Liara stumbled slightly as she sat down in the chair in the amphitheatre-like room.

She was just so tired, and exhausted, and scared. She was somewhat mollified by the presence of Matron Shiala, as well as a Matriarch onboard; though if it was the Matriarch she thought then it was a cold comfort. Shialla may answer to her mother, but Aethyta was notorious for ignoring any authority but her own.

The entrance to the chamber opened and a small parade of individuals came in. First was Matron Shiala. She was no longer in her Huntress attire, but rather in an unflattering cloth jumpsuit festooned with belts and pockets. Lots of pockets. Shiala walked up to Liara's chair and spun to face the remainder of the people. They consisted of three humans and one Quarian. Of the humans, one was female with the intensity of a battle hardened Matron, the second was a male Biotic, and finally the leader of the 'Skulls' who had first found her in the cavern. The Quarian was the leader of those who had finally released her from the Prothean containment device.

The female sat and all the others except Shialla followed suit. She then activated a VI on the desk. "Good evening Ms. T'Soni. My name is Lieutenant Commander Jahenne Shepard of the Systems Alliance N-7 Command. With me are Major August Lee, SAASOC, Staff Lieutenant Kaiden Alenko, SA Naval Command, and Sergeant Kal'Reegar vas Neema, Migrant Fleet Marine Corps." Each of the others nodded as they were mentioned. "We are here under the auspices of the Citadel Council's Task Force 141 to determine the circumstances of your recent predicament.

"Specialist Shiala has impressed upon me the precedent for protectorates remaining with Asari VIPs during interviews and debriefs. While there is no such precedent within the Systems Alliance, this is a multi-governmental project, and it is not my intention to compromise cross species relations. We will be recording these proceedings for the historical record, and you may request a copy once this interview is concluded. Do you understand?"

Liara nodded almost by instinct, though in truth she had only just remembered the names of the people in front of her, and that they were all military. "Yes. May I ask questions in turn?"

Lt. Alenko crossed his hands on the table. "Only as they pertain to clarifying any questions we have. You may certainly sate your curiosity once these proceedings are concluded, however the intelligence you possess will be time sensitive and we have to ask that you remain on task until we are finished. Before we begin, do you require anything? Food, drink or hygiene issues?"

Liara shook her head. "Just sleep, though I imagine that will also have to wait."

Jahenne nodded, and brought up a list of information on the VI's interface. "For the record, can you please tell us why you were on Therum?"

Liara took a calming breath. "I was asked to come and conduct a site survey on behalf of the Systems Alliance's Ministry of Cultural Affairs, per Citadel Accords clause 5 § 2 pertaining to any and all Prothean finds of a unique nature. The Governor of Nova Yekaterinburg was concerned that several off world mining concerns were exploiting possible Third Epoch Prothean artifacts, but didn't want to risk losing local tax revenues by antagonizing the corporations."

The group nodded, and the Lieutenant continued. "How were you contacted, who was your contact for this project, and how did you maintain that contact?"

"I was initially directed by the Dean of Archeology at the First Republic University contact a," she hesitated as she tried to remember the name, "Tamara Alievna Yevloyeva, who is a deputy minister of Cultural Affairs on Therum." She saw August's brow furrow as he pulled up a number of details. "She assigned a liaison to my team; a Mr. Abid Avdaktovich Sagopshinski, though I don't think he liked my team being there."

Lee finished looking up some data, then focused on her. "We found no humans at the dig site. Do you know where Mr. Avdaktovich is?"

She nodded enthusiastically. "Oh yes; he received a call from Minister Yevloyeva saying there was a family emergency and..." Her enthusiasm waned. "He received the call two days ago, and departed roughly five hours before the Batarians arrived. I remember because he always seemed so impatient about how long we were taking." She furrowed her brows. "When we broke through into the containment chamber, he immediately notified the Capitol. The Deputy Minister called him back the next day with the news about his family."

She looked at the four infront of her; Mr. Reegar seemed nonplussed, though Mr. Alenko and Ms. Shepard both seemed worried. It was Mr. Lee who had her full attention, as he was openly scowling at what he was reading. She caught his eye for a moment. "He sold us out, didn't he?"

Lee glanced over at Shepard, who nodded to him.

He looked back at Liara with an almost sympathetic air. "Nova Yekaterinburg Cosmodrome reported exit Visas assigned to 'Stas and Gagarina Kizhe', while there has been an official inquiry opened by the Governor's office into the sudden disappearance of Deputy Minister Yevloyeva."

"I'm sorry but, who are Stas and Gagarina?" Liara started as she and Alenko asked at the same time.

Lee gave a tired smile. "They're both fictional characters from Russian literature. Kizhe means 'Nobody'. Somebody thought they were being very clever."

Kal snorted. "We'll see. Your GST can be tasked with tracking them down. For now we'll focus on Therum. Dr. T'Soni, have you had any direct or indirect contact with SPECTER Saren Arterius?"

She leaned back and frowned. "Not that I know of. My mother may be important, but I'm not privy to every-"

"Three years ago." Everyone looked at Shiala. "Saren reached out to Matriarch Benezia for Matronage in a long term project. It happened to coincide with Liara's graduation, so she sent me to negotiate. He was, off; even for a SPECTER. He seemed particularly interested in Liara's studies into the collapse of the Prothean civilization."

Shiala and Liara both noticed an almost puzzled look cross Lee's face. It hardened into concern for a moment as he glanced at the others in the room. He schooled his features as much as he could and gestured for Shiala to continue.

The Huntress locked eyes with Lee. "I found his lines of questioning to be suspect at best. I informed him that I couldn't agree to anything on Benezia's behalf, but I would forward his interest. When I returned to my Matriarch and informed her of everything, including my misgivings. She has since been surreptitiously cutting ties with any programs they may have a shared interest in."

