-I am going to make this with the least amount of confusion, and I am hoping that everything comes out clear at the end of the chapter. As always, BioWare owns all, and please read and review-

Kahn's Moment

Kahn stood on the bridge of the Anahaus warship rightfully named Bloodlust. It was one of the largest ships the Anahaus had created, and has enough firepower to match a Turian frigate if need be. He felt an extreme amount of pride rush through him as he stood and looked out at the stars from the main windows. Calypso had been the only home he had ever known, and now he was getting the chance to explore the galaxy. It was a much bigger place than he had expected it to have been. He allowed his youth to take a hold of him as he looked out at the stars in awe and amazement. They all looked the same, yet all shined so differently.

The journey from Calypso to this human world had not been long, but he was forced to spend much of his time with Generals Darv and Midor, trying to finalize all of the plans they had set. There was not much to this attack though. The human colony was young and had yet to really establish itself. That made it prime for such an attack, an attack that Kahn still believed he could have led himself.

He stopped and took a deep breath. His uncle was right about his youthfulness and his pride. He was still learning how to be a leader of his people, and how to fight the way the Anahaus had fought for many years. He would use this time to learn from Darv and Midor, and do his best to not let something happen to them like it did to General Odsa. Geng was already angry enough at his top generals death, so Kahn swore to himself that he would ensure none of the other Grand Generals were going to be killed. Failure to do so however, could result in his own death.

Finally, after a couple hours of waiting and preparing for this mission, the human colony came into sight. Through the main windows, Kahn could see the planet off in the distance. It looked like a small greenish-blue spec against a solid black back drop, but the closer they got to it, the more it began to take shape. Landmasses and bodies of water began to come through clearer to his eyes, and to those were with him on the bridge. The planet was a beautiful sight to behold and it was young by the looks of it. Evolution had barely gotten its grasp on this world and was slowly forming it into the planet that it was intended to be.

Kahn folded his massive arms across his muscular chest and watches as the pilots of the ship began to adjust their course with one that would suit them for landing on the planet. Darv and Midor, if they were true to their word, would be down in the bowels of the ship, preparing the Annihilators for the drop down onto the planet. They would all be put into a shuttle, that was built specifically for their impressive weight and size. Darv, Midor and himself would take a separate shuttle down just a few moments after the Annihilators leave the Bloodlust.

From what reports they had received by scouts, this should be a fairly easy operation with no casualties to any of the Anahaus. Even though dying in battle was something that was considered to be an honor by the Anahaus race, Kahn wanted to ensure that none of his men were going to be lost in a fight against a pathetic world like this one. The humans here had very few resources and per the reports, were no where near defended like the other human colonies were. This gave Kahn the advantage. The Annihilators would be able to swoop down and clear himself and the other two generals a path to greatness.

"General Kahn," came Darv's voice throughout the ships communication systems. "It is time you joined myself and Midor down in hangar. We will be dropping the Annihilators once we breach the planet's atmosphere." Kahn offered up no reply and simply began to make his way down to the hangar.

Anahaus ships were not complex in their design. They did not focus on having elaborate looking ships, only ones that were strong enough to withstand a lengthy firefight and that could destroy half an armada if need be. The Bloodlust was one of the faster ships in the Anahaus fleet, capable of outperforming any ship in the galaxy. But, there was one ship that Kahn did want to see it square off with; the Normandy. Kahn and Geng had spent many years studying the human vessel and trying to understand why it was such an idol in the eyes of many humans. Their obsession with Shepard and his ship led to the construction of the Bloodlust and other ships just like it. Kahn secretly hoped that he would get the chance to one day lead the Bloodlust against Shepard and his ship. It would be the crowning achievement of his life, if he could be the one to have killed the great Shepard.

