Thessia

Though distracted by Hiaras's admission, Sanar realised they were heading towards familiar territory after a convoluted flight path through the densest traffic lanes in the city. They had stopped briefly at various locations, the Flarex Amphitheatre, a carpark serving a row of restaurants before joining a queue at a very popular nightclub. Hiaras's timing and her maneuvering skills were impeccable.

With so much going and coming of vehicular traffic, it would take an extensive tracking system and the most diligent wily tracker to stay on their tail. She was certain there was a jamming device onboard the skycar to negate any bug that might have been placed in the vehicle. Thinking about that sent a shiver of a different sort up her spine as she wondered what kind of mess she had inadvertently landed into after years of treading a cautious path. She stared contemplatively through the window.

Faced with several options when she reached maturity, she did not follow the footsteps of most of her peers. Flinging oneself into the wilderness might bring in all the trials and flavours a young maiden could ask for but to her, such a venture was foolish and reckless. She had chosen to follow a more restrained path. She visited all the homeworlds of the Council races and the colonies, seeking to absorb and understand the different cultures and life outside the safe haven of her homeworld.

When she returned to Thessia after a few decades, she knew what she wanted and signed up with the Asari Republics Forces. The discipline and demanding rigors of military training presented a challenge she found irresistible. She dove into it with all the passion she could muster.

She graduated with honours and her first posting was to a garrison at one of many Asari colonies. As the years flowed by, she moved from one assignment to another in many systems, holding a steady course and appreciating the myriad trials the great consciousness put in her way. The testing was as rich as any maiden could want. She had steadily earned merit to be promoted. During the course of those years, she knew she had no desire to become involved in political games. She learned to be careful. The future seemed set in stone, a good career and perhaps a family but the arrival of the Reapers shook the foundation of security and belief.

The Reapers were beyond imagination, implacable monstrous nightmares that tore apart everything that was the embodiment of life. Before her eyes, her homeworld was set aflame, her compatriots fought and died. Such were the odds that she had thought to join them soon. As she prepared herself for death, she continued to put up resistance with the survivors from the other republics. Fighting and retreating. Always retreating, scrapping up every bit of supplies and munitions from bolt-hole to bolt-hole.

In the end, exhausted, weak from hunger, she had determined she would retreat no longer. There was only so much she could take. The next wave of attack would be her last. She remembered how she had glanced at her companions, bidding them a silent farewell and then had jumped up to launch the rockets remaining to her when fresh waves of husks and brutes swept in.

Wave after wave. There was no end to them and there never would, she knew. Not until every single sentient was wiped from the face of Thessia and beyond. With the approach of the Reaper destroyers on their flanks, the retreat was sounded but she stayed. To die. She readied her assault rifle but then something miraculous happened. The husks froze in their rush. She stared at them bewildered and then at every enemy unit around her. They had also stopped. Then the most amazing sight she would remember till the end of her life happened.

With a groan that sounded like disbelief and defeat, the Reapers did something no one expected. They toppled thunderously to the ground and went still. Huge clouds of dust bellowed everywhere. The constant thrumming in the air that had become part of their lives died away. There was silence. Long and disbelieving until someone screamed aloud with joy when the Reapers remained inert. She cried while some of her companions celebrated. Long and hard. The rest were as numbed as her. Either crying or sat muted, staring across the broken landscape.

"If you're drunk again, you'll get a dunking," a familiar acerbic voice abruptly shook her out of her memories.

Startled, Sanar looked up. "Oh, er, Effia," she said belatedly when she realised who was looking down at her. She glanced around in confusion. Wasn't this the T'Soni estate? She had expected to be brought to Aethyta's office.

"She's a little tipsy," Hiaras said lightly, reaching to pull Sanar out of the skycar. "I'll see her to Aethyta."

"Up to your tricks again?" Effia snorted under her breath, frowning after them before beckoning to a hovering assistant to move the skycar elsewhere.

