The Normandy SR-4, like its three predecessors, was considered one of the most advanced frigates ever constructed. It was larger than its forebears, but capable of FTL speeds nearly twice that of the original Normandy, and with a weapons compliment that would bring most of her contemporary battle cruisers to shame.

Though the captain's quarters were still traditionally called the Nest, unlike the SR-2 and the SR-3, they were not the only quarters now on the highest deck. Her XO, Vina Karnataki, had rooms across a small lobby to the fore of the ship from the Nest, the pair adjoined to a small set of guest quarters for esteemed passengers, and a gym. What had once been the XO quarters on the crew deck were now taken up with the more advanced stealth systems.

By the time of the SR-3, nearly every military vessel in the Alliance- and out of it- had adopted the SR-2s cutting edge stealth systems- systems now considered common and archaic. Full cloaks, once considered too rough and expensive to be feasible for use on ships, were now installed on the SR-4. With a single thought, Joker could literally turn the new Normandy completely invisible to the naked eye and to most scans.

As she rode the lift up to the Nest, Melara found herself thinking about the first time she'd set foot on a ship named Normandy. She'd only been ten years old, and everything had looked so huge to her. Even at that age, stepping onto her decks, feeling the pulse of the engines vibrating beneath her feet, remembering all the stories her parents and their friends had told her- it was like stepping into magic to the young asari. She'd had no doubt at all from that moment as to what she wanted to do with her life.

You have too much of your father in you, her mother had said nearly every day as the young Melara grew. Most of the time it was said as a compliment, an affection and a recognition of Mel's drive to be a soldier. Sometimes, when she was being an especially stubborn or willful daughter, it was said with exasperation.

Mel always took it as an honor. Her father had always been her unquestionable hero. If she lived to do even a tenth of what Del Shepard had done…

The lift doors parted, and she crossed the small lobby to the door of the Nest, stepping inside. Passing her fingertips over her omni-tool, she accessed the hard-light projectors and activated the call from Navis. As she stepped down into the main living area, a form materialized in its center.

"Dae, I'm sorry for the delay," Mel said as her bondmate fully appeared. Navis stepped forward, catching her hand.

"Only you would apologize for finally locating the missing Prilekk and retrieving her," she said. "She lives?"

"For the moment, but if we don't get her back to the facility in time…even then, I don't hold out much hope. She's…what they did to her…no creature- sentient or otherwise-should have to endure that."

"Matron Neska and the others are prepared for her arrival. If anyone can help her-"

Melara blinked. "Are you at the research base?"

"Yes. I just arrived not twenty minutes ago- about the same time the report came in. I am happy to say we were able to discover the slavers' landing site on Nakira, though we have not yet discovered truly how they got through the security net. There is some surveillance to examine but…those smarter than I shall have to interpret what can be seen. To be honest, I cannot really understand it."

Melara frowned. Daenys was hardly a stupid asari, not by any stretch of the imagination. That she felt what she had seen on surveillance was beyond her understanding, then it was of great concern.

Dae searched Melara's face a moment, then lifted a hand and gently rested it on her cheek. "They said you found an infant as well?"

"Yes. Lily holds out even less hope that the child will live. His mother was just as starved as the Prilekk, and horribly tortured. If I ever get my hands on Moore…"

"His?" Dae asked sadly. Mel nodded.

"Yet another male rakir lost to senselessness," Melara growled, before she turned away from Dae and went to her drink service. Much as she wanted to pour a whiskey, it was not time yet and she was still on duty. Instead, she simply got a glass of water.

Dae walked over, resting her arms around her love's shoulders, whispering in her ear. "He is not dead yet, Mel. Do not give up hope. Rakir- even infants- are stubborn and strong."

Daenys was not truly there, of course. What touched Melara was simply a hard-light projection of her. It allowed physical contact but it lacked the warmth and the smell and the vibrant feel of life that the real thing provided. On the research base, Dae was actually holding a similar hard-light projection of Mel- one just as cold.

Still, the contact did bring some measure of comfort. Mel could not fathom how her parents had endured their long days apart before the war, with only soft light holographic representations to interact with.

"That they are," she said neutrally, looking into her water. "Either way, that particular is out of my hands. Whether or not Neska is able to save the baby and the Prilekk, we have to make our case before the Council to get the rakir uplifted. The very fact that Moore is taking them off their home world for the slave trade, combined with the reality of the Affliction, should bolster our case."

"We would have a much stronger chance of a successful treaty if the Prilekk is still breathing. Much as I hate to use a living creature as a bargaining chip, our greatest hope with Sokka is to give her back her aunt."

"Yes, however it is looking less and less likely that we'll be able to do that. Damn that ass Moore anyway!"

Dae was silent a long moment, merely holding her bondmate, before she said, "Are you going to call your mother tonight?"

"Of course," Mel said. "Lily wants to be there."

"I would like to be there as well, if possible. I know that you like to spend part of it alone, and I do not wish to intrude on that-"

Setting her glass down, Mel turned and wound her arms around the other asari's waist. "Hey. You are never an intrusion, Dae. Mama would love to see you too. You know she considers you another daughter."

