Chapter 32: Escaping the Mindscape

The Hardest Prison to Escape is in your Mind

-Unknown

Retz held a knife in his hand, knowing what was going to happen, but unsure of what to do. He grimaced at the blade and then the two kig-yar sitting with him. They were both smiling at him, looking jovial and proud. It already made Retz sick, just as much as it did back then. He didn't want to be here. Not now, not then. It didn't change anything though and he couldn't change it now.

"This fragment will proceed," a monotone voice ordered.

"Come on, Retz," The older kig-yar pushed. "Perk up a little, we've had our best month yet."

Retz remembered those words, but he didn't perk up. He hated this moment, he hated this memory, he hated this life and he hated having to relive it seven times already. The AI had certainly picked the best of the worst for him. No pulled punches here, that was for sure. He kept flipping the knife over in his hand, he could feel himself trembling a bit, but he wasn't sure if it was from the nerves he had back then or the synth pushing him to move on once more.

"Resistance will not be tolerated," the monotone voice said, as Retz felt a sting to his head. "Proceed with the fragment."

Retz snarled at the voice. It wanted him to proceed, fine, he would, but on his terms. This moment was gone, nothing could change it, but it didn't matter. This was a chance and he was taking it, regardless of how hollow it was. Taq's memory of her mother was real enough for her, so was Keiji to Kasumi. So that meant this was his shot.

"There's a million things I could say to right now, boss," he confessed rather plainly. "A million things and then some. That I'm sorry, that it was beyond my control, that I wasn't smart enough to think for myself in that moment. That would all be pointless though, cause it doesn't change anything."

The older kig-yar just kept that dumb smile on his face, the same one he had before the knife would get plunged into his throat.

"You were a good friend, a good employer," Retz continued, looking him right in the eye. "All the same, I knew that when I woke up on this day I was going to kill you. That all my lies about who I was, what I was here for, they had come home to roost. You were already dead before we even sat down, because I had lied to you, abused your trust, made you think of me as a friend, a son. But all the while, I was actually your assassin."

No response from the old bird, as expected, he wasn't real. It didn't matter. To Retz, this was as real as it would ever get. It was like talking to a ghost in a sense. That was just going to have to do.

"I couldn't tell you the truth then," he said rather sadly. "It just didn't feel right. But I would've loved being those things to you. I would've preferred being something more than the liar. I don't often say that, I'm really good at lying, as you well know. I know because you were the lie I told myself. You were the first time I ever felt guilty about anything, I just pretended I wasn't for years. Pretended until..."

He took a moment as a sting hit the back of his head. The AI was pushing him. He had to finish.

"I pretended until I realized what I was doing to Zek was the same thing I did to you," he explained, the guilt now pouring out. "I was lying to him for years. I knew at some point I was going to be told to betray him, just like I did you. And I remembered the face you gave me when I killed you, the horror, the shock, the pain. Not at the stabbing, but at what I had done to you. The thought of seeing that face again with Zek... I couldn't do it. I couldn't do it again. So that's when I decided to tell him the truth, all of it. And as much as I prefer to lie, as good as I am at it, there is truth in that old human proverb... the truth does set you free."

Retz looked down at the knife for a moment, turning it once more in his fingers. Then he looked straight back up, a blank look on his face but the sadness suddenly gone.

"Thank you, boss," he finally said. "You set me free... it just took a bit of time."

In a swift motion he jumped on the table and stabbed his boss hard in the neck. Blood pooled out of the wound, splattering all over him. His fellow employee looking on in horror, his bootlegging boss looking at him utter shock. Retz dug the knife deep and then sliced hard out, splattering the table with dark purple. The old kig-yar clutched at his throat for a moment and then keeled over on the chair.

But as Retz felt the room beginning to reset, he turned the knife on himself and slashed at the top of his hand. He screamed and winced aloud... but in the next moment the pain was gone and so was the knife. It left no wound, no blood and suddenly everything collapsed. The room, the table, his shocked friend's look. They all vanished and he was back in the chamber. He looked at the others, all in torment, fighting battles of their own, crying over loved ones, panicking over reliving the fear and loss they suffered. He steeled his gaze and pulled out his energy dagger.

"Error. Error. Negative Memory Fragment Interruption. Unprecedented. Impossible."

The AI had noticed he had left and it was none too please. Good.

"You're not as smart as you think, Synth," Retz spat back. "You thought you could use my pain against me, but you can't hurt me anymore than I've already hurt myself. I've lived with that damn memory in my nightmares every night for my entire life. You think that was enough to make me bend the knee to you? It was what convinced me to never bend the knee to anyone ever again!"

A light tendril shot at him, but he sliced at it.

"You must capitulate," The AI insisted. "You must join the mindscape. You must all be made whole. You must accept the truth."

"I don't have to do nothing," Retz declared. "I know my own head. I know what I am. I'm a liar, I'm a sneak, I've hurt a lot of people. Your bad memories aren't going to convince me of anything new."

"Mental scan was accurate," the AI declared. "Subject could not break free. Processing error in script."

The tendrils kept coming but Retz dodged and cut at them with his dagger.

"I'm good enough at lying to know when someone is bad at it," Retz told the machine. "And you're the worst at it cause you keep lying to yourself. Your experiment has failed! It was always gonna fail! And I'm going to show you why!"

Retz rushed over to Zek, sitting in an imaginary chair.

"No chance, make deal, surrender freedom," he muttered. "Have to give up, don't be like dad. Destroy everything we are, survive."

"Zek, this happened, but it's over," Retz reminded him, screaming in his ear. "You made a decision you regret. Everyone has! But what matters is you made it with best intentions and you've done everything you can trying to correct it! You broke free once! Do it again!"

"Can't... change," Zek said through a gritted teeth. "Won't... let me..."

"You can if you break it," Retz insisted. "Just a small change. A small push against it all. Something you would've done if you could!"

Zek struggled, moving his hand around on the chair that wasn't there. He pressed a button.

"Activate... Slipspace..." he said squeaked aloud. "Run... them... down."

In another second, Zek's head hit the back of his chair as if the ship he was on had rocketed forward. The Pirate leader then fell to the ground face first, stopping himself with the palms of his hands.

"I'm... I'm out," he soon realized.

"Malfunction. Malfunction. Fragment interceded. Must re-establish."

The tendril tried to shoot out, but Zek blocked it with his shield.

"Retz, how did-?"

"It wants to beat us down with bad memories," Retz explained quickly. "Make us remember the worst days. But that's not all there is to us. We just gotta remind everyone."

Retz moved quickly to Kasumi as tendrils tried to catch him. She was on her knees sobbing, crying out the name of her dead lover.

"Should've been there," she sobbed. "Should've been beside him. Wasn't. Let him down. Keiji, I failed you."

"You failed no one, Ms. Goto," Retz told her. "And more importantly, he did not die for nothing. You finished what he started, remember?"

"Can't... change it," Kasumi said, trying to struggle.

"It doesn't matter what you can't change," Retz insisted. "It matters what changed us. Think, Ms. Goto, what changed in you?"

Kasumi raised her hand slowly, her eyes fixing on a point before aiming a fake pistol.

"I... got... revenge..." she began. "No... not that. I found... new... purpose."

She pulled the trigger and then jolted forward suddenly.

"It was Hock... and then... it was the Collectors," she said, breathing heavily. "I... I avenged Keiji, but I became more than a thief. I joined Shepard, I saved people."

Retz just nodded briefly.

"Now get the others out," he told her. "Make them see what you just saw."

Retz defended Kasumi from another light tendril, which were flailing all over the place now. The AI was becoming increasingly erratic. Kasumi darted over to Tali first, who was sobbing and clutching something in her hands.

"Mom... don't go mom," she kept saying.

"Tali, I'm sorry, she's already gone," Kasumi told her serenely. "But that doesn't mean she's left you."

"I'm alone now," Tali said weakly. "So alone."

Kasumi put a hand on her shoulder.

"You never were," she assured her. And then Kasumi hugged her. "Tell her what you want to say."

Tali's silver eyes went wide, sucking in a huge gulp of air. She was lightly shaken from her painful daze. In that moment she looked down to the invisible bed. The tears were still coming, but something had changed.

"Mom, when we lost you, it left a hole," she said, sniffling as she did. "And, in a way, Dad left me too when you did. I buried it all, tried to be the best daughter, I always felt I failed. But I did my best to push myself all the same. I wanted to make him proud, make everyone proud. I wanted to do great things and you... you were always in the back of my mind. Maybe... maybe even more than dad was. I wish you were here... but in a way, you always were. It's just hard to remember that, because sometimes I forget your face."

She knelt down and placed her visor against what Kasumi assumed was her mother's forehead.

"Now... now I won't," she swore. "Never again."

In that moment Tali shot up like a weed and deeper into Kasumi's hug.

"She smiled," Tali said, her sobs of sadness turning to joy. "Kas... I... I saw my mother smile."

"Welcome back, girl," Kasumi greeted.

"Wrong. Error. Malfunction." The AI screeched metallically. "Subject overrode system. Fragment corrupted. Scripting Error. Impossible."

"You stupid, bosh'tet," Tali spat out with a laugh. "You gave me a chance to see my mother again! Did you really think that was going to destroy me? I just needed a reminder that it couldn't!"

A light tendril shot out, lacing towards Tali. Both her and Kasumi jumped out of the way as the attack came close. Kasumi then used her omni-blade to cut at the tendril as it doubled back.

"Get to Shep!" She told the quarian. "Then work on the others!"

Tali pulled herself up and took off towards Shepard. The Commander was still gripping that invisible rail, his teethed bared and gritted. It didn't take long for Tali to realize what the AI was subjecting him to.

"I... had to... make a choice," he growled. "I... had to... make... a choice."

Kaidan's death, it couldn't be anyone else. She grabbed his shoulders and tried to pull him off the rail.

"Wade, no, you didn't kill Kaidan," she insisted.

"I had to-"

"You made the only choice you could've," Tali insisted. "If we had gone back, Ashley and Kirrahe's team would've all died. You saved their lives, Wade."

"Kaidan... didn't save, Kaidan," he grunted.

That wasn't it, that wasn't why he was upset. Tali knew this was deeper, but she had little time to be gentle.

"Kaidan made his own choices as well," Tali reminded him. "He chose to sacrifice himself in the hopes of stopping Saren. If he hadn't done what he did we'd have all been worse off. You know that, deep down you already know all of this. Don't let this AI make you forget that."

"Still... lost another friend," Shepard grunted. "Couldn't... save him. Just like... Blitz."

His grip on the rail was loosening, but not enough. Tali hoped what she said next would be enough to get him the whole way.

"You can't change what happened," Tali told him. "But you don't have to. Do what you would've done had you another chance, what you would've said knowing what you do now."

Shepard managed to fight through the emotional despair and pain surrounding him, long enough to say something else.

"Kaidan... you did what you had to," he finally blurted out, fighting the AI's influence. "You did what was expected. What I knew you always... would. I could always count on you for that. You were... a good friend. You gave us the chance... to finish the mission. We beat Saren... because of what you did. I just... wish you could've known that."

There was a voice that Tali heard briefly.

