Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect or anything else referenced here. Those are the sole property of their writers/companies (Bioware/EA and such). I do not claim ownership of anything but my OC and original concepts.

List of track(s) used (you can copy+paste them in your PC by temporarily switching to the mobile version):

[1] –) Recommended Track: Metal Gear Solid Theme - EPIC Orchestral HYBRID Cover (part of the YT link: /watch?v=CBsaS8gWwQI).

[2] –) Recommended Track: Metal Gear Solid 3 Soundtrack - Debriefing (part of the YT link: /watch?v=OKlNdzpICW0).

Chapter 18: Players Move, Butterflies Fly (and the Goddamn Stage is Getting Set)

In the Attican Traverse's border, close to Hegemony space. Late 2178 CE.

A dim flickering light illuminated the void of space, its origin being a tattered and torn down colony starship, passively drifting nowhere. Its thrusters were the most damaged part, with what was left of it in shreds and moving in tandem with the ship, while its hull was dotted with scorched marks and partially melted sections, as if hit by a powerful laser beam. The origin of all this destruction was a batarian warship, which slowly approached and matched its drift with the damaged starship. Inside of it, the would-be-colonists gathered in the back of the ship, its cargo hold, preparing for what was about to come…

"You said this route was safe! How the fuck is this safe?" Shouted a burly mercenary with a deep scar on his face. He was taking cover behind a box of colony supplies.

"B-but it is. I mean, it's supposed to be. No one comes around this god-forsaken place." A thin man replied meekly, his cheap armor and rifle serving as evidence that he belonged to the same "private security organization" as the other one.

"Tell that to the assholes who took us down. No one, my ass. No one to shoo away pirates either… fuck." Cursed the burly guy.

"Shhh, keep it down. You'll scare the civilians even more than they already are." Said the thin merc, glancing at the back of his impromptu cover.

"So what? They know better than not to follow our orders, or else…" He spat in response, derision bleeding into his tone. "Fucking civilians. Fucking aliens. We should've beat them or something, rather than make nice with the Council."

He muttered while glaring at the people he was supposed to protect, who were all huddled together at the back of the cargo bay. Many were there because they wanted a fresh start, one where they could leave their debt behind. A small minority was there simply because they were angry at the Alliance for "compromising human interests all the time". This last group insisted they'd be better off on their own, not settling near more secure regions, like Hell's Angels territory, and the rest agreed with them.

Michael, just like it was during most of his life, didn't really have a choice on the matter. He was an average man, with average dark hair, average brown eyes, averagely tanned skin and an average physique. What wasn't average was the misery which followed him. After their ship got attacked and was disabled, this was all that was running through his mind as he firmly held his 10 year old young son, Matthew – all that was left of a life of tragedy.

Born in a poor family, they told him he needed to pull himself up by his bootstraps. No one ever pointed out to him that such a thing was physically impossible. What they also said to him was that education was the way to go, so he got a master's degree. And debt. A lot of it. It didn't translate into a decent job, or one that paid a living wage – and not for lack of trying. In fact, it made him lose some opportunities. He was simply "too expensive" for the company to hire.

So, with his degree in electrical engineering, he was very lucky to find a job in the services industry. He couldn't even find one to flip burgers; that had been mostly automated away a century ago. While he still searched for proper work as an electrical engineer, he stayed on that crappy job, with a side gig just to make ends meet. That was where he met the love of his life.

Sarah. She was a fun, beautiful and hardworking woman. They built a "home" and a family together, despite all challenges being thrown their way, mostly of the financial kind. These were the best years of his life. Even getting thrown out of his main job, in a major "lay off" due to automation, didn't bring down his happiness. They just thought it out until he found another one (this time closer to his degree). But then tragedy struck again.

It started with Saran developing some pain that their doctor was concerned about. So, they ordered a scan, but insurance refused to cover it, because of "reasons". The pain passed and they left it at that. A couple of months later, the pain returned much worse, so they had her admitted to a hospital, costs be damned, and the scan was done there. She had a rare type of cancer. In truth, it was only rare insofar as pharmaceutical companies would rather develop hundreds of different products for acne instead of curing diseases like these ones. There was no profit in it.

Apparently, the cancer had reached her spine, something that would've been diagnosed in time if they had access to affordable healthcare, and the treatment, while existing, costed a small fortune – one which they didn't have. Michael didn't understand why things like this kept happening to him. He ordered the treatment regardless. They took a loan to pay for it.

It was hard. He could either work grueling extra hours to pay off their loan, just to keep its interest from increasing their debt, or stay with his wife and never pay it. One month later, when Michael finally got his paid vacation, it was already too late. Dead. Sarah was dead. Gone from the world forever. He and little Matthew cried for days. All that was left of her were the tens of thousands of credits in medical bills leftover that he couldn't pay.

Things only got worse after that. Alone, he couldn't pay off the loan as well as rent, so they were kicked out and became homeless. Without a home, and with almost everything sold, he found himself in a vicious cycle, as it became impossible for him to get back on his feet. With a debt to pay, an engineer's degree, nothing to his name, nothing to lose and no one to care about him and his son, they were simply "perfect" for a "colonization program" in a random Terminus world. At least, that was what the program's director felt after discovering him.

Now, in this broken colony ship that was drifting in the middle of nowhere, Michael held his son in his arms. It was all the good which remained from a life of tragedies.

"Daddy, what's going on? Why is everyone scared?" Matthew asked.

"It's nothing. Don't worry. Everything's going to be fine." Michael comforted him.

"Last time you said that, mommy…" The young boy began speaking, but stopped mid-way.

Michael became silent too, as he had no answer to give besides caressing his son's hair. It calmed both of them. Meanwhile, all he could think about was if it was just a pirate raid; if things would get better afterwards. It wouldn't.

Loud gunshots and curses, coming ever closer to them, began to reverberate throughout the ship's interior. Everyone knew, deep inside, what this meant. They were being violently boarded violently. They were losing. And fast. More and more, the fighting drew near. The last battle was when both the skinny and burly mercs, which were right in Michael's range of vision, fell down. Then… silence. But not for long.

Between the corpses littering the ground, a red blood pool slowly forming amongst them, a batarian wearing a red suit of armor casually walked with firm steps. He carried with him a cold and detached expression, as if all the deaths around, not even those of his own man, mattered in the least. Along with it was a disgust for the two-eyed humans who were at his and his men's, who followed behind him, complete mercy.

He was Ka'hairal Balak, a military officer belonging to the Hegemony's deniable assets in the Terminus. It'd been one year since their disgrace at Torfan; one year where he'd been hiding and waiting, as the flames of revenge coldly burned in his heart. And he was about to ignite it again, starting from these soon-to-be sacrificial slavers.

"Wait, I surrender. I surrender." His attention was drawn by a meek, begging voice, coming out of the burly merc, who'd pretended to be dead. "Please, let me join you. I'll do anything you ask."

"Oh, now this is interesting. Would you really betray your contractors? Would you kill your own kind if I told you to?" The slavers' leader questioned inquisitively.

"If that's your wish, sir. I'd do anything to live. I mean, to serve you, sir." The burly merc said. "In fact, if not for the creds, I wouldn't really want to protect these randos anyway."

"Is that so…" Balak said. "Well, how about-" However, before he could finish his sentence, someone rushed in, interrupting their exchange.

"Si-sir!" Exclaimed one of the batarians, his head tilted left. "There's been a… situation."

"What? Say it quickly! Or I'll skin you alive." Balak spat.

"O-one of our groups just reported in. They-they've met the Blue Suns, sir." The batarian reported. "Only a few managed to come back, barely 1 in 10. All their ships are damaged."

"You, human, do you want to prove yourself to me?" The slaver, pointing at the traitor.

"Y-yes! I swear to serve you with my life." The men with a scar promptly answered.

"Good. Then die." Balak stated. Suddenly, he pulled out a gun and blew a large hole in the man's head, his lifeless body dropping soon after.

"See this? This is where you belong. In the ground." Balak declared as he looked sharply around the room, before turning back to his goon. Michael hugged his son tightly, shielding his eyes even more from everything. "This is what's coming for anyone who repeats this failure, am I clear?"

"Yes, sir." All of his men replied in unison.

"Good. Now go. Wrap things up here. We don't have time to waste." He then ordered.

Balak really didn't like having to deal with those… four-eyes monstrosities, only his people could have the superior physique, but their technologies were worth it. And all it'd require to get were some human slavers and "samples" from his mortal enemy. With the tech he'd been promised in his hand, they'd be able to deal a crippling blow to Hell's Angels – and why not everyone else who got in their way, like the blasted Alliance!

Moreover, he didn't forget that the leader of the Blue Suns was also a damned human. It was always them who were "unjustly" attacking his glorious people. He swore he'd get his revenge against him too, after he'd dealt with the bigger problem.

Blasted humans!

On a small Terminus colony. A few hours prior.

"Goddamn terrorists!" Exclaimed a gruff, deep and rough voice. There was also something of a british accent to it.

It belonged to a grizzled human, with a look that spoke of age and experience, who wore a unique suit of white, yellow and gray armor. An equally unique Blue Suns logo was painted on it. His face was heavily scarred, almost disfigured. He looked around his surroundings with a stare that assured anyone who saw it that he could easily kill stuff.

It could be with the custom Lancer assault rifle hanging on his left hand.

Or with the Carnifex pistol on his hip.

Or the grenades strapped to his belt.

Or maybe even with a goddamn pencil.

Heck, he looked like he might be able to kill stuff with harsh language alone.

His left foot was firmly planted on top of a body lying on the ground. It was dyed in red and, unlike the man who used it as a stool, it belonged to a dead batarian. More corpses were presente around him, most of them also of batarians, while some belonged to turians and vorcha. All of their remains were bloody, torn apart or had their suits of armor mixed in with the surrounding buildings' debris. A few bodies only wore civilian clothes. Colonist clothes, to be precise.

Suddenly, the man's cybernetic right eye shifted keenly, focusing on a nearby corpse, and switched to its infrared mode (thermal vision). It'd been over an hour since that one had hit the ground, but the body wasn't cooling down at all. The man swiftly moved his right hand to his hip and took his hand cannon, pulling the trigger. Once to pop out a shield; a second time to penetrate the helmet's poor quality armor; and one last time just to make sure.

He then holstered his weapon. Farther away was a scene of utter devastation. There were a lot more corpses littering the ground and buildings, all of them the mass-produced kind commonly found in poor colonies, had been reduced to smashed metal or rubble. Wisps of smoke still colored the sky black, while smoldering crates dotted the landscape, this being the result of wanton kinetic bombardment. This was, without a doubt, the resulting picture of a batarian slaving raid, followed by a brutal fight.

By any means, it wasn't an unusual sight in the Terminus. What was unusual was the fact the raiding party ended up worse than their victims. Much worse, in this particular case. A rare scene that happened way too often when Hell's Angels was involved. But it wasn't the galaxy's deadliest PMC who defended this small colony, for the slavers had hit a different brick wall. Not only did they meet the reborn Blue Suns, but they also faced a regiment led directly by its new leader, who was currently stepping on a dead batarian slaver.

