A/N: Welcome everyone to the Legion of One series. Although I've been writing for ten years now, I've actually never written something Sci-fi before this fanfiction. But I am hoping to bring something new to the Mass Effect fanfiction community, especially to all fans of FemShep/Garrus. I hope that if you wish for me to continue the story, you may leave a word (advice or just a nice little note to get me going). Although, the longer and the more constructive the review, the happier I will be.

Be informed that this is an AU. And that Shepards character here is influenced by a special past I've made for her. So she's not quite as- Shepard-like as she is in the series but you'll still see her shine. In this respect, expect that a lot of the dialogue has been changed (maybe some will remain verbatim).

Any important notes will be put on my profile hereafter, since this place has gotten stricter than I remembered.

Summary: AU, Shepard didn't care much for glory or fame. Only that what she was due was given to her in full. But an oversight in her part to thank Commander Alenko for saving the galaxy and doing her favors he didn't even mean to do, tips her silent world into the clutches of the Reaper War. Set from post-ME1 till the end of ME2. Eventual FemShep/Garrus.

Pairing/s: FemShep/Garrus, Alenko/Williams, mentions of Garrus/others and FemShep/others. POV for now has Alenko, but later, it will focus on Garrus and Shepard POVs only.

Warnings: Un-beta'ed (I've proofread, but expect regular updates to come with fixing up kinks), strong language, gore, death (and possible major character death) sexual situations/conversations, violence, expect a long and drawn story with minimal fluff- since I have to build the Shepard/Garrus friendship from scratch. Updates will be once or twice a week. For now, rating will be T but will be bumped up to M soon enough because of violence.

Shepard: Paragade (ish), Sole Survivor, Earthborn (with a twist), Infiltrator (a little like the N7 Shadow we see in multiplayer, ME3)

Disclaimer: The Mass Effect series is owned by Bioware and the company's fellows. No copyright infringement is intended.

Enjoy!

Prologue

2183. 05. 12.

Message Title: Let me return the favor

Dear Commander Alenko,

All of citadel space owes you their lives. But you've done me a favor of a more personal nature than you know. I'd like to thank you in person. A drink, maybe? Meet in Flux as soon as you're able.

From,

A friend

P.S. If you feel threatened, you may bring your ground team. All of them, if you like. I owe them drinks too.

P.P.S. If you bring your ground team, would prefer that Williams not be in it. But I know I have little hope of that happening. Just wanted it out there.

Unsure of what to make of the message, Commander Alenko stood in front of his terminal for a long, long while.

The message was different from most of the ones that ended up in his personal account. There was no sense of "awe" or "threat." And it was short and to the point. Though, the fact that the person knew about his ground team, knew about how often he brought Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams, was disconcerting. If he told Ashley about this message, she would probably freak out and tell him to ignore it. He knew he was going to tell her anyway. But not alone. His ground team ought to accompany him, as the person said. And then maybe the whole team would freak out and tell him to ignore it.

Everything about it was something he would usually ignore. But he was curious and intrigued. There was no way he could just leave it be.

Declaring shore leave for the Normandy for the next week, his crew was dismissed save for his ground team whom he asked to gather near the elevator at the docks.

Williams gave him a knowing smirk. "Ready to cut loose, Commander?"

Alenko couldn't help but smile back. "There's that, Chief. But, there's something else more pressing." He forwarded the mail to their omni-tools. "Someone is buying us a drink."

"Though grudgingly in Williams's case." Garrus chuckled as he read. Williams sent him a glare.

"I don't know, Commander." Liara looked up from reading the message. "This could be a trap."

Tali shook her head, with a flurry of her fingers on her omni-tool. "I can't trace where the mail came from either, there might be an ambush set for us there. Flux is barely a hole in the wall with the destruction."

"But, it's a pretty public place for a trap. Barely any good sniping vantage points since the Citadel crumbled." Garrus closed his omni-tool.

