Most foreign bodies in the Local System were discovered by amateur astrologists. Over the years, they have been very efficient at finding and categorizing a range of objects from comets to asteroids.

If they happened to look a few degrees to the left of the moon on the night of October the 5th, 2048, they would have noticed twenty-one uniquely shaped bodies positioned just beyond the threshold. This would clearly give those souls on that lonely blue marble a new source of confusion as they would inevitably try to discern what exactly it was they were looking at.

Fortunately, finding said objects relies mostly on a combination of knowledge and luck. This time, luck was working against them as the spotters on the East Coast were currently being treated to an early morning dosage of fog. That and the fact that it was three in the morning did not exactly promote such foolish endeavors.

This was a good thing for the passengers in another object that had originated from the lead, a smaller shuttle, floating its way down towards one of the bright spots on the continent of North America. Everyone knew the stakes, they wanted to be as low-key as possible. The less people that knew of their arrival, the better.

Alec sat down on one of two benches that the Kodiak shuttle had. Next to him sat Tali and then Liara. Taking up the opposite bench were Garrus and Wrex, both heavily armored. Alec was also equipped in his Terminus armor as he flexed his gloved hand unconsciously.

He glanced over at Tali, nervously, who looked back up at him, "You…should put your helmet on, Tali." His words were gently but he did not attempt to hide the sadness, "You don't know if you might get an infection."

Tali slowly nodded, "I might not, but my immune system is still too underdeveloped for me to be absolutely certain."

"Also, I don't want any of them to see your face," he was now speaking quietly to her.

She pulled the dull gold of her helmet over her hair and readied her visor, "Becoming a little possessive, no?"

Alec shook his head, "They don't deserve to see how beautiful you are."

"That was the cheesiest thing I ever heard," but she leaned forward to give Alec a kiss, who responded gently. "Don't worry, you'll see me again soon."

Alec smiled sadly, "I'm seeing you right now." He lifted the visor to the seals on her helmet and heard a faint click as the clasps locked into place. She pulled her hood over her head and adjusted her scarf so that it draped around her gold choker. Alec felt a pang in his heart, he had seen her with her visor covering her face before. Hell, she was wearing it the first time he had ever laid eyes on her and even then she was more than a mask to him. But the fact that she had to hide behind it once again caused something animal to well up inside of him, something feral.

Alec patted the side of her helmet in reassurance, to which she gave a light touch on his hand. He felt the brushed metal in his palm, it felt cold. There was a stab of impatience now, what was going on with him?

He stood up, trying not to crack his head on the low ceiling. Alec stalked over to the cockpit, where a geth pilot was maneuvering the shuttle. "Status?" he asked.

"ETA to target area ten point three minutes," the geth replied immediately.

Alec nodded and then turned to Garrus, "You sure the Council made sure to broadcast the details of our landing before we left?"

The turian shrugged, "That's what they said. Although it's not like they're not going to notice, from where the coordinates are having us go. Where exactly are we landing?"

"An area outside of the capital city to the country of the United States, Washington D.C."

"That's kind of an odd name for a capital," Garrus remarked dryly. "What does the 'D.C.' stand for?"

"District of Columbia, but we technically aren't landing there, per se. We're going to an area in the state of Maryland that houses one of the nation's primary intelligence agencies, the National Security Agency."

"Rather odd," Liara said. "Considering that this affair is not technically 'national.'"

Alec shrugged, "It will take place within the nation's borders and the NSA wants to keep tabs on anything that could pose a threat both foreign and domestic."

"So, what?" Wrex said. "We're just going to land on top of a building and hope no one spots us?"

"From the provided coordinates, we will be landing on the westerly campus of the NSA. It's well covered by a tree line and civilians are not allowed on site. Besides, it's late and it's foggy so no one will be able to tell that we're flying a ship."

"Perfect flying conditions," Garrus groused.

Alec clapped his hands, "Okay people, listen up. I don't exactly know what we're going to find down there but I want everyone to try and stay as calm as possible." He eyed Wrex as he said this. "I want pistols to be visible but locked in the 'safe' position. I don't want any accidental incidents with these things for however long this meeting is going to take."

Alec waited a beat for that to sink in, "Also, I don't want anyone to talk at all. In fact, I don't want your translator programs on your end to be online. I'll let you know when you can reactivate them but I want to use every card at my disposal against these guys."

"What exactly is the point?" Tali asked. "So you can startle them when they least expect it?"

