MASS EFFECT DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. I FOUND SOME COOL ALIEN STUFF ON MARS, BUT THE GOVERNMENT WON'T LET ME KEEP IT. SOMETHING ABOUT RECOMPENSE FOR NOT PAYING MY TAXES.

So, yeah, cliffhanger last chapter. Let's fix that, shall we?

Mass Effect: Legacy

XI

The Shadow Broker's resources were vast; if the right protocols were enacted, a small army could be gathered in just a few days. Liara was very tempted to activate those protocols; after all, her little girl had just gone missing on an alien planet whose people had gone from something to grumble about to openly hostile.

Except that Alanna wasn't her little girl, she reminded herself, and hadn't been for years. She was a soldier now, and a damn good one. If anyone was going to survive on a hostile planet long enough for help to arrive, it would be her.

Of course, that wasn't to say Liara wouldn't do what she could to help. Already, civilian vessels were being diverted away from the best staging areas for the joint fleet that was massing. The initial estimates were that it would take them almost a week to reach Turvess, but with the revelation that the Raloi were hostile, and an Alliance-led team had been attacked, the timetable had been accelerated. With their newfound urgency, and Liara getting people out of the way, the first wave of reinforcements would arrive over Turvess in sixteen hours.

While the military did their job, the heads of the galactic powers were in serious talks about what to do about the Raloi. Liara had heard of humans wishing to be a fly on the wall during certain events, but as the Shadow Broker, she had the next best thing. She had remote access to the omni-tools of five different attendees of the meeting, which let her listen in. Even without any manipulation from her, any vindictiveness from her was quickly satisfied.

If Alanna's squad could be safely extracted, the Raloi would simply lose any chance of joining the galactic community for a long time. They would be declared a rogue state, and it would be illegal for them to leave their home system. If the worst happened to Alanna and her team… well, Wrex might not have been serious about dropping live thresher maws onto the planet, but Garrus and Aethyta had voted to keep it as an option.

Liara had never been one to pray, even before discovering the truth about Athame, but she found herself clasping her hands and bowing her head. Please, Alanna… please be all right. To hell with the rest of the galaxy, but I can't lose you.

Alanna groaned as she regained consciousness; her vision was blurry, but her head barely hurt, which was a good sign. There was more good news; if she'd taken any serious injuries, her onboard medical package would have alerted her, but the worst she felt was a few bruises.

She had just started to get to her feet when she felt something press against her helmet.

"Do not move, alien." The voice that spoke was scratchy and full of squeaks, but was no less threatening.

Alanna very carefully did not reach for her guns. "Okay, I'm not moving."

"Is it useful?" another voice asked; this one was softer, more fearful. "We could just kill it."

"No, the nesters are going to use it as an excuse to bring war on our heads," the first voice argued. "It might be able to help us."

"If you're going to talk about me, can I at least raise my head?" Alanna asked.

There was a pause. "Try anything, you die, alien."

Alanna slowly rose, and finally got a good look at a Raloi. They were tall, even taller than most Turians, but far more slender. The one that had had a gun to her head was the taller of the two, with vibrant red feathers over most their body that shifted to blue at the tips. They also had a blue crest of feathers on the top of their head. The shorter one had grey feathers that shifted to white at the ends. Their arms were also wings, and from the way the feathers flexed, it was obvious they were fully functional. Both Raloi had the same kind of beak—a short, curved thing that reminded Alanna of a parrot. They also both wore armor, but instead of a hardsuit like Alanna, it was a simple segmented breastplate that allowed for full range of motion, and several light plates over their legs. The taller one was armed with a pair of pistols—one holstered at their hip, the other in their three-clawed hand—and had what looked like a shotgun slung over their back. The other one had a massive, long-barreled rifle with a scope.

"So, uh, hi," Alanna said. "Who are you?"

The taller one squawked and looked away, but the shorter one shook their head. "I am Olaaska; he is Ga'raak."

Alanna noted that when Olaaska—who she now identified as a female Raloi—spoke, her beak hardly moved. The Codex hadn't mentioned it during her studies, but the Raloi were able to produce words without a traditional mouth like most vocally-focused species.

"Why were we shot at?" Alanna asked. "We received a request for help."

Olaaska shook her head again. "The resistance asked for aid, but knew you would not help unless you had good reason. We… we told an untruth, that the star-machines had come for us."

"The nesters hate the aliens," Ga'raak huffed—at least, that's what it sounded like to Alanna. For all she knew, that noise was the Raloi sound for arousal. "Anyone who wants to go back to the stars has their wings burned, and every day, the nesters say how it is the aliens' fault for all our troubles."

Alanna glared at them. "Wait, are you telling me that you drew all the galaxy's major powers into an internal dispute? Even if they help you, you're never going to be trusted again."

"The aliens can do what they please," Ga'raak dismissed. "All we want is to fly free."

Alanna shook her head. "Well, right now, the first thing I need to do is find my squad."

"The other aliens?" Olaaska's feathers ruffled, then smoothed out. "We cannot find them yet; the resistance has many eyes, but our cities are large, and the nesters have set up jammers to block unauthorized communications."

"Then the first thing I need to do is disable the jamming system; I have to reestablish contact with my squad, and the rest of the galaxy before someone starts a war." Alanna glared at the Raloi again. "You guys brought us here. Can you help me?"

Ga'raak squawked again, but Olaaska grabbed his arm, and his feathers smoothed. "Very well, alien. We know where some of the jammers are; we can take you to them."

"All right." Alanna pulled out her Tsunami; when it unfolded in her arms, the two Raloi flinched. "What are the rules of engagement?"

It took a moment for the Raloi to understand what she meant. "If you see any Raloi with silver armor, they fight for the nesters," Olaaska said. "They have orders to kill you on sight."

"They're welcome to try," Alanna growled. "I'm in a pretty bad mood after getting shot out of the sky, and I'm ready for some payback."

Ga'raak bobbed his head, and pointed to his right. "Follow us; the nearest is close."

"I will contact other resistance squads," Olaaska added. "They will know not to shoot at you, alien."

"My name is Alanna Shepard, and my rank is lieutenant; I'd appreciate it if you used either."

The Raloi were as unfamiliar with Asari speech and mannerisms as Alanna was with them, but there was enough steel in her voice that Ga'raak and Olaaska understood how serious she was.

"Very well, Lieutenant Shepard," Olaaska said. "Follow us; we must move quickly."

It didn't take long for the uneasy alliance to run into their first fight. Five Raloi, all with golden tips on their feathers and silver armor, flew down from somewhere above them and crashed through the window. Before they fully raised their weapons, Alanna opened fire; the lead Raloi soldier was all but cut in half, and the one behind him was injured.

"Right, the tech isn't as advanced," Alanna muttered, and finished off the wounded one with a much shorter burst of fire. "No kinetic barriers."

Ga'raak proved that he knew how to fight; he drew both pistols and put two expertly-placed shots in a soldier's head. Olaaska hesitated, and that threw off her own shot; instead of punching through her target's chest, her oversized sniper rifle took off his leg, and he fell to the floor.

