Hold on! I'm looking for this Star Forge map thingie… can you stop blowing up my planet?

SPECTRE Logistical Branch, Frostline District, Block 1730 (Mid-Wards), Bachjret Arm, Citadel, Widow System, Serpent Nebula, July 1, 2183

Author's Note: If you needed a little more cowboy in your Mass Effect story, you've come to the right place.

Everyone's favorite gunslinging Marshal from 'Where The Law Stands Tall' is back in action.

This chapter is mostly an expose on the awesomeness of SPECTREs, something barely touched in the game, but something I delved into hard in "WTLST" in Libera Nos A Malo, VIII with the Miracle of Therum, creating SPECTREs that we were promised… but BioWare didn't really deliver. They're suppose to be the best, armed and armored with the best. Now I'm going to show you the best.

Knuckle up!

Alliance Federal Marshal Samantha Lynn Collins opened the biometrically-locked door for her guests, Captain Jane Catherine Shepard and Petty Officer (Second Class) Sara Elaine Ryder having followed her from her personally-issued X3M contragravity conveyance to the Mid-Wards of the 1700 Block in the Bachjret Arm. The sight of the location would undoubtedly have a reaction as she led her companions to the SPECTRE Logistical Branch, where the Office of Special Tactics kept their weaponry, armor, and equipment. It was also responsible for the research and development of said equipment, to keep Council Agents at the very peak of their game, as well as vessel registry on loan to SPECTREs. Sam had reached the front door and turned slightly to look upon the faces of the Lion of Elysium and the Angel of Illyeria, to see their reaction.

"You're kidding me. Here?" Sara asked, her voice incredulous as she looked up to the building in question, a ten-story building nestled between an office park and a commercial depot. Shepard had a stumped look upon her face, both the N7 and the Corpsman having being told that they would be visiting the SLB, affectionately known as the 'House Of Boom', coined by the first Turian SPECTREs over a millennium ago. Like all the SPECTRE Offices, they were fronts and covers to their real identity, and Sam remembered the first time she had seen some of them herself, wondering whom thought themselves clever. The SPECTRE Intelligence Branch was under the most ludicrous and asinine Citadel government agency in existence, the Office of Civil Complaints; a bureaucratic mis-mash created to make Citadel Citizens (jokingly called 'CitCitz' by C-SEC and SPECTREs alike) feel like their needs were being addressed. The Office of Civil Complaints was, in fact, the worst joke in existence, and everyone knew it. Having the SIB underneath it, the best Intelligence Agency in the galaxy, just made it that more ironic.

The House of Boom was labeled as the Volus Cultural Center.

"You've got to be fucking shitting me." The Cit-born commented as she shook her head. Collins understood the disbelief, she had felt herself the first time she had gone to the SPECTRE Logistical Branch. The N7 had the same disbelieving look upon her face, the redhead merely shaking her head as she looked at what had to be yet another ironic joke; at one point in time, someone on the Council had a quirky sense of humor. That the weapons of the SPECTREs would be in, around, or under a Cultural Center of the species least adapted for fighting outside of their ancestral planet? Someone was a troll, evidently. "Here?!" Ryder just looked at her with utter disbelief. "And how do the Irunians feel about this?"

"You'll see." Sam replied as the biometrically-locked door opened to reveal a common airlock access, the interior door locked and shut as was proper. Together, the three women filed in, Ryder looking a little worried. No doubt she was thinking of the planetary conditions of Irune; high atmospheric pressure and a chlorine-nitrogen-based atmosphere. Shepard was looking at the dimensions of the airlock, but a space-born would know more about airlocks than anyone else.

"False airlock." The N7 noted, no doubt noticing that the atmospheric pressure wasn't changing, nor was the atmosphere being exchanged. "Are there actually any Volus in here, or is it just a pretty sign?"

"The door guard is a Volus. I wouldn't test him or his patience." Collins replied as the inner door flashed blue for access, the airlock door sliding open to reveal a rather common looking lobby with what appeared to be an enclosed reception desk built for a Volus. Sam merely waived at Cur Dileed, the resident SPECTRE door guard whose primary functions were financial investigations and frying fools. The Dileed Clan Volus was something of a financial genius, and could trace Creds like a wolf with the hint of blood, as Sam understood it. As a ship-hunter herself, she understood that the most successful were defined by those who understood the intricacies the best. The suited Volus in his environmentally-protected suit merely watched the three Human's behind goggled eyes, almost intimidating. For a meter tall, meter round creature? That was actually an impressive accomplishment. Sam placed her hand on the biometric reader in the lobby, letting it scan her fingerprints, DNA, bioelectrical field, eyes and voice sample to confirm her identity before heading to the turbolift airlock bay. Jane and Sam were doing the same thing, getting the blue light of acceptance under the watchful eyes of Cur Dileed, who undoubtedly had his hand on the 'purge' button if someone didn't pass. No one would survive the 'purge' button no matter their armor or species. Once Ryder's blue light came on, Sam led them to the left-most 'airlock', opening it and letting her guests in. Jane grunted as the doors closed and the vehicle moved.

"Auntie?"

"Yeah?"

"I think I'm going to like it here." Sara told Jane, the Angel all smiles as the both of them realized the deception. The Volus Cultural Center really was a Cultural Center… at ground level and above. The turbolift moved forward, though, gliding around the building and towards the back where the architectural plans didn't have a void where the turbolift would drop down ten meters to the level below it. Shepard felt the downward shift, and Sara's jaw dropped open. "There's a basement level?" No Cit building had a 'basement', though there were Keeper tunnels. "How the hell does no one notice a level not connected to anything but the ceiling in the Lower Wards?"

"Optical illusion." Collins replied, knowing the answer since she had asked it once herself. Even knowing it was there, she couldn't find it, and she had looked. "There's a few places like that on the Cit, most everyone blithely unaware. Since there's no flight allowed in the Ward interiors save for C-SEC and CitEMS, a level just on the ceiling is a safe call as no one flies that close to it."

"Except Flight Officer Kaius fucking Contenus." The Angel grumped, making the Marshal frown. She had forgotten that Ryder was once a former CitEMS Paramedic; first Human to do so, actually, at the tender age of fifteen. Sara had used Turian cultural rules about age to her advantage, fifteen being a citizen adult in the Hierarchy and the Cit. It had actually been approved since Humans and Turians lived about the same lengths of time, not to mention that Sara was likely smarter than most save for Matriarchs and Salarian male Chenobits, the five or so males in a clutch that were smarter than their brothers, usually slated for the Union Government, mostly STG or scientific endeavors. Sam didn't doubt Sara being accepted into the Presidium Academy of Education had something to do with that. The Marshal assumed that Officer Contenus was the pilot for her Skybulance. She had heard rumors that there was a crazy fucking Turian that flew for the CitEMS, holding flight records for response times.

The turbolift that looked like an airlock to keep up appearances arrived at its destination, the basement level of the Volus Cultural Center. The interior door opened to the normal Cit atmosphere and not an Irunian one as Collins moved forward with Shepard and Ryder in tow, seeing a few members inside the lobby of what was the massive level that was the armory for the Office of Special Tactics, the SPECTRE Logistical Branch. Scuttlebutt in the Home Office said that if it were a weapon or a piece of armor, the House of Boom collected it, possessed it, improved upon it, and used it before sending it out with SPECTREs. Sam completely and utterly believed the rumor; she had reason to. The lobby was a plain one with several doors, one leading to the weapons locker, another to the armor palace, a third to the the testing facility, and the last one to the 'range'.

