Infinite Galaxy

Chapter 10

The shuttle doors open as two quarians enter the craft. They were armed and ready for anything to happen. When the quarian wearing a red and black envirosuit slowly approached the control panel, he found a small girl wearing a blue dress.

"We got someone here." The red suited quarian reached for the girl and lifted her up. The girl's eyes fluttered as she slowly opened her eyelids. The red suited quarian pulled up his Omni-tool and examined the girl. "Human. Female. Just a child. Get the med kit ready."

"Yes Sergeant." The other quarian replied.

The red suited quarian looked at the girl and asked. "Are you alright?" The girl nodded. "What's your name?"

The girl mumbled at first. Then she said. "A… An…" She paused for a moment and then she finally answered. "Elizabeth. I'm Elizabeth."

"Hello Elizabeth, I'm Beeto'Reegar of the Migrant Fleet marines." The quarian held the girl in his arms. "Keep talking to me. How old are you?"

"Eight." The girl began to perk up.

"Nice." Beeto said. "I have a son who's a year older than you. His name's Kal. Okay, Elizabeth. We're going to get you out of here. We're going to take you aboard our scout ship and then take you to one of our ships. It's called the Rayya. Does that sound alright to you?"

The girl nodded as Beeto picked her up and brought her on board the scout ship.

Anna was decontaminated and she was given a breathing mask to prevent her from spreading germs onboard the Rayya through her mouth. She was then taken to a clean room so Anna could take the breathing mask off and she can eat the levo rations found on the batarian shuttle. While she sat on a chair eating the rations and getting her energy back, the quarian marine Beeto'Reegar kneeled next to her and talked to the girl.

The hiss of the decontamination module was released as the sliding door of the clean room opened. A quarian wearing a white and red envirosuit with a purple visor stepped inside.

Beeto stood up at full attention and saluted. "Admiral Rael'Zorah."

"At ease, Sergeant." The Admiral said as he looked at Anna. "What have you found out about our human guest?"

Beeto gave him the full report. "Sir, this is Elizabeth. She told me that her colony was raided by batarian pirates. She also said that her mother was killed and this girl was kidnapped by the same pirates."

"What about her father?" Rael asked.

"She wouldn't say." Beeto said.

Rael looked at Anna and leaned closer to her. He began speaking to her in a typical tone as an adult would speak to a child. "Hello, Elizabeth. My name is Rael'Zorah. I'm an Admiral. I just want to let you know that we're going to help you get back to Alliance space when we locate the nearest human colony."

"No!" Anna blurted out. "If you send me back, they find me and try to take me again!"

"The batarians?" Rael asked.

"The batarian pirates we're only couriers." Anna said. "Some men want to take me and do research on me. You can't send me back. If you do, they'll try again. Please let me stay." Anna pleaded as tears cascaded from her eyes.

"I'm sorry, but you can't stay here with us." Rael said. "We'll have to take you back."

"That might be a problem, sir." Beeto interrupted. "I just got word from engineering that our supply of element zero is dangerously low."

Rael looked away from Anna and looked at Beeto. "That is going to be a problem. How much of those levo-rations are left for…"

The two quarians are interrupted by the sound of a ventilation grate hitting the deck. They turned their heads only to discover Anna crawling through the ventilation shaft.

"What is she doing?" Rael looked inside the shaft. "Dammit. We're too big to go after her and she could contaminate the whole ship."

Beeto activated his Omni-tool and showed a display of the ship's interior. He located Anna. "Sir, I found the girl. She's heading into the engine room."

"Sergeant, come with me." Rael said.

Both Rael and Beeto quickly arrived to the engine room where they maneuvered around the many quarians workers. The two tried to contain the situation and not cause alarm to the others around them that a human child was loose on board the ship.

Suddenly there was a small number of quarians muttering loudly. Rael and Beeto went over to investigate the noise, only to discover that a small number of workers cornered Anna near a hazardous material cargo hold which was nearly empty. Anna was staring at the vacant spot.

"Clear a path people." Rael ordered the other quarians. Then Rael voice became very stern as he criticized her. "Elizabeth. You should've have done that. I need for you to come back up to the clean room with me. I don't tolerate this behavior with my daughter and I certainly don't tolerate it from someone else's child. Elizabeth. Elizabeth!"

Anna didn't pay attention to Rael's scolding. She raised her hands, pointing her open palms towards the empty space. "What is she doing?" One of the quarians asked as they all stare at her.

Anna released her hands as a vortex emitted from her concentration and created something out of thin air. Anna released a Tear and then something appeared inside the cargo hold. What was once empty space now had ten sealed containers. The small audience gasped from what they saw. They were shaking their heads to find out if they were seeing things or not.

"Keelah!" Beeto gasped. "What just happened?"

Real looked at Anna in bewilderment and then looked at what she had produced.

One of the engineers was brave enough to approach the crates and examined the contents. The engineer said in disbelief. "Element zero. There's enough here to last the fleet for months."

Rael knelled down to face Anna while she smiled. "Elizabeth? How did you do that? Make something out of nothing?"

"It's called a Tear or what I like to call wishful thinking." Anna answered. "I overheard you talking to Beeto about needing element zero. I decided to help out."

Now it was Beeto's turn to ask. "Who exactly was trying to take you?"

"Some organization called Cerberus." Anna confessed. "They don't know that I'm here and that's why I need to hide where they can't find me. Please."

