From Ashes
Chapter Twenty Nine: Lost and Found

A/N: Hello, all! It has been so long since I've updated this and I've had a lot of reasons to procrastinate. (I admit it) :) Anyway, I've gotten a bit more inspiration for this fic de to various other writing projects I'm working on, and am definitely getting back to this. Feels good to dive back into the ME universe after a long break. As usual, I blame my fast typing and all for any type-Os you may find. Thanks for keeping up with this and to all who have hung in :)

The trek back down from the Normandy's dock and out onto the presidium was harder than expected. The weight that had pressed on his shoulders since the rports had come in was still bearing down as he rounded the corner and entered the embassies. Statements from the crew of the Kilimanjaro were still coming in on a live feed, and there was no mention of her XO. Having fallen back into his military posture and step while moving, the time came for Steven Hackett to finally stop and wait for clearance to enter the door that led to the newly renamed human councilor's office. When the door did open, he was met by Donnel Udina's back. The other man was still not quite keen on David Anderson being chosen for the position, but he was getting over it; or at least he had to try. The words that were exchanged weren't of a friendly nature, but they were said in a forced-cooperative tone.

"I'll see to it then. I do still have connections that I can run with, after all."

"I appreciate it." Anderson spoke these last words while leaning back in his chair. The furrowed brow he sported suggested that he had been trying to negotiate with Udina on something and it had finally gone through.

"Admiral." Udina addressed him as he stepped past.

"Ambassador." Letting the other man leave, Steven stepped into the office and crossed to Anderson's desk; resting his back against it and letting his shoulders finally drop. With the door closing and no one else being present, he released a breath before speaking. "She knows."

"So you did tell her." David Anderson asked while reclining slightly. "Wasn't sure if you had decided."

"I had to tell her." Hackett lowered his head. "I feel responsible for this."

"Couldn't have known it would be attacked by raiders." Anderson dismissed. "It could have happened to any ship."

"This wasn't just any ship." The slight edge in his voice wasn't meant, but Steven couldn't take it back once it got in.

"I know." It was all Anderson could say at that point. He had seen the close friendship that Hannah Shepard and Steven Hackett had somehow maintained over the years, but by a shake of the admiral's head, he guessed that there was more to it. "You two were an item at one point…" He guessed and was surprised by the affirmative nod.

"We were."

"They'll find her." Though probably not as confident as he would have liked, David went on. "We've got the best scout ships available searching." He then paused and wondered aloud. "Does Shepard know about you and her mother?"

"No." Steven finally turned his head toward the councilor. "No; Hannah and I thought it best that she didn't know about any of that."

"Any of…" He didn't even have to finish the question before a thought, borderline absurd, crossed his mind. "Oh God…" When Steven turned to face him, David could only imagine what his own expression was. "So," He began slowly; pressing forward with that same odd thought like a lost man in a dark cave. "So she isn't…"

"No, she isn't, and with the two of us included, only three people know it."

At the same time of that conversation, Shepard was having another with her team. They had waited for the lift to return from C-Sec academy and had taken it down so that they could at least leave the docking cradle. One of the lecture rooms in the academy was empty for the day, so it was temporarily taken. Wrex, Garrus, and Tali sat or stood on one side while Shepard, Ash, and Liara took the other; the rest of the Normandy's staff fitting in somewhere as well. Starting off, Ashley voiced the two things that were on everyone's mind: condolences being number one and the idea that it could have been a private chat if needed. Shepard was grateful but turned it down with a wave of the hand.

"I left it an open conversation for a selfish reason, I guess." She admitted. "When he said that it was a personal matter, I assumed it was either something about Alliance regs or family. Either way, the best way I can say it is that I needed you there."

"That's not selfish, Skipper." Ash countered. "You've been there through hard times for us, so the very least you can call it is even."

