/** AN: Hi All. This is a heavy one. */

###

Fy'Ros, fringe rim, lost territories, 215y post invasion (+48,960 BCE)


"We are here."

Sand slithered in the lee of footsteps. A gust of wind stirred, lifting a scattering of dust that blew toward four lone crimson figures in the undulating expanse.

"BRACE" I called.

We froze as a unit. A second later shields sparked and shimmered in glances and micro impacts flaring a few centimetres above armour plates.

A figure grunted, almost staggering in a blooming shock. The collective held their breath.

"Hold, Marres", came the calm tone of our leader.

"Keeping it together…. as ordered. Captain." The team's tactician replied with an audible grimace. "Archer?"

"Fading.. seconds left." I watched the passive doppler scanner, still feeling the jab and graze as my own shields fizzed. A second or two after the still fell again I called, "clear."

Marres grumbled swore as only a Prothean could. This quiet tirade was muted by a glance from the resident female soldier and his clan sister, Taya.

I ignored the world curses. My own mind was wandering in this place. The endless horizon tugged at threads stretching far beyond any plain sight.

A three fingered hand landed on my shoulder, the jolt breaking me back to the present. The helmet of Marres was cocked in curiosity. "Arc? You are faar away.."

I nodded indicating the curving distance taking a long breath, "This place.."

"-Move out." The captain gestured to the squad to continue, weapon idling in his grasp. "Ar'cher." His rolling core worlds accent splitting my call sign as he called me forward.

"Riak." I moved up, careful to not kick up any dust.

The slope of his helmet turned to take in the sliver of shadow that was growing along the far edge of the golden sea. "How long do we have?" The thread of uncertainty cut through his question.

"...40 minutes..top. Atmospheric drag at this latitude is working in our favour. The terminus' storm is being pushed back.. a little. We're in the best of it now, turbulence and incidents are only going to increase from here on."

The helmet dipped in acknowledgement.

I dropped back just as Taya, the fourth figure shuffled carefully over toward me. She raised her arm with a green holo scanner. "Muon echo. Coordinates 63 20 41."

"Riak?"

The squad paused as the captain crunched over.

"This is it.." I stared at the dull point of light.

Taya adjusted her scan to track. "It's deep."

The comm buzzed.

{Destiny to Riak}

"Proceed Destiny."

{Scanner buoy detected FTL dispersion signatures at the system's edge.. three, capital class, nine heavy. Trajectories inbound for Fy'ros. Mission planner ETA is 29}

Marres looked at the captain and shook his head. "Less. They microjump if they need to. Uios fell for the same estimate. We cannot trust the predictors."

"They must have tracked us into the fringe systems.." I added , "If they have any suspicions beyond pursuit–"

Riak didn't hesitate. "Destiny, pickup ready in 15. Ping a decoy from the sensor buoy and dive it into the gas giant. Have FTL spooled and ready for an emergency jump."

{Acknowledged. Destiny out.}

"That may buy another 2." Marres tapped at his holo.

"No delays. Fan out, we run."

The whisping trails behind pinged loudly on the doppler, threatening to blind the detector.

"28 9 41" Taya called.

A warning bleated. "Brace! .. Taya-"

My call came too late. Her holo exploded with a flash, shields lighting up in an impact that threw her scraping across the ground with a yell. The squad alarm erupted. Everyone tensed to sprint.

"Staaay." Was the singular word holding everyone still till the all clear.

Riak extended a three fingered arm. Taya matched it. He pulled her up.

"Shields 49%. Are you injured?"

"No." She brushed off the event to reset her holo and scanner . "Shields recharging." She turned to me, "I had not expected the holo."

I shook my head. "Any EM field."

"Status?" Riak refocused the squad. Everyone waited as Taya hurriedly recalibrated the scanner..

"1.3 2.-"

I looked around. "That is close enough." There was nothing to even suggest there was anything but sand.

Marres tapped the ground with a foot. The occasional small spark jousting around the boot's shield. "How exactly do we go down."

"We don't." Riak intimated a negative then gestured to me, "Ar'cher?"

"We bring it up." I said.

Eight pairs of eyes stared at me. Riak folded his arms pointedly leaving me to explain.

I sighed and reached up to undo the latch on my left glove and tugged the under layer off. "I warn you that this is far from simple.. Riak said you'd need an explanation." I held out my exposed hand, slightly nervous. "...da'rek istl corremet keilios."
All they needed was a touch.. of course it was more complicated than that. My own physiology required my willingness for them to share; so for the first time I dropped my own defences. The offering an invitation to partake in an open share. There wasn't time for doubt or questions anymore.

Taya and Marres stared at me. The click of suits purging and resealing. Both were instinctively measuring the truth. I didn't need to see through their bug helmets to know the starres being directed my way. Protheans were incredibly good at receiving information through touch.

".. and this will work?" Taya prompted, her focus slipping to Riak who radiated amused ambivalence.

Marres' gaze eventually jumped to Riak too. "A dangerous secret to have." He tapped the side of his sloping helmet. "A concerning one to keep."

"That is why you two only know now." Riak cleared the last hurdles. "And no one else."

Taya considered me carefully. The stillness of the other two intimating the activity of the shared connection that their kind could commune in when in close knit groups.. 'hunt party' was a good description as I'd seen it used. From what I had gathered it was less of a conscious sharing as it was a temporary combined mind; capable of forming its own thoughts and decisions that filtered down to the participants. This mind was more capable, in my view, of direct interaction. Either by nature or by tradition it was always a female who hosted the nexus. Taya's focus eventually drifted up to look into my visor, the momentary flash of the combined mental connection telling me all I needed to know. We see you. We know you.

I trusted them. We'd fought together. Lost friends together. I'd accepted their label and they accepted me. But I'd never considered being dependent on them. A brief chill of caution ran through me. This could go wrong. Very wrong.

But it wouldn't.

There wasn't time for anything except certainty. Nothing was a gamble.

{Destiny to ground party. ETA in 6}

The four of us took up a rough circle around the target, several metres apart.

I steeled my thoughts and spoke directly to the combined, "This is going to be strange. No EM, keep bleed constrained as much as you can. We work together to reach in. Pull the remains to the surface. I'll get the device."

"Focus and Order." Taya intoned as she, the nexus, combined the focus of the three. Green barely flickering on their armour below maxed shields. The dark energy ripple was significant. The capability of each of them was masterful. Combined they were formidable.

I concentrated.

"..on two."


###

Uncharted system, Terminus, 2655 GS (2155 CE)


"Life support is failing." Cassia, the Asari commando, brushed a hand over a veil of white ice crystals forming on a bulkhead. The drift of the fine powder in the thinning air caught the dimming red of the emergency lights in sinking halos.

"We'd better make haste then." I adjusted the simple slit torn cloth that fashioned a torso wrap, and tightened the belt. I was acutely aware of the creeping cold as I shifted the weight of the bag strap.

