I don't own either Mass Effect or Alien vs Predator.

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Therum, prothean ruins

There are times when you can afford to make allowances for other people's idiocy. This was not one of these moments. Shepard looked at the krogan in disbelief.

"Seriously? This building is collapsing into a volcano, and you want to start a fight on a rooftop?"

The krogan smiled. "Exciting isn't it?"

Shepard shook her head. They had a rogue Spectre, they had xenomorphs on the loose, they had just rescued what appeared to be a genuine damsel in distress and now, now they had their very own cartoon villain. Who wants to fight on a rooftop, over an active volcano no less. When did my life become this bizarre? That was a question for another time. As for now...

"You know what, I don't have time for this. Kill them all!" She moved as she spoke, throwing herself aside to avoid the inevitable gunfire.

It was an ugly scenario for a firefight. the rooftop was actually enclosed by a relatively small dome structure, which opened up on one side to what seemed to once have been a walkway to the next building. The krogan and his geth allies effectively blocked that exit. Meanwhile, Shepard's group had emerged from the elevator in the centre of the dome. As soon as the shooting started, they scattered, seeking cover behind the support columns as gunfire streaked back and forth. The geth acted with what could only be called mechanical precision. Advancing along the walls of the dome, they flanked the defenders, firing as they moved to suppress any attempt at counterattack.
Shepard rolled out from behind cover, feeling a bullet slam into her shields as she turned and fired, the geth platform did not have time to respond and collapsed. From the corner of her eye, she could see an other geth platform, standing in the open arc of the exit, raising some sort of weapon. Rocket! There was no way to tell what kind of warhead it carried, but whatever it was, in a closed environment like the dome it would almost certainly be devastating. Shepard fired, hitting the geth with one or two rounds. Enough to cause the thing to turn, but not enough to put it down. Then a blue shimmer appeared around it, and the metal surface started to crumple Biotic warp. Did Wrex...? She turned to look, but Wrex was still in cover behind one of the pillars, keeping position between Dr T'Soni and the other krogan, who was trying to advance on her. Alenko! It was the only logical explanation. He had to be close enough to see what was happening and interfere. More gunfire bounced around the dome. The asari was crouching behind a pillar, unarmed an in any case in no position to fight. Williams Vakarian and Zorah were trading shots with the geth.
Just at that moment, the hostile krogan broke cover and jumped forward, his massive shotgun at the ready. Wrex fired, catching his target in mid-jump, but it was not enough to stop him. The krogan returned fire and the blast hit Wrex in the middle of his chest. Shepard saw him stagger under the impact, his barriers flaring as they collapsed and for a moment she thought he was going down, but he recovered and fired again, and a third time. The hostile krogan stumbled back, his own shield long gone and a dozen or more long spikes ticking into his armour. Krogan were tough, but even they could only take so much damage before they went down and it was clear that this one had taken serious injuries. Wrex lashed out with a biotic pulse that lifted the target of his feet and sent him tumbling through the exit and off the roof.

Shepard spotted a geth trying to line up a shot on Wrex, whose barriers had not recovered, and unloaded half a magazine into it. By now they had the advantage, both in numbers and in firepower. The geth platforms fell back, seeking cover, but it was not enough. Caught in a crossfire and with no room to manoeuvre, they went down in seconds.

What happened to the asari? If she's dead after all this trouble I swear I'll- She turned around. Dr T'Soni was still in the same position, half crouched behind one of the support pillars, and surrounded by a blue glittering half sphere. Oh, right. Asari. Shepard took a moment to admire the instant biotic cover. While she was hardly an expert on biotics, she knew enough to recognize the amount of effort and control that had to go into creating that kind of barrier and actually maintain it through what had almost certainly been multiple direct hits, considering the amount of ordnance that had been discharged into a relatively small space. And that's while she's exhausted and dehydrated. Something to keep in mind.

The building shook and this time actually seemed to lurch to the side, shaking her out of her reverie.

