"Smuggler, gunner, and a little bit of everything in between" - Vetra Nix.

25 km from Thoreau Mesa, Intai'sei, Phoenix System, Argos Rho Cluster, July 31, 2183

PRIORITY MISSION: NOVERIA

Author's Note: After a year-long absence of RL ass-kicking (my ass being the ass in question), I have finally manned up, found my testicles, and posted the long-awaited conclusion of ARC X: THE RED HARVEST.

And dear God, I did 20,000+ words in like five days while working 10-hour shifts making your Goddamn boxed packages in an Amazon Hellhole. Who was the movie character who's father was in so much debt that he was consigned to a fulfillment center for like all eternity or until he died? Yep, that's now officially me (oh vey!).

Points if you recognize Vetra's vessel. Stolen from another Sci-Fi franchise. Not for the first time on my part, either.

There was a Systems Alliance Naval Academy cadence that Cadets did during their daily runs around the Campus for Physical Training, to toughen up the Cadets and teach them discipline. Well, there was literally a couple hundred cadences that one ran to, bellowed out by Senior Chief Petty Officers who were in charge of the martial portion of the Naval Academy, stalking the formations on the hunt for violations of the NAVADMIN 163/18 of the Navy Grooming and Uniform Policy, as well as violations towards military discipline and Reef Points discrepancies. Many a Cadet have sworn through the centuries of the Naval Academy in Baltimore that the CeePo's selected were gauge on their sadistic value and epic accomplishment of being an asshole. They were loud, they were mean, and they brooked no shit from anybody.

The cadence went like this;

'Neil Armstrong said "Before I die;
there's five kind of boats that I want to fly".'

The Allied Spacecraft Corporations' Firefly-Class Mid-Bulk (Class B) Mk. III Transportation Vessel certainly wasn't anywhere on that list.

Captain Jane Catherine Shepard (SAN, N7, OST) had met with the Captain of the vessel, one Vetra Nix, on the planet of Intai'sei in the Phoenix System of the Argos Rho Cluster to link up with the Turian smuggler on the small Alliance colonial world near its capital town of Thoreau Mesa, meeting up dozens of kilometers away from the town to avoid being detected by the colony's Space Traffic Control System that was there not only to guide vessels to the colony's spaceport, but also to detect unauthorized entires. The Council Agent had been rather impressed that the vessel that the Turian commanded had in fact flown under-the-LADAR, avoiding detection by entering Intai'sei's atmosphere in an uncontrolled re-entry maneuver; they had literally sailed in without propulsion, entering at the correct angle and burning in like the old NASA STS Shuttles of old. Well, Vetra wouldn't be much of a smuggler if she couldn't avoid even a small-scale Anti-Ship Detection System. Jannie made note of the maneuver and would bring it up to Commander Mark Vanderloo and Flight Lieutenant Jeff Moreau for possibility of use.

But then she saw what the smugger was using as its twin Blue Sun Trace Compression Hydrogen Slush VTOL Thrusters angled downward and did a control burn to gain control of the last kilometer of the ships' descent, recognizing the old Human cargo transporter. Thing was at least seventy years old if not a day, and the redhead was a little less than amused to see the old vessel, what was to be her ride. The vessel landed well enough upon its retractable landing gear as the main cargo bay ramp rotated downward as steam still arose from its rapidly dethermalizing hull, six persons walking down the ramp looking like a ragtag crew of… well, smugglers. Three female Turians, a Batarian male, a Human female, and an Asari… Maiden? Jannie had to guess, the Asarikin completely lacking the cultural centurymarks Thessians generally wore. They all walked down the ramp to greet the team that they were to meet at the coordinates specified as the Level Three Council Agent eyed the ship that loomed over them, looking something akin to a stork.

"Captain Shepard?" One of the female Turians stepped forward, wearing what appeared to be cobbled-together battle armor from a variety of sources and manufacturers, wearing a full visor of some make and model Shepard didn't immediately recognize, and wearing an opened civilian robe of Turian make and fashion, colored brownish. It didn't hide the Nexus Engagement Reliable Firearms' Sharpfire Pistol holstered on her right thigh, nor did it disguise the illegal Haliat Armories' K-11 Vlaknar Submachine Gun that fired sabot-styled rounds meant to cause rather gruesome damage to flesh, though it did squat to armor. She had purplish colonial markings that Jannie didn't recognized (which was odd, since Humans readily identified Turians by their Colonial markings and the colony they represented), a light gray coloring to her plates, and was rather thin for a Turian female.

"Captain Nix." The N7 replied, holding out her hand to shake as a greeting, the female gripping her forearm instead, as was usual for Turians. They shook once, being polite for a stranger, but it was telling. If the situation had been hostile, it wouldn't have even happened. Jannie hadn't missed the sight of a young Turian female crew member coming down the ramp, practically attached to the hip of the smuggler. Sister, Jannie had realized. No one brought their kid sister to a hostile situation, and it had been done to reassure the Lion, no doubt. A show of honor. Only three of the smugglers were armed, and only one of them with a semi-respectable weapon.