"You need actual armour."

"I appreciate the observation, but remedying that need is not a priority."

"And bleeding out at the slightest hit, is? You think that will offer you any protection?"

I chuckled. Earning a half glance as we picked our way through the vessel's dark and shattered corridors. "There are worse fates." I paused, crouching to listen to the ship's increasing crystalline silence. "The cold is going to blind us. And no.. I don't have any delusions in that regard."

The bridge was still two compartments ahead. The way was still clear. I gestured a hand toward the form fitting black suit that the Asari was wearing and raised an eyebrow. "Since you're so quick to judge.. ?"

Cassia scowled. Her blue brow crinkled. "There's more to this than meets the eye. I am a biotic too, remember."

"Biotic?" I repeated. The word was unfamiliar.

"What did you call it.. dark energy wielder or something.. Biotic."

"Interesting." I paused to glance around the corner. The twisted remains of the door to the bridge were clear. "We do not have any further company, yet."

"How many were there?"

"Six that came through. A seventh that returned to the vessel."

The commando paused in pensive thought for a moment. "If it is a cruiser then the complement can at least be several more squads. Then there is the general crew, total complement is anything up to a hundred if the ship is fully manned."

I nodded in acceptance of this information. The prospect of any success depended on a deterrent strategy. A provocation was certainly the goal but an extended firefight would be inviting failure. The trick was going to be managing the reaction to our benefit.

We had a plan. I nodded to the commando.

The Asari crept forward. Her movements were effortlessly sleek and stealthy. Her almost invisible form slipped into the bridge.

I followed a few moments later stopping a half step in as I caught sight of the Asari crouched among the debris.

She was deathly still. Paler, even in the near darkness. A limp hand was clasped in her grasp. Painful words mouthed on her lips at the barest edge of perception.

I bowed my head for a moment in silent recognition.

I waited. Taking up a defensive overlook to focus keenly on the immediate threat from the breach. Watching small billows stirred as warm air curled into the bridge's frigid space.

A presence joined my vigil. Its proximity was pointed.

"Where did you get that blade, tell me." The hissed demand was answered by a simple look. The Asari stood staring down, hands clenching and releasing in some internal conflict. "You... have explaining to do.." The words were terse and restrained. She turned away, concluding the interaction with an unspoken -later-.

I nodded. The strange encounter unsettled me, but I did not have time to follow through with the Asari even though coldness poured from her in sheets. The tingle of her.. biotics.. was already stretching the air and space. I could tell where she was with my eyes firmly closed. The distraction forced me to concentrate harder on the immediate and ignore all else.

I reached up to grab a grate, pulling myself up as Cassia stumped toward the opening with her fists balled.

"BASTARDS!" Cassia's landslide of barely constrained emotions boiled in ethereal blue-black flames.

Barely seconds later the hiss and thunk of footsteps came through the umbilical.

"Ahh..", chortled a deep gravelly voice. "Come to play? I was wondering where my teams had gotten to.. No matter." A large heavily armoured yellow and grey alien stamped into the tube. Four less grandly armoured humanoid soldiers flanked it, more behind. Their weapons were firmly locked on the Asari. "More to go round for the boys." The figure shrugged as it grinned toothily, beady bloodshot eyes blinking in the stark light.

"So, little lady.. " He grunted, ".. what is the word that your kind like to throw around… Ah, yes." The cocked grin widening to reveal rows of pointed teeth in a mocking laugh. "Parley?"

Cassia tensed. "Brenat?" Her gaze drooped in recognition before anger and defiance flared back to the fore, ignited with the white hot embers of betrayal. "No you fucking lizard. We had an agreement-"

The captain let out a roar of mocking laughter.

"No. You had an agreement. And You broke it." The figure laughed as it waved a dismissive hand. "I would have anyway. But this.. This was more. Elegant. I couldn't have done better.. saved me a little grandstanding. Either way, by the terms, your own terms.. You, the vessel and its cargo are mine." Casual arrogance settling into the smug voice as he continued in relaxed nonchalant irrelevance. "Surrender and your life may be spared… or don't."

He raised a finger and gestured the mixed entourage forward.

Guns clicked as safeties were flicked off. The spiralling whine of high intensity stun charges pierced above hearing.

Cassia scowled as weapons were levelled... She stepped back into the stricken bridge, losing disks of dark energy into the thrall before diving to the side. The first electrical pulse spidered and sparked. The sizzling arcs grounded on the empty deck plates with a metallic ring.

"Run little witch.. " The pirates pushed forward to the guttural laugh of the alien. ".. you can't go far."

Cassia dived once more. The first squad breaking into the bridge space as the second and third pulses skimmed the voids she had occupied barely milliseconds before. A last arc lancing a filament that caught her on the leg. Cassia crashed into cover with a swallowed yelp.

The four scanned the bridge.

The white cones of weapon mounted flashlights etched through the dark volume to light billowing traces of movement through the still air.

My turn.

I opened my eyes. Looking down with a predatory grin that crossed my lips. I dropped.


###


Vorgok Brenat shouted a string of profanities. Warnings bleated incessantly from his armour. He grabbed at the withered remains of his emergency faceplate and tore it, still steaming, from his skin. Raw red flesh stung in the acrid air.

The ship lurched with a far off internal explosion.

"STATUS" he bellowed.

A yellow VI popped into existence a few metres away. The flickering bipedal projection upsidedown, rocking unnervingly as the panel its projector was mounted on swung precariously from a gaping hole tore through the deck above.

"Ship status: compromised. Proceed to lifepods."

"BRIDGE!"

"Connected." The VI confirmed the intercom link.

"Come about. Arm lasers… torpedoes.. the Fucking main cannon. I want that asari hore wagon blasted back to their lice infested, slop ridden, ocean!"

"-neg..tive ca..tain. En….eering - ..vacuate. Evacuate."

Brenat roared. "DE-NIED! Cowards! the lot of you!"

He stamped through the sea of shredded metal, finally pushing his way to a console where a stricken crew member was slumped over. The bloodied body tumbling to the floor with a two handed grunt.

"The bitch will pay for this.. with interest."

The VI popped back up. "Auto Destruct In 4 Minutes."

He punched his omni tool. The holographic interface springing to life. He thought through the last few minutes.. the asari commando witch was definitely still there.. and something else.. a slave, or wildling, a weird colour masculine asari? He hadn't seen the Matriarch, maybe she was already dead. Pity. It didn't matter. He'd pick through the ash for trophies later. He liked trophies. The Asari paid well for remains. And if there was something more interesting on there, then he knew a certain someone who would pay handsomely for their secrets.

He chuckled.. a male asari.. who'd have thought the proverb had any truth to it. That would fetch a grand prize.. even dead.

"Captain Brenat to the Viscount. The Mutiny is compromised. Shuttle evac from deck.. eight. Stat."

"Enroute, captain.. ETA in 2. The Serath is moving in to provide local pod pickup and assistance."

