"What is your form of government?" Iron Bull asked, having to raise his voice somewhat over the wind rushing by. He'd been speaking with Corlett, currently at the Warthog's wheel, for a little while now, finding the private more willing to talk than Lopez, who was sitting in the passenger seat.

"The Unified Earth Government is a democracy-" Corlett began, but Lopez hit him on the shoulder.

"And that's it. First Contact protocols, kid. Do I have to tell you this every time he asks a question?"

Lopez glanced back at the Qunari, "I know what you're doing, Captain."

Iron Bull said, "I'm just curious about your people. I've never seen anything like you two."

"You're fishing for information. Corlett, don't answer anything else."

"But-"

"Private, that's an order."

Corlett hunched over the steering wheel, a little embarrassed. They were just a bunch of neo-luddite descendants, what was the harm in telling them about what they missed?

Lopez knew that as a spy, Iron Bull would be seeking any and all the information he could get.

He'd asked about the Warthog, the firearms, and their armor. Then about their electronics. He asked about their colonies, their technology, their history. Lopez wasn't a counterintelligence specialist, but she knew enough to refuse all information to spies.

Solas, sitting in the corner of the Warthog bed closest to Lopez, glanced at Iron Bull. He assessed the wind, and how much it would disrupt speech. He spoke up from behind Lopez, in the corner of the Warthog's bed closest to her, "Sergeant, your society is a democracy, correct?"

He knew the concept of a democracy, but he hadn't had a word that fit it quite right until he found English.

"Yes."

"Tell me, have you heard of the Qun?"

"Nope." Lopez was still facing forward, looking idly at her TACPAD.

"It is the code of the Qunari nation. It is a philosophy, a legislative guide, a set of laws, and a social architecture. It defines the roles of everyone and everything in their society."

Lopez looked up, "Go on."

"It dictates every aspect of the lives of the Qunari, and states that everything must play its part, act in a certain manner as part of their 'nature'. From birth, individuals are assigned a role in their society, to act against their assignment is considered heretical, opposing the 'proper order' of things. The unit Iron Bull is attached to is designed to police such people."

Iron Bull seemed to hear that, "That's not exactly the whole story, but how is it different than Orlais or Ferelden? They have lots of people that police them. Speaking out against their leaders isn't considered acceptable either."

"There are those who control what individuals say and do, yes, but not what they think."

"What you say and do are what you think." Iron Bull said.

Solas glared, "No. Even the lowliest peasant may find freedom in the safety of her thoughts. You take even that."

Lopez looked between the two, "What? What do you mean?"

Iron Bull said, "It's not-that's not it. It's much more complicated-"

The sergeant interrupted, "Is there a bible, or something like that for this stuff? I'd like to learn more about it."

Solas looked at Lopez with another one of his unreadable expressions, "You would?"

Lopez glanced at him, and glanced at Iron Bull, "Captain, you got any literature?"

Iron Bull furrowed his brow, "I suppose I could find something. Why?"

"None of your business." Lopez faced forward, and pulled out her tablet. She checked the location of the larger cargo pods, as well as the collections of cryotubes.

XXXXX

They approached Redcliffe, the Warthog occasionally scaring the locals away. As they came to the gateway that defended the mountain pass leading to the area of Redcliffe, they encountered a strange Fade rift.

All experienced a very strange sense of deja vu, and the Warthog was parked a few feet further back than where it had been; the tracks that led to where it was previously parked were missing.

It seemed to be warping time locally.

Stranger still, when they entered Redcliffe, no one in the village was expecting them. They also found that Arl Teagan and his soldiers had been driven out by a group of Tevinter, who now ruled Redcliffe, and many of the villagers formerly living under its protection were driven out by the rebel mages.

Lopez considered this an act of war, wishing to go in and knock them over. She couldn't understand why the locals weren't more worked up for this.

"It's an outright act of war! They're taking advantage of this country's weakness in a time of civil war! Tell Cassandra, tell everyone!"

Gil-Galad pointed out that none of those present identified as citizens of Ferelden, and that pursuing a war could lead to even further conflict among the parties involved. Even worse, it could leave the Breach completely ignored.

Reluctantly, the marine agreed to not wage a two-marine war with only a Warthog.

When they met with Grand Enchanter Fiona, they found she recalled sending no messenger, and had sold herself and her rebel mages into virtually slavery to Magister Gereon Alexius, the leader of the Tevinter presence.

"So you finally fight off the nazis, only to sign up with another bastard?" Lopez had demanded of Fiona, "You do realize that's not how freedom works, right? These guys just knocked over a rightful ruler, and took over his town!"

"The Templar threat was more immediate than a tear in the rift!" Fiona replied, surprised by the lack of tact, "I had to make a choice!"

"You're mages, they're a bunch of bucketheads! You could've gone to the coast and found a ship out of here! You could've gone to the Dalish, they have resources, they have hiding places, and experience in escaping those nazis! You could've come to us! You did come to us! Why did you choose the terrorists?! He took away your rights, and your freedom! What the fuck is wrong with you? Hell, who says you have to do what he says? kill him right now! Kill all of them!"

"He has mages of his own, he has our families under constant watch from that castle! They control the gate out of the valley! We make one wrong move, and he closes the gate and sends in his troops! We can't fight without risking them, and we can't resist the Templars without their support!"

The argument was never resolved, though it was quite difficult to persuade the sergeant to not shoot Alexius when he walked in the room.

Negotiations went nowhere, and were suddenly cancelled when Alexius' son Felix was taken ill.

It seemed to be a feint, for he surreptitiously handed Gil-Galad a note, "Come to the Chantry. You are in danger."

