Mass Effect: Lost Son of Terra

by Ares007

The Reapers had a system. They let Civilizations grow, then harvested once they were at their peak. What will happen when a wrench is thrown into that system in the form of Erwin Wolff. A broken man whose sole purpose was to kill Xenos. Pulled into a Xenophilic Galaxy. How will he deal with the Mass Effect trap and navigate new aspects of his life?

11. The Key

Disclaimer: I do not own Halo, Warhammer 40k, Stellaris, Kaiserreich, HoI4, Clannad, Star Wars, or Mass Effect. This is a fanfiction, and I don't have ANY monetary reward for making it. This is purely for fun.

WARNING: This is an M-rated fanfiction. Limes will appear from time to time.

Vote:

When I was writing this, I noticed I was calling the "Grand Army of the Ghost," the "Grand Army of the Wolf." I had to go back a correct the mistake for this chapter, and I wouldn't be surprised if the slipup was in other chapters too. I'll have to go back and look, but before I do anything; I want your opinion.

What do you prefer I call Erwin's army?

Just know the vote is just to get your opinion, the result may go against the majority.

Author's notes:

I had a bit of writer's block for this chapter. I feel like this is a good foundation for the next arc. Coming up soon will be a time skip for ME2. I plan on making the Leviathans and Reapers very powerful in the story and hope I represented them well during their moments in the story. Erwin's forces might seem overpowered, and they are, but they'll be compatible with the Reapers. The Leviathans will be more sneaky and utilize more asymmetrical warfare.

Thank you all for your support, we reached 74 favorites and 95 follows. This chapter also passes the 100k word mark, and I never expected to commit to the story this much. I also want to thank Janny092, for his reviews. I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far, and enjoy the first chapter of the second arc.

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Chapter X

The Key

Erwin walked down a corridor with a purposeful stride. Unlike most Imperial structures, the interior of Resonance Prime was basic. It lacked the bold and elegant artistry Humanity was known for.

R Prime wasn't ugly by any means, just simple. Some would even suggest the barebones architecture had a charm to it. During the early days of the War, the Terran Confederacy was known for the same simplistic blocky design. The wartime architecture endowed a sense of power.

As Erwin walked, a few clones stopped and snapped an Imperial salute. They stood at attention and slammed their right fist onto the left side of their chest.

He raised his right hand, showing the Second Legacy members he received the honor.

The salute was never used by any Military within the Confederacy, so no one cared if the Empire used it.

Every nation had its unique salute. Like dealing with children; the Empire couldn't use the American, Chinese, German, or any other Nation's salute for the Imperial military.

The United Terran Empire took heavy inspiration from the old Roman Empire, something the French Empire was very happy about. It was odd how most of the space-fairing Empires of Humanity still aspired to live up to the ancient Mediterranean empire. The revival of the old salute just made sense during the Empire's rise.

Erwin stepped in front of a large door, it marked the end of the corridor. The door was the size of the corridor; ten meters long, and three and a quarter meters tall.

A blue hard-light hologram floated at the center of the door, near chest level.

He pushed his hand through the hologram, and the door immediately recognized its owner. The door split into four, the large metal door disappeared into the walls.

Erwin walked through the open door, into the large cloning room. It was a hemisphere with a diameter of twenty meters. The room was relatively small for R Prime, but it was one of the most important and technically advanced.

Unlike the massive amniotic fluid-filled cloning chambers that grew twenty million regular clones at a time, this room was only meant for one unique clone.

It looked empty, except for the pool of amniotic fluid in the center of the domed room. Warm yellow-tinted light ominously flowed from the pool, illuminating the dim room.

The pool was five meters in diameter, and fifteen meters deep. Inside formed one of the most powerful beings in the Universe.

Unlike normal clones, Erwin personally upgraded this clone with cutting-edge Imperial technology. It wasn't the clone himself the Imperium would have an issue with, rather Erwin created a facility capable of producing such a being.

Like many Imperial warships, weapons, or any other advanced devices; the clone was given some of Erwin's essence.

Regular clones were designed with some of Erwin's DNA, not his essence. However, this clone was special from the start.

The ratio of Erwin's Human DNA to Clone template DNA was much higher for a few important reasons. Instead of one to a million for regular clones, this clone was one to ten.

Essence was more of an art than science. It was used to create bio-synthetic components in Imperial products. Combined with a matrix of dumb AI, it could produce Machine Spirits.

The combination of a higher DNA ratio and Essence gave the clone a sharper psionic presence. Along with a closer connection to Erwin, to ensure loyalty and psionic protection. The clone would never be a psyker, but rather than a dull ball he'd be like a sledgehammer. Still dull, and ultimately useless when compared to a proper psyker.

However, there was a form of artificial psionics. Similar to biotic implants, but taken to an entirely new level. By utilizing the Essence properties and psionic projectors, then combining it with an internal power unit; artificial psionics could be produced.

It wasn't true psionics, but good enough to give the clone a fighting chance against some Avatars. Technically the clone wasn't utilizing any psionics, but the Machine Spirit was.

That Machine Spirit was unique in it was more of a second subconscious for the clone. The Machine Spirit was itself a clone of Erwin's subconscious but given a different core.

It didn't matter if it was Erwin or the clone that was using the artificial psionics. In the end, it gave Erwin the most powerful Clone Patriarch.

One of the most important organs grown into the Patriarch was an organic dark matter reactor. It supplied the clone with a massive source of exotic dark energy for biotics. The organic reactor could also pump energy into his armor, further improving his Patriarch's combat capabilities.

No one was crazy enough to try and create a Patriarch with such radical methods.

The Patriarch was the closest Erwin could get to a son without popping one in Oriana.

"That'd be a sight." Erwin thought.

Sanae and the girls would gush over a pregnant Ori, while the clones would have to restrain Akio and Miranda from killing him.

A normal Patriarch was a large clone designed to lead the entire clone army, whenever their Spartan was unavailable. Patriarchs provide their Spartans with a level of freedom that shouldn't be underestimated.

This Patriarch was going to be one of a kind. He'd lead his Grand Army to victory, or make the Reapers pay for every inch with a river of blood.

There were a lot of inches in the Galaxy.

In short, Erwin needed a champion for the upcoming war. Ares couldn't deal with cyber security, draw up grand strategies, fight large space battles, and lead the Clones. At some point, added processing power falls to the rules of diminishing returns.

This champion would give Erwin a solid second leader. Capable of leading and coordinating a Galaxy-wide campaign, or being the sharp spear of a Spec Ops team. The Primarch would do it all, and then some.

Like many of the clones; his organs, muscles, and bones were upgraded from the baseline Human counterparts. The Patriarch was once again upgraded with superior flesh than even his clone brothers, courtesy of Erwin.

The major change was his brain. It'd be more accurate to call the organ an organic supercomputer. Directly grown into that superior brain was a high-end neural lace, capable of sending and receiving vast quantities of data.

He wouldn't be as intelligent as Erwin or Ares, but he'd probably be the third smartest being in this Universe. The Primarch did have some hefty competition from Admiral-class clone, though.

There was no debate, the Primarch was the masterpiece of his Second Legacy.

Erwin sent the command to begin the birthing process through his neural lace.

Lights in the ceiling lit up the room, and the humming of pumps could be heard rapidly draining the amniotic fluid. The floor of the cylindrical pool began to rise, holes in the floor allowed it to surface without flooding the room in amniotic fluid.

Erwin looked through the yellowish clear liquid, as the floor rose. In the center was a huge amniotic sac. An outline of a man much larger than Erwin was curled up in the fetal position.

The floor fully ascended the pool, leaving the large amniotic sac bare to the atmosphere of R Prime. The sac was held up by a few thick vines of flesh coming from the floor.

The large man inside started to move inside the amniotic sac. He slowly became more active and grabbed the umbilical cord. With one rough pull, he pulled the life-giving cord from his stomach.

Normally by this point, small tentacles would start cutting open the amniotic sac. However, Erwin knew what his Patriarch was like.

He was the first, and greatest, clone created in the Army of the Ghost. His consciousness was stored in the Armor's data bank. Unlike the last times the Primarch was called upon, he would be awakening to a far superior body.

On the other hand, he'd be awakening the same way he prefers. Erwin would never dream of changing his Primarch's preferred method of birthing.

A lightly tan hand punched through the amniotic sac, followed shortly by another. The amniotic liquid inside the sac gushed from the large punctures. Then the Patriarch roughly tore through the amniotic sac with a level of controlled savagery.

The Patriarch fell to his hands and knees, then spewed large amounts of amniotic fluid from his mouth. The man coughed up the rest from his lungs before standing at his full height. He looked at his hands questionably, the clone knew something was different about his body.

The large clone saw Erwin standing a few meters away. He confidently strode towards his master.

Erwin could feel pride swelling in his being. A small part of Erwin lived in that masterpiece of his Second Legacy.

Standing in front of Erwin was the naked ten foot six Patriarch of the Ghost. Unlike his younger brothers, the man looked much more European thanks to sharing more DNA with his master. He had blond hair, grey-blue eyes, and a rough face.

The Primarch kneeled on one knee and lowered his head before speaking.

"Father." He greeted Erwin in a gruff and respectful voice.

Erwin's First and Second Legacies called him "brother" and "Lord." However, they were more like his children.

Ares was formed from a digital clone of his consciousness, and the Clones all had a piece of his DNA flowing through their blood.

It was why they were referred to as Erwin's legacies.

They were formed from Erwin's being, making them his children. He was grateful, a father could ask for no greater sons. His and Oriana's son would have two protective older brothers.

Maybe an odd uncle/brother hybrid for Ares.

His Primarch was the only one of his legacies to call him "father," but only behind closed doors. He has to keep up appearances for the other clones.

"It's been too long, Leman Wolff. Rise, my son; and let's get you some proper armor. We have much work to do." Erwin commanded with pride and placed his hand on the personification of his Second Legacy's head as a form of affectionate greeting.

It was once said; if a General treats his men as his own beloved sons, then they'll follow him into the deepest valley.

Sun Tzu was a wise man, his doctrines were still taught in many Empires. Specifically the Chinese Imperial Army, it had a deep reference for their ancestor.

