We are on the victory lap of this mega section. Only two more stops with Kyle and a return visit to see how Resolme and Engelbrektsson resolve their arc…

...

1603 Hours, March 1st 2683

Office of Naval Intelligence Headquarters

Citadel

Widow System, Serpent Nebula

...

Kyle slumped forward in his chair back at the Major's office mulling over her proposition. So…it was a recruitment test all along. He should have seen it coming with all the pointed questions, specific accounting and weapons testing. Why him though? ONI marine training took years to even become qualified.

"Lieutenant?" Ackerson asked.

He refocused on the conversation he had tuned out of to see her behind her desk.

"I said, 'Do you understand'?" She repeated.

"…I think so?" He fumbled.

"You haven't heard a word I said, have you?"

He shook his head.

"Well," she said condescendingly. "Rather than repeat something you won't listen to, let's hear what worries are taking priority in your mind."

He didn't like being talked down to, but he should use the opportunity to air his grievances. "…why?"

"'Why' what?"

"Why did you consider me?"

"To be honest, I didn't," she admitted. "At least not until a month ago. I was originally considering him…"

She then pulled up a vid from her desk terminal displaying a HUD feed of two soldiers fighting in a combat arena. The feed froze right on an extreme close-up of La Rosa's face!

"Captain Falana and some of my men encountered your sniper back at New Mombasa," she continued. "I believe Falana when she claims she went easy on him, but he still beat some of my strongest soldiers single handed. I wanted to know what kind of background could lead to that, which led to me searching his files and, incidentally, yours."

So…he had La Rosa to thank for this meeting. He'd have to give him a 'thank you' kick later.

"As I said before, you're an intriguing soldier. ONI always keeps an eye on the other branches to see what they can offer us. The ODST have always been an anomaly though. All volunteer recruitment, regular rotation amongst Alliance vessels, wide spread training in all combat situations. It's one of the most balanced and powerful military divisions in the galaxy….and that's not an exaggeration."

"So is it ME that's intriguing or ODST in general?" Kyle asked. "Ralston's higher ranked and an ODST lifer too."

"Ralston's a good leader, but we need him on the Tokyo more than the field," she replied. "And he wouldn't be that much higher ranked if you hadn't turned down those promotions. Why is that by the way?"

He didn't have an answer to give…so he gave none.

"I'm going to make a bold and most likely correct assumption here," she continued as she stood and walked to her office window. "You're a dedicated soldier. Not hard to surmise. You give your best performance in any task, even when you lack the skills to achieve it. Whether this is rooted in familial or religious upbringing is negligible, since that can be said of many inferior soldiers. So there's something else that drives you that's far more elusive…"

Uncomfortable memories of his last psychoanalyst visit flashed in Kyle's mind, causing him to grip his hands under his desk.

"I heard what you went through on Shanxi. I have family and friends who fought there too. It's an unfortunate part of our history and the scars that haven't fully healed. I wouldn't blame the people I know for not forgiving the Turians."

"Oh?" He asked curiously.

"Sure. Think of all the bitter feelings people felt when they realized all of that 'retake Shanxi' propaganda ended in a stalemate. We got our planet back but we lost our Slipspace, Smart A.I.'s and a lot of good soldiers. To the people I knew, it was almost as bad as if the Turians won."

Kyle's hands loosened as she talked, curious to hear where this was going.

"I can't bring peace to my friends. They knew too many friends whose blood still stains Shanxi's soil. They encountered too many A.I.'s 'forcibly retired' to keep the peace. They saw too much that can't be unseen. All of that for an embassy on the Citadel. It's not the freedom you lost your hand for, is it?"

"...no," he mumbled.

"That's why you haven't replaced it, isn't it? You don't want to forget. You don't want to feel like your losses meant nothing?"

He didn't answer.

"Good. ONI doesn't want you to forget."

"Why does ONI care about what I won't forget?" He said not conceding to her analysis.

"People like you have helped ONI for years. It's the way we've handled things on Earth before and after the Human-Covenant War."

"How so?

