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Mass Effect: Break the Cycle

Part I:

Chapter 4: Pieces on the Move

Admiral Hackett stared at the report from Alliance Intelligence and shook his head. "Damn, I don't believe it." He looked up at Rear Admiral Mikhailovich. "I see what the data suggests but there's no reason for the quarians to destroy one of our frigates!"

Mikhailovich shook his head. "The spectral sensor logs that the Kursk sent to us do indicate a hull composition consistent with quarian vessels. They are not human, is it not unreasonable to assume that they are acting under motives that we can't understand?"

Admiral Hackett scowled. "The quarian race is a refugee population, openly attacking a Systems Alliance warship would be to invite attack upon their fleet, every man, woman, and child. I cannot believe that a race would decide to commit suicide on such a scale."

The Rear Admiral shifted his weight and glanced down at the desk. "I'm sorry Admiral, but what other possibility can you advance based on this data?"

"The Migrant Fleet contains vessels manufactured by every race that has put a ship into space, from rusting hulks hundreds of years old to decommissioned turian cruisers that were left out to rot. Perhaps the ships belong to a race they salvaged their own from?" Admiral Hackett said.

"What do you suggest we do with this information then?" Rear Admiral Mikhailovich asked.

Hackett shrugged. "We sit on it for now, Intelligence is still analyzing evidence recovered from the Kursk itself."

"Admiral, when someone destroys a ship under my command I want to take action to prevent it from happening again!" Rear Admiral Mikhailovich said.

"I understand that Admiral, but you have not gotten sufficient evidence to convince me that the Migrant Fleet is responsible." Hackett said. "Once the Normandy finishes shake down you'll have a ship to investigate this on your own, until then you'll sit tight and give any quarian vessels a wide berth. Understood?"

"Yes sir."

Lial'Winn stretched out beside the window of the medical-ship Leedan and smiled as she felt the cool sterile air of the ship blow across her face, catching her nearly white hair and sending tingles across her dark grey skin. Dozens of vessels glinted in the distant light of the stars, and the live-ship Rayya hung in the back of the local flotilla, the white flare of engines appeared from the ship and resolved itself into a battered shuttle as it sped past.

The door behind her chimed and she sighed, looking back down at her suit in her lap. "Who is it?"

"Tava'Reevor."

A smirk slid across her face as she sat there. "What do you want?"

"Can't I see how my friend and commanding officer is doing?" Tava said through the door.

"Not if the only aim is to see his CO outside her suit." She snickered as she looked at the damage in her suit's shoulder and leg.

"Oh… sorry, I was worried about you and thought I'd come by and…"

"I'm in a clean room you bosh'tet." Lial said as she tossed the suit back onto the bed and scowled. "What do you expect me to be wearing?"

There was a long pause at the door. "I guess that explains why I couldn't get a message through to you on our channel. I'll be going now…"

Lial grinned and tapped the door control snapping open the cabin door. She swiveled to the door and smirked as she saw Tava facing the hatch, his body straightening involuntarily. "You really are a thick headed bosh'tet."

"Lial?" He asked, suddenly nervous and kept facing the hatch. "Are you okay? Fever or anything giving you problems…"

Lial laughed and walked up behind him, reaching into the airlock and grabbing his arm. "The reaction hasn't been that bad."

"Maybe… maybe the meds are making you a little…" Tava said, glanced at her for a second before snapping away. Tava, Tava, you must be blushing furiously under that helmet.

Lial shook her head and flicked the side of his helmet with her finger. "Bosh'tet, if I was that sick or that crazy wouldn't there be a nurse watching my every move."

He flinched from the strike with her finger and shook his head. "Lial, are you sure? Just opening the door when I was about to…"

"We're off duty, and its fun to tease you." Lial said slowly turning him around and grinning at him. She waved a finger in his visor as his eyes finally met hers. "Now, I'm not well enough for you to do anything stupid."

"You're enjoying this way too much." Tava said as his eyes locked with hers.

Lial laughed again as she pulled him toward the bed and sat down. "Yes, my little bosh'tet, I am."

"How do you feel?" Tava glanced at the bandage that peeked out from the simple gown she wore.

"Like I got shot, again… you know this is the sixth time. At this rate I'll adapt to a levo bio-sphere." Lial pulled him down beside her and shrugged. "It's mostly healed, if it'd been two centimeters to the left it'd have hit my injection implant and there'd be a real mess."

"And the allergic reaction? You don't sound congested." Tava said.

Lial rolled her eyes. "I've got a damn fever still, and I gained a few kilos. Not sure if that's just from there being better food or my body needing it."

