Cycles Upon Cycles

by The Incredible Muffin

The residents of the Koprulu Sector thought they had finally achieved peace. They were wrong. Now, the Koprulu Alliance is faced with a galaxy that was bigger than they thought. They will meet new friends, and more importantly, new enemies, but all will be forced to put away their hatreds, both old and new, or none will survive the darkness that is to come...

21. No Rest for the Wicked, Part 1

STARCRAFT DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. MASS EFFECT DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. NONE OF THAT WILL STOP ME FROM BUILDING AN ARMY OF FLASHLIGHT-HEADED ROBOTS TO DESTROY MY ENEMIES. I KNOW WHO YOU ARE, I KNOW WHAT YOU DID, AND I AM NOT AMUSED.

Okay, so it's only now that I've got my mojo back that I've made a cool discovery: this story now has its own TVtropes page! I don't know who set it up, but you are now one of my favorite people! Virtual muffins for you!

Now then, back to stuff happening.

Cycles Upon Cycles

Chapter 20

No Rest for the Wicked, Part 1

Hello, and welcome back to UNN, I'm Kate Lockwell. We have breaking news: Over thirty Dominion ships were seen heading into Council space, along with a Protoss battlegroup. Alliance representatives have assured us that a new conflict is not breaking out, but have refused to comment beyond that. We'll keep you updated with developments as they occur.

In other news, sixty people are dead following another Vespene refinery explosion, and over a hundred wounded. Dominion security has discovered that this incident, and others before it, is the work of a group calling itself 'Cerberus'. If you or anyone you know has information about this terrorist organization, please contact Dominion personnel as soon as you can.

The Normandy, Noveria Orbit

Mere hours after the Strikers had secured most of Noveria, a fleet of Alliance and Council ships appeared in orbit. Close to a hundred capital ships in total; after a short conversation between Shepard, Anderson, Admiral Hackett and the Turian General Victus, thousands of Alliance and Council soldiers were deployed en masse to ensure the complete eradication of the Rachni.

With the situation clearly in hand, the Strikers began recovering the dead and treating their wounded. Between the fighting on the planet's surface and Benezia's attack, the Strikers had lost nearly three hundred personnel, and almost the same number of wounded. There were also repairs to be done; the Normandy had suffered quite a bit of damage, and though Hackett offered Terran engineers to assist in the repairs, the Strikers' ship was still largely a secret, and the Dominion engineers simply wouldn't know what they were doing. When he realized this, Hackett simply gave the Strikers raw materials that would be needed, as did several Protoss ships among the Alliance fleet.

Because Shepard felt that time was now of the essence—and it was more of a gut instinct than any hard evidence—he ordered that anyone who could swing a hammer was to help with repairs. The Normandy needed to be spaceworthy again, and she couldn't go through a warp jump with several gaping holes in her hull. However, because nearly every Striker was exhausted, the repairs were conducted in shifts, allowing everyone at least some rest.

One thing that Hackett was able to do was provide additional medical support for the wounded Strikers. Unfortunately, over twenty of them were so badly injured that they were unable to serve; Shepard contacted Valerian himself to get his assurances that each of those men and women would receive full support to live civilian lives. They would be transferred off the Normandy that day, and Hackett would take those soldiers back to the Dominion once the situation on Noveria was stable.

"You have been a credit to this unit," Shepard said when he personally told them of their fate. "From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for your service."

If anyone noticed Shepard blinking back tears as he shook each Terran's hand, no one said anything.

There was one among Shepard's crew that neither Chakwas nor Hackett's Medics were able to help; most of Liara's injuries were simple flesh wounds, but the damage to her eyes required assistance from doctors more used to Asari physiology. Shepard had been a little reluctant to send the archaeologist to one of the Asari doctors aboard a Council ship, but had allowed it when Ashley and a squad of Marines volunteered to provide security.

So when Ash contacted Shepard to tell him that there was a problem with Liara's treatment, Shepard had nearly ordered a full attack to rescue his crew—and after everything Liara had done for the Strikers, and what the Strikers had done for her, Shepard did consider her one of his crew now—but had settled for docking with the ship and storming into the infirmary.

"What the hell is going on?" Shepard asked in a low voice.

An Asari doctor saw the murderous look in his eyes and decided that the truth was better than trying to placate the battle-scarred Terran.

"I'm sorry, but as in most creatures, eyes are delicate organs," she said. "Doctor T'soni suffered damage to her optic nerves, and some of this damage was close to her brain. There are procedures to repair the damage, but they are risky. Doctor T'soni has insisted that she must see your mission through to the end, and has refused the treatment."

Shepard spent a moment processing this, then walked up to Liara, who was lying in a bed, her face dotted with bandages. In particular, a strip of cloth was over her eyes.

"Liara, can you hear me?" Shepard asked.

Liara turned her head in his direction; despite the trauma she'd suffered, both physical and emotional, she had a tiny smile on her face.

"I may not be able to see right now, Commander, but my hearing is still fine."

Shepard snorted. "Right, sorry. Look, I know you want to help, but if you can't see, it's going to be hard to take you with us. I just don't have the time to have someone be your seeing-eye dog."

"She isn't blind, Commander," the Asari doctor said. "Her eyes are damaged, yes, but her vision is only somewhat impaired. If you like, Doctor T'soni, we can create some corrective lenses for you."

"Really?" both Shepard and Liara asked.

The doctor shrugged. "We don't use that method much anymore, but there are cases where patients either refuse or would react badly to surgery. We can have them ready for you in a few hours, which includes the time to create frames that would attach the lenses to your face; the Mass Effect fields take time to calibrate—"

"No," Liara said firmly. "Element Zero is illegal in Alliance space or on their vessels."

"How about you just make the lenses?" Shepard offered. "We can make some frames that don't need Element Zero."

The doctor seemed a bit put off, but did admit that, without the need to make the frames, the time to make the lenses would be cut down to a mere hour. Shepard promised Liara that he would have something ready for those lenses by the time she came back to the Normandy.

"Thank you, Commander," Liara said. "May I ask you for one more thing? Actually, this is a request to all the Strikers."

Shepard shared a glance with Ashley. "What do you need?" Shepard asked.

Despite the rather harmless attitude Liara normally had, the snarl on her face impressed even the hardened Terran veterans.

"When you find Saren," she said, "make him hurt."

Shepard patted her shoulder. "I'll give him an extra bullet, just for you."

Shepard had returned to his ship after that, but before he could get a chance to even catch up on the progress of repairs, he was called in for a meeting, along with Zeratul and Nihlus, both of whom had recovered from their injuries.

Waiting to speak to them via hologram was Valerian, Artanis, Jim Raynor, and a Terran that Shepard didn't recognize. This newcomer was tall, by Terran standards, but thin; at first, he seemed the academic type, but the way he held himself suggested that he had seen more than his fair share of fighting, and wasn't happy about it. He had short-cropped hair and a small beard, and eyes that seemed to analyze everything they saw.