"It's just Vetra. Smuggler, gunner, and a little bit of everything in-between." The Turian waved off the title, not an act of a Hierarchist, then. Those who served in the Hierarchy Military were all about their meritocracy and title. And any person that was the commanding officer of a vessel was always its Captain, Military or Civilian. That this Vetra just brushed it off? She was something different. Jannie had a feeling she was going to like Vetra Nix; an uncommon woman in an uncommon profession, but resolved to make it work. The redhead could respect that easily. "So, this is your team?" Vetra's slightly ovaloid eyes looked over Shepard and towards the rest of her sixteen-man team, TEAM LION standing several meters back in a non-aggressive way, though they were fully armed-and-armored. "Spirits, you certainly don't vrack around, do you? They look tough enough to take down a team of Krogan or a Thresher Maw."

"Yeah… we already did the first one." Jannie replied as that got a double-take from Nix's visored eyes. "So… that's the ship?" The SPECTRE nodded to the Firefly.

"That's my pride and joy, the Serenitas." Odd name for a ship, Jannie mused but kept it inside, never mistaking the sound of pride in the smugglers' voice as she looked back to the damn-near yestercentury vessel. "Found her in a ship-wrecker yard, bought her for a pittance, and got her up and running again." Again, there was no mistaking that tone. That ship wasn't a ship; it was home. "Keep her in the sky, and she keeps me eyeballs deep in jobs and two AU's ahead of the authorities. All a Seras like myself needs."

"I didn't even think any of those old bird were still flying." The Firefly was pre-Mars Archive, using an Matter/Antimatter Fusion Torch for travel back in a time when travel was planetary, not galactic. "It is… Translation-capable?"

"Of course!" The Turian snorted, amused as one of her mandibles went up in a lopsided smile. "Shoved two inter-system pinnacle cores into the back for FTL and jumps. She's not pretty, but she'll fly true. Besides, shut them off and we're practically invisible." Shit, that was right… M/AM Engines didn't really register in the thermal scanners due to the fact that they were cold fusion torches, though most didn't use them because they were slow, making about Mark Two intra-system. Jannie saw the ship for what it really was; a home, a means of employment, a way to stay fed, and the ability to keep its crew out of an IsoCube or from being turned into debris. "For the kind of work I do, the Serenitas is perfect."

"Alright. Let's let the crews meet, and then we can load up our supplies and weaponry." Jannie saw that the young Turian female had already gone over to Petty Officer (Second Class) Sara Elaine Ryder, the two of them giving each other a brief embrace, and that act settled most of the tensions and issues of two new crews meeting for the first time that weren't a part of the same military… or even on the same side of the law. The young Turian with the same colonial markings as Vetra was already talking at a light year a minute, catching up with the Corpsman, obviously trusting Sara. Well, according to her best friend, the little Turian female, Sidera? Had been very ill with some advanced congestive illness that Vetra couldn't find anyone to take care of until she accidentally ran into a young Human paramedic. Sara had spent a week caring for the Turian female who was even younger than she was now, giving her the medication and care Sidera needed to get on the mend. Somewhere in that time, Ryder had made a friend. Probably someone who idolized her a little, which wouldn't be a surprise.

"You already know Sara Ryder, Petty Officer and our Navy Corpsman, what you would know as a Frontline Barber-Surgeon." That had Vetra nod. "She is also my Second in case I am out-of-contact for whatever reasons." That had the Turian smuggler look amused. "Our other SPECTRE is Marshal Samantha Collins, the Butcher of Torfan…"

"Collins!" The sound of a male Batarian voice came up loud and strong, and Jannie felt herself pivoting quickly to see the large Batarian that had come down the ramp looking at the Level Two Council Agent, her hand had almost dipped to her Alliance Offensive Firearm Initiative M-5 Phalanx Combat Pistol, except that his tone was… one of happy surprise? A Batarian happy to see the Butcher?

"Erash? That you?" The Tridend Colony-marked Human woman asked, stepping away from TEAM LION as the Marshal's face lit up. "You son of a bitch!" There was an obvious smile and joy in her tone, and Jannie felt a little perplexed as she watched Batarian and Marshal stride towards one another, clasping hands in a Batarian fashion. The hulky Batarian with a missing upper left eye was all smiles, his head tilted to the right in a show of respect as Sam had a lop-sided grin on her own face. When was the last time she had seen Sam that happy? Never, I think, Shepard thought, knowing that the former Marshal of Therum was living with a hole in her heart from the cruel death of her bondmate, Council Agent Nihlus Kryik. While fully committed to the mission, the N7 knew the woman was pretty much on a revenge trip to kill her husbands' murderer, though thankfully she kept her head on her shoulders. But seeing her… happy? That was… touching, actually. "See you're still up to no good, krruv." That was the Batarian word for 'friend'. "Still giving the Hegemon dakka?"

"Every khorshvic day I can." The Batarian named Erash replied, chuckling ugily. "What about you, Marse? See you made yourself some new friends." His three eyes went to TEAM LION, and then back to Sam. "They look very strong." That was a compliment in Batarian culture, ones that valued strength above all. "I heard about your bondmate. Nihlus was a warrior and a friend, through and through."