Sanar numbly allowed Hiaras to propel her down a long hall. She was vaguely aware of bubbling water before she was perched on a stool, facing Aethyta across a counter top. To her bemusement, the matriarch was polishing glasses. Why was she doing that? Aethyta threw a dirty look at Hiaras after seeing Sanar's cloudy eyes. Hiaras only shrugged, unrepentant. From under the counter top, Aethyta came up with a bottle, poured out a glass of purple-red liquid, put it before the young Asari and urged her to drink. It tasted strangely mild. The next thing Sanar knew, she was looking up at a ceiling, with a clearer mind.

"I hope you'll forgive Hiaras's manners."

Looking towards the voice, she saw Aethyta ensconced in an armchair near a window. She could see the gardens. Where was she? Sitting up, she realised she was lying on a couch in an alcove. Farther down the hall, she could see the bar top and stool where she had sat earlier. She realised belatedly that Hiaras had drugged the wine.

"I suppose she has her reason," she said, stamping down a flash of anger.

"Hiaras is thorough." Aethyta gestured to the armchair next to her, inviting Sanar to sit closer. "Wouldn't trust her with my ass otherwise," she snorted as Sanar got up from the couch and stood up cautiously to test her footing. When she didn't fall flat on her face, she crossed over and sat down in the armchair. "We go back quite a little ways."

"A protege?"

"In a way. We didn't meet on the best of terms." A smile twitched a corner of Aethyta's lips. "Neither did you. Jumped in the first meeting, drugged in the second. Those are milder forms of her getting-to-know-you."

"I suppose the harsher forms would be-," Sanar paused delicately.

"You wouldn't be walking for a few days," Aethyta said soberly. "Did you manage to get the data?"

"Yes." Reaching into a hidden pocket of her tunic, Sanar removed a datastick and handed it over. "I skimmed as much as I could."

"How far back do they go?"

"As far back as near the first generation from what I can tell." Sanar watched as Aethyta jacked the datastick into a datapad. "Could you clarify what you've said before?"

"About a rot within the Assembly?" Aethyta glanced up, to catch a look of anxiety that fleeted across Sanar's face. "The Assembly is what it is," she said conversationally, resuming her perusal of the datapad. "They exist in every civilized community. Chosen mouthpieces with different names. Parliament, Conclave, Council. All of them have their own agendas, none are exceptional in their ambitions. Ours is a little different. When no consensus is reached, we shove the problem to the side for the moment. Unlike some, the humans, for example, who may choose to take up arms when an agreement could not be reached fast enough. I'm not saying they jump straight into the fire at the first negative result." She looked up gravely before continuing. "I'm pointing out the difference."

Sanar nodded. "We don't take up arms because eventually, a solution would present itself."

"We can afford to examine the problem time and again. It could take a century before a solution present itself. We can wait. The humans can't. They're culturally and socially more diverse than we are. That in itself, constitutes a prodigious hill to climb." Aethyta shook her head. "Even so, they surmounted their differences when it was important to do so, especially if the survival of the species comes into question."

"But we're not."

"Sadly, we aren't. At present, three quarters of the Assembly are newcomers and the last quarter the remnants of the old guard. It is they who dominate current policies. They're steeped in the old approach to solving problems and insisted in keeping to it despite every sign pointing that it will not work in the present crisis."

"This is the rot you speak of."

"You have it right." Putting the datapad aside, Aethyta got to her feet and paced over to the window. "We went through the most terrifying conflict against adversaries that we could hardly imagine and survived. The war showed us how ill prepared we are for invasion, how weak we are in certain military doctrines. We know exactly what the invaders did to their victims. We know there is no cure for those who have become their slaves. There is no luxury of letting the problem simmer. It's right on our doorstep, not somewhere else in a far off system. The TI will die off eventually but not before they try to bring us down with them and yet, there are those who choose to ignore these facts and refuse to see changes are necessary, that a final show down with our own is inescapable."

