Ron the True Fan: Do I LOOK like Gene Roddenberry, or that I work for Paramount or CBS?! Tell the bloodsucking lawyers to piss off!

Takeshi Yamato: We also don't own Mass Effect, or anything else that might make a cameo in this story… what can I say, I love importing things from other franchises and tweaking them to fit the destination! It still belongs to whomever created it, though.

Eden Prime orbit - USS Ra-Cailum

Sonja had outdone herself with this. Sure, it was less powerful than the warp core of everything but shuttlecraft, but it was enough to connect to the mass relay at the edge of the system. She had already completed one and installed it on the Ra-Cailum, and she was getting the second one ready for use on the Raging Tempest. "Henderson to Tempest," she said. "I've got a BFPE here ready for beaming!"

"BFPE?" came the voice of the Raging Tempest's Communications/Ops Officer, Rina Nuras, in confused reply. "What the heck does BFPE stand for?"

"Big Fucking Piece of Equipment!" Sonja elaborated. "I've placed a transponder on the damn thing, so beam it into a clear space. I'll be there in a minute to help you boys install it: it took me a while to get the particulars down. This thing isn't compatible with our EPS systems, so you'll need my help."

"Understood," Rina replied. "We'll get it beamed over ASAP." A few moments later, the device disappeared in a swirling column of light.

The chief engineer sighed, slightly angry about the element zero core's incompatibility with their EPS technology. She had to rig a compatible medium just to get it to work properly with Starfleet technology. She walked out of the retrofit cargo bay, heading for a transporter room to beam onto the Tempest.

USS Raging Tempest

When Sonja beamed over, she was met by Matt, the Raging Tempest's Chief Engineer. "Glad to see you over here," he said to her. "Been a while since I worked on anything as unusual as what you sent over."

Sonja unzipped her black and grey uniform jacket before taking it off and placing it on a chair. "Getting it working again was easy," she said. "Making it work with our technology was a pain in the ass: it took me three hours to find something that would be compatible. good thing I know what I'm doing now: we'll be done in 20 minutes, then we'll be heading for this 'Citadel' we keep hearing about."

"That's good," Matt replied. "From some of what I've heard, it's supposedly the center of their government… though that seems like it isn't safe - putting your government on a space station means there's all sorts of dangers."

"GR1, Lt. Commander," Sonja replied. "My CO loves reminding us that there's not a damn thing we can do to convince another government to do things our way. 'We are not the ancient United States of America. We don't impose our will on other nationstates just because we want to'."

"Yeah, I know," Matt replied. "Captain Pinkerton seems like a real stickler for the regs… Commander Allster-Yamato was like that too, for a while."

"He's not a stickler for the regs," Sonja informed. "Just the Prime Directive. He's a student of history. Merik, Tracy, Jameson, Rozhenko: look what happened to them after they broke the Directive. Exiled, dead or imprisoned. He doesn't want that to happen to anyone under his command."

Matt nodded. "Makes sense, I guess," he said. "But yeah, when she first signed on with the crew, back when the Raging Tempest was the Tempest, Commander Allster-Yamato - then Lieutenant Allster - was a real stickler for making sure things were done by the book, even when the book was flawed, or took more time than improvising. Then again, being the daughter of a Councilman probably played a role in that."

Sonja opened a panel that allowed her access to the EPS grid. "He'll bend the living fuck out of them if need be," she said, "but he will not break the Prime Directive. Not unless he's given a good fucking reason, and even then, it will need to be a big one." She connected a conduit to the EPS relay before hooking it up to an odd-looking conversion device.

"Gotcha," Matt replied, as he helped make the connections. "Well, hopefully he won't have need to. Still, this is definitely going to be an adventure - just hope we'll be able to make enough Quantum Torpedoes to last - Captain Yamato always prefers the damage output they give compared to Photons, and if he's faced with a cluster of enemies, he won't hesitate to launch a Full Spread. He also likes to volley them against single targets."

Sonja scoffed. "Wasteful," she said. "The Ra-Cailum's got the facilities to make the torpedoes, seeing as we're a deep space first-response ship, but he's going to have to get used to using photon torpedoes. Besides, from what I've seen, even the photons are going to be overkill here: their shields, which are useless against our phasers, would probably buckle against ONE torpedo." She connected another conduit to the Geth core, which lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Right," Matt replied. "Well, that'll definitely be interesting." He then looked over the readouts. "Everything looks green from what I can see - think we're ready to go."

Sonja slammed her hand on a control panel. "Henderson to bridge: new power core is online! We are free and clear to use the mass relay!"

"Understood," Takeshi replied. "And just in time, too - looks like the Normandy and Ra-Cailum are getting ready to head out. Thanks for the help, Henderson."

"Hey, I'm just an engineer: miracles are our job! I'll head back to my ship. Just don't break the damn thing: I'm not making any house calls until I work out the kinks on the one on the Ra-Cailum!" She tapped her commbadge before she disappeared in a transporter beam.

Soon, the three ships approached the giant Mass Relay. The Normandy went first, lightning crackling from the Relay over the ship before shooting it off to the Citadel Relay. After that came the Ra-Cailum, then the Raging Tempest.

The three ships emerged in a nebula, cruising through it for a few minutes before the Citadel came into view.

On the Bridge of the Raging Tempest, Takeshi whistled. "That's something you don't see every day," he said.

"So large," Kim reported from Sensors. "That thing's over three times the size of ESD!"

"And the five outer panels can close up into an impenetrable shell for defense, as well," Brok'tan, the Klingon XO, said from what would normally be the Captain's Chair if Takeshi didn't like commanding from the helm.

"And apparently it was built by the same people who made the Mass Relays and most of the tech found in this universe," Matt commented. "Whoever they were, they didn't think small."

"Still tiny, people: that thing is a speck compared to the Dyson Spheres." Ron did have a point. The Jenolan and Solanae Dyson Spheres were 4 AU in diameter: the Citadel was TINY compared to those giants.

"Got it," Takeshi replied. He then spotted a ship nearby. "Hey, Captain Pinkerton are you seeing that ship?" he asked. "Big, graceful, looks like it's got a giant hole in the middle?"

"Reminds me of a sunfish," Ron replied. "IFF reads out as Destiny Ascension. Oh, fuck: she's locking weapons on us."

"Us, too," Kim reported. "We're being lit up by multiple ships in the area."

"Tholra, raise shields, but don't do anything with the weapons," Takeshi ordered. "Don't want to provoke them, but don't want to risk getting taken out with a surprise attack, either." He paused for a moment, even as the Xindi-Reptilian carried out his orders. "Here's hoping they'll take the Normandy's words that we're friendly."

A moment passed while the Alliance ship spoke with the defense fleet, but they weren't backing down. "This is Commodore Ronald Pinkerton of the Federation Starship Ra-Cailum," Ron said over the Comms. "Either stand down or I will take your actions as hostile and respond accordingly! I have no desire to start a shooting war, but I'll fire if you even THINK of pulling those triggers!"

Takeshi agreed with Ron's statement - he didn't want to start a war with another government in another universe, but he would defend himself if necessary.

"This is the Destiny Ascension," came the reply. "With respect, Commodore, your ships don't look like they're armed at all."

A phaser beam shot out from the Ra-Cailum's dorsal array, scoring a glancing hit on the Ascension's shields, downing them in one shot. "You were saying?"

Takeshi shook his head. He didn't need to shoot directly at them - a miss into the nebula itself would certainly have done the trick as a warning shot.

"…Ok, you made your point," the reply from the Ascension came. "Docking ports 423 and 224 are open. you are cleared, Ra-Cailum." Either the glancing shot scared the shit out of them, or the fact that it was accurate enough to down the shields without damaging the ship itself was enough to make them think twice about fighting the two ships.

Takeshi sighed a little bit in relief as they moved towards the giant station. Though, there was likely going to be a slight problem when it came to docking. His ship was small enough it could fit in an atmospheric environment, though they'd likely have to get creative securing the docking tunnel. The Ra Cailum, though, was much larger - and Takeshi wasn't sure they'd find a place to park it without needing to place it in a parking orbit.

The Sovereign-Class ship's shields activated, reshaping them into an aerodynamic form that made the ship more than capable of flying inside the atmosphere of a planet as the ship narrowly entered the tunnel, heading for the next docking port, which was barely large enough for the 685 meter long starship.

Soon enough, the two ships were parked, as was the Normandy, and Takeshi and Ron, with their First Officers, were soon joining Nihlus as they made their way to meet with the Citadel Council.

Citadel Presidium - Council chambers

"This is insanity! One of those ships took out the kinetic barriers on the Destiny Ascension: what's stopping them from just destroying everything here if we don't give them the answer they want?!"

"Spectre Nihlus' initial reports said they were friendly," the Asari Councilor reminded. "The commander of that one ship must have simply gotten impatient and annoyed with the guns pointed at him - which you really can't blame them for."

The Turian wasn't happy about that truth, but who could blame him? That one ship did what would take half a fleet of turian dreadnoughts an hour to do in one shot. His racial pride had taken a MAJOR blow.

"We still need to confirm their intentions here," the Salarian Councilor informed. "The Citadel Alliance could benefit from having them as a member, but only if they wish it."

"Agreed," the Turian Councilor replied. "And then there's the matter of Saren. With Nihlus' reports, we have no choice but to revoke Saren's Spectre status and send someone after him - but Citadel Security isn't equipped enough to deal with him. We'll need to send Nihlus, and possibly another Spectre, after him, but if we can enlist the help of these newcomers, that would be beneficial."

"I will need to confirm their story," the Asari Councilor informed. "I propose that I touch the minds of the captains, ascertain the truth from their thoughts. After that… we will see."

USS Ra-Cailum - portside airlock

Ron adjusted what he referred to as his dress uniform: a 2279-2350 era brick red jacket with a white turtleneck and a buckle made in the emblem of Starfleet. The only thing breaking the illusion was the 2373-era commbadge. "So, why are we wearing dress uniforms?" Sonja asked.

"First contact procedure," Ron replied. "Wear your best, impress the people you make contact with. It also gives me the excuse to wear this thing." Sonja raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. As per regs, all of them were armed with type-2 phasers, with a hidden surprise up their sleeves. Literally: they carried the tiny type-1 phaser up their right sleeves. Called the 'cricket' because they were so damn tiny, no one but covert ops personnel used them much after 2365.