"There's a few examples," she said tapping at her omni-tool. "Remember when the Goliath PMC tried invading Nigeria?"

"I remember hearing their boss was killed in a UNSC raid."

"Exactly," she said pulling up a vid through her desk terminal. "Sergei Polonska's death only happened through a lot of dedicated work from Nigerian ONI operatives embedded in Goliath. Like you, they had something to prove. In this case, they had figured that the skirmishes reported in the cities of Zaria and Ibadan weren't isolated post-war incidents. They were the first step in a coup to take control of Africa. If it wasn't for those operatives' dedication, we couldn't have intervened."

The vid showed an old HUD feed of UNSC and ONI marines storming Polonska's hideout, systematically taking out his men before putting a bullet in his head. He knew about this event from old news vids, but he had never seen this one before. The ONI pyramid logo at the bottom corner was probably why. The vid then froze on the face of one ONI marine taking off his helmet.

"Otto Suliamon," she continued. "A Human-Covenant War veteran, dedicated family man and one of ONI's most valued recruits. Without his work, Africa would be a very different place."

It was an interesting story…to someone else. Kyle shrugged mentally and leaned back in his chair.

"You're right," Ackerson said sensing his disinterest. "Who is he to you? It's not one of our most glamorous victories and this vid will be declassified in a matter of days." She turned to face out the window. "Let's say there's a lot more interesting classified stories concerning the entirety of the Alliance's restructuring period. Aiding the establishment of new nation-states, opening economic expansion in the lesser-developed regions, negotiating treaties with former Covenant races. Anything that has preserved human interest in the last century has had at least one ONI operative central to its success."

"Next you'll take credit for discovering element zero," Kyle joked. The lack of an immediate response immediately caught his attention though.

"Everything that has happened upon meeting the Council races has been cut-and-paste work. Impressing the Turians with our military might and the Salarians with our science was easy. The Asari were trickier, with their whole 'holier than thou because we're biotics' shit, but we've found ways around that too."

"What about the Krogans? Quarians? Elcor?"

"When was the last time you heard of an Elcor doing something significant for the galaxy?" She said. "I'm not being xenophobic saying that. It's just a fact. Elcor, Hanar, Volus and the other 'minor' races are easy to rally, but not priorities. Krogans are going to take longer to win over since they can't even talk to each other politely. And Quarians? Well, the whole 'Geth attacking Alliance space' issue doesn't help, but we're on good terms with them at the moment."

"You've thought all of this through very carefully huh?"

"Only because we have people like you to help," she said before turning back to face him. "What I'm trying to say with these tangents is that everyone working for ONI wants what you want: to prove that humanity is stronger."

"How so?"

"Well it's a classic rule: how do you defeat your enemies?"

"A lot of ammunition and a big ass bomb."

"That's a start, but it doesn't last. Standing ground against the Turians was one thing, but the best way is to either ridicule them or make them your friends."

That ruffled Kyle's feathers thinking that. "They're not my friends."

"They don't know that," she said. "And I'm not asking you to be friends. As far as they're concerned, all of these joint projects and collaborations have been working towards furthering the peace. In reality, they're playing into our goals. All it takes to cement the deal is a representative on the Council. Once we have a voice, they'll eat out of our hands. They'll grovel to get Slipspace reinstated. They'll beg for A.I.'s to be brought back into mass production. They'll concede to whatever we ask because we're their 'friends,' not realizing until it's too late that they never should have poked a bear like humanity. And that, in the end, is how you defeat your enemy."

Admittedly, the thought of Turians groveling at Kyle's feet was an amusing one. He'd still prefer shooting them, but he could see what Ackerson was aiming for.

"I thought you'd like the sound of that," she said. He realized that he had been smiling the entire time she had been talking.

"I guess I do," he replied.

"All of those friends of mine did too. And that's why we want you and your squad to join my crew. Seeing you in action made me realize your talents are wasted serving on normal ships. I—"

"Hold on," Kyle interrupted. Something he had overlooked suddenly became apparent. "How long ago did you transfer us to your ship?"