"Part of the reason I'm here, krruv." The Marshal replied, looking to Jannie. It was probably pretty obvious she had no idea what was going on, but was letting things happen without guessing. "Erash? I want you to meet Captain Jane Shepard, Council SPECTRE and the Lion of Elysium. Jane, this is Erash Tann'addor, a former Special Intervention Unit Operative-turned-Abolitionist. Back in the day, we called him the Chainbreaker."

"Wait, he's the Chainbreaker?" Shepard felt a little astounded by the revelation. She knew of the Chainbreaker from back during the Skyllian Blitz, a Batarian that had been hunted ruthlessly by Hegemony forces, as well as pirates, privateers, slavers, mercenaries, and other Batarian criminals. Captured Batarians had spoken of a beast of a male who had a rather impressive bounty on his head for his acts of 'stealing' property (freeing slaves), absconding with Hegemony funds and equipment, and even supposedly slept with the Glorious Ones' youngest breeder before taking one of the Batarian Emperors' personal yachts. If this was the Chainbreaker, then Jannie definitely wanted to chat with him. Hegemonists DESPISED the male, probably more so than herself and Sam. Perhaps even put together. Shepard found herself greeting the male in the Batarian fashion, clasping hands as if they were going to arm wrestle, the both of them tilting their heads to the right out of respect. This was the guy who was the bane of the Hegemony, a Special Forces warrior who supposedly fought for Batarian honor, not its government. Rumor was that this male had freed some one hundred thousand slaves from the yoke. "So how did you and Sam meet?"

"Torfan, a few days before." Collins replied, insinuating that Erash had been there. "He was the one that gave us the intel of that slave camp; location, composition, numbers, armaments, security codes, the works. It was too big for him to assault, so he went to someone that had been breaking chains; me and Nihlus." Mentioning her bondmate had Sam pause, that grief still there. It would likely never leave her. "We knew of one another, worked with the same people, so he came into contact with us, and we set up the plan. Tann'addor here was right by our side during the assault, taking down State Militiamen and freeing the fettered. When the SIU thugs came, Erash provided the distraction for us to free slaves by announcing himself and leading them on a merry chase. Didn't you booby trap their vehicle and kill ten of them?"

"Pipe bomb in the fuel cell." The Batarian replied, all smiles. "Prima Servitor Vargo Lesh'alkin was in command, a very dangerous opponent and a great component of the Blitz. Killing him was almost as important as you killing Elanos Haliat, Lion. I relished that day as well."

"You weren't the only one." Vetra replied quietly, Jannie looking to the Turian smuggler. "Elanos was a monster to all. He had a large privateer force that enforced his policy that all pirates, smugglers, slavers, transporters, and merc companies in the Silver Rim would pay him tribute for any job they did. Any trying to get away with it were generally peeled or skinned alive… and left that way as an example. Believe me, no one grieved one tear when you emptied his fringe with your gun, Captain. You could probably hear the cheers from the Nemean Abyss to the Black Rim when your trideo went viral. I know I was relieved."

"Damn, I didn't know he was doing all that." Haliat had been in control of a great deal, but it seemed that his control was in enforcement, not actual forces. There had been rumors that a part of his forces on Elysium had been persons that had owed him money. Now Jannie knew why some of them had done it if they had been looking at such a brutal punishment. Elanos had been a crime lord of exceptional skill and ability, nearly controlling half the illegal activities in the Galactic East, encompassing a good swath of the Attican Traverse, Earth Alliance Space, the Skyllian Verge, the Batarian Hegemony, the Silver Rim, and the Orion Arm. It was said that half the merchants were forced to tithe to the criminal and forced to work for him if they didn't want their ships taken and themselves left stranded on some airless rock in an EVA suit. He had been responsible for so much more than just Elysium, a Turian that ruled out of terrifying fear. Of the many that Jannie and her N-team had captured that were a part of Elanos' enterprises, none had ever talked or given intel about the Turian and his locations; they had been too terrified to do so, electing a bullet or a prison sentence compared to what Haliat would do to them. She knew of some of what Vetra was inferring to, but she hadn't realized it had been that widespread. "So… permission to come aboard?"

"Permission granted." The smuggler replied, sounding amused as her visored eyes flicked to the two crews, who had slowly introduced themselves to one another. "And tell Sara to stop being a good influence. I have a reputation to maintain."

IMV Serenitas, FTL Burn from Phoenix System to Hydra System, Argos Rho Cluster, July 31, 2183

Petty Officer (Second Class) Sara Ryder stood in the Bridge of the Independent Merchant Vessel Serenitas, the ancient Firefly-Class Bulk Transport having initiated its FTL burn to go from the Phoenix System where the SSV Normandy had traveled to to meet the smugglers to the Hydra System where the Mass Relay that would lead to the Horsehead Nebula was located. The pilot of the Serenitas, a Drell female by the name of Kya Drang, was currently engaged at her job, adjusting energy management levels and fuel flow to the Matter/Antimatter Engines. Sara happened to chance a look at the rate of speed that they were flying and winced at the fact that while the Normandy could make the trip in just over two hours, the Serenitas would take nearly eight. Well, that's what happened when one flew civilian. No vessel was allowed to go faster than a Council Patrol unless they wanted the vessel confiscated, after all.

