Chapter 16: Best Served Cold

Sid angrily stalked back onto the Normandy¸ with Jo, Tali and Garrus trailing silently behind her. She didn't stop to think how the others would perceive this side of her because, quite frankly, she didn't care. There was only one thing on her mind and that was saving her crew. Killing Sahahla and kicking the Shadow Broker's ass would be bonuses but they weren't Sid's focus. Anyone feeling this level of anger and hatred would be dangerous but Sid had something that made her even more dangerous.

Whenever she was this angry or knew she had to behave ruthlessly, she didn't get emotional. She didn't make the emotional decisions that everyone else made. Some people would behave predictably by rushing in, guns blazing with no thought to self-preservation. What people tended to overlook was the fact that this was Sid's default mode. No real thought or tact put into a plan and see what happened. Rush in, shoot people and maybe make something explode simply because explosions were fun was the way Sid handled every day tasks.

No one expected Sid – or Ghost – to actually plan something. But things were different now. The Shadow Broker threatened her crew. The Shadow Broker had threatened her. The Shadow Broker made the mistake of making this personal. When Sid needed to be ruthless, she became calculating. When Sid became calculating, the body count would rise. But most of all, when Sid became this cold, this angry, no one ever saw it coming until they realised their mistake and by then, it was far too late.

"Sid," Jo suddenly said firmly.

All heads turned to look in their direction. No one had ever heard Jo use that sharp tone before – which probably meant she had been trying to get Sid's attention for a while and this was the first one to get through the haze of anger – and no one had ever seen Sid this angry before. There were no witty remarks or quirky comments. And the crew had only ever seen Sid and Jo get along well, not this being at odds.

Sid slowly turned to face her sister. "What?"

"What are you planning on doing?" Jo asked and the obvious concern in the question was completely ignored.

Sid gave her a look that said 'you're kidding, right?'. "I'm going to get my crew back. I'm going to make Sahahla regret ever crossing me. I'm going to send the Shadow Broker a message he won't soon forget. And then I'm going to blow shit up." She paused for a moment. "Maybe not in that order but you get the idea."

"And you think that's the best way to deal with this?" Jo argued.

Sid scoffed in disbelief. "Let me make something clear, Jo. You were dead. Kaidan walked out on me. Joker turned his back on me. I had no one. And then I had my crew. People who were there for me when I needed them, no matter what. There is no 'best way' to deal with this. There are only two ways. With or without you. And if it's the latter, tell me now so I can get back to Omega."

Jo looked at a loss for words and then she decided on an answer. "Of course I'm with you but-"

"Great," Sid cut her off irritably, really not in the mood to argue more.

Without another word, she marched off towards the conference room and completely ignored the shocked expressions of the people she walked past. Once inside the conference room, she connected her omni-tool to the table and uploaded the information she had gathered from the Blood Pack hideout. EDI's blue orb lit up in the corner as an indication she was there and ready to assist. Sid closed her eyes and slowly exhaled, trying to clear her mind. She had easily pushed aside all the emotions and bad thoughts but there was just one thing she couldn't get rid of: the nagging thought that if she had just killed Sahahla when she had the chance, her crew wouldn't be in this position. She had given her former Asari crew member so many chances but it just came back to bite Sid in the ass.

Her omni-tool pinged, indicating the data transfer was complete. Sid used the table's controls and a holographic representation of a space station appeared, floating above the table. It looked like your average, run of the mill space station floating in the middle of nowhere. A space station definitely provided a few problems, chief of which was a loss of oxygen. If a window broke or power went down, Sid risked killing her own crew. It also meant the various thugs who wanted to kill her could use it to kill her crew if she didn't follow their terms.

"EDI?" she called.

::How may I be of assistance, Phoenix?::

"Can you please get updated information on the space station and update the hologram?" Sid asked.

::Of course.::

Sid muttered thanks under her breath and focused on the image. Slowly, it changed from a basic picture to something more complex. There were indications of security systems, docked ships and shuttles, an outline of the power grid and EDI had even marked the best approximation of where her crew would be kept. The space station was huge and crawling with people out for blood. Sahahla would use them to wear Sid down before coming in for the killing blow and until then, her crew would be in a lot of danger.