"That's the plan," Alec grinned. "Also, they won't know a human is in their midst until the opportune moment." With that said, he flicked the switch near the collar of his armor and his helmet burst through the slots embedded along his chest and back to assemble around his head. The task complete, he now looked like an incredibly intimidating warrior. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Wait, Alec," Garrus said as the human across from him switched off his translator program. "If we will be speaking our languages, how will you understand us?"

A grating laugh emanated from the helmet, "Ik vatk Garrus? Jyk ta'am luk saan?" What's wrong, Garrus? No faith in your human?

Garrus' mandibles twitched at the pronunciation of his language, "Well…crap."

Alec laughed before switching back to English, "Just don't talk until I give the signal. Then we can give them all heart attacks."

Tali laughed, "Bas te'la ade redeva threy ry." You always did have a flair for the dramatic.

He reached down to pat her knee, "Ihrn malv quiy haas te le'voi." It's all part of my charm.

Tali jerked a thumb towards Alec, shaking her head, while looking at Garrus, who shrugged.

The transport was nearing the ground now, from what Alec could tell based on the proximity of the street lamps. The craft was decelerating, it was traveling at the speed of a light Earth aircraft now. Up ahead, he could see the campus of a few office buildings that stuck out above the foggy trees. He nodded to the group as they passed them by, heading toward a circle in the middle of the parking lot that had been lined by flares. With its usual carefulness, the geth set the shuttle down perfectly in the middle, but kept the thrusters online. It had been ordered to return to the Alamo once its passengers had departed.

Alec lined up near the hatch release button, mentally preparing himself for what he was about to do. As the group stood up in preparation to follow, he ran a finger across his neck, the universal sign for "shut up." He closed his eyes and took a breath. He had not been here in so long he had forgotten what his own planet looked like. He forgot that he had loved it once. He would very much like to appreciate that feeling once again.

He punched the control and the hatch slid away, sending in the damp, misty air of the night. Alec's foot crunched as it set down on the gravel pavement. It was hardly a yielding substance but to Alec it might as well have been a pillow. He sighed in appreciation as he mentally noted that he had come full circle. He had come now, as a stranger from a strange land.

He opened his eyes as he heard the briefest of noises, a crunch of feet on ground, the nervous chatter of men. Humans in sharp looking suits were beckoning them to come forward, which they gradually did after getting over their initial discomfort of being on another planet.

From what Alec could tell, Liara and Garrus were taking in everything with awe, their eyes shining and wide. Wrex looked bored but his gaze occasionally flickered to a human now and then as they tried to move around him. Tali, though, was confidentially at his side, having lived on Earth before, already used to the procedure on how humans handle contact with aliens.

Hopefully there isn't a young idiot watching the whole thing, Alec thought with some amusement.

The men in the suits gave no indication of conversing with any of them, they just spread their arms and directed them to a waiting van a few feet away. Feet tramping on the damp ground, the five of them reached the vehicle and clambered in, with Wrex maybe flatting the vehicle's suspension when he gave his full weight on the back tires. The krogan let out a grumble, mostly consisting of the build quality of human vehicles, none of it good.

There was a brief jolt as the vehicle started and moved away. From the window, Alec could see the shuttle slowly increase its thrusters and lift off from the parking lot, flying over the towers before disappearing into the clouds. He smiled beneath the helmet, everything was going well so far. The van now passed over an overpass that spanned the nearby parkway. Alec mentally decided that the van was headed for the NSA's main campus across the way, where they would be set up for the duration of their stay.

His friends were all glancing at him, waiting for any indication. Alec turned his helmet to silently acknowledge each one. He put an arm around Tali and with his other he gave the thumbs up sign. All smiled at this. If Alec was in a good mood, then they were in a good mood.

The man sat in the room with his hands folded on the desk in front of him. He desperately craved a cigarette but knew he couldn't lest he set off the fire alarms in the building. The lights were currently off in the small office and the only source of illumination came from the lamps adorning the parking lot outside.

He had been sitting in the same position for almost an hour, contemplating in the dark, before an aide opened the door and told him that everything was ready. He waved the man away so that he could collect his thoughts before getting up. He gazed around the office which didn't even belong to him in the first place, hence why the nameplate at the front of the door and the desk were not corresponding with his own.

He sighed and rose off the plush chair, walking on the carpeted floor to open the door to the hallway. He blinked at the light that assaulted his eyes but quickly shook off his paralysis as he walked over to the elevator. He was surprised to see that it was already waiting for him and that it was already occupied, the person having kept it open.

Lieutenant General Palmquist nodded to the man as he entered, depressing the button for the bottommost floor, hundreds of feet below the surface. Palmquist was the director of the NSA, the man to whom the office had belonged to. He still maintained the military grade buzz cut and declined any attempt to hide the greying of his hair. His demeanor was still fairly sprung for his sixty-odd years he'd been walking.