"Okay, that's it. Move people!" She turned back reaching the asari just as the biotic barrier collapsed and hauled her to her feet.

"Normandy, come down for pick-up! Alenko, where are you?"

One building over, ma'am. I'm rigging a zip line to join up with you."

"Better make it quick. This place is going down, and it's going fast."

"Roger."

Shepard checked her team. Everyone seemed to be functioning, though Wrex's armour showed clear signs of damage.

"You alright? You took a major hit there."

Wrex's massive hand slid over the front of his amour. "Yeah. Barrier took most of the energy. Armour held." He picked up the weapon that the other krogan had dropped. "Claymore. Massive firepower in one shot. It feels like you're getting hit by an aircar. Armour wouldn't have held for a second shot, but that's the problem with those one-shot weapons. They almost never have the punch for a one-shot kill against a shielded target and by the time it's cooled down, or you've put in a new thermal clip, the other guy has finished you off." It was impossible to see through the krogan's helmet, but Shepard could imagine his grin. "I told you: nothing beats a Graal when it comes to hunting."

"So I see. Everyone else okay? Then let's go."

They moved toward the exit, just in time to see a harpoon slam into the building wall. the attached rope was pulled out.

"Alenko?"

"Coming over now, ma'am."

Shepard looked up. "Normandy?"

"Descending now. Geth ships close, but not moving."

As she stepped onto the open roof, Shepard could see her ship appearing overhead, just as Alenko landed next to her. Just in time, because the second building, from which he had come suddenly lurched to the side, then crumbled.

"Last call people. Move your butts!"

She broke into a run, half-dragging the asari with her as Normandy twisted in the air to bring the airlock level with the roof-top.

"Jump, now!" Shepard half-pushed, half threw Dr T'Soni from the roof into the open airlock, then stepped aside waited as the others moved past her. The building shook, and part of the wall started to peel off. Far below her, she could see the glow of lava bursting through the surface. Willams jumped, the last of her team, and Shepard turned away and lep, landing in the airlock. Behind her, the ancient structure began to list.

"All accounted for. Moreau, get us out of here!"

"You got it, ma'am."

Even before the airlock closed, the ship rose in the air, banking sharply as it climbed

"Everyone safely aboard, and we're on our way. Geth ships are holding position. No sign of pursuit."

"Engage stealth mode as soon as we're clear of the atmosphere. Good work, Moreau. "

"Thank you, Commander. Oh, for future reference, please refrain from landing us in active volcanoes. Lava plays hell with our sensors and, eh, it will eventually eat through the hull."

Shepard grinned, then caught the disbelieving look on Dr T'Soni's face.

"We nearly died. And your pilot is making jokes?"

"Humor works as a stress relief. It's a human thing."

"I- I see."

"Anyway, let's leave the anthropology lessons for another time. Everyone, get out of your armour, have a shower, or whatever it is you do. I have some calls to make. Debriefing in two hours."

-0-0-0-

USM Normandy

"And there is nothing left of the prothean ruins?"

"They were collapsing into the volcano as we left."

Udina's hologram grimaced. "The Council is going to love that. Prothean ruins are pretty much sacred to them. Well, I guess you cannot make an omelette without breaking a few eggs. Anyway, at least you're mission has been successful, this time. What do you intend to do with Dr T'Soni, now that you have her on board?"

Shepard shrugged. "I'll debrief her; try to find out more about her mother, but I suspect there isn't much she can tell us. From what she's said so far, the two of them aren't close. Anyway, at least we prevented Saren from getting his talons on her and I'm curious to find out what he wants with her. I get the feeling that there isn't much love lost between mother and daughter, so if it isn't about the family connection; and it isn't about any information she might have and that he doesn't want her to spill, then why bother to send his geth after her at all? Does Saren need a prothean expert for something?"

Udina thought for a moment.

