Author notes: (There's a TLDR section at the bottom) Well folks, this is the last part of the prologue. I know it focused mostly on C&C stuff, but the vast majority of the story will probably revolve around Shepard and his crew, just like the games. I toyed with the idea of doing something really out there to try to give the story that flair of originality, but I decided against it. This is my first fic, and trying to write something that massive and complex might be a bit beyond me. After all, Tolkien didn't start his career by writing Lord of the Rings, and George Lucas didn't start with Star Wars. Besides, sometimes you don't want a complex, multi-layered, universe spanning epic. Sometimes you just want a simple little story, something a little safe. For every Inception and every Frankenstein, there's a Freddy vs. Jason IX and a Twilight: Sparkly Shit or whatever. Both have their place, and I've decided to focus this on the more… safe path. Baby steps here people, baby steps.

As far as why I went with some of the artistic choices, well, it's complicated. The commanders in RA were always faceless and nameless, and I wanted this to reflect that. At the same time, this isn't a self-insert, and I haven't made up my mind on OC's yet. We'll see. Either way, it's surprisingly difficult to write about a character without referring to them by name. It sounds awkward, and kills suspension of disbelief. I eventually had to fall back on my old friend, TVtropes, for help dealing with it. Lampshade hanging, leaning on the fourth wall, everything.

Another thing I focused on was the dialogue, or more specifically, the exposition. Ben Croshaw, AKA Yahtzee, is one of my favorite game reviewers and critics, and he once said that the best writing is succinct and punchy. He actually said it in his review of Mass Effect, and he used it to illustrate what he thought the problem was with the game and series as a whole: the massive, bottomless walls of text. Codex, dialogue trees, pages of exposition, all of it. I worry somewhat that I use way too many words to convey a message when I could use fewer and say more. That said, the dialogue, and how it added to the depth and richness of the universe, was always what made Mass Effect so appealing to me. Third person shooters are a dime-a-dozen, but universes like ME don't just build themselves. That's probably why I'll end up leaning on it so much rather than go for a totally original story. This is probably one of the things I could use feedback on the most. Unlike Bioware, I'm not above changing something to please people who read my work, even if it means I have to bend my pride and "artistic integrity" a little. I know, cheap shot.

The last thing I wanted to cover was the mechanical stuff in my work. I try really hard to make sure the prose I write flows as smoothly as possible. I read through each section I write four or five times, even these notes, looking for typos, grammatical errors, word and idea repetition, unclear and missing meanings and subtexts, unnatural sounding dialogue, everything. It sounds tedious, and it is to a certain extent, but it's part of the way I write. I may not be the most creative or artistic individual out there, (That would be Full-Paragon, author of "And the Meek Shall Inherit the Galaxy." If you haven't, you should check it out, it's AMAZING.) but I take pride in my work, and I want it to be a solid as possible. I might not be able to create an epic story, but I can create a well written one. For example, that last sentence originally said "I might not be able to write an epic story, but I can write a well written one." Too many uses of the word "write." See what I mean. It's kinda OCD, but, C'est la vie.

TLDR; I guess what I'm trying to say is that any feedback is appreciated. Finally, I might combine the Prologue parts into one at some point, but I'm not sure it matters. Let me know.

Prologue Part 3: An Unnatural Union

"OK, you've convinced me not to shoot everyone, though the booze may have helped some too. Now, I want you to start from the beginning and give me the highlights on what series of events could've brought the Russian Bear to my Mars base." the Commander requested, somewhat more composed now than he had been before the fifth of vodka.

"I do have a name, you know." she said, a look of annoyance on her face. She pressed on. "But, no matter. Approximately one week ago, Doctor Zelinsky contacted my aid, Lieutenant Zofia, about a possible coup that was manifesting in the Soviet command structure. What's left of it, anyway."

"I thought I recognized you, Lieutenant. We have almost as little intel on you as we do your boss." He paused as a small smile appeared on his face. "At least we had a photo. When the rest of my generals discover that I got my ass handed to me at Hawaii by a five foot tall, ninety pound woman, they'll laugh out of their chairs."

"Are you implying that a woman can't do as well as a man on the battlefield, Eagle?" she spat, anger thick in her voice. She pointed towards him threateningly and continued "Because let me tell you, I worked damn hard to get where I am today. If you think climbing the ranks as a woman is difficult in the Allied Army, then you should see what it's like in the Russian Red Army!"