"Everything is all ready," Palmquist said.

The man nodded, "Excellent, General. How many are there?"

"Five. All of different species."

The man glanced at that, "Not just quarians?"

Palmquist shook his head, "Not at all. We had known for years that there were other forms of life out there in the galaxy but we too were not expecting to see almost all of them at once."

The man adjusted his custom-made glasses, "Probably wanted to bring a little more diversity to the table, shake us up."

"Most likely, Mr. Speaker."

"Tell me about them."

Palmquist considered for a moment, "One of them is blue-skinned, very human-like, apart from the fact that the skin seems to be comprised of smooth scales and lacks hair in exchange for some wavy ridges. Female in appearance." He let that sink in before continuing, "Another is wearing some large armor but the face looks like a combination of a reptile and a raptor. He's got a blue eyepiece like that Google Glass crap back in the twenties."

"Quite the motley crew they've assembled."

"That's not even all of it. There is a quarian present, and there is one huge son of a bitch that looks like a turtle crawled out of Three Mile Island and ate a dinosaur."

The man laughed, "You think he's going to be a problem, General?"

Palmquist stopped, "I have no idea what we're dealing with here, Mr. Speaker. Quite simply, this could get ugly real fast if we don't tread lightly. And I also neglected to mention the fact that they were all armed."

"A necessary precaution, perhaps. I doubt they could forget what happened when they tried making contact back in Connecticut." The man paused, "What of the fifth being?"

"We don't know," the general shrugged. "He's bigger than the average human, which means the fucker can do some damage. He's completely armored from head to toe in some sort of blackish-red shit that looks more versatile than what we currently have in production. We have no clue what kind of race he is."

"Have they said a word since they've landed?"

"No," Palmquist said. "They've been silent the whole trip and let our staff lead them to the interrogation room."

The Speaker laughed, "The 'interrogation room.' It sounds like they're criminals waiting to be tortured from that perspective."

"But it's a perspective that might prove to be insightful nonetheless."

The spectacled man noted the hidden reference, "I've reviewed your contingency plans of action and I want to reiterate that I'm taking them rather seriously."

"I just want to be careful, Mr. Speaker. If this goes south I want to keep our options open."

"In the interest of this country, general? It's a noble effort and all but I would rather speak to them and determine for myself which direction we should proceed in."

A few seconds later, the doors opened and both Palmquist and the broad-shouldered man walked out and down the dim hallway. There were at least three security checkpoints that they had to pass through, each one earning a annoyed glance from the men as they were delayed to check for illegal items, despite their rank. Passing through the final metal detector, a nearby guard opened the door and both men entered.

The room was a mini amphitheater, only containing a few rows so that people could see down below. The bottom area of the room was large, and lit only by a single lamp that hovered around a large table. On one side of the table sat their three "guests." The one the general mentioned was armored to the teeth had taken the middlemost chair and was flanked by a quarian and the one that looked like a bird of prey. It took a lot to unnerve the man in this day and age but the sight in front of him made his breath catch in his chest. He started to become aware that his heart was beating faster than normal, an unusual feat, considering his talent to be quite cool under pressure.

There was a single chair sitting across from the five visitors which the man took quickly as Palmquist sat in one of the aisles, hiding in the dimness of the room. The armored figure had both his hands flat on the table, in a gesture of cautiousness. This was to relay the fact that he was not being aggressive, merely curious. The figure cocked his head in appraisal, most likely memorizing each of the man's features. The helmet turned to the quarian as a strange and unfamiliar language flowed from the voice modulator to her. The quarian, (he could definitely tell it was a "her") leaned over and spoke the same exotic language to the armored figure. Both shared a laugh and the man wondered for a second if he had just been insulted.

Before he could open his mouth to issue a reluctant greeting, the figure's helmet swung back in his direction and replied in a grating voice, "Did you ever get your bike back?"

The man froze. The figure was speaking English. This was not exactly new news to him as he knew that the quarians on Earth had the technology for them to be able to speak Earth's languages. But this one seemed to make the switch naturally, as if he had been speaking both all his life. But, it was the content of the question that had stunned him.

"What…are you talking about?"

A chuckle came from behind the helmet, "Your motorcycle. A bright red Ducati 1198. I remember it because I always felt guilty of leaving it behind. Guilty because I technically promised to return it to you and I didn't…Anthony."

The man's brow furrowed, "How…do you know my name? Did they tell you outside?"

