Chapter 12: Recalculations

Bits and pieces of the defence fleet appeared at the edge of Shanxi's gravity well. At first, they were only the advanced rear guard, who saw what was happening to the fleet, received their orders to retreat, and high-tailed it back into the safety of the gravity well. The broken remnants of the cruiser and frigate fleets returned shortly thereafter, shields burned out, superstructures failing, oftentimes practically disintegrating after the jump itself. Litrinox waited for the dreadnoughts. For ten minutes, even after the surviving groups had reported their destruction, spirits, their seizure by Human forces, the man waited. Staring out at the vast emptiness in foolish hope. Desolas watched the combat footage himself. He'd seen the fatal shot the Ganter took, how instantly and dreadfully that graceful giant's lights flickered and died, along with its thousands of crew. And he saw how the Artireums was utterly destroyed by a single shot from one of those… he didn't know what to call it… The 6000 meter beast that had appeared from the black and broken the back of a Turian warship like it was a glass in the mouth of a Jike. How the Weritroz, a veteran of the Krogan War, simply listed to the side, her brain destroyed. Desolas felt like crying, like falling to his knees and weeping tears of sorrow, of regret. But he couldn't. Not with his people still in the system. He had to save them, at least. He had to try.

Desolas took a breath, and stood. Litrinox had erected himself on the observation platform, and was staring into the void. The stars hung without mirth, the scraps of the fleet framed by the dull lights. Desolas approached him, and spoke firmly.

"Litrinox… we have to go."

The Admiral didn't speak. He didn't even look behind him as he dismissed the idea entirely. "Sub Admiral please, we still hold defensive positions on-"

"Litrinox please! Stop with this varren-shit!" That outburst drew the glances of the crew, themselves horror-struck by the sight before them. A few stood, some out of worry for the Sub-Admiral, others hoping to add their own words to Desolas' plea. There was little chance to do so. "We are out of options! We barely had enough forces to secure a system before! Now? What could we hope to do against them?"

"Desolas you must listen to reason…"

"Reason!? I will… you can shove your fucking 'reason' Litrinox! This has gone on long enough!" Desolas turned his back quickly, and made his way to the command podium.

"Desolas? By Valluvia what are you thinking man!" The bridge had stopped their solemn quiet to look at the new commotion, as Desolas took his place at the command podium.

"Comms, give a general tactical withdrawal order, contact ground forces and have them prepare for an immediate evacuation, we cannot guarantee the safety of our garrisoned forces-"

"Comms countermand that order! How dare you I... this is treason, and nothing less! Think about what you are doing!" Litrinox himself approached the podium, a fury already brewing in his eyes.

"I am saving our forces from total annihilation! How do you expect our forces to survive a second encounter with those bastards?! You would throw their lives away, and for what? This Gods forsaken backworld colony!?"

"I will have your head for this, I… I declare your position revoked Desolas!"

"...I refuse." A look of iron solidified on the Sub Admiral's face. Litrinox was dumbstruck. His hands shook, his mandibles flexed wide. He looked across his deck, and saw that no one had moved from their spot. Not a spirit stirred.

"You are a traitor!" Litrinox reached for his service pistol. Desolas didn't let him draw. He tackled the man as the weapon left his side, and winced at the shot fired. The marines stationed within rushed to the site of the struggle, and ripped the gun from the Admiral's hand, before separating the two men. The cabin was in a state of pandemonium, as people leapt up to try and separate the two men. Desolas took his place at the head of the podium.

"Security, have the Admiral confined to his quarters-"

"No! No this cannot happen! Damn your spirits, I am the Admiral of this Fleet!" Litrinox was hoisted to his feet, restrained by a multitude of soldiers with ashen faces. The Admiral fought against the men, his legs kicking, arms grasping for support, for purchase on their holstered weapons. For anything. He railed against them all, rankled shouts and screams echoing, even through the closed doors. Desolas couldn't bear to look.

"Comms, my order still stands. Set up an all-call for system forces, begin organized withdrawal to the Relay."

John was tired. The basement they'd holed up in was cold concrete, hidden under a mostly intact storefront. Kaiden had yet to stir. The soft rise of his chest was his top priority at the moment. And not simply because of his growing fondness for the boy. "We both know what we saw Cortana."

"All we saw was a child get enveloped in purple energy! It could have been absolutely anything Chief! A weapons malfunction, an atmospheric event, an-"

He took a breath as he planted himself in a warmer looking corner, facing the entrance. "Nothing else explains how Kaiden survived. The gun was pointed right at him Cortana. I saw that with my own eyes. Just like that Raptor Wizard."