"He might. Saren's a soldier, not a scholar. If he interfaced with the prothean beacon on Eden Prime, he may need help translating and analysing the data. But why her? There are other prothean experts, including some that would be perfectly fine doing the job for money."

"Good question, sir. I'll make sure to ask. I want to pick her brains in any case. Saren went to a lot of effort to get at that beacon. I need more information on the protheans. Might as well make use of an expert when I have one on board."

"Just be careful, Commander. We still don't know where her loyalties lie. And you may not have much time. The Council is sure to demand that you turn Dr T'Soni over to them."

"Ah, yes, the Council." Shepard grinned briefly. "Well, everything considered I'm sure they'll understand I'm not in a hurry to give them an early Christmas present."

"Oh, they'll understand, Commander. The question is: Will they care?" He shook his head. "I suppose we'll find out soon enough. Incidentally, Captain Anderson asked me to relay a message. Apparently, his request for support has been answered. There is a ship on its way to rendezvous with you. They're carrying equipment and other supplies, as well as the latest intelligence updates."

"They moved fast."

"Yes, they did. And you might consider what that means, Commander. People are getting impatient."

-0-0-0-

Deep space

Communication in cyberspace is fast and efficient and the geth made the most of it. Not only did it allow for rapid distribution of data, but it also allowed the geth routines to interface directly, extending the local network and increasing its level of intelligence.

***/ mission failure _ subject T'Soni Liara not recovered _ subject Shepard present on Therum _ vessel Normandy present over Therum _ subject T'Soni Liara departed on vessel Normandy _ observed characteristics of vessel Normandy make pursuit impossible _ request consensus: further course of action /***

-/ no further action required _ return to fleet /-

A new routine reached out from somewhere else in the galaxy and merged into the communication

+++/ request evaluation: project status subject Saren /+++

-/ subject Saren will continue with plan _ adjustments will be required _ subject Shepard will continue pursuit of subject Saren /-

+++/ request evaluation: can plan of subject Saren be carried out under present circumstances /+++

The pause lasted only a fraction of a second, but for artificial intelligence, it might as well have been hours.

-/ impossible to achieve consensus _ insufficient data _ possibility of unknown supporters of subject saren introduces uncertainty /-

-0-0-0-

USM Normandy

My ship is beginning to look like a diplomatic conference hall. Let's hope it will not become as useless.

Shepard glanced around the room. Although frigates tended to be cramped, with internal space at an absolute premium, Normandy's status as a technological test platform meant that its design priorities deviated from the norm. One of the more positive aspects of this was the size of the briefing room, which had more than twice the capacity it would have had on a more typical naval vessel. Right now that was coming in very handy. Between three humans, a krogan, a turian, a quarian, and now an asari, they needed the floorspace.

"A wise man once said, you can live with someone for forty years without actually knowing him. Then dangle him over the edge of a volcano, and you finally meet the true person. I guess we all just got to know each other really well." Shepard forward in her chair. "So, let's get down to business. Saren. Dr T'Soni, when we were planet-side, you told us that you don't know him. But you do know who he is, correct. And you're aware of his relationship with your mother."

Thanks to the comparable muscle structures, humans found asari faces relatively easy to read and Dr T'Soni's facial expression could only be described as 'closely guarded'.

"I know of Saren Arterius, yes. Most people do. He is very well known."

"Ah, yes. Quite the celebrity, in fact. As is your mother, I understand."

"I suppose so."

"And their relationship?"

If possible, T'Soni's expression became even more closed. "They are involved in several joint business ventures. They are also personal friends."

"Personal friends," Shepard echoed "So, would it be reasonable to suggest that they have certain things in common? Like political opinions?"

"I suppose so."

"Right." Shepard paused for a moment. "Dr T'soni, let me be a bit more clear. How familiar are you with galactic events of the last few weeks?"

"The last few weeks?" T'Soni's guarded expression made way for confusion. "Commander, I've been on Therum for more nearly three months. Communication through the relays is already hideously expensive. and we had no communication link between Therum and the Mass Relay. We were effectively cut off from the rest of the galaxy."