"No, I just… well I-I-I mean… It's so unexpected, after all the Reds-the Russians-you-I didn't mean that…you're just so young, not to mention pretty, and-and-and…" He blathered, almost incoherently, a rosy flush coming to his face, before trailing off and pausing a moment to regain his composure. "And you just turned the most powerful man in the Allied Armed Forces into a babbling idiot in fifteen seconds. Christ, you really are The Bear, aren't you?"

Bradshaw devolved into a fit of cackling laughter at that, and Major Lee put a hand to her mouth, trying and failing to cover the wide smile and silent giggle. The anger in his counterpart's face drained away, and was replaced with a mischievous grin. "That I am. Though I will admit, you're not quite what I'd anticipated either. I expected you to be more… forceful. Most Russian Generals are like Krukov or Vladimir. Proud, arrogant, stubborn. You seem like a pleasant person, which is more than I can say for most of the Soviet High Command. You don't get far in Russia being nice. It's actually quite refreshing."

"Fair enough. And George." he said, facing the just recovering General. "If you breathe one word of this to anyone, I'll reassign you to Canada. I hear it's nice this time of year. The moose are rutting, and the snow is just pilling up."

"Sure you will, Commander. Sure you will. Back to the matter at hand though, you were saying something about a coup, ma'am?"

"Yes. Anatoly Cherdenko, head of our Special Research Division, approached General Krukov with information about a project his department had been working on for some time, a project that he believed could single-handedly reverse the war. Apparently, he planned to use a prototype Time Machine to travel back to 1927 Brussels, specifically the Solvay International Physics Conference."

"I vas at zat conference. I remember debating vis Niels Bohr." said Einstein, chipping in for the first time since the Commander had calmed down. "Vhy vould he… mien gott."

"Yes, Doctor. He knew you were at the conference, and it was one of the only times in history where you had a known and definite location where he could approach you alone."

"He vas going to erase me, just like I erased Hitler…" He saw the puzzled looks on the faces of the Russians present. "Zis is… somevhat embarrassing. Nearly szirty years ago, I used my prototype chronosphere to travel back to 1924 to... remove… a man named Adolf Hitler. I believed him to be responsible for Germany causing ze Second Vorld Var in my original timeline, a var zat caused fifty million deaths, including six million Jews, who were… exterminated… by his Nazi regime in an ethnic cleansing known as ze Holocaust. I had hoped to prevent zat var, but instead… I made szings vorse." He said the last slowly, pain and regret filling his voice.

The Russian scientist, Zelinsky, recovered from the shock of Einstein's revelation first and spoke up. "You mean you used a Time Machine already!? If you hadn't done that, this war could've been prevented, and Yuri would never have come to power. How could you be so reckless?"

"I had only ze best intentions. Zat… zat monster murdered six million of my people, I had… I had to do someszing." he responded dejectedly, deflating as he spoke. He looked tired, ragged. He wasn't getting any younger, and the wars had taken their toll.

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions, Doctor." replied the now incensed Soviet commander in an uncanny echo of what the Commander himself had said not that long ago.

"Not to mention the possible repercussions of changing something that extreme!" said Zelinsky, practically yelling. "You had no way of knowing what unforeseen consequences would arise because of what you did!"

"Now just a minute here." interjected Bradshaw, his face turning purple with anger. "The Doc is only human, and to err is human. No one feels worse about his actions than he does, and we should-"

"WORSE!? At least I had the sense to stop my Time Machine from being used, you buffoon! I would have expected the great Doctor Einstein to at least-"

"ENOUGH!" shouted the Commander, slamming his fist into the table. Everyone froze at his outburst, their heads snapping to meet his piercing gaze. "We won't solve anything by insulting each other and arguing. We've come to realize the consequences of time travel, and we've learned that particular lesson in blood and death. The fact is, we can't undo what happened, so we should at least try to learn from our mistake so we don't repeat it. Now… if you wouldn't mind continuing where you left off…"

"Yes, well…" she started slowly, reigning in her anger. "Cherdenko was planning to erase the Doctor. He knew that it was he that gave the Allies their advanced technology and it was he that was most instrumental in their... your... victory. He thought that by removing him, a Soviet victory would be inevitable." She sighed before continuing "But as much as that would have meant to my people, even to me personally, the cost was simply too high, the risks too great. Gregor realized that, at the very least, Russia would lack its nuclear arsenal, since Doctor Einstein was so instrumental in the development of atomic weapons. So, he contacted me, believing that I was the only Soviet commander that would have the presence of mind to help him stop Cherdenko."

