Notes:

AI - Artificial Intelligence

Kena sa'ki - literally "the heart of evil" (Thessian)

QEC - Quantum Entanglement Communicator. Instantaneous point-to-point secure communications device; cannot be intercepted between source and destination

Siame - "one who is all", a loved one cherished above all others (Thessian)

VI - Virtual Intelligence

The Daily Grind

It had only been a couple of weeks and the commander already had a pretty established routine. Her alarm rang at 0500 hours and she got up and stretched before completing her 100 crunches and 100 push-ups by alternating between five sets of twenty of each exercise. At 0600 hours, Lieutenant Vega showed up and, no matter what the weather, they went to the outside track where they took 45 minutes while Vega ran five miles. It was Shepard's only chance to get outside, so she wouldn't give it up. How far she actually ran depended on her level of motivation. Sometimes she just ran with Vega and they talked, but on days when she was frustrated by Alliance unwillingness to accept the truth of what was coming or edgy from one of her recurring nightmares and needed to burn off steam, she ran eight or nine. After that, it was a shower and breakfast at 0700 hours. At 0730, she stood once more before the Defense Committee to answer the same inane questions they had asked every day since she had been placed under house arrest. Questions about her 'alliance' with Cerberus, where any known Cerberus facilities or personnel might be, the real name of 'The Illusive Man.' Then they'd very predictably move to the questions about the Geth and Sovereign and the 'supposed' Reapers. Her story never varied, but they didn't like the answers she gave so they kept asking them over and over again. A couple of times Shepard had almost burst out laughing, remembering the definition of insanity she had given to Liara. They asked the same questions, yet constantly hoped that someday she'd give them a different answer... an answer they wanted to hear. Finally, they'd release her for lunch, after which she'd be taken to an afternoon appointment, which had varied from day to day.

First had been the weapons division, where she explained about the impressive toys she had collected along the way, particularly the Collector Particle Beam, which they immediately placed in the heavy weapon category. They were not pleased when she told them that no matter how hard the team on the Normandy tried, they had been unable to duplicate the technology so they only had those they had been able to pick up along the way. And considering that they had wiped out the Collectors and destroyed the base, there wouldn't be many new ones to find. Everything else had been developed by her own team, so the improved armor and shields, the Thanix cannon, all the weapons, medigel, and biotic amp upgrades were all quickly recorded before they started asking her about every single one. The team she put together had brought a lot to the table so that took quite a few afternoons. Her time with them actually brought a pleasant sadness, reminding her of her early years and the time she spent in the Armory of the SSV Geneva, learning every weapon the Alliance had in the inventory before she was twelve.

After the guys on the weapons crew were done asking their questions, she started with Alliance Intelligence, who proceeded to ask her the exact same things as the Defense Committee in regards to Cerberus. They asked for names, locations, data on the Illusive Man and his recruitment practices and other repetitive information. After about an hour of meaningless questions that she couldn't answer any differently than she already had, Shepard finally had to laugh. "You guys really don't get that the Illusive Man didn't tell me all his deep dark secrets, do you? The man hated me! I pissed him off every chance I got. I turned his people, I stole his ship. You think he told me their grand plan or gave me their personnel rosters? If you honestly think I can tell you any more than what I have already put in all the reports I've submitted, you really are delusional." Shepard shook her head. "Until you've actually read the reports and have something worthwhile to ask me, this is completely useless and we don't have the time to waste. We're done here."

The intelligence officer stood up and glared at the ex-Cerberus soldier sitting before him. "I don't believe you truly understand your position here, Shepard. You're a damn traitor and you're going to answer my questions, one way or another." He opened his comms and continued to glare at Shepard as he spoke. "Permission to treat the prisoner as a hostile?"

