Chapter 8: How?

The box was stored in a giant and very empty room that was located just bellow the club. I could feel the vibrations from the noise without actually hearing any of the music down here.

'So the Illusive man knew why this test of intelligence was done?' I asked as we entered the room.

'Possibly. What difference does it make? Even if he can get his hands on you, Aria's the one who's keeping the box. And being able to outlive the Illusive man by centuries yet, she's not concerned about Cerberus agendas.' replied the captain patiently.

The room around us was big and, unlike any other place on Omega, it was shinny and clean and very white. In the centre of the huge and empty room stood a kind of pedestal with no particular embellishment. Just a raised stool upon which was a fist-sized black box. It was, indeed, a black box, there was no other word for it.

'Is that it?' Liara asked, looking about the room skeptically.

'Yes. That's it. But remove all tech you've got when you cross that line.' he pointed at a circle drawn about two feet in diameter around the pedestal.

'Why?'

'Well, it is off. But it still manages to wiped some of the lesser databases if they get too close.' shrugged the captain.

'Does this mean that I'll be here until I figure it out?' I asked in trepidation.

'No, we'll take it aboard the Khan. You can use my quarters for working with it. I might as well move down to the crew's quarters.'

'Then why are we here now?' I frowned.

'Symbolism and I want you to tell me that you can do this.' replied the captain.

I shut down my omni tool and approached the black box. A kind of electric energy was buzzing within the circle's borders. I took a look at the box.

'Where exactly is the puzzle?' I frowned. It was plain. There was nothing on it. 'And can I touch it?'

'Touch away. And we still haven't figured out where exactly the puzzle is. Using biotics we are able to see a pattern around it, but what it means we have no clue.'

At this Liara approached me and lifted the box with her biotics. True enough, as the box was hovering in mid-air I could discern a snake-like pattern crisscrossing the luminous, blue surface of the biotic field.

It looked like the scrip I had seen on Ragdov, down in the ruin.

'Liara?' I asked to make sure that she recognized it as well.

'I know. It resembles the figures greatly but the deviation is too great for them to be from the same language.' she replied.

I groaned.

'There are two languages to it?'

'Remember that the protheans were as well-travelled as all of the Council races put together and more. They must have had just as many, if not more, colonies on different worlds. It makes sense for hundreds and even thousands of languages to exist.'

'Yeah, I know.' I shook my head.

If this was indeed a puzzle that was written in prothean, how the hell was I supposed to solve it?

'Do you, ah, feel anything from it?' I asked, hoping for further illumination.

'Feel?'

'With your biotics.'

Liara smiled an amused smile.

'This is not magic, Min. There is no arcane connection between me and the box while I am holding it. If anything then my senses are muted by the biotics, not enhanced.'

'I know. Had to try.' I shrugged. Then I turned to the captain. 'So where is all the research on this thing?'

'It's all on the Khan now. Can you figure it out, you think?'

I looked at the puzzle. It was roughly like a rubix cube, only without any moving parts, any indentations and no apparent goal. I probably could. With time.

'I thinks so.' I said in an uncertain voice. 'I really need more time for this.'

He nodded.

'Then let's drop it for now.' he looked around the room causally. 'Come, I'll show you to your rooms in this place. You can go out if you want, and have a look at Omega. But don't expect a land of magic and ambrosia. It's a lot more like... A hammer to the head and a kick in the nuts. If you have those.'

Our room was a very luxurious one, even by Citadel standards. We had a view of the asteroid belt around Omega, the red dust making a constant light of dawn to colour the walls in a warm light.

'So what do you think?' I asked as we sat down on the bed, looking outside through the window across from the bed.

'What about?'

'Why do you think people call the captain "Ocean"?'

She looked at me in surprise.

'His ship is named Khan, is it not? The Ruler?'

'I don't know what that means.' I frowned. 'Maybe.'

'And does human history not speak of a great leader of men, Gengis Khan?'

I had to think for a moment to figure out whether oceans and mongol leaders had any connection.

'I give up. What's the connection?' I asked finally, as no great brain-wave came to my rescue.

'Gengis said that he wanted to rule from mountains to the ocean. A very ambitious goal indeed, considering his circumstances. I think that they were mocking him.' she added the last part unhappily.

'How come you know what Gengis Khan wanted? I am the human here.' I pointed out.

'I wasn't specifically researching human history. He is just mentioned in "Guides to Life, or at least Survival". It said something about him killing his brother and leading his family out off starvation.' she replied in a way that suggested that I should have known about this.