"To the Palace first." The Marshal said, pointing out the door in question. "There you'll both be fitted with your custom-crafted bodysuits and MasterGear Armor. There is literally nothing else better on the market, each and every one of them fitted and tailored to each SPECTRE based on body dimensions, comfort, efficiency, and… combat outlooks." Sam turned to look at the Lion before entering the door. "You're going to ask someone to make it look like the Predator or something else weird?" Sam had seen pictures of the Lion in action, and she was always noticeable amongst the troops due to her 'customized' look, modifying the look of her armor to some antiquated superhero or vid action hero.

"Mmmmmmaybe." The N7 had a small smile on her face while the Angel merely shook her head. The door opened to the Palace to where the room was really just a super high-tech scanning facility in which a person stood upon a raised platform and several machines would scan every millimeter of the sapients' body, not merely just the surface, either.

Collins began to explain what made SPECTRE armor so advanced; personal customization. Both Jane and Sara stood in the room as the Marshal talked, telling them how they would go through a series of tests to analyze heart rate, blood pressures, adrenal responses, organ function, oxygen diffusion pulseoxymetry, chemical composition, blood flow, power requirements, hydration requirements, radiation tolerances, and biological elimination processes, to name a few. A standard armor company made armor generic; one bought Aldrin Labs Onyx Armor, and it was one-size-fits-most. One could adjust for body mass and height, but that was generally it. Customization was needed to turn basic armor into something more tailored, but one was merely modifying an existing platform, and could only do so much. Such work was expensive, and modifications didn't always mesh with an armors' software management suite, sometimes glitching or failing to mesh in case one wanted something that enhanced performance or added to operational longevity. Generally, if one added to some aspect of an armor, something else suffered in return, a balance always existing.

SPECTRE MasterGear Armor, like its weapons, was fabricated in-house. Highly-advanced and specialized OmniForges rated for exotic metals, ceramics, and polymers crafted a specialized and fitted suit of armor in which advanced-processing VI managers already detailed the listings of power management, electronic pathways, servos, and actuators needed with best possible locations for the sapient in question. The armor was built from the ground up from highly-detailed evasive scans of the sapient's biological physiology and combat preferences, the hardware and software engineering details of the armor included and arranged for optimal performance. Unlike common armors, made of synthsilk fabrics and flexible light polymers for the sealed bodysuit, tempered ceramics made of carbonized crystalline, and shelled in alumnisteel, MasterGear Armor was crafted with some of the best material available… generally off-market. High-density monomolecular supra-tensile flexible polymers for the bodysuit to withstand impacts and environments, plasma-forged triceramic cores as hard as diamonds, and shelled in rare earth alloys such as titanium-reinforce iridium. The electronic components were also of a severe degree of advancements, like spintronic resistors, tri-gate transistors, kinetic defense weave emitters, nanotech processors, intrinsic field wiring, heuristic-based VI algorithm modules, and advanced battery reserves that gave the armor the ability to go longer and harder than anything else available by purchase or craft.

Each SPECTRE MasterGear Armor was valued in the megaCredits. Easily.

"Alright, I need you to step onto the scanner here," Collins told the two women, pointing to the ring on the floor that had three rotating scanners attached to servo arms that would spin around the person. "The system will register your species, height, weight, dimensions, cardiovascular system, lymphatic system, endocrine system, pulmonary system, and… are either one of you Biotic?"

"Yes." Sara Rider replied, nodding her head. "I doubt the SPECTREs will have a better Amp for a Human than the one my mother made." Ah, that was right. Doctor Ellen Ryder was the premiere Biotic researcher for Humanity. It didn't surprise Sam at all that she would have given her daughter possibly the best Biotic Implant and Amp that one could possibly have, even more so that what one might purchase. The SPECTRE Home Office had advanced Amps for Asari, Turians, Salarians, Drell, and Volus, but none for Humans. Sara, Humanity's Firstborn on the Cit, would be the first. "Is it just weapons and armor, or is it… everything?"

"Amps, OmniTools, armor, weapons, visors, electronic and financial accounts, secured communications protocols, software management suites… the works." Sam smiled slightly, seeing the younger woman gape a little. She once looked like that when she had asked that very same question to Nihlus Kryik. That had her heart ache, and she willed the grief down. "Go ahead and remove everything but undergarments before stepping onto the scanner and I'll commence with the process, which will take fifteen minutes. Captain? You're first." There was no disguising her tone or the heavy weight on her heart. It hadn't even been a month since the Normandy's return from the ill-fated mission on Eden Prime.

Collins watched as Jane Catherine Shepard removed her Alliance Battle Duty Uniform, peeling off the blue-and-black blouse and pants to reveal the black Underarmor shirt she wore on her torso and a pair of pink female-oriented boyshorts. Someone was obviously self-conscious about panty lines appearing through their uniform, the Marshal mused silently. Sam felt an eyebrow raise up when the redhead pulled off her shirt to heroically show that she was wearing a very pink Underarmor Crossback Medium-Impact sports bra.

"Geez, Auntie, did you kill and skin a Hanar?" Ryder stood there with her arms folded across her chest, making her muscular arms seem much more so, her rolled-up sleeves adding to the physicality. Collins had been a little surprised meeting the Angel of Illyeria, knowing of the thirteen-year old young woman from the media only to see a twenty-year old female minor bodybuilder. 'Shocking' didn't quite cover it, that transition from cute little cherub of a girl to a Navy Corpsman that looked ready to wrestle a Turian to the ground. And win. Shepard merely rolled her eyes at Sara's comment as she walked towards the scanner.

Jane Shepard was easily an impressive woman to look upon, Sam noted. Just shy of being full-figured, years of working out, training, and being in Special Forces had ripped any excess fat from her body and replaced them with an athletic build, sure and solid. The Marshal noted the scars of several gunshot wounds among the six-pack of her abdomen, and Sam was reminded that Jane had almost died protecting Elysium. No doubt hidden behind her sports bra was another gunshot wound near her heart. There were a few other minor marks and scars, but nothing disfiguring or noticeable. Shepard was an interesting blend of femininity and athleticism. "Matching set? Who were you planning to impress? The weight room?" The smile on Sara's face was full of piss-and-vinegar, and Sam had to stop herself from chuckling. The Angel could snark.

"Watch it, kiddo. You're next." The Lion told the Angel as Jane stepped onto the scanner, standing in a more relaxed position of attention as Collins activated the scanner, the triple-set of arm servos rotating in different directions and speeds, each scanner tracing faint blue lines of progress over the body of Jane Shepard as they mapped in detail the dimensions and biological composition of her body as the Lion stood there patiently, neither fretting or fidgeting. Surprisingly, the process didn't seem to take forever as the status bar dinged is completion after fifteen minutes. Shepard stepped off and moved back to where her uniform rested. "Your turn, brat."

"You just didn't want to miss the gun show." Sara winked at her 'Aunt', Collins sighing at the sight of familial rivalry and respect. At least this portion of her personality of Sara's Collins had been aware of thanks to the dozen or so interviews after Elysium, an effervescent thirteen-year old girl with wit and brains. That always made for an interesting combination.

