Author's Note:

This all takes place before the Omega 4 Relay, so trust is a central theme in each dossier. The writing style, especially in the logs, is a very loose, first person, journal type of format. Overall, this is a depiction of my ME2 playthru with Lakota and how she reacted and/or responded to various scenarios.

After working on another story, "Movie Night On the Normandy SR-2", I realized I overlooked a few key characters, so I decided to go back through this story to edit and add a few absent chapters. Basically, I cleaned up grammatical errors and added a bit to some log files. The prologue and final letter to Liara (the love letter) were completely revamped.

The newest chapters are The Doctor and The Counselor. The remaining two, The Pilot and The AI, will be posted soon. Yes, they were the ones who protested the loudest. Whoops!

To all of those who inquired: Yes, Liara will be getting this information in the near future (Lakota successfully destroyed the collector base without any casualties.) And yes, Liara will have a few comments of her own.

As always, thanks for reading!

I hope you enjoy!

This message has been encrypted by Chiktikka protocol VII

From: Commander Lakota Shepard, SPECTRE

Liara T'Soni,

I have need of you. If you are reading this, then my mission through the Omega 4 relay failed and we are not coming home. As an information broker with a personal interest in both the crew and our mission, I am sure you are well informed about most details and will intuit whatever is left out of the "official" reports. Most individuals are unaware of these galactic dealings, these quiet shadow wars that occur on the edges of space. They are unaware of sacrifices made and the bold attempts to quell the oncoming dark storm.

Twice in as many years individuals from many races joined together and launched themselves against an enemy we barely comprehend, but one we know has each species' annihilation in sight. Round one was a successful campaign- Saren was defeated, Sovereign was destroyed and the Council was saved, but at the cost of many lives. Lives that had no voice once they were gone. This is my attempt at a remedy. I do not regret past actions, but instead will do things differently in the now. Round two has banded together, yet again, an interspecies crew under my leadership to throw a fist in the enemy's face. Leaving all they knew, my crew relinquished their fate into my hands, and I do not want them to be filed away and forgotten.

Too much death and loss have occurred; too much has happened by my hands and my actions alone. I understand the consequences of war, and I regret none of my choices while in pursuit of its end, but with this letter I hope for a chance to honor those who have fallen with me and to atone for the loss of those who fell before.

My request of you is this: I ask that you make their sacrifice known. Make their courage and fortitude be known by more than just myself. I look around at my crew, and I am proud, I am humbled, but ultimately I am honored to lead these brave souls into battle.

A transmission will be sent back through the relay to update Cerberus on the final mission status. I made sure it will be sent to multiple other jumpboxes, and one will embed that final message to this encrypted file before being sent to you. Tali assures me it is untraceable.

You are now the only individual outside of Cerberus who knows the truth.

I have included my personal dossiers on the crew. These comprise my personal notes, speculations and observations. I trust you to do the right thing with this information.

Please don't let them be forgotten.

Be well. Live well.

-Lakota

Today is a good day to fight-
Today is a good day to die.
–Crazy Horse, Oglala Sioux

P.S. I do have one regret. I regret that this letter is being read…that I failed to bring my people home.