A/N:

So, the other half of the chapter. I'm afraid this one (and the next one) is mostly going to be dialogue and non-actiony. Omega is coming soon though.

Thanks to the Editing Gang for their usual bang-up job, and to several of them for pointing out much needed clarifications. They deserve more credit than I do.

As usual - go review Living an Indoctrinated Dream by Aberron and Total Eclipse: An Asari Commando Novel by RED78910.

'I fear there are crimes for which there can be no pardon, and works so vile no amount of apology or remuneration will redeem. When the means are a worse atrocity than the ends pursued seek to correct, what you have left over is not sacrifice, but defilement.'

- Jacen Manswell, Actual Suicide Manifesto (unpublished)

The figures sitting at the table were silent for long seconds, until Shepard spoke in a quiet, firm voice.

"Okay. I'm not the sharpest tack in this room, but something is bothering me about this." Shepard glanced at the gray-box. "A bunch of things actually. Harper is right – why in FUCK wouldn't the SA just delete this shit?"

Harper had taken a very stiff drink, and his eyes narrowed. "The file may have been hidden. The High Lords themselves are very dependent on their staffs... if one was clever, a good data manager could have tucked it away anywhere. We know so little about the Black Network that finding anything like that without knowing exactly where it was would be impossible."

He blew out cigarette smoke. "That also means whoever knew of this was probably planning to use it at some point. Possibly as leverage... or to derail the entire system of governance."

Shepard grimaced. "Who in the hell would benefit from that? I have problems believing it could be anybody outside the SA who got access to this."

Harper grimaced, and glanced at Trudy. "A very good question. The file must have been saved for some reason, and few have access to the Black Network. Did the AIS have any inkling of this information?"

Trudy shook her head, shock still on her features. "No. I knew rumors about some kind of black op that went bad in batarian space, and bits of NOVENSILES being an answer to the salarians and asari doing something like it, but that's all. This..." She shook her head a second time.

Petrovsky sighed. "Jack, there's no one person who had this kind of access and the ability to pull all three pieces of this together."

Shepard nodded. "Yeah. I mean, think about this – some weirdo with impossible levels of access hires Goto and her fiance to do an impossible hack. He somehow knows exactly what he wants in a system that you can't even view remotely, gives them everything they need to do it, then obviously sets them up to get killed after the hack is completed. Yet the weirdo gets his own head ventilated as well. Why?"

Kasumi sighed. "I've been trying to figure that out since this entire mess started, Taicho. The fact that it ended up with a man like Hock … whoever gave it to him knew he would use it. The man was slime, he'd have tried to blackmail someone with it."

Shepard nodded. "So someone expected this shit to get out... but couldn't release it themselves. Someone trying to stay out of the line of sight." She rubbed her chin. "But why get the data at all?"

Trellani's voice was wry. "There is only one reason why. Releasing all of this would, as you have already surmised, start a galactic war. There is only one party I can think of that would gain from having us fighting one another instead of working together."

Shepard gave her a look. "You're saying the fucking Reapers are behind this?"

The slender matriarch shrugged. "We don't have a way of knowing, but indoctrination is a possibility. I am saying that there is no other party that we know of who would benefit. That is not to say there is not another player we do not know of..."

Harper sighed. "We have enough players in this game already, to the point where even I am having difficulty planning ahead." He exhaled. "How does this fit in with our own plans is the question we must address."

The Illusive Man turned to Shepard. "With this data, we have leverage – just the tool we need to bring the Alliance to heel, and to get an in with the Council. It would be pointless to not use such things."

Shepard nodded, then got a strange look on her face. "...maybe. Although it also makes us a huge target for having such knowledge, doesn't it?"

Trellani nodded. "All such things are double-edged blades. The water brings life but will drown you if one is unwise." She glanced at Mordin. "Not to mention that the good Doctor is also... a wild-card of sorts. You are in a position to communicate this to the STG, after all."

Mordin sniffed. "Not a fool. STG Master would have me killed for even knowing such things. Also, idea that sister is involved in immoral acts... troubling. Not willing to risk galactic war when it can be avoided."

Shepard pinched the bridge of her nose. "Alright. Is there any more bad news, Goto?"

The small thief shook her head. "No, aside from... personal memories, that was all that was on the gray-box. I haven't made any progress in figuring out who hired us, or how exactly the gray-box got to Hock. He got several large cash payments from some firms in the Traverse, but by the time I checked them out, they were all bankrupt and shut down – and all the employees were missing persons."

Shepard arched an eyebrow. "Because that's not creepy at all." She sighed. "So, in short – the Alliance's leadership is even a bigger pile of steaming fucks than I thought possible. At least one salarian dalatrass is working with an asari matriarch to do something, while the Union plans to genocide humanity and the asari apparently want to make us a 'client state' - and even I can guess what the fuck that means. Oh, and the motherfucking batarians have lost their goddamned minds and are fucking with a full-on Reaper corpse."

She glanced around the table. "Frankly, the first two are not as bad as the last. If the Batarian Emperor is indoctrinated...that would explain some of why Balak was doing the bullshit he was up to."

Petrovsky scowled. "That may be so...but that still doesn't explain why didn't the Alliance move on this shit when they found out about the Reapers? Surely someone would have put two and two together."

Miranda spoke. "The only reason I can think of is that the few people who knew about the data on the Batarians taking the Reaper corpse were not briefed... but there were enough images of Nazara in the fight at the Citadel for them to have seen the resemblance, surely."

Harper shrugged. "Given the reluctance the Alliance has shown in getting involved in the Reaper situation so far - which may or may not have to do with Hades doing Reaper research - they may have had alternative ideas about how to 'deal' with the problem." He glanced at the thief. "Do you know if the AIS was involved in this situation after the recovery of the data?"

Kasumi tapped her fingertips together. "The AIS had plans to go in after the corpse, but apparently they were re-tasked to deal with the fallout from Saren investigating some firms on Noveria. I don't know how many AIS agents had access to the file, but the same team that found the original data was sent in for a second raid about five months before Eden Prime blew up. They were caught and executed by the SIU. There wasn't a follow up – but no reason was given."

Shepard sat back. Harper rubbed his chin. "I had my agents investigate the Batarian Hegemony some time ago, before the situation that caused its collapse to occur. My people found strange biotechnology in use by the military and government, and fragmentary evidence of the Emperor being able to shrug off wounds by use of what could only be called blue wiring."

Shepard's eyes narrowed. "Like Saren and Benezia."

Harper nodded. "Quite."

Shepard stared at the table a few seconds before looking up. "Alright. Before we do anything else, I need a straight answer here, Harper. What do you plan to do about this?"

Jack Harper sat back. "About?"

She waved her hand vaguely at the gray-box. "All of it."

He met her gaze with his own. "As you said, the direst threat is that of the Emperor being indoctrinated. Given that the Batarian Empire has shrunk its borders but still retains the large portion of its fleets, direct assault is impossible. Cerberus does not have the resources to match the entire Batarian Imperial navy."

He paused. "I suspect a covert approach is also unfeasible. Any research they are doing will no doubt be on Khar'shan itself, and we have no need of such intel when we already have the file of them taking the Reaper. The simplest thing to do would be alert the Citadel Council and have them take direct action."

Shepard frowned. "That would touch off a war."

Petrovsky shrugged. "It would. But then again, that would no doubt spur military buildups, which we'll need when the Reapers show up."

