Teaser

Ship's Log: ASV Aurora; 8 July 2643. Captain Julia Andreys recording. At the request of Admiral Hackett, the Aurora is tracking the civilian space vessel Ontario, now present in the Farinata System in the Hades Gamma cluster. According to Admiral Hackett a member of the Systems Alliance Parliament has been abducted by biotic terrorists and the Ontario is the ship they're fleeing aboard. Lieutenant Lucero is leading a team of Marines to investigate while we remain at a safe distance.

With the Ontario having an anti-beaming field up, the approach was made via stealth runabout. The team entered the ship through the port side lock. Lucy, as custom, took the lead. She had her lightsaber in hand but not active. Behind her, Talara was armed with a pulse pistol set to stun. The squad of light-armored Marines, under Sergeant Coleman, had their weapons set to a similar setting.

"I sense them," Talara whispered, her voice clear over the tactical comm link. Her eyes, blue with lavender-colored irises, were focused ahead. She was more intent on what she was feeling than the digital readouts of her helmet HUD. "They're frightened and angry. And in a lot of pain."

"They would be. Jarod did some research. The man they took sits on a committee for biotics and voted down reparations for bad implants." Even though she could send mental messages, she knew the Marines would prefer hand gestures, and she'd worked with them enough that she knew several of them. She signaled them to follow behind her, fire to stun.

They made it into the cargo hold and the fight began. Only a few of the biotics were armed, with mass effect field pistols, and Lucy found their shots easy enough to deal with. It was their biotic abilities that was the real threat, but Lucy had her own special abilities. She used the life-based force inside of her - swevyra as the Gersallians called it - to deal with the bolts of dark matter the biotics used on them. While she worked on defense, Talara and the Marines opened fire. The Marines' shots were made with what would have been lethal precision in a military conflict. One by one the biotics in the cargo hold went down to stun fire.

"We're secure," Lucy said to them. "Sergeant, detail two to secure prisoners. There's a few more up ahead."

"Roger, ma'am," answered Coleman. "Whitfield, Umitam, you're on! Secure prisoners and standby!"

With Coleman and the remaining Marine behind her and Talara, Lucy advanced to the forward section. Ahead was the control cockpit and to each side, living space. She sensed the fear in one room and entered.

"Don't come any closer!" a male voice cried. Two men and a woman, all armed, were standing opposite from them. On his knees was another man, in a nice set of clothes that had seen better days. He was on his knees, hands on his neck, and had a shotgun jammed to the back of his head. "I'll kill him!"

Talara watched with anticipation at how Lucy would handle this. They'd been training for a few weeks now, with control exercises giving way to actual training in these powers. While some of the exercises were uncomfortable - Talara disliked having to stand on her hand and hold things - she'd still learned many valuable lessons at Lucy's direction, with Commander Meridina occasionally observing. Now she wondered which of those skills Lucy would use to stop these people. Would she yank the guns from their hands? Use mental trickery to get them to stand down? Slice the gunhands off their arms to disable them?

To her surprise, Lucy did none of those things. Instead, she simply turned off her lightsaber and knelt on the floor. "Sergeant, fall back with your team. Await further orders."

"Ma'am?"

"That is a direct order, Sergeant," Lucy said, insistent. "Fall back."

With confirmation of the order, Coleman did so. Talara sensed a tinge of relief in him. He didn't like hostage situations.

"Ensign, holster your weapon and join me," Lucy said next, ignoring the pistols raised toward them.

Talara, who was not quite so flippant about ignoring the weapons, hesitated a second before doing so. With her field action uniform and helmet, she might survive…

Lucy promptly reached to her neck and detached the helmet from her combat armor. She set the helmet to the side, allowing her curly dark hair to descend to her shoulders. She had visible Latin American heritage, with a lighter brown complexion and the shape of her face indicating the mestizo background she inherited from her mother. Bright blue eyes focused on both hostage and hostage-taker.

Without waiting, and yet with a great deal of worry, Talara removed her helmet as well. She felt the surprise as the Human biotics took in her alien features, such as her pointed ears, the blue half-moon marks on her cheeks under her eyes, and the lavender color of her eyes' irises. Silver-blue hair held into a small bun at the back of her neck gave her a further exotic appearance. By complexion she looked the most Human, having a bronze coloration just a shade or so darker than Lucy's.

"I'm Lieutenant Lucy Lucero of the Alliance Starship Aurora," said Lucy. "And I'm trained in the arts of the Gersallian Order of Swenya. This is Ensign Talara, a Falaen officer from my ship and my current apprentice in those arts. Who are you?"

