The Sword of Humanity

Chapter Seven

The Leviathan had space.

It seemed sort of an obvious thing, but for the Solforce Vacuum forces used to the cramped quarters of Dreadnaughts, a few more meters of breathable space made all the difference.

The ship's entire frame had been repeatedly reinforced with the top of the line steel, and Polysteel tubes ran their course across it. The liquid steel was like blood for the ship, coagulating into the holes enemy shots would create and hastily repairing the broken areas.

The Battle Bridge was massive, each console linked to a turret, a Laser Beam, a missile payload. The sheer amount of money gone into the Normandy had to be staggering to say the least.

The engine section was no less. The Anti-Matter engine did not hum. It was eerily quiet. The Tantalus core used for the Mass Effect usage was instead humming as dark energy seemed to be contained throughout the spherical armor that surrounded it.

The other staggering thing was the number of crewmembers now under his command.

John Shepard, Commander of the Normandy, now had an active complement of three-thousand two hundred seventy-two men and women of Solforce under his direct orders.

All of them were trained, all of them were deadly and all of them were loyal.

The Command Bridge situated at the forefront of the Leviathan was encased within the very bulk-head, where reinforced metals and thirty-inch thick blast-shields coated in nanites for hasty repairs protected the people within from the space outside.

Quietly, John Shepard walked around the consoles and the hologram displays, his eyes taking in everything around him with the utmost reverence. They had given him a Leviathan to command.

Joker was already there, sitting at the spot for the Chief Flight Pilot, his hands already jerking through the consoles as he began to familiarize himself with the ship.

"Check the forward thrust," the man said without turning back. "Yeah, we could reroute the auxiliary for an added three to four percent right?"

John waited patiently behind, his arms crossed over his chest and a small smile on his lips. Joker was acting like a kid in a candy store, and if the exclamations of jubilation were of any indication, he had taken pretty well the loss of the Deep Darkness.

"Portside and Starboard thrust optimal? We need a few more ounces on the left side to compensate for the Element Zero core Daniels, and get Donnelly to work on the upward thrusters. We don't want a repeat of Black Twenty-Seven if we can avoid it."

There was silence for a moment longer.

"Yes, I can deal with overly sensible up and down thrusts. Reroute the auxiliary power and test the strain, but remember not to use the Eezo core with the Anti-Matter. The thing reacts poorly to radiation, and I don't want to be in the midst of a detonation before we even left the docks."

John took that moment to cough slightly.

Joker nearly jumped on his seat, before spinning his chair around and standing up to attention.

"Commander Shepard, sir!"

"At ease," he said then. He smiled. "I take it you enjoy the ship?"

"Enjoy? This ship's awesome!" he exclaimed then, "It has Anti-Matter engines! Their thrust, speed and tactical velocity are off the chart! No offense to our old ship, but now? Now we're on par with the Border-Fleets!" he slightly fidgeted, before adding in a lower voice. "Is there a chance we can do without Edi, Commander?"

"Joker…" John sighed. "Look, I understand the Via Damasco incident, but…"

"I hate her nagging voice," Joker remarked. "Things like 'Lieutenant Moreau, you should compensate the starboard side' or 'Portside approach would yield better results' and similar. She's nagging me like she's my mother!"

John raised an eyebrow at that information, before slowly taking out from his pocket the Data Chip with Edi inside and slowly inserting it in the slot next to the pilot's seat.

The entire structure flashed blue, as the Artificial Intelligence moved to fit into the entire cybernetic frame of the Leviathan.

"Enhanced Defense Intelligence online, codename: Edi." The mechanical but distinctively female voice of Edi spoke next. "Uploading Data. Retrieving Data. Updating systems. Systems Updated. Leviathan SFS-001 Normandy recognized. Retrieving Mission package. Mission package retrieved. Retrieving Com Buoy messages. Messages retrieved. Artificial Intelligence fully operational and within parameters Commander."

There was silence for a moment longer.

"I would feel better if the Commander chose someone else as Chief Pilot. Lieutenant Moreau never listens to calibration requirements."

"Yeah, that's Edi all right," Joker muttered. "Couldn't we just have spaced her Data chip? No, we had to save it."

"You were the one who made a lunge for it, Joker," John remarked.

"Well that's irrelevant! It's in the regulations!"

"Sure," John acquiesced. "I'll be touring the ship."