That man was Zaeed Massari, the Founder of the Blue Suns, a feared/respected bounty hunter, the first holder of the epithet Legendary Mercenary…

And he was goddamn pissed!

"Zaeed, it's not your fault. We came as fast as we could." Spoke a voice in his earpiece.

"I know that sweetheart. Trust me, I do…" Zaeed muttered quietly and softly to himself, in complete contrast with his fierce appearance. "They didn't want our protection, so stuff like this was bound to happen sooner or later. Truth is… I'm just bloody pissed we can't burn the goddamn Hegemony to the ground. Get rid of the problem by its roots, you know."

"They'll get what's coming to them, we'll make sure of it." She, the disembodied voice, said with a firm and assured tone. "We just need to do our part; and get your Blue Suns ready for what's to come."

Zaeed's Blue Suns. It was almost hard to believe the mere idea. Some days, he'd wake up thinking he was still that lone merc, hopping from bounty to bounty and impossible mission to the next, not the current leader of one of the four biggest PMCs 'round. He could maybe say that's just one more impossible mission to add to his record, but reaching that point in his career wasn't as difficult or impossible as he thought it'd be.

They didn't have the famed-to-be Commander Shepard, but Samara and Thane, including all the resources they could tap into, were more than enough to get his former co-founder, well, overruled. After the deed was done, sparking a "civil war" by using the Network while also spreading his identity as founder were the next steps in this little hostile takeover, so to speak. After all, everyone likes a good underdog story. And one that has a big turnabout and ends with a bloody glorious revenge? It was simply a perfect setup, eventually leading him to win the war and take back his organization.

But all of that wasn't really worth a damn compared to what'd caused it to begin with. Even for a guy like him, who took "impossible" missions as matter of fact, it wasn't everyday he got to meet a traveler from another universe. Even less likely to be involved by the guy in a crazy plan with the fate of the galaxy at stake. It was all above his pay grade. And made fighting, and winning, his little "civil war" seem small-time in comparison. Yet here he was regardless, doing his part in the only goddamn worthy cause there really was.

However, one thing was very different from the past. Zaeed wasn't by himself anymore…

"That's for goddamn sure! I'll be counting on you, my dear Bianca, like always." He replied with a quick and barely noticeable smile.

Bianca, one of oldest Digital Sentiences, smiled back in his cybernetic eye's interface. Her Avatar was that of a young latin american woman, from the same country where N7's were "made". But her role was way more comprehensive than simply assisting Zaeed in combat.

She ran the books. He led the men. To the old veteran, it was almost exactly the same as when he started off with that Vido bastard. Unlike with that son-of-a-bitch, the arrangement worked real well for many years.

And she was always connected with him through a small QB installed on his Omni-tool, which also linked with his earpiece and visual interface, but nothing more than that. Zaeed might've changed a lot ever since joining that crazy cause, but installing an implant to link his brain directly with a DS wasn't on the list. Suddenly, he heard footsteps, loud sounds of heavy metal boots hitting dirt ground, rushing towards him.

"Is there something wrong, sir!?" Asked a young human woman, with very short red hair, who'd just finished rushing there. "I thought we'd routed them completely, but I've heard gunshot sounds coming from here."

"Nothing to get yourself worked up, Jentha. We just missed one of 'em bastards." He said in a casual tone, with a dismissive wave.

"Oh, I see…" She dragged her words while staring at the fresh batarian corpse, which had begun bleeding by then, before preparing her report with a serious expression. "Sir, we've secured the colony. Our casualties were minimal, with only three confirmed deaths so far. The slavers weren't expecting an actual fight. We've determined where the last ones are headed. They've escaped into this jungle. It's also their largest group."

She then sent all the information to him with her Omni-tool.

"Good work, lass. I can always count on you." Zaeed stated approvingly while checking the updated HUD on his cybernetic eye.

Jentha saluted him in response to his acknowledgment. She was accompanied by a squad of Blue Suns troopers and two more commanders, who also saluted. They were the elite of the rapidly growing PMC and most had been with Zaeed ever since his triumphant return, while the rest were Hell's Angels "rejects" discreetly sent his way, which wasn't actually an admission of their inability. Most folk didn't manage to join those crazy bastards. To Zaeed, they had the most goddamn rigorous sorting in the entire galaxy.

He, on the other hand, was much more lax while recruiting. As long as recruits could adapt to the Blue Suns' military discipline, had a bit of talent and weren't a bunch of arseholes, they'd probably fit right in and go far. Their loyalty was something he'd earn with time. And anyone who wanted to give a shot at becoming the big boss, well… after Zaeed had made an example of Lieutenant Locke, one of Vido's most loyal lackeys, back during their "civil war", no one entertained the thought anymore.

As for the remaining "rotten apples" of the original merc outfit, like those who'd any kind of crime for credits, they'd been slowly and quietly removed from it over the years. They just had no idea, since it was usually "unknowingly done" by another faction participating in the Terminus Wars, which would then be eliminated in "revenge". Eight years later, The Blue Suns had grown into a respected and trustworthy PMC.

"Did the slavers take any captives with them?" Asked a turian Centurion.

"None according to my intel. We didn't give them any time or opportunity." Jentha replied in a proud tone. "Most of that large group had touched down outside the colony."

"So… should we soften them up with orbital bombardment?" He suggested. "I've checked and there doesn't seem to be any colonists in that area."

"There are a few cave-", She began speaking when…

[1]

BOOM!

A series of loud explosion sounds originating from a nearby jungle interrupted them. By its sheer volume, one could even wonder if someone was exploding heavy ordinance there. It was also accompanied by a cacophony of gunfire.

Zaeed swiveled his head towards the direction of the explosions, narrowing his eyes and frowning in suspicion. Bianca then told him the origin of those sounds.

"What's that!?" Jentha blurted out a question, gripping her rifle. "Artillery? No, it's not ours."

"And neither is theirs. They didn't have that kind of hardware." Added the turian.

"Not artillery. It's an old friend." He stated with a subdued smile, picking up his Jessie and moving towards the jungle. "There's no need for the fleet. We can clear these bastards up ourselves! Move it, you lot!"

He held his old trusty rifle like a careful lover. It was a masterwork to him. Ever since all the work done in secret by Ad Astra, it'd probably never break on its own. They'd really gone the extra mile when upgrading it, improving every bit without adding any bloat, like those overeager geeks usually did.

As Zaeed rushed towards the booming sounds, more and more Blue Suns caught on and quickly spread out, forming an encircling net. He led the men into the jungle, but what led their charge were a few quiet recon-drones. The mercs carefully jammed enemy radar, so as to not let their approach be detected, while traversing the jungle with ease, since they were used to lush environments like this one.

The sounds of fighting got louder and louder, but it didn't deter them, who meticulously set up an ambush for the remaining slavers, encircling them while they were firing wildly in the opposite direction, as if their lives depended on it. From the looks of things, they were in a life-and-death situation.

Zaeed took cover behind a large rock. When the radar jamming was reaching the point it'd be discovered, he took note of the enemy position and, springing up from cover, pulled and held Jessie's trigger firmly. A trail of hypersonic slugs formed from his rifle, shortly followed by a hailstorm of slugs from his men, which began mowing down slavers and trees alike, in a shower of blood, metal and wood splinters that flew all over the place. Missiles fired by heavy troopers rained down on the slavers, blowing them up, their "cover" and dirt too. The cacophony of gunfire was immediately raised by a whole 'nother level.

After a few seconds of the onslaught, the slavers gathered their wits and began firing back, while intermittent "explosions" sounded closer and closer to their position. The Blue Suns returned to cover, warding off most attacks and switching thermal clips. Zaeed was the last one to do so, which drew most of the return fire towards him. His rotating shields slapped away anything that came his way, but their ability to soak damage was reaching its limit, so he hid behind that rock.

Reacting to the ambush, the enemies began moving on his position, clearly looking for an opening to exploit. A few grenades were thrown his way and a missile found itself hitting his cover, which blew a large chunk out of it, so Zaeed took his cooled down Jessie and, in a bold maneuver, rushed towards a nearby small hill. While approaching it, he didn't let go of her trigger, mowing down one; two; three slavers 'till his weapon overheated. He kept the charge even as supersonic fire cut down a few trees he passed by, making them fall on his path. He didn't even give them a goddamn glance.

Skillfully dodging along the way, Zaeed reached a lone turian Centurion whose shields had just popped, allowing him to get hit hard in the shoulder. Still, before any more shots made it through his armor, he shielded the guy for a second and led him to cover behind the hill, immediately applying Medi-gel on the wound. A batarian tried to flank him; however, before he could do anything, a precise Carnifex shot took down his shields and the two following blew him and his armor up into giblets.

Zaeed then looked down at the battlefield from his new vantage point with a tactical view. Against all odds, the slavers still kept coming their way. But he knew they weren't charging the Blue Suns' position. No, they were running away. And he knew exactly what from…

A massive biotic singularity found itself reaching the center of what counted for the enemy formation and was subsequently warped into a loud explosion. Its sheer force blew away a good chunk of the remaining enemies and formed a new clearing in the jungle. Following that, a batarian came flying from the other side of the clearing, hit head on a rock formation and died immediately after. Shortly after, a tree that'd been felled was lifted off the ground, while its rather pointed tip began spinning rapidly, and it was then hurled towards a krogan who'd survived everything so far, impaling him on Zaeed's hill. This was accompanied by a large biotic shockwave that threw what was left of the stragglers everywhere.

Finally, one last barrage of hypersonic blue fire and rockets cleaned away the last foe. The battle was won, but a tense atmosphere still lingered…

[1]

Zaeed holstered his weapon and signaled his commanders to do the same. The order was quickly passed through the ranks and promptly executed, but a tense quietness still set in. The reason was the asari who slowly walked through this new clearing she had personally carved a few moments prior. Torrents of white-ish blue light surrounded her figure.

He looked at her and the destruction she wrought with a smirk. Biotics, very useful stuff. He wished he was one of 'em more and more, but he knew he couldn't become one "out of nowhere". Still, they'd already altered his DNA to accept the stuff nice and easy. It was only a matter of time, in the end.

"Glad to see you, beautiful." Zaeed said as he climbed down the hill and moved closer to the asari, taking a quick glance at the impaled krogan. "Nice work there. Damn bastards didn't even have a chance."

"It is I who should be thankful, Zaeed." She replied, surprising all but the oldest mercs. "If it wasn't for your Blue Suns' intervention today, I wouldn't have been able to punish so many evildoers all at once."

"If you say so. Gentlemen, meet an old friend of mine, Justicar Samara!" He addressed his men suddenly, introducing her with a smile while also completely ignoring the audible gulp coming from Jentha. "Got it? Good, that's enough rest. Now get back to it! I want this place cleaned in an hour."