"Do you know that the motion to eliminate the TI was held to a stalemate?" She glanced over and nodded grimly at Sanar's astonishment. "That meant a quarter of the new parties chose to side with those who rejected removing the TI. Yet these groups were making noises to have the TI removed when the new Assembly was convened. Within a space of weeks, they suddenly changed sides when the vote was called. I've tried to find out why but to no avail."

"So someone has managed to persuade them to change their minds. Is that why you want to see the lineage of my clan? Because that someone is impeding the recovery of Thessia using age old affiliations?" Sanar asked unhappily. Surely her clan wouldn't controvert policies that would restore Thessia. "Is there a need to look so far back?"

"We are all of different clans but we are all linked through unions and alliances." Aethyta waited until Sanar nodded in acknowledgement. "Ambition can go far, decisions can be made or unmade by flaunting the influence, authority and positive footprints accrued for millennia. That's all very well for the normal course of the politicking mill but not when the people's future draw so sharply near the edge of the abyss. It is not possible to ignore that and yet, they did. Why? What compels them to choose such a course?"

Sanar frowned. "You think there's something in the T'Enaire line that forces them to it. Something to do with the TI? If so, why would they approve of the TI campaign?"

"Your clan is one of the oldest which is why I'm looking into it first. I'm looking into the rest as well. The TI campaign was allowed to move forward to appease the majority. Just enough to keep back the hordes from the cities but not, as you noted, to completely eradicate them. They're doing whatever they can to to hamper military operations."

"The sabotages," Sanar said in dismay, "at munitions. The death of the Systems Alliance officer. But how could they?!" she burst out angrily, gripping the armrests with talon like fingers. "Don't they care younglings and innocents were killed?"

"They may consider the deaths as necessary sacrifices to achieve their goal."

Aethyta walked over to Sanar and touched her hands, exerting a calming aura as outrage flared in the younger Asari's eyes. She waited until the young lieutenant calmed down before moving away.

"It's fortunate the Systems Alliance chose a practical approach than rustle up a huge storm. For that, we can thank the great consciousness that the Humans have a pragmatic leader in Admiral Hackett."

"I hear good things of him."

"Indeed. The Human campaign is going well because of his leadership and judgment. He chose to strike swiftly and effectively while their forces were still in momentum and at the height of their strength. They're tiring but their efforts have returned most of their homeworld under their control. We can use more sound heads like his in the Assembly. The Alliance know we are having problems, they also have their own so they will not waste time nor demand any form of reparation for now, not until the TI issue is put to rest."

"So that's why the investigation was so quick."

Aethyta nodded. "We have to find out who is the prime mover as soon as possible, preferably before Zelenia is remove from her post. Yes," she said when Sanar stared at her in surprise, "they would want to have her gone and put in someone more malleable, sympathetic to their cause."

Sanar wanted to ask if Zelenia herself knew about it and then felt foolish. Of course her commander in chief would know. "Would they do that?"

"To remove Zelenia when she is a Izharia is difficult and risky. Not impossible, mind."

"True," Sanar nodded thoughtfully. Trying to kick out one of the oldest living and much decorated officer would certainly call for extraordinary measures. Not very healthy for political parties in the long run but that didn't mean it couldn't be done. Another thought struck her. "Would they have tried to remove Shepard?"

"They're not as foolish as that," Aethyta snorted. "That'll call attention to themselves from every eye in the galactic community. They'll try to displace her somehow if she was not called away," she sighed. "Or do their best to hamper her. I'm glad she's somewhere else with my daughter. Away from this mess."

"Is Nyrine being so difficult your doing?"

"She is doing my bidding." Aethyta returned to her chair and picked up the datapad. "She's there as bait, fertile recruit for anyone thinking of undermining efforts against the TI. More importantly, she's there to prevent any incident to Shepard."

"I see." Sanar felt better at that revelation. She hadn't quite believed Nyrine was the hardheaded conservative she seemed to be. No one who had fought in the war would come away believing in Asari supremacy. She wondered if Aethyta would tell her if Nyrine had uncovered anything and decided the matriarch would not.

