AN: Hello everyone, it's certainly been a while hasn't it? I'd first like to apologize for that. Life has been difficult and writer's block even more so. It's been a slog and it's been hard but I'll try to keep this sparse so you all can get to the story faster. I just wanted to thank all of you for following, faving, and especially those of you who left reviews with critiques and praise alike. It was all of your guys' words that kept wanting me to come back to this and is what brought us here now. A special thanks to fanficbrowser and Wolf Guard Miestwin especially for your in depth criticisms as they've helped me really think about how best to take the story forward and better it. That said also, there have been certain things that I have tweaked here and there with how I will be taking the story going forward. Which reminds me:

Important notice: I have updated the first chapter with some small and some large changes. Those new to the story won't have anything to worry about in that regard, however those who aren't as up to date on it I advise at least giving the previous chapter a glance over so you aren't caught off guard. Just remember that I write everything with a purpose going forward and strive to do my best to respect both universes to the best of my abilities.

With that I suppose we'll get into this. Thank you all again so much, I'm really thankful to no end for your support and patience and I hope I can continue to please all of you with what is to come. Hope you all enjoy.

The Illusive Man sat quietly in his observatory looking over the various holographic displays before him, some marked as priority, some not, though all stood to benefit Cerberus in some way. Whether they were tabs on politicians, notices of transferred donations, or reports about ongoing experiments tucked away in some corner of the galaxy. To him information, even the smallest scrap, at times had a value mere credits could not match. It was what made the Shadow Broker so powerful and it was what made him so just the same. Even with the cybernetic augments which helped him read and take in the various screens faster and more efficiently, even he of course had his limits and it was such that only the most valuable information made it to his metaphorical desk.

It was here he was notified of the out-of-the-ordinary readings that had been speckled across different sectors of the galaxy seemingly all at once. Three in total, though one was more at risk than any other and it was the sole one that he'd informed Shepard of. The Hourglass Nebula seemed especially ripe with Shadow Broker agents and operations, though that wasn't saying much. That being said, a pattern when normally there wasn't one was something worthy of concern so it was better to be punctual while the opportunity presented itself.

Taking a long drag on the cigarette as his mind wandered in thought, the Illusive Man released the smoke into the air, watching the grey wisps drift and curl before getting sucked into the vent above him. He tapped the ashes into the tray beside him and tapped his finger thoughtfully on the armrest as he studied the reports of the energy readings. It wasn't the first time he'd omitted some details from Shepard and it likely wouldn't be the last. Right now he only needed to worry about the one and should the Commander inquire further he'd answer willingly. It was inevitable surely, the Commander wasn't a fool and had his ways of knowing when to ask the right questions. Such traits are what made him such an effective individual without question.

For the moment he'd let things play out as they were meant to, see how it all went. Anything was possible and thus anything should be expected even if he already had his suspicions. Minimizing all reports on the three anomalies, the Illusive Man adjusted them off to the side, making copies for the two unaccounted for and sent them off to someone he knew would be interested in the details. With all that said and done, he sat back in his seat and took another drag on his cigarette as a new slew of reports popped up on his screens.

Things were shaping up quite interestingly, all he had to do now was plant his seeds and wait to see what grew.

The suddenness of existence from nothing was startling; one could call it an unpleasant awakening.

Such as it was, it took a moment for Oberon to truly collect himself and his surroundings, to recognize the wall of his ship, the feel of the metal beneath him, the lack of sound or vibration that would signify its operations. Fingers curling slowly, the Frame did the best he could to gather some strength but his senses felt distant, as though there was a crackling in his ears and a tingling at the tips of his fingers. Fighting the odd sensation of exhaustion, he turned to place his forehead to the deck and tried to pull his legs inward, use leverage to his advantage.

It had been a while since he had felt Void Strain. The last time he could recall was when he was still fresh out of his cryopod and when he'd been captured a Zanuka hunter and placed under the effects of a nullifier field for an extended period of time before he had been rescued by his fellows. Slowly he managed to sit himself up straight on his knees and went through breathing and energy exercises. First it started small, curling his fingers in and out, trying to get sensation back through him by reaching first into his remaining energy stores and then out to the Void itself.

His brow furrowed in concern even as he kept his eyes closed. Being a Prime, though he had changed his appearance so that none but a few knew such a fact, he was more in touch with the Void than most. It was such that when it felt...distant, there but not like it should, that he began to worry. On top of the fact that Rubic had not spoken so much as a comment of concern had not escaped Oberon's notice either. Even despite the Cephalon's usual reserved demeanor he still cared for his Operator's well being and these growing peculiarities were beginning to weigh on the Frame's mind.

One problem at a time though. Taking a deep breath, Oberon focused his mind and body and began to pull and balance what strength he had, slowly beginning to regain his energy and his bodily functions with it. The first thing to be dispelled was the static-like sensation in his head and on the tips of his fingers, then he began to go through his meditative motions.

Hands circling slowly through the air, he began to manipulate his energies, pushing and pulling and getting them under control. One of his early mentors had taught him this style after saving him, teaching him how to better channel, balance, and control the Void and what made him what he was. It was described to be like reaching out to the Void itself, caressing it and guiding it inward so it may be used to strengthen oneself.