"I can't tell you gained any weight…"

Lial elbowed him in the gut. "Don't bring it up. Now, how is the squad doing? I trust they're doing mindless ship side tasks since you're here."

"Yeah, no problems… Fel and Sola seem to be hanging out with each other a bit more." Tava stated simply.

Lial snickered. "The more bonded couples in the squad the better we fight, or at least that's what the admirals think." She leaned over and whispered into the helmet's audio pickups. "I saw them together on the observation deck two days before that mission."

"Sneaky." Tava glanced over at her. "Is that why you dragged me here and sat me down, force a bonding?"

There was a thwack as she hit his helmet her palm. "Bosh'tet, you can't fake bonding. You either end up bonded and normal or crazy and lonesome."

"You mean?"

"Either, one of us is crazy, we're bonded, or one of us isn't on speaking terms with their soul." Lial said with a smirk. "You know I'm crazy but then I was the one that pulled you in here and sat you down on the bed."

"I always thought you were like Sergeant Reegar." Tava said his voice lightening with amusement.

"What do you mean?" Lial said as she cocked her head curiously at him.

"You know, bonded to the Marine Corps."

Garrus sat in his office scrolling through the reports, his mandibles twitching in irritation. The techies with their scanners had been thorough. They'd scanned every single square millimeter of the two locations, lifting all the evidence from the scenes of each storehouse. It wasn't enough.

"Damn Eclipse is getting paranoid about leaving evidence behind." Garrus muttered as he closed the report on his terminal. "Nothing substantial enough to identify the smugglers." He tapped the desk with a talon irritated before bringing up the second report, the one from the internal affairs office.

It read like a textbook example of how to fill an OSD with nothing, no leads, no suspicions, and no evidence. Nothing that could indicate who had tipped off Eclipse to the raid. Garrus sighed and shook his head. "Business as usual."

Razi closed his eyes and leaned back in the hard bench trying to get as comfortable as possible. It was a fifteen-hour journey through the relay to the station.

Beside him, Krenare sighed and shifted her weight against him. "Razi?"

"Hmm?"

"What are we going to do now?" She asked, glancing up into his helmet.

Razi frowned inside his helmet and looked down at her. "I… I don't know. Do you have any relatives or family, well, beside those that… you know." He closed his eyes and shook his head. "Never mind."

"My grandmother lives on Terra Nova, do you think you could get a job there, maybe?" Krenare asked.

Terra Nova, most of the people that'd been at the colony were from there. Keelah, what if they haven't heard yet. He swallowed and wrapped an arm around Krenare, squeezing her slightly. If they don't know already, we need to tell them. "I think I could, and you'd have a place to stay with your grandmother."

Krenare nodded and closed her eyes. She leaned against him and laid her head on his shoulder using it as a pillow. "Can you wake me when we get there?"

"Sure." He answered before glancing across at the other person in the cabin. Tali was sprawled out on her stomach. She'd been staring at her omnitool since they'd left. It looked like she was studying some sort of technical displays, but he couldn't tell what for from the angle. He watched her tap at the controls for another minute and yawned. "Tali, what are you doing? We've got hours before we even get to spaceport."

"Studying some data." She answered before stretching out on the bench. "You're right though. Some sleep would probably be a good idea."

Razi nodded and closed his eyes.

"What are humans normally like?" Tali asked.

"It varies a lot."

Commander Shepard stepped into Captain Anderson's office and saluted. Behind Anderson stood the turian he'd heard about, staring out the dry dock windows at the Normandy.

Anderson returned the salute and smiled, "Commander Shepard, good to see you. May I introduce: Nihlus Kryik of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance branch."

Shepard nodded to the Turian as he turned toward him, his mandibles quivering slightly. "Commander Shepard, I've heard a lot about you." The spectre leaned forward and offered a hand, a surprisingly human gesture. Shepard clasped it and was surprised at the strong grip the turian possessed despite his three fingered hands.

"I trust Captain Anderson hasn't inflated my importance." Shepard said.

Nihlus's mandibles twitched. "The Captain thinks quite highly of you, that's probably why you've been assigned to this vessel. Captain Anderson was given a free hand to pick the crew I understand."

"Only the best." Anderson said. "Even if some are a bit eccentric, they know their jobs."

Shepard shrugged, "I try sir."

Ashley Williams sat atop the retaining wall the archaeologists had assembled around the dig sight and watched them dig as the sun beat down around her and the wind blew leaves past. Nirali Bhatia sat beside her, leaning back with an ear-bud in one ear. Her eyes were half-closed and a slight smile slid across her face.

