"Mel?"

Melara stood on the beach, a short distance away from the camp site. Her boots were just above the water line, and she was looking at the glimmering sunlight on the smooth lake with a distant, troubled expression.

Liara reached her daughter's side, and gently took her hand. "Mel?"

"How can we fix this, Mama?" Melara asked softly. "Were the Reapers really the right choice? The only choice?"

"I refuse to believe that," Liara said. "I refuse to believe that so much death and destruction was the only way."

"No," Melara said wearily, without malice. "No, you just don't want to believe that you and Bába fought so hard and lost so much in the War for what may very well be the wrong reason."

"Melara," Liara said gently. "Your father fought her whole life trying to do what was right. That is never the wrong reason."

"And now? We know better now, Mama. If the Senate comes, will fighting them be the wrong reason? Is it right to try and survive when you know doing so will lead to the inevitable collapse of the entire universe as you know it, and trillions more just like it? They are just trying to stay alive, like we are. They had a solution- it was poor, it was barbaric, it was vicious- but it was the best of a bad situation. They could have chosen just to sterilize the infected galaxies. Instead they tried to at least let us live…if only for a while."

"I know," Liara said sadly.

"Now what's left for them to do? Their quarantine failed. The entire universe is again at risk. They've only got one choice that I can see. Invade and wipe us out, sterilize the entire galaxy-not just of advanced sentient life but of all life. If we're lucky, they'll stop with just the Milky Way and leave the other quarantined galaxies alone. If not, they may just decide to sterilize them too while they're at it. They'll even sacrifice their own lives to do it. I mean, the invading force can never go home, can it? They'll risk bringing the 'infection' along with them if they leave again. So we won't just be fighting troops with tech far in advance of us- we'll be fighting advanced suicide troops, a force that comes here knowing going in that they're never coming out again anyway. If they win, they kill themselves in the process of sterilization. The enemy will literally have nothing to lose."

Melara looked out over the water, her hand gripping tighter to her daughter's. "Then there is only one option. We must find a way to fix this problem. We must find a way to repair the 'holes' and stop the flood of eezo and dark energy, so that our universe can heal."

"How?" Melara stared at her. "It's in our very blood, Mama! It permeates almost everything! Fixing this would be like reversing gravity, stopping time-"

"We have done both," Liara said. "Stasis fields, anti-grav-"

"In tiny, controlled areas, Mama. Not galaxy wide! Not a hundred galaxies wide!"

"Up until recently, no one in our galaxy- not a million species over millions of years-were able to stop the Reapers. No one was able to create Folds in the very fabric of existence. The impossible is only impossible until it is done. If I have learned nothing else in this life, my love, I have learned this: the impossible can be accomplished. Some people have even made careers out of doing it."

Melara was silent a long moment, and her mother squeezed her hand again, gently. "You asked what we do. We keep fighting, we keep trying, we keep looking, and we never give up. That is what we do, dear heart. That is all we can do."

Athena sat on the floor of her tiny quarters on her small ship, trying to meditate.

For most asari- even for Athena at first- mediation was a way of achieving peace within one's self. To center, to find balance, an oasis in the chaos that was life.

As a child, the Wolf had showed her how to meditate, even at the same time she was teaching her mother. Eír had never before really learned. Gellian never told her or showed her how. When they'd gotten to Tuchanka, the other asari merely saw her apparent age and assumed she knew how to do it. As meditation tended to be a very private matter, it was simply never brought up to her, until she was on Aratoht and the nightmares had grown violent. Shrive then discovered the truth.

She was teaching her the basic methods when she had been killed. After that, Eír had been far too lost in her own anger and grief to even think of meditation again.

Until she met Zyara.

It was a very fond memory that Athena had of her father. Sitting in a quiet and peaceful room together, finding that serene and healing stillness deep within. Just being aware of her father's presence, strong and silent and infinitely comforting.

Then somewhere along the way, it changed. It became harder and harder to find that peaceful oasis within her own spirit. Her meditations grew more difficult to attain and even more difficult to maintain, taking longer to enter into and lasting only briefly.

The restlessness that resulted had spurred her around the galaxy, trying to find a substitute for that peace and understanding of her own being. It was that restlessness that had put her on Omega when the young Melara Shepard had been there on shore leave. It was that restlessness that had coincidentally brought her into contact with the first subtle hints of the greater, extragalactic danger.

And those hints were her refuge. She latched on to them, focusing all her energy upon them. In a way, the hunt for the truth, the work that lead her to the nanites in Shepard's head, that lead her to taking over the Brokerage, that lead her to that ship on the methane moon…all of it was her new version of meditation, her way of being at peace within herself.

Yet it lasted only brief moments. Something deep within kept driving her on, forcing her harder into that chaotic place.

Now she sat, futilely trying to find her old refuge again, that place of balance inside that had once been such a source of joy.

And like a fish in a fast stream, each time she thought she was near to grasping it, it eluded her.

