The shadow comes to light

Disclaimer

Starcraft is the property of Blizzard entertainment.

Mass effect is the property of Bioware.

Any elements used in this story are used only in order to create a story for no monetary gain nor do I claim any ownership over them, beyond the names and characters unique to this story.

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Welcome to the Galactic codex, your request has been processed:

Turians: Metallic clad avian creatures, the turian evolved from the planet Palaven under a harsh environment that was the product of their world's weak magnetic field. The turians live under a rigid militaristic structure as all members of the species are subservient to their state in contrast with most galactic civilizations.

Krogan: A species derived from a vicious and hostile environment in the now apocalypse ridden world of Tuchanka. The krogans stands as one of the most aggressive species within galactic history being responsible for both the eradication of the Rachni race as well as their own rebellions that culminated with the turian deployment of the Genophage. "Death by krogan" being a common euphemism for most deaths reported in bar fights and pirate raids.

Quarians: Driven from their homeworld of Rannoch nearly three centuries ago, the quarians stand as one of many races shunned by the rest of the galaxy. Most quarians now live aboard the migrant fleet, a collection of ships ranging from small shuttles to mobile space stations. –MURDERERS, MURDERERS, MURDERERS, MURDERERS… /º\

Request fulfilled.

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Tali'Zorah nar Rayya.

Fate had not been kind to Tali.

Her pilgrimage had begun on a sour note as she and other members of her race had discovered the presence of an anomaly in a world as they were transporting her towards the world of Illium.

This anomaly was discovered to be none other than the artificial beings that had exiled her people from their homeworld of Rannoch: the geth.

The mere notion that the geth had abandoned the veil in which they had hid for more than three centuries bode ill for the galaxy and her people in particular.

Were the geth looking to exterminate her people?

Were the geth being pushed into action by an unknown factor?

What would the galaxy do about this?

Tali did not remember how it was that she got to doctor Michel's clinic as she was sure that her last memory was of her not being able to reach that place.

The moment she woke up and made sure that her suit was patched to sealed to a tolerable degree she immediately tried to leave the clinic as she knew that more assassins would try to get to her.

She had almost been stopped by a strangely scared doctor as she pleaded for Tali to remain.

But she could not.

Tali had almost died that day and she wished to be one step ahead of those stupid assassins. She thanked the doctor for healing her but told her that she needed to get in contact with one of the shadow broker's men as she had originally wished to trade the information she had on the geth for safe passage for her and the only other member of her original group that remained.

But she was now alone. They had killed all of them.

"Kheela.." Tali said with guilt as she continued to make her way to the meeting spot.

They had gotten lucky as they managed to land shot and she had been bleeding badly just a few hours ago.

She still clutched the place where the doctor had patched her up.

Her thoughts turned back around to the human…

Tali had not made it to the doctor, she was sure of this now.

Then there was that voice… and the feeling of being carried… Did somebody help her?

Don't be delusional Tali.

No sane being would get out of their way to help a quarian.

…

She continued to make her way to the place the shadow broker had instructed her to meet with one of his men: Fist as the shadow broker had called him.

As the effort of the trip continued to take a toll on her, Tali groaned slightly. The suit may be patched and her infection treated as best as the good doctor could do, but she was beginning to feel the effects of her immune system going into overdrive as the reaction from the infection activated her allergic response with a vengeance.

While the doctor had finally relented and allowed her to escape her pursuers she was still curious as to why the human still held an expression of fear.

She would be safer the moment left the clinic after all.

The instructions of the shadow broker had told her to meet in a remote alley at a certain time of the day.

The time had come and Tali finally entered the alley after remaining on the move for a while. She found nobody as the alley was empty.

Had she arrived earlier than expected?

…

Or were things not as they seemed?

A sound snapped her back to reality as three figures appeared behind her.

"Did you bring it?" spoke a turian while he was flanked by two salarians.

Fist was supposed to be a human, the shadow broker had told her as much.

This wasn't good.

"Where's the shadow broker? Where 's Fist?" she replied in a nervous thone.

"They'll be here. Did you bring it?" he pressed once again for the information.

The creep placed his hand on her head dress and slowly began making his way dow…

OH NO YOU DON'T.

"No way, the deal is off" he slapped his hand away and as her hand returned to her side she prepared an overload charge in her hand.

Stepping away from her, the bosh'tet motioned for his people to grab her, this isn't good.

