Chapter 4 – Show and Tell

Amala sat in the conference room as the rest of the ground crew who were seated in a circle around her, levelled uncomfortable stares on her. She squirmed in her seat, but otherwise didn't move. Amala hurriedly ran through all the scenarios in her mind, including one in which the crew attacked her for withholding information as they waited for Julia.

It didn't help that all of them were armed.

Amala drummed her fingers nervously on the table as she elected what to do in case they attacked.

I would have to take out the Ki users first. It seems like Liara is the most proficient of the ones here, followed up by Wrex and Kaidan. Wrex's size makes him the more inviting target, but I think Liara should be made the priority.

But even if I managed to subdue them, where the hell am I going to go? It's not as if I know where Lozen is in the universe or even if it is in this universe at all! Maybe if I commandeer the ship, I can just go to some random planet and train there until I ascend. Course, considering how sparse the Universal Energy seems to be in this place, who knows how long that would take.

Ah, crap, I really wish they would stop glaring at me...

The door hissed open at the end of the room and Amala looked up to see Julia walking into the room wearing what she would later call her "Commander Mask". She was holding a thin rectangle of some sorts with a keyboard on it as she put it on the table before walking up to Amala.

"So Amala...is there something you wanted to tell us?" Julia's tone wasn't as harsh as she thought it'd be. It sounded almost...kind.

"...about Regis?"

Julia nodded, "That's a start. I'm more concerned about the fact that he's human."

"...what about it?" Amala didn't look Julia in the eyes.

"Why didn't you tell us?" demanded Ashley.

Amala bristled at the brunette's tone and she looked at the woman dead in the eyes, "Tell you what, exactly? That the first thing that I wake up to are two humans next to some strange creatures I've never even heard of before and acting like nothing's wrong? That I'm suddenly told that not only am I on a ship in outer space, that I was found on a completely different world!"

"So forgive me if I wasn't entirely forthcoming!" Amala stood up now as her voice raised in volume, though she kept her Ki from exploding outwards, "Besides! What does it matter anyway?! Knowing he's human or not won't help me get back home! All it does is satisfy your fucking curiosity!"

She doubted the translator allowed the swear to go through, but Amala was pretty sure the general idea came across at the now abashed expressions on everyone's faces.

Julia's quiet, but strong voice entered the fray after her tirade, "You're right, Amala. It's not something we needed to know, but I would like to know if you had any special reasons for withholding this information."

Amala looked at Julia and saw the same woman that she inexplicably felt like she could trust. She was still scared though, as Regis' betrayal was still fresh in her own mind. Julia seemed to pick up on this as she stooped so that she was eye-level with Amala.

"I know you're scared, but please believe me when I say that I won't hurt you."

Amala's lower lip trembled before she softly spoke, "I'm only half-Beastfolk. My father is a Vollföldren and my mother..."

She took a deep breath, "My mother is a human." Amala tensed reflexively as Julia's hand moved and then relaxed when she put it on her shoulder.

"Okay. Thank you for telling me that. Can you tell me a little bit more about your world?"

Amala looked cautiously towards the other crew members. None of them had that greedy glint in their eyes that those slavers had when they discovered how talented she was. She couldn't be sure with Garrus or Tali, but they seemed okay.

"Okay. But it'll be faster if I show you." Julia's brow furrowed in confusion as Amala palmed her way through her necklace, before settling on a crystal that contained the appropriate memories for a sufficient explanation.

No need tell them about my own cultivation, but I can at least explain the basics...

She plucked the crystal from it's holding and held it in her palm for the room to see. "This is made from a material known as Elucidan. It makes up the core of my teleportation treasure and is the basis for all advanced technologies in Lozen."

"Didn't the geth say in those videos we found that these crystals amplified biotics?" reminded Garrus.

Julia shook her head, "By a significant factor apparently, but I'm not about to test my biotics on the ship." Julia looked at Amala, "Also, I'm assuming you need those Elucidan crystals for your own repairs, right?"

Her eyebrows raised in surprise and she nodded. Julia gave her a reassuring smile, "Then the point is moot."

Thanking Julia with her eyes, Amala gestured to the crystal in her hand. "This object is known as a Memory Crystal and it allows one to peruse the memories of their own and other's people."

"It's kind of like that display on Tali's omni-tool that showed Regis being held captive by the geth. Only it needs Ki for it to be projected to others."

"Ki?" asked Julia.

