"Are you serious?!" John asked at the question given to him.

"Yeah. We want to meet a batarian. Face to face. All four eyes. Maybe in combat. What do you think?" Lelantos grinned wickedly. John groaned and shook his head.

"We can even pop out the eyes and start trading them out as souvenirs. Maybe even currency!" Thanatos grinned widely. David Anderson was at his desk and holding his head in his hands. It was just their luck that John was still talking to him. Of course, right after the Kings were done with their mates, they had to act on this. It showed exactly how serious they were.

"We cannot intervene on batarian space!" David finally said. "It will go against everything the Alliance stands for!"

"We aren't fully part of your Alliance just yet. And we're not human, so you all can't be held accountable for it. I have an idea. How about this. You tell us where they like to go to pick people up," Lelantos started to suggest when an alert came up on the communication device. John looked at David, and the button was pressed to accept the call.

"We spotted a batarian slaving ship near one of the outlying colonies," the soldier started.

"Where?" John asked. The Kings were now paying close attention. The coordinates were given, and Hypnos was already deploying a small vessel filled with drones to the location.

"We'll take care of it. Shortly," Thanatos chuckled.

"What?" David asked.

"We've been fucking so much and spreading out the drones that, well…would you like to have a batarian ship brought in for study? Likely within the next day or two?" Lelantos asked. David's jaw dropped. "We can even bring in a few for questioning. If you want that."

"You would be willing to spare them? To bring them in?" John asked.

"Sure. We'd rough 'em up a little, but…why not?" Thanatos chuckled. "So, what do you think?"

"If you can get them, we need C-Sec to interrogate them," David said. "Some of these people we've been after for years. And, if you can even bring in one of their ships to further prove them as being corrupted, well…how can I pass that up?"

"We could even have a few drones take over the bodies and minds of a couple batarian members to gain the inside info of where they all meet," Lelantos grinned. "You want this slaving and piracy bit under control? Leave it to us. We'll get it done easily."

"And, if you have people here that you want to really give a lesson to, we can use them as bait to lure in the slavers," Thanatos added. John looked at him like he was joking. "What? They're all criminals. It would be a rather fitting form of civil service."

"Pallin will have the biggest fit of his life. Unless…" David mused. "See what he thinks."

"I'll go talk to him," Lelantos nodded and quickly sped off. Within minutes, he found himself in front of the C-Sec academy entrance. When he walked in, several guards glanced at him. "Hi! I need to talk Pallin. I have an idea to help out with the batarian slavers."

"He's too busy to talk to you," a guard growled.

"Really? You mean…him?" Lelantos smiled and pointed to Venari walking over with a purpose.

"I told you to ensure that these people can talk to me," he growled. The guards stammered.

"Well…" the guard seemed to panic. Venari sighed.

"Just…remember next time. And, as for you. Follow me," he said and led Lelantos back into his office. "One of your…kids…was able to tell me about what you wanted to do. I can't endanger any lives, but, if you can bring in one of the slaver crews without any losses, I would be interested to see what you have to bring to the table. We are all about peaceful negotiations. If we can avoid a fight, we want that. But, we also want to bring in the bad guys."

"What we were thinking was we take over one of the bad guys. Then we learn their secrets and give you an upper hand of an edge to know where they plan to strike next. All you'll have to do is have your forces waiting for them. What do you think?" the King asked. Venari now looked at him with a form of shock.

"You'd sacrifice one of your own to be a leak?" the turian blinked.

"We do that all the time. Drones are just that. Drones. They are meant to do the dirty work. It's why we have so many. Breeders are the next in line. But, we do what we can to spare them, as they make more drones. Then you have the Kings and Queens. I'm a King, just so you know. We make drones and breeders. That is, I make the drones. My mate, a Queen, needs a true male to make the breeders. As much as we love to get in and fight, we have to be kept safe at all times. It can't be helped."

"I see. It's a bit disturbing as to how you work. But, if you work with us and not against us, I can't say that I see anything wrong. And, you aren't fully a part of the Alliance just yet. So, technically, you could work under the radar. How about this. I'm going to forget that we talked about this. You do what you need to do. Bring in some of the criminals. You prove to me that you can get this done, and I'll have your back in the Council. It's something I usually don't do, but Garrus trusts you. And I hold him with a bit of respect. And, the way I see it, one less slaving group out there is one less mess we have to go clean up. Even if they are after humans."