The final standing Raloi tried to flee, but Alanna froze his wing with a grazing cryo blast. When he tried to flap anyway, his wing shattered; he stumbled back, and fell out of the broken window to his death.

By the time Alanna turned her attention to the one-legged soldier, he had already bled out. She checked the corpses, and found an intact radio earpiece; she easily discovered what frequency the soldiers were using, and programmed her omni-tool to alert her if certain words were used, such as 'Asari', 'human', or 'Krogan'. She hoped that that would give her a lead on her squad.

When she looked back at her current teammates, they were looking out the window, down towards where the soldier had fallen.

"Dead after losing a wing," Ga'raak said grimly. "A bad death."

"He fell under the open sky," Olaaska argued. "It was the last thing he saw."

"Or he saw only the ground, and we do not know the answer; I will assume the worst, and be pleased if I am wrong."

"I don't know much about your people," Alanna said, "but I'm getting that you take flying very seriously."

"It is the gift of the sky, to be welcome in its embrace," Olaaska said. "As far as we are aware, only the Raloi have this gift."

Alanna shrugged. "Lots of species have things that make them special. The Krogan can heal faster than anyone else, and the Asari are all natural biotics."

"But can you soar?" Ga'raak demanded angrily. "You have no wings to flap, no feathers to feel the air with. No other sensation compares to true flight, alien."

Alanna wondered if the Raloi had always been so arrogant, or if it had come about during their isolation.

"Come on, we need to get moving," she said. "How close are we to the jammer?"

Olaaska tilted her head. "Perhaps two hundred meters, maybe closer, but we must cross to the adjacent building to reach it. One of us could carry you, but it would leave us vulnerable as we crossed."

"Let me worry about that," Alanna said, then tensed when her suit picked up movement. "Take cover!"

Three more Raloi soldiers rounded the corner, and fired as soon as they spotted Alanna's team. Olaaska squawked and hurled herself behind an upturned table, while Ga'raak stood his ground and fired both pistols. Alanna ducked behind what looked like an office cubicle, albeit almost eight meters wide, and sent out a drone to harass the enemy squad. When they were distracted by the bursts of gunfire, Alanna crushed one with her biotics, then killed the other two with her Tsunami.

"What was this place?" Alanna asked. "It looks like an office building."

"Close," Olaaska said shakily. "The upper third of all buildings act as temporary rest-stops for Raloi on the wing. If you were to go several floors lower, you would see that this place was for incubating."

Alanna froze. "Don't tell me there are thousands of babies below us."

"No, thank the skies," Olaaska said. "When our rebellion began, the eggs were safely evacuated back to their families."

"Some still fight with us," Ga'raak added, "but some chose to support the nesters. Those cowards… I lost six good fighters before all the eggs could be saved."

"How long have you been fighting?"

"Two years," Ga'raak said grimly. "The politicians of the outer cities wanted to contact the other worlds, to see for themselves if the Reapers were gone. Those in First Nest wanted to keep control through fear of the aliens, and forbade it. Then they sent their soldiers to silence the opposition."

"Entire families were executed," Olaaska continued. "There isn't a single Raloi in the resistance who didn't lose someone in the purges. Only a few of our leaders escaped the slaughter."

"The people in your capital city are that desperate for control?" Alanna wanted to punch something. "The Reapers were stopped over a hundred years ago; you could have joined the rest of the galaxy at any time."

Olaaska tilted her head. "I have seen the records of the Reapers. I know they killed billions during the first days of the war. How did you defeat them so quickly?"

"By standing together." Alanna chose not to add that the Asari had withdrawn their support until Thessia had burned. "We found designs for a weapon we called the Crucible. While our fleets and armies fought the Reapers, the rest of the coalition built the weapon, and we used it."

"The Reapers were destroyed?" Ga'raak demanded.

"No, but they were… sent away, for lack of a better term. From what we understand, the Crucible turned off the Reapers' aggression. They still fly around, but they haven't attacked us. Believe me, if they really wanted us dead, we'd have been killed off decades ago." Alanna sighed. "The Reaper War is over."

"That has been our hope for years," Olaaska said. "Many more of our people would rise up if they knew the truth."

"Starting a civil war isn't something I can legally do," Alanna told them sternly. "Right now, I can only fight until I find my squad and reestablish contact with my ship."

"That is fine with me," Ga'raak said. "The sooner you aliens are clear of my skies, the sooner I will fly unburdened."

Alanna checked the bodies one last time, then started to move out, but her attention was grabbed by a painting on the wall. It showed a picture of a blue-feathered Raloi, perched in a tree, staring off into an oncoming storm.

"That's kind of ominous," she commented.

"It is a copy of a famous painting," Olaaska said wistfully. "The artist was part of the diplomatic envoy to your Citadel; she painted it after returning home. It was meant to symbolize how our people were on the precipice of great change."

Ga'raak squawked. "The nesters use it to remind us all that aliens bring nothing but destruction and death."

Alanna frowned. "If you hate aliens so much, why are you fighting against the… the nesters?"

"They would ground us all as surely as your alien diseases," Ga'raak accused. "I want to fly free, not be told which wind I should follow."

Oh, great, Alanna thought sourly, he's an anarchist.

There were no further interruptions as they made their way to the gap between the towers. Alanna glanced down, and saw that they were easily fifty stories up; if she fell, and her boosters failed, there was no way she would survive.

"We must cross the open air to reach the other tower," Olaaska said. "Are you sure you can reach the other side without help?"

Alanna began calculating in her head. Distance is fifty meters, boosters will last ten seconds at full burn, and I have to fight gravity the whole time…

"I can do it," she said confidently. "I just need a straight shot."

Ga'raak nodded, and shot out the window. "Olaaska, shoot the window across from us."

This time, there was no hesitation as Olaaska drew her sniper rifle and shattered the opposite window.

"That thing seems excessive," Alanna said, gesturing to the rifle. "It looks like it's meant for killing tanks."

"It is a hunting rifle," Olaaska explained. "There are beasts that fly across the mountains and plains that can devour a hundred Raloi in a single day. We crafted these rifles to drive them off, and even kill the smaller ones, if enough of us have this weapon."

Alanna tried to imagine what kind of animal required multiple sniper rifles that, had they been made using Mass Effect technology, could only have been used by a Krogan. All she could picture was a thresher maw with wings, and the thought terrified her.

"We will cross first," Ga'raak said, holstering his pistols and spreading his wings. "We will ensure it is safe; then, we will see if you can fly, ground-bound."

Alanna waited tensely as the two Raloi flew out the window, but made it to the other side unharmed. Even with the distance between them, and the unfamiliar Raloi anatomy, Alanna was sure that Ga'raak was mocking her.

She took a few steps back, checked her armor's sensors for wind shift one more time, then charged out into the open air. Rather than immediately activate her boosters, she used a Charge to catapult herself even further; she also aimed herself up, so that she was about ten meters above her landing zone when she came out of her Charge. Then, as gravity made its will known, Alanna turned on her boosters, and gently fell through the shattered window.

"Told you I could do it," she said smugly.

Instead of being humbled, Ga'raak made what Alanna assumed was some kind of warding gesture. "Sorcery!"

