDI's terminal. She pursed her lips and glanced out the observation window at the crowd of people heading for dinner. "It's... a sacrifice we're gonna have to make. If we go against a fact, save somebody when they're supposed to die, can you see how different that would make things? Remember what Wrex said: Okeer is frowned upon in all krogan cultures, and what he was doing was morally wrong. If we save him? Who knows what will happen?

"I don't think-look, I'm just as conflicted about it as you are. I don't want to let somebody die. But..." She just shook her head. "Sorry, that's the best I can do."

I nodded. She had valid points. "I know...and its not even anything personal, because we'll see him for all of five minutes...and I think he's too weird to even have on the ship. Its just the idea of letting someone, anyone die...its disturbing. But you are right...it may be disasterous if we actually saved him. It's just going to be hard to walk out of that room, knowing that his life is about to end. But at least he'll get his wish...in a weird way. Grunt will grow and prosper."

"Here we go with the Vulcan metaphors," she sighed, then cracked a smile for my benefit. "Look, I'm not saying... okay, maybe I am saying it. Okeer will live through Grunt. We're just going to have to... accept it, somehow."

I had no clue about anything Vulcan or Star Trek-related...maybe Sarah should have been involved in the conversation, so I didn't know about the metaphors.

Then, suddenly, Abby's words a minute or so ago made me think of something else.

"If we're going with sci-fi stuff," I said, surprised that I actually came up with this. "Maybe I've...figured out a way to put it. It vaguely resembles Sacrifice, by Karen Traviss, remember? Mara had to die to push her kid in the right direction, or the results could have been horrible...that's basically what happens here."

Abby loved Karen Traviss to death. The similarities weren't lost on her. "Huge difference, though," she stated. "Mara's the awesome one. Okeer creates dumb krogan clones for insane reasons. Okeer is like that evil scientist in the corner nobody likes talking about."

I nodded. It was definitely true. "Its not that I mind letting Okeer personally die...I don't care for him. We barely know him, and all thats been said and witnessed was that he was insane. Again, its just letting anyone die...but it may be necessary. In fact, it probably is necessary."

"It's not like if he lives we can say 'Oh, by the way, we're just going to drop you off at a random planet and take Grunt with us. Kay-kay, bye!' Like it or not, it's one of those unpleasant things we're going to have to do." She frowned.

I nodded. "You're...you're right. There's no way around it." I acknowledged, before letting out a sigh. "This seems to get more and more complicated everyday."

"Yeah," she agreed, probing her head absently. "And then that big choice at the end... will she side with You-Know-Who, or will she destroy it? And who will live?"

I shuddered. "I would like everyone to live...and I hope she will." I said, disgusted at the thought of her keeping the Collector station. "That would be horrible...heck, I just had an...erm, mini-argument with Miranda about Cerberus."

"I don't know..." she said, shifting around uncomfortable. "I would have kept it, but now I'm not so sure. What if keeping it means we beat them?"

"It may mean beating them...and that would be good, but we'll be facing the exact same problem after they are all taken care of," I pointed out, lowering my voice to a whisper. "You-Know-Who has bigger ideas than to just use it to stop the Reapers...he'll use his own for dominance. Its just going to create another problem."

"Yeah, yeah," Abby muttered. "True... It's just like that thing we talked about before all of this happened. What if all the P choices screw us all up? Seriously. That would be horrible."

"I really don't know...I guess now, we're going to actually get to find out." I said, looking around. "At least we seem to have some friends on here aside from each other...Jacob, for one. Maybe Garrus and even Shepard...I think relations with them are improving every mission."

"And... maybe Zaeed. I don't know." Abby shrugged. "We kind of took down a heavy mech together... and I saved his butt. Definitely Jacob, though. He's an awesome guy. Miranda will come around eventually. I think she likes us. Kind of. But she doesn't realize it yet."

I nodded. "She was...nice to me, even when we had that small disagreement. Or, maybe nice isn't the word...peaceful is a better way to put it. She actually took the time to explain that she just wanted everyone to survive and wasn't trying to lecture me, and that she had definitely come around more than when we first arrived. I think its going to take time with her...Mordin's also been pretty nice, too, but he's really focused on his work." I said.

I thought about the newest addition to the crew, and cracked a smile. "Think any of us are going to be friends with Jack?"

"Oooh I am," Abby said confidently. "I want to learn more swearwords."

"You know..." I started, amazed at her comment. "You and Sarah never cease to impress me. Neither of you...if its not Sarah biting people's fingers off, its you wanting to hang around with the local nude cusser."

Abby laughed. "You know me, I love diversity among my friends."

I nodded. "And there certainly is diversity here, thats for sure." I commented. "Uh, actually, speaking of which...any idea on what Sarah has been up to now?"

"No clue," she said, shrugging. "I actually would have come to the MedBay sooner, but Jack needs those files and Shepard seemed to be meeting some resistance. I needed to nudge things along a bit. Why? You hear anything?"

It was then that it hit me that because of the situation with Shepard and Jack, Abby may not even know of Sarah's new role on the ship. "Well, first of all...she's sort of become an...assistant to Rupert. Apparently, because of her problems with fighting and how she excells at things that some of the ship crew do around here, she's become a janitor of sorts...and before I spoke to Miranda, I heard Zaeed telling Rupert..."

I paused, recalling the exact words. "To put it nicely, he called her very weird."

Abby blinked. "Well, that pretty much sums her up," she agreed. "She probably told Zaeed that his accent was cute or something."

I nearly laughed. "I doubt it...Sarah's not the type, and she likes Garrus, anyway." I said.

"Hey, you never know," Abby said, but I could tell she was joking now. "His accent is pretty hot."

I snorted. "Of course it is, Abby, of course it is," I remarked sarcastically.

"Austrailian," she said wistfully. "He's WAY too old, but still..." She elbowed me. "Time for you to laugh. You shouldn't be this worried. You'll get premature grey hairs, and then I'll have to waste my money buying you hair color, and I have a Gears of War 3 fund, mister."

I rolled my eyes. "Are you sure you'll even get GoW 3? Technically, it doesn't even exist in this universe."

She raised an eyebrow. "Never doubt the Abby Intelligence Network," she said mysteriously.

"Probably true," I acknowledged, then proceeded to stand. "Well..I suppose I should go talk to Shepard or someone about this upcoming mission, and you need your rest anyway...wish me luck."

"Bye, strange one."

With that, I turned and made my exit.

[Marishal]

(Sarah)

I'd finally gotten my nerves settled down enough so that I could put aside the CD player and step out of the quarters. I was aware that HK had been there earlier, and he'd simply left, apparently having chosen not to disturb me. I also took that to be a good sign. Abby was probably fine; if she wasn't, he would have come forward and told me.

But now I had a completely different problem; I had a headache. It was probably because I had spent so much time listening to music on full blast.

Or maybe it was because I had inhaled too much of the cleaning chemicals I was using. I frowned slightly. Had it been a bad idea to mix them together? I'd heard that that could cause problems sometimes.

Well, if I was going to get anything done, I knew I couldn't go around all day with a headache. The medical base was closest, but... um, I didn't want to go through THAT area right now. I wanted to avoid that general area of the ship for at least a little longer, considering what happened there.

So instead I rode the elevator up to the bridge level and then quietly slipped into Mordin's lab. There was something I had been dying to ask him anyway, and this would be the perfect opportunity.

I quietly approached the lab table, then I cleared my throat. "Mordin?" I said, getting his attention.

Mordin looked up at me. "Ah, Sarah. Glad to see you are still here, and heard about your new duty coming through. Excellent. Very busy, working on countermeasure. Need something?"

"Yeah," I said with a nod, taking a step closer to the lab desk. "Um... got anything for a headache? I've got a bad one." I winced. Of course, the bruise on my temple was still a bit tender, but this had nothing to do with that.

Mordin scratched his chin. "Hmm, do have some medicine for it...simple, non-addictive painkillers. Still must take them carefully, though. What happened?" he asked.

"Well," I said slowly, "it's either because I was listening to music full-blast on my bed for at least an hour, or because I breathed in something I shouldn't have." I sure hoped it was the music.

"Loud music is not good for the head. Hmm, interesting..I was not aware that Cerberus would allow fumes on a ship that would hurt humans. But, I still have medicine." Mordin said, leaning down and taking out a small bottle full of headache medicine.

"Well if it was fumes, it was probably my fault," I said with an impassive shrug. "I mixed some cleaning ingredients together in a bucket. I don't know what they were, I just grabbed them after Rupurt showed them to me and I poured them both into the bucket."

"Very dangerous to do that, could prove disasterous. But luckily, cleaning ingredients are nothing to be too worried about. Now here, swallow this pill with a cup of water." Mordin said, giving me one small pill.

"Thanks," I muttered. I chose to ignore the second half of his directions, simply popping it in my mouth and swallowing, hard. I felt it stick a little on the way down my throat, but I swallowed a couple more times, forcing it down. I stroked my throat warily afterwards.

Mordin raised an eyebrow. "Would be wise to drink water, like I instructed, next time. But glad that you got it down." he said.

"Yeah," I muttered. I inhaled and then swallowed again, just to make absolutely sure it wasn't stuck anywhere down there. Then, satisfied, I looked at him again. "Thanks," I said. I then studied him thoughtfully-specifically, his head-trying to figure out how to ask my question.

Mordin seemed to go back to whatever he was working on, but after several seconds, he looked back at me. "Need something else?"

"Well, I was kind of curious about something, if you don't mind me asking," I finally said, still looking at the right side of his head intently.

"Do not mind at all." Mordin said.

"How did you..." I paused, trying to figure out the best way to phrase it. I didn't need to offend or weird out anyone else on this ship, after all. "I mean, how did..." I raised my hand, almost pointing at his head, but stopped myself. "What happened to..." I trailed off, squinting in frustration.

Mordin blinked.

I was doing it again, wasn't I?

"What happened to your head?" I finally blurted out, bluntly.

"What happened to my head?" Mordin asked, looking very confused.

I scowled, irritated. "You know, one of your... uh... head-things is shorter than the other," I said, a tad bit snippily. The medicine hadn't kicked in yet, but I also had a habit of getting annoyed with people when they didn't get what I was saying when I felt it was totally obvious.

"Ah, personal matter. Do not wish to discuss it. No offense." Mordin simply answered.

"Oh, okay," I said with a little nod. I felt a little bad for snapping now. I shouldn't be pressing people to talk about something they didn't want to talk about, after all. "Sorry," I added quickly. "Didn't mean to pry."

"Oh no, not prying. Simple curiosity. Part of human nature." Mordin said, smiling lightly at me.

I returned his smile with a grin in spite of himself. Despite his... oddness, Mordin really did seem like an understanding person. Probably why we all loved him so much. "So... do you like orange juice?" I asked randomly.

"Hmm, on occassion. Why do you ask?" Mordin inquired back.

"I love orange juice," I murmured, thinking about that sweet, tangy taste it always left on my tongue when I drank it. "I used to drink it sometimes back home. I guess I wish we had some onboard." I snorted a little. "I bet it's better than ryncol, at least," I muttered as a joke.

"And far less harmful. Made more for humans than anyone else." Mordin said, nodding slightly. He paused for a moment, then spoke again. "Actually, Sarah, need to say something."

I blinked. "Um, what?" I asked, bracing myself. I had no idea what he was going to say.

Mordin moved from behind the table. "Aware that you come by often since I have joined...and also aware that rumor says that you like an alien onboard. Have had other species attracted to me before. Awkward. Not interested."

I simply stared at him for a moment with my jaw hanging down as far as it would go. I turned away from him for a moment, giving myself a chance to get over my shock. That was the LAST thing I'd expected him to say.

Then, with my back facing him... I pressed my hand over my face, but it couldn't quite keep in the nervous laughter. Something like the cross-between of a snicker and a chuckle escaped through my hand.

"Not sure what comedy comes from this...unless perhaps humans react differently to rejection than I originally studied." Mordin commented.

Maybe it was because the medicine was starting to kick in a bit, or because I needed some sort of release after these past few days. There have been times when I would simply crack up over the stupidest things if I was under enough stress and if something struck me funny. So, there it happened. I totally cracked up.

I started laughing to the point where I was almost wheezing in and out and I had to move over to the nearby crate to sit down. Once I was there I just continued to guffaw, clutching one hand against my chest.

Mordin continued to look at me, utterly baffled. "Hmm..perhaps there is more than I thought. Should bring mental competance into question as well."

I finally managed to stop laughing enough to look at him with a fairly straight face. However, one look at his face... and I started cracking up all over again. Only now my laughing sounded strained and breathless, and I was practically panting.

Mordin leaned down, looking like he was examining me. "Very strange. Are you alright?" he asked.

I turned away from him and took several slow, deep breaths. Then I stared down at the floor rather than at him, so I wouldn't risk setting myself off into another fit of laughter. I felt like I had pretty much laughed myself out, though. "I guess," I finally breathed. "Don't mind me, I've been known to... have short bursts of insanity sometimes," I grinned.

"Hmm. Odd trait...may have to study it more. I hope I have not upset you," he said, looking at me concernedly.

"Actually," I said, breathing more easily now, "I need to tell you something." I took a chance and looked at him. So far so good. No more fits of laughter coming. "It's not you," I said simply. "I mean, I like you, you're a great person and you're fun to be around, but... uh, it's someone else."

Mordin's eyes sagged slightly, but it was most likely in relief. "Ah, not interested? Very good...making me feel more at ease. Happy to be friends." he said as he stood. "However, there is only one other alien on this ship..."

My lungs were still trying to replenish my body's oxygen supply after that huge fit of laughter I'd endured. I sucked in another breath and released it as a heavy sigh. Great, not Mordin knew my secret. Although it was probably only a matter of time before he figured it out or heard about it anyway. And for some reason... I felt better about letting him in on it myself if he really had to know, or was about to figure it out anyway. Less chance of EDI or Joker being able to use that as blackmail, if it was already pretty much out, right?

Besides... Garrus knew. So it wasn't like this was really earth-shattering news.

"Yeah... I like Garrus," I murmured with a nod. Then I winced. Was Mordin going to give me the same sex talk he'd given Shepard in the game?

"Hmmm...in that case, must warn you. Medical matters." Mordin said, confirming my fear.

Uh oh. I turned my head away just enough so he wouldn't see my grimance.

"Sexual activity normal stress release for humans and turians. Still recommend caution. Warn of chafing." Mordin said, still controlled and calm as he talked about this openly.

"Yeah I know," I muttered. "And any ingestion leads to an allergic reaction, right?"

Mordin smiled. "Done your research. Excellent. Most species do not bother to examine the consequences of relationships like this. Still can give you booklet, though...and you should come see me afterwards."

I coughed a little, yet somehow I still managed to smile. "Thanks," I said. "But... I really don't think that's going to happen," I said with a dismissive wave of my hand. Since when did I feel so calm about anything, especially a sex talk? All that time around the msn gang must have REALLY rubbed off on me. Or maybe I was just too exhausted to care. "I... don't think I've made a very good impression on him..." I shook my head.

"Oh, not in relationship? Hm, perhaps for the best. I apologize for getting ahead of myself." Mordin said, turning to head back to his work table.

I opened my mouth and closed it again. I was considering asking him something, but... I really wasn't sure if it would be appropriate at this point. I pursed my lips as I thought about it.

"Need to say more?" Mordin wondered.

"Well..." I scratched the back of my neck sheepishly. "I was wondering..." I winced. Oh gosh, was I really thinking about asking this?

"Please, say." Mordin encouraged politely.

I made myself spit it out. "I was wondering if I could... see that... booklet, anyway." There, I said it.

"Hmm...interesting. Despite not actually having contact with other species, there is no harm in more education for future reference." Mordin said, being so open as to pulling the booklet out from another part of the lab, then extending it to me. "Here you go."

My eyes widened a little, then I reached over to slowly take it. "Thanks," I murmured, and I activated the datapad in my hands. I sat back a bit on the edge of the crate and began to glance it over.

After a couple of minutes my eyes went even wider than ever and I pressed my free hand over my mouth. My eyes darted across the tiny screen, taking in the words and... um, very graphic images. "So that's how they... do it," I muttered under my breath.

"Indeed," Mordin said as he got back to work.

"Wow," I said, shaking my head as I stared at the datapad a moment longer. Then I shut it off and stuffed it down my shirt-my pockets weren't big enough to hide it. "Don't say a word of this to Abby or HK," I muttered. "Please."

Mordin smiled again. "Do not worry, strictly between us in confidence. Oh, and EDI and Joker, who may have heard." he said.

I actually smacked my hand against my forehead. "If I don't die of embarrassment or stress before this is all over, it's gonna be a miracle," I growled.

"Ah, do not worry. Many embarrassing moments in life. However, we must overcome them and forge on." Mordin told me.

"Yeah, I guess," I muttered. It wasn't always that easy, though. "Hey, I have another question," I then said, looking toward him intently.

"Yes?" Mordin asked.

"Um..." I shrugged sheepishly, but made myself continue. This was Mordin I was talking to, after all. To him, I might as well have been discussing the weather, no matter what the subject was. "Well, I really don't think it's gonna work out with... that turian," I began. I knew that he knew who I meant. "But... is it possible that... another turian out there somewhere might be... interested in a human?"

I couldn't believe I was asking this. But... surely it was okay to satisfy my curiosity, at least.

Mordin nodded. "Very possible. Despite dangers, interspecies relationships very common. See them everywhere. Never rule it out." he replied.

"I wonder what it might be like to hook up with Sidonis..."

...Did I really, REALLY say that outloud?

Mordin shrugged. "Just take proper precautions."

"Yeah," I muttered absent-mindedly, not really hearing him. I was staring dreamily off into space, pondering the idea.

Then, realizing I must have looked like a spaced out dope, I shook myself a little and stood up. "Thanks Mordin," I said, giving him a sloppy salute, and I walked toward the door.

Now all I would have to do is figure out where to hide this datapad so that Abby and HK would never find out about it. I guess I could just keep it stuffed in my shirt for now.

"Goodbye, Sarah. Glad to clear the air. Now, must get back to work." Mordin said as I left.

(HK)

I had actually decided to go back to our quarters before talking too much to Shepard...there wasn't much to talk about, anyway. We both knew the mission, and I had been trained as well as I could. And I wanted to get some final rest in before this all went down.

Though I wasn't aware of when we'd get to Korlus, either.

Sarah was also missing, and I was direly hoping that she hadn't gotten into anymore trouble.

I sighed as I laid on my bed. This was all getting so...insane.

Just then, she entered. I looked up at her. "Hey there."

Sarah started a little as she walked in, apparently not expecting to see me. "Hiya," she said as she crossed the room to sit on her own bed. She then glanced down at her shirt and turned her back toward me, a bit stiffly. "Where's Abby?" she asked.

"She's in the MedBay...as you probably know, she got Jack, but she got a concussion and took some bad hits. She has to stay in there for awhile." I told her. "I get to go on the next mission."

"Oh really?" she said, turning to look at me. "How do you feel about that?"

"Nervous," I replied, very honestly. I felt I could still be very open with both Abby and Sarah. "Not only about the mission, but about Okeer...I'm sending him to his death. I spoke to Abby about it, and we agreed that it was necessary, but I still feel a bit bad about it."

Her eyes darted downward and she looked thought, and perhaps a little distracted. "Yeah... not sure what to say there. From what I remember of the game, they didn't exactly give you any choices there. But here... things are different." She shrugged a little and leaned back a bit on her bed. "Well, since I'm just a lowly janitor now," she smirked, "I guess it's up to you guys for the most part."

I smiled. "Nah, a janitor is just as important as anyone else...how is that going, by the way?" I asked.

"Ummm..." She sighed, shifting her position so that she lay flat on her back on her bed. From her position, she could still look at me though. "At first it was going great," she said slowly. Then she narrowed her eyes. "But... well..." She waved a dismissive hand. "Nevermind."

This must be about what I heard earlier. Alright, I'll bite. May regret it but I will.

"I didn't bother to learn the details, but I know it has something to do with Zaeed," I told her. "What happened?"

Her eyes went skyward, as if she was going to roll them but stopped. "Yeah, him... and Jack..." She sighed. "And Garrus..." She winced.

"Oh dear," I blurted, knewing that this meant trouble. "What happened?"

She hesitated a moment. She was either gathering her thoughts or trying to decide whether or not she wanted to tell.

Finally, she launched into the story. She also kept glancing toward the door every so often as she told it, as though worried someone might walk in in the middle of it.

"...So then," she said, concluding her tale, "after I gave Zaeed the toilet paper I told him to 'have fun' and I ran for it. Because I had no idea what was going to happen when he went in there. So I went into the armory to hide, and I went behind a crate, and I ended up having to tell Garrus what happened. And..." She put a hand over her eyes. "I'm pretty sure I've thoroughly convinced him I'm nuts, or a weirdo. But at least Mordin doesn't think I'm weird... I don't think, anyway."

"Oh...my Lord..." I said, blinking. I wasn't sure whether to find that story funny or just gross. However, I couldn't hold back a chuckle. "I mean, just wow...I don't know what to say...except I can't believe Jack is so weird as to randomly use the men's restroom."

I laughed again. "Its just...of all the people to be involved in this...the two rough ones and your favorite...person." I commented, shaking my head.

However, then I noticed her last comment. "Wait just a minute, how do you know that about Mordin?"

"Uh..." She moved and in a swift, abrupt motion, she sat up on the bed. "Well..." She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and stood, as though getting too restless to stay in one place. "Let's just say..."

A clattering sound cut her off. She glanced down as she realized a datapad had slipped out from under her shirt. She gasped softly and snatched it up off the floor, tossed it on her bed and threw her pillow on top of it.

I looked at the datapad, wondering what in the world she was doing with a datapad, unless it was like...cleaning schedules or something. And what was going on with Mordin?

"Lets just say...?" I said, pushing for her to continue.

She sat down on her bed... putting herself between me and the datapad. At least it seemed like that. "Well," she said with a shrug, apparently deciding to continue, "I was in here for a while, listening to music. Then I started to get a bad headache, so I went to Mordin for some painkillers.

"Then," she went on, "uh... well... I asked him about his head. You know, why one of his head things is shorter than the other." She gestured at her head for emphasis. "Then I started making small talk and... he thought I liked him, because he'd heard a rumor that I liked an alien onboard." She rolled her eyes.

My eyes went wide...so Sarah got the talk that Shepard would get if she didn't romance anyone? I was tempted to burst out laughing, but didn't, as it probably irritated her and I was not sure how funny this truly was. "Ummm...what did you tell him?" I queried.

She was silent for a moment, apparently trying to decide what to say. Then she shrugged. "At first... I just cracked up. Then I told him that I wasn't interested in him. Next, he figured out that I liked Garrus, just like that, so... he started to give me advice."

My eyes went wider. "Oh no, you got the alien talk, too?" I asked.

Then, I realized what the datapad was. "Oh Lord."

She glared at me. "What?" she asked, as though guessing what I just deduced.

"The datapad..." I said slowly.

For a moment she continued to look at me with a scowl. Then her expression softened, replaced with a more... mischievous look. She turned away from me a for a moment, snatching up the datapad and pressing a few keys on it.

"So basically, Mordin gave you sex advice...and then you took a datapad that further expanded on it." I said outloud. "And why do you look like you like it?"

Quite suddenly, she hopped off of the edge of her bed and came straight toward me, shoving the datapad in my face. It had a... graphic image on it. "What do you think of this?" she asked impishly.

"EXCUSE ME? EW!" I shouted, throwing the datapad out of my face and onto the floor. "Um, I am sorry, but I do not need to see graphic images courtesy of Mordin! I don't need to see graphic images at all, thank you very much! What in the world prompted you to do that?"

She snatched the datapad up off the floor, giggling a little. "Sorry," she muttered. "I can't exactly go on the internet and blow off steam or do anything silly now, can I?"

"That doesn't mean that you can go shoving graphic imagery in the face of anyone, much less a minor!" I said, still astonished at her actions. "I mean, Sarah, what is going on with you?"

She shook her head a little. She was still smiling a little, but her expression had sobered a bit. "Come on, it's no worse than some of the stuff I've shown you or Abby on DA," she said as she returned to her bed. "Well, maybe a BIT worse," she consented as she sat down on the edge of her bunk. "But..." she shrugged. "I dunno. I've had a rough few days. Gotta blow off steam somehow." She then laid back on her bed, setting the datapad beside her, apparently wanting to leave it at that.

I took a very deep breath, trying to collect myself. We all needed to relax right now, not start some kind of event. "I...I understand that its been hard for everyone. And I know that having Mordin so bluntly bring all this stuff up to you is no picnic, but...wow. Just...try not to do this kind of stuff to everyone." I said.

She actually laughed. "Course I wouldn't," she said in sort of a "duh" tone. Then she sighed. "Sorry. It's just... I always do goofy things around you guys on msn. And with my DA pals. But..." She frowned a little. "I guess it's a bit... different when you're face-to-face with a person." She looked thoughtful, even a little... ticked at the notion she'd just realized.

I nodded. "It is different, indeed...you have a valid point. But I've never seen you even do that online...or do half of this stuff online, not that you even could. But again...these are very different circumstances, so I can get it." I said.

Her face changed expression a bit. She still looked like she was thinking, and was still a bit ticked... if anything, her face showed that she was just thinking more deeply, and feeling a bit more ticked. Or something. "Tell me about it," she finally muttered, and said nothing more.

I sighed. Perhaps it was best not to speak with her about this anymore...if I were her, I would not even be looking at that datapad or have it in the first place, but it was her choice. Maybe reading about this stuff helped take her mind off of things...I didn't know.

"Well, alright then." I simply said.

"Mmm-hmm." She gazed up toward the ceiling and didn't utter another sound.

With that, I decided maybe it would be best to leave and get on with talking to whoever about the next mission...I needed it, and Sarah probably needed some time to herself and...sort all of this out herself.

I stood, and made my exit.

"Hey," she said as I moved out the door. "Good luck out there." She then resumed staring at the celing.

I looked back at her, and smiled. "Thank you. It means alot." I said genuinely. I wasn't going just yet, heck it could be days before we even got there, but that still meant something to me.

She smiled a little. "Let's just hope I don't cause anything else crazy-like to happen while you're out there," she commented. "Just look at all that's happened so far." She passed her hand through the air, as though gesturing at an invisable list. "I swear I've become a jinx in this place, instead of just an internet jinx."

I snorted. "You make a point...I guess we'll just have to see. Lets hope nothing gets too out of hand," I said, smirking slightly.

"Yep," she muttered, in an almost Jack-like way. She made a noise somewhere between a little chuckle and a grunt. "One other thing happened in Mordin's office too," she muttered. "But..." She closed her eyes briefly, waving her hand through the air as though trying to erase her words. "Nevermind. You've got enough to worry about with this mission. Forget I said anything."

"I have plenty of time, really," I said, walking back into the room. "What happened?"

"Hmm." She got an odd look on her face, as though she wanted to spill it, yet was holding back at the same time. "Well, I told Mordin I knew that, um... it would never work out between me and Garrus." She made a small shrugging motion. "I'm sure he probably thinks I'm a fruitcake by now anyway... him and at least half the crew," she muttered.

I tilted my head slightly. "Not sure about that exactly...but not sure if it would work out anyway...I mean none of us know how Garrus feels, or how anyone feels for that matter...I can't remember if we even decided on who Shepard herself would romance," I said, lowering my tone in the latter part of the sentence so EDI wouldn't catch wind of it. "People do probably think you are odd, but I think some still think you are alright...I mean, look at everyone else on this crew. We have Mordin, the open and strange scientist. Zaeed, the rough merc...Miranda, the uptight woman...and now Jack, who just takes the cake. And Abby and I are probably still regarded as weird by the bulk of the crew, too."

"Hmm," she said thoughtfully, her expression perking up a bit. "I see what you mean. In other words... we fit in just fine." She chuckled a little.

I chuckled myself. "Yes...really, we know we seem so weird to the rest of the crew. But as the party gets bigger, who won't? This ship is going to be made of weirdos."

[Marishal]

(HK)

I wasn't sure what was going on.

We were walking along somewhere...the three of us: Abby, Sarah, myself. It looked like the Citadel...

"We can't stay on the Normandy. Its too dangerous." I commented.

Then suddenly, the setting changed. I could see the Normandy crew...but we weren't there. They were fighting through the Collector base.

Tali got killed at the door.

Kelly was liquified.

Garrus just got taken by the seeker swarms.

"Tell them...I held the line..." Mordin coughed, dying.

Shepard defeated the human Reaper...it erupted in flames as it fell. Everything was set...but both Grunt and Miranda were dead.

"Status update, Joker!" Shepard snapped.

"No survivors, Commander, none...I think none of them made it."

All of the party's bodies, lying there...

Shepard couldn't hold on. Joker was trying as hard as he could, shooting at Collectors as fast as humanly possible...but Shepard finally went plummeting down.

"You have failed." a deep voice said, the words echoing.

"Wake up, HK, wake up!" a voice hissed.

At first, I thought I was still in that strange...reality, or whatever it was, but within seconds I learned that was not the case. My eyes slowly opened to see Miranda hovering over me, looking annoyed.

Everything was blurry, but from what I could tell, both Sarah and Abby were still sound asleep.

"We're going to be to Korlus soon...we need to get up before everyone else, and start preparing. I hope you don't plan on being that difficult to awaken in the future...you were just lying there, silent and still. Too much longer and I would have thought you died." she said, rolling her eyes as she headed for the exit.

"Uh, yes...sometimes I can be a pretty deep sleeper." I said, jumping up as fast as I could, even if I still wasn't fully awake.

But what was that all about?

That strange...dream, or nightmare. It was basically a vision of what would happen if Shepard didn't do a single thing right in the future, and the suicide mission really did turn into a massive bloodshed journey.

Except for the part about Sarah, Abby, and I being on the Citadel...and me making some comment about the Normandy being too dangerous? What the heck?

It may just have been a passing dream, with all that had gone around about Sarah contemplating just taking her exit due to all the stress, up until she got the cleaning job.

But at the same time, it was still interesting...in the dream, it didn't seem like we were at the Collector base with everyone else. It was just the normal people you saw in the game...though, it could just be because thats how I had known it for so long before actually entering the Mass Effect universe.

And, my dreams did that sometimes...I would be in them, but then I would vanish, and yet the dream would go on...almost like I was watching a movie unfold, only it was more real.

And then, most confusing of all, there was that last line. Who was that? The only time I heard that in the actual game was when Harbinger released the Collector General after Shepard blew up the base...but this was a different voice. Deep and low-toned, but still different.

Maybe it was just the stress, especially with what I would be facing today. Just some random nightmare.

And I had more pressing matters to attend to at the moment.

I followed Miranda out of the room, trying not to wake Sarah or Abby. I also saw, as we headed towards the elevator, that many lights out were across the deck...a lot must have been sleeping right now.

Miranda had her hands clasped behind her back in the most orderly way possible, and led the way into the elevator. We headed for Deck 2.

It didn't take long, and once on the second deck, we stepped out into the large room where the Galaxy Map was. Kelly was working, as always...there were a few others up and around, too. I could also hear Joker and EDI arguing in the cockpit.

We took a left, and I knew that we were heading to the armory to get suited up before the mission. It was one of those standard things that you didn't see take place in the game, but they obviously had to happen.

Jacob was inside, like always, but I also saw Garrus. Since Jacob had gone to Purgatory, and Garrus hadn't even been out since he joined, I assumed that he'd take the second party member space. Miranda already told me that she was coming along.

Joy, Abby gets to go with the nice guy and I get stuck with miss uptight.

I nearly flinched after that thought...I didn't like making too many remarks like that about anyone, and I did like Miranda in my own way...but she could be such a pain sometimes. But we had worked together well enough on Omega.

"Its going to be good to get back into the action," Garrus commented as we all grabbed our various weapons, and put our armor on. "I've been cooped up in this ship for too long since I got half of my face blown off."

"Just don't get too cocky," Miranda reminded.

"Look who's talking," Garrus shot back with a snort.

"And don't get tackled by anymore krogan, HK. Abby won't be around to save you this time." Jacob remarked.

"Very funny." I sarcastically said.

"Krogan aren't so bad," Garrus told us with a shrug, as he prepared his rifle. "Wrex was a nice companion to have back in the day...I didn't get him back then, but now I think I understand his methods a little better."

Oh, I'm sure you do.

It wasn't something you usually thought of, but Garrus was more like Wrex now...Wrex had always considered him naive, which, well Garrus was at the time...and Garrus had disagreed with some of Wrex's choices. But now Garrus beating Harkin to a pulp and having little problem shooting Sidonis, as well as sniping random mercs or volunteers that came his way on Omega, resembled Wrex's merciless shooting of Fist.

"Okeer won't be a normal krogan," Miranda stated, also getting her weapons ready now. "He's a scientist. Not many krogan have that title."

And yet, it won't be Okeer that will be on the Normandy.

That still got to me, I was still conflicted about it...but I knew what had to be done. The talk with Abby had helped me realize more than ever that it had to be done. Its one of those things that you hate, but you have to grit your teeth and keep your mouth shut.

I had finished putting my armor on now...it was basic armor, nothing too fancy. The same stuff I wore on Omega...it still felt slightly weird, but not as weird as the first time I stepped into it. And it fit me pretty well. My gun was also as ready as it would ever be.

We were just finishing when Shepard entered, already armored. I believe she had hers up in her personal quarters.

"We're going to be over Korlus soon," Shepard announced. "Is everyone ready?"

"I believe so, Commander," Miranda replied.

Shepard gave Garrus a look like she knew he'd be ready by now...came with the territory of being old friends. She also gave me a look, likely because this was only my second mission and the first without any friends along.

"I'm...I'm as ready as I'll ever be." I said, trying to keep my voice as stable as possible.

Jacob patted me on the back. "Seriously, you'll be fine...you got the hang of that stuff in training faster than Abby did, and she did great on Purgatory."

I smiled. "Thanks."

"Alright," Miranda said, looking at all of us. "Let's head for the shuttle bay."

Shepard blinked. "Shuttle bay? Can't the Normandy just land?"

It was then that I remembered Shepard had only been to space stations where the Normandy could dock.

EDI popped up. "This ship is twice the mass of the original...it cannot land on many high gravity worlds. A shuttle is much easier and more efficient."

Shepard nodded. "Ah, not a problem. We don't have any time to waste."

We said our goodbyes to Jacob, and headed down to the area where the shuttle was. Shepard boarded first, then Miranda, and then Garrus.

As I was preparing to jump in, EDI's blue head popped up on her repaired terminal.

"I hope you make the right decision." she said.

I froze for a brief moment, realizing that she had overheard my talk with Abby. She vanished within a second, and I quickly decided to get on the shuttle before anyone noticed my sudden alarm.

Well, Grunt, here we come.

It didn't take long to get to Korlus.

Basically, all the shuttle had to do was head down to the area where Okeer was...but considering that the entire place was ravaged, it had to set down a good distance away from his lab.

We were waiting for it to land, and all I could see when I stared at Garrus was him getting taken by the swarms. All I could see when I looked at Miranda was Shepard lifting rubble off of her only to discover that she had died.

No, it was just a nightmare. Focus on the present, the reality. The here and now.

The shuttle finally landed, and we all hopped out, before taking cover behind some rocks and boxes.

"Doesn't look like the most peaceful place," Garrus commented.

"I'm not sure whats going on, but I doubt its going to be easy to get to Okeer. Assume hostiles." Shepard instructed.

I nodded.

We moved out, rushing forward, before rounding a corner. And there were the Blue Sun mercs.

All of us quickly took cover, and I noticed that I did it much faster than on Omega...fighting all of the mercs there, plus the hords of vorcha, must have helped.

Raising my gun, I took aim and fired...what I had learned, both on Omega and in training, came in very handy. I hit several of them on spot, wanting to cringe in the process, and they collapsed to the ground.

"I'm killing these people," I whispered, standing up once all of them were taken out.

"It's necessary," Garrus chimed in, before moving past me.

We continued on, going into that very small building and passing the bodies. I looked at them, bullet ridden...it was necessary. It was part of war, I had to get used to it if I wanted to fight along Shepard, but it didn't make it easy as pie.

We exited the building as quick as we entered, and up ahead was that injured Blue Suns merc. Shepard approached him.

He grumbled and complained as he stood up. "Shit...I'm gonna...son of a bitch." he said.

"Doesn't look that bad, actually." Garrus said with a shrug.

"Who are you?" Shepard asked, looking to the man.

"A better question would be, who the hell are you? Don't look like Alliance, or another merc...I don't need to tell you anything, no matter who you are." he said, clutching his wounds in the process.

"I have a nice supply of medi-gel that I could give you..." Shepard told him in a persuading tone. "But I need information."

"Ah, crap. Fine. I was part of a merc scouting group...I got injured, and everyone else is dead." he replied.

"Whats going on here? Where's Okeer?" Shepard asked intently, cutting to the chase.

"Jedore is the leader here...she commands this group of the Blue Suns on Korlus. She partnered up with Okeer, trying to get him to make her some kind of army...it didn't really work out, and now he's rebelling against her. There are mad krogan running around everywhere. Its insanity." he answered.

"Mad krogan? What does that mean?" Miranda questioned.

"Shit, I don't know, I never knew the details of any of this...I just know all the hell that this has spiraled into." the merc told her.

Suddenly, like always, another Blue Suns merc came through on his comm. "Do you read? I repeat, do you read...did you find anything?" he asked.

He looked at Shepard, and she shook her head. "Tell him that nothing's wrong." she whispered.

Finally, a Paragon choice! Finally!

I felt some relief wash over me...sure, my nerves were still in a bundle over the possibility of dying, but Shepard had finally used a Paragon option for the first time since convincing Harrot to let Kenn go.

"Uh, nah..." the merc said into his comm. "Nothing up here. Everything's fine."

"Alright. Keep me updated." the other merc said, cutting off communications afterwards.

Shepard handed him the medi-gel. "Here...take this, and I suggest that you get out while you still can. I have to find Okeer, and I'm going to have to blow through alot of your friends to do it." she said.

"Yeah, whatever..." he said, taking the gel and limping away.

We started walking again, and Miranda looked at me. "So, what do you know about this situation?" she asked, half-mocking, half-serious.

"Uhh...you know, this is really something that you guys need to see for yourselves." I replied.

Shepard gave me a glance, but pressed on. She was wise enough to know that now was not the time to quiz me on what my special powers had told me about recruiting Okeer, and that we all had to focus on getting through these mercs.

We walked out into a more open area, and shots came our way. I felt a few hit my armor, and I darted for cover, barely missing several more bullets.

"Dangit," I muttered.

"You know, uhh..." Garrus said as he jumped down beside me. "You can use actual cuss words...not those fake ones."

"Unlike 99% of the Normandy crew, I don't swear." I told him. That was a well known fact about me. The only time I actually did swear was under extreme circumstances.

I took aim at the mercs, and fired at one, hitting him with all that I had. He began to get weaker and weaker, but still fired at me. I had to take cover again, using this chance to reload...once the shots ended, I peeked back out and took my final shots.

Shepard and Miranda were hitting a couple with biotics, while Garrus was firing like everything.

I may be able to shoot and fight well, but I was nowhere near these people. Not yet, and I may not ever be.

Though, I did break Jacob Taylor's nose...

Once these mercs were taken out, we headed down into a lower area, and began on another path littered with rubble. A merc or two tried to fire at us from higher ground, but Garrus got them down within seconds, being the ultimate man to shoot from a good distance.

We took a right, and headed into a very large area...once again, mercs attacked from a higher level.

I ran for cover as fast as I could...I tried to stay in the back, while Garrus and Miranda headed for the front. Shepard headed for cover in-between us.

Missiles were being launched, and I could hear some shouting...we all fired back, and I chose one of the ones that didn't have heavy equipment.

I fired repeatedly, as fast as I could, and I knew that it had to be taking him down, but he wasn't falling yet...he was shooting himself, forcing me to take cover every several seconds, but I quickly resumed.

As soon as I fired the shot that took him down for good, I saw a merc next to him fire a missile.

And it was heading straight towards me.

Jaw dropping, I took cover as fast as I could...but the missile was just as fast. I literally felt it go over me, and for a brief second, I wondered if I'd see stars in a moment.

But that was not the case...it sailed over me, barely above my head, and crashed into the wall.

But I had a feeling it took off a bit of my hair in the process.

I looked back up after I was sure that no more missiles were coming, and saw Shepard shooting the last merc down. Another area was clear.

We took to the left, this time, and I heard Jedore shouting over the loudspeaker. I pretty much tuned her out, as I knew that she was rambling on about the krogan and I needed to stay focused on surviving.

Proceeding to take a quick right, after heading to the left, we walked into another area, and I saw one of those strange krogans shooting the Blue Sun mercs.

Shepard raised her gun to him, but I decided to speak. "No, he's not a problem. Focus on the mercs."

She nodded, and with the help of the krogan, all of the mercs were taken down rather quickly.

We all walked up to the krogan, and he looked at us oddly.

"You...you are different. You do not smell like this world. Seven night cycles and all I have felt the need to do is kill everything except you...something makes me speak."

"Night cycles? Seven days?" Garrus said.

"They must breed them full size, ready to kill," Shepard deduced. "Must not be much improvement over regular mercs if they need training."

"Bred...to kill. No. I kill because my blood and bone tell me to. But it was not why I was flushed from the glass mother. Survival is what I hear in my ahead...against the enemy that threatens all of my kind. But I failed. Even before waking. That is what the voice in the water said. That is why I wait here." the krogan explained.

"To put it simply," I said, deciding to finish the explanation before we got into a conversation that would take up more time. "For some reason, in Okeer's eyes...these tank-bred krogan were not good enough. Not perfect enough for him...Okeer tried to 'teach' him things, but it stopped...he knows of Jedore, but not too much. Overall, he is just...confused and lost."

"But how is he fully-grown?" Miranda questioned.

"They aren't made naturally...the experiments are quite sick, and they are bred fully grown."

Shepard was silent for a moment, taking all of this in. The krogan was also silent...I guessed that he just didn't have the capacity to even know what to say.

Finally, she looked to the krogan. "I think I understand...how do I get to Okeer?"

"The glas lab is not far...behind all of those flesy things. Here, I will show you." he said, moving towards the wall, and removing that very large piece of rubble. "Strength...a key trait of the krogan."

"Thank you." Shepard told him.

"I will continue to wait here." he said, walking away from us.

Garrus watched, looking uneasy, before speaking to Shepard. "Commander, are you sure you even want to let Okeer onto our crew? I mean, he doesn't seem like the type of guy to pal around with."

"We need him to stop the Collectors," Shepard said. "He may have valuable information on them."

"Okeer is a very strange, and sick, man," I said, figuring that I could tell them that much, since they were so close to meeting him and he wouldn't even get on the Normandy. "All of the krogan look down on him."

We began to walk forward slightly, but Shepard seemed interested, so we continued the conversation. "Is it like what Saren tried to do on Virmire?"

I shook my head. "Not quite...or at least, thats not what Okeer wants. Jedore probably wants something similar to what Saren did, just for less vile reasons," I replied. "But Okeer has far different ideals...you may see when you meet him."

We began to descend down a large ramp, and we heard someone shouting about how the krogan were loose.

Out of nowhere, two mercs emerged, and began firing at us. We all backed up as fast as we could, firing at them in the process, and took cover...it wasn't long before they were down.

Shepard led us down the ramp again, and we rounded yet another corner to see one of the crazy krogan approaching.

"These won't be as nice as the last one," I muttered.

I took cover behind a small, metal board, and Miranda did so as well. Garrus and Shepard put their backs to the wall, and we all hit him with as much fire power as we could muster.

First, we had to break through his armor...we continued to shoot countless bullets, and Miranda began using biotics after several more seconds of non-stop shooting. With the combined power, he went down.

"Be prepared for more," I advised, as we moved out into that large, platform area.

I also had to remember to watch my step, because the safety barriers no longer existed.

The krogans were already on their way. We all rushed out onto the platforms to see several approaching.

"Spread out!" Shepard ordered.

I stayed on one platform, while Shepard and Miranda headed to the one across from me. Garrus also stayed on this one.

We, once again, combined biotics and firepower...one krogan fell quickly, while others continued their slow approach of us. Garrus and I heavily fired on one, killing him before he could reach the platform...

But that didn't work so well with the next one.

He saw me firing at him, and charged forward.

Suddenly, I felt like I was back on Omega.

I jumped up, backing away, but he was faster. He rammed into me, and I could hear Garrus yelling, but could also see that he was pre-occupied with other wild krogan. I fell back in surging pain, and the krogan proceeded to lift his gun to hit me with it.

Remembering everything I had learned in what little training I had, I grabbed ahold of the gun before it could come crashing down onto my head.

It would look like a foolish move...any krogan's strength outmatched a human's, so I could not stop him from breaking free of the grip.

However, I didn't aim to overpower him.

Taking the brief second in which the gun was secured in place, I literally rammed my head into the krogan's face. It came up under him, and smashed into his chin and mouth.

It caused him to lose his balance, and before he could regain it, I lifted my own gun and fired. I literally fired like there was no tomorrow, feeling the blood pumping between the pain and the fear, doing whatever it takes to live.

The bullets penetrated him, and all he could do was back away in the midst of the shock and pain.

However, backing away in that direction was not ideal...it led to him accidentally stumbling off the platform, and into the abyss. I heard a scream as he did so.

During all of this, Shepard and the other two had taken down all of the remaining krogan. They all approached me while I knew that I would probably have another nice bruise from what just took place.

"Wow," Garrus said, looking amazed. "That was damn good for a rookie."

"Thank you." I said, still experiencing some of the pain.

"We can pat eachother on the backs after we get Okeer." Miranda said.

"Good job, HK," Shepard said with an acknowledging nod. "But we need to get to the warlord before this escalates any further."

We all followed her through the bridged areas, and then came upon what would be one of many staircases. We proceeded on, going through many more doors, and shooting through every group of Blue Sun mercs that we found.

We heard more and more radio chatter as we went on, and each group got a little tougher, but I found myself easing into battle more...I was still nervous, definitely, but I was growing adjusted to it. I didn't know whether that was good or bad.

We continued on and on through the complex...building, or whatever this heap was called. We shot through more and more guards, until finally, after long minutes of blood shed and death, we came upon Okeer's layer.

But first, we entered the area where that asari from Virmire, Rana, was.

As the door swung open, she turned to us, looking terrified. "Please, don't shoo-oh, Commander Shepard, thank the goddess." she said. "Do you remember me? Its Rana Thanoptis...you saved me on Virmire."

"I think I actually let you go after you were working with Saren," Shepard corrected. "But yes, I do. What are you doing here?"

"I have been working with Dr. Okeer for awhile now, but now I am starting to regret it...once I saw you approaching, though, I shut off the security cameras." Rana told her.

"You know, I didn't let you go free just so you could do another sick project on krogan." Shepard snapped, narrowing her eyes.

This always did make Paragon Shepard flustered, even in the game.

"Oh, believe me...I am not putting the second chance you gave me to waste...this isn't like what Saren was doing. Well, not exactly..." Rana said, obviously uneasy about seeing Shepard again.

"Commander, you should just shoot her. She obviously has no intention of breaking away from sick breeding experiments." Miranda suggested.

"Please, no! Its not like that..." Rana said, looking fearful. "Please, Commander, don't kill me."

Shepard sighed. "You had better not waste that second chance." she said.

Rana only seemed partially relieved. "Believe me, Shepard, I know how you work...I'm getting as far away from this facility as possible."

With that, the asari turned to run once again.

"You know, Commander, I actually think I would've shot her...you already gave her one chance. She doesn't need anymore." Garrus said, shrugging.

"I didn't see any valid reason to kill her...we're not here for her, anyway. Lets go see Okeer." Shepard said, turning to enter the next room.

We walked in, and there was Okeer, at his console.

And there was Grunt, in his tank.

"There you are. I've watched your progress." Okeer said, looking at us. "Its about time. The batteries on these tanks will not wait while you play with those idiotic mercs."

"I take it you are Okeer," Shepard said calmly. "You don't seem particularly caged, or grateful that I'm here."

"You may claim to be here to help," Okeer said, turning around entirely. "But the formerly deceased Shepard is not a sign of gentle change. Surprised? All krogan should know you after your actions on Virmire."

"I had no choice. If there had been any other solution, I would have pursued it." Shepard argued.

Okeer raised his hands up. "No, but I approve. Saren's failed hord were not true krogan. Numbers alone are nothing. The mistake of an outsider. One that these mercenaries have also made. I gave their leader my rejects for her army, but she grows impatient. Its time for you to take me out of here."

"This isn't about personal issues, we're here about the Collectors." Miranda told him.

"I assumed...yes. Collector attacks have increased. A human concern. My requests were focused elsewhere." Okeer said, gesturing to Grunt and his large tank. "I acquired the knowledge to create one pure soldier. With that, I will inflict upon the genophage the greatest insult an enemy can suffer: To be ignored."

Shepard didn't seem too phased. "Your methods are extreme, but you know how to deconstruct a threat. Will you help us?" she asked.

"I suppose I can strike a deal to secure passage, but my prototype is not negotiable. He is the key to my legacy."

Suddenly, Jedore's voice sounded through the area. "I've traced the krogan release. Okeer, of course. I'm calling 'blank slate' on this process. Gas these commandos and start over from scratch with Okeer's data. Flush the tanks!"

Okeer looked around in disgust as air began to come out of various places in the room. "She's that weak-willed? She'll kill my legacy with a damn valve!" Okeer exclaimed, before looking back to us. "Shepard, you want information on the Collectors? Stop her. She'll try to access contaminents in the storage bay."

"You can just start over, like she plans to," Shepard pointed out. "Whats the big deal?"

"This tank is pure," Okeer explained. "It involved as much trial as data. Starting over will not duplicate it. It must survive. Jedore will be with the rejected tanks...kill her. I will stay, and do what must be done."

Shepard looked to the rest of us. "Okay, lets go deal with Jedore and get the hell off of this planet." she said.

Both Miranda and Garrus nodded, and they all started to the staircase. I followed along, but as they rushed down the stairs, I stopped in the doorway and looked back at Okeer.

Do I really want to let him die?

Once again, doubt crept into my mind...I considered warning him, telling him that he would die today, and save a life..I wondered if I should do it, just so he would live...

"No, it can't be like that...I have to let things take their own path on this one. I know what the right choice is." I whispered to myself.

I just had to leave it alone.

I turned to head down the staircase, but I looked back at Okeer again. I did have something that I needed to say.

"Okeer..." I said slowly.

He looked at me. "Yes? I don't have time to chat, and you should be taking care of Jedore."

"I know, I know...but I wanted to tell you..." I started, even though I knew that he wouldn't get it in the way that I meant. And he shouldn't, but I felt I owed him this much. "He's going to be a great soldier."

"Of course he is," Okeer scoffed. "He's pure."

I decided to waste no more time, and headed down into the storage area.

The battle had already begun. Okeer's rejects were closing in on the three from each side, though they were holding up well, like always...firepower was going every which way, and the two mechs were also on the move. I could see some krogan bodies, showing that they had already killed a couple while I stood around upstairs.

I felt guilty for not rushing down with them, but I had to get a final peace of mind on this issue. I just had to.

Jedore was shouting out orders, and as I looked on at the battlefield, I realized that no one was even firing at her...they were too consumed with the krogan and the mechs, who had launched an all out assault.

This won't end if she's still around.

I had an idea...but I wasn't sure if it would work...in fact, it would probably get me killed, and it may be a foolish idea...but someone had to get rid of Jedore, and everyone else was wrapped up at the moment.

She was powerful, but if I could do everything just right...

"No, too dang-" I started, but looked around.

I didn't have the time to contemplate this.

I rushed out while I was still relatively unseen by the heavy mechs and the krogan...they were all focused on the trio, and Jedore was behind some boxes. Hopefully, no one would detect me.

I crouched down and ran across the storage bay as fast as I could. Jedore was on one platform, while Shepard, Garrus, and Miranda were on the other with the krogan and mechs. I was in-between them both.

Quickly running onto Jedore's platform, I saw her there, watching the intense fighting...I stayed behind a box, where she wouldn't see me, and wondered how I would do this.

Just fire my gun as much as I can.

This time, I would take a chance. It was do or die, and I did not have the time to play it safe or sit around thinking. I had to do something, and I was no hero, but someone had to kill her, as much as I still dreaded killing anyone.