One thing was abundantly clear: there was no way Sid was pulling this off alone. Jo had already agreed to help which was good however Sid had to wonder whether she was willing to take orders from someone else. A plan was already forming in her mind and Sid knew this would require precision and stealth. Jo's missions were rarely stealthy so hopefully she would be willing to follow her lead. After another moment of weighing her options, Sid asked EDI to summon Jo and the rest of the ground squad members – Miranda, Jacob, Garrus, Tali, Kasumi and Zaeed actually showed. The others would probably wait for an official order from Jo before becoming involved. She had no issues with asking for help but right now, she had little patience for being questioned.

"What's this about, Sid?" Jo asked and judging from her tone, she was still miffed about how Sid had spoken to her earlier.

Sid wasted no time with apologising and decided to get straight to business. "My crew needs rescuing and I need help to do it. This is my crew, my responsibility and my plan. If you can't follow my instructions, feel free to leave right now."

There was a second of silence as everyone exchanged looks. It was very unusual for Sid to be this direct or this commanding and yet, no one chose to leave. Well, that was reassuring.

"I appreciate that," Sid commented. "My plan is straightforward. I follow the instructions: go to the space station alone. I can take one of the shuttles and I will go without my hardsuit. That is what Sahahla will be expecting so I won't disappoint."

"There's going to be a lot of pirates and mercs there," Garrus reminded slowly, probably unsure of how she would take it.

Sid nodded her head. "Exactly. Sahahla thinks she has an army against me but they're all there for the same reason. And pirates are nothing if not greedy."

"That's goddamned brilliant," Zaeed said approvingly.

Jo frowned. "What is?"

Sid shrugged. "You've heard of no honour among thieves? There's even less around pirates. A few well-chosen reminders that they can't all share in the glory of killing me, they'll turn against each other. I'm not worried about them."

"You're not worried about a space station filled with pirates?" Jacob asked.

"As strange as it sounds, they're the predictable element in this scenario," Sid answered. "Kasumi will join me on the shuttle, cloaked."

Kasumi smirked. "Sounds like fun. What next?"

"When I engage them in idle chitchat, EDI will guide you to the security room. There you can disengage the security systems and unlock the docking bay."

"The docking bay?" Miranda repeated with a frown.

"Yes," Sid confirmed. "Joker can stealthily pilot the Normandy in and Jo and whoever she decides to take with her can sneak in. From there, EDI can guide them to wherever my crew is being held."

Jo looked uncomfortable, probably disliking the idea of relying on EDI so much. "And how will EDI know all of this information?"

"Simple," Sid answered. "I'm going in with my omni-tool broadcasting. EDI can use that to hack into the omni-tools in the area and gather and process the data. Should things go wrong, Sahahla will make sure everyone knows where my crew is so anyone can prevent me from going after them."

"And our exit strategy?" Miranda asked.

"You get my crew back to the Hermes and they will get you out of there," Sid stated simply.

"What about you?" Tali asked.

"There's little to no chance that I can make it to the other side of the space station," Sid explained. "Too many variables, too many pirates and too predictable. My exit strategy is the shuttle I take in but you're missing something important."

"What's that?" Jo asked.

"Rescuing my crew is your mission objective, not mine," Sid answered.

"What are you talking about?" Jo suddenly demanded.

Sid was almost amused. "It's your job to rescue my crew. My mission is to kill Sahahla." Before anyone could protest or before Jo could point out she wasn't a murderer, Sid continued. "I made the mistake of letting Sahahla live before and look where that's gotten me. She needs to die otherwise my crew will never be safe. And after this, I can focus on bringing the Shadow Broker down."

"I don't know about this, Sid," Jo remarked quietly.

"I'm not asking for permission," Sid retorted sharply. "This is how we do it together or I'll get help from Aria. Your choice."

"All right, Sid. You win. We'll do it your way," Jo agreed and she did not sound at all happy about it.

Gambit casually leant against the wall of the cell and watched the small group of pirates. The rest of the Hermes crew were in the same cell and they were currently being watched by members of Blue Suns and Eclipse. Their guards were constantly rotated to make sure no one group had an advantage over the other and arguments had been frequent. Gambit, naturally, found ways to encourage these arguments but someone always intervened before it became violent. Party poopers.

"I don't like this," Wolf growled softly.

Gambit glanced in the merc's direction and then focused on the guards again. "We have our own cosy cell surrounded by armed idiots itching to kill us. What's not to like?"

"I'm serious," Wolf retorted irritably. "This feels bigger than a grudge between the Captain and a former crew member."

