Shoals of Dust

by Luminous Beginnings

Tides of light have stolen him from where he belongs. Alone, he must stand and fight, in a galaxy where he stands as the last of his kind. The burden placed upon his shoulders is of the hero he replaced. Now he waits until he can hand this burden back.

5. Questions and the Blue

This is the Cirno News Network with a breaking story. According to a reporter at the sister company Westerlund News, this author is rumored to have gained ownership of everything in this story. Said reporter, Khalisah al-Jilani, approached the possible new owner to try to get his comments on the subject. Sadly, during the interview, said interviewee injured a fist on the interviewers jaw. As the camera was destroyed and all evidence comes from the damaged mouth of the reporter, we must assume that the above statement is true. Further investigations/interviews await.

Note: Cirno News Network and associated publications are produced under the Nineball Corp. (⑨) Any information disseminated by ⑨ is most likely untrue, and is rebutted by the parent corporation. Actually, it is most definitely untrue, and is completely false. Also, who in the world would believe the above news report? We sure don't. Although, the only reason people would pay attention to Westerlund News would be to watch that woman get punched. We find it very amusing.

This has been a message from Nineball Corp. (⑨) and the Cirno News Network. Remember, WE ARE THE STRONGEST! Now, back to your irregularly scheduled fic.

Chapter 5 - Questions and the Blue

Cowering behind battered conference table, Harry finally understood a few things. The people he had met on his journey so far had spoken reverently of Commander Shepard. From the way they spoke, there was as if no wrong the man could do. However, in the past fifteen minute, something more important had been realized. The sheer loyalty that the Commander inspired in his crew mates, even beyond the grave. That loyalty was the reason that he found himself behind said conference table, as a quarian angrily released her emotions over the news that the Commander's body had been taken and desecrated in order to revive him back to fighting shape.

Needless to say, the thought had not sat well with her.

As she continued to angrily mutter and growl at everything in sight, Harry sighed. Edging out, he eyed as the woman whipped out a pistol and shot the nearest Cerberus insignia again. At least she is acting like any other woman I've known would act. Just glad she isn't magical; then we would've had a problem. As another bullet streaked by and hit its target, Harry just nodded. Yup. Definitely glad.

At this point, however, he had grown tired of being used for target practice. Silently raising a shield about him, he clambered out of his cover and stared down Tali. "Are you calm enough to continue discussing this, or do you need to keep shooting at things?"

She shrugged to herself. "Personally? I'd rather keep shooting. It's rather cathartic to take out all of these Cerberus logos." She sighed, before plopping herself down on the edge of the table. "But it's not really of any use. They've probably been watching us the whole time. And I suppose I'd rather not shoot the only human that seems friendly to me."

Harry just shrugged. "That'd be nice. I don't really want to try healing myself so soon after the mission." He eyeballed her. "Besides, Jacob was friendly with you down on the colony. Why didn't you say he is? You even took to calling him by his name"

Silvered eyes just glared at him. "Because, if you haven't realized, but Jacob is Cerberus. While he may have been friendly, I'm still not sure if it's some ruse to get us comfortable and try to take advantage of us."

"And? As far as you know, I'm working for Cerberus too." Anyways, didn't we already have this discussion? It certainly sounds familiar.

"Well, if you're telling the truth, then how could you be with Cerberus? And if it's a lie, it's one of the best I've seen. You believe what you told me." She turned her eyes aside, staring at the Cerberus logo for a while. "Shepard always had the craziest ideas, and he was always right. He trusted his gut, and it always worked for him. My gut says you're telling the truth."

Harry watched, before nodding shortly. "And what about Jacob?"

Tali froze for a moment, looking to the side. Eventually she lowered her head, refusing to look Harry in the eyes. "…It says to trust him too."

Smiling slightly, he patted Tali's shoulder. "It's just hard to admit that when your mind is telling you that he's the enemy."

She shrugged sheepishly. "Kinda. It's weird to do it. I've fought Cerberus so many times with Shepard, and everything else… It's hard to let go."

"Well you're only human…" She glanced up at him causing him to blush after he thought about what he said. "Err, quarian, I mean. You're allowed to make mistakes. Isn't that what makes us what alive?"