But then someone had gone and slapped a shit ton of muscles on her.

Marshal Collins was a bit shocked when Sara Elaine Ryder began to take off her own Systems Alliance Battle Duty Uniform, the shorter woman pulling her blouse by undoing her rolled-up sleeves first so that they would actually slide off her muscular biceps and triceps instead of having to yank it off. The Alliance Blues blouse came off to reveal the Systems Alliance-issue black Underarmor shirt that didn't disguise Sara's physique at all. Dear fucking God, the Angel of Illyeria looked like she popped PED's for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! Sam knew that wasn't true as the Systems Alliance tested its Sailors and Marines for 'unwarranted' pharmaceuticals, and Hospital Corpsmen twice as much, but seeing thick shoulders and a very muscular torso had Collins more than a little shocked.

Sara was a short woman, a good deal shorter than average. When Humanity had been introduced to the Angel of Illyeria in the days following the Assault on Elysium, she had been a petite and lithe girl just hitting her teenage years, boyish and all knees and elbows. Still short, but all similarities from the thirteen-year old Gold Ribbon-awardee to the twenty-year old Navy Corpsman ended there. Shepard was an athletic woman, an athletically-figured woman that bordered upon 'muscular', staying just short of it. Ryder, on the other hand? Muscular, almost hitting into the exaggerated category. If Sara wanted, she could likely enter into bodybuilding competitions for her weight class, as few competitors as there might be for someone of her height, having a lower weight due to biology. The Underarmor shirt did nothing to disguised the ripped tone of Sara Ryder's musculature, her abdominal muscles more defined than Shepard's' or her own, her arms thicker, her shoulders broader. Mother of God, Sara could easily walk onto the cover of a Men's Health e-magazine and show men up! The Corpsman's pants and Underarmor shirt came off next, and Sam had to shake her head at the sight of the Angel's undergarments. No paragon of virtue, there.

"Black lace?" Jane sounded too amused for her own good. Indeed, Sara Ryder was wearing a black lace triangle bra and a matching pair of black lace thong. That implied one thing, really. They weren't exactly fully opaque, either. "Really utilizing your time on the Cit, huh?" The Lion was teasing her friend and near-sister, giving it just as good as the Angel.

"I have a death wish, see you all in hell." That had Collins laughing hard as Sara stood there with her muscular arms across her small breasts but muscular chest, standing in a nonchalant manner with a smirk that was way too smarmy for its own good. "Though, in my defense, I didn't know I'd be half-naked doing this. And I did just get off a date."

"Get off a date, or get off on your date?" The redhead was certainly feeling her oats as Sara went to the scanner, Collins still chuckling.

"There's a difference?" Ryder replied, her grin a light year wide. "It's okay, Auntie. I'm sure the Gods of Chasity will make sure your picture doesn't lose its vaulted position." Collins snorted as she activated the scanner, the servos beginning to spin the scanning arms around the Angel as Shepard just looked at the younger woman with a dropped jaw.

"I'm so gonna kick your ass for that comment."

"Awww, does the N7 need a hug?" The Corpsman said with a smile as faint blue lines traced over her body. "Might want to get the SPECTRE armor first, Auntie." Sara's smirk was just too much as she lifted her arms up and flexed in a bodybuilders' pose, highlighting her musculature. Lunatics, the both of them.

Sam would fit right in.

The next step in the process, Petty Officer Sara Ryder discovered, was 'tailoring'.

SPECTRE MasterGear Armor was touted throughout the galaxy as the best armor in the business… period. Most suspected how, but the devil, as Humans were wont to say, were in the details. And Sara was getting a first-hand account on those details.

After scanning, Marshal Samantha Collins took them to the next room, where ultra high-grade OmniLooms were spinning Auntie's and hers' brand-new, highly-advanced ballistic bodysuits that, according to Marse, could actually take small caliber military round impacts, large caliber civilian pistol round impacts, and even shotgun spread from a distance of five meters or more. Like most ballistic bodysuits, they were rated for pressurization and survival of non-sapient environments, letting a user walk upon planets where the atmo or pressure was a bit too extreme for the species in question, tailored towards the evolution of the species in question. A Systems Alliance-issued bodysuit could handle up to four atmos to a quarter atmo, and generally negate Level One toxic hostile environments, though it didn't do well in caustic environments.

A SPECTREs body suit was much more than that.

The material was of a monomolecular design, a high-density weave that was flexible for movement but 'hardened' with kinetic force. Sara suspected an advanced polymer, or perhaps even Prothean technology… until she saw the OmniLoom and realized she was so, so wrong.

"Nanotechnology?" The Cit-born asked, her voice hitching in her throat as she watched the ballistic bodysuits 'grow', for lack of a better term. It wasn't being fabricated and weaved in front of their eyes. Oh no, not that. It was literally growing right in front of her eyes, obviously some sort of programmable material guided by nanomachines measuring in the micrometers… possibly picotechnology. Sara had no idea, never even suspected such a thing was possible. Even the blackest of BlackTech didn't use picotechnology, a degree smaller than NanoTech, able to make even more refined items. This was well beyond concept or even state-of-the-art. The ballistic bodysuits were centuries ahead of current tech. It had to be ProTech, otherwise whoever had invented it would outfit their species with the same thing.

"It is a multi-layered suit that is crafted through the use of nanomachines, yes." The Marshal replied, getting Auntie to gape just as much as Sara. As good as Sara was with software and hardware, Auntie was better, having a knack for re-purposing weapons and armor and customizing it personally. "There are layers of BoPET and transNewtonian fluids, NanoGel, and integrated piezoelectric filaments for power distribution and management. There is also biosynthetic fibers that expand and contract upon body moment, augmenting the users' physicality."

"A muscle suit." Shepard figured it out at the same time Sara did. "What's BoPET?"

"Biaxially-oriented Polyethylene Terephthalate. Commonly referred to as Mylar." Ryder informed her best friend, who looked at Sara with a strange look.

"Like, the stuff for balloons?"

"But much more dense, thicker, and with augmented properties to resist impacts and force." Sam explained, impressing even Sara. ProTech at a scale that she had never imagined. This wasn't items that one could make with even an advanced fabrication suite. Every level of manufacturing was likely something beyond state-of-the-art, from the materials, to the process of manufacturing, to the finished product. With this level of equipment, it was a wonder how SPECTREs died. Overwhelmed would be her first guess, with a mountain of corpses of the fools who tried and failed in front of them, likely. Blasting them while in space was likely the easiest method, avoiding personal combat. Mylar was rated for high-tensile strength, chemical and dimensional stability, gas and aroma barrier properties, transparency, reflectivity, and electrical insulation. Ryder never would have guessed to use Mylar as a replacement for the common Nomex/Kevlar that Systems Alliance ballistic bodysuits used. As Jannie said it, Mylar was usually associated with helium-filled balloons for birthdays. "There are other materials and properties to it, woven and crafted into the molecular structure of the bodysuit," holy shit, Sara realized, knowing what that meant, "and the bodysuit alone is better protection than, say, a standard suit of Aldrin Labs' Light Onyx Armor."