Rael paused for a moment. He looks at Anna. Then he looks at the crates of element zero. He made his decision. "Who have just got back from their Pilgrimage?"

A female quarian raised her hand. "I did, sir."

"What did you bring back?" Rael asked.

"I brought back circuit panels and engine parts for the ship." The female quarian said.

"And the element zero we have now." Rael addressed her and then to everyone else. "I'm declaring this event classified. There will be no mention of what you saw today. The element zero is officially a Pilgrimage gift if anyone asks, is that understood people?"

"Yes, sir." The other quarians collectively replied.

Rael looked at Beeto and gave him instructions. "Sergeant. I want you to strip that batarian shuttle of useful parts, especially the flight logs. Then I want you to take the shuttle back to where you found Elizabeth."

"Yes, sir." Beeto saluted.

Rael looked at Anna. "Elizabeth. I'm going to take you somewhere on the ship and I need for you to stay there. I'm going to talk to the other Admirals about what happened here and I'm going to see if they will honor your request of staying. Does that sound alright with you?"

"Yes." Anna smiled.

"No!" Admiral Zaal'Koris replied after hearing Rael's request to keep Anna with the Migrant Fleet. "She's a human! She's not one of us and there are hundreds reasons why she shouldn't be here!"

Rael called an emergency meeting with the other Admirals of the fleet. They sat down around a circular table so each Admiral could see one-another. Zaal'Koris vas Qwib-Qwib sat across from Rael while Admiral Daro'Xen vas Moreh sat to his right while Admiral Han'Gerrel vas Neema sat on the left. Next to Rael was his closest friend Admiral Shala'Raan vas Tonbay.

"People are after her." Rael explained. "The batarians raided her colony only to be brought back to someone on Omega so she could be purchased by this organization called Cerberus."

"For all the reason to get rid of her." Koris said. "She needs to leave now. She could attract this group called Cerberus to us and jeopardize the fleet's security. On top of that who knows what kind of germs she's carrying."

"Admiral, please." Raan raised her hand to calm Koris down. Then she looks at Rael. "As much as it would be cruel to abandon this girl, I'm afraid Admiral Koris is correct. She would not fit in to our society and we don't have the resources to take care of a non-quarian."

"I agree." Xen said.

"I as well." Gerrel added.

Then Rael stood up and activated his Omni-tool and a holographic imagery appeared in the center of the round table. It was recording from the engine room of the Rayya. It was a recording Rael confiscated from one of the quarian engineers. It showed Anna holding her hands up and using her ability to open Tears to produce the crates of element zero.

"Keelah!" Two of the Admirals said.

"How did she do that?" Rann asked.

"Admirals." Rael calmly spoke up. "As you see, resources won't be a problem. This human girl Elizabeth produced element zero from out of thin air. She told me she can produce more things for us, things this fleet needs."

"Could she make Rannoch appear? Free of geth?" Xen whispered to Koris.

"I must admit, Rael." Koris said. "You have given me something to think about, but there are simple things that we cannot give her, like food."

"Yes." Gerrel said. "She can't eat our food. She's a levo-based life form and our food is made for dextro beings like us."

"That's right." Raan said. "Even if we provide her with food, she can't eat it like us. That will force her to ingest it through her mouth and that will risk contaminating the fleet."

Then Rael produced a bag. He pulled the contents out and placed them on the table. "Admirals. Here are more things Elizabeth made appear out of thin air."

"What are they?" Xen asked.

They were looking at three organic items on the table. One item was crescent shaped with a stem on the top and was yellow. One item was rounded on top and tapered on the bottom which was red in color. The third item was a perfect sphere and it was orange in color.

"These are fruits based from Earth." Rael said as he tried to remember what they were called as he struggled to pronounce each item. "We don't have to provide the food since she provided it herself. Elizabeth told me this is an orange. This is called a… a… apple. And that item is called a ba-nana."

"Humans have weird names for their food." Gerrel said.

"The process of turning food into nutrient paste isn't a foreign concept to us." Rael said. "We use the live ships to grow our food and then process them into tubes. We can do the same thing with the food she provides for herself."

The Admirals were quiet as they are collectively in deep thought. Then Rael spoke up. "Think about it, Admirals. This girl could be an asset to the fleet and we need all the help we can get. The Pilgrimage alone is keeping this fleet from crashing into one another, but what could we accomplish if Elizabeth could stay with us."

Then Koris stood up. "Rael'Zorah. If you wait for us outside, we will deliberate on your request to have Elizabeth stay with the Migrant Fleet. We will call you when we reached our decision."

Rael waited outside the chambers for what must've been thirty minutes. He finally receives the message on his Omni-tool from his friend Raan that the Admiralty board has made their decision.

Rael walked back into the chambers and waited for the answer the Admirals had for him. Koris was the first to speak. "Rael'Zorah. After much discussion, we have come to a conclusion. Your request to have the human Elizabeth staying on the Flotilla has been approved."

"Wonderful." Rael said.

Then Xen spoke up. "However, there are conditions attached to this agreement. First off, if she is to be raised by the Migrant Fleet then she will have to adapt to our ways and customs. She must wear an envirosuit and she must be given a quarian name."

"What name should she have?" Rael asked.

"That will be up to you." Koris rubbed his hands together. "You see, if you insist on keeping a human girl on the fleet with us then she will be your responsibility. Congratulations, Admiral Zorah. You just adopted a new daughter."