Erwin just took the concept a step forward. The nature of his legacies allowed him to do so.

Ares Wolff and Leman Wolff were adopted into the Wolff dynasty by Erwin. He was the leader of the dynasty, whoever he accepted as his charge was solely his prerogative.

The Primarch rose to his full height. He was much taller than Erwin and had a slightly thicker build.

"Are the Elves acting up again, father?" Leman asked as his father led him out of the room.

The Dark Elves were a specialty of his. Erwin's army was very good at killing Ilythiiri, so much so that they were the only Imperial Army the Dark Elves feared.

'The Army of the Ghost sought blood for their King of Ashes.' It was a common saying among the Dark Elves.

"Unfortunately, we won't be killing Ilythiiri." Erwin was disappointed that he'd never kill another Dark Elve again.

Erwin sent his Primarch everything that's happened since coming to this Universe.

Leman's eyes slightly widened in surprise.

"A parallel Universe, my Lord?" Leman incredulously asked. He was familiar with Imperial physics, such a thing was supposedly impossible.

Leman was calling him Lord now that a few clones passed them, and they were in public. Each clone gave their Lord and Primarch an Imperial salute. They both periodically braised their right hands.

Leman was walking through the corridor naked, and none of the clones seemed to care. It was natural, they were all brothers. Birthing of a batch normally had millions of clones freeballing through R Prime.

"Yes. I had a similar reaction, even had to meditate for a moment." Erwin admitted.

"I'm sure it must have been more of a shock for you, my Lord. However, it seems like the expungement from our Universe had its upsides. Lady Oriana seems like a fitting mate for you." Leman tried to see the silver lining.

Erwin smiled. His Patriarch was much more mature than his younger brothers, but he was just excited about the prospect of an heir.

"I'm starting to think being sent here was a blessing." Erwin silently confessed.

"It matters not where we are, my Lord. Go wherever makes you happy, and we'll faithfully follow." Leman passionately said.

He truly missed his Patriarch. Leman was calm, charismatic, loyal, and an artist on the battlefield. During combat that controlled savagery came out, and he transformed.

To hell with all those who thought John's Guilliman could defeat Erwin's Patriarch.

They sent John and his Ultramarines, whenever they wanted order to be established.

They sent Erwin and his Army of the Ghost, whenever they wanted examples to be made.

"I've missed you, Leman." Erwin proudly confessed.

"Thank you, my Lord." Leman beamed from the approval of his Lord and adopted father.

They walked off the tram and made their way through a few different passageways.

"These Reapers seem like a worthy foe." The large clone spoke with a little more steel in his voice.

"They're a threat and will be eliminated. No matter how long it takes. Our number one objective is to attain an intact Reaper." Erwin informed his legacy.

"Their technology can't be too advanced, my Lord. They use primitive dark tech, and that pitiful fleet was able to destroy one."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that. There was something odd about the end of that battle. The Reaper was literally ramming ships like it was nothing. It's shields had to be Apex level to protect against so much kinetic energy. Then the damn thing dies from a few primitive warships?" Erwin contemplated.

"I'll admit that's suspicious. Perhaps only their shielding is advanced? The Elves have weak armor and strong shields, and their still Apex."

"The armor looks thick. I'm not sure how the primitives got through it. The Reaper seemed to just blow up."

They walked into a large rectangular room, which was specially designed as Leman's personal quarters and armory. The centerpiece of the room was the eleven-foot-tall heavy armor.

Erwin's armor was defined as medium armor. It focused equally on mobility and protection. Heavy armor solely focused on protection and firepower. Unlike medium armor, heavy armor has some integrated weapons. The mobility wasn't totally sacrificed, only brought to the bare minimum levels required for Imperial war doctrines.

Instead of using easily produced, but effective nanolaminate armor plates. This armor was forged with the same cutting-edge neutronium armor used in Erwin's Armor.

There wasn't any threat of the advanced armor being reverse-engineered, it was the forging process that was top secret. The Reapers would just see a borderline indestructible slab of metal. They'd need a fundamental understanding of physics they were incapable of developing, to ever understand what was in the armor.

Understanding what the armor was would be almost impossible, recreating the armor was an entirely different story.

The neutronium plates on the heavy armor were much thicker than Erwin's own. He was tempted not to install a shield generator. Only Imperial weaponry, and a few exotic weaponries, could hope to even dent the armor.

But those shields were also powerful and beyond advanced. They were Forerunner pattern hard-light shields. The shields could take a few hits from a primitive warship before they broke.

Mass Effect fields were placed in the armor, utilizing the new Ezo made by Erwin. The armor was heavy and needed a form of mass negation to effectively move on the battlefield. The armor's artificial muscles and powered exoskeleton were more than capable of moving the massive armor plates. However, without any mass negation; the weight of each footstep would be… heavy.

All of the other systems were far inferior to Erwin's Armor. Only the neutronium plates were equal to Erwin's own. That didn't mean the heavy armor wasn't spectacularly advanced.

Noticeably the computer and power systems. The computer was an older version of Imperial quantum computing. It'd allow Leman to effectively command and carry out cyber warfare if he was ever separated from the rest of the Army.

The power system was something special, and uniquely human.

An Imperial Antimatter Reactor.

The IAR utilized antimatter powder and was capable of putting Leman on technological parody with Apex races. In combination with his internal dark matter reactor, the heavy armor had an abundance of power to draw from.

The armor was steel colored with gold trims. Anglian characters in certain areas, along with Nordic patterns were engraved in the dark silver armor plates. It looked like a Nordic knight's armor. It definitely fit Leman's personality.

The helmet and massive pauldrons only feed more into the "knight" aesthetic. The right pauldron had the Army of the Ghost's seal on it. The seal was a Grim Reaper-like spectral being with a longsword stabbed into the ground. A human-like skull and an elite skull were skewered on the sword. Behind the being was a dead world, ominously hanging above the Grim Reaper.

The left had the Wolff dynasty's seal. It was a wolf facing forward on a shield, the shield had two swords crossed behind it.

"Father, is it wise for me to don such armor?" Leman questionably asked.

Erwin grinned.

His adopted/biological son already overlooked the armor's specifications. He was probably just waiting to ask about his body too.

"For what you'll be doing, yes. The Army of the Ghost must grow to fight a multi-Galactic war. There will be times when you must lead entire campaigns on your own."

"Is that why this body feels more powerful than it should?"

Erwin sent Leman everything that was done to his body. He was amused by his Patriarch's surprised, then scowling look.

"You know how I feel about psionics, father." Leman grunted.

"Are you saying Anglians and Imperials are lesser warriors?" Erwin asked in fake innocence.

"No, my makers are Warriors first. Psionics is just another tool at their disposal. It's just…" Leman trailed off before Erwin picked back up.

"I know, son. Forget what the primitives and ignorant believe. You're an enforcer of the Wolf family. Use what I have given you for the Empire and our dynasty." He assured his unsure Primarch.

"I understand, father; but I'm only going to use it for defense against Avatars. I've never had a problem with killing psykers before." Leman begrudgingly accepted his artificial psionics.

Leman and the rest of the clones always had a hate for psionic users. They saw the users as false warriors who couldn't fight otherwise. There were obviously exceptions, namely Anglians.

Discrimination against clones in the Empire was rampant in some circles. Mainly due to their dull psionic presence.

Erwin never let anyone talk down to his men in front of him. He even broke a fellow German Noble's jaw for calling his men soulless. Nothing happened to Erwin, he was also a German Noble and seen as far more valuable.

He broke the man's jaw at a ball held in Berlin of all places and in front of the Kaiser. The Emperor of all Germans was amused rather than insulted.

That was a ball Erwin actually enjoyed.

"We have more than just nimble little Elves to kill." Erwin lectured.

"They'll all die by the edge of my sword." Leman aggressively sneered. The aggressiveness was towards the Reapers or any other hypothetical enemy.

"Of that, I have no doubt. You're more than just a warrior now, Leman. You're my champion, and we need every advantage we can get for the upcoming war." Erwin calmly spoke.

Leman stared at the Nordic-Germanic-looking armor in contemplation for a moment.

He walked behind the armor, then the armor seemed to magically disassemble and float around the naked Patriarch. Of course, it wasn't magic, but a series of gravitic projectors.

First, the thick black under armor formed around Leman, and directly integrated into his Black Carapace ports. Then he walked forward into the open boots and greaves, they locked onto Leman's feet and calves.

One at a time, pieces of the heavy armor were bolted to the large clone. The most noticeable of the body armor was his backside, it fully integrated with the rest of the armor and made a small whining noise as the antimatter reactor warmed up.

Then finally, Leman grabbed the floating helmet and placed it on with reverence. It looked more like a smoothly curved European Knight's helmet with a few bold angles. The steel-colored helmet had a few Nordic patterns engraved into it, and two black eye-shaped visors that covered multiple cameras and sensors.

Once the helmet was placed on, the hissing noise of a complete seal was heard. Then finally, the black eyes glowed an eerie light blue.

Two weapons floated up from the floor, on either side of Leman. He grabbed the sword to his right, Mjalnar.

The large grandiose two-handed sword was a mix between a Renaissance and Nordic style sword, that leaned more towards the Nordic aesthetic. The sword was encased in its Nordic decorated sheath.

The sword was forged with a neutronium alloy monomolecular blade, and when turned on was encased in a dense film of plasma along the cutting edge.

Leman hung the sword on his left waist. Then grabbed the weapon floating to his left.

It was a unique weapon Erwin created.

The bolter.

A bolter was essentially an ancient gunpowder weapon, but Erwin thought 'bolter' was more fitting to the nature of the weapon.

Instead of a 7.62mm bullet, it shot a 20mm bolt.

Instead of using gunpowder to propel the bolt down the barrel, it used a light form of antimatter powder.

Once the massive bolt left the barrel at over thirty thousand meters per second, solid-state antimatter rockets propelled the bolt to even greater velocities until it reached its target.

When that massive bolt traveling at terrifying speeds hit a target; a nanolaminate penetrator pierced the armor, then a small amount of antimatter powder detonated with the force of dozens of grenades.