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

It was Kaidan's, the last words he said to the Commander. In an instant, Shepard broke loose from the memory and stumbled forward. Tali caught him and managed to help him up. Shaking off the final bits of the painful daze he looked to her.

"That was... horrible," he said, still a bit shaken. He looked to the quarian graciously. "Thanks."

"Anytime, Wade," Tali assured him.

Suddenly, before either could react, another light tendril slashed at them.

"Solution Found," the AI declared, its monotone speech sounding almost annoyed. "Select Additional Fragments. Compound traumatic shock. Break all barriers."

While Shepard readied to defend himself and Tali, a biotic blast hit the tendril and disrupted it. A hail of bullets joined in as well, striking the tendrils down as they lashed out. Looking over to their origin point, Shepard spotted Samara and a squad of Marines with her.

"Commander," the asari greeted. "I trust our arrival is timely?"

"Very much so," Shepard replied. "Quick, help contain the relic! And do not let those tendrils touch you!"

"Understood," Samara said, looking to the Marines. "Kowalski, Ellingham, base of fire!"

Two of the Marines stepped out in front to keep shooting at the tendrils.

"Hey, are these guns even real?" Ellingham asked.

"I don't know, I don't care," Kowalski declared. "Just do not stop shooting!"

The Relic's AI kept lashing out, but it's web was already unravelling. One by one, the newly connected subjects were liberated, pulled out of the dismal stupors. The question on all of their minds was if that would even be enough to end this once and for all. The AI was determined to see the experiment through, no matter the cost. Shepard imagined that it would come up with a plan to fix this wrench in the works, all it required was enough time to calculate. They couldn't let it have the time. They needed to find this experiment's off switch, before the AI figured out a way to put them all back to sleep in its mindscape again.


Zhoc felt the world shake some as he walked down the hall with his sister. Something was off, but Zvaz didn't seem to notice at all. He didn't recall this moment in time as them being under attack though. He had to keep focused, he had to think on his sister. He had to protect her this time.

He was older now, he had progressed through the years to this moment, their establishment within the Pirate Hierarchy. They had built their own little empire, carved out a part of the galaxy for their own. They were more successful than their father ever was. Now, today was the moment of their triumph.

Well, what was supposed to be a triumph. It didn't turn out how they wanted, but this time he'd force the issue. If he could change how this went, then Zvaz could be saved. It would just required the right argument.

He'd convince the Syndicate that his sister deserved everything in the universe. That she was a great pirate who had earned to be a part of the clans, a successor to one of the Queens. He had it all planned out this time, it would be different, one way or another.

They entered onto the bridge where a Syndicate representative was already waiting. It was a female kig-yar, this one clad in colored armor and wearing a mask over her eyes. She was gazing a bit at the ship's surroundings, taking in the operation. Zvaz was the first to greet her, giving a formal respectful bow of the head.

"It is most humbling to be in the presence of the Syndicate," Zvaz said graciously.

"Shipmaster Zvaz, I am Nuk Tag," the representative replied. "It is good to finally meet you, we have much to discuss."

Zhoc moved in close as they began, soon catching the eye of the Syndicate flunky herself. Zvaz quickly pivoted to introduce him as well. The last thing she wanted to do was leave him out of this, of course. Everything they did was as a team; this was no different.

"Oh, this is my brother, Zhoc, by the way," Zvaz explained happily. "He's my first mate and strategic advisor."

"Your brother?" Nuk observed. "Hmm, unexpected."

It was hard to tell if Nuk was put off by the revelation. While it was not uncommon for males to hold high ranks in kig-yar society, administrative positions were something that was usually seen as a female job. When a female ran a ship or fleet, males did all the grunt work, while females organized matters and they usually set overall strategy. The fact Zhoc was running the strategy and that Zvaz admitted as much was likely unusual. However, Nuk brushed it off after a few moments mulling it over and returned to business.

"The Queens have been quick to notice your sudden rise over the past few years, Zvaz," she noted. "You've already surpassed your late father's paltry operation. Your sector is undeniably yours with few rivals of significance. Your expansions into other territories have caught our eye though.'

"We've done our best to avoid stepping into your rackets and established sectors," Zvaz assured. "I would hope you noticed that as well."

"Oh we have and it is appreciated," Nuk replied. "However, we have our own plans and we merely wish to ensure that this state of affairs... continues as it were. We were hoping you'd be open to a deal, a small contract of sorts."

Zhoc piped up suddenly, as he had before.

"You're offering membership?" He asked excitedly.

Nuk looked at him rather incredulously as first, but it melted back to a formal expression.

"We are asking if you would like a degree of protection," She clarified. "Some of the Pirates, Raiders, Mercenary outfits you're stepping on in your expansion are unkind to the Syndicate and we wish for them to be... removed as a problem. Not to mention a number of merchants and companies who operate in these sectors have very close ties to the Covenant government at large. It would be beneficial if you had our assistance."

"What would your assistance entail?" Zvaz asked somewhat skeptically.

"No demands on your independence, we assure you," Nuk claimed. "It's not so much a partnership as it is a commission. Remove a few of our... problems, focus on them specifically at times, weaken their ranks, we'd be more than happy to send some means of expediating their... downsizing, if you will."

Zhoc had never liked the double talk the Syndicate used, especially Nuk's sort of speech. It was all very awkward and aloof, never admitting or committing to anything. It wasn't so much as they were afraid of just speaking frankly, they just seemed to prefer the subterfuge. Here was no exception. The Syndicate wanted anonymity, a means to pretend they had nothing to do with a group they wanted gone having a rougher time than usual. Zvaz could only be that if she was an expendable uninvolved actor.

Zhoc knew his sister though, she'd never stand for this. She deserved to be a part of the Syndicate's conglomerate of clans. She couldn't become powerful if she remained on the outside.

"I'm trying not to stir up more trouble than necessary," Zvaz told Nuk. "I'm not just going to throw myself into turf wars with these guys on a whim. My priority is security, maintaining my holdings, protecting my logistical traffic, that sort of thing."

"Oh of course, we're not ask you to play headhunter here, we have people for that," Nuk assured. "But, it wouldn't hurt to have a better chance at grabbing their spoils first, wouldn't it? A jumped claim here or there, some warning about when they're going to step on your toes, maybe a little intel about a weakness to be exploited gets slipped your way should the need arise. Who knows, you play your cards right, take the offers as they come, prove effective, you could advance to full partner or more in a few years."

A few years, nonsense. Zvaz deserved to be a part of the clans now. She had enough ships, enough resources, her empire was starting to thrive. She deserved more sooner, not later. This was his moment though, the chance to change everything. Zhoc brought out a pad and pushed himself ahead.

"She could do way more than that if you let her be a part of the Syndicate now," he declared, trying to shove the pad into Nuk's talons. "She's already taken down some of the biggest criminal gangs in our sector. The expansion you see is just the start, in a few months we'll own those rackets and their holdings. She'll have more ships and men before you know it. This time next year, it will grow exponentially. We have it all mapped out. It's best you jump on it now, make Zvaz a full-fledged clan member, now."

He wasn't lying, all of that would happen very soon. It was how the future would unfold. They'd taken down every two-bit crook, buccaneer and raider that came their way. Those merchants would soon be fearing to tread those trade routes. They'd control more and more sectors of this region before long. Revealing all this might have seemed like showing too many of their cards, but it was better than the alternative. If Zvaz had Clan support, if the Syndicate was behind her, they could make the raids of the next few years so much less risky. They could pay off those merchants at times, or even the mercenaries. They wouldn't have to attack every ship and then, just maybe, Zvaz wouldn't have to die.

But for whatever reason, Nuk didn't even notice him shoving the pad at her face. She didn't even acknowledge him. Neither did Zvaz who stepped up and continued the conversation, as if Zhoc had said nothing, just like he had before.

"My primary concern is heat from the Covenant," she told Zuk. "I'm not ready to take them on yet. If I need any kind of support, it's keeping them off my back while I expand. If you can do that... maybe I'll consider taking out a few potential problems for you here and there."

"Hmm, bold of you to demand, but not unreasonable," Nuk admitted. "The Covenant are a threat to piracy in all forms. They must be avoided. Realize though that is a difficult task. We can spread disinformation detailing you as insignificant, lower your notoriety... for a time. But every fish eventually attracts the fisherman once they get big enough."

"By then I'll be secure enough," Zvaz promised. "My brother and I have a plan, one that will secure our sector and potentially remove your problems in these sectors in due time. But if you want me to accelerate that time table, I'll need a shield of my own."

Nuk grinned a little.

"Hmm, you're wiser than you appear for your age, Zvaz," the Syndicate representative observed. "Cunning is an important pirate trait, but be careful, girl. It won't always save you. And if you keep up your style of leading from the front as I understand, not even a Syndicate shield will keep you alive very long."

"The shadows aren't my domain, Nuk," Zvaz declared proudly. "I lived under my father's too long before I ended him and his sickening influence. I won't hide ever again."

Nuk nodded appreciatively.

"Hmm, I can respect that... even if the Queens would never agree," the Syndicate stooge informed her. "We live in different times now, girl. Piracy isn't suited to flash and glamor anymore, much as we all wish it were. It doesn't mesh well with your desire for caution either."

"I won't live in fear," Zvaz insisted. "I need to be an example to my crew. If I can't be counted to be out there, I'm no better than the drunkard I replaced.'

Nuk grinned again, more genuine than even last time.

"You are a rare breed, Zvaz, very rare," the Syndicate lackey stated. "I can't fault your reasoning, but I hope it doesn't end you too soon. You have a bright future ahead of you, if you somehow survive. Perhaps, trying to ensure an investment is worth some expenditure."

"I'm not the only one worth investing in," Zvaz argued. "My brother is what makes a lot of this possible. He's as cunning as me, maybe more."

"Perhaps," Nuk shrugged. "Males are a case-by-case sort of thing in my book. But if you believe you can count on him, who am I to judge?"

Zhoc was dumbfounded. Where was this all coming? This wasn't how he remembered it going at all. Nuk complimenting Zvaz? Friendly exchanges of different methods? Where was the angry declaration that Zvaz was too dangerous and risky? The outright denial of membership? Why wasn't Zvaz demanding more? This wasn't what happened!

"What's going on here?" Zhoc demanded to know. "Is... is this the wrong meeting? There... there were others right? Did I get the date wrong?"

His sister and the Syndicate goon ignored him.

"Answer me!" He screeched angrily. "What the hell is this? Why aren't you pressing her?!"

"We don't need to push it, Zhoc."

That was Zvaz's voice, but it came from behind him. They weren't on the bridge anymore, but her cabin. Zhoc remembered, this was later on, after a few other meetings and talks.

"We're doing well enough without being full-time members of the Syndicate," Zvaz claimed. "We can bide our time. Prove our worth."

"We've done that already!" Zhoc insisted. "They know how amazing you are! You've done all they asked and more! You should be part of their Pirate Clans! Well on your way to the Inner Circle!"

Zvaz just shook her head.