The helmet moved from side to side, "No one spoke to us. But I do recall one young and brash young man saying that he was going to be the next big thing in politics when we were growing up. All those wild ideas and that big mouth of yours. Perfect traits for a politician in the making. And here you are, Anthony Wyatt, Speaker of the House. Only two positions below from becoming President of the United States of America." The figure moved an armored hand up to depress a switch on the collarbone. The helmet broke into several pieces and filed away neatly in slots in the chestplate of the armor. "I suppose congratulations are in order, what do you say?"

The face that was now peering at him from underneath that helmet caused every fiber in his body to freeze. He hadn't seen this man for years, a man he'd believed dead, a man he had considered to be one of his closest friends…now sitting across from him with quite the different crowd.

"It…it isn't possible," Anthony breathed, standing up in shock. "Alec?"

The armored man gestured to the seat, face giving a hardened look "Sit down, Anthony. We undoubtedly have much to discuss."

Anthony's limbs were starting to shake. He mentally wished again for a cigarette. "How…" he managed. "How can you be here? What is this?"

Alec's face dipped into a frown, "What could be so hard to believe? I admit, I'm probably just as surprised to see you here, of all places, sitting in front of me. Right back in the thick of things for the second time, huh?"

"The…the news reports said you had died."

Alec lifted an eyebrow, "I wasn't aware of that. Then again, I couldn't have been aware of anything going on after I left Earth."

"What happened? Where did you go?"

Alec held up a hand, "That's a conversation we can hold later. Unfortunately we have to skip the reunion and march straight onto the brief introductions as my crew is rather tired from their journey."

Anthony swept his gaze across the room, "Your…your crew?"

"You're currently addressing a captain of the Citadel Expeditionary Force, the 27th Light Fleet." Relishing Anthony's awed expression, Alec pointed to each of the members at the table, "That right there, the blue one – the asari – is Liara T'Soni. She is an archeologist and an occasional information broker. The one on the other end is Urdnot Wrex, a krogan. He's the clan chief of Urdnot, the most powerful on his home planet, Tuchanka."

Alec was grinning like a kid by the time he pointed to the person seated next to him, "Garrus Vakarian, a turian, is a black ops soldier for the majority ruling body in the galaxy, the Citadel Council. And this-," he gently laid a hand across the quarian's shoulders. "-Is Tali'Zorah. My wife."

In retrospect, it would have probably been rather fortuitous if Anthony had not been smoking because when that little bit of information fell on his lap, he would have swallowed whatever was in his mouth at the time. Anthony heard a slight thump in the back of the room as Palmquist's legs felt off the chair they were resting on.

Alec gave a wicked little smile. Despite the shock at his marital status, he was quite enjoying the reaction he was getting out of Anthony. He wished he could see the other people that were undoubtedly watching this from the tiny cameras situated in the room. Why not keep them on their toes?

However, he was getting rather bored with surprising the hell out of these people. Truth be told, he was rather tired and this constant barrage of interruptions with one new discovery after another was irritating him. He stood up to push aside the chair, clearing his throat, "All right, Anthony. We can continue this conversation later but right now I need to make sure my crew is properly cared for. I can assume that we have proper amenities at our disposal?"

"Uh, yes…we do," Anthony stammered. "But…there's a lot to go over. Some of the ambassadors were waiting to talk tonight with you…get an official word from their countries."

Alec frowned, "Were we supposed to enter negotiations immediately when we landed?"

"Negotiations?" Anthony said, confused. "No…no. Those are scheduled for tomorrow but there's so much to talk about…"

"Like I said," Alec firmly stated. "We can continue this later in the morning." He marched over to a side door where an MP was waiting. With a series of loud clicks, his helmet once again extended from his armor to encase his face. The rest of the aliens with Alec did not look at all confused but merely complacent. As soon as they had left, Anthony stalked up the steps to where Palmquist was sitting and smirking.

Anthony wiped his forehead, "This changes the situation drastically."

Palmquist snorted, "Wife, huh. Man's flipped so badly he can't tell up from down anymore. If anything, this makes our decision all the more easier."

The elevator ride was dull and monotonous as the ones on the Citadel. Only this time it was a little more cramped and awkward than the station's. Alec glanced upward to spot that the little box had stopped on the number "4." The doors opened to reveal a rather plain looking hallway and a series of doors.

In front of the group, a door opened and a slim woman with Asian features started to step out, but not before glancing at the assortment of beings and uttering a small gasp as they passed. Through his helmet, Alec could see that the woman had her hair in a tight bun but she looked more fascinated than afraid. He was curious at her reaction, there was something about her that wasn't quite right. He shook his head as they continued, he must be getting a little too paranoid.