Tali looked at him for a second longer, before choking out a laugh. "I suppose. Although I'd rather not get into philosophy and the question of whether we have a soul."

Harry just shook his head sadly. "Well, it's true at least. We all have a soul. Well, at least as far as I know you do."

"You seem pretty sure of that. More magic stuff?"

"Yeah. Souls are what make up a person. If you lose your soul, it's not pretty."

Tali sighed, before leaning back on the table, staring up. "That guy from the story, before we got onto the subject of Shepard. Voldemort, was it? He had done something to his soul?"

Harry nodded as he sat next to her. "Yeah, I did gloss over that. But he did do something. Something horrible. He split his soul into several pieces, and placed them inside objects to keep him alive." Softly, he whispered just under his breath. "He created Horcruxes."

Tali kept staring at the ceiling, counting the spots she had shot in it. "How would that keep him alive, though? And how could he create such a thing?" She shivered imperceptibly. "Keelah, the thought of it is… somewhat scary. Even with all the magic on top of it."

"That it is. And it's one of the most terrible things to do. To split the soul, you have to commit cold blooded murder." Seeing that he had her full attention behind that visor, he continued. "I don't know how to do it myself. Maybe there's a ritual, or another spell. Either way, it's not something that we're meant to know. It's… monstrous how one could do that. By splitting the soul, you create tethers to this world. And as long as a single tether to the world remains, a wizard cannot die."

Lying quietly for a few minutes, Tali sighed to herself. "It's just a bit crazy, to be honest. These are things that philosophers have been wondering for eternity, and yet, your people knew all along." She forced herself up, speaking without facing Harry. "After seeing what you can do, I'm amazed that humanity isn't more advanced than it already is."

Harry shrugged, more to himself than anything. "I'm the last one, or so the Illusive Man implies. Whether or not it's true, I don't know. And since I've done things that would have gotten the attention of wizards on Earth… They were either not on Freedom's Progress, or there are none left."

Suddenly, he stood up, walking towards the wall and banging a fist on it. "Dammit, this shouldn't have happened!"

Surprised by his actions, Tali gazed over at him, standing just in case. "What do you mean, it shouldn't have happened?"

"I worked for years to help the wizards… The Ministry. I spent years to try and advance them, at least to the point where they could function with the muggle government." He sighed, dropping his hands to his sides. "Did they regress so fast without me there? That they died out in less than two hundred years? I don't know."

He shook his head suddenly, trying to clear it. "Bah, we're both getting too negative. The wrackspurts are getting to us."

Puzzled by his statement, Tali crossed her arms and asked, "Wrackspurts? What are those supposed to be?"

He shrugged, a small grin coming back to his face. "Oh, they're a type of magical creature. They get into your ears and make you thinking go all fuzzy. With the way we keep getting angry, there might be an infestation in here."

"And when I thought you couldn't get any more insane…" She brought a finger up to tap her vocader. "So, these wrackspurts make you go crazy? I'd say it seems a bit farfetched."

Harry's grin widened a bit as he chuckled. "Perhaps a bit. They were a relatively new species. My friend discovered them in me, as apparently I had a whole bloody colony living in my head."

"Really?" The sarcasm in her voice told Harry exactly what she thought. "So, they are bugs that somehow got through my suit and infected my… ears? You know that quarians don't even have ears like humans."

Harry shrugged. "No, I didn't. Maybe they got in some other way. But remember, these are magic bugs."

Tali sighed to herself while holding her faceplate in her hand. "Bosh'tet. Are you trying to drive me insane?"

Yet again, he grinned. "Not particularly. But to understand magic means letting go of a bit of that common sense…" He tilted his head, watching her. "Anyways, sanity is overrated anyways."

She scoffed at him, but turned up and met his eyes. "Well, at this rate you will end up doing so." Not waiting for his reaction, she shrugged and continued to eyeball him. "So, what are you going to do now?"

Harry pushed himself off of the wall. "I don't really know. Might as well get things ready for Shepard when they… bring him back to life." He gritted his teeth. It leaves a bit of a sour taste in your mouth to say that, doesn't it?"

Tali nodded. "It does. Let's just hope that whatever happened to Shepard, he doesn't end up like your Voldemort. Or worse."