"See you tomorrow Commander!" and with Joker's cheerful goodbye, John Shepard began to move.

The words of Moreau weren't however wrong: the ship was massive. The mere modules occupied a good chunk of the Captain's exploration, but what truly held the cake were the massive walkways settled throughout the entire ship's length and on various levels of height. Touring the entire ship wasn't different than ending up lost in one of the maze-like corridors of the orientation tests for Marine academy.

He wasn't going to memorize the name of the entire crew, but he could do with what he had. Along the way he spotted several terminals with hologram functions, probably to grant instant communication through the various sectors in the event of pressurization. The Leviathan worked on the same wave of thought of the Dreadnoughts: modularity and redundant systems. Until the ship detonated, everything could be used anywhere.

Even from their cabins, the captains could easily maneuver the ship should they wish for it. Not that any captain worth his salt found himself anywhere further than the command bridge or the battle bridge during battles, but still…

He climbed a ladder, before settling his right foot on the nearby ledger and then moving across a small chasm —where a bunch of cables passed through to reach only god knew— until he finally reached the engine section of the Dreadnought.

The massive Eezo core hummed quietly in its inactive state, as the Anti-Matter generator was instead completely silent. Nobody would have guessed that within the reinforced alloys and protective materials stood Anti-Matter, the single most powerful source of energy and devastation Solforce had gotten their hands on.

An Anti-Matter warhead was enough to tear apart an entire city…and create a canyon.

The Engineers stood at attention at his passage, but he didn't stop to chat. He simply moved further down, before retracing his steps backwards and reaching for the lower levels where the magazines were stored…at least, a good chunk of them.

"I've got Engineering, Battle Bridge, Command Bridge, Medical Bay…Ai Core I suppose," John muttered. "This should be Armory," he followed the purple line all the way to a wide set of thrice reinforced hydraulic doors. The moment the doors opened, he was surprised to find a neat and overly organized section without any lingering crates or strange moving cranes.

"Commander!" a dark-skinned man with dark eyes stood stiffly to attention next to him. "It's an honor to have you down here."

"At ease soldier," John replied. "Jacob Taylor, right?"

"Yes, sir! Want the manifesto of the magazines?" a Datapad was thrust forward, one that John immediately opened and began to read through.

"So we have Fusion Warheads?"

"Unless we get retrofitted at Arcturus station sir, and that's without considering the need for at least a few thousand credits."

"No need then," John muttered. "We seem settled for a long-term campaign. How are the Battle Riders?"

"We have two cruiser-size ships docked sir. They are a Drone Carrier and a Boarding ship, equipped with long range missiles."

"Meant for long-range support I take it, before the Boarding ship comes in to capture the enemy's vessel."

"That they are sir," Jacob admitted quickly. "Unfortunately that means that we don't have enough Assault shuttles to carry out planetary invasion."

"We'll have to steal them from the enemy if it comes to that," John acquiesced. "I doubt we'll start a planetary invasion however…I think we'll be doing a show of force towards our enemies. Maybe we'll strike the Batarians in the Terminus systems."

That was something that stressed John: he had no idea what mission the Director had in mind for him. Giving someone control of a Leviathan could only mean one thing: the opening of a war theatre. Leviathans were the flagships of the Solforce fleet. To lose a Flagship was the same as rending the heart of humanity, and because of that they were rarely seen anywhere but in the most massive of fleets.

To hand him over only a Flagship without a fleet however…

"Commander," Edi piped in from a corner. "You are required in the Communication Room. Established Time of Arrival: thirteen minutes. Follow the lights."

He saluted Jacob, before leaving as fast as he could. Maybe he'd manage to not arrive late at his first meeting with the Director.

At least, he supposed that was the case.

Solforce Director

Jack Harper

He smothered the cigar's tip in the ashtray, cracking his left hand's knuckle as he gave out an exasperated sigh. Every second was precious, but he couldn't expect a Captain to be available at a moment's notice. He knew that too: he hadn't climbed to his seat because he had been a politician.

In Solforce rank wasn't given like candy, it was earned. The rank of Director wasn't something the heavens bestowed on the charismatic, but something Hell birthed from the pits of blood and sweat.

Morbidly, he checked once more on the Datapad with the casualties of Eden Prime. Project Ancient hadn't been compromised, and while the loss of the Prothean beacon had been unacceptable, the Ancient itself would probably off-set the risks.

Once the alien turned to their side, of course.