"It's like this, Shepard." Wrex started while making sure his orange eyes landed on everyone in the room at least once. "Krogan had a way of thinking at one point, and I guess it still works. You take a lot of broken parts and manage to piece something together that was better than any individual could have been, and you've got something worth keeping. It's how we engineered the transports on Tuchanka, how I kept this shotgun from falling apart, and how I started building support for reform before Jarrod shot that in the quads. I think the same applies here."

"I have to agree with Wrex on this." Garrus seemed to pick up on the thought quickly. "No matter what we all go through personally, it seems we're stronger together than when we try and sort it out alone."

"I don't know how I would have handled Virmire if you guys weren't there." Ash admitted. "Whe Kaidan died, I felt like he was way more important than I was; like he gave his life for the mission and for someone who didn't deserve the courtesy."

"I managed to make peace, or as much as possible, with what happened to my mother because of everyone here." Liara added. "Even the distracting talks with you, Joker, they reminded me that time moves on and so should we."

"I would have been dead before all of this started had it not been for you." Tali looked around at all present. "I'm glad we could be there when you needed us, Shepard."

With a thoughtful nod and a long moment, Shepard had to fully appreciate the presence of all there. "I guess it's times like this when we all remember that the bonds we form along the way save us later down the road." She mused. "So, if I haven't sait it enough, I'll say it again: thanks for being there, all of you."

"Question is:" Ash wondered aloud. "How far will the search radius be?"

"I have no idea. Hackett said he was handling it personally, so you can bet it will be thorough."

"That man leaves no proverbial stone unturned." Karin Chakwas commented. "Thorough is an understatement."

"Well," Standing again, Shepard practically coaxed her mind to think along the lines she was expected to. "We won't know until the reports show up. Is there anything that we will need before leaving again in two days?"

"Medbay is mostly stocked." The doctor checked her inventory. "There are a few things I should pick up in event of an emergency. I'll handle that straight away."

"Drive core maintenance cold be done." Adams added. "I'll pull the necessary piping and all from Alliance requisitions. Shouldn't take more than a day; especially if you're involved, Tali."

"Wouldn't miss it." Tali nodded. "It's fun just doing low-level maintenance on a ship that isn't in dire need. That, and I can tinker with a few things to increase efficiency."

"Partners in crime." Joker commented. "Just make sure you leave the helm alone."

"Touchy touchy." Adams chuckled as he left.

"Anything else?" Shepard checked again. "Armor mods, weapon attachments?"

"Got that covered." Garrus ticked them off. "Might do some buffing on the mako, but other than that, we're good."

"Alright. Have a good two days." Shepard said simply. "I'll be around if anything comes up."

"Need to pick up some popcorn." Joker said this as he ambled out of the lecture area. "Get the munchies on long flights."

"Can't forget the essentials." Shepard managed a smile while Joker and some of the others split off. The former added a "damn right" to that as he left. When they were gone, Ashley leaned back in her chair; she and Liara being the only ones left.

"Brave face, Skipper." She started while giving the commander a searching look. "Now, how are you really holding up?"

"As well as I can be, I guess." Letting her head fall back slightly, Shepard looked up into the ceiling; eyes searching the perfectly even tlles and bulkheads for nothing in particular.

"I can relate to what you're going through." Liara shifted beside her. "Not knowing where my mother was or what happened. While it's true that we didn't speak, I thought of her often."

"This is going to be a hard run if they don't find her."

"About that…" Ashley drew Shepard's attention with a hesitant guess. "Something is off about that whole thing."

"What are you getting at?"

"The Kilimanjaro being raided…" Ash used her omni tool to pull up the specifications of the ship in question. "It was too well-armed to be raided as a second thought. The ship they were escorting was the one that was carrying what privateers might have stolen."

"You've got a point…" Shepard nodded while studying the image and statistics displayed. "Even Hackett mentioned that the freighter led them into a trap. Think Helena Blake might know something?"

"Possible." Ash nodded. "She was working with privateers and smugglers; she may have a good suggestion on where to start looking."