Her thoughts kept breaking, going toward the data, toward the threat, toward plots and plans and scenarios. The brasa and the Senate were powerful. If they still existed as they once had, they controlled everything beyond the quarantined galaxies. The Milky Way natives wouldn't stand a chance, not really…especially not without competent leadership. Melara would baby the Council, the Council would wring their hands and plot strategies…

Strategies are not what we need. We need power. We need to be stronger than the threat, dominate it-

"Athena?"

Her eyes opened in a dark scowl, fixing the quarian merc in the doorway. For a moment, the barest of breaths, she didn't even recognize her, seeing only intruder, a disturber of her thoughts.

Then she blinked, her eyes shifting back to their normal color as the thin sheen of biotics vanished from her skin. "Red?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb your meditation," Red said, her voice carrying a note of wary caution, her brows knitting almost imperceptibly. "Irie's had a communication from the Council. She's leaving."

"Leaving?" Athena got to her feet, striding for the door. Red turned and followed her. "Leaving where?"

"Kallini-" Red began, and Athena scowled.

"The monastery?" She asked, but didn't wait for an answer. Red trotted to keep up as they left the small ship and headed across the Oasis bay toward Gerty's vessel, where the pair were clearly loading up. Lifting her voice she spoke to Irie, drawing her cousin's attention.

"Why are you going to the monastery?" Athena demanded. "Why did you not tell me?"

Irie lifted a brow. "I just sent Red to tell you," she said calmly. "I myself only got the request a few minutes ago. The Alliance forces looking into the Jabberwocky attack have discovered what appears to be an ancient anchor in a narrow cave less than a mile from the complex. They believe it is where the Jabberwock came from. There are other artifacts in the cave, and as I am the utmost authority on Fold anchors in our galaxy they have asked me to come."

Athena's demeanor changed to concerned almost immediately. "Did you tell them to dismantle it?"

"From the images they sent to me it appears to be attached to unfamiliar equipment. It could merely be energy gathering pylons that power the anchor itself, but I do not dare suggest they dismantle it without knowing precisely what they are and what they do. Tampering with them blindly could lead to catastrophe. However we also cannot risk the anchor being reactivated on the extragalactic side and an army pouring through. They have encased it in a strong static barrier. If a Fold is opened before it can be dismantled, nothing will be able to pass through it. Still, I must leave immediately. I do not want to leave that anchor intact for a moment longer than necessary-the risk is too great, even with a barrier."

Athena looked at Red. "We'll come as well."

"That is appreciated but not necessary-"

"Things are well in hand here," Athena said to her. "That merchant ship of Gerty's only has basic weaponry. My ship is far better armed. Let us escort you."

Gerty reluctantly looked at her, then glanced at Irie. "If nothing else, these two at least have experience fighting the Jabberwocks and other aliens…and she's right. Her ship is better equipped."

"And you would rather have us where you can watch us," Athena said tightly. The human man straightened, and Irie held her hand out toward him gently.

"I'm not offended by this," Athena said. "It's what I would do if I didn't trust someone. Your man has no reason to trust me, and I don't particularly care if he does nor not. This is also not a request. We're escorting you, Irie. You're the only one who understands this Fold technology inside and out, and if anything happened to you, your mother and your sister wouldn't be able to do their jobs as efficiently, which may very well mean losing the galaxy. You're a vital asset-"

"She's your cousin, not just an asset," Gerty said angrily. "You should want to keep her safe just for that reason alone."

"Gerty…" Irie said softly.

Athena narrowed her eyes at him, then looked back at Irie. "We are escorting you."

"We are departing imminently," Irie said simply, then turned back to the merchanter. Athena didn't even bother giving Gerty a final glare, turning back toward her own ship, Red beside her.

"Let's get flight prep done and get ready to depart."

"Melara, I normally do not question your wisdom in such matters," Councilor V'Dess said tautly, her soft-light holographic form shimmering on the beach just outside of the lake camp. "However this is unacceptable. You broke Council sanction and confidentiality agreements and informed the rakir about the brasa and the extragalactic threat."

"I did," Melara said.

"And you told them you would provide them whatever information you found on that sunken Goruba ship, as well as the ship itself?"

"Not precisely," Melara said. "Karina, I know I stepped over the line. However, if the brasa threat is real and if they come to this galaxy in force, the rakir will be a primary target. They deserved to know that."

"We will all be primary targets, Captain," Karina told her. Using her rank instead of her first name told Mel just how angry she was.

"If I kept the information away from the Ubuuta she'd know," Melara said. "If I lied to her, she'd know."

"And the treaty would be in danger," Karina said. "A treaty with a primitive species that has no space flight and no comparable weapons. From my understanding the Affliction is cured now, the rakir no longer in danger of extinction. I would rather risk a simple war with a species that cannot even fight us off their own soil than to risk a galaxy wide panic and the loss of that ship and that data."

Melara felt bile raise in her throat at even having to speak the words. "With the rakir on our side we will not lose the data and the ship. They trust me. So long as we continue to be honest with them we will have their full support in any war that strikes this galaxy. Now that they are breeding again that adds up to a potentially significant infantry, and if the Senate actually see them on the front lines it may just work to our advantage."

