Revan watched as the odd ship escaped into the void of space.

Part of her was tempted to see if she could engineer a situation that prevented the Collectors from leaving. Outright stopping them would leave her far too burned out to do much else for a while, but a few misaligned engines on the other hand…

She shook her head and dismissed the idea. Even if she could do it, there would still be far too many Collectors that would survive the crash. The Normandy team could handle quite a few of them with little issue, a few thousand was another matter entirely. Not to mention Shepard would likely prioritise the colonists remaining meaning their already small force would wind up reduced even more as the Commander split off teams to cover attacks from multiple flanks.

So in the end the Sith Lord did nothing as the Collector ship got away, merely watching with a mix of pity and resignation that the captured colonists would soon be either dead or wishing they were very soon.

“No! Don’t let them get away!” One of the remaining colonists cried after the fleeing ship.

“There’s nothing we can do.” Shepard said softly. “They’re gone.”

She also likely realised that even if she called the Normandy to engage right now, there was no chance they could rescue the captives.

“Half the colony’s in there!” The colonist angrily flailed an arm in the direction the ship left. “They took Egan and Sam and… and Lilith! Do something!”

“I didn’t want it to end this way. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t feel too bad, Shepard. You did the best you could.” Garrus offered, brought closer by the yelling, trying to comfort his friend. Revan knew from experience it was an empty platitude, but Shepard seemed to appreciate the gesture.

“Shepard? Wait. I know that name.” Revan idly wondered if there were other members of Shepard’s family that were constantly mistaken for her. Did Shepard have a family? Reven didn’t remember her ever talking about them...hmm, maybe something to look into later. “Sure, I remember you. You’re some type of big Alliance hero.” the colonist continued, unaware of Revan’s internal thoughts.

“Commander Shepard. Captain of the Normandy. The first human Spectre. Saviour of the Citadel.” Another human walked out from behind one of the nearby structures. This one in the same style of armour Shepard tended to wear. Her tone might’ve been decently pleasant, but Revan could feel the anger practically radiating in waves off of her. “You're in the presence of a god, Delan. Back from the dead.” The human soldier finished sarcastically.

“All the good people we lost and you get left behind. Figures.” the colonist, Delan, said bitterly. “Screw this. I’m done with you Alliance types.” He waved a hand dismissively and shoved past Jacob on his way back the way he came from. Revan sighed as she watched the broken man leave. Not many civilians could handle losing people to war. Especially when they didn’t think they were in one.

Another flare of anger pulled Revan’s attention back to the newcomer. She had heard Shepard greet her as ‘Ash’ so this must be Ashley Willaims, one of the Commander’s old subordinates. One who apparently didn’t appreciate the friendly greeting by Shepard.

“‘How have you been?’ That’s it?” Ashley asked in disbelief. “You show up after two years and act like nothing’s happened? Why didn’t you contact me? Why didn’t you let me know you were alive?”

“What do you want from me Ash? I didn’t exactly have a choice! I was in some sort of coma for two years while I was getting put back together by Cerberus.” Shepard shot back.

“You’re with Cerberus now? Garrus, too?” Revan huffed as Ashley seemed to only selectively pay attention to what Shepard said. “I can’t believe the reports were right.” she said darkly.

“Reports? You mean you already knew?” the Turian spoke up.

“Alliance intel said Cerberus could be behind the missing colonies. We got a tip that this could be the next one to get hit. And there were rumors that you weren’t dead. Worse; that you were working for the enemy. I went to Anderson but he wouldn’t talk.”

“Cerberus and I want the same thing, to save our colonies, but that doesn’t mean I answer to them.” Shepard replied hotly. “And they were the only group actually putting resources towards the problem! The Council says it’s out of their jurisdiction and the Alliance obviously isn’t taking it seriously if they only sent a handful of soldiers and a few defense towers to stop an entire colony from vanishing! So what am I supposed to do? Just let it keep happening and hope someone else handles it alongside the whole Reaper problem?!”

Guilt and rage bloomed from Ashley as she got up in Shepard’s face. “Do you really believe that? Or is that what Cerberus wants you to think?” she paused and looked almost regretful. “I wanted you to be alive...I just never expected anything like this.” The regretful look turned hostile. “You’ve turned your back on everything we stood for…”

Revan could practically see the mental and emotional wounds she and Shepard had worked at resolving fester and rip open.

“Ash...you know me better than that.” Shepard said weakly. “You saw it yourself! The Collectors are the ones targeting human colonies. And they're working with the Reapers!”

“I’d like to believe you, Shepard. But I Don’t. Trust. Cerberus. And it worries me that you do. What did they do to you?”

Revan could feel the frustration from Garrus peak as the Turian could no longer stay out of the conversation. “Damn it, Williams. You’re so focused on Cerberus that you’re ignoring the real threat! Do you really think Shepard or I would work with them if there was any other option?”

