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"You know, it just now hit me," Dr. T'Lura said as they waited for the airlock's decontamination cycle to finish. "We're actually going to meet Commander Shepard and his team. The ones who saved the Citadel from Sovereign and stopped the Collectors from abducting every human colony in the Terminus Systems. Suddenly I'm nervous."

"I didn't know you were a fan, Raena." Dr. Bilson chuckled.

"I guess it never came up in conversation." T'Lura shrugged. "Shepard and the Alliance fleet saved the Citadel, the Destiny Ascension, and the whole damned galaxy two years ago. And just a few months ago, Shepard and the Normandy crew threw themselves into the fire for us all again, even though the Alliance and the Council refused to lift a finger. I'm grateful, is all." She shook her head slowly. "I was here when Sovereign and its fleet attacked. If Shepard and the rest hadn't done what they did, I and most of the people I know would be dead now."

And if the rumors I've heard are true, the whole galaxy would be undergoing a mass extinction. Chula shivered, winced at the pain in her midsection, and kept her thoughts to herself for the moment.

T'Lura yawned suddenly, and Bilson laughed again. "Try not to fall asleep during the meeting."

"You, too, buddy. You were up all night just like I was."

"Well, that stuff was just too fascinating."

"Besides," Dr. Selyria mumbled, crossing her arms tightly over her chest, "who could sleep after some of those records we viewed?"

"No kidding." T'Lura took a long breath and let it out slowly.

The inner doors opened and everyone faced forward.

Chula cocked her head at the trio standing in front of them. In the last images of Shepard she'd seen, he'd usually worn some sort of uniform--first that of the Systems Alliance, then, briefly, a Cerberus outfit. More recently, he appeared to have begun wearing civilian clothing, and had stuck with it. Here, he wore black cargo pants, boots, a plain black shirt, and a vest that appeared to be made of denim.

Beside him stood a turian and a quarian, the former in dark gray armor with blue trim and the latter a variation of the typical quarian envirosuit, only a bit more ostentatious than most. The right side of the turian's face was badly scarred. Shepard was clean-shaven, but had let his hair grow out a bit.

His smiled, glanced from one of the visitors to another, and arched an eyebrow when his gaze landed on the two geth platforms.

"Well, I never would've expected to see that if it hadn't been mentioned in the message you sent. And it's still an odd sight."

The quarian on his right stared at the geth. Chula held up a hand.

"Take it easy. They're with us."

"I know. It's just...well, I shouldn't have to explain."

"You don't." Chula put a hand on each geth unit's shoulder. "But they've saved my life more than once."

"And mine," Lia said softly.

"You look familiar."

"I met you, the commander, and another geth unit on the Citadel a few months ago."

The other quarian drew in a quick breath. "Lia'Vael?"

"Yes. It's good to see you again."

"And you."

Shepard stepped back so everyone could leave the airlock. "I hope your situation has improved since then, Lia."

"It has, actually. In a really unexpected, bizarre way, but yes, I'm much better off than I was."

"I'm glad to hear that, Lia," the quarian said.

Shepard waved a hand first at the quarian, then the turian. "This is Tali'Zorah vas Normandy, and this is Garrus Vakarian."

"It's an honor to meet you. I'm Chula'Raalga vas Sulaco." She turned and nodded at each of her companions. "Weyland, Yutani, Dakka, Quentin Bork, Magnum, Valeria Terakkis, her husband Irving Kostmeyer, and General Natalie Kurakova. And these are our most recent clients, Malcolm Takahashi and his husband Benny Culver, and their associate, Goresk. They're the ones who made the initial discovery." Chula turned to the right and motioned at the asari, salarian, and human scientists. "And this is the research team who've been studying the artifacts all night--Dr. Raena T'Lura, Dr. Belynda Nyxeria, Dr. Dala Selyria, Dr. Aren Anohe, Dr. Vaseon Ranedi, Dr. Solak Renus, and Dr. Geoff Bilson."

"You might need to take a deep breath after all that." T'Lura chuckled and shook Shepard's hand. "Pleased to meet all of you, Commander."

"Technically, it's not 'commander' anymore. I haven't rejoined the Alliance, and honestly, they're probably not too eager to have me back since I had to work with Cerberus for a while. Just 'Shepard' will be fine."

"Okay." T'Lura smiled.

"The briefing room is right this way." Shepard led them down a short corridor and nodded to his left. "That's our pilot, Joker. Or Jeff Moreau, if you prefer."