"Alright, I suppose that makes sense." replied the Commander. "I guess I can even see how you might figure that coming to me would be your only way of avoiding the chopping block when your superiors discovered what you had done. But how in god's name did you even know about this facility? This and Luna Base are the most heavily guarded secrets in the Allied military. If there's a leak in my command structure this big, I'm sure as hell not letting you go anywhere or do anything until I plug it, Bear." He said the last as he leveled a threatening gaze at his counterpart.

"There's no need for threats, Eagle. I intended to tell you everything when I decided to… defect." She said the word with a grimace. "I'm already far past the point of no return, so a few state secrets more or less isn't going to bother me. And when are we going to stop using these silly codenames, Commander? We're both people, and we both have names. It made sense when we were trying to kill each other, but that's in the past."

"Just answer the question"

She rolled her eyes and sighed heavily "Uhg… fine. We didn't actually know you had a base on the moon, and we weren't even sure about Mars. Three weeks ago, one of our spy satellites detected an extremely powerful radio broadcast from Houston that was aimed at Mars. It was heavily encrypted, and we couldn't understand it, but the signal was still there. In fact, the radio beam was so narrow and focused, we wouldn't have detected it if it hadn't passed right through the satellite. In truth, it was like hitting a fly with a bullet from a thousand kilometers away. We… got lucky."

"You have spy satellites? I didn't know the Union had an operational space program. Still, I guess we both have our secrets." A though occurred to him. "If you didn't know we had a base on Mars, why did you come all the way out here? You could've been stranded on a barren rock a quarter of a billion miles from home. That's a hell of a risk."

She hung her head. "Da, it was. But honestly, I had no choice. Cherdenko had to be stopped, and I knew High Command wouldn't see it that way. Gregor, Zofia and I…" She hesitated, a lost look appearing in her eyes. "Dying of asphyxiation on Mars is far preferable to what they would have done to us if we'd been caught. Trust me." Her voice was weak at the end, and the Commander couldn't help by feel some sympathy for her. He'd heard rumors of what the Reds did to traitors, and it wasn't pretty.

"Alright." he said at last. "You convinced me. If the three of you and those five conscripts really are defecting, there are procedures to go through. I'll have to contact the President, and you'll all need to be thoroughly debriefed. You understand that for security reasons, you can't stay here or on Luna, but we can find somewhere safe for you in the States. In the meantime, we're going to need to dismantle that damn Time Machine of yours. It's simply too dangerous to leave in one piece, but I'd rather not just blow the thing up. Doctor Zelinsky, you'll be allowed to stay here and assist with the process, and then you'll be moved to Earth. Bradshaw and I'll be heading back to Luna to fill out the mountains of paperwork this is gonna generate. Captain Hahnburg." he said, turning to the Captain, who'd been waiting patiently near the disembarkation platform this whole time. "Round up your men and have them escort the conscripts and these officers back to Luna for transit to Earth. The General and I will be accompanying you as soon as-"

"Vait vait vait Commander, you can't leave yet." interrupted Einstein. "Zer is someszing urgent, someszing you must know about right avay. I believe I mentioned it in my reports before szis…situation developed."

"Well, what is it Doc? I'm kinda busy at the moment."

"Vell, Commander, ve discovered…" he trailed off, throwing a concerned look at the Russians sitting at the table.

"Oh the hell with security, just spit it out. It's not like anything can surprise me any more than I already am."

"Vell… ve… ve discovered a piece of technology here on Mars during vone of our survey missions. Ze technology Commander… it's alien."

"I'm also a bit of a wine snob sir. If you could get a bottle or two of a nice Riesling or Chardonnay, I can get the cheese to go with it."

"George, if you weren't my best armor commander, I'd punch you right in the nose."

"Don't be sore Commander. I'll share. It's the least I can do, considering."