Nodding, he waved her forward. "Me too. But I think we need to get moving, either way. Not much we can do just by sitting here and hoping."

"Agreed. We've been serious enough, as it is."

-oo-

"That woman was way too cheerful."

Harry was standing there, still somewhat stunned by the barrage of information that had been delivered by one Yeomen Kelly Chambers. After that deluge of current missions that had been listed off, interspersed with random questions on his magic and his availability in general. Eventually she realized the catatonic state he was entering, and left him standing there with an offer to continue later.

"Maybe. But that was still hilarious." Tali, of course, was laughing dearly, with only the mask she wore muting the laughter. "Who would have imagined? Mighty mister magician brought down by an eager girl?"

Harry shot her a glare, before laughing a bit himself. "Hardy har har. I just wasn't expecting anyone to act that way. The anonymity was getting quite nice." I could especially do without the girls throwing themselves at me. That got old very quickly way back when.

"Well, Potter, it looks like you still have on fan girl. You should make sure to lock your door when you go to sleep." Still snickering to herself, Tali began strolling to the cockpit. "Come on, we need to get this ship moving. If the pilot is competent enough, that is."

Still chagrined, Harry followed behind her. "So, where would you suggest going first? If it was up to me to pick, I would just point randomly at one of those screens and pick the one my finger landed on."

She shook her head. "You still don't really know about this galaxy… Well, I'd suggest Omega first. Perhaps going to the seediest place first would be for the best? You could only go up from there, then."

Harry snorted. "That's one way to put it, I suppose…"

"It is. Now, who is the pilot here…?" She stopped behind the seat, which was occupied by a man wearing a baseball cap. After pressing one button, he spun around to face her. "W-wait. Joker?"

The man, Joker apparently, grinned up at her. "The one and only, Tali. Welcome to my new baby! Isn't the Normandy even sweeter than she was before?"

Exasperated, Tali sighed and shook her head. "Yup, definitely you Joker. I'd have you remember that this isn't the same Normandy as before…" Fiddling her fingers, she looked away towards the view of the cockpit. "…Not that I haven't wanted to look at the Engine Room. Just haven't had the time."

Joker waved a finger at her, taking. "Now, what's happened to you Tali? On a highly advanced starships and you haven't even bothered to check it out? Have you been acting as Ms. Codex for Merlin over here?"

She chuckled to herself. "Hardly. It's more the other way around. I've had him explain a lot about who he is supposed to be." She cast a glance at Harry. "Not that a lot of it makes any real sense, but I'm ignoring that for now. On the other hand, he also had to explain about Shepard. I hope that's why you've joined Cerberus?" At this point, Tali had folded her arms, staring down at Joker with an unreadable look in her eyes.

Sufficiently intimidated, Joker simply nodded. "Yeah. The Alliance grounded me after Shepard died… So it wasn't a choice for me. Serve with Shepard and fly the Normandy again? I couldn't say no to that." He shrugged. "Besides, I'm with Chakwas again. And now we've got my favorite quarian back, and Space Merlin too! Once Shepard's back, we're set."

Harry rubbed his face, but declined to comment. Instead, Tali responded. "I'm hardly back, Joker. We just need to get a new shuttle and head back to the fleet, first chance we get."

"Aww man, that sucks." At that, he turned towards Harry. "Well, if you're gonna be in charge, Merlin, you might as well get your questions in now. If our local Compendium of Knowledge on all Things Quarian is leaving soon, you need to get a move on it."

Harry sighed and shook his head. "I have a feeling I'm missing something. But Merlin was a real person, Joker. I'm just Harry. A perfectly ordinary, run of the mill wizard."

"I bet. They just churn out wizards in factories. That's why we see them everywhere."

Harry turned to face Tali. "I'd ask if he's always like this, but given his moniker, maybe I should ask if he just wants people to hit him?"

She just nodded. "He does. But since he has Vrolik's, we can't. He breaks way too easily."

"Oh, what a pity." Harry shook his head. "Oh well. So, Joker, you ready to get us on out of here? We need to be heading out pretty soon."

"Well, I suppose you're the boss, for now. Although what do we call you?" He shook his head and spun his chair around. "Eh, we'll figure out as it goes. Detaching from the dock." An echo sounded throughout the ship as it did so. The motion was notable by its absence, as the ship swung around and black filled the viewport. "Let's hope we didn't leave anything important behind, shall we?"

