8 Months Later

Despite the incessant paranoia seeping into every facet of Terith's life and obstructing her every thought, nothing happened for months.

No grand conspiracy unraveled before her.

No sudden, life-changing event hindered her goals.

No government agency threw her into the back of their van; nobody told her she would "never see the light of day again".

Ironically, the lack of any action didn't help things. To someone else — a more balanced individual — the past few months might have been calmer or felt safer, maybe even a little boring. To someone else, they would assume things were going right for a change. For a little while, Terith dare to believe that too, but in the back of her mind, she waited for "the other shoe to drop". Illium wasn't going to be that kind and let her graduate without doing everything it could to ruin her life.

When would Aethyta to make her real intentions known?

When would her stalker make another attempt at planting surveillance equipment in her dorm?

Terith began preparing for that day of confrontation with every legal and illegal resource she could get ahold of. There would be no repeat of the Quarian Incident.

She hadn't been completely blindsided by Illium's corruption and failure to protect her; she'd never really trusted authority much to begin with. Rather, she assumed that any successful society — even Illium — would reward hard work within the system and that she would be safer working inside the system than outside. She'd been wrong, but never let it be said that she didn't learn.

She'd learned a lot during her 20 years on the planet and with the Quarians, although she had been too much of a coward in the past to use all of that knowledge. She'd learned to program and reprogram Omni-Tool Applications and use scripts to get confidential information or circumvent security systems. She had done all this as a backup plan in case she would need to flee the planet for her life. Teema had proven definitively to an escape like that was out of the question. If even a hundred dedicated Quarians with months or even years of planning couldn't flee the planet without casualties, she had no chance.

She refused to let those tools she'd learned go to waste though. She no longer had to limit herself to strictly legal methods.

She infiltrated the terminals of local businesses remotely using credentials she "borrowed" from the unsuspecting cashiers and owners. In most cases, this did not even require hacking, but rather social engineering. Placing a hidden camera or even just making a recording when someone input their password was usually enough. This peer-to-peer "botnet" she manufactured from the computers acted as a buffer between her Omni-Tool and the rest of the Extranet. While Illium's surveillance of Extranet traffic was nigh ubiquitous and omnipresent, it was not omnipotent. Her system prevented external surveillance from determining which computer was actually being used to access the Extranet and kept her identity safe. It might mean that her neighbors would be arrested for her crimes, but she was desperate.

The access allowed her to set up accounts in various names to hide her money trails and add Citadel and Illium proxy anonymity-networks to her virtual web.

She used the capabilities of her system to purchase illegal things on the Extranet black market. She started small at first: things like an Omni-Tool Cyberwarfare Suite and Weapon Mods like frictionless rail systems and explosive rounds. She waited weeks for the Illium authorities to break down her door after purchasing them, but she was never found out. Then she moved to purchasing Security Systems: a defensive one for her dorm, and a Surveillance Drone for going on the offensive. Despite her hesitation, the black market on Illium was very accomodating and provided dead drop locations in secure lockers or hidden in public parks. She found each spot to be conveniently out of sight from cameras or people and was surprised by the level of customer service: the site even had a rating system and encouraged customer feedback.

She shouldn't have been surprised to find how easy it was for her to make the black market trades and would later slap herself at how naive she had been. She learned during those months that trades happened daily by the thousands. The Illium Bureaucracy dealt with the nails that stuck out: the criminal enterprises that interfered with corporate influence and stupid criminals that couldn't keep their dirty laundry out of the streets. Small time black market businesses and their buyers — while still illegal — were apparently low priority for the corporate government. For once, being on a Terminus planet had a perk. Only two of her outer-layer of "zombie" botnet nodes were discovered by Illium Extranet Surveillance. While it was no doubt a difficult conversation with Illium interrogators for those businesses, Terith was confident she wouldn't be implicated.

While it seemed that much of her defenses were ultimately useless, and much of the last few months was wasted effort, she did not regret having them. The illegal goods were purchased. Now it would only be a matter of time before her stalker's identity was uncovered and the truth of her situation with Enyala and Aethyta would be revealed; either to incriminate or exonerate the two.

