The Red Moon Collection - 2 - Three Phantoms

Chapter 16

MSV Hyperion, en route to Altakiril, the Shrike Abyssal

Will leaned against the door frame leading into the engine room with his arms crossed and chin resting on his chest. His eyes had finally given up on holding open. A few feet away, Eleena muttered softly to herself as she ran down her maintenance checklist to ensure that she had finished the last of her duties. On his opposite side, in the cargo bay, he could vaguely make out the voices of Kallux and Corsin as they discussed something about the viability of a certain heat sink modification. It had been well over eight hours since their departure from the Citadel and he was clearly feeling the effects of his exhaustion setting in. He would have to sleep soon if he was going to be rested when they reached Altakiril.

"As much as I appreciate the sweet gesture, you really don't have to stand there and fall asleep," Eleena jabbed playfully.

Will's eyelids fluttered open. "Buh, sorry..."

He looked over and watched as she looked down to her notes with a smile. The asari made one last nod of approval and flipped off her holopad before sliding it into the deep pocket on the side of her jumpsuit.

Eleena turned to face him and smirked. "I know this may sound crazy, but if you're tired you do know that you can... ya know, sleep."

"I will soon, trust me," he stepped out of the doorway.

"Good. I was gonna jump in bed soon as well," the asari mentioned as she stepped past him and into the cargo bay.

"Think I'm gonna head around and see what the rest of the crew is up to," Will said offhandedly. "Wanna join?"

Eleena shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

Will looked to the armory to see that Corsin had disappeared, leaving Kallux alone at his workbench. Will motioned for Eleena to follow him and walked across the cargo bay to where the krogan stood. Kallux heard the footsteps coming and turned to greet them with a smile.

"Found a partner to make the rounds with, I see," the krogan mused.

"Hey, I've finished my work," Eleena informed him. "I just want to see what goes on when Will wanders the ship to chat with everyone."

Will grinned lightly. "Pretty much just that." He nodded to Kallux. "How was the R and R?"

"Good. Therapeutic, I suppose. It gave me the perspective I was hoping for." The krogan gave them a calm smile.

Eleena cocked a brow. "Perspective on what, exactly?"

Kallux drew a deep breath. "Everything, to be completely honest. My place in the galaxy, what I've been doing for the past few centuries." He paused. "What I've been doing with you and the rest of the crew."

Will gave him a puzzled look. "Did you come to any realizations or conclusions?"

He nodded. "A few. But I'm not sure what they mean yet or what to do about them."

"You're not gonna jump ship, are you?" Eleena narrowed her eyes jokingly.

"Of course not," Kallux replied with a small laugh. "I'm focused on seeing this mission through, nothing more. Once Antarian is in cuffs, then I'll start looking for answers."

Will smiled warmly. "If you need help finding them, you can always count on me."

Eleena nodded. "Me too, softie."

The krogan smiled and shook his head at Eleena's teasing. "Thank you. It means a lot to know that I have friends as considerate as you two."

"I'm sure you can count Tul and Shan as well," Will reminded him. "Anyway, I'll let you get back to work."

Kallux nodded. "Ah yes, don't let me keep you from your wanderings."

Kallux's eyes darted between Will and Eleena quickly. Will could have sworn that the corner of the krogan's mouth curled slightly into a grin as he turned back to his workbench. Will and Eleena gave each other a quick look, then shook their heads dismissively and headed toward the forward hall. Will looked into the crew's quarters as they approached the doorway to see Vayren sitting at Tul's workstation and Corsin standing behind him. He stepped into the room with Eleena at his side.

"I assume Tul gave you two permission to use that," Will mentioned as he approached them.

Vayren nodded, focusing on the screens. "Yes, of course."

"Vayren made an interesting find," the turian informed them. "He's been looking for information on this asari, Fayneer T'lees, since we left the Citadel."

"You've found something?" Will looked to the salarian hopefully.

Vayren smiled and nodded. "Yes."

