Tali popped up her hood as she signed off from the holo-call.

Some good news at last, they were going to be able to make enough AGE for the fleet within the month. You did it Auntie. Tali thought with a smile, before frowning at how Shala had not called or informed her of the accomplishment personally. Father insists she's fine, just busy… why does it feel like he's lying.

Shaking her head and dispelling her concerns for the moment, Tali turned to walk out of the cockpit and into the passenger section. She needed to focus on the here and now, with what little comfort that offered.

The enemy of our enemy is not necessarily our friend. She reminded herself, At the very least, we can play to their hatred of the subjugation divisions.

"Tali…" She flinched and looked over to see Kal, and he set a hand on her shoulder, "We'll be okay Spider."

Sighing, Tali just shook her head and rubbed her eyes before putting on her visor; "I'm just hoping they don't capture us as opposed to kill us." She stated, "Because then Garrus and Vestris will have to come rescue us."

Kal cocked his head in a Quarian smirk. "And feed your inszel's already puffed up ego? Perish the thought." He huffed at the light punch she gave him. "What's really got you worried? Turian security here on Palaven is almost a joke. The Barefaced are more security conscious than the local police, and they certainly won't turn us over even if they managed to catch us."

"I'm worried about Auntie 'Raan; father told me she's fine but… I could tell he was lying." She admitted.

Kal lazily slumped into a jump seat. "If he is, then it isn't likely to be that serious; somebody probably rolled their ankle or something." He reached across and gently shook her shoulder. "If it really was that serious, I'm certain he'd have recalled us."

He let go then leaned back and stared at the ceiling. "I'd be more worried about the news from the Citadel; or rather the lack thereof. Citadel News Network was nothing but talking heads about our delegation right up until they arrived. Now nothing for a week." He locked eyes with Tali. "Something big happened, and the Council is keeping a tight lid on it."

She didn't really know what to say to that, so the two just sat there for a long moment.

"Alright, let's get a move on, we haven't got all night ladies." Kasumi stated, bringing the two Quarians out of their thoughts; and the human smirked and pulled on her balaclava and goggles, activating her cloak.

Shaking her head, Tali did the same, though she couldn't shake the feeling that she was forgetting something; following the humans ping as they exited the shuttle and moved towards the city. They had made this journey numerous times by this point, so it was with robotic movements they reached the city as Palavan's moon lit up the night sky. By this point, the group was starting to ease up on their caution; if only by a tiny amount.

So it came as a total shock to them when a Turian police officer stepped out from an alleyway and walked into Tali, sending her to the ground. "Oof!"

The Officer staggered, then his eyes widened and his mandibles went slack. Tali blinked, then realized to her horror that there was no purple tint to her vision. Bosh'tet! I didn't seal my visor! She realized.

The Turian seemed to realize what he was looking at and opened his mandibles to shout, when he audibly choked. Tali blinked as Liara decloaked and flipped up her own goggles, her eyes and fist glowing blue as she growled, "You will forget everything you just saw, and you will continue on your patrol."

The Turians eyes flared blue, and he gave a stilted nod, before turning and walking away.

The moment he was out of sight, Liara pulled up her balaclava and vomited on the ground in utter disgust; staring at her hands in horror. "Goddess, why would my people do that?! It... I feel vile just for having tried!"

Quickly resealing her visor, making sure that it was actually sealed properly this time, Tali walked up and knelt next to the stricken Maiden; setting a hand on her back and another on her shoulder, "Because they feel the power, and they feel great because of it. To know that they can just tell someone to do something if it pleases them… I don't think any of us wouldn't be tempted at some point." She said softly, patting the Asari as she spat out some more bile. "You didn't get much of a chance to experience Admiral Daro'Xen before she got herself locked up, but she absolutely would have used that kind of power if she had it. Your mother on the other hand, and her friend Samara, they don't use it, and we can see the pain and shame in their eyes when they talk about it."

Tali stood and helped Liara up. "It isn't your people; it's power hungry people. It's certainly not you; it's the sort of people we're fighting against."

"Aye, I would've been worried if you hadn't reacted that way." Kal added.

"I know a lot of people who joined Civil Protection. Some joined out of a desire to fight back from the inside, some did it because they felt they may as well join the 'winning' side, and some because they genuinely needed food, water, and shelter." Kasumi stated simply, looking away before she clenched her fists. "But some… some joined because of the power offered to them."

The human shuddered and hugged herself, "My friend… he and I were always careful to never be seen alone, but there was this one time a CP caught me alone. He took off his mask, and I could see it in his eyes; how much he enjoyed seeing me fear for my life, and how he could 'spare me for a price'." She huffed, "Fortunately, he was more brawn than brains; he didn't get any farther than getting my outer shirt off before I stole his gun and killed him."

Liara gave a wane smile, then put her mask and goggles back on. "Well, let's continue on our way. I really don't want to have to do that ever again."

It was a simple matter of waiting for a member of the Barefaced to show up so that the four of them could slip inside when the guard opened the door. As with all the other times they had infiltrated the meetings, the four of them split up into each of the corners of the room; that way that had total coverage of the room.