"I say, we go there and get our free drinks. And if it's a trap, we get a free fight." The whole party turned to Wrex, who just grinned back. "Tell me you guys aren't itching for a fight."

"It's only been a week since Saren, Wrex."

The krogan barked out, laughing. "Keep telling yourself that, Alenko. Pretty soon you'll be howling with the blood rage just like any krogan from all this—quiet. I say, we go to Flux and just use up this person's tab. And if the person is trouble, we kill 'em."

Alenko surveyed the faces of his team. Garrus stood at attention, doing none of the fidgeting that would tell the commander that he was ill at ease. Tali was still trying to desperately get more out of the mail than what was there. Liara just looked up at him with large, glowing eyes. Anticipating that whatever he would say next was another fascinating tidbit she could use to understand him better. Wrex was on the balls of his feet, jumping, either excited or gearing for a fight or both.

Of all of them, Williams was the most silent but the angriest. He could see it in how sharp her eyes looked just then, the same look she gave her enemies when she dared them to pull the trigger. They had grown close in this journey, and even closer before their trip to Ilos. But since the battle, their relationship was more up in the air than he would like. Despite the furtive glances and lingering touches they shared in between helping the alliance and keep the Normandy running.

"All right." Everyone snapped to attention at his words. "I've decided."

Garrus could barely believe that Alenko had actually defied Williams. Granted, that she hadn't voiced that she didn't want to meet with the mystery fan. But even with the funny way humans communicated signals to each other, even a turian like him could guess that narrowed eyes and flared nostrils was not an appeased expression.

Alenko appeared to take advantage of her silence and had told them to be on their guard, even if there was a spring in his step as they made their way down the elevator and into a rapid transit terminal to Flux.

Looking out the window made Garrus fidget, though. There was no space without debris: shattered pillars from some building or the panels or hulls from a ship. Though Garrus had to sigh with relief that the sea of dead bodies were gone, and there was some level of construction going on in the Presidium, even if he thought the wards needed more work than any other place. Some areas were still closed off since there were buildings that have collapsed entirely. In the air was the lingering scent of smoke and fire, Garrus couldn't get the smell away from his clothes for the life of him.

When they did get to Flux, the casino area had been blown off so there were two entrances: the official one and a backdoor hole. Alenko had said something about entering a house made of Swiss cheese that escaped Garrus, who just shrugged. However, the place was still alive. The owner had used the hole to expand the club further back, making it an open dance floor where the music blasted louder than ever. Inside, some of the space had been converted into a mini-casino with about three machines left functioning.

"Hi I'm—"

"Commander Alenko," the human by the door looked at them from above her long nose. Garrus and Tali exchanged confused looks. Weren't greeters supposed to be nice?

"Yes, that's—"

"This way." She swished her long black hair over her shoulder and began to walk inside. She didn't seem to care whether or not they were following. Determined to keep up, the group walked down the path between the bar and the rows of tables. The music was upbeat and furious, and despite the extra dancing space, Flux was packed. "The room that was reserved for you and your party is in our VIP wing." She brought out her omni-tool up and hit a few keys and the mechanism behind a seemingly innocent wall clicked and it slid open, revealing an elevator. Williams' jaw dropped open. Wrex looked like he was ready to buttheads in celebration.

The elevator led them down, slow as ever, and when the door slid open again it was like a completely different world from the rest of Flux. Upbeat music roared, the dance floor had clusters of people here and there but they weren't pressed as tightly as the floor upstairs. The lights were more predominantly blue and violet as opposed to the yellows and oranges. The seats were covered in high quality leather of the bovine found in Thessia. Dressed in the latest designs, the people drank and danced, detached and untouched from the battle that happened less than a week ago. Motioning them to follow her quickly, the greeter led them into a room where she had to punch another code for them to enter.