"We're in the clear, no one tracking us." Sidera Nix said from her station opposite of Kya, the fourteen-year old Turian female working as the vessels' Communication Officer. Which was really to say that she made sure that they got into contact with their various partners-in-crime to get jobs, picking up available gigs to keep vessel afloat and crew paid, and made sure that no authorities were following them. "Left a little present at the bowshock. Nice little whiny hatchling 'ship-in-distress' marker. Should keep us in the free-and-clear for then next day or two." Sid turned slightly and gave Sara a wink. "Pretty certain you and your Aunt don't want to advertise, so we're playing things close to the carapace as we normally do. Besides, it's fun!"

"Of course." Sara couldn't help but smile; Sid was just that effervescent. Seeing how civilians and smugglers did things was a little bit of a shock to the Corpsman who had lived her entire life practically being catered by her fathers' reputation as the Pathfinder. She had never been one to want for money or luxury, though thankfully both Sara and Scott hadn't ended up being spoiled despite all that. While she didn't agree to smuggling (most of it dealt with illegal items or, even worse, disgusting items), Ryder knew that smuggling was just a natural way of life. It had existed in the ancient times of Earth, and history classes in the Presidium Academy of Education suggested that all Homeworlds had the same illicit activities going on since their own ancient periods. There were always going to be rules and regulations thanks to governments, and there were always going to be those who circumvented them for profit or need.

Thankfully, Vetra Nix was actually more of the latter than the former.

"Enjoying the view?" The Turian-in-question came onto the Bridge, the female standing next to Ryder as they both looked outside the front port window, the blue shift of Cherenkov Radiation enveloping the view into a dazzling montage of sweeping bands of blue energy as they traveled faster than the speed of light.

"Don't actually get to see it much on an Alliance ship." Sara admitted fully. While there were port windows for one to look out into the black, most of the time the combat shutters were down to fight off a few psychological conditions that a few got when the brain fully comprehended that one was standing in a metal tube in the most lethal environment known to sapients everywhere. Sara had seen the effect a few times in her life, but never from a Bridge. Amidships was the best, when blue shift went to red shift, a cascade of color that wavered and changed colors unevenly. "Most of the time I'm studying, working on a few projects, practicing medical techniques, training my team, or trying to solve a few equations that I think will help out." She was a big believe in self-improvement, and her days ran some eighteen hours long during a twenty-four hour shift. Most Sailors filled their off-duty times with personal opiates, such as vids, music, video games, or just chatting with people. A little of that was fine, but Sara and her ceaseless mind was too curious to be placated by binge-watching ENetFlix series or marathons of action vids.

"Brought you a few toys, Vetra. Stuff I think that you and Sid will like." Sara and Vetra had an on-again, off-again friendly relationship that they had sustain for a couple of years after the EMT had met the smuggler and helped cure her sister. A good deal of smuggling involved illegal items that were bad in most everyone's mind, but some items were contraband because of politics or some brash sentient who enforced policy for his or her own views (or most likely monetary gain). One of those items happened to be a Human-made device that the Systems Alliance denied exportation, a breathing apparatus that was useful for those with allergies and breathing issues. While Sara didn't know why it was illegal for exportation, what she did know was that it was extremely useful for Drell who suffered Kepral's Syndrome, delivering oxygen to those who struggled to do so because of the condition. Vetra had acquired several hundred units for the Drell Compact with Sara's help a few years back, getting it distributed to sufferers of the more advanced stages of Kepral's. Those devices would add years for the victims, chances for family members to bond together longer. Sara didn't need to think hard about her own mothers' condition to know had grateful she was that she had those years with her mother. Vetra had seen it in the same light; a female whose mother had passed away and father disappeared, never to be seen again. Left with raising her little sister, Vetra Nix most certainly knew what the word 'family' meant.

"Toys?" Sid asked, her flanged voice excited as Vetra merely rolled her visored eyes, making Kya giggle a little in her bivocal tone. "I've been bugging Vetty for a Shakshan forever!" Ah, that was a Turian gaming platform. A rather expensive one, at that.

"Something better." The Corpsman smiled as the older Nix sister turned her fringed head towards her. "An EdVis that has the companion OSD chip for our supplementary courses for my First Year at the Academy." That had Kya Drang's head snap around as the Drell looked at her with shock.

"You went to the Presidium Academy of Education?" The pilot asked, her jaw dropped. "And… you're just giving away a part of that education?"

"Yes." Ryder replied, and she saw that Vetra was looking at her with something in between shock and awe. The Presidium Academy was highly regarded galactic-wide as the best school in the galaxy. Its prestige was coveted just as much as its exclusiveness, boasting the highest graduation rates and the most comprehensive courses of any other pre-University school in the galaxy, and yet also hording its education plans and courses very tightly to prevent any other school from threatening its tenure. The tuition was well beyond what most of the galaxy could afford to send their child even if they somehow passed the brutal Acceptance Exam and even scored into the prerequisite top five hundred scores to earn themselves a seat in the Peerage of the Academy. Sara giving out even some of its courses was almost like handing out state secrets. Handing the 'homework' courses and teachings of her First Year? It would put Sidera Nix in high levels of mathematics, science, several species worth of history, physics, economics, and politics. The young Turian female never had a formal education (and Sara suspected that Vetra didn't have much of one either), so she was going to give the youngling a big edge. Sidera, the effervescent young Turian female that she was, jumped and squealed at the same time at the thought of getting an Education Visor and bolted out of the Bridge, likely to hunt the 'toy' down.