"Zhoc, please, it's nice to have ambition, but we've talked about this," she reminded him. "Being a part of the Syndicate isn't a priority. We're going to carve out our own space, our own way of life. If we absorb ourselves into theirs, well... I'm sorry, but it just feels too much like being under dad again. And I will not have anyone dictating our lives, in any way."

"But you wouldn't be dictated at, you'd be dictating!" Zhoc tried to convince her. "You could be running that Syndicate in a few years if you wanted!"

Zvaz laughed a little.

"I love that you are so confident in me, little brother," she assured him, walking over to him and grasping his shoulders. "But I'm not doing this to control anyone. I'm doing it to give our crew and those around us a better life, to give you a better life. One that's safe and secure and free."

Zhoc looked at her confused, he didn't understand. Why was she being like this? Zvaz wasn't like this. Wasn't she?

"Think about it, Zhoc," she insisted. "In a few more years, we could own enough capital to buy our own planet. A place where we can settle down and enjoy ourselves. We won't give up pirating, but we'll have enough that we can start families of our own."

"I don't need any other family but you, sis," Zhoc declared bluntly and unwaveringly. "Every other family I've known has only let me down."

"Don't be so negative, Zhoc," Zvaz tried to reassure him. "My point is, we don't need all that power to be happy. And right now, I'm pretty content with how things are going."

"Now, but what about by next year, maybe two?" Zhoc questioned. "What if they did ask you to join? Would you refuse?"

Zvaz shrugged rather non-commitally.

"Probably not," she admitted. "And if I ever did end up being a Pirate Queen like those that run the Syndicate, yeah, I'd probably change a lot. But for now, I got everything I need right here."

Zvaz walked away from her brother, but Zhoc was incensed. He knew these words, he knew these conversations, but they were wrong. They weren't how they were supposed to go. They weren't what he remembered. Why was none of this right?

"This isn't how it's supposed to go," he insisted angrily, not entirely sure who he was yelling at. "What is going on here!? Why is everything different?!"

"It's not."

That was Zvaz again, but grimmer sounding, less jovial and kind. Zhoc slowly looked over to his sister and had to stop himself from gagging. She appeared again, looking torn up, battered, bloody and singed.

"Nothing is different. This is how it happened." She spoke, almost in a monotone pattern. "You have been lying to yourself."

"No," Zhoc denied. "No, I know what happened. I was there. This isn't-"

"You cannot replace me with a figment of your imagination," Zvaz stated plainly. "You have to accept the truth. You have replaced my true self with a false image. This is your memory without the embellishments. Without exaggeration. Bereft of lies and alterations. It is what you have denied and continue to do so."

"No! NO! I know who my sister is! I know who she was!" Zhoc declared in anger. "She was ruthless, ambitious, she was denied everything by people her lesser! She deserved better! She deserved more! She wanted more!"

Zvaz looked disappointed, but her monotone expression and speech remained. In fact, they grew even more so as she continued to speak.

"Denial phase has become an impediment," she declared. "Delusion must be shattered to continue to next phase. Engaging Trauma Shock Protocols."

"Trauma what?" Zhoc questioned, now even more confused than ever. "What is this? What is going-"

In the next instant, the cabin was gone. Instead there was a ship corridor, a cargo ship corridor. Gone was the hum of the engines and soft glow of ambiance. Replaced with the sound of battle, the harsh sting industrial lighting and the smell of burning skin mixed with blood. Zhoc knew where he was instantly and it horrified him.

"No! Not again!" He screamed. "NO!"

It was the worst moment of his life. A day he never wanted to relive. A memory that replayed only in his nightmares. Today was the day his sister would die.


Chief couldn't stop himself, no matter what he did, he was forced to replay the battles in his mind. He did not know what the others were experiencing, but the Relic's AI was seemingly putting a lot of attention on him. He kept getting whisked away to one warzone or the next, repeatedly watching his Spartan brothers and sisters fall dead. He could do nothing to stop it, only relive the memory.

He fired off his assault rifle in the direction of the incoming Elites, as Linda was stabbed clean through the torso by another. He couldn't get to her in time, she could've died because of his slow action. As he punched an Elite away though, he could hear something else. Something that was not of the memory.

"Connection re-established, communication open."

That was Legion's voice, where was it coming from? He got his answer seconds later.

"Chief, the AI is assaulting the Neural Uplink," Cortana informed him. "Legion is helping me push it out but it's not easy. Are you okay? What are you seeing?"

"Every... battle," Chief managed to explain. "Can't stop... fighting."

"Don't worry, Legion and I have a plan!" Cortana assured. "But it's probably gonna hurt so I'm just giving you a head's up."

"Don't... like... sound of... that," Chief said, firing on a squad of Jackals as they swarmed his position.

"Neither do I, but for some reason this AI is really focusing on you right now," Cortana explained. "Probably cause you're the biggest threat here. Whatever the reason, we can force it out. But I need to activate the armor lock and reset the uplink's connection. This is going to sting... bad."

"Do it!" Chief shouted, punting a Grunt away from him.

In an instant, Chief's body locked up. He couldn't act out the moves from his memories anymore. They were still running though. An Elite went to strike him, but the punch failed to connect because Chief had avoided it in real life. The image passed through him, as if he were a ghost. It was more accurate to call the Elite a ghost though, because he and the other Covies started to fade out. Chief thought he heard a voice call out, a monotone speech pattern he did not recognize but could only assume was the hostile AI.

"Error. Fragment Interruption. Attempting to re-establish-"

"That's enough out of you, buddy! Get the hell out of my Spartan!"

That was Cortana alright. Although Chief didn't have long to take in his synthetic companion's statement as he felt a shock travel up his spine into his head. This result in the mother of all migraines, all while he could not move. He gritted his teeth, and tried to arch his tongue back just in case he bit into it somehow. He had experienced worse pain, but this was still agonizing. Lucky for him, it was over as fast as it started. The shock left, the lock on his armor ended and he felt his arms drop to the side as his feet gave out. He managed to catch himself before he smashed into the floor.

"Chief, are you alright?" Cortana asked, sounding almost worried. "Say something!"

"Your Spartan, huh?" He asked dryly.

"Oh do not make that a bigger deal than it is," the AI ordered haughtily. "You're basically my summer home at this point with how often I spend in your head. I'm just stating imperical fact."

"Hmph," Chief replied in acknowledgement.

"Shut up and help the others already!" Cortana demanded.

The Spartan looked up and saw a tendril of light coming at him. Tucking and rolling out of the way, Chief grabbed for his Assault Rifle and started firing at the tendrils. He backed away from the relic itself, falling into line beside Garrus and Shepard.

"Sitrep?" He asked them both, quickly falling back into step.

"We're breaking whoever we can out of their worst memories," Garrus answered. "But the real problem is the relic, well, the damn AI inside."

"We've tried shooting at it, but there's some kind of shield," Shepard explained just as quickly. "Even if we broke through, we're not sure we can even damage the thing itself."

Probably not a good idea, given how the last time one of these things exploded it kinda messed with time to an insane degree. What would happen if they broke a relic that could screw with people's heads? There had to be a better solution. As always, Cortana believed she had one.

"Legion and I have had to deal with this ancient pain in the ass for a bit now," she informed the others. "They can't be reasoned with, but I think we can disrupt it. It underestimated my ability to multitask, with Legion's added processing power boosting my own of course. We got a look at how it creates the mindscape, some kind of frequency. The Relic scans your mind, specifically the part of your brain that manages long-term memory. The AI is just there to organize and carry out the process the experiment is designed around."

At this moment, Legion took over the explanation, cutting into the conversation over the Radio.

"An electronic frequency of equal or greater bandwidth would disrupt the process the AI is using," the Geth informed them. "It would need to be tuned to the precise functions of the Forerunner Facility's systems. Once done, the mindscape will be disrupted and the experiment's failsafe will be enacted."

"Failsafe?" asked Shepard, seeking clarification.

"I had a peek at the experiment's procedures through the intrusive bastard's attempts to override me. The AI can't prevent the experiment from shutting down if there is a risk of a catastrophic systems failure," Cortana explained dutifully. "The Forerunners who made this place were obsessed with knowledge, remember? They would never endanger losing any of their accumulated data, it would be worse than failing."

Shepard let loose suddenly at a tendril that almost snuck up on their flank.

"Ok, we don't seem to have many options," he admitted. "But what kind of frequency do we need?"

"Anything with a strong enough wavelength that it can play havoc with the mindscape feature," Cortana explained. "Something like... like..."

Before Cortana could really pin down an answer, Chief's ears were pulled away from her voice and onto something else. The distorted sound of an electric guitar and warbling screams. He looked over and saw Boz wandering around, still in a haze, oblivious to everything as music blared loud from his pack.

Belief in power

Believe the dream

Trust your own truth

Into the Spectrelight

Into the afterlife

It was an unconventional solution to be sure, but really, they didn't have a better one at the moment. Chief rushed out and grabbed Boz, pushing him back towards Shepard and Garrus. They quickly caught onto his idea.

"I guess we're really lucky he brought that along," Shepard noted.

"Can we make it work?" Chief asked Cortana.

"It's possible, but we'll need some help," the AI replied. "I don't really see anything else we can use, given how powerful that pack of his is supposed to be."

They'd need to find Tali and Rowan, have them plug Boz's pack into the system and see if they could enact Cortana's plan. They'd have to work fast though, before the AI's tendrils got in a lucky hit and they were back reliving the worst moments of their lives all over again forever. Or until they went insane, whichever came first.


When Haverson got back to the group of refugees there was already a heated argument among the lot of them. He recognized the more prominent faces, Tiegan, Brant, Zara and of course, Caleb. They were crowded around Mattias, trying to push for various plans.

"Maybe we can try offering services?" Tiegan asked. "I'm a medical doctor, they could use me. That's got be worth getting a few of us on."

"Let's convince them to take the kids," Zara offered. "They can't leave the kids behind, right?"

"We could try contacting their superiors," Brant suggested. "The radio in the tower-"

"That would take too long," Mattias countered. "And we don't even know who to contact at this point. As for the other two suggestions..."

He looked to Haverson, or more accurately Maisey. It didn't matter, he knew the answer as much as Maisey had on that day. The words came out automatically, he didn't even have to try and find them.

"He won't do it," Haverson confessed. "I saw the look in his eye. He won't let the kids on and there is nothing we can offer him. His mind is made up."

Mattias looked down in growing anger, a grim expression crossing his face. Haverson could read it like a book, it was resignation fueled by rage. The disgust and betrayal of being abandoned, of your loyalty amounting to nothing, of all your work upholding a system that deemed you unworthy. Haverson could see it, but more than that he could feel it. Maisey's thoughts and feelings were that of her husband's and he was more or less in her place now.

"There... might be another way," Caleb suddenly spoke up.

Haverson knew what this was, Caleb's attempt to come clean, to admit what he was. Not Cerberus maybe, but at least an ONI agent. He really had been willing to give up his cover, at least part of it. So he did have a sense of honor in him to a degree. A moral compass beyond his mission parameters.

"If you'll let me talk to them, I have information that might change their mind," Caleb claimed.

It didn't matter though, Haverson could already tell Mattias was resolved at this point. The look in his eyes, the anger, he had known what he was going to do. Maisey herself had known, almost all at once, what was about to happen next.

