…

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step."
(Lao Tzu)

…

Serenity Valley, January 17th, 1:15 PM, 2185

…

As I waited patiently for Shepard to arrive, I spoke with Pistis to try and get a better idea of what to expect from it…him, or them. Whatever was appropriate. I was still filled to the brim with questions, but he seemed happy to answer all of them.

"So… Pistis. Interesting name." I started, trying to further "break the ice" as I awaited Shepard's arrival. "Greek mythology?"

"Negative. Christian Bible, Gospel of John, Chapter Six. Verse Twenty-Nine. Quote, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent." It answered quickly, attempting to imitate my relaxed pose before returning to its normal stance. "Belief. Pistis. AI Powell coined it as appropriate metaphor. We agreed."

"Powell always did like playing his name games. Was your platform custom made for this mission?" I continued, leaning against one of the greenhouse's support beams as felt determined to squeeze as many answers out of him as possible. "It's not like any I've ever seen."

"This platform is an older model, dating back to the Morning War." He answered, shuffling in place a lot like Richard. "It saw combat on the colonies of Haestrom and Carraig before being damaged and taken offline for two-hundred and ninety years, thirteen days."

"Why was the platform reactivated?" I prodded, crossing my arms. "It seems like an odd choice to use an obsolete model for moving outside of your system."

"We chose this platform due to the hostile image organics associate with our latest platforms." It answered, narrowing its aperture on me. "It has been upgraded substantially to resist all possible scenarios."

"I can tell." I nodded, looking at the large, black/blue antenna that stuck off his back. It contrasted oddly against the slightly rusted, copper-colored armor that covered the rest of the platform. "You plan on seeing any combat, or are you a non-combatant?"

"Though we inhabit an older model, we are more than capable of assisting in any firefight." It replied, pulling a large weapon off its back that looked as old as the platform itself. It looked like a cross between the Denel NTW-20 Anti-Material Rifle and UTAS UTS-15 Shotgun. "This Reegar Arms M8-12 Assault Platform has been reconfigured for use in all combat scenarios, and has an effective range up to four-thousand and sixty meters."

"Hm… not bad." I said, pursing my lips as I stared at the odd weapon. Then, something it had said popped into my head. "Wait, did you say Reegar Arms?"

"Yes." It confirmed, handing the weapon to me to inspect. As I took hold of it, I almost immediately dropped it due to its sheer weight.

"Jesus, Mary and Joseph!" I exclaimed, struggling to lift the weapon before setting the stock on the ground and pointing the weapon's barrel up towards the canvas ceiling. "Was this some kind of vehicle-mounted system?"

"Correct. This M8-12 was salvaged from an improvised light-armored vehicle used by Haestrom Operational Detachment-Alpha, and later modified to better suit platform integration." It explained as I brushed my fingers along the side, spotting a worn manufacturer stamp and serial number. Reegar Arms M80167-12. "It was further upgraded for missions outside of the Perseus Veil."

"I know a marine named Reegar." I said with a smile, looking back up at it as I attempted to pick up the weapon once more, but with little success. "He's an acquaintance of mine."

"The Reegars were a long line of Creators dating back to creator year 1776." It replied, piquing my interest as the date caused my smile to grow even larger. "They owned the largest weapon manufacturing company on Rannoch. Most of their family tree perished during the Morning War."

I shook my head at the last piece of information, feeling a sense of melancholy suddenly wash over me.

"I'm curious… how did the war begin? From your- I mean, the perspective of the Geth?" I asked, looking hard into its glowing photoreceptor as the flaps on its head moved in an erratic pattern for several seconds.

Before it could answer, I heard the crack of a shuttle as it flew overhead, surprising me and Pistis.

"I'll be right back!" I paused, holding up one of my hands in a stopping motion as I began running towards the door. "Just be ready."

As I reached the door, I looked back to see Pistis holding up his hand in the same stopping motion I had used. I paused, looking at him in minor confusion for several seconds before shaking it from my mind and going outside. Once in the sun, I saw Shepard's shuttle briefly block out the sun above me before hovering over the shuttle pad and landing. I ran across the paved land, reaching the pad just as Shepard stepped out.

"Thanks for coming on such short notice, Shepard." I greeted, greeting him with a handshake as he quickly took visual note of our homestead.

"No problem, it's not like I was doing anything important anyways." He returned with a smile, looking up at the tips of the mountains. "Nice place."