"Your family has always been good to me," she said with a gentle smile. Though the urge was there, Dae did not lean forward and kiss her. Kissing something as cold and lifeless as a hard-light projection was pointless, especially when she would be seeing the real deal shortly. "I had better help them prepare for your arrival. I just…today is an important day, and I wanted to be sure you were all right."

"Hey, you know me," Mel said with a faint smile. "I'll be just fine. I'll see you soon, Dae- hopefully with a pair of living rakir to deliver."

"I will be waiting." She drew back a little, giving Mel's hand one more squeeze before the call disconnected, the hard-light body dissolving and fading away.

The research and surveillance base was built on the dark side of Nakira's largest moon. Though the rakir were not yet to the technological level to have invented telescopes, the base had been built with very long term observation in mind. As with other primitive sentient species the Council kept tabs on, the base would remain in use until the rakir developed the earliest forms of space flight. Once that happened, the research base would be dismantled, and moved to one of the other planets in the Nakira system, for more long-distance observation. First Contact would not be made until their space flight had developed to the point they were capable of leaving their own system.

That was the usual idea, at any rate. Unfortunately, due to the Affliction and now the slaver raids, the rakir were not going to make it to that evolutionary stage on their own. Without interference from the other, more advanced species in the galaxy, the rakir would be extinct within the next century. Sad as it was, pending extinction wasn't always grounds enough for a species to be uplifted, and the researchers had been trying to make a case for exception for the rakir for over a decade now.

As horrible as the slaver raids were, they might just tip that balance. If rakir were being removed from their home world, uplifting became one solution to stem that tide. It was either that, or be faced with a specially bred slave race kept on the black market, as it would be impossible to track down every kidnapped rakir. Some would slip through, and no species deserved to exist only as slaves. Moore's actions might be just enough to tip the Council's hand finally in their favor.

Melara had never intended to get involved in the political decision of a species' uplifting. As a Council Spectre, however, she was sent where the need was greatest, and when wind had reached the Citadel that rakir were being abducted, she was sent to investigate. That was nine months ago. During that time, she'd learned a great deal about the rakir, and had even managed to learn the basics of their language. Personally, she grew to greatly admire their culture, and what they as a people had endured. If the galaxy lost them, Melara had no doubt it would be all the poorer for it.

Miraculously, both the Prilekk and the infant were still alive when they landed at the base, and both were quickly passed into the hands of medics that had the training, expertise, and equipment to treat them. Lily went with them as they were taken to the base infirmary, Dae and the project head, Matron Neska, staying to meet with Melara and Vina, directing them toward a set of offices.

"Having the Prilekk alive gives us a huge edge," Neska said as they entered. "Sokka will consider her safe return worth a thousand treaties."

"Is there still a danger that the Ubuuta will think we are responsible for her aunt's abduction and torture?" Vina asked.

"So long as Sihra is capable of speech, no. Rakir cannot lie to each other to begin with. A lie releases tiny amounts of stress hormone and the rakir's incredibly sensitive sense of smell picks them up immediately. Even if they could lie, Sihra's honor would not allow it. We saved her life, and so long as she's aware enough to know that and affirm it, Sokka will not doubt us."

"What about the infant?" Melara asked. "If he lives, well…surely the Ubuuta would be even more grateful at his return, especially considering he's male."

"Sadly, no," Neska said, her brow creasing with unease as she gestured at them to sit. Taking a seat herself, she sighed. "We have tried to track down the name of the other female you found, the infant's mother. We have been able to identify only one female known to have a full pouch that has disappeared from Nakira. DNA samples will confirm her identity, but we believe she's most likely to be Gortada Renka from Lefordikri. She vanished shortly before the Prilekk, and her House believes she simply departed for another village."

"Is that common?"

"It is not uncommon," Neska said. "With fertile males in such short supply, they cannot rely on actual pairing any more. Traditionally, rakir pair off monogamously, much like humans ,turians, or asari. While a male or a female may dally with others through their adolescence, once they have chosen a mate they mate for life. Culturally, it has been extremely distasteful for them to have to put that aside in order to continue their species, but as more and more males are Stunted, they have no choice. Fertile males are far too valuable to limit to a single female. The moment she gave birth to a male infant, Renka did what many young females do…she travelled to another village, to stay with an allied House that has no more fertile males. The hope being, of course, that her male infant would turn out to be fertile. If so, that allied House would then have adopted him in and have access to an unrelated male to add to the bloodline. The chances he'd be fertile are extremely slim, of course- almost nonexistent, but they are desperate, and any hope is hope they cling too."

"But she was taken before she could get there."

"Yes. She left her home to make the journey, and never arrived. Now we know what happened to her. Sadly for the infant- fertile or not- he will never be welcome back."

"What? Why not?" Mel asked, startled.