"Our names aren't important!" snarled the leader, his gun still held to Burns' head. The bald man, with a formerly-trimmed beard of dark hair that now reflected a lack of care, was full of frustration and rage. "What's important is how the Alliance, our Alliance, has ignored us! This son of a bitch doesn't care how much we suffer, he just cares about pleasing the people who pay for his political career!"

"Please, you don't have to do this!" the hostage wailed. "I've changed my mind!"

"Now that I've got a gun to your head. Isn't that how it always works?! Letters don't do crap, you have to use force!" Next he glared at Lucy and Talara. "And you… you people! Do you even know what's going on here?! Who this bastard is?!"

"Martin Burns," Lucy said. "Chairman of the Systems Alliance Parliamentary Committee on Transhuman Studies."

"We're L2 biotics," the woman said. "The implants they gave us to control our biotics were faulty."

"More than faulty," the leader spat. "Some L2s are nearly crippled from what these implants have done to us! Those reparations were the only hope of many of us to have the damage treated! And Chairman Burns here denied them!"

"It… I'm sorry, all of the reports made it seem like the problem was overstated!" protested Burns. "But it's clear to me now that they were wrong, I was wrong! I never realized how desperate you were becoming! I'll change my vote, I'll see about getting reparations for the L2 biotics!"

"It's too late for that!" the leader insisted. "Like we can trust you anyway."

"You can," Lucy remarked. "I can feel the sincerity in him." Her eyes locked on the leader's. "Just as I feel the pain in you. Even now… you're in constant pain. Maybe… maybe we can do something about that."

"No, it's too late for that," the leader insisted. "A message has to be sent."

"And do you think murdering Chairman Burns will send the right message?" Lucy asked. "Death rarely solves problems so easily. His replacement will be just as likely to stand against what you need simply to avoid being accused of submitting to terrorism. If you want to get any victory out of this, Burns needs to live."

"And you expect us to believe you'll just give us what we want and let us walk free? Do we look that stupid?"

"No. You look like a man in constant pain who needs compassion," Lucy replied. "I know what it's like to be hurt."

"Don't you dare try to compare yourself to us! You don't know what it's like, what this does to us!" the leader shouted. "This is the kind of thing we're reduced to! We're struggling to survive…"

"Yes." Lucy didn't raise her voice. "You are. And it's so easy to convince yourself to do something terrible if it's in the name of surviving. But I'm telling you it's not necessary. You and all of the other biotics can get the treatment you need. You might be in jail, but you won't be in pain anymore. You'll have justice. But only if Burns lives. Without his voice to help you, you won't accomplish anything. You and those you're trying to save will keep suffering."

Talara observed quietly. She sensed the uncertainty in the biotics. The fear. The same was in Burns, joined with a genuine realization of error. He sympathized with these people, felt as if he had let them down. And like them, he did not want to die.

In Lucy, Talara felt… certainty. Resolve. Even with guns pointed at her and no weapon in her hand, she acted as if she was in complete control of the situation and knew it would turn out alright.

Slowly, the leader lowered his shotgun from Burns' head. "Alright," he said. "I… I don't want to die. I just want justice. I want the pain to end."

Lucy nodded. "Chairman?" She stood to her feet and Talara did likewise. "Please step over here. Ensign, secure their weapons."

They did as requested. "I assure you, Lieutenant, that I will follow through on this," Burns said to her.

"It's not me you owe that assurance to, Chairman," Lucy pointed out. "That said, I sense your sincerity, and I wish you the best in putting this right." Lucy brought her left arm up. An omnitool formed around her forearm. She tapped a key on it. "Lucero to Aurora. Everything is secure. We're ready for pickup."

A moment later Jarod answered, "Confirmed. ETA is twenty seconds."

Upon the Aurora's arrival, the biotics and Burns were beamed away first, for treatment and, in the case of the former, for confinement until a Systems Alliance vessel could arrive to secure them. This left Lucy and Talara alone. Talara looked to her. "Lucy, you said to ask questions."

"I did. What's on your mind?"

"This situation," Talara said. "It would have been over in seconds if you'd acted. You could have disarmed them and I would have easily stunned them. Without any threat to Chairman Burns. But you didn't."

Lucy smiled and nodded. "You're right. There were several ways I could have stopped them, even without using my lightsaber. If I'd needed to, I would have. But fighting isn't our purpose. Saving lives and bettering them is. That's why I had to let the biotics' leader surrender peacefully."

"So that they may be shown leniency?"

"Among other things. Had I simply overwhelmed them, it would have left them bitter and angry at being denied again. Even if it was justified. But they made the choice themselves, without being under immediate duress. They chose to spare Burns and accept his promise. He'll deliver on that and the lives of these biotics will be improved. That strengthens the Flow of Life."

"And that is our goal," Talara said. "I see." She nodded. "Yes. And not looking for a fight… I think that is wise. That has been the way of my people for millennia."