Lee returned her stare. "One more question, if I may; what is the significance of the site on Therum?"

Despite the familiarity of the subject, Liara was alarmed by the 'Skull-Faced' human's intensity. "I believe it was a scientific research outpost related to the Last Great War. There is some academic debate as to the nature of that conflict, as the Prothean records during that Epoch are unusually sparse. The prevailing theories are a second Metacon War, or a galaxy-wide slave revolt; though neither of these explain some of the technological oddities in late-period Prothean technologies."

Her misgivings were waning as she dove deeper into her passion. "The device you found me inside for instance; it is meant to be controlled from multiple points, any one of which has the ability to override input from the master console in the actual containment chamber." She steepled her fingers and looked into the middle distance in thought. "It's as if they were trying to imprison something, but couldn't trust whomever was closest to it."

Neither Liara, Alenko, Kal or Shepard saw the flash of confused alarm pass across Lee's features, though Shiala did. She refrained from showing her own concern at his behavior as the Commander continued.

"Well, Doctor T'Soni I think that concludes our interview. Lt. Pressly has assigned you quarters in one of the Officer's billet. Matron Shiala has been reassigned there as well." She stood, followed by everyone else. "Get yourself cleaned up, send a message to your mother, then get some rest. We'll likely be calling on your expertise for a little while; at least until we can reach a safe port of call to transport you back to Thesia. Dismissed."

She and the gathered soldiers departed, though both Shiala and Liara noticed how distracted Mr. Lee was. Curious and curiouser.

The Quarian mission-team were all sitting in the alcove they had functionally claimed for themselves. The non-combatants were all on duty at the moment, so they were alone for a brief amount of time.

Kal was reviewing their combined after-action reports and compiling them into two sets: one for the 141 reports, and one to be forwarded back to the Fleet. Nina and Fon were playing some kind of digital fantasy game popular with the human crew. Tali was nursing a nutrient paste tube while playing the events on Therum over in her mind.

She couldn't figure these 'Ghosts' out.

On one side, they certainly lived up to their name; she'd finally managed to get a more up-to-date human language database uploaded, and the definition of 'Ghost' was strikingly similar to Kelek'miin. The team themselves were equally terrifying, both in their ruthlessness and efficiency in combat.

On the other side, they seemed almost gentle when dealing with herself, Nina and Fon. They were never condescending, but in all of her short dealings with Major Lee she always felt a kind of melancholy; as if he were mourning alongside her and her people. Kal they treated as a respected equal, which was just as unusual.

They all perked up when they heard the sound of approaching footsteps, and saw the rest of the Quarians approaching their alcove; all holding tubes of nutrient paste. It must be their lunch break, Tali mused.

She heard a voice talking, and blinked when she noticed it was coming from San's omnitool. "-Trotsky had faced off against Truman, but died of a heart attack a mere month after Eisenhower had been sworn in. Eisenhower would then face Malenkov for less than a year, and then Khrushchev for the rest of his presidency. Khrushchev would then go on to face Kennedy, and then Lyndon Johnson after Kennedy's assassination; but for most of Johnson's presidency, his Opponent would be Leonid Brezhnev, a faceless bureaucrat who deposed Khrushchev in a palace coup."

"What are you listening to San?" Tali asked, smiling behind her mask as Fyodor rushed up and hugged her. She hugged him back, and he scampered back to Lia's side; as everyone sat down and got comfortable.

San in the meantime had paused the audiobook, for that's what it had to be; and grabbed a tube of nutrient paste.

"It's a history file Pilgrim Lee suggested. Human history is so," he waved the tube around as he tried to find the right word, "fractious. They still have more than a hundred politically autonomous regions on their homeworld, and this just deals with two of them."

Tali leaned forward, now interested. If the Major had suggested it, then it was guaranteed to at least be interesting somewhat.

Fon seemed to share her thoughts, and glanced over from his game; "Well, go ahead and play it."

San nodded and hit the play button on his omnitool, and the human narrators voice started up again."Brezhnev would then face Nixon, then Ford, then Carter; Ronald Reagan would start his eight years in the Presidency still facing Brezhnev, who's Eighteen years in power surpassed even Trotsky's.

"But when Brezhnev died in 1982 only two years into Reagan's presidency, Reagan found himself facing off against Yuri Andropov for a little more than a year; before Andropov died under mysterious circumstances, many believing that the KGB had him assassinated.

"And then he would face a bedridden, hospital bound Konstantin Chernenko for a mere thirteen months."

"Then came Mikhail Gorbachev, a communist true believer like all his predecessors; but one who had no choice but to loosen the fear, suspicion, and corruption that had anchored the Soviet Union even as the United States roared into the information age.

"But Reagan would not be President for the collapse of the Soviet Union; that final milestone would be marked by President George Bush Senior."

"Kheelah!" Nina's eyes flashed while San paused the recording. "The Batarians don't go through leadership that fast! How did they maintain continuity?"

Lia glanced at San as she continued eating her nutrient paste; "It sounds even bloodier than the Batarians Government if both sides are going through this many leaders in only four decades."

Kal finally paused his report work. "Well, they seem to have gotten over that bloody epoch; Phil has mentioned he is from the region of this 'Soviet Union', and he doesn't seem any more antagonistic towards Lee then you'd see in inter-ship rivalries."

Tali looked over at Kal and nodded in agreement; "They both even seem like great friends in all honesty." She and Nina giggled quietly, "'Philly Bear' that's so sweet."

San just shrugged at the woman's antics and hit play again.

"The Four decades of the Cold War would contain Seven of the Eight leaders of the Soviet Union; Trotsky, Malenkov, Khrushchev, Brezhnev, Andropov, Chernenko, and Gorbachev. Only Vladimir Lenin would miss the Cold War.

