Alright, first thing's first. AUTHOR'S NOTE: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING RELATED TO MASS EFFECT. I also do not own ROGUE, MASTER CHIEF, or IRON MAN. THOSE BELONG TO THEIR RIGHTFUL OWNERS.

Also, I'd like to personally thank Reko-Luna for their contribution to the story (which was their ideas for codenames for the others). Seriously, thanks a bunch.

And another thing, to those who haven't seen it yet, I would recommend the movie Pacific Rim. Seriously, watching that movie was like watching an epic battle between giants. Only the giants were robots and enormous aliens.

Finally, I'm sorry if this took too long to churn out. I've been repeatedly sidetracked and suffered from writer's block. I'm just glad I managed to get this chapter out.

Now, on with the show! (Heads up, no combat in this chapter).

Journey's Start, Final: On the Normandy (Pt. 2)

Michael's POV:

After we interrogated our new prisoner (which involved a lot of beating, mainly from Wrex), and preventing him from getting too beat up (mainly Rogue, Tali, Liara, Kaidan, and I), we handed him over to an Alliance ship in the area. They assured us that they would make sure he wouldn't get away, and that he'd be in prison for a long time. Before taking him away, the krogan looked at me and...thanked me. He apparently heard that one of the reasons he was spared was because of me, and remembered that I helped keep him from getting too injured.

"I am in your debt, human," he said. "When the time comes, know that Urdnot Grell will return the favor." And then he left without a fight.

'Something tells me I really haven't seen the last of that krogan,' I thought as Grell left for an Alliance prison.

Through our questioning, we managed to find out about a possible geth incursion that was going to happen soon. Grell said he didn't know where, only that it was in a system near the edge of the Terminus. I had to remind myself to tell the Alliance to keep an eye on the Armstrong Cluster, along with a few other systems to avoid suspicion.

Until then, it was business as usual. Natasha called everyone up to the comm room for a debriefing, as well as to introduce Rogue, Tony, Liara, and Chief to the rest of the team. As we entered the room, two things entered my mind: first, it was a lot bigger than it appeared in the game. Second, there was a big, circular table in the middle of the room, with chairs all around it. The thing looked like it could seat twenty people, so everyone on the team were able to take their own seat. As we got ourselves situated, Steve said "Sounds like I missed quite the party down there, sis."

Natasha simply chuckled. "Oh, yeah. Mechs of unknown origin, doomsday machines, exploding ruins, and new squad mates to boot. Yeah, it was a real shindig, alright."

"Speaking of," Kaidan interjected, "would someone like to tell me why the Tony Stark, the Alliance's most famous scientist, genius, playboy, philanthropist, and billionaire is serving on our ship?"

"Simple," Tony answered. "I'm here for one reason, and one reason only." Without turning away, he pointed at me and said "To make sure he doesn't get himself killed."

Everyone else looked confused at that. "You see," he continued, "about a year ago, I was kidnapped, along with about a hundred other humans, by an organization known as the Dark Hand. From what I managed to find out about them, they're pretty much a secret society of control freaks with God complexes, believing that they alone are the rulers of the galaxy." He scoffed and said "Talk about delusional. Don't know why they took us, but I do remember it involved experiments." His face darkened as he remembered his time there. "Deadly experiments. Those whack jobs would take someone and inject them, cut them up, God knows what else. By the time we were rescued, only seven remained."

Kaidan, Bronson, Liara, Tali, and I were deeply disturbed by the very thought of that. Ashley and Natasha became furious, their fists clenching tightly until they whitened. Rogue slightly shuddered at the memories, while Chief put his hand on her shoulder to calm her down. Garrus, Rika, Malak, and Wrex simply sat there in cold anger, some of their expressions easily showing that very anger.

It was Steve that broke the silence. "They experimented on humans, knowing they could die from them?"

Tony simply said "I honestly don't think they cared about what happened to us, pal. To them, we were just expendable lab rats."

Garrus scoffed. "Lab rats is too nice a term to describe what we saw," he said angrily. "Poor living conditions, malnutrition...those weren't experiments, those were glorified torture techniques."

I looked up at that. "So...the facility we raided and destroyed...that was..."

Rogue nodded. "Yeah...that was the Dark Hand's research facility. And thanks to you, Garrus, and Rika, the last seven subjects escaped with their lives." She smiled and said "To this day, they remember what you three did. They all owe you their lives." Frowning, she continued "Well, almost all of them."

Rika nervously laughed and said "Yeah, that guy was a real psycho. I'm surprised we even let him live." She smiled sadly. "Still, only seven...if we had found out about that hellhole earlier, we could have saved more. It's our fault that we didn't know sooner."

"Hey," Ashley said, "don't beat yourself up about it. You three did nothing wrong. The blame is all on this 'Dark Hand' group. Them and no one else."

Garrus nodded. "Yeah. And when I find them, I'm going to put a bullet in their heads for every person that died in that facility. Count on it."

"We'd have to find them first," Chief said. "But right now, we have more pressing issues. Mainly a rogue SPECTRE runnig around the Traverse."

Natasha and Steve sighed simultaneously. "He's right," Natasha said. "For now, we have to focus on the mission at hand."