He flexed his fingers, his patience slowly growing thin as the hologram flickered back for the first time. Commander John Shepard finally appeared in front of him, his breath uneven as he had probably run the entire length of the Leviathan to reach him.

"Commander," he began. "Have you acquainted yourself with your ship?"

"I have, Director," John replied quickly. "Orders?"

"Good," Jack nodded slightly. No need to keep up the casual tone. Straight to the point was always better. "The Citadel's races refute to be implicated. They claim the Geth were an AI that rebelled, drove the Quarians off their worlds and then dropped out of the radar. To make our displeasure known I have assigned Admiral Anderson with the Twenty-Ninth fleet Subjugation to escort Ambassador Udina to the Citadel. While the show of force and the diplomatic relations will work, you will have a time-span of three days to find and recover from the Terminus System the following key figures."

A set of names and numbers appeared on his screen, which he knew John would be receiving too.

"First, you will head to Omega. You will acquire a Salarian named Mordin Solus and a Krogan named Wrex Urdnot. They are both implicated in project Ravaging Horde. You will then make your way to Noveria. There you will find and retrieve Matriarch Benezia and her 'pet' experiment. Finally, I expect you to reach for Feros, and retrieve Subject Zero."

An image passed from his screen to that of John. The man's eyes widened for a moment, before they settled on a firm façade of steel.

"Yes, Director."

"You are hereby authorized to use force, planetary annihilation and right of Course. You will receive further orders once your current objectives are complete. Furthermore…" Jack took a small breath, before clasping both of his hands together. "You are hereby authorized to ignore the Curtain Law."

"Director," John nodded stiffly. "Orders confirmed."

"Remember, John," the Director said then. "Repensum est Canicula."

"Per Ardua, Ad Astra!"

And then the connection was broken.

Another hologram appeared in his room, a Turian body and face smirking and confidently posing itself. "So," the Turian drawled out. "Has everything been…prepared?"

"It has," Jack acquiesced. "We will not lay waste to Palaven, as long as the Hierarchy surrenders unconditionally."

The Turian nodded slowly. "I will hold you to that…Director."

"Keep me informed on Saren's movements," the Director retorted.

"Nihlus? You there?" another voice broke in close to the Turian, who immediately shut off the conversation. Jack Harper just leaned back on the chair, exhaling as he moved his right hand to his uppermost drawer of the desk. He removed from within it a photo, inserted into a wooden frame. His tired eyes scanned the figures rested behind the thin glass panel, and as his left finger gently touched the glass as if he could actually caress the faces behind it, he shut his eyes for a moment more.

"We're the Thirteenth Division men! I expect no less than utter Victory!" their Commanding Officer, before their first deployment.

"Hurrah!" their answer to him. A scream of victory.

"Move it Harper! We don't have all day!" duffel bag, hastily made and thrown at him.

"Come on Core, give the boy some slack!" running around the field, under the gaze of their team leader.

"I think she has a thing for you, Harper." The mat of the gym, the hurt of the bruises on his body.

"Shut it, you baboons!" sun, clouds, blue skies. It had all seemed so easy.

"Make…Them…Pay." Blood. Gore. Guts on the ground. Quickened breaths. Wounds, blood and claws. Plasma bolts. Mechanical noises. Tanks being torn apart. Burned flesh.

"You did well." Medals. Metal pieces. There is nothing of worth in a medal that chinks against your chest, when your heart is hollow.

"For the Thirteenth," he whispered then opening his eyes.

"For revenge."

Liara T'soni

She felt sick again. Her lower limbs hurt. Her back burned. Her breath was ragged. Still, she had come out the least worse for wear. Radiation poisoning wasn't something she had ever felt before, but she knew that the continuous nausea and feelings of weaknesses weren't just a passing trend. She wondered if this was how some biotics felt, when they ended up having their cancer cells removed with Chemotherapy.

She retched on the nearby basin, the machinery twirling as it emptied back in space. They had left the Sovereign for Noveria, where her mother was. She had been brought to the most secure hospital on the planet, in critical conditions as she was. She wondered how Saren had managed to survive, but then again he had been a Spectre while she…she had barely been anything more than an archaeologist.

She still remembered the screams of Nihlus about taking cover. The missiles hadn't managed to hit the shuttle, but they had detonated with enough strength to slam their heat and radiations through space and against their onboard hardware.

The shuttle wasn't shielded against Emps.