When the Airlock doors opened, Nihlus waited for them in his armor, along with Shepard and the woman with the sword. Takeshi, Brok'tan, and Linda were also there, wearing the 'Odyssey Dress' Uniforms that were becoming standard fare these days: Light gray jacket with gold trim and white shoulders, a stripe of their division color (Tactical Red in all three cases) between the shoulder and main portion, with an undershirt of the same color, and pants and shoes the same color as the main jacket, though a stripe in their division color ran up the side of each leg. Takeshi also had a nonstandard addition to his uniform - a Katana Sword was in its sheathe, hooked up to the left side of his belt. "Well, Commodore, ready to say hi to the local head honchos?" Takeshi asked.

"You know, I only used that to show which of us was kinda in charge," Ron informed. Takeshi knew what regulation he was talking about: Regulation 191, Article 14, which, in a combat situation involving more than one ship, had command fall to the vessel with tactical superiority, should there not be a higher ranking officer present. The Ra-cailum was the more heavily armed ship, even if Takeshi didn't want to admit it. "Still, I won't step on your toes unless I need to. Please don't make me need to."

"Sure thing," Takeshi replied. "Actually, mind if I call you Ron? Never was all that much for formality."

"Not a problem. Let's go meet the brass and see what we can do without breaking every rule in the book."

Nihlus nodded. "Alright, if you'll all follow me, I'll guide you to the Presidium, and from there to the Citadel Tower."

The two senior staffs, along with the two Alliance N7s, followed the Turian Spectre into an elevator, which took them downwards. "Nice station," Ron said. "We've seen bigger. How long did it take to build?"

"No clue," Nihlus admitted. "We didn't make it - the Protheans did, just like the Relays. The Asari were the first to discover it, then they allied with the Salarians. The Turian Hierarchy was the last of the 'big three' races to join the alliance, and an elected official from each of those three races - sometimes called the 'Council Races' meet at the top of the Citadel Tower. They are the ruling body of the galaxy - the Citadel Council."

"Ever since we joined Citadel Space some thirty years ago, Humanity's come a long way," Hitomi, the woman with the sword, informed. "We even have our own Embassy here, like most of the other races that are part of Citadel Space, but not the Council. We've been wanting a bit more say, though - the first step was nominating Nicole here for the Spectres." she indicated Shepard as she said that last bit.

"Indeed," Nihlus replied. "However, Lieutenant, after seeing recordings of what you did on Eden Prime, and going over your own record, I felt it prudent to nominate you for the Spectres, as well."

Hitomi's eyes widened at that declaration. "M-me?" she asked.

"Kind of what we do with prospective member worlds," Ron remarked. "We give them a chance to enter Starfleet Academy. Of course, once they join the Federation, the member race is automatically given a new seat on the Federation Ruling Council. Gives them a say in how the Federation should be run."

"I see," Nihlus remarked. "An interesting concept… still, just how many worlds are a part of the Federation?"

"Over 150, spread across 8000 light years, and that's homeworlds: we usually don't include colonies in that number. Humans, Vulcans, Andorians, and Tellarites were founding members of the Federation, with the Trill, Betazoids, Bolians, Bajorans and several others joining over the next two 've even got members of nations that don't want to join as members of Starfleet, too: the Klingons, mostly."

The locals all blinked. "So many different worlds, and in such a small area," Nihlus remarked. "Then again, without instantaneous FTL like the Relays, you would be limited by distance."

"That's part of it," Takeshi informed. "The other part is that the Federation isn't the only power in our galaxy. There's the Cardassian Union, though they're rebuilding after a war over 30 years ago nearly destroyed them, the Klingon Empire, which the Federation has had alternating states of war and peace with, having just recently ended the latest period of war, the Ferengi Alliance, and remnants of the Romulan Star Empire, which suffered serious losses over 20 years ago when their homeworld was destroyed. They've split into two main camps: those that want to return to their glory days, and the Romulan Republic, which seek a new beginning. And that's only in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants, where the Federation primarily resides. There's also the Gamma and Delta Quadrants, where plenty of other races make their home… though one race from the Delta Quadrant has made moves into our territory for a while… the Borg."

"Borg?" Shepard asked. "Sounds Swedish."

The Starfleet personnel turned their heads toward her with a simple look. "You. Fucking. Wish."

"The Borg are cybernetic, though primarily more machine than flesh," Takeshi informed. "They run on a hive mind, often manifested in and controlled by a Queen. They have only one goal: Assimilate all life into themselves, adding the technological and biological distinctiveness of each race they assimilate into their collective. We were fighting a Borg fleet when we were transported here through a rift in space-time - I only hope that the Borg weren't brought to this Universe, too."

"Knowing our luck - mostly mine - they came through as well," Ron said. "I just hope we don't get fucked for this." The elevator came to a stop, and the team arrived at the presidium.

Nihlus led them across the Presidium, pointing out important locations like the Embassies and Financial District. As they passed the Embassies, Shepard and Hitomi noticed Captain Anderson on one of the balconies, with Kaidan and Ashley there, too. They also saw the Human Ambassador on the Citadel, Udina, talking to the three soldiers.

"…get a chance to look at their weapons?" Udina was asking. "How did they work? What happened when the Geth were shot?"

"We didn't see them fighting the Geth," Kaidan informed, "but one of them used his weapon to destroy the Prothean beacon. It had to be VERY powerful to do that, Ambassador."

"Indeed," Udina replied. "And you said that it fired energy blasts? We've never…" his voice trailed off as they passed out of earshot.

"Sounds like we're making a stir with your government, at least, Shepard, Lieutenant," Takeshi remarked.

"Call me Hitomi," Hitomi said. "Like you, I'm not much for formality."

"Alright," Takeshi replied. "Still, that was an interesting conversation to partially eavesdrop on."

"They aren't going to like me later," Ron said as he smirked. "Not that I care."

After another elevator ride, they finally arrived before the Council. "Spectre Nihlus, welcome back to the Citadel."

"Thank you very much," Nihlus replied. "May I present Commander Nicole Shepard and Lieutenant Hitomi Yamato of the Systems Alliance, as well as Commodore Ronald Pinkerton and Captain Takeshi Yamato, the captains of the two ships that arrived during the battle of Eden Prime, and the ranking members of their respective command staffs."

Ron chuckled at the use of his self-inflicted title. "The rank of Commodore doesn't really exist anymore," he said. "I just used it as a way to bear my teeth without actually hurting anyone. Still, maybe you should work on your first contact procedures next time, like HAILING the ships instead of simply locking weapons on them. Makes getting along with the new people SO much easier."

"Perhaps," the Salarian Councilor replied. "Before we go any further, we must ensure the validity of your claims of being from another universe. My esteemed Asari counterpart here has volunteered to do so."

"Ooh. Lie detector test. I'll volunteer for this one. Should be fun." The grin on Ron's face was rather unnerving, but the Asari left the podium, walking over to the red-wearing captain.

"Not quite a lie detector as you are used to, Captain," she said. "All Asari can perform something called 'melding'. An Asari can link their mind to another's, letting one see the other's thoughts."

"Almost sounds like a Vulcan Mind Meld," Takeshi remarked.

She blinked at the similarity, but moved onward. "Captain, do you have a problem with this?" she asked.

"Nope," Ron replied. "I've had Vulcans meld with me before. Let's get 'er done, shall we?"

"Very well," the Asari Councilor replied, before she took hold of Ron's hands. Her eyes went completely black as she whispered, "Embrace Eternity."

Ron's Mindscape

Tevos wasn't expecting this. Simple metal grating, alcoves of some kind, consoles with a green and yellow script attached to junctions and a simple feeling of heat permeated the mind. "You know, the last time this happened, I went through the WORST experience in my life," Ron said.

She looked over, seeing him in his more usual uniform in this mental representation. "So, this mindscape reflects something that happened to you?" she asked. "It's not very often that one even has a mindscape."

"Oh, yeah. even got a souvenir from my little experience. He just won't leave." A red laser made contact with Tevos' form, and when she followed the source, she discovered the form of another Ron, only wearing some kind of body armor with cybernetic implants sticking out of his body. His skin was pale, and his eyes were hollow. There was also no hair on his head: an odd feature for the black-blonde human.

"We are the Borg. You will be assimilated. your biological and technological distinctiveness will be added to our own."

"He's ALWAYS like that," Ron said. "Don't know how he popped up: the councillors said he's a part of my mind I just can't accept. Then again, how can you come to terms with being ripped of all that you are and turned into a machine?"

"Machine?" Tevos asked, before she saw.

Images appeared before her. Giant Cubes. Smaller Spheres and rectangular ships. Beings just like the other Ron, of a multitude of races. Whole Planets, mechanized.

All throughout, one phrase, repeating ad infinitum.

"We are the Borg. Lower your shields and surrender your ships. Your biological and technological distinctiveness will be added to your own. Your culture will adapt to service us. Resistance is Futile."

The Asari was stupefied into silence. "You know, in forty years, the Borg have been a MASSIVE pain in the ass," Ron informed. "They've tried assimilating Earth on no less then three occasions, and they take everything from you if they get your hands on you." The images returned, only this time, they were through someone else's eyes as a man wearing the same uniform as Ron was injected with some tubules that exited through the first knuckle.

The man struggled for the first few seconds, but then ceased. His skin began turning gray. His eyes became lifeless, and he walked like an automaton.

Mechanical components were added. Black Body Armor, wicked-looking prosthetics on the arms, even a thing over one eye. By the time it was done, the man was no longer an individual.

Just a mindless drone of the Collective.

Tevos fought the urge to vomit. if this was true - and because this was the mind, it had to be - then the Borg just entered the list of worst things to encounter and jumped to the top spot in less than two minutes. "I think I'm going to be sick," she said.

"Believe me, you're not the only one," Ron informed. Images of a battle between a cube and several Starfleet ships entered her mind. "Wolf 359. Worst battle in Starfleet's history before the Dominion War."

"One ship… did all of this?" Tevos asked.

"Not just one ship," Ron informed. "One MAN." An image of a man wearing a Starfleet uniform, much older in design, entered her mind. He was bald, and looked much wiser than his years. "Jean-Luc Picard, Captain of the Federation starship Enterprise NCC-1701-D."

"I presume that ship has a history," she said. "I mean, given the 'D' in the registry, which does not seem normal."

