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As they both recuperated in hospital side by side at the turian's request, Dahnus and James explained a lot of things to each other whilst resting up in their beds. James was difficult to administer treatment to due to the hermetically-sealed suit, of which he claimed he had no idea why it was put on him but feared that something terrible might happen if it was ever removed. Luckily the hospital had dealt with such cases of armoured patients before and managed to work around this problem, with Dahnus gladly relinquishing his own for the sake of ease. Jarren was taken to the paediatrics ward and was out sooner than he expected perhaps two days later, the brave little turian waving to his father with a modified left hand now riddled with a few cybernetic implants. Minor ones only, just merely there to fill in the gaps between his muscles or so with new flesh growing over it, with Dahnus and Shara chuckling with pride over him. James in turn saluted him for his bravery, with Shara explaining: "I found Jarren practicing some of his biotics privately, little harmless pot shots at his toys and he begged me not to tell you. He was so afraid that you would be angry at him but I made a promise not to tell you. I never broke it though so his secret's safe with me. But I knew that one day he would have to tame it more properly, and I remembered how you would do your biotic shielding exercises out in the garden before he was born. I just taught him the same thing." "So that's how," replied Dahnus. "Heh...all this time I worried, and all I did was make him worry too. Thank you Shara." "You're both such silly boys. At least Jarren's going to have a great time being a hero in the vids and at school, hmhmhah. That and a few more days off school while his hand rests up." "I think he's earned a few days off. After all, biotics have to take a very long time off when they're first starting out with it, right son?" "Uh huh!" said Jarren. "We gots to rest up fer a loooooooooong tahm mommy." "Suuuure they do." She rolled her eyes before adding: "And once we're all better, we're going to sort out this nonsense with you boys and your silly super powers and how they're not a big deal and there's no need to change anything. It's just a new responsibility for you two." "Mmhmm!" said Jarren. "Wif great powah comes great responsibiwities!" "That's right Jarren," said Dahnus, "we have to protect people, and that's what we're going to do. I'll teach you how to control it, we'll notify the school and see what rules there are and so long as you promise not to use your powers unless it's an absolute emergency, we'll all be just fine." "Uh huh, not to use it unless is an emergencies!" "Good boy." Both mother and son kissed Dahnus goodbye before heading off back home, waving back towards them as he found himself alone with the raptor once again. The turian looked pleased despite somehow looking worse than ever since the last time they met in hospital. His eyes looked dreary, bloodshot and tense, exhausted from weariness settling in. James started their conversation with: "You look really damn tired." "Heheh...the past few months have been a little strange." "Strange?" "Just a few sleepless nights, nothing to worry about." "That sucks." "It does...comes with being an officer sometimes, cases that get away from you, problems that...somehow seem to arise after being in hospital." "Wait what problems? Are you alright?" "...your weapon's not...contaminated by anything is it? Like no diseases or poisons or something?" "Um no. It...it's not-no it never has, why? "Just checking. I may have got an allergic reaction from it since I was attacked so I just wanted to check. Probably nothing...funny thing is, this bell of mine? Somehow makes me feel better everytime those pains keep coming in." "Why's that?" "I don't know...all I have to do is just ring it and somehow the pain and exhaustion just...slips away from me. Heh...spirits I'm getting sentimental now, just forget it I'm exhausted." "Hahaha alright...you've got a great family. I envy you." "Hmph," replied the officer, "no plan on having one yourself?" "I don't even plan on marrying, plus I have a boyfriend." "So adopt." "Ugh...I dunno, I'm not you." "Be glad you aren't, anyways, while we're here recovering I have something to tell you." "Yeah?" "I got some information off from the assassin's omni-tool. It turns out that she still kept a few contacts on it for quick access in her line of work. One of which has a ship tracker." "Wha?!" "It's linked to someone named Thrassil Sanerix, I don't know who tha-" "WAIT I know him! I know that guy, I've been chasing him for months!" "Really?" "YEAH, he's...he's part of Facinus too." "I gathered. The ship tracker's currently working still, if I transfer the data to your omni-tool you can chase down those people and...do what you want with them." "Wait...you're seriously giving me that kind of info?" "I am." "Aren't you police?" "I am." "But...this is important data, this is about terrorists!" "It is, but none of them are on this Citadel. I don't have the jurisdiction to go chasing off after anyone who's off-world, and I certainly don't have any obligations towards the Hierarchy to report any of this concerning that they might not consider it enough by their standards to pursue, or it'll get lost in red tape. Which is why I hand it to you." "But...why?" "Because you survived fighting that assassin. No one else but me has been able to as far as I know. There's something...strange about you." "What, not special?" "Nooooo I wouldn't use that word, strange is more like it. You've clearly gone down this path of fighting them, and from what I read on the reports about you it's clear that you know something enough to start chasing down her organisation. ...I want you to destroy them." "Wait what?!" asked FG. "This is off the record," said Dahnus Drumarien, "this is not a request from C-Sec, this is a request from me. I want you to take down these bastards and make them pay for what they did. What they did to my mother, what they did to other people...and what they almost did to my family." "...this...no, wait, no I don't know." "What?" "Just...it feels weird being asked this from a cop, anyone else I'd take it but...this sounds kinda like a hypocrite thing to me." "I told you, I'm not asking from C-Sec. I'm asking from my heart. My heart that's been burning away for the past twenty years pleading to ask what could have been different...like anyone else would ask. I know that these leads would just end up rotting away in the evidence office never to be used again except for being referred to for a past case. In your hands, this will do better. I have no jurisdiction with this, and I can't turn this over to the spectres or the council because even through all that I know that there is just every single damn wall of red tape I'd have to go through my own organisation just to do it. And as much as I love my job, my life, my current state of being...I also know of its limits. Take it. Please." "Well...alright, if it makes you feel better I will...heh...actually, I know just how to use this info right." "Yeah?" "Yeah...I'm gonna call on some friends of mine."