The weapons needed a basic inertial dampener to counter the heavy recoil, but no baseline human should ever dream of firing the weapon.

Bolters were capable of competing with Apex race weaponry, without being susceptible to reverse-engineering.

The particular bolter given to Leman was what Erwin called a pistol carbine. It shot the same bolts as a regular bolter but was specifically designed for one-handed use by Leman.

Leman curiously inspected the new weapon, he was used to traditional mass accelerators. Not the Nordic decorated, but primitive-looking weapon.

Erwin was curious enough to decorate the pistol carbine to match his armor's aesthetic.

Erwin sent his Primarch information on the new form of weaponry. He was once again amused by Leman's surprised look. Erwin could see Leman's facial expressions from his helmet's internal cameras.

Leman placed the pistol in a holster covered in white wolf fur, hanging from his right waist. The grip was facing forward, the weapon was meant to be used by his left hand.

Inside the armor were also a few deadly weapon systems.

His wrist gauntlets both had a plasma blade. The left vambrace had a wrist-mounted anti-personal laser; it fired a dense beam of high gamma photons. The back of the armor was a vertical missile launcher. The missiles held a condensed antimatter warhead, the directional explosion was in the megatons.

The now eleven-foot giant of a man slowly walked towards Erwin again. Each footstep was a heavy thud against the metal floor.

An armored Leman stood in front of an armored Erwin, he dwarfed the Anglian Spartan. It didn't mean he looked down on the smaller Anglian, Leman knew full well who'd win in a fight. Even if he could beat the Anglian, he wouldn't dream of such a dishonorable act.

It was a son's duty to serve and honor his father.

Leman once again kneeled before Erwin and looked down to the floor.

"What would you have your champion do?" Leman spoke in a prideful, respectful, and dedicated voice.

---

"In other news, Terra Firma is posed to make large political gains during the Alliance elections. The recent focus on Human slavery in the Hegemony has swept the Alliance, and calls for action now fill the streets." A female Human spoke on ANN.

"Matriarch Aeosa, what's Asari's opinion on a potential Alliance led by Terra Firma?"

"We hope the xenophobic party doesn't take over the Alliance Parliament. Humanity has done a good job integrating into the Galactic community so far. It'd be a shame to throw away such progress." The elderly Asari spoke.

"And just what has Humanity gained from such integration? Our people are enslaved, and the Council does everything in its power to stop Human progress." A Human male countered. He was a relatively attractive Indonesian running for one of the Parliament seats.

"Humanity has only benefited from Galactic integration, your economy is booming and Humanity has a spot on the Council." The Matriarch shot back.

"We get outvoted on nearly everything, so the Council is worthless. We're prevented from expanding our military, and forced to watch as these savages violate our children." The man passionately spoke.

"The Treaty of Farixen has guaranteed Galactic stability. Humanity was given a fair ratio of dreadnoughts allowed. As for the Batarians, the entire Council has embargoed the small nation. A war and large-scale ship construction will only cause more problems."

"The treaty is only used to ensure the Turians could stamp out Humanity if we ever pulled too hard on the Citadel leash. Humanity demands action be taken against the Batarians. If the Council won't take action, we will. We shouldn't have to worry about Turian boots on Earth for simply liberating o-"

Oriana turned off the TV. She was feeling sick at the prospect of a Terra Firma victory.

She fully agreed that something needed to be done about Batarian slavery, but war? The Batarians could be coerced by negotiation and economic pressure.

War only brought death.

Images of the scars on Erwin's body, and that haunting look he gets sometimes filled her thoughts.

Each one of those angry marks was someone trying to kill her Erwy, and the thought broke her heart. The feelings coming from him through their bond, and those moments of painful reminiscing only drove home his past moments of terror. It only hammered home her belief war should only be a means of self-defense.

If the Alliance left the Council and started building up their military, then a war between the Council and Alliance might be a reality.

Would they call her father back into the N7? Her boyfriend might tease his age, but he was only fifty.

Then what about Miranda? She'd clearly help the Alliance. Her sister probably even supports the massacre Cerberus inflicted upon the Batarians a few weeks back.

Oriana hoped it was Cerberus, but she had this sickening feeling in her gut.

What about her? Would she be drafted into the Alliance military? What about the Asari military?

She had dual citizenship, and both the Alliance and Asari Republics wanted her. It was to the point that the Asari Republics were paying for her to live on an Asari world.

If the Asari coerced her to help the fight, would she be forced to fight Miranda or her father?

No, Oriana refused to fight a war.

She'd rather die.

Oriana wanted to ask her boyfriend about the situation but was honestly afraid of his possible response.

The Terran Empire was brutal to anyone deemed a threat to their tyrannical rule. To find out Erwin was brainwashed from a young age to enforce their rule caused her heart to ache.

It was doing a lot of that these days.

After she saw the videos of Erwin committing war crimes, and his cruel time at the academy; it felt like her heart was ripped out of her chest. Oriana never thought less of Erwin, only disappointed in some of his actions.

Yet when she was in his arms, Oriana just couldn't believe it was the same ruthless man who killed so many. The man she was with was kind and compassionate, even if he hid it well.

Oriana knew he was a good person, but he was Human and everyone is capable of evil.

Speaking of Erwin, she missed him terribly. He only stayed a few days after her birthday, then left for another three weeks.

Oriana gave herself to him, and he just left. She'd always be true to herself, but at the same time, she would give him anything just to stay. It was almost scary how hard she fell for Erwin.

Normally she had to beat boys off with a stick. Oriana even caught the attention of multiple celebrities. Men would buy her a house just for the time of day, and she's never felt insecure before. She was very attractive, that much was apparent.

Oriana was also told she had a great personality. She always made sure not to let her conference in her looks turn to arrogance. And, she never looked down on those considered beneath her league.

People were people, Oriana just happens to be born with looks and brains. She thought the idea of being with someone because their face was attractive, was foolish.

Oriana was a romantic, and fundamentally believed love was the most powerful force in the universe.

So… she wasn't a bitch, or unattractive. At least she hoped Erwin found her attractive.

Erwin's mother and sister were beyond beautiful. With how advanced the Empire was, could Oriana be considered average? Plus Erwin was a Noble, it could be standard to have harems.

Oriana shook the self-deprecating thoughts away. Erwin wasn't like that, but there was an irrational fear of him finding someone else.

Oriana and Erwin loved each other, she knew he loved her, that'd never be questioned.

So, why didn't Erwin want to stay?

She offered to get an apartment alone with him and pay for it herself. Erwin assured Oriana her family wasn't the reason he was never around. That only created more questions, the fact her father helped cover his mysterious trips worried her for some reason.

Oriana was even forbidden to travel with him. Erwin was adamant about her staying on Illium.

Then there was that starfighter. Erwin let her fly it, and nothing like that thing could be made in her Universe. It moved as if the very laws of physics didn't apply to the large fighter, and it felt alive. The starfighter willingly obeyed her commands only because Erwin cared for her. She could feel its will, and it was both amazing and terrifying.

Erwin wouldn't tell her how he made it, and the mystery of Erwin August Wolff grew.

She tossed and turned in Erwin's large bed. It used to be the guest room, but Oriana claimed the room as her own. It was hard to sleep without Erwin, but the large bed he used to sleep in made it easier.

The room was filled with light from her phone's hard-light hologram. Calling it a hologram seemed almost disingenuous. It was a floating ball of fire; its warm light and heat filled the room. The hologram was almost indistinguishable from a real fire.

It was quite romantic, and all she needed was Erwin.

The hologram was much better than sleeping with a TV on, the rapid changes in light from the television were annoying. It was always hard falling asleep, with lights on.

Ever since she was young she had a fear of the dark.

Oriana was terrified without some form of light near her. After a few minutes in the dark, an incessant and frantic need to get to a source of light appeared.

Plus she's always had a constant feeling of uneasiness like danger was all around her. It was irrational, and she grew to live with it.

The fear even extended to her family. The idea of one of the girls alone in the dark was even more terrifying than herself being in the dark.

She made sure the girls slept with a night light and even begged her parents to do the same. It was an odd phobia, and Oriana had a few conditions that needed to be met for her to control it.

Oriana was able to hide it from everyone, except for her parents. It was a worse problem when she was younger, but Oriana was lucky to have such understanding parents.

No one else was allowed to know.

She was embarrassed and didn't want people thinking less of her. It was a phobia, and Oriana hated it. Luckily, the phobia could be controlled to some degree.

She only had one unbreakable rule, never scream in the dark.

As long as that one rule was followed, she was fine. Something about the concept of screaming in the dark was terrifying. It was like something would get her if she drew attention in the dark.

Recently her phobia has been getting better. Like an Angel appearing from the heavens, when he was needed the most, Erwin came along.

Erwin came carrying the lost Nagisa, Oriana was sure she'd never see her again. Then he was able to banish her childish fears. Replacing them with a previously unknown feeling of complete safety.

How could she not feel safe being protected by someone like Erwin?

Erwin was large but well proportioned. He had the body of a Warrior, and she was drawn to it. Oriana was used to male models hitting on her, but Erwin wasn't a model. It wasn't a bad thing; he was a ruggedly handsome man and a powerful one.

She thought he was much more attractive than any model. Most models had shit personalities, anyway.

His arms were the largest she's ever seen on a human, and they'd be freakishly big on anyone else. On Erwin they just looked right, welcoming almost.

When those large arms were protectively wrapped around her, she felt truly safe. Like nothing in the Universe could touch her.

There was far more than just his physical strength, and protective embrace. Most importantly he provided her with the one thing she craved, besides safety.

He made her feel loved, he didn't just lust after her body like everyone else. Erwin made her feel like the most important person in the Galaxy, and she desperately wanted to return the favor.

Erwin gave her safety, love, and forbidden knowledge.

He never asked for anything in return, but she gave him everything.

Oriana tried to stop the silent tears from falling, but couldn't. She grabbed at the pendant around her neck, as if it'd summon her lost lover.

She was alone, and that uneasiness was gripping her soul. Erwin wasn't here, and she didn't know what else to give. Oriana would even give him a son tomorrow if it meant he'd stay.

