[Shepard rolls her eyes and chuckles. She'd like to be annoyed at that, but they're pretty far beyond don't take a bullet for me territory, here. Alliance regulation protocols and Heirarchy code standards haven't just gone lax in the two-and-change years they've been here, they've gone straight to hell.]

You know I'm pretty sure I should be pissed about that, but honestly, I'm just grateful I'm not the only one who's scared. I guess nobody ever fell in love without being a little brave.

[And maybe that's just how it goes when you don't know if you'll lose somebody tomorrow, or if you'll have them for the next thousand years— or more. Shepard never wanted to live forever, but it wouldn't be so bad, as long as she had him there to keep her grounded.]

How the hell we're getting out of this one, though... I don't know, Garrus. But hey, at least when we get back, they can't nail us for going AWOL, the way the Alliance would.

[She doesn't think much of the Free Cities army discipline, even now. But it's a living.]