Jesperson was amazed that he was still alive. He had never expected to wake up after the explosion in the storm drain, let alone wake up with a mended ankle. Oh, to be sure, he was now a prisoner. The very first thing he had seen after waking up was the steel-hard eyes of the once-dead John Shepard. The Spectre quizzed him relentlessly for an hour, and Jesperson had not once thought about lying to him. He figured he was already a dead man walking, and the only thing keeping him alive was utter honesty. After all, the Blue Suns couldn't expect him to die for a mere paycheck.

After the grilling was over, Shepard had leaned back and stared at the medbay wall for a moment while Jesperson waited for his death to be pronounced. After all, if the roles had been reversed he would have cheerfully shoved Shepard out of the nearest airlock. But after a bit, Shepard had turned to a nearby turian and said, "Let's use that supply closet in the starboard cargo bay. Tell Grunt not to eat him."

And now he sat huddled in one corner of that aforementioned closet as he listened to his 'roommate' bang around outside. The krogan had given him a cursory look as he'd been led in. It was a look that said he was a bug not even worth stepping on. That message had been received loud and clear. Jesperson stood and stretched a little as he tested his formerly-shattered ankle. The closet was small enough that, if he wedged himself against the far wall, he could probably force the door open with his legs. The door was just made of thin metal, after all. Then he'd have to defeat a krogan in hand-to-hand combat, sneak down to the hangar without being observed, and steal the ship's shuttle.

Jesperson snorted. And then he could be knighted as the Gumdrop Champion by the Queen of Fairyland while he was at it. No, he was stuck in here until they figured out what to do with him. At least they'd left him some rations and water. He drank a little of the water to calm his nerves. They had also left him a lidded pot, probably in case he had 'business' to attend to. So they probably weren't just going to leave him in here to die. Probably.

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Shepard couldn't get over how much Oriana looked like Miranda. Oriana had the same jet-black hair as Miranda, the same light blue eyes, the same face and figure. Even with the age difference, it would be easy to see that they were twins. But Miranda also had a closed-off aspect to her demeanor that Oriana simply didn't have. Grunt had it right; Oriana looked at everyone directly and without reservation.

He poured her a cup of coffee and handed it to her. She looked around his cabin with undisguised interest. Oriana especially seemed taken by his model ship collection. "You collect them?" she asked, nodding her head towards his display case.

"Yeah. When I have downtime, I need to do something with my hands. They remind me of when I was growing up."

She sipped her coffee. "I didn't know starship captains got such nice digs."

Shepard chuckled. "Mostly they don't. My old cabin on the original Normandy was smaller and a lot more spartan. But Cerberus does like to throw its money around."

Oriana's face tightened a little at the mention of Cerberus. "I can't believe you ever worked for those jerks," she said.

"Worked with, not for," replied Shepard. "Keep in mind, I woke up after being dead for two years and found that all of the higher-ups who'd been blowing smoke up my ass had now turned around and painted me as some kind of a nutjob." He poured himself a cup. "And I have a mission to accomplish. Did Miranda tell you about the Reapers?"

"No, I haven't...talked to her very much," said Oriana. "But I have talked with a few others. Tali filled me in pretty well on them, and on the Collectors."

"So then you know why I had to keep fighting," he said. "When I woke up, Cerberus was willing to give me the resources to do just that. And I thought that I could use them without compromising myself." It wasn't the first time he'd said this to someone. Shepard hoped that, one day, he'd say it enough times that he would finally believe it himself. "But that was before several bits of new information on Cerberus came out. All at once, as it so happened."

"So you're not working with them anymore?"

"I think it's safe to say that The Illusive Man pretty pis...angry at me right now. Which is fair, because if I ever meet him in person I'm...well, it won't end nicely." He figured that Oriana didn't need to hear about the particular details of his final threat to the head of Cerberus.

"It sounds like Cerberus is angry at me, too." Oriana looked gloomily at her cup.

"Nah, you're just caught up in all of this. Miranda is the one who they're upset with."

"Miranda," spat Oriana. It was the first real anger that Shepard had seen out of her. "She's apparently been running my life from behind the scenes for years. And now she's gone and ruined it."

"She thought she was protecting you," said Shepard. "I'm not agreeing with her actions, just explaining them."

"I don't need her protection," snarled Oriana. Then her face softened. "Or yours, for that matter. I appreciate that you and your crew rescued me, but I have a life and a family to get back to."