"Commander, good to see you again," Valerian said, getting the meeting started. "I realize that it has only been a few hours since we last spoke, but with things moving so fast, I hope you can forgive me for withholding hope that I'll see the same faces twice in one day."

Shepard shrugged. "Not a problem. What do you need, sirs?"

"First, introductions are in order," Valerian said, gesturing to the Terran that Shepard didn't know. "This is Professor Jacob Ramsey, the new head of the Mobius Foundation."

Ramsey's eyes fell on Zeratul, and the Terran smiled. "It's good to see you again, Zeratul."

Zeratul nodded. {Likewise, Jacob Ramsey.}

"Glad to hear it. Does this mean you won't try to strangle me again?"

{There are still hours left in the day. Anything is possible.}

Aside from Artanis and Ramsey, everyone stared at Zeratul. Had he just made a joke?

Shepard blinked, then turned to Ramsey. "Sorry to interrupt—though I'd really like to know how you two know each other—but what's going on?"

Ramsey sighed. "This concerns the Xel'naga ship that was used to attack you. Alliance teams have already been sent to recover it, but can you tell us anything about it now?"

{Moreover, we would like to know how Saren was able to get his hands on working Xel'naga technology,} Artanis added.

"The ship had advanced stealth systems," Shepard said. "It was able to avoid detection by even the Normandy's sensors. Its weapons weren't very powerful, in comparison to other Xel'naga weaponry I'm aware of, but it still cut through our shields and armor pretty easily. However, our own weapons were able to dislodge it from our hull, though the ship was mostly intact after it hit the ground."

Artanis nodded thoughtfully. {I believe it was a scout vessel of some kind, perhaps used for observation. That would explain the stealth technology.}

"As for how it wound up crewed by brainwashed Asari…" Shepard glanced at Nihlus for a moment. "I have someone decrypting files we took from Binary Helix; we don't have everything yet, but what we do have suggests that someone else found the ship and gave it to Saren."

"Who'd want to give that nutcase a workin' Xel'naga ship?" Raynor asked.

"The files don't say," Shepard said. "All they referred to was an 'illusive man' who hid in the shadows and never met Saren in person, only through messages."

"Was there a trade of some kind made?" Valerian asked. "What was given in exchange for the ship?"

"Nothing solid," Shepard said. "Only a promise to do as much damage to the Alliance as possible."

"Someone clearly wants the Alliance destroyed, or at least crippled," Nihlus mused, speaking for the first time. "Whoever this 'Illusive Man' is, if he gave Saren such a powerful weapon for such a small promise, he must have a personal vendetta against one or all of the factions of the Alliance."

Valerian frowned and tapped his chin. "It's a bit of a long shot, but we have encountered a group of Terrans, called Cerberus, that have attacked Dominion facilities over the last year or so. They use advanced technology, years ahead of anything the Dominion uses. We know little about them, save for that they have bases outside the Koprulu Sector that they have used to observe and launch attacks on us."

"Wait, Terrans outside the sector?" Shepard suddenly had a horrible thought. "Could they be from Earth?"

Everyone froze; that possibility hadn't occurred to them. Nihlus, however, was confused.

"Earth? What are you talking about? I've never heard of that colony."

"It would explain a few things," Raynor said.

"Commander, please stay on your mission," Valerian said. "We will take that idea into account. However, if you find any data on Cerberus, forward it to us as soon as possible."

"Yes, sir," Shepard said.

{Zeratul, please give the Commander any and all information you have on the Xel'naga,} Artanis added. {We may be able to track the technology back to this Cerberus, or whoever is obtaining Xel'naga artifacts.}

{Of course, Hierarch,} Zeratul said.

"Good luck, Commander," Valerian said, then the transmission cut out.

"I'm sorry, Commander, but I am very confused," Nihlus said.

"Yeah, it's… complicated," Shepard told him. "Once Ash and Liara come back, I'll set up a briefing. For now, we're going back to repairs. Nihlus, I want you to hit up every contact you've got; find Saren, or at least something critical to his operations."

Nihlus nodded slowly. "Very well, Commander. I look forward to that briefing."

…

Three hours later, the Strikers' senior officers were all present, along with Garrus, Tali, and Liara. The briefing room was one of the few areas of the ship that had taken no damage whatsoever—the only other places like that were the bridge and the armory—and it gave them a chance to relax, if only for a few minutes.

"First and foremost," Shepard said, starting the meeting, "I want to say that I'm proud of all of you for the mission earlier today. You all performed beyond expectations." Even Legion sat a little straighter in his seat at that. "Now then, how are repairs looking?"

Tali tentatively raised her hand, but became a little more confident when Shepard smiled encouragingly at her. "Well, all systems are now working, the hull breaches are sealed, and we'll be ready to leave in about an hour, but the ship will need some heavy maintenance to get back to a hundred percent."

"Just tell me we can get to where we need to go and blow stuff up," Shepard said, not unkindly.

Tali nodded. "No worries about that, Commander; this ship is still a force to be reckoned with."

"And our vehicles?"

"Adams told me to tell you that the Piranhas were all salvaged, but a quarter of them won't be ready for combat for another week." Tali hesitated, then looked at Jenkins. "He also said that if you break your ride's axle again, he's going to put motor oil in your armor's oxygen supply."

Jenkins looked sheepish, but joined in when several officers laughed.

"Very good." Shepard turned to Chakwas. "How are the injured?"

"Some require at least another week of treatments," the doctor said. "However, over a third of the men who came into the infirmary are already out, and I expect to have another fifty or so ready for duty by tomorrow."

"That's good to hear," Shepard then turned to Zeratul and Grunt. "What about your guys?"

"My Brood-brothers who survived are now healed," Grunt said. "However, the Queen of Blades would like to replace our losses soon, if we can."

"If we can, we will, but we might not have time," Shepard said, then looked at Zeratul expectantly.

{Our walkers that were damaged are nearly repaired,} Zeratul said. {Our wounded are being treated, and our dead have been handed over to the Protoss vessels orbiting the planet.}

Shepard grimaced; seeing so many Terran coffins being turned over to the Kilimanjaro had left a bad taste in his mouth. He couldn't imagine how it felt like for Zeratul.

"All right, so that's the progress report," Shepard said. "Now, we've got bad news, and worse news; what do you want to hear first?"

"Start with the bad news," Jack said with a scowl.

"Fine. The bad news is that a Terran group calling itself Cerberus was the one that discovered that Xel'naga ship, and handed it over to Saren. Miranda, make sure to give Nihlus, Tali, Garrus, and Liara all the information on the Xel'naga that they're authorized to know."

"So some goddamn idiots are hunting down ancient alien tech and giving it to the bastard who has a serious hate for us?" Zaeed sighed. "Well, that's just great. What's the bad news, Commander?"

Shepard took a deep breath. "It's not confirmed, but… we think that Cerberus are survivors from Earth."

For a long moment, no one moved. Then Jack slammed her fist onto the table. "Oh, you have got to be fucking kidding me!"

