Chaos Effect 2: Revivification

by Freeride600

Not all who die are lost, not every ally really gone, not every foe truly defeated. Blood, tears, and death to keep the galaxy safe. And maybe a laugh somewhere along the way. Sequel to Chaos Effect: First Contact.

37. Of Assassins and Adepts

A/N: Alright folks, apologies for the long hiatus. It was a bit longer than I expected, in part due to work, and it part to a temporary burn-out on Chaos Effect. We should be back on track for weekly updates now - only on "Saturday" (Sunday in the NZ local timezone). Unless something crazy comes up (like shitty work internet stops working, which happens fairly regular), I'm planning on going until this story is finished out. It goes without saying that, after almost four years, it means a lot to me and I'm going to do everything I can to see it through proper. That's partly out of respect for everyone who's followed over the last four years, and partly because I've got other writing projects that are shelved until I feel the CE arc is finished out.

So with that said, thank you for bearing with me, new and old readers alike. Let's get right back into it.

Chapter XXXVI – Of Assassins and Adepts

Pelican – An Inch Above Sand

xxxx

"Aria wants us to do what?" Delina protested in typical fashion. "Don't we have a fucking war to win?"

"Oh, so now you're all-in with the Lancers?" I shot back, not missing a chance to bicker even with a large crowd about. Tierna, Sanya, Riva, Viola, Torr, and a bunch more Lance troopers.

"Hey! Don't try to change the subject!"

"Yeah, we've got a war to fight, but we're not gonna get anywhere without intel, credits or allies."

"Oye, I'm sure the Shadow Broker will just go out of his way to help us."

Viola finally interjected. "The Shadow Broker will prioritize his own interest. If the Contractor is a threat, then an allegiance may be possible."

"Eh." Delina grunted, seeming unimpressed with it all.

"It would also be a good time to investigate those Contractor bases." Sanya commented.

"Sanya…" Tierna winced, and by the sounds of it, those alleged bases were something she heard about far too frequently. "Are you really wasting Forrest's time on this?"

Sanya nodded.

"If we have time, it wouldn't hurt to at least check." I shrugged. It wouldn't take that much time. If Sanya was right, then we would have an edge.

"Alright. So what the hell are we waiting for?" Delina chided. "If we're gonna start doing delivery service, we better be the best damn thing out there."

"Imagine we could load up right away. The Ortona should be fueled and everything." That reminded me, "I didn't pick up a power core stabilizer for Jarka."

"A Y-248 stabilizer?" Patricia asked as she returned with a knapsack hanging over her shoulder.

"Yeah, how did you…" I started.

"Oh, simple really. I carry one with me!"

"That's…. um… one less thing to worry about." I nodded, unsure of what else I could say to that.

"Right then." Sanya saluted. "I need to form up a station patrol if you no longer need me here."

Tierna also nodded. "Likewise. I'll let you get ready to fly, but stay safe out there. I'd better see you two again."

I guessed she was referring to Delina and me.

So there we were, the six of our sorry lot standing around and waiting to roll out, silent as we watched the two field commanders leave the dock. Quite the insane crew. Between Torr and Patricia, there was enough psychosis to spread around a colony of normal folk. Instead, there were people like Delina and Viola and me. Riva was easily the most level of our lot, and even then, I knew how her temper could go.

"Well," I clapped my hands together and rubbed them like we were onto some big scheme. "Let's load up and hit the road."

xxxx

"What the hell do you think are in these things?" Delina wondered as she sat atop a two-meter cube metal crate with her legs dangling above the Ortona cargo bay floor. "Aren't you a little bit curious?"

"A little, yeah." I agreed as I crouched on top of another crate closer to the weapon lockers, noting that the five boxes took up all of the usual free space in the Ortona. "Let's just get the job done, eh?"

"I'm not one for flying around with big boxes that are some big secret. We're hauling them, we deserve to know."

"That was not part of the deal." Riva protested, standing on her tip-toes next to one crate as she tried to look at Delina or me. Evidently she didn't want to walk around on top of those boxes. "While I am also curious, we have an arrangement to honor."

"Yeah." The arms specialist snorted. "You know what honor does out here? When you're not on Thessia? It gets you killed. Plain and simple."

"Surely there is some place for respect. Even in the Terminus – there must be a scrap of good nature left."

"Yeah. Those people get killed quick off the transport. I'm surprised you lasted as long as you did on Illium."

"I did not expect people to be their worse, and I didn't start superfluous conflict."

Delina snorted, seeming to refrain from a more vicious comment. Guessed she would save that for me.

"These crates don't smell like trouble." Torr commented from his perch on top of the weapon locker where there was hardly enough room for a person to stand. But there the Psycho crouched, leaning forward on his hands so that he could see clear to the back of the hold. "Synthetic. Unpowered. Not going to attack when our back is turned, not going to help in a bloodbath here."

"Goddess dammit, aren't you at least curious?" Delina exasperated, throwing her hands up at me very specifically.

"Yeah. But I'm going to get the job done first." I shrugged as I moved about and hopped to a new crate, seeing if there were any marking on the white paint. Places where the paint had been redone, but that was it.

"You suck." Delina pouted. "After all the shit that goes down, you're the one who ends up being commander."

"As I hear, you were a commander too. Weren't you gonna tell me about that?"

"Yeah, and what'd I tell you about those stories?"

"Another time?"

"Exactly. Another time."

I rolled my eyes and glanced over at Riva; the young psuedo-commando didn't know what to make of Delina and opted to keep her distance, sitting on a hoverbike and bringing up her omni-tool.

"You did at least get a few credits up front didn't you?" Delina checked. Didn't seem like she trusted my business savvy.

"A few, yeah. Enough to cover fuel one way. The bulk of it should come from the 'Broker."

"And what if he doesn't pay up?"

"We'll deal with that later. I think between the two of us, we can figure something out."

"Not to interrupt," Jarka interrupted as he stood at the bottom of the stairs. "I thought I would come see what cargo you have us weighted down with now. Not very informative, I'm afraid."

"Yeah. 'Fraid not." I shook my head. "Everything good with the Ortona?"

"Flying like it was straight out of the factory, Commander." The captain nodded as he milled forward and peered around the side of all the crates. "That power core stabilizer was definitely in order. I'm certainly glad I took the time to install it before this load. Heavier cargo than I expected."

Delina raised her brow, still sitting a ways off. "You left Maya in charge?"

"Yes. It does happen from time to time." Jarka chuckled and brushed a hand along the corner of one crate. "I supposed, since we're en route, there was little to worry about. Well, that and Viola T'Vintha came by to talk."

"Yeah?" I raised my eyebrow. As I recalled, few had been fond of her before. No, nobody really. She didn't talk to anyone either.

"Indeed. She apologized. Quite surprising, really. Not something I would have expected from that character, but I wonder if we didn't truly know her before."

"You think it was a good idea to bring her back?"

"I've yet to decide. Last time was different. I could tell right away that something about her wasn't correct." The pilot noted. "She also made mention of Sela's antics. In the name of knowledge, I searched through what TIER information remained."

Riva had come back over, perhaps curious as she leaned her shoulder against the crate that I was crouched on.

Jarka continued. "I can see no mention of reason for his recruitment. Every other member, especially noteworthy individuals such as Sanya T'Jaras or Tyrhe Matroclus, there was a reason they were sought out by TIER, or a reason they were permitted to join."

"But not Sela?"

"No. There was mention of him working in the private sector both before and after the war, operating on the far reaches, but there are no allusions to experience beneficial to our cause."

"So how'd he get here?"

"Well, to be frank I do not have an answer. I can find no logic driving it. Not even a join date, for that matter."

"Nah…" I shook my head. "Surely he wasn't planted from the beginning."

Jarka said nothing, only cringed as he stood there.

"Well," Delina piped up, keen to be heard, "Wouldn't be the first time that happened. You remember T'Kaen, the old Akina doctor?"

"Yeah. Or whatever her name was." I agreed, recalling how we had duked it out in the combat center of the Asari ship.

"Right. She'd been with us for twenty fucking years. The whole time just waiting to hand us over." The arms specialist scoffed, still sounding bitter. Then again, I knew firsthand how she could hold a grudge.

"If that were to be the case…" Riva seemed to be thinking aloud. "He would have been with TIER before you were recovered."

"Yeah." I acknowledged.

"Regardless, he went to great lengths to betray us all. Thankfully, Maya was able to catch and disabled my omni-tool shortly after we fled from Illium. Truthfully, she saved what little life we had left."

"She?" Delina questioned. "You're calling the AI a she?"

"Naturally." Jarka didn't seem fazed. He kept rattling off. "I was fairly comfortable with that distinction beforehand, both due to her image and… operational parameters. After spending five weeks alone in this ship, that sentiment has been confirmed."

"Right." Delina nodded and glanced away like she thought he was crazy.

"Anyway." The Salarian didn't notice Delina. "We did have a few close calls, the first getting by the Illium blockade. Five frigates against our Ortona. They were on direct intercept, and boxed us in. Maya managed to scramble one of them, yielding just enough to blast through. I ended up diving right into FTL to ensure they would not get a lock."

"I would presume that left them with a vicious backdraft." Riva commented. "FTL jumps of that type tent to disturb nearby electronics."

"Oh, I am quite certain they were disturbed." Jarka agreed. "We ended up overshooting the relay, coasting back and still they had not reformed."