"That is one option, to be sure," replied Shepard. He tried to keep his voice as mild as possible. This was not a time for emotion. "You have several options, as I said earlier. None of them are great, however. They all suck in different ways."

He leaned back. "Option one is, we work out a way to get you back to your family. In an ideal world, that would be the obvious choice. The downside is that Cerberus will still be after you. They want to hurt Miranda and make an example out of her. And the next time they won't try to kidnap you. They'll try to kill you."

Oriana shrank back into herself a little. "Okay. What else is on the table?"

"Option two is, well, it's what Miranda wants to do."

Oriana glared at him.

"Now just hear me out," he continued. "She wants to leave the Normandy and take you and Jacob with her. The upside is that, my personal feelings aside, both of them are very capable. They'll be able to provide you with good protection. The downside is that you'll be constantly on the run, and it will just be the three of you against the entirety of Cerberus. And they will be coming after Miranda."

Oriana, to Shepard's surprise, actually appeared to consider it. "That's number two. I'm assuming option three is I stay on board?"

Shepard nodded. "In terms of sheer protection from Cerberus, that would be the safest choice. However, the biggest problem with it is that we're not just fighting Cerberus. We're going after the Collectors. And eventually we're going to be taking the fight to them right on their home turf. It's not going to be easy. It's going to be more like...a suicidal task."

Oriana didn't say anything. Her face was troubled as she drank her coffee.

"In any case, you've been jerked around long enough," said Shepard. "It's not right for me to decide. It's up to you. Whatever you want to do, we'll do. Unfortunately, I can't give you a lot of time to think it over. I can only give you twenty-four hours to figure it all out."

Shepard almost expected Oriana to protest and to say that wasn't enough time. Instead, she just nodded and got a very determined look on her face.

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The new guns had almost worked right. Their first shot at an unremarkable hunk of tumbling rock hadn't been perfect. The two parallel slugs of relativistic metal hadn't converged properly, and so the rock was now in a lot of pieces...but not vaporized as it should have been. After seeing the results, Garrus had tracked down the problem. He was deep in the bowels of the forward battery, and had a very small screwdriver placed onto an even smaller set screw. Just as he was tweaking it that last little turn, he heard the door to the battery open. The footsteps were light, so it wasn't Shepard. They were also hesitant, so it wasn't Kasumi. And everybody else knew to keep out of the forward battery while he was calibrating. So that left...

"Hi, Oriana," he said.

"Is this an okay time? I can come back later."

"Yeah, it's fine. You have very good timing, actually. I've just finished." He inched himself back out from under the targeting coil. Oriana stood hesitantly just inside the door. Her arms were crossed over her stomach as if to protect it.

He stood, then grabbed an antiseptic wipe and began cleaning his hands. The battery was finally at what would be considered proper turian cleanliness, and he wanted to keep it that way. "So, did you talk to Shepard?"

"Yeah. I've got a day to figure out what I want to do."

Garrus leaned back against a nearby bulkhead. He looked at Oriana. She looked so young. Far too young to be given a choice like this. He felt a pang of guilt.

"I'm really sorry," he said. "It was on my orders that we grabbed you."

She waved a hand. "I'm not angry about that. If you hadn't stepped in, I'd be strapped to a table right now. They'd be cutting bits off of me and mailing them to Miranda."

Oriana sat cross-legged on the floor. She stared down for a moment as she thought. "You saved me," she said, then looked back up at him. "I just wanted to know why you gave that order. You didn't know me. I was just some abstract concept to all of you. And from what I've heard, Miranda wasn't exactly popular at that moment."

Garrus tilted his head in thought. "Honestly? Once Miranda told us you were in danger, it never really occurred to us to do otherwise. I knew that Shepard would have gone to save you without any hesitation. He wasn't there, so I gave the order in his stead."

"So it is him? Really him? He's not some kind of weird clone or something?"

Garrus smiled. "I knew Shepard, back when we went after Saren. He always gives a little sideways twitch of his head before he brings his sights on a target. He taps the toe of his right boot on the deck just before we hit the ground during a mission. And when he's really stressed, he rubs the back of his neck. It's him."

Oriana took a deep breath. "And the Reapers? They're real too?"

Garrus nodded. "And the Collectors are working for them. We still don't know what they're up to, but whatever it is can't be good."