The Spectre brought up a window on the large, central screen with a long list of bullet points and an image that resembled a mugshot in the upper left-hand corner. The asari in the image had a straight, difficult to read expression. The skin of her face was as vivid teal that faded into a deep blue around the base of her scalp. Her eyes were a piercing, icy blue that stared unnervingly back at Will as he examined her. She was devoid of nearly all facial markings except for a few off-colored spots on the highest points of her cheeks, which created the illusion of freckles. After studying her picture carefully, Will looked to the long list of notes beside her name.

"So we've got a picture. Anything else useful?" Will inquired.

"Yes. Unbelievably so," Vayren answered. "T'lees is wanted by the asari government for selling illegal arms in the asari homeworlds. Apparently she operated there for decades before moving to the Terminus Systems a few years ago."

Eleena crossed her arms. "I don't know if I'd call that unbelievably useful."

"We haven't told you the best part," Corsin rebutted. "The asari government dispatched a squad of commandos to bring her in a few months ago. Apparently information of her whereabouts surfaced right around the time Antarian was stripped of his Spectre status."

"Can't be a coincidence," Will mentioned.

"My thoughts exactly." Vayren scrolled through the list of information. "And just as I hoped, the asari team last checked in on Altakiril. If they are resonable, these commandos will be willing to help us track her down."

Eleena smirked. "Assuming they haven't already."

"I never hoped for another species' military to be incompetent before this job," Corsin joked with a sigh.

Will stepped back and stretched his shoulders with a deep yawn. "I think it's time I got some sleep. According to Shansa's estimates we're probably about seven hours out from Altakiril."

The Spectres had already returned to their investigating and seemed not to hear the captain's declaration.

"I'll probably head to bed in a few," Eleena remarked. "But first, I've got a little reading to finish up."

She and Will exchanged small smiles as he turned to head for the bunkroom.

The decelerating Hyperion's thrusters roared under Shansa's deft hand. Will gazed through the forward viewport from his normal spot in the cockpit doorway, his eyes lost in the white and gray torrent of snow and ice. Altakiril's surface temperature was far below freezing almost everywhere, yet somehow a group of determined turians had established a thriving colony on its surface. According to information Vayren was able to pull from the asari battlenet, the commandos they would attempt to find were currently in Pugnax, the second largest city on the planet. Knowing that Finlo Til's weapon shipments were due to leave from the same port gave Will and the rest of the crew immense confidence.

Shansa looked over her shoulder. "According to the flight control officer, the temperature outside is negative twenty-two degrees Celsius."

Will shivered involuntarily. "Lovely."

Thankfully, he had already ordered the shore party to equip their hardsuits to counter the harsh conditions. After agreeing that they would attempt to draw as little attention to themselves as possible, Will and the Spectres decided that a small squad would be preferable for their excursion. Will, Eleena, Kallux and Corsin would scout out the city and search for information on the commandos' whereabouts while the others remained on the ship, ready to reinforce them at a moment's notice. More importantly, Vayren and Tul'Sorrin would begin the process of tunneling into the city's security and automation network as soon as they landed. After a few moments of silence, the flight control officer's voice emitted from the communications panel.

"Hangar doors are opening, Hyperion. Continue on your approach."

Through the storm Will could see a collection of red lights glowing dimly, but growing stronger with each passing second. He was able to make out the shape of an enormous rectangle that was slowly growing in width. Will soon realized that he was looking at a retractable ceiling that functioned as the hangar doors for one of the many berths in the Pugnax spaceport. Minutes after their long, steady descent began, the Hyperion slid through the opened doors and gave a gentle shake as it settled to the floor of the hangar. The tip of the doors visible at the front of the ship began closing almost the exact moment they touched down, clearly to minimize the amount of snow and ice that was gusting in.

"Nice landing," Will complimented.

Shansa had already begun working on the post-flight checklist. "I'm just glad the viewport didn't freeze over."

Will smirked and raised his omnitool to activate the ship-wide comms. "We're on the ground. The shore party is moving out."