Shepard rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I got that. But it takes months or years to build up a ship, and minutes to lose one if the Batarians put up a good fight. We don't know what technology they have access to from studying Reaper crap."

Harper gave a small nod to Shepard. "You are correct, a full scale war at this time is inadvisable. However, we do not have other options. The threat of the Batarians becoming agents of the Reapers - allowing them a beachhead, so to speak - is one we cannot simply ignore. And it will certainly distract the Council from what we plan to do, in dealing with the Collectors, while reinforcing the danger of the Reapers."

He took a sip of his drink. "Combined with the other facts on the gray-box, reaching some level of accommodation with the Council and the Alliance should be possible."

Shepard's eyes narrowed. "I'm not really thinking about being accommodating to the High Lords, Harper."

He sighed. "Like it or not, taking them down would be extremely difficult. The High Lords, at the very least, will be very leery of opposing us while we can release such data to the rest of the Alliance. Combined with us being able to expose NOVENSILES, and they would quickly grasp that if they did not meet our demands, they would be destroyed."

He glanced at his cigarette, which had gone out, and relit it. "Ideally, I'd like the High Lords to be removed. I'm sure they would oppose that, but ultimately they will have to go. The entire fabric that the Alliance was built on is tainted. But we also have to be cautious. If Victor Manswell dipped to such atrocity, there is no doubt Maxwell would do the same if pushed. I am beginning to doubt Jacen Manswell's death was actually suicide."

Shepard shrugged. "Isn't it possible he was so sick of his fucked up family that he did himself in?"

Harper's voice was flat. "I am disinclined to give the High Lords the benefit of the doubt at this juncture."

He puffed on his cigarette. "But in the short term, we can't afford to remove them. Releasing this data would throw the entire Alliance into chaos... and leave humanity vulnerable to manipulation from outside forces. Exposing NOVENSILES would also result in a probable attack on humanity when we can least afford it. I doubt we will come up with the best way to deal with the situation today."

Shepard folded her arms. "In other words, let them get away with it?"

Harper sighed, but Petrovsky spoke up. "Shepard, he's right. Taking them out now would only cause a gigantic civil war. Once we've dealt with the Collector threat – and possibly the batarian one – we can reconsider. But we just saw the proof that there are already plans by other races to take over or destroy humanity – this isn't the time, as... revolting as that is to admit."

She sighed. "...and long term?"

Harper answered her with a firm tone. "They have to be removed from power. NOVENSILES is proof enough that at the very least, the High Lords are not good leaders of humanity. "

Shepard narrowed her eyes. "And if we throw down the High Lords, who replaces them? You?"

Harper shook his head. "Hardly. We have a perfectly workable system of governance if you simply have elections to pick the Senators. Cerberus was never intended to rule anything...and I do not think that me being involved in the government in any fashion would go down well with the Citadel Council. Ultimately, though – that's a very long term concern, Shepard. We still have more urgent and immediate worries."

She nodded, mollified by his answer. "Like the things the dalatrass was talking about. How do we handle that?"

Harper sighed. "Carefully. The only way I see out of this mess is to ensure that humanity is not absorbed by the Asari Republic and to threaten the Salarians with exposure if they attempt anything like the Genophage against us. The asari issue..." He glanced at Trellani.

The matriarch's voice was cool and dry. "The Thirty have an agenda, but I strongly doubt they shared it with that drugged-up fool Thessial. Their timeframe will be such that you will all be dead before they make their moves." She made a sign of siari separation. "And yet, the Thirty are not immune to common sense, only resistant." She smiled. "If push comes to shove, I myself have information that can be used to make them... back off."

Shepard nodded slowly. "...Alright. For the moment, we can't do anything about any of this shit. We can't get at the Emperor, and killing all the High Lords isn't on the table. Releasing any of this shit would just start wars that weaken us."

She sighed. "Still, getting information about the batarians fucking around with Reapers cannot wait. You will handle dealing with this pile of intergalactic bullshit while I keep on the target."

Harper gave her an amused look as he sipped his drink. "Does this mean you have lost your reservations about us?"

Shepard snorted. "No. But I am pretty sure no matter what fucked up bullshit you may pull it won't be as bad as any of that." She pointed at the gray-box in disgust. "Besides, there's one more issue we still have to deal with – the asshole behind this getting out in the first place. We need to figure that out too, or maybe more bullshit will come out of the woodwork – for all we know, the originals of these files are still on the Black Network."

Harper glanced at Petrovksy. "Have Rasa and Brooks meet with me once we get back to the station. Perhaps they can find out more." He paused, thinking. "I'll use the line of communication that the Spectre agents chasing you opened up and try to convey the information regarding the Batarians having Reaper technology. At the very least, that should occupy their minds."

Shepard nodded, looking at Goto. "You have been briefed on what we're doing?"

The thief nodded. "Hai. I'm... well, I'm wanted by the Commissars and won't last long on my own. And your group is the only chance I have at finding whoever set this hack up and got Keiji killed. Besides, your team needs a good infiltrator, and I have some resources of my own on Omega that may come in handy."

Shepard nodded. "Alright, then. We'll talk later, after we finish this briefing." She turned to Mordin. "You have some intelligence for us as well, I'm assuming?"

The salarian nodded. "Yes. Almost as bad as that of Goto." He tapped his omni-tool. "You destroyed Thorian on Feros and another on Eingana, yes?"

Shepard nodded, not even liking where this was going. "Yeah, I did. They're dangerous."

Mordin nodded. "Indeed. However, Salarian Union found one. In communication with it."

Harper chuckled. "We were aware of that, doctor."

The salarian glanced at him. "Yes. STG Master surmised such. System heavily defended, infiltration impossible." He paused. "I was sent to communicate with Tho'ian, ask questions about Collectors."

The old salarian gave a small humming noise. "Collectors are Reaper-altered Protheans."

Shepard leaned back, frowning as she looked into her own memories. Her images of the Protheans from the Cipher were fragmented, but she could see it. "They do have the same head shape. But they move different..."

Vigil popped into existence over Shepard's shoulder. "Collectors do not even remotely resemble the indoctrinated troops the Reapers made of Protheans in the war. Those were more like armor-plated husks, green-gray in tone. These are... insectile."

Solus stared at the sphere. "Ah! Vigil, Inusannon AI. Thought destroyed, Citadel vexed. Curious choice, working for Cerberus, less resources – "

The sphere pulsed. "Breathe, primitive. Can you talk no slower?"

Mordin blinked. "Sorry. I – will – try – to – slow – down – no no no can't do it time is of essence need more data points."

Shepard gave the sphere a wry glance. "Nice of you to show up, shiny."

Vigil pulsed a second time. "I have been monitoring the discussion. Without Collector corpses to study, the Prothean link is … dubious. Humans and asari are nearly identical but are not the same, after all."

The salarian shrugged. "Only know what Tho'ian claimed. Suggested Collector weapons and engines were basically Prothean, upgraded slightly. Also implied Collectors could skip relays to come out at endpoints."

Shepard's eyes widened, as did several other people's at the table. "Wait, what?"

The doctor tapped his omni-tool displaying a small-scale map of the relay network near Omega. "Tho'ian claims relay switches can be toggled. Jump from relay to relay directly, not one by one. Requires advanced engine and computer technology. Option not available to us, mass effect cores not powerful enough."

Petrovsky stroked his goatee. "Explains how they're able to strike without being seen. But... that means they can hit almost anywhere."