— AE —

Crashing Waves Biotic Gym, Nos Astra Wards District, Asari Corporate World: Illium, 17-05-2560 GS
Perspective - Nos Astra University Student - Terith - Asari Undergraduate in Ship Engineering - 21 Years Old

Aethyta walked between the rows of students in her gym as they all performed repetitive movements and gave pointers in correcting them. The movements were similar to Martial Arts "Katas" except that they were small and focused. For some, it meant clenching a fist, for others it meant a twitch of a wrist. There was no punching or kicking or great "powerup" gestures. Biotic Powers would be largely ineffective in a combat situation that required quick actions and maintaining hold of a weapon if every time one needed to establish a Barrier, one had to throw away one's weapon and perform some weird dance.

For Terith to create a Warp, it meant imagining a "pulling" sensation from her pores and using a hand to redirect the "energy" to a target. In theory this was simple, but it required perfect understanding and control of every pore on the skin. For the first few months of her training, she'd found it impossible to focus equally on the soles of her feat and the top of her head simultaneously and so her Warps typically ended up powerful at one small point, but ultimately a big waste of energy.

Terith was not focusing on her training at the moment, however, but had other things to think about.

'What the hell is going on?! In my first week at University, I find my room bugged with cameras and wiretaps and was forced to play Game-of-Thrones-esque mind games with Aethyta and Enyala to try and figure out exactly what their motives are. Yet despite monitoring Enyala and Aethyta using a black market surveillance drone for months and a sophisticated security system at home, I am no closer to any of my goals! What does Aethyta or Enyala want from me?! Who'd planted Surveillance Systems in my dorm?!'

Aethtya's schedule was a boring one. She stuck to a strict schedule that had her working at her gym from 8am - 6pm and sleeping from 10pm - 6am. In between she usually just worked out herself. She had no hobbies and rarely traveled from her gym for anything. On the few times a month that she did go into the city, it was only to go to random bars. from the few glimpses she had of the interior, she seemed to just talk with a few of the patrons and little else. With Terith's young age, she couldn't investigate deeper without exposing herself and her drone would be far to inconspicuous in such an enclosed space. All in all, she couldn't find anything outright incriminating, but it wasn't exonerating either. What did she talk about with these random people? How could a powerful and influential Matron Biotic have such a boring life? It didn't make sense.

Enyala had a more diverse schedule, but it was ultimately little better. She woke up around midnight every day and traveled off-world for jobs or hung out at clubs. Like Aethyta, she did not have any hobbies or friends. Terith had even managed to bug the Mercenary's Omni-Tool while they had a Vocal Training Session together but only reinforced her previous investigation. The Omni-Tool was only used for the Mercenary's work and logged a few email threads with Aethyta. Once again it made no sense. Even Terith — a loner with no-life — used her Omni-Tool to watch the occasional video or read up on forums discussing her school work.

As the months wore on, her frustration grew. Keeping up surveillance on both of them for a few hours each day meant that she only slept as little as 4 hours each night. Her "allies" were hiding things from her, but she couldn't figure out what it was at it was driving her to insomnia-induced insanity. She knew at some point, she would snap. It was only a matter of if she could find the evidence before she did.

Bringing herself back to reality, she angrily stared at the Biotic training-dummy in front of her: a slab of metal. She closed her eyes. Focusing on her sense of touch, she forced her frustration and anger into the a vibrating mass which she felt ooze out of every pore of her skin. She focused this barely-controlled raw energy directly in front of her. When she opened her eyes, she found that a bright-blue field of energy was already dissipating from the metal block and that it was far more warped and chewed up than it had mere moments before.

The biotic release had her out of breath and she panted.

'Well, at least I'm doing something right.'

Terith heard a noise and looked behind her to find that Aethyta was congratulating her Biotic "Showing" with a slow round of applause. The other students in the gym took breaks from their own exercises to see what the commotion was about. Unlike her, the other students were non-Asari: mainly Volus and Batarians. Biotics-Capable members of other races such as Salarians and Turians were too valuable to leave in the "tender mercies" of a Matron like Aethyta. It pissed Terith off a little that merely being born a Salarian Biotic, for example, meant that all their debts were paid and they had a free trip to Academies and Biotic Combat Schools on their Homeworld.

Aethyta stepped in front of her young Asari student and nodded her head approvingly.