"You can change the molecular structure? On the spot?" That was what NanoTech was suppose to do, but no one advertised using NanoTech. Not unless one wanted a SPECTRE to visit them or a kinetic strike delivered onto their skulls. NanoTech was against the Citadel Conventions and the Treaty of Farixen unless approved by the Council of Law, much like Artificial Intelligences and organic technology. That approval list was very short. To fabricate molecules? That literally meant that one only needed the base elements and the knowledge of the molecular structure to fit as needed. Old Earth legends had a name for this process; alchemy. One couldn't turn lead into gold, even with NanoTech (supposedly), but one could turn base components into any kind of alloy, polymer, synthesized material, or inert metal. No need to forge, heat, mold, press, or any other complicated process. Add, program, and nanomachines would craft the object desired into the structure and dimensions desired. "Geez, I'm almost afraid to ask how expensive that NanoForge is. Unless…" She looked to Jannie. "No one invented it, did they? It was found. It's ProTech."

"You certainly are an Alumni of the Presidium Academy of Education. But yes, it is a piece of Prothean technology, the only one of its kind ever located." The Marshal confirmed, and both Auntie and her shared a look. Jannie was thinking the same thing she was thinking; no one would give up the 'only' one. While it was Council Law to 'share' all Prothean technology, knowledge, research, and data, Sara had witnessed first-hand how well that worked out on Therum between the Serrice Team and the Oxford Team. She wouldn't be surprised at all if the Asari, the Salarians, the Turians, and the Hanar had kept certain finds and knowledge to themselves. Hell, hadn't there been some ancient ship the Salarians had discovered a couple decades back that the Batarians had taken and claimed the whole thing a hoax? Who knew what had been on that ancient ship?

"So… what are your preferences for armor?"

"Uh oh." Sara smiled as she looked to Jannie, who was already all smiles, her face lighting up like it was Earth Christmas. "You're going to actually try to have MJOLNIR Armor from HALO again, aren't you?"

"Maaaaaybe." The Lion smiled, the redhead's grin getting even bigger. "But Iron Man would be cool, too. I wouldn't mind having the Falcon's wings."

"Is she being realistic?" Collins asked, a little amused. Sara sighed and merely nodded her head. "How about I hand you a list of what we can actually do to your armor, and the weight and power capabilities while I work with Sara. I think she'll be more reasonable."

"List! Gimme!" Shepard was practically dancing in her boots at the thought of seeing a list of advanced modifications and augmentations that she could have in her armor as Ryder rolled her eyes. Auntie and her toys! Sam shook her head as she pulled out a blank datapad and downloaded the aforementioned list to the electronic device before handing it to the Captain.

"There's really only a few things I'm interested in." The Corpsman told the Marshal as she too got a list from Sam. The datapad's information was organized into categories, each one highlighting a specific type of combat or orientation. One was 'Soldier', another 'Infiltrator', a third 'Engineer'. There were six categories in all, and she ended up looking at the one labeled 'Sentinel'. It expanded to sub-categories, and she saw that the primary idea was defensive operations. Sara saw that she could customize her armor to better defend herself from physical attacks, a better physics threshold, higher-quality kinetic defense emitters and shield generators, an electromagnetic defense field generator that would advert rounds that weren't precisely aimed, and even BlueWare for better Biotic strength and control. Each option had capabilities, power requirements, space allowance, and best integration ratios. Someone had diligently tested each product to maximize performance for the SPECTRE in question. She also saw a list of modifications that she could add to her armor, everything from extra shield batteries, environmental capabilities, inertia dampeners, hardwire connectivity to protect against data theft and intrusion, and even ablative coating to better protect against round impacts. "Can I incorporate one of my own ideas into the armor? I created a battle-deployable OmniGel Tech Armor that secrets along the surface and hardens in a few seconds. It was really useful on Therum."

"You… made flash-forged armor?" Collins asked, more than a little shocked. "I know plates of OmniGel can be added electrostatically, but I've never heard of anyone making on-the-spot armor out of OmniGel in the middle of battle. Do you have the design?"

"Design, blueprints, program, and successful test deployment." Sara smiled, queuing up her OmniTool and finding her 'Tech Armor' App. "I used OmniGel dispersal modules and an electromagnetic field to keep its thickness even and to bond it together quickly while adhering it to the armor. It adds about half again as much impact resistance from rounds that are stripped of their force by shields, plus I instituted a sort of 'self-healing' program where more OmniGel would flood any cracks or pits made by damaging shots whenever my shields were dampened or overexerted, maximizing my protection as much as possible."

"That's… pretty damn impressive, actually." Ryder didn't doubt that others had tried the idea in the past, probably using different methods to explain why it hadn't worked out. Oh, likely some individual had something similar to a certain level of success. But she had just come off a siege-like mission where she held off the Geth for almost an entire day without any real noticeable injury, certainly no gunshot wounds. Yes, she was a Biotic, but that didn't grant immunity from bullets or harm. Biotics also tired a user out. Even a well-trained Asari Commando wouldn't be able to hold up a barrier for more than an hour in peace time, much less getting shot at. Having Biotics and OmniGel armor for extra protection meant that Sara had found a way to outlast her opponents while a dozen people defended against what sounded to be around a thousand Geth deployed on Therum. "I assume you'll be looking at upgrades for the components. Just be aware that each armor has a space limit and power limit. Consult the report for efficiency ratios and waste power percentages so you can maximize your armor to its fullest potential." There was a ghost of a smile on Collins' face. "I have a friend who pretty much loaded up on the heaviest armor to practically create near-invulnerable armor. Couldn't move very fast… but that's a Blackwatch Final Line Commando for you." That had the Corpsman nod in understanding. Final Line Commandos were deployed to hold the line while regular Hierarchy forces tactically retreated to make new defensive positions and readjust their tactics, buying them time. The motto for the Final Line was a grim one; 'Peace Only Comes When Everyone Else Is Dead'. Not one unit of the Final Line had ever been known to retreat, suffering heavy losses but never breaking.

Sara looked over the options of materials, components, programs, cybersuites, electronic jamming, advanced VI modules, multi-core processors made of macroelectronic protein chips, and even the option of Quantum Frequency. There were literally hundreds of options, and she wondered who had invented them all. Most assumed Salarians as great inventors and builders, but Ryder knew that the Asari had several lucrative companies and programs to promote advancements, and the Quarians were hardly second-to-none, usually only behind due to minimal resources, not intelligence. Humanity had been playing catch up over the past two decades, taking pieces of alien tech and either adapting it for their own needs, improving upon it, or circumventing it for different lines of thought. In twenty-six years, Humanity's technology had jumped a century while crafting different ways and means to do things that the galaxy had grown comfortable with for over a few hundred years. It was one of the reasons why Humanity had its half-barbaric, half-worrisome reputation. Mankind had its rule-makers and rule-breakers; it had never been much of a rule-follower.

"Mother of God, Depleted Eezo armor?" Sara looked to the Butcher in amazement, seeing that as an option for armor material. "Iridium Hexafloride? Titanium-sheathed Osmium?" The list of ultra-dense alloys were mind-boggling. Most of them were crafted into shape, incurring a heavy expense and taking quite a length of time to create. "Is… is there a way we can look up the Bloody Talon's armor and weapons?"