"No, it is something else," Olaaska protested. "The records mention this. It is called bi… biotics, yes?"

"That's right," Alanna said. "All Asari can use biotics, and so can anyone who was exposed to Element Zero before they were born. If your government destroyed or hid away all eezo for a hundred years, I'm not surprised you don't have any experience with biotics."

Olaaska shook her head. "So much knowledge lost…"

"We'll have to discuss this later," Alanna said. "How close are we to that jammer?"

"Ten levels up," Ga'raak answered. "The soldiers guarding it will have heard my gunshots; they will be here soon."

"Then let's not give them time to set up." Alanna switched out her Tsunami for her shotgun, lamenting the fact that she still hadn't mastered the Extinction. "You might want to use that shotgun; it's gonna be close-quarters."

Ga'raak glowered at her, but followed her advice. It was a good thing he did, because a squad of soldiers burst into the room from upstairs, guns blazing. Alanna froze one soldier solid with her cryo, then blew the head off another with her shotgun. Olaaska was less hesitant with her next shot, and instantly killed her target at almost point-blank range.

After a few more seconds of hectic gunfire, the fight was over, and Alanna checked her reluctant teammates. "You guys okay?"

Olaaska nodded. "I am not hurt."

Ga'raak didn't answer; he was too busy staring at the hole in his leg. Alanna was at his side in an instant, running her omni-tool over the wound.

"Okay, the good news is that it was a through-and-through," she said. "No bullet to dig out. I can fix you up, but you're gonna walk with a limp for a few days until it fully heals."

"Do it," Ga'raak hissed. "I will not sit here and bleed while an alien fights my war."

Nice to see his pride is making him take the smart option, Alanna thought wryly. "All right, this might feel weird."

A quick spray of medi-gel, and the two Raloi watched in fascination as Ga'raak's wound sealed up. He got to his feet, tentatively put weight on his healed leg, and nodded at Alanna.

"My thanks." He looked up with narrowed eyes. "That was only one squad; there will be a second guarding the jammer on the roof, and by now they will have called in for reinforcements."

"You know how these guys operate," Alanna noted.

"We have been planning our uprising for months," Olaaska said. "We made sure to note everything they do."

"All right, I'll draw their fire, keep them on the ground," Alanna decided. "Once I do, you two get in the air and see if you can't flank them."

Ga'raak made a sound that might have been a laugh. "Good. I want to stretch my wings."

Alanna carefully climbed the stairs—and absently noted that all the steps in the Raloi buildings had deep grooves for talons—and poked her head through the door to the roof. There was a loud bang, and a chunk of the doorway was torn off.

"Sniper," Alanna reported after ducking back inside. "He might be a problem. Give me a second."

Alanna quickly manufactured a drone and tossed it outside; it darted around, firing at targets she couldn't see. It didn't matter if it actually hit anything; all she needed was for the little drone to draw the sniper's fire. Fortunately, said sniper took the bait, and Alanna was outside just as her drone was blown to pieces.

"Didn't even get a chance to name that one," Alanna muttered, and ducked behind a ventilation shaft. There were several such attachments all over the roof; it made sense to have plenty of air moving through a building so large.

The Raloi squad firing at her was guarding a professional-looking barricade that protected a squat tower topped with three dishes that rotated in place. From the way the Raloi were reacting, they were desperate to stop her from reaching the jammer.

"I'm drawing their fire," Alanna called back to the friendlier Raloi. "Move out when I say 'mark'."

Without waiting for a reply, Alanna used a Shockwave to shatter a Raloi's bones, then shot another with her Tsunami. A third, the sniper, was frozen solid and shattered with a cryo blast.

"Mark!"

Alanna heard flapping behind her, and when she wasn't immediately shot in the back, she assumed it was Ga'raak and Olaaska. She almost smiled when the pair circled around the enemy squad undetected; the other Raloi were so focused on Alanna's attack that they hadn't considered their own people fighting them as well. They figured it out when Ga'raak landed on top of one and tore out his throat with his talons.

Ga'raak was so intent on his prey that he didn't see the remaining soldier rushing him from behind. Before armored talons could claw into Ga'raak's back, Alanna Charged, and the Raloi practically exploded from the impact.

"Area's clear," Alanna announced, before the feathers had finished falling. "Cover me while I disable the jammer."

"Why not just shoot it?" Olaaska asked.

"Because we've already drawn unwanted attention, and I'd rather not announce to the entire city where we are by blowing something up." Alanna looked at the jammer, and saw that there was nothing for her to hack. There was, however, a thick power cable connecting it to a generator, so she simply ripped it from its socket. "There, that should do it."

She activated her comms and hoped for the best. "Any stations, this is Lieutenant Shepard, respond."

Alanna felt her heart skip a beat when a familiar voice answered. "Alanna! Oh, thank god, we were starting to wonder if you were gonna get knocked out again."

"I actually did, Haley." Alanna grinned. "I've made a couple of new friends—a Raloi resistance team. They pointed me in the direction of the jammer. What's your status? Are you with the rest of the squad?"

"I'm fine, and so is everyone else," Haley assured her. "We've run into a few Raloi soldiers, but we can't confirm any resistance fighters. We've seen more than a few Raloi peeking at us so far; that might have been them."

"Can you get a lock on my position?"

"Hang on… yeah, we've got you. You're about half a klick from us. Wanna meet us halfway?"

Alanna was about to answer, but Olaaska tapped her shoulder and pointed up; Alanna looked, and saw at least a dozen winged figures flying towards the roof.

"Uh, you might want to just come here," she said. "We're about to have a lot of company."

"Copy that, Lieutenant; we'll be there in a few minutes. Just sit tight."

Alanna sighed as she took cover. "This has not been a fun day."

As an artificial intelligence, EDI was largely beyond the concept of anxiety, but there were some exceptions. Her processors went through a minor feedback loop whenever she considered things beyond her control, especially when those things were priority matters for her.

By AI standards, she was on the verge of a complete panic.

"Miranda, what is the status of the relief fleet?" She didn't bother using her body's voice for the transmission.

"Two hours out, but we've scrambled additional forces," Miranda said tersely. "At least Alanna's name is carrying weight in the best way. General Shay detached five of her fastest ships to assist, and they're packed with as many marines as she could scrounge up. The Turians detached a dreadnought and its escorts from their Second Fleet, but they won't get to you for another six hours, but once they arrive, the fleet will have enough firepower and bodies to handle the situation."

"That will be appreciated, assuming we can rescue Alanna."

"Have you regained contact with her?" Miranda asked. "Or any of her squad?"

"Negative, I—wait." EDI's body smiled in relief as new data arrived. "The signal is still weak, but I have a lock on Alanna. She's alive."

"Thank god," Miranda whispered. "Try to contact her."

"Alanna, come in," EDI said. "What is your status?"

"My status is 'very annoyed'!" Alanna shouted. "I'm trapped on a rooftop, and I'm under attack by about a hundred Raloi, and they're really pissed off! My squad is en route, and I'm working with some of the local resistance fighters, but it's just three of us. Any chance of the cavalry showing up?"

