Mass Effect How the fate plays us

by Sandbox47

This is a full story of ME, ME2 and ME3 that starts at 2177 and ends with the death of the Reapers. It is NOT centered around Shepard but around Min, though the characters you know and love will be in it.

7. Chapter 6

Thank you for reading, I really appreciate your interest in my story and I wouldn't mind if you wrote reviews on my stories (constructive or deconstructive criticism, both help me immensely. If there is anything in particular you would like to see happening in the story, please tell me and I will do my best to fit it in, seeing how my policy is to take requests.

Chapter 6: The captain and the super secret base of pure evil

I had another one of those dreams again. They spoke to me again, leaving only the faintest traces of sense behind

A girl singing a song in words that have no meaning. Only the melody that attracts us. A philosopher, a wise man with no way to flee from the fire. A building of bones, built by the bones. Work of life and all of it lost now. A child gave hope. A girl singing a song in words that have no meaning. Lost in a chamber with no doors nor windows. The first and the last. It would be spread from us and the future would take the responsibility. The wise man. The singing girl. The Alliance. Akuze.

In the morning, the dream was too vague for me to remember the words.

The cruiser ACV Khan was an Alliance cruiser that was coloured in a most unorthodox manner. It was completely black, aside from the Alliance logo on the port side engine. And this is was also the ship taking us form Port Hanchan, corporate kind of place, to Akuze.

Liara and I had hitchhiked with a number of trader vessels to Port Hanchan where Garrus had told me that an Alliance ship I could trust (though I had no idea what he meant by that) was docked for repairs. And that had been our ticked on board. It had taken me a lot of haggling with the captain, captain Beckett Carter, to finally make him agree to allow Liara aboard.

And when I finally boarded, taking my place on the engine deck, which was a hell of a lot bigger than any of the merchant ships, I saw a very interesting notice.

'Liara. Look.' I pointed towards a chart on one of the displays. It was the display that controlled what was being shown in the mess hall displays. There were movies, music and stuff like that. But there was also information notices like "Noveria – Safest corporate world in the galaxy" or "Praise the Enkindlers".

One such notice said "The greatest young minds of Alliance space". My name was listed. More than that, it was listed on the top. With four hundred points. The nearest one to me had three hundred and eighty seven. I thought back to that stupid MENSA-like test. It had had ten questions per page. Forty pages in all. Sweet. I had the high-score on Alliance bookworms.

'I don't understand.' frowned Liara, looking at my name. 'What is this?'

'It was a sort of IQ test I did in the hospital to make sure that I wasn't mentally handicapped.'

Liara looked closer and the drew in a sharp breath.

'This is the Thessia Academy acceptance exam form from my school days.' she said, looking closer. 'Yes, it is the same one.'

'Really? How much did you get?' I asked, trying not to sound too smug.

'I got three hundred something. But I never went to Thessia Academy anyways. Why is this in Alliance databanks?'

I shrugged.

'Maybe they wanted to compare us to asari.' I guessed. 'They keep doing stupid stuff like that. I remember once when they had a survey on how our reaction times by firing bullets and then making notes on how fast we pressed the buttons. I think that I was amongst the bottom ten.' I winced at the memory. I'd shrieked with every shot, removing my hand from the button instead of pressing it. 'And then it turned out that it was a turian military pass test and that we'd scored less than the turian training camps and were nowhere near the turian military.'

Liara seemed shocked.

'I would have thought that you had good reflexes.' she mused.

'I do. I did, I flinched away every time. I just didn't much care for siting still and pressing a button while someone was shooting at me. Or, you know, close to me.'

She looked at me wonderingly.

'What?' I asked, unselfconscious.

'You really don't like violence.' she said softly. 'I wouldn't have thought that if I hadn't seen your reaction when the turians sparred.'

I thought about this. It wasn't that I didn't like violence. Well no, it was, but I just so saw many other ways to resolve a conflict that there didn't seem to be a point. And because I always felt guilty for hurting someone. That was probably my weak point. I couldn't stand up for myself if it meant that someone would get angry.

A few other engineers entered the engine deck and we exchanged greetings.

They were Martin Donnelly and Elisabeth Daniels. We shared a few polite words, they asked about what I and Liara were doing and why we wanted to go to Akuze again. I asked them in turn about their training and how they came to work on a ship.

'Why is the ship black?' asked Liara the first actual question I cared about.

'Oh, well...' said Martin in his very Scottish accent, '... that's because this is an intelligence ship. We cruise around planets and collect intel. And sometime pirates come to the same planets but with the common infrared scanners they won't detect the black hull. It is only detectable by heat seeking equipment that stuff, most pirates won't afford.'

I nodded. This was actually a good idea. I wondered why not every Alliance ship was black.

'Because colour makes an identity.' answered Elisabeth. 'I asked the same question when I was in engineer academy. If Alliance had a fleet of black ships then we would have been taken for dark and dangerous figures. And as we are already heavily distrusted from so many sides, that wouldn't be helpful at all.'

I had to agree that she was right. Psychology was as important as secrecy. For the politicians at any rate. I was certain that, when in battle, a soldier will always take the safe route and not the politically correct one.

'Well, either way, this is the biggest ship I've been on since I started my career.' said Liara, impressed.

'Your career?' asked Martin.

'I am an archeologist, a prothean expert.' she explained simply.

'That sounds interesting. But it can't be easy finding remains of someone who died out fifty thousand years ago.' he said, impressed.

'Trust me, it's not.' I grumbled.

'What do you do, Min?' asked Elisabeth.

'I...' did I have a job? No? Good. 'I just follow Liara around really. All the digging equipment is very technical, so...' I trailed off, not sure what to say.

'Sounds like an interesting way of life.' nodded Martin wisely.

'Too much so.' agreed Liara. 'Lately at any rate.'

'That sounds like a story.' said Elisabeth.

'Not that interesting.' I interfered before Liara could start on it.

'Well, it might make a good lunch story.' she shrugged.

'Have you done this?' asked Martin, gesturing to the young minds of Alliance notice.

The name on top was Numine and not Min and as most people failed to see the connection between the two, I wasn't really too concerned with the notice.