Rael just remained quiet while Raan placed her hand on his left shoulder.

Rael's mind was racing combining the stress of being a responsible leader and now being tasked with taking care of another girl, a human girl to be precise. He was nervous and excited at the same time as he thought to himself. What this girl Elizabeth can do for the Flotilla, but the idea of having two children to care for is too much.

Rael entered his residence and he was greeted by the sound of two girls giggling. He was watching Anna playing with his eight year old daughter Tali. The two stopped playing as the quarian girl saw her father.

"Father." Tali ran up to Rael. "So is this what a human is like?"

Rael didn't answer right away. He just looked at Anna and then he looks back at Tali. "Yes, Elizabeth is human. However, she isn't like most humans. She has special talents. So what do you think of her?"

"I like her." Tali said.

"That's wonderful, Tali." Rael said as he looked at Anna. "I have good news to tell you and Elizabeth. What if I told you that I'm going to adopt Elizabeth?"

"Does that mean I'm going to have a sister?" Tali beamed.

"Yes." Rael said as he looked at Anna. "How does that sound to you, Elizabeth?"

Anna just walked up to Rael and just said. "Thank you, Mr. Zorah. I won't forget this."

"Well there are some arrangements we must discuss." Rael said. "We must make you an envirosuit. You must learn the ways of our people. And we must take on a quarian name. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Mr. Zorah." Anna said.

"I'm afraid Elizabeth isn't going to be acceptable." Rael said. "The sound 'zabeth' sounds almost similar to a pest that lives on Rannoch."

"What if we just call her Eli?" Tali suggested.

"Yes, I like that name." Anna said.

"Very well." Rael said. "You are now Eli'Zorah nar Rayya. The word 'nar' means child of. Therefore you are Eli'Zorah, child of this ship which is called the Rayya. Do you understand?"

"Yes. I'm Eli'Zorah nar Rayya." Anna smiled.

Real' Zorah was on the video link with Shala'Raan. They were catching up on current events and some small talk on the side. Often the small talk would be about their families or the activities they have done in the past week or month.

"So how is Tali and Eli doing?" Raan asked.

"Very well, but raising one fourteen year old daughter is stressful enough." Rael said. "Imagine raising two. At least they know how to keep themselves busy."

"How so?" Raan questioned.

"Well, Tali's engineering skills are impressive." Rael said. "She spends most of her time tinkering with the machinery. She's in the top of her class. Eli's as well, but…"

"But what?" Raan said.

Rael solemnly replied. "She has had some behavior issues. She's been in trouble using hacking programs to get into areas of the ship that is off limits. When I asked her about it, all she said was that 'lock picking' was just a hobby of hers."

"It's never easy, is it?" Raan said. "Raising my daughter is no different. We hate it now, but before we know it they'll be off on their Pilgrimage."

"At least they know how to keep morale up." Rael said.

"I know." Raan said. "I enjoy hearing Eli's human storytelling, especially the one called 'Les Misérables'." Raan began to reminisce as she giggled. "I also remembering them having a sleepover here and they were watching 'Fleet & Flotilla'. I still remember Tali and Eli singing along to the songs. They each have such beautiful singing voices and they sound wonderful together when they sing duet."

Rael smiled behind his mask. "Yes they do."

"Where are they now?" Raan asked.

"They are on the Shellen right now, getting food." Rael explained.

The Shellen was one of the Migrant Fleet's notable liveships. These ships were the agricultural vessels that provided all the quarians food and nourishment since they have lost their homeworld to the geth three hundred years ago. For three hundred years this ship was serving as a place to produce food and served as a type of bazaar in the ship's common areas.

Tali and Anna strolled down the rows of booths containing various shops selling used electronics and accessories for their suits. Tali wore a dark envirosuit with a purple visor while Anna wore a light blue envirosuit with a red visor. What made Anna's envirosuit different from all other quarian suits was the legging and the footwear. The legs didn't bow backwards and the footwear didn't fit for two large toes. Much of Anna's suit was modified to fit the body structure of her legs. Her gloves were also modified to fit her five digit fingers; despite only having a missing pinkie finger on her right hand she was given an artificial graft inside the right glove. She was also mentioned as being the only one on the fleet whose eyes didn't glow.

The two suited sisters stopped in front of the booth that served and processed food. "Hello Tali. Hello Eli." The elderly male quarian behind the counter greeted the sisters. "What can I do for you two today?"

"Hello, Talo." Tali said. "We're here for the usual. Are they ready?"

"Yes." Talo ducked behind the counter and pulled out a box of nutrient paste and a smaller box containing more nutrient paste. "As usual the bigger box is dextro and the smaller box is levo for you Eli."

It was an open secret among the Flotilla that Anna was a human, but she never told anyone about her ability to open Tears. She would often use her talents to bring up things she needs such as food and parts, the kind of things the Flotilla needs to survive.

"Oh and here is your payment." Anna pulled out of her bag a set of brand new circuit parts, excess parts that were never used but useful for bartering. Bartering was considered payment on the fleet as she traded the parts for food.

"My Eli, where are you getting these things?" Talo said while looking at the parts carefully. "They look so brand new."

Anna made a devilish grin behind her visor. She knew where she got the parts as well as Tali and her father knew it as well. "It's a trade secret."

"Well, have fun girls. Say hello to your father for me." Talo said.

