A/N. Thank you all for your continued support. Your reviews, both good, bad, and in-between, have been most welcome and well received. Llandaryn, Inkess, M. , Osage, LyingOwl-Aria, (I don't dare not to mention her since she's named after the same Aria that runs Omega lol,) Full-Paragon, and so many more have been dedicated readers and I wanted to thank you all for your support. Thank you very much! Now, on with the show!

Author Addendum; I'm a huge movie buff as well as a fan of cartoons, TV shows, anime, etc. If you see any such references coming up, feel free to comment and identify them. The winner gets….bonus points, yeah lol. Seriously though, here's to another chapter! To peace! (Ducks as the explosions begins around the armed transport of troops.)

Additional Notes; I don't know for sure who is in charge of the Zhentarim as far as names, races, etc are concerned, so you'll have to forgive me if someone actually DOES know and I get them wrong. And when I say who was in charge, I mean recently as of 1435 DR, not when there actually still was a council of 12 Zhentarim Lords. :P Well it probably doesn't matter much anyway since this is AU in both FR and ME so eh, whatever. Still, just thought I'd throw that out there. ;D

Chapter 7; Investigations and More.

1435 DR

Baldur's Gate, the Western Heartlands.

Hands of Glory Base, Warehouse District.

Backtracking….

The first dead body they came upon was the same assassin Shepard had shot in the head with her unique weaponry. Drizzt didn't try to determine which one it might have been from the gear he had seen on her person, he was more interested that other than the single clean hole in his head and a rather interesting mess of the back she had made of the assassin's skull, there wasn't any indication to say that he was simply asleep where he fell. Of course, all one had to do was to look slightly higher up and see the brain and blood splatter that was on the floor to know otherwise. "Interesting way to go down I suppose. At least it was quick, a pity really." Drizzt said aloud as he stood and dusted himself off, earning an inquiring look from Neria who stood behind him. "A pity because this next one clearly belongs to Giselle. And if she had not protected Shepard from a knife in the back, she most likely would have made an example of the fool who worked with equal fools who had thought it wise to kidnap young children for their twisted ends."

Neria made a mental point not to ever fall to the wrong side of the morality line. It was clear that the warrior before her had no qualms about killing assassins and their ilk, even hinting that perhaps he might have even toyed with his quarry before killing them outright, a tendency that might have been passed onto Giselle herself.

That aside, she was impressed by Drizzt's tracking skills since the little dust that had been on the ground revealed little to Neria's eyes, but on the other hand she hadn't been alive nearly as long as the Drow elf ranger before her who had tracked far better prey than these fools. The battle that had been fought here was clear as day to said Drow as he walked onward, taking point out of old habit than anything else.

Despite the strange weaponry brought to bear by the human, Drizzt was still impressed and intrigued by her obvious efficiency since from what his eyes and senses told him, she had kept on par with his daughter kill for kill. Leaning against a wall of boxes that cut off a circuitous route around an area of the base was a Hand riddled with bullets, while the one on the other side of the same hall had been sliced to ribbons by scimitar blades. The dogs they discovered were also testament to their equal skill in a fight; Giselle's trademark style hand in hand with Shepard's preferred weapon of choice were easily distinguished from each other even to Neria's sea green orbs. "They never had a chance did they?"

"It would seem not Neria. Come along." The entire Hall had been decimated by these two young women from entirely different backgrounds, homes, and more, and yet they had complimented each other rather well despite it all. It took at least a year depending on how well you trusted the person beside you, to find such a well balanced niche with the other, yet the two that had swept through the Hands of Glory had done all this in a single night. Drizzt wasn't sure what to make of it, but if they had been meant to meet as they had, then maybe there was more at work than even he could hope to comprehend. Whatever the case, whatever the signs of battle told him, he had one thing set in stone already in his heart and mind.

Anyone that crossed those two would not be alive for long.

The fact that one was human and the other his own flesh and blood who looked quite remarkably like a Drow, was also not lost on him. His own first true friend had been a human, an old ranger by the name of Montolio Debrouchie. If this somehow had been set into motion by Mielikki and her compatriots, then he wished any enemies Giselle and Alexandria Shepard met a speedy trip to whatever afterlife they believed in before those two found them if this place was any indication of what they might do later, if they decided to travel together of course.

It wasn't until they found what was left of Marik and his personal guard that Drizzt felt his hands clench tightly at what he had recalled about the man that had all but ruined his daughter's chance at happiness. Neria put a comforting hand on the old ranger's right shoulder, knowing the story as well. "He got what he deserved, even if it was thirty years too late." He looked to his companion and offered a small smile, glad to have her with him now more than ever.

"If it was in your power to do so however, would you revive Marik just so you can kill him yourself?" Neria looked away at the question since she had entertained those exact same thoughts but she'd never openly admit to it. Drizzt chuckled lightly and lead the way forward to the nearest of the mostly intact Hands of Glory assassins' corpses that he could find, hoping to find anything that might point them to where they needed to go next. Besides a few odds and ends, a few gold coins that they kept for themselves, it wasn't until they separated that they found the answers they were after.