Solus shook his head. "No. Tho'ian claims only certain distance possible. Limit to jumps, some wildcat colonies not on main trade lanes." He tapped several buttons on his omni-tool, and five systems were highlighted in red. "If Collectors using this method to avoid detection, only these five systems still vulnerable."

Shepard looked at the map. "Hm. Ferris Fields, Horizon, Harvest, Dalmysin and Rabow." She frowned. "Pretty scattered out. Horizon is the only colony big enough that it has any sort of real defenses. Not that those would do a lick of good, based on what we saw on Freedom's Progress." She sighed. "Anything else?"

Mordin nodded. "Tho'ian also identified swarm creatures. Prothean restraint technology."

Vigil gave a particularly strong pulse. "Ah. Servility Devices. That is... not what they used to look like."

Shepard glanced at the sphere. "Servility Devices?"

The sphere bobbed floating out over the table. "The Protheans were hardly a subtle or peace-loving culture. They subjugated all other races into their empire, often forcefully. The original devices were more akin to birds than giant insects, and were designed to biotically immobilize rioting populations."

Mordin nodded. "Tho'ian said much the same. Implied devices tuned to only one physiology at a time. Said they could be pushed back by biotic forces."

The sphere glowed for a second, before pulsing. "...that is a possibility, although one I would not wish to test in the field. The best way of avoiding them is spoofing their sensors. That was the biggest problem with the devices in the days of the Protheans … the recognition baselines were kept very narrow to avoid accidentally targeting peacekeeper units, which were always of a different race than the conquered."

Shepard leaned back. "So if they're set for humans... they won't pick up on other species. That's why they didn't do anything to that one quarian on Freedom's Progress until he started shooting."

Mordin nodded. "With sample of creatures, could determine best way to fool swarm sensing. Given size of unit, sensors limited. Should be possible." He paused. "Additional difficulty: STG Master knew about Reaper threat. Suggested the SIX saw it as distant threat. STG models showing otherwise ignored."

He took a deep breath. "STG Master surmises that Collectors scouting for Reaper invasion. Now taking samples."

Shepard felt a chill come over her, despite her artificial nature. "...samples for what?"

Mordin gave a thin smile. "In field science, one takes samples only of subjects of interest. Purpose currently unknown, but unlikely to be benign."

Shepard leaned back. "We know the five systems they're likely to strike in, and we have at least an idea on how to go about dealing with the swarms." She looked around the room. "Given we have no way to breach the Omega Four relay, our plan is still to attempt to board a Collector vessel and capture it?"

Harper nodded. "There might be other methods of breaching the Relay, but those would require operating in Omega for large periods of time with a study team aboard the Relay itself. Not only is Aria unlikely to allow this, but my intelligence sources tell me she's already sent people to try to enter the Relay structure and none have returned. Taking a Collector vessel weakens our enemy, gives us a method of assault, and provides both proof of what we have found and potential intel."

Shepard grimaced and nodded. "Then we need to figure out how we make our next moves. Doctor, what do you know about Archangel?"

Mordin's eyes narrowed slightly. "Curious question. Reason for asking?"

Shepard smiled. "Part of our mission is destroying the Shadow Broker, who seems to be feeding the Citadel Council bad intel...and was responsible for my death, and the destruction of my ship, as well as the death of my wife and friends. Archangel seems to have issues with the Broker, so we planned to ask him to join us."

Mordin nodded. "...know of him. Helped patch his group up several times, installed cyberware. Have contact of a sort with his group. Often provide medical services, covertly." He gave a small frown. "Situation was deteriorating when I left. Gangs uniting to oppose him. Not likely to survive full assault."

She smiled. "If we can get on Omega undetected, can you get in contact with him?"

The doctor nodded. "Risky, but should be possible. Security has increased since the Burning of Omega, however."

Kasumi made a scoffing sound. "Please. You may have issues, but I won't. How many people do you plan to bring?"

Shepard considered this. "We don't know what we'll be walking into... so probably as many as I can, plus mechs."

Kasumi thought a moment. "If you change up the registry on one of the pinnaces, I can get it to a dock. As long as you aren't trying to ship eezo, and they know who you are, the dock people don't care much. Moving around on the station is harder, but you could load everybody into a cargo truck and move around that way."

Trudy was examining her omni-tool. "The latest news says the gangs are closing in on Archangel's location. We probably don't have a lot of time."

Shepard nodded slowly. "At the very least, we need to get Ms. Goto and Mr. Taylor's wounds dealt with, and let Doctor Solus start on the labs and determining what he needs to do his job. I'll need to meet with both Doctor Solus and Ms. Goto later on today."

She glanced at Miranda. "Work with Pressly, make sure we're ready to move by no later than tomorrow evening. I assume we have a pinnace we can strip down and make it look... weathered?"

Miranda nodded. "Several. Do you have a plan for the Omega operation?"

Shepard leaned back. "It's pretty simple. We get there on the pinnace while the Normandy itself enters the system using stealth. Kasumi gets us in. Doctor Solus gets us communications with Archangel. We extract him and get out on the pinnace, with the Normandy covering us. If something goes bad we can dock the pinnace in the Normandy and punch out."

Kasumi gave a small nod. "It may work. But Omega is not a very nice place, Taicho. Archangel's attacks have weakened all the gangs, but Aria's people are more dominant than ever, and they have some pretty intense security measures."

Shepard nodded. "I figured that. But if the gangs are hunting Archangel, it is only a matter of time before he's found out. A full assault is suicidal. And I doubt Aria will be much help. At least we have a method of possibly contacting him, and through someone he trusts."

Mordin hummed thoughtfully. "Most communication done with one of his group. Erash. Establishing communication may be difficult. Usually group reaches out to me."

Shepard frowned. "So you don't know where he is located?"

The salarian shook his head. "No. Group highly secretive. Know a few, but not many. Still, expect some of them must be hurt by now, perhaps left message at clinic." He gave her a thin smile. "Will know more when we get there."

Shepard nodded. "Alright then." She stood. "Miranda, please take Doctor Solus to the lab area. Kelly, can you please escort Ms. Goto back to medical?"

The redhead nodded, and Shepard glanced at the Illusive Man. "I need a few minutes with Jack here. I'll be down to talk to you both in a bit."

The room emptied, except for Harper and Trellani. The asari matriarch looked amused.

Shepard narrowed her eyes, and then fixed her gaze onto Harper. Pulling a cigarette out of her pocket, she lit it and blew out smoke before speaking. "What I just heard … had made me reconsider a few things. It's clear now that the Alliance is pretty much irrevocably fucked. Maybe they had good reasons for the shit they pulled, but it's all founded on the work of a man who unleashed Ardiente on the Earth and nearly killed us all. I can never back that."

Harper nodded slowly. "There is a reason I designed Cerberus to defend humanity, and not the Alliance. When I first wrote my manifesto, I was already … disturbed … at how they chose to handle Shanxi. I did not expect to hear what we just did … yet, after the shock has passed, I find myself ultimately not that astonished at the revelation." He took a sip of his drink. "The question is, what do you plan to do about it?"

Shepard snorted. "That depends on you. I think it's time for me to hear your long range plans"

Harper leaned back in the leather chair, folding his hands together. "I've already told you. My concern is the protection of humanity's future. That doesn't change, regardless of the methods or tools I use."

Shepard glanced at Trellani. "And you?"

The matriarch's smile widened. "Me? What of me? I am merely... an advisor."