"Balak." Liara added. "With the situation as it is and the idea that you might be right," She directed that last toward Ashley. "Wrex was right; he could have something to do with it. The Kilimanjaro may well have been the target."

"So you think Balak raided the Kilimanjaro too?"

"You took back X57 from him." Liara nodded. "It makes sense that he might try and retaliate by taking something from you."

"But my mother?"

"You know better than anyone what they are capable of." Ash caught on. "Especially with Elysium and Mindoir."

"I wasn't on Mindoir, but I heard what happened there." Shepard took time to consider Elysium's moon, Major Kyle, and the other horror stories. "The more I think about this the more it seems possible. Any ideas on how to approach Hackett with this?"

"I could take a crack at it." Ash volunteered. "See if you can get in touch with Helena Blake and I'll try to find him." Before leaving, she added: "If nothing else, I can run this by Councilor Anderson."

"Good call. I'll send out a message and see what I hear." Shepard decided. "Councilor Anderson…" She rolled the words over as she said them. "Still has an odd taste, doesn't it?"

"Bet he thinks so too."

It had been hours but time passed like a ship limping back from battle without a functional eezo core. She had kept herself as busy as humanly possible for someone who had nothing to do. A long walk around the presidium had killed an hour or so, she had then checked in on the Normandy's status, and finally sent a few messages to her mother's extranet address. Having received no reply within the next hour, she had gone back to walking. Helena Blake had been in touch and had stated that, as far as she knew, no one had moved significant freight or supplies within the last forty hours. She did say that the batarian theory was indeed possible; given their temperament for violence and extremes. Looking around at where she had wound up, Shepard realized what she was standing in front of. The small-scale relay that had led here from Ilos stood tall and silent before her. Leaning against the now-repaired railing that the mako had been thrown through, she looked into its still heart; metal rings not spinning at high speed but frozen mid-spin.

"It is strange to think that this is where a race against time ended."

"And where something else started." The thought came out of nowhere as she said it. True, this relay had been where the mako had crashed and where they had managed to catch up with Saren, but it was true; something else had started here.

"I do believe that we are speaking about two completely separate events."

"Oh yeah, I'm definitely talking about two different things." Finally turning away from the conduit's exit point, Shepard leaned back against the railing and folded her arms while eyeing the woman that was becoming a very welcome distraction. "One was business. The other was a whole different thing entirely." Settling on small talk, her eyes wandered upwards. "Did they ever get the council chambers straightened out?"

For a split second, it seemed that the question hadn't been heard, but after the briefest pause, Tevos responded. "They managed that last week." She too turned to look up into the building that she had just left. "The keepers definitely had a task on their hands."

"I'd bet they did." Flashes of what the normally elegant chambers had looked like during the attack on the station passed through Shepard's mind. "It could have been worse, though." Shifting her gaze back, she changed the course of the conversation. "Long day?"

"Long enough." Tevos did sound a bit tired as she went on. "I wish the other species in Council space were the problem. It turns out that dealing with my own people can be much more stressful."

"Pretty sure that's how Anderson is feeling right now." Shepard commented. She knew the conversation she was avoiding was about to come up; the off-the-wall topics were running a little too smoothly. Sure enough, it happened.

"Seryna, I heard about your mother…"

"They're doing everything they can to find her."" The response was said without any real concern; an automatic answer.

"I cannot imagine how it must feel to be here instead of searching."

"It feels like I'm spinning my wheels but not getting anywhere fast, if that makes sense." Shepard finally said what she had wanted to from the get go; frustration slipping back into her tone. "I'm just standing here when I could be out there looking for her." She did manage to relent a bit, though. "I know that the admiral's right; I can't be anywhere near this right now."

"You said that you and your mother are close."

"Yeah, we always have been."

"I envy you." It was a quiet admission. "Even now, there are times I wouldn't mind knowing that my mother had simply vanished."