"I wish I was, Jack," Shepard said. "It would explain Cerberus' advanced technology, anyway."

"Um, I'm sorry, sir," Garrus said, "but what is Earth? Is that the name of a colony?"

Shepard shook his head. "No. For all those who don't know, Earth is… well it was the Human homeworld. It got destroyed years ago. For security reasons, I can't tell you who destroyed it, or where it was.

"As for why no one talks about it, I'll give you the short version. A couple centuries back, the government of Earth took a bunch of criminals, our ancestors, and loaded them into three supercarriers and launched them into space. Something went wrong, and our ancestors wound up in the Koprulu sector. A little over ten years ago, the United Earth Directorate tried invading the sector, and damn near succeeded. Their fleet was destroyed in the end, and everyone believed that they'd try again, but then everyone in the UED was killed. Except for Cerberus, it would seem."

The aliens not from the Koprulu Sector were staring at Shepard; they had all assumed that one of the core worlds was the Terran homeworld.

"Why haven't I heard about this?" Garrus asked.

Shepard gave him a rueful smile. "It's not something people like talking about. How would you feel if your homeworld banished your ancestors, then came looking for you just to kill or enslave you?"

Garrus had no answer for that, though Shepard sent a telepathic message to Miranda to give the newer members of the Alliance a more comprehensive overview of Terran history.

"Shepard-Commander," Legion said, "what relevance does this data have to our mission?"

"Not much," Shepard admitted. "Right now, our goal is still to find Saren and kill his ass. However, the Alliance would appreciate it if we gave them any and all information on Cerberus we happen to find along the way.

"Speaking of information," Shepard looked at Tali again. "Any luck on decrypting more of those files?"

Tali nodded. "Actually, yes. I think I have an idea of what the Conduit is! I showed my findings to Liara, and she agreed."

Liara cleared her throat before speaking. It was odd seeing her with square-rimmed glasses; the thin frames had been molded to the contours of her head exactly, so that they had a strong grip. Her scars were still visible, and looked like white freckles dotting her face.

"From what Tali has been able to decrypt, along with my own knowledge of Prothean technology, we believe that the Conduit is actually a very small Mass Relay. According to my… my mother, it is located on Ilos. The files suggest that it is not large enough for a ship, but it could fit soldiers and small vehicles rather easily."

"In many respects, Mass Relays are doorways," Miranda said. "Do you know where the Conduit goes?"

"No, I'm sorry," Liara said. "However, I am hopeful that the remaining files will answer that question, and if they don't, perhaps Saren has more information about it."

"Assuming he didn't just keep it all in his head," Ashley pointed out.

"That's the benefit of having psychics on your side," Kasumi said. "Keeping something important in your mind is like saying 'the cookie jar is open, help yourself'."

Ashley snickered before conceding that one.

"Getting back on topic," Nihlus said, "I believe that I have our next destination."

The focus in the room sharpened on the Turian SPECTRE.

"Explain, now," Shepard said.

Nihlus considered himself fortunate that none of them read his mind. "The Salarian Union lost contact with an STG force on the planet Virmire. According to that team's last transmission, they had located something important to Saren's operations."

"Okay, so I've got a few questions," Shepard said. "First, why the hell am I learning now that there are other taskforces looking for Saren? Second, when was this transmission sent? Finally, why isn't there a fleet headed there now to blow up whatever Saren has?"

Nihlus didn't break eye contact with Shepard, but it was clear that he was uncomfortable. "In order… well, did you really think that the Council governments would give the lead on this chase to just the Alliance? And this transmission was sent just six hours ago; contact was lost an hour after that, and with all that's happened today, it only now reached me. As for why the Council doesn't have a fleet headed to Virmire—a sizeable Heretic Geth fleet was reported in the area."

"That wouldn't stop the Alliance from going in," Jack challenged.

"But the Alliance can't send a fleet in," Nihlus said calmly. "The Normandy is the only ship that is allowed to operate in Council space, and the only reason there isn't a war going on between our governments over the Alliance ships over Noveria is because that planet doesn't officially belong in Council space."

Shepard coughed, breaking the tension. "Our ship's stealth systems should be enough to get us to Virmire. In this case, we're going to stay in stealth; Nihlus, when we complete our mission, I want a Council fleet standing by to get rid of those Heretics. Between the Strikers and your fleet, we might be able to really ruin Saren's day."

Nihlus nodded. "Very well. I'll see what I can do."

"All right, tell them they've got one hour to give me an answer; after that, we're going to Virmire with or without them."

Nihlus left in a hurry after that, realizing that their mission would be a lot more difficult if the Strikers went it alone.

"Everyone else, I want you to get anyone who can fight and have them ready at all times; I want weapons and other equipment ready before we reach Virmire. Edi, what would be our ETA to the planet?"

"One moment, Commander." The Adjutant gave the AI equivalent of a blink. "Accounting for the remaining hour we have, we will arrive at Virmire in eighteen hours."

"Great, thanks. You heard the lady, we've got eighteen hours to get a strike force ready to go. Garrus, Ash, I want you and Miranda to learn as much as you can about Virmire; we'll organize tactics around the terrain and possible hazards."

"Shepard-Commander, that will not be necessary," Legion said. "The Consensus retains all knowledge obtained from the Extranet. I can copy and transfer the data on Virmire to Lawson-Lieutenant Commander. The other Geth can brief fellow Strikers on relevant information."

Shepard blinked in surprise, then smiled. "Well, that helps. Thanks, Legion, you get right on that. Since our resident Geth has that covered, Tali, go help Adams with repairs, try to get this boat a little more patched up. Garrus, work with Ashley on checking gear. Everyone else, if you don't have something to do, get some rest, because we're all going to need it. Liara, Zeratul, Kasumi, I want you to stay behind for a minute; everyone else, dismissed."

Once everyone else was gone, Shepard turned to Liara. "First of all, I'm glad you're back, Liara. How're you holding up?"

Liara sighed, self-consciously adjusting her glasses. "Commander, I have seen friends and colleagues murdered. I have learned that an ancient race of monsters aims to destroy us all. Less than a day ago, my own mother tried to kidnap me, and then died in my arms. I am surprised that I have not gone through a mental breakdown."

Shepard gently patted her shoulder. "We'll get through this, Liara. Stick with the Alliance long enough, you'll find we have both the best and worst luck. You're just hitting the worst part; it only gets better from here."

Liara managed a weak smile, then excused herself.

Shepard glanced at Kasumi and Zeratul. "You think she's going to be okay?"

{She has suffered much in a very short amount of time,} Zeratul said. {I do not see her ever getting used to the things we have seen. I hope, for her sake, that her future is filled with less dangerous pursuits.}

"Yeah, she's not the soldier type," Kasumi added. "What else do you need, Shep?"

"Two things," Shepard said. "First, Kasumi, until this thing with Saren is over, I want you to keep an eye on Liara; this is the second time Saren's gone after her, and I need someone who can watch over her without anyone noticing. Be her shadow."