They had literally crashed in the hangar bay, but thankfully the Sovereign had managed to get them away from the system before the Solforce reinforcements had arrived.

Liara didn't know about the Geth losses, but she actually hoped they hadn't risked everything only to save her. She doubted it. She really doubted her mother would have moved an entire Geth fleet only to save her. They hadn't even had a talk in decades.

She closed her eyes and shuddered. It had to have been the fault of the radioactive rays, but her back hurt even worse where the small Solforce implant had been placed. It hadn't detonated, but the pain was unbearable most of the time. She was hooked up on painkillers so strong she barely could keep her own conscience for more than a few seconds, but when she did it was only pain.

Her mind blurred through figures and half-formed images.

Strange Crow-like pictures of giant creatures, twice as tall as a Krogan and with heavy limbs…they haunted her with their sharp screeches and strange floating weapons. They looked beautiful with their multi-colored feathers, and yet terrible with their sharp beaks.

Ferocious snarls and steel-like claws belonging to massive furred varrens snapped her mind-self to run, as powerful waves slammed her across a star-lit universe filled with devastation and ruin.

Steel-like figures surrounded by blue streams of data and metallic bodies buzzed numbers and tore apart living flesh.

Strange looking grey-skinned creatures with fins and tails swam in wide oceans, their powerful songs echoing through her brain as if she were just another voice in the chorus. Sadness and dread lingered all over her soul, as if they were crying for her pain in understanding.

The humming and clicking sounds of insects reminded her of what the Rachni could probably be, as songs of war mixed with those of dread, of lost crowns and sadness unending for the burned hives. The Hexes and the Hives twisted until they disappeared into the darkness of her dreams, substituted by strange humongous creatures with thick snarling minds.

Then the last of her blurry thoughts reached to her, intertwined with the power of fracture and the haunting screeches of Specters. The ferocious whispers of souls killed by the billions and demanding revenge and life where life was no longer meant to return.

She dreamed not of happy dreams, but of reality. Her body seemed to convulse as she watched it give way to the sickness that was spreading across it. She watched the machines blare and the beeps grow in intensity. She felt the pain again and she watched the universe spin around.

She looked at the galaxies move around, at the fight for survival, for victory and extermination. She looked and she felt sorrow.

And then she heard the small chattering of a tiny and squeaky voice near her. A living, breathing voice that asked for the pain to stop, for it to go away.

It was then that she realized that the implant Solforce had inserted in her wasn't just a mere machine.

It had been a living and breathing being.

And it still lived.

It pleaded and begged for her help. It demanded salvation.

What else could she do, but hug the tiny frame of…was it life to begin with? And simply embrace that small amount of genetic code as its own?

That was probably the only reason…

The only reason she survived.

And when Liara opened her eyes again…

Her skin was pink.

And she knew what Rippers meant.

How she wished she didn't.

Omega Station

Aria T'Loak

"Repeat that," Aria's eyes narrowed at the Blood Pack's leader, a Krogan by the name of Wrex.

"I said we'll be leaving the station soon," Wrex said back. "We've got to get back to Tuchanka."

"You?" she raised an eyebrow. "All of you?"

"Yeah, all of us," Wrex grumbled. "We've been paid for something big."

"What of the Blue Suns? And what about Eclipse?"

Wrex shrugged. "Not my problem. The Blue Suns are leaving too though. Something near the Batarian Hegemony, or what little remains of it. For the Eclipses…they're Asari and Salarians aren't they? They'll probably be fine."

"You're upsetting the balance, Wrex." Aria retorted. "I thought I made the only rule of Omega clear."

"This is bigger than you, Aria," Wrex said with ease. Wrong thing to tell her.

She clenched her right fist, biotic powers flashing across it as she slammed a Push against the Krogan Battlemaster. Wrex just roared as he held his ground, a barrier flashing up within instants. The Push was absorbed and a Shotgun was now facing forward, against Aria's couch.

She stopped as the Krogan did too. She rather liked her couch. He didn't want to mess with her more.

"What could be bigger than me, Wrex? You've been a successful bounty hunter for years. Nothing is bigger than money."

Wrex shook his head slowly. "Something is, Aria. You should know it."

"Chief!" Aria's moment of reflection was cut close, as Grizz moved fast next to her. "We've got a human fleet hailing us and requesting permission to dock!"

"My ride has arrived," Wrex laughed out hard. "Time for me to go."