"Fighting is only a last resort. It's sad we have to fall back on it as often as we do." Lucy reached for her omnitool. "And it's about time we got out of here. Lucero to Aurora, two to beam up."

Hours later, the Systems Alliance cruiser Seoul jumped to FTL velocity and departed the Farinata system. Julia watched them go on the holo-viewscreen. Meridina and Leo were sitting beside her, the latter waiting to discuss the matter with her. She left Jarod in charge of the bridge when she led the two into her office. "Now that this situation is handled," she said, "we can get back to our primary mission."

"Handled is not the best way to put it." Leo crossed his arms and a scowl appeared on his face. "I looked at the scans on those biotics. Whoever approved those implants for use should be in jail, if you ask me."

"I understand the sentiment," Julia replied. While she and Meridina had command burgundy as the secondary color of their black-toned uniforms, Leo's had medical blue, with an open white lab coat bearing his name. "But it's out of our hands. We have a more important matter to worry about."

Meridina nodded. "Saren."

"Still no new news on him?"

"None," she replied. "Despite the efforts of many specialists in the Citadel races and the Alliance, Saren's location remains unconfirmed."

"It's been a month since he was on Feros," Leo said. "He's got to be somewhere."

"Unfortunately, there are dozens of clusters he could be in within the Traverse," Julia noted. "Hundreds, thousands, of star systems within reach of a Mass Relay. Even more if he's acquired ships with warp or hyperspace capability. And we still don't know what his personal ship is capable of. Meridina, do we have any more information on this 'Sovereign' vessel?"

"Regrettably little. Although by accessing Commander Shepard's reports and body armor footage from Eden Prime, as well as other recordings, we do have a likely suspect for the vessel." Meridina used her omnitool to display an image under a blood-red sky. It was a tall ship landed to New Eden's surface, looking very much like a sea creature from some sailor's fable, but made of metal with red highlight coloring. "Survivor reports claim that the vessel made a 'scream' sound into their minds."

"Which would confirm Shiala's claim that the ship is using some sort of mental effect for keeping the loyalty of Saren's followers," Julia noted. "Leo, any luck on that?"

"Little. Jarod and I have been going over all sorts of records on machines that can alter neurological states. Nothing like what Shiala describes has been encountered. We've been analyzing possible countermeasures, and we think that emissions-shielding could contain anything dangerous. But we won't know for certain without material to test."

"So nothing definitive until we find Sovereign itself." Julia nodded. "Well, continue what you're…"

A chime filled the room. "Jarod to Andreys. Admiral Maran is on IU radio for you."

"Alright." Julia went to her desk and activated her personal system there. She sat in time for Admiral Maran to appear on her screen. The bearded Gersallian man had short-cut dark hair that was just starting to gray at the temples. A decorated war hero of the Gersallian Interdependency several times over, he now served as Chairman of President Morgan's Defense Staff, and was the primary conduit through which President Morgan could personally direct the Aurora's missions. His position also made Maran the senior military strategist for the Alliance's war with the Nazi German Reich of Universe S4W8, a war nearly two years old now, and victory just within grasp of the Alliance and their ever-growing circle of allies. "Admiral."

"Captain, your rescue of Chairman Burns has provided us an unexpected boon," said Maran.

"Oh?"

"Due to his position, he has influence with a number of companies that manufacture biotic amps. Most of them have facilities on Noveria and influence with the Noveria Development Corporation, the company that oversees the planet. Admiral Hackett informed him of our interest in Saren and Benezia's activities on Noveria through Binary Helix, and the Chairman followed through. I just received a call from one of the board members for the Noveria corporation. The board has approved our request for the Aurora to investigate Binary Helix."

"That is excellent news. We'll get underway immediately," said Julia.

"Expect a hostile response when you arrive. The Noverian board only barely approved your permission. Normally they only allow limited involvement by the Citadel Council by acknowledging authority from Spectres. Before you ask, we originally intended to let Commander Shepard handle Noveria, but the Citadel Council has something else in mind for the Commander that I'm not at liberty to discuss. So you'll be the one handling the Noveria situation. Expect that the local security forces may further impede your efforts. I'm told they don't like government and military officials meddling on their world. Further diplomatic efforts may end up being necessary. Do as you deem fit to acquire access to the Binary Helix facility on Noveria. We need to know what Saren and Matriarch Benezia are up to."

"We'll get it done, Admiral, that I assure you. Has the fleet moved into Armstrong Nebula?" she asked. Given the two weeks the Aurora, Normandy, and Koenig had spent clearing Geth outposts and detecting more in that cluster, she wanted to know how the fleet was responding.

"Seventh Fleet sent a task force three days ago. So far they haven't seen any further sign of the Geth. It looks like you scared them out."