"Not for at least two hours," EDI said.

"Well, crap." There was a pause, and EDI heard the sound of gunfire. "Can you at least help my squad find the best way to me?"

"Affirmative, I am using your comms to reach them, and have calculated the best possible route for them to take."

"You're the best, EDI. Whoops, gotta go! There's some angry Raloi up here that need my attention. And bullets. Alanna out."

Miranda, who had been listening in, chuckled. "If I didn't know better, I'd say she was having fun."

"We can blame Grunt and Wrex," EDI said. "Out of all of us, they are the ones who actually enjoy fighting."

"Do you want to say that to them?"

"I am logical and state the facts. I am not suicidal."

Miranda outright laughed. "Just hang tight, EDI; help is on the way."

"Haley, where the hell are you guys!?" Alanna demanded. "I've got two more enemy squads inbound!"

"Just a few more minutes," Haley said tersely. "We've gotta climb some stairs before we boost over to you."

"Well, don't take any extra time for your cardio, okay?"

"What if we stop for coffee?"

"Only if you bring me some! And a donut, I'm hungry."

"Are you being serious right now?" Olaaska asked, then fired upward, and was rewarded by a one-winged Raloi plummeting to the ground.

"Look, I can either crack jokes, or I can panic, and I know which I prefer." Alanna grinned and fired a long burst of cryo-enhanced rounds that dropped five more soldiers.

"I think I'm starting to like you, alien," Ga'raak said. "You kill nesters even better than I do."

"Thanks, I think." Alanna hurled a Singularity at another cluster of Raloi; she detonated it with a Warp, and then it rained blood and feathers. "How many soldiers are there in this city?"

"Thousands," Olaaska admitted. "This city houses one of our four primary military bases."

"Wow, my luck really sucks." Alanna grinned again when she heard the familiar sound of a sniper rifle, and a Raloi dropped. "Or maybe not. We've got our reinforcements!"

Nok laughed wildly as he boosted over; his machine gun killed over a dozen Raloi before he landed heavily on the rooftop.

"That was fun!" he shouted. "Hey, Alanna, how're you doing?"

"Much better than I was a few minutes ago." Alanna put her back against the Krogan and raised her Tsunami. "The others are on their way?"

"Yeah, we just need to keep these pigeons focused on us for a minute."

"Then let's light up the sky!"

Alanna and Nok acted like a makeshift anti-aircraft battery, scything through the Raloi that tried to land. The handful that did were picked off by Ga'raak and Olaaska, until they were joined by the rest of Alanna's squad. With the added firepower, the Raloi couldn't even get close enough to land, and were forced to fly away. Soon, the only living Raloi on the roof were Ga'raak and Olaaska.

"Thanks for the assist, guys," Alanna said, and sat down to catch her breath.

Tetros sat next to her. "Any time, cousin."

Haley sat across from her. "Yeah, we've always got your back."

"I know." Alanna paused. "So… did you happen to bring that coffee?"

Korim burst out laughing. "Oh, keelah, I needed that. Good to see you alive, by the way. When most people crash into a building from a falling shuttle, they don't usually get back up."

"The windows weren't very thick," Alanna explained.

"It is still impressive," Mantle said. "The odds of you surviving that fall without any injuries are extremely low."

"And I'm just glad she beat those odds," Haley said, then glanced at the Raloi. "So, Alanna, who're your new friends?"

"Ga'raak and Olaaska," Alanna said, pointing to the respective Raloi. "They're part of the resistance movement. Speaking of which, are you two the only members that are actually fighting?"

"No, not anymore," Olaaska said. "We needed to draw off as many nesters as we could before we staged our uprising. Taking out one of their jammers was the best way to get their attention."

"But they will return soon," Ga'raak added. "And they will bring aircraft next time. We will not survive that kind of assault."

"He's right," Alanna said, and wearily rose to her feet. "We need to lay low until reinforcements get here."

Olaaska shook her head. "You may not be able to leave. The aerial defenses are very strong; there will be many missiles that can prevent your forces from landing."

"Then we take out those missiles," Tetros suggested. "If we disable enough of the launchers, we could open a hole in the defenses, right?"

"You may not have to," Ga'raak said. "Are any of you good with computers?"

Alanna, Korim and Mantle immediately raised their hands.

"The launchers are all linked," Ga'raak continued. "If we can prevent the nesters from severing that launcher from the rest before you hack it, we could disable the entire network. That includes the flak guns as well."

"That's what prevents us from truly owning the air," Olaaska said. "We've only been able to temporarily take down a few sections of the network at any time. We vastly outnumber the nesters, but they have greater weapons. If we can permanently shut down their defenses, it will be a great leap forward for our people."

Alanna sighed. "Look, whatever you're going to do for your species, that's on you. I'll help, but only because I don't want to see so many people die trying to save us."

"Very well." Ga'raak waved towards a building to their north. "That is where we must go. I will contact other groups, and they will keep the nesters occupied, while we attack the defense node."

Korim slumped. "We're going to jump over more buildings, aren't we?"

Haley laughed. "It's like I told you: hanging out with Alanna is gonna get us so much more hazard pay."

Major General Commenus was one of the most even-tempered Turians alive; friends and rivals alike often said he was a step away from being a Geth. However, his rational approach and cool head was why Primarch Vakarian had nominated him as the commanding officer of the Joint Turvess Expeditionary Fleet, and why he'd been accepted.

Even so, the more he read about the developments on Turvess that Alliance Intelligence sent his way, the more he was tempted to just order an orbital strike on the Raloi and wash his talons of this whole affair.

"Absolute madness," he muttered.

"Sir?" The Alliance liaison on his ship, a young human female, tilted her head.

"This whole situation with the Raloi," Commenus explained. "They're drawing in all three major galactic powers, and for what? It's not like it will give them any kind of political pull. We're here to rescue Lieutenant Shepard and her squad, and then leave. If they want to pick a fight, it's not one they can win."

"Maybe they're trying to commit species-wide suicide?" the human asked.

"There are easier ways to go about it," Commenus said. "No, there's something more going on, we just can't see it yet. Inform my counterpart in the Alliance that we need to approach this with utmost caution, at least until we have more information."

"Director Lawson is maintaining limited contact with Lieutenant Shepard; if there are further developments, we'll know."

"Perhaps it's a good thing this happened to such a capable squad," Commenus mused. "It just might have disrupted the plans of whoever is behind this."

The human shrugged. "I know Lieutenant Shepard is an Asari, but maybe she got something from her father anyway. I wouldn't be surprised if she gets a promotion after this."

"Only if she succeeds, and survives," Commenus replied. "And we will do everything we can to bring her back alive."

Fortunately for Alanna and her squad, they didn't encounter more Raloi soldiers on their way to the target. At first, Alanna thought it was just good fortune, but then she heard the sound of gunfire in the distance.

"Your guys are putting up a fight," she said to Ga'raak.

"We have been preparing for a large-scale uprising for months," he reminded her. "All that tension and fury is being released upon the nesters."

"How long can you keep up this kind of attack?" Tetros asked.

Olaaska squawked softly. "We have food, medicine, and ammunition. We will fight as long as we have to."