Now it was Amala's turn to frown, "Well, yeah. You know...Ki...You, Liara, Kaidan and Wrex were using it back in the base."

"You mean biotics?'

"If that's what you call Ki, then yeah. Biotics. You know? Inner energy drawn from the soul?"

If it were a less serious situation, Amala would've snickered at the flabbergasted expressions on everyone's faces.

"I think we're talking about different things..." said Julia slowly.

Amala cocked her head before putting the memory crystal back in it's socket as she activated her Ki. A violet aura ensconced her frame as she felt the familiar ecstasy of power coursing through her body.

Much like a curious child, Julia was already reaching a hand towards the visible part of her Ki before stopping her hand, "Is it safe to touch?"

"Go ahead. It's not going to melt your fingers or anything." said Amala mirthfully.

Despite the morbid joke, Julia's fingers quested forwards fearlessly until it touched the violet Ki. A smile spread across her beautiful face, "It's so warm. It's like sunlight. If this is coming from your soul, then you must be just as beautiful on the inside as you are on the outside."

Amala blushed hard as an invisible bubble in the room seemed to pop and the rest of the crew started chuckling.

"Didn't know you were such a ladykiller, Commander." joked Kaidan.

"All part of my charm, Kaidan." she said with a lascivious wink towards Kaidan, who immediately turned red. "Well, biotics aren't nearly as interesting Amala. They come from being exposed to a certain substance known as Element Zero or eezo for short when we were still babies."

"With a lot of hard work and special devices, we can use our biotics to control dark energy and use it in combat." said Kaidan, taking over the explanation.

"Is dark energy like Universal Energy?" asked Amala.

"Maybe. What does Universal Energy mean for you?" said Julia. They were operating from the same frame of reference finally and knew how to phrase each other's questions properly.

"I don't really know to be honest." admitted Amala, "All I know is that it's this...force that we take into our bodies when we first step onto the path of martial cultivation. This force then helps...stimulate our bodies to produce it's own energy. My mom told me that it was Heaven's way of helping us survive in Lozen."

"And martial cultivation is how you did all of those incredible feats back at the geth outpost?" said Tali.

"Yes. If you're good enough to be able to sense Universal Energy, a person can go through various stages known as martial cultivation to become stronger and stronger."

Amala paused to collect her thoughts as she organized the various levels in her head and attempted to summarize them in an easy to understand manner:

"There are six overall levels: The first is known as the Pulse Stage and it is where you develop your own unique Ki. There are eight levels to this stage and by the third stage, a person is able to use Ki to use martial techniques."

"For example, I have a defensive technique that I created using and experimenting with my Ki that redirects the energy of physical attacks." Amala held out a hand as she generated a three-dimensional cube in her hand that quickly expanded until it encased her body. She turned to Julia and said, "Try and hit me."

To her credit, Julia hesitated, "Um, are you sure about this...?"

"Unless you can hit harder than that Geth Prime could with his gun, then it should be fine."

Julia punched halfheartedly towards the cube. A surprised expression appeared on her face as she met an invisible wall in between the seemingly-hollow nature of the cube. Amala grinned, "Aren't you supposed to be the commander of this ship?"

Wrex chuckled, "Pyjak's got you there, Shepard."

Julia's eyes narrowed as she became serious and threw a full roundhouse punch towards the barrier. The cube flashed briefly, but otherwise remained standing. "Anyone else feel a gentle breeze roll by?" snarked Amala.

Julia gave a dark chuckle, "Try this on for size, then." Her body flared blue as she delivered a far more devastating punch towards the cube. This time, the cube visibly trembled once, but quickly returned to normal. A shockwave erupted from the cube that Amala directed off to the side so that it hit the walls with a dull rumble.

Amala dispelled the cube and smiled mischievously at Julia, "Not bad, right?"

Julia laughed as the biotic (not Ki) glow faded from her body, "I'll admit. I'm pretty impressed. Don't think that was everything I've got, though."

"So what are these other stages?" asked Garrus, a boyish excitement seemed to color his voice.

"The second stage is known as the Rebirth Stage. There are only five levels in this stage and I'm currently in the fourth level. The Rebirth Stage is where the accumulated Universal Energy starts remaking your body, so that it's tougher and faster."

"So before you hit that stage..."

"I would've been only slightly stronger than your average twelve year old if I wasn't using my Ki." said Amala, wincing a little as she blurted out her age.

"You're twelve years old?" asked Ashley incredulously.

"Well, yeah." said Amala defensively.