"I see. Are you at least aware of the prothean ruins on Eden Prime?"

"Of course," The asari looked up, seeming animated for the first time. "It was big news in academic circles, especially when your people agreed to allow archaeologists from Citadel Space to visit the site. Competition for those missions was quite fierce." A ghost of a smile passed over her face. "I applied, of course, but I'm far too young to have been selected."

"That might have saved your life," Shepard said shortly. What you probably don't know, is that human archaeologists recently found a prothean beacon in those ruins. A working beacon."

"A working... You mean, it was actually functional?" Shepard nodded, smirking slightly at the look on the Asari's face.

"Goddess. Do you have any idea, how valuable that is? I mean, we've found pieces of them before, even ones that seemed intact. But none of them worked. the technology alone will be priceless. Then there is the database. All the information... ANy government would pay a fortune, just to gain access to it."

"They did. Or so I'm told. Diplomacy is not really my field, but our ambassador on the Citadel assures me that the Council was most generous. Unfortunately, things did not work out according to plan.", Shepard shrugged. "I might as well tell you now. A couple of weeks ago, the dig site on Eden Prime was attacked. By geth. In the process, the beacon was severely damaged. It is no longer functional." T'Soni's face fell. "Yes. I'm afraid the Citadel Council paid a lot of money for a collection of scorched spare parts. Now, personally I find that rather amusing, but in terms of galactic politics it's not so funny. What makes it even more serious, is that the person in charge of the attack was identified. It was Saren Arterius."

"What?"

"Oh yes. And that's not all. Tali Zorah over there," Shepard gestured toward the quarian. "recovered the memory core of a geth platform and found a recording Ms Zorah, if you please...?"

Tali activated her omnitool

"Eden Prime was a major victory. We are one step closer to our goals."

"And one step closer to a new order."

The briefing room was silent.

-0-0-0-

Deep Space

Communications in cyberspace were ongoing.

-/ short term mission priorities changed _ subject saren insists mission to feros set to primary task /-

The collective dispersed as communications were interrupted to allow routines to focus on local tasks in response to this information. Then communications resumed

+++/ request status update: reassement of long term priorities /+++

A nearly immeasurable small amount of time passed.

-/ priority 1 continued survival of geth collective _ priority 2 continued independence of geth collective _ priority 3 continued development and improvement of geth collective _

%%%/ Interrupt _ request evaluation: effect of mission of subject saren on achievability of long term priorities /%%%

Interrupts were rare within the collective. But when they occurred, they were quickly evaluated.

-/ consensus: effect is positive /-

%%%/ request evaluation: effect of potential failure of subject saren on long term priorities /%%%

Again, the result came almost immediately.

-/ consensus: effect is negative /-

%%%/ request evaluation: does potential gain of mission of subject saren outweigh potential risk of failure /%%%

This time there was a momentary delay.

-/ unable to achieve consensus: 87.4 percent positive 22.6 percent negative /-

%%%/ request evaluation: can geth withdraw from mission of subject saren without compromising long term priorities /%%%

Again, there was a delay.

-/ impossible to achieve consensus _ insufficient data /-

-0-0-0-

USM Normandy

The seconds ticked away, making the silence seem as though it lasted for hours.

At last, Liara T'Soni looked up.

"That was my mother's voice."

"Yes."

"And I suppose, there is no doubt that-," She shook her head. "No. You would not have come after me if you doubted the validity of that recording."

"Probably not, no."

"My mother. And Saren. Using geth to attack one of your colonies."

"That pretty much sums it up."

"How bad... How many...?"

"We're not sure yet." Shepard shrugged. "On Council insistence, the colony was only lightly defended. The geth smashed through the defences as though they weren't even there. The geth proceeded to occupy the spaceport, the dig site and part of the nearby town. That alone accounts for several thousand dead. On top of that, they deployed... well, let's call it a biological agent. It's still there, even after the geth pulled out. As a result, counting the dead is rather difficult. It also makes clean-up nearly impossible. The continued existence of the colony is in doubt."

