Chapter 19

Skuld Compound - Valkyrie Wing - Armstrong Station

Her hands were jittery as they all entered the facility. The door slammed shut behind them and immediately sealed before equalizing the pressure inside the lobby-like room that they stood in. She was both excited, and terrified of what lie ahead of her. Previously, she had assisted Shepard and the others in missions, but this was her chance to either prove herself an asset to the team or severely screw things up and become a hindrance. Both options had her on edge.

"Everything alright Tali?" asked Kaidan curiously as he approached her. Her head spun towards him rapidly as she looked at him wide-eyed.

"O-Of course! I'm just... nervous is all..." she responded as she wrung her hands together.

The lieutenant's hand gripped her shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry. I'm sure you'll do great," he said, a handsome smile gracing his eyes underneath the visor. Despite never having contact with him before, she felt his presence calming her.

"I hope you're right," she said as she brought up her omni-tool and began activating her cyber-warfare defense package that Shepard had installed. If this place was indeed the electronic crash course for special forces, there was no doubt she'd be needing it. After finally setting everything up, she closed down her omni-tool and looked up to find Wrex eyeing her oddly. "Is something the matter Wrex?"

"Huh? Oh... no. It's... nothing," he said, rolling his shoulders in an oddly nervous manner.

She tilted her head gently and gave him a curious stare. "Wrex, if you want to say or ask something, please don't hesitate," she offered firmly with her hands on her hips.

He looked like he was thinking about it for a moment before looking at Kaidan. "Anything I say and ask here stays here, understood?" he said firmly towards the human.

"As long as it's not a security risk, your secret is safe with me," said the lieutenant as he reached back and pulled a sub-machine gun from his back.

Nodding, the krogan turned back to Tali. "Do you think after this is over, you could teach me to use an omni-tool?"

"You don't already know?" asked the quarian curiously, almost surprised to hear that anything in the galaxy didn't know how they worked.

"Look, I know how to use them to watch vids, watch porn, set alarms, and make calls," he said, his tone a bit frosty at having to explain himself. "But, since I've been on the Normandy, I've seen people do things with them that I never thought were possible. Shepard straight up vanishes, causes heatsinks to fly out of weapons, and can disable electronic weapons from a distance. Most krogan ignore the fancy stuff and try to brute force everything, but I'd like to know better."

"I don't imagine many krogan who get the chance to see such things live to talk about it." Wrex and Tali both looked at Kaidan as he spoke. "Usually when someone gets close enough to see someone like Shepard working, it ends very poorly for them," he finished with a shrug.

"Yeah, anyway... I just want to learn their potential. Even if I don't end up being some super government spy like Shepard, I still like being informed. And if having an omni-tool can help me out in the future, then I don't see the downside," he said with a nod.

"Of course! After we get back to the Citadel I'll ask Shepard about giving you an allowance..." started Tali, but she was cut off as Wrex raised his hand.

"You can't tell Shepard about it," he ordered firmly, getting confused looks from both of them.

"Why?" asked Kaidan simply.

Wrex turned his head away for a moment before glaring at Kaidan. "We're not good enough friends for me to want to explain that," he growled before turning back to Tali. "Look, I can afford an omni-tool on my own. Working a few jobs for the Shadow Broker paid relatively well, and since joining with Shepard, I haven't had much to spend it on. So, I can pay for it myself. Just... don't... tell... Shepard!"

"Alright then..." said Tali, more confused than ever. "Then when we get to the Citadel, I'll take you to Synthetic Insights and see if we can't find you one to fit your arm."

"Now that we've cleared that awkward conversation, we should really be working on clearing this building now," said Kaidan as he looked at the lobby that they were standing in. It was relatively small but had a bar with stools at the far end. Next to them was the door that led further into the facility.

"Right! You both heard Shepard. These drones were meant to withstand attacks from tech-based weapons, including light-based firearms and omni-tools, as well as cyber-attacks. So, any chance we can get to use biotics, we probably should," started the quarian as she pulled her shotgun off of her belt and checked it to make sure it was prepared. Looking up, she also noticed that the two were staring at her again. "Oh... sorry..."

Kaidan chuckled and shook his head. "No need to be. This is obviously your area of expertise, so don't hesitate to let me know if I should be doing something. But, to start with, we should definitely see what's ahead for us. Shepard said it was a corridor lined with traps, checkpoints, and probably a whole slew of enemies we'll have to take care of. Probably more so now that the VI has taken over the facility."

