My Fem!Shepard: high bun, brunette hair, lavender/violet eyes. Earthborn – Sole Survivor – Infiltrator (I had her as a Sentinel in the game, but for the story she's this.)

If you don't know the Italian, I used the google translator. I know I'm horrible. But I wanted to punch this out. I am planning to learn Italian though. :D

Follow You Home – NickelBack

They had received a distress call from Zanethu in the Ploitari System of the Hourglass Nebula. It was asking for help from people of the White Lotus. He called back to the Fifth Fleet, who told him to investigate. So he was down on the surface on the planet near a research building with his ground team. Sarah Williams, Ashley's little sister had been put under his command after the events of Horizon. At first he wasn't too sure about it, but she had proved herself a great soldier and friend. She looked almost like her sister. Instead of having her hair in a low bun, she had it in a mid-high ponytail. Her brown eyes were determined and reminiscent of her elder sister's. Beside her was his Lieutenant Jessica Chavis. She was an infiltrator, his main tech specialist. She had black hair and the most beautiful blue eyes. Shaking his head away from those thoughts, he motioned both women forward into the research facility. The distress signal had said they were to pick up a woman by the name of Alma Shaw. But getting into the place had proved more troublesome than they thought. It was being guarded by various Mercenaries under the pay of Cerberus.

Kaidan had nearly destroyed his room when he learned the facility belonged to Cerberus. He immediately grew suspicious and didn't want to go into the base, but under orders from Hackett as well as Anderson had continued on with the mission. It grew apparent that they were not the only ones taking out Cerberus members when they stumbled into a room with many dead Cerberus employees and mercenaries.

"This looks like it was done with precision Commander," Sarah said as she knelt beside one of the bodies.

"This many people dead…there must be another strike team of at least six." Chavis suggested. "How do you want to precede Kaidan?"

"We find Shaw," Kaidan answered as he checked the map on his omnitool. "Then get the hell out of here."

They had swept through the place with minimal resistance, which caused the hair on Kaidan's nape to stand on end. Something was wrong here. They should have run into heavy waves of mercenaries, but all they found were bodies and a few stragglers.

"Curiouser and Curiouser…" Sarah murmured as she kept her assault rifle high as she swept her eyes over another room. She signaled an all clear for the room.

"Something tells me this is no random strike," Chavis said. Kaidan didn't reply as he pushed forward searching for some clues as to what was happening. "I don't like it."

"Think this could be a trap?" Sarah asked.

"Possibly," The older woman said. "It could also be a raid from another party. Geth, Pirates…who knows?"

"Shh…" Kaidan whispered as he listened. At the end of the hall was a locked door. Behind that door he heard murmurs of people talking. A man and a woman. He signaled his team forward and they stealthily made their way toward the door. Chavis immediately set out to hack the lock for them.

"You bitch! You were the mole!" The man shouted.

"No! Please!" The woman pleaded. Kaidan felt his heart sped up.

"Jessica, hurry up!" He said.

"Patience Commander," Chavis said as she tried to hack the dead bolt seal.

"I'm going to kill you!" The man roared.

There was a gunshot and a feminine scream then silence. They heard gentle whispers just as Chavis got it open. The door slid back to reveal a hooded woman with a pistol in her hand and what looked to be a large knife sheathed on her left shoulder. She was standing in front over a dead Cerberus soldier, her gun down as she talked with Alma.

Sarah watched as her Commander and Lieutenant fired at the woman. She didn't know why, it didn't seem as if they were taking in the whole situation. Alma's face immediately turned from being relieved to one of horror. The hooded woman saw the change, but couldn't move fast enough. She spun around, her arm arching out throwing a biotic arch at them. Sarah avoided it by ducking. Most of the bullets missed vital points but a three caught her left side and one her rip hip. Sarah quickly turned to watch as Kaidan and Jessica were thrown out of the room. The young woman stood up, her gun ready, as the hood fell off of the armed person in front of her. White hair slipped out in a low ponytail as blue-silver eyes faded to a familiar violet.