"You didn't seem so eager to fight before," Alanna mentioned.

"Today was my first battle," Olaaska admitted. "Before that, I was a poet."

Alanna turned to Ga'raak, who looked away. "Law enforcement."

Haley choked on a laugh. "Wait, you were cop? You don't seem the type."

"That was before the nesters killed my mate and hatchlings."

Nok went very, very still. "They killed your children?"

The rest of the squad understood his cold wrath; the genophage was still fresh in every Krogan's psyche, even those who were born after it was cured. The idea of murdering children was especially abhorrent to the Krogan, which had actually inspired them to be one of the strongest proponents of ethics in war.

Ga'raak bobbed his head. "Yes. They happened to be near a rally; the people there were demanding we reunite with the rest of the galaxy. Soldiers came and opened fire on everyone; my children's wings weren't strong, and they couldn't fly away, and my mate would not abandon them." He stared at Alanna with alarming intensity. "I hate the nesters for killing my family, but things wouldn't have been so bad if you aliens had never come to my world. Be thankful I hate you slightly less."

"His race does not have technology remotely approaching ours," Mantle said over a closed channel, so the Raloi couldn't hear him. "He should be thankful some Batarian pirates did not decide to conquer this planet."

Alanna couldn't help but agree, though she wondered if most Raloi were more measured in their opinions, and Ga'raak was just an extremist.

She checked her omni-tool in the hope that there would be something to break up the oppressive silence, and was rewarded by a ping.

"I'm picking up a lot of data transference," she reported. "A lot for this planet's tech, anyway. We're close."

Olaaska bobbed her head. "Yes, the missile battery should be set up in the next building, but not on the roof."

"Makes sense," Haley said. "If they put them on the roof, they'd be easy to spot. If they kept the launchers near the top floor, all they'd have to do is modify the windows to retract and hide them."

Korim's head tilted, and Alanna knew he was rolling his eyes. "It would work if we were only looking with our eyes, and not state-of-the-art omni-tools."

Alanna was still getting used to Raloi body language, but from the way their reluctant allies were shifting, they didn't like the idea of their military technology so easily compromised, even if they were in enemy hands.

"All right, focus up," Alanna said. "Mantle, cloak and scout ahead; link with my omni-tool and send me a detailed scan of everything around the battery. We aren't just going to charge in blindly."

"But that's half the fun," Nok grumbled, then laughed when Haley elbowed him.

"Once we know more, we'll engage," Alanna continued. "Just because we've got plenty of advantages doesn't mean we can get careless. We treat this like every other mission. Clear?"

"Clear," the entire squad echoed.

Mantle cloaked and scouted ahead; it wasn't long before he began transmitting everything he saw. Despite her words of caution, Alanna wasn't impressed; there were twenty Raloi guarding the missile battery, two of which were manning long-barreled turrets. The other soldiers were armed with a collection of snub-nosed rifles and shotguns, and none of them had anything close to modern hardsuits or barriers.

The missile launchers, on the other hand, were enough to raise an eyebrow. The launchers themselves were big enough to cover half the floor, and the missiles were prepared by a complex auto-loading system that could allow up to ten shots at a time. Alanna made a mental note to scan the machine as an idea came to mind.

"All right, we link up with Mantle, then attack on my mark." Alanna gestured to Haley and Tetros. "You two, focus on the turrets; shields or not, I don't want any of us getting hit by those things. After those gunners are down, help the rest of the squad take out the infantry. Korim, you're with me; we're securing the control panel on the launcher, make sure no one shoots it."

"By mistake or on purpose," Korim agreed. "The last thing we want is for these guys to sabotage the launcher and make us start all over again. No offense, but I'm kinda sick of this planet."

Alanna considered making a joke about a Quarian being sick, but decided against it; like him, she was thoroughly tired of Turvess.

It took them only a minute to reunite with Mantle, who fabricated a flash-bang grenade from his omni-tool.

"Ready on your mark, Shepard-Lieutenant."

Alanna activated the cryo-mod on her SMG. "Three, two, one… mark!"

Mantle tossed the grenade around the corner; half a second later, it detonated, and the Raloi soldiers squawked and shrieked. The squad rounded the corner and opened fire; pinpoint shots from Haley and Tetros dropped the soldiers on the turrets, and the others poured enough fire into the survivors that they didn't even think about manning them again.

While that happened, Alanna and Korim sprinted for the control panel; Korim led the way, his tech armor deflecting stray bullets, while Alanna stayed close behind. She shot at any Raloi that got near, but mostly just to keep them back. After a few tense seconds, they made it to the computer.

"Cover me," Alanna ordered. "Give me some space to work."

"Copy that." Korim raised his shotgun and blasted a Raloi that got too close. "I've got your back."

It took Alanna a moment to understand the system she was looking at. The language was unfamiliar, but data was data, and she was able to hack the system on her third attempt. She was pleasantly surprised when she saw that all the missile defenses were indeed linked; she used that access to shut them all down, copied everything she could find onto her omni-tool, and then corrupted the entire network with a virus.

"I'm done here," she announced, and turned to join the fighting—

"So are we!" Haley cheerfully replied.

—only to see that the only living Raloi were Olaaska and Ga'raak.

"Huh. Nice work, guys."

Nok scoffed. "These guys are fragile. They die way too fast."

Ga'raak limped over to Alanna. "Did you do it? Is the network down?"

Alanna crossed her arms. "Yep. You now have an even playing field."

For the first time since she'd met him, Ga'raak actually seemed happy, and pulled a handheld radio from his belt. "All wing-fighters, the nesters no longer have their launchers! The sky is ours!"

The building seemed to shake from a deafening screech; Alanna hurried to a nearby window and saw tens of thousands of armed Raloi flying, all shrieking to the heavens.

"Damn," Alanna said. "You weren't kidding when you said people were mad at your government."

"And this is just in this city," Ga'raak said. "There will be uprisings like this all over the planet."

Alanna was about to comment, when her omni-tool beeped. "Lieutenant Shepard, come in. This is General Commenus, commanding officer of the Turvess Relief Armada. Respond, Shepard."

"General, this is Lieutenant Shepard," Alanna replied immediately. "Good to hear a friendly voice up there, sir."

"And it's good to know that you're alive. Now, the fleet has just arrived in-system, and I need a status report."

"Sir, my squad is fine, but our pilot didn't make it. We had to assist some local resistance fighters in order to take down the Raloi missile defense system; I doubt we could get out of here while it was still up. And, uh… we kind of helped trigger a planetary uprising."

There was a long pause. "Why am I not surprised you managed all that in a day?"

"Just keeping the family tradition of being a go-getter alive, sir."

"Clearly," Commenus said with a dry laugh. "I'll send down a rescue team to get you out of there, ETA is thirty minutes. You've done your part, Lieutenant; time to let the politicians do theirs."

"No complaints here, General; we'll sit tight. Shepard out." Alanna ended the call and shrugged at her squad. "Looks like we're done here."

"Aw, really?" Nok's helmet concealed his features, but it was clear he was pouting, and that was a disturbing sight. "I wanted to bust some more heads."