"If he won't even let children on the ship, what could possibly change his mind?" He asked, his voice cracking with fury. "We don't have time to negotiate."

"Mattias, wait," Caleb said trying to calm him. "Let's not do anything rash before I can-"

It was too late already, Mattias got up on a baggage truck that had been overturned on the tarmac. He turned to the frightened group of colonists and spoke to them, fists clenched in rage. Already the refugees had turned to him all at once, as if they knew what was come as much as Haverson did.

"Everyone, the UNSC has declared us expendable," he roared aloud. "They have decided our lives are worth less than their tanks! They've been deciding what is best for us for years! Ordering us around! Leeching off our work for their war effort! And the thanks we get is a death sentence! Those Marines over there, they think they get to choose who lives and dies today! I say, they don't get to choose anything! WE DO!"

The refugees cheered in agreement, as Haverson tried to push towards him. The crowd was too thick though, and Mattias could not hear him calling for him.

"I need my best officers with me," he continued. "We're the ones who stand the best chance anyway. If we fall, then the people behind us go next and then the next group, until they're done... or we are. There's only so many of them against all of us! They can't kill us all! Especially considering that they've decided we're already dead!"

"I'm with ya, Mattias," Brant said trying to step up.

"No, no, I need you to lead the other half of the precinct, Brant," Mattias told him. "If we fail, they need you to command them and finish them off. We don't win this by going all at once, they'll just mow down the crowd. We need to hit them hard and fast to start off with and weaken them one by one."

"Mattias that freighter probably has at least two squads worth a security detail," Caleb tried to explain. "You can't fight them all!"

"We have to try, there's no other way!" Mattias declared. "Organize into teams everyone, let's get ready, fast! They might suspect we're up to something!"

Mattias jumped down from the baggage truck, as various officers of the Colonial Security Forces split off. Some joined Brant, others Mattias. In both cases their families and loved ones tried to stop them from going, but their minds were already made up. Haverson finally made it to Mattias, forcing her way through the crowd.

"Mattias, you can't win this," Haverson insisted. "They'll kill you! All of you!"

"We don't have a choice, Maisey," Mattias growled. "You said it yourself, there is nothing we can offer them! We have to do something and this is the only way!"

"You can't!" Haverson pleaded. "You can't just-"

Mattias grabbed his hands, Maisey's hands and pulled them close.

"I love you, Maisey," Mattias cried against her. "I'm going to make sure you get off this planet. You and Asha, you'll rebuild someplace better, I promise you."

"But-"

Mattias kissed Haverson suddenly, quieting words of Maisey from his mouth. It wasn't a joyful or comforting kiss though, He could tell what Maisey felt. It felt desperate, cold, fearful. He knew this would be the last time. It didn't matter though, as long as they were safe. Mattias then kissed Asha on the forehead.

"Be good for your mother," he asked of her. "Be strong for her, for everyone. I'm counting on you."

Then Mattias pulled away even as Asha reached out and cried for her father. Haverson grabbed her and held her back as Mattias and his officers congregated together. They readied their weapons as Mattias took the lead.

"They've already killed us men," he declared. "They think that gives them power over us! Well, let's show them that these dead men can fight back!"

The Mattias' officers pushed forward, heading towards the front of the Marine perimeter. One of the soldiers held out his hand to as he slowly raised his sidearm. Mattias must've fired first because there was a shot and the Marine dropped to the ground, as did his partner. The rest of it Haverson could barely see. a mass of Security Officers charging the Marines. Sporadic gunfire, screaming, it was unclear at first who was winning. Once Mattias' people entered the freighter proper though, it was obvious they had broken through.

Haverson approached the perimeter, along with the rest of the refugees. The Marines guarding the place were all dead, as were two of the security officers. They could still hear fighting echoing inside the ship. From the sound of the gunfire it was obvious enough that the battle was frantic and vicious. Haverson's only peek inside was from a radio off one of the dead Marines lying nearby.

"Colonists have breeched the ship! I repeat colonists have breeched the-ARGH!"

This was it, what Haverson had been waiting for, the truth. Depending on how well Mattias did in this first wave, a full picture of that day would emerge. Brant was supposed to go in when the first wave of spent. When the radio declared the hostiles were eliminated, Brant's people would move in to finish the job and then Haverson would know who was responsible for the deaths. The ones who were most likely still alive anyway.

The thing was, Haverson wasn't even sure if it mattered anymore. The truth of the matter was that Maisey was right, there was nothing else they could've done. Even Brant's earlier suggestion of calling Command wouldn't work. They'd need to find the Captain's direct superior and there was little chance of figuring that out in all the chaos going on. Could he really judge these people for doing what they felt was their own way to survive? Because he honestly wasn't sure he wouldn't be doing the same at this point himself.

It didn't seem to matter though, because the radio kept crackling with death screams and panicked Marines breathing their last. There was an occasional shout of a downed Colonist attacker here or there, but there was no proper defensive line. These Marines hadn't been expecting the refugees to fight back and were probably not too keen about killing other humans, even in the name of self-defense. That is, until the Colonists got to the bridge.

"This is Captain Wendell, we have locked down the bridge and every accessway inside. We're gonna funnel those filthy colonist bastards right into our bullets! Everyone fall back to our position! Now!"

Mattias was going to get slaughtered, that much was clear. It was only a matter of how many would die before Brant's people came in next to clean up what was left. Then the truth would be revealed and maybe this memory replay would be satisfied and he could leave. That was what Haverson would've been thinking, had he not noticed Asha running past him. The child picked up a rifle from one of the fallen soldiers and kept on running. Haverson's eyes went wide, thinking Asha was about to run into the ship to protect her father. But no, her plan was different it seemed. Going through the ship would take too long, Asha was running straight across the tarmac to the front of the freighter itself, where the bridge was.

Haverson didn't hesitate, he was already up on his feet, running after her, calling Asha's name. He had to stop her, even knowing this had already happened and she would be alive. Maisey's motherly instincts had overtaken him and Asha was now as much his child as she was hers. He couldn't help but want to protect her from watching her own father die or worse.


Maisey never wanted this, to be stuck in the position of Haverson, choosing who lives and died on such a scale. She was forced to sit down at a desk and go over planet upon planet, colony after colony, discerning what worlds deserved to more help than the other. It was heartwrenching, and not just for her but for the rest of Haverson's team. She could see them struggling, agonizing over the choices in front of them, running simulation after simulation.

More than that though she could sense Haverson's turmoil, his pain at being forced to make these choices. He had wanted to be anywhere else at this moment, but he had no choice but to stay. Maisey agreed though, if they were forced to choose who would get more of the limited resources to save them, better it be someone who cared than someone who just saw it as a waste. And Haverson did care, maybe not in the way Maisey wished he had, but he did. It wasn't an excuse, but she could see the greater scope, the bigger picture, what she hadn't been privy to now.

So many worlds dying left and right, so many people trying to help and it all amounting to nothing. She knew what her colony had suffered of course, she suspected many more fell under similar circumstances. What she had not anticipated was how grave the situation was, how pressed the UNSC was for solutions. They were as in the dark as she had been, they didn't have all the answers. A lot of what she believed was true, yes, there was a great deal of callous, uncaring disregard for the Outer Colonies. She could sense it in the Superior's tone. She could also sense the guilt and pain in those around her, forced to make a call on what little information they had, to save what little they could.

Even then, they weren't really saving anyone though. Like the superior had said, they were deciding which planet would get help at what stage. If the Covenant threat exceeded that stage at any given moment of the invasion, the colony would be abandoned. It was a threshold system, how long the UNSC would stand by its people until they decided they were lost. The problem she was facing, what Haverson was facing, was that not everyone could get to the top of the list in each system. Inevitably, one world would get ranked lower than most and it would be the first to die.

That was the decision she was making. It tore at her gut, like something inside was eating her alive. It wasn't really eating her though, it was Haverson, these were his memories. Nothing she did could change them, she shouldn't be feeling his guilt and despair. She hadn't made these decisions, he had. So why did she feel his pain?

Perhaps, because it was so similar to her own. The loss of her husband, of so many of her friends and loved one. The feelings of betrayal and disillusionment. They weren't the same as Haverson's, but she could feel they were along those lines. The realization that he couldn't save everyone and that the agency he worked for was done with even trying to. She wasn't the only one who had lost faith in the UNSC, Haverson had as well. Not to her extent, but it was a wound he hadn't closed, only attempted to do so.

She now could see why he had been so insistent on upholding the Laws of the UNSC. She could feel what he felt now. That all of this had to be worth it, that he could still make a difference, that he could help people. Did his hope and optimism feel any less naive? Maybe not, but she understood it better now. Haverson wanted to believe something within the UNSC could work, same as she believed what she built in New Teteocan could work.

So she followed along with Haverson's directive. A colony with a major shipworks yard, that would be high priority. Another colony with major economic centers, that wasn't as high a priority but it was up there. A colony that had been fervently anti-insurrectionist, not enough to get them at the top of the list, but at least they could be placed moderately higher than others. This colony had an industrial sector that was churning out guns, that got it a good spot on the list. Here was another that had housed a lot of Marines, that pushed it up the chain a bit. Maisey looked for any excuse to put a world just a little higher on the threshold estimates and hoped they correlated with the rest of the team. She wanted to consult with them directly, but they were too wrapped up in their own calculations and simulations.

It was then, in the middle of this race to sort every Colony, that Maisey came across one of that made her pause. It was a farming community, but one that had a tenuous relationship with the UNSC. It was had no major military installations and in fact had been listed as a drain on the resources of the local garrison. They had been producing adequate food quotas, but were struggling. They had a fairly large population, but they were centered around a singular city that had not seen much growth over the past few decades. It was being designated as a recommended low priority.

It was Apekis V, her world, her colony. Haverson had been one of the people to directly decide it fate. Suddenly, everything became clear to Maisey. Why she was here, why this particular memory, this moment in time. Haverson's unwavering furvor, his unrelenting steadfast insistence on the rule of law. How demanding he was about his investigation into her colony, his pursuit of someone to blame for what happened to those Marines. He had made it personal because Apekis V had been personal to him.

Now, Maisey was going to find out the truth of exactly what Haverson's role had been in her own story. What connected him to her, what he had decided for her without ever meeting her. How guilty did the ONI Lieutenant feel and how did he try to reconcile it? But the real question in Maisey's mind, the one that stuck in place while others swirled around, was if she could blame him for whatever decision he made in the face of all this death surrounding him? Distant however it was, it had been overwhelming just being here for a day. Could she blame Haverson for sentencing her people to death knowing how many other lives he might have tried to save as a result?

She supposed it didn't matter, she was going to find out no matter what now. Whether she would accept it was her only real choice.


Zhoc tried to run from the firefight, but every corner he turned he found himself approaching it again. He could hear his sister proudly crying out a war screech, the exchange of plasma fire and needle rounds. More than anything, Zhoc wanted out of this. His chance to see his sister once more had become a nightmare he only wanted to escape. Even with the possibility of changing her fate, the idea of watching Zvaz die again was too much to bear. He had to escape this place, before he watched it all go down again. Before he lost the one person who cared about him once more.

