Skinless forms drifted towards her, dangling on the end of arachnid legs as Praetorians hovered through the air, eyes malevolently aglow. Rizzi backflipped into a rear blink – and went nowhere. Geth limbs clutched her in place, and she stared helplessly as the Praetorians drew closer. The flayed corpses on their legs stirred and looked up, began babbling nonsensical statements about songs and connectedness.

The closest Collector monster shook loose its impaled corpses with violent twitches and reached out. She was close enough to see the husk heads lolling around inside its maw. Rizzi screamed as the Praetorian lanced out with its forelegs and speared both her arms through the wrists. Pain screamed through her body as it hauled her into the air towards its beak-like jaw. It drew back, its jaw opening with a wet scrape and-

Susan's eyes snapped open as the data pad slipped out of her fingers to the deck with a dull clatter. Reflexively, she jolted upright on the bench before reaching down to retrieve the pad with a sheepish glance around. Two other operatives occupied the observation gallery, but they were engrossed in their conversation and paid her no attention.

Susan took a breath, held it, and then slowly released it, letting the residual rush of the nightmare flow out along with it. She paused for a moment, and wondered if it was a good thing that she was so accustomed to the dreams by now that she could so easily compartmentalize them. What was it Elijah had said about the ability to be horrified?

She returned her attention to the data pad and the tax forms staring balefully out at her. Logically, she knew the Systems Alliance needed all the funding it could get to prosecute the war. That it was probably a good sign that the bureaucracy, the system, was still running.

The greater part of her wanted to introduce whatever bureaucrat was responsible to a biotic fist.

She sighed as she reached the section for supplemental income and tabbed over to her accounts to check her accumulated hazard/combat pay- and blinked at the figures shown. When had that happened? Have I really run that many combat ops? she thought. She wasn't exactly able to purchase an apartment in the Presidium, but this was more money than she'd ever had before.

Not that it would mean anything if the Reapers killed them all.

She glanced out the observation window at the Crucible floating in the distance, then focused her attention back on the forms. Enter value, swipe. Enter value, swipe. She lost herself in the routine, and when she looked up again the observation gallery was empty, save for Elijah leaning on the doorframe smiling at her.

Susan rubbed her eyes. "How long have you been there?"

"Just got here," he said, moving into the gallery.

She noticed that he held one hand behind his back. "What have you been up to?"

"Dealing with procurement." He snorted. "Trying to get a strength enhancer out of them is like pulling teeth from a varren."

"Are you surprised by that?"

"Not particularly. You know what they did have, though?"

"Hmm?"

"Nasurnian chocolates. I thought you might like a box." He brought his hand out from behind his back, presented a package of the delicacies. A memory of the one time she'd had the salarian cultivated chocolates flooded back to her; the rich, earthy aroma, the unctuous texture on her tongue, the bittersweet flavor seizing her senses-

"I love you," she blurted.

Elijah grinned. "You only say that when I bring you-" He paused. "You've never said that."

Susan stiffened, bit her lip. Did that cross a line? Did she mean it? How would he take it?

He nodded once, then the smile spread across his face again. "I should buy you chocolates more often." Another moment passed before he cleared his throat and said, "So what are you working on there?"

A surge of relief swept through her, tinged with… what was that? Impatience? Regret? She flipped the pad around to show him the forms. "Taxes. Can you believe the bureaucracy, of all things, is still working?"

Elijah lifted the package. "I just spent forty minutes trying to get enhanced strength joints for power armor and came away with a box of chocolates. Oh, it's working all right."

Susan laughed once. She looked down at the tax forms, then back at Elijah. "Does it feel strange, the way we're making so many credits now in the middle of this war?"

"Yeah, a little. I was looking over my accounts the other day, and I… I actually can buy a small ship of my own now."

"Really? Wow. Is that really what you want? Fly off into the void and leave it all behind?"

"Not everything." He looked into her eyes. "I'm not talking about disappearing off the grid or anything, but… there's going to be a lot of need for small ships for reconstruction, I think. Maybe just searching for those who were separated, like families torn apart."

"Would you resign your commission, then?"