Neria never heard the assassin drop from the ceiling above, but Drizzt had sensed the killer's presence a moment before he had any idea he was going to try to kill them. The assassin had seen the fight, had hid up on the ceiling's rafters the entire time while his fellows died one right after the other, and had done nothing to aid them. He had figured it was every man for himself long before the two women that had swept aside over thirty men with ease had even reached the inner sanctum of their Hall, and so had hidden himself away out of reach and out of sight until two newcomers had started to search the place. That and he had fallen asleep up there, having not woken up until the doors to his hiding place had been opened once more. He had at first thought there might have been survivors, but a quick and quiet look down had dashed those hope to the ground.

If he couldn't kill the ones that had defeated them all, then he'd at least satiate his need for revenge on these two. A mistake that he learned about far too late until he felt a scimitar blade take his right arm at the shoulder, the same arm he had been preparing to use to plunge his dagger into the woman's back, fall off as he fell screaming. He forgot all about his need for revenge and clutched weakly at the stump that remained with his good hand. The assassin had never heard the Drow coming up behind him at a silent run the moment the ranger realized who the bastard's target was about to be.

Neria had never heard the ranger either and again was immensely glad that Drizzt was on her side. "I didn't even know he was there!" Drizzt nodded but didn't pay the downed assassin any mind, but he almost stopped the cleric as she knelt before the downed man and put pressure to the wound, aiding the very same person that had just tried to kill her. "If you want my aid, tell me why you did all this." She asked; her voice surprisingly gentle despite what had nearly happened to her.

The assassin was taken aback since he had expected to die, bleeding out all over the floor from what used to be his right arm. He groaned weakly as coldness, likely from the blood he had lost already, started to creep across his body. He didn't have long without some help of any kind, and they all knew it. "Heal me…and I'll tell you."

Drizzt wouldn't have done any such thing. He would have let the man die and searched his corpse for anything that might have pointed them in the direction they needed to go next. But Neria was not Drizzt and the Drow was in a way grateful that the beautiful priestess he had taken with him was present since she was a better person than he was in some regards.

He silently watched as a warm white light enveloped the stump her hand covered which had since turned a dark shade of red by then, and he watched further as that same stump started to close over with fresh skin. She didn't regenerate the limb, but she kept the man alive and from bleeding out all over the ground. It would have to be enough. "Now, tell us what it is you know." Neria repeated, hoping to hide the sweat that had formed on her forehead as she stood once more and stood beside Drizzt a moment later.

Pulling the black mask that covered most of his face down, the assassin revealed that he couldn't have been older than twenty, if that, surprising Neria but not Drizzt since he had seen the same thing long before during the first attack on the Hands. It wasn't common knowledge, but it was rumored that the Hands got most of their recruits young, twelve if not younger and trained them viciously until they were deemed ready to stand on their own. Whatever the truth of the matter, it only served to justify what had been done against them in Drizzt's opinion, especially after the young man before them explained who had hired them and why.

"Marik was working with the Zhentarim. He had helped set up this idea that if we could kidnap the Duke's girl, they'd pay us quite a bit for her safe return. The money that was to be sent to the Zhentarim after we got our share would help fund their operations further. I don't know what they're planning, but you can be sure it's not good for the rest of the Heartlands and beyond if they have their way." The assassin explained, still feeling pretty weak but he was just grateful to be alive at this point. Drizzt however wasn't entirely convinced that was the whole story and started to raise his scimitar blade once more, the same one that had the man's blood still on it. The assassin's eyes widened considerably, and he hastily added more to his explanation.

"I heard talk about setting up something called an FOB at what's left of Dragonspear Castle. I have no idea what a FOB is but if they've already started pushing forward, then you're likely to find them there. Now that is all I know, I swear!" Drizzt lowered his blade and was about to start towards the ladder that was in the back of the room they were in when three daggers found the assassin's chest, neck, and head nearly simultaneously. Neria and Drizzt both turned fast, the elven priestess pulling her sword and shield while the ranger pulled his other scimitar, only to find it was Jarlaxle, a wide grin on his face as he stepped into the light.

"Why am I not surprised to find you involved in all this Jarlaxle?" Neria looked between the two Drow and since Drizzt seemed to relax, holding his blades pointed at the ground where a second ago they had been raised to attack whoever had thrown those daggers, she too relaxed but she kept her sword and shield ready to be raised at a moment's notice. Drizzt she trusted without question, but Jarlaxle she knew nothing about and thus she wasn't about to let her guard down around the mercenary leader.

"Because you know me too well old friend. You know that where there's trouble to be caused, and when it involves such unusual events shaping up around us all, that you'll find me somewhere nearby, springing into action or disappearing into the shadows once again." Jarlaxle retorted as he swept his wide brim hat before him and bowed with one of his customary grand flourishes he so favored. "So many interesting new people we've recently had visiting Baldur's Gate of late old friend, wouldn't you agree? It almost seems as if Fate's fickle hand has entered our lives once more, beckoning us to dance at her whim, and who are we to fight against such a call as hers?"

"Always one for the theatrics Jarlaxle. You have not changed much at all I see." Drizzt had since used the black robes of one of the assassins to clean his sword before putting them away, knowing that if Jarlaxle had wanted to capture or kill them, he would have made the move to do so by now. He suspected that the entire area was surrounded by his soldiers, just waiting to tear holes through reality and ambush them on all sides if any threat was aimed at the man himself. He wouldn't have been far off the mark as he nodded towards Neria to put her own weapons away. He noticed a slight hesitation but she obliged and did as she was told, earning a grin from Jarlaxle himself. "So, what do you know of all this then?"