As the two walked away from the elderly quarian's booth, Tali inched herself closer to Anna so only she can hear her. "Trade secret?" Tali giggled. "It's nice to know that nobody suspects what you can really do, but I think we should focus on more used items to trade than brand new ones."

"Perhaps you're right." Anna said. "I don't want people to suspect that they are stolen."

"It's more important than you know." Tali said. "I just talked to a few who just got back from Pilgrimage. We are hated not just because we allowed to geth being unleashed on the galaxy, but our people are seen by the other alien races as thieves and beggars."

Anna stopped Tali and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You know, Tali. If anyone could make people change their minds about quarians, it could be you."

"Thank you, Eli." Tali replied. "But how do you know that would happen?"

Anna just simply replied. "Intuition. Anyway, what do people coming back from Pilgrimage say about humans?"

Before Tali could answer, a male's voice interrupted. "I could answer that."

Tali and Anna looked up and saw a male quarian wearing a grey envirosuit and a purple visor and he was around the same age as the two sisters. Tali was first to respond. "Uhhh, what do you want Prazza?"

"Nothing much, I just couldn't help but overhear what the Admiral's daughters talking about." Prazza's tone was slightly sarcastic. "At least one of you is his real daughter. The other is a tasi'nedas posing as his daughter. I'll let you both decide who is who?"

Tali was fuming underneath her helmet and she was very close to lunging at Prazza and beating him senseless. She pointed at him and her loud voice drew a crowd. "Screw you, you bosh'tet! You excrement in realk! Talking to us that way!"

"Oh, the bite on you Tali." Prazza replied. "My cousin just got back from Pilgrimage. You know what he said? He said the humans stood up to the turians a while ago on a planet called Shanxi. Yet here I am looking at a human dressed like one of our people and the only one standing up for anything is you, defending your little det kazuat." Prazza looked at Tali.

"You piece of…" Before Tali could finish that sentence, Anna stopped her.

"Tali, stop." Anna pulled her back. "It's not worth it."

Tali listened to Anna's words as she pulled back. Prazza laughed as he walked away.

Tali looked at Anna and asked. "Why did you stop me?"

Anna didn't answer. She just pointed at the pipes located above and then she pointed to where Prazza just walked off to. He was standing talking on his comm link.

"What do you plan to do?" Tali asked with concern.

Anna replied. "We humans have a saying. 'I'm rubber, your glue. What you say to me comes back to you.' Since, Prazza was bold enough to call me det kazuat. Well…"

The pipes changed. The pipes Anna was referring to earlier were sewage pipes and all of a sudden, with the help of Anna's Tears the pipes turned into a busted sewer line. A large stream of urine and fecal matter landed directly on top of Prazza. Then Anna quickly closes the Tear as Prazza was in disbelief of what had just happened. He found himself covered in quarian excrement. The two sisters rushed away to the nearest shuttle while they can hear Prazza screaming profanities.

"Oh, keelah." Tali laughed. "I can't believe you did that, Eli."

"Hopefully this will make him more humble." Anna also laughed.

"He'll spend a week in decontamination." Tali kept on laughing.

"The only one I really feel sorry for is the maintenance personnel trying to find a sewage leak that doesn't exist." Anna laughed.

Both twenty year old Tali and Anna stood before Rael as they were about to unmark what every young quarian have to experience, the Pilgrimage. It is the rite of passage for every quarian to make. Venturing outside of the Flotilla and bring back something of value to the fleet. Both the girls knew that so much was expected from them since they were both the daughters of Admiral Zorah. Despite Anna not being quarian, she still felt the need to prove herself to the fleet regardless of the years of bringing much needed supplies to the Flotilla. Nevertheless of Anna's value to the fleet, she still must undergo the Pilgrimage.

"Well, this is it." Rael looked at his two daughters. "Girls, while you are on your Pilgrimage you will encounter elements out there that are dangerous and sometimes deadly. Bringing just anything such as a ship, fuel, materials, and knowledge sounds fine for an ordinary citizen of our people, but I have not raised you both to just accept minimal improvement to our people. I raised you both to reach the highest standards and I expect to see you both make the effort."

Both Tali and Anna said at the same time. "Yes, father."

Rael looked at Tali. "Tali. I wished your mother could be alive to see this, but I know she would be proud of you. I want you to take care of your sister and you're not just protecting her, but you're also protecting her secret."

"I will father." Tali said.

Rael walked up to Anna. "Eli. I know you were never my biological daughter, but I raised you as my own. I remember you said that you have people looking for you, so that's why I got you these." He pulled up a box and opened it.

"Gloves?" Anna said.

"Yes." Rael said. "These are special three finger gloves. You already look like a quarian, however there are other features about you that would call attention to your appearance. I cannot change your legs, feet, and eyes. However, I can adjust your hands. Stick to your sister and try to remain anonymous."

Anna took the glove and placed them inside her carry-on bag. "I will, father."

Then he looks at his two daughters. "Farewell, na'veras. Keelah se'lai."

"Keelah se'lai, father." Both Tali and Anna said. Then they boarded the shuttle named the Honorata and took them to wherever they need or want to go.

After a few minutes of emotions of grief and excitement, the two girls looked at the porthole windows and take one last look at the Migrant Fleet before the fleet became a speck on the horizon as they pass through a mass relay.

Anna looked at Tali and asked. "Where do you want to go?"

Tali replied. "I think the question we should be asking is what we should bring back."

"What do you suggest?" Anna asked. "I mean, father wants us to bring us something of extraordinary value. What do you think we could bring back that's worth more than just fuel or a large ship?"