"Dru!" Alma shouted as the hooded woman stumbled, as the pain began to surge through her side.

"Dillo a Brian quello che hai trovato Alma, (Tell Brian what you found, Alma)" The woman said as Kaidan and Chavis came back into the room.

"Sì, mia regina. (Yes, my queen)" Alma answered back. "May the Lotus unfold…"

"And may its light give you strength." Her violet eyes said before they caught Kaidan's.

His eyes widened as he stared at the white haired woman. "Shepard…"

"Alenko…" Her violet eyes narrowed as she raised her pistol and aimed it toward him.

"Shepard!" Sarah got in the line of fire, in front of Kaidan. Shepard's eyes flickered toward her, widening.

"Ashley?" She murmured softly.

"I'm Sarah, Ashley's sister." Sarah answered. "Put the gun down ma'am."

Shepard narrowed her eyes again before straightening her aim. As she pulled the trigger, Chavis also let loose a shot in defense. Shepard's bullet whizzed past Kaidan and Sarah into a Cerberus scientist's head that had snuck up on them. Chavis's bullet dug into Shepard's shoulder, making her spin right on impact. Dropping her pistol she pressed her left hand into her side.

"Damn," She murmured as her comm. device cackled.

"Shepard, come in Commander!" Joker's voice echoed a bit. Shepard winced at the loud volume.

"Easy, not deaf and kind of busy!" She murmured as she watched Kaidan step up to the woman.

"Stand down Lieutenant!" He barked.

"But she's Cerberus!" Chavis glared at him.

"If she was, why would she save my life?" Alma interjected. Shepard glanced down at the petite woman. Alma gave a small nod as Kaidan had a stare down with Chavis, Shepard whispered a quick apology to her. The scientist grinned.

"I'm sorry sir, but Alliance High Command says capture Shepard on sight." Chavis said as she turned her aim back on Shepard. Alma jumped on her, forcing her arms down.

"Don't harm her!" The scientist shouted.

Shepard threw down a flash bang, blinding all of them. As she ran past she pushed Alma a bit further into Chavis knocking them both down.

"Joker, tell the shuttle I'm planning to jump off the roof."

"WHAT?"

Chavis grunted as she and Alma impacted on the ground. Kaidan blinked away his blindness just in time to see Shepard running out the door. "Williams, Chavis stay with Shaw!" He ordered as he rushed out after her.

Kaidan didn't know why he followed her, he was still mad with her. Where the hell did she gain biotics from? Were those improvements from Cerberus and their experimenting? His mind burned with more anger. Was she letting them do this? His thoughts quickly changed as he saw how much blood was leading him to Shepard as he gave chase. Did Chavis and he hit vitals? His chest constricted as he thought about it. Glancing up he saw that he was in an open stairwell.

"Shepard!" He called, aiming at up the stairs with his pistol. Despite his emotions, he was a soldier. He needed to be prepared for anything. "I have to take you in Shepard."

"I didn't come back from the Galactic Core just to get arrested Kaidan," She answered as she looked over the edge of the railing.

Kaidan frowned. She had gotten three stories above him already. They had gotten reports that the Omega-4 Relay was used a few weeks ago. They didn't expect anyone to come back. But Kaidan knew that Shepard was the only one crazy enough and determined enough to do both. But why did she stay hidden for all these weeks? Why was she here? Making up his mind he raced up the stairs after her. He was going to get answers.

Shepard burst through the roof exit panting and pale. "Don't run up seven stories with five bullets in you…got it." She looked down to see both hands bloodied and slick. "Well Cerberus did something right if I'm still standing."

Limping to the edge of the roof she glanced down and nodded. She'd be able to do what she wanted. She just hoped Garrus would forgive her for being a bit reckless.

A loud bang signaled Kaidan's arrival on the roof. She frowned. That was quicker than she thought.

"Seems you've been making sure your stamina is above par." She turned as she looked over at him.