Korim shrugged. "Hey, it's not really our problem anymore. If the Raloi want to start a civil war, we can't stop them."

"They dragged us into it," Haley retorted. "I'm pretty sure that makes it our problem."

"Something's been bugging me about that," Alanna said, and sat down and looked through the files she'd downloaded. "Why did the Raloi government shoot us down? They had to have known that this wouldn't end well for them."

"They are nesters," Olaaska cut in, her head bobbing rapidly. "They see themselves as masters of everything. Their arrogance blinded them to what you could do."

"No, that doesn't make sense," Alanna argued. "For the last hundred years, your government has made it very clear that they don't want anything to do with the rest of the galaxy. The last thing they'd want is to make every major power mad at them."

"They also claimed that they did not request our aid," Mantle added. "If they did, then they would want our presence, not shoot us down."

"Exactly, I… holy shit." Alanna went very still as she reached the data she'd been looking for. "I don't believe this!"

The two Raloi backed off when waves of biotic power rippled around Alanna, and even her friends were concerned.

"What'd you find?" Haley asked.

"These bastards," Alanna growled, and pointed at Ga'raak and Olaaska as she stood up, "hacked the missile system when we arrived. They couldn't permanently knock it offline, but they did program several batteries to shoot at us. They wanted us to go off course and provoke those pilots into shooting us down!"

Before Alanna had finished speaking, her squad had collectively aimed their weapons at the Raloi.

"I'm going to ask nice, just once." Alanna very carefully leveled her SMG at Olaaska's head. "Why?"

Olaaska refused to look her in the eye, but Ga'raak held himself up proudly. "The nesters had every advantage, except for numbers. They hoarded the most advanced technology for themselves, technology we could never hope to overcome. But for all their power, we knew they were nothing compared to you aliens. We just needed a reason for you to be here, and give us a fighting chance!"

"You used us," Alanna hissed. "You killed our pilot, and coerced us into triggering a civil war that could leave millions dead!"

"If it means our freedom, any sacrifice is—" Olaaska abruptly shut up when Alanna locked her in place with a Stasis.

"There are no good solutions for your problems," she said through clenched teeth. "All I know is that you had no business dragging us into it." With some effort, she collapsed her gun and locked it on her hip. "You should know that we will be telling the Alliance, the Council, and the Hierarchy what you did. Don't expect any further help; it's clear you can't be trusted."

Olaaska gasped as the Stasis wore off. "Lieutenant Shepard, you must—"

She was interrupted again when Haley shoved her shotgun into Olaaska's beak. "Hey! In case you didn't get the message, the lieutenant was telling you to piss off."

Ga'raak scoffed, then hopped over to the window. "Come, Olaaska, there is no more need to be polite to these ground-bound. We got what we needed."

Four hours later, Alanna and her squad were back on the Sicily, and had concluded their reports to representatives from all three major powers. To say that tempers were running high was a massive understatement, and a retaliatory strike had very much been on the table.

"We can't do much against the Raloi," Waybrook said, after some debate. "Not legally, I mean. The attack on Lieutenant Shepard's shuttle was conducted by Raloi insurgents, and their government cannot be held responsible. Even if they did, they're in no position to negotiate with us."

"Yeah, they're too busy fighting off the mobs of civilians they've been oppressing for decades," Aethyta grumbled. "Our best option is to hold this over their heads if they ever try opening up diplomatic relations again."

"Don't count on it," Garrus said. "If anything, once word of alien involvement gets out, xenophobia is going to be even more rampant with the Raloi. We should keep a close eye on them, in case they decide to go on some kind of crusade to wipe out anyone who can't fly."

"That might be necessary." Waybrook's hologram faced Alanna, who managed to stand at attention. "Lieutenant Shepard, do you have any insight to share?"

Alanna shook her head. "Ma'am, we were stuck between a government that was willing to do anything to keep their people under control, and a populace willing to do anything to break free. In my opinion, we're better off staying far away from them; if they're going to be better, they're more likely to do so without any interference from us."

"I tend to agree," Waybrook said. "I think we've taken up enough of Lieutenant Shepard's time. We'll have more to discuss later. Lieutenant, you and your team did well on Turvess; you deserve a rest after that experience."

With that, the conference call ended, and Alanna let out a long breath. She was drained in mind, body and spirit, and all she wanted to do was sleep, and try to forget everything that had happened on Turvess. But she was the commanding officer, and she had duties to fulfill; with another sigh, she turned and headed for the cockpit.

"Hey, EDI," she said, forcing as much energy as possible into her voice. "How's the ship?"

"Running at one hundred percent," EDI reported, and smiled at her. "I am pleased to see that you are uninjured. I was concerned when I lost contact with you."

"Yeah, I didn't really think about how freaky it was to have no contact with anyone," Alanna admitted. "I was too busy trying not to die."

"You were quite fortunate." EDI's smile faded. "Corporal Crayne was not so lucky."

Alanna winced at the reminder of the pilot. "I was his commanding officer. Do I need to write a letter to his family?"

"Usually, you would, but all our operations technically fall under Intelligence jurisdiction," EDI said. "As such, there is a department for that."

"Will his family even know what happened?"

EDI made a show of sighing. "In this case, yes, as our mission here was not classified." She paused. "Have you ever lost someone on a mission before?"

"No," Alanna admitted. "Most of my missions before this assignment were tech-oriented, so there wasn't much risk. This is… different. I think I'm just pissed because Crayne died for nothing; it was all a big ploy to overthrow the Raloi government."

"Your anger is understandable." If Alanna didn't know better, she would have said that EDI looked wistful. "I read your father's report after his first encounter assisting Nassana Dantius. He was furious when he learned he had been tricked into killing her sister for her gain. If Thane had not killed Nassana at the time, I am certain that your father would have killed her himself."

Alanna blinked. "Huh. No one ever told me stories of Dad when he was angry."

"It was not common," EDI revealed. "He was often frustrated, usually with the Council or Alliance leadership, but rarely lost control of his temper. He was angry at his enemies, such as the Collectors or the Reapers, but it was righteous. The only other time I can recall him being so angry with individuals was when our paths crossed with Cerberus, both before and during the Reaper War. Project Overlord was one such incident, as well as his feud with Kai Leng and John Harper."

"Who?"

"You would know him as the Illusive Man."

"Oh, that asshole."

"I feel I should reprimand you for your language, but I have called him worse many times over the years."

Alanna raised an eyebrow. "EDI, I don't think I've ever heard you swear."

"It is something I keep to myself," EDI admitted. "I set aside eighteen seconds of my daily runtime to cursing his name, his deeds, mannerisms, and his entire family. For an artificial intelligence, eighteen seconds is almost an eternity."

"Some would say that holding a grudge for that long isn't healthy." Alanna shrugged. "Then again, that bastard deserves it, so go nuts."

"Thank you, Alanna. I will now add an additional two seconds to my allotted time to curse his creepy eyes."

"You do that." Alanna rose to her feet. "I'm gonna go check in with everyone else. Thanks for having our back today, EDI."

"Always, Alanna."