Shepard snorted. "Can we please stop this slick fucking and ducking routine? Look, lady, you are fucking crazy, and you – " she pointed at Harper " – are probably right behind her in the race to crazytown. There's no way in hell I can work with you people if I have to contemplate blowing your heads off one day if you go too far."

She placed her hands flat on the table. "I don't have time to listen to code words. You say you want me to join Cerberus – fine. If I do, and you two start something I don't agree with, like the shit on Edolus, you are going to have a very short conversation with my ODIN."

Harper's voice was harder than she'd ever heard before. "That is why you were brought back, Shepard."

She blinked. "What?"

He gave her a look. "I'm not a man who often doubts himself. I firmly believe the choices I make and the paths I've walked are the right ones. And yet... I am not perfect."

Jack Harper took a deep breath. "There was a period of time in which I came very close to simply going along with Rachel and Richard. A time where the excesses of the High Lords, and the muted hostility of alien races had very nearly convinced me that we should be aiming for human dominance, not merely survival and prosperity. " He sipped his drink again, a look of disgust clearly written on his features.

"If I had stayed on that road, Cerberus might have ended up much worse than it did. Certainly there would have been no reason for me to provide you information on Saren's whereabouts, much less give Kyle any information on the other actions of the SA."

He glanced at Trellani, then back at Shepard. "It is only due to the advice of the matriarch here that I chose otherwise. But if I had not listened – if I had just gone along with Richard and Rachel... would you have been able to stop Saren at all? Would you have been made a Spectre to be in a position to stop him?"

Shepard let her weight fall onto one leg. "...probably not."

He lit a fresh cigarette. "Ultimately, I realized only after the fact that I had nearly – personally – caused the destruction of humanity. By letting my frustration, my... past... dominate my way of thinking, I had almost undone my own life's work. As I said, Cerberus is an idea. It can't be killed. But it can be perverted and misused."

"You do not tolerate such things. You never have, and you never will. Petrovsky has done his best, but he has his own areas of darkness and frustration. I do not want to put myself in a position where Cerberus undertakes an action that weakens or destroys humanity. And I do not want Cerberus to be the cause of the alien governments we share the galaxy with coming after humanity."

Shepard gestured to Trellani. "Your girlfriend is going to present problems, then, when it comes to dealing with the asari."

Trellani nodded. "A fact both he and I are aware of. I will only say this – the Thirty are not worth saving. I can count on a single hand those among them who are not worthy of a painful death. They have committed atrocities worse than anything your High Lords or your Alliance has done, and they plan to perform the same unto humanity. When the time comes that we must interact with them, I have already made extensive preparations to fake my own death to clear the waters."

She made a gesture of siari frustrated. "Yet in the end, Shepard, Jack is right. We – and I include myself in Cerberus as I have come to care a great deal for humanity – are an organization without oversight, without hard boundaries."

Harper nodded. "By having you as a part of Cerberus – a public part – I am not trying to use your reputation for refusing to allow criminality to whitewash us. I am offering to allow you to make sure we don't engage in criminality, in excess, in what most would call terrorism in the first place."

He puffed on the cigarette. "My long term goals are simple. Defeat the Collectors and tie them to the Reapers. Ensure we are ready to fight the Reapers when they come. Destroy the Shadow Broker and use his resources to protect humanity's future. Make sure that – assuming we survive the Reaper threat – that humanity is neither destroyed by others or corrupted into a terror-driven police state in the aftermath. Ultimately, I want to see a humanity strong enough that we can eliminate the need for the endless shadow wars – to force the galaxy to treat us as equals. A humanity strong enough to not need things like Commissars and citizenship tiers. A humanity strong enough to be proud of, instead of wondering what other atrocity will be uncovered next."

Trellani smiled. "My long term plans will take much longer, but are much simpler. Cast down the Thirty. Reveal the truth of... what I have discovered about them, and Athame. Redeem the Justicar Order and destroy the sick elements of asari society that keep it trapped and bound to the whims of the House of Storms."

She raised her chin. "And ultimately, unite humanity and asari, to counter the depraved schemes of the salarians and hopefully establish peace – real peace, not this sick shadow war where thousands die every day while our leaders smile and distract us with extranet trash."

Shepard looked at them both a long moment. "Those sound benign...but involve a lot of people dying to get there. I doubt the Thirty is going to want to give up their power any more than the High Lords would."

Trellani smiled. "Shepard, if I have learned anything in my fall, it is this – the galaxy is not a dark place because of the petty evil of the average human, asari, or salarian. They are just people, living their lives as best they can. No, it is evil because of our leaders. Our leaders, who enable – and benefit from – the slavers and criminals. Our leaders who kill their own kind searching for methods to achieve dominance. Our leaders who see the average living being as nothing more than a pawn, a grain of sand upon a beach they plan to glass to make way for their own desires."

She made a gesture of siari unity. "We can only move beyond what this galaxy has become by moving beyond these tokens of yesteryear."

Shepard thought about that for a few seconds. "And the costs?"

Harper sighed. "Getting to those goals is worth any sacrifice. Cost is not something we can measure fairly, because every day the people in power cost us all so much more. You yourself have championed the idea that a criminal always has a choice, and if they refuse to change they should be put down. The leaders of the galaxy won't change willingly."

He puffed on the cigarette. "And yet... if we get sidetracked or mislead, or if we get carried away in our plans, as it stands we have nothing capable of calling us out on such. That is where you come in."

Shepard stood there for long seconds, thinking. When she finally spoke, it was in a low tone. "You are basically saying that if you go too far you expect me to kill you?"

Harper's blue-glowing eyes met hers calmly. "If it comes to that, yes. That is one of the main reasons, as I said, we brought you back. But not the only one. Cerberus can't make any changes in the Alliance without your help. You have the name. You have the title of nobility. You have the cultural impact. You have the sway to make others listen to you. And ultimately, if Cerberus moves in a direction that isn't optimal, you have already stated several times you wouldn't hesitate to kill me."

He dumped his ashes. "My miscalculations nearly lead me to a place that would have gotten us all killed by the Reapers. Trellani has made... similar missteps. I am not so arrogant, nor sure of my own infallibility, that I'm willing to risk humanity's future on me being right every time."

Shepard sighed. "I don't have a choice, it seems."

Harper arched an eyebrow. "You always have a choice, Shepard. As I said when we awoke you. If you can't work with us, we can go our separate ways."

She shook her head. "Not like that. I've bitched all my life about fuck-heads in power who don't own up to their actions. Like the Fleet Master, who basically told me the Alliance would do anything to ensure humanity's survival, without bothering to ask himself if the shit he did would end up actually getting us all killed. I haven't seen a single shred of evidence to show me the Alliance or the High Lords ever stopped to think 'is this the right thing to do?' "

She turned to face the pair. "I've read your manifesto. I don't agree with most of it. You may be right that we can't afford to let ourselves depend on the kindness of others, when that kindness is likely to be poison. But the rest of it ...I think strength only comes through sacrifice, not through being willing to do any kind of atrocity. I think that the more threatening humanity becomes the more likely we are to be destroyed instead of respected. But most of all, I absolutely hate the idea that to survive we have to match what other alien races do in terms of depravity."

She met his gaze. "And yet, based on the shit I just heard, I'm starting to realize it's me who is the fucking fool. That I was so fucked up that I actually believed in shit like honor, decency, courage. That the people running my government, the leaders running the blue I put on when I stopped being a gang banging piece of shit – they don't care. And now, I discovered that they may have never cared."