'Alright. But I don't think that they were mocking him.' I added. 'He seems to like the name. I wonder if he knows they think he's too ambitious though.'

Liara chuckled.

'If half of what I have heard about Aria T'Loak is true then he isn't too ambitious. He is flat out insane.'

'Why?'

'She has no mercy nor consideration for her enemies. The fact that we are still alive, arriving to Omega with him is proof of his, ah, "fool's luck".'

I thought this through. Aria seemed to be a very powerful person. And considering the fact that I was hunted by powerful persons to start with, maybe Omega was a relatively safe place for me to be. Alliance has no say in what goes on in the Terminus systems after all.

'You could go, you know.' I said, thinking.

'Where? What do you mean?' she asked, confused.

'I mean, you owe the man nothing. He wants me because he thinks that I can figure out his puzzle and give him some credibility. And he might be right, I don't know. But you... I don't think he'd hold it against you if you left.'

Something blunt hit me dully on the top of my head.

'Ow!' I said, looking up to identify the assaulting object. It was a book. 'What..?'

'We have to agree on this once and for all.' said Liara in a decisive tone. 'I, Liara T'Soni love you, Numine Shin'ichi. I will be with you for as long as you wish me to be there for you.'

My mind blanked out. I knew that I was supposed to process the information, but I couldn't even start to think. My brain was just a pleasant buzzing noise.

'Min?' she poked me in the shoulder.

'I'm... you love me? I mean, you love me? Like that?' I interlaced my fingers to suggest unity.

I wondered again whether asari were mammals. I had to assume that they were because mammals are the most successful form of life in the galaxy. Aside from salarians who are... lizards? Amphibian? Or were they mammals too? Again, I had no idea what qualified for being a mammal and resolved to consult something about that.

'I do.' replied Liara.

I pursed my lips. Did I love her? How did she mean love? Come to think of that, what kinds of love are there when you already are having sex? It's not a brother-sister love, that's for sure. Not mother and child. Not friends. Well friends, yes, but more as well. How romantic was this statement? Or is it just that, a statement? Maybe I'm over-thinking it and she simply says that she likes me more than most. That would be true for me. But if she is being romantic about it then was it mutual? Was I, in fact, in love with her the way that you see men and women in love? I wasn't even sure that such a thing was possible. I was quite certain that for love you need two genders. And we had. Female and asari. I think that they are one category on the side, really. So could I? Should I? It's not like we can't have a family. This isn't homosexual.

'I do.' I said after a very long pause.

'You do... what?' she asked, pretending to sound casual.

'You want me to say it?' I asked sheepishly.

'I said it. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be but I understand you hesitation, I really do.' she looked up at me from under her eyelashes.

'I looo...' I began. The word stuck in my throat. She laughed at my expression.

'I do too.' she said and sat back in a relaxed way.

Funny how I had expected her to react with anger if I couldn't say it. Why couldn't I, though? It's just a word. But maybe, those who have the hardest time to admit it are the ones who understand how important this is. I hope so, at least. Otherwise I might be doing Liara a great injustice. I looked at her to see whether she was offended but her calm composure never failed.

'Thanks.' I said, snuggling up to her.

Maybe the fact that she didn't respond to me should have lit a light bulb somewhere, I don't know. I was too relieved to have her accept me to notice.

'Wanna go and see the city?' I asked her, gesturing towards the window.

'Omega? I don't know. The captain had a very good description of it. A hammer to the head and a kick in the... well you get the idea. It's not a tourist-destination exactly.' she seemed to mean it.

'Come on, it will be fun.' and I knew that as I said that that this trip wouldn't be fun.
If the only reason for going anywhere is because it's fun then it's a bad idea to go to wherever it's fun. Fun equals regret in so many real ways that I didn't even like to imagine. But Liara gave in and five minutes later we were at the Afterlife. Or rather, outside of it. The view down here wasn't nearly as spectacular as it was in our room. In fact, I distinctly remembered junkyards that looked nicer. The ruins of Akuze looked poetic, at least. The standing buildings here looked like some species with acid for urine had pissed on the walls. Repeatedly.

Ignoring this obvious threat to my health and, ah, life-style. Because, you know, if someone kills you then that will be a drastic change of life-style. I sniggered.

'What?' asked Liara.

'Just... inner monologue.' I shrugged.

'Care to share?'

I did. It didn't sound nearly as funny when I said it though and Liara nodded wisely instead.

'Yes, death does change one's outlook on life.' we both sniggered.