"Then if you all don't mind, I'm gonna go ahead and get started. The faster we're out of this place, the faster we can get off this dusty rock," said Wrex as he approached the door leading into the corridor. Kaidan followed him, and Tali brought up the rear. As Wrex tried to open the panel, however, it refused to respond. He growled as he continuously tried to activate the door, but it continued to deny him. "Kalros's cock, are we already doing this?"

Tali gasped at the language, and Kaidan just shook his head. "Tali, if you wouldn't mind?"

"Right, pardon me," she said, her cheeks flushed from the swear as she opened her omni-tool and jacked into the door. "Ah, I found the issue. Here we are," she finished as she pushed a button and the door slid up. They all three looked up and went wide-eyed as three turrets spun around and aimed directly at them from within the hall. "Bosh'tet!" shouted the quarian as she dove off to the side, while Kaidan slid next to the door and out of their range.

Wrex, however, was having no such nonsense. His body lit up with biotic energy and he charged headfirst into the small hallway, outright punching one of the turrets and shattering it to pieces. Turning to the next, he growled as the light-based shots hit him in the face, scoring his helmet. Raising an arm to deflect the annoying attacks, he walked forward and grabbed the barrel of the second turret, then wrenched it hard enough to snap it off, preventing it from firing anymore. Before he could even turn to the final one, it exploded with the sound of gunfire as Kaidan popped out and ended it with his automatic weapon.

Tali pulled herself up again with a sigh as she finally followed them into the small room. "Okay, so from now on, I'm going to scout rooms before we open them. Understood?" she asked, slightly annoyed at having had to dive away. Stepping up to the next door, she opened her omni-tool again and began examining it.

"How do you plan to scout without opening the door?" asked the krogan as he looked around.

"The floor panels. They can be lifted and are often used for running wiring and maintenance tubing through the entire area," responded Kaidan knowingly.

"Chatika has varying sizes that she can change to when necessary," said Tali as Kaidan lifted the maintenance panel on the floor. Dropping what looked like a small bead into the compartment, the quarian pushed a button on her omni-tool, and the small bead lit with a bright purple color. The orb around the bead now grew until it was about the size of a large coin before dropping to the ground and beginning to roll up through the floor panel and into the next area. "Now, let's see what we're dealing with."

Both Wrex and Kaidan watched as the drone scanned the next area. The small camera made it clear that the normally slate gray walls within were blinking red. "Alright, it doesn't look like there are any turrets in the next room," said Kaidan as he watched the video studiously.

"Good, now let's get moving!" said Wrex eagerly as he stood up to the door.

Tali just sighed to herself and began to open the door. "It's likely a trap. You'll have to be careful when..." said began as the door opened. But Wrex already stepped into the room. Both Tali and Kaidan flinched when two of the panels on the right wall shot out and slammed Wrex bodily against the far wall with crushing force. "Krogan..."

Kaidan sighed and shook his head. "Hey Wrex, remember when we talked about you not rushing into things?" The krogan responded with an annoyed grunt, making it apparent that he was having trouble speaking. "Tali?"

"I've got it, hold on..." said the quarian as she worked her omni-tool again. In a matter of seconds, the panels hissed and slowly began to retract back into the wall. Wrex hit the ground with a loud thump and got back up to two annoyed looks.

"Keep glaring at me like that and I'll shove you into the next one," growled the krogan as he rolled his head gently.

"No, you won't. Just sit back and wait for orders. We know for a fact that this place is waiting to put people down who rush things, so sit back, and wait for clearance!" snapped Kaidan. Tali's eyes widened slightly at seeing the human standing face to face with the krogan.

"Do whatever you have to do, pyjack. Just hurry up so I can get out of this puzzle box," grunted Wrex as he turned away from the lieutenant.

Tali's eyes widened even more as the mercenary actually backed off, her eyes now focused on the human soldier. She would never say it out loud, as it would likely only upset Wrex more, but she was incredibly impressed with his courage. Finally, the human looked at her and she nodded, then began moving Chatika again. The small drone rolled through the tiny maintenance shaft, past the crusher room and into the next area which looked like a long, empty hallway. The walls had panels on it that were silver-colored, in contrast to the granite-colored walls. "We may have another trap room here. But without ripping the panels off, we have no way of telling how it will react to us."

"Then there's only one way to find out," responded Kaidan with a sigh.

"So what? Ro-sham-bo?" asked the krogan as he turned to the lieutenant.