Tali, it was decided, would be the one to speak.

She didn't want to admit it, but she was nervous; and she felt like her heart was going to explode out of her chest. Taking a deep breath, she sighed as the last of the Barefaced entered the meeting room; already mentally psyching herself up and waiting for the right moment to show herself.

"I hereby call this meeting to order, as we have urgent news we must get to." The Crone stated firmly, tapping her cane loudly. The chatter immediately died down, and the Crone typed in a few commands on her omnitool; "Several days ago, a total media blackout has occurred on the Citadel."

There was a tense murmur in the room as the gallery waited for the elder to continue. "At the same time, the fleet reassignments we have been tracking were stepped up and the first squadrons were launched into the Terminus. We still don't know why."

Before she could stop herself, Tali opened her mouth, "Well I suppose we can help with that."

Silence reigned in the meeting hall, before at least half of the attendees stood and drew their pistols; sweeping the area and looking for the intruder. The crone however, merely cocked a mandible; before she stood and leaned on her cane, "It has been many years since I last heard a Kheelish accent."

The other members all buzzed with uncertainty, but the crone waved her hand, "Sit… You'll scare them off."

Tali swallowed as the group of Turians slowly took their seats, still sweeping the area; trying to find her. Taking a breath, she said, "I see you all are a little bit on edge."

The Crone turned to the general direction of where Tali had spoken, and buzzed in what sounded like amusement. "You would be too young one, if you were constantly hunted by and on the run from the Asari Secret Police and their Hierarchy lap-varren." She stated.

Tali allowed her cloak to drop, slowly stepping into the light, triple checking to make sure that her visor was still firmly set in place. "That is actually a fairly common occurrence for my people, though I imagine we will now be moved from being harassed in the shadows, to being hunted in the open." She scanned the room, then looked at the crone. "Several members of my people were a part of the Council expedition through Relay 314. We encountered something there; something incredible, something dangerous, and something the Citadel Council will go to war to keep us from bringing to light. That is why you have been seeing fleet mobilizations and media blackouts."

"Oh?" The crone stroked one of her mandibles, "And what might that be young one? Would it have something to do with your other friends here in the room."

It took all of Tali's self control to not flinch, as the crone gave a soft chuckle, "You are good, very good; but not good enough to fool me." She stated simply, before pointing to each of the three spots her friends were hiding, "Show yourselves, you need not fear any retaliation. I spotted all four of you the first time you snuck in here."

"Wait! Ma'am these intruders were here before!?" One of the Turians exclaimed, even as Kal, Kasumi, and Liara reluctantly decloaked and slowly walked up to the stage. "Why didn't you tell us?!"

"Because I was curious, and they had done us no harm; had all four of you been Asari, I would have acted, but two Asari and two Quarians traveling together? That piqued my interest." the Crone admitted, leaning forward on her cane, "Now then, what is it that you have discovered? It must be something big if that blue bitch is willing to be so overt in trying to end you."

Tali swallowed heavily as she glanced at Kasumi. It was extremely fortunate that Humans and Asari looked so similar externally beyond the hair and skin color; meaning that the Crone had mistaken Kasumi for another Asari. Hopefully they could keep that little card in close.

"It's a new species. Several in fact; some dangerous, others in grave danger. The primary group call themselves humans." She had become very comfortable with the alien word, so it flowed off her tongue as easily as her native Kheelish. "They were pre-interstellar flight before being invaded and subjugated by another group: The Combine. The humans don't know where they came from, so I don't know either; but they subjugated a nuclear armed world in a matter of hours."

That got a stir from the collected Turians; even the Crone seemed a little surprised. "That seems… very concerning. I seem to remember reports that it was the Council Flagship, the Destiny Ascension that was sent on that mission. I do not remember reports of her return."

"That's because the Combine ripped her from out of orbit, then tried to murder or enslave the survivors." Tali panned her view across the room. "Make no mistake; the Combine is beyond dangerous, and they now have a surviving example of Citadel technology to study. Nothing in the history of the Citadel could be more dangerous than the Combine leaving the Human system."

One of the assembly stood up. "Then maybe you're wrong, and that is what the fleet is mobilizing for." There was an uncomfortable murmur in the hall as some hesitantly nodded, while others sent near venomous glares to the speaker.

"No, the council is responding to my people; they are only now aware of what we have discovered, and as you pointed out last week," Tali nodded to one of the Crone's aides, "the fleet buildup started before we were summoned to the Citadel. No," Tali shook her head and took a deep breath before taking a leap of faith, "allies in the Humans and... others they are allied with in their fight for independence."

Once more the hall stirred in murmurs, though this time there was a different kind of tension: that of a group stirring for a fight. Had she not spent so much time with Garrus, she might have been genuinely scared, but she could tell this was a group rallying behind a common cause.

The Crone thumped her cane on the floor. "Order!" the hall instantly fell silent. "While I feel for your's and these... hoomans' plight, I cannot simply promise our support. We have much we must discuss, to plan, and to learn about one another before we can step out into the light of the Constellations of War."