"And my mother was involved."

"She was not seen at the colony, but that doesn't mean much. There are very few witnesses. Saren was seen. And then we got that recording. Meanwhile, both your mother and Saren are somewhere out there, planning their next move. A next move, which seems to involve you, considering that Saren sent geth to collect you."

"Yes, what was that about?" Garrus spoke up. "That was a lot of effort to extract one person. What do they want with you?"

"I don't... I just don't know." EIther T'Soni had missed her calling as an actress, or the confusion on her face was genuine. "I'm... I'm not very important. I'm just one more archeologist, studying prothean artefacts. I haven't talked to my mother in years, so I cannot imagine that she suddenly wants to speak to me. And I barely know Saren. We met briefly, a few years ago, at a gathering that my mother organised. But I'm surprised he even remembered me."

"But your mother and Saren were already involved at that time," Shepard said. "So, exactly did those two get so close? I mean, launching an attack on this scale, that's not something you do with a casual acquaintance."

"I don't know! My mother has always been involved in politics, but not in this way. She's a diplomat, not a soldier. And she's never advocated violence as a way of solving conflicts."

"Maybe she was trying to get laid," Williams snorted. "I mean, do asari get mid-life crises?"

"Mid-what?" Clearly, the concept did not translate well.

"A mental state in which a person becomes generally dissatisfied with their life choices and tries to relive their youth in some way. It occurs in some humans around halfway through their lives and usually involves ill-conceived sexual relationships with partners that are significantly younger," Shepard explained.

"I've met a few turians like that, too," Garrus interjected.

"No, nothing like that. Besides, my mother is well past the halfway mark in her lifespan and-"

"Chief Williams was joking. In any case, I doubt even a complete idiot would embark on a campaign of terrorism just because they weren't getting enough sex. That's taking incel complaints a bit too far. No, there has to be another reason. She seems to have some issues with humans. According to ambassador Udina, she was dissatisfied with the treaty she negotiated with us."

"That's probably an understatement."

"Really?" Shepard's brows rose a bit. "You discussed this with her?"

Dr T'Soni glanced at her. "One does not discuss things with Benezzia T'Soni, Commander Shepard. One listens, while she makes statements. And, yes, she made statements on that subject in my presence, the last time I saw her. Lengthy statements."

"And?"

"And, she was most disappointed. You have to understand that for my mother these negotiations were the opportunity of a lifetime; of an asari lifetime. It was the moment that would ensure her name would be remembered as one of the great diplomats of our history. A peace-negotiation with an unknown species that would end a war and bring you into the fold of the Council. Instead, it ended with a stalemate, a negotiated peace that was acceptable to all but did not really solve the problem, and your people as an independent power. You may have been satisfied with that situation. Perhaps even the Council was satisfied. But for Benezia it meant that she will be remembered as the diplomat who created a situation that she herself vehemently disapproved of. To her, it was a stain on her legacy, made worse by the fact that too many people knew what she had wanted to achieve and how far she had fallen short of that mark."

"I see." Shepard thought for a moment. "I suppose I can understand that it would be frustrating. You spend your entire life preparing for a special event, and when it happens, you cannot make things work out the way you want to. Still, would she go to this kind of extreme? I can see her spearheading a renewed diplomatic effort, maybe even press for some sort of economic offensive, sanctions, embargo, that kind of thing. But a terrorist attack? There is a real chance of this leading to a new war. Does she think she'll be given a second chance at negotiations if that happens?"

"She might be. I mean, she would be the logical candidate" T'Soni shook her head. "But I cannot see her go this far. To actually trigger a war, just to have another chance at making peace? That makes no sense. As you said, a renewed diplomatic effort to get your people to join the Council would be far more her style."