"One of their largest ships…It's…It's more than a kilometer's long, and it's not alone," Grizz added once more. "The guys at the docks are worried. It's like we've got the frigging Destiny Ascension parked outside."

Aria smiled.

"Well, let's go and meet them, then. I would really like to see these 'humans'…"

"Ha! You'd be surprised," Wrex smiled. "They look like Pyjaks most of the time, but you should see some of them fight!"

Wrex was outright giddy. Literally, the Krogan was actually half-running towards the docks with a smile on his face that could have probably been confused for that of a teen fan waiting for some high-shot actor or singer. Aria frowned in disgust as she walked to the docks. If Wrex had held a notepad, she suspected these 'humans' would have signed it for him and he'd end up happy.

A small complement of shuttles docked at her bays, something which was dangerously close to an invasion fleet. It was then that her eyes went beyond the docks, through the shields that held the station's atmosphere in check. The ships were holding themselves surprisingly close. She suspected they could have rammed into her space station with little trouble. Just to be on the safe side, she pinged with her Omni-Tool her guards to be on the look-out for trouble.

One of the shuttles was unloaded with giant creatures that rivaled the Krogans in height.

Those had to be humans, she supposed. Tall, with broad shoulders and covered by helmets and visors. Holding weapons in their arms and marching forward at a steady rhythm. It was a march meant to intimidate, but she wasn't Aria for nothing.

Then the march parted midway and a fairly smaller human came through wearing a cape of all things. He marched forward and looked at her for but a fleeting instant, before moving to the rest of the crowd that had in the meantime gathered.

"Urdnot Wrex?"

"That's me," Wrex grumbled taking a few steps forward. "You the Cerberus?"

"I am a Cerberus Operative," the man spoke with a smooth voice. He had pink skin and dark eyes, his head covered by a brownish fur that seemed incredibly thin. She wondered if she could get a scalp of a human to experiment with it.

"Commander John Shepard of the Normandy, I have also come for Mordin Solus. He should be expecting us." His gaze moved from the Krogan battlemaster to her, and he narrowed his eyes slightly if for a second.

There was something in those eyes she didn't like at all.

"On Omega, there is only one rule," she began smoothly, taking a few steps forward as she neared the Commander. She smirked as she watched the rest of the soldiers tense. "You don't mess Aria." She took a few more steps, now being extremely close to the Commander in question, who was still eying her with those eyes filled with a sentiment she knew well. Such eyes so filled with contempt and hatred weren't uncommon on Omega, but to burn with such a passion?

"And I am Aria."

"Well then, Aria," the Commander spoke next firmly. "Where is Mordin Solus?"

She smiled warmly. "Why don't we go and speak…somewhere private?" her voice was husky then. It had worked on over a thousand men who had believed themselves more powerful than her, even the patriarch had fallen for her charms.

"We are on a tight schedule," the man replied briefly. "It would be best if you were to cooperate. No need for gratuitous bloodshed, right?" he smiled then, but that smile was the same as that of a shark —one that was inherently familiar to her to boot. She smiled back.

"That depends," she acquiesced. "Would you prefer to have a bigger escort, before coming to have a talk with me?"

The human shook his head. "It will not be needed." He gestured to two guards. "Bring Wrex Urdnot to his quarters." Two more giant-humans walked forward at another of his gesture. "You two with me. The rest, get back to the ships."

"Yes, Commander!"

Aria narrowed her eyes. She huffed and turned around, heading straight to the closest bar. Her men had already understood —she didn't hire imbeciles— and the bar's owner was already setting up a couch and a small table with drinks. She supposed Asari drinks would work, and if they didn't…she doubted the human would actually take a sip.

She was surprised when the human actually took her invitation.

The man smiled as he sat down, and she just had to grit her teeth slightly. There was no fear in his eyes. There was no anger or nervousness. It was as if his meeting with her was…inconsequential, unimportant and unneeded.

"So, Commander Shepard?" she spoke slowly. "Tell me a bit about yourself. What makes you a…commander?"

"Rank is earned through merit in battle," the man replied. "The tally count on kills, the ability to command rising number of squads, to micro-manage," he folded his arms over his legs, "to think in multiple directions and reach the defined objective no matter the cost…That is what they tell people a Commander is." The human shook his head slowly.

"Truth be told, you just need to be the one with the loudest voice and the quickest thought."