Gambit hated to admit it but the big guy had a point. There were far too many armed mercs around. He slowly turned so his back was flat against the cell bars and he was facing inside now. The rest of the crew was spread around. At this point, they had been here long enough to run out of ideas for escaping and were now relying on outside help. All things considered, they were still in reasonably high spirits. His gaze fell on the Hermes' pilot and the one who had known Sid the longest.

"Ace, what's the deal with the homicidal asari?" Gambit asked bluntly.

The pilot looked up and shrugged. "Sahahla? She was a member of the old crew and had actually incited the mutiny. I have no idea why though. She really wants the Captain dead."

Gambit frowned. "I know she doesn't have the best people skills but this seems excessive. Especially after New Canton. Didn't we technically kick Sahahla's ass?"

Ace shrugged. "She's still alive so I guess she sees that as a win."

Gambit was about to go back to watching the pirates again when he noticed Wisp. She was sitting in the furthest corner with her knees against her chest and her arms wrapped tightly around them. She had buried her face against her knees and even though Angel was sitting beside her, talking softly, Gambit could tell she was terrified. Wisp didn't have the best luck when it came to being a prisoner of pirates, after all. He walked over and crouched down, gently placing his hand on her knee. Wisp slowly looked up.

"Everything's going to be all right, kid," Gambit promised and offered a reassuring smile. "You have no reason to worry."

Just as it looked like Wisp was about to return that smile, there was harsh laughter nearby. Gambit looked up angrily and found Sahahla standing nearby. Without a word, the crew moved together and stood side by side to protect Wisp.

"Oh, sweetheart, you have every reason to worry," Sahahla commented. "People who get close to Ghost have a tendency to die. Ace and I are the only ones left standing of her old crew, after all."

Ace narrowed his eyes angrily. "And the only reason you're still alive is cowardice, Sahahla. Every time Ghost gets close to beating you, you run away."

At that, Sahahla was notably less amused. "And maybe if Ghost wasn't so weak, she wouldn't have so many enemies wanting to kill her."

"You're going to regret this," Wisp suddenly said in that scary quiet angry voice that only a shy person could really master.

Sahahla laughed again. "And what are you going to do about it, little girl?"

"Not me," Wisp answered and got to her feet, looking Sahahla dead in the eye. "Ghost. She may have a lot of enemies but she has a lot of friends too."

Sahahla scoffed. "Spare me the threats of a ragtag group of humans."

"Cerberus is hardly ragtag," Wisp pointed out and Sahahla's amusement faded. It was clear that Sahahla had meant that comment to refer to the crew and she hadn't even considered Cerberus. "They're getting close to your boss, aren't they? How do you think this is going to turn out, now that Ghost and Cerberus are allies?"

Sahahla looked like she wanted to argue but she couldn't think of anything so she grunted in frustration and left. The crew were momentarily speechless. It was strange to see Wisp stand up to someone like that since she was usually so soft spoken and avoided confrontation. She was recently starting to push back against the crew when Gambit or Ace took their teasing too far but this had been unexpected.

"Nice going, kid," Gambit complimented after a lengthy pause.

Angel was smiling proudly. "I think you're spending too much time with the Captain."

Wisp smiled shyly, both proud at what she had done but uncomfortable with so much attention being on her. She eased herself back on the floor beside Angel and looked a bit more relaxed. Sometimes, the simple act of standing up to a bully could make you feel invincible.

Ricochet slowly walked forward, splitting his attention between the pirates and Wisp. "I hate this sitting around and doing nothing. Do we have a plan?"

"There isn't much we can do from in here," Wolf commented.

"And they made the console for keeping the cell locked on the other side of the room so I can't get to it," Wisp added.

Gambit let out a soft sigh. "I guess it's all up to the Captain now."

Sid was sitting silently behind the controls of the shuttle as the autopilot let it glide through space. It wasn't ideal flying in on a shuttle covered in Cerberus logos – weren't they supposed to be operating under the radar? Way to announce your presence, Illusive Man – but there wasn't enough time to change the colours and perhaps some pirates might rethink their stance if they knew Sid had the support of a terrorist organisation. She wasn't feeling as angry as she did before because she now had a plan of action and was following it through. Instead, she felt restless.

"You alright, Sid?" Kasumi asked from the back of the shuttle. She hadn't activated her cloaking just yet.