Now they were inside the Chantry building. Before them was a Fade rift sputtering and arcing. Yet the demons that had emerged seemed to be relatively under control, exchanging blows with an unknown mage.

The mage looked up as they approached. He had jet black hair, and a mustache of the same color straight out of the 1860s.

"Good! You're finally here! Now help me close this, would you?"

The Fade rift spat out a shower of green sparks, opened into a doorway shape, then folded in on itself to form shifting crystal.

A handful of creatures were now in the area. The slugs-with-arms, and two creatures as terror demons.

They stood up no better to gunfire. One's head disintegrated when an M225 12.7mm round struck it, and the other was cut apart by a burst of gunfire from Corlett's carbine.

Gil-Galad took the opportunity to run up to the Fade rift, the energy leaping between his hand and the rift rapidly.

Within seconds, it was closed.

The mage looked around, nodding to himself, then turned to look at the group assembled behind him. Peering at Gil-Galad, he said in a bit of a snooty accent, "Fascinating. How does that work, exactly?"

He chuckled at Gil-Galad's clueless expression, "You don't even know, do you? You just wiggle your fingers, and boom! Rift closes."

The mage tilted his head aside, looking at the marines, "Ooh, I don't like those outfits. Do they have to be so...green?"

Lopez squinted, opening her mouth slightly. She glanced at Corlett, who shrugged. "Excuse me?"

Stepping up to them, the mage stared at the smoke drifting from Corlett's MA5K, "What is that smell? What are those devices?"

"Classified." Lopez snapped.

"Who are you?" Gil-Galad asked.

"Ah, getting ahead of myself again, I see." the man bowed, "Dorian, of House Pavus, most recently of Minrathous. How do you do?"

Iron Bull commented quietly to Gil-Galad, "Watch yourself, the pretty ones are always the worst."

"Suspicious friends you have here," Dorian commented, and eyed the marines, "And some interesting ones as well...Magister Alexius was once my mentor, so my assistance should be valuable-as I'm sure you can imagine."

Lopez strode forward, her M6D pointing at his head, "Or, the far more likely option, you're trying to trap us with that note."

Corlett leveled his carbine, "Just give the word, Sarge. I got him covered."

"Alexius was my mentor. Meaning he's not any longer, not for some time." Dorian explained.

Gil-Galad rushed up, "Both of you, put your weapons down!"

"Bad guys can be pretty as a postcard or ugly as sin, Gil." Lopez pointed out.

"I don't care! Sergeant, put your weapon down before you get us in more trouble!"

Lopez scowled at him, but stepped away, "Private, do not take your eyes off of him."

Gil-Galad sighed, rubbing his eyes, "I'm sorry about that...we were expecting Felix."

Dorian didn't seem too sore over the firearms. He smoothed the rumpled front of his clothing and replied, "I'm sure he's on his way. He was to give you the note, then meet us here after ditching his father."

"Are you the one who sent that note, then?" Gil-Galad asked.

"I am. Someone had to warn you after all. Look, you must know there's danger. That should be obvious even without the note. Let's start with Alexius claiming the allegiance of the mage rebels out from under you. As if by magic, yes? Which is exactly right. To reach Redcliffe before the Inquisition, Alexius distorted time itself."

Corlett blinked, looking to his superior, "Sarge?"

Lopez narrowed her eyes at Dorian, "Time travel? You know about time travel?"

He looked at her, "Of course I do." he looked back at Gil, "That rift you closed here? You saw how it twisted time around itself, sped things up and slowed others down?"

The group quickly spoke amongst themselves, realizing that each could see the weird little anomalies the others had. Bullets slowed in the air, a spell being cast exactly as the creature that was its target burst into flame.

Dorian went on, "Soon there will be more like it, and they'll appear further and further away from Redcliffe. The magic Alexius is using is wildly unstable, and it's unraveling the world."

Lopez shook her head, "Wait a minute, wait a minute. Where does this 'magic' come from? Is it a big metal box shaped like a triangle? How can he be 'unraveling the world', anyway? Practical time travel is impossible for my people, let alone yours."

Dorian raised an eyebrow, "The source of his magic is the Breach. What is it that you speak of? And just who are your people?"

Lopez cursed, "Classified, and we're from the United Nations Space Command Defense Force."

"You know, you're asking us to take a lot on faith." Gil-Galad pointed out.

"I know what I'm talking about, I helped develop the magic." Dorian's tone was distinctly sour, but he soon regained his composure, "When I was still his apprentice, it was pure theory. Alexius could never get it to work. What I don't understand is why he's doing it? Ripping time and space apart just to get a few hundred lackeys?"

Lopez scoffed, "Don't think so small. You have practical time travel, there's tons of applications. You could invade everyone and know their every move. You could crash their economy with gambling-do you have gambling? Like betting on races or whatever? Maybe you don't have that, but that man could probably find a way to predict trade and things like that, and could do anything with that."

Corlett added, "Don't forget assassination, he could kill anyone he doesn't like if they turn out to get in his way. He could even manipulate politics, say make sure certain parties don't meet, and I think we all know who I mean when I say that."

Dorian put his hands behind his back, "Well then. If you two are so knowledgeable on the subject, tell me, why hasn't he carried out any of those acts?"

"He's stupid?" Corlett suggested.

"He's paralyzed with indecision?" Lopez shrugged.

"Or, he hasn't perfected the system. If he had, we all wouldn't be here. We would likely be dead."

"He didn't do it for the mages." A new voice spoke, and Felix emerged from a side corridor.

Corlett's carbine shifted, and Lopez raised her sidearm.