"Listening to Samesh again?" Ashley asked as she tossed a rock at one of the stone blocks that lay embedded in the ground.

"Huh?"

"Listening to Samesh again?"

"Oh, yeah." Nirali said as she glanced at Ashley. "It looks like they almost got that… thing out of the ground."

"Yeah." Ashley said. "Then we'll be able to pack up and dust-off."

"That'll be nice. Maybe they'll station us somewhere interesting. Eden Prime is nice and all, but it's boring." Nirali said.

Ruan Five was a dusty world with two principal exports, grime and raw materials. Sitting in the back of the shuttle as the ship curved toward a landing pad, Tali'Zorah stared out at the bleak landscape and shrugged. "Ugh, couldn't the first planet I visit have something alive on it? Maybe some plants."

A sudden gust of wind rattled the aging shuttle and tossed the sleeping forms of Razi and Krenare onto the floor. Tali snickered as the two of them woke and glanced around feverishly before straightening and dusting off.

The shuttle shook again and the two scrambled back to the seats and grabbed hold of the benches. Krenare stared at the dust blowing past outside and scowled. Razi grabbed hold of the bench as the shuttled dropped down, tossed by a downdraft.

Tali kept hold of her rucksack and grabbed hold of a rung over her head to stay steady as the sound of the engines began to die. With a thud, the shuttle came to a stop and Tali stood. "Finally, I thought I'd need another dose of the anti-nausea meds." Glancing at the dust blowing by the door she looked back at Krenare. "Will she be alright without a re-breather?"

Krenare pulled a strip of cloth that she'd had wrapped around her thigh then lifted to her face, tying it around the back of her head to cover her mouth. "It's just dust right?"

Tali activated her omnitool and accessed the shuttle's external sensors. "Yeah, it's breathable for you at least."

"Then let's go." Krenare said walking to the hatch and out into the blowing dust. Razi hurried after the her.

Tali just sighed and keyed the fleet channel, "Thanks for the ride, keelah se'lai."

"Good luck Tali'Zorah nar Rayya." The shuttle pilot answered as Tali stepped out the hatch and felt the wind rip across her environmental suit and tug at her realk. Leaning against it she stumbled toward the airlock hatch that Razi and Krenare had run to.

The door slammed shut behind her as decontamination beams swept over them and Krenare coughed, running her hands through her hair to remove the dust and dirt. Then she ripped off the improvised filter and coughed again. "Damn it." She rubbed her eyes to clear them and sighed. "I'm going to need a shower."

"What's a shower?" Tali asked.

Razi put his palm to his visor and sighed. "It's a room that sprays water on their bodies, it's how they clean."

"How does it clean them without them having to… Oh." Tali's eyes widened. Humans took off everything to clean? With the internal systems in these suits, that wasn't a problem but keelah. "Guess these suits do have some advantages."

"I wish I had a re-breather now." Krenare said as she wiped her mouth again.

Razi laughed. "I guess that's another one."

"Doctor Warren." Doctor Manuel nodded to his superior as he stepped around the partially exposed prothean beacon, his omnitool out slowly scanning the device. "Remarkable, the power signature is steady at two-one-zero-watts. I wouldn't be surprised if this thing will work once we get it completely uncovered."

"Yes, it is incredibly well preserved." Doctor Warren said as she tapped a data-pad. "Eden Prime doesn't have the facilities to do a proper study of this find. We'll have to take it to the Citadel."

"If word gets out that a Prothean artifact like this was recovered intact, it better be a secure transport." Manuel said as he lowered his omnitool. "It's worth almost any price to get your hands on one."

"I've got to get back to the camp. Can you keep things under control here?" Warren asked.

"Easily." Manuel said as he walked around the artifact once more, studying it. Green energy flickered to life along its axis and Manuel stopped and stared.

He didn't know how much time had passed when a flanging voice whispered in his ear. "Magnificent isn't? Working Prothean technology, the secrets of the past, the guidebook of the future right at your finger tips."

Manuel turned toward the voice and took an involuntary step backwards from the turian he found himself facing. Barefaced, obvious cybernetic implants wound their way down the sides of both jaws and cybernetic eyes peered at him from the man's brow, a dull blue glow emanating from their center. One limb looked as if it'd been replaced with something, synthetic maybe, a prosthetic?

The turian stepped back from the beacon and glanced around for a moment. "Don't you want to touch it, see what it does before anyone else can?"

Manuel stared at the turian for a long moment. Of course, I want to know what it does! That's why I'm here.