"I feel like this is a bad dream George. I mean seriously. Aliens? On Mars? How is that even possible? I have the benefit of being cleared to know every single secret this country has, and there's never been a blip on the radar of anything like this. Ever! Wouldn't we have seen them before now? Wouldn't there be some evidence of what they were doing somewhere on the planet for us to find? I mean, sure, there have been stories about crop circles and abductions and probing and whatever else, but nothing official. How could there not be some trace?"

"Maybe there was. After all, Yuri did have those flying saucers."

"But those were something out a bad science fiction movie. These are real, honest-to-god aliens. Sure they've been gone for fifty thousand years, but they're not some bad horror movie rip-off."

"Don't pout sir, it doesn't suit you." The Commander opened his mouth to protest, but Bradshaw rolled right over him. "Now look, I know it's hard to accept. We've seen a lot of damn strange things in our time, and this tops them all. But still, if Einstein's right about this, and I'm inclined to believe he is, the question we should be asking is 'What are we going to do about it?' "

"Eagle, Bradshaw is right. This affects the entire planet, not just the Allies. You can't cut us out."

"Us, Bear? What us? There is no us. You defected, remember? Technically, you're a civilian now. I'm not sure why you're even a part of this conversation."

"Because, sir, someone is going to need to lead what's left of the Union after you get through dismantling the current leadership. I intend to be that someone." She replied sternly, her voice brokering no argument.

"And what makes you think you're gonna have any say in that. It's not your decision, hell, it's not even my decision. The politicians in Washington have to do something to justify their cushy offices and big paychecks. Even then, what makes you think you're cut out to be a leader? You lost, remember?"

The next thing he remembered about the conversation was a ringing in his ears and a burning in his cheek. He couldn't believe it. She slapped him. She had actually slapped him.

"How dare you, you- you- высокомерный, капиталистическая, женоненавистник свинья!" she screamed, drawing back her arm for another slap, outrage marring her otherwise beautiful face. It never connected as the two commandos he had guarding the small office quickly teleported over and bodily restrained her, but that didn't halt her tirade. "I gave my whole life to my country, everything I had to her service! I never had time for friends or family or children because I had to dedicate everything I was to doing my duty! I didn't have the advantage of having the smartest man on Earth dreaming up ways for my forces to kill the enemy, or having commanders I could trust to fight and not to stab me in the back when I wasn't looking, or having men that had more than a week of training before they were give a rifle and a uniform and sent out to die! I worked and suffered for everything I am today, which is likely more than you can say! You probably had a rich family with military connections that could send you to West Point to learn from the best your country had to offer! I earned what I am with blood and sweat and tears, and I'll be damned if I let you insult me like that! I'd rather die!"

As the Commander felt her tirade and rage wash over him, he went from feeling first shock, then anger, to feeling bone deep regret and shame. She had no idea how right she was. His older brother was good friends with the Superintendent of the USMA, and his father had been the personal aid of John Pershing during the First World War. He did have high connections which had helped him during has career and rise to the top. And even then, she had pushed the most advanced and powerful military on Earth, one he had helped to build and lead, almost to the breaking point with nothing but skill and determination and guts. He felt like such an unbelievable ass.

"I'm sorry." He said it softly, the humiliation and remorse at what he had just said to her clear in his voice. "I… I had no right to say that. You… you're the single greatest military strategist and tactician I've ever met, far better than I ever was. Had our positions been reversed, you would've rolled over my forces with laughable ease. What I said was arrogant and stupid and… and wrong. I'm sorry." He finished quietly, and then slumped in his chair held his head in his hands. "Let her go. If she needs to kick my ass again to teach me some sense and respect, then let her. I deserve it after what I just said."

The commandos hesitated a moment before following his orders, clearly unsure if he actually meant it. As she shook herself loose from their grasp, she straightened her hair and uniform, which had gotten disheveled during the tussle. She slowly sat dawn across from him before responding. "I... forgive you. And I want to apologize for my outburst." She held up a hand to forestall his protest as she continued. "Whether or not you deserved it is irrelevant. It was unprofessional and unbecoming an officer, especially one in my position, no matter how provoked I was. I should know better." A small smile split her face. "Did you really mean what you said about my skill?"