"Speaking of missions," Joker interrupted over the intercom, "you were cutting it waaaay too close, Commander. Ten more seconds and you guys would've been swimming in molten sulfur in an active volcano. That tends to, uh kill people. Just for future reference."

Steve merely shook his head at that. Smiling he said "Don't worry, Joker, I'll make sure sis doesn't do anything to make you look bad."

"Please and thank you."

Natasha slightly growled and replied "Oh, and Joker...listen in on our conversations again, and I'll personally put you in leg braces."

"Already got 'em, so, I beat you to the punch."

"Wiseass."

Liara simply looked confused. "We almost died down there, and your pilot is making jokes?" she asked.

"It's just what he does," Kaidan said. "Trust me, you get used to it."

"Ah'm already used ta it," Rogue said. "Hangin' out with Stark tends ta prepare ya for that kind of attitude."

With a musing smile, Tony said "I think I'm gonna like this 'Joker' guy."

Liara looked to Natasha with a look that practically said Are they serious? Natasha simply smiled and said "Humor helps to ease the tension, Blue. Get used to it."

"I...I see," Liara said, a bit unsure of her new nickname. "I haven't been around humans very much, which would explain why I'm unfamiliar with many of your customs.

"Still, I am grateful to you," she continued. "You all saved my life, and not just from the volcano. Those geth would have killed me, or dragged me off to Saren."

Kaidan leaned forward and asked "Yeah, why did Saren want you, anyway? Do you know anything about the Conduit?"

"She's got to know something, K," Bronson said. "After all, she is a Prothean expert. And last time I checked, that means she has knowledge about Prothean related subjects."

Liara looked a bit embarrassed by the praise. "Um, actually, all I even know about it is that it was somehow tied to the Prothean's extinction. That is my real area of expertise. I have spent the past fifty years of my life dedicated to figure out what exactly happened to them."

That got Tony's brows shooting straight up. "How old did you say you were?"

"I didn't," Liara answered. With a slight blush, she continued "Though I hate to admit it, I am only 106 years old."

Ashley whistled. "Damn!" she exclaimed with a smile, "I hope I look as good as you when I'm your age!"

"A century might seem long to us humans," Malak said, "but to the asari, Liara is barely considered more than a child."

"Exactly," Liara said. "That is why my work hasn't gotten the attention it deserves." Looking down with a slight frown, she continued "Because of my youth, other asari scholars tend to...dismiss my theories on the Protheans."

"I might be able to help you find out what happened to them," I said.

Returning my smile, Liara said "I appreciate the gesture, Atlas, but with all due respect, I have heard every theory out there. The problem is finding evidence to support them." She rubbed her temples and groaned "It is extremely frustrating that the Protheans left so very little behind. It is almost as if someone did not want the mystery solved. It is like someone came along after the Protheans were gone, and cleansed the galaxy of clues."

Wrex chuckled at that. "Really pisses you of, huh?" he asked with a smile.

Liara looked up and said "Not how I would have described how I feel about that, but yes."

"So you have no idea who or what might've done that?" Chief asked.

"No," Liara answered with a frown. "However, I did discover something remarkable. According to my findings, the Protheans were not the first galactic civilization to mysteriously vanish. This cycle began long before them."

"I thought you said there wasn't any evidence," Steve said with a look of suspicion. "So where did you come up with this theory?"

Scoffing, Liara said "Please, Commander, I have been working on this for fifty years. I have tracked down every scrap and shred of evidence I could find. Eventually, patterns begin to emerge. Patterns that hint at the truth."

She realized that the others were having trouble understanding this. "It is...difficult to explain to someone else," Liara said. "I cannot point to one specific thing to prove my case. It is more like...a feeling derived from a half-century of dedicated research.

"But I know I am right! And eventually, I will be able to prove it. There were other civilizations before the Protheans. This cycle has repeated itself many times over."

"Well if the Protheans weren't the first," Chief said, "then who was?"

Liara hung her head in slight embarrassment. "I am afraid I don't know," she said. "There is little information on the Protheans. And even less on those who came before them. Though I cannot prove my theory, I know I am right!"

"Alright," Kaidan said, "but what were you saying about a cycle?"

"Quite simply, the galaxy is based on a cycle of extinction," Liara explained. "Each time a great civilization rises up, it is suddenly and violently cast down. Only ruins survive. The Protheans, for example, rose up from a single world until they had created an empire that spanned the entire galaxy. And yet even they climbed to the top upon the remains of those who came before them. Their greatest achievements-the mass relays and the Citadel-are based on the technologies of those who came before them. And then, like all the other forgotten civilizations throughout galactic history, the Protheans disappeared. I have dedicated my life to figuring out why."

I decided to just come out and tell her. No use beating around the bush on this particular subject, after all. "They were wiped out by a race of sentient machines," I said. "The Reapers."

Upon hearing this, Liara's face had become filled with shock. "The- the Reapers? I have never heard of- How do you know this?" she asked. "What evidence do you have?"

"Back on Eden Prime," Tali said, "Michael was thrown toward a Prothean beacon. A damaged one, at that. It burned a vision into his mind."

"Yeah," I groaned, rubbing my head, "and I'm having a hell of a time trying to make sense of it."

Liara contemplated on this new information. "Visions? That...that actually makes sense. The beacons were designed to transmit information directly into the mind of the user. Finding one that still works is extremely rare." Realization dawned on her face. "That must explain why the geth attacked Eden Prime! The chance to acquire a working beacon- even a badly damaged one- is worth almost any risk.

