A/N: Well, today's chapter is rather short, but it is something of a breather episode. Next chapter is when more craziness ensues, and then we do some final set-up for the climactic prison break. It's gonna be nutty, I tell ya.

Anyway, I won't keep you. On with the chapter!

Chapter Thirty-Five

Druvak stepped into his home gently. The door closed behind him, Druvak hearing the mechanism squeak as it did its job. The thought occurred to him that he needed to see to maintaining the door, but this thought was dispelled as he entered his home.

It was quiet, unassuming, and sparsely decorated. Close by the door, there was only a kitchen table, and perhaps an older-style refrigerator. The house, in contrast to his place of employment, was a little unkempt, and indeed Druvak could see signs of a decaying spider web in the corner right by the refrigerator. He sighed, reminding himself to do some cleaning before he stepped in.

He glanced briefly at the door to his bedroom, before walking over to the refrigerator. As he opened the refrigerator door, however, he thought he heard the sound of something being knocked over.

Druvak paused, closing the refrigerator door, his antennae curving curiously as he heard the sound. He then sighed, shaking his head.

It must be one of the young ones again, he thought as he walked to the bedroom door and opened it. No matter. I will see him out, the way I usually do.

Druvak then entered the bedroom, glancing briefly at the circular pod in the center of the room before turning to the closet. His forelegs stepped forward, one particular hand turning to the closet controls and activating them. He tapped his fingers almost by muscle memory, and he then, he opened the closet door.

I must remember to put a combination on some day, he thought. It seems-

And before Druvak could finish that thought, someone stepped out from the other side of the closet doors. Unlike the youth the ra'ken had expected, though, he saw someone point a gun straight at him. It looked like a female artician, though something about her seemed strange to him. The armor was not quite right, the gun was of a make and model he had never seen before, and there was something about her eyes that seemed a little small-ish to him. However, her visage was obscured in the darkness, and he could not make out much more than that.

"Hands in the air!" she shouted at him. "Don't make a single movement!"

Druvak obeyed as quickly as he could, the ra'ken's antennae also shooting up in shock. "Ah!" He leaned on his hind legs, feeling himself shrink under this woman's gaze. "What are you-?"

"I don't want to hurt you," she said, looking directly at him. "But if you do anything funny, I will be forced to shoot."

Druvak stepped back, looking at how the light shone into the bedroom from the main unit. "Do... Do you want something from me?"

"A lot of things," she replied, stepping into the light. "And I need them all-"

And then, the light shone on her face. It was a face Druvak immediately recognized, thought it was only one he had seen in reports broadcast all throughout the Obschesto.

"Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams?" Druvak asked, his antennae pulling back.

The woman paused, lowering her gun. "How the hell did you know who I am?" she asked.

"Well, you are rather well known," said Druvak as he bowed as best he could. "How could we not know one of the human crew members of the Normandy?"

Ashley paused, glancing down at the floor. "Of course they'd show that." She then lifted her gun back up, the light illuminating her left arm. "Now hands in the air! I need you to make-"

But Druvak's attention was already pulled towards Ashley's arm. "You're hurt," he said, indicating the burn marks on her arm.

Ashley frowned. "Yeah, so?" she asked. "I still have things to do."

Druvak paused, his antennae drooping slightly. "But such an injury cannot be left untreated, Madam Williams," he said. "Here, lower the weapon and allow me to inspect that."

Ashley then did a double-take, giving him a confused glance. "What?" she asked. "I... I don't..." She kept her gun trained. "You won't tell me what to do!"

"If you may, Madam Williams, I have some small items I can help treat it with," Druvak replied. "If you would allow me, I would be able to do what I could. It would not be enough to completely treat the injury, but it would tide you over until then."

"I have medigel, thank you," she said. "And if you don't know what that is, it will tide me over."

"Then at least let me dress it, Madam Williams," Druvak replied. "Please."

Ashley frowned, before lowering her weapon. "And why the hell do you keep calling me 'Madam Williams'?" she asked, her brows shifting unevenly in confusion.

"It is a gesture of respect, Madam Williams," said Druvak. "Here, come to the kitchen."

With this, he stepped into the kitchen. Ashley followed the ra'ken, her mouth now hanging open a little in confusion. She then shook her head, keeping her weapon out as she slowly followed him into the kitchen. She muttered something Druvak missed, and she turned one eye to the door as she stepped into the kitchen.

Jodie stepped into the lower level, Liara and Sa'lem following her rather quickly. She glanced around, noticing they had stepped off in a kind of common room. There were a couple of couches, all of them crowded around a holographic display. To the side, Jodie saw the counters of what looked like a rudimentary kitchen, with only the edges of what looked like a refrigerator. She looked around, before turning back to the holographic display, and three people that were sitting in front of it.