Sid didn't answer at first. "Maybe I will be eventually but probably not today."

There was a long pause. "I can tell you and Shep are related," Kasumi pointed out with an amused tone.

Sid recognised this for what it was – a distraction – but she decided to take the bait. "Oh? How so?"

"That commanding tone must be genetic," Kasumi answered.

Sid once again didn't reply immediately as she tried to figure out whether that was a compliment or a thinly veiled way of pointing out Sid's recent behaviour. She wasn't planning on apologising for taking charge of the situation. Anyone on the Normandy would do whatever it took to save their fellow crew members, including Jo, so there was no way she was going to say sorry for doing what they were willing to do as well. Besides, this was her crew and therefore, her responsibility. Her top priority was their safety, not her public image.

The shuttle computer abruptly beeped and Sid glanced at it. They were nearing the space station which would mean that pretty soon, Sahahla would be able to intercept any radio transmissions or block outside communications. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves and get her thoughts in order. Her emotions needed to be put aside and she needed to focus on the end game and not the fact that she was relying on Joker for part of this plan. She also knew that she couldn't let Sahahla get under her skin.

"Joker, I'm going to be turning off all communications in a minute," Sid advised. "Jo will need to wait on Kasumi and EDI's signal to go."

::Copy that.::

A part of Sid didn't know if she should be disappointed by the lack of anything else. He hadn't told her to be careful or to watch her back. There was just nothing. Rather than dwell on that, she focused on turning off everything in the shuttle aside from the guidance systems. Then she focused on her omni-tool. She had no doubt that she would be scanned upon arrival so she programmed it to activate and broadcast after 5 minutes. That should be enough time. Then she deactivated the auto pilot and steadily made her way towards the station.

"I guess that's my cue," Kasumi announced.

"Be careful," Sid said quietly.

Another few moments passed in silence as she landed the shuttle in a hangar bay. Once she was certain there was nothing for Sahahla to intercept or trace back to the Normandy, Sid got to her feet and disembarked. To no one's surprise, there was a group of armed pirates waiting for her. They quickly searched her, probably expecting more than a single pistol, and then pushed her through an open door. If Sid didn't know any better, they almost looked disappointed at the lack of goodies to loot.

The space station itself was a complete mess. It was obviously old and had seen better days. The walls were covered in bullet holes and scorch marks, some lights flickered inconsistently and loose wires dangled from odd places. This station only needed a nudge to become a death trap, a nudge Sid was prepared to make. The corridors were also lined with a lot of mercenaries, pirates and bounty hunters wearing many different uniforms. There were even some free lancers.

Eventually they arrived at what must have once been a mess hall of some type. There were still some tables – or parts of tables anyway- and Sahahla was calmly leaning against one. It became pretty clear almost immediately that Sahahla intended the pirates and mercs to do the hard work for her. The pirates and mercs were also shifting restlessly which meant they were eager to start fighting.

"Captain," Sahahla greeted with a mocking tone. "So nice of you to join us, finally."

Sid focused on the asari. "Well, I couldn't just turn down your invitation."

"Of course you couldn't," Sahahla replied with that same mocking tone. "I can smell your weakness from here."

Sid feigned embarrassment. "I guess I should have showered before, huh?"

It was at that moment that Sid realised something. The fact that she wasn't begging for mercy or trying to buy her way out of this situation or even offering herself up in exchange for her crew members was annoying Sahahla. It was easy for Sid to keep the sarcasm going but patience had never been Sahahla's strong suit.

"Enough with the small talk," a pirate suddenly shouted angrily. "When do we get to the killing?"

Sahahla smiled. "I bet you didn't expect so many people to want you dead."

Sid glanced around the room, taking in the fact that she was surrounded by a whole lot of armed individuals with little options for cover. "Nah, this seems about right. But, y'know, before we get to the whole killing me part, I do have a few questions."

"Oh?" Sahahla asked and raised an eyebrow. "What kind of questions?"

"Well, everyone here came all this way for the honour of killing me, yes?" Sid asked and started to pace sideways, still keeping her focus on Sahahla.

"Yes," the asari confirmed somewhat irritably and a few of the pirates shouted their confirmation.

"Well, then, I suppose it really comes down to one question," Sid mused.

"Spit it out," Sahahla ordered angrily.

Sid smirked. "How do you decide on who gets to pull the trigger?"