After a week of being down and out at the hospital, James found himself standing back on board the Centurion Eagle, alongside Leiah who had joined back up for the ride in her regular clothing of black and cyan suit. The Sole Calibrators, also known as Wolf-Three-Nine-Five, had managed to obtain some free time after establishing their songs to be purchased and sold under Arutulelan's record label, the sum of which soon raked in the credits at an exponential rate greater than before. Yet even in the midst of all this newfound fame all middling away within numbers, they still waited ready for the day when they could finally progress with their truest mission. The end of Facinus itself. "So that's what the officer told me," said FG, "he knew I had some connection to the assassin and we now got this ship tracker." "Sounds pretty strange for a cop to ask that," said Norem, "what if he's leading you?" "He said he had no jurisdiction outside the Citadel, plus all the red tape just bogs it down and by then it's too late." "Would have had better results asking for a spectre." "I don't know the point is he asked me." "How does he even know this assassin?" asked Lirem. "No idea," said FG straight-faced, "guess we'll never know. You wanna transmit the coordinates to our geth buddies?" "Awww yeah gladly." He took the data off FG's omni-tool and readily loaded it up onto the main viewer, tracking across the galaxy map to try and find the ship's coordinates. Various data logs and conversations came streaming past the terminal, all of which involved various assassination plots and targets, including the ones they knew. Still they did not mention the Verrana wreck without anything more than vague imagery, a terrible threat of which was severely implied hidden within. Areh called out on a secure channel towards the geth dreadnought they had been to previously. "Designation zero-one-zero-zero-zero-one-one-zero, do you read me?" "We receive you." The geth appeared on the monitor clear as day once transmission had been cleared. "This is Wolf-Three-Nine-Five, our mission is go, repeat, our mission is now go." "You have found information of relevance to Facinus?" "We sure do, uploading it now." Lirem sent it over the extranet towards the geth ship, flying far across the galaxy at an unknown location. James saw brief scans of galatial maps, data tracking and convolutions of graphs, charts, everything possibly contained within the assassin's omni-tool. As stars and charts veered past his vision, the geth received all of it with perfect composure, retaining every single byte until they spoke once again.

"We have confirmed that the most likely location of their base, is in the Faryar System of the Hourglass Nebula." "Wait really?!" asked Leiah. "That's...that's like a week's jump away from Susskind Station, how'd you figure that out?!" "Scanning through this data, we can confirm that the Facinus operative has made regular visits to this system due to various indicators within her messages. The largest indication was this message in particular with Thrassil Sanerix, claiming it was only a few days from their current base to Susskind Station, 'a perfect opportunity for assault'." "That...bosh'tet, he was right under our noses the whole time!" "Not exactly," said Jax, "universe is still a big place, you got a pinpointer on whut planet they're on?" "Scanning possible locations.......the most habitable planet for colonisation would be the planet known as Daratar. It is a planet with sustainable gravity, ancient mining facilities that could be converted into a base of operations, and seasonal dust storms." "Then that's where we're going! Where's that ship tracker at?!" "I'm tracking it now," said Norem, "looks like he's flying off somewhere around the edge of the Nemean Abyss, we can catch up with him if we go now." "Alright," said Lirem, "tell Tulan that the operation is a go, dreadnought we need you to get down to that planet and give them one hell of a bombing run." "We will assist," said the geth, "but it is not advisable for us to deploy ground troops, for if the anomaly is contained within that planet's surface, its proximity would cause us to malfunction, corrupt us. We will assist from orbit with planetary strikes systematically." "That's good, how much firepower can you give us? How many ships?" "We will only assist with our current dreadnought. We have reached a consensus that, should this operation fail and the anomaly corrupts this ship, it is vital that we limit the possibility of it spreading. We have a reasonable arsenal of fighter-class ships for any of Facinus' forces around orbit, leaving you to deal with the ground units." "Well that's better than nothing, Areh, set a course for the Nemean Abyss northwest quadrant." "Got it!" said Areh. "Leiah you wanna help on this?" "Damn right I do," she cried eagerly, "we're gonna get those bosh'tets for real this time!" "Jax," ordered Lirem, "you figured out our weapon systems yet?" "Norem's got it better than I do," replied the krogan, "I'll take his spot on navigations while he handles the shots." "Alright, James?" "Yeah?" said FG. "...bring us all a martini. I'm gonna need a drink for this." "Hahaaaa you got it captain!" The raptor headed off eagerly to the bar and make up some drinks, the ship soon hurtling towards the nearest mass relay as they shot themselves straight ahead towards the Nemean Abyss. From what James could gather, it was a lawless region favoured greatly by pirates and mercenaries, a place beyond the Citadel Council's jurisdiction and a perfect entry zone to the Terminus Systems. It was a fine preparation for what one would expect chartering towards unfriendly space, one only the craziest ballsy of people would ever dare live in. Or humans, according to some.