She glanced down at their hands, noticing they all held what looked like holographic video game controllers. And as she saw this, Jodie grinned. "They have time for video games?" she asked Wilson.

The old human nodded, looking over to them. "Don't mind them, they're our youngest recruits," he said. "They brought the thing with them." He shrugged. "We cut off their extraline pathway, though. They tried not to complain, but-

"Oh, mate! Mate, I'm on the overtake!" Jodie and Wilson both turned to a tolahña who was leaning forward on the couch. "Come on, swag lines, swag lines!"

"No! No no no no no, Vi'ram, mess up!" shouted a lanky-looking artician. "Mess up! Please, don't-" He then nearly slammed his controller on his knee, before turning to an aqueron sitting right next to him. "No, Jile, you fucked me!"

"Oi, Jile's on a mission!" the tolahña replied. "He's on a mission, boys!"

"Come on! Yes, I might actually not get last!" the aqueron changed as he leaned forward. Jodie turned to the holographic projection, seeing that they were playing a vehicle race in hovercars as she stepped a little closer. "Come on! Come on!"

"Oi, boys, I see the finish!" the tolahña replied. "I see the finish! I see the-"

And then, Jodie watched as, in one corner of the screen, one of the hovercars nudged another out of the way. This caused a car to spin out of control, much to the tolahña's shock.

"No!"

"Yes, boys!" the aqueron shouted as he jumped up.

And then, Jodie heard a high-pitched sound effect from the holographic projector.

The aqueron placed his controller down, leaning back. "And there we are, boys," he said. "Finally, I've won a race!"

"Oh, come on, third?" asked the artician. He sat back, placing his controller on the floor. "No, I almost had it, too!"

"Aw, mate, so close!" the tolahña leaned back. "I think I'm starting to get this map though."

Wilson groaned. "Don't tell me you boys found a way to play on an extraline connection!"

The three aliens turned to Wilson, all of them regarding Wilson with raised eyebrows or eye-ridges. After a second, the aqueron pressed a particular button on his controller, Jodie very clearly seeing a console menu appear on the screen. He then scrolled over to a menu icon she did not recognize, before he smiled reassuringly as he selected it. "Well, sir, you can see for yourself."

Wilson nodded, his shoulders releasing some tension. "You had me worried for a second there."

The artician nodded, running a hand through his bleach blonde hair. "Nah, we were just playing an old map," he said. "One of Zerk's old maps." He paused, sighing softly. "Feels weird to play it split screen, but it's still just as manic as we remembered it being."

The tolahña leaned forward, all four of his eyes looking at his two friends. "Hey, at least it wasn't moist wet waves again," he said.

The artician facepalmed. "I would've just given up there," he said. "I don't know why he ever had a fascination for that."

The aqueron nodded. "Well, he just wanted to see us suffer." He then paused, sighing almost wistfully before looking up at Wilson. He then turned his attention to Jodie, Liara, and Sa'lem. "So I imagine this is our famous spirit-touched, sir?"

"You got that right, Jile," Wilson replied. "Gents, this is Jodie Holmes. Jodie, these are three of Punargathana's newest recruits."

The artician stood up. "Wait, you're not that Jodie Holmes, are you?" he asked. "The one on the Normandy?"

"I am," Jodie said. "Yes, I know about the whole 'no human is spirit-touched'. Frankly, that's a load of bull. Aiden?"

The group then watched as the artician's controller levitated in the air. The artician paused, nodding. "Well, there you go, lads," he said.

"Very intriguing indeed," said the aqueron. "Sorry, we didn't think you would be here so fast."

"It's alright," said Jodie. She then turned to Wilson. "I think I've got it from here."

"They can introduce you to most everyone else," said Wilson. "They'll show you around." Wilson then turned to the three before him. "Take her anywhere you like."

The tolahña nodded. "You got that, sir," he said.

"Good." Wilson then pointed to Liara and Sa'lem. "Oh, and don't forget these two, either. They're also here."

And with this, Wilson turned back towards the elevator. Jodie watched him enter the elevator, before he turned back to the artician in front of her. "Well, I think this is the first time I've ever met resistance fighters that actually sit back and play."

The aqueron shrugged, standing up. "Oh, don't make any mistake about it, we still do what we need to," he said. "But sometimes, you have to unwind." He then looked to Liara and Sa'lem. "So those are the two most wanted fugitives for Upstairs. You don't think it'll lead them right to here?"

The tolahña stood up, bowing to Sa'lem. "Doesn't matter, Jile. Our boss is ready if that happens, so it won't matter anyway." He then turned to Sa'lem. "It is good to see another tolahña within Punargathana's walls. Sa'lem, was it? I'm Vi'ram."

Sa'lem bowed. "A pleasure," he said. "And who are the rest of these guys?"