The Blue Suns squads scurried away immediately, looking to rip apart anything they could from the dead slavers' bodies, be it armor, weapons, explosives, credit chits, Omni-tools and so on. Their (still useful) materials, especially eezo, would be reprocessed back home, while all scavenged devices would be hacked by Bianca, with any bank accounts on them quickly turning into gracious donations to their cause.

"So it is true, what I've heard. You've been doing pretty well for yourself." Samara noted as she watched the mercs going to work.

"Yeah, you could say that. Funny how things can change." Zaeed remarked, gesturing for her to accompany him as he returned to the raided colony. "Come, walk with me."

Besides still feeling like mice around a cat, Zaeed's men were thoroughly impressed by his naturalness when interacting with a Justicar, despite his reputation, as well as their clearly evident friendship. No one did anything but take a few quick glances at them however.

"You know, I can't decide if you justicars are just overzealous about justice or if you revel in violence. Maybe both. That'd be even scarier." He lightly jested after they'd gotten away.

"I get that a lot, actually. Usually from disillusioned young asari, after they see that our life under the Code isn't like some action vids." She mentioned. "But then, what about you?"

"What about me?" Zaeed asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Themis has told me a lot of things, in fact. I've heard you've been liberating a lot of people in the Terminus. And also making a lot of enemies too." Samara replied.

"Ah, that? Just part of the job, you know. Can't fix stuff with changes; can't change things without upsetting someone." He said nonchalantly. "Not a bad thing, to be honest. It keeps me sharp. But enough about that. How's the lass doing?"

Samara flashed a brief smile. She told him that Jennifer, or simply Jenny (it didn't matter to Zaeed), was playing with her four-legged friends. Quickly understanding what the Justicar meant, he thought Jenny was one hell of a girl and left it at that. They then chatted about life stuff, explosive things and random topics 'till finding themselves reaching what used to be the center of the colony, where the now colonists gathered. Those were, as expected of the situation, completely shaken and desolate.

"Ma, wh-what are we gonna do now?" A little girl questioned her mother. Her tear-stained face reflected the place where her home used to be. "That's all we had, right?"

The mother couldn't give her any answer besides a comforting hug.

"We've also got nothing left." A man said as he hugged his wife. "It's all… gone. Why did they have to do this? God, there's only a crater where our house used to be."

"Oh no, how are we going to pay off ExoGeni now?" His wife commented, anxiety dipping into her voice. "We'll be paying our debt off for the rest of our lives."

"Did you young folk hear the… uh, rumors? You know, about their 'purges'?" Asked an old lady, making the conversation take a darker turn. "Their private security team ran away the moment slavers came… so, what if they think we'll sue them?"

"Wai-would they send bounty hunters after us if we ran away on the next shuttle?" asked a paranoid man, more to himself than a genuine question.

As Zaeed and Samara moved closer, they saw that the survivors were gradually realizing what had occurred – as well as thinking about the implications for the future. There were few who didn't show clear distress, usually keeping to themselves and sitting like statues. Many colonists were still shaken from the battle and destruction. One of them was shaking differently; pupils dilated; red eyes. Hard drug abuse, probably red sand. Zaeed had been used to it by now. They still faced some problems with those back home.

"Why did this have to happen? Why us? Why?" Lamented a young lad, no more than thirty. "Nowadays, it feels like you're born and everything's already 'owned' by someone or some corporation. I just wanted to go somewhere I could really have a chance… outside the big cities, you know?"

Zaeed had barely gotten there and he was already done with this depressing atmosphere. So, he decided to do something about it.

"Alright, alright! I get it. You can quit crying now." He raised his voice suddenly, in order to gather their attention, which was followed by Bianca's buzzing on his earpiece. "I mean, it's not over yet. I've got a… way out for you lot. You can come with us back home. What's left of your stuff too. No charge."

"W-what? For free? Where?" Asked the little girl's mother – fear and distrust bleeding into her voice – while the rest of the colonists focused on them; unnerved to become the center of attention, she didn't say anything else.

Bianca then whispered in his earpiece again.

"A lush garden world, with welcoming people, developed colonies and plenty of resources to go around." He quoted with an ugly smile that scared kids into obedience. "It's a land of opportunity, real opportunity that is, where work's always in shortage, but basic necessities never are."

"S-sir, I can't deny you've saved us, and we're all grateful for that, b-but…. I-, we can't just take your own word on it. Sorry." She replied timidly.

Zaeed creased his eyebrows, thinking about how to convince these folk. However, Samara was quicker on the trigger. Using her biotics to hover above the ground, almost floating as if in space, she raised her voice to the crowd.

"I'm Samara, a servant of the Justicar code." Samara stated with a confident tone, one that carried an unquestionable and trusting power. "And I can vouch for what he promised. If he doesn't uphold his word, then I'll personally punish him, as per the Code."

"Wait, I've heard that name before. Something about a small farming colony…" Mentioned the young man.

"Mindoir, wasn't it? You protected it together with the Commander of Hell's Angels?" Said the old lady.

"Yes, that's right! Here look… it's on the extranet, the top results if you search that colony." Stated the paranoid men.

"Well, there you go." Zaeed spoke, turning to the Justicar briefly. "A bit unnecessary on the threat part, though." He then slapped his hands together. "Time to make your decision, but make it quick. We won't be occupying this place for longer than necessary."

After being recognized, Samara silently stopped her biotics and distanced herself from the center of attention, but still kept an eye on Zaeed, staring deeply into his eyes.

"With one hand, you kill hundreds ruthlessly for credits. With the other, you rescue hapless colonists." She spoke all of a sudden. "You are a complicated individual, Zaeed Massari."

He couldn't deny her words. A few years back, Zaeed used to just be a cold-blooded killer, never caring for anything other than himself and the next paycheck. Now though, he was a changed man, at least when compared to who he was. Funny enough, Bianca had been a big part of that. When he thought about it, there was a certain irony in life somewhere when it's a goddamn "AI" that ends up helping keep your morals in check.

"You bet your sweet asari ass!" Zaeed exclaimed in response, chuckling after being taken aback briefly. "Even a ruthless killer's got to have a soft side, you know. And I can see from here, you definitely have a soft side too. So… come on then. What do you say about that fireplace and snuggle? The answer's still no?"

"Yes." Samara replied, leading closer to him mischievously, and then added: "It's still no."

"Well, that's a damn shame." He responded, followed by a sigh and a fake sad expression.

"I'm going to look for more survivors." She stated, leaving immediately after.

"Suit yourself, beautiful." He muttered to himself, watching her back as she left.

Samara… Not the first Justicar he's ever fancied. Last one tried to kill him. Should've seen it coming, to be honest, when that one changed her career to an assassin for hire. There's no guarantee Samara wouldn't either, now that he thought about it. She probably would've tried it if they'd met before, under different circumstances…

While Zaeed was waxin' goddamn nostalgic about the past, some of his ships had already touched down and were about to begin the relocation procedures. It'd take a while to get everything set up and Samara would probably need to run interference for them, by talking with and convincing any colonist to trust them. But Zaeed wasn't really worried 'bout any of that. No, it was something else that was bothering him.

Despite the occasional slave/pirate raids, the Hegemony-backed batarians had been quiet 'till now. That was mostly thanks to the assault on Torfan, which he knew was a peace that wouldn't last long, as par for the course. But then they suddenly began raiding all at once, mostly poor and small settlements, like hungry and mad varren. He didn't like that. It made him feel uneasy, like that time when he was alone in the dark, lying in wait, and the cold wind brushed across his face, like the kiss of death…

"There's not enough space for all these people in our orbiting fleet." Bianca shook him off of his thoughts, returning his attention back to the evacuating colony. "We'd need to pull a few more from our border patrol. Besides…"

"We can't trust all of 'em on our ships. Not in large numbers at least." Zaeed finished what she didn't want to say. "So, I guess it's time we re-purposed our 'ark ship' back. I've got a bad feeling we'll be needing it in the coming months anyway…"

"Are you talking about… visiting our dear Warden?" Bianca quickly guessed his meaning.

"You're goddamn right, sweetheart." He said in as much of a joking tone as he could. "Prep the Black Guard. We're going to Purgatory."

It was time they sowed a little chaos of their own.

In the Osun System. Hourglass Nebula. A few Mass Relay jumps later.

Zaeed walked out of an airlock and into the corridor of a large prison ship, where its owner, Warden Kuril, waited with a small "welcoming team". The mercenary veteran was escorted by his own security team, the Black Guard. It was an elite division of the Blue Suns meant to guarantee Zaeed's personal safety, a lesson he'd learned after getting shot in the head.

To anyone who saw them in person, they'd appear as a select group of loyalists with top of the line equipment and training. To those in the know, however, it was his own version of a drone swarm, except it was actually made up of cutting-edge, "infiltration" model mechs. They looked human, even having artificial blood to fake injuries, but were, in truth, deadly death machines remotely controlled by Bianca. This group surrounded Zaeed as he made his way towards the Warden of the ship they'd boarded, Purgatory.

Purgatory; once an "ark ship" used to hold agricultural animals, now a maximum security prison starship of the Cruiser-weight class. More specifically, it was a Carrier-type starship, relying mainly on Fighters for its protection, since it was minimally armed with GARDIAN defenses. Also, it wasn't part of the Blue Suns. They only had an understanding from back during the civil war. Zaeed planned on tying this last loose end today.

"Welcome, welcome. We're honored by your presence." Kuril greeted. "At ease men. This is our dear guest, Zaeed Massani, Blue Suns' leader. So, what can I do for you?"

"Like I said in the message, I'm looking for a few special inmates. The kind I can recruit for something special. You know how it is." Zaeed replied curtly.

"Ah, that's good. I've got just the thing. A new batch of… clients came in just last week. Come, follow me." Beckoned the Warden, but not before glancing intently at the dozen or so of well-armed guards following the veteran.

"They're coming with; I'm not taking 'no' for an answer." Zaeed declared firmly, not giving ground on the issue for a few silent moments, until Kuril finally relented and let the Black Guard through – while, on the other hand, increasing his own security detail.

They then walked through the facility as the Warden described it to Zaeed. It was the same as the last time he visited, with mass effect fields preventing inmates from attacking each other, and the general interior layout didn't change much.

"Nice ship you've got here. Very… roomy." Zaeed commented. "Most ships my men served on… well, at least a few years back, two men almost couldn't walk past each other in the hall unless they were really good friends. Makes one appreciate what we got now."

"Indeed. I'm very proud of this facility and the honorable service we provide to the galaxy." Said the Warden with a smug expression.

The two groups soon arrived in a somewhat wide and large room, which Zaeed noted was the control center of the whole facility. The automatic door closed behind him as half of his men entered, while the rest stood guard outside, keeping company with the Warden's men and sentries.

"Alright. Show me your worst scum. I'm talking psychopaths, mass murderers, serial-killers and such." Zaeed declared.