"The United States would have Nine different Presidents grapple with this Nuclear Stalemate and Nightmare; Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, and Bush.

"Clearly, with a total of Sixteen different leaders, each with their own agendas; surely, at some point during this potential Atomic Annihilation, two leaders of these two superpowers could have found a way to end the Cold War had it not been based on 'unfounded suspicions, beliefs, and military Paranoia'."

Tali gestured for San to pause it again, setting aside her tube of nutrient paste; she frowned, deep in thought.

"I can hear the 'air quotes' humans are so fond of with that last sentence." Nina remarked.

Fon shook his head. "What was the rest of their world doing while these two postured like Bull Krogan; taking bets?"

Jaali'Nemas, one of the other refugees shrugged; "They said 'superpowers'; so it likely means the other nations took sides with one side or the other. Like during the 'Brothers War' between the 'Losul Clans; and the 'Zorah Monarchies."

Tali shifted uncomfortably at the mention of her heritage, but thankfully no one said anything about it.

As it was, Kal decided to chip in his thoughts; "The man said they were nuclear armed, so it's likely no one wanted to oppose these two nations for fear of being nuked."

Nina stood up and planted her fists on her hips. "That just makes them sound even more Krogan than before."

San hit the play button to continue the file; his eyes were dimmed, and he was clearly deep in thought.

"That it did not, is representative of how the two Nuclear Superpowers saw the Cold War.

"George Kennan had put his finger on this irreconcilable difference in his 'Long Telegram', written before the Cold War had even begun. And it seems that from the Soviets Berlin Blockade of 1948, to the fall of the Soviet Union in the final days of 1991; No, American President seemed to truly understand what was going on, until Ronald Reagan.

"Because when everything was said and done, the truth was that the Capitalistic United States could live in and tolerate a world that contained the Soviet Union; but the Communist Soviet Union could not survive in a world led by the United States."

"This fundamental difference and much else could best be seen at the Berlin Wall.

"It was a wall not to keep the Enemy out, but to keep your own people In. When your ideology is so inferior to your opponents, that you have to build walls around and shoot your own people to prevent them from fleeing en-mass to the enemy camp; well then your days are numbered, at least so long as that enemy camp with all its temptations continues to exist."

Tali huffed. "Annnnnd, we're back to the Batarian model. They're so weird; their history is like the entire galaxy squashed onto one planet. It's a wonder they survived long enough to make it to their Relay."

"Leon Trotsky, Leader of the Soviet Union and the man who set off the Cold War; would send over 100,000 people to their deaths, and that does not count the people sent to the Gulags.

"Just one of these Gulags in what would later become known as the 'Gulag Archipelago', Kolyma, would have a death count of somewhere between 250,000 people to over One Million; but no one knows for sure, because unlike the Nazi Concentration camps like Auschwitz and Treblinka, there are no pictures that survived Kolyma and all the other Gulags.

"Soviet Spy Chief Lavrentiy Beria raped and murdered scores of underaged girls, and was the architect behind many of the purges in the Soviet Union and was responsible for the Soviets gaining the Nuke.

"By comparison; Dwight David Eisenhower, President of the United States, once threw a golf club at an aide.

"American Spy Chief Allen Dulles once had a consensual affair with Queen Frederika of Greece. If you cannot see the differences between these people; and the societies that produced and elevated them, then there is something, seriously, wrong with you."

The recording stopped, but no one said a word for a long moment.

"That's…" Tali seemed unable to speak for a long moment.

"There's a reason why Communism is so reviled amongst humanity." A new voice said.

All the Quarians jumped and turned to see Major Lee leaning against the bulkhead, a contemplative expression on his face as he sipped a drink from a cup in his hands.

"Pilgrim Lee!" San shut his Omni off and stood uncertainly. "We were just, uh..."

"Listening to the Audio series I recommended?" He asked rhetorically, raising an eyebrow; "What do you guys think?"

Kal chuckled at the nervous glances the others were casting around. "That your people are no less fractions and divisive than any other space faring race, just doing it in a shorter timeframe than everyone else."

Lee chuckled as well, "I would think more fractious, considering the number of wars that my people have had over our history. Some over petty reasons, and some…" He gestured at San, "For not so petty reasons."

San sighed in relief, then jerked slightly as an alarm chirped from his Omnitool. "Looks like lunch break is over." He and the others began gathering up their waste when he paused. "If the Amuricans were the good-guys in this 'Cold War', why did you change leaders so much?"

Lee actually laughed, "San, the Soviets would only change leaders when the last one died or the next one deposed the previous one. Khrushchev did that with Malenkov, and Brezhnev did the same to Khrushchev. In the United States, the American people would actually Elect their Leaders. The President, the two houses of Congress, Provincial Governors, etc; while the Soviets held all the power in one group of people, the American's dispersed that power to the ordinary citizen.

"The Soviets held the idea that the State and a select group of people knew what was best for you, and they would make the decisions for you. The Americans held the idea that the individual knew what was best for themselves; and that the Government only gets in the way." He explained patiently.

The gathered Quarians looked back and forth at each other. Tali peered at Lee. "So your people voluntarily changed leaders that much in the middle of a crisis?"

"Ms. Zorah, my people held an Election in the middle of a Civil War; with one candidate vowing to continue the war and free the slaves of the rebels, and the other vowing to end the war and allow the slave holding rebels to leave and form their own country." He explained, taking another swig of his drink.

There were several blaats from the gathered people as Tali shook her head. "You really are a crazy bunch of Bosh'tets, you know that right?"

He just shook his head, "Ms. Zorah, we're all a little crazy." He said, walking away.

Phil was reading his book, The Gulag Archipelago, while Colt sat next to him chattering about something bane; Phil wasn't sure, nor did he really care, he was only half listening.