His attempts to do so failed however, as the door he opened next revealed the scene of carnage. Zvaz was in the thick of it. Her energy cutlass slicing through foes, her needler exploding others into fine purple mist. She was magnificent as always, cutting through her the sangheili mercenaries and scared little unggoys with ease. Ascending the steps of the corridor leading to the bridge, a trail of bodies in her wake as she climbed. It was almost enough to make Zhoc forget what was going to happen. He didn't though. He rushed towards his sister, intent on pushing or pulling her away from all this. His legs froze as he got closer though, he couldn't move.

Then he saw him, the sangheili in his nightmares, the one that took away everything. Zvaz was standing on a fresh kill at the edge of the stairway, holding her cutlass aloft. The sangheili was waiting for his moment to charge, he got it when she took her eyes off her front for a second.

"Take them all down to the abyss! The shinies are ours, boys! All ours!" She laughed turning back to her crew. "None of them can stand against us!"

The mercenary approached from behind and then ran. Zhoc tried to scream, to change this moment... but he couldn't get the words out. He watched his sister get run through all over again. The blade cutting deep into her back, then several plasma rifle bolts unloaded into her before the sangheili kicked her off his sword entirely. The body fell down the stiars, smashing into a number of steps before coming to a rest at the bottom of them and crumpled onto the floor.

Zhoc ran to her, knowing it was already too late. Singed smoking flesh began filling Zhoc's nostrils as it had before. Zvaz looked to her brother as life started leaving her and reached for him. He tried to press against her wound, search for a medkit, anything, but he had nothing.

"Don't... be afraid, Zhoc," She tried to tell him weakly. "Never... let them see you afraid, You're... stronger than them. Stronger than you... think."

"Zvaz, no! Please, not again!" He pleaded.

"This can't be changed," she told him. "I am gone... and you cannot bring me back."

"I can give you what you deserved!" Zhoc insisted frantically. "I can take the thrones of the Queens in your name! I can do what you were denied!"

"All I wanted was for you to be safe," Zvaz reminded him. "Those were never my dreams, Zhoc. You must recognize this."

Zhoc's anger mixed with his fear. He looked away from his sister and at the sangheili who took her from him. Even if it made him sick, he would make him pay all over again. He would pummel him until his blood mixed with hers. He went to attack, but Zvaz tried to grab him.

"No... don't," she pleaded.

"If I can't change this, at least let me have my revenge!" Zhoc demanded.

"This wasn't what I wanted," his dying sister kept saying. "You have to accept that truth. You cannot live in denial or you will remain trapped."

"My sister was the most feared pirate in the void," Zhoc declared. "She deserved the galaxy, the universe. She would've wanted every sangheili to drown in their own blood! For the kig-yar to rule over them all! The queens to bow before her! The Covenant to be at her beck and call! She told me to be strong!"

"I told you that you were strong," Zvaz said. "You must reject your illusions, surrender your denial, accept the truth."

"I make my own truth!" Zhoc screeched in defiance.

He bolted from his sister's body and lunged towards the sangheili. He never connected with him. Instead, he slammed into the floor, only to look up and see Zvaz being impaled once more. She was shot at point blank and then tossed away like garbage again, landing at his feet.

"Don't be afraid, Zhoc," she said, reaching out to him. "Never... let them see you afraid, You're... stronger than them. Stronger than you... think."

Zhoc screamed in agony, he kept lunging towards the sangheili, each time he failed. Each time he saw his sister die. Each time she tried to reach him with the truth. Each time he rejected her. Zhoc refused to believe that his sister had died in such a way. That her fury had been tempered. He would have his revenge again, no matter how long it took. He would make her proud! He would be strong! He would make them fear him! And then, Zvaz would be feared for all time. They would all regret what they did to her. What they did to him.


Rowan had run towards the console controls when everything had gone to hell. She had been stopped by the AI of course and like everyone else she had been frozen in a bad memory. They found her curled up into a ball, rocking herself back and forth. She was breathing heavily and shaking, her eyes darting about frantically. She wasn't vocalizing what she was seeing, so no one was sure how to approach her. It didn't matter though, once Boz's music got close enough it seemed to draw her attention. When she reached out her hand, Shepard presumed she suspected they were there. The Commander reached for the young engineer and pulled her out of balled up position. This seemed to be enough for her to break the AI's hold on her mind, as she staggered upwards, the daze gone. She did scream very loudly though, viscerally angry at her experience.

"What do you need?" She demanded to know.

No one wanted to ask what she had been seeing, they just presumed it was bad. Also, they didn't have time, the Forerunner AI was already trying to latch back on to Rowan's mind. The Master Chief fired at the tendrils of light as Tali moved Boz over to the console proper.

"We need to hook his radio rig into the system," the quarian quickly explained.

"Oh, I get it," Rowan reasoned. "Frequency feedback, right?"

"Exactly," Tali confirmed. "How long will it take you?"

"Under this kind of pressure, no idea!" Rowan confessed. "Let's get working!"

Rowan grabbed at the radio on Boz's back and attempted to hotwire it into the console. She had been jury rigging various systems into each other for years now. It was a simple enough task, made all the harder by the fact the AI kept attacking them with its little tendrils of light. Shepard attempted to use a Biotic Field to hold back the assault, but he could only hold up so long under the battering his shields kept taking.

"I don't mean to rush, Rowan," he said, strained from the AI's assault. "But this is not gonna hold."

"It's syncing, it's syncing," Rowan replied frantically. "Once that's done I just need to get the right frequency to counteract this AI's!"

"I can give you that," Cortana shouted over the radio. "Feeding you the data now."

Rowan got a ping on her personal datapad which she quickly scanned as she worked.

"Got it," she said. "Inputting it now, I just need another minute... maybe two."

Chief fired a stream of bullets at the tendrils hammering Shepard's biotic shield.

"Whatever happens, keep them off Rowan," the Spartan told the others.

The bullets flew overhead as the nerves tensed in Rowan's mind. There wasn't much she could do to make the sync go faster, other than try to adjust the settings of the frequency. Matching the Relic's signal was key to the whole thing, it had to be precise, enough to force the fail safe. It did seem to be going slower than she thought it would though. The answer as to why made itself known.

"You cannot disrupt the experiment," the AI's voice claimed aloud. "It must run its course."

It knew what they were planning, likely from how they were fiddling with the systems. It didn't matter, the AI couldn't stop them from doing this, that much was evident. No matter how much it tried to adjust the frequency, as Rowan guessed was what it was doing to slow her down, it couldn't prevent her from eventually locking on. The Relic's signal was locked on a core wavelength, no amount of messing with other outputs would change that. Rowan blocked out the voice anyway, focusing on her work.

"You will not stop this," the AI reiterated. "You will join the mindscape. You will be made one. The enemy must be stopped. Your resistance to this must end. Targeting primary impediment."

Rowan suspected that meant her, but the AI was bust with the others from the look of things. How could it target her? That's when she heard a metallic sound, like a "perplunk" or something, from behind her. Turning over her should she spotted what looked to be some kind of gun port in the wall.

"Stasis Functions Engaged. Firing."

Rowan realized what it was doing as the gun port powered up. Take her out of commission, put her in some sort of stasis field and prevent her from doing anything. She imagined it was a last resort of some kind, which was why it was only using it now. She had mere moments to call it to the attention of the others. Instead, the gun port exploded suddenly from several shots hitting it. She followed the trail of the shots to a corner of the room, behind the relic's pedestal and another console hub. Laying against it, pained, pale and scorched was Caleb, his weapon raised upward for a moment before it dropped to his side.

She couldn't believe she had almost forgotten. Caleb was still alive, barely. She had a million questions as to what this meant, but right now the important part was he was alive. Even badly hurt, probably clueless as to what was even going on, he was still watching her back. Now she had a new reason to get this done, so she could try to repay that kindness back before it was too late.


Maisey looked at all the data on Apekis V, more than even she knew about her former home. How restless the planet was concerning the Marine presence there, listed as gravely. If nothing else the UNSC at least knew how much animosity they had stirred up. They knew why too, as the data had testimonials from residents and news stories to back up the findings. There were graphs about the food quota yields. Statistics about the population growth, ethnic backgrounds, education, potential recruits, There was a ton there but what got Maisey's attention was the growing recommendation among various analysts who had already looked at this data. Namely, they felt it was best to leave it to burn.

That might have been all she needed, the final proof that the UNSC had not cared at all. That they saw her world as a tumor that needed to be cut out and the Covenant were an excuse for that. Except, she could feel Haverson's pain, his anxious concern. His thoughts rang in her head, how horrible this was. That these farmers were all going to have the worst chances at survival.

What choice did he have though? If he pushed them up the list someone else was going to get pushed down and there didn't seem to be a way to fix that in their favor. Maisey just couldn't figure out though, why did Haverson's memories seem to feel so wounded about this? Why was he so concerned about this one world that he had never heard about before?

For whatever reason though, Maisey followed Haverson's memory and acted it out almost on autopilot, looking for a way to save Apekis V a dismal fate at the bottom of the list. She felt connected now, almost as if her and Haverson were one in their desires, thoughts and feelings. She knew she couldn't save Apekis V, it had already fallen, but she felt compelled to try. Haverson had, for whatever reason.

That was when she came across it, various sealed ONI files that she now had access to as a result of this little venture. All concerning the dig site there, the Forerunner Structures that were being uncovered. That was when Maisey... when Haverson came up with an idea. Almost instantly, she was back in front of the Superior, as if her mind fast forwarded ahead. He had Haverson's recommendations in his hand, looking at it curiously.

"You've pushed up Apekis V a good deal," he noted. "Why is that lieutenant? Everyone else is suggesting that planet isn't worth the effort at this point."

"There's a Forerunner excavation site there, other analysts ignored that in favor of direct military and economic benefits," Maisey explained. "The fact is though, Forerunner technology is a strategic element they are overlooking. There are many who believe that any tech concerning these Aliens that we believe are the Gods the Covenant follow is vital to beating them."

"I've heard that argument before, we all have," the Superior confessed. "That doesn't make this excavation site any more or less important at the moment. We could find nothing there and the other factors should still bring the overall positioning of this colony down."

"We cannot win this war conventionally," Maisey argued. "You know that, it's obvious now. Denying resources to the enemy, however small, and using them against them is crucial, maybe more than we realize. Denying those assets and extraditing them to our side is important."

The superior didn't seem to object to that reasoning, but he still looked suspicious at her. He came around the war table and stared at her directly in the face. It felt like he was trying to tear into her mind, find some weakness in her, a means to destroy her entire argument and send her packing to some desk job to rot forever.

"What makes this colony so important to you, Haverson?" He asked. "What do you gain from this?"

"I..." Maisey couldn't say anything, Haverson's throat had locked up and his mind felt like it was racing.

"I need an answer, Lieutenant," the Superior ordered after a few seconds of silence. "I need you to tell me what this colony means to you or I'm not going to take this report into any form of consideration."

"They're just farmers," Maisey blurted out suddenly, knowing it was Haverson's words as well as hers. "It's a colony of families, of women and children and people just trying to live their lives. They didn't ask for any of this, none of these colonies did. And if there is any way to convince you to save them I'm going to use whatever I can."