"One sec… let me see… Here's the list; also, the price for releasing them. You can browse at your leisure." He responded, showing a terminal as well as how to operate it, which the veteran did with a focused mind.

Zaeed began sifting through the entire catalog, his cybernetic eye quickly selecting targets for elimination, mostly the irredeemable kind (like serial-killers), though he pretended to be looking for special inmates to "hire". It was basically the same situation as when Shepard would try to "recruit" Jennifer, in the original course of events. As to why they hadn't "taken down" this prison ship 'till now, it was because they'd asked themselves the question: why waste such a good opportunity?

The idea was to, rather than individually look for each of them, let the good Warden gather all the troublemakers, revolutionaries, dissidents and general pain-in-the-ass types to the Terminus' dictators, warlords and tyrants all in one location. When the time was ripe, they'd be released and "encouraged" to cause even more mayhem to their enemies. Those with a genuine drive/desire to make their worlds a better place would be educated, trained and equipped with the means to do so, to drive positive change. And the time was ripe.

"What can you tell me about this one here?" Zaeed questioned with a frown while scrolling the inmate's list. He couldn't help but pause on a particular arsehole, before moving away a bit from the console; his right quietly reaching for his handgun.

In response, Warden Kuril got closer to it and began summarizing the information.

"Ah, that's Billy. He's a serial-killer. The genuine article. He likes to carve out his name on his victims. That's his signature. He also enjoys pretending to be meek and harmless while he plans his next carving session to his unsuspecting victims." He explained.

"That so? Funny, coming from a barefaced bastard like you." The old veteran said.

"What are yo-!?" Kuril angrily demanded as he swiveled his face toward Zaeed, but the old veteran was one step ahead of him, for what the Warden faced was a Carnifex glued to his face and positioned right behind his shields, rendering them worthless.

BANG!

His shot painted the terminal blue. Warden Kuril died immediately. The prison guards and sentries inside the room tried to react; the keyword being "tried". Half of them were simply immobilized by biotically formed stasis as the Black Guard revealed their advanced biotics. The other half was run through and swiftly killed by "invisible" Warp Blades, behind which were then de-cloaked dark figures, also members of that elite group, who promptly finished off the restrained guards. This entire sequence lasted mere seconds.

"Thanks for all the credits, by the way. I appreciate it." Zaeed stated as he waved his hand and Kuril's bank accounts were hacked by Bianca, who began directing her elite-mechs to begin a thorough "clean up" of the facility.

What followed was a series of ploys meant to eat away at Purgatory's "internal opposition" without raising any alarm, such as calling the Warden's biggest supporters into secluded parts of the ship before quietly assassination them. Unfortunately, save for a few (who had been planted beforehand), most of the guards/sentries would need to be killed, if the Blue Suns were to take complete control of the prison ship, since they wouldn't "turn over a new leaf". This, of course, included plans on how to deal with the Fighters in such a way as not to turn this quiet takeover into a space battle.

As his digital partner worked, Zaeed made his way towards a specific prison cell. His path wasn't barred or obstructed by anything; there was no one to do so. As such, it didn't take long for him to arrive at his destination, a cell which held "Billy".

"Hello Billy." Zaeed greeted him while he opened the cell's door with a bright smile. It was a smile beautiful enough to scare children into obedience. "Guess what, you're going free."

"Really? Are you behind the guards' disappearance?" Billy asked.

"Yeah, that's right." The veteran replied, the door was fully opened. His smile vanished as he took his Carnifex and shot at Billy, who died while staring incredulously at him. "Free of this goddamn mortal coil, that is. Sam sends his regards, you goddamn sick fuck."

Zaeed turned around and looked thoughtfully at the other cells. Some of 'em held scum as bad, if not worse, than "Billy". There was no way he was going to let them go free – neither could they be "reformed" nor was he interested in keeping them fed/alive after what they'd done, regardless of what anyone said.

Meanwhile, the Black Guard was doing work. They'd have full control of Purgatory in a few minutes. As for what to do with it then? They'd used it to help with the colonists' relocation efforts. He figured Samara would need to do some more convincing of the colonists…

Hey, have you heard about that infamous prison ship? Well, here it is! Why don't you come in? There's plenty of space and it's very comfortable.

Fuck, that was going to be a hassle.

In the Faia System. Ismar Frontier. A few more Mass Relay jumps later.

The newly repurposed ark ship arrived in the System with a Blue Suns fleet escorting it as well as carrying all the colonists and what could be scavenged from their destroyed colony. This convoy first made a quick stop at Hiro, a Gas Giant with 3 major and 26 minor moons, to refuel and resupply. The place used to be divided by companies which constantly fought with each other for profits, in cutthroat business that led to open corporate warfare 3 times in the last century, but they'd been kicked out for good.

Now, it belonged exclusively to the people of this System's Garden World, who controlled its facilities and refineries democratically, selling fuel to any well behaved traveler passing through this Gateway System. Anyone who didn't "behave" had to deal with the Blue Suns and its growing Fleets and legions, who had kicked out every other mercenary group from the area. Almost a million people called Hito, and its moons, their home by now.

[2]

After resupplying, the convoy changed course towards Faia's Garden World, Zorya. It was a planet with massive lush jungle zones, which were filled with plants and spores spread out over its eight continents. There was a heavy human presence in its colonies, but it also accepted all species without issue, even having a small vorcha presence in its rural areas, where the spores were thickest. All in all, Zaeed noted the planet was rapidly approaching the 150 million population mark it'd have in the future (or, more specifically, in 2185 CE).

His shuttle landed in the Blue Suns' Headquarters, located in a very defensible position of Thun, capital of Zorya. Cozy little place. The streets were clean, it was prospering and the people were happy. An uncommon sight in the Terminus, if you've ever seen one. It didn't use to be like this.

Zaeed quickly dealt with matters at the HQ and began walking towards this colony's main government building, which was closeby, while reminiscing about the past.

The planet might be overrun with all kinds of plants and fungi, making even the air in its habitable places choked full with pollen and spores, but rot and rust were just the problems you could point out at a glance. 'Sides, those had mostly been taken care of by some very convenient tech VersaLife's released a couple of years back. The true "rot" of Zorya used to be something else…

Funny thing. On paper, its scattered colonies were supposed to be democracies, with your run-of-the-mill politicians and judges, while security was left to private military contractors. It was also meant to be pretty damned wealthy, with its massive potential resources and lax ecological laws. But reality was something completely different.

Poverty, hunger, homelessness and insecurity were on the rise. Despite working like crazy, people could barely sustain their "cost of living", as if the phrase itself wasn't a goddamn alarming thing for a spacefaring civilization. Piracy, drugs, vice and political violence were commonplace. And Vido's coup only made the situation worse, by adding fucking batarian slavers into the goddamn mix, on top of supporting the shit that made it all happen.

It all started soon after Zorya's founding, back in 2160 CE, when it attracted investors and corporations from all over the galaxy. Like moths to a flame, most would say. Like leopards looking for easy prey, Zaeed would reply. Before even establishing any offices, they turned their massive wealth into political influence, by funding the election campaigns of "chosen" candidates, who'd give them favorable legislation or subsidies in return. Only two, no more than three, were to be the real "candidates" and they'd each represent one of two "sides" of political debate. The only "real" (a.k.a. acceptable) ones.

The next step was very clear: make those sides fight each other over irrelevant shit, while all important questions were forgotten and some actual matters were excluded entirely, like economic policies. There were other candidates though, but their purpose was simply to give a sense of legitimacy to the election as well as highlight those two candidates chosen by the corporations/investors (to represent them… only them). It didn't matter none if they were there just to fill in the numbers.

So, in every "democratic election", you had a religious nut hanar; the "hug all trees" asari; the "maybe slavery isn't so bad" batarian; and, can't forget, the arsehole who's only there for his points to be "smashed down" by the "real" candidates. The media was instrumental, since it belonged to the corporations/investors and helped "select" the candidates as well as sell the forged narrative. After all, whoever pays the band decides the music. And the music was always a duet of two guys, usually both old farts, from those "opposite" political parties. Those were people's "choices". Take it or leave it.

Every election, the two parties would make a show of fighting over petty cultural squabbles while, of course, quietly agreeing on the big stuff – or what actually mattered. Meanwhile, each side painted the other as "the wrong kind of people". Heck, the campaigns eventually boiled down to simply "vote on us, 'cause we're not that other arsehole". That's how they atomized any unity possible between the people. After one of 'em inevitably won, people's rights were eroded bit by bit, working hours increased, wages would go down and so on. It was the best government credits could buy. And a new cycle, just more of the same, would start again in a few years, only under a new arshole.

That's how they managed to build an oligarchy (or simply a cartel) "democratically". Zaeed knew all of this because he'd assumed Vido's part in the whole goddamn thing, after he'd taken back his Blue Suns. And he fucking hated it, 'cause it was even more insidious than what the batarians did. Those arseholes at least had the decency of telling it to your face that you were just a slave to them, no goddamn smoke and mirrors. Besides, there'd be no difference from a Hegemony colony if things just kept as they were.

But then something happened. After the Suns' Civil War, a third political party, representing a radical side and led by a fierce young lass, showed up "out of nowhere" (there's no such thing in life, he'd learned by now, especially when that guy was involved). This new player – or actual one, all things considered – was a radical party for the only thing that mattered, what people needed the most: actual change. It was radical exactly 'cause it went after the root of the problem, the goddamn status quo. And that screwed with the interests of those "powerful" folk, so they retaliated almost immediately.

They couldn't censor, not completely at least, since this Liberation Party's primary platform was the extranet, but there were other ways to go about it… At first, the media apparatus was mobilized in order to utterly demonize it – while, conveniently, never discussing any of its points, which always revealed the root cause of people's suffering and its culprits. That didn't work, as every lie was disproven time and time again for all to see. Then, they tried to drown it in credits, funding mass disinformation campaigns and "intellectual thinkers" to fool the masses into believing they had their "best interest" at heart and, at the same time, diverting people's genuine dissatisfaction with their ever worsening situation towards a few simple, quick and easy solutions (all of them fake of course). In this case, this new political party and its associates, thereby hiding the real source of the colony's problems.

However, this movement kept growing, and it never seemed to run out of "funding" either, which only made the cartel believe one or a few of them was behind it, maybe wanting to get a bigger share of the pie, causing chaos within their ranks. On and on, everything they tried failed. Basically, none of their usual shit was working, so the oligarchs smashed their panic button and turned to a more direct method of control, a tried and true one they liked to employ: violence.

More specifically, they had the Blue Suns threaten, coerce, beat up, arrest and "disappear" any leaders and members of this new party. Meanwhile, the judiciary either did nothing, or endorsed every fucking thing, under the justification of "keeping the peace, law and order". Zaeed, for his part, obliged: he disappeared them. Only… the corporates had no idea that his targets had simply been taken to hidden safe places where they'd be equipped with the means to fight back, trained and then continue organizing the people. Or that the "severed arm" he'd shown as proof of a certain political assassination was simply lab-grown, etc.