"Well, we definitely didn't leave your humor behind, pity." Tali turned to face Harry. "So, you decided on Omega? It would be good for us. We need to acquire another shuttle so we can head back to the fleet."

Beside Joker, a blue orb popped up over the console next to Joker. A familiar mechanical voice rang out over the speakers. "I have already alerted your squad members to your decision, Ms. Zorah. They have begun their preparations for departure."

Tali only gazed frostily in the direction of the pulsating orb, before giving it a short nod. "…Thank you then, EDI." To no one in particular, she muttered, "Still a rather fancy interface for a VI, in my opinion…"

Curious, Harry asked, "VI? Is that some special sort of AI? EDI had mentioned something to that effect earlier." Ok, why did Joker just pull down his hat and slide down his seat? And did the hologram…. wince?

Eyes narrowed to the point of being no more than slits, Tali stared Harry down. "What… exactly did that thing tell you?"

Before Harry could respond, EDI chimed back in. "I informed Mr. Potter earlier that I am the AI in charge of Electronic Warfare on this vessel. Although I am a true AI, I have several limitations built into both my hardware and software that prevent me from truly interfacing with the Normandy."

Tali, eyes now focused on the AI, began to raise her voice. "What in the world does Cerberus think they're doing? A true AI? What else did they put into this ship? Any other breaches of Citadel law?" She turned and rounded on Joker. "And why didn't you mention anything at all about this!"

"It is because Mr. Moreau has not had the time to leave his post since you came on board. I personally didn't announce my presence, as I felt that it would cause unnecessary discomfort among you and your squad."

At that, Harry was confused. She's purposefully skirting the first question. And why would it disturb the quarians? Trying to calm her down, he said, "Tali, what's the problem? EDI has been honest so far…" Any more words stopped when the cold gaze was turned back to him.

"Good to us? An AI, being good to a person? Harry, AI's are what have destroyed my species! The AI's, the geth, wiped out billions of our people! They chased us off our homeworld! Thanks to them, there are barely even seventeen million quarians left in the entire galaxy! And I'm supposed to trust an AI just because it's been nice to us so far?" Tali nearly growled, before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. "No, I will not be nice to an AI. I'm going to go meet up with my squad so we can be ready to leave this sailing tomb as soon as possible." At that, she spun on the spot and walked out of the cockpit, fingers curling as she met every person's gaze with naught but silence.

It took a few seconds for the silence to finally break. "Well, I always knew she was a feisty one, but that was something else. Never seen her like that before."

Harry sighed and slumped on the console next to Joker. "She's been on edge the whole time she's been here. What with Shepard, and Cerberus, and now AI?" He shook his head, while resting it in his hand. "Is it really that bad? It sounds like they're on the brink of extinction."

Joker just nodded slowly. "It is. She wasn't lying about that figure either. There are seventeen million quarians in the fleet. There are a few ten thousand here and there around the galaxy, but it's not enough to really matter much. It doesn't help that some of the ships in the fleet are three hundred years old, and are starting to fall apart."

Harry's mouth dropped open slightly. "Three hundred years? That was when we were still on sailing ships, much less in space. He sighed, before looking down at the floor. "Is the future really that bad? That only terrorists are the ones trying to find what's attacking everyone?"

Joker looked back over his shoulder and grimaced. "Parts of it aren't bad. But the politics can make anyone hate it. And since we're still trying to butter up some of the other races…" He sighed. "Well, I'm not going to get into it. All I do is fly my girl here." At that, he patted one of the panels in front of him.

"I got you. It just seems somewhat surreal. That after all this time, we still have the same old problems hurting us." And after all the effort I went through to change things for the better.

Joker shrugged imperceptibly. "Don't I know it." After a minute or so of quiet, he spoke up again. "Hey, you ever get to see a mass relay before?"

Harry shook his head. "No. The shuttle we were on had no windows at all. And even if it did, I was passed out on the way back."

"Right, I remember that. Used too much of your moo." Snickering at his own little joke, he beckoned Harry up. "Well, here's one coming up. Get a nice good look at it. You may be flying Joker Spacelines, but you're not gonna get the chance to see it from the bridge much more."