"How about if you make something valuable appear by using one of your Tears." Tali joked. "Then we hold on to what we got and spend the rest of the Pilgrimage on Illium or how about that city on Earth you've always talked about. Paris, right?"

"Yes, that would be a wonderful idea." Anna sighs. "But there's another thing I want to while on Pilgrimage."

Tali immediately knew what she wanted to do. "You want to find your human father, don't you?"

Anna lowered her head as if she's ashamed to admit it. Anna felt grateful for the Migrant Fleet to hide her from Cerberus and to be given a home by people who are family to her. The quarian people were like the family she never had growing up in her past life where she was forced to be trapped in a tower where she was studied as a test subject and not a human being. She spent the last twelve years being with a people who values selflessness and suddenly she felt selfish for wanting to learn personal things from her life.

"It's okay, Eli." Tali patted Anna on the shoulder. "If it means that much to you, I will help you find him."

Then Anna raised her head with a sense of determination. "Thank you, but first we must find something of value and I think I know what to bring back to the fleet."

"Data on the geth." Tali answered for her and Anna nodded. "At least we are on the same page."

"When we get to Illium, maybe we can secure a passage near the Perseus Veil and search for the geth."

The shuttle's pilot Keenah'Breizh interrupted their conversation. "Tali. Eli. I think you should check this out."

"What is it, Keenah?" Tali asked.

"I'm picking up a lot of chatter, but it doesn't sound like any organic channel I have ever heard." He said.

"Where is it coming from?" Eli asked.

"From the Crescent Nebula." Keenah zeroed in on the frequency. "It's coming from an uncharted star system. Wait a minute; I'm getting the planet… Keelah!"

"What is it?" Tali asked while standing next to Keenah.

"It's geth!" He looked at the controls.

Tali and Eli looked at one another. They both knew what to do.

The planet they landed on was an unnamed planet which was covered in snow. The three found cover inside a crevice which contained a cave. There was a small division of geth stalking around the surface. Tali, Anna, and Keenah waited patiently for one of these geth units to wander into the crevice so they can unleash their trap and disassemble the unit.

However, waiting proved to be more difficult than expected. The envirosuits were not equipped to handle frigid weather indefinitely. Something had to be done and Anna was the first to say. "If we create a distraction for the geth above, this could create an opportunity to grab one of those 'tin men'." Anna stressed the phrase tin men.

"Tin men?" Keenah asked.

"It helps not to think about it." Tali said to Keenah and then she turns her attention to Anna. "What do you suggest?"

"Well, I could use my talents." Anna made a subtle hint and Tali nodded. "If one of those geth is distracted enough while crawling around here, you two can grab it."

Tali and Keenah gave it some thought. Then Tali told Anna. "Do it, Eli. But please be careful."

"Don't worry and I'll keep you both on the comm link." Anna said as she sneaks out of the crevice.

Anna kept her body down as she crawled through the freezing snow. She lifted her head to get a full view of the bodies of geth spread out, as if they were on some type of patrol. While lying on her belly, she projected a Tear. On the far end of the frozen plain, she brought forth something she remembered all too well from Columbia. It was a Mosquito. The automated machine gun opened fire on the group of geth soldiers as it slowly floated by.

The geth turned its weapons on the antique machine floating on two balloons. When the Mosquito was destroyed by the geth pulse rifles, Anna brought another piece of Columbia's weaponry out in the open. This time it was a Gun Automation and it was located twenty meters from where the Mosquito was destroyed. The Gun Automation was quickly destroyed, but not before taking out a couple geth units.

As Anna was about to project another Tear, she called up Tali. "Tali. Get ready. One might be coming towards you."

"Got it." Tali replied.

Anna opened another Tear next to the edge of the crevice. This time it was a false image of a quarian holding a weapon. It wasn't just a random quarian. It was Tali and she was holding her weapon of choice, her shotgun. It reminded her of creating a false image of her savior/father Booker DeWitt back on Columbia. It was a sudden flashback of seeing Columbia's police and soldiers chasing after the decoy. Now the geth were chasing after a decoy image of her sister Tali.

As the geth charged after the decoy, one of them tried to plow through the image. It ran through the transparent body and fell into the crevice. It was Anna's signal to project another Tear. This time it was something not even the geth could ignore.

On the other side of the fray, Anna brought a heavy hitter into the fight. It was a Motorized Patriot. A large mechanical monster, wearing a porcelain mask of George Washington and operating a Pepper-Mill crank gun opened fire at the geth.

It was a strange sight to see for Anna. A clockwork operated mechanism from the early 20th Century firing at a division of heavily advanced mechanized machines armed with pulse rifles. To Anna's surprise the Motorized Patriot was putting up a stronger resistance that she would anticipate since the Pepper-Mill gun was actually managing to mow down a few geth, but the mechanical giant of Columbia was still no match against a force of sentient machines.

Despite the Motorized-Patriot being torn to shreds, it was the time Anna needed to crawl back into the crevice to see what Tali and Keenah had done to the geth unit. She found the geth facing face down in the snow as Tali removed the geth's drive core from the stem of its neck.

"Did you get it?" Anna asked.

"Yes." Tali said as she successfully removed the chip.

"What did you do up there, Eli?" Keenah said. "I heard gun fire and explosions. What sort of distraction did you use, because I didn't see you bring anything up there?"