"Oh, I'm Silman," said the artician, extending his hand out to Liara. "Most people call me the 'Minter', though."

"And I am Jile," the aqueron replied, bowing to Jodie and Liara. "I hope we can make you more comfortable in Punargathana."

"Thank you, we appreciate it," said Liara. "And you are the newest recruits?"

"Yep!" said Silman, pointing at himself. "I'm a bit of a vehicles expert. Jile specializes in hacking, and Vi'ram is the guy who knows everything."

"Well, almost everything, mate," said Vi'ram. He then turned to Sa'lem, nodding. "I definitely didn't think I'd see you here, man. Isn't your father worried?"

Sa'lem shrugged. "Honestly? I have no idea." He shook his head. "I wasn't arrested long enough to find out what he'd do about that." He then sighed. "But I think he might be. Usually when I run off, it doesn't lead to this."

"I bet he's sweating bullets right now," said Vi'ram. "I mean, it's not every day that a Parliament man's son is arrested by the guys upstairs."

Jodie and Liara both turned their heads in shock at Vi'ram. "Wait, what?" Liara asked.

Vi'ram, Jile, and Silman all turned to the two of them. Silman then nodded, stepping forward. "Ah, right, you're not from this galaxy," he said. "I guess you wouldn't know, then, that your friend Sa'lem is actually the son of one of the guys upstairs."

Jodie and Liara both turned to Sa'lem. "Is that true?" Jodie asked.

Sa'lem sighed. "Well, guys, thanks for spilling it before I could." He then nodded, turning to Liara and Jodie. "Yes, my father is a Parliament man. He's one of the guys upstairs."

Liara then looked back. "And nobody informed Kim of this?" she asked. "Shouldn't she be concerned about bringing someone so closely related to the guys upstairs?"

"I honestly wouldn't be worried," Jile replied. "The boss knows what's what around here; she wouldn't be a very good boss if she didn't." Jile then turned to Sa'lem. "Besides, from what I understand, Sa'lem's got a reputation for being quite the rascal."

"He's known for being very anti-establishment," Vi'ram replied. He shrugged. "Honestly, I'm kind of shocked the guys upstairs didn't do anything before now."

Sa'lem nodded. "It's all true, for the record," he said. He sighed, looking up at Jodie. "But you've seen that for yourself."

Jodie then frowned, turning to Sa'lem and placing her hands on his shoulders. "You're not worried Punargathana may use you against your father?" she asked.

"Whoah there, mate," said Vi'ram, stepping between the two of them. "Let's not jump to conclusions about that, yeah?"

"I'm just saying," said Jodie.

"Hey, the boss isn't that sneaky," Silman replied. "She's a boss, not a melt."

Sa'lem shook his head. "Honestly, even if she did, I wouldn't care," he replied. "It'd finally get father out from behind his desk to do something." Sa'lem turned to Jodie. "You know how I told you that things needed to change? I've seen how they get at the top. They don't do a damn thing up in the top. And it's not going to come from anyone on the Parliament." Sa'lem frowned, looking at the floor. "And my father is one of those who doesn't do anything."

Jodie frowned. "And he knows it's wrong?" she asked.

"Well duh," said Sa'lem. "But he often just whines about his inability to do anything, instead of trying to do anything."

"Well, mate, they've got their ways," Jile replied.

"Yeah, that's what Druvak tells me too," Sa'lem shook his head, before walking past the three Punargathana men. "So if Kim uses my connection with him? I'm okay with that. It'll probably get him to get off his ass and do something."

And Jodie frowned. "That's no way to speak about your father," she said.

"I don't really care," said Sa'lem. "It's the truth."

Jodie sighed, shaking her head. She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, Liara stepped forward. "Sometimes, it can be more complicated than that," the asari replied. "Have you ever let him explain himself to you?"

Sa'lem frowned. "No, but I don't see why that should matter," he said. "He won't do what's right. I feel like he's always taking the easy way out."

Liara glanced down at the ground, before shaking her head. "I thought the same thing about my mother, the Matriarch Benezia," she replied. "And that turned out to be untrue." She looked at Sa'lem. "Please, be more forgiving towards him. You never know the whole story, even if you think you do."

Sa'lem simply turned away. "You haven't had to live under that insanity for your whole life," he replied. "You wouldn't understand. I know he means what he says, but... He doesn't have the spine to do anything about it." He then shook his head, sighing. "Whatever. We'll worry about that when the plans are made." He then turned to Jile. "So how did you come to Punargathana?"

"Oh, that's a story all it's own," said Jile. He then shrugged. "But let's not worry about that, we got lots of other mates to introduce you to!"

"Yeah, mate!" said Vi'ram. "Let's introduce you, I'm sure they'll all like you!"