She grimaced. "At the same time, the tired old BS that if we didn't do such sick bullshit, we'd end up like the krogan and the quarians doesn't fly. The krogan attacked first, and the quarians blew themselves up with their geth. If you make reckless, stupid choices you get bad results. That's what has to change in Cerberus, or we certainly will end up like them."

She exhaled. "Nothing I do is going to give me back what I've lost. The best I can do is make sure the fuckers who took it from me don't take anything else. That goes for the Broker... and the Alliance leadership."

She fixed her gaze on him. "If I join you, it won't be me walking away if you double cross me anymore. It will be me killing you and seeing if Miranda has more sense. "

Harper smiled. "If you join Cerberus, it will be you having the chance to actually prove your way of looking at the universe is right." He puffed on his cigarette. "I'll willingly admit Cerberus was my reaction to the horrors of the First Contact War. A war that would have seen us obliterated over the obstinacy of a single turian admiral and the incompetence of a Primarch, that we only survived because Uressa T'Shora had seen enough bloodshed. I suspect Trellani's motives are grounded just as fully in what she discovered and the horrific reaction it gained from the asari."

He met her gaze evenly, blue-glowing eyes calm and cool. "If you think my way of doing things is wrong... I will listen to your advice as much as I do Trellani's. If you think we are going too far, I'll accept that as long as you can provide workable alternatives. But I have a firm belief that only humanity can change the status quo, and I won't alter my belief on that."

Shepard closed her eyes. "...very well. What now?"

Harper leaned back, allowing himself the very smallest sigh of relief. Shepard noticed Trellani's hand moved subtly, and figured the matriarch had been gripping her warp sword.

The Illusive Man's voice was almost muted. "For now, we continue with our plans. My main focus is on building up a strike force to allow us to take the fight to the Broker once you localize him. Petrovsky is overseeing that, for the most part. Our other endeavors are economic and informational – providing the money and resources to support your own operations. Nothing changes there. We have a program in place to use 'fake' geth to stir up Council activity and make sure shipbuilding remains a high priority, as well as funneling money to technology start-ups involved in creating new technology that might be used to thwart the Reaper menace."

Shepard rubbed her chin. "...my old weapons officer and John Oracal are working off of some of my old weapons designs. Could you invest in them? The Alliance is fucking cheap and the Avenger is still garbage."

He arched an eyebrow but nodded. "A good suggestion. I'll see about creating a method for doing so that does not point back to us."

Shepard nodded. "How many other people are in Cerberus?"

Harper frowned. "Outside of your Revenant cell? Less than three hundred, with the vast majority of those being hackers, economic agents, and observers. General Petrovsky is slowly building up a force of rapid-reaction soldiers, and another of my agents, Rasa, is leading a group of infiltrators and saboteurs. Finally, agent Brooks is involved in overseeing … other methods of gathering information." He leaned back. "And you will continue to pursue the goals we have already discussed, correct?"

Shepard stood up, then rolled her shoulders. "Yeah. I am going to focus on handling the Collectors and the Broker for now. Omega is going to be a clusterfuck, and Grunt and Jack still need training – training it doesn't look like I'll have time to provide. We'll talk more about our next actions when I get back from that."

Harper nodded, and Shepard stepped out of the conference room, leaving him alone with Trellani. He glanced at her, as he inhaled smoke from his cigarette. "Interesting outcome."

The matriarch stood slowly, careful with her injured arm. "She remains... blind... to the larger picture. Yet I maintain this is the best course, for many reasons. I know you dislike not leading by fiat... but you will not be able to take a hand in the leadership of humanity in any event, with or without her participation."

He chuckled. "I am more than my ego, as you should know by now. Shepard will still rely on me for finances, resources, intelligence, and ultimately direction. And what we lose is not of any real importance – Hades can do all of the morally questionable research and acts for us, and we'll ultimately benefit when she dismantles them. It will make Cerberus out to look heroic."

Trellani's lips curved. "And the reaction of the Thirty when they realize a human has mastered their most sacred arts and difficult biotics will be a thing of beauty to watch. The irony is I did not even break the Laws of Concordance when I taught her – she was the mate of a member of the Thirty, after all."

Harper stood. "You should go to medical. The medical facilities here are somewhat better than at Patriot Station, and Doctor Sedanya is no doubt a better judge of asari medicine than Minsta is."

Trellani gave a smile. "Very well. I will meet you at your pinnace when I am done."

O-TWCD-O

Shepard found Kasumi in one of the private medical rooms, being worked on by Sedanya. The woman's armor suit had been taken off and she was wearing a t-shirt and shorts, one leg stretched out on the medical bed where the asari doctor could work on the garish looking wound in her thigh.

Shepard stepped in and closed the door behind her. "Doc, how is she?"

Sedanya shifted position as she extracted a tiny piece of metal from the wound. "She got hit by a fragmented piece of armor. It nearly severed the femoral artery – which would have killed her. Mr. Taylor did some fine emergency field aid, but his work wasn't completed." She plucked out a second tiny piece of metal. "And the armor broke apart in her thigh, which will cause muscle tearing if left untreated."

The thief looked up, smaller and more vulnerable looking without the black body suit and hood. "The doctor was telling me how lucky I was that I didn't die on the spot. I usually don't get involved in fighting Silaris armored gunships." She shrugged. "Sedanya-san is a very talented doctor. I should be able to hold my own soon enough."

Shepard smirked. "That's good to hear. I'd like to know a bit more about you. You're a thief? What sort of things did you get involved with?"

The thief leaned back, her Japanese features composed. "I am a very good thief. Maybe the best. I don't steal common things. I mostly go for art, or expensive collectors items – or sometimes information. It all depends on what strikes my fancy. At times, I do it merely for the challenge, and donate the results to charity."

Shepard folded her arms. "I see. Can you fight? Sorry to be blunt, but I'm not sure how much infiltration-style work – or blatant theft – we'll have in this... mess."

Goto nodded. "Before I went on my own way, I was a Marine Scout-Sniper for five years. I was... good. Not great, but good. I wanted to join one of the RIU's, but my scores were not good enough. And when I didn't make the cut for promotion, I just let my enlistment lapse. I was tired of military life."

Shepard leaned back against the wall, watching Sedanya inject medical omnigel into the gaping wound on Goto's thigh. "Alright, fair enough. Why did you get into theft in the first place?"

The Asian woman sighed. "It's a long story, Taicho."

Shepard shrugged. "I have time."

The thief shrugged and leaned back a bit more. "I was raised on Neo Berlin. My family were... not liked by the Imperial Court of Japan. They were part of a failed keibatsu that opposed some of the changes to the law the Emperor decreed, and were encouraged to live elsewhere. My baachan was very bitter about that, and my tousan was always involved in schemes to try and regain what we lost."

Kasumi winced as Sedanya did something to her leg, then continued. "Anyway, I grew up mostly normally. Neo Berlin was a pretty booming place due to all the cash from eezo mining coming in, and Nau Brash, our city, blew up into a big place overnight. I ended up messing about with lots of techheads when I was growing up, and learning about hacking and locks from my tousan."

"I joined up in the Marines like every other good Neo Berliner kid did, and learned about sniping and sneaking about and all that. When I mustered out, I worked for a bit in a bank, but then my kaasan developed lung cancer."