As the meeting came to a close and the hall slowly cleared out, Tali breathed a sigh of relief; That went far better than I expected it to. She thought, and she could tell by the others posture that they felt the same way.

"Before you four leave my home, there is something I wish to discuss with you." Tali flinched and looked at the Crone, who remained sitting with a hand on her cane.

Kal snorted, but Tali could tell that he was uneasy, "What, you're not afraid we're enthralled and here to gain your trust so that we could kill you?" He asked sarcastically.

"Kal!" Kasumi swatted the Quarian in the arm, before bowing slightly to the old Crone, "My apologies, we're all a little on edge at the moment."

The Crone however, merely gave the Turian equivalent of a smirk, "Well that's the thing, Quarian, I have many ways of protecting myself." She blinked, and she flared up an aura of purple that coated her body. "Some in rather obvious ways, and some in… not so obvious ways." She twisted her cane, and detached the top part of it before pressing a button.

A black blade shot out from the handle, and Tali quickly ran a scan on the weapon.

Her jaw dropped as she realized that it was a blade of superheated plasma. I thought Garrus said that all those weapons were destroyed. She thought, taking an involuntary step back. The Crone gave a chuckle as she deactivated the blade and reconnected it to her staff. "Now then, onto more important matters."

She pointed the end of her cane at Kasumi, and Tali felt her heart flutter. "I learned many things when I was stationed on Omega. My lover was kind enough to teach me a number of tricks before we parted; she wanted to stay as far away from Tevos' rule as possible, and raise our child in as much peace as she could manage, but I wanted to carry on the struggle."

Here, the Crone stood and grunted as her knees cracked, "So to help me carry on the fight, she taught me how to sense when another Biotic is nearby; and more importantly, how to sense them trying to Influence me and how to fight back." She looked directly at Kasumi. "I sense no biotics from you, kid, so that means one of two things."

She turned to her desk and took a quick drink of water. "One, you are the only Asari in the history of the galaxy to not be born with Biotics. Or…" She turned and gave that damned smirk of hers. "You aren't an Asari. Go ahead and lift your hoods up and take your visors and goggles off, all four of you."

Tali and Kal flinched, and the Crone snorted, "'Rule number one in dealing with Nyreen Kandros; assume she knows everything and has accounted for it.' was what the people of Omega always said about me."

She pointed at Tali, "I kept track of you through my senses and security cameras, and I saw that officer knock your mask off; and yet here you stand before me, not dead and not sick."

Tali shook her head, "I… I have been fixed but Kal hasn't, he'll still die without a clean room."

The Crone, Kandros, narrowed her eyes for a moment as her eyes flared purple, before she nodded; "Hm… interesting…" before she gestured at Tali, Liara, and Kasumi, "Well… what are you three waiting for?"

Reluctantly, Tali reached up and removed her mask, while Liara took off her Balaclava and goggles. Kasumi hesitated, and Tali looked at the woman and nodded. Kasumi swallowed, before lowering her Sehni and Balaclava; revealing her definitely un-Asari face to Kandros. The Turian stared for a moment, then nodded, "Truly fascinating, I wonder if the Protheans seeded your homeworld with some Genetic cousin of the Asari that became you." She mused.

After a moment, Tali replaced her mask and asked, "What do you want?"

"I want fair trade." Kandros replied, "I learned a lot during my brief tenure in the Cabal and as a Hierarchy Magistrate. And I learned even more from Aria while on Omega." She smirked at the stunned looks on their faces, "You see, I could have kept the knowledge I held a secret and held it over you for an… advantage in negotiations. But what kind of Alliance is built off of mutual enemies? At best, we'd be together until Tevos and the Hierarchy lay dead at our feet; at which point all parties will happily drop the other for their own benefit."

She walked up to Tali, and tilted her head as she took in Tali's Realk and Sehni; and Tali got the distinct feeling that the Turian was looking through the Quarians visor and examining her face, "So what I want is this, Tali'Zorah, biological daughter of Rael and Ceema'Zorah, and adopted daughter of Shala'Raan. I want free trade of discussion and information between us."

Kandros took a step forward while she typed on her omnitool, before saying, "This is an encrypted line, you know anything you send it to me; and vice versa." Here she paused, and seemed to nod to herself, "You have given me much to think on, so I shall grant you this boon."

She walked back over to her table and typed in a set of commands. "As of this moment, a Hierarchy police team has been dispatched to the home of Deputy C-SEC Executor Castis Vakarian. Their orders are to arrest former Sergeant Garrus Vakarian for desertion and kidnapping, and return his adopted daughter Lutum to her biological Parents."

She jerked a mandible to the door, "You have about thirty minutes, I have already blocked the transmission to the Vakarian household to lock it down; and the message ordering Garrus' arrest that was sent to his father, who would be obliged to arrest him or else the whole family will be executed and the children sent to a new clan for harbouring a traitor."

Tali worked her mouth up and down for a moment, then sprinted out the door; Kal, Liara, and Kasumi only a step behind her.