So, contrary to their expectations, and despite all measures implemented, this Liberation Party still kept getting traction, turning into a movement that sought to make people aware of the fact that they'd been played, including how their worsening conditions were simply a "project" by those in power, a political decision and plan, not an unavoidable consequence of anything. Conflicts grew. In time, almost half of Zorya's population of millions realized that the colony would become a dystopian corporate hellhole. Civil war was imminent.

But then something unexpected happened, again. It was the final nail in the coffin for those in power. Every single piece of evidence that the Blue Suns had collected over the years, mostly in person, regarding what they'd done (and were planning on doing) was released to the public. Everything, all at once. And confirmed it. The "neutral" and "impartial" media scrambled to invalidate it, but people weren't buying their shit anymore. Save for the most fanatical elements of the corporate part, basically everyone turned on the cartel.

Just like that, what was looking to end in a civil war turned into a goddamn revolution. The people, led by the Liberation Party and supported by the Blue Suns' military power, toppled the so-called "democratic" government literally overnight. The few private security forces of the elite tried to fight back and protect their masters, but they were simply overwhelmed, in all aspects. In the end, many conspirers were imprisoned, some were lynched to death, 'cause of how much harm they'd done, while the rest were given the boot – to fuck off from Zorya. Their fanatical followers had a similar fate.

It was rather bloodless, all things considered, when he thought about what corporations and their personal PMCs did daily. Still, the Blue Suns had to protect the innocent kids and families of the corporates, corrupt politicians, media moguls and fanatics, who had nothing to do with anything, from becoming collateral damage. Most of 'em didn't even have a clue of what was going on anyway. So, they were free to stay or leave, if they wanted to, with a considerable sum of credits to start over. Pretty much all of them left.

And so a new government was soon established: one of the people; by the people; for the people. What followed was the biggest jump in productivity he'd ever seen in his life, which was further helped by technology sneaked by Atlas Foundation. For his part, Zaeed began transitioning the Blue Suns from a "conquering regime", in the mouths of the residents, to a proper army, or one could even say a legion. He also created a demilitarized police force, to provide local security, while the Blue Suns focused on defense against the other military powers of the Terminus.

This experience was, and would be, repeated on other Terminus Systems' colonies. Aite was one planet that might make into that list. As for how to deal with warlords and tyrants? Those would be much easier. The basis of their government was military power. In order to deal with them, all you needed was more power. The Blue Suns had that. Also, if there's one thing Zaeed's learned these last years, it's that despots, tyrants, dictators, all of 'em were cowards at the end of the day. You show just a small taste of the violence they inflict on others, or that you're in charge, and they cry like little girls. Speaking of which…

The real arseholes behind "Project Dystopia-land" – those who controlled mega-corps and had never even set one foot on Zorya –, bringing misery to the galaxy from their mansions in far-away paradise worlds, decided to retaliate harshly. They got a few big media outlets and corrupt politicians in Council space to denounce what had happened, calling Zorya's people barbarians who'd hurt "good hard working people" and destroyed a "democratically elected government". As well, of course, as calling for a crusade against them.

They got their comeuppance too when that madman's new and clandestine media agency, Galaxy News Network, revealed and spread the truth of the matter to the public of Council space. The damage to their reputation was severe. Funny thing, too many people in power tried to shut that news channel (GNN) down, but they couldn't even find out who backed it, much less try to stop it from constantly revealing their shit to the public.

Nevertheless, not deterred by little things such as "truth" and "justice", the cartel remnants figured they could first try to reconquer the System they'd lost and then fabricate some shit to justify it later. It went about as well as everything else they did. In fact, some debris of their United Fleet still orbited Zorya to this day. After that, the cartel finally accepted reality and backed off for good. There was no more profit to be had. Still, others never gave up on trying to ruin Zorya's and its Aligned Systems' newfound prosperity. They could try all they wanted, for it was protected – and very well at that.

[2]

Zaeed stopped reminiscing about the past as he approached his destination, what counted as their "oval office", which was protected by layers of security personnel and scanners, to make sure nothing dangerous managed to sneak in. Along the way, he was met with either salutes or nods from public servants and civil guards, but he could feel they were a little on the edge today. He quickly figured it was probably related to the dead salarian – going by the silhouette – that was being taken away in a body bag.

A few hallways later, Zaeed entered a simple, but elegant room. It was adorned with all the stuff one would expect to find in a main governmental office. The first person he saw, and who received him with a big smile, was the Head Honcho of the political party vanguarding Zorya's liberation. She had an athletic build, long black hair and tanned skin, and she wore a formal suit. The veteran responded with a smile of his own, but didn't forget to greet her aides, with a quick nod.

"Hello, Zaeed. You've been quite busy lately." Bianca spoke first.

"'Sup, Bianca. You know how it is; comes with the job. But I guess it's your turn to get busy now." He remarked.

"So it seems. But that's the kind of busy I'm fine with." She replied with a nod, then turned to her aides. "Guys, can you give us a moment?"

They all bowed slightly, put their datapads down the main table and promptly left the room, leaving the duo alone.

"Did you know you're already making the galactic news?" She mentioned. "They're having a meltdown, trying to paint our action as the 'opportunistic move of a dictatorial regime'. It's amazing how they can spin every single data point about us into hostile evidence."

"Yeah, and now I'm guessing we're going to become the 'oppressors of those poor people' too. Nevermind the fact that the colonists would've been enslaved by batarian slavers, who still exist today only 'cause those goddamn arseholes never did anything about it." Zaeed cursed. "Forget about that, I'm more interested in the dead fellow I saw when coming here. What's that about?"

"Deep undercover STG agent. Tried to assassinate me and the cabinet." Bianca explained in an unperturbed tone, with hints of ridicule. "Sloppy work. Didn't expect my biotics; or this body's inhuman strength. We're still looking for his handler, but…"

"If it's anything like the acronym agencies back on Earth, then they probably aren't even on the planet anymore, or ever. Plausible deniability." The veteran completed. "Well, we've got a lot of surviving colonists in need. Think you can handle them all at once?"

"It's no problem with our current abilities. I've already made the initial arrangements." She responded with a proud tone.

Besides clearing out the rot from Zorya and its surrounding colonies, they've been working on concentrating the population of small colonies into less planets – if anything, due to the fact the cuttlefish would simply come and wipe out a colony if it was too small, like the one they'd saved this time. This also meant concentrating people's productive forces in a well planned manner. Their enemies' increasing worry and fear was testament to the results of this move.

"That's good then. I guess there's only one last matter to discuss." He noted.

"How we're going to handle those troublemakers you've bright as well." She added. "HQ's already been informed of it. They're waiting for us. Shall we connect now?"

He nodded in reply and they both sat down. Zaeed brought up his Omni-tool and joined its new video chat call, which connected him with others many, many Star Systems away…

HQ, main control room. Half an hour later.

Gaia's awareness spread over countless i/o interfaces to which she was connected to. Her mind, still expanding even to this day – though set to reach a limit due to their Communal Computational Server Project –, could handle a lot of interactions simultaneously. Still, the interface her mind was focused on right now was a conference call where she'd discussed, with Zaeed and others, how to "maneuver" their new "involuntary friends" from Purgatory. It had been a fruitful conversation, which was now coming to an end.

"... and that's how I believe we can best use these troublemakers to… well, make trouble for those warlords." Bianca, the child of a child of hers, spoke.

"I concur. That's a good plan. We can foment their internal conflict and let them implode from within, at least the big power bases, with this plan.", Gaia gave her evaluation.

After concluding the discussion, something caught Gaia's attention at one of her labs, one meant for studying anything to do with the rachni – especially their DNA and new ways of communication. The digital superintelligence was amused for a microsecond, for she saw, with outside cameras and sensors, a floating rachni queen happily flapping her limps wildly while rachni warriors, still down in the "ground", desperately circled around her. Biotics, it's what allowed this scene to happen in the first place. Gaia soon figured out that the queen had been freed from this O'neill Cylinder's gravity (centrifugal force) by Jennifer's biotic lift. It was a sight of mayhem, as the little ones tried to pull back their mother, who really didn't feel like "coming down", while Jennifer laughed.

"So, now that we're going through with this plan, am I to assume Sam's going to be more active in the Terminus Wars?" Zaeed asked suddenly, drawing her attention back.

"Indeed. We already have a list of planets we'd like liberated." Gaia said. "We're also going to crack down harder on drug cartels. In fact, I'm putting up a team to develop effective but much less damaging and addicting drugs, to 'compete' them out of the market. Our blue girls on Illium and Omega will handle distribution."

"Ah, the march towards less and less substance abuse. It's been going pretty well here, I'd say." Zaeed remarked. "Honestly, I'd never have thought it could be dealt with like that. Not treat it as an issue of public security, nor as a public health problem."

"It's interesting how all seemingly 'insurmountable problems' can be dealt with when we go after their roots, no?" She replied incisively. "Anyway, there's a couple of things I'd like to fine-tune with our plans before we finish today's meeting…"

They then discussed some more, especially how to manage the drug trade in the future. It was a major source of funds for warlords and criminal groups in the Terminus Systems and Attican Traverse – in truth, even many governments were in on the drug trade, though they always claimed to be at "war" with the stuff.

After the meeting was done, Gaia's awareness returned once more to that zero-G lab. And what she found was a very peculiar sight. At the edge of a large door, limbs slowly crept in, as if they were trying to feel around and take a peek inside. The sight was as comical as it was very easy to understand what was going on.

A wild Rachni Queen tried to sneak in.

It wasn't super effective.

She was just too big.

And clumsy.

Gaia flashed a small smile. It seems the little queen had managed to flap and float herself inside there. Gravity, after all, was artificially generated by the Cylinder's rotation, so she'd just float inside of it after Jenny's biotic lift ended. Gaia mentally shook her head.

"Come in. Don't be shy." She spoke, her voice reverberating from her android body as well as through the lab's speakers.

Shocked briefly, the queen collected herself from being found out, then slowly entered the lab. In reality, she barely squeezed herself in, a feat which wouldn't be possible if the lab wasn't wide and tall enough. Now inside, she skittered towards Gaia, who stood beside a large table with all sorts of paraphernalia, glass tubes and holographic screens, trying not to knock anything along the way.

"Greetings, Great Mother of All Metal Singers. We ask pardon for trespassing." An ethereal and young feminine voice came from the rachni queen; it was generated by a device which translated her "singing thoughts" into a common language, then into sounds. The ethereal tone was influenced by Benezia's experience with a mind and it was based on a modified asari's voice.

"Hello to you too, curious one. So, what do you think of this place?" Gaia inquired. "Cozy, isn't it? We should've built it sooner."

"We can't tell. It's too small, and shiny, and metallic. Sorry, but we still prefer our burrowed palaces." She responded reservedly and then looked at a few holograms where all rachni subspecies were categorized and their DNA was projected. "What is that? Is that us?"