The Superior still looked skeptical, so Maisey continued.

"I know the war is complicated and that I can't save everyone," she confessed. "I know that we have to make hard decisions, but these people deserve a chance. Just a chance. If I can say that I at least gave one world a fighting chance I want it to be this one. I want it to be Apekis V because... because..."

In that instant, Maisey heard her voice as, not herself, but Haverson's.

"Because they're what we're fighting to protect," Haverson's spoke through her. "They're what we're out here for. And if we can't even do the bare minimum to protect them than what is even the point?"

The Superior's skepticism vanished and a strange grin appeared in its place.

"Alright, Haverson," he relented. "You want to retain your idealism? You want this little colony to have the best chance to survive? Fine. They're up the list, highest threshold for the sector. But I want you to know something, that just pushes other colonies down a peg. You might have saved some lives... but at the cost of others. I want you to know that so that this part sinks in."

The Superior got up close to Maisey placing a hand on her shoulder and then whispering to her.

"You're no hero, Lieutenant," he informed her coldly. "None of us are. You're ONI. You don't get the luxury of that title. You shift pieces around the board, you make sacrifices from behind a screen. This is the greatest difference you'll likely ever make, because there is no room for your naive notions of what we are. You haven't saved anyone, you've traded lives around. That's it."

Maisey felt cold, sick, defeated despite winning. There was a pit in her stomach that seemed to widen, where she quickly stuffed all her emotions and feelings. It was better to be silent than to argue on her behalf. Correction, Haverson's behalf, it was becoming harder to distinguish herself from him in the moment.

"It likely won't matter anyway," The Superior shrugged as he pulled away. "With the way the Covenant are speeding through the Outer Colonies, even the higher thresholds might end up getting overwhelmed. They're out to exterminate us, Lieutenant. Chances are they won't hold back in any capacity, no matter what we do."

Maisey knew that was true, because she lived it. Haverson had done everything he could to give her people a chance without ever meeting them. It didn't matter. He tried though, he really did. She wished he had told her, but perhaps she wouldn't have believed it then. Now, she couldn't deny it.


Haverson raced after Asha best he could, eventually arriving at the front of the freighter. There, Haverson could see flashes and heard gunshots from within the cockpit above. The attack had already started and it was likely not going well for either side. If Mattias hadn't lost a good portion of his men yet, he was certainly losing them now. Those flashes after all could only be the result of machine gun fire. To think UNSC Marines were turning their weapons on human refugees in the middle of a Covenant invasion. It made Haverson wonder if humanity was even worth saving for a hot second.

His mind was on Asha, overcome with Maisey's motherly concerns. However, he could barely distinguish them from his own feelings at this point. Watching the young girl, trying to heft the gun in her arms. She was trying to get a shot on the cockpit. Even from this angle though the girl likely did not have a shot. Even if she did, the glass would likely prevent any bullet from getting through. It was designed for space travel after all. So Haverson wasn't worried about her killing anyone, he was worried about her getting spotted.

He tried to move over to her, calling out her name.

"Asha! Come back! There's nothing you can do!"

Even as he said that, the gunshots were already starting to subside. One side was winning against the other. It was likely Mattias, given how history had played out. By now Haverson had forgotten any other personal goal this trip through Maisey's memories. He didn't care about the truth. His mind was on Asha and getting her away from here.

"I have to help daddy!" Asha screamed at him.

"You can't!" Haverson tried to insist. "It's out of our hands, Asha! I'm sorry, but you-"

That's when he heard the emergency airlock on the side of the freighter's bridge open up. His eyes were torn away from Asha and onto the slowly opening portcullis. Within the airlock stood Captain Wendell. Gripping onto a mortally injured Mattias from the looks of it. He was shot to hell, bleeding heavily. Wendell didn't look much better, his uniform torn, face bruised, hands bloodied and hat missing. The captain was still standing tall though, he was still alive.

"Time to take out the garbage," he snarled aloud as he hefted Mattias aloft by his collar.

He was going to throw the dying man off his ship, just to add one final insult, an ending to all of this, a means to cement a victory over these "backwater rubes" he hated so much. He might have gotten it too, had a shot not rung out. A single bullet penetrated Wendell's heart. He dropped Mattis onto the floor almost instantly, unable to toss him clear of the ship. He reached for where the shot had penetrated, arms shaking, eyes wide with fear. He collapsed to his knees and then slumped over in the airlock itself.

Haverson already knew where the shot had come from, but he turned his head to confirm it for himself. Asha stood there, smoking rifle in hand, tears in her eyes, hands quaking in distress. In that moment it had all clicked. What Maisey had been hiding, what little lie she had been hanging onto, the reason behind her resistance. There was one survivor of Apekis V who had played a role in the deaths of Freighter's crew that day. Asha, terrified for her father's life, desperate to save him, had seen Wendell try to kill him and did not hesitate. She was Captain Wendell's killer, not Mattias. Everything Maisey had been doing, denying his search for answers, keeping the truth for him on something, this was it.

Haverson rushed over to Maisey as the rifle dropped from her hands. She hugged the little girl tightly as she began to sob. The reality of what she had done had just sunk in and was not sitting well. Haverson did the only thing he could think of, because it was what Maisey was thinking in this moment.

"You did nothing wrong," he insisted. "You did nothing, ok? It wasn't you."

"I... I didn't want to-"

"You didn't," Haverson insisted. "Nothing happened. You understand? Nothing. You did nothing."

Asha kept crying as Haverson picked her up. They went back to the main group now, already starting to edge closer to the freighter. Brant eventually led them inside and walked them through the grisly scene. Scores of dead Marines, alongside Security Officers, room by room. They were all dead, there was no one alive on the ship save for those who hadn't entered in the first and only wave of attackers. They also came across the tanks and Cyclops Exosuits. All lined up neatly in the giant cargo bay, still with room to spare. It too lined with bodies from front to back. Remains of the battle that had been fought here moments ago.

The grim reality came full circle when they reached the bridge and saw the carnage for themselves. Bodies collapsed on top of each other, bullet casing littering the floor, blood everywhere. It had clearly come down to bare hands and close-range fighting. They butchered each other, all in a final desperate attempt to claim the ship.

He was offered condolences when they found Mattias' body. He had crawled a little away from Wendell's body before succumbing to his wounds. Brant assumed that Wendell had tried to escape the ship, only for Mattias to kill him before he could and then dying from his injuries. Maisey apparently hadn't corrected him, because Haverson said nothing. He kept holding Asha, refusing to let her see her father dead on the floor, but he suspected she knew in any case.

"What... what do we do now?" Zara asked.

"I... I think the ship is still flyable," Caleb said as he scanned the console. "We... we could leave. We'd just need to dump some of that cargo, the tanks and what not. The things we won't need. Then we can get out of here... all of us."

That was when Haverson turned to Caleb and took charge. This was the moment he had been waiting for, the moment Maisey decided to take the tanks with her. To steal UNSC weapons as well as escape after benefiting from the murder of Marines. Days ago, he called this act a crime. Now, in Maisey's shoes, having witnessed it all first hand, his thoughts changed dramatically. The next words he spoke sounded like Maisey's voice... but they were of his own mind as well.

"No," Maisey's voice spoke, slipping over his tongue. "They've taken enough from us today. We're not leaving them anything."

"Maisey?' Tiegen asked. "What are you saying?"

"We dump most of the stuff we don't need, but we keep the tanks, the exosuits, the weapons, all of it," Maisey declared. "We arm ourselves with what they felt was more important than our lives. They butchered our people, they made us this way. They took all of that away, our innocence, our dignity. We're taking what was theirs as recompense."

The other colonists just nodded in kind, slowly but surely agreeing with her. They already began clearing out the bodies, while Caleb worked on the console. It was now that Haverson fully understood Maisey's position, when she had made the call that changed everything. When she stepped up and took back a little something for herself to protect her people, her family.

And in that moment, he decided it was no longer a crime. If it was, he had committed it too and he had no regrets either.


The music was echoing throughout the chamber now as the connection to the console finalized. Rowan now frantically sought out the proper frequency, even as the AI attempted to terminate the connection. Tali did her best to override the Synthetic's commands, hoping to fool the system into thinking she was the administrator with her false credentials installed about a day or so earlier. What had been useful in fooling the facility into granting her access was now preventing them from getting kicked out.

"You are making a mistake," the Forerunner AI claimed, the monotone sounding somewhat desperate. "Connection has almost been verified between two subjects. You cannot stop this now. We are so close to completion."

"No, we're ending this," Rowan declared. "We're not here to be your weapon against some ancient enemy! We can connect without losing ourselves! We don't need you!"

"Need is irrelevant," the AI stated. "Organic beings cannot reject the self, they cannot cast off their divisions. Not on their own. You will fracture, you will break and the enemy will destroy you while you fight among yourselves. Through the mindscape you will all be one. A united force none can withstand."

That was when Rowan found the matching frequency and made for the activation button. As she rushed for it though, one of the tendrils rushed out from the flank. No one else saw it in time and it hit her hard. She heard the quarian call out for her, but she was already feeling it again, the mindscape leaking into her head. This time, no bad memories, this time it showed herself something else. Her eyes beheld the building of New Teteocan, herself younger, before she joined the village council. In her hands she held a small computer that she recalled using to record her thoughts in the moment.

"Your people built this as a collective," the AI claimed. "You forged a colony of your own. You know this to be true. The selfish desires of others nearly destroyed you. The Mindscape creates the ultimate collective. No misjudgements, no prejudices, no hatred. All will be one. All will be like this colony."

But Rowan just grimaced at what she saw as shallow attempt to sway her.

"We did this as a collective, united," she admitted, but remained defiant in her tone. "But we did it because we wanted to build something for ourselves, as well as each other. We were family... we didn't need a mindscape to know that."

She noticed Caleb in the memory, waving at her happily. She knew her feelings about him were conflicted now, but it didn't matter. What mattered was what he had done for everyone in the colony, for her, despite the things he hid. As much as he had hurt her, Caleb was still her family. And she couldn't let him die without letting him know that.

"We didn't need you to forge that between us then, we don't need you now," Rowan declared. "Now let. Us. GO!"

Rowan wrenched herself free of the tendril's light and slammed her fist onto the control pad.

"I wanna rock!" Boz suddenly cheered at the top of his lungs as the music from his pack began to screech aloud.

The song exploded across every part of the facility. The walls reverberated with the sound at a hundred some odd decibels. It was near deafening. The whole squad had to cover their ears from the shrill frequency, but whatever effect it had on them, it was worse on the AI. The tendrils of light began to twitch about violently. The elements of the mind caverns they had been wandering in flickered and broke down above them. All the while, the screaming voice of the musician from the old song blared loudly.

I'm gonna blow up my video!

Shut down my radio!

Told boss man where to go!

Turned off my brain control!

That's the way I want my rock and roll!

That's the way I want my rock and roll!

It was all too much for the Forerunner AI.