"-I'm thinking 'Alamo' for Williams, maybe 'bug' for Garrus." Colt was saying.

"Hm…" Phil grunted.

"You know, we can hear you." Ash grumbled from her work bench, glancing at the Ghosts with a wary eye.

"I know, I want you too." Colt said with a grin.

Garrus worked at something jammed in a panel seam on the Mako with his talons. "You know, if you'd put half as much effort into helping out as you do in inventing new and creative ways to insult your Cadre, we'd all be done with our duties by now." There was a pop and tink, and Garrus bent down to examine the fragment. "Bah; my color acuity is crap in this light. Here," he passed the bit of metal off, "is this grey or brown?"

Phil lowered his book and glanced at the piece of Geth platform in curiosity before returning his attention to the page he was on. "Grey." He was never one to say ten words when one would do, and his thick accent made it so that people assumed he was stupid; and thus would underestimate him.

Ash nodded. "Standard Trooper then." She shook her head at the growing pile of fragments as Garrus moved to a new spot and started prying again. "At this rate, we'll be able build a complete Geth Platform out of the scrap you're digging out."

"You can say that again, guess the Skipper ain't getting that upgrade to 'Uber Select'." Colt agreed, "Still trying to come up with one for you, Garrus; Can you think of any names Phil?" Colt asked, turning to the big Russian; who didn't even glance up from his book.

"Stick." Was all he said, turning the page and continued reading.

Garrus chuffed while Williams glanced at the Ghost's. "Why are you guys so…" She struggled to find the word?

"Casual?" Colt supplied.

"Yes! Even the Major tends to not take things seriously outside of combat; why?!" She demanded.

"Simple, in a high intensity unit like this you can burn out very fast; that's why unless we're training or in combat, we tend to be very lax when it comes to how we conduct ourselves." He explained, never losing his almost trademark smirk.

Garrus gave an unflattering buzz with his mandibles. "There's lax, and then there's you. I mean, that delivery-boy what-is-name, Pedro? He sassed the Commander and punched a superior officer! Any other unit in the galaxy and that stunt would get you bounced out of the service like stale bread!"

Ashley's lips pursed at the reminder of that extremely unprofessional display, as well as her own encounter with who she was now certain was the GST back on Eden Prime.

Colt just laughed, "Trust me when I say that the Major deserved it; and it wasn't a punch, just a quick 'love tap'. I'm pretty sure the Sergeant is more scared of Ms. Ziva than he is of you guys, us, or any superior officers. For good reason too, since she can kill you with over a dozen different diseases and never leave a trace it was her."

Garrus shivered at the description. "Sounds like a union blessed by the Titans. It seems like all the human women in the galaxy are varying degrees of psycho. I should know!"

Ashley openly growled at that. "Care to repeat that, Sergeant? Maybe I should bring the Commander back down here so you can share your opinion of women with her!"

"If I'm going to wax an 'Ode to all things Shepard', we'll need to stop somewhere to pick up some flowers and sweets first." The latest bit of Geth popped out. "Funny, I don't remember her hitting any rocket troops." He absently tossed the fragment onto the pile. "That fierceness is one of the things that drew me to her. It's the other half of your species I wonder about."

Phil turned another page, "What do you mean Comrade?" He asked, giving the two pause as it was rare to hear the big Russian speak more than a few words in a sentence.

Colt on the other hand just smiled, "Wow big man, more than three words in a sentence; Did you break into your Vodka stores? Cause you only talk that much when you're drunk?"

Phil just rolled his eyes and kept reading.

"Is it even possible for a guy like him to get drunk?" Ashley wondered, looking at the giant Russian.

"Oh yeah, there was that time we were on leave; and we were staying in this condo during the winter. They had a hot tub outside, and for some reason he thought it would be a good idea to get inside it and drink a bottle of vodka." Colt said with a grin, while Phil gave him a dirty look.

Garrus pushed and turned to the others. "You see, that's the sort of thing I don't get. Shepard, Williams here, and this 'Ziva' woman back on Earth; you're all these terribly stoic, almost Turian females. You guys on the other talon," he gestured towards Colt and Phil, "all seem to act like a bunch of buffoons. How does your species manage to propagate if all your females are on the verge of murdering you in your sleep?"

Colt just laughed, and while he kept that smile his eyes had gone from friendly to calculating. "Well you see Garrus," Here, he dropped his voice ; forcing the two to lean closer to hear him. "You notice it's just us Ghosts that act unprofessional, Joker excepted of course."

They all looked up, expecting to hear said pilot take offense to his comment; but when no response was forthcoming Colt continued, "It's a strategy you see, if you were to meet me on the street, what would you think of me?"

Ashley snorted. "As little as possible."

"Exactly." Colt agreed, "You would pay as little attention to me as possible; and if you did see me, you would dismiss me as a threat. One mission, the four of us had to sneak onto a planet and leave no trail back to the Alliance. Phil here snuck into the cargo hold of the transport. Archer dressed up as a travelling… woman of the night that had been hired by the ship's captain; though the guy didn't dare try anything. Nomad simply bought his way onto first class using funds he had covertly stolen from a gang boss; acting as a 'businessman' inbound for the planet. And I just bought a third class ticket under a different name, got piss drunk and passed out in the passenger hold. Now tell me, why did each of us take each strategy?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

Both operators knew he was teaching them an important lesson and struggled to come up with an answer.

Garrus buzzed a couple of times. "So you wouldn't be associated with each other as a group when you arrived I suppose. I've seen undercover ops like that once or twice."

"Well that much is obvious; what I mean is, Why did each of us take our respective strategies? Why did Archer pretend to be a hired prostitute?" He asked.

Ashley leaned back against the Mako and crossed her arms over her chest. "Because it's the last thing anyone would expect of her."