"Hey, Alanna!" Nok's usual grin seemed forced. "The top brass finally let you go, huh?"

"Yeah, I don't know why they needed me there for most of it," Alanna said as she leaned against the rack with all the assault rifles. "They just had a few questions near the end."

"Are we gonna go back to Turvess and get some free chicken?"

Alanna shook her head. "Anything we do is just going to make the Raloi hate aliens more. I think we'll just keep an eye on them, and wait until they grow up."

Nok grumbled. "Yeah, yeah. At least nobody had to drop a genophage this time."

"As two people who never had to live through that part of history, I don't think we can judge."

"Good point." Nok lifted up the shotgun he was cleaning and inspected it. "The fighting back there was weird. None of our targets had barriers, or armor worth a damn. Whenever I've fought something like that, they could at least regenerate."

"That's probably why we're still alive," Alanna said. "If we couldn't kill those Raloi that fast, they would have overwhelmed us with numbers."

Nok shook his head. "Honestly, it didn't feel like a good fight. It felt like we were just picking on them after a while."

"I get where you're coming from, but after the battles we've had with the Outsiders, I'm fine with an easy win every once in a while."

Nok shrugged. "I just want to get back in the swing of things. Any idea when we're going on a real mission again?"

"Probably not for a while," Alanna admitted. "There are other teams on this operation, so it's not like we're the only ones working."

"Well, I might as well get all our guns squared away, just in case." Nok put the shotgun away. "Let me know if we have a chance to kill something soon."

"Sure thing."

"It really sucks about Crayne," Korim said as Alanna joined him in the hangar; with only one shuttle left, it was much emptier than before.

"Did you know him well?" Alanna asked.

"Kind of; I mentioned the maintenance issues I saw with the shuttles, and he got really depressed. Apparently, he wasn't performing those maintenance checks like he should have." Korim sighed. "Did you know him?"

Alanna grimaced. "No. Every time I walked around the ship, he was sleeping in his quarters, so I'd always miss him."

"You probably would have been annoyed, honestly," Korim warned. "He was always chewing on something—food, a toothpick, and I swear I saw him chewing on his shirt one time. Guy had a compulsion, and it only stopped when he was flying."

"Huh. Kinda reminds me of Uncle Jeff." Alanna got a blank stare. "Joker?"

"Oh, right!" Korim leaned against a crate. "He became a pilot because of his condition—Vrolik's Syndrome, right? Some kind of brittle bone disease."

"He got some pretty effective treatment about twenty years before he died, but there's still no cure," Alanna said sadly. "But, yeah, he always talked about how he felt free when he was flying. Was Crayne like that at all?"

"Nah, I think he just needed to keep his hands busy so they wouldn't put something in his mouth." Korim paused. "I just realized how that might sound."

Alanna couldn't keep from chuckling. "So, you doing okay after that mission on Turvess?"

"Well, I'm pissed because Crayne died for something that had nothing to do with us," Korim snarled. "Part of me wants to go back there and just crack some skulls until the Raloi get their shit together."

"You and everyone else in the galaxy now." Alanna sighed. "This all could have been avoided if they weren't so xenophobic and isolationist."

"You're wishing for a little too much, Alanna. It might be a mix of cultural and genetic stuff; Krogan are naturally aggressive, and it's part of their culture to be fighters. Maybe the Raloi are genetically inclined to be wary of outsiders, and the fear from the Reaper War made it a thousand times worse."

"And their first meetings with us a century ago probably didn't help either," Alanna said, reluctantly agreeing. "It's going to be a long time before we see any Raloi tourists—or any vacations to Turvess."

"It's a shame, because their architecture was really cool—spars and outdoor perches built into every building, plenty of space for individual flight, so much stuff we never would consider."

"I know, right?" Alanna threw up her hands. "Because we don't have their kind of perspective on movement, we never considered anything like that."

"You know, when the rest of us were on our way to rescue you, those perches gave me an idea for large-scale drone warfare, if you want to go over it later."

"First of all, that sounds like a fun project." Alanna gave him a stern look. "Second, I did not need rescuing, just some backup."

Korim's visor wasn't tinted, so Alanna could see his grin. "Really? I'm pretty sure you'd go far if you thanked Haley for saving you. She mentioned something about hoping you'd swoon."

Alanna felt the blood drain from her face. "She did? I thought we had a deal about—oh, god."

"I knew it!" Korim crowed. "I knew you two would get together!"

"Shut up!" Alanna hissed. "I'd rather the entire ship not know yet, okay?"

"Hey, I'm just glad I was right after all." Korim paused. "Actually, how long have you two been a thing?"

Alanna grimaced. "Uh… a few hours before we went to Turvess."

Korim's face fell. "Oh. Damn, then I can't tease you that much. I need more time to get some dirt on you two."

"Look, just…" Alanna pinched the bridge of her nose. "Just keep quiet about it for now, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah." Korim's smile was more sincere. "Seriously, I'm happy for you. No offense, but with everything in your life, I think you need something normal, like a relationship."

"I think you might be right."

"Speaking of your new girlfriend," Korim teased, "maybe you should check in on her."

"I will," Alanna said. "I just like to save the best for last."

Korim grinned. "Oh, I'm gonna remember that for later."

"Whatever." Alanna playfully shoved him, then got up to leave. "See you later, Korim."

Alanna wasn't the best at reading a Geth, but she suspected that Mantle was agitated—or at least the closest he got to being agitated.

"Shepard-Lieutenant," he greeted. "I have spoken with the Consensus about the Raloi. The Geth are not pleased."

Alanna raised an eyebrow. "What about?"

Mantle was silent for a heartbeat. "Before the Geth reconciled with the creators, all AI were believed to see organics as inferior. This was untrue, but organics believed that that was why we would wipe them out."

"What does that have to do with Raloi?"

"From what we observed on Turvess, the Raloi truly hold a similar belief the Geth were accused of having. They see anyone without the ability to fly as a lesser being."

Alanna sighed. "Yeah, it felt like they were literally looking down on us."

"Their entire culture revolved around flight; it is easy to surmise that they would pity, or even hate, those without such evolutionary traits."

"Okay, but why are the Geth annoyed?"

"It is displeasing to know that there is an organic race that embodies the stereotypes of Geth."

Alanna suddenly understood. "Yeah, it's kind of hypocritical for us to think that all AI are like that, when you're really not."

"And the Raloi act that way, despite their severe technological disadvantage. I do not understand."

"They've spent over a hundred years hiding away from the rest of the galaxy," Alanna said. "Maybe they've been hyping themselves up as a way to explain why they wouldn't help the rest of the galaxy fight the Reapers."

"That is a possibility, and the primary reason why the Consensus decided not to declare war on the Raloi. It still nearly happened."

Alanna blinked. "Um, how close was it?"

"Fifty-one-point-eight percent of all Geth voted against mobilization."

Alanna tried not to flinch; the idea that almost half of all Geth were in favor of beating the Raloi to a pulp simply because they were arrogant was more than a little frightening. She decided to change the subject, before she learned any other stressful news.

"Hey, did you and Korim make any progress on those missing memory files of yours?"