"There're centuries of information in there-," she gestured to the datapad. "How are you going to find the answer?"

"It's not going to be easy," Aethyta agreed. "But I have my methods for sifting out what I want. To start with, there's one similar trait among the opposing parties that I found most interesting."

"They're the oldest clans constantly nominated to the Assembly?" Sanar said matter of factly.

The previous Assembly was composed of many old clans of different republics, forming the backbone. The T'Enaire clan was one of the few that had members in the Assembly as far back to the time of Athame.

Aethyta smiled. "The oldest holds the most power to move people and events. They are said to be the wisest but I question that wisdom when they refuse to work towards the greater good at the hour of need. Do you know the Geth have been asked to stop the cleansing?"

"What?!" Sanar nearly jumped to her feet at that shocking news. "But we need the Geth, how're we to clear away the Reaper remains and reclaim all of Thessia quickly?"

"How indeed?" Slapping the datapad lightly against her thigh, Aethyta frowned. "They were starting to clear the Armali quadrant when they were halted."

"Why now?"

"Why Armali?" Aethyta smiled without humour. The soft tread of footsteps drew her attention. "But that's for me to figure out. Right now, you need to rest-," she gestured toward Hiaras who entered the alcove. "Thank you, Sanar."

"What else do you need me to do?" Sanar said quickly, standing as Aethyta made to leave.

"Exactly what you've been doing. Train the recruits as best you can and see that they assimilate the Systems Alliance's doctrines as fast as possible."

Aethyta tucked away the datapad in her robe before cupping Sanar's face gently in her hands. "Blessings on you, Sanar," she said, placing a light kiss on her brow. "Goddess watch over you." She caressed her cheeks gently before leaving.

Sitting down again in the armchair, Sanar ruminated over what she had learned. To know that certain members of the Assembly were responsible for the sabotages at the academy and for the death of the Alliance officer was mind numbing. It cast the ruling body in the most ugly unpleasant light. The old Assembly members could be controversial at best but she never thought they would be so obstructive and destructive in the current crisis. She wished she had more information to impart. Something that could help Aethyta break the deadlock.

A glass was thrust under her nose. Startled, she looked up. "What're you trying now?" she said in annoyance, having forgotten Hiaras's presence.

"Something for your headache," Hiaras said softly, not at all put out by her anger. "This is Effia's work, not mine."

Reluctantly, Sanar took the glass but did not drink it. "Why?" Not for the glass, but for the drugged wine before.

"To throw off the watchers. They saw me put the drug in, I made sure of that."

"Who were they watching? Me? You?"

"Both." Hiaras crossed casually to the window, leaning against the sill. "I doubt they think you know who's behind the incident but they can't leave you unchecked. You're too close to the action. As for me, they know I'm working for Aethyta and probably suspects she wants to get hold of you to grill you to her heart's content. But since I did what I did, that places you in the grey field and no further. Someone may call you up, ask you a few questions but no more if you play it right."

There was nothing Sanar could say to that and it peeved her somewhat. Looking suspiciously into the glass, she took a sip and then drained it. It was a medicinal tea she was familiar with. One that she usually took for discomforts. After a while, the throb in her head ebbed away.

"Better?" Hiaras asked, watching her face.

"Yes," she said shortly.

"If it clears the air between us, I apologise."

For a moment, Sanar wanted to say something rude but she couldn't. It was unfair to blame someone for doing her duty, even if she was on the receiving end of a couple of highly irregular knockouts.

She shook her head. "No, it's all right. I'm sorry, I'm tired."

"I'll show you to your room." Hiaras smiled, moving out of the alcove and down the hall.

