…
"The great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do."
(Walter Bagehot)
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MFV Rayya, February 30th, 10:21 AM, 2185
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Walking towards the conference rooms near the edge of the ship's exterior, I couldn't help but notice the surprising lack of people. There were plenty of marines, sure, but what seemed to be the bare minimum of support crew. It was as if they had taken two-thirds of the crew away.
"Where is everybody?" Lenlo asked, stealing the thoughts straight out of my head. "It's like half the ship is missing."
"You noticed that too?" I immediately replied, looking back at him as we walked. "Something's going on, that's for sure."
"These days there's always something going on." He shook his head, sounding just as suspicious as me.
Knowing the fastest way to the conference rooms was through the port shuttle bay, I opted to take that route. However, upon entering the bay, I noticed it had changed dramatically. It was clear that it had been reconfigured to hold all the fighters, interceptors, and gunships. There were still a fair number of shuttles docked in their normal spots, but there were only a quarter of them compared to before.
Looking through the barrier to the vacuum outside, I got another good look at our designs running patrols. One four-man flight of Viper-class interceptors actually began to pull in as we made our way through, warning alarms going off as they slid through the barrier and connected to specially-designed moorings that held it in a suspended position.
As the pilot hopped out, crewmates on standby jumped into action with fuel and power lines, hooking the interceptor up to the Rayya's systems in under thirty seconds.
"That's pretty impressive… maybe I should have become a pilot…" Lenlo mused as we both watched the operation unfold, the Vipers followed closely by a wing of Python fighters.
"Nah, you're just fine where you are." I reassured, beginning our walk again.
Seeing the designs in action made me smile for a brief moment under my mask. Despite knowing the operations behind it all, nothing ever beat seeing it in person.
Exiting the shuttle bay, I was surprised to see something completely unexpected. I spotted Richard, Sira, and Powell walking across the far end of the hallway, not having noticed us enter.
"Hey!" I shouted, breaking into a run as several crewmen turned to look at me in surprise. Lenlo quickly matched my speed, running closely behind me.
The three of them turned to face me, at first confused, but then cracking smiles as we got closer.
"Hey, we were wondering when you were gonna show up!" Richard greeted as I stopped in front of the two of them. "Good to see you!"
"Man, are you guys a sight for sore eyes." I grinned, depolarizing my mask so they could see my face. Richard and Sira did the same, tapping the sides of their masks as their visors went from opaque silver to clear. "The last few days have been crazy."
"Yeah, we heard you've made a big splash with these "Raloi" people." Sira smirked, crossing her arms over her chest. "How come you always get to have all the fun? Nowadays, it feels like we're just backup."
"I did invite you to come along too, don't forget." I chastised as she smirked, nodding her head as I turned to face Richard. "So, any idea what's really going on around here? This is an awful lot of hardware to bring to a diplomatic meeting."
"To be honest, I'm not entirely sure either." He shrugged, looking around the ends of the hallways as he spoke. He had a large case with him, hanging off his back. "The Admirals invited all of us along for the occasion, so it must be important, whatever it is."
"Heh, be honest Richard." Sira mocked with her head tilted to the side. "You just wanted to show off that new leg for Dan."
"Well… that may have also been an influencing factor." He grinned, putting one hand on the case. "Any idea where he is right now? I'm sure he'd be thrilled to get this."
"That'll have to wait right now, he's supervising some minor repairs on the Discovery's power grid." I halted, holding up one hand. Richard looked notably disappointed.
"He's been going on and on about it for days." Sira groaned, immediately provoking an exaggerated eye roll from Richard. "I've improved efficiency ten-fold, and the nerve endings are better than I could have ever predicted. Yadda yadda yadda."
"Mock me all you want, but this device will revolutionize the way we view cybernetics." He continued to gush, holding the case closer to his body.
"See what I mean?" Sira joked as Richard shook his head, giving me that warm feeling of familiarity I hadn't felt in a while.
"Powell, you're being awfully quiet." Lenlo spoke to the large platform he called a body as he stared into space.
"Sorry, I'm currently running analisis on the planet's atmosphere." He nodded, blinking his photoreceptor several times in quick succession before looking down at us. "Please, ask any questions."
"I do have a big one." I remarked, crossing my arms. "Have you heard anything about Shepard or the Normandy recently? I've asked several times in my status reports the last month, but I've heard zilch. Is there anything you can tell me?"