"There are turians at that colony base, too," Lelantos said calmly.

"What?" Venari asked now. A drone walked over from where it was hiding just outside the door to give over an electronic notepad. The name of the colony was given with the coordinates. "Hmm. I see now. This was a new expedition to colonize a new planet. A test of trust between humans and turians in a far off place. How fast can your men get out there?"

"We just landed," Lelantos mused from what the hive told him. "We do need some E3 tech to fully get any new ships we need up to speed."

"If you pull this off, I'll sign off on any documents you need. The ones I can touch, that is," Venari nodded. "And, even though I said to forget that we spoke, I'll want some inside information. Why are you looking up? What the…?!"

Two drones uncloaked and jumped down from the ceiling to stand at either side of the turian's desk. Venari was in shock. And there were still two more undetected hanging off his ceiling. "You want your info? You'll get it. They'll continue to hide in here and even play witness to any conversations you have. Sorry for not informing you about them. We aren't part of the Alliance yet," Lelantos said with a small, knowing grin. The turian rubbed a three-fingered hand over his face.

"I think I need to get drunk later. But, if I do, I might miss something," he seemed to grimace. Then he paused at a bottle of wine placed on his desk. One of the drones had asked Garrus what the turians liked beforehand. The little gift was purchased and easily kept as a bargaining chip.

"Get drunk now. My drones will detain any others that try to see you," Lelantos nodded.

"This is the good stuff, too…" Venari mused, as he studied the bottle. "Fine. I think I need an hour break. As much as I shouldn't. Well…no. I'll wait until I'm actually off the clock. I can't risk my job over a good drink. I'll still keep this, though."

"I'm sure," Lelantos chuckled.

"I feel like I'm missing something, though," Venari admitted and put the bottle of wine in a storage compartment. "How in the hell do you all grow so fast?! I mean…I was given a breakdown of what you are. How you were made. It's as though all of you are the real threat!"

"You could say that it's from Mother's blood. She grew a year in a day. Pregnancies are a month in a day. Drones and breeders are just…instant. Queens that are birthed have Mother's timeline. Any birthed that aren't from Mother have her growth schedule. Any that come from eggs grow in just a few hours. If you like, I could set something in here for you to see how a drone egg grows. Or I could set one up in your personal chamber where it's far more private," Lelantos offered.

"You would do that?"

"I would. It would prove our strength of trust with you."

A rare form of childish fascination touched the turian's face. "I get out of here in a few hours."

"Good. Tell us where you reside, and I'll be there," Lelantos chuckled. With Venari now making plans to actually watch how a drone would grow in an egg, Hypnos was setting up the final check to make a touchdown landing on Nepheron. He was about to get into a small scout ship to depart in it, but Eir made her way to his side.

"Eir?" he frowned.

"Don't go down there," she said softly.

"I should oversee the building of the new headquarters. Mother is very adamant about this," he said. At her trembling lip, he walked over to her and hugged. "All right. I won't go. What should I do?"

:Grandmother, Hypnos feels that he needs to oversee everything personally on Nepheron. I really don't want him to go.: Eir said in the link.

:Hypnos, you have quite a few drones now, don't you? I am sure you don't wish for Eir to become distressed.: Agatha said with a warm thought. :You have been working extremely hard lately.:

:Mother, you told me that we needed a base. I was given a timeframe. I feel that, if I don't keep to it, then I will lose status within the hive.: Hypnos admitted.

:Listen up.: Alex said calmly. :You keeping Eir under control is just as crucial as setting up our new home. Get a shit-ton of drones out there to do what needs to be done. You are already making a really good headway on a lot of stuff that has to move around. Don't worry about it, and think of it this way. If you need drones, I'm giving you permission to call on them for your projects.:

:My Emperor!: Hypnos actually blinked at this honor. At first, he was told that he would be one for the others to report to. Now he was given full permission to call on anyone that he needed, other than personal escort drones, of course. He was the second King, anyways, so such a thing would be considered a privilege. Cronus did have such leeway, but he never reacted to it if he didn't have to. To him, resorting to others was a show of weakness. Alex knew that all too well.