Kandros watched them go, and shook her head as she pulled up a photograph; "Kids and young love." She mumbled, smiling at the sight of herself, Aria, and their two daughters. One was the result of Tevos raping Aria, and the other was from the two of them bonding.

Shaking her head again, Nyreen simply sat down in her chair and closed her eyes; I hope you can find the mother and father Mister Vakarian, if only so I can run them both through with my sword.

Garrus leaned back in his chair, smiling as he saw Vestris finish her food; while her cousin Lucius grumbled unhappily as he finished the last third of his own serving. He turned to Solana and her husband Tulio, giving them a Turian smirk; "Remember when we complained about Dad's cooking?"

"Yeah, I distinctly remember you hated your veggies more than anything else." Solana replied.

Their father huffed while their mother blinked absently as she slowly continued eating; which was rather amazing given how much she was in bad shape when Garrus had arrived. She still forgot about Tulio, Vestris, and Lucius after a couple of hours; but now she was clearly able to recognize Garrus and Solana and their father.

It had done a significant amount to boost Garrus' spirits from the rather depressing pall of dread that had clung to him ever since he had left for relay 314. When he had taken the job, he had fully expected to have been done with it within a few months; more than enough time for him to return home.

But after Earth… he had been forced to accept that he would likely never see his Mother alive again. Seeing her looking and acting better in these past few days than she had during the whole year before Garrus had left for the 314 expedition…

It was almost euphoric.

Beep!Beep! Garrus blinked, while the others shifted their attention to him. Garrus frowned as he realized it was from Tali, "Father… you know what I told you about 314; about the Asari, correct?"

"Of course." The old man scoffed, before he gestured to his omnitool and then Vestris. "Is that little Vestris' mother on the line."

"You could say that." Garrus replied, before he opened up the connection; audio only. "Hey Tals, whats-"

"Garrus! You all need to leave! NOW!" She shouted, cutting him off.

It was a testament to the Turian discipline that Garrus, Solana, Tulio, and the Old Man were all on their feet in seconds; all searching the windows for possible threats. "Tali, what's going on? What's wrong?" He demanded.

"Garrus, a… friend just told me; Hierarchy Police forces have been sent to arrest you on charges of Kidnapping, Desertion, and Treason. And they plan to arrest your family too for harboring you." She snapped furiously.

"WHAT?!" The Old Man roared, "My son is no traitor!"

"Tell that to the Police. They sent an order for Garrus' arrest to your Omnitool, Mr. Vakarian, and a lockdown code for your home; so that if you hadn't arrested Garrus by the time they arrived you would be considered a traitor as well. It's been stopped." Tali explained, sounding more out of breath now; which was almost certainly because she was running as fast as her legs could carry her.

Old Man Vakarian was many things, but slow on the uptake he was not. He mulled things over for a moment, then nodded to himself; "Well… since the lockdown hasn't gone into effect yet; Garrus can step outside for a 'one-on-one talk' with his daughter while we finish up our meal, and when the police arrive they're mysteriously gone." He said simply, before turning to Garrus. "Grab your things, and leave."

Normally, Garrus would be bristling at being ordered around by his father like he was a soldier, but this time he didn't spare a moment; sprinting up the stairs while Vestris stayed seated, sheer terror written across her face.

Lucius sat in stony shock, while his father took him aside to talk for a moment; and Garrus' mother simply sat there and stared off into space, but frowning heavily as she had forgotten why she was feeling alarmed and frightened.

In less than a minute, Garrus was down the stairs with his and Vestris' things packed and ready to go. "Alright Kiddo, let's get outta here!"

"Garrus." He paused and turned to look at his mother, and he walked up and hugged her tightly.

"I love you mom, I'll never forget you."

"Goodbye Garrus, I'll see you tomorrow?" she asked, blinking with a glint of mischief in her eyes.

Garrus chuffed a laugh that was more like a sob, "I will mom."

He gave a quick hug to his sister, who couldn't even bring herself to say anything beyond returning the hug; he ruffled Lucius' fringe and a quick handshake to Tulio. Turning to his father, Garrus opened his mouth to say goodbye; when the Old Man took him off guard and hugged him tightly. "Good luck out there Son."

"Thanks Dad, and good luck to you too."

And with those words, the two rushed out the door; disappearing into the night.

Shala lay in her medical bed, wincing at the faint peeling sound of Doctor Chambers removing the makeshift eyepatch that had stopped Shala from bleeding out; made from her Sehni, the only thing that she'd had left of her parents.

"Doctor…" She whispered, looking at the red haired human, "If you would be so kind… can you simply wash that off and maybe fix it up slightly? I… I want that to be my eyepatch." She nervously played with the edges of the blanket covering her; all of her clothing having been removed for sanitation reasons.

The human psychologist seemed to instantly understand Shala's reasoning, and gave a faint smile, "Of course Ms. 'Raan. Miranda, could you please?"

The other woman nodded with a light smile, and hurried out of the room; brushing past Hau, who gave an irritated caw for being disturbed from his nap, before he shifted himself and closed his eyes again. Shala felt her spirits drop even further, if that was at all possible; everyone had recoiled in horror in seeing her face, the only exceptions being Dr. Chambers and Professor Solus.