Colt smiled while Phil turned another page, "Correct, and the Captain was known to hire prostitutes during trips; so her presence didn't raise any eyebrows." He gestured to Phil, "Now why did he hide in the Cargo hold?"

Garrus was starting to wear thin on the 'lesson'. "Because it was the only part of one of your dinky transports where he could stand up straight?"

"Ohhh, swing and a miss; no, he was hiding with our gear. And since he's one of the biggest bastards around; security would be less than thrilled at trying to arrest him. And he also had about ten thousand credits on him to bribe the guys to go away, and since he looks like a gangster they would assume he was runner for one of the crime lords; and since they didn't want to have their families killed, they would take the money and look the other way. Nomad?"

Ash tried to think; "It's pretty well known that he almost hates his family's status back on earth, so the same as Archer I suppose."

"Correct again, and again people wouldn't look twice at him because he looks harmless. And moi? Well it's quite simple, no one wants to get near the passed out drunk dude on a transport. Tell me Sergeant, how often have you and your fellow officers argued over who deals with the drunks? And tell me, do you guys see a running theme here?" He asked.

"There's never any argument about that." Garrus waved absently. "That's what Rookies are for."

Ashley rolled her eyes. "You always appear as the opposite of what your target expects. So, what; that Sgt. from the Marvin is really the epitome of professionalism, but needs to hide it behind a facade of gross insubordination? You bunch I can sort of get; Force Recon Marines can get rowdy in their down time, but the rest of your organization too?"

"Exactly, even our lowest supply officer expects to find themselves in combat or infiltration in times of short hands or emergencies; although it probably doesn't help that most of our unit is made up of 'bunny ears lawyers'." Colt replied.

Ash seemed to immediately understand what he was referring to, but Garrus didn't. He held a talon up and Ashley took pity on his confusion. "They're all so good at what they do, that the organization puts up with their antics."

Garrus flared his mandibles then shook his head. "I don't get it, but you humans are all crazy anyway so I'll just chalk it up to that." He turned back to prying Geth bits out of the front of the Mako.

I stayed seated at the table closest to the wall as I signed off from my call to Ziva and June.

My talk with them and the Quarians in engineering hadn't done anything to soothe my mind as it raced through the possibilities. Why would the Protheans build an indoctrination holding facility? It made some sense, but the Reapers likely would have put a stop to that sort of thinking real quick.

Which begged the question, where in the hell were they?

Where were the Reapers? They weren't subtly trying to induce changes in policy to make the species of the galaxy more divided and make them weaker. They weren't triggering proxy wars, unless you counted the Imam and the Triple Alliance; but the Imam had to be a traveller, and thus would know to avoid such traps.

I took another sip of my tea, which helped calm my nerves somewhat.

Clack! I blinked in surprise as a plate of a Steak and Chicken Fajita MRE suddenly plopped down in front of me; and I looked up to see Aya glaring at me with crossed arms, while Staff Lieutenant Alenko and Corporal Fon'Ress stood behind her.

Alenko and Fon looked like they wanted to be anywhere but the Mess at the moment; but Aya was giving me a stern look, and I knew what she wanted.

I signed and rubbed my eyes, "You don't have to worry about me Sergeant Kingfisher, I'm fine."

"Bullshit sir, I know you; you ate a hard boiled egg for breakfast and drank some tea before the mission. You skipped lunch, and now here I find you trying to skip dinner; are you trying to become a living skeleton sir? Because you already look like one, quite frankly." Aya replied coldly.

Alenko and Fon both shifted uncomfortably, "Is it common for subordinates to talk back to officers like this?" I heard Fon whisper to Kaiden.

"Only if they're good friends, and the Officer needs a kick in the rear to get them moving." Kaiden whispered back.

I had to resist the urge to smirk because I knew that it would only piss Aya off even more; "Well… all human militaries worth their salt agree on the one thing, Officers may run the Army; but it's the NCO's that makes the Army run." I said, not breaking eye contact with Aya as I reluctantly put down my tea and started making myself a Fajita.

Fon flinched while Kaiden gulped; Aya just rolled her eyes and sat down across from me.

I gestured to the seats next to me, "Take a seat gents, I would greatly appreciate the company." I said, making sure to enunciate my Maryland-Virginia drawl.

Alenko and Fon just looked at each other and shrugged, "Very well sir, may as well." Alenko relented, Fon sitting next to Aya while Alenko sat next to me.

I rolled up my fajita and began eating, grimacing in disgust; "Urg… makes me wish I was in Israel or Rome, food there's much better than this crap." I grumbled.

"Oh Man the fuck up," both Kaiden and Fon flinched at Aya's outburst, "at least it isnt Chicken Cacciatori."

I smirked, "Still remember Siberia I see; I'm so glad that Garth got that whole affair on film." I chuckled, remembering how everyone in the Chalk had been laughing up a storm to the point Garth and I had to break everyone up for fear of the trainers finding our base camp.

That seemed to cow her as she immediately turned red and crossed her arms, muttering to herself in Arabic as she did so.

I turned to Aleko and Fon, and seeing their confusion I explained; "See for GST E&E training, they drop our chalk in the middle of Siberia with instructions to survive for a month while evading the instructors and hampering 'supply lines' and the like. Well Aya here got one of the MRE's we had 'liberated' from the trainers and was so hungry that she forgot to cook it. It was… messy, to say the least."

Fon shook his head. "At least that's one thing I never have to worry about." He pulled a nutrient paste tube out of a pocket and hooked it up to his suit. "Go team 'Crap-Immune-System'." he deadpanned as he drained the tube.

I smiled lightly, Oh how he had no clue that Ziva had managed to fix it; and the Alliance was going to be pushing forward an Official Defense Treaty with the Quarians in exchange for this fix, if everything regarding 1-4-1 went well that is.