From the Serpent Nebula where the Citadel was, it was a straight week and a half of non-stop voyage, the geth following up from their location in order to pincer in towards the hidden base. Normally such a hunch would not be banked on so greatly, but considering this was the geth if they said it was likely, then it was most definitely the right location. The brown-green quarian, the brass-armoured krogan, the orange turian leader and his green-clad brother, began clenching their fists ever more tightly around the controls. James kept the crew going with the best of drinks, until finally they caught sight of their target. A turian-designed cruiser of sleek red and streaks of white all along the front bow, hovering beyond them at a typical spacefaring speed. But their designations matched, this was indeed Thrassil Sanerix's ship. From a distance it resembled a giant crossbow, its wings hanging low and spread slightly out from the rear of its body, long and slender like a piercing shot, a barrel of a gun pointing fiercely towards a desert planet. The planet they soon neared was a dusty pale brown with black spots of ruin infecting the surface, a diseased abandoned-looking world. The cruiser ahead of them soon stopped, and Areh called out: "We've got signal! They wanna communicate." "Put it up," said Lirem, "James get into view. You geth guys better leave and not say anything, we don't wanna let them know who our backup is." The geth agreed and stayed out of sight, leaving the room before the terminal came on. The dreadnought was also out of scanning range, for now at least. "This is Commander Sanerix of the Petalavan Petavareen. Identify yourselves." "...remember me?" James walked into view of the monitor, the turian smirking wryly at his presence. "What a pleasant surprise...I knew you'd get here eventually." "Yeah? Well now this place'll be a good spot to leave you, permanently." "Let's not be so hasty. We both have good crew on board and I would hate to see anymore lives lost over a feud." "A feud?! This is about your whole terrorist organisation, not some fucking FEUD!" "Ahhh but you see it all began with a feud. In fact, I am perfectly willing to make a deal without anymore violence to occur between us specifically. Why don't you come down to the planet, just you and me? I know a good spot where our base's radar doesn't detect, somewhere out of range. No need to bring your friends, just you and me." "Why should I trust you?" "You shouldn't. Except for the fact I didn't kill you on Susskind Station, nor did I kill anyone that wasn't armed and ready to fight me. Including your friends and one of your friends' father." "You BOSH'TET!" roared Leiah. "YOU KILLED THEM!" "Only the ones that fought me armed. Your father was safe, you yourself was safe, and your friend James despite being bloodied and beaten...was safe. In fact I think you'll find the majority of Susskind Station survived purely by the fact they were too poorly armed to fight back properly. Be thankful I am more sporting than my allies are." "If you're so noble, why'd you join a group of terrorists then?!" "That I will confer to Mr. Campbell. If you desire a battle among the stars, be warned I am not only far more experienced, but I also have the sum of twelve cannons aimed upon your ship, one of which is a Thanix speciality that will rend you limb from limb along with every part of the ship. Now I have noticed you yourself have some admirable armaments and I dare say even the speed advantage against my ship...but are you really going to risk the lives of your entire crew, compared to just your own?"

The raptor thought for a good while, pondering between whether to trust the seemingly-noble terrorist, or to risk fighting out in space against a fully-armed turian vessel. Eventually he asked: "Can you give me a moment of privacy to talk over with my friends?" "Of course, send out a signal when you wish to talk again." The comms turned off as Areh kept an eye on the ship, asking: "What are you planning?" "Can you fight that ship?" "I dunno, big risk, I'm much better with a tank than I am with this ship. I mean we got weapons sure, we managed to take down small fry before leading up to the concert, but...this guy's a real military commander, plus his ship-" "If he hits us," said Lirem, "we can kiss our asses goodbye. Now I trust Areh and Norem to fly like professionals...but if we take one single hit, this baby's not gonna fly anymore, this is a civilian vessel, maybe we can take a few hits from small pirate ships but not a full-grown turian vessel." "What do you guys think?" asked FG. "...I don't know much about this guy. But I do know that he's still military. He's not like the other Facinus people we've seen, he's got honour in some twisted kind of sense, and turians are not exactly ones to lie socially." "Except for the assassins?" said Leiah sarcastically. "I don't remember her ever lying directly to us. Point is, it takes a hell of a damned turian to lie, and this guy's not exactly Saren Arterius. If he wants to make a deal, then he wants to make a deal. But I'll go with you. Me and Norem will." "Why?" asked James. "Because we might pressure him," said Norem, "psychologically at least. Other races don't understand us, that sounds arrogant but...look at it this way. He's a commander and disgraced, he wouldn't want to become an even worse example to individual members of his race." "...I...don't know but-" "We request to assist you in this matter," replied one geth from the doorway. "Huh?" "It is within our capabilities to move our dreadnought towards the Petalavan Petavareen and destroy it." "...that could work...we could destroy them easily if you wanted...no hassle either...what do you want James? He asked for you specifically so you're the one calling this. What do we do?"

A long silence of deliberation came to FG, slowly pondering over each and every solution laid out for him. While destruction at the hands of the geth seemed perfectly reasonable, if not somewhat overkill to use on this enemy, a curious part of him wanted not to just end it there. Too impersonal. Eventually, he replied with: "...Areh, send out a signal." The quarian beeped out a transmission request which was soon picked up by Sanerix, the turian's cloak draped behind him upon his seat as James replied: "Alright, let's do this." "What?!" cried Leiah. "We'll meet on the surface but on one condition. I'm bringing two members of my crew along, because firstly I want some assurance and secondly...I don't know how to fly a shuttle down." "Very well," said Sanerix. "In return I request I bring down two of my crew just to balance things out. So long as your crew do not fire upon us there will be no bloodshed today. Am I understood?" "Yes, we promise we won't shoot unless you betray us first. Because if you do...I will personally come on board your ship and murder every single one of your crew by my own hand." "An acceptable oath for which I assure you will never happen. Message me when you are ready and we shall depart together. Spirits be with you." The monitor turned off as Leiah turned towards James, anxious at what his next plan would be. "James, are you sure about this?! I mean, he's a terrorist, we don't make deals with him!" "I just wanna hear him out," replied FG, "like I said, if he betrays me then I'm killing everyone on his ship. He won't risk that." "Unless he shoots you first." "Not gonna happen." "You don't know that." "No, but I know guys like him. Don't worry, I'll be back, and we can do this together." "You better...I won't forgive you for dying on me like this. Keelah se'lai." She hugged him tightly as he hugged in return, heading towards the shuttle as both Lirem and Norem joined with him. The signal was sent, and their location was given towards a meeting point for neutral grounds. James could only hope that there was enough honour still left in his new enemy to not kill him yet.