"I don't know. I'm a soldier, Susan. It's who I am, what I know. But sometimes I… I want to do something other than fight. I like being an N7, but…"

"… Sometimes you'd rather help put lives back together instead of take them apart?"

"Exactly."

Susan smiled at him, stood up, and moved to the window. She stared out at the Crucible. "If that thing works, you may get your chance."

"Maybe." Elijah joined her at the window. "Do we have any idea what that thing actually does?"

"Nope."

"That's reassuring."

"Well don't worry, it's not like we're putting all our hopes on that thing."

"I always preferred putting hope in those close to me."

"Do you think we have a future?" Susan blinked, felt her cheeks grow warm. "I mean, we the galaxy."

Elijah looked at her for a long moment, then smiled faintly. "Yes."

"And what'd you say after that?" Lisa asked an hour later in one of the mess halls.

"I… stuttered some excuses and ran away," Susan said.

Lisa sat still at the table for a moment, then put her sandwich down and arched an eyebrow at Susan. "Why?"

"It's… I… I didn't want him to mistake my meaning."

Lisa rolled her eyes. "What are you, twelve? If he's important to you, just tell him."

"I don't want to set anybody up for disappointment." Maybe myself most of all.

"What are you scared of?"

Susan's lips twitched. Heartbreak. Losing someone else I cared about. "Maybe this just isn't the right time for this. A relationship."

"You know this war is probably gonna kill us all, right?"

"That would support my position."

Lisa sighed. "Susan, if not now, then when? If you've got something worthwhile, make the most of it." She took a bite out of her sandwich as Susan digested the words. "Besides, the way he looks at you, I wouldn't worry. You two are tearing each other's clothes off in the armory. Enjoy it."

"Why am I talking to you about this?"

"You're asking me? I was just eating my sandwich." Lisa's eyes flicked over Susan's shoulder. "What do you think?"

"Honestly, it surprises me you've taken this long to come to any sort of decision," Maiena said from behind Susan. The asari slid onto the bench next to her. "Humans have always seemed to rush through life to me. One decision after another, so quickly."

"Hey sweetie, if we lived a thousand years, we'd take some things slow too," Lisa said.

"That is precisely my point," Maiena said. "Among asari, staying bonded for life is practically unheard of. We almost inevitably outlive mates from other species, and most asari couples will eventually separate, even if only for seasons at a time. We speak of the long view, seeing the ocean instead of the waves. It can foster a certain… detachment, especially in the area of relationships."

"Okay," Susan said. "I see that; the long view."

"The way you humans throw yourselves into love - so consuming yet carefree – is… intoxicating, terrifying."

Susan frowned. "What are you saying?"

"She's saying she's impressed you aren't ravishing Mister Stabby right now," Lisa grinned.

Maiena smiled sweetly, the curve of her lips like a drawn bow. "Must I break out the Stasis field again?"

"Ooh, you know you want to." Lisa leaned in.

"Perhaps later."

"I'll be sure to misbehave-"

"Hush now," Maiena said, then turned back to Susan. "I have often wondered why you seem to rush through your affairs. Now I understand."

"The Reapers," Susan nodded.

"Yes. There is every likelihood that none of us will end our days in peace. I feel as if I understand now, why humans seem to rush through life. With so little time, every moment seems precious."

Susan sighed. "But look at what we do, Maiena. This job doesn't exactly lend itself to stable, healthy relationships, does it? Not to mention the risks… How do asari do it? I mean, any kind of committed interspecies relationship you go for, you're going to outlive the other person."

"Barring a premature death, yes. Hence the detachment that sets in. But consider this: would you rather have the experience of that love and its attendant loss, or deny yourself both the pleasure and the pain? The two often go hand-in-hand." She shot a quick glance at Lisa's expression. "Not that way."

"Oh, come on." Lisa licked her lips. "I'll be really bad…"

"Later."

"Okay." Susan put her hands flat on the table and rose to her feet. "This has gotten off track. I think I'd best leave you two alone."

"Susan." She turned back at Lisa's sober tone. "You know how people always say don't do anything that you'll regret?"

"Yes?"

"The regret's much worse when it's too late to do something you know should have."

Susan gazed at Lisa silently for a moment, then nodded.