I furrowed my brow in mock concentration. "Hey, didn't you say something about leaving the risky business to people on the ground?"

"I am quite certain the ground team was in far more risk than I was, all parameters given."

xxxx

So there I was, making my way into the mess hall with no particular motive. Didn't even know if I wanted another protein bar. Zavalon was a day out yet, so I was left without direction.

Well, that was the case for but seconds. About as soon as I stepped into the mess hall it was evident that something was going on.

Viola had taken over about half of the table with datapads, papers, holoprojectors, and pictures of different bases. I could tell there was a purpose behind her madness; I couldn't tell what it was. She was onto something though, eyes flitting across the array of info, making connections as she muttered under her breath, and finally, after several more seconds, looking up at me. "Forrest, do you have a minute?"

"Sure. What you got?" I asked, half cocking my head to look at the mess of info as I approached.

Viola scooted over on the bench, indicating that I had a spot to sit. Right next to her. And so I sat; the Asari waited a moment and then pulled a piece of paper forward from under the stack. "I was combing through all the information I could find, trying to find outposts or anything useful to us. But.. look at this."

I looked. A picture of a young Jason Mender. Maybe five or six. I could tell by the dark red eyes. "I don't get it."

"I pulled this off of a passenger manifest on a flight coming from a space station in Citadel space."

I nodded hesitantly, not sure how that was directly relevant.

"But according Contractor files, he was born on Omega."

"And grew up there." I added.

"Exactly." She nodded. "Remember when I told you that you would not be able to take him on alone – that he was far more lethal than a normal human?"

"Yeah. Plus the bit about regeneration."

"Forrest, I don't think… I don't he's a normal person."

"I don't think it's cybernetics." I commented. "No trace of them, anyhow. Plus that wouldn't make sense with the regeneration."

Viola nodded. "Nor would it be anything as extreme as supermutant deformation."

"Huh." I frowned, trying to think through options. "The first Contractor tried the whole supermutant thing, but didn't get very far. I don't remember any other genetic experiments."

"Perhaps the original did not, but for the past two decades people have been fascinated with combining genetic traits between races. Some people, at least. I don't believe Council-funded research got very far before it was deemed unsafe."

"But the Contractor wouldn't care."

"I know a great deal of attention was given to experimentation." Viola hesitated, seeming to choke up as she glanced down, before continuing. "A number of the people who disappeared from the Terminus were allocated for such research."

"Genetic research."

"Yes."

"You don't think…" I started, "The Contractor didn't make Mender, did he?"

Viola looked over and said nothing. So we were on the same page.

"Well, it would sure explain a lot." Then an idea struck me – and I couldn't tell if it came from Azarith or me. "There anything in there that would help with taking him out?"

"I have been searching. The only real useful information would be true specifics, and I have found none."

"Dammit."

"Suppose, though, it is the case that he was an experiment. Perhaps boosting human genes with Krogan features."

"Size, regeneration. Right."

"If that were the case, then I would assume he would have two sets of organs."

"Well…" I snorted in realization that we could have taken him out a while ago with the right info. "That would explain how he kept going after I stabbed him through the heart. One heart."

"Indeed it would."

"Wait. Is he the only one?"

"So far as I can tell, yes." Viola nodded and pulled out a datapad and scrolling through the list. "Of all the Contractor commandants that are still alive, none are close to his dimensions."

"At least a little bit of good news." I grumbled and stood up, finally deciding I was hungry enough to justify a protein bar.

Viola waited until I was done rummaging through the cabinets and heading back towards the table before tapping a holoprojector and bringing up an image of a planet. "Since we're en route to Zavalon, I also thought to check what leads I could."

"Yeah?" I asked, mouth half full as I sat down next to the ex-Contractor.

"So far, I have found one outpost -"

"Contractor?" I interrupted.

"It should be." Viola explained. "From what I can tell, it used to be a major hub for the Fireburners before their traffic ceased and cloaked traffic increased."

"Didn't know that the Contractor cloaks most of his ships."

"I don't believe he does. Only a select number, used for high-importance cargo, would be outfitted with expensive upgrade."

"High-importance… like what, exactly?"

"From the few missions I was involved with, it seems to be stolen Council technology, large credit transfers, or prisoners."

Prisoners. My mind jolted and I started to stand back up. "Keep looking into that. I'll see what extra intel I can pull up."

"Of course." The surviving T'Vintha sister nodded, watching as I stood up and started to leave. I nearly made it to the door before she poised a hesitant question. "Forrest – What happened on Illium... is there any way I can find absolution for what I did?"

I turned around so I could make a point of glaring at her. "You hit me with a stun gun and kicked me off a fifteenth-story roof."

"I know I did."

"You still think I'm a psychopath?"

"Only along the same lines as the rest of us."

"Well. That's worth something."

Viola started to get a hopeful look in her eyes.

"That deal was bad enough the first time. I'm gonna be pissed if I let it happen again."

Her shoulders slumped by a centimeter, but her eyes didn't waver. "Fair is fair. Keep in mind that I am trusting you with my own life as part of the squad."

xxxx

"Come on." Delina egged from behind raised fists as she bounced on the edge of the crate several meters away.

I didn't know why sparring seemed like a good idea, especially when the arms specialist still had undue anger towards me. So I kept my distance and took a defensive stance. If she was anything like before, she would attack.

"Sometimes I gotta wonder." She scoffed, moving side to side, trying to elicit a strike. "You still the same? I mean, you're not even a biotic any more. TIER break you or something?"

"TIER didn't," I growled, making a bluff lunge that made her hop back and stay at a safe distance, "Azarith did."

"Why the hell did it do that? Trying to slow you down and get killed?"

"Only reason I got was because they're connected with my ability to uplink. Shut both down to keep me safe."

"Uplink." Delina scorned, suddenly lunging, forcing me to back up with one jab and then trying to roundhouse me. I dodged both, paced myself. She fell back in the opposite direction. "Is that what it's called? How you were able to get that crazy red energy before?"

"Yeah."

"Sure would make light work of things if you could get that shit figured out."

"Well, I'd need a Reaper to link to. And I'm not very keen on that after Sovereign nearly broke into my head."

"Hence the whole spacing yourself thing." Delina rolled her eyes as much as she could without letting me out of sight. "Here we go again."

"Watch it."

"Yeah?" Delina grinned.

Despite my better judgment I lunged. Right blow first, all my power into a right slug that Delina was mostly able to sidestep and avoid. Still knocked her shoulder though. Enough that I was able to parry a right hook with my organic arm, wind up my right for an undercut.

She leapt back. Dodged the blow and beamed just out of range.

"Where the hell have you been?" I wondered, backing up to try and lure her forward again. Closer to the middle of the crates. "The Contractor's been tearing apart the Terminus since the War, and you're off raiding scrap ships."

"That's mighty rash. He hadn't been causing too much of a stir til you got on him." She explained and then made a lunge. "Hell, I didn't even hear about the damn deal until a year ago. I quit carrying an omni-tool years ago so that nobody could track me, but fuck it."

"So you left it for someone else." I questioned as I fended off a series of jabs and hooks. Delina still liked a direct approach. "But lemme ask you this: If not you or me, then who?"

The arms specialist paused long enough to glare at me, then launched into a barrage of blows that sent me backing up. Nearly out of space, I opted to try and parry and break through the offensive. Succeeded in part, too. Knocked one punch out of the way as I got in close with my left fist drawn back low. About the time I swung, she thrust her shoulder forward. We both staggered away.

I grunted, realizing she had got me right in the mouth. Maybe cut the inside of my lip.

"Never took you for the sentimental leader, Forrest." Delina snorted, stretching her lower ribs and wincing. "I always figured you'd be more like me. Stay above the rabble, fight smart."

"We had Kaira before." I pointed out, rather answering my question from before.

"You know what she did after you died?" Delina spat, "Disbanded the squad and did her own thing. Left Rana and me to fend on our own. You know what? Thank goddess I haven't spoken to either since. I got a whole lot of sharp words waiting to fire."

"I ran into Kaira on Illium." I commented as I made a lazy swing at the Asari to try and move her back. "She's a Justicar now."

"I'm guessing she told you to do fuck-all on your own, too."

"Not paraphrasing a whole lot." I had to leap back as Delina tried to kick my face. "Gotta ask though – what are ya holding against Rana?"

"If you'd seen her you'd know what I'm talking about." The arms specialist snorted. "Barely saw her after the Citadel, even though we were on the same ship for almost a year. She got real weird by the end of the 517th. Started panicking over things that never happened. Wouldn't listen anymore. You did a hell of a job breaking her."

It was the fact that I knew Delina was right, that I was to blame, that I was guilty of hurting the young maiden, that made me snap. No other cause, no warning as I took after Delina with a barrage of punches, absorbing a kick to the ribs and pressing on. She had to back up to contend with the maelstrom, and I had pushed her back across the crates. One slip in her parries and I drove my left fist into her shoulder. Wound up with my right, aiming high. I didn't notice as she recovered and anticipated the blow.

She ducked as my arm went forward, slamming into my middle and using my own momentum against me. Rolled me clear over her back before I hit the crate on my side, starting to roll back onto my feet before she kicked me in the side. I fell again, landing mostly on my feet but still off balance and stumbling forward.