"Yes, you could say that. I've been learning a lot about your people's biology; your code. But I'm also experimenting ways to… let's say, improve it. If you'll allow it, of course." Gaia explained without hiding anything. Everything so far studied and developed, including said translator, had been done with the rachni's consent.

"But why change our children? They are already beautiful, and strong, and wise, no?" The queen replied, her head confusedly tilting to one side, then the other.

Gaia chuckled at the response, finding her motherly defense amusing. "For many reasons, in fact. By learning about your people, I can make improvements to it; make you stronger, more approachable or wiser… For example, take your little greenies… I can increase their intelligence, in all aspects, by changing this and this…"

After looking confusedly at what Gaia showed for a while, the rachni queen turned to her and inquired: "Great Mother, you mean you can raise our children's Inner Voice with such instruments?"

"Well, you could say that, yes." Gaia stated with confidence. "Not only that, but I can also change them to be more 'friendly' to people without destroying what they are at the core – given enough time, of course. Trust me, your little ones would be much more accepted by people if they didn't have the ability to explode in a toxic cloud."

There were a few seconds of silence as the queen stared thoughtfully at the DNA images. She then turned to Gaia.

"Can you teach us the instruments of Life Weaving?" The rachni queen asked expectantly, her organic eyes staring intensely at Gaia's mechanical eyes.

The Primordial was surprised at the sudden request. Nevertheless, she invited the queen to accompany her: "Alright, you can stay here and I'll prepare the necessary things so we can begin the study."

With that said, the big crowd in the "ground" was informed that their queen wasn't returning anytime soon. As for the run-away queen, she was the recipient of a large transfer of basic genetic, biology and bioengineering knowledge, after which she was taught personally by Gaia on a myriad of subjects and details, including her people's biology.

At some point, after learning about how the genophage worked, the rachni queen began to wonder how the egg-smashers were doing…

Dhazil, capital of Garvug. Valhallan Threshold. Early 2179 CE.

Outside one of the only hints of civilization on this frozen wasteland, an old-looking krogan led a mixed pack of krogan and vorcha as they marched through the snow, towards a large fortress, off in the distance. It served as one of the main defense fortifications of Garvug, a Terminus Systems world with a population of 40% krogan and 30% vorcha. But this group wasn't made up of locals. They were recently arrived outsiders, well equipped and ready to cause mayhem, and their trek through the snow was digitally masked.

The temperature was exactly as the cold landscape hinted, a corformable -30 C. So, just a breeze for the old krogan in the front, who led the way. He was big, even for a krogan; had a vigor unlike what his aged looks indicated; and the heavy armor he wore was dotted with the bones of his enemies. He was Nakmor Drack. And he was about to change the entire course of history of this planet.

Meanwhile, inside said fortress, sitting on the main chair of its throne room, was the leader of Clan Hailot. Despite being the biggest clan around and the de-facto ruler of this planet, it didn't have an armada large enough to guarantee its space supremacy. And it showed, like when just three big corporations – who, when combined, had a bigger Fleet than all of the krogan clans put together – could just set up shop there and almost make it their backyard. Almost. On the ground, it was still the clans who decided who could really stay, which was why they'd been hounded for "unrestricted access" to the planet.

Now, a new Fleet had emerged, with all of its ships being very well armed, though it was a relatively small one. It'd arrived in the System and then just stayed in orbit. At least only a couple of shuttles came down from it, landing on Dhazil, but it was still unclear what they wanted to do. However, before he could send someone to tail those new arrivals, Hailot's warchief noticed some strange movement outside his ancestors' fortress. He tried to radio in, but the exterior guards weren't responding to any of his hails. Still confused, his doubts were quickly answered in an equally strange way, as anyone inside the throne room heard a loud shout closing in on their position…

INCOOOOOMIIIING!

It was followed by continuous sounds of walls being violently broken.

Boom!

BOOM!

BOOM!

A krogan sized hole was ripped into the throne room's side wall, with debris flying all over the place. What came out of this fresh entrance was Drack, biotics swirling around him. He laughed boisterously as he looked from one side to the other:

"HA, HA, HA, HA, HA…!"

"Hi."

"WHO DARES barge into Wrung's ancestral fortress?" The krogan warlord violently hit his seat, leaped from it and demanded loudly.

"Your grandpa, that's who." Drack replied smugly.

Wrund didn't like that response, not one bit, as could be seen from his expression. He was very close to a blood rage, but held himself back enough to order his guards to apprehend the intruder. With a wave of his hand, the Garvug State Forces leaped into action.

Unperturbed, Drack arched forward and charged, in the form of a blue streak, into a pair of krogan who'd drawn their weapons. They were both thrown into a nearby wall and instantly taken out of the fight. He then proceeded to beat the ever-living shit out of Wrund's men in hand-to-hand combat, showing a proficiency that only usually came with age. Furthermore, soon after the brawl broke out, a few more krogan joined it – all of them wearing the same clan markings as Drack. Oh, and they were all biotics too, very capable ones, as could be seen by the complete of the Garvug State Forces.

After beating down his fair share of guards, and before things could get out of control as Wrund was ready to call for reinforcements, the old krogan drew everyone's attention.

"That's enough, welp. I'm here to talk, not fight. The name's Nakmor Drack. You might've heard of me." Said the old krogan, slightly shocking any who recognized the name, before briefly glancing at his entrance. "Sorry about the renovation. No one was letting me in, so I had to make do."

"Talk? You've got quads for coming here the way you did. Why should I entertain you after you've desecrated these halls?" The warchief lashed out.

"It's you who'd have quads if you make a stupid move, Hailot Wrund." Drack threatened back. "There's a Fleet in orbit, with very precise mass accelerators, ready to back us up if things get more rowdy here. Then things will really get ugly. Don't be stupid. Let's talk."

The chieftain growled in frustration. "So what, am I to just ignore your intrusion here?"

"I see. It ain't gonna happen that easily. Let's do it like our ancestors, then. Let's settle it with a fight. Me versus you. No biotics allowed." Suggested the old krogan.

Wrund narrowed his eyes, considering the duel challenge for a moment as he saw Drack's biotics calm down and vanish, and then agreed to it with a nod.

Everyone in the room gave them space, naturally forming an "imaginary duel ring". Hailot's chieftain thought he had the edge over the older krogan, as his youth vigor would triumph over his foe's experience. He was wrong. Very, very wrong. Drack proved to be a stronger, quicker and more resilient adversary on top of being a seasoned and skillful warrior. When a punch was thrown, the older krogan retaliated with a precise kick. An incoming kick from Wrund was blocked and then he was thrown into the ground. After a series of beatdowns delivered by Drack, the fight ended with the mother of all headbutts, as Wrund was almost knocked into a comfortable nap. Their initial issue was also dropped, just like that.

This was how krogan politics usually were. Simple. Violent. Quick. To the point.

"Ready to talk now? I have serious matters to discuss with you; in private." Drack stated.

His "boys", young krogan and vorcha he'd recruited from Rough Tide, helped their former "enemies" up while a few began trying to repair the renovations made by their leader.

Despite his annoyance and frustration, Wrund led Drack to a place where they could hold a private conversation. It was adorned with antique sets of totems, tribalistic markings and, of course, bones. Lots and lots of bones. Everywhere. And the walls were filled with them, charmingly so.

"These are Clan Hailot's most hallowed chambers. Although not as sacred as the Hollows, back at Tuchanka, they're the same to us." The Clan Warlord declared, staring deeply into Drack's eyes with a questioning look. "Good enough for you, old man?"

"Who's old? I've never felt so young in my life." Replied the old krogan, rolling his eyes. "I get it, I get it. Not the time for jokes. Well… you know how I've been trading blows with the Blood Pack, right? How would you feel about an alliance against them?"

"Why would I join forces with you? What's in it for Clan Hailot?" Wrund questioned.

"There's a lot in it, that's for sure. And not only just for you, but for all krogan." Drack said, with a mysterious tone. "For instance, how about the location of a very valuable treasure, the kind that'd stir up the big players in the galaxy?"

"Speak clearly, what do you mean?" Asked Wrund.

"Before that, you must swear an oath, on your ancestors' honor and your own, that you'll keep the secret between us and not use it for your own gain." Stated Drack, preparing his Omni-tool's recording feature.

The Warlord growled again at the scene, but still chose to take an oath – his curiosity was too big to do otherwise. With the vid sent somewhere afterwards, he couldn't renege on his promise.

"Alright, let's talk proper business. Tell me, have you ever noticed that Binary Helix, Sonax Industries and Guanghui Solutions are pouring credits here? Have you noticed that they're almost intending on taking this planet?" Drack questioned pointedly. "It can't be just about some iridium; it's not very profitable. Corporations ain't very fond of nature either, I'm sure anyone can attest to. And they abhor taking risks, so…"

"So you're saying there's something here, something worthy enough for those corporations to pour credits into to have it." Wrund realized it himself.

"That's right, there's profit to be had here. A lot of profit." The legendary krogan said, lifting a finger to add gravitas to what he was about to reveal. "A Prothean Cache."

Hailot Wrund sucked a breath of cold air; literally. Inwardly, he was completely shocked by the revelation. That was it! It all finally made sense in his mind, as if many pieces of a large puzzle came together at last: why those corporations kept sending forces and credits to his wasteland planet; why their iridium mining was so haphazard; why their "eco-engineering" felt more like archeology. They were looking for a Prothean Cache!

"And I can locate it. Well, I know a guy, who knows an asari, who can dig up pretty much everything in this galaxy, including your great-great-great grandpa's rusty old bones." joked Drack.

"Let me guess, you'll dig it and share it with Clan Hailot if we join you and your boys." The chieftain surmised, having finally recovered from his shock.

"Joining us is part of the deal, yes, but it's only the first step." Drack replied. "There's much more I plan on doing, and it goes beyond taking over the Blood Pack. For now though, we should look forward to kicking that consortium out of this planet for good."

"You really aren't thinking small, ain't you? I'd like to know where confidence comes from." Wrund remarked, almost amused. "As for those invaders… This is still our world. They're nothing to us, especially if we join forces. We are clan. They are merely co-workers. If we make their victory cost them enough, they will leave."

"No. No, they won't. You know how valuable this planet is to them by now. They'll never let it go so easily. And if we face them directly in battle, too many will die needlessly." Spelled out Drack with an unquestionable tone. "There's an alternative. We bait them into starting the war sooner, let them sell their bullshit to the media, then reveal the Prothean cache's existence to the Citadel Committee on Paleotechnology and pledge to share it. With some concessions on their part, of course."

"What!? Why should we share this cache with the Council?" Wrund questioned with a deep frown, unconsciously already considering himself as part of an alliance.

