Saren pulled himself up, taking steady breaths until his chest reached the metal bar he had been holding. He paused to count to ten, then slowly lowered himself back down, allowing his arm muscles to relax completely before repeating the exercise, counting to fifteen this time.

By the time he reached forty, his arms felt like they were on fire. Relaxing them one last time, he let go of the bar and exhaled deeply, checking the room. He was alone. His throat vibrated out a high-pitched note before he made it to the exit.

As he walked down the small hallway, he gazed out at the landscape. Laetoria was a rather Asari-like planet for a Turian colony. It boasted lush green forests, flat plains, and a rare yellow sun. For Saren, however, it held too many large bodies of water, making it a hazard to the local Turian population.

Thankfully, the vacation house they were in was far away from such hazards. It was also built on top of a hill, letting the rain fall down around them safely and not pooling into a hazard. The view from there was quite wide, allowing people who stayed there to have a good, strategic view of their surroundings.

Desolas really knew how to pick prime locations.

Speaking of his brother, Saren finally found him in the dining room area, sitting at the table and staring at a data pad.

"You skipped out on me," Saren chirped.

Desolas looked up, a hum emanating from his chest. "Sorry, Saren. Something came up."

"And here I thought we were here to relax before returning to our duties."

"What we want and what we get rarely coincide," Desolas replied.

"Are you being recalled?"

"No. For all intents and purposes, this is nothing more than General Oraka sending a status update of his assigned fleet."

Saren stood still for a moment. "General Oraka? I thought he had retired already."

Desolas chuckled. "He won't be doing that anytime soon; not until he can't run a lap around a dreadnought anymore. He's currently attached to Admiral Vinia's fleet that's assigned to patrol the Falsus Cluster."

Saren sat down. "A little far from here," he said. "Why would the general send an update to this cluster?"

"Not just here," Desolas replied. "He sent it to the general Hierarchy Fleet Frequency." He looked at Saren before sliding the data pad to him. "Check for yourself."

Saren caught the pad but didn't take his eyes off of his brother. "I hope there isn't anything classified on here."

"Even if there were, I don't think you would care."

Saren chuckled before looking at the screen. Oddly enough, it wasn't a written report, but an audio one. His mandibles flexed slightly before he played the file.

"This is General Oraka. This file documents the audio communications of the crew of the cruiser THS Veritas, compiled by the XO Commander Gavtus, under the orders of Captain Septimus. They were performing routine patrol to System A4213 when they encountered unknowns at Relay 314. Relay 313 was already active when they arrived."

Saren frowned; if he remembered correctly, no relays in this area should be active at all.

"Captain, we're detecting a slight increase in the heat levels on the system."

"Could it be a flare up?"

"No, sir. Star A4213 is very stable, and the increase in activity is almost negligible. We may be observing the presence of a ship; possibly a corvette or a frigate."

"Any visuals?"

"We're about to drop from FTL. We should have visuals soon."

"Spirits!"

"Report."

"Relay 313 looks like it has been activated! We're not sure yet, but there seems to be indications of movement in the system."

"Double-check the data; do we have just one ship, or multiple ones?"

"Sir, the temperature readings remain unchanged from earlier, but we are detecting movement throughout the entire system."

"We have visuals on Relay 314! It's not activated yet, but I'm… Sir, I'm confirming the presence of multiple ships. Three frigates and two fighters."

There was a growl. "Who is stupid enough to break Citadel Law?"

There was a pause. "Unknowns, sir."

"What?"

"These ships are unknowns, sir! They don't match anything in our database. The frigates appear to be cylinders with a triangle on top of them. They seem to have towers on their flatter side. The fighters resemble flatter Talons with larger wings."

"Ugly looking things. At least the fighters look okay."

"They… that can't be right."

"What is it?"

"Sir, they weren't emitting much heat, so I tried looking for any active mass effect fields. There aren't any! Not even a blip of eezo radiation!"

"Repeat that. None?"

"Yes, sir!"

"So we're dealing with primitives."

"Sir, what do we do?"

"Commander, send our Talons forward, as well as Graxus, Solana, Drexus, and Tersius. Engage those ships near Relay 314."

"Captain?"

"They most likely opened up Relay 313, breaking Citadel Law. I'm not risking these primitives opening the other relay."

"Captain, shouldn't we contact the Hierarchy and the Council before taking any action? It seems a little premature to greet a new species by shooting at their ships."