'Nope. But it looks really easy.' I shrugged.

'No way.' he shook his head, grinning. 'I did it and let me tell you, whoever got more than two hundred is a bleeding genius. I had no idea how to figure most of them out. The scores you see here are mainly asari.'

I took a closer look at the names. Maybe he was right, I couldn't tell really. There was Benezia on seventh place. Someone called Atheyta on third place but nothing else that looked really like asari. I guessed that maybe the fifteenth place; Aria, could also be an asari but Liara was far from sure about that.

'There's no point in trying to figure it out, we didn't get a single human in with the elites aside from the one on top. And as far as I know, she is just some savant.' Martin shook his head.

'Maybe it's time for the brass to give humans some space to learn and hone their skills before comparing us with other races.' said Elisabeth heatedly.

I couldn't have agreed more. I could clearly remember my confusion as I'd gotten the test. It still didn't make sense as to why they'd give it to me. Then I remembered something about that day. When I'd done the test, asari and salarians had been present. All of them, aside from one, had been interested in what my replies were. And the tight faces they wore after seeing my results... It didn't make sense. None of it.

I retold Liara of that day in whispers, as I didn't much like for the Alliance crew to know too much about me. I wondered if I was being paranoid. Yes? Good. If paranoid meant alive then it beat naive and dead.

'So asari were actually present when you did the test.' frowned Liara. 'I don't know what that could mean. To be fair, I don't much know about the test or the academy.'

After my investigations of Akuze were done with, I'd go and pay that academy a visit, I decided.

And now that I came to think of it, shouldn't they have made Jean do the same test?

As i got friendly with the core of the ship, it's engines and workings I found out that the two engineers were very good at their jobs. It was in flawless condition, aside from some kind of radiation interference that seemed to be causing circuit failures in spasmodic fashion within the core.

'I don't know what might be causing this.' admitted Martin. 'The radiation is very weak and shouldn't be having any effect at all on anything within the core. But...' he shrugged.

I frowned. Maybe it wasn't the radiation that messed with the circuits. Maybe whatever was messing with the circuits caused radiation.

'Can we get an overview of the whole engine?' I asked, looked at the readings. The seemed fine as far as I could tell.

'Sending them to you. You think it might be an obstruction?'

'I think that it might be a malfunction.' I replied, checking the engine scans. They were clean as well.

'We've tried shutting it down and starting it up again, but the problem's still there.' said Elisabeth tweaking the engine for me to get a better look at it.

'That's crude.' I chuckled.

'If it works, then...' shrugged Elisabeth.

'Well, it's not the engine.' I said, certain of that.

'I'm pretty sure it is.' Martin shook his head. 'It's coming from the left hand core power line regulation array.'

'The engine still runs, doesn't it?'

'Well yes, but it's glitchy.' nodded Elisabeth.

'Then it's not the engine. It's either something within the programing, maybe a virus, or the weapons have leaked some kind of toxin into the heat sinks.'

'I'll check the programing.' offered Elisabeth.

Martin sighed as if in defeat.

'And I'll go and climb the ducts.' he muttered.

And true enough, the weapons had overheated last time they were fired and, though they remained intact and operational, the coolant had burst open and leaked into the palladium contraptions that were placed just bellow the main gun and that were directly connected to the core of the ship.

'Ah, blimey, this is a mop up job!' groaned Martin into the com. 'Why can't we get mechs for this kind of tasks!'

'Keep working, Martin. You're doing just fine. I'm sealing the contraptions.' smiled Elisabeth.

We heard grumbling through the com.

'Captain, we'll need new NSD seals and palladium contacts to replace the old ones. We've had a leak.' said Elisabeth into the com.

'Where was the leak, Daniels?'

'Our weapons overheated and coolant burst open. We're moping it up but we'll need new parts.'

'What do you mean by we?' asked Martin, affronted. 'I don't see you moping anything!'

'I'm rerouting the circuits.' she replied calmly. 'Someone has to.' she winked at me.

'Stop bickering. Is this something you need now?' asked the captain.

'Preferably. Or maintenance will be a bitch... Sir.' replied Elisabeth.

'Alright, I'll send someone to get what you need.' replied captain.

'Foof.' she shook her head. 'The pilot's going to be happy. He's been at our throats for days now. Says that it's hard enough to fly this thing without the constant fluctuations.'

I thought back to flying in an internally dismantled shuttle. The pilot had a point.

Liara and I stood about in the engine deck for a few more minutes, but as nothing else was required nor was anything else likely to happen we decided to look about the ship. It was a very stylish ship, I couldn't deny that. Comfort was emphasized in every corner of the ship. The mess had several tv monitors showing vids and news. A gaming console was placed in the med bay, surrounded by games and antibiotics. I tried to make the antibiotic joke for Liara now.

'For people with biotic issues we have antibiotics here.' I pointed. Liara frowned at me.

'How would antibiotics help?'

I decided to shut off the translator and explain the thing in salarian to her. It took a while but eventually she understood.

'I see. Who named the ability to control dark energy for biotics?'

I shrugged.

'I don't know. Maybe they didn't realize that it would have a counterpart when they came up with the name. Come to think of it... biotic is something that's alive.'

Liara thought this through. Here was a linguistic barrier that would be hard to overcome. I decided to do this at a later date. With more witnesses for help.

'So what do you hope to find on Akuze?' she asked me quietly.

'I don't know. To be honest...' I looked down, not sure how to phrase it. '... I don't really want to find anything.'

'What do you mean?' she asked, worried.

'Well... these last few weeks. They have been hectic. But they were still nice. I like being with you and spending our evenings talking about culture and history. I've never met anyone who knows so much about those two subjects.' I frowned, trying to put my hesitation into words. 'But I remember why I have to go to Akuze. I won't be... free until I have returned to see the place for myself.'

We were sitting at a table in the mess, only another group of marines were sitting further down from us and they were engrossed in their own conversation.

Liara took my hand and stroked my fingers gently.

'I am glad that you feel this way.' she said. 'I mean, that you enjoy spending time with me. I was worried that you'd think I was dull.'

Then something made her look up at me in a frown.

'What did you mean?'

'About what?' I asked, taken aback.

