Me: Delta's unavailable now, he's uh, visiting his dermatologist. (phone vibrates and he checks it, seeing a text from Delta)

Delta: (through text) When I get back, we're upgrading Silver's plasma cannon. And using you for target practice.

Me: Well that's worrisome. I'm going to go make a defense bunker to run to, enjoy the chapter.

Disclaimer: Bioware owns Mass Effect. Microsoft owns Halo. I own nothing used here, except the sense of humor. Seriously, some people need to learn to take a joke.

Change in Relationships

I lean back in my chair tapping my foot in the air while its propped on the weapons bench of the armory, Silver standing beside me with his head tilting as I sing along with the music that plays from my omni-tool. Ah this is good, this is good. and I got a whole day for this between jumps back to the Citadel. Just from that I can tell we're probably handling Kasumi, Garrus and Thane's loyalty missions. Not sure if I want to tag along for Kasumi's but I think it'd be better to do Thane's, it's a pretty chill one even if the implications aren't. The warehouse is a large open space and with all those YMIRs it'd be useful for Shepard to take along Jack and Grunt. I let out a short yawn then lean down, pulling out my plasma repeater project and going back to work on it.

An hour later the gun is fully stripped and laid out, parts not needed placed off at the side to be later added to the spare parts cabinet while I take out the custom-made parts crucial to a Sangheili Plasma Repeater rifle. I start assembling and placing the parts where they should fit in the chassis of the rifle. It all works out well for the most part, the functional parts fit into the chassis and connect properly however I have to make a few adjustments. Firstly the lower half of the gun needs to be lower to make room for the rotating plasma ejector. Now the trigger guard needs to be replaced with a slightly broader, more rounded one so the lower barrel slides down and back properly for storage. Grip is a little odd but I'll get more accustomed to it soon. All it involved was a simple replacement of machinery and adjustment of barrels and voila. Aside from the trigger guard and lower rounded barrel it's virtually unchanged. I think I'll give it a light blue coloring over the whiter areas with a gunmetal grey shading too.

"I do believe it is done. Looks good too." I pick up the gun and press the button, smiling as it collapses neatly in my grip into its compact box shape. I re-open it and head to the elevator, planning on getting some target practice in. 2 feet from the door I stop and smile, turning around and running back towards my cot in the armory to lift it up, revealing a maintenance shaft. I slide in and set to work, dropping, crouching and crawling for a minute or so before coming out in the cargo hold behind some large crates of supplies. Coming out from behind the crates I note that the box shape of crates Grunt and I made for the arena was more or less intact. Seems all the crates were just pushed together to make a smaller, filled out box than the large empty one we had. Now I have to find a target though….

A few minutes later several stacks of boxes, about head height, are placed at different areas in the cargo hold. Some in the open middle area and a few placed with their sides poking out from behind larger crates that serve as cover. I'm crouched behind a mid-sized crate and count to three before popping up and firing at the boxes in the open. The kick is surprising, stronger than the Avenger's usual kickback but not as frequent, nor as powerful as the Mattock's. However while the kickback isn't as strong, the plasma bolts themselves are pretty effective. The top box got knocked off after 5 hits and there's melted slag on each impact point, more evident with consecutive hits. I turn and aim at the crate stacks poking out from behind the larger cover and fire, spraying both the cover and crates with a short burst of plasma fire. The stacks knocked down after an extra, shorter burst and I turn to the other ones. It seems I only get about 25 shots with each clip, and the shots are acceptably accurate. They wont all hit dead center but that's what the splash effect of the plasma globs is for after all. Yep, I'm satisfied with this weapon and with my modified Viper too I think I'll do pretty well on the battlefield. Now all that's left is to get my armor from Legion and the Geth then I'm good to go.

"Speaking of the Geth…" I turn to look at the side of the Cargo Hold where the Kodiak is held aloft by the cranes, underneath it the hijacked Geth colossus sits folded up and ready to be deployed like a vacant tank left in a bunker. I smirk at it then head up to the mess hall for some food before I resume my practice.

Five minutes later I'm back down in the cargo hold, happily eating a delicious bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich sandwich I made with Gardner's permission. Well, he didn't say no at least. Anyway the last third of the sandwich is left when I get back to the cargo hold and am actually kind of surprised to see Tali at the colossus frame, appearing to try and find a way into its folded body. There are few openings and it would take a lot of arm power to pry them open enough to pull it apart. I immediately cloak and sneak up behind her quickly, watching over her shoulder for a few seconds. Yep, she's trying to find an access panel or hatch in there.