Goto looked down. "We didn't have the money to pay for the viral terminator treatments, so... I used some of my skills and ended up diverting some money to a separate account I set up. I got her treatments paid for... but I also got caught. Before I could get arrested, I fled Neo Berlin. My family formally disowned me... but my tousan sent me a message saying he was still proud of me."

She smiled. "I sort of got lost in just running about for a while, living off my wits. I was actually staking out a target when I saw someone else had beat me to it. An asari. Security had been tipped and she was going to get killed... so I helped out." Her face fell. "Her working name was Ghost-Step... her real name was Sariel."

Sedanya looked up. "A very famous asari thief well known for her extensive blueware."

Goto smiled, but it was a sad smile. "Yeah. Sariel was dying and using her skills to pay her way through various medical treatments. She took me along with her when she fled the planet we were on in thanks for saving her life, and taught me... most of what I know."

Shepard nodded. "She was dying? Of what?"

Kasumi's expression was one of unease. "A disease of some kind. She'd been forced to replace a lot of herself with cybernetics over the years to adjust to it, that and she'd been caught in some kind of plasma explosion at some point. She told me it was something to do with her nervous system. All I know is she was working with some pretty shady salarian doctors to treat it, and it was expensive."

"We ended up robbing banks, museums, private investors. You name it, we did it. I stole an STG cloaking module – I still use it – and would act as the oversight, or do hacking and breaking into locations. She did most of the crazier stuff, explosives, weird biotic tricks. We were a good team."

Shepard waited a few seconds for her to continue. "And you eventually ran into... Keiji?"

The thief's voice was ragged. "Hai."

Shepard exhaled. "I'm told that Ghost-step was killed in your infiltration of Hock's estate. I'm sorry for your loss, both of your friend and your fiance. The only consolation I can give you is that we're going after the Broker...and if we find out who set up your fiance to be killed, we'll kill that bastard too."

Goto looked up. "I... thank you. I'm not in very good mental shape right now, Taicho. I lost the person who's been my mentor and teacher for almost a decade. I was maybe getting over losing Keiji... this will take longer." Her voice turned vicious. "At least Hock is dead."

Shepard nodded. "I currently don't have anyone good at sniping. When we deploy, given that you can move around stealthily, I would like you to take a high oversight position and cover my approaches. No offense, but you don't look like you would do well in the main line of battle."

Kasumi gave a small shrug, and then winced again as Sedanya began using a nano-threader to close the wound in her leg. "That suits me fine. I can handle a firefight... but I'd prefer to work at a distance. I can also help with breaking security."

Shepard nodded. "Our armory has a full selection of weapons. Some of them are designs I made myself. Mr. Taylor can also get your armor upgraded."

Kasumi gave an impish smile. "I'm looking forward to that." She glanced down at her leg, where Sedanya was wrapping it in medigel infused bandages. "So, assuming I'm good to go for Omega, what is the plan?"

Shepard folded her arms. "We're there to extract Archangel. Our intel suggests he is out to take down the Broker, just like we are, so he should be of some use. Anybody who can take on all of Omega for more than a year is nobody to fuck with – and I'll need the best, given what our ultimate goal is."

She rubbed the back of her neck. "Problem is, we haven't been able to localize him or make contact with him, and it looks like the gangs are going to find him sooner or later, so we'll probably have to get him out of a clusterfuck of a situation. We're not even entirely sure Archangel is just one turian or a group of people."

Goto shrugged. "I was on Omega about four months back... I get the feeling it has to be more than one person, Taicho. Omega... is not a pleasant place for most people, but it has gotten a lot better since he started his crusade. I don't think Archangel realizes how much the people of the lower districts idolize him – if he did he might have tried to have them revolt against Aria-dono."

Shepard nodded . "You said you could get us in... how exactly?"

Goto smiled. "I know Aria-dono. I've done work for her more than once, after all. If I come in with a pinnace and say I'm here recruiting for a heist against a member of the Thirty, she will be delighted to have me aboard. Once you're docked and people know your ship is here under Aria-dono's protection, no one will bother you."

Shepard rubbed her chin, then shrugged. "That could be pretty useful, I guess. We'll need a reason to offload cargo – we can pack mechs in cargo containers along with my armor." She glanced at Sedanya. "Will she be good to go for any fighting?"

The asari doctor shook her head. "Not really. This isn't like being shot, this hit fractured her femur and tore a lot of muscle. I'm putting her on a bone regenerator until you leave, but I would strongly recommend leaving her on the pinnace. It would be best for her to avoid any lengthy amount of walking on this leg for about a week."

Shepard nodded. "Alright. When you get done, have the doctor here take you to operations and check in with Miranda. She'll get you set up with quarters and show you the mess facility, the armory, all of that. We're in communications blackout, if you need to contact anyone Mr. Ezno will have to approve and route it."

Goto gave a shrug. "No one I can think of to talk to." Her expression changed. "The... way they brought you back to life. Is it something that can be repeated?"

Shepard gave a grim smile. "It's possible but unlikely. And extremely expensive, and you end up mostly cybernetics and cloned up organs all tidied up under artificial skin. The most important thing is that the brain has to be intact."

Goto sagged and nodded. "Understood."

Shepard took a deep breath. "I have a question I ask each person who joins us. Stopping the Collectors – and by extension, the Reapers – should be its own reward. But I know that each person has their own reasons and desires. What do you want? What made you accept Cerberus' offer, and what do I need to provide you to get you to commit everything to this goal?"

The thief was silent for several seconds. "I want answers. Why... why was Keiji killed? And I want to help my family, make sure they're okay." She paused. "If I I can rob the Shadow Broker blind I'll take that too."

Shepard pinched the bridge of her nose. "We'll do what we can. I can make sure your family is doing fine, at the least. When we get time, I'll make sure you can get in contact with them and then if they need anything, we'll provide it. Anything else?"

Kasumi shook her head. "Cerberus offered me a pretty big sum of cash, and has already helped me by getting back Keiji's gray-box. I'd be silly to ask for more than that."

Sedanya stepped back. "If you don't need anything else from her, Shepard, I really need to get her on the bone regen machines."

Shepard left, heading towards the science lab. Goto was more than a little affected by losing her closest friend, something Shepard could relate to. How well she'd be able to channel that loss into rage and determination remained to be seen.

It took about five minutes for her to get to the science labs, where she found the salarian doctor seated at a console, reading data from two screens that was scrolling rapidly. "Doctor Solus?"

The salarian tapped the haptic keyboard in front of him and stood. "Ah, Shepard. Impressive facilities. Also told smaller mobile lab on flagship. Very complete. Better equipment than in STG. Did not expect from Cerberus."

She walked around some kind of scanner machine and faced him squarely. "They don't do anything by half-measures. And as for what to expect from them, well... Cerberus isn't going to follow the path it used to. While I won't lie and say it going to be flowers and giggling children, I have no use for the kind of atrocities it used to commit."

The old salarian tilted his head. "I see. Illusive Man impossible to predict. Have glanced over resurrection technology. Fascinating, but also disturbing. Implications very difficult to accept."

She shrugged. "I try not to think about it. The scale of it has hit me more than once, but dwelling on it doesn't do much for my own mental state." She exhaled. "You've been briefed on our short term goals. We're going after the Collectors. I need whatever you can give me to allow us to survive combating them, find out their weakness, and give us an edge."