"Christ, you look like you're only ten." said Ashley, shaking her head.

Amala's eye twitched, but she didn't say anything. They had delved off into another tangent where Amala told them how long a year was on Lozen and Tali had calculated that Amala was a little younger than twelve according to standard Galactic time.

She was still older than ten, dammit.

"Anyway..." Amala getting them off the age topic, which a smirking Julia evidently noticed. "The third stage is known as the Element Stage. This is where one's Ki changes into a different type of energy known as Exalt. Using this Exalt, one can use the various elements such as Fire or Thunder in different techniques as well as construct various weapons and armour using these elements."

"One of the requirements for being able to enter the Element Stage is that a person be able to sense and partially be able to use these elements. My strongest technique, for example, makes use of the Thunder element. It's the same technique that allowed me to destroy that big geth."

Not that I actually needed something so powerful to do so. Better safe than sorry, though.

"That was definitely a powerful blow." muttered Garrus.

"And that's only when you're barely able to use these elements?" Kaidan shook his head in wonder.

Sensing that they were going to get off topic, Amala charged ahead, without bothering to explain the various sub-levels in the Element Stage, "I don't know much about the last three stages, so I'm only able to give some basics. The fourth stage is the Dominion Stage."

"At this level, a person can suppress the movements of all those below him in level. I've only had it happen to me at once and it felt like there was a mountain on top of me." Amala shuddered at the memory and wrapped her arms around herself.

"The fifth stage is the Primal Stage. All I know is that if someone is at this stage, they're the rulers of a nation or empire and they're monstrously powerful."

Amala's voice grew quieter, "Finally, the last stage is known as the Divinity Stage."

"Divinity." repeated Julia, "As in...?"

"As in...a God." said Amala. She held up her hands to forestall any questions that were inevitably about to erupt, "Look, I don't know if they are actually Gods or not. All I know is that the oldest Divine that I know about has been in power for at least a hundred thousand years."

"Or so they say anyway. I've never actually met one and as far as I know, they could only be slightly more powerful than Primal Stage practitioners." finished Amala.

Julia cleared her throat, "Well...that's...certainly a lot to take in."

"...yeah..." replied Amala lamely.

"You...were going to show us something?" Julia attempted to take her crew's mind and her own off of the topic of godhood with another question. She clarified herself when she saw Amala's blank look, "The memory crystal?"

"Oh! Right." Amala took off the crystal from it's socket and once more held it in her palm. Julia watched with rapt fascination as a gorgeous shade of purple enveloped the girl's hand and wrapped around the crystal like a cocoon. The fantastical sight was only heightened as the crystal hovered a few inches above the girl's palm and began to pulse at a regular rate.

Amala's eyes were closed and her brow was furrowed in concentration; her lips silently moving in what might as well be an incantation for all she knew. Her eyes opened at the same time a beam of light shot out from the cocoon and stopped in the middle of the room as if it hit a barrier.

The air seemed to ripple as if it were a pool of water that had a stone dropped in it as various colors seemed to fill the blank space. Evidently this was a form of 3-d television, but one that seemed to be much flashier.

"These are the different races of Lozen." said Amala. "Well, at least the ones I've seen, anyway." she quickly added.

An image of a human woman appeared on the air screen. As if it were a movie that had been put on pause, the image suddenly started moving. The perspective was quite low to the ground and the woman was looking directly towards the "camera" with a smile.

"What did you make for dinner, sweetheart?" The woman's voice was smooth and lilting as she looked with evident love upon the viewer.

"Razag!" the voice of Amala happily burbled out, though at a tone that was louder than the woman's.

Julia flinched in surprise as she caught a whiff of a smell that shouldn't be on a starship. It was a heady scent filled with spices and a little bit of smoke that reminded her of old-timey family restaurants.

Amala seemed to anticipate Julia's question and spoke before Julia could ask. "Memory crystals are viewed from the perspective of a person's memory. They include all the sights, sounds and smells from a memory." The rest of her squadmates nodded in understanding. "Projections aren't able to convey touch and taste however." she added wistfully.

"This one is a memory I had of my mother and I." Amala had an extremely gentle smile and simultaneous forlorn expression as she gazed at the scene. Amala's mother moved closer to the camera with wide arms and evidently was giving her daughter a hug. "It was my mother's birthday and it was the first time I had tried cooking a proper meal for her. I had been practising for days in secret with the maids."