"You'll never get a chance once it's gone to the Citadel, all those asari doctors with hundreds of years of experience, the militants among my people will bar you access, and the salarians will want o take it apart to see how it ticks. See, now is your only chance. Take it."

Manuel blinked and turned, reaching for the beacon. No one else was around, no one else would know. However, he had to know, he had to find out. This is my one chance. His hand touched it and a green flash shone along the beacon's spine, he felt himself lifted up…

Images flashed through his mind, a confusing blur of images, the sight of circuitry intertwining with flesh, of worlds annihilated in a flash sped by and a dark fearsome creature of medical slide from the darkness of a planet into view. He screamed as the images seared into his mind and dropped to the ground limp.

"Tell no one of what you have seen." The turian stepped away as he heard the sound of running feet and turned to leave. Disappearing behind a column as darkness finally claimed Manuel's mind.

Tali sat in the waiting room of the spaceport, tapping her omnitool and scowling behind her mask. "Come on… just one clue, one little clue." She grit her teeth in frustration. "A whole galaxy's worth of rumors and topics and I…" Her hand froze as she stared at the display. "Yes."

She quickly read the report; a human colony had reported seeing a number of 'synthetics' in the area before losing contact with one of the outlying settlements. So I'm going to Liberty, it's a funny sounding name.

Krenare bounced into the seat beside her and grinned. "What you doing?"

Tali shut down her omnitool and grinned at her. "Not much now, you get washed up?"

"Yeah, and I got this now." Krenare held up a facemask re-breather. "Maybe I should see if I can get a shawl for a few credits to keep the dust out of my hair."

"What's a shawl? Is it some sort of hat or…"

Krenare frowned and tugged at the cloth that ran from the back of Tali's helmet and around her body. "Then what do you call this?"

"That's a realk you mean you humans have something like it?" Tali asked.

"Yeah, we call it a shawl, or hood, or turban thingy…" Krenare said.

Tali laughed. "Thingy?"

"We have lots of names for some things."

Tali sighed. "I'm afraid I'll be leaving you here, I just booked a flight to Liberty Colony."

"Oh… take care of yourself." Krenare said looking down at the deck. She brought up an omnitool and lifted it beside Tali's arm. "If you want to chat, I can send you my extranet address."

In her helmet, Tali smiled. "Sure." She tapped her own omnitool. "Send me Razi's too while you're at it."

"Sure thing."

Ambassador Udina frowned as he stood before the holographic representations of the Citadel Council. The three single most powerful beings in the galaxy. Slowly he took a deep breath and clasped his hands behind his back. "Councilors."

The turian councilor leaned over the terminal in front of him. "We received a report from the Doctor Warren that they have unearthed an intact prothean beacon on your colony world of Eden Prime."

"That is correct. It is my understanding that she believes a warship would be required to securely transport it to the Citadel for detailed study." Udina said.

"A wise precaution." The salarian councilor stated as he nodded to Udina. "Perhaps a turian cruiser could swing by and pick up the artifact."

"A turian cruiser would be quite visible and could cause unrest among my people of word of its unescorted presence in alliance space got out." Udina said.

The asari councilor frowned. "This goes beyond mere human interests, a working prothean beacon is of interest to every space-faring race in the galaxy."

"The ambassador is correct, a turian cruiser is far too large and provocative a vessel. No, a smaller vessel designed to avoid detection would be a better choice. A salarian courier ship perhaps?" The salarian councilor offered.

Udina folded his arms over his chest. "Only one ship in the galaxy can really hold the title for being able to avoid detection councilor."

"Is the Normandy ready for a mission of this importance?" The turian councilor asked, sarcasm dripping from his voice. "Last I heard it was in space-dock."

"It will be ready Councilor, just give us twenty-four hours and she'll be ready to pick up the beacon. We'll make it the final test of her shakedown cruise and your spectre can escort the beacon itself to the heart of the Citadel." Ambassador Udina said.

"Very well." The turian said as the others nodded. "We will speak again upon its arrival." With that the three holograms shimmered out of sight.

Udina tapped his terminal, "I need an emergency channel opened to Arcturus station."

Anderson walked out of the lift following the ship's Chief Engineer into a cargo bay littered with equipment awaiting installation. Dozens of workers were hastily moving boxes of ship stores, cabling, and other vital equipment from a tug just outside the bay doors.

"I'm sorry Adams, but the order stands. I argued with Hackett, I argued with Udina, and they both overruled me." The Captain said as he followed his engineer around the corner to the engine room. "We have twenty-four hours to get this ship ready for shakedown."