'You said that you didn't want to find anything on Akuze because you enjoy being with me. So... what will happen if you do find something?'

I thought. What could possibly be the worst I'd find? The Alliance had already been there to get the bodies so there were no more monsters. The worst I would find is something that leads me to the people responsible. But what would that mean for me and Liara? I wouldn't turn her down if she wanted to come along. But from there on, she would have to know all of it. Did it even matter if she knew or not? Was I really just being paranoid? I asked her this.

'I don't think that you are paranoid.' she conceded unwillingly. 'But you don't seem to know what you are doing.'

'Oh good. I was afraid that everything was going by a plan.'

'Would that have been bad?' she frowned.

'Yes. Because this would have been a rubbish plan.'

She laughed.

'I can rest assured now then.' she smiled. 'At least our transport is decent this time.'

This I had to agree with. It was a very luxurious ship.

A few minutes later the ship took off to our next destination, the engines back on full power and stability.

The captain came over to sit with us.

'So.' he said, looking at both of us shrewdly. 'Why exactly am I taking you two to Akuze?'

'Isn't there a don't ask, don't tell policy in the Alliance?' I asked hopefully.

'About sexuality and it only applies to Alliance, not freelancers.' he waved it away as if it wasn't important.

'I have unfinished business there.' I said simply.

'On a planet where hundreds of humans died from giant worms? Interesting business. Might be a bit... over your head.' he hinted.

'We're just having a look around.' I insisted. If I was honest with myself, there was no danger on Akuze. It was the rest of the galaxy that was dangerous. Maybe we could settle on Akuze? The image of the ruins and the waiting asari in the doorway came into my mind then and I had to shake my head in order not to lose it.

'Well, now that I'm taking you there I might as well go down with you to have a look.' he said, shrugging. I couldn't tell whether there was a motive behind this or if he was simply worried about us.

Garrus's assurance that I could trust this ship came to mind. Had he meant this? How much did Garrus know by now? I'd have to call him soon. I missed him.

'We would appreciate that.' said Liara.

The captain looked at her, indecision written all over his face. Then he looked at me as if to say something. Then he shook his head in a comical way and walked off.

'He seems like an honourable person.' said Liara, not having noticed the captains behaviour.

'He does.' I agreed. 'To whom though?'

'You don't trust him?'

'I do. A lot. More than I would trust other captains. That means nothing though when push comes to shove.'

'You want to... shove him?'

I blinked.

'No. I meant that... Never mind, it's just human pessimism.'

'Maybe you should try and see the good in every situation.'

I looked about the ship. The bathroom sign had the shower sign attached to it.

'I can see the good bit perfectly from here.' I nodded. Liara followed my gaze. She sniffed me.

'You are right.' she agreed.

'Hey!' I sniffed her. Nothing. Damn. 'How come you don't smell?' I complained. Though if you think about it, I was better off because I could live with my smell and not be bothered by any other one. She would have endure someone else's.

'I don't know. Anatomy and physiology isn't something I have studied overly much.' she shrugged.

'When's food time?' I asked the two cooks who were standing and talking casually.

'In an hour.' replied the female cook, smiling. 'You'll hear the bell.' she assured me. This was just such a nice place that I worried whether it was trying to lure me into a false sense of safety and then attack. That's it. I am paranoid.

I spent most of the time in the engine deck, talking to Elisabeth and Martin about their job. Liara was sitting and sifting through the information we'd gotten on Regdov. Or trying to at the very least.

'The script is similar to the tidbits I've found over the years but it seems to be in a different dialect. And as I haven't managed to translate the first one...'

But that didn't stop her from trying. It didn't even come close to diminishing her enthusiasm. And by the time we went to bed, she had stacks of notes on every symbol we found. I was so tired that I fell asleep instantly.

A hall full of people. A crowd of leaders, worshipping their martyr. A wise man, smiling at the wrong we made. The singing girl, forgave us for the crimes against our world. A man of metal. A million more to be pursued by cloaked wraiths. Speaks through the blood that was created for his pleasure alone. Begs for the master to be kind. The fire sees me. A man of metal. A wise man. A singing girl.

I woke up with a start. Damn. These dreams and voices were really getting to me. I tried to remember what it all had been about. A kind of tool, maybe? It had made sense in the dream, but now... Was this from the prothean antenna? That beacon? I couldn't be sure, but that's what had started it.

'Liara.' I shook her gently.

'Mmm? Sweet.' she sat up, blinking dazedly. 'What is it?' she yawned.

'Remember that mind reading thing you did after I started up that prothean ruin?'

'Yes.'

'Can you do it again?'

She sat up to her full composure, alert now.

'What is wrong?'

'I've been having... vision-like dreams. They've been speaking to me.'

She looked alarmed.

'Ah... alright, just give me a moment.' she took a few deep breaths. Shook her head. Took a few more breaths.

'Embrace eternity.'

I wondered why she always said that. And then my mind was full of my dream again. But it wasn't that same, obvious feeling about it. Liara was struggling with every word and image, trying to keep them steady, to keep them from flowing out of reach before she could see them.

'Wait.' I halted her and felt pain in my head as the connection was broken.

'Ah. Don't do it like that.' she moan, clutching her head.

'I'm so sorry!' I gasped, massaging her shoulders. 'I didn't know.'

We sat in silence for a while.

'I'm fine. It's alright.' she huffed after a moment.

'Don't fight the images, just let them come. Seeing them in passing give more sense to them.'

She nodded.

'Embrace eternity!'

The same torrent of images and emotions, words and sounds started again. But there was more than just the dream. And now that I had a chance to review them, they didn't seem to be about... people. The words that whispered into my mind and the images I saw didn't have any seeming connection. It was all just random gibberish. Eventually Liara sighed and moved away.

'Well?' I asked looking sheepish.

'I don't know. It's hard to explain.' she thought for a moment. 'If I had to guess at what it was... I would say that it was encrypted.' she nodded to herself. 'If we assume that the protheans knew how to use technology to communicate mind to mind then it would make sense that they could encrypt the devices as well.' she seemed troubled.

'But what did that all mean?' I asked desperately.