Granted, her once pretty face was no longer something to look at.

The entire right side of her face was covered in bruises, not to mention the dark hole that used to hold her right eye. While the bruises would heal in time, and while her face wasn't disfigured in any permanent way; her eye could never be replaced. Were they on earth, they might have been able to grow a replacement; but even then, it wouldn't have been a guarantee.

A hand on her shoulder jostled Shala out of her thoughts, and she turned her one eyed gaze to see Dr. Chambers looking at her straight on. "No matter what, he still loves you. You are his mother, damn cultural norms and names."

Shala just nodded as Miranda came back in, quickly wrapping Shala's sehni-patch over her eye hole. "Can't have Cato staring at that ugly thing."

"Miri!"

Shala felt a tiny smile cross her face at the utterly confused expression on Miranda's face. "It's quite alright Kelly. I'm fully aware how much of a fright I must look." She said, covering her mouth to hide her smile.

Doctor Chambers crossed her arms and looked sternly at Miranda. "It's not about how good or bad you look. Miri knows better than to speak that crassly about a patient."

Shala nearly broke out in a full belly laugh as the genetically engineered killing machine pouted. "Pop says warriors deserve the truth, and you always tell me 'honesty is the best policy."

Kelly frowned at that. "The Battlemaster means well, but he is hardly the most empathetic person, so I'd hesitate to follow his lead in regard to bedside manner. Besides, I've also told you that if you don't have anything nice to say-"

"I know, I know, then don't say anything at all." Miranda replied, looking down as she stepped back while Shala adjusted her eyepatch, feeling the once again soft and comfortable remains of her Sehni.

It was all she had now, of her old life.

Shala mused for a moment. My old life. She'd already spoken to Doctor Solus, and the harvest of Rachni grubs had nearly topped off the Normandy's stores of AGE substitute. While the good professor doubted it would be as complete a regenerative balm as the Antlion extract, the substance he was making was at least capable of correcting the damage to her people's immune systems. That opened the pathway to general colonization of any Levo-Amino world, and the eggs would be sufficient once they hatched to treat the rest of the Flotilla. For the first time in her life, Admiral 'Raan entertained the hope that her people might do more than just survive another year.

The hatchway opened, and Shala closed her eye as she heard a sharp intake of breath; before she turned to see Cato and Rael standing there, both looked utterly horrified at the mass of bruises covering the entire right side of her face.

She gave a faint smile, "Hello Cato… Hello Rael… I-"

She was cut off as Rael rushed forward and hugged her tightly, ignoring her blanket slipping off for a moment; before she quickly pulled it back up into place. Then Cato did the same, catching her completely off guard; although he was more careful not to knock her blanket out of place. Slowly, with shaking hands, she returned each of their embraces while giving a nervous laugh; "I knew that you both were worried, but I didn't think you would be this worried." She said, trying to downplay her surprise.

Rael gripped the side of her bed as his shoulders trembled slightly, before he held Shala's shoulders; ignoring the purple hue coloring her face at the fact that he was touching her bare skin. "You Bosh'tet! You nearly killed yourself, and for what? To prove that you could be a Queen?!" He exclaimed.

Shala blinked and felt her eye narrow as her blush faded, I suppose Cato told him, she mused as she thought of her response. "Well pardon me for trying to help our people Rael, but it's my job as an Admiral." She snapped in reply.

Rael snorted, and lightly tapped her right temple, and Shala cringed away from it; "A job that others were already in the process of taking care of. Ancestors, Shala do you have a death wish?!" He snapped furiously, but his eyes had dimmed to the point that the yellow and black iris were visible. "We've all lost enough friends over the years. I've no desire to lose another when we're on the cusp of bringing our people back from the brink."

Shala slowly propped herself up on her arms, her own eye flaring in anger as her blanket fell away; Cato immediately looked away, but Shala and Rael were both so caught up in their argument that neither of them noticed. "If I hadn't done anything, we would have lost that damned Queen; and then we would have nothing, and I still would have lost my eye!" She hissed, before giving a soft catlike growl as she glared directly into Rael's eyes with her own sole remaining one.

Neither noticed Cato slowly back out of the room through the hatch, before taking off in a run towards the hanger. Chambers and Solus meanwhile had backed away towards their respective offices, keeping a respectful distance while standing ready to intervene.

Hau, for his part, had used his wings to cover his own ear holes as he gave a soft -caw- of irritation at his nap being interrupted by, from his perspective, two mates squabbling over the Queen risking herself; when, as a good flock leader, that was what she should be doing in the first place.

He just hoped his fellow flock leader's child would come back soon.

He wanted his nap, but it wasn't proper for an outsider like him to interrupt a mate's squabble; at least, as long as he wanted to keep his feathers. He had learned that the hard way a long time ago.

Tali sighed as her shuttle landed in the Normandy's hanger bay. She was bone tired, and just wanted to sleep; but as she turned and walked out with Garrus, all thoughts of sleep left her as she saw Cato running up to her.