The MP led them to five doors at the end of the hallway. He pointed to each member of the group and designated the appropriate rooms to be used as living quarters. The MP then pointed to Tali and Alec and both moved in the direction of the same door.

"Sorry sir," the MP bristled as he addressed Alec. "Only one per room. Orders."

"Orders?" Alec said in a mocking tone. "Whose?"

The MP gulped, "Standard protocol is to house extraterrestrial beings individually for the purpose of-"

"Isolation," Alec hissed. "If you are even thinking about isolating me from my wife I will guarantee that in the next ten seconds you will not leave this hallway until I have drained every single drop of blood from your body." He eyed the corporal who was now particularly wide-eyed, "I'm staying in this room with her and you can't stop me. No one can."

Without waiting for a protest, he shouldered open the door, held it open for Tali, then slammed it in the MP's face. Seething with rage, he yanked off his helmet so that he could properly ventilate after his outburst.

He was surprised to note that the room was situated much like a hotel's. There was a single queen-sized bed with a dresser and a clock radio. A desk sat opposite the bed and a flat screen television set sat next to the desk. He also noted that the air conditioning unit had been slightly modified and upgraded. It was meant for sterilization purposes. The humans had only been expecting quarians, but Alec appreciated the fact that they remembered. A bathroom lay just behind the wall near the bed and Alec admired just how familiar it felt.

"Unbelievable," Alec groused. "Seeing Anthony again. I had no idea…"

"He did have a nice bike," Tali said. "It certainly helped us that night."

"I'll make sure to tell him that later on. I'm just stunned. I'm not sure how this will affect any future talks. I almost didn't recognize him at first."

"People change, Alec. I'm sure he was more stunned to see you there with us. You're the living proof that people can change in ways so radically that you can't even recognize them anymore."

"And what about me?" Alec asked. "Can you recognize me?"

Tali's posture stiffened as she whispered, "You know I do."

Alec gave a nod, "Then that's about the only thing that matters in this case." He started peeling of the layers of his armor, setting them in a neat pile near the window. Tali sat down on the bed, which yielded to her weight as she watched her husband step out of his second skin and sit down beside her. Tali watched him and felt a pang of sadness for the ease that he'd demonstrated with removing his armor while she was locked up again, a prisoner of her own weakness.

"You know," Tali said after a bit. "You didn't need to threaten the guard."

Alec shrugged, "Possibly. But maybe I wanted to play the 'wife' card again, see how people react."

"Being a little exploitative now, are we?" There was a hint of amusement in the quarian's voice.

"Just taking every possible chance to show you off," Alec replied with a wink. "Can't let any of them think you're available, can we?"

"You bosh'tet," Tali teased. "But were you being serious?"

Alec fixed her with a determined gaze, "I told you a long time ago that I would never leave you, never let anyone ever get between us again."

"Oh, here we go with that again."

"It's an adage that's kept me sane this whole time."

Tali laughed, "At least you had me to help with the transition. I've come to the conclusion that humans and space don't mix well."

"Give us time, we're adaptable."

Tali smiled behind her visor, "That sounds like you're looking forward to your people joining you up there, with us."

"I'm just glad I'm down here, with you."

"Do you never stop being corny?"

"Being in a different place gives you a different perspective on things," Alec laughed. "I'm just glad to have someone I love by my side."

"You're talking about Garrus, right?"

Alec rolled his eyes as he grasped Tali around the waist and both flopped down so that they were on their sides on the bed. Alec's hand stroked her purple hood while hers ran through his thick, brown hair. Neither one moved, both enjoying the company and staring into each other's eyes. Their touches became longer as they slowly drew themselves closer, so that their bodies were touching, warmth conducting from one to the other.

Alec frowned as he realized something, "How soon until you can adapt to this room? I don't mean…you know…I just want to see…"

Tali lovingly stroked his cheek, "I know you do. I already started exposing myself by filtering the air through my helmet in small amounts. I won't get sick from this and it should be at least a day or two until you can see me again."

Alec hesitated a bit before nodding, "That's all I want right now, Tali. I just…even though we're here for something else…I…" He sighed, unable to find the right words. Tali reached out to grasp his head and pulled it to her chest so that it was nestled beneath the chin of her visor, holding him tightly as both started to feel sleep starting to catch up on them.

Tali yawned, "My father did warn me that humans were always single-minded in their desires…"

I'm pleased to announce that as of today, the entirety of the For Her saga has accrued over 10,000 views. (Holy crap!)

I'm staggered to say the least so I thank you all for bearing with me on this journey. We've still got more to go so don't give up on me yet!