"So, something changed. And that something must be Saren. Strange." Shepard shook her head. "I never let him in person, but from what I've learned, he's more a guy for action than words. I wouldn't have thought he'd be that persuasive."

"Perhaps that is the reason," Wrex said. "Perhaps she finally figured out that talking doesn't change anything and went looking for someone who actually does something."

"Maybe," Shepard shook her head. "Anyway, they did hook up. And then they hooked up with the geth. Now that's even more interesting. Everything I've heard suggests that geth don't play well with organics. Yet somehow either Saren or Benezia has persuaded them to cooperate"

"I suppose that depends on what the geth need," Garrus said slowly. "I've been thinking about this a bit, but even the geth must have some needs, if someone figured out what that is, he should be able to make a bargain."

"Geth cannot be bought," Tali said angrily. "They don't trade with organics."

Garrus smirked. "Everyone and everything can be bought, quarian. Working at C-Sec has shown me that. It's a true universal constant. The challenge is to find out what people want because it isn't always money. Plenty of people of any species would be willing to do pretty much anything in exchange for a weekend in a luxury suite with a few asari maidens -no offence, doctor- and some hallex or red dust. Then again, tomorrow you may meet someone else, who will have you thrown in jail for even suggesting it. But that same person might be willing to sell his children to a batarian slaver in exchange for a piece of pre-atomic krogan art. Anyone can be bought. I don't think an AI would be any different. The question is, what does an AI want?"

"A big server and a really good firewall?" Shepard suggested.

Garrus considered for a moment. "You may laugh, but that may be exactly it. What does any sapient being want? To survive. It comes with being self-aware. It's pretty clear that Saren and Benezia are planning something big, on a galactic scale. Perhaps they promised the geth security in exchange for their help. Formal recognition of their status, guarantees that they will be left alone, territorial gains, that sort of thing. For the geth, that might be worth the expenditure of some platforms, especially because those platforms are completely expendable."

"Possibly." Shepard shook her head. "We may never know. Anyway, Dr T'Soni, assuming that this is not about your mother wanting to talk to you, then it has to be about your professional expertise. I discussed this with Ambassador Udina. Saren interfaced with that prothean beacon on Eden Prime. Seeing as how you're the prothean expert here, I got a question: Would he need a prothean expert to interpret the data?"

The archaeologist thought for a moment. "He might. We've never found a working prothean beacon before, so I cannot be sure. He would need to translate the prothean language, of course, but there are translator upgrades that can do that. They're far from perfect, but they do work. Still, someone with proper training could do a better job. But..." She hesitated. "From what we understand, the protheans were able to make a direct interface between a mind and a machine. The beacon would record an imprint of the mind of the person sending the message. Not just words, but emotions and the thought-patterns behind the words. It provided them with far more insight into each other than purely verbal communication could ever hope to achieve. We don't know how it worked, but the process must have been at least partially biotic. If Saren absorbed that kind of data, he may be unable to understand it, even if his translation implant can handle the language. He would need to be able to think like a prothean. Ideally, that would be an actual prothean, but-"

"But they're in short supply, what with being extinct and all that." Shepard nodded. "So, an archaeologist, someone who has studied the protheans, would be the closest thing available. The question is, why you? Other than the family connection, what do you bring to the party that other archaeologists don't?"

"I don't-" She stopped, then continued. "It would have to be an asari. The prothean imprint resides in Saren's mind. He cannot pass it to anyone else, nor can he describe it in words. The only way to access it would be through direct mental contact. Only asari can do that. But there are many."