"Good work, brat. You have a finer control of your biotics than I would expect from an Asari your age and your Warps are full of destructive, chaotic forces. Even if the power is something to be desired, it is an almost flawless execution."

The Matron's expression fell slightly and her voice took on a more neutral tone.

"It's a paradox. Your biotic control doesn't slip and you are able to keep a tight rein on your muscle-control, yet you are able to create such turbulent and violent energy. I have never met an Asari that could create a Warp so efficiently. Even I have trouble creating keeping such a delicate balance, yet it comes naturally to you. Your Dark Energy feels like a Batarian, yet there is a clearer pattern to the effect, something which amplifies the effect that I can't see precisely. It's like you aren't even Asari."

Terith stilled at that while the Matron let out a sharp laugh.

"Well, that's enough philosophical bullshit. Anyway, if you had half the talent for Barrier and Throw, there wouldn't be much for me to teach you. Luckily, you suck some serious Quad at those so I still have a job."

Terith found herself more and more worried about these "seemingly innocuous" remarks the longer she trained with the Instructor. Aethyta's words clearly held double-meanings that Terith's paranoia could not ignore.

'It's like this day-after-day-after-day with her. She keeps comparing me to non-Asari. She keeps telling me I'm "Too Good at this" and "I'm way worse than expected at that", like she knows something Does she know about me? The past me? And another thing, she gets me in touch with a Mercenary friend for vocal lessons, what is that about? I don't get it. What is her end goal?'

Of course, Terith wasn't stupid and hadn't brought up the issue with Aethyta. What would the Matriarch say to accusations of illegally running a biotic combat gym? How would she respond to demands asking why she — a powerful and obviously influential Matron with nothing the Extranet detailing her past — made a living running a gym for a bunch of "nobodies" like Terith? If she was keeping it hidden, she wasn't just going to tell her and the last thing she wanted was more suspicion on her, especially when she was actively spying on her in turn.

What could she do?

— AE —

The remainder of the session was just like before and involved repeated movements to make it easier to perform the Biotics through muscle memory. Despite her best efforts, however, it resulted in no further progress to harness a successful Throw or Barrier. Like always, they would turn into Warps. Needless to say, a Barrier turning into a disintegrating Mass Effect field was not a good time and by the end of it, she was exhausted. It only compounded with her earlier exhaustion of sleeping 4 hour nights.

With no more time left in the session, Terith and the rest of the students went to their lockers to put away their equipment. Her frustration at both her lack of progress in her investigation or her progress in Biotics left her angry. If she was honest, the anger and frustration was the only thing keeping her on her feet most days. As she stuffed her gym equipment back in her bag, she heard Aethyta walk up behind her.

"Your progress is honestly not as bad as you appear to be taking it. Your Throws turn into Warps and your Barrier is enough to kill you if left unattended, but your Warps are damn-near perfect. While they are a little slow to recover, they are as dangerous as any Commando could do. For 8 months work, that is incredible for even a Salarian yet alone an Asari."

Terith sighed. She really didn't want to talk to one of the major contributors of her frustration, but decided that she needed to at least clear the air between them a bit. It would only make Aethyta more suspicious otherwise.

"It's not that. I know I'm doing well, but I also know that I won't be makin' much more progress any time soon. I guess the stress of… University is takin' its toll. I can't keep my emotions in check."

Aethyta gave her a knowing nod.

"Well, you accent has improved, so you can take pride that your work is paying off. Still, are you getting enough sleep? You look dead on your feet."

Terith shrugged, but inside she was panicking. She knew that the makeup she wore to get rid of the external signs of her lack of sleep wouldn't work for long, but she'd hoped that the ruse would last until she had the evidence she needed. The last thing she wanted was the target of her spying to catch onto the fact that she didn't sleep well and go investigating. Her paranoia was good for these situations however, as she already had an excuse lined up.

"Oh that? Yeah, I guess I've been staying up late studying a lot recently. University has gotten a lot tougher recently."

'That isn't necessarily a lie, although the reason for that is because of my new "hobby" spying on everyone around me.'

Thankfully, the Matron seemed to have bought the lie and moved on.

