Chapter 7

The energy still hung in the air, they could feel it.

All six of the metal clad machines stood over the large fissure in the ground and stared at the empty hole. There was no reason to speak, for they were all linked, scanning every inch of the area.

"It was here. The last Oan ring burrowed itself here, this whole time.Why could we not sense it?" one M'an Hunter asked itself through the neural network the others were connected to.

"It hid its signature, waited until discovered by an organic to reactivate."

"Oan energy has left the planet, but a trail could still be found, if we move quickly."

"Follow the Oan energy; find the new ring-bearer."

Simultaneously, all six of the Hunters rocketed into the sky of Taetrus. Two split off from the group to follow weaker energy readings while the remaining four quickly reached the upper orbit. They each stopped, hovering in the upper atmosphere.

"Energy output readings indicate complicated construct designs."

"The Ring-Bearer is excelling, learning quickly."

"Oan energy becomes distorted once leaving the planet. Ring-bearer likely entered another vessel, powered down."

"Accessing turian ship logs. Cruiser identified as intercepting an unknown energy reading, green in nature.Owner of the unknown energy was let aboard and restrained for questioning."

"Flight path found, destination: Palaven."

"Calculating likely route. Found."

The two M'an Hunters who had divided off earlier, returned in a small freighter that had been heavily modified by Hunter tech. The four hovering in space promptly filed in through the small freighter's port hangar and took their positions, connecting into the ship via access seats. With no windows to look out to, the main screen had received the coordinates of the cruiser they were pursuing and activated all stealth systems.

The ship turned to face the systems Mass Relay, all while continually scanning for the cruiser. Disappearing through the blue energy of the Relay, the Hunters picked up the distress signal of a turian cruiser. They were on their way to Palavan when they were attacked by what appeared to be a Collector vessel.

"Interlopers" thought the Hunters all at once. They decelerated their ship and ensure stealth systems were online so that not even the Collectors could detect them. The M'an Hunters were built to be the perfect enforcers of justice, with no emotion to clout their judgement. While it was physically impossible for them to feel hatred or anger, the closest thing they could come to expressing how they felt were to call the Collectors were 'Interlopers'.

Scans showed Collector s were preparing their main weapon against the Turian cruiser. Ocular drones swirled around the cruiser as turian fighters retreated inside its hangar bays.

"Is the Ring-Bearer aboard the Turian cruiser?"

"Accessing. They were looking for the escaped turian, designated as Kale Raynor, owner of the unidentified weapon.Current location, unknown." Then on the main view screen, a gigantic shield array began to form between the Collectors and the Turian cruiser.

"Oan energy detected. Enhance visual"

The screen focused on the glowing center of the shield array and brought up a full view of a turian dressed in a green and black uniform, bearing the symbol of the Corps. All of the M'an Hunters eyes flared with stolen emerald energy. It had been far too long since they gazed upon their former master's creation.

"Engage?"

"Negative. Observe and collect data." The hunters nodded their head in unison and continued to watch the screen. The Collectors had fired their main weapon and the M'an Hunters watched as the golden beam splintered across the Ring-Bearer's shield.

"Impressive."

"Perhaps the ring did not choose the bearer based on chance?"

"Perhaps" the Hunters agreed as they continued to watch the scene play out. The Turian cruiser took the chance given to it by the Ring-Bearer and left the system. The Bearer then dropped the shield and began on a course directly for the Collector vessel. The M'an Hunters watched closely as the turian cut his way through the hull of the Collector ship and disappear inside of it.

"Continue to monitor the Interlopers communication network."

"Now we wait."

"You are vermin"

"Huh?" exhaled Kale, as he let himself float back to the ground, keeping his green aura around him. The Collector in front of him had transformed, it looked very different from the small army of them standing behind it. Its four eyes now glowed a bright yellow and it almost looked as though it was on fire, with cracks and radiant lines all over its body.

"Turian, what you face is your annihilation. You wield a weapon you cannot possibly understand.Hand over the last Oan ring and you can leave this ship with your life." The voice spoke seemingly directly into Kale's mind, for it had no mouth of any kind. Kale examined the area, looking at each Collector when he began to float in the air once more.

"How about, no? And I understand this thing just fine, from what I can tell it's a weapon based on the will of the user and trust me, I've got plenty!" Kale let out a shockwave of power in every direction, sending most the Collector drones flying back. The bigger Praetorians braced themselves from the blast and the mutated Collector simply turned to ash from the attack.