"Cato? What's wrong?" She asked, blinking as she saw the worried expression on his face while Kal quickly rushed up beside her. Garrus, Kasumi, Liara, and Vestris all stood back with concerned looks on their faces.

"Tali! I… You need to see Mo-Aunt 'Raan, like right now." He said, looking over his shoulder and wincing at his little slip up.

Tali hissed. "I knew it was something." She looked over her shoulder at her team. "Get your gear settled, then head to the intel-center for debrief." She then turned and followed her brother. "I need to make sure Auntie 'Raan hasn't gone and gotten herself killed."

Kal went to follow, but he stayed behind while the two siblings sprinted out of the hanger. "Cato!" Tali panted as they ran, "What is wrong?!" She demanded.

"It'll be easier to show you." Cato replied, not looking at her as he stayed ahead.

Tali cursed internally, but didn't get the chance to say anything in reply as they reached the hatch to the medical bay. Even with the soundproof hatch, Tali could hear muffled shouting, and without a moments thought she stepped through and stopped dead in her tracks to see her father kneeling next to the bed; looking close to tears.

And her Auntie 'Raan… Oh… Kheelah…

She had seen a lot of horrors, and death, and destruction ever since her pilgrimage; but for some reason, the sight of her Aunt laying on a hospital bed with only a sheet covering her and the entire right side of her face covered in hideous bruises was something… sickening.

And then she saw the eyepatch; or rather, the eyepatch made from Shala's Sehni.

Shala looked over at the new arrival and saw Tali's stricken look. "Not you too, Captain." She looked back at Tali's father. "I keep telling everyone it's not as bad as it looks."

"Yes it is." Miri's voice came from behind the privacy curtain, followed by Doctor Chambers' sibilant admonishment.

Shala shook her head, then winced. "Anyway, the mission was a success: we denied the Combine access to a potential source of FTL capability and a second beach-head, while also securing enough Antlion substitute to guarantee the health and safety of our people." She shot a tired look at Rael, then looked at Tali again. "And what about your mission? I fully expected you to be gone a month or more."

Tali blinked, and forced herself to look away from the eyepatch and mass of bruises and focused on Shala's sole remaining eye. "We… The mission is a success. The leader of the Barefaced, she's… she's something else." Tali admitted. "We have agreed to further coordinate actions between us; and a free flow of information. If we ask for something, she'll ask for something in return." Shaking her head, she swallowed heavily. "Rule number one in dealing with her, Assume she knows everything."

Shala blinked, "Well that's informative." She grumbled, before turning to Rael, "I did intend to inform the Admiralty and the rest of the Conclave what Ayita discovered regarding my ancestry and the like; if only to dismiss the idea of reforming the monarchy." She admitted.

Rael huffed a laugh, catching Tali and Cato off guard. Their father didn't laugh, "Shala, once the cure goes out to the fleet, the conclave will be at the foot of this bed begging you to take the throne."

The two younger 'Zorahs were even more confused and stunned when Shala just giggled, "I think I'll need a new suit for that first." She stated, gesturing at the blanket; which was clearly the only thing she was 'wearing' at the moment. "Besides 'Zorah," her tone had an almost teasing tone to it, "if we're bringing back the Dynasties, then you're going to be there right beside me. I'm absolutely not doing this alone."

The siblings watched as several emotions flashed across their father's face almost too fast to read, pain and longing among them, before he settled on his 'Admiral' face. "With respect Admiral, this is a discussion for closed chambers; not for a medical bay," his eyes flicked towards his two children. "Once you are well enough to travel, please come aboard the Rayya with my compliments."

Shala's own face seemed to fall slightly, while her eye flashed emerald for a moment before falling back to silver; "Of course…" She said simply, before she turned to Cato and Tali with a sheepish smile. "Sorry… I'm a little out of it at the moment, so I forgot that you two were there." She admitted.

Cato seemed to shake himself and his face scrunched up in a mock disgusted expression. "Blyat." He grumped, rubbing his eyes. "Did not need to see that mother."

Tali did the same, making a gagging sound. "Kheelah! Auntie that's all I'm going to see tonight!"

Shala just laughed, and Rael's stone cold face did crack the tiniest of smiles for a moment before he seemed to remember that he had on his 'Admirals face'; and he forced himself to drop his smile. Despite that, both 'Zorah children could see the mirth in his eyes as he finally took a seat; preparing to spend the rest of the day by his friends bedside.

In the days and weeks that followed, Shala was bored out of her mind.

Because of her concussion, she wasn't allowed to read, write, watch any entertainment, or get up and walk around. In that time, she had been slowly getting used to getting by with one eye; trying to work around the loss of her depth perception, and build her strength back up in general. She was disheartened by the fact that she couldn't even secure a cybernetic replacement. As with any other technology within the reach of the Citadel, all modern ocular implants used quantities of Eezo. The mere idea of having that substance, once the cornerstone of all scientific and technological advancement, implanted in her head gave her a headache.