"That is good news at least."

"It is. Whatever Saren was planning, you may have pre-empted him." Maran reached toward something off-screen. "I'll keep you up to date on any further developments. I look forward to your success at Noveria, Captain. Maran out."

The moment he disappeared from her screen, replaced by the seal of the Alliance's Presidency with its prominent torch insignia and the Alliance flag of blue, green, and white, with the torch insignia set over the middle. Julia was familiar with it and paid it no further thought, triggering the ship's comm system instead. "Andreys to Bridge. Take us to the Relay, our destination is Noveria."

"Aye sir," was Jarod's reply.

Moments later, the Aurora was hurtling away from Farinata faster than the speed of light, due for the next stage in the hunt for Saren Arterius.

Undiscovered Frontier
"A Matter of Survival"

The Aurora was on its way to the last relay that would take them to the Pax system, where Noveria was located. Aboard the ship, the two thousand plus crew and their civilian specialists and support staff went about their day as if it were any other.

With two thousand people aboard, the Aurora was a small town in its own right, and like any such community it needed the facilities and means to support them. Not just with sustenance or medical care, but with activities. The ship's middle decks, where the primary and drive hulls started to meet, often had such facilities interspersed with mission-specific ones or living quarters for enlisted and lower ranked officers. A large gymnasium, holodecks, the medbay that dominated Deck 12's aft-facing section, and multi-purpose rooms used for anything from staff lunches to movie showings to the occasional poetry slam (or greep thep, as the Alakin crew referred to such, given Alakin cultural mores).

One of these rooms was currently occupied by only two people, one sitting in the audience area and the other on a raised stage. With an intent look, Lieutenant Tra'dur continued to blow away at the bagpipes she held in her arms. She manipulated the complicated instrument with care, changing the tone wailing from the set of bagpipes into a tune known in many universes as "Flower of Scotland".

When she finished, Tra'dur allowed the blowpipe to fall away from her lips. The Dilgar woman let out a free breath. Her feline face formed into a grin at the applause.

"Aye lass, well done!" proclaimed her teacher. Commander Montgomery Scott was an old man surrounded by youth, but none denied that the old Starfleet engineer had his place as Chief Engineer on the Aurora. Youth, no matter how talented or skilled, could always use experience, and Commander Scott was free with the experience of his decades in Starfleet.

Tra'dur once spent several days reading up on Scott's home universe of S5T3 and the many successful missions and first contacts of the Starship Enterprise, the Enterprise of James T. Kirk and Spock and Leonard McCoy. It gave her a deeper appreciation that a man of such accomplishment would give his time to help her complete her mastery of the bagpipes. Just as importantly, he expanded her knowledge of the history behind them and the various songs that best suited the instrument.

"It brings a tear t' my eye t' hear th' auld tune played so well," Scott said to her.

"Thank you, sir," she said. "I had thought my use of the instrument was already excellent, but you've shown me how to master the pipes in ways I'd never considered. And these new bagpipes work so well for me."

"That they should." He stood up and picked up his own set. "Now, ye're doin' well with Flower and the Black Bear, but I'd like t' see how ye do workin' with another piper. Ye've been practicin' with th' Blue Bonnets, have ye?"

"Yes, Mister Scott," Tra'dur assured him.

"Aye, good. Then we'll start there, then work with Amazing Grace. That's always a good one, an it's expected for th' services when we lose comrades."

"I will show all due respect."

"I dinnae doubt that, lass, not at all." Scott smiled widely. "Ye're quite th' piper, an' ye're only gettin' better. Now, let's start this right..."

She followed his motions and the two, without further word, began to play their instruments, filling the room with the wail of the bagpipes.

The Aurora contained three science labs - one for computer and data sciences, one devoted to physics, and one for biological science - and the official master of all three was Lieutenant Commander Caterina Delgado, the ship's science officer, and newly promoted. Given her specialties, the second lab was her usual haunt, where she ran all sorts of simulations and analysis programs for astronomical phenomena.

But for the moment she was in Science Lab 1 with her friend, Lieutenant Commander Jarod, the Aurora's Operations Officer. Both were done with their bridge watch for the day, so they were taking the time to analyze data on the Geth, including cores taken by the Normandy and its crew in their operations. Digits of Geth code filled the holo-viewscreens at their workstations.

Jarod looked up from his workstation. "It's getting late," he said. "Won't Violeta being waiting for you?"

Caterina shook her head. "No. She's on watch right now with Nick. It's part of her training now that she's going to be a command staff officer."

"Right. Does she know her posting yet?"

"One of the new Enterprise-class ships."

"Right." Jarod nodded. "So you two, I mean, will you be trying to keep the relationship going or…?"