Chula glanced to the left and waved at a young man with a beard seated at the controls. He also wore civilian clothes, a simple T-shirt, cargo shorts, and a baseball cap.

An odd hologram blipped up above the console beside him--a glowing blue sphere atop a column.

"Welcome aboard," a synthetic female voice said, and a row of lines on the front of the projection pulsated in unison.

"And that's EDI," Shepard said. "The Normandy's AI."

"Ah. Um, nice to meet you, EDI."

"Likewise."

T'Lura grinned. "Enhanced Defense Intelligence. I've read reports about you, but most of the info was redacted. I don't recall hearing about an AI being installed on any other ship."

"To my knowledge, I am the first. It shows how desperate Cerberus was to stop the Collectors."

T'Lura arched a brow. "...Ah."

Shepard smirked.

"That is a joke," EDI added.

"Ah." T'Lura chuckled.

"Your humor subroutines still need a little fine-tuning," Joker muttered, leaning slightly toward the hologram. "But you've shown a lot of improvement."

"Thank you, Jeff."

Shepard turned and led the group down the corridor to the right. "EDI's more than just the ship's AI. She's part of the crew."

"Huh," Joker muttered, his voice receding behind Chula. "More geth on our ship. Hooray."

"Play nice, Jeff," EDI replied.

"Yes, dear." Joker heaved an exaggerated sigh.

Chula giggled, then winced as the ache in her gut flared up.

Shepard introduced each crew member seated at the consoles below and to either side of the walkway until the group emerged into a room that, by quarian standards, was practically cavernous.

Wow. The ship I took out on my Pilgrimage could fit in this room.

"This is the Combat Information Center." Shepard continued introducing crew members at their stations along the walls and the central console. A huge, holographic map of the galaxy floated above the console.

As she nodded at each man or woman they passed by, Chula noticed all of them were wearing civilian clothes, having apparently ditched the Cerberus uniforms they'd started out wearing.

Shepard took the curving walkway to the left, led the group around the central console, and headed for the door at the back of the room. As they passed the end of the console, Shepard motioned at the young, red-haired woman standing there.

"This is Yeoman Kelly Chambers."

"Hello." She smiled at them, and the others greeted her as they passed. Her gaze lingered on Garrus, and she turned to continue watching him as the doors parted. Her smile turned slightly saucy.

He winked at her before he stepped through the doors.

Oh._Chula grinned. _Oh, ho, ho.

They entered a large work space. At the far end of the room, an old salarian puttered around a bench holding a variety of instruments and monitors.

"This is Professor Mordin Solus," Shepard said.

"Mmm." Mordin flicked a split-second glance at the group and continued working. "Pleased to meet you."

Shepard exchanged a glance with Tali and Garrus. Tali chuckled softly. Shepard took a step toward the door to the right.

Mordin glanced up again, blinked once, and cocked his head before returning his attention to whatever was on his monitors.

"Hmm. Asari, human, salarian, quarian, turian, batarian, even geth. Intriguing group. No gunfire. Most surprising." He continued poking at his console. "Geth wearing clothing. Unexpected."

_Wonder what he'd think if Yutani were still wearing that female-Santa costume._Chula had suggested the two platforms either change into something discreet or wear nothing at all. Weyland had put on a pair of cargo pants and his thigh-length black coat, and Yutani had slipped back into her dark cloak, but left the hood down.

"It helps them blend in a little more," Chula said. "At least, from a distance."

"Hmm." Mordin turned from the console to a set of instruments on the counter to his left. "Geth platform deviating from standard configuration," Mordin continued. "Designed to mimic shape of female quarian body? Point uncertain."

Chula laughed softly. "I figure it's either one of their social experiments, or just a way to make it easier for us to tell which unit we're talking to."

"Ah. Recall mention by geth unit aboard Normandy. Results often amusing. Would like to have heard more." He stared at the instruments for barely a second, adjusted a set of controls, and stared again. "Also, quarian wearing clothing over protective suit. Unusual sight."

"Nice outfit, by the way," Tali said, her glowing eyes flicking up and down, taking in Chula's boots, black duster, and outback hat.

"Thanks."

"Never would've occurred to me to put on anything other than the cloth parts I've already added to my suit."

"I saw these in a store one day and loved the way they looked. The boots were built for humans, but I was able to have them altered to fit quarian legs."

"Hmm. I'll have to give something like that a try. A little more protection on the feet can't hurt. And all those extra pockets must come in handy."