This caught Ackerson off guard for a moment. It caught him off guard too, since he had no idea where that thought came from. He just felt it had to be asked.

"Very perceptive," she said sitting back at her desk. "The moment you stepped into my office."

"…figures."

"I know when I want something."

"So what are the catches?"

"Mostly positive. You will be immediately promoted to 1st lieutenant, no questions asked. A pay raise respective to your position…"

"…for my squad too?"

"They're coming with you, so yes," she said not wishing to be interrupted further. "You will also gain access to experimental ONI hardware still awaiting the standard ODST trial testing."

"And the non-disclosure part?"

"Not terribly tragic, but you already knew that came with the deal," she said. "All of your actions within ONI are classified to anyone outside of my ship, including cause of death should it occur."

"Sounds fair—"

"There's also one more personal catch I want to emphasize," she said taking a more serious tone. "When you're on my ship, you will respect the chain of command. Whether it's my decision or any other superior, it's absolute. Understood?"

Ackerson's stern glare burned in Kyle's brain. Was it a general warning or just directed to him? Either way, he played it safe.

"Yes, ma'am," he said.

"Glad we came to an understanding," she said relaxing. "The last thing we need is to not trust each other…"

Resolme fidgeted as he waited with Engelbrektsson and Kaidan in the Lower Wards markets. He watched all of the various people going about their business buying, selling and trading whatever they had. Just life going on like it should. No reason for them to be suspicious of the Alliance marine and two ODST soldiers nonchalantly hanging out amongst them, right?

Well they should be, or at least if they knew what the three of them were here for. It felt like a whole day had been flashing in front of Resolme's eyes after they left Chora's Den. Their trip to C-Sec was a little unpleasant, mostly because of that undercover officer Chellick they had bumped into while leaving the Den. The Turian chewed him out for nearly blowing Jenna's cover along with his, though he quickly forgot about it once Kaidan asked about the situation.

Apparently getting Jenna out of C-Sec was a lot harder than just asking nicely. On top of whatever work she was doing, there was a lot of 'you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours' stuff involved. Kaidan and Engelbrektsson tried talking their way around getting caught up in it, but they didn't have enough combined charm to change Chellick's mind. So they were offered a deal.

Jenna was gathering intel on an illegal arms producer on the Citadel and C-Sec almost had enough evidence to track him down. All they needed was to get their hands on his product. It was up to the three of them to meet with the producer's seller, Skath, in the Lower Ward and buy some of his stuff for Chellick. Sounded simple…

…except that Resolme was close to losing his cool. All he wanted to do today was relax on the Citadel and Engelbrektsson had gotten them swept up in some crazy plot. He didn't exactly offer resistance to volunteering, but it's not like he could say no. He would be a prick for both not helping Jenna get out of a dangerous situation and for knowing illegal operations were going on under his nose.

He sighed thinking about what his brother Noah would do. That guy wasn't afraid of anything. He could look a Jiralhanae in the eye and not flinch. Maybe that's why everyone was more excited when he joined the ODST. He was everything a recruit should be. Resolme was just a punk who wanted to follow in his late brother's footsteps.

He kicked himself mentally trying to remember Captain Ralston's words from the other day. He could do this. He needed to be calm. Sure, he messed up with the Broadfin turrets and nearly ruining a C-Sec operation, but he could do this.

Engelbrektsson and Kaidan didn't seem to be bothered at all with their situation. Hell, they didn't even look worried about anything chatting the way they did.

"What was that one kid in the group?" Engelbrektsson asked Kaidan continuing some conversation they were having. "That ginger Scottish kid?"

"Garrett," Kaidan said chuckling. "Yeah, I remember him. He always told those stories about his ancestors fighting the English."

"Oh, that's the guy we used to call 'Braveheart!'" Engelbrektsson said realizing. "I totally forgot his real name."

"Hopefully you don't remember the stuff you used to call me."

"I do. It's just not as cool saying it as an adult."

"Thanks."

"No worries, 'Kaidy,'" she teased to his annoyance. "Sorry, couldn't resist. Hey, you heard from Rahna recently?"