She didn't stand a chance against this many…

(What a waste of time) A voice that wasn't her own spoke in her mind.

It was the same voice as before, was it her own mind?

She began to doubt this as the turian and salarians began to glance around, searching for the source of the voice.

Suddenly the chest of the turian exploded as a bright blue light erupted from his now open chest cavity

"Whh… wha.." was the last thing that came from his mouth as the light suddenly tore from his body and arched back to decapitate the salarians before disappearing once again.

In a flash she was alone with a bunch of bodies.

Or so she thought…

(Quarian…) continued the voice (I have been searching for you).

Tali was scared beyond reason but dared not to flee.

Before she could ask who was speaking, smoke began to materialize and it began circling a spot before her.

What materialized before her was massive…

Taller than a krogan or any other creature she knew about. Two glowing eyes looked down at her as this alien of gray skin and metallic black armor stood heads above her.

Not knowing what it was, she thought about how Tali'Zorah would die by something completely unknown to her.

(Tali'Zorah…) the voice spoke again (Is that your name?).

She nodded sheepishly.

She hadn't uttered a word and neither had she told her name to anybody save the shadow broker. She had only thought of it…

Was it in her mind?

Was this thing reading her thoughts?

The creature narrowed its two glowing eyes and made as if… smiling?

(Indeed, I am. Tali'Zorah) Tali gulped at this answer.

She had to be very careful of what she thought.

"W-why did you save me?" Tali asked in concern.

The creature continued to stare at her for a moment before he began to pace around her.

She dared not move.

(I saved you twice out of necessity… and concern for your well being) the creature stated as he continued to pace around her.

Twice? When had this creature…

"The clinic… I didn't make it" Tali said in realization.

As the creature stopped in front of her, it nodded at her answer.

(And as I did then. So have I now…) the alien said.

…

She… appreciated the gesture.

"I… Thank you" she began "You saved me twice and yet I do not know your name".

(...) a grunt was heard in her mind as the creature glared at her. Had she offended the creautre? Kheela… (Xiltar).

…

Was that its name or that of her race?

(...) The creature moved as if trying to simulate laughter (My name…).

His chuckle felt warm.

Tali continued to stare at those eyes that apparently knew what she was thinking…

"Why did you save me?" she asked.

The creature looked down at his arm as it rubbed a spot where a shell smeared with blood covered it…

(Saren…) Xiltar began to explain (The one person who most certainly tried to kill you also tried to end my existence) so this was how that wound had been made (I may not be able to promise you any protection for that information but I know of people who will use it for the common good) he extended a hand (If we approach them with this information they may be able to offer you sanctuary while allowing me to hunt Saren).

Before she could consider how to reply, they were startled by a commotion and the sound of boots approaching.

"Don't move!" a voice called from the source of the noise. They then turned around to see five figures making their way towards them.

Who were they?

Shepard.

A while earlier…

After they had met with Garrus and had save the doctor from the men who had been threatening her for certain information the doctor had told the group what the others were after.

She had apparently treated a quarian earlier that day at the behest of an unknown creature.

The quarian had apparently been the target of an assassination attempt as Garrus told the group that he was following her trail after the body of one of her companions had been reported.

After Garrus had told this to the group, doctor michel confessed that the girl had left in a hurry and had only told the doctor that she was going to meet a man named fist because she apparently had some information on the geth.

This immediately sprung alarms in Shepard's mind as any information that a quarin could gather on the geth could only be because they met geth beyond the reach of their domain.

This meant that this quarian had met one of the geth that was related to the attack on Eden Prime…

Or related to Saren.

The group sprung into action and at the suggestion of Garrus, they went after Fist to know were the quarian had run to.

Officer Garrus had also suggested that he should accompany them since what they were about to do would certainly land them in jail…

If they weren't escorted by an officer that is.

…

The siege of Chora's den had been a hard task.

Right outside of the sealed door, they had met with a krogan mercenary who was very interested in getting his hand on Fist.

Wrex, as he had presented himself, had told the group that Fist had barricaded himself within the bar while also taking many of the patrons as hostages.

They couldn't wait for C-sec to arrive since every second that passed meant that they were losing their trail on the quarian.

This situation needed a tactical touch.

They began their assault by making use of one of Shepherd's favorite tactics: Breach and clear.

