Ruth was so relieved to be leaving that she barely hesitated at the black threshold, feeling the cold, unreality of nothingness swim about her before it dashed away again and made her stumble. Gellian caught her arm, steadying her.

"Ruth?"

"I hate that thing," the other woman said, swallowing back acidic saliva. "I am never going through there again."

Her hip and leg were aching with sharp, angry throbs, and she limped across the room without waiting for a reply. Though they were back in the mountain complex, she wanted to be as far from that hole of nothingness as she could get.

Gellian paused only a moment, before quickly catching up to her, taking her arm and swinging it around her shoulders. Ruth looked over at her, still amazed at the change.

A new body, a new brain, but still the same Gellian. It was such an odd and surreal thing. She was well aware that the true scope of Osco's IQ had been dulled and watered down by the endless drugs and medications she indulged just to stay alive. This new form had no need for such substances, and more…half her brain was now a bioelectric supercomputer millennia beyond what they were capable of. There would be no more dilution, no more shackles. She would be able to utilize the full scope of her intelligence.

Much as Ruth may have loved her, that thought deeply terrified her.

As they left and resealed the secure area behind them, entering the complex proper, Osco said, "I need to go to the lab, make the final preparations for launch. You need to go upstairs and rest your leg. You have strained it far too much."

"Hard to take my cane with me when I'm carrying your sorry ass around," Ruth told her. Gellian looked at her tersely.

"If you were not so stubborn in your Liberationalist views, I would have fixed that leg of yours years ago, and you would not even need the cane."

"This is an old argument, and one that isn't going to change now," Ruth replied. They reached the main lab and Osco started to loosen her hold in frustration, only to pause as Ruth tightened hers. Reaching up a hand, Ruth almost timidly touched Gellian's face.

Lifting her hands, Osco enfolded them around Ruth's, lowering it. "I am all right," she said gently.

"You were dying in my arms," Ruth told her, brows knit tightly. "That's not something I can just brush aside, even seeing you like…like this."

"I know," Gellian told her, giving her hand a squeeze. "Thank you, for what you did for me, Ruth. I am standing here because of you. We will win this now, because of you."

Ruth looked down at their hands, then cleared her throat. As she started to speak again, however, she caught sight of one of the Orthrus soldiers heading their way. Her soft expression turned into a scowl, and Gellian turned, lifting a brow.

"What is it?"

"Luka has returned, and she brought a prisoner," he reported, his voice monotone.

"A prisoner?" Osco blinked. "She was not to take prisoners, she was to eliminate Delilah."

As she started down the hall, Ruth limped after her with a terse shake of her head. "I told you we should have implanted a control chip in that girl's brain too. She's got far too much of a mind of her own."

"Luka's loyal enough, and a control chip would turn her into just another walking wall of meat. Her assassin's finesse would be lost. I don't need more mindless soldiers, I need shadows. For now, anyway."

Crossing down into the launch bay, they spotted the girl standing next to the idling carrier. They could see damage along its side, and one of the fighters on its belly was missing.

"Looks like things didn't exactly go as planned." Ruth shook her head. "Control chip, I'm telling you."

Spotting them, Luka headed their way, her smirk fading into surprise as she got near enough to see Osco clearly. "What…happened to you? You've been enhanced? Those eyes-"

"My condition has been rectified," Osco told her vaguely. "What happened at Purdue? Is Shepard dead?"

"I lost the fighter that razed the camp but I expected that," Luka said. "It served its purpose. The labs there were destroyed, and Dr. Shepard met her planned and sad demise. I didn't even have to shoot her- one of the infected I released took care of the matter for me."

Osco narrowed her eyes slightly and fixed her with a look. "She is dead. You verified she is dead?"

Luka scowled. "I have been a successful assassin for ten years, doctor, and I have a reputation to maintain. She was on the ground being torn apart by one of the infected-"

"And as a successful assassin with a reputation to maintain, you put a bullet in her skull regardless, to insure she was dead before you walked away from her, correct?"

"She could not possibly have survived infection-"

"Oh? Because there are no immune? Because no one is perfected by the PMD as it is designed? And Dr. Shepard could not possibly have the proper genetic structure to lead to either of those ends?"

"The chances of that-"

"Are astronomical, I concur…but even the slightest chance of her living is still a chance, Luka! Even if you saw her succumb to the infection as her heart exploded, you should have put a bullet through her skull to be absolutely sure. I do not pay you to play the odds!"

"She is dead," Luka said insistently.