Anyway, ignoring all the dumpsters, the homeless and dying we made our way to the markets. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the markets, at least, were guarded, maintenanced and well-stocked. The last part might have been because no one could afford things there, but still.

As we went around though, I realized that things were cheap enough for mostly anyone to afford them. Yes I could see the occasional two thousand cred omni tool upgrade, but those were to be expected anywhere.
Also, these markets sold the most bizarre things I had ever seen. Vorcha heads as living-room decorations. Human heads, made out of wood, for living-room decor. Naked batarians. It took me a while to assert which were male and which were female. There were furniture with steel covers set under the cloth in case of a gun fight. Teeth of every possible creature one could get his hands on illegally. There were even krogan testicles. Though I knew that I shouldn't, I couldn't help but stare at them in a morbid fascination. They were slowly bobbing up and down, much like a lava lamp. And they were huge. Almost as big as my fist. Liara had to drag me away from them, covering her face with her hands.

'Did you see that? That's bizarre.' I shook my head while she laughed with a tinge of hysteria.

'Why don't we go and look at... you could do with some new clothes.'

I looked down. It was true and I'd thought about getting new, or at least clean, clothes for a while now. But there didn't seem to be time. My shirt, which had been clinically white before, was brown. My tie, which I still wore out of habit and which had been dark-green, was also brown. My suit-pants were... well they had survived somehow. Which was odd because I'd spent a lot more time with them in the dirt than with anything else.

Liara tried to persuade me to get a blouse. Or a t-shirt or anything else aside from the two red shirts that I chose.

'Your taste in clothes is very peculiar.' commented Liara when I had finally agreed that there was nothing to be gained from remaining in this pit. 'I would have thought that you'd want to change out of your school uniform as quickly as you could.'

I blinked.

'My school uniform isn't a shirt and tie. It's a jumpsuit. Remember how I am good with pressing buttons? Well teachers insist on looking ridiculous while you press buttons.'

And that is about when things went wrong. When we turned a corner from the market and into the passage that would take us to the part of Omega where several corridors were connected. Why they were all empty at the moment I could only guess.

'Well, well, well.' said a very ugly man. He was batarian, so maybe it was just my racial instincts that assumed he was ugly. More importantly, though, he was wielding a gun. And behind him, a group of asari and batarians were wielding more guns.

'Well?' I asked.

'Look at the two pretty lovers. On vacation on Omega, am I right?' asked the batarian, grinning broadly. He smelled like a wet dog.

'No. On business.' I shrugged.

'Oh, look! I am an important business person! I am not scared of the bad batarian!' said the batarian in a mocking and not at all lady-like voice. 'Well guess what, I don't care.'

'Good. I'd hate to hurt your feelings.' I smiled.

I knew very well that it was stupid being smart with someone who is bigger, stronger and dumber than you but something of the captain had rubbed off on me.

The batarian spat at me, missing my face by less than in inch. I couldn't suppress a shiver of disgust. If that had hit me I wasn't sure how I'd react.

'You trying to be smart?' he asked me, raising his chin so high that I could see the back of his head through his nose.

'Look, you are obviously stalling. There is something you want but you don't know how much you can get out of us. So here's how we can do it;' I said impatiently. This game of wit didn't appeal to me at all. 'I am going to tell you what I'll give you. You take it and no one gets hurt.'

The batarians laughed. Some of the asari cracked a smile. One of the asari was squinting at Liara as if unsure whether she recognized her or not. Liara was standing proudly at my side, her left hand vibrating with tension and nerves at the small of my back.

'You tell us what to do?' asked the batarian derisively.

'Yes because you clearly don't know what to do yourselves.' I nodded.

'Says the little, insignificant human. I have broken bitches like you for breakfast.' he growled. 'And I ain't gonna take this shit from you.'

I caught a glimpse of an insignia on the batarians left arm. It said Flame Path. Under the title was the picture of a burning pyramid.

'So the flame path are a bunch of simple slavers?' I asked, pretending to frown in confusion.

'We ain't slavers and we ain't simple. You know what, if you think that you are that clever then let's take you to Grim.'

Everyone around us grinned in anticipation.

'What's Grim?' I asked, frowning.

'You'll like him. And he'll like the both of you.'

I didn't even bother trying to fight. Fighting would only get me hurt and make them raise their guard against more attempts at escaping. Liara did something with her biotics but was subdued quickly by the five asari present.

'So this Grim... is he one of you?' I asked conversationally.

I woke up many hours later. How many, I didn't know. I had a vague feeling that something I had said had brought on this headache, but I couldn't be too sure about it.