A much older ship entered the view, looking like an old Earth fighter she had seen in a history book after learning of humanity's existence. "Enterprise NX-01, first ship to bear the name that ever left Earth's solar system," Ron explained. "First of the NX-Class, too." The image changed to another one, looking far different, yet similar. "The most famous. Constitution-class, USS Enterprise NCC-1701. 40 years of service, including a mission under James Tiberius Kirk." The image changed to the ship being dismantled and rebuilt, looking more… beautiful in the refit configuration. "Her life ended over Genesis."

She watched as the forward half of the Enterprise's Saucer just blew up in a massive explosion. The ship, trailing fire, descended into the atmosphere of a planet, burning up as it went.

"Oh… my…"

"Veteran officers still cry seeing that," Ron said. "Hell, I cry thinking about it. but it wasn't the end for that beloved name."

The image changed, as they saw a shuttle of some kind fly over a ship named USS Excelsior NX-2000 and another Constitution-Class ship entered view with the name and registry USS Enterprise NCC-1701-A.

"She only served for 6 years," Ron said, "but it was enough. Another ship replaced her after she was retired."

The image of a ship closely related to the Excelsior entered view, only with two extra impulse engines and enlarged 'cheeks' near the deflector dish. The registry read NCC-1701-B.

"Excelsior-Class," Ron informed. "Served for a long time before she disappeared. Then came the second most pivotal ship to carry the name since Archer's NX-01."

It had a larger saucer than the Excelsior version, but it was perfectly circular. The pylon connecting to the lower hull was shorter, and thinner, though not as thin as the Constitution. The lower hull itself was shorter, but still round like the Constitution. The pylons were similar to the Excelsior's, but larger, and the nacelles themselves were wider, taller, and shorter than the Excelsior's. The registry was NCC-1701-C.

"The Enterprise-C," Ron explained. "12 years of service, and she brought peace with the Klingons through her actions in her last day of life." An image of the Enterprise-C fighting four green, birdlike starships was seen, fighting bravely, and even destroying two of them before she herself was lost. "Captain Garrett brought peace with the Klingons by defending Narendra III from the Romulans. They saw her defense of a colony world as signs that we were a valued, honorable ally. It would be years before the Enterprise-D replaced her." The image of a larger ship, with more of an ellipsoid saucer and shorter pylons, entered their view. "Galaxy-Class, NCC-1701-D. Picard made first contact with the borg in 2365, a year after he took command. Then, a year and a half later…"

Another image appeared. It was of Picard again, but this time he was different. He looked like a Borg Drone. "I am Locutus of Borg," he said. "Resistance is Futile. Your life as it has been is over. From this time forward you will service us."

Tevos had had enough. She didn't want to see anything more. But Ron wasn't going to let her go: not until she knew how they ended up here. "Keep watching, Councilor," he said. "We're not done." Wolf 359 returned to their view 'pleasure', as ship after ship was either destroyed outright or turned into a burning hulk. "11000 lives lost. 39 starships destroyed. Only quick action by the Enterprise saved Picard and stopped the cube." Images of the Enterprise-D rushing past them before the cube exploded flashed before them before the image changed to that of the Enterprise fighting a smaller ship. "Oh. Right. The most embarrassing battle the Enterprises have ever fought, but it's excusable, mostly because the Duras whores fried the shield generator with their first shot, making sure they could keep punching through the shields."

She watched as the smaller ship kept tearing into the Enterprise-D with torpedoes and green energy blasts, before the Enterprise-D finally got off a Torpedo that hit the smaller ship as it was beginning to become transparent, causing it to explode. "That… was that ship-"

"Cloaking?" Ron said, finishing her question. "Yes. Cloaking technology is common in our universe. But the Enterprise-D was lost, and that brought her successor into being." The image changed to another ship, only this time the image was more familiar, as Tevos had seen this ship. It was a near-copy of the Ra-Cailum, with two differences: the name and registry, being USS Enterprise NCC-1701-E. "Picard commanded this one as well, and fought against the borg in 2373, stopping them from… well…"

She watched again as another fleet assaulted a Borg Cube, this one over Earth, as the Enterprise-E swooped in to join the battle, and they finally destroyed the Cube… only for a Sphere to emerge, which disappeared into a rift. "What…"

"Time travel," Ron explained. "The sphere went into the past, trying to prevent first contact between humanity and the Vulcans. If that never happened, the federation would never be formed. The Enterprise-E succeeded in stopping them, although over half the crew were assimilated, most of the ship was overrun with Borg technology and Picard had SERIOUS anger issues for a few weeks afterward." The image faded away, replaced with another ship.

The saucer was much larger than the Sovereign-Class, and the lower hull a bit more rounded. Saucer and lower hull were joined by two pylons, one on each side of the hull, and the nacelles and pylons connecting them to the ship were much more elegant. The ship as a whole was larger than the Sovereign, but the most beautiful design she'd seen yet.

The key feature, though, was the registry: NCC-1701-F. This was the eighth ship to bear the name. "She was commissioned last year," Ron said. "I won't tell you everything, but the Enterprise-F is the most powerful ship in Starfleet. The Ra-Cailum is barely a match for her, and that's only if the captain's having an off day."

"I see," Tevos replied, nodding. "It is an impressive looking ship… so… how did you arrive in our universe?"

The image changed again, this time showing the battle against the Borg Fleet in the Defera Sector.

"We had engaged a fleet of Borg ships in our universe in response to the Raging Tempest's call for assistance. We used our deflector dish to open a Tyken's Rift-" Tevos barely understood what he said. "I'll give your scientists access to our astrometrics database. In a nutshell, the Borg tried to overload it, but that opened a brief tear between the universes, and we were sent here."

Tevos nodded. "The Salarians are the main scientists of our galaxy," she said. "We Asari are the diplomats, the Turians the warriors - though Krogan also fill a warrior role, if you can find and hire one. Humans are the relative newcomers to galactic society - we don't quite know what role they fill yet, because they have people in all walks of life."

Ron chuckled. "Humans need a 'galactic hat', so to speak. Don't type-classify humans, Councillor: our main virtue is being 'hatless'. it means we're far more adaptable than most races other than-" The red laser hit Tevos' form again before Ron looked at it. "Piss off." The Borg disappeared from the mindscape. "Got everything you need?"

"Y… yes, I think so," Tevos replied. "I am most wholly convinced that your story is genuine."

"Good. Now… GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HEAD!"

Citadel Council chamber

Tevos' eyes returned to normal as she blinked, stepping away from Ron. "His tale is genuine," she informed the Council. "He and those from the ships with him are not from this universe."

She shivered slightly, the images of the Borg continuing to dance in her mind.

"Councilor Tevos, are you alright?" the Turian Councilor, Sparatus, asked.

She wanted to say yes. She really did. But she couldn't. "No…" she replied. "Some of what I saw… what his universe has faced… I envy them the courage to face what they do."

"What did you see, Councilor?"

She looked at the Salarian briefly before saying two words. "The Borg."

"Borg? Sounds Swedish."

Tevos turned to him. "Oh, how I wish it was," she said to him. "Imagine a people that are more machine than man. That go about the galaxy, conquering the races they come across. No, not just conquering - subsuming, robbing them of their individuality and forcing them to join the hive mind that runs the entire force. THAT is the Borg… and I pray that we may never have to face them."

Both councilors were stunned silent before they looked at Ron, then back at Tevos, then at each other for a brief moment. "I… believe we have enough information, Captains. You will be allowed to walk the Citadel unescorted, but I recommend being armed if you wish to enter any of the… seedier sections."

"Right," Takeshi said. "We can explore once this meeting is over. I feel it only polite to stay until the end of the meeting."

"Very well, Captain," Sparatus said. "You assisted Spectre Nihlus in his mission, despite the loss of the beacon and Saren's escape?"

Ron smiled at the mentioning of the beacon. "I blew it the fuck up and I regret NOTHING."

"Apparently, his people have encountered Psionic Technology in the past, and it was always hostile," Nihlus explained.

"I… see…" Sparatus replied. "Well, I am hopeful you would be able to continue helping us. You do not need to lend us your technology if you do not want to, but we would appreciate the assistance in hunting Saren down."

"I've always wanted a chance to go on a RRR," Ron said. "Takeshi, have fun on the station: I'm going back to the Ra-Cailum so we can get ready."

"RRR?" Takeshi asked.

"Roaring Rampage of Revenge! AHAHAHAHA!" The acting commodore left the room, followed by his chief engineer.

"We're all doomed." Tevos muttered.

"Not all of us," Takeshi replied. "Just whoever is stupid enough to get in his way. But yeah, I'll help out if I can."

Sparatus nodded. "Thank you," he said. "Now… on to the next order of business."

Tevos nodded as she took her seat again. "Commander Nicole Shepard and Lieutenant Hitomi Yamato, step forward," she said.

Both stepped forward, unmindful of Takeshi's blinking at Hitomi's last name.

"It is the decision of the Council that you be granted all the powers and privileges of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance branch of the Citadel," Tevos informed.

"Spectres are not trained, but chosen," The Salarian Councilor, Valern, continued. "Individuals forged in the fire of service and battle: those whose actions elevate them above the rank and file."

"Spectres are an ideal, a symbol," Tevos said. "The embodiment of courage, determination and self-reliance. They are the right hand of the council: the instrument of our will."

"Spectres carry a great burden," Sparatus informed. "They are the protectors of galactic peace as both our first and last line of defense. The safety of the galaxy is theirs to uphold."

"You are the first two Human Spectres, Commander, Lieutenant," Tevos said. "This is a great accomplishment for you and your entire species."

Hitomi grinned despite herself. An actual Spectre! "Thank you, Councilors," she said.

Nicole nodded. "I am honored, Councilor," she said.

"We will be sending the two of you and Spectre Nihlus after Saren," Valern informed. "Take a day or so to rest and prepare for your mission. We will inform Ambassador Udina, so he can make arrangements on his end for you."

"You can also use this time to search for any clues on the Citadel itself," Sparatus said. "We will try and find a list of potential targets for you, and forward them to Udina, but if you can find information about Saren's allies, or what he is after, it will only help your mission."

"Understood, Councilors," Shepard replied. "We'll be ready."

USS Ra-Cailum - main engineering

Sonja watched her CO as he watched her take apart one of the geth rifles. Clearly, the borg added a desire to make Ron drive them insane. "Sir, I can't get this done if you keep WATCHING ME," she said.