"I can, as a matter of fact. A week ago I communicated with Pistis using our unique frequency." He answered, getting my eyes to shoot open. "They informed me that they had retrieved an IFF that Cerberus had stolen from the Collector crash site on Fehl Prime, but were diverted at the request of Hackett for another assignment."
"And that's it?" I prodded, feeling like that was a lot less info than normal from the likes of Powell.
"Yes." He nodded, looking at Richard and Sira before focusing back on me again. "Pistis expressed great satisfaction with Commander Shepard and his commanding presence. That's high praise coming from a Geth."
"I suppose it would be." I shrugged, as another thought entered my head. "I am curious about another thing… why'd you guys all come along? I thought you'd be busy working on our projects back home."
"Admirals Koris and Mal invited all of us along." Sira answered, sounding slightly confused as she spoke. "They wanted to get all of us together to discuss things. Mara thinks they plan on-"
"My wife is here too?!" I blurted out in surprise, not expecting to hear that at all.
"Yeah, she even brought Elle with her." Richard nodded, crossing his arms. "Why's that so shocking to you? She and the rest of us expected you to be happy to see her."
"It's not that I don't want to see her, it's just I didn't expect her to come all the way out here…" I deadpanned, feeling a wave of different emotions wash over me. "Where is she?"
"She went on ahead to the conference room, wanted to get a feel for the ship, she said." Sira explained, pointing her thumb in the direction the three of them had been walking. "We were just heading there now."
"Well, in that case, we'll tag along." I decided, looking back at Lenlo as he nodded.
With that, we all walked as a group towards our destination. Though I was feeling better now that I was in the company of my friends, part of me somehow felt even more uneasy about the situation. While there was no reason to complain about them being here, it clearly didn't make practical sense. Surely the likes of Gerrel and Raan would have preferred for them to remain on Reach to work on our projects. Unless they were planning on "uplifting" the Raloi or something else along those lines, I failed to see how having them here was a benefit to the Admiralty.
I felt like there was more at play here.
Walking into the conference room, I was greeted by the sight of Mara, Koris, Mal, and several other ship captains. They were all gathered around, talking with one another before we walked in, and had turned to face us. Mara, carrying Elle, met my eyes, getting her to smile through her full facepiece. She held Elle in a contained environmental "overhood", similar to the ones issued by the Israeli government to civilians, though obviously much less bulky.
"Hey, it's good to see you!" I greeted, walking over to be face-to-face with her and my little girl. "It seems like everyone wanted to tag along for this."
"Trust me, it wasn't my first decision." She reassured, looking back at Sira. "They thought I needed some fresh air anyways, being cooped up in the sublevels all day with Elle."
"As fresh as the air can be around here." I joked as Mal took a few steps towards me. "So, what's happening here, Mal? I don't see Raan or Zadie here with us."
"We'll be meeting with them later. For now, we have other matters we wish to discuss." He explained, holding his open hand out towards an open chair.
I silently sat down as everyone else did the same, except for the two Admirals. The atmosphere was thick as we all made eye contact with one another for a few moments.
"Alright, this meeting is now in session." Koris began, standing side-by-side with Mal as he spoke. "Once again, we'd like to thank all of you for coming. It's not often we get to meet like this, and it's always good to see everyone of you."
"As some of you are already aware, there has been a serious shift in the Fleet's politics the last few months. Admiral Gerrel, in his lust to take back our homeworld and destroy the Geth, has been consolidating his power in the Conclave, turning more of our people towards his "quest." Mal went on, pacing back and forth as he spoke before putting both his hands on the table. "Fortunately, not all of us wish to see our people thrown into a wasteful, emotional conflict. We aim to mend the divide between our people and unite against a greater threat, one that is coming, and soon."
"The Reapers…" I thought to myself, knowing exactly what he was getting at.
"When this threat arrives, we aim to be prepared. If we allow Gerrel to drag us into a conflict with the Geth, it will be devastating for both sides." Koris took over, hands held tightly behind his back. "Due in great part to Captain Michaels and his crew, we've been given a new opportunity to redirect our people towards constructive goals, goals which will not only benefit us, but our new neighbors, the Raloi."
While I was cautious regarding the tone of the conversation so far, I nodded to the other Captains before Koris went on.