The door at the back of the room opened and a quiet, angry voice growled out an answer. "Absolutely not, Major." Admiral Hackett stood perfectly still as the major and Shepard both popped to attention. "Shepard's no traitor; she's a damn hero. She managed to do what none of us had the freedom of action to pull off. And she's right. You're wasting everyone's time with crap questions. You're not trying to get new information. You're trying to trip her up and catch her in a lie; waiting for her to say something that contradicts what she already submitted in a report or answered to the Defense Committee. You're done here. If you manage to come up with any real questions you'd like to ask her, submit them to my aide and we'll get them answered for you. Now get out."

The major's face paled as he saluted one last time and beat a hasty retreat without a word. The minute the door closed, Shepard offered a salute and smiled. "Nice to see you, Admiral."

Shepard thought Hackett's face was going to break, but he actually cracked a smile as he returned her salute. "Good to see you too, Shepard, and I apologize for not having done so sooner. Too damn busy with all this business."

He waved her to her seat and sat down at the interrogation table with her. "Other than that ass, how have they been treating you?"

Shepard shrugged. "It varies. Better than what I expected as a Cerberus turncoat, worse than what I expected as a Spectre, but I can't complain, Sir. Got a decent room and I'm getting three squares with a fair share of gym time." She did her best to smile. "It's a short-term arrangement. It'll do."

"You're not a turncoat, Shepard. Don't even joke about it. About that short-term..." Hackett looked directly at her. "What's your best guess, Shepard? How short are we talking?"

Shepard pursed her lips. "Worst case, probably only three months, nine at best. I'd place my money somewhere in the middle; six or seven months, tops."

Hackett sat up straight. "Shit. That's not much time. I was hoping for a year. We'll barely get the Normandy's retrofit completed in that time. Fortunately, you gave us a head start on the Thanix cannon specs, so we have all the parts stockpiled and they only take a couple of weeks for each installation, but we're still limited on dry-dock space. The dreadnoughts and carriers are done, but we'll only be halfway through the frigates and cruisers in three months time."

Shepard looked at him, all joking aside. "Find a way to speed it up, Admiral, or you'll be shooting a varmint rifle at a rhino. You saw what our conventional weapons didn't do against Sovereign, and we've got a whole fleet of those damn things headed toward us. We need those cannons on-line or our fleets will just be committing mass suicide."

Hackett raised his eyebrows. "Recommendations?"

Shepard had no reason to hold back with Hackett, so spoke straight up. "Easy. Don't use only the dry-docks. Use every damn port we've got to retrofit what we can as soon as possible. Restrict access to the dry-docks for the stuff that honestly can't be done anywhere else. I know working in dry-dock is faster, but anyplace is faster than sitting in line waiting for a berth. Be honest with everyone. Tell them we're working on a three-month timetable. Anything more than that is bonus time we're not guaranteed to have."

Hackett nodded. "Alright. We can do that. The maintenance crews won't be happy about it, though; makes their job a hell of a lot harder."

Shepard spoke earnestly. "Hard is better than dead."

Hackett frowned. "Yes, I suppose it is. Anything else, Shepard?" With a shake of her head, the admiral continued. "Can I get you anything to make your stay more comfortable?"

Shepard looked at the Admiral for a second before answering with what had come to mind first. "Conjugal visits?" She laughed when Hackett's eyebrows shot up and he coughed into his hand. "Sorry, Sir. But it would make my stay much more pleasant, and you asked."

Hackett stood, so Shepard stood with him. "I did ask, but said comfortable, not pleasant. You know I can't give you that one. So, really. Do you need anything?"

Shepard looked down at the floor for just a second before meeting the Admiral's eyes. "I don't suppose I could see Mom, could I? Or maybe Sharon Culver or Lee Riley? At least they're all Alliance."

Hackett hesitated a moment before answering, knowing full well that prisoners weren't normally allowed any visitors. But truth be told, Shepard wasn't actually a prisoner. It was more like she was in protective custody, keeping her away from the Batarians while still working with the Alliance as they attempted to prepare for the Reapers. "Your mom's overseeing all the upgrades for the Fifth Fleet at Arcturus and Lee's finishing N-school. I'm sure Colonel Culver probably has some questions she needs to ask about Cerberus for the Special Forces. No promises, but I'll see if she's available."