"How many laws does that break, Serah?" Vetra asked, her tone a little worried. "I don't want to endanger you."

"Laws? Zero. Rules?" Ryder held out her hand and seesawed it back and forth. "I could lose my Peerage if it's found out."

"Then it won't be found out." Vetra nodded, obviously knowing a boon when handed to her. "What was your standing, anyhow? I don't think you told me."

"Fifth." The Drell just looked at her with her dark eyes ready to pop out of her hard-scaled face.

"Just how many Humans go to the Academy?" Drang wondered out loud.

"Just the one." The Corpsman winked, and the pilot boggled at her again.

"I'm flying a genius." Kya shook her head as she went back to her helm, her tone disbelieving. "SPECTREs, Alumni, a Kill Team that Amonkira would be proud to call His own? This has to be the most unusual gig ever."

"And we haven't even landed yet." Vetra replied as Sara winced. Nix should know better than to jinx them.

"…and so we had no less than eight dozen Geth platforms around us when Wrex, our Krogan, decides to pick one of the Troopers up and starts using it as a club," Sha'me/Ensign Tali'Zorah nar Reyya told Kaywinnit Lee Frye as the IMV Serenitas' Chief Mechanic giggled, "then he found what we call the Alpha, picked it up, and broke it in half!"

"Don't forget the Captain hacked all of their grenades and had them explode. All at once." Sha'me Niki'Raan nar Tombay inputted as she drank from a disposable juice bag that was filled with some kind of Rannochian tea that was evidently a gift from the Lady of the Chambers, Lady Eloa'Varis nar Thessia vas Armali. The tube was inserted into some self-sealing port in the front of the blue-and-white clad Pilgrim, her silvery eyes dancing. "Gotta tell you Kaylee, this ship makes me think of home."

"Well, Captain has me keep it together." Kaylee replied, all smiles. A Quarian knew that value of a good vessel, and the People knew how to keep a ship running longer than anyone! "Sure, she isn't the prettiest, but I know every bolt and bulkhead, every creak and groan. Vetra likes to say that there's a Spirit in every ship, and if you know what to listen for, she'll tell you what's wrong before it's a problem."

"That's certainly true." The purple-clad Quarian Pilgrim replied, her helmeted head nodding eagerly. "Every Quarian knows maintenance and fire control; its our first duties when we get our first suits to learn how to maintain the ships we live on." Frye nodded knowing, having been born on a ship herself and learning from her father, a transportation vessel mechanic who kept a Firefly running for decades. Little Kaylee learned at her fathers' side, her hands and clothes forever stained with grease and oil, but enjoying spending time with her only parent, her mother having left when she was but a small child. When her father passed away, Kaylee had heartbrokenly left that ship; too many memories. Finding another Firefly-Class vessel in need of a good mechanic had been a Godsend, and that was how she ended up meeting Vetra Nix.

"Well, between the jobs and running from the law, there's always plenty to do here." The Chief Mechanic said, holding out her hands to encompass the sight of the Serenitas' engine core that was older than all of them put together. "Smuggling has its good days and its bad days, but certainly never its dull days. Not unusual we get to find a few Pilgrims who need to hitch a ride somewhere. Vetra likes to act tough, but inside those plates she's a real softie. Last one we had here scraped together a few scrap pieces and turned our galley's inductive stove into a more efficient model. Quarians can be right creative with just a few components and some time to kill."

"Surprising how many people will take advantage of that while insulting us right to our masks." Niki replied, making Kaylee nod sadly. There was hardly room to argue. "Still, your Captain is a good sort. Sara'Ryder speaks rather highly of her."

"Those two go back, and we've done a few jobs for Sara and because of her. She's a good kid that likes helping out, a real bona fide hero." Of course the mechanic knew who the Angel of Illyeria was; one would have to have been blind or amnesic to miss out on the movie that pretty much tore every Human cinematic record about five years back. It was still the highest-grossing movie of all time. And yet somehow the Captain had ended up picking up just about every dang hero Humanity happened to have and stuffed them all on their ship along with a crew that probably should carry around a trigital sign that said 'DON'T'. Not that it would actually stop anybody; there were too many people that just didn't quite get when it was a bad idea to flaunt authority that badly. "So how do you like serving with Humans? They treat you good?"

"Yes they do, actually." Tali replied, nodding her helmeted head. "I'll admit it was a little touch-and-go at first, everyone trying to play it safe with their own concerns while recognizing we really did need each other. Thankfully, we got over the awkward stage with the crew of the Normandy pretty quickly. As for the rest of the galaxy, I believe the term is 'the jury is still out'?"

That had the mechanic laugh.