I peeked out, and took my aim, trying to find any place that would hit her good...she had shields, and armor, so it would be difficult. But I had to try.

I fired as much as I could, and she whirled around the second she heard the gun shots. "What the he-"

They all hit her, and I practically felt her rage from here. I fired several more shots, before taking cover again, as she removed her weapon and prepared to fight. A large amount of bullets hit the wall, and I could hear her slowly approaching.

Once they stopped, I looked out again, and she was reloading. I fired like a madman, desperate to hit her, and I could see it penetrating her shields.

Growling, she raised her hand, and began to use her own biotics. I jumped out of the way just in time, before hearing more bullets hit the box I was behind...I had to edge over slightly to miss one. Her aim was getting more precise.

They stopped again, and I made myself visible, firing at her yet again. I saw her shields break, but she got her gun reloaded in time to hit me, penetrating my armor slightly...it didn't get to my skin, not quite, but I felt it go inside parts of the armor.

Before I could take cover again, suddenly, I fell to the ground...it was a weird sensation, like I could no longer move. I was just lying there, motionless...for a moment, I wondred if I was somehow dying.

But then I realized what had happened: She used throw on me.

It wore off quickly, but by that time, she was already over there and had given me a swift kick in the stomach. I grunted in pain, and knew she was about to fire her gun again and kill me.

Using the technique I had used in my first spar match with Jacob, I swung my legs around and hit hers...it swept her off her feet suddenly, while I stood, and fired another shot at her.

I didn't have the advantage for long, though; she shot another biotic power at me, which I quickly realized was warp...I could feel it lowering my armor and hurting me. I tried to resist the pain as much as I could.

She rose back up, and I fired at her insanely. It hit her armor, and she wasted no time in returning the fire. Reflex kicked in and I ducked immediately, luckily not getting hit. All that was going through my mind was how fortunate I was right now.

I gave her a kick in the stomach, but it didn't do as much damage as it normally would have due to the armor. Right after that, I felt her arm slam into the back of my neck, and I crumbled to the ground.

Then, she used lift on me: I was in the air now, and she slammed me into the wall. I cried out, slumping to the ground afterwards.

"Time to finish you off." Jedore said.

Everything was spinning, but I could see gunshots...not coming from Jedore, but coming towards her. In the other direction, it looked like.

She turned around, and fired back, from what I could see.

However, I still heard fighting across the bay...only one of the three was here.

I saw Jedore take quite a few gun hits, and I also saw some biotics hit her.

Miranda or Shepard.

Then, Jedore shot back, alternating between biotics and her rifle...the fight continued on for several more seconds, until I heard someone else hit the ground, and Jedore still standing.

"I've had enough of this." she hissed.

Finally, the room reverted to normal...slowly, I stood, finding that I was much weaker than I originally had been, but that was to be expected. Jedore's back faced me, and I saw her approaching Miranda, who looked like she was getting up after being knocked to the ground.

Jedore had probably used throw on her, too...it probably didn't have as bad of an effect on Miranda, but still got her down for a split second.

I scrambled for my gun, which had fallen when I was jerked around the room...grabbing it as fast as I could, I pointed it towards Jedore.

Two gunshots hit her. One in the back, one in the front.

Miranda and I had, coincidentally, fired at the same time.

Jedore coughed out...she couldn't stand it anymore. She fell to the ground, finally dead.

Miranda approached me, while I leaned on a box for support. I still felt slightly unsteady. "T-thanks," I muttered.

"Normally, I would have gotten upset that you even bothered to assault her like that in the first place...and its still not the best idea, but you did weaken her for me." Miranda said.

"Well, you assaulted her single-handedly, too...and its not like you didn't come out without a scratch." I told her, panting in the process. Miranda looked a little worn and beaten, as well.

We looked to Shepard and Garrus, who had just finished off the last mech.

EDI's voice chimed in. "Shepard, the remaining lab systems are unprotected, and I have gained limited access. According to my scans, the room is filled with toxins, and Okeer's life signs are fading rapidly."

"Crap." Shepard simply muttered, running towards the door. The computer began to go off about this, too, as we hurried to Okeer's lab.

I had to push myself a little to keep up, though...I wasn't in the best shape to run after the fight, but I didn't need to hurry...I knew the result.

Once we got inside, Okeer's audio message was heard, and his dead body lied down on the floor. "You gave me time, Shepard. If I knew what the Collectors wanted with humans, I would've told you."

We approached the tank, and Garrus decided to comment. "Why would someone so fanatical sacrifice himself for one krogan?"

Miranda scoffed. "The man was delusional and insane."

Shepard turned to me. She looked tired, like we all were after this insane battle, but still calm. "I take it that you knew this would happen?" she said.

I sighed...I knew someone would bring that up, but I had still been dreading it, slightly. "Y-Yes," I stuttered. "I...I was tempted to warn you or Okeer, because I knew that Cerberus wanted him on the team badly, but you saw it yourself: Okeer was crazy, and he was doing wrong things...not like any of us are saints, but if he came along, it could be a disaster...in a way, it was a sacrifice. His soldier here...well, I'd recommend using him. He could be a great asset, but its your choice."

Shepard just shook her head, and I didn't know whether it was at me or the day's events in general. She activated her comm. "Normandy, Okeer is a no-go, but we have a package that needs retreiving. Its a big one."

[Marishal]

(Sarah)

I was somewhat satisfied that I'd finally gotten the men's bathroom cleaned. Although it probably wouldn't be long until I had to clean it again. Right now though, I was fairly satisfied with the fact that it was done.

Rupert seemed to have everything under control in the kitchen for the moment, so I decided to go pay Abby a visit. I walked down the hallway toward the medical bay and walked in through the doors.

I didn't exactly know why she was in the MedBay, but assumed it wasn't too serious or else HK would have told me. Probably some sort of overnight examination of her ribs or something, I'd thought, not really concerned. I could see her sitting on the edge of a bed, her back towards the door, dressed in the Cerberus fatigues we'd originally appeared in. Chakwas could be seen through the windows, enjoying an early breakfast with Rupert.

As if some sort of sixth sense alerted her, Abby glanced up, putting aside something that was in her hands... and I saw the injury for the first time.

I blinked several times and took a step back, staring at her. That was the very last thing I'd been expecting. The gash on her head was not bleeding openly, and it looked as though it had been tended to very well. But...

"Ouch," I said with widened eyes.

She snorted. "Fun times," she said, looking uncomfortable. Her hand brushed the injury with the tips of her fingers. "I ducked a millisecond too late when the first heavy mech exploded. It was stupid. Ain't doing that again." She chuckled.

I looked at her a moment longer, then I shook my head slightly and moved toward one of the windows, peering out through it but not really paying attention to anything out there. We really could get hurt here. We could get killed here. That fact was sinking in more and more.

Finally I turned back to look at Abby. "Are you really sure any of us should be doing this?" I asked, shaking my head again. "You could have gotten killed out there. And HK is out there right now. What if he dies?" I began to move around the room a bit-not quite pacing, just moving about in a couple of different directions, perhaps zig-zagging slightly.

She was silent a second too long, then said, "He can't. We're on Shepard's team, and we know exactly what will happen. As long as he keeps his head and listens to her, he'll be fine." There was a sour note at the end of the sentence I picked up.

I opened my mouth and closed it. There really wasn't much I could say to that. Not unless I wanted to start a debate about the pros and cons of the mission, or start being Miss Negative. So I simply changed the subject. "How're you doing?" I then asked, trying to force a bit of cheerfulness for her sake. "When are they gonna let you out of here?"

"Doing awesomely," she said, nodding out the window. "They just wanted to keep me under obs for the night. The most annoying part was that EDI woke me up every two hours by doctor's orders, just to make sure the concussion wasn't fatal or anything. Since I'm still breathing, I'm probably allowed to leave... well, now." She gestured to the object she'd put aside, and I noticed it was a drawing pad and a pencil. Where she got it on a futuristic ship like this confounded me. "Just been drawing to pass the time. How're you doing?"

I smiled a little. "I'm doing okay," I said. I did not want to tell her about that episode in the men's room. Not now. "Oh, and in case you haven't heard, I've become the janitor around here, you know." Please let's just leave the subject at that. Please.

"Oh..." She tapped her fingers restlessly on her knee. "So... are you happy with it? With... this? Because if you wanna leave, I ain't gonna stop you. And I was overreacting yet again, so I'm sorry. Do whatever you want. Don't worry about me. I'll support whatever you wanna do, even if I don't agree."

I felt a little surprised by her admission and her apology. I mean... even Mordin had been upset with me for considering the option of leaving, and he defended Abby's position. I smiled a little, genuinely grateful. "It's okay. And well... after I had a little talk with Mordin, and got this new job, I feel like it's important to stay. And now I feel like I'm actually doing something useful around here. So..." I shrugged. "Unless something really traumatizing happens to one of us... I probably won't be talking like that again. I might be thinking it sometimes..." Oh hell, I sure was a little EARLIER, after the Jack episode, but that was just nerves and stress, mostly. "...But I'm not going anywhere."

She nodded. "Then I totally support that." She gave a lopsided grin and hopped off of the medical bed. She hugged me. "Still friends?"

I returned the hug out of reflex. "Yep," I said simply. Somehow there didn't really seem to be much else I could say... not without this getting cheesy, at least.

I hated it when things got cheesy with me involved. I slowly pulled back, flashing a smile to make it clear that I wasn't trying to be rude or abrupt. "I really need to get back to helping Rupert," I said casually, and shrugged my shoulders a little. "And I'm sure the doctor wants you to rest a little anyway," I added quickly.

She looked slightly disappointed, but shrugged. "All right..." She went back to her bed and picked up her drawing pad. "Well... see you later, I s'pose."

"I'm sorry," I murmured sincerely as I moved toward the door. "I'll come by later," I promised, and then slipped out.

Part of me felt bad for doing that. But I didn't feel comfortable in mushy situations. Sometimes they made me feel a tad awkward. Then again, I was also trying to absorb the fact that my friend had a huge gash on her head too. I knew that it was going to leave a permanent mark, and it would probably be there for the rest of her life.

I probably would have felt comfortable with staying longer if it hadn't been for that gosh-darned scar...

I suddenly realized that... I wasn't entirely sure where I was going. I was walking away from the medical bay and down the hall now. Well... maybe I should go visit... somebody or other. I didn't really want to go back to our shared quarters right at this moment.

Finally I got into the lift and... headed to the upper level where the bridge was located. As the doors opened when I arrived at my chosen destination, I hesitated. Just why was I here? Who exactly was I going to talk to? It crossed my mind to go see Mordin again, but... I'd already bugged him too much already. I couldn't even think of anything to talk to him about or ask him. It had reached the point where those friendly little drop-ins would just start to annoy him now, probably. Either that or I'd have to invent excuses to drop in.

So I did something I never thought I'd do in a million years. I walked out of the elevator and... approached Kelly.

"Hi," I said with a friendly smile.

Kelly glanced up from her work with a surprised, but genuine, smile. "Sarah, it's so wonderful to see you," she said. "How are you? I've been meaning to sit down and talk to you for a long time, but you've all been so busy lately I thought I really shouldn't interrupt."

"Yeah, we have been pretty busy lately," I said with a nod. "So uh... what do you think of us?" I was curious. After all... we had just popped up out of nowhere.

Kelly frowned. "Well, I don't know yet. But you seem genuine, and Commander Shepard doesn't seem like the kind of woman to make serious mistakes. As long as the Commander trusts you, you have my trust. There was a psychic woman who lived next door to me while I was in college, actually, and I don't share the same beliefs as some others on this ship. I respect anybody who can do what you three do. It's very special and... unique. You're all very unique additions to the crew. We're glad to have you, and I think EDI is, too, though she wouldn't tell you." She laughed. "So keep that our little secret."

"No worries," I beamed. "By the way... where did you learn to dance?" If that was, by some slim chance, a slip up... I really didn't care. It was only a little one anyway.

If she was surprised, she didn't show it. "San Franciso," she said excitedly, turning back to her work. As she typed, she said, "I was in a few ballet productions, but decided it wasn't for me and went into bellydancing. It was a nice change. Those skirts and those shirts were very appealing. Where did you learn to write?"

I blinked, surprised. "Where'd you hear that I like to write?" I asked, then figured that she must have talked to Abby or HK, at least a bit. Because I knew for sure that that was something I had not told anyone on this ship.

"Oh, your friend Abby and I were talking a few days before she went to Purgatory... a week ago, maybe? She said you were all penpals and wrote stories. What are your favorite genres?"

I chuckled a little. Yeah, "penpals" was probably the closest way to explain it, since we'd never met in real life prior to moment where we all just popped up on the Normandy. Maybe in a way it was true; we did chat a lot on msn, so... maybe in a way that was still the same as writing to each other.

"I really like science fiction and fantasy," I answered slowly. "Something about them just... touches my imagination, I guess. I like the way they explore ideas that can only happen in theory."

I glanced around myself, at the bridge and at the people. What was I saying? Right here, something from my imagination, and Abby's and HK's imaginations, had become solid reality. My foul experiences after drinking ryncol, along with Abby's scar (I winced slightly when I remembered that again) were proof that this was no longer a game, and no longer something to daydream about. It was real.

"I'm more of a romantic comedy person myself," Kelly said. "I could never seem to enjoy the action movies for some reason... though many of my dates enjoyed them." She chuckled. "Have you ever seen Romeo and Juliet? It's one of my favorites."

"I've never really been into Shakespere stuff," I commented in a bored tone. I cleared my throat softly. "I mean, I have nothing against it, and I know we all have different likes and dislikes. But..." I shrugged. "I just find it boring. Although I've never really seen any of the movies based on the scripts," I admitted.

"Don't be too quick to judge," she chided gently. "So how are you adjusting to the Normandy?"

"Well... it was pretty rough at first I'll admit. I mean, well... let's just say it took me a while to find a place where I could be useful." I wondered if she'd heard about me biting Jacob's finger. I guess I was about to find out.

"I understand," she said, sounding like she truthfully meant it. "Unless you have specialized training it's hard to find a place on a warship like this. The Illusive Man was careful to handpick only the experts. Technically we're running on just overthe minimum amount needed for a skeleton crew, just because everybody is so wonderful at their jobs. When I'm not managing the income of messages, I feel just as lost as you probably did. It's wonderful you're helping out Rupert, though, he really needs it. He works so hard, that poor man."

"Yeah, he does seem a little run-down sometimes," I acknowledged with a smile. I still remembered the conversation I'd had with him when I offered to be his assistant, and when I mentioned that I had experience in cleaning and even in cooking. You would have thought I'd offered the man a thousand credits by that look in his eyes.

I tilted my head a little, curious. "Can I ask you something?" In some ways I just wanted to satisfy my own curiousity... and maybe try to steer the conversation away from potentially embarrassing subjects. Everything that led up to my taking that job-and everything that happened on the first day of my job-were not pleasent memories, after all.

"Yeah, definitely!" she said enthusiastically.

"What do you think of... turians?" Okay, maybe that was a lame thing to ask.

She raised a quizzical eyebrow, but, thankfully, decided to take the question seriously. "Well, I love all types of aliens," she said. "Turians are very good-looking, I think, and so macho. They have great personal values, too. I don't mean turians like that Warden on Purgatory, but real ones. Nice ones." A grin flickered on her lips. "And their tattoos are very mysterious."

In spite of myself I grinned as a thought came into my head. "When it comes to tattoos, I think Jack has any turian beat," I commented.

"They're beautiful," Kelly said. "Each one tells a story. Even though she worries me, I can't deny it. As soon as she realizes that she can trust us, I hope that she opens up more."

Of course I knew that the only person she would probably open up to is Shepard, after they blew up that facility where she grew up. The memory of seeing Miranda and Jack have that "catfight" in the game crossed my mind, and I wondered if Shepard would have to break it up eventually here, too. Yeah, probably.

I couldn't think of much more to say about Jack, not without giving anything huge away. So I decided to return to our previous subject... sort of. "What do you think of Garrus?" I prompted casually.

...Was I pushing it in some ways, or what?

"Are you asking my personal opinion or my professional one?" she asked.

"Um, either one," I shrugged.

Kelly's expression turned carefully neutral. "I noticed that you have a... fascination with Garrus."

I looked down at the floor, feeling my cheeks heating up. "Is it that obvious?"

She shrugged delicately. "It probably is to some... trained individuals," she said.

"Heh. I know you have a degree in psychology and you're a people person, so... I guess that makes some things obvious to you," I said.

"Getting a degree has nothing to do with it. I just observe and infer. How are you planning to deal with this situation?"

"Well," I said slowly, "I'm not really sure. I think I've already done too much in some ways. I told him I liked him, and he pretty much said he's okay with being friends and that's it. But also," I chuckled sheepishly, "I think I've done a good job at weirding him out and making him think I'm crazy at least a couple of times after that." I stopped talking. There was NO reason she needed to know that I had been looking at... well, that datapad Mordin gave me.

"Why do you like him so much?" she asked earnestly. "Because of what you've seen in your dreams?"

"Yeah I guess you could say that," I said, nodding a little. "I just know that he's really got a sweet side. And he's a bit... different from most turians, and he treats anyone civilly, no matter what species they are." I shrugged again. "I guess I just like people who stick out a bit like that, if that makes sense."

She opened her mouth to say something, then glanced back to her terminal as an alert flashed red. "We're moving in to pick up Commander Shepard," she said suddenly, glancing up towards the cockpit where Joker was situated. "You might want to go down to Deck Four to greet them. Make sure your friend DJ is okay."

"Yeah, I'll do that," I said with a nod. "Thanks," I added, and turned around to get into the elevator.

I waited around on deck four for roughly half an hour before I finally saw the shuttle moving in. I watched it quietly as I remained where I was, staring through one of the windows. Once the shuttle was safely inside the ship-and once the area within the docking bay was pressureized again-I watched quietly as the people stepped out of the shuttle.

The pilot stepped out, along with Shepard, then HK, then Miranda, and last of all, Garrus. Well, at least they all seemed to be fine, and they also seemed to be regarding something inside the shuttle. Probably the large tank-thing that held Grunt.

I decided to go in and greet them. From what I could see from the window, HK was fine. Thank God, I wasn't sure how well I could handle it right now if he was injured.

I opened the door into the docking bay and, as I walked through, one of the doors moved to shut just a little too quickly. Somehow-I have no idea how-I ended up catching my foot on the edge of it... and I fell flat on my face, right there inside the docking bay.

"Sarah, are you alright?" an alarmed voice said, and I saw HK approaching. He still looked fine, thankfully, but I could see quite a few bruises, and he was moving a little slow. But still, nothing too major.

"Yeah," I muttered as I pushed myself up into a sitting position, with my legs under me. I reached up and touched my nose lightly-it seemed fine. "Nevermind me," I muttered as I got back to my feet. I tried to brush off this incident as if nothing happened. "You okay?" I glanced him over again, then looked at the others.

HK seemed to be looking me over, making sure that I was fine. "Yes, I am...things got a little rough back on Korlus, but all battles do. I'm not injured or anything," he replied. "Overall, it went pretty similar to how it goes in the game."

I nodded a little. "Glad you're okay. I saw Abby a while ago and..." I grimaced. "I wasn't expecting to see that big gash on her head." I found myself glancing toward Garrus. "But at least she's in good company," I muttered in a feeble attempt at humor, glancing at the scars on the side of his face.

"Yes, Dr. Chakwas is the best...its really a good thing that Cerberus decided to bring her back to serve with Shepard," HK said, looking at Garrus as well once he saw me looking at him. "He's just fine, by the way."

"Yeah," I said a little absent-mindedly. Then I quickly snapped out of it. "Say... excuse me for a sec." I smiled at HK, then moved toward Shepard. She seemed to be talking to Miranda and Garrus about something or other.

"Can I see the krogan?" I asked quietly as I approached them. They glanced at me as I said this. "I've just never seen one up close before," I murmured. I wanted to see what one of those big creatures looked like... especially considering Abby killed one.

"Be careful. He could be dangerous and we don't want to let him out just yet," Miranda warned.

"Sure, you can see him...we're waiting for a team to get down here to take him to the cargo hold right now, so we have a little time." Shepard replied.

"Don't worry I'll be careful," I said in what I hoped was a re-assuring tone. Miranda still had a cautious-and mildly suspicious-look about her. And I couldn't be sure but... I felt like Garrus was looking at me... warily. Maybe it was just my imagination, though.

I quietly moved toward the back of the shuttle, where the rear door was. I could feel at least a couple of sets of eyes on me as I opened it, and when I glanced behind me I noticed HK come up to stand closer to the others.

I took a deep breath and stepped into the shuttle. And lo and behold, there stood a huge glass cylander, containing the very large and very... bruteish form of the young krogan. Somehow... I could never really say that he was "ugly". Old krograns were ugly, in my opinion. But this one... he just seemed to have a youthful look about him.

I slowly moved closer to the "glass mother", as I knew the other krogan down on the surface had called this thing. I rested my hand on the console attached to the bottom of the tank as I leaned forward, trying to get a better look at his face from my angle.

Then there was a slight beeping noise. I glanced down and realized that my palm was resting on one of the the controls... oops.

I took a hasty step backwards as the fluid within the tank began to drain away, and then the glass itself lowered. I gasped in alarm as the krogan moved forward, falling off of the platform and landing on the floor right in front of me, on his hands and knees. He opened his mouth, coughing and spluttering as fluid came out of his lungs and airway.

He remained still for a moment, his eyes darting around the small confines of the shuttle. His face was intelligent, and skilled; he was just assessing where he was, and his situation.

Next thing I knew there was a loud roar and I was being slammed against the wall of the shuttle, staring up into his face.

I screamed. Not a very loud scream, but a scream nonetheless.

I could also hear guns being drawn, and both Shepard and Miranda shouting something.

However, then, I heard something else.

"Don't fire, don't fire!" HK yelled.

Grunt seemed to ignore them, staring into my eyes as he kept me pinned to the wall. "Human. Female. Before you die, I need a name."

I stared at him with widened eyes. He was seriously going to kill me! All he wanted was a name first. For himself, I knew; he wasn't asking to know my name.

"Uh..." What was I supposed to say here? "You know," I babbled, "this is pretty stupid and pathetic. I'm not even putting up a fight here. You don't want to kill a human in a useless fight, do you?"

"I told you I needed a name," Grunt growled. "Not yours. Mine. I am trained, I know things, but the tank...Okeer couldn't implant a connection. His words are hollow. Warlord, legacy, grunt..."Grunt" was among the last. It has no meaning. It'll do. I am Grunt, if you are worthy of anything, prove your strength and try to destroy me."

So... that's how it was?

At least he was giving me a chance, which... I knew just about every opponent HK and Abby had faced wouldn't do. But I didn't have anything on me either. Nothing but my clothes and my shoes. I certainly didn't have any weapons on me. Why would I normally need to carry any around the ship? Some of the specialists were a little weird-such as Jack and Zaeed-but I knew none of them would kill me.

I glared up at Grunt. He still had me firmly pressed to the wall. Well... perhaps it was time to... wing things a little?

I somehow managed to do two things simultaneously. I reached up jabbed my fingers into his eye while I repeated the same move that had been a mistake during training; I sunk my teeth into the back of the hand he had on me. I wasn't sure if I did any damage against that thick skin of his, but I defintely felt my teeth sinking in a bit, at least.

In response to this I heard the krogan growl in irritation. I had a feeling I had simply annoyed him more than anything. He cuffed me pretty good and sent me crashing to the floor. He moved again, obviously intent on grabbing me or pinning me down. I thought I heard rifles being cocked along with HK and Shepard shouting.

Somehow I managed to move out of the way, at least putting a couple of feet between myself and the strong hand that reached for me. I was probably just very lucky; he had been asleep in that tank and so he probably wasn't up to full manuverability yet.

Ignoring the throbbing pain where he'd cuffed me before, I ducked as he reached for me again with his other arm. Then I did the only thing I could think of; I brought myself up forcefully, ramming my head up under his chin, hard.

That seemed to cause him to pause, at least. I took advantage of it enough to turn and get the hell out of the shuttle, stumbling out the door.

Somehow or other... I ended up standing behind Garrus.

"Sarah," Garrus said, sounding unpleased. "You really need to be more careful."

Grunt began to charge again, but Shepard got in the way. "Thats enough!" she shouted. "I am Commander Shepard of the Normandy...Grunt, we need to talk. About alot of things."

"Shepard, you can't let this madman live!" Miranda protested.

"Shepard...hmm, I can kill you as well." Grunt growled.

Shepard did not hesitate, and fired upon Grunt...the bullets hit him in several areas, though he had such heavy armor that he didn't seem to get too badly hurt.

Grunt chuckled. "Ah, you offer one hand and arm the other...worthy enough. I will serve under you, Shepard...seems I have nowhere else to go, and I do not care for Okeer's goals or views...I just wish to fight. That's the burning desire inside of me."

Shepard just shook her head. "Come on, lets go somewhere more private to discuss all of this, if you can remain civil...the cargo hold would probably be the only empty space right now."

Grunt nodded, and followed, glancing at me as he left.

I stayed right where I was until I was certain that Shepard and the krogan were gone. Then I glanced around the docking bay. HK looked a tad nerved up and bewildered, though he seemed to be relaxing. Miranda was glaring at me, and I could feel a lecture coming up.

I glanced up at Garrus... only to realize for the first time that I had a hand on his arm. I dropped my hand and cleared my throat, stepping away from him with an apologetic glance.

"Its fine, but damn, you have a knack for these situations." Garrus remarked, shaking his head.

"I told you to be careful!" Miranda snapped. "We could've had a full blown battle with some insane krogan, and hell, we still could...Shepard just needs to space it-"

"Miranda, its fine...the fact is, we didn't have a full blown battle." HK said, looking towards me in the process. "Sarah does need to be more careful, but...everything turned out okay."

Miranda just sighed.

"Besides, I knew what would happen," I spoke up, a bit defensively. "HK and Abby knew it, too. We knew that Grunt wouldn't kill anyone. Shepard just needed to show him who's boss, that's all." I wasn't going to be talked down to by that Cerberus snob.

"She's right," HK said, his voice keeping calm. "Although it wasn't anticipated that he would be woken up so...early, and by Sarah, we knew that would happen one way or another. That situation would have happened no matter who got him out of the tank, even if it was Shepard herself."

"Neither of you looked like you expected that," Miranda snapped.

HK paused for a moment. "True, but that was because the brief combat session wasn't expected, and the reason for that is because Sarah opened it. None of us have that calming effect that Shepard does."

"Fair enough," Miranda said.

"So... are we done here?" I asked simply, folding my arms. I felt I had recovered my scare over being attacked by a krogan-and my head was starting to feel it a bit from head-butting him. I simply wanted this discussion to be over.

"Shepard is dealing with the krogan, so I think everything is resolved for now...I need to go file a report for the Illusive Man. He'll want to hear this." Miranda replied, moving to leave.

Miranda walked out, and I was left alone in the docking bay with HK and Garrus. The turian glanced in our direction, then looked as though he was getting ready to leave as well. This was confirmed when he turned toward the door.

"Uh, Garrus?" I spoke up softly, taking a step toward him-then stopping. I didn't want to get too close. "Can I talk to you for a sec?"

...What was I doing? I had no idea. Maybe that talk I had with Kelly earlier-such as it was-prompted me to talk to him for some reason.

HK turned to leave as well, and Garrus was just about to follow him out, but he stopped to look at me. "Uh, sure. Do you need something?" he asked.

Suddenly I felt frozen in place, and I just felt... numb inside. What was I doing, exactly? I didn't really have anything to say to him or talk to him about. I was just creating another awkward situation, and wasting both of our time.

I made a noise somewhere between a cough and an "ahem" and then I simply asked him the first question that popped into my mind. What I had been more or less wondering anyway. "Garrus... do you think I'm weird?" I wasn't quite looking at him when I asked that.

Garrus was silent and still for a moment. "Well, weird is a term that could be branded out to many in this ship...but, uh, if I may be honest, you definitely can take a new meaning of the word when you want to."

I glanced downward, feeling a mixture of awkwardness and mild amusement. "Yeah other people have said that too... sorta," I finally said. "Anyway um..." I forced myself to look at him again, though I didn't quite meet his eyes. "I hope I didn't make you too uncomfortable or whatever, you know, with that... incident involving Jack and Zaeed."

Garrus briefly closed his eyes, before opening them again. "Its not like its totally your fault...you aren't them...but the situation was...unpleasant."

I made a small coughing sound. "Yeah," I said simply. I made sort of a small chuckling noise through my nose. "At least I haven't killed anybody... yet," I said, and smiled to try and emphasize the fact that this was a joke.

"The only person out of your trio that hasn't," Garrus said. "But for the record, despite the weird situation with Jack and Zaeed, I am glad that you have a job that makes you comfortable. I could tell that combat really wasn't your thing."

"Heh, yeah. Though at least I got away from Grunt when I really needed to," I said, my tone sounding a bit boastful even to my own ears. I wasn't going to mention the biting, though.

"You three really need to learn how to handle krogans," Garrus commented with a chuckle. "Grunt attacked you, Abby had a wrestling match with one...HK gets attacked by that same one on Omega, then he got into a fight with another on Korlus."

"Yeah well, we weren't born soldiers, and you've got a lot more experience than us," I replied a tad stiffly. "And either way, we're still alive," I smirked slightly.

Garrus nodded. "Yeah. So, is that all you needed?"

My smug expression faded as I began to feel the awkwardness coming on again. I knew that Garrus wasn't really the chatty type, and part of me was mildly convinced that he wasn't entirely comfortable around me. Unless that was just my imagination. But it seemed like any time we started to talk about something, the conversation would dry up and then he would ask if there was anything else. In other words, it seemed like a "Are we done here?" type mannerism.

Then again... it seemed like men in general weren't very chatty. Whether they were human or turian, I guess.

"Well," I said, shrugging a little, "I was wondering... ummm... if maybe you'd like to hang out sometime?" I shrugged again, reflexively, trying to ward off my nerves.

"Hang out?" Garrus asked with a raised eyebrow. "Where?"

"Uh... I don't know. Maybe we could hand out at lunchtime or something, or maybe if we go to the Citadel we could do something there?" I shrugged yet again. I could feel the spot where Grunt had smacked me starting to ache a little more.

"Believe me, whenever we go to the Citadel, I'm going to be pretty busy..." Garrus trailed off.

"Ah yeah... I get what you mean," I muttered with a knowing nod. "Well you know... I could help with that," I added in a persuasive tone.

"Help?" Garrus repeated, looking concerned. "Sarah, no offense, but I am not sure how you can help with this."

I lifted my chin in the air and took one step closer. "I know where he is, and how this is gonna play out," I said. I could feel some smugness creeping back into my expression. "In fact, I might be able to help you so that you don't have to waste time fighting over a dozen mercaneries just to get to him... or fight past the heavy mech. But," I said, starting to move past him, "if you want to go in blind, not knowing what'll happen... fine by me."

Garrus stared at me for a moment, probably chewing all of it over. "The quicker Sidonis dies...the better." he finally whispered.

I turned back to look at him. Somehow my awkwardness had been mostly replaced with a sense of determination. "Then if you agree to let me tag along... I'll give you all the details," I said, starting to think hard about what I could remember of that mission from the game. It was one of the few things I had purposely saved so I could play through that section over and over, so if anything... I probably knew that part best.

"Fine, you can come." Garrus said with a nod.

I smiled triumphantly. "In that case... wanna talk about it now, or later?" I asked.

"I want to talk about it now...I really do, but I actually think you should decide if its best for me to hear this now or later...I know myself, and I know that its just going to make me want to get to the Citadel faster when we can't right now." Garrus explained to me.

I thought about what he said for a moment. "I think... you should ask Shepard if we can stop by the Citadel when it's convenient," I finally said. "That will get the ball rolling, so to speak. Now as soon as we get there... come find me, okay?"

Garrus nodded. "I will, definitely. And, Sarah...despite all the weird things that have happened...thank you for this."

I grinned at him. "No problem," I told him. I just hoped that we could go over the events that I remembered from the game later and... hopefully be able to get to Harkin, and Sidonis-if we got that far in the first place-without me getting hurt or killed. With my luck, I was probably going to make the situation worse somehow. But I couldn't let pessimism slip in; I had to keep a clear mind and stay focused.

"Oh and... please don't tell Abby or HK about this," I added.

"Don't worry, I won't." Garrus assured me.

"Thanks," I said simply. "Now... I need to get back to work," I said, and turned on my heel to walk away.

For some weird reason, it felt good to be the one who was terminating the conversation for once.

As I walked away from the docking bay, I chose to go directly to the elevator.

[Marishal]

(Abby)

I scratched absentmindedly at the stiches holding my skin in place, focusing hard on drawing correct, proportionate lines on the pad of paper. Zaeed had already come up to visit (scary, I know) and it was a gift from him. He never really hit me as the slightly-caring type, considering all I knew about him, but apparently I'd made some sort of impression with him. Some idiot-and I had my bets on Kelly Chambers or Jacob-had told him that I liked drawing.

Drawing was really more relaxing than any sort of meditation Buddhist monks could come up with. Something about holding a pencil in your hand, looking at details eyes normally miss, and trying to translate them on to a blank sheet of paper was soothing. But shading? Grawr. I missed my old setup back home, with my laptop, music, 9H through 9B pencils, my erasers, tortillons, and especially Kleenex.

Kleenex was very important, after all.

The tools not the artist make. Eragon said something to that effect in Brisingr, when that old elven lady was creating a sword through his body, effectively possessing him. I went with the drawing, allowing the lines to form themselves and follow generally the lines I could see with my mind's eye.

Doctor Chakwas was much more detailed in life than she was on the video game. I'd noticed in the game that both of her eyebrows were slightly off, slightly different, but in life she actually had a birthmark on her neck, more lines around her eyes, and her hair wasn't completely steel-gray. She still had some black strands, namely in the back near her neck, and her hair wasn't always mathematically-precide, either. Right now it looked a bit tousled, like she'd gone to sleep with wet locks and only half-attempted to brush it out the next morning.

Seeing all these flaws and imperfections with an otherwise Bioware-perfect face made me feel a bit better... and it made me think less about HK and Sarah and the entire mission.

Or maybe it did, I don't know.

I have a strange mental mindset, where I can shove things out of sight until I make a slip and accidentally think of them again. I was trying hard, really hard, not to think of this entire thing, and focused on the good, like how awesome this was, what kind of moves I'd learned from Jacob and Garrus, and the face that I was actually living the life now. It was awesome... right?

I missed my dogs, my friends, and Aikido badly. And I still had to study for my dang 4th Kyu test! I wasn't even in the same reality as they were anymore and I was still stressed about it!

Grawr!

I smudged a bit of the drawing of Doctor Chakwas with my finger, blending the mid-tones into the lighter highlights, and wished I had Koko's white gel-pen to make this easier. It had been a god-send when I drew O'Sensei such a long time ago.

"Your friends are back," Doctor Chakwas reported, breaking me out of my semi-meditative state. "No injuries."

I let out a sigh of relief. I felt like my heart had skipped a beat. "Awesomeness. Can I go now?"

"Yes. That is a beautiful drawing, by the way."

Grawr. "Thanks," I muttered uncomfortably. I tucked it underneath my arm and made a break for it.

It occured to me later that maybe I should have asked, you know, where they were. That, I thought, may have been a smart idea. I glanced hopefully at the elevators, hoping that they'd be coming up any seconds, and when I saw that they weren't I went over to Rupert and ordered myself a grilled cheese sandwich.

I didn't know what the heck everybody was talking about-Rupert was a great chef, or at least on par with the cooks back in my schools. And, really, there isn't a way you can really mess up a grilled cheese.

I wondered if Rupert had a thing for Doctor Chakwas... or if she had a thing for him. In my fic, Entanglement, I'd always meant to, you know, imply that just a tiny bit. Sometimes you just have to wonder...

I was getting bored, though, and I figured hanging around Rupert's den wasn't going to be the best idea, either. I was half-tempted to go down and see Jack and Zaeed, but, well... I wasn't ready to get into the whole "I am a psychic!" conversation again. I was going to have to come up with a condensed version of it or something, because saying it over and over, that was going to be a bit of a mouthful.

Part of me was just tempted to get a datapad and write out, in large letters, "The Normandy For Dummies." Or some kind of guidelines or... something. Or just, you know, say it over the loudspeaker. For all new arrivals, I'm a psychic and I know everything about you and the places we're going. I know EVERYTHING about this mission. Please believe me!

Yeah, that sounded BAD, even to me... and I'd seen a lot of bad in my short, awesome fourteen-year existance.

God, where were those guys? I tapped my fingers on the table impatiently, nodding once to Miranda as she passed by and disappeared into her office... presumably to take a shower or something. I'd noticed a hidden door when I was in there apologizing once before, something I hadn't seen in the game, and assumed it was either a bathroom or a super-secret spy network hub.

But if Miranda was okay... and up here...

AHA! "Durr ack!" I cried, jumping off of the seat to hug HK as he rounded the corner. I let him go quickly, still chomping on my grilled cheese. I held up a finger so I could swallow, then said, more clearly, "How is The HK?"

"Ow," HK remarked, smiling kindly but touching a wound that I had just noticed. "I'm...good. I got a little beat up out there, but I'm alive, thankfully."

I took a better look at him and felt my eyes narrow in distaste. "You're going to be turning a few interesting colors for the next few days..." I said. "Extremely. I guess that's what we get for going to the krogan madhouse, right?"

He shuddered. "Yes...though I managed to fight one off on my own this time. A very good portion of my injuries was when I, well, pretty much all-out assaulted Jedore," he replied. "But everything went how it was supposed to, for the most part."

I clapped him on the back, impressed. "Good! Even the thing we talked about earlier?"

He nodded. "Yes...he's gone. I stayed behind to tell him that Grunt was going to be a great soldier, and he dismissed it like he knew that already, but that was the only change. Shepard seemed okay with the fact that I knew beforehand..." he answered."Only thing that changed was that Sarah activated Grunt."

"Shepard activated-or... Sarah!" Despite myself, I laughed. "Okay, what happened?"

"Well," HK began, like we started all good stories off with.. "She accidentally opened the tank...it was like the sc-it was like how it would've happened if Shepard had opened it, just...a little bt more of a fight, because Sarah couldn't convince him like Shep could."

I giggled. "No way! Then what happened?"

"Well...Sarah fought back, and she actually did okay at it. There was a bit of a scuffle, ending with what, incidentally, happens sometimes if Shepard opens him: Shep had to shoot him. That calmed him down, and they went to go talk." HK explained.

There was something wrong in that sentence somewhere. Shot at him to calm him down. Yeah, that'll calm him down. "Whoa. Alrighty, then! Any fun war stories from Korlus? Did you see Rana Thanoptis there?"

HK laughed, actually. "Yes...Shepard let her go, again, like she typically would. The others commented on how she needs to be less merciful. As for war stories...well, it was quite a fight in general, but I actually got to shove a crazy krogan off into a deep abyss of darkness. Payback for what that one did to me on Omega, I guess." he told me, chuckling again as he recalled it. "And the one-on-one with Jedore was...interesting."

"Ooo, define interesting."

"Well...everyone else was distracted by the hords of krogan and mechs, so I decided to run towards her myself and fire on her. It was a very rough fight...basically, after a small game of cat and mouse, she tossed me all over the place with biotics. My armor was practically ripped to shreds, I was being thrown to the walls and then to the floor. If it wasn't for Miranda coming in at the last minute, I'd probably be dead. Both of us took the final shot that killed her." HK explained to me, cringing as he recalled it. "I'd like to think I helped weaken her, though."

"Of course you did," I said, nodding. "Wow! Are you gonna get the armor fixed soon?"

"Lets hope so. I should probably go see Jacob or Shepard about it pretty quick," HK answered. "Though I think Shepard's going to be pretty busy once she goes upstairs..."

I cringed. "Ah. Horizon's next. Yeah, I remember... I don't want to go, and you shouldn't, either. I think we should just tell her everything that happens that we can and go from there. It's not like she'll be making some huge choices there, anyway..."

"Tell her that her lover is there, and that their reunion is going to be all of five seconds before he breaks her heart? That'll keep her focused on the battle, alright," HK remarked with a snort.

"Yeah... we'll skip the part about Kaiden... besides, I think Timmy's telling her that he's there, too..." I shrugged. "It'll at least motivate her."

He nodded. "Maybe we can just tell her we can't tell her anything about Kaiden, but inform her about the rest? She'll finally be meeting the Collectors in person, will have to fight a huge one at the end...all that?"

"Hmm-sounds good! I'd almost feel bad for the Collectors, except in one of my 'dreams' they killed half of the crew, so..."

HK's jaw dropped, then pointed to EDI's terminal. "Shhh!" he whispered.

Ah crap. EDI had appeared in her holographic ball form right next to us. Almost... accusing us. "Well it could happen!" I said, chagrined.

"If the Collectors are to kill half of the crew, then I recommend warning Commander Shepard or the Illusive Man immediately," EDI said, staring at both of us.

"EDI...I know that none of you understand it, but alot of this is up to Shepard, and the choices she makes...we can help her, but we think it'd be disasterous if we tried to control every one of her decisions. She has to be her own woman," HK hesitantly explained, giving a weird look to me in the process, like he couldn't figure out how to explain this properly.

I knew the feeling. "Shepard could die, too," I pointed out. "We could all die. That's why we're here-to make sure that we stay on one thread and don't go walking off towards different ones. You have nothing to worry about. You live either way."

"I do not understand. Your logic is not there," EDI argued.

"I don't think any of this is supposed to be...logical. Reapers aren't logical. Collectors are barely logical. So the stuff here shouldn't be, either...as long as Shepard does the right things, and she's done okay so far, it should be fine. Just trust her, if you can't trust us." HK told her.

"I only hope you are correct," EDI said, blipping out.

He looked to me, and sighed.

I just had to shrug. "I never said I was known for my tact... and normally when I'm talking, giant Death Stars aren't watching us."

HK snorted. "She does look like one, doesn't she?" he said, glancing at her terminal again. "But I understand."

He looked around for a moment, silence falling upon us. Then, he spoke again. "So...wanna go see if Shep's recieved the news about Kaiden and Horizon yet?"

I shoved the rest of the grilled cheese in my mouth and motioned towards Rupert's stand. "Go get something to eat first, will you? You look like you've just come back from the dead."

"Fine, fine..." HK said with a sigh, knowing to not argue with me. He walked passed me and approached Rupert.

"Muahaha," I chuckled to myself, and took a seat right next to him. I didn't hesitate in ordering myself another grilled cheese, either.

"I'll have a couple pieces of toast," HK told him with a smile. He turned back to me while Rupert prepared it, sitting down at the table. "Easiest thing on the stomach, and I don't think I'm up for a feast right now. So, in all of this I haven't asked how you have been. How are you?"

"Awesome, of course," I said easily. "Drew a picture of Chakwas, but other than that? Bored, worried, frustrated... and yet still awesome." I winked. "Zaeed's crazy. He gave me a drawing pad and a pencil. I never thought he'd be the type for presents. I'm still looking for explosives in the paper... or something."

"All of these people are crazy," HK commented, shaking his head. "Jack and Zaeed both look like loons, which they probably are. Grunt's definitely going to be weird...Jacob, Miranda, Garrus, and Mordin are okay, but Mordin can get weird at times. Right now, I think our only actual friends are Jacob and Mordin...though maybe Shepard and Zaeed have warmed up to us."

"I don't know much about Shepard yet..." I muttered, perturbed. "Sometimes I feel like she doesn't believe us. Like we still have to prove ourselves in her eyes, you know? I just... I'm not getting a good reading off of her. She's just fine and dandy with everybody else, but there's something forced about her when she talks to us. Sure, she gives us good advice, et cetera, and she hasn't let us get ourselves killed yet... but she doesn't believe yet. And Tim definitely doesn't."

"Shepard's nice to us, where as Miranda has had a tendancy to just be snappy, but I get what you mean. When Jacob talks to us, I get a very friendly vibe from him...I think he trusts us. I get the same from Mordin...and heck, Garrus is probably starting to like us due to the fact that Sarah's been talking to him everyday and he has yet to ban her from his life. I also got a good sense from him when he was training us and on Korlus...not quite as friendly as Jacob, but still. But with Shepard...I don't know."

HK turned away for a moment, like he was thinking. "We have to remember that everything's a lot more real now, I guess...and Shepard just came back from the dead. She's still trying to get her bearings, and lead a huge new team into a fight against the Reapers after being gone for two years. I can understand why she could be uncertain."

"Hell yeah!" I said, nodding emphatically. "If I were her I wouldn't want some strangers aboard, out of nowhere, with no real story... We don't belong here, but it's so awesome! And we kind of DO belong here, now. Shepard isn't making the right choices without us. So in a way we have to be here and make sure she says Light Side. But I STILL don't know what to do about the final mission... radiation or bomb? You know?"

HK sighed, shaking his head. "Its a bad thing that we got transported here before the thi-before we had more visions," he said in a very, very quiet tone. "Because its basically, for me, sticking to morals and exposing ourselves to danger, or defying everything I stand for so we can live. I mean, I guess there will be a way to defeat them without a Reaper of our own...but it'd give us a big advantage. However, there's also the fact that the people using it will be...Cerberus."

"I know," I muttered, twisting my fingers uncomfortably in my lap. "I mean, all of the crew would hate it if we... kept it. And... maybe we should blow it up. Maybe that is the best option. I just wish that I knew what would happen! And here's another bright question: are we going to stay here after this is over? Or will we head back home?"

HK bit his lip for a moment. "I...I don't know. We may be stuck here forever, unless we are transported out and...gah, I have no idea. I'm still wondering if we'll even live at all. Even if we are trying to influence Shepard, there's still a good chance that all of this could be nothing but a bloodbath."

"Oh not on my watch!" I scoffed. "Hell no. No. No-no-no-nopity-no. I didn't get a bleedin' head just for everybody to die. And they won't. We can DO this. We're awesome, remember? We can do it. We just have to make... the right... oh dear."

I looked at HK, my eyes wide. "Dude, can we, er... 'hold the line' at the end? Will she choose us to be Leaders, or Escorts, or Infiltrators or something? Oh, damn, HK I don't know much about the seperate battles besides what we both know."

HK's jaw dropped as well, as if it hadn't even occurred to him. "I...I don't know. I mean, she should know who the talented ones are in this crew, but I am not sure if any of us could do some of that. Hold the line, maybe, because hopefully we'll have everyone else...but tech is Tali's thing. Leading is something for Miranda or Garrus, biotics are for Samara or Jack...the three of-"

"Oh no," HK said, a look of horror crossing his face. "What about Sarah? She's part of the crew, but not the party...she stays on the ship all the time! Will she get captured...like...the rest?"

I felt my stomach drop and had to grip the edge of the table for comfort. HK and I both had identical looks of terror upon our faces. "Oh no. No, no, no... No, we can't let that!" And then I realized exactly what I said. "But we have to," I whispered, comprehending the truth now. "Just like we let Okeer die on Korlus... Ohhh man."

I glanced away, chewing on my knuckle. Abruptly, I said, "We need to talk to Sarah about that. Soon. If she hasn't remembered... or... we just need to talk this over. As a group. Not right now. I want to get past Horizon first, okay? After that, we'll all sit down and go over every single descision. Make sure we're on the right track."

HK took a deep breath. "Yes, yes...you're right. I...I want to stop it, I really do, even more than I wanted to save Okeer, but I know we can't do it...if we were to bring Sarah on the shuttle, it wouldn't make sense to Shepard, and she'd want to know why. If we told her the truth, she and the entire crew would totally stay to protect the ship. No way would they head off knowing that the crew's about to get snatched...we may be able to talk them into some things, but not that. But you are right...after Horizon, we need to tell Sarah, and discuss all of this."

He put a hand under his chin. "Its just so complicated. Before now, everything was okay, but after Horizon is when everything really kicks into gear. Shepard's choices are going to matter more and more, and if she makes the wrong ones, it could be disasterous...she could screw up while on a loyalty mission, she could take a side in the fight...heck, she could ditch Samara for Morinth!" he whispered, keeping his voice as low as possible. "Its all going to get real crazy from here on out, even crazier if she does the wrong things."

I only had one word for that: "Grawr."

"By the way, ummm..." HK began, looking like he was slightly weirded out by what he was about to say. "Did we ever decide who she...er, well...romances?"

"Uh..." Hmm. Good question. "Well... I honestly can't remember. That seems like months ago, doesn't it? I mean... I almost feel like I've already taken my 4th Kyu test in Aikido!"

"Not sure why I'm asking, technically its her business, and its probably the thing that matters the least in the grand scheme of things, if she even romances anyone. Its just, uh...heck, I don't know." HK commented.

"I'd kind of prefer she stay with Kaiden," I said, grinning slyly to myself. "He's kind of... good." Uh, no girl. More like HOT. "The dying one isn't the best choice... the other guy, no matter how awesome, would not work... and the other guy is claimed by another nutcase on this crew."

HK glared at me. "That is one of our closest friends we are talking about..." he pointed out. "But I get what you are saying, though Kaiden's boring. But I think we'll just leave that up to her."

"Kaiden is not boring," I muttered crossly. In fact, in MY playthrough, Abigail Shepard was still VERY much in love with him. Why? Because I wanted him for ME3. I hugged HK, more out of habit than anything else. "Glad you got back okay. Really. I was worried."

HK smiled, hugging me back. "Aww, thanks...yes, it was...scary and fun all at the same time. And Kaiden's nice, but I've just never cared for him much...but to each their own. But seriously, thank you for being so concerned."

"Hey, 'concerned' is my middle name sometimes. I'm always concerned about... uh..."

I gave him a look, and something fell into place. "HK... I did take my 4th Kyu test. I passed. My dad is testing this month."

"What?" HK asked, looking very confused.

I closed my eyes, sorting through all of my recent memories. I held up one finger. "HK... what did you do on Earth yesterday?"

"I...I was at my house, most of the day...I...wow, we've been here for awhile but I can remember everything that's gone on in my life too...like we're still living there, but we're really living there. We're here, but...what would happen if we were there, is fresh in our brains everyday. Wow, I never realized this before..." HK said slowly, comprehension dawning in his eyes.

"WOW." I looked at him, a large grin flickering over my face. "That's beast. And... do you remember me telling you just now about the Aikido backyard party I went to... and how I'm tired? Oh my God! How could I not notice this before?"

"I-I...don't know. We've been here for awhile, but we only now realize that we also have our memories of what would be happening if we stayed on Earth...so if we were on Earth, this is what our lives would be like," HK said, breathless. "Thats the only explanation...let me think about if I know anything more about ME...wait, I-I got Kasumi and Zaeed, I know what their lives are like...I know what its like to get Morinth, to romance Garrus and hand the base over to Cerberus...oh my."

I actually squealed a little bit. "Overlord. I got-Overlord-and... Oh dear. Ohhhh dear. Crap. That was like a horror story waiting to happen. Crap. Are we going to have to do that? If we do, I volunteer. I'm gonna have to... crap."

"I don't think I've gotten that...not yet, anyway. Wow, this is crazy...we're here, our lives are here, but everyday that goes by, we get more memories of what would be happening if none of this took place. Goodness." HK said, shaking his head in what was likely amazement. "Hopefully, this will somehow...help us, but I'm not sure how."

HK looked down slightly, like he was getting worried. Not that that was uncommon for him. "Abby...I don't think I've told you or Sarah, but...this isn't the only weird thing thats happened. To me, at least."

"Yeah?" I asked, interested. "What happened?"

"I just sorta forgot because of all the chaos on Korlus, with Okeer and Grunt, but then this brought it back. This morning, right before Miranda woke me up for the mission, I had this...strange deam. Maybe its nerves, but it was weird...not like a normal dream. I saw the scenes of certain people dying, including Shepard...like in the g-in our original visions. Tali died at the door, Mordin led the teams, Garrus got carted off, everyone else died when just fighting...but I also saw us, the three of us, leaving and me saying that it wasn't safe on the Normandy anymore, which just didn't make sense. Maybe its just because Sarah thought about leaving before she became part of the ship crew, but also..."

He stopped for a moment, biting his lip. "Someone said "You have failed", or something like that...not sure who it was referring to, or who it was. The only one I recall saying that is Harbinger, and I really don't think it was him in the dream."