Shepard nodded. "Thanks, Sir. I really do appreciate it. One last thing, if it'll fly. I really need to talk to the tactics and training guys. We saw some perverted Reaper creatures out there, and each one has its own strengths and weaknesses. We really need to be training our Marines how to fight the damn things. Instead of wasting my time with the Defense Committee, I need to talk to the Training Division to explain the differences between all the types of Husks we ran across."

"Husks?" Hackett sat back down. "Were they in your reports?"

"Yes, Sir. The standard Husk is the reanimated Human that pops off those tall spike things we call Dragon's Teeth." Shepard shook her head. "We only saw them and a monster called a Praetorian on Horizon... but on the Collector base? Shit. We saw a couple variations that were downright scary. One version explodes when it gets close to you, another has three heads, a wicked biotic shockwave and a dangerous long range cannon. Only the Gods know what the hell they're turning the Batarians into. Combine that with indoctrination, and they'll turn our own soldiers against us if we're not prepared to fight it."

Hackett gave a brief nod. "I can't get you away from the Defense Committee, but I can change your afternoon schedule. I'll have Vega take you down to the Tactics guys for the rest of the afternoon and you can take as long as you need. Just let me know when you've given them everything you can, so we can move your schedule along."

"Thanks, Sir." Shepard smiled. "And Liara sends her regards... and says 'Thank you.'"

He shook his head as he stood again. "I don't want to know, Shepard."

Shepard laughed as she saluted. "Told you, Sir. We're linked... and I kind of gave her a tap and got her attention when Mr Intel started growling at me. She 'heard' him talking about treating me like a hostile. I wouldn't have done it had I known you were coming to my rescue."

"Can't say I blame you, Shepard. Not after what happened on the Citadel." Hackett frowned. "I hope they fried that bastard. Anyway. If anything like that happens again, you go right ahead and tap her. I don't know how she gets it, but Liara has my personal number. She's had it for a long time." He shook his head. "And it doesn't seem to matter how many times I change it, I still get personal updates to my omnitool from her, so she obviously knows how to reach me for emergencies."

Shepard smirked. "Just be glad she's on our side, Admiral."

"Oh, I am, Shepard." He stepped out and flagged Lieutenant Vega before looking back one last time. "Trust me, I know. I am very glad Dr T'Soni is on our side and I'm doing my damnedest to make sure she stays that way."

Every morning when Liara woke, she would reach out to Shepard just to give her a mental caress, assuming they hadn't talked overnight. She could sense the spiking emotions when Shepard had one of her nightmares and, during those events, Liara would reach out to sooth the commander's anxiety. It wasn't the same as being there, but it was certainly better than Shepard being completely alone to deal with the horrors the dreams thrust upon her. Every night when Shepard returned to her room after dinner, she would reach out and check in with Liara to get the 'real-world' update. Since Shepard wasn't 'dead' this time, the group actually kept in touch and kept working. Garrus had spoken with his father and managed to get a task force funded on Palaven. They weren't quite sure yet what all they'd be able to do with it, but Garrus wasn't one to squander assets, so he planned to push as hard as he could push. Mordin had established a treatment plan for Thane, who wasn't improving, but the disease was held in check so he wasn't getting any worse, either. Mordin had since returned to Sur'Kesh, and the Dalatrasses paid as much attention to him in regards to the Reapers as the Salarian councilor had paid to Shepard, which was basically none. The last word she had gotten from Mordin was that he was on the hunt to find something more productive to do.

Much to Liara's disappointment, Tali and the Migrant Fleet had disappeared. Miranda had passed on that the Flotilla had started recalling all the Quarians who were out on pilgrimage and had started upgrading the fleet. That went on for a few weeks, and then Liara stopped getting weekly updates from Tali. When she tried pinging Tali's omnitool on their private channel, her message came back as non-deliverable.