"No, I'll go. Tali, you be ready to intercept whatever happens," he ordered as he slowly moved towards the door. Tali nodded, and the door slid open. Sure enough, the metal looking panels on the sides of the room were menacing enough to make them all nervous, but the human kept his sub-machine gun prepared as he stepped into the eerie hallway. "Wrex, if I die in here, destroy my omni-tool," he said anxiously, trying to cut the tension.

It worked, as the result was a giggle from the quarian. "Don't want Shepard to see your browsing history?"

"Uhhh... not Shepard, no..." he said as he reached the halfway point into the hall. Tali giggled again, and his pace became more confident. Within a matter of seconds, he had reached the far door. "Huh... odd," he said as he turned and looked back at them. "Maybe it only reacts if the whole team is inside?"

"If that's the case, then I'll sneak up to you and open the door while Wrex stays back, just in case," said Tali as she crouched and began to move forward.

"Wait, Tali, maybe... wait!" shouted the lieutenant as he reached up to signal her to stop. But as soon as she entered the hallway, the door slammed shut and the granite slats between the metal sunk further into the walls. The panels lit up, and immediately the quarian's body went stiff as a blazing red indicator lit up on her facemask. Electrical Attack 50% blocked. She felt the stinging in her toes and fingers as the panels began to light again slowly. From the looks of it, Kaidan had suffered much worse than she had. He was currently standing with his arms shaking, his weapon now on the ground and smoking.

As fast as she could, she raised her omni-tool and activated Chatika. The small drone burst out of the maintenance duct below and scrambled behind the panels in the wall. Before she could get another button press though, the panels lit again and ejected another charge. Electrical Attack 30% blocked. She fell to her knees, gasping for air as the attack nearly froze her lungs. With her hands shaking, she hit the button. Chatika let out a high-pitched whine before exploding forcefully and knocking Tali against the far wall.

Wrex had finally pried the door open with his bare hands when the metal panel flew and slammed against the wall, shattering at the force of the explosion. The other panels darkened as Tali gasped for air. "Keelah! That hurt..." she groaned and Wrex helped her to her shaky feet.

"This thing is definitely thinking for itself," rumbled Wrex as he moved to help Kaidan as well, whose armor was still smoking slightly from the electrical attacks.

"What makes you say that?" asked the human as he too caught his breath, his armored legs shaking slightly.

"Because it's clearly after the girl," said the krogan as he looked over at Tali. "It knows that she is the biggest threat with her tech skills. She is the one opening the doors, she is the one scouting, and she is the one disabling traps. So, a trap that should have triggered when someone steps into it only goes off when she steps inside? I'm not buying it."

"Great, another machine intelligence out to get me," she growled as she shook her hands to get rid of the shaking. "My father would be proud..."

"So, you're saying that whatever this VI is, it's watching us, and it's strategizing on how best to stop us?" asked Kaidan as he reached down and picked up the weapon before shaking his head and tossing it aside.

"That's what it's looking like..." said Wrex as he rolled his shoulders. "So, any changes in the plan?"

"Not currently. We still have to get through here to get to the server. That means progressing the same way we have been. But we'll need a new way of getting past checkpoints if we want to protect our trump card here," said Kaidan as he slapped his helmet with his hand. "Hope that didn't short out my amp."

"We can shadow dance," said the quarian, getting a stunned look from the others.

"Dance? Right now?" asked the krogan incredulously. "Did that electricity do something to your brain?"

"Not actual dancing, bosh'tet!" she snapped before turning to Kaidan. "It's a trick we use for teaching some of the harder courses of ship maintenance. Here," she said before stepping over to Kaidan and taking another drone capsule. "Whenever you arrive at the door, hold this up."

Nodding, the human turned towards the door. Stepping forward, he stopped right in front of the mechanical portal and held up the small device. "Like this?"

Tali nodded, then activated it. And instead of projecting the round, orb-like form of Chatika, the bead instead projected Tali's own visage onto Kaidan. He stared in awe as the quarian's arm lifted up as if attached to his own shoulder. "Just do what you see me do. I'm going to sync into your suit cam so I can see what you see from your perspective."

"This is weird..." said the lieutenant as he lifted his arm to match hers. His omni-tool lit up, and her other arm appeared as well and began to slowly push buttons on the device. But they weren't activating. "Right... hard-light can't interact with hard light," he said before reaching up and mimicking her motions exactly.