There was a soft whistle. "Maybe, but the law is there for a reason and I'm not going to risk trillions of lives. Just fire one volley. Give them a chance to run. Once they are far enough away from the inactive relay, we don't need to go further. Compile all transmissions so everyone will know we did everything by the book. Then send it to Admiral Vinia when everything's done. She'll know what to do."

"Yes, Captain."

"Sir, one of their frigates and fighters are separating from the group. They are meeting our Talons and frigates."

"Brave primitives, I'll give them that."

"Or stupid. Are they really sending two ships against nine?"

"Hey, that can't be right. Aren't the ships traveling a bit fast for not having any eezo?"

"Sir, Commander Tulia of Tersius has advised us that they have received a data packet containing audio and image files. It appears to be a First Contact Package. She's asking us how to respond."

"Order her not to transmit anything back at the aliens. Have her send the packet to us, but maintain course."

"Receiving file."

There was a gasp.

"What is it, commander?"

"Captain, look at this. Don't they look like Asari?"

Saren blinked, tapped on the screen to pause the audio before looking at his brother.

Desolas shrugged. "The general also sent the FC packet," he said. "You can look at it later."

The younger turian hummed before resuming to play the file.

"Slightly. Status on the alien frigate and fighter?"

"They are slowing down, sir."

"And those around the relay?"

"They have not moved."

The Captain cursed. "Tell our frigates to ready their main guns. Tell the Talons to fire just one volley of missiles. Target the two forward ships. Maybe they'll get the message."

"Captain."

There was a sigh. "I know, Commander. Maybe those two ships have good enough defenses to prevent their destruction. If not, then let's hope that motivates the other alien ships to move away from the relay."

"Talons are firing. Graxus, Solana, Drexus, and Tersius have their guns loaded and primed."

"Forward frigate turning! Fighter… wha—what is going on?"

"Use your words, Lieutenant."

"Captain, there's multiple reports of three constructs appearing out of nowhere. I'm seeing it now and they spherical in shape and—detecting very high heat energy!"

"What—lasers! The constructs are shooting lasers! Missiles destroyed!"

"Talons are scrambling out of—Talons 1, 2, and 5 were hit! Spherical constructs attacked them! They… Sir, they were destroyed."

"First blood. We won't let them spill any more. Tell the frigates they are free to fire on the forward enemy ships and constructs. Destroy them."

"Yes, Captain! Graxus, Solana, Drexus, and Tersius are firing their first volley." There was a pause before the same voice spoke out. "Enemy forward ships have disappeared!"

Saren tilted his head in confusion.

"What?"

"We hit the constructs, sir, but the ships have just disappeared!"

"How? Did they emit any mass effect fields?"

"No blue-shifting occurred, sir! Or any other indicators!"

"That's imposs—no, never mind that. Are there still enemy ships near the relay?"

"They haven't moved, Captain."

"Tell all ships to target them. Have the frigates fire first. If possible, destroy them. The Talons will move in to clear any stragglers."

"Frigates adjusting aiming vectors. Ready to—the second enemy fighter just appeared in front of them! It's firing multiple missiles!"

"Wha—?"

"Captain, an enemy frigate just appeared behind the Talons! It's… it's not the same one we saw earlier! It looks better armed with mounted cannons. One near the bow, the other at the stern! It's coming close to Talon 3—it was destroyed. Laser fire!"

"So they got GARDIANs," Saren commented.

"Talon 4 is scrambling away! It got hit! Flash heat detected from the cannon near the bow! Talon 4 is drifting to the enemy frigate's stern—it got destroyed by the second cannon!"

A growl came from the Captain. "We fell into a trap, didn't we? Double-check our sensors! Our enemies aren't just a bunch of primitives! Make sure they won't just drop out of FTL near us! We won't be taken by surprise anymore! Any word on our frigates?"

"Commander Tulia is sending a report on their status! The missiles did not directly target our frigates; they exploded around them, sending what seemed to be metal shrapnel all over them. Velocities were too slow for their shields to respond, but there was no deep penetration."

"Thank the Spirits."

"They are currently focusing on shooting down the fighter, but are reporting that they are having trouble locking on to it."

"Tell them once they brought it down, they—"

"Captain, they stopped firing."

"They got rid of the fighter? Good. Now, have them focus on the enemy frigate that shot our Talons down."