"Sorry," Ron replied apologetically. "It's that Borg part of my mind. I just want to strip that thing down and-"

"Don't finish that sentence, please," Sonja said. "So, what're the chances the Borg came through with us?"

The former drone sighed. "Extremely high," he said. "They're here. We just haven't seen them yet."

"Hoping they didn't," Sonja replied. "I'll get this thing stripped down and working again in no time. YOU go drive everyone on the station crazy." A twisted cackle was her answer to that.

Citadel - Lower Wards

After the Council meeting, the group had briefly gone to the Human Embassy, where Kaidan and Ashley were assigned to the two new Spectres. When asked about potential leads on Saren, Udina had mentioned a detective named Garrus Vakarian had been looking into him. They didn't know where he was, but they had a lead on someone who did.

Thus, they were on their way to the Chora's Den Cantina to speak to the guy, with Takeshi in tow, the Starfleet Captain having beamed to his ship really quick to switch to his regular uniform - the standard 'Odyssey' type, though he'd traded out the standard jacket for a Long Jacket variant. It was mostly black, aside from red trim, a red undershirt, and white shoulders. The white shoulders were typical for a Starfleet Captain - lower-ranking officers got dark grey shoulders. He still had his Katana, though joining it was a Phaser Pulsewave Assault Weapon typically used by the MACOs, equipped with a Grenade Launcher.

After fighting their way through some thugs apparently hired by Saren, they entered the Cantina, where they found a pair of Krogan arguing. One looked like a bouncer for the Cantina.

"Back off, Wrex," the bouncer said to the other Krogan. "Fist told us to take you down if you showed up."

"What are you waiting for?" the other Krogan, Wrex, asked. "I'm standing right here. This is Fist's only chance. If he's smart, he'll take it."

"He's not coming out, Wrex," the bouncer replied. "End of story."

"This story is just beginning," Wrex said, before he turned to leave. His path took him past the new Spectres and their group. "Out of my way, Humans. I have no quarrel with you," he said as he pushed past them.

"What was that all about?" Kaidan asked.

"Who cares?" Ashley replied. "Let's just try not to get caught in the middle."

They soon found the human in question, Harkin, face down on a table, drunk as a skunk. 'Someone got depressed fast.'

He looked up as they approached. "Alliance Military," he said. "Hmph. I coulda been a Marine, you know. Instead I joined the damned Citadel Security. Biggest mistake of my life."

"We're looking for a Turian C-Sec officer: Garrus Vakarian," Shepard informed. "Do you know where he is?"

"Garrus?" Harkin asked. "Ha! You're with Anderson's crew, so tell me: did he tell you his story?"

"What story?" Shepard queried.

"That he used to be a Spectre candidate!" Harkin explained. "Says Saren screwed him over when the mission went south."

"Would explain his reaction to Saren's name when I informed him who was leading the Eden Prime attack," Hitomi said. "He looked ready to swear like a drunken sailor. Anyway, that's not really important right now. Do you know where Garrus is?"

"He's probably at the doc's place: other side of the ward."

Shepard was tempted to bitch slap the asshole, but decided otherwise. "Enjoy your drinks," she said.

"Let me get drunk in peace, damn it!" Harkin moaned as they left.

"Well, we have a lead," Shepard remarked. "Let's get to the office in question."

With nods, the group set out again, though when they got to the office, the doctor in question was being harassed by thugs.

"I didn't tell anyone!"

"That's smart, doc," the thug said. "Now, if Garrus comes around again, you'll STAY smart. Keep your mouth-" The thug shut up as soon as he saw the team enter the room. "Who the hell are you?!"

"Let her go!" Shepard yelled, just before there was a shot, hitting the thug in the side as Garrus, who had hidden behind a panel, opened up with his pistol.

Hitomi used a Biotic Charge to get into the midst of the thugs, carving one up with her sword as Takeshi ran in normally, vaulting over a half-wall to decapitate another one, as Shepard's Assault Rifle got the last one.

"Perfect timing, Shepard," Garrus said once the fighting was done. "Gave me a clear shot at that bastard."

"You call a hostage situation a clear-" Hitomi began, before she sighed. "…Never mind. Are you alright, Doctor?"

"I'm alright," she replied. "Thank you. If you don't mind me asking, who are you? I know most of you are Alliance, but… he's not wearing armor: just a uniform."

"Takeshi Yamato," Takeshi replied. "Captain of the Federation Starship Raging Tempest. I'd explain exactly where I'm from, but we're not really on a leisurely stroll here, and you might be hearing an official announcement soon, anyway."

Hitomi blinked at hearing he shared her last name, but figured they could talk about it later. "Who were those guys, anyway?"

"Fist's thugs," the Doctor replied. They wanted to shut me up and not tell Garrus about the Quarian."

"A Quarian?" Shepard asked.

"A few days ago, a female Quarian came in," she informed. "She'd been shot, but wouldn't say anything about who did it. She was scared, that much I know. I put her in contact with Fist: he works for the Shadow Broker."

"Not any more," Garrus replied. "Now he works for Saren, and the Shadow Broker isn't too happy about it."

"Fist betrayed the Shadow Broker?" the Doctor asked. "That's stupid, even for him. Saren must have made him quite an offer."

"That Quarian must have something Saren wants," Garrus remarked. "Something worth crossing the Shadow Broker to get."

"Likely something that could link him to the Geth, or point us towards his objective," Shepard remarked. "Did she say anything about Saren or the Geth?"

"Yes! Something about the Geth," the Doctor informed. "She said she was going to trade the information to the Shadow Broker!"

"Hole in one," Hitomi remarked. "Let's find that Quarian. Captain, do you have any of that advanced scanning technology on hand? We could use it right about now."

"Sure thing," Takeshi replied, as he brought out a Tricorder. "Not the most powerful of scanners, but a simple model like this is something even a Tactical Career Captain like myself can use." He started working with it, inputting data about the Quarians he'd gotten as part of a large database package as they'd been getting ready to depart Eden Prime. "Quarians shouldn't be that common around here… Ah, I'm getting something. Let's go."

"I'll go, too," Garrus informed. "I'd been investigating Saren before Eden Prime, but wasn't getting anywhere. I could just tell he was rotten somehow. Glad you managed to get his Spectre status revoked, but I still want to help!"

"A second Turian on the hunt never hurts," Hitomi remarked, as both Nihlus and Shepard nodded.

"Then let's get moving," Shepard ordered. "We've got a Quarian to find." The team, plus their C-Sec Turian, left the clinic, heading in the general direction indicated by Takeshi's tricorder.

A few thugs stood in their way, but their weapons, and Takeshi's phaser pulsewave assault weapon, were more then enough to break through. "She's through here!"

As they rounded a corner into an alleyway, they saw the Quarian, with a Turian and a pair of Salarians.

"Did you bring it?" the Turian asked.

"Where's the Shadow Broker?" the Quarian asked. "Where's Fist?"

"They'll be here," the Turian said, putting a hand on the Quarian's shoulder and then running it down her arm. "Where's the evidence?"

"No way," the Quarian replied, slapping his hand away. "The deal's off."

The Turian backed away, and as the Salarians drew their pistols, Tali threw a grenade at them and leapt into cover, the grenade exploding and disorienting them.

Shepard took aim with her AR, putting several rounds into one of the Salarians, whose shields failed before Takeshi fired his weapon into the turian, the shotgun-like effect killing him instantly. The last Salarian attempted to run, but they were having none of that. Garrus unloaded an entire burst into the Salarian, killing him before he hit the ground. "Well, that was interesting," Garrus remarked. "What kind of weapon is that, Captain?"

"Phaser Pulsewave Assault Weapon with built-in Grenade Launcher," Takeshi replied. "Fires a burst of Nadion Energy, like some of the other Phaser weapons we have, but rather than a focused beam or concentrated bolt, it's a loosely concentrated pulse, kinda like a shotgun." He then noticed the Quarian getting out from cover. "Are you alright, Miss?"

"I'm alright," she replied. "Just cursing myself for trusting Fist. He had to have set me up!"

"Well, I think we need to pay him a visit now," Shepard remarked. "I don't think we're going to leave a link to Saren untouched, are we?"

"No, I don't believe so, Commander," Garrus replied. "But I think we can get someone willing to help: a krogan battlemaster named Urdnot Wrex. We picked him up a while ago: might still be at the academy. If we hurry, we might catch up with him."

"I think we saw him at the bar earlier," Takeshi informed. "Said something about killing Fist. Definitely might be good to get his help."

"Definitely," Hitomi remarked. "I mean, having a Krogan with us? Krogans hit things like a Tank firing more Tanks!"

The team, plus their new Quarian ally, who was named Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, made their way to the C-Sec Academy, where two turians and a pair of humans were escorting the Krogan they saw earlier out. "We don't want to see you here for a while, Wrex! do us a favor and stay out of trouble!" The Krogan huffed in response as the C-Sec team left.

"Do I know you, human?" Wrex asked as Shepard stepped up to him.

"My name's Shepard," she replied. "I'm going after Fist. Thought you might want to come along."

"Shepard?" Wrex asked. "Commander Shepard? I've heard a lot about you - recently made one of the first two Human Spectres." He stepped closer to Shepard and the rest of the group. "We're both warriors, Shepard. Out of respect, I'll give you fair warning. I'm going to kill Fist."

"Fist knows you're coming," Garrus replied. "We'll have a better chance if we all work together."

Wrex 'Hmm'd. "My people have a saying," he said. "Seek the enemy of your enemy, and you will find a friend."

"Glad to have you on the team, Wrex," Shepard replied as she shook his hand.

"Let's go," Wrex said. "I'd hate to keep Fist waiting."

"Agreed," Tali remarked. "I'll make him pay for setting me up like that."

Revenge was a dish best served cold, as the Klingons would say. The way back was going to be difficult, seeing as Wrex was with them. Still, they didn't run into anyone until they reached the bar itself, but even then, the thugs were shooting inside the bar at someone else. "What the hell?" Hitomi asked. "Who's causing that?"

"Don't know, but I like him already!" Wrex remarked.

A red-orange bolt hit one of the thugs, and Takeshi knew EXACTLY what that was: a phaser bolt, fired from a Type-3 rifle. "Come on, assholes! I can do this shit all day!"

Takeshi sighed, recognizing the voice. "Ron," he muttered. "Well, might as well give him a hand."

The group all nodded, and charged into the bar, adding their firepower to Ron's as they opened up on the thugs.