"Sys-sys-system malfunction. Mindscape pat-pat-pattern deteriorating. Can not-not-not-not maintain-tain-tain cohe-he-he-hesion. Risk to-to-to information storage cri-cri-cri-critical. Failsafe Engaging. Engaging. Engaging. Failsafe Engaging."


Suddenly Haverson could not feel Maisey's thoughts and felt almost beside himself. In fact, he was. For a brief moment he saw himself in his old clothes as a sophmore agent. From the look of things, it was earlier in the war. But then, it faded and was replaced with Maisey in his old uniform. She looked just as perplexed as he was.

"Maisey?" He asked confused.

"Haverson, what are you doing in my old dress?" She questioned rather accusingly.

It was then in that moment they realized, what had been happening to them had been happening to the other. They gasped at the same time, pointing at the other. And soon, faint memories began to drift between them.

"You... you saw-" Maisey asked him.

"And you... you got to see when I..." Haverson looked rather concerned as he spoke.

Said fears were soon outweighed by Maisey's own.

"Then you know," she confessed. "You know... everything."

"So do you," he added solemnly.

They stood there in silence for a bit, as the feint sound of a rock song began to beat loud between them.

"Uh, what's that?" Maisey asked.

"No idea," Haverson claimed. "But it does sound like something Boz would be playing incessantly."

In that moment there was another voice.

"Connection failing." It said. "Failsafes engaging. Data must be collected. Synthesis was almost achieved."

"Synthesis?" Haverson asked questioningly. "Wait, what? Who are you? Were you, what, trying to merge our minds together?"

"Yeah, yeah I think it was... that's what this all was about," Maisey soon agreed. "That's why... we could hear each others thoughts and emotions as our own."

"Irrelevant," the voice declared. "This has failed. You were closer to success than anyone. Only the final Step was needed. We are sorry."

Step? What did that mean? Haverson thought about it for a bit and realized what the voice was getting at.

"You mean, whether or not we wanted to join our minds together?" He asked.

"Why are you even apologizing?" Maisey questioned.

"You will remain divided," the voice claimed. "Your selves will remain selfish. You will deny truths and lie. If it had succeeded you would finally know collective thought."

Haverson looked up at where the voice was coming from skeptically.

"That a fact, huh?" He asked.

"It is inevitable," the AI said. "You cannot reach this willingly and on your own. That will always be an obstacle to your evolution. Data acquired, catalogued, terminating experiment. Goodbye."

Haverson wanted to object, but the music got louder and the black void went white as the voice vanished.


Zhoc kept trying to grab the sangheili and failing, never getting close. In his fury, he barely noticed the song in the air. He did notice his sister speak though.

"Fail safe is activated." She spoke. "Experiment shutting down."

"What?" Zhoc snarled. "No! No don't you dare!"

"This is beyond our ability," Zvaz claimed. "Data must be preserved, cannot be gathered if system overloads. Shutdown is in progress. Goodbye."

Zhoc rushed over as he watched the ship crumble into digitized dust. He grabbed Zvaz and began shaking her body.

"No! No don't go! I'm not done yet! I can't lose her again!"

But the body was already vanishing before his eyes, unable to hold onto his sister. He had failed completely. Failed to change the past. Failed to save her. Failed to get revenge again. Failed to keep her with him.

"I just want her back!" He cried, sobbing more than his worst days under his father's boot. "I had her back! Give her back, damn it!"

He pounded the ground in a rage before screaming out aloud.

"GIVE ME BACK MY SISTER!"

The void went white in that moment.


Shepard rose up from the floor of the experiment chamber, along with the other members of the team. They all sounded groggy, a bit hazy, but no worse for wear. Save for the ringing in their ears from Boz's music. Boz himself was the only one who seemed a bit out of sorts. He was holding his head and groaning aloud near the console with Tali.

"Oh, my aching skull," he snarled. "What in the hell happened? I feel like my brain has been stuck on replay or something. Why am I so woozy?"

"It's okay, Boz," Tali assured the pirate DJ. "Just another day in our crazy little fleet."

"Cool, can I throw up?" Boz asked very politely.

"Just... point it away from any open wires and me please," the quarian requested tepidly.

Boz complied and leaned over the side of the platform, upchucking who knows what onto the floor. The other Jackals were up and about at least. Taq was nearest the Relic, which she quickly pulled out of the pedastal, yanking it free from the wires.

"Gonna have to purge this, just to be safe," she insisted.

"Cortana and I can assist you on that matter," Halsey informed the Jackal as she rose up to meet her.

However, not every Jackal who had been here when the disaster began was still here. Zek looked frantically around the room, but found no sign of Zhoc. Only his men, either dead prior to the start of the memory trip or roiling on the ground from various aches and pains. Obviously the abrupt disconnection had an effect on them that was similar to Boz's.

"Snarlbeak couldn't have gotten far," Zek said with a grunting sniff through his nose. "Retz, send out a wide contact, if anyone is awake and able to stand, track the bastard down!"

"Already way ahead of you, sir," Retz assured, taking out his commlink and starting to broadcast.

But while everyone was more or less alive, there was one person in the room who was worse for wear at least.

"Caleb!"

Rowan was already at the dying man's side when Shepard spotted her. Caleb was slumped on a console port, clearly in a lot of pain, barely breathing. He had gone too long without medical attention and was barely able to keep his eyes open. Shepard himself hurried over, as did a few of the others.

"Hold on, Caleb," Rowan tried to insist frantically. "We can get Tiegan in here and-"

"No, too late," Caleb said, his voiced pained and under stress. "Barely... holding on as it is. Shot... shot hit my lungs, I think. Hard... to breath."

Rowan, saddened as she was, still tried to put on a brave face as she clutched the old man's hand.

"I'm sorry," he said, taking what little breath he could. "I'm sorry I let you down, Rowan."

"You made up for it, Caleb," the young engineer assured him. "You were there when we needed you. Like you always have been. Because... it doesn't matter who you were before. You're family. I just... I want you to know that, ok?"

Caleb nodded, turning to Shepard once he did.

"I need... the pyramid thing," he said. "For... for just a second."

"Why?" Shepard asked, not scornfully just curious. "We should really try to get you to a doctor. We have medi-gel we can-"

"No, need to do this," he insisted. "Saw... saw what the Relic can do. Gave me glimpses, as I lay here. AI... it made... an offer. Need... need to do one thing... for you."

Shepard looked to Taq and nodded. The Jackal Female relented the relic reluctantly, but did so in any case. The Commander then handed it to Caleb, who held it up to his forehead. There was a brief flash of yellow light before he slumped back a bit.

"Memories," he said weakly, taking more desperate gulps of air. "It... can record memories, not just... replay. Gave you what I could, everything... about Cerberus."

Shepard looked at the relic in his hands, both with a solemn sense of gratitude, but also a lingering question.

"Why?" He asked.

"You... need it," Caleb claimed. "Should... help you. Need to... make it right. Too many lies. Truth... truth is important. Wish... I could do..."

There was a pained grunt, Caleb's head slumped over to Rowan.

"Take it... from here... kid," he told his young protegee as his breath left him. "You're... you have... everything... you... need."

And with that, Caleb's head dropped. He was gone. Rowan let the flood of tears break free as she held the now dead old man in her arms, his last breath exiting onto her shoulder. Tali placed a hand on her shoulder, as did Taq. Shepard knew better than to interrupt. He left Rowan to cry it out as the others supported her.

When the crying subsided though, Rowan noticed one last thing. On the ground near Caleb, scrawled in his blood, an arrow was pointing to a Forerunner symbol. Pulling herself away from the body, Rowan examined the symbol and then walked over to the console nearby. She found the symbol near a switch. It was blinking in the ready position. Without thinking twice, the young engineer pushed up on it.

In an instant the nearby console board sprung to life. On it was the diagnostic program for the Colony's defense grid. There were bold green letters on the screen that Taq read aloud for them.

"Grid reset ready," she translated. "Activate Full Coverage Confirmation Needed."

"The Grid!" Rowan said elated.

She quickly hit confirm and the console lit up green across the board. Every tower on screen was activated as was a shield generator at the center of the complex. New words appeared on screen.

"Restart success!" Taq declared. "The grid's active!"

"Caleb must've seen the restart system somehow," Rowan reasoned. "Maybe the AI told him how to do it!"

"Probably just to keep the facility safe and all its data," Tali reasoned. "But hey, a win is a win."

Rowan wiped away the tears and smiled proudly.

"Thanks Caleb," she said, some of her chipper nature restored. "For everything."


Many of the colonists, Marines and Jackals on both sides had been adversely affected by the experiment's shutdown in much the same way Boz had been, only worse in some cases. A few had managed to break free of the memories that had trapped them on their own, much like Shepard and his team. However, the enemy Jackals who had soon found themselves at a massive disadvantage. As soon as the energy dome had come down, McKay had pushed in with her ODSTs. The enemy Jackals who resisted were quickly dealt with, everyone else was rounded up and taken into custody.

The battle was over, New Teteocan had been saved. With the Forerunner facility's Shield and Defense towers operational, Snarlbeak's fleet quickly pulled back out of range. Although the towers managed to blast a few ships that dared to get too close. The Ascendant Justice and other friendly ships had pulled back to within the safety of the Towers' attack radius in kind.

The only loose end was Snarlbeak himself, he was gone. He had slipped past the search groups and the Shield did not prevent his escape either it seemed. Since he had not been in the central lab with all of them, it stood to reason that they had all been walking around while under the influence of the relic. He must've wandered off further in the middle of his memory trip. Zek was not happy to discover he had escaped, but the good deal of men he had ended up leaving behind meant it wasn't a total loss. Zhoc could always find others to replace his losses, but this was a significant dent in his birdpower. Retz had the idea of dropping them off with a Syndicate transponder he still had handy, let them deal with the prisoners rather than overstuff every cell in the Carrier's brig for who knew how long.

The important thing was the Colony was safe from the pirates, the relic was secure and it seemed the whole ordeal hadn't left any severe mental or physical scars on those afflicted by it. At least nothing permanent in any case. Taq was still holding the relic in her talons, she had quickly dubbed it "The Mind's Eye" after what the AI seemed to have called it.

Speaking of, a quick diagnostic showed her where the matrix for the troublesome synthetic therapist resided. After the Amplifier mess and what happened to Tali, she now knew where to look for this sort of thing. Extracting the Matrix and isolating it to a portable drive was easy enough after that, with a good deal of help from Halsey and Cortana of course. She handed over the drive to Rowan dutifully.

"Who knows, you might find a use for it if you can make it shut up about merging brains together," the kig-yar told the girl.

"I think we'll be good for a while without creepy ancient computer programs playing psychiatrist," the engineer reasoned rather confidently. "But thanks anyway."

"As much as I did not appreciate it rooting around our skulls, I must admit it wasn't completely wrong," Halsey added astutely. "The experience forced many of us to confront our personal demons, our inner truths, even grow closer together. While its goals were self-serving, there were beneficial elements too. It just didn't know when to stop helping."

"All I care about right now is that it means we only have one relic left to find," Taq declared. "That's enough for me. Well worth being forced to relive some less than happy moments in my life I say."

Halsey's point was not lost on everyone though, as Haverson made clear as he addressed Maisey directly, her daughter Asha at the Colony leader's side.

