Journal Entry – Day 581, Year 2819

We're working on the newest block of communal buildings. Now that they're waking up people to man both the Nexus and Meridian, I've been tasked with keeping an eye on Sloane Kelly and Reyes Vidal. Director Tann and I reached some kind of understanding, I think. He's got my back as long as I have his, or at least that was the gist of what I gathered from our recent exchange of emails on reports from Kadara and Elaaden. I'm still going to be handling the efforts of 20 people to 'covertly' keep tabs on outposts, and less covertly for Kadar and Elaaden. Everyone involved in the group is aware of the terms for leaving it and keeping them employment. We almost lost Elbana, until Pipona convinced her to see how it would play out.

Journal Entry – Day 593, Year 2819

I wish I could say that I had a breather, but since I've left Meridian, I've been really busy. Reyes and Sloane are trying to kill each other. Sloane sent an outlaw after him, and he in turn sabotaged her efforts to get cozy with the outpost. If these two don't kill me first, I'll buy my whole team a round of drinks at the start of the new year. On the joint effort front, Tiran and Evfra are butting heads. I'm starting to see the cracks in Tiran's 'good turian' image. He's been grumpy ever since Vetra and he have advanced in their medical treatment to produce a turian baby. I admit, I can't wait to see the spiky little baby and cuddle it. Vetra promises me plenty of auntie time.

Journal Entry – Day 600, Year 2819

The Angara are master builders. They've created stone pillars in their cultural center that list the known casualties of the war with the Kett thus far. They said it's the first of many. A prospective name is being tossed around for the hypothetical joint military. Director Tann ordered a monument for all the Initiative personnel who have were verified to perish at the Kett's hands. They're creating a memorial garden of stone columns, separated by race. While grim in nature this is also very healing for everyone. It means people are moving forward. I only hope that forward brings more joy than pain.

Journal Entry – Day 640, Year 2819

Well…I'm alive. Been dodging lingering Kett that have been attacking shipping routes. The Kett – I repeat this many times over – are not unintelligent beings. They have technology that is different than the Initiative's and Angara, and they are a menace. Nearly lost my shuttle in the chase from Eos. If it weren't for the new fighter ships being built and deployed by the hybrid APEX-Heskarl teams, I wouldn't be recording this now. I messaged Tiran aboard one of their new vessels. Aside from the lecture on traveling safety tips and criticism about not being able to shake the Kett sooner, he all but ordered me back to Meridian for shore leave. Our home is ready. We're living in the same complex as four other families. Scott and Vetra live above us, while an Asari and human and Asari and Angara live on either side of us on the first floor. It should be interesting, to say the least.

Journal Entry – Day 641, Year 2819

Just got home. Nearly had a heart attack for the birthday party they planned. Forgot it was my birthday. They apparently didn't.

Journal Entry – Day 642, Year 2819

Found a potential biological donor. Tiran's been digging into his history like a jealous man. There was almost a cross-species conflict the other day at the new bar. There's been a lot of that going around as the Angara are becoming accustomed to sharing the cluster. I want to say it'll get better soon, but we all know that's a lie. On a side note, Sara is up and moving again. Good as new. Well, almost. Everyone's treating her like glass. I offered to sneak Sara off to Kadara, and Vetra told on me to Scott. Sara's not talking to Vetra, and Scott tried to tell me I was a bad influence.

Journal Entry – Day 645, Year 2819

Sara and I had an all girl's picnic with Ellen. Addison joined us. Meridian is full of surprises. We plan to have another outing next week. Sara's going to Eos to familiarize herself with the Heleus Cluster. Jaal is going with her just in case anyone gets the wrong ideas. I'm not blind though. Jaal's been 'educating' Sara on Rem-tech, and Sara's been educating Jaal on Prothean technology. He's smitten with her, and she knows full well he's smitten with her. Scott's blind to the infatuation playing out between the pair.