"So, here is what we propose… we work together to accelerate the technological progress of the Raloi and bring them into the fold of the Migrant Fleet as a close ally. We do this slowly at first, though with enough speed to give them the ability to properly defend themselves from any outsides threats." Koris stated, surprising me with how direct and… unusual it felt. "Doing this, we can redirect resources, ships, and trade into Raloi space, giving our people a purpose other than warring on the Geth."
"So, what you're proposing is that we use them as one big distraction?" I spoke up, leaning against the table as everyone turned to face me. "Isn't that kind of disingenuous? We only just met these people, and you're already planning on using them as pawns?"
"Pawns? Sean, I think you misunderstand our intentions." Mal reasoned, focused completely on me. "If we're to have any chance of avoiding war with the Geth before the Reapers arrive, we need the help of the Raloi. Without them, there's no chance."
"And how do you expect them to cooperate? Sure, you might be able to gain the support of their scientific community, but they're barely unified, structured in a very rigid fashion." I argued, still not feeling this was entirely well thought out. "They've got decades of history and tradition behind them. You expect them to change overnight?"
"Actually, I disagree." Lenlo piped up, surprising me. "They've got unique advancements in eezo tech, transportation, and architecture, steeped in years of hardships that have made them a very hardy people. I think they'd be very willing to go along with anything we offer them."
"What gives you that idea, Lenlo?" Mara asked, looking mildly worried.
"They've proven themselves very willing to communicate." He stated, looking between me, Mara, and the Admirals. "From what reading I've done on previous, historical first contact scenarios, this has to be one of the most peaceful ever recorded. They aren't violent and backwards like the krogans, aren't nearly as militaristic as the turians, and both our sides have been perfectly open with one another. By most regards, we're already well on our way to becoming very close allies."
As much as I wanted to protest, I couldn't really deny the facts. He was right, this couldn't have gone any better if we had tried.
"I'd have to second my XO's assessment." I nodded, leaning forward in my chair far enough to see everyone. "Though I agree with him, I'd still like to err on the side of caution and recommend taking it slow."
"In that case, we'll leave it up to your discretion, Captain." Mal said, crossing his arms over his chest. "This'll be your show soon."
"Sir?" I exclaimed, suddenly confused.
"Considering you and your crew have already established a strong connection with the Raloi and their leadership, we're making you our ambassador." He clarified, getting my eyebrows to shoot up. "Not only will you be in charge of negotiations, but you and your team will be tasked with the spread of information. We're trusting you to advance them technologically, and as partners with the quarian people."
"Using our influence in the Conclave, we'll be sure to supply you with nearly anything you need, enough to disrupt Gerrel's plans for war but maintain the balance of power." Koris added, leaving me with my mouth hanging wide open.
This was incredible, and highly shocking. They really expected me to pull off something of this scale? Part of me didn't believe it.
"Surely there are better people suited for this kind of position." I shook my head, feeling overwhelmed.
"I wouldn't worry, Sean. You won't be the only one tackling this endeavor." Mal reassured, looking to the other side of the table. "Captain Teera'Soran will be joining you in this system with a dozen of the exploration ships. They'll refine trade routes and provide logistical support as things progress."
I looked down the table to see Soran pop her head out, holding up her hand for me to see.
"Hm…" I mumbled, leaning back in my seat as I pondered everything.
In all honesty, they couldn't have offered me a better position as part of their plan. We had already privately discussed offering tech advancements on the Discovery after we began receiving all the messages from their scientific community, but this was just a cherry on top the sundae.
The only doubt in my head had to do with my whole team being here. I knew for a fact CASTLE Base would be left wide open with none of my team there.
"What'll happen with our projects back on Reach if none of my team are there to supervise things?" I asked, looking to my friends before focusing on Koris and Mal.
"Unfortunately, Gerrel has ramped up his projects considerably and have relocated much of the key staff to other areas." Mal explained, triggering my adrenaline in the process. "He's currently excavating the remains of Rael's lab, looking for anything left of his project."
"I don't know what he expects to find, the place was completely obliterated." I shook my head, rubbing my watch as I spoke. "Besides, what gives him the right to just move people like that?"
"Personally, I believe he suspects there was more to the events in the lab than you and Dr. Nemo originally reported." Koris added, crossing his arms over his chest.