Unfortunately for them, what little ordnance they carried with them wouldn't be enough to break through the door or create enough of a sensory diversion for his team to breach into the room without impunity.

Fortunately for them, Wrex did have the ordnance for such a task.

With a lot of skill and no effort on their part, both Wrex and Kaidan placed the breaching charges as both of them were the only people in the group with any sort of training with explosives.

The moment had come and the group got ready a few steps away while Wrex remained next to the charges as he did not fear the explosion since he had apparently done this before.

Wrex pressed the button and the explosives sent the door flying while it created a lot of smoke that distracted those people who were inside and had not been flattened by the incoming door.

Shepard ordered his squad to breach the building while they also tossed flashbang grenades to disorient their enemies even further.

They entered the building having both Garrus and Ashley provide fire support while Kaidan and himself began to make their way towards the hostages, releasing them as fast as they could.

Wrex on his part charged against the guards, tearing them to bits with his shotgun.

Before long they made their way towards Fist's office as the bastard had two turrets trailing them while they entered.

They began to shoot

Taking cover quickly behind the entrance, they heard their luck change as one of the turrets suddenly jammed "Stupid piece of shit" Came the voice of who Shepard thought had to be Fist.

The other one had been quickly hacked by Kaidan and the lieutenant took a shot at Fist's leg.

The bastard fell to the ground as he began to scream in pain. They then shot both turrets down and made their way towards the squirming rat.

"That was a hell of a fight Shepard" was Wrex's said as he made his way to Fist with a grin "Nice little trick we cooked back there"

"Yes it was" Shepard answered with a grin of his own "What a shame we can't bring you with us, could always use the carnage you just unleashed".

"HA! Who says I can't come along? This was my last job after all" Wrex retorted, the grin widening as he aimed his shotgun at Fist's head.

"You are all crazy!" Screamed Fist as he clutched his wound.

"Now, now… began Shepard "You should answer what we want to hear if you want to keep your head".

"Why would I… AAAARGH" Fist screamed in agony as Wrex began to step over his wound "Okay, okay…" he relented "What do you want?"

"Why were your goons after the quarian'" Garrus asked.

"She… she had something from my employer…" was Fist's answer as this began to confirm his suspicions.

"Good, where is she now?" Shepard asked next.

"I don….. ARRGH" Wrex rested his weight a little more "Okay, okay… she went to the Alley out from the club. Please just let me… AAARGH" now Wrex was resting his full weight on the wound.

"Shepard?" Wrex asked expectantly.

"Whis was your last job, right? Happy retirement Wrex" Answered Shepard as he grabbed Fist's files and began to leave the room with the rest of his squad.

"WAIT, WAIT, WAI…." with a loud boom, shepard heard from the other room as Fist was no more.

As they exited Choras Den's more assassins began to shoot at them.

Do they EVER learn?

Wrex came out from behind them and formed a barrier around Shepard as an assassin began to sneak on his blind spot.

The assassins were gone, but they had managed to keep them pinned for a while.

They were running out of time.

"On the double people, that quarian could be dead by now" Shepard said while he hoped that this wasn't the case.

They crossed the door to the maintenance alley where she had been directed.

What they saw left them speechless.

"What the hell is that thing?" asked Kaidan this time.

Xiltar.

This… was not how Xiltar intended to introduce himself to these Terrans.

But it would seem that fate had other plans for him.

The terran known as Shepard remained on the hunt for Saren despite the lack of support the council had given to his case by what he could appreciate in their first meeting.

And looking through his memories…

Just as he expected.

He had to admire these terrans for their conviction as they had clearly been dismissed as nothing but crazy people.

He could respect that.

What he didn't respect was the group of guns that were aimed at him.

He moved in between the approaching group and the quarian girl as she had no responsibility for what was happening here.

Xiltar tried to stand as intimidatingly as he could so the aliens wouldn't try to outright shoot at them.

But something got his attention as he analyzed the group…

The commander came along with the other two terrans from the world known as Eden Prime. He recognized the female as the one he had hunted on Eden Prime and the male was the one that had almost discovered him near the beacon.

A turian also accompanied them, not Nihlus as it would seem.

He wore the armor of the local law enforcers, so he must have been alerted because of his actions near the clinic.

Finally his gaze fell upon a creature he did not truly recognize as whatever this being may have been looked to have characteristics of both reptilian and amphibian origin. His shotgun aimed directly at his head.

He would be the biggest threat.