The AI sighed, rubbing her temples in his viewscreen. "I just… why can't we catch ourselves a damn break! It couldn't be someone else that discovers literal m gic!? We'Æ already pulled the he vy lifting for far too many gala$y changing discoveries this month, maybe we ~ould just leave the impos$%^ble well #nou8h alone for once! Is* i^t so much $ ask fo]\= Chieff! I$ IT!" She shut her dialogue box in a huff, leaving John in a deafening silence. She'd never spoken to him like that. His ears were ringing at the sound, and the distortion…

He waited a moment, trying to let the helmet calm down a bit. "Cortana…" The view screen popped up again, and Cortana reappeared, mortified.

"Chief-Im-so-sorry-I-cant-believe-I-let-that-"

"Hold on." John reached up, and unlatched his helmet. The air assaulted him with choking ash and dust, the smell of an old battlefield. He knew the taste well. "We need to talk about that." He set the helmet on the ground before him, and rapped the visor, still spiderwebbed by cracks. "Might as well do it face to face."

Cortana's little chuckle was tinny and hollow coming from the helmet, "Okay… Okay John, I haven't been entirely honest with you about… about how I'm doing…"

"It's about our time on the Dawn, isn't it?" John could feel the look on her face.

"I-... Yes. I told you that my imprisonment by the Gravemind had 'cured' my rampancy? That's… not entirely the truth." John furrowed his brow, his face turning that remarkable look of stoney gray.

"You're rampant?" Blue eyes cast downwards, before daring a look back at the implacable golden visor.

"No! At least, I don't think so. While we were on board the ship, I lost it. I… it was like being sieged by the Flood again Chief, I could feel myself being sw rmed by… by so much thinking. All the$e voices and tang nt thoughts just swimming around my s)&ull! It was maddening! But I focused on the mission. On keeping you alive. It was all I could do to stay sane. By the end, all I could think about was the mission, John. If I… I wouldn't have survived without it."

John's eyes wandered over the scars in his helmet. The ugly gash that gouged its way across the chin marked a Brute's near miss a century before. The upper visor was ripped off during his rendezvous with the Dawn. A miniscule crack in the visor itself, received during his firefight with the 'Wizard' company, had grown into a web that covered half its face. This is nothing but a chink in the armor. Keep going. "Then what's wrong now? You're still glitching."

"I'm taking in new information now. The more I have to think and do, the more I break out of the… the shell that I put myself in, the worse I become. It hasn't been so bad recently, but when there's new information? It only gets harder to resist."

John stood, and exhaled. "If you were able to fix it before, it must be possible again. We need to get you out of here-"

"John…"

"After a century of advancements they must have found a way to-"

"AI have existed for centuries and they haven't found a cure. What's fifty more ye r$?!"

"I won't just let you fall apart!" He stopped. His breath was shaky, the echo was still careening off the concrete walls. The sound hung between them.

"...Don't make a promise John… please..."

He said nothing as he bent down to return the helmet to his head. It sealed tight. "We need to find a way out of here, any ideas?"

There was a brief hesitation. "I still have data on a series of emergency service stations in and around our area, most of them with vehicles useful for ruined terrain. But there has been evidence of Covenant activity as well. I can't fathom why they're here, and cursory glances at what's left of Shanxi's internet haven't made it clear if the Covenant even exist anymore, but they'd be our best bet for finding a ship we can fly."

"Would it be possible to lure them in? You still have generic Sangheili distress signals on file right?"

"I do, but they were decades out of date a fifty years ago. There's no way they'd fall for it."

"We don't need them to fall for it. Just to investigate. It happened to us, no reason it can't happen again."

"I'm starting to think you take your luck for granted Chief."

John walked across the room and retrieved the bulbous Raptor weapon that had been his primary for the last day. His plasma pistol was always at his side, and he checked it idly. He'd need a new battery for it sooner than he'd like, but it'd have to do for now. The real worry was the boy. He walked over to Kaiden, still unconscious after... whatever had happened to him. "Do you have a good location for a beacon?" John picked up the gangly boy, and struggled to find a way to hold him and his weapon at the same time. This was one of the occasions where a vehicle would be ideal. He settled on throwing the boy over his shoulder, and decided on letting his sidearm pull double duty.