"I… shit, that never occurred to me." The Marshal's eyes got big, but she obviously saw the merit in the idea. "I know what Nihlus had; trimolecular-bonded Refined Aegisalt over lattice Platinum-infused Beryllium. It could take the full brunt of an anti-material rifle round even with its shields depleted. Let's see what Saren has." Collins moved over to a terminal, keying up a search program as Sara watched on, seeing the Marshal enter the name Saren Talador Arterius in the search field. An alert came up for confirmation of identity, and Sam placed her hand onto the acceptance port to scan her DNA. The alert flashed blue, and the information was unlocked as Sara watched a Turian-sized wireframe crafted in front of her electronically, showing the arms and armor of former Council Agent Saren Arterius, known as the Bloody Talon.

"Oh shit." Ryder said simply as exploding explanations came from the trigraphic model of the armor, indicating make of materials and compositions of the armor, the placement of dataware modules and modifications for combat and investigations. She knew that Saren was a Biotic, a Cabal Strike Leader during the First Contact War, so it didn't surprise her to see that Saren had the most advanced Turian-oriented Biotic Amp and Implant available, more so than what a Cabalist or a Blackwatch member could get. It was like that for the rest of his armor as well; mylomar-enhanced reflex servos for quicker movement and reaction times, high-density depleted uranium shell over warped depleted Eezo core, an endoskeletal frame under the plates of armor for enhanced strength and speed, a polymath VI software management suite for broader connectivity for the various programs and systems relating to the armor and weapons he used. Seeing it described to her? Her heart practically stopped in her chest.

"That… can't be right." Sam pointed at something, a weapon that Sara looked at as well. "That requires permission from all three Councilors to release."

"A Beryllium Fission Generator 9000?" There was a holographic tag describing the object, something that was a meter-and-a-half long and looked to be containing… some sort of contained field of… "Is that an atomic weapon?" Sara's blood ran cold at the sight of the description of the weapon. Fissing a Beryllium atom released almost as much energy as it did Uranium, minus the fallout of atomic radiation. Something like that could have a man kill a Corvette-Class vessel. Easily. The energy output was rated in the hundreds of kiloJoules, almost a megaJoule! That was close to the impact of a Frigate-Class Alliance vessel's main gun! And Saren had that? "Oh fuck." There were other weapons, programs, sub-systems, and applications to enhance Saren, to turn one of the most lethal Turians to have ever lived into something even better. She saw displayed a date that indicated that Saren's current armor was upgraded to its current configuration with a CitDate that Ryder immediately converted to the Terran Calender.

"Auntie? You need to see this." The younger woman called out, Shepard still playing with armor options off to the side. Her tone broke the redhead's attention from her geeking out as the Lion looked over, Sara's eyes meeting green ones. "This is what we'll be facing."

Jane was soon there by her and Sam Collins, her eyes reviewing everything that was in front of them. Auntie was frowning.

"Can I get a tactical threat assessment for this?" The N7 asked, her eyes never moving from the displays. Reviewing, studying, contemplating. Sam merely nodded and entered in a few more keystrokes on the Haptic keyboard, rating all the information and compiling it together into a realistic threat assessment meant to define what the shields and armor could take. The numbers were disheartening. Sara studied the diagram, looking for any potential weakness, anything that could give them some sort of plan to overcome what appeared to be the most lethal warrior in the galaxy. The protection of the armor and shields, the amount of damage Saren could deal, the amount of energy created in his enhanced power pack, the different electronic attacks and defenses he possessed… hoping to wear down his armor's batteries wasn't an option, even if she couldn't deliver a strike with his weapons or Biotics that amounted to anti-personnel weaponry. "Jesus, he's built for war."

"His equipment was updated on June Third, three days before Eden Prime." Ryder told Auntie, making Sam look at her sharply. "That meant he came to the Cit and knuckled up with everything conceivable prior to the Assault on Eden Prime." Sara spied a heavily-modified Cipritine Armory's M-6 Carnifax Magnum Pistol, its heatsink, barrel, shaver, and VI suite improved well beyond what one could find on any market, legal or otherwise. She noted that it could fire rounds made illegal under the Citadel Convention, such as Tungsten rounds. "That was what he used to kill the Wrath of Glory." Collins' face was a mask of rage, seeing what Sara had pointed out. "It was meant to kill a SPECTRE." She could see the kinetic force that the Carnifax could deliver would easily break through both shields and armor in a single shot thanks to the tungsten-jacketed rounds meant for penetration of kinetic defenses and armor, re-calibrated raycast technology to overclock recoil auto-dampeners to deliver more force, and scram rails to strengthen the pistol's mass effect field generator with a kinetic pulsar to drastically increase the velocity of each round. "He prepared, and planned for the eventuality that a Council Agent would come for him."

Sara winced at the sight of the shotgun that Saren had upgraded as well, a Lieberschaft Technologies' 2180 M-22 Eviscerator, a very illegal weapon made by a now-defunct Human weapons company thanks to the Council. Ryder guess that raid netted a few prizes. The sight of Close Assault Talon rounds, a higher grade of round normally used by the Blackwatch, using Eezo-powered jackets and on-board VI simulations to ensure round penetration at any range, superconductive kinetic stabilizers to reduce kickback, Elkoss Combines' top-of-the-line platinum heatsinks for rapid cooldown by employing frictionless materials and an Eezo core to reduce build-up and employ rapid dethermalization, and synchronized pulsars to time gate release for the mass effect tunnel the shaved wedges the Eviscerator used to exponentially increase its flight speed spoke of high-impact damage and almost certain-lethality. And then Saren went and made it a fucking auto-shotgun with a large drum heatsink. Between the Carnifax and the Eviscerator, Saren could engage and kill anything at short-to-medium ranges quite effectively. Anything long range, and he had either his Biotics or that… well, she was just going to call it the BFG 9000.

Jannie had called it; Saren had built his armor to survive what a SPECTRE could throw at him… and kill the offending SPECTRE quickly.

"We're going to need to go to the drawing board for this one." Shepard sighed as she looked to Sara, the N7 frowning. "He's literally carrying the most-enhanced armor and weapons out of everyone. I didn't even think you could make some of this stuff due to impossibility. Any way we can get a copy of this for further review?" The Marshal went to do just that, but the terminal prevented her, indicating that the Level Two Clearance for a Clandestine Agent wasn't enough. Jannie snorted and put her hand on instead, downloading the information onto a secured datapad that popped out of the station. "Hey, can we bring up Council Agent Tibevius Victonius? Any intelligence, armor, weapons, the works?"

"You're asked a cop to look up somebody." The Marshal replied as she went back to the terminal, bringing up the search engine once more and inputting the name Tibevius Bellintoris Victonius. One again the terminal asked for authorization, and Collins placed her hand for a DNA check once more.

Sara winced as the Saren wireframe was replaced with Victonius' own… and saw much along the same line of thought.

"Shit. Two of them." Auntie winced, her tone not at all pleased. "I really don't know anything about Tibevius. I never heard the name until Avitus told me."

"I just know he's known as the Spiritcrusher." Sara admitted, having heart that once from her Skybulance pilot, Flight Officer Kaius Contenus. She looked at his armor, and saw that while advanced in a way that was beyond measure, it didn't seem to have the same principals as Saren's. It looked more like combat armor, with programs and suites geared more towards bursts of speed, cyclonic kinetic shielding, and armored plating that was a mix of density and lightness. Sara guessed that Tibevius Victonius was a soldier who had risen through the ranks to be noticed by Saren Arterius to be invited to try for the Office of Special Tactics. Much in the same way that the Wrath of Glory and the Bladed Shadow had. Saren hadn't picked equals, or persons who were as powerful yet unusual as he. No, he had went and gotten himself thugs. She even said as much.