"What about missions?" Kasumi asked, and there was a defiant glint in her eyes.

Shepard sighed, knowing that it was unlikely she'd stay behind unless she was wounded. "I'll assign extra security for her during then, but I have a feeling she'll be more open with you than a bunch of Marines."

"Fair enough," Kasumi conceded. "CMC armor doesn't scream 'warm and fuzzy'. At least I don't look like I'm going to punch someone in the face all the time."

"Thanks. Now, Zeratul, I've got a question for you."

{What do you want to know, Commander?}

"Remember what I did when we were fighting the Rachni Queen?"

{Yes, it was impressive, for a Terran,} Zeratul said. {I sense that that wasn't your question, however.}

"Yeah… I want to know if you knew why my psionic power keeps increasing like this." Shepard looked uncomfortable. "It started ever since the battle on Aiur, if that helps."

Zeratul was silent for what seemed like a long time. {I will consult with several Protoss who are more learned than I. This increase in psionic power is unusual, but I do not believe anyone is in danger. If you feel that that changes, alert me immediately.}

Shepard nodded easily. Psychics were becoming more accepted in Terran society, but both ordinary Humans and psychics alike had a secret fear of someone losing control of their powers. Knowing that some Protoss would help him if he had a problem eased Shepard's worries.

"Thanks, Zeratul." Shepard sighed. "If there's nothing either of you need from me, I'm heading to the bridge. I need to talk to Anderson."

Zeratul nodded. {Very well, Commander. I shall return to my brethren.}

"And I'll go keep an eye on Liara," Kasumi said, then vanished.

{Does she feel the need to do that often, Commander?} Zeratul asked.

Shepard chuckled. "I think she just likes giving people heart attacks."

…

Almost an hour after the Normandy made its warp-jump, Shepard was called down to the science lab for what Chakwas described as 'a disturbing discovery'. When Shepard arrived, he found that he wasn't the only one called; Miranda, Zeratul, Grunt—to his surprise—Kasumi, Liara, Tali and Garrus were also present. The presence of the last three suggested that whatever Chakwas was going to show them probably concerned their species, but not them personally.

"What's up, Doc?" Shepard asked, then raised an eyebrow at the row of gurneys with sheets over familiar shapes. "Um, why do you have a bunch of corpses in the lab?"

Chakwas shot Liara an apologetic look before speaking. "I've been interested in biotics for some time now, but I haven't had much chance to actually study it. The Citadel races have learned to keep their secrets guarded, like we do with psionics. After the attack on the ship, I had several Asari bodies brought here for study."

"What about talking to some of the Blues?" Shepard asked. "Those Asari are on our side and don't have much love for the Citadel governments."

"Because I respect my patients," Chakwas said with a bitter smile. "Many of the Asari living in our space were victims of invasive procedures at the hands of Batarians. Unless they're dying of a fatal illness, I doubt they'll see a doctor, and even that's a close thing."

Grunt scowled. "We should have killed the rest of those slavers when we had the chance."

No one in the room really felt like disagreeing.

Garrus nodded at the covered bodies. "So, did you find something?"

"Yes, actually." Chakwas lifted the sheet off of the first corpse; aside from a small hole—courtesy of a gauss round—in her chest, she was completely intact. "This was the least-damaged corpse I could find, and I'm using it as a reference sample. Each Asari has nodes of Element Zero throughout their bodies; they use their biotics through a combination of focus and memorized physical moves."

"Like practicing a punch the same way over and over," Shepard mused.

"Exactly. Now, as you know, Element Zero is banned in Alliance space because it is essentially an anti-psionic. What some of you may not know," Chakwas gave Liara, Garrus, and Tali a pointed look, "is that it will kill Protoss, disrupt the psi-connection the Zerg share, and causes cancer in Terrans. From what I understand, the latter can happen to other species in Citadel space."

Garrus nodded. "I had a cousin die to Eezo exposure when a fuel tanker ruptured."

"However, the secondary exposure is something that concerns me," Chakwas continued, though this was mostly for the benefit of Garrus, Liara, and Tali. "Those who happen to be in the early stages of pregnancy when exposed risk the safety of their children. Those that don't die in the womb have a high chance of becoming biotics."

"Except for Asari," Liara said softly, not taking her eyes off the dead Asari. "We are almost immune to any negative Eezo exposure."

"That brings me to my next two points." Chakwas moved to the next corpse and pulled off the sheet; Tali made a gagging noise when she saw that this corpse had been cut open, exposing most of her organs. "First, this, for lack of a better term, symbiosis between Asari and Element Zero seems almost impossible. Why is one species so well-adapted to this element when it is deadly to literally every other species we know of? After examining the Eezo-nodes in this one's body, I found something strange."

"Strange how?" Miranda asked; Shepard noticed that she was paying rapt attention.

"The nodes are perfectly symmetrical, spaced to spread the Eezo completely evenly," Chakwas said. "I know that some things in nature are symmetrical, but organic bodies are rarely so blessed. And the nodes are the only things evenly spaced. There's at least a microscopic asymmetry for every other part of the body. The Eezo nodes are perfectly aligned. It's just not possible to happen naturally. It has to be deliberate."

"I don't understand," Liara said. "How could something like this be deliberate? The Eezo in our bodies is a delicate system; it is unlikely that this Asari would go through a procedure to have her nodes evenly spaced. I am not aware that such a procedure even exists."

"She didn't go through any procedure," Chakwas said. "And it's not just her; every corpse I have here has the same perfect symmetry. Doctor T'soni, would you mind letting me scan you? It would only take a moment." Liara looked uncertain, but allowed a camera-like device to run a blue beam over her. "The wonders of Protoss technology," Chakwas muttered, then looked at a screen. "Now that I know what to look for, I should see if… ah, I was right. It seems that your Eezo nodes are just like theirs."

Liara blinked, completely unsure how she should react to that. Everyone else was similarly confused.

"What are you getting at, Doc?" Shepard asked.

"I'm saying that the Asari did not develop their biotic powers naturally," Chakwas said grimly. "They were genetically engineered to be like this."

"That… that's impossible!" Liara snapped. "There has to be some kind of mistake!"

Chakwas shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I've checked the DNA of each corpse as well. To put it simply, Asari have no ability to change their genetics; for the last fifty thousand years or so, the Asari have been frozen in place, from an evolutionary standpoint. When your people reproduce, you simply shuffle around different segments of the same strands of DNA; it's almost like cloning."

Liara stumbled over to a computer with Chakwas' data on it. Years of studying Protheans, both their technology and the odd fossil, had given her an eye for identifying patterns. Now that she knew what to look for, she could see that each Asari present had the same DNA, only mixed and matched.

"Who could genetically modify the Asari, and why?" Miranda asked, then looked at Shepard and Zeratul. "The Xel'naga?"

The latter shook his head; he had already been studying Chakwas' findings. {The Xel'naga are more… elegant, shall we say, in their genetic tailoring. This is beyond the abilities of any but the Swarm, but crude in comparison to the Xel'naga.}

Chakwas let everyone digest this information for a few minutes before coughing into her hand. "And now for my second point. Why does Element Zero only kill some infants in the womb, while others survive and become biotics?"