"I appreciate the compliment." I smiled back, quickly remembering one of the reasons why we had returned so quickly. "I trust Messner is no longer on the Normandy?"

"Oh, he's sitting cozy behind a prison cell aboard one of the Liveships." He replied in a coy tone, slipping his hands into the pockets of his N7 hoodie. "So, what's this important thing you wanted to show me?"

"Follow me." I said, waving my hand as I led him away from the shuttle back towards the greenhouses.

"You did sound a little nervous in your message. Should I be worried?" He questioned with a cocked eyebrow, causing me to bite the inside of my mouth out of habit.

"That depends on how well you trust me." I remarked, stopping and staring at him. "All I ask is that you be… patient and open-minded."

Shepard followed me with a cautious look on his face, clearly perplexed as we reached the greenhouse. I opened the door, ushering him inside without a word.

"Alright, you can come out." I reassured, closing the door as Pistis walked out into view. I watched Shepard's face gradually shift from confusion to mild hostility.

"Greetings, Shepard-Commander." It greeted, taking a few steps towards Shepard as he adjusted his stance. "We are Pistis, a partition of the Geth Collective."

"Sean, what is this?" Shepard questioned, almost with a growl to his voice as he glared daggers at me. "Is that a Geth?"

"His name is Pistis." I reiterated, doing my best to stay calm as Shepard looked back at the platform. "He's an ambassador from the Geth Collective, and he wants to join our crew."

"We do not intend harm, Shepard-Commander." Pistis spoke up, probably having noticed Shepard's hostility. "We want to offer you assistance in your fight against Old Machines."

"You want to help me after your kind invaded Systems Alliance space and killed countless colonists and marines under Saren?" He shot back, sounding more insulted than anything else as he pointed at the old platform.

"Shepard, just let him explain." I urged, holding up my hand in a calm manner as the two locked onto one another.

"The Geth that followed the one called Saren and the Old Machines you call Reapers do not represent the Geth Collective." Pistis explained, using its exaggerated hand movements to try and mimic human mannerisms. "Geth forge their own path, heretics look to the Old Machines for their future."

"So what you're saying is that there was some kind of... schism in the Geth Collective before the Traverse was invaded?" Shepard restated as I allowed myself to relax slightly.

"Correct." Pistis nodded, "blinking" as its photoreceptor quickly constricted and retracted. "Shepard-Commander opposes Old Machines. Geth oppose Old Machines. Mutual cooperation increases likelihood of success in future conflict."

Shepard took in a good, long breath, holding it before exhaling sharply.

"You approve of this?" He asked, looking at me once again as I gave him a slow nod.

"I can't think of any reason why we can't trust him." I said, walking over and putting my arm over his shoulder. Pistis seemed a little confused by this before accepting it a second later. "Besides, think about it. If we can establish a proper relationship with the Geth, we may be able to improve relations between them and the Quarians."

"You make a valid point." He nodded, still looking unsure but no longer hostile. "Still… I don't know how we're supposed to introduce him to the crew without alienating half of them."

"That's easy." I reassured, holding up one finger as I allowed a slightly smug look to cross my face. "All of our quarian crew members were handpicked by me, and all have experience around my friend Powell. We'll just claim he's a new, experimental platform we're testing until they get used to working around him."

"What then?" Shepard questioned, still looking unconvinced as I felt my eyeball twitch slightly.

"That's all there is to it." I replied, cracking a smile. "By the time they know the truth, we will have become a trusted member of the crew."

"We agree this is an acceptable plan." Pistis piped up, looking from me to Shepard.

"Fine. Welcome to the crew, Pistis." Shepard nodded, walking over and shaking his hand.

"We anticipate the exchange of data." He finished as I couldn't help but crack a wide smile.

Things were going to get real interesting in the coming days.

…

MFV Normandy, January 17th, 6:21 PM, 2185

…

After finishing our resupply, we quickly said our goodbyes and left the Klenot Nebula once more. It felt good knowing we were going to have Alliance support for this, but part of me was still bitter about the Admirals refusing to help. I understood why they made their choice, but that didn't mean it was right in any shape or form. I sighed, knowing we'd just have to make due with what we had.

Pistis' introduction to the crew was a little tense, especially on the side of the human crew, but I hadn't heard any major complaints so far. He now occupied the server room where Lydia's data card was hidden. During the initial introduction, Tali's body language spoke volumes about how little she the idea of working alongside "Powell", and she hasn't come up from Engineering since. I'd likely have to talk to her about it at some point.