It was a slow process which required much concentration and was only used by those needing to get back in touch with their gifts from being strained after a particularly difficult mission or to better refine one's connection to their energy. The minutes passed and as he went through his motions he began to stand, still pushing and pulling, still concentrating as he drew in what scraps of the Void he could feel. Finally, though still feeling a little drained but enough to be managed, Oberon drew his hands above his head and pushed them down as he exhaled, palms stopping at his midsection as he finished his breath.

Standing a bit straighter, he finally opened his eyes and looked around his Liset. None of the consoles seemed to have any power, nor did the rest of the ship if the lack of lights or even the slightest vibration were to be any indication. Everything about his current situation was beginning to nag heavily on the back of his mind. His energy being strained, his ship, usually running on Void energy and solar power, being offline...yes, the Void Key explosion.

A frown crossed his features and he turned and walked to the back of the Liset, crouching on one knee as he examined the melted and charred remains of where the key had been held. Perhaps it had dispelled him somewhere in the system and caused a sort of Void burst that either overloaded or drained both his own and the ship's power...It'd make sense then he'd be the first to reawaken, requiring less energy to run than the ship, though it seemed it still had enough to either run or maintain basic life support.

It was worrying, especially since he could not turn to his Cephalon or the Lotus for guidance on this rather new and unusual situation but it seemed he must be patient. In the meantime at least he could at least try to see where the Void had spit him out in the system so he could give his squad mates his location when the opportunity presented itself.

His eyes widened as he realized they could very well be going through what he was as well. Though Saryn could surely handle herself, Valkyr was still young to her reawakening on top of having less control of her emotions than most Tenno due to what she suffered at the hands of the Corpus and whatever they had done to her. He worried for the both of them either way, their well being, what they could be experiencing themselves…

For now he could only cling to the hope it as not as bad a situation as it could be and handle it to the best of his abilities till he could contact either them or the Lotus. With a deep breath to soothe his nerves, Oberon approached the navigation pad of his Liset and looked through the viewing port into the space before him.

Thankfully it appeared that the Sun was front and center, the bright yellow glow of the star lessened by the ship's auto-tinting. Given its proximity at least he would hopefully get power via its light in a timely manner if the Key had muddled with his and the ship's Void connection. Now that he thought of it, though the stealth systems may not be active at least he didn't have the power output to worry about attracting the attention of the Grineer or Corpus. Things were not wholly grim it seemed thankfully so he was willing to take what advantages he had while they were available.

Given his distance he'd guess he would be about in Venus' solar orbit and with a glance around he was able to spot what he assumed was the planet. It did look a bit different the more he studied it but it was too far away to really tell. With a sigh, the Warframe stepped back and knelt at his navigation terminal before he closed his eyes and began to lose himself in meditation. For now he could only wait and be patient knowing he at the very least had a plan. It was not a pleasant situation and worry still plucked at the back of his mind, but he took comfort in what blessings he'd been given and prayed his companions had been so lucky as well.

With a deep breath, Oberon focused on his energy and reaching out to the Void once more, while he may not find answers there, at least he could gather strength in the event misfortune found either him or the ones he cared for.

"So hey, Commander, I know I'm just the pilot, just the guy flying us around all these planets and exploding space stations and all…" Joker turned around in his chair as Shepard stepped out of the airlock, Jack and Grunt with the strange science experiment on his shoulder following a moment later. The former Specter nodded for his squadmates to continue into the ship, "And yeah I know Cerberus is kinda messed up in our experience and we're kinda sorta working for them. That being said, you're batting three-for-three on the crazy here."

Shepard resisted the urge to sigh, even if his old friend wasn't wrong. "Don't get too bent out of shape over it, Joker. Right now we're just trying to figure out what exactly we're dealing with with what we found aboard that ship. For all we know she was just scared and confused from whatever might have been done to her."

The pilot held his hands up in surrender, "Hey, it's your suicide mission, like I said I just fly the ship. All I'm saying is maybe think about what would have happened if 'she' didn't decide to take a power nap on you there. Oh, also, do let me know if it wakes up," he spun his chair back around to fly the ship away from the now derelict vessel, "I'd like some heads up before all the screaming and mayhem."

Unable to withhold his sigh this time, Shepard did so with a shake of his head and turned to head into the ship himself. "EDI, slight change of plans, let's get a biometric scan to see what we're dealing with before she decides to return to the land of the living."

"Understood Commander, I'll inform Doctor Chakwas."

"Good. Also inform Security Officer Ryans to prepare a set of restraining cuffs." Rather than heading to the armory to disarm Shepard approached the elevator and nodded to Grunt and Jack waiting within. He pressed the holographic display for crew quarters, the latter of his companions quirking a brow, "We'll be taking our guest to the med bay. Feel free to stick around if you like but you're not being ordered to." His voice was calm as he spoke to the convict but she snorted and crossed her arms, seemingly annoyed but otherwise expressionless, Grunt himself only shrugging nonchalantly.

The elevators doors opened and the Krogan followed Shepard out, the latter glancing back to watch Jack waste little time in pressing the button to head to the next floor. He couldn't help but feel some measure of pity for the woman even if he knew she certainly wouldn't want it. Well, he'd give her her space, she at least deserved that to some degree; for now he had other problems to deal with. Grunt was already stepping into the medical bay when Shepard rounded the corner, Ryans approaching from the mess hall as he did so.

"Commander!" he saluted and offered up the cuffs.