"I understand," I told him, pursing my lips. "Must have been nerves... my first night here I had a dream Commander Shepard was feeding us to her fish. Was the voice really distinct? Like... did it stand out more than normal dream-versions?"

HK nodded. "Yes, its hard to explain but normal dreams are...not as clear, a little more distant, maybe? Like, you know they are not real...just figments of your imagination. But when you have something that is that close, that vivid, that real..it strikes you more. This was one of those ones where it just felt like more than your average dream."

I blinked. "Wow. Well... then obviously, we know what not to do now. We can't leave. That'd be horrible."

"Luckily, I don't think thats in the cards for any of any of us. Not at this point, not even for Sarah...and she seems satisfied, anyway." HK said. "Still, it was weird."

"And we probably won't know more about it, either," I muttered, scratching up at my stitches again. "Almost makes you not want to go to sleep, though, doesn't it?"

HK chuckled. "I actually want to go to sleep right now either way...but I think I'll be fine, and I sorta want to stay up for whats to come," he said. "Besides, if I went to sleep while the Horizon stuff is going on, I'd probably never hear the end of it from Miranda."

The ship made a soft hitching movement beneath my feet, as if accentuating the point. I glanced at Rupert, concerned, and he just shrugged and went back to polishing a glass. "Ship's moving," I heard one of the crewmen coming around the corner say. I thought her name was Rolsten. "Wonder where we're heading to this time..."

"Horizon," I muttered to HK, standing. "I-"

Miranda appeared in the doorway of her office, dressed, but her hair was wet. So that had been a shower in there after all. "You two," she said, "you head up to the briefing room. The Commander wants a word."

"Crap," I muttered.

[Marishal]

(Sarah)

I wasn't sure where HK or Abby were at the moment. I knew that HK was alright, of course, as were the rest of the team. I was just wandering down the hall, thinking about everything I'd just said to Garrus... and everything we'd agreed on. I also couldn't help but wonder if I'd screw things up somehow, or do something really stupid.

I went over a mental list in my mind, trying to recall everything that Rupert had asked me to do. He'd handed me a list of chores and duties to perform on a daily basis, to make sure the ship operated smoothly. After all, even the little things made a difference. I had learned that lesson a long time ago-something as simple as picking up trash off the floor could be very helpful. Simply because it meant no one else had to do it... or had to step on trash, if for no other reason.

Still, I was excited. I was scared, but excited at the same time over what I'd agreed to do with Garrus, whenever there was time. I just hoped that we would be going to the Citadel, eventually. But surely we would... Shepard would want to go see the Council at some point anyway, wouldn't she?

I didn't feel like cleaning at the moment. Oh, I would later, but right now... I just felt like roaming around on the ship a little, on my own. I passed a few crewmembers as I wandered down the hallway, but for the most part we all just ignored each other, except for a small greeting or nod of acknowledgement.

Eventually I found myself at the elevator, and I got inside. After the doors closed my hand hovered over the controls for a moment. I squinted at it as I tried to decide where I was going this time. Then... I got a wild idea.

I pressed the button to take me down to the engineering section. What was I doing? Well... even I wasn't really sure. Maybe I just wanted to try and face my fears, because... if there was one thing I'd been learning it was that, sometimes at least, if I was scared or nervous about something... there were times when it wasn't as bad as my imagination was making it out to be.

Maybe I wanted to test that for myself. So... was Jack really all that scary or terrible, or was she at least approachable? Maybe I just wanted to see for myself. Besides... part of me wanted to see if she was... ticked off at me at all, for the... um, incident that happened in the men's bathroom. I swear I blushed slightly when I remembered that.

When I reached the engineering section, I quietly stepped out of the lift, and then I very quietly found the stairs and tip-toed down them. I didn't want anyone to see me until and unless I was ready for them to see me. That was one way I could feel like I was in control.

When I reached the lower level of engineering, I found that it was dimly lit, and when I walked around to the area behind the stairs, that's when I saw her. She was sitting on the edge of a small rise on the floor, and seemed to be studying some datapads. I could see her makeshift bunk behind her.

I inched closer, folding my hands behind my back, feeling my eyes grow wider as I approached her. I couldn't tell if she knew I was there or not. Maybe she was just ignoring me... or perhaps she was engrossed in her reading. I wondered if I should say something, or cough to announce my presence, or just turn around and leave.

Jack looked up at me, finally, and just stared. "Going to talk, or are you gonna keep standing there and looking like a dumbass?"

I flinched and took a step back. "Uh... sorry, am I bothering you?" I finally stammered.

Jack just rolled her eyes, standing up and looking at the wall. "What the hell kind of question is that? Everyone bothers me, bitch, but our Commander and the cheerleader want me to not rip everyone's head off, so I guess you're okay."

I swallowed. Maybe this would be a good time to excuse myself and get out of here. But then again... I remembered that Shepard had been able to talk to her, and... at the very least, she never attacked the commander or anything. So... maybe if I just ignored her temper and her attitude, I could still talk to her.

"I just hope you're not mad at me or anything," I finally said, shuffling my feet on the floor a little. "I mean... about what happened in the bathroom." I averted my gaze, staring at the opposite wall.

"Ah, yeah, that. So you saw another woman take a piss? That's nothing. We've all come out of a woman's ass, so it shouldn't be a problem to watch something much less painful come out." Jack told me, leaning against the wall casually.

I pressed my lips together and looked away again, focusing my gaze on the opposite wall. I felt my face heating up, and I placed a hand on my cheeck absent-mindedly. "Uh... I wasn't talking about that," I muttered. "I meant when... I let Zaeed walk in on you." I grimanced. Did I really have to spell it out like that?

"Yeah, I've seen and done worse. If it had annoyed me, everyone on this ship would know it. He and the turian didn't bother me," Jack scoffed.

I still couldn't quite look at her. I knew that she had a... unique way of looking at things, and she was kind of crazy, but... how could she be so dang casual about all of this? "But... what happened in there?" I dared to ask. She didn't seem to care much about this subject, so I felt it was okay to press it and satisfy my curiousity.

She smiled. "If just watching pee drip into a toilet freaks you out, I don't think you want to know."

Now I looked at her, my eyes going wide, and I felt my eyebrows shoot up high to the top of my forehead.

"See? I knew it. Your friend was scarred enough...he ran out tof there faster than alot of people have ran when they see me. Hope he didn't have any business to take care of," Jack said with a laugh.

I turned away from her, moving toward the opposite wall. I was trying to get those... mental images out of my head, and I was strongly tempted to leave. But I couldn't leave. If I left now, I would only feel all the more awkward when I saw Jack again. And this was a small ship; you could avoid everyone forever.

"What do you think of Garrus?" I finally blurted out. Frankly, that had now become my default question, when I was talking to someone and couldn't think of anything else to say. Besides... part of me was always curious what others thought of him. And it gave me something to say when I couldn't stand the silence, or-as in this case-I desperately wanted to change the subject.

"No, I don't wanna screw him. He's all yours," Jack answered with a shrug, still smiling creepily.

That did it. I buried my face into my hands, turning away from her completely. Somebody kill me, right now.

"Oh, don't be dramatic. I've learned to live on my instincts, and alot of the crew may not know it, but I do. I've heard the rumors, and I've seen you two together a few times...yeah, its easy to figure out for someone with a brain." Jack said to me, her tone still an emotionless one, like always.

"It's... not like that," I said, moving my hands away from my face and lowering them. I still didn't quite look at her. "I mean... um... I'm helping him with something-or I'm GOING to help him with something, I mean, but... he's not interested." I winced. Gosh this was awkward. But I felt a need to set the record straight. If nothing else, I didn't want Garrus to think that I was thinking about ambushing him in his quarters or something.

"I'm not talking about whether he's interested, I know that you are. And helping him with something, huh? Don't care, but yeah, I know that for you, its more than some stupid little deal. But hey, thats okay. I say go for it." Jack said.

I turned to look at her now, feeling my eyes tighten into a scowl. Of course, I wasn't surprised that she was... thinking along those lines. I mean, probably everyone on the ship knew about my feelings for Garrus now, and any newcomer who came aboard would know about it soon after coming aboard. It was inevitable. But...

"Hey... I just wanna help him take care of, um... some unfinished business. That doesn't mean I want to jump him," I finally said, a bit defensively.

"Yes, yes it does," Jack said, laughing and shaking her head. "Everyone on this ship has shit that they need to deal with, but are you going around to them asking to help? No, you're only going to him."

I looked down at the floor, feeling my cheeks heat up again. Or maybe I had been blushing the entire time; I couldn't tell anymore. Well... it was true that I wasn't going around to help out everyone. But it seemed so stupid. And I hated it when people made those kinds of assumptions about me or my motives, especially when they were at least %90 right.

I cleared my throat. It helped me find my voice. "Well... I do want to help him," I finally said. "And uh... I do like him. A lot. But at the same time... ummm... well... I..." I squeezed my eyes shut briefly, trying to decide if I wanted to finish that sentence or not.

Jack walked towards me, staring me right in the face. "Don't bother with that emotional crap...you know what you want, so be smart and go for it. Tell him that after you help him, you're going to go see him, and you two are going to have a little fun. Simple as that."

I took a couple of hasty steps back. "But... that's not right! I shouldn't make a deal like that. I mean... shouldn't it be his choice if he wants to?" Ugh, I couldn't believe I was even saying this. There was NO WAY I was going to walk up to Garrus and make that kind of demand. I'd never be able to show my face in public again.

Jack snorted. "Bitch, you're worrying about morals while serving on a Cerberus frigate? Whats right and wrong doesn't matter, it just drags you down and turns you into a wimp. Live like you want to, have a little fun...who gives two shits about his feelings, or anyone else's? Not your problem."

I turned away from her again, locking my eyes onto the opposite wall. "But... that goes against everything I believe, and everything I was always taught. I mean... um... I think that something like sex should totally be a mutual decision, not the result of a deal, and it shouldn't be... pressured." Good lord I couldn't believe I was even having this conversation.

Jack just walked back over to the wall. "Well, suit it yourself, but you're missing out on alot in life using that viewpoint."

I glanced over my shoulder in her direction. "But what good is it, if both parties don't agree to it on their own?" I muttered aloud. I probably should have just kept my mouth shut and left. But no, I had to press the issue.

"Then they miss out on it, and its their loss. Simple as that," Jack answered, shrugging.

"Yeah but... I just feel like... if Garrus did it just because we made a deal, or because I did him a big favor... that wouldn't be real, would it? I mean... you can have a casual time with anyone."

"Real? Why the hell does it even have to be real?" Jack scoffed. "But I get it...you are one of the mushy, lovey-dovey types. You want true love and all that...well, then of course you don't like my idea. I'm not into that shit."

Then I am totally talking to the wrong person about this, I thought. I wasn't even sure how the hell we even got on this topic of conversation. Still... it did make me rethink some things. What did I really want, true love? Somehow... I couldn't really imagine Garrus being that kind of person, at least not for me. He'd made it clear he wasn't interested, and I wasn't sure if he was into anything more than a casual fling.

After all... he had gotten with a female turian before, on one of the ships he'd served on in the past. Somehow, that dampened my feelings at least a bit.

"I think I'll go back upstairs," I finally muttered, shaking my head a bit.

"Yup," Jack simply said.

(Abby)

Commander Shepard was waiting for us there, stern-faced and stiff-backed as ever. She hadn't even had the chance to change out of her armor yet, poor lady. A streak of orange blood across her face served as a reminder of the dreadful operation on Korlus, and the slight sag of her shoulders, no matter how much she tried to hide it, belied a deep weariness I could tell was still seeping into her limbs.

"Sit down," she said, gesturing to the chairs set up around the meeting table. She sat across from us, forcing a small smile on her face. "Doctor Chakwas doesn't feel you're up to another ground assault yet, Abby," she said, "and I won't make HK go again. But if we're going in blind, I'm going to need some sort of answers."

"Should I go get another piece of paper?" I asked sarcastically.

"No need. EDI, bring it up."

A large, topographic map appeared without a hitch on the holo-projector fitted in the exact center of the table. I knew immediately it was Horizon. "We're going to drop off here," she said, pointing to a particular spot. I got up and circled around, trying to orient myself. I could see Shepard watching me out of the corner of her eye.

"Is there any way we can enlarge... this square area here?"

EDI complied. "There's the warehouse," I said, pointing. I followed the line with my finger, all the way to the knot of buildings right before the large battle. "Ah. Okay, then." I went back to the original spot. "You'll meet the first of your resistance about here. Collectors, naturally. There are also husks with them."

"Husks?" Shepard echoed. "Like the geth used?"

"The geth took that technology from Sovereign, Commander," I told her. "It's very advanced, see? The Collectors are working with a Reaper, just like you already knew. And this Reaper can possess individual Collectors, boosting their armor and biotic barriers. No, the Collectors aren't biotic, except for the ones that glow orange, okay? Take those guys out first."

I glanced at HK, biting my lip as I tried to remember the rest. "The husks have newer... variations. Not fun. Uh... there's the normal guys. They suck. There are red ones who run up to you and implode, and to be honest I don't think your shields will help. And the Scions... the Scions are basically a lot of humans grounded together. There is a blue sack behind their gun arm-"

"They're your worst nightmare," HK said fervently.

"Uh pretty much!" I agreed. "They suck. A lot. Uber suckishness."

Shepard didn't look impressed. "Weapons? Armaments?"

"The Scions are equipped with a special weapon that shoots out... well... I don't know what it is, but if you see or feel it coming for you you better get the heck out of the way. Quickly. It's some kind of biotic-based attack, I don't know. It hurts. It's like a shockwave of biotic Warp coming your way."

"Okay."

"There are some Collectors that have particle-beam weapons. Stay away from them and take them out from long-range. And...

"The Praetorian."

"You'll want your own particle beam for that one, which you'll find lying around on Horizon somewhere. Keep an eye out, it shouldn't be hard to find. But the Praetorian is probably the worst Collector you will ever encounter...he can kill you in a matter of seconds. Keep moving, and stay behind things as much as possible. Harbi-er, the possessed Collector, the Scions, and the Praetorian will all approach you. Keep as far away as possible, especially with the Praetorian. You can take care of it, but its going to be able to repeatedly put its barrier back up. You and whoever else is with you just need to keep firing at it as you move, but don't focus so much on that that you get yourselves killed." HK finished, shuddering as he thought about it.

I giggled a little hysterically there. "The Collector's particle beam works, or the grenade launcher. Or the nuke. Nukes work, but I'd save that for a... special occassion. Also, quick question: when are we arriving at Horizon?"

"A day. It's far out there." She gave me a look. "And Kaidan Alenko is there."

"Yeah, I know," I said. "Funny thing... isn't it?"

"You haven't told me what happens to him. He and I were good friends."

I raised an eyebrow. "With benefits," I muttered HK's way.

She turned to him, her cheeks heating up. Perhaps she felt she'd get better answers out of him than me... she was probably right. "HK," she said, "I need you to tell me if Kaidan is alive or not down there."

HK's jaw dropped, and his eyes went wide. He glared at me, before looking back to her. "Well, okay...yes, he's alive, but I can't tell you anymore than that. Its your business, not ours...but he's not dead. You'll find out everything else down there."

"If this another damn thing you can't tell me?" she asked, her voice going icy. Scary icy. I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck prick up. "Because I've had enough of that bullshit. You tell me, right now, or-"

"Commander Shepard," EDI said, "Mordin wishes to see you."

She clenched her fists and consciously relaxed her shoulders. "Tell him I'll be a few minutes, EDI."

"Commander."

EDI's form took shape in the middle of the table, overtaking the map. She stared emotionlessly at Shepard, who visibly slumped and stood. She walked out of the room. EDI's ball form rotated slowly to face the both of us. "The Commander is upset at you. You consistently offer half-truths and ommissions to your stories that do not match up when you talk amongst yourselves. She will not talk to you about this yet, but be assured that you will answer for yourselves after tomorrow."

I nodded. "We're not trying to frustrate her! Honestly. This is just so hard! We've never exactly been in this type of situation before."

"Adapt." EDI winked out of existence, taking the map with her.

I stared at HK, my mouth hanging slightly open with frustration. "Wonderful."

HK looked completely shocked and horrified. "What am I supposed to tell her?" he growled. "The man she loves is going to break her heart? I can't...and what does EDI mean we are going to answer for ourselves?"

"No, we can't talk about this here," I said in a low growl, jerking my head at the table for emphasis. I hit the table with the palm of my hand. "But just in case anybody is listening... Shepard should take the best fighters. Just saying! Because it's going to make Garrus's mission look like a cakewalk."

"I don't care if they listen, if they want answers, they'll ge-okay, sorry, sorry...guess Shepard's outburst frusterated me," HK said with a sigh, putting his head in his palms. "But I can understand her point of view, especially when it comes to her boyfriend."

I was totally tempted to lean right into EDI's hole and yell, Kaidan's changed and doesn't love her anymore so don't you go around patronizing us you ship cancer! I crossed my arms and took a few deep breaths to calm myself down. "At this rate we're going to be thrown off the dang ship."

"I...I just don't know what to tell them," HK whispered. "I mean...is Shepard just going to tie us up and force everything out of us? This...heck, I don't know what to say."

I felt my eyes go wide. Like a wish gone bad, almost... the person thinks they're getting everything, but it turns out horrible. Damn, I'd seen a lot of movies like that before... I never really liked them much, to be honest. "We can only highlight the path ahead by a few steps.. but we need to have her find things out herself, too. Or else it won't work. I mean, yeah, I know it's frustrating but holy crap, can't she just... take a chill pill?"

HK rubbed the back of his neck. "If I were in her position, I'd be pretty mad, but not sure if I'd be as mad as she is...but she just came back from the dead, like I said earlier, and now has this thrown on top of everything else. I understand, but she just needs to understand us, too. We can't hold her hand and walk her down the path to defeat the Collectors...lets hope she comes to know that."

I nodded, tapping my foot on the deck impatiently. "We'll be at Horizon in a day. She probably won't try to corner us until afterwards... hopefully. I'm not getting into this conversation with her."

HK nodded. "Lets hope that she has so much stuff that takes up her time so that she just...forgets about it, or cools down, or something." he said with a heavy sigh. "But for now, what do we do?"

"You should probably go clean up and get some sleep," I said wryly. "I'll hang around the ship for a while... but I'm avoiding the ground team for now. I'm not sure if I could omit so many things to Garrus or Jacob if they caught up with me, you know?"

"Fortunately for you," EDI said, popping up again. "Omitting things to Mr. Vakarian will not be hard, at least on personal matters like this. He and Sarah have already discussed his personal life indepthly, and have even struck a deal."

"...what kind of deal?" I asked suspisciously.

"To go after the man that betrayed him, Sidonis, whenever we stop at the Citadel." EDI answered.

I contemplated on that, then nodded. "O-kaay. I doubt it could screw up anything, and Garrus likes Sarah a lot, so..." I looked at HK. "Sounds good, right?"

HK nodded, looking like he was in deep thought for a moment. EDI dissappeared, and he looked at me. "You know..." he slowly began. "I wonder if, okay this is crazy, but I wonder if...Sarah has the right idea, or something. Like...maybe its just because my mind is on the missions, kinda, but maybe...we need to initiate them? Just a thought."

"We'll see after Horizon," I said, "but I see where you're getting at. If... a certain person's words are different after the mission, then we'll see what we can dig up. I think. I hope."

HK nodded. "Indeed...may help us get back into the good graces of some people," he commented. "But we'll have to see."

"Yup," I muttered. "Thanks, EDI."

[Marishal]

(HK)

It had been a very solemn twenty-four hours. Both Abby and I were on edge, and we had also told Sarah, who saw Shepard's point-of-view on all of this clear and well, but had tried her best to keep her distance and go about her cleaning duties on the ship.

And I felt like the crew was on edge, too...not because of Shep getting at us, but just because we were about to encounter Collectors. Some, like Miranda and Jacob, were calm because they knew this day was coming. But everyone else, unless you were the uncaring ones like Jack and Grunt, seemed a little frightened of what was to come.

Not to mention, Shepard's former lover was on this planet too, and everyone was wondering how she'd react to that. I had to wonder if that was what put a few people on edge more than the thought of encountering Collectors.

I'd tried to get as much rest as I could in during the past day. I got several hours of sleep, but was too nerve-wracked to truly react. I was terrified of seeing Shepard after what had been said, and being on bad terms with the commanding officer of the ship you served on was not a good idea.

Now, Shepard, Garrus, and Zaeed were all down on Deck 5, getting ready to head to Horizon. Abby and I felt it was safe to head to the cockpit and try to...watch over things.

"Well," I said to her as we walked past the Galaxy map. "You're about to meet Joker."

Abby didn't even look excited at the prospect. Her hands were clenching and unclenching at her side. She just nodded and glanced over her shoulder. I looked back, too. Mordin was striding towards us-or towards the cockpit. He simply nodded as he fell into step beside us. "Very exciting," he stated. "Nervous?"

"Um, yeah, sorta," I replied with a shrug. "I'm not as...casual about this stuff as you, Mordin."

"Ah, but very exciting! First glance at relatively hidden species, with countermeasure that is first of a kind! Amazing!" Mordin exclaimed. "No need to fear."

I nodded with a chuckle. "Well, not only that, but I think the Commander's really mad at us for not telling her everything we know."

"Secrets common in salarian families. Necessary...nothing new for me. Hopefully Shepard will come to understand," Mordin said.

Oh, she won't be in a good mood once Horizon is over, so I doubt she'll be understanding.

We walked into the cockpit, where Joker and EDI were sitting. EDI's blue form stared at us. "Mr. Moreau, the two that Shepard has spoken alot about are here...the ones with the predictions for the future. One is quite fanatical about you," she said.

I glanced at Abby, prepared the burst out laughing, but quailed underneath the withering stare she was directing at EDI. "Have they taken off yet?" she asked.

"Thanks for telling me I've got a fan, EDI, it'd be nice to have one around here, but I'm kinda focused on other things at the moment," Joker retorted to his AI rival. "And no, they haven't, but they're about to."

I stayed silent, ignoring the fact that Abby was not going absolutely nuts over Joker, but I wasn't quite surprised once I put my mind to it. We had alot more going on right now than meeting our idols.

"Okay, she's going now," Joker said.

Seconds later, we saw the shuttle fly out from underneath the Normandy, heading to the planet right in front of us.

"Lets hope this goes well," I whispered to Abby.

She nodded fervently. "Yup." She stroked the cut on her head again with her finger. It was an unconscious habit I'd noticed yesterday, when she was nervous. She blew out a deep breath.

Joker glanced over his shoulder, looking at us directly for the first time since we'd arrived. "Great," he grumbled, his eyes examining us. "Don't you kids have something better to do?"

"We need to stay up here," Abby said. "To help."

"Uh-huh, okay. Take a seat, then, and for God's sake don't press any buttons. I don't have time to babysit you three today." Joker turned back around, frowning over his statistics. "They're hitting planet-side now..."

"Ah, exciting," said Mordin, glancing out the viewport. "Wish I was down there with them... but Shepard's choice. Garrus and Zaeed much better combat-wise than I am, of course. Hope she collects samples of Collector DNA."

"I'm sure it's high on her to-do list," Joker said sarcastically.

I rolled my eyes slightly...I liked Joker, and his reaction was expected, but I wasn't quite in the mood for it. I'd just have to deal with it, though...and this was the first time that Joker had seen the crazy people onboard. It was how anyone would be, really...hopefully it'd improve in the future.

"Shepard is contacting us," EDI announced.

"We've hit groundside. Mordin, you sure these armor upgrades will hold against seeker swarms?" Shepard asked.

"Certainty impossible. But in limited numbers should confuse detection, make you invisible to swarms... in theory," Mordin replied, leaning over the comm unit.

"In theory?" Garrus repeated doubtfully. Abby grinned.

"Experimental technology, only test is contact with seeker swarms. Looking forward to see if you survive." Mordin answered.

The comm went dead after that.

"You'll still be able to talk to her for a little while, but its gonna get cut off soon enough...she'll be on her own," I said to the others.

"I'm already picking up some interferance," Joker said, scrolling through a very complicated-looking sequence. "Filtering through the white noise... Uh oh. Picking up some biometric readings."

"Shepard has engaged the Collectors," EDI said.

Abby sat down at EDI's terminal and brought her knees up to her chest. "You know," she said offhandidly, "It's kind of worse hearing the action and not being able to help instead of being down there with her."

I nodded in agreement. "Being on the battlefield's scary, but having to listen to it and not being able to do anything is really bad, too."

"Story of my life," Joker said with a snort.

I wanted to smack myself, as I totally forgot that that was how Joker lived. Always in the cockpit listening to Shepard's battle, not being able to do a thing...he had to endure that everyday. Every single day, whether it was two years ago or now.

It was hard to imagine having the kind of life that Joker did.

"Roughly, how difficult do you expect the Collectors to be?" Mordin inquired, giving us a curious look.

"Like we told Shepard, alot of them aren't going to be hard. For a rare, barely seen species, only a couple of them pack a real punch. This fight will be over within a minute or two." I answered, sitting down in a chair and putting my elbows on my knees. "You're countermeasure will work great, though."

"On this world, anyway," Abby said wryly. She must have been thinking about the ending mission. We were silent for what felt like a long time, until...

"They won," Joker announced. "But... ah shit." He typed a command into the keyboard and cursed when it didn't go through. "Commander, we're getting all kinds of interferance, we can't maintain the signal. You're on your own for now."

All that came through the intercom was white noise.

"It's the Collectors jamming communications," Abby said quietly. "Until Shepard reaches the main guns the Alliance was installing, you'll be out of luck."

"We'll see about that," Joker muttered. "Look alive, EDI. Think you can cut through the jamming?"

"Their devices are very advanced, Mr. Moreau," she answered. "I cannot penetrate the jamming. But I do detect a gradual softening on the farther side of the colony where the new AA weapon is located. Abby's assumption is correct."

Joker said nothing. Abby and I exchanged a glance. "So," she asked me, "how long do you think this entire thing will take, hmm?"

"Depends on how fast she moves," I responded in a monotone. "The colony isn't very big, but there are going to be alot of Collectors trying to kill them...and the husks. I'd say it'll be an hour or so."

"Husks?" Joker asked in shock.

"The Reapers like to use them," I simply answered.

Abby sighed, like she was getting ready to explain something. And she was. "So you know how the geth were working with Saren, who was working with Sovereign?"

Joker turned around halfway in his seat, staring at Abby with suspiscious eyes. "Yeah..."

"The husk technology isn't geth. It's far too advanced. The Reapers allocated some of their technology to the geth in return for their help. But they only got the most basic, basic form of husk technology. The Collectors, the slaves and pawns of the Reapers, have a bit more.. advanced stuff going on."

"Like?"

"The Dragon's Teeth aren't on Horizon," she said, "but the husks are there. Weird, right? Not really. You have your normal varient, the blue guys who like shocking you, but now you have some red guys who implode when they're around you, Scions, Praetorians..."

"Praetorians," EDI stated. "After the Emperor's guard in Rome?"

"That's what we call them," Abby said. "Thank God you guys will only see two, though. They're very, very hard to kill. But it's the Scions you have to worry the most about, because those are about... oh, twenty or so husks molded together and grafted into a... well, you'll see. It has a very powerful biotic attack, kind of like a shockwave of pure energy. More powerful than anything Shepard can recreate, even with her upgrades. I have a theory that Scions are the husks of humans with latent biotic abilities, unless the Collectors and Reapers have found a way to manipulate that talent as well."

Silence. Then: "Oh."

"Disgusting," said Mordin, still staring out into space. "Inhumane. Have seen the geth reports. After Sovereign was destroyed over the Citadel, husks vanished. Thought they may be Reaper technology before you told me, but theory confirmed. That is... troubling."

"You already knew about the Reapers before you got on this ship?" Joker asked. "What the hell?"

"Of course I did," Mordin said. "Commander Shepard helped a salarian STG squad under the command of Captain Kirrahe on Virmire. Word circulates around operatives and eventually reaches me."

"Do the STG members believe in Sovereign?" Abby asked curiously.

"Of course not," said Mordin. "Or at least, not most of them. Captain Kirrahe is half and half on the matter, I believe, but I do not know. The only thing I am certain of are the facts that were relayed back to me and my interpretation of them... and a little judicious hacking into classified Council records. Commander Shepard hasn't been wrong before, so why would she be incorrect about this assessment? To ignore a woman such as she isn't only stupid, it's suicidal. But how was I to help? I drifted to Omega... and have worked there ever since."

"Crazy," Joker said. "We saved the Council's ass back there and all they do is put us on a geth trail."

"And the Collectors found you, dragging you back in," Abby said, understanding. "That was one of the scariest parts I'd ever seen... but there are going to be worse parts ahead."

Joker laughed. "Hard to imagine."

Abby smiled sadly. "Sorry."

"The Council is in deep denial...I think they want to believe that they can continue to live their little lives out in peace," I said, shaking my head at them. I always hated the Council. "As...controversial as Cerberus is, they don't hesitate to get the job done."

More like as vile, as cold-hearted as they are.

"Yeah," Joker said, and that was the end of that conversation.

The silence seemed to stretch on forever and forever. Abby had her eyes closed, her head resting on her knees; Joker was trying to get past the jamming, to no avail; Mordin watched the planet of Horizon rotate through the viewport, caught up in his own thoughts; EDI just stayed still and silent, possibly working through Collector algorithms; and I just kind of sat and watched.

It seemed like forever until they reached the transmitter. Commander Shepard's voice made us all jump. "Normandy, do you copy?" she sounded very harassed. I automatically winced.

"Joker here. Signal's weak, Commander, but we got you."

"EDI, can you get the colony's defense towers online?"

Abby glanced up and gave me a look, biting her lip. "Errors in the calibration software are easily rectified, but it will take time to bring them to full power," said EDI. "I recommend a defensive posture. I will not be able to mask an increased generator output."

"Those bastards will be swarming on us soon enough anyway," Zaeed said. "We'll take cover, Shepard."

Shepard sighed. "Got any other helpful tips?" she asked. It might have been sarcastically, but I couldn't tell for sure.

"Just one," EDI said. "Enemy reinforcements are closing in. I recommend you ready weapons."

"Good luck, Shep!" Abby called.

"Yes, good luck," I called as well, just to be kind, even though I knew that both of our voices were probably the last things that she wanted to hear right now. I looked to EDI. "You might want to go as fast as human-as fast as AI-ly possible."

"I will do my best," EDI assured.

I stood up, and began to pace for a few minutes out of nervousness...Joker was staring forward, I wasn't sure if EDI could get distracted like an organic could, so I doubted it bothered anyone.

A few minutes passed, and EDI said. "Defense towers at 40%."

I could hear some of the fire fight over the comm. The Collectors were literally raining down on the area. I winced at the thought.

"Defense towers at 60%," EDI announced a moment later.

"Come on, EDI!" Shepard snapped.

I continued to listen to the fight down on Horizon...it was starting to die down, but in reality, it was only just beginning. I glanced at Abby.

"Defense towers at 80%," EDI said.

While EDI continued to work, everything went silent for a moment...it was about twenty seconds, until I heard a massive fight erupt. "What the hell is that thing?" Garrus yelled.

I looked at Abby again. "Here we go."

Abby leaned over Joker's shoulder to speak to the intercom. "Shepard, that's a Praetorian. It has a laser, so stay away from that. And do NOT get close to it. Knock down the armor as best as you can with heavy weapons. It has a biotic barrier it brings up a lot, too. You can do it!"

"How the hell does she know that?" Zaeed grunted. Garrus cried out in either surprise or pain, and we all tensed. "Ah... take that, you son of a bitch!"

Joker's knuckles were white. "Hurry it up, EDI..."

"Shepard-look out!"

"I got it-go around-"

Grunts. "My shields are down!" It was Zaeed. "Get it's attention, Vakarian!"

Heavy breathing from all three of them was all we could hear. We were all huddled around the comlink, and if I looked over my shoulder I could see the others of the crew eavesdropping as well.

"What the hell is it doing-? Garrus, get away from that thing! Zaeed, circle around and draw it's fire. Keep to cover! Garrus, to me! Get to one of the bridges and take a sniping position-ungh-"

"Shepard!"

She groaned. "We're good. Those two weren't lying." She panted heavily.

It was a few more seconds before we heard anything else. It seemed as though Shepard had dispersed the entire squad around the area in a triangle formation.

"Like I said, keep your distance!" I shouted, even though they likely knew that by now. I could hear the fight continuing, with Shepard shouting orders to Zaeed and Garrus.

"Defense towers at 100%. I have control. Firing on the Collector ship now," EDI announced to all of us. Right afterwards, we could vaguely hear more firepower...no doubt EDI throwing everything she could at the Collector's.

"Gah!" Garrus screamed.

I cringed at the thought of the pain you actually experienced when the Praetorian tried to obliterate you.

"Garrus, get to cover! Now!" Shepard boomed.

"Use the particle beam, use the particle beam! Or the grenade launcher or missiles...regular guns just won't work!" I shouted.

We heard several more screams of pain, from all three of them, over the next couple of minutes...you could feel the fear all across the cockpit. It was thicker than anything I had felt in a long, long time.

"Come on, Shepard!" Joker blurted out.

"Keep at it! Thats it!" Shepard shouted.

"Very tough skin likely," Mordin observed.

I snorted. "Definitely," I remarked. "Its pure armor."

Seconds, in what felt like minutes, passed by...finally, after a battle which hadn't been too long but had seemed like an eternity, we all heard a sigh of relief over the comm. "Its gone," Shepard said, sounding utterly breathless.

I nearly collapsed back into my chair.

"Don't try going for the ship, its going to be-" I began.

However, right at that second, EDI spoke again. "The Collector vessel is lifting off."

"Yes, that." I finished.

Abby let out a breath and grinned. "Praetorians suck," she said, echoing her previous statements. "Uber suckishness."

Shepard keyed out of the communications, and we were left in the silence once more. "Give her three and a half minutes, then move in to get her out," Abby said, catching my eye again. "That's about as long as the conversation with Kaidan will be, anyway."

Joker's mouth opened slightly. He licked his lips. "Bad news?"

"Kaidan's... Mad at her. For working with Cerberus. He won't stick around to listen. He thinks she betrayed everything she once stood for."

Joker didn't have a firm reaction, but looked concerned.

"Yes, we know about their...past," I told him, figuring that was what was on his mind. "Shepard's a strong woman, and hopefully will continue to operate okay, but I think this'll hurt her, at least a little. Its like Abby said...Kaiden's just an Alliance soldier. Its who he is. He won't listen to anything she has to say."

"Yeah, kinda not surprising about him not being on the Cerberus train. I don't think Ashley would be, either," Joker said, turning back around to stare at the viewport.

You can say that again.

"Ironically enough, I think the aliens are the only ones who actually understand her position," I muttered.

Abby actually snorted. "Crazyness," she said.

Joker started to move us out when the transmission came through. "Joker." Shepard's voice was dim and quiet compared to the battlecries. "Send the shuttle to pick us up. I've had enough of this colony."

"You're probably going to want to get some people down there to get them to MedBay," I said, thinking realistically. I had to remind myself to do that now. It became all too clear to me on Omega, and even moreso on Korlus. "They're going to be badly beaten up."

"Yeah, no shit," Joker mumbled.

"I will request that Miss Lawson sends a team down there immediately," EDI said.

The crew was beginning to leave now, likely to prepare for Shepard's return. They all knew that she wouldn't be feeling the best after this...physically or emotionally. I had to wonder, even if it was a game, how she survived all of that in the first place. It had to be insane.

She may hate us right now, but I can get her position.

I looked to Abby again. "At least...Horizon's over," I whispered quietly.

She nodded, biting her lip. Probably worrying about Shepard's emotional state when she got on board. "I should draw something for her," she said halfheartedly, scratching her forehead again. If she wasn't careful, I thought, she'd soon be tugging out the stitches. "I already drew a present for Zaeed, you know, for the drawing utensils. Picture of his gun, Jessie." She shrugged. "She's not going to be a happy camper when she gets here..."

"Hey, don't go bothering the Commander until she calls for you," Joker said suddenly, his fingers making adjustments to the controls. "Leave her alone for once."

"Must go down to deck five," Mordin said, starting off.

"He's crazy," Joker muttered.

"Mordin Solus has no mental abnormalities that I am aware of, Mr. Moreau. His psyche file-"

"Can it, EDI. For once. Okay?"

"-warned of hyperactive behavior. Mr. Solus is an excellant addition to the team."

Joker sighed and pressed a button on the console. EDI went mercibly quiet. "So the mute button is real!" Abby said, delighted by the fact.

I blinked...Joker referenced that button in the game, but it was surprising to know that it did actually exist. And maybe nice for him, though I actually liked EDI and enjoyed hearing their bickering, but now wasn't much of a time for laughs and jokes.

I exhaled a deep breath. "So, what should we do now?" I asked Abby.

"Play with the mute button," she muttered. She caught my look and shrugged. "Or we could go... bother Chakwas."

Joker turned around. "I just can't win, can I?"

Abby looked like she was going to shoot off a snappish remark-in fact, I expected her to-but she just smiled sadly and said, "Yes, you do. C'mon, HK! Bye, Joker, nice meeting you, finally!"

Joker turned back to the controls. "They're weirding me out," he muttered in a sing-song voice.

"Join the club," I muttered with a snort. We had weirded out just about every single person on this ship at one point or another. It was about time that Joker was added to the list.

Despite his remarks, it was nice to meet him, though. And Abby finally got a life-long wish.

I sighed, thinking of Shepard as we walked through the hall. When she saw us...would she be enraged, uncaring, or something else? I hadn't quite figured the woman out, despite playing as her a thousand times.

We headed towards the elevator, but as we did, I saw Jacob with Kelly.

"Hey, Chambers, I know Shepard's pretty beat up right now...but when she gets a sec, can you tell her to come see me?" he asked, arms crossed in that Jacob-way.

"Sure," Kelly replied kindly.

I looked to Abby once again. "It's starting."

Abby nodded, but didn't say a word. We entered the elevator and she suddenly started to jump up and down. "I hope they're okay," she said sincerely. "This is getting really, really complicated. Fun, yet complicated. And you guys are the only idiots I'd do this with. Just thought I'd say so."

I thought for a moment. "I'm...okay, and this is...exciting in its own way, but I'm not sure what to think or feel. Shepard's mad at us, I still don't know whether she's going to lock us up or not, and we all could die. Its really nerve wracking...hopefully it'll be okay, but its nerve wracking. But you and Sarah are the only people I'd do this with, either, for the record...no one else, really. I have alot of friends, but doing this with anyone else would be too much insanity." I said, laughing as I finished.

Abby suddenly stopped jumping up and down, turning to stare at me with a confused look on her face. "Dude, question: has Shepard upgraded the ship... like, at all?"

"Um," I simply said, aghast that I had entirely forgotten about that. "I...I actually don't know. Mordin would, though, since she does it in the lab...but dang it. We have to do that, too, and get the resources, or else three people will die!"

Her eyes were wide. "Have we even DONE any mining?" she asked, her voice going up an octave.

"Erm...I don't think so," I answered in shock. "We've been busy with recruitment."

She swallowed. "Okay, mining. Mining. We need to do mining. Quickly. Before we go to the You-Know-What and recruit You-Know-Who." The elevator stopped and the door opened. We stepped off, circling around to check through the med bay's windows.

"Looks like it's only Sar and Chakwas," Abby said, waving to a busy Sarah as she concentrated on mopping the floors with some kind of science-fiction cleaning utensil.

[Marishal]

(Sarah)

For past hour and a half or so I had been very busy trying to mop the floor. I swear it took me at least twenty-five minutes just to figure out how it worked. It seemed to be partially mechanical, partially manual. Or maybe I just kept screwing up the settings; I couldn't be sure. All I knew was that if I handled it a certain way, it would try to wrench itself out of my grasp-at least it seemed that way. At other times, it felt like I had a hard time getting it to move at all.

Ah well, leave it to me to have trouble using a futuristic mop, or whatever this thing was. I swear it looked like the cross-between of a mop and a skinny vacuum cleaner without a bag, and without the ability to suck in debris.

By the time I finally got the stupid thing to cooperate enough to clean a portion of the medical bay, I happened to glance up. I saw HK and Abby standing outside the window, and the latter person waved at me. I sometimes felt sheepish when people watched me while I was working, but at the same time I didn't care. I simply grinned at her and took one hand off of the mechanical mop-thingy, waving back at her.

And that turned out to be a mistake. I swear that, when I looked back on this later, I would have absolutely no clue what I did wrong. Maybe I accidentally let go of a lever, switch, or pressure point for all I knew. But when I took one hand off of it, the crazy thing jerked sharply, causing me to stagger in an attempt to keep my balance. This caused my feet to slide across some soap suds and then, when the mop suddenly wrenched itself sideways, I ended up slipping and falling down on my rear, hard.

And that was when the medical bay doors opened, permitting a trio of people to enter-three people who looked pretty banged up, and not too happy. Shepard looked as though she was having one of the worst days of her life, and Zaeed... well, I guess he always had that grim, tough guy expression on his face, or whatever you called it. And Garrus just looked... I don't know, annoyed maybe? Along with being banged up.

"Uh... oops," I muttered sheepishly. This had to be the stupidest way to greet three people coming back from a dangerous mission. Not to mention an undigified position to be in. Plus these were probably the last three people I wanted to see right now. My conversation with Jack made me feel a little awkward around Garrus, and Zaeed... well, I felt intimidated by him, and that incident in the men's bathroom didn't help matters any. And Shepard... I swear I'd never seen that look in her eyes before. I blinked several times, knowing that she had seen Kaiden.

"Ah shit, its that crazy bitch! Get me out of here!" Zaeed yelled, looking right at me.

"Fall in line, Zaeed," Shepard said wearily. She just gave me this look, like she couldn't care less about whatever the hell I'd been up to before she entered, and caught Doctor Chakwas' eye at her desk. "Where do you want us?"

The doctor stood, examining the three of them with a critical expression. "Armor off, and tell me where it hurts," she said. Zaeed had taken a bullet to his leg during the final push, which had been sealed quickly with some medi-gel; Garrus's right side was covered in burns; Commander Shepard's chest was covered in large, glistening burns that were sick to look at, too. Obviously these two hadn't fared too well against the Praetorian.

Zaeed's mean words quickly faded from my mind when I looked at their injuries. Once again, this was far more real than the events in the game. All I would have seen if I was playing Mass Effect 2 would be their limp forms lying on the ground if they got badly hurt, easily healed by medi-gel. But this was no game. Their wounds were real, and were horrible to look at.

I felt a surge of disbelief and even anger rising up in me, and I shook my head slightly. "How could Kaiden accuse you of being a traitor when... when he saw you like this?" I blurted out. "He loved you. He shouldn't have..." I have stopped. I had a feeling that I shouldn't be saying that.

The atmosphere in the room immediately went still. We were all looking at Shepard, expecting the explosion, but she continued to stare past us and into the wall as Chakwas smeared a sweet-smelling ointment on her left side.

"Let it go, Sarah," Garrus said quietly, throwing a warning look Shepard's way.

My gaze snapped sharply in Garrus's direction. Of course, whenever he spoke I had a tendacy to pay attention anyway. Unless it was Shepard speaking to me in an authoritive tone or something. Or perhaps Rupert. I knew it was best to pay attention to my superiors... although I also paid attention to people I... really liked.

I subconsciously wiped at the back of my pants, trying to clear off some of the subs. It occupied a portion of my attention for a moment, plus it gave my hands something to do. But all it did was make them soapy. I cleared my throat and took a step toward Garrus. "You okay, Garrus?" I muttered, not quite looking at him.

He glanced down at his chest. "I've been better," he allowed. "Facing the Collectors for the first time was... challenging."

I nodded. I almost babbled something about how "I" had died several times before I could beat that stupid Praetorian, but I kept my mouth shut. I couldn't talk about the game, after all; it wasn't a game anymore. This was reality. I searched my brain for something else to say, anything at all, in the awkward silence that followed.

Finally, I blurted out something completely random. "I wonder if Conrad Verner is on Illum right now."

"Commander, your heart rate just shot up..." Chakwas noted, getting a nice idea of her life signs.

I took a step back, even though I was standing closer to Garrus than Shepard at the moment. "Forget I said anything," I muttered, turning away completely.

I glanced around and saw that the mop-or whatever it was-had somehow retreated several feet away. I figured that maybe if I could retrieve it, I could simply continue mopping, somewhere else perhaps. I walked over toward it and touched it with a single hand, gripping it firmly.

Next thing I knew, it jerked sideways again, sent my slipping across the floor again... and I ended up sprawled on top of Garrus on one of the medical beds.

Garrus screamed out in pain, and very slowly tried to lift me off of him. "Ugh...oh...Sarah, get off me, please..." he moaned.

"S-sorry," I mumbled and tried to carefully manuever myself off of him without causing too much discomfort. Yet in my attempt to be careful, I just seemed to be causing him more pain, considering the grunts and moans he made as I moved. Finally I just rolled off of him altogether... and landed on the floor in a heap.

I think I hurt something.

"Sarah, are you alright?" Chakwas asked, whilst still tending to Shepard.

I gritted my teeth as I got to my feet. "Fine, I just banged my elbow," I replied, touching it gingerly. Yep, there was gonna be a bruise there. Other than that, it seemed fine.

"Normally I would look at it, but I am far busier as you can tell...perhaps it would be better if you left? You can finish cleaning once everyone is released," Chakwas suggested.

I couldn't really argue. "Will everybody be okay?" I asked as I slowly moved toward the door, casting an apologetic glance toward Garrus. I stopped a few feet short of the door.

"Get the hell out," Zaeed translated.

I pressed my lips together and hurried out the door. I actually felt tears stinging my eyes but I willed them back. Yeah, last thing any of us needed was me blubbering over something so stupid.

As I rushed out into the hall, I nearly ran right into HK and Abby. HK raised an eyebrow upon seeing me. "Sarah, whats wrong?"

"Nothing," I said quickly, forcing a smile. "You know, just worried about them." I jabbed a finger back in the direction of the medbay.

HK seemed to hesitate, and gave me a weird look, like he wondered if I was actually speaking the truth or not. "Alright then...they'll be okay, hopefully, but Abby and I listened during the battle. They all took a really bad beating," he explained with a sigh.

"Yeah well, just let the doctor work, then." I spoke a bit more snappy than I intended.

He blinked. "Okaayy...you share Joker's sentiments then, but you probably are right...I think we all need to talk anyways. Privately." he said, looking to Abby.

"Yeah well, I want something first." I purposely turned and walked directly toward Rupert. Yes, I agreed that me, HK and Abby did need to talk. But I wanted a better chance to compose myself, and whenever I felt bad... well, there was something I liked to do.

So I walked up to Rupert, feeling the bewildered gazes of HK and Abby on my back as I did so. When I was sure I had his attention, I decided to make my request... even if it seemed kind of silly now. "Do you have any... I don't know, coke or rice krispies treats?" Hey, what could I say? I liked comfort food or beverages sometimes.

Rupert chuckled. "Surprised you don't want alcohol...its always alot better, but I think I've got some coke stashed around here somewhere," he said, leaning down and rummaging through one of his cabinets. Finally, he pulled out a can and tossed it to me. "Here you go. Least I can do after all the hard work you've put in."

"Thanks," I said gratefully, and cracked it open. I took a nice long drink from it. Cold coke, perfect.

"We have a weird friend," Abby said wryly. She glanced worriedly at the Med Bay, but Doctor Chakwas had darkened the windows, making it impossible to see inside. "Shepard's going to corner us soon, I'm betting..."

I finished my coke, set the can back on the counter, and I approached HK and Abby again. "Is there anywhere we can go where EDI won't be able to listen?" I mused.

HK glanced at both Abby and I again. "Hmm, I don't know...she's really not out of earsight anywhere. We just need to talk quietly and discreetly...come on, lets go to our quarters. With all the chaos, I imagine its totally empty right now."

Well, going to our room seemed like as good a thing to do as any. It was definitely more... private than the rest of the ship, so to speak. "Sure," I said, and Abby seemed to agree as well, so I turned and headed toward the elevator, leading the way toward it.

Once the three of us were inside it, I tapped the button to take us to the floor that our quarters was located on. "Up we go," I muttered. "Or is it down?"

"I could've sworn it was on this deck," HK said, looking very confused.

My head snapped in HK's direction. "...What? Oh... uh..." I looked at Abby. I didn't care if she agreed with me or disagreed with me, I just felt like something was messed up here and I wanted it straightened out, now.

Abby coughed politely and stepped out of the elevator. "To the room!" she announced dramatically.

I scowled briefly at her back, but I wiped the expression off my face quickly. I simply shrugged and stepped out of the elevator as well.

A couple of minutes later, the three of us were in our room. After we walked in through the door, I simply went over and casually sat on the edge of my bed. I said nothing; I simply glanced at HK and Abby, waiting for one of them to break the silence.

Abby sat down across from me, her hands gripping her knees. "So-we have something to talk to you about. Try not to freak out," she cautioned.

Okay... anytime someone said something like that to me, there was, perhaps, cause to freak out. Or at least be very, very concerned. "Like what?" I asked in a very calm voice, surprising myself a little.

"You're part of the crew," Abby said slowly, enunciating her words. "I hope you thought that through."

I narrowed my eyes and lowered my eyebrows, my eyes darting back and fourth. It was the expression I made when I was feeling puzzled, and thinking hard. Part of the crew? Well yeah, I guess I was part of the crew now. But... thought it through? What did that mean?

"Um... what do you mean?"

Abby looked like she was trying to say something without being too obvious about it. It was kind of frustrating. "You remember that one tiny little dream we had about stuff happening and the stuff going on and the human milkshakes, yaddah yaddah?"

My puzzled, deep-thinking squint intensified, so that I was sure my eyes and forehead looked scrunched up. Human milkshakes? What, did Abby have a dream when she was thirsty or something? "Uh... I think Rupert might be able to make a milkshake if you want one..."

"Sarah-focus."

I blinked, then my expression softened. I shrugged. "On what?"

Abby looked even more frustrated. "Reaper IFF. What happens after we take it? We take a shuttle somewhere, and...?"

Ah yeah, Shepard took a shuttle somewhere with the teammembers after she got the IFF thing, because...

My eyes widened as realization finally dawned on me. I also realized what Abby meant by "human milkshakes". My eyes darted around the room. I looked from Abby to HK, to the wall, and back at Abby again. "O-ohh," I finally managed.

"LIGHTBULB!" Abby crowed. "So you understand what I said about hoping you thought this through, right?" Suddenly, she went serious. "Sarah, listen-if you go through with this, I promise we won't let anything happen to you. We'll get you out of there. I promise."

I said nothing. My thoughts were racing. I knew what happened to the colonists-they were going to be procressed into liquid goo soon, if they weren't already. And depending on how fast Shepard and the crew were later... Kelly might suffer the same fate, and Rupert...

Was I really willing to take that kind of chance?

I shifted and stood up, walking to the other side of the room. "Oh... shit," I muttered aloud.

"We don't like it either, we really don't..." HK interjected. "We hate this, but we can't do anything without alerting Shepard and everything spiraling out of control. But, we are going to try to make sure that Shepard has everything she needs before then...upgrades, loyalty missions done, and hopefully...it'll be okay."

I slowly turned to look at him and Abby. "This isn't a game anymore," I muttered out loud. Somehow, realizing that my life was at stake made that fact sink in more than ever. "And just because I've chosen to be part of the crew, where I thought I might be safer and more useful... I might have a painful, helpless death, just because I don't go on missions like you guys do."

"But you won't," Abby interjected. "We won't let you die."

Could I really believe that? There were a million things that could go wrong. And HK and Abby had been giving Shepard all kinds of advice so far, but what if something happened to either of them on one of the missions? Or what if they died on the collector base?

I hadn't felt this conflicted or insecure since the moments where I was considering leaving the Normandy. I had left those thoughts behind, though; I had no intention of leaving. But I didn't want to die either. And no matter what HK or Abby said... there was still a possiblity that something could go wrong, somewhere. There were just too many... variables and possibilities.

I turned away again, staring at the wall, still thinking all of this over.

"I understand the uncertainty...I mean, we are uncertain too, about everything. This is all so real now...but we all just have to stick to what we know to do, and hopefully it'll turn out okay. We have alot ahead even before any of that happens, so we shouldn't worry about it too much right now, but again, I understand why you're worried." HK told me, sighing.