I crouched there on the floor of the cargo hold and stared at the floor as I collected myself and tried to get my breath back after being winded twice consecutively. I rose, turning back to the crates. Seeing as Delina was keeping her distance I figured it would be safe enough to get back up on her level.

"Still got your bitchy little temper." Delina grinned, taunting me to come at her again.

"Some things change, and some things don't." I growled, still trying to shake myself off. I didn't want to let her get to comfortable, so I made another lunge, only to have my blows parried before I hopped back. "What ever happened to Ryala?"

"T'Deras?" Delina asked, then charged with a right hook that flowed into a roundhouse kick. I dodged the first and ducked the second, giving her a solid kick the shoulder and knocking her back to range. "She died during the Reaper War. Lead one of the best damn offensives with the last of Cavalry."

"I don't see any Crimson Cavalry round anymore."

"That was their final battle. Hell, they all knew it was suicide, but they took down two Reapers and held off a squadron long enough for the rest of our ships to regroup."

"Well damn. The Cavalry lasted all these years, huh?"

"Hell yeah. Ryala held it together."

"I get the impression that you didn't leave on the best terms... Commander."

"Can it. None of your business."

The Delina I knew was alive and well as she ducked one of my full-force right hooks and tried to jab me as I hopped back. "Sounds like drama to me."

"It would be a shame if I didn't tell you."

"Real shame." I smirked, making a risky pass by Delina and switching sides on the crate. It wasn't a good idea, as I was right up against the end. Heels hung off the edge towards the Ortona stairway. She thought so too, lunging at me. Probably thought about ramming me off the edge. Well, I heaved myself forward, using my right forearm to shield my face as I shouldered into her. Momentum changed. She grunted as I knocked her away, giving me space to drop down and kick the back of her knees. Down she went. Landed half on the crate and then rolled off, nearly landed on her feet before falling to her knees.

She was grinning as she stood back up and climbed back atop the crate, brushed herself off and went back to a defensive stance. "Some things change, and some things don't."

"So, you gonna tell me about the Cavalry?"

"Whaddya want to know?" Delina razed with a smirk. "I joined 'em in 2014, being as I pissed off most of Omega."

"No surprise there."

"Shut up. Ryala needed to split the load of running the whole damn thing, so I became commander. All fancy. Had the armor and everything."

"That right?" I asked as I took several lazy swings before having to leap back from an uppercut.

"Yeah. Went along like that for a while, then I got arrested on Thessia. That was a fucking useless hiatus, but I was still a commander when I got out. The years after that..." Delina shook her head and reminisced, smiling behind her fists. "Me and Ryala made the Cavalry the top merc force in the galaxy. Hell, the top military force right behind the Turians."

"So then what happened?" I asked, grunting as I blocked a high kick with my bionic arm.

"What's your human saying – loose hips sink ships?"

"Loose lips sink ships." I corrected.

"Damn. That doesn't work nearly as well." Delina shook her head and glanced down for a moment. Lured me in as I swung at her head. She ducked back. "Let's just go with what I said. Explains a lot more."

"Oh really..." I drawled, more interested than I should have been. "Whose hips are we talking about here?"

"Mine."

I had to pause for a moment. That answer didn't settle into my head very well, not to where I comprehended it immediately.

Delina, being the opportunist, darted in with several fast jabs. I blocked one, two, three lower, but I didn't move quite enough to dodge the fourth and she cracked me right on the nose. It was only a jab. My vision still went blurry, and I could tell by the crackle that it had done work. By then Delina had eased off, giving me time to bring an armored hand to my nose. Sure enough. Blood. I sprayed as much medigel on as my omni-tool would allow and figured it would have to do. Hurt like hell, but at least it wasn't bleeding all over. There was still a bit of blood trickling into my mouth.

"You should have dodged that."

"Yeah. Thanks, tips." I grumbled in a nasal voice, figuring we were done as I had a broken nose and Delina had dropped her fighting stance. "So about the Cavalry."

"You still want to know more, don't you?"

"Should've known that."

"Yeah." Delina shrugged, hopped off of the crate and landed gracefully. "Well, we made some decisions that weren't the wisest for business. You know, one of those deals where personal shit gets in the way?"

"Ok, and?" I pestered as we headed towards the armory.

"Look. Ryala and I hooked up for a while, alright?" Delina had to be blunt, and still rolled her eyes. "Try not to give yourself a nosebleed over it."

xxxx

"Oh, goddess -" Riva started the moment I walked into the engineering hold, pausing her work and looking at me with disdainful worry. "What happened to your nose?"

Really, I didn't see what was the problem - I had cleaned up the blood, and the medigel had done its job in quickly healing the internal bits. Maybe the shape was a bit off, but I couldn't really tell. Looked like it did before TIER brought me back. "I was sparring with Delina."

"She did this -" Riva paused, shook her head, "She broke your nose?"

"Yeah." I shrugged. "It looks more like it did before."

"Forrest, it's crooked!" Riva protested. "I do not understand why you'd go out of your way to get hurt."

"I didn't mean for her to punch me in the face. It just... happened. That's how sparring works."

The young T'Lan shook her head in obvious disapproval as she stood there with her arms folded, watching me with a concerned face. The commando in light 517th Lancer armor, so much an image of her mother. Yet so different. The katanas laid next to her weapons, the two metal bands on her fringe. "Does she still have a grudge against you?"

"Nah, not too bad. We're back on friendly terms."

"If you insist."

I nodded, glancing around engineering as I leaned on a bench to the right of the door, realizing that the bay had been a mess last I'd seen it, no part thanks to Samantha's disorganization. But now... now it was clean. There was a neat row of boxes against the back wall, labeled from omni-tool projectors to shield capacitors. "You really cleaned this place up, eh?"

"I figured I'd make myself of use while aboard. I hope that's alright."

"Great. Now we might actually be able to find what we need." I commented. "Any interesting finds?"

"Well, to be honest I never spent much time around military-grade omni-tools. I made due with modified civilian-grade models." Riva noted, digging through a box and pulling out two different tool bases. "Compared side-by-side, there is a fair difference. And I haven't even gotten into the internals."

True enough, I could tell right away which was which. One was sleek, well finished and smaller. The other boxy, protruded heat fins, raw metal with small screw heads exposed. "You need an upgrade?"

"I wasn't implying -"

"Question still stands."

"Well..." Riva looked back to the mil-spec omni-tool, "I suppose I could make better use of it during fights."

"Then go for it. I'm sure we've got a few spares lying around."

"Thank you." the Asari smiled, pushed the box aside and then hopped up and sat down on the workbench. "How far are we from Zavalon?"

"Several hours, last I checked. Still got another relay jump to make. Did you see it before the war?"

She shook her head.

"Used to be a real nice place. Not so much anymore."

"So I take it." Riva paused. "Viola said that there's a large Contractor presence there."

"Yeah. She told me the same thing. Might just be able to find a fight."

"We may be so inclined." Riva nodded slowly. "Although... I am not so certain about her."

"Who, Viola?"

"Yes."

"You think we shouldn't trust her?"

"If it were not for your history, I would trust her completely. I... I am no expert of psychology, but she seems completely dedicated to the Lancers." Riva hesitated, glanced to the floor. "I won't dwell on it. Now isn't the time for personal inclinations."

"If you've got a concern, let me know."

"If I can describe it logically in my own head, I will do so. Until then... I shouldn't waste our time or energy."

"Alright." I shrugged, not knowing what to make of all that. "How are you getting by otherwise?"

"Quite well. Your crew has been quite receiving, with Delina being the possible exception."

"Don't take that personally. She'll warm up."

"If you say so..." Riva chuckled. "Patricia also cornered me in the mess hall, and talked to me for nearly an hour. She is... quite eccentric. Do you know if she actually has a doctor's degree?"

I snorted. "Yeah, in archeology."

"Well, perhaps that would make sense as to why she kept talking about sentient rocks."

"Word of advice: don't listen too closely to anything she says."

"It does make sense, though! Simply not the order which she follows." Riva paused, hopped down from the workbench and leaned against her hip. "Though she mentioned several times how much I look like my mother."

"Well, you do." I agreed, absentmindedly taking the picture of me and Rana from my belt and staring at it.

"My initial response is still to consider that a bad thing."

"Hardly. Rana was a solid commando, and quite the looker too."

Riva stifled a laugh as she gingerly took the print picture from my hand. Looked at the well-outdated copy of Rana and me as she spoke. "You're biased."

"Maybe I am. You should ask Patricia for a second opinion."

"For fear of a second lecture of Lurric mating habits, I will forgo that."

"I've got no idea where she comes up with this stuff."

"Was she this…crazy when you knew her before?"

"I think so. Spent a lot more time getting patched up back then."

"More than you do now?"

"Seems like. A lot of times I learned things the hard way. Hell, I didn't even get out of Earth orbit before I got shot for the first time."

Riva gave me this mixed look of pity and awe. "And your family was left on Earth. Why… why did you need to leave?"

"The Contractor sent bounty hunters after me. Back then, we didn't have much along the lines of kinetics or mass field weapons. I probably wouldn't have lasted long."

"And your family?"

"They stayed safe as far as I know. Earth was too far out of the way for the Contractor, then the Sol relay was shut back down." I shook my head as I sat there. "Saw them for the last time in 2011. Exchanged a few messages afterwards."

"I… I'm sorry. That's nothing I would wish on anyone."