The planet Daratar was, for lack of a better phrase, dead. Even the sun had given up on its ancient riverbeds riddling the planet like scars, wrinkled and pockmarked like a drug user's skin. Dust threw itself across in harrowed storms scraping through the dead wastes, canyons along every plain now cracked through the ages, the shuttles soon landing with a blast of red wind. The blue shuttle of the Centurion Eagle landed ten minutes after the white shuttle of Thrassil's had done so, the two turian brothers stepping out with assault rifle and sniper rifle ready. James himself had his handgun and submachine pistol, but he realised in the end that he had never used it and so had not brought it along with him, conserving space for more ammo. Two guards, also turian, stood waiting at the white shuttle wearing brown armour, their rifles glimmering in the harsh dead sunlight that still rained upon this world. "I'm glad we could finally meet like this." The turian commander stood somewhat of a distance away, his back towards James whilst standing upon the edge of a cliff, dark beige armour blending with the surroundings rather nicely. His cape red and tattered remained billowing in the wind, the canyon wide before them as a black line beneath the horizon. The raptor walked forwards with hands open saying: "The assassin said you were a fan of me." "Indeed, if anything because I find you unusual." "What do you want to talk about?" "Hmph, a little to the point are we?" "I'd rather not waste time, I have a base to destroy." "You have more time than you think James Campbell. They're not powering up a death beam towards blowing up some planet, they don't even know we're here." "And I'm supposed to take your word on that?" "If they knew, they would have fired on you already. This area is out of scanning range, plus we have not yet calculated our trajectories towards our cannon being anywhere that useful, yet." "Wait, cannon? What exactly do you guys have?" "The very reason that you have come to destroy us surely. Our infamous weapon that shall send the Turian Hierarchy into a state of decay, permanently even?" "You mean the anomaly?" "......what do you know about it?" "Only that you have it, your assassin friend told you right? Back on the sunken ship?" "Indeed," replied Sanerix, "and do you know what it does?" "It can control the geth? Corrupt them? Bring them under your new world order?" "...then you know already what a terrible thing we possess. I would have been satisfied with our weapon...not this sickening mind-control device. At the very least we could give the Verrana...a full send-off for what its true purpose was."

James soon noticed something odd upon the turian commander's back, his scars seen barely beneath the fluttering cape. His armour also, complete with propulsion pack, had burn marks he had seen much more closely elsewhere of a certain weapon type. Both on himself and Dahnus Drumarien as everything soon clicked together. "...you were on the Verrana weren't you?" He walked forwards towards Thrassil as the wind softly picked up. "You were the only one that survived, or at least one of the few that did. But the Hierarchy refused to listen because they wanted to keep it covered...right?" "...you're smarter than you look, shame that your body is not the case." "I can learn, that's how I survived this long." "Hopefully." The turian turned towards him, his single red stripe streaking from cheek to cheek across his dark brown features, dipping under the nose. It twisted slightly into an unusual smirk. "May I ask how did you know?" "Kind of a guess but...your marks on your back. Those are geth weapon marks...old ones, like burns. I got a few hits on me and my armour from your assassin friend, she had a geth weapon too." He showed his own marks on his armour in turn, much more recent than Thrassil's were by the clear diamond-white crusting of the energy's impact upon it. The raptor further picked up his reasoning asking: "You were discharged because of it right? Because you kept trying to speak out about the Verrana, yet there was no record of you ever serving on that ship...maybe because that ship doesn't exist except in name only." "Hmmm...you've done your research. I'm glad you did. Yes, I was." Sanerix calmly walked forwards, stridant as befitting a soldier's nature with a solemn nod of appreciation. "I was under the command of Parhven Drumarien, a fine officer who served every will he had for the Turian Hierarchy. He was a father to his crew, well-loved and every action he took was one both noble and upright. He was the one whom I have taken my very morality as a basis from, to never kill those unarmed or unable to fight back, but one who has a gun in their hand is perfectly capable of fighting back. And as tough as the battlefield was, there lies no mercy for those willing to fight. That is the weight we must bear as soldiers." "Drumarien? ...I see." "You know the name I assume." "It sounds familiar." "Is it because of that assassin?" "...yes." "Hmm...now that's even more suspicious." "All I know is her last name was Drumarien, that's all you need to know." "I see. Yes, that was commander Drumarien's wife, her mission of vengeance fell parallel towards mine and as a result the two of us joined together during Facinus' activities in order to make a vow to our commander. My commander. Our mission on the Verrana was this. During the First Contact War, we would transport an experimental weapon onto a small satellite orbiting the planet Jupiter in the Sol System. Once it was placed, we would aim and fire it towards Earth at their utmost important capital, an assassination shot of sorts able to take down their entire world leaders."

"Wait...what?!" cried out Lirem. "You were gonna assassinate the fucking president of Earth or something?!" "Whatever military leader the humans have, yes. We never got that far but the concept was there. Our weapon was essentially the assassination variant of a tank, one small enough to not be registered as a ship, and therefore mobile enough to be quickly transported and taken away before the Alliance showed up, but large enough to have a substantial amount of power for all that it was required for. One shot, and disappear. Like we were never there. The only problem was that it had a very large drawback with its power supply, a great sacrifice for its true power. One shot was all it could take before a slow recharging process." "What the fuck...this was the thing you took from that wreck?!" "Indeed. Unfortunately the geth had made a surprise visit, and we were shot down without warning. We shot back at them, but we did not expect them to be so powerful and...we lost. Many of us died in the initial attack, but a few of us managed to escape. Commander Drumarien refused, saying that he had to make sure the ship would go straight into somewhere safe, somewhere that would harm no one from the crash that soon came. He drove it straight towards Oma Ker into the wide ocean...as well as to keep our secret hidden away." "God damn," murmured FG, "...so, lemme get this straight, you wanna take this weapon back, and use it against the Hierarchy because you want to make them pay for...?" "Firstly the fact that they refuse to acknowledge the truth about the incident, hiding away behind their papers and not bothering to confess to something that, in truth, they were not authorised to act upon. And as much as it was the geth that took down the ship, they still refused to acknowledge the sacrifice of the crew. When I was convinced by the former Mrs. Drumarien to speak out against them, they stripped me of my rank as nothing more than an uncomfortable proof of existence. For that I soon realised..." He softly thumbed his cape, the hem slightly draped over his right shoulder. "...that the Hierarchy was concerned more with looking neat and tidy, rather than to admit their mistakes. That is why I joined Facinus." "So what do you plan to do with this weapon? Is it like some kind of really powerful mako tank?" "Oh no no no, it is far more powerful than that. We call it Palaven's Moon, and it is a vital part to our operation which fittingly enough was the same name given to that of the Verrana's own mission." "And that is?" "Operation Midline Shift." "...what exactly is that?" asked James cautiously. "A midline shift is, in medical terms, a shift of the brain past its centre line caused by traumatic brain injury, stroke or haematoma. It can distort the brain stem and can cause serious dysfunction to both motor skills and visual response to light, as well as high intercranial pressure which is...deadly." "...so...your brain fucks up because it got shifted out of balance?" "More or less, it's usually caused by a...hmhm...mass effect inside one's brain like say...a tumour." "Wait...mass effect?!"