"I'm going to guess you have the answer," Kasumi said, looking pale. "But I'll bet we won't like it."

Chakwas nodded and pulled back another sheet. If Liara hadn't already been sitting down, her legs would have given out; the corpse under that sheet was her mother.

"I've done a thorough examination of several brains and compared the findings to what I have on Terran, Protoss and Zerg brains. One thing that our brains all share is that, when using psychic abilities, a certain part of our cortex becomes especially stimulated. This leaves a certain mark, like a faded scar or bed sore, even if those powers aren't used for decades. Every Asari brain here has that same kind of mark, and if I scanned the brain of a biotic Turian or Quarian, I'd bet a year's pay that they have it as well."

"Doctor, please just get to the point," Shepard said, his head starting to spin from all that he was learning, as well as suspecting.

"In short, the nascent abilities of still-developing psychic children protect them from the harmful effects of Element Zero, but at the same time, those abilities are reduced, if not outright eliminated."

Shepard stared at her, then looked from Liara to Zeratul. "If the Asari hadn't been modified to use Eezo…"

{They would all have psychic powers,} Zeratul finished, sounding shocked. {The Asari could have been like my own people.}

"Someone… did this to us?" Liara whispered, not taking her eyes off the body of her mother. "My entire race was experimented on? Violated? Who would do this, and for… wait a moment. Doctor, how long ago did you say that this began?"

Chakwas looked at her notes. "At least fifty thousand years, give or take a millennium."

Liara slowly walked over to her mother and respectfully replaced the sheet. "If you'll excuse me, I have something that I must check in my research."

Kasumi waited until she was gone before speaking. "Is it just me, or did she look really pissed off?"

"It wasn't just you," Garrus said, then looked at Chakwas. "So, if what you're saying is true, does this mean that anyone who's a biotic should have been a psychic instead?"

"Yes, but due to the abundance of Element Zero, their powers would have still been vastly reduced," Chakwas said.

"My god," Miranda said softly, her mind still focused on what happened to the Asari. "Commander, I believe that I have a report to Emperor Valerian to write."

"Get on it," Shepard said, then looked at everyone else. "For now, let's keep this to ourselves. We'll have the Alliance review these findings first."

Grunt walked up to one of the corpses and sniffed, then snarled. "This… I can smell the Essence in this one. It feels… broken. Someone didn't weave these sequences, they butchered them!"

Shepard had similar feelings; psionics were part of life, and to have that part defiled was… wrong.

"Thanks for telling us all this," Shepard said to Chakwas, then addressed everyone else. "I know this is a lot to take in, but for now, our priority is Saren. Everything else can wait. Dismissed."

…

Not long after Chakwas' disturbing revelations, Shepard went to his quarters, both because he had reports to read and because he needed rest. Anderson had reminded him that he hadn't slept in almost two days, and the Strikers needed their leader at top form.

Shepard had just finished an inventory review when there was a knock on his door. "Come in."

To his surprise, Kasumi was the one who entered. "Since when do you knock?"

Kasumi shrugged and sat at the foot of Shepard's bed. "It's been a rough couple of days. I didn't feel like freaking you out today."

"Should I be worried?" Shepard asked, fully turning in his chair to look at the other psychic.

Kasumi stuck her tongue out at him. "Shut up. It's just that… with all that's happened, I started thinking about stuff."

"What kind of stuff?"

Kasumi opened her mouth, but nothing came out; finally, she grimaced and shook her head. "Never mind, it's not important now. I'll… tell you later."

For a moment, Shepard was tempted to look inside Kasumi's mind to see what was troubling her. That temptation passed just as quickly as it came; reading someone's mind without permission was something he saved for his enemies, and Kasumi was anything but his enemy.

"If you're sure," Shepard said. "Until then, why don't you see Tali? I don't think you've ambushed her lately, and she should keep her reflexes sharp."

Kasumi smiled, her eyes full of mischief. "Not a bad idea, Shep. See you later; I have a Tali-chan to hug!"

Shepard rolled his eyes as Kasumi left his quarters, but didn't comment. Everyone had their own way of coping with stress, though he made a mental note to apologize to Tali for subjecting her to Kasumi.

…

After nearly a full day of warp-travel, the Normandy arrived just beyond Virmire's atmosphere; her stealth systems were all online, just in case the Strikers were flying into an ambush. To their surprise, there weren't any Heretic or Batarian vessels in sensor range. However, their sensors did pick up several large sources of energy just under the planet's surface; they seemed to be generators, but anything that required that much power was worrisome. Thanks to Nihlus' information, they had a good idea of where the STG force was, and would start the mission by linking up with them.

Shepard and the other officers held a brief council of war before they headed out.

"I don't want us walking into a trap," Shepard said, "and I definitely don't want us to just blindly throw our forces at something. Noveria was bad enough, and I'd like to avoid a repeat.

"So we're going to send in a recon team first. That team will be me, Miranda, Kasumi, Zeratul, Garrus, and Tali."

"Why them, Commander?" Since the last two weren't officers, Nihlus asked on their behalf.

"If the STG team has technical issues, Tali is a good choice to help them get up and running again," Shepard answered. "And Garrus makes a good lookout and scout."

Nihlus nodded, conceding the point.

"Once we've got a good idea of what we're up against, we'll start landing troops," Shepard continued. "Regardless of what's waiting for us, I want Ash and Jack on the ground first; the Marines can secure our perimeter, and the Reapers can react to any sudden moves. We'll call down who and what we need as the situation develops."

"What should we do until we get called?" James asked.

"For now, either remain on standby or assist with repairs," Shepard said. "In particular, I want all our Piranhas fixed ASAP. Virmire is a jungle, and I need scouts that can get out of trouble quickly. Any other questions?" There were none. "All right, let's get this show on the road."

The recon team headed to the hangar, meeting up with an armored Tali and Garrus along the way. To Shepard's amusement, Tali was keeping a wary eye on Kasumi.

"Is this everyone, Commander?" Cortez asked as they boarded his Medivac.

"For now," Shepard said. "Depending on what we find, you might have to make a lot more deliveries today."

"Too bad I don't get paid for overtime," Cortez joked.

…

Virmire

After leaving the Normandy, Cortez's Medivac entered the planet's atmosphere and headed for the southern coast, where the STG team was supposed to be. Shepard almost wished that the ship had windows; Virmire only had one continent, and other than the coastline, it was all dense jungle. According to the information provided by Legion, the jungles were considered quite beautiful; Shepard would have liked to see the area before the view was ruined by explosions.

Shepard was pulled from his thoughts when the usual turbulence was punctuated by several loud bangs.

"We're under fire!" Cortez shouted, putting his ship through several impressive evasive maneuvers. "Heavy anti-air batteries!"

"Can we land?" Shepard asked.