Aforementioned captain was alternating between shooting, taking cover, and drinking from a bottle of pilfered alcohol. "You couldn't hit the broadside of a planet! With a sniper rifle! THAT'S pathetic!" The thugs all concentrated their fire on Ron's position inside the bar, and that was when he lost his patience. "Ok, you asked for it! Maximum setting!" He stood up, firing the rifle on full auto, hitting and vaporizing anything that was organic. A bolt nearly hit Tali, scaring her out of her wits.

"Ron, try to avoid friendly fire scenarios, if you'd please!" Takeshi called out as he triggered the Grenade Launcher on his weapon, sending a Photon Grenade into a cluster of thugs. Soon after that, Hitomi did a Biotic Charge, followed by a sweep of her sword, finishing off the last bunch in the bar itself.

The ex-Borg captain left cover, slightly tipsy. "You try avoiding hitting a friendly when you're drunk," he said. "I came here to get a drink, the assholes wanted my phaser rifle, I refused, this happened. I might still have borg technology inside my body, but that doesn't mean I can't get wasted off my ass." One of the thugs that survived the first wave got up and tried to run, but Ron fired his phaser rifle, now set to stun, at the poor bastard's head, knocking him out again. "So, have fun?"

"A bit," Takeshi replied. "We have a potential lead against Saren, information held by Miss Tali here," he gestured to indicate the Quarian, who nodded. "However, she was set up by Fist, the owner of this place, who was hired by Saren to kill her. She wants payback, so we came here, but not before picking up Wrex here," he indicated the Krogan, "who's also after Fist."

"Well, that makes three of us. He tried to have me killed just because I didn't want to hand over my weapon. you know what that means." His face sported a crazy grin. "I'm going to help waste his ass!"

The Krogan bouncer that guarded the door left cover, shooting at the team, who quickly took cover again. "Any idea on how we're getting past him?" Shepard asked. "He's fully armored AND shielded!"

Ron reset the phaser rifle to a beam mode and to maximum. "Like this." he poked his head out of cover before firing the phaser at the bouncer, who, after about five seconds, was vaporized. "And THAT is why you do not FUCK with Starfleet!"

Wrex stared in shock at the weapon. "I've gotta get me one of those," he whispered in awe.

"Deal with Fist first, admire the weapon later," Takeshi reminded, pointing towards the door leading deeper into the bar. "Let's keep moving."

They approached the entrance to the office, but the door was locked. "We're going to need to run a bypass," Hitomi remarked. "Anyone here have-"

Ron extended his hand, balled into a fist, at the door controls, then two tubules exited his hand through the first knuckles of his index and middle fingers, punching through the control panel.

"What the hell?" Ashley asked. "What is that?"

"Borg technology," Ron replied. "It's a long and complicated story."

The door opened, allowing them to enter. Fist, wearing body armor, fired at them, but soon realized he was doomed.

"Wait!" Fist cried after they destroyed the last of his turrets. "Don't kill me! I surrender."

Tali stepped forward, pistol in hand and aimed at his head. "Surrendering isn't going to help you for setting me up like that, Fist." she growled.

"Now, now, miss, he's a prisoner," Ron said. "Starfleet doesn't kill prisoners."

"Oh, thank god," Fist sighed in relief.

"I AM, however, willing to transfer him to yours and Mr. Wrex's joint custody. After that, he's not my problem." Ron handed Wrex his phaser rifle. "Enjoy. I will want that back, though."

Wrex grinned. "Thank you," he said, pointing the weapon at Fist, who was suddenly panicking again.

"Wait, please don-"

The phaser beam struck Fist, instantly vaporizing him.

"That's done," Tali remarked. "I would have liked to kill him myself, but at least he's dead now."

"OK, now that that's done," Shepard began, "shall we see about looking at that data you have, Miss Tali?"

"Of course, but not here," Tali replied. "Somewhere where we won't be ambushed."

"The Human Embassy would work," Ashley replied. "Anderson and Udina should probably see this, too, anyway."

Presidium, Human Embassy - 30 minutes later

Udina and Anderson were engaged in a rather… intense conversation when the team, plus Ron, Tali and Wrex, entered the former's office. "Shepard, what the hell are you doing?!" Udina demanded "There were reports of a firefight down in the War - Who the hell are they?"

"The best thing you're about to see today, Ambassador," Shepard replied. "Miss Tali here has data from the Geth that might screw Saren over."

"Really, now?" Udina questioned, curious. "What is it?"

"I was on my pilgrimage, my passage into adulthood, when I discovered a Geth patrol on an uncharted planet," Tali explained. "I waited for one to become separated from its' group before disabling it and recovering the memory core."

"I thought the Geth destroyed their memory cores if they were heavily damaged," Anderson remarked.

"Captain, please," Tali admonished. "The Quarians created the geth. Recovering the data wasn't easy, but I did it. I was able to recover some of the data from the audio banks." Tali activated her omni-tool, and a voice played back.

"Eden Prime was a major victory, despite the beacon's loss and the damage Sovereign suffered," it said. "We're one step closer to finding the Conduit."

"That's Saren's voice!" Anderson exclaimed.

"At least we know what he's after, now," Hitomi remarked. "Though I am curious as to what this 'Conduit' is."

"There's more," Tali replied. "Saren wasn't alone." She triggered the playback again.

"Eden Prime was a major victory, despite the beacon's loss and the damage Sovereign suffered," Saren's voice repeated. "We're one step closer to finding the Conduit."

"And one step closer to the return of the Reapers," a female voice replied.

"Reapers?" Hitomi asked. "What are they?"

"According to the memory core, a hyper-advanced machine race that wiped out the Protheans 50,000 years ago. The Geth worship them as gods."

"Guess they haven't heard of the Borg yet," Ron remarked. "They'll have wet dreams from those assholes."

Anderson looked at Ron, wondering what the hell the Borg really were, but not asking about them. "What about this Sovereign he spoke of?" he asked.

"I guess that's his ship," Ron replied. "The Ra-Cailum engaged a more powerful ship in orbit over Eden Prime, causing a lot of damage. That might be Sovereign."

"Still, we know what he's after now," Shepard replied. "And that vision I got from the beacon… that had to have been the Reapers destroying the Protheans. And Saren wants to bring them back."

"I doubt the Council will believe that, Shepard," Udina remarked. "I'm not sure I believe it, to be honest."

"Still, this does give you a lead," Anderson said. "You won't be able to find Saren directly - he's long gone by now. But if you go after the Geth, try to stop him from finding the Conduit, or find it before he does, you'll have him."

Udina was forced to agree. "I'll present this to the Council. I won't say anything about the reapers, as that might damage your credibility."

"Actually, I think you should mention them," Takeshi remarked.

Udina looked at Takeshi. "Captain?" he asked.

"Starfleet's run into ancient and sentient machines in the past," Takeshi informed. "I'm not a history expert - that's Ron's general territory - but our experiences might help sway them in the right direction."

Udina was clearly surprised by that. "Very well, but I will leave convincing them up to you, gentlemen," he said. "I will see you at the tower." The ambassador left, heading for the council tower.

"Ron, you go ahead," Takeshi said to Ron. "You're the bigger history expert - you'll be better at convincing the Council. I'll stay here, help plan our next move."

"Oh, by the time I'm done, they'll be worshiping the ground Shepard walks on. Let me know what you think up." Ron followed Udina out, leaving them behind.

"OK," Takeshi said. "So, what's first?"

"Well, we've managed to secure a ship for Shepard and her team to use," Anderson informed. "I'm being assigned as a Military Liaison to the Embassy. The Normandy's your ship now, Shepard."

Shepard blinked. "You're being kicked up the ladder?" she asked. "Why?"

"You can't have anyone but the Council giving you orders, Commander," he told her. "You need to be in charge of whatever ship you're on. And the Normandy's perfect for you."

"Is there another reason?" Hitomi asked.

Anderson sighed. "I was in your shoes, once," he said. "A Spectre candidate. Saren was the one sent to observe me, like Nihlus was you. The mission went bad, and Saren made sure I was blamed, and not admitted to the Spectres."

"Bias," Takeshi remarked, realizing it. "If you took part, you wouldn't be able to stay objective."

"Exactly," Anderson replied. "The Council wants someone with a clear head on their shoulders. That's you. But take my advice." His eyes narrowed. "Take that son of a bitch down."

"I intend to, Captain," Shepard replied. "I intend to."

"And I'll help the best I can," Takeshi added. "Something tells me these Reapers are bad news, and anything involving them coming back can't be good."

"Sounds like it'll be fun," Wrex commented. "I'm not gonna miss out on this."

"I owe you for saving me from Fist's ambush," Tali remarked. "I'll help out as best I can."

"Thank you. Let's get to the Council Tower: we've got a mission to get started."

Council Chambers

"Eden Prime was a major victory, despite the beacon's loss and the damage Sovereign suffered," Saren's voice said. "We're one step closer to finding the Conduit."

"And one step closer to the return of the Reapers," replied the other voice.

The council listened to the playback, slightly unnerved by the fact that Saren killed hundreds of unarmed colonists just because they were human. "I'm not sure what to say, Captain," Valern remarked. "You believe these… Reapers exist?"

"Starfleet's run into sentient machines before: Vaal on Gamma Trianguli VI was at least 100,000 years old before Captain Kirk had the damn thing shut down, the hybridized probe Nomad, the M-5 computer, the Landru computer on Beta III and several others. ALL of them were sentient, and two of the examples were over 10000 years old. We've seen technology that outlasts stars, Councillors. One of them nearly destroyed the Enterprise in 2268."

Sparatus nodded. "V… very well," he said, unnerved. "We'll look into more details on these Reapers as soon as possible. We'll also look into what this 'Conduit' might be, and how he might use it to bring them back."

"I also recognized the other voice on the recording," Tevos informed. "Matriarch Benezia."

"Another Asari, councilor?" Ron asked. "Judging by the title, she's highly important."

"Not exactly," Tevos informed. "Matriarchs are extremely old Asari: outwards of 900 years. Benezia is one of them, and a highly powerful one."

"She also sounds like Captain Troi, so that doesn't help matters."

"Someone from your universe, I take it," Valern remarked.

"Starfleet officer, half-human, half-Betazoid," Ron replied. "It was the voice that reminds me of her for the most part. Still, if these Reapers are a threat to your galaxy, they will be a threat in ours. Until we regain contact with Starfleet Command, we'll assist in taking the Reapers out by doing everything short of breaking the Prime Directive."