Kaidan frowned. "No…I haven't."

"That's a shame. You guys used to be inseparable. I figured she'd call you after…" She said dancing around something big.

"Yeah…well, she didn't," Kaidan replied.

They sat in uncomfortable silence while Resolme watched a Kig-Yar argue with a Salarian about something. He didn't want to eavesdrop but they were standing right next to him so it was hard not to.

"No one blames you, you know?" She asked Kaidan breaking the silence.

"That doesn't make it right," he replied.

"Why not? That bastard Vyrnnus had it coming when he broke Rahna's arm."

Resolme continued pretending not to listen, though that bit of information caught his ear.

"I could've stopped," Kaidan continued. "I already knocked him down. I could have left it there and no one would have died."

"That asshole slashed a knife at your ribs!" Engelbrektsson emphatically responded. "No, that wasn't enough."

"You didn't see everyone's faces after he died. All of you staring at me like I started the next Contact War. Rahna wouldn't even let me apologize…"

Engelbrektsson paused before replying. "You did make a mess…" she replied. "I didn't know what to think when it happened. Like, should I have been happy or afraid that he was dead? After all these years though, you know what I think?"

"What?"

"That you should have t-bagged him too."

"Maybe so," Kaidan said trying to resist a chuckle.

At that moment, Resolme spotted the targets they were waiting for. Across the market, a large Jiralhanae dressed in blue merc armor pushed through the crowds with a Krogan carrying a big metal case and two Turians keeping close distance behind him. He recognized Skath from the surveillance vids Chellick showed them. The time for awkward conversation was over. Now for the scary part…

"They're here," he said to the other two.

"Alright," Kaidan said as they started walking. "Everyone know the drill?"

"Do some chit chat, get the goods, give it to Chellick," Engelbrektsson replied. "Easy."

"And let me do the talking," Kaidan emphasized.

"Cool. I can look tough."

Resolme took a deep breath as the two groups got closer to their 'discreet meeting place' in the corner. He should just follow Engelbrektsson's lead and look tough. That was easier said than done though.

The groups eventually got close enough to where Skath lifted his hand to stop them.

"That's close enough, army," Skath growled stopping both groups. Resolme could feel the Jiralhanae sizing them up with those beady, angry eyes. "Since when did they start sending ODST to do these deals?"

"It's a big trade," Kaidan quickly but calmly thought up. "You need muscle in case things go south."

"They don't scare me," Skath replied staring down Engelbrektsson. Resolme did his best to keep his nerves up and avoid direct eye contact. Skath then snapped his big fingers at Kaidan. "You got my payment?"

"You got the mods?" Kaidan replied.

"Jax," Skath said to the Krogan carrying the case. "Show them the goods."

The Krogan muttered to himself setting down and opening the case. True to their word, they had a huge assortment of weapon mods on display. There were enhanced scopes, element zero upgrades and other mods that were untested and cheaply manufactured. He knew Tangilanu wouldn't approve.

"You got a problem with my merchandise?" Skath said glaring at him.

Resolme jumped out of his thoughts seeing everyone look at him. Crap! He thought he didn't have an expression on. Act natural. Act tough. Do something!

"Uh…" he stammered. "It's pretty impressive. I've…never seen…those mods."

Skath stared him down, trying to get a read on him. Shit…this wasn't going well. He put on a more deadpan face trying to keep his cool.

"Look," Kaidan said. "We got your money. You can just…"

"Not so fast," Skath said stopping him and point to Resolme. "You. Get over here."

Resolme resisted looking at Kaidan and Engelbrektsson as his heart beat loudly. He couldn't refuse this guy, but he didn't know how this would turn out. He sighed and walked slow steps towards Skath. He kept repeating to himself 'what would Noah do,' hoping it would help for some reason.

He stopped right in front of Skath as the Jiralhanae picked up a mod from the case. "Think you know good mods, do you?"

Resolme saw the Turians and that Jax guy with their hands resting near their pistols. He figured what the problem was. He was blowing his own cover again and this guy wanted proof.