A few moments later and Kahn was down in the hangar, watching members of the crew run around haphazardly, trying to finish preparing the soldiers going down onto the planet. The vast majority of the crew were Anahaus, but some were Salarians, Batarians, even one or two Turians. They had all been taken captive by the Anahaus and were promised life and freedom in exchange for hard labor. Freedom was never given to them though. Many of them died by various ways before they could even think about freedom. Punishment was the most common way for their slaves to die, next to a lack of food and nutrition. But when the occasional slave would reach the required amount of time served and deserved the freedom they were promised, they were taken to a quiet place on a ship or planet and killed instantly. Geng called it 'tying up lose ends'. It was a human phrase that was unfamiliar to Kahn.

"Kahn!" Darv shouted. Kahn marauded over to the other General and stood by his side. Of the Grand Generals, Kahn hated Darv the least. But he still hated him. Hated him for being who he was and how he thought of Kahn.

"Yes General," Kahn said, stopping his train of thought.

"I want you to know Kahn that unlike the others, I do not have any feelings of malice towards you," Darv said unexpectedly. "General Odsa, not to surprisingly, was the one who led the campaign of hate towards you. With him being at Geng's right hand, we had very little choice but to keep our mouths shut. But now that he is dead, there is no one that can cause you to falter except for yourself. Like we have told you many times, you are young and brash. That can cause you to think irrationally and make decisions based on a whim. You will have to learn how to approach situations tactically and if need be, use your instincts, based on the training you received.

"You are the first of your kind. You are an Annihilator. And Lord Geng has seen fit to put you above everyone else in the Anahaus army, including himself. He may not show it, but he does what he can to try and protect his nephew." Darv paused for a quick second. "That being said, all of our soldiers and now the new Annihilators will be looking to you for guidance Kahn. You will be the one they look to when they feel that Geng is no long leading them effectively." Kahn pondered on Darv's words, and they were making sense to him. "There will come a day Kahn when Geng will no longer be able to lead our people. It will be then when you must decide for yourself one of two things. Do you want to fight for your uncle's legacy, or fight for your own." Darv walked away without even looking at Kahn.

"Maybe the old fool is right," Kahn thought to himself. "I want to live out a legacy of my own." Kahn quickly shook his head and cleared his mind of such thoughts. Trying to have a legacy would mean that he would have to kill his uncle, something that no Anahaus had been able to do for many years. It was then everything became clear to Kahn. All of these years of being underneath the scrutiny of his uncle, and learning how to fight the way he wanted him to learn all became clear now. Kahn was like no other Anahaus, he was different. He was better, and bigger than all of the other Anahaus, something that had never occurred to him until now. One day his uncle would need a successor. And why should it not be him?

Meeting Part 1

Ashley Williams stood out in the Presidium, breathing the artificial air and looking out onto the lake that was used to help beautify the landscape. Two years since she remembered seeing these trees burning, and the lake in the Presidium littered with a couple of dead bodies, floating in it. Saren and his army of Geth and Krogan had demolished this now peaceful scene. They had rebuilt the statue of the Krogan that was erected in the Presidium, to have it once again serve as a reminder of the Krogan who fought against the Rachni many years ago.

Captain Riley Richardson stood next to her. He was even more handsome in the artificial light and his Alliance uniform, than he did naked and in the dark. He was nearly a foot taller than she was, something that was almost irrelevant in their previous nights engagement. And of course now he shaved off the stubble that was on his face, various parts of her body were rubbed a little red from it.

They were both in their dress apparel, she was in a blue skirt that went down to her knees, a tan pair of hosiery, a very nice pair of heels, and a blue jacket that covered up a white blouse. Outside of the jacket were the awards and medals that she had received over the years of working for the Alliance. The one she was most proud of was the one she had received for being a part of the Eden Prime War, and hunting down the traitor Saren. Of course there were others that she was fond of as well, but she felt differently about the Eden Prime War medal she had received. Riley was dressed almost identical to her, except for the skirt. He wore blue slacks and had on a blue jacket with a white shirt and tie underneath it. She was a little surprised to see that she had a few more medals and ribbons of accomplishment than he had, but of course she made no mention of it.