I shook my head. I just... needed some time to process this, at the very least. I was just starting to adjust to my new life onboard the Normandy, despite the fears and stress of worrying about everyone when they went on missions, and now I realize that I was going to be captured, and I might die. And all because we had agreed to let things play out as naturally as they would have in the game.

I turned toward the door. "Please excuse me," I murmured, taking a step toward the door.

"Sarah...if you need to talk, we're right here," HK lightly encouraged.

"Yeah," I muttered simply, and approached the door. It opened, and I hesitated in the doorway. "I'm just gonna take a walk," I told them.

"Okay," HK simply replied. It seemed like even he was not sure what to say in a time like this.

I walked out, and I heard the door hiss softly as it shut behind me. I simply started off down the hall, with no particular direction or destination in mind.

Well, this certainly sucked. It seemed like I had three options. I could either try to become a party member instead of a regular crewmember, (and we all knew how THAT attempt had gone before) or I could just keep doing what I was doing now and hope for the best, or I could still leave the Normandy... no, no way. I promised I wouldn't, and I would stay no matter what. Besides, at least I'd found a way to belong here now.

Then again, there was a fourth option... NO. I couldn't.

...Could I?

No way. HK and Abby would probably consider me a traitor, and never speak to me again.

Quite suddenly, I got a weird idea. I wasn't sure what compelled me to make this decision, perhaps it was simply something she said earlier. But regardless... I found myself heading to the elevator, and I took it down to the engineering level.

Once there, I stepped out and walked down the hall, then went through the next door and proceeded down the stairs. I was going to... talk to Jack.

I slowly approached the area that Kelly had cutely called her "hidey hole" in the game, somehow feeling... more confident, or at least bolder, than I had on my first visit. "Hi," I said softly as I approached her.

Jack snorted when she saw me. "Hey," she simply said.

I couldn't believe I was doing this. Then again, why not? Everything else had turned upside-down and inside out ever since I ended up here. "I was thinking about what we talked about earlier," I told her.

"Screwed the turian yet?"

I felt my cheeks heating up again. Damnit, why did she have to do that? "Um..." Okay, now I forgot how I was going to bring up what I wanted to talk about. So I ended up fumbling with words. "You... you mentioned that... um... you just do whatever you feel like in life. Why is that?"

"Why? Are you a total dumbass?" Jack asked, looking up at me and shaking her head. "Listen, I know that you and all your little friends live in a different world...one where you get pampered and live by the rules, but I didn't. I got it hard, and had to learn to fight for survival...I needed to take life while I could, and not be bound by all that stupid crap the Alliance or Cerberus spews out. People spend their lives wallowing like little babies and shit, just because of stupid fear or restrictions. I don't do that...I do whatever the hell I want because thats what life really is all about. Don't let yourself get lost in crappy fantasies of what life should be, because all of that is pure bullshit."

Well, I had to admit that I'd had plenty of unrealistic fantasies and unfulfilled expectations in life. But I wasn't sure if I believed what she said, even though I knew she believed it. Why did I come down here exactly, anyway? Was it because I wanted to do what I wanted to for once, and this was someone who could... re-affirm that?

I could never admit this aloud. But the fourth idea I was pondering was... just telling Shepard every single detail I could about the mission, the loyalty quests, the collector base, everything. That could help us make sure that everyone survived, instead of taking this step-by-step procress that Abby and HK seemed to insist on. I had to admit, to myself at least, that it was tempting. Wouldn't it be awesome, just once in life, to be able to take control and help make things work out the way you'd like them to? That way, maybe nobody could get hurt anymore than they'd need to.

Then again... maybe that would be cheating people of experiences they needed to go through on their own.

I studied Jack for a moment, then I asked, "Um... has anything bad ever happened because you did something you wanted to do? I mean, any unforeseen consequences?"

Jack shrugged. "Not to me, so who cares?"

Well, okay, THAT was the problem right there. Jack only thought of herself. Because she had to. No one else cared about her or looked out for her, ever. Abby and HK were a lot better than that; they cared deeply about Shepard and her crew, and were trying to do right by them. Also, while Jack only thought of herself, we had a lot of other lives to think about, that we were impacting.

It was a mistake to come down here. I should have known. "I think I'll be going," I finally said, turning to leave.

"Yup," Jack said, like always.

I headed back up the stairs and then got back into the elevator. I rode back up to the command deck, then stepped out and kept my gaze focused straight ahead as I headed toward the lab. Most of the crew seemed focused on their stations, although Kelly greeted me as I passed her. I simply smiled at her in friendly way and kept on walking.

I hesitated slightly before entering the lab. I wanted to collect my thoughts on how I was going to start this conversation so I wouldn't end up fumbling over words again. But of course, Mordin did not render me speechless in the same ways that Jack did. And I doubt he could anymore, especailly since he now knew that I didn't have a crush on him.

Finally, I entered and I approached his lab desk. He seemed to be working on something, and I just hoped I wasn't bothering him. "Hi," I said in a friendly tone as I approached.

Mordin glanced up. He seemed to be in good spirits. His fingers flew over a large, orange projection that took on the same shape and form of a human chest guard. "Sarah. Hello. I'm very pleased with the success of my armor upgrades. Not the first time I've done something like this, of course, but perhaps the most difficult."

I looked at the holographic image for a moment, curious in spite of myself. In some ways, I didn't really care too much what he was doing, especially since I knew most of it would be way over my head anyway. But I was a little intrigued, and it seemed impolite not to ask for some reason. "Is that what Shepard and the others used on Horizon?" I asked.

"No, no, no. I'm looking at the basic layer here." He typed in a command and the armor was suddenly replaced by the sphere of what looked like the inside of a nucleus. "With the armor upgrades Shepard used on Horizon, only had to put small, pheromone-inceptors within the suit's overlay. Working on subatomic levels. Quite normal, except that Collector gene is unlike anything I've ever seen before. Fascinating. Won't work against larger swarms, of course." He sighed, as if that disappointed him. "Will work on it later, but there's nothing I can do to make it completely fail-safe."

Yup, Mordin was as long-winded as ever. I didn't really have anything useful or productive I could say to that, so I simply decided to get to the point of my visit. "Can I ask you something?"

"Certainly, certainly, but make it quick. About to test new bioweapon. Not on us. Didn't think I had to specify, but Joker got nervous."

I had to chuckle a little at that. It always made me smile when I heard that line in the game. "Well first of all... how much do you know about the, um, visions and dreams that me and my friends have?"

"Have theory on that. But yes. Go on."

I blinked. Okay, he had me curious now. And a little nervous. "Uh... what theory?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Can't tell you. Still in development."

I frowned slightly in disappointment. But I chose not to press the matter. "Well anyway, I was wondering... if you had the power to tell somebody how the future is going to go, to the point where it might save a lot of lives, or at least make things easier... would you do it? Even if it might rob those people of valuable experiences and insights they would get along the way if you just keep your mouth shut?"

He frowned. "Not sure I understand... you are wondering about the difference between the road we must all take to gain our knowledge and the feasability of bypassing that road, am I correct?" I nodded, slightly confused. "Then I would say that it would be up to you. If you told us everything that would happen now, would that save lives? Personally, would give all intel to Commander Shepard. Make mission easier, better."

"Yeah well... I see your point. But do you think it's a good idea to play God, and to make everything eaiser for everybody else? I mean, I'm not sure if I'd be much better than the Reapers or something if I did that."

Mordin shrugged one shoulder. "Tell Shepard," he said, "or don't. Up to you. Up to HK. Up to Abby. Personally hoping you'll tell her."

"No offense, but you're not making it any easier," I muttered. "I mean... Abby and HK firmly think that we should just let events play out as they would have anyway. They just want us to offer guidance as we go along. If I tell Shepard, they might get... upset."

"Would you rather I told you not to tell her?" Mordin queried. "Fine. Then don't tell her. Do what will save the most lives."

In spite of myself I chuckled a little, and shook my head. "I was just asking for your honest opinion... I wasn't asking you to say what I want to hear, I guess." Or was I?

"No room for indecisiveness on this mission. You have to be ready for the Collectors." He walked back to his table. "If you're this conflicted, go home. Can only get us killed."

I narrowed my eyes at him, feeling a bit... stung. I knew that salarians talked fast and that they processed things in their brains faster than humans, but his direct bluntness caught me a bit off-guard. "Can't go home," I muttered out loud, more as a stall tactic than anything else while I thought.

Mordin looked... annoyed. I'd never seen him look like that before. "Make a choice. Soon. Things will only get more dangerous from here. Everybody on this crew must be ready, must be prepared to die. Are you?"

I already knew the answer to that, and the answer escaped my mouth before I could stop it. "No, I'm not ready to die."

"Then go tell Shepard. Tell her everything. Or trust that your friends would not let us die. They care, though Shepard may not see it. I do. But you have to decide this. Not me."

I folded my arms, studying him intently for a moment. "Would you think less of me, if I decide to keep my mouth shut?" I asked.

"Does not matter what I think," he argued. "Do not go through life wondering what other people think of you. I trust that you won't let me die. The stakes are high. If we fail, then the Collectors will continue to harvest the humans and the Reapers will kill us all. And I have no fear of... dying. If my death serves a higher cause, then it is my honor. I will fight for Shepard. Save humans."

"Yeah well... maybe I'll swing by the med-bay and... by that time I'll make a decision," I murmured out loud. I turned toward the door, then stopped at the last minute. "Hey um..." I looked back in Mordin's direction, then cut myself off. I hesitated, debating internally whether I should say it or just get out.

Mordin just gave me a blank stare. Waiting.

"You sure you can't make me a Biotic?"

He just turned around and went back to his work. "No. Explained this earlier."

"Yeah I know. It's just... well... is there any way that we could up my chances of survival, or give me some kind of unique ability or something? Any implants or whatever?" I grinned in spite of myself at the thought. I had read way too many sci-fi books when I was a teenager, and I used to daydream about having "kewl powahs" as people on the internet called it. Then again, I still liked to daydream about it. Of course... this was a serious situation. But... since one dream had come true-me and my friends really were in the Mass Effect universe-was it possible another one could come true somehow? It was worth asking at least.

"All implants and immuno-upgrades are reserved for the ground crew," Mordin said.

"Is there any way I could... buy one, or earn one somehow?" I pressed.

He looked up, frowning. "Will talk to Shepard about it, I suppose, if it is this concerning to you. But I promise nothing."

Well, that was something at least. And of course I probably should have been talking to the commander about this anyway. Mordin was probably one of the smartest people on this ship, but he couldn't do everything. Especially not behind Shepard's back.

Still, I wanted to try something. It was really a longshot, but... well, all of this was crazy enough as it was. And all we were doing here was talking. So if the thing I was thinking of did not exist, Mordin would simply brush me off, and no harm done. Or if it did exist... maybe we could talk about it. And maybe I could get Shepard to work out a deal somehow.

I knew I was crazy. But... I was thinking of something that I saw in a book series I read years ago called the "Daystar series", where one of the characters had this... implant that enhanced brainwaves. In other words, through sheer concentration, she could actually move things with her mind. Not on the same level as a biotic could, but it was still fairly powerful. I was just curious if such a thing could possibly exist here. And if it did... maybe acting like I knew all about it would give me an edge.

I leaned forward, placing one of my arms on the edge of the lab table. "I know about an implant I think would really give me an advantage."

"I know. I can think of several. Means nothing until I talk to Commander Shepard."

I held up a hand. I didn't want him to get the wrong idea here. "I know, and I think we should both talk to Commander Shepard later," I stated, trying to make that clear. "I just have something specifc in mind, and I want to know if you've heard of it."

I wondered at how much valuable bioweapon time I was cutting into. "Go on," he said.

"It's an implant I've... read about," I began. "One that enhances brainwaves so that people can concentrate, and lift large, heavy objects with their minds. The only downside is that it can be incredibly exhausting, from what I've heard. So... do you know anything about it?" Now I was going to find out if it existed in this universe or not.

Now he just looked annoyed. "Biotic implant. Not possible."

"Not really... I'm not talking about biotics," I pressed, then fell silent. Okay, so apparently he'd never heard of it. And I was just wasting both our time.

Still looking at me, he pressed a button. On the other side of the room there was a small ping from a metal box in the corner. "Samples done. Must get back to work now."

"Yeah, okay. See yah around, thanks for your time." I quickly left the lab, feeling a tad sheepish.

(HK)

After Sarah had left, I worried for her..both Abby and I had. She now knew that she was going to get captured by mythical bugs, get taken to their lair, and be put in a pod where she very well could die if Shepard didn't get there fast enough.

We have to make sure that she does. We just have to.

There were a million scenarios running around in my head, ones that I dare not mention to Sarah to freak her out even more. What if Shepard delays it so much that everyone gets fried? What if she even goes to one place afterwards, but Kelly is switched with Sarah?

Not that I wanted either one of them to die, but...but..

Dangit.

I was a member of this team now. I had been out on two full-fledged missions, I was trained, and therefore I was a member of Commander Shepard's league of loons, including the crew and party. They would try to protect me as much as I would try to protect them, despite some fears I still had, but something troubled me, especially now.

Was I putting Sarah, and Abby for that matter, above the others? Was that thought I had just now me basically saying "Lets hope that Kelly's still where she is if Shepard happens to go some place after the capturings"?

To me, it shouldn't be like that...maybe it was understandable, because I had known Sarah and Abby for years, and only just recently had the rest of these people ceased being fictional characters and turned into real people.

But as a member of this team...everyone had to be on the same level. At least everyone except Shepard.

But who's death will tear me up more? Watching Kelly get liquified, or watching Sarah get liquified?

The truth was, watching Sarah die was what would get to me more. I had never actually seen Kelly's death in the game, because I always went to the base immediately after they all got kidnapped, but I had watched clips of it, and had known it would happen...so it would be easier, even if it did hurt. But watching Sarah, one of my best friends, die would get to me much more, as bad as I felt for admitting it.

Thats not the way its supposed to be, though, or is it? Again, everyone needs to be on the same level, but...heck, I don't know. I care about everyone here, but Sarah dying is a far more horrifying thought.

I sighed outloud. Like we had stated only fourty-thousand times in the past day or two, this was getting really complicated.

I sat on my bed, but looked up when I heard the door swing open. I almost expected it to be Sarah, back after a good while of thinking, but instead...

It was the person I did not want to see right now.

Commander Shepard.

She stared at both Abby and I, and I could see alot of patches on her body, where she had been injured. "I think its time we talk," she said.

Abby threw me a look, and it wasn't a happy one. "Alright," she said.

I chose to remain silent for the moment.

Shepard walked inside the room, and the door slid shut behind her. "I encountered Kaiden," she said solemnly. I almost thought I saw some pain in her eyes, emotional pain, but I wasn't sure. "Would have been nice for a little warning."

"It's not our place, Commander-"

"You say that everytime." Shepard pointed out. Though her tone was not the snappy, angry one that it was yesterday.

"But this one truly wasn't...this is your personal life, not ours. What happened between you and Kaiden is between you two...it would have just distracted you if we said that he was going to totally shun you." I argued.

"I understand what you're saying, but it doesn't mean I'm happy about it," she said. "I could have come up with something to make him actually listen if I'd known that's how he would react."

"That would have been wrong, Commander," Abby said gently, shaking her head. "Kaiden is a wonderful man, but you have to understand. Everything that happens now will have repurcussions that we just can't figure out. Every one of our dreams dealt with Kaiden being upset. There was virtually no change. But there's still a chance, after this mission... if you stay loyal to him."

"Has he stayed loyal to me?" she asked.

"Commander, you've been clinically dead for two years. Wouldn't you want him to go and find some happiness for himself?" Shepard nodded, looking away with one hand balled at her hip. "Listen," Abby said, even more gently, "I know for a fact that he couldn't get over you for the longest time. He loved you. He's just going through an emotional rollarcoaster right now. We all are."

"If it makes you feel any better," I said, looking to Abby. I figured revealing this couldn't hurt. "He's going to send you an email and...apologize. He'll still want to be with you."

"I don't know if its not too late at this point," Shepard said, still looking at the wall. "And I may be dead, again, soon."

"We aren't sure about that, either, Commander, but don't give up," I encouraged lightly.

"We are heading into the biggest mission of our lives...we can't let oursevles be distracted. I think its time I try to put everything, including Kaiden, behind me. He could've joined me, but he didn't, and I respect his decision. I think it ends there," Shepard explained, turning back to face us.

Dang, is she really just letting him go like this? Guess it comes with being a soldier.

"Now, more importantly, I want to know if there's anything you can tell me right now. The stakes are higher than ever," Shepard finished.

"I think Jacob wants to talk to you about his father," Abby said. "And I think we should go to the Citadel one day soon and retrieve Kasumi Goto... also, have you been upgrading the ship?"

"Here and there."

"Have you installed the weapon and armor mods?"

"For the ship? Just the weapons. The armor seems like overkill."

"Trust me, its not. Its going to be what you need, along with shields...Jacob can help with the armor, and the shields...well, someone else will be able to help you with the shields. Those are the main things you need, though any other upgrades would be nice...if you need more resources, ju-" I explained, but she cut me off.

"Mine planets. I'm not stupid." Shepard told me.

"Erm, sorry," I said, feeling embarrassed. "But yes, you should go get Kasumi sometime soon, and speak to the Council and all that, but I also recommend recruiting Thane Krios, first, because you're going to have to make alot of trips to the Citadel if you don't. The Illusive Man has more information on people to recruit..one of them is an old friend, if that comforts you any."

"Better go speak to the Illusive Man and Jacob then," Shepard decided with a nod.

"Oh, and Miranda's going to want to be seeing you, too." I reminded.

"Alright...thanks, at least, for what you've been able to tell me." she said.

"Commander, we're really trying to help you," Abby said. "We're just as confused as you are on this entire thing. Between trying to figure out what to reveal and what not to, it's actually pretty difficult."

"I don't understand, but..." Shepard shrugged. "I guess we will later. One day, perhaps. Maybe. Right now this just feels like a dream I can't wake up from."

"I bet teh Praetorian woke your butt up," Abby muttered. "Hate that thing. It's unnatural."

"Nothing about the Reapers is natural," said Shepard. "Will we fight a Praetorian again?"

"Just once more. And I'll tell you exactly where when it comes up."

"Thanks."

"We're trying. Hard."

I nodded in agreement. "We are, Commander. We really are."

With that, Shepard simply bid us goodbye, and headed up to speak to the Illusive Man.

(Sarah)

By the time I got to the medbay, it was pretty much vacated. Shepard wasn't there, and it looked like Chakwas was tending to Zaeed.

Garrus came out just as I approached the doors, and I nearly bumped into him. I took a hasty step backward, averting my gaze. What happened earlier was still fresh in my mind. "Sorry," I muttered. "I mean... I'm sorry about, you know, what happened earlier."

"Its alright," Garrus said with a sigh. "Just try not to fall so hard next time. It really hurts."

"Are you okay?" I asked, looking him over. He was out of his armor and wearing what appeared to be casual clothing. Either that or it was medbay garb for turians, for all I knew.

"I'm fine, I just took a few bad hits out there. I've faced alot in my time, but never something like that. That Praetorian can really tear through you. But I'll be okay," Garrus replied calmly.

I nodded, feeling relief flow through me. Then I glanced toward the medbay. "Where's Shepard?" I asked.

"As I was walking out and saw you, I thought I saw her get on board the elevator. Do you need to see her? She was just talking to Abby and HK, I think," Garrus answered, motioning towards the elevator.

I looked toward the elevator. Okay, so it seemed I just missed her, then. "Maybe later," I finally said. Then I turned back to the turian. Then, in spite of my awkward conversation with Mordin earlier, I couldn't help but ask him something, just for the sheer hell of it. "Hey... do you know anything about... implants that enhance brainwaves, so you can move stuff with your mind?" Hey, you can't blame a girl for trying.

"I'm a soldier, Sarah, not a scientist. Maybe Dr. Solus would know more?" Garrus asked, looking slightly confused after what I had just said. "In fact, I'm no biotic specialist, but I've never heard of anything like that."

"It's not biotic," I muttered a bit defensively. I could see why people would think that, but I also felt the need to make that correction. "It just... enhances brainwaves. No biotics involved." I shrugged.

"Never heard of it, but I wouldn't know much. Only thing I know like that that exists is biotics," Garrus said, shaking his head.

"Um okay. Sorry for bothering you," I said with another shrug.

"Are you alright, Sarah? Maybe its not my place to ask, but you look...distressed," Garrus commented.

"I don't want to talk out here," I growled, glancing around.

"Okay, its your choice...I probably need to get back to the gunnery, anyway, and try to relax," Garrus said, looking in the direction of his usual station.

"Um, mind if we go in there and talk?" I muttered.

Garrus nodded. "Sure," he said, leading the way to the gunnery. Once we were both inside, he shut the door as he went back to his console, like he usually did. "So, what is on your mind?"

For a moment I just stood there behind him, clasping my hands behind my back. Then I turned and walked over to a nearby crate, sitting down on the edge of it. "A couple of things, I guess," I finally muttered.

"And those are...?" Garrus asked.

"Let's just say I had a couple of weird chats with Jack," I began. I figured the less said about that, the better. "But anyway... the other thing is... well, I realized more than ever that I might die. Because of... something I've seen in the... visions."

This got Garrus's full attention off of the console. "Jack's weird, everyone knows that, and we could all die, but the way you say it sounds like there's something more."

"Yeah well... there is." I scooted myself backward a bit and shifted so I could put my feet up on the crate. Then I rested my arms on my knees. "What if... I can actually see myself dying, if things don't go quite right? I mean... I don't know for sure what will happen, but I don't like placing my fate completely on someone else's shoulders."

"Hmm...I don't get the visions you and your friends get, but I think we all have to put our lives in someone else's hands. Shepard's mainly...she's the leader of this. We're here to help here, and we need to place ourselves at her will and just trust her. Thats the only way I see any of this working out." Garrus told me, sitting on a crate himself.

I thought about that. Well, that was certainly true enough... but still, when I was playing Mass Effect 2, I was controlling Shepard. Her choices were my choices. Then again, maybe that was still the case here, in a way. Were we actually the ones still in control, in some ways? It was just that me, Abby and HK were interacting with the characters and living with them now, and we were acting as advisors. Shepard was the one in charge, but... we could still push buttons, so to speak.

"What if I said... I had the power to decide, maybe, if I got captured or not?" I finally asked, choosing my words very carefully.

"Captured?" Garrus repeated, raising an eyebrow. "Well, if I were you, I'd use everything in my power to not get captured."

I couldn't say anything. I had decided... despite what might happen to all of us... I couldn't spill the beans on everything. I shifted my position a bit, and turned to look at him. In spite of myself, I was curious about something, even if it was silly. So I took the conversation in another direction. "How would you feel if I got captured by Collectors?" I asked aloud, keeping my expression carefully neutral.

Garrus gave me a weirded out look. "Are you saying thats going to-wait, nevermind, I don't want to know...but if you were, I'd be concerned for you. You are strange, Sarah, but I do consider you something of a friend, for all you are saying you'll do for me and I think you have good intentions."

I smiled at him. I felt touched by his words and amused by the look on his face. And since he was not wearing any armor at the moment... a weird idea crossed my mind. "Hey... can I ask you favor?" I asked, keeping very still where I was.

"Sure," Garrus simply answered.

I put my feet on the floor and stood up, but I didn't move near him... yet. "Can I... hug you?"

Garrus gave me a strange look. "Erm, well...I can't say I'm the most loving type, but...okay?"

I smiled, taking a single step toward him, and waited to see if he would stand up.

Garrus stood, very hesitantly, and slowly embraced me...it was not a tight hug, he simply wrapped his arms around me in a way that signified he was confused, but would do it anyways. He pulled back after a moment. "There."

I simply looked at him for a moment. "Thanks," I finally said with a smile.

"Your, uh, welcome...now I should really try to relax and then see about these calibrations," Garrus said, turning back to his console.

I looked at him for another long moment, thinking about the embrace. Finally I simply nodded and left.

[Marishal]

(Sarah)

I found myself standing in the middle of our room, glancing toward HK. I moved closer to him so that I could speak softly to him, not wanting to wake the others up-even though they seemed dead to the world. "I'm gonna go talk to Shepard," I whispered to him.

"Oh?" he asked in a whisper, looking a little surprised at what I just said.

My eyes darted toward the closest female, who was dozing oblivious to the world. I had a way of redundantly looking at something to make sure it was the way I thought it was, even if I had looked at it twice before. It was my way of making sure I wasn't making a mistake; and yes, she was definitely asleep.

"Just something I've been thinking about," I told him. Indeed, I had been thinking about it for a while, ever since they'd broken the news to me about my predicament. I hesitated for a moment, then I figured I might as well tell him. "I want to go on the next mission... maybe."

HK's eyes went wide in shock. "What? I thought we all pretty much figured out that you were better on the ship crew."

"Yeah, but we've also talked about other stuff since then, too," I said, being careful to keep my voice down. "Think about it. There's a chance I could die. But maybe if I prove myself as a member of the ground team, instead of a crewmember... maybe that won't happen. And that way, I wouldn't have to disrupt anything by telling Shep more than any of us should." I sighed. "I just want to give it one more try, that's all I'm saying."

HK sighed as well, looking like this got to him, but after a moment, he nodded. "I understand...you're probably smart for doing so. Just don't be surprised if she refuses." he whispered to me.

I nodded. "Yeah I know... especially considering what happened before. But I need to try, at least." With that, I simply walked out of the room, hearing the door hiss shut behind me.

When I arrived at Shepard's quarters a few minutes later, I pressed the door buzzer to get her attention, hoping she was in there and hoping she would let me in.

Shepard answered the door a few seconds later, and she had her normal outfit that she wore on the Normandy on...her hair looked wet, like she had just gotten out of the shower. "Hello," she simply said.

"Hi," I returned the greeting simply, smiling a little. "I um... I'd like to talk to you about something."

"Well, come in...though I don't usually oversee crew matters unless extremely important. Do you need something?" Shepard asked, leading me inside her quarters.

I followed her inside, then I decided to get right to the point. "I want to go on the next mission... whatever it is," I stated. Might as well just get it out in the open instead of beating around the bush.

Shepard raised an eyebrow. "Sarah, I thought we discussed this already. The last training session didn't go so well and you do alot better as a janitor. We're heading into geth space to get Tali...that could be very dangerous."

So that was where we were headed next, eh? I winced a little as I thought of the radio-active sun that burned out shields, and the geth that would be everywhere. Not to mention that collosus... still, I needed to try... right?

"I know," I said, still trying to figure out how I was going to explain this. "But... I need another chance. I'd like to try going on just one mission to see if I can prove myself as a member of the ground team." Part of me wondered if she would just say no outright, or take it into consideration.

Shepard sighed. She still looked calm, though. "Sarah, I'm not out to get people killed...and you don't have the proper training. You have not learned much about shooting or hand-to-hand, and I don't know what we're going to find here. I have a hard time believing I can take you."

She said she didn't want people to get killed. Perhaps I could play that card. "Commander... in one of my visions... There's a possiblity I'll get killed if I'm not a member of the ground team." I glanced away, looking at the opposite wall. "I can't say anything else about it, but... yeah. So I just want to try this, at least."

She gave me a hard stare. "What? How...or is this something else you can't tell me? You rarely step foot off of the Normandy."

"I can't say anymore," I told her, turning back to look at her. "Let's just say it's something that could happen to me. I don't know if it will, but..." I trailed off, shrugging a little.

"Are you absolutely sure this is necessary?" Shepard asked, still staring hard at me.

I hesitated. I was sure she picked up on my hesitation. "It... might be," I finally said. I wasn't about to tell her that my life rested entirely in her hands if I remained a crewmember. I also wasn't going to tell her how frightening the idea of becoming a ground party member seemed to me.

Shepard looked away for a moment, as if she was heavily thinking about something. "You and Garrus get along good, right?"

The memory of when he hugged me sprang into my mind, but I shoved it aside. "Um, yeah," I nodded. Did this mean that she was going to send me on a mission with him, or what?

"Then, if you really need to go on this mission...and I doubt we'll see anything but geth, who typically remain afar, except for one or two kinds...get a crash course in shooting from him. I think hand-to-hand training would be a bad idea, considering the last circus you caused, and you will not have enough time to learn alot, but just...try to learn how to fire a gun."

"I'll do my best," I promised. "And... don't worry, I would never bite Garrus." I had to turn my face away so she wouldn't see me grin in spite of myself.

"This is serious, Sarah. As your commanding officer, no matter whether you are ship or ground crew, I'm telling you that right now, so take it seriously. I doubt this is going to be anymore of a joyride than everywhere else we've been to." Shepard warned.

My expression turned serious as I looked at her again. "Trust me, Commander, I know. In fact, I already know some things about that world we're going to. Like, we won't be able to stand in direct sunlight because it will burn out our shields." I knew I probably shouldn't have done that. But I needed to make it clear that I did have a pretty good idea what we were in for.

Shepard was silent for a moment. "We'll have to try to avoid natural light, then."

I nodded. "Well then... where should I meet Garrus?" I assumed she meant that I should start right away with him.

"Deck Five. Your friends, Jacob, and others still spar down there alot. You and Garrus can use that as a shooting range, as well." Shepard told me, turning back to her desk in the process.

"Um... can you ask Garrus to meet me down there?" At times, I preferred it when the person in charge passed on certain directions on their own. I figured that if Shepard told him to go to Deck Five, he could go without much question. And she could also explain what this was all about. I'd rather not have to do that. I just wanted to go down there and meet him there.

Shepard nodded. "I'll tell him immediately."

I smiled at her a little. "Thanks, I'll head down there right now." I hesitated for a moment, then I offered a small salute. "Commander." Figured I might as well act like I was in the military. Since technically, I was now.

Then I turned and left the room.

Somehow, by the time I got to Deck Five, Garrus was already there and waiting. I raised my eyebrows with surprise when I saw him. I didn't think it had taken me that long to get here... but then again, I did get turned around a couple of times, and I needed to ask EDI for directions a couple of times. Then again, the sparring areas were places that I tried to avoid like the plague because I didn't to fight. So maybe that was why Garrus got here first.

Or maybe he didn't press Shepard for many details, I don't know. I had no idea if they exchanged many words or not when the commander called him.

"Hi Garrus," I greeted with a smile as I walked toward him.

Garrus looked at me, very confused. "Sarah...whats this all about?" he asked. "You wanting to be part of the ground team?"

My face fell a little. I was hoping that Shepard would have told him to spare me of any explanation. Unless she wanted me to explain it for myself? Maybe she thought that was best... or perhaps this was her way of trying to get me to spill more. I wasn't sure.

"Well," I said after inhaling deeply, "Let's just say it has something to do with that... talk we had before." I hoped we would be able to leave it at that.

"Alright then, but just...stay calm and focus. The last time we tried shooting or fighting, it didn't go so well. I still recall you blowing out EDI's terminal," Garrus said with a sigh. He took out a very simple pistol. "This is slow, and has eighteen rounds...its a good starter's weapon. Here."

I looked at the weapon for a moment. It was then that I remembered something. I actually intended to ask Shepard about implants while I was in her office, but... I guess it totally slipped my mind. Well, there probably wouldn't be time to get one anyway, not now at least. Maybe I could just see how this mission went, and if things went well... I could ask for one later.

"Actually I was wondering... could I learn to use a sniper rifle?" I asked, almost meekly.

Garrus's eyes went wider than I had ever seen them before. "A...sniper rifle?" he repeated.

"Well... I figured maybe I could just stay back at a distance and provide cover fire," I suggested with a shrug. Hey, that was what I did sometimes, in the game, when I played.

"Well, uh, I mean...its a good idea but...a sniper rifle takes time to master, and you have to have experience. It can kill in one shot, and if you take one wrong aim, Sarah...someone innocent could be dead." Garrus warned, looking extremely uncertain.

"Yeah... you have a good point there," I murmured, and slowly extended my hand and reached for the gun he offered. "So... uh, eight rounds, you said?"

Garrus sighed. "Eighteen."

"Oh," I said, coming close to smacking myself in the forehead. "Eighteen, yeah, got it. I'll remember!"

Garrus slowly handed me the gun. "Okay, first, put a new thermal clip in," he instructed.

I stared at the gun for a moment. "Where does it go again?" I asked after a long moment.

He just shook his head, and pointed to the back of the gun. "Right here, in this empty slot," he replied.

"Okies," I said, and snapped the thermal clip into place... with some difficulty. Then I raised the gun to my face, peering through the sights... and then I realized I was inadvertantly pointing it at Garrus's foot.

"Er...you might want to point it a little...higher. And at those glass bottles over there," Garrus said, motioning to the bottles across from both of us.

"Sorry," I muttered, then I raised the gun toward the nearest glass bottle. It was about... maybe ten feet away. I did my best to line it up in my sights. My hand shook slightly with anticipation and nervousness; I took a moment to steady it, then another moment to make certain I had it lined up properly. Then I fired. The kick-back jolt startled me a little, and caught me off-guard.

The bullet hit the bottle, but Garrus rushed over to me as I went stumbling backwards. "Yeah...you might want to be a little more careful about the kick-back, Sarah."

I took a moment to regain my balance, then I looked at him. "Is there anything that doesn't have a kickback?" I finally asked.

Garrus shook his head. "No, Sarah...pretty much all good guns do. Just be a little more careful." he said, then turned back to face the bottles. "Now try again."

I sucked in a deep breath, then I lifted the gun again. I held it as far away from my face as possible and gripped the handle very tightly, trying to eyeball it in order to line up the sights correctly. When I held it so far from my face, I couldn't see into the sights very well.

This time, my arms handled it a bit better when it kick-fired, but I missed the target completely.

The bullet hit the wall, then went flying off of it...it went right into one of the many fans in the room, stopping it.

Garrus groaned. "EDI, I think the Commander's going to want that fixed,"

"I shall inform Engineer Donelly and Engineer Daniels," EDI said.

"Okay, Sarah...you need to find a balance between proper aim and not getting the full force of the kickback." Garrus told me, crossing his arms.

After casting him a long glance, I decided to try again. I experimented different ways of holding the gun, even positioning my feet and legs in different ways to help balance myself in different ways. I was trying to envision the "feel" of the kickback, and trying to figure out which stance would make it easier to handle.

Finally I crouched down on the floor and bent my arms at the elbows, gripping the gun firmly between two hands. I was taking my sweet time, trying to aim very percisely.

Garrus stood perfectly still and silent, watching closely.

I pulled the trigger. This time, I was more or less prepared. My hands jolted a bit, but my arms stayed fairly steady, and the glass bottle shattered as the bullet went through the middle of it.

I stared for a moment, then I grinned. "I DID IT!" I couldn't help but yell. Then I blinked. "I mean, I did it!" I repeated more quietly.

"Excellent. A real target is going to be ten times tougher, but this is a start...you can shoot straight, at least. Just do, in the future, what you did just now." Garrus told me.

I nodded, and then I focused by gaze on the bottle at the opposite end of the room. It looked like was about thirty-five or forty feet away. I simply did the same thing I did before, maintaining my crouched position and keeping my arms bent. This seemed to help me deal with the kick-back. Then, after aiming carefully, I fired.

I didn't exactly hit the target very well, but I didn't miss either. The very top of the bottle got shot off in a clean hit, and the rest of the bottle simply fell over, rolled off of the crate, and shattered on the floor.

"Better than alot of the other times we've tried to teach you. Its a little slow, but its progress," Garrus encouraged. "Try again."

I nodded and then I focused on another target mid-way through the room. I was starting to feel a bit more confident, perhaps smugly so. It just felt good to be hitting targets, and the minor praise from Garrus made me glow inside. But I pushed it down, forcing myself to focus. I was determined to keep doing this right.

Once again I aimed carefully. This time I realized part of what I was doing that helped me brace myself each time. I was crouched on the ground, with my knees up in front of me, and I could anchor my feet against the ground and keep my arms bent. This kept me from being effected much by the kick-back, and I could still aim. Well, if I was out in the field... so long as I had time to crouch, and so long as the enemy stood still, maybe I stood a chance.

I fired. This time the blast grazed the side of the bottle, tipping it over and causing it to fall off the edge of the crate.

"Good," Garrus said kindly. "Now try to hit it straight on."

Three busted bottles later, I felt like maybe I was finally starting to get the hang of it, perhaps. I found that if I just sort of used the strength in my arms to keep them rigid at the right moment while firing, it made it easier. But I still kept crouching whenever I fired; that system seemed to work well for me, and I had no desire to change it. I managed to hit two of the bottles, dead-on.

Finally I looked at Garrus with smug triumph. "I think I can handle myself out there," I said with half-hearted confidence.

Garrus scratched his chin in thought. "Well, you've only shot some bottles...but the fact is, you have good aim, and geth aren't usually that hard to beat, but its still not much. Your targets will be moving and trying to hit you, too, but I think we have to make due right now. Sure you can handle yourself?"

I nodded firmly with confidence, although I wasn't quite sure how genuine it was. "I'll be okay," I said. "I'll stay alive and I won't kill anybody on our team."

"I don't know, it still worries me...just let Shepard and everyone else do the brunt of the fighting, okay? You got one of the shortest crash courses in history, but as long as you don't take the lead and apply what you've learned here to moving targets, and remember to take cover, it should be...okay. I hope." Garrus said, sounding very uncertain.

"Are you coming with us?" I asked, sounding a bit more hopeful than I'd intended.

Garrus thought for a moment. "Actually, yes...I think Shepard mentioned it. It is Tali that we're trying to recruit, and I think she's going to need to see some familiar faces before she joins Cerberus. Mordin's coming along, too, because he hasn't gotten out since he joined."

I found myself smiling in spite of myself. Good, I was going with my three favorite people, then. "That's awesome," I commented in a heart-felt tone.

"Just...keep on your toes once we're there, don't get too cocky, and remember what you've learned. Abby and HK did okay after mostly just hitting bottles, so hopefully you should be okay, too...even if it was in a shorter amount of time. Hopefully, it'll all be okay," Garrus said.

"It will be," I said. "I promise I won't shoot you in the back." I smiled, trying to insert some humor into this. But I don't think he appreciated it.

Garrus looked like he was uncertain of that. "Lets hope not," he said with a small chuckle.

My smile widened a little when I heard his chuckle. "So, when do we leave?" I asked.

"Not too long...it'll take a little while to get from that station we stopped at to Haestorm. In the meantime, I suggest preparing some armor for yourself, maybe a little more practice, and just...trying to ready yourself for this. Probably won't be pretty, and you'd know best," Garrus answered.

"What kind of armor should I wear?" I asked. I sort of felt like a kid asking all these questions, but I needed to ask them.

"The strongest type you can find, but something that lets you walk easy enough so that you don't get killed while being weighed down by heavy armor. Its hard to get into specifics, but just basically something that'll keep you protected," Garrus replied.

"Do we even have something like that aboard that's my size? Or is there time to... customize something?"

"I think we should have something thats your size, though human armor really isn't my speciality. I don't think there's enough time to customize anything, but again, there should be something for you," Garrus assured me.

"Okay then... where would I find some armor, then?" I asked. I had never bothered to learn where the armor was kept.

"Erm...the armory?"

"Yeah well... where is it? In here somewhere?"

"Where Jacob usually is, I think. Right across from Mordin's lab," Garrus said.

"Ohhhh yeah," I said, nearly doing a facepalm. Of course I should have remember that from the game. "Well... can we go take a look?" I hoped he would come with me. I hadn't really interacted with Jacob much since I apologized, and... I didn't really want to go in there by myself if he was in there.

"Sure...Jacob's been busy today and distracted lately anyway. Its probably empty right now, so you and I can look, but again I am...not specialized in human armor," Garrus said, heading towards the elevator.

About twelve hours later, I found myself seated in the back of a shuttle, sitting beside Mordin. Shepard and Garrus were seated side by side on the opposite seat. Part of me was a little worried that Mordin was still annoyed with me because of what I said the last time I was in his office. But he acted like nothing ever happened, so if he had been really aggravated at me, apparently he was long over it.

I sat as still as I could, feeling a bit uncomfortable in my newly aquired armor. We'd managed to find a set that was my size, along with a helmet. The only thing was that it made me feel a bit... stiff. I could move my joints okay, but I still felt like I was wearing heavy, rigid clothing. It was annoying, not to mention a bit... hot.

"How long until we get there?" I asked out loud a few minutes after we left the Normandy.

"Only a couple of minutes," Shepard replied. "We have managed to pinpoint Tali's location in the ruins of a city...we're heading towards there now. Garrus told me you did well in target practice...think you're going to hold your own?"

"Yeah, don't worry about me," I muttered, glancing out the window.

Shepard exchanged a look with Garrus, who simply nodded at her, probably assuring her that I did know what I was doing...hopefully, but even Garrus still seemed slightly on edge.

"Haestrom most likely dangerous, due to geth presence. Be on the ready," Mordin warned.

"I'm not sure how dangerous it is out there...no one knows much about what the geth overrun out here, but if its important enough for Tali to venture out here, something has to be going on," Shepard said.

Right at this point, I didn't really care about spilling the beans. Especially since I was only going to talk about the mission anyway; So long as I stuck with that, I wouldn't be giving too much intel on future events. And maybe I would ensure my survival odds, and prove my value on this mission. So I leaned back in my seat as best I could in my armor-then quickly decided that sitting up straight felt less awkward-and I said, "Tali's here on behalf of the admiralty board... I think. She's investigating dark energy in the star, because um... well I don't know all the technical details, but it's doing things that a young star shouldn't be doing. And most of her team is going to die down there." I fell silent, waiting to hear their reactions and opinions on this bit of info.

"Hmm...strange for star to die young. Very mysterious, see why quarians sent a team out," Mordin said, looking up at the sun as we entered the planet's atmosphere.

"It sounds like Tali's in trouble, then," Garrus deduced, looking at me.

"Which means we should get to her as soon as possible. We should be landing any minute now," Shepard announced.

"Not gonna be easy," I murmured. "By the time we get there, there's gonna be a geth collossus right outside her door."

Garrus looked concerned. "A collossus? Those huge things we use to face in the mako? They were bad enough then, but facing one on foot..." he trailed off.

"Wrex, Ash, and I faced an armature on foot on Therum, but we haven't faced a collossus on our own before...but if we work right, we should be able to get it down. We'll get a closer idea when we're there." Shepard said.

About two seconds later, we felt the shuttle set down.

Somehow or other, I had felt only minor nervous anticipation up until now. But once I felt the slight "bump" of the shuttle touching the ground, and heard the engines shutting down... I felt my eyes widening. Sometimes, I swear, it takes a while for the reality of a situation to set in. At thus, at times, it doesn't fully sink in until right before I'm actually gonna do something.

I felt frozen to my seat, and I swallowed. I looked out the window, shrinking a bit in the seat-at least, as much as I could with armor on.

"Come on," Shepard ordered, opening the exit hatch. "We don't have any time to waste."

I quickly inhaled a deep breath, then I shoved myself off of the seat quickly-only to bump my head against the edge of the window. Good thing I had my helmet on.

"Perhaps not best idea to bring her," Mordin said, jumping out of the shuttle.

Shepard just groaned, jumping out of the shuttle herself. "EDI, have the shuttle on stand-by incase we need to make an emergency pick-up," she commanded.

"Shepard, depending on how deep Tali is in the city, I am not sure it would be easily accessible in the middle of a ba-"

"Not for Tali."

"Affirmative." EDI simply replied.

I recognized the intent behind that remark and its reference to me. I pushed it out of my mind, choosing to pretend I didn't hear it.

I was the last one out of the shuttle, and I was thankful that I managed not to stumble or twist my ankle or something on the way out. That would have looked worse. Then I glanced at the others, and grabbed my pistol from its holster. I made sure to aim it toward the ground as I walked over to stand beside Mordin; I didn't want to accidentally point it at anyone.

The shuttle ascended to the sky, and Shepard immediately walked forward. We walked through the usual area, to that large hill that headed downwards. Mordin and Garrus did their usual complaints about the sun, once it hit them, and Shepard simply nodded as we ran for shade.

When I felt the sun hit my shields for the first time, I heard the annoying beeping noises that they made as the radioactive light quickly wore them down. Not only that, but somehow it felt particularlly nasty to be in the sunlight. I never liked standing in direct sunlight on hot days anyway, but this somehow felt like it might burn my skin off or something if I stayed in it too long. Then again, maybe it was just my imagination. Along with the fact that I had never stood in sunlight dressed from head to toe in dark-colored metal before; that was bound to soak up extra heat.

We continued down the hill, and once getting to a dark area, there was that usual red gate before us, with a side door. Shepard silently went through it, and we heard a log come up.

"Emergency log entry: The geth are here. I've stayed to buy the others time. Anyone who gets this, find Tali'Zorah. She and that data are the only thing that matters. Keelah se'lai."

Garrus glanced at all of us, but Shepard didn't have a firm reaction. She walked over to the gate controls, and opened them. Turning around, she headed back out the door. "Come on."

As we headed through the gate I found I had to quicken my pace to keep up. That probably wouldn't have been so bad if it weren't for the armor and this stupid sun. "I'm hot," I grumbled out, a litlte more loudly than I intended. "I hate the sun." Hey, I had to complain a little. Otherwise it would be totally unbearable.

Before anyone could say anything, while walking forward, Mordin pointed to the sky. "Dropship coming!"

One second later, a bunch of geth dropped out of it, immediately going into action and firing.

"Take cover!" Shepard shouted, darting behind some barrels.

I immediately ducked behind a large, fallen collum with a startled squeak. This was really the first time I had actually faced any real enemies. How the hell did HK and Abby handle this? I was already half-convinced somebody was gonna get injured.

...And that was when I realized something terrible. Apparently I had dropped my gun the moment I started to run for cover. It was now about ten feet away from me.

"Ah crap," Garrus commented, noticing that I had dropped my gun.

"Forget about that, focus on the geth!" Shepard screamed, pointing and firing at the geth, who were sending a barrage of bullets our way.

"Right!" Mordin yelled.

The fight continued for a moment, with the three of them constantly firing and throwing out biotics, until the geth were down.

"There are more up ahead," Shepard said, motioning forward. She looked to me. "Grab your gun, hold onto it, and lets go."

I scrambled out from cover, nearly stumbling over my own feet as I did so. I simply was not used to moving around in armor. I stooped down and reached for my gun-although it took me a couple of tries to pick it up. I wasn't used to handling things with armor over my hands!

Then I hurried after Shepard as she and the others proceeded forward with caution. I concentrated on hanging onto my gun, realizing something. I should have practiced firing more while I was wearing armor. Well, um... no time for more practice now, I guess.

Suddenly I heard a shout, and I realized that more geth were indeed ahead, and we had gotten closer to them. The others dove for cover, but I didn't even notice right away; I was still focusing on my gun, and trying to aim it-and the geth opened fire. I shrieked and pressed the trigger. The shot from my gun missed the targets completely; it went right past the geth.

All of a sudden I heard another shout, and someone-I couldn't tell who at first-roughly shoved me out of the line of fire, behind another fallen collum. I went face-down on the ground... yet somehow, miraculously, managed to hang onto my gun.

"Keep down!" Shepard snapped, firing at the incoming geth. There was some frusteration in her voice, definitely. The fire-fight continued for several more seconds, until these geth were dead.

Shepard grabbed my hand, pulling me up. "I hope you'll get used to having armor and a gun soon," she said.

"Shepard," Garrus said, getting her attention. He motioned to the other side of the area. "Its way too sunny to get across that way...we're going to have to find a shortcut."

She nodded. "You're probably right...follow me."

Shepard then led us down into a dark area at the side of the battlefield, where many boxes were stacked. We had to go through some more piercing sun in the process, but we eventually got to the shade.

However, the geth from the ramp above began to fire upon us.

"Damnit!" I shouted as the bullets began to rain down on us. Once again everyone ducked into cover. I stayed right where I was for a moment, behind a large crate, and then slowly peered over the top.

That was when the crate I was hiding behind suddenly broke under a well-placed, powerful shot from a geth. Apparently I had chosen a "fragile" crate to hide behind. "EEP!" I got to my feet and looked around for more cover. Then a fast-moving projectile impacted me square in the chest, but my shields took the brunt of it.

I thought I heard Shepard shouting at me, but I was totally focused on getting to cover. I found a nearby piller that was still standing and I pressed myself tightly against it. Maybe if I was lucky, I wouldn't get hit.

The geth took a few more shots at me, but they bounced off of the pillar...several seconds later, the shots ceased, and Shepard motioned for everyone to get out of cover. "Lets head up this way," she said.

We all followed Shepard up the red-colored ramp, to the second level of the ruins...we emerged from the ramp into a place with many, many boxes and other items stacked up.

Barely any time passed before more geth, from across the platform, began firing furiously at us. This time, Shepard shoved me behind the boxes, with her taking cover as well and beginning to fire once more, along with the other two.

At this point, part of me wanted to join in as well. I mean... what good was I, if I kept having to be protected every time a firefight started? So I carefully peered over the top of the crates and began to aim my gun carefully. I also realized that this was another thing that made reality different from the game. In Mass Effect 2, you never had to worry about anyone dropping their gun. In this case... it was very possible.

I tried my best to aim at one of the smaller, black geth as a larger geth came forward. Damnit, couldn't they just stay still so I could actually shoot one of them? I found I had to keep re-adjusting my position, trying to get my target to stay in my sights. Finally, my victim paused, raising its own weapon. Was it going to take a shot at me?

We both fired at the same time. I actually managed to hit it somewhere in the chest-and a shot hit me squarely in the head. My helmet, along with my kinetic barriers, protected me. I squeaked and ducked back down behind my cover.

Shepard, Garrus, and Mordin all continued to throw everything they had at the geth, ignoring what happened to me. A minute or two later, Shepard exhaled a deep breath, and the fight ended. She simply made a hand motion, probably telling us all to follow her again.

We headed to the other side of the platform, which was in the sun. Shepard immediately headed for a ledge that was nicely covered, while Garrus and Mordin took cover behind some boxes.

"More geth," Shepard said, pointing downwards to where the gate and a side hall was. She began firing as another battle erupted.

"Not again," I groaned out loud. I thought that this had been annoying sometimes in the game, when you encountered swarms and swarms of enemies, but this was almost ridiculous. Then again... what exactly had I been expecting?

Gritting my teeth, I peered out of my cover once again, trying to see if I could get in a good shot. There seemed to be a few more this time. I tried a few times to make accurate shots, but the blasted geth just wouldn't stay still. Finally, I just started firing off wild shots, just to make it look like I knew what I was doing, or that I was helping. I did this until I ran out of firepower.

"What the hell are you doing?" Shepard yelled. "You just used all your ammo and barely hit any geth!"

Seconds later, the three took care of the remaining geth, finally clearing this area.

Wordlessly, I got up and looked down at my gun. I glanced at the others, feeling too sheepish to actually ask for another thermal clip.

Mordin didn't say anything, and Garrus just shook his head, while Shepard sighed, glancing at her old friend again. No words were exchanged, and she simply led us down the ramp, and to the gate. She also picked up a spare thermal clip on the ground, and tossed it to me.

"No controls to this gate," Mordin observed, looking at it.

"There's another path right over here," Shepard simply answered.

We turned and headed down the path off to the right, and Shepard shot one remaining geth. We rounded a corner, and saw geth finishing off part of the quarian group...they then turned their attention towards us, and the three began firing again.

I simply plopped myself down behind cover, because... I was still trying to get the new thermal clip into my gun. I had managed to pull out the used one while we were walking, but the thick, armor-like gloves on my hands made it difficult to do anything. So now... I simply sat there, leaning against the crate, trying to get the stupid new clip into the back of my gun. Why couldn't it just cooperate?

While I continued to achieve this task, Shepard and the other two finished off the geth. They walked forward, and then we heard a familiar voice over the comm.

"Break, break, break, OP-1. This is squad leader Kal'Reegar, do you copy?"

"He'll have information on Tali," Garrus said.

Shepard nodded, heading towards it and picking up some things in the process. Kal'Reegar's voice came through again. "The geth sent a dropship towards OP-2. Tali'Zorah's secure, but we need backup."

Shepard finally walked over to the comm, picking it up. "OP-1, this is squad leader Kal'Reegar, come in, over." Kal'Reegar repeated.

"This is Commander Shepard of the Normandy. Can we provide assistance?" Shepard asked.