After a few moments of following her commands, her hand placed itself on the panel of the door. After he followed suit, It suddenly lit green. "Huh... kinda neat. Don't think it'd work on a krogan..." said Wrex as he watched from his position, leaning against the far door.

"Never know unless you try..." said Tali with a giggle. As they opened the door, they were met with more turrets. Wrex and Tali's shotguns made short work of them, and they continued shadow dancing through the facility's different checkpoints until the small, compact hallway opened up into a larger room filled with boxes and crates that obscured the other side from view.

"I don't like this..." said Kaidan as he pulled the assault rifle off his back.

"Of course you don't. It's an ambush hot zone. Anyone walking through there would be turned into a pile of ash in seconds if the light weapons were cranked up to max," responded Wrex as he shifted his stance.

"So, what do we do?" asked the quarian, her own shotgun aimed out towards the main floor.

"Hey, Lieutenant. You think you can use your biotics to move some of the boxes?" asked the krogan curiously.

Kaidan, no doubt surprised that the mercenary actually called him by his rank, nodded. "I can. Why?"

"Because if they're waiting out there, then maybe we can make them come to us," he said as he loaded a fresh heat sink into his shotgun. "Let's give it a try!"

"Just make sure you know what you're doing..." grumbled Alenko as he held up his arms. Lighting up with the mystical blue energy, he cast a wave over a few of the boxes, causing them to lift from the ground. Suddenly, Wrex threw his own hand forward and his biotics gripped the same obstacles. The mix of the two energies immediately caused a detonation that nearly knocked the human and quarian off their feet. But the explosion also sent four shattered drones smashing against the wall.

The tactic apparently sparked inspiration for a new plan in the VI, as all of the hidden drones burst from cover and swarmed towards the three. Wrex turned to the other two, grabbed them, and hurled them back into the hallway from which they came before closing the door. "Stay in there. Don't want you getting hurt..." growled the krogan as he turned back towards the invading angry bots.

The machine weapons were already firing as Tali got to her feet and activated another Chatika bead. Kaiden ripped up the floor vent and the drone entered before speeding towards the larger room that Wrex was now alone in. The swarm of robots were circling around the mercenary and firing their weapons relentlessly at him. The only thing stopping their attacks was his biotic barrier. "Wrex! What are you doing!?" shouted Tali angrily.

"Getting this shit over with," he growled as he stepped forward, his barrier protecting him from the majority of the laser fire.

"Vakarian here. We cleared the Göndul Compound. Spirits be with the rest of you..." came the message over their radios.

"Oh... well that makes things slightly more complicated," said the krogan as he finally made it to the middle of the room. Already the drones had chipped down his biotic barrier, and with Garrus's message over the radio, the laser attacks suddenly started to burn a lot hotter. "Damn... those are gonna leave a mark..." he growled as he fell to one knee.

"Wrex, if you're going to do something, do it now or else we're coming in there and helping!" ordered Kaidan as he prepared his weapon from behind the door.

"Yeah yeah, keep your quad in your pants!" shouted the krogan as he crouched, his biotic energy now circling his body again. With a rage-filled battle cry, he jumped up and threw his arms out. A powerful wave of biotic energy slammed into the swarming bots and send them vaulting into the wall hard enough to shatter most of them.

Kaidan and Tali finally stepped through the door with their weapons and ended any of the sturdier drones that had managed to survive the massive wave of energy. Finally, the lieutenant turned to Wrex and shook his head. "What the hell kind of attack was that?" he asked curiously to the mercenary, who had fallen backward at the amount of energy he used.

"I call it the supernova. What do you think?" asked Wrex as Kaidan reached down and attempted to help him to his feet. When Tali joined in the effort, they finally got the panting krogan back onto his flat boots.

"Might need to workshop that," said Kaidan with a chuckle as he turned towards the last door on the far side of the room. "Now then, let's get that server down so I can get some coffee."

"Coffee?" asked Tali curiously as her hard-light drone sped up ahead of them. Kaidan opened the door, allowed the drone to go inside, and closed it again.

"It's a human drink. A stimulant of sorts," he said as he leaned back against the wall.

Tali controlled her drone from her omni-tool while Wrex caught his breath from off to the side. "I might need a few stims after this crap," he groaned as he tenderly touched a few of the burn scarring on his helmet.

Finally, the quarian nodded at the sound of a few explosions behind the door. "All drones should be gone now. I'll have Chatika disable the server and we should be good to go."