Journal Entry – Day 648, Year 2819

Tiran surprised me with a statuette purchased from the new market place springing up as vendors are flocking to Meridian. Artisans are breaking away from the Resistance and Havarl and Aya to redevelop what has been lost. It's amazing to watch the revival, but to be part of its history? That's amazing.

Journal Entry – Day 652, Year 2819

I leave for Elaaden tomorrow. I'm traveling with Kesh. She's going to spend time with Vorn. Apparently…she's been keeping a secret of her own. Vorn's going to be a father to viable children. Ellen isn't coming with me, but this trip isn't supposed to take long. I'm checking in with Morda, per Tann's orders. The Moshae wanted a report on the visit, and then asked me to travel to Aya to see her in person. Wish me luck.

Watching Kesh and Vorn hold each other reminded me of how much I missed Tiran during my traveling. I leaned back and looked out across the crater that anchored much of New Tuchanka to bedrock. The hot air brushed gritty sand across my face. Sure, the air was breathable…Sure you wouldn't suffocate from the extreme heat like you once could. That didn't make Elaaden comfortable. It just made it a more hospital hell.

I listened to the many krogan. Krogan were a lot like the Angara, I noticed. Everyone was either hugging or hitting each other.

" You! Human!"

" You!" I shouted back. " Krogan!"

" Why aren't we allowed on Meridian?" The cranky male demanded, joined by his comrades. Each stared me down like I was going to move.

Checking my omni-tool I checked the time. Time was a tricky thing to measure because of the Scourge. From what best we could learn, noon on Elaaden was early morning on Eos. Noon on Eos was late afternoon on Kadara. Noon on Meridian on early afternoon on Eos. It wasn't chronologically confirmed yet, but it was the baseline most people worked with. " Well…Moshae Sjefa sent Morda a communication requesting an official delegation party. Why don't you ask her?" I replied casually, crossing my arms and proceeded to listen to music that was starting to take off across the cluster.

Once the Kett were no longer a constant threat, people actually permitted themselves to be more than a tool of destruction. The Twisted Fringe were one of the first groups to debut, and new music was everywhere! The Extranet offered endless possibilities for the inquiring mind. Even new porn was being made. There was talk of a Keri T'Vessa's documentary being turned into a series, with Angaran interviews being added on to tell the Angara's story. Life found a way, even in times of peril and uncertainty.

I looked up as sunlight glinting off dusty armor nearly blinded me. " You have a problem with us, Nexus?"

" No. Moshae Sjefa sent a communications asking for a delegation party, and she received no response. I only came with Kesh because Kesh wanted company. If Morda doesn't want to participate in the Intergalactic Government that is on her, not us," I repeated as calmly as I could, keeping the annoyance to a bare minimum. Looking up at the hulking krogan, I kept my composure. Don't blink, don't flinch.

" Leave her alone, You Pyjak!" Kesh shouted across the way.

I heard knuckles crack as the krogan male stepped back. This wasn't over, not by a long shot, but at least I had a standing chance with a weapon in the field instead of up close and personal. " Have a nice day," I waved at the krogan as he walked away before slumping against the wall again.

Vorn whispered something to Kesh. He motioned me over to them. " Kesh tells me that you have ways of making things happen," I shot Kesh a dirty look. She grinned toothily in return. " Could you retrieve crop samples from all the planets so that we can start growing them here. There's a good chance we can find plants that would have the same nutrients required for our young," He sounded so civilized and polite it almost shocked me that a krogan could be anything more than warlike.

I added it to my to-do list. " Sure. Would you like an actual plant or the seed?"

" Both,"

I noted that and rolled my neck. " Just a thought, Vorn, as Dr. Camden told me you're a genius at cross breeding. Please tell me that you haven't actually created a carnivorous plant," I shuddered at the thought of being killed by a plant. That didn't make for a very good death.

" Not yet,"

" Please don't," I begged. " On the behalf of almost everyone, we would appreciate if you didn't add another hazard to the Heleus Cluster."