"Sergeant," Gil-Galad said slowly, "We are trying to have a civil conversation. Can we please go two heartbeats without a blast from your weapons?"

"Gunshot, you mean." Lopez corrected, but pointed her weapon skyward.

"Took you long enough," Dorian said to the young man, ignoring the other exchange, "Is he getting suspicious?"

"No. I shouldn't have played the illness card. Thought he'd be fussing over me all day." Felix grumbled.

He looked to Gil-Galad, "My father's joined a cult. Tevinter supremacists. They call themselves 'Venatori'."

"That is why this was not an act of war." Iron Bull muttered aside to Lopez, "Because they're not actually Tevinter soldiers."

Lopez glared at him. "Well, we didn't know that, they still think of themselves as Tevinter. If I heard it right, a magister is a part of their imperial senate! It's still a foreign power on your doorstep-"

Gil-Galad was glaring at them, tapping his foot.

When they finally fell silent, he turned back to Felix, "Go on."

"I can tell you one thing; whatever he's done, he's done it to get to you."

Gil-Galad raised his eyebrows, "Why would he rearrange time and indenture the mage rebellion just to get to me?"

"They're obsessed with you, but I don't know why. Perhaps because you survived the Temple of Sacred Ashes?"

Lopez stepped in, "I don't mean to be selfish, but it could be because he wants us."

Dorian tilted his head at her, "And why is that? Surely the capability to control something such as the Breach, or at least the rifts, is infinitely more valued than the skills of a single-excuse me, a pair of odd soldiers? Or is there something you're not telling us?"

Lopez hesitated, unwilling to mention the cargo pods, "Well, I didn't rule out that he could want all three of us, did I? Private Corlett and I come from a society with higher technology and knowledge than you do. The information in our minds would be extremely valuable." she didn't mention how important their computers were.

"Just how valuable are we talking?" Iron Bull said, stepping in, "An outside observer just sees two normal humans with some fancy equipment. What makes you two in particular valuable?"

Lopez backed away from both of them, her hand on her pistol. Slowly, she said, "I can't tell you that. It's standard UNSC protocols. All that I can tell you is that what we know is very important."

Solas spoke up for the first time, "I can vouch for her word. I know some of what she speaks, and it is true."

"Well, if she will not tell us, why don't you?" Iron Bull asked, and smirked a little, "Surely, you wouldn't be violating any protocols our friend has."

Lopez glanced at the elf in alarm, but Solas replied, "I will not. If word were to get out about their technology, and if it fell into the wrong hands, the results could be disastrous."

Iron Bull thought for a moment. He considered their weapons, the smoke(or lack thereof) they emitted, their vehicle and their armor. In the hands of his own people…

"Understood. I will try to keep this quiet."

"I don't quite understand," Dorian said, "what kind of knowledge could possibly be that dangerous that you can't even speak of it?"

Solas looked at him with an unsettling, yet neutral expression, "You must believe her. Her people wrote those laws for a reason. Do you think they would write them simply to fill up a page?"

Dorian cast a doubtful look at both the elf, and Lopez. "Alright," he relented, "But I wish to speak of this again, later."

Felix brought the conversation back to its root, "If the venatori are behind those rifts, or the Breach in the sky, they're even worse than I thought."

"Do you have any suggestions?" Gil-Galad asked.

"You know you're his target-or one of them at least. Expecting the trap is the first step in turning it to your advantage."

"We've got reinforcements coming in," Lopez said, "Once we have some support, we can take him down."

"But what about the rebel mages?" Gil-Galad pointed out, "They're under constant watch in the village. If we attack, he might kill them simply to deny them to us. We don't have the manpower to take the castle anyway."

Lopez checked her TACPAD, scrolling to the inventory she'd made of their munitions.

"Don't worry. I've got a plan."

"The castle is among the best fortresses in Ferelden," Iron Bull pointed out, "It's been invaded many times, but no one's ever taken it."

"I'm not planning on doing that." She glanced at Iron Bull, "Captain mercenary. You got anything against night raids?"

"Night raids? Those confusing messes of battle where you can't tell friend or foe? Love em. Count me in."

Lopez looked to Sera, who'd been standing in the back the entire time, unusually quiet, "Sera, how's your night vision?"

She balked, "You're asking that? Really? Lopez, I do my best work in the dark!"

"I bet that's what he said…" Corlett laughed, grinning, then furrowed his brow, "Wait...shit. No, that doesn't work..."

"Shut up, Corlett," Lopez sighed, "Don't embarrass the corps."

XXXXX

Days later, Alexius sent an invitation to the Inquisition, requesting Gil-Galad by name to come unaccompanied to Redcliffe Castle for negotiations.

Obviously a trap, it factored in perfectly with Lopez's plan. Based on reconnaissance reports from Leliana and her spies, there was a way to infiltrate the castle via secret tunnel, instead of having to fight through the gate.

While Gil-Galad and his party were distracting Alexius, the Inquisition forces, led by the marines, and Leliana's spies, would break his defenses.

Dorian volunteered to help deal with the magister's magic.

At dusk, they approached Redcliffe Castle's gate.

They were allowed in, over some minor objections to Gil-Galad not technically being alone. Solas, Sera, and Iron Bull accompanied him.

The party was lead into the throne room of Redcliffe Castle. To either side of the chamber were massive pillars, each with a guard to protect them. The throne was up a set of stairs that spanned the width of the room, with a pair of carved dragon heads flanking it. The throne was placed in front of a blazing fire, and Alexius lounged in it with one leg over his knee. Felix stood beside him, his expression neutral.