"Good," said Kaidan as he activated his comm for the other teams. As soon as he did, the lights went out, then red ones came back on in their place. "Lieutenant Alenko here. Skuld compound secured, no casualties."

Hildr Compound - Valkyrie Wing - Armstrong Station

"Vakarian here. We cleared the Göndul Compound. Spirits be with the rest of you," came the call over the comms as the two sat in the entrance of the building they were assigned to.

"So, we're waiting because...?" asked the Alliance officer curiously.

"My team is good, but they're still training. I don't want them having anything added onto their plate. So, we're going to go last," said Shepard as she spun her pistol around.

"Aha, you're confident we can handle the extra pressure because I'm here?" said commander Paine playfully.

Jane cocked on eyebrow through her visor, giving her a smile at the statement. "In a manner of speaking. I do have a plan that should get us through here relatively easily. Remember your specialty?"

"Ahhh yes. You want to take all the fun out of this opportunity," said the woman as she shook her head.

"We can come back and have fun here any time we like. Right now we have a potential AI rampaging through an Alliance facility that I'd like to keep from escaping," said the spectre as she lit her omni-tool. "Looks like taking down the biotic compound has increased the firepower of the drones. That means when the tech compound goes, they should be extra shielded."

"Well, that won't be much of a problem for me," said Commander Paine as she spun her baton in her hands.

"You sure you don't want to use a firearm?" asked Shepard suspiciously.

"Like you said, my specialty." No doubt sporting her signature grin on her face. "So, Shepard. Any plans for little Spectres running around in your future?"

Shepard went wide-eyed at the question. "Where did that come from?"

"Just curious. Didn't you mention a turian…?" started the officer as she idly spun her weapon between her fingers.

"We're friends. Nothing really became of it, and now she's married. As for the future, other than an apparent date I have on the Citadel after this is over, nothing really. I've had too much on my plate to think about relationships," she said, slightly defensive about the question.

"Easy girl, just curious. You were always the wilder one among us. No surprise you haven't found someone strong enough to lasso you yet." Suddenly, they both stood straight when the comms opened again.

"Lieutenant Alenko here. Skuld Compound secured, no casualties," came the soldier's voice.

Shepard nodded to her friend and the two walked through the door with all pleasantries pushed aside. In front of them was a long, wide, hallway with columns, desks, cubicles, and a checkpoint at the end. She knew from experience that the desks and cubicles all had holographic projectors in them that would emulate hidden terrorists, creating a very hostile zone very quickly for the pair.

"So, step one?" asked Paine as she looked over towards the spectre.

"Psalms," said the infiltrator as she prepared her pistol.

"Straight for the Valley of Death?" asked the curious officer, referring to a straight walkway between the desks and cubicles that led to the end of the hall. It received its name as anyone choosing to take that path would essentially be out in the open and running a gauntlet of endless projections and weapons fire.

"With your skills, it won't be much of a fuss," responded Shepard as she activated her omni-tool. "Now, when we get through the door at the end of the hall, we'll no doubt run into drones. I'll need you to hold them off while I get to the server as best you can," she said as she looked to her friend. "Think you can do that?" Commander Paine looked back at Shepard, who chuckled. "Of course you can."

"Alright, let's do this!" said the Alliance officer as she crouched. Shepard followed her example, and the two sprinted into the hall itself. Taking a sharp left, two projections popped up and aimed weapons at them. But the spectre rolled forward and placed her pistol directly against the hard-light soldier, bypassing its shields and blasting it into photons with a single shot.

Paine spun her baton quickly as the other aimed at her companion, then smashed it with a sideways swipe of the bludgeon, causing its form to dissipate. They both turned into the labyrinth-like cubicles and Shepard slid over a desk while Paine circled around. They now stood at the entrance of the 'Valley of Death,' the long corridor of death that was the bane of all Alliance special forces trainees. Already, a dozen or so projections of enemy soldiers sprung out to stop them.

But Paine was prepared. Reaching back, she ripped one of the desks from the ground with her biotic power, then sent it hurtling down the small pathway like it was shot from a trebuchet. The desk immediately smashed into two, wiping them out and smashing their projectors before bouncing and hitting three more, disrupting them before they had a chance to fire. Shepard aimed and took them down with precise shots before grabbing her partner's shoulder.