"I overheard your mother." Shepard reflected on the conversation that had actually happened not far from where they stood. "I don't blame you. Any more flare ups with her?"

"Nothing new, no. An argument regarding a person's position aboard the Destiny Ascension, but that particular post was filled over three years ago."

"Three years?" Shepard blinked. "She's a little late, isn't she?"

"That's how long she has been fighting it." At the mention, Tevos' lips upturned in what could be considered a triumphant smirk. "But I didn't have to worry with that much. She had to deal with its captain."

"Ouch."

"Don't let her fool you." The councilor's expression softened. "Lidanya isn't nearly as stone cold as she seems. You've seen her out and about on the presidium. Like most of us, she is only that way when it is warranted."

"What's the history with her?" Thankful for the continued shift of subject, Shepard voiced her suspicions. "Seems to be respected by many asari; can't just be because of her age and title."

"It isn't just her title, age, or position." Tevos nodded and sat down on a nearby bench. When Shepard joined her, she continued. "Actually, some questioned the latter and will do so again."

"Her position as CO of the Ascension?"

"Especially after the geth attack." Tevos nodded again. "She was labeled a sympathizer after their initial uprising on Rannoch and other quarian worlds."

"A sympathizer?"

"It is a less-known fact that the council sent a scout ship to Rannoch during the quarians' exodus. She was second in command of that ship, and things went terribly wrong. Her commanding officer was gravely injured, and she was forced to take charge of that mission. While I don't know all of the details, it is rumored that she defended the geth that they encountered."

"I could see my people having a field day over that." Shepard frowned. "The thought that she didn't fire on the geth and got the Ascension trapped would spark more tensions between our people."

"Unfortunately, that has already been voiced." Tevos' eyes wandered the area around them before landing back on Shepard; as if she were scanning the area for something. "I am not sure how, but someone in the press got wind of what happened on Rannoch and spread that rumor. I will be quick to point out however, that she did fire on the geth ships that we came across. One could hear the conflict in her voice, but she did fire on and destroy several of them." She got back to the main point, though. "That is only a small fraction of her history. After the events on Rannoch, she continued to show promise as a leader, and because of that she maintained a steady following. Trained in both biotics and weaponry, she shaped the futures of many commandos including mine."

"She had a hand in your training?"

"She did, and it didn't surprise her when others discovered my talent for negotiation in high-stress situations. It was one of the moments that she took the opportunity to say, "I told you so.""

"Doesn't happen too often, does it?"

"More often than I would have liked, but what can I say?" Tevos shrugged. "You can view that as an annoyance or as a subtle hint that one can never know enough. Still, I find it a privilege to call her a friend." The next words came in an uncertain tone. "Perhaps that is why she took it so personally when…" And she trailed off while raising a hand to touch what miniscule scarring was left from the incident during the attack on the station.

"Has that gotten any beter since I left?" It was something they didn't talk about much, but it was still hit on on occasion.

"The pain was gone before that." Even as she said it, there was a stiffness in her tone. She herself could hear it, so she knew that Shepard had.

"You know that I meant that in more ways than just physical."

"I…" The comment left her looking for the right ords, and they were there; it was just difficult to convey them. "It depends on the day, I suppose."

"Depends, hmm?"

"I thought that all of this would fade over time." Frustration was evident as it leaked through into her tone. "Some days I am fine, others…"

"Others, you feel like it's happening all over again, and you can't do anything about it." Shepard nodded. "That's normal." She then posed a question. "Have you talked to anyone about this?"

"Not in depth, why?"

"That might be the way to really start getting over it." Shepard reasoned. "There are cases where people have to relive the event and confront it before they can get over it."

"I was hoping to avoid that, in all honesty."

"I get that." And she did; Shepard had seen what was left of the colony on Akuze, the events on Elysium, and more that she didn't quite want to discuss, but it had to be done at some point. "If you ever want to talk about it, you've got an ear."