"I can't help but feel I owe you an apology that's overdue, Maisey," he confessed. "All this time, I thought you were protecting a criminal or you were leaving out something horrible. I should've realized, given who you are, it was about... family."

Maisey pulled Asha close.

"Everything I've ever done is for my family," she admitted. "That's what this colony is, but Asha is all I have left of my husband. All I have left in this galaxy besides the colony. Losing her... that would've killed me. I could not risk that, for anything."

"I know, I lived it," Haverson concurred. "I knew that the Outer Worlds had it rougher than most, but I never really lived it from their perspective. A mile in someone's shoes and all that. What you all went through... I can't blame you for making the choices you did. Not anymore."

Maisey nodded, but it lacked any sense of satisfaction. It was a humbling acknowledgement.

"I owe you an apology too, Lieutenant," she confessed. "I've seen the UNSC as this overpowering adversary for so many years, I didn't think about how helpless even the supposedly powerful could feel. But I saw it, how you tried, how you kept failing, how nothing worked and just how big this war was and still is, I guess. And I saw how you tried to take a stand for even a few of the people like us, however hopeless it seemed."

"For all the good it did," Haverson sighed. "The Covenant came in force and surpassed all thresholds for the sector. Nothing I did mattered in the end. When we stumbled onto you that whole experience just manifested itself again. I suppose when I realized what had happened with you, I just wanted to prove I had done all I could rather than admit I still failed."

"You gave us the best chance we had," Maisey claimed. "If it wasn't for you pushing us up the list, we might not be here today. I can't say I forgive the UNSC for what happened, but I can forgive you, Haverson. You saw us without ever meeting us. You tried to give us value, for that... you deserve our thanks."

There was a short contemplative silence between the two. They just stared at one another, in acknowledgement, wondering if they still saw a bit of themselves in the other. It was only broken by the Colony leader's next words.

"I suppose we have to accept what comes next," Maisey relented. "I can't give back the tanks, given they're... well gone. But, if you really must take away the Cyclops suits... we won't stop you. Just... please, if you still need to punish anyone, punish me."

"Mom!" Asha spoke up suddenly.

Maisey hushed her daughter with a raised hand.

"Asha was a child, you can say I killed Captain Wendell," she insisted. "Make me stand trial. It's the only way."

But Haverson was already shaking his head.

"You can keep the mechs," he informed her. "A lot of them are kinda obsolete in terms of models anyway. And if you wanted to make a bomb out of their cores you probably would've done so by now. We wouldn't get much use out of them at any rate. As for my investigation... well, honestly... I'm not sure I can effectively make a call on that anymore."

Maisey looked taken aback in confusion, but Haverson was quick to elaborate.

"You see, this whole experience has been rather... distressing for everyone involved," the Lieutenant declared in a fairly formal tone. "A massive memory bubble of some kind? Playing around in our heads? Making us see things? I mean, rather crazy to be honest. I'd wager a lot of the visions we saw can't be entirely trusted, more over they have likely emotionally compromised me and I cannot be certain of any of the events that have just occurred.

"As the Senior ONI Agent here, given the Forerunner technology involved, it would be best if the majority of the file be sealed for security reasons. I cannot be entirely sure of what I saw or what even happened here as the experience has likely altered my own memories and those of everyone who partook in the mission to this planet."

"Wait, what are you saying?" Asha asked, somewhat hopeful but still unsure of Haverson's point.

"Well, I just don't think I can trust my own mind on these events," Haverson clarified. "And with the deadly array of towers around this facility, it's clearly not safe to issue a followup investigation. So when I get back, I'm recommending that this system remain a no-go zone and that we refrain from entering it. Better to leave whatever happened at this lab a mystery I think."

Maisey and Asha could hardly believe it. Haverson was bending the rules for them, to an almost extreme degree in fact. They never would've imagined he stick his neck out like that before now.

"You can't possibly think that's going to hold forever as a story," Maisey noted.

"Eh, we have a war to win," the ONI Lieutenant replied. "Who is going to care about one Forerunner Facility that we've already searched extensively. We've recovered a lot data and a powerful artifact, why press our luck? By the time anyone cares, my report will probably be in the back bin of some cabinet somewhere. Besides... I've lived through what happened to Apekis V from your eyes now. I've made the same choices you did, I felt what you felt. If you're guilty, well in a way so am I. I can't exactly lock up myself can I?"

Maisey gave Haverson a warm smile.

"Thank you, Lieutenant," she said to him. "You've... you have no idea how much this means to us."

"I think I do actually," Haverson confessed. "After all, I've been where you are and you me. That AI claimed organic beings are doomed to never truly understand one another, that our individualism prevents it. I can't believe that, even knowing that a lot of what we saw and felt was it and the Relic's doing."

"You don't think this empathy we feel is somewhat artificial?" Maisey questioned. "I don't know, the AI was the whole impetus of all this. We probably wouldn't be here right now otherwise."

"All the AI did ultimately was show us the truth about each other," Haverson argued. "I'm not as scientifically minded as Halsey or Taq about this stuff, but I do believe in free will. We got close but we never subcumbed to the mindscape it wanted us to join. I have to believe that, what I'm doing now is of my own choice. That we're really not so different and I just needed to be reminded of that. We're not enemies, Maisey, we don't have to be of one mind for that to be true."

Maisey concurred with a nod, and quickly looked to the sidelines a bit.

"In that case, you should know," she said in a whisper. "Keep an eye on those pirates of yours. They're... up to some shady things. I don't think they mean you any harm, but... well, it's apparent they have their own agenda."

"I already guessed as much," Haverson assured her. "But I appreciate the heads up."

The two parted ways at that point, with a tip from Haverson's hat and a salute from Maisey. The Colony Elders gathered around her and Asha next, where she began to share the good news. New Teteocan was now truly free.

It was a good outcome as far as Shepard was concerned, but of course it had not come without some sacrifice. There were lost Colonists and Marines as a result of this fighting after all and there was one bit of leftover business from it, thanks in part to Caleb. Taq said she could eventually get a gander at the stored memories within a few days at most. Shepard hoped it had something useful in there they could use against Cerberus and whoever else at ONI they had brought to their side. For now, they had the Relic and it was best to get going before anything else happened.

"So I assume you're all going to stay here then?" He asked approaching Maisey and the others. "No interest in tagging along?"

"Given the trouble you get into... no," Asha confirmed. "We've seen enough of that."

"I still can't help but feel a responsible for a good deal of this," the Commander noted. "Our little treasure hunt inadvertently ensnared you. Without us somehow helping Cerberus end up back in time, you probably never would've come here to begin with."

The colonist murmured among each other for a bit, but Rowan stood out among them.

"Commander, I think I can speak for everyone when I say... we don't regret anything," she insisted. "Caleb lied to us, all of us. He wasn't who we thought he was. And if he hadn't been there that day, who knows where we might've ended up. Maybe it would've been better, we'll never know. But we found this place and we made something of it. For all of Caleb's faults, all his lies, he helped give us this home. And so did you in a way when you sent him to us."

"I'm just glad you'll be able to keep building and living in peace here," Shepard told her humbly. "But thank you for saying that. Just know, the war is still out there and there's a good chance it might end up on your doorstep again before it's through."

"We'll see it through together," Maisey assured the Commander. "And knowing you and the UNSC are out there, trying to end it, well... maybe it won't feel like such a distant thought in our minds anymore. We wish you good luck, Shepard, all of you. Give' em hell, for all the colonies lost, still around and yet to come."

Shepard just gave a polite nod in acknowledgement and turned away. It wasn't long after that, with a few more goodbyes between the brain crew, some of the Marines and colonists themselves, that the group began to pull out of New Teteocan. With their relic prize in tow, they headed back to the extraction site through the jungle, past the wreckage of Snarlbeak's army.

Of course, there was other cargo being carried that was not relic related. The unggoy workers Zek had brought down were carrying some rather large crates themselves. Zek had a malicious little smirk on his face as they carted it back to the Phantoms. This trip had indeed proved profitable. Snarlbeak given a black eye, another relic snatched and a whole heap of Sugar Cane ready for planting and experimenting with. Everything was coming up the pirate leader's way. If only he could see the look on Snarlbeak's face right now.


Zhoc had trudged through the jungle in a hate-fueled daze for hours before he collapsed. Thankfully, his transponder had been working and he was soon picked up by one of his Phantoms. Lurz had piloted the ship himself. When they finally got back to the fleet, avoiding the sensory array of the newly activated Forerunner Defense Grid, they were greeted in the flagship's hangar bay by most of the crew. Snarlbeak stumbled out of the Phantom, shaking in anger, gritting his teeth and curling his talons. One of his men broke formation and rushed over to him.

"Shipmaster, are you alright, sir?" He asked. "Do you need anything? Ichor? Meds?"

Zhoc didn't look at the crewmate, he barely acknowledged him. He just found his voice annoying and unwanted. The pity in his tone, the fact he was displaying weakness to his underlings. They smelled blood all while pretending to smile. Snorting through his nostrils, rage billowing up from his gizzard, he called out a single name.

"Lurz!"

The Ibie'Shan turned to the nearby kig-yar who had approached Zhoc. He grabbed the smaller bird by the neck and threw him to the ground. Several kicks, punches, a good slash across the face and the crewmate was reeling on the floor in pain. Lurz knew not to kill him, this was not an executable offense. It was a demonstration to others. He was not weak, he was not broken, he was not beaten.

"I'm sorry, sir!" The kig-yar shouted in pain through his tears and the blood pouring down his face. "It won't happen again! I swear! I swear!"

Zhoc finally stood up, fire in his eyes as he surveyed his now properly cowed crew. They had to fear him, like they feared Zvaz. It was the only way to lead. He didn't care what some nonsense memory had claimed, he denied it, all of it. His revenge was incomplete, his sister's rightful place would be secured. Zek would not take that away from her, from him! There were still cards to play after all.

"Ready the engines," he ordered. "New course to be relayed."

The crew quickly rushed to their stations. Zek could savor the victory of today for now. He'd soon learn why they called him Snarlbeak. Why he was the next pirate king. He'd make the little brat see. He'd make them all see. And then... Zvaz would proud of him at last. After all, he was just like her. No matter what anyone said, he was just like her.


AN: And with that, good to New Teteocan and hello a brand new arc. God, it's been so long. I didn't think it would be, but here it is, everything done. So much to say about this moment, mostly that it just feels good to be finished with this whole arc at last. I'm just so glad I can move on, start writing something else and continue the story. Seriously, this feels so good you guys. You have no idea.

The rest of what I have to say you can find in the blogpost link on the profile page. You can look forward to BBR being updated sometime in the next few days to fill you in on the stuff Boz was doing in the background of these events. And in due time, Liara's story will get updated next, at long last because that thing has been on hiatus longer than this due to me wanting to get this arc done first. That's a habit I'm gonna have to change frankly. Anyway, next time we come back to our fleet of mismatched Pirates and Space heroes, the road to the final relic begins, with the return of some old frenemies, some payoff for a long gestating chekov's space whale ship and the start of our proper lead in to Operation: First Strike. See you all then.