"Come on you Bosh'tet, open up…"

"Whatcha doin Tali?" She jumps in the air and turns around, about to crouch for her boot knife but instead smacks her helmet against my chest. She backs up then, into the colossus and glares at me for scaring her at such an uncomfortably close proximity.

"You idiot, don't you ever do that again!"

"No way, its far too much fun. And a great way for catching people who are messing with others stuff. Why are you trying to sabotage my colossus buddy?"

Tali's eyes narrow a bit and she folds her arms "Your 'buddy' is a threat to us."

"Silver? No way, he's cool."

"It is not 'cool', it is a Geth! A colossus at that, inside the ship its far too easy to damage and kill us all with a single blast from its cannon! Whatever hacking system you used will fail and then it will re-activate. What are you going to do then?"

"Charge into the nearest group of enemies and blow them apart with a shout of 'Yippie Ki Yay motherfuckers!'"

"You're not understanding me! This colossus will turn on you and kill you while your guard is down!"

"No you're not understanding me. Your hate is filling your eyes and clouding your judgement. It's happened to all of you really for the right reasons and wrong ones as well. Silver is an ally, that's the bottom line. He will fight for us and help us as much as he can and even moreso when his power grows." I lean into Tali a bit now, eyes narrowed. "And you will not intervene unless it is to improve him."

"The only improvement I can think of for a Geth is a permanent shutdown."

"You're mad. I understand you have a right to be angry, but this level of anger is unjustified."

"What could you understand you bosh'tet? You don't know what it's like and you cant decide what level of my anger is justified or not!" Tali moves to the side and starts to storm off.

"I understand that your people first acted out of fear. They still do and haven't bothered to change any of their approaches. You speak as if you're dealing with bloodthirsty barbarians instead of another intelligent species capable of goodness. Though I admit, that is difficult when you're so hellbent on denying they even display the similarities, much less the actual evidence. If the Quaians want to have a chance at earning back their homeworld they need to stop looking through hate-tinted glasses. Or masks in this case."

Tali stops and turns around quickly, eyes narrowed in anger that spread wide in surprise at seeing an empty cargo hold around the lone colossus. She doesn't even notice the soft click of a hatch sliding into place over a maintenance tunnel. Meanwhile I'm already halfway back up a couple decks to the Armory, soon out and on my cot with the xbox on and my game playing. I also have my helmet on to cancel outside noise and review the data-files Legion sent to me earlier while my game and matches load. It's great to see their perspective on the events leading up to the Morning War. Helps me be as fairly objective as possible instead of just objective. I glance out and see us exiting into a desolate solar system. Odd, I thought we'd be heading straight to the Citadel.

I take off my helmet "EDI, has anything changed? We're out of the Relay sooner than usual."

"Shepard has made an emergency change to the route. We're passing through the Dakka system and are supposed to engage in orbit around Pragia."

Pragia… Oh, the Teltin place! So we're doing Jack's loyalty mission now eh? That's cool but this'll delay me getting my new armor. Damn, my usual set's more of a latticework of patches than the original armor plating. I turn back to my game as the match starts with a hurried goodbye to EDI. I'd wager we're about a half hour out from the planets so I should be good for a game or a couple quick ones.

I'm about 5 minutes into my second game and capturing the penultimate control point while using a tempest SMG to lay down suppressive fire. My teammate makes it up beside me and speeds up the capture sequence while helping to finish off the people I've hit. I pause when I notice EDI's voice coming in over the intercom.

"We are in orbit around Pragia. Miranda and Jack, please accompany Shepard on the shuttle." Guess Shepard's flying with only a couple wingmen on this mission. Well if she needs backup she can call for it but for now I'll focus on dealing with this damn shield camper. Come out from behind that barrier fucktard I just want to talk to ya. Don't mind Mr. Scimitar he just wants to put in his own two cents as well. I don't think Shepard finds out the Blood Pack's in the facility until they land, and then after that they run into that dude, Arash I think his name was. I doubt Shepard'll just let Jack kill him but I wonder what I should do for Jack and Miranda's fight. I smirk after blowing an enemy's head apart with a sniper shot. I'll just have to wait and see what she does. Until then I believe I'm free to go about my business here on this fine ship.

"What are you doing here?" Tali asked in a tone that showed curiosity and annoyance.

I freeze and Gabby lets out a small yelp before punching me in the stomach. "I told you not to do that!" She says while I regain my breath. Kenneth laughs.

"Well Tali, for starters I'm trying to teach my body to breathe again." I take a deep breath and straighten up with a wince. Good god that girl can hit… "After that I was hoping to see if you'd be willing to help me with a little project I have."