"Go ahead, Lieutenant." The guard to Intel Sector Two nodded to Susan and opened the door for her. She stepped through into the familiar corridor and made her way past several groups of other operatives to her assigned briefing room. A week after returning from Noveria, Susan noticed the increased activity among various teams. Operatives piled up in procurement and training halls while intelligence and command personnel vanished for long stretches at a time.

Elijah stood outside by the door. "Are you alright?" he asked as she approached. "You seem a little… distracted these past few days."

"Nothing that'll distract from the next mission," she said.

"That's great, but what about you?"

"I'm… figuring some things out." On impulse Susan stepped closer and hugged him, rested her head on his shoulders.

"Do you need me to do anything?"

"No," she whispered.

"Don't you two have a briefing to be at?"

They sprang apart at Akitaiko's sudden comment. The commander stood a meter away, data pad in hand as he looked at them with a face like a carved mask.

"Sir!"

Akitaiko maintained his stony expression for another second, then slipped into a half-smile. "Get in there."

"Yes sir."

Lisa and Maiena already occupied the little briefing room when they filed in. They came to attention as Akitaiko swept around the table in the center of the room and flipped the projector on. He leaned onto the table upon his fists and let out a tired sigh. "Alright people, time to get back to work. We've got some updates first, though."

"What's going on, sir?" Susan said.

Akitaiko picked up his data pad, worked at it for a few moments. The projector lit up and Lisa twitched as a holographic image of a Collector trooper sprang into existence. "We have the accounts of Collector forces from Thessia. Command hoped it was an isolated incident, but no such luck."

"There are more of the bastards around?" Lisa said.

"A lot more. Collector forces have been running roughshod over territories in Inner Council Space. The only thing that's slowed them down so far is Tuchanka. We've got word that the Collectors have landed some major forces." Another tap changed the holographic Collector trooper into a planet: a beaten brown orb, scarred by the marks of war.

Susan blinked. "We're going to Tuchanka?"

"It gets better. As you can imagine, Commander Shepard's accounts of his encounters with Collector forces have become quite the vogue. There's a disturbing trend we've noticed. Shepard's reports indicated that individual Collectors could become empowered during combat."

The hologram of Tuchanka turned back into a Collector. A second one appeared in the air next to it; glowing crackling yellow-orange lines arced over its body.

"We saw some of that on Thessia," Maiena said.

"Shepard referred to it as 'possession' in his reports. We thought it was their leader, an entity known as the Collector General." Akitaiko sighed again. "It's looking like it's the influence of the Reapers. And while Shepard only saw this occur to basic Collector troops, there are accounts of this possession happening to both light and heavy units."

The projector switched over to a flickering helmet-cam record. A trio of marines hunkered in the midst of a colony; the prefab buildings could have been any of dozens or hundreds such colonial sites. Mangled groundcars had been shoved together to form a makeshift barricade. As they watched, two of the marines sprayed suppressive fire into surrounding buildings as Collector troops returned fire. The cam view swung around to reveal a manhole cover shoved aside by a charred, fiery looking husk arm.

The glowing Abomination head followed out of the sewer, and the owner of the helmet cam stitched it with a burst of rifle fire. The view shook madly as the Abomination exploded and Susan flashed back to the battles on Thessia, rubbing her leg where she'd been a little too close to one of the volatile attackers. The soldier whose suit they were watching through hurled a grenade down the sewer, then spun around again in time to see another Abomination with that ominous yellow glow clamber over one of the cars. It hurled itself towards one of the marines, twitched as a series of rounds stitched across its torso, and-

The playback whited out and faded to static.

"There wasn't much left of that squad," Akitaiko said quietly. "All the material we have on Collector engagements has been made available. I suggest you all do some reading when you've got time."

"So we're going to Tuchanka to fight Collectors," Lisa said. "Would you like us to bag you a Reaper cap ship while we're at it?"

Akitaiko's smile sent shivers down Susan's spine. "Oh, there's more."

"Sir?"

"The universe, it appears, has thrown us a curveball. We've had contact with a… faction, claiming to be the ones ultimately responsible for the creation of the Reapers."

"What?" Maiena said. "How can that be?"

