The stars flickered and dimmed as the Normandy ventured deeper into the Sea of Storms. Kasumi pressed her face close to the window, trying to make out anything in the cloudy murk beyond. They were circling now, spiraling closer. But closer to what? There were no planets, no settlements, no anything for light years in any direction.

She was about to give up her search when a sinister mountain appeared where no land should be. Black against gray, it was difficult to make out through the clouds. The nebula thinned as the ship approached, revealing a symmetrical peak below, forming a giant dark diamond in the sky. Whatever it was, as large as it loomed, it had to be huge.

With most of her access revoked, Kasumi had to resort to getting information the old-fashioned way, with the only entity on the Normandy still talking to her. "EDI," she called out. "What is that?"

In spite of everything, EDI still dutifully provided what information she had. "Legion refers to it as 'Heretic Station.' It is the central data repository and processing hub for the splinter faction of the geth."

Kasumi gawked at the massive structure. Vast curves swept from the ends of the station like horns, giving the appearance of a giant alien skull suspended in nothingness. "How many are there?"

"Legion estimates in excess of six billion individual geth processes, with two and a half million available hardware platforms."

A thousand individual geth resided in Legion's platform. Six million times that lived on the station beyond, inhabiting up to two million Legions, all united in the reaper's cause to wipe out all organic civilizations in the galaxy. And the Normandy was heading straight towards their hive. "What are we doing here?"

"Legion suspects the Heretics are planning a viral attack on the entire geth collective. Commander Shepard's intent is to board the station so Legion can access their data core and prevent it. He is organizing a landing party as we speak."

"Who's going with them?"

"Tali and Jacob will be providing security."

Kasumi's stomach churned worse than when a high-risk job went wrong. "No one else?"

"The rest of the squad will stand by as a reaction force, as per standard operating procedure."

"Oh god." Kasumi began to pace. Jacob and Tali wouldn't have to work very hard to make their accident a reality. On a station swarming with geth, all it would take was one mis-aimed burst of disruptor fire or a lack of cover fire at a critical moment to turn a close call into a fatality. Either way, Legion would be finished.

Kasumi sat. What could she do? If she ratted them out, there would be repercussions. The lengths Tali and Jacob went to try and dispose of Legion in the mess proved that. They wouldn't forgive, or forget, and she'd be looking over her shoulder every time they went on a mission if they ever found out she revealed their plot.

You have to warn him, she thought. But then what would Legion do if it suspected treachery? Would it hide behind Shepard? Or simply join the fray, siding with its mechanical brethren and eliminate the intruding organics? And what would Shepard do? He'd have no chance to investigate, no chance to talk it out like always, no time to figure out who started it. He'd only see a rogue geth attacking his friends. How else could he react, in that split second, except to put Legion down?

"Ten minutes," EDI said, not to her directly, but over shipwide PA. "All stations maintain alert."

She cradled her head in her hands. Maybe the best course was to do nothing. Legion might not even be telling the truth. What if Jacob was right the whole time and there were no heretics, only geth? What if finding Legion on the reaper was an elaborate trap set by the geth to eliminate the Normandy? What if everything she'd done only served to lead Shepard to his death?

If Legion wanted Shepard dead, all he had to do was wait for Shepard and Garrus to start bickering and pull the trigger. You were there. And boy did they give him a lot of chances to do it. Not to mention what happened after. Her mind wandered back to the unnamed planet in the backwaters of the galaxy, when darkness fell and the air turned frigid, when Legion's spotlight swept across the rocks, desperately searching for her in the night.

She walked and stood in front of the hatch's red, glowing panel. "EDI, I need to see Shepard. Right now."

"I'm sorry, Kasumi. You are confined to Port Observation until further notice."

"Then just let me talk to him. It's important."

"Commander Shepard is not accepting communications at this time."

Kasumi clenched her teeth. She could get through any door on the Normandy in seconds, but could she make it to the Briefing Room before EDI triggered a ship-wide alert? Because that's what would happen if she forced an escape. Garrus and his tracking elixir would make sure of that. If anybody got in her way, she wouldn't be able to charm her way out of it.