It was a club by itself inside the room. The capacity of which could have fit the two sets of the Normandy crew and then some. It had its own mini-bar, dance floor, and music system. There were also enough divans and tables for people to chat and drink. The music from the outside was completely blocked out when the doors slid shut. The greeter had mumbled something along the lines of "Leaving. Bye." before she was gone again.

Alenko wasted no time, he motioned for Tali and Garrus to check for bugs and they both nodded. Wrex just looked like somebody had given him a nest of pyjacks to kill and just sat casually on one of couches. Liara headed to the bar to survey the drink there, checking for signs of discoloration and maybe poison ("By the goddess, they have the plum wine from Thessia!"). Off the side, Alenko and Williams were sharing sharp and hissed words. Garrus barely needed to think to know what they were talking about.

Twenty minutes later, no bugs or poison found, the team heard the door ping open and they all trained their eyes to the door.

A human woman entered. She had long, straight and black hair—though, it shined red against the light— with bangs that covered her forehead. Her eyes were green, almond-shaped, and large. Her face seemed well-structured for a human woman, whose faces were usually rounder. However, hers seemed to have more angles. Apparently, it was a good thing with the way Alenko couldn't take his eyes off of her and the way Williams' was glaring at him for staring too long.

She took long, efficient strides and the door shut behind her. Garrus could tell immediately that she had formal training somewhere and kept herself in shape. Her armor was designed for agility and with little padding. The bodice of which was black, slimming an already thin waist with highlights of grey and white along the arms and the bottoms. Curiously, she had a weapon holster with what looked like a mid-length blade behind her back. Training with CQC? Martial arts?

"I hope I gave you enough time to scan the room," She looked at them with a small smile. Her voice was smooth and low. "And I have to apologize, the original greeter had passed away during the attack. Her replacement is not quite as pleasant."

How had she known the greeter was rude? Garrus looked at her through narrowed eyes. How long had she actually been around?

If she noticed him glaring at her, she didn't seem to care. "Now, I believe I owe all of you drinks."

Garrus had never felt more uncomfortable in his life. Save for that one time when his father had caught him role playing "Spectre kills the bad guy" by himself when he was 12.

However, this was far more suffocating than even that. The semi-circular couch was large enough to fit them all. In the middle was a black marble table. The lady who had sent Alenko the mail had taken the seat at the very center, legs crossed with one hand on her lap and other on the drink. Alenko sat beside her, back completely straight and about an arm's length away from the woman. Williams' had decided to sit by lady's other side, keeping a glare so sharp that the woman should have dropped dead from it a thousand times over. Opposite the commander was Wrex who had downed one Ryncol after another, blabbering about blood and violence with Liara beside him, giggling about nothing. Tali sat beside her, across Garrus, looking just as tense as he felt.

Spirits, he thought. Just end already.

"You don't want more than water, Mr. Vakarian?" His mandibles twitched at the name.

"Please. Mr. Vakarian is my father. Just Garrus is fine."

The woman gave him a small smile, her eyes lit up a little as well. "Garrus, then. A proper spirit?"

His eyes flashed. "Ah, what?"

"Oh, right. Turian. I meant, would you like a proper drink?" She flushed a little, her cool demeanor seemed to fade away instantly but she seemed no less alert than before. Despite that fact that she had probably drunk as much as Wrex had by now.

"Ah. Well." He cleared his throat. He shot Alenko a look and he all but nodded. "If you can tell us what this is all about. Then maybe I don't have to feel like drinking something would be draining some kind stranger's pockets—"

"Or feel that the drink would be your last?"

He chuckled, though with a touch of nervousness he didn't want to give away. "There is that."

She looked up from the table, fingers sliding along the surface of her glass and the sweat that had built up there. Her finger came up wet when she leaned her head on it a moment later. "As I know you've read— don't give me that confused look. I know the Commander showed it to all of you. Otherwise, Williams wouldn't be so ready to kill me. Anyway, Commander Alenko had done me a favor without knowing it."

"Other than saving the galaxy's ass." Wrex grumbled out.