"More than you'll get from me until I'm ready to tell old friend, you should know that." Jarlaxle's red eyes seemed to twinkle with his own humor but before Drizzt could protest, the mercenary leader held up his hand and continued on. "But for you Drizzt, I'm willing to let in on this latest adventure since it was your daughter and her new friend that got us on the path we're on now. Oh I met Alexandria Shepard as well, although I imagine she is still a little angry at my methods since I had her fate linked to me."

Showing the thread mark that was seemingly inked into Jarlaxle's black skin, Drizzt immediately knew who had done the deed. As if reading his thoughts, Jarlaxle grinned as he put a name to the very mage the two were thinking about. "Kimmeriul does fine work even now. I'll admit freely that he was quite happy that I've decided to take over Bregan D'aerthe once again, at least until this new business is sorted out."

A nearly inaudible scoff was heard from the shadows, most likely from the psionist himself at the news that Jarlaxle didn't plan to stick around after their current job was completed. All three elves heard the noise and again Drizzt and Neria were presented with one of Jarlaxle's trademark grins. He grew serious though as he looked up to the ladder and to the streets that lay beyond, far above them at the moment as they were.

Using the intricate hand language the Drow had developed as a means to communicate silently among their numbers since even the tiniest sound could give them away in the dark world they favored, the mercenaries under Jarlaxle's control were sent away so that the three could speak more freely amongst themselves. They didn't question even though a few of them Jarlaxle knew if given the chance, would have gladly taken Drizzt's head back to Menzoberranzan…if they had been able to claim it of course.

"What would you say that you don't want your own men to hear Jarlaxle Baenre?" Jarlaxle's normal visage fell away, replacing the cheery demeanor by the one he wore now which made the equally old mercenary leader seem far older than he had been a moment ago. Drizzt knew that Jarlaxle was at least fifty if not closer to a century older than he, meaning that the end of his long life was likely coming soon. A fact they were both well aware of but both didn't let it stop them from doing what they needed to do.

"That traveling with you Drizzt has been remarkably good despite what we did to each other in our younger years. We've fought against each other, perhaps indirectly for the most part, and we've fought together as well. You escaped the darkness so long ago that consumes all Drow like us. You had no idea what that meant at the time, but I know you know what it means to us all now. You did what no one thought possible and forged a better life than anyone in Menzoberranzan or any of our cursed cities ran by Lolth's priestesses could ever dream of or could even begin to fathom. I would not see this world destroyed by one group's ambitions." Jarlaxle replied, and Drizzt nodded solemnly since they had both grown so much in their long lives. It was little wonder that Jarlaxle was willing to carry on with one more adventure, since that was exactly what they were preparing to do.

"Neither would I old friend, neither would I. So what would you have us do about it then?"

"I know where to find your daughter and her new allies. I have men standing by on the fringes of their encampment, keeping back the locals when necessary. We can be there in a matter of hours." Jarlaxle explained, and Drizzt nodded his head in agreement since if nothing else came out of this, then he at least would get to see Giselle once more.

"Lead the way Jarlaxle."

Neria had remained quiet the whole time, silently observing the conversation between the two. She didn't know anything about Jarlaxle, but if Drizzt trusted him, then she'd at least force herself to work with the Drow mercenary leader. Elves on the surface and those below the ground however rarely got along for a very good reason since out of all the enemies the Drow thought they needed to destroy, the surface elves were the ones they went out of their way to slaughter mercilessly. Neria knew this, but she also knew that all Drow were not the same. Drizzt had proven that years ago, but that didn't mean she'd let her guard down either…

2178 CE. March 5th.

Zhentil Keep. Moonsea Region.

Meeting Hall of the Twelve Zhentarim Lords.

Putting plans into motion…

Twelve wizards once sat around the grand meeting hall that marked the heart of the Zhentarim and their Black Network. Those days were long past when the Zhentarim had first been founded, due to their own corrupt natures and their inability to work on the right side of the law, or their unwillingness some would argue.

They were out for power and influence beyond what they had, always had been and it was a fact that would always likely remain. The former leadership after some major war or another broke out a little later in their history consisted of a single ruler with dozens of underlings helping to run things overall, but now, with the Eclipse's help, things were going back to before Bane, their chosen dark god that they allowed to be worshiped within their domain with a few others besides, had been chosen as their patron deity.

The history didn't much matter to Auora however. All the asari cared about was getting out of this situation in one piece, same as she had thought every time the 12 Lords of the Zhentarim called a meeting of the minds and their various strengths they brought to their dark whole within their dark holdings. It wasn't all bad though since she had been given a seat with the Lords, something she had been quite surprised to receive at the time ten years back, but given all that she had done to help restore them to the power they held once more, it shouldn't have been so surprising really.

And so, despite her misgivings about being here, Auora took her job as a Zhentarim Lord, on top of being the leader of the Eclipse branch here in Toril, quite seriously. "The forward operating base in Dragonspear Castle is near completion at last. Despite some technical difficulties, and the fact we had to clear out the troglodyte infestation along with the other creatures; the zombies, the skeletons warriors and their ilk, things are moving faster than ever now. Power should be coming online in the next day or two, meaning that if anyone's foolish enough to try to attack once the defenses are online, they won't get without a hundred meters."

The other Lords murmured their appreciation at various levels, some still finding the interference of the Eclipse a bother and a hindrance even, but the more open minded ones, which oddly enough counted a damned lich and a vampire of all things, willing to accept the Eclipse's help in all things that they did. Of course it didn't surprise Auora that the five humans; three male and two female, were mostly against her and her associates. Back in the wider galaxy, there were still pro-human groups that did all in their power to keep human interests a solo affair, and made it difficult if not downright dangerous to associate with aliens in their presence.