"They do, yeah."

Shepard grinned and opened the door. "The briefing room is through here and to the left."

They filed through the door after him. As Quint and Dakka passed Mordin, he cocked his head, but didn't take his eyes off the holographic displays in front of him.

"Krogan female outside Tuchanka. Interesting."

"Eh, I left Tuchanka behind a long time ago. And I'm not going back." Dakka shrugged. "Long story."

"Ah." Mordin sniffed. "Notice human scent on krogan, and krogan scent on human. Not blood. Perspiration? Saliva? Indicates...intimacy. Somewhat...unsettling."

Dakka raised a brow ridge and Mordin held his hands up.

"Offense unintentional. Have never heard of krogan-human pairing before. Never contemplated logistics. Human physiology not as...robust as krogan's. Problematic. Would like to conduct tests. See how injuries prevented."

Quint raised both eyebrows. Dakka grinned. Chula had to hold in a laugh.

"I'm sure that's fascinating, Mordin, but it can wait." Shepard stepped past the door and waved everyone inside. "We've got some urgent matters to discuss."

"Of course. Apologies. Sometimes let scientific curiosity run amok. Will restrain myself."

Dakka leaned over to Mordin and whispered, "We can discuss the 'tests' later."

"Uh, I don't--" Quint sighed, rolled his eyes, and followed her through the door.

Chula grinned, waited for everyone else to enter the briefing room, and brought up the rear. The rest of Shepard's core team was already gathered around the long table in the center, another odd mix of species. Mostly human, but there was also a young krogan around Dakka's age, and a geth platform with a huge hole in its torso that exposed its internal components. A piece of N7 armor covered part of the hole, but a lot more was needed to protect its innards.

Shepard introduced the team. Miranda Lawson and Jacob Taylor, the former in a set of black armor and the latter in pants, shirt, and leather jacket. Dr. Karin Chakwas, a middle-aged woman in a medical uniform. A small, young, bald woman named Jack, who carried herself in a way that suggested she was far more dangerous than her frail appearance let on. Zaeed Masani, a man with a scarred face and a cybernetic eye. Kasumi Goto, a young woman with a barely-visible face under the hood of her outfit. The krogan introduced himself as Grunt, and the geth was designated Legion.

"We're almost ready to begin," EDI's voice said from speakers in the table. "Connections established."

A holofield appeared above the table, and several images coalesced. Two humans, one in civilian attire and the other in an Alliance uniform, a quarian, and two asari.

"Thank you for joining us," Shepard said, nodding at them before turning to his guests. He waved a hand at each holographic figure. "Admiral Steven Hackett, Councillor David Anderson, Admiral Shala'Raan vas Tonbay, Councilor Tevos, and Matriarch Lidanya, captain of the_Destiny Ascension_."

Wow. This really is_big._ Chula took a deep breath and introduced everyone who'd come onboard with her. Afterward, she took another. Dr. T'Lura was right, this really does use up a lot of air.

T'Lura nodded at Malcolm and Benny. "These gentlemen are the ones who made the discovery on Bekenstein."

Malcolm stepped forward, grinned, and rubbed his hands together, giving himself a moment to think of something to say. "Well, uh...boy, have we got a story to tell you."

#

_Oh, shit._Lia shivered as yet another ancient record of the Reapers wiping out galactic civilization played out in the holofield. Watching video clips of Sovereign's attack on the Citadel had been bad enough. Back when her Pilgrimage had begun, she'd kept up on current events through major local news sources, but the reporting on the battle's aftermath had cured her of that. Images and vids of the battle, the destruction, and the casualties had been everywhere she looked, and she'd reached the point where she'd simply had to turn it all off.

But this...

In the record playing currently, a projectile from a huge mass accelerator punched through eight Reapers before gouging a canyon across an entire hemisphere of the planet Klendagon--and yet the Reapers had still won that fight and continued their galaxy-wide extermination.

That battle was thirty-seven million years ago. They continued the cycle every fifty thousand years since then. And how many times did it happen before_Klendagon?_ She turned away from the projection a few seconds before it faded out and the Councilors and Admirals reappeared.

"There are many more records where this one came from," Dr. T'Lura said, "but I think these get the point across. The rest end the same way."

The people in the holofield remained silent for a few seconds. Admiral Raan wrung her hands. The two humans remained motionless, and Councilor Tevos gaped at something outside the holofield, presumably her own holo-display. Matriarch Lidanya rubbed her hands over her face.