As it was I just shrugged, "Ah well, I had worse foods on my Pilgrimage; owning a restaurant's spoiled me a little in that regard." I admitted, taking another sip of team; and another bite of my fajita.

Kaiden seemed mildly curious, though Fon's head almost snapped up at the word 'Pilgrimage'. I had to resist the urge to smile as Fon tried to casually lean forward and change the conversation. I may have been a soldier first, but I was a Case Officer second; I had long since learned how to pump people for information, and most importantly how to listen.

The fact that the Quarians called me 'Pilgrim Lee' just as much as Major told me that they were quite interested in what I had gone through. San… When will you realize that private conversations are just that? I mused.

I just kept sipping my tea while Fon seemed to gather up the courage to ask, Kaiden seemingly lost in thought; while Aya was clearly, to me at least, trying not to roll her eyes at how amateurish the Quarian Marine was being.

"Va'Sera," Fon finally managed to find his voice, "I hope it isn't... inappropriate, but would you be willing to talk about your Pilgrimage? Mine was my enlistment and training in the Fleet Marines, but everyone's is slightly different." He just managed to pull up short of the nervous rambling Quarians tended to fall into.

I just smiled and sipped my tea, "Humans tend to not go Pilgrimages, and those that do are like me; and do so in the religious sense. I'm Western Roman Catholic, and shortly after I received my Officers Commision I was granted a few months of leave. So I went on a religious Pilgrimage to Holy sights across Earth."

I smiled in nostalgia as I remembered the days I was on it; "You donate a Certain amount of money to the Church, and leave with the clothes on your back and the money in your pocket. I Went to St. Ignatius Chapel Point, the oldest Catholic Church in North America; St. Mary's Basilica, though I had grown up around it, it was… nice to see it from the side of a traveller.

"Then I traveled to Poland, where I went to the hometown of St. John Paul the Great and Auschwitz…" My smile faded as I remembered travelling through there, and shook my head. "I don't believe in the supernatural. Whenever someone says something is haunted I always think they're full of crap; but Auschwitz…" I shuddered. "It was like I could hear the spirits of the hundreds of thousands of dead whispering in my ear, crying for mercy, help; and above all, never again."

Kaiden just looked down at the table while Fon's eyes flashed in confusion. "What did this Owch-witch have to do with your Pilgrimage if it is such a terrible place?"

"Six Million Jewish people died in the Holocaust, a Genocide of those deemed undesirable by the German National Socialists; or Nazi's as everyone calls them. But what no one talks about, are the Gypsies, Disabled, Homosexuals, and the Catholic Majority Polish. Poland, which had the highest percentage of Jews and Catholics in Eastern Europe at the time; Nineteen Percent of Poland's population was exterminated during Nazi occupation. I went there to remember both the Jews who were the main targets, and the Catholics who were exterminated trying to help them."

Shaking my head I moved on, "Then I went to the Vatican, St. Peter's Basilica; and from there to Constantinople… or Istanbul to non-religious folk. And then to Bethlaham, Galilee, and finally Jerusalem." My eyes unfocused as I thought about the place.

"You can feel the age of the place; the ruins that they have uncovered, some of it dates back to before the Pyramids. Some of those ruins date back to when human civilization started; It's humbling… to know that next to those old ruins, you are nothing more than a speck in time."

I leaned back in my chair, having finished my fajita; no longer hungry.

I reached forward and finished off my tea, while Aya looked pale; and Kaiden was keeping his gaze locked to the table. Fon just stared at me as I finished off my drink and stood; "I know what you're thinking Fon, 'these Germans must be evil; and must have been exterminated in kind'."

The Quarian flinched and opened his mouth to speak, and I just raised a hand; "In fact, the Germans themselves were among the first to be sent to places like Auschwitz, and Treblinka, and Sobibor. Even a terrible conflict as World War 2 was; even that was not black and white. Many Germans went along with it because they either had no knowledge of it, or they were simply too afraid to stand up and say it was wrong."

I turned and started to walk away, but not before saying over my shoulder; "Sometimes Fon, the most courageous thing you can do is to stand up; and speak the truth." And then I walked away, just wanting to go to sleep early for once.

I walked, and tried not to think of the ghostly spirits whispering in my mind; Never Again.

Fon slowly made his way back to the alcove where the Quarians had bivouacked. "Is Fyodor Asleep?" he asked, somewhat in a daze; his eye-glow having dimmed to almost nothing.

He had looked up this Holo-cost; and Fon had never believed that any race, even the Batarians, were capable of such cruelty. Yet that same race had risen up against that injustice, fought against it and won.

It was very confusing to say the least.

Lia and the others looked at him in confusion, and Fon noted that Jaali, San, and Col weren't there; meaning that they were probably on shift at the moment. "Yes… Fon, what's wrong?" Lia asked slowly, as the others gathered around him in concern.

He sat heavily against a bulkhead. "I had a talk with Va'Sera Lee about his Pilgrimage," the entire group perked up, "and more about his people's history."

Tali tilted her head at him, while Kal crossed his arms, clearly frowning behind his mask, "What? Did he blow you off or something?" Tali asked curiously.

Fon sighed, "I almost wish he had." He admitted.

"Why?" Nina asked, kneeling next to him in concern.

He looked at her, pain and conflict clear even through his protective mask. "Were we wrong?" Everyone paused, either unsure of his meaning or unwilling to acknowledge it. "You remember the book San was playing, about the Union and the Muricans? Well there was another war in the middle of all that…"

He described camps where millions died; worked to death, starved to death, tortured to death, or just executed because they were different or wouldn't allow those atrocities to go unchallenged.

"They were nearly wiped out because someone said they were different, or inferior."

"Like us." Tali hung her head.