"Every word. My forces were better trained, better equipped, and we had the technological edge. Even then, we needed a damn Time Machine to win the war." He sighed and leaned back in his chair, looking at the ceiling. "If you can lead a nation as well as you can lead an army, then you'll make a damn fine Premier."

"President." she replied bluntly. "I doubt your leaders will allow the Union to remain as it is considering what happened with Romanov. Besides, I'm intelligent enough to know that communism and single party rule work far better in theory than they do in reality. It won't be easy, but I think the Soviet people can be convinced of this."

"Heh… It seems to me that you're already beginning to show signs of the wisdom you'd need to lead a country through what's ahead. Even so, I meant it when I said I didn't have a say in what happens to you or your country when this is over. Still, I do have some pretty powerful friends in Washington that might be able to help with that. Rescuing someone from a being mind controlled puppet a half a dozen times tends to endear you to people. I can't make any promises… but we'll see how the pieces fall."

They both sat there silently for a few moments, staring at each other. The situation was just starting to become awkward when Bradshaw, who had spent the past few minutes in stunned disbelief, cleared his throat softly, bringing their attention back to the world of the living.

"Well, now that we've gotten that out of our systems… the question I asked earlier remains. What are we going to do about this alien technology we found?"

The Commander shook his head, quickly coming out of his stupor. "Well, I suppose we should study the thing – try to find out whatever we can. Who knows what secrets could be locked inside it. Without meaning to sound overly dramatic, this could be meaning-of-life level stuff here."

"Well obviously we study the thing. I meant do we tell anyone? If information like this became public, it could cause a panic. So soon after Yuri and his Dominators and Grinders and UFO's and everything else, people might not be able to handle the truth. Hell, the Catholic Church alone has been trying to deny the possibility of alien life for centuries. I'm not sure this won't cause more problems than we could handle. Something this big could shake the world to its foundations and rip it to pieces."

They thought about that for a moment before the future president of Russia spoke. "Maybe not. It's risky, but it might be for the best to tell the world about this. We've been fighting some of the most destructive wars imaginable for nearly sixty years. Those wars were caused by ideological differences that, in the grand scheme of things, are really very petty. If the Union does reform, those differences will start to disappear. It won't happen overnight, but something like this might actually help the process. If people realize that there's more in the universe than just our one small planet and our insignificant problems, it might serve to unify them. This could be…" She hesitated a moment before looking at the Commander, the fires of determination burning brightly in her eyes. "This could be the dawn of a new age for mankind. Not an age of war or weapons or death, but of art and science and culture. We owe it to the people of the entire planet, and those that have died in these horrendous wars, to try to build that age. It won't be easy, but then again, nothing worth doing ever is."

Bradshaw started nodding during her speech, and when it ended, her turned to his friend. "She's right, sir. This decision could be the single most important moment in human history. We can't let the possibility for something like this pass us by. This is a chance for true, lasting, peace, and I know that's something we've all wanted for a long, long time."

The Commander sighed. He'd been doing a lot of that lately. "I agree. I won't say I like it, but then again, there's not much about this situation I do like. That said, before we make any sort of decision or recommendation to the President, we need to hear what Doc Einstein has to tell us about the aliens. More information can only help, and it might make it a bit easier to tell this to him and the Joint Chiefs. Though I suspect they'll all have a damn heart attack either way. It might be prudent to bring a few bottles of that twelve year old Scotch I owe you with us when we tell them. God knows I needed a drink when this all started."

As they strode through the facility, the Commander and his two companions passed a number of small labs, most of which were dark and unused. As they did, his thoughts raced. The personnel the labs were meant for were still busy elsewhere on Earth and Luna at moment, though with this revelation, they would become un-busy damn fast. In fact, they would most likely need to build a veritable city to house everyone that would be needed here. And with that many people, transporting everything required to build and maintain that kind of presence from off-world was a practical impossibility. The only logical logistical solution was to use local materials, but that would mean suits and rovers and mining equipment and a million other things. Eventually, the only possible solution would be to terraform the planet, or at least a part of it under a dome, which would mean… Those were thoughts for another time, years or decades in the future. In the present, the trio entered a lab that was somewhat larger than the rest, though it seemed small with so many people in it. A dozen techs, doctors, and MPs filled the room, and there was a constant, if controlled, buzz of conversation.