"Oh really? And what does this project involve?"

"The Geth Colossus."

"Unless it involves complete disassembly I am not going near that thing."

I roll my eyes "C'mon Tali it's not gonna kill you. Just the Collectors, and anyone else who's pissed off Shepard lately. Except the Council, I think they're off limits."

"I'm tired of this. It's a geth Delta. It can't be trusted and as soon as it is everyone will suffer."

"Well alright then, lets ignore an opportunities to make amends or start righting wrongs." I say as I walk away.

"The Geth can never make right what they have done."

"It's not the Geth I was referring to." The door closes as if on cue. I love my cinematic sense and timing, if this was a movie I'd be the star. I'd probably piss off the director enough that he leaves the abuse in though. Oh well, the bruises aren't that bad. Something hits the back of my head and stars erupt in front of my face as I stumble forward.

"You dare to say WE were the ones who were wrong!?" Can't say I didn't expect her to get mad at the comment.

"My people fought and died and were exiled by those monsters! We can't even set foot on our own home planet and are forced to live in ships that predate the ones on the markets that constantly require maintenance and movement to gather resources just for us to survive!" Her fist is clenched and her voice starts to rise in anger. "You even have the audacity to say that we're the ones who did wrong!"

"I'm the only one who knows the full story after all. Can't even say I'm surprised either." Tali tries to punch me again but I deflect her fist to the side. "Don't get me wrong Tali, I can't say that exile is exactly what your people deserved, but it was a consequence for a reason." I start to walk away to the elevator.

"Where do you think you are going?!"

"I'm going to finish my project of upgrading my ally. You can be mad, understanding, pensive or stubborn, my care is fading either way. Quite honestly I want to help, but I have little idea on how to approach it. Later." The door closes and sends me down to the garage bay. I see Silver in the Geth Trooper form working on the colossus already. The Colossus' face shines a bright orange and it unfolds completely.

"Delta-Specialist. We have ensured functionality between the two platforms. Without the use of the Colossus, this connection could be securely established among three smaller platforms simultaneously."

"Sweet, so you can coordinate three troopers at the same time?"

"We are capable of coordinating 3 small platforms simultaneously. The colossus can only be used in conjunction with 1 other platform except for the Prime or Hunter."

"Well that's still a plus. So what can we upgrade the Colossus with?"

"We have determined that the siege cannon would be better with an improved firing rate and that the high-rate machineguns are well suited for disabling shields and barriers quickly however they are a little more ineffective against armor. An Incendiary rounds upgrade would be recommended. We could also increase the speed of its movement."

"Alright, let's get this bad boy an upgrade or five." I exclaim. We immediately set to work, excited to make this armature class death bringer even more armed and death bringer-y. After about 15 more minutes of work we look up to see the Kodiak coming in and a bright light in the middle of an overgrown forest. Seems Jack got it out of her system. Kinda wish I was there to see the explosion closer. Miranda Shepard and Jack step out of the Kodiak as it lands and the crane moves over to lift it up and out of the corner of my eye I see Tali coming up to me, still angry, and am surprised to be honest. I didn't think she would hound me down twice in one day. Evidently she hates not getting in the last word, unless Shepard gave it.

"What exactly did you want to help with Delta?" Tali's arms are folded and I can tell she probably already knows but is just making sure.

"Many things really, help stop the Reapers, assist Shepard's ideals of a united and peaceful galaxy, introduce the Krogans to weed, stop the Quarians from eventually committing mass suicide, all those things really."

"What was that?!" Tali yells. Shepard frowns and starts heading for us.

"Introduce the Krogans to weed. I have a test batch to give Grunt, I think it's likely to make him stop being so antsy."

"Not that you bosh' tet! What was that about my people committing suicide!"

"It's almost obvious when you look at it. Silver's even run simulations on various scenarios based on choices your people have made so far and the ones that could be made in the future. They all end the same way."

"With what, if I may ask?" Shepard steps in and folds her arms as well.