He turned to see Corsin, Kallux and Eleena already waiting by the airlock in their full gear, minus their helmets. Eleena reached forward and opened the inner airlock door.

"How's it look?" Kallux asked.

Will grinned and stepped into the decontamination chamber. "Cold."

"Good. Sounds like we made it to the right planet," Corsin joked as he and the others stepped in behind Will.

After skipping the decontamination sequence, the outer airlock slid apart to reveal the cavernous hangar they had landed in. Will jumped the short drop to the ground and chuckled to himself.

"I don't know if I've ever been in an enclosed hangar this big."

"Makes sense," Kallux reasoned. "They probably see a lot of cargo ships our size that need to be able to load and unload in reasonable conditions."

Directly ahead of where they had exited was one of two doors in the hangar. The other was straight ahead of the nose of the ship and was large enough to allow large cargo through. Will looked to the smaller door to see a sign reading, "Port Authority." With seemingly nowhere else to go, he led the group to the door and stepped through as it opened automatically. After a short walk through a surprisingly well-lit hallway, another door deposited them into what looked like an airlock. On one wall was a door and on the opposite, a large viewscreen. They stepped into the room and looked around curiously as the next door did not open. Just before Will could open his mouth to question the circumstance, the screen flickered to life and the image of a turian seated in a control room appeared.

"Good day, welcome to Hub One. Is your captain, or person elected to speak on his or her behalf, present?"

Will faced the screen and nodded. "That's me. Captain William Hume."

The turian looked to the side and nodded. "I see this is your first visit to Altakiril. Please state your business."

"Repairs," Will lied confidently. "We've got all the parts we need, so there won't be any importing or exporting. Just wanted a safe berth for getting the work done." He pointed over his shoulder to the turian, krogan and asari behind him. "We just wanted to get out and find a bar while my engineers and technicians take care of the repairs."

The port officer nodded. "Understood. The account number you provided upon requesting a hangar will be charged the standard daily fee of 6,000 credits. This will cover your stay for the next galactic standard day." The turian paused and looked them over. "I see you are carrying weapons."

Will nodded. "That's right. Is that going to be a problem?"

"If they're used for anything other than self-defense, our security force will not hesitate to use any means to subdue you." The officer looked over the group slowly.

"That won't be a problem," Will assured him.

"Good. The next door is an elevator that will take you to the Commons. I've already sent you the security clearance that will allow you to use the elevator to come back up at your convenience." The turian glanced up to them. "As you might have noticed, the storm is rather intense at the moment. I'd suggest hailing a taxi if you need to travel to another Hub."

The door that had remained locked upon their entrance slid apart as the docking officer's image disappeared from the screen. The squad stepped into the elevator and waited as the doors closed and they began to descend to the only other floor labeled on the control panel.

Will glanced to Corsin. "So what are the 'Commons?'"

The turian had taken it upon himself to research the colony extensively during their trip.

Corsin nodded as he began to explain. "Due to the harsh climate, most of the large cities on Altakiril are comprised of entirely self-sufficient superstructures or 'Hubs.' Most of the colonists live and work in the same building, so they all have pretty much anything they'd need to keep someone happy. The top floors are where the industry takes place. In the case of this Hub, they operate the city's spaceport. The middle levels are for the commercial enterprises such as shopping and leisure and all that. And, as I'm sure you've deduced, the lower floors are where the housing is located. My guess is that the middle floors are referred to by the locals as the 'Commons.'"

As he finished, the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened. The group stepped out into a short hallway and after a short walk, passed through a final set of doors and into the Commons. As Will scanned the two-story room he was instantly reminded of the market district of Omega, only much cleaner. If there were multiple floors of the Commons, this one was almost certainly the shopping center. He could see dozens of stalls from where they stood, all ranging in size from a few square meters to larger than the Hyperion's cargo bay.

"Here's a map," Kallux mentioned.

Will, Corsin and Eleena all turned to see the krogan was looking at a viewscreen on the wall beside the doorway they had entered from. As they gathered around, Will stepped up and began navigating the map program.