"Commander, I'm glad to see zat you've made up your mind about ze artifact. Ve vere beginning to vonder."

"We'll get to the nitty-gritty of decisions later, Doc. For now, what can you tell me about it?"

"Vell, it appears to be a data storage device of some sort, a memory bank if you vill. Vis ze help of Doctor Zelinsky, ve haff made surprising progress zo far. It appears zat ze device vas created by a race of beings called ze Protheans, a race zat lived nearly fifty szousand years ago and controlled a galaxy spanning empire. Zen, in a few hundred years, vich is essentially a single moment in history, zey ver viped out."

"Wiped out? How? War, famine, disease, what?"

"Zis is unclear. Vhile ve haff yet to decode even a fraction of ze data in ze artifact, zere is noszing in ze device vich we haff been able to locate zus far to answer zat question. But if I ver to guess… I vould say var. A swift, brutal, und catastrophic var. No disease, no matter how virulent, could kill an entire species zat quickly, if at all. Diseases cannot spread szrough empty space after all. A quarantine vould contain a disease like zat too easily. Und famines vill reduce a population, not exterminate it."

Bradshaw paled slightly at that. "If that's true, then whoever or whatever wiped them out must've been damn powerful. If they'd survived, even partially, they could've rebuilt their civilization in fifty thousand years and come back to Mars, but they didn't. That means they were likely wiped out completely. And anything that can do that to a galaxy spanning empire must be inconceivably destructive." His eyes widened in horror. "For all we know…"

"They could still be out there." the Commander finished, his tone hard. "This changes everything. If whatever hit the… Promians? Prometheans? Protheans? Protheans… can do something like that, they could wipe out humanity without breaking a sweat. If we start exploring the galaxy, we could be next on their hit list. We might just be safer burying the damn thing and forgetting about it."

"It may be too late for zat, Commander. Ven zey came last, ve as a species had barely reached behavioral modernity, let alone reached for ze stars. Zey likely ignored us because of our primitive state. Zat is no longer ze case. No, I believe our best chance at survival is to fight, not to hide."

"But how can we fight something that powerful? We could barely beat the Commies, er, Russians, sorry ma'am." Bradshaw said, looking at her slightly embarrassed. He continued "There's no way we could beat that."

"Not vis our current level of technology, no. But… ze artifact can change zat. Zere is data on ze artifact about technology zat is decades, even centuries ahead of ours. Everyszing, from veapons to armor to medicine, und faster-zan-light travel und terraforming. Vis zis, ve might stand a chance."

"But the Protheans had that technology, and it didn't help them. Even if we can replicate it, even if my country and the Allies work together, we would be no better off than they were. We would be worse, considering we don't have a galactic empire to support us."

"Ya, zat is true, madam, but zer is anoszer difference between us und ze Protheans. Zeir technology vas based around a substance zey called Element Zero, vat ve vould call neutronium. Zey had become technologically… engpass... erm…" He faltered for a moment before the Commander spoke.

"Bottlenecked?"

"Ya, ya, bottlenecked. Zey could not szink beyond Element Zero, und it cost zem. Ve however haff developed technologies zat szink outside zat particular box. I imagine zat chrono technology alone vould haff drastically altered zeir fate. Besides, vat haff ve to lose by trying? If zey vould destroy us, zen let us… vat is American expression? Go down svinging?"

"I suppose that makes sense. I'm not about to let a bunch of faceless alien bastards blow up my country and kill my people without a fight. I imagine you feel the same as I do, Commander?"

"Yes I do, ma'am. Yes I do. Doctor, you mentioned that the advanced technology these aliens have is based on something called Element Zero. Can you elaborate on that?"

"Perhaps I can help with that Commander." He looked away from Einstein and saw the Russian scientist, Zelinsky, come towards him.

"Element Zero, as far as we can tell, has unique properties that would seem to defy the laws of physics. For example, by passing an electrical current through refined Element Zero, it becomes possible to alter the mass of objects."

"How does that help us?"