"I need to get out of here now" he thought to himself, now letting fire from the Collectors weapons be absorbed into this aura. He flew over top most of the still stunned crowed, dodging incoming beams of blue energy from the Praetorians, and looking for any type of door or exit.

"You will fail. In the end, nothing can stop the inevitable." Kale saw the familiar glow of a Collector undergoing the same transformation he had seen before as another mutated Collector flew to intercept him.

"Shepard did!" Kale yelled out as an oversized mexta-sword appeared in his hands, slicing through the Collector. The enhanced drone again turned to dark ash as Kale continued ahead. He flew through several tunnels and had the ring seal the doors behind him. Every room inside the ship looked the same to him, "Ring find me the inner hull of the ship. If I can't find an exit, I'll just make one."

"Confirmed. Inner hull located one tunnel system over."

The ring began to glow brighter when Kale pointed it in the right direction, so he flew through two more doors and found what appeared to the inner hull. It was one of the areas where the metal met the rock. Kale stretched his thoughts out with the ring and created dozens of explosives all over the inner hull's wall. Soon the entire wall was covered in disc like explosives that all chirped, ready to discharge. He could hear on the other side of the door he had just come through the horde of Collectors and just as they pierced through it, he pressed the green detonator in his palm.

In an instant, the explosion filled the entire area with green fire and debris followed by a sudden decompression. The area rapidly filled with vacuum as the drones and Praetorians were swallowed into space. Kale let the vacuum take him, flying out with the debris and bodies as he shimmered with emerald power.

Several other explosions occurred throughout the innards of the cruiser as a result of the sudden decompression. Kale took the moment and quickly surveyed open space, happy to see there were no drones after him or that the General had come back for him. "Navigate to the closest Mass Relay; we are getting out of here!" Kale shouted already accelerating into the darkness of space, leaving the Collector cruiser far behind him.

The hunters all watched in unison as an explosion of green fire burst from the hull of the Collector cruiser. They enhanced their screens and scanned among the praetorians and drones, finally spotting the turian clad in the emerald aura. Before they could plot an intercept course, the turian disappeared into the stars, likely towards the closest relay.

The hunters had anticipated this; they calculated what his next move would be and had already made the necessary preparations. Now the hunters focused their gaze onto the dormant Collector vessel.

"The Interlopers now know of the Oan ring's existence. We cannot let them communicate further with the Old Ones."

"The vessel must be destroyed."

"Agreed" communicated the hunters, beginning the firing sequence of their small ship. As one, all the hunters let the canopy open on their small ship as they floated into space. Forming a semi-circle, the six hunters held out their right hands, letting emerald power form in their palms. The stolen Oan energy gathered between them and was finally unleashed upon the massive Collector cruiser.

The beam of power streaked across space, with green lightning bolts cascading over it. The Collectors had activated their shields, but they were not enough to even stall the blast as it struck the hull and immediately began to disintegrate the metal and rocky exterior.

The Ma'n Hunters watched emotionlessly as they continued to pour their power through the Collector ship. Explosions were igniting all over the cruiser until there was nothing left but wreckage and stone.

"Sweep the area, no survivors" five of the hunters nodded and rocketed towards the debris field as one stayed behind and positioned itself for transmission.

"Interloper cruiser destroyed. Ring-bearer en route to Citadel. Proceed as planned."

Kale had rushed through the Mass Relay exited it in a flash of blue light. He now streaked towards the Citadel, unsure of what may await him there. Before he entered he relay, he considered going straight to the Hierarchy, but did not know if they would believe him or simply try to arrest him again. And while the turian council member still may call for his arrest, perhaps the other members would actually listen to what he had to say.

He made his way closer the gigantic space station and reconfigured his aura so that standard scanners would not be able to track him. Kale dimmed his light and slipped into one of the open hangars, passing through the thin shielding. Wanting to keep a low profile, he once again let the ring revert to an invisible state and replaced the Corps uniform with his own flight attire.

Kale did not know his way around, having only visited the Citadel one time for a military conference. He stopped and watched all the different species walking around in the Wards, never having seen so many in one place. He then noticed an information desk and briefly looked at a map of the Citadel, displayed for tourists and first time visitors. He knew he needed to get to the Presidium and so caught a skycar to get there even quicker.