She stared at the hatch as if she could will it open. She was running out of time. Her only hope was that as with Legion, she was dealing with something more than circuits and electrons. "Tell him it's life or death. Please."

"I will relay your request," EDI said. Several long seconds passed. The panel winked from red to green and the hatch hissed open. "Commander Shepard has cleared you to join him in the Briefing Room. I must caution you against any deviation."

"Thank you!" Undignified and in full view, she sprinted into the corridor and she slapped the elevator call button. Of course, it was stuck on another deck. She scrambled to the port access ladder, trailing a cloud of invisible tracking particles in her wake.

Out of habit, she slowed to peek before entering the central corridor from the lab. The hatches to both the Briefing Room and Armory stood open. Jacob walked past the opposite end cradling an ammo crate. She pulled back to wait and listen.

From the left, she heard Garrus's distinctive lilt. "That's an awfully long way to go if we have to come get you. How many platforms are there, again?"

"Two point four million," Miranda said. "Station-wide."

"According to Legion," Shepard said, "they'll be dormant. As long as we move with care, they won't wake up."

Garrus didn't sound convinced. "According to Legion."

Keeping an eye on the armory hatch, Kasumi skulked into the Briefing Room where she found Normandy's senior staff studying a holo schematic of the skull-station. Shepard was already suited up, sporting his trademark red stripe down one arm, with Miranda and Garrus both armed with datapads. She closed the hatch behind her.

Shepard kept staring at the holo. "Make it quick, Kasumi."

Kasumi's voice failed her. The only thing thieves reviled more than the law was a snitch, but there was no turning back now. "Jacob and Tali are working together against Legion. They staged the fight in the mess to take him out and make it look like an accident. And they'll try again as soon as you set foot on that station."

Shepard and Miranda scowled at her as they considered her words. Garrus crossed his arms, rounding out the tribunal. "And you know this, how?"

Kasumi struggled to keep calm. "How do you think? Shepard, listen to me. If you take them with you, they'll kill him!"

Both Garrus and Miranda looked toward Shepard. But instead of showing fury, shock, or even mild consternation, Shepard leaned forward against the table and contemplated the complicated route plotted on the station schematic before him. "They'd better not."

Kasumi gawked at him. "That's all you're going to say?"

His eyes flicked to her from the schematic. "Remember what I said about trust?"

"At least let me come with you-"

"No. Let's get ready to go."

"You're dismissed," Miranda said.

Garrus nodded toward the hatch. "You need to back to the lounge. I assume you know the way." His tone made it clear it wasn't a request.

Kasumi stared at Shepard, but he stayed focused solely on the station diagram. She tapped the door control walked back into the corridor, dazed as if she'd been punched in the face. Trust, she thought. Shepard's faith in his friends was endearing, naive even, but he hadn't seen the rage in Jacob's eyes when he faced down the geth. That kind of acid could burn through anything.

But what could she do now? Sneak aboard the station? Jump out in the middle of a firefight as Tali and Jacob sprung their trap, exclaiming "Aha, I have you now!"

"Double up on arc grenades," Jacob's voice carried from the Armory. "Plenty to go around. Don't be shy."

Kasumi looked toward the lab, which led back to CIC, the elevator, and finally the lounge. Waiting for her there was a comfy couch, a trashy romance and a nice glass of merlot. In a few days, maybe, people might forget. Everything would get back to normal. And if they didn't, the ship, it's mission, and the people aboard wouldn't be her problem anymore. She'd be on her own again. Anything more wouldn't be her problem, or her fault.

And if you're lucky, only Legion will be dead.

Slowly, hesitantly, she turned left instead of right. The snaps and clicks of weapons being readied filled the Armory. Clasps came together and equipment latched to hardpoints. Jack, dwarfed by Grunt, helped tighten the massive krogan's plates where it was hard for him to reach. Thane stood at a workbench, assembling his rifle, with Samara atop the same table in the lotus position, her eyes aglow with raw biotic power. Zaeed, already loaded for bear, methodically loaded arc grenades into the webbing on his armor. Even Mordin had been pulled away from his research. He fiddled with his omnitool, optimizing it for maximum effect against the geth.