Osco's brilliant eyes were cold, but she said nothing. She did not have too. Ruth knew the woman well enough. If Shepard were not dead, if she somehow turned up again, alive and well, she did not envy the fate that Luka would face for failing to plant that bullet.

Instead, Gellian only straightened, her voice crisp and calm. "I was told you have a prisoner?"

Luka inclined her head, turning and leading them toward the carrier. "The Alliance got off a lucky shot as I left the system. I put down on a sanctioned planet to affect minor repairs and insure I was not leaving a trail despite my stealth systems."

"A sanctioned planet?" Ruth asked. "Why was it forbidden?"

"A developing sentient species, pre-space flight."

"There are four that I am aware of that are under Council observation at this time," Gellian said. "Which did you land on?"

"It was marked 320 Alphergi- Nakira."

"I believe the native species there is in the equivalent of a bronze age. 320 Alphergi is the Council designation for that world, before sentient life was discovered upon it. Nakira will be what the natives call it in their own language."

"You're familiar with this species?" Ruth asked.

"I am familiar with Council naming protocols in these situations. Once the species nears spaceflight the registry will change to reflect their name for their own world in anticipation of them joining the galactic community. There would have been an anthropology post monitoring the culture and development. I will have to access their databanks for further information on our prisoner."

She looked at Luka. "I am assuming that the prisoner is, in fact, a native?"

"Yeah, weird fucking thing," she replied. "I put down somewhere remote but apparently not remote enough. Got too curious for its own good. Looks to be an apex predator. I figured you'd get some use out of it, if for nothing more than genetics."

She led them in to the small cargo area, lifting her brows. "Looks like someone's awake."

The thing had been unconscious still when she'd docked. Now, it was crouched just within the energy barrier, yellow and gold eyes narrowed toward them. On the floor, the shredded remnants of the belt that had bound its ankles were littered.

It had lifted its wrists to its mouth, possibly to bite at the cuffs holding them secure, when they entered. Sitting frozen a moment, it then slowly lowered its hands down again.

"Well, aren't you indeed curious…?" Gellian said, interest sparking her eyes.

Ruth grimaced a little as she looked at it. "Fucking ugly thing. Looks like an animal to me."

"Animals don't wear clothing. Or go hunting and tie the skinned furs of its prey to their belts," Luka said.

Osco, ignoring the exchange, stopped about ten feet away, looking at the creature clinically, measuring, deducing. There was a moment of pause, the human woman and the alien being regarding each other in silence.

Then the thing leapt. Astonishingly fast, it slammed into the energy barrier and rebounded back hard enough to crash into the wall. Though only feet away, Osco eyelashes didn't so much as flutter in reaction to the attack.

"We shall have to sedate it to remove it from that cell," she said calmly, and looked to Ruth. "Have a pair of men come in with some halon gas. That should filter through the barrier enough to knock it out. Then inject it with enough sedative to put a krogan down so we can move it."

"Just shoot it," Ruth said, grimacing in disapproval. "Why do you need it alive?"

"Bodies are invaluable, but minds more so," Gellian told her. "I can glean much more by living observance than just cutting it into pieces…at least at first."

The thing had recovered itself. Growling low, it reached its hands out and prodded along the barrier. Though its face was not human, a very human expression of confusion and awe spread over it as the plasma rippled in response.

"Coming from a bronze age culture that must seem like magic," Luka said. Osco nodded.

"Yes, and that may work to our advantage. Sedate it and move it, as I asked. I will access the anthropologists records and study up on the culture, work on a language translation algorithm while I make the final preparations to launch the PMD."

She turned and walked out of the carrier. Ruth scowled at the beast, as it continued to explore the confines of the 'cell'.

"I don't like it," she said. "It's systematic. It may be confused by the plasma but it's looking for weaknesses, regardless. Do you see? It's testing every inch."

"Primitive doesn't mean stupid, I suppose," Luka said. "Though I shudder to think what it would do if it got out of there awake. Its whole body is made for tearing shit apart."

"Good thing you caught it and brought it here then, where it can do just that," Ruth said dryly, giving the girl a withering look before she limped out. She'd do as Osco had said, but she didn't like it. It was bad enough they were dealing with the PMD- which could easily kill them all at the slightest accident. Now, they had to contend with an alien barbarian they knew nothing about…one that seemed just about as deadly as the PMD.


