May 14th

03:00

3927

Nunatak, the Edge.

Blue light still filled up the room. It played with the brown coffee that Skult had spilled everywhere. What would have been brown under Sol's light now looked more like liquid Night Flesh. It wasn't steaming any more. The floor had already sapped it of all its heat. Now the floor was just as cold as Frey. Which is why Skult had dropped the coffee in the first place. She tried handing it off to Frey but the cup slipped through her numb digits.

"Oh, I am so sorry"

Frey, who had effortlessly scooted away from the flying cup of coffee just moments ago, kept both eyes on her computer screen.

"Nothing to be done now", she sighed while typing away feverishly.

"Is there a re-reason it's so cold in here", chattered Skult.

"Oh, about that ", started the professor in her so-sorry-you-have-to-do-over time tone, "I need you to fetch a body from the freezer. Specimen 110, the one that looks like a human child"

Skult nodded obediently. She came back 45 minutes later with the requisitioned subject. Frost covered the specimen from head to toe. There was a meat hook stuck in her shoulder and small glowing green crystals around the hook. There were more crystals coming out of her gut. Skult heaved them onto the examination table with a dull thunk.

"Be careful with her", advised the professor, "she's in enough pain as is"

Skult's eyes went wide.

"She's alive!"

"Yes", responded the professor.

She kicked back in her swivel chair, stopped half a meter from the table, and the she spun herself around.

"Oh, and she looks human because she is. It's so cold in here because we don't want her to go into shock. Reviving this poor girl will take some time. The green crystals you see are actually a symbiotic in nature. They feed off small amounts of life energy while keeping her organic bits functioning. We'll get a sample of them, help her regain consciousness, and get that stupid meat hook out of her shoulder"

"Why's that there?", asked the young assistant.

"The meet hook? That's from some weak minded newly arrived merchant who found her still warm in the ice. They thought that she was some kind of shape shifting or form assimilating Xenos. So they carefully put a hook in her and took her to the meat market to be sold. Of course the Nunatak could smell that she was human. So they reported the merchant to the authorities and the authorities notified me"

"Some one was about to turn her into meat", shrieked Skult.

Frey nodded and reached for a scalpel. She took off a small piece of the crystal with it. A few extra shards of the jagged substance came free. One of them fell and drew blood. Suddenly crystal spikes shot out from the effected regions towards Frey's hand. She avoided them easily enough.

"Looks like its quite protective of its host. Serenity would be a good name for it "

"Serenity", echoed the assistant in awe of the name.

"Now, quickly Skult", cut in the professor, "go get the other assistants. We'll need all the help we can get to save this girl. Her temperature is rising. We're running out of time. "

Skult did as she was told and the professor took this time to ready their other instruments. Once they were all at the table Frey got out off her chair and took some time to really study the subject. She'd survived this long against all the odds. She'd given them a valuable sample as well. This girl was special. She just knew it. She knew it. And she was never wrong.

September 10th

19:00

2227

Omega Nebula, Omega

The Guards around the stairs didn't even try to stop Michuru. They didn't pull out there guns until she was a step or two away from Aria. When the 11 or so barrels did point at Michuru she kept her cool. She'd survived worse and been killed by better.

"So you're Aria"

"That's right"

"You run things around here?"

"I do a little more then that."

Aria's Guards chuckled.

"Now that you know a little about me why don't you tell me a little bit about yourself. You know, name, hobbies, preferred killing methods"

"Fair enough. My name is Michuru Tenoh, I've been playing the violin and swimming for the last nine hundred years or so, and if I told you how I killed then I'd be forced to give you a personal demonstration"

"Was that a threat?"

"Should it be?"

Aria's eyes flashed to Michuru's hands. Then she motioned to her men to lower their guns.

"Why'd you come here?"

"To have fun"

"With who?"

"Some one I know you'd find fascinating"

"We've just met and you are already assuming things about me Mrs. Tenoh"

"I wasn't making assumption about you personally. Allot of people find Haruka interesting. She has a way of going about things that will leave you breathless."

"Interesting, where is she now?"

"At the Bar"

"Did you send her away so you could talk to me privately?"

"That's four questions"

"You're counting?"

"Five"

"Fine, I'll play along. What do you want to know?" Oh, and that last one doesn't count"

"Your species, the Asari, would you say they're deadly?"

"We can be. Being born with biotics does have its advantages."

"Could you tell me a little more about Biotics?"

"I could"

Michuru cursed in her head. She'd have to pay attention when wording her next question. She was losing her edge.

"You aren't from around here, are you miss Tenoh?"

"I can't say I am"

"Are you Human?"

"At the moment"

Aria eyed her warily.

" Do you plan on killing me?"

"Should I?"

Aria's mouth morphed into a shark like grin.

" Your turn. Feel free to ask me as many questions as you like"

"No thanks", answered Michuru,

Aria tried not to look disappointed.

"Come back any time Miss Tenoh."

"Thank you. It was a pleasure meeting you"

"The pleasure was all mine"

Michuru bowed and took her leave. She went down the stairs and snaked her way through the dance floor towards the one and only Haruka Tenoh.

"How'd it go?"

"I got a bit sloppy. My questions gave away too much"

"You, sloppy?"

Haruka cracked a grin. Imagining a sloppy Michuru was like trying to imagine a smart Usagi or a weak Makoto.