Jacob walked among them, fully armed and armored, double checking the smallest details for anything out of place. He stopped when he saw her standing in the hatchway. "What the hell are you doing here?"

In unison, everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at her. Samara came out of her trance, gracefully sliding off of the workbench to face her along with the rest of the squad. Accusation burned in their eyes, fueled by pure, unadulterated suspicion.

Kasumi lived in the safety of shadow. Visibility equalled vulnerability. Now she stood alone and unarmed in plain sight of the greatest team of killers in the galaxy. She ignored them all, focusing on Jacob. "Don't do it," she said.

The rest of the squad glanced at one another at the non-sequitur but Jacob shouted past her into the corridor. "Shepard!"

Footfalls marched in from the conference room, blocking her from behind. Kasumi was out of escape routes, and out time, but she kept outwardly calm. "He's telling the truth. Give him a chance."

"Kasumi," Shepard said from behind.

She kept staring at Jacob, tears in her eyes. "Please don't do it."

"Come on," Shepard said. "Let's go."

Kasumi turned around to see Shepard flanked by Miranda and Garrus in the corridor. Judging from their expressions, if she made any move other than to exit the Armory, she was done. Shepard stood aside to let her pass, and she lowered her head to avoid everyone's glares as she left.

Shepard and Miranda lingered behind, but Garrus kept pace, a prison guard marching her to her cell. After depositing her in Port Observation, he locked the hatch her without saying a word.

Kasumi stumbled to her couch and sank into the cushions, drained. While the ship shuddered and clanked as it docked with the station, one thought dominated her mind.

Please let everyone come back alive.

"All hands," EDI announced. "Brace for maneuvering."

Kasumi felt her stomach drop as the Normandy broke away from the station. They stayed close, drifting across its surface with maneuvering thrusters instead of the main engines. Maybe fifteen minutes had passed since Shepard and the others had boarded. Were they back already? Had they been turned away by the geth, forcing a retreat? If so, why wasn't the ship fleeing the nebula?

She rezzed up her decoy as she lay on the couch and removed herself from the physical world to use omnitool unobserved. All she needed was an open connection somewhere in CIC that might tell her what was going on.

Her only option near the cockpit was Hawthorne's datapad, carelessly left open on his console in the neck of the ship. She activated its cameras and mic. From the angle she couldn't see into the cockpit, but she could at least make out the airlock hatch. Grunt and Jack stood stood just inside her view, gripping weapons, ready to rush through. Thane stood behind them, hands clasped, eyes closed in meditation. Shepard and the boarding party were nowhere to be seen.

Miranda's voice and irritation carried through from the cockpit. "What is it with Shepard and countdowns?"

"I don't usually notice until it gets to single digits," Garrus said from somewhere nearby.

"I know, right?" Joker said. "Wake me when it gets down to three."

"I swear he does this intentionally," Miranda muttered. "There, to port! We can get in there!"

"Got it," Joker confirmed. "Shepard, do you read? We're pulling in now, fifty meters from your position... Shit, sounds like they're in trouble."

"One minute to detonation," EDI told them.

Detonation? Kasumi's heart skipped a beat as she glanced out the nearby window. Detonation of what? The ship rocked sharply, followed by metallic scrapes and clanks as it nuzzled back against the geth station.

"Get ready," Garrus said. "They're coming in hot." The airlock hatch whooshed open and the squad poured through the hatch, following Garrus one after another as they'd done dozens of times before. "Go! Go! Go!"

Gunfire erupted outside of the airlock. Miranda stepped into view and sealed the inner hatch, alternately monitoring the airlock over a camera feed and looking through the cockpit windows to the front. "Stand by!"

"Thirty seconds," EDI said.

More gunfire and more explosions sounded outside, increasing in tempo and intensity until it suddenly stopped. "We're in!" Shepard shouted over the comm speaker. "Go!"

Miranda did a quick count and grabbed a nearby handhold. "Punch it, Joker!"