"I can relate to that," she smiled. "Some people do not have the decency to even think before acting…but I find screaming distasteful."

"Sometimes a point needs to be laid across early," the human Commander remarked. "And ruthlessly displaying strength is one such way," there was the smile again. Aria frowned slightly.

"Another is to ask with honesty," the man shrugged. "We need a forward base of operation into the Terminus System. I have orders to either acquire this base with force or try the diplomatic approach first. We are willing to pay with 'credits' the possible repair works and what-not within Omega, but in exchange we demand not only discretion…but also assurance no unfortunate events will happen near my crew during shore leave."

"Omega has over seven millions people, of which at least a good half has a gun," Aria snorted. "What hope do you think you can achieve?"

"Are you familiar with biological warfare, Miss T'loak?" John asked back. "Now let us say we humans have developed a highly advanced cloaking mechanism, and let us say we have subtly hacked your entire system framework to ignore the arrival of a small concealed shuttle. Let us also add that said virus is not simply a Bio-Bomb, but an Assimilation Plague capable of converting you all to our thoughts and our line of morality…as well as our race."

Aria narrowed her eyes.

This was preposterous. There was no way such a thing could be real. It would require…it would require nothing short than Prothean technology to its finest to work. And the Council races would intervene on this! Clearly there was no way…

"You don't really have such a weapon, do you?" she asked —her voice low and husky. "You're bluffing, badly, to catch my attention."

The Commander just opened his arms. "Try me."

"I might do just that," she smiled with a feral smirk, licking her lips slightly. "And I suppose the Blood Pack moving to a corner of the station to 'leave' was just a lie?"

The Commander nodded. "They are already securing Mordin Solus, our Intelligence agents are top-notch."

Aria twitched her right hand slightly. "If you weren't actually wrestling control of the station from me, I'd even consider bedding you."

"And if you were a human, I would actually consider the option," the Commander retorted. "That can still be arranged though."

A small vial appeared in the Commander's hands. "The contagion rate is of two-hundred percent. The virus remains active for thirty-six hours, afterwards it becomes inert. It also can grow like fungi on wet soil, to generate the breathable atmosphere of humans. It is thus self-sustained…and all that it would take would be breaking this tiny vial, and we'd be talking between humans, rather than between human and alien."

Aria breathed slowly. "You made your point, Commander."

"Good," John remarked. "Should someone wish to be humanized, if only to prove the virus effectiveness, then they will without a doubt find near the Normandy's assigned docks a small Human department complete with the virus itself. Needless to say what would happen should it be infringed, right?"

"Indeed," Aria breathed. "You do not care about the rest of the station? Truly?"

"No, to control an entire human station would require us to leave here a fleet, and sincerely? We know you can do a better job in keeping the Spectres and the Council away if we just leave this as a happy commercial decision. You will be our smoke-screen with the Council Races, and in exchange you will be rewarded." The human stood slowly up. "I think we can both earn something from this deal, isn't that right, Miss T'Loak?"

"Yes," Aria exhaled out slowly. "I think we can."

She stood up then, moving towards the outside of the café as the Commander followed soon after.

She gritted her teeth in frustration as she announced a commercial deal with the Humans.

The feeling of having a gun pointed to her head, however…maybe Tevos would enjoy knowing it? Still…it would require some working to pinpoint just who were the spies among her people.

The people were surprised, she could see it. Yet the humans remained stiffly firm in their moves. She watched with indifference as Bray finalized the agreement, and she retreated. Her hands moved around her arms clutching herself as if she was just about to fall ill and die.

Had she caught a fever?

Council Chambers

"Saren, Nihlus, report," Sparatus' voice filled the air, as Tevos and Valern watched the two Spectres holograms. "Tell us you've found the Conduit."

"We are heading towards the Mu Relay, Councilors," Saren spoke calmly. "We have left Matriarch Benezia behind with her daughter, as Dr. T'soni suffered the most from the radiation damage. Nihlus and I are still operative however."

"Do not push your body too hard, Saren," Sparatus remarked. "You are our voice with the Prothean VI. Have the Protheans delivered another message?"

"They have," Saren said. "The Geth will attack near the Solforce borders, to distract the humans. It should buy us enough time to reach for the Relay, and with the Prothean VI help, I am sure of the planet we must reach."