"But the beacons were only programmed to interact with Prothean physiology. Whatever information you received would be confused, unclear." Liara then looked at me with an expression that was one-half awe, one-half 'I-want-to-take-you-away-to-study-you.' "I am amazed that you were able to make sense of it at all. A lesser mind would have been completely destroyed by the process. You must be remarkably strong willed, Atlas."

Throughout the whole tangent, Ashley had been trying to keep herself from interrupting, in hopes of actually coming across something that could give us a clue as to where the Conduit was. Now, though, she had decided to throw self-restraint out the window. "Uh, not to be rude," Ashley said, "but this isn't helping us find Saren. Or the Conduit."

Liara blushed at this. "You are right. I am sorry, but my scientific curiosity got the better of me. Unfortunately, I do not have any information that could help you find the Conduit. Or Saren."

"Great," Natasha mumbled, "we're back at square one."

I got up from my seat. "Still, it wouldn't hurt to have Liara stay on board with us," I said. "I don't know why Saren wanted you out of the picture, Liara, but I think it's best for everyone if we bring you along."

"Yeah," Rogue said. "Saren might come after her again, and ah couldn' think of anywhere safer than here on the Normandy."

"Indeed," Liara agreed. "My knowledge of the Protheans might be useful later on."

"And her biotics will be useful when a fight starts," Wrex added with a smile.

I looked at Steve. He sighed and said "Welcome to the team Liara. Same goes to you, Chief. Rogue. Mr. Stark."

The three of them nodded in thanks before Stark held out his hand and said "Thank you. And please, call me Tony." We shook hands, then prepared to exit the room before Rika shot up from her seat.

"Oh! Before we head on out," Rika said excitedly, "I think it's time to give the others their codenames!"

Ashley cocked a brow. "Codenames?"

"Yeah," Natasha said. "Before we left for Therum, Wrex, Garrus, Rika, Michael, and I agreed that the ground team members would use codenames. Mine is Black Widow. Wrex is Carnage, Garrus is Sharp shot, and Rika is Kunoichi."

Bronson smiled at this. "AWESOME! Now Malak, Michael and I won't be the only ones with codenames! Okay, I say that Kaidan's codename should be 'Elvis!'"

Now it was Kaidan's turn to cock a brow. "Elvis?" he asked.

"Yeah! I mean, that hairdo makes you look like Elvis already, so why not?"

Kaidan looked to Steve and Natasha. "Does it really?"

Steve: "Yeah."

Natasha: "Pretty much."

He thought about this, then smiled. "Well, I was always a fan of 'the King' anyway."

"That's the spirit!" Bronson said. "Now, Steve's should be 'Arrows.' You know, derived from 'straight arrow?'"

He blinked at that. "Ex-CUSE me?" Steve exclaimed.

"Oh yeah," Bronson said with a devious grin. "I know all about your little nickname in the Alliance. Mr. 'I-don't-smoke-or-drink-or-touch-drugs.'" I couldn't help but notice that he had said that last part mockingly.

Everyone simply shrugged, then said "Works for us."

"You guys suck," Steve said defectively. He sighed and said "Fine. But I'm picking Ashley's codename."

"Fair enough," Bronson said.

"It's 'Warrior,'" he said immediately.

Ashley stared at Steve for a few seconds, then shrugged, deciding not to even bother. "Alright," she said, "Tali can be 'Savant.'"

Tali looked at the gunnery chief and asked "Savant?"

"It means 'expert,'" I explained.

"Oh. Well, I guess it can work," Tali said contently.

"And Liara's can be 'Blue,'" Natasha said with a mischievous smile.

Liara looked a bit confused by her choice of a codename. "Just go with it," Steve said. "You'll get less of a headache that way."

"Very well," Liara said. As she got up, she stumbled a bit before falling into my arms.

"You okay, Liara?" I asked.

Blushing madly, she got up and said "Yes, I'm just a bit woozy, that's all."

"When was the last time you ate?" Kaidan asked with concern. "Or slept?" When he didn't receive an answer, he shook his head and said "Dr. Chakwas should take a look at you."

"It is probably just mental exhaustion," Liara said reassuringly, "coupled with the shock of discovering the Prothean's true fate." Bringing a hand to her head, she continued "I just need some time to process all of this. Still, it would not hurt to be examined by a medical professional. It will give me the chance to think things over. Are we done here?"

I nodded. "Dismissed, everyone. Let's get back to it."

Everyone started getting up when Joker once more came over the intercom. "I filed the report to the Council. Also, Udina, Raan, and Anderson are with them. Guess they heard about Stark being on board. You want me to connect you three to the Council?"

We all nodded at each other in agreement, with Tony deciding to stick around. "Patch 'em through, Joker," I said.

"Alright, setting up the link now."

The conference table and chairs began to sink into the floor. As they disappeared from sight, the tabletop lit up, thus revealing itself to be a holographic displayer. The images of the Councilers, the Alliance ambassadors, and Anderson then appeared in front of us. Even from across the galaxy, the image was clear enough to see Udina had been tearing his hair out trying to deal with the whole Stark situation. I chuckled at the thought.