She brushed her hands across her skirt, which made her very uncomfortable, and tried to smooth it out. She preferred to have been in combat armor with a gun strapped on her hip. This was a different battle zone though, one that was one with words and speeches and not bullets.

"I hope you are ready to go soon," Riley said. "I am sure that your friend the Councilor is getting very impatient." Ashley sighed and stood up straight, wanting to make sure that she looked as presentable as she could.

"I am sorry for not feeling very secure in these clothes," Ashley said. "But I am trying the best I can to make myself look halfway decent."

With a sly grin Riley asked, "And what is it you do feel comfortable wearing Operations Chief?" He put his hand on her lower back, trying to act suave and cool.

"My armor Captain Richardson," she snapped back with quickly. She reached up to her head and let her jet black hair down from its bun, and flow just below her shoulders. She used her fingers to try and comb out any tangles that may have been in it and looked at Riley. "So, how do I look?"

He offered up a smile and replied, "You look amazing Miss Williams. The crown jewel of the Alliance to say the least." He was trying to hard to make her smile, but Ashley liked it. Riley had been a real gentleman the last couple of days and she felt like she owed it to him to bring him along with her to this meeting. After all, he was an Alliance Captain, and if the Councilor needed her to go on a mission, she could use his ship. She instantly felt bad for feeling like she was using Riley, but that was not the case. If she was using him for anything, it was definitely the sex.

"Thank you," she said, giving him a little curtsey. "We better get going." The two walked to an elevator that took them up one of the many stories on the Presidium and stopped, not even 10 seconds later. It was one of the fastest elevator rides Ashley had in a long while. She grinned to herself when she thought of the conversations with Shepard and Alenko on their elevator rides from the docks to C-Sec and all over the Citadel. Kaiden would tell of his biotic implants, and Ash would tell stories of her family and their history in the Navy. Shepard would normally try to keep things focused on the mission, but occasionally he would talk about his parents, and growing up bouncing from space station to space station.

"Did the councilor ever tell you what it was he wanted?" Riley asked, causing her to snap out of her stroll down memory lane.

It took a second but she was able to reply. "No. But from how is message was worded, it sounded like he could have another outreach mission for me to go on. But with Anderson, there is no telling."

"And you are sure that it is okay that I am coming along with you right?" Riley asked.

"No," she said in a monotone. "But that doesn't mean that I can't bring you anyways. I am a big girl and if I feel like I want to bring someone along with me then damn it I can do it." Riley smiled, admiring her spunk an rebelliousness. She was a piece of work, but there was something about her that he liked.

After a few seconds of going back and forth between admiration and lust for the Operations Chief, Riley fell a few paces behind her. He took a couple long strides and tried to keep up with her pace, but she walked quickly. Another moment later and they both found themselves in the office of Councilor David Anderson. The former Captain of the Normandy, and one of humanities heroes. He stood up from his desk and looked at Ashley and the man she had accompanying her. He frowned when he made eye contact with him and looked back at Ashley.

"I figured that my message was clear enough and that I wanted you to come alone," Anderson said.

"I did not get that from your message at all Councilor," Ashley retorted back with. "Riley here is a friend of mine and I simply brought him with me for a meeting with an old friend. Surely you could understand that."

"Indeed," Anderson said curtly. "David Anderson." He said offering his hand. "I am the representative of humanity on the Galactic Council."

"Captain Riley Richards of the SSV Shanghai," Riley said shaking the Councilors hand firmly.

"I have heard good things about the Shanghai," Anderson said before sitting down behind his desk. He tried to watch how the Captain and Operations Chief interacted with each other as they sat down. This relationship was surely a little more than something plutonic, but he was in position to judge. Williams was more than free to live her life however she seemed necessary, but he did not want to see a fellow man being used because a woman was offering him 'benefits'. But again, that was none of his concern, now was it the reasoning behind this meeting. Although he wanted to meet with Ashley alone, this captain could be useful to him. His relationship with Williams could make using him all the easier. It went against what he just thought about Ashley not two seconds ago, but these were more pressing matters.