Gil-Galad frowned, noting the wooden throne's proximity to the hearth as a fire hazard. The Dalish rarely carried around proper chairs, not ones that weren't collapsible, and the few they did have were kept at a reasonable distance away from anything that could harm them. He also felt inward amusement, realizing it must have been extremely uncomfortable to sit that close.

Gil-Galad's group halted at the bottom of the stairs, and an aide bowed to Alexius, "My lord magister, the agents of the Inquisition have arrived."

Alexius got to his feet, "My friend! It is good to see you again."

His eyes passed over the faces of the others, "...And your associates of course. I'm sure we can come to some sort of arrangement that is equitable to all parties."

Grand Enchanter Fiona approached from a side corridor, and came to stand at the bottom of the stairs, "Are we mages to have no voice in deciding our fate?"

Alexius sighed, "Fiona, you would not have turned your followers over to my care if you did not trust me with their lives."

Some of Gil-Galad's party made odd motions at that. Kicking at the floor or looking up at the ceiling as if to hide something.

Gil-Galad spoke up, "If the grand enchanter wants to be part of these talks, then i welcome her as a guest of the Inquisition."

Fiona nodded in thanks.

Alexius didn't seem to comment, moved back to his throne, "So, the inquisition is in need of mages to close the Breach, and I have them. What do you have to offer me in exchange?"

"We have connections, I'm sure we can find something to compensate you with," Gil-Galad said, "So that this doesn't come to blows."

"What can your connections offer me that I do not already possess?" Alexius asked.

Gil-Galad was almost glad Lopez wasn't in the room at that comment.

"He knows everything, father," Felix said suddenly, not very confidently but without a tremor to his voice.

Alexius looked up at his son in surprise, "Felix, what have you done?"

"Your son is concerned that you're involved in something terrible," Gil said, "he's trying to help you."

"So speaks the thief!" Alexius snapped, getting to his feet, "did you think to turn my son against me? You walk into my stronghold with your stolen mark you don't even understand, and think you're in control? You're nothing but a mistake."

Gil was taken aback. He'd heard such abuse from humans plenty of times, but why in reference to the mark?

"If you know so much, enlighten me. What is the mark?"

Alexius scoffed, "It belongs to your betters. You wouldn't even begin to understand its purpose."

"Father, listen to yourself!" Felix pleaded.

"He sounds exactly like the villainous cliche everyone expects us to be." a voice commented, and Dorian emerged from a side corridor.

Alexius' eyes narrowed, "Dorian. I gave you a chance to be a part of this, and you turned me down. The Elder One has power you wouldn't believe. He will raise the Imperium from its old ashes!"

"The Elder One?" Gil-Galad wondered aloud.

"He will become a god, he will make the world bow to mages once again! He will rule from the Boeric Ocean to the frozen seas!"

"You can't involve my people in this!" Fiona cried out.

The thought of so many enslaved mages made Gil's stomach churn.

"Alexius, this is the very thing we said didn't want to happen! Why would you support this?" Dorian demanded.

The conversations Gil had had with Lopez ran through his mind.

"Father, just give it up! Give up the Venatori, let the southern mages go, and let's go home!" Felix pleaded.

"No! It's the only way, Felix! He can save you!"

"Save me?" Felix echoed.

"There is a way. The Elder One promised, if I could undo the mistake at the temple, I-"

"I'm going to die!" Felix snapped, "I can face that! It's time for you to do the same!"

"Seize them, Venatori!" Alexius shouted, pointing at Gil-Galad and his allies, "The Elder One demands it!"

As had now become routine, a deafening staccato series of booms rang out, and a short line drew itself on the mantlepiece above the fireplace, showering Alexius with debris.

The Venatori guards fell quickly as previously concealed Inquisition soldiers made their move, and the two UNSC marines storming in made those who remained drop their swords.

"There's only so much Middle Ages bullshit I can listen to before I snap," Lopez called out, her smoking MA5B raised, "I can cap the lead one if nobody minds!"

"Give him a chance to surrender, sergeant." Gil-Galad said.

"You are a mistake!" Alexius snarled, taking steps back and raising his arm, a glowing green orb appearing in his palm, "You should never have existed!"

"No!" Dorian swept some sort of spell of a similar color at Alexius, knocking him askew and out of Lopez's line of fire.

Both Dorian's spell and the orb collided, and a massive green three-dimensional spiral shape grew like a tree on fast-forward.

The shape moved in the air, and Dorian and Gil-Galad recoiled as it passed through the space they stood in…

And then all three were gone.

Lopez's HUD frantically started beeping, "What the hell?"

She checked her TACPAD, and the radiation readers were chirping. Cherenkov radiation was shooting up like crazy.

"Sarge, what was that thing?" Corlett demanded.

"I think...I think that was another slipspace rupture!" she breathed in shock.

"So...you mean they're in slipspace?" Corlett asked, "Jesus Christ...they're dead!"

"What?" Sera demanded.

Iron Bull's eyes widened, "How do you know that? They-"

"Sergeant, have there been any accounts of individuals exposed to slipstream space without any kind of protection?" Solas asked.

"Nobody's been crazy enough to jump outside without a spacesuit!" Lopez snapped, "And getting out with what they've got on is impossible!"

Suddenly, the shape reappeared, and two figures leapt out.

Far filthier than when they had departed, Dorian and Gil-Galad stood there, breathing heavily.

"You'll have to do better than that." Dorian said.

"What the hell?!" Lopez demanded, "oh, Christ, this planet!"

Gil-Galad didn't make any comment. His eyes were still in combat mode, he was glancing around wildly expecting an attack at any moment.

His gaze fell on the Marines, and his party.

Lopez recognized his expression. Something bad had happened. And not just impossible exposure to slipspace.

Alexius fell to his knees before Dorian and Gil.