It felt odd to be the liaison between so many people, and all the personalities that went with them. It took a mental toll on me in the form of chronic headaches, something that was more psychological than physiological according to Lydia after I spent an hour discussing it with her.

"So, what you're saying is that none of the medications I've taken in the past have likely helped with the headaches?" I simplified as I sat in my bunk, staring at the ceiling as Lydia watched me from the palm-sized holographic projector on my shelf. "I've essentially been poisoning my liver and kidneys for nothing?"

"That's the pessimistic way to look at it, though I could very well be wrong." She corrected, folding her arms as she tilted her head. "There's no way to know for sure unless you have a full series of modern medical tests."

"Listen, I already went through the whole "stay up the whole night to get a brain scan tomorrow" routine with my parents in elementary school, I don't need that kind of crap again." I refused, turning away from her. "Besides, what's the point of going through all that trouble if they can't do anything about it?"

"There's no way to know for sure unless you're willing to get the tests." She continued to push, sounding mildly annoyed. "Ugh, why am I even arguing? It's your choice in the end."

"That's the way to do it." I smiled, getting her to visually pout before I allowed myself to chuckle.

She then quickly faded away as knocking could be heard at my little door, jolting me slightly. I leaned forward slowly, depolarizing the viewing window to see Shepard.

"Hey, what's up?" I asked as I opened the door, getting down to the floor with my bare feet.

"Mordin wants to see us in the med bay." He quickly replied, nodding his head towards the door. "I think he's finally got a countermeasure ready for us."

"Sounds good." I nodded, rubbing the back of my neck as I slipped into my shoes. "How much longer?"

"We'll be at the colony in a few hours." He answered, looking back at me as we walked. "Are your friends going to be here in time?"

"Oh, they'll be there, don't worry." I said with a smirk, allowing myself a little bit of cockyness. "Those bastards won't take a single colonist under our watch."

Shepard just shook his head with a smile on his face, though still maintained his trademark professionalism.

Inside the Med Bay, Mordin and Karin were standing over John Clay, now hooked up to an assisted breathing device. He had been brought out of his coma, but was still mostly paralyzed. His eyes still darted around as he tried, but failed to move his mouth.

"Oh good, timing perfect." Mordin quickly said, looking at us before flipping around to look at John again. "Just perfected antidote, testing it now."

"Oh, cool!" I exclaimed, walking over and looking at the needles that he had laid out. "I was wondering if it would be ready for us by the time we arrived at the colony."

"Not countermeasure, antidote." He quickly corrected, picking up the first needle. "First needle contains neutralizing agent, should be enough to remove paralytic compound from muscle tissue."

"And the second?" Shepard quipped as he injected the first into John's arm. Karin quickly hooked up a bag of saline the second afterwards.

"A vitamin-based solution, will help flush toxin into urinary tract." He smiled, watching the man with patient, curious eyes.

After a few moments, the man's arms and legs began to relax on their own, and Karin slowly pulled the artificial airway out of his mouth. He coughed violently, attempting to sit upwards before Mordin and Karin forced him back down.

"Agh…" He moaned in pain, wincing whenever he tried to move or breathe. "God… everything hurts…"

"Muscles have remained tense for days, need time to relax." Mordin explained in his normal rapid-fire tone of voice. "Don't move, time needed to drain toxin from liver."

"What… what happened to everyone else?" He asked, looking up at us as we exchanged various silent, unsure expressions. "Was I really… the only survivor?"

"You were the only person the Collectors failed to find." I confirmed, causing him to purse his lips in stunned silence. "I'm sorry."

He nodded, closing his eyes and leaning his head back into his pillow.

We all decided to give him some space, walking out of the med bay to talk.

"He's going to need years of therapy after what he experienced." Karin mused, looking very weary. "I'm not sure what the long-term medical effects of this could be either."

"Unfortunately, we don't have the time to exclusively focus on him anymore." I redirected, getting a surprised look from both Shepard and Karin. "Despite how awful his experience was, we need to make sure no one else suffers through the same ordeal in the future."

"Cold, but honest truth." Mordin nodded, holding one of his folded arms up towards his chin. "Don't have resources to synthesis antidote for whole colony, will have to use colony medical facilities."

"That shouldn't be too difficult, it is one of the Alliance's top producers of pharmaceuticals." Karin agreed, looking harder at Shepard. "They should be able to lend their labs to us temporarily, right?"