"Fine. Just tell that pyjak of a commander to get his arse out of range when he's done collecting the flotsam."

"Acknowledged. Viscount out."

Brenat stretched his shoulders, wincing at the pain. He tugged at the thing that speared beneath a blackened and distorted pauldron. The wet slurp as it came out was accompanied with a guttural sigh. The faint hiss of stims bringing relief that morphed to a maniacal laugh. He waggled the blood stained weapon in the air before slipping it into his belt with a flourish. He snorted a chuckle. Stamping through the wreckage in the direction of a distant docking port, murmuring to himself.

"... ooh, she's gonna pay.."


###


Something body-slammed me to the ground, then lifted me up. The breath I didn't know I had in me was driven from my chest in a brutal uppercut.

Shouting sliced through my dazed torpor.

Angry shouting.

"What by the goddess and the ages of Athame was that?"

I tried to sit up, and was slammed down. Nothing held back the tiredness now.

Alarms thundered.

"Are you FUCKING trying to kill us? Don't you DARE fucking die."

I was pulled to my feet half expecting to be punched. A hand turning my head side to side in hasty inspection. Pulling away at the touch of blood.

"Ow. Shit.. How the fuck did you survive that?"

I flinched. Trying to open my eyes enough to blink, nevermind to focus on the blue demon screaming profanities at me.

"Cassia?" I half managed the name that sat at the edge of my thought.

"Don't. Dammit.. don't even try reasoning with me right now." The voice commanded. The immediate sounds of chaotic, wrenching and destruction funnelled through the twisted remains of the barely functioning umbilical. Atmospheric barrier shields sputtering in failing bursts.

Vibrations rippled through the floor. Lithe arms wrestled with my heavier frame, eventually dragging me to my feet. I was pulled forward along black corridors.

"Run, you idiot.. RUN."

The ship lurched as I rolled into a wider space. The moan and screech of twisting metal was cut by fracturing snaps that juddered through everything.

"MOVE!"

Decompression. I felt cold. I could feel ice crystals growing through beads of sweat, or maybe blood.

The final few steps were swam in an ethereal glaze. Hands pulling.. pushing me forward. The shove down as the sound and the panicked void crept back with a hiss and click. Eventually the smooth rumble of engines... and peace.


###


Matriarch Rethana listened to the recount. Deep furrows were etched along her brow. The shuttle was drifting a few hundred million kilometres from the system's star in an uncharted asteroid belt. Part of an asteroid belt. A good portion of it was already eaten by the glowing orb of a proto-planetoid and its accretion disk. In time it would make steady work of the rest.

But… just ahead.. floated the smouldering wrecked remains of not one but two cruisers.. the latter being caught up in the self-destruct of the first. A testament to keeping good fleet safety protocols.

"You say he did this.. at will?"

Cassia paused in thought. "I am unsure, mistress."

"To say this is unheard-of does the reality little justice." Rethana sighed, rubbing her temples. "and you two planned this?"

"No, mistress.. but what is strange is.. is that I don't think -he did." She corrected, uncertainty was not a scope that commando's functioned comfortably within. "I don't know! It.. he.. was there, but then he was different.

When the skirmish broke out, I was prepared. I had to draw them out for the trap to work. A stray shot caught me. Then he fought.. dropping in the enemy like a hunt. Breaking them. Focused.. brutal. Not just incapacitating but going for the open kill. I managed to get myself up just after the fourth detachment. Then Vorgok came out, the lizard caught him off guard. Point blank. Indefensible. The first shot staggered him. The second was going to be a kill shot. He was about to die. Maybe he knew it. I knew it.. anyone would have. I tried to extend a barrier and then." Cassia looked haunted, "It all changed. Whatever stood there looked like him. But it wasn't. I was seeing it and through it. Somehow linked, amplifying, driven. I could feel fear, anger, rage… death.."

The commando shook herself. "I don't know what I felt. I'm not even sure what I saw."

The matriarch paced the narrow width of the cabin. "This worries me." She stared out into the starlit depths. "What I have experienced is that everything about this being is always about intention, focus and independence. Ruthlessly so. Nothing even suggests anything like this."

Rethana gathered her thoughts. "Such rigidity is either a manifestation of an inner order or a continuous effort to create."

Cassia looked thoughtful. "Are you saying it's imbalanced? Even dangerous?"

"A leap, but possible..", Matriarch Rethana recited her own lectures instinctively. "Athame teaches that balance and serenity are sisters in kind."

"This was not serene.."

"I sense as much. But it was controlled? Yes? Not chaos.. no.. I do not believe this being is chaotic. Anything is dangerous. That does not mean that it is bad."

"Mistress.. I've trained in biotic reinforcement, channelled amplification and in the experimental biotic artillery programme. And nothing, mistress, nothing draws a shade to this. Even the teachings of the most unhinged Asari who died in fits of unmatched biotic rage didn't match what I felt go through me. What I experienced was.. raw, potent and unsettlingly powerful and consuming. Most terrifying is that it was familiar. I cannot describe how. Nothing except a meld can begin to compare with how it felt, but it was not a meld. Not by any measure that I can even start to describe."

Matriarch Rethana digested the information quietly. "How did it come to this.. event?"

"I don't know! I don't know if the blame can be attributed to either one of us... We'd discussed basic tactics. We'd provoke and draw out the enemy. He argued for a blind meet.. inflict casualties to devalue interest to where the pirates would cut their losses and move to detach and scuttle the ship. They had every advantage and their interest was predictable."

"What changed? There must be a fulcrum.. if, as you suggest, something undermined your combined focus and control, there must be something you did not anticipate."

The commando closed her eyes. Playing back the events on the bridge for the hundredth time. She shook her head. "There was vengefulness.. like.. goddess.."

Cassia's eyes widened as she continued softly. "Llys.. it was Llys, that is what I could sense.. She was there somehow."

Rethana looked on in concerned empathy. "She was on the bridge?"

"She had been. Yes."

The matriarch waited kindly before pushing. "How?" She prompted.

"I'd found her, minutes before. I was angry. More than just angry. Somehow I'd already known, but I was far from accepting it… He knew. Or at least knew of it. He had her blade, a truth that I expect to hear from him. But.. What.. How?"

"We may have our answer.. but we are a long way from understanding it yet. Loss and anger are powerful motivators. Perhaps you were overcome. Biotic amps are specifically tuned for these core emotions for their full activation potential in younger physiologies. But they are inherently chaotic, reactionary and destructive. Perhaps the same applies to him"

"He is not biotic. I don't know what he is.." Cassia shook her head. "..and I don't know how I can tell you this, but I know it."

"I can't say that this makes much sense to me." The Matriarch placed a concerned hand on Cassia's arm. "We know too little and we have moved too fast. We shall have to place aside 'how' for cautious 'why' and proceed slowly from there. We have been forced into acting on our backfoot rather than the fore. The loss of the crew and ship is a tragedy that we still need to process. We are nevertheless alive. It is in no small degree a part of what transpired… do not forget that. Go get some rest. Take the quarters. I shall set the autopilot and take the first watch. I have much I need to ponder."