"They've been around for a long time, hiding all the while."

Lisa leaned forward. "They just… let the Reapers loose on the galaxy and sat back?"

"Not exactly. The information is scarce, but from what we've been able to piece together, these… Leviathans created some kind of AI that ended up turning on them. It was directly responsible for the Reapers and the Leviathans went into hiding from the Reapers."

"And Shepard got them to join the fight," Elijah said.

"How did you know that?"

"We met the Normandy's pilot," Susan said. "He didn't go into detail exactly how they were going to do that, though."

"The Leviathans have, ah, loaned us devices they claim disrupt the signals Reapers use to control their forces. They can force them to battle themselves."

"So they claim."

"We do have some convincing evidence that they're telling the truth. Devices deployed against Reaper forces have gotten results." Akitaiko switched the projector view to a shimmering, opalescent green orb. "This is what you'll be handling."

"What's the mission?" Elijah asked.

"The target is a Collector base. Nothing like that one Shepard attacked; it appears to be some sort of troop transport crossed with colony ship. We've seen them before. They typically carry loads of Collectors in pods, like they're in some sort of hibernation. Your mission is to deploy some of these Leviathan devices throughout the Collector base. The hope is that these devices can also sever the Reapers' control over the Collectors."

"The hope?" Lisa said. "And if it doesn't work? Four of us in the middle of a Collector base aren't going to last long."

"I know. We've been coordinating with the krogan leadership, and they're readying an assault on the base. We've convinced them to run a joint op here; the assault team will hold off on attacking that base until you've placed those devices. If they work, we'll have neutralized a Collector foothold. If not, the assault team will move in."

"Are we inserting in directly?" Maiena asked.

"Not this time. The krogan do not have control of that local airspace. It sounds like the Collector ship has extensive air defenses. You'll be going in overland, with the assault team behind. You'll set out from Clan Gatatog territory."

"Let me get this clear, sir," Lisa said. "We're going for a hike on Tuchanka to an enemy base filled with giant armed bugs, bringing unproven devices of arguably Reaper origin, in the hope that they'll somehow neutralize the Collectors while we're in the middle of said base?"

"That about sums it up, yes. Any other questions?"

She snorted. "How do I get out of this chickensh-"

"Lieutenant."

"Sorry sir. Operation Self-Sodomizer is a go."

"I'll pass along your naming recommendations." Akitaiko's mouth twitched in what might have been the briefest shadow of a grin. "Anyone else?"

Susan cleared her throat. "Commander, any news about Naomi? What's going to happen to her?"

"I'm not entirely sure," Akitaiko said. "I was reassigned to this problem before they reached any conclusions."

"Oh."

"I know there are talks of activating the mechs, using them as operatives."

"What, all of them?" Elijah said.

"Yes, and possibly building more."

Lisa crossed her arms. "Am I the only one seeing the irony in how we seem to be growing increasingly dependent on synthetics in a war for our survival against synthetics?"

"I think that means it's bigger than a synthetic versus organic issue," Susan said. She frowned. "Sir, Naomi displayed the characteristics of sentience, according to Council guidelines. If we force her to fight, isn't that like using a slave soldier? And if we do this with all those mechs, we'd be using a slave army to do our dirty work. How would we be different from the Reapers? Or Cerberus indoctrinating people?"

"Lieutenant." Akitaiko's voice was a scalpel. He let out a long sigh. "I don't make those decisions. And… we may not have the luxury of those considerations."

"Of treating sentient beings like we should?"

"Lieutenant."

"Sir." Susan bit off her reply.

"We're not exactly going to override their systems brute force against their will. We're not there." He didn't say the yet, but she still heard it.

"And if things keep going the way they are?"

Akitaiko was silent for a long moment. "You know the stakes. In any event, that's not the mission right now."

"Are we still aboard the Salvador for this mission?" Maiena said.

"Negative. She's still undergoing repairs. In light of the unusual circumstances of this mission, we'll be aboard the Kaybani for this one. She's an STG stealth vessel designed for quick and quiet insertions."

"And the krogan have no objection to an STG vessel?"