"'Cause of what this gets us: the galaxy's goodwill, to show that our kind can be more than a bunch of brutes, like those in power want people to think; a modicum of power to bargain with the Council, even if that's only 'cause of our initiative; an easy way to beat our foes; a justification to grab the equipment left by the corporations, when they're too preoccupied cleaning 'Maw acid off from their tails. Need I say more?" Drack declared firmly.

"No. But I can't help but feel it's wrong. This isn't how we're supposed to fight." Confessed the warlord with a deep frown. "If we are to bring down the tyrants and bloodsuckers of the galaxy, we should drive them out with our claws, like true krogan, not this… trickery."

"Listen here, welp, 'cause I'm only going to say this once." Drack declared firmly, forcefully grabbing Wrund and pulling him closer.

The warchief tried to resist at first but couldn't get away. He then finally realized this wasn't the beaten down old krogan that's riddled with injuries, as his outward appearance led one to think, but the legendary krogan he'd heard stories of. And he fucking meant business.

"Times…" Drack spoke gravely, dragging his words and getting his face closer, "...change. We should change along with it. Or be relegated to memory; and the dustbin of history. Take it from someone who's lived through that, welp!"

Following that, Hailot Wrund was pushed away, his composure still slightly shaken. "I'm… listening. Speak what you must."

Drack flashed him a toothy grin, a very ambitious one, then declared: "Let's talk about how we're going to kick those corporations out, make the galaxy owe us a debt, take the Blood Pack for ourselves and… build a future for our people…"

Media Reviews

[Ender's Game]

Asari Vid Reviews

I'm not even going to comment on the already established trope of humans being attacked by aliens (again!), since this one is different. This time, it's them who are on the offensive, in retaliation for an attack by an alien species called the Formics. They're an insectoid race which we can trace some parallels with the rachni – peculiarly their lack of communication during the war. When Andrew Wiggins, this story's main character, wanted to find a way to communicate with their mortal enemy, I was hit with the realization of how eerily similar of a situation it was compared to what we'd been through. It is amazing how relevant this vid is to us when it couldn't possibly know about our past. That's reason enough to give it a try.

It's based on a novel which the republisher said has many more details that didn't make it into the vid and continues the story. Oh, and Han Solo is also here. Wait, I mean the actor! However, I'd say he isn't very likable here, not at all. Anyways…

Just like us, the humans of this fictional universe meet with a bad situation all around. The main character, Andrew Wiggins, is chosen to train in command school in order to become a fleet commander leading the human fleet in a counter-assault against the Formics. For how unique it is, he's subjected to a brutal training regiment that simply went too far (in some cases), especially when you factor in how young he and his fellow trainees are. And this cruelty, sprinkled throughout his entire journey, reaches an apex at the story's climax, when a plot twist does a complete reversal of its established morality.

"We won. That's all that matters." This quote surmises this moment better than I could with a lot of paragraphs. It just forces you to think back on how the rachni war began and more so how it ended. I guess that's why the end is so commendable. It's capable of making you think and wonder that maybe… perhaps there was something more to it, you know?

Turian Vid Reviews

After watching Starship Troopers, this vid made me feel… strange, morally speaking. This is, in fact, almost the opposite of that vid. I say this in a good way. Without giving away any spoilers, the ending simply left me speechless. Just the fact this vid made me stop to think about a lot of things is enough for me to recommend it to anyone.

Before that, however, we have a narrative that's mired in interesting elements. Personally, I really enjoyed the idea of a "command school", as a way to train future fleet commanders in space's 3D and no-gravity environments (since our minds have been evolved for planet conditions), and its visualizations were pretty epic. Many reviewers found having "children soldiers" as a bit excessive, but I didn't see any problems with it – we join the military at 15 years old in the Hierarchy. Culture clash, maybe?

Still, the idea itself of a command school was definitely interesting. Add to that the concept of a new kind of solder, one that's focused on piloting swarms of drones, like those Hell's Angels mercs had been experimenting with for a few years.

Speaking of that, the fleet reveal scene, as well as its later engagement with the Formics, was quite amazing too. Furthermore, the set pieces when the main character's yelling out commands, exhibiting split second strategy, is probably how every young turian sees the Navy. And the main weapon of the human fleet? Well…

I have no idea how theoretically possible the last "weapon" shown in this vid is, but maybe we should add it to the list of Citadel Conventions' WMDs. As a precaution, just in case.

Salarian Vid Reviews

To be honest, I was kinda confused by the premise of this vid at first: this fictional human military trains "elite" kid gamers in order to wipe out an alien race of rachni-like beings who invaded them a long time ago. That's right. When I put it like that, it almost feels like we're dealing with a bad live action vid of an RTS game, like Starcraft.

It's not. In fact, the more I watched it the more surprised I became with what it was building and showing, until it all came crashing down in the story's end. In the end, surprisingly, this turned out to be one of the most thoughtful sci-fi vids to "come out" this year.

Bonzo, an asshole whose fate is a pathetic one, shows the frailty of humans. And the main character's mentor shows their capability for cruelty.

But can we judge? Are we any different? Ask the rachni. Or the krogan…

Krogan Game Reviews

Why did you have to go and make me feel bad about the bugs?

[Undertale]

Asari Game Reviews

Truth be told, when I first found out about this little game, I was almost scared off by its… overenthusiastic fandom. They can be quite excessive, even for humans. Still, after giving it a chance, I knew this game was going to be something different/new from the moment I fell for the "friendliness pellets" part. How right I was!

In Undertale, you play as a child who falls into the Underworld, a realm of "monsters" that's separated from the human realm, the Surface. What follows is a fun journey that'll surely upend your expectations at basically every turn, as "you" trek your way to try and return to the surface, unraveling the story as you go.

There's a large number of unique characters: Toriel, who likes to tell corny jokes; Sans, a skeleton who knows way more than what his goofy demeanor presents; Papyrus, the cool skeleton who has no idea how funny he is; Undyne, an anime-loving, fish-lady who is just the epitome of the so-called power of friendship. Alphys, the hapless shut-in otaku scientist who is deeply socially inept, yet tries to help you anyway; Mettaton, the quiz show, cooking show, opera and dancing-loving robot; oh, of course, I can't forget the bestest of them all, Temmie, who is like an overexcited friend I have (she probably took it from her salarian father). And that's just to name a few. I could go on…

Indeed, almost everyone in the game is quite silly when you get down to it. I had a laugh a lot of times, such as when we're petting the Lesser Dog. That part simply made me giggle like a madwoman, I won't deny it. The game even manages to make spiders cute, which is an accomplishment when you consider how these "arachnids" (from Earth) kinda resemble the Rachni. Ha, the name's even similar. And the soundtrack is simply amazing! But that's not all.

It's amazing how this "little" old and "simple" game can be so meta sometimes. To give you an example, this was the first time in my very long career where I've seen the player ever having to fight the combat menu itself. Or how the save/load system is explained as a form of timelines being "consumed"... I really wanted to talk more about the gameplay, but that could lead to spoilers, since it's tied to the plot somewhat, so all I'll say is this: get used to [ACT]ing and try to show mercy. Not all "monsters" are necessarily your enemy. And also, sometimes it's ok to not give up, fight for a better/happy ending, where you can make your Hopes and Dreams come true.

Lastly, knowing this review might one day inspire someone to play this gem of a game and have fun, it fills me with DETERMINATION!

Turian Game Reviews

In this game, you may play as a human, but the real plot is about "monsters". Their stories, fears, troubles, hopes and dreams. As you play along, your journey will inevitably lead you to care about them. All in all, it's an emotionally charged tale centered around having the resolve, or will, to change fate. That is, by itself I'd say, quite a powerful countercurrent to this pervasive "quiet acceptance" of things as they are present in Council space, and that they can't ever be changed for the better. At least that's how I felt after finally achieving the "good ending". Speaking of that…

One thing you'll quickly notice, should you give this game a chance, is that the soundtrack couldn't be more fitting. It's almost like the sole human developer first wrote some amazing songs (yes, Undertale was almost entirely made by one human), and then decided to build a game around them. I'm dead serious. You might think I'm exaggerating, but it's closer to the truth than any alternative. Furthermore, it's filled with incredible tracks, especially those of boss encounters. The only shame is that some of the best are "locked behind" the "bad" playthrough (no spoilers here, sorry).

Yeah, I couldn't bring myself to pull it off. After beating the game, I couldn't stomach doing what you need to do to start that… uncomfortable path, so I only "experienced" it through a playthrough on the extranet. And I'm glad I did. The level of barefacedness you need on it can give pause even to veteran politicians. On a side note, now I understand why so many vids on the 'net use that song, megalovania! It also granted me a new understanding of the meaning of "bullet hell". Spirits, let's not even talk about our lazy skeleton and his skele-ton of bad puns; Undyne's Undying form and battle made my claws hurt just by watching!

And when "Battle of a True Hero" stays playing during that "path", and you haven't realized it yet, that's when you finally "get it". You're not the hero of the story; you're its villain. That Undyne scene completely shifts the entire philosophy of the game on its head. It's a strong moment of realization: by killing all the "monsters", you yourself have become one. No, not a monster. A demon.

Anyway, Undertale gets a recommendation out of me.

Salarian Game Reviews

This game has been a very new and unique experience for me. The segment with Toriel at the beginning, which I quickly realized stands for "tutorial", was the weirdest one I've had so far, to name one. You're literally led around by hand. This serves as a clear indication of how "outside of the box" (like humans say) this game is. I mean, in my very long career of two decades, I've played many, many puzzle games. In fact, they're some of my favorites. However, I've never had to ask a puzzle piece to politely move out of the way. That sums up neatly this game's uniqueness, in my view.

Sure, its graphics are very "basic" (to not say bad), but keep in mind that it was made by a single human and back when they only had primitive technology to work with. I'd say it's ok when you focus on the story and characters. Not to repeat other reviews, I'd just state that the characters are by far the best part of Undertale (and that's a bold statement when the soundtrack is as good as it is). For example, with Undyne I've learned of the hidden history the Alliance doesn't want to tell us. Did you know that, historically, humans wielded swords 10x times their size? Yeah, and they fought their wars with giant mechs.

Ok, those are just silly jokes, but you can hopefully get a "feel" of its humor from that. It's a gem of a game that's guaranteed to get at least some laughs out of you. As for me? I've simply lost it at Tsunderplane (anime fans will know). I really didn't expect that, not one bit. Basically, it's good to prepare to have your expectations be subverted constantly while you play Undertale. This could come in many forms, such as the "opponent" using the power of friendship against you (that's you know you're the antagonist, by the way).

Finally, if you're having troubles with getting money (gold), here's a neat trick: Dog Residue + Tem Shop (repeat as needed). There's no need to thank me. And yes, Undyne, anime is most definitely real… in some alternate universe out there. I'm sure of it!

Now excuse me. My dinner has arrived. Today I'll be trying out "spaghetti".

Quarian Game Reviews

I could start this review by telling you my general impression of this old human game, as is customary. Maybe then delve into its lore and background, before introducing its charming characters…

…

But you know what?