"Looks like there are four levels of the Commons," Will noted.

He zoomed out to a view of the city to see that there were eight other Hubs clustered together with their current location right at the center of them. A few smaller structures surrounded the superstructures as well, but little information was offered about them.

Eleena glanced over to Corsin. "Did we have any luck locating the commandos?"

"According to the asari military, they went dark a few days ago," the turian answered.

"Do we have their last known location?" Kallux inquired hopefully.

Corsin nodded and pulled up his omnitool as he began searching for the information. "I've got the coordinates of their last transmission, but that's it."

"Better than nothing," Will mentioned as he continued to eye the map.

The turian's omnitool quickly became the new object of the squad's attention as he retrieved the coordinates.

"It looks like they were transmitted from about a kilometer and a half north of our location," Corsin stated.

Will turned to the map and nodded. "There's only one Hub due north."

"Sounds like we've got somewhere to start looking," Kallux grinned.

The squad found the nearest taxi station and soon found themselves at the mercy of the autopilot and its ability to navigate through the storm with near zero visibility. After a tense three minute flight, the taxi zipped through a hangar door and into the closest station of Hub Six. The interior of the new superstructure looked almost identical to that of Hub One, to the point where Will was almost suspicious that they had not left.

"For some reason I was way more excited about knowing where to look a few minutes ago," Will commented as they entered the Commons of the new Hub.

Eleena smirked. "Was that before you remembered that we still have an entire building to search?"

"We should find a bar," Kallux suggested. "Always lots of wide eyes and loose lips there."

"Good idea," Corsin commended as the group approach a wall-mounted directory. He reached up and applied the appropriate filters to the map. "Hmm, looks like there are three in the Commons."

Will nodded. "Let's pick the closest and start there."

"Here," Eleena said as she pointed to a highlighted shape.

After quickly getting his bearings, Will nodded and turned to the right with the others following at his side. According to the directory, the bar was located about a hundred meters away on their left-hand side.

"Act as casually as possible," Corsin instructed as they approached the door. "Avoid asking about T'lees and Antarian. Our priority right now is finding the commandos."

Kallux came to a stop, causing the others to halt and turn to him as well. "If we're going to be looking around for conversation, we should avoid entering as a group."

Eleena nodded in agreement. "He's got a point. The four of us might look a little suspicious."

"Alright, we'll stagger our entrances," Corsin instructed.

Will nodded. "I'll head in first."

"I'll join you," Kallux added. "A lone krogan wandering a turian colony might strike them as strange. The two of us can just say we're from the same cargo ship."

"Sounds good." Will stepped up to the doorway with Kallux at his side. "You two might want to step away," he said to the others.

Corsin and Eleena stepped to the side and out of sight of the doorway as Will walked through. Of the roughly fifteen patrons, all but two were turians. He wasn't surprised, given the fact that Altakiril was a turian colony, but his worry about their chances of getting any information sank in immediately. Corsin would probably be welcomed, Eleena as well, but he and Kallux might have a harder time finding conversation. The two non-turians were an asari and a human, the former sitting at a table with a turian and the latter at the bar, alone. A couple of the turian customers glanced up and stared for a moment at the new visitors with disapproving eyes, but eventually turned their attention back to their drinks. A soft and soothing electronic song played in the background, leaving Will confident that he would be able to speak without being overheard.

"Let's start with the human," he muttered quietly to Kallux.

The krogan nodded in agreement as they crossed the poorly-lit room to the bar stool where the man sat. He was in his early forties at the youngest, his hair an unfortunate mix of brown and white. A full, but well groomed, beard covered most of his face. His clothes were surprisingly bland and utilitarian, suggesting that they might be the clothes worn in a manufactory located somewhere on the Hub. The man's dark brown eyes flicked to the side as Will and Kallux approached before returning to the half-full glass of liquor that sat on the bar in front of him.

"What's the beer selection like?" Will asked casually as he slid onto the seat beside the stranger.