"The Quarians are fucked." I sit down on the edge of the colossus and face Shepard moreso than Tali. I lower my voice some to better hide the natural lighthearted tone it carries. I find it helps with getting people to take me seriously. "Their best hope for general survival is brokering peace with the Geth. The Geth are also very reasonable and unlike them, hold like no grudges. The Geth realize the Quarians acted out of fear during what they call the Morning War and don't really blame them for it. I do, but it's because I've seen this kind of thing before. Researched it too, and still am, in a way. Anyway, the Quarian's greatest asset is also their worst, glaring weakness. With a homeworld and Navy, a race is capable of fighting without losing their living spaces but the Quarians have that combined. The only way to match the Geth fleet is for the Quarian fleet to be completely weaponized and used in combat, even the liveships need to be equipped with weapons platforms. On top of that, Quarian resources are low and your people will not be able to wage a war within 3 months even. By then resources would be too low to have a meager chance of getting out alive with half your liveships. No, no, if the Quarians decide to go to war with the Geth they'd be killed. The Geth have a base to construct and repair their ships as well as restock ammunition and supplies. They can rebuild, basically. The Quarians have no such capabilities, your resources are barely enough to sustain your people now, during a war they'd be stretched extremely thin and every ship lost would be gone forever because then you'd need to send out a ship with a few pilots, precious crewmembers, and even more precious supplies for the trip, to purchase new ships and then time to outfit them for battle. The Geth ships would also be in possession of laser and plasma weaponry too. The Quarians would have the cheapest, most mass-produced weapons and prayers because that's all they'd be able to afford. The only ideal solution here, is for the Geth and the Quarians to broker peace. There's no other way, unless the Quarians would rather die and I'm pretty sure that many don't."

"What makes you so sure of this Delta?" Shepard asks.

I jerk my head at Silver "Silver's helped me run the numbers. I've done my own simulations, he's run his, we've run em together, he's shown me the specs on Geth ships of various kinds, I've seen their weapon blueprints and usual loadouts and we also might've, maybe hacked into the Quarian databases to see how their resources looked. It was bad, even before I started doing the mind-numbing math involved in figuring out the crap we did. Then we did more simulations. In the end, we figured the Quarian's best chance to attack was in 4 months if they started outfitting their ships with weapons now and in 4months time charged the Geth. Then they'd be the closest at taking back their homeworld than they'd ever be about halfway through the 2nd week. After that point it would just be useless trench fighting and wasted lives. But hey, closer than ever."

"How can you make light of this!" Exlaims Tali.

"Two reasons, 1, I'm a douche apparently, it's hidden behind my kind and gentlemanly upbringing but it comes out at times and 2, because it's already almost guaranteed the quarians are going to rush in and attack anyways. I've suggested peace, now Murphy's law is going to fuck that up and Shepard will have to bail everyone's asses out of it in time."

"I'm surprised you gathered all this data to support your claim. When did you do this?"

"I finished weapons maintenance early. I'm surprised how many similarities I found between this issue and American slavery."

Shepard blinks "What?"

"Yeah, it was weird. The Geth are kinda like blacks, in the beginning of their service they really had no choice and were easily able to be seen as dumb animals. Over time however, they became smarter and more accustomed to those who they served. Both became more aware of their situation and kind of broke the status quo, the Geth asked if they had a soul and blacks who had fled to the North lobbied for the abolition of slavery. A big connection was an ending of violence. Black and white abolitonists were attacked for trying to get rid of slavery, buildings burned, families killed, and for the Geth the Quarians tried to shut them down. They resisted the shutdown commands, seeing no reason to be shut down and then the quarians switched to deadly force. So the Geth did the same to preserve their newfound sentience and also to protect the Quarian friends they've made."

"That does make sense…" Shepard says, nodding. "That issue hasn't really been touched on anytime recently though. It's strange for someone to bring it up."

"Well with alien life-forms present it's a lot easier for the ignorant to shift their hatreds from humans to extraterrestrials. I'm honestly not surprised that's the case."

"That is not a valid similarity, the Geth aren't human, they're not even organic!"

"They are sentient and that's enough. They are aware of their actions and judge based on a higher intelligence shared by all organic races. They aren't guided by instincts like animals, nor are they non-aware VIs. They're even conducting studies on organics just to know how to act more like them. Basically, they're trying to fit in. And the Quarians are trying to keep em out."

"Because they'll kill us all when they have the chance."

"So would plenty of people already here. I don't see the Quarians trying to kill Jack." I point at her and she lifts her head in a little bit of pride. "Either way, I'm done talking about this. I'm going to finish up the upgrades on the Colossus then take a nap. Hopefully we'll reach the Citadel when I'm awake." I say, nodding to Shepard and turning around to get back to work.

"Alright Delta. I'll leave you alone for now then. Good luck with the upgrades."

"Thanks Shep." I glance over my shoulder to see the four all walk away, Tali arguing with Shepard mutedly while they all step into the elevator.

"Delta-Specialist, are you well?"

"I'm fine. Just hate dealing with close-minded people. At least Tali seems somewhat open but I think that's only when Shepard talks to her, I don't seem to be able to make much progress. Maybe I just lack the silver tongue with certain people."