He nodded. "Dealt with Collectors personally during STG tenure. Strange. Difficult to comprehend. Traded them certain genetic samples in return for highly advanced filtering technology. Interactions were limited in scope, but Collectors clearly advanced in technology. Combating them will be difficult."

She shrugged. "You were STG for a long time, doctor. Some of the things I've read in Cerberus intel workups don't paint a very pretty picture. Why leave to run a clinic on Omega?"

Mordin blinked, then walked across the lab to a large haptic-display tabletop. Tapping in data from his omni-tool, he spoke in a quiet voice. "In youth, wanted adventure. Got into medicine and science to help people. STG service started out good. Stopped terrorists, prevented epidemics, did a great many good things. But STG also does dark things."

He glanced at the data on the table, then back at her. "Eventually, was tapped to work on Genophage. Krogan adaptive genetics were nullifying effects. Worked with several other cells, rewrote Genophage, redeployed on Tuchanka." He fingered the tip of one of his horns that was missing. "Resulted in a firefight. Nearly killed."

He bent over the table, tapping on his omni-tool again. "Missions became more morally polarizing. Demands to develop biowarfare weapons. Testing... repugnant. Eventually could not accept methods being used. Broke from family, retired from STG, branded self as Lythari."

She frowned. "Lythari are... outcasts?"

He straightened, turned to face her. "Not exactly. Self applied label. Group that does not follow leadership of the SIX. Wishes change in salarian culture. Sister furious. STG displeased. But not a slave, could not make me work for them. Went to Omega. Started clinic, helped those who needed it and couldn't pay."

He gave a thin, satisfied smile. "Good work. No moral dilemmas, no guilt, no nightmares. Helped many people. Trained new doctors, medical assistants, cyberdocs. Aria was amused, gave mark of respect so that I would not be harassed. Some tried anyway. Killed them."

Shepard nodded. "And then the STG called you back."

His expression tightened. "Yes. Wanted me to work on Collector threat, other projects. Was aware of shadowing by Cerberus. STG Master said they were looking to kill me. Threatened to cut me loose from STG protection if I didn't work for STG again. Refused. Shipped back to Therum to return to Omega. Ugly conversation with sister." He sighed. "Figured I would die for principles. Instead, recruited by Odd Couple. Now here."

She folded her arms. "You understand the stakes?"

The old salarian nodded. "Collector threat bad enough. Link to Reapers alarming. Highly placed in STG, but not aware of Reaper issue until briefing recently. Only highest command figures know about Reapers, not seeing enough action taken to prepare. Suspect Broker intel suggesting threat is not dire the core of the issue." He paused. "If Collectors sampling humanity, suspect Reaper interest in humans...not benign."

He glanced over the haptic tabletop. "Also, link between Okeer and Collectors troubling. Okeer brilliant but dangerous."

She laughed bitterly. "Oh yeah. We obtained most of what we could of his research."

The doctor nodded. "Lawson informed me. Am reviewing." He gave a sharp exhalation. "Has made a fool of us."

She arched an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

The salarian gestured to the table, showing some kind of complex genetic information. "Okeer modifications to Genophage targeted. Changes to entire glandular system, anchored in hanta-viral agents embedded in krogan digestive tract. Actually co-opts work I did with STG to strengthen Genophage"

He tapped a finger on the table. "Okeer modification twofold. Terminator sequences kill genetically flawed zygotes before complete formation. Only genetic patterns conforming to improvements allowed to complete fertilization cycle. Uses junk data attached by STG to cause failure in fetus to instead convey improved genetic traits."

He stood. "End result – birth rate still vastly reduced, but krogan produced stronger, faster, smarter than before. Minor modification would allow terminator sequence in hanta-viral agent to kill all but highest proportion of fetal beings long before full growth...no more stillborn krogan."

Shepard nodded. "So not a cure, but he makes the Genophage a way to strengthen the krogan and removes the most disturbing part of it."

The salarian nodded. "Irritating. Changes made in Genophage code anticipate likely STG reactions to restrict it." He tapped two sequences on the table. "Expected reaction would be to remap krogan gonadtropine equivalent and suppress themestrione production to induce reduced fetal viability. Okeer's change would ..." The salarian sighed. "...completely undo gating restriction."

Shepard arched an eyebrow. "Got none of that."

Mordin looked at her. "Attempting to undo Okeer changes would in effect cure Genophage. Most brute-force attempts to cure Genophage and exclude his changes would prevent any pregnancy from coming to term. Implications morally disgusting. His way or or no way at all. Megalomaniac."

Shepard gave a snort. "Well, given that he was tied up with Saren and Benezia, it's not a shocker that he was a vindictive evil asshole." She glanced around the room. "Back to the mission itself. The Illusive Man picked your name out to help us, but didn't exactly share why. I need to know what you can do."

Mordin sniffed. "Multitude. Not singular in abilities. Medical doctor, bio-researcher, general science – specialize in genetics, but omnidisciplinary. Skilled at communications protocols and encryption schemas. Field medical skills and triage as well."

She nodded. "And your combat abilities?"

The doctor shrugged. "Not as young as once was. Still, good with submachine guns, pistols, grenades. Also developed infowar and omni-tool combat programs." His face flickered with amusement. "And farming implements. When needed."

"Ooookay. Let me ask you this, then. I'm going after the Broker... because he's responsible for the death of my wife, and my friends, and my ship. That, and he's in league with the Collectors. Why are you agreeing to work with Cerberus, and with me?"

Mordin gave her a direct look. "Should not require reason. Evil triumphs when good people do nothing. Reapers end of all developed races in galaxy. Collectors monstrous, experimenting on living beings. Broker... morally dubious. Did not go along with STG when could not find reasons to violate personal morality." He folded his hands behind his back. "Made choices when younger. Sometimes poor. Lost sight of little pictures in big picture. Lost sight of consequences in pursuing achievement. Regrets need addressing."

She nodded slowly. "And your thoughts on Cerberus?"

The ex-STG doctor shrugged. "Activities before destruction on par with atrocities committed by other races. Of course, condemnation by asari, salarians and others criminally hypocritical. Illusive Man master planner and highly admired by STG." He paused. "If Cerberus backing you, implies goals are benign. Past actions irrelevant in face of Reaper threat being ignored."

She fell back a bit, putting her weight onto one leg and folding her arms. "It doesn't bother you?"

Mordin gave an expressive gesture with his hands. "Blame and condemnation pointless. Focus on now, achieve now, bicker about past when not facing giant omnicidal robots. Multitude of gray areas morally. Pick brightest one and do best to make it brighter."

She chuckled a bit at that. "That's surprisingly open minded."

Mordin shook his head. "Must be. Closed mind is closed to new knowledge. Life is negotiation. We all want. We give to get what we want. Sometimes ends up good. Other times, not so much. Lesson learned. But judging? Pointless. Waste of intellect. Never have. Won't start."

She let her arms drop and rolled her shoulder. "What do you want out of working with us, then? How do we compensate you? What is it that you want?"

The salarian rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Difficult question. Have few personal needs. No offspring, sister... acting distastefully. One nephew, but provided for. Bored with clinic on Omega." He shrugged. "Not young. Would like to think made positive change in galaxy before death. Other recompense unnecessary."

Shepard nodded thoughtfully. "Alright then. We have an extensive armory and Mr. Taylor can provide you with any armoring needs."

The doctor nodded, turning back to the haptic display. "Will check with him once done with Okeer data."