"I saw the Horizion vids," said Oriana. She shivered. "Thousands of people just gone. And I'm sitting here complaining about my folks being worried."

"Your family cares about you," replied Garrus. "And, honestly, if I was in your place then I'd go back to them."

"Yeah, and then I'd spend the rest of my life waiting for a bullet in the back of my head. If I'm lucky, it would just be a bullet." She stood up and her face hardened. "Or even if that doesn't happen, then in a few years time the Reapers might find a way back into the galaxy and then we're all dead or worse."

Oriana began pacing. "I spoke to Tali," she continued. "She was just a little older than me when she joined up with Shepard the first time. And she didn't even hesitate, she jumped at the chance. What does it say about me if she was willing to help and I'm not?"

Garrus remembered what Tali had said back when she'd joined the hunt for Saren. It sounded eerily similar to what Oriana had just said. "If you're thinking of staying," he said, "You should know we are very definitely going into harm's way."

"I'm in harm's way no matter what," Oriana replied. "But I'm not going to just run home and wait for death. Or run and hide behind Miranda. I'm not running, period. I'm going to face this. And if Shepard is going after the Collectors, then I am too." She stopped pacing and got a very definite set to her features that reminded Garrus of Miranda.

Suddenly her determined look faltered. "Um, that's assuming I can find something to do around here," she added.

Garrus laughed. "Oh, we always can use an extra set of hands." He stood up off of the bulkhead and began walking forward. "What would you like to do?"

Oriana looked even more uncertain. "I don't know. I never really thought about what I wanted to do as an adult. I've always been able to pick up anything if I put my mind to it. Science, math, biology, sports. I never questioned why I could do such things." She put her hands on her hips and snorted. "And it turns out I was some kind of genetic superwoman made by a jerk with a god complex. I sure didn't see that coming."

"If I can give a piece of advice? Ask Shepard. He's got a good eye for talent."

If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

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The screen showed a transparent image of Shepard's neck and shoulders. Chakwas leaned forward and tapped the image's spine, right between the scapula.

"There's the antenna. They managed to work it into the vertebrae and tried to hide it behind some spinal reconstruction. Without an nMRI it would have been very difficult to find."

Shepard scratched over his eyebrow and blew out a breath. He leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling of the medbay. "So Miranda lied about that as well. One more strike against her, I guess."

"I don't believe so," said EDI. "I now have the complete files on The Lazarus Program. This particular vertebrae was shattered completely, and had to be rebuilt from scratch. It was the first reconstruction in the program, and the facilities for such rebuilding weren't yet at Lazarus Station. Miranda outsourced it to another Cerberus cell. As for the other monitoring devices, they all appear to have been 'piggybacked' into other similar reconstructions without Miranda's knowledge."

Shepard nodded. "Well, well. So the superwoman is fallible after all. I'll take your word for it, EDI. I know you have no reason to stick up for Miranda."

"Indeed, Shepard."

He looked at Chakwas. "So can we get it all out?"

The doctor shook her head. "We definitely can't just strip out the antenna. It's too well integrated into the synthetic bone material. And the monitoring devices themselves would also be very difficult to remove. However, we can neutralize the whole system. If we disconnect the leads into the antenna, it won't be able to transmit."

That seemed almost too good to be true. "And we can do that on board?" asked Shepard.

Chakwas nodded. "Yes. It's quite simple, actually. Now that we know where to operate. We could even do it now, if you like. You'll be up and healing in a few hours."

"Do it. There's no time like the present, as they say."

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Kelly stood with her arms at her sides and her feet together, almost as if she was at attention. They all had to stand like that, given that the entire crew was assembled in the CIC. There was no room in the hangar; it was just about full up with both the shuttle and with the salarian's black monstrosity. Samara stood across the CIC from Kelly. Ever since their conversation in the observation lounge, the justicar seemed to be much more relaxed around her. However, Kelly was also pretty sure that Samara was keeping her distance as well. A little portion of Kelly's brain wished that Samara was standing next to her. Given the crowding, it would have been a perfect opportunity to press herself against the justicar's perfect body. The rest of her brain then told her to shut up and stop tormenting herself with what could never be.