"Two non-dextros," the man replied in an accent derivative of Eastern Europe back on Earth. "Light and dark."

"That's it?" Kallux asked as he jumped up onto the seat next to Will.

The man eyed Kallux curiously for a moment. "Biggest selection on Six."

The turian bartender stood at the end of the bar with his arms crossed, watching the newcomers. Will raised a hand to grab his attention.

"I'll take a beer that I can drink," Will said to the turian as he approached. "Dark, I guess."

Without a word, the bartender retrieved a bottle containing a dark liquid and set it on the bar in front of Will. He reached forward and unscrewed the top, letting a hiss escape from the cold beer.

"You?" The turian said flatly to Kallux.

The krogan shook his head. "Nothing for me."

The bartender turned and headed down to the opposite end of the bar where a turian patron was waving for his attention. Will took a sip of his beer and let out a disappointed sigh. It couldn't have tasted more bland.

He turned his attention back to the stranger beside him. "Name's Will," he said with a nod.

"Sergei," the man replied before downing another sip of his own drink. "You're from off-world, yes?"

Will smirked. "That obvious?"

"Humans are rare enough here," Sergei reasoned, his voice slow and deliberate. "But krogan? Never see krogan."

"Well, you're right," Will admitted. "We just arrived a little while ago. Our ship is having some repairs done."

The man raised one of his thick brows. "The spaceport is on One."

"Wanted to take a look around," Kallux quickly interjected. "See what this colony is all about."

Sergei remained silent and looked them over. After a long moment he turned back to his drink and took a sip.

"Factories and ice," he said plainly. "Hope you were not expecting more."

Out of the corner of his eye, Will spotted Corsin entering the bar. The turian paid no attention at all to Will and Kallux, instead making his way toward a table near the back of the room occupied by a single female turian who was looking down at a holopad.

"Factories, eh?" Kallux leaned onto the bar as he looked past Will to Sergei. "What kind?"

"Depends on which Hub you are on," he answered. "Two and Four have refineries for raw material mined nearby. Six has a few of different factories."

Will took another sip of his beer. "Do you work here on Hub Six?"

"Yes." Sergei nodded. "Largest plant on the Hub. We make armor plating for starships."

"Sounds like there's a lot of heavy industry," Kallux mentioned, hoping Sergei would continue.

"Most industry in Pugnax is heavy." The man finished the last of his liquor and let out a sigh. "I must leave. My shift begins soon."

Will acted cool and turned his attention back to his drink as the man rose from his bar stool and wandered to the exit. Kallux looked to Will and nodded, speaking softly.

"Loose lips," he noted.

"But nothing terribly useful from them," Will countered as he took another small sip of his drink.

Eleena entered just as Sergei walked out the door and headed for one of the empty tables. She sat herself and began looking over something on her holopad. Will and Kallux sat at the bar, talking quietly about nothing in particular to pass the time and appear as inconspicuous as possible. A few minutes after Eleena had entered, Will spotted a turian approach her and make motions toward the unused chair at her table. Will did his best to watch from his peripheral as she shrugged and nodded, after which the turian slid into the chair and leaned to the side casually. As they talked, Will turned to his other side to see that Corsin was still chatting with the patron he had singled out upon entering.

"Seems surprisingly social here," Will noted under his breath.

Kallux nodded. "They might not get the chance to talk to many travelers from off-world."

After three hours of sitting at the bar, Will and Kallux had only managed to strike up conversation with a two other people. Both proved to be far less chatty than their first find, but from what Will could see, Eleena and Corsin were having much better luck. Corsin's first contact had left after an hour or two, but he soon found himself at a table of three other turians, laughing and sharing their war stories. Eleena was still sitting with the turian who had approached her, though it was obvious that he was doing most of the talking. Finally, after a good thirty minutes of no new patrons entering the bar, Will nodded to Kallux and they agreed that it was time to leave. As Will paid the tab, Kallux opened his omnitool and sent a quick message to the others.

"I hope they got more than us," Will mentioned to Kallux as they walked through the door and into the Commons once again.