"I concur." Sam Collins said after a moment, her voice subdued. "I know a little of Avitus Rix and Tibevius Victonius from Nihlus. They were all from the Blackwatch, though from different units. I know Tibevius is a 314 Vet, and I think he was a saboteur. I remember Nihlus mentioning him demolishing a bridge, a dam, and a few buildings with explosives. So likely he's Blackwatch ExOrD." Sara could see that the minifacturing suite on the SPECTRE MasterGear HMOT OmniTool that Tibevius possessed could in fact make several degrees of high-explosives, as well as having a polymorphic-VI hacking system for electronic systems and programs. His weapons were indeed a great deal better than most, but nowhere near as impressive as Saren's. "Without being able to look it up, I'd say that Victonius is in league with Saren. But I would have said the same thing as Avitus as well, and I just talked to him a few hours ago. Rix is as confused concerning these events as I am. I know that Nihlus and Saren had their differences and a bit of a falling out… a couple of years back," Sara and Jane shared a glance, knowing that the reason was likely standing right in front of them, "but I never would have guessed that Saren would have killed Nihlus Kryik. Saren… saw him as a son, like Nihlus saw him as a father. Not a father figure, a father. If you hadn't returned from Eden Prime with the news and Nihlus' body, I don't think anyone would have believed you. Even me. E-excuse me." The Marshal walked away for a moment, and neither Sara or Jane were under any other impression other than grief that made the Marshal of Therum turn away. Shepard used the opportunity to download Tibevius Victonius' information as well, collecting another SPECTRE-secured datapad.

"Well, we got some work ahead of us." Ryder sighed, looking at the two secured datapads. "Thank the Maker I got everyone to plus up the SciTech Department with goodies. We're going to need them."

"Yeah. We are." The stern face of the Captain had Sara place a hand on Jannie's arm.

"I know that look, Auntie. We will find a way to stop him." Sara saw the redhead nod slowly. "Hell, we're here in the Office of Special Tactics. Now that we've got an idea on what we're going to be facing, we can work our way towards how to beat it."

"Toys." Auntie smiled, obviously going to enjoy the plethora of tech candy that the Office of Special Tactics had to offer.

"Tank." Sara's grin was even larger. In her mind, Sara was a defender, a guardian of lives. She already had ideas on what to configure her armor to being.

SaraRyder

AngelIllyeria

Plus 1 accommodation, Human female type. Big name. Get camera ready!

Sergeant First Class Ashley Madeline Williams looked at the chirp that Petty Officer (Second Class) Sara Ryder had given her, a little mystified by the newest acquisition that didn't come with any more details other than species and gender. Thankfully, there was still bunk space available in both the Enlisted Quarters and the CPO Quarters on the SSV Normandy, so that wouldn't be an issue, depending on who it would be. She queued up 1st Lieutenant Kaidan Raphael Alenko, keeping him in the loop in case the Angel hadn't already, letting him know to expect another addition.

KaidanAlenko

VancouverRox2151

Did we just pick up yet another life form?

AshleyWilliams

LoneWolfEdenPrime

My money is on an N7-type.

KaidanAlenko

VancouverRox2151

Bravest Generation member. Fifty Creds.

AshleyWilliams

LoneWolfEdenPrime

You're on. Want to fleece some others of some hard earned Creds?

KaidanAlenko

VancouverRox2151

That's what Skyllian Five night is for.

KaidanAlenko

VancouverRox2151

What am I saying? You nab the Chiefs, I clean out the Officers.

AshleyWilliams

LoneWolfEdenPrime

Now we're talking. Remind me to thank the Angel for the fleecing opportunities.

It was a few hours before another chirp from Sara had come letting Ash know that she, the Skipper, and whoever the new girl was were twenty minutes from arriving on the Normandy. The betting pool had grown considerably between the Non-Coms and the Officers, Ash sticking to the NCO's while Alenko got it going for the Officers. The pool for the Non-Coms was already over a kiloCred riding on several different identities, Ash at least being nice and letting them know that it was a Human woman. She wasn't even sure if Kaidan had done the same for the Officers, though neither one of them knew who the person was.

SaraRyder

AngelIllyeria

Sorry it's taking so long. Srsly stopped for a tattoo.

That had Ash scoff for a moment.

SaraRyder

AngelIllyeria

Not what u think. It's personal. Lost her husband on Eden Prime.

Oh, damn. Ash could get behind that. She briefly wondered if it was anyone she knew from the 2-12, knowing that several of the men in her unit were married. But… none of them were what she would considered 'big names'. Hell, she wasn't sure any of them were in the service. Well, the Angel hadn't said her husband was a service member, that was just an assumption on her part. And she hadn't said that the woman was a shooter. Perhaps an ONI Agent or someone who could help out in another method. The Skipper wasn't about to let any help offered be turned away if she thought they could do something to stop the Geth and Saren.

SaraRyder

AngelIllyeria

Go easy on her? This will be… a shock.

SaraRyder

AngelIllyeria

Hell, I was shocked. And I'm from the Cit.

That… was an odd thing to chirp.

AshleyWilliams

LoneWolfEdenPrime

Start spilling, kid. You dangle any more bait like this and I'll pout.

AshleyWilliams

LoneWolfEdenPrime

Already got my bet locked in, so it's not like I'll win or lose with more info.

SaraRyder

AngelIllyeria

Of course there's betting!

SaraRyder

AngelIllyeria

Let's just say someone went and got their warpaint on.

SaraRyder

AngelIllyeria

Try not to laugh, comment, or… cringe. We'll B there N a minute.

Well, that didn't help at all. Ash was trying to figure out what tattoo and warpaint had in common, and came up blank. The Angel and the Lion had been gone for hours to (of all places) the Office of Special Tactics. The Captain was going to get as much intel, armor, and weaponry as she could drag back, and had fully expected for the whole thing to take several hours, and perhaps even a day or two. So where had they dredged up a Human woman who had lost her husband on Eden Prime? On their way there or back? Perhaps someone that Captain Shepard or Chief Ryder already knew? No, that wasn't likely. Williams guessed that there wouldn't have been a bet if it wasn't someone most everyone might have known. Big name implied more than a few people of course, but most everyone associated with the Lion or the Angel were fairly well known thanks to their popularity. The only two big names known with them were Admiral David Anderson and Captain Alec Ryder; their respective fathers. Admiral Anderson was now the Human SPECTRE Office Commanding Officer, and Alec Clancy Ryder was somewhere in or around Earth, doing something that even his oldest child wasn't too aware about. The rest of the members of the Bravest Generation had either retired, or were in high-level leadership positions that would exclude them from just jumping into a Frigate and tearing ass across space.

That left other big names.