"There's a location nearby, a weather station. If we make it there, I can probably send a message out. It'll probably attract some unwanted attention once we get there though…"

"My favorite kind." John carefully propped open the door, before exploding out of it, clearing the stairwell and the ruined storefront in a few moments. It was early in the morning, the dust from yesterday's bombardment clogging the air with soot and debris. What light there was shone in hellish glare, only deep reds could push through the clouds this early in the day. The street sat just as it had been a few hours before. Colorful edifices and native greenery coated in gray and red. Shells punched holes out of the road, some filled with stagnant water, others with the dead. The sickly smell wasn't new to him. He checked a sleek looking car that had embedded itself into a nearby street lamp, and found its driver, and the car's console, riddled with the pinpricks of Raptor fire.

The trek up the street was little different. Rubble replaced bodies in some places, covered them in others. Bicycles lay trashed, weapons lay damaged beyond repair, or tethered to the bodies clutching them. The blood had long dried, leaving dirty stains, brown and blue, obscured by all consuming dust. There were no Raptor patrols in this place. It was dead. Little more than ruins not yet ripe. It reminded him of Reach, in the final days. The battles on Sagittarius IV. The grating rhythm of creaking junk. The symphony of a dead city. He hoped that most civilians had escaped the onslaught. That their bunkers were deep enough, or far enough away. He could only hope.

The weather station they were seeking was undefended. Even the patrol ships that used to harry what remained of the city had dwindled to fly-bys of the city center. It almost seemed like they were retreating, somehow.

"You see it too then." Cortana said. "What's left of the City Custodian hasn't reported any major incursions in hours, and from what I can tell Raptor chatter has been minimal. We might be looking at a redeployment. Maybe even a retreat."

John paused in his trudge. "Why leave so close to victory? They have us on the run, don't they?"

"Could be our reinforcements have arrived." She said with mirth. "Or any other inane reason. I say we take advantage of the hole while we can."

So they did. The building that housed the beacon was in fairly good shape, given the circumstances. Mostly empty, filled with broken datapads and the clutter that happens in the midst of an evacuation. As he was climbing up the stairs, he felt the weight on his shoulder shift, arms and legs, once swaying with John's gait, confused and lightly struggling.

A soft groan accompanied the Spartan shifting the boy to his arms. "Kaiden? Are you awake?" John asked.

"Oh… Spartan guy? Wher-... where are we?"

"Trying to secure an extraction vehicl-"

"Trying to get us out of here Kaiden." Cortana thankfully interrupted. "You can call him Master Chief, Chief for short."

"Like the movie Spartan?" Kaiden adopted a quizzical look, which didn't mesh with his groggy just-woke-from-a-coma-face.

John was glad he was wearing a helmet. "Yes." He said, after a pause. "Like the movie one."

"Oh… uh, what happened?"

"I don't know… something happened when you were attacked by that Raptor. You saved yourself with a blue energy."

"You could try to be a little less blunt." Cortana whispered.

"What? Like the magic Raptors can do?"

"You've seen them do that?" John asked, as he pushed open the entrance to the top floor.

"Yeah, when we were running from our bunker. The soldiers told us to run, so me and Mom left… that's when you found me." A sullen look overcame the boy.

"Hm." John thrummed. "I see." The Spartan surveyed the room. A veritable sea of desks and trashed office equipment greeted him, with no sign of the transmission table. He muted himself, as he began to stalk the floor. "Cortana? Any idea where we're going?"

"I'm checking city records for blueprints… got it! There's a room with what we're looking for far west. Placing a marker on your HUD."

"Understood. Kaiden, can you walk?"

The boy's face changed instantly. "I think so Chief! Follow behind you right?"

John nodded, and set the boy down gingerly. "Stick close to me this time."

"Oh… yeah, will do…"

John had trouble dealing with that many emotions in such a short amount of time. Kaiden looked down, his cheeks flushed red. John wanted to do… something. He reached his arm out, but to do what? Pat the kid on the back, like Avery used to do? The thought seemed preposterous. His little movement was repurposed into the retrieval of his rifle, as he turned and began to make his way towards the marker.

The building was quiet as they made their way. The dirty noise of war filtered by the walls. There was nothing to harass them. No lurking enemies, no traps. Just dead space. The control room was marked behind a locked wooden door, easily knocked off its hinges, and there it was. A small, dusty looking console in a room barely large enough for the super soldier.

"Plug me in Chief." John pulled her data chip, and slotted it into a universal input. The projector on the console lit up at once, displaying her familiar form. "Nice to get out of your head every once in a while, dontcha think?"

"Don't give me any ideas." John replied. He noticed Kaiden staring at the digital form, jaw dropping. "You've never seen her before, have you?"