Nodding to Joker, he walked forward, standing beside Joker's console. Bracing himself on the structure, he watched as a blue glow expanded into an elaborate structure, which kept growing before his eyes. That thing is absolutely massive. Did they build this? Or was this one of the relics left behind? Eventually, they pulled alongside it, not even five football fields from it. This thing is enormous. And it looked so small just a few seconds ago.

It makes one feel rather insignificant, doesn't it?

As Harry continued to watch, sparks flew from the core of the structure, striking the Normandy. Before his eyes, the inky black of space blue shifted as they were flung forward at speeds many times that of light.

I guess that settles it. I suppose I'm a space wizard now.

-oo-

The rest of the trip was still rather awe-inspiring for someone who had never seen the space travel. Discounting the constant needling from Joker, that is. But even that didn't bother Harry, as he knew it was just good-natured ribbing. Eventually, however, Joker warned him that they would be docking soon. As much as he wanted to continue watching, he needed to go and grab Jacob.

That then led into an argument over whether Harry should wear some armor. That was quickly shot down, as Jacob himself did not wear much in the way of armor in the first place. And whether or not the fabric nowadays was stronger than old-fashioned cotton, enchantments canceled that advantage straight out. Besides, Harry didn't know if charms would stick to the new stuff anyways.

Eventually, the two of them were outside the ship in the rather drab docking tunnel. Casting glances about said tunnel, Harry could see why this place was considered so poorly. Broken panels, aliens holding up each other, and thieves and conmen everywhere I look. A wretched hive of scum and villainy, if there ever was one. He snorted to himself. Always wanted to use that line.

Turning to Jacob, who was busy fiddling with his shotgun, Harry asked, "So, what's the plan, Jacob?"

The man pulled up his omnitool, angling it so that Harry could see. "We've got two choices at the moment. We could either try to recruit Archangel, or Dr. Solus. We should probably get both of them on board before we leave the station; it would take care of a lot. We need the doctor to develop a countermeasure to the Collectors anyways."

Harry just nodded to him. "Understood, sounds fine and all. But where do we go from here? Unless you know where either of them are at already?"

Jacob grimaced and shook his head. "It was suggested in the dossiers to seek out Aria, the veritable Queen of Omega." He glanced away. "But that was assuming Shepard was here. She'd be willing to meet with him, since he's so famous. But since we don't have anybody of nearly equal status… We might have to get crafty."

Harry stroked his chin. "Well, I believe I can do crafty. All I'd have to…" He trailed off, hearing the door to the Normandy open. Turning about, he saw six of the quarians exiting the ship. They quickly moved along with purpose. Behind them, Tali also walked out. Spotting Harry and Jacob, she began to fidget with her hands. Still, she stepped up to the two.

"Hey there, Harry. Sorry about earlier. I should have remembered that you're new to all this." She waved her hands around, grasping at air. "I shouldn't have stormed off like that."

Harry just waved her off. "Don't worry about it. I did plenty of stupid things when I was young, too. Besides, Joker told me enough for me to get the picture. You were under enough stress as it was." Tilting his head towards the now retreating backs of the quarians, he asked, "So, are you headed off with them to… wherever?"

Gaze moving momentarily to her squad, Tali looked back to Harry. "They're going to find a shuttle for us to use to get back to the fleet. It'll probably take a while, what with all the haggling we'd have to do." She shrugged, before looking down. "I don't need to go supervise them just to do that. I thought that maybe if you needed some help with getting one of those people, I could help."

Raising an eyebrow, Harry allowed a small grin to form. "I don't mind at all. You did great back on the colony. You sure you want to though? It sounded like you need to be heading back soon."

She nodded. "I'm sure. It shouldn't take that much longer." Meeting his eyes, she continued. "Besides, I owe you one. I never got the chance to pay back Shepard, so I'd like to do this. It's not much, but…"

Harry just nodded and patted her on the shoulder. "Don't worry, I understand. Life debts are important…" And there are a few that I still owe people, myself. Will I ever get the chance to pay them back, myself? Shaking the distant look out of his eyes, he continued. "Well, alright, you're in. But first, we need to get to Aria."