"We understand," Tevos replied. "Thank you for your assistance."

The Starfleet officer nodded as the rest of the team entered the chamber.

"Commander Shepard, Lieutenant Yamato," Sparatus greeted. "You have full clearance to find Saren and eliminate him by any means necessary. Captain Pinkerton has also given his word that he will assist you in whatever manner he can, other than breaking this… 'Prime directive'. Whatever that means."

"Starfleet General Order One, also known as the Prime Directive," Takeshi informed. "'Starfleet Officers shall not influence the society or technology of any other culture.' Simply put, no sharing our technology with you, or trying to alter how you do things. We'll still do our best to help bring Saren down, though."

"That order seems… inefficient, Captain," Valern remarked

"It's necessary," Ron informed. "Some cultures just aren't ready to join the galactic community yet. We wait until they develop warp drive, out main FTL technology, before we make first contact. That way, they have a chance to get used to what the galaxy is truly like."

Tevos nodded. "Even considering the position we were in at the time, something like that might have been beneficial when dealing with the Krogans," she remarked. "What's done is done, of course, but you can't help but agree where something like the Prime Directive would have its advantages."

"I'll send over a copy of the regs later for you," Ron said. "Maybe they'll help. Right now, we need a lead as to where the hell we're going first. Anything you can tell us about Benezia? Anyone linked to her sans Saren?"

"She has a daughter, Liara T'Soni," Tevos replied. "She's an archaeologist who focuses on the Prothean Extinction. Reports place her in the Artemis Tau Cluster at the moment."

"Then we're going to go pick her up," Ron said. "Anything else?"

"Not at the moment," Sparatus replied. "But we'll keep you informed. Also, since Saren seems to be working with the Geth, if you come across Geth activity, you might find clues if you deal with it."

"Then we'll head out. We'll keep you informed. This is a joint operation, after all." Ron turned around and left the chamber, heading back to the docks.

"Captain Yamato, if you don't mind, we would like to supply you with a pair of quantum entanglement communication devices," Valern offered. "You don't seem to have them, as we had a hard time contacting your ships when you arrived, and we're going to need longer-range communications than you seem to have."

"I understand," Takeshi replied. "We do have long-range communications, but we likely use a different method, causing a bit of incompatibility at long distances. Having your comm systems would be a good way to fix that. I'll make sure one of them gets to Ron's ship."

"May the spirits guide your blade, Captain. you are dismissed."

Kite's Nest - Indris System, 20 Terran AU from Hiba

Two Batarian cruisers approached what appeared to be a white hole in space, weapons armed and ready.

"Do we have any idea what this… thing is?" the Captain of the lead ship asked.

"None, sir," the person running his scanners reported, "but the energy readings are massive."

Before the captain could reply, a massive ship exited the hole. Cubical in shape and covered in armor plating, it was rather… intimidating.

The hole then closed up, just before an echoing, mechanical voice came through the speakers on both ships… in every room.

"We are the Borg," the voice said. "Lower your shields and surrender your ships. Your biological and technological distinctiveness will be added to our own. Your culture will adapt to service us. Resistance is Futile."

"We will destroy you and take your ship as a war prize!" the Captain yelled in counter. "Long live the Hegemony!"

The Batarians opened fire with their mass effect-using railguns, doing minimal damage due to the tactical cube's armor plating, which was made of tritanium, a substance at least 21.4 times harder than diamond. Their weapons were something the cube could not adapt to, as projectiles were not energy, but the weapons themselves were weak. The cube locked a tractor beam onto the lead cruiser, quickly pulling down the shields and allowing them to send drones onto the cruiser. The Batarians would stand no chance against them. Two shock troopers discovered a dozen drones beaming into their bunk room, and opened fire, killing five of the drones, but the Borg stunned the Batarians before marching over and beginning the process of assimilation. One of the drones picked up the Batarians' weapons and attempted to assimilate them, but the Eezo inside the weapon was incompatible with Borg technology, and the Borg rejected it as viable, as they could not enhance it, nor adapt to it.

The Borg continued beaming drones into the Batarian Ships, landing in various parts of each ship. Several drones were killed, but the Borg were relentless as they assimilated Batarian after Batarian. The technology, however, kept getting discarded, the Borg not finding a way to assimilate the Eezo that kept appearing as its power source.

Meanwhile, on the cube itself, it was separated from the rest of the Collective, but the vinculum still worked, maintaining their hive mind as they adapted, one female Drone being strapped to an operating table as she was further modified.

While they couldn't assimilate the technology, they could still use the ships. 'Send equipment to vessels 002 and 003. Goal: assimilation and conversion. Enhance vessels with Borg technology and weapons. Send Vessel 002 to local galactic area identified as Artemis Tau, planet identified as Therum. Goal: assimilation of archaeological team. Tactical Cube 0518 is redesignated Tactical Cube 001. Goal: assimilation of local system for conversion into primary unicomplex.'

The Borg moved swiftly, pursuing the new goals they had determined, even as their new Queen was being formed.

In this galaxy, as in the one they came from, all would become part of the Collective.

It was inevitable.

Citadel orbit - USS Ra-Cailum

Ron sighed as he added a gold bar under his four rank pips. It was the usual sign of a director of a service, but it was the closest thing they had to Commodore's rank pins in the 24th and 25th Centuries, so it would work for now. 'There are times I loathe Starfleet regulations,' he thought. Regulation 191, Article 14 was his least favorite regulation, as it forced him to step on the toes of his fellow captains. Still, he had to act the part. And keep as low a profile as possible, in terms of technological interference. He had no doubt his ship and the Raging Tempest would inspire new weapons and technology for the locals. That's always how it worked. The Commodore left his ready room, marching to the center chair. "Corpsa, hail the Tempest," he ordered.

"Channel open, sir," Corpsa replied after a moment.

"Takeshi here," Takeshi replied as his image appeared on the viewscreen. "You get that Quantum Entanglement Communications System the Citadel Council had me ferry to you?"

"We did. Sonja's installing it now. Our first stop will be Dr. T'soni's dig on Therum, which is a highly volcanic planet. I want our people wearing EV suits if we go down there. I'll be deploying my… special surprise when we get down there."

"Understood," Takeshi replied. "I think the Normandy's going to be deploying that 'Mako' of theirs." he paused for a bit. "Honestly, can't understand why we didn't develop armored transports like that."

"Because we usually don't need them. We have shuttlecraft and transporters, so why the hell do we need armored vehicles? Plus, it makes us look far too… aggressive. Not an image we need."

"Makes sense," Takeshi replied. "Well, I'll have Matt double-check our EV Suits, so that we're ready for when we get there. When's our departure time?"

"Right the hell now," Ron informed. "Get into formation behind the Normandy: time to get moving. We've got a doctor to save and a bunch of robots to blow up."

"Understood," Takeshi replied. "Raging Tempest, out." The transmission ended as the Sao Paulo-Class vessel got in behind the Normandy, and all three ships began heading towards the Mass Relay.

The jump was per usual, as if the ships were built to use ME technology instead of having it tacked on. "ETA to Therum?" Ron asked.

"Three hours, Captain," Riza replied from the helm. "It's odd: I'm not used to this at all, oniisama. The only thing we have that's similar to this is quantum slipstream, but we can steer that."

"While in comparison, this is a giant railgun," Ron commented. "Some things we can't question. Just make sure we don't run into a black hole."

SSV Normandy

"ETA to Therum, three hours," Joker reported. "Everything's looking good, Commander."

"Good to hear," Shepard replied. "Hitomi, Nihlus, Williams, Tali, Wrex, report to the Mako and prepare to deploy."

"Understood, Commander," Tali replied.

"Got it, skipper," Ashley added.

"On it," Wrex told him.

"On my way, Shepard," Nihlus informed.

"See you there, Nicole!" Hitomi replied cheerfully.

"Think the Starfleet guys have anything like the Mako?" Joker asked.

"Doubt it," Shepard replied. "We didn't see anything like that on Eden Prime. Starfleet doesn't seem like a typical military organization, Joker. I've read most of the history files we were cleared for, and it's almost like they're an exploratory arm with big guns."

"Maybe they're both," Joker theorized. "The military and the explorers."

"I'll have to ask when we get there," Shepard informed, even as she stepped away from the Galaxy Map. "The ship's yours, Pressly. I'm heading down to the Mako."

"Understood, Commander," Pressly replied. "Good luck down there."

"Thanks," Shepard replied as she left the command deck, following a staircase down to the main crew deck, where an elevator brought her down to the deployment bay, where she mounted up with her usual equipment: Light 'Onyx' Armor, an M-92 'Mantis' Sniper Rifle, an M-3 'Predator' Pistol, and her Omni-Tool.

Hitomi, meanwhile, had upgraded from her Light 'Onyx' Armor to Medium Armor when on the Citadel, and in addition to her Katana, she also had an M-23 'Katana' Shotgun, which was the only ranged weapon she really used, tending to use her Biotics more often at range.

Ashley was still in her Medium 'Phoenix' Armor she'd had from Eden Prime, but she also had the widest loadout, consisting of a 'Mantis', an M-76 'Revenant' Assault Rifle, a 'Katana', and a 'Predator'. She also carried a stack of Grenades.

Nihlus wore his Spectre-issue armor, as well as a Mantis, Predator and an Avenger assault rifle.

Tali's light armor/enclosure suit was ready for combat, as were her Katana, Predator and Avenger.

Wrex was in his normal battle armor, and his Avenger and Katana were ready.

Now all they needed to do was wait.

Three hours later - Therum orbit

Two Geth frigates orbited the volcanic planet, ready to intercept anything that tried to make landfall. As two red orbs containing one matter/antimatter warhead making contact with their hulls proved, they weren't ready to handle the Raging Tempest.

"OK, that deals with the Space Forces," Takeshi announced. "Normandy, you are clear to drop the Mako. We'll be beaming down our ground teams close to where the Mako makes landfall."

"Understood, Raging Tempest," came the voice of the Normandy's XO.

"Ra-Cailum to Tempest: we're sending down a shuttle to make landfall," Ron informed. "Beam down to the following coordinates."

"Understood, Ra-Cailum," Takeshi replied, as Rina sent the coordinates to the transporter room. "Good luck to all Ground Teams."