The other…less human among them however were the surprising factor to the asari since she had honestly expected their ways to always conflict with hers and her men, but they had been quicker to adapt than anyone else, especially the vampiric moon elf sorceress that was among them. She was….the most open minded of the lot, but next to the lich she was also the most dangerous in Auora's opinion.

According to local lore, liches were powerful wizards who had found a way to take their very souls out of their bodies and transfer them into some kind of specially prepared item, often times a jewel of considerable size or even a severed body part if push came to shove. When the second dark alliance had been crushed, investigations into an old mage's tower revealed that the tower had once held a lich who had tried to create a weather machine. His receptacle for his soul had been a severed hand, his own. His undead corpse was practically invincible until the hand was smashed, which it had been.

Auora didn't know where that special item was for this walking corpse, but if she ever needed to get her hands on it she'd be prepared to do whatever was necessary to get it since the lich was potentially the most dangerous one here.

The vampire at least, despite the fact she knew a great deal of magic of her own, could be easily disposed of if the right measures were taken. A simple stake through the heart, decapitation, or exposing her to sunlight or fire would do the trick well enough. Holy magics Auora knew would also work against the woman, but out of the two undead, Auora felt herself far more attracted to the sensuous creature that the vampire presented than the lich.

At least with the vampire woman, there weren't pieces of flesh and muscle falling off at random moments, neither did she smell that bad either, so that helped quite a bit to appeal to the asari's desires. And from the alluring gazes she had been receiving for the past year, she figured the feeling was mutual. Things had just been too busy to entertain anything of the sort was why Auora hadn't pursued anything with the vampire.

"Pardon me for asking but what took so long to begin with?" The lich asked, his voice seeming to come from some deep grave or rancid infested cave. It was just another reason why the asari hated the walking and very ugly former human that had thought it a good idea to become what he was now; a literal walking disease. She still had to give him an answer despite the fact that she hated his literally rotting guts.

"Well some of your number didn't agree with the Eclipse being here until we helped you lot reclaim your lost cities and fortresses here in the Moonsea region. It wasn't until we cleared out your competition; the pirates, the thieves, and the legions of undead that had taken hold over your domain after you lost against the Shadovar all those years back, that we started making some real progress once we had your support." Auora's eyes shone with amusement since she knew that those same naysayers didn't like to be reminded of how things had turned to shit when they had made a foolish alliance with the Shadovar's hated enemies back in the day. She had purposely thrown that barb out there just to watch them squirm.

The moon elf vampire showed her fangs briefly, smiling wickedly as she nodded her approval of the alien woman's words. She wasn't afraid to speak for herself or her compatriots, even against such unusual and very deadly people the Zhentarim presented on all fronts.

It was why she liked Auora so much more than anything, since here was a woman who didn't know the meaning behind words such as complacency or fear, at least not after she knew how to handle any threats aimed her way. Still, part of it was simply because the vampire wanted to see what she tasted like, but more of her own desire stemmed from just how physically appealing the blue skinned woman looked to the elder vampiress.

Whatever the real reason, Auora was in her element as she stood and stared down the ones that even now wanted her group gone. "If not for my people you wouldn't even be here now, would you?! Do you really want to go back to scuttling in the dark and trying to regain the so called legendary power this group once had with so little resources you had on hand at the time before we came along?!"

"Enough!" The moon elf shouted, calming the crowd as they had been prepared to silence the alien once and for all, but one look at the undead sorceress silenced them, hopefully for good. "She's right. I would not have us return to the darkness we came from simply because we cannot accept outside help or are unwilling to try to adapt to the new way of things. You are fools to assume we could have gathered anything close to what we have again in the forty years that the Eclipse has aided us in reclaiming what was once rightfully ours before poor judgment and backstabbing nearly destroyed us completely."

"But Mistress Arya, surely you jest?!" One of the still living humans started to say until the silver skinned and black haired vampire sorceress seemed to suddenly appear before the man and picked him up by his neck with one hand. He uselessly kicked and flailed against the superior strength leveled against him with Arya's face twisted into a horrible visage of its former beauty as she bared her fangs at him.

"That's enough! Put him down Arya!" The lich finally stepped in as he stood to his feet, earning a red eyed glare from Arya herself but she casually let the man drop without a second look where he took in ragged deep breaths to calm the pounding headache he was already feeling behind his eyes. Auora had to stop herself from pulling her pistol and putting an end to the idiot human herself, feeling quite smug that Arya had taken her side in this little debate. "Our plans are unchanged. We will attack Baldur's Gate first, secure it against any outside interference, and work our way up and down the Sword Coast from there. Now unless you want me to change my mind and let Arya make a meal out of anyone that objects, I suggest you prepare yourselves in the meantime as well as spread the message along to any and all of our soldiers. This council is adjourned!"

The few that were against the Eclipse quickly departed lest Arya decided to make a snack out of them anyway even though the lich had said otherwise. The rest of the meeting hall emptied out save for Arya, the lich who's name Auora didn't care to remember, and herself. The lich didn't stick around however since he could see where this was likely to go if the gazes those two headaches were giving each other was anything to go by. "Try not to tear the place apart." Was all he said as he wandered off without another word, shaking his bald head back and forth in annoyance. And people wondered why he had become a lich.