"Twenty-four hours?" Chief Engineer Adams stammered as he walked past a set of dockyard workers hastily assembling backup power cables. "Sir, we may be ahead of schedule but not that far ahead!"

"I'm sorry Chief, but that's all the time we've got." Captain Anderson said as he followed the engineer. "The Citadel Council advanced the schedule on us for this shakedown cruise."

"And command went along with that?" Adams asked as he walked up to one of the core monitor panels and gazed at the rotating system beyond the railing. "Pressly is going to have a cow."

"I've already got his formal complaints." Anderson said as he leaned against the terminal. "What I need to know is that you can get this ship flying in time."

Adams shrugged, tapped a control, then popped a wall pane open and starred at the components inside. "That depends on what systems you consider essential for a shakedown cruise."

"We won't need to power the main guns or javelin torpedoes; the munitions for those aren't due to arrive for another week or more." Anderson said. "But using the FTL drive system without having a kinetic barrier system operating is just begging for us to catch a micrometeorite."

"I think I can get her flying by then without weapons, but you're right. Going around a star system without a shield is just begging for trouble." Adams closed the panel and sighed. "Anything else I should know?"

"What's worse is they're requiring a pair of relay jumps to 'fully test the vessel's capabilities' our first stop will be Eden Prime, and from there on to the Citadel."

"The turian councilor wants to see what he paid for I guess." Adams mused as he turned back to Anderson. "I'll get it done."

"I know you will." Anderson said and clasped the man on his shoulder. "If you could, try and get the GARDIAN system working. I know it's a long shot but this ship would be one hell of a catch to a pirate crew."

"I'll get them working, don't you worry about it Captain." Adams said.

Tali'Zorah yawned as she sat back on a bench in the Liberty colony spaceport. The shuttle ride had been cramped and exhausting, sitting among a dozen humans. She was surprised by the immense variety of skin tones and hair colors they had sported, a wide variety that she suspected her own species lacked.

But then again, she'd never seen another Quarian's face beside her own mother. She closed her eyes and leaned forward. She bit the end of a feeding tube and sucked down some breakfast while a pair of humans wandered toward her.

These humans looked as dirty as Krenare had become from running through the dust to the spaceport on Ruan Five. However, there wasn't much in the way of dust outside this port, nothing that could explain the dark stains on their clothes or the dirty grime that clung to them as they approached her.

One of them looked to the other and spoke while a predatory grin slid over his face. "Hey Miguel, look, it's a Quarian girl."

"Yeah it is, you want to try this again? I wonder how long she'll last if we pop her suit." The human named Miguel said. "Sergei?"

Tali glared at the two humans. I wonder if they know I can hear everything they're saying. I've still got the audio pickups settings the marines use.

The one called Sergei bent over her, a hand behind his back. "Hello, miss. Want us to show you a good time?"

Nope, definitely not. Tali almost grinned as her hand slid behind her back. "Sorry, but I'm having plenty of fun right here."

"Sorry to hear that." The man said as he pulled out a switchblade from his back and flicked it open, leveling it at her neck. "Now…"

Tali reacted, her training on the fleet kicking in even before the knife had appeared. Both men froze as the distinct sound of a weapon extending echoed in the cramped space. Tali grinned in her helmet as she lifted the barrel of her shotgun up to his chin. "Now, you're going to find someone else to pick on, right?" Her voice remained light and cheerful despite the weapon.

Sergei stared down at the black maw of the shotgun slack jawed. Beside him, the one named Miguel was backing away slowly, his hands out and visible.

Her cheerfulness evaporated as she glared at the man. "Back away." Tali said.

Sergei slowly lowered the knife and backed away, his dark eyes never leaving Tali's gaze. As he closed the blade, he turned away from her and hastily walked out of sight.

Tali let out a long breath and stowed her shotgun. "Keelah, I wonder what that was about." She opened her omnitool and began studying the information in it on the colony.

"Oh…" Tali muttered as she stared at the omnitool.

Liberty is known for its criminal elements, founded as a way station for long-range merchant vessels, mining barges, and pirate vessels. It's name is derived from the three day-liberty passes that were given to crews as shore leave.

Her eyes widened as she read the information. "Maybe I should have checked the place out first." With a sigh, she picked up her rucksack and began to walk from the terminal, now to find a taxi or something to this outlying settlement or something.

The day had gone straight to hell for Commander Shepard. He'd planned to take Alenko and Jenkins back down to Earth, maybe to the one of the Russian Federation's training grounds just for a change of venue. Now he was staring at the crew roster while Alenko and Jenkins secured the weapons and equipment for the Normandy's armory.