Amala rapidly blinked her eyes as the scene abruptly changed to what appeared to be a wasteland of some sorts. Great clouds of dust swept across the land and temporarily obscured the vision as an arm came over the camera. The sounds of coughing could be heard, as the arm was slowly lowered. The screen would flash black every now and then which Julia presumed to be due to blinking.

"You okay, mila?" A deep baritone voice rumbled throughout the room, mixed with the snarling of some beast that set Julia and everyone else instinctively on edge. The dust cleared and a tall figure that looked to be about six foot four was holding onto the tusks of a creature that looked like a cross between a boar and a tiger.

Which was on fire.

The figure turned towards the camera and smiled, "Father!" cried out Amala or at least someone that sounded a lot like her.

Julia's first thought was that the man looked like a true predator. Vertical pupils set within yellow eyes seemed to glow mysteriously with an inner fire, the man's jaw was particularly prominent, resembling that of a panther, and heightened his overall masculinity. A sleek black tail and just as dark fur ran up his heavily muscled limbs.

He had a strange-looking crimson tattoo that resembled the mouth of a carnivorous animal could be faintly discerned and seemed to glow with it's own inner light every now and then. His muscled back was almost human save for the long elongated bulge underneath his skin that started from the top of his cervical spine and ended somewhere below his lumbar area where his tail protruded. The rest of his chiseled body was covered in a smooth dark leathery hide that was marred only by a large scar stretching across his chest. His hands sported dangerous-looking silver claws that bit into the tusks of the still snarling beast.

"That's my dad." Three words came from Amala's mouth and were filled with such pride that Julia couldn't help but smile fondly at the girl. "He's a Vollföldren."

"A what?" asked Garrus.

"It's a type of Beastfolk." answered Amala.

"How many types are there?" The image started to change as Amala's father and the beast began to engage in an epic battle.

"Dammit, turian. It was just getting good." grumbled Wrex.

"I can show you the rest of it later, Wrex. It's a really good fight." If there was any unease left in Amala, it was drowned by the excitement of showing off her father. The krogan's eyes softened and he simply nodded.

"There's six other members of the Beastfolk:"

The screen changed to a feathered humanoid with large wings sprouting from her back. "Aviaföldren." said Amala.

The screen displayed each of the different types of Beastfolk as Amala named each one. All of them looked like a cross between a human and some form of an animal and reminded Julia of the old legends on Earth about werewolves.

Amala continued to move on as a completely new figure dominated the screen. Towering over even Wrex, was a swarthy scaled creature that looked reptilian in appearance. With three claws and burning yellow eyes, it was one of the most alien creatures she had seen since first meeting a turian.

"You will always have a place to call home here, Amala." A snake-like tongue flickered out of it's mouth as it said this, though it didn't place as much emphasis on the "s" sounds as Julia thought it would.

"That's my friend Kelia Shar-col Amidwa. She helped my dad and I a lot when we first arrived in Arstok territory."

"Fascinating." breathed Liara. "And all of these races lived on one world?"

"Yes. Although, there's still three more races."

"Three more?!" cried out Liara, "Your world already goes against everything I know about evolution!"

Amala shrugged helplessly as the view changed to show a small pixie creature with fluttering wings. The small creature was held in the "camera's" hand and chattered excitedly in an unknown language.

Amala giggled at the scene, "That's Meera of the Wayward River. She's a Lumoix. They're a very shy race, but they're super fun to be with once you get to know them."

"They look like fairies from fairy tales." said Ashley with no small trace of wonder in her voice.

"What is she saying?" asked Tali, oozing with curiosity.

Amala giggled again, "She's telling me about a prank she pulled on some humans who were in their territory. She had snuck into the camp and covered the inside of their tents with a plant that causes severe itching."

Her face turned serious as the Meera on screen continued to chatter endlessly to the camera, occasionally laughing with the younger Amala. "The last two races are...somewhat difficult to show. One race is only known as the Shadow People and very little is known about them. The other is a rather...hostile race and the only memory I have of them is..."

"...when you were in a fight with them." finished Julia.

Amala nodded as the image changed to what Julia could only describe as a battlefield. The familiar stench of death and fear was well-known, even if it was on an alien world. A steel glint of a blade filled the screen as it was repelled just in time by a dagger. The blade bounced back and it's wielder was revealed in full when Amala paused the memory.