"You won, there's no point extending this…"

He looked to his son. Felix crouched near him, "It's going to be alright, father."

"You'll die…" Alexius' voice broke slightly.

"Everyone dies, father." Felix said quietly.

Inquisition soldiers came to take the old man away.

"Well, I'm glad that's over with!" Dorian said as cheerfully as he could.

Gil-Galad still looked bad, like he was sick. He looked at Sera, at Iron Bull, and at Solas.

Lopez walked over, speaking as gently, but firmly as she could, "Hey, Gil, what happened? How'd you-"

She noticed some additional equipment he hadn't had before he disappeared.

Extra pockets that hadn't been filled were now stuffed with equipment, he had an extra satchel...with distinct plastic and metal contours contained inside.

Lopez stepped back, looking him up and down again.

Slung around his neck was an ammunition belt.

A belt for a machine gun. With massive rounds. "12.7x99" was written on the headstamp of each cartridge.

"Gil, what the hell?" Lopez demanded, "Where'd you get that?"

Gil-Galad wordlessly passed her the ammunition belt, which she handed to Corlett. He opened his satchel and handed over a set of ballistic goggles, much like the ones Lopez had attached to her helmet.

"Wait a minute, these look just like mine!"

He also passed her an M6D pistol, several pistol magazines, several MA5 magazines, a grenade, and a handful of other miscellaneous UNSC gear.

"Gil, I-"

He then pulled out a fabric patch, torn off a sleeve.

Lopez studied it, and her gaze narrowed. It was round, with black and silver eagle wings over a trio of stars. Underneath were the words "Semper Vigilans".

"Where did you get this?" she hissed.

"The same place I got this," Gil replied, and pulled out a small device about the size of a small matchbook. It had a circular frame in the center of it that was glowing blue.

"Whoa! Sarge?" Corlett said, pointing at the device.

"Where did you get this?" Lopez repeated.

"Sergeant…"

"Gil."

"Sergeant, your countrymen fight well. So did you."

"Gil, where did you get this thing?"

"You wouldn't believe me."

Solas walked up, studying the device, "Sergeant, what is it?"

"Gil. The only thing I don't believe in anymore are Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, and at this point I'm doubting even they're fictional. Tell me where you got all this equipment."

Gil-Galad took a step back, noticing Lopez's hand twitching. Curling and uncurling into a fist.

"...from the future."

Lopez looked at him.

She looked down at the data storage chip.

Back up at Gil.

The chip again.

She looked back at him, with a raised eyebrow, "...What?"

"Sergeant, you have a number of messy ways of killing the enemy, I'm not sure if blowing yourself up is your best one."

"It was apparently quite the spectacle," Dorian commented dryly, "Are all people from your country so...unconventional?"

Lopez blinked, then narrowed her gaze, "What are you talking about?"

"That portal took us into the future, a terrible future where the Breach was never closed, and Alexius took over everything. Everything that could have been done failed. You yourself detonated your remaining explosives to destroy some of the enemy when you ran out of ammunition. Your countrymen even came, and tried to fight, but only a handful survived."

Lopez gaped, "That's...that's insane!"

Corlett chuckled nervously, looking at the ammo belt he'd been handed, "Yeah...that's crazy!"

Lopez turned the patch in her hand over, looking at the other side. Something had been written on the back of it. It was a bit smeared and written small, but still legible. The text all mashed together, various components without punctuation on top or around each other, but there was enough to establish a pattern.

It was in English.

"Lt B Taylor ONI to Sgt Z Lopez UNSCMC - Lest Darkness Fall Andraste Dalish B312 Corypheus = the Elder One Templars prisoners listen to the wolf UNSC Code 392"

Lopez looked at the message for a long time.

"A Leftenant Taylor wanted me to give that to you, a message she hoped you'd be able to make sense of," Gil said, gesturing to the patch, "And the metal card. She said they were extremely valuable."

Lopez had a thoughtful expression on her face. She turned to Solas, "Hey, Spooky, this mean anything to you?"

Solas took the patch and studied it for a long time. He hesitated before speaking. "Are you certain this isn't some kind of military code? Do you perhaps have a weapon known as a wolf?"

"I dunno. It could be some ONI bullshit, but I'm not sure."

"Does Corypheus mean anything to you?"

"No, should it?"

Solas shrugged, "Perhaps, perhaps not."

Lopez looked at him. There was a slight change in his behavior. "What is it, Solas?"

"We need to get back to Haven, we must let Cassandra and Varric know about this."

"Okay, one of those makes sense, but the other doesn't!" Lopez grunted.

"She was in bad shape when she wrote that," Dorian said, "I doubt she knew half of what she was saying."

"The rest of it might be code, but she was trying to give us a message. I doubt that this is anything more than referring to Corypheus himself." Solas said, "He's a very dangerous darkspawn, Varric fought him once. We must alert them to this."

"Tell them what?" Lopez demanded, "That's probably some stupid ONI code! There's probably a cipher hidden somewhere! Probably on the data chip!"

"Can I see the message?" Corlett asked.

Lopez passed it over. and held up the data chip, "Gonna need to get back to the Warthog for this thing. It's a big one."

Dorian and Gil-Galad exchanged looks.

"You disembowel your foes on a regular basis, and this is too much for you?" Gil-Galad demanded urgently.

"Well, we normally don't go rooting around in their guts!"

The gaunt dark-haired marine holding the rib cage open and using a knife to hold the organs to one side, rolled his eyes, "It's not that bad. Just reach in there and pull it out! You're the only one strong enough to do it!"

Iron Bull pointed at Gil-Galad, "You're sure I won't remember this?"