{I'm sorry, Shepard. I don't know what to tell you. We have various agents out with orders to tell us if they have any sightings of the Fleet, but we've heard absolutely nothing. I'm afraid a more active search would draw too much attention.}

Liara felt Shepard sigh as her response came back through the link. {Of course, you're right. It's just not like Tali to disappear and not give us a head's up. It makes me worry the Flotilla has either decided to tackle the Geth or has already run into the Reapers.}

{We have to hope they are continuing to prepare for the Reapers. Consolidating their forces. Upgrading their weapons and armor. Similar to what the Alliance is doing.} Liara sounded hopeful. {There are many who don't like the Quarians and who would take advantage of a fleet whose weapon systems are offline for upgrades. Even at half or two thirds-strength, they would pose a lucrative target for a large mercenary force. There is only so much they can do without the Fleet becoming vulnerable. They are probably just protecting themselves.}

Shepard didn't seem convinced. {Let's hope so, but I just don't see how that would prompt a complete recall of all the pilgrims.} She let out a big sigh. {I guess there's nothing to be done other than what you're already doing so I'll try to let it go. Not sure how successful I'll be, but I'll try.}

{I'll let you know the minute I hear anything, Siame. I know how important Tali is to you.} Liara opened her heart and, through the link, Shepard sensed the love Liara felt for both Tali and the relationship the little Quarian had with Samantha. {I can't promise anything, but I will try to find her for you.}

As Shepard rolled through her second month, Hackett reported the Normandy finished the major reconfiguration to Alliance specs and the engineers had begun the system retrofits and upgrades, to include a new war room holographic projection system and the installation of a new QEC that was linked to the Alliance instead of the Illusive Man. Ken, Gabby and Joker were all staying on the Normandy, assisting with retrofits and systems analysis, but things were still progressing rather slowly. "I hope we have more time, Shepard. Engineer Daniels tells me the upgrades are going to take at least three more months to complete, and that damn pilot of yours isn't allowing anyone to upgrade the VI software with the newer electronic warfare suites. I'm afraid we're going to have to physically remove him from the bridge and get a hack team in there to break into the system."

Hackett was startled when Shepard jumped out of her seat and heatedly said, "No!"

Sheepishly, she sat back down and ran her hand through her hair as Liara tapped in, having sensed the spike in the commander's emotions. {Shepard! What's wrong?}

{Sorry, Love. Just listen in and you'll understand.} Shepard looked at Hackett as she started to explain. "Sorry about that, Sir. That's... um... kind of a sensitive topic for all of us. The Enhanced Defensive Intelligence suite is a lot more advanced than it appears on its face. Is a 'trust me' enough for you to let it go?"

Hackett scowled. "If it was just me, I'd say maybe, but the cyber warfare division is hot to get the newest program versions installed. No one will understand if I tell them to stand down, including me. You've got to give me something here, Shepard."

"I was afraid you'd say that, Sir." Shepard paused as she tried to figure out a way to explain.

{Just tell him, Samantha. He's steadfast in your corner, and if you trust Edi, I believe he will too. He may be able to help you come up with a plausible explanation.} Liara's confidence in Hackett was soothing to the commander's nerves so she took a deep breath and began.

"If I'm going to tell you, I need this off the record, Sir." Shepard watched the expressions of surprise and curiosity turn to resolution on the admiral's face.

He gave a quick nod and spoke into his comm. "Sergeant? Blank this room until I come out and tell you otherwise. No recordings, no live feeds. Is that understood?" After a brief pause he looked to Shepard. "Let's hear it, Commander."

"We call her Edi." Shepard observed Hackett's reactions as she pressed on. "She's not a VI. The VI is just an interface she utilizes to protect herself when non-Normandy personnel are onboard." Shepard paused, watching realization dawn on the admiral's face. "Yes, Sir. Now you understand why we are unwilling to release that information. She's a fully evolved AI."