"Patch your radio into channel 617 Theta," Kal instructed, as Shepard, Garrus, and Mordin did so. "We were on a stealth mission. High risk. We found what we were after, but the geth found us. They've got us pinned down. Can't get to our ship, can't transmit data through the solar radiation."

"How are you holding up? We can be there in a few minutes," Shepard told him.

"Take it slow and careful. Direct sunlight fries your shields all to hell. We're bunkered down at base camp across the valley. I left Tali'Zorah at a secure location, then doubled back to hold the choke-point. Getting Tali to safety is our top priority. If you can extract her, we'll keep them off you."

"Hold your position. We'll hit their back ranks." Shepard said.

"Wait! Watch your ass! We've got a dropship coming in!" Kal'Reegar yelled, causing us all to look up while the geth dropship flew over, blasting at the quarians a short distance away. They all got killed, and that pillar collapsed, just like in the game.

"Crap!" Kal'Reegar exclaimed. "Doorway's blocked. Grab the demo charges in the buildings nearby. Use them to clear a path. They're coming in at the side, I've got to fall back!"

The geth arrived yet again, and EDI's voice chimed in. "Shepard, I've scanned the area and located the demolition charges the quarian commander mentioned."

"Put it on my radar," Shepard told her, while beginning to fire at the geth.

"Done," EDI said, a mere second later. "You will need both sets of charges to clear the rubble."

Ugh. Maybe if I had been a bit faster... I could have warned Shepard about this. That way we wouldn't have needed to get those stupid charges. But... off we went again.

"Hey... Garrus?" I called out, jogging up toward him.

Garrus glanced at me, giving me a very strange look. He turned back to focus on the geth, continuing to throw everything he could at them. "Um...yes?" he said.

"Nevermind." I simply slumped down and kept perfectly still while the others continued to fire.

"This way," Shepard said, after the wave of geth right in front of us was down. She led us forward, and gestured to the building on our left, while firing at more geth over there. "One set of charges is right in there."

"Can somebody help me with this?" I asked suddenly, blurting out the question I had almost asked Garrus a few moments ago, while we were still under fire. I wanted it done before we encountered any more geth.

Shepard finished off the geth, but still looked on edge. "I see more in the building...Garrus, stay behind and help her, but make it quick," she said, sounding a bit irritated. However, she said nothing more as she and Mordin went forward.

Garrus immediately took the gun from me, and placed the thermal clip firmly inside. "Here," he said, handing it back to me.

"Thanks," I said, taking it back and then rushing forward. I could definitely hear more gunfire up ahead. Though thankfully we had only one of the charges left to get. And then we would be home free-

That thought stopped in its tracks when I suddenly remembered the colloluss. Ugh, somebody kill me right now.

Suddenly I heard Garrus shouting behind me, and some part of my mind heard the sound of his footsteps quickening. Then I realized why he was shouting-I was headed straight in the direction of a geth prime that was now charging in my direction.

Before I could even think about raising my gun, it pointed its gun at me and fired a few shots before Garrus's weapon could take it out. The first two shots from the geth's weapon drained my shields, the third one knocked them down completely... and the fourth and fifth ones went right into me.

I screamed out as the bullets ripped right through my side, as if I wasn't wearing any armor at all. I fell into a heap on the ground, clutching at my side. When I lifted my hand away from the wound and held it in front of my face, I saw that it was covered with blood.

The geth prime continued its vicious attack, but bullets, and even a large beam, suddenly went through it. It stumbled back, and within the next thirty seconds, was down for the count. I saw other remaining geth go down, as well.

Shepard rushed to my side. "Sarah," she said with a sigh. "How are you feeling?"

I was having trouble breathing and my right side hurt like hell. I wondered if it was just blood loss or if maybe that shot had punctured a lung. When I tried to speak, I ended up coughing up some blood. This seemed to re-affirm my theory.

"Wounds deep. Don't think she'll be able to continue on," Mordin stated.

Shepard just shook her head. "Sarah, can you speak?" she asked.

"Y-yeah," I finally managed. I winced, allowing myself to go limp on the ground, at least for the moment. "Can we... get armor off?" I hated talking in fragmented sentences, but this wasn't the time to worry about proper grammer.

"There's not enough time, and more importantly, if we do, you're just going to get more shot up than you are now. I can hear more geth down near the second charge," Shepard replied.

I tried to say something, but it only came out sounding like a half-grumble, half-groan. My eyes were wide open, darting every which way. Then, on impulse, I reached out and grabbed Garrus's wrist, clinging to it as tightly as I could in my injured state.

Garrus looked down at me in my injured state, and sighed. "Just...hold on, and...I'm sorry," he simply said, frowning. "I should never have let you come out here like this. You needed alot more time."

"I shouldn't have said yes to her request," Shepard said, opening her comm. "EDI, bring the shuttle back in. Sarah's injured, and she needs to get back to the Normandy now. We've got to get Tali before its too late."

I feebly squeezed Garrus's wrist, then I felt my fingers slipping off of it. My vision began to swim and voices began to sound further away.

"They'd better get here quick," Garrus said, still looking down at me, or that was what little I could tell anyway.

"Tell Chakwas to be ready to treat her. It looks bad," Shepard said to EDI.

And that was when the world went black.

The next thing I knew... I was staring up into a bright, white light. The pain had been replaced by an odd numb feeling, and... I found myself trying to figure out where the heck I was, and trying to remember what happened.

"Ahh, you're awake," Dr. Chakwas said, looming over me. "How do you feel?"

I thought about that for a moment. "Thirsty."

"I'll get you some water soon...you took quite a beating out there. You culd have very well died," Chakwas told me, looking like she was examining all of my life signs. "Do you remember what occurred on Haestrom?"

"Oh... God," I murmured as the memories came back into my mind. "I... got hit by the geth." I looked at the doctor. "Are... are they okay?" I wanted to know if Shepard, Garrus and Mordin got back alright.

"Yes, and so am I...I have been looking forward to meeting the strange woman that nearly died trying to save me," a woman's voice said, as I heard the door swing open and someone walk inside.

"Sarah, meet Tali'Zorah vas Neema," Chakwas introduced.

I at straight up in surprise-only to feel my head spin. I plopped back down against the bed, feeling my head hit the pillow. "T-Tali!" I exclaimed. "Hi!" I blurted. "Hi there!" I was happy to see her, just totally taken aback. I'd always considered Tali to be a sweet girl, though tough at the same time. She was probably my second-favorite person next to Garrus.

"I hope I am not bursting in on you too soon, but I was on the deck trying to introduce myself, and I have heard alot of...things about you, such as your brief journey on Haestrom. Thank you for the effort." Tali said, approaching my side.

I smiled at her, still feeling a bit dazed. I extended my hand toward her as best I could from the bed I was on. "Hey I'm really glad to meet you," I said, smiling at her. I hoped I wasn't grinning like an idiot. I probably had a lot of painkiller meds in my system, so there was no way to tell.

"I am...pleased to meet you, as well. My opinions on Cerberus are not the greatest, but the crew here is nicer than I expected, and I wanted to personally thank you for trying to help me...not many would have done that, especially if they hadn't had any combat training before." Tali said kindly.

For a moment I wasn't quite sure what to say to that. In all honesty... I hadn't really gone on the mission to help her. I was simply trying to find a way to avoid being captured by Collectors and dying later-and ironically, I nearly got killed while I was out there. And... funnily enough... I hadn't really thought much about meeting Tali, or what I would say to her when I did. And I was also certain that I had been more of a hinderance on that mission than a help.

But... I didn't see any reason to say any of these things to Tali. In fact, I wasn't sure what to say. So I decided to turn the subject over to her. "How are you?" I asked.

"I am good, thankful to be alive. Shepard never fails...she got both me and Kal'Reegar out, and now I am back to serve on the Normandy again. We'll probably be seeing a fair amount of each other, though she did tell me that you more than likely, um, won't be serving on the ground team again..." Tali answered.

"Ugh. Trust me, I don't wanna go out there again." That was for certain. I would just take my chances with the Collectors. If I set foot off of this ship again, it was guaranteed I was going to get killed. At least if I stayed here, and counted on Shepard... I stood a chance.

"How's Garrus?" The question was out of my mouth before I really thought about it much. Must have been my daze from the drugs.

"He took quite a few bad hits in the battle with a geth collossus, but overall has remained alright. I think he's in the gunnery now," Tali said, turning to the window. "He seems...a bit different than he did two years ago, but we've all changed."

I peered at her curiously. "How would you say he's different?" I asked.

"I'm not sure, we've only been serving on the same ship for a few hours. Something just feels slightly off, but I may be completely wrong. My mind is very scrambled since that fiasco on Haestrom," Tali replied.

I nodded a little. "Yeah... you lost everybody on your team to the geth today, except for one. Just like you lost everybody on Freedom's Progress." I glanced downward. "That had to be rough."

"Wait," Tali said, whirling around to look at me. "How did you know that? Did Shepard tell you?"

"Um... she didn't have to." I smiled, still not really looking at her. I wondered if she knew anything at all about the "visions" that me, HK and Abby were believed to have.

"Wait...hmm, Shepard mentioned something to me about how some of you on this ship...knew things. She seemed to be uncertain about it all, but said that you'd been proven right before. Is this what she meant?" Tali questioned. She looked over at the neighboring bed, and with a jolt I realized that it was occupied by none other than Abby, who had a shiner underneath her right eye.

I looked at her face, and met her eyes. Frankly, her eyes were the only thing I could really see through her mask, and only at certain angles. "Yeah, pretty much," I said simply with a nod, wondering what the heck Abby had gotten into now.

"I see...Cerberus has more interesting people than I thought," Tali commented. "Ah well, I should get down to the engines...Shepard has given me full access, and I need to see if I've heard from the Admiralty Board yet. Take care."

I opened my mouth, almost getting ready to ask her if maybe she could... tell Garrus I said hi if she happened to see him again, or maybe even ask him if he could visit me. But I stopped myself. He was probably busy, and well... what would I say, even if he did stop by? Plus part of me didn't want to ask. It... would be better if he simply stopped by on his own, if he really wanted to. I probably made him uncomfortable enough with that stupid hug I requested.

"Yeah, okay," I said to Tali. "Take care, and it was nice to meet you."

"Consider that a great gift," Dr. Chakwas told me. "Tali has always been kind, though she seems a little more mature now...but any and all quarians should hate Cerberus, and they probably do after what they've done. You are a lucky one, in multiple ways."

"Yeah well... I'm not really with Cerberus," I murmured out loud. I wasn't really... was I?

"I can understand...I am not, either. I work for Shepard, not for Cerberus...forgive me, however I must say, your group still confuses me slightly. You and Abby seem nice enough from what I have seen of you, but I just don't know what to make of any of you." Dr. Chakwas explained.

I shrugged as best I could in my current condition. Ah, at least it felt good to be out of that armor. "I bet I'm the weirdest of the bunch," I said suddenly, grinning in spite of myself. I glanced over at Abby. "What happened to her? She okay?"

"Abby is a very unique girl...but I have heard alot about you and your adventures on board this ship, and more recently, outside this ship. I also still recall the ryncol incident, so you may be right," Chakwas told me. "Abby is going to be fine. She and Zaeed were practicing downstairs and, well..." For once, the doctor looked uncomfortable. "I'm not sure what happened, precisely. Something about 'helicoptering' her into a cargo container."

"Ow."

"She'll be perfectly fine. It was just an extraordinarily hard fall, and she redirected most of the downward force so she didn't break her neck."

"She'll be fine," I said. "She's Abby." I rested back and gazed up at the ceiling. "How long until I can get out of here?"

"Not too much longer...mostly everything is getting better, with the rest you've had these past several hours. Sometime over the next couple of hours, you should be able to leave," she replied.

"Okay. Until then... I think I'd just like to sleep."

[Marishal]

(HK)

It had been a very strange day.

Not that that was uncommon on this ship. Basically, Sarah convinced Shepard to let her on to the ground team, amazingly, and got the quickest shooting lesson ever. Even shorter than Abby's and my own, but what could you expect when you told Shepard you were going to die if you weren't part of the party, and the next mission was set to start in twelve hours?

She hit some bottles, like our original training, and decided she was ready...but the mission on Haestrom had gone totally insane and she got wounded on the battlefield. Now she was up in Medical Bay, and was never going to be on the ground team again, according to her and Shepard. Abby was also up there, after some spar with Zaeed went awry.

They'd both be fine, per what Dr. Chakwas had told me, but I was the only one who could walk the ship right now.

Not surprising.

Though, right now, I wasn't as much walking as I was getting pumelled by Jacob. After Zaeed and Abby finished whatever they were doing, we decided to spar, partially because I needed to and partially because Jacob needed a major distraction.

I could tell that he was tense...he didn't let it show, too much, but I figured it out by his fighting. Unconsciously, he was really letting his emotions out when he threw a punch or kick at me. He didn't know he was doing it, but he was...and I could understand. It would be hard not to.

Normally, I held my own against Jacob as much as possible, but today he was coming at me so strong I really wasn't able to.

I reached out to hit a pressure point behind the ear, but right exactly as I struck it, his knee slammed into my stomach. I collapsed to the ground, while he froze for a moment, before falling down as well, nearly right on top of me.

In the next instant, he grabbed my wrist, and pulled it in a 'cross armlock': He pulled my entire arm up to his chest, squeezing it tightly. It was a move I knew of, and had often seen soldiers or marines do...but I never realized until now how much it hurt.

I groaned out in pain, and finally decided to give up. "Okay, okay, I give up!" I shouted, trying to not yell out in pain. "Seriously, Jacob, you win, you win!"

He released me, and a wave of relief washed over me as I finally felt the pain in my arm cease. Jacob stood, brushing himself off. He held out a hand to me. "I thought you'd fight back, actually," he told me calmly.

I grabbed his hand, and slowly stood. "Maybe I would, but not after that intense fight." I told him, breathless and exhausted after all of that.

Jacob just shrugged, and I didn't say or do anything more. Jacob was a decent opponent, especially with all of the muscle he had, but today he was just...harder than usual, or maybe it was just me. However, when people's loyalty missions came around, they always got alot more tense.

He grabbed a towel to wipe his face with, and tossed me one, since sweat covered us. I did the same, and watched while he sat down to rest. He was very quiet, barely giving me another glance...I knew it wasn't me or anything, it was just all of this with his father. He wasn't speaking of it, he was trying to conceal it, but it was obvious that it caused him to be slightly different in general.

He was still Jacob, though, and he didn't seem all depressed or anything.

Should I talk to him? Abby's his good friend, not me...I think we're friends, but I'm just a student of his, technically...and Jacob's one of those guys who doesn't like to get into a bunch of emotional, heart-to-heart talks. I learned that enough times in the game, and can see it even more here. If I go up there and say "Hey, lets talk about how your father may not be really dead and has enslaved women and killed officers for years", it could just irritate him...not to mention, he knows that we all now whats going to happen there. If I try to comfort him, it'd almost seem like I was just taunting him or something, even if thats not the case.

My respect for Jacob had grown alot in my experience on the Normandy. He didn't act like we were crazy people, minus maybe some uncertainty at first, and treated us, with the exception of Sarah after that biting incident, like a normal part of the crew. He was one of the very few that did...and also, he hadn't asked me, or Abby as far as I knew, about any details on his father. He had to suspect that we knew, but he understood that we couldn't tell him, and hadn't said a word, as much as he probably wanted to.

It must be torture for him.

But Jacob was a good, strong guy...he'd make it through this.

"HK," EDI's voice said, coming through the intercom. "Miss Lawson requests that you come up to her office immediately."

For a split second, I wondered why, but then I realized why...her loyalty quest had reared its head, too, and we were likely heading to Illium next...which meant it was going to happen there.

Oh dear.

"Uh, can I shower first or something?" I asked.

"She says it is an urgent matter." EDI replied.

"Guess you better get up there," Jacob told me.

"I suppose so," I said, looking at him. "Jacob, just...well, hang in there, alright?"

He gave me a look, but simply nodded.

With that, I turned and headed up to Deck Three, a bit afraid of what would take place up there.

After a couple of minutes, the elevator stopped at Deck Three...I walked out of the elevator, and took a right. Everything was like normal up here; the crew was chatting, Rupert was at his usual station, Dr. Chakwas was tending to her patients. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Some simply gave me a nod, or just ignored me altogether. I tried to keep a straight face, but my stomach was in knots.

I had always liked Miranda in the game...and even here, she wasn't...too bad. She sorta saved my life on Korlus, but she still scared me slightly. She probably shouldn't, but still...I didn't want to get in ther, and her have a bunch of weapons at the ready if I didn't tell her what happened to Oriana.

The door swung open while I approached it, and Miranda sat at her desk, with that cold look of hers. "Sit," she told me.

"Umm...okay," I said nervously, taking a seat. "Whats this ab-"

"Do not play coy, you know what its about. One of your friends even mouthed off about it when I first met you." Miranda snapped, cutting me off.

"Oriana."

"Yes. We both know the situation, and there's not much time. I want to know how to keep her safe," Miranda said. Her tone was cold and firm, but I could see some emotion creeping onto her face. "If she'll be safe."

I went silent. I couldn't tell Miranda anything, but I knew that she wasn't going to take that for an answer...but she'd hbave to. I couldn't tell her all the details right here and now.

I felt bad for her, too...maybe even moreso then Jacob. They were both going through alot, but Miranda was sitting here in fear of the horrors that Oriana would go through if their father got her back, and she had someone who knew but wouldn't tell her. Miranda was an ice queen, yes, she was hard to get along with, but you just knew how much this was hurting her.

"You know I can't tell you anything," I said very softly.

"This isn't a matter of what you can and can't do. You need to tell me, so an innocent girl can be safe," Miranda said, still calm, but in an authoritative manner. "In fact, you can say anything, you just refuse to. This has nothing to do with the Reapers, nothing to do with our mission, just a tip that I got."

"And therefore, its your personal life, nothing that I should be interfering in," I shot back, telling her just what I had told Shepard. "Listen, Miranda, with all due respect, you should know that I'm not going to tell you much...do I like it? No. No one does, but its what we have to do. You should speak to the Commander about this, not me."

Miranda gave me a hard, long stare. "I've devoted my life to make sure this girl stays safe and has a normal life, and now thats in danger. I have to keep her safe, no matter what the cost, even if it means getting information out of you that you don't want to give."

"I understand, really, I do," I said kindly, frowning. "But I can't tell you what happens to Oriana. Just do what you'd do if you didn't have us on the ship, and it'll all turn out how it should."

Miranda stood, and slammed her fist down on the table. Her frusteration was getting the better of her. "Damnit, you-"

The door opened again, and I looked back to see Shepard entering the room. "Miranda, Chambers said that you wanted to see me," she said, glancing down at me.

"Yes, Commander," Miranda said with a sigh. "This conversation is getting nowhere, anyway."

"Then maybe I'll just be going, then," I said, quickly standing up and rushing out.

I exhaled a breath...things were getting really crazy on the ship. Jacob was tense, Miranda's anxiety was rising, and it was only going to get worse as more loyalty quests came along. I didn't want to be on a ship full of depressed people, but maybe I'd have to be.

I looked at the MedBay...maybe going and seeing Sarah and Abby would get my mind off of things. I did want to see how they were doing, anyway.

After taking a shower and changing clothes, I headed straight for the MedBay. Walking inside, I saw Abby was sound asleep...and Sarah looked like she had just aroused after some sleep, as well. Dr. Chakwas was overseeing them both.

"Well, well," I said, heavily sighing as I walked over to Sarah's side. "What a day."

Sarah looked at me, then she sat up a bit on the bed. "Something happen?" she asked with a small shrug.

"Actually, I was moreso referring to what happened to you," I replied, though it looked like her healing process was coming along nicely. "But something else has, too...Miranda knows about Oriana, now, and tried to get information out of me."

Sarah blinked, her forehead crinkling as she seemed to think over what I said, briefly. "So it's started," she muttered.

"Yes...Jacob already knows about his, and is concerned about it, he just doesn't let it show as much like she does, but ah well...I think we're going to Ilium next, anyway, so we can get it out of the way there," I said, rubbing my head. "How are you feeling?"

She glanced over in Abby's direction-the younger girl was still sleeping like a log-then turned back to look at me. "Fine. In fact," she added briskly, swinging her legs over the side of the bed, "I just wanna get out of here. Don't care what Dr. Chakwas says." She carefully pushed herself off of the bed with her hands, wincing at the sudden movement.

"Oh, dear, just be carefu-" I began.

Dr. Chakwas whirled around, looking at Sarah. "Sarah, what are you doing?"

Sarah looked a bit disappointed that the doctor had noticed. "I feel much better," she said, dropping her hands from the edge of the bed to her sides, no longer leaning on the mattress for support. She was standing, and she kept her expression carefully neutral, but there seemed to be some effort in appearing completely fine.

"Sarah, you nearly got killed on a battlefield a mere twelve hours ago. I am not sure if I can trust you to be alright in such a short amount of time," Chakwas told her. "Though your stats do check out alright..."

"If I start feeling dizzy or sick or anything, I'll come right back," Sarah said. Her tone sounded like she was humoring the doctor, though it also held a slightly dismissive tone as well, as though she were finished with this conversation.

"Alright, just be careful," Chakwas said with a sigh.

EDI's blue head popped up. "Sarah, Mr. Vakarian requested that you come see him once you are ready and able enough," she said.

Sarah had been taking a couple of careful steps away from the bed with EDI's head popped up and she delievered the message. Once the words were spoken, Sarah blinked a few times as though trying to process the information.

Then she nearly fell down.

My eyes widened, and I darted to Sarah's side, grabbing her as gently as possible before she could fall any further. "Oh my, Sarah, are you alright?" I asked in shock, as Chakwas rushed over.

I looked at EDI. "Maybe this wasn't the best time to tell her that tidbit, EDI..." I said respectfully.

"I'm fine," Sarah muttered, regaining her balance and backing away from me. She then held up a hand to re-assure Chakwas-or perhaps to stop her from coming any closer. "Just took me by surprise, that's all."

"I hope so, but if anything more happens, come see me immediately. Doctor's orders," she said, backing away and going back to Abby.

I shook my head. So, Garrus wants to see Sarah, for once, not the other way around? Thats...unusual. I'm glad that Garrus is easy-going enough to be a friend and not call her a stalker, like some would...

Suddenly, scenarios started playing out in my head of what would've happened if it had been people like Miranda or Jack that Sarah had a fixation with, and the insanity that would-

No, not even going to bother to go there.

"Please excuse me," Sarah said simply, breaking into my train of thought. "Thanks for stopping by, and see you later." With that, she moved toward the door.

I watched her leave, and didn't say or do anything...it was getting real interesting on the ship. Abby was becoming real close to Jacob and Zaeed, judging by how they interacted and all the crazy training sessions that the three had...likewise, Sarah was getting close to Garrus and maybe Mordin. It seemed like Garrus had become more of a friend than someone who was weirded out by how many times she approached him.

But the fact was, that was a good thing...because everyone else probably regarded Sarah as a loon by now.

(Sarah)

I had a pretty good idea why Garrus wanted to see me. It clicked in my mind almost immediately, considering what HK said about Miranda's loyalty mission and such. Apparently that stuff was starting to come up, and since I had dropped enough hints to Garrus about his-hell, I even made him agree to take me along-well, it was obvious what was going on.

I moved a bit stiffly. Everything seemed to be mostly patched up, thanks to that medi-gel stuff. I swear that stuff did wonders. It made me wonder if it was similar to kolto in KotOR at all... meh, not like I cared much about that game anymore.

I made my way toward the armory, offering nothing more than a polite smile or a simple, pleasent greeting to anyone I passed or anyone who looked at me. By the time I reached the long corridor that lead to the armory however, I didn't have to worry about passing anyone else, and I knew I was almost at my destination.

I walked in through the doors. Garrus's back was turned toward me; he was doing something at the console, like usual. "Hi," I said simply, moving to sit on one of the crates. I still wanted to take it easy so I wouldn't have to risk going back to the medbay.

"Sarah," Garrus said, immediately turning around. "Its good to see you. How are you?"

I raised my eyebrows a little. "I'm okay," I said with a smile, feeling my chest glowing because he asked. Though I couldn't help but wonder if he was just asking because I'd gotten hurt on his watch, so to speak-or because he needed my help to find Sidonis. Then again, he could probably find Sidonis on his own if he really wanted to.

I still wondered if he really considered me a friend or not. Then again, at the very least, he didn't seem to think I was entirely crazy or anything.

"I...I wanted to..apologize," Garrus said slowly, looking downwards. "I should have known better than to send you out there after no time of training."

I shrugged dismissively. "It's not like you're the one who shot me," I said, trying to lighten things up a bit. Besides, well... eh, maybe it was just because I was pumped up on painkillers right now, but I felt like I could care less that I almost died. I was okay. That's all that mattered.

Besides... who could possibly be mad-or stay mad-at Garrus when he looked like that? He was cuter than a puppydog.

"I know, its just...you weren't prepared, and I told Shepard that you could do it...I made yet another mistake, and nearly got yet another person killed," Garrus said, slowly looking up at me. "But thats for me to deal with, not you. I just wanted to say I'm sorry."

"I appreciate it, but it's really okay," I told him. Part of me almost wanted to touch his shoulder or something, but I stayed where I was. I simply folded my hands on my lap. "Besides... um... this isn't like what happened to your men on Omega, if that's what you're thinking about." I wanted to re-assure him if I could, plus I wanted to get to the subject of Sidonis... if that was the main reason he called me here.

"Thanks," Garrus said with a nod. "And speaking of which...I think we may be going to the Citadel after Ilium, if all goes according to plan."

I nodded. "Yeah, so we're going after Sidonis," I acknowledged, getting to the heart of the matter.

"Yes, I just...hope it'll all turn out the way it should," he said. "But hopefully, it will. Once Sidonis is dead, I can finally put this mess behind me."

At times, when I had spare time to think about it-and I could do a lot of thinking when I cleaned or helped out with the cooking-I wondered how many different ways this could turn out. Especially since... this was reality now. Things didn't have to stay linear like they did in the game... did they?

"Just curious... the last time you saw him... what was the last thing you two said to each other?" I asked aloud. I wasn't sure why I was asking. Maybe it was just because... I wasn't sure how much I could say without giving everything away. But I still wanted to discuss the subject.

Garrus hesitated for a moment. "There wasn't any final confrontation, if thats what you're asking...Sidonis just told me a place to go, lying about what would happen there, and then he took off while my team and I went there. Our last words to each other were very non-eventful, and next thing I knew, he was a traitor and everyone else was gone."

"How well did you know him?" I asked, still curious.

"I knew him well enough, but not like I thought I did...he was a regular member of the team, for awhile, but then I discovered he was a coward, and someone who couldn't be trusted. He's a low-life, and he has to pay for what he did," Garrus replied.

"You know... there is something that worries me a little," I stated, eyeing him carefully.

"What?" Garrus asked curiously.

Frankly, I didn't like to tell people when I thought they were doing something wrong-or at least, had the wrong attitude about something. But since I had nearly gotten myself killed, and for all I knew I might get killed this time when I went with Garrus, I figured... why hold back?

But I did glance down at the floor while I spoke. "Just seems like... you really hate it when people get away from you. I mean, you wanted to kill 'Dr. Heart' on sight when you saw him, and now you've made it clear you won't relax until Sidonis is dead. So..." I paused for a second, choosing my words carefully, then continued. "Is your wanting to go after Sidonis really justice, is it just that he's the one who got away, like that salarian?" Now I looked at him.

Garrus narrowed his eyes. "The situations are different...maybe I was off with the Dr. Heart situation, but Sidonis practically killed ten people...he's a murderor, and a traitor, and he deserves to die. Its the only way to avenge my team's death." he replied coldly.

Well, I couldn't really think of much to say to that. I'd say that Dr. Saleon was probably a personal case as well, because he got away under Garrus's watch. But... well, "Heart" hadn't killed anyone who Garrus knew personally.

Those men... they were probably like his family in a manner of speaking. Or at least good friends. In spite of myself, I ended up asking something I hadn't thought I would ask before. "Say... how's your father doing? I know he didn't exactly approve when you left C-sec to go with Shepard. What did he think of you going to Omega? Or did you even tell him?"

"Haven't talked to him since I went to Omega," Garrus simply answered.

I cocked my head to one side. Then suddenly, I grinned in spite of myself-I did feel slightly loopy, probably a side-affect of the drugs Chakwas put in me. "Say... you know that time when you were on a turian ship, going after a batarian pirate squad or whatever, and you and a female turian decided to go to her quarters? Did your dad know about that?"

...Okay, somebody shoot me now.

"Uhhh...no I really didn't see the need to tell him about that, didn't really tell anyone..." Garrus slowly replied, blinking.

"Um... sorry, I shouldn't have said that," I muttered, turning away to stare at the wall.

"Its okay...just, uh, a strange question," Garrus simply said.

I couldn't tell if I was blushing now or not. "So uh... any kids?"

...Maybe I should just get out right now.

"Uhh...Sarah, are you sure that you didn't take a worse hit than you thought out there?" Garrus asked.

I cleared my throat, looking down at the floor. "I don't know. I think it was something Chakwas gave me," I replied.

"Well, um, maybe you should rest or something...I need to get back to these calibrations, anyway," Garrus said, turning back to his console.

(Abby)

I came to slowly, aware only of the bright lights shining from above. The air smelled familiar... uncomfortable, because it reminded me of a hosipital, but safe. Doctor Chakwas was injecting something into the crook of my elbow. "Have you ever heard that saying, 'don't do anything you don't want to explain to the paramedics?'" she asked conversationally.

"Yeah..." Coming out of unconsciousness is a slow thing, and I could feel my mind struggling to connect the dots. "Oh-did you already take care of Zaeed?"

She frowned. "No, he wasn't hurt."

Actually, now that I was beginning to remember, I seemed to recall myself flying through the air. Urawaza, they called it in Japanese. It was that spiriling motion that lifted the attacker off her feet and brought her to the floor. Apparently Zaeed has his own version, and it sure as hell wasn't peaceful.

Though, you'd have to kind of expect that. You don't create a merc ring like the Blue Suns while preaching about 'living in harmony' with the natural world, or whatever.

"So I take it he 'helicoptered' you into a wall of cargo boxes..."

"Yes."

"While you were training."

"Yes."

"And do you think he meant to do that?"

"Uh..." I could see HK in the corner of my eye, watching with a raised eyebrow. "Well... It was partly my fault." She waited for me to explain. "I kind of moved and did something... and it kinda triggered his badass instincts, I guess you'd call it..." I laughed. "And, well... I think I poked his bad eye, the blue one, or whatever while he was throwing me, and he spun around faster... I kind of had the choice between a broken arm or hitting the boxes with my head. So I tucked my arms and..." I smiled wryly. "That was fun. Can I go? It doesn't even hurt anymore."

"That's because I sealed the wound-again-with medigel and gave you painkillers. Since it's not as bad as your last cut, I'll allow you to leave. But come back in a few hours and take more medication."

I jumped off the bed. "No problem! Hi, HK! How long you been here?"

HK smirked at me. "Not too long, but a little while...just coming to visit you and Sarah. I must say, between your adventures with Zaeed and Jacob, and her adventures with Garrus, I don't know what to do with you two," he said, half-jokingly.

"Yeah?" I asked. I allowed a shrug. "Well... can't help it. Where'd Sarah run off to?"

"Oh, you don't know, do you?" HK said, a look of concern crossing his face. "Well, to put it as simply as possible...Sarah decided to join the ground team, and got badly injured out on the battlefield."

I looked around. "And where is she now...?"

"She got released a little bit ago, and Garrus wanted to see her, so I guess she's talking with him," HK replied. "Good news is that we have Tali now."

"Good," I said. "And how the hell did she get on ground team, anyway? That's kind of like a suicide wish."

"Uh, well...she sorta told the Commander that she'd die if she didn't become part of the ground team," HK said, rubbing his neck. "So Garrus gave her the quickest crash course in shooting ever, and things unravelled from there."

"That is completely stupid," I muttered, disgusted. "What is the issue with trusting us? Don't answer that. Should we go down and meet Tali? Maybe we can see if Ken and Gabby are all they're cracked up to be, too."

"I can get her position to a certain extent...she is facing a very dangerous unknown, but regardless, I don't think she'll be going on the ground team ever again. But sure about Tali...I actually don't think I've been to Deck Four since we arrived." HK answered, turning to the door.

"I've been down only once," I admitted, heading out behind him. "I checked out Grunt. I swear, if he starts calling us 'meatbags' I'm going to..." I left the sentence unfinished. I shook my head. "Crazy krogan. Really crazy krogan. Good luck, Shep."

I could see HK shudder. "I have not dared to see him yet...I always liked him in our...visions, but I don't know about in real life. And just watch, one of these days, Shepard's going to want us to spar with him."

"As long as I get a knife," I muttered darkly.

HK snorted. "I think that'll be yet another one of our famed moments," he said, as we boarded the elevator. "Deck Four's where all the crazy people reside, I've noticed...Jack, Zaeed, Grunt. Tali's the only normal one down there."

"If you could count somebody coming along on this mission as 'normal,'" I said. The door closed in front of us, and I hit the button for D-Four. "I have another thing I've been thinking about for a while. You know how Shepard has to get the loyalty of everybody on this ship? Instead of her gaining our loyalty... d'you think we have to get her's?"

HK froze for a moment, as if mulling over the idea. "I...I don't know, its a good thought, because I sure don't see how we're going to have loyalty quests, considering we come from an entirely other universe, but how would we get hers? Our 'predictions' keep coming true until she finally trusts us?" he wondered. "Speaking of loyalty, you already know that Jacob's stressed out over his, but also...Miranda's has popped up."

I winced. "Ah... fun fun. Is she going to come at us and demand to know about the ending, you think?"

"Well..." HK said, coughing slightly. "She kinda already did."

I grimaced. "Ah... What happened?"

"Not much," he replied with a heavy sigh. "I felt bad, because as cold as she is to everyone, we both know what pain she's going through, and I could see it in her face, but I gave her the usual speech...we couldn't tell her, she'd just need to do what she would if we weren't here, and before things got too heated Shepard came in to talk to her."

"You better watch," I said, only half-jokingly, "next time I wake up you guys will be pointing guns at each other."

"I like Miranda, she just...well you know how she is," HK said, smirking slightly, but it faded fast enough. "Luckily, we're heading to Ilium next, so it'll be gotten out of the way."

"Good," I said. "Then hopefully to Jacob's father as well. We're going to be hopping all around the galaxy for this stuff."

He nodded. "Yes, we do need to get that out of the way, too, because you can tell its getting him down...but being Jacob, he's not as vocal about it as Miranda. I also hope that we go and get Kasumi soon."

"And Thane and Samara... and do every singal loyalty mission, plus whatever the Illusive Man cooks up... plus random stuff popping up everywhere..." I wasn't liking the sound of this. Or maybe I was. More time in the Mass Effect universe, after all. "You know what's weird? Suddenly I'm in the mood for ice cream. Chocolate ice cream. The only thing that sucks about this place is that there are no good treats aboard."

"Er..." HK said, blinking. The elevator suddenly stopped. "Oh good, we're here!"

I laughed and stepped lightly out, skipping towards the windows overlooking the cargo bay, our training area. "It's all so shiny," I muttered, shaking my head. I observed the door leading into Zaeed's room and toyed with the notion of going in there and giving him a piece of my mind, but I figured that wouldn't be the most healthy thing to do under the circumstances. "Wanna make some rounds? Grunt, Jack, then Tali?"

"S-Sure...lets hope Grunt can control himself enough not to stomp us into the ground," HK said, looking warily in the direction of the cargo bay that he always stayed in.

I was suddenly excited for the chance to annoy this large, robust giant. I jogged silently down the hall and waited for him just an inch away from the door's motion detector that would open it. I held out a hand, a smirk on my face.

I really, really needed a better hobby.

[Marishal]

(Abby)

You'd think being one of the three resident psychics aboard a warship heading for certain death, the commanding officer would at least let you know what planet you're heading for next. Hell, it didn't even have to be the CO. Just a little information or an announcement over the loadspeaker courtesy of my favorite pilot in the world would have sufficed. But, being the clean, efficient Cerberus people that they were, everybody already knew. Even the cook knew, but he seemed like the type of person who knew everything on the ship so I let that one slide.

I thought about asking HK and Sarah, but I didn't want to go on a manhunt for either and get in the way of the crew, who were changing their posts out as they completed another 6-hour rotation. The ship time (which was Earth time, thank God, and not Citadel time) said it was noon. Lunch time. Food.

It wasn't as though nobody was telling me where we were heading to next. In fact, I could have probably asked one of them and they would tell me right away. But I wanted to use the question as an excuse to talk to somebody, and I figured I probably wouldn't get another chance.

Okay, maybe I would. Maybe I was being too tactical. Tacticality is awesome, after all, right?

I smiled cheerfully at Garrus as he sat down to eat and ordered whatever was on the menu from Rupert. "Two plates," I told him.

"You must be hungry," he noted.

"Nah, I'm bringing some food to somebody."

I took the plates and, ignoring the looks from the mess hall, got into the elevator and hit Deck Two. Kelly turned around immediately and greeted me with a smile... then her eyes traveled to the plates and I realized immediately I must have broken some rules. "Hey, girl!" she said, still cheerful. "You can't eat up here, sorry. There are a lot of technical things in here that would just go haywire if crumbs got into it."

Damn it.

"Ack, okay, thanks," I said, stepping back into the elevator. To my surprise, a voice called out, "Hold the elevator, I'm coming, too."

Jacob stepped in, possibly a good person to ask for our destination, and hit the button for Deck Three. He appraised the food in my hand warily. "Two plates?" he asked.

"One was for Joker," I mumbled, embarassed.

He laughed. "Ah, got it. Kelly give you the speech about no food on deck?"

"Yeah. I'm an idiot. Should've realized that."

"Don't worry about it. If this is the biggest mistake you've made so far, you're smooth sailing."

I snorted and glanced sideways at him. He looked perfectly relaxed when he first came in, but there was a certain set to his shoulders now that made me think he was thinking about something. Hard. "How about you eat with me today?" he asked suddenly, as if he just made up his mind. "I need to ask a few questions."

Ah. Motherfluffer. "Okay," I said, keeping my voice light. "But you understand... I can't answer all of your questions."

"I know." He took one of the plates from me and led me out of the elevator when the doors opened. We sat down away from everybody else and I dug in with gusto. He just watched me warily. "You know?"

"About the distress beacon?" I clarified. He nodded. "Then yeah."

"What can you tell me?"

"He's alive," I said. I kept my face and voice neutral, well aware that if I hinted in one way at all that nothing was well down there then he might just order Shepard to turn around or take the drop shuttle there himself. "And for now, it'll keep. When are we heading there?"

"Soon," said Jacob. "After Illium."

Ah. "We're heading to Illium?" I asked, interested. "Samara and Thane?"

For once, he didn't even look surprised that I knew. "Any funny surprises I should watch out for... when I meet my father again?" My mouth was full, so I held up a finger, begging him to wait. He stared at me intensely, and I could almost hear the silent pleading in his head for information. I swallowed, but I still didn't say anything. "Come on," he said. "Please. Tell me."

"Ah..." I pursed my lips and looked away, down the table, aware that some people could possibly be listening in. I lowered my voice, my face heating up. "He's not the guy you knew. I-I can't say anymore. Please don't ask me again."

"What do you mean?" he asked harshly. "I deserve to-"

My hackles went up. "Stop," I whispered. "Slow down. Think. Calm down, before you whack somebody. Please."

He stood up abruptly and placed his uneaten plate of food on Rupert's counter. He left, and HK took his vacated seat with an apprehensive air. "He wanted to know about his father," I said, answering the unasked question. "I told him no. I hope we get this done soon."

"Oh, dear...yes, I knew it was getting to him. Both him and Miranda are on edge, though hopefully, Miranda's will be done soon enough," HK said with a sigh, looking at me. "All these loyalty missions...they're going to be hard, you know? I mean, on the crew. They're all going to be under major pressure, and they know we know the answers, but aren't telling them."

I nodded, saddened by the fact. "They trust us to lead them out of a fight unscathed, but when it comes to personal issues we're just somebody they'll be able to blame," I said, grimacing. I ran through all the missions in my head, trying to figure out which ones would give us the most trouble. "Miranda and Jacob are certainly... vocal enough," I allowed. "Mordin... he'll be okay. He may not even ask. Garrus is taken care of. Legion will be interesting. Zaeed will demand that both of us come, I think, to make sure Vido dies. Jack won't ask, because as far as she knows the base is deserted. We'll just... stay away from Grunt for a while. I'd rather he break a window than my face, to be honest. Tali may ask us about her tribunal, or at least the subject on it. Samara and Thane will be just... I don't know. I'm itching to see their reactions to us."

HK nodded. "I'm never sure of anyone's reaction until we actually meet them, so I don't know. I'm glad we're getting Miranda's out of the way, because she probably is the most vocal about it...Jacob is on and off, I think. You're his good friend, so he feels like he can ask you, but he gets frusterated when you won't tell him, like anyone would. He just won't interrogate the answers out of you like Operative Lawson would."

I giggled. "She would, wouldn't she?" I asked. "I don't even know why I find that funny, but it is."

"She almost did with me, but Shepard interrupted, thank goodness," HK told me, shaking his head. "So, when do we get to Illium, anyways? Any idea?"

"Oh I have no clue," I said, grimacing. "I hope we stay there for a while, though. I don't know about you, but I'd like some clothes. Normal clothes. Clothes that Miss Bellydancer Kelly doesn't own."

HK snorted. "Yes, it'd be nice for something other than Cerberus attire," he said, glancing down at his own, standard Cerberus outfit. "Though I doubt we'd ever wear them. Not on this mission, anyway."

"D'you think we're getting any money for this?" I asked. "Because if I have to go up to Shepard and ask her for money to spend on my wardrobe, I think she'd be a tiny bit annoyed."

"We randomly drop onto her ship, and are suddenly part of the crew, being weird and knowing almost everything...and she's going to pay us for that?" HK sarcastically asked with a chuckle. "No, I don't think we're getting any money."

"Aw, damn. I could've put it towards my video game fund. Sigh." And for effect, I did. "Okay, then I'll have to brave the waters and ask for some small fund, at least to get some new clothes. I still have orange blood stains. I wonder if Billy Mayes can come up with a cleaning solution for your everyday alien blood stains-"

"If he were alive, maybe," HK said, his eyebrow raised.

"Ah, oh yeah. Slight issue there. La-de-dah. Whoops." My foot tapped impatiently on the floor. A sure sign of Aikido withdrawel. "At least you have armor, you don't have to deal with that stuff. Cleaning it must be a piece of cake for you. But I have to take a shower every time I gut something. And look!" I held out my forearms, highlighting small, halfway-healed burn scars. "Blowing up mechs is nasty business! Shrapnel goes everywhere and I'm talking way too much again, aren't I? Urgh! I want to go out and walk around on Illium, then get into the statistical 2.73 fights Legion says we get a day. Rounded down."

HK slowly nodded after my long statements. "Yes, I know...believe me, I've gotten in fights too, but armor does help a lot. But I do want to get to Illium soon, because I feel like I've been on this ship way too long. I love the Normandy, but I'm getting cage-bound."

"We're going stir-crazy!" I said cheerfully. Then I winced. "My other life is sore right now." I looked back through the real-time memories of Earth still winding through my brain. "I took a high fall wrong. Well, that was stupid. And I just finished uchideishi week... and now I'm waiting impatiently for the next class to start. This is so cool, yet so weird, knowing everything. It's like the rest of my brain has picked up the slack and is working double-time. Feel that way to you?"

"It is...weird. I think I'm mostly trying to ignore it, and let my Earth life take its course...I'm physically here, so I'm going to focus on that. I think my normal life will be fine for the time being. Any knowledge I need, I'll get," HK explained.

"It's kind of like watching a television show," I said. Then I just snorted. "Ah, well... Hey! I have an idea! Let's go ambush Shepard and ask for some denero for the shopping trip."

HK smirked. "Want me there with you in case she rejects our request, don't you?"

"I need backup," I said, grinning. "C'mon, let's eat fast and get her. Maybe we can even meet Liara. I wonder what an asari smells like. Krogan smell bad, and so do batarians. Turians smell awesome, really sweet, you know? But I haven't smelled an asari yet..." I caught a few stares from the people sitting next to me. "Eat your food!" I said, chagrined.

Five or ten more minutes passed, and HK had eaten his food. We were both standing up, and walking towards the elevator. "Ready to face her?" he asked, chuckling.

"La-dee-dum-dum," I answered.

Commander Shepard was in her cabin, as we had guessed. And apprently EDI had warned her, too, because she didn't even look surprised when she opened the door to find us two idiots standing there looking like we were about to face the wrath of God. She let us in without a word and crossed back to her desk, sorting through datapads. "It struck me quite recently," she said, a twitch of a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth, "that as much as you three seem to be helping us, you aren't being rewarded. Everybody on this ship has credits being transferred to their accounts except for you. They could get whatever they want with that amount of salary."

She opened up a file on her terminal. "So," she continued, "how much money would you think is fair? For helping Cerberus save the galaxy."

"Ummm." HK replied, glancing at me for a moment. "I'm not sure. How much do you think is fair?"

"How much do you think is fair?" Shepard asked pointedly.

"Uh, honestly, we don't know," I said, throwing a look at HK. "Just some money to go shopping for clothes would be good. So... maybe four-hundred credits?"

"That's insane."

I grimaced. "Sorry. I'm not very-"

"How about fourteen-thousand?"

HK's eyes widened. "Fourteen-thousand? Uh, wow...I'm not one to reject that much money, so thats fine with me." he replied with a shrug.

I stared at Shepard with wide eyes. "Are you SURE?" I asked. "The most credits I've ever had was one-hundred and twenty. Wow. I'm not sure I'd know what to do with all of that."

She tilted her head. A green light beeped on her console. "Actually, that's not much money," she said, glancing at it. "Everybody on this mission is being paid half a million. Why should you be different?"

"Shit." I was so flustered I didn't even care that I just cussed in the presence of one who could kill me with her thumb if she wanted to. "What can we do with all of that?"

"Save it. Use it for college."

"College..." I repeated, my mouth going dry.

"Cerberus budgets stretch far," Shepard said. "So you two and your friend Sarah will each get half a million credits."

"Uh..." I glanced at HK, my eyes wide. "I-I can't accept that. Just... maybe fourteen-hundred. That sounds... fair. Give the rest to charity or something."

"Any charity I'd give to, minus maybe one or two, would probably be against Cerberus ideals," HK said, looking breathless. "So, uhh...I'll...er, I can't believe this. I'll take all of mine, I guess...thanks. Wow, I'm really grateful, I just don't know what to say."

Shepard nodded. "Abby?"

"Hmm?"

"Take the money."

"You're insane."

I was wavering, and she could tell. "I just opened up three joint bank accounts in your names. The money is already there."

Motherfluffer. "It is?"

"Yes."

"Oh."

"When we get to Illium we'll go to the bank and get your cards."

"Oh-kaaaay?"

"Now was there anything else?" she asked pointedly. "Besides the information about Miss Lawson's sister and Mistor Taylor's father you were going to give me."

"Uh, we can't tell you that," I said, eyes wide. I glanced at HK. "Wait... Can we?" I thought about it. "We could, you know... as long as she promises not to go tell anybody."

"Its not about her, so I guess there...wouldn't be any trouble with it. Especially since its nothing too big, though its susbstantial," HK replied, looking conflicted. "Okay...let's do it."

"Hai!" I said, nodding. "So Miranda already told you about Oriana, right?" Shepard nodded. "Okay. Miranda has a trusted friend that's shuttling Oriana, but he's a traitor. He's going to let the Eclipse know. His name is Niket. There will be a fight, but Oriana and her family will live. Miranda should talk to her sister."

I looked at HK. "That's the gist of it," I told him. "I can't remember the fighting areas that well."

"You're just going to run through alot of cargo areas and shoot a bunch of mercs. The normal," HK said casually. "She's not going to believe you about Niket, so don't push it. Maybe suggest it, but she really does trust him. Just go along with her, its pretty much her operation."

Shepard nodded.

"Thats about it, on that mission anyways...it'll be a little more intense when you're actually out there. Miranda's emotions will be running high," HK explained. "And then, as for Jacob...well, er, lets just say that his father is pretty much a prejudiced, lying moron...to put it bluntly. But lets not say it in that manner to Jacob."

"Hell no," I agreed fervently. "His father was very selfish and made a lot of morally ambiguous choices. Jacob will be very upset."

"Here's how the mission goes: You're going to have to scan the planet, but you've done mining before, so its basically that, plus finding the anomaly. You'll go down to the planet, investiate, and then fight off the remaining male crew members that have gone insane."

"Male crew members? Why be that specific?" Shepard asked.

"Here's where the prejudice comes in. And it may make you mad, being a woman, but don't get too mad when you see the disgusting sight. His father enslaved all the women and assigned them to male officers like pets, toys. Its like he wanted to go back several thousand years...and alot of the women will be scared, angry, and just confused. No one has any logic except for Ronald Taylor himself. You're going to have to fight through his army of mechs, too, and he'll make dumb excuses for what happened, but its all lies. When you confront him...well, you'll just have to see that for yourself." HK finished.

"Well, that pretty much sounds bad," I muttered lightly. "Good job reassuring her, man."

Shepard scowled. "We'll see," she said. "Miranda's takes priority. I promised Jacob we would look into his issues after we're all done here. How long on average would you expect this to take?"

"Two to three days here," I said. "A day for Samara, a day for Thane, a day for relaxation. Recruiting Thane and Samara will be pretty easy, actually. Just whack everybody. There's a gunship on Samara's mission, so just take some heavy weapons. Also, you're going to meet Liara here. Uh, let's see... Conrad Verner, too. Interesting little guy." I chuckled.

"Illium's basically going to be a place for old friends. Parasini, Shiala, even the Rachni Queen will all be there. Okay, well that last one will be there in a weird way." HK told her. "But nothing will be extremely hard. Liara may be a little different, but overall, its not a bad planet."

"The Rachni Queen is going to be on Illium?" Shepard repeated. For once, she looked shell-shocked. "What will happen?"

I laughed. "Don't worry, you'll see," I said, standing. "Well! We should probably get going, I guess. When are we getting there?"

"Tomorrow..."

"Thanks!"

We retreated without a goodbye. I was silent until the elevator door closed, and then I began to laugh. "Wow! That was a great meeting!"

HK nodded in agreement, chuckling as well. "Yes, probably the most comfortable I've felt with Shepard."

"She gave us a half a million creds," I told him. "She's our new best friend."

Shepard came down herself and told Sarah about the new financial arrangements a little while later, offering to bring her along to get a card and some new clothes. Sarah was stammering and flustered at this sudden news and thanked Shepard profusely, but she wasn't keen to step outside of the Normandy so soon after her little accident on Haestrom. Despite our urging, she decided to just sit this one out. "I don't need anything, anyway," she said somewhat nervously, but she did wave goodbye to us as we departed.

Kelly grinned at HK and I as we passed by accompanying the Commander, Garrus, and Tali. Or maybe she was grinning at the latter three. The idea of the three of them working together again must've appealed to her... or maybe she really liked staring at Garrus. I think she likes looking at Garrus. Jacob watched us depart, standing just outside the armory door with a frown on his face; I didn't look at him, afraid to see any remnants of his anger there.

Joker turned around as we approached. "We're all set, Commander. Looks like we got a welcoming party. Surprise-surprise."

"Hostile?" asked the Commander.

Joker ran one clinical eye over Shepard's armored, weaponized frame. I could see his apprehension at answering this question. Anybody with a guilty conscious who saw Shepard would run for their lives or try to assassinate her, no ands, ifs, or buts about it. "Naw. Well, if they are, not for long, anyway."

"The probability of aggression is in statistically low numbers," said EDI.

Joker looked at HK and I. "You taking those two out so soon after that last fiasco?" Joker asked.

Shepard nodded. "They've proved themselves to be reliable."

I grinned, slightly embarassed. "I need some new clothes," I told him, gesturing down to the ones I was wearing. A few vigorous washes later left Kelly's clothes cleaner than clean, but the krogan blood stains could still be seen. Hopefully people would think it was some crazy human getup, you know, with the patterns and crap, but for those who recognized it (like krogan, for example!) it might spell out trouble.

