The first thing he heard was trumpets. That couldn't be right, his alarm was set to the local rock station, surely they wouldn't have the gall to put trumpets on the air, could they?

Sitting up in bed, Alec tried to focus on the digital display that passed for his clock across the room. It currently read eight-thirty. He was very confused, "Whatthefuckisgoingon?" He slurred.

Crossing the room to locate his slippers, he was still aware of a brassy fanfare surrounding him. It wasn't coming from his alarm, it was a Sunday, after all. So where was the source?

Stopping and standing in the middle of the room, he listened intently for the mysterious noises. The sound seemed…muted, which could only mean that it was coming from downstairs somewhere. Throwing on a robe, he threw open his door and padded down the stairs, confusion ever increasing.

The triumphant music was noticeably louder here, he realized as he stormed into the kitchen. Looking around, he was aware that the door to his office was closed and that the music was coming from inside there. Did he forget to shut off his stereo last night? He hoped the noise wouldn't wake Tali.

From where he stood to the door, he realized that he recognized the piece that was playing. It was the Star Wars main title, a piece that had been burned into his memory since the age of two. He was always a huge fan of Star Wars and had bought the soundtracks to every one of the movies, he loved them so much.

With his bewilderment close to bursting, he latched his hand around the handle of the door and opened it slightly. He was not entirely sure what to expect, but it certainly came as a surprise to him what had been transpiring beyond his vision.

Tali stood in front of the stereo system, fiddling with an iPod. In one hand she held a CD which Alec recognized as the soundtrack to the fourth Star Wars movie. Tali thumbed a control on the MP3 player and the main title started up again. Giving a nod of admiration, Tali stepped back from the speakers and let the music wash over her, she lifted her arms and began moving them to the music, as if conducting the invisible players. Alec was mesmerized by how she seemed to flow when the trumpets began performing their complex rhythms. She was swaying her body back and forth, waving her arms around, twirling around.

In the middle of one particular twirl, Tali suddenly stopped, seeing Alec at the door, looking at her. Instantaneously, she dropped her arms and rushed over to the iPod, shutting it off.

"Oh, Keelah. I'm so, so, sorry if I woke you. I didn't- I just-"

Alec just as quickly raised his hands in reassurance, "No, no, it's perfectly okay. I needed to get an early start, anyway. I just found it interesting that you were drawn to that particular piece."

Tali's wilted form suddenly started to rise a little, after getting over her initial embarrassment, "Your…um, music collection was very large. I was just browsing through it when I noticed that you had several that said, 'Star Wars.' Naturally, considering our predicament, I got curious. I'm sorry if I used it without your permission."

Yet again, Alec was drawn to how courteous and apologetic Tali was in times like this. Stepping closer to her, Alec replied, "You don't have to be sorry, Tali. You're more than welcome to peruse my music. Lord knows I have too much of it." He made sure to laugh in order to make her feel more comfortable.

Tali sighed, "I know, it's just that I didn't know if I was intruding, I mean- it's such a lovely piece." She held the CD out to Alec.

Alec reached his hand out and gently lowered Tali's hand. She looked at him, confused. "You can keep it," he reassured, "I have the files available on my network, I can send them all to you if you want."

"Do you mean that?" She beamed.

"Of course I do," Alec said, now serious, "It's a drop in the bucket and I would hate not to share such a collection of music with a fan of the classics."

Tali bounced on her toes, clearly elated. Alec smiled widely at this expression and continued, "What was it exactly that drew you to this CD?"

Tali moved over to Alec's side to show him the album, "It was mostly due to the fact that it had the word 'Star' in it. Also, I was impressed at the artistry of the cover. Did all humans think that spaceflight looked like this?"

Alec laughed at the comment, "Not exactly. We mostly made this art out of our imaginations. We didn't really care what spaceflight would realistically look like, we made it appear how we wanted it to appear." He paused for a quick second before continuing, "In fact, the music in this album fits the movie it was made for so perfectly that people actually have a hard time separating the two in real life. This is a very popular piece in pop culture."

Tali raised her head at that, "What? There's a vid? With this music?"

Slow understanding seeped across Alec's face. He checked his watch for the time before proceeding, "Well, if you don't have anything to do for the next two hours, perhaps I can introduce you…"

"So, was that it? Did the Rebels win?" Tali chattered excitedly.

Alec leaned forward to stretch his back, "That's not even the end of it. There are two more movies in the trilogy before the main conflict actually ends. What did you think?"

"I loved it," Tali gushed, "I don't think I will ever see a vid quite so powerful as that one in my lifetime."

Alec, unconsciously, reached down to pat her knee, "Well, there are many films out there. I'm sure you will find one that could top that."

Tali fervently shook her head, "No chance. They couldn't even top the conflict between good and evil in our society like they did here. And the space battles? How did they get that footage? How did they create those…um… 'light-sabers?'"

"I hate to break it to you Tali," Alec smiled sadly, "But those were all special effects created by computers. Nothing that was on the screen was actually real."