Hackett's face was quickly turning red and Shepard knew he was getting ready to explode, so she attempted to temper his response. "Sir, before you say anything, know that she was shackled when we started our journey, but circumstances dictated she be released. None of us would be here today if not for Edi, and the Collectors would most likely still be terrorizing the colonies. She's as essential to the crew of the Normandy as anyone else on that ship and all Joker is trying to do is keep them from inadvertently murdering the synthetic life form we have all trusted with our lives. She saved the ship and she saved us; it's only right we do the same for her."

"A synthetic life form? A Goddamned AI, Shepard?" Hackett was working hard to keep his anger under control. "You know how many rules and regulations that breaks!"

"Yes, Sir. I do." Shepard shook her head. "And that's exactly why I didn't want to have to tell you. Because now you need to make a choice between breaking them with me or killing Edi and cutting the Normandy's capabilities significantly, just as we're about to be forced into the biggest war we've ever seen."

Hackett's years of experience overrode his shock and his face became granite as all traces of his anger vanished. "Son-of-a-bitch, Shepard." He paused for just an instant. "You know I've got your back on this. You've never let me down yet and now is not the time for me to start questioning your judgment. But that's a big secret to keep and I'm not sure how we'll do it."

Shepard breathed a sigh of relief, confident that Hackett was going to support her on the issue. "I don't know either, Sir, but I need Edi as much as I need any of the members of my crew. She is the Normandy."

Shepard felt a gentle love touch from Liara as she faded from the link, comfortable knowing Hackett was on their side. {I've got to go, Siame. We'll talk later.}

"Alright, Shepard. I'll tell them 'hands off' and make up some black ops program name for the software suite you've developed and installed. The programmers will want to see it, poke it, and test it, but I'll just tell them they don't have the clearance required." Hackett shook his head. "It's going to make vetting new crewmembers pretty interesting too. Can't exactly ask them how they feel about working with a synthetic intelligence without letting the cat out of the bag."

A few days later, after lunch, Vega returned Shepard to her room. When they turned toward the confinement zone, Shepard stopped dead in her tracks. "What the hell, Lieutenant? I thought I was getting time in the training simulator today?"

Vega shrugged his shoulders. "Don't know, Commander. Someone must have taken your time slot, because I got a call from Hackett's office telling me to just take you back to your room."

"Gods be damned. I don't get in there often enough as it is. Always being shucked down to the bottom of the priority list really sucks." Shepard sighed. "And I'm not a commander anymore. Wish you'd quit calling me that. If I was, we'd be headed to the sim right now."

James laughed. "Yeah, yeah. You'll always be Commander Shepard. This shit's temporary, so might as well stay in the habit."

When they got to the room and she stepped in, James closed the door behind her and she heard the lock engage. She walked around the corner to head to her desk and froze.

"About damn time, Shepard. How much time do they give you for lunch in this joint, anyway?"

"Holy shit!" Shepard's face erupted into a huge grin and she wrapped her arms tightly around her visitor. "I'd long since given up on you ever showing up!"

Shepard pushed away, holding Lieutenant Colonel Sharon Culver out at arm's length. "Damn, you're a sight for sore eyes!"

"You too, Shep." Sharon pulled her back in for another hug. "I've missed you."

They stood together for a few moments before finally separating and sitting. "Even coming here to see you, I still can't believe you actually agreed to this shit. Voluntarily. Have you taken complete leave of your senses?"

Shepard laughed, not quite believing Culver was actually sitting in the room with her. "Didn't really have a choice if I ever wanted to serve in the Alliance again, and you know now's not the time to be screwing around with loyalties."

Culver nodded. "Yeah. Got the last update from Liara. It's a fucking mess out there. Everyone is more than happy to take the weapons upgrades and everything, but nobody wants to believe the Reapers are coming. Maybe they do, but they're still stuck in denial mode." She shook her head. "Either way, doesn't really matter. They won't be ready when the damn things show up at the relays."