"You wouldn't have even done it."

The Qunari, cursing and muttering, reached into the demon's intestines, grasping the massive data storage cylinder with both hands, and pulled.

"You might say that." Gil-Galad said calmly.

"I don't get it, Sarge." Corlett said apologetically, handing it back, "what wolf? And who's Andrea-stay? What the hell does 'lest darkness fall' mean? The only thing I'm getting out of it is the code I don't know, and B312-"

Lopez took the patch.

She wound up to fling it out the nearest window.

"Whoa! Sarge!"

"Sergeant!" Gil and Solas said together, both moving to try and stop her.

But she hadn't started to swing.

With great effort, she relaxed, and looked at the patch again. She scowled at the symbol, at the damned latin, the damned office of mass murder and stupidity.

Lieutenant Taylor, is it? What exactly are you up to, you damn spook?

She eyed the spookiest person in the room. He looked back, without any heavy emotion.

Lopez looked at the memory chip, "Well, let's take a look at this one."

An inquisition trooper rushed into the room, "Sirs and lady-ladies! The king of Ferelden has arrived!"

Lopez looked around in surprise, "What the hell?"

The rest of the group was equally confused.

Ferelden Royal Guards marched into the room, escorting two members obviously of royalty.

One was a tall blonde man, the other an equally-tall blonde woman.

They still didn't quite reach the Marines for height, but were tall for their people.

"Grand Enchantress Fiona," the man said with a tight voice, "We're here to discuss your abuse of our hospitality."

What? Lopez thought. A quick glance at Gil-Galad saw a roll of the eyes.

"Uh...your majesties…" Fiona stuttered.

"When we offered the mages sanctuary, we did not give them the right to drive the people from their homes!" the woman said angrily.

"King Alistair, Queen Anora, we didn't intend-"

"We know what you intended," the king spat, "We wanted to help you! And you have made that impossible! You're no longer welcome in Ferelden!"

Gil-Galad angrily stepped forward, "Were they ever welcome? The only thing Ferelden hates more than the Dalish is mages!"

The king's attitude completely shifted. He shrank back a little, embarrassed. He was like a different person. "I...well...it's not that, some of my best friends are...uh…"

Lopez rolled her eyes, and glanced at Solas, "Hey, spooky, is it a crime to be enslaved in Ferelden? Indentured servitude, whatever?"

"Indentured servitude is indeed legal, slavery is not." Solas replied.

"So no matter how stupid the deal was, it wasn't illegal? And if they were enslaved, then it was illegal?"

"Certainly driving Arl Teagan out was illegal." Solas said.

"But they did it under duress terrified for their lives and for their families." Lopez looked at the monarchs, "Hey, blondie! Guess what? They weren't doing it of their own accord! I'm sure you passed that asshole from Tevinter on the way out! They had the mages as indentured servitude in exchange for survival! I really don't think it's their fault!"

Gil-Galad looked at her, then made a scoffing sound, "Oh, but sergeant, you forget, they're mages. I'm sure they're guilty of something. If there's a problem, there's always a mage at the center of it."

King Alistair stuttered, "I…"

Heedless of the guards making noises nearby, threatening to kill her for her insolence, Lopez walked up to the king, "Hey, look, I've got a magic thing."

She unclipped her TACPAD and held the screen out to Alistair. It showed a playback of a helmet recording taken during their conversations with Alexius and Fiona, explaining the indentured servitude the mages had been forced into.

Alistair and Anora were bewildered by the novelty for a moment.

Alistair went silent. He looked at Fiona, "I...Grand Enchantress, I'm sorry…"

For the first time, Fiona visibly showed anger.

"You're sorry? You 'tried to help us'? Do you have any idea what we've been through?"

"Some idea-"

"We were nearly exterminated by a dozen factions just getting to this place. We were abused by the people when we got here, I lost a score of my best fighters and leaders, and Arl Teagan wasn't even here when we arrived! Alexius had taken over already-"

"But that's impossible, this is Redcliffe! My messengers assured me the arl was in charge! Your people were safe-"

"Safe?! We were practically starving!"

"Hey, genius," Lopez snapped, glaring at Alistair, "Guess what? Your messengers who hate mages lied! Or maybe a lord somewhere along the line replaced the messenger! Whatever! These aren't exactly Incan Chasquis!"

Both monarchs seemed quite embarrassed.

"Hey, Gil, the Inquisition can protect them right? And couldn't the Dalish use some friends?"

The elf crossed his arms, "Everyone always wants to wipe us out. What's a few more people?"

"Do you have any idea who you're talking to?" Anora demanded, glaring at them.

Lopez looked at her, regarding her with an odd expression.

"Do you?"

"Some rude and disrespectful Qunari mage, and an elf! We could have your heads for this!"

"Anora…" Alistair started.

"Is this how you treat your own leaders, elf?" Anora demanded of Gil, "is this how the Qunari treat their leaders?"

"As far as I know, not really." Iron Bull commented.

"I am showing you the amount of courtesy required for Dalish foreign relations," Gil-Galad said evenly, "Or perhaps the minimal amount."

"I'm not going to bow to you, lady," Lopez snarled, "You're not in my chain of command." Lopez thought for a moment, then gave an extremely sloppy salute, "Knew I forgot something."

"Well, it's something at least." Alistair commented, smiling a little nervously.

Gil-Galad spoke, "The southern mages will be under the inquisition's protection. We will send a message to the Dalish as quickly as possible so their families can be taken care of."

Lopez crossed her arms, "And I'm going to shoot anyone who utters a single syllable of a slur within earshot of me."

She glared around at the guards. "Looking at you morons."