Therum surface

The Mako IFV landed with a crash on the obsidian/granite sands near the lava rivers. "The Ra-Cailum shuttle should be getting pretty close," Shepard remarked. "We might need to make room."

"Captain Pinkerton might have a solution to that, but we'll get ready," Hitomi replied.

The large shuttlecraft, which was large, boxy and had two wings, flew over their Mako before dropping two four-wheeled vehicles to the ground. They were half the size of the Mako, but had a phaser cannon/missile turret and enough room for 6 people, not including the gunner, passenger, or driver. They were flat gray, with the only emblems being the emblem of the UFP and Starfleet being stenciled in black.

Soon after, five swirling columns of light indicated Linda, two Assault Squad Members, a Fabrication Engineer, and a Medic beaming down to the surface.

"Titanoboa two is all yours, Linda!" Ron called out. "Riza, man the gun on TB1!" The younger Pinkerton ran over to the other buggy, manning the turret. Suddenly, everyone was getting a minor case of gun envy.

"Thanks," Linda replied as her team loaded on, one of the other Assault Squad Members mounted the turret. "Let's go!"

"Great, they've got buggies," Ashley remarked. "That thing probably has more firepower than this tank does!"

"I think that was the point," Shepard replied.

The two titanoboas (Shepard vaguely wondered why they were named after an extinct snake) led the way for the Mako, as they were lighter, faster and smaller, and thus harder to hit. The Mako's ME cannon was a hard hitter, but probably lacked the punch those buggies had. "Captain, are you sure those things are good enough to fight down here?" Hitomi asked.

"These things are made of tritanium: 21 times harder than diamond!" Ron replied. "I should be asking YOU that question instead!"

"The Mako's fine!" Shepard replied. "Armored enough to withstand most impacts, Kinetic Barriers, this thing could withstand Geth Fire for hours before needing repairs! Not to mention the only hazard that poses a problem for this thing is Lava!"

The Mako then drove off a natural ramp, flying for a few dozen meters over a pool of lava before it came down on the land on the other side, perfectly unscathed. "You see?" she asked. "Not a problem!"

Hitomi, on the seat next to Shepard, was grinning, while Ashley, Nihlus, Tali, and Wrex, in the back, looked a little bit rattled after that jump.

"Oh, God, we're driving with two maniacs," Ashley moaned.

First contact with the Geth came in the form of a platoon of troopers, two juggernauts and a large armature.

"Oh, crap."

The Mako opened fire on the Geth, taking out the smaller troopers, but the Juggernauts jumped away, and the armature started firing missiles at them. The two Starfleet buggies opened fire on the remaining Geth, showing that their heavy weapons were just as overkill as their small arms.

As they drove on, they came across another cluster of Geth Troopers, and Shepard grinned. "Captain Pinkerton, Commander Allster-Yamato, stay back for this one," she called. "Let me show you something you can do in this thing that I doubt you could do in those buggies!"

She floored the accelerator, the Mako speeding up, before running over the Geth Troopers, destroying them in one hit each. Hitomi whooped in excitement.

"We're coming up on the dig site," Ron informed. "All personnel, standby for enemy contact. I want two people manning the vehicles at all times: I don't want them getting stolen."

The three machines arrived at the site, finding plenty of Geth standing between them and their goal.

"Orders, Captain?"

"Same as always," Ron said. "Sic em."

The group dismounted from the vehicles, and charged at the Geth. Hitomi was the first to strike, Biotic Charging into a Juggernaut, then slicing it and several nearby Troopers apart. Ashley advanced towards another cluster of Troopers, while Tali hit the central Armature with an Overload. Shepard sent two shots with her sniper rifle into the Armature's optics, while Nihlus hit it with a barrage from his assault rifle. Wrex did like Hitomi was doing, just charging in and striking everything he could.

Ron's team was quick, brutal, and simply merciless as their phaser rifles (all set to different modes) tore the Geth troops apart, especially as Ron kept alternating between split-beam, full-auto, the overpowered high-density mode and the simple semi-auto firing mode. The Geth were turned into burned masses of synthetic flesh and circuitry in less than four minutes.

Linda's team had also defeated their share of Geth, and soon they all gathered at the entrance to the dig. "Odds are rather high that we've got more Geth inside," Shepard informed. "Everyone, stay cautious."

Ron opened up his tricorder, which was a hybridized version of all three standard ones. Most of his crew had training in more than one field, so the tricorders, which had to be specially designed by the Starfleet Corps of Engineers, reflected that. 'They should seriously make more than the basics mandatory at the Academy.' "One Asari lifesign, 150 meters underground," he informed. "Looks to be trapped in some kind of gravity field. Sucks to be her."

"That's likely Dr. T'Soni," Shepard replied. "Let's hurry."

Underground - 5 minutes later

After dealing with more Geth assault drones, they had finally reached the underground dig site. And found their Asari lifesign.

She was floating in the air, separated from them by what looked like a blue energy field.

"Can you hear me out there?" she asked them. "I'm trapped. I need help!"

"Are you okay?" Shepard asked. "What happened to you?"

"Listen," she told her. "This thing I'm trapped in is a Prothean Security Device. I cannot move, so I need you to get me out of it, alright?"

Ron examined the room. "Hmm...I think I know an easy way to get you loose." He pulled out the tricorder again, scanning the security field. "Huh. might be able to overload the field emitters, but it's not going to be pretty. Might cause a bit of an explosion."

"There are controls in here that should be able to free me, but you'll need to get past the Barrier Curtain first," she replied. "I knew it would keep me safe from the Geth, but I must have touched something I shouldn't have - it trapped me like this. And be careful - there's a Krogan working with the Geth. They've been trying to find their own way past the Barrier Curtain."

"This'll be interesting." The captain of the Ra-Calium looked at their resident Krogan battlemaster. "Want me to lend you the phaser rifle again?"

Wrex smiled at the thought of using that thing again. "Hell yes. That thing makes my day."

He tossed the weapon into the Krogan's hands. "I'll stay here and try to free her from here: two options are better than one, yes?"

"Right," Shepard replied. "We'll see if there's anything in that camp down below we can use."

Linda directed one of her team members to keep Ron covered, while the rest followed Shepard's Team down.

"I'll try to get your gun back to you in one piece! AHA!" Wrex enjoyed that phaser rifle too much.

"Keep a look out for anything that can get us past the barrier - oh." A big mining laser was a hell of a way past. 'Might also get us all killed, but it's a shot,' Shepard thought. "Captain, we're going to use the mining laser to tunnel our way to another passage."

"Go right ahead," Ron replied. "I'll keep trying to free the good doctor on my end."

Of course, before they could activate the laser, they had to clear out the Geth from around the camp. It didn't take too long, and soon they activated the Mining Laser, burrowing a tunnel deeper into the column.

The team advanced down the hole, finding an elevator platform that carried them up to Liara's level.

"Your friend told me what you were doing. It's a good thing the Geth didn't think of that," Liara remarked. "There's a switch over there that should shut this off."

Shepard went to the console and activated the controls, deactivating both the security field around Liara and the Barrier Curtain.

"And I was just about to shut it off," Ron informed. "Good work, regardless."

"Thank you, Captain," Shepard replied. "Let's get the hell out of here."

Liara looked at the Starfleet personnel. "You're not Alliance," she said. "Who are you?"

"We'll explain when we get out of here, Doctor," Ron said, before he tapped his commbadge. "Pinkerton to Ra-Cailum: can you get a transporter lock onto us?"

"Negative, Captain," came the reply from the ship. "You need to be 300 meters higher before we can beam you back."

"Alright, then, let's get out of here," Linda remarked. "There looks like another elevator back where we came that should take us higher."

As they gathered at the elevator, Liara asked, "Why would the Geth come after me?" she asked. "Could Benezia be involved somehow?"

"The Geth, and Matriarch Benezia, are working for a Rogue Spectre named Saren," Hitomi informed. "And he's looking for something called the 'Conduit'. Would you know anything about that?"

"No" Liara replied. "I haven't seen my mother in years: I barely speak to her."

"Well, you might be speaking with her sometime-" Ron was interrupted as a tremor was felt throughout the cavern.

"What was that?" Tali asked.

"These ruins aren't stable," Liara informed. "That Mining Laser must have triggered a seismic event." She went over to the elevator controls and started it up. "We have to hurry. The whole place is caving in!"

"Well, fuck," Ron muttered. "Ra-Cailum, how far?!"

"150 meters, sir! You're climbing upwards and we're getting a more clear lock on your signals, but there's still a bit of interference."

Ron facepalmed. "I hate this universe. The second we're clear, beam us-" The elevator arrived, and they were surrounded by Geth led by a Krogan battlemaster. "Up. Aw, fuck."

"Surrender," the Battlemaster said. "Or don't: that would be more fun."

"In case you hadn't noticed, jackass, the entire place is coming down around us!" Ron yelled.

"Yes," the Battlemaster remarked. "Exhilarating, isn't it?"

The Starfleet personnel exchanged a look. "That sounded familiar."

"Yeah," Linda remarked. "He'd likely get along well with Klingons."

Shepard focused on the Battlemaster. "Thanks for getting rid of those energy fields for us," he was saying. "Hand the doctor over."

"Whatever it is you want, you're not getting it from me," Liara said.

"She'll stay with us, thanks," Shepard commented.

The Battlemaster shook his head. "Not an option," he said. "Saren wants her. And he always gets what he wants."

Before any more could be said, though, the Normandy, Raging Tempest, and Ra-Cailum teams, along with Doctor T'Soni, vanished in swirling columns of light.

They reappeared in one of the Ra-Cailum's transporter rooms.

"That was 145 meters, Lieutenant," Ron said. "Five meters short."

The Andorian tactical officer, who met them in the transporter room, shrugged. "We went into a lower orbit. I thought you would like to avoid a firefight down there."

"Wise thinking," Ron said. "Beam Commander Allster-Yamato, her team, and the Normandy party to their respective ships. Once that's done-"

"All hands to battle stations! Unidentified vessel approaching!"

"We should still get back to our ships," Hitomi remarked. "And fast. You might also want to retrieve your buggies and the Mako, too, if you haven't already."

"Remodulate the shields and send them back to their ships," Ron ordered. "Riza, with me: back to the bridge."

Liara, still slightly in shock over the transport, tried demanding to know what was going on, but was interrupted mid-sentence as she and the rest were beamed to the Normandy or Raging Tempest, depending on their universe of origin.

"You enjoyed that," Riza said.