Shoulders slumped with weariness, Sanar got to her feet and followed her. They came to a intersection. Hiaras turned left, opening the hatch of a doorway on the right. The lights within flared to life when they stepped in. Hiaras went to the windows and palmed them open. As Sanar moved towards the large bed, shedding her clothes, she could smell the scents of the garden in the breeze that blew in. It uplifted her more than the tea she drank, soothing away the last vestiges of discomfort and left only fatigue behind. She wondered why she was feeling disheartened. The bed felt soft. She settled into it with a sigh as the lights went out. She gave a start when someone slide into the bed behind her.

"You're full of surprises," she said when she realised who it was.

"And you, are too highly strung." Hiaras laughed softly. "I meant what I said earlier at the carpark." She wound her arms around Sanar.

"We were drunk," Sanar objected, though she wasn't sure if Hiaras was.

"And speaking the truth. We need each other, whether you admit or not. The moment we touched," Hiaras murmured, "we felt it."

"It's...," Sanar shivered when Hiaras nestled closer and plucked uneasily at the arms around her. It felt good to be held and settled the ache but she was not sure she should plunge into a relationship with Hiaras so quickly.

As if reading her mind, Hiaras sighed. "Too soon, I agree. The usual road we shall take, shan't we?"

She lifted a hand and stroke Sanar's brow gently, feeling the slight resistance melting away. It had been too long since she last lay with someone she felt attune to. Two centuries hence?

"Rest. We shall see the days ahead."

Ilos

When the freighters arrived, the reactors they transported had to be brought in through the main bunker doors which fortunately had remained open since April's last visit. Otherwise, they would have to resort to using explosives to clear the way. The engineers cautiously worked their way down with their dangerous cargo to the lower archives where they saw not a single sign of a corpse. Although they descended via another entrance and wouldn't go through the Hall of Passing, April gave orders for the bodies removed and stored properly after extensive and thorough recordings were made.

It took the best part of the day to get the engineers and reactors to the complex and down to the power facility beneath it. While they waited for the core to charge up, the research team spent the next two days twiddling their collective thumbs. Those at the settlement collected tissue and material samples from various corpses. The marines were set to tag every corpse. A morbid task, they felt, which set them to sprout inelegant wisecracks at one another. After overhearing a conversation among the marines, Liara asked her bondmate about the Egyptians which confused April. Having spent her childhood and youth in off world SA depots, she had only the rudimentary information she learned in school texts. She only knew that thousands of years ago, the Egyptians built fascinating tombs and mummified their dead. That was enough to set Liara off to scour for every bit of data she could find.

April kept out of the researchers' way. With Module down at the power facility overseeing the charging process, she stayed at the research base, going over the latest reports. The sighting of the mysterious Normandy class frigate set her teeth on edge. The implications on the potency of ships Cerberus would be able to throw at them was troubling. She was certain their science and military divisions had access to every Systems Alliance technological upgrades and more. That would give them an edge in any major engagement. The question was how much resources were left to them to build up their fleet. She checked her email for any messages from Miranda and was surprised to find one from Sanar.

It was an update on the recruits' progress and a candid account of the tragic incident of the SA major who had replaced her at the academy. Having read a missive from the SA on the matter in which the perpetrator was unknown, she was surprised to find a different account from Sanar. It brought to mind Aethyta's repeated criticisms of the Assembly. The bit about the Geth withheld from clearing Armali was another sign that all was not well with the de facto ruling body. She was not certain what could be done and wondered that Aethyta did not try to send any messages. As she mused on the situation on Thessia, her omni-tool beeped. A message from Module. The power facility was ready to go online. Within minutes she roused the rest of the team and got everyone moving to the lower archives.

The subterranean settlement was brighter. Lit with numerous portable lights, besides highlighting the amount of dust and grit that had accumulated, they served to emphasize the depth and extent of the place. Sealed for so long, they retained much of their original state. Liara was sorely tempted to peek into one of the buildings but she reined in her desire and kept up with the rest to reach the complex quickly. They passed through numerous corridors before climbing down the stairs to the power facility. A huge round room filled with columns that housed the power pipelines that converged on the huge terminal in the middle of the room. The floor was covered with that same dense material found in the settlement but highly polished. Several lines snaked from the reactors to several outlets in the terminal. Portable lamps stood about, chasing away the shadows.