"Commander, what is that thing?" asked the female, her mind felt like an army all in itself. Organized, powerful, uncompromising and dangerous.

"The blue blood…" whispered the other soldier, his gaze centered on the patch Xiltar had over his wound where his blood could still be seen.

But there was something strange about his mind, terran minds were usually defined within a certain dimension. Pisonics usually broke from these bounds, lashing in all directions.

His mind had another dimension added in a perpendicular fashion. Where the other dimension intersected with his own he felt tremendous power that echoed that of a psionic being, odd.

"No idea" continued the commander "Garrus? Wrex?" Shepard asked the other two aliens, two more names.

Noted.

"Never seen anything like this Shepard" Responded Garrus. His mind was sharp, sharper than any other of his kind. So sharp that it could cut through reason itself.

"Whatever it is, it hasn't attacked us, he is analyzing us" Spoke the oldest mind among the group, cursious. He taught like an exploding star, but was filled with so much regret.

Curious indeed.

Having summarized that a direct conflict would end in his eventual persecution and slaughter, Xiltar considered going for a more… diplomatic approach.

(Terrans…) he began to speak to the group, surprising all of them as they heard a voice in their head (Turian, Krogan) he continued, addressing them not by name, but by their race. (I am not here to fight you) he spoke again, letting the group realize that they weren't the only one listening to the voice.

"What the hell was that?" the Krogan asked, surprised, confirming to the group that they weren't alone.

"Terran?" asked the woman, as if that wasn't the name of their race. Curious.

(Is that not the name of your species?) he narrowed his eyes as if to make a point (My apologies. I am not privy to how most species refer to themselves).

The commander remained tense, finger on the trigger "Is it you who is speaking?" he asked this while motioning his gun at him.

(Yes) Xiltar answered the question.

The group glanced at each other as each of them felt perturbed by the massive creature in front of them.

He needed to defuse this situation.

(As I said before, I am not here to fight you) he gestured a hand towards them (I am actually an ally in your efforts).

Shepard narrowed his eyes in suspicion "What efforts?".

(Saren…) Xiltar answered as he clenched his armored fist to Shepard and the group's surprise (I am a witness to his transgression as I was there when he tried to kill the turian known as Nihlus and what his armies unleashed upon your world) he now was the one doing the glaring (I want vengeance) he moved his hand to the wound.

The group relaxed a little more but still remained on edge.

"Why should we trust you?" the terran female asked this time.

The one who had hunted them.

(You shouldn't) he replied while he moved to the side and turned to the quarian who had been trembling behind her (But Saren stands as a threat to all of us) Xiltar then turned back to the terran and his group (He cannot be allowed to remain).

Shepard looked at his group and then relaxed his stance and stopped aiming his weapon at the protoss "Let's hear what you got to say".

A curious expression…

Xiltar looked back at the quarian who was still scared by this whole exchange and tried to comfort the scared girl by nodding at her and making it clear that he was willing to protect her.

(The quarian…) Xiltar continued (She has information that will aid in our hunt) he said to the commander.

The quarian took a step forward "Y-yes… I have information that links Saren to the geth and to whatever it is they have done" Tali said as she presented her arm and from an orange hologram appeared lines of what he assumed to be code.

The terran still seemed uncertain by the claims of both aliens. He nodded to the quarian and then turned to look at Xiltar "Our hunt?" Shepard asked next, eyeing him with suspicion.

(You hunt Saren for his crimes against your people… I hunt him for the threat he poses to all life… fate brought us together as allies for this endeavor) he stated plainly while he approached the commander as the rest of his people continued to aim their guns at him. He ignored them and then extended a hand towards Shepard for he knew this as a gesture of trust used by most terrans since Jonus had told him of this once before (Should you allow me to prove myself. I will stand by your side and that of your people as we stop this threat to the galaxy).

This surprised the commander, he made a gesture to his team for them to stand down "Is that so…" the commander took a moment to consider if he should accept this offer. He could see the doubt in the commander and he could also see the distrust in the rest of the team as they did not know what he even was "What is your name… and what are you?".

A fair question.

Xiltar chuckled to himself (Xiltar the protoss) he answered with honesty.

He now wished for allies, not pawns.

Afterword.

So the two biggest asholes in all of the universe have finally met. Hijinks galore for me to write.

I SEE YOU FLESHBAG /º\

Edit - Another step done