"It's not that, sir. The… Graxus, Solana, Drexus, and Tersius have stopped firing their GARDIANs."

"What? Ask them why!"

"They aren't responding, sir! They just went completely silent. We can't connect to them. Their engines are still functional, but…"

"Do we have visuals?"

"Sir, they, uh… they seem to be spinning around themselves. They look like they are in a dead float."

Saren narrowed his eyes at that.

"Captain, there's a slight increase of heat in the area. I think there are new contacts. Confirmed! We have visuals! They just appeared out of nowhere! No blue-shifting!"

"They really aren't using any mass effect fields," Saren commented.

"Visuals confirmed they share the same design as the alien ships. Eleven of them look like fighters in size. One of them is that fighter that disappeared earlier! It's following the last enemy ship that… it looks bigger than a frigate!"

"Cruiser?"

"No, sir. Smaller than we are. It's like a halfway size between a cruiser and a frigate. I see two—no, three mounted cannons. Each of them has three barrels. I also see another! Larger diameter at the bow! Most likely a main gun like ours!"

"Vectors?"

"Ten fighters coming towards our frigates in a triangle. The mini-cruiser and a fighter escort are flying at an angle, the bigger ship showing us its broadside."

"Why is their big ship giving us a bigger target and pointing their main weapon away from us?"

"Don't underestimate them, Gavtus. They've shown to be even more devious than we thought. Status on the nearest enemy frigate and fighter?"

"They are flying around us, sir! Looks like they are holding some sort of patrol pattern! They are staying well out of range of our GARDIANs."

"Fighters passed through our frigates! Still no response from our ships!"

"So they are dead or incapacitated. Spirits damn these aliens. Helm! Charge at those fighters! Let's remove their number advantage while we—"

"Captain! Flash heat detected! The mini-cruiser is firing their cannons!"

"They can shoot those short barreled things from that fa—"

A static noise plays for a few seconds before building up to inaudible whispers. Eventually, the whispers become more coherent.

"—at forty percent, Captain!"

"It's like we got hit by a cruiser! What kind of ordinance are we looking at?!"

"VI puts each of the projectiles' mass being similar to ours, sir, though it impacted us at only a point-one percent speed of light. It may not be as strong as our main gun, but we took nine hits!"

"Focus power on the shields! Helm, change our vector to the mini-cruiser! We need to take that one out before it fires again! Ready our main gun to return fire!"

"Main gun loaded and prime! Targeting the enemy ship!"

"Fire!"

"Mini-cruiser is turning on its side! It's a glancing hit! Confirm that the enemy has shielding of some sort!"

"Ready another—"

"Captain, fighters disappea—they're around us! They're firing missiles!"

"GARDIANs are trying to shoot them down but the missiles seem to have ECM! Ten missile impacts!"

"Shields down to twenty!"

"Fighters are scrambling away! But why—"

"Mini-cruiser is firing again!"

"Boost the shields!"

Saren growled, realizing he was probably hearing the crew's last words. He looked at Desolas. Even after having heard this already, his older brother still looked rather grim.

"—two went through! Sections thirty to thirty four are dumping atmo!"

"Sealing those sections! The enemies are too well coordinated!"

"Commander!"

"Captain?"

"Set a deadswitch. If we go down, I want all data and transmission sent to the nearest comm buoys! We need to warn the Admiral! The word needs to get to the Hierarchy and the Citadel!"

"Yes, sir!"

"He's a good Captain," Desolas commented.

Saren disagreed. If he was reading the situation right, the patrol team lost without even taking one enemy ship. How can one be good if they were losing that badly? However, he didn't say that out loud.

"Fighters are approaching GARDIAN net—they just hit us with something! High heat energy!"

"Laser at this distance?"

"No, Captain! It wasn't traveling at light speed and dispersed on impact, melting holes in the armor!"

"That… that sounds like plasma."

Saren sat up straighter, eyes widening.

"Aliens got plasma weapons? On their fighters?"

"Sealing sections twenty-seven and twenty-nine. GARDIAN sector seven is no longer active!"

"Fighters are turning around! Are they going for another attack run?"

"Sir! What do we do?"

"Captain! Your orders?!"

There was a hard hum. "How's our shields?"

"Its almost back up, Captain!"

"Direct all power to the thrusters! Charge to the mini-cruiser! We're not going to make it, men, but by the Spirits, we will not fall alone!"