Cat knew Jarod was just trying to be friendly, but it didn't change the fact that it hurt. Violeta - Vee - was going to be out of her life. Possibly for good. It was strange, as she never thought of the relationship as being permanent, but yet now that it was going to likely end…

When Jarod turned to face her Cat sighed and shrugged. "We're still talking about it," Cat said. "I think we're going to go for something open."

"As in?"

"As in, if one of us finds someone new, we tell the other and there's no hard feelings." Cat couldn't quite keep the bitterness out of her voice.

Jarod looked her over for a moment. "You shouldn't blame yourself," he said.

She turned her head to face him. "I could have been a better girlfriend."

"That wouldn't have changed things. Violeta has ambitions. Things she wants to do in her life."

"Things more important than me."

Jarod sat back in his chair. "And that hurts."

"Yeah." Cat's expression shifted, her frown growing. "But maybe I deserve it. I'd… I'd love to travel with the Doctor again. And I dragged her to Vulcan when I could have taken that trip to Sirius she wanted. I can't blame her, can I? When I do it myself?"

"No, but it won't stop it from hurting." When he was answered by silence Jarod returned his focus to his work. "The Geth encryption is unlike anything I've ever seen."

"That makes sense. They're living programs with a unique neural link architecture."

"One you jammed back on Therum," Jarod said. "I keep looking at this and wondering if there's a way to do more than just jam lone remote connections in their network. What if we could do more?"

"Then, given the data, they'd lose the intelligence that makes them capable of being a threat." Cat shook her head. "I doubt we can effectively break the links of programs in an individual platform. But maybe the links between platforms could be jammed over a wide area."

"If we can make that work, it could protect whole colonies," Jarod observed. "But I doubt we'll finish that this evening."

"Probably not," Cat conceded.

"Since Violeta's on duty, you could always see if your sister is around. I get the feeling you want someone to talk to."

"Tonight she's focusing on training with Julia."

"Well, in that case… want to see what Hargert is spoiling us with this evening?"

Caterina considered telling him no. That she just wanted to be alone. But the truth was she didn't, and she knew it. And saying no to Jarod was hard: while he looked to be in his late thirties, he sounded and acted much younger. Right now he looked more like a younger cousin than the older relative he often managed to seem like.

"Sure," she said. With a few key taps she secured her workstation. She stood up. "Maybe he's made some new chocolate fudge squares that will make me feel better."

Jarod grinned in reply. "Lead the way." Cat did so, and he followed, quietly tapping away at his omnitool as he did to ensure Hargert had such a dessert ready for Cat when they arrived.

In the Aurora gymnasium, a familiar sight was again taking place. Julia and Lieutenant Angel Delgado, the ship's tactical officer, were having a sparring match in the ring. A handful of officers and crew watched the two exchange punches and kicks. Their choice of exercise wear - the service-issued sports bra and shorts in their respective branch colors - revealed the contrast in their builds, with Julia's lean athletic muscle giving her an apparent disadvantage to the thicker, developed fighting muscle Angel trained hard to keep. To many she looked like she was a Marine instead of a starship officer.

The fight itself was going as most did between the two. Angel was on offense, Julia on defense, both employing mixed styles. Julia's fusion of t'ai chi and Klingon mok'bara were vital to her ability to stay in the fight, evading the more powerful strikes from her stronger adversary until she could get in her own attacks. In some fights this even gave her the win, letting her seize advantage of Angel going off-balance to bring her down and get the leverage she needed.

But not today. Today Angel was a little quicker, or Julia a little slower, and she took a punch to the faceguard that stunned Julia long enough for Angel to land a follow-up kick that sent Julia onto her back. Angel dropped down to pin Julia's arms with her knees and hold her in place. After a couple of attempts to escape this, Julia tapped the mat. Angel let her go and helped her stand up. The winner pulled one of her gloves off and removed her teethguard from her mouth. "That's two out of three," she said, and her competitive side ensured there was a feral grin on her face.

Julia removed her own guard and then gently touched the point where Angel's foot had connected with her midsection. "You enjoy beating up on me too much."

"Hey, it's not like you don't get licks in," Angel reminded her. "You won one today, and you won the set yesterday."

"I'm starting to wonder if you let me win." The two slipped through the ropes and picked up water bottles nearby. A couple crew were already moving to take the ring themselves. "I don't have as much time to train anymore as it is."

"You still hold your own. And I don't hold back. Well, save a punch or two. But it looks bad if I send the Captain to medbay." Angel took a swig from the bottle.

Julia chuckled. "Leo tells me I should start wearing a full combat suit when we spar."

"Those take all the fun out of it."

"I'm starting to wonder if this is your way of getting back at me for Cat getting promoted first," Julia added, her jovial look making the intended humor clear.