"I am surprised at you, Melara," Karina said, astonished. "You are proposing to use them just as the krogan were used during the rachni wars."

Melara glared angrily. "No. It's not the same," she said, even though her gut was saying her excuses as to why it wasn't were poor. "The krogan were uplifted specifically to be cannon fodder against the rachni, and they were neutered and all but abandoned afterward in thanks. We uplifted the rakir to save their lives and their culture. I do not propose to use them lightly, or against their will, and I certainly don't propose neutering them all afterward. It comes down to this, Karina- if this war comes we can either fight it with the rakir on our side and willingly cooperative, or we can wipe them out or quarantine them again and fight without them."

"You speak as if we actually need them in order to win a war with the Senate if they do invade," Karina said stiffly. "They are a primitive species, numbering only a few million. No ships, no technology-how much of a difference could they make?"

"I don't know, Councilor," Melara said tautly. "How much of a difference did the volus make in the War? How much of a difference did the hanar make? For that matter, how much of a difference did a single human from the slums of New York make?"

"That is not fair, Melara-"

"It's the truth, Karina. If the Senate actually invades the Milky Way we will lose. They out tech us by millions of years. They will be stronger and smarter and faster and infinitely more powerful than the Reapers were- and we needed every single species in this galaxy and a super weapon to turn the tide with them. What chance do you think we have if the force behind the Reapers actually comes down on us? It's true…the rakir will likely make absolutely no difference if it comes to full on war with the Senate. They have no technology to offer, no medicines or advancements or unique strategies. However I see no benefit in lying to them, and only a broken treaty and useless deaths otherwise. We either uplifted them so they could be a part of this galaxy-and that includes choosing whether or not they will bleed and die for it-or we might as well just wipe them out now and leave. I for one believe we need all the allies we can get right now, however small we think their contributions may be."

Karina straightened, then shook her head. After a moment she said, "I disagree with your judgment here, Melara, but you are a Council Spectre and I have long learned to trust you on such things. At any rate, what is done is done. You are providing the rakir with a copy of the data from Goruba?"

"Yes, they are getting a full copy- but so are we. We will have exactly what they have."

"And the ship itself?"

"If the ship proves to be sentient and self-aware our options are limited. To give her anything less than her own full autonomy would risk war with the geth, the other synths, and very probably the quarians as well- and they are not so easily brushed aside as hostile rakir might be. If she is not sentient or her higher mind is damaged beyond repair we'll explore our options to whatever gives us the best advantage."

"And if that means taking her from the rakir?"

"We will have to cross that bridge when it's come to. If you do decide to 'steal' Goruba, I do not want to know about it."

"Very well. I have your full report, Captain. Keep us upraised. Kar-" She suddenly paused and blinked as her omni-tool lit up. She looked at it, then held up her free hand. "Wait, Captain. I have incoming information from the Alliance. They have found what appears to be a Fold anchor close to the monastery site. They have it as secure as they can at the moment but they have requested Irie come and look at it before they risk dismantling it. Mel, what we could learn from that anchor would be invaluable. Once your sister clears it and it is dismantled they plan to transport it to one of our research labs. I want you and the Normandy to head to Kallini immediately to escort that anchor to our lab site."

Melara stiffened. "Yes, of course. We'll depart immediately. We should be to Kallini within twenty four hours."

"Report back with what you find. Karina out."

"Kallini? But we are not finished here," Dae protested as Mel watched the Normandy shuttle descend out of the sky and head down toward the lake camp. Nearby, Nevil and Lily were gathering their things in preparation to depart.

"I already talked to Mama," Melara said. "She, Sam, EDI, and Joker can handle things here just fine. They have Neska's entire research team to help if necessary. We are not needed here. We're needed at Kallini."

"Surely the Alliance has at least two frigates in orbit around Kallini already-"

"The Council wants a Spectre on sight," Melara told her. "Especially one that has experience with extragalactic aliens. Not to mention Irie is going to be there, and likely Athena- if I know her at all."

"So you are going because you want to protect your sister and do not trust Athena," Dae said, unable to hide the faint note of bitterness in her voice. Melara looked at her wife as the shuttle came in for a landing, then took her arm and drew her away a short distance.

"Yeah, partially. Also partially because I've been ordered to do so," Melara said.

"What about Ashley? She's still on board."

"Lily will take care of Ashley. Mama would much rather have her on board the Normandy than here right now, and she especially cannot take her aboard Goruba- not when we don't know how the ship is going to act when and if she does fully wake up. And these are not the reasons you are protesting, Dae. I know you too well. You don't want me to go because Beth will be there."

"I said no such thing-" Dae said weakly.

"You didn't have to," Mel replied, then took her wife's shoulders almost angrily. "Dae, damn it…I love you. You, okay? I would throw myself down a thresher maw's gullet to keep you safe."

"Yet you are running to her rescue."

"I am not running to her rescue!" Melara gaped. "This has nothing to do with Beth!"

"Keep saying that," Dae said in a low, tight, hurt voice, before she turned and headed for the shuttle. "Perhaps one day, you will even believe it."