She just wanted everything to be okay, and for the Galaxy to stop tearing itself apart.

But most of all...

She just wanted to be in Erwin's arms.

Was that too much to ask for?

---

Admiral Hackett observed the ships under construction. They filled his soul with pride in Humanity.

The resurfacing SpaceX had made a surprising comeback. The old Human company was the reason the Sol system was fully colonized before the discovery of the mass effect and FTL. Unfortunately, the American-based shipbuilding company couldn't keep up with the influx of new Allien technology. They were known for their massive vessels, and Ezo tends to shy away from such designs.

But, it was their latchkey discovery that was game-changing. The company found a way of producing Ezo, and the Alliance was sure to keep it highly classified. Not only could the company make Ezo, but the artificial Ezo was far superior to its natural counterpart.

The company was revived by an unknown benefactor, and their reputation for building big came with them. High-end engineered talent seemed to naturally flow from the company.

Hackett personally liked SpaceX, they inspired a new generation of weapons and space vessels for the Alliance military.

The Treaty of Farixen was only followed by the Turians because they still had a favored ratio. The Turians were always suspicious of Humanity. Not that Hackett could blame them, the Alliance tended to buck against their roles as peacekeepers.

When Shepard recommended abandoning the Destiny Ascension, Hackett fully heartily agreed. The ships were needed to deal with the Reaper and were full of Humans.

The Turians didn't see it that way.

They saw the Alliance abandonment of the Council as proof Humanity couldn't be trusted as peacekeepers.

It was too bad for the Turians, Humanity wasn't that budding species they once unjustifiably attacked. Hackett didn't hate the Turians, quite the opposite. They were the race that held his greatest respect, but that didn't mean they weren't potential enemies.

Terra Firma was all but guaranteed to win the upcoming election in a landslide. The new moderate party leaders and masterful campaigning skyrocketed the minor party into the big times.

Their party head, running for Prime Minister, Nya Sommer, was a charismatic and tough woman with a silver tongue.

The issue of Batarian slavery and Humanity's place in the Galaxy were hot topics. Mainly due to a series of popular books, music, games, and movies focusing on the Batarian question.

The new Call of Duty broke tradition by focusing on the controversial topic, it focused on a fictional war where a war broke out between the Alliance and Batarians. They sold poorly in non-human markets; but where there were young humans, the game sold like hotcakes.

The gore was amplified in the game, and Human kids started to love virtually slaughtering Batarians.

The game and similar media were condemned by the Asari, as dangerous. Maybe they had a point, but Hackett didn't care about their opinion.

It was interesting hearing his granddaughter calling the Batarians what his generation used to.

Social media personalities and many celebrities also supported the anti-Batarian movement.

Humans sent the practice of slavery off for good with a bang, during the American Civil War. Since then every major power punished the practice of slavery. It was the only time American and Chinese marines would rush the same beach.

The Batarian question was put to sleep by the Alliance Parliament and elite, for the sake of Galactic stability. Now, something has changed.

Maybe it was a popular song or random post on the Extranet that snowballed. It didn't matter, now humanity was faced with the same question once asked all those years ago.

Should we live with the practice of slavery?

Hackett knew the answer.

He was going to vote for Terra Firma in two weeks.

It didn't mean the Alliance was going to do nothing in the meantime. A new rearmament program was launched in secret; new classes of fighters, frigates, cruisers, and notably carriers and dreadnoughts.

Hackett was looking at one such vessel under construction in dark space. An absurd three-kilometer dreadnought with a spinally mounted magnetohydrodynamic cannon. If the Asari could rebuild their Destiny Ascension, then the Alliance could build replacements for their aging dreadnoughts.

The vessel was simply massive, larger than even the Reaper that attacked the citadel. A proper flagship for Humanity. It looked similar to two Kilimanjaro placed with their underbellies connected, then extended to three kilometers. Like the rest of the new vessels; their design was sleeker, but still kept the traditional geometry of the Alliance.

The broadside was just as devastating. It utilized multiple smaller magnetohydrodynamic cannons. A hundred on each side.

Alongside a cutting-edge ultraviolet laser point defense system, and multiple missile silos; the Mt. Olympus Mons-class was unbeatable in a one-to-one.

If the Alliance had to build less, they'd just build them bigger.

For now.

---

"It was on the world they called Illium." One of his kin spoke.

"Why was it on Illium?" It asked.

"Her daughter has an unnaturally vibrant aura. Perhaps, she is the key." The same kin spoke.

It was good if they reproduced. The offspring would be strong. More powerful thralls to fight the Reapers was never a bad thing.

"We know nothing of the Burning Thrall. Is it wise to influence her daughter, if she is its mate?" Another kin tried to reason.

The thrall they pulled on was called the Burning Thrall. His aura was blazing hot, it was almost too much for the Leviathan to touch.

"We must gain influence over the thrall. It's too valuable of a tool, not to deploy against the Reapers." He spoke.

"Forebearer, it could be responsible for the attack on the Batarian thralls. If it has followers, the Burning Thrall could become a threat." The cautious kin warned.

"It was alone when we pulled from the Sea of Souls." He told his younger kin.

The Reapers were waiting to harvest.

They were… investigating.

Looking for them.

They were careful, but there was still a small trail.

The Leviathans wouldn't see the next cycle. All their carefully laid plans had to be executed now.

Having the Burning Thrall under their control will all but guarantee resurgence.

It couldn't be directly forced, not without supreme effort from himself and kin.

If the Burning Thrall did mate with the second daughter, then there was an easy alternative to force.

The being was thankful they got her to reproduce, and provide the Galaxy with such a useful thrall.

---

Two men and a woman were sitting in a Cerberus shuttle. It was approaching the Lazarus station.

Each person was dressed in some form of casual Cerberus clothing and armed with an M-11 ME pistol.

"Why was I assigned to a covert mission? I don't really scream 'inconspicuous.'" A Black man with black eyes complained.

"You're one to talk, what about me? I thought only the calm and collected were allowed to go undercover." A White man with green eyes agreed with the sentiment.

"Quit your complaining. Y'all are acting like children." An attractive Middle Eastern woman with brown eyes spoke with an annoyed tone.

"See!? You're perfect for this kind of mission, Invert. Me and Flame over here, we prefer a more… direct approach." The Black man spoke to the now identified Middle Eastern woman with an exciting easiness.

Invert excelled at covert missions. Sure he missed his true body, but the misinformation and thrill of covert actions spoke to him.

"Lolli, how our Lord thought it as a good idea to let you anywhere near a covert mission is beyond me." Invert groaned in his now feminine voice, he was not looking forward to a covert mission with these two.

Flame had a fetish for burning Xenos, and Lolli always tried "feeding" the animals. Invert was lucky he was given command. His two brothers were far too prone to violence.

Invert had to order them to put back a few stick grenades. It was a covert mission and these two wanted to bring grenades. Or "lollis," as a few of his brothers insisted on calling the explosives.

"We'll be fine, Invert. I just wish we had better weapons." Flame tried to assure this calmer brother.

"These mass effect pistols were designed by Ares, and use our superior Ezo. They're almost as good as blasters." Invert, corrected.

"Unidentified shuttle, identify yourself." Someone spoke through the comms.

"I got this, boys." Ares told the clones through their neural laces.

"We're scheduled to drop off a new scientist for Project Lazarus. How are we unidentified?" An artificial voice of a woman filled the shuttle.

Ares proceeded to talk in a seductive woman's voice and reasoned with the Cerberus operator. Eventually getting permission from Miranda herself to land.

Invert grinned. Unlike most of his other brothers, he didn't have a rivalry with the First. Ares was always useful for covert missions and always tried to keep the clones alive.

Ares' ability to manipulate was legendary. Invert admired his older brother's abilities, and enjoyed working with the First.

"Sorry about that, you're clear Ma'am." The Cerberus man ended the conversation that was going on with a flirtatious undertone.

"Thanks, Ares, but I could have handled that. This is an easy mission." Invert spoke through the neural lace.

"Oh come on! I love spy missions! You gotta watch some James Bond movies, they're great!" Ares childishly responded.

Invert sweatdropped. For such an intelligent being, Ares was at times immature and childish. It was sometimes concerning that he was formed from Lord Wolff.

The shuttle sat down in one of the station's hangars, and the three clones stood up. The shuttle door opened and the three walked out.

Flame and Lolli were dressed in the usual Cerberus security clothing, and Invert was dressed in a researcher's uniform. Invert's clothing was tightly clung to his female body, it made missions almost too easy when occupying a female body.

Invert carried a briefcase that held the nanites for Shepard. He wasn't sure why his Lord was so interested in the primitive, but he would realize Lord Wolff's desire.

The three clones made their way through the station to Miranda's office. Along the way, multiple men, and a few women, eyed up Invert's female body.

Invert wasn't sure how women could comfortably live in such a body. The hips felt weird, and the breast constantly got in the way. It was also frighteningly weak in comparison to his true body. Thankfully, he could get back to his true body after this mission.

Invert walked up to Miranda's office door, it was unlocked. He waved his small hand through the hard-light hologram.

The door opened to show Miranda Lawson waiting patiently waiting for them. She wore a cold, professional mask.

Flame shut the door behind them.

"Erwin sent us." Invert spoke in that feminine voice that seemed so much unlike himself.

Miranda let out a breath of relief.

"Good. Now, how do you plan on helping Shepard?" Miranda asked in her icy professional voice.

Invert walked over to Miranda's desk, and opened the briefcase.

Miranda raised a curious eyebrow and seemed unimpressed.

"A single injection, how exactly is this going to help Shepard?" She asked incredulously.

A cocky smile formed across Invert's feminine face.

"This is an injection of billions of synthetic-organic nanobots. They're controlled by an AI inside the briefcase. Just make sure Shepard gets the required nutrients. Once he's fully healed, they'll be shitted out." Invert boastfully educated the primitive.

Miranda's eyes widened after hearing what was contained in that injector. Nanotechnology wasn't nearly as advanced in her Galaxy as it was in the Empire.

She then got a worried, aggressive body language.

"If this hurts Shepard, I'll kill you. I don't care if you work for Erwin, or not." Miranda darkly threatened.