"Honestly though, emotional control is a crutch. In a combat situation, you will not always have time to be calm and collected. The moment you lose control of your emotions will be the moment you'll need Biotics the most. It might be useful to know what a Push or a Barrier feels like before you work to pass any emotional barriers, but it's something you would need to do anyway."

Terith clenched her fists in frustration.

"Why do I even need to worry about emotions anyway? Ain't all my Biotics filtered through a computer? I just don't get why the computer can't interpret my intent instead of my emotionally-driven intent."

Aethyta scratched her crest with a single finger before shrugging back at the her.

"I'm no neuroscientist, but I can give you a basic explanation:

"The implant is stuck in the part of your brain that handles motor control. Of course, there's more to it than that, but that is the easiest example to understand. As you already know from experience, the Eezo Nodules are like a second skin that you 'move' and 'feel'. This is what is used to perform Biotic Powers, but this process is beyond complicated. There are over a billion different nodules it needs to connect and each of those has an almost infinite different ways they can be used. Since an implant that managed all this complicated crap would be far too complex for a person to use — not to mention expensive — your brain handles a lot of the job, and brains are very… shit at it.

"Your emotional state and other things can cause involuntary movements that ruin control or waste energy. For example, most people shake when they're scared or their muscles tighten when they're angry. Those tiny movements can make-or-break a successful Barrier or Lift. The whole point of this Gym is to teach you control of those movements with absolute precision. It is why you need to do repeat certain movements again and again to activate the power, it lets your brain associate certain nerves to certain Biotic activation by your implant… or something. Like I said, I'm not a neuroscientist. Whatever is the cause of all that, it means harnessing your emotions makes your Biotics work better."

"Didn't you just say that control is a crutch?"

Aethyta rolled her eyes.

"Harness emotions rather than control them. While you shouldn't let emotions dictate your Biotics, you can't just get rid of them, so you should also find ways to let them work for you. Figure out what problems your emotions are causing and find a way to let them boost your Biotics. You've seen first-hand how much emotions can help with a Warp but it doesn't need to stop there. It's possible to use the anger or happiness or any other emotion to your advantage for any ability. Perhaps use turbulent emotions to create a weak but Cyclonic-like Barrier rather than a strong normal one. Maybe make a shorter Push that uses the ripples of nervous energy to simultaneously overcome an opponent's Barrier. In these cases, your don't change your emotions, you use them to make your Biotics work better."

Terith stopped her packing and thought for a second.

"That's great and all, but how does that work? How can I just direct anger into a protective shell?"

The Matron slapped Terith on the back, causing her to yelp.

"That's up to you to find out, kid. That's where all the neuroscience and metaphysical bullshit falls apart. In reality, your emotions should be holding you back, but you saw the results for yourself. I don't know what you were angry at today on the floor, but that Warp was damn-near perfect. Another instructor would say that talk about "constructive interference" or some shit, but it isn't that at all. Someday, it will click and maybe you might be half as strong as me. Until then, just keep practicing."

— AE —

Virtual Lecture Hall 44, Nos Astra University of Science, Nos Astra Core District, Asari Corporate World: Illium, 17-05-2560 GS

Terith thought hard on what Aethyta said as she walked back to the dorm and all throughout her Ship Engineering lecture.

Not so much about her Biotics — Terith had figured it would take years or even decades to "get gud" — but her emotions were another story. She could readily admit she was an emotional wreck. She spent late-night hours spying on her "friends" and spent every waking moment monitoring security logs and her botnet for possibly breaches. She barely slept and was only functioning off of mildly addictive stimulants called "Aylith" that kept her functioning on 4 hours of sleep. Her research found the claims of its addictive properties to be exaggerated; it was more like a super-strong shot of espresso than some sort of dangerous narcotic. Even after months of taking it, she had yet to see any side effects.

Worst of all was that her efforts seemed to be in vain. Her research using her illegal botnet only returned vague rumors about corporate power struggles, Council relations with Illium, and a number of possible cover ups without any real proof. The conspiracies even went so far to say that Public Works like the sewers were operated by a shadow government. It was all nonsense and it made it impossible to tell fact from fiction. Of course, her spying had done little better.

Her mind was brought back to her class as the professor finished his lecture in her ASE 241 class where her lecturer was pointing out blocks of a Flow Diagram he had projected onto the far wall.