"That's the AI in your head?" He looked at him, eyes wide and cheeks red as he lowered his voice. He cupped his mouth as he whispered, "She's super pretty…"

Ah. Yet another thing John had no idea how to respond to. Cortana had better ears than either of them imagined. "You're very sweet Kaiden, but I lr h ve to lug around the green guy, can't afford another." It was John's turn to glow a shade redder. Kaiden just looked confused.

"I'm done here, our beacon should be broadcasting on wide frequency, anything within a hundred miles will hear us.. I've also managed to tap into this station's radar function, we should be able to keep an eye on incoming vessels that way." John pulled her chip, and returned it to his helmet. "We should probably find somewhere defensible in the meantime."

It wasn't needed. Chief set up a barricade on the stairwell, and cleared out a sightline up and down the street from the second floor. And then he waited. The first 5 minutes were quiet. Then the next 10. He'd told Kaiden to hide in the bathrooms, with their rough brick walls, and had more than enough time to check on him. And still no Raptor presence. The improvised scanner didn't catch a whiff. At 30 minutes, something finally blipped on the radar. It was a tiny imperfection, but Chief had fought the Covenant for decades. It may as well have been a mountain. Chief pressed himself against the stairwell, and waited. He heard the gentle creak of the rooftop access, the almost imperceptible patter of descending steps. He switched his visor to thermal, and waited.

The first elite noticed nothing as it crept into the room. It took up a forward position, and with a quick gesture, ushered two more inside. The moment the last exited, Chief struck. He leapt, plasma drawn, towards his closest target. His tackle knocked the elite prone, and it's shield dispersed with a violent pop. The other elites took notice instantly, raising weapons just as Chief placed his pistol in a familiar crook of the armor. This elite was quick though, smacking the weapon out of the Spartan's hands and pushing him to the side, right into its ally's line of fire. It wasn't Chief's first fight either. He grabbed the elite as he was pushed, and rolled the massive alien into makeshift cover. The active camo failed, revealing the bright green armor it was wearing, and the terrified look in its eyes. "Wait! Human!"

Chief punched it in the face and kicked off the ground, back into the maze of cubicles. Elites don't plead. What is this? He pulled the Raptor made weapon off his back, and hosed down the other two blobs, illuminating similar colored figures. They jumped into cover as Chief retreated down the hallway. Not that they'd needed to. These weapons barely scratched his century old shields. Chief allowed himself a sigh. Just like old times…

"Master Chief! We were sent by the Arbiter! Stand down!" That made Chief pause. Thel'?

"Thel' Vadam is dead!" He shouted back. It was a fair assumption.

"But his Empire lives on! His orders! We are the Knights of Sanghelios, sworn to find you, and return you to human space! I am Squad Leader Udon Wi'Pensek, we mean you no harm!" The gravelly voice squeaked at that statement, before a clatter sounded. "We've thrown down our arms! Trust us!" That was followed quickly by the patter of two more weapons as they hit the ground. He eyed his own sensors, and saw that their fuzzy signatures had become solid dots. No more invisibility at least. He resolved to take a peak.

He said nothing as he placed his head against the wall of the cubicle, and pushed his head around it. He almost couldn't believe it. Three elites with their hands in the air. Bulbous glowing weapons a few meters in front of them. It was like seeing pigs fly. He picked one of the ugly purplish-green rifles off the ground, and returned the Raptor weapon to his back. Well, hopefully this was an upgrade. He pointed the weapon at the lead elite, and kept himself alert. "Okay… who wants to tell me what the hell is going on here?"

Jessa felt like shit. This was a common state of being for the young woman as of now. Her heart was pounding, her knees felt like butter, the sports bra they'd provided was itchy in all the worst ways. Not that there were necessarily good ways to itch. Ugh. God she was out of shape.

This was the fifth 'endurance' test she'd been forced into since the talk with the Director. Tenth general test. Each one trying to force her to do something new with her powers. They hadn't told her that was the purpose, but that's what she assumed. And she told them that it probably wouldn't work. And so far she'd been right. Making her run on a treadmill until she collapsed and forcing her to attempt push-ups while six people were watching wasn't making her feel anything but embarrassed. Hell, maybe that was their strategy. Embarrass her into developing magic powers. How did we beat the Covenant again?