Vorn raised his hand. " I swear to not violate Nexus law-"

Rolling my eyes, I made the decision to decrease the likelihood of trouble nodded to Kesh. " I'll be visiting the outpost. I want to see how the newly woken colonists are settling in and if they need anything," New Tuchanka was a maze to people who rarely visited. The various levels twisted and ended in dead ends filled with crates and people. At the bottom was a fighting pit for adhi. The limited inventory offered by the merchant by one of the entrances allowed for restocking of supplies, but aside from that, Tuchanka offered very little that I could effectively use.

Kesh punched Vorn. " You're breeding carnivorous plants? Have you not learned how that turns out?"

" But my Light, you don't-"

" Don't warm up to me just because you've been caught being an idiot again. My grandfather warned me about this-"

" About what?"

I never learned what Drack warned about because I moved out of ear shot and was already preparing for the heat to ambush me. The desert flowers sprouted up after Meridian activated. Red covered everywhere as far as the eye could see, except on the dunes, where a strange rem-tech dragon-type creature tunneled its way through the sand without heed for anything around it. Desert trees poked out the ground in less sandy places, granting much appreciated shade whenever it was discovered by weary travelers.

I just had to walk around the big crater along the road worn into the ground through constant travel of ground vehicles and foot traffic. It took me nearly a half hour to briskly walk it. Once I entered the rows of pods and talked to the leader of the post, an asari who handled the krogan very effectively, I discovered that the tensions between New Tuchanka and the outpost were rising. After Scott Ryder handled the architect that imperiled the settlements, peace of mind soothed the concerns of many. With Kett sightings, it threatened second wave colonists and their cozy little bubble they were woken into.

False sightings were causing a problem on Elaaden. Reporting them to the hierarchy and then having people sent out to investigate lead to a waste of resources that almost seemed planned and coordinated by an outside force. That was why I needed to look into it. " Do you think it would be possible if you were to send me the reported kett sightings locations- I just want to catalogue it for historical use. It'll help Tiran and the Resistance better predict where the kett will be in the future," I lied to the comm relay technician who worked with the man responsible for dispatching people to investigate.

" If it helps the Initiative, I'll do anything you ask, Mrs. Kandros," Word got around fast that I did the dirty work of the Initiative. The Pathfinders each had teams, but there were people out there like me – Reyes, Sloane, Kandros, Vorn – that could help the average person overcome hurdles that stopped others.

I tried to tamper my growing ego. I really shouldn't encourage my own rise in the ranks. I liked my position and I wasn't about to become a leader people looked up to. I was fallible, therefore did not need a pedestal. " It's appreciated,"

" There's a lot of selfish people in the Initiative, Mrs. Kandros. I'm not one of them," He continued to fix the broken receiver chip. " I also suspect that someone's trying to sabotage the outpost and relations with the Krogan, but I'm not sure how to confirm that without leaving the outpost,"

Heh. " You can't. Is there a lead I can follow to confirm or deny?"

" Maybe. I've been hoarding it away just in case I find someone that had the resources I didn't,"

" We have been properly introduced. I'm Ann Kandros. Agent of the Initiative. I get shit done. How can I help you?" The sarcasm was dripping as I pushed myself as a candidate. " You are?"

His brow lifted. " I'm not willing to risk having Tiran Kandros breathing down my neck because something happened to you. Sorry, no,"

" Then allow me to pass it along to someone else-"

" I could pass it along to the Pathfinder and his team,"

" We have other people who can handle tasks too," I cocked my head. " Send the information to Tiran Kandros. He can have an APEX team look into it,"

This satisfied whatever qualms he had about sharing the lead. " I'll forward the lead, and Mrs. Kandros – I'm not crazy. It's just that too many things aren't adding up," He stopped manufacturing repairs on the chip and then slipped it back into the panel layout. His omni-tool hummed with approval as the nearby console glowed with renewed life and calculations started to scroll down the 30 cm by 35 cm screen.