'I think that the words are your own. Your mind is trying to explain what is going on. But it is explaining the wrong parts. As if it has access to everything but you can only see a small part of it.' she rubbed her temples. 'I can't tell you what it all was. It might have a meaning and it might not.'

I fell back on the bed with a thump.

'Are you alright?' asked someone from nearby.

Sharing the room with five other beds meant that privacy was difficult.

'Elisabeth?' I looked around. 'Yes, I'm fine. Just a headache.'

She looked suspiciously at Liara, then nodded and returned to her bed, turning pointedly away from us.

'What's the time?' asked Liara, yawning.

'It's... oh. We've only slept for three hours.' I grimaced. 'Sorry.'

Liara just shrugged and fell asleep almost instantly. I tried to do that as well, I really did my best, but I couldn't shut down again. Instead I lay and watch the slow rising and falling of Liara's chest.

Somehow, impossibly, this was all connected. The Alliance. And Akuze. And the prothean base. And what had happened on the Citadel. If anything had happened there. I tried to see the possible connections.

Akuze is an Alliance colony. And someone from that colony had survived. And gone to the Citadel.

I shook my head. That made no sense. Alright, let's try again.

The protheans died out fifty thousand years ago. The Citadel was made by the protheans. The Alliance has an embassy on the Citadel. And Akuze is an Alliance colony.

Alright, so that was all joined very neatly, but it still made no sense. How about the dreams then? Where would they fit? They would fit... with the doctor. He had told me that I might experience complications from keeping that thing in my brain. Was this it? Nightmares? I'd have to call and ask later. Or why not now? Oh yeah, I didn't know his number. I couldn't even remember his name. The hospital seemed to be a hundred years ago.

Let's try another round.

The Alliance wanted something from the prothean base. So they send pirates to retrieve it and the pirates happen to chance upon me and Liara. That was possible, if not plausible. The protheans might have been the ones releasing the thresher maws on Akuze. That was... stupid.

I tried, I really did. But I couldn't figure this out. The Alliance protected its colonies. Akuze has nothing to do with any of the other things. What had happened on the Citadel was because of Alliance. Or was it because of Akuze? Garrus had told me that someone had a grudge? Were they still at large? Was that what he had meant when he told me that this was a ship I could trust? He was certain that the people with the grudge weren't on this ship?

And then, there is the prothean base. In retrospect, it seemed so impossible that pirates would come to just the world were on, and to just the place on the world we were on. And how convenient that the people in command of the ship while their leader was on the planet didn't check too closely whether they would hit him or not. I hadn't questioned that until now. But what if there had been a mutiny? What if someone had been pulling strings? And what if the person pulling the strings was the same one who wanted me dead on the Citadel?

A thought, a revelation, struck me. What if the person who had tried to kill me on the Citadel was responsible for Akuze? It seemed so obvious now. It made perfect sense. And yet... it seemed very outlandish. And it raised more questions. Had Akuze been the target, or had I been the target? Or were they simply trying to remove all the evidence? But if so, then I wouldn't find anything on Akuze.

I rubbed my temples. I was just over thinking it. I'd go to Akuze and have a look around. And then I'd go to Earth and show Liara what Japan looks like. Yes, that would be my goal for the future. I'd become an archeologist, just like her. And we'll earn loads on the book on protheans that we'll write together. And then we'll make a sequel after we'd finished translating our findings. I relaxed on the bed and tried to fall asleep. There was nothing to worry about.

'Before we leave.' I said, tugging at Liara's sleeve. The captain had just left, telling us to suit up.

'Yes?'

'I don't know what we can expect to happen down there... A few pointers, alright?'

She frowned at me but nodded.

'If there are men with weapons, use biotics to hold the trigger. If there are bugs, use biotics to shut their mouths. If there are thresher maws, run towards the shuttle and don't look back.' I looked at her intently. She nodded. 'Good. I have to go and speak to the captain.'

I wasn't sure what we would meet. In my mind, I saw that nightmare again. And I expected to find an army of soldiers waiting for us. My imagination was too moody nowadays.

'Captain.' I called. He was preparing a handgun.

'Yes?' he asked without looking up.

'When we go down... If we meet someone. Just in case, do you have something that will make them pause before killing us?' I asked nervously.

He frowned at me.

'You expect someone to want to kill us?'

'I expect many things. I hope that nothing will happen.'

He shook his head in a way that suggested disbelief at my daring.

'Yeah. I've got something that is worth anyone's time.' he replied, pocketing something flat and black.

The shuttle ride was filled with tension, my tension.

'So this is Akuze.' mused the captain as the shuttle's door opened. 'It looks nothing like the leaflets say it does.'

I couldn't speak. The nightmare I'd had on Regdov returning in vivid and terrifying light. Though pathetically incompetent at sensing emotions, Liara seemed to realize my discomfort because she took my hand and put it to her cheek, stroking it.

'It's fine. It is behind you now. I could sense it before.' she whispered.

I didn't know what she meant but felt comforted nonetheless. I nodded and stepped out of the shuttle. I expected the ruins to bring forth more nightmares, but they didn't. These ruins weren't old gods that towered over me and who's shadow would suffocate life. These ruins were just... ruins. Overgrown with plants already, dusty and familiar in a sad way.

'I went to school there.' I pointed out the ruin across from our shuttle. 'Horrible place.'

'You didn't like school?'

'I don't like school.'

Liara shook her head.

'With your skills, I thought that you must study a lot.' she said.

'Maybe that's why I don't like it.' I muttered.

We made our way through the rubble and the decomposing corpses of the thresher maws. Or, I say decomposing, really it was just dead worms. They didn't seem to rot. Maybe the radiation didn't allow it. Interesting. So by making yourself inaccessible to parasites, you could make your body look fresh after you die forever? Interesting indeed.

'These look fresh.' commented the captain as we passed really close by one of them.

'They are not decomposing.' nodded Liara. 'The radiation in this area must still be powerful enough to wipe out the parasites.'

I felt so smug I could almost sing about it. And then we reached the thing's head. It's eyes were open and empty. It struck me that the last thing it had experienced was confusion, anger, pain and then death. And before that, it had been buried somewhere underground in a lab. What a way to live. And what an end to a miserable life. I didn't want to be here. I wanted to turn around. It was hard to focus on why I had wanted to come here. What had I wanted to find? Nothing. I had simply needed this place as a reason to keep going.