"It's not important, Keenah." Tali told the pilot. "Right now we have to get off this planet and find out what this geth unit knows."

Booker and Anna stood watching herself, Tali, and Keenah run towards their shuttle. Booker was overcome with the bewilderment of Anna's story as her story came to a conclusion.

"We went straight to Illium after we collected the geth data, but when we landed we were ambushed by a turian thug who was most likely hired by Saren to kill all of us. The rest of the crew was killed and only Tali, Keenah, and I survived. We stowed aboard a ship heading to the Citadel and it was there we tried to gain an audience with the Council. Unfortunately that same turian thug met up with us there. He killed Keenah and wounded Tali." Anna became quiet.

"Anna? What's wrong?" Booker asked.

A light flashed around them as the frozen planet disappeared and Booker and Anna were back on the balcony of the Embassy Lounge.

Anna continued to speak. "I had all those powers to stop that turian, but I couldn't use it. I would've given myself away. People would've known and that knowledge could've gone to the wrong hands. I could've summoned crates of weapons. I could've summoned boxes of medi-gel. I could've saved Keenah and the rest of the crew, but I did what my other father told me to do and keep my powers out of the eyes of prying eyes."

Anna was almost out of breath when she confessed her story to Booker. Anna began to sob behind her visor. Booker was a little hesitant to ease her, because it brought back a bad memory.

"I'm going to comfort you, but you're not going to anything are you?" Booker said.

"What?" Anna looked at Booker.

"I mean last time when you were upset and I tried to comfort you, you knocked me out with a wrench." Booker rubbed the part of his head where she hit him.

"That was back when you brought me on board The First Lady." Anna suddenly began to perk up. "I wanted to go to Paris, but you set the coordinates to New York." Then she laughed.

"When I woke up, I ended up being forced to do a favor for Fitzroy." Booker laughed slightly. "I guess I can laugh about it now."

Anna looked at Booker and showed him her empty hands. Then he moved closer to her and gave her a big hug. She wrapped her arms around his shoulder and both of them felt an enormous weight pulled off their shoulders.

While they embraced, the Citadel keeper finished its duties and walked away. Anna and Booker felt one of its legs brush by. They move out of the way so the green arachnid creature can pass by. As they watched the keeper stroll into the lounge, they saw two people standing by the door. It was the Lutece twins.

Robert looked at the keeper. "The Citadel keeper. Such an intriguing species."

Rosalind was also looking at the keeper. "Indeed. Their purpose and function is humble. They have no ego, no emotions, a perfection of simplicity."

"Many people could learn so much from them." Robert said. "It's a shame they don't know about the keepers real purpose."

"Oh, great." Booker groaned. "What brings you two here now?"

"We were just checking on your status, Mr. DeWitt." Rosalind said. "We see that the vigors worked."

"And you've reunited with your daughter." Robert said. "These are such joyous times."

"Thanks, now what do you two want." Booker sneered at the twins.

"Actually, we're doing our jobs and we are here to inform you two that the Council is ready to listen to the testimony against Saren." Rosalind said.

Corporal Bates finished his confession to Kai Leng. Leng turned off his recording device and made a wide smirk when he reviewed what Bates had to say. He files the information away and then looks at Bates.

Bates looked at Leng and asked. "Now what?"

Leng didn't respond. He just walked over to a crate and examined a few items.

Bates asked again. "Now what? Are you going to let me go?"

Leng continued to remain quiet for a few minutes. Then he finally spoke. "You did tell me what I need to know and you even told me a few things that are considered a bonus. I have given some consideration to your request of sparing your life." In lightning quick speed, he pulls out the pulse rifle he held out earlier. Then he pulls the trigger.

The pulse of the rifle evaporated Bates' head from his body. The blast was hot enough to cauterize his gaping neck so blood is not pulsating out of his body.

Leng held the rifle tightly for a few moments. Then he releases a deep breath as he lowers the rifle. "Request denied."

When Booker, Anna, and the Lutece twins arrived in the Council Chambers; Shepard, Ashley, Kaiden, Tali, Wrex, Garrus, and Anderson was already listening to the evidence against Saren.

The recording echoed through the chambers. "Eden Prime was a major victory. The beacon has brought us one step closer to finding the Conduit." It was obviously Saren's voice.

The next voice was feminine. "And one step closer to the return of the Reapers."

Udina played the recording to the Council and gloated angrily at the three. "You wanted proof? There it is."

When the voice mentioned the Reapers, a chill went down Anna's spine. She remembered opening the door where there was nothing but darkness and the Luteces telling her about the Reaping.

Sparatus was the first to say. "This evidence is irrefutable, Ambassador. Saren will be stripped of his Spectre status and all efforts will be made to bring him in to answer for his crimes."

Tevos interrupted for a moment. "I recognized the other voice, the one speaking with Saren. Matriarch Benezia."

"Who's she?" Shepard asked.

"Matriarchs are powerful asari who have entered the final stage of their lives." Tevos explained. "Revered for their wisdom and experience, they serve as guides and mentors to my people. Matriarch Benezia is a powerful biotic and she had many followers. She will make a formidable ally for Saren."

Valern was the next to speak. "I'm more interested in the Reapers. What do you know about them?"

Anderson explained. "Only what was extracted from the geth's memory core. The Reapers were an ancient race of machines that wiped out the Protheans. Then they vanished."

"The geth believe the Reapers are gods." Shepard said. "And Saren is the prophet for their return."