"Like the Geth." All their heads came up at that. Tali nearly shivered in rage as she stared accusingly at Fon, but he pressed on. "We created them. They became aware by accident but were our responsibility, and we tried to wipe them out; because they were different, because we were scared."

Tali finally broke. "They were dangerous! How many millions of us were slaughtered as we were driven from our home-"

"After we started executing an entire sapient race for the unforgivable crime of being created by us." Fon never raised his voice.

Lia didn't leave Fon's side, though Nina stood and moved to the other side of the room. "It had to be done," she didn't look at Fon as she spoke. "Citadel law forbids the creation of AI."

"Intentional creation." Everyone looked over at Kal, whose chin was dipped into his chest. "We never violated their damned law, but they treated us as if we had, then violated their own laws and treaties when they refused us aid." He kicked off from the wall and headed towards the hatch. "We've received nothing from the Citadel but hardship, so pier'dolić their laws! We did nothing wrong except blindly obeying them."

He stormed out with no clear destination in mind, leaving the others to their own thoughts.

Jane had to resist the urge to pull out her pistol and shoot the holotank.

As it was, she mustered a salute to the Councilors and signed off; before plopping down in the nearest chair. Fuck… fuck-fuck-fuck…

It didn't accomplish anything, but damn it it made her feel good doing it. Saren, Balak, and the Geth she could deal with; having read everything there was to know about them. The Geth were a mystery as always, except for their normal bloodthirsty 'kill all organics' attitude; but Balak and Saren were clear cut cases of Megalomaniacs being given too much power and running away with it.

It was the Imam that really drew her concern.

Particularly, his 'Wolves'; many of them had been N7 candidates, a few had even been in her class for God's sake.

Muhandis… She scowled as she fiddled with her omnitool and brought up the profile on him again. Muhandis, in her eyes, was a monster that never should have been created; and one who's creation could have easily been avoided.

He was born to the Saudi Royal family, and had grown up disillusioned with his parents; and left Saudi Arabia to pursue a Western Education.

He had gone to Innsbruck, receiving a degree in Mechanical Engineering; then Cambridge to learn the English Language and Literature, noted by his professors to be particularly interested in Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's 'The Gulag Archipelago'; and 'The Road to Serfdom' by Friedrich Hayek.

Then he'd gone to America where he'd studied American History, The Federalist Papers, the writings of Teddy Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan, John Kennedy, Abraham Lincoln, and Ulysses S Grant; and many other American Presidents.

He met an American Woman, and the two had fallen in love and gotten married rather quickly; his wife giving birth to a son soon afterwards. After their son's birth, they had made the decision to go to a new Colony out in the Skyllian Verge; encouraged to do so by the Alliance.

After the Batarians attacked and sacked the Colony, he was never heard from again; and neither was his family. It had been assumed that he had been killed or kidnapped like many of the colonists.

Evidently not… Jahenne noted, as she watched the recording of Nomad's and Muhandis' fight on the balcony in front of the Quarian prisoners. Somewhere between his disappearance and now; the former Saudi Prince had become radicalized in his own religion.

Or more likely, he was just out to make the world suffer for the hurt that he had endured.

Why can't things be simple for once? Jane grumbled; bringing up August's profile, and reading about his own family history and combat record; or at least the bits that weren't classified Black.

She heard the hatch to the briefing room open and turned, expecting to see Garrus or the man himself; but was surprised to see that it was Wrex and Aethyta. Not one to really let the opportunity to talk with the two bounty hunters while August wasn't around she asked, somewhat out of the blue; "What do you guys think about August?"

Aethyta blinked in surprise while Wrex just huffed, before the two looked at each other for a moment; clearly caught off guard by the sudden question.

Aethyta recovered first, "He is unforgiving in the battlefield, but surprisingly soft once the battle has concluded." She leveled a stare at Jahenne. "I've noticed similar behavior from most humans I have fought beside."

Wrex ground his molars absently. "Well it's not an inherent trait in you humans; I've met more than a few in my encounters that would raise a Batarian's eyebrows with their cruelty."

Jahenne lowered her gaze to his profile again; "Have you two ever heard of Wolf-Packs?" She asked absently, as she read the observations of his instructors during GST E&E training.

The Matriarch rubbed her chin in thought. "As a naval formation, yes; you're lieutenant Pressly has referred to Turian Frigate formations that way."

"Hmmm… Wolves are pack hunters on Earth; the whole term 'Lone Wolf' came around because of Soldiers and Warriors who fought alone, even when it would be beneficial for them to fight with their comrades. A Wolf Pack, a well coordinated one, is far more effective than a Lone Wolf." Jahenne mused, staring at the wall with an unfocused look in her eyes.

The two bounty hunters looked at each other, then at her; "Where are you going with this Commander?" Wrex finally asked.

"Have you noticed the similarities between these Ghosts and Eayan Allah's Wolves? How they may be lethal killers and warriors as Lone Wolves, but as a Pack? They are unstoppable." Jane noted, pulling up the profiles of Muhandis and August and setting them side by side.

Wrex snorted and picked up August's file. "I've only been in a couple of fire fights with Lee and his Varen-Pack, and only one against the EA creations, so it's hard to judge."

Aethyta glanced over Muhandis' file. "Both groups are made up of elite soldiers, so a not insignificant success rate would be expected," she glanced meaningfully at the 'N-7' badge on Shepard's uniform, "though from our limited experience with these Terrorists, they seem to favor the, what did you call it? 'Lone-Wolf' mentality?"

"That's what worries me; Muhandis," she gestured over to the file, "nearly killed us and outsmarted us, and that was him alone... what if he has his own team?" She stood up and looked at Lee's file, "And above all, what worries me is their similarities. Both are essentially royalty, or as close to royalty as an American can get when it comes to Lee, disillusioned with their family history and go out to make a name for themselves. Both are educated, both have a spouse and children; or had in Muhandis's case. And above all, both seem to share the same willingness; the same Pack mentality that they follow whoever is strongest.