The breath was knocked out of me as I realized that. I realized that this wasn't my home anymore. And I should have stayed at the Citadel with father. This had been stupid and rash. I was no different from any other dumb teenager out in the galaxy. Damn. I had been so sure that I was onto something.

I sank to my knees and just sat there, ignoring my company as they asked me whether I was alright and trying to make me hurry. They could leave without me, I didn't much care.

I looked up at the sun and it was brighter than what I used to remember it. Oh, right. The UV shield was down.

'Min.' Liara sat down next to me.

I wanted to tell her to give me some time but nothing came out. I was still.

'This must be hard for you.'

I felt amusement at that. Really? Must it? Shouldn't I have put this behind me? How long had passed since I was last here? I tried to count. Two months, give or take. Was that too short or too long? I couldn't tell.

'But I am here for you.' she continued in a soothing voice. 'Just tell me what this is about and I can help, I swear I can.'

I wanted to turn around and look at her but my head wouldn't budge. I was more or less a statue. Something in my mind forced me to get up. To move forward. I started walking, where I didn't know, but I was sure that I had a goal in mind. Liara and Becket followed me in silence. Well, Liara was silent, Becket was humming something. And we arrived at my house. It wasn't in ruins, like I'd seen it in my dream. It had a lot of bullet holes and dead bugs inside, but it was still standing. I entered the building, hoping that it wouldn't collapse on me. My guitar was still in the corner, untouched and unstrung for a while. A huge hole of melted plastic decorated our tv. A picture of father, mother and me stood on top of it. How very, very sad. I seemed to hear Jean's words in my head; I just can't stand all this melodrama. I smiled to myself. There was enough of that to last a lifetime.

'Nice place.' commented the captain with no real infliction. 'Yours?'

I nodded.

'Sorry about that.' he seemed embarrassed. 'But in my defence, I was in another solar system'

'I know. It's fine.' I muttered and felt Liara take my hand in support.

There were so many things I'd forgotten I owned. The "Black Flares" T-shirt was on the couch where I'd left it last. A "Mass Infect" poster on the wall of my room. The singer was a woman who dressed up as an asari with human hair while the guitarists and drummer were real asari, painted like humans. I like that band. I'd forgotten that I had two of their albums on my omni tool. I'd had to get around to listening to it later. Liara looked at the poster with raised eyebrows but said nothing.

My computer, full of half-finished programs, different games, different vids and songs. All that seemed so childish now. There was one game I really liked though and so I copied it onto my omni tool. "Blood Saga". It was a game based on asari superstition where you could be a turian, an asari or a salarian and fight your way through the game in different ways and with different resources.

A wave of regret washed over me as I took the house in. It was gone now. I couldn't go back to this life, even if I didn't have my stupid crusade. I just couldn't imagine living like I had done before the attack again. It wasn't dull, but there was no Liara in that future. And there would be no Garrus or explosions in it either.

Is that it then? Am I an adrenalin junkie? Could be. Or have I been ruined? That was likely. Or am I just a normal teenager with foolish romantic notions about justice? That was probably it.

I sighed. There was nothing left for me here. This wasn't my world any more, one way or another.

'We had better go.' I said finally as the reminiscence was done with. The captain dropped the guitar, looking innocent.

'It's been a while.' he shrugged.

I had thought through how to find this secret facility. Firstly; it would have to be somewhere that was conveniently close to the colony because I was certain that they wouldn't have pipes or electricity there on their own. If they'd had then we would have know about them.

The first place I thought of was the head research facility of the colony that lay to the east of the central colony. The Yard. My mother had wanted me to work there, along with all the rest of my class mates. Pfft.

We walked slowly though the colony, cautious of anything that moved. The walk wasn't that long, seeing how the colony wasn't exactly New York or Presidium.

As we turned the corner of a dull, grey and ruined building we saw the Yard. There was a finely mowed lawn with statues and fountains as decorations. There were benches and tables where people could just relax and enjoy the filtered sun. It took me a minute of hacking to open the gate to the Yard. It wasn't exactly hacking, all I did was to convince that door that I was human. It asked me about Liara but I ignored it and we all entered.

'I feel... Well it's a bit cold down here.' I shrugged. I'd been here once before but it didn't impress me much back then either.

'Where are we?' asked Liara, interestedly.

'This is the Yard.' I gestured around. 'A research facility of some kind. We might as well start here.'

I shook my head in disbelief.

'Start doing what?' asked Liara, nervously.

'Start looking for information about my mother's murderers.' I replied calmly.

We entered a huge, domed room with loads of equipment with numbers and calculations. We walked by some of the terminals, looking with only mild curiosity at them. And then I saw my mother's name. It was just a file on who she was but seeing her picture, her name, her occupation. It brought reality to me more than anything else could have done. More than what my ruined house could have done. Without really thinking about it I sat down on a chair and began crying. For my mother. Just like I should have done so long ago. What the hell have I been thinking? Why have I forgotten to mourn the most important person in my life? Had I turned into something like my father?

I could feel the reaction to my new actions in the room. Liara seemed nervous and sad at the same time as she gently patted me on the back, whispering words of comfort only a lover could. The captain had walked off into the distance, looking at some piece of equipment.

'I'm sorry.' I said between sobs. 'For being strange and for all the explosions and... and all the rest!'

I wanted her to understand that she owed me nothing. And that I wouldn't hold her if she wanted to go. I didn't want her to see me like this. I didn't want to be like this to begin with. I envied the captain as he strode around the place, calm as ever. If I had been a man, I wouldn't have these feelings, would I? Did men, in fact, have fewer emotions than women did? No, that would make no sense seeing how Liara was neither but still had the same range of emotions. Maybe the captain was just so composed. Or maybe, he had already grieved enough in his life.

Whatever the reason for his calm, I was certain that behaving like I was now, a human sponge, it was very unattractive and not really interesting. So I stopped crying. I wiped the tears away and stood up, rather shakily yes, but I was on my feet.