"I made sure to come and meet you as you had requested Councilor," the Operations Chief said. Ashley remembered the first time she had met Councilor Anderson. At the time he was the man in charge of the Normandy, and the Geth had just touched down on Eden Prime. Fast forward two years and now he was sitting as humanities intergalactic voice.

"I appreciate the expediency," Anderson said. "I have a couple other interested parties joining us today, but until they arrive then it will be just the three of us." Ashley nodded and crossed her legs, getting comfy in the seat she was in. "The first talking point of this meeting has to do with something that Commander Shepard has discovered." Inside Ashley felt many different and conflicting emotions. She was curious about what Christian could have found, angry about how he never contacted her, and a little happy to hear his name. She had loved him. And those feelings never truly go away.

"What has he found?" Riley asked, leaning forward and placing his elbows on his knees.

Anderson paused for a moment and tried to think about how he wanted to explain everything to them. "From what I have read over the past day, Shepard has discovered a relatively unknown race of sentient beings known as the Anahaus." He quickly surveyed both of their faces to see if the mention of the Anahaus name brought out any reaction from them. "Shepard came to a couple of days ago, going on about a message that he had received. It was from a Salarian doctor, claiming to be held captive on the planet. He said that he was one of many Salarians that were there, breeding an army of Anahaus."

"Breeding them for?" Riley asked. His question was not out of ignorance, but merely needing confirmation for what he already thought." Anderson simply nodded as a reply. "How are they doing this? Are they continually forcing females to have sex with males, and then speed up their races' gestation period?"

"They are cloning an army," Anderson said. He was able to hide the irritation in his voice. "Shepard was able to rescue the doctor from the Anahaus, and Joker forwarded to me a great deal of information about the species. They are an amazing race of creatures. Not as intelligent as a Salarian, but they are stronger than a Krogan and, if they continue cloning, could have an army the size of which have never been seen."

"If they aren't smart then how are they…?" Ashley's question trailed off as she finally was able to answer it in her own mind.

Anderson answered he unfinished question, "The Salarians. From what Dr. Corson had reported, Salarian hands are just the right size necessary to work on the small cells and genes and all of that technical jargon." Anderson pulled out the OSD that had all of the information about Shepard's mission and the Anahaus on it, and placed in his projector's hard drive. The lights in the office dimmed down and the projector lit up the wall that was next to them.

"What are you showing us Councilor?" asked Williams. She shifted a little in the seat so she could see the wall without straining her neck.

"Shepard," replied Anderson. The camera was moving around intensely as if someone was running with it. Then the camera shifted down and could see someone's feet. The viewpoint was from either a visor or helmet, and it must have been worn by Shepard. He looked up and the Normandy came into view and was getting bigger and bigger each passing second. Underneath it she saw a huge, monster of a creature with a pistol in one hand and Joker screaming in the other. Shepard looked to his right and they were able to see a wounded crew member. Anderson told them that he never made it.

What happened next brought back memories to Ashley. Shepard was able to free Joker from the grasp of what she assumed to be an Anahaus and tried to fight him all by himself. He hadn't changed much from the battles against Saren. The Anahaus kicked Shepard's ass though. Seeing him get almost destroyed by the creature was hard to watch, but she found comfort in seeing the bullets fly in and Shepard shooting the beat square in the face. She didn't recognize the Krogan that picked Shepard up off of the ground and carry him down into the infirmary. She did recognize Dr. Chakwas though, and Garrus who was showing an immense amount of concern for Shepard.

There was another face that she did not recognize either. The woman had brown hair that went down to her a little past her shoulders, and a fair complexion. She was, by all accounts and standards, beautiful. Ashley felt a little jealousy when she watched as the woman leaned down and kissed Christian's forehead before removing the visor and turning off the camera. Anderson sat there for a moment and waited before he continued on.