"If all else fails, Agent Vayren and Tul'Sorrin are working on hacking into the city's security network," Kallux reminded Will as they walked about halfway down the block and leaned against the wall. "Might take a while, but we'll find them."

Will crossed his arms with a nod. "I just want to find them in time."

There was a moment of silence as they stood side by side. Eventually, Kallux glanced to Will with a small grin.

"I heard you all went to dinner while we were on the Citadel."

"Heh, heard about that, huh?" Will raised a brow.

"I asked Shansa about the dress when she, Eleena and Tul'Sorrin stumbled back onto the ship." Kallux chuckled lightly. "Sounds like you all had a good time."

Will looked to the krogan nervously. "I would have invited you-"

Kallux shook his head and held up a hand. "I would've passed on the invitation. Don't worry."

"If you say so." Will turned back to stare into the line of stalls a few dozen feet away. "It was a fusion restaurant called Meld. It was pretty good. No krogan inspired cuisine, surprisingly." He gave the krogan a joking grin.

"Your stomach probably couldn't handle it," Kallux countered with a laugh.

Eleena's voice called from the side as she approached. "Couldn't handle what, exactly?"

Will looked to her with a smile as she approached. "Apparently Kallux thinks we couldn't keep krogan food down."

"He's probably right," the asari admitted. "I've tried some before." Eleena's face turned sour and she shook her head. "Uggh.."

He laughed lightly and looked over her shoulder as Corsin sauntered out of the bar, still looking back and laughing with whoever he had been sitting with. The turian's attitude changed the moment the door slid shut. He turned on his heel and hurried toward the group with a straight face, nodding to them and motioning for them to walk at his side. They formed up around him and began the walk along the hallway.

"Please tell me someone got some useful intel," Corsin groaned.

"I wish. Guessing you didn't?" Will inquired with a hint of defeat.

The turian shook his head. "Nothing."

Eleena grinned and gave them a sideways glance. "I did."

They turned to the asari in surprise and Will nodded for her to continue.

"That guy who came up to me liked to talk," Eleena explained. "It took a bit of flirting to get him to say it, but apparently he likes asari."

"A given," Corsin joked.

She smirked. "Turns out, he's been seeing more and more asari lately on the Hub, but they've all been quiet and not terribly friendly."

Kallux grinned. "And where do we find these seclusive asari?"

"That's the best part," she continued. "He's a technician here on Hub Six. He told me he keeps seeing them wander around by the maintenance tunnels on level eighteen, which is currently under renovation."

"That gives us a better idea of where to look," Will chuckled. "As opposed to the entire goddamn superstructure."

Corsin had already pulled up his omnitool and was browsing the Hub's map. "The elevator up here to our right can take us to level eighteen," he informed them. "According to the directory, everything fifteen and up is industrial."

Will nodded and took point at the front of the group as they marched confidently toward the public elevator. A half-dozen others were already waiting by the door as they arrived. Fortunately, they did not seem nearly as interested in the squad as the bar patrons. The car arrived after a short wait and the waiting crowd quickly filed in. Corsin reached forward and entered their destination and after a few stops the the doors opened to level eighteen of the industrial section. Will, Corsin, Eleena and Kallux stepped out casually and turned to the right at the Spectre's direction.

"Up here and to the left," Corsin said quietly. "It looks like an accessway."

Will nodded and quickly glanced behind him to ensure they no one was eying their presence. Luckily, the floor seemed very quiet, if not deserted. They entered a long hallway with only two doors on one side. As they approached, Will could see that one had a sign reading "Maintenance Access" above it. The group stopped in front of the door and looked around curiously.

"No asari," Kallux stated flatly.

"Quite the observation," Will jabbed as he nodded toward the door. "Should we see what it is they've been sneaking around here for?"

Corsin did not answer, but instead raised his omnitool and began initializing his shunt program. After a minute of work, he shook his head in defeat.

"Nothing I can do," he muttered. "In hindsight, we probably should have brought one of the tech experts."

