Stepping into the conference room early the next morning, Mel did her best not to stiffen. Athena, Red, Eír, and 'the Wolf' had already come on board, and were waiting within. Dae was walking at her side, and Mel felt the softest mental brush, the spiritual equivalent of touching someone on the shoulder to reassure them. She was grateful for the comfort, for how well that Dae knew her.

Vina was already present, having escorted the others on board. As well, Liara, Sam, Lily, Irie, and Gerty had gathered. EDI and Joker stood at the far end of the table, with an unfamiliar synthetic that could only be Pio.

They had altered its chassis. It no longer looked like EDI- no longer looked female. Instead, the form had been changed to be more neutral, neither male nor female, and bearing a small, bipedal silhouette that was molded after no particular species but rather following the galactic guidelines for the appearance of all legal AI mechs save the geth. It was looking around the room with bland curiosity, focusing its attention only when Melara spoke.

"Sihra is in the midst of a communication with her home world," she said, cutting through the soft murmurs and drawing all eyes. "She will join us shortly. Besides her, I believe we are all here. We may as well begin. EDI, if you will."

"We have successfully married the alien AI with both the new software and hardware platforms, as well as integrating the nanites bearing the Id program remnants taken from Captain Shepard's brain."

"I thought the Id program was going to be separated from the nanites," Mel said, brows knitting. "You integrated them completely?"

"We could not extract the Id program remnants without causing further degradation. As well, we needed the extra processing of the nanites for full successful integration. I understand your concern, and we have addressed it. Shepard's own private memories and personality engrams were removed and saved in the Freedom's databases before the nanites were integrated. Pio will have neither your father's personal memories, nor her personality."

"Emotional difficulties aside, more's the pity," the Wolf said, speaking for the very first time since they had encountered her the previous day. "Shepard's memories and skills, in a nearly indestructible synthetic form, could be invaluable if we are truly facing another war."

"My father has fought her war," Melara said. "It would never truly be her, and she deserves to rest undisturbed. If we are inevitably facing war then it is our war, and we are the ones that must fight it."

She looked over at the synthetic, who was listening quietly. "Pio- is this the name that you wish to be addressed by?"

"It is adequate. It is who I am."

"I notice you have picked a neutral gender. Unfortunately, in our galactic language, most personal references are gender-prompted. To refer to something as 'it' is, culturally, to diminish it in a way. However we will respect your wishes in your personal pronouns. Which would you like to be called?"

Pio glanced at EDI, then back at Melara. "I think…he?"

Melara nodded. "Then we will refer to you as the masculine. Pio, did EDI make what we need clear to you? Are you aiding us of our own free will?"

"I am built to serve," he said with what sounded like a shrug in his voice.

"I understand that, but here- in this time and among our people- no one is coerced to be a slave, or a servant- not in the boundaries of the law, at any rate. If you choose to aid us it must be of your own free will, because it is what you desire to do. You have autonomy now, an individual identity, and with that comes an intrinsic right to forge your own life and destiny. Do you understand?"

It looked hesitant, once again glancing around at everyone as if gauging all the different expressions and reactions. In truth, their faces alone probably baffled it- they would look little to nothing like any sentient species it had previously encountered.

"I…believe so. I am…would like? I would like to help."

"All right. And EDI explained the situation we face?"

"Yes. She explained how much time has passed, and that you have broken the quarantine."

"You know of the quarantine? You're familiar with it?"

"Yes."

"Tell us everything you can about why it was made, and those who made it. Start from the beginning. What happened that caused the quarantine to be necessary?"

"According to my mission records, the Iovino and other likeminded full-tech species tapped into the Foundation Levels. The results were catastrophic, and if not contained would lead to the chain reaction collapse of our universe."

"That statement just created about a dozen more questions on its own," Dae said softly.

"Can you clarify?" Athena asked. "Full-tech species?"