Thrassil smirked at this upon seeing the light in James' eyes flicker, responding with: "Our Hierarchy considered it a cruel jibe to name our operation such to...headshot the world leaders of the human race to such a point that...well, we would be inducing a mass effect of our own inside their heads. Even if said shot was essentially from a breech-loading cannon that fires across space with a precision range and accuracy check for over six-hundred million kilometres." "Jesus fuck...how powerful is this cannon!?" "Powerful enough to destroy half the Citadel Council building, theoretically. And of course the Hierarchy would never admit to harvesting such technology lest the humans...find the very notion of being almost in our crosshairs even after we have refused to give reparations to them for the First Contact War. Thankfully Commander Shepard the human spectre has managed to do more in handling reparations back to the human race, more than any soldier in the First Contact War ever did. So that is no longer my concern, nor it ever was." "But how can you even SEE that distance?! What if you hit like something else!? Why didn't you put it on a SHIP?!" "The same way one can shoot themselves off across half the galaxy through a mass relay...a straight shot." He mimicked a gun in one hand pretending to fire with one eye closed behind it. "Add that to a high-powered telescope that one normally would use for an observatory and...it's as simple as that. One can see the stars from Earth but the stars can also see the Earth itself. As for putting it on a ship, it requires its own intricate precision that a ship itself cannot allow it to have. It was designed SPECIFICALLY to be placed down, fired, and transported away, like a sniper rifle...across the galaxy. With some self-defensive capabilities in a secondary mode if that shot could not be made, saving its power storage for when it could." "That's insane," said Norem, "that-...you can't be thinking of such a thing, that's impossible." "It was once impossible to send out ships across the galaxy within the space of a week. But through a variety of intricate turian technology, we have managed to create a mass effect drive so powerfully contained within one core cannon, that anything fired from it...is almost instantaneous." "...how instantaneous?" "Ten minutes. Ten minutes before obliteration of an entire top building structure." "That's...that's-no...no this-if you're as noble as you claim to be, why would you even try to find that weapon, to turn on your own people?! WHY!?" "I never said I was the one to be using it," said Thrassil Sanerix, "I merely stated that that was the weapon we obtained." "Well I got one question left for you," replied FG. "Wait. Let me ask this." "What?!" "Where is the assassin?" "She's dead. Gunned down and beaten into a pulp by C-Sec, after murdering at least seven people on that day as well as almost killing a mother and her kid." "...are you trying to make me lose sympathy for her?" "More like-" "Because I already lost sympathy for her many years ago, despite her reasons after the loss of her family. I don't even know where her son lies, she claims that he is the only one left and frankly her name has been stripped of her by her own will. Becoming a Cabal assassin requires a lot of sacrifices...she made the last ones on her own as to make her vengeance upon our people. She may be my closest ally but that is only out of respect, NOT because we share similar bonds of morality, because we do not. I only hope that she at least died honourably in combat." "Oh, she died honourably alright...if you call being beaten the shit out of in a full-on fistfight with a C-Sec officer that." "I do, actually. Then it's settled. Ask me your question." "Why did you ask me down here?" "Simple. I want you to kill the leader of Facinus."

James could only blink twice before understanding what was said, slowly replying: "...w-wait...wait...WHAT?!" "WHAT?!" cried out both Hallahers. "You heard me," said Thrassil, "I want you to destroy both Kihilix Tanus, the leader of Facinus...and also that anomaly we obtained." "But...why!?" asked FG. "Because I despise them! I despise both of them, I despise both my leader's tactics and ideals and I also despise this...this...ABOMINATION that we brought into our sanctum. We wield it as a weapon of unimaginable control the same way that a child wields an assault rifle. Unskilled, unbalanced, and unmitigatingly fatal both to ourselves and those around us. And I want both of them to be stopped." "Wait, wait...you're seriously asking us, pleading us even...to kill your BOSS?!" "I am." "...why the hell would you ask us?" "Because if I went against him personally, I would not last very long. I have my own crew and agenda to consider protecting, and I do not want their deaths to be upon my head through all this. I swore to keep them alive no matter what may be, but you...you already desire to head into the very maw of fear and trepidation that is our anomaly's hiding spot. That...and you have some close connection to it that I cannot fathom. That is why the assassin was out hunting for you. She was going to retrieve you back to the anomaly to see what it wanted. Until her pride got the better of her." "Jesus fuck...all this...is this all really because of me?" "No. It's because of this group that I am a part of. You two." He asked his next question towards both turians sitting out behind James, the two brothers looking up curiously. "Why did you serve in the military?" "Uh...it was mandatory sir," said Lirem. "I know. What I mean is, what was your primary motivation? WHY did you fight? Why do YOU fight now, here to this day?" Norem put a hand on Lirem's chest and nodded as he stood up with something to say. "I joined the military to defend, sir. I joined it to protect my family, my people...my home." "You are from...Vallum aren't you?" "Yes sir." "......I see. I have some advice for you...you may not want to remain in Vallum within the next year or two." "What?! Why?!" "Consider it a precaution...for the sake of those you love." "W-wait...what, what the hell are you planning? WHAT ARE YOU BASTARDS PLANNING?!"