"At ease, Ryans. Thank you," the man nodded curtly and marched off as Shepard entered the medical bay.

"Commander, this is certainly a surprise," Chakwas turned, already preparing a datapad as Grunt set their new guest on the medical table. "Already making new friends I see?"

"I suppose you could say that. Though I honestly don't know what to say about this one…"

"Hmm," the doctor only hummed in response before getting a good look at just what was on her table as Grunt stepped away. "Good Lord…" she mumbled under her breath, "Shepard, just what have you brought me this time?"

An honest shrug was all he could offer, "I was hoping you or EDI could help me with that Doc."

Chakwas tapped her datapad anxiously before stepping in and leaning in to get a closer look at the creature, "Hm…appears female. Race unknown, most likely derives from either Asari or Human. Seems to be wearing a mostly white skin-tight suit of sorts, black and red accents correlating to suit patterns. Apparatuses bolted through the forearms and around the neck. Head seems to be of mostly mechanical make with an odd growth forming on one side, though does not seem to be out of check." Chakwas circled around the medical table and made several more notes as Shepard and Grunt stood back by the door and watched. "Thank you Commander, but I'm going to have to ask the both of you to step out while I run the bioscan you requested."

"Understood Doc. Here are the cuffs," he stated placing them on the counter beside his old friend as she continued to look over her subject. "If she shows any sign of waking up, please apply these immediately if we don't come in fast enough ourselves."

"Yes, yes. This isn't my first romp with potentially dangerous, unconscious targets Commander," she offered a reassuring smirk before nodding and stepping back to jot down some more notes.

Shepard patted Grunt's chestplate and gestured for the two of them to step out. While he stepped around the corner to watch through the observation window, he was surprised to see his Krogan companion to the same. Watching Grunt as he looked through the window, Shepard was quiet for a moment before speaking.

"So, how's the jaw?"

Befittingly, a grunt was his response as the krogan rubbed said jaw, "Fine, it's just an itch now. It hits hard though, much stronger than it looks."

Shepard chuckled as he turned to look through the window himself, seeing the scanner run back and forth over the creature on the table. "I guessed that when she was giving you a run for your money just holding her in place. Not to mention when she knocked you on your ass," it was a playful jibe but Grunt took it in stride with a humorous snort.

"It is a worthy opponent. You fleshy things don't usually stand up well in the face of strength such as my own but it seems this ship is growing full of surprises between you, the biotic, and this thing." He grumbled in thought, "It has given me much to mull over between experience and the tube's teachings."

Shepard smirked, "I'll take that as a compliment then."

Another snort, "Humans and pride, that one still holds up at least."

Rolling his eyes, Shepard watched as Chakwas waved her hand to gesture them in, though she didn't seem to even look up from her results. "Come on, let's see what we've got in store for ourselves here." Walking back inside, Shepard gestured to Grunt to apply the cuffs while he approached Chakwas. "Alright, Doc, got something interesting I'd imagine?"

"I suppose you could say that…" her brows were furrowed and she had either a displeased or confused expression, it was hard to tell with the older woman.

EDI popped up on a holopad on the desk behind them, "It would seem whatever you've found here is certainly still alive, however it is heavily augmented with cybernetics and currently possesses no brain activity."

He could understand now why Chakwas would have such an expression since it was one he wore upon hearing the news himself. "No brain activity? Shouldn't it be dead then?"

"Were it a proper natural living being I would happily agree with you Commander," Chakwas stated and walked back over to the table, their subject now laying on her side, arms cuffed behind her back. "However what we have here is a creatures so heavily augmented by technology there's hardly much biological components even left. Such a pitiful thing, truly. I can only wonder at what sort of monster would twist nature in such a destructive way."

That makes two of us Doc...Shepard kept his thoughts to himself but wore a frown as he approached the being as well, Grunt having finally stepped out it seemed as they got deeper into medical and technical jargon. "So how is it alive then? It almost seemed like it ran out of power or something when it went to engage us. Could that have something to do with it?"

"It's possible. What bodily functions are left could be programmed to maintain themselves perpetually meanwhile the rest of its body runs on limited power."

"Hm...suppose it makes sense. It tore up the ship we found it in after we received word about those strange energy readings. Could be designed to wear itself out if they knew it was that volatile." Chakwas seemed to mull the data over herself but otherwise kept silent, continuing to take notes based on their conversation he imagined. "How about you, EDI," Shepard continued, glancing to the hologram, "Anything more you can deduce yourself? Don't suppose Cerberus has any involvement in this?"

"Doubtful. If such experiments were taking place then I do not have access to such files. It is unlikely if such an experiment was allowed to take place the Illusive Man would allow it to reach such depths." Shepard frowned but kept his doubts to himself, "Besides, this creature has trace amounts of human DNA, though it has been heavily altered almost to the point of incomparability."

"Collector or Reaper experiment then perhaps?"

"Possible. It is currently the most likely case. Regardless, given all we've seen, I suggest great caution in dealing with this creature."

With a furrowed brow, Shepard nodded, there was a lot to think about certainly…"It would almost be a mercy to put this thing out of its misery even if my hippocratic oath begs me to find a way to help it."