"Well, think about it. Einstein's, er, his" he said, gesturing to the somewhat amused man standing next to him. "General Theory of Relativity relates the mass of an object to its' energy. The theory also implies that as the velocity of an object increases, its' mass increases exponentially with it. As an object gets more massive, it requires more energy to accelerate it further, until eventually it becomes infinitely massive, and so would require infinite energy to speed up. This happens at the speed of light, which in effect acts a universal speed limit for any object with mass. But if an object, say a ship, had its mass reduced to zero…"

"Zen ze limit vould no longer apply. Wunderbar, ya?" Einstein finished, smiling happily.

"That's... astounding. " said the Commander, slightly flabbergasted. "Can we confirm this, eh… 'Mass Effect' Zelinsky?"

"Yes. In fact we already have. Your survey team found several other artifacts during their excavation of the ruins the Protheans left behind. Among them was a sphere of refined, nearly pure Element Zero. We tested it, and it works."

"So you're saying that we now have the capability of building ships that travel faster than light? Just like that? That's rather… sudden."

"Vell, not quite, Commander. Although ve haff ze bluprints und plans for such ships, zey require materials zat ve don't haff. Some of zem, ve don't even possess a close facsimile for. On top of zat, ve do not haff nearly enough Element Zero to build a ship. Even if ve did, vone ship vill do us little good. Ze biggest problem ve face is acquiring more Element Zero, enough to build not just vone ship, but hundreds, possibly szousands. Until ve find a source… ve are dead in ze vater."

"Could there be deposits of Element Zero on Earth? With the modern mining techniques we developed during the war, we could excavate nearly anywhere in the world quickly and efficiently."

"Nien, it is unlikely. Ve vould have discovered such deposits long ago if zey ver zere. If zere is Element Zero on Earth, it vould likely be buried deep viszin ze inner core of ze planet."

"Damn. Why?"

Zelinsky picked up the conversation "Well Commander, Element Zero is extremely dense, far more so than even lead or uranium. Any that was present on Earth when it formed would certainly have sunk to the core of the planet when it was still molten. In fact, this would be true of nearly any planet or moon that formed with deposits."

"If there's no source of the element, how do we build ships?" asked Bradshaw. "You talked us into believing we could fight this battle, but how can we do that without a source of Element Zero?"

"Vell…"

"Wait, wait… What if the deposits didn't sink to the core? I know what I just said, but that would only apply to planets and moons that were molten when they formed. If there was a body that formed without the heat... no, no,no, the accretion process would cause too much heat by its very nature. Any planet sized body that formed would be molten by definition. "

"Vat if ze planet didn't form…?" said Einstein, with a look of inspiration on his face. "Vat if ze mass of a planet never accreted into a planet, but remained disparate?"

"Of course. The asteroid belt. Why didn't I think of that?" Zelinsky breathed with the same look of awe and realization as Einstein. Seeing the confused faces of the commanders, he quickly explained. "Between Mars and Jupiter, there is a large asteroid belt, which formed during the early life cycle of our solar system. Normally, the dust and rock in it would have conglomerated and formed a planet much like Mars or Earth. However, the immense mass of Jupiter so close to the orbital path of the protoplanets that formed in the belt causes strong gravitational disturbances which prevent this from happening. Essentially, the belt is a planet which could have been, but never was. If there is mineable Element Zero in the Solar System, it is almost certainly contained within the belt. There may even be some in the rings around Saturn and Neptune. After all, we know the majority of asteroids in the belt are made of heavy metals. Why should there be no Element Zero?"

"Ya, but even zen, most of ze mass of ze belt is lost, long since flung into space by gravitational forces."

"Even so, the total mass of the belt is four or five percent that of the moon. It might not seem like much by comparison, but that is still and enormous amount of material. Even if only a tiny fraction of it is Element Zero, it would be enough for massive fleets of starships. And once we have a few, we can search for extra-solar sources."

"So, how do we get to it Doc?" asked the Commander.

"Vell, ze simplest vay vould be to mine ze asteroids. But zere are millions of zem in ze belt, und ve haff no vay of knowing vhich might contain Element Zero. It vould be tedious und time consuming, taking many years, possibly even many decades, not to mention ze difficulty of developing ze equipment und sending it to ze belt in ze first place."

"What if we could bring the belt to us?" suggested Bradshaw. "We could chrono asteroids to this facility, check them for Element Zero here on Mars, then discard the ones we don't need."