IMV Serenitas, Approaching Noveria Space, Pax System, Horse Head Nebula, July 31, 2183

Doctor Liara Delphoria E'shora of House T'soni sat in the cargo bay of a smugglers' vessel as they headed towards their destination of Noveria, already outside of Council Space technically as the vessel that was actually older than she was flew in a route that dipped heavily under the galactic plane to avoid easy detection while 'coasting' to avoid excessive build-up of thermalization upon the vessels' hull for detection and identification. Surprisingly, it seemed that the vessel in question, the Serenitas, had made the journey to the non-Council world of Noveria on a number of occasions to deliver 'unauthorized' cargo to the planet that was Council Law-exempt. The why of it befuddled the Asarikin, yet she found it intriguing to be on an extralegal vessel that made its fortunes finding legal loopholes, gaps in detection equipment, and circumventing customs and port authority. She was getting an introduction on how 'the other half lived', as Sergeant First Class Ashley Madeline Williams stated, the scion of House T'soni never having a want for anything when she was a Youngling. Now she was experiencing what it was like for those who weren't born to wealth and prestige, forced to make do with whatever means they had. While, yes, they were criminals in the legal sense of the term, they did not seem to be the dejected filthy type of interlopers that would earn themselves a nice visit from a Commando team with their Biokinetics, Kingfisher shotguns, and Shuwazi swords. The stories that the Matriarch told her of such types when she was but a Youngling had smugglers being degenerate beings that were poorly educated, possessing no skills, and generally up to no good.

But like all stories, there were always two sides.

Liara had found herself talking to Melena D'vora, a traditionalist Asari Consort who had her license revoked in Republican Space for the crime of turning in a known laborlord and divulging the crimes done by the Asari Matriarch in question while in a profession where secrets were meant to be kept. The Protheantologist found herself having more than an amicable conversation with the Consort, who dressed herself in fine Thessian silks and lavished her personal quarters (which was a shuttle in which the personnel area had been refurbished into personal quarters as well as a place for her to serve her clientele) with the memories of a home she would never be allowed to see again for what Liara saw as doing the right thing. Slavery was illegal both in Council Space and Asari Space, and yet a known laborlord had been allowed to travel upon Thessia with freedom for travel, giving status permission that would recuse her from judgment from the Order of Retribution, known as the Justicars. A slaver had visited Thessia with permission, and Melena, a young Maiden, had discovered the Matriarch had an ulterior motive for visiting the Homeworld; procuring more 'labor'. The Consort had done the right thing (in Liara's mind) and turned the Matriarch in… and yet it had been the Maiden who had found herself fleeing from the law, disgraced from both her family and the world she had been born to.

Everyone on the Serenitas had a similar story. Dejected beings who, despite their difficulties, found home and family amongst the stars with people much like themselves.

The Doctor listened as Alliance Federal Marshal Samantha Lynn Collins (SAMS, OST) spoke to Erash Tann'addor, a Batarian Abolitionist known as the Chainbreaker. Sam spoke to the Batarian that was the bane of his government and the hope of his people with ease, the Marshal having recovered from TEAM LION's ordeal at Alexandria Station where she had very nearly lost her life. Liara knew that Sam was still recovering from the lost of her bondmate, the loss of her last remaining team member from her hand-selected crew on Feros, and the grief she dealt with from that horrid monster the Thoi'han upon the Alliance colony, forcing the captured members of the Normandy to stand as its avatars while allowing the surviving population to be captured and consumed by the ancient monstrosity. Ash would still wake up at night, whimpering, shivering, and covered in a cold sweat, and Liara knew it was from the horrors that she had seen and experienced upon Eden Prime, the ACV Horizon, and most especially Feros. Whenever Ash would start whimpering and crying out in her bunk, Liara would silently slip into it with her and hold her, performing a soft meld to comfort her, to ease that pain and grief. Seeing Samantha connecting with someone, someone to help her with that grief. The loss of a bondmate was a terrible thing, and it seemed that the Marshal had taken grief after grief since her bondmates' death. Thankfully, the crew of the Normandy was there for the Council Agent for whatever she may need, being there when she needed someone most.

"Hey."

Liara turned to see Sergeant First Class Ashley Madeline Williams (EPCA) standing right beside her as the Asarikin sat at the galley table, a gentle hand upon her shoulder as the Human females' brown eyes looked at her. There was no hiding what Liara was trying to avoid thinking about, what she had kept herself too busy from doing.

"I… am conflicted, Ashley." The Doctor admitted, that inexplicable feeling welling up within her. For decades, she had felt nothing but loathing towards the Matriarch, having walked away without looking back or a regret felt. But now she was on what the Humans called a 'collision course' and the thought of seeing her… her mother… "I do not know what to do, what to feel." Liara admitted, wringing her hands in anguish. "Is the Matriarch a traitor? Is she a mother desperate to protect her daughter? Is she in such danger that giving aid her only means of survival? I… there is much I do not know, and… I do not know what to think."