" Why are you calculating the odds of humans outstripping the Angara?" I recognized the numbers from Jill's portfolios. Tann ordered her to run the numbers just in case of worst scenarios. Humans could outstrip the Angara, if only certain parameters are met. Angara can oust us by their knowledge of the Heleus Cluster. I didn't wholly understand the numbers, nor did I want to. By all accounts it was an ugly, dark possibility filled with contingency plans upon contingency plans.

His head jerked up, eyes wide. " No reason,"

My hand rested on the handle of my pistol. " Don't lie to me. Why were you calculating the odds of humans outstripping the Angara?" I repeated, finding myself torn. I could shoot him on the spot and spare us another Cerberus. Or I could dig until I got to the bottom of the pit and hope that it exposed the root.

" I wasn't calculating the odds-"

" Then why lie?" I released the mag lock on my pistol. " Why brush it off?"

The tech look scared. I heard the gun cock behind me before I even raised the Carnifex. " I assure you, Mrs. Kandros, I know nothing," He stated, hands up. His eyes moved past me.

My heart pounded as I waited for the trigger to be pulled. " You won't stop us," A deep Turian said. " I don't want to kill you, but I will if I have to," A stun round buried itself in my shoulder, and I slumped forward. Blood seeped within my armor, sticking my shirt to my skin. A minor injury easily healed with medi-gel, but that didn't stop it from stunning me.

My hand twitched as the effects started to wear off. The technician leaned over and looked me in the eye. " I'm sorry about this, but it's necessary. I'm going to administer a sleeping dose and then leave you here. My information is correct. Someone is misreporting Kett sightings. This isn't personal. We just need to preserve our future any way we can," He produced a needle from his toolkit and removed my glove.

My eyelids became heavy, and then blackness overcame. I woke to frantic voices all around me, a familiar Krogan with blue markings on her face. " You scared us," Kesh said. " The doctor said that you just suffered a bullet to the shoulder,"

I almost sat upright. Kesh kept me laid out on the cot. I blinked several times as alertness returned in sporadic measure. " Fuckers….are planning something-" I grabbed hold of Kesh's arm. " Kesh, they were running odds on worst case scenarios for population growth and lack thereof. The tech was in on it-and a turian. A male turian," Breathing deeply, I inhaled smoke from an asari cigar. Probably a Huntress brand cigar. Aria's pet lover preferred that brand.

" Please tell me you didn't tell Tiran-"

" No. Word hasn't gotten out yet," Kesh reassured me. She helped me sit upright. I used her for support until the full effect of the dosage wore off. " This is the last thing we need. Another extremist organization marring our good name," I've never seen her look so aggravated with the common person as she did now. Tann, sure. Tann and Spender irritated her to no end, but normal people? No.

I put a hand to my throbbing temples. " The Angara have the Roekaar. At least we're not alone in that shame,"

" You're not factoring in the Exiles," Marriette Rensus helpfully added. Ever since she separated from Nilken, her soon to be ex-mate, she moved from out post to out post trying to find her place. She met Jori, a former colonist of Eos who chose to be redeployed to the outpost after Scott Ryder made it safe again. Jori and her were scheduled to be married soon, and they scouted other out posts for a more appropriate home that lacked the bad memories. " We're about to add another demerit to our side of the balance,"

I wanted to ask Marriette about facial markings and clan coloring, but the only question that came to mind now was whether I would be able to make it back to Meridian soon. " Help me up,"

Marriette grabbed one hand, Kesh the other. Once I stood at full height, I found my sense of gravity again. " It's better if you were dropped off at the shuttle, just in case,"

My omni-tool refused to cooperate with me as my fingers slipped over keys they weren't supposed to touch. Finally I opened the email application and pulled up a new email. " Kesh, I'll be fine. I just need some fresh air-"I swallowed hard. " Find the local doctor. I'm starting to feel high," The urge to eat something hit about the same time I wanted to sit down on the stretcher and lay out again.