"Do humans suspect the council's involvement, councilors?" Nihlus spoke then, his voice low and raucous. "I doubt we were seen on the planet, however…"

"No," Tevos spoke next. "We have received disturbing news of a gargantuan ship headed off towards the Terminus Systems however. 'Leviathan' is what they call it. You should refrain from engaging it if possible."

"Indeed, Sovereign has suffered extensive damage just by fighting against one of their Dreadnoughts, and I cannot apparently understand how they can pack such power in such small sizes," Saren's voice was clipped and to the point, but Nihlus chuckled all the same.

"What is it, Nihlus?"

"Nothing Saren, nothing."

Valern blinked its Salarian eyes once, understood the horrible joke and refrained from explaining it.

Sparatus coughed. "Keep us updated on your activities Saren. We will do what we can to keep Solforce away."

"Yes council."

The holograms flickered away.

"They use them well," Valern remarked quietly. "Something which we haven't done since the Rachni Wars."

"With the Prothean fleets on our side, Humanity and the aliens they protect us from will no longer be a concern!" Sparatus exclaimed.

"I just hope we are not swapping a guardian for another," Tevos whispered. "We know nearly nothing of the Protheans but what ruins we have found and what little Saren has told us."

"I trust Saren implicitly," Sparatus said. "He would never betray the Council."

"Indeed," Valern blinked.

"It is irrefutable."

Migrant Fleet, Humanity Border Zone.

"Tali, grab my hand!" her father actually screamed as the bridge of the Living-ship was torn apart by a metallic slug the size of a small moon. She fell backwards as splinters and sparks flew everywhere, before a sharp tug brought her back against her father's chest. The artificial gravity generators had gone away, leaving their liveship in Zero-gravity.

"We must get to the escape pods," her father spoke quickly. "You must warn the council."

"What about—" another rumble shook the walkway they stood on, as fire erupted from a nearby pipe splattering the brains of a marine against the metal.

"There's no time! Get in an escape pod: I'll message them to pick you up. You must deliver Saren's betrayal to someone! Even if it's humanity…" another rumble.

"We lost the Survival!" a panicked Quarian screamed nearby. "They're decimating us!"

"Keelah," her father whispered as boarding pods crashed through the metal ceiling, dropping inside Geth platforms that began to open fire indiscriminately upon the civilians trying to evacuate. He pushed her down against the corner. "Listen Tali: reach through the waste disposal unit. Grab this," he began to clasp at his own oxygen supply.

"Father? No! You can't…"

"Please," her father pleaded. "I already lost your mother. Grab it and…I hope you can find happiness somewhere else." He pushed his own oxygen supply into her hands, before punching the waste disposal unit and ramming her inside.

Tali fell through the conduit until she reached a breached section, after which she could only flail around lifelessly in the depth silence of space.

Her suit would recycle the oxygen indefinitely, but her father…the bosh'tet had given her a mean to move through empty space to try and reach another one of the ships.

She didn't cry as she slowly began to let the air go from the tip of the supply's tube. In the deafening silence of space she could only stare as the Quarian fleet was torn apart by Geth Dreadnoughts, before a shuttle flew close enough for her to hatch on. The fact that Human space was devoid of Mass Relays worked to the Geth advantage, as it prevented long-range communication.

The shuttle brought her in before departing to the closest cruiser. She clutched her knees with her arms as she slowly sobbed.

"Why?" she whispered. "Why now?"

"Tali'Zorah, we must be strong in this moment of blight," the Quarian that spoke held an old voice, and as a small cough filtered through she widened her eyes and looked up. The marine had a bloody patch on his shoulder, and was wheezing out every word. "We have survived the loss of our home world. We have survived the Geth once…even now we are sending help messages to the Humans…even now we are escaping death's clutches. My only regret…"

There was a wheeze and a small chuckle.

"My only regret is that I'll never have the chance to see the sun rise over Rannoch…" he coughed, harshly.

"But you have that chance child," he hissed through gritted teeth. "Never forget it."

And then the breathing grew coarser and louder, until the Quarian's chest simply…stopped moving.

Tali tensed for a second, before slowly stumbling to her feet. She walked to the head of the shuttle, and sat down at the co-pilot's seat.

"He passed away," she whispered quietly to the pilot.

"Keelah Se'lai," the Quarian replied slowly.

"Keelah Se'lai," she acquiesced.

And silence filled the shuttle.

Author's notes

*explosions*

*backstabbings*

*menaces of biological purging*

*as always, shadenight123-dot-blogspot-dot-it for author's notes*