There was Lieutenant Commander Donald McGregor, the so-called 'Dragonslayer of Akuze'. An N7 now, but back in 2180, he was a Ground Team Commander of Master-at-Arms and Marines responding to a distress beacon on the planet of Akuze, where a starter colony had just broken ground. A thirty-five man team landed where the colony was planned to be built only to find the pre-fabs and vehicles gutted and destroyed, without a living soul to be seen. The team searched for two hours for any evidence, be it assault or slavers, when they discovered what was widely considered the most dangerous game in the galaxy as the perpetrator; thresher maws. A titanic worm had attacked the Master-at-Arms and Marines as it had the colony, and for two hours, the Systems Alliance personnel tried fighting back when their shuttle was damaged during the off-set, forced to fight without any kind of retreat. It was Lieutenant McGregor who landed a lucky shot with a Elanus Risk Control Services ML-77 Missile Launcher, getting a warhead inside the creatures' mouth and blowing off its head. The act made him the only Human Being to have successfully bring down a Thresher, saving the last eight members of his platoon. Of course, it couldn't be LtCmd McGregor considering he was a man.

There was Yancy Alvarez. An expeditionary scout with the Systems Alliance Exploratory Team, the Earth-born woman had gotten caught up in a small-scale operation involving Turian Separatists and the Hierarchy in 2178 when her vessel had been pulled in by Separatists for hijacking, ransom, and murder. Seven of her team members died tortured to death before it became Alvarez's turn. Unfortunately for the Separatists, Alvarez was something of a jack-of-all-trades, having foiled the lock on her cell and made a shank out of a piece of scrap metal. After stabbing two captives to death, she released the rest of the prisoners (Human and Turian) and ended up overthrowing the prison in which they were held on in Taetrus. The act helped win the Hierarchy some territory and weakened the Separatist Movement, and got herself the nickname 'Queen of the Scouts' after it had been confirmed that most of the Separatists' deaths were due to her sneaking skills and ability with a homemade prison shank. Yancy Alvarez might be a possibility, as she was married. But she wasn't really war material, trained more at finding viable locations for colonization and resource exploitation. She might be a good fighter, but not really what Williams would consider 'the goods'.

Commander Daniel Madison wasn't a possibility due to the fact that he was a man, but the Pirate-Killer would have certainly qualified. During the Blitz, Commander Madison had chased no less than twenty vessels for capture and plundered seven bases with a wolf pack of five Frigates. Ash briefly wondered where he was at with the defensive posture the Systems Alliance had taken with the Assault on Eden Prime and Therum. 1st Lieutenant John Forsythe was out of that running as well, a man who had stopped a colonial revolt on Joughin, Benning by employing less-than-lethal tactics to keep civilian deaths and collateral damage to a minimum. There was Lieutenant Colonial Mikael Dravenovich, known as the 'Destroyer'; a Marine Officer who had taken down several pirate, smuggler, and slaver bases during and after the Blitz. All big names, but not women.

That left one other.

Naw, couldn't be. Could it?

If there was an equal to the Lion, then it would be the Butcher.

Ashley had met Marshal Samantha Collins once, back before Torfan, which Earth Alliance Space generally just called her the Marshal of Therum even if she wasn't the Frontier Marshal of that particular post anymore. There were cops, there were hard-ass cops, and then there was Sam Collins. The woman was famous for a duel involving her own corrupt co-workers as well as thugs with the Interplanetary Brotherhood of Teamsters, arresting her own dirty boss as well as the biggest crime lord on Therum, President Nico Dekker. Marse Collins had single-handedly defeated something like two dozen men while arresting the dirtiest cop and the biggest piece of shit on a planet all by her lonesome. And then Torfan happened, propelling an already vaulted reputation towards near-legendary status. Federal Marshal Sam Collins had the rep and the skills, that was for sure. Damn it, Ash hadn't picked her for the bet. She hadn't known if Collins was married or not, but if the Butcher had lost her husband on Eden Prime? Then yeah, Williams would totally agree with the Skipper on this one; having the Butcher of Torfan along for the ride would certainly be quite appropriate.

The Sergeant moved to the deployment ramp in the Cargo Bay to where she could see the EAS Common Dock, where a CPTA X3M Contragravity AirCar exited by the CPTA lot a few hundred meters away where Systems Alliance members and civilians could head towards different destinations on the Cit. Even at that distance, Ash could make out a redhead getting out of the vehicle, and knew that she was about to get her answer as two more stepped out, one shorter than the other. Yep, that would be the Skipper and Sara. What she saw that had her shaking her head was the sight of a black cowboy hat on the third person.

No doubt, the Marshal of Therum had gotten herself a ticket on the Normandy.

AshleyWilliams

LoneWolfEdenPrime

Kai. Get your ass down here. Someone's about to get richer.

KaidanAlenko

VancouverRox2151

On my way. See who it is?

AshleyWilliams

LoneWolfEdenPrime

Oh yeah.

AshleyWilliams

LoneWolfEdenPrime

Seriously… it's the fucking BUTCHER.

AshleyWilliams

LoneWolfEdenPrime

We got Sam Collins!

KaidanAlenko

VancouverRox2151

Shit. XO Vanderloo won.

AshleyWilliams

LoneWolfEdenPrime

Ugh! Well good for him…

Ashley saw the three women approaching, each of them carrying two traveling cases, rather big and bulky. One looked in the style of an armor case to carry without being able to wear it or being obvious about it, and the other looked to be a weapons' case. Each of them had a set. Williams almost got wide-eyed at the thought that the Lion had obviously gotten herself SPECTRE Armor. Now that they were closer, Ash could see them better, seeing Captain Shepard in the lead, with Petty Officer Ryder right next to her. The Marshal was just behind them, wearing boots, blue jeans, a white blouse, a black blazer, and a no-bullshit Stetson on her head.

Wai… what was wrong with her face?

The three women started walking onto the deployment ramp when Ashely saw what caught her attention. Now she knew what Sara meant by tattoo and warpaint.

Decorating Sam Collins' face was the colonial markings of the Turian Tridend Colony in bone white across her euros-colored flesh.

Williams' jaw dropped at the sight, but she quickly snapped it shut at the thought of what Ryder had told her. Sam Collins had lost a husband on Eden Prime… a Turian husband! And there had been only one Turian death in all of the colony during the Assault. Sam Collins had been married to a Turian SPECTRE, Nihlus Kryik, specifically. Ash had a good Goddamn guess why the Butcher had done it. Not that she was a fan of Human-Alien relationships, but she approved. The Butcher wanted it to be the last thing Saren ever wanted to see, the markings of a man that had been his protege, his widow coming back to haunt the spike that betrayed and murdered him. Yeah, Ash got it. It certainly made the Marshal look… vengeful.

"Ma'am." Williams saluted the Captain as Shepard approached, the redhead giving her a nod and a smile. "Marshal, let me be the first to welcome you to the Normandy. We got a billet and a locker for you already established. If you could come with me?" The Marshal of Therum nodded once, the edges of her skin still raw from the recent tattoo. Nihlus had one of the more complicated colonial markings in the Hierarchy, but that obviously hadn't stopped Collins. Everyone had their own way to deal with their grief. A bullet to the fringe of Saren Arterius seemed like a good healthy route. Williams escorted the Marshal aboard, directing her to her personal locker first in the Cargo Bay, blue eyes studying everything around them as Collins stored her two cases into the personal locker, coding her thumbprint as her access when brought up by the ships' management suite. "Do… you not have any personal effects? Clothes or whatnot?"

"Those I'll be getting later tonight." The Marshal's tone suggested that there would be no further questions. Williams got it; it had nothing to do with her. "If you could lead me to my bunk, I can get started sooner and not waste your time."