"You have educated yourself a great deal on the rakir, Captain, but there is still much you do not know. The only value an infant that young has is to its parents, and even that is cursory. Babies are not considered rakir, only…potential. In a highly predatory species of their advancement, it is foolish to devote time and resources to the disabled, sickly, helpless, or weak- and there are none more helpless and weak than young children. A rakir is not considered a rakir, with any rights, until it is old enough to leave the pouch and eat meat instead of milk- and it is even worse for any child that is taken from its mother's pouch before it is old enough to leave on its own. If he lives, he will be considered weak…pouchless. It is a stigma that will follow him to adulthood. They will consider him to have survived not because of his own strength, but because others coddled him. To any rakir, even the Ubuuta, that baby is absolutely nothing. Even being male, he is nothing. His only value lay while he was in the pouch. Taken from it, he is a non-entity. He will never have a name, a soul, or any honor in their eyes. They wouldn't even bother to kill him quickly, they'd just leave him to lay in the dirt until he starved, died of exposure, or was carried away by an animal."

"That is horrible!" Daenys said, astonishment and anger both coloring her voice.

"To us, yes, it is," Neska said. "To the rakir, it is just a harsh reality of life, the way they evolved. The weak die, the strong grow and breed, and so they become stronger. Perhaps once they are uplifted that attitude will change, but for now, it is just a sad aspect of their day to day struggle to live. No rakir will accept that baby."

"So what'll happen to it? If it lives, I mean?" Vina asked.

"I do not know, to be honest. It is possible one of my staff will adopt him. If he lives we will make sure he is cared for, but sadly, it is impossible to return him to his people. Still, having an infant male that young…he may help us to determine just what it is that triggers the rakir males to become Stunted when they hit puberty. Whether they accept him or not, he just may hold the key to curing their Affliction. Only time will tell."

Dae still looked upset and greatly disturbed. Reaching under the table, Melara took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "What about the surveillance my wife mentioned? Moore had some way to get through the security grid-"

"Yes, but it is incredibly puzzling. That is what I wished to discuss with you."

She touched a command on the table, and a holographic image of the surveillance footage appeared hovering over it. It showed deep woods, so thick it was nearly jungle. Melara knew that once it became clear someone was getting through the outer grid surrounding the planet, they had created a secondary grid on the surface…something the rakir would not trip or even discover, but that would set off alarms in the research base that someone who wasn't supposed to be there had appeared. This new grid surrounded the major rakir settlements and a few of the smaller ones.

On the holograph, the grid energy was displayed as a faint shimmering red field. As they watched, a small animal crept through it without hesitation or alarm, before disappearing into the underbrush. A few minutes later, some new figures strode into view.

Melara's look blackened. "That is Moore," she said, noting the man in the lead.

"Yes, and they are carrying tranq weapons and stunners capable of rendering even a fertile male unconscious in milliseconds."

They watched as the men approached the field and then halted. They could see it, even though to a rakir's unique eyes it would be completely invisible. Moore stood a couple of feet from it, then pulled something out of his belt. Though she could see it quite clearly, Melara had no idea what it was. He held it toward the grid, and a huge section of the red curtain simply vanished. They stepped through, and it resumed immediately on their heels.

"It sounded no alarm," Neska told her. "We had no indication whatsoever they were there. By the time Navis recovered this footage, they were hours gone. Fortunately, this particular foray seems to have been fruitless for them. When they pass back through they are empty handed."

"Can I get a closer look at the device?" Melara asked. Neska touched a command and the image returned to Moore, zooming in closely on the thing in his hand.

It looked like some kind of thin slab of deeply black stone- onyx, perhaps, or obsidian. It had no controls or interface she could see. He simply held it up, and the barrier vanished.

"I have never seen anything like it," Neska told her.

"Nor have I. Whatever it is, we need to find Moore and get it away from him. If it can halt your security grid, it could be it's capable of more."

"I thought that Moore was dead," Neska said, blinking at her. "That a body was discovered bearing his dog tags?"

"We found a body and it was wearing his tags," Melara said. "However Lily did a DNA cross-check with one of Moore's samples…it wasn't him. Chances are he put the tags on that body in an attempt to make us think he'd been killed. Even he had to know it would not buy him much time."

"I see. Still, now that we know how he was getting his slavers in, we have increased security, and the Council has graciously agreed to devote two more patrol ships to Nakira space. But, it remains that our main focus has to be getting the Council to grant permission to uplift, and getting the Ubuuta to sign a treaty."

"My contacts with Omega and the Traverse underground are still in effect," Melara said. "Moore sticks his nose out anywhere and I'll hear about it. In the meantime, I'll put the Normandy on patrol in orbit as well."

"You are staying for a while, then?"

"For a while, unless I get a lead on Moore. Right now, as you said, the Prilekk is our top priority. I want to keep her safe while she's recovering. The moment we know she's going to live and speak on our behalf I want to head to the Citadel, give your evidence and put some pressure on the Council."

"I appreciate that Captain…and everything else you have done for us. The rakir will owe you a great debt if our work is successful. Thank you."