"Commander Shepard, Lieutenant-Commander Shepard, Michael," Tevos said. "I understand that the mission was a success. And that you have gained some new crew members."

"I trust you are taking all the necessary precautions in keeping Dr. T'Soni on board?" Valern asked.

"Don't worry," I said. "She's not a threat to us. To Saren, maybe. Could be why he tried to have her killed."

Tevos looked genuinely shocked at the news. "Benezia would never let Saren try to kill her daughter," she said slightly disturbed. "Maybe...maybe she didn't know about it?"

"Or maybe we don't know her," Sparatus said. "We never expected that she would turn traitor."

"Third option," Tony said as he walked up into the Councilor's view. "She did know, but she couldn't do anything to stop it. And there's also a fourth option. She could have either been forced into helping him, or she was brainwashed."

"My money's on brainwashed," I said with a nod.

"That reminds me," Udina said, sounding rather upset. "Why the hell were you on Therum, Stark, at the time our first SPECTREs were there on a mission?"

"Simple," he said with a deadpanned expression. "After I heard about Michael becoming a SPECTRE, I hacked Alliance communication channels in order to find out where he was going next. That way, my friends and I would be able to meet up with him there."

The way he had said it, so matter-of-factly, made Natasha, Steve, and I break out in large grins. Udina, however, looked like he was going to have a heart attack. "Stark, do you realize that doing that could get you locked away for a long time in an Alliance prison?!"

"Hey!" Natasha said defensively. "If Stark hadn't shown up when they did, our mission would have ended in failure, and Liara would either have been Saren's prisoner or another casualty! So do us all a favor and CAN IT, ASSHOLE!"

Udina looked simply flabbergasted. Everyone else was simply glad that someone shut him up, even the Councilors. "Word of advice," Steve said to Udina. "Just let her win. You'll have less headaches as a result."

Udina moved to talk, but Natasha's death glare cut him off, leaving him actually looking like he was sorry. "My apologies, Commander," he said calmly, "I've just been having a bad day. Just...be careful. The last thing I need to hear is that you all got killed because you brought the wrong people on board."

Natasha nodded. "Duly noted, sir."

"Still," Anderson said, "what are you going to do now, Tony?"

"Simple," Tony said with a wave of his hand, "I'm joining the Normandy team. I'll be helping out with both all technical matters-including this ship's kick-ass drive core-and I'll be assisting our three SPECTREs on ground missions. Same goes for Chief and-"

"By Chief," Raan interrupted, "are you talking about John-117, the Master Chief?"

"He prefers to be called John off the field, ambassador Raan," I said.

That really got Udina to turn bright red. "So, not only will the Shepards and Michael be risking the life of the Alliance's top scientist," Udina grinded out, "but also the life of one of our best soldiers?"

"Pretty much," Tony said matter-of-factly. "I'm also going to be the Normandy's official benefactor."

Before Udina could go into another rant, Valern decided to step in. "Well, once again, we're glad that the mission was a success."

Sparatus scoffed. "Yes, a complete success. Apart from the complete destruction of a Prothean ruin. Was that really necessary?"

"That wasn't our fault!" Steve said defensively. "Someone shot a military-grade Quaker device into those ruins! That's what destroyed them!"

Tevos stepped back a bit in shock. "A Quaker?!" she said, her voice giving a hint of her being slightly disturbed. "You're...you're absolutely sure that's what it was?"

"Liara knew what it was the moment she saw it," Steve said. "I doubt she would make something like that up."

Tevos looked slightly worried. "How did Saren get his hands on a Quaker? Not even Benezia had clearance to access those."

Tony stepped in again. "It wasn't Saren," he said. "It was a group called the Dark Hand."

"The Dark Hand?" everyone asked.

"Long story," Tony said, "and I'm not really ready to talk about it twice in one day. Next time we meet, I'll tell you all I know."

The Council and ambassadors looked at each other, then simply nodded. "Very well," Tevos said. "Until your next report, then." With that, their images disappeared.

Steve and Natasha sighed tiredly. "I know," Tony said. "I hate dealing with politics too."

"Ditto," I said.

Chief's POV:

This was an impressive ship, no two ways about it. It's nowhere near as awe-inspiring as the Forward Unto Dawn, or any other UNSC ship, but it was powerful in it's own right. It was small, fast, and it had a loyal crew. I could tell that from the moment I stepped on this ship, I was going to be in good hands.

However, there were some things I wasn't going to get used to right away. For example, having to sleep on an actual bed instead of a cryo pod (especially since the other ones can't fit me). I would also have to get used to working with aliens again (especially so many different kinds. At least they're all friendly, and not religiously fanatic like the Covenant).

But most of all, I was going to be fighting battles without her.

The empty feeling came back. Keep it together, soldier. She wouldn't want you falling apart because of her.

Still, it was always hard knowing that she was gone. It hurt more than when Johnson was slain in front of my eyes. Hell, it hurt even more than when Sam died. It was as if a piece of my soul was ripped out as she disappeared into oblivion. Another friend who gave their life to protect mine. But she was more than just my friend. She was my partner, the one person who knew me better than anyone. And I couldn't save her.

"Don't make a girl a promise you can't keep."

Her words haunted me every time I went to sleep. I promised I would save her, and I failed. I told her that when I made a promise, I kept it. But I couldn't keep my promise. I couldn't save her.