'You should be more careful.' said a cold, female voice. 'I detest involving myself personally in rescue operations.'

I looked up to find Aria standing in front of me, her brow furrowed in anger.

'What was your plan, exactly? How did you fail to realize that this would happen if you left your very comfortable accommodations?'

She gestured towards a door. The door itself wasn't that interesting. It was square and grey and had buttons here and there. Around the door, however, lay a pile of corpses. Or I thought that they were corpses. Some of them seemed to be breathing.

'Did you know that, no matter how many men you possess, it's impossible to break into a narrow corridor that has been set up specifically to prevent large groups of armed people to pass it? No? Because that is what I had to do to get to you two. If this wasn't a base of operation my intelligence hadn't picked up on, and if this wasn't a major discovery, I would have come here simply to kill you myself.' she flexed her fingers. 'It so happens that your friend, Liara was clever enough to keep the men from shooting while Ocean broke the "lines of fire". Otherwise you, I, Ocean and T'Soni would be dead by now.'

I looked at her for a minute or so to assert myself.

'I'm sorry.' I said finally. 'I had no idea-...'

'I know that.' she growled. 'Does it matter?'

'No.' I shrugged.

'Then why bother telling me? I'm the one telling you what you should avoid doing in the future. I'm not fishing for compliments.'

'You did a very nice job.' said Ocean, coming to stand by her side.

She rolled her eyes and left the room.

'And you two. What were you thinking? Those men could have been murderers.' he threw at us casually, kicking away the weapons from the knocked-out gang members. 'I mean, yeah they were. But you didn't have to go with them, did you? You could have called me. Or at least called Aria.' he gave this idea some thought. 'Alright, maybe not Aria. But someone. Why didn't you do anything?'

I looked towards Liara who's face still reflected panic from whatever had happened.

'There was no time.' I replied, walking over to her. 'I was knocked out-...'

'I thought that they had killed you!' she blurted out very quickly. 'They said that you weren't breathing and that your heart stood still.'

I opened my mouth to reply to that.

'They what?' was my genius reply.

'They wanted me to open your chest to take out your heart. That's what the Grim does. He pushes on people to get them to do bad things.' she looked positively horrified now.

I scratched my chest. I looked down.

'You cut into me!' I asked, bewildered.

'I thought that-...' she began, terrified.

'Why did you cut vertically? There's no way that you could have opened my ribcage that way. Come to think of it, with this little force, I doubt that you could have reached my heart no matter how you cut.' I waved her away.

She was silent and staring at me for a very long while.

I knew kinda, sorta what she was thinking. She'd expected me to feel betrayed when she realized that she was going to survive and that I had survived as well. And then she must feel confused by my response because, let's face it, it wasn't exactly what you expect to hear. And she was upset that I took this situation so lightly.

'Yeah.' I nodded. 'I love you.'

Ocean completely and utterly failed to react to this statement. Liara's eyebrows rose. Then she nodded. It was the explanation she had needed. Was it true? Yes. I think that it was.

She got up and hugged me.

'I can't stand all this melodrama.' I said, copying Jean.

'Then let's move.' said Ocean, motioning towards the door.

'What about them?' Liara gestured towards the gang members.

'What about them? They'll wake up with a headache, robbed and with a price on their head. No biggie.' shrugged Ocean.

I wasn't sure why but all the way back to the Khan I felt as if Liara and I had bonded beyond what we already had. Was it because I said I love her? Or because I wasn't dead and she felt guilty? Because we were going back to the ship, which seemed like a safe refuge at the moment? Or because of the way Ocean walked, I could tell that he had a plan for where we should go next.

Locks are so easy to open with a key. Eyes are so easy to use to see. Locks are so easy to open with a key. Eyes are so easy to use to see. Locks are so easy to open with a key. Eyes are so easy to use to see. Locks are so easy to open with a key. Eyes are so easy to use to see. Locks are so easy to open with a key. Eyes are so easy to use to see. Damn nightmares.

'What I find the most peculiar is why they attacked you.'

I jumped. If things kept appearing out of nowhere I'd have a heart attack some day.

'Aria?' I asked, puzzled at why she was aboard the Khan. Then I saw her nightie. Oh.

'They knew very well that you are under my protection. And that I value you a lot.' she continued, not looking at me. 'And that if they play me, their deaths will be slow and painful. So why?'

She looked at me as if I was supposed to have all the answers.

'Have you figured out the puzzle box?' she nodded towards the black box.

We'd spent two weeks, working on it. One other attack had occurred on my way from the Khan to Afterlife, to retrieve the black box. And the result had been almost identical only this time I'd been conscious. And I'd met the Grim. A really annoying hanar who was the head of the Flaming Path.