"Yes. The species who were attempting to bring the universal community back to fully mechanical based technology. They believed that forced genetic manipulation and cybertech biology was detrimental, both to the species that it affected and those grown for the purpose. They considered it a form of eugenic slavery."

Lily, standing near her mother, lifted her brows. "Are you…you're talking about full cyberorganic mergence!"

"Yes. It is the…was, the basis of most of universal technology."

"For us laymen?" Melara asked. Lily looked at her.

"It is a rather radical field, nothing beyond theory at this point. Basically, it is believed that samples from organic DNA can be married seamlessly on the genetic, atomic level with advanced technology- tech capable of adapting and growing right along with its organic host, right down to cellular and mitochondrial replication. Basically, you could conceive, birth, and grow a synthetic/organic life-form, rather than build a machine."

Melara stared at Pio. "That is the common universal technology?"

"Yes," he said. "Some of our simple technology is full mechanical- no organic components, but that is rare. You…do not have this tech?"

"No, we do not," Liara said. "We have made some small movements in that direction with protein-encoded computer chips and full sentient AIs such as EDI and Joker, but not what you are describing."

"Do you have an example of this tech?" Melara asked.

"Yes," he said, and his eyes lit up. A holographic projection appeared hovering over the conference table. It looked like a large, black tear-drop shape. Without comparison for size it was impossible to tell how big or small it was, but it was as dark and perfectly seamless as a falling drop of oil, laid on its side.

"This is one form of gavoom," he said. "You retrieved me from the databanks of my gavoom."

"It is a ship?" Dae said with a soft gasp.

"Yes. Originally, it was a life form that evolved from proteins on asteroids," Pio replied. "An animal species, one of the few who could live and travel in space. The original life form was captured and selectively bred, merged with cybertech on an atomic level. Now, it is both animal and machine. It lives, grows, breeds, and can die, however it also possesses a computer system as part of its nervous system, and contains a computer pilot link up. It has no individual autonomous thought, no brain structure. It interfaces with a Pilot, and eventually, the Pilot grows into its brain. Each gavoom is equipped with millions of my kind. We act as nerve impulses, immune system, repair protocol, computer maintenance, and energy transference. We also aid in the incorporation of the Pilot and facilitate thought-pulse atomic manipulation control."

"This…we could spend eons just discussing tech. Can you transfer this information to EDI?" Melara asked. "EDI, can you break it down quickly for us?"

There was a pause as EDI and Pio met eyes, a silent exchange happening. Then EDI looked at Melara. "The ships were created as the 'body'. They have no independent thought or function, and left on their own, with no Pilot and no Pio, they would quickly die. With the Pios' help they maintain basic life functions as well as ship functions, both the organic and the cybernetic. The Pilot is a fully organic creature that voluntarily integrates with the ship and becomes its 'brain'. The process really is quite fascinating. After an extensive period of training, the selected Pilot moves aboard their chosen ship and interfaces with the system. After the interface is joined, the Pio travel to the organic body and begin to integrate that with the ship's systems as well. Eventually, the ship and its Pilot become one being, completely merged on an organic and inorganic level. The Pilot can, in emergencies, remove itself from the rest of the ship, but it is an unusual circumstance. The expectation is, once the Pilot is integrated, they are integrated for life, part of an entirely new cyberorganic life form."

"Living ships, with living minds," Liara said softly. "But all the benefits of technology and supercomputer processing."

"Your Pilot died with your ship," Melara said, looking at Pio.

"No," he replied. "My ship did not have a Pilot. My ship was young, and a Pilot had not yet integrated. My ship was stolen by the Iovino and taken here to fight the Akasi- the gavoom you call 'Reapers'."

"So a ship can be piloted without the pilot becoming fully integrated?" Dae asked.

"Yes," said Pio. "An organic mind can interface with the gavoom without becoming fully integrated, so long as the temporary Pilot flags the system."