The Aswa was quiet and dark as Liara boarded the ship, heading for her quarters. Once inside, she quickly stripped and stepped into the shower. As the water cascaded around her she lowered her head, pressing three fingers to her forehead as she did, closing her eyes.

By the Goddess, what possessed you? she asked herself. It didn't make sense. None of it since Virmire had made any sense.

Liara was young, it was true. At least, in the asari way of measuring such things. One hundred and six years old. If she were human, she'd be only nineteen or twenty. Most of the time, however, she felt vastly older than that, as ancient and world-weary as any Matriarch.

Part of it was Aethyta's fault, she knew. Though she loved her father dearly, and though Aethyta had always been a caring, devoted parent…she was also nearly a thousand years in age, and bitter in her own right. Her father had been krogan, and her parents had killed each other when Aethyta had been just a little younger than Liara was now. Once they discovered they had each been on opposing sides during the krogan rebellions, they couldn't seem to rectify that bloody history with the way they felt about each other. So, they determined to duke it out, settle the matter once and for all.

Unfortunately, it cost both their lives.

Then there was Benezia. Aethyta still glowed when she talked about Liara's mother, but Liara was hard pressed to understand why. From the stories, Benezia had never really treated Aethyta well, considering her a lark, a source of amusement. Liara still couldn't grasp why she had agreed to bear a daughter. It was clear she had not wanted one, as she'd left Aethyta and the infant Liara only weeks after birthing her, abandoning them to their own devices.

While Benezia's House was wealthy and influential, Aethyta's was not. With an infant to raise and no help, she'd worked as both a commando and a merc for quite some time, to provide for her child. Heartbroken and hurting, she'd also done her best to find someone to fill the gaping hole in her spirit that had been left behind in the wake of Benezia's callousness.

She had dallied with several potential bondmates. Liara was young for most of them but she remembered a craggy krogan a bit too free with his biotics- a salarian merc that looked at Liara as if she were some unfortunate speck of shit that had managed to crawl into the house- a turian merchant focused more on his business than any interpersonal interaction.

Then, the hanar. He had been sweet, and kind. He had treated both Aethyta and Liara well, and after a decade Liara grew to like him, to trust him. Little Vivek had been born and for once it seemed they'd be a family.

And then he'd gone as well, Vivek only a child of ten. No explanation, no apparent cause. He simply departed back for Kahje, ignoring all of Aethyta's attempts to contact him and coldly shunning his entire family.

The Matriarch had been heartbroken, all over again. Now with two daughters to raise, with no name and no real status (the other Matriarchs shunned and mocked her over what they considered to be 'wild ideas), Aethyta had been left with few options. She had done what she could…she always did, but the result was a less than ideal childhood for the young Liara.

She'd become a commando, joining a Thessian militia as soon as they would take her, to help Aethyta provide for the family. She wanted to be sure that Vivek didn't suffer the same as she had. From there she'd grown in the ranks, making a name for herself and finally being named a Spectre.

One thing that Liara had vowed was that she would never let others do to her what they'd done to Aethyta. Her father had loved and trusted Benezia, and she'd thrown her aside. She'd loved and trusted Ivariandys, and he'd done the same. Every time she'd made herself vulnerable, every time she'd dared give her heart away, the recipient had thrown it to the floor and stomped on it.

Liara wasn't going to let that happen to her. She was not going to be hurt and used in such a way.

So, she focused her life on her work, held tight to her duty, her training, the next mission. There was no time for distractions. At an age when most asari were having fun, being stupid, and falling in love, Liara was devoted to practicality, efficiency and the exact opposite of frivolity.

And now…Shepard.

What was it with this human woman that seemed to be chipping away at all that? Other than her work and her intelligence- which were vital to the mission- she was just another civilian, like all the others. Worse, she was a rich civilian- pampered, sheltered, and at times timid to the point of absolute frustration. She'd never had a hungry moment in her life. Never put her life at risk, never sacrificed, never fought for anything before those mercs had landed in her front yard.

She was exactly like all the asari from the wealthy Houses of Thessia…the same asari that had mocked Aethyta. The same who had thought themselves so incredibly superior and better than Liara, than Vivek, just by virtue of birthright, status, and parentage.

No, Liara. No, that is not fair.

Shepard may have come from a wealthy family. She may be pampered and sheltered, but she had never behaved as those asari had. She had never been cruel or mocking. She didn't carry that haughty air of entitlement or superiority. Not for a single instant had she behaved even remotely close to the way they had.

You are just making excuses, reasons to keep her at a distance.