"Hmm… Ya, zat vould speed ze process considerably. Even zo, checking zat many asteroids vone by vone vould still take years. Ve need a vay to speed ze process furszer. A vay to analyze ze asteroids before ve bring zem here. Perhaps some sort of specialized probes… hmm…"

The Commander shook his head. "Same problem with probes as with mining, Doc. We'd need to build them, transport them to the belt, have them land on individual asteroids to check for Element Zero, then lift off and move to the next asteroid. That sounds damn difficult. What was it you said earlier, ma'am? Like hitting a fly with a bullet from a thousand kilometers."

She nodded her head, but then suddenly looked up. "What if we didn't need to land? Gregor, you said the element changes the mass of objects when exposed to electrical current. What if we used modified Tesla Coils to test the asteroids. All we would need then is a way to detect the change in mass caused by the electricity."

"Ya, und I could design a gravimeter zat ze probes could use to do just zat." Einstein said excitedly. "Zis could vork!"

"Alright, Einstein, Zelinsky, I want you two to begin designing the probes for this. This is your top priority, along with decoding the rest of the data on that archive. If you need anyone in the world to assist, anyone at all, let me know and I'll arrange it. Get to it." As they hurried off, heads together and voices whispering excitedly, the Commander motioned for Bradshaw to follow him as they headed back to the embarkation area. "Well George, this is exciting and all, but we have bigger fish to fry. Not only do we need to get the logistics of this situation worked out, but we need to convince the President and the Joint Chiefs to agree to this hair-brained scheme. On top of that, we still need to debrief the commander here" he said looking over his shoulder, "as well as her aid and Zalinsky. And there's still that damn Time Machine to worry about. It's like everything is piling up at once, and it's drowning us."

"There're still the problems my country faces, Commander. The war isn't over yet, and I believe I can help with the peace process if I can get back to Moscow once the Soviet High Command is… out of the way. It will be difficult to get my people to accept an alliance like what will be needed to make this work, but I believe I can do it, if given the chance. If only there were a way to bind our countries together so the process would go smoother, some way to… cement the alliance."

Bradshaw stopped suddenly at that, and the Commander turned to face him, a confused look on his face. "What is it George?"

"Well… as you know, I'm a student of history. I study the past to learn from it, like any good general. I just had a thought that… well... no, never mind. It's crazy, not to mention medieval. You'd never go for it, and it's kind of insulting to be honest. Forget I said anything."

"Oh no you don't, George. Spit it out. It can't be any crazier than… nope, not sayin' it. Already cost me a case of Scotch and two bottles of wine, and the day's not over."

"You sure, sir?" He grinned. "I've become somewhat partial to vodka since we started fighting the Russians."

"Admit it George, you like any kind of booze, the type's a secondary concern. Now, spit it out."

"Well sir, I, uh… I was just thinking that in the Middle Ages, nobility would, uh… well, cement, their alliances with… well… you and the lady are still single, and she…"

The Commander felt his jaw drop and his eyes bulge once he realized what was being suggested. His… he didn't know what to call her… her eyes went wide with shock, and she gasped in surprise. "You want me to marry him!?" she nearly shrieked, her voice hysterical. "We've been trying to kill each other for years! I only just met him face to face a few hours ago! I don't even know his name! Are you MAD!?"

"Look, I told you it was crazy, but the Commander insisted. Forget I said anything."

"I don't know what could possess you suggest something like that, you- you- you-" she sputtered. "As handsome and intelligent as he is, and as attracted to him as I am, I have no way of knowing if he's even my type! Sure, he might think I'm pretty and attractive and young, but that doesn't mean I would ever… ever…" she trailed off, and then paused briefly before taking a deep breath. Her face turned a deep scarlet before she managed to finish, sounding as though she'd run a marathon "Now I'm the one babbling like an idiot."

The Commander couldn't seem to stop the words that came tumbling out of his mouth. "I had no idea that you felt that way about me. In that case-" He started backwards as she stuck an accusatory finger under his nose.

"Don't you start, you, you... man. Once I get to know you, and once I get to like you, then we'll talk! Until then, don't get any funny ideas!" She stalked away, muttering under her breath.

"She's perfect for you, Commander."

"I swear to god George, right in the nose!"

"Is that before or after you get me that bottle of vodka?"

The Commander pinched the bridge of his nose, his brain now almost completely fried by the day's events. "I'm too sober for this."