"Cat getting promoted, no. Cat getting her brain smacked against her skull by a bloodraging Krogan? Maybe." Angel's grin turned sly. "Yeah, you could consider it incentive to keep my sister out of the field."

Julia knew that was as much a joke as her remark, but given Angel's protectiveness of her younger geeky sister, she couldn't help but think there was an element of seriousness in it. "I'll keep that in mind."

The two walked into the female-side locker room. After setting their things to the side they entered adjoining shower stalls. Replicated water from a common reservoir for the gym showers poured onto sweat-slicked skin, a comfort aided by the effect the warm, borderline hot water had on muscles burning from exertion. "Did they ever find out which side that Andorian was supposed to be on?" Angel asked, raising her voice appropriately to be heard over the showers.

"Male. Ensign Thavarash is a thaan. Actually, he's supposed to be called th'Thavarash, according to Jarod."

"Right. Four genders. At least the Gl'mulli have none and the Asari just one." After a moment's quiet, Angel added, "What about that Asari doctor? Has she given us any more useful info on her mom?"

"The investigators say yes. And Leo says she's fully recovered. I'm going to send her with the team we take down to Noveria."

"Somehow I doubt it'll be that easy. Corporate types get antsy when uniforms come round."

"Tell me about it. And I'll have to be the diplomat again."

"I bet you miss having Robert around to do that crap."

To that Julia laughed. "Even when he was Captain, I was still doing diplomatic stuff. Not that I don't miss him."

"Don't we all? But given what the Normandy is supposed to be like on the inside, I'm sure he misses us too."

"Yeah, he probably does." As she said that, Julia allowed her mind to wonder, an easy feat while enjoying the warm water of the shower. She wondered if Robert was missing the Aurora's amenities yet and sighed wistfully at wondering what he was up to.

The SSV Normandy was a small ship by most standards of the Multiverse. In the Systems Alliance she was labeled as a frigate, first of her class, with a crew near that of an attack ship in the Allied Systems. Due to her operational needs and the equipment required, the Normandy had little in the way of living space for her crew, and even less space for recreational activity.

Not that Robert Dale was doing anything he would think of as recreational.

For one thing, recreational activities rarely involved being repeatedly stung by an energy pulse.

Another one struck him an instant before he could move the emerald blade of the lightsaber Lucy constructed for him into place to block it. He let out a little "Ow" and cursed under his breath. His senses warned him another shot was coming. This one he stopped, sending the bolt off to harmlessly dissipate against the wall of the Normandy's lab, set behind the ship's infirmary.

The shots were coming from a training device Lucy assembled for him to go with the weapon. The semi-orb was kept aloft by the anti-grav generator Lucy built into it, along with a dumb-VI program that randomly fired low-energy pulse bolts at him. The sparks of blue light weren't capable of doing more than briefly setting off pain receptors at an impact point, a "sting", but getting stung over and over was starting to irritate.

It wasn't like he was weak in these powers anymore. Like Lucy, Robert had trained with Meridina, but for nearly a year it had been evident he wouldn't be as powerful as either of them, and would likely never powerful enough to wield a blade.

Then Robert briefly wielded the Time Vortex, courtesy of the TARDIS ship belonging to the Time Lord being known as the Doctor, to save his ship and friends. That it hadn't killed him in the process was a small miracle. What it had done was cost him two months of his life, give him memories of a beloved son he never had, and leave him with an unprecedented growth in his connection to the Flow of Life. The energy within him became so powerful he was knocking things, and people, over with no conscious effort. Only after weeks of training did he get such simple control back, control that sometimes slipped whenever he wielded the life energy and connected to the Flow of Life.

Unfortunately, it seemed his experience hadn't expanded his ability to wield a blade.

Another pulse went off, blocked, another, also blocked… and then another that sent a jolt of surprise and brief pain up his hip. "You damn bucket of bolts," Robert growled. When it fired at him again he deflected the shot right back into it.

"Deflection hit successful," said a computerized version of Lucy's voice. "Session over. Increase in successful deflections: one. Success rate: sixty-five percent Conclusion: You're getting better at this, Robert. Just remember anything less than one hundred percent means you got shot." The last part had the voice's monotone replaced by the all-too-familiar bemusement that Lucy could summon. With its report given, the orb lowered itself to the ground and shut off.

Robert took the device and stowed it beside his meditation pad. He felt agitated enough to think that might be in order, but the door slid open before he reached for it. Chakwas entered. "I'm sorry, Captain Dale, but I have need of my equipment."

"Of course, Doctor," he answered. "Anything serious?"

"Not too serious."

"Of course. I'm done as it is, so I'll leave this to you," Robert replied. "Thank you again for letting me use this space."

"You're welcome."