Julia had no idea how to describe the creature, for it seemed to belong in a Lovecraft horror novel. It had a triangular shaped head with two set's of eyes like a batarian, but ones that were angled down to the side and glowed an eerie blue. A slit was cut across the base of the head in a jagged red line and was partially split open to reveal rows of sharp teeth. While it was wearing armour, the creature had an unusual cylindrical torso with two arms ending in three fingers and four tentacles bursting out from the back.

"What the hell is that." said a disgusted Wrex.

"A Vakkar. A race of beings that essentially forced the coalition between Beastfolk and Humanity." said Amala quietly. "I had run into the misfortune of meeting an advanced scouting group."

The room returned back to normal as Amala shut down whatever mechanism was powering the crystal and it once again returned to a seemingly ordinary piece of jewellery. She gave them an apologetic smile, "If it's all the same to you, I'd rather not continue playing that memory. It's useful in terms of strategy, but not exactly something that's pleasant."

"It's okay." reassured Julia, "There's no need to show us anything you don't want to. Thank you for showing that."

Amala blinked and then awkwardly shuffled her feet, "You're welcome." She looked up at Julia, "...so, what happens now?"

"Now, I think we should all get some rest." It had been a long day and they wouldn't reach Omega for a few days.

Amala stayed rooted in her spot as the others began to get up to leave, "...so I can stay on the ship?" she started to rummage through the bag she had on her back, "If you need money, I don't have a lot of it...but..."

Julia placed a soothing hand on the girl's head, "Hey, it's okay. We're not mad at you. Of course you can stay on the ship." she gave Amala a conspiratorial wink, "Don't worry about paying. Garrus can foot the bill."

"Hey!" shouted Garrus in mock indignation.

Amala's lips quirked up in a half-smile, "Thank you." she whispered.

"You're welcome." said Julia just as quietly. This was bad. Amala was seriously too cute.

"Let's go get something to eat first and then we'll find you a place to sleep."

Amala stared balefully at the sign etched across the top of the door, the glowing green light glowed almost ominously as it bathed her in it's alien light.

WOMEN'S BATHROOM

"Forgot how to open these doors?" said a kind voice, "Just push the green light, like this!"

A mousy brown-haired woman by the name of Talitha Draven ushered a frozen Amala through the doors. Even having lived two lives, Amala was a very shy person and the thought of a public bath was more than a little daunting. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that past the lockers where various women were putting their clothes were stalls with shower heads.

The stalls had no doors, but some privacy was better than no privacy. It had been a very long time since she was Jamie Cole, but Amala had long since gotten used to her new identity.

Some parts were still hard to deal with though.

As the door closed, Amala's ears flattened against their head at the sudden squeals of the women who had noticed the duo's presence.

"Oh my gosh, Williams. Why didn't you say that she was so cute?!" a blonde woman dressed only in a pair of uniform slacks rushed over to Amala's side and pulled her into an embrace.

"Hi sweetie, my name's Carol. What's yours?"

"Amala." she muffled a reply as her face started heating up. Thankfully, Talitha managed to extricate Amala from Carol's grasp.

"Ease up on the affection there, Carol. Amala's a little shy." chuckled Talitha.

Amala merely clutched her spare clothes a little tighter to herself as she quickly moved over to the lockers, pulling open a door and hiding her body as much as she could.

"Alright, ladies. We can introduce ourselves later. Give the girl some space" came the husky voice of Ashley beside her as some of the women near Amala chuckled good-naturedly.

"T-thanks." Amala was a little uncertain how to act around the woman. They had both gotten pretty heated back in the conference room.

"Least I could do, considering how I acted beforehand." said Ashley smoothly.

"N-no, I was holding back information after all. It's only natural that you'd get angry." said Amala quickly.

Not to mention that I'm still holding back some things. Like the fact that of the language you guys were first speaking, I recognized the odd few smattering words of English mixed with some Asian language, which raises some interesting questions.

Amala kept her face blank however. She had had a long time to practice keeping details about her reincarnation a secret and she was not about to divulge anything about it now.

"That's still no excuse for me to raise my voice like that. I should have been like the commander and seen just how scary all this must have been for you." said Ashley as she continued to disrobe and Amala continued to do her very best to look her in the eye.

"Well, you can make it up to me by showing me how these...wash closets work." Amala divested herself of her shirt and slacks and tossed them into the locker, "And help me get settled into the ship...um...is there something on my face?"

Ashley was fixing her a critical stare that was making Amala slightly uncomfortable. "What are you wearing around your chest?"