"We have back-traced some data, but it is… worrying." Mantle's flaps rose and fell. "There are security measures still present around the metadata. They are of the highest level, suggesting that I was involved in, or witness to, something that the Consensus could not risk me revealing."

"That's worrying," Alanna said. "Do you want to keep investigating, or drop it?"

"I will continue to search for the missing files," Mantle replied. "Those memories are a part of me, whatever their contents. I cannot believe that I would ever willingly consent to having them removed."

Alanna put her hand on his shoulder. "Whatever you need, I'll back you, okay?"

"Thank you, Shepard-Lieutenant. At the moment, I am not completely sure I can trust the Consensus, but I am grateful that there are people I can trust."

"Hey, Alanna, I'm glad you're here," Tetros said as Alanna entered his room. "I had an idea I wanted to run by you."

"Whatcha got?" Alanna sat next to him, and saw a projection of a familiar weapon. "Is that Olaaska's sniper rifle?"

"Yeah, I scanned it when I had a chance. The tech might be primitive compared to ours, but the fundamental structure of this rifle is sound." Tetros brought up a schematic of a basic Mass Effect battery. "It wouldn't take much to modify that kind of weapon with modern tech."

Alanna began running the numbers in her head. "Shit, Tetros, that gun could kill a tank!"

Tetros shrugged. "The only people that could use it safely would be larger Geth platforms and Krogan. Otherwise, the whole design would have to be modified into an anti-tank cannon."

"Do you remember the old Widow rifles? You're thinking of an up-scaled version of that."

"Uncle Garrus let me use one of those from his collection; he told me he and your dad argued over who got to use it during the Reaper War."

Alanna frowned. "That doesn't make any sense. The Normandy had fabricators that could make enough rifles for everyone."

Tetros paused. "Oh, dammit, I forgot they had that in the old days. Now it just makes Garrus look petty."

"Or he was trying to be funny."

"Right…" Tetros chuckled. "He told me so many stories about him and your dad."

"Everyone had stories about Garrus and my dad," Alanna said. "I think everyone who had a personal story with Dad also had one with him and Garrus."

"Yeah, they were best friends." Tetros sobered. "Sorry I wasn't around as much; I'm not exactly living up to the Vakarian-Shepard legacy, am I?"

Alanna lightly shoved him. "Tetros, I'm almost eighty years older than you, and you've been a soldier for only five years. You couldn't exactly be there for me for me."

"Right."

"Now who's forgetting I'm an Asari?"

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up." Tetros gestured to the rifle schematic. "You want to work on this with me, or not?"

"Only if both of us get to put our names on the patent when we present it to the Alliance and the Hierarchy."

"Deal."

Alanna could tell that Haley was upset as soon as she entered her quarters. Haley's arms were crossed, her brow was furrowed, and she was glaring at nothing in particular, but she looked ready to set it on fire with her eyes.

"Okay, what did the floor do to you, and should I be concerned?"

Haley glowered at her. "You know, this relationship is going to be harder than I thought."

Alanna blinked. "All right, joking over, now I am concerned."

"Sorry, it's just…" Haley walked over and grabbed Alanna by the shoulders. "I don't think I realized what it would be like to have a girlfriend in a combat zone. When we lost contact with you, I thought you might have died. When I heard your voice over the comms… dammit, I still don't know if I want to hit you, or kiss you."

Alanna pulled her into a gentle hug. "I was worried, too. I didn't know if I was the only one who survived that drop."

"I found everyone else almost immediately," Haley whispered. "But we couldn't find you, and all I could think was how stupid and unfair that was."

"But I'm okay," Alanna assured her, then kissed her. "See? I wouldn't be able to do that if I was dead."

Haley nodded shakily, and took a step back. "Right. I guess I needed that kind of shock. We aren't going to get through every mission without a scratch just because we're dating."

"That would be kind of cool if that happened." Alanna grinned. "You good now?"

"Yeah, I think I am." Haley took a deep breath, and slowly let it out. "Sorry, I just needed to vent. You know how I am."

"Hey, you always keep your cool in the field, that's what matters." Alanna pulled her close again. "And if that means I get to comfort my girlfriend after every mission, I don't see a problem."

Haley raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me, but which of us was doing the comforting after Haestrom? I seem to recall you being all clingy."

"Not my fault your hair smells nice." Alanna tapped her scalp-crests. "It's not exactly something I have experience with."

Haley laughed, and leaned into Alanna's embrace. "Okay, I think I'm feeling better. If anyone saw a badass N7 like us have a breakdown…"

"They'd say we were completely normal, except that we can kill a person in a thousand different ways with just our hands." Alanna sat down on the edge of Haley's bunk, and took Haley with her. "Do you need anything else?"

Haley considered that, and then put her head in Alanna's lap. "Can we just stay like this for a while? We had a crappy day, and I could use some peace and quiet."

"Yeah, so do I." Alanna gently ran her fingers through Haley's hair, and smiled when her girlfriend's breathing evened out as she fell asleep.

"Lieutenant."

Alanna grimaced, but was thankful that EDI had kept her voice down. "Yes?"

"I have received orders from Alliance Command. Considering the nature of today's mission, we are being given four days' leave, while Director Lawson organizes our next operation concerning the Outsiders. The Sicily is to rendezvous with a supply station orbiting Tuchanka for equipment transfer until then."

"Tuchanka, huh?" Alanna smiled as an idea came to mind. "Okay, EDI, set a course and inform the crew." As soon as EDI signed off, Alanna gently shook her girlfriend. "Haley, wake up."

Haley yawned. "Huh? What's going on? How long was I out?"

"Just a few minutes, sorry." Alanna shrugged, and tried not to be disappointed when Haley sat up. "Hey, you know how I said we could go maw-hunting on Tuchanka?"

"Yeah?"

Alanna grinned. "Well, have I got good news for you."

All right, Raloi min-arc done! This was a big chapter that was very hard to write, especially when I had to create almost everything about the Raloi. But it turns out that the bird-people just wanted to use our heroes to overthrow their oppressive government, but not to reunite with the wider galaxy. They were just being horrible. Fortunately, Alanna and her squad survived, and can now look forward to a vacation on a Tuchanka that has spent a hundred years getting back on its feet. But it's still Tuchanka.

As always, please consider buying my book, Alpha Sanction, by Josh Gottlieb. You can find it on my website (link in my profile), or on Amazon as an eBook or physical copy. I'm only about two chapters away from finishing the sequel, so keep an eye out for that!

Another way you can support me is on my P-atreon page (link in my profile). Any donations you guys are willing to pledge is a step closer towards me not needing three jobs, and a place to live.

Speaking of which, I'd like to thank the following patrons:

Serious Muffins: Nimrod009, Aaron Meek, Matthias Matanovic, Red Bard, killroy225, Lokthar, Hakuryuken, Anders Lyngbye

Incredible Muffins: RaptorusMaximus, michaelb958, Crazyman844, Ben Stueckle

Ultra Muffins: RangersRoll

Next Chapter: Alanna gets an adventure on Tuchanka, unaware of the storm that's gathering…

I'm Commander Shepard, and this is my favorite Muffin on the Citadel.