The elevator hissed open. Shepard strode out wearing what almost looked like an Alliance full dress uniform. But where an Alliance uniform was blue, this uniform was a deep red. The standard Alliance yellow piping was now white. The uniform had no insignia or rank pips on the collar. Kelly had expected the new outfit; indeed, she had suggested to Shepard to suddenly reveal it like this. It said in no uncertain terms that their ties to Cerberus were utterly severed. And it worked as intended; she heard the mutters and shifting as their new situation really began to sink in for the crew.

"Commander on deck!" barked Garrus, who had been standing right beside the elevator. They all snapped to full attention stance as Shepard mounted the few steps to the dais which overlooked the galaxy map. There was no holographic map today; the display was blank so that the Commander could see everyone.

"At ease," said Shepard. He paused to look over his crew. "Everyone is aware of our changed circumstances," he continued. "But I wanted to make a formal announcement. In light of recent new information, particularly with regards to the Teltin facility on Pragia and the contents of Directive One Nine Omega, the Normandy has severed ties with Cerberus. As of now, we are an independent entity. I do not take this action lightly; I know a great many of you signed on as Cerberus personnel. Right now, I'm giving you all a one-time choice. If you wish to leave the ship, you may do so. There will be no recriminations or hard feelings towards anyone who wishes to leave. We are going to be dropping off Rentola and his team within the next thirty-six hours. That will be your final opportunity to leave. If you are still aboard after that, then I will assume that you are still committed to this ship and to our mission."

He clasped his hands behind his back and looked down. "Now, on to other related issues. Engineering Assistants Rogers and Abramson are not staying. They will be put ashore, along with our Blue Suns guest, when Rentola and his team leave. Then I am washing my hands of them." He looked up with a more pleasant expression. "Oriana Brewster, however, will be staying on board. At the moment, she will be dividing her time between assisting Marcus and Tali in Engineering and working with Mordin on his experiments."

Kelly glanced towards Oriana. The young girl's face looked resolute, but Kelly could see that her eyes were scared. Kelly then looked over at Miranda, who stood with Jacob on the left side of the galaxy map from Shepard. She could tell that Miranda kept glancing towards her cloned sibling, apparently trying to catch the eye of her sister. Oriana ignored her attempts.

Shepard continued. "I just want to remind everyone that Oriana is new to ship-board life. Just be patient with her as she learns the ropes. Now for the final matters. Miranda Lawson, please step forward."

Miranda did so, staring straight ahead at no one in particular.

"You attempted to usurp my authority," said Shepard. "You also aided and abetted a conspiracy against one of the Normandy's crew. Ordinarily, these actions taken together would result in a sentence of death."

That last word seemed to fall like a heavy weight in the room. Jack looked over at Miranda with pure hate. Jack had been angry with Kelly many times, but the biotic had never looked at her like that. And Kelly was suddenly very grateful for that. To her credit, Miranda didn't seem to flinch or falter.

"These are not ordinary times, however," continued Shepard. "You still possess valuable information on Cerberus tactics and command structures. I cannot waste that. And you have done what you could to mitigate the damage which your actions caused. As corny as it sounds, I still believe in redemption. Miranda Lawson, you are hereby stripped of your rank. For now, you will not be held under arrest. But you should consider yourself under a stay of execution. Any, and I mean any questionable activity on your part, and I will personally march you into the airlock without a suit. Am I making myself clear?"

"Yes, sir," said Miranda in a steady voice.

Shepard nodded. "Jacob Taylor, please step forward."

Jacob looked like he was expecting the headsman's axe, but stepped up beside Miranda anyway.

"You received questionable orders," said Shepard. "And executed those orders against fellow crewmembers without thinking upon them. As you well know, humanity has learned the hard way that 'I was only following orders' is never a good enough excuse. While your crimes are not as great as Ms. Lawson's, I believe that they have severely damaged your ability to work with the ground team and with the crew. Ordinarily, I would put you ashore alongside Rogers and Abramson. However, given your senior status within Cerberus I believe it is certain that they will try to kill you. I am therefore giving you a choice to stay aboard and accept my punishment, or leave and take your chances."

Jacob didn't hesitate for a second. "I wish to stay aboard, sir."

Shepard pursed his lips. "Very well. Jacob Tayor, you are also hereby stripped of your rank. You will continue to be the ground team armorer, but while working in the armory you will be under supervision at all times. You are also no longer on the roster for any planetside missions. As with Miranda, you are to consider yourself under careful observation. Any infraction will result in me dumping your ass on the nearest planet, whether it has a breathable atmosphere or not. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," said Jacob stiffly. Kelly saw Miranda shift slightly and brush her hand against Jacob's.