The turian pointed up his sniper rifle and popped the scope straight towards Thrassil's head, his own guards swiftly pulling out their assault rifles as the situation suddenly became tense. Lirem grabbed his shoulder and quickly tried to stay his hand, forcing his rifle back down as his brother shouted: "IF YOU DARE ATTACK MY HOME YOU WILL PAY WITH YOUR LIVES!" "And is that why you joined the military?!" said the commander. "To fight to defend our homes, our people, the very souls of whom we love?! Is that not the passion there, that I see so pure and thriving that should exist in all turian hearts! The will to defend, NOT the will to conquer! Once James and I have concluded business, I will explain my words to you. Until then, if you dare shoot at me, then you will lose your one chance to truly invade this stronghold of ours. We are well-defended, and it's rather impossible to breach certain doors without the password that I know of." "Well why did YOU join the military then?!" cried back Norem. "What was your purpose!?" "I wanted to defend, not to conquer. I did not want to conquer new worlds and crush other races beneath our heels, I wanted to stand true against the evils of this galaxy and to protect my home! I did not want the First Contact War, I despised the fact that the Hierarchy were so willing to come to battle with the human race, without any provocation for how they stumbled around in the darkness of space, and to think that we took it as an insult! What race, so needful to become weapons of this realm should desire to crush those newly-born out of their mother womb of earth, so fresh and uncharted across the eons of space?!" "And you think," said Lirem, "that the best way to teach them a lesson is to murder innocent people?" "No. If I were to lead Facinus, I would turn it into a different kind of terrorism, a bloodless war on terror that would only prey upon their minds. No deaths, no casualties, only that of the loss of data. We live in an age where we can pass through the very stars at the speed of light, truncating years into mere WEEKS of travel, and yet we are still stuck in the dirt like our ancestors were, beating each other to death with worthless sticks! I do not want to destroy the Hierarchy through its people. I want to destroy them...through their reputation." "So...cyber terrorism?" "Not just that, but the destruction of buildings, monuments, lifeless casualties that will strike the very heart of our race, a jumpstart of awakening for them to realise the folly of our ways, our race the Turian race, for so long we have been nothing but fools trying to justify war, breaking down deaths into statistics, casualties into numbers, people into problems...that is not why I became part of the military. I am a soldier...not an accountant of wars." He swept his cloak defiantly against a dust storm on the rise. "I am a warrior for a new age, I am a warrior who demands the price to be paid in data and numbers, not by blood and tears. The very numbers that they so revere, that they idolise as being totems to the dead of ages past, shall be taken apart, ripped by their very seams from the digital morgue and left scattered across every single omni-tool and terminal in the known colonies! I AM THE BLOODLESS!" He turned hard with both arms spread from his body. "MY MERCY RUNS SWIFT, SHALLOW LIKE THE STREAM DURING A STORM-FILLED NIGHT, AND I WILL NOT ALLOW THIS INJUSTICE, THIS INDIGNATION OF SEEING MY PEOPLE REDUCED, BUT TO A PILE OF ONES AND ZEROS! Not from them, not from Facinus, not ANYONE! ...but I need to know if you can do this."

A deathly silence fell as the dust slowly began to settle, the dust storms slipping beneath the valley as the canyon started to howl with lament for the fate of this world. Thrassil slowly walked over towards his two guards and offered them his handgun, who took it solemnly from him as he replied: "I have always believed that the only way that wars can truly be solved, is by the humiliation and subjugation of the leader of one side. There is no need to involve dozens and hundreds of young spirited individuals to sacrifice their lives, wasting it upon the altar as a testament to bureaucratic foolishness. If all we could do, was to put our leaders into a pit and force them to fight each other to submission...then we would have a much brighter future. Possibly." "I dunno about that," said FG, "but I agree that war is hell and a lot of bullshit causes it." "Have you ever served, James Campbell?" "No. But I've been through hell." "Hmph...I'll accept that. I see in your eyes that it's true. I have disarmed myself, as you can see, so I must ask you...will you battle me in a fight of pure skill and strength...to see who shall take down the great Facinus organisation?" "...a fight? With fists? That's it?" "Yes. If you believe in your cause enough, then you will beat me. But if you don't believe enough, then you don't deserve to win. It is as simple as that." "And what happens if I win?" "If you win," began Sanerix, "then you can truly stop our plan, and I believe that you have enough strength within you for me to risk this. To risk everything and in return I give you not only the layout of our defences, but also the password to enter the base. But if I win...then you must drag yourself back into the stars and hope no one else shoots you. For if any of us ever find you...you will be terminated. Is that understood?" "Sure...Thrassil Sanerix." He turned towards Lirem and handed him his gun, the turian panicking slightly asking: "You SURE about this? This is some pretty old-school shit right here." "We have an agreement," said FG. "And I'm not gonna lose." "But you lost the last time you met." "I didn't know what to expect. Now I do." "Well take this. Leiah wanted me to give you this just in case." Lirem offered a small electrical grenade, clearly the same sort he had used last time he fought in a canyon ridge. The raptor however pushed it back into his hand refusing. "No." "But-" "No. This is a battle of honour, and of our own strength and skill. Like he said. I'm not gonna break it this time." "That's not how you fight smart, you'll get yourself killed!" "I never did fight smart, why should I start now?" "But he's got experience!" "I can do this. I don't need a weapon, I can fight him myself, this is the only way we're gonna get ahead on this and get into that base without losing all our shit. You have to trust me." "But James-" "Trust. Me." "......alright. Just...I trust you." "I trust you too," said Norem. "Fight him. Make him learn not to fuck with us." "Right." The raptor turned back towards the turian commander, his cape flowing slightly to his right as a soft breeze soon came between them. At first he started walking, the turian Sanerix doing the same as their pace began to pick up. Feet started to dig into the hard dirt, the raptor raising one arm up as he readily began his assault, the turian doing the same to him. The moment they clashed, both fists went flying straight into each other's face, smacking both of them beside each other.