"I don't know…" Shepard stood up straight and rubbed his jaw in thought and indecision. "When we were aboard the ship it showed to have some form of intelligence. It appeared to have weapons of its own and understood what an omnitool was and was trying to use one to connect to a console. I'd also almost say it understood what we were saying, but it could have very well been just a ploy to get us to let our guard down...There's a lot of factors to consider…"

"It's up to you, Commander. I'm sure you'll know what is best," Chakwas offered before nodding to him and stepping away, returning to her desk to go over what she'd found he imagined.

Nodding to himself after a moment of thought, he sighed, "Let's stick with our original plan. For now we'll keep her in the brig. It's the safest place to keep her in the event she wakes up and is still hostile. If we can't talk her down and she risks breaking confinement we'll vent the chamber. I suppose for now it's the best we can do. Otherwise...set course to the Serpent Nebula, we're going to pay the Citadel a visit. Oh, and get those weapons of hers to the armory for analysis; keep me updated, EDI."

"Understood, Commander. Logging you out." He nodded as EDI's hologram winked out and finally stepped out of the med bay, security personnel marching in after him. Calling and waiting for the elevator, John finally released a deep calming breath and ran a hand down his face. Man did he need a drink after today.

Laurence yawned drowsily before grabbing the flask on his hip to take a quick swig, shaking his head and blinking as the strong drink hit his tongue and throat. Currently it was the only real pick-me-up he had and it was more acceptable to be drinking on the job than it was to be asleep on it. At least with what they were doing: combing every inch of the blackness of space looking for some 'anomalous reading', whatever the hell that meant. Currently they'd been at it for hours and he was waiting rather impatiently for his shift change.

After doing another scan of the area and checking his other equipment, he spun his chair around to look at the turian looking out through the main port. "So, hey, Coslus, not to sound insubordinate or anything, but are we sure Batlok isn't fucking crazy or something? Or that the techs might just, oh I don't know, be wrong?"

The turian, decorated in blue and white, hardly spared him an annoyed glance even if he did change his posture to not seem sick of their lack of progress himself. "For the last damn time, Kings, shut your mouth and just watch your damn equipment. If there's nothing it'll be called off when it's called off so do your job in the meantime and quit slacking." Laurence merely rolled his eyes and Coslus mumbled under his breath, "Spirits, why do I always get the inane ones."

The batarian beside Laurence, Grathor, scoffed and shook his head but said nothing, the human seeming to take offense at the mere act itself with a quirked brow and a sneer. "What, you getting anything either, eh?"

"No, but at least I know to keep my mouth shut, human," he flicked a switch, turned a dial, and leaned over to check another one of the consoles as he pressed a headset to his ear. Still nothing noteworthy in the radio signals either.

"Yeah, well I don't get paid for there not being anything out here either."

"Oi, quit being so antsy over there, Laurence, your eyes are of better use than your mouth, my friend." Another human, Emile laughed mockingly at his playful jibe.

"Shut it yourself Emile, all you gotta do is fly this damn thing through empty space."

"Yeah? Don't see me complaining, mm?"

"Close it the lot of you and focus!" Coslus exclaimed, standing from his seat with a commanding tone, leaving Laurence to fume while his antagonizers simply remained smug. "We don't want to miss even the smallest spec of dust out here as far as I'm aware so close your mouths and open your damn eyes and ears." He sneered and looked over the heads in his bridge, "Am I clear? Kings?"

"Crystal, your majesty. All just makes my damn scar itch..." he muttered under his breath and scratched at said scar across his cheek. He'd gotten it when they'd been ambushed by some Eclipse mercs when they were back on Omega. Right before it happened he'd had a funny feeling and had turned to catch a glancing blow across his cheek that would have otherwise went right through his skull. Always gave him an itch when he felt like something bad was gonna happen.

It was then that Grathor raised a hand up and snapped his fingers, "Speak of a thresher, just got something on a scan. Got a return ping from something starboard, about 47 degrees, bit less than a klick out. Small, likely a shuttle or escape vessel."

Coslus nodded and folded his hands behind his back as he began to pace, "Tarnil, Reyes, you heard him, adjust course. Everyone else keep your sensors tuned in and eyes peeled, I don't want us to lose track of this thing." Emile and the turian beside him began to do as they were bid, steering the ship starboard and slowing their pace to help the rest of the crew better acquire some data. "The sooner we find whatever Batlok wants so bad the sooner we can go back." It was always wise to exclude any mention of pay in the event they either didn't find what they were looking for, lost it, or that it was just worthless shit. Most acknowledged such a fact, but it was just as he said, he always seemed to get the stupid ones somewhere.

It took another few minutes of quiet communication amongst the bridge crew, a slight course correction here, a new speculation on the type of ship there. Finally though they got a look at the object in question, it being an odd, tear-drop shaped vehicle with thin protrusions from the back.

"We have visual on the target. Seems like a shuttle of some sort?" Amitus Tarnil, the copilot, stated as they slowed their approach.

"Given its size I'd say it must be some sort of experimental stealth shuttle or something. Would explain why it was so damn hard to find it." That was from Grathor.

Laurence still grumbled, "Yeah but you can hardly fit more than three people in there. Probably wouldn't want to hold that many either, might give off too much of a signature if it really is for stealth. Probably wouldn't want more than two if that's the case. Otherwise probably some fancy escape pod or something."

"Power's off so not like it'd probably matter much, it's just floating about here dead in space. Still want us to pick it up, boss man?" Emile looked over his shoulder at Coslus, the rest of the crew sneaking in their own glances as well.