Skath held up a weird looking muzzle mod in front of Resolme's face. "Tell me what kind of mod this is."

Crap! Resolme scanned the thing over and quickly searched his memory for anything Tangilanu or the other guys talked about that could help. Let's see…it was a sniper mod but it wasn't one of the name brands. It had several modifiers awkwardly smashed alongside it, but none of them were visibly recognizable. He had to wing something.

"Uh…" He started weakly. "It's been a while since I had to check one of these…" He sensed Kaidan and Engelbrektsson preparing for a fight behind him, so he took a wild guess. "But I believe that's a….400CC-Series 4 Sniper Suppressant…with a...Polonium charge to coat the metal slugs and...a Particle Beam Rifle aiming assist?"

The air went stale save for the Skath's hot breath wafting at Resolme's face as he waited for a response.

"…even better," Skath replied with a smirk. "Series 5. Just produced last week. Guaranteed to take down a Mgalekgolo in no more than two shots. Tell me you haven't seen a better mod than that."

Resolme sighed within himself as he saw Jax and the Turians lower their weapons. "Uh…no," he said taking a step back. "Can't say I have. That's some powerful hardware you got there."

"Damn straight it is!" Skath said pointing at Resolme's face. "They're the best in the market and don't you forget it. Now hand over my credits."

Resolme quickly looked back to Kaidan and Engelbrektsson, who motioned him to stop wasting time and finish the transaction. They looked relieved that he didn't get shot in the face.

"Alright," Resolme said with some regained confidence as he exchanged the credits offered by Chellick. "Here's the money."

"Excellent," Skath chuckled as he put the mod back in the case and kicked it towards Kaidan. "We're done here."

Jax and the Turians were about to leave when Skath decided to give one last piece of advice to Resolme. "I hear any shit about my product from anyone," He said taunting. "I'm going to skin that terrible poker face off and mount it on my wall. Keep your stupid shit to yourself." He then led his group out of the market place, content with his bluff.

Resolme exhaled loudly once Skath was out of earshot and rested his hands on his knees. He had been in the middle of two firefights in the last two days, yet that was one of the scariest things he had done to date.

"Way to not blow that cover," Kaidan said to him clearly just as relieved. "How did you know that mod info?"

"…I didn't," Resolme confessed. "I went with a hunch."

"Well good guess work, Sherlock," Engelbrektsson added as she picked up the case. "Now we can unite this family of perfect strangers we just met and feel good about ourselves. Shall we go?"

Resolme waved them off catching his breath. "I…I'd rather do something not crazy right now. Go on ahead."

"You sure?" Kaidan asked.

"Yeah, it's fine. You don't want me being a third wheel."

"…alright. See you on the ship." Engelbrektsson said as he heard them leave. Well, at least she was having a good time catching up with a friend.

Resolme had to pat himself on the back a little bit. He stood toe to toe with a Jiralhanae thug and talked his way out of a bloodbath. Granted, having two powerful biotics like Engelbrektsson and Kaidan backing him up helped, but it looked like he didn't need them. Noah would have loved this story…

He stood up and breathed deeply. So…now that he wasn't tied into this crazy situation, what would he do next?

In the back of the market, he swore he saw a young Sangheili suspiciously trying to act nonchalant as he edged closer to a Keeper. He had some kind of scanning device in his hand that Resolme had never seen before. Should he…?

Nope! He quickly turned the other direction and walked away. Let that be someone else's problem, he thought to himself. He had enough surprises for today….

"ONI? Seriously, Kyle?"

Kyle walked through the lower wards as he spoke to Beckett through his comm. piece. He had heard about her run-in with the Quarian and all the girly stuff they did together before he dropped that bomb. He had planned to tell everyone once they met up later, but he figured she should know first.

"Yup…" he replied. "We've been shanghaied by the 'spook.'"

"Did you consider any of our opinions before making this choice?"