"I know," and that was true. The thought had always been there in the back of the asari's mind. "But that requires actually wanting to talk about it.; not unlike the situation with your mother."

"You picked up on my avoiding the subject, huh?"

"It wasn't that hard to notice."

"Goes somewhere along the lines of: if I don't think about it, it didn't happen, or I can at least kid myself into thinking that." Shepard shrugged in a slightly defeated sense; the thought that had been bugging her since she had heard the news edging closer and closer to the surface. Finally, she voiced it, and it wasn't in a voice she recognized; there was no firm control of her emotions as had been drilled in from boot camp. "But it's not right…" She said it with a slight hesitation; like someone was supposed to agree or point out that she was wrong. "She was here… a month ago, she was here on the Citadel." With nothing being said to counter or stop her, she continued. "We were on the dock laughing and joking about something, and it was like nothing could go wrong…" Hearing her own words coming out in fractured bursts, the soldier in her wanted to clam up and just force her to calm down, but she didn't, couldn't. "It was just a simple escort." She started pacing then; stepping away from the railing and not focusing on anything in particular. "Just a supply run after that escort, and it turned out to be a trap."

"Seryna-"

"Spent a lot of time, especially after Elysium, working out how to give someone bad news like this…" Shepard could see the bodies of those that hadn't made it through one particular altercation during the Blitz as she said this. "Looked at their service records and tried to find an easy way to tell a family that their son, daughter, husband, wife, sister, or brother wasn't coming home."

"There is no easy way." It was all Tevos could afford to say on the subject. She herself hadn't been the bearer of such news, but there had been times when that could have been a possibility.

"No," Shepard shook her head; both in response and in attempt to rid herself of the slight prickle in the corner of her eyes. It seemed to work for the moment. "But at least that was final. They were dead, and there was no bringing them back."

"Finality is easy." Tevos muttered. "To know that they are gone and there is nothing you can do for it leaves you on solid ground." As she said it, she watched Shepard's expression. There was understanding but it was still equally matched by anger and doubt. "Living with unanswered questions is the harder path, but on occasion, better results are at its end."

"There's a possibility that batarians are involved." Shepard allowed the possibility that her mother might be found be at the forefront of her mind for the moment. "With the X57 incident at Terra Nova, I left a radical angry."

"We left several furious when the embassy was closed here on the station." Tevos shrugged it off, but she knew that batarians were angrier at the thought of humanity branching out into their assumed territory and the Traverse. "Unfortunately, we had no choice after the ambassador was proven to be the mastermind behind a plot to assassinate the current council by means of a lab-created virus."

"I heard rumors about that but never knew if it was actually true."

"It happened, and since then there have been no peace talks with any batarians."

"This one has a particular problem with me." Shepard thought about her connections to the batarian slaver and terrorist. "Balak claims that it was people like me who kept him and his people from having good and habitable worlds like Elysium and Terra Nova."

"Unfortunately, the Hegemony did that to themselves with their radical beliefs." Tevos dismissed that casually. "If this one has a score to settle with you, then it is possible he was involved, but I don't know all of the details."

"Neither do I." Shepard admitted. "I think that was the point, though; keep some details so that I would have no choice but to go about my predetermined business."

"So you will continue with the Terminus patrol."

"In two days, yeah."

"Do you honestly think you will find anything?"

"No." Reflecting on what they had seen so far, Shepard took the slight subject shift as a gift horse. "We didn't find any evidence of geth that remained loyal to Sovereign in the Traverse. Noveria's internal affairs bureau had a few questions in regard to the Peak 15 incident and the geth that were there, but the neutron purge and our sweep of the area had eliminated any geth that may have remained."

"Given Saren's knowledge, they may have retreated to the Terminus due to our hesitation to cross their borders." Tevos thought aloud. "But there are places that they could hide that we have not even charted."

"Given the way this cycle has happened many times before," Shepard followed it with a thought of her own. "It is safe to say the reapers know this galaxy better than we do."

