A/N: This is the sequel to "An Empty Divide. Enjoy! It's still a work in progress, but enjoy nonetheless.

Disclaimer: All characters, and places in the ME universe are owned by Bioware.

0038 Zulu 07.11.2184

Dark rhythms filled the club in Shin Akiba. Heavy tribal beats thudded in Nevara's ears. Cloistered in a corner booth where the lights were at their dimmest; she stared at the glass in front of her. The iridescent colors from the lights swirled around the ice, refracting on to the table like a morbid rainbow. She hadn't drunk from it; instead she watched the condensation on the glass slip down the sides and pool at the base of the glass. She panned the room looking at all the unfamiliar faces enjoying the night with pure ecstasy.

Sliding from the booth, she made her way to the dance floor. Something primal in the drone of the bass beckoned her to join the massive wave of bodies. Her body swayed with the meter of the music. Her gyrations were fluid and flowing. In the compact space of the very open floor, she felt watched. Her eyes left the asari female standing in front of her and she looked into the crowd of onlookers that were making chit-chat; lost in their own conversations. A flash of the turian from the year before came into view. Nevara blinked the sweat out of her eyes and they realigned. There was no turian. There was no one. You're imagining things, girl.

Nevara's skin glistened with perspiration as the music drew to its climax. Bodies moving in conjunction with each other ground to an orgy of writhing beings. The dancing was sexual. It overrode everything grounding Commander Shepard as a military officer. A male with green eyes had replaced the asari and was sliding his hand over her hips. It was erotica in its simplest form. The bass kept going; ebbing and flowing, urging the dancers on. Hedonistic pleasure filled Nevara. It wracked her core in shockwaves. Her dance partner was lost in the red head's seductive dance.

When the music's finale came, she was drenched in sweat. Her pulse raced and that drink she had left behind at her private table called to her. The green-eyed man leaned in close to her and asked her if she wanted a drink. Nevara pointed to her table and the lone glass sitting upon the table. Her smile faded quickly when she realized that a familiar face was sitting at the table as well. She apologized to the stranger and as quickly and calmly as she could, she went back to the table to see who was in her space.

"Captain Anderson?" asked Nevara. She saluted at the man in his dress uniform. He didn't bother standing; he just nodded and waved her to sit down.

"Commander Shepard, how is your free time going?"

"Fine, sir. I didn't expect to see you here." She stammered. She didn't know how long he'd been there; all she knew was that it had probably been too long. From a military standpoint, it didn't fit the decorum of military regulations.

"I know you didn't. I just thought I would drop by. You are a difficult woman to find sometimes." Captain Anderson stated, as he slid a datapad over to her.

"What's this?" Nevara asked.

"You're next assignment. Don't read it here." Captain Anderson stated, looking around the room. "You need to get back to Arcturus as soon as possible. That's all I'm going to say about it right now."

"Sir?"

"I know your leave is being cut short, but we need you on this one. Lieutenant Alenko will be waiting for you at your hotel."

"Understood, sir. I'll leave immediately." Nevara told him.

Captain Anderson slid from the booth and Nevara followed. She saluted him again, feeling very sheepish about herself. Captain Anderson saluted back and shook her hand before leaving the club. Nevara sipped her drink and grabbed the datapad before making her way to the bartender.

The blond woman standing behind the bar smiled as Nevara approached. She wiped the bar down with a damp rag and rested her hands on it.

"Whatcha need, hon?" The bartender asked with a heavy Southern accent.

"I'm closing out my tab for the night." Nevara told her, searching for her credit chit.

"Don't worry about it, hon, someone's already paid for it." The blond woman smiled as she spoke.

"May I ask who?" Nevara asked.

"I couldn't tell you who it was. They just paid for it and left."

"Okay. Can you tell me what they looked like?"

"I don't know, average. Human. He did leave this though."

She looked around the room suspicious of anyone looking at them. When she thought it was safe, she pulled a small box from under the counter. Nevara looked at it and then at the bartender. Her smile had faded now and her eyes were narrow. Her shoulders were very rigid and her face was drawn with nervousness.

"I see. Thank you." Nevara said. She looked around the room herself before grabbing the box and putting it under her arm.

The barmaid relaxed a little and winked at Nevara before stating, "Good luck out there, Shepard."

It rattled Nevara and her eyes locked on the woman's. She knew what was going on when the accent that the woman had carried had slipped. It sent a shiver down her spine and made knots grow in her stomach.

"Thank you again." Nevara obliged. She tried to keep her cool in that instant.

Her muscles tensed as she walked back to her hotel. She was on high alert all the way there. She was suspicious of any activity that was around her. There was no way of knowing what was going on until she got back to her room. Even then, she wasn't safe. She knew that Kaidan was going to be there when she arrived, but that gave her little solace to the fact of how dangerous the information she was carrying could be.

When she arrived at the small hotel, she was greeted by Kaidan. He was dawned in casual wear and a creepy smile that had matched the bartender's. When she stopped to talk to him, she got the feeling of being eyed, not just by Kaidan, but someone else that was lurking in the shadows of the foyer.

"Commander Shepard, how was your leave?" Kaidan asked. He saluted her and went to take the box. Nevara pulled away from him and glared.