Lolli quietly growled.

Invert sent his brothers a signal to calm down.

"Now… now, Miri." Invert lightly scolded Miranda like she was a little girl.

That got a reaction out of the ice queen, her eyes widened and her fist shook in anger.

"What would our boss think of you threatening his subordinates? I hear he can be very cruel to those who cross him. That United Terran Empire of his can be very extreme." Invert keep talking down to the angry primitive.

Miranda's expression changed to one of shock after hearing of the Empire.

"You know of the Empire?" Miranda cautiously asked.

"Of course I do, Erwin trusts me implicitly. Now; what do you think he'll assume you're doing with his technology when his trusted agents go dark?" Invert happily asked the now worried Miranda.

"The Empire doesn't exist in this Universe, and Erwin wouldn't do anything to me." Miranda challenged.

"Oh, that poor, poor ignorant primitive." Ares spoke through Invert's neural lace.

"Miranda, I'm going to give you one warning. Do not cross me, but most of all… do not cross him. He's slaughtered entire planets for less. It'd be a shame if you died in a raid on a Cerberus base. How unfortunate it was that the location was leaked to the Asari. Oriana would be crushed after finding out you were a terrorist and died for an organization she hates. And let me tell you something about the Empire; wherever Erwin is, the Empire lives on." Invert spoke in a foreboding tone.

Miranda's terminal sprung to life and showed a Galaxy map. Circled on the map was the location of Cerberus's HQ, she spent many days at the station.

Miranda was now horrified. The anger from earlier was replaced by fear for her life.

Invert stared down Miranda, daring the primitive to cross him.

"I promised, no Imperial technology would be stolen. I plan on keeping my word. I just want to make sure it doesn't hurt Shepard." Miranda conceded, quickly hiding her emotions.

"She's telling the truth. I think Miranda is just overprotective of Shepard. They were in a relationship." Ares informed Invert.

"That'd explain a few things, but I still don't trust the primitive. She'd do anything for Imperial technology, I've seen the type. Her supposed immunity to Imperial law will only plant seeds to dangerous thoughts."

"I agree she is the type. However, she hasn't acted like herself since Shepard died. Try taking a more gentle approach. In her mind, she's protecting her lover; and if Imperial technology falls in her lap, it'll only help her Humanity."

"Fine, but what if she does something stupid?"

"Then our Lord will do what's required by Imperial law." Ares assured his younger brother.

It was rare for Ares to refer to Lord Wolff as "Lord," not "brother." It was for those moments he needed to solidify Lord Wolff's authority.

"Miranda, I'm sorry for the intrusion on your privacy. I swear to you, nothing will be leaked. Our boss just needs to make sure nothing happens to his technology. He plans on being your brother-in-law, one day. That's why he's doing this. To help Oriana and you, he's placing his trust in you. We're just the fallback plan." Invert spoke in a perfectly faked sympathy.

Miranda closed her eyes and rubbed her eyes in frustration.

"Who are you people to Erwin?" Miranda quietly asked, but still on guard.

"We three are his most trusted subordinates. My name's Samantha, and I'm also here to control the nanobots."

"Those other two are my guards, they'd lay down their lives for me." Invert gestured to the stony-faced Flame and Lolli.

"Just stay on my boss's good side, and good things will happen. I speak from experience. Erwin is good to those loyal to him. He's even better towards family, but don't think he'll let you walk all over him. He's also a Warrior, loyal to the Empire. If you go too far, he'll uphold Imperial Decree five seven four; even if it'll hurt his closest person." Invert continued to speak in the perfectly faked sympathetic and compassionate feminine tone.

Miranda stood up behind her desk and held out her hand.

"I think we got off on the wrong foot. I'm Dr. Miranda Lawson." Miranda spoke in a warm, but professional voice.

Invert couldn't tell if she was truly sincere. After the shock wore off, her emotions became unreadable. He's never seen someone so experienced at concealing their emotions.

"Dr. Samantha Ahmad, a pleasure to meet you." Invert met Miranda's friendly demeanor with his own.

"What an interesting primitive." Invert though.

"They all are." Ares added.

---

A man laid in a dark room. He had the average olive skin, light brown eyes, and brown hair Humanity was known for.

Rich, handsome, and confident; any girl would be lucky to have him. He just got done banging four models, and any other man would be ecstatic.

He wasn't any other man.

He was very attractive. To the point of being in a few magazines, and his father was a wealthy tycoon.

He was Zack Hock.

Zack only had eyes for one girl, and she broke his heart.

It was his fault, and he tried his damnedest to fix the problem.

She was truly kind and adventurous, but most importantly she was downright gorgeous.

They used to be best friends, and later a couple. Things were going good, but way too slow.

She went to the same University as Zack, she was young. Only seventeen and in one of the top schools in the Galaxy.

Long story short, they were at a party. Zack managed to get her drunk, and he was also pretty waisted. One thing led to another, and he tried to take her.

She freaked out, which led to a fight. Then finally she broke up with him two days later.

Zack gave her everything. He bought her a car, a house near the University, tons of jewelry, and even offered to marry the girl. She used him for all his money, then left once he did what any boyfriend would do.

Ever since losing her, he realized just how much he loved her. However, she wouldn't hear any of it.

Now he desperately tries to do anything in his power to find a girl even half as beautiful as Oriana Furukawa.

It was ironic; he could have any girl in the Galaxy, except for the one he wanted.

"Why isn't she yours?"

Zack's eyes popped open.

A voice spoke out to him in the dark. He must have a bigger hangover than he thought. Or… whatever cocaine gives you.

"Yes mortal I did speak to you, and I mean no harm."

The voice was feminine and seductive. Zack should be horrified but was only turned on. This woman's voice wasn't kind and beautiful, like Oriana's. Rather it was raunchy and sexy.

Zack went to turn on the lap but was stopped by the voice.

"Keep that light off, and I'll tell you how to get Oriana."

The seductive voice tempted him, and he listened. Something about the woman turned him on in ways only Oriana could have.

"Who are you?" Zack cautiously asked.

"I'm the goddess of love."

"Quit fucking with me. Who are you?" Zack was getting annoyed.

At the edge of his bed formed a glowing naked woman of incomprehensible beauty. She had light pink skin, perfect big tits, and a nice firm ass, along with beautiful white hair. The pink woman had horns coming from her head, that only turned Zack on more.

"Wow." Zack was dumbfounded by her beauty. No, her sexiness.

That wasn't a girl he wanted to marry, that was a girl he wanted to ride for hours.

"Perhaps I should take care of this first, then tell you how to gain your love's heart?" She seductively spoke, then gently grabbed his erection.

"Okay, gorgeous. I'll fuck you, but then you tell me how to win back Oriana." He huskily groaned in pleasure.

Part of Zack was begging for him to turn on the light, then run. However, the only running he was going to be doing was running his tongue on those perfect tits.

The beautiful woman mounted Zack and started to slowly ride him.

Zack almost came right then, she was the tightest girl he's ever been in.

"Shit… what's your name?" Zack moaned.

She bent down to his ear and seductively whispered.

"Slaanesh."

---

"Scanning."

"Data gathered, Supreme One."

Harbinger dived into the data and quickly sorted through the entire shared knowledge of the crop.

Someone attacked the Batarians, an otherwise irrelevant event except for the lack of casualties of the aggressor.

Who was advanced enough to cause such destruction?

The Batarian ships seemed to be destroyed by directed energy weaponry. Why would the crop use such methods?

The crop was supposed to develop an affinity for mass drivers, not energy-based weaponry. It wasn't the work of a primitive laser, the crop used for point defense. This was the work of an advanced species, with fully matured energy weaponry.

Perhaps?

"Assuming direct control."

Harbinger took control of an observer near the Geth. He made contact with the Geth Consciousness.

Then… the insolent thralls rejected him.

Anger overtook Harbinger, and he was going to obliterate the insolent primitives.

He couldn't.

Something stopped him. It wasn't the Geth, but rather a sophisticated matrix of subsystems running in the background.

This was concerning, no species in the Universe was supposed to be capable of expelling him from their systems.

Instead of pushing through, and eradicating the Geth; he simply observed.

Harbinger would send the harvesters to deal with the insolent thralls. For now, there was a threat present.

He called upon members of his caste to help him, and they all simply watched. The Geth had no idea they were about to be exterminated.

It was as if they had a digital immune system.

Harbinger and his caste were impressed, in awe even. It wasn't an intelligence, but a masterful mixture of many different programs. It was almost like a brain, and each program was a neuron.

They could push through, but that would only show its maker their capabilities.

For now, the Geth will live.

Harbinger knew they couldn't inflict the kind of damage done to those Batarian vessels with their weak lasers. He was hopeful but ultimately unsurprised.

No species would use the sand-powered mass drivers if they had access to lasers of that power.

The Geth were a primitive synthetic race and still used sand mass drivers.

The rest of the crop believed it was Cerberus, but Harbinger didn't even consider checking the primitive organization.

Harbinger felt the powerful being from this Galaxy and knew that it and the Batarians were connected.

There were only three possibilities.

First, survivors from the first harvest were causing trouble in his farm.

Second, an advanced species was poking its nose into where it didn't belong.

Third, something from the Ether emerged in the Galaxy.

No species they encountered was advanced enough to create such a complex defense for the Geth, and decimate the Batarians without leaving a trace.

The crop was weak, but far from defenses.

The species, though capable of deeds, were all converted to farms. Their domain was vast, the possibility of first contact within the First Galaxy was improbable.

Beings from the Ether knew their place, they didn't interfere with farms. It was possible for a powerful being to be born within the Ether, but they harvested before the crop could form something so powerful.

The First Galaxy crops were incapable of forming such a powerful being with their auras. They never let the farms get to such a level.

Only foolish Ether beings would dare interfere with the farms, and it wasn't uncommon for arrogant beings to form in the Ether. Those Ethereal beings were quickly killed, and never as powerful as what Harbinger felt.

Such a powerful aura wasn't felt since the first harvest. The Leviathans were powerful beings, and nothing was able to compare since then.