Turning to Jacob, he asked, "So, where is Aria located? Or does she keep moving about?"

Tapping a few more buttons on his omnitool, he replied, "She should be bunking in Afterlife. It's a club that's relatively close to here. Bouncer won't let you in without permission though. But if she isn't there, someone there will know where she is."

"Aye, gotcha." Retrieving his wand, he motioned the two to where no one else on the gangway could spot them. "Well, we have two options. But first, let me ask you Tali." Turning to her, he finished, "How important are those suits to you? All the quarians were wearing them, but I didn't know if they were just armor or…" He trailed off, awaiting her answer.

Again, she began to fiddle with her fingers. "Extremely important. We can develop nasty… infections, would be the best analogy for humans. Our immune systems are weak, so if we're contaminated, we're in bad shape." She looked him in the eye. "It's why it's a miracle Prazza survived. The wound alone should have killed him, but the amount of flesh exposed to a contaminated atmosphere?"

Grimly, Harry nodded. "Alright, I see. So, suit comes first." Tapping his wand on his mouth, he thought outlaid. "So a Disillusionment Charm is out of the question. Too much active magic, and it might short out the electronics." Nodding to himself, he silently waved his wand at Jacob. "Notice-Me-Not Charm it is, then." Quickly thereafter, he waved the wand at Tali, then at himself. "There we go. We're set."

Looking at his arms, Jacob searched for any obvious effect. Not finding any, he queried, "So, what exactly is this supposed to do? I don't see any difference."

Harry chuckled. "It's really simple. It makes people not notice you. So if we're wading through a crowd, they won't see us coming. If they're too strong willed, though, they'll see right through it, though." He motioned them forward, keeping his wand in his hand. They passed by one of the four-eyed aliens without him noticing. "Just don't try and do anything too crazy. People will notice exceptionally odd things."

Tali chuckled to herself. "I'm just glad that Garrus doesn't have this. Or Joker. They'd be even more obnoxious than before." The trio came upon the entrance to the club. Slowing slightly, they moved pass the line of people and the enormous bouncer, none of which paid them the slightest bit of attention. "I see this is working. Why didn't you use the option though?"

"The other spell has a lot of active magic in it. It makes you close to invisible. Not quite though. It fries electronics quickly, too. But this one is a very gentle charm. After all, wouldn't it be noticeable if electronics randomly stopped working?" Seeing the looks on their faces, Harry shrugged. "Magic works that way. I've never studied the theory that much." Waving his left hand in front of the door, he frowned as the hologram beeped red, before fading back. "Crap, locked."

Before he could raise his wand, Tali stopped him. "I got this. Had a lot of experience when I was with Shepard. Not to mention since then." Popping up her own omnitool, she had her two fingers dance across the screen. Nearly instantly, the door flashed green and squeaked open. "See, easy as… cookies, do you say? Seems they depend on the bouncer more than the door to keep people out."

Snickering slightly with Jacob, Harry nodded. "Close enough. We should getting moving though. They might notice something like the door." Sure enough, the large alien was turning about at the noise. Making a point to get through the door before one of the guards decided to reset it, the three made their way into the club.

Bah, it had to be one of these clubs? Can't have anything tasteful in this day and age, can't it? Harry snorted to himself. Listen to me. I'm already sounding old. Next thing you know I'll be chasing kids off my lawn. If I still have one. Shaking his head at Jacob's inquiring look, he forced himself into the den of iniquity that Afterlife turned out to be. "So, any idea where to look?"

Jacob pointed to the back. "If it were me, it'd be somewhere I could see everything. That dais in the middle would probably be the spot, so we can just take the stairs."

Nodding, Harry made his way to said stairs. He was amused at the looks on his two squadmates' faces, as they kept expecting the armed guards to react to their presence. Nonetheless, no guard reacted, and they made their way to the top, where a lone blue alien was lounging on a couch. Turning to Jacob, he asked, "So, this Aria?"

"Yup, that's what I'd bet."

He stroked his chin. "So, is she one of those asari? Mythical blue space women with biotic powers and can mate with anything?"

Jacob couldn't help but to chuckle. "Essentially. Not fun to fight, I can tell you that much."

"I bet," Harry drawled. "Hrm… I've seen better."