"That would explain his increasingly hostile behavior, Rael was a good friend to him, after all." I sighed, leaning against the table and rubbing the back of my neck.
I knew that no matter how we handled that situation in Rael's lab, it was somehow going to come back to bite us. While Gerrel hadn't been nearly as antagonistic before, Rael's death must have changed his perspective on a few things. Namely, us.
I knew that no matter what I did, there was no taking it back.
"Fine, I accept the position, but under one condition." I accepted, sitting straighter in my chair.
"And what would that be?" Mal asked, cocking his head to the side.
"I'd like Lenlo'Firna, my second-in-command, to be assigned as my consul for the duration of our stay in the system." I stated, getting him to immediately whip his head around. "His intuition has been invaluable during the last month, and I think he'd do a swell job assisting me in my day-to-day workload."
"That can easily be arranged." Mal nodded, looking over at him. "Congratulations Lenlo, Captain Michaels sees potential in you."
"Uh… t-thank you, sirs." He nervously replied, standing up and bowing his head.
"Alright, shifting topics, we're moving into far more… controversial territory." Koris remarked, looking down for a second before looking us in the eyes. "Thanks to the efforts of Richard Karpyshyn and Powell here, we've been able to establish limited communications with the Geth Collective regarding the Reaper threat."
"While it doesn't need to be said, I'd like to reiterate that this is extremely confidential. If any word reached the likes of Gerrel or Raan about our communications with the Geth, there'd be no end to the fighting it would cause." Mal warned, sounding much more cautious than normal. "As the humans say, loose lips sink ships. Any word of this isn't to leave the room."
After pausing for a few moments, Richard and Sira stood up, standing next to Powell at full attention.
"Through the corroboration of data between the Geth, Systems Alliance, and Mara Ford's work on the prothean data cache, we've been able to glean more information about the coming Reaper fleets." Richard announced as a hologram appeared in the middle of the table, displaying several different kinds of Reaper, some only partially modeled.
"Though we have no concrete information regarding their numbers, we do know they're grouped into several different classes, usually by size." Powell stated, holding his hand towards the holograms. "We're still unsure how they're constructed, though the material sample we received from the Alliance suggest a sort of bio-synthetic polymer merged with other elements, making them much denser."
"It, along with evidence left over from Nazara, also suggest they utilize massive element zero cores to allow them greater maneuverability, both in-atmosphere and vacuum." Sira popped in, highlighting the center of the model representing Sovereign, or Nazara as the Geth called it. "We believe this also affords them impressive FTL capability, though it still doesn't compare to the Gravity Drive."
"And to think it took two whole fleets working together to destroy just one of them…" One of the captains chimed in, sounding slightly short of breath. "How are we supposed to fight against something like that?"
"Well, we've already got two major advantages when it comes to the Reaper threat. Distance and defense." Powell answered, his photoreceptor focusing on the man. "The Klenot Nebula is completely isolated from the Relay network, and Reach's ODPs are the largest magnetic accelerator weapons created. By our calculations, we'd be able to deal a killing blow to a Reaper in one shot."
"But what if we don't intend to stay in our system? These things would likely overwhelm us with numbers, given enough time to use conventional FTL." Another captain called out. "We can't count on distance and firepower alone in a large-scale conflict."
"There is another option we're still researching." Mara stated, somehow managing not to wake up Elle. "We came across the schematics for a massive Prothean device in the data cache. One of our researchers, Biss, believes it could have been intended to be used against the Reapers."
"What does it do?" The first captain asked, leaning against the table with one arm.
"We don't know yet." She answered bluntly, shrugging. "We have several theories, but we believe its intended to tap into a quantum "dimensional layer" of space or something like that. Like I said, we're still not sure. Quantum mechanics aren't my speciality."
"Until we know more about it, we're not going to move forward with construction." Sira said with some sadness to her voice as Richard looked off to the side, looking disappointed. "We have neither the resources or manpower to construct it."
"It is likely that if we were to build it, we'd need help from the Council races to achieve completion." Powell added, still standing perfectly still.
I understood the reluctance to work on this prothean device. The quarians certainly weren't going to put their resources into such a massive project alone, it would be enough to drain all their available resources. For them, that wasn't an option, especially since they were still in the process of retrofitting all their ships. That, along with the production on new ships, would mean grinding everything to a halt.