Shepard now looked around the room. "As for the rest of you," he said. "Consider this a closure of this whole matter. I know many of you hold grudges over what happened, but I will not tolerate any abuse of Miranda or Jacob."

Kelly saw Jack's fists clench upon hearing Shepard's declaration. Donnelly put a hand on her shoulder and whispered something in her ear which made her relax a little.

"Now, as to the future," continued Shepard. He made a little voila gesture over his own clothing. "Obviously, we're not wearing Cerberus colors or logos anymore. Kelly and Garrus put this color scheme together, and at our next stop we're going to procure new uniforms for everybody. They'll be more or less similar to what you're wearing now, just a bit different. I'm also looking into what it will take to get the Normandy itself repainted, but that may have to wait depending on our funds. Rest assured, however, that no matter what that damned Cerberus logo is coming off of our hull."

That last bit of news cheered everyone up, even Miranda and Jacob.

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Oriana was about to head through the door into Engineering for her first shift when Shepard caught up to her. He no longer looked as satisfied as he had during the all-hands meeting. "We just heard something, and I needed to tell you before you found out from anyone else," he began. Her heart did a fearful flip in her chest as he kept speaking. "Your family is fine, okay? They're still in Nos Astra and they're all just fine. But Ferris Fields was hit."

"My family was heading there," said Oriana in a bit of a daze.

"I know. That's why I wanted to reassure you before you heard it through the rumor mill."

She put one hand on the wall to steady herself. In her mind's eye she remembered the video she'd seen of the battle on Horizon. The thought of another colony of people buried under the Collector Swarms made her feel faint. "Who did it? Was it the Collectors?"

Shepard rubbed the back of his neck. "It sure sounds like them. The colony dropped off of the Extranet, and finally somebody got around to checking it out. There was nobody left." He took a deep breath. "And now I've got to go find Crewman Hadley. He had a brother on Ferris Fields." He looked at Oriana. "Are you scared?"

She nodded. "I'm sorry, I know I should be braver, but...what we're fighting is kind of scary."

"It is scary," he replied. "And don't be sorry. Fear is a good motivator. Only fools feel no fear, and I know that you are no fool." He stepped a little closer. "Take that fear. Use it. Don't let it use you. I promise you, we will pay that fear back to them. With interest."

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"Fifteen minutes to drop, folks," said Joker's voice.

Rentola nodded to Karlon, and the salarian driver gave Shepard one final handshake before swinging himself up into the Big Wheel. Shepard looked over the large vehicle with some envy. He'd never gotten a chance to drive it. "And you're sure this will be a good planet for you?" he asked Rentola.

The salarian commando nodded. "We have an STG cell here. I know my superiors are going to be glad to get this old girl back." He patted the side of the black IFV.

The mention of superiors made Shepard wince. "You're not going to be getting in trouble with your bosses, are you?" he asked. "If you need me to talk to them, I can. For whatever that's worth."

Rentola smiled. "STG doesn't really have 'policies', exactly. But ever since the Migrant Fleet incident, our 'policy' has been to give Cerberus a headache whenever possible. I'm very sure my bosses are going to just put this whole thing down to that and look the other way."

Shepard nodded and felt a little bit of relief. "That's something, at least. I can't thank you enough, Rentola. If you ever need anything, let me know. I'll be there."

The salarian shrugged. "As I told Doctor Chakwas, I owe you my life. Don't worry about paying me back, just make sure you pass it on down the line. After all, that's what keeps the Big Wheel turning."

Shepard gave the salarian vehicle a confused look, and Rentola laughed.

"Not that Big Wheel. I mean the Big Wheel of existence."

A small party entered the hangar, led by Tali. Abramson, Rogers, and the Blue Suns mercenary all but marched forward, flanked by Mordin and Garrus while Grunt loomed behind them all. The two Cerberus operatives and the merc were all handcuffed, and both of the former Normandy crew looked pale and uncertain. Abramson still sported a truly impressive lump on his forehead. The group marched up to the side of the Big Wheel.

"Rentola," said Mordin, "Please give compliments to Kirrahe when you see him next. Tell that old cloaca to keep safe." He shook hands with the salarian.