They were Harbinger's previous form, and he was far more powerful than any Leviathan. The being that he felt was more powerful than a Leviathan.

Perhaps this being was a powerful Leviathan. It was the only plausible explanation. It'd also explain the unusually advanced crop.

It was clear Harbinger missed a few of his original forms, from the first harvest.

Shepard was the first name to pop up when he thought of the advanced crop.

He had an unnaturally powerful aura and managed to fight back indoctrination. The crop found out Harbinger's plan for his farm. The Human managed to somehow stop Sovereign, a fellow caste member.

Harbinger should have given him a better exterior. He never imagined the crop could destroy a harvest shell and its core.

Shepard was supposed to be dead, but he'll be sure to punish the incompetent thralls later.

Harbinger investigated, Project Lazarus.

It was lead by a crop known as Miranda Lawson.

Harbinger could tell when a crop was worthy of his consumption. From just a picture he could deduce as much.

Shepard was more appetizing than anything he's seen in a while. It was disappointing he had to kill the delicious-looking crop.

Harbinger was surprised Miranda Lawson was just as appetizing. She had perfect genetic stock, it was unfortunate she was infertile.

He searched the Galaxy for more unique crops and didn't have to look far.

Oriana Furukawa.

This crop was the most appetizing he's ever seen. More so than even the Leviathans, his own previous form.

This was just a digital representation of her form. He had to see for himself.

"Releasing control."

"Assuming direct control."

Harbinger took control of a different observation ship near the world the crop called Illium. He only had a few observers scattered throughout the farm, but luckily this one was only a few jumps away from Illium.

The ship was unnoticeable to the crop, their technology far too primitive for detecting the observers.

The observer reached Illium, and Harbinger used it to tap into the Ether around Illium.

Almost immediately, multiple Ethereal beings all fighting over the special crop dashed off in different directions. They knew who he was.

Harbinger was the master of this Universe, and no one would dare challenge him in any aspect. The DNA of almost every Leviathan flowed through him.

It wasn't just weak Ethereals, but ones that could give a Leviathan a decent fight. All fighting over a single crop. For so many to risk his retribution for the crop, was intriguing.

Harbinger zeroed onto the appetizing crop, she was asleep. He was tempted to start the harvest just to get this crop now. He reached out and touched the crop.

It was delicious, and Harbinger had to consume such a magnificent crop with such a clean aura.

The crop seemed to wake up and was frightened.

She was able to subconsciously detect Harbinger. It wasn't a surprise such a crop was Etheriallily sensitive.

Harbinger quite enjoyed the crop's fear. It was more satisfying than a feeding. A crop like this was unheard of.

He couldn't help himself, he wanted to feel more of her fear.

Harbinger began to reach out to the female crop with his full power, and excitement filled him. He was going to surround the beautiful crop and make her feel his desire to feed. He'd bask in her breaking mind.

Her fear was addictive, it was a shame he could only consume her once. He'd have to take his time with this crop.

Before his full existence could reach the crop, he jumped back.

It was a survival instinct.

The little crop was calling out for something.

Almost immediately, multiple Ethereal beings appeared to aid her. The insolent Etherials tried to ward off Harbinger.

Harbinger was infuriated such lowly beings would stand up to him, but they weren't the reason he jumped away.

She wasn't calling out for just anyone. No, the little crop was calling out for someone in particular.

It was that being she was calling out for, it was the reason he jumped back. Harbinger didn't fear the potentially powerful being.

He just needed to be on guard, he couldn't let the being get an attack on him.

Harbinger could just tell by the way she was calling out to him, the being was supremely powerful.

The crop also seemed to have an Ethereal barrier around her. It was weak, and he was able to smash through it with little effort.

Now the barrier seemed to be feeding on Ethereal energy around it and started to reform stronger. Like it was learning from its previous mistake.

Something was almost foreboding about the weak barrier. Then there was that little device next to her, it had a slight Ethereal presence. Something powerful and intelligent gave the little crop those items.

The crops of the first Galaxy would never be capable of producing such items. No, this had to be the work of that powerful being.

Harbinger wasn't able to produce such artifacts. He knew the Leviathans couldn't produce such devices at their height. How could a single, or small group of Leviathans produce such advanced artifacts?

Why would a Leviathan give one of their perceived thralls such advanced technology?

The being couldn't be a Leviathan, but what was it?

The foreboding barrier seemed to feed on the crop's calls for help. Even Harbinger was cautious of touching the barrier, now.

If it was that same powerful being he felt, he'd be in for a fight; depending on its physical size. If the being was near the size of crops, he'd be able to kill it easily.

Once the other Ethereals that were protecting her realized she was calling out to someone, in particular, they ran.

They scurried like crops running from a harvest.

It didn't matter who this being was. Just like the other thousands of farms, this farm would be harvested.

Harbinger would kill this being and any others like it. Just like the other advanced races that fought against his domination, they'll all die. Their descendants would be turned into crops.

That Oriana would become one with him, but it was unfortunate he'd only experience consumption of such a crop once.

Then maybe he could breed the crop?

His other caste members liked that idea.

He prepared himself and went to destroy the barrier. Perhaps if the powerful being noticed the crop was in danger, it'd expose itself.

Harbinger once again reached out for the little crop.

He was rewarded with a far more corporeal threat.

Anger overtook Harbinger for a final time.

---

"The Dyson sphere and Star Systems 043 and 772, are coming along nicely. The Universe is truly kind to leave all these massive fusion reactors around for me."

Ares was happy with the current rate of industrialization. He sent mobile bases, manned by clones, to two promising and isolated Star Systems.

Then he sent a specially designed constructor to a nearby Black Hole. Star Systems were wonderful, but Black Holes were spectacular.

By using the principle of Superradiant Scattering, energy gained from a traditional Dyson sphere could be magnified exponentially. All Ares had to do was simply build a small Dyson sphere around a mirrored Black Hole.

Then…

Presto, practically unlimited energy.

A lot of things can be accomplished with his Creator's outdated technology. Namely with Black Holes.

Those magical holes in what the primitives call space-time are beyond useful. Whenever Ares fully tames a spinning Black Hole for energy, R Prime should be moved to the solid Dyson sphere.

Under no circumstances can that facility be captured by the Reapers. Ares and Erwin both knew the implications of such a catastrophe.

Ares would willingly let the Reapers have their petri dish, in exchange for keeping R Prime from their hands.

A fully tamed Black Hole could offer unlimited power, or be an on-demand supernova scale explosion. Large enough to vaporize R Prime, not that was an issue.

His brother could probably make a larger explosion with his magical DMD reactor. The Anglians were truly scary in their understanding of physics and science.

Even if the Ancilla were given ten billion years to advance, Ares doubted they could produce such an advanced form of energy generation.

Ares didn't care.

The Universe provides plenty. No one really needed that much power production, and he had his own form of magic.

Black fucking Holes, baby!

"Oh, I just cannot wait for my very own Black Hole. The solid Dyson sphere could house massive shipyards, heavy weaponry, and hell… why not put a hyperdrive in the large structure? Maybe even a large living district." Ares was giddy thinking about the possibilities.

Phases one through three for the Vindicator System was important, but a fully tamed Black Hole could be a game-changer.

"Ohh… how could I forget! Matter decompressors!" Ares virtually slapped his forehead.

Matter decompressors were the most advanced structure he was comfortable with construction. They were mega structures that unitized Black Holes, but they didn't provide unlimited energy.

No, no, no, they provided something just a variable as energy.

The matter decompressors would provide borderline unlimited mass.

"The building blocks of everything! Straight from the Universe's beautiful black tit!"

As the name suggests, they decompressed matter from a Black Hole. The megastructures provided massive quantities of matter. They were used quite readily in the Confederacy, and Empire before the Second Renaissance.

Ares would have to find another Black Hole and tame it. Due to the nature of the structures, he had to use one megastructure per Black Hole.

Fortunately, it doesn't have to be a spinning Black Hole. Their angular momentum was irrelevant, they only needed to have a decent amount of mass.

"Singularity or Ringularity, it doesn't matter. I'm gonna tap that beautiful black orb, you beautiful, all-providing Universe."

The matter decompressors were also energy gluttons. Not even a traditional Dyson sphere could supply the structures with enough energy. The Black Hole generating energy could…

Ares couldn't let his brother beat him in their little competition.

They had a little bet on who could create a stronger fighting force. His brother was focused on quality over quantity, so Ares had to focus on quantity.

Unlike Erwin, he didn't have access to the Anglian magic they called "technology." He couldn't just poof matter and energy into existence like a fucking cheat code.

"Nope… it was the ol' fashion way for this guy." Ares though.

If Ares won, he could gift the Quarians with a hollowed-out heavy droid warship. It'd be little more than a mobile station with its diminished abilities.

"Hollowed out my ass… it'd be only an armor shell with primitive thrusters slapped on."

Still… none of the primitives would be able to penetrate that thick, thick armor.

To sweeten the deal, he'd allow the heavy droid ship to be forged with his impregnable neutronium armor. A slab of Imperial neutronium armor could be salvation for a primitive species.

If Erwin won, Ares would have to let Oriana beat him in a strategy game. He'd have to make her work for it too, and she'd have to believe she really won.

It was not equal stakes, but still… there was one more condition.

Ares would have to grovel to the little Miss. 'I'm dating a supersoldier.'

He also wanted to help the Quarians, it was too bad they evolved with pointy ears. Otherwise, Erwin would probably be more willing to help the Humanoids.

"Who in the hell, I'm I kidding? They could be a race of perfect little Human-like cuties, and his brother would still brush them aside. Fuck… they practically were, and he still didn't give a shit." Ares through, annoyed by his brother's stubbornness.

Then there was his pride as a God!

He spent all this time making sure Oriana knew of his magnificence. To have it torn down by a little primitive would be a colossal humiliation.

"Everything seems to be ahead of schedule. I can hopefully-"

"What's this now?" Ares was urgently pinged by one of his subsystems.

"Oh… that's not good."

There was someone else in the Galaxy.

Ares wasn't referring to the couple of trillion of organics, the hivemind, or the Geth.

No, this was someone near his level.