And yet, she was okay with it, dying to save me. In fact, I think she was even happy, giving her life to save mine. But never again. I vowed after that day that no one else would die to save me. If need be, I will sacrifice myself to save my new team. Michael, Tony, Garrus, Anna, Rika, and the rest of the Normandy team. I won't let anyone else sacrifice themselves.

"You okay, Chief?"

I turned my attention to the voice's direction, and found myself staring down at Rika and one of Natasha's teammates, Ashley. From what Michael told me, she was a survivor of Eden Prime, as well as the granddaughter of General Williams. I'm still surprised that after what happened to her grandfather, she would choose to serve on a ship with aliens, especially Garrus. Still, she was a good soldier, loyal to a fault, and tough as nails. Something told me she was going to be fun to work with.

And Rika. She's still the same anti-gun cop she was when she, Garrus, and Michael found me at that facility. She carried an aura of peacefulness around herself, yet that hid the ferociousness beneath. A ferociousness I witnessed firsthand when the three of them rescued the other survivors and I from the Facility. I never thought blades could be so deadly against robots, but she proved me wrong that day. I'm glad she's here. It's always nice to have familiar faces around.

"So," Ashley said, a bit intimidated by my appearance, "you gonna just stand there all day, or are you actually going to do say something?" She also seemed to be as much of a smart ass as Cortana. Yeah, she'd definitely be interesting to work with.

"Actually," I said, "I was just lost in thought, Gunny."

She chuckled. "Sorry, just wondering if you're alright, that's all."

"Don't worry about John," Rika said while patting my back. "This guy can take care of himself."

Ashley shrugged and said "Okay, but you need a place to put your armor until we can get you your own locker. As it is, all the other ones are currently occupied."

"I'll brought my own armor locker, as well as a locker for my weapons," I said plainly.

Rika and Ashley were both surprised by this information. "You have your own locker?" Rika asked.

I nodded. "I brought it here from the ship Stark used to bring the three of us to Therum. Rogue and Stark brought theirs as well."

"Well, damn," Ashley said with a smirk and a whistle, "you guys thought of everything."

"We do our best, ma'am."

"Who said that?" Rika asked while looking around.

I sighed. "That would be J.A.R.V.I.S., Stark's personal A.I., hacking into my Omni-tool again. Which I asked him to not do, if memory serves."

A holographic eye appeared on my Omni-tool. "I'm sorry, sir," J.A.R.V.I.S. said, "but this seemed to be the best way to introduce myself to the others while mister Stark is occupied."

"Occupied?" I asked. "He should be out of the meeting by now. What could possibly keep him occupied?"

Tony's POV:

"So for centuries, it was believed that starship stealth was impossible to achieve," Adams explained, "because heat generated by shipboard operations was easily detectable in the absolute zero temperatures of space."

"So in order to counter this," I said, "you would need a way to hold in the heat emissions so you can go undetected."

"Which led to installing lithium heat sinks deep within the Normandy's hull. This IES can allow us to travel across star systems undetected. However, we have to vent the heat every few hours during flight, or else we'd all be cooked alive."

"Though I bet it still has a few flaws. Like being able to be spotted from visuals."

"True, but nowadays people rarely look out a window to look for a ship, they just rely on scanners to find what they're looking for. However, the IES blue shifts the ship's heat emissions beyond our capacity to store them if we use it during FTL travel."

A second passes. I smile and said "It's nice to meet someone on this ship who speaks English."

From his spot at the table, Michael mumbled "Is that what that was?"

Tali walked up to us and put down her tray of food. She's lucky this ship had dextro-food, otherwise she would've starved. "Engineer Adams, this ship is amazing!" she said gleefully. "I had no idea the Alliance's ships were so advanced!"

"Actually," I said, "this ship's a prototype, fitted with cutting edge technology." I leaned back, put my hands behind my head, and placed my feet on the table. "I should know, seeing as I helped make it."

Her eyes widened behind her visor, and Michael's jaw dropped to match her shock. "You helped make the Normandy?!" they both said in surprise.

"Yeah," Adams said with a smile. "In fact, this guy helped equip the ship with his company's top of the line shielding technology. Mixed in with some turian tech, of course."

"Got to hand it to the birds," I said with a smirk, "they know how to build a ship."

"I think I'm starting to realize why the Alliance is so powerful," Tali said in awe, "especially if we're capable of making ships this small with drive cores so large."

Michael looked to her and said with a chuckle "What are you, a ship otaku?"

She brought her hands up defensively. "NO!" she cried out. "Nonononono...well, maybe." She slightly chuckled and said "I guess some quarian traits are hard to let go of, especially when we now have planets we can call home like Earth, Eden Prime, and Terra Nova...though for now, I guess Eden Prime is out of the question at the moment."

Michael placed his hand on hers. "Don't worry," he said reassuringly. "They'll be back on their feet in no time. And by the time they do, Saren will have answered for his crimes."

Tali's head shifted in a way that I could tell meant she was happy. "I know," she said. "But it's nice to hear that."

I decided to lighten the mood a bit. "So," I said with a grin, "would you mind telling me about quarian culture?"