Ashley rotated her arm, testing the bandage out. She then nodded, turning her attention back to the ra'ken. "Not bad," she noted as she put her arm down. "Not bad for never having worked on a human arm before."

"It is quite similar to an artician's body, in many ways," Druvak replied, as he settled on the other side of the table. "The similarities seem much more than cosmetic in some areas, it seems."

"Yeah, figured as much." Ashley looked up, sighing. "Thanks, by the way. I didn't think you'd do that, but..."

"It is no issue," Druvak replied. He then turned, his antennae lifting up. "But I am curious now; what is the great Madam Williams doing here? I thought you were helping combat Cerberus in the other galaxy."

Ashley chuckled. "Is that what they're saying?" she asked.

"Yes," said Druvak. "Something to keep them occupied. I thought you were fighting them?"

"Well, we were at one time," said Ashley. "But that was not what we were doing over Alchera. We were patrolling for geth, actually."

"It was an unknown enemy that attacked," said Druvak. "Unknown to us, at least."

"Make that two of us." Ashley chuckled bitterly, leaning back and tapping her foot against the floor. "It wasn't that long ago, actually, but it was rough. We were attacked over Alchera."

"And that is where the Supreme Commander vanished," said Druvak. His antennae turned down. "Some people say he may have died."

"He did," Ashley replied. She leaned forward. "And he didn't exactly die fighting back, either. He died trying to save our pilot."

Druvak frowned. "We have not heard that one," he said.

"You wouldn't, not unless you were on the Normandy," Ashley replied. "Our pilot wouldn't leave the ship. Shepard had to go up there and get his ass out. He got his ass out, but from how the pilot described it, he was sucked out into space. Even if he had survived leaving the ship, he would've burned up entering Alchera's atmosphere." He looked up. "He is dead as can be... um..."

"Druvak," the ra'ken replied. "My name is Druvak."

Ashley nodded. "Well, now you know the story of the Commander's death," she said.

"Some are not certain if he is dead or not," the insect replied, tilting his head as his antennae followed suit. "But I suppose it is nice to know the whole story." He then turned to Ashley. "And what brings you here, Madam Williams?"

Ashley chuckled, waving her hand dismissively. "First of all, drop the 'Madam Williams', please," she said. "I feel like a grandmother every time you say it."

"But I-"

"Hey." Ashley held up her hand. "I don't care about all that 'respect' stuff. At least, not if you're outside of a chain of command. You're a civilian, titles don't apply. Just call me Ashley, or Ash."

Druvak bowed his head, his antennae drooping slightly. "As you wish, Ma-... Ashley," he replied.

Ashley sighed. "Not sure if I should tell you that just yet," she said. "It's a rather complicated story, and I may kind of be on the run from your guys in charge."

Druvak's antennae shot up, before they lowered and his mandibles tightened. "On the run?" he asked. "Pray tell, why would you be on the run from them, Ashley?"

"Because I'm here without their permission," said Ashley. She shrugged. "Technically, I'm not even supposed to know that Shepard isn't human. As far as most people back home-"

"Hold a second," Druvak stated, stepping towards Ashley as his mandibles tightened even further. "What do you mean, you are not supposed to know that?"

Ashley frowned in turn. "What are you saying?" she asked.

"The narrative we have been told is that you accepted the fact he was not human," said Druvak. "The crew of the Normandy was supposed to have accepted it all, no?"

Ashley's frown deepened. "No..." she said. "He only told three people on the crew of the Normandy. Tali, Garrus, and Dr. Chakwas. The rest of us found out separately." She then paused, looking down at the ground. "I'm not even sure if Wrex knows yet, and Kaidan didn't live long enough to find out the whole truth. But he hid who he was from the rest of us."

Druvak's antennae turned inward. "I see..." He frowned, his antennae stiffening as his mandibles tensed. "I always suspected the propaganda machine told lies, but... I never thought it would be to that extent." He turned to Ashley. "The greatest lies are based in a little truth, after all."

"You got that right," Ashley replied. She shook her head. "Still, I'm not sure I feel comfortable telling you what we're here for."

"Well, then I shall not press, Madam... um, Ashley." He paused. "I apologize. I am not so used to people telling me not to address them by titles."

"You'll get used to it," Ashley replied. She then tapped the table, shaking her head before standing up. "I don't even remember what I was doing in here."

"Hiding, I think," Druvak replied. "Perhaps you thought my home was uninhabited?"

"Yeah," Ashley replied. She then looked into the bedroom. "That's what you guys sleep in?"

"Yes, I'm afraid," Druvak replied. "We do not furnish it with much. Unlike even articians, we do not require much to settle in to sleep." The ra'ken paused. "Perhaps you should stay and rest for the day."

Ashley frowned. "That'll get you in trouble, though," she said. "If I stay too long, they'll track me here, and you'll get caught in the crossfire. I can't let that happen."