'I'm fine.' I smiled at Liara who was still hugging me.

'You lost your mother here. No one in this entire galaxy could ever blame you for crying.' she whispered, displaying an uncharacteristically good sense of psychology.

'I know, yeah. It's tragic and all the rest.' I shook my head.

And then I remembered something. Jean. How she had dealt with sorrow. She had seemed perfectly... fine. She'd joked and laughed and been very alive all the time. Was it catching up to her as well, or was I just pathetically weak?

A message was sent to my omni tool. I started at the noise.

'What?' asked Liara in alarm.

'I... got a message.' I frowned.

I opened it. What I saw didn't help my composure at all.

'Darling... if you are seeing this then I am dead. Sorry about that.' said the recording of my mother. 'I want you to know that I love you really, really much. And that, if there's a way back from death, I'll try and find it, alright? So expect me back soon. But if I don't come back, as popular belief has it, then here are some things I never got around to telling you.'

I was holding hard onto Liara's arm, seeing this recording in what seemed to be a dream state.

'First of all, I have, in fact, swum with a dolphin. Your father took me to Earth on our honeymoon. I say this because swimming with dolphins... is not as much fun as it sounds. Basically, they are fish that can drown you. Secondly... Well, I'm sure you know your flowers and bees by now, so I'll give you the short version: boys hump everything and they will say anything to get into your pants. So be careful. Thirdly: this does not mean that you can quit school, young lady! I want to know that, after I die, you will continue your education and become a proper woman. Or man, I don't care where you sexuality lies. But still proper. And... be kind to your father. He will need you, now that I am gone. I love you.'

I giggled a kind of horrified giggle. What? Why didn't I get this before now? Well no, that was obvious. But... I couldn't phrase my thoughts.

'Your mother seems like a kind person.' Liara whispered and I started.

'Yeah, she was. Is. Was. Well, she never stopped being kind, just stopped... being. For a while.'

I wasn't sure what my reaction should have been to the message, but now that I'd seen it and seen that mother had accepted that she couldn't live forever, I felt better. I wasn't happier, but I was stronger. I...

'What is it, Mark?' asked the captain.

I looked about to see him frowning .

'An Alliance was ship has joined us. Apparently, Akuze is red-flagged, so they'll be keeping an eye out for monsters.' replied the pilot.

'How did they know we are on Akuze? Our files are classified.' asked the captain.

'Do you seriously want me to ask them or do you just want a theory?' asked the pilot, annoyed.

'Never mind then.' he looked up at us. 'If I were you, I'd hurry up and leave. Mourning can wait until you're on the ship.'

'We still haven't found anything.' I pointed out.

'Alright. What are you looking for?'

I thought. What I really was looking for was traces of people other than the colonists. I told him so.

'Interesting. And where would we find these traces?'

Where was that facility, exactly? They had told me that it was a secret facility and that it had been found inconveniently far away from the colony. So it would make sense if the Yard was connected to the facility through a tunnel. It would then make sense to go towards the recycling holds where it was easy and made sense to have a door or passage that connected the two places. It would probably be a false maintenance door. One that, as it's not mapped on the workers' schematics, never gets opened by the workers and one that no one else will dare to open. Has to be a radiation disposal or power cabinet. It would be easy to tell if it was a power cabinet, but more likely than not, it was a rad disposal. That would be harder to get right.

'Down there, to the left.' I pointed out the corridor that would eventually lead to the recycling holds.

'You sure?' he asked, raising his eyebrows. 'Not to the right or or any other of the million doors this place has?' he gestured around at the lack of any other doors in the room.

'Oh. Well then yes, I'm sure.' I nodded. Should have noticed the lack of options long ago really.

We started towards and through the doors, hurrying along the corridor for a reason I didn't understand.

'So... what is this about your mother's death that you want to know again?' persisted the captain.

'It is a long story.' I tried to evade.

'Good. I like long stories. I happen to like long women, long bottles and long journeys as well, so this is not out of character for me.'

I frowned. What a strange man.

'Can't we talk about it when we are in less of a hurry? And why are we in a hurry by the way?' I wasn't sure why but it felt as if it had something to do with the new Alliance ship.

'It's that Alliance ship.' said the captain, confirming my suspicion. 'No one in the Alliance aside from my superior ever knows where I am. And she's not likely to give other ships my coordinates on such a short notice without my requesting them.'

'I see. Can you confirm that?' asked Liara, even tenser than before.

'If I could, I would.' he shrugged. 'If I could, I'd be eating something really pleasant right now, like a... water melon.'

'But what is this ship doing here!' I asked, returning focus to task at hand.

'Ah... good question.' nodded the captain, rolling his eyes. 'If you want to ask, go ahead. I'm planning on being gone though, before they get some weird ideas.'

And then we entered the recycling holds. It was dirty and dusty. But it was intact. In here were about two dozen different doors. Some leading to cabinets and some to other corridors.

We passed all the doors with me checking for signs of anything unusual. Nothing. Then we passed all the doors with the captain shooting the locks of. This payed of much better. Our fifth door was a power unit door but instead of electric machinery there was just a thin metal wall. I checked for buttons or triggers. When I didn't find any the captain blew a hole in the metal with his gun. Crude, but it worked.

'Stop shooting things.' I said, eyeing the gun.

'And be deprived of my only fun? Why on earth, or on this planet, would I do that?' he asked innocently.

The hole in the metal led to an underground tunnel, much like a thresher maw tunnel, only oblong.

'You colonists are industrious, aren't you?' whistled the captain, entering the tunnel.

'Yes. And look where that got us.' I agreed dryly.

'Well I agree that this is a slight setback from your original plans, but still...' he stopped talking, seeing the expression on my face.

'Ah, are you sure that we are supposed to go this way?' asked Liara. 'It doesn't look like a... real route.'

'It's not supposed to be. This was a rouge facility on Akuze, one we didn't know off.'

'But... will it be safe there?'

'I think so. But that is why I wanted you to come.' I explained.

'Oh.' she straightened her back and broadened her shoulders. 'I will do my best to protect you then.'

The captain said nothing.

'Captain? Another ship just dropped out of FTL.' said the pilot into the com.

'Alliance?'