"Bring us in. It'd be useless to do all this searching without something to show. Besides, I'm sure even if the occupant is dead the ship could sell for a pretty penny. Prepare the cargo bay and get a crew ready to knock politely and crack it open if we don't get a response." Laurence watched as Coslus continued to pace while the pilots communicated between one another, coordinating as they closed in and slowly maneuvered the smaller craft into their open cargo bay. The damn pacing was making him even more anxious, damn turians.

"Aaaand we are good to go cappy-tan," Emile stated as he watched the viewing screen of the bay, the doors closing after the cargo clamps had gotten a secure hold of the shuttle. "Repressurising cargo bay."

Laurence frowned and scratched at his cheek again, feeling the turian captain's eyes on the back of his head as he did so. "Doesn't sit right with me man, don't know why. My scar's itching again and it's never been wrong before."

Grathor chortled, "You humans are too superstitious. Want me to let Batlok know we have contact?"

Coslus grunted with a nod, "Yes, tell him we've found whatever likely caused the energy anomaly and have it in our cargo bay. Let him know it's a shuttle, fancy one."

"Roger that," the batarian went about his task, Laurence tuned him out though as he watched the feed from the cargo bay, feeling his scar tingle as he got an ominous feeling from the way the ship sat there in the cargo clamps dead and silent. It made him shift anxiously in his seat.

"Cargo bay has finished repressurising and welcome party is ready to go according to Daniels," Amitus stated, looking back to Coslus. "Want me to give him the okay?"

The turian glanced over to their resident batarian and everyone seemed to do so as well, watching as Grathor listened intently to whatever he was being told. Finally he nodded, "Understood, Solar Flare, we'll keep you updated, over. Batlok says to find out if anyone's still alive and says he trusts you'll know what to do, Coslus. Otherwise said to bring it back in one piece if we get no response."

The turian in question nodded and walked over to his console, "Daniels, you're free to enter and knock whenever you're prepared. Try to keep it in one piece if you can," his voice rang over the intercom.

"Roger, Coslus, entering cargo bay now. Remember folks, scanners first!" Laurence sighed and slouched back in his seat, watching the feed with a curious, if anxious eye.

He almost didn't notice Emile looking back at him with a quirked brow and a teasing smirk, "Anxious there, Laurie, my pal?" He frowned at the nickname, thinking the man would have let it go by now, otherwise he only grumbled. "Even if we got some crazy loon in there, you think they can take out a whole ship's worth of Blue Suns mercenaries? The best of the best?" Amitus made an amused sort of clicking sound beside him.

"Mm. Nah, something just doesn't sit right with me is all. Weird energy reading out of nowhere? Weird ship dead in space drifting in space we haven't seen before? Just screams red tape galore or something. Science experiment gone wrong, or whatever."

"All the better for us then," Coslus spoke up with a firm voice, Laurence wincing a little under the tone, "It means someone will be looking for it then if that's the case which means we'll be the ones setting the finder's fee. We'll need to talk about your behavior when all this is done if you keep this up, Kings."

"Yeah, yeah, I gotcha captain…" he withheld another grumble and returned his attention to the viewing screen for the cargo bay.

"Daniels to bridge, we just finished scans, either the hull protects against scans or we got no life signs in this boat. Orders?"

Before Coslus could respond, there was another voice over the comms, "Uh, boss, something's moving on the ship…" There was a sudden pause amongst everyone on the bridge, one of the angles showing some sort of rotation device on the bottom of the ship spinning and revealing a figure seemingly stuck in a person shaped indentation. Without another word, the figure pulled itself off, righted itself in the air, and landed gracefully on its feet before standing straight and looking over the mercenaries around it. Well, her rather. That much was obvious.

"Uh...we have an unknown contact, looks like an asari commando of some kind, orders sir?"

Laurence swallowed the odd twist he felt in his gut while Coslus responded quickly, "Well try not to piss her off. Talk to her, let her know we recovered her vessel and are bringing her back to Omega."

"Roger sir. I'll see what I can do."

Laurence listened and watched closely with the rest of them as Daniels approached the figure, though it was difficult to get a decent look at her. "Doesn't look like any fucking Asari commando I've ever seen…"

"Eh, could be one of those Justicars," Grathor offered casually, "They tend to run solo on their own missions from what I hear."

"Seems like you got a new date with some asari elite special forces, Laurie, and to think you were worried," Emile teased.

"Eh, you're not helping the itch, Reyes," he grumbled.

The man just chuckled, "Whatever you say, my friend."

Daniels' voice spoke up from Coslus' console once more, "Coslus, she isn't saying a thing, you want me to bring her to the bridge so you can talk to her? She doesn't seem to be armed aside from some weird looking pouches on her thighs."

The turian captain sighed, "Bring her up, Daniels, I'll talk to her. Just keep an eye on her; I'm sure we'll be able to handle one guest if she decides to try anything but I'd rather her not be let loose around the ship."

"Copy that, sir," and with that he cut out. Laurence watched as the man tried speaking with the woman again and when she gave no sign of having responded, Daniels just seemed to sigh before gesturing her to follow, the rest of the company lining up behind her. She at least seemed to understand that and followed after the man.