:How far along is the new base?: Alex asked now.

:We've actually made quite a bit of progress with the raw materials we were able to salvage from other abandoned places. Colonies did try to live here at some point, but the threshers either killed them or drove them off. There were quite a few constructions already here that we simply repurposed. Of course, all labels, serial numbers and identification marks have been removed. Oh! One other thing…: Hypnos seemed to chuckle out.

:Yes?: Alex asked him.

:We killed a thresher. It was surprisingly easy to do, and we hauled it out of the ground. We're still pulling the worm out of the hole. It's rather massive. From what we have right now, we pulled over a mile of it out and cutting it up on the go. Wrex was correct on food for several months. With the one we just killed, we may have a good year and a half for supplies. We'll have a few slabs sent to him shortly, and I am even going to procure the head of it to start a trophy collection for us. Mother is going to get the largest slice of the thresher we can make.: Hypnos chuckled.

:Excellent! Start up a packaging plant to keep the meat from spoiling. We'll make thresher a new menu item for those that like it. And, I want your Mother to try it first before the rest of you.: Alex smirked at the hive link. He felt a bit of disgruntled thoughts come out, but they knew why. It was a new meat, and Agatha deserved to have the first taste of it. It would become a new tradition to the hive. Any new meats that were presented to them would be given to her first to show that she was the Empress in full. It would be a sign of respect to her.

Of course, the hive mind already respected her and loved her fully. This little act was just to cement down everything even further to those that didn't know what to expect of her. After four hours of intense work and meat transporting, Agatha was soon presented with the elaborate slice of thresher meat.

"I'm glad Hypnos got the warp jumping down. This would have taken a week to get here!" Robert chuckled. Wrex was only staring at the large slab of meat and felt his mouth watering.

"All healed up?" Alex asked and watched Agatha neatly slice off a bit of the fatty-looking meat.

"I am," she smiled. "The breeders look good, don't they?"

"They do!" Alex chuckled and watched her put the small bit of meat into her mouth.

"Hmm. Very earthy. Chewy. It's almost like a cross between pork and beef. Very interesting! And it's a bit fatty, too. Likely from being part of a worm-like creature. Oh! It has an aftertaste of fish! Now that is new!" she laughed softly. "I do like this!"

Wrex was about to ask for his slice of meat, but he was already being presented with a sizable portion. Now that she sampled it, the meat was being easily dispersed. When she finished off that slice, another oddly colored piece was given to her. Nick smiled and said, "This is part of the heart."

"Oh!" she blinked and was quick to sample it. "Wow. Very rich! I think I like this better than the actual meat! Much leaner in texture, too."

Alex was able to sample it next, and even he was nodding his head at this. "Yeah. She gets the hearts. The rest we can sell."

"The liver is just as good," Wrex said and burped after he finished off his slice. "Man! Been a long time since I had that! Still just as good as I remember it."

"Well, if you want more, just ask," Nick said.

"I'd try it, but I don't know if my digestive track would take it," Garrus said.

"You know what? Let's try it. You got a shot of her blood. You might be able to eat anything we can now. What's the most that happens? Bad stomach flu?" Alex asked.

"Or bad gas. Whatever happens first," Garrus shrugged.

"Aim at the door," Alex smirked. Garrus seemed to nod in a thoughtful way. "Anyways, it's going to be at least another half day before you can be with Agatha. I need to make sure more drones are birthed. You can be with her after that's done."

"Priorities as always," Garrus nodded in agreement. "It's fine."

"It's worth the wait," Robert nodded and got served his sample slice of thresher meat. "Hmm. Pretty greasy to me. From all the fat, I think."

"It's the best part!" Wrex scowled at him.

"That's actually the blubber. It's what gives it the worm-like texture. All the real meat is under that. You know, I wonder if thresher oil can be made as a natural form of fuel. Like whale oil," Nick mused. Now Alex found himself grinning at the idea.

"I did have another idea. You said this upper part was blubber. I wonder if we can fry it up like they do with pig skin and make rinds," she giggled.

"We will have to try that!" Robert grinned widely.

"And, since threshers are hard to harvest, I have to wonder if it's better stuff all around than what's able to be provided for both oils and meats," Agatha added. At their snickers and nods of agreement, she then said, "We would need to leave at least one planet untouched. Or not very settled in on. We would need to use them like cattle."