Where it was silent before, it was now filled with the sound of the reactors. The engineers stood with Module at the smooth flat curve of the console on the terminal. It was lit but no one attempted to touch it. The words were foreign to them. April hesitated, she was of a mind to ask Liara to interpret the script. Receiving that request through their link, Liara moved towards the console, nodding graciously when the group around it retreated before examining the script on the screen.

She understood April's reluctance after she had shared that strange memory with her during their rest period and she was as similarly disturbed. It seemed her bondmate was sharing an existence with someone from the past. She had no idea if this persona, this Cypher, was a conscious entity or not. One or many. Thus far, it seemed to come to "life" when there was need for it, otherwise, it remained dormant. If the Cypher were composed of many personalities, how many were there? Neither of them knew but they needed to find out. If possible.

To Liara's dismay, the script was unlike the ones she studied in Prothean ruins. "I recognise only a few words," she said apologetically without looking at April who sighed silently. "Most of them are technical terms."

Casting a hard look at April, Kedar kept silent but fidgeted. Peliar only stared at her; almost tapping her foot. There was an air of expectancy and yet distrust.

Well fuck them, this is my problem, not theirs.

The engineers were looking at them in puzzlement. April stepped up to the terminal.

Well, whoever you are, help me out again.

The script hazed and settled into coherent words. Quickly, she scrolled past the technical script, calling up another menu before she came to the section she was looking for.

Emergency protocols cancelled. Data node disconnected at central. Auxiliary core charged and functional. Main core inoperative.

The main core would have to be charged. Frowning, she tapped out an inquiry, fingers moving smoothly across the keys. The engineers watched in astonishment and jumped when a deep hum resounded through the room, drowning out the reactors. April waited, explaining shortly what was going on. As minutes went by, the engineers shifted about, peering at her, the console and the reactors before finally sitting down on the floor. Half an hour went by before the message on the screen changed.

Main valves open. Transference complete.

Power and thermal control online. Life support online.

Warning. Power conduits at half capacity. Storage units offline. Mainframe degradation. Maintenance required.

"Computer mainframe is damaged," she said.

The room suddenly flashed. Everyone ducked instinctively, expecting an explosion but nothing happened. Looking up, April realised the lights of the facility had turned on. Light panels around the room gleamed bright.

"Reading breathable atmosphere," Module said, its eye looking around them. "Estimate two hours to complete rehabilitation of facility."

"That's nice," she muttered, returning to the console. "This is the auxiliary core. The main core is not here. Neither, I think, is the mainframe."

"Where is?" Kedar asked urgently.

"Hold your horses," April said, fingers tapping on the console. Horses? Liara tried to recall where she had heard of horses. "Well, I found a map."

"Excellent! Go, at once, to core."

It sounded like an order except for the fact that Kedar was visibly quivering with excitement. Liara whimsically thought of a hamster treadmilling at triple speed after a period of moribund activity. The Salarian was indolent for the last twenty-four hours. He was not at all happy about it. Due to, she suspected, the constraints laid down on the researchers not to foray at will within the complex or the settlement. They were limited to analysing whatever samples they had taken from the corpses. It was unfortunate but they had to be reined in for fear of sabotages. There were signs of attempted tampering around the generators of the research base up top but as far as she could ascertain, the code was not broken. Whoever it was that was poking around, testing the waters. She pulled her attention back to April when she spoke.

"There's some sort of transport nearby."

Taking one last look at the map, April closed off the console before issuing an order to the engineers to monitor the power output of the reactors before going out of the room. The team followed close behind. Instead of turning to the stairs, she led them down one of the passages they did not explore. There was a door at the end of the passage. Palming it open, she found herself looking at a five metre wide tunnel with a monorail that ran into the distance. Sitting on the tracks before them was a ten seat open-air vehicle.

"I guess this is our ride," she said before looking at Module.