Arya didn't have to beckon Auora to follow her as the two wandered off to the vampire's private quarters. "Thank you for scaring that guy shitless. He had it coming." Arya smiled over her shoulder at the asari, her red soulless eyes twinkling in amusement. Red as blood as they might be, Auora wasn't afraid of the woman in the least despite the fact she could have easily snapped the still breathing asari's neck with a casual flick of her hand if she so desired….or worse sunk her fangs into her and sucked her dry.

"He was as you say an ass and needed to be put in his place. They all do for still thinking the old ways are better, that we support ourselves and let no outsiders join our ranks for fear of appearing weak. Forward thinking individuals like ourselves need to guide these fools lest they lead us to destruction yet again." Arya replied, her voice falling across Auora's ears like silk. Goddess she could listen to Arya talk all damn day. But she hoped they were planning something a little more than simply talking.

As if reading her mind, Arya stopped and turned on her heel, pinning Aoura to the stone wall behind her before planting her cold, black painted lips against the asari's purple, moaning softly as cold flesh met warmth lips. Aoura felt the older woman's tongue press against her teeth and the asari parted them, letting the vampire's appendage access to her mouth as she felt a hand rub against her head fringe, making Auora moan softly into the kiss they shared.

Just as quickly as it started, Arya pulled away, leaving a blushing asari panting as desire pulsed in her chest and radiated outward from there. "Damn….is it…always that intense…with you Arya?"

"Do you mean because I'm a vampire or simply because of my own personality traits you find so appealing, Auora?" The elven woman asked, earning a grin from her current and soon to be lover if things went her way, and they always did. "I have had many lovers in the past, men and women alike of various races. I however have not had the pleasure of an asari in my bed, and I find even in my eternity so far that the prospects are quite….appealing from what I've read about your species, Auora."

She had forgotten that they had set up a few extranet terminals in Zhentil Keep, allowing the locals to read up on the galaxy at large but most tended to avoid the machines, thinking them a waste of time. Computer savvy they were not, but a few, like Arya for example, were thirsty, even hungry for knowledge, and they were willing to go outside their comfort zones and learn new things, some quicker than others just like anywhere else. Still, Auora smiled wider as her green eyes fell on Arya's blood red orbs, further cementing whatever passed for a relationship between such a creature as Arya was.

"I would advise against melding with me however Auora. I know not what it might do to you since technically, I haven't been alive for three hundred years, and most of that time I was asleep, buried deep underground with no way out until Mordoc SeLanmere was destroyed, and his Keep of Pale Night sacked. Despite my overall evil nature, I value you too much as a partner and a fellow Lord of the Zhentarim to have your mind fracture from joining our nervous systems together since what you 'see' might not be anything you'd ever wish to see again." Arya warned, having caught the gist of how asari procreated, either for simple pleasure or for producing more asari young.

Either way, she didn't technically care in the same sense as she had when she had been alive, but she still had enough of her more 'human' side left that she didn't want to destroy Auora's sanity if the vampire's very nature somehow corrupted the connection the asari created when they melded with potential mates.

"You worry too much Arya. I've killed people, tortured a few even; it's what we Eclipse do. Still, that doesn't mean we can't have some fun even if you'd rather not have us join as one and all that crap. We can still fool around like normal folk; it's just more fun when we can share each other's sensations at a very deep level." Auora smirked, but she was curious to see if there would be any ill effects from melding with an undead. She just wasn't brave enough to do it herself was all. "Tell you what, we caught a traitor in our midst the other day. I was planning to shoot her myself but I think I have a better idea."

Arya's red eyes lit up with glee at the idea laid out before her a moment later.

2178 CE. March 5th

The Woods of Sharp Teeth. The Western Heartlands

SSV Hastings, med bay.

Preparing for the storm…

After having gotten her thoughts in order, Alexandria stood and started to search through her armor suit's pockets, finally finding a spare omni-tool that had access to the extranet, same as the one she wore on her right hand. "I knew I had a spare." Giselle wasn't entirely sure what to make of the wire frame device that the human had pulled out, but she soon had a fair idea after Alexandria showed her how to operate the thing.

Omni-tools were all purpose devices that could do quite a bit, especially in the hands of a tech expert. While neither woman would probably ever qualify as one, it was still pretty straight forward enough that even Giselle, a 'backwater local' as some would probably call her, was able to get the hang of the advanced piece of technology that was now strapped to her right hand without interfering with any of her movements of said limb. "Pretty handy, I'll give you that Shepard, but why give this to me?"

"Because there's something that you should know before you agree to help us out here any further. In reality you might have been involved with us too much already, but it involves one of our most basic rules of our ruling government back home and I thought it'd sink in better if you read it for yourself." Giselle nodded as she was directed to a single page that detailed that very rule. The Underdeveloped Planet Preservation Pact, or the UP3 to be precise.

On the orange holographic display, a window appeared which held the text to one of the Alliance's most basic tenants, and also one of their most important ones considering the fiasco that had resulted in their accidental tampering in the Relay 314 incident. The UP3 read as follows.