Kasumi wedged herself into the couch as the ship vaulted away from the station. Seconds later, the cold dark gas which surrounded the ship flared white, then faded slowly back to nothingness. When she was sure Joker was done flinging the ship around, she released her hold and whipped her omnitool back in front of her.

"Hell yeah!" Jack backpedalled from the airlock, high-fiving Grunt behind her. The krogan cackled with glee as they both turned to greet the others coming out of the airlock. Cheers and whistles erupted from around the nearby stations as the crew welcomed the squad back aboard.

"Shepard's assessment, scientifically accurate," Mordin stepped into view, examining his armor for damage, sounding chipper as usual. "That was an actual shitload of geth."

"Did everyone see me drill that rocket midair at the end?" Garrus said as he made room for the others. "I just want you all to appreciate that I saved everyone's lives again."

Shepard didn't sound impressed. "Surprised you could see it, far back as you like to hide."

The laughs at Garrus's self-aggrandizing and Shepard's rebuttal were interrupted by a harsh shout. "Move!" Tali shoved her way through the group and stormed down the corridor back to CIC, leaving a sea of surprised faces in her wake.

Jack was the first the chime in. "The fuck's her problem?"

Shepard watched for a moment then disappeared into the cockpit. "Joker, we clear?"

"Sure are," Joker replied. "No sign of pursuit. Left a pretty good divot in the nebula, though. What'd you do back there?"

Jacob appeared in the airlock. "Debugged the heretics, Normandy-style."

"Good job, everybody," Shepard said, back in view and back in Commander mode. "Let's get everything stowed and get the hell out of here. Miranda, Jacob? Briefing room, soon as you can." He leaned into the airlock as he passed. "You too, Legion."

"Shepard-Commander," Legion said from the other side.

Upon hearing the geth's voice, Kasumi slumped against the armrest, relief washing over her like a wave. Everyone was back, safe and sound.

"Yo, Legion," Jacob said over the still-live connection. "Give me a hand with the gear, would you?"

"Acknowledged." Legion stepped into the corridor, covered with impacts and burns, facing down a ring of armed, dumbfounded organics. Give their weapons to the geth?

Jacob beckoned to them all. "C'mon, hand 'em over. Chop-chop. Shepard's waiting on us."

Wearing the same stunned expression as her shipmates, Kasumi watched Jacob and Legion secure the squad's arms in lockers for transport to storage. One by one they handed them over, giving each other silent looks as everything was peacefully packed away.

As usual, Jacob lagged behind, securing the equipment for return to storage. With a grunt he hefted the heavy crate in his arms and departed for the Armory, followed closely by a geth carrying its own collection of instruments of destruction through the ship's command center.

Kasumi smiled, even though no one would see it or the tears in her eyes. "That son of a bitch stole my job."

Still imprisoned in the lounge, Kasumi sat at the bar accompanied by a bottle and a shot glass and its third refill. The first two had been just to pass the time. The third was primed for when someone came along with news that required she drink it. It was late. Dinner had already been served, and by now Gardner had already cleaned and mopped and prepped for the next shift. How weird was it, she thought, that she actually missed helping with the dishes?

The hatch opened behind her. She didn't need to look to see who it was. "Hey, Shep."

Shepard walked into view next to her, fresh and clean, free of the residues of combat. "Drinking alone?"

Kasumi smiled. "Well it's hard to throw a house party when the landlord locks the door."

"What is that?"

"Uh," Kasumi blinked as she tried to focus on the unlabeled bottle. She was feeling quite warm on the inside. "Good question. Zaeed made it."

"Pretty gutsy drinking something made by a guy who lives in waste disposal." Shepard sniffed the open bottle and immediately recoiled. "Whew!"

"I believe the technical term for it is 'hootch.' I'm not sure of the vintage."

"Yesterday, judging from the fumes." Shepard reached over the bar for a glass and poured himself a shot, then held it up in a toast.

"Keep away from open flame." Kasumi clinked her glass against his and they downed them together. They both winced and coughed.