Robert left Chakwas and entered the medical area. Tali was waiting on one of the beds. "Oh, hello," she said, her voice distorted slightly from the electronic vocoder built into her suit's face, just below the faceplate. It lit up in time with her speech. "I hope we didn't interrupt anything."

"Not at all, I was just finishing." Robert looked down. He was wearing a workout vest and sweatpants, the latter borrowed from the ship's stores and marked with the Systems Alliance logo. "You're feeling alright?"

"I'm fine. Honestly, I'm only worried about that Geth data. I'm really hoping Shepard will let me bring it to the Fleet. We have so little information on how the Geth have evolved since the Morning War. It could be of great help to us."

"It's Shepard's call, but if you think it'll help, I'll ask her about it."

"I don't know. I'm afraid she might take it badly."

"Alright. I'll leave it be." Robert slipped up onto one of the other beds, just beside where Tali was waiting. He rested his arms on an upraised knee. "Speaking of the Fleet, how is your father doing? And Admiral Raan?"

"Well, they were fine when I last called," Tali said. "Not that I talk often with them. I'm supposed to be out here proving myself, after all."

"I see your point." Robert recalled Admiral Rael'Zorah vas Rayya and could see Tali being discouraged from calling too often. "The Fleet seems to be doing well for itself from the last reports I've seen."

"It's rare that we find anyone willing to give us anything, usually we have to trade." There was a genuine warmth in her voice. "I still feel surprise that your people gave us sanctuary in your space. I'm sure the Citadel Council didn't make it easy."

"I think there were some frank exchanges of views," Robert said, not hiding his amusement at the sarcasm in the statement. From what he heard, the Council hadn't been pleased at all, but not so displeased that it impacted relations. "Are your people still debating the offer of a new homeworld?"

"Very carefully," Tali said. "We have to find a suitable world first. And worlds with Rannoch's characteristics are very rare."

Robert nodded. The issue of the Quarians' non-existent immune systems was always going to make that difficult. "Hopefully we can find something…"

Before he could finish, a tone filled the ship speaker. "This is your helmsman speaking," began Lt. Jeff "Joker" Moreau. "We are about to make our retrieval maneuver to pick up the Commander's Mako from the surface. Please be ready should my badass flying strain the inertial compensators and give us some turbulence. I wouldn't want anyone to get hurt. Thank you for flying Joker Spacelines."

"Shepard must be done with whatever happened on your moon," Tali said. "I mean, this universe's version of your moon."

"That's what it sounds like." Robert laid out on the bed and got ready for any jolts should Joker's flying produce them. He still had some curiosity as to what brought the Normandy to Earth's solar system. Shepard's superiors were very hush-hush on the issue, and indeed Shepard was enjoined from bringing anyone other than Kaidan or Ashley on the mission. It unnerved him a little that the Systems Alliance was keeping that kind of secret, even if he knew it was perfectly understandable.

It turned out there was little to complain about the retrieval. Joker's flying was precise, art as much as science, and the inertial compensators were barely strained by his maneuver. The next word they received was Shepard herself. "All crew and squad members, report for meeting."

"I wonder what happened?" Tali asked.

"We may be about to find out."

As it turned out, they didn't find out. Instead, shortly after arriving, everyone turned to face the holographic images of the Citadel Council. As usual, the Asari Councillor, Tevos, took the lead. "Commander, we've had a breakthrough in the hunt for Saren. An STG regiment has located his primary base."

The mood in the room shifted, the tension of a meeting with the Council turning to the anticipation for a showdown. "We'll set course immediately," said Shepard. "Where is he?"

"The Hoc system, on a planet called Virmire," said Valern, the Salarian Councillor. "The 3rd STG Regiment is already on planet. They are requesting immediate reinforcement."

"We'll get underway now. When will the fleet arrive?"

The moment the Councillors started giving each other looks, Robert knew it they'd be on their own. Sparatus confirmed this. "Hoc is on the border with the Terminus Systems, Shepard. If anyone deploys fleet assets, it could result in a war. There will be no reinforcement. The removal of Saren's base will be up to you and your assets, with the assistance of the Salarian unit already on site."

"I see." Shepard showed no aggravation at this news. "As I said, we'll be on our way immediately."

"If you can find any data on what Saren's goal is, it must be recovered," said Valern. "The disposal of his base is left to your discretion."

"We wish you the best, Commander."

With that, the Council cut the line.

"So, Saren's main base, and no backup." Garrus leaned forward a little. "Outside of a stranded STG force."

"What about the United Systems?" Ashley looked at Robert. "Maybe they can spare some ships?"