And the last thing I wanted right now was trouble. We were going in unarmed, or so Shepard thought. After that craziness when we recruited Mordin, I'd come to value the awesomeness of a nice, pointy kitchen knife. Except the knife I carried now was actually a loan from Zaeed, who had so many it was a surprise that he could still keep track of them all.

"Right, a shopping trip," Joker mumbled, turning back around. "See you guys later. Comm's open if you need a quick exit."

"Will we need a quick exit?" Shepard asked us.

HK and I exchanged a look. "Nope," I said. "We're good."

He nodded fervently.

"Good," said Shepard. "Let's go, then."

I slid into the back of the group, tuning out the conversation in front. Tali and Garrus were continuing some topic of conversation they must have started before, and as much as I would've liked to eavesdrop I wanted to spend some more time with my friend and actually get a game plan for the shopping spree. "Joker seems cordial," I muttered archly.

"Joker seems...well, like he's Joker," HK said with a shrug. "Though, his brand of humor takes a little getting used to in person, but he's pretty much like he is...in our visions. Now, how should we go about this shopping trip? We've never shopped on Illium before."

"We could get a fish," I suggested lightly.

"I thought we were here to get clothes," HK replied with a snort. "Besides, they'd have to go up in Shepard's room, anyway."

"We could get a-okay, nevermind." I snickered. "Okay! Well, I suggest we tag around long enough to meet Liara and get our cards. After that we could explore. We shouldn't get any fancy-smancy clothes, though. Stuff that's lightweight and durable. Maybe two or three casual outfits. Boots, too... maybe even some fingerless gloves or something so we don't get blisters from pistils or whatever gun we happen to be firing."

"And here I wanted to get a tuxedo for when we go through the Omega 4 Relay!" HK exclaimed with a laugh. "But, yes, I agree...lightweight and simple clothes, along with some other stuff. It'll be nice to wear something thats not borrowed from someone else."

"I'd almost suggest we get armor, except well... we're not exactly usual customers, and there are laws. Laws we're breaking anyway, but still..." I sighed. "How can a fourteen-year-old find a black market around here?"

"Dunno. May be a little easier for a sixteen-year-old, but I doubt it. I've got some good armor on the ship, so I think I'm pretty much set in that category," HK told me. "Oh, and by the way, excited to meet Dr. T'Soni?"

I raised one eyebrow, anticipating Commander Shepard's reaction. "You know it. That'll be entertaining. I wonder-"

We were cut off when Shepard raised her fist in front of us, the universal human signal for 'stop walking and pay attention.' The welcoming party, led by that asari and her band of LOKI mechs, was approaching.

Shepard had a quick conversation with her and the woman dismissed the mechs, claiming that you could never be too careful around these parts. They had a quick conversation I couldn't hear, and Shepard's interest was perked, I guessed, with the mention of Liara T'Soni. She threw us a quick look, nodded a few times, and said the classic Shepard line: "I should go."

"If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask," said the asari charmingly.

Shepard beckoned for us to follow her.

Illium was just... WOW on the tenth degree. Awesome. Awe-inspiring. "It's beautiful here!" I gasped, looking around with wide eyes.

I could tell HK was amazed, as well. He looked around as we walked out into the common area, and couldn't stop gazing around. "Wow...this is, by far, the best planet we've been to so far. Nothing can compare to this..."

"It's not hard to get better than Omega," Garrus said.

"True," HK agreed. "But still."

"Look over there!" I said excitedly, pointing. "Rainbows are reflecting off of that building. Wow. The material used to build this place is just awesome. And it smells great! Commander, we should have some shore leave here or something! There should be an Aikido dojo here. It's peaceful enough."

"Yes, it is peaceful here...er, except for all the slavery. But it feels good to actually be able to walk the streets without being worried about someone coming and assaulting you," HK commented.

I remembered something and started laughing, fully aware that the team and Shepard were giving us weird, half-amused looks. "Remember that thing about Mr Thax? I think that's his name. And the krogan comes up, and he is disgustingly nice? Or the krogan and the asari, and the krogan sprouting love poems about his little 'Blue Rose of Illium?'"

"Commander," I heard Tali say in a low voice, "is this... normal?"

"You should see the other one," Garrus muttered.

"I have, actually," Tali said. "If you're speaking of that one that nearly got herself killed on Haestrom."

"Yes, her," HK told her. "And its not normal, none of us really are...but, uh, you can expect alot more of this."

"Interesting," Tali said slowly. "You always picked up the odd ones, Commander. And I probably should include myself in that."

We continued walking a little ways, until we heard someone call out for Shepard. Shepard looked to her right to see the asari that relayed the Rachni Queen's message, and the Commander began to approach her.

"Oh boy," HK whispered to me.

I giggled, anticipating her reaction. I gestured with my head to retreat, leaving the Commander with some privacy. I scrolled through the electronic kiosk that sold not only fish, but other cool and alien pets as well. "I think the rachni will play a part in the next dream we have," I said lightly, keeping one eye on Shepard as they conversed.

"The asari over there implies it," HK mentioned quietly, helping me look through everything. "She even says something about how the Reapers indoctrinated the rachni into doing it, or something of that manner. I hope she does play a part, though...we'll need all the help we can get."

"Yeah, something about how a 'sour yellow note resonated through the minds of the rachni, and we were driven mad!'" I mimicked the queen's voice from the first game. "Poor rachni."

HK nodded. "Yes, I've always felt sympathy for them, especially if the Reapers were behind it," he said, glancing back to see Shepard talking with the asari. He looked back to me. "Found anything interesting?"

I highlighted a Pyjack. "I want it."

"Heck no. You want one of those annoying little creatures?"

"...I'll train it to steal Jack's clothes."

"What clothes?" HK asked, smirking.

I snorted. "Okay, TRUE! I'll just have it irritate Grunt, ninja-style. He'll never kill it."

"Um, have you forgotten that puberty is coming up for him soon?" HK inquired, blinking.

I almost said something bad there. Almost. Who can't think of a dirty joke when it comes to pubescant krogan, anyway? I just pursed my lips and tried not to giggle as I checked out the Shepard/Rachni situation. They were still talking, looking engrossed in their conversation, but Garrus was watching us. I checked through the rest of the manifest and highlighted a Golden Retriever, then read the information accompanying it. "Batarians are allergic. Nice to know."

We checked through some more stuff, and then we were kicked off by Shepard. The asari had disappeared and Shepard looked slightly awed. "You knew that was going to happen?" she asked.

"Yup! It's so nice, don't you think? I'm glad you didn't fry the queen back on Noveria, no matter what the Council said. They're idiots. Especially the turian dude. He should die, he's too annoying to live."

"Are you so ready to doll out life or death to whomever you want?" Shepard asked crossly.

"Many that live deserve death. Some that die deserve life," I said, quoting Gandalf. "But the turian dude is annoying. Extremely. I wonder how he got such a high office with that pigheaded obstinance of his. Actually... I wonder that about all three of them. Hopefully by the next round of visions they'll have figured out you were telling the truth, but right now they're just an obstacle we have to work with." I shrugged.

"You sound like you know a great deal about the Council," Tali said, perturbed.

"Only as much as Shepard will know," I said, a grin on my face. "C'mon, let's go see Liara! I want to meet her."

"Yes, lets g-" HK started, but was cut off when someone else called for Shepard.

Gianna Parasini.

Shepard went over and greeted her brief accomplice in the mission to get a garage pass and expose Anoleis for what he was, and we waited for the next ten or fifteen minutes while Shepard spoke to her and got updates on her life, helped her deal with that asari, before finally bidding farewell to each other.

She walked back over to us. "Any other old friends I'm going to see before I can head up and see the one I want to see the most?" she asked.

HK chuckled and shook his head. "No. Now we can go see Liara."

"Shiala!" I said, remembering. "And the mom of that asari greeter to the Consort on the Citadel-yeah, she kinda died two years ago. That was sad. Her sister was an administrative assistant in the Embassy. She died, too. But we can deal with them-oh, and Conrad Verner!"

Garrus actually blanched. "That man disturbs me," he said, "and not in a criminal way. Can we avoid him?"

I thought about it. "Actually... no. You're meeting Miranda's contact at the bar, right? He's there. I might pop in and see how it goes." I grinned.

"...lets go see Liara," HK repeated.

Shepard just shook her head. "Agreed. We may not have much time, anyway." she said, turning and leading us towards Liara's office.

I smirked. We made to go to Liara's office, but Shepard looked around and frowned. "Okay," she said, "where is she at?"

We led her to Liara's office, up the stairs and to the greeter, Nyxeris. She was very pretty in person, and the details Bioware put into her headtails were just amazing. "Hello," she said serenely, "how can I help you today?"

"We're looking for Liara T'Soni," said the Commander. "We heard she was up here."

"Oh, you must be Commander Shepard!" Nyxeris said, new knowledge lighting up her eyes. "Liara will be so pleased to see you."

Shepard nodded and passed through the door...

and beheld Liara in her eternal glory. I grinned, anticipating the reaction. A hologram of a male human in a very nice-cut suit watched in fear as Liara hovered over him, a datapad in her hand. "Have you ever faced an asari commando unit before?" she asked cooly. "Few humans have."

Garrus made a noise beside me. Tali stiffened.

"I'll make it simple," Liara continued. "Either you pay me... or I flay you alive. With my mind." The hologram buzzed out, and Liara turned around sharply. "Shepard! Nyxeris, hold my calls!"

In the corner, Nyxeris bowed and left the room.

"Ah... Shepard..." Liara hugged the Commander tightly. She released quickly. "My sources said you were alive," she said wonderingly, staring at Shepard's face with undisguised awe, "but I never believed-it's so good to see you again."

"You have sources now?" Shepard asked, crossing her arms.

"A few," Liara allowed. "Sources, contacts, even a little hired muscle. I've been working as an information broker. It's paid the bills since you... well, for the last two years. And now you're back, gunning for the Collectors with Cerberus."

"That's not exactly public knowledge." Shepard and Liara sat down.

"Neither is the fact you're alive. Information is my business now... Amelia." Hearing Shepard being called by her first name made us all start. Liara looked to the rest of us. "Garrus, Tali," she said with a small smile. "It's wonderful to see you as well." Her eyes rested on us. "And who might these two be?"

"Useful information brokers in their own right," said Shepard, tossing us a warning look. "They make... educated guesses that always turn out correct. It's a long story, but they're here for the ride."

"I see," said Liara. "I respect anybody who can hold their own among Shepard's team," she told us, inclining her head in respect. Without giving us a chance to speak, she said, "If you need help finding people, Shepard, I would be happy to help."

"There is an asari named Samara here on Illium," Shepard started. "Do you know where I could find her?"

"Samara..." Liara repeated, looking up the information she had on her. "Yes. She arrived here recently and registered with Tracking Officer Dara. You can find Dara at the transportation hub."

"Thanks," Shepard said with a nod. "And I'm also looking for Thane Krios. He's supposed to be here on Illium."

Liara nodded back. "The assassin. Yes, he arrived here a few days ago. My sources tell me he may be targetting a corporate executive: Nassana Dantius."

"That name sounds familiar..." Garrus whispered to Tali, loud enough that we could hear.

However, Shepard and Liara didn't seem to notice. "I think we met her back on the Citadel.." Tali muttered.

"He contacted a woman named Seryna," Liara continued. "Seryna has an office in the cargo transfer levels. Perhaps she can tell you where Krios is."

"That was all just off the top of your head?" Shepard asked, with a tone of surprise.

"I'm a very good information broker, Shepard. The world of intrigue isn't that different from a dig site. Except the bodies still smell."

"Just a minute, Liara," Shepard said, turning around to face us. She held out something. "Here's a card to go and get whatever you want...it'll keep you busy, and get that out of the way, while I finish up things."

HK looked at me. "Fine by me," he said with a shrug.

"We'll pay you back," I promised, taking it and sticking it in my pocket. "We have our comms on us if you need us."

Shepard nodded, and we left. Nyxeris looked up from her desk. "Leaving so soon?" she asked politely.

"Yes, ma'am." You're going to die soon. Liara's gonna whack you. "Shepard's still talking with her, though."

Nyxeris nodded. "I got you. I'll see you soon if you return."

We retreated to the bottom of the stairs, away from Nyxeris and her prying eyes, and I caught sight of the first terminal Shepard would use if she decided to help out her old friend. "Nyxeris is still as slippery as we knew she was," I said, shaking my head. "I wish we could see her face when we give Liara the information later on."

"I wish we could've seen it in the first place," HK whispered. "But I'm guessing Shepard won't find the information on her until later...it sounded like she was focused on Thane and Samara, mainly."

"Whatever," I said. "Nyxeris is going down either way. I hope Shepard asks us who the Observer is right in front of her, too. That would be hilarious. And since the Shadow Broker is working with the Collectors, Shepard might actually take her time if she whacks her. Wow, I sound way too casual about that, don't I?"

"We must have seen it too many times," HK told me, shaking his head, like it slightly dissappointed him that we were so casual about it. "I do wish someone would take their time on her, though...Liara doesn't even try to get any information out of her. I know the Broker always hires people through agents, but still, Liara just invites her into her office and wipes her out within two minutes. She even gets rid of the body before we get back."

"Liara's an expert," I said, nodding. "Come on! Let's go get some clothes. Maybe we should pick something up for Sarah while we're out, too."

"She'd probably like that, though I have no clue what to get her," HK said, starting to walk with me. "But, uh, where are the clothes shops around here? Some hidden area we didn't see in our visions?"

"There was once a cheat in Knights of the Old Republic, you know, the Xbox version, where if you pressed the right buttons in the right sequence you could look anywhere. I actually tried it here once, but it didn't work. They should put it in the next game. But for now... I just think we're on our own."

I crossed towards the edge of the walkway (CAUTION: DO NOT LEAN OVER EDGE) and peered over it to take a peek at the levels below us. "Looks like there are a few shopping stores four levels down. And... there's the elevator, right over there!"

I held the elevator door open for a slow-moving elcor passenger and the doors closed. We descended a few levels, funky music playing jovially above us. The elcor got out without a word and we followed. "Nice place," I said appreciateivly. I raked my eyes over the different store names and pointed at a place named 'Tenkan' a few buildings away.

Illium was like a shopper's paradise. I had to constantly remind myself that I couldn't just buy whatever clothes I thought were awesome, and that they had to be resistent to wear and tear, too. HK and I split up in every store, he to the boys section, me to the girls. Eventually, when I got tired of the girls, I would follow him around, find some pants or a shirt I liked, and try them on.

We didn't buy a lot, but we didn't buy too little, either. I found a cool-looking moon rock bracelet (For twenty-five credits only, wear a piece of Luna on your wrist!) and, figuring Sarah would like it, picked one up for her. I myself bought a bottle of shampoo and conditioner, having grown tired with hair smelling like Kelly all of the time.

HK appeared at my shoulder for the briefest of seconds in one of the stores, his face beet red. "Guess what I found," he whispered.

"Hmm?"

He pointed at a large lump of clothing in one of the further aisles and I walked up to it, swinging my bag in my hand. Wondering what in the world could make HK so embarassed, I peered at the label.

I abruptly walked back to my original area, eyes wide. "Hell," I choked out.

He just nodded.

"I didn't know," I began, then coughed. "Well... damn."

We left the store soon after that, smirking and giggling to ourselves. In a new bag I carried our object of fascination. "I can't believe you bought it," HK said, but he was laughing.

I didn't have enough breath to answer, so I took a few gulps of fresh air and said, "Did you see the look on the clerk's face?"

"Did you see the look on her child's?"

"I thought we were going to get kicked out."

"Who needs a fish to remember this place?" HK muttered, shaking his head.

"Those with no imagination."

We went to a variety of other stores. I carried the bag with me, seeing as HK didn't even want to touch it. I found an outfit I really liked, very comfortable-looking and resistant, tried it on, and bought it. HK found a few more good things.

"Dude, check these out!" I waved him over and pointed at a small display on the counter. "Those are beautiful."

And they were. They were two hand-crafted hairpieces, wrought of gold and embedded with a blue pearl. "They would go great with your hair," HK allowed.

"Can't get them, though," I muttered, chagrined. "Yeah, I know."

The asari at the counter was hovering near us protectively, watching the precious hairpieces with a look that said she didn't trust two human children. When we walked away I imagined I heard her sigh with relief.

Shopping made for a hungry day, so with HK's consent we took a small table at an outdoor cafe that served, thankfully, human food. You could tell it wasn't made by a human, though, just with the spices and unnatural sauces they put in it. I was dipping my pizza in some asari-smelling thing from Thessia when I heard the first of the commotion.

"You hear that?" I asked, frowning.

HK, who was in the middle of chewing something, shook his head.

I cocked my head, straining my ear. "It sounds like... screaming? What's going on over there?"

HK followed me out, towards another store that sold 'adult' clothing. Apparently there was such a commotion inside that nobody objected to two underage teenagers walking in.

The sight that met our eyes was terrifying. A tall, African nun, dressed in the traditional black and white garb of the Christian church, was chasing a thin, lithe asari woman. The nun had a Bible in her hands that looked like it had seen some heavy usage... and she was trying to smack the asari with it.

I looked at HK, my eyes wide. "YOU DIDN'T!" Without waiting for an answer I grabbed his arm and pulled him behind the counter, taking him out of harm's way. The asari flew into the space where we'd just vacated, hitting the ground hard.

"Please don't!" she screamed. "What did I do?"

The nun whacked her once with the Bible. Sister Ethea, a creation of HK's from long ago, was here... and she meant some serious business.

"Where did she come from? This doesn't make any sense! I don't think I wished her in here or any-" HK began, looking like he was in total shock.

Sister Ethea's screams interrupted him. "PRAISE THE LORD!" she yelled, grabbing the asari and beating her again. "Child, do you know who created this universe? God. He created us, gave us life, and expected us to do His work! And obey His laws! Have you not read the Bible? This entire store is a sin!" she screamed.

"Stop, please-AHH!" the asari screamed.

"Girl, I don't know what you are thinking. And that Goddess you mentioned? How dare you worship idols! Whats the matter with you! How dare you disobey the Lord!" Sister Ethea yelled, continuing to beat her over the head.

I swallowed. "Aw, hell... crap-crap-crap-crap-crap-crap-crap! We need to get her out of here before-"

The door opened, and a chime sounded. "Step away from the woman!" an authorative voice spoke. I looked up over the counter to see an asari police officer. "Put the book down. Calm-"

Sister Ethea gave the asari one more whack over the head and turned to regard the police. "Thank goodness you're here!" she cried. "This woman is defiling the minds of every child on this planet, selling this here garbage! Now I don't know what kind of home she comes from, but she needs to get on her knees and repent, repent, repent for this here sin of a job."

The police officer had a small tazor aimed at Ethea's chest. "Ma'am, I'm going to respectfully ask you to-"

Ethea was looking around the store, rambling to herself. "Look at this garbage! People, selling their bodies like this." She picked up a few video cards and plugged them into her datapad. The loud sounds of a woman moaning in ecstacy were cut off by Ethea's scream of distress and she took the vid-chip out immediately. "That's porn!"

"Ma'am, this is an adult store-"

"We are all adults here," Ethea said, her voice shaking with rage. "And you mean to tell me that you act like this here woman?"

"That is neither here nor there. I'd like you to calm down, now. I'm going to take you to a safe place."

"Girl, you will be taking me nowhere. I have the Lord's work to do! There's alot more sin that must be stopped," Sister Ethea said. The officer approached her with the tazer, but she just grabbed it out of her hands. "Why thank you. This can help show these sinners not to sin!"

Sister Ethea whirled around and tazed the asari. "That's the type of punishment you'll be getting if you continue with this sin! Do ya'll know what the burning fires of hell will feel like? It'll be much worse than this, let me tell ya that right now!" she yelled.

"Ma'am, I'm going to have to call in reenfor-"

"My goodness, I know I don't see hanar preaching about those idols they worship across the street! I need to go tell them about the Lord's work!" Sister Ethea yelled. She looked at all of us. "I'll be back, don't you worry! I'll bring the Lord into your SOULS!"

Before anyone could do anything, the crazy nun left.

HK looked at me, jaw hanging wide open. "What...was that about?"

I looked at him, my face frozen in an expression of purest shock. "I am so glad she didn't look and see what we bought," I mumbled.

HK shuddered. "Erm...yes. Still cannot believe that you bought that..." he said. "And, uh, speaking of which...should we go before we get arrested for being in an adult store, and the entire Illium police force sees what we, uh, got?"

"It'd be a good icebreaker story, " I said, still shocked, "but yes. Let's sneak out. I don't want to buy anything here." I stepped over teh inert, sobbing body of Sister Ethea's poor victim and exited the store.

HK blew out a giant breath and stared at the bag in my hands. "You almost have to wonder... how?"

I glanced at it. "I'll google when we get back on the Normandy. Uh oh. Looks like the police are chasing after Ethea. RUN GRANNY RUN!"

HK just shook his head as they all got out of our eyesight. "If I know my character, she'll be able to escape...authorities don't have anything on her," he said with a sigh. "Soon, we'll be seeing Jaskia Paine, Scout Gash, Sora Trok, or...Erin."

I shuddered. "Not Erin. Ethea is enough..."

We stood there for a moment, contemplating the Illium viewscape. I heard running footsteps and turned around just in time to see a small boy, tear-tracks on his dirt-smudged face, before he plunged straight into my legs. If HK hadn't caught me I probably would have fallen close to the edge of the railing. "Hey, hey, hey, what's the matter, honey?" I asked, dropping to one knee.

"M-My mommy! She's hurt and sh-she's bleeding and she won't wake up!" he choked out.

I exchanged an alarmed glance with HK. "Show us where."

He ran away, and we had to run fast to keep up. He led us into an alley, deserted and far away from the main streets, sobbing ahead of us...

No, wait...

Not sobbing. Laughing.

He stopped right next to one of the biggest, meanest krogan I'd ever seen, tears gone. The krogan just nodded, like he was expecting us. Then, before we could react, his strong, muscular arms reached out and took the boy's face. "Can't let you live," he rumbled, and twisted violently.

I knew what would happen before it did. The boy screamed only once before his neck broke. The krogan dropped him to the ground. He hadn't even looked at the child once. "Trap," I muttered. "It's a trap."

HK stumbled back slowly, absolutely horrified at what he just saw. "R-run!" he shouted.

We took off, as fast as we could, but we had barely made it a few kilometers before HK screamed out, after the krogan charged at him and literally slammed him into the wall. He slumped downward, some blood coming out of his mouth, and it looked like he could barely move.

"Why do we ki-ai?"

We were sitting in a circle. It was one of the last classes of the day, before the evening class. Friday afternoon, and we were all sore and aching. I sat in seiza with minor difficulty, but after the first ten minutes my legs were starting to go numb. Nevertheless, I looked around the small circle of uchideishi students, waiting for them to give the answer I already knew.

They were either clueless or too tired to make their brains function properly. It was with some chagrin that I raised my hand. Sensei turned and called on me. "Abby?"

"To frighten the person attacking you. To improve your strikes and extension. And most importantly, to alert others to the fact that you're in trouble."

"Hai. Yes. Don't be afraid to scream. It's smart, not weak."

I screamed as loud as I could, and that was loud. I fumbled for my comm with my fingers, but there was no signal. The krogan stepped over my friend's limp, spread-eagled body, and stared me down.

His finger flexed, and too late I noticed the stun-gun in his hand. I screamed for real then, dropping to the ground as thousands of volts of electricity arced through my body. I grasped at my consciousness vainly, aware that HK was moaning, the krogan was laughing, and my own screams sounded like death rattles in my ears.

The krogan loomed over me, a small needle in his hand. I felt the cool metal syringe pierce the skin around my shoulders, and abruptly all the pain went away. I breathed in and out deeply, fatigue making it hard to keep my eyes open.

I lost.

[Marishal]

(Sarah)

I was in a very bad mood. There was no denying that.

Why? Because nothing seemed to be going right lately. I don't know if I knocked over a salt shaker in the kitchen or broke a mirror without noticing, or what. Not that I was overly supersticious or anything, but if I didn't know any better, I would say I was having an unlucky day.

First I was trying to help Rupert fix some meals, and I absent-mindedly set the temperature too high so that I burned the food. This didn't make the crewmembers who wanted to eat very happy. I couldn't blame them for not wanting to eat it, or put up with the burning smell.

Then I accidentally spilled boiling hot water all over the floor. Wonderful.

Then it was basically just a lot of little things that kept happening, as if I'd become a complete butter-fingers all of a sudden. I kept dropping things on the floor, and at times it seemed as though I was tripping over my own feet.

Plus it didn't help that I felt a nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach, sort of like a "something bad is going to happen" feeling. Part of me wondered if HK and Abby were okay, but I couldn't exactly worry about that, could I? Besides they were probably fine. They'd come back from every other place they'd gone okay.

"Sarah," EDI's voice suddenly spoke up, startling me a little. "Miss Chambers requests your presence on the bridge."

I scowled at the terminal where the blue hologram had popped up. "I'm right in the middle of something, be there in a few minutes," I snapped. I tried my best not to act this grouchy, really. But today I just didn't care.

"I will inform Miss Chambers, but note that it seems urgent," EDI said, before vanishing.

"Yeah, yeah," I muttered, looking down at my clothes. I swear I'd somehow managed to get pretty much every kind of grease, gunk and/or dirt or whatever all over them today. I was NOT going to the bridge in this condition.

Then I did something I had promised myself I would never do in ear-shot of other people, although lately I had somehow developed the habit of muttering it under my breath. "Fuck this ship and everyone on it." Yeah, normally I didn't say the F-word out-loud. Maybe I'd been spending too much time around Jack... sorta. Or maybe it was just this military crew in general. Heck, even Rupert said it once in a while, I was sure.

I then moved in the direction of the women's rest room. But as I headed down the corridor... I nearly ran smack into Zaeed. I had no idea where he was headed exactly, but I really didn't care.

At any other time, I probably would have apologized and given him a wide berth, and either headed for the nearest elevator or locked myself into the bathroom until I was sure he was gone. But in the mood I was in now, I just didn't care. "Maybe you should watch where you're going," I snapped, surprising myself a little.

"Maybe you should watch your tongue before somebody cuts it out, princess," he snarled, moving past me.

"Oh yeah sure," I muttered as he moved past. "Act like you own the place, like pretty much everybody else does."

Zaeed probably heard me, but he didn't make any comment. He stepped into the elevator and disappeared, draining me of a chance to blow some steam.

Well... okay then. I shrugged and went into the bathroom, then used the sink to try and clean the worst of the dirt off my hands and arms. I ignored my dirty clothes for the most part.

Then I headed for the elevator and rode up toward the bridge. When the elevator stopped, I balled my hands into fists and stepped out, walking straight toward Kelly. I simply stood behind her and scowled, waiting for her to notice me.

She turned around and noticed me. "Good, you're here," she said breathlessly. "Follow me, we need to go to the bridge." And without waiting for me, she began walking. I followed. "Abby and HK are gone," she said. "We think they're in trouble."

I stopped dead in my tracks for a moment. Sometimes, I really did have "gut feelings", or whatever you want to call them, about things that could happen or might be happening. So when she said that about HK and Abby, I just stopped and stared at her. "What?" I finally blurted.

She motioned impatiently for me to follow her to Joker's cockpit and after a moment, I did. Joker was already working, talking in low tones to EDI. "I already did a wide-freq search, you nag," he snapped. "It's turned off."

"Not for their communications, but for the jamming equipment," EDI clarified. A second passed. "My scanners are picking up nothing."

Shepard's sigh could be heard over the comm. "Good try anyway. Is Sarah there yet?"

"I'm here," I said loudly, moving to stand just behind Joker. I absent-mindedly put a hand on the back of his chair, just behind his left shoulder. I leaned toward the console a little. "What the hell is going on down there, may I ask?" I demanded.

"HK and Abby went on a shopping trip and dropped off the grid," said Shepard. "As of now, we don't know any more than that. I'm heading to Liara's to check out the security footage, but I need to know if you can tell me anything."

I blinked. I was still in shock, and still pretty uptight at the same time. What in the world was going on? How could HK and Abby just disappear like that? Nobody disappeared in the game on Illum... but then again, as far as I knew, nobody went off shopping by themselves, either. Maybe this was just an unexplained variable.

I scowled. "You mean you left them alone?" I snapped in disbelief. Somehow, the way I felt right now, I just felt like saying exactly what I was thinking for once. No more meekness, at least for the time-being. "How could you do that?"

"Do you know anything?" Shepard reiterated.

"The tracker's not coming up anywhere, Commander," Joker said. "The last place it was functioning was four levels down of your position. The moved northeast and every wi-fi node in the area stopped responding. Either they dropped the ball and ran, or they're in serious trouble." Joker looked at me.

I shook my head in disbelief. "This was not supposed to happen!" I exclaimed, shoving away from Joker's chair and sort of beginning to pace in the small space right behind him. "I mean... I mean..." I stammered for a moment, then turned to face the console as though it were Shepard herself.

"What the hell happened down there? This wasn't supposed to happen! I mean... there as NOTHING in our 'visions' that even hinted..." I stopped. What was I supposed to say? Of course we knew everything that happened in the Mass Effect GAMES, but... well, maybe we didn't know everything that would happen to the three of us, personally. We weren't normally supposed to be part of the game-universe.

Shepard was silent for such a long time that I began to worry even more. "Of course," she muttered. "It's the Observer, it has to be. Sarah, do you know who the Observer is? The one spying on Liara?"

"Yeah uh... Liara's so-called assistent who hangs around outside her door," I said quickly. I could never remember that person's name. I just hoped Shepard would figure out who I was talking about.

"Nyxeris?" Shepard repeated, shocked. Before I could answer, she connected us with another line. "Liara?"

"Shepard! Do you have something already?"

"The Observer is Nyxeris. Is she still there?"

"Nyxeris-? But... that would make sense. She was the one who passed me along the information. Wait a moment." A few seconds of a pause. "Nyxeris? Can you come in here for a moment, please?"

Silence.

"She's not here," Liara said. "It looks like she left nearly fifteen minutes ago. She must have known we were on to her."

Shepard blew out a deep breath. "Find her. I think she did something to the two teenagers that came into the office with me."

Nyxeris was GONE? And she had done something to HK and Abby? This was definitely not supposed to happen. And what in the WORLD could they have done down there that made her do something to them, anyway?

My mind was racing. If something happened to them, I was leaving the Normandy, end of discussion. Then again if this turned out to be something as stupid as the two of them just getting lost in an area that interfered with communications simply because they decided to sight-seeing... I was going to kill them.

"What can I do?" I demanded. In some ways, that was basically my way of asking, "Can I help in any other way or am I dismissed?" even if I didn't say it aloud.

"We're going to need you out here in the field," Shepard said, panting. She must have been running. "We're going to retrace their steps. Liara, I need some security footage ready. I'll be there soon to sort through it."

"Yes, Shepard. I'm bringing it up now."

"Sarah, I want you and a partner to meet Tali at the best location Joker can figure. Send the coordinates, Joker."

"Sent!" he said.

"Received. Finding the two of them is high priority-"

"Shepard," said Liara, "it can't be. If you need Samara and the assassin, you must get them now, before they leave."

Shepard was silent, then grunted an affirmation. "That would be the best course of action," she agree. "Thank you, Liara."

"It will take some time for me to assemble the data anyways," she said soothingly. "I'll find them."

I frowned, then decided I had better double-check what Shepard wanted me to do. I always tended to do that, especially when the person I was following seemed to change their mind about something in mid-sentence. "So what do you want me to do? Team up with someone, along with Tali, and... go down to Illium somewhere?"

"Yes," said Shepard. "Tali, you're in charge. Shepard out."

Well, that was just ducky.

Without saying a word I turned and left the bridge, ignoring everyone I passed as I headed right back for the elevator. After the door slid shut I banged my fist against the it, trying to decide what exactly I was going to do next.

Then I got a weird idea. Somehow though... after the way this day had been so far, it seemed... strangely appealing. I stabbed a button on the elevator with my finger, then rode in silence as it took me to my selected destination.

When I arrived, I stepped out, marched down the corridor, then I was soon heading down some stairs. And as I went, I was thinking over my weird idea. And somehow... I couldn't seem to talk myself out of it.

My weird idea was this: I was wondering just how easy it might be to piss off Jack.

After all... she did seem to be pretty reserved, most of the time, down in the bottom of the ship. Unless she was mad at Shepard for some reason, or pissed off at Miranda.

I slowly approached the area where Jack always seemed to be hanging out. Sure enough, she was there. I cleared my throat softly as I approached her.

"Hey," Jack said coldly, looking at me. "Back for another lesson on how to have fun with turians?"

"No, I came down here to tell you that I think you look ugly without any hair, and with all those tattoos," I said, folding my arms. I figured that maybe if I got knocked out, I could just get out of having to go anywhere or putting up with anymore shit today. And maybe if I was very lucky, I could just wake up in sickbay with... hopefully minimal injuries, and by then maybe HK and Abby would be back, safe and sound. Sure I'd get a lecture from somebody, probably, but right now I just didn't care.

"Then you should also know that I look like I don't give a shit about what you think."

"I don't think you care about what anybody thinks. Otherwise you'd have more decency than to walk around with nothing on."

"Sorry that I don't walk around looking like the Queen of England," Jack snapped. "So are you just going to stand around and insult me all day? Don't you have something to clean?"

"Yeah, maybe I should try to clean you-I could start by washing your mouth out with soap."

Jack laughed. "Go ahead. Try it right now."

So apparently this wasn't going to be easy. Apparently she didn't get easily provoked by mere words. "Okay," I said, taking a bold step toward her. Then I took another step, and stopped; I was just trying to see if I could get her to act.

Jack stood up, grinning. "I'm waiting," she said impatiently.

Well... would it really hurt too much to do something really bold and stupid for once in my life? Well, besides drinking ryncol and biting Jacob's finger, of course. I took a deep breath and then I simply moved forward, not giving myself a chance to change my mind. I moved forward and slapped her on the cheek.

I saw a huge blast come towards me, and that was the end of my day.

I felt... like I was floating. Images and colors seemed to swirl around me, then seemed to focus on something specific.

I saw myself... in a different place. I was back home. Not on the Normandy, not in the quarters I shared with HK and Abby-that was what I had been forced to adopt as my "new" home. This was back at my real home, where I played Mass Effect, lived with my family, and did the things that normal people did.

I saw that things were happening. I saw myself worried and stressed, because a family member was in the hospital. But who? I couldn't quite make that out. But it felt... very real.

Then my eyes opened with a start. I looked up, and for a moment all that I really saw was the ceiling. My mind automatically ran through the events of the dream, such as they were. Somehow they seemed to... real to be merely a figment of my imagination.

Then somehow or other... a strange thought crossed my mind. What if, somehow or other... I still had a connection to whatever was going on back home? Or what if I was somehow actually still there, too, even while I was here?

I shoved those thoughts aside. Ridiculous. Still... if I somehow still had a connection-or could still sense-things that were going on back home... well, if things were that hectic, maybe that could explain my bad mood earlier, along with the strange things I did.

I grimaced as I thought about it. Ugh, who in their right mind would slap Jack? I reached up and touched the sore spot on my head. Where am I, anyway?

"Good," said Tali dryly. "You're up."

I sat up, blinking hard. "Where... uh, where are we?"

"In a rental car," she answered. "We weren't going to sit around and wait for you to wake up. Mordin is over at the restaraunt across the street asking questions and I am running blanket scans for all jamming equipment."

I squinted for a moment, trying to make sense of what I just heard. I had totally been expecting to wake up in the medical bay, or perhaps back in my bed... or maybe down in engineering, at the worst.

"What... you mean you took me along even though I was knocked out?" I asked, my eyes widening in disbelief.

"We have two missing people, and you know them best. Did you expect us to leave you at the ship?" Tali asked.

I was saved from having to answer when Mordin popped his head in the door. "They went to the sexual apparel store over there," he said, pointing.

I blinked.

I blinked again.

"Could you repeat that, please?" I finally asked.

"Head hurt?" he asked, concerned. "Tempting Jack is not a very smart thing to do... but guess you know that by now."

"So they went to the store over there... and then they came back out," Tali said, apparently thinking very hard. She was watching the loop of a video on her omni-tool. "And they stood there, looking outwards... and then the electronics went down." Abruptly, she stood. "Come on, Sarah," she said, holding out a hand to help me up.

I stared at her hand for a moment, then I grasped it tightly and let her help me to my feet. I was still trying to absorb what was going on. I could get easily disoriented sometimes, especially if I woke up to find... circumstances I hadn't planned on. I guess it had been my intention to get knocked out, but... I didn't think I would actually be off the ship.

"So uh... what are we doing now?" I asked. Okay, that question sounded stupid even to my own ears, but... I was just trying to find out what the gameplan was.

"When Abby and HK ran into the shop, I'm assuming that it was in response to that crazy nun who's been terrorizing Illium," Tali said. "They heard the screams and came in, and the security cameras show that they left right after Sister Ethea assaulted the clerk and ran off. If we ask anybody in the general vicinity if anything strange happened after the fact."

"Yes. Good idea. Likely kidnappers are gone by now. And if they're not, no matter. Only leads us to where they are keeping them faster," Mordin said, unconcerned.

"Hey hey HEY," I blurted out suddenly, more loudly than I intended. Tali and Mordin looked at me sharply, as though surprised or mildly startled by my outburst. "Did you say... Sister Ethea?" I wanted to know.

"You know her?" Tali asked. "She's some crazy human, a... what do you call it? A religious one. I do not know, it rhymes with 'one.' She carries around a book and hits people who do not comply with her religion. She's been in asari space now for a while, but there are reports of her all over the Milky Way. It's amazing she hasn't been in jail yet."

"Oh my Lord," I muttered, knowing full well the irony of that statement. Well yeah, in truth I did know her. But how in the world did an OC character created by HK end up here?

I finally decided to shove it aside. As long as I didn't have to see that woman myself... I couldn't really care less whether or not she was here. "You know... I still don't really get why I'm here," I finally said. "I mean... you guys know I can't fight, and I wasn't even expecting anything like this. None of us saw this in our 'visions' or anything, so... wouldn't you guys be able to handle this better without me?"

"Do you not wish to find your friends?" Mordin asked incredulously. "Considering the lengths they would go for you, I would have assumed you would do the same for them. That is why I wanted you to come along. You know them better. You would recognize any signs they leave behind."

"You can be very useful, Sarah," Tali said calmingly. "You don't have to be able to fight to earn your place within this crew."

I definitely appreciated Tali's words. Though I felt like I needed to clarify what I meant to Mordin. Especially since I figured that I had probably annoyed him-or at least confused him-during a couple of our last talks in his lab. "Yeah I know," I said to Tali, then I turned my attention to Mordin. "And well... yes I do want to help, it's just that I'm surprised that Shepard let me off the ship after everything that happened. I figured you guys might not trust me enough to... not cause trouble or something, either," I added sheepishly.

"After Jack, we had our doubts," Mordin said honestly. "But in all truth, we need you here. You are extremely valuable to this operation. To finding your friends."

"They stopped here," said Tali, stopping abruptly in front of the sexual apparel store. "And looked around... and then it goes blank. Hmm. I-oh. I'm picking up a reading from Shepard's credit card! The jamming must have been lifted."

She opened a line to the Commander to relay to her that news. Shepard was apparently on her way to recruit Samara, but she was pleased with the news. "If you find anything, Zaeed and Miranda are on their way to you."

"Affirmative, Commander."

I winced. I didn't really want to see Zaeed or Miranda right now.

I glanced around, remembering what Mordin said about the possibility of "spotting clues" left behind by Abby and/or HK, or whatever. I had no idea why they would go into a... well, sexual apparel store, but I would just let that slide for the time-being. It just wasn't important.

I looked around on the ground... and then I saw something. A couple of items, actually. I slowly moved toward them, and stooped down to examine them and pick them up. One item looked like a bracelet of some kind... I had no idea what the heck the other item was.

Mordin noticed my preoccupation and examined the items. "Bracelet of moonrocks, from Luna possibly," he said. He looked at the tag and nodded. "Yes, yes. And the other..." He face fell. "Elcor jockstrap? Would recommend you don't, ah, touch that one. Elcor sweat very much around their lower parts and the secretion leaves germs possibly lethal to humans who don't have the Racheon-III shot. Should have gotten yours as a child, but cautious anyway. Though this looks new. Odd. Why would this be laying in the middle of the street? Sarah?"

I dropped both of the items as if they were contaminated with a deadly plague. Mostly in response to Mordin's words about... germs. But even as I looked at the items... something occurred to me.

What elcor would just leave his... well, underthings out here in the street? And what elcor would be carrying around a bracelet that looked like it was meant for a human? Unless maybe two different beings just happened to drop the items here... though somehow that didn't seem likely.

Call it a "gut instinct" or whatever, but... the wheels were turning in my head. And there were only two people I knew of who would be... weird enough to buy both of these things in one day. Especially if they didn't even know what the... elcor thing was. Or maybe they bought it just for the hell of it, for all I knew.

"Abby," I muttered under my breath, grabbing the items from the ground where I dropped them.

"You think Abby bought those?" Tali asked uncertaintly.

Mordin actually nodded, agreeing with me. "Can actually see point. Bracelet would be an ideal souvenir from Earth, and can see the... comedic value in the other purchase."

Oh, if only Mordin had seen some of the bizzare MSN conversations I'd had with HK and Abby-along with other people-over the years...

I shoved that thought aside. I slid the bracelet onto my wrist for safe-keeping. If Abby wanted it back later, I would give it to her. I then contemplated the... elcor item, holding it loosely between the fingertips on my other hand. I was honestly trying to decide whether or not to simply drop it. Was this thing worthy or useful as evidence, or should I just... leave it? I made a face.

"The signal is coming from that alley," said Tali, drawing her sidearm. She opened up another link. "Do you read?"

"Loud and clear," Miranda said. "Your status?"

"We're picking up a signal from an alley a few blocks down. We'll keep you posted."

"Roger that. ETA for us in five minutes. Hope you find something."

"I do, too." Tali cut the link and gestured for us to move foreword. Mordin drew his pistil from beside me and entered the alley cautiously. "Good place for an ambush," Tali warned. "Keep your guard up."

I simply decided to drop the... elcor thing. If Abby really wanted one, she could buy another one as far as I was concerned. I would hang onto the bracelet, though.

I cautiously followed Tali and Mordin as we entered the alley. I held my breath for a moment, glancing around. There didn't seem to be anywhere there, although I couldn't be certain.

I also had a pressing question I needed to ask, and it was becoming more urgent by the minute. But first... I wanted to find out if we were about to die or not.

"Nobody is here," Tali said, glancing at her omni tool. "Nothing electrical nor biometric." We continued a bit further in, and she stooped down to look at the ground. "Blood here," she said. "Fresh... and human."

Mordin sniffed the air. "Electric discharge. Quite possible they used a tazor to subdue. Dumpster up ahead. May have put their belongings there."

"That's where the signal is coming from," Tali agreed.

I was getting more and more concerned by the minute. What if HK and Abby were hurt? And why in the world would anyone want to capture them, especially that asari assistant of Liara's?

But something else was really starting to press at me more. Something that... well, I kind of needed to... take care of before I could do much else. Or think clearly, for that matter.

"Um..." I began, looking from Mordin to Tali. "I need to know something."

"It would seem we all do," Tali said morosely, heading towards the dumpster. "But what do you have in mind?"

I really didn't want to be a burden, I really didn't. But... you just couldn't help it when nature called. "Where's the nearest restroom? Do you know?"

Tali and Mordin exchanged a glance. "Probably in one of the stores," Tali allowed, "but you're going to have to hold it for a few more minutes."

Mordin climbed to the top of the large dumpster and peered inside. "Found them!"

My heart skipped a beat. Oh no, they couldn't be dead, they couldn't be...

"You found the bags?" Tali asked.

"Yes. Three bags. All new. Obviously haven't been here long. Blood smear on the blue one. If I get a sample, can probably-match-it-up to the one behind us." Mordin had leaned over and grabbed the bags with his long arms and threw them on the ground. He knelt next to the blue one and sampled the blood, then jogged back and placed a blood sample from the sidewalk into the datapad as well.

"A match," he said. "The blood is the male. HK."

"So HK was beaten up... and Abby was tazored?" Tali asked.

"If Abby did not give up fast enough, then yes," Mordin said calmly. "Or if she was making noise. Screaming, for example. With the tazors on Illium, the pain is so overwhelming that the vocal chords constrict and air doesn't pass through as well. Excellant for subduing a target that does not comply."

I groaned in spite of myself. I did NOT need to hear about the details of what my friends had probably endured here, thank you very much. Then again maybe I did, I don't know. "Do you think they're okay?" I asked.

"No," said Mordin. "They are probably in pain, unless they were drugged once they were down. Would make transferring them easier, I would suppose. Have had to do it before."

Tali coughed a warning to Mordin. "Everything will be okay, Sarah," she said crossly.

I was really starting to wish I was still unconscious. Even if I had ended up with a concussion-or hell, even if I'd had my skull cracked open-I would prefer to wake up after all of this was already over. To wake up in the medical bay and see Abby and HK standing over me, safe and sound.

But no, instead I was standing here, worrying my head off and hearing all about what they were probably going through right now.

"I'm going to find a restroom," I stated in a firm tone. If I didn't get to one soon, it would be embarrassing if I sneezed.

Tali and Mordin exchanged another look. As I turned around to leave, Tali caught up with me. I had the vague sense that she was escorting me. Mordin stayed in the alley, gathering clues.

Somehow, part of my mind could imagine Mordin working very well with the people on that CSI TV show. I shoved that thought aside-this simply was not the time to have random thoughts popping in and out. Even though I had a random imagination at times.

I walked around to the front of that... um, sexual apparal store, and I decided that was as good a place as any to check. I ducked inside, sort of ignoring Tali while making sure she was still with me at the same time. I didn't want to lose sight of her; with my luck I would get lost.

"Excuse me," I called out as I approached the nearest clerk, "do you have a restroom here?"

The clerk looked to be a very shaken up young woman, and looked at me suspiciously. "Uhh...oh, yeah, there's one right behind those ailes to the left. Just don't take long...we have to close early after that nun destroyed half of the store earlier."

I glanced around. "Man... she did do a number on this place," I murmured sympathetically to the asari. "I won't be long, I promise." With that I slipped off in the indicated direction, then glanced around my sharply to make sure Tali was still with me.

Finally I reached the entrance to the female restroom. I supposed that any female of any species could go in there. I nodded toward Tali, giving her a "I'll only be a minute" look, then went in.

About five minutes or so later, I came back out. I simply nodded at Tali.

Tali nodded back.

We kind of looked at each other for a moment. I kind of expected her to lead the way, but... whatever. I moved past her, heading toward the door. Once we were outside... I began to head in what I hoped was the right direction back to Mordin and the dumpster.

Miranda and Zaeed were already there in deep discussion with Mordin. They simply looked at me, acknowledging my presence, and I strained to hear what exactly they were saying.

Zaeed and Miranda seemed to be squaring off.

"-Shepard says-"

"Fuck Shepard. There are two kids out there. If we let them go they'll be two dead kids. Does that fact get through that genetically modified head of yours?"

"They can take care of themselves, but Thane and Samara take priority, Massani," Miranda snapped. "Shepard agrees with me. The two of them will keep until Thane and Samara are successfully recruited."

"That's a bullshit order."

"It's still an order, and you're being paid for this."

"What's going on?" Tali asked in a guarded tone.

"Commander Shepard is putting the search for Abby and HK on hold," said Mordin, stroking his chin. "In order to recruit the Justicar and the Assassin. She also wants to take care of Miranda's sister while we're here. Time constraints won't allow us to take care of this situation and the others in a timely manner without losing somebody."

"Maybe I can handle this... somehow or other." I blurted that out without even thinking about what I was saying. I then vividly remembered what happened on that planet were Tali was recruited... and knew that I would probably get killed if I tried something like that. Especially if it meant I had to go up against a biotic.

"And how the hell do you think you can do that?" Zaeed demanded.

I scowled at him. But I wasn't really upset at him or anything. More at this situation in general, and at myself for even opening my mouth. "What's it to you? Not like you care whether I'm on the ship or not," I muttered.

Zaeed laughed. "Attitude like that, maybe you should learn how to fight."

"Not the time for this now," said Mordin. "Abby and HK are gone. Only one left who knows what they did." He stared at me.

It took me a moment to figure out what he meant. For a split-second I thought he was implying that I somehow knew where they were or something, then I realized he meant that I was the only one who knew the future events.

Oh, wonderful. That meant that until we got HK and Abby back... I was going to be their prized psychic.

I returned Mordin's gaze, meeting his eyes. "Yeah well, fat lot of good that did them," I muttered. "We didn't even see this coming."

"So have her stay on the ship, give her orders to Shepard from the cockpit," Miranda suggested.

I really wished Jack had knocked me out better. Maybe I could piss of Zaeed, but... no, this wasn't the time for that.

"I'm so tired," I muttered out loud. Yeah, tired of all of this. I definitely wasn't cut out to be on a military ship, with a bunch of well-trained fighters. For some stupid reason... part of me also began to wish Garrus was here. Maybe I just wanted to hear his voice; somehow that could usually cheer me up.

"And your friends could be dead," said Miranda. She was just wonderful at cheering people up. "Shepard needs me. I have to go. If you see anything or remember anything, call us," she implored, and left.

"Touchy little bitch," Zaeed muttered.

Well, everything seemed to be in a bit of a mess. To put it mildly. "Where's Garrus?" I asked totally in spite of myself.

"With Commander Shepard," Tali said. "Miranda's gone to join them. They're planning to find Samara today and find Miranda's sister tonight. Seryna informed us that Thane would plan his strike tomorrow with the sun begins to sink. We have two days to find whatever we can."

"Not likely we'll find them alive," Mordin said, "but one can always hope."

"So what the hell do you want me to do?" I demanded. I hated how my voice sounded a little pathetic now. At least I was glad that Mordin and Tali were here. As long as I could have two of my other favorite people with me... that was good enough.

Even if Mordin lacked tact when talking about, well... pain and torture.

Mordin handed me a bag and took the remaining two for himself. "We'll bring these back to the ship and go through them. Undoubtedly Shepard would like her credit card back."

"I'll stay here and sort through whatever we might've missed," Tali said, but in a tone that didn't promise success.

"I'll cover you," said Zaeed.

"Good, good," said Mordin. "Take cab back to Normandy. We have car." He adjusted the bags more securely. "That should do it, I suppose. Come on, Sarah."

I stared at him for a moment, then I nodded and followed him to the car. Well... maybe when I got back to the ship... I could see if I could piss off Jack again. Or maybe Grunt. Then maybe I could still follow through with my plan of just waking up after Abby and HK were safe and sound on the Normandy again. I figured I could trust Shepard that much, to still perform a miracle and get them back... somehow.

I just hated everything about this situation. It was like having to operate around a blindspot. This wasn't supposed to happen. But of course... none of us really had any "visions" here, it was simply because we had played the game back in our home universe or whatever.

I got into the car and strapped myself in, looking over at Mordin as he fastened himself in. "You think it's gonna be okay?" I asked him.

He hesitated. "Honestly?" he asked. "No. Many things could be happening now. Nyxeris, the assistent, she works for the Shadow Broker. And we know already that the Shadow Broker works with the Collectors. Implications... very unpleasant."

"Yeah," I muttered. Then I rested my head against the back of my seat, and tried to let my mind go blank as we headed back to the shuttle. After that... I knew we would be going back to the Normandy.

[Marishal]

The first thing I became aware of was... bright light, and pain. I could hear voices speaking, but they sounded muffled and far off. I think someone was telling me not to move.

Then it slowly came back to me what had happened. Going through the stuff Mordin had found in the dumpster had turned out to be pretty much futile, and then Shepard was out of touch for a while, so... I think I went and paid Grunt a visit.

I must have done something or other to piss him off, if my headache was any indication. And where was I NOW? I couldn't even remember what I had done or said that ticked Grunt off... I couldn't even remember if I had done it intentionally or not.

"How am I supposed to believe that you didn't assault her?" an Austrailian-accented voice asked.

"Bitch, you think that just because you found her down on my deck that I hit her? You found her in the cargo hold, where the krogan's going ape-shit, and you think I did it?" another voice snapped.

"Well, you did attack her earlier."