The Underdeveloped Planet Preservation Pact, UP3 for short, is a treaty aimed at protecting planets with civilizations that are not yet fully developed. Alliance laws strictly prohibit contact with such planets and the reason for this is because contact with higher civilizations often greatly influences the path of history of underdeveloped worlds. All citizens and groups belonging to the System Alliance and its Parliament are required to adhere to this treaty, unless there is a clear and present danger to a person's life. This treaty is one of the most important sets of rules in the System Alliance, and delineates how Alliance citizens must act when in contact with an underdeveloped civilization. The UP3 also states that if Alliance personnel interact with people on an underdeveloped planet beyond a certain limit then those individuals must not be allowed to return to their own world but are then brought into the Alliance.

Giselle had to read it twice as the reality of her situation sunk in. She looked to Shepard and back to the omni-tool strapped to her wrist, realizing she was seriously screwed if this was what it seemed like it meant and Shepard's government decided to act on this ruling. "And you didn't tell me this before why exactly?"

"Because as much as I knew about it, our situation at the time demanded I take any help I could get Giselle. I doubt I'd have made it through that mess myself, and my CO had us go on ahead and scout out your world anyway, so it wasn't like I could disobey a direct order, as much as I knew it wasn't in your world's best interest that we kept away just to avoid this from happening." Alexandria countered, sighing heavily since it was one of those, damned if you do damned if you don't situations, and it sucked either way. "I chose the lesser of two evils it seems anyway if the Eclipse have been here for 40 years as evidence would suggest."

"So what happens now then? Do we all have to leave our world because of this merc band's interference, as well as yours I might add?" Giselle snapped back, not liking the idea of suddenly being taken off her world just because of what they had stumbled upon and the fact they had been exposed to far more advanced technology than anything they could have ever dreamed possible before a few days ago.

"We have no idea how many people have actually been exposed to what we're capable of Giselle so it's not that I'd be worried about. No, I'd imagine that the Council will send contact teams and try to smooth things over, as well as see if your world's people would be able to handle being uplifted as a whole." Alexandria countered calmly, trying to put Giselle's obvious aggressive stance and tone at ease. She could understand her anger, but considering the mess they all had chanced upon, Shepard figured there wasn't any other way this could have gone.

"Uplifted? No, hold on, let me look it up." Giselle said before Alexandria could speak again. If she was going to end up stuck out in space with her, she might as well start to get used to the idea that things like this omni-tool were going to be part of her everyday life. Sighing heavily as she muttered angrily under her breath, Giselle's dexterous fingers flew over the holographic keyboard's interface, smiling to herself despite the fact she was still rightfully upset over what she had just learned. If nothing else, she was learning fast, so it made her smile at her own accomplishment with the new device on her hand.

"Here we go. I don't think the definition I'm looking for has anything to do with animals being experimented on so that they have some form of intelligence, so let's skip to the next one…ah here we are." Again she had to read it twice, but the idea of what laid before her wasn't nearly as upsetting as the UP3 had been a moment ago. This at least sounded far better. "So basically what this is saying is that we'd be given a chance to join your galactic society Shepard? That we'd be given a chance to use technology like the ones you brought with you?"

She could see a lot of problems with this whole affair, but the benefits far outweighed the negative of such a thing. They might actually be able to stop killing each other for more than five minutes and even have a chance to become something far greater than what they were now. It'd be a long process she was sure, but given the fact that these Eclipse had been messing around with Toril already, it probably wouldn't matter in the end anyway.

"If everything goes according to plan then yes, but that depends if the talks that are likely to take a while to complete between your leaders and the first real contact teams goes alright of course." She didn't want to mention how the Krogan Rebellions had gone though since according to the history texts, the krogan had similarly been uplifted and because of their war like natures, had nearly went on a rampage across the galaxy. It wasn't until a genetically engineered sterility plague was introduced on their home world and their colonies that they had been put under control once again.

It turned out that Shepard wouldn't have to since the site that Giselle was on happened to have an example or two of past uplifted planets and their natives. The first was the drell who the hanar had saved when their home world of Rakhana underwent massive ecological change for the worst, becoming a lifeless husk of its former self. The other was the before mentioned krogan who had been uplifted to stop another threat called the rachni, who had been a threat to the galaxy before the krogan got out of control themselves after completely crushing the insect like race.

Giselle read all this quietly, only occasionally looking up at Shepard with a strange and indecipherable look on her onyx face. When she was done, she stood once again, having sat back on the log since there was a lot to read and surprisingly enough listen to since some of the information text boxes had an audible option to them. Shepard was worried since Giselle hadn't said anything for almost two hours straight, so it was a relief to hear what was on her mind.

"It's…a lot more to take in than I had thought was possible Shepard. Despite my personal misgivings about what is likely to happen once the leaders of the galactic community….gods that sounds strange coming out of my mouth….sends their teams to try to work out how to fix this situation in one form or another, I still want to learn more. I…just need time to adjust is all, Alexandria." Giselle finally said, earning a relieved smile from the human.

"As you said earlier, I'd be worried if you adjusted right off Giselle." That earned a light hearted grin from the half Drow warrior, sharing the little inside joke they had going for them already.

Giselle's smile disappeared however as she felt her stomach growl, having forgotten all about the fact she hadn't eaten for at least a day and a half at present. She looked up from her new omni-tool and looked to Shepard before speaking again. "I'll keep this with me since even if things don't go as planned, then from your own rules it seems that I'd have to travel with you anyway. Until then, I think I could take a bit of time to eat before diving back into this thing." The holographic display was not visible at that moment as Giselle waved her right hand to indicate the omni-tool, earning a nod from Alexandria as she beckoned her new friend back into the ship.