"Not wasting it, Marse. But will do." Ash knew she still had her moments of anger, guilt, frustration, and depression over Eden Prime. Whatever the Marshal was feeling, she was certainly entitled to it. The Colonial Soldier gave the Marshal of Therum a brief tour, showing her where the Galleys were, the Med Bay, the Ladies' Room, the lavatory, and finally the Female CeePoo Quarters where Marse Collins' cot was located. "That's you, top bunk. All the fine accommodations the SA Navy can afford; three crappy hots and a small cot." That had Collins sniff, but there was a small hint of amusement upon her lips.

"Colonial Army, I assume?" Williams was wearing the standard Systems Alliance Navy Battle Duty Uniform instead of her lighter-blue Colonial Army BDU's or the even darker blue Marine Corps ones.. She had lost most of her uniforms and personal possessions during the Assault on Eden Prime, and being officially a part of the Normandy crew meant wearing Navy colors. It wasn't like anyone was calling her 'Chief' or anything.

"Eden Prime."

"I've… met you before." The Marshal said, realization coming to her as she looked at the 'Williams' nametag and then back to Ash. "Yeah, some bar fight a couple years back? Didn't you clobber seven guys at once?"

"I can neither confirm nor deny these allegations, Marse." The Sergeant replied with a twisted smile. "In those guys' defense, it was really three of them, then another two jumped in when I knocked the last one out, and then another two came on after that. Weren't you arresting some smuggler or some such thing? I was too busy dodging punches and beer bottles to catch most of the shouting."

"Organ trafficker." The Butcher replied, her blue eyes hard. Ash winced at the mention of his crime. "He had a few more tallies on his rap sheet, but that was the top of the list."

"Whatever happened to the capo?"

"Escape attempt." The Colonial Soldier knew exactly what that meant… and the consequence.

"Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy, Marse." Ash smiled, folding her arms across her chest. "If you need anything, I bunk there." The Soldier pointed out her bunk across the Quarters. "Dinner is from 1800 to 2000 hundred hours in the CeePoo Galley, and it's good for a free meal, but I wouldn't call it 'good'."

"Can't have Army cooking! You'll set fire to the ship trying to barbecue or burn the water!" Called out Petty Officer (First Class) Amina Waaberi, one of the ships' maintenance crew.

"Hey! Burnt water would be better than that slop you guys normally ate before the Skipper went and got us real food."

"Yeah, ain't that the truth?" Petty Officer (Third Class) Caroline Gernado replied from her bottom bunk. "If I had to eat one more Zucchini Fettuccine Alfredo from a box, the Mess Chief was going to get it as a suppository refund."

"I'm willing to bet it's better than what I was eating on Therum back when I was a Deputy. Mostly red dirt and the broken dreams of miners." Collins informed them, getting Ash to wince.

Author's Note: The House of Boom - The original existed in The Hale/Meer Chronicles: The Infiltrator Effect, the undone sequel to The Hale/Meer Chronicles: The Vanguard Effect… which I lost due to laptop suicide. I made an armory that was the wet dream of any shooter, hosting practically any and every conceivable firearm and armor ever created. Captured weapons, prototypes, illegal guns, BlackTech… gun candy. One joke was in fact the Iron Man suit that actually pretty much ended up being similar to what Andromeda had; an armored suit with jump jets. Another joke was the Beryllium Fission Generator 9000 Heavy Cannon. For those who are fans of a certain 'id' game… look at the acronym and take a wild guess what someone was going to use.

Blue Light Of Acceptance? Green Light means go or good. On the Cit, it's blue.

The Ballistic Bodysuit is a good deal like what Tony Stark has in Avengers: Infinity War. While it won't be self-replicating, it can self-repair, thus the NanoGel; my newest invention. I also mixed with the idea of what Old Snake had in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns Of The Patriots, minus the OptiCamo.

Mylar? While we associate with birthday balloons, this DuPont invention is incredibly strong, and features the properties I've listed. The only thing it lacks is endothermic properties (insulation of/from heat).

Organic Technology - simple term to include cloning, genetic modifications (genemods), organic modifications and augmentations. For all you Cyberpunk fans.

The Ancient Ship - I've almost thought about doing something with the Leviathan of Dis. One could make an interesting side mission with that. Especially with Humanity's First SPECTRE and everyone's favorite thug race. I think it was discovered in 2160 in the Dis System.

Beryllium Fusion Generator 9000 Heavy Cannon? It's a big fucking gun. If I remember my Star Trek, the warp core of the NCC-1701 is powered by a Beryllium Fusion Reactor. I'm not even sure what Beryllium is save for a Rare Earth Metal, Non-Radioactive, and is used for manufacturing dense alloys. I guess that it's high enough on the periodic table that 'fissing' it would release a lot of energy, but not have the problems that fissing Uranium and Plutonium would (you know, that glowing green crap we smart people like to call 'nuclear waste'?) Since ME2 employed Heavy Weapons, I've wondered about having one or two about, such as the M-920 Cain, or perhaps the Mulcher from District 9/Where The Law Stands Tall. The BFG 9000 is always an option. ALWAYS.

AlumniSteel- Actually a real component that is 13% lighter than steel but as dense as a steel-titanium alloy known as Tennalum 7068 T6. It is better than aircraft aluminum.

I brought back some ideas from The Hale/Meer Chronicles, such as calling the military history pertaining to Akuze 'the Dragonslayer'. It sounds so much better than 'Sole Survivor Of A Place That We Can't Locate'. Threshers are, after all, space dragons. I had intended to make the Office of Special Tactics where they actually did have access to some of the best equipment because they were the only one's able to craft them, thus the Prothean Era NanoLoom. Canon made it sound like SPECTRE equipment was specialized components from several companies pieced together (which works) but I went one step higher; unique customization and possession.

The modifications of Saren will lead into my idea of what the antagonist of Mass Effect, should have been. Saren Arterius was a Turian Biotic, youngest Turian inductee, twenty plus years experience… he's like Chuck Norris, Richard Marcinko, or Otto Scorzeny (possibly the greatest Special Forces Operative to have ever lived). Told you I upgraded the bad guys with the good. As for the Carnifex and the Eviscerator? The upgrades can be found as Randall Enzo's upgrades for his weapons in Mass Effect: Infiltrator.

I've seen a few art depictions of Turian Colonial Markings and what they represent. I picked one for Nihlus', considering there was no real reference to any of them save… somehow he and Councilor Sparatus have the same markings and color. Strange, considering that Kryik was born in a mine outside of the Hierarchy. I just assume his father was from somewhere in the same vicinity as Sparatus.

Originally, Sam Collins and Nihlus Kryik were to be LI's in the Peacemaker Series, with Sam adopting Kryik's colonial markings by the time Mass Effect started. This was suppose to be a point of contention between the SA and Collins, who would be something of a SPECTRE without government support due to her 'questionable' loyalties. Obviously, this didn't happen as I ended up scrapping the idea. You'll learn a little later how Sam and Nihlus meet in this 'verse.

Amina Waaberi and Caroline Gernado are two more names that are dog tags and found on the wall. Daniel Madison, John Forsythe, and Mikael Dravenovich can be found in Chapter 2; Hale: Office of Naval Personnel in The Hale/Meer Chronicles: The Vanguard Effect. Donald McGregor and Yancy Alvarez were made up on the spot.