'It... is an Alliance design but their IDC isn't valid.' said the pilot in a voice that made it clear he was frowning.

'Strange.' mused the captain. 'What do they want?'

'They say the same thing the first ship told us. They are back-up. Captain, unless we are about to get hit by a batarian fleet, they are full of... well, they're lying.'

'I know. We'll be back in fifteen.' said the captain.

We started running forward. I was out of breath in no time but no one slowed down. It felt like a race against time now and the tunnel didn't seem to want to end.

'Any idea how long this tunnel is?' asked the captain, drawing his gun again.

'No. But it makes sense for it to be about one to two miles long.' I replied, calculating quickly in my head.

'Shame. I was hoping to find out what happened to your mother.' he said pointedly.

And then the tunnel ended in a very disappointing nothing.

'Where's the, ah, air? I mean, the hole through which we continue to the secret base of evil?' frowned the captain.

'Well...' I looked up. There was a hatch. 'Oh, we're here.'

The captain shot the hatch and it flew upwards, making an awful lot of noise.

'There. I'll give you a leg-up.' he said, bracing himself.

After Liara and I were up we helped the captain through the hole.

It was another computerized room. What was different from the rooms in the Yard was the lack of negligence this place had suffered. It didn't look abandoned. It look as if it was on standby. But what was rather more urgent than the state of the room were the two armed turrets that were looking at us with red lights flashing. Red is never good.

I raised my hands, not sure whether it was a wasted movement. Liara blinked, saw the turrets and copied me. The captain failed to notice the turrets and wandered over to a computer with a lot of surveillance on it. The turret shot twice. Two warning shots.

'Bloody, bleeding son of a vorcha!' he shrieked in alarm and returned the fire.

As soon as he started shooting Liara threw herself towards him and took cover behind his body. At first it seemed like a very selfish and pointless thing to do. Then I noticed the biotic barrier that she cast around him as he continued shooting at the two turrets.

It was all over in two seconds. He shot down the turrets, Liara's barrier collapsed from the strain of protecting the captain and he doubled over in pain from the one single bullet that made it through Liara's barrier.

I stood frozen for a heartbeat and then moved over to the captain. He was shot in the right side of his chest, his breathing was off and I could hear the punctured lung.

'Ah... Liara, can you keep his lunge from collapsing with biotics?'

She frowned at him for a short few seconds. His breathing seemed to ease up a bit.

'Yes. But I... I can't see what I'm doing.' she said, shaking her head. 'I might kill him.'

I administered a dose of medi-gel. It wouldn't replace the lung tissue, but it would patch up the hole while the lung was regenerating. He gritted his teeth at the pain.

'Ah. Damn thing scared me to death.' he accused, frowning at the smoking turret.

'Yes, I was pretty worried by it as well. So I didn't attack it head on.' I muttered.

'Just took me by surprise.' he said with wide eyes. 'Well there's no point lying here, I might as well get up.'

'Are you sure? We'd better let your lun-...' began Liara.

'I've done this before. The patch will hold well enough for the trip back and more some.' he waved us both away. 'What bothers me is this entire place. Shouldn't it be abandoned? And who the devil sets turrets to guard a surveillance room?'

'They didn't want anyone coming in through this hatch.' I guessed.

'Really? I thought that this was their way of saying welcome.' he rolled his eyes.

I looked around the room again with fresh eyes. The surveillance showed us different parts of the new facility. What was more, it showed people walking about. I watched as a group of men lined up outside a door, guns at the ready. I frowned. It was rather odd behaviour. Were they training for something? Then the penny dropped. They were about to enter this room.

'Hold the door!' I shouted, pushing the table with computers towards the door.

Without questioning my behaviour they started barricading it.

'You know-' said the captain, breathing heavily. 'I occurs to me that, as we are locking ourselves in, our trip to this jaunt has been utterly pointless.'

But he was wrong. I looked at the surveillance screens again. True enough, I saw a kind of symbol on the armed men's armours. It was an orange kind of cow-horns thing. And then I saw them start to shoot at the door. Here's the thing about barricades; they only work if they can actually keep something you want to be kept away at a distance. If, like in our case, they were only a hindrance for us and no hindrance for the bullets, the barricade becomes not only a waste of time but also a danger.

'Any good ideas?' shouted the captain in the midst of the shooting.

'Yes!' I shouted in reply.

'Any ideas that might save us?'

'No! But it's worth a try!'

'Deal.'

As the door was torn of its hinges, and the men started shouting at us to get up and they wouldn't hurt us I complied instantly.

'That's not a good plan!' hissed the captain.

I wasn't too concerned. We had three Alliance ships in the orbit. No matter their reason for being here I was certain that they would give these people a pause.

'Don't shoot.' I said, my palms held up in a universal sign of "I'm not going to kill any of you just yet."

'Who are you?' asked one of the men. He looked just like the rest but I had to assume that he was in charge of this pack.

'I am just an archeologist.' I said, kicking Liara to get up. 'And I'd gotten a tip-off that there were prothean ruins here.'

'That's right.' said Liara, getting up and catching on to what I was saying.

'There are is one Alliance vessel and one unknown vessel orbiting this planet. Explain yourself.'

'Ah, well one of them is mine.' said the captain, getting up as well. His hands weren't nearly as peacemaking as mine were.

'Drop your weapon!' said the man who had addressed me. 'I give you to the count of three!'

'You won't be breathing by two.' replied the captain.

Oh crap.

'Ah, wait! There's no need for fighting and shooting and whatnot.' I said trying to lower the captains arms.

'And get captured by this lot?' he said, raising his eyebrows.

I stared at him very intently for a very long time. The tension was so thick that it could be cut with a knife. But maybe a knife was the wrong thing to produce at the moment.

'Fine.' he surrendered after a moment. I heard Liara let out her breath. 'Don't agree with her!' said the captain affronted.

'Now you all come with me.' said the leader of the pack, moving all the tables away from the doorway. 'I promise not to hurt you if you cooperate.'

Liara nodded in a dignified way. I nodded in a sheepish way. The captain gave him the finger.

'Carter.' I hissed.

'Becket.' he replied. 'I don't like Carter.'