" … and so, using the low-level Functional Model of the Engine System and Specification Documents provided by the manufacturer, we are able to predict the dynamic behavior of the Fusion Torch Engine under the effect of Conical Mass Effect Fields. Ship Engineers — such as yourselves — can use the Models created by this in Simulations to check for deviations in the existing Engine infrastructure or even verify the acceptable deviations should you or your captain decide that various modifications are to be done to upgrade to a better design."

He finished his presentation and turned back to the class.

"I think that is all the time we have for today. Since we went over time a little bit, I'm afraid that any questions will have to be left until later. Feel free to email or call me if you-"

Terith didn't even hear him finish before she ripped off her VR Headset, threw it on the ground, and slammed her fist into a wall multiple times.

"Ah've! Had! Enough! With! This! Bullshit!"

She knelt down to the floor with her head resting against the wall.

"I'm going insane with this paranoia shit! I can't handle it anymore! It's affectin' my University work and it's going to affect my life! I've already resorted to crime, I'm spying on everyone I know and I'm taking drugs. What more can I do?! I didn't even hear a damn thing the professor talked about in that entire class! Ship Modellin' and Design was the hardest course this year! It's going to take me hours to make up all the time I just wasted!"

Her hand was already sore from the abuse and so she rolled up into her bed and cried.

"T-there's got to be somethin' I can do! I'm already at my wits end, I'll- I-"

Suddenly she had a shortness of breath and she collapsed. It took all her willpower not to pass out right there on her bed. After a day of Biotic Training, anxiety and lectures, she must have been exhausted. But she couldn't sleep yet.

'Argh! G-get a grip! D-damn heart is p-pounding in my ears… I-I have to say that I've never felt so exhausted in my life…'

Wearily, she threw herself off the bed and scrambled to her nightstand. She took out a case of Aylith pills and popped one in her mouth. She sighed in relief as her exhaustion left her. She couldn't wait for all this spy-work she was doing to end and she could finally stop taking the damn things and get her life back on track.

Nevertheless, the stimulant pills did not fix the exterior effects of lack-of-sleep and she had to use makeup to hide her pale face and sunken eyes. Aethyta and Enyala had noticed, of course, but so far had bought her excuses of late-night studying.

With her mind restored, her second-wind filled the young Asari with determination.

'This is just another day. Another day of torture I have to live though. I will see the end of this thing. One way, or another.'

— AE —

Residential Block B112, Nos Astra Residential District, Asari Corporate World: Illium, 31-03-2560 GS

2 Hours Later

It was fitting that it was raining, it fit Terith's mood perfectly.

While she tried not to count them, this would be the 53rd time she sat next to a garbage bin in one of the Residential District's many alleyways. To anyone looking, she was just another street urchin fiddling with an Omni-Tool. It was risky for her to be this close to her target — she could use her Surveillance Drone from across the city if she had to — but it would be necessary if her mark took public transit as the Drone was far slower than a moving car.

Terith could feel that her head grew heavy and had to catch herself falling asleep on the pavement. She shook herself off an popped another stimulent. She reviewed her logs in the meantime. She pulled up transcribed data-feeds from what her drone has seen of her Omni-Tool use. It was mostly emails indicating new contracts, her own appointments, and hookups for one-time dates with a few Turians she met at clubs that she sometimes brought home with her. The engagements never went anywhere. It made her mind run at breakneck pace.

'It s-seems completely out-of-character for the b-bubbly and energetic weirdo to not have any friends or hobbies, nightclubs and trysts h-hardly count, where are her "comrades-in-arms" or her messages to friends and family on Chalkhos, she hasn't even met or talked to Aethyta since I started this thing, no wonder Aethyta keeps asking me for updates. What does this mean; her life is almost like mine… She has no attachments and could drop off the face of Illium at a moments notice so why-'

The door opened, and her mark once again left her apartment, but it was immediately obvious that it was not going to be like her usual routine. The Mercenary looked like her namesake for the first time ever: she was wearing a suit of grey armor. This was far from the normal civilian uniform she typically wore underneath her Kinetic Barriers and clearly foreshadowed something big.