"Have to do something in my spar time," Kaidan answered, his pistol aimed at her. "We all can't run off and fight Collectors."

Shepard scowled at him. "You make it seem like I had a choice."

"You had a choice!"

"Then what!" She asked. "Let the Collectors continue what they were doing? Because it didn't seem like the Alliance or Council cared!"

"We would have figured out something." Kaidan said lowering his pistol. "You didn't have to work with Cerberus."

"By then it would have been too late!" She shouted. "I made due with that I had!"

"You should have let me help you," He moved to step forward only to stop when he heard thrusters.

"Sorry, my ride's here." She smirked at him flipping backwards off the edge of the building.

Kaidan raced to the railing just as a shuttle rose into view and started to pull away. The door was open showing him who was inside. Garrus was on the stairs with Shepard holding his hand on the stairs. He could tell by the way she was leaning against him that her wounds were bad. The turian handed her off to a drell within the cabin before turning to stare Kaidan down as the shuttle moved away. From the looks of it, Garrus was glaring at him. Sighing, Kaidan went back into the building to regroup with his team.

"Commander?" Sarah asked in question.

"She got away," He answered as he walked past her toward Alma who was standing beside Chavis. Kaidan wanted answers. His mind had gone over the situation and he realized that Alma somehow knew Shepard.

"Should have let me shot her," Chavis adjusted her hold on her weapon. "I would have been able to disable her."

Alma snorted. "Good luck with keeping a woman like her down," She said in a light tone. "She had five bullets in her as she ran to the roof, you think you'd be able to keep her down?"

Kaidan narrowed his eyes at Alma. "Enough! You are going to answer my questions and you are going to answer them now." He said with a stern voice. "How do you know Shepard?"

Alma stared up at the four councilors in silence. After Kaidan had asked her how she knew Shepard, she became silent. Not saying more than a few words and none of them about her camaraderie with Shepard. He had put Sarah in charge of her as they got back on the ship, then she rarely saw him until they were getting off at the Citadel, two weeks after her pick up. She liked Sarah. The girl had a good head on her shoulders. It was sad that she had to have a Commander like Kaidan. Alma frowned as she thought about the Alliance soldier. Her boss was not going to like what she found out while she was on his ship.

"Human, if you don't tell us what you found in the Cerberus facility we will have no choice but to force you to tell us." The Turian councilor said.

"I have no allegiance to the Council or the Alliance," Alma answered calmly. "You cannot force me to do anything."

The Asari's eyebrows furrowed. "Yet you allowed yourself the luxuries of being held by both."

"A misstep on my part," Alma answered. "I did not intend to be picked up by you or the Alliance."

"Yes, you are apart of the White Lotus." The Turian Councilor said. "The White Lotus is nothing but a myth."

"Oh really?" A man said as he walked up the stairs and onto the platform where Alma was standing. "You just don't acknowledge what you wish gone." The man had a close cut shaved head and violet eyes. His hand intimately touched her waist before he stepped in front of the scientist, shielding her from the eyes of the councilors. He wore a casual pair of jeans with a black shirt underneath an army green military styled jacket. "She's under my protection Councilors, you can't touch what is mine."

Kaidan raised an eyebrow at the man. Who was he to interrupt a council meeting? He and his team were standing further back from Alma and the council. Kaidan's eyes turned toward Anderson to see him lose a few shades of color as his eyes stared at the new man.

"Wolf," The Salarian councilor said. "She's is one of your acolytes?"

"She is of the White Lotus if that's what you mean. She's part of your 'myth'." He said using his figure as quotes around his last word. His eyes narrowed at the council as he put his arms down. "But what I do in the Terminus with my teams are none of your concern per our arrangement." Violet eyes were solely looking at the dark skinned human of the council.

"This woman sent out a distress signal," Anderson said looking at the man with a slight defeated look on his face. "The Alliance responded to it."

"The Alliance heard she was calling for White Lotus, it is not my fault if Hackett let the ground team of the SSV Piedmont continue forward." The man said. "You had no right barging into Lotus territory and butt into our business."