"And that's true," Alex mused. "We can have a good thousand drones do that. Thresher farming. It would work. Maybe train a couple of the fuckers to be used as personal pets…"

Spike gave a small whine at that. It heard the sound of another possible pet and believed it was going to be replaced. It was clearly growing in intellect with each passing second on being with them. Agatha laughed and let her tendriled hair give a loving caress to its back. Then she crooned out, "Don't worry, Mr. Fluffster. You're not leaving my side."

"Its name is Spike," Alex growled. The Hunter seemed to grunt out a 'no' at him to get his jaw to drop. Agatha was now in tears. Now Alex turned to glare at it. "Remember the rule."

At that, Spike jumped up and trotted over to him to lean into his side. Agatha was now looking for a phone to take pictures. Alex was not amused. At the sound of the door opening, they all turned at the sound. John had come back in and was carrying a child in his arms. It was the small salarian girl that had hatched in the egg.

"She just arrived. I had to bring her here. She was very demanding," John chuckled. Her large, blue-black, slanted eyes blinked in an upwards way, as she studied Agatha and Alex. She had a pretty skin tone of a silvery blue in pigment. The small appendages on the top of her head were a touch shorter in size than males would have. She was wearing an orange suit that was designed for space travel, and she appeared to be two feet tall. As much as her proper salarian people wanted to keep her for blood work experiments, it was the drones that were quick to intervene in their sly way to slip her right back out from their grasps. They never left her side as a precaution. She was spirited away the moment it became apparent as to what her natural race wanted to do with her.

"Mother?" she asked in her helium tone. "You didn't want me…"

"My dear. You will never be sent away again. And it's not that I didn't want you. We just didn't know what was best for you. Now we know that you need to be with us," Agatha said softly. When the girl looked at Alex, he was quick to move and collect her from John's arms. She clung to him and shivered from the tears of relief that fell. He simply held her and cradled her until she calmed down.

"Were you hurt?" Alex asked carefully.

"No. But…they wanted to…do things to…" she shivered. Agatha stiffened. And, when she let just a mere fraction of her anger be felt, Wrex actually swallowed. John seemed to shift. Garrus now looked over to nod with complete approval. The child was well protected.

"If any come here to look for you," Agatha growled. "they will be looking for their innards after I rip them out myself. You have my promise."

"Did they give you a name?" Alex asked.

"They wanted to. I said no," the girl mumbled.

"Good. Hmm. Agatha, you know the other kids will want to be here to meet her," he said.

"If that's the case, we should have enough drones to cover them," Agatha nodded.

"Huh?" the girl asked.

"You have a lot of other brothers and sisters. You could see most of everyone here as family, too. Okay?" Alex smiled and kissed her forehead. "Don't worry. You're not gonna be sent anywhere else."

"Okay," she whispered.

"Your new name is Alya," Alex said. She looked at him now and pressed into him while sobbing with relief. She was extremely smart, as all salarians were. It was going to be even more apparent now when a shot of Agatha's blood was painlessly given to her. She may have been formed in one of the eggs, but the shot was crucial for her. "Hey. When you get bigger, you'll get a part of me. Okay?"

"Okay," she nodded.

"A part of you?" Garrus asked.

"Kids that don't feel comfortable around anyone else other than me and Agatha are given a very special option. To become a byproduct of me. The change is permanent. And I always give them the choice. Even though it's a bit mandatory, they've never said no. We have a few kids under us now. All of them were neglected, homeless and abused. When they come here, my drones will be covering them. And, eh, John. Just so you know, my drones now inhabit Nepheron. And they just sent us some thresher steaks. Want to try some?" Alex grinned. John now found himself seated and served up a large slice.

Garrus was actually enjoying it, too. Agatha's blood allowed him to eat other foods at long last. He was very impressed with the textures. Alex moved to sit down with Alya to make sure that she had a decent meal. She was smuggled along with the drones for so long that he knew she needed the pampering she deserved. And likely a good, hot bath later.

Ragland was already being told by Hariti on what was going on. He was now making plans to get to them. He was a bit of the hive's personal doctor, after all. He had to make himself available.