###


I sat on an empty cobbled promenade.

"Hello?" A voice broke the silence.

Pennons lining the distant lengths whipped at the top of their tall masts. Gold and white contrasting against the azure.

I closed my eyes. Sensing the tentative presence draw itself inward. I didn't have the inclination to either welcome or stop it. Protocol did require that I acknowledge it.

"I see you." I looked up.

A dark blue robed figure turned and walked slowly toward me. The uneven stones momentarily slowed its progress.

"I came to see if you required assistance." The matriarch gestured at the abandoned space. "This is.. unusual."

"It is an old memory."

The Asari looked around slowly, taking in the horizon that expanded before her. Distant spires glimmered in the low warm sun. Behind, the same cast long hazed shadows across a forest of green. The flags whipped again in the absent breeze, the only sound or movement in the space.

"Why?" She asked. The simple question was laden.

"Because." I gestured to the floor, offering a seat.

The Matriarch bent down to sit beside me. She let her eyes close as the warm sun bathed her face in light. A distant smile crept over her features. She seemed to understand. "I see."

Time passed.

The matriarch turned to me. "You have me and my subordinate somewhat perplexed by exactly what you are."

I smiled. "To you, I am Prothean."

The matriarch frowned. "I find that.. difficult.. to believe."

"Your Protheans, as I understand the knowledge you gifted me, are the precursor civilization that spanned the galaxy before your own. By that definition I am counted amongst their number, so yes. I know your Protheans.. my last recent memories are among your Protheans." I sat in silence for a moment. "Although, I do not believe that is the question you are asking."

She looked at me, curiosity crossing her features.

I nodded slowly. "You want to know what happened. On the bridge of your vessel. I was perplexed by the incident too. And I find myself indebted to your commando, but not intentionally. I believe now I understand what happened, and at least in part: why. To understand I must first show you. Do you consent?"

The matriarch thought carefully for a moment then answered with a yes.

###

I landed in the midst of the next squad and grabbing, pulling and ramming the weapons of the nearest two into their visors in one crunching movement. Following through with the blow to ram down to the ground. The front two spun. One losing a shot that crackled past me and into the second that erupted in a yowl of knee buckling agony.

I cocked my head in thanks for the freebie and kicked. The weapon scattered away before it could swing toward me. I pulled the blade from my waist, making to slice a gash across the assailant's throat. He blocked with his weapon and stumbled back, ducking a second slash as I landed and skidded to regain my footing. I paused. The mirrored hesitation answered with a blue wreathed arm that wrapped the helmet and snapped off and to the side. The moment of gasp of the four eyed being cut off as the Asari snapped his neck in one swift move. The moment of acknowledgement shattered as the world rang with an ear splitting blast.

Time splintered as I felt a hundred microtears slice into my left side. I shouted or I tried to shout. The sound came out far more savage in the burn of the searing pain.

I turned.

Barely able to see in the instant of white shock. But enough to let the blade slip from my grasp and round on the tumbling hilt to strike it with a kick.

The movement cost me my balance, but earned a snarling scream of pain.

I coughed as I caught my weight on my good arm. Wincing as blood dripped down in rivulets that fizzled audibly with white puffs where they contacted the floor.

I gritted my teeth.

The glowing barrel of a scatter shot weapon was dipped. The massive wielder having staggered back, clutching his shoulder. It glowered and roared at me as I pushed myself up. The mist of blood in the air was burning my senses. I saw red. It needed to die. It was not a choice.

The monster raised the weapon in its good arm to aim at me full in the chest.

A warning shouted out from somewhere. The words were unintelligible. I had one focus.

A toothy grin behind the barrel broadened, igniting a rage that didn't feel like my own.

I dropped to an attack stance. The veils of the world unravelled before me. Ahead writhed black and reds, the glow of eezo in the savage weapon. A blur behind me was suffused with light, stretching a barrier toward me.

-Click-

The world exploded.

Time slowed.

The tendrils the barrier projected toward me flowed like syrup through the air. Blue-black ripples of dark energy tingled in a thread thin conduit leading back to the source. The rage struck out. A lightning bolt faster than the speed of thought. It funnelled into the source to surge back up the conduit. The wall of blue ignited and flared, colour shifting as green scoured through it in a verdant blaze. The barrier incandescent in immolation as thousands of shards ricocheted off of it.

The Asari pushed.. no.. reflected everything into the burgeoning field. But something else came back the other way. Seething. Raw. Angry. Untamed.

Consuming.

I couldn't temper the flow.

..it wouldn't..

I.. I didn't want to.

I didn't need to..

The floor drifted away from my feet as the flow surged from a river to a torrent.

I would have revenge.

The blazing green etched with flecks of red as the monster behind the weapon cowered, raising an arm in defence to the searing light.

I snarled. The dam yielded.

The air crackled around me as it ionised. Curls of plasma bending to whim and will. The thin metal walls of the constraining space peeled, bubbled and dripped. The structure shaking in the onslaught. Distant alarms blaring at the edge of hearing.

More..

I wanted more.

The novelty of unmitigated freedom was consuming me.

..I wanted it too..

I mustered everything I had and hammered it through the connection.

The conduit exploded.

A pulsing shockwave surged out, ripping through the barrier in a whirlwind of light. Consuming it. The instant transformation crafted a massive warp that blasted forward. The black and green swirling edge caught and carried away the assailant before the core pummelled through the far door with a ship wrenching jolt.. and then on through the door beyond. Distant metal groaning and twisting as the warp endured.

The collapsing explosive backlash tossed me backward. I crashed heavily through the remnants of crates. Smashing into the far wall with the staggered crack and crunch of metal.

My consciousness faltered in the instant zeroing of every drop of physical and mental energy.

...

I felt.. free. I felt.. a stranger.

A blue flickering drew my lolling attention. It got brighter, closer. I smiled.

###

Matriarch Rethana watched me with caution."That was not you."

"Indeed." I raised an eyebrow. "It wasn't. It also was.." I sat silently. The last puzzle had clicked together.. "It's taken me a long time to make sense of this, and I have myself to blame." I raised my arm to the right. Gesturing to an empty area in the cobbled plaza. "Do you know her?"

An Asari stepped out into the cobbled expanse. Cautious. She quickly took in the new surroundings. Her attention rapidly scanning myself before latching and settling on to the matriarch with increasing confidence.

"Llys?" The matriarch's surprised tone made the Asari stall for a split second. She took the younger asari's hand in her own, placing the other on a shoulder. "I believed you were-"

Llys looked away. "..I am.."

The figment of Llys looked at me. "Where am I? I did not expect to find myself here."