"Twenty-six crewmen." He rubbed the bridge of his nose and shook his head. "Well, it's not a full crew but then I don't think the ship can actually hold much more." He sat at the mess table using the central terminal to assign shifts and work out duty assignments. Not everyone that would have been assigned to the Normandy had been selected yet either. They had the crew to fully man combat stations, heat management, gunnery, and helm control, but navigation, science, medical, and engineering were coming up short. They had no science officer, only one doctor, three navigators, and four engineers. "Hell, the security detail will have to operate the weapon systems as it is, at least, if it's operable."

Behind him, the door hissed open slowly as John rubbed his face with his hands. Captain Anderson's voice echoed over his shoulder, "How is the duty roster coming?"

John turned to Anderson and shrugged. "Alright I guess. We're still going to be doubling up duties and hot-bunking for this to work. How are we supposed to run this ship with a full crew? Where will they all sleep?"

"Not the greatest design is it for crew comfort. Maybe we could lay out bunks in the comm. room." Anderson joked.

John rubbed his face. "And to think, I was worried our ground contingent was way too small."

Anderson nodded. "It's a fine ship, but it's a prototype not a production model. Little wonder there are problems in the design."

"Understood, sir." John said.

Manuel sat bolt upright in bed, sweat beads on his forehead and stared out the barracks slats, his mind rewinding the images from the beacon over and over in his head. The top bunk creaked and he closed his eyes trying to get a grip on himself.

Doctor Warren looked down at him, her very short red hair hanging loosely around her face. Manuel stared at her for a long moment and gripped the sheets tightly.

"Nightmare?" Warren asked.

I can't tell anyone what I saw. Manuel nodded slowly and grabbed a bottle of medicine from the kit just under his bed. "I'll be fine, just give me a second." He grabbed a half dozen of the anti-depressants from within and swallowed them. "Just, more memories of that one time the Batarians…"

"I know." Warren said. "Try to get back to sleep. We'll be moving the beacon tomorrow for shipping to the Citadel."

Manuel's eyes widened. Move the beacon? What if what happened to me happens again. "Are you sure that's a wise idea?"

Warren nodded. "We don't have the resources here to properly study it, moving it to the Citadel makes the most sense."

"I guess you're right." Manuel said quietly as he laid back down.

The shuttle ride to Terra Nova was a longer one then Krenare expected, she leaned back in the seat beside Razi, one hand on his, and had tried to sleep.

Sleep hadn't come. Each time she closed her eyes she saw them, the synthetics, the geth, shooting down her friends like wild animals while they'd watched. They'd dragged Besnik away screaming. She'd wanted to help, to gun down the things as they stole her brother, but Razi… Razi had stopped her, covered her mouth to stop the screams and held her back when she'd seen him.

There'd been no sign of mother, no sign of father. Tears began to roll down her cheeks and she squeezed her eyes shut and tried to stifle her sobs.

"Krenare?" Razi asked quietly, his gloved hand stroking her shoulder.

"I'm sorry…" Krenare stammered. "I can't help but… but… oh God, they're all gone. Besnik, Nënë, and Baba..." She squeezed her eyes shut as the tears began to stream down her cheeks. "Oh Nënë…" Krenare buried her head in Razi's realk and shuddered.

"I'm here, shh…" He stroked her cheek again and sighed. "It'll be alright, okay?"

She just kept crying and pressing her face against him, hanging on like he was the only thing she had left in the world. Maybe he was.

Doctor Chakwas kicked a container through the forward airlock with her foot while she carried a heavy case in her hands. Normally someone else would be stocking the med bay, but today everyone was working feverishly and since her station had been one of the few that was actually done she had decided to get the stocking of supplies done herself.

Joker glanced back at the airlock as a container marked in both the red cross and red crescent bounced out of the airlock and landed with a thump on the deck plating. Chakwas just shrugged at him. "You running preflight checks yet?"

"No, but I'm helping with diagnostics the engineers are running. So far, nothing has popped up. Give us a couple hours and this puppy will be ready to go." Joker said.

Chakwas nodded and kicked the crate at her feet down the access way toward CIC. "I wonder if I got enough pins for you."

"Very funny, you're hilarious."

"No, not even in the slightest Joker." Chakwas answered as she kicked the box past the CIC holomap and down the stairs.

Pressly shook his head as she passed. "I hope nothing breakable is in there, doctor."

"No, that's all in the case I got in my hands." Chakwas said with a grin.