Shepard shook her head and headed out of the lab to go look for Grunt.

O-TWCD-O

Praetor Rathaxan glanced around the cavernous weapons testing bay through the heavy armaglass portals, watching the small forms of Palavanus technicians scurrying about far below. It was hardly the first time he'd been to this station - situated around a dead star, deep within a nebula of ionized gasses for secrecy and security - but it was the first time that he was accompanied by admirals from the Unbroken Circle. The corridors, painted an awful dead white, were only set off by the host of defensive weapons and the occasional member of the Blackwatch.

Blackmoon Station, as it was called, was the testing ground and proving facility for the Palavanus Institute of Technology and Arms. Officially, it didn't exist. It was where the pieces of technology acquired by the Deathwatch and Blackwatch ended up, where the Palavanus tested new weapons and armor, and now where they would attempt to recreate the weapon used by Nazara.

Given the bulk of the Reaper ship, the assembled machinery in the bay itself was surprisingly compact, given the purpose it was to serve. Thanix had suggested in communication with the Primarch that the new weapon about to be tested would make every form of mass acceleration technology completely obsolete. Yet the weapon below was not very large at all.

He didn't know if that was due to it being a test model, or if it could be scaled up to be more destructive.

What little he knew was from the comm packet sent a few days back. The prototype was being called the Thanix Cannon, as it had been Thanix himself who'd been working on it. Based on the weapon recovered from the wreck of Nazara, it had taken almost a full year just to grasp the principles that would allow them to do anything with the technology.

At some point the Palavanus researchers had basically said the weapon could not be reproduced - it appeared to violate the laws of thermodynamics on a fundamental level. Yet Thanix himself had taken charge, and produced what he called a hybrid function weapon.

Rathaxan had looked over the basics, such as they were. He had dealt with the Palavanus and their various oddities long enough not to bother reading the technical specification document they had sent. He'd had his people skim it, and his mandibles flickered in amusement as he recalled their bafflement. It was often easier to simply ask Thanix himself what the tech would do, if he was in a mood to be coherent.

If he grasped it all correctly, though, the weapon worked much like the Reaper weapon did. It used a plasma compression chamber to flash-melt metal - in this case, nickel instead of iron - in an over-pressurized environment to prevent it from transitioning to a gas. Using magnetic containment this mass of super-hot liquids was then loaded into a mass effect shunt, similar to but larger than the one used on the hyperluminal particle accelerator cannons used by Final Line soldiers. The resulting beam, moving much faster than lightspeed, would hit with devastating force.

No energy ranges for the impact were given, and he had his doubts that it would truly match the largest dreadnaught weapons. Still, the claims being put forth were more than worth a look, and Rathaxan turned as the entryway behind him opened, and the tall, slender form of Thanix himself stepped through.

"Pretarch Thanix. I appreciate your hard work. I have with me the admirals of the fleet who will be handling procurement and implementation of new armaments, as you requested."

Thanix gave an almost jerky motion with his head, mandibles flaring. His body was draped in soft white robes set off with belts of various tool pouches, and he tapped something into his omnitool before responding. "Very good. You have reviewed the preliminary reports, the energy requirements and restrictions?"

Rathaxan nodded. "We have. There is … some skepticism, I'm afraid, of the published results. Are you sure this weapon will perform as predicted? I am not doubting that it works, but you have made a claim that it can fire at ranges and with a power our largest cannons cannot match."

Thanix gave an amused click, shaking his head. "The data already conveyed should have let you calculate the impact forces for yourself. However, we double-checked all the calculations. I have concluded that this simple weapon could easily devastate an asari cruiser with one or two shots." He sighed. "And yet, compared to the weapon that the Black Ship wielded, it still cannot match its power. There is an energized component in the weapon we could not replicate."

He then turned to face the Praetor fully. His features were set into a mask of what on another turian would be dismay. "And even then, I fear, the Black Ship chose - for whatever reason - not to use the full power of the weapon."

"Spirits, how more powerful could it have been?" asked the Praetor. He had seen footage of the attacks on both the Fourth Citadel Fleet and the Battle of the Citadel, showing the red beam shearing through ships like a vakar through tatheks.

Thanix shrugged, moving to a control console set into the wall. "Difficult to say. The weapon was damaged when we received it. But based on the impact forces we have achieved with this lesser model, I believe it could have cleaved the Destiny Ascension in half with one strike." He tapped several controls. "The reason it did not was most likely power related. Even our version is power hungry, although not nearly as much as the original version."

He tapped another control. "It is possible that by using lower power blasts it allowed it to fire more rapidly. Given the sheer power of the weapon, it would still overpower most of our ships but not use up its energy recklessly."

Out of the corner of his eye, Rathaxan saw huge clamps moving a section of what looked like the hull of a battleship into place, its surface covered in the golden gleam of Silaris armor. Personnel in the bay connected power cabling to sections of the hull segment as it locked in place, and kinetic barriers sprang up over and within the honeycombed hull.

At the same time, alarms began blaring. "Bay depressurization in thirty seconds. Activate mag boots and environmental systems or evacuate the bay."

Thanix chuckled. "The first test firing blew a hole in the side of the station. We've modified the testing bay to accommodate the results." He tapped another control. "Once the bay is prepared, it will be time to bring this prototype online and up to full power."

Rathaxan watched as the hull of the station split open inside the bay, two halves drawing aside to reveal the inky blackness of space, made murkier by the swirling gasses of the nebula in the distance.

Thanix tapped his omnitool. "Primary control - commence primary ignition."

"Affirmative, my prince!" replied a voice from the comm station. The lights flickered as power started to be directed towards the cannon. The last few technicians in the bay below entered into an armored viewing pod, as commentary from the firing technical team came across the comm system.

"Energy levels shifting…"

"Power rising…"

"Target locked…"

Rathaxan felt his breath catch at that moment, when Thanix spoke 'fire'. For a moment, nothing happened. Then the elongated machinery in the shape of a cannon erupted into a blue torrent of light, faster than the eye could follow. The blast slammed into the hull, the kinetic barrier shattering like glass as it struke.

For the barest second, the hull endured the blast, then the plates of the hull literally exploded into shrapnel and burning fragments and the beam tore through the hull to storm into the empty space beyond.

Klaxons sounded. "Power levels critical. Shutting down." The beam stopped, and Rathaxan glanced at what remained of the section of hull plating. A glowing hole big enough to drive a frigate through had been blown the entire length of the section, with splashes of still burning metal sprayed out from behind the section in wide swaths. Turians rushed out with fire extinguishers and omni foam dispensers to address the issues as the hull doors began closing again.

Thanix folded his arms. "Not quite enough gun, I think. But it's getting there."

Rathaxan gave him an incredulous look. "It seems a good deal more powerful than a dreadnaught main gun. I would call that a success."

Thanix gave an incredulous snort. "Dreadnaught gun? Spirits no. You don't start testing with full size weapons, my friend."

The Palavanus' smile was almost predatory and Rathaxan suppressed a full body shudder at the glee in the other turian's voice. "This was the frigate version." He folded his arms behind his back, gazing at the still burning wreckage of the hull section. "Still, for a prototype, it is within acceptable limits. Convey my funding and supply requests back to the Unbroken Circle with video of the test and inform the High Primarch I'll expect them in a month."

Rathaxan merely decided, given what he had just seen and heard, to nod and withdraw. Everytime he thought he was used to the crazy of the Palavanus they surprised him once again.