'Becket, then!'

'What?'

'I'll get us out. Trust me.'

He mold this over and decided not to trust me. He just didn't warn me. As soon as we were out of the room he knocked down one of the men and took him hostage.

'Now, gentlemen!' he said in a loud and clear voice, pointing the man's rifle at the man's head. 'Release my company and we will be out of here without any more trouble! Try to follow us and this kid dies. Simple, right?'

The guards didn't like that. None of them lowered their weapon and I could almost see the man who was taken hostage praying in his mind. Then something tugged at me hard and I felt cold metal press against my head. I froze.

'That's not how it's gonna happen.' said the man holding me. 'You're going to follow us whether you like it or not. And if we feel that you deserve to live, you might, some day, leave this place. If not-...'

'What is going on?' asked a female voice. It sounded angry.

'Intruders, mam. They got in through the techie tunnels.' replied the man holding me.

'Let me see them.' she said in a calm voice.

Ignoring the captain completely he turned me around to face the woman. I saw Liara being turned too.

The woman looked at me with wide eyes and I could see a smile trying to break free.

'What's your name, girl?' she asked me. Her bespectacled eyes scrutinized me carefully as if she was measuring and weighing me.

'Anna. Anna Tomoda.' I said, thinking of the first combination of name and surname I could think of.

She nodded, smiling to herself as if I'd confirmed something.

'And you?' she addressed Liara.

'I am Liara T'Soni, daughter of Benezia T'Soni. She is a very powerful and influential asari and killing me will be the last thing you ever do.' warned Liara in a slightly panicked voice. Her body language revealed more stress than her voice did.

'And you? Cowboy?' she asked of the captain.

'I am John Shepard. An Alliance marine.' he threw at her.

The name made me look around, but the man holding me turned my head back to the woman.

She smiled a wide and dangerous smile.

'Oh really? Well then. If you are who you say you are then I will let you all go. But if you have lied to me is some way...' she left the threat hang in the air, looking at us with raised eyebrows. Then she raised her hand to her com and listened intently.

'Sorry, lady but I've got no time for this. We really have to-...' began the captain in a mocking voice. She cut him off.

'I wasn't asking you to do anything. I am telling you to come with me and we'll sort this out. Or I'll have all of you shot now.' but she was still listening to whatever was being said. Eventually she nodded in annoyance.

The captain seemed to finally realize that there was no way to win this one and released his hostage, sighing sadly.

'Well then, shall we-...' two men took him firmly by his upper arms and we were all led away.

'Captain, we're being boarded by one of the ships.' I heard the com say.

'Martin, fire.' said the woman into her com.

At first I didn't see the connection between the two sentences. But then;

'Ah... and now the other ship is firing at the first one.' said the confused pilot. 'Can you... bring me up to speed? Or am I a sitting duck?'

'Who are you?' asked the captain, his com unit having been taken from him before he could reply.

'I am your best friend.' she said, addressing me.

'I hope not. Or I dread to meet my foes.' shivered the captain.

'Just come along.' she rolled her eyes.

This was a very strange place. What was going on? If anything was going on at all. As we were walking an old man with a short, white beard joined us.

'The asari complicates things.' he said.

'Don't worry. I know what to do.' replied the woman.

'If she is who she says she is though...'

'I know. It doesn't matter. The Illusive man isn't interested in anyone but the survivors.'

The old man sighed irritably.

'What does he want with them exactly? Why does he expect to find some abnormality in them?'

'He thinks that, in spite of going against direct orders, Marlin did something right.' she shrugged.

Min tried to figure out what was going on but the details were hazy at best. Survivors must be she and Jean. Was she here too? No, she hadn't gone off to seek out her own capture like Min had.

'Min, does this makes sense to you?' asked Liara so quietly that only Min could hear.

'No. But they haven't killed us yet so I don't see why they would. That's one break we get.'

'More importantly, what's happening to my ship?' added the captain in a whisper.

'I think that we're about to find out.' I replied.

'Stop hissing. Plotting won't do you any good here.' said the woman, cutting our finished conversation short. 'We are not your enemies. Yet. My name is Joeanne Meila and I am a Cerberus commander. The Cerberus are-...'

'I know who you are.' said the Becket in a musing voice. 'You are a kind of terrorist group, aren't you? You are the ones who do weird experiments.'

I payed close attention. Was I really this lucky? To find the people responsible for my mothers death on the first attempt?

'We are a human-centred organization. A branch of the Alliance, whether they like it or not, and the response to alien organizations such as the salarians' special task group.'

'Yes. Doing weird experiments.' finished the captain.

'I won't debate this with you. The Illusive man will speak to you in person. I am sure that he has quite a speech prepared.' she said coldly.

'Wait. But why am I here?' asked Liara and I could hear that she was, unwillingly, frightened.

'Yes, why did you come here?' asked the old man. 'It's odd to see asari visiting human colonies. Especially colonies that were decimated by thresher maws.'

'I guess that you didn't buy that archaeology excuse.' I muttered.

'We know you well enough, Numine, to recognize you. No matter how much you change in appearance.' replied the woman.

We had arrived at a door. It was a normal door. Just like any other in the facility. But there was a sense of finality and duty associated with standing outside the door. I was certain that, whoever the Illusive man was, he'd be in there. The door opened. The room was white, round and empty. Alright. No Illusive man.

'Please step onto the disc.' said the woman, gesturing towards a black, glossy disc on the floor. It covered most of the floor.

We. all attempted to take a step forward.

'Just miss Shin'ichi.' added the woman and Liara and Becket were restrained. The captain wasn't happy about it.

'I have a few words for the Illusive man.' he complained.

'And they can be delivered to me. He has no interest in you, captain Becket Carter.' she smiled.

'How did you know?'

'We have... met.' she said in a round-about way. Much like saying; we are both breathing.

'Riiight.' he shook his head. And then he and Liara were dragged out of the room. The woman looked at me sternly for a few seconds and then left. I was alone. Stupid of them really, to leave me on my own like this. I could do anything. I started plotting. But I didn't get far before the black disc shone and I was surrounded by a holographic room. It was exactly the same as the real room, only it seemed bigger and in the centre sat a man.