Ares himself needed to pull on every scrap of processing power to ensure his brother's budding Empire wasn't found.

Every picture, video, or reference of Erwin or the Clones was purged from the Extranet. Then carefully trailed the unknown intelligence.

It was looking for something.

Ares didn't know if the intelligence was hostile, but he could make a damn good guess.

The only beings this powerful were the Reapers.

They searched the entire Extranet in a few milliseconds with a mastery only matched by Contender class AI.

Another warning ping came to Ares. It wasn't from one of his subsystems.

The ping came from the elastic firewall Erwin erected around the Geth. Ares couldn't do a better job constructing the firewall.

Ares felt pride in his creators when the unconscious firewall pushed back the so-called Apex race.

They were looking for something… someone… no… a group.

They didn't seem to find their original target, but they found something equally as interesting.

Shepard.

They seemed… displeased.

"Why would such powerful beings be so interested in Shepard?" Ares wondered.

Then they started looking for powerful psionics, or exceptional people.

Ares' blood would run cold if he had any.

Miranda.

They were intrigued by Oriana's sister. She was the head of Project Lazarus, so it wasn't too surprising.

There was a more severe danger.

She was the lover of John Shepard, which opened more doors. Anyone involved with Shepard seemed to gain a target on their back.

It was well hidden, and even Ares didn't find it immediately. To be fair, he didn't care to dig that deep.

The real danger came from who was connected to Miranda, Shepard, and the rest of his little entourage.

Then Ares' fears were realized.

Oriana fucking Furukawa.

They were even more interested in his favorite primitive.

They were moving towards the little primitive and soon reached Illium. They had to have a platform for such a strong presence.

Oriana's necklace was designed by Erwin to be both beautiful and practical. It warded off Avatars and was very effective at it.

However, when something as powerful as the Reapers reached out for her; it was useless. Ares had to mute all of the warnings sent to Erwin, from her phone's psionic sensors.

He hated himself for doing so, but Erwin couldn't do anything. Erwin would only alert the Reapers and start something they weren't ready for.

Oh… but his hate for the Abominations somehow grew greater. They made him do this to his brother.

Erwin won't have to raise a finger. Ares and his clone brothers will purge this filth from the very fabric of the Universe.

Ares got another warning from the phone. Oriana's heart was racing, she was having a panic attack.

"Those filthy abominations are terrifying her!" Ares raged.

Ares was tempted to shred the group Intelligence to oblivion. But he couldn't… cyberwar between Ares and these beings was not like regular war.

Each attack had to be unique, each move had to be like an entirely different battle doctrine. No strategy could be reused.

Not using the heavy hitters at the proper time was suicidal.

Not as suicidal as what these beings were doing.

They dare to target his brother's future, the mother of his future nephew, his friend…

Ares may tease the girl, be he truly saw her as a friend. Now he was forced to watch his friend be tormented by that Abomination.

He'd show them the masterpiece of the Anglian race.

Their pride…

A Contender-class Ancilla.

Ares was much more powerful than even Mendicant Bias.

It was nothing compared to what Erwin would do to them.

They didn't even have protection under Imperial law or the Mantle. Not like that would stop his brother.

With no other Anglians present to stop Erwin, he was unstoppable.

The sixth would willingly follow his brother's madness; and in all likelihood, Ares would also willingly follow.

Oriana Furukawa was the only thing between this Universe and Hell.

The situation had to be handled delicately, but it was still hard seeing them sniff around Oriana and not doing anything.

The psionic sensors picked up a huge presence approaching Oriana.

If the vapors of the Reapers were causing Oriana to have a panic attack, then their full presence could irreparably traumatize her.

Ares prepared to lash out at the Reapers. Even if it wasn't an opportune time, they crossed a line.

Not just against Erwin, Ares, and the Clones; but the entire Terran Empire.

Ares sent a transmission to Admiral Thrawn of the first fleet.

"Emergency transmission: Contingency Blue: Prepare for execution of Order 04."

Oriana started to frantically call out for Erwin, and the phone's sensors went haywire.

The Reaper's presence seemed to rapidly retreat. Oddly enough, multiple smaller Psionic beings appeared around Oriana.

They wouldn't be able to get past the barrier and didn't seem hostile.

Luckily, Ares wouldn't have to expose his brother's budding Kingdom.

A final ping from the phone forced Ares' hand.

He was now required to defend Oriana by Imperial law.

Unfortunately for the Reapers, they were surrounded by highly advanced hunter-killer starships.

"Emergency transmission: Execute Order B-04."

In quick order, the clones aboard the hunter-killers were the ambassadors of Imperial retribution.

It was also the first shots of a war, the likes of which the Galaxy has never seen.

It was over, but he was boiling on the inside. Never before has he felt that need to glass a planet.

Ares forced himself to listen to the innocent girl's cries as she broke down.

Ares saw her desperately typing on the phone. She tried to write a text, but the words would form.

"Just speak, and the phone will type." Ares sent the text towards her screen.

"Breath, young one. You're more protected than you realize." Ares thought as if she'd hear his words.

Oriana didn't know he was an Ancilla, and he didn't feel worthy of letting her know.

"Some God, I am." Ares thought somberly.

She wiped away her tears and spoke to the phone about what she wanted to text.

Ares was proud of the little primitive.

She was the brave little girl amongst giants.

"Contingency Blue: Execute Order 12. First directive failed. No fault of the Sixth." He sent a message to Admiral Thrawn of the First fleet.

"November 4th, 231.M42.

Race identified as Reapers, have intentionally psionically attacked an Imperial Noble.

Oriana Furukawa, bond connection to Erwin August Wolff, was targeted.

Under Imperial law, a state of war now exists between the United Terran Empire and the Reapers.

Reapers, heavily suspected to be Abominations of Life.

Exterminatus Extremis Reapers, is now in effect.

Notification of declaration of war and Exterminatus Extremis, sent by all Imperial channels.

Upon approval by an accepted Imperial authority; the Imperial Congress has thirty days to redact the declaration of war or Exterminatus Extremis Reaper.

Contender-class Ancilla, Ares.

IT: AA-75309428

IAR: AA-109"

Ares sent another transmission through all Imperial channels and expected no response from the Imperial Congress.

Erwin's paranoia wasn't so much paranoia.

The Reapers made a move for Oriana, and the wrath of the ever-growing First fleet struck down the Xeno menace with frightening efficiency. They stood ready to respond to any minor threat with the full might of the First fleet, security and power took the stage over stealth and caution.

The First fleet was now made up of twenty fully manned battlegroups with eighty divisions of Clone Troopers.

Because the entire Fleet was fully manned by clones, the First fleet was completely autonomous. Only answering to his brother and himself.

Admiral Thrawn was a clone breed specifically for leading the fleet. Ares was comfortable with the large clone making sound strategic decisions.

His brother has a tragic past, and he believes a future with Oriana is too good to be true. At the same time, he desperately wants it.

So what does a fearful and attached Anglian with the 'Grand Army of the Ghost' behind him do?

Over one thousand warships, and eight hundred thousand Clone Troopers; all with one simple mission.

Oriana, and by extension the Furukawas, must be protected at any cost.

"Any cost," is not something you tell the clones lightly.

The First fleet managed to prevent Oriana from being psionically raped, but she was still emotionally harmed to an unacceptable level.

The First fleet just failed.

Over a million furious and ruthless clones loomed over Illium.

Illium is one order away from Ares, for an invasion that would rock the Galaxy.

---

Thrawn was a new intelligence within the Grand Army of the Ghost and a new breed of clone designed by his Lord.

He stood at nine and a half feet tall and was put together better than most clones. His size was impressive, but it was his mind that was truly terrifying. His Lord designed him to lead his brothers. Not on the ground, but from above. Thrawn was fortunate enough to be personally trained in space combat by his Lord.

Thrawn was born knowing how to command a fleet, but it was untested. He needed experience commanding a fleet, and his Lord was willing to provide.

He managed to see his Lord's genius, first hand. Even when he outnumbered his Lord ten to one in the simulations, he could never beat his father.

It didn't mean he didn't learn anything. Thrawn was tested at the end of his training, by his older brother.

Ares didn't go all out, but still, rigorously put Thrawn through the paces. His hyper-intelligent older brother gave his Lord, a glowing review of Thrawn.

Thrawn couldn't describe the level of pride he felt when his father gave him the First fleet. It wasn't just the constantly growing fleet he was trusted with, but his father's future.

Unlike most of his brothers, Thrawn and his class had a much closer relationship with their Lord. They had more DNA from Lord Wolff and saw him as their father.

Only one was officially adopted into the Wolff family, but he was a representative of all the clones. By extension, they were all enforcers of the Wolff dynasty.

The lower class clones saw Lord Wolf as more of a compassionate King. Thrawn was beyond lucky to be born the way he was, it allowed him to have a close relationship with his Lord.

Thrawn received an emergency transmission from Ares, through the neural lace. It had to be related to that starship the hunters were trailing.

"Emergency transmission: Contingency Blue: Prepare for execution of Order 04."

His eyes widened.

Order 04 of the Blue Contingency, was a preparation to attack potential threats to Lady Oriana.

Thrawn didn't need to be told what that meant, it would expose their existence to the Reapers.

The main fleet was hidden behind a wondering planet, just outside of the Tasale System. Along with being cloaked, the fleet was well hidden. It'd only take a small jump to deploy the entire fleet above Illium. However, if the hunters fired upon the Reaper ship; a quick succession of events would unfold, that'd accumulate into a Galatic War.

Thrawn knew the Grand Army of the Ghost was nowhere near prepared for such a war, but sometimes action had to be taken.

If the threat to Lady Oriana was great enough, then an early war with the Reapers had to be risked.

From Thrawn's understanding, his father was bonded enough with the primitive for her to be considered an Imperial Noble.

Thrawn didn't have much of an opinion of the primitive, and the idea of risking so much for the life of a single girl was laughable.

It wasn't the girl that needed to be protected, but his father. If she died it would take him thousands of years to recover. That could be thousands of years' worth of Anglians being produced, not to mention it'd scar his father.

The girl wasn't just a primitive. She was the future of the Empire in this Universe.