There was a split second of silence until all hell broke loose. Sahahla's expression had changed from annoyance to shock when she finally realised the flaw in her plan. The pirates and mercenaries and free lancers had been a bit quicker on the uptake as bullets started to fly and punched started to be thrown. An explosion suddenly rocked the station and leaders of the mercenary groups and pirates were shouting orders. In the chaos, Sid quickly dove behind the remains of one of the tables and had to smirk. The only thing reliable about pirates and mercs? The fact that they didn't like sharing.

Sid reactivated her omni-tool completely and then her radio's earpiece. "Status report?"

::Relevant data from the station has already been transmitted to Commander Shepard.::

"And I've already managed to open a hangar bay," Kasumi added onto EDI's report.

"We're already inside and following EDI's schematics to your crew," Jo confirmed. "Your status?"

"Well, half the pirates are already dead and I didn't even have to fire a single shot," Sid observed. "EDI, can you shut down all blast doors leading to my crew?"

::Of course. It has been done.::

"Great," Sid replied. "I'm going after Sahahla now. Look after my crew."

Sid drew her pistol and fired off some shots, killing the pirates that were closest to her and then she glanced up in time to see Sahahla running down one of the corridors. How predictable. Sid fired off a few more shots to clear the way and then started to run after Sahahla. As she ran, she made a special request from EDI: seal them in the same corridor.

Gambit resisted the urge to start pacing again and watched from the edge of the cell. Something had changed in the last few minutes and he wasn't entirely sure what. The mercenaries were suddenly restless and their attention was focused on the door, as if they expected someone to come charging through. And then there was gunfire. It was loud and soft coming from all directions of the space station. Someone had certainly kicked the hornet's nest.

It was then that it finally clicked. Someone had turned them all against each other – most likely the Captain – and Gambit had only a few seconds to warn the rest of the crew to get back before their guards turned on each other. He and Wolf made sure to protect the girls, just in case, while Ace kept a lookout. Within moments, their guards were dead and it was impossible to tell whether their situation had improved. Sure, now no one was waving guns in their faces but at the same time, there wasn't any way to escape the cell.

Once the dust settled, Gambit approached the edge of the cell again and looked around. Everyone was already dead or they would soon bleed out. There was nothing they could do.

"We could have gone gambling but noooooooo, you wanted to do work," Gambit grumbled under his breath. "Now we're trapped like moths in a bath."

"Um… are we supposed to respond to that?" Wisp asked with a confused frown.

Wolf grunted in annoyance. "Ignore him. He's talking to himself."

Gambit shrugged. "Those are usually the most intelligent conversations I have."

Ricochet and Ace exchanged a look. It was hard to decide whether they should be annoyed or amused. Angel just scoffed and rolled her eyes and Chef mumbled some insults in French under his breath. No one disapproved of Gambit or him being the Captain's second in command. He just had his eccentricities, just like everyone else. Like a family, annoyance could turn to love and back to annoyance in a heartbeat.

Angel stood up and took a few steps forward, leaving Wisp as the only remaining crew member sitting on the floor. "I think we're missing the obvious, guys."

"Besides the fact that Gambit is an idiot?" Wolf asked.

Gambit wanted to argue but Angel spoke over him, smirking. "No, that kind of goes without saying. Our guards have been watching us for ages without resorting to this. I think the Captain's here."

"She does have a gift for spreading chaos," Wolf agreed.

"You have no idea," a voice suddenly remarked.

They all tensed, getting ready to stand in front of Chef, Angel and Wisp as protection but, much to their surprise, a young woman suddenly appeared out of nowhere with a smug look on her face. The crew immediately relaxed.

"Kasumi Goto," Gambit greeted. "What brings a nice thief like you to the armpit of the Terminus Systems?"

"Ugh," Kasumi replied. "That's a bad mental image."

The thief walked over to the computer terminal and deactivated the force cage. Before any of the crew could comment or ask a question, another door opened and Commander Shepard stepped through, flanked by a turian, a quarian and a krogan.

"This looks like the beginning of a bad joke," Gambit observed.

Commander Shepard looked caught off guard. "You really are Sid's crew, aren't you?"

They all grinned like a bunch of idiots, as if they had just received the best compliment ever.

And then Ace's face fell. "Wait. Where's the Captain?"

"Sid chose to face Sahahla," Commander Shepard answered through gritted teeth.