"Perhaps, but you look as if you have had a very long day," Druvak replied. "At some point, you will need to rest, I trust. And I can scarcely think of any rest better had than in a safe haven."

"That, or you'll just wait until they get here to arrest my ass," Ashley replied darkly.

"I am sure they can be convinced that this is all just a simple misunderstanding," Druvak replied.

"I don't think they can," Ashley replied. "I've already told you why." She sighed, looking at Druvak. "I can't afford to rest."

"Then when will you be able to?" Druvak asked as he stepped towards Ashley. "At some point, you will have to rest. And I assume you were hoping to hide in an uninhabited place to rest, is that it?"

"Yeah," said Ashley. "But that changes when there's someone in there."

"I hardly think that matters," Druvak replied. "Stay for the night. And when it passes, we can forget this ever happened."

The gunnery chief chuckled. "That's a lot of trust you're placing in someone you've never met," she said.

"It is trust in one who did so much to help the Supreme Commander," Druvak replied.

Ashley nodded. "I guess that's fair," she said. She then nodded, smiling. "I wish I knew more guys in this galaxy that were this welcoming."

Druvak nodded, before turning to his refrigerator. "There are many with a sense of kindness in this galaxy," Druvak replied. "You simply must know where to look." With this, he opened the door, turning back to Ashley. "I have been told you are a levo-amino species. Let me see what I have..."

"And that, mate, is Punargathana!"

Vi'ram stood back at the elevator doors. Jodie, Liara, and Sa'lem all leaned on the wall, looking over at Vi'ram, Jile, and Silman.

"That's all there is to it, really," Silman replied. "It isn't really a very big place."

"Well, again, it would be against the point of a rebel operation that works through guerrilla tactics," Jodie replied. "And you really keep that careful a track on everything."

"We have to, mate," said Jile. "I thought bein' part of this whole thing would be tough even before I got in."

"We weren't expecting how tough it actually was," said Vi'ram. "But that just means we gotta work for it."

Liara frowned. "I assume that means your talents weren't appreciated?" she asked.

"Well, Jile's talents were," said Silman. "But... It's common with a lot of people our age. We're not sure if the guys upstairs are doing the right thing."

"It's a thing we see a lot of, you know," said Jile. "Their superiors are still angry over the Great Purge."

Jodie sighed. "You know... I can't say I blame them," she said. "Hearing what the Great Purge was..."

"From how my father said it, nothing was the same after that," said Vi'ram. "We were too trusting, once."

"And now we're on the opposite end, where everyone there is a threat," said Sa'lem.

"Yeah," said Vi'ram. "Like that." He then looked to the side as the elevator doors opened. "Well, we won't keep you. If anything happens, we'll probably get to go on the operations with you."

"Yeah, I hope so," said Jodie. She then smiled. "You take care of yourselves."

"Hey, we're not leaving at different times!" said Jile. "We'll still be here after the meeting. It'll be a mess of meetings, but we'll be here."

"Very well then," said Liara. "We shall speak to you soon."

"Same here, mate," said Vi'ram.

With this, the artician bowed his head, before turning away and walking out. The other two followed suit, Jodie watching them leave. She then turned to the elevator, stepping onto it. Jodie and Sa'lem followed suit, and then the elevator doors closed behind them. Aiden chirped as they rode the elevator up to the meeting room, Jodie nodding.

Okay, good, she thought. Now let's see what this yields.

After a few seconds, the elevator stopped, and Jodie stepped out of the elevator. Her gaze turned to Kim, before it then fell on a tolahña and someone she did not recognize. The tolahña looked about Jodie's age, her bright grey eyes contrasting against extremely pale skin. The other person was artician, or human (how do you even tell them apart? Jodie thought for a second), and she too looked to be similar in age to Wilson. Her wrinkles showed, though her jet black hair covered her eyes as if it had not aged a day. Next to this woman, Wilson leaned against the holographic projector, looking up at her.

Kim nodded, stepping towards Jodie. "And here we are," she said. She then nodded to the two strangers. "La'lal, Eva, here is the spirit-touched."

"The human one," the tolahña stated. "Greetings. I am La'lal L'vel."

"And I'm Eva Coré," said the unfamiliar woman. "Just for the record, I'm human too."

Jodie chuckled. "So Punargathana has two humans, huh?" She turned to Wilson. "How do you explain that to newcomers?"

"DNA test, mostly," said Wilson. "There are very subtle differences between humans and articians, as you probably know by now. Articians aren't biotics, but humans don't have the ability to harness alpha energy."

Liara frowned. "Alpha energy?" she asked. "Is that why the commander's biotics are always green?"

"Yep," said Eva as she leaned back. "Actually, it's not even biotics, because the science is totally different. The artician homeworld had unusually high levels of radiation in an energy that we had never even heard of before. They call it something else that's too complicated for us to try to say. We call it 'alpha energy'."