I need no reason. She is part of the mission, a vital tool toward stopping Osco, and that is all.

Then why do you feel so comfortable around her? Why is it that you speak to her as if she were an old and trusted friend? Why is it that, from the very start, you felt as if you already knew her? Why that kiss?

It does not matter. It ends now. I must focus on the mission. When it is concluded she will go back home to her family and I will continue on with my duties. There will be no more than that. There can be no more than that.

But you want there to be.

No. I will not be used and left broken-hearted. Not over some silly human woman I barely know.

With an angry slap of her hand she switched the shower off, snatching hold of a towel and drying quickly before pulling on a robe and crawling into bed. She would have to be up very early the next morning to make sure that Lawson was making the necessary progress, and to start the preparations with the Aswa to travel through Omega Four.

I will assign Feris to take over the doctor's defense training. It was her suggestion in the first place, and she is more than competent enough to finish instructing her.

That thought set firm in her head, she closed her eyes and willed herself to sleep.


As the last shot rang out, Sam tapped the console and lifted her brows at the results. "Not too bad," she said. "You're still pulling just a bit to the left but you're hitting flesh with every shot."

Shepard lowered the pistol and cleared the spent thermal with laborious, unpracticed motions. "Well, you, Ash and the captain will be handling the gunfire aspect," she said. "I hardly need to be Annie Oakley."

Feris lifted a brow. "You ok, Doc?"

"I'm fine," she said moodily, getting another clip in place. "We should probably try moving targets."

Sam frowned a little. She'd been a bit surprised when Liara had asked her to handle the doctor's training that day, but it made sense given it was her security rotation anyway. The odd thing was Liara's manner when she'd asked. She was normally quite collected, keeping a firm rein on her professionalism- that was to be expected. When she'd made the request, however, she'd seemed even more collected. As if she wasn't just holding that rein firm, she was holding it with iron.

And now the doctor was being strange as well. This moodiness was not like her, and her thoughts seemed to be elsewhere.

"All right," she said, programming the targeting computer before moving over to Shepard's side, pulling out her own sidearm to demonstrate. "You don't want to shoot where the target is, but where it's going to be. Lead the target, let it run into the bullet."

Shepard nodded studiously, watching carefully as the target appeared , tracking along the visible field to the left, and Sam put two bullets into it.

"You've got to anticipate where it's going. Watch body language, look for clues it's going to change direction, and compensate," Sam said. "All right, you try now."

Del lifted her pistol as the target reset, letting out a breath. As it moved to the side, she tried to lead it and fired twice. Each time, a bright red circle indicated that she'd missed.

"Fuck!"

Sam stared at her in shock, letting out an astonished laugh. She had never in a million years expected that kind of language to come out of her mouth. "Doc?"

"Just…" Shepard glared angrily, lowering the pistol and rolling her shoulders, before snapping it back upward. "Just reset it and let's go again."

"Uh uh. No." Sam reached over, hitting the computer and pausing the program. She turned back toward Del, folding her arms. "Not until you tell me what's wrong."

"Nothing's wrong, I just want to get this, so I can protect myself. Just…reset it."

"You're a terrible liar."

Shepard let out a furious breath, lowering the pistol and wiping a hand over her face. Her dark eyes were hard and distant, and Sam inclined her head a little.

"C'mon, Doc," she said gently. "What's going on?"

After a long pause, she spoke, not looking up. "I know that I'm not one of you," she said.

"One of us?"

"A soldier. I know that you, and Williams, and…the captain-…you're good people, Sam. You're good people, but you see me as an egghead, a civilian. I don't quite fit into all this, into your world."

"You think we see you as lesser because you're not a soldier?" Sam asked.

"No, not…not lesser just…" She sighed in frustration. "I just…look, just-"

Sam had a sudden thought, and knit her brows. "Did Liara say something to you yesterday, is that it? You think she looks down on you because you're a civilian?"

"I'm part of the mission, something to protect, that's all," Del replied. "I'm an asset, worth only what I can do to stop Osco."

"She said that?" Feris couldn't believe it, not even for a second.

"No, of course she didn't, I just…look. Forget it. Can we just keep on with practice, please? Reset the computer."

"Doc-"

"Please, Sam. Just reset the computer, ok?"

Feris frowned a moment, before she finally relented, reaching over and resetting the targeting computer.

"All right, just remember. Relax your shoulders best you can, and lead your target."

"Yeah, all right." Shepard took a breath, lifting the pistol as the target began to move, and resumed fire.