"Now wait a minute, we were just helping!" Sarah said. Everyone turned their eyes one her. Kaidan glared at Williams. His eyes told her that now was not the time to be insubordinate. She frowned and bowed her head.

Alma walked forward and gently put her hand on Wolf's arm shaking her head. He didn't say anything as he turned back to Williams. "You may have wanted to help soldier, but the fact that you guys stormed the place got Alma caught."

"There was another person there." Kaidan said. They hadn't given their report yet, so no one knew it was Shepard. He had told Chavis and Williams not to say anything and let him take care of it. Chavis had problems with it, but Sarah just shrugged.

"There was more than one," Wolf answered. "The fact remains when the Alliance appeared they thought she was a spy for you. I needed Alma to have that cover, but now it is blown." He turned back to the Council to glare at Anderson. "You need to tread more carefully while in my space."

"So we understand that Wolf," Anderson said. "We did not mean for that to happen."

"Either way," The Turian Councilor interrupted. "We would like to know the information that she has collected. It may help us bring down Cerberus."

Wolf raised one eyebrow before turning to look at Alma. "What we were trying to find was no evidence against them, but research on a project. I am hoping it will open your eyes, but perhaps I am being too hopeful." He nodded to her.

Alma looked up at the man with a frown. "But…"

"It's okay Alma," The man said with a soft smile. "The information was going to be sent to Anderson after I was through with it anyway."

The woman nodded and stepped forward, her omni-tool appearing as she typed at it. A large holo-screen appeared in front of the councilors with a medical chart on it. The contents began to shift as Alma spoke.

"Two years ago, White Lotus heard about the death of Commander Shepard. After we learned what had happened and what the Alliance did to her memory, Wolf decided that it was time for our own action." She glanced at the ground team before focusing her gaze on Anderson. "We got Intel on Cerberus and used that to make precision strikes to four various bases in order to find Shepard's body. All of them ended in failure because Cerberus kept moving her." On the screen it showed White Lotus members in normal armor standing in labs and in front of buildings that held the Cerberus logo. "When Shepard resurfaced, Wolf wanted answers that he couldn't get from the source. Three highly skilled individuals were sent to infiltrate Cerberus research labs to find that info. I was the lucky one to find everything he wanted." The pictures of a burnt and meaty looking body appeared.

"Jesus, Mary and Joseph…" Sarah whispered as the Asari councilor gasped.

"What is that?" The Turian Councilor asked in shock.

"That is the body that was given to Cerberus after the fall of the Normandy." Wolf answered. "Ladies and Gentlemen, that is what Commander Shepard looked like after the attack on the Normandy."

"It can't be…" Anderson murmured.

Kaidan's eyes were wide as he stared at the picture. They had actually taken her body from the crash site of the Normandy to experiment on it. He felt his chest swell as he clenched his fist in anger. He knew Cerberus was ruthless, but this was ridiculous!

"As you can see Shepard was clinical dead. She was injured from falling through space and the atmosphere of the planet she landed on. Despite that, Cerberus knew that they needed her. So the Illusive Man put billions into resurrecting her." Alma answered as the pictures showed the body in a lab, on a steel table. Charts appeared showing the non-beating heart and all the broken bones in the body.

"Resuscitating her…you mean…" the Asari councilor's voice quivered.

"Not resuscitation. They literally brought Shepard back from the dead. You can't resuscitate someone after they burn through the atmo, Councilor," Wolf's voice was stern and snappish. "Play the videos."

Alma nodded and hit a few keys. Miranda's face appeared on the holo-screen. They listen to Miranda's logs about how the Illusive Man wanted Shepard back exactly the way she was before. No changes in anything. As the woman continued Alma turned to glance back at the ground team.

The detailed reports of the injuries and the progress of the procedure made Kaidan sick. How could these people do that? He felt the bile in the back of his throat as he forced himself to watch the videos.