"And now we wait," Emile so casually offered, though it didn't soothe Laurence's nerves any. He realized that maybe he was being overly jumpy at this whole thing, maybe he'd had a few too many sips from his flask and that's why his scar was itching. Still he couldn't help but shift restlessly in his seat as they waited.

Finally the door opened and Daniels walked in, "Coslus, our guest."

Everyone turned and there was a mutual stunned silence as the figure stepped in after him. She, whatever or whoever she was, certainly commanded a presence. She was taller even than one of the turians escorting her and was dressed in a strange white and black suit that had gold fittings between her breasts and atop a horn that protruded from a heart shaped mask. She had large protrusions from her shoulders that each had odd tentacle like appendages (that he swore shifted and swayed on their own even subtly) and her helmet extended back more than a normal helmet would and also had the tentacle appendages dangling from it. She also appeared to be wearing tall thigh high boots, her thighs decorated with a strange organic growth like design.

As weird as the description of her might have been, her overall form and presence was intimidating and all at the same time, majestic. Her attire was smooth and organic, showing off her curves while also carrying an attractive flare. Truly, Laurence felt like his breath had just been pulled from his chest as he laid eyes on her and it only took Coslus clearing his throat for him to blink and shake his head. He looked to Emile with wide eyes and a questioning expression but the man looked stunned in his own right, mouth slightly agape. When he noticed Laurence, he only shrugged before looking back to the strange new being.

Her head turned subtly this way and that, no doubt studying the layout of the bridge before the Turian approached her, earning a seemingly curious tip of her head as he began to speak. "Good day, ma'am, my name is Coslus Oranus, Captain of this vessel," he began professionally and paused to see if she'd introduce herself. Silence. He continued, "You're rather fortunate we managed to find you all the way out here in the middle of the system, not to mention that you weren't picked up by, shall we say, less reputable folk." Another pause, more silence. Coslus showed no signs of frustration if he felt it, only nodding, "You see, we'll be returning to Omega now that we found you. Now, I'm sure this all a rather unintentional accident and what have you, but I'll have to bring you in to my boss to talk about compensation, I'm sure you understand?" He was making sure to add some subtle hand gestures here and there and made a universally understood rubbing of his fingers as finished.

Another pause, but this time she offered a subtle tip of her head in an acknowledging gesture. Coslus sighed, as did Laurence from his seat, who hadn't realized he'd been watching with bated breath.

"Good. I'm glad we understand each other. Now, you're welcome to return to your vessel or make yourself comfortable, but I'm sure you understand we'll have to keep some of our fellows around you." He made a casual gesture to the men behind her who rolled their shoulders and the like. She glanced back at them and seemed to get the memo, but simply folded her hands behind her back, her blank visage burrowing right into Coslus.

The turian's finger and mandible twitched, "Or you could remain up here, I suppose. Do try not to interfere with or distract my men then, yes?" Silence was his answer but he remained collected and simply took it as acknowledgement. "Alright then; Reyes, Tarnil, take us home."

Everyone else on the bridge shared looks amongst themselves but Emile responded casually as ever, "Understood, cappy-tan, bringing us back around to our lovely station. ETA: one hour."

Laurence still felt a little nervous and couldn't help but glance back at the being standing stoically by the door behind Coslus' seat. As the minutes passed she didn't seem to move an inch, the bridge remaining awkwardly silent aside from a few callouts here and there, the crew sharing some looks occasionally as well. There was a small glitch of static once or twice on his equipment he made note of as well but he didn't bring it up; probably was just the ship's age finally showing even if it did feel coincidental to some part of his anxious mind. After some time, Laurence pulled out his omni-tool and made to look like he was interfacing with his equipment, a regular activity he and a few others had done prior, but this time subtly tried to take a picture of this supposed asari commando for future reference.

As soon as he'd taken a picture he noticed her head shift subtly in his direction and felt his heart drop in his chest, moving a little too quickly to hide what he might have been doing. His heart was beating in his chest as he tried to look like he was busy and Grathor glanced to him with a quirked set of brows before his head suddenly shot back in surprise. Furrowing his brow, Laurence turned his head and just about felt his heart jump out of his chest.

She was standing right there beside him, her faceless mask glancing over his equipment before her veiled gaze fell upon him. He hadn't even heard her approach! And she was wearing some goddamn heels.

He realized he still had his omni-tool out and could see the slight shift of her head toward it and he cleared his throat before guiltily turning it off. Before anything could be said or done, Coslus cleared his throat loudly from his seat and her attention piqued in the turnian's direction before she stepped away from the console and began to walk slowly around the bridge, seemingly looking over every console and crew member with a curious gaze, her heels clicking softly on the deck below her.

Laurence felt like his heart was beating out of his chest and looked to Coslus, who wore a disproving expression but said nothing. Trying to get his breathing under wraps, he exhaled and caught Emile looking back to him with a smirk. His omni-tool pinged to show he'd gotten a message from his friend, Already have the lady's attention eh?

Laurence might have otherwise gone along with the man's teasing if something about their 'guest' didn't terrify some part of him. I got a bad feeling man. Something's not right about her.

Before Emile could respond, he watched as two of the mercs that had been standing by the door approached her as she stood behind the pilots looking out the main port. It was a human, a newby that stepped in close.

"Ma'am you heard the captain, please keep away from the bridge crew and let them-" he didn't get the chance to finish speaking, reaching out a hand to take her arm, she reacted faster and what happened next was something none of them expected.