The only form of entertainment she had was the people of the fleet coming by to receive their treatment with the AGE; or rather the Rachni substitute.

The Children and those suffering from serious illness and injury were the ones that were receiving the first doses beyond the first safety test batch. It warmed her heart to see children just reaching puberty to those as young as a week old able to shed away their enviro balls and actually walk around without fear of death.

All of those that came to the Normandy to receive the treatment stopped by to visit her.

Despite her insistence not to, Rael had leaked out word to the conclave and to other such people known to be gossips that Shala had lost her eye to secure the cure. Adding to that, the revelations of Felz'zel were also slowly being leaked out; but at a much slower and controlled pace.

The information needed to get out there before Tevos could blare it across the galaxy; and indirectly destroy the trust the people had in the Admiralty and the Conclave.

Shala smiled as the most recent recipient of the AGE, a three year old little girl, toddled forward out of her ball and towards her parents. Both of the young adults couldn't have been older than twenty, as most Pilgrims left when they turned sixteen to eighteen and returned after only two or three years.

Shala blinked and tilted her head, Is that… She narrowed her eye before looking at the parents. No… no I must be imagining it. She tried to reassure herself. While it wasn't thoroughly understood, Felz'zel was supposed to be hereditary.

So why do I sense it from her and not them… Shala wondered.

She was drawn out of her thoughts when the child toddled over next to her bed and said, "Hi Queen Shala!"

Shala blinked her eye, while the mother quickly rushed over and picked her daughter up. "Ah, my apologies Ma'am. She's just been hearing everyone talking about you being the next queen."

She felt a tiny smile spread across her rapidly healing face in spite of herself, while her eye twinkled in amusement. "Well what are those people saying?" She asked, her tone making it clear that she thought it was more funny than anything else.

"Well some are scoffing at the idea, they're content with the current system." The husband stated, sounding incredibly offended over the idea.

Shala blinked her eye, and raised an eyebrow, "And what do you two think?"

The two adults exchanged unsure glances behind their visors, before the female shrugged, "Well… in all honesty I'm not opposed to it." she stated, giving a loud snort, "You at least care about us; unlike those other idiots like 'Xen and 'Gerral."

Shala gave a slow nod, "Han has our best interests at heart, even if the methods leave much to be desired." She admitted, "But 'Xen… let's just say that I would make sure she was exiled as my first act." She gave a tiny smile at her little joke.

Both of the parents rolled their eyes, but their child shifted slightly in her mothers arms and turned her inquisitive stare to Shala; pointing at the eyepatch made from her Sheni. "Did it hurt?" She asked curiously.

Shala froze, as she felt the sensations of her eye being put out, the instant darkness that shrouded the right side of her face, the world ending pain of Ayita pulling the spike out. She wasn't even aware of what was happening around her, as she suddenly found herself back in that dark and depressing facility.

Shala felt her breath grow short, and she felt her eye start flaring in pain again; and she felt as if her heart was going to explode.

"Admiral… my Queen…" Shala flinched, and turned to see the male Quarian standing beside her; and she blinked in surprise when she noticed that the toddler and her mother were gone. Doctor Chambers stood on the other side of her bed, a hand on Shala's shoulder.

Shaking her head, Shala started, "I'm sorry, I-I must have space-"

"For what it's worth Admiral, I may be opposed to restoring the Monarchy; but… if you try, you will have my family and clans support. You deserve that much after all that you went through." The man stated, before turning and walking out of the room.

"Alright Ladies and Gents, gather round." Palla stood at Parade rest as Third and Fourth platoons began taking seats in the small amphitheatre. First and Second Platoons were there as well, while Gunny Shepard and Master Sergeant Massani stood behind her, watching everything with critical eyes.

Even from this distance, it was easy to pick out who was in first and second platoon as opposed to those in the third and fourth.

Drawing herself up, she said. "There's a lot of rumors floating around about my little extra dimensional excursion. We're not here to grind the rumor mill. Yes, Admiral 'Raan and I traveled to the world the Mistress identified as Xen. Yes, there were a lot of weird things. You lot are going to learn about them all today. Helmets on!"

With that order, everyone quickly pulled on their helmets; while Massani and Shepard pulled on a pair of goggles and a set of headphones. Swallowing, Palla quickly pulled on her own helmet; They edited out the Admirals breakdown and her nearly dying, everything will be fine. She reminded herself.

She quickly opened the file, and it started with her running after the Rachni Queen carried Admiral 'Raan through the portal it had created; and the portal spitting her out onto the tiny floating rock floating in the middle of nowhere.

"This is the first scenario we'll need to go over. You'll note the random placement of the floating islands. I underestimated the power behind our HEC and AA/FA systems and, well..." She saw several soldiers flinch at her ill-timed initial jump. "It is imperative that we all understand just how powerful we are in these suits, so this will be our first drill."

She remotely paused everyone's recorders. "You'll have seen earlier that the vehicle bay has had some... modifications." Everyone looked more closely at the seemingly random placement of various makeshift platforms on the maintenance cranes. "We're going to drill moving up and down these platforms which will be manually controlled by everyone's favorite Master and Gunnery Sergeants."