"Yeah, but getting back up will be a problem; they'll have the air over our LZ marked, and if I try leaving, we'll get blown out of the sky!"

"Then take us down," Shepard ordered, then reached for the comms. "Normandy, we have a situation."

There was static, but no response. Shepard tried several times, but there was still no answer.

"Our signal must be getting jammed," Miranda guessed. "It could be why the STG force dropped out of contact."

"Well, it's a good thing we have more than just regular comms." Shepard turned to Zeratul. "Can you bring Anderson up to speed?"

Zeratul closed his eyes for a moment. {The Captain understands. However, if our forces are to effectively communicate, or even land, both the jamming and enough of the antiaircraft guns must be disabled.}

"Got it," Shepard said grimly. "Well, it looks like we're all we've got for now. No one get killed."

"I don't think any of us were planning on it," Garrus said sarcastically, but then seemed surprised at his own words. Thankfully, no one commented on it.

"We'll be landing in just a minute," Cortez announced. "Give 'em hell, Commander!"

The Medivac had barely touched down when the Strikers ran down the ramp, weapons ready. At first, there didn't appear to be anyone nearby, but then Zeratul sprinted around a tree and grabbed someone. It happened so fast that no one else was able to see clearly until Zeratul had his captive pressed against that same tree, his psi-blade just above the throat of—

"Zeratul, wait!" Shepard barked. "I think he's on our side!"

The Salarian was completely still, not wanting to provoke the Dark Prelate. "It's true," he said, mouth barely moving. "I'm Captain Kirrahe, Special Tasks Group. I'm the commanding officer of my taskforce."

Zeratul quickly released the Salarian; Shepard noticed that his armor showed signs of combat.

"I'm Commander Shepard, leader of the Strikers. We're here because Saren has something important, unless I'm wrong."

Kirrahe rubbed his neck for a moment. "Oh, he does, all right. I'll escort you to our camp to give you a full briefing."

Shepard shared in the amusement he felt from the other Strikers. {Accommodating for a guy who nearly got decapitated, isn't he?}

More than one person had to fight not to laugh.

…

Once Cortez assure them that no one would find the Medivac once all the systems were shut down, Shepard and the rest of the team followed Kirrahe to the STG camp, located just inside the trees. The ocean was literally a ten-second walk away. Once they arrived, they saw that it really was a camp; there were only a few prefabricated metal tents and some light turrets. It didn't deserve to be called a true base.

What concerned Shepard was that the camp was in the middle of a clearing and right next to the beach. As far as he could tell, the entire place was exposed.

When he mentioned as much to Kirrahe, the Salarian smiled. "The Alliance isn't the only group to have stealth technology. Ours just isn't as flashy as yours. The Geth—sorry, the Heretics—only rely on their scans, and we can electronically mask everything here. If Saren's organic soldiers come patrolling, it's easy to break everything apart and relocate; we've only stayed here for so long because they wouldn't expect us to stay out in the open."

Kasumi hummed thoughtfully. "That works for scouting, but not for anything more than light combat, so why do you look like you went five rounds with a drunk Marine?"

Kirrahe's smile became a grimace. "We weren't expecting the comprehensive anti-air defense, and we certainly weren't prepared to deal with Saren's main base!"

That brought the Strikers up short. "Wait, this is where Saren runs things?"

Kirrahe looked surprised. "Didn't you know that already? I thought our messages had gotten through."

"We only investigated this planet because your last communique suggested that this location was important to Saren," Miranda said.

"Damn it," Kirrahe scowled. "And now all we have is a recon team to support us; I asked the Council to send a fleet!"

"We can still ask for one," Shepard said, then turned to Zeratul. "Right?"

Zeratul nodded. {Indeed. It will take but a moment. However, even if we have reinforcements, landing troops will be difficult while those gun emplacements are still there.}

Kirrahe looked from Shepard to Zeratul. "You're telling me that your, er, psychic powers can reach a ship in orbit?"

Zeratul didn't have a mouth, but Shepard had removed his helmet to give the Salarian a smug grin. The Alliance and the Council had been on relatively neutral terms since the war ended, but it made some of those in the Alliance feel good to surprise their neighbors every now and then.

"Anyway, what can you tell us about this base?" Miranda asked, getting the conversation back on track.

"It's a bit of everything," Kirrahe said. "There's a factory for weapons and armor, training facilities, supplies, but all of those are just offshoots of the main building. A flash-cloning center. Saren is using it to create Batarians, Krogan, and even Vorcha."

"Vorcha breed fast enough already," Garrus said. "Why clone them?"

Kirrahe shrugged. "I guess they weren't breeding fast enough for him."

"What kind of numbers are we looking at?" Shepard asked.

"In total?" Kirrahe shrugged again. "I can't say for sure, but I'd estimate in the tens of thousands, at least. As for on the planet… judging by the size of the facility, I'd say no more than ten thousand, but a good number of those are Heretics and non-clones. The former are Saren's elite forces, while the latter are mostly staff or instructors."

"Commander, we don't have the forces to deal with that kind of army," Miranda said.

Shepard nodded. "I know. Can we have the Normandy bombard the place from orbit?" he then shook his head and answered his own question. "No, we need more intel on Saren's activities, and if he's actually here, I won't sleep easy until I see a body."

"Besides," Kirrahe added, "a good part of the base is underground, and what isn't has some of the strongest barriers I've ever seen."

"Barriers don't work well against lasers," Tali piped up.

"I was about to mention the dreadnaught-grade armor on the outside," Kirrahe said, sighing. "Believe me, if we had a way of breaking into this place, we would have found it."

Shepard frowned. "First things first, we need to reestablish normal communications and disable those AA guns, at least enough so that we can land troops."

"Now that we can help you with," Kirrahe said with a grim smile. He brought up his omni-tool and projected a map; several dozen dots were highlighted. "These are the primary guns; if you take out the six southernmost ones, you'll have a window, and it should weaken the jamming field. Be careful; we've scouted those guns, and they're heavily defended."

Shepard nodded, quickly memorizing the map. "All right, so those guns are our targets. Miranda, Kasumi, and Zeratul, you three will come with me to destroy them. Tali, Garrus, I want you two to stay here and defend the camp."

Tali and Garrus both saluted; the former followed Kirrahe to join a patrolling squad, while Garrus found an elevated position for his sniper rifle.

Shepard put his helmet on and activated his cloak, as did the other three. "Let's go hunting."

…

The Normandy

"I got the word from Zeratul himself," Anderson said, facing the holograms before him. "Virmire is Saren's main base. If we take this out, he loses the ability to replace his losses. But we need backup if we're going to succeed; we just don't have the numbers to do it on our own."

"We can't let this chance slip by," Valerian agreed. "Councilors, a combined Alliance fleet is less than two days away from Virmire. Our ships can get there faster than your own; I know that we had an agreement, but…"

"As much as I would like to disagree with you, Emperor, I cannot," Sparatus said, then tapped at his omni-tool. "I am sending a request to High Command to allow your ships access to Virmire, but only Virmire."