"Well… hopefully they were safe. Probably better they didn't know I died falling into a relay."

"I take it you were an only child as well."

"Yeah." I agreed simply, and with the distance I had learned with which to kill, thought back to Earth. Didn't let it close. Stood by as Azarith removed more emotional associations. "Mom moved around a whole bunch. Twelve times by the time I was three."

"What about your father?"

"Never met him, and we didn't ever talk about it much. Mom said she knew it was time to move on when she got thrown down during an argument. I didn't ever question her judgment there."

Riva had this look on her face as though she'd just seen someone shot. "Goddess, Forrest. That's not… Growing up thinking you're a pureblood seems trivial compared to that."

I shrugged. I'd never thought it was that bad, but objectively… it seemed kinda rough. "I dunno. We got by just fine, even the two of us for a bunch of years. When I was older, she married. We were a real nice family then."

"Eccentric, I'm sure."

"Oh, hell yeah. We lived in the middle of nowhere. Ran a ranch and took odd jobs for neighbors during the summers then hunkered down for the winters."

"I don't mean to dwell… but you didn't even meet your father later in life?"

"Nah. Became one of those things… I didn't want to be like him. Figured I could do better." I shook my head. Ran a hand over my mouth. "I'm sorry."

Riva cocked her head as she looked at me from the bench beside. "Pardon?"

"I'm sorry I was never there for you." I winced, knowing full well that was never the parent I wanted to be. Not that I really wanted to be a parent to start with, but I wasn't going to say that to Riva.

"I spent most all of my years hoping never to meet my other parent." Riva commented, running a hand over her face and then returning the picture. "Not that… well, I feared I would face another Asari. I hold nothing against you."

"Well." I shook my head, stifling a chuckle on how things ended up. "Now wha -"

The entire ship rocked, lights flickering out for a moment before coming back online. I stayed on my feet, but barely as I held onto the bench for support. Riva crouched, glanced around uncertainly and asked, "What was that?"

"Jarka?" I asked over the radio.

"Yes, yes, commander. I know this seems bad and all, but really it shouldn't be a problem. We just ran into some charged debris next to the relay. Propulsion systems are offline, but we should be back on track in just a minute."

I raised my eyebrow as I looked to Riva. Since she now had a radio, she heard his answer too – and she seemed less than convinced. I flicked my omni-tool on and activated my kinetic plating. "Right. I'm gonna go see what's going on."

"I will come with. I find it difficult to believe that charged debris would occur at random."

"You know what causes that sort of thing?" I asked as I stepped out into the hallway just at the start of the stairs.

"Generally, they are fragments from old hulls, laden with a static charge. Yet I doubt that would be enough to disrupt our systems."

Torr stuck his head only far enough out of the subdeck that he could converse. "Bloody blood, why the shimmer?"

"Space trash." I shot back. "Jarka said it's no big deal."

"They're at the gates, screaming to be let in – but we never hear until it's too late -" He shook his head violently. "Feels wrong."

"Yeah." I agreed and then started up the stairs. Riva was right by my side, but Torr stayed behind. Didn't know where anyone else was. I had my pistol and blades and Riva had her SMG. We'd be fine.

Well, Viola was coming out of the mess hall when we reached the combat center, looking rather surprised. Like she had been neck-deep in data mining when the debris hit. Rather out of place on a strange ship.

"The Contractor ever used charged space trash as a trap?" I asked as the three of us headed towards the bridge.

"Not that I ever heard of. By the time I diverged, his fleet was large enough to take most confrontations directly."

I nodded and didn't say a word more as we made it up to the bridge. Delina was already in wait, leaning against the wall right behind the pilot. Glanced over her shoulder and snorted. "Took you long enough."

"She was here already." Jarka quickly debunked Delina's bluff, causing the arms specialist to huff. The pilot didn't seem to care as he ran through controls. "I do not think these debris were an accident."

"I have restored LADAR functionality." Maya noted with no form to speak of. "There are two ships within cannon range. As they have no IMF, I would assume they are pirates."

"Great." I grumbled. "How long til we're back online?"

"I don't have a clear estimate at this point. A minute at most." Jarka replied.

"We have a radio transmission incoming." Maya informed. "Should I put it through to one of the displays?"

"Do it."

So, not a moment later, a hologram sprang to life on the life on the console. Several punks in makeshift armor all huddled around the display, as though their sheer numbers were to be intimidating.

I stood there with arms folded.

"Hey now. We got a loaded cannon pointed at ya, so be smart and keep powered down. Ya livin' ain't worth what goods ya got." The lead character explained. A Turian. One of the goons behind him was brandishing a pistol.

"Pirates." Delina snarled, and being out of detector range she could draw both her revolvers without being detected. And she did. "Lure them in and then we fucking wreck them."

"Systems still offline." Jarka made note, ducked down and also out of the holo-call detector range.

"Fine." I agreed grudgingly. "We'll stand down."

I nodded for Maya to cut the connection.

"We're not actually..." Riva started, shaking her head and watching me nervously.

I almost chuckled knowing a fight was coming. "Course not. We'll just have to deal with a few by hand until the ship's back up."

Even Maya seemed comfortable with that plan. "Once full control has been re-established, I will be able to disable the cannon on their second ship, should they attempt to lay us to waste."

"Looks like they're going to attempt a portside docking." Jarka pointed out the floating tail of another frigate just outside our cockpit.

"Alright then." I popped my neck and stretched my fingers as I headed back towards the airlock.

"We got a plan?" Delina asked, looking at me for a moment before rolling her eyes and scoffing. "Oh yeah. Of course don't."

"That wouldn't be right." I teased as I got to where the airlock tied into the bridge. There wasn't much cover. Not useful cover, anyhow. So I wandered right up to the door, unhooking the Mk.25 mask from my belt, pausing as I looked through the two eyeports surrounded by circuits and fabric that hid the securing links. The mask was donned. I looked back. Four of us in total, and judging how Delina was standing right next to me by the decon door, she wanted to take part of the defense spear. I paused to activate my radio. "Torr, cover the cargo bay doors. Just in case they try walking in on us." Then I turned back to the two left on our crew. "Viola, Riva... Get in position on both sides of the airlock."

The two Asari exchanged glances, difficult to tell if they were hostile or not as they nodded in acknowledgment and then ducked into cover on the bridge. Riva with her SMG, Viola with her biotics.

Delina was grinning as she looked over at me, a revolver in each hand as she stood facing the airlock. "Almost as good as the old 517th."

I snorted as I edged up the door, standing sideways by where the articulation would stop. Not really cover; it would buy me time.

There was an audible clunk as the pirate ship docked, a slight flicker as the two airlocks equalized. I nodded to the rest of our team in wait before I hit the door panel. A click and it unlocked. Then it opened.

Pirates were already on the other side, one sounding like the same Turian as before, laughing and yelling: "It's on you! Now we're gonna take your good, your ship and your life!"

Two MR13 shots rang out in tandem, Delina poised with both revolvers kicking back while the pirate went slamming back. Several shouts as his mates tried to regroup. I cloaked up and slipped through the door, trying to stay out of the arms specialist's way as she drew down on another pirate and started firing in a steady, alternating pattern. Another dropped as I closed in. Several more held ground by their bridge, keeping to cover as four or five assault rifles starting spitting. Only one of the pirates was actually aiming. The rest of the lot held their guns out of cover and fired blind. Vindicators, even another Model 678.

There was enough fire to rip Delina's shields after a few seconds. I heard her curse as she started in towards cover, swinging sideways to get out of the heat. More cursing as a biotic barrier buffed her, a slight panic as she tried to bat away the protection before realizing it was a barrier. Viola'a barrier at that. Delina seemed to realize the same, stepping back out and taking a pirate down with one shot.

I was almost to their cover, still undetected. The last pirate trapped in the airlock passage dropped as an overload tore through his shields and an MR round went through his head, and he fell right next to me. One final dash on tech skates and I was on their ship, coming to a halt against the bridge and turning out of the line of fire. Figured I didn't need to get hit by friendly fire while I tried to take out the waiting pirates.

They still didn't know I was there on their bridge, skulking right behind one pirate who was leaning out to fire at Delina. Hell, he didn't ever know. I uncloaked with my hands on both sides of his head, snapped his neck before he even looked back. By the time the two mercs on the other side of the airlock exit saw the body slumping, I was cloaked and sneaking up behind them.

One panicked, started to turn towards the cockpit and me, either paranoid that someone was behind him or trying to make a run for it. Either way, he didn't make it too far before both of my tech blades were stuck into his chest, slamming him back the way he started from, knocking the last hostile right into Delina's line of sight. Several more revolver cracks and he too was done.

I turned back towards the cockpit, yelled back to my squad. "Clear!"

About the time I said that, a pistol shaving came right by my head. I hopped sideways and drew my MR13, getting a look at another Turian in a ragged pilot's uniform. At least I guessed that's what it was. He did come from the cockpit.

He was lining up another shot when Azarith stepped forward in the form of red binary around my vision.

/
Elevated processes running...

Combat protocols engaged.

/

The bird didn't get the chance to fire another shot as heavy revolver round ripped through his knee and sent him down in a screaming, cursing heap.

"Nice shot." Delina commented as she strode up behind me, casually wielding both of her pistols.

I nodded, control returning almost instantly, as I watched the Turian for a moment more.