And all of that for something we weren't even sure would do anything in the end.
"So, what are our other options?" Another captain chimed in, leaning on the table with the palm of their hand.
"Until the threat presents itself and makes its tactics known, there's nothing we can do but prepare." Koris stated, looking at Mal for a moment before looking back to the rest of us. "As much as I detest the thought of war, this is our only choice."
"Are there any questions before we end this meeting?" Mal asked, looking at all of us as we sat in silence. "Very well. We will meet again in three months. Keelah se'lai."
With that, everyone got up and began leaving one by one, eventually leaving just me, my friends, and the Admirals themselves.
"Is there something you'd like to ask us, Captain?" Koris inquired as I rubbed my hands together.
"Yeah… when were you going to tell me about this secret little "society" of yours? It seems like you're all pretty familiar with one another, and it's obviously not the first meeting like this you've had. "I remarked, walking towards them as I turned to Richard. "And you… when did you start communicating with the Geth?"
"We've been having these meetings for over a year now." Mal immediately answered, redirecting my attention and taking a few steps forward as he spoke. "We knew the majority of the Conclave would not agree with our views, so we formed this… committee to regularly meet and discuss pressing Fleet issues."
I focused on him for a few moments, rubbing my neck as I mulled over the thoughts in my head.
"Sorry, I'm… actually surprised." I apologized, feeling an odd wave of relaxation roll over me. "I honestly never expected anyone in the Admiralty to take the Reaper threat seriously."
"We believed you from the beginning." Koris reassured, crossing his arms. "We saw that ship wreck the Citadel fleet, just like you did. Though there are many who are still skeptical of the coming threat, there are plenty of us in the Fleet who saw the warning signs."
I smiled under my mask, finally realizing I had accomplished one of my long-standing goals as Mal walked over, standing face-to-face with me.
"Look, we know we haven't been entirely transparent with you the last few months, and we understand how frustrating it can be. We can promise you that, in the end, there is a method behind our "madness", so to speak." He said, holding out his hand for me to shake. "Can we count on you to do this? It might be the only thing that can delay war with the Geth."
"Absolutely." I agreed without a second thought, grabbing his hand and shaking it vigorously.
"That's great to hear." Koris remarked in a relieved tone, walking over and shaking hands with me as well. "Our meeting with Raan and Zadie will be in two hours. Remember, not a word of this meeting is to be spoken outside of this room."
"Understood. I'll see you in two." I finished, walking off with a warm feeling in my chest. My smile stretched from ear to ear as I began forming the groundwork for the coming days in my head.
"Sir?" I heard Lenlo call out, quickly jobbing over to be beside me. "Why'd you choose me as all people to help you do this? I'm hardly qualified to handle this much responsibility."
"You helped get me into this. You might as well shoulder some of the weight." I dismissed, looking at him for a moment before stopping and putting my hand on his shoulder. "Besides… what the Admirals said was true. You do have potential, and I'm hoping you can realize it."
I could hear him take a sharp breath through his nose before he immediately straightened himself out and gave me a salute.
"Thank you, sir." He said with a shaky voice, holding the gesture before relaxing. "I won't let you down."
With that, he walked on ahead as Mara chuckled, taking his spot next to me.
"Heh… where'd you find that guy?" She remarked in a joking tone, watching him walk as we both stood still.
"Baltimore." I answered plainly, looking at her as I chuckled and held her shoulders. "The three of us got a lot of changes coming, it seems."
"So it would seem." She said softly as we both looked down at Elle, still sound asleep.
"Hey, Sean?" Richard called out, tapping my shoulder as I shot him an annoyed glare. "Um… sorry."
I nodded in the direction of our ship as Mara walked off, leaving me with just Richard and Powell.
"What?" I asked in a stern tone, feeling heat under the collar of my suit as I stood with both arms crossed.
"I wanted to say sorry about not telling you about… the Geth." He said with sincerity, nervously pushing his fingers together. "I know we must seem like the biggest security risks in the world, but I can promise you we're doing good work."
"To be honest, I already suspected you were doing what you were doing, I just didn't expect them to know about it." I shrugged, feeling like my reservations regarding their activities was kind of redundant by this point. "Just… don't do anything stupid. Last thing I need is a visit by a purple-tinted fleet of ships or something of that nature."