My normal self would be outraged that when putting me asleep they also slipped in a popular synthetic drug that was passed around Omega like fresh oxygen. My high self relaxed and swayed on the spot. Kesh lowered me back down, shaking her head. " I'm going to kill whoever did this,"

" You wouldn't do that…you're Kesh," I heard myself say, sounding like I just vaped a cannabis laced cigar. Cannabis never went out of style, a drug popularly grown, with various uses for more than recreational use. The abuse of it also never went out of style. When it was cross bred with other plants that had drug-like effects on the users, it lead to a variety of results – some successful, others complete and utter failures. Some might call Cannabis old fashioned, but that didn't stop people from using it.

A half hour later, with the doctor administering a cleansing dose of detoxification assisting medication, I was clear headed with a new sense of rage and betrayal. I had a lead. " Someone's got the genome for cannabis, and they're growing it or they're going to. They know that technician, and that technician will lead us to the culprits-" My omni-tool recorded a garbled email saved as a draft. Well, shit. Good thing I didn't send that to Tiran. "-and the culprits are going to pay for this," I pointed at my head and made a big circle with my hand.

Kesh leaned against the wall, arms crossed. " Remind me to ask you about Omega when we're on the shuttle,"

" No," I shook my head, blocking out the bad memories. From the moment I arrived on Omega, it felt like failure dominated every part of my life. Dad died. Mom lost her mind after a while. My Uncle and Aunt went silent, refused to even tell me what was going on until I came home to find out that they moved my mother into an assisted living home and sold my family's apartment. Apparently the money went to Mom's treatments, but now I had doubts about if all of the money went toward her treatments. Maybe my uncle and aunt pocketed some of the profit for themselves. So no, I didn't want to remember too much about Omega. Omega didn't scare me. What happened to my family absolutely terrified me. Omega cured me of that depression, in a twisted manner.

" You don't want to discuss all the Red Sand users you saved from being made into slaves? Or perhaps how met you a lone Drell assassin who didn't kill you in the middle of a raid despite the fact it appeared you were colluding with pirates?"

How the hell did I go from talking about Omega to my first few adventures in the Terminus Systems?

" Eh! You leave him out of this. Whatever I said or did during the high can not be used against me and will not be known to Tiran," I already regretted not pulling the trigger on the technician. I should've went with my gut, but instead I chose to hear him out. Serves me right for being a 'good person'.

Kesh laughed. " You think this'll stay wrapped? Marriette's a loose tongue,"

" I am not," The female turian snapped at Kesh. " I give you my word that I will say nothing,"

I believed Marriette more than I did Kesh. I'd have to email Drack and have him do a heart to heart with Kesh. Maybe he could convince her to be quiet on this. " We have to head this off, whatever it is," I didn't even know what to call it. It wasn't domestic terrorism yet, and it wasn't terrorism until an actual act had been performed. It wasn't even rightly treason as no alliance had been cemented in place yet. There was nothing I could label it that might've allowed me to take legal action even if we did find a culprit.

It was like the Nilken Rensus mess all over again. The intent was there, even if the execution was sub-par.

" How do you suggest we do that?" Marriette demanded. " All we have is a false identity, a male turian, and a cannabis using human,"

" Of a drug that originated in the Milky Way," I pointed out highly agitated. " And that is far easier to track than the other two leads we have. Shouldn't be hard to track shuttle patterns. If this was Eos, I could apply to the Advent for help, but this isn't Eos. This Elaaden and Morda only cares about Morda," I dusted myself off. " C'mon. Let's get off this planet before I kill someone,"

Marriette grabbed my arm as I passed. " You remember the Flophouse? The place the Pathfinder put out of business before establishing this out post? There's been an uprising in Oblivion users. They might know something," She let go and apologized.

Kesh put her arm around my shoulders. As she was taller than me, she looked down. " We'll set you right," She promised good heartedly. I only hoped that this didn't have a negative impact on my future plans. I wanted to settle down and actually raise Ellen. I couldn't do that if there was going to be a xenophobic going on around us.