Shepard looked at the bottom of the glass. "So, Zaeed's got a still, does he?"

Kasumi groaned. Intentional or not, she'd ratted someone out again. "You didn't hear that from me."

"Relax, I already know. Hell, it's in his contract. What, you didn't read that part of his file?"

Kasumi hung her head. In spite of the alcohol, the sting from Shepard's earlier rebuke was back in full force. It didn't help that, once again, she was guilty as hell. She'd read everybody's files.

"So," Shepard leaned with his elbow against the counter. "If I asked who you're working for, would you tell me?"

Kasumi looked him in the eye. "I work for you."

"I don't remember asking you to spy on my crew. Or on me, for that matter." That made her turn away. "Kasumi, look at me. What have you been doing? And why? If you don't tell me I have to assume the worst."

Kasumi flung her hands in the air. "I was just... being me!"

"That's not going to cut it." Shepard sat next to her and waited for an answer. But he didn't get one. He sighed. "You know, almost everybody on this ship has been royally screwed over one time or another. Some multiple times. But as much bad blood as we've got here, as crazy as this lot is, we've never faced a double cross from the inside."

"And you still haven't."

"Mmm-hmm. And if you did, you wouldn't lie to me. Right?"

Kasumi stared at the counter. She dodged Legion when he asked the same question. And just like with the geth, she couldn't come clean with Shepard now. She swiveled on the stool to face him. "Let me ask you something." It was another deflection, but a valid one. "After everything you did for me, you honestly think I'd do anything to hurt you?"

"Not from what I've seen, no. But then I don't see everything, do I?"

Kasumi turned back to the bar. "Just say what you came here to say. Let's get this over with."

"All right, then. Jacob came to see me after we got back. He told me about what you were really up to with Legion. What he was up to, with Tali. What really went down in the mess. Now that's a disaster of a whole different scale, but that wasn't your doing it was mine. I appreciate everything you did for Legion, and for me. It could've gone differently over there."

Kasumi felt the tears building. "That's all I wanted. I never meant to cause any trouble."

"That's the truth?"

"And nothing but the truth."

Shepard looked at her, weighing her response. "Things might be rough for you the next few days. The crew's pretty steamed. But... I think we can smooth it over, provided that I can reassure them that whatever was happening, it won't happen anymore. Can I do that? I mean, you work for me, right?"

"Absolutely. That I promise."

"All right."

Kasumi tensed, surprised at how much his next response meant. "Does this mean I can stay?"

Shepard shrugged. "If I kicked you off the ship, could I be sure you were really gone? Best to keep you here where we can keep an eye on you."

Kasumi half laughed, half cried and hugged him, tears running down her cheeks. "Thanks, Shep."

He gave her a pat on the back, then stood. "I'll see Miranda about restoring your privileges and you're free to move about the ship, just... don't be sneaky about it."

"I'll do my best," Kasumi said with a guilty grin. "Old habits die hard."

"Let's hope they don't." Shepard halted in the hatch on his way out. "By the way, squad meeting in the morning. 0700. See you there. I hope."

"You will."

Shepard winked and left. With a massive exhalation, Kasumi collapsed against the bar. With three shots in her belly and the weight of the world off her shoulders, she wanted nothing more than to curl up and read herself to sleep. She stood and ambled toward her refuge, but turned halfway toward the corridor. There was something else she had to do first.

The hatch indicator to the armory glowed green, so Jacob hadn't locked himself in, nor had Kasumi been barred from entry. She passed through and found him at the forward table, staring at a screen. He held his chin in his hand, his expression blank as pages flipped by.

"Burning the midnight oil, huh?" she asked from the hatch.

"Huh?" Jacob closed the holo and sat back in his chair. "Nah. Just wrapping up some things. What's up?"

"I didn't mean to intrude. I just wanted to come by and say thanks. For straightening everything out with Shepard."

Jacob shrugged. "You were right and I was wrong."

No qualification, no weasel words, Kasumi thought. Straight and to the point. Jacob never worried about dancing with truth. "If you don't mind me asking... what changed your mind?"