"Sparatus, that kind of decision requires a vote from—" Tevos stopped, probably to remind herself that the Councilors were merely figureheads. "It requires agreement from two of our three governments."

"You heard the report on Saren's army," Sparatus snapped. "He has tens of thousands of soldiers, many of them Krogan. Article 38-B of the Citadel Council Emergency Actions states that, in a crisis preluding to war, the Turian Hierarchy can temporarily deputize non-Council assistance until said crisis is over, without authorization from the rest of the Citadel Council, if said assistance is more viable than Council forces. I would say that Saren's coalition, and the nearby Alliance fleet, embody the spirit of that article, wouldn't you?"

The other Councilors, Anderson, and the Alliance leaders stared at the Turian in surprise. For someone who had been reduced to a figurehead, Sparatus was still politically savvy.

Valerian inclined his head at the Councilor. "I appreciate this, Councilor, truly."

Sparatus nodded stiffly. "The Turian fleet at Noveria will be right behind your ships, and they know the numbers. If even one Alliance vessel isn't where it's supposed to be, the Alliance and the Council will have… issues."

{Our priority is stopping Saren,} Artanis assured him. {We will not squander this opportunity by betraying your trust.}

Tevos took a breath before speaking. "That remains to be seen. Good luck on your mission."

Sparatus relaxed by a degree. "I wish you the same."

Valern, who had been silent throughout the meeting, merely nodded, and then all three Councilors' holograms vanished.

"Kerrigan?" Valerian turned to the other silent hologram. "Is there a problem?"

"Yes. It's about the Rachni Brood." Kerrigan's eyes narrowed dangerously. "These Harvesters twisted and defiled a part of the Swarm. I have to make sure that they can't do it again."

{The Harvesters must be stopped,} Artanis agreed. {I suggest strengthening all planetary defenses with weapons capable of destroying capital ships.}

"A prudent decision," Valerian said, "but a conversation to be had later. For now, I must relay new orders to Admiral Hackett. Good luck, Captain Anderson."

Anderson saluted, then waited for the holograms to vanish before turning to the bridge officers. "Please tell me we can fire on some of those AA batteries."

"Sorry, sir," Joker said. "The best anyone could give us is a rough location, but with that jamming field up, all we'd be doing is shooting in the general area. We'd be just as likely to hit our own side as the target."

"Damn," Anderson scowled. "Then I guess it's up to Shepard."

…

Virmire

"Any change in the target?" Shepard asked as he, Kasumi and Zeratul returned to where they'd left Miranda and decloaked.

"No, Commander," Miranda said, still cloaked and not taking her eye off her scope. "Did you bring the explosives?"

"Yes, and they're freaking heavy," Kasumi grunted as she lowered a backpack to the ground. "For a stealth team, those STG guys brought a lot of bombs."

"I'm not complaining," Shepard said as he placed two bags next to Kasumi's one—and Zeratul had taken four, yet he didn't even look bothered.

After reaching the first gun emplacement, Shepard had realized that the equipment they had on hand wasn't enough to take down a thirty-foot gun while dealing with fifty entrenched Krogan and Heretics. The guns itself poked just above the jungle canopy, but it was concealed by a mesh of camouflage; between that and the jamming technology, it would have been nearly impossible to destroy from the air.

Leaving Miranda to observe the location for potential weaknesses, the others had returned to the STG camp, where Kirrahe and Garrus had converted several demolition charges into shaped explosives. Thankfully—and disturbingly—the gun emplacements were all of Turian design, so Kirrahe was able to identify their structural weaknesses easily.

Garrus had mentioned that that was almost as disturbing as Saren having Turian suppliers.

Kasumi muttered something about 'macho idiots' under her breath, but Shepard didn't hear her, too focused on looking down the scope of his own rifle.

"You'd think they'd be more alert," he mused. "After all, they were shooting at Cortez a while back."

{Most of these troops are probably clones,} Zeratul said. {They were given a task, and they will complete it. I believe that the Heretics have a similar attitude.}

"Good for us, bad for them," Shepard said. "Okay, here's the plan: Miranda, you'll snipe from here, take out officers or anything important. Zeratul and I will get in close; between the two of us, we'll create an opening for Kasumi, who will place the explosives."

"Great, I have to lug these things around again," Kasumi whined. "I just put them down!"

Shepard rolled his eyes before he and Zeratul cloaked. "Wait for my mark, Miranda, and then begin firing."

"Copy that, Commander," Miranda said.

Kasumi crouched by the explosives, attaching four to her belt. Kirrahe had said that three were needed to take down the gun, but she wanted to be thorough.

With the jamming field so close, comms were out; fortunately, all four Strikers had telepathy to fall back on.

{Miranda, now!}

Miranda's rifle coughed, and a distant Krogan fell, his eye and most of his brain nearly vaporized. A moment later, a Heretic keeled over from a shot that shattered its head.

It wasn't long before Saren's forces ducked behind their fortifications, and the Heretics' processors were able to pinpoint Miranda's general location. Before the emplaced gun turrets in that area could open fire, Shepard used a mind blast to turn a squad of Krogan into paste, while Zeratul sliced apart both the two turrets and their gunners.

{Kasumi, begin moving,} Shepard ordered. {We'll draw them off. Miranda, keep it up.}

Kasumi quickly crossed the gap between the trees and the defenses. Even if she hadn't been cloaked, it would have been unlikely that anyone would have seen her. Kasumi had always been exceptional at stealth, even for a Ghost. She even walked past a Krogan that was inches away, but the cloned brute didn't notice; it was possible that he could have smelled her, but there was too much blood and other fluids in the air, and that threw him off.

Despite never having taken out one of these guns before, Kasumi planted the explosives with ease. Two on the joints, one on the power cables, just like Kirrahe said; she tossed the fourth onto the barrel, for good measure.

{Charges set!} She announced, even as she made her way back to Miranda's position. {Get clear, boys!}

{We already are!} Shepard replied. {Blow it!}

Kasumi pulled out the detonator, grinned, and the pressed the button. A second later, the AA gun came apart in a four-part simultaneous explosion.

{Time to disappear,} Shepard said as he and Zeratul regrouped with the two women. {Grab the explosives and head to the next gun.}

Kasumi glanced at the mostly-full backpacks and groaned. {Great, more carrying. Hey, Miranda—}

{No, I'm not carrying anything for you.}

{Damn.}

…

After another three hours, Shepard's team managed to destroy the other five guns necessary. While Saren's defenses had been static, the Heretics had learned quickly enough, and the last two battles had nearly ended with Kasumi getting her head blown off. When they returned to the STG camp, she was still complaining about the heat from a burst of plasma that almost hit her face. Zeratul didn't show any sign of fatigue, but the Terrans were more than a little tired, as well as low on ammo.

"Good to see you again, Commander," Garrus said as the four came back. "Were you successful?"

"Yep," Shepard said, his tired voice laced with satisfaction. "Let's see if it actually did any good." He reached for his comms. "Normandy, do you read me?"