...Fuck. She took a long breath though the pain in her side, and stood. At least they left her alone in the changing rooms. The plain white tee and gray jumpsuit that had been her outfit for the last week had been replaced with identical ones, smelling of apples and antiseptic. The shower was cold and short, but at least she wasn't sweaty. She missed her bottle of conditioner. And her hair brush. And… a lot of things she guessed. The towel was rough, but it was warm. The clothes were drab, but they fit. She slipped on her shoes, emotionless sneakers she'd had since arriving, and knocked on the door out.

"I'm done." She intoned. The door opened, revealing the two guards that always seemed to follow her around. 'Freckles,' the female guard with no real name, nodded and began at a moderate pace down the hallway. 'Smooth', the male, took up behind Jessa as she followed. And so, they guided her right back to her room. Dr. Smiles was waiting for her there. He hadn't bothered to correct her yet, so it was his name for all she cared.

"Jessa!" He stood from the chair, his namesake already creasing his face. The smile didn't reach his eyes this time.

"Hey Smiles. Did I pass this time?"

The smile tightened just an ounce. "As always Jessa, these tests don't have a fail state, and there is no reason to think so-"

"Except that you keep doing them like you're expecting something to happen!" She flopped onto her bed in a huff, before sighing face down. "I'm sorry about that, but I hate being left out in the dark like this." She concentrated at the back of her mind, and after a moment of strain the curling purple fire returned. "I've already told you, this is all I can do with it, maybe I can lift a light object, but that's it… we don't need to have to keep redoing this shit, is all I'm saying…" Jessa's voice died in her throat.

"Jessa…" He looked her in the eyes, searching for the words. "...You are the future of our race, Jessa." He finally blurted out. She looked at him incredulously. "We told you about how the Librarian blessed humanity, made us into Homo Superio-"

"Oh come on Smiles! Your whole speech on the Librarian and 'The Mantle' already sounded like a sound byte from Cerberus, but this? Come on man, 'future of the human race' my ass, I can't bench a 100, much less the human race on my fucking back!"

Smiles sighed as Jessa buried her face in the bed. "I think you're twisting my words back at me here. I'm trying to emphasize the importance of our work Jessa." She said nothing, which Smiles used as a pass to continue. "This could be the start of something incredible. Can you imagine what this could do for humanity? What you could do? Your powers could revolutionize transportation, medicine, pharmaceuticals, warfare… the list is endless! Even if we strike the admittedly hasty speculation about the Mantle of Responsibility, your affliction could be the key to any number of things Jessa." He stood. "It could be the key to the survival of the human race. The ticket to our safety among the stars. I imagine you know the importance of that."

He lingered, waiting for some sort of response to that. But she said nothing. Could say nothing, as the purplish glow enveloped her hands. It was a natural reaction, whenever she was feeling stressed. Afraid. Like the walls were pushing in. She could feel her lungs seizing up. It was getting harder to breathe wasn't it? Smiles said something in the back of her mind, but she didn't hear it. Why was it so warm? These sheets felt like the Great Deserts on Mercator. Rough and burning hot. For a split second she almost thought she was back home. Like she'd taken a tumble off the sand skiff and right into the quicksand of the dunes. Like she was choking on the hot, golden earth that she'd loved to explore with her father.

Someone put a hand on her shoulder, and then she was back in her cell. Smiles wasn't wearing one. She could feel her heart beating in her throat, cutting off her breath. It was so fast, she couldn't count the pulses. Was she dying? It sure felt like dying.

She croaked out something, she wasn't sure what. A scream? A plea? There was no telling, in her mind. Just trying to gasp through the pain. The hot sand and the beating heart. At least when she was attacked by the alien magic she felt nothing. Right now she could feel every inch of her skin. She felt Smiles' cool hands turn her over, exposing her to the burning lights. Were they purple? Was that another of her powers, finally discovered? Turning lights purple? She had to admit, that was pretty underwhelming.

Oh. Smiles was saying something. 'Listen to my voice.' As if that's what she needed right this second. But she still did. He was still talking while she was thinking that over. Sorry for interrupting Smiles. 'I'm right here with you Jessa. Let's just focus on my voice.' Easy for him to say, the human race wasn't sitting on his chest. She tried to move her arms, they were just so hot. But he had his hands planted on their crooks.

"Hey, Jessa, let's try getting that breathing back to normal, okay? I'm gonna count to 5, and when I say five I want you to take a deep breath for me, okay?" Jessa nodded her head, and listened to his countdown. She breathed when he told her to breathe. And slowly her heart began to calm.