She seemed to light up at that. "Well, for starters, quarians are a very closely-knit society. It comes from having lived on ships for centuries. As a result, we tend to think of each other as a bit of a family. And because of that, we usually act with the interest of others in mind. A single action affects our entire race as a whole."

"Why were ya livin' on ships for centuries?" Rogue asked as she took a seat right next to Michael. From the way Tali tensed up, I could tell she was a bit jealous. Looks like someone's popular with the ladies, I thought as I forced back a grin. I also couldn't help but feel there would be a rivalry brewing between the two women, but I decided to not warn Michael. More fun to let him figure it out on his own.

"The reason," Tali said with a hint of annoyance in her voice, "is because of the geth. They tried to kill us, and forced us off our own planet."

Rogue looked surprised by this. "Wait, why'd the geth try to kill your people?"

Tali sighed. "About 300 years ago, the quarians weren't known as pariahs of the galaxy before allying with humanity. We once lived on Rannoch, our home planet, and many colony worlds. We had an embassy on the Citadel, and were well on our way to gaining a seat on the Council." She hung her head, her shoulders slouched in a way to indicate shame. "And then we created the geth."

"Your people created the geth?!" We turned to the source of the voice, finding Chief towering over us. The sudden and stealthy appearance of the SPARTAN was enough to send a few of us jumping from our seats. He realized his unintentional mistake, and apologized.

"It's fine," Adams said kindly, "just try to make noise next time."

Chief nodded slightly. "Noted. Now, why did the quarians make the geth?"

"Originally, they were created to assist quarians with jobs they couldn't handle, or with simple work like farming," Tali explained. "When we created them, we saw them as a boon for our people. Until some bosh'tet got the bright idea to try increasing their intelligence, in order to make them able to do more complex work."

"You were doing A.I. testing," I said. "Last time I checked, the Council was against that sort of thing."

Tali put her hands up defensively. "It wasn't true A.I. research, Mr. Stark. We were only increasing their intelligence enough so that they could carry out more work, all while staying below self-awareness. Unfortunately, we underestimated their neural network."

"Their what?" Michael said.

"It's what makes them so efficient," Tali said. "Alone, a geth unit barely has any intelligence. Place it near ten geth units, and their intelligence increases as a result."

"So they're like a hive mind?" Adams asked.

"It's more complicated than that," Tali responded, "but I suppose it is an apt comparison. The neural network allowed geth to share data with each other simultaneously, allowing them to better tackle a job efficiently. Unfortunately, this system helped facilitate our exile.

"After our experiments, the geth had indeed become a better workforce. However, their neural network helped to increase that intelligence even more. Eventually, a geth unit asked it's master a question only a sentient being would ask. It asked if it had a soul."

"May I inquire what is so disturbing about that question, Miss Zorah?" J.A.R.V.I.S. asked from my Omni-tool.

Tali recoiled at my trusty friend's appearance, but calmed down enough to continue (although I could tell she was a bit off put by the fact that J.A.R.V.I.S. was here at all, and that she was keeping an eye on him). "The problem," she answered nervously, "is that they were becoming sentient. And while something like a V.I. is content with manual labor, a sentient being will eventually want to become more than simple workers. They would become fully aware, and would rebel against us in an attempt to free themselves from us. We decided to take the pre-emptive shot and try to shut them all down."

I stared at her for a few seconds, absorbing what she said. I then shook my head. "You really fucked up."

Her head shot up in response to my comment, as well as the heads of everyone else at that table. "What?" she said.

"Let me put it in a way you can understand," I continued. "You guys brought it on yourselves. Attacking the geth when they wanted to understand themselves, especially when they were becoming more lifelike, put you guys in the wrong."

I could feel her angry gaze burrowing into me from across the table. "You can't be serious!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands up in anger. "If we hadn't acted first, we would've surely been killed off when they attacked!"

"But what if they didn't want to attack you?" I asked as I started to get annoyed. "What if your pre-emptive strike forced the geth into attacking you?"

"That's ridiculous!" she yelled. "As soon as they began showing self awareness, they would've eventually rebelled, not wanting to simply do menial labor!"

"You don't know that," I said.

"I do! They're nothing but machines, incapable of being reasoned with! They're not even ali-"

Chief slammed his fists on the table, splitting it in two and shocking her- and the rest of us- into silence. I could tell it took all of his willpower to not throw her across the room. "Even A.I.s can feel," Chief said coldly. "If you don't believe that, then the quarians deserved to lose their planet."

He got up and headed to the elevator, leaving everyone there stunned in silence. Getting up myself, I threw in one last barb. "Couldn't have said it better myself."

I then headed toward the elevator just as the doors were about to close, joining Chief in the enclosed confines. As the slow moving compartment moved down, J.A.R.V.I.S. popped up and said "You didn't have to do that, you two."

I sighed. "No, J.A.R.V.I.S., we did. I can't stand it when someone says that people like you aren't alive."

"It doesn't bother me as much as it used to," he said matter-of-factly. "But I'm glad you still stand up for us. Both of you."

"I was simply stating the truth, sir," Chief responded.

I smiled at my companion's response. "Hey, what are friends for?"

Liara's POV:

I could hear the yelling from all the way back here. It is times like these that I'm glad I do not hang around with others very often. I would have really hated to have been in the middle of that argument. "Doctor," I called out, "what exactly are they talking about?"