"Nor did I." I shook my head and addressed the Matriarch. "Your kind's engrams are different. They are delicately entwined with your physiology. I did not see the memory for the mind until I learned what to look for."

Rethana looked between Llys and myself. "Cassia said Llys was dead on the bridge before you two were there."

"She did. I found your commando, Llys, dying, before that. In part, I witnessed her death. Which is what moved me to take a blood oath to avenge it. It appears that in the contact I collected an unexpected passenger. I also did not anticipate your kind's capability and tenacity. Even fragmented, her engram was determined to avenge her own death. A compounding action that very nearly cost everything."

"I am sorry." The young Asari clung to the matriarch. "I did not realise, mistress."

"She is not wrong, and she is not at fault." I continued, "It took me a while to piece her back together from the fragments. Which leaves me with a quandary.."

Llys looked lost for a moment. "What to do with me."

Rethana watched Llys carefully. "You were scared."

"But I've nowhere to go." Llys cried.

"And you cannot stay here. Not for too much longer. Your consciousness is independent. When it was fragmented it was rapidly decaying, it will last longer now that it is reconstituted. However it is still foreign to my own mind, and my own defences will become hostile to you. And they will destroy you. I can protect you for a while, but not for long." I turned to Rethana. "There is a way I can keep her safe for longer, but I will have to place her in stasis.. more like a distant memory than a thought."

Llys looked uncertain. "Is it the only way?"

"Until we find a more suitable host for you. Or, if you choose to-"

"-die." She looked solemn. "I've served my whole life as best I could. I've regrets, wishes and dreams. But none that will let me live the life of someone else. Can I be me ever again?"

"You cannot be who you once were. She has passed. If your Matriarch has a host you can claim or you can share, I can place you there."

"I cannot deny the life of someone else.. What would that make me?"

"Llys.. this is not a choice you need to make now." Rethana said calmly, and she turned to me. "How long can you keep her in this stasis?"

"Long enough."

Rethana looked Llys in the eyes, "I protect my own. Will you trust me?"

The Asari hesitantly nodded. Rethana looked my way. I didn't need more.

"Llys, will you step this way.. I will prepare a place."

The matriarch smiled as a portal opened. "Do not be afraid. Little one."

A long moment drifted. The portal vanished in a blink, letting the quiet shift back into the space. The sun wandered across the sky. I opened my eyes, still looking into the distance.

"Thank you." said the Matriarch.

"Don't thank me. There are only a few hells more terrifying than the uncertainty she embodies. She will have to face a lot of existential questions. Which brings me to the deeper conundrum that I must keep from her but you need to know now that your charge is in my care."

The matriarch sat down again. "I doubt there are many more surprises that this day could bring."

I sighed. "I am dying."

The Asari took the blunt statement with experienced grace. "You are certain of this?"

"Yes. And with vivid memories of how and the risk it carries." I held up a mental projection of a small clear crystal a few centimetres in length. The now reddening sun's rays were captured and amplified within it until every facet bloomed with a blue-white light.

"Do you know what this is?"

Matriarch Rethana's captivated attention broke long enough to solicit an affirmation. "Yes. We call it eezo, or element zero. It's rare, its crystalline form is exceptionally rare."

"To my kind it is toxic.. terrifyingly so. Your species, as with most that evolve in its presence, have developed adaptations to exploit its effects."

"Yes. It is a ubiquitous enabler of technological and biotic advancement throughout the known galaxy." She held up a hand to stall her own thoughts. "Please continue.."

"My kind didn't evolve with it. Contrary to your observation, this element was entirely absent in all the millions of years of traceable evolution in our system. That is until an asteroid was discovered. It carried millions of tons of this poison. It was too large. Too fast. Travelling in from far beyond the solar plain. We didn't see it until it was too late to divert. In the end, the tragedy was unavoidable. Billions died.

"The poison is insidious. It consumes us. It drives us mad with pain and delusion until insanity finally strips away all rational cognition. There isn't a greater horror than watching billions tear a world apart and set upon themselves. The homeworld was quarantined to die. While offworld survivors struggled to explore the local systems, desperate for space and untainted resources. Scientists tried to study the substance while exploring technological and biological defences against its worst effects. Its toxicity was called an accident of biology. Some claimed, given its nature, that the element itself was an artificial product. Regardless, our expansion and outreach resulted in first-contact. A significant event for most species, but for us it delivered the final blow. A galaxy of civilizations and technologies was torn open around us.. all built around this. The fallout was unmitigable and disastrous.

"Leadership collapsed. Survivors scattered and fled toward whatever dark recesses there were beyond star maps. This place. My homeworld, decimated and abandoned for centuries, was eventually mined for its precious poison.
"A ragtag fleet survived. But without a home there was no recovery, just attrition. We are long-lived. Dying either to choice or turmoil. We eventually became hunted. A skulking prize desperately lurking in the far wild reaches of the galaxy; fetching grand rewards." I sneered.
"When the darkness came and the galaxy fell silent, scoured by war, we ventured back. Finding evidence that the poisoning of our ancient home was not an accident, but a prelude. A purge.

"By the last meet there were barely a thousand of us left. Most were prepared to flee the galaxy, some wanted to find further and deeper holes to cower in. But the embers of the galaxy we had known had become savage and hostile. And for the first time our peering into the welcome dark of deep space we saw careful watchers. The effort to flee the galaxy ended in costly failure, eventually the survivors split up. Each to find their own course. Some, simply to have a quiet existence. Others, a noble end. I was then in the last company of the old guard, the last nine of us swearing an oath to an unretractable mission: retribution. We set out into the galaxy with the few precious resources and personal defences that we had against the taint.

"Before you ask, no..I've not seen another since. Nor for the eight cycles before your Protheans. I not wavered in my resolve. Until now. I lost friends in the last battle of my recent past." I shook my head. "But it haunts me. We were so close.. so many died and we still failed despite so much planning, effort and strife." I sighed. "But that is a different story, one of my last memory for and another time. And then you woke me."

We sat in silence. I had never been left to explain myself before.. it was usually avoidable, unnecessary, irrelevant or communicable in a manner without thought or words.

But this time it felt different. The lingering inevitability lurked on the horizon and there was no control, no contingency nor escape. It would creep ever closer. Already it stalked at the edge of my senses. Perhaps being free of the burden was part of the end. If I was going to become a liability then my task.. my mission.. my purpose.. was over.

The Matriarch sat for a long while. "You are seeing an age ago as though it were yesterday.. I can barely begin to imagine the scope of what you are describing in ways that make sense even in my thousand years. But as you doubtlessly know, putting everything in context is necessary to begin to understand your place and purpose. So-" She continued. "Let me tell you this.. About six months ago a deep space probe detected a planetary fragment drifting in interstellar space. Normally nothing unusual about that, but this pinged across the board. On it were significant ruins.. specifically Prothean ruins." She paused, seemingly gauging my reaction, or lack thereof. "You were found on the fragment, beneath thousands of years of rubble."