"You bastards!" He yelled, referring to nobody in particular. "We work for the biggest operation in the Terminus – you're gonna pay for this!"

"Damn, that one's older than me." Delina deadpanned, shaking her head real unimpressed like as her shields flickered back to full. "How about this: we both go on our separate ways, and you relay the message that we're not to be fucked with. Huh?"

"I'll relay the message right now that you're gonna burn! Every last one of you!"

I looked to Delina and shook my head as well. There wasn't much sense in reasoning with unreasonable pirates, so I brought the revolver up in my bionic hand and cocked it. I could almost hear Azarith chuckling in the back of my processes as I pulled the trigger.

With the pilot out of the way, I looked back up to the bridge, at an equally ragged human that sat on the side of his chair like he was caught halfway to standing up and his hands were raised in surrender. I didn't even raise my pistol at him as I asked: "How about this: we both go -"

"Oh no," he interrupted. "I got it. We both our separate ways and I relay the message that your ships aren't to be fucked with. Yeah. Best for everyone that way."

Maya called into our earpieces with new information. "Our systems are back online. I have disabled both pirate ships until you request otherwise."

"Nice work." I chortled as I looked back to Delina and nodded. Not much more we needed to do. So the two of us turned and headed back towards the airlock, stepping over dead pirates along the way.

Riva and Viola had held their positions on the Ortona's bridge, both out of cover enough to watch the two decontamination fields as Delina and I returned. Only one pirate had made it past their own airlock into ours, so I was delayed as I drug the body back off of our ship. We sure as hell didn't need it.

"That was quite fast." Viola commented, relaxing and stepping out of cover as Delina leaned against the wall with folded arms.

I dusted my hands off as I stepped back into the Ortona and closed the airlock door behind, removing the Mk.25 mask. "I think we got the point across."

"Yeah." Delina agreed. "Oh, and next time... Viola. Give me a fucking warning before you throw a barrier on me. I don't like surprises like that."

The ex-Contractor nodded, hesitant as she glanced to me before she spoke. "Note taken. I was only trying to provide support."

"Just give me a warning." Delina repeated, half snarling.

I rolled my eyes at the arms specialist as I passed and she tried to jab in the ribs. We all started back up towards the cockpit.

Jarka was beaming as we crowded around. "Systems are back online and we're ready to fly again."

"Alright." I nodded as I leaned on the back of his seat and looked out to the relay about a kilometer ahead. "And the pirate ships?"

"Currently they are disabled." Maya answered as she popped up on one of the holographic projectors. "I loaded their systems with enough garbage data to keep them occupied until we are jumps ahead."

I couldn't help but grin. Having a ship that could do things like that was downright awesome.

"One moment." Maya paused, holo still as her attention was diverted elsewhere. "I am detecting several FTL disturbances forming nearby, perhaps -"

She was cut off as a whole fucking row of Contractor frigates came out of their blue corridors right in front of us. I counted five ships.

"Oh goddess." Viola whispered as she peered out the window. "They're to our starboard as well."

"LADAR shows a total of twenty ships." Maya noted. "They're also to our aft and portside."

"Well shit." I muttered.

Without any beckon, a blank hologram sprang up next to Maya's. A single audio line. It figured the Contractor would gloat in his modified, grainy voice while he hid away. "This is it. The end of your little rampage. This is where I end the 517th for good. You're not getting away again, Jackson. I'm on to you and your tricks. It's going to be a pleasure to see your mind destroyed before I bolt a second set of arms into your back."

"We're being flooded with low-level cyberattacks." Maya noted quietly, just out of the Contractor holo's range. "Unless their ships take physical damage, we're shut down for the time being."

Delina snarled at the hologram of the Contractor. "Listen here, you fucker. If you think you're gonna get any of us alive, you better reconsider."

"It doesn't matter what I think when the odds are stacked impossibly against you. Every last one of you will die at my hands, one way or another."

"Fuck your odds." I flipped the holo off, not even wondering if he could see us. It was the thought that counted. "I don't care what your reasoning is this time. You took things too far."

"This is only the beginning, Jackson, the retribution, before I can set out to do what needs to be done."

"Lemme guess. You're out to save the galaxy just like the first Contractor."

There was a laugh. "I picked up where he was forced to leave, but our intentions are far from the same. When every homeworld and government is powerless, then they will see why I am here – where even the Reaper horde failed, I will succeed."

"I don't know who you are." Viola commented, voice not much higher than a whisper as she stood right behind me with her arms folded. "You never had the courage to face your commanders. I know only what you've done. And... what you've made. You put two T'Vintha sisters in the same squad as a tank-grown genetic monster, and only one emerged from your disintegrating ranks."

"Viola..." The Contractor snarled, seeming as though the Asari had struck a personal nerve, "You've been a costly interference. If it weren't for you, this would have ended long ago. Your death will be especially well-received. Perhaps even more than your sister's. With any luck, Mender will get the chance to snap your neck too."

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Viola's shoulders tremble, a break from her usual calm. That had struck terror right into her and anger right into me. I hissed at the hologram. "Next time we see your precious little Mender, he's dead. Keep your dog on a leash, Contractor."

"Threats are hollow when your time is hours. Each of you mark my words: I will complete what the first Contractor failed to do."

The hologram shut down, leaving us standing there riled up and surrounded by Contractor frigates. Ready to fight a dying fight at the very worse. I planned to make that bastard pay.

"Oh dear." Sela pointed out one frigate fore of us. "They're starting to move in."

"Then we get ready for one hell of a fight." I shot back, pushing off of the pilot's chair and starting to turn around.

There was a flash of white.

I recoiled, instinctively throwing my right arm up to shield myself as I took a better look at the blast. The explosion and debris where a Contractor ship used to be. A mangled brown and red frigate also among the fragments.

"Where the hell did that come from?" Delina barked.

I squinted, trying to get a better look at the one wing that remained from the collision; the only real sign that there had been two ships there before an FTL collision. The brown wing of an old frigate, rusty and torn all to hell even before the crash, markings blood red. Still bolted down, mostly charred and disfigured, there was a body. Only one group would do something like that.

"Ravers." I murmured, not sure if the collision had been an accident or they were coming in on the Contractor's order.

Right about the time I had named them, five, six, seven more ships came out of FTL on the on the other side of the Contractor blockade. No formation as they arrived and none as they charged forward at normal speed.

"Well, this day just gets better and better." Delina commented.

"Maya," I leaned forward to get a better view out the cockpit window, "Can you get any radio chatter?"

The AI nodded, and a moment later a feed laden with static erupted. Not just static, but utter madness. Screaming. Incoherent words and sounds strung together. Ravers no doubt, but it didn't answer whose side they were on.

Torr was screaming about the bad feeling as he rushed up the bridge to watch the debacle.

Well, as two Raver ships opened fire on one Contractor frigate and destroying it in several cannon shots before veering, another Raver frigate smashed into a grey-and-red frigate, weight caving in the broadside of the victim ship.

Another Raver ship was moving to do similar, headed right on an intercept course for the Contractor vessel coming at us. On the front of the brown and blooded ship, there were spikes. Specifically designed for ramming. Up close and personal. No self preservation.

The Contractor ship was too slow in changing course and the spikes ripped through the portside hull, blasts of air and debris evidence of the sudden depressurization. The attacking ship didn't stop or slow down, only spun the Contractor ship out of the way as it went for another target. Without communications, the Contractor ships were in disarray.

"Their jamming is down." Jarka announced. "Ready to power up."

"Keep her shut down." I ordered, watching as a Raver ship flew right over the Ortona, ramming spikes meters from our hull as it went to attack another Contractor ship.

"What?" Delina burst out.

"He's right." Viola noted as she pointed to several Ravers in pressure suits that were on a Contractor ship. Tearing into the airlock with a saw. Going for the feast. "They'll attack anything that moves."

"Well, sitting here indefinitely isn't a very viable option." Jarka pointed out.

I watched the madness all around us. "Can we get just a little boost to get us coasting towards the relay?"

"Should be able to do that. Give me just a second to get our controls re-oriented." The pilot agreed.

I watched as the space-faring Ravers breached the Contractor frigate, four of the lunatics disappearing from our sight. Said ship was still from then forward.

Several Contractor ships had blasted out of range, and one had attempted to flee. Might have succeeded if it weren't for the chains tying it back to a Raver ship as another lined up and rammed it through with spikes. Another was struggling with sputtering engines as another Raver vessel lunged in and perforated the hull. Several more grey frigates were left with destroyed engines. Left to wait until their time came and the Ravers had their way.

The Contractor's twenty-strong attack force was decimated in less than a minute. Admittedly. I was impressed.

"There we go..." Jarka breathed a heavy sigh as the Ortona bumped slightly, then gently coasted out of the middle of the fight. "Easy shall do the trick here."

"Life support is currently the only power consumption. Power core is at minimal output." Maya added.

"Now we wait." I nodded.

"And what, hope we don't get eaten too?" Delina commented, notably nervous as we coasted.

"Avoiding that would be preferable." Riva agreed. "I am rather attached to my current skin."

Torr and I were the only ones who found humor in that. At least we were the only two who stifled chuckles.

"Easy now..." Viola whispered, resting her hand on my shoulder.