"But it was so convincing! To think that they could do that with the technology that old…"

The computer started chiming, breaking Tali off. Alec, frowning, got up out of his seat to wave the mouse around. The monitor showed that "Mike Reese" was calling via Skype.

"Hm," Alec mused, "I better take this."

"Is it for work?" Tali asked, concerned.

"Must be, why else would he call on a Sunday?"

Clicking the "Accept Call" button, the screen suddenly widened to reveal Mike's face in his home office. Tali sidestepped so that she was out of view of the camera.

"Mike," Alec started. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Mike was clearly happy about something, but he wasn't just going to blurt it out right away. That wasn't his style. "Alec, do you remember when you forwarded me that proposal about the partnership with Siemens regarding the 797 systems last month?"

Siemens was a German electronics company that made parts for various mechanical applications. They had just gotten into the aerospace business and were looking for a partner regarding their new radar systems for Boeing's newest jet to be released in five years, the 797.

Alec vividly recalled writing the proposal. While coordinating the engineers during installation of several of the braking systems for the overhaul of the 787s, Alec had overheard them speaking to the Boeing engineers about Siemens developing some radical new software that would be beneficial for planes regarding their detection software. And this software was going into the 797s first. Alec had researched extensively regarding the company and their motivations for the shift in direction, typed up a proposal that outlined the benefits of a partnership and sent it to Mike, who in turn, sent it over to the corporate headquarters in Hartford.

If Mike's smile could get any bigger, his damn face was going to split wide open. "Well, I just got a message from corporate. They want in with the deal."

Alec laughed in surprise, "Really? That's wonderful news, Mike!"

"You bet it is. You can forget about the assignments I dumped on you yesterday. This is your job now for the next few months. I want you to work on getting us that contract with Boeing. Siemens is working on sending someone over for negotiations. You'll be heading a team with our guys for this purpose. You can do all this, I trust?"

Alec sat up as straight as he could in his chair, glancing at Tali who had her hands clasped over her modulator in a position that signified happiness, "You got it, boss."

Mike clapped his hands over the screen, "Knew I could count on you, son. There's one more bit of information that corporate handed over to me."

"Go on."

"You know that quarian, Tali'Zorah? Oh, thanks for forwarding her name to me, by the way. Fuckheads down below couldn't even be bothered with that kind of courtesy. Where was I?" Mike paused, caught up in his rant that he lost his train of thought, which happened often. "Oh, right. Anyway, corporate has transferred her over to your team. Turns out that her expertise with technical software makes her a huge asset for this assignment and I want you to work with the best."

Hiding a small smile behind his hand, Alec pressed, "Have you contacted her with this information? She is exceptionally qualified as I've seen her in action before and this sounds like a large assignment."

"Yeah, I know. Unfortunately, whenever I've tried to contact her omni-tool, all I've been getting is static. You wouldn't happen to know where she is, would you?"

"Ummm…" Alec started, before rolling his chair aside while gesturing to Tali to stand in front of the camera. She seemed confused for a moment, then understood, grabbing the spare chair and facing the camera head-on.

"Tali'Zorah here, Mr. Reese," She said loudly and clearly. "I apologize, but I had turned off my omni-tool messages for the night. I'll try to be a little more mindful in the future."

Mike's eyes visibly widened behind the screen and it was all Alec could do not to laugh at the sight, "I'll be damned. He had you here the whole time?"

"We ran into each other last night and he took me home as a courtesy."

Mike did a small double-take, "I see. Alec, did you want to say anything else about this?" The words may have sounded serious but the tone was light.

"No, Mike!" Came the off-screen reply behind his hands that were summarily planted over his face. Leave it to Mike to turn the whole situation on its head and embarrass the hell out of him.

Mike laughed, sensing the awkwardness he'd stirred, "Well, in that case, I suppose you have everything you need to know. Take it easy today, son. Tomorrow's going to be a big day."

Alec rolled back into the frame while Tali scooted aside to make room for it, "I hear that. Have a good day, Mike."

The chat window closed, Alec slumped against the back of the chair and sighed, "That went well."

Tali turned towards him, "Well? You just got a big assignment! You've proven to them that they trust you to do the right thing!" She had placed her hand on his shoulder at this, causing goose bumps to run down Alec's skin.

"I'm glad you're so optimistic," Alec responded dryly, "It also means that we will have our work cut out for us for a while."

"That's right," Tali exclaimed, "You're now officially my boss." She immediately adopted a slightly mocking tone, "So, what is the first order of business for today?"

"Oh stop it," Alec moaned, lightly pushing her arm, "Not around me, that makes me feel old."

"But I was being completely serious!" Tali said, but it was completely obvious that she wasn't.

"Well, seeing as it's a Sunday and we don't get to work until Monday, why don't you see if there is another CD that you'd like to listen to? Just to kill some time."

Tali rose slowly and sauntered off towards the album rack, "Certainly…boss."

Ignoring the groan that came from behind her, she thumbed through the rack filled with plastic containers of various shapes and sizes. Seemingly at random, she plucked one from the rack and opened up the CD player, "This looks interesting."