“Or maybe she just refuses to see other options because she feels like she owes Cerberus!” Ashley yelled. “Is that it? Because they saved you? Maybe it is you...doesn’t matter, I know where my loyalties lie. I’m no fan of aliens, but Cerberus has a history of being extremist. I’d never work with a group like that. I’m an Alliance soldier. It’s in my blood.” she finished accusingly. “I’m reporting this back to the Council. I’ll let them decide if they believe your story.”

Revan felt another surge of dark emotions from the Commander, along with the fact Shepard was now one fraying thread from losing her self control and doing something she would regret later.

“Go fuck yourself Williams.” Shepard hissed. She turned on a heel and marched off, yelling for her scattered teammates to gather around and assist the remaining colonists.

Garrus gave Ashley one final disappointed look before shaking his head and moving to join his commanding officer.

“Something you want to say Cerberus?” Ashley spat at Revan disdainfully when the Sith Lord remained behind.

“Be silent, you mewling child.” Revan commanded tonelessly, removing her helmet and shaking her head so Ashley could see her non-human characteristics.

Ashley’s eyes widened, at the command or Revan’s appearance she didn’t know, but Revan flared her presence all the same causing Ashley to choke on whatever words she was about to say.

“I didn’t interfere because Shepard has a right to defend herself, but don’t think for a second I will let your blatant refusal to accept the truth pass unpunished. You have managed to undo weeks of progress trying to get Shepard to move past the trauma of dying alone in the vacuum of space and then having nearly every inch of her body pawed over by Cerberus scientists.” If Ashley had any control of her body right now she would’ve stepped back from the rage in Revan’s voice, but the Sith continued to hold her in place.

“So let’s go through this list of issues you have with the Commander.” The Sith said in a deceptively mild tone. “You say you blame her for not contacting you? Why would she? What have you done in the two years that she was dead that makes it worth reaching out to you besides the fact you were part of her crew before? Nothing. You have not made connections to help deal with the threat you know is coming, you have not trained to make sure you can face their forces, you have even allowed yourself to sit quietly as your Commander’s warning was shoved aside and forgotten.” Revan felt the guilt stab the alliance soldier like a knife. One she had no issues with twisting.

“Yet despite that, Shepard DID try to contact you. She went to the Council to try and get them to see the threat once again. To find some help from the Citadel that would let her break away from the organization you condemn her for working with. When they washed their hands of the issue, she asked your Councillor Anderson about your whereabouts but was told you were on a classified mission and couldn’t be reached.

So no, Commander Shepard has no loyalties to Cerberus. They have experimented on her, violated her, and then forced her to work with them simply because there is no other way to deal with the Aliens abducting colonies on her own.”

“There’s the Alliance-” Ashley started to argue before Revan cut her off.

“Yes, the Alliance.” Revan drawled. “The same force that when given a tip credible enough about the threat to an entire colony they decide to respond, sends a token force and some defences not even properly usable. The only thing special about it is the inclusion of a member of Commander Shepard’s old crew. The same Commander that apparently is rumored to be working for the force you think is attacking these colonies…” Revan paused to give Ashley an unimpressed look. “Did you even bother to think you were sent here as anything other than bait? It clearly wasn’t for your critical thinking skills.”

If Revan was hoping to continue making Ashley feel guilty, she was doing a rather poor job. Rage and anger had long drowned out the soldier’s other emotions along with a healthy dose of fear but Revan didn’t care. A distant part of her mind was even wondering why she was bothering with the Alliance Soldier, but it was drowned out by the rest of her that wanted Ashley to know exactly how much she had pissed off the Sith Lord.

“You say being Alliance is in your blood? Don’t make me laugh. Shepard has managed to convince members of four different Alien races to help defend against a threat to human colonies despite being surrounded by members of a human-supremacist group while you bent under the opinions of your officers and kept quiet about a threat to the galaxy. Was it because they told you your career would be over if you didn’t fall in line? You tell me who is doing a better job living up to the oaths they took when they joined the military.”

Revan didn’t actually know for sure if the Alliance had any oaths that called its members to do their best to protect human interests, even if that meant going against orders, but it was a common enough thing among even the more warlike races back home that she was willing to bet there was something equivalent here.

A bet that paid off as Ashely’s jaw tensed at the accusation.

“But none of that matters because we both know the real reason you were so eager to tear into your former commander.” Revan hissed as she loomed over the human. “Your pride simply couldn’t take the Commander riding to the rescue the same way she did at Eden Prime.” Ashley’s face paled even as Revan could sense the woman frantically denying it in her mind. “You let the colony fall to an invasion and once again Commander Shepard swept through and saved the day...but this time, she wasn’t some Alliance Officer you could look up to. No, she was just some discredited Spectre that nobody believed for two years and was willing to work with Cerberus. You just couldn’t take that she succeeded where you failed. Again.”