He reactivated the screen and she looked over his shoulder. It showed a spreadsheet, with names and locations and other data she couldn't make out.

"What is it?"

"Everyone killed on Eden Prime."

Kasumi blinked. The page showed a record count of 10,315, every line a life ended. "I'm so sorry," she said, not just for the dead but for dragging them back into the present.

"Don't be," Jacob shook his head. "People are going to finally be able to close some books. I'm just giving it a first pass. If it looks legit, Shepard'll send it to Arcturus, and if it lines up with what they know, they'll start making official notifications."

"I thought you said no one knew...? Where'd you get it?"

"Legion got it for me. Pulled it down from the heretic data core before we slagged it. You want to hear something funny? All that shit you were talking about the geth sharing everything? Turns out they don't. When they sent Legion to Eden Prime to find Shepard, they loaded him up with everything they knew about the place. But the pictures I showed him at lunch didn't match his data archive. There were discrepancies."

"What do you mean?"

"The most recent data the geth had on Eden Prime came from the heretics. But what I showed him didn't match."

"The heretics lied to them," Kasumi murmured.

"Yeah," Jacob said, staring at the list. "Not that it happened. I mean, Eden Prime was documented well enough that they couldn't cover that up. But the details? They apparently left some things out. Legion couldn't reconcile it. So he figured if I wasn't lying the heretics had to be. Took my word over theirs, you believe that? So he asked Shepard to help him find out the truth. When he accessed their core, he found they'd been holding out all kinds of things. That's when things got interesting."

"He set the station to self destruct?"

"No. That was Shepard's call. Legion didn't know what to do. It really knocked him for a loop. So he left it up to Shepard." Jacob shook his head. "But I swear after after that, something in Legion clicked. He started ripping through them faster than any of us, Tali or me included. I know he's just a machine, but... I don't know. I think he was madder than I was."

Kasumi nodded, finally understanding. "The deliberate alteration or deletion of data is a hostile act."

"Huh?"

"Something Legion's been trying to tell me."

Jacob stared at her. "He's pretty sharp, isn't he? You shouldn't lie to your friends."

"I know. I-" The lie was all too ready to come out; the witty deflection, the flippant dismissal. But she checked herself. "It's been a while since I've had any."

Jacob looked around, unsure of what to say. "Well, uh. I'd better get back to it. Shepard's waiting."

"Yeah," Kasumi said and backed toward the hatch. "I'll let you get back to work. Sorry to interrupt."

"No interruption. Thanks for setting me straight back there." He pointed to the screen. "And especially for this."

"No charge."

"Hey, don't know if you heard but we got a squad meeting tomorrow morning. You won't want to miss it."

"I won't." Kasumi smiled. "I'll be there. Good night."

All eyes were on Kasumi as she entered the mess. They squad sat around or stood around the table with Garrus at the end, all waiting. Grunt, Jacob, Jack, Mordin, Thane, Samara and Zaeed... even Miranda was present, tapping on her datapad. Their conversations and smiles all disappeared when they saw her; no good-mornings, no curses, no reactions at all.

It's too late to back out now, she thought and sauntered to the table. How many times in her life had she exuded normalcy as security swarmed past, rushing to where she used to be? This time the cops, and her victims, were waiting for her. She took the empty seat between Mordin and Jack. The pressure in the air was unbearable.

"Morning," Jacob said, throwing her a lifeline.

"Good morning," she said. "How's everyone today?" They all just stared at her for what seemed like hours. She cleared her throat. "So, one time I was at this bar and a guy sat down next to me who had just gone through a really awful lawsuit. And he was wasted, ranting on and on about how he'd gotten screwed out of everything. I tried to ignore him but then he does this," Kasumi jabbed her finger at Mordin, "and yells, 'All lawyers are thieves!' I looked him straight in the eye and screamed, 'You take that back!' He gets right in my face and says, 'What, are you a lawyer?' And I said, 'Hell no, I'm a thief!'"

The joke got only thin smiles and head shakes, but it was a vast improvement over dead stares and silence. Fortunately, Zaeed came to her grouchy rescue. "Alright, she's here. Can we finally get started?"