"Entombed?"

"Encased."

I turned toward the Asari Matriarch, curious. Her golden eyes fixed to me as she continued slowly.

"In crystalline eezo. The largest pure deposit on record."

"Not possible." I pushed up and walked away. I needed to move. The stones ground beneath my feet. "You must be mistaken. I'd be dead. It is simply not possible."

My steps took me to the edge of the embankment.

The Matriarch picked her way again to stand a pace to the side.

"My scientists worked for months. No one had ever found such a large concentration. The crystals that were analysed were found to be uniformly pure. A delicate rarity that is exceptionally prized for its potency and potential. The researchers only realised there was an artifact within the bulk of the crystal when it cracked while placing it in transport. I brought a vessel over to study and transport the artifact. Some of the best xenobiologists in known space didnt realise that it, you were, were alive. They only realised their mistake when you started waking up when the crystals were removed. Nothing living was ever thought to be able to sustain direct exposure for so long."

I opened my right palm in front of me looking at the offending glow. The light somehow penetrated the lighter skin. Showing the odd bluish vein above the wrist. "It is impossible."

"What about it makes it impossible for you?"

"This.." I concentrated.

A figure of myself and the Asari standing on the embankment formed in my hand. With the slightest of mental pushes and pull on the Asari my perspective shifted, now standing as the projection looking at the another set of figures in the hand.

The Matriarch drew breath in surprise.

"Wait." I commanded. This time it was easier, faster. Again the perspective shifting in and down. And again. Faster. And Faster. The flickering world stacking and growing ever larger backwards in time and shrinking infinitely smaller ahead. The separation of the frames blurring and smoothing into a single infinitely descending portal. I let go of the illusion. Grabbing the Asari by the arm and plunging into the singularity.

It was dark.

I opened my eyes. The small elegantly fitted cabin of the shuttle was dimly lit. The Matriarch was seated cross legged on the floor a little way away in front of me. Or rather.. the shape of the Asari sat.. An almost black that was dotted with a starfield of constellations and bright galaxies. A living map that changed instant to instant.

She stirred. Opening her eyes with expectancy and realising the view of herself. The field shifted, parts blooming brightly and moving. The punctuating flecks of light drawing in and consuming the dark of her shape; thinning the shade wherever the light was concentrated. Drawing it down to where the veil was almost translucent. She focused on the seering glow on her left wrist. Raising and looking through the thinnest outline of her palm against the diffuse room behind it. The fade only eventually relented where her flexing fingertips darkened back into meaningful substance.

"I don't understand." She looked up, torn between confusion and surprise.

"Stay calm. This is expected.. this vision is curated, I can collapse it when you want."

"What is this? What am I seeing?"

"This is how psionics can see the world. Can you tell where the eezo is.. do you see what it does?"

"Psionics?" The new word phrasing layers of questions.

I nodded, pausing to think of a way to paraphrase the undeniable similarities. "I could describe it as a purely biological analogue of what you achieve with biotics. But far, far weaker.. or perhaps requiring far longer to attain any proficiency with.

"Element zero is a powerful shortcut. Evolution tends to exploit this to great effect. But, the paths for the two are divergent and can manifest vastly differing traits. Add that evolution with Eeezo is toxic to the alternative. The Eezo path is fast and dominant in the galaxy. It suits rapid biological adoption and quick integration in shorter generation cycles. It also is easily integrated into technology. Guaranteeing that its spread is fast, broad and successful. As a result, the psionic, in the galactic sense.. will always die off."

She picked at the invisible wrist band and tossed it to the side. The fade remained unchanged.

I shook my head. "It is not that simple."

Rethana looked at me. The sparkling void of her eyes awash with an untangleable knot of thoughts and emotions. "And what of you?"

I smiled softly. "I cannot see myself in this perspective..you are seeing yourself as I do, the translation is not reversible for me."

"I can."

My brow furrowed. I hesitated. "May I?"

She nodded. I felt her unspoken permission as she lowered a natural guard, letting me shift perspective

I blinked, snapping back to my own perspective. "Impossible." Mentally, I staggered back while wrestling with the surging rise of uncertainty.

I drew a shuddering breath.

"Is something wrong?" Confusion poured from the Matriarch.

"Steel yourself.." I said as I let go of the vision.

The small space filled out back to the solid and real. I took it in second time. Sitting back to lean against the couch that had doubled as a bed. I shivered in a deathly cold that was bone deep in my extremities.

The Matriarch was still seated on the floor. Her concerned gaze watching me as she moved to stand. "Are you in pain?"

I rubbed my eyes. "No." Lowering my hands to turn them over in front of me.

A blue pair of hands closed over the light of my own. Stilling them with their warmth.

"What is impossible?"

"Me.." I looked into the golden irises that stared back from infinity. The burn still ghosting in my mind's eye. "I should be dead."


###


"You're staring."

A fumbled rustle and shift of material was accompanied with a thud as something fell on the carpet. Cassia picked a tablet pad up off the floor and resettled into the half turned pilot's seat. Her gaze eventually drifted back.

I gave up on the makeshift bed and tossed the blanket away to stretch my spine in a series of satisfying cracks.

"Where's my tunic?"

The Asari pointed at a shredded pile heaped near the corner.

"And my bag?"

She padded over and pulled the duffel out from a low shelf, then fetched what I could only assume was a medical box.

She started pulling out a myriad of supplies. "You were injured."

"I am fine."

"The hell that happened over there did not look like fine."

I rubbed my forehead.

Cassias expression shifted through various gears before she glared at me. "You did something.."

"You need to calm down."

"-you were about to DIE."

I glared at her then closed my eyes in concentration. "Here.."

Cassia's scowled in incomprehension. "What?"

"An engram, a recent memory in particular. One I believe may help you find a better peace. May I?" I reached up with my right hand, two fingers raised. The Asari hesitated. "It won't hurt..."

Touched her temple. Her eyes briefly darkened and snapped back as she turned away.

"That was, is. Your.. friend."

"Llys was more than a friend."

"I am still learning your kind… She is safe. Matriarch Rethana will assist with this later if your friend wishes." I watched Cassia carefully, I realised my head was far clearer now without the chaotic ball of emotional hotheaded thoughts. "You and her are not like your Matriarch."

Perplexion ran through her features. "What? No. I am Asari. What do you mean?"

"Your.. unguardedness. Your fear, your anger and your pride..

your desires." I tapped a temple. " They run ahead of you and steer you. I suspect your kind may subconsciously project.. It would certainly make you a powerful and dominant species in the cosmic imperative. I already knew your kind were proximally telepathic, as your Matriarch is.. but you.. you are-"

"-Younger." Her statement was oddly matter of fact. "I am three hundred and thirty years old. Still a maiden in our culture. Matriarch Rethana is almost a thousand two hundred."

"Your species has long specific life stages?"

"That is generally accepted."

I stared at her for a long moment.