Before the young merc could touch the majestic being, her hand shot up and grabbed his wrist and before anyone could react the poor man was screaming as some strange pink corrosive agent began to eat through his armor and seemed to travel down his arm. Everyone was motionless as he screamed in agony, at first grabbing at the wrist she held before dropping to his knees. Finally she released him and he fell to the floor, writhing and scratching furiously at his throat before he began to gurgle and spasm. When he finally stopped the silence was still, tense, no one wanting to make the first move.

Laurence's inner voice began to kick in and as the batarian that had accompanied him swore and raised his shotgun, the being's hands snapped to the pouches at her thighs, throwing some sort of miniature drill that burrowed into the batarian's throat. Each of the bridge's guards, Daniels included, met a similar fate in a matter of seconds, the woman moving with deadly precision.

Laurence crawled back in his seat as panic took over, "Oh fuck! Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck!" Grathor, Amilus, and Coslus all tried to stand and reach for their weapons but they hardly got the chance. She flicked her hand in Grathor's direction and a large pink spore of some sort began to grow on the batarian who screamed and coughed, falling back into his seat as he began to seize. A single one of those drill things into Coslus' wrist disarmed him and she spun in place with a low kick to Amilus' head before he could even stand, sending him into the console beside him and likely knocking him out if the force hadn't outright killed him.

Laurence was panicking and Emile hadn't even moved from his seat, too surprised and terrified by what had just happened.

"Ah, you damn bitch!" Coslus growled, trying to yank the drill from his arm, finally succeeding and throwing it to the deck below him. She only spared him a glance but it was enough to get the turian to sit back down, her throwing drills still at the ready, though she finally lowered and stashed them in her thigh pouches when he sat. Still without a word, she walked past the captain's chair and they all watched her as she approached the door and placed her hand upon the panel beside it. The same corrosive substance she'd used began to eat through the panel and short-circuited the door, the symbol going red to signify it'd been locked. They were trapped here with her now.

Coslus looked to him, panting as he clutched his bleeding wrist but Laurence shook his head furiously, not wanting to piss off the lone individual who'd just taken over their bridge in less than a minute. Ever calmly though, she walked back around, this time in his direction and he didn't know what the fuck to do. He glanced to Grathor but the Batarian was long since dead, the remains of the spores eating away at his flesh rather gruesomely.

He swallowed and tried to back up further in his seat as she approached but he knew it was useless. It was not as though he was getting away from...whatever this thing was. Finally she stood over him and he did his best not to seem like he was about ready to shit himself, terrified of what she could do to him if that corrosive agent was even half as painful as it looked. Instead of murdering him like he expected, she held out her hand. He paused and blinked, not sure what to do, what she was asking.

"Uh...I-I don't-..." she closed her fingers and opened them again, beckoning his hand? Slowly, hesitantly, he placed his hand in hers, not knowing what to expect. She suddenly turned his wrist over and began to study the forearm of his armor. Laurence didn't know what to do and so sat still as the dead, noticing movement out of the corner of his eye but too wary to move even an inch.

He could tell though it was Coslus, slowly reaching down and picking up his pistol with his good hand, eyes locked on the back of the figure as she continued to feel up and down his forearm. Laurence gave no indication even with his eyes in his captain's direction and only swallowed, not knowing what the turian really planned on doing or if it'd be a good idea in the slightest. Without warning though, just as the Blue Sun's captain had gotten his hand on his pistol and began to stand, the figure's free hand suddenly snapped to her pouch and threw one of her drills at Coslus.

Laurence jumped at the suddenness of it all with a shout, turian barely getting to raise his already damaged hand before he was thrown back to the floor by the attack. Just like that she continued with her actions, finally locating where his omni-tool chip was held or at least how to open it. She pried the latch open and pulled the chip out, examining it curiously before looking to him and Emile.

Without a word she walked back over to the door and at first she placed her hand on the door before pausing, looking up to the vent above her. Bending her legs, the woman jumped all the way up to the ceiling vent and planted her feet on the ceiling as she gripped the vent cover, melting the metal away before pulling herself in and disappearing out of sight.

The silence hung over them for another minute or two before Laurence finally spoke, "What the fuck?!"

Emile slumped back in his seat with a shaky breath, at a loss for words as the both of them came down from their adrenaline high. "I...I don't know. Do we keep course for Omega?"

Laurence was shaking and he looked at the missing chip in his armor, "What else are we gonna do?"

"Call for help?"

"Emile, did you see what she just fucking did to everyone on this bridge? By her damn self?"

The man looked to him with a frown, "No, I completely missed it when she melted Turner's insides with a touch of her hand."

"Holy fuck…what the fuck is anyone gonna be able to do against something like that? What the fuck even was that?"

"Why don't you calm the hell down, man? We can't just sit here doing nothing...Coslus?"

Laurence blinked and followed Emile's own surprised expression, seeing the turian stand, the spiral drill still lodged in his hand nearly up to its grip. "Cos-" Laurence didn't get to say much further as the Blue Suns mercenary raised his pistol and blew the man's head across the equipment behind him.