Arriving on the Presidium, he noticed the council was already in session, discussing minor inquires and topics. There was a small crowd gathered, only a few media cameras hovering around and other officials who happened by.

"Probably a good thing, make a bit of a scene, grab their attention and then lay it on them" he thought to himself, making his way up the stairs and past the crowd. That is when he heard the perfect cue.

"Are there any new matters to discuss?" asked the asari councilor, addressing the people directly, opening the floor.

"Ahem" Kale coughed, raising his arm slightly. The council now focused down onto him.

"Yes and you are?"

"Colonel Kale Raynor of the Taetrus Air Battalion, Ma'am" as soon as he finished, there were some whispers amongst the crowd and Kale noticed a scowl form on the turian councilor's face.

"Colonel, I know you. I have read the reports regarding you. The last anyone saw you; you were fending off a supposed Collector attack with an alien weapon you discovered on Taetrus. Can you explain this?" asked the turian councilor. Figuring to go all in, Kale let the ring wash away his flight suit and replace it with the Corps uniform. He now glowed green and began to hover above the crowed that backed away from him.

"I do not deny these allegations of discovering a relic on Taetrus. I do not deny that I did flee from authorities and then save everyone on board that cruiser when Collectors showed up" Kale explained, letting the ring amplify his voice so everyone could hear him. "But I am to show you what I found on the Collector ship, it backs up everything Shepard had reported when he fought the Collectors. It's all true!"

The four council members glared at the turian who was now floating at eye level to them. "Call security; ensure these people are escorted out of the Citadel Tower immediately" commanded the salarian council member, while the others nodded.

"What? Are you crazy? I have battle patterns, biology reports, weapon schematics all proving what I am saying!" Kale exclaimed, inching closer to the council. The council waited for a moment as Citadel Security escorted all the remaining personnel out of the tower and to the Presidium, then glared at the turian.

"Stay where you are Colonel. Your information cannot be verified, we have no reason to believe what you are saying is true. The cruiser that picked you up on Taetrus circled back to find you, but found only the debris of the Collector vessel. The General scanned the area and determined an extremely powerful energy source was used to obliterate the Collector vessel. Who knows what could have been found on that ship? And you blew it up!" scowled the asari councilor.

"Blew it up?" Kale repeated, looking away in disbelief. "There is no way that explosion I caused to get out did anything but scratch that ship. Why did the General come back for me? I must have just missed him." Kale looked back to the council members, "I did not blow that thing up. I distracted it long enough for the General to get away and then infiltrated it to gather more intel. I fought my way through them-" Kale was then cut off by the turian counselor.

"Using an unknown weapon of alien origin."

"Yes, but trust me, this thing is not a danger. It responds to my commands, I control it" Kale said, immediately regretting his words. The council now looked at him as though maybe the ring was controlling him, twisting his thoughts.

"Security, apprehend this fugitive at once!" yelled the human counselor, speaking for the first time.

Kale then saw C-Sec aiming their weapons up at him as his green aura flared to life instinctively. They began yelling commands for him to come down to the ground as the council began to depart, leaving their podiums.

"No wonder nothing ever gets done around here if you guys are the ones making the decisions. Screw this!" Kale sneered as he rose further in the air and started to make his way towards the exit. C-Sec continued to order him to stand down and then began to open fire on him, but the shots did nothing against the protective aura.

"Ring, find me an exit, I'm done here" jeered Kale twisting downwards through the narrow corridors.

"Proceed 54 meters forward to a service shaft that will take you back to the Wards of the Citadel."

"Copy" Kale said, more to himself than the ring. He was a fool. He knew better than to just rush in like that and begin demanding people listen to him. He knew now that everything he did just now only hurt his credibility even more.

"Now I am more of a fugitive than I was before. This is not good.I need to talk to someone who will listen.If the Council won't and the Hierarchy won't, who's left?"Then a thought occurred to Kale, one he should have had from the minute he left the Collector vessel, "Shepard! I'll go directly to Shepard, tell him what I found, he would definitely know what to do next."

"Ring, are we still in range to access Alliance records? I need the location of Commander Shepard" Kale asked, flying over the Wards now, looking for the nearest dock.

"Affirmative, while on the Presidium the Council's networks were downloaded. Accessing.Commander Shepard is currently on shore leave in an Alliance facility on Earth in the northern hemisphere in Vancouver, Canada."

"Get us there as fast as you can" Kale smiled, itching to see just how fast the ring could go.