Robert and Rosalind look at each other. "Sounds like a familiar story." Robert said nonchalantly.

"Indeed." Rosalind said.

Booker overheard what the two were saying and he hated to admit it, but they were right. This formula of cult following and idol worshiping is what made the society of Columbia what it is. Now Booker knew what kind of being Saren Arterius was, a turian version of Zachary Comstock.

The Council kept talking about what they just heard and Booker just tuned out what they were saying. He didn't care, because he already talked to the Council once before and he already didn't like them. They refused to listen to what Saren did on Eden Prime and didn't believe Booker and Shepard.

Booker tuned back in to the conversation when Tevos defused an angry Udina. "Ambassador. There is another solution. A way to stop Saren that does not require fleets or armies."

Sparatus was quick to argue Tevos' decision. "No! It's too soon. Humanity is not ready for the responsibilities that come with joining the Spectres."

"You don't have to send a fleet into the Traverse and the Ambassador get his human Spectre." Shepard said.

"And everybody is a winner." Booker added while Shepard turned his head towards Booker and nods approvingly.

Tevos and Valern look at Sparatus and they use their facial language to urge the stubborn turian Councilor to reconsider. Sparatus shakes his head, because he knows he cannot sway the other two Councilors to see his way. Then he gives a quick nod and all three Councilors look forward.

All three Councilors activate the controls in front of their panels. Then Tevos is the first to speak. "Commander Shepard. Chief DeWitt. Step forward."

Anderson urges Shepard to stand before the Council. Then he does the same for Booker. The two men stood right before the Council, despite Booker being a bit more hesitant to approach. Their presence was also drawing a lot of attention of the onlookers around the chambers. Suddenly all eyes were all on these two men.

Tevos addressed the two men. "It is the decision of the Council that you both be granted all the powers and privileges of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance branch of the Citadel."

"Spectres are not trained, but chosen." Valern was the first to begin the initiation process. "Individuals forged in the fire of service and battle, those whose actions elevate them above the rank and fire."

It was Tevos' turn. "Spectres are an ideal, a symbol. The embodiment of courage, determination, and self-reliance. They are the right hand of the Citadel, instruments of our will."

Now it was Sparatus who spoke up. "Spectres bear a great burden. They are protectors of galactic peace, both our first and last line of defense. The safety of the galaxy is theirs to uphold."

"You are both the first human Spectres." Tevos said. "Commander. Chief. This is a great accomplishment for the two of you and your entire species."

Shepard bows his head. "I'm honored, Councilor."

Booker wasn't as quick to give thanks, but he just nods his head to show his lukewarm approval.

"We're sending you two into the Traverse after Saren." Valern said. "He's a fugitive from justice, so you are authorized to use any means necessary to apprehend or eliminate him."

"Do you know where to start?" Booker asked.

"We will forward any relevant files to Ambassador Udina." Sparatus said.

"This meeting of the Council is adjourned." Tevos said.

Booker and Shepard turned to look at Anderson. He held a data pad in his left hand as if he was anxious to give it to someone. He shakes Shepard's hand. "Congratulations, Commander." Then he turns to look at Booker. Then he shakes his hand. "Congratulations, Chief. By the way I have something for you." He presented him with the data pad.

"What is it?" Booker asked.

"You final signature." Anderson said. "Once you sign at the bottom, you are officially discharged from the Alliance."

In an instant, Booker signed the form. Booker was no longer obligated to serve the Alliance.

Then Udina stepped in. "Now that you no longer have ties to the Alliance military, you are a full-fledged agent for the Council. Now we have a lot of work for you and Shepard. You're both going to need a ship, a crew, supplies…"

"You'll all get access to special equipment and training now." Anderson said. "You should go down to the C-Sec Academy and speak to the Spectre requisitions officer."

"Anderson, come with me." Udina said. "I'll need your help to set this up."

When Anderson and Udina were far enough away to speak freely, Booker said. "Udina been pushing to put us in this position and now he doesn't give us the time of day to thank us. What an asshole."

"I think a thank you is in order only if we have Saren next to us and in custody." Shepard said.

The two new Spectres approached the people who have made this all possible. Shepard was shaking hands with Garrus, Kaiden, and Tali. Ashley was quick to hug Booker and he replied the embrace.

"I'm so proud of you." Ashley smiled. "One of the first human Spectres."

"I know, but this doesn't change a lot of things." Booker said as he looked at Ashley for a second. Then he looks at Anna. Then he looks at the Lutece twins nodding for his accomplishment of becoming the first human Spectre. "This changes everything."

Gazing at the dying star while sitting on his chair, the leader of Cerberus simply going by the name the Illusive Man was calmly looking over reports while smoking his cigarette. He has been more and more interested with what has been going on with the attack on Eden Prime and the possibility that the turian Spectre Saren has gone rouge. He's been even more interested with the progress of Commander John Shepard as word has it that he's going to become the first human Spectre.

The Illusive Man receives a call from his comm link as someone is trying to contact him. He immediately recognizes the caller and answers right away.

The Illusive Man activates the holographic communicator and a darken skin woman with curly red hair wearing an Alliance uniform and glasses on the bridge of her nose appears in holographic form. "Operative Brooks. What do you have for me?"