As I looked ahead, I saw exactly what she was referring to. One of the Raver ships was directly ahead. Coasting right over our heads, as if looking for another target to hunt. Spikes right above our heads. I was vaguely aware that reinforced glass and perhaps a meter of clearance separated us, but I ran my eyes over the hull of the Raver ship. Gouges, cracks in the armor. Plates missing entirely. The only real paint was blood, clearly smeared on by hand and then burnt by a few bad atmospheric entries. Sparks leaping across the hull near the back, beneath where a power core would have sat ungrounded.

We were all holding our breath. Even Torr was silent as the hostile frigate rolled on by without attacking.

"Almost to where we'll have a vector right into the relay..." Jarka noted, completely still for a change as he sat there and watched the engines vanish from sight.

We were almost away from the carnage, from the Contractor ships left in flames or depressurized, left for long deaths and likely cannibalism. I made no illusions of what the Ravers really were. And the truth was... I didn't know what they were.

"I recall Kate saying that the Ravers are no longer people." Riva commented as she wiped her brow. "If not people, then what?"

"People don't do shit like this." Delina snapped. "Even the worst pirates don't go around crashing into ships and leave the wrecks. All to go and eat on some poor fucker?"

"If you all would please keep it down..." Jarka tensed, hands paused over haptic controls. "I am trying to get us out of here without becoming anyone's meal."

I slapped the back of his seat to make sure he knew I would give him some peace. But not all. None of us were about to clear out.

"Getting close..." The pilot muttered. "Maya, get ready to power all systems. Approach vector is in place. Stabilization thrusters will take a moment to spool up... Make sure initial load on power core does not exceed limits. Eezo core must be pre-charged."

"All preparations ready. Ready for full power on your mark." Maya reported.

We were drifting sideways towards the relay, to where our starboard faced the wrecked Contractor fleet and Raver ships circling like vultures, waiting for movement. Two rammed a single Contractor frigate, smashing it between hulls.

"Forrest..." Viola whispered, hand tightening on my shoulder.

She didn't move otherwise, so I glanced out the starboard window. One Raver ship was headed our way, engines blasting, and a collision course set. I watched as the hostile ship closed in, several hundred meters out. Not very far in space terms. "Jarka... any time now."

"I suggest holding onto something. No guarantees that this will be a smooth jump!" The pilot sputtered as he launched several haptic panels. Our lights flickered as propulsion systems went full blast. The relay activated, reaching out and tugging our frigate into the corridor.

Jarka had warned us, but the jump was still violent. I was knocked back, damn near losing my grip on the seat while Viola used my shoulder as a hold. Delina held onto the wall, and Riva clutched the copilot's chair. We managed to hold on as the ship chattered from the less-than-ideal approach and jump, but Jarka seemed to be keeping it straight.

Torr hadn't been holding onto something and went tumbling down the bridge.

"Exiting relay corridor in three." Jarka announced, hardly looking out the window as he scrambled through commands. "Two..."

Well, I figured it would be best to brace the other way for deceleration. But everything was smooth as we came out of the corridor, back to visible speeds.

"Systems status?" The pilot asked as he began plotting a course for nearby Zavalon.

"All systems online and fully functional. Hull static charge is higher than normal, but within tolerance."

"Anyone follow us through?" Delina wondered, glancing out the portside window.

"No ships on the LADAR." The AI reported. "Any Raver ships would have to line up for a relay jump."

"Alright." I nodded. So we were in the clear. At least for a little while. "Do they have any sort of IMF? Anything we can watch out for?"

"Negative, commander. Those ships had faulty recognition. Either the IMFs were removed or destroyed."

"I'd say they're pretty easy to spot." Delina commented.

"Indeed they are. At least within visual range..." Jarka replied, only half with us. "Zavalon should be but two hours out now."

"Nice flying." I patted his chair one last time and then nodded to the ground team to move on down the bridge. We were almost there.

xxxx

Time went by real fast. I was in the mess hall, sharpening and then polishing the Asari dagger that I kept on my back. Try and get some of the blood off, keep the blade mirrored.

Viola was still going through her piles of info, trying to find something useful. Delina was on the other corner of the mess table, fiddling with the circuit board of a grenade.

"This all better be worth it." The arms specialist commented out of the blue.

"The whole hauling cargo to Zavalon thing?"

"Yeah. Pirates, Contractors, Ravers... Must be fucking important to give us this much trouble."

"Let's hope the Shadow Broker doesn't try to screw us over too." I snorted, finally sheathing the dagger and grabbing a protein bar. "That is, if you don't blow us up first."

"Haha." Delina laughed sarcastically. "Funny guy."

I snorted and chuckled as I leaned against the table, not about to sit down. Not with a half-active grenade sitting there working on high-tech explosives.

"Still haven't gotten to see what this ship can do, Forrest. I know we could have taken those Ravers out in the Akina."

"We'll have to find out some time. Preferably when we're not loaded down with cargo."

"Hell yeah." She agreed, pausing and then looking up from her little project. "Say, when did you start up with this stealthy crap?"

"When I lost my biotics."

"Well, cut it out. I'm not gonna get in the habit of tanking into fights like that."

"You did fine."

"Sure, against a few pirates. That's not gonna cut it when we're up against the Contractor. I was reading up on your armor, and you got those tech skate things, so you're not any slower than before. And you carry a shotgun. Use it."

I nearly made a quip about all the years she didn't use her biotics when I saw the silver chain of the locket exposed on her neck. Instead, I shook my head. "Sage advice, I'm sure."

"Oh, when have I ever misled you?"

"Only counting today?" I raised my eyebrow.

Delina dismissed my point with a wave and focused back on her work. I figured that meant she didn't have a smart-ass comeback.

"Forrest," Viola piped up, looking over from her work. "How did you lose your biotics? Your file mentioned biotic ability."

I looked down at my hands. "Well... My biotics were tied into the same nodes that could wirelessly connect to other platforms. Reapers, specifically. That's what got me killed the first time."

"Sovereign?" Delina asked, half rolling her eyes at me.

Viola stared for a moment, then broke through hesitation. "You mean the Reaper that attacked the Citadel before the War?"

"Yeah... 'We' sort of accidentally let him through that relay. He killed Azarith, then tried to reprogram me. Second time around... that wasn't a risk Azarith's runtimes were willing to take."

Even as I talked I could feel those runtimes pressing down on me. They didn't like to be talked about. Azarith didn't like the clarity it brought.

"But you're not facing Reapers this time." Viola pointed out.

"I wouldn't be surprised if the Contractor is looking into that sort of thing."

"She should know." Delina grumbled and pointed a finger at the ex-Contractor. Not vindictively, only to make a point.

"Unfortunately, I don't. I was a field commander, not a lab overseer. The Contractor made a point to keep the two separate."

"Yeah. I hope you ripped everything you could before you bailed out."

"I did what I could... although I should have done more."

Right about then, we were interrupted as Patricia came out of the med-bay, holding a datapad and furrowing her brow. "Raver social patterns unique. I can't seem to find anything to compare them to or model them off of."

The three of us sitting at the mess table all exchanged glances and cringed.

"No law, no order amongst them. Much like Vorcha, but I can decipher no pack structure or hierarchy. Each individual carries the same weight, which is to say very little." The doctor continued as she wandered towards us, making me wonder if she even knew we were there. "Comparable to no form of government that we have seen successful. Anarchy, maybe, in its truest, most theoretical form would apply to Ravers. In practice, all such cases have devolved into dictatorship or similar. Again, not Ravers. No struggle for power midst their ranks, and despite their extreme violent tendencies, no aggression is displayed towards their brothers or sisters of lunacy, no matter race or gender. Also unlike classic cases of anarchy, they seem to behave in unitary fashion. Without any sort of communication or guidance, they converge at the same points and attack the same targets. Even simple tasks like operating a ship are conducted as a cohesive group."

Patricia paused before she nearly ran into the end of the table, where upon she looked up, and seeing the three of us sitting there and watching her, figured she had an audience. "Torr, the sword-wielding Vorcha that resides in our subdeck, is deteriorating into near-lapse in functionality as psychosis develops."

xxxx

"They've cleared us for landing, Commander." Jarka announced, not bothered to turn around and face me. "Beginning final atmospheric approach now."

"Alright." I stood there behind his seat with my arms folded against the armor vest I wore on top of my assassin armor. Fully loaded up and ready to go. Model 678 rifle on my back, shotgun and dagger below the swell of my back. Revolver on my right hip, three grenades – dampening, EMP and frag – on my left. All the metal blades in my armor were sharpened and ready to deploy. Tech blades were at 100%.

That was how I got ready to do business.

"Anything else I should know?"

"It appears that the dock we are landing at used to be a small resort. Infrastructure is minimal, but they have a large dock as well as several towers that rise above the trees." Jarka replied, pulling up a hologram of the surrounding area. "Nothing within kilometers, but tree cover is a hindrance. There very well could be a network hidden out of sight."

"Any other reason for concern?"

"I don't believe so." The pilot sat still for a moment and watched several data streams. "After the Reaper War, Shadow Broker forces are small and concentrated. For such a shadowy character, he remains remarkably... legitimate in dealings."

"Let's hope that's the case. Already been enough surprises on this trip."

"On that we can agree." The pilot nodded. "It looks as though we will be landing on flat dock for ease of offloading. Something to keep in mind."