Gil-Galad felt an urge to be a little more polite, years of having to deal with obnoxious humans and being unable to retaliate bearing down on his mind. But the anger burned a little hotter than usual.

"To clarify, kids, a slur is referring to an elf as anything other than an elf, or any term an elf has said in so many words is okay for you to use," Lopez fixed her glare on the queen, "And also it's just rude to call someone a species they aren't."

"Look here, Qunari-"

"Ma'am, I'm human. And my name is Sergeant Lopez, UNSC Marine Corps. Any questions?"

"A Marine in whose navy?"

"United Nations Space Command Marine Corps, the Navy's another branch."

"United Nations?"

Lopez glared at her, "The only government I-"

There was a momentary pause.

"The only government I serve. A democracy."

Alistair and Anora exchanged confused looks.

Lopez smirked, the smile not reaching her eyes, "That's a government run by the people for the people. No nobility, no titles, just people."

Anora stared at her...then laughed a little.

"I wasn't joking. Sooner or later it will come, ma'am. The workers of the world will unite. And you'd better hope you have the grace to accept their demands. England's a better ending than France."

"...so, does the Inquisition have anything more to say?" Alistair interrupted loudly.

XXXXX

"Well, I've never seen the queen that flustered." Sera commented as they walked back to the Warthog.

"When have you ever seen the Queen?" Bull asked her curiously.

Sera shrugged. "You know, around."

"I must confess it was rather satisfying," Gil admitted.

"Well, I can't exactly shoot them all, now can I?" Lopez asked.

"Yeah, probably would've been a bad idea." Iron Bull deadpanned.

"Well they're not that bad!" Sera said, "mages are usually trouble, can't exactly blame them!"

"Oh don't start that, lady!" Corlett groaned quietly, "you'll get the sergeant going!"

Lopez was studying the chip as she walked, not listening to the banter. She held up the patch to it, reading the message over and over.

"Curious." Solas walked into step with her.

"What is, spooky?"

"They are the leaders of Ferelden, and you didn't try to persuade them."

"Convince them to do what?" Lopez glared at him.

"I'm not sure. What do you want them to do?"

Lopez's eyes narrowed further, "What do you mean?"

"You want them to do something. What is it? What do you want?"

The sergeant's eyes burned with fire, and she stopped walking. "What do I want? Loaded question, Solas. Right now? I want some answers to where the hell this came from!" she shook the chip at him.

"What's the significance of this device? I've only seen you like this a couple times before."

Lopez didn't answer, and walked faster.

Making it to the Warthog, Lopez jumped into the passenger seat and pulled out the laptop. She clipped the data chip to the proper connection, and opened the file.

After a moment, she looked at her expectant companions.

"It's an AI memory dump. All the data an AI has collected over the years and preserved without the operating system. The AI, when it was going rampant, dumped everything it had into here and made it into a giant thumb drive."

The blank faces of the natives shouldn't have surprised her again.

"I hate this planet…" She grunted facepalming. "We have these things called AI, or Artificial Intelligence, they're machines...well, they're basically machine people.

"Is there any useful information in the memory?" Solas asked.

"Mostly data for the techs, and for other AI to analyze. We don't have most of the equipment we need, hell we don't even have a techie…"

Lopez cursed repeatedly, and punched the side of the 'Hog lightly.

Solas looked at the display on the Warthog's screen. Most of it was scrolling displays, menus, and numbers he didn't recognize.

"Are you sure there aren't any messages left? There may be something in connection with the ONI patch."

Lopez glared at him, then pulled the patch out of her pocket.

"Lessee...search for 'Lest Darkness Fall'...I don't think it'll get anything, but-"

A result popped up. Some sort of article.

The sergeant squinted at the screen, "What the…"

She scanned the display, then shrugged, "Must be some kind of glitch. It's just some old novel."

Lopez looked at the patch, "Andraste…Dalish..."

She tilted her head, "Well, the core's giving me nothing, but at least this sentence makes some sense. I say we send someone over to the Dalish as quickly as possible to ask them about this."

"Ask them what, exactly?" Gil asked, "Just 'Andraste'?"

"Maybe Corlett or I should go then. If she really was from the future, she was trying to warn us about something…"

Lopez looked at the patch again, "...or she's scheming something. Ah...shit."

"You think she was trying to tell us something that won't end well for them?" Gil-Galad asked.

"Knowing spooks, she could be trying to kill us all. How the hell should I know?" Lopez grumbled. She threw the patch at the windshield.

"Not necessarily, she may be trying to do what she thinks is right," Solas said, picking up the patch, "There's so little detail we can't be sure exactly what she was planning. But from what you've told me, Lieutenant Taylor is probably as dedicated to you are as winning your war."

"They all were." Lopez snarled, "they always are. It's always for the good of Earth, always for the good of the UNSC. If a few grunts get lost along the way, a few divisions, a few corps, a few armies, what's the harm? There's always more where we came from. Even now."

Solas tilted his head, "What's different now?"

"Nothing. We can't trust this bitch."

Gil-Galad frowned, "Sergeant...the lieutenant was desperate to give you this message. Her legs wouldn't work anymore, she was delirious. But she knew you might react this way."

Gil paused, then spoke carefully, "she even said 'dan guns nair listen'."

He used the English words. Mangled, but still intelligible.

Lopez scowled, "Of course we don't."

Gil furrowed his brow, and Solas looked over, "I believe she was saying that Lopez and her comrades never listen to reason. You may have mangled a few syllables."

"She also claimed that whatever your personal feelings were, you should listen." Another voice spoke up.

Dorian had appeared behind them, walking up and eyeing the Warthog.