Emile jumped and nearly fell out of his seat, not even knowing what to say or do at this point, "Jesus, Coslus…"

"Spirits I hated that idiot…" he grunted and dropped his pistol, slowly yanking the drill out with some effort, gasping when he finally did before throwing it to the side. Panting, he looked to Emile, "Reyes, contact Batlok update him to the situation, stay course for Omega. See if Turnil is still alive too while you're at it." Slowly he pulled himself over to the command chair and fell into his seat before tapping the console beside him for the intercom. "Crew of the Guiding Light, this is your captain speaking. We have a dangerous hostile aboard our ship. Use lethal force and extreme caution. Guard the ship in the cargo bay and be at the ready." Coslus sat back in his seat and raised his good hand to his brow ridge. He wasn't getting paid enough for shit like this.

Saryn crawled through the vents of the ship swiftly. Though it was a tighter fit than she was used to, there was still enough for her to maneuver herself around relatively well enough and it was only a matter of time before she reached an optimal vent to drop from, waiting patiently for any signs of activity below her.

When none showed themselves, she lifted a leg and kicked the cover out, dropping quietly a moment later and pulling several of her spira from their pouches. The coast still clear, Saryn began to backtrack the path she'd initially been guided down earlier, keeping an eye out for any hostiles.

"Operator, it would seem you have some friends to deal with when you get here!" her bubbly Cephalon, Kaylis, informed her as she slipped down the corridors. "Of course, I'm sure that was to be expected. I could always vent the atmosphere but I'm sure that wouldn't be fun for you, hmmm~?" Saryn ran around a corner and saw a group of three of the supposed 'Blue Suns' as they pointed their guns at her and opened fire. She ducked to the right and ran up the wall before leaping off it, diving over them and throwing a spira for each one of them as she passed, hearing their bodies hit the deck as she continued running.

Kaylis had thankfully finally come online when she was standing on the bridge of the ship and helped gather more information on these scavengers by hacking into their systems for anything that could be understood and used. The situation had proven to be more troublesome than Saryn had initially thought; the group of unknown aliens and humans being an infamous gang of mercenaries and no doubt were either planning to use or extort her when they reached their destination. It was all Saryn had needed to know before she started devising a plan.

She'd also been told 'things were much worse' than her cephalon had thought, but Saryn had already had such a suspicion when she'd been taken aboard by a ship design she'd never seen before and got an eye on the crew. There would be time to go over data when she escaped though, both with what Kaylis had recovered and whatever would be on the strange holographic tools the races seemed to use.

Rounding another corner, Saryn knew she was getting close but heard the stomping of feet even before she saw the group of mercenaries round the corner. Six, hadn't seen her yet but were about to in a moment. Using the element of surprise, Saryn swiped her hands twice, downing two with her spira as she slid into their midst.

Using the two spira left in her hands, she dug one into the thigh of one mercenary and swiped the legs out from under another, stabbing her other spira into his exposed neck. She shot up with a rising palm snapping the head of one merc back as it collided with his chin and knocked his weapon out of the way, spinning and kicking the gun out of the hands of another, continuing her momentum to use her other leg to kick him into the wall. Seeing the one she'd stabbed finally line up a shot on her, she grabbed the one she'd stunned and used him as a meat shield before closing the distance, grabbing the grip of the rifle and pointing it up and pulling him in before placing her hand on the man's helmeted face.

He began to scream as her viral toxin ate through his helmet and into his body, releasing him to throw the gun at the remaining merc as he gathered himself, giving her the breath of time required for her to draw another spira and throw it at his throat. She didn't wait for him to drop before she was already moving to the final door into the cargo bay.

There were several mercenaries already stationed in positions and at the ready, Kaylis chirping over the comms, "Oh there you are Operator, would you like me to open the cargo bay doors for you so we can get on outta here?"

"There she is!" she heard a human shout as rounds began to pepper her shields, forcing her to take cover. They kept up suppressing fire on her and she raised her head to get a better look around the bay, though was forced to duck as a rocket flew past her head. Having some plan in her head she nodded to herself and jumped up, molting and using it as a distraction as it drew some of the fire as she and it tumbled to the ground, though she recovered gracefully and continued running.

"Disengaging gravity!" Kaylis stated and Saryn pushed off the ground as several of the mercs began to float away to their surprise and confusion. "Disengaging cargo clamps~" the clamps holding her liset released the ship but the lack of gravity in the cargo bay kept it afloat as its thrusters began to glow. Saryn grabbed onto one of the floating mercenaries and pushed off of him to begin flying through the air.

She barely got ahold of her ship's rotary as Kaylis joyfully exclaimed, "And awaaaaaaay~!" The cargo bays suddenly opened and everything was sucked out by the sudden depressurization, the liset and any stray mercenaries included. The landing craft tumbled and twirled but finally righted itself as Saryn got herself locked in and was spun back inside. They sped off into open space with only a quickly fading trail of light to signify their existence.

AN: Hello again all, I just wanted to give another thank you for making it this far and ask what you thought of it so far? I'll be making tweaks here and there more than likely but will let it be known if anything particularly noteworthy has been altered.

I'd also like to let it be noted that this story began production even before the release of the second dream and will be taking some artistic liberties with both warframe and possibly Mass Effect itself in some places because of this. I hope you all understand these changes and know it's also partially to help me make this story my own in some fashion though time will tell if it's for the better. That being said, everything is written for a reason and if you ever have any questions you're more than welcome to ask them.

I may use this space for future chapters for author notes and to address any particular questions that stand out. Thank you all once more and hope you enjoyed.