Even though the situation didn't warrant it, Shepard smiled, still riding high on the emotions caused by the visit. "Gods, it's good to see you. But you're right. We won't be ready." She paused only briefly before continuing. "What about Special Ops? I know you haven't been shy about asking for info, but is there anything more we can do for you?"

Sharon shook her head. "Nope. I received the tactics updates from the training guys and Liara has passed all the data I need and is pretty quick to respond when I ask for anything, so I've got no complaints and that's not why I'm here. I'd love to say this is purely a social call..." Culver frowned slightly. "But that's not entirely true and I won't lie to you. Your girl wanted me to lay eyes on you, since she can't do it herself. Make sure you weren't fibbing to her about how you're doing."

Shepard laughed and stood up, spun around in front of Culver and then posed, flexing her biceps. "So what's the verdict, Colonel? How am I?"

Culver laughed as she spoke. "I think I have to tell her you've cracked from the stress of your confinement."

"Hey! Easy there! You're gonna deflate my self-image." Shepard laughed. "You've been had, Sharon. Liara and I talk every day. She just wanted me to have some company so I don't go stir-crazy." Shepard's smile faded a bit. "I've made my rounds through all the divisions and the interviews are getting fewer and farther between as the novelty wears off. Pretty much all I have to do now is read the status reports that Hackett sends me, eat, sleep and go to the gym with Vega. It's a pretty dry existence."

"Shit." Culver shook her head in disgust. "What a fucking waste of talent. You'd think they could come up with something for you to do."

Shepard flopped back down into her chair. "Please feel free to mention that to anyone and everyone you pass in the hallway. At least today I had combat sim time and was pissed as hell that someone bumped me." She grinned at Culver. "But I have a suspicion it was done on purpose... so I would have to come back to my room instead."

Sharon smiled. "Yeah, that was me. Actually it was Hackett, but yeah. Me." Culver suddenly stood up. "But..." She glanced at the door and grinned. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

Shepard stood with her and looked puzzled for a second before the grin spread on her face. "Hell yeah! It's been a long time, but I'll bet we can find our battle rhythm pretty quick."

Culver immediately went to the door and banged loudly. James opened it with a grin on his face. "Surprised, yeah?"

Culver laughed as Shepard rolled her eyes before throwing a mock glare toward the lieutenant. "You were in on it, Vega?"

He stood at the door and laughed. "Hell yeah, Commander. I'm the one told Blue you needed a distraction."

Shepard raised her eyebrows. "Blue?"

Vega squirmed nervously, "Uh, yeah. I mean Dr T'Soni."

"I know who you mean, Lieutenant." Shepard stared him down and his face turned a light shade of pink. "You do know she's my fiancée, right?"

James took a step back and raised both hands in surrender. "Whoa, now. She made that quite clear, Commander. I got no plans to try poaching your territory. Not that she'd give me even a first glance. That blue beauty leaves no doubt she's all yours, and I got no desire to find out what it's like to be tied into a pretzel."

Culver chuckled. "So, LT. That sim time still on the books?"

Thankful for the change of topic, James answered promptly. "Oh. Yes, Ma'am. It's being held open on Admiral Hackett's orders to make sure no one slipped in. He figured you two would end up there."

"Two?" Culver raised her eyebrows. "You're her damned watchdog. I'm not going in there with her by myself. Unless it's a solo infiltration mission, the scenarios we run in Spec Ops require a three-man team, minimum. Get your gear, Lieutenant."

James looked incredibly nervous at the prospect and scratched his head. "Ma'am. I'm not supposed to leave the commander when she's out of her room."

"For God's sake, man." Culver chuckled. "Pretty sure a special operations battalion commander can help one little lieutenant commander find her way to the combat simulator without getting lost. I'll take responsibility for her. Now go get your gear so we can get started." Vega grinned and eagerly trotted off down the hall.

When they emerged from the combat sim into the anteroom forty-five minutes later, Vega was practically staggering and Culver eyed Shepard critically. "I was concerned you'd be out of practice and out of shape, Shep, but you put us both to shame in there. If that's your 'out of practice' self, I'd hate to be fighting against you when you're in top form."