"If they value their lives they will." Shepard replied in a grim tone, looking back at Mordin. "You mentioned that was just an antidote, not a countermeasure, right?"

"Correct. Countermeasure is small radio transmitter that hooks into standard hardsuits. Tricks "Seekers" into believing we are one of them, will ignore us." Mordin smiled, pulling said transmitter out of his pocket and presenting it to us. "Untested, however. No way to rate effectiveness until faced with swarm."

"It's better than nothing." I said with a small smirk, picking up the transmitter and taking a closer look. "So is the antidote the fall back plan in case this doesn't work?"

"Not intended to be, but crew and colonists should be inoculated regardless." He clarified, pulling two syringes out of one of his pockets. "Roll up sleeves, will give you antidote now."

Shepard and I quietly obeyed, rolling up our sleeves and presenting our arms. Mordin wasted no time injecting the two of us with the antidote, leaving a small mark on my arm accompanied by a very dull throbbing sensation.

With any luck, we'd be able to get both the transmitter and antidote to all the colonists before the Collectors arrived.

…

Shuttle Ranger, January 18th, 2:12 AM, 2185

…

I could feel the turbulence as we broke the atmosphere, jolting me, Shepard, Miranda and Mordin around as we held onto our harnesses. I was always reminded of the scene from Aliens where they make the drop onto LV-426, with Bill Paxton's character Hudson yelling the whole way down. It was kind of strange when you thought about it, seeing how often life imitates art. Never once growing up did I ever think I'd be put into a similar scenario, not once, yet here I was.

"Sean, you alright?" Shepard asked over the rumble outside, looking worried as he tapped his hands against the crates of equipment we were bringing along.

"I'm fine, just a bit of indigestion giving me trouble." I lied, not wanting them to get any second thoughts about me as I turned towards Reeva, our pilot in the cockpit. "How much farther to the colony?"

"Three minutes out, sir!" She shouted as I felt the rumble lessen, filling me with a small sense of relief.

The clouds outside began to peel away from view, revealing an idyllic landscape of young deciduous forests interweaved with hills featuring outcroppings of moss-covered rocks. It seemed like a great place for a colony, though that could probably be due to my preference for terrain that mimicked my home state. It was very similar to Ellicott City in particular, just a stone's throw away from Catonsville.

The trees and hills began to thin out as we got closer to the colony, becoming nearly barren much to my disappointment. The majority of the colony itself was built much differently than other I had seen before. The central fixture of the colony was a kind of "pit" that dug straight into the ground, far enough that even from the sky I couldn't see the bottom. All the other subsidiary structures in the colony were built around it, including walled-off farms, large residential buildings, and even a small park near the opening of the pit.

I let out a huff of approval as we neared a large platform suspended above the pit by four long arms. As we got closer, I spotted the landing pad and several people gathered around it.

"Looks like we have a welcoming committee!" I snarked, pointing out the window as Shepard leaned over to look and Miranda rolled her eyes.

We landed with a heavy *thump* on the platform, allowing me to get out of my harness and relax a little. I quickly dispelled the idea of relaxing, however, as I quickly popped both sides of my neck and stretched my arms above my head, yawning.

"Is that really necessary?" Miranda growled at me with an annoyed look on her face, as Shepard smiled.

"Always." I shot back, cracking a smile of my own as Shepard popped the hatch, filling the cabin with cool air.

As we walked out into the sun and the breeze hit my face, I noticed how much bigger everything looked from here. This colony was massive in size, easily outclassing Ferris Fields and the other colonies the Collectors had attacked.

If they were going to hit this place with the intention of taking everyone, I could only imagine what other capabilities they had.

"Commander Shepard, welcome to the colony." The stern-looking, hard-faced man in front greeted, wearing a green-accented Battle Dress Uniform. It didn't take a genius to spot the Special Forces patches on his shoulders. He shook Shepard's hand with his right as he tightly gripped a wooden cane in the left. "I'm Captain Toni, commanding officer of our marines stationed here. This is my second-in-command, Lieutenant Vega."

"Nice to meet you, Commander." The muscle-bound man greeted with a surprising amount of enthusiasm. His hair was shaved on the sides, and I could see the end of a tattoo on his neck, mostly covered up by his BDU. "I was hoping to get the chance to meet you someday."