"According to what we were told, nobody knows the origin of this energy," Wilson replied. "It's simply been on the planet since then, and as such the articians grew a node in their brains that allowed them to manipulate it."

"Since then, we've found that this energy can be used anywhere," Kim replied as she stepped forward. "They even found trace amounts of it in your galaxy when Shepard arrived. People were concerned there would be no alpha energy."

Jodie nodded. "Well, we're still able to use mass effect drives in here," Jodie replied. "So apparently, the laws of science aren't so different."

"Evidently not," La'lal replied. She then nodded. "But a proper DNA test can prove a human versus an artician. As for the exions, always look for the glowing eyes." She then shook her head. "But this meeting is not about that. There are other, much more important matters to discuss."

"There are," Liara said. She then stepped forward, looking at the holographic projection. "First, what are we going to do about Jodie's conditions?"

"Well, we are working on planning out the prison escape," said Kim. "We'll come up with something as fast as we can, it's just that we still need to gather information."

"About where they are within," Jodie said softly.

"No," said Kim. "We can always find that out when we get in. No, what we really need is the logistics inside. One of the things that makes it difficult to break into this prison is the fact that the way the place is guarded is constantly changing. As soon as we know what the configuration is inside, we'll have to make our plans quickly. And even then, very few of them are guaranteed to be a success."

"We'll have to see what happens," Eva said. "For now, though, there are the other two conditions." She then leaned forward. "Kim has all the intel we need stored on her drives. It's been stored there, and in a back-up elsewhere in the base."

Jodie frowned. "You make it sound like she's a computer," she said.

"Well, my friend, that's because I am a computer," said Kim, leaning forward as her eyes glowed a little brighter for just a second. "Trust me, I may be more than an artificial intelligence or an electronic entity or whatever the hell you want to call it, but I run on chips and not an organic brain. I know that fact, and lying to myself about that isn't going to help anyone."

Jodie frowned, looking over at Kim. "It still feels weird," she said. "I mean, if it weren't for the glowing eyes, I'd find you all creepy."

"The glowing eyes were something our masters made to avoid the uncanny valley," said Kim. "Anyway, that isn't the point. I have all the intel I need on this chip. Certain other parties in your galaxy might be interested in it too, actually. Particularly the quarians."

"The quarians?" Liara asked. "Why would the quarians be interested?"

La'lal nodded. "On occasion, we have sent intelligence-gathering missions to the great science center on the aqueron ward," she said. "It is not a top-secret facility, but there is more that happens there than most on the Obschesto are aware."

"One of our missions uncovered data on an immunobooster in development for the quarian people," Kim replied. "From what the reports mentioned, they were considering its use to curry favor with the quarian people."

Jodie breathed in uncertainly. She glanced back to Sa'lem and Jodie, before leaning forward. "One of our group was a quarian on Pilgrimage," she said.

Liara turned to Jodie. "On Pilgrimage..." she said.

Sa'lem frowned. "What in the world is a Pilgrimage?" he asked.

"It's a sort of coming of age ritual where a young adult has to leave the Fleet and come back with something of value," Jodie replied. She then turned to Kim. "Are you sure that's correct?"

"The reports are stored in my data banks," she replied.

Liara then turned to Jodie. "If that's true, then it could prove Cerberus is not the only target," the asari said. "Such an action would undermine the authority of the Council!"

Jodie frowned. "Wait, though," she said. "Something's bothering me about all this..." She then paused, looking up at the others. "Shepard was in a relationship with a quarian on Pilgrimage when he died. Tali'Zorah."

"Yeah, we know that," said Sa'lem.

"Yeah," said Jodie. "From what Aiden told me, he used the cure on Tali, as I recall. What I want to know, is why he didn't just give her the formula then."

"It's likely Tali was going to be a test run, from what I read," said Wilson. "A cure would be useless if it didn't work, after all. From what I understand, it was a success." He then leaned forward. "Likely, they're hammering out a few kinks. And knowing Jon'ison Shardan, it's likely he told Tali'Zorah to expect them to send someone with the cure as soon as they could get someone."

"Either way, it's all very suspicious," said Liara. "This could confirm the Council's fears."

"That said, there might be a way to allay this galaxy's fears," said Kim. "Bring Cerberus to justice."

"Of course," said Jodie. "And what can we do about that?"

"We've intercepted a few reports from upstairs," said Kim. "They're very close to finding the Illusive Man's base. I could provide this intel to the Council. From there, the best diplomatic suggestion might be to make taking Cerberus out a priority. If the guys upstairs notice, it might help produce some common ground."

