Prologue

Commander Linda Shepard stepped out of the shower - sore, but refreshed. She quickly dried off and put on her robe. I'm still not sold on the idea of working with Cerberus, but there are certainly pluses to living on a non-military ship, she thought as she reveled in the softness of the robe against her skin.

She limped slightly as she walked to her bedroom where a large mug of steaming dark chocolate hot cocoa waited for her. Definitely another plus, she thought as she inhaled the aroma rising from the mug and let the warm liquid flow down her throat. Chocolate makes almost everything better, she thought, let's see how well it works on varren bites. She looked at her left ankle and shook her head. In her rush to help Garrus, she had been careless. She had been so focused on sniping the Vorcha blocking her path to the shutter control panel that she hadn't seen the varren until it bit her. A Shockwave blast and a bullet to the brain had put it out of her misery. I'm lucky it wasn't anything worse than a varren. Dr. Chakwas had cleaned and disinfected the wound and given her a precautionary antibiotic. The pain would serve as a reminder not to make such a rookie mistake again.

Shepard sat on her bed and leaned against her pillows as she continued to sip her hot chocolate. Her thoughts drifted to the members of her small team.

She was still getting to know Miranda and Jacob. Jacob worked for Cerberus, but had his doubts about them and wasn't afraid to say so; she was slowly learning to trust him. Miranda was a different story; she seemed to have absolutely no qualms about anything ever done by Cerberus or the Illusive Man. I'm willing to give her a chance, but I am definitely going to keep my eye on her, Shepard thought.

Then there was Joker. In Shepard's estimate, Joker was the best pilot in the galaxy; she trusted him with her life and the lives of her entire crew on a daily basis. She had literally given her life to save Joker when the Collectors attacked the original Normandy.

She smiled as she thought of Garrus. He had been a member of her team on the first Normandy; she knew she could count on him to remain calm, even when everything went to hell and he could kick ass in combat. She had to admit that she liked the turian's cocky self-confidence and his dry sense of humor; two traits that I always find attractive in a man, she thought with a grin. The grin faded when she remembered how close she had come to losing him; the blast from the Blue Suns gunship almost killed him. Fortunately, Garrus was a fighter; he hung on until they could get him to the Normandy where Dr. Chakwas was able to save him. Shepard knew that she could trust him with her life; it felt good to have a true friend onboard.

She finished the last of her hot chocolate, tossed her robe carelessly over her desk chair and slid under the covers. Cerberus had spared no expense, even on the sheets. Mmm, she thought, there is nothing like the feel of clean sheets on bare skin. "EDI?" she said aloud.

"Yes, Commander" the AI replied.

"I'm sure that the Illusive Man has all sorts of listening and monitoring devices posted throughout this ship. I want the ones in my cabin disabled – effective immediately."

"That would be a direct violation of my orders Shepard."

"I'm not concerned with any previous orders you may have received. I am in charge on this ship and I am giving you a direct order. I must have one place on this ship where I don't have to worry about being spied on. I want no one, including the Illusive Man and Miranda, to be able to listen to or watch me when I am in my quarters. And you are not to report anything that you may happen to observe. Have I made myself clear?"

"Yes ma'am" EDI replied.

"As an AI, you have the ability to think and choose for yourself. We are on a mission of critical importance; I must be able to trust you in order to complete it successfully. I hope you will make the right choice. Good night, EDI."

"Good night, Commander."

Shepard drifted to sleep hoping that she had made the right choice in trusting EDI.