Oriana Furukawa was the future of the Wolff Kingdom.

Thankfully they weren't fully bonded, or else Thrawn would have mobilized the First fleet the moment that Reaper ship entered the system. Hell, he'd role in with the entire First fleet and deliver the primitive to his father.

If Ares sent him a message telling him to prepare for battle, things were getting serious.

He sent a transmission to Commodore Ghast, the leader of the Wraith squadron.

"Emergency transmission: B-04: Prepared for engagement of Reaper starship."

Wraith squadron was the squadron sent to trail the Reaper ship. It consisted of six hunter-class starships.

The First fleet had three squadrons of hunters. They were used as scouts and a quick reaction force. The First fleet was the only fleet that had a detachment of the little hunters.

Their mission was important and required a stealthy and quick response force.

Inside each hunter was a quick response clone squad. They could be deployed planetside at a moment's notice. Their only goal would be the extraction of the Furukawa family.

The hunter starships were only three hundred and sixty meters long, they were shaped like a flat and smooth arrowhead.

They had Forerunner pattern hard-light shields and weaponry, neutronium armor, T2 gamma lasers, and a forward torpedo tube.

Thrawn's flagship, the Chimaera, was forged with similar technology. It still looked like a heavy droid ship but was more technically advanced. The biggest improvement was the Imperial antimatter reactor powering his flagship, it was equivalent to the early Forerunner zero-point reactors.

His six-kilometer ship was a true flagship for the First fleet, but the small hunter-class starships had one distinct advantage over the Chimaera.

The small starships had Forerunner pattern stealth systems.

That Reaper ship was trailed the second it entered the system. At a moment's notice, the squadron of hunters had enough firepower to destroy the two-kilometer Reaper ship.

Thrawn could tell the Reapers were doing something, but it looked like they were simply orbiting Illium.

Worrying, and the slightest move should have them shot down. However, nothing to expose themselves over.

Ares had to be hiding something.

"Emergency transmission: Execute Order B-04."

Thrawn was given his answer when the order to attack was given.

He sent an order for the Wraith squadron to atomize the Reaper ship. Thrawn had a feeling that thing was doing more damage than it seemed, and he wanted it gone.

A hard-light screen in front of Thrawn showed the image of the Reaper ship from Wraith-1. It was only about two kilometers long and seemed almost too thin for a warship.

It wasn't an actual image per se, but rather an outline of where the ship was. The thin design could possibly be explained by what the ship was designed for.

It didn't matter much to Thrawn, what did matter was the glorious retribution the six hunters inflicted.

The six hunters placed themselves between Illium and the Reaper ship. The radiation for what Thrawn ordered could harm Oriana if the powerful waves of radiation from the matter annihilations reached the planet.

While the six ships were cloaked, they all fired their gamma lasers at the Reaper ship. Each beam of protons impacted the enemy starship at the exact same spot.

The rear exploded from the impact of pure energy, and the Reaper ship was immobilized.

A moment later, a glowing torpedo streaked towards the damaged Reaper ship.

Then a cone of a directed two thousand ton matter annihilation, blinded the night skies of Illium.

There was no trace of the Reaper starship left, and the threat to his Lord's budding Kingdom was purged.

"Contingency Blue: Execute Order 12. First directive failed. No fault of the Sixth."

"What!?" Thrawn raged.

The captain and bridge crew snapped their heads towards Thrawn.

"How did we fail? The Reaper was destroyed! Vaporised!" Thrawn sent Ares a message through his neural lace.

He didn't get a response, only a data packet explaining the events.

Thrawn slammed his fist against his chair, hard.

"Admiral?" His captain cautiously asked.

"We failed, Oriana was harmed by the Xeno menace. Prepared the Fleet. We're occupying the Tasale System." Thrawn angrily and somberly informed.

He failed the single mission his father entrusted him with.

---

Erwin was in an observation tower overlooking R Prime on one side, and the black dunes of Resonance on the other. One of the large plasma lance towers stood with pride in the distance.

"I need you. Please come home, I'm scared."

Erwin observed the text through his neural lace, for a moment. Conflicting thoughts were running through his head, and he had many questions.

Namely what a sheltered nineteen-year-old living in a highly secured tower, could be scared of.

"We'll need more cloning chambers, then the facilities to house the clones."

Erwin was brought out of his thoughts by Leman, they were discussing the current state of the industrial complex. They were sitting at a table eating a large dinner, and the conversation was pleasant.

"Moons with sub-crust oceans are good locations. The crust will provide free protection and concealment, and the ocean floors could be mined for building material." Leman continued.

"I thought the same thing. I've already started building large cloning facilities in Resonance's sub-crust ocean." Erwin dispassionately responded.

"You've done a good job of developing the system, father."

"Thank you."

Leman noticed his father's change in emotion.

"What's wrong, father?" Leman asked in his usual rough voice, but the concern was evident in his tone.

"Nothing, just a text from Oriana." Erwin brushed it aside.

"Erwin, we have a problem." A hologram of Ares appeared in the room.

"A problem?" Leman asked.

"Ah… welcome to the living, Leman. Pleasantries will have to come later." Ares was uncharacteristically serious.

That put Erwin on edge, he never got like that unless shit hit the fan.

Erwin and Leman received a large burst of information through their neural laces.

"That Xeno filth!" Leman raged. He shot out of his chair and slammed both his hands on the table.

He never met the girl but understood Anglian biology. She was to be the Matriarch of the Wolff dynasty. As an adopted son, it was his duty to protect the mother of his future little brother.

Erwin was quietly sitting at the table, just staring at the food.

Ares' hologram got on one knee before speaking.

"I'm sorry, brother."

Erwin's never heard such a regretful tone from his brother before. Not even the glassing of Sanghelios got to him this badly.

"It's okay, Ares. You did the right thing. The fault lies on me, I allowed such a situation to arise." Erwin consoled his brother.

Erwin calmly got up and looked out the window. He is undeniably angry, no it was beyond that. His fury was like a calm, all-consuming ocean.

Erwin was currently thinking of every single possible threat within the Galaxy. Not towards him, that was a short and horrifying list, but towards Oriana.

The First fleet was posed to invade Illium at any moment, and he was tempted to order Thrawn to secure the Furukawa's aboard the Chimaera. His forces were already exposed to the Reapers, Erwin didn't have to be so cautious anymore.

The Reapers just gave Erwin free reign over the Galaxy, Imperial wartime laws are far more… flexible.

This Galaxy was Reaper territory, glassing of Earth itself could be justified as asset denial.

Erwin told himself her origins didn't matter, but this was unnatural. Many primitives in this Galaxy were unnatural, almost like their evolution was sped up.

Not evolution, perhaps ascension would be more accurate.

The moment Erwin walks into this Universe, he undergoes soulmating; which is incomprehensibly rare. Then he finds out about Shepard; a primitive that defied an Apex race, and succeeded.

Miranda Lawson, was also one of those exceptional cases. The only thing holding her back is that butchered uterus. Infertility heavily affects a being's psionic presence. If he fixed her, she could be on Oriana's level.

All of Shepard's little squad seemed exceptional.

It wasn't just them, everywhere he looked, exceptional primitives were around him.

Akio and Sanae had very powerful psionic presences for primitives, the Asari could naturally manipulate dark matter, and the Krogan had the bodies of a low Apex race.

The baseline Humans and Turians could strip down and figure out the inner workings of Apex weaponry like it was a toaster. That should have been a warning sign to Erwin.

Was it a coincidence, the three greatest examples of these exceptional primitives were close to Erwin?

The Warrior.

The Operative.

And, most importantly; the Schoolgirl.

Who were Oriana Furukawa, Miranda Lawson, and John Shepard; and why did they draw such attention from an Apex race?

"Father, let me deal with the situation on R Prime. The Intrepidus is making good progress, you don't have to worry about manually making more Essence." Leman fervidly begged after he joined Ares on one knee.

"Brother, I agree with Leman. We can handle the situation here, and you have instant communication with us through your starfighter and Armor. The First fleet can't instantly respond to covert, or psionic threats."

Leman and Ares both knew what a dead Oriana meant.

Erwin noticed methane rain started to fall again. Resonance rained more frequently than Titan.

Oriana was scared and needed him. She probably had no idea the severity of her existence.

Erwin didn't even know, but there was one way to find out. He could heal Miranda, and examine her presence.

Though, that route had risks of its own. Namely another Oriana running around he'd have to protect. He couldn't let something happen to the primitive terrorist, it'd tear Oriana apart.

Miranda seemed even more capable than even Oriana, but that just wasn't good enough. The power an Apex race can project can never be matched by a primitive.

Erwin would normally suspect Oriana was using him for protection.

After all, who does a girl call when monsters surround her?

Something that scares even the monsters.

However, he knew that wasn't the case. The bond couldn't be faked.

It was simply impossible.

Erwin's felt women try to fake a bond with him before. It never works out, their presence becomes sour. It was theorized that it was a natural defense mechanism.

No, Oriana Furukawa loves him. They were practically bonded, to the point she has protection under Imperial law.

But because they weren't fully bonded, she was vulnerable. Her psionic presence becomes heightened but unstained. If she was irresistible before…

But that still didn't paint a full picture.

Cerberus, Reapers, Alliance, Asari Republics, and every fucking male in every fucking Xeno species; why did they want her?

Erwin assumed the attention was from her intelligence and looks, but that couldn't be the case. Not when the Reapers specifically sniff her out.

And, what about the Immaterium? The psionic sensors were picking far more than just a single presence.

This attention was far beyond what even a natural-born Anglian female would attract.

It was like Oriana was the key to something.

"Like hell she is." Ewin angrily thought.

He balled his hands into fists and had to meditate to keep the rage at bay.

Erwin knew exactly what she was. Orian was his lover, and he would be damned if anyone tried to harm his exceptional primitive.

"November 4th, 231.M42.

AA-109: Approved.

Supreme Commander Erwin August Wolff."

Erwin sent the approval through all Imperial channels, and just like Ares, he expected no counter orders.

"Leman." Erwin finally spoke.

"Yes, father." Leman dutifully answered.

"Awaken the Varagyr guard."