The punch each of them received set them both slightly to the left, circling as they readied their next attack. Thrassil put up his fists like an old boxer, close to his face with eyes just above his knuckles as James adopted more of a martial artist's pose, one fist in front of the other as he tried to swing out. His arm hooked, the turian blocking with as his fist slammed into James' wrist before jabbing him hard in the face, a single warning to make him learn. The raptor refocused, clearing his mind as he waited for an opening. Thrassil did his own hooking swipe, aiming towards FG's eye with his right fist before the raptor blocked him hard, both hands on the attacking arm before elbowing smoothly into the turian's face. It was an unexpected crack, one that he struggled not to stumble back from as he knee'd the raptor hard in the back, slamming under the tail to stun him with a painful sensation. An armoured knee striking his lower back made his legs buckle, and as he slowly bent his own knees downwards, he shoved his elbow straight into Thrassil's belly, then a second rising elbow hard into his chin. While the turian took the blow to his belly, he was smart enough to dodge his head out the way of the oncoming second attack, kicking the raptor's face hard before backing away slightly. James stood up from the booted kick, groaning with a stinging headache as he walked slowly towards his opponent, bringing up his fists calmly. He couldn't lose himself, he had to focus, he remembered how he had gone fists flying at Sanerix before and lost brutally to his prowess. He didn't even consider the fact that this was a war veteran clearly skilled in combat warfare. But that didn't stop him from swinging his leg out in a turning kick to the waist, the turian grabbing his leg hard and about to bring his elbow down onto it. But the raptor hopped forwards and risked his balance by slamming his other foot hard into Thrassil's face with a striking axe-kick, sending both of them down hard by his momentum. He pulled his leg back and stomped brutally onto Thrassil's head, slamming it twice down upon him before the turian could roll off to the side, grabbing James' ankle and punching violently into the back of his heel.

He buckled and winced at the stabbing pain before trying to kick away, pulled back towards the turian before James tried to crush him with his knee. But the turian rolled away and let go of James' heel, the two standing back up before bringing their fists back up again. Thrassil walked forwards, readily punching out with a one-two-swipe, finishing with a fourth uppercut that James failed to block as it striked him in the chin. He stumbled back slightly, right before another punch that he dodged just in time before hooking left around the arm to try and crack Sanerix's jaw. The turian brought his shoulder up and shielded himself, knuckles smacking painfully into the hard-armoured bone even with a pair of gaunlets on James' hands, the raptor coming in close to try and punch higher above the shoulder. But the turian stepped back fast before swinging his leg hard towards James' injured heel, sending him down hard on his feet before a thrusting kick came to the back of his head, stomping his snout hard enough into the dirt to cause bruises. He rolled fast after the second stomp on his head, swinging back up through momentum before making a leaping pounce. His body slammed into Sanerix as the two went flying, the raptor slamming his fists violently into Thrassil's mouthflaps left and right, knuckles tensing in his gauntlets before he readied the fifth punch. He began charging it with a furious energy, burning lights throbbing within his fingers as his three claws tensed with fire dripping down their nanoessence. "Ready for THIS?!" snarled FG. The turian smirked before pressing a small button on his armour saying: "Are you?" The fist came down burning with fury onto his head, but Thrassil's left arm came up suddenly to block it. As his flaming knuckles struggled to reach past, he tried swinging his left fist downwards before the same thing happened again, the turian's right arm blocking him hard. The sound of a screaming small engine came throbbing underneath them, as Thrassil swiftly turned his wrists around and grabbed at James' wrists in turn, before he was suddenly dragged forwards and up hard towards the air.

The turian's propulsion pack blasted hot air behind him, the two dangling five feet above the ground before a swift double boot to the stomach sent James hurtling back down towards earth. Groaning as he clutched his stomach, the raptor had little time to notice the turian's shadow above him ready to come down hard upon his head, forcing himself to roll just before a violent fist punched straight into the soil, cracking it even further as a storm of dust sweeped out in a circle around Sanerix. He stood up slowly, with James struggling to do the same. "I said no weapons," said the turian. "N-not...weapons," said FG. "Just my...fists, right? No guns or swords or whatever...just our bodies...and what they're capable of." "Yes...very true. Then I won't hold back." "Finally, I was getting bored with our pattycake." Thrassil smirked as he charged towards FG, blasting his pack behind him as he flew across the battlefield before the raptor dodged swiftly to the right, ducking just as the turian tried to clothesline him in passing with a swung-out fist. He turned on his feet, skidding hard as dirt flew beneath his feet before jetblasting himself towards his enemy once again. The raptor readied himself to dodge, this time to the left but as he did, his knee went up hard to slam brutally into Thrassil's gut, bruising his stomach as he struggled not to fall over. He stopped his propulsion pack and turned while landing, planting his feet on the ground and standing his ground as he kneeled clutching himself slightly. The raptor decided it was time to show his moves off, his blast of wind crying out behind him as he roared with a nanoblast from his fists, tearing him straight towards Sanerix. The turian dodged low, rolling flat onto the ground as he went right under James' feet, the raptor hurtling past him as Thrassil decided to join him in a jetsetting chase, shooting his pack up with hot flames before grabbing FG from behind. The two headed straight towards the cliff, the momentum of their charge forcing them to roll powerfully fast against each other as they grappled on tightly, looking for an opening to kick each other off. Thrassil found his first, firing up his pack for just a split second before kicking FG off against the ground as he landed on his feet. The raptor kept rolling unable to stop himself quick enough, scrabbling hard against the loose dirt before reaching the cliff edge, stabbing his claws into the cracked soil as he hung over the edge.