'So, girl. You are the prize that mistress Omega found on the streets.' said the hanar. It was so out of character that I wanted to laugh. 'And you think that you have the solution to the artifact of the enkidlers?'

'The what? Oh, protheans.' I remembered something about the enkindlers when I'd spoken to Liara. I was furtively glad that she wasn't with me this time. The krogan surrounding me looked very nasty. My cheek and ribs burned from being kicked. I could see too many openings in their current formation to be overly worried. Even without rescue I was fairly certain of my chances of escape... in the near future.

'Yes, protheans. You will fail. Because you always do. Because you failed your mother. And then you topped it off by leaving your father when he offered you a loving family.' the hanar's voice made the accusations sting me.

I laughed as lightly as I could.

'Is this what you do? Tell people things about their past? Listen up, you blimp. I've seen my worst nightmare. I've come to terms with it.'

'Oh really? You have come to terms with the pathetic excuse for a soul that you claim to possess? Not even given to you, but a soul that you took from your mother's memory. And threw dirt at it.'

'And what about you?' I spat. I had to work hard to keep my eyes from getting red-rimmed. 'A hanar who was bullied by other species and finally decided to use his own misery as a starting point for his new life. You know what human's call people like you? Mentally unstable. Weak.'

'I am not weak!'

'Yes you are. You cannot even insult me without other people watching you-...' I had to stop talking due to a very heavy fist that connected with my chest, winding me. '-... lie about your abilities-...' another punch. I had to stop there. I really didn't like being punched.

'Weak are we all.' said the hanar and I was delighted to hear a note of annoyance in his tone. 'But unlike you, I am not bound-...'

There was a commotion.

'It's Aria! Get the Grim out of here! Men, positio – agh!'

The commotion lasted for only a few seconds. Krogan were standing and dying. Krogan were charging and dying. I felt sick. A big chunk of my lunch came back out of my stomach in a nastier form.

'Numine, if you keep doing this you'll get me killed.' I heard Ocean's voice as the gunfire died down.

'I am working on it. But having no reference point to what the puzzle actually is...' I shrugged.

'Very well. I suppose that there is no speeding up the process.' she sighed. 'I am here to say goodbye. Ocean and you are going on a trip. He will tell you where you are going when the ship takes off.' and with that she left the captain's quarters.

I had a hard time to adjust to calling him Ocean. He didn't mind being "captain", but he said that he felt awkward when I called him that.

I looked back at the black box. It was glowing with a blue light. Liara was sitting on the bed, keeping the box lit while reading the prothean data from Ragdov.

'You know, I spoke to Elisabeth today.' she said absentmindedly, not seeming to have realized that Aria had just been here. 'She pointed something very interesting out to me.'

I came to sit next to Liara.

'What is it?'

'She pointed out that the diagram on page ninety four resembles the element chart. Look. If this is H and this is He and this is Li... do you see? Periods and squares just like the element chart.'

I had to give this some thought.

'That would make sense. Though they wouldn't have named the elements the same way we did, now would they?'

'True. No one does. Your lithium is tounen in common asari language.'

I nodded.

'So you are close to a revelation?'

'No, but look at the box. It has five of the signs, no, six of the signs of the element chart. If these are single letters then we might be onto something.'

I looked at the symbols on the box and then in the notes. They were almost identical. In a different print, perhaps, but identical in form.

One of them was in the centre and looked like a very intricate circle, with tiny bars within it and a kind of a wing on it's upper right and lower left sides.

Looking around some more I found the second and third symbols on it. Then the puzzle began to make sense. Don't get me wrong, I had no idea what the symbols meant, but I could see a pattern there. I'm not sure why I hadn't noticed that before. The circle was a reference point around which other symbols were gathered. So if my theory was right then on the opposite side of the box there would be a pyramid. I turned the box over. There was an empty space, surrounded by eight other symbols. But no pyramid. I checked the notes again. In the writings, the pyramid was usually a first-letter thing that was invariably followed by either a moon-like thing or a doughnut-like thing. This Liara had discovered a while back, though it had taken some persistent cross-referencing to be sure.

I toyed with the box some more, tapping on the biotic covering.

'There's something missing.' I whispered.

'What is it?'

'Look. See this circle? It's function is like a dot in a statement, that's what you said, right? And here, on the element-... It's called the periodic chart, alright? On the chart you'll find that the circle begins this bit...' I pointed at the upper part of page eighty. 'And that a pyramid ends it. This repeats. Look. It's like a marking for... pronunciation maybe? I don't know.'