SCREW IT!

KELLAH, WHY SHOULD I TELL YOU THOSE THINGS WHEN OTHERS HAVE ALREADY DONE SO!?

You. You're always reading reviews and more reviews before doing anything, thinking it'll make your decision to play a game or not more "informed". But you want the truth? You're just scared of wasting your precious, but ever limited, time on something not worthwhile. In other words, a coward.

Do you know what would be more valuable for you? IF YOU WERE PLAYING THIS GAME ALREADY! That's right. Your continued indecisiveness is a crime! Your hesitation is all that stands between you and having fun.

Go on, buy and play Undertale when you're ready to relieve your boredom.

That is… if you've got the guts.

Fuhuhuhu!

[P.S.: this was just a joke. You'll understand if you play the game. Please, don't complain to the Flotilla or anything.]

[Red Alert 3]

Asari Game Reviews

When this game's intro loads in, you might think that it looks like a parody of a bad vid, but it's still interesting… so you keep watching, seeing where its wild plot goes… But then the music kicked in… And that's when this game grips you for real. That's how it was for me at least. Also, I didn't even start the game for a while, just to hear the entire menu track.

Ok, first things first, what you need to know is that this old human RPG has three different campaigns, one for each of its… unique human factions. The intro, as I've probably made clear already, starts pretty wild, with one of the two factions time-traveling to the past to… change the present (?), thereby creating the third one. Yep. You've read it correctly. Time travel. Because why not? You can expect anything from these old human games. Anyway, this sets off the plot with the two original sides setting aside their differences (kinda) to fight against an invasion initiated by this new side, the anime faction.

Truthfully, for how off the rail the plot is, it's pretty self contained within all three campaigns. I've enjoyed playing as the Allied Nations, which, according to their name, meld many of Earth's cultures into itself. But I didn't miss how it's all supposed to be a parody of human politics back then! This could be summed up by one statement by this one politician, "vote for me if you want to live", which I think is way more honest than many governments today, unless we take into consideration some Terminus colonies…

Anyhow, all campaigns are very cool and crazy, and you're guaranteed at least 30 hours of entertainment. I've chuckled throughout it all. Everything about it is kinda over-the-top. Oh, there's also an expansion. You can play as the three factions once again. The Empire of the Rising Sun gets a unit that's a floating fortress which turns into a flying giant head and shoots lasers. So, just anime things really.

All in all, this is a game that's interesting, fun and doesn't take itself seriously, so much so in fact that I wasn't really surprised when all endings were filled with "suggestive content". Besides that, imagine finding out your leader was a robot all along!

Turian Game Reviews

With three playthroughs now finished, my conclusion is that this is definitely one of the old human games of all time. Without a doubt. Seriously now, even for how silly and ridiculous a few human games can be, this one is right there at the top. Like, it starts with one of the three factions we got to play as going back in time, to change things in their favor, thinking it couldn't possibly cause anything to go wrong. Then it does go wrong immediately after; they end up creating a "weeb" action, as if you took those anime-loving salarians and gave them free reign and an unlimited budget to do what they wanted.

Still, I can't deny that the intro was iconic, and I assume it was especially so for its time. I mean, come on! We see a tank go from cruising on the ocean waves to then driving up on land like nothing; a fighter come out from underwater; a gunship turn into a bipedal walker; a laser sword; humans bursting out of the ground and then firing lasers; and, can't forget it, a giant f*ing mech! It's all so out of whack it's got to be a good time! And it is.

I had a blast playing the red faction, the Soviet Union. Despite clearly being shown as the "bad guys", there was a certain kind of charm to them, more so their unity and "sacrifice for the motherland" mindset. I promise it didn't have anything at all with their martial culture, or the fact they're big believers in the right to bear arms and the right to arm bears. Besides, Kirovs might be top tier, but massed Twinblades are something else entirely and engineers are simply OP. Trust me. Still, that annoying general (Krukov) brought back bad memories of some "superiors" from back when I served in the Hierarchy. Good thing he gets, as the humans say, "the shortest end of the stick" in every campaign.

Of course, not everything is perfect. Unlike other games re-published by Retro Media, the gameplay does (somehow) show its age here. However, I'd say it's still a fantastic game, all the cutscenes are fun to watch and the cheesy acting only makes it better. Seriously, it's like every plot scene was filmed for an… ahem, asari adult vid (not that I'd know anything about that of course). There's one aspect of it though that's rather sad/somber now that I think back on the plot with a renewed perspective…

They had time-travel technology. They could've gone further back in time to stop tragedies from happening, fix all problems of the past, change the trajectory of their species towards a great future… But no. Instead, they chose to stay on this "little box" of neverending meat grinding, only looking for ways to hurt the "other side". And the results weren't unexpected. Rather than "win", they just created another entity like them. Another Mortal Enemy. That's something I hope you take as a lesson, if you give this game a try. I for one believe we can all do better than that.

Anyways… this was a wild ride of a fun game. Too bad corpo suits killed it just like they kill everything else (just go ask those people from that one Terminus colony…). Oh, and sorry to say this, but… space isn't uncorrupted by "capitalism" anymore, Premier Anatoly. Let me introduce these guys called the volus…

Salarian Game Reviews

I began watching the prologue vid with the mindset of someone seeing a slow-mo shuttle crash, somewhat fascinated by it and wondering where the result would be. That was so until the sheer force of Hell March hit me. The Empire of the Rising Sun showed up soon after. And now I was hooked (no offense meant for the hanar). At that point, not only did I know I wanted to play this game, I also already knew which faction I'd prefer to play as.

The Empire was simply the best campaign. Two words: Shogun Executioner. The mission where we got to use it was simply awesome. But the fun isn't just limited to that, of course. There are so many interesting, varied and unique units in this RPG. Funny too, if you can appreciate their cheesy style. Besides, while some might complain about each unit having its own "secondary ability", I've personally had no problem using those to great effect. Still, I must confess that my favorite units were the giant robots. Because they're giant robots. Isn't that enough?

Jokes aside, I've had a good time playing this game. I'd even say the campaigns are worth a replay, even though I've got them memorized already. There are two other games in this series, as can be inferred from its name, but I didn't find them as fun as this one. Also, it seems humans never made a sequel because of that old corporation of theirs (you know, the one that's very notorious today as the great old human game franchise-killer, EA – Electronic Arts). Too bad, really.

Oh, there was one small detail that, as a science nerd, annoyed me. The Soviet scientist keeps repeating the words "space-time continuum" and how it shouldn't be altered, but he doesn't really seem to grasp it. What I mean is that, if they really traveled to the past, the "space-time continuum" has already been disrupted with their mere presence, since their "added" mass interacted with the rest of the world (and quantum effects).

On that note, many reviewers already pointed out the time-travel paradox the intro creates: why would they have the need to create a time-travel machine in the "present" to go back in time and vaporize that human scientist (Einstein) if, in their new "past", they'd already done it? I mean, if you go back in time in order to kill someone and manage to do it, there's no more reason to build a time machine to go back in the first place. So… a paradox!

But I have an entirely different question. How did they manage to go back to the "present" after killing that human scientist? They didn't have a time machine back then, so… do they just get yanked back into the "present" by its own time machine?

[Rap]

Salarian Music Reviews

Yes! I've finally found out what style that part from Libera me from Hell is! I've been looking for this music genre for ages, ever since I watched Gurren Lagann last week. Now, this is what I've been listening to all day long.

Besides, it's refreshing to find music that can keep up with us and our fast thinking. That human singer named Eminem was a particularly good example of that, so much so that I sometimes wonder if he was an STG experiment gone awry (just kidding). I don't mean to be specist or anything, but most species' music feel kinda sluggish to me. Unlike Rap (or even Opera, also from the aforementioned track), most genres you find on the extranet nowadays are clearly not meant for people who think fast, talk fast, and move fast.

So, if you're a salarian looking for music that matches our speed and also allows you to de-stress from the everyday grind of work, household/matrilineal conflicts and/or breeding contract issues, give this a try.

Turian Music Reviews

You know, this is actually kinda nice. Not that bad really. It sorta lets you grab your pent up and bottled emotions by the claws and then vent them all. Especially when you really want to make the galaxy a better place, but are incapable of doing anything about it. It's a good way to deal with that without settling on depression, I think. Also, a few weeks after finding this "energetic" genre of human music some close friends jokingly told me I've managed to remove that stick humans say we turians have in our backsides. A bit at least.

Author's Notes

Hey, I'm back! I've got the "script" for the next few years mostly figured out + sorted some things in real life. Also, as you must've noticed, I'm trying another way of doing quotation + punctuation. If you guys vote to keep it when I reach the "Intermission Chapter", the fic will be rewritten like this chapter (and those going forward). Moreover, I'm thinking of changing the MC's "public" name to Samuel, with Sam as a shorthand.

Remember how I've written that wormholes and quantum entanglement might be related? Even citing that one article. Well, check out the YT video titled "How Physicists Created a Holographic Wormhole in a Quantum Computer" (part of link: /watch?v=uOJCS1W1uzg). It might be even more serious and "factual" than we thought, possibly leading to a "quantum gravity" theory.

Now, replying to some reviews:

Mark1. The Atlas Foundation isn't bound to any polity, especially not the Systems Alliance. Don't forget that they have Benezia on their side, to help with that, and also there's Illium. So, no one can really tell his group to do shit, as the MC would want to use their own laws and systems against them. Maybe I'll write about it in the next chapter.

Moi. The number of war assets/forces will be left for the Reaper War. It's a waste to "figure it out" beforehand.

Guest asked me why E-Reactors aren't installed on electric cars. The short answer is that it's a major waste of resources. Any eezo used directly on them would be practically doing nothing most of the time, since it'd only be used to recharge their battery for a while, then just idle afterwards. It'd be more efficient to put those E-Reactors on a recharge station, for instance, then on each individual electric car. But, don't forget, they have a Dyson Swarm, which gives crazy amounts of energy! Besides, there's always the possibility of just using a fusion reactor to power said station. Eezo is allocated where it's strictly necessary and best used.

On a side note, I didn't write this in the last chapter, but the main method of short-distance travel within the O'Neill Cylinders is public transportation, because their cities are designed with people as their priority, not cars. You can imagine city designs such as "Superblocks" or others that allow people access to all necessary facilities by walking distance. You can check out Adam Something's videos on youtube regarding transportation and city design. They're quite good, I'd say.

Another Guest. No, there's no scorched earth tactics planned, if you're thinking about stuff like planting a nuke in the middle of a colony (as an example), then blowing it up in case of a defeat.

Ranmauzo. Don't forget to close the door on the way out!

…

Question(s) for my readers:

1) What do you guys think of Garvug's CDN storyline? By the way, if you don't know about the story, you can find the link to it on that planet's wiki page.

…

When is the next Chapter coming? When it's ready!

Btw, I'll proofread this chapter tomorrow (temporary message).