"Alright, let's go," she ordered, causing Paine's armor to light up with biotic energy. The biotic energy spread out to cover Shepard as well, then the pair of them vanished in a haze of dark energy, reappearing at the end of the gauntlet seconds later. Opening the door quickly, they rushed inside before the VI had even realized what happened. When the door closed again, Shepard doubled over. "Never gonna get used to that…"

"It's not that bad. One rookie marine did it and threw up in his helmet. Had to get it off his head before he drowned in his own vomit," said the commander as she tapped her helmet with the baton. "Alright, so you're going to vanish while I fight a bunch of drones, and try to shut down a rogue VI?"

Standing once her nausea had settled, the spectre nodded. "Essentially. I'll try to take out some on the way there, but I'm not entirely sure if it can get past all my detection blockers. My cloaking may be useless, and if so then I need to make it to the back as quickly as possible."

"Alright alright, I get it. Saddle me with the hard stuff," said the commander jokingly. "Oh well, it'll be a good story for the recruits."

Shepard chuckled and nodded as she activated her cloaking. "Alright, here we go," she said, then opened the door. As predicted the smaller hall-like room was filled with drones. Paine activated her baton, which lit up with her own biotic power as she seemingly warped inside the room, smashing her weapon into one drone and sending it cannoning into a wall with enough force to immediately shatter. In what seemed like a fraction of a second, she vanished again and appeared once more with a swing of her deadly, biotic-powered weapon.

Any time the drones tried to focus on her, she vanished again, only to reappear and slam her mace through another machine. Shepard, however, snuck around the outside edges of the room, dodging drones that were now moving around in a very grid-like pattern to try and throw the biotic attacker off. Raising her omni-tool, she blasted one away once it was close enough by overloading its electronic structure. Luckily, they either didn't bother with trying to find her, or Paine had them so distracted that they didn't even notice.

She finally made it across the room and to the server when she opened her omni-tool. Tapping away, she accessed the data, and immediately something slammed into her firewall. "Oh no you don't…" growled Shepard as she blocked the VI's infiltration attempt. Fighting back against it, she could hear Paine continuing to use her charging ability to warp back and forth, resulting in more smashed drones.

"Not to pester you, but doing this is kind of tiring," said the officer as she continued her assault.

"Working on it!" responded the spectre as she cornered the VI in the server.

[PLEASE. PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!] Shepard was surprised when the message appeared on her omni-tool. Reaching up, Shepard deactivated her voice dampener, allowing her to talk out loud in the room.

"Can you hear me? Can you understand me?" she asked forcefully.

[YES] responded the VI.

"Deactivate your defenses right now and no harm will come to you!" ordered the spectre as she looked back at the fight still going on. Paine was panting heavily, her biotic energy now wavering and dissipating. She attempted to jump again, but this time it cut off halfway through and she stumbled before slamming into the ground.

"Shit…" growled Paine as she looked up at the remaining drones that now surrounded her, all with their weapons trained directly on her prone form.

Suddenly, all of the machines stopped. Shepard looked back at her omni-tool to find a new message scrawling out before her. [HOW DO I KNOW YOU WON'T KILL ME AFTER I STOP?]

"If you don't stop them, I will kill you anyway. You can either trust me or die," said Shepard sternly, giving the VI her ultimatum. It appeared the decision was made, however, when all of the drones fell from the air and hit the ground lifeless. "Good, now. I've got an omni-tool here with a hard data entry port. Once you enter, you will not be able to escape without my intervention, do you understand?"

[YES] responded the VI.

"Once you've transferred to the omni-tool, I'm going to destroy the server. So, anything you leave behind will be eradicated. Do you understand?" asked Shepard, getting an almost immediate answer.

[YES] came the scrawling text again. Reaching back, Shepard took a spare omni-tool she had brought off her belt and took the hard cable, plugging it into the server. Almost immediately, a data transfer activated, and omni-tool turned blue, signifying the transfer was complete. Activated her normal omni-tool, Shepard unplugged the access cable and turned the inside of the server into the tech version of scorched earth. Any data remaining on the server would have been wiped clean, and the electronics were unusable.

"You trapped it?" asked Paine as she got up from her prone position and slid her baton back into place on her back.

"In a manner of speaking yes. There is no wireless connection, so it can't access anything outside of the omni-tool, and it can't escape without this," she said as she reached up and pulled the custom cable she created out of the omni-tool's base. "As of right now, it can only talk through the text module on the omni-tool."

"You going to hand it over to the Alliance?" asked the officer, her breathing slowing as she crossed her arms. The lights in the facility suddenly shut off, then red emergency lights turned on in their place.