'So the pyramid is missing.' said Liara, turning the box in her hands.

'Yes.'

'What do we do?'

How to recreate sign that's not supposed to be there? Good one.

'... Let's go and have some tea.' I shrugged.

'Why tea?'

'Because we just entered FTL and Ocean will want to see us.'

'How do you know that? And don't call him Ocean.' she shook her head.

'That's his nickname, Liara. Haven't you ever had a nickname? And Aria told me.' I rolled my eyes.

'No. I was named Liara for a reason. The reason being that I would be called Liara as well. You were named Min-...'

'Actually, I was named Numine.' I corrected.

'Oh, I forgot... Let's see, this is something about humans that I don't understand. Why don't you like Numine?' she frowned. 'It is the name your mother gave you.'

'Well... Min is short for Numine.' I replied as evasively as I could.

'It is?' Liara blinked.

'I'll write down.' I sighed.

Trouble is that Min and Numine are spelled differently in the common asari language. Or in salarian. Or most other languages by the way. It's really just english that persists with pre-interstellar contact traditions.

'You take Min from Nu-Min-E?' Liara laughed. 'Why not take Num?'

'Because Num is a lousy name.' I replied.

'Ine?'

'Ine? Really? Gyne – Ine. See the resemblance in pronunciation?'

Liara blinked.

'I don't get it.' she admitted.

'Gyne is a gynaecologist.' I waited for the penny to drop.

'What's that?' she asked curiously. I wondered what the omni tool translated the word into for her.

'It's a doctor for... the lower, central bit of your body.' I rolled my hands around in the air to make it obvious which bit I meant.

'Ah. Then I see how Ine would be inappropriate.' she laughed. 'Why not Numi?'

'Argh! That sounds worse than Numine.' I cringed in mock horror. 'Imagine it; Numi Shin'ichi. I'll live in a fishbowl and eat frogs.'

'Why?'

'Well it sounds like some exotic animal that's out to get me but not quite sure of how to go about doing so. "Hey look, it's a numi! Shoot it!"'

Liara laughed.

We made our way down to the mess, which was mostly empty apart from the occasional passer by to the power circuit modulators for this part of the ship. They could be accessed by an omni tool but it made more direct sense to one if you could see what you were doing as well. The food was just some dry müsli or something like that, with water, juice or alcohol free beer.

'This tastes like cardboard.' I commented, eating the brown guff.

'I have never tasted cardboard... but you have a good point.' sniffed Liara.

'I think it just might be cardboard.' said Ocean, sitting down next to Liara. 'And Min, a word?'

'Sure.'
I got up and followed him into the med-bay.

'There is something you need to know.' he looked at me intently.

'You're no going to give the black box to Aria?' I guessed.

'Yeah, but apart from that... I am planning to vanish. I'm dropping off the crew on the next hub world. You will have to stay with me until you've solved the puzzle box, but Liara can leave with the rest of the crew if she likes.'

This didn't sound good. There was something big going on. But I was a player now. No way that I'd back out of this. The meeting with the Grim made me realize that, as much as I'd get shot at, there is nothing else for me to do. Become some engineer on Omega? A smuggler for Illium? No. I'd stick around and gun the thing out.

'How are you planning to vanish?' I asked, stalling.

'There is an information broker going under the pseudonym Shadow Broker. He can make people vanish for the right price. One billion should be enough, don't you think?'

I laughed. That was the stupidest plan I'd ever heard of.

'You seriously believe in that plan? That, when the deal has been made, he won't double-cross you for more money? Or that you will actually vanish? You need more than just a new name and account at the Galaxy of Fantasy, you know.'

He frowned at me, annoyed.

'I have been doing this for years, Min. I know how to run and stay invisible.'

'And look where you ended up! In a prison.' I raised one eyebrow. I could see cogs turning in his head, defiance fighting it out with annoyance. 'Anyway, you had the Khan. That's how you remained one step ahead, as far as I understand. It's a good ship, right? But this time you are on a handicapped Alliance vessel with less than a skeleton crew, if you drop the crew off.'

There was a silence where Ocean considered my words.

'So what's your brilliant plan?' he threw at me.

The fact is that I had given "vanishing" some thought. There is one place in particular where no one will look for us because it's so incredibly unlikely for anyone to be there. Well... Anyone aside from...

'Once you find your ship, I'll tell you.' I smiled at him. 'And until then, Liara and I are staying.'