"Desperate times, Huntress. Kaybani is still in transit. Final departure details will be sent out once they arrive. In the meantime, I suggest you review Shepard's reports about his assault on a Collector ship and the facility beyond the Omega Four relay. Dismissed. Lieutenant Rizzi, a word please."

Susan stiffened as the others retreated from the room. She took a quick breath as she prepared for one of Akitaiko's legendary chewing outs, and stared straight ahead.

He sighed again. "At ease, Rizzi. Does our prosecution of this war bother you?"

"Sir?"

"Your objection to the potential treatment of the Noverian AI units. Concern for sentient rights." He looked at her for a moment. "That's admirable, it really is. But like I said, those may be luxuries we can't afford."

"Sir, I don't believe we need to compromise who we are to fight this war."

"Also admirable. But that may not be the case. You've looked around at who we're fighting alongside?"

"What do you mean?"

"Do you know who the commander of the batarian forces is? Balak."

Susan frowned.

"Sound familiar? That bastard nearly dropped an extinction level asteroid on Terra Nova. And now he's sitting down at strategic meetings with Admiral Hackett. You think all those krogan and vorcha troops were innocent of atrocities before this war? Did you know we've taken Talon Mercenaries onto the payroll?"

"No, sir."

"It wasn't all that long ago you would have been running ops against them. We have Cerberus defectors, die-hard human supremacists, on teams instead of awaiting trial. Times change."

"And we need the fighters."

"Yes, yes we do. You remember Halson's course on the principles of command during the N7 program?"

"Yes, sir."

"Sometimes there are no right answers. Most of the time, when it comes to warfare. Every single manual when it comes to the conduct of conflict should begin with 'Step One: Don't.' But that's not the galaxy we live in."

"No, I suppose it isn't."

"Look, Susan, I can't say I approve of every decision that's been made during this war. But this isn't like any other war we've fought before. We're not talking about a misunderstanding over mass relay protocols with the turians or border disputes with the batarians. We're talking about the survival, the continued existence, of not just humanity, but every other sentient species in the galaxy."

"And so we throw away that which makes us human?"

"If we need to. And that decision isn't up to you or me. It's up to the chain of command, Lieutenant."

"Affirmative, sir."

"If it's any consolation about Naomi, the geth have already offered to integrate the Noverian AIs into their collective, offer them a… call it a 'home.' Murder Machine has been attempting to convince Naomi to support us against the Reapers, and while she hasn't committed to anything, at least she's not hostile to it. We are asking, not forcing."

"For now."

"Yes, for now. That's all I can give you."

"Yes, sir. I appreciate it. And my concerns won't affect the upcoming mission."

"I know. Dismissed."

"It's like a sauna in here," Lisa said as she collapsed down onto the oblong gel-filled pod of her bunk. Susan grunted an agreement; as a result of their amphibious roots salarians tended to prefer environments warmer and more humid than humans and asari. Moving around the STG ship felt like walking through a thick steam cloud, and she wasn't sure if the droplets of beaded moisture that constantly clung to the back of her neck were sweat or just the ambient humidity.

Susan put down the report detailing Shepard's experiences within the Collector base and shifted on her own bunk, trying to ignore the odd sinking sensation of the soft gel pad. She assumed it was another influence of the amphibious nature of their hosts. Laying on one felt much like floating in a pool of water, a feeling exacerbated by the constant humidity.

"Lisa," she said.

"Hmm?"

"On New Canton, did you ever encounter these 'possessed' Collectors?"

"No. You talking about Shepard's reports?"

"Yeah. The report calls them 'Harbingers' and mentions it communicated with his team."

"Pfft. If you call psychotic ranting communication."

"It's still more than we've ever seen from any Reaper troops."

Lisa shot her an incredulous glance. "Please don't tell me you want to talk to the Reapers now."

"No, but aren't you interested in why they'd talk to Shepard?"

"Cause it's Shepard? Guy who killed Saren and has been shouting about Reapers ever since? So what? I wouldn't want to be the one who attracted the personal attention of the Reapers."

"Hmm, good point."

The hatch to their cramped quarters slid open with a wet, sucking sound. Elijah and Maiena stepped through; the Vanguard held a box of assorted flavor nutrient gels. Lisa looked over. "Oh yummy, is that dinner?"