Alma looked at the rest of the crew. They didn't look too healthy either. Wolf caught her eye causing her to turn back to the council. They looked shock and uncomposed. Good, because that was one hell of a wake up call. Soon the video-logs were over.

"I present, Project Lazarus…" Alma said as the picture of a burnt body slowly went through the process of looking like Shepard. "Cybernetics and organics combined. Her natural abilities have been improved, but there is a theory that she also burns out faster." She was now talking more to Wolf than the council. "I haven't been able to scan the research, so I can't tell if there are any side effects of what they've done or if the theory holds true." She tapped a few keys to show the picture of the Normandy SR-2. "I did find out she has stolen the Normandy SR-2 and its crew from the Illusive Man, causing him to become very upset with her. Rumor has it he's sending mercs to try to force her back by any means necessary." Her eyes looked straight into Wolf's, whispering to him. "She saved me from being killed on the base."

"Bene, (Good)" He murmured back.

Alma closed down the feed to the holo-screen and looked at the councilors. "Commander Shepard has only just now come back from the Omega-4 relay a few weeks ago after being there for five days. She's rescued not only her crew but us as well. Cerberus has been taking extra precautions to ensure that their facilities are equipped to challenge her."

Wolf scoffed and looked at the councilors. "She's doing you a favor." He said getting Anderson's attention. "She's using her skills she gained in her youth to get information for you."

"I have a question," Chavis interrupted. "If the distress signal was calling for White Lotus members, why did she respond?" Kaidan wanted to know that as well. But cursed and glared at Chavis before she realized her mistake.

"Shepard was there?" Anderson asked. Kaidan stepped forward and told the Council his report.

"She seemed to know Alma, they were speaking to each other in a different language." He finished.

"Italian…" Wolf answered as he glared at the ground team.

Kaidan narrowed his eyes at the man. "When I pursued her, she escaped."

"That's not surprising." Wolf said. "The only part of the Alliance that is known for making good soldiers is the N7 division. I don't think this information is relevant."

"We do," The Salarian Councilor said. "If Shepard is still a member of Cerberus, she could be a danger."

"Danger?" Wolf asked slowly to clarify. "I don't think a Cerberus member would risk her neck for colonists and her crew. I also don't think that a Cerberus member would need to be sneaking around in a Cerberus owned facility."

"She's is trying to trick you into a false sense of guard." The Turian Councilor said. "You humans are so easily fooled."

Wolf's eyes narrowed. "You underestimated her judgment when you let Saren run around. You failed to use her to her potential, forcing her to hunt for Geth in the Terminus causing her downfall. When she comes back for assistance against a known enemy you spurn her." He hissed. "You are the fools."

"Watch your mouth child," The turian councilor said.

"Child?" Wolf roared, his voice echoing through the chamber. Alma took a step back as Kaidan and his team winced at the loudness.

"Easy," Anderson said. "There is no need to argue."

"This is true," The Asari Councilor said. "Unless you can provide solid evidence that Shepard hasn't betrayed us we cannot…"

Alma raised an eyebrow and decided to answer Anderson's unspoken question. Why was Shepard at a Cerberus facility then? "Shepard has been raiding Cerberus facilities to get enough equipment to make sure the Normandy makes its way into the Citadel. The ship was badly damaged when she went through the O-4 Relay. She is destroying Cerberus facilities and stealing their equipment. What more proof do you need?"

"That is still not enough," The turian councilor spoke.

Alma frowned as Wolf clenched his fist. He glanced at her and she shook her head. His face contorted into a half hidden snarl before he began to speak.

"I know she hasn't betrayed us because Commander Shepard is…"

"I think that's as far as you go Wolf," A female voice said from the top of the stairs. Everyone turned to see Commander Shepard standing there in an outfit similar to Wolf. Her black jeans and short black jacket were accented by the green tank top she wore. Behind her were Garrus and a hooded woman, both alert and ready. Her hair was white against the dark clothing. She smirked at them and raised an eyebrow. "Am I late?"