He was torn between my young looks and the fact that Aria was willing to trust me, I was sure of that. But then I wondered how young I really looked. I checked the calendar. My nineteenth birthday was coming in two days time. I wasn't going to tell anyone, of course. No point in making a fuss. Liara's birthday would be in two weeks' time. What should I get her? What did one buy for her immortal girlfriend? A chess set? I liked chess. I'd have to ask Liara for clues on presents.

'When's your birthday?' I asked Ocean as we returned to the mess. Liara had braved a few spoons of müsli and milk.

'It doesn't taste bad. It doesn't taste at all.' she said, looking sheepish.

'I don't remember.' Ocean shook his head. 'I was born in winter, but I don't know which planet that was. And I don't have any surviving family to tell me. When I was younger I'd pretend that it was in June, because I liked the sound of that month. But now... I know that I'm forty five, but when I became that is a bit uncertain.' he shrugged.

'You're forty five!' I asked in amazement. He looked not a day beyond... Well he looked ageless. He could have been fifty or twenty and I wouldn't know.

'Yeah. So most of my life has been pointless.' he nodded, grinning. 'But I'm still as young as I used to be, just slightly older. And Liara here is ancient. Did you know that above hundred counts as old amongst humans?' he looked at her in a patronizing way. 'I mean, we still debate history of what happened a hundred years ago. And that's well-recorded history.'

'So it is with my people as well.' Liara nodded. 'Though we live for a long time, you must not forget that every asari born is young and doesn't know anything about history lest she studies it. So there are many misunderstandings regarding our history as well. There are asari who dedicate themselves to preserving history by sending out eyes and ears across Thessia to gather information. When the asari grow old they pass on the knowledge to one of their apprentices. Because you don't have to pay tax or work when you are a "memory" as they are called, this line of work is very attractive to young and lazy asari.'

'So where is your ship?' I asked suddenly. 'I thought that you received info about it's location.'

'I did. It's in the Skyllian Verge. An old pirate hangout called the Bronze Canon. That's where I recruited my first crew. No one can get it started but they are sure as hell ain't about to waste an opportunity to try.'

'Why? What is it that's so special about your ship?' asked Liara.

'Well like I said, it's the fastest in the galaxy. It ranks with ships like Destiny Ascension, Aristocrat and Hegreda. And as you know, or I bet that you've seen the Destiny at least, that's a pretty powerful ship. The Khan isn't nearly as big, but it's impossible to catch. And it has an adaptive ability to survive things like radiation, heat, EMP and all those things.' he seemed far away as he spoke. Lost in the past. 'I remember this one time when a turian warship managed to get close enough to send me a nuke into the cargo hold. Know what happened? Nothing. The thing was taken apart by the ship's protective mechanisms while still in the mass effect field. Radiation, tech and radio frequencies all rendered useless.'

'That sounds like a very advanced ship.' I said. 'Who made it?'

'Humans did. A private corporation called Sulphur. It was supposed to be used for gathering intelligence. And then I stole it. I thought that I'd get into trouble and that I'd have to go into hiding or that I'd get caught within a week, but thing is – if they can't catch you then you're in the clear.'

Liara nodded.

'I heard about the Sulphur project when mother and I visited the Alliance embassy. The ambassador denied any such project, of course.' then Liara's eyes widened. 'And you stole it? Do you realize that you have handicapped the advancement of the human race?'

'Why are you so upset about it?' he shook his head. 'They have the resources to make a new. Let them do it. I don't care about the politicians. Do you know how much it cost to make one? To make the Khan? One hundred billion creds. That is bout as much as the American vice-president earns per year. A Citadel movie star earns twice that for every vid they make. Mafia king-pins have those sums in their pockets. Aria could have paid for a new Khan to be built with upgrades. So don't tell me that I have handicapped anything. If they are too greedy to invest, then it's their loss.'

'Maybe you are right. But stealing does them no good if they refuse to use money either way.'

Ocean just shrugged.

'So what is going on?' she asked as silence crept up on us.

'We are going to Incara through Madalgry.' replied the captain. 'I'm rogue now, so I need a pilot and I need provisions. The pilot we've got. Provisions, not nearly-...'

We all jumped as my omni tool beeped. It was Garrus.

'Ah, give me sec guys.' I said, leaving the table and returning to the med-bay.

'Min, how are things?' asked Garrus as I answered the call. It was direct communication now.

'They are...' I tried to find a way to summarize. 'Have you...' there was no good summary. 'I'm alive.' I finished lamely.