"Your mother will be alright, you know…" It was a sudden statement; one that didn't follow the general path of this topic.

"Oh?" Shepard looked back; brow furrowed slightly. "How do you figure?"

"A wise woman once told me," Tevos started off. "That there is an interesting and unspoken rule when it comes to parents: We may not be cast in their image, but we are forged by their hand."

"Interesting theory."

"The point is:" Tevos went on. "From the brief history that I've gathered and what I have come to know from these last months, you have fought through everything that stood in your way. That wasn't simply a learned behavior. It was born in your blood."

"Then I hope it serves her well." Shepard finally said. "If one of my theories is right, she'll need it."

Away from the artificial sunshine of the presidium, Ashley, Wrex, and Garrus were having a conversation along the same subject lines. Having filled the other two in on what Helena Blake had suggested, Ash wasn't surprised that the former C-Sec officer had hit the ground running while trying to find new leads. Wrex had done his part as well by having a few meaningful conversations with a few of Chora's Den's patrons. All in all, the day had been a rewarding one.

"Talked to a few has-beens in the weapons trade and they heard about some new shipments coming in." Wrex crossed his arms as he leaned against the rear table at Flux. "Said to check out the markets."

"Interesting," Garrus hummed. "That's what I heard. It seems that the information's good; coming from multiple sources."

"Said to talk to one merchant in particular." Wrex went on. "Morlan."

"We've met him before." Ash volunteered as the memory came about. "He was one of the ones involved in Dr. Michel's blackmail."

"Knew that name sounded familiar." Wrex grunted. "I say we pay him another visit."

"Think he'll remember us?"

"Remind him what the business end of a rifle looks like, and I'm sure it'll just be another day in business." Garrus answered. The three got up from the table then and made their way out of the club and up toward the markets' access corridor. When they rounded the corner and started down to the lower markets, a crash was heard and loud voices followed.

"-Hey, you can't do that!"

"You can't be selling that here." The voice that spoke first was definitely a salarian's, but the second sounded human. Ash confirmed her suspicions when she, Garrus, and Wrex got to the foot of the stairs. An Alliance soldier was leaning over the countertop at Morlan's shop; a cargo bin full of merchandise splayed between him and the shop owner. "You aren't even supposed to have any of it-"

"What's going on here?" Garrus beat Ash to the first question. Looking between the officer and merchant, his mandibles twitched in what appeared to be a more menacing way; eyes narrowing. "In trouble again, eh Morlan?"

"I did nothing wrong!" The salarian protested; eyes shifting from Garrus to the Alliance officer. "This man accuses me of selling stolen property, but I am not."

"And I suppose missing Alliance requisitions just dropped into your lap." The man scoffed. "These were tagged as suspicious when they were brought aboard the station." He then directed his words toward Garrus. "I've been asked to retrieve them and report back to our requisitions officer."

"Hold off on that." Ash suggested after sharing a look with Garrus. "We need a look at that and a word with him first."

"I can't do that-"

"Actually," Garrus caught on quickly. "C-Sec has authority in tis matter, but we're not looking to step on toes." He added. "How about a compromise?"

"We question him, examine the shipment he's holding, and then it's all yours." Ash finished. "Shouldn't take more than a few minutes."

"I," The officer stuttered for a second. "Alright." He finally agreed. "Just make it quick. CO will have my ass if I'm not back shortly."

"Copy that."

While the officer walked off, Wrex, Garrus, and Ashley moved in on Morlan's cubicle. For a split second, he looked relieved, but the stern expressions that met him when he did a double-take made Morlan blink nervously. He reached out with a shaky hand and went to sweep the materials from his desktop to the bin that they had arrived in, but Garrus stopped him by laying a taloned hand on his arm.