The Operative takes off her glasses and then pulls her red hair which is revealed to be a wig. Then she rustles her natural dark hair to breathe after being bunched up in the fake hair piece. "I managed to secure an interview with Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams and she confirmed what had happened on Eden Prime. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to talk to Chief Booker DeWitt since he was in the middle of escorting a quarian girl." Brooks said that last part as she was thinking about the situation with DeWitt and the quarian girl.

The Illusive Man suddenly perked up as he slowly uncrossed his legs and stood from his seat. "Booker DeWitt also survived the attack on Eden Prime? What else can you gather from him?"

Then the Omni-tool worn around Brooks lit up and she read the messages. "I can tell you right now. Both Commander Shepard and DeWitt had just been inducted into the Spectres. Now they are being tasked to go search for Saren."

Before the Illusive Man could respond, he's receiving another call. "I have to take this, Brooks. Send me the report of what you have gathered on Williams."

"Yes, sir." Brooks said as her image disappeared.

The Illusive Man activated a few controls on his personal console and then the next image is Kai Leng. "Operative Leng. What do you have for me?"

"I'm just wrapping up things here on Eden Prime." Leng said. "I just finished up with the corporal from the 212. He had some interesting things to say about Booker DeWitt."

"How interesting?" The Illusive Man asked after he fixed himself a glass of bourbon and sat back down.

"I have it recorded for record keeping so you can judge for yourself." Leng activated his Omni-tool and sent the video feed.

"I'll take a look at it, Leng." The Illusive Man said. "In the meantime, erase the feed on your side and report back to base."

"Yes, sir." Leng said as his holographic image disappeared.

The Illusive Man projected the vid screen behind him and watched what Leng sent to him. It was a recording from Leng's Omni-tool. He was looking at a man who was badly beaten and tied to a chair.

Leng's voice asked. "I want you to tell me what you know about DeWitt's vigors. Let's start from the beginning."

Bates takes a deep breath and began to talk. "After I left the battlefield, I… I… took cover in the nearby pond. I waited till I was sure the fighting has stopped. I heard Williams calling out to everyone's name. Then I froze when she called my name. Then I heard DeWitt called to Williams by her first name." Bates paused to cough. Then he spat out a few drops of blood. Bates continued. "I peeked over the bank of the pond to see what was going on. One of those geth creatures was surrounded by a green light. The geth was shooting back at the other geth."

Leng asked. "Was it a hacking module?"

Bates answered. "I thought so at first, which was until I saw DeWitt's left hand glowing the same way as that geth was killing off the other geth. I overheard him say to Williams that it was called Possession. Then he summoned something else after the one geth attacking the others was destroyed. He summoned an invisible shield with the same hand he used before. He told Williams that it was called, Return to Sender. Then he formed an energy pulse and fired it back at the geth. He took out many of the geth with that one blast." Bates leaned his head forward and continued. "Then the last thing he did was something he called Bucking Bronco. It looked like the biotic lift I've heard and seen on documentaries about biotics, but it didn't look like biotic powers I have ever seen. He just summoned it and the remaining geth levitated while DeWitt and Williams shot them dead."

"What happened after that?" Leng asked.

"I stayed hidden, but listened to what DeWitt and Williams were saying." Bates said. "DeWitt said that he developed powers. Something he made himself called vigors. He also said he would've used it earlier if he hadn't ran out of what he took to fuel his powers which he called salts. He said that he must've sweated it out of his system, because our LT ordered us to go to the dig site on foot. When they checked the bodies of our friends, more geth were coming. They fled the scene to go find the dig site while I stayed hidden in the pond. That's all I know."

The video feed ended and the Illusive Man just remained frozen in place. He couldn't believe what he just heard. The mere mention of what Bates said was enough to give the Illusive Man some thought.

"Vigors? Salts?" He muttered to himself as he quickly downed his drink and put out his cigarette. Then he pressed a few buttons, after he put in the commands the far right side of his office lit up. A large section of floor slowly rose from up its base and it is revealed to be a large display case.

The Illusive Man looked at the first item and it was a crumbling book which reads Theory of Quantum Levitation by Dr. Lutece. The next items were notes written in Chinese scripture. At the bottom of the notes was a small plaque translated that says The study of ADAM and plasmids by Yi Suchong M.D. Then he looked over a pamphlet with the phrase No Gods or Kings. Only Man. Then an image of a man's bust with a thin mustache placed above the phrase. Above the man's bust read Our Founder Andrew Ryan. Then the Illusive Man eyes were peering at a strangely modified Thompson Machine Gun, a broken pocket watch, and cufflinks with the initials AR etched into them. The plaque reads Items recovered off the coast of Iceland. Then he looks at three black & white photographs that were taken from where all these items came from. It showed a person wearing an oversized diving suit with a little girl crawling around its body. The next picture was people toasting and socializing at an elegant party while wearing rabbit masks. The last photograph was snapshot of an underwater city and someone scribbling the words in ink Welcome to the city of Rapture.

The Illusive Man placed another cigarette in his mouth and lit the tip. He takes a deep drag. He mutters to himself again. "Vigors and salts? ADAM and plasmids? The ghosts of Rapture is coming back to haunt us."

A/N: I just want to thank Bernard Karp for pointing me in the right direction when I was looking for quarian names. Here are the terms I used and what they mean.

nedas: nowhere

tasi: no one

(I put the two words together myself and made tasi'nedas which means "no one from nowhere.")

realk: cloth or covering used by quarians.

na'vera: beloved daughter

det kazuat: living sack of excrement

bosh'tet: a curse word. an insult.