"It might be part of the Hub's security network," Eleena suggested.

"True," Will raised his omnitool to open a comm link with the ship. "I'll see if Vayren and Tul have gotten into the city's network yet."

He waited patiently until the glowing orange light that indicated his call status turned green.

"This is Tul'Sorrin."

"Just who I wanted to speak with," Will began. "Any progress on getting into the city's security?"

"As a matter of fact, yes," the quarian answered happily. "Just a few minutes ago, actually. We were about to do a sweep of the security cameras."

"Actually, I've got a request, if you can handle it."

"Sure thing, Captain."

Will looked to the locked door as he spoke. "We've got a security door that we need to get through. Think you can help us out?"

"I'll see what I can do." There was brief pause. "Would you scan the security panel for me?"

Will stepped up to the maintenance door and held up his omnitool as Tul'Sorrin drew his information. The rest of the squad continued to watch their backs by scanning either direction of the hallway.

"This is... interesting," Tul muttered. "The door is listed on the security network, but I can't locate any of its functions. It appears to have been locked down locally."

Corsin let out a disgruntled sigh. "Damn it."

"Alright," Will nodded and lowered his omnitool. "Thanks anyway, Tul. We'll see what we can do."

"Understood."

Eleena, still watching the entrance of the hall, glanced over her shoulder. "Where to?"

"This area looked symmetrical around the elevator." Corsin stepped past her to lead them back to where they had come from. "Let's see if there's another maintenance door on the other side."

The squad walked back to the elevator swiftly and silently. Will glanced over his shoulder as the group headed toward a hallway that mirrored the one they had just checked. He saw nothing, but couldn't help feeling as though they could only snoop around for so long before being noticed. As they entered the hall, a maintenance door was there to greet them just as Corsin had predicted. The lights that lined the high ceiling were dim up to the halfway point where the door was located, then became pitch black. Will stepped ahead and raised his omnitool to the control console.

"Tul, you there? I'm at another door."

"Ready when you are," the quarian replied.

Will initiated the scan and watched as Corsin stood at his side, eying the data on Will's omnitool. Kallux and Eleena were leaning with their backs to the wall when the krogan narrowed his eyes slightly and looked up.

"Did anyone hear that?" Kallux looked around the group.

Will and Corsin were concentrating on the door and did not answer immediately. Eleena glanced over and raised a brow.

"Hear what?"

"It's no good, Captain," Tul interrupted. "This one is locked locally, just like the other."

Corsin shook his head. "Are you sure it's not just part of the city's security architecture?"

"Positive. I tried on a few doors and vents at various other locations. I had access to all of their functions."

Will let out a sigh and retracted his omnitool, only to freeze in place as an unfamiliar voice echoed from the dark end of the hall.

"Do not move," the loud, feminine voice ordered. "You have four guns on you. Raise your hands, now."

Out of the corner of his eye, Will could see two figures dressed in black military fatigues step into the hallway from the direction the Hyperion squad had entered from. He and the rest of the squad slowly raised their hands as Corsin turned to face the shadows.

"Ah, finally, we've been looking for you."

"Shut it," The voice responded, clearly closer now.

Out of the darkness a pair of asari in matching black commando uniforms appeared, both holding their assault rifles at the Hyperion squad. The commando that was speaking was a dark purple with no discernible facial markings, while her partner was a pale blue with purple, wispy strokes of color surrounding her eyes. From the opposite end of the hall, two more asari were approaching in the same fashion.

Corsin narrowed his eyes irritably. "I'd appreciate it if you listened. I'm a Spectre and I'm here because we're looking for the same people."

"A Spectre?" The commando leader lowered her rifle cautiously. "You got any proof?"

As the leader spoke, the pale blue asari's determined and focused expression had slackened in surprise. "Eleena?" The commando lowered her rifle and a small smile appeared on her face.

Eleena, who had been looking toward the group's flank, turned her head to see the asari who called her name. The engineer lowered her hands and took a step toward the commando.

"Zaera. Damn, it's been a long time."