"Because she had the nerve to slap me. And why would I attack her, then move her up to another room? To frame the krogan? I'm not that petty, I don't have that kind of time," Jack groaned. "I should've known that as soon as you took care of whatever shit you had, you'd be right back on everyone's ass. Look out, everybody, the cheerleader's back!"

"So you didn't knock her out again, then?" Miranda asked.

"What have I been saying for the last ten minutes...?"

"Would you two please take this in another room?" Chakwas's familiar voice chimed in. "She's waking up."

At times like this, part of me almost wished they wouldn't notice that I was awake. Well, at least they had stopped arguing-for the moment-but I was a little afraid that I would somehow get dragged into the fight.

"Um," I said aloud, realizing that they were all looking at me now, "last thing I remember was Grunt whacking me or something, but... I don't even remember what I did that pissed him off, I swear." I held up a hand in a defensive gesture, emphasizing my words.

"Happy now, bitch?" Jack asked Miranda.

"Ah, so it was Grunt. Chambers did tell Shepard that he had been acting angry while we were gone..." Miranda slowly said, mulling it over.

Angry? Wait a minute... did that mean that Grunt was going through his "becoming an adult" phase? I slumped back against the pillow under my head and let out a small sigh of relief. "Oh good, it wasn't something I did this time," I breathed. Then I glanced at the others. "It's just... krogan adolesence. He... needs to go to the krogan homeworld." I figured there wouldn't be much harm in saying THAT much, as long as I didn't spill everything.

"Turians aren't working out for you? Wanna go see if you can screw some krogan?" Jack asked with a snort.

I made a face and gave her a look. "Okay, that's just gross," I said outloud. After all... krogans had four sets of... well, nevermind.

"On to more important matters," Miranda interrupted, rolling her eyes. "If you're through getting yourself knocked out by the lunatics of our crew, then its time to get to work. Grunt will just have to wait to go to Tuchanka, because we have far more pressing things to attend to. Samara has been recruited, and my crisis has been averted...we just returned. Before we continue the search for your friends, the Commander must recruit Thane."

Damn... I had almost entirely forgotten about Abby and HK. I guess getting whacked on the head could do that to you.

I shoved myself up into a sitting position and swung my legs over the side of the bed, ignoring the throbbing in my head. "How long has it been since they were captured?" I demanded, wanting to know a rough esitmate. There was no telling what they were going through right now, and I felt partially blind not knowing how long they'd been gone.

"A day," Miranda answered. She looked a bit less on edge, probably because the Oriana debacle was over with, but she still didn't look too relaxed. Not that she ever did. "Every minute that goes by, we have more and more of a chance of losing them, and unfortunately, a lot more time will pass before we are able to go and rescue them. Thane is trying to assassinate Nassana Dantius, and from what we know, he won't be there until a specific time."

"Hey there are a lot of people on this ship, can't Shepard just send a small team to go find HK and Abby while she takes another team to find Thane?" I asked with an impatient scowl. Frankly, I didn't see why everyone had to focus solely on one mission at a time when there were more than enough people onboard.

"First of all, Liara's not done assembling her data, yet, but she should be done soon. Definitely by the time we recruit the assassin, but more importantly," Miranda explained in monotone. "We have no idea what we will find when we find them. The Shadow Broker is very mysterious, and very powerful...he's also working with the Collectors. Sending a small team to find them wouldn't work."

Well, there wasn't really much I could say to that, unfortunately. And I knew that Liara was one of the best when it came to sorting through information. So... what could I say? What could I do?

I sighed, shoving myself off of the bed, ignoring the pain in my head. I absent-mindedly glanced down at my wrist, noticing the bracelet I still had on. It was just another reminder of what had happened.

"I want to be doing something," I muttered aloud. I certainly didn't want to be stuck in the medical bay.

"You are the last person on board that has information about what will happen, and usually, we wouldn't do this, but we need to hurry and get through all of this as fast as possible. When the time comes to find Thane, Shepard wants you up in the cockpit, guiding her," Miranda explained to me.

I stared at her, running everything she'd just said through my brain. So I got to play guide-dog when it was time. Wonderful. I was really starting to miss Abby and HK more than ever. Especially because they were so much better than handling this sort of thing than I was.

They just... had a better memory for details than I did.

A couple of hours later I found myself in the cockpit, leaning against EDI's console. She didn't seem to mind... too much. But hey, nobody had brought me a chair or anything, so I needed something to support my weight... either that or I could sit on the floor. But I also needed to be as close to the console as I could, so I could talk to Shepard.

"Seryna's dropping us off at the hotel now, Sarah," Shepard announced over the comm.

"Are you really gonna let this screwed up turian-lover guide us?" Jack asked.

"For once, I think I agree with crazy lady," Joker said.

"She's all we have, and I am sure that she can at least do this," Shepard told them both. "So lets just get to the mission, and focus on finding Thane."

Wonderful. So now I had to fill in for Abby and HK, (God I hope they're okay). Not only that, but apparently this was going to be like my big chance to show the crew whether or not I would blow it in the one and final way that I could blow it.

I was already trying to run everything I could remember about the Thane mission through my brain. Frankly... all of the battle scenerios seemed the same to me, in the way I remembered them. I was able to remember dialogue better than battlegrounds or fights.

"Keep an eye out for wounded salarians," I blurted, proud that I could remember that off the top of my head, at least.

"Alright, we will. We're approaching the entrance no-crap, there's the mechs. Everybody take cover!" Shepard yelled, and within seconds, shattering glass was heard, as a huge firefight erupted between the mechs and her team.

After a moment, everything was quiet, and Shepard spoke again. "We're heading inside now."

I nodded, even though I knew she couldn't see me. I then tried to recall just what they would find next... well, they would probably find the injured salarian very soon.

Sure enough, they did. Shepard spoke to him, and he explained all about how Nassana had randomly gone nuts and released the dogs, mercs, and mechs on them. Grunt and Jack, her two party members for this trip, complained about her saving his life, before they all went on their way.

"Okay, I just spoke to the salarian. What next?" Shepard asked me.

"Uh..." I wracked my brain. "Let's see... are you at an elevator, or a door?" I was trying to get a visual in my head... plus I was stalling just a little to give me more time to think and remember.

"A door...we're walking through an empty hallway, there's a room up ahead...and more mechs and mercs," Shepard said, and I heard alot of running, before a large battle erupted. It was obvious that guns were blazing all over the place in the Dantius Towers.

"Watch out!" I shouted so loudly that Joker winced. "And expect heavy resistence especially when you get to the bridge! They're gonna have missile launchers up there. And biotics all along the way!" I hope that that made sense, and I hoped Shepard would understand my meaning.

"Bridge! What the hell is she on about?" Grunt shouted.

"We'll ask once everyone else is dead!" Shepard replied.

The fight continued, and we heard Shepard running around from time to time, as well as some shouts from Grunt and Jack as they happily slaughtered mercs. It was obvious that they were in an area with a ton of fighting...for ten minutes, all that we could hear were gunshots and battle cries.

"Okay, Sarah, we just ran up a ramp that led upstairs," Shepard finally said, sounding breathless. "We hear some mercs talking..."

"Careful... you should be able to take them down so long as you don't do anything stupid." Yeah, like that was great advice. She already knew that. But... I didn't know what else to say. I didn't have a photographic memory of the layout of the tower.

The team of three slowly walked around, while the mercs spoke, but a mech suddenly shouted something about hostile forces. More shots were fired, and yet another battle with the Eclipse mercs had begun.

"Watch your landing!" Jack screamed with a laugh.

A second later, screams were heard, likely while several mercs went plummetting down the hotel.

Everything stopped for a moment, but it was mere seconds before the fight started up again. More gunshots were easily hard, as more mechs shouted random things, and mercs screamed, either that the team was going to die or screams as they died.

This continued on and on, and Joker looked at me, while the insanity continued.

"Do they ever stop?"

"When they all die, yeah," I muttered, knowing that probably wasn't what he wanted to hear. I swallowed and pressed my lips together.

"Obviously. I meant, do the mercs ever stop pouring out? It sounds like some unlimited defense party in there."

"They'll stop eventually... there's a lot of mechs and mercs down there. Nassana released them on her own workers," I said, fiddling a little with the bracelet on my wrist. It gave me something to focus on... sorta. "When Shepard and her team get to Nassana's room, they'll be home free."

Joker just shook his head, and we listened while the battle finally winded down. All three of them were panting by the time that everything was silent, but Shepard said nothing to me, or anyone else. Until, a few minutes later, I heard her talking with the salarians that were locked inside that one room.

After that was done, Shepard addressed me again. "Okay, we're at the elevator now. Anything you can tell me?"

"Yeah, when you open the elevator, run for cover. There's gonna be a krogan along with a couple of heavily shielded women," I said. I couldn't remember if they were humans or asari, so I figured "women" would be close enough. "Also... when you get up the elevator you're gonna find a lone merc talking into his radio... he'll be able to tell you a little, like where Thane went I think, but nothing else. I think you'll reach the bridge soon after that... just be careful. There's a lot more fighting to come."

"Get back, you two," Shepard ordered. Nothing happened for a few seconds, and I assumed that she was waiting for Jack and Grunt to get into cover. Finally, I heard her dart off, and several seconds later, the fighting started all over again.

"Krogan charging!" Jack yelled.

Gunshots were fired faster and faster, one going out a mere millisecond after the other. The female mercs could be heard fighting as well, and it wasn't long before they started screaming in pain.

It was no doubt a brutal battle.

Another minute passed, and Shepard exhaled a breath. "Okay, they're down. Lets keep going."

The crew went up the elevator, and soon after, Shepard was heard speaking to the merc. She asked him about Thane, got him to talk, and he went on his way...she and the other two proceeded to enter another room, where you could barely hear that merc speaking to Nassana about Thane being all over the place.

Shepard or someone fired at a merc, taking it out instantly, and the merc said something in surprise, like he always did. Another fight began, but this one was more brief...it didn't take them long to finish them off.

Then, Shepard spoke to that last crew of salarians locked inside a room, and overall, their conversation wasn't too long. They left, and Shepard headed over to the console, where even we could hear Nassana's complaining.

"Now we wait for Thane to snap her neck," I commented outloud. I didn't really care if Shepard heard that or not. I simply hoped that this mission would end as soon as possible, and I hoped Liara was putting together good information about HK and Abby, and her crazy assistant.

Shepard was silent, listening to Nassana's rage. Finally, she activated the comm terminal.

"Its about time. Whats going on down there?" Nassana asked.

"I'm afraid your men aren't able to respond, Nassana," Shepard answered simply.

"Damn it!" Nassana shouted.

"Come on, we're running low on time. Thane's going to get to her any minute," Shepard told Jack and Grunt. I could hear them walk, and assumed they were walking up the ramp.

Sure enough, they were. Not much time later, another fight began, with asari commandos, judging by the kind of screams they let out while Jack, Shepard, and Grunt pounded them with biotics.

The battle didn't take too long. "Okay, we're heading outside now. Anything to expect?" Shepard wondered.

"Yeah, probably a pair of missile launchers way at the other end of the bridge and heavy fire power from more mercs," I said.

Shepard didn't reply either way, and not too long after that, I heard an absolute barrage of firepower erupt. It sounded like guns were going off all over the place, biotics were being thrown, people were screaming...everything. Shepard and co. continued their approach to the bridge, and it only increased.

I could tell that they were on the end of the bridge when I heard missiles hitting various things. The sounds of missiles were much louder than the sound of gunshots...Shepard shouted out orders to Jack and Grunt, and it wasn't long before I could hear the wind during the all-out fight.

I held my breath as everything went silent. I was also thinking that there was no WAY that the three of them could possibly go through all that without getting injured. "Everybody okay?" I finally asked.

A few more explosions, coupled with all the firing, was heard, before Shepard responded. "We're all fine, thankfully...everybody's down, and we're across the bridge. We're about to go see Nassana, so I'm shutting the comm down. I can handle it from here."

Immediately, the channel went silent.

I looked at Joker. "Now Thane's gonna snap her neck," I commented. I then leaned heavily against EDI's terminal again, feeling wary in spite of myself. But I had done more worrying over the past couple of hours than anything else. Worrying about HK and Abby, and about Shepard and her team.

But hey, at least I could say that I was doing the best I could here and now.

Joker sighed. "I wish we could have some specialists that weren't crazy alien psychos."

"Keeps things from getting boring," I murmured in spite of myself with a shrug.

And of course... later on I would be told-and remember-that Thane did not snap Nassana's neck... he shot her while looking her in the eyes. But hey, I think I did do pretty well overall in what I remembered.

An hour and a half or so passed. By that point I had moved out of the cockpit and over into the corridor that lead to the airlock, sort of pacing. I had nothing else better to do at the moment-at least nothing I really wanted to do-so I simply waited for Shepard and company to come back.

I knew that there was always something to do, but... I figured that Rupert understood.

I felt my heart skip a beat when the airlock door shifted and opened, partly because I had been anticipating it and partly because... well, it happened so suddenly that it startled me a little. Then as soon as it opened fully, I saw Shepard come through, followed by Jack, Grunt and Thane.

I smiled at them as the entered, though I said nothing.

"It is very cool in here," Thane noted, his gravelly voice shocking me. He adjusted his collar, looking around. He focused on me first, then tilted his head this way and that, analyzing the bridge. "You are very well-funded, Commander."

"Follow me to the meeting room, Thane," said the Commander. "We'll figure out everything there. Sarah, you're with us."

I blinked. Well, I can't say I was unhappy about being included, it just surprised me a bit. Then again... HK and Abby weren't here. Why did that fact have to keep haunting me? Of course I knew the answer to that: It was because there wasn't a damn thing I could do to get them back.

"Okay," I said with a nod and casually stepped up beside Shepard. I then glanced at Thane, taking in the sight of him. I swear... those eyes of his looked like deep, black marbles. Somehow they seemed devoid of emotion and yet full of expression at the same time. "Hi," I said simply to him.

"Greetings," he said, nodding to me. We fell into step behind Shepard as she led us to the conference room. Jacob slid in behind us.

"I thank you once again for your help distracting Nassana's guards," Thane said peacably.

"Don't worry about it," Shepard said. "You're one of the bests; that's why we need you watching our backs."

"Not sure I'd feel comfortable having an assassin looking over my shoulder," Jacob said, coming to stand behind Shepard in a show of solidarity.

Shepard shot him a cross look. "Stand down, Mister Taylor."

"Yes, ma'am. I only came in because there's no new leads on Nyxeris. Liara promised to call later on to give you a status update."

He walked out, and Thane watched him with cool counterance. "Mister Taylor objects to my presence. I trust this will not become a problem?"

Shepard looked at me, raising one eyebrow. "No," she said. "Allow me to introduce you to Sarah. Sarah, this is Thane."

In spite of myself I grinned a little. "Nice to meet you," I said, looking him over. "And nice outfit." Hey, I always thought he wore a very nice suit.

"A pleasure," he said, taking the compliment in his stride. "Were you by chance the one giving the Commander detailed information of Nassana's complex over the communications network?"

"Yep," I said. I still felt a little pleased with myself for handling that well, all things considered. It was probably the first thing I'd done on this ship that had gone right-well, besides most of my cleaning and cooking, of course. With a few exceptions.

"And," I added quickly, simply wanting to prove to him that my knowledge was accurate, "I know some stuff about almost everybody. I know you met your 'siha' when she blocked one of your shots, years ago, and you both had a son." I stopped, not wanting to say too much.

Shepard cut in before Thane could respond. "They're okay," she implored. "I don't know much about them, honestly, but they've proved themselves over and over. I'll explain soon."

"Them?" Thane repeated, staring at me in shock. "How do they know this? I have no profile anywhere. I leave no trace."

"Um... we have dreams and visions," I stated simply, glancing down at the floor. "You know, um... we know the future."

Thane stared at me, uncomprehending, then at Shepard. I had never before thought a drell could look confused, but this took the cake. "The future?" he asked curiously. "How many are you?"

"Three," Shepard clarified. "But for now Sarah is the only one left."

"They were killed?" Thane repeated in shock.

"Kidnapped, by the Shadow Broker," said Shepard. "Abby and HK are two valuable members of our crew. They've been missing since yesterday afternoon." And she quickly explained the circumstances of their disappearance.

Thane turned to me, an inquisitive look in his eyes. "Explain these visions you have to me," he said. "I may understand better."

"Uh..." I hesitated. What exactly was it he wanted to know? And how was I supposed to explain? "I don't really know what to say," I finally said with a shrug. "What exactly do you want to know?"

"I don't wish to know the specifics of what you saw, but how does it happen? How did you end up here? Are you yourself in these visions?"

"I can't really explain," I answered quickly. "Maybe when we get Abby back she could explain better." Hopefully that would get me off the hook of having to offer a better explanation. Plus I knew that if I tried to come up with a more creative explanation, I'd probably end up sounding like an idiot... or saying something that Abby would kill me over.

"Try," he pressed. "Start with how you got here."

I made a face and glanced at Shepard, almost silently pleading for help. But actually... I just didn't want to talk about something so... complicated with two people-or three, if you counted EDI-staring at me. It just made me all the more nervous.

I shrugged in annoyance. "Maybe if we go somewhere private I could," I finally said. I did like Thane a lot, and if he insisted... I supposed that I could try explaining better. I just didn't want to do it in front of an audience, especially in a place where more people could walk in at any moment.

"This is private," he said.

"She wants me out," Shepard said. "We'll set you up with some quarters and you two can... converse."

"Certainly. I would like somewhere more arid than the rest of the ship, if there is such a place."

"The life support room on Deck Three is slightly warmer than the rest of the ship," EDI spoke, materializing in front of us.

"Ah. An AI?" Thane appraised her with calculating eyes. "My thanks." He bowed to Shepard and walked out of the room. Shepard motioned for me to follow him, and as I left I noticed Jacob sliding back into the room behind me. The door closed.

Well, I didn't really want to talk to Jacob anyway. I had nothing against him or anything, but... I still felt awkward after the... well, sparring incident, as I liked to call it.

A few minutes later I was actually helping Thane get set up in the life-support room, at least somewhat. He was very self-sufficient, although he asked me to get a chair and bring it in. I assumed that it was because he needed a place to sit at his make-shift desk, so I said that there were a few spares in the mess hall. To my surprise he actually came with me and carried a chair in even as I brought one in. Then I quickly realized what he was doing; he wanted both of us to be able to sit and talk.

Moments after that, I found myself seated across from him at the table, discreetly inching my chair back a little. Okay, so I was a little shy around Thane. What could I say?

"Now," he said, clasping his hands together, "explain to me the parts you feel you are able."

I made a noise that was something like a cough or an "ahem". Straight and to the point, wasn't he? "Uh," I swallowed. Somehow I hadn't expected us to be... diving right into this discussion.

Maybe it was out of sheer nervousness, or because he was gazing at me intently with those dark eyes of his, but I found myself spitting out something stupid. But of course, this wasn't the first time I've done that.

"So... is Shepard really your new siha now, because she challenged you down there?"

Somebody shoot me.

Thane stared at me, blinking rapidly. "Pardon?"

Now I choked a little. Then I cleared my throat, finding my voice. "Sorry... maybe I should go," I said, shoving my chair back farther from the table-until I smacked into the wall. It kind of prevented me from rising.

Thane took a few steadying breaths, then twitched his head impatiently, like shaking off a fly. "If that is what you wish," he said finally. "Are we to rescue the two others?"

I froze, staring at him in astonishment. He was simply willing to let it drop, just like that? After the weird thing I just said? "Uh... I hope so." I blinked, making no other movement.

"But you do not know for certain? There is trouble with getting the information?"

"Uh well..." In spite of myself, I found myself answering. "It's just... we didn't see this coming. We knew about everything else before this but we didn't see THIS coming." I made a motion of my hand, emphasizing my meaning when I said "THIS", then dropped it onto my lap.

"You do not see situations involving yourself," Thane said.

I bobbed my head in a nod. "Yeah that pretty much sums it up," I answered honestly. HK, Abby, and myself were pretty much clueless about anything that involved us. We just knew what was going to happen to everybody else.

"I see. I will help you find them. I believe your story. You cannot lie to me."

"What do you mean, I can't lie to you?" I asked in puzzlement. I was very pleased to hear he would help me find my friends. At least somebody sounded like he wanted to make an effort-and Thane hadn't even MET them yet. He didn't even know me at all, really. But... what did he mean by that last sentence?

"Your posture. Your stance. You are nervous-I smell it. If you lied, you would act different. You have not realized this?"

I shrugged. "Never really thought about it," I answered simply. Was I really that transparent? If that was the case, I would never make it as a Vulcan. I smiled at the random thought.

"You may leave now, if I make you uncomfortable. I have presumed upon your tolerance. I apologize."

"Yeah well... maybe I'll stay a little longer, if it's okay," I found myself saying. "You just really took me by surprise." In all honesty, I decided that I would rather spend some time in here than simply go back to my cleaning duties, worrying my head off about Abby and HK and whatever else might go wrong.

"How are your lungs?" I found myself asking, trying to find a safe, impersonal subject to touch upon.

"They are fine, for now," Thane said calmly. "The doctors estimate that the breakdown will occur over a period of several months. I will be handicapped in seven. I can still fight, however. My services will not be affected by this disease."

"Yeah I know," I murmured with a small nod. "And you'll do great, just like everybody else." Just so long as we saved Kolyat, of course... but I wasn't gonna say that outloud.

"My thanks," said Thane. "It is good to hear such reassurance. As long as the crew performs to their expected duties, the mission may very well be a success. Shepard has promised to come down later and explain more about we are up against. She is a very able Commander, don't you think?"

"Yeah she is," I agreed, giving another nod. "And... I just hope we'll all make it through this alive." I pressed my lips together. "Then again I don't even know if HK and Abby are gonna come out of their prediciment okay." Now that was a scary thought, being alone on the Normandy for the rest of the mission without them being around.

"We will find them," Thane said. "Tell me about them."

Once again I was slightly taken aback. Why did he seem to care so much about people he didn't even know?

"Well," I murmured, leaning back a little in my chair. I realized that I still had it scooted up against the wall, so I cleared my throat and shuffled it forward a little. That way I could sit at the table more comfortably... though not too close. "What do you want to know, exactly?"

"About them," he answered. "You are friends, aren't you?"

"Oh yeah, we're friends," I acknowledged with another bob of my head. I was starting to feel like I was a rooster or something from all this nodding. "We've known each other for about four or five years, or so."

"And your common interests?"

"Writing and hanging out," I answered quickly. "At least, that's how we first met... we all liked this game series called Knights of the Old Republic, and we joined up as part of this... writing thing, known as forum role-playing. And things just kind of went from there, I guess you could say."

"So you are writers. That's very interesting." He seemed to be waiting for more information.

"Yeah um... we also did some really crazy things back then," I added a tad sheepishly.

"Such as?"

I grinned impishly, though I couldn't look at him anymore. I simply stared down at the table. "Well... I created this character named Lenora who was basically, um... well, she kept losing her temper, she died and came back to life countless times, aes, and uh... she couldn't seem to decide if she was good or evil sometimes." I figured Thane had probably never heard of Star Wars, so I was trying to explain the "dark side" and "light side" in simplistic terms. That way I wouldn't have to waste more time explaining.

"Oh? And did she make it to the end of your story alive?"

"I'm not sure how to answer that... especially since the story was never really finished." I shook my head a little. "I mean... it just got so crazy we weren't even sure what was going on anymore. That and... let's just say some problems happened between some us during the course of the role-play."

He was simply silent. Waiting.

So I slowly continued. "Some of us were pretty immature back then, myself included. And well... basically we just did anything and everything we felt like doing, on the spur of the moment. Time-travel, characters falling in love and having kids... oh and speaking of kids..."

I paused for breath, then went on. "Um..." I suddenly waved a dismissive hand. "Never mind you probably don't want to know. That and... I'm sure HK and Abby would kill me."

"If you say so," he said affably. "If you don't want to tell me about your writing, tell me about them as individuals."

I was never very good at summing up people in a handful of words. Abby and HK were... well, Abby and HK. "Well..." I tried to focus on relevent facts.

I decided to talk about them one at a time; that would be easier. "Abby's always been into... athletic kind of stuff, and she knows karate and aikido. And also... she's always been fun to be around, especially in MSN conversations." It dawned on me that he might not know what MSN is, but I quickly pressed on anyway. "And she's got a great imagination. I think sometimes she was a little short-tempered, but hey so was I."

"And HK? That is an unusual name for a human."

"Actually his name is DJ," I told him. "HK is just a nickname he's always had. And well... he seems kind of like the counsellor type sometimes, if that makes sense. Always willing to listen to people, and he's got a good heart. Though he was kind of weird when I first met him."

"They sound like good friends to have," he said. "I myself have not been so fortunate."

"I think you could be great friends with Shepard if you try," I told him. I knew it was true. Then again... part of me also didn't want her to get TOO close to Garrus.

"Possibly," Thane allowed. "She is very formidable. I would love to work alongside her longer. Working alone for so many years can only get so tiresome." He chuckled.

"Heh yeah, I can imagine... sorta," I said. I could definitely understand that doing what he'd done all his life would get lonely. Though I didn't know what it would be like from personal experience, because I hadn't lived his life. "And nobody has caught your eye like that since you met your wife... right?"

Okay maybe I was being selfish... trying to encourage Thane so that Shepard would steer clear of Garrus.

Thane, however, seemed to guess where I was heading. "I would never pursue any... intimate relationship with a woman I hardly know," he said, deathly calm.

"Well, maybe if you got to know her..." I trailed off.

Thane gave me a flat stare. "In drell culture, it's typically considered very rude for one to imply any romantic entanglements with one who ranks higher than another."

My cheeks flushed and I glanced off to the right, to stare at the wall. "Sorry," I said, sincere and embarrassed. I should have known better than to... push that particular issue.

He nodded. "I will meditate on what we have discussed, and get some rest. I have not slept for two days. Nassana's walls were very well-guarded. It took a very long time to exploit the holes in her defenses."

"Yeah," I acknowledged dully, rising from my chair. I didn't quite look at him. "I really hope I haven't weirded you out," I said. I know that I had pissed off-or at least annoyed-nearly everyone else. Well, maybe with the exception of Rupert... although he still hadn't forgotten the time I dropped a frying pan on his foot.

"Being taken off balence is a pleasant occurance. It offers the chance to learn more. How could I pass up such an oppertunity?"

I shrugged. "Guess it goes to show that um... nobody knows everything." I smiled a little.

He inclined his head and stood. Without turning his back from me, he began to empty the small rucksack he carried with him. One of the items within was a small sleeping bag. He spread it over his makeshift desk and began to sort out a few more items. I was clearly dismissed.

"Bye," I said, slowly moving toward the door. "Maybe we'll talk again."

"I would like that," he answered.

I left so quickly that the doors almost didn't have enough time to open for me. Well... that had to be one of the weirdest-and most interesting-conversations I've had so far.

[Marishal]

(Sarah)

After I left Thane's quarters, I slowly headed toward the elevator... yet for some reason I found myself walking right past it. I walked down the corridor and found myself pausing just outside of the observation lounge.

Well... since I had met Thane... part of me did want to meet Samara as well. At least just long enough to say hi. I hesitated, feeling a little unsure about it. I knew she was now under Shepard's command, but... I knew she was dangerous.

Yeah, well... so was Thane. I shrugged to myself and pressed the release mechanism to open the door.

That's when I saw her, sitting on the floor in the dimly lit room, in a meditative position. She was facing the large window, and there was an aura around her that made her seem more like a mystical being than an asari. I found myself staring at her for a moment before I finally forced myself to enter the room. I jumped slightly when the door automatically shut just behind me.

Then I turned my attention back to the asari. Her back was still turned to me, and she was still glowing. I had no idea if she knew I was here or not. Though maybe she had heard the door shut, I couldn't be sure.

Samara still didn't turn to me, but finally spoke. "Hello," she said kindly.

I started a little. I also noticed that her glow faded as she spoke. "Um, hi," I said, then grinned like an idiot. I really hoped the rest of this visit wasn't going to be this awkward.

"I hope I am not in your way," Samara simply said, still in a very gentle tone.

Well, once again I was taken aback. Then again... I knew from the Mass Effect game that some of these people had the most... unique way of looking at things. And somehow... it did make me feel good in a way. At least I knew for certain now that I wasn't the only weird person on this ship.

"Um actually I hope I'm not bothering you," I told her. "I just... wanted to meet you."

"Well, that is kind of you. You are not bothering me in the least," Samara told me, turning around to face me. She had a light smile on her face. "May I ask for your name?"

"Sarah." I smiled again. That was what I always did when I wanted to be friendly--and when I was nervous. "And you're Samara."

"Yes, yes I am. I assume that the Commander has told you about me, then."

"Yeah, well... I knew you were onboard, and I just... know things." Maybe I should just shut up and leave it at that. I had already caused a lot of awkward situations by saying too much. But then again... for some reason, I found it thrilling and interesting to tell these people a bit about their personal lives, just to prove that my "visions" were real. Maybe I just loved to see their reactions.

"Know things? How is that?" Samara asked, curiously.

"I just... know the future," I clarified simply, trying to be vague at the same time. Then again, part of me hoped she would press. I wanted to see if... maybe she would be impressed by what I knew.

"And how is that?" Samara repeated.

"I just have... visions, I can't really explain it," I said simply, emphasizing my words with a small shrug. "Like... I know your daughter is an ardat-yakshi."

Samara's face actually looked like she was stunned. "What? Thats...impossible. In all my years of living, I've never seen something like this..."

I coughed. "Yeah well... I know something about everybody," I said.

"Just by having visions? I have never stepped out of asari space until recently, but I know other cultures. I have never heard of this, but it is obvious that you know things...it just does not seem logical," Samara said, still looking surprised.

I wasn't really sure what to say to that. I hadn't really meant to stun her socks off, that's for sure. But I guess I couldn't really expect her to react the same way Thane did. After all... she was not Thane. I simply stood there with my hands folded behind my back, waiting to see if she would say something else.

"However, on the other hand, things aren't always logical," Samara remarked with a chuckle. "But this is surprising, nonetheless. Are your visions able to help the crew on our mission?"

"Yep," I replied. "Me and my friends have been doing our best to help Shepard and whatnot." Ugh. I REALLY hoped Liara would get back to us soon with information. What was taking her so long, anyway?

"There are many questions I am tempted to ask you...but I refuse to pry, and it is not my place," Samara commented, seeming a little uncertain but overall, peaceful.

That was when I realized why I enjoyed spilling some of what I knew. I never did enough to tell too much of anything, but just enough so that these people would know I wasn't "ordinary". I think in some ways... I just enjoyed the thrill of showing off that I knew things, without saying too much. Maybe it was my own little ego trip, I don't know.

"Probably for the best," I said simply, trying to keep a straight face.

Samara nodded. "It was nice meeting you, but I really should get back to my meditations," she said, smiling again as she turned back around.

"Sarah," EDI's voice chimed in. "Shepard would like to see you on Deck Two."

My head snapped up. "Be right there," I said, heading out the door without even bothering to say goodbye to Samara. I hoped that this meant Shepard had finally gotten some news.

-----

It actually took me a little while to figure out where the heck Shepard was, but I managed to find her with EDI's help. I guess it paid to have "eyes" all over the ship, so to speak.

"You wanted to see me?" I asked her as I stepped up to her. She was standing near a console, as though she was in the middle of talking to someone--or had perhaps finished talking to someone, I couldn't tell which.

Shepard aknowledged me with a nod, still leaning over the console. "Thanks," she spoke into it. "Shepard out." She cut the communication. "You follow me. Liara's located Nyxeris. Hopefully Abby and HK are there with her."

She walked abruptly to the bridge and went to stand at the galaxy map. I hastened to follow. "They've been taken to a planet called Helyme," said Shepard, her fingers moving over the holographic map with ease. She zoomed out of the Tasale system and highlighted another, Zelene, with her pinky. "We'll be there in twelve hours," she said, glancing at the time estimate on the terminal next to her. Kelly watched, concerned. "Do you know anything about this planet?"

"No," I responded immediately, almost blankly. Now, especially after discreetly bragging my "knowledge" to Thane and Samara, I was starting to feel a little stupid and useless.

"Post-garden world," Shepard said. "It used to have an Earth-like atmosphere. Something happened down there a long time ago, and specialists are still being pissy with each other about it. It's pretty desolate, except for a few cities that still stand. They're over three-hundred thousand years old by now. Landing is prhibitied by the Council and there are satellites looking to pick us up courtesy of the Shadow Broker. Hopefully, thanks to the Normandy's stealth systems we'll be able to make a quiet landing."

Shepard took one last look at the map and crossed over to her private computer, scrolling through some emails. "Liara sent out a bolo via Illium security that there are a group of renegade biotics sailing through this nebula. It should keep Nyxeris off balence, though she'll probably realize it's a trick sooner or later. I want you to stay in the cockpit with Joker throughout the entire mission. Do you understand?"

"Yeah, okay," I said somewhat dully. I was glad that I would be able to hear all about what was going on, at least hopefully I would. But at the same time... well, I was afraid of what I might hear. What if they were... in bad shape? What if we were already too late?

"Joker is going to take remote control of the Hammerhead from up there," she continued, "but EDI is arranging a section of the cockpit for yourself to see what's going on. We'll interface our helmets into the Normandy's command channel to give you a first-person perspective. If you notice anything that seems familiar, you must tell us immediately."

I narrowed my eyes, taking a step back from her. "What does that mean, exactly?" I asked warily. "It's gonna be like... I'm there but not there?"

Shepard gave me an annoyed look. "You're going to have to get over whatever feelings towards fighting you have," she said, not angrily but almost. "Each helmet has a wi-fi node that records data and transmits it back to Alliance Command. We've tweaked it to transmitback to the Normandy. You'll sit in a seat and watch the action. You won't say anything or break communication silence unless it's vitally important. So use the bathroom before we depart."

I couldn't really understand what she was saying. Then again it often took me a little time to process what I was being told, especially when I was under stress. Plus some of these things she was talking about... I swear I had never seen such things in the game. About the only part I understood was "use the bathroom before we depart".

So I simply said, "Mind if I go real quick?" If nothing else, it would give me a few minutes to gather my thoughts, hopefully.

Shepard blinked. "We're getting there in twelve hours. You're fine."

"Oh, okay."

Shepard pursed her lips. "Come on. Let me show you how to use the terminals."

She took me to the head of the bridge (Joker was conspiciously absent, but I guessed pilots had to sleep, too) and sat me down in a corner. She brought up her own helmet on screen, which showed me the inside of her room. She began to walk me through the instructions step by patient step, teaching me what I would need to know--how to communicate on an all-squad frequency or just to certain people. That was all. It was already encrypted, and she told me that I should send short messages only, because longer ones took a few seconds more to get through the encrypt nodes.

"Joker will be behind you piloting the Hammerhead," she said for the umpteenth time. "He won't be able to answer any of your questions. And knowing him, he'll also be loud, especially when he kills something. Don't pay attention to it and concentrate on your job."

"Yeah... okay," I said, squinting as I tried my best to remember everything I was being shown and told. "So uh... now I just have one really stupid question to ask."

"...yes?"

I ALMOST hung my head. "Where am I going to be during all of this again?"

Her eyes, if possible, went a few degrees cooler. "Where do you think?"

"Um... right here?"

"That would be the point of everything I just showed you."

"Okay then," I said, grinning. "Got it!" I bobbed my head at her.

Shepard turned away and walked off. "She's going to get us all killed," I heard her mutter as she went away. Before she left, though, she'd made it a point to disconnect her helmet interface from the terminal, and I was locked out again.

Well... since it was still twelve hours until we got to our destination... I figured I was probably more or less dismissed. Still... I figured I should stay put for a little longer and mentally go through everything I had been shown again.

...Part of me was really starting to hope I wouldn't need to send any messages. Especially since... I was the kind of person who needed to practice something complicated a few times before I really got it.

It was official. I was definitely not cut out to serve on a military ship, in a military situation. Not unless I simply stuck to cleaning and cooking.

"So uh," I muttered out loud, "are the messages automatically encrypted?"

"Yes," EDI answered. "I have reset the default algorithms to suit you."

"Oh okay... thanks!" I replied. "Also... you're gonna be right here, right? To make sure I don't screw anything up?" I hated to admit it, but... for once I wanted somebody--or something--to be looking over my shoulder. That way... hopefully everybody would stay alive. At the very least, I could ask questions.

"Yes," EDI answered. "And I shall be watching Mister Moreau, also. If something comes up where he must take control of the ship, I will notify him."

"Okay, and I have another question," I said, licking my lips a little.

"Yes?" EDI asked when I wouldn't go on.

"What exactly is the Hammerhead?"

"A tank."

"Oh... so then it doesn't fly?"

"Of course it does," said EDI.

"Wait... it does? I thought it was something like the Mako," I said with a puzzled frown.

EDI then explained about the Hammerhead and it's abilities.

I listened intently, then when she finished I said, "Wow... sounds impressive." Then I slowly stood and stretched my arms over my head. I felt tired, although I didn't really feel like sleeping. However... I wanted to try, at least. Just so I would be more alert when this mission actually started.

"I'm gonna go get a quick nap... okay?" I asked, yawning a little.

"I suggest you nap in your room. This is the bridge of a warship, and Mr. Moreau wouldn't hesitate to point that out in a quite undigified manner on his return if he caught you."

"Yeah, okay." With that, I got up and left the bridge.

-----

I had.... weird dreams while I was asleep. But they were the kind of dreams that tended to blur together and seemed like vague, distant memories upon waking. So I couldn't remember them very well... or the ones I did remember seemed like nothing more than a merge of pure randomness.

I heard something calling to me, and it sounded insistent. But I was in a deep sleep and part of me just wanted to stay there, as though I had found a strange sense of comfort in this odd mental state located in the subsconscious, outside of normal reality.

The voice, whoever it was, persisted. I tried to tune it out, even moving to burrow deeper under my blankets... and then I fell out of bed.

THAT woke me up.

Gabriella Daniels from Engineering was at the door, one foot over the threshold like she was torn between waking me up and running back to her station. "Finally, you're up! You sleep like the dead. Shepard needs you on the bridge, we're here. Bye!" She took off.

It took me a second to absorb that information. Then I scrambled to my feet--only to fall flat on my face. Somehow my blanket was tangled up around my ankles. I growled under my breath as I wrestled with the blanket and, not wanting to waste time trying to figure out what to do with it, I simply carried it with me out the door.

I rode the elevator up to the bridge level and dashed toward the cockpit, throwing the blanket around my shoulders almost like a cape or a shawl. I thought I saw a few people staring at me out of the corner of my eye but I really did not care.

Shepard didn't even spare me a look as she talked in urgent tones to Joker under her breath. She was already armored and ready, her helmet under her arm. "Steady, Joker."

"Relax," he soothed. "They can't even see our taillights."

"Keep it that way. I'm heading downstairs. Thane, Jacob, and Jack are with me. Sarah, you take that seat and stay there. We're going to recon. Radio silence from here on out."

If Shepard wanted complete radio silence... why was I here, exactly? I shrugged a little, feeling bewildered. I was still a little fuzzy about what I was supposed to do, partly because I was not experienced in this sort of thing, and partly because I had just woken up and I still had fuzzballs in my brain. I simply plopped down in the chair and leaned back in it, glancing toward Shepard.

On the terminal in front of me, a feed from Shepard's helmet could be seen. For now I could only see the floor, because she was carrying it, but I could also hear what was going on around her. Three minutes later she was in the dropship.

Jack and Thane appeared to be having a... discussion about us. "--and Sarah doesn't know what the hell she's doing."

"I disagree," said the assassin. "I think she's trying."

"And failing," Jack said. "The others are just as weird, but they're not as... so damn annoying as she is."

"Cool it, people," Shepard said sternely. "Thane, here are pictures of what the two of them look like. I just realized I never told you what to look for."

She handed him a datapad, which he looked at intently, memorizing every detail. "What are they doing in this picture?" he asked.

"These are just stills from EDI's surveillance footage," Shepard explained. "That was when they first appeared on the ship. You can't see it in the picture, but an entire security crew is pointing guns at them."

"It looks like Abby is laughing. She is certainly smiling. Did you tell a joke?"

Shepard actually laughed. "She was pretty bouncy their first day here," she said.

"Interesting," Jack said, bored.

"And HK?"

"He was in shock."

I was assuming that, judging by that conversation, I wasn't in that picture. Or if I was they simply hadn't chosen to comment about me. Part of my brain tried to think back to that day. I tried to recall if there could have been a moment where I was standing kind of far from them... but well, that really didn't matter. I dismissed the pondering.

I folded my hands in my lap and continued to gaze silently at the terminal in front of me. After a moment I reached out and touched the panel, just to make certain I remembered it correctly. "Testing, one, two, three..." I immediately withdrew my hand from the terminal.

On the screen, everybody suddenly looked alert. Then Jack scowled. "Get off the fucking--"

"Sarah, radio silence," Shepard said sternly.

"Haven't even left the ship yet," Jack muttered.

I was half-tempted to press the button on the terminal again, to let them know that I was only testing my memory and making sure it still worked the way I remembered it. But I decided it was best to shut up and stay quiet. If nothing else, I didn't feel like hearing Jack's mouth anymore than I had to--at least, not directed at me.

So I simply sat back and folded my arms. I pressed my lips together, mentally envisioning them "sealing" shut.

The shuttle took off, and the view didn't change much until Shepard put the helmet on her head. "Picking up an energy signature forty klicks east of your current position, Shepard," Joker said.

"I read it. That's probably their base of operations. There's a smaller reading up ahead..."

"Liara's data indicates that it's a transport area," EDI said.

My thumb lingered over the terminal key for a few seconds, then I stabbed it. "What am I looking for again?" I quickly released it. Well, Shepard did say that I could say something if I kept it short and simple, right? I was actually wondering what the point of me being up here at all was, since I knew nothing about the planet. I was glad to know what was going on, but at the same time I hated feeling helpless. I felt like I was doing NOTHING. Those two feelings conflicted with each other and it was making me irritated.

"Nothing yet," Shepard said. "Be patient."

"Commander, I suggest we land behind the transport hub, under cover," said Thane. "Allow me to go out and look around."

"Sounds good."


~-0~-0~-0

(Abby)

Owwwwwwww. Ow. Ow. Ow-friggin'-ow.

I felt tired and lethargic, like... like I wasn't even real. I must have been dreaming, or maybe my body was somewhere else... Stuck between realities, my mind, muddied and confused, tried to seperate them both.

I was at home, alone once again, typing on my laptop while my dogs dozed around me. My throat ached for some odd reason, and my leg didn't feel so fine and dandy either. I could have been her, listening to music, typing up some odd thing with fingers that flew on the keyboard, or I could have been the other girl. I could've been the girl whose entire body ached, who could hear a hum of energy in the air, who was laying flat on some cold surface, eyes closed.

I was drawn towards the latter, more uncomfortable body. My real life faded away, but I was aware, at least, of what was going on in the background. I could hear the music playing over the hum of the engines, over the buzz of slight conversation a few feet away.

Memory slowly came back. It felt as though I were fighting through the fog of my own body.

Everything hurt...

I didn't dare open my eyes to see my surroundings, relying more on other senses. The air smelled of krogan and batarians, mixed with unfamiliar oils and scents; I was on a cold, hard metal floor. Something metal was wrapped tightly around my wrists, which were secure behind me, and my hands had already gone numb from the lack of circulation. I could hear people talking up front, and I strained to listen.

"--paid enough for this, Ragnot." There was a laugh. The low timbre of the voice sounded batarian.

"Better... 've had..." This voice was further away, more indistinct. "...bout you, Taul?"

Now this voice was close. Very close. "I think you both need to shut the fuck up," the krogan snarled. Ah, I remembered him. It was slowly beginning to sink in now. "We're nearly there."

"Relax," the first batarian said. "They're just two kids. Afraid you wouldn't be able to handle them if they woke up?"

Taul grunted. "I'd be more worried about you making it through this trip alive, Torr."

There was another laugh, but the voices gradually faded. They weren't about to test Taul's patience.

I wondered if they knew I was awake now. Maybe that was why Taul didn't want anybody saying things possibly incriminating. I was becoming more lucid by the second.

The ground buckled suddenly beneath me and I was lifted about an inch off of the floor. Taul cursed. "Turbulence," Torr said, coming closer. I could hear his footsteps now. "Are they going to hold?"

"Looks like that one's waking up."

I heard a moan of pain, and there was no doubt that it was HK. It wasn't loud, but you could definitely tell that he was feeling the hurt. I couldn't forget him being slammed right into the wall by the krogan.

"That's the little bastard I beat up," Taul remarked. "He's going to need more drugs."

"Wha-" HK started groggily, but it was followed by a small grunt of pain, probably due to them injecting him with some kind of sedative.

"And the girl? Should we give her another dose?"

A pause. "Normally, yes, but we're almost there. Let's see if she squirms a bit before then."

I heard footsteps approaching from behind me. Heavy, krogan footsteps. Something hard connected with the small of my back, but I stayed determinedly limp, concentrating on my other life, the one on Earth. The krogan laughed and stepped over me. "She's still out."

In my other life, I was tracing lines on a piece of paper, struggling to finish a coloring book I'd been conscripted by my Sensei to do. I was going to take a picture soon to Photoshop it, but I kept getting the eyes lopsided. Damn it...

It was a strange thing, flitting in and out of both lives like that. I was never really in my Earth life, but I knew exactly what she was doing, what she was feeling, what she was thinking. As long as I concentrated on those feelings above all else, I would be able to resist whatever they threw at me... hopefully.

We hit some more turbulance and Taul growled something indistinct in his throat. He lumbered off to berate the pilot, probably the other batarian I'd heard, and Torr went behind him. I risked opening my eyes a crack to see what was going on.

HK was in front of me and to my far left, dead to the world. The room was nothing more than a small cargo bay. When turbulence hit again I used the momentum to turn myself around and get a good, squinted view of the door the others had vacated from. Above it, a small camera watched my every movements.

I closed my eyes again, debating with myself. They didn't know I was awake, and there was a slim, slim chance that if I played my cards right I could possibly escape. Maybe. But there was no way I would be able to bring HK with me. No doubt they would have others, some reinforcements of some type. If I could get past the krogan, it would be a miracle.

Zaeed's knife was on a table to my left, where Taul had apparently been sitting and cleaning his weapons. Apparently that idiot liked to keep it as a souvenir. Ass. Zaeed would helicopter me again if I lost his knife to a damn krogan.

Taul returned. I heard his heavy, signature footsteps long before his shadow stood over me. He waited for a long while, sniffing the air with great gusto, before he was finally satisfied and went back to the table to check on his precious weapons.

One of the batarians came in after him. "Did she move?" he asked quietly.

"Must've been when we hit the headwind," Taul said, unconcerned. "I don't smell fear yet. She's not awake."

"I suppose you would know these things," said the batarian sourly. He sounded miffed at something, though I couldn't guess at what. He may have been the pilot who brought us into the first round of turbulence, or another batarian all together. It was nigh-impossible to tell individuals apart by voice alone. "Nyxeris is being a bitch about their security arrangements. Seems to think whoever we took these two from is going to come after us."

"Fools. We'll kill them." Taul was unconcerned.

"They won't be able to find us here, anyway," the batarian continued, almost to himself. "Keep telling her that, but no. She thinks just because the Shadow Broker trusts her that she can boss us around. She's nothing but an asari slut."

"Go sober up before you meet her, then," said Taul. "You know she doesn't like it when you're high. Or don't, and die. I don't care."

The batarian walked away, leaving Taul and I alone to spend some quality companion time.

Twenty minutes later I still hadn't figured out a plan (and I had been thinking, believe me) and we were beginning our descent. When we hit the ground, I knew immediately I would have to do something fast or risk becoming a martyr.

Something that would get both HK and I safely out... that would be tough. Extremely tough. I didn't know how to fly, and these things probably had trackers in them anyways. Taul was a giant lump of anger management issues, and there were an unkown amount of batarians travelling with us.

I didn't allow myself to feel afraid yet. Whenever the fear would strike I would force myself to mimic the feelings of my Earth self--bored and tactical. I normally think better that way.

Leave HK to certain torture... or stay and hope for a rescue.

Would you be mad if I left? I asked inwardly.

I took a few deep breaths... and knew what the answer had to be.

I would escape if I could. I would escape with him if I could. If I couldn't, then I'd just get Shepard and her band of alien misfits and find him. How hard could that be?

You don't just leave people, though...

I didn't want to do it. I couldn't leave a friend here.

But if he were in my place, and he asked me... I'd tell him to get the hell out and leave me. Save yourself.

The seconds were ticking down... and I'd just made the worst, most horrible descision of my life.

Taul coughed a little bit from his place at the small table. He got up, cracking his neck, and his strong hands twined themselves in my hair. Before I even knew what he was doing, he began to walk, dragging me along with him. He dumped me in the middle of a hallway and I heard somebody else approach--the high batarian.

He uncuffed my hands, brought them around to the front, and secured me once again. He stooped over me and lifted me over his shoulder. Grunting a bit with the weight, he began to walk foreword. I was as dead weight as you could imagine dead weight to be. At the moment, all one-hundred and twenty pounds of me was leaning on his shoulder. My head dangled near his rear, a place I really didn't want to be at all, and my hair offered enough of a screen for me to open my eyes halfway and observe what was on his belt and figure out how to use it.

He had a pistil on his hip, some ammo clips, and some food packs. They were probably just the batarian equivalent of granola bars, but I would need those. On his other side was a communicator... I would definitely need that.

There was a thump behind me, and I supposed Taul had dumped HK in the hall, too.

The batarian took me down a ramp and fresh, frigid air hit my face. It was very cold, though there was no snow. Clouds were building up in the distance, and I could see lightning from even here.

The batarian was humming a song underneath his breath as he continued to walk. As soon as he was out of sight of the ship, I struck.

I curled myself up into a ball on his shoulder, crushing his neck between my arms and my knees. He made only the tiniest of gurgles before stumbling and falling to the ground. Rocks scraped and punctured my arms where I fell, but I paid no attention. I squeezed tighter, and tighter, until his muscles finally relaxed. I kept the hold an extra three seconds in case he was like me and, therefor, untruthful, but he was dead, dead, dead.

At least he died high. I tried to find a redeeming quality in that type of demise. I rummaged through his pockets until I found what I was looking for. I unlocked my handcuffs and threw them to the side--I wouldn't need them anymore. I grabbed his supply belt and put it on over my waist, adjusting the straps as tight as they would go and, keeping his pistil in my hand, I dragged him through the rough stone and hid him in a collapsed home. Looking around me, heart beating fast, I began to run.

I had no idea what planet we were on or if there were more people around here (and there probably were, waiting to torture and kill us!) but I knew I'd have to find out fast. We had landed in what looked to be a ruinous city, abandoned of life. Some small grass poked up here and there--it looked as though it were recovering from a large ground fire of something, because most of the buildings looked charred.

Breathing made me lightheaded, but in this situation it was good. Better than good. It must have meant there was a high oxygen content, because I wasn't tiring out as much as I normally would have.

I was conscious of every step I took, keeping low to the ground and making no more noise than neseccary as I ran. I took a left on a whim and followed a small passage upwards to a higher elevation. Looking behind me I couldn't see the ship, nor anything else moving. Hopefully they hadn't discovered their buddy yet.

The path took me up the side of a mountain, which, like the town below, looked as though a fire had raveged it. Realizing that I was following a path, a path, I ducked off immediately to the right and began to find my way upwards from a steeper, narrower angle that the krogan would never be able navigate. And if the batarians did, well, I had a pistil and I was not afraid to whack anybody.

I was running out of breath, though, and I took some cover in what looked like a hollowed out, fossilized hole in the side. A large boulder in front of it offered some camoflague from any air-time guys taking a look for me. I slipped inside and, before collapsing to my knees, took a look around my immediate area to see if there were any small animals I'd have to worry about.

There was nothing, not even a skeleton. The entire place felt old, older than humans themselves. There was no doubt that nobody had come in here for a long, long time.

I lay down on the ground, blinking stupidly at the sky, and tried to clam myself down. I'd just brutally ambushed and killed a man, left my best friend with Taul, and I didn't like it that much. I rubbed my temples, trying to rest up before continuing on again.