Giselle quickly learned that marine rations were tasteless at best, but at least they got the job done and provided the sustenance she required. She ignored the looks she was receiving from the other soldiers and staff, focused solely on the food before her until a heavy hand fell on her right shoulder about halfway through her meal in the mess hall. Swallowing what was in her mouth, Shepard's blue eyes fell on the man who was currently leering down at the half Drow. "Do you want to explain to me why you have your hand on my shoulder?"

The guy was in his early thirties and he was the biggest crewmember on the Hastings at about six foot three inches and wide as a brick shit house. Giselle simply stood and stared up at the man's face, her brown eyes holding a fire in them that had the big fellow backing up a step before he realized what he was doing. "Yeah, I didn't think we were taking on pets Commander." The guy said, earning an equally hard glare from Shepard as Giselle smirked in amusement at this idiot's comment.

"Keep talking and I'll raise your voice a couple of octaves." Giselle replied, earning a guffaw from the soldier before her. He was bent over at the waist, his hands on his knees as he tried to regain his composure and take this girl down a couple notches. He never got the chance as Giselle waited for the first strike to fall. She didn't have to wait long as a deceptively quick punch for her stomach came from his right hand which was balled up into a fist that was almost as big as her head.

No one saw the movement as she slipped to the side, grabbed the arm and seemed to flow around the giant of a man as she redirected the flow of his attack, putting enormous strain and pressure on his shoulder as she stopped behind him. He went down with an anguished scream, whimpering like a babe as she held him in place, his arm bent so far that his hand was touching his left shoulder. "I might not look like much, but never underestimate an opponent if you want to live past tomorrow. Do we have an understanding?" To emphasize her point, Giselle jerked the arm back further, earning another scream as the man frantically nodded his head, wanting the pain to stop before she broke his arm for good.

Shepard and the rest of the mess hall were stunned but since she had seen Giselle in action already, she recovered first as she shook her head in amazement at the display of skill. The guy had a reputation of being a hindrance because of that very nature of his, acting superior and even a bully to some who he deemed weaker than himself. To see him so easily put in his place was quite fitting, especially given who had done the deed with barely any effort on her part. She didn't think this would be the last instance he'd need to be shown who was truly in charge, but at least there was more than her willing to stand up to him now.

Giselle let go of the arm and casually sat down again as if nothing happened while the guy she had put down limped away to the med bay, still feeling a deep ache in his wrecked shoulder. The applause was scattered but the ones that had thought it quite impressive were the ones that looked to their new guest with open admiration. It seemed even here Giselle was going to have a fan following. The thought made Shepard smirk. "I didn't overstep my bounds there I hope, but I don't take kindly to idiots and those they think that they are better than everyone else simply because they're the biggest or the strongest or whatever."

"You defended yourself Giselle, nothing more nothing less. I know you could have done a lot more from our run through the Hands of Glory but I wasn't worried for his continued existence, as much as a headache he's been in the past." Giselle nodded to Shepard's words, still a little worried that she might have landed Alexandria in more trouble but at the time she hadn't been thinking of that. She had felt threatened so she had responded in kind, defending herself against the potential threat the guy had represented without a second thought. She could have easily killed him but that definitely would have been more trouble than it was worth, that and it hadn't been needed anyway.

The rest of the day was uneventful with Giselle meeting the rest of the crew, all of them knowing about the Eclipse threat and while most of them were willing to help clear them out, a few such as the captain thought they didn't belong out here and should have long been gone. If not for the repairs that still needed to be done, if it was up to them they probably would have left by then. Even so, the vast majority were willing and it gave hope to Giselle that maybe the rest of the galaxy, if she was forced to leave or she came willingly, wouldn't be so bad if things continued to look up for the most part.

As for the giant among them who had fallen as easily as Goliath had according to one man's comparison that Giselle overheard, he didn't bother her for the rest of the day as she sat in a dark corner of the mess and looked through more of the omni-tool, gathering as much information as she could while they waited for their reinforcements to arrive.

The following is a personal entry belonging to Ms. Giselle Do'Urden, current guest of the SSV Hastings, an Alliance military vessel. Current location is the Viper Nebula, Bahak System, Planet Toril.

Entry 001. Dated 2178, March 5th, 7;30 PM.

A few days ago I did not know that there was life beyond Toril. I did not know that there were countless planets beyond this one that are teeming with life. A few days ago, I was simply worried about stopping a reformed band of assassins from carrying out their nefarious plans in Baldur's Gate, meeting with a contact that knew of their current location, never expecting things to turn as they did. Instead of the simple go in, slay everyone that got in my way, and go out plan with the Grand Duke's daughter I HAD set up in my head, I instead wound up getting entangled with forces beyond anything I could have ever dreamed of.

Suddenly I'm part of a galactic community that stretches across what they call the Milky Way Galaxy, my home planet being on the south eastern edge of one of the spiral arms of said galaxy. I know all this because I checked our current location on the holo map that dominated part of the CIC while someone else had the map pulled up. To suddenly go from blissful ignorance to knowing without a doubt that you're part of something far bigger….it's harder than I let on to Alexandria Jones Shepard, hero of the Skyllian Blitz, and quite possibly one of the most important allies I've made since all this began. The fact I'm typing instead of writing all this down in the old leather bound diary I keep in my pack is strange enough, but if I am going to be stuck with these people whether I like it or not, then I might as well start getting used to using their technology as fast as I possibly can.