He told her to start listing off the names of ships she'd like to fly, and she did it, her voice small. She didn't notice the team of scientists and doctors that now lined the corners of the room. It felt like her life depended on those model makes and numbers. And Smiles was there the whole time. Calming her, and letting her slowly return to normal breathing. She didn't notice the state the room was in. The state of disarray as papers and furniture began to descend to the floor. The storm she'd caused was ending, as she slipped into unconsciousness. In a way, it was only just beginning.

When Sarria woke up this morning, she'd been looking forward to a Juora from her favorite bakery on the Presidium. It was the weekend after all. Through various dealings, bribes, and good old fashioned labor, she'd managed to free herself from the office for the next few days, email included. That's why she didn't expect a team of C-Sec to interrupt her shower, and throw her into her diplomatic vessel, which was inbound to some shitty corner of Inner Council Space. Such were the woes of the Asari Diplomatic Service. She could still feel the wetness tickling her crests in the absolute worst ways. She debated asking for a towel in her head, but decided against it. She was going to retain some amount of dignity today. Besides, it wasn't the most complicated job, right? Reign in some rouge Turians, smooth over relations with a species that just had it's homeworld invaded, and do it without breakfast. Fucking. Easy.

She smoothed out her dress, and made her way to the helm. "Yiaza, how long till we reach 314?"

The Asari turned to speak, "A few minutes at most Sarria, the Frantic is flying well today."

"Good, once we arrive in system make sure to set a course for the new relay. Hopefully the Turians haven't decided to found their own Council yet."

"Speaking of, why the hell do you think they did something so stupid? I've heard of Turians gunning for client states but this just seems insane, especially for a whole fleet." A crew member asked, her own face a shade of disgust and curiosity. That planted a seed of conversation among the crew, and quickly turned it into a chatterbox she had no will to interrupt.

In reality, she had no idea why this particular Turian would be so stupid. Litrinox Ditroz was a War hero, an Admiral, and most consequently a Turian. To think that he'd do something so out of line? Batarians have accused him of war crimes in the past, not unrightfully if his dossier from the STG is anything close to accurate. But he was at least competent, which was why this entire predicament was so insane. Even a child could defeat a bunch of primitives who didn't even have eezo in their ships yet. What was the big deal? She'd re-read the intelligence reports too many times, she was sure she hadn't missed anything. And yet, what else was there?

"Sarria, 10 seconds till de-warp!" Yiaza's voice cut through the din, and the cabin was silent once more. Back to the job. Right. The sleek vessel shuddered once as its eezo field blinked away, and then they were back in real space.

"Sarria, I'm picking up several incoming Turian vessels, Relay 314 is active as described. Shall I hail them?" a tech said.

"Put them on my personal screen. Make heading for the Relay helm." Another straightening of her dress, before her screen lit up. An older looking Turian appeared on screen, evidenced by the greying around her fringes, and tiny cracks in her plates around her mandible. Asari got very good at seeing their fellows age. It was something of a skill, especially in her job. Just like gauging how annoyed that Turian was at this particular moment. She would have guessed 6/10.

"Asari vessel, this is the THS Malatx, you are trespassing in space restricted by the Turian Hierarchy. Please shut off your engines and prepare for boarding."

"Malatx, this is the Asari Diplomatic Core Vessel Frantic. I have been authorized by the Citadel Council to investigate the conflict occurring upstream of Relay 314. I am submitting identification codes now. You are advised to stand down, and await the arrival of Turian Internal Defense Fleets for investigation. Will there be any problems?" She edged a bit of iron into her voice at the end, just to drive home the point.

The Turian took the shock well enough, she supposed. Her mouth momentarily went agape, before pulling up her omnitool to check the codes herself. Apparently the results were satisfactory, as her mandibles sprung open, and her eyes seemed to take on a sullen look. "I… understood Ambassador T'Josa, the way is clear. We stand down."

She smiled, and terminated the call. Probably the easiest part of her day. Her techs told her about them standing down as she took a seat in her chair. At least some of them hadn't completely lost their minds. The trip to the relay was uneventful after that. Activating the massive machine wasn't even a hassle. And within a second they had entered the system that had caused so much chaos for the Council. It took one sensor sweep to tell why.

A/N:

*EDIT: YES, THE BOY'S NAME IS KAIDEN, NOT AIDEN. NO, I HAVE NOT SLEPT TONIGHT.

I have some 'splaining to do. Mainly, I chock it down to a tiny eensy-weensy medical emergency in the family, at least for the first month. The second one was laziness, pure and simple. I apologize for that, hopefully this chapter makes up for it. If not, well, that's fair too. Let me know how you like this chapter, reviews keep the pencil sharp!