'That's better than I expected.' he answered, troubled. 'I don't have much time, I'm up for a hearing in a few minutes. I'm telling you this now, in case I get locked up.'

'What? Why? What happened?' I asked, alarmed at the news.

'Just listen. Your doctor friend is a Cerberus employee. We knew that he sympathized with them but we got confirmation only a short while back. Then things started to get ugly. The Alliance soldiers were released because they were following orders. The Alliance says that Cerberus are terrorists and that you are one of their agents.'

I began to verbally formulate protests but he cut me off.

'Don't talk. I don't care who you work for, I'm up to date with what you did on Ragdov. C-Sec had a bounty on that guy. But because you are classed terrorist, you're not about to collect it. Now I have word that the captain of the Khan is an ex-pirate. And that you are still with him. Min, this guy is dangerous. The file says that he worked alongside drug lords, warlords, gangs and many other criminal bastards. The only reason that he was released was because some Earth organization vouched for him. Get away from him as fast as you can. Get away and go to Ilium. There you will meet a turian called-...'

'Garrus, it's alright. I know that he was a pirate. He's one of the good guys. I think. He's not as bad as you seem to think, at any rate-...'

'He is a conman, one of the best. If nothing else then the fact that he's fooled you proves that. How do you think he managed to get out of the Purgatory, one of the most secure prisons in the galaxy? He will stop at nothing to make his ends.' cut Garrus in angrily.

'I know that.' I smiled at Garrus. It was weird to see him care so much. 'That's why I'm with him.' I looked at the door to make sure that it was closed. 'Look Garrus. I'm taking on the Alliance. They want me dead or gone. And I don't want them to have me dead. And being gone is very difficult, seeing how they assume that everything is theirs. I can't take them on alone. He has clashed with them and survived. In fact, he has a crew and a ship that belongs to the Alliance.'

Garrus looked puzzled at this news.

'You want to take the Alliance "on"? As in a war? You realize that you can just come to some human world and get a fair trial. From then on, all you have to do is stay away form the Citadel.' he shook his head.

I sighed. This had occurred to me many times before.

'Garrus... my options are limited. If I go to the trial... I don't want to go to a prison. And if I get away then I'm a mark on someone else's hit-list. Right now I have a ship, a criminal boss, a conman, Cerberus, daughter of Benezia and you helping me. I will also possess a very powerful item very soon. Two, if I'm lucky. If I make peace with the Alliance legally then all I will have is the word of Alliance on my side and Liara. You will be sent to do some tedious desk work, Ocean, the captain, will stay away from the Alliance. I will be a mark on Cerberus's list. And on the Flaming Path's list. And I'll bet you anything that Toboe won't forget me.'

Garrus sighed.

'You're not making your life easier, you know that?' he rubbed his temples, thinking. 'I'll tell them what you just told me. The investigation is closed, but this is a different case now. Let's see how this plays out.'

He hung up. I took a deep breath to compose myself. Every time I thought of what I was doing. Of what my ultimate goal was I panicked. The truth was that I'd gotten in over my head a long time ago. And now I'm gathering things to keep me afloat. But I was certain that, when the time for the face-off came, I would be standing victorious.

'... which is why I never intended to go there myself. Now that I think about it, my pirating days and my few Alliance months didn't really differ. I've taken out as many pirates back in my speedy days.' Ocean was saying.

'You could have started your own gang.' said Liara, looking very suspicious.

'No. No I couldn't.' Ocean said, genuinely surprised. 'I only had the one ship that was superior. I'd gotten some others, a bit rubbish really, ships. They were just for show, but I'd never make a gang. Too complicated.' then he spotted me. 'Speaking of complicated.'

'Garrus says hi.' I said as I sat down.

'Who?' frowned Ocean.

'The C-Sec officer who told me where to find you.'

Ocean was silent for a moment.

'Who?'

'Just some turian.' I shook my head.

'Oh. Well what did he want?'

'To say that the Alliance are not backing off. I'm officially declared a Cerberus agent.' I shrugged as if this was of no importance. And, to be realistic, it wasn't. Not if Ocean got his wish through.

'Heavy.' sighed Ocean. 'You know, you could probably get an easy charge, like gardening or death if you just went there and told them the story.' he mused, scratching his stubble.

'I'd still be on hit lists.' I pointed out.

'Ah, well... yes you would. If you'd stayed away from Omega it wouldn't be as bad though.'

I contemplated this. The more I tried to get out of the mess the more I got entwined in it. Though to be fair, I wasn't all that eager to leave yet.

'So once and for all.' said Liara, slightly annoyed. 'Where are we going?'