"Not likely. The Geth still haven't developed the reactor and Gravity drive tech we utilize." Powell reassured, causing me to cock my eyebrow at him.
"Very reassuring." I remarked in a stern, unimpressed tone as I shook my head and more thoughts entered my brain. "So, we've got the entire team here? Including our secondary team?"
"Yes, though Dr. Watterson stayed behind at CASTLE Base to continue his work with Biss." Powell nodded, getting me to rub the underside of my helmet where my chin was. "Dr. Sadler, Kaznyk, and Gastwirt have joined us, along with David Archer."
"Good, we might need them to do out and help us spread information at some point." I nodded, putting the puzzle pieces together in my head. "How is David? Is he doing better than he was before?"
"He's regained the use of his left leg through some therapy, though he's still using an elbow crutch for his right." He answered, getting me to smile. "He's still slightly "scatterbrained" following my operation, but the different regions of his brain should fully recover in a few months."
"Good job." I complemented, patting him on the back. "Dan might be done working on the repairs by now. Let's head over."
Richard nodded in his usual, exaggerated manner as we walked through the empty halls of the Rayya.
I was no fool, I knew there'd always be secrets that would be kept from me and my team. It was an unfortunate, ironic truth that everybody lies, but some were far greater than others.
Hopefully, our new friends down below weren't well-versed in the art of politically-charged lying.
…
MFV Discovery, February 30th, 3:56 PM, 2185
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"...and the other three ships will be heading off to finish the survey mission while the rest of us stay here." Teera'Soran finished explaining, communicating with me over my omni-tool.
"So, that leaves us with fourteen ships, including mine." I concluded, leaning back in my command chair as far as I could. "Sounds good. Assuming there aren't any surprises like there was when we discovered Klenot Nebula, we should be in great shape to begin our work below."
"And what details have you ironed out so far?" She asked, obviously curious as to what I had in store.
"Well, I've spoken with Aspet Amisen, their civilian leader, who has agreed to provide us with a two-thousand acre plot of land to work and live in." I explained, feeling proud of my accomplishment. "We'll be providing our own security, obviously."
"Sounds pretty generous. Good thing you made such a good impression." She nodded, sounding pleased. "Remind me to share a drink with you sometime. I still owe you for that stunt you pulled with Cerberus."
"As long as you're buying." I finished with a smile, cutting off the transmission as I stared out the viewports into the black.
The meeting between me and the four Admirals had taken on a new meaning now that I was privy to what Koris and Mal's plans were for the future. Raan and Zadie had agreed to parts of their plan, but had remained completely unaware of how far we were planning on taking this. Either way, what they didn't know wouldn't hurt them.
Part of me couldn't help but continue to mull over two things. The device Biss and Watterson were now so interested in, and that power grid failure Dan had discovered in our ship. One was pressing, the other… strange. I couldn't help but think there was more to the failure than meets the eye, as an engineer it didn't make sense to see such a specific kind of breakdown, even with a prototype ship like ours. As for the prothean device, I knew it must have been important if they buried it under a mountain in a remote system, but I knew how Biss operated. He didn't focus on anything if it wasn't somehow related to his obsessions. That alone made it a great source of interest.
Taking a deep breath and putting my earphones on, I began listening to "Deference for Darkness" from Halo 3: ODST. It was a good way to relax after a long day, listening to that beautiful saxophone play.
…
A/N: Well, here we are again, another chapter, another set of questions. Will they be answered? Who knows, all I do know is that we have a long ways still to go before things kick into full gear. Don't worry, its likely much closer than you think, but farther than you hoped. :)
Things have been a little slow lately, I lost my bid for a delivery position at UPS last week due to my lack of experience driving stick. It's hard to practice driving with an outdated, clunky kind of gearbox design when no one you know still uses one. That, along with our new union contract still not having gone into effect have been weighing heavily on me for a while now, and the uncertainty of it all is beginning to get unbearable.
At least when the contract DOES pass, I'll get a decent amount of backpay stretching back to August, so that's a plus. It might be enough to buy a new computer tower with, considering I had to spend the majority of my tax returns this year on a new air conditioner for summer. Here's hoping, fingers crossed.
As always, I'd love to read any reviews, I'm always up for suggestions or constructive criticism. Stay tuned!