"Well my princess. I hate to impose but I think you owe me something."

"Oh really"

Haruka walked towards her and put out a hand, which Michuru accepted. The two then proceeded to waltz across the dance floor. To their surprise the music changed. The rest of the clubs denizens and dancers were at somewhat of a loss at what to do next.

Out the corner of her eye Michuru spotted a suspiciously familiar Asari waltzing with a blue suns merc.

"Looks like we aren't the only ones enjoying our selves", noted Michuru.

"You're interesting friend seems to be closing in. She'll probably ask to switch partners"

"How well do you think that would that work out?"

"For starters I think that poor girl she's dragged onto the dance floors about to pass out. There's no way she could keep up with me looking like that. Then there's the very serious problem of this song coming to an end and you did promise me the last dance"

"So then, shall we"

Haruka and Michuru waltzed their way out of the club. Once they reached the exit they departed hand in hand. On their way back to the shuttle they stopped a few times to admire the many dangerous places on Omega.

Today was a strategic miss step, and unexpected turn, and a valuable insight into the varied nature of this Galaxies culture. They'd have to thank Ami for the mission that led them here. This was, if nothing else, a night to remember.

September 14th

19:53

2227

Classified, Virginia

"Don't give up", prodded a voice in the distance.

Her muscles screamed in protest. She had an archaic pack of some kind on her back, two heavy water containers that she had to carry, and tree's all around her. It was night. She was in a forest. If she stopped moving then the dogs would catch her. If the dogs caught her then this was over. She had to lose them somehow. She had to shake them. How was she going to shake them?

Something warm touched her foot. It had passed through her damaged boots. She fell to the floor immediately and rubbed it all over the badly torn clothes she'd been given. Her badly mauled uniform stuck to her skin like plaster. But some of the fecal matter she rubbed against her uniform slipped through the tears any way.

The barks were getting louder. She leapt to her feet and grabbed her water jugs. This area was too open. If the dogs got any closer they'd be able to see her. Purple didn't fit in with much anything here. And she didn't have enough time to apply anything that could cover up the majority of her exposed skin. So she kept on running. She kept on running.

She couldn't hear the dogs any more. Her feet hit water. A stream, she didn't remember seeing a stream. The moon illuminated everything around her. She looked up. Not a cloud in sight. But there was a shadow in the stream, a shadow that didn't belong there. She took a step back despite herself. And then she dropped the water jugs. One of them fell over and hit against some rocks. It's started to spill its contents. And something started to rise from the stream.

Part of it was bloated. The thing had so many limbs. No visible mouth and no visible eyes. It didn't move with the wind. There was wind. The wind was moving the water but the thing didn't change. Ariska turned. She ran. She ran.

Her feet followed a familiar path. She still couldn't hear the dogs. What she could hear was gunfire. Unfamiliar gunfire. Alien gunfire. She kept on running. And then she couldn't feel her ankle. It went numb. She fell, and cursed her own stupidity. She still had her pack on. Must've tripped over a rock and rolled something. She got up slowly and, with some effort, got the pack off her shoulders.

Ariska limped forward. She found the dogs. They had chunks of their flesh missing. Small arms fire of some kind, the exit holes didn't look right. Because there weren't any so the rounds must have exploded inside of the poor animals.

Alien gunfire, strange shouts, and her own ragged breaths. She was breathing so hard. A figure in dark armor came into sight. It was Richards. He ran towards her. His armor was glowing red.

"We need to get out of here", they said.

She nodded.

She limped towards him. More alien gunfire erupted. She heard a horrible welting scream come from the river, and then she heard voices. Angry voices. They were screaming out things she couldn't understand. But some how one word managed to reach her, she must've heard it a dozen times, and it sounded infernal.

Suddenly the screams died. She heard a few more undecipherable words and it was quiet. She heard her breath and her own clumsy footsteps. Richard was still by her side. He didn't say a thing.

Thirty minutes into their trek they'd made it to the cabin. Its lights were still on. Ariska heard happy yapping inside. Richard turned his head a few degrees and explained while he opened the door, "They were supposed to be a surprise." And with that he headed in. She followed.

The dogs playfully jumped around her ankles. One of the bigger ones jumped up and almost knocked her over. She started to giggle when one of them started to lick a spot near the back of her ankle that torn boots, ripped clothes, and deer shit failed to protect.

"They can smell their mother on you", Richard stated evenly.

"So they can"

She leaned against the closest wall. Her ankle was still numb. It wasn't swollen yet. After a few moments of consideration she put her back to the wall. She slid down it. A tidal wave of fur hit her when she reached the floor.

"You passed the test. A shuttle will arrive in the morning. Rest. Nothing will get through that door"

The Graduate pushed herself up. She avoided the dogs warm tongues long enough to say, "That might not be enough. It came out of a shadow".

Richard scanned the apartment. "We'll keep the lights on. Anything else."

The exhausted Asari forced an pudgy fur ball away from her face yet again. " I kept on hearing this word. I think it's what the Aliens must call whatever it was. "

The destroyer tilted his head slightly.

"Daimon", she uttered as the tide of puppies finally overtook her. The chubby one struggled past her guard and lathered her face with its saliva. She couldn't fight any more. The swarm had won.