"Nice to meet you too, Lieutenant." Shepard smiled and nodded, returning the handshake with an equal amount of enthusiasm. "I trust everyone here's been briefed on our imminent threat?"

"We received the message from Hackett, and have been slowly building up our defenses the last few days." He answered, turning around to look at the massive cannon mounted on top the tower I somehow managed to miss during our flyby. "We just finished installing that yesterday, along with new military-grade barriers that were shipped in."

"Very nice." I unintentionally blurted out with a smiled, finding the cannon impressive despite how inferior it was stacked up against our ODPs. "That's a dual 800mm system… I imagine it requires between thirteen to fourteen gigawatts of electricity to charge shots."

"That's a pretty good guess! Fifteen-point three gigawatts!" One of the marines said out loud from behind Toni, an African-American man with a scar going over part of the left side of his face.

"This is Dr. Michaels, scientific expert and military attaché from the Migrant Fleet." Shepard quickly greeted as I smiled and shook Toni's hand. "From what I've been told, he's one of the central figures behind our coalition with the Quarians."

"Oh, I can't take all the credit." I downplayed, still maintaining my smile. "I am but one part of a larger team. Collectively we can share our achievements."

"Wait, weren't you the one who was at that Council meeting with the Quarians?" Vega asked as I turned to fully face him.

"Sure was. Nothing funnier than watching a bunch of stuck-up bureaucrats get their asses handed to them, huh?" I mocked, unable to contain my satisfaction with how that meeting went. "Still, we have more pressing matters at the moment."

"Agreed." Shepard nodded, focusing back on Toni. "We have a possible countermeasure to combat these flying creatures the Collectors use, along with a proven antidote. We'll need to utilize the facilities here to produce more of both as quickly as possible."

"We'll get right on it." He nodded, his face somehow managing to look even more determined.

"Dr. Solus here will give you everything you need." Shepard introduced, getting a smile from Mordin as he turned back to me. "Ms. Lawson will provide you with copies of all our relevant files, and Michaels will provide you and your men with some of his more… advanced equipment."

I simply smiled as I folded my hands together behind my back, unable to shake off the sudden rush of joy I felt knowing I was going to get to show off our tech to people outside of quarian space. Everyone walked off to begin their respective preparations, leaving me with Vega and the other five Marines.

"Alright, we'll need a slightly more secluded spot to showcase this stuff." I said to Vega, crossing my arms. "Know any good spots?"

"That flat field just outside of the colony perimeter should do just fine." He answered, pointing at it in the distance.

"Right then, everyone get in, we're going for a quick ride!" I quickly urged, getting all the Marines into the shuttle with no trouble. It also gave me a better chance to memorize the faces of each of them. "Revva, take us out to that field!"

"Yes sir!" She quickly obeyed, firing up the engines and sending us gracefully back into the air.

"Well Vega, you finally got to meet your idol." I heard one of the Marines poke fun as I turned back around to face them, now getting a good look at the name tags stitched onto their BDUs. "For a second I thought you were going to give him a big smooch."

"Hey, I still maintain myself better than you do around Kamille." He shot back, making the man look flustered. "Besides, he's just like the rest of us. A soldier."

"Fine, whatever you say." The man called Essex deflected, raising his hands into the air before looking at me. "Hey doc, what's in these crates that's so special?"

"I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise." I teased, walking over and running my hand along one of the crates.

"I hope whatever it is isn't dangerous, sir." The one called Nicky mused, a younger-looking Marine with brown hair and glasses of all things.

"I wouldn't worry too much, all the equipment I've got here's been thoroughly field-tested." I reassured, feeling the shuttle make contact with the ground as I looked out the window and saw the barren landscape. "Alright, let's begin."

I opened the doors of the shuttle, letting the arid breeze into the cabin as I opened up both crates. The marines seemed confused by what they were looking at.

"What is this?" Essex questioned, picking up one of my plasma cells.

"Don't touch that! Not yet!" I quickly warned, getting a surprised look from him that seemed to amuse his other squadmates. I took the cell from him, picking up one more from the crate along with one of the rifles. "Let's go."

Down on the ground, it was much easier to feel the heat of the landscape around us. If it weren't for the breeze, I would have instantly started sweating.

"Alright, pay attention Marines!" I said, almost yelling as I extended the plasma rifle out to its full length and held it up in the air for them to see. "This is the Mark III Ionized Plasma Projector, more commonly known as a Plasma Gun. It fires this, highly-compressed synthetic plasma."