"I will have to crouch, four back seats will do," it said.

"Right, that means-," April glanced at the marines with them, "you guys stick around."

"There's room for two, sir," Foster pointed out.

"Hold position here," April nodded, acknowledging his unspoken worry. "We'll take the hooch with us," she nodded to the field tents the marines were carrying. Since they had no idea what was on the other side, tents were better than the unknown open if they had to take a break. "Keep comms open."

She waved the others to get into the vehicle and watched as Module folded itself across four seats. It would not be able to buckle in but she doubted the Geth Prime would be easy to dislodge. Buckling herself into the first seat, she tapped the small keyboard console on the front railing. A soft hiss. The vehicle lifted slightly. Lights blazed to life down the transit tunnel before the vehicle slid smoothly down the track. Leaning back in her seat as it gathered speed, she clasped Liara's hand.

Nervous?

Do I feel like I am nervous?

No, I think you're ready to do the victory dance with Kedar. He's sharpening his claws to dive in and wrench out what he wants.

Perhaps. {sombre} We are both not getting any good vibes from home.

Damn, you heard?

A lot. I do not know what to think about the Assembly.

Aethyta didn't get back to you?

I think she is reluctant to say exactly what is plaguing them on an open channel. That or she wants me to stay out of the way.

It's probably both. I think...

April broke off when the vehicle slowed. The end of the monorail drew up. The vehicle stopped. Looking left and right, she unbuckled the restraints and stepped out to the platform on her left, reaching to help Liara out. A short passage with a round hatch lay beyond. Kedar trotted to the hatch and searched around before April could say anything. He was unlikely to be attacked by anything but he was likely to trigger security protocols if he was not careful. April decided she would privately have a word with him later.

"Shepard, terminal!" He waved at her, pointing to a console set into the curve of the door.

Here we go again.

She almost bashed in the keys when she was asked to input a code. Without waiting for that familiar vertigo, she tapped in the code she had used at the door to the settlement.

Damn it, I can almost read this script all by myself. And voila. Open door! Yes and thank you.

She thought petulantly as the hatch rolled aside and hurriedly grabbed hold of Kedar by the back of his collar before he galloped through. "Sorry Kedar." She wasn't sorry at all actually. "But a little prudence on your part could see us a long way through."

It was as if she pricked a balloon for he slumped. "Apologies," he said quietly. "Go to head, excitement."

"Yes well." Perhaps it was anxiety over some problems on Sur'Kesh, not excitement, for looking into his eyes, she discerned an underlying dread. "Let's be careful." What news did he receive from home?

"April, look," Liara pointed.

There was nothing beyond the hatch except for a dimly lit extended walkway with handrails. April stepped gingerly onto it and winced when lights blossomed. The helmet visor sensors adjusted quickly.

Wow.

Everyone stared before following her out. The shaft of the huge facility loomed around them, towering high above their heads. Lights scintillated off shimmering crystal strands that filled the chamber, reaching into a bright apex they could not see clearly. Looking down, Liara felt she would fall. The crystal strands seemed to go on and on, ending at a bright sparkle far below. What that sparkle was, she had no idea but she was awed by the depths. Was that sparkle the power core of the entire facility? She felt as if she was hanging in the middle of an abyss. If the walkway should crumble, they would all fall to their deaths. Why did the Protheans dig so deep?

The walkway ended in a small platform with a small pedestal. Ranged in a circle around it were numerous columns of various sizes and shapes. April regarded the pedestal uneasily for she recognised it as a scanning interface. She was reluctant to touch it but she couldn't very well turn away when they had come so far. She placed her hand on it. It flashed green.

Acknowledged. Access granted.

There was a thrum and the walkway shook. Frightened, Kedar and Peliar grabbed fast of the nearest solid handhold which incidentally was Module who only glanced at the two of them before looking over the edge. April caught hold of Liara's hand as she reached out for the railing around the platform.

The columns. They are rising. {excitement}