Ashley was living up to her name. Her face was white as ash and she was frantically shaking her head, trying to deny Revan’s words. Revan leaned in close to deliver the final blow.

“I certainly saw one soldier who turned their back on what they believed in...and it wasn’t Commander Shepard.”

Revan released Ashley from her hold and watched dispassionately as the Alliance Chief collapsed on the ground. And for a brief instant the crumpled form was overwritten by an image of a defeated Bastilla looking back, face blank and battered from their final duel.

’Ah, so that was it.’ Revan mused. ’It seems my own issues with betrayal aren’t as handled as I liked to believe.’

“Wh- what are you?” Ashley’s fear stricken response shattered the illusion and Revan was staring down at the human woman once more.

“I am Darth Revan.” She answered coldly. “Shepard was the beacon trying to gently bring everyone together to face the threat to the galaxy. You refused her. Now you get to deal with me.”

Revan turned and left the fallen soldier where she was.

She needed to talk to Shepard and see how much damage was recoverable from this force-damned situation.

-o-

She found the human easily enough. Shepard hadn’t exactly had the opportunity to get very far. As Revan got closer, she took the time to closely examine the feelings she could sense roiling around inside the Spectre. In a way it was both better and worse than she was expecting.

Shepard was not the type to break down crying in a corner, Revan was glad for that because she was not the best at comforting people like that. Unfortunately, Shepard was exactly the kind of person that would take all her emotions and shove them into a bottle and leave them there until it exploded.

Revan had seen the result of that on Korlus, where that bottle started to show cracks.

“What do you want, Revan.” Shepard demanded flatly after the Sith Lord remained nearby but didn’t say anything.

“...” Revan remained silent as she internally debated the best way to go about this. Decision made she walked up to Shepard, placed a hand on her shoulder, and gently started leading the human away.

“Revan, seriously, I’m not in the mood for whatever cryptic bullshit you have planned.”

“Would you like to know a secret the Jedi have tried to deny for decades, Shepard?” Revan said instead.

The Spectre scowled at the evasion, but Revan felt the glimmer of interest that bloomed in her.

“Many of them will deny it to their dying breath, but sometimes, violence can be an excellent way to calm yourself.” Revan unclipped one of her lightsabers and expertly made some adjustments on the various controls hidden on the hilt before offering one to the Commander.

NOT one of her personal lightsabers though. No, Revan had learned several times the hard way that she could be disarmed or have her sabers destroyed and had taken to carrying a spare in a special compartment of her armor. That saber, alongside the blaster she used on Korlus, remained part of the equipment she took with her on every mission, even if they were hardly ever needed. Or used.

Shepard looked at the offered weapon like it was going to bite her. “No offence,” she started. “But I never picked up sword fighting in basic, and I kind of like having my limbs attached.”

Revan snorted. “The blades do have a training setting, Shepard.” she said dryly. “We can hardly teach Acolytes how to use them if they lop off a limb at the first mistake. Granted, they will still hurt like hell but the worst injury you will receive is a small burn.”

“If you say so…” Shepard trailed off, unconvinced. Nevertheless she took the weapon and, with some additional instruction, ignited the blade.

Revan watched in amusement as Shepard stared at the glowing yellow blade with a growing expression of excitement. It was always fun seeing an Acolyte with their first blade, the look of wonder was something Revan particularly enjoyed.

“Okay this is freaking cool…”

Shepard probably didn’t mean for Revan to overhear her whispered comment, so she didn’t respond as she made the same adjustments to one of her own sabers. The red blade hissed to life although instead of the blazing white core it normally had, it was a dull yellow color.

She moved to an open area, away from prying eyes, and settled into a loose guard stance. Shepard followed and tried mimicking the stance to middling success. Revan could see she was sitting too far back on her heels, a habit from the long hours of practice ensuring she had a stable foundation for shooting, but made no effort to correct it.

“Okay, now come at me however you want. Take some time to get used to the blade and let me know when you want me to begin fighting back.” Revan instructed. “And before you worry about possibly hurting me, remember I’ve spent my entire life using this weapon, I am stronger than you, and I am wearing armor. Just let go and enjoy yourself.”

It was obvious Shepard still had her doubts, but after a few weak probes, she attacked Revan for real and was easily countered.

Revan made sure to watch closely as she blocked, parried, dodged, and eventually counterattacked the Commander. The more she sank into the fight, the more those bottled up feelings of betrayal and anger faded into the background. Shepard was now immersing herself in the simple enjoyment of a fight.

Now Revan just had to hope Jack was too tired from the fight with the Collectors to make good on her own desire for a duel so they could all get off this force-forsaken rock before Shepard needed to deal with Ashley again.