"Alone?" Wisp asked in a shaky voice.

"She wouldn't be persuaded," Commander Shepard replied. "She sent us to rescue you and in turn, you get us out of here on the Hermes. She'll make her own way back."

There was a moment of silence as the crew processed this information. Then Gambit, Ace, Wolf, Ricochet, Chef and Angel went to scavenge weapons from their dead former guards. They didn't question Sid's choices and instead followed her orders. It was their job to get Commander Shepard and her ground squad off the space station and they would get it done. Every single one of them would rather be with her to watch her back but they wouldn't disobey. Besides, they had no idea where she was or how to get to her. The Hermes though was another story.

Sid slowed to a walk as she caught up to Sahahla. A blast door slammed shut just in front of Sahahla and she hit it in frustration. An explosion somewhere caused the entire station to shake and the emergency lights started to flash red. An alarm announced that evacuation protocols were in effect and everyone needed to get off the station.

"I believe that's the sound of your plan falling apart," Sid pointed out.

Sahahla stopped looking for a way out and instead laughed harshly. "This the part where you tell me to surrender?"

As she turned to face Sid, Sid drew her pistol faster than anyone thought possible and fired off a single shot when her pistol was barely out of the holster. The round hit a very surprised Sahahla and she grunted as she collapsed against the door.

"That's a dirty trick," Sahahla snarled.

Using the pistol still in her hand and her other hand, she gestured to herself. "Uh… duh."

And then Sahahla's biotics flared up and Sid found herself pinned against the window with enough force it was starting to crack.

She grinned, even as blood started to run down from the sides of her lips. "That was your grand plan, Captain? While you're busy here killing me, your crew is as good as dead."

"Unlike you, Sahahla, I have friends," Sid spit back. "My crew has already been rescued, courtesy of Commander Shepard and Cerberus."

Sahahla was so surprised, she dropped her biotics. Or the blood loss was making her weaker. It was hard to tell. Sid collapsed to her knees and ignored the blossoming headache and the feeling of something warm running down the back of her neck. She risked a glance at the window and she could see the crack was spider webbing. It was time to leave but Sid wasn't done here. She slowly stood up and regarded Sahahla emotionlessly. It was surprising how little she felt.

"You're a coward, Sahahla. Convincing Tiro to do what you couldn't, running any chance I had the upper hand," Sid said coldly.

"You want to talk about cowardice?" Sahahla responded harshly and spat some blood on the floor. "You should have killed me when you had the chance, long ago."

"Favouring peace isn't a weakness, Sahahla," Sid answered. "I didn't kill you because I didn't want to. A bad life choice, in hindsight. One I'm rectifying right now. But before I do, tell me what you know about the Shadow Broker?"

"You think I'm going to help?" Sahahla spat furiously.

"It's not like he's helping you right now," Sid pointed out.

"Go to hell!"

Sid then fired off a second shot, hitting Sahahla right between the eyes. "After you."

She slowly straightened and regarded Sahahla's hunched over figure. She still felt nothing.

"Sid, get the hell out of there!" Jo's sudden shouting over the radio caused Sid to jump.

"I'm not usually one to tell you what to do, Cap, but I agree with Commander Shepard," Gambit interjected.

"You tell me what to do all the time," Sid argued as she turned and started running for the shuttle.

"It doesn't count if you don't listen to me," Gambit retorted.

Sid was about to roll her eyes when she instead had to duck into a roll behind a dead krogan as mercenaries started to shoot at her. She quickly returned fire, only to hear the window behind her break. With the damage already sustained to the station, the blast doors didn't shut like they were supposed to and the emergency metal pane that slid over the window got stuff halfway. Sid had to grab onto the door frame as she was sucked in by the vacuum of space. She glanced over her shoulder and pouted. Her pistol was now floating on the outside of the station. Man, that was her favourite gun.

"EDI, a little help?" Sid shouted over her radio and she ducked to avoid various flying mercenaries, bodies and general junk.

::I am attempting to close the blast doors.::

Sid grit her teeth has her shoulder muscles and fingers started to get sore from holding on. This was starting to get old. The door abruptly slammed and Sid hit the floor, the wind knocked out of her lungs.

::The blast doors have been secured. It is advisable that you continue on to the shuttle.::

"And here I was planning on stopping for coffee on the way," Sid grumbled as she scrambled to her feet.