"The mistake is on my part." I winced as I tried to stand and thought the better of it. "You lost someone. Someone that had realised their dying loss and found, in some part, a refuge with me. I did not anticipate it and I did not separate it." I sighed. "In my ignorance I let it become me.. my own uncertainty and anger fueling it until the connection linked your own to me and her back to you. That is why the connection worked. That something of her knew you. But dependencies like this create feedback loops that quickly create runaway cascades. It is intoxicating, subversive and dangerous. It cost me every iota of energy I had. And some. It should not have happened."

I looked into the unfocused distance. "If you had not created the warp I do not know what could have happened."

"I.. I didn't create a warp. Not like that.."

I hesitated. "Perhaps I still underestimate the complexity of your species. I am now aware of the risk. I assure you it will not happen again. I hope you find peace. I need to rest.."

The quiet of my mind brought back the deep exhaustion. I tried to float above it. I wasn't hungry, which was a lingering portent that weighed on me. I needed to meditate on it.

Cassia stared at me then grabbed the bandages. "Change first."

"I'm fine." I said, realising then that a casual observation would not draw the same conclusion. Bandages wrapped most of my arm and left side, large portion of my left face was covered too.

"Goddess.. just do it." She glared at me in annoyance before grabbing my left arm and started on the bandage with a swipe. "The Matriarch says you're Prothean. But you're not Prothean. You dont look like any of the holo models I've seen."

"I accepted their name and worked alongside them, which in their eyes, made me equal. I am Prothean. But I am also not." I watched her work hypnotically

A small realisation trickled to the forefront of my mind.

"Araxch'Arlecos. Tythißîos Kal'Àxaelîoñ." I offered.

She looked up from her distraction. "What is that?"

"You want to know how I am. That usually starts with a who, then works toward a what and culminates in how. It seems that no particular order applies anymore. So, that's my name. In the old language. It does not translate easily. Order and League, then House and Given name. Your language follows a Title-Given-House pattern… An approximate analogue is Arxer Kal-Axealion Tythißios. Arxer being a soldier and smith, weapon handler or maker.. Archer."

Her brow wrinkled. "Your pronunciations don't have much traction in Asari or basic."

A small smile pulled at my lips.

"Others have said the same."

"What did they call you?"

"Before? Prothean culture prioritised title. For the most part, I was known as Archer, otherwise make what you want of it."

Cassia finished rolling the bandage and pulled off the mesh, instantly cursing something below her breath. She stared at the clean arm, turning it over in disbelief and checking the musculature for scarring or lacerations.

"How old are you again?"

"I've never said."

"You're far more heavier built than an Asari."

"My species had two sexes, I am male."

"Still doesn't explain the magical healing.."

"..more than meets the eye?" I murmured in half amusement, she shot me a curious glance.

Cassia watched me carefully. "I think I am owed an explanation though."

"You won't give up until you know?" I cocked my head in question, the Asari finally let go of my arm and watched me expectantly in the way of an answer.

I pulled the rest of the bandages off with a brief grimace. Parts of the dressings crumbling to dust much to the Asari's surprise.

A few fading spots of pink skin were all that remained of where some of the deepest cuts had landed. The spread of impacts were now just part of a patchwork of deep bruising.

I looked over what I could. "Some of that is your doing if I am not mistaken."

The asari smirked with a hint of pride. "Just because I now know your name Archer Kal-Axealion of house Tythißios, it does not mean I will go lightly on you if we cross ways again."

I laughed at the open jibe. Relaxing for what felt like the first time in.. an age. "Just, Archer. Tythißios is a memory that is all but lost to time...

"I will tell you, there are two parts to the defence. Part One.. My species has.. had.. a natural barrier, it is nothing like your.. biotics. It functions more like a passive skin that is reactive to high energy particles. Slowing penetrating objects to merely piercing. It's still painful and still potentially deadly but less so depending on the energies involved and state of physical health."

I reached over and plucked a minute sand like fragment off of my skin. A few more peppered down to just above the wrist. Far more were stuck on the bandages' remains.

I continued. "Part Two." I held the fragment up to the light. "Metal?"

"Yes." Cassia stared at it, entranced. "Is that a fragment from the shot?"

"It was." I suspected. I applied a little bit of pressure with my fingers. The grain collapsed into powder. "Now it's just oxide."

Cassia stared at the benign dust. "I don't understand."

"Do you have something made of silica crystal? Glass?"

A flat serving plate was dug out from the small galley. Cassia winced as I broke it over my knee. I picked up a rough shard and a sliver, making a small cut on a finger to tease a drop of blood out onto the shard.

"That's-"

"-my blood."

She looked on in disbelief as the surface of the dark metallic red drop silvered in reaction with the air. "Don't touch it. Pass me that spoon."

The metal hissed as it came in contact with the drop. The liquid drew up into the metal with a fizz. Forming a whitening watermark that spread out a little from the contact point.

"Okay. Now." I handed it to her.

The white crumbled into powder with a little pressure, leaving a deep notch in the handle.

"That is terrifying…"

"It is a defence and an adaptation. The reaction can be fast. But as clearly the case-" I gestured to the miserable pile of former wares, "it has consequences. There are up and down sides to biology. That has saved me from horrific fates.. But.." I held up a five fingered hand. "You're the first I've encountered with this, and seemingly so much more in common. But despite our similarities we are more different than you could guess."

Cassia considered this as she closed the kit.

Something lingered on her mind. She stared at the spoon in her hand. "Do you eat metal?"

I chuckled. "No. But I will have some distilled water if you are offering."

We tidied up before Cassia settled back into the pilot's seat.

I got comfortable on the floor, clearing my mind to fall into to a quiet meditation.


###

Asari home system, Council Space


Thessia was surrounded by a fortress.

The home system of the Asari was an incredible balance of aesthetic and function.

I guess I expected it in part. It was taking a great deal of effort to not think of them as female, cultural biases aside; a mono-gendered sentient species was rare, to being almost unheard of.. until now. I had vague memories of a Prothean shard that made mention of one from before the war. I'd need to meditate on it. I filed it for later.

The Matriarch had worked tirelessly on her comm to pull strings. And there were a lot of strings..

The Asari loved red tape.

Everything had a procedure, a protocol, an order.

Straying outside of that garnered attention. Attention was not what Rethana wanted. And so came into play the magic of soft power and the spider web of favors that the Asari seemed to devote a good portion of their lives to curating.

We rode broadside with massive destroyers through the outer system. Slipped in between the moons with patrol groups and their playful banter. Toured a flyby of the planetary poles with a weather research group. Eventually gliding through the express services lane to enter the heart of the capital city.

Blue and silver hued arches and clean geometric spires rose from the vast ocean. Seamlessly blending the worlds of water, land and air in their distinctly imposing and understated fashion.