That caused Tali to laugh. "Don't let her hear that. Most asari would attack you just on principal for that."

Harry was about to retort, when he noticed Aria turn her head and stare in the general direction of Tali. Must have heard her laugh… This one might be a tough nut then. Here's to hoping I don't have to fight her. Before she could either get up herself or direct her guards to check, Harry canceled the charm, revealing himself to Aria. "Hello there, Aria."

Eyes widening slightly in surprise, she slowly pushed herself up. Behind Harry, two of the guards immediately drew their weapons and pointed them at the wizard. "Indeed I am. And who are you to intrude on me? Normally, someone who would try a stunt like that would be killed."

Harry grinned tightly, as his eyes began to glow subtly. "Oh, I'm just a friend who needs some information. I heard that you're the best one to get it from on this station."

Raising a painted eyebrow, the asari asked, "And why would I tell an intruder like yourself anything?"

"For one, I don't want trouble, I'm a nice guy, after all." He shrugged. "Besides, if I really wanted trouble, I wouldn't have exposed myself, would I? I did walk through the front door without any trouble, after all."

The asari looked him over once again, before jerking her head to the other end of the couch. Glancing at Tali, he saw her pat her shotgun in reassurance. Walking to the couch, he took a seat as the guards slowly relaxed their weapons. Aria threw them an annoyed glance before looking back at him. "Well, speak. I'm a busy woman, after all. I don't have the time to entertain all of the rabble that can make its way into my club."

Harry nearly snorted, but kept up form. "I'm here because of the human colonies. There are two people on the station I wish to recruit, and I don't have all day to spend finding them on my own."

Aria glanced over, giving him a measured look. "Why should I tell you any of this?"

Harry's grin morphed into a small smirk. "For the same reason that you should have told humanity that the Collectors were targeting when you killed the group that was making a deal with Blue Sun."

Her poker face broke enough to show through her facade. "Perhaps I should have informed humanity. It was my station though, and do I really care if it doesn't affect me?"

"But it does affect you. You know that if someone was considering taking out one of the major species, especially one of the Council species, it would affect Omega. And since you are Omega…"

Forcing her reaction down, she leaned forward, staring at Harry with narrowed eyes. "Where did you find this out?"

Harry shrug, smirk still on his face. "A little blue birdie told me." Seeing her stay silent for a few more seconds, he shrugged and made a motion to get up. "Well, maybe this is getting nowhere. Perhaps Urdnot Wrex would like to know where Aleena is, after all…"

She sullenly snapped out, "Fine. Who are you looking for?" Harry let himself fall back into the seat before answering.

"Two people. Dr. Mordin Solus, and one named Archangel."

Aria just stared at him for a moment longer. "Interesting… objectives you have there. Solus is at the clinic in the quarantine zone. Any of the imbeciles that lie in these streets can tell you where that is." She neglected to go any farther into that matter.

"Archangel, on the other hand, is being actively hunted by Omega's three biggest mercenary groups. If you're angling to take him out, you could just wait until they finish the job." A few seconds later, she smirked back at him. "But you said you wanted to recruit him, didn't you? In that case, I'd suggest you hurry."

Nodding, Harry said, "I'll take that into consideration." He stood up slowly, nodding to her again. "Thank you for the information."

As he turned away, Aria spoke up. "You're… interesting human. Maybe I'll have to talk to you again."

Harry turned around, and smirked at her. "Maybe I'll come back." At that, he melted into the background. Shivering as the Disillusionment Charm applied itself, along with the Notice-Me-Not Charm, he put his hands on the shoulders of his two companions and pulled them away with him. Shushing them quiet, he led them away into a dark corner of the club where nobody was. Making sure nobody was listening or paying attention, he disabled the former charm. "Alright, it's safe to talk."

Tali raised her finger as if to ask something, but then put it down and looked away. "Do I want to know what kind of magic mess you pulled off there to learn all of that? I highly doubt you knew all of that going in. Especially since you didn't know what an asari was until minutes ago."

Harry grinned innocently. "Oh, that?" His eyes began to glow slightly again. "Just a little thing that us wizards call Legilimency. It's quite useful when you need to know what's on other's minds."