"You're damn right," Ron replied.

USS Raging Tempest

"Linda's team is back aboard, sir," Rina reported.

Takeshi nodded, glad that his wife was safely aboard again. "Alright," he said. "Kim, any matches from the 'Local' Database?"

"Partially," Kim replied. "The profile seems similar to a cruiser-type used by the Batarians, but it's not a 100% match. It looks… altered."

"On screen," Takeshi ordered.

Soon enough, an image of the cruiser appeared on the main viewer.

The cruiser looked like it had armor plating tacked onto it, as well as more parts, including a larger impulse drive. It reminded them of the Arctic transport that was assimilated by the Borg back in 2252 when they were woke the drones that tried to stop First Contact.

"Oh, don't tell me…" Takeshi muttered.

"They're hailing us," Rina reported.

Takeshi sighed. He was pretty sure he knew what he was about to hear. "On speakers."

Rina complied, putting the message up.

"We are the Borg," the echoey, mechanical voice associated with the Collective said. "Lower your shields and surrender your ships. Your biological and technological distinctiveness will be added to our own. Your culture will adapt to service us. Resistance is Futile."

"Bloody hell," Takeshi swore. "And I was hoping they hadn't come to this universe with us."

The Borgified cruiser locked its' weapons onto the Raging Tempest, intending to disable the ship before assimilating it, as per usual. This made sense, as the Tempest was far more advanced than the Batarian warship that had been assimilated. Takeshi was VERY tempted to quantum torpedo spam the ship into non-existence, but that thought rudely reminded him of their torpedo situation.

'Right, can't use the Torpedoes as freely as I want,' he thought. 'Phasers are another story.' "Tholra, set the Cannons to Rapid Fire Mode," he ordered. "Ready a volley of four Quantum Torpedoes, just to be on the safe side."

"Aye Captain," Tholra replied.

Takeshi pushed his Manual Impulse Throttle all the way to full. "Let's take this thing out!"

The Tactical Escort shot forward, Phaser Cannons spewing out volleys of fire at the enemy ship.

The pulse cannon fire ate away at the Batarian ship's titanium hull, but the Borg quickly adapted as the shots became less effective. Takeshi forgot to set his weapons to a rotating modulation. Considering he wasn't expecting to fight the Borg any time soon, that was excusable.

Two phaser beams from the Ra-Cailum stuck the ships' rear section, causing a minor hull breach before firing two photon torpedoes into the upgraded impulse engines. "Captain, target the enhanced sections," Ron ordered. "They're still unstable, and we might be able to blow that thing to hell in one or two shots!"

"Roger that!" Takeshi replied, corkscrewing around the Borg ship as he combined Attack Pattern Omega with some normally Evasive Maneuvers to put him right behind the enemy, even as Tholra set the Phasers to rotating modulations.

Takeshi fired off another burst of cannon fire, chewing further into the enemy ship, before he pressed the secondary trigger on his Manual Steering Column, firing off that volley of Quantum Torpedoes.

The Torpedoes detonated, destroying the Borg ship in one titanic explosion.

"Good work, Captain, but I believe you forgot that I sent you a load of photon torpedoes," Ron said. "We can't waste our quantums on weak targets like this one. Regardless, we have a new problem, and the Council's going to need to be informed of it."

Takeshi sighed. Yeah, he had forgotten about the Photons. "Right," he said. "I'll try to remember to use the Photons from now on. And you're right. With the Borg here, things just got a lot more complicated."

The Citadel - Councilor Tevos' office

The Asari representative on the Council blinked as she received a message from the Raging Tempest and the Ra-Cailum. 'Perhaps their mission was a success.' She activated the QEC, and the two Starfleet captains appeared, as well as Commander Shepard and Lieutenant Yamato. "Captains. Commander. Lieutenant. I trust your mission was a success?"

"Yeah," Shepard replied. "It was, but we have a new problem."

"As we were preparing to leave," Takeshi added, "we came across another ship that had arrived in-system. We got a partial match on our 'Local' Database as a Batarian Cruiser, but it had been… altered."

"Altered?" Tevos asked. "How? Enhanced shielding, weapons-"

Captain Pinkerton interrupted her question. "Captain Yamato is using a pseudonym, Councilor," he said. "The cruiser was assimilated by the Borg."

"Captain!" Shepard exclaimed.

"I'm not going to whitewash this, Commander," Ron informed. "She needs to know."

Tevos leaned back in her chair in shock. The Borg were in their universe. "Goddess," she said. "Captain Yamato, can you… describe what they did to the Batarian ship?" While she had seen Borg ships in Ron's mind, she had no idea what they did to ships they had captured for their own.

"They added parts to it," Takeshi replied. "More armor plating, weapons and engines they normally use… I don't know if they are still studying Eezo, or can't assimilate or adapt to it, but we weren't reading much in the way of Eezo signatures from it."

Tevos wanted to bury her head in her hands. It took 40 Federation starships to slow ONE cube down, and they had more powerful ships than any of the Council races. Maybe even these… Reapers would stand little hope of fending them off for long. "I will attempt to warn the Batarian government, but they may not listen. Captains, I will have to ask of you a favor."

"Name it, Councilor," Ron said. "We'll try to accommodate."

Tevos pinched the bridge of her nose before asking. "We need all of your data on alternate universes. We MUST contact your Federation and request assistance."

"We'll do what we can," Takeshi replied. "But contacting the Federation is likely easier said than done - what happened to get us here was a one in a million chance. I'm not sure what would happen if we attempt to replicate it, or even where we'd end up."

"Any chance is better then none, Captain," Tevos said. "I will NOT risk the worlds of this galaxy being turned into mindless automations. Thank you, ladies, gentlemen." She ended the transmission with them as they nodded.

"It seems, Councilor, you have a problem," said an unknown voice.

Tevos looked into a dark corner of her office, finding a human woman wearing one of the Ra-Cailum's uniforms. "Who are you?" she asked. "How-"

"Captain Pinkerton has three modified Class-2 shuttles on his ship that he doesn't even know about. As for me..." The woman exited the shadows, revealing red hair and blue eyes on an attractive, if young, face. "You can call me Flay Allster. Section 31."

Tevos blinked a few times. "I'm… not quite familiar with that term," she admitted. "It never came up when I melded with Captain Pinkerton."

"That is because, officially, we do not exist," Flay replied. "We are the eyes and ears that answer to no one but the President, and even he simply gives us a blind eye to what we must do. Captain Pinkerton does not know we exist, although he has heard of a secret group within Starfleet Intelligence over his years in service."

Tevos leaned back in her chair. "What do you want, Miss Allster?"

Flay smiled. "To business, then," she said. "You want the Federation's help, but even if you make contact with them, the Federation council won't send one ship unless you have something that everyone else has: warp drive."

Tevos' eyes widened. "Warp Drive… your form of FTL?" she asked. "You would show us how to build it?"

Flay pulled out a PADD. "This contains the blueprints to the Phoenix, Earth's prototype warp ship, built by Zefram Cochrane back in the 2060s," she said. "Now, I could just tell you how to build it, but that has a problem in and of itself."

"What problem is that?" Tevos asked.

"If you build a working prototype on your first try, Captains Pinkerton and Yamato will know what happened, and once they find out that none of their crew are responsible for the leak, they'll find us. Section 31 MUST remain a secret."

Tevos understood. This woman worked for the Federation's version of the Spectres, only MUCH more secretive. "We'll need to make one or two failed attempts before we make the final one," she said, before a small smile flitted over her face. "Or, at the very least, intentional failures. The Salarians will likely understand this much better than I ever could, and even if they can build it perfectly on the first go, they can create engineered failures that seem genuine, to avoid suspicion."

Flay nodded in agreement. "I would add two more, as that was how many times Cochrane needed to perfect his first engine. After that, we can perform official first contact, and after that, we can eliminate the only remaining obstacle in the way of you receiving our assistance." She pressed three buttons on the PADD, which changed the display to show a document, reading, 'Request to become Protectorate of the United Federation of Planets'.

Tevos sighed. "Ah, yes," she said. "The one bane to government officials everywhere… the Goddess-damned paperwork."

Flay chuckled. "There is no government system that doesn't have it," she said. "Once your Asari Republics become a protectorate, you can submit a request to officially join the Federation. You can still have your seat on the Citadel Council, but you'll have a much bigger bite to match your bark with Federation-developed weapons. And the best part is..." Flay smirked. "Captain Pinkerton can't complain about it, as the Prime Directive would no longer apply to you, so long as non-Asari didn't get their hands on it. Do we have a deal, Councilor?"

She thought about it. It was definitely a very good deal for her people, and, to be honest, they relied on Eezo technology too much - and with the Reapers, she was beginning to think that might be a bad idea. "Yes," she said. "You have a deal. It's not just because of the Borg - these Reapers that Commander Shepard's group have found out about… something about the thought of them just rubs me wrong, and I fear that even if we didn't have the Borg to deal with, our own tech would not be enough to stop the Reapers."

Flay clapped her hands together, almost childishly. "Wonderful!" she said. "I will need you to inform your government about this, and unless needed, keep non-Asari out of the warp program. This deal only extends to the Asari. If the Turians or anyone else want to join the Federation, they'll have to do things the hard way."

"Backroom deals with your organization," Tevos said knowingly.

"I'm glad you understand, Councilor," Flay replied. "I'll go back to my shuttle. Enjoy the rest of your day."

She disappeared in a column of light, and Tevos cupped her chin in thought. This would need an in-person briefing for the leaders of the Republics. She pressed a button on her desk. "T'Vera, cancel all of my appointments and inform my counterparts that I will be taking a leave of absence for the time being," she said. "I'm going back to Thessia."

"Yes, Councilor," her secretary replied. Is there a reason for the leave?"

"Yes," Tevos said. "Political. I can't tell you about it."

"Understood, Councilor."

Ron the True Fan: Oh, hello, Section 31. Playing the game of thrones, are we now?

Takeshi Yamato: With the Reapers and now the Borg, you have to admit it is somewhat needed. The Reapers were bad enough in canon - they were eventually beaten, but it was incredibly bloody in the end. With the Borg here, the races of the galaxy are screwed if we can't get Starfleet here and give the locals Trek Technology.

And how many of you would have ever guessed that we would have made Flay Allster a Section 31 Agent?

Ron the True Fan: Time for the fun part. We'll see you all next time. Until then...

Both: Ja Ne!