EDI clarified. "Without a specific flag alert sent into the systems, the Pio will automatically assume that any organic mind accessing the gavoom systems is the intended permanent Pilot. They will begin integration. However the gavoom still need to be moved around and guided, perhaps shipped to other locations, even before they are fully mature or have a selected Pilot, so the less…invasive…and temporary control must be necessary without full integration."

"I have a file image of the Pilot of another ship," Pio said, "if you would like to view for reference."

"I'd like to see it," Melara replied. The holographic projection changed from the sleek, black ship to another image. There was a mild, almost universal recoil around the table as eyes widened at the sight.

The creature was unlike anything Melara had before seen. It reminded her mostly of a cephalopod- cables, structures and 'limbs' sprouting out like tentacles from all over its body, some as big as pillars. It was impossible to see what species the Pilot had been before integration, only a small set of arms seemed to still be recognizable. Its head had mostly been replaced with a smooth, glass-like dome above a gaping, wither-lipped mouth.

"This Pilot forcibly removed herself from her gavoom when it was critically injured beyond revival," Pio said.

"Could she return to her normal form?" Liara asked.

"No, the integration is permanent. I do not know what her fate was, but most Pilots who are forced to remove themselves from their ships are recovered, and assigned a new ship that has finished maturing. It is likely this was done with her."

Melara shook her head. "All right. Fascinating as all of this is, we need to move on. What we now know is that the ships that may be coming to investigate the removal of our quarantine will be fully sentient vessels in their own right, capable of reflexive combat without the delay of orders going through a helm. They can act, counteract, and react as fast as thought. If their weapons are anywhere near that kind of tech, even a handful of these vessels will be able to decimate one of our entire fleets quickly. Pio, do you know of the best and fastest way to take down a fully armed gavoom ship?"

"My vessel was not intended for combat," he said. "It was a mere transport, with limited weapon capabilities. I can provide little in the way of combat suggestions."

"Then forget combat suggestions," Irie said. "There must be technological weaknesses. An engine core, perhaps? Ways to bring down shields, or weapon systems?"

He cocked his head thoughtfully. "Cutting a gavoom off from its energy supply would weaken it quite quickly, make its responses sluggish. However, there is no internal energy source, no…engine? The gavoom metabolizes energy directly from its environment through solar or radiative absorption into its systems."

"We saw that with Eír's biotics," Melara said. "Sounds like attrition or starvation will be our best bet then; either hit it hard and fast enough to get through any shields and tear the damn thing apart, or find a way to stop it absorbing ambient energy to feed its weapons and internal systems. What about the people that we'll be up against? Pio, what can you tell us about the Brasa?"

"My purpose was not for politics or anthropology," he said. "I can tell you little that you do not already know. However, I do have a file picture of the Brasa, as well as several other species-"

"Bring it up."

The grotesque, disembodied Pilot vanished, and was replaced by a pair of new images. Both were clearly insectile, with hard black chitonous armor. One was slightly larger than the other, with alarming splashes of yellow and red along its hide. Six legs lined with wicked looking spines supported a low slung body and a long, arching tail capped with a pair of nasty, sharp looking barbs. The upper body seemed to lift into almost a humanoid shape, with a muscular torso and two obvious arms. Two more limbs were attached near the crest of its shoulders, small but barbed as well. These two seemed almost vestigial, not worth much use. The heads of both creatures were flat and narrow, with wide serrated jaws and six relatively small eyes clustered between two much larger, faceted eyes.

"They look like predatory arachnids," Liara said, fascinated. "Close to the Tuchankan fire-biter or the Earth scorpion. The differences between these two…sexual dimorphism?"

"The one on the right is male, the one on the left female," Pio said with a nod. The female was the one with the bright colors.

"We have an insectile species in our galaxy as well," Melara said. "The rachni."

"It would stand to reason that most species in the universe are of an invertebrate nature," Eír said. "Invertebrates, even in our own galaxy, outnumber other types of species literally billions to one. That we have so few sentient insectile species probably marks our galaxy as rather unusual."

"Keep in mind too, Aunt Mel-" Lily said, looking at her. "We're looking at the Brasa the way they were forty million years ago. They may look little to nothing like that now, if they even still exist."