"Mini-cruiser changing vector! It's charging at us, bow first! Enemy fighters are scrambling away again!"

"Be ready for enemy fire!"

"Shields have been rebooted, Captain!"

"Finally, some luck! Ready main gun! All available GARDIANs aim front! We will hit these bastard with everything we got!"

"Main gun loaded and primed! All GARDIANs are facing forward! Fire, Captain?"

"No, we get closer! We're not missing twice! Is there any heat buildup from the enemy ship?"

"No, sir—wait! High heat buildup on their main gun!"

"Too slow! Fire our main gun!"

"Firing!"

"Mini-cruiser turning hard to—ship disappeared! We can't—it's behind us! The spiritdamned ship is behind us! Its bow is aimed at our lower decks!"

"Concentrate shields there! Concentrate—"

There was silence. Saren sat still, waiting for a few more seconds before realizing that the file had finished playing. He took a breath before looking over at his older brother.

"They got destroyed," he muttered.

"Seems that way, yes," Desolas replied.

Saren flicked his fingers, his talons sliding gently along the glass until he found what he was looking for—the alien's FCP. It was separated into two files. Clicking on one, it revealed multiple images.

The XO was right. These aliens looked like asari. They had two eyes, a 'nose' as the asari and the suit-rats called it, two arms with five fingers on each hand, and that matched with the number of digits at their feet. Even the facial structure looked similar to the naturally biotic race.

Of course, they weren't completely alike. The biggest difference was the fact that these aliens were not monogendered like the asari. They distinctly had two genders. Saren assumed the ones with 'breasts', as they were called, were females, while the others that had wider shoulders and bigger upper torsos were the males. Then there was that fur on top of their heads instead of scalp crests, and instead of fine blue-purple scales, they seemed to have a wide range of coloring—from white-pink to different shades of brown.

Upon closer inspection, he realized they weren't even scales; it actually looked like unprotected flesh. Some, mostly the assumed males, had even more fur in the chin, chest, and limb areas.

The aliens looked both strange and familiar at the same time.

Saren then dismissed all the images and clicked on the second file. It was audio, a voice sample, probably a declaration of some sort. He closed his eyes for a moment, listening to the whole thing, before he glanced at the data pad with a frown.

"They sound like a mix of salarian and asari. Inflections are faster than the latter, but not as fast as the former. Their cadence matches the asari, but there are pitch differentials. A bit rougher, I'd say."

Desolas nodded. "Agreed."

Saren then checked on any other files and opened up captured images of their ships. Something at the back of his mind clicked as he saw them. His fingers danced across the screen, making his older brother look at him with curiosity.

"Got anything, Saren?" Desolas asked.

"These alien ships," Saren began, "they look like a blend of salarian and asari ships."

"Really?" Desolas asked.

"Not an exact match, but the philosophy is there," Saren replied, showing the data pad back to his brother. Displayed were two ships, one of salarian design and the other of asari, superimposed on top of each other. "It reminds me of the ocean-going vessel designs the salarians use on their ships. The pointed bow, flared outwardly. And they also have towers like the asari ships."

"Does that tell you anything?"

Saren hummed. "It tells me this alien's homeworld may be filled with huge bodies of water. The fact that their ships aren't streamlined at all, and have mounted cannons, also makes me think they are a more rugged species. A bit like the krogan. They also seemed to have experience in more conventional conflicts, which explains their military discipline, but I can also recognize some asari doctrine of hitting their enemies at their weakest point."

Desolas chortled. "You make it sound like they are a blend of different races."

Saren blinked before humming. "That might not be far off."

"I'll send your thoughts through the genfleet," Desolas replied with a smug undertone in his voice, which disappeared completely when he continued. "Maybe it will help Admiral Vinia when she launches her counterattack."

Saren looked at him for a moment. "Do you disagree with her actions?"

"I think she's acting on impulse," Desolas replied. "Captain Septimus was promoted due to her recommendation, and there are rumors that they may have been intimate."

Saren frowned. "What's the word from the Hierarchy?"

"They are leaving it to her discretion," Desolas said. "It's a lawful decision."

"However?" Saren asked.

Desolas sighed. "However, with the presence of these aliens, the Council needs to be informed as well."

"Citadel Law 11H: First Contact Law," Saren recited with a nod. "Were they not informed of this?"

"As far as I can tell, no," Desolas replied. "It wouldn't surprise me if Councilor Gladius wasn't made aware of what is going on yet."