After a few minutes she stepped into the med bay and set the container in her hands down on her desk and pulled open the latches. Grinning she extracted a half dozen bottles with various labels including one of Serrice Ice Brandy. "Old fashion remedies sometimes work the best."

Razi stroked her cheek and hugged her, his eyes closed for a moment as his translator popped up inside his visor. He'd gotten hold of a human language file but hadn't ever gotten it to translate real time, his normal translator could handle the English they seemed to use usually but…

Razi felt his stomach tighten as he stared at the galactic translation:

Nënë – Female Parent, or Mother.

Baba – Male Parent, or Father.

Source Language: Albanian, spoken on Earth's European Continent.

He closed his eyes and nodded, his own strength leaving him. Mom and Dad… No wonder. If mine died how would I feel? Let alone if they died because of the geth. He stared at her quivering form and closed his eyes. We made the geth, are we responsible for this? I… I can't accept that. He swallowed down a hard lump that had risen in his throat. Besnik too, if I had a brother I'd have lost my mind at seeing that. He stroked her back and sighed. She doesn't blame me, at least not yet.

"Miss, you want a human shoulder to cry on?" A young man asked from where he stood at the end of the row. "I can get rid of that animal for you."

Razi stiffened and glared at the man while Krenare's sobs suddenly stopped. Before Razi could speak Krenare had.

"Go fuck yourself, you Terra Firma pig." She yelled. The man's eyes widened at the response and he took a step back from the two of them.

Razi's head snapped back to face her surprised. "Krenare?"

Her blue eyes had hardened and glimmered dangerously in their sockets like sapphires. She wiped her hand across her cheeks and glared back at the man, her sobbing stopped and a look of pure rage on her face. "Get out of my sight."

The man stepped back, glaring at the two of them and walked down the central row muttering, "Quarian whore." Razi felt his own flash of anger at that and was half a mind to rise out of his seat, but he felt Krenare's five fingered hand press down firmly on his shoulder keeping him in place.

"Don't." Krenare's voice cracked and tears began to stream down her face once again. "Don't start a fight Razi… I… need you here."

Razi sighed and looked at her. Seeing her like this tore up his heart. He couldn't just walk off and deck some gen'ro'sa. "Then I'll stay here with you."

Tali'Zorah stepped out of the taxi and stretched. She stood in the middle of a road with a vast field of white flowers to either side billowing in the wind. It was as far as she could get with the taxi service. As the door shut behind her, the small craft rose into the air and turned back flying out of sight.

She finished sipping from her food tube and just watched the wind billow across the fields setting the white flowers into motion. Behind her visor, she smiled at the sight, watching the fields for a long moment. In the distance, tall conifer trees clumped together in forests.

Tali tapped her omnitool and brought it up to study a map she'd gotten from the satellite network. "Ten kilometers on foot, just down this road."

She grinned for a moment as she stepped off the road to the edge of the field of flowers and idly brushed them with her gloved hands watching them. She began to walk alongside the road, a bounce in her step.

A rumble of a sonic boom swept across the fields and Tali froze, her head turned skyward as she saw a trio of white streaks high above. She squinted and her visor's hud immediately magnified the distant images.

A chill ran down her back as she saw the strange aquatic shape of a geth dropship flanked by a pair of fast-strike-platforms, the geth equivalent of fighter craft. "Keelah."

A part of her mind screamed. Maybe this is a terrible idea. She watched the ships disappear toward the north and could hear her heart thudding in her ears. I spent so many credits to get here already, to just run away? Tali stiffened and stared toward the northern horizon. I can do this, it's only one drop ship worth of geth.

Yeah, only one drop ship, all I needed was just one of the damn things. She felt her hands shake as she took a deep breath and continued on.

Captain Anderson strolled through CIC, his hands clasped behind his back. All around him the crew was desperately loading stores and other equipment. Nodding to Pressly he glances toward the cockpit. "Pressly, status report."

"Navigation is fully functional, kinetic barriers online, and GARDIAN system is receiving power. Engineering reports the mass core is green, power is go, stealth system is operational, and propulsion is undergoing simulation testing now."

Anderson nodded. "All hands not currently engaged with propulsion tests are to assist with stores loading. I don't want to find out the one bit that falls off this ship when we sortie is something we didn't get parts loaded for."

"Aye sir." Pressly said before stepping back from his console and waving to the crewmen, directing them toward the cargo hold.

Anderson marched forward and stopped behind Joker, glancing at the displays around him. "Joker, propulsion systems?"