"Trust me; you don't want what they're serving in the mess."

Maiena nodded and took one of the gel packets. "I've had kunji worms before. Once."

Susan looked up at her words, eyes widening. "That sounds… unappetizing."

"You don't want details," Elijah said. "Just take one of these."

"I believe you." She plucked a strawberry flavored packet for herself and tore it open, scrunching her face at its intense sweetness. "You know, at this point I'm almost looking forward to Tuchanka. At least it'll be dry."

"Until we reach the Collector facility," Maiena said. Her eyes roamed over to Lisa. "Will you be… all right to face them again?"

Lisa's face grew still and blank; she nodded once.

"Alright then," Elijah said. He tore open his own meal and grabbed a data pad on his bunk. "Let's go over some of their security systems again."

"Seeker swarms," Susan said. "Do they function as sentries?"

"Possibly," Maiena said. "The ones we've encountered appear to behave differently from the ones described in these reports."

"Localized and concentrated, instead of area saturation."

"Yes. There is little conclusive evidence for whether they are remotely controlled or fire-and-forget weapons."

"Right. Best to assume we're going loud if we have to deal with them."

"Doors," Lisa said. "The team needed a specialist to get through some of the doors. And we don't have a quarian admiral on hand."

"She included a detailed analysis in her report," Elijah said. "Thank God one of them did. Have you seen the report from the biotic that warded off the seekers?"

"Jack?" Susan said, grinning. "I think it's safe to say not all of Shepard's team had formal military background."

"Returning to the topic," Lisa said, "it's probably a good bet that hacking open their doors will trigger a response."

"Yeah. We're looking at this op going real loud real fast a bunch of different ways," Elijah said.

Susan groaned and flopped back down onto her bunk. "Well, I've got nothing. We don't even know the layout of the Collector facility we're hitting."

"We'll deal with that when we get there." Elijah set his data pad down, rubbed his eyes. "And we still don't know if these Leviathan gadgets will work."

"Don't go tinkering with them," Susan said. "It sounds like they do some sort of… reverse indoctrination."

"No worries; I don't plan on fiddling with them any more than I really have to."

Susan sat up, drew her knees to her chest. "I don't want to lose you."

"I… can't promise that, Susan." Lisa and Maiena went silent, eyes flicking back and forth between them. "But I'll do my best."

"I guess that's all we really have." She reached out and took his hand. "It'll have to be enough."

Susan's first sight of Tuchanka painted a simultaneous image of bleak devastation and rustic beauty. Streamers of ash clouds drifted across an orange sky. Clouds of dust obscured towering forms of metal, concrete, and stone out to the horizon. Derelict buildings. Nearly two thousand years before they'd been uplifted by the salarians, the krogan had discovered nuclear weapons and turned them upon each other with an enthusiasm that made the worst fears of Earth's early nuclear age look like an underachieving elementary school student. That the krogan had survived as a species, she knew, was more a testament to krogan resilience and reproduction rates than restraint.

The heat hit her all at once as they disembarked from the salarian shuttle. The wind howled past her like the heat exhaust of shuttle. In truth, she was glad to be away from the humidity of salarian environments. She glanced around their surroundings; calling the beaten dirt circle they'd touched down on a landing pad was overly generous. About thirty meters across, stone slabs as wide as Susan was tall ringed the perimeter, making her think of a massive fire pit.

Susan turned back to the open shuttle hatch and reached out to grab the end of the crate containing the equipment they'd brought. She hauled it out and set it down just in time for Elijah to shove the next gray container towards her; it held their field gear like deployable tents, water purifiers, and field rations; all the necessities for a backpacking trip on a barely hospitable planet. That went down into the reddish soil next to the box of guns and armor.

The final crate came her way: a white cube marked with hazard symbols. Just looking at it made her innards writhe and twist like a hanar underwater. The crate cradled four of the Leviathan devices. By unspoken agreement, the team kept them sequestered away until they would have no choice but to openly carry them.