"We have never known for you to possess a tongue encased in silver. Does it serve some function for organics oral hygiene?"

I chuckle "No, it's a saying Silver. Let's just finish these upgrades, I feel tired already." We worked for about a half hour later then closed the carapace of the Colossus, finished with the upgrades to its cannon charging systems and power conduits. We managed to upgrade the firing rate of the cannon and the guns, also improve the power flow to the rest of the body as well. The incendiary rounds are rather powerful and the shields even got an upgrade off it too. Now we just have to work on the servomotors in the legs and then we'll be done.

"AH!"

"Delta-Specialist!"

Holy fucking crap this thing weighs a ton! I can't feel my leg! Ow!

"Silver, get this Colossi's ass off my leg!" After a few seconds the Colossus lifts the backside of its chassis into the air, legs readjusted temporarily to accomplish the feat while partially disassembled. I scoot back quickly so it can lower with minimal stress on the exposed and currently unarmored servos. It lowers again and I tend to my leg while Silver continues upgrading after a little fussing over me. Thank goodness those augments included a fortified skeleton. My leg bones would've been dust otherwise. On that note I think I'll go to bed early. Silver agrees, confirming it'll only be another 30 minutes before the last leg is upgraded. I limp over to the elevator with my sore leg and ride up to the CIC deck. Amazing how much pain can wear on your patience. Once there I head straight to the armor, a lazy wave to Kelly as I see her and flop onto my bed. Sweet sweet sleep; oh how I've missed thee, let me count the ways.

"Delta, the Illusive Man would like to speak to you." EDI pops up and delivers this glorious message.

"Tell him to fuck off, I'm going to sleep."

"I cannot do that."

"I can't get out of bed now. Seems we're both unable to do something another desires. Except Tim probably cares more than I do."

"He can hear you."

"Yeah, eh wouldn't have happened to bug us with speakers too would he? Kind of pretentious of him to assume everyone's gung-fucking-ho to go to the damn comm. Rooms to speak to him."

"He says he'll reward you."

"Yeah, with what?"

"Donuts."

"That wont wor-"

"A lifetime supply."

…Okay man, now hear me out on this one-

SHUT UP STOMACH!

But Braiiiin it's a lifetime supply of donuuuts.

I don't care, we need sleep!

But we can eat all we want! And then get more when we want it again!

No means no!

Lifetime supply King Kai! C'mon!

I can't believe we're having this conversation.

Me neither actually.

Tim's still waiting isn't he?

I think so.

"Delta, I feel it's important that you and I talk." Oh, he came over EDI's speaker.

"I'll give you 5 minutes."

"That's all I'll need."

"Doubt it, I'm cranky." I get up and walk into the Comms. Room. The table goes down, lights dim, I get scanned, yadda yadda, there's the prick. And his little dying sun too!

"What do you want Tim?"

"I believe you've withheld things from me. Objects that could be crucial to our success"

"You're being vague, you don't have time for me to make guesses."

"I want you to share the specifics of the augmentation serum you had concocted by Dr. Solus and give us the Geth body."

"No. Bye."

"You can't just say no! Those are important items for research for the good of humanity!"

"No way, give the terrorist organization with too many xenophobic radicals and dumbasses access to what is basically a supersoldier serum? And then add in the tech contained inside an intact Geth hardware and software subject? Nnnope. You can forget about that right here, because long as I'm alive, you are not touching that serum or my colossus intact. Bye Tim, I'm going to sleep."

Seriously… I'm not giving Cerberus anything that could give them an advantage over everyone. Good of humanity my ass. Best thing for humanity is to follow Shepard's advice. I'm gonna follow my own advice now and go the fuck to sleep. Ahhhh, warm, comfy cot. Please let me wake up when we reach the Citadel.

Me: Woot! Another chapter done! Let's see if I can get another one out eh?

Delta: FIRE! (The upgraded Colossus starts shooting at Zero's covered and reinforced trench-hole)

Me: Well, Delta's back as you can see. Glad I made this bunker. And it's fully stocked too. (picks up a chicken leg and bites into it) I can last a few days in here and the Colossus needs a recharge at some point. Anyway, don't worry about me readers, I'll see you next time. PEACE! (Boom)

Author's Notice: For any of you who have interests in the action game "League of Legends" or plays said game, I have started a collaboration fic with my little brother Ace entitled "LoL-views". Basically it involves us pranking and having funny interviews with the champions of League of Legends so if you are interested look up the fic and post a review with a question you'd have for a champion. Mordekaiser is our first victim, I mean guest so think of him when brewing ideas. Peace!