Doctor Chakwas opened the door and poked her head in. "Oh, Tali and Stark were talking about whether or not it was right to attack the geth when they started becoming sentient," she said as if she were stating the weather. "As if they even need to. Synthetics aren't really alive, so I would have to side with Tali. Though if I know Greg, he'll probably side with Tony."

Right after she said that, Tali raised her voice enough so that I could almost make out what she was saying. Chakwas smiled and said "It looks like Master Chief and Tony succeeded in pissing off Tali. I suppose I should've seen that coming."

That caught my attention. "I take it you are on friendly terms with Mr. Stark?" I asked politely.

She chuckled. "Know him? Hell, I've been taking care of him ever since he was saved from that hellhole." She frowned at that. "What Tony went through there...no living being should ever be subjected to."

I looked down in shame. "I am sorry," said. "I did not mean to make you think about that."

She smiled a warm smile. "It's alright, Liara," she answered. "Now, I would recommend getting some rest, seeing as you're still recovering from your time in that bubble of energy."

"Then I guess we chose the wrong time to come in here?"

I looked behind Dr. Chakwas to find Commander Natasha Shepard standing in the doorway, as well as a human male with dark skin and golden irises. I believe Natasha said his name was Malak. I got up and said "I do not mind. Please, come in."

They nodded and let themselves in, passing by Dr. Chakwas as she walked out. As I turned my attention to my new guests, I noticed that Malak was looking a bit tired. "Are you alright?" I asked him.

He nodded. "Yeah, just needed to get away from Joe for a bit. Allah knows a mortal can only take so much in one day before he snaps."

That piqued my interest. "Allah?" I asked inquisitively.

"On Earth," Natasha explained, "humans are different in many ways. One of our main differences is in religion. While many religions today believe in a single God, they all have different beliefs. One such example is the monotheistic religion Islam, one of the three biggest religions of humanity. They believe in Allah, which translates to God."

"Really?" I asked. Now that I think about it, I never really paid that much attention to human cultures and beliefs, due to my work with the Protheans. Now that I'm staying on an Alliance ship, I had better start learning, especially since one of my teammates is a believer in one of Earth's main religions. Well, I had better start maing up for lost time. "Um, out of simple curiosity, what do the believers of Islam think of this Allah?"

"We believe that Allah is a unique being," Malak answered, "independent and indivisible of all creation. He is a universal God, an absolute being who integrates all goodness and harbors no evil."

"I see," I said with interest. "That sounds a bit similar to siari, the mainstream religion of the asari. It states that the universe is a consciousness, that all life is a part of a greater whole, and that death brings one's spirit back into the consciousness of the universe."

Natasha looked at me in slight awe. "So do the asari believe in reincarnation?" she asked.

"No," Malak answered. "To them, it's more like they believe that the spiritual energy they released upon death will one day separate from the galactic consciousness, in order to once more return to physical form."

Now it was my turn to be in awe. I did not think that there would be a human on this ship that knew how siari worked. It was nice to know that I was not surrounded by xenophobes. Though I could not exactly say the same about the XO of this ship, Pressley. I do not think he likes other aliens on board, except for the quarian, Tali'Zorah. Though with all the two species have been through, I would not expect anything less.

Wait, I am getting off topic. Returning to the conversation, I asked "So what are your thoughts on death, mister...?"

"al-Maut," he answered. "But you can just call me Malak. And Islam believes in predestination, or divine destiny. Muslim faith dictates that Allah determines all actions, whether they are actions of good or evil. Nothing happens unless He allows it to happen.

"However, that does not mean He controls mankind," he continued. "He allowed us free will, thus allowing us to make our own choices. Destiny does not hold a cause-and-effect influence on humans, though. Our actions are always within His knowledge."

I sat in silence as I absorbed this information. To think that such faiths existed that believed in a scripted destiny, yet allowed its people free will. Truly, humans are a fascinating race. "That's fine and all," Natasha said, bringing me out of my musings, "but I prefer to make my own destiny. I just hate the idea that I'm following some life that's preordained by a being I can't even comprehend."

Malak nodded. "Understandable," he said. "A strong-willed person such as yourself would never accept such an idea. You will always try to make your own future."

"Damn straight," she said with a smile.

"So what religion do you believe in, Commander?" I asked.

She looked at me as if I had grown another appendage. "Huh?" she asked. "None."

"None?" Malak and I asked.

"Yep," Natasha said, "I'm an atheist."

Silence once again settled in the room. Although this time, it was an uncomfortable silence. "Ashley's probably not going to like hearing about that, Shepard," Malak said nervously.

"Why's that?" she asked.

"She's Catholic," he answered.

She lowered her head into her hands. "Fuck," she muttered.

"What is the matter with that?" I asked curiously.

"Well," Malak answered, "let's just say that Christians aren't to keen on the idea of someone not believing in a God of any kind. Especially their God."

"Oh," I said nervously. Suddenly, I feared what would ensue of the revelation of this knowledge to miss Williams. "Maybe she will understand?" I asked hopefully.

They chuckled a bit. "Good luck with that dream," Natasha said.

'Something's telling me this is going to be a long journey,' I thought to myself. With a small smile, I thought 'Though I suppose it'll give me more time to get to know the others. Especially Michael.'

Rogue's POV:

Well, that conversation sure went to Hell in a hand basket.