The entire Company groaned as Master Sergeant Massani chuckled menacingly.

As the four platoons quickly went to begin their drills, Palla turned to Gunny Shepard and had to fight down a smirk. "I don't think I did too bad for my first foray into Xen, still way harder than your PT drills." She said with a challenging hint to her voice.

Shepard just crossed his arms and huffed, "Not bad, though you had a far easier time than I did." He stated.

Palla's eyes widened, "Sir, you've been to Xen?" She asked.

"Yup, while Sentient Aliens tried to kill me I may add." He said, a tiny smile cracking at the edge of his face, then it dropped. "Had help though, my… I suppose you would call her a mate, went through it with me. We dropped into Xen multiple times to try and escape Black Mesa." He admitted, before looking away, "You're lucky that Gonarch didn't drive its legs through your heart; Gordon Freeman fought one on his journey, and it was a long battle to kill the thing, even for him."

Palla glanced sideways at him with two eyes. "You don't talk much about where you were, or who you encountered."

They were both distracted by a cry and crash.

"Jishka! You were only four meters up. You've got to remember to initiate manual control of your Ascent Pack, since you're suits," she hesitated for a moment, "VI won't have time to compensate. Take a minute, then start back up."

The Salarian levered himself back up. "Yes Sergeant."

Shepard raised an eyebrow at her directive. "They won't have the chance to take a minute in real life."

She put her hands behind her back and watched the rest of the Company's progress. "Which makes this an ideal time for everyone to get used to the suits' capabilities. This is about figuring out what we can do before we have to make a leap of faith. There'll be plenty of time for 'no-break' drills."

Massani just grunted while Shepard gave an acknowledging nod, before he grew thoughtful; "Hm… I hope that the Quarians can figure out what the hell they plan to do about their government soon; cause the last thing we need at the moment is division." He mused absently.

Palla blinked at the sudden change of topic, "Sir?" She asked.

Massani gave Shepard a harsh look, which the Gunny returned; "The Quarian portion of the Security Council is divided at the moment. General-Admiral 'Zorah wants to restore the Monarchy some time before we get to Earth; Admiral 'Gerrel refuses to even consider the idea, and Admiral 'Koris is supportive of restoring it after Earth is liberated. The Conclave is split three ways in a similar way." He explained, and gave her a pointed look, "This is classified of course; but I want an on the ground opinion on the idea."

Palla grimaced. "My personal experience with autocracies isn't the best, though it seems to work for the Turians. As for the Admiral herself," her eyes flicked around in Batarian contemplation. "Admiral 'Raan is a compassionate commander, though that might be due to her being a Naval commander; she's used to some distance between herself and her subordinates. We didn't have that during this last mission."

Shepard shrugged, "Well 'Koris and 'Zorah were thinking of something in between; a Constitutional Monarchy where the Monarch is more of a figurehead than anything else, but still has some influence in terms of policy and the like." He explained.

Palla opened her mouth to say something, when both Massani's and Shepards omnitools started beeping. Both men froze, instantly knowing what the signal meant; and Shepard pulled up his omnitool and read the message, instantly confirming his worst fears.

"Shit!" He exclaimed, turning and sprinting out of the training room, Zaeed not far behind.

"Gunny, Master Sarge, what's wrong!" Palla shouted after them in concern.

"Emergency meeting! Get everyone armed and equipped, we'll let you know more when we're out of the meeting." Zaeed shouted, the door shutting behind him.

Palla watched them go, and slowly turned to Corporal Sapius and 'Knight'-Sergeant 'Vigar; and the three of them shared a knowing look, even as the other troopers scrambled to follow the Sergeants instructions.

And that look just screamed, I think we're in trouble.

Pilot A/N: First off, I want to recommend the Mass Effect-Star Wars X-Over "The Huntress", which is about a Mandalorian woman who finds herself in the Mass Effect Galaxy. It's pretty good, so go check it out and leave some reviews for the author.

And now we deal with the fallout of Shala's little trial by fire, and the effects of Tali's excursion into Turian space. Nyreen Kandros, which I guarantee many of you did not see coming, I pictured this particular characterization of her as being like Moff Gideon if Moff Gideon was a good guy.

Willing to do whatever it takes to win and to make sure the right side wins. So long as you're on her side, then you're good; but if not, then God help you because she will bowl you over without even breaking a sweat.

If you thought Shala and Rael were a little OOC, (which Ian and I took pains to avoid), then chalk it up to them going through a bond like Ayita and Cato did; which means their emotions flare up wildly and all that. Plus, Shala was all doped up on pain medicine while Rael was dealing with the very real reality that Shala almost died and he never got to say goodbye or confess or anything like that.

Anything to add Ian?

Ian A/N: Nothing really to add that hasn't already been said. We're moving into the homestretch for this act, so stay tuned dear readers.

Pilot: Right then, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter; leave a review and let us know what you think.

A TV Tropes page and Recommendation would be greatly appreciated.

And we will see ya when we see ya.