"I do. You care." The Human female sat next to her, taking one of her cerulean hands into both of her peach-colored ones, Ashley smiling at her as her expressive brown eyes looked at her with love and understanding. "I don't know what's going on either, Li, but we're going to do something about it. Perhaps any one of those things you're worried about could be true, or maybe something we haven't thought about. But what I do know for a fact is what you are going to do.

"You're going to confront your mother, and I'm going to be there right by your side when you do so."

Liara felt her hearts twisting in her bosom as she squeezed Williams' hands, feeling that powerful emotion gripping her. She… was not sure what to think, what to feel. What would she say if she confronted the Matriarch? Would it evolve into another screaming match between mother and daughter, or would Liara find Benezia in a situation that would have daughter fearful of her mothers' life? She… could not say. She was not sure what she would find.

Or what she would do when she discovered it.

"Hey." Ashley pulled her out of her reverie, a smile on her pinkish lips. "I know this is going to be tough, but you aren't alone. You'll be with friends, with family. And I know your worth, Li. I've seen how you are with Newt, the love and affection that you've given to a Human Youngling in her time of need. If you ever had any doubts, think on that. Think on what Newt would say about you."

"I… you are correct." A smile grew on her sapphire lips as she looked to the Human that she loved, whom she shared her heart with. Ashley was correct; despite what she might discover, she knew that she was nothing like the Matriarch. "I would appreciate that you will be at my side thought this. I feel as if I will be needing it."

"I'll always be at your side, hun." Ashley said to her, her smile meaning worlds to Liara.

"Count on it."

IMV Serenitas, Pax System, Horsehead Nebula, July 31, 2183

"Captain? Translation successful." Kya Drang announced from the Helm station in the IMV Serenitas' Bridge, Captain Vetra Danixea Nix standing behind her pilot as the viewer turned from the blue-shift tunneling of a Mass Relay tunneling effect where the elongated stars snapped back into their normal dotted twinkling configuration as off in the vast distance one star was a bit larger and brighter than the others; the star Pax, in which the system revolved around. Technically, only the inner-Pax System wasn't a part of Council Space; some sort of deal made back in the day when the Systems Alliance had already occupied and 'colonized' the frozen Garden World that was the Relay system to the Horsehead Nebula. As Vetra understood it, the planet had been snapped up by more than a few Human corporations before the Relay 314 Incident to create a sort of 'haven world'; free from taxes, oversight, and annoying little things like laws and ethics. Seemed gross misconduct, but Nix knew that some of the best research and development in the galaxy was sadly steeped in such things that skirted the thin line of morality for profitability. Considering governments obtained more money through business taxes than they did through sapient taxes, there was a rather clear indication that things like 'campaign contributions' in the form of bribery had created the world that had somehow become the central focal point of cutting-edge research and advanced technology in multiple fields.

Noveria. What a s'kak-hole.

"Take us below the galactic plane nice and easy, Kya. Low emissions." Vetra told her pilot, looking over the Mass Relay Extranet Comm Buoy System that kept everyone connected, from the Council to hatchlings watching animated shows. It also served as a way to identify any ships, patrols, defenses, alerts, and issues no matter which side of the law one sat on. Not connecting to it was a surefire way of having ones' vessel boarded by a team Turian hullbreachers to occupy and investigate a vessel that would appear on a LADAR but its transponder code not being identified through the Galactic Extranet Buoy System. The only sapients who did that were the ones that didn't want to be found. In order to be invisible, one must look law-abiding. There was a Human saying to it that the Turian had picked up from her Chief Engineer, Kalee Fry; when in Rome, do as the Romans do. It was pretty accurate. Then again, Vetra had Kalee install a switch that had the transponder set to active, passive, off, and even ghosting the signature of a Hierarchy Bird-of-Prey-Class Hunter/Killer Corvette. She was a smuggler, not a simpleton.

"Vetty, I'm showing normal comms traffic, no alerts, no hails, and one tramp freighter within a tenth AU of our position." Sidera Nix said from her station, looking over the communications and LADAR screens that sat in front of her as she munched on aparetate bone chips from a sealable Mylar bag. "The tramper is displaying normal maneuvers, flying straight towards Noveria. We use its cross-section, we can fly under-the-LADAR and approach unannounced." That had been what Vetra was hoping for; some normal civilian vessel flying towards the frozen Garden World as normal as one pleased. Thankfully, it was close by and meant that the Serenitas wouldn't have to wait for another translating vessel in order to do just that. Using another vessels' signature to make their own was a tried-and-true tactic that no one had really found a way to defeat considering how thermal signatures and LADARs works, not to mention the quality of the equipment on most vessels. Some certain vessels could possibly figure it out, or a really good LADAR tech, but for the most part it shadowed their approach.