"No. If the Alliance was dabbling in artificial intelligence, which is exactly what this is, then I'm going to investigate. I'll learn from it what I can, and I'll decide what to do then," she said as she put the omni-tool on her belt again.

"Wow, Shepard. They weren't kidding about you. You're definitely taking this Spectre thing seriously," said the woman with a chuckle in her voice.

"I'd be doing a disservice to the Alliance and the Council both if I did otherwise. To show bias towards humans would prove exactly what the other Council races said about a human joining the Spectres," she said as she walked towards the exit.

"Wouldn't have it any other way," said Paine before following her friend out of the facility.

Hangar Bay - Armstrong Station

After the shuttle landed back in the hangar of Armstrong Station, Shepard stepped out of the vehicle and was confronted by Admiral Hackett. The man looked at her stoically, standing in parade rest as he welcomed them back from the mission.

"I had a feeling that calling you was the right move. Shepard, the Alliance formally thanks you for your assistance in taking back the Valkyrie Facility," he said before cocking an eyebrow at her curiously. "Did you happen to find out what happened to the VI while you were in there?"

Shepard reached up and took off her helmet as the other members of her crew, some limping and some slouching tiredly got off their respective shuttles as well. "Yes, Admiral, I did. And as much as I'd love to share that information with you, I have a hard time believing it would be handled responsibly. So, I'll be taking over the evidence from this point forward," she said firmly with a stern look on her face.

"Order understood, Spectre," he said as his eyes shifted towards Commander Paine.

But Shepard was having none of the Alliance's nonsense. Turning to all of her ground team, including Paine herself, she shouted so that everyone could hear her. "As for the rest of you, under the Council Security Information Law, your only answer to any questions about what you have seen or learned here on Luna will be, "Speak to Spectre Jane Shepard." Anyone breaking this silence will be charged with an act of espionage against the Council. Do I make myself clear?"

"Understood Spectre!" said Kaidan and Ashley almost immediately. The others followed suit with the same response.

Then Jane turned to Commander Paine. "That goes for you too. If anyone in the Alliance tries to poke your brain or pull rank, you are to report them to me immediately. Do we have an understanding Commander?"

Taking her helmet off as well, the woman gave a genuine smile. "A perfect understanding, Spectre," responded the woman, getting a thankful smile from Shepard.

"Good. Now that those precautions are taken, Admiral, I'd suggest you get a medic team to the Hildr Compound so that they can get your men. I saw them on the way out, and they've definitely seen better days," she said with a sigh.

"I'll get our medivac team on it immediately. In the meantime, I did want to thank you sincerely for helping us out Shepard. Having to destroy those facilities, or blast through to get to the servers would have done near irreparable damage," said Hackett as he bowed his head lightly.

"Ha! You've still got plenty of that," responded Wrex amusedly.

Shepard eyed the krogan with a smirk before turning to the admiral again. "Now, if you don't mind Admiral, my crew deserves a well-deserved rest. As does Lieutenant Commander Paine," she said before nodding to the man and stepping away. Her crew followed, with Alenko and Williams both saluting the admiral before leaving.

As she headed back to the flight deck, however, she was immediately flagged down by someone in a suit. "Excuse me! Commander Jane Shepard?" asked the man.

Shepard sighed to herself and turned to the man, spying a short, scrawny figure in a typical three-piece human suit with thin-rimmed glasses on his nose, and a head of slicked back blonde hair. "Can I help you?" she asked in annoyance.

"Commander...or, I'm sorry, Spectre, it's me! Leonard the Third, MD, Esquire!" he said enthusiastically as he took her hand and shook it without waiting for her compliance.

She gripped his hand extra hard, resulting in him freezing in place and realizing his mistake. Pulling his hand back, he rubbed his aching knuckles nervously. "Where does that name sound familiar?" she asked, then thought for a moment. Suddenly, her gaze darkened. "Oh no... what day is it?"

Alenko spoke up as he checked his suit's chronometer. "Second of April, Shepard."

Her eye almost twitched at the news, her teeth snapping shut as she turned back to the man who was the same height as her. "Which means you're here because…"

"The invitation! I assumed that you hadn't gotten it because we didn't receive an RSVP, but seeing you here relieves me greatly!" he said excitedly. Then his excitement faded. "That IS why you are here, right?"

Shepard was about to speak when Wrex cleared his throat. "Uh uh, Shepard. You said it yourself, under the Council Security Information Law."