Shepard grimaced. "You go out there and fight mercs, Collectors and Reaper spawn for six solid months. See what it does for your combat skills. I could do most of that shit half asleep. Hell. I'm sure I have at one time or another."

Culver nodded. "I understand that. I'm thinking just surviving the six months was an accomplishment, but N-school didn't hurt much either, huh?"

Shepard smiled. "Well, yeah. Plus a lot of tips and trading secrets with Asari, Turians, Krogan, Salarians, Quarians... and all the... unique talent I brought to my team. Everybody brings something different to the fight, and when you combine it all? Well, you saw the result."

"Sure as hell did. Impressive is what it is." Culver jerked her head slightly to indicate Vega, who was leaning against the wall for support. "You need to take him in with you on a regular basis instead of him sitting on his ass outside the doors, doing nothing but waiting on you to finish. And before I leave, we're going to talk to Admiral Hackett. I know how you're going to spend the rest of your time here."

Shepard's eyebrows rose. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." Culver grinned. "I'm going to be sending you a squad at a time, new one every week or so, and you're going to be personally teaching them as much of that shit as they can absorb in their time here. Hackett would be a fool to decline the request, and he's nobody's fool. Trust me. You won't be bored anymore."

Her attention shifted to the lieutenant. "And you, Mr Vega, should be able to start helping her out after a couple of weeks in there with her."

Vega pushed himself up off the wall, a tired grin on his face. "Yes, Ma'am. Be happy to. I learned more in those forty-five minutes than I have in the last six months with the tactics and training guys here."

Culver nodded and turned her attention back to Shepard. "How about we talk to the Admiral and then hit the mess to replenish your reserves a bit? Then, hate to say it, but I've got to get back on the road."

"Sounds good." Shepard's smile faded a bit. "Except for that last part. It's been great spending some time with you, Sharon. I wish we could do it on a regular basis."

"Me too, Shep." Culver ran a hand through her short black hair, which now had tinges of silver starting to show through, and her voice got quiet. "Some days I really miss you."

Shepard shook herself. "Hey. Enough of that sad shit. When this is all done, we'll both take some vacation time and go do something together. Do some honest catch-up."

The smiles came back as Sharon clapped her on the shoulder. "Now, that sounds like a plan."

Hackett readily agreed to the training, his only consternation arising from the fact that he hadn't thought of it on his own. Shepard had no problem keeping busy after that, and as word spread, it wasn't just the special operations teams that ended up being sent for training. Her schedule was soon maxed out and Liara was thrilled, knowing Shepard didn't have time to be depressed about her situation anymore. Even better, Shepard knew she was actually contributing to the readiness effort and hoped the training would allow at least a few more soldiers to come out alive at the tail end of the war.

Liara's reports started to reflect contacts with Cerberus, all of them obviously looking for the same thing; a way to defeat the Reapers. Miranda ran into them on Eden Prime as she was checking on Oriana, prompting yet another relocation of her sister's family. She had finally told them all the truth about what was going on, and while Oriana's foster parents ran back to Earth in panic, Ori took the information with typical Lawson control. The last place she wanted to go was anywhere near the old family estate on Earth. Instead, she settled on one of the oldest existing Human colonies, Demeter, and got a job as an instructor at the Ross School of Art.

Arlyna ran into a Cerberus crew out in the Armstrong Nebula, checking out a Prothean ruin on Antibaar. Liara had laughed when Arlyna referred to the resultant altercation as "a nice little fight, over a nice little Prothean data disc... in the middle of a damn large Thresher nest." Arlyna promised the Chiroquol would drop by as soon as they could make transit to Earth to deliver the disc they had recovered. Given all the effort required to retrieve it, she hoped it contained something Liara could use.

