"You've got all the time in the world. Archangel…not so much." Aria's words were casual but her hint of a smile made Shepard think there was more to the story, something Aria was holding back.

She nodded, deciding not to press the issue. Aria had been surprisingly helpful, and Shepard was also surprised to find she actually rather liked Omega's 'queen'. Perhaps it was just that Aria had been utterly unimpressed when Shepard showed up, a refreshing change of pace.

There was a pile of bodies at the edge of a long bridge, a turian sniper nestled in the building above. Shepard grimaced. It was too much like Torfan.

"And they called me a butcher," she muttered. Miranda nodded, grim. Of course Miranda knew what she meant—Miranda knew everything that had ever been recorded about Jane Shepard.

As they listened to the mercs making plans, Shepard thought over the dossier she'd been given on Archangel. He was a tactical genius, that much was obvious, meticulously planned hits on the trickiest of mercenary operations. But something had changed, recently. He'd gone from working with a team to suicidal solo attacks on merc leaders.

Shepard knew better than to think Archangel had gotten stupid…it was more like he was reckless. The Butcher of Torfan knew well enough what it looked like when a soldier was courting death. When you couldn't pull the trigger yourself, but it didn't matter because there was a whole galaxy out there happy to do it for you.

Well, at least he won't have any problem with a suicide mission, she thought, and stepped into the fire.

And when Garrus Vakarian emerged from beneath Archangel's helmet, she'd wanted to hug him frantically and kick him out the window at the same time, angry and desperate that her best friend had fallen so far.

She'd meant for Garrus to go far, had personally recommended him as a Spectre, and when she died, he'd been in training.

How did he end up here, lost on Omega, inches away from the death he'd been seeking?

And then there was the gunship, the smoke and fire and the clawing panic in the pit of her stomach when she saw him go down. She cradled his head against her chest, barely noticing the blue blood staining her armor.

Kneeling on the floor she noticed things with an unusual clarity, the tone of his skin, the exhaustion on his face, the peculiar texture of his clan markings.

"It's my damn ship, Chakwas," she yelled, voice trembling.

The doctor remained calm, unflappable. "Yes, well, it's my damn med bay, and I say get out." The older woman put a hand on Shepard's shoulder, steering her towards the door. "If you want to help him, get cleaned up and get some rest so you can see him when he wakes up."

Shepard stripped off her armor, placing it into a neat pile in her cabin. She resisted the urge to cry, scream, or throw her helmet at the fish tank to see just how strong the glass really was. Instead she dressed and walked downstairs, to sit in the mess and wait.

Jacob brought her a cup of hot tea, and sat at the table across from her, not saying anything.

"Thanks," she finally made herself say.

"Don't mention it," he replied. He looked towards the med bay. "So he's your old teammate, huh?"

"Yeah. He was there when we took down Saren on the Citadel."

"A damn hero, in my book. I'm sure he'll be fine, Commander."

"Did Kelly send you down here?" asked Shepard.

Jacob grinned. "Naw," he said. "Do you think she'd send someone else and miss the chance to give you sympathetic hugs?"

"I guess not," said Shepard. "It's just…it's hard to know what's genuine. With you, and Miranda, and the rest of the crew. How much you mean and how much is just Cerberus, trying to manipulate me into the perfect position."

"Look, I know you have a right to be suspicious. But Cerberus gives me fighting orders. My personal actions are my own business."

Shepard nodded. She wasn't sure if she was ready to believe it just yet, but she would give it some thought.

"Look," he said, "Chakwas gave me a message for you, when you got back. Garrus took a bad hit back there. Best they can tell, he'll have full functionality, but…"

Garrus stepped out of med bay and both humans turned to regard him.

"No one would give me a mirror," he said to Shepard. "How bad is it?"