Terith giggled to herself but she actually felt a sickening sense of dread in the pit of her stomach. She had waited for an hours in the rain and the constant paranoia of being caught had left her drunk on the fear. She honestly couldn't tell if she was slipping into a manic state, or pretending to do so to avoid actually becoming manic. She mumbled to herself.

"Hehehehe. Today will finally be the day, I know it. I just need one- one piece of information. Just a little bit of info and I can rule out once-and-for-all that I'm in danger."

At this point, she wasn't even sure what she was doing any more. What was she hoping to achieve? If Enyala really was just a simple Mercenary strong-armed into their little vocal sessions, what would prove it? The armor itself obviously wasn't enough. Would she sit here, watching her perform some security detail at a local clubs until Terith died of old age? How many emails would read through before Terith had proven her vocal coach was beyond reasonable doubt? What more would she have to do to prove Aethyta was innocent as well?

Terith shook her head of those intrusive thoughts.

"No! I'm getting close, I know it! This will be it. After this though, I might move onto Aethyta. I have to save the big fish for last after all."

Terith — even in her current sleepless state — understood that she might as well be delaying the inevitable. Would it be "just one more stakeout" again and again? Up until now, she'd been begging for Enyala to do something. This change made her ecstatic. She was running on fumes as it was and any difference was a welcome one.

Enyala made it to the ground floor of her apartment and called for public transit. Terith immediately recorded the hovercar's destination: it was a random parking lot in the Industrial District's Warehouse section. With her drone soon recalled and stored, she was ready to finally put an end to her investigation once and for all.

— AE —

Codex Entry - Drugs: Aylith
Copied from the Citadel Council's Extranet Site "Department of Health and Safety: Controlled Substances"

Discovered in 2137 GS, B-1448 or "Aylith" — named after an ancient Asari Goddess of the Sun — is a stimulant created from the leaves of a plant native to the Salarian Homeworld of Sur'Kesh. The drug's molecular structure is designed to stimulate the central nervous system by mimicking the activation of various nucleobases in Asari DNA and RNA. This reaction has the effect of staving off exhaustion in the user and is also commonly attributed to an increased sense of "clear-headedness" and focus. In early studies of the drug in the workplace, Aylith showed signs of improved happiness and productivity of employees by over 20% of the control group.

While many other stimulants have been created over the centuries from various plants — especially plants native to the Asari Homeworld of Thessia — Aylith is unique in that it has almost no short-term effects and is only mildly addictive. Most short-term stimulants provide a similar removal of short-term exhaustion, but usually this comes at the cost of either a "crash" or a dulling of the senses during the moments of stimulation. While many steered clear of Aylith for its mild addictive properties, for many years it was considered a miracle drug by the Republics and was regularly administered.

The reason for its current "controlled-substance" status is that it was found to have terrible long-term effects. The over-stimulation of the nervous system over the course of a few decades can cause involuntary muscle movement and Biotic destabilization which can prove fatal. There is no cure for these effects without completely regrowing an entirely new nervous system: a feat of genetic engineering illegal in Council Space and far outside the monetary capacity of most citizens.

While it is known for its use as a recreational stimulant, the drug has medical applications as well. Aylith has proven to give temporary function back to elderly Asari experiencing muscular degeneration and can aid some patients who have undergone extensive muscle or nerve damage. It has also proven to help in some cases of depression and Asari with moderate-to-severe narcolepsy.

In most Council worlds, Aylith is banned from non-medical use even on colonies notorious for legalizing other drugs such as many of the Turian planets due to pressures from the Asari Republics. Some Asari colonies, such as Asteria, have allowed limited recreational use in tea form so long as the daily consumed amount is small enough. Of course, in Terminus Asari worlds such as Chalkhos or Illium, the drug is widely available and favored for its cheap manufacturing. Unlike most drugs that affect Asari, the plant that creates the Aylith leaf is not Biotic and so does not need expensive "Element Zero doping" of the soil to provide the necessary nutrients to grow and cultivate the plant.

Being that the drug was only discovered 420 years ago, the long term effects of non-debilitating use has yet to be recorded. Studies of former users of the drug are still ongoing as these Asari reach full maturity. While computer models have shown it is unlikely consuming tiny amounts, even over centuries, will have any effects, the Citadel does not want to rule out the possibility that there may be more beneficial or harmful applications of the drug in the extremely long-term.