The shuttle hatch shut nearly before the squad had all left. Without further ado it lifted off, the round salarian shuttle swimming through the air as its thrusters made a fraction of the noise a Kodiak did. Susan didn't blame them; the genophage may have been cured, but generations of ill will still persisted. She wouldn't want to be a salarian crew caught alone in the middle of a krogan clan.

"Welcome to Tuchanka." Susan twitched at the sudden voice behind them, spun around with the rest of the squad. A krogan stood two meters away from them, shrouded in dusty brown robes that partly obscured the battered light armor he wore underneath. He held an equally battered Mantis rifle. How'd he get there without us noticing?

The krogan smiled, as if he'd heard her thoughts. "I'm Tharnok, Scoutmaster for Clan Gatatog."

"Susan Rizzi, N7."

Tharnok laughed. "The Furious Graal. Good, good!"

The rest of the squad introduced themselves as they grabbed the crates. Tharnok's eyes kept flickering over the horizon.

"Have you had much contact with the Collectors?" Elijah asked.

The krogan shrugged. "Not much. Blew up some smaller outposts, sniped some of the lumpy big ones. Nothing exciting. That everything you brought? This way." He turned towards a seemingly random derelict building and pointed. Tharnok moved towards a sealed stone door, barely distinguishable from the rest of the ziggurat's walls. The scout turned and watched in all direction as he walked, rifle up and footsteps remarkably silent. "Quickly. Getting caught in the open is bad here."

Susan spotted five concealed weapon nests as they approached the ziggurat. The door, nearly twice as tall as her and nearly as wide, swung inwards with a grinding rumble she felt through the ground. A stone ramp sloped downwards, its surface worn smooth over the ages. Lights embedded in the ceiling cast weak glows along the length of the corridor, which ended in a corner about thirty meters away. Blast marks and gun slits gave mute testimony to the purpose of the passage.

"Lovely place," Lisa said. "Very homey."

"Krogan hospitality," Tharnok said. "Real warm; bullets and incendiaries. Gotta love the classics. Come on, I'll take you to Vonshar, the clan leader. He's eager to speak with you."

"Rizzi!" Susan turned her head at the shout as the squad entered the bunker's meeting hall. A holotable sat in the middle of the rectangular chamber, scuffed and battered like all the other krogan equipment they'd seen. Over two dozen krogan crowded the room, filling it with a dry, musky scent. Various armor marks and colors gave Susan the feel of an Expressionist painting.

"Lurg!" She grinned as the krogan Vanguard pushed through the crowd towards her. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm part of the assault team," he said. "Fighters who have experience working with aliens are in high demand these days. So what have you been up to? Last I saw you-"

"Tharnok!" The bass rumble of the krogan voice sounded like boulders in an industrial grinder. "Those offworlders finally get here?"

"They're here."

"Good." The voice came from a krogan with yellowish skin and a head plate so dark it was nearly black. He was taller than the other krogan, and stood at the head of the holotable. "We can finally get to action."

"Gatatog Vonshar, I presume?" Susan said.

"That's me. Don't bother with names; I won't remember them and I don't care. This whole mission sticks me the wrong way. Unknown toys that make the enemy turn on each other? Sounds like wishful thinking to me."

"And where's the fun in having the enemy kill each other?" one of the other krogan said. A chorus of rumbling assents circled the room.

"The fun lies in victory," Lurg said. "There's plenty more monsters to kill out in the stars."

Tharnok nodded. "We shouldn't lose sight of the greater battles. Only fools lose wars to win skirmishes."

Vonshar pounded a fist into the table surface. Either he had remarkable aim or the table had long ago learned to interpret his percussive demands, for it crackled once and then projected a holographic map. An angry red splotch covered nearly half of it. "I already gave Wrex my word that I'd cooperate with the aliens. If that doesn't work, the assault team goes in and flattens everything."

"Works for me," Lisa muttered.

"Your team will go in first," Vonshar said. "You won't travel with the assault team; too much attention." He pointed to a spot on the map near the red section. "We can insert you by Tomkah here, and you'll have to go the rest of the way on foot. Tharnok will guide you in."

"When do we leave?" Susan said.

"Tomorrow morning. The assault beasts are still en route. We'll head out then."

"We'll be ready."

"You'd better be. We'll get one chance at this."