"Strange vehicle...the lieutenant was very concerned that you wouldn't listen."

"Why would we? I can't even figure out what she's saying!" Lopez snapped.

"She is a lieutenant, ma'am…" Corlett mumbled.

"And I got shot by a colonel after he killed one of my men! Don't help, private!"

Dorian chuckled a little, "The lieutenant was very insistent that you listen. She said something about wanting to give hints but not 'corrupt the timeline', whatever that means."

Lopez looked at the patch again, "Code Three-Nine-Two…"

"What is that code, Sarge?" Corlett asked.

"Tell you later…"

Lopez snatched the patch back from Solas. "Okay, B312, that sounds like a Pelican tail number. Bravo Three-One-Two…"

She typed it into the keyboard. A graphic of a Pelican dropship appeared.

"Looks like a dropship registered to the squadron on the Pillar of Autumn. Huh."

"Dropship? I believe that's one of your aircraft, isn't it?" Solas asked.

Lopez nodded, then rolled her eyes, "Well that's helpful. My drones aren't picking up a bird, and if it was around here, it's probably in a thousand pieces."

"Maybe it's a puzzle," Gil suggested. "A book, a code, a number, an animal, a nation, and a goddess. Andraste and Dalish might be two different parts."

"Thanks for the punctuation, lieutenant…" Lopez grumbled.

"Man, this is like something out of some stupid cartoon…" Corlett said, "Like uh...like that Robert Blaze cartoon!"

"Huh?"

"You know, the kind of thing that starts a season, some scavenger hunt that gets all the characters spread out all over the place?"

"No, I mean what's the show?" Lopez asked.

"Oh…" Corlett blushed, "Just something I watched growing up…"

The natives all looked confused, but Solas was watching the sergeant.

Lopez was concentrating, her hand drumming on the control panel.

Her brow relaxed somewhat, her eyebrows angling down in the opposite direction.

Something changed in her eyes.

"Sergeant?"

She rubbed her face, "Let's get out of here."

Solas nodded, "This mention of Corypheus, no matter how vague, is of great concern. We need to alert our allies and see what Varric and Cassandra know."

"Let's get the situation with the mages sorted out, but I expect we'll be able to leave before nightfall." Gil said.

"Would you mind the aid of a charming mage?" Dorian asked, "You already seem to have four in your party, but it seems like you could use all the help you can get."

Lopez muttered a curse, "Sure! Why not?"

That surprised the rest of the party.

Gil coughed, "Um...certainly."

Once everything with the mages had been sorted, and everyone on the march, the supposed herald and his companions, or the irritated marine sergeant and some primitives, drove away from Redcliffe, back toward Haven. By this point the Warthog was full to bursting. Aside from Lopez there was Sera, Iron Bull, Solas, Gil-Galad, Corlett, and Dorian.

Needless to say it was...cozy.

Lopez and Solas sat in the front seats. The party had decided to rotate out the passenger seat arrangement to give everyone leg room for at least a few minutes. Corlett was passed out in the back, leaning against Iron Bull's shoulder.

He'd offered to drive, citing Lopez's lack of sleep, but she had declined. She wanted to be back to Haven ASAP.

Solas set down the tablet he'd been studying, and looked at the sergeant in the dark.

"Sergeant, what is a 'cartoon'?"

Lopez glanced at him, "It's a type of moving picture, usually for kids. Would've thought you'd have figured that out already, aren't you reading the dictionary?"

"I'm curious to hear from someone who has seen them. Did you watch any as a child?"

"Who didn't? There's some for adults as well, some of my squadmates watched those…"

"Tell me about them. Did you have a favorite as a child?"

"Yeah, I did."

"Can you tell me any details?"

"I'm pretty sure my next exit isn't down memory lane."

"Very well. Can you recall the last moving picture you watched? Perhaps the last book you read for entertainment?"

Lopez didn't answer.

The humming of the engine was the only sound, the headlights piercing through the darkness.

"Can you remember the last time you truly relaxed?" Solas asked softly, "Any time you weren't at war?"

Lopez again didn't answer.

"Weeping sad and lonely

Hopes and fears how vain!

When this cruel war is over,

Praying that we meet again…"

She sang softly, a few keys off, her left foot tapping against the bottom of the vehicle.

"When the summer breeze is sighing mournfully along,

or when autumn leaves are falling, sadly breathes the song.

Oft in dreams I see thee lying on the battle plain,

Lonely, wounded, even dying, calling but in vain."

The tune was high, but mournful. So quiet and calm, quite unlike the sergeant.

"Weeping sad and lonely

Hopes and fears how vain!

When this cruel war is over,

Praying that we meet again…"

She coughed, turning the wheel to avoid a pothole.

Solas thought on the lyrics.

"The war isn't going well, is it sergeant?" he whispered.

Lopez glared at the road ahead of her, her face not even lit by the dials. It was an anti-sniper precaution, to keep the enemy from seeing the driver at night.

"Sergeant, how long have you been in the military?"

"Since I was eighteen."

Solas tilted his head, "So you are thirty-five."

"How'd you figure that out?"

"I presumed the hash marks on your armor meant something," he gestured to seventeen hash marks cut into her armor, scratched and worn, but still there. "Certainly not kills, nor battles. You haven't added any so far. I wondered if it was years. What kind of a war, a truly deadly war as you have so often described, goes on that long?"

"The impossible kind. The hard kind. The kind where you don't know if you, your family, or anyone will make it. The kind...the kind of war that tears you apart. The kind where you kind where all your friends are gone. The kind of war where your only friends-" Lopez caught herself.

"Your only friends…?" Solas asked.

"Nothing. Shut up. I need to drive."