I held the plasma cell in the air, making sure they all got a good look at it. They all staired in bewilderment at me, seemingly put off by my exaggerated persona.

"These plasma cells are highly explosive, so care must be taken with them at all times." I continued, breaking open the rifle. "You load the weapon like this. Once loaded, it will need a second to get an electrical charge. Once finished, you are ready to fire. The Plasma Rifle, here in our newest configuration, is capable of firing sixty-five times before the cell goes dry, and has an effective range up to six hundred meters. Upon impact, the plasma bolts will instantly burn through armor and flash boil the bodily fluids of unprotected hostiles. Against synthetics, it causes thermal shock and will melt them down to slag. Let me demonstrate."

I turned away from the group, aiming at a pile of rocks that were roughly seventy meters away. I disengage the safety, smiling as I fired two three-round bursts from the rifle, turning the rocks into molten, bluish lava.

"Mierda!" Vega yelled out loud, clenching both of his fists and looking fired up. "That's pretty awesome!"

"I had my doubts, but even I have to admit that's impressive." Kamille commented, putting her hands on her hips. "Do kinetic barriers protect against it?"

"Not at all." I answered matter-of-factly, walking over and holding the rifle with proper trigger discipline. "The plasma bolts aren't solid projectiles, they're concentrated, ionized plasma. The kinetic barriers might as well not even exist when you've got one of these."

"Why such short range, though?" Milque asked, a slimmer, bored looking man with messy hair.

"In order to fire the plasma bolts, the gun emits a magnetic field that maintains them at distance. Around six hundred meters is where the magnetic field tapers off in this configuration." I explained, folding the weapon back into its compact form. "We're working on a slightly larger version of the platform that can act as a long-range DMR, but the power draw has been an issue."

"I assume this is an oxygen-breathing weapon?" Mason, the man who shouted about the large guns earlier asked, managing to impress me.

"Correct. It requires a nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere between 10.3 to 16.1 psi to properly function, making it a... situational weapon." I clarified, taking a deep breath before going on. "Also, you'll have to keep in mind we're not dealing with ammo blocks here. These cells need to be recharged at one of our reactors, meaning you'll need to make your shots count."

With that, I handed my rifle to Vega, who smiled the moment he got to hold it. I walked into the shuttle while the rest of them watched, picking up the collapsed Gen III Exo and throwing it to the ground in front of the shuttle.

They seemed surprised by how casually I treated it, somehow managing to look more confused. I opened my omni-tool, deploying the suit into its standing mode.

"All right, who wants to be the first to try out the exo?" I asked out loud, satisfied with the various expressions I got as a result. Eventually, Kamille raised her hand.

"I'll give it a try." She said, walking over and taking a closer look at it.

"Step in and I'll secure the straps." I urged, getting a quick nod as she stepped into the suit and locked onto her. "Does everything feel alright? Anything too tight?"

"No, feels pretty good." She smiled, jabbing at the air a few times with surprising speed.

"How much can you normally lift?" I asked, getting a confused side glance from her.

"Uh… around one hundred and forty pounds, I think." She estimated, sounding unsure as I looked around, spotting a larger rock about the size of a refrigerator.

"Try lifting that rock." I said, pointing at it as she raised her eyebrows.

"Ok, if you say so." She agreed, sounding skeptical as she walked to the rock, getting a good grip before slowly lifting it into the sky above her head.

"Nice!" Mason exclaimed as he and the others looked on in awe.

"I wish we had one of these when installing that gun!" Kamille yelled, getting me to crack a smile as i turned to face them again.

"Our exo suits greatly increase the wearer's strength, speed, and agility. They also have built-in kinetic barriers that can either act on their own or bolster your hardsuit's pre-existing barriers." I explained, crossing my hands behind my back as I spoke. "They fit over all standard military and civilian-grade hardsuits, and can easily be customized to the wearer's liking."

With that, I gave them all a pick of equipment, letting them get suited and armed to their heart's content. I had to admit I had fun showing off our inventions, but the cream of the creme would be when Dan and Dimitri arrived with the Dragoon.

I hope we'd be able to fight off these bastards when the time came.

…

A/N: Sorry once again for the slow updates, thing have been tough with my classes, and I've had very little time to work on this. I hope things'll get easier the closer we get to summer.

I'd love to read any reviews, and I'm always up for suggestions and constructive criticism! Stay tuned!