"JAMES!" cried Lirem. "I'M FINE!" he roared back. "JUST STAY OUT OF THIS!" "BU-" "THIS IS BETWEEN ME AND HIM NOW STAY THE FUCK OUT OF IT!" "I agree." Thrassil Sanerix stood upon the cliff edge, his feet close enough to stomp straight onto James' right hand and end this very quickly. If it wasn't for the fact that James already had a plan on getting himself back up as the turian said: "Don't worry, I'm not that cheap, now get up and fight me." "I appreciate it...because I sure am cheap enough to win." "What?" The raptor readied himself with a gust of wind in his left hand hanging underneath, his right hand trembling both with exertion and nano-energy just begging to come out. He braced himself to push upwards as a blasting gale uplifted him from the canyon's edge, rising past the turian as his right fist went slamming up through Sanerix's jaw, cracking him brutally with a forceful speed like the swing of a baseball bat. "_FINAL STRIKE! _" He finished his screaming callout with the wind uplifting him still, briefly hovering in the air before focusing his nanopower, his right hand now behind him to blast him straight towards Thrassil before pounding his left fist through the turian's head. He landed perfectly beside a now bloody-faced turian, his spitting bloodied lips now blue and glistening from the force of FG's aerial strike. Thrassil however got up slowly, staggering up as his mouthflap quivered with pained breaths of laughter, the duststorm slowly picking up around them once more. "Hhhhhhhahahahahahaha...hmhm ha ha ha ha...HHHHA HA HA HA HA HAAA! NOW I see your true strength, now FIGHT ME! PROVE THAT YOU DESERVE TO WIN, JAMES CAMPBELL!" James took the invitation and went roaring towards him, charging with a clear head as the turian dodge-stepped far, his legs lifted briefly off the ground by a blast of hot air before coming close to James' side. The raptor barely ducked under the charging punch, violently responding with a fierce uppercut that knocked him into the air slightly. His propulsion pack kept itself on, making him fly higher as he came down roaring like a comet, slamming viciously into the ground which crumbled softly beneath his feet. James barely dodged the attack, but he was close enough to have felt the tremors that it threw him off-balance, his legs turning wobbly before the turian came charging. He wasn't able to dodge, and as a result he felt a vicious snapping crack of full-frontal fist break his snout, sending him back flying hard across the dusty field into a stumbling roll. His nose bled thickly, eyes watering from pain as he stood up panting, stumbling, waiting for his head to turn clear. But there was no time. Thrassil came like a speeding train towards him, dust screaming out from behind him in a hot cloud of red.

The dust storm that slowly picked up gave him an idea, as he waited with preparation, hands out and ready to grab him. Ducking to the left slightly, he avoided the brutal clothesline of Thrassil with a clotheslining of his own, letting the turian slam his neck into his right arm. In the brief moment of hesitation, he grabbed Thrassil's head in a headlock and turned him around hard in a half-spin almost like a waltz, before kicking his legs hard behind him to trip the turian right up. The propulsion pack did all the work as he fell forwards. At the same time, James had his arm wrapped around his neck, roaring as he threw Thrassil Sanerix hard over his shoulder in a judo-style throw, slamming him onto the ancient broken earth. The dust soon settled around them, the turian breathing hard with blood-blue streaks running over the single red-stripe across his face, his back aching and bruised even moreso than before. James stood over him, his own bruises and red bloodied nose dripping down over him. At first they said nothing, the two simply staring into each other's eyes heaving with exertion. Then the turian spoke first. "Hhhhhh...hhhgghh...hhhhh...not...bad. When your mind...is not wracked with fury...you fight well." "I...same," said James tersely, "that was...hhhh...a good...fight..." "Indeed." "You still able?" "No...nnnngh...that last one...argh...my back's always been a little...problematic since Verrana. Looks as if you found my weakness...how did you know?" "Well...just a guess." "What was...that last move you did?" "It's called Sandstorm Snapmare...my boyfriend taught me." "Hmph...perhaps it is...best that I face you...and not him." "HAH! Hhhhah...ahhhh...so, you done yet?" "Yes. I admit...defeat. You win this round, James Campbell." "Wait, round?" "Yes...now you must face my other allies, once I give you this." He slowly brought up his omni-tool and began tapping in a series of numbers, struggling with his weakened body before managing to upload it towards FG's omni-tool. A few virtual schematics as well as a password came up onto his screen. It was a strange word, a single word he did not recognise asking: "...Sileena? Is that a name?" "Yes," said Thrassil, "it was...once. Nnnngh...you have fought well. Those schematics will show you the layout of every single defence position that we have. It is not a large force around this base, the majority of it is still back on their homeworld...but it is far greater than any you have encountered so far." "Alright...you uh...need any help?" "Thank you...but no."

The turian got up of his own will, slowly but surely as buckled his legs before stumbling up on his own two feet, a slight hobble stemming from the winded pain now in his chest. His guards came running loyally towards his side ready to assist, the raptor slightly nervous about this odd peaceful resolution as the commander replied with: "I must leave this place, in order to not deal with the potential fallout. And you must make your preparations. "Can I ask you something? Before you go?" He did not even turn in his stumbling walk towards the shuttle, halting as he waited. "...you may." "What...do you plan on doing when I kill your leader?" "I will take over Facinus. I will make it a bloodless organisation, a group who do not kill or murder to prove a point, but rather desecrate and humiliate by stripping the very reins of power from the Hierarchy. I want to destroy their reputations, not their very lives. A seat can always be filled by another bloated sack. But if you make that seat untouchable by the sheer poison of liability, that...sends a much deeper message towards their bureaucratic few." "And what message is that?" "...that you cannot hide behind your numbers and statistics...forever. One day...there shall be a day when they must confess...for all of their decisions." He turned one last time towards his former opponent. "Good luck James Campbell...do not fail me. Please...find that anomaly and destroy it...for all our sakes. I also ask that you do not...mention me to my leader. As a personal request." "Heh...alright then. Anything else?" "Yes, just one piece of advice concerning the Palaven's Moon. One thing during our test developments? The mass effect core is rather...sensitive to sudden changes in temperature. Good luck. And good day." With that the turian commander walked back to his ship, forcefully keeping his guards at arm's length to stop them from assisting him too much. Slowly sitting down onto a seat as the shuttlecar closed, it began to lift off as one of his brown-armoured guards began driving. They asked their leader: "What are your orders sir?" "We leave this place," replied Thrassil, "and head back towards the Nemean Abyss to recover. We'll start making preparations to avoid contact with Facinus for a bit, complete blackout." "Won't they get suspicious sir?" "They won't know I was here, we've covered our tracks well enough that the only way our organisation will be stupid enough to see us is if we flew right over their heads. We do not interfere with James Campbell either, or his little group the Sole Calibrators. That's an order." "Yes commander...um...sir?" "Yes?" "...do you really think that this...merc...can get rid of that anomaly? You know what happened to the others." "I know...but I know that he'll at least be able to fight it back." "But...why?" Thrassil slowly pulled his cape closer around himself, shuddering slightly as he spoke his last words upon the matter. "Because he hasn't died insane yet...like all the rest of them have...spirits...I hope I never see such a thing within this galaxy again."