"Not likely." Robert shook his head. "I doubt the Terminus governments will view our ships on their border any better than they'd view Citadel ships. And that's if we had ships to spare. We're just weeks away from the final push for Earth in S4W8, and every available ship and asset is being called in." Seeing the disappointed looks, not to mention sensing it, Robert added, "But we could get a little backup by calling in the Koenig."

"A good idea."

"Then I'll call the Aurora as soon as we're out of here."

Shepard nodded in acknowledgement of the offer. "Anything else, everyone?" When no answer was given, she stood from her chair. "Then we're done here." She tapped a key on the chair. "Joker, we're heading to the Hoc system."

"I hear you, Commander," the pilot replied. "We're already on course for the Charon Relay."

Everyone started filing out of the room. Robert went the opposite way, stepping up to the communications controls and activating the system. After putting in his communication code and accessing the special channel he had for the Aurora, Robert had only seconds to wait before the conference room's holo-viewer activated. Julia was on the other end seated in her office. Seeing his closest friend again brought a smile to his face. Julia smiled as well. "Rob. How have you been?"

"Alright. And you? Everyone else?"

"Doing well. Cat's healed from Therum now, and her promotion is official."

"She's earned it." Robert sighed. "I wish I was there to celebrate with everyone else. This hunt for Saren, it's… it's a burden."

"It is," she agreed. "But we're heading to Noveria now to see if we can finally get answers there."

"Oh? You got permission? That's good news. As good as our own. That's actually what I was calling about."

"What is it? Maran mentioned Shepard would be receiving a different assignment."

"A Salarian STG unit has located Saren's main base and we're already on our way. It's a world on the frontier called Virmire, one relay jump away from the Terminus Systems in the Hoc system. Because of that the Council won't send ships, and I know Maran won't be able to either. But the Koenig can get in without being detected."

"Which explains why they're sending us to Noveria instead of Shepard," Julia said, as if a question on her mind had just been answered. "And you could use any backup that can be spared." Julia nodded. "Alright. I'll let Atreiad know and get the Koenig en route."

"Thank you."

"Good luck," she added. Something drew her attention. Robert could hear Jarod's voice come over the comm system - "We're preparing to drop out of warp" - and she nodded. "We just made it to Noveria. I've got to go. Again, good luck."

"The same to you." Robert closed the channel.

The Aurora dropped from warp and entered orbit of Noveria. On the bridge Caterina was already scanning. "They've surrounded the planet with an anti-beaming shield."

"Well, we knew we'd find something like this."

"Yeah, but there's more than that. I'm showing a handful of space stations at various points in high orbit. They look like they're armed battle stations."

Julia considered that fact. "Are they aiming anything our way?"

"No."

"Given Noveria's reputation, they might be for dealing with whatever is being worked on down there," Jarod noted. "Looking over the schematics, they're meant for bombardment more than orbital defense. Maybe against light raiding ships, but no match for a star cruiser."

"Keep an eye on them anyway." Julia started mentally weighing her options.

"The most obvious course is to take down an assault lander and a Marine team," Meridina said. "It would not be the diplomatic choice however."

"Correct. Hail the planet, I want to speak to whomever is in charge."

Jarod went to work on his control board. Julia leaned back in her seat for a moment before glancing toward Meridina. "This is not going to be easy."

"It rarely is with such," Meridina agreed. "This is a world of secrets, and we wish to shed light upon it."

"That is something to keep in mind…"

It took several more minutes before Jarod looked back. "I've got an Administrator Anoleis on for you."

Julia stood. "Onscreen."

The holo-viewscreen shifted to show an office. In the center of the screen was a Salarian in a suit of different shades of blue, a darker as the primary color. The Salarian had a light pinkish complexion with a blue tint. "This is Administrator Anoleis. With whom am I speaking?"

Julia kept her hands at the her sides. "I'm Captain Julia Andreys of the Alliance Starship Aurora. I'm here to investigate links between the Binary Helix corporation and the rogue Spectre agent Saren Arterius."

"Hrm… request denied."

Julia crossed her arms. "We received permission from the board."

"Which is left to my discretion. I can't have you and your uniformed troops marching around down here. This planet is independent of Citadel and United Systems laws and the investors have paid us handsomely to protect the privacy of their research facilities."

"One of those investors is a company owned and operated by a rogue Asari matriarch and a rogue Spectre who is using Geth troops in attacks on the galaxy."

"Be that as it may, I must insist. You can appeal my decision to the board if you wish." Anoleis calmly pressed his hands together. "And just to inform you, we have quite an impressive array of anti-air weaponry at our disposal. Any unauthorized landing vessels will be fired upon and destroyed. Good day."

Without further word, he hit a key beside him and disappeared.

The Aurora crew remained silent. "Well," Locarno finally said, "it looks like diplomacy's not going to be so easy."

"It never is," Julia sighed.