It was so cold here. When I glanced outside, I noticed the clouds were getting even closer and the wind was blowing my way. Abruptly, I made a small calculation. The air here was full, too full. A small breath compensated for three large ones, it seemed, and too much breathing only made me dizzy. If a storm came here, then there was sure to be lightning...

I pursed my lips and crawled out of the small opening, taking a better look at the terrain below me. I hadn't gotten too far up yet, and the krogan was sure to be looking... and it was cold, cold, cold out, which meant they would be able to follow my body heat impressions in the air...

I took out the comlink I pilfered and, careful to set it on Mute so they wouldn't hear me, I opened it. There was no radio chatter at all, but that didn't mean anything. I played around with the settings for a little while, making sure that it was, really, nothing more than a simple comlink. There was no tracking device embedded within it, and it didn't look like they would be able to eavesdrop on me without my consent.

I shut my eyes tight, shivering violently as a gust of wind penetrated my shelter, and tried to remember the code Mordin had me memorize...

Remembering was no use. Every time the number came close to the surface it shut back down again. Knowing I would remember it sooner or later, I took another look outside and began a debate in my head.

To leave or not to leave?

I had valuable protection here, but if a tracker saw the marks I left when I deviated from the path then I would be leading him straight here. I decided to leave, just to explore a bit more. I fI found nothing as good as this cover, then I would head back.

I paused, listening for any noises, and began to climb upwards. My palms were bloody and painful to grip with, and the cuts from falling into the ground earlier stung profusely. I continued on, trying not to notice them. The storm, meanwhile, kept getting closer.

"IT'S NO USE, TAUL." I nearly let go of my grip and fell to my death right then. I muttered a profanity and went to a safe zone to turn down the communicator. It seemed as though they had split into teams to find me. "The storm's coming. We need to get under cover."

"Fool, don't use the radio!" Taul snapped. He clicked off and a few seconds later the other guy did, as well.

Well, wasn't that just lovely?

The storm was building up to be a good one, too. Purple thunderheads rolled across the sky, and thunder sounded in the distance. I leaned against the rock face, watching the storm approach, gathering my strength. Then, I continued to climb.

I'd managed to find some semblance of a safe shelter before the rain began to fall down. It wasn't a cave, though. It was some kind of small hollowed-out area of rock that acted as a small hallway. I sat down right in the smack middle of it and took out the food I'd picked off of the guy. I read the packaging with a wry set to my mouth and put it back in my belt. I'd save it for when I was hungrier. Until I found some source of food, the five little bars on my belt were all I had.

The rain fell in heavy droughts, freezing cold and chilling me to the bone when puddles began to seep under me. I braved going outside for a few seconds to grab the biggest rock I could carry and place it on the ground as a seat. I took a load off, then, leaning against the wall and looking at the one in front of me.

And the rain slowly but surely lulled me to sleep.

Nine hours later, an insistant beeping woke me. Having not slept too soundly being as cold and uncomfortable as I was, I was awake in an instant. I turned off my watch alarm (it was 6:45 in Earth time... nice to know) and got up, stretching. The rain had stopped sometime during the day and it was edging towards night. I wondered for a moment how long a day was on this planet. If I was here any longer, I might just have to time it on my watch.

But it was night, now, and that was going to be an issue. Possibly a big issue. Depending on how long night was, it was very possible that it would get even colder. After the rain it felt a little bit warmer, but not quite, and I was still freezing.

I sat for a long time, my eyes closed, before I realized something very vital:

I had to use the bathroom.

Normally, this would not be a problem. Just, er, drop the pants down in any location--your choice, of course--and get your business done. Nobody to watch you, no strange animals to attack while your butt's in the air... but it was pitch-black outside. And I was on a cliff. And there was no way in hell I wanted to pee in my own little kingdom here.

I stomped around for a little bit. "This is so unfair!" I growled at the still night. I crossed my arms and stared at the wall. Every small shiver made me have to go even more.

I got on all fours and crawled cautiously out of my abode the way I came, since I still knew some of the way. The puddles hadn't dried yet, and they were freezing, so of course that just made my damn day.... or, er, night. I found a place far enough away from the ledge... and just did my business.... in a dignified Abby manner.

Hey, at least I didn't get anything on my clothes.

I went back to my small shelter and curled up on a rock, struggling vainly to get some warmth. On a whim I took out a food bar and ate a corner. I wrapped it up and saved the rest for later, then got a drink from a puddle.

I ached all over, and the cuts I'd sustained during my escape were throbbing. Resigned to the discomfort, I closed my eyes again and tried to think things through.

If I kept this up, I'd die here. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. I had to either make contact with the Normandy or somehow get to wherever they were going to take me, kill them all, and eat their food, THEN contact the Normandy. I fingered the radio in my hands as I thought, trying to remember that one frequency...

Somewhere around there I must have fallen asleep. I jerked awake when I heard the voices.

The weren't loud or distinct, but they were close. Too close. My heart beating wildly, I grabbed for the pistil and took cover at the end of the natural hallway. The voices went silent, but I could still hear their footsteps in this unnatural silence that seemed predominant on this planet.

A yellow beam was shined in the interior. The one holding it tilted it up to expose my face, and I reacted faster than I could've thought possible.

I double-tapped her, an asari, in her chest and took off. I'd never gone this way or explored this way before, it was in the dead of night, and it was slippery. All in all, probably not one of my better ideas.

I tripped and automatically slapped out--bad idea. I slapped empty air, and the momentum from my flailing arms rolled me off of the side of the cliff. Air rushed past my face--I didn't even have time to scream--

"Oof!" I landed in somebody's arms. I struggled for a moment, biting down on the hands that covered my mouth, but whoever it was held me securely to their body. "Shh," the voice said in my ear. "Relax, it's me."

Shepard. Relief flooded through my body at the words, and I went limp. Instead of struggling against her, I was hugging her.

We stayed quiet as the search party above us completed their rounds. "Somebody get a rappel line set up," one of them said. "She hit behind those rocks."

"Dead, you think?"

"Probably, but I want to check."

They activated spotlights on their helmets and I could see them, a group of three, setting up a line. Shepard released me and I finally noticed that she was wearing a helmet. She held one finger to where her lips would be and motioned for me to lay down.

I did, with difficulty. My body was finally rebelling against me, and I knew that if I lay down I might possibly not get up again for a while. Shepard retreated into the darkness.

I closed my eyes when I heard one of the enemies hit the ground behind me. I could see the bright light of the spotlight from behind my closed lids. I concentrated on staying limp, calming myself. On Earth, I was sleeping. I tried to draw from the calm state of my mind there to slow down my pulse, in case he checked.

Just as he disappeared from the others' line of sight, somebody struck. I heard the distinctive pop of a broken neck, and the man was slowly lowered to the ground. An unfamiliar--or very familiar--person knelt beside me and turned me over. I could see the reflection of his eyes in the light that still shined from the enemy's helmet.

Thane Krios.

No wonder Shepard took so long. "Thank you," I breathed.

"Shush." He began to tend to the lacerations on my head, palms, and arms.

"Jeff?" somebody called. "Jeff, what's up? Dead or not?"

"And over you go!" Jack yelled, laughing. The air was rent by the screams of her victims, and I heard their bodies rushing through the air before they finally landed several feet below us.

Shepard sighed. "I said be discreet, Jack." But she didn't sound as though she were angry. In fact, she sounded relieved. She came out of the shadows and knelt next to me. "How are you?"

I blinked, and reality finally set in. "HK--HK's still there, Commander, they still have him--we have to go get him--"

"I know," Shepard said soothingly, stroking my hair. "I know. We're going to get him. Stay still for a while and rest. Can you tell me what happened?"

I blinked tears out of my eyes. Now that people were here, and things might turn out okay, I felt a bit overemotional. "W-We were shopping, and this boy came up to us. Said his mom wasn't waking up. We followed him into an alley, and this giant krogan, Taul, he--he snapped the kid's neck. He drugged us and put us on a ship with some batarians..."

Shepard was nodding, and Thane looked intent. Jack landed next to me. I saw somebody behind Shepard's shoulder, looking on concernedly, and started until I realized it was--"Jacob!" I said softly. "I thought only two people were allowed to come out with Shepard at a time."

"We changed it up a bit," Jacob said jokingly, but his tone was still tense.

"Keep talking," Shepard urged me. "How did you escape?"

Jacob handed me a few bars of food from his own pack and I ate them happily as I told them the story. When I finished, Thane handed me his water. "Nice," Jack said appreciativly when I got to the part about breaking the high batarian's neck. "I would've liked to see that."

"You did well under pressure," Thane said, nodding.

"How did you find me?" I asked wonderingly.

Jacob held something up in front of me. "I think," he said, "that this belongs to you." He placed it in my hand and I finally saw it for what it was. I felt around my neck, surprised when the familiar weight of my necklace wasn't there. I examined the clasp and groaned. It was broken. "We found it about an hour ago. We were just in front of the search party the entire time."

"W-We have to go get HK," I said. "We can't leave him there!"

"And we will, but there is a lot we must figure out before-hand," Shepard replied. "First of all, we need to make sure that you are alright, though it seems you are. Second of all, we can't go in there with guns blazing. We've learned the hard way that Nyxeris and the Shadow Broker are very clever...their base is likely highly protected, and they probably have several escape plans."

"Thane," I said, looking up at him, "can't you case the place? You got into Dantius Towers."

"Perhaps, but this isn't something as simple as Nassana Dantius and a battalion of Eclipse Mercs," Thane responded, shaking his head. "This could be much, much more. Especially if the Broker is affiliated with the Collectors."

"Tell us what you saw when you escaped," Jacob said. "Did anything stand out?"

"Nothing lives here. There are cities but no people. No animals. Everything's--oh, you mean--ah, yeah. I didn't see anybody or a place that stood out. Sorry."

"I noticed something on the way in...it looked like what a compound would, and it was very large. I only got a passing glance, but I could tell that it was secure," Shepard said, sighing slightly. "Its not going to be easy to get HK out of there. And if I had to take a stab in the dark, I'd say that they've got him in the deepest part of the base they can find, with every sort of security system and guard you can think of."

"Get real," Jack snapped. "He's probably dead."

"Think it through," I implored. "If they wanted us dead they would have killed us on Illium. They took the trouble to bring us here, so obviously it's for something else. We need to find out what it is. If we know, we'll know how long he has... right?"

"Astute," said Thane.

"Yeah, but how we gonna find that out?"

We were silent for a long time. Finally, it was Jack with the answer. "Send her back in there. Get 'em to drop their guard."

"You want me to go back there?" I squealed. "Uh--Shepard? Would that work?"

They all exchanged a look. Shepard took off her helmet, exposing her pale face. "Yes," she said heavily. "But only if we had no other choice."

"But it will work, right?" I asked.

"I don't like this idea, Shepard," Jacob said quietly.

Shepard turned her head slightly to look at him. "Neither do I, but its the only way to do it. Unfortunately, if we want to get HK back and stop Nyxeris, then this has to be the way to go," she told him. She looked back at me. "But, you're going to have to face the facts. There's going to be some brutal torture performed in there on you...can you handle it?"

"Oh please," I said dismissively. "As long as I get a chance to whack Nyxeris."

Shepard looked at Jacob again. "Does she always act like this?"

"You should spend more time with them, Commander," Jacob said. "Abby... you sure you can do it? We can't have you backing out at the last--"

"Jacob. I swear if you keep asking me that question--"

"She is resolved to go foreword," Thane said. He gave me an odd look, almost... reverant. "I trust her judgement."

Jack clapped my shoulder. That was probably as much positive reinforcement I would get from her.

"Well, we don't have much time. I'm going to call the entire crew, and tell them about this. We're going to need the entire ground team," Shepard said, taking out her comm and proceeding to contact the Normandy.

I sat up, interested. Shepard turned away to talk to somebody on the other line, and I motioned to Jacob. He leaned over me. "If HK and I die," I said, "Sarah's the last one."

"You won't die," Jacob said. "Don't worry. We'll have you out soon as possible."

"I know," I said, "but just saying. If we do, tell her bye for us, 'kay?"

He pursed his lips and nodded. "Are you religious?" Thane asked. His back was to me as he sorted through the medical bag they'd brought with them.

"Somewhat."

"Pray. Maybe your gods will answer your calls."

It was times like these that I wasn't able to tell if he was joking or not. He would sure be an interesting person to get to know. "Thanks for the advice," I mumbled.

Jack sat down next to me, apparently tired of standing. "Hey," she said softly, "you'll do good. Got it? You're motivated."

I blinked. I sure wasn't expecting that. "Thanks, Jack," I said. "Means a ton. Seriously."

"Yeah. If I find Nyxeris, I'll keep her alive for you."

"Thanks," I said, touched.

-----

A short time later, after Shepard had devised an elaborate plan with the entire crew, they landed back where she did... and they hiked up the trail right to where we had been staying ever since she found me.

One by one, they started to become visible.

"About time, I was getting sick of waiting around," Jack muttered.

I nodded at Zaeed and Miranda as they became visible. Mordin placed a hand on my shoulder, smiling comfortingly at me. Garrus took the pistil I'd stolen and checked it over for any defects. Tali's small, lithe frame was overshadowed by Grunt, who looked at though he'd grown quite a bit in the past few days. "Give me somebody to fight, Shepard," he rumbled.

"You'll get it," Shepard promised. Grunt began to start pacing around the small space, and Miranda eyed him distrustfully.

"So go through the plan again, Shepard," Zaeed said. "So we're all on the same page here."

"Tali will follow Abby in and give us any relevant details," Shepard said. "After that, we'll organize into teams and get them out."

"Fun fun," I muttered. "I suppose I should go soon, right?" I was kind of dreading that part, the leaving of this tight, protected circle.

"We'll get you out," Shepard said.

"'course," Zaeed said.

"Haven't seen Shepard fail yet," Mordin said cheerfully, "but then again... she has had help from you three. This will be interesting."

"Love you too, Mordin," I said wryly.

"Have your purchases from Illium on the ship. Must explain that one item soon. Looking foreword to it."

I just ducked my head, a small grin on my face.

Shepard held up one finger, motioning for us to be silent. She slipped on her helmet. "Sarah? You awake up there?"

However, it was not Sarah's voice that replied, but EDI. "Commander, Sarah is not currently at her post."

"What do you mean she is not at her post?" Shepard all but growled.

If an AI could sigh, EDI certainly would have. "After she saw Abby on her terminal, she assumed that you all were out of danger, or at the very least that she could... take a quick break." She paused.

"Fine," Shepard snapped, "when she gets back tell her we don't need her help." She cut off the link. "Abby, let's go."

(Sarah)

I nearly tripped over my own shoes as I hurried back to the cockpit. I sat down heavily in my seat.

"Sarah," EDI said dryly, "Commander Shepard informed me to tell you that you will no longer be needed."

I blinked. "What? But I was only gone for ten minutes, tops."

"You should not have left your post."

I scowled. "I needed to use the bathroom and I had a nosebleed! I assumed you could cover for me for just a few minutes!" I didn't have nosebleeds often, but I swear something about the air on this ship irritated--or perhaps dried out--my nose sometimes. I don't know.

I stabbed the console with a finger. "Shepard?" I said earnestly.

No answer. She seemed to be determindly ignoring me... until, a few seconds late, I received a reply: "Something important?"

"Sorry," I blurted. "I was only gone for a few minutes, and I thought EDI could cover for me for just that long. I um... had a nosebleed." That sounded like a totally stupid reason to leave my post even as I heard myself say it. Nosebleed? Seriously? Shepard was out there risking serious injury, even death, and I was complaining about a nosebleed.

"Understood. We've located Abby. She managed to escape, but HK's still in the base. Abby's heading back in and Tali is going to shadow her in."

There was a sound of a scuffle from the other end, and then I heard a new voice: "Hi, Sarah!" Abby said cheerfully. "I whacked a batarian with handcuffs on. I feel totally awesome now."

"Give me that!" Shepard's voice said faintly. She put her helmet back on. "You three are going to be the death of me."

Abby must have said something, because Shepard replied, "Sometimes, maybe. But I don't love you all of the time."

I realized that I still had my thumb pressed on the key on the terminal. Maybe it was just due to stress, or because of all this crazyness. But for some reason, I muttered the stupidest thing ever into the terminal. "I wonder if Collectors like eggs... do you think so, Abby?" Inside joke. Shepard wouldn't get it. Nor would anyone else.

Another scuffle, and then Abby's voice, loud and clear: "Course they like eggs... And milkshakes. They have an awesome milkshake machine up at their base."

"Ewwww," I said loudly, remembering one of the conversations we had had in our quarters. "I'll pass on the meaty milkshakes. And I hope not to go there myself."

"Yeah... let's just get through this thingy first. It's freezing down here. I'm actually looking foreword to being recaptured. At least they'll have some heating... Shepard's giving me a dirty look. Bye!"

Shepard didn't even say a word about it as she put the helmet back on. "Tali, Abby, get going. Quickly."

Out of the blue, I had the sudden mental image of everyone eating eggs with red milkshakes in the mess hall. I shoved the image aside. "Where is HK?" I then asked Shepard. "Any idea how he's doing?"

"He's at their base, as far as Thane's been able to find out," Shepard said grimly. "We're mounting the rescue attempt now. Abby's heading back. Once she's discovered and taken, Tali will go in behind her to exploit their security and give us a good layout. We'll get it done."

I made a sighing noise through my nose. Great, now I got to be worried and stressed again for the next few minutes... or however long this was going to take.

"Anything I can do?" I asked, even though I already knew there was probably nothing.

"You can leave if you want," Shepard said.

"...You sure?"

Shepard just sighed and disconnected.

"I guess you're sure," I said into the silence.

[Marishal]

(HK)

I was lying on some kind of metal slab...I still wasn't sure where I was, or what was going on. There were some things I did know: Nyxeris was alive, and was sure not at Liara's office. She was here, in this depressing room, interrogating me constantly.

I lost track of time so long ago...between all the drug injections and the brutal interrogations, I didn't know when I was conscious and when I wasn't. I didn't know if Abby was still around, or what happened. I remembered getting beaten up by the krogan, and that was about it.

I was blindfolded, and gagged, like I always was when Nyxeris wasn't in here trying to get information out of me. Somehow, she knew that Abby and I "knew" about her affiliation with the Shadow Broker, and she was not going to stop until she found out where we got that information.

And what was I supposed to say? Either "Oh, we have visions about the future" or "You were actually a fictional character up until about a month or so ago when this entire universe became reality"? Both would sound absolutely outrageous.

So, I had simply told her every time I had no clue what she was talking about. She didn't take that for an answer, so I had gotten beaten, shocked, and anything else you could think of. They had constantly pumped me full of drugs...sedatives and truth serum, probably.

Suddenly, out of the blue, the blind fold got ripped off again, and I winced as light shined into my eyes. The room was very bright, and it was almost painful whenever, after seeing darkness for hours at a time, a sudden burst of light would come in.

Nyxeris stood over me, and I looked at myself. I was still in that outfit I had gone out in on Illium...a standard Cerberus outfit, since that was all that I had that wasn't armor. My hands were no longer handcuffed behind me, but instead, both of my arms were stretched out in opposite directions and cuffed on side slabs.

In my brief times awake, I had tried to figure out some kind of escape route, but it was to no avail. There was no way to get off of this table...I couldn't attack Nyxeris, because both my arms and legs were strapped down. She'd likely get the better of me, anyways.

She took the gag off of me, and smiled politely. "Maybe we should try this again. Its getting really tiresome, so I suggest that you finally tell me why you and your friend know what you do," she said sweetly.

I let out a groan of pain, because thats what I was feeling: Pain. There was definitely enough of it inside me to go around, right now.

"I don't know anything. Why won't you just let me go?" I pleaded weakly.

"I heard your conversation at the bottom of the staircase. You knew that I was the Observer, and knew exactly what would happen if I got discovered...stop playing dumb," Nyxeris told me, a bit more sternly. "Who hired you?"

"Why would someone hire two teenagers to do anything? That'd be an important job, and they wouldn't send two minors to do it," I shot back.

"Somtimes, people can be unexpected," Nyxeris argued.

"Still, I really can't tell you anything. There's nothing to tell," I explained.

"Maybe its time for more drugs, then..."

"No!" I exclaimed sharply. "Please, please...no more drugs."

"Then tell me how in the hell you know what you do," Nyxeris growled.

"My response is the same as before," I said.

"And so is mine," Nyxeris snapped, grabbing a syringe and filling it with whatever most likely illegal drug she was using on me. I closed my eyes, and groaned out again when she stabbed it into me.

It was almost funny...my reaction to these situations were so much different than what I thought they'd be. Normally, I might assume that I'd be dead by now after being reduced to some blubbery mess of tears, but no...I hadn't been either of those. However, the pain itself was also much different, and much more worse, than I imagined. I didn't know someone could do this.

"Wh-what are these drugs supposed to do, anyway?" I asked slowly.

"I'm giving you small doses, either to reduce your pain, or get you to finally confess," Nyxeris coldly replied.

Nyxeris walked over to a control console, and I knew that I was about to get a large jolt of shock, and likely shriek out in horror. I shuddered slightly, knowing that it was going to happen any second, but before it could, the door swung open.

I leaned my head up as best I could, and was mortified at who I saw there.

Harbinger, possesing a Collector.

"The plans have changed. We are taking this in a new direction," he told Nyxeris, in his typical Harbinger tone. He didn't even give me a second glance.

"What? I'm in the middle of another ses-" Nyxeris started.

"Do not question me," Harbinger simply told her.

"Yes, yes of course," Nyxeris said obediently, glaring at me as she turned and followed him out. She shut the door behind her.

What was going on now? What next act of torment were they planning now?

A minute or two later, I saw another Collector come in the room...I shuddered, as best I could anyway, after seeing the bug-like creature. They were alot more terrifying when strapped down to a metal slab.

He grabbed the blindfold, and I sighed warily...like I knew he would, he tied it back onto my head, preventing me from seeing anything once more.

I expected the Collector to leave, but I could still hear him making those weird Collector-noises that they made. He seemed to be just standing in the room, not doing anything...Nyxeris didn't usually have people stay and guard me while she was away.

I heard footsteps approach, as well, likely mercs walking through the halls.

"...hear about that other patient? Just got her back..." one said.

Because of the blindfold, it was slightly harder to hear, as it covered half of my ear, but I could make some words out.

"Yeah, fiesty little bitch....Nyxeris's dealing with her now... can't believe she's only fourteen..." another replied.

I felt a cold shiver go down my spine. Abby....they're torturing her, too. I knew it.

However, she could probably hold up a lot better than I would in this situation, and I was doing...okay, or at least I'd like to make myself think that.

There was a sudden noise from beside me, loud and unnatural. The Collector stumbled, breathing heavily, and I heard the distinctive cracks of Harbinger's essence consuming the body in one swift, grand takeover. Breathing heavily, I could only listen in terror as Harbinger possessed the Collector, grunting deep from within his thorax as he assumed control. Heat emitted from his being in waves; it was like standing close to a hot stove.

He walked away, and for a moment I felt a staggering wave of relief--then I heard the door close. His footsteps took him to the left of the room, to the console Nyxeris normally used, and I heard him press a command right before I felt the pain hit.

Harbinger never talked, never made a single noise as he continued to run his experiments. My body was beginning to fail under the brutal torture, but he didn't care--he just didn't care. There were moments when I felt insanely happy, my senses alert, giggling madly with joy--and then there were times where I felt irrationally angry and yelled and screamed profanities I must have picked up from a trucker somewhere.

It went on for the longest time. I would fade out of consciousness repetitively, but as soon as my brainwaves began to hint I was heading that way I would suddenly hear and feel everything with complete clarity, as though I'd just been woken up with an intraveinous shot of pure sugar.

Only once did he say something, but, caught in whatever high or low I was experiencing, I heard nothing.

"Wha...what are you doing to me?" I finally asked, breathless, but he didn't reply. Everything was a complete blur, even if I was blindfolded, and it felt like the room was spinning. I was starting to feel a slight headache come on, but I tried to ignore the pain.

Things were feeling very, very strange...for a time, I'd forget where I was. I'd think I was back home, my home on Earth, for some reason, and it was like none of this had ever happened. I was just in bed, resting peacefully...but then it all came back, and I felt like I wanted to get out of here as fast as I could and run for my life.

The mind-frame swings were getting more and more intense, and just when I wasn't sure how much I could take, I heard Nyxeris's voice....was it Nyxeris? Or Liara? Wait, why would Liara be here in the first place?

Questions were popping out of nowhere, and I hoped that was a sign that I was starting to come out of whatever this was...but somehow, I doubted it. Where was Abby? Was she alright? Was Abby the one captured with me? Or was it Sarah? Maybe all three of us?

"Sh-shepard needs...o-ne...of us..." I muttered, though I didn't intend on muttering that.

"What was that?" Nyxeris asked. I thought that was what she said, anyway; it sounded gurgled and distorted.

"Uhh...I..." I replied, not sure what to even say.

"Harbinger, you yourself said that you don't want to break him. Not yet, anyway...I need to give him a stimulant, because his sanity is going to be gone if this continues much longer. Go deal with the girl, I'll stay with him," Nyxeris said sternly.

"Agreed," Harbinger said.

He must have left, because soon after, when my head began to feel slightly better (foggy and mushed, but better than it had been) I could hear Nyxeris typing away on the console. "Better?" she asked. I made no reply. A few quick footsteps, and suddenly she was in front of me. Her fingers tickled my ears as they removed the blindfold. I closed my eyes, grunting in discomfort as the blinding lights aggravated my headache.

She simply dropped the cloth on the floor and took my chin in her hands, tilting my face upwards to look at hers. I kept my eyes closed. She chuckled. "We don't really want to know anything," she said softly in her windchime voice. "The Collectors have a fascination with anything to do with Commander Shepard, and we already know about your supposed 'powers.'"

From the tone of her voice, it was obvious she didn't very much believe those rumors. "He's very curious, and he won't break you until you are of no more value. But know this--nobody will rescue you. Nobody will save you. Best you comply now and save yourself whatever pain you can. The only thing I can promise you now is death. An end to the pain, sooner or later. We all have to die sometime."

She sighed in an amused way. "And if you won't comply for yourself," she said, almost as an afterthought, "comply for your friend. She's been a very bad girl lately, running off like that. She came back to rescue you... a losing proposition." Nyxeris laughed like a mother talking about her own child. "Perhaps I'll allow you to see each other if you both behave. Before you both die. Do you know why you're being subjugated to this much torture? Not because of anything you did. You're just associated with the wrong people, which I can understand. Abby did this to you, by escaping. I made her watch the entire thing as a punishment. And now... I'll allow you to see the rest of it. Would you like to see her... HK?"

I looked at her, knowing that fear probably consumed my eyes...if they weren't bloodshot from all the drugs Harbinger had just given me. I wasn't sure if what I was hearing was correct, or if it was an illusion...but Abby had escaped? And she had came back to rescue me?

And now, she was getting tortured, because of me...

Wait, no, its not like that. Maybe it is...yes...no, I...I don't know what to think...

Finally, I nodded, or tried to. "Y-Yes...I'd like to see Abby. I'd like to see my friend," I replied.

"Good, you can talk," Nyxeris said sweetly. She went back to her terminal, and for a brief, horrifying second I thought she was about to pump more drugs into me... but then the light faded, turning the room dark. I was able to open my eyes a bit more. A holographic projection took up the entire wall in front of me, showing, in crystal clear clarity, the room Abby was in.

She was on a table, tied down with heavy metal restraints. She was no longer dressed in Kelly's clothes, but instead in a white hospital gown. Her hair had been tied above her head into an intricate braid around what looked to be a string attached to the table. Her eyes were closed and her breath came in and out slowly, as if she were asleep.

I heard the door open and close on her end, and Harbinger entered. She bit her lip, her face screwing up in expected pain. "You're evil!" she whispered. "You're... so... I can't wait until you die. You're gonna die."

"Irrelevant," said Harbinger. He pressed a button, and Abby's piercing screams filled the room. "We will endure," he said, but I doubted she could hear him over her own pain.

I cringed once I heard her screams, and I was hoping that this was all just in my mind, that Abby wasn't actually here, getting tortured...but I knew that it was real. I hated it, but it was. My vision still came and went, but it was there long enough for me to see Abby scream.

I felt my stomach churn, either from the drugs or watching this. Probably both. It passed quickly, like all of my sensations, but it didn't make these feelings any easier.

"H-How..." I started, though I felt myself start to drift away again. Quickly, I came back. I glanced at Nyxeris. "How could you do this to us? We're just...we're just two kids."

Nyxeris wasn't smiling anymore. Her eyes were halfway closed, and her mouth was set in a line. "I would kill you now to spare this, but I can't," she said softly. "Harbinger needed you. Your number was up as soon as you stepped into Shepard's life."

On the screen, Abby was breathing in deep, labored gasps. "Shepard--" she whispered. "Where---Shepard, please--"

"Nobody will save you," Nyxeris said.

"Shepard can't save you," Harbinger said.

"You're powerless," she said.

"Worthless girl," Harbinger said. "We are the harbinger of your perfection."

Abby began to sob. "Where are you?!" she screamed. "GET UP HERE! DAD! Help... h-help me--"

I frowned, watching one of my best friends go through the worst pain she had ever experienced. Slowly, my eyes closed, but I snapped them open again as fast as I could. I couldn't let myself fall unconscious again...I had to stay awake...

"Nyxeris..." I choked out, starting to feel a gagging sensation come onto me. After several seconds, it went away. "P-please..."

I went silent for a moment, but I knew what I had to do. I had to do the honorable thing that none of these people would.

"L-let her go...you don't need both of us..." I told her, forcing myself to relax my head on the back of the slab again. It took too much energy to lift it right now. "Just...let Abby...let her be safe...do whatever...you want to me."

"She said that, too," Nyxeris said. "When she came back under the foolish notion that she could rescue you. She got about as far as a mile away before our scanners picked her up, and she tried to run. Not before Taul got a piece of her. She kept mumbling that over and over. 'Let him go, do what you want to me!' That's why you were tortured. She saw every second of it. A punishment for not complying. She'll learn, in time... you both will."

"You rotten bitch!" I shouted. Suddenly, the urge to cuss was coming back, and anger was coming back as well. It was a mix of my true emotions, influenced strongly by the drugs Harbinger had pumped into me. I was also more alert. "What do you think you get out of hurting us like this?! Do you really think you'll live after this is all said and done?! Do you think the Shadow Broker will let you escape with so much information? Do you think that Harbinger will let you go on about your business? Of course not! Once we're dead, you'll just be next in line!"

"Torturing you both is Harbinger's way of punishing you for your lack of compliance," said Nyxeris. "After this session, I doubt you will be awake for many of the others that follow. He's going to examine you both. He's looking for genetic similarities that would explain your dreams... or visions."

"He'll find nothing," I blurted.

Then, the bluntness began to fade, and I felt dizzy again. I had to escape...both Abby and I had to get back to the Normandy, wherever it was. Was Shepard looking for us? What planet were we on? Would anyone be able to find us? Was Nyxeris right?

Both Abby and I learned many ways of fighting from Jacob, Garrus, and Zaeed...but none of that really came into play when trying to make a plan to escape from a slab. Maybe it was impossible, after all.

I glanced back at Abby, ignoring Nyxeris. "A-Abby...can you hear me?" I asked.

"She could hear you when Harbinger was in the room," Nyxeris explained. "But she can't hear you now. Or see you."

I didn't respond, and looked away...I felt weak again, and my entire life was flashing through my eyes, like many said it did when you were in great danger. I didn't think I was about to die, but all the memories were flooding in...my sixteen years of living, of being free, had felt so long, but in retrospect, were so short. I remembered my family...all the places I lived...all the pets I had....the numerous friends I had, in real life and online. My school, any crazy times I had. All the fun, all the drama. All the writing, all the characters I'd created.

I'm not ready to die yet.

I began to clench my hands, digging my nails into the metal that was beneath them...a screeching sound was heard, and I gritted my teeth.

I'm not going to die yet. I'm not going to be taken down.

I turned back to Nyxeris. "Do what you want to me," I snapped, bravery and courage coming over me. "You may hurt me, you may cause me pain...but you won't break me."

"That's not our intention," she said, glancing back at Abby. She was silent now, her eyes darting this way and that, and as we both watched her muscles relaxed. Her eyes rolled up in her head and her breathing slowed.

Nyxeris crossed her arms, watching and frowning. Harbinger looked up from the terminal, then back down. He looked almost confused, if a Collector could look confused. Nyxeris quickly cut off the video feed and blindfolded me yet again before leaving the room without a word.

Worry was the next emotion to consume me. What was happening? Was Abby starting to die? No, no...she couldn't. Not now...we couldn't lose Abby. She was stronger than this, she wouldn't die, she just had to hold on.

I wanted to do something, I wanted to do something so badly, but I couldn't. I was here, chained up and blindfolded.

I tried to move my arms, banging my wrists up against the cuffs, but that did absolutely nothing. I was helpless.

Come on, come on...someone has to help us.

I waited there, in the dark, for a very long time before I had another visitor. The door opened, but the footsteps didn't sound like Nyxeris or Harbinger. These were lighter, more business-like. I tried to peer under my blindfold to see who it was, but I may as well have tried to move a wall by blinking at it.

I heard the press of a button... and the table flipped over. I thought I was going to drop to the floor, but my wrists and ankles were securely fasted. I heard the opening of a zippered bag behind me and wondered what they were going to do now.

Something sharp jab into my lower back--apparently there was an opening on the table I'd never noticed--and stayed there for the longest time. I could feel it pulling something out, and a gradual lightening of my bladder.

The object was taken out. The footsteps took it behind my table where I hadn't gotten to see yet and emptied the contents--which I was sure by now was pee--into what sounded like a metal basin. Water ran. The footsteps zipped the bag up again and left.

My mind flashed back to my stay at the hospital for emergency appendix surgery many months ago, and for the first time, I was thankful for the people here...the other way to do that was something that would've made me scream bloody murder for several seconds.

However, despite my gratitude for what just happened, my mind still wandered to Abby, and what was happening to her. Even Harbinger seemed concerned, and that wasn't a good sign.

A Collector walked in nearly a half an hour later. I could tell from the walk that it wasn't Harbinger--not yet. And as I made this conclusion, I heard the Reaper take over the Collector's body. He pressed a button on the terminal...

...and I fell right to sleep.

-----

My eyes snapped open...everything was a blur once again, and all I could hear was a group of very muffled voices. It sounded like something was going on, but I couldn't be sure what...the drugs were still in my system, most likely, so that helped the confusion. I closed my eyes for a moment, again, only to open them. Someone was doing something out of the ordinary...maybe.

Or perhaps it was a dream, a mirage, another one of Nyxeris's crazed torture schemes.

"What are you going to do with me now?" I said, barely able to get it out due to a dry throat, and with my eyes only half-open.

"Easy," said a familiar voice. "We're getting you out of here. Mordin--"

"Yes, yes, working on it. Going through their history." His voice abruptly turned sour. "Horrible things. Absolutely horrible. Would stabilize his condition, but I doubt his body will be able to accept the shock."

"No, no...don't shock me again, please...no more drugs...no..." I mumbled, extremely confused right now. I wasn't even sure who was here, but they did seem familiar. I couldn't be sure.

"Nyxeris will pay for what she has done here," said another, softer voice that quivered with indignation. "Look at him."

"He's not looking so good," said another, deeper voice. Jacob.

"We can't wait here for him to wake up," said the first voice. "Does Tali have that door open yet? Yes? Good."

The restraints popped off of me, a peculiar feeling, and the blindfold was whisked off. "Jacob," Shepard said, "take him. Samara and Mordin will guard the rear. HK, do you understand? We're here to save you."

My vision was getting just a bit clearer, and I saw their faces for a split second, but everything faded out again. "I...." I began, trying to recall all the voices and who they were. One I hadn't heard in reality before, but I had heard it previously. "Samara..uh...Shepard, is that...wait. No, it can't be...wait, you said Jacob. Jacob...Abby's good friend. Abby. You need to...you need to find her, she's getting...tortured, something happened..."

"Do you know where she's being kept?" Shepard asked urgently.

Did I? "No, uh...I don't think so...they showed her to me on this screen...Harbinger was torturing her...I don't know where she is..." I replied slowly. "I'm sorry..."

"You're fine. You'll be fine. We'll get her."

Somebody lifted me up and placed me over their shoulder. I groaned. "One moment," Mordin said. "I need to copy this data. Might give insight into Collector interest in humans... done. Let's leave. Quickly."

There was a rumble far off in the distance. "Joker's having fun," Shepard muttered.

"It was smart to cut the fuel lines to the gunships," Samara said. "He would have been overwhelmed otherwise."

Jacob adjusted me on his shoulder and we began to walk. "You're going to be fine, kid," he said. "No worries."

I didn't realize how much pain I was in until I was off that slab. It wasn't horrible, my body just ached. "Thanks..." I muttered. Things were starting to make a bit more sense. "They wouldn't stop interrogating me, tormenting me...all these drugs. So many different methods...they did other stuff to Abby, and before they knocked me out...something happened to her. You've got to find her...even Nyxeris and the Collectors looked nervous. She can't die, she can't."

"We'll find her," Jacob promised.

(Abby)

I kept my eyes closed, savoring the absence of authority as I attempted to recuperate after the harsh punishment Harbinger had inflicted on my body. My muscles, fueled by whatever he had pumped into my system hours ago, had finally stopped twitching and lay still and quiet underneath my skin. I slipped in and out of sleep, watching events take place in my real life with detached amusement.

It was a strange thing. I hadn't noticed it when Zaeed knocked me out, but whenever I faded from consciousness my mind would zero in back on my real life. Throughout the entirety of Harbinger's torturous sessions I'd tried to find that balance where I could, with difficulty, accept the feelings of my real life, leaving my cold, drug-filled body behind.

Oh, I could feel very acutely the punishment he'd inflicted on me. But at the height of the torture session I'd begun to break through the mental wall that kept me from the life back on Earth. I could feel the stimulants he was pumping into my system, could see his sudden, confused stance whenever I opened my eyes, but he was only in the background, a minor detail.

For two entire hours I experianced my first Aikido class in a while, learning with my real body and my real mind. Harbinger and Nyxeris hovered around the edges with faces I didn't recognized, talking in terms I didn't understand, but neither did I care. I was in my happy place, back where I started. Even when they shocked my body and filled me with a neural stimulant I was as limp as a dead fish.

They couldn't bother me. I was in my happy place. I could only wish that HK had figured out this technique.

I was talking to him now, of course, on Instant Messenger, but I wasn't paying too close attention to that. I could feel my mind returning back to the broken body on the table, the pain beginning to manifest again, and I knew I was beginning to wake up at long last.

But for what?

When I opened my eyes, nobody was there. The camera that kept watch on me during this entire time no longer had a glowing power button on the side. Either it was turned off or they decided that red dots were too strange for my 'mushed' mind to handle.

I sighed a little bit, appreciating the strange feelings that were coursing through my body at this instant. I felt drained and out of breath, but not cold. No, I was hot, my skin flushed, and I was sweating.

They'd left me to die. There was no other explanation. Why else wouldn't they put the blindfold back on?

I could hear a far-off rumble in the distance alongside a high-pitched whine that sounded so far off I could have been just delusional in my fevered state. The rumble was probably thunder. Perhaps another storm was coming. It would have been the perfect time to escape, except that I doubted I would be able to make it to the door in front of me even if I weren't tied to this weird table.

The table looked different than HK's. His was just a rectangular slab with handcuffs, but mine was bigger, yet lighter. My hair was braided above my head into a steel cord tied into what looked like another computer terminal. I shifted my head around experimentally, pulling on it in hopes that it would release somehow, but it was tied in there tightly. Obviously Nyxeris wasn't worried about damaging my hair at all.

I closed my eyes again, filled with the strongest desire to sleep... until I heard the door open in front of me. I stayed limp, hoping they would think there was no more change, but it was obvious from their hushed talk and hurried footsteps that something had gone wrong. Badly.

Nyxeris crossed over to her terminal, accompanied by an assistant and a Collector. I peered out of half-closed eyes to see what they were doing.

Nyxeris took one look at the monitor and made a sort of growling noise deep in her throat, then came to stand next to me. Breathing heavily, she only stared at me for one second (and I was sure that my eyes were closed now) and, so fast I didn't have time to guess what was coming, she punched me. I gasped despite myself, my eyes opening.

"Who did you contact?" she asked in a low, threatening tone. "How did you get a message to them?"

Oh, great, Shepard was here! I grinned. "For such a pretty lady, you're so full of crap," I said. My voice came out as a hoarse whisper. My throat was hurting.

"This plan has failed," Harbinger said. He stepped foreword, and four Collectors materialized from the doorway to stand behind him. "We will take her and continue to search, but you have become a liability."

Nyxeris gasped. "You can't get out of here!" she said shrilly. "There's only one ship--"

"We plan to take it. Stand aside."

The Collectors began to unplug me from the various machines with robot-like efficientcy. And then, Harbinger looked directly at me. I could feel my heart beginning to beat faster with fear, and I realized, suddenly, that the Collectors were going to get away--and they were taking me with them!

Oh, no. No. No, no, nopity, no, no. No. I wasn't going to be the template for a new Human-Reaper.

Nyxeris spoke, then, but it wasn't to us. "Bravo Team, form up in B-Wing to provide escort detail to the ship." She clicked to another frequency. "Are they dead yet?" she asked, harassed.

The volume was just loud enough for me to make out the words. "Somebody cut the power to the gunships, we're sitting ducks out here! They've knocked out the foreword AA Turrets and the tank's out of range for the others to kick in."

"Have you managed to kill anybody?" Nyxeris asked, outraged.

"Every time we get close their damn sniper picks us off! We've lost eighteen men so far. We need to fall back. I'm going to give the order."

Nyxeris cursed and switched frequencies. "What's the situation?"

Nobody answered. "The men we stationed in the security room are dead," she muttered. "And the boy is gone. There must be two teams."

She pitched foreword and hit the ground. The Collector beside her stuttered and fell, a gaping hole in it's head. The assistant onlyhad time to utter out a squak of fear before he fell, too.

Harbinger reacted quickly, sealing the door with a strong biotic barrier that pulseated with an eery light. The Collectors worked even more quickly, taking me off of the machines while their leader held the door.

There was a rumble of displaced energy and suddenly the entire barrier was gone, ripped open from the center. A wave of pure, inescapable power pushed Harbinger back against the wall and squeezed. The Collector disintegrated.

Shots rang out, but me, reeling from the sudden attack, couldn't see where they came from. The enemies around me dropped to the ground, dead.

Thane appeared in the doorway, training his sniper rifle on the bodies before coming to see me. Samara had her back to me, covering the doorway alongside Commander Shepard. "We must hurry," Thane said, disconnecting me from the wires with quick pulls of his dexterious hands. "Can you walk?"

"Dunno. Nice save. Who did the biotics, Samara?"

"It was a group effort," Thane said, and sure enough he did look slightly drained. "The Collector General is very well-trained."

Tali jogged in, her omni-tool already activated. "The others are in the storage room," she said breathlessly. "Mordin said to administer this if she was awake." She pressed a small syringe to my neck and injected me with something. There was no effect that I could tell, but Tali, who was only following orders, didn't seem to care. She threw the syringe on the ground, where it fell and stuck into the nearest Collector.

Quickly, Tali overrode the locking mechanisms keeping me attached to the table, but paused before undoing my hair. "Oh, Keelah, that's not good," she muttered.

"What is it?" asked Thane.

Tali scrolled through some functions on her omni-tool. "If we had removed her, something would have happened," she explained. "It's conencted to the terminal in HK's room... so I suppose it would have killed him, or otherwise incapacitated him. It is good we got him first."

"Is he okay?" I asked, my voice cracking. I was really, really thirsty.

"No, and neither are you," Tali said, "but you will be."

There was another rumble in the distance, but this one sounded closer. "Tali, hurry it up," Shepard ordered harshly, firing off a round. "Looks like Nyxeris called in some help."

Tali reached down to her leg as if to itch it and grabbed the knife she never used in-game. With one quick motion she brought it to bear and began to saw off the hair still tangled. I opened my mouth, about to say some harsh words, but the entire table suddenly buckled and turned completely over. I fell on my face, groaning.

Thane took me by the arm and pulled me out. They set me on my feet--I fell right back down. "She can't walk," Thane said, calling out to Shepard.

"Doesn't matter. Get her a gun and we'll retreat back to where the others are."

Tali handed me a pistil after checking the ammo capacity. I held it in weak fingers. She put an arm underneath my shoulder and helped me to my feet. I found I was leaning heavily on her for support, which irked me, but there was no time to be the masochistic idiot I normally was. "Keep your head down," she cautioned in her accented voice.

"'kay."

Shepard popped off a few more rounds and turned around to look at me, taking in my appearance. Then she glanced back down the hallway. "Time to go. Move it."

"When we get back to the Normandy," I huffed, "we need to play... a game of... checkers."

She wasn't even listening. "Tali, open that door!"

We disappeared into an adjoining hallway and a blastdoor behind us closed down, cutting our pursuers off. We met up with Mordin, Jacob, and HK in what looked like the mess hall. Apparently they had moved from the nearby storage room to the kitchens. HK was laying on the ground being tended to byMordin. They all looked up when we entered.

Tali set me down next to HK, and I struggled to sit up, my back against the salad cart. "You good?" I asked. The exertion of moving from my room to here made it difficult to breath or think. My words came out as a whisper.

HK smiled lightly at me, still lying down, though it looked like he was still slightly out of it. "Yes, I'm alright, glad to be out of that room..." he replied. "I'm sorry you had to go through that...you shouldn't have come back to rescue me."

"Yeah, I'm starting to... regret that," I joked. "Leaving you here would've been better in the long run, methinks."

"Probably," HK agreed. "But nonetheless, thank you. That was torment. The Collectors and Nyxeris know more methods than I originally thought they did."

"Sorry... for that..." I coughed and slid an inch lower, closing my eyes. I was able to concentrate better. "My fault you were tortured. M'sorry."

HK gave me a confused look. "It wasn't your fault. They were gonna do it either way, whether you stayed or went. I'm just glad to be out of there now...I hope we can leave and get back to the Normandy soon."

"Mmmhmm."

Mordin began to check me over, doing a once-over with his omni-tool but saying nothing to me. He asked Tali if she'd administered the drug but was otherwise silent. "Joker, where are you?" Shepard was saying.

I couldn't hear his reply, but it seemed to please Shepard. "Commander," Samara said in her soft voice, "I don't know how long we can hide here. Even though Tali has killed the security systems, I worry that that they'll find us before Joker does. Is there perhaps another way out of here?"

"Joker will get here in time," Shepard assured her. "I trust him."

"Yeah, he seems like a good man," Jacob said.

"But will the two of them last long enough for our return to the Normandy?" Samara asked.

"Yes," said Mordin after a moment. "But perhaps not too long. Their livers will shut down soon if we can't get them proper medical care. Hoping to avoid that."

HK's eyes widened. "Uhh, Joker better get here soon, then." he simply said.

The fact that my organs would probably start shutting down soon didn't really concern me. I was too tired to care. I had my eyes closed, hoping for some rest, but I couldn't go to sleep. Not yet.

There was the loudest noise from across the room. The floor shook and rumbled beneath us and a light fell out of the salad cart. Tali helped me up and I opened my eyes to see that the mess hall wasn't exactly the way we left it.

Rather, there was a giant hole in the seiling and the Hammerhead was floating leisurely below it. The ramp lowered and the door opened, revealing Miranda, dressed in a black, form-fitting suit I recognized as her loyalty get-up, standing there waiting for us. Tali hurried us over, me stumbling half of the way, and suddenly I was flying through the air. I landed softly on the middle of the ramp and Miranda ushered me inside.

HK flew in behind me, apparently kicked from behind via a powerful biotic push. Jack pulled him into a seat and put his seatbelt on for him. There was also Zaeed, Grunt, and Garrus in there already, Garrus with his sniper rifle out. Now I saw what Nyxeris meant about the biotics and the snipers...

I was put in a seat and my belts were strapped by somebody I couldn't make out. I blinked a few times and my head nodded foreword against my chest. I struggled to keep my eyes open.

Something else took my attention. "Why're my legs all wet?" I asked, trying to get back into the moment.

"The entire mess hall is flooded with a few inches water," Zaeed said, peering out. He whistled. "Looks like it's rising." He, Jack, and Grunt shared a laugh.

The ramp closed. "Hit it, Joker." Shepard sat down next to HK and looked on, concerned, as Mordin did another check-up.

"So what's with the water?" I asked.

"Blew upen the septic tank," Grunt rumbled, rumbling a laugh. "They'll be swimming in their own shit soon enough."

"Okay." I closed my eyes again. "Lemme know if we get captured again."

And with that, I went right to sleep. Or perhaps I just passed out. Either way, the end result is the same, right?

(Sarah)

I just... pretty much sat silently in my chair in the cockpit. I figured it was probably best if I stayed right where I was, because... well, that way, I would know right away if there was any news, and I would be right near the airlock when the others came back.

That and... maybe if I more or less stayed at my designated "post" (even though it was a temporary one for me) well... maybe it would mean I wouldn't tick of Shepard any more than I already had. Then again, I've probably done all I can to tick her off today, although... you never know.

"Hey, the Hammerhead's docking down on Deck Five with your friends onboard, if you want to go down and see 'em," Joker announced.

"Thanks," I muttered as I quickly got up and headed toward the elevator, walking past everyone on the bridge without really looking at them.

I rode the elevator in silence and then walked briskly down the hallway until I reached the docking bay on Deck Five. I was anxious to see everybody, but at the same time... I didn't want to get in the way. Plus with my luck, I might open the door too quickly and let the vaccuum of space in before the outer doors were sealed. So I simply waited... as patiently as I could.

If "patiently" meant standing with your ear pressed to the door and your heart pounding in your chest.

After a moment, I moved to the side to an enormous window and peered into the docking bay, to see what was going on.

The entire ground team piled out of the Hammerhead, and soon, I saw Abby and HK being carried out...Mordin was right beside them, looking like he was overseeing their health, and Shepard watched as well.

"We need to get them to the Medical Bay now," Shepard said. "Chakwas can watch over them and make sure they're alright."

"Agreed," Mordin said. "Must hurry."

The door opened and I saw them beginning to come out into the hallway. "Are they okay?" I shouted, a bit more loudly than I intended to. But I was trying to get their attention--and it worked.

"They're alive, but if they don't get immediate medical attention, they may not be. Dr. Solus says that their livers could shut down," Tali explained, looking at me. "They got badly tortured inside that base."

I sucked in a breath, and glanced over at HK and Abby. Jacob was carrying HK, slumped over his shoulder, but holding him securely. I could definitely see that Jacob was a strong man, no doubt due to years in the military service, and I actually felt a twinge of guilt for biting his finger. Then again, I highly doubted I would ever be able to forget that, or get over it entirely.

Garrus was carrying Abby. Since he was built differently than a human--and because Abby was a bit smaller and had a slimmer build--he was simply carrying her out in front of him, across his arms. When I looked back on this scene later, I would sort of think of it as a classic "rescued a damsel in distress" kind of look. You know, the kind where a girl fainted or had to be rescued, and so the hero just carries her out like a limp doll.

Then again... if this weren't so serious, that might have almost been cute, and MIGHT have made me feel slightly jealous in a weird way. Garrus carrying Abby... ugh, shove that thought off.

"You sure they're gonna be okay?" I asked, taking a few steps back. I then glanced from Shepard, to Garrus, to Mordin, and looked at HK and Abby again. They were out cold, but I could tell they were alive.

"Dr. Chakwas is an experienced doctor," Tali answered. "I am sure that they'll be alright. Don't get too worried."

I took a few steps back, partly because I didn't want to get in the way, and partly because... well, with nearly a dozen people going down the corridor--with two more being carried--it was kind of hard to keep up, plus Mordin, Garrus and Jacob were rushing ahead of everyone else anyway in their efforts to get to the medical bay quickly.

I strained my eyes--and craned my neck--to try and watch them for as long as they could, until they vanished in the elevator. Somehow or other I found myself near Tali. Wordlessly, I simply stared off in the direction my friends had gone... and reached out and grabbed the quarian's hand, absent-mindedly.

"Are you alright, Sarah?" Tali asked, sounding more concerned, turning to look at me again.

"Yeah," I responded automatically. "Will be." My tone was a bit clipped, but I didn't care.