"I'm working on it captain, simulating fifty-percent power right now. I've got to say we'll seriously need to have engineering work up custom settings for the drive or something once we're done with shakedown. These factory defaults are murder." Joker said tapping the helm controls as he spoke.

Anderson nodded. "I'll be sure to tell Adams how much you appreciate your skill."

"Thanks Captain."

Doctor Warren scratched her head as she watched the prothean beacon slowly being lowered onto the cargo train; all around it dozens of archaeologists watched it careful to ensure its safety. Beside her Manuel was trying to blink away his blood shot eyes and sighed. "It's almost over."

"Yes, unless we find something else around here that works." Warren smiled and put her hand on his shoulder. "I bet the marines are glad it's almost over too. I think they hate watching us work."

Manuel nodded slowly, his eyes drawn back to the beacon for a long moment. "Maybe one of us should accompany it."

"It'll be fine." Warren said as the beacon was secured. "Let's go back and start packing up the camp so we can head out on the next transport to the Citadel. I can't wait to study it in a proper lab."

Manuel merely nodded with his eyes closed. There was something odd about him now, she couldn't quite place it. With a shrug she turned back down the path toward the camp. Maybe just it being nearly over was getting to him.

Razi'Sana nar Dara rubbed his visor as he stared out the lobby of the spaceport at Scott, one of the cities that dotted Terra Nova's surface. Four-point-four million people, roughly one-fourth the total population of the Migrant Fleet lived here, and he had to find one girl's grandmother. He paced in front of one of the extranet terminals, tapping his omnitool. "Krenare, do you remember her address?"

"No."

"Which city she lived in maybe?" Razi asked as he spun on his heel past the window and back toward the terminal.

Krenare frowned, "I think it was… Evans? That sounds right."

Razi tapped the city name into his omnitool. "Your grandmother's last name?"

"Uh… Grandma Luga is what we called her. I think that was her last name." Krenare brushed her hair and sighed. She stared at the floor for a long moment.

"Luga… Luga…" Razi tapped the omnitool again and stared at the search results. "Ten results, great." Frowning slightly he tapped a few commands into the omnitool. "Search by relation: granddaughter of Krenare Leschie."

The omnitool beeped again and a single address and name appeared. "Okay, I think I found her."

Krenare jumped to her feet. "You did?" She leapt at him and gave him a hug, squeezing his armored form.

Razi coughed and lost his breath despite the protection of the environmental suit. She had a tight grip. "Not so tight…" He wheezed from inside his helmet and Krenare stared up at him, her eyes wide and she quickly loosened her grip.

"Sorry." Krenare said before dropping her arms to her sides. "I didn't mean to hurt you…"

"No harm done." Razi coughed and rubbed her shoulder. "I'm fragile you know, hence the suit."

She giggled. "You're also cute…" With a smirk, she tapped his visor. "And I know what you look like, so there's no escape."

Razi stared at her for a long moment, a bit amazed. She had gone from crying on his shoulder, to a near rage, to well, this… in just a few hours. His throat tightened a bit. "Are you okay? You seem pretty…"

Krenare sighed. "No, how could I be fine. Everybody's gone. Everybody but you…" Her eyes tear up again and she looked straight into his eyes, her look no longer one of forced cheer or anger. Her twin blue eyes seemed to be pleading with him and he felt his own heart freeze a bit. "…I, I'm scared Razi. What if you can't find work? What if grandmother hates you? What if the geth come after us?"

"I'll work it out, you'll see. Everything will be fine, okay?" Razi answered her. As he spoke he squeezed her shoulder and stared straight into her eyes.

Krenare nodded dumbly and broke eye contact, looking down at his chest. Slowly Razi lifted her chin and stroked her cheek affectionately. "We're both alive, and that's a pretty good start."

Krenare sniffed then threw her arms around him and he hugged her back. Through a cracking voice she said. "I guess it is…" Razi stroked her back to calm her and frowned inside his helmet. Trapped in his suit there was only so much he could do to reassure her. She couldn't see the tears he shed from worry, the pained expression on his face. He'd have kissed her if he could have anything to distract her from the doubts and fears that were mauling her. Instead all he could offer were a few words of reassurance and a hug with a barrier between them.

"Let's find a ride to your grandmother's."

At the edge of the Eden Prime system three vessels dropped out of FTL, unseen by electronic eyes or organic senses they slid slowly through the vacuum intent on their heading. Running on minimal power to hide their presence they would reach the world of Eden Prime in a matter of hours. Around the time that dusk would descend on the prothean dig sight and barracks of the 212th Marine Regiment.