Saren stared intently at his brother. "Why not?"

"If he was informed of the situation, he would be compelled by Citadel Law to inform the other Councilors. With him unaware, the Hierarchy will have time to move against the aliens, subjugate them, and hopefully obtain their technology that would give the Hierarchy advantage over the other Citadel races."

Saren closed his eyes for a moment, then glanced at his brother. "You mean how their ships were able to disappear and reappear elsewhere in an instant without mass effect fields?"

Desolas nodded. "I'm more interested in their hacking capabilities. The ability to disable five frigates at once? That would be a tremendous help. Then there's that mysterious appearance of their constructs, and of course, the ability to wield direct energy weapons."

"Plasma?" Saren asked.

"Correct," Desolas said. "The plasma used by their fighters. Imagine what their larger ships, or even their dreadnoughts, can fire."

Saren hummed in understanding.

"Now you can understand why the decision was mostly made," Desolas continued. "Once everything is over, the Hierarchy can make a case for giving Admiral Vinia, a highly decorated officer, the chance to reclaim the honor that her officer lost in battle while trying to uphold Citadel Law."

"While the truth is that the Hierarchy wants to obtain a new client race that would help them develop such technology before the rest of the Citadel." Saren nodded. "Those are good reasons, I guess."

"No, little brother," said Desolas. "Those are the outcomes the Hierarchy wants." He sighed. "And to reach those outcomes, we need to defeat these aliens first."

"You believe that we will lose?" Saren asked, his pitch becoming very even.

"If it were normal circumstances, no," Desolas replied. "However, there are two factors working against us. First, we are woefully lacking information about them. From what Captain Septimus was able to send, we know what their ships look like, what kind of weaponry they wield. We glimpsed their battle tactics, so that's something to work on. However, that leaves a lot of other things that we are completely ignorant about."

Saren hummed. "I see what you mean. We've only seen them in one skirmish."

"Exactly," Desolas said. "And the second reason is that time is against us. Once Admiral Vinia moves her fleet into an offensive operation, it will directly affect patrol schedules. The Citadel will take notice and questions will be asked. If the salarians and asari realize what's going on before we can subjugate them, it all falls apart. Admiral Vinia will take the fall, and I suspect that's the reason why General Oraka sent this information to anyone he could within the turian fleet."

"To take a chance that someone will send it to the Citadel," Saren guessed. "And to be able to cover himself if they do get involved."

"Correct," Desolas replied. There was a happy hum that emanated from his throat. "I'm glad you're at least aware of the politicking going around in this situation."

Saren sighed. "I don't know why you even try to educate a simple soldier like me in that regard. Isn't politics part of your job as an officer, Colonel Aterius?"

"You're an officer, too, Lieutenant Aterius," Desolas commented with a joyful twitter.

Saren hummed happily before asking, "Anyone sent the data to the Citadel?"

"Not yet, but eventually, someone will."

"Why not you?" Saren asked. "You clearly don't agree with the decisions being made."

Desolas looked at his younger brother. "Because the Ateriuses are good turians. We follow what our leaders have decided and earn our place in the Hierarchy so our children will not experience the dishonor of being barefaced."

Saren chuckled. "Maybe you will, older brother," he said. "I've heard that you're going to be promoted to a General in four years. I don't think I'll be able to reach such heights."

"Don't underestimate yourself, Saren. Admiral Sparatus seemed to be interested in your quick climb up the ranks. And if someone that well-respected has noticed, then I'm vindicated in expecting great things from you."

Saren hummed. "I'll try not to disappoint, then."

"Of course not. You're an Aterius. Now, come on. Let's forget this and see what this colony has to offer."

Clark Dobson blinked as he heard voices in the darkness. He tried to orient himself, but he couldn't even feel his limbs. Instead of panic, however, he felt liberated as he realized he could will himself towards a direction, unimpeded by the limitations of his body.

He flew toward the voices until he felt a change in the environment. The darkness faded, and he found himself in a rather large, messy room. Scattered everywhere were clothes, empty drink cans, and bits of food.

In the middle of the mess, two women sat in front of a large holographic screen. One had pink hair and wore a headband with fake rabbit ears. She was half-lying, half-sitting down in a lazy, relaxed pose; an open can of drink precariously close to her shoulder. She was surprisingly short and relatively streamlined, especially compared to her companion.