"Lieutenant, do you always grab for something that hasn't been offered for you to carry?" Nevara snapped.

"No ma'am. I was just trying to help."

"I'm fully capable of carrying a box. Now, when are we supposed to leave?"

"Tomorrow morning, Commander."

"That seems decent enough." Nevara stated with a sigh.

Nevara walked past Kaidan towards the elevator. Kaidan followed in suit behind her and entered the elevator with her when she got on.

"Where are you staying tonight, Kaidan?" Nevara asked.

"I'm staying in the room next to yours." Kaidan answered as he looked at the floor.

"I see." Nevara answered back. The silence was thick. She watched the numbers that designated the floors blink by. Finally, a long sigh escaped her lips and the doors opened. When she walked off the elevator, she turned to Kaidan who was still looking at her. "If you are in the room next to mine, then you should get off."

"I know ma'am."

"Well, then why don't you?"

"Nothing ma'am. I'm just trying to figure out what's been up with you. What happened out there on Helyme?"

"Nothing happened on Helyme, Kaidan. What is there to know? I lost my squad. I was alone on a big damn planet and then you guys came for me. That's about it."

"Well, if that's all that happened, then I can't argue with that."

"Look, Kaidan, speak freely."

Kaidan stepped off the elevator and looked at Nevara for a long time before he said anything.

"I know more went on then that. I don't know to what extent, but I know that there is more to this than what you are letting on. You are a lot colder than you usually are, and you've been taking more frontline positions than you usually do. It almost seems like you have a death wish, and I'm worried about you. That's all I have to say about it."

Nevara's eyes narrowed. Of course she lied about what happened on Helyme. It wasn't the Alliance's damn business. She was doing a job. What gave Kaidan the damn right to judge her?

"I understand your concern, but don't worry about me. If I'm as cold as you say I am, then understand the fact that you weren't out there by yourself." Nevara stopped talking and walked to her room. Kaidan walked to his and they looked at each other. "This isn't something we should be talking about right now in this hallway."

"I agree, Shepard." Kaidan said walking into his room.

Nevara worked open the door and slid into the small room. She tossed the datapad and box into the chair and sat on the bed. Kicking off her boots, she thought about what had really happened on Helyme. If she'd told the Alliance about it, then eventually she could be charged with treason and that would be the last thing she wanted at that point.

She walked to the bathroom and the lights flickered on. The white tiled room was bright and she stared at herself in the mirror. Her pale skin reflected the light just as the tiles did. Her skin was luminous and her dark make up accented her hazel eyes. She pulled her shirt over her head, and scanned herself. Her small frame marred by scars of various sizes and shapes told a tragic and painful story. Her eyes narrowed on the perfect line of scars on her shoulder.

Remembering how she'd got them made her eyes fill with tears. Nevara hung her head and feelings that she had tucked away came back. Her body trembled as she turned on the water. She washed her makeup off and left the room. She picked up the first datapad and sat back on the bed.

To: Commander Shepard

Assignment: Capture and Containment

You have been assigned to command a squad to find and seize a ranking commanding officer in the turian military. More information will be given once you arrive.

Nevara stared at the datapad. It didn't make any sense. Why send Captain Anderson to send a two sentence note to her in person? The details had to be good if he was there, and if she was handpicked for the mission. She set the datapad down and grabbed the box.

In the box there was another datapad. Nevara shook her head as she took it out of the box. She clicked the button and a jumbled message came on the screen.

Commander Shepard:

We are in need of your assistance now. When you get to Arcturus, you will be given more specific instructions for your job. Until then, follow any and all orders as usual, so as not draw any suspicion to you.

We're glad to have you in our service. With your help, we may be able to end this war in a short amount of time.

Resistance Command

A tab at the bottom of the screen flashed in quick succession. Nevara pressed it and a warning flashed across the screen. All data saved will be deleted. The datapad blinked twice and went out.

It's about time they got a hold of me.

Nevara had held little hope of the resistance forces actually getting in contact with her. She didn't want what Commander Vakarian had said to be a lie. She looked at the clock in the room- 0330.

Nevara lay back on the bed and looked out the window. Lights from the metropolis shone brightly in her window. She looked past all of the shimmer and shine of the station to the stars that lay in the beyond. Her thoughts wandered in the expansive black. Her memories walked onto the scene like a movie.

Commander Vakarian's face ingrained into her memories. His voice still rang in her ears. She missed him more than she'd missed Xavier. Xavier was good, but something about Commander Vakarian had bled into her soul. She was a tragic entity and he was a peacekeeper. Nevara's demeanor had every right to change without him by her side. As much as she wanted to confide in Kaidan, she couldn't. He was a strictly by the book marine. She was as well, but what was she going to tell him. 'I slept with a turian on Helyme and I miss him. I feel lost without him.' Yeah right.

She turned her back from the window and closed her eyes; pulling memories of their escapades to the forefront of her mind. Blissful interludes and unending surrender. Her stomach sank and her throat became tight. A yearning for a repeat encounter filled her body like a wave crashing across a beach. It swept her into parts of her being that even she rarely explored, but were fully exploited and pronounced by Commander Vakarian.

You better be okay out there.