"It was pretty much made for me, so no." He heard her sigh as he rounded a corner to an open market area with a bunch of food outlets. Being stuck in that ONI office had worked up an appetite, but he couldn't decide on one thing to eat. So…why not try a little of everything? They didn't call it 'Buffet Alley' for nothing.

"Well…at least you got promoted. I thought you had an allergic reaction to those."

"Guess ONI had the right meds for that," he said as he saw a group of C-Sec officers run off to address something urgent. "There might be one for you too if they're still feeling generous. You have my recommendation."

"I'm flattered," she teased. "How soon do they want us on the Mare Erythraeum?"

"First thing in the morning, but we have to clean our lockers and brush up on our new 'do not touch' rules tonight," he said taking a free sample of what he hoped was chicken from a nearby vendor. The Sangheili behind the counter mumbled something as he went to another customer.

"I hear chewing,' Beckett said.

"You are correct, ma'am," Kyle said swallowing his mouthful. "You had anything to eat yet?"

"Nope. You asking me on a date?"

"If I intimidate you that much, bring La Rosa and Engelbrektsson. That'll suck all the fun right out," he joked. Out of the corner of his eye, he swore he saw a female Quarian do a double take at him. He wasn't sure if he recognized her, since all Quarians looked the same in their outfits. He decided to focus back on the conversation. "But seriously, we should discuss this ONI stuff before we break the news."

"Alright. Send me your location and I'll be there ASAP."

"It's less a location and more a food circus."

"'Buffet Alley' again?"

"The 'spook' classified my taste buds, so I need to rediscover what I like," he joked looking at a menu up ahead.

"I'm sure you do," Beckett replied chuckling. "See you soon."

The comm. went silent while Kyle continued scanning for options. The Alley wasn't exactly known for being ritzy like that snooty sushi place in the Presidium. Most of the people here were lower class folk just getting by. Families strolled in groups hoping to find a bargain meal. Teenagers hung out with dates judging which free samples were the best. Shady types huddled around their shady carryout trays to discuss their shady business. All of this noise, combined with the calls from the various vendors, made this place a mess. Still, if you needed a place to get lost in for a few hours, you could do a lot worse.

And he did feel like getting lost after all that stuff with Ackerson. Her words buzzed in his head about that whole 'ONI's secretly responsible for everything' stuff. Had it been anyone else, he would have called them crazy. This woman knew what she was talking about though and he didn't doubt that ONI had their hands in a lot of people's pockets. He had seen it firsthand the other day and now he was going to be part of it. What was the price for getting them a seat on the Council?

Well, being chummy with Turians for one thing. Maybe it was good the Turians were interested in their military power, but he still remembered them shooting, trampling, burning and brutalizing the people he cared for like it was yesterday. No amount of 'friendly dominance' could erase that. Guess he would have to practice his 'friendly face'…or just let Ackerson talk them to death.

A stall nearby with the title Tatopoulos' Greek Delicatessen then caught his attention, reminding him that he was still very hungry. He hoped Asha had an appetite for pita and humus.

Before he could approach the counter though, he felt a long finger tap his shoulder.

"Excuse me," a filtered voice said.

He turned to see the female Quarian he spotted earlier. The bright green and purple environmental suit she wore couldn't mask her nervous body language as she tried to speak with him. Why she wanted to was a mystery.

"Are you Kyle Nolan?" She asked.

"…yeah," he said surprised she knew his name.

"Sorry, I knew this would be awkward, but I didn't think I would get another chance," she said nervously rubbing one of her three fingered hands on the other. "You won't remember me anyway."

He tried to remember where he might have met her. The voice was mildly familiar, but again it seemed like all Quarians looked and talked the same.

"My name is Khari'sha nar Idenna," she continued. "A while ago, I got into a lot of trouble. I was on my pilgrimage for too long trying to bring a great gift to my fleet, but it ended up being a ten thousand credit trap. It took a long time to pay the debt off, but…one of my creditors thought I hadn't paid enough."

Something sparked in Kyle's memory. He decided to let her continue before jumping to a conclusion.

"Sorry…I…I shouldn't waste your time," the Quarian apologized looking to leave.