For a moment, both the Strikers and the Salarians waited nervously. Then Shepard gave them a thumbs-up—a gesture that was mostly lost on the Salarians—when he heard a slightly static-laced voice.

"Commander, this is the Normandy, we read you," Anderson said. "We've contacted both the Alliance and the Council. A joint fleet is on its way, but the Alliance half will be here in just over twenty-four hours. Do we have a window to land reinforcements?"

"Yes, we do," Shepard said. "We've cleaned out an LZ for the troops, but stay well within it; I don't want to lose anyone because some hotshot pilot thinks that he can dodge AA rounds."

"Copy that, Commander. First wave of troops is inbound; I've got Marines and Reapers first. Anything in particular you need?"

Shepard thought about it for a moment. "We've got jungle-fighting ahead. Send down as many Protoss as you can, along with Grunt and his packs; they and our Reapers can act as heavy recon while we turn this camp into a defensible base. Also, have a few Viking squadrons stay in the air, but outside the guns' range, just in case we have unfriendly company of the flying variety."

"Understood, Commander. Good luck."

…

Within an hour, the STG camp was crawling with Strikers. Several SCVs had been deployed as well to put up defensive emplacements; standard Terran tactics would have been to set up bunkers in front of Siege Tanks, but the Strikers had been equipped for fast attacks, and had neither of those critical elements. As such, the SCVs were using extra plating as a barricade for the Marines and Marauders to get behind, and were setting up automated gauss turrets in front of that.

Grunt's Zerg, along with Zealots, Stalkers, Dark Templar, and Reapers were deployed outside the camp, patrolling the jungle for Saren's counterattack. Unfortunately, the jungle's terrain was much thicker than anticipated, making it impassable for the Piranhas; as such, Jenkins and his troops had been reassigned as extra security for the Normandy, just in case Saren tried to pull another Noveria. Shepard would have preferred to stay in orbit until the combined Alliance and Council forces arrived to reinforce his soldiers, but if they did, it would only give Saren time to rebuild his defenses. Besides, when the reinforcements did arrive, they would have a beachhead to land on.

Shepard—who, along with Miranda and Kasumi, had been resupplied when the Medivacs landed—and several officers, along with Kirrahe, were discussing potential locations to ambush Saren's inevitable counterattack when they received an alert from Jack.

"Commander, we just ran into a bunch of Batarians," Jack reported tersely. "One of my guys is down and I've got four wounded, but these assholes are dead. They've all got the same armor and guns; looks pretty standard to me, but—what the hell? Hang on."

Everyone present froze, listening hard for the sound of combat, which they assumed was why Jack had put them on hold. Instead, they heard muffled curses and what sounded like someone being roughly slammed into the ground.

"Sorry about that, Commander; we thought the leader was dead, but he's not."

Shepard didn't sigh in relief that Jack was all right, but those who knew him well—like Kasumi—or were a powerful enough psychic could tell that he was still relieved.

"Can we use him, Jack?" Shepard asked. "Or is he another brain-dead clone?"

Jack didn't respond for a moment. "I think he pissed himself, so I don't think he's a clone. Want me to bring him in for a chat?"

"If it's not too much trouble," Shepard said with a roll of his eyes. "Miranda and I will question him. I'm sending Zeratul out there to help keep our perimeter secure." Zeratul nodded at the unspoken dismissal and vanished. "Remember, if it gets too hairy out there, pull back to reinforce the base."

"Yes, Dad, whatever you say."

Kirrahe gave Shepard a strange look. "Not the most disciplined soldier I've ever met."

Shepard grinned. "All Reapers are like that. Besides, she's almost as good at killing things as I am, so I let it slide."

They resumed their strategizing for several minutes, before a trussed-up Batarian was dropped off by several Reapers, one of whom stayed behind to go to the field hospital that used to be a small armory until the Medics had gotten their hands on it.

Leaving the organization of the defense to Ashley and Kirrahe, Shepard and Miranda took the Batarian to a secluded part of the camp and bound him to a boulder with some wire. The prisoner wore fairly standard armor, but it had no distinguishing features or marks, probably to ensure that he wasn't traced back to Saren. Shepard ripped off the alien's helmet so that he could gauge his reactions.

"I have questions for you," Shepard said quietly.

"Go to hell!" the Batarian spat at him, but Shepard telekinetically stopped the saliva in midair, then let it fall to the ground.

"This is your only chance," Miranda said, kneeling to look the Batarian in the eyes. "We will find out what you know; how much pain you suffer beforehand is up to you."

"You don't scare me, you Terran bi—ah!" the Batarian's head jerked to the side, as if he'd been slapped; when he looked at them again, they didn't need to see his face to know he was terrified.

Shepard hadn't even moved, despite having smacked him with his powers. "That was a warning. Next time, I start ripping apart your mind. If you give us what we want, you won't end up a drooling vegetable."

The Batarian opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Behind his helmet, Shepard frowned; he could tell that the Batarian wanted to say something, but some other presence was influencing him. Clearly, this one was indoctrinated, and beyond help.

Shepard sighed, then pulled out his pistol. "Looks like we have to do this the hard way, but I promise that I'll make your death quick."

…

By the time Shepard and Miranda were finished, the patrols had fought two more skirmishes, and the camp itself had been attacked once. Thankfully, there were only minor to moderate injuries, but no deaths on the Strikers' side.

"We've got more information on Saren's forces, but not that much," Shepard said as he rejoined the others at the tactical display. "For now, our best option is to stay here until reinforcements show up."

Kirrahe nodded. "I understand, Commander. We'll hold the line."

…

Codex Entry: Psionics

Little is known about the so-called 'psychic powers' that Terrans, Zerg, and Protoss seem to possess. All attempts to understand these abilities have been decisively and ruthlessly stymied, either through political maneuvering or physical confrontation by Alliance security. Many in Citadel space believe these abilities to be an extension of biotics, but others point out that biotics cannot account for the Zerg hive mind or the Protoss' ability to speak without any sort of translator—or mouths. These same individuals also say that it is unlikely that the Alliance would have abilities fueled by Element Zero, considering the borderline hatred the Alliance has for the substance.

Assuming that these abilities are not biotics, it raises the question of why no one in Citadel space has ever encountered psionic powers before.

So that was quite the revelation, huh? I know I said I wanted to stop using Liara as an emotional punching-bag, but since she's the only Asari aboard the Normandy, I kinda had to. And if you have an inkling as to who 'modified' the Asari, don't spoil it in the reviews, please. Also, giving Liara glasses… I don't know, she just seems the type to wear glasses.

And now the Strikers are on Virmire. As with many of my previous canon locations, the fighting is going to be a lot larger in scale than Mass Effect. Expect explosions and shootouts and other neat stuff.

Next Chapter: The Strikers form the tip of the spear as the battle intensifies! Will Shepard finally kill Saren, and what will he find in the process?

Shout-out to AVoiceOfReason for this quote:

I will rule this Muffin, or see it burn to ashes around me!