The Blue Suns merc looked around as if he was still expecting a bullet in the head. "Hey, um, I just wanted to say thanks for not-"

"Shut up and get in the vehicle," interrupted Garrus. "Run like hell when you hit dirtside. If we see you again, I'll shoot you myself." The merc ducked his head in a half-assed bow and quickly pulled himself in.

Shepard smiled. "If you all want to have a moment to say goodbye to Rentola, go ahead. I have a couple of things to get straight with our former crewmen, here." He gave the two assistants his best 'I'ma Eat Your Liver' glare. They both became even more pale.

Mordin, Tali and Garrus walked off a little ways with Rentola and began talking in low tones. Shepard looked at Abramson and Rogers for a moment without saying anything.

"Listen, Shepard," said Rogers desperately, "You need to understand. We had orders direct from The Illusive Man. We had to act as we did. If we didn't follow those orders, we'd be dead."

"Well, then," replied Shepard. "You should both be in the clear, yes? I'm sure The Illusive Man will be more than happy to welcome such loyal men back into the fold."

"Cerberus doesn't tolerate failure," said Abramson. His tone was morose and helpless. "We have to run for it, you know that."

Shepard cocked his head at them. "You knew that your organization was capable of such cruelty. Yet, somehow neither of you never thought to ask yourself if you were on the wrong side." Abramson didn't say anything and looked aside.

"The real tragedy," continued Shepard, "is that if you had come to me, either of you, and explained your situation I would have helped you both. I would have stood by you against the entirety of Cerberus. Hell, the whole crew would have. Do you see anybody else here? They're all staying."

"We could just eat them, Shepard," said Grunt. "it's a waste of good protein to let them go."

"No," replied Shepard. "They need to carry a message, in the likely event that they do get picked up by Cerberus." He crossed his arms. "You tell The Illusive Man that, thanks to his messing around on Illium, we missed the chance to do anything about Ferris Fields. If he really wants to do something about the Collectors, then tell him to stay out of our way. Also, Oriana Brewster's family is to be considered off limits. If any of them so much as stubs their toe, I will consider us to be in open conflict with Cerberus. It will be war, and I will bring that war to him without restraint."

Abramson looked up. "We'll give him the message, if it comes to that. Can you...can you tell Donnelly that it was nothing personal? I always liked him and Tali."

Shepard felt a flare of anger in his stomach, and he stepped forward into Abramson's personal space. "You don't get to speak Tali's name. You both pointed guns at her. If I didn't need you to take that message, I would be discussing your behavior with both of you right now in private. I'd even give you a two-on-one advantage. I promise you that you'd need it."

Tali walked up at behind Rogers. "Are you done terrorizing these bosh'tets?" She winked one silver eye at Shepard, and he felt his bad mood suddenly evaporate.

He gave a little belly laugh. "Yeah, I guess I am."

"Good," said Tali. She turned gave the two assistants a withering glance. They didn't speak again and meekly allowed themselves to be herded into the Big Wheel. Rentola gave Shepard one last nod and followed them. The vehicle's door slid shut just as the first notes of 'Proud Mary' began to play in the vehicle's interior.

"Five minutes to drop," said Joker's voice.

Shepard was suddenly aware of Tali's body heat. She stood very close to his side.

"You're really cute when you go into full-on 'protective' mode," said Tali. "You do know that I handled both of those idiots without a problem, right?"

"I know," replied Shepard. "I just don't...like it when you're put in danger." Why he didn't like it was something he knew full well but couldn't bring himself to say out loud to her.

Say something, you idiot, he told himself. But that was ridiculous. He wasn't a quarian. Tali deserved a proper relationship, with someone she could be physical with. She could do so much better than a disgraced Spectre. There was a long but not uncomfortable silence. An alarm began blaring, and the hangar door swung down. There was a howl of displaced air and Shepard felt himself rock a little bit in the wind that suddenly blew through the hangar. Tali grabbed his arm to steady herself.

"Sorry," she yelled over the wind.

"No problem," Shepard yelled back. He put his palm over her gloved hand and smiled at her. He saw her suddenly turn her head away as if she was embarrassed. Now what was that all about? He almost asked her, but then there followed a sudden roar and The Big Wheel surged forward out of the hangar.

"I wish we still had the Mako!" yelled Shepard. "I really miss these drops!"

Tali shook her head.

"Of course you do!" yelled Garrus from near the hangar door. "You never had to fix the Mako after you were done driving it, Shepard!"