"Shepard and his crew have stumbled upon a race of war driven and bloodthirsty creatures," Anderson said. "Dr. Corson explained in his part of the report that the Anahaus Shepard killed was one of their top Generals. This could have horrible political implications if they were to ever put together that Shepard has been reinstated as an Alliance marine."

"The Alliance took him back?" Ashley asked quickly. Anderson was curious as to why that was all she got from what he had just said. He figured that the possibility of an angry race of aliens possibly retaliating against humanity would have her concerned. Instead her only concerns were over Shepard and whether or not he was part of the Alliance.

"His job was offered back to him," Anderson said. "The Council and I thought that it was in the best interest for humanity and the Alliance to have one of our top soldiers back within our ranks." He pulled the OSD out and the lights slowly turned back on as the projector shut down. "I am concerned about what may have been started here, and the political repercussions that could ultimalty come from it. If what the doctor has reported is true and we did kill a top general in the Anahaus army then I am concerned for humanity and the Alliance, and more importantly, the Council. We have never had contact with this race of people before and now we have killed one of them."

"From what the video showed, he killed one of Shepard's crew members first!" Riley said, getting a little fired up.

"Reports indicate that Shepard's crew member fired upon the Anahaus first," Anderson said back. "The Anahaus was simply studying Joker before the man, Ken Donnelly, came out and thought Joker was in trouble. He died trying to protect Joker, at least that is what he thought he was doing."

Ashley shook her head, "I am confused then Councilor. What does this have to do with me?" Anderson folded his hand and placed them on the desk in front of him.

"I am glad you asked," Anderson said. "I need you to be assigned on a special mission, one this is somewhat like your mission on Horizon. There is not a whole lot involved in it, but I know you are the right person for the job."

"Of course Councilor," she said. "I have been thinking about getting back into the swing of things here lately anyways. What are the mission details?"

Anderson smiled. "Well you see that is where things are going to get a little complicated for everyone." Ashley's stare went right through the Councilor, as if she knew exactly what it was he was going to ask her.

"No," she said.

"No?" he cocked his head slightly.

"No!"

"I need a better answer than no Chief."

"How about 'hell no'?" she said. She folder her arms underneath her breasts and leaned back in the chair. "I know what it is you are going to ask of me and I will not do it. You are going to ask me to somehow be able to rejoin up with the Normandy and work with Commander Shepard. You are going to ask me fight next to him if these creatures decide to turn hostile against humanity."

"Listen to me Williams," Anderson said. "All of this is bigger than your past relationship with Shepard. What we have potentially done is started something with an unknown and hostile race. We will need to utilize all of our resources if this turns into some kind of war. You need to put Shepard behind you, and remember that you are still fighting for humanity and the Alliance."

Ashley knew he was right, but there was still something that was holding her back, and not letting her go about this. Why should she have to go and fight along side of Christian again? No matter what she did to try and get herself away from him, he kept on coming back in her life in some weird way. Some mention of his name on the news, or now with Anderson asking her to go back and be part of the Normandy crew again. She couldn't do it.

"If it makes the Chief more comfortable," Riley said. "And if it is okay with you Councilor, I would like to volunteer myself to go along with her and offer my ship back to the Alliance. They can find another captain who is just as willing to fly her as I am."

Anderson pondered this for a moment, while Ashley turned to look at him.

"Don't try to think that you are some white knight coming in to rescue what seems to look like a damsel in distress," Ashley said. "If I wanted to go on this, which I don't," she managed to throw at Anderson. "Then I would have said yes. And I can do it all on my own. I am a big girl and can take care of myself."

"You were always stubborn weren't you Ash?" a man said. But this was not just any other man.

-The next chapter will have the conclusions to both parts of these concurrent stories, and possibly a little verbal cat fight. Please review. Cheers-