The other woman was on her knees, but did not appear to be experiencing any discomfort in her position. From his vantage point, he could see that she was quite tall, and far more womanly than her pink-haired companion. There was almost an ethereal beauty in her features; the pale skin contrasted with her silky-straight black hair.

Both were holding controllers, and the screen showed some sort of very pixelated co-op game, showing two characters seemingly attached by a length of rope. One of the characters kept falling off the platform, though, dragging the other one with it.

"Komi, bitch, take this seriously!" the pink-haired woman swore. Clark recognized her voice. It was Pippa. "We finally get some time to relax and you keep pissing me off!"

Komi giggled softly and gently, then suddenly froze stiff. She turned and looked at Clark, her eyes wide and her face turning very severe.

Fear washed over Clark, making him wonder if he had trespassed into something he shouldn't have been privy to. He froze in place, expecting Komi to stalk over to him and stab his eyes out.

"And now you're not even moving!" Pippa declared. "Why—"

She also turned stiff before turning to look at Clark. She raised an eyebrow before letting her controller go and standing up. The room turned dark once more, and only Clark and Pippa were left. After a second, he realized he was able to move again, but as Pippa slowly approached, he felt it would be a little discourteous to simply run away.

"Huh," Pippa said as she got very close, eyeing him. "You're Clark Dobson, Shoemaker's new Navigator. I'm surprised you're here. Did you fall asleep while connected in the Driftcon?"

Clark wasn't sure; that was probably what had happened, but he could not recall it completely.

"Eh, that's because you don't have full access to your brain. I'll call Nikki over; she should be able to guide you back to your terminal."

Pippa knew Nikki?

"Of course I know her," Pippa replied. "She wanted to know more about me, so we talked from time to time when there was nothing else to do. She tried to make friends with Komi, too, but as you can see, that girl is so damn shy that she'll just freeze in fear whenever she meets anyone new. And that tends to bleed over, making anyone else feel frozen in fear too."

Clark shook himself. Was that what it was? He felt as if he were being watched by some predator.

Pippa laughed. "Yeah. That happens. Why do you think I like to call her 'bitch'?" she asked. "Oh, hey Nikki. Got your human here."

"Thank you."

Clark tried to turn toward the voice, hoping to see what Nikki looked like, only to suddenly feel a jolt and find himself awake, sitting in the terminal of his cabin.

"Are you okay, Clark?" Nikki asked. "I'm sorry for not catching you earlier."

"No harm," he replied as he slowly sat up. "A little Dream-Drifting never hurt anyone. I'm surprised I got to the subordinate AI core, though. Wouldn't protocol dictate I'd have gone to the primary first?"

"Dana is busy maintaining a conference between Captain Curry, President Oaks and High Governor Carter."

At the mention of the Captain, Clark remembered what he was working on before he fell asleep. "Did I finish my work?" he asked.

"I was able to take care of the rest," Niki replied. "I had forwarded all data to Captain Curry."

Clark nodded. "Thank you, Nikki. How much longer until I'm back on duty?"

"One hour."

"I'll log in now. Get some overtime."

"Understood. I'll send your request to acting Captain Michaels. He just approved."

Clark snorted as he went to his closet. That was quick. Putting on his uniform, he traveled to the bridge and noted Curry, Michaels, and Moreau sitting at their terminals, logged into the Drift. Taking a seat at his, he waited until the login procedures were done and found himself in the virtual Bridge.

He turned his chair, looking up at the central, elevated console where the Captain was usually positioned, but blinked in confusion when he saw her wasn't there. He glanced around, noting that Tenma was virtually present, before facing Michaels and saluting him.

The older man glanced in his direction and saluted back before returning to his virtual screens, a frown on his face. Clark took his seat and began to open up the Star Map.

"Haven't seen you log in early unless it was an emergency," Moreau noted.

"Found myself awake after DD-ing to the sub-AI core," Clark replied, eyes reading through the navigation logs he missed. So far, they were still holding the same patrol formation while the science team were doing their tests on the alien frigates.

"Met our little sister, Komi?"

Clark paused, unsure how to answer that. "Memory's a bit fuzzy. Was Komi the one with black hair? Pippa with the pink?"

Moreau nodded. "Yup."

"Why is Komi the little sister?" Clark asked. "Pippa seems to fit that archetype more."

"Because Moreau is a pervert," Tenma replied.

Moreau hummed. "Hmm, am I hearing Tenma? No, that's impossible