"Let's leave those where they are." He then leaned against the desk and leveled the salarian with a glare that made Morlan twitch. "Now, here's how this will play out: We'll ask questions and you'll give us straight answers. If all goes well, you'll go about your business and will only lose whatever you had shipped here. If it should go awry…" There was a rustling of armor behind him and through the highly glossed walls, Garrus could see Wrex shifting around in a menacing way and sporting a toothy grin that usually preceded a head-cracking. "Well, let's hope it doesn't come to that." With the salarian's shaky nod, Garrus asked the first question. "What is all of this?"

"S-Supplies from a recent drop." Morlan stammered. "I was not going to sell them here-"

"One step at a time." Garrus cut him off. "Where did you get them?"

"A contact brought them in on a supply ship."

"Contact got a name?"

"Erm…" Morlan hesitated, but he found reason to talk when Wrex drummed his fingers along the side of the shotgun he had just taken from its place in his weapons pack. Ash cracked her knuckles for added fun. "C-Collins, his name is Collins. He's human."

"And where did he get them?"

"Didn't say." Morlan shook his head. "All he told me was that they were good, they'd sell, and that he waned me to hold them here."

"And you did it out of the goodness of your heart, I'd bet."

"He offered to pay a hefty storage fee."

"And you'll hear from this Collins when?" Ash asked while she scanned the mess of parts and munitions with her omni tool.

"Said he'd make contact in a week."

"They're a match for the supplies the Kilimanjaro was sending." Ashley finally said after a few minutes of scanning.

"Good." Garrus nodded slowly as he turned his eyes back on Morlan. "Now, here's what happens next: you go about your business like this conversation didn't happen. When the time comes for him to make contact with you, the supplies will be here for you to show that yu still have them. You'll insist that he comes to collect them in person. After that, you're free to go on with your business."

"And if he doesn't?"

"You make sure he does." Ash offered.

"We'll have someone here to walk you through the conversation when the time comes." Garrus added. "For now, all of this goes with the Alliance officer."

"F-fine," Morlan finally agreed. The three were about to walk off when he raised another question. "What if they come early and want the supplies then?"

"Tell them you can't get them in such short notice." Garrus suggested. "You've got them stored somewhere and you'll have to go get them. I'll have someone come down here and work it all out."

"Fine."

They did leave then. The Alliance officer was waiting at the top of the stairs that led to the upper markets and headed down to collect the shipping crate full of suspicious supplies. As an afterthought, Ash put in a request to be sure that it was indeed Alliance requisitions that had asked for the delivery, and she got an affirmative in return. Satisfied, she shared a laugh with Garrus once they had made it out of the marketplace altogether.

"Good one, Wrex. You practically had him pissing his pants."

"Worth it." Wrex grinned. "Always is when a salarian is involved."

"He can't seem to keep out of trouble." Garrus commented thoughtfully. "That back there almost makes me miss all of this."

"I think you'd miss the mako's main turret and cannon more." Ash quipped.

"Probably right." Garrus shrugged. "Besides, Palin is probably grateful for my job change." Then he took on a more serious tone. "So, should we tell Shepard about this development?"

"I dunno." It took a second for Ashley to admit that, but when she did, she explained why. "Part of me wants to wait, because it's too soon to tell if anything will come of what we just did." She paused before finishing; a slight frown turning down her lips. "On the other hand, if it were my mom or sisters out there, you bet I'd be trying to find any scrap of information I could get."

"I'd say not yet." Wrex muttered. "Too soon to know. Wouldn't want to get her hopes up."

"Mmm." Garrus hummed. "It's late." He finally said. "Maybe we wait until tomorrow to at least fill her in on what we found so far. Besides, it will give your Alliance more time to look over what they know."

"Good plan." Ash finally said as she pushed away from the low wall she was leaning against. "We'll tell Shepard what we know tomorrow and can fill the others in tonight."

"Here's hoping that Shepard found something to distract her."

"Seeing as we haven't heard from her in a few hours," Ash looked at the last message she had received from her CO to check the timestamp. "I'd say she's found something… or someone."