Amala looked down at the gauze she had wrapped around her own budding female anatomy. She had known the changes her body would eventually make, but she was reluctant to acknowledge it. Having a period already annoyed the shit out of her as she had been hoping a half-Beastfolk wouldn't have to deal with something like that.

"Er. I guess it would be something similar to what you're wearing on your chest?" said Amala, not quite looking Ashley in the eyes. Her mother had had those same eyes when she first discovered how Amala dressed herself.

"Uh-huh." said Ashley, not buying her excuse in the slightest. "I think I'll introduce you to a new piece of wardrobe after you shower."

God dammit.

Julia smiled fondly at the small bundle wrapped up in the corner of her quarters as she left the room with a datapad in hand. The two had had a small argument with Amala both refusing to share a bed and for Julia to give up her own. Julia had eventually relented when Amala mentioned that she had had an awful experience of someone trying to enter her bed when she was asleep.

Her mind became suffused in rage at that conversation. The expression on Amala's face was enough to tell Julia what had probably happened. With Amala's help, Julia had set up a small fort of blankets and pillows in the corner so that it resembled a very cozy nest. It was an admittedly enjoyable experience and reminded Julia of happier times when she had done something similar with her younger brother.

Thinking of her younger brother reminded Julia that she needed to pay a visit to the Citadel soon and visit him. His recent messages seemed to indicate that he was doing a lot better after she had finally strong-armed him into going to his therapy sessions. Julia had no clue when she would have the time to do so with all of this Saren nonsense, but she hoped it would be soon.

"How is she?"

Julia was a bit surprised to see all of her ground crew in the mess hall. They were all clutching steaming mugs of their own species' equivalent of coffee.

"She's asleep now." said Julia, answering Kaidan's question. "Lucky girl doesn't have to worry about AARs" holding up the datapad in her hand.

The group chuckled as Julia went to pour her own cup of coffee. She took a sip of the steaming brew as she leaned against a counter; datapad temporarily forgotten on the counter as she enjoyed her drink.

"Thoughts?" said Julia, not really asking anyone in particular.

"About the mission or about Amala?" asked Garrus.

"Both."

"I would say that Amala is dangerously sweet then, ma'am." said Ashley. "I don't think she'd have any trouble taking us out, but she seems to be just as she appears; a sweet girl."

"It's a pretty remarkable dichotomy." agreed Julia.

"Considering how easily she took out that prime, I would say that remarkable is a bit of an understatement." said Kaidan. "She also indirectly helped us get a lead on Saren."

"I believe that should be the limit of her involvement, however. As strong as she is, Amala's still just a child." said Liara.

"She's probably going to want to come with us though if it means finding a way back home." pointed out Tali.

Julia nodded, "While I doubt any of us would be able to stop her if she wanted to do so, I don't think Amala is the kind of girl to act in such a manner."

"The girl's been through battlefields of her own." rumbled Wrex, "If she wants to join, she'd make a powerful ally."

Julia sighed, "I'll be the first to admit that Amala would be incredibly valuable in taking down Saren, but there's no way in hell I'm taking her down into another fight."

"Good. I'd have to rip your head off, otherwise Shepard." Wrex nodded in satisfaction and took another sip of his drink. He glared at the rest of the crew who were levelling smirks at him. "What?'

"You've gotten awfully attached to Amala, considering how short she's been with us." teased Tali.

Wrex huffed and said nothing, though he fixed a glare on Ashley who had snorted.

"Let's move on then." Julia declared an end to the 'Amala talks', "Anyone here been on Omega before?"

"A few times." said Wrex, "It's where I got most of my contracts." who then added an afterthought: "Where I completed most of them too, now that I think about it."

"It's fitting that Saren would run to Omega with the rest of the scum of the galaxy." he snorted.

"I've heard the stories, but is it really as bad as they say?" asked Tali.

"Survival of the fittest is the only real law on Omega, so in a lot of ways, it's like Tuchanka. Except with a worse smell."

"And this Aria?" asked Julia.

Wrex's eyes glittered ominously, "A very dangerous asari whose ruled Omega for a few centuries now. Best not to get on her bad side."

"Great." said Julia, "You're with me on the ground team then Wrex. Any other volunteers?"

"Something tells me you're going to decide who goes, regardless of whether or not they volunteer." muttered Garrus.

"Thank you for volunteering Garrus." said Julia brightly, "Ashley and Kaidan, consider yourself to have been voluntold as well."

Garrus gave a mock groan as the two marines chuckled and gave her an "Aye aye".