"Yeah. Thanks." My mind was already ahead, visualizing how the deal would go down. Drop the goods, get paid, and continue around to the other side of the planet to raid a Contractor base. So I headed back down the bridge, well on my way to the cargo bay.

I started down the stairs from the combat center, and right about then, Riva and Viola emerged from engineering below. Walking side-by-side, acting civil.

"Illium is not such a bad place." Viola insisted. "Yes, there are dark streaks to avoid, but so long as you stay above the rabble, one could do quite well there."

"It seemed to me that a newcomer would have a very difficult time rising from servitude."

"True enough. You would need to establish some sort of buffer. I was fortunate to have our business, but even one connection with the right company would be enough."

"Your business?" Riva asked innocently.

"I ran a prostitution ring with my sister. Illium was only one of the hubs."

The young T'Lan seemed to freeze her mouth at the beginning of 'oh' but didn't say anything as the two headed towards the cargo hold and didn't notice me.

"Of all the places we worked, Illium was my favorite. The challenge of coming out on top of business deals, the high tower life. I won't claim it was all glorious, but we did well. There were fewer brawls than on Omega, and less restrictions than on Thessia or the Citadel."

About then, Riva glanced over her shoulder, noticed me, and right away seemed to fluster. Didn't care much for talk about whores, I guessed, and that was fair. "Forrest."

"Commander." Viola seconded, nodding respectfully. "I assume we're getting close?"

"Cleared for landing and heading down." I explained as the three of us moved up to the crates.

Delina was sitting on the crate closest to the gunship, legs dangling off the side and her sniper rifle in her lap. "Think they'll try to give us trouble?"

"I don't think so, but be ready."

"Always ready." Torr hissed from overhead. I glanced up to see him crouched in the brace that came down from the roof of the hold, two meters over our heads. "Rip-spit-stain and let the cattle burn, always ready."

"Yeah." I agreed sort of half-heartedly, not really knowing what he was on about. I heaved myself up onto one of the crates and stood up. "Any suggestions for a game plan?"

"Shoot first. It'll probably come to that." Delina insisted.

Riva glanced at me but remained silent.

"Business is business." Viola shrugged. "The Shadow Broker has a reputation for doing just that. I would expect this to be no different."

I nodded at her, glad that someone was willing to deal first. It was evident we were getting real close – despite Jarka's best efforts, there was still more chop when we were in a planet's atmosphere. Our fireteam was ready, even if the worst came to pass.

We can always fight our way out... I thought, flexing my hands in anticipation as I moved to the back of the hold and crouched on top of the last crate. Sometimes it was hard to tell if a thought was mine or Azarith's. I knew I was on edge, hoping like hell something went smooth for once.

"Dock is within visual range, commander." Jarka reported over the intercom. "No sign of trouble, and they've got us a clean landing pad."

"I detect no weapon locks or cyberwarfare suites active." Maya added.

"Then here goes." I muttered.

Rana's daughter crouched next to me, braced on one of her hands as she stared at the door and then turned to me. "I have a feeling this will go well."

"We'll find out if it doesn't." I commented, chuckling under my breath.

"As Viola pointed out, it would be a very unsound strategy to kill the people that generate your profit."

I watched the cargo bay door for a moment as that set in and worked its way into my logic processes. "Yeah. I guess it would."

There was a tremor as the Ortona touched down on its seldom used landing struts, coming to a rest on the dock. With a nod to Riva and the rest of the team to move up, I hopped down from the crate and activated the door. Ramp, I supposed, as it folded the top towards the dock outside. Inching along, especially considering the circumstances.

A few buildings were the first things I could make out, nothing out of the ordinary. Well built, but stripped down and repainted the same color as the surrounding forest. Incognito unless you had direct coordinates. Hell, I saw one roof even had netting hung above, likely to break up any LADAR scans.

The ramp continued to lower. Heads of the guards waiting for us began to show. Grey faceplates, standard medium-weight armor. Pearl and grey armor with black trim and a split red triangle logo on the chest. No slogan or other insignia. Six of them in a line. Shadow Broker troops.

I stepped forward on the ramp as it lowered the last few centimeters and clanged into the dock. The rest of my team stayed put. Well, Delina and Torr hung back. Riva and Viola had both jumped down and hung a few meters back.

"Commander Jackson?" A Human merc in the center asked as he took a step forward. Dark hair with a single tuft of white off to the side of his temple.

"That's me."

"I see you brought the agreed goods. All five crates?"

"All five." I repeated, gesturing over my shoulder. "Got them here through Pirates, Contractors, and Ravers."

The head merc glanced back and nodded to another of the Shadow Broker troops. While the henchman turned barely out of earshot and started talking on his radio, the lead guard looked back to me. "Providing the goods are still intact, which we will find out shortly, we have payment ready on several credit chits. More secure, plus if there are shares going about..."

"Unless you put a single credit on each chit, I could care less." I retorted, earning a distant guffaw from Delina while the guard seemed unsure if it was safe to be amused. I could see they already had several forklifts headed out.

The line of guards moved to the side, and so did the Lancers, as the forklifts lined up. One for each crate aboard the Ortona. Nobody said a word, only stood by with folded arms and skeptical faces, as the crates were fast moved out onto the dock, in a line where each could be opened and inspected. And so the operators started cracking open each while the lead guard stood by me and watched.

Watched as the covers came off of five, serious looking AA turrets. Brand new, unlike anything I had ever seen. A whole square rack of accelerator cannons per turret insofar as I could tell. Prototypes no doubt. Cutting edge likely. Maybe that was why there was all the shuffling them about.

"Shit." Delina muttered. "Right before the Reaper War turned around, there was some hush-hush talk about Alliance anti-flyer cannons. Some array setup, crazy high fire rate and lighter shavings. If they actually made it happen... damn, we need one."

"So..." I started, half chuckling. "Do I ask where these came from?"

"No, but I wouldn't be the one for an answer anyway." The lead merc replied. "Now. You held up your part of the arrangement, and we shall ours. Five million credits for safe delivery."

With that, he procured a handful, maybe ten chits, from his belt and handed them towards me. I reached to take them, but he did not let go. So, both of us holding onto the chits and facing down, it seemed that we might have found yet more trouble. "At this point, you could take these credits and walk away. But, Aria agreed to send someone with a certain set of skills. A...set of skills inclined towards staving Contractor influence."

"I'm listening." I replied, ever so slightly hopeful as I knew my squad was tense and ready to go. I could hear Torr starting to mutter already.

"Our outpost here is but a safe haven in the respect that the Contractor has only a passive desire to destroy our network. More importantly, he also is trying to drive us out of business, using Zavalon to intercept information between the Terminus and Council space."

"So you need someone to cover your tracks."

"In a way... yes. One of the Broker's agents is scouting out one Contractor base, but if he attacked directly, the Contractor would be that much closer to routing the Broker."

"But we attack..." I shrugged. "Hell, he's already out for our hides."

"And so the Broker is aware."

"So," I figured out loud, "We raze the Contractor here. Then what's in it for my team?"

"You buy the Broker room to operate, and in turn you gain an ally with an invaluable resource: information."

Several seconds passed as I weighed the odds, seeing no way we could walk away from something like that with our minds working proper. "Then we've got another deal. Point us in the right direction and we'll give them hell."

xxxx

"Looks like we should be able to land about three clicks from the Contractor base." Jarka explained as the Ortona flew close to the trees, leaving the Shadow Broker outpost well behind. "That will leave us safe, and you will be able to advance on foot."

"Yeah." I nodded, staring at the opposite wall as I leaned against the bulkhead at the back of the cockpit. "What are we getting into?"

"I can't quite make it out." The pilot admitted. "Maya?"

"From what I can gather, it is the ruins of one of the principle cities on Zavalon. It has not been occupied since the beginning of the Reaper War, and it appears that the coordinates we were given are on the far side."

"We haven't been detected yet, and if stays that way, we should be able to lay low for the duration of the mission." Jarka added.

"Alright. Sounds like we have a plan, then. Did the Broker give us anything else to go off of?"

"Very little. Coordinates to meet an agent, and absence of any other useful information."

"Any long-range scans have come up short." Maya added. "I also checked through a manifest of all Broker personnel stationed here, and they were accountable via surveillance systems."

"Thanks. Anyone else in this town?"

The pilot tapped his fingers against the armrest of his seat. "Probably some Vorcha or Varren, but even scrappers have stayed away."

"Imagine there's a good reason." I commented, shook my head, and pushed off of the wall. "Guess I'll get the squad ready."

"Very well." The Salarian nodded and turned back toward the fore.

I headed down the bridge, flexing my hands by my side, having all-about a bad feeling about the upcoming raid. It would have been one thing if had been us taking on the attack and only us. The Shadow Broker agent was an addition that, frankly, I was uncomfortable with. Someone else who could shoot us in the back.

Well, I was sure optimistic about it all.

Stifling a chuckle, I paused at the holo-projector in the combat center, brought up a list of our inventory. Between MREs and protein bars, we had enough food to last our current squad nearly a month. Full rations, at that. Shaver blocks and weapon parts... enough for ten thousand rounds through each firearm; there were even a fair number of guns that weren't in anyone's loadout. Armor... well, we had a few spare sets of Assassin, medium, one heavy, plus Sam's inactive doomsday armor. Fuel and static charge would limit how long we could float in space or stay on the attack.