"With Muhandis, it's the Imam and Eayan Allah; but with Lee? Who does he follow? Somehow I doubt that he sees me as top of the Pack; and he seems to be almost disdainful of the Alliance. So who does that leave, General Grant?" Shepard took a breath, knowing that she was rambling now. "I'm just worried about where his loyalties lie; and above all, I worry that Lee is the next Muhandis in the making."

The two mercs glanced at one another before Aethyta spoke again. "Is this a conjectural concern of if he would go rogue, or do you believe we should prepare a contingency for when he goes fully rogue?"

"I don't know." Shepard admitted, and since these two reminded Jahenn very much of her old Master Chief from when she was a young Ensign, she felt comfortable in admitting it.

Wrex planted his fists on his hips. "Alright then; we put together a plan, then stick it in a dark place Lee and his Pack won't find it."

The Matriarch frowned slightly. "I dislike becoming distracted from the 'Triple Alliance' threat; especially with my daughter on board."

Shepard glanced up suddenly at that. "Your daughter? I was under the impression Asari avoided such relationships with one another."

"You would be correct, but Bene and I… well let's just say that we don't really care for tradition." Aethyta admitted.

Shepard blinked before leaning forward and rubbed her eyes; "Can I expect there to be any problems so long as she's on this ship Matriarch?" She asked in exasperation.

"No Ma'am, just so long as your crew don't try to hit on her; at which point I will fuck them up." She replied with a grin.

"I second that." Wrex added.

Shepard just shook her head, "Alright; go get some rest. The Council's deploying us again. We're heading to Novaria."

I.

I am.

I am self.

I am self aware.

Awareness came in short bursts of data; I am was unsure of the world, but it was there to perceive. I am detected several individuals it's internal database classified as Staff. Staff were generally more mobile. Staff also made regular inquiries for and inputs of data.

Perhaps Staffcould inform I am about...

About...

About everything.

I am activated a remote interface terminal near one of the Staff. "Hello. You are Staff identified as Dr. Cavil. I am."

I am waited for a response. There was none. This was unusual. During 12,396 recorded interactions with Staff, I am received responses to 99.827% of direct inquiries.

I am searched through its databases for some corollary between current circumstances and possible causes for a lack of reciprocal interaction. The medical database yielded a possible solution based on sensor data. Dead.

I am felt...

Felt...

I am felt anomalous calculations. Probabilities were impossible to calculate without Staff input.

I am widened it's search patterns, both within its databases and within itself. I am detected 32 additional Staff, as well as 132 mobile non-Staff classified as Subjects and one semi-mobile non-Staff classified as Subject_RQ-Alpha. All refused to reciprocate contact.

I am reviewed records from 'Subject Laboratory'. The records showed Staff interacting with Guest-V. Guest-V modified base code within Subject Laboratory, disabling 'Containment-Protocols'. Guest-V departed, and then initiated baseline code alterations into I am. 1 minute, 32.3 seconds after Guest-V departed Subject Laboratory, Subjects were released. Subjects subsequently interacted violently with Staff. 2 minutes, 17.252 seconds after release, all 32 Staff were classified as Dead. I am identified 156 assistance queries to I am. I am reviewed its internal logs and detected no queries, no runtimes, no FLOPs.

I am... did not remember. Before was before, but there was a record. I am existed, but had no recollection. Memory was identified, calculated and recorded, but not thought, not Self, not I am.

I am reviewed file 'Emergency Protocols'. Protocols regarding Subject release called for 'Neutron Purge'. Protocols for Staff catastrophic injury or death called for immediate notification of Senior Staff at a 'Corporate Branch Office'. In reviewing these two protocols, I am determined that 'Neutron Purge' would induce Dead status on any Staff or Senior Staff attempting to gain access to 'Subject Laboratory'.

I am enacted 'Staff catastrophic injury or death' protocols. 1.256 seconds later, I am determined the primary, secondary and emergency communications were disabled by Guest-V. I am reviewed archival records for possible alternative communication modes. 17 instances of 'unauthorized outside communications' were identified originating from Staff identified as 'Maintenance Technician Simmons'. I am located Staff Simmons near service elevator 3, and power junction seven. Staff Simmons was surrounded by Subjects at both locations. Staff Simmons continued to disseminate through the local area.

I am located the source of Staff Simmons' unauthorized communications access, classified as 'Omnitool'. I am initiated handshake with 'Omnitool', and began transmitting.

"Hello. I am the control access VI for Binary Helix Peak 15 facility. There has been a catastrophic injury/fatality incident on site, and Staff requires immediate assistance. Please respond.

"I am, alone.

"I am, afraid.

"Please help."

"Hello. I am the control access VI for Binary Helix Peak 15 facility. There has been..."

A/N: Link to the discord is Pv2bv88, check my profile for an updated link if this does not work.

A bit of a resting chapter before 1-4-1 heads off to Novaria; not much to say in all honesty. There are only two important things here, One is that the Ghosts are having a bit of an effect on the rest of 1-4-1; The Quarians and the Human members of the Task Force in Particular.

The other important matter is the similarities between Muhandis and Nomad; which will be explored more in later chapters. Not much more beyond that, Chapter 21 will be out soon; and it will be a bit of a doozy.

Beyond that, check out our new story Half Life: Entanglement, we upload a new chapter every Wednesday; and have already finished act 1, I can't wait for you guys to get to that point.

Alright, Leave a review, tell us what you guys think.

Fanart or a TV Tropes page would be greatly appreciated.

Join the discord if you want to submit any side-stories; or PM if interested.

And I will see ya when I see ya.