::That is not a recommend course of action.::

Sid could only sigh as she started running again, dodging explosions, tripping over dead bodies and stumbling whenever something else happened to the station that caused it to jerk abruptly. She had to tackle a freelancer who was about to steal her shuttle and then scrambled back into the pilot's seat. Despite everything, Sid wasn't panicking but she knew the importance of moving quickly. Within a few moments, Sid successfully piloted the shuttle out of the hanger and into space, just in time to see sections of the station break apart.

She engaged the auto-pilot to return the shuttle to the Normandy's shuttle bay. She looked down at her hands and was surprised to find that they were steady. A part of her had expected to be shaking like a leaf because she had just done something she had promised herself she would never do: kill an unarmed opponent. It could be argued that Sahahla technically wasn't unarmed since she was a biotic and yet, Sid wasn't looking for loopholes to justify this. She was actually fine and that was somehow more startling than killing Sahahla.

The shuttle soon landed in the shuttle bay and Sid disembarked. By the time she reached the galaxy map, the Normandy and the Hermes had successfully bridged their airlocks so Sid slowly crossed. Jo was still watching her with an unimpressed expression but Sid didn't care. She had done what was necessary to protect her crew.

Shepard watched her little sister closely. It hadn't even registered that the only time Shepard ever saw Sid form a plan beforehand, it had gone perfectly. All she could think about was how drastically different Sid's behaviour had been. It was frightening to know Sid could be so cold and ruthless but more so seeing her out for blood. Sid had gone onto that station with every intention of killing someone and based on the reports from EDI, Sid hadn't entered that fight fairly and even executed Sahahla when she was unarmed. None of that sounded like the Sid she knew.

Before Sid could say anything or Shepard could demand to know what the hell she had been thinking, one of the crew members – the youngest as far as Shepard could tell – tackled Sid in a hug and Sid's expression shifted to something more familiar.

"You're okay!" the young girl exclaimed in relief.

"Of course I am," Sid replied in that light tone of hers. "How is everyone here?"

"No longer trapped like moths in a bath," the other woman crew member answered.

Sid frowned and then glanced at one of the men Shepard recognised from New Canton. "Your word choice, I assume?"

He shrugged. "Seemed apt at the time."

Sid chose not to question and then looked to Shepard. "Commander Jo Shepard, Grunt, Garrus Vakarian and Tali'Zorah vas Normandy, meet the crew of the Hermes. Gambit, my second in command and questionable wordsmith. Ace, you remember as my pilot and general do-gooder. Chef is the best cook around when it comes to food and explosives. Wolf is our muscle and former gun-for-hire of the Shadow Broker. Ricochet is our long range gun expert and he also isn't half bad at dramatic entrances. Angel is our shuttle pilot – don't ever play cards with her. And then, Wisp. Computers expert and mascot."

"Hey!" Wisp whined. "Why am I the mascot?"

Gambit grinned. "Because you're just so damn adorable, kid."

There was a second of silence and then they all started laughing, even the intimidating Wolf. When Shepard first heard that Sid had a new crew, she hadn't expected this and for a group of criminals, they all seemed so likeable. And then it occurred to Shepard: this wasn't just a crew, they were a family. The Normandy was Shepard's family and since Sid was a part of that crew, she just assumed it was her family too. It hadn't occurred to her that Sid could have more than one family.

"What about Sahahla?" Ace suddenly asked and the mood immediately turned serious again.

"Dead," Sid answered simply.

"And the Shadow Broker?" Wisp asked unsurely, like she didn't want to know the answer.

"I'm working on it," Sid replied.

"And what does that mean, exactly?" Shepard demanded irritably. "You ordering my crew around and then going on a suicide mission?"

Sid looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "You do realise you recruited me for a suicide mission?"

"That's not the point," Shepard snapped.

It was unnerving how calm Sid looked. "Oh but it is. It's all good as long as I'm a part of your suicide mission and follow your orders. I did what I had to to protect my crew. Don't tell me you wouldn't do the same for yours."

Shepard didn't reply and instead decided it was time to leave. "We're returning to the Normandy and will leave with or without you in the next ten minutes. We do have other missions to do, after all."

With that, she marched back onto her ship in silence and returned straight to the Loft. It wasn't entirely clear to her why she was so angry and that it had probably been an empty threat. Still, she was in no hurry to have a conversation with her sister.