"Be prepared to tell them that it could backfire, though," said Wilson. "The samples of the propaganda we have on record state that the Council is complicit in what Cerberus did, and I'm pretty sure you've run into that attitude at least once by now. We don't know if it will backfire, but they should prepare for that possibility regardless."

"I'm sure they'll take whatever they can get to solve this with minimal bloodshed," Liara replied.

"Good." La'lal nodded. "That is the state of the intel. Now, about your friends in the Obschesto..."

"Ah, yes," said Jodie. "What about them?"

Wilson nodded, Kim stepping forward. As she came close to Jodie, she lifted a rather large-looking electronic component, setting it right next to Jodie. "This here is our locator," Kim said. "Pretty much anyone who does intel around here has this on them. If we latch on to a call long enough, we can pinpoint their location."

"So you can pinpoint Kolyat and Ashley, then," said Jodie. "And then we just go there and collect them."

"We'll have to be quick, though," said Kim. "And you'll have to let me do it. I can scramble the airwaves long enough that it can muddle their day, but even that will only get us so much time. And you have to tell them not to accept calls. We tell them to stay put, though, and it should be easy to find them."

Jodie nodded. "I think we should get to that, then," she said. "Besides, I know Ashley at least could help. No sense in waiting around, right?"

"Of course," said Kim. She then brought her hands to the device, Jodie watching as a holographic keyboard appeared. She brought her hands over it, her fingers flying over various commands. The exion's eyes dimmed after a few seconds, and Jodie nodded as Kim turned towards her.

"Now?" Jodie asked.

"Now," Kim replied.

Jodie nodded, opening her omni-tool and selecting Kolyat's information on her contacts.

Kolyat jumped as he heard his omni-tool sound. He immediately leaned forward, glancing out past his hiding space. He saw nobody was there, before turning back to his omni-tool.

I hope nobody heard that... he thought. That wouldn't...

That was when he recognized the caller ID shown on his omni-tool.

Kolyat took a sharp breath in, answering the call and leaning forward. "Jodie?" Kolyat asked.

"Kolyat! Oh thank God..." Jodie said. Kolyat felt his limbs relax just a little bit, though it was not enough to quell all his fears. "I thought you were in danger."

"They're still looking for me, I know it," said the drell. He huddled further into the corner. "Sura called to tell Kalo something, and then before we knew it they were here, and..." Kolyat hugged his knees close. "Jodie, I killed someone."

Jodie was silent for a little bit longer. "Oh..." Silence. "Are you okay?"

"No..." Kolyat replied. "I'm scared, alone, and I can't stop thinking about that guy I killed. I know I'd be in jail if I hadn't, but..." Kolyat leaned forward, fresh tears rolling down his face. "Gods, Jodie, I just want to go home..."

"Well, hang in there, Kolyat," said Jodie. "I'm with people that are going to help us. We're trying to figure out where you are. Don't move and we'll come for you."

Kolyat looked out. "You sure?" he asked.

"I'm sure," said Jodie. "Just hang in there Kolyat, okay?"

The drell nodded, breathing in. "Okay..." He sighed. "Just, please tell me we're on our way out..."

"Not yet," said Jodie. "But I have the feeling we'll be able to start planning our escape from this place soon."

Kolyat nodded. "Good." He frowned. "I can't leave this place soon enough."

"Neither can most of us," Jodie replied. "Don't worry, Kolyat." And then, Kolyat heard a loud beep from off of Jodie's microphone, before he heard voices saying things he could not make out. "Ah, they've got a lock on your location. Good."

"So you're coming to get me, right?" asked Kolyat.

"Yep," said Jodie. "Stay still, and we'll be right there, okay? And whatever you do, don't answer any calls, no matter who its' from."

"Got it," said Kolyat. "Please, come quickly."

"We'll be there as soon as we can," Jodie reassured him.

And with that, the call cut. Kolyat leaned back, his limbs releasing a tension he only then noticed was present. He nodded, closing his omni-tool. He briefly put it on silent, before wiping his tears from his eyes.

Well, at least it's not all lost... he thought. I just hope that they didn't get Ashley, too...

Kalo sat in the center of the room, his hands bound to the table. He glanced up at the exions that were all around the room.

He felt a sense of uncertainty creep in right then. He was not sure if it was because of their glowing eyes or because they moved just a hair too mechanically, but either way, Kalo did not like being surrounded by so many synthetics. He found it unsettling, and while he could normally see just how much of Legion was a machine, these exion's skin and hair looked so organic he found himself disturbed at the sight of them.

One of the exions leaned a little closer to Kalo. The quarian instinctively flinched, turning his head slightly as his breath sped up.

"What do you want?" Kalo asked.

The exion shook his head. "We're only waiting for our lead scientist, bub," he said.

"Lead scientist?" Kalo blinked in shock. "So... this is an interrogation?"