As soon as Stark had stormed off, Tali just sat there fuming. I figured that it was probably best if she was left alone for now, so I convinced Michael and Adams to leave the are to avoid becoming the target of her anger. Michael and I headed up to Deck 1, as we chose to hide in the comm room for the time being.

"So," I said with a smile, "how much ya wanna bet Stark and Tali now hate each other?"

Michael returned my smile. "Oh, I already know she hates Tony," he answered. "Making others hate him is his super power, remember?"

We shared a good laugh at that. Yeah, he definitely had a way with making others not like him. Some would say it's all accidental. Others say it's him being a complete ass hat. Stark, however, would call it "the ol' Stark charm." Aptly named, seeing as it works perfectly for him.

"So," Michael said as soon as he caught enough of his breath, "how's life been treating you while I was out?"

"Actually," I said, "life's been good to me. Ah spent some time on Earth with Stark an' Chief, livin' with quarians in mah home state of Mississippi. They gave me this enviro-suit, taught me about the history an' cultures of this universe, and taught me some tech skills." I looked to him and said "They're a really great race, Michael. And a tragic one, also."

He nodded with a slight frown. "Yeah," he said, "they lose their whole planet, and the Council labels them pariahs. What a bunch of assclowns."

I smiled. "That's one way to describe th' Council. Anotha would be arrogant. They've been in power for millennia. Durin' that time, they've come to think that their way's the right way. They think they're invincible, but they're just settin' themselves up for the fall."

"Eh," he said, "I think Tevos is starting to see things our way. Who knows, she might actually become a public supporter for the Alliance."

"If that ever happens," I said with a grin, "Ah might have to have that Wrex guy slap me to make sure Ah'm not dreamin'."

"Be careful what you wish for," he said with a playful push.

Chuckling, I looked at him and went silent. He'd barely changed at all in the past year. He still held on to his 'no killing anyone' rule (except the geth, though he explained that destroying their bodies doesn't kill them, it just destroys their avatars. The geth programs just head back to their server, make new bodies, then joins the fight again. I guess that would make it easier for anyone against killing to shoot a geth). He was still a tad introverted around others, though not enough to make him reclusive. If anything, he liked hanging around with others, and could merely be content to listen to people (though he'd voice his opinion when necessary).

If anything, he only changed physically. He was still taller than me, though a foot or two shorter than Garrus. His golden hair had lengthened, reaching down to his shoulders. And his eyes. My God, his eyes were the same as ever. A warm, golden gaze that hid a person as insecure about himself as me. Yet that gaze also held the look of someone who would lay down their life to save an innocent person. That right there is one of the reasons I like him.

But the biggest physical change was his left leg. It was replaced below the knee with a cybernetic leg (most likely due to that monster that attacked him and made him disappear). It tore me up, thinking that beast had not only maimed him so much that it nearly killed him, but tore off his leg, too. And I couldn't do anything to help him. I couldn't repay the debt I owed him for saving me.

"There wasn't anything you could've done. If anything, you would've added to the body count. It doesn't matter now, though. You're here now, Anna. You can help him now. That's a good way to repay you're debt."

Heh. Good to hear you too, Hikari.

"Wait a minute," Michael said with a shocked look on his face, "how the blazes do you know Hikari?"

My head shot up in surprise. Honestly, I was not expecting anyone to hear what she said to me. Does that mean he's starting to...

"Huh," the other worldly being said in surprise, "it appears you're starting to get your old powers back. Interesting."

"You call it interesting," Bronson's voice said, "the rest of us call it creepy."

"On that, we can agree," Malak thought.

"Yep," thought Tony.

...

...

"Wait...HOW CAN WE ALL HEAR EACH OTHER'S THOUGHTS?!"

"Oh, it's not just you five," Hikari said, "Chief and Rika can hear us too."

"Yeah," Rika thought nonchalantly. "We just choose to not say anything."

"Mainly because we don't really have anything to say that's important," Chief continued.

"Wait a minute," Michael said, "how in the galaxy can we do this? What's going on, Hikari?"

"All will be revealed in time," she answered calmly. "In the meantime, make yourselves comfortable in this universe. Because you're gonna be here for a while. Oh, and watch out for Barry. Well, see ya!" And just like that, she was gone.

Silence once more ruled the room. Only this time, it was an uncomfortable silence. "Well," I said nervously, "at least that's out of the way."

Michael laughed a bit, though it was more of a nervous laugh. "Tell me about it."

"Anyone want something to eat?" Bronson thought.

Lord, this was gonna be a long journey. Well, at least I can spend it with Michael. Now, if only we could find a way to keep Bronson quiet, then it would be paradise.

Steve walked into the comm room. "Oh, here you guys are," he said with a smile. He looked at us and said "So, what did I miss?"

Well, the plot thickens! Why do these select people have the ability to communicate telepathically with each other? Will this unseen bond help strengthen the team or weaken it? Can John learn to live without his most faithful friend at his side? How will the relationship between Michael and Liara evolve? Will Rogue act on her feelings for her savior? How will the tension between Tali and Tony play out in the future? And how many of these questions will be answered in the span of the next few chapters?

Also, I'll try to get the next chapter out as soon as I can, but there's no promises. Until then, review and leave a comment, please.

BUT NO FLAMES!