"Drang, turn off the thermal vents and get us under that vessel and match speeds." The Serenitas' Captain ordered, seeing the vessel in question on the LADAR screen. They could be under the freighter in approximately seven minutes with them being none-the-wiser, sucking in their own heat and getting under the vessel to confuse both the freighter (as if they had an competency in their crew) and anyone monitoring the comings-and-goings of vessels in the Pax System. And considering how stuck-up and paranoid Noveria Corporate Command was, the Noveria Corporate Defense Fleet was very diligent in monitoring. For a planet steeped in off-the-records research, development, technology, and credits, they made triply-sure that everyone followed their rules while the planet pretty much broke every other law in the galaxy. One could say what one wanted about crooks, but they were even less forgiving about theft from their endeavors than governments were. Funny thing, that. The Serenitas accelerated to reach the freighter as Vetra got onto the squawk-box intercom system that would make announcements throughout the Firefly-Class Transportation Vessel to inform its crew (and passengers) of any updates. "Crew and guests, this is your Captain speaking." Vetra began as she spoke into the hand-held microphone in her right paw. "We're going to be internalizing our heat as we catch up to a freighter and use its thermal signature to mask our own. It's going to get a little hot in here."

That was putting it mildly.

The approach took approximately six minutes as Kya Drang aimed the Serenitas towards where the tramp freighter was flying just below the galactic plane. The internal temperature of the Transportation Vessel quickly rose during the burn in which was really just and overcharged 'thrust' in the right direction with minor corrections done with docking thrusters while the Firefly kept its image 'cool' in the surrounding environment of space. Unfortunately, the interior of the vessel quickly grew stuffy, then oppressive, and then almost unbearable as the temperature rose approximately ten degrees Celsius for every minute of travel with the internal radiators off. Within about half of the maneuver, everyone had geared up into whatever armor or environmental protective suit they had to utilize its power reserves for keeping comfortable as the internal temperature went from unbearable to being able to cook a meal without using equipment, reaching the boiling temperature of water by the time they finally reached within a kilometer of the tramp freighter the Serenitas was trying to catch up with. When Kya Drang finally aligned the vessel with the longer Kowloon-Class Freighter, she matched the speed and vector of the vessel above their hull before turning on the external radiators to bleed the excess heat into space at a one-hundred and ten degree bleed; enough to vent the extra heat without lighting up the vessel like muzzle flash in the dark.

"Captain, we will be reaching Noveria in approximately four hours and twenty-two minutes at this speed. Plenty of time to get in touch with one of our contacts for a shady landing." Drang replied from the Helm, looking back at Vetra as she looked at the ships' instrumentation panel for any kind of alerts or warnings for the excessive heat issue they had to endure. There was a reason that 'sucking heat' was hardly a useful tactic that very few employed save for a very short period of time unless one drifted at minimal power. Nix briefly wondered what the SSV Normandy did to 'shade' its signature, knowing that it somehow confounded LADAR and thermal imagine so well that it had practically flown up to a Geth Dreadnoughts' thrusters before launching some megamissile up its clochea and blew it (and a good many others) into smithereens. Obviously, someone had developed a way to trap heat effectively with more than just fluids and heat sinks.

"I really hate that bitch." Vetra sighed, thinking of her 'contact' inside of Port Hanshan; a corrupt Elanus Risk Control Services Guard who was open to graft, corruption, bribes, and looking the other way for a nice 'retirement' package. Sadly, the Human female in question, one Sergeant Kaira Sterling, was an extorting piece of s'kak who charged a bit too much for honest smugglers like herself. Spirits only knew how many shady entrepreneurs Sterling racketed with threats of turning said business beings over to the Noverian Board of Commerce if they didn't meet her prices (and walking away wasn't exactly an option, either). Thankfully, this trips' cost would be covered thanks to the 'cargo' she carried.

Vetra briefly wondered what would happen if Kaira Sterling met some of her cargo, particularly the infamous cop known for gunning down corrupt police officers or the righteously scary N7 who had no issues putting a bullet to the fringe into the scum of the universe.

The thought had Vetra Nixs' mandibles widen into a very Turian smile.

Author's Note: Yes, the vessel in question is in fact the Firefly-Class Serenity from the TV/Movie. I use of its personal history for this fic, as Malcolm Reynolds had purchased the Serenity from a ship graveyard in which it sat for something like 50 years, unable to fly before Kaywinnit Lee Frye one-up's the original mechanic and fixes an issue in mere moments while he claims it's unfixable (while being interrupted mid-coitus). So I make this all true as I'm still a big fan of the series and the movie, swapping out Mal and a few crew members but replacing them with near-like replacements (Vetra is like Mal, Kya like Wash, Erash is like Jayne, Vona is like Zoe, etc.). I kept Kylee because I thought it would be nice to have a Human mechanic on board, and honestly I thought the part a good one. Trying to make them as plucky as the crew of the Serenity is a labor of love and work.

The military cadence I reference in the beginning is 'The Jesse James' cadence, which I changed to Neil Armstrong for the future. The Original goes:

Jesse James said 'Before I die,
There's five things that I want to ride!
Bicycle, tricycle, automobile,
A fat Tanker's wife and a ferris wheel!"

Erash is, well, a friendly Batarian; he isn't a slaver, an SIU Operative, or some other cannonfodder. There aren't many examples of 'nice' Batarians in either the MEU or the many fanfics. To me, likely the worst kind of criminal in the Hegemony, worse than a murderer but less than a state traitor would be an Abolitionist or a Spartacus (slave revolt leader for those who don't know Roman History).

A little more on Elanos Haliat, the mastermind of Elysium. Take notes, true believers; there will be a pop quiz later.