"Only of sorts," said the exion. "See, we know you quarians have weakened immune systems. And the DGI guys tell us you know about the formula."

Kalo breathed in sharply. "So it is real, then," he said. "I thought for only a second it was not..."

"Oh, it's real all right," said the exion. "And let me tell you, we had to fly through quite a few hoops to start developing it. I'd tell you more, but that's confidential, and anyway it's above my pay grade so I don't know all the details. But it's real alright."

Kalo frowned, his gaze turning to the floor. "And how does this pertain to me?" he asked.

The exion nearby moved to open his mouth, but before he could, the door to the interrogation chamber opened. He then looked up, seeing an aging aqueron enter the room. Kalo's eyes widened a little, noticing the simple white garb covered by a white cloak. He held a clipboard, and pushed some glasses onto the ridge of his nose as he scanned Kalo slowly.

The aqueron nodded to the other exions in the room. "Thank you," he said. "It does indeed seem like a newer-era veil he wears." He then nodded to the others. "Come. We will lead him to the labs."

Kalo frowned, but before he could say anything he was pulled to his feet by the exions immediately flanking his seat. He was then led to the doorway, the quarian facing the aqueron.

"Hello," said the aqueron. "Pardon my tardiness, I had business to attend to back at the lab."

"The lab?" asked Kalo. "Is it about the formula?"

The doctor paused, and he nodded, glancing away. "Yes," he said. He then nodded to the exions. "I guess that saves me lots of explanation. Bring him to the transport, men: we have a laboratory to take him to."

Pravuil stepped out into a park, his hands in his coat's jacket. The air of the Obschesto felt warm, and for a second the aqueron wondered if it had always been so warm. It certainly felt different from anything he had seen since he had been captured over Alchera.

He sat down on a bench, looking to the park. It was a park he had always lived close to in the aqueron district of the Obschesto. It was unusually green, which was a rare sight on the Obschesto. He had always felt welcome there, even though it was quite a walk away from his home. It was a home he had almost never seen due to his work travelling for the DGI, but in this rare occasion where he had downtime this was the first place he thought to go.

The green was tranquil. It reminded him somewhat of the pictures of his homeworld, full of lush green gardens as far as the eye could see. But more than that, it gave him space to think, space to clear his mind.

And at the onslaught of thoughts he had ever since he had boarded the Lying Bastard, he knew he needed that space.

He could not help but ponder everything he had been through. All the things that the guys upstairs had said about everyone in the other galaxy seemed to ring more hollow. He had been warned before his first mission that they were ruthless enemies, and that death would be vastly preferable to what they had in store should he ever be captured. It was the least of the reasons for the poison pill to exist, but it was a reason nonetheless.

And yet, his captors had shown nothing but kindness to him. And this puzzled him. He had been forwarded a copy of the official DGI report which made mention of what was inside the Lying Bastard; thus, he knew that, really, they hadn't the resources to torture him. Officially, they had no torture devices, but Pravuil knew it was much more complicated. His own training in the DGI had told him that anything could be used as a torture device, and indeed he saw many objects that he would have expected them to torture him with. And yet, there it was.

And there was also the matter of Sura. He never thought any denizen of that galaxy would be so approachable, but there she was. He still did not know her last name, but that did not matter so much to him. She was good company, a good conversation partner if nothing else. But there was something whenever she spoke about herself that Pravuil had grappled on to: he had noticed that there was not even a single degree of deception in her body language. She had been genuine with him.

He also realized something else: he had been curious about her. Not curious in an intelligence-gathering sense, but genuinely curious. This eternally threw him off guard, and he was surprised that he liked what he saw behind the supposed 'unfeeling monster'.

Pravuil sighed. The sinking feeling in the pit of his gut returned at full force, and he realized faintly it was not the same as the sinking feeling he felt when he was first captured. He leaned forward, turning his gaze to the green grass on the opposite side of the pavement.

He briefly wondered what would have happened if Sura had managed to get away. He would be dead, of course, but no agent of the DGI feared death. But perhaps Sura would have been free. Free from...

Pravuil felt his mouth turn dry, a rare phenomenon for an aqueron. He was not sure what exactly they were doing to Sura, but he knew what happened on the Tayurmya. He had considered it just before; after all, who went to the Tayurmya that was not justly punished?

All except for her...

Pravuil's blood ran cold. He shifted, before shaking his head and looking over at a ra'ken caretaker and the young aqueron charge he was playing with a few feet away. The child was happily leaping about, the ra'ken keeping its strangely-shaped eyes on the little aqueron. In the distance, he saw a pair of adults, looking on in adulation at the child's play.

The DGI agent stood up, taking a few slow steps away from the serene scene. It must be worth it, if it is to protect the helpless... he thought. We are simply doing this to defend our people.

He then sighed, the sinking feeling getting worse.

Correct?