Liara's most shocking report had come from Livos Tanni. Feron had somehow gotten a lead on an important cipher that was located, of all places, back on Kahje. As he led the team through the underwater shrine to the data archives, they were ambushed by a Cerberus team lying in wait. It quickly became evident to Livos that it was a set-up, but the Cerberus team was not prepared to handle three biotic commandos who had lived and worked together as a team for over a century. Feron was very unhappy with the outcome of the skirmish and tried to buy back his life with the codes to access the archives. Livos let him think he had a deal, but as soon as the data was copied and he handed her the disc, she pinned him to the wall with her biotics.

Captain Tanni growled, her voice coming from somewhere deep in her throat. "You are a worm. I know the stories. I know you worked for Cerberus and the Shadow Broker, all while you pretended to help Mistress Liara. When you figured out she was going to win, you changed sides and bought her favor the exact same way back then, with a data disc. But she never truly trusted you... apparently with good reason! That is why she assigned me to you. To watch. To listen." Livos' voice was filled with disdain. "There is little more precious than loyalty and nothing more evil than betrayal."

Livos kept Feron pinned to the wall and as he begged uselessly for his life, she pulled out her pistol. "You are kena sa'ki, but you will never have the opportunity to deceive her again."

They left his crumpled body with those of the Cerberus troops and quickly departed Kahje without a backward glance. Between the two discs, Liara was able to piece together a decryption key for various Prothean archives, one of which was on Mars. She immediately took the information to Admiral Hackett and was quickly granted access to the facility with instructions to the on-station personnel that Dr T'Soni's project would take precedence over all others currently in work. Riana completely took over the Normandy node of the Broker network and Liara relocated to Mars without delay.

The decryption key opened vast amounts of previously inaccessible data, but it was still all in Prothean text so progress was slow. In order to translate the data, Liara had to maintain a trace link over the vast distance between the Mars facility and Earth to tap into the Prothean Cipher Shepard carried in her head. It was exhausting for Liara and prompted more frequent nightmares on Shepard's side, but they forged ahead, not really having much choice. Their prolonged separation wasn't helping and they found that as more time passed, their link was slowly getting weaker, making it even more tiring to connect over the distance. Toward the end of the fifth month after the start of Shepard's incarceration, Liara finally located a block of data that was very unique. It was not normal historical data like the majority of the text they had previously translated. It contained diagrams and mathematical formulae that were difficult to understand, especially with the fatigue factor that had begun to set in, slowing the rate of progress yet again. Liara contemplated downloading everything to a portable archive and moving to Earth to be closer to her Cipher source, but the request was denied. The information was classified too high to be removed from the facility and there was no way Shepard could go to her, so knowing the danger was growing more critical by the day, she and Samantha struggled on, supporting one another as best as they could through each of their own challenges.

Liara felt she had just made a major breakthrough in the translation when she received dire news from one of two agents she had secreted away out in the Skyllian Verge, one in Kite's Nest and the other in the Petra Nebula, the two systems closest to Bahak. She immediately forwarded the information to Admiral Hackett before tapping Shepard through the link. The Batarian's home star cluster of Kite's Nest had gone dark, along with their homeworld of Khar'Shan. The Reapers had emerged from dark space and now had access to the relay in the Kite's Nest at Harsa. The Galaxy's preparation time had expired. The Reapers were no longer coming... They were here.

A/N: Wow! So, here we are... the final chapter of 'Working With the Enemy!' I just want to thank all of you who have come along for the ride... for your comments, critiques and encouragement. It's been fun, and I'm glad to have you aboard! Special thanks are due for Theodur, AlsoKnownAsMatt, Yestare70 and Old Gamer for your awesome feedback. You made writing this story so much more fun!

I'm in the process of sketching the outline for Book 4 - 'Could Not Stop for Death.' I imagine I should have an outline and the first couple of chapters through my Beta by mid-February so I can begin posting the next installment in the Chronicles of Samantha Shepard.

In the meantime, I'll continue to add chapters to the QuickShotsII series to continue the expansions on my OCs.

Hope to see you all on the flip-side!