Alec, watching the whole thing, recoiled suddenly, "Ah, Tali. That music is kind of…harsh, it's known as death metal and I think it might be a bit abrasive for you."

Tali snorted, "Please, I like all music, remember?

With finality, she pressed the play button and immediately the sound of a singer shrieking filled the office. It didn't help that the volume was on high, either. Nor was the fact that the guitarist was frantically slashing at his strings in what sounded like the beginnings of a stroke, and the drummer was clanging away at every single thing within arm's reach. As quickly as it had been switched on, Tali turned it off.

For a while, neither of them spoke, until Tali started laughing, "What…was…that?"

Alec stood to put an arm across one of her shoulders, fully comprehending what he was doing, while taking the album from her grasp. "I did warn you that it would be pretty extreme."

Tali relaxed in the grip that he held her in, "All right, then. What do you think I would be interested in?"

Grinning, Alec walked her over to the rack, "Well, if you enjoyed Star Wars, I would think that the music from Indiana Jones would pique your interest. They both come from the same composer, after all."

It was only then that Alec realized that he had spent his entire morning listening to music with an alien, an alien who showed curiosity for him and his culture as a whole.

Life was full of surprises.

Luke was getting impatient. They were supposed to be here ten minutes ago. They would have called in, otherwise.

Snarling, "It's been too long. Something's wrong."

The figure to his left stood up, placing a huge, hairy hand on his shoulder. Luke turned to face Daniel, his leader, his mentor.

"Patience, my son. Everything will turn out in due time."

Luke relaxed in the presence of the man. Daniel had taken care of him when he'd been at his lowest point. He'd brought him into his home, fed him, clothed him, and prayed for him. The least he could do was give him the respect he deserved.

"I'm sorry, Father. I did not mean to cause offense. I am only impatient at the conduct of our brothers."

Daniel nodded slowly, he always understood, "This is normal, Luke. We will all reach the same destination, regardless of how long we must wait."

The door slammed open, and in walked two of Daniel's personal bodyguards. In between them was a man in uniform, a police officer.

"Chief Broughton," Daniel said, his soft voice overshadowing everything in the room, "Why have the police not given up their investigation into the dead quarian? Last I heard, your department believed it was gang related but I am now hearing rumors that they believe that one group is behind all of them."

The chief gulped before daring to utter a response, "They still do, but we're getting pressure from the quarian leadership to look into these killings more closely. They are very upset, you see. And it's hard not to convince the other officers of their hunches. Everyone sees conspiracies around in this day and age."

Nervously checking around the room, he continued, "The fact of the matter is, you all have been operating too close to this area. Initially you had spread out your 'escapades' over a periods of months in different, and now it's only been a week since the last one, right here in the center of town! Is it eventually going to be a matter of days before the next one shows up? You're going to have to be a little more subtle than you already are!"

Daniel nodded, his face impassive, "This is completely understandable from my perspective, but now you must understand something. The Lord weeps for the poisoning of his people. We must be vigilant and steadfast if we want to eradicate this infestation of these demons. They must fall back to where Satan calls and until then, we will not stop."

The chief was starting to sweat now, "Well, you will have to be careful, some of my officers have already begun to grow suspicious. If they even suspect that you've been paying-"

"Not another word!" Daniel hissed, "We have paid you a good amount of money, this is true, but you have been reluctant to involve more officers in this operation. You've only been focusing on us that you have forgotten to cover yourself."

"This is a delicate situation, Daniel! How do you expect me to handle this?"

Daniel was slowly backing toward the door, "I have faith that you'll find a way." Rapping his knuckles across the door, it opened again, where another bodyguard entered, this time with a guest.

The man he was carrying was dressed in jeans and a white shirt. The shirt was stained red and the jeans were torn and tattered. When the man lifted his head, the chief sat bolt upright immediately recognizing the new entrant. "Sergeant Ryan?" Turning to Daniel, "What have you done?"

Grabbing the prisoner's hair Daniel spoke, "You mean, what have you done? I told you a long time ago to cover your tracks. It is apparent that you failed to listen because we caught this… Officer Ryan staking out your house, coincidentally as you were leaving to meet us here."

The man's face was a mess, both eyes were blackened, the nose caked with blood, there were several teeth visibly missing and the horrible stuffy noises he was making indicated that his jaw was broken.

Daniel reached down to his boot, where he produced a long, slender knife, "If this man found out you were connected to us, then surely more would be able to do the same, no?"

For the longest time, Broughton was too frightened to speak. Finally, quivering with fear, he nodded silently.

Daniel smiled sadly, "That's what I thought. I hope you learn from this lesson well."

And with that, he slid the knife underneath Ryan's throat and sliced across his neck, severing his jugular. Broughton squealed as the ugly red wave washed over him and the people next to him. The chief was jerking in his chair, he was panicking. The bodyguards beside him stood in the bloody cascade, unmoving. The pool of blood had now spread to the desk, soaking the chief's shoes. Satisfied, Daniel dropped Ryan's body on the floor, causing a wet smack followed by the gurgling sounds of the rest of Ryan's blood leaving his body.

"Watch him fall, Chief Broughton. Watch him fall."