Jacob butted in to the conversation with, "Wait, you're saying that you're able to read minds?"

Raising a hand, Harry waved it back forth in a so-so manner. "Not really. I can read surface thoughts easily. And I can dig, but whatever I find is random. But she was really freaking out there, even though she wasn't showing it. So, some of her more notable actions came up in her head."

"So, have you been reading our minds too?" The thought seemed to scare Tali some.

"No, I haven't. It's a restricted art where I come from. Only the few could learn it." He let his eyes fade again. "It's also rather rude, isn't it? A poor way to learn about someone, either way."

The both of them sighed in relief. "Good then," Tali said. "So, ignoring the other magic you pulled off up there, where are we supposed to go now? She didn't give us much of a lead."

Harry grinned again. "Not verbally. There was a Blue Suns recruiter over on the side over there. That's one of the mercenary groups, right?" Getting a nod in return, he continued. "So, I took a glance on the way over here. Apparently at a… shuttle port nearby, there are a few Blue Suns drivers taking people to fight this guy. So all we have to do is trick the guy we've signed up onto their side, and we'll be in their base. Sneak through…"

"An inside job? Interesting plan. But how do you expect to get the guy to take us over? We're not on any of their records, after all."

Harry grinned and glanced over at Jacob. "Magic," they chorused. Harry laughed at the frustrated look on Tali's face.

"Insane, I tell you. All of you humans. Come on then, let's get this over with."

The trio strolled back out of the club, with the quarian yet again muttering under her breath various offensive things about a certain few humans. Making their way through the entrance again, Tali pulled up a map on her omnitool. They quickly made their way to the nearest shuttle port, where they found another of the four-eyed aliens standing bored near a shuttle. Making sure no one was nearby, Harry launched a quiet Confundus at the guy, and then disabled the charm on the small squad.

"Good evening, or afternoon, or whatever. We're some new recruits ready to go see Archangel."

He nodded somewhat dumbly. "Yes yes, you're the new recruits."

Harry grinned. "You will take us to Archangel."

"Yes, I will take you to Archangel."

Somewhat cheekily, he added, "This is not the quarian you are looking for."

As Tali took the opportunity to slap Harry, the alien nodded dumbly again. "Yes, that is not the quarian we were looking for. Not that we were looking for any in the first place…"

Nursing the bump on his head, he let the driver walk away, somewhat addled. Facing down a glare from Tali and amused Jacob, he shrugged. "What? I've always wanted to do that."

The quarian looked like she was going to make an issue of it, but then sighed. "I have no idea why you would want to, but I feel that any explanation would take up too much exposition. Let's just get moving so we can get Archangel."

Harry just grinned and shrugged. Turning to Jacob, he waved his arm to the shuttle. "Women and children first." Now Jacob had a tic in his eye, although he dutifully laughed along as he got in the car. Turning to Tali, he waited for her reaction.

She shrugged and walked towards the car. "Either you're just that crazy, or you're incorrigible. That is, if you're not both." At that, she slid into the backseat next to Jacob.

"Either way, I'll take it as a compliment." Chuckling lightly, he fell into the front seat of the shuttle, before staring out at the tangled mess that was Omega. Once more into the breach. Half a league, half a league, half a league onward.

Here's to hoping that what happens to us three isn't the same as what happened to the six hundred.

A/N I'm back and with a new chapter relatively early! I didn't expect to get this one finished until much later, actually. So, you'll get it early. It may be a bit short compared to the last two, but I felt it was the best place. Now, should the next chapter include just the one mission and the afterwards, or should I include both it and the quarantine zone? I suppose it might depend on how long both of them end up being, but input all the same would be glad.

Otherwise, not much to say. Gonna plug my other oneshot I wrote that's posted. It's short, and a bit of a crackfic/excuse plot, but I had fun with it. Other than that, would like to ask if I should keep using this disclaimer, or go back to the old style. This one amused me greatly writing it, but it's a tad long. And in the wrong category, technically.

Oh, and btw, I did not intentionally try to make the last 4 chapters add up to exactly 27k words. It just kinda… ended up that way. Ah well. Either way, please review with any questions/concerns/criticisms. Am glad to have them!

A/N 2 Edited for clarity; I forgot to bother with spellcheck. Stupid little me.