Which brings me to something else that I want to put down here lest I forget about it later. The UP3 that I was introduced to makes a lot of sense now that I've gotten over the initial shock of what it meant for me. If the Krogan Rebellions are anything to go by, then perhaps it is best if the Alliance simply wipes out the mercs that have put themselves in business on my world and disappeared as quickly as they came since I know not if we are ready for the kind of power these people have at their fingertips. If it's managed appropriately, then perhaps I won't one day return to Toril and find it a barren wasteland scourged by nuclear fire or worse, but the advances they can bring to my world….it is a precarious balance of what we could truly put to the betterment of all here and what could potentially destroy us.

I know not what the future holds for my world of Toril, or if we will even be allowed to join the universe that is all around us without us even realizing it, but what I do know however is that whatever happens will happen and there will be no stopping it now. We are part of this now, and no matter what others might say or do, there is no going back now. I just hope and pray that we are ready to prove we are better than what we have been in the past.

If nothing else, there is one thing I know for certain, something I plan to share with Shepard and her mentor if he has ears to listen unlike the current man in charge of this Alliance vessel. If we do go against the Eclipse, then they would be wise to beware any allies they might have made since I suspect that with Marik's involvement, the Zhentarim are intertwined in this as well. If that is the case, then our chances of success might have dropped considerably since they and their Black Network have been a part of Toril since the early days of recorded history. A group like theirs will not go down without a fight, a fact their counterparts, the Harpers, can attest to since the two groups have been at war with each other for ages untold.

If that is the case however, then the Zhents will have a new reason to fear the darkness since I plan to go against them one way or the other. Given my personal history it makes sense, a fact Alexandria will surely pick up on if I happen to disappear from the Hastings and make my way to the Moonsea on foot if I have to. This isn't because I feel a need to avenge myself against them for what Marik did. This is a strong desire to see them put out of business once and for all because of what they represent and what they do on a regular basis to innocent people. The last time they were in true power, they had designs to drop the Onyx Tower in the middle of Baldur's Gate, only to have it stolen out from under them by a vampire lord named Mordoc SeLanmere, the Grey Prince and the self proclaimed king of all vampires.

I wouldn't normally consider such a course, but I have a feeling Shepard would follow me to make sure I didn't do anything stupid, and where she went, this David Anderson would likely follow. If it comes to that, that's what I'll be counting on. Otherwise, a unified attack against the Zhentarim will have a greater chance of success, and that is what I'm hoping for.

To hope for anything less would most likely lead to an early grave.

Shutting down her omni-tool, Giselle sighed heavily and leaned back against the wall she was so close to at that moment. Before she realized it, she had passed out from all the excitement and wouldn't awaken until the morning.

Meanwhile…

Jarlaxle, Drizzt, Neria, and the rest of Bregan D'aerthe had finally arrived on the edge of the encampment that housed the newcomers to this part of their world. Even Jarlaxle, who had already seen his first true alien and had subsequently executed the bastard yesterday morning, was taken aback by the sight of the massive warship that dominated most of the clearing. The sun had long since set and Neria's feet felt ready to fall off while the two elder adventurers she had ran all this way with seemed slightly tired but were otherwise none the worse for wear.

It annoyed her but she didn't say anything as she collapsed against a tall oak tree and sighed as she stretched out her legs before her, hoping they weren't going to be fighting tonight. She doubted she could have defended herself at that moment, not used to long distance running as the two Drow were by all appearances.

She had to consider that they had been going at this a whole lot longer than anyone currently alive most likely, but it still made her wish that she was better prepared for whatever laid before her. She needed to be on that ship, or at least be prepared for whatever dark future that still hung over their heads. Her heart told her that they were only arranging their pieces; the battle had not been avoided simply by coming here.

She didn't know she had fallen asleep until another dream hit her hard, waking her up with a barely suppressed scream. Luckily Drizzt had decided to sit beside her after talking things over with Jarlaxle for a time, and was just able to put his hand over Neria's mouth before she could alert anyone to their presence. "What did you see?" He asked, his voice a balm against the terror that was clear as day in the young elf maiden's sea green eyes.

Neria's racing heart took some time to calm from the fast gallop of a horse to a slightly fast trot as she took increasingly slow breaths to calm herself further, shivering as if stricken with fever. "It wasn't…prophetic this time….just old wounds. I'm sorry for troubling you Lo…Drizzt." She corrected herself, blushing a little as she looked away, but Drizzt's smile was enough to calm her embarrassment at the almost slip she had let pass her lips.

"Fear not Neria, and get some rest if you can. Jarlaxle's men will keep an eye on us and our fellow guests while we prepare for the morning. We'll try to see if they are as friendly as our mutual friend Alexandria has made them out to be by then." Neria nodded and did as Drizzt suggested, settling in for the night despite her misgivings about being surrounded by Drow on all sides. Before she knew it, Neria was asleep once more, and while her rest was fitful the entire time, she didn't wake up from a horrible nightmare at the very least so when the sun started to rise hours later, she was prepared for a new day.

Or so she thought…

A/N In keeping with R.A Salvatore's tradition, I have put up my first diary entry from our current Do'Urden resident, Giselle, using the new omni-tool she has on her right hand. Such entries will become common from here on out and they will likely have insights that would otherwise be unavailable. I hope you enjoy this chapter and any that follow in the days to come. ;D Until then, adios!