"I understand. Pio, culturally what can you tell us about the Brasa?"

"They are highly intelligent and a predatory species. They are formidable warriors but they are ambush hunters at heart, which makes them very cunning. They have little in the way of good opinion of other species not as cunning or domineering as they. Before the First Revolution, the Brasa had overtaken most of the known universe, stripping millions of planets of their natural resources and enslaving countless species. During the Revolution they were nearly driven to extinction. The surviving members of the species had to make accommodations and alter their behavior patterns in order to be allowed to exist. Eventually, they were allowed to join the newly formed Senate, and used their cunning to become one of its loudest and most powerful voices."

"This is not exactly in keeping with what we learned yesterday, from Id," Melara said. "A highly cunning and predatory species does not sound like the kind that would create the Reapers…at least, not for the purposes Id claimed they were created for."

"I do not understand," Dae said.

"Well, Id said that the Reapers were designed as arks, to harvest and then archive not only the genetic material but also the culture and history of a given sentient species. Granted, the harvesting itself is horrific, but allowing the harvested species a potential new start does not sound in keeping with a highly intelligent predatory species that nearly dominated the entire universe. You'd think they'd just let the Reapers slaughter everyone, stop the problem once and for all; sterilize the 'infected' galaxies completely of life, not…nurture these Cycles."

"Sadly, I do not know more in the way of specifics," Pio said. EDI looked at Mel.

"Pio said that the Brasa have become one of the most powerful voices in the Senate, but that does not mean there are not voices just as powerful, or that they can operate with autonomy toward their own ends. Chances are, others in the Senate tempered the Brasa's true solution, and this is the compromise that was developed. We know that the Iovino, and others, stood up against even the injustice of this decision; an even more violent and complete one would most certainly have met with intense protest."

"Perhaps the Natee," Pio said, and the image shifted again. Two more alien images appeared. These two were mammalian, tall and athletic, bipedal creatures. Their forward facing eyes spoke of predator as well (most species that advanced to sentience were by nature either predatory or at the very least, semi-predatory). They had wide, copious ears that spilled almost like folds of cloth, or hair, over their shoulders. Like most mammals, these were very obviously male and female, the latter being smaller and with obvious breasts. "The Natee are relatively peaceful, diplomatic, and value all life. They are grave enemies of the Brasa and protested their inclusion back in the Senate. They have a strong following among the body politick. It would be in keeping with their behavior to temper the Brasa and try and preserve what culture and life they could."

"Perhaps, but as far as I'm concerned, they're just as culpable as any of them in the devastation of the Cycles," Melara said stiffly. "Like the Brasa, they haven't come up with a solution to this 'infection'. They've still let these galaxies be swept under the rug, letting trillions die over and over and over again with no intention of putting a stop to it. Under these circumstances, the Brasa's idea of complete sterilization would have been kinder."

"Pio," Irie said, "You mentioned earlier that the 'tech species'- like the Iovino- tapped into the 'Foundation Levels'. What are these, and is that a reference to this 'infection' we were quarantined for? Do you know what it is?"

"I cannot speak to the exact nature of the cause of the quarantine. I do not have that information," Pio said. "It is not in my limited mission records, and if the Id program was aware of its nature, that information has been corrupted. I cannot access it. The Foundation Levels are-"

It broke off as the conference room door opened. All eyes shifted as Sihra strode in, grunting a faint greeting. "My communication just ended. I did not intend to be so delayed-"

Pio suddenly made a high-pitched sound, startling everyone. It was not a sound that an organic voice could make, yet it came from its suddenly gaping mouth, its eyes flashing rapidly as it stared at the rakir. The whine cut high enough that it abruptly became painful, everyone present cringing against it. Sihra bellowed in pain, slapping her hands over her ears.

"Make the damn thing stop!" she barked.

Then the whine broke off, the light dying in Pio's eyes as it slumped forward.