"Of course. But this one is of a more personal nature. Thus, free flowing drinks." She shrugged. "That's all there is to it."

The commander had seemed to find his quad then and looked at her. "And all this cloak-and-dagger?"

"Just my MO," she said with a soft laugh. "I have my fair share of enemies. I don't want them to think we know each other. But I owed you one, and so I had to risk it.

"And you've done another favor for me, actually, which I just found out before arriving." She put a card down on the table. "If there is anything you need me for—the cloak-and-dagger stuff, as you said. Then you only need to ring me. I know there are things Alliance and Council brass will frown at. Spectre or no."

"What exactly did I do for you that you're willing to expose yourself to your enemies?"

She looked at Alenko, blank faced. "That is a personal question, Commander."

"I have no idea if you're a friendly or a hostile. Not even with this—debt paying."

She shrugged. "I can't give you the details, Commander. I'm sure you'll understand. But Saren was on a friend's shitlist for a long time. I'm sure you thought his death was a necessity but the fact that he had remained a Spectre for so long sickens me.

"Second, I've heard you've been cleaning up the dog house. Which is a feat, since they're littered all over the place like shit in a garden."

"I see. So you have some beef with Cerberus as well?"

"Old grudges are timeless." She gave him a smile with a flash of teeth. Her eyes lit up too. Garrus noted that it didn't seem entirely friendly by the way Alenko's eyes narrowed. "As a friend of mine used to point out a long time ago."

"Then, my last question."

"Shoot."

"Who exactly are you?" He picked up the card and looked over it. "It's not in your card."

There it was. The commander's habit of asking an infinite amount of questions, curiosity always insatiable—he always went for the one thing he shouldn't be asking about. They've been skirting around the woman's identity for a long time. Garrus had picked up what little she was willing to talk about. She was probably former military, Special Ops even. And if she had to make powerful friends, that meant she had powerful enemies. Cloak-and-dagger, if he was translating it right, meant she was probably a spy or an assassin. The latter seemed more likely, with the knife-edge glint in her eye.

Yet at point blank range, the Commander always asked the wrong question. It had gotten them into trouble many times, though they've always managed to patch it up with bullets and explosions. Garrus still thought it was a miracle that Alenko was able to talk Wrex into standing down in Virmire because, that shouldn't have ended so well judging by the Commander's track record. And he wasn't able to convince Richardson from not activating the bomb before it was time—the poor man had wanted to make sure it went off no matter what, before they were overrun. Garrus still stared at the man's locker sometimes, wondering if things couldn't be different.

Alenko just lacked that special charisma, but his heart was always in the right place. Charming, maybe. Nothing Wrex or himself could outright respect though, at least not aloud. But even the Commander's willingness to work with aliens seemed another one of those things he was willing to do to make things easier, not because he thought of them as anything more than aliens that were useful.

"If you're asking for my name, Commander, then you've wasted a question. I've lost my name a long time ago." She downed her drink before she motioned for the on-duty bartender for some more. "Rest assured, we are on the same side."

"And you don't have a name you want people to call you by?"

"A friend of mine once said that my name was believed to be an omen. I've long since dropped it. But in my trade I'm called 'Rachel.' If you really want to put a name to the face, you may call me that."

The night went smoother after that. Rachel, as she wanted to be called, urged them to invite the rest of the Normandy over for the drinks. She was willing to spend any amount of money till the room they had reserved was no longer in rent.

When the crew arrived and the night turned slowly into day, Garrus shared a few conversations with Tali but kept a trained eye at their benefactor. She hadn't given them much to go by, but it seemed easy enough to put some trust on her, for now. And with the way she and the Commander were talking, Garrus was sure this was not the last he would hear of her.

Last updated, 02.14.2013: Grammar and tense sweep. General clean-up. / 03.06.2013 Month change to coincide with rest of timeline. / 04.05.2013 Fixed dialogue inconsistencies and other typos.

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