"Supplies." Delina quipped from right behind, sending me to jump as she stood there gleaming.

"Shut it." I grumbled, rolling my eyes and trying to pay more attention to the list.

"You deserved that." The arms specialist drawled as she punched me on the shoulder. "Now, you got grenades on there?"

"Um..." I had to look. "Just what's left from TIER."

"Yeah, ok. Cuz I picked up a few crates on Omega. The kind of stuff that Council groupies scowl at."

"Like what?" She had my attention before mentioning contraband.

"Oh, you know. Usual bandit shit. Infernos are pretty common. Also picked up some sticky thermite charges, too."

"And those do what, exactly?"

"Oh, they burn through anything in their way."

"Armor?"

"Yep."

"Ship hulls?"

"Anything, Forrest."

"Best bring a few of those." Oh, those would come in handy. I was grinning to think about the opportunities incoming.

"Yeah. So what's the plan? We're about to the LZ, aren't we?"

I nodded, gesturing to head towards the now-empty cargo bay; the two of us began to walk that way in stride. "Should be landing about three clicks out, then going in quiet from there. At least until we know what we're dealing with."

"I say we just bomb the place and be done with it." Delina grumbled as we started down the stairs.

"I'd be game, except we might have prisoners on our hands."

"Yeah? What gives you that idea?"

"Viola found a fair few cloaked Contractor ships headed out here. Said the only cloaked ships in their fleet were used for prisoners."

"You're just looking for an excuse to go and stab the fuck out of some Contractors."

"Not gonna argue otherwise." I smirked as we wandered into the cargo bay. Just the two of us. Seemed real spacious without the AA crates bogging us down. I sat down on one of the hoverbikes.

"Viola's alright." Delina commented somewhat out of the blue as she leaned against the gunship. "She built one hell of a reputation on Omega."

"Enough to get kicked off-station."

"Yeah, there's that, too. I was mostly talking about those twins being pureblood."

"Didn't figure you'd have a problem with that." Not unless there was serious hypocrisy going down.

"Hell, I never did. I was never trying to run an image game like they were, though. I'm sure they lost clients because of that." Delina paused to chuckle, rather concerning as she stood there with an impish smirk on her face. "And I'm sure they gained a few for it, too."

"Oh, here we go..." I rolled my eyes.

"Hey, you're the one with eyes on her. Not me."

"That's not -" I started to protest.

"I can pretty well figure how she caught you off-guard on Illium." Delina winked, obviously quite enjoying the opportunity to razz me.

"Yeah, I'm sure you could. Now can we just move on?"

"I'm not going to let you forget a damn thing. Just like old times."

"Well, I've got something for you."

"Yeah?"

"You know how Riva's Rana's daughter and all?"

"Yeah. So what?"

"Well, she was born in 2014."

Delina stared at me blank for several seconds, even as I indicated progress with my hand. "That's... Now I know why Rana started acting so weird, looking at her lap all the time and shit."

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, and?"

"And what?" The arms specialist shrugged.

"Don't you think...doesn't she remind you of anyone?"

Delina stared at me again. "Nuh-uh. Bullshit."

"Well, I doubt Rana was sleeping around."

Delina snorted, covered her mouth with her arm and starting laughing. "You... Oh goddess, that is fucking fantastic. You're a proud parent now!"

"Yeah... Something like that." I sat there with folded arms and waited for her to shape up.

"I can't believe that she messed something like that up. Rana, I mean. It's not that hard to meld without getting knocked up. Shit, I've managed to go all these years. Heh." Delina had to pause and wipe a tear from her eye as she leaned there, laughing away. "Ha. So does Riva know?"

"Yeah. We figured it out."

"Well. That's fucking fantastic. If she's your daughter, I like her that much more."

"What, you didn't like her for being Rana's daughter?"

"We didn't leave on the best terms, remember?" Delina spun a finger by her temple. "Some real rough words got shot back and forth. So yeah, I can like Riva that much more now. I just hope she's got the biotics you had."

"I already taught her how to charge."

"Look at you, all proud and stuffy." Delina chagrined and then suddenly paused with her face frozen as she stared at the stairwell. Then she laughed again. "Oye, Viola! What's the deal with those cloaked ships?"

I leaned back on the hoverbike, relieved that Delina had found someone to else to grief. Even if was a temporary reprieve, it would do.

Viola seemed rather taken aback as she came over, perhaps in part due to being yelled at from across the hold. "Well... I know that the Contractor utilizes very few in his fleet. They're expensive to build and maintain."

"Ok, and they've been flying over here?"

"There have been cloaked ships coming to and from this sector, yes. It would not be a rash assumption to say they are Contractor-sent."

"For intensive purposes, let's say they are." Delina frowned as she thought, leaning there against the gunship with her arms folded. "What would they usually be hauling?"

Viola paused at the front of my hoverbike, setting her right hand on the bars and glancing to me before looking back to Delina. "Valuable wares. Things that he doesn't want to risk sending out in the open. Specifically... prototypes, stolen tech, and prisoners."

"Well fuck." Delina scowled. "I guess we really can't blast the base. Not if there's prototypes involved."

"Not to mention Sam and Jakur." I scowled as I sat up, swinging a leg over the hoverbike and heading for the intercom unit by the weapon lockers.

Viola took hold of my arm, stopping me for the time being, and as I glanced back the ex-Contractor didn't seem worried. There was the fire in her eyes that I had seen once before. "If we run into Mender while we're down there -"

I interrupted. "We'll do everything we can to take that son of a bitch down."

The Asari nodded. "Then I will do everything in my power to back you up. You," She paused and glanced back at Delina, "And the team."

As Viola looked back to me, Delina was back there biting her tongue and grinning away. Eager as hell to give me flak.

I nodded once, acknowledging Viola's claimed support, then once more headed for the intercom. The ex-Contractor stayed by the hoverbike while I keyed the intercom. A moment's hesitation, then I announced: "We're about a minute away from the LZ. Ground team, meet up in the cargo bay."

Then let off of the button, placed my hand against the wall and stared at the intercom unit and thought to myself: what the hell am I getting them into this time?

I started towards the cargo bay ramp, glancing back as Torr came rushing out of the subdeck with a rifle and sword slung over his shoulders. About that time Riva came out of engineering, closing her omni-tool and holstering her SMG. The gang was all there. All five of us.

"Alright, listen up." I started once everyone was closer, except for Delina, who stayed over by the gunship. "We'll be landing about three clicks from this base. We'll head in on foot, meet up with this Broker agent, and clear out all Contractors. Fast and clean. Any questions?"

Everyone seemed to shake their heads as I looked about, Torr scuffing the floor with his boot as he waited.

"We're going into ruins, aren't we?" Viola asked.

"That's what the scans show, yeah." I nodded over at Delina. "You wanna take a high route and keep an eye out for trouble?"

"That would be my pleasure." The Asari deadpanned right back. "Do I get anyone to cover my back?"

"Riva?" I asked. "You wanna go with her? Make sure she keeps an eye on the rest of us?"

"Of course." The Vanguard nodded.

"Viola, Torr... We'll take a more direct -" I paused as the Ortona came to a grumbling landing, jarring against the landing struts; I activated the cargo bay ramp. "-Route. We'll try to stay as low as possible for now."

With that out of the way, I turned towards the lowering ramp, affixed the Mk.25 mask on my face, and drew my battle rifle. The ramp was nearly to the deck when I started out, Model 687 unfolding in my hands, hands loose on the stock as I hopped from the ramp to the deck and looked at the ruined city ahead, under a cover of low clouds that threatened to cast lightning or rain at any moment.

Must have been an plaza or the like, a two-hundred meter metal expanse encircled by towers and buildings. We'd be getting right into the mess of it, too – the metal towers with tops and walls missing, once elegant buildings collapsed and left to rust and fade away, streets in shambles. Hell, even if it wasn't in ruin, I still wouldn't recognize it – not from being there two centuries prior. Looked nothing the same. Hell, I only remembered one night there, wandering about a high Plaza with Rana on a 'date' that ended with us running from Contractor gunships and leaving a trail of carnage trying to get back to main dock. I doubted we were even on the same plaza high above the swamps below. The buildings were taller, had been taller before they were ravaged and left empty. Hovercars parked or crashed, fire damage in most places. Well, we had a general idea of the direction we needed to go, right down one of the main streets. It would have been boxed in, if not for all the debris along the side. Plenty of cover, and we could duck into the buildings if need be. With the butt of the rifle against my shoulder and the barrel aimed down, I nodded to the rest of the team to move out.

So there we were, wandering into the ruins of what used to be the main Zavalon city. Only this time, I was the one on point. Viola to my left, Torr to my right, as we started down the wide street.

"Try and keep up." Delina teased Riva before the two disappeared into a building on our left, trying to get higher ground and a better vantage.

The three of us continued down the street with rifles raised and nerves tense. Torr was muttering under his breath, complete nonsense as far as I could tell. Viola said nothing, only nodded as I glanced back to her. For a moment I didn't recognize the Asari with violet facepaint, wearing standard 517th mid-weight armor. Seemed so long ago that she wore showy Contractor armor and stood behind Mender. Hell, she didn't even seem the same – the sly arrogance was gone, the cold shell was gone. Now she trailed with her Voltage Carbine tight in her hands as she watched our left flank. A Lancer like the rest of us.

Hopefully.

xxxx