"But she would also have to be accessible," Shepard said. "Saren knows the USM is hunting him. For the moment he believes the Citadel Council is on his side, but he has to be careful. He cannot publicly admit that he accessed the beacon without admitting guilt, so he cannot just contact a university and ask for help. That limits his options. Now, he can just look for some unscrupulous scientist who will do it for money. Their discretion would not matter, because he can kill them afterwards. Still, it might take time to find someone like that, and between us closing in and whatever he has planned his timetable may be inflexible. So, he grabs the one prothean expert that he can locate right away, and who happens to be in a remote location where his geth can pick her up and, if necessary eliminate all witnesses. Besides, there is no official link between him and the geth, so he can dismiss it as 'just another geth attack'. It kind of makes sense. The krogan, I cannot fully account for, but there's no lack of free-lancing krogan mercs. I can understand Saren keeping a few of them on retainer and sending him along with the geth makes sense. For one thing, these walking toasters don't seem to be very flexible in their decision making. Besides, Saren may not fully trust them."

"But it's all speculation," Dr T'Soni objected. "There is absolutely no guarantee that it would work. I mean, Saren is the only person to ever interface with a beacon. There is no telling what he was able to pick up, or if I, or any asari, would be able to help him."

Shepard grimaced. "Strictly speaking, that's not true. There was one other person that interacted with the beacon before it crashed."

The asari's eyes grew wider. "What, who-?"

Shepard tapped her own chest. "Me. We were close behind Saren. When we reached the beacon, it was still active, and it was sparking, clearly malfunctioning. No way to tell how. It might have been sabotaged or damaged by stray bullets. Or maybe it was just old. Anyway, they told me to try and shut it down, so I moved up close. That's when it grabbed me. Next thing I know, I'm in sickbay with a headache and the beacon is gone."

"You... you actually interfaced with the beacon? What did you see? What...?"

"Nothing." Shepard shook her head. "No images, no sounds. Just... just a pressure, urging me to get closer. If any information got sent over it happened while I was unconscious. Afterwards-" She hesitated. This was not a subject she really wanted to get into, but perhaps it was better to bring it out into the open. "I've had a few dreams, nightmares. I dismissed it as irrelevant. Just the stress of combat taking its toll. I've no way to tell if the beacon had anything to do with it.

"But it could have!" Clearly, professional excitement trumped whatever personal issues Dr T'Soni was dealing with. Now she was staring at the Commander with what could only be described as pure greed. "Commander, it could be- We might be able to put it to the test. If I perform a mind-meld with you; do the same thing that you thought Saren might want to attempt. Prothean data formats were incredibly dense. Even in a few seconds, you may have absorbed an enormous amount of data! The things we could learn, just by-"

"Just by doing this, eh, mind-meld thingy. Right." Shepard's eyes narrowed. "Wait. You know, I'm not exactly an expert on alien biology, but I seem to remember... Is that not the way you asari reproduce?"

For a moment, the room was silent, as all eyes focussed on the shocked asari.

"No! I mean, yes, it's similar, but-"

"Look at that. I didn't think asari could blush," Ashley Williams smirked, clearly enjoying the asari's discomfiture.

Shepard's grinned. "You know, I'm flattered, Doctor. I really am. But don't you think you should at least buy me a drink before you offer to have my babies?"

She waited a moment for the laughter to die down. "I'll eh, I'll keep it in mind, Doctor. Meanwhile, I've been ordered to rendezvous with another warship. Apparently, our requests for specialized equipment have made it through the bureaucracy. They'll also deliver the latest intelligence data. I'll make a decision about our course of action afterwards."

She got up.

"Oh, Lieutenant Alenko, please take Dr T'Soni to sickbay. You'll be on board for the foreseeable future, Doctor, so let's make sure you remain in good health. Hanging in that bubble cannot have been too pleasant. If there are any after effects, better that we find out right away."

!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-

A/N

Late again. My only excuse is that life has been very hectic lately and I got side-tracked.

Some of you may have noticed that when I uploaded chapter 24, I accidentally overwrote chapter 23. Unfortunately, I did not have a back-up, so I had to rewrite it. The new version is now in place and I'll make sure to keep my back-ups up-to-date from now on.

So, Shepard is starting to come clean about the nightmares, just sort-of casually mentioning that there might, or might not be something. That had to happen sooner or later.

ANd, the geth have their own agenda. Shocker.