By night we were last in a creeping queue of mixed transport craft destined for a private shuttle port. Small lights blinked softly around the curved platform that protruded from a handsome spire. The top of a building marked somewhere near, but above. For four spartan red dots marking it. But they were only occasionally visible. It was late. And it was raining.

Not the light everyday stuff. This was oceanic squall.

Heavy drops thundered on the cockpit window in twisting directions, driven in buffeting winds.

I suppressed a shiver. This world literally rained eezo.

Cassia worked at the navigation console, "Traffic control is recommending that we hold until the storm passes. Estimating three hours."

"No." Matriarch Rethana shook her head. "We need to use it. I'm not taking any chances. Tell them to continue processing the cargo arrivals. I bought the building to get the exclusive airspace rights for this dock and I will have my timetable followed. I'll take the additional black-risk insurance cost for this privacy curtain if it keeps eyes away."

"Yes, mistress."

Secrecy was paramount. The Matriarch was expecting there to be curious and prying eyes everywhere.

Going directly to Thessia was risky. I was not in a position to question the choice.

The pad went dark as we touched down. The beacon and flood lights vanished into the sideways torrent. The shuttle's whine dimmed and was qdrowned in the hull's pelting onslaught.

Cassia flicked through a series of consoles. The dark cabin hinting at an imminent shutdown.

Matriarch Rethana handed me a long cloak. "Put this on."

She and the commando had readied various boxes and bags by the hatch. The hiss of cool salty air flooded the cabin as the door swung up. The thin form of the commando vanished into the black and grey torrent.

I held the garment pensively. "What about you?"

"It's clear." The commando stepped back in. Dripping wet. She ran a hand over her head before grabbing a satchel and vanishing once more.

Letting out a long breath, I threw the cumbersome thing over my head, secured my makeshift bag, grabbed two boxes and stepped out into the consuming dark.


###


The next few days were.. strange.

We had occupied the top third of the massive tower. I'd expected there'd be limitations on my movement, but there were none. The tower had a total physical firewall separating the top from the lower portions. It was entirely self sufficient.. access was solely through one of three vertiports. It felt secure and isolated. I allayed darker thoughts of a gilded prison, remembering.. I was the unknown.

I pulled my gaze away from the ceiling high window. It was still raining. But the light of day had managed to turn the view to a mix of billowing greys. Occasionally a fleeting break would colour the below with whites, greens and purples. Glimpses of a vibrant cityscape.

Drawing myself up I caught my reflection in the one way glass. The scruffy haphazard of impromptu gear had been replaced with a simplified interpretation of my first presentation to Rethana. She thought it fitting, the odd sense of calm the place engendered persuaded me to agree. It certainly

wasn't armour. Which took a little effort to push down the innate sense of vulnerability. But it was tailored and comfortable. The white and dark-tan fabric was apparently from offworld, a place called Palaven. No Asari could apparently fathom why anyone would want a material without eezo woven into the cloth. I'd been adamant on that count.

Similarly with the dark boots. A dark shoulder pauldron secured a matte grey-black hooded cloak that I suspected would see ample use. There was no patterning or gold, understatement was understandable.. I had to be able to try to blend in. Although almost being a good head taller than Asari wouldn't make it easier.

I'd managed to tame my hair. There was a lot that was lighter than I recalled. Not something I cared much for. But at least the neatened, back-drawn, length of brown mess would draw a bit less distracted fascination. I'd also hacked a basic clean shave.. again, something that I generally didn't have to think much of.

The Matriarch's personal staff had initially made curious stares my way, but quickly turned away. They were busy. An apparent hasty relocation was still evident in the winding stacks of unpacked crates that piled through corridors. The constant buzz of activity saw hourly progress. Even so they made a pointed effort to avoid me and keep necessary interactions turse and polite. I had zero doubts that strict instructions had been issued in this regard. So.. I'd been left alone. Mostly. Rethana and Cassia had been away but either had sent a daily followup via the staff. This being one of the few direct interactions they'd braved. Effort to keep me connected, but left in temporary reprieve to recuperate.

Today, that was to change.

"The lady will be ready in twenty minutes."

A soft and cautious voice summoned from across the room. Quiet footsteps vanishing behind the quiet shush of the door. They never lingered. I heard the door open once more.

"You clean up well."

I turned. Cassia was leaning in the doorway, arms folded across her chest. She now wore a more formal light grey and white suit. Full length sleeves cuffed in the same dual tone blue as the half cape slung from her right shoulder to left waist.

"I don't believe I've seen you dressed so formally." I chimed.

The Asari unwound herself. Idly walking down the few steps that opened into the forward lounge that faced the streaming windows.

"This is a big event.. The Matriarchy does not gather often and seldom at short notice. The Temple is the only location that everyone doesn't disagree on." She rolled her eyes. "The priestesses get particular about dress code and appropriate ceremony when on location. Which is daft because no one sees anyone entering or leaving, and it's not like Athame herself is sitting there taking notes." She ran a finger around the high cut collar. "Give me a field suit anyday over this."

I grinned at her discomfort. "It suits you."

She huffed as she made for the wall spanning window. Staring out into the nothing.

"Rethana wanted me to check whether you had eaten. The servants say you have not had anything."

I looked to the far wall where an unappetising spread had lain untouched. Except for the clear glass carafe of distilled water. I shook my head. "No."

"The doctors say you should eat."

"Your doctors and scientists can't guess at my health or biology when they can't scan me."

"They're working on it.."

"I expect that they are trying."

"Are you serious about being EM impervious?"

"Try me."

Cassia tapped her arm metronomically in pensive thought. "The matriarch has had everyone running around half blind in the building with no omnitools for three days.. you wouldn't know anything about that?"

"You know your lady's mind the best.. I have not spoken to her."

The Asari's eyes narrowed at me. "It is this eezo.. thing.. right?" She raised her arms up in defeat. "Asari are basically made of eezo."

"That didn't stop you though."

The metronomic ticks returned and shifted pace along with her thoughts. "You know that it's wrong for you to just know that."

"It's hard to miss. What have you got?"

She pulled up a series of programmes.. a few minutes later she closed the device down in frustrated defeat. "Some of those are black ops.. Salerian rips-"

"You're missing the obvious approach. Stop trying to find things with technology."

"Why does it feel like this is not the first time you've done this?"

"It isn't."

"Here?" Her eyes were wide.

I shook my head. "I have not been here before." At the back of my mind was the cascading flood of eezo kept me permanently on edge. "But certainly here, in this scenario."

The door hissed open.

"A shuttle is ready for you on pad three."

Cassia waved a dismissing thank you. "Ready for the big day?

I sighed and walked toward the door and the distant elevator. "We'd better get to the shuttle.. I would not want you to be late."

I could feel her gaze boring into my back. "I'm sure that is supposed to be my line."

###

/** AN: Cheers and thanks for reading.

aaand yes.. it was heavy. It's been a long week. Some stuff in here I just kinda need to down and through so I can prep the next layer. Let the games begin..

*/