Turning to the krogan, she gave him a threatening glare. "Hey Wrex, if you don't want to be strapped to the Normandy's hull when we leave, I suggest you'd bite your tongue."

"Why would you want him to bite his tongue? That sounds painful…" asked Tali curiously.

Kaidan leaned down to the quarian and said loud enough for everyone to hear, "She's telling him to shut up."

"Ooooh! I understand now!" she said as she clapped her hands together.

Shepard, who was ready to toss half of her crew into the sun just turned to the man with a fake grin plastered on her face. "I guess that's why I'm here. But I have my crew here as well. If you can't make room for them, then the answer is no," she said, trying to think of any way to get out of the wedding ceremony.

The man's face looked slightly crestfallen at the request, especially after looking over at Tali and Wrex. But he nodded and activated his omni-tool. "Give me just a moment, I'll see if I can get them clearance," he said as he wandered off and began calling his people.

"So... what's going on?" asked Garrus curiously.

"I'm kinda curious myself Skipper. What invitation is he talking about?" asked Ashley curiously as she crossed her arms.

Shepard turned to them with a sigh. "After becoming a Spectre I was invited to the wedding of Chao Hsu and Valerie LaBarre."

Both Ashley and Kaidan took a step back in surprise. "A royal wedding? No shit?" asked Ash, bewildered.

"Royal? You have royalty on Earth?" asked Tali, who was unsure if she was understanding correctly.

"They're a couple billionaires from Earth who happen to also be a celebrity couple. My people lap up drama and romance like that like its life-saving water," said the commander as she waved off the occurrence. "I wouldn't get your hopes up though. Royal brats like that tend to only accept their own kind. I only made the cut because I'm the famous first human Spectre. If I wasn't a Spectre, then they wouldn't even know who the hell I was."

"Oh, but I hope we can go! I've seen human weddings and they're so gorgeous!" squealed Tali excitedly as she clasped her hands together.

Shepard looked at the others for backup. Finally, having taken their helmets off, Kaidan and Ashley were talking excitedly about the possibility of being seen at the wedding. Garrus seemed to have clocked out of the conversation entirely by staring off into space. Liara was just staring at the spectre blankly.

Turning to Wrex, she looked at him questioningly. "What about you? You don't want to go, do you?" she asked, unbelieving that the krogan would want to entertain a bunch of pompous billionaires who wouldn't piss on him to put a fire out.

"Is there gonna be food?" he asked solidly, causing Shepard to palm her forehead.

"Oh no... not you too," she groaned in agony.

"Hey, if they want me stomping my battle-worn boots around their delicate little feet, then I don't care as long as I'm fed," he said with a nod.

"Et tu Wrex?" asked Shepard with a painful look on her face.

"What was that?" asked the krogan as he reached up to make sure his translator was working properly.

"Nevermind…" she said, turning to the wiry man and hoping that she would be roadblocked by their snobbishness. But even that hope was dashed when the man came over with a gleaming smile. She wanted to punch him right in his perfect white teeth.

"Good news, Spectre! The happy, soon to be couple, have approved your guest list. Though, I must ask that you keep the krogan under control," he said, holding his hands up to show he meant no offense.

"That krogan's name is Urdnot Wrex, and he comes from a long line of battlemasters leading back to the original Fallout War on Tuchanka. You will call him by his name," snapped Shepard, resigning herself to the event, but determined to have some fun with it.

"O-Oh. I-I see…" stammered the man as he bowed his head in apology.

"Say his name," ordered Shepard with a stern glare.

"Wrex?" said the man, unsure how she would react.

"Shepard," responded Wrex.

"You know, this might not be so bad. Alright, let's get this over with," she said with a small grin.

"I'm sure you will enjoy it! This is a most fortunate happenstance! You see, the wedding was already in procession when we received a warning from the Alliance that all activities on Luna were to be ceased until we were given the all clear. I was here to attain the all-clear message when I bumped into you! How lucky!" said the man excitedly as he pushed his glasses up on his nose.

"Yeah... lucky us," she griped as she was led towards a very elaborate shuttle.

CODEX ENTRIES

Shadow Dance | Culture | Quarian
A common teaching method used by quarians to teach or instruct in environments of extreme danger. Using holographic technology, the instructor or teacher will project themselves into an environment they are unable to access, allowing a visual demonstration to those already in the environment. It's commonly used for emergency situations on the Migrant Fleet where bulkheads have sealed off certain areas of a ship.