"No, it's fine," he reassured. "Keep going."

"…ok. Well, this man sent thugs to shake me down for credits even though I had already paid him. They…threatened to take my mask off if I didn't give everything I had…"

Now he knew for sure where they had met.

"…and then you came to my rescue."

That was it. It had happened so many months ago that he had put it in the back of his mind, mostly out of fear someone might connect him to beating those Turian thugs. Apparently, it meant a lot more to her.

"I didn't tell C-Sec anything about you," she continued. "I said my mask was fogged so I couldn't see your face. Truth was…I never forgot about you. Once I matched your face to an extranet search…I stayed on the Citadel a while longer. It hasn't been easy and I'm just scraping by, but I just…"

She paused and looked to her feet nervously. He let her collect her thoughts as he anticipated what she wanted to say.

Instead, she surprised him by wrapping her arms around his torso in a tight hug.

"Thank you," she said releasing the embrace. "I'm sorry. That probably stepped over a line, but I just…you don't know what that meant to me." She turned to walk away. "I'll let you eat now."

Kyle stood there dumbfounded. It was rare to get a 'thank you' for something he did, let alone from an alien. He hadn't even considered saving her that day. He just wanted to beat up those Turians. Yet this actually felt more rewarding.

"Wait," he said before she could leave. She turned back sharply, not knowing what to expect. "I…uh…well, are you hungry?" He hadn't really thought this through, but he figured he should do something nice to not leave things awkward.

"…yes, but I wouldn't want to inconvenience you," she said surprised.

"You're fine," he reassured. "I'm sure someone here serves…um, Quarian food somewhere." He realized he wasn't exactly sure what Quarians ate other than nutrient dextro paste.

That made her chuckle as she pointed down the Alley. "Yes, there's a place down the way. Are you sure it's ok?"

"Yeah. I'm meeting someone here, but they'll be a few minutes," he said motioning her to follow. "So, Khari'sha right?"

As they continued talking, Kyle thought again about what Ackerson said. She had talked all about that whole 'ONI making a difference' thing early on, but maybe there was more truth there than he expected. He just made a difference for this woman and all he did was save her from some bullies. Maybe he could be that Nigerian dude who helped topple Goliath. Maybe he could actually do something as monumental as what the Chief was doing. Or…maybe he could just be a nice guy and buy food for a starving Quarian who could be his friend.

Oh well. Maybe working for ONI wouldn't be THAT bad...

Codex Entry (Human History): The Goliath Uprising

The Human-Covenant War caused numerous infrastructure shake-ups for Earth's national governments. Among the hardest hit were the nations of the African continent, which took the brunt of the Covenant invasion force along with the short lived outbreak of the parasitic Flood. Civil wars and political maneuverings plagued the continent for years as groups fought to fill the power vacuums.

The most dominant of these groups was the private military company Goliath, led by radical nationalist Sergei Polonska. Polanska's troops were originally hired to repel Covenant forces attacking the continent's rural civilian populations. Following the war, he felt that the UNSC's recovery efforts were not meeting the needs of the African people. He used his influence to buy out smaller military forces and eliminate notable political opponents in the countries of Nigeria, Ghana and Chad. With such a sizable increase to his fighting force, Polanska planned to forcibly unite the African continent under Goliath's banner.

The plans were exposed to the UNSC through undercover ONI intelligence shortly before its execution. Under the authorization of Admiral Hood and the branches' officials, a joint strike team infiltrated Goliath's Nigerian headquarters and assassinated Polanska. Without his command, many of Goliath's soldiers deserted the PMC. Its remaining leaders signed a pact with the UNSC to end their campaign and aid the reconstruction efforts peacefully. Goliath has remained under the employ of the Alliance ever since.

This information has been officially declassified by the Office of Naval Intelligence as of March 3rd, 2683.

Annnnddddd…..done. Thank you for those who have been reading so far. Let me know what you think of this chapter in a PM or in the review section. Let's see if I can pump this next chapter out quicker now I'm in the mode to get my other fanfic finished.