"Patience," Garrus said. "We're still waiting on a couple of people."

Kasumi glanced around. The only person missing was Tali. Kasumi and Jacob had mended their fences, but what would the quarian's reaction be seeing her for the first time since their stormy return from the Heretic Station?

Movement in the infirmary windows caught Kasumi's eyes, providing the explanation for Tali's absence. Everyone else turned to look as Shepard walked from the infirmary, with Legion a step behind. Together, they walked to stand behind Garrus. Legion's camera darted around the faces around the table as the gathered organics returned its scrutiny.

"Morning everybody." Shepard said. "I'll try to keep this short so Garrus can get on with your regular scheduled briefing. We've got a lot on our plates the next few days. But I wanted to take a minute to personally introduce the newest member of our team. Effective immediately, Legion will be joining us on all operations, on and off the ship."

Thus began a chain reaction of sidelong glances around the table, with Garrus and Miranda both carefully gauging the reactions of everyone assembled. At least this time, Shepard was doing his own dirty work, but the announcement was greeted with the same enthusiasm as when Kasumi entered the mess.

Shepard knew better than to wait for applause. "I know this is a radical change, and not everyone will be comfortable with it. Toward that end, and to help him better integrate with the squad, Jacob's volunteered to be his mentor. So for the next few weeks, where Jacob goes, Legion goes."

The ricocheting glances all landed on Jacob who leaned back in his chair, hands behind his head. "Buddy system. Tried and true. You ready, partner?"

"Yes," Legion replied.

Kasumi covered her mouth. It was all she could do to keep from bawling.

Jack cocked an eye at Jacob. She wasn't the only one. "You for real?"

"I'm telling you, wait until you see him in action. Dude's unstoppable. We need him pulling a trigger, not pushing a broom. Hell, he might even be a better shot than Garrus."

Garrus held up a finger. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves, here."

Shepard crossed his arms. "I believe it."

"Your opinion doesn't count. We already proved we're both a better shot than you." Garrus looked over his other shoulder. "Legion, did you happen to record that little competition?"

Legion raised its arm to retrieve the requested video from its omnitool, but Shepard pulled it away. "Woah, woah, woah," He looked back at Jacob. "We putting money on this?"

Miranda held up her datapad. "Before we get into that-"

Garrus shrugged. "I'll take your money again. Legion's, too."

"Goddamn it," Miranda muttered through clenched teeth. It had already gone off the rails.

"Interesting question," Mordin blinked. "Do geth utilize currency?"

"I'll stake him," Jacob said. "Should we be writing this down?"

"I'm in," Jack slapped the table. "Fifty on Scarface."

"Me too," Zaeed said, showing interest for the first time that morning. Even Thane leaned forward, contemplating both the organic and mechanical snipers before him like a child on the fringe waiting to be asked to play.

Kasumi settled in her chair, enjoying the shift in attention and mood in equal measure. In the midst of it all, Legion watched as always, its head swaying and lens swirling in confusion, no longer a source of terror but potential revenue. With a little luck and a little work, honest work, she'd get back in everyone's good graces too.

Legion must have noticed her looking, because it locked its spotlight eye directly on her. Its headflaps expanded, and she responded with a warm smile and wave of her hand over the table. I'll explain later.

Did the geth have any idea how close it came to destruction, she wondered? Did anyone in the room, even Shepard or Jacob, fully comprehend what conspired to lead them all to this point, organizing a shooting competition with a geth? It was the greatest con she ever pulled, and no one would ever know.

But then again, that's the way she liked it.

The End - Followed by "Tomorrow's Dawn (For Tomorrow trilogy pt 2)"

A/N: Well, this story took way longer and ended up being longer than I anticipated. Before I started, I thought I was done with Mass Effect after For Tomorrow We Die, but here we are. Now I'm stuck with the thought that writing a prequel to the almost decade-old Tomorrow's Dawn has opened up a host of inconsistencies and continuity errors. I bet if I started a re-write to TD, I could be done with it as early as the year 2028...

As usual, thanks for reading!