"It took an entire fleet to destroy just one of those things. How can we expect to take on an entire armada of them?" Lidanya narrowed her eyes. "It would've been nice to have some support from the Council during the last two fucking years. Some sort of preparations--"

Tevos winced. "In fairness to Councilor Anderson, he did try. The rest of us..."

"Were caught up in your own political agendas, as always. You denied the Reapers even existed, you shut Commander Shepard out and sent him on a clean-up mission against the geth who followed Sovereign, you never listened to a goddess-damned word he said no matter how many times he was proven right, and you pissed away the past two years instead of letting him help us prepare for the next wave." Lidanya sneered and shook her head. "Fuck me."

"We had no evidence that more of those things existed. No reason to believe that Sovereign was anything more than an advanced prototype dreadnaught built by the geth."

"Well, you have that evidence now," Shepard said, aiming a hard stare at the asari councilor. "You've seen the science team's report. They've determined how old most of the records and artifacts are. We all know the Reapers existed long before the geth were created."

"All of that is in the past," Admiral Hackett said. "The only thing we can do now is figure out what to do going forward. That's what we have to focus on."

Tevos fell silent again. No one else spoke.

They don't know what to do. Lia shivered again. None of them even know where to start.

Hackett finally broke the silence. "Dr. T'Lura, what else have you found? Anything at all that could at least point us in the right direction?"

"Well, there's the list of coordinates pointing to locations where other information depositories are stored. Those locations include several human, turian, and asari colonies, and even Thessia itself."

Lia glanced at the asari councilor. For a split-second, Tevos looked as if she were starting to wince, but she managed to keep her expression neutral.

"I saw that in the file Dr. T'Lura sent me. I'll be sure the matter is looked into."

Shepard arched an eyebrow.

"We all will," Hackett said. "I'll assign ships to scout the locations in Alliance space, and I recommend everyone else do the same in their own territory."

Councilor Anderson nodded. "I'll forward a copy of the files to the Turian Hierarchy as well. I know that's something Sparatus should do, but he's been the most...resistant to this business with the Reapers. If we leave it to him, it may never get done."

Tevos flicked a sharp glance to the side, but regained her composure almost instantly. "Regardless, I've already forwarded copies to him and Councilor Valern as well."

"Good. Something we should also consider is an amendment to the Treaty of Farixen to authorize an increase in the production of dreadnaughts for each Citadel species."

"That's a troubling thought."

"If we don't, then when the Reapers hit us, we'll wish we had."

"I'm still not entirely convinced the Reapers are a legitimate threat, given the age of these records. They may not even exist anymore."

"Fuck's sake," Zaeed said under his breath while sneering and shaking his head. If Tevos noticed, she didn't let it show.

"If we build more dreadnaughts and don't need them to repel a galactic invasion," she continued, "there's too high a risk of the ships being used for improper purposes."

Anderson sighed. "We have to begin trusting each other sooner or later."

"If I may make a suggestion," Tali said, "the extra dreadnaughts, if they're not needed, can be converted into research and exploration ships, or troop carriers, or hospital ships. Or any number of other uses. Or simply mothballed until they're needed."

"I suppose it's worth considering," Tevos said after letting a silence stretch out for several seconds.

"Good." Anderson released another slow breath.

"The archive also contains information on species that were wiped out by the Reapers," Dr. T'Lura added. "Including advanced technology--weapons and ships and propulsion systems. I'd recommend having research teams go over these and see if any of it can be adapted to our tech. Even if we don't need to use it against the Reapers, some of it could still prove useful."

Anderson nodded. "Since your team is already investigating this archive, I assume you'd like to continue as more of these depositories are found?"

"We would. Thank you for offering."

"We'll put together more research teams and have them coordinate with yours, then. You'll be in charge of the entire group."

Admiral Shala'Raan turned to glance at something off-screen. "I'm afraid the Migrant Fleet doesn't have any ships to spare for the search for these depositories, but we'll investigate when we're near enough to one of the planets on this list. The ones we're allowed to land on, at least."

"We appreciate any help you can provide, Admiral Raan," Shepard said with a glance at Tevos and Lidanya. "If anyone gives you a hard time, let me know. I hope we can all come to an agreement."

"Well, I certainly have no problem with it if Shepard has no problem with it." Lidanya crossed her arms over her chest and smirked. "Shepard and the Alliance fleet not only saved the Council and everyone on the Citadel two years ago, they saved my ship and the ten thousand people under my command. We all owe a debt to them, and to everyone who died in the battle. Shepard, Admiral Hackett, whatever the Council decides, you have my support. I'll do everything I can to assist."

"Thank you." Shepard smiled and nodded.

"It's very much appreciated, Captain," Hackett added.

"Some sets of coordinates indicate information depositories in the Terminus Systems," Weyland said, and Admiral Raan twitched slightly. "None of the Citadel governments has jurisdiction there."

Shepard nodded. "That's very true. Since I've been working mostly in the Terminus Systems after I was reinstated as a Spectre, and the Normandy isn't affiliated with the Alliance or Cerberus, we'll be able to poke around there without causing any blowback." He sighed. "However, we can't be in more than one place at a time, and an urgent matter has come up which needs our attention. Since the past two years have been wasted, we need to investigate these leads as quickly as possible."

"Hmm." Tali crossed her arms over her chest and appeared to ponder the matter. "I have an idea. Admiral Raan, if any quarians on Pilgrimage happen to be near any of those Terminus depositories, maybe you can ask them to take a look? After all, they may find something that would make a useful gift to bring back to the Fleet and complete their Pilgrimage."

"That's a good idea. I'll find out if we have anyone in the Terminus Systems and forward your request."

"Thank you."

Oh, this is promising._Lia smiled. _If I could find one of those depositories, and if there's something the Migrant Fleet could use, I could finally complete my Pilgrimage. Then I could finish out my IndentuTech contract without that added pressure. Maybe I should bring it up to--

Malcolm stepped forward and motioned at Weyland, Yutani, and Chula. "I just had an idea. If the Sulaco's crew is available, maybe they'd be willing to search for a few of these depositories." He aimed a lopsided grin at Chula. "If they're, shall we say, properly funded for the mission."

"I'm afraid tensions with the Terminus Systems are too high," Hackett said. "We can't hire someone to go in there for the same reason we couldn't intervene when the Collectors were abducting human colonies. It's outside Alliance and Citadel territory."

"Hmm. Okay, Plan B." Malcolm turned to Dr. T'Lura. "I have a few connections through my business, and they have their own connections. Would you mind if I check around and see if we can pull together some money to fund an expedition into the Terminus Systems?" He glanced at Chula and the geth. "This way, we'll be able to hire you to search for the depositories, or provide transportation and protection for an archaeological team. If it's privately funded, there won't be any ties back to any government or military organization."

Both geth platforms cocked their heads at Chula. She nodded.

"That definitely has potential."

"Agreed," Weyland said. "Malcolm, inform us when you need our services. If we are not already engaged in other operations, we will assist you."

"Awesome. Thanks." Malcolm grinned.

So did Lia. I didn't think it possible, but my Pilgrimage may have just gotten even more_interesting._

#

"Tali'Zorah, may I speak with you for a moment?" Chula stepped aside so everyone else could file out of the briefing room. "In private?"

"Certainly." Tali joined her against the wall and waited for the rest of the group to pass by. She grasped Shepard's hand and he paused. "I'll catch up with you in a few minutes, okay?"

"Sure. Dr. Chakwas, Mordin, and I are meeting up with Dr. Michel in her clinic."

"Okay, I'll see you there, then." Tali nodded and turned to Chula. "Follow me to Engineering. There's a nice, quiet spot near the drive core that's good for conversation. The thrum of the core helps mask voices, and it's a rather soothing sound."

"Cool. Lead the way." Chula stuck her hands into her pockets and followed Tali through Mordin's lab to the elevator at the rear of the CIC. Tali tapped the icon for the Engineering deck on the control panel and the doors slid shut. Chula leaned back against the wall and said, "Hell of a ship you've got here."

"It certainly is. Say what you want about Cerberus, they do know how to build a ship."

"I've only heard bits and pieces about the Normandy's recent mission, so I don't know the whole deal. I find it interesting that there are so many aliens on a ship built by human supremacists."

"That surprised me as well, at first. But soon after I first came onboard this ship, I saw what we were up against, and realized how much Cerberus wanted to stop the Collectors." Tali crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head. "It still bugs me to admit that Cerberus was willing to bring aboard the best people for the job even if they were aliens, and actively do something about the threat, while the Council refused to intervene and the Systems Alliance turned their back on the colonies their own people had set up." Tali chuckled as the elevator stopped and the doors opened. "I was pretty cold toward the crew at first, but I got to know them over the next few months, and they're actually good people. It wasn't that much of a surprise when they gave Cerberus the heave-ho."

"Glad to hear it." Chula followed her out of the elevator and paused to stare through the huge window overlooking the cargo bay. In one corner, beside a stack of metal containers, sat an M-44 Hammerhead hovercraft. On the opposite side, near the center of the wall, sat a UT-47 Kodiak shuttle.

"That looks like a sweet ride," Chula said, motioning at the Hammerhead.

Tali nodded. "I like it more than the old Mako we had on the original Normandy. The Mako was tougher and better armed, but none of us enjoyed riding in it. Don't tell Shepard I said this, but he could never drive the thing in a straight line. I usually ended up needing anti-nausea meds after our little planetary explorations."

"Heh. From what I've heard, those things make for a rough ride no matter who's driving it. Dakka said the Mako is the only thing in the galaxy capable of making a krogan vomit."

Tali laughed and led her down the corridor to the right, around a right turn, and through a door to a console. "The Hammerhead is a much less nerve-wracking ride, but it doesn't have kinetic barriers and its armor is too light for my taste. Only a few hits can cause severe damage. It does have some impressive autorepair systems, but you have to get it out of the line of fire for a few moments to give them time to work."

"Hmm. Not much of a trade-off just for a smoother ride."

"My thoughts exactly." Tali checked a display, tapped a couple of controls, and continued past the panels. Standing at another console a few meters away, a human man and woman glanced up, smiled, and waved.

"Hiya, Chief," the man said in an intriguing accent.

"Hey, Tali," the woman said.

"Hi, guys." Tali motioned at Chula. "This is Chula'Raalga vas Sulaco. Chula, this is Kenneth Donnelly and Gabriella Daniels. They're on my Engineering team. We're going over some ideas for upgrading the Hammerhead's armor and installing shield generators."

"Nice." Chula tipped her hat. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Kenneth said.

"We're just going to talk over a few things. I'll be back at my post in a moment."

"Not a problem, Boss," Gabriella said. "We've got it under control."

Tali gave them a thumbs-up and led Chula down a walkway on the left to another set of consoles. Beyond the rail at the end, the enormous spherical drive core hummed and throbbed.

"So," Chula said, "a quarian is the chief engineer on a Cerberus ship?"

"Heh. Shepard said he wanted the best person for the job." Tali shrugged and a hint of a sheepish grin was barely visible through her visor.

"Did that make things tense? I mean, with a Cerberus crew..."

"I expected a lot of resistance at first, just because of who they worked for, but I was pleasantly surprised. Kenneth and Gabby didn't make a fuss at all. It was like they didn't even notice I was an alien." Tali shrugged again. "For so many years, I always thought of Cerberus as just another enemy. Then I met a few of them and discovered they were genuinely good people. I've even come to consider some of them friends, like Kenneth and Gabby."

"Glad to hear that. Gives me a little hope that maybe, someday, maybe everyone will figure out how to get along with each other." Chula laughed softly. "What you said about these former Cerberus crew members reminds me of how my feelings toward the geth are changing. At first I was terrified of them, but suspicious enough to stick around when they asked me to join them. They saved my life before that, and several more times since then. It surprised the hell out of me, but they seem to genuinely want to coexist peacefully with organics. Even with us."

"Yes, I've begun to reach the same conclusion, as difficult as it is to accept." Tali faced the drive core, leaned on the rail, and sighed. "It's more than a little unsettling to realize you're a bigot, and begin the slow process of overcoming it."

"It certainly is. After observing Weyland and Yutani since we met, well, what I've seen flies in the face of everything I was raised to believe."

"Exactly. When I found out that the new Normandy had an AI onboard, my blood ran cold. But EDI has been polite and helpful since the beginning, and has gone out of her way to help us." Tali chuckled. "Joker was even more hostile toward her than I was, at first, but they've actually grown quite close."

"I noticed that when we boarded. It's kind of adorable."

"It is, isn't it?" Tali faced her again. "And when we found Legion on that derelict Reaper and Shepard insisted we bring it onto the Normandy and reactivate it, I was furious. I wondered if he'd gone insane. But despite a rocky start, I have to admit Legion has worked with us, fought alongside us, helped us stop the Collectors, and is continuing to support us. Until recently, I wanted us to retake our homeworld by force, but lately I've started hoping we can find a better way to return to Rannoch."

"Especially with what's at stake now."

"Exactly."

"Weyland and Yutani have made it clear that they realize what will happen if we don't all stop hating and fearing each other. I think they're just as afraid of the Reapers as we are, as much as a synthetic can be afraid of anything, at least. Which brings me to what I wanted to talk to you about. We recently learned something that could possibly spark off a shooting war between the geth and quarians, but Weyland and Yutani haven't sent the information back to the rest of the geth. They're waiting to learn more--giving us a chance to find out what's really going on, instead of retaliating immediately."

"What? What do you mean?"

"Since I joined them, the geth have been sending a ship periodically to deliver food, medicine, and other supplies from Rannoch, just for me at first, but for Lia also, now. We've been meeting the supply ship way out in space, between star systems, so they wouldn't frighten anyone. But recently, someone managed to track down the ship and attack it before our scheduled rendezvous. We found the ship floating dead in space, boarded it, and found nothing but dead geth units. Found the last entry in the flight recorder, played it back, and...shit. They were attacked by a stealth ship. It didn't show up on their sensors, and wasn't visible on any of the exterior cameras."

"Who was it? Pirates? Wait--no, you said this could set off a war between--oh, Keelah!"

"Yeah. The stealth ship was crewed by quarians. They boarded the ship and massacred the entire crew. We're talking hundreds of geth runtimes in each platform, plus all the geth in the ship's servers. The quarians murdered all of them."

"No..." Tali glanced around and wrung her hands. "If the geth decide to retaliate, we won't have a chance."

"That's exactly what I'm worried about. Valeria already promised to look into it, but it couldn't hurt to bring in some extra help. If you know anyone in the Conclave or on the Admiralty Board who can look into this, I'd owe you and them more than I could ever repay."

"No, you wouldn't. Whoever perpetrated this attack could get our entire species wiped out. We actually owe you for bringing this to our attention." Tali sighed and crossed her arms over her chest again. "I do know of a few people who want to start a war with the geth, and I know another who tried to screw with the geth in a different way and got an entire ship's crew killed, including my father."

"Oh, hell. I'm sorry."

Tali nodded slowly and took a moment to pull herself together. "Do you have anything I can bring to the Board? Copies of those recordings, or something similarly solid?"

"I've got them on my Omni-Tool. Everything from the geth ship's flight recorder."

"Good." Tali activated her Tool and set it to receive the files. "This could be catastrophic for our people. I'll look into it immediately--and I know just who to contact first."

#

"You can use this console." Shepard waved a hand at one of the panels lining the CIC's wall. "EDI can connect you to whoever you need to call."

"Perfect." Malcolm grinned and rubbed his hands together. "Thanks!"

Benny gave him a quick kiss and pointed at the airlock. "Goresk and I are going to tag along with the others to the clinic. We'll meet you there."

"Sure thing, babe." Malcolm smiled, nodded at Goresk, and turned back to the console.

Lia smiled as she stood at the edge of the group, unsure of what to do except wait for Chula. Despite the gloom and doom that had permeated the conference, at least people in key positions were finally taking action after letting the past two years slip by.

Shepard walked over to Yeoman Chambers's station. "Shore leave for the crew while we're here. That includes you. The last several times we docked anywhere, you didn't leave the ship."

"I...had a lot of work to do." Chambers glanced away and rubbed her arms, as if feeling a sudden chill. "And...honestly...I haven't really felt up to being around crowds. After what we went through with the Collectors and everything...."

"I understand, Kelly, but isolating yourself like this isn't healthy. Maybe you could head out to one of the parks and just relax. A little peace and quiet can do a lot of good." He smiled. "Captain's orders."

Kelly managed a brief chuckle. "Well, since you put it that way, I guess I have no choice. Sitting among some nice scenery does sound appealing, now that I think about it."

"I was hoping you'd agree." Shepard wiggled his eyebrows. "Maybe you can talk Garrus into joining you."

Kelly blushed and Shepard grinned.

"Anyway, standard rotation for shore leave. You know the drill. Just don't leave yourself out of it again."

"Okay." Kelly smiled.

So did Lia. She glanced around, found Garrus speaking with Mordin, and watched him turn and walk past Shepard and Kelly. Kelly's smile brightened as he walked by, and Lia noticed that he'd passed closer than necessary, close enough for his shoulder to brush hers ever so slightly.

Kelly's face flushed even more and she cleared her throat before turning back to Shepard. "Um, if it's okay with you, I'd actually like to be in the first group out."

Shepard stepped back and waved a hand at the airlock. "Be my guest."

"Thank you."

Shepard grinned as she hurried after Garrus.

The door behind Lia opened and she glanced over her shoulder to find Chula and Tali entering the CIC. They exchanged a few comments, then Chula walked over to Lia and Tali joined Shepard. All of them headed for the airlock.

Dr. T'Lura's team caught up with them. T'Lura stifled a yawn and rubbed her hands over her face.

"I'm heading back to the lab to see what else we can find out. Anybody want to join me?"

"I was thinking more along the lines of a good meal and a few hours of sleep." Dr. Bilson chuckled.

"Yeah, I'll probably end up falling asleep in the lab. Wouldn't be the first time that's happened."

Dr. Nyxeria glanced over her shoulder and laughed softly. "Poor Grunt. Did you see the way he was looking at you, Raena? I think he's smitten."

"I ran into him the last time he was on the Citadel. He tried to hit on me." T'Lura grinned and shook her head. "He's a cute kid, but his romantic technique has all the subtlety of one of those giant squids on Virmire that reproduce by tearing the female's belly open and ejaculating into the wound."

"Yow," Chula blurted. Shepard scrunched up his face and shook as he tried to hold in a laugh.

The outer hatch opened and the group filed into the docking bay and split up. T'Lura's team returned to their lab, Valeria and Irving and Kurakova headed for C-Sec, and the rest made their way to Huerta Memorial Hospital and Dr. Michel's clinic. When they arrived at the clinic, Dr. Michel had just walked up to the door.

"Oh! Hello, everyone. You timed this perfectly. I was just returning from a late breakfast." She glanced around at the group and beamed when her gaze landed on Garrus. "Hey, it's really good to see you again!"

"Doctor, how have you been?"

"Please, call me Chloe." She smiled and unlocked the clinic's front door. "I've been well. Concerned about you, though. I missed you the last several times you were on the Citadel, and you never replied to any of my messages."

"Sorry about that, um, Chloe." Garrus shrugged and glanced away. "We had a lot going on."

"I've heard bits and pieces of it. Just enough to be really thankful that you survived." Michel opened the door and motioned everyone inside. "I'm actually hoping you and I can catch up sometime. Maybe over lunch?"

Garrus stared at her and his mandibles quivered. He glanced at Kelly and cleared his throat.

"Uh, well, actually, um--"

"Oh." Michel's smile did a quick fade. "Sorry. I didn't know--"

"Well, it's, um..." Garrus flicked a pleading glance at Shepard, as if to say, "Come on, help me out, here."

Kelly grinned and shrugged as they stepped through the door. "Actually, I don't mind sharing him."

"Oh." Michel's face brightened again. "Lunch for three, then?"

Garrus stumbled. His eyes opened wider and his mouth flopped open.

Shepard arched an eyebrow. "Garrus, did you just trip on the floor?"

"Sounds good." Kelly smiled and walked alongside Michel as they passed through the front office. "I remember reading about you in a few reports on the original Normandy. Been wanting to get acquainted for quite a while, actually."

Garrus stared at them and blinked several times. "Shepard, what just happened?"

Tali laughed. "Looks to me like you hit the jackpot."

_Wow._Lia chuckled, glanced at Chula, and nodded at the far end of the corridor. "I'm going to go see how Kenn and Sidonis are doing."

"Sidonis?" Garrus turned abruptly. "What's that son of a bitch doing here?"

"Uh." Lia sucked in a sharp breath. Uh-oh.

"He's not causing any trouble," Chula said. "Just the opposite, in fact."

"Yeah." Dakka pointed at the door leading to Huerta Memorial. "He saved someone's life on Omega, and now he's hanging around to make sure the kid's okay. I'd like to talk to you a bit more about that if you have a spare moment later on."

"Hmm. _This_ought to be good." He crossed his arms over his chest.

"In a nutshell, Sidonis knows he can never make up for what he did to your team on Omega, but he intends to keep trying. I know you're busy now, but I can explain it in detail later."

"Alright. I'm curious enough to hear what you have to say."

"Good. We'll be around. Let me know when you're ready to talk."

Garrus nodded, turned, and strode through the office.

"Keelah," Lia muttered. "Well, I'll catch up with you all later."

"Sure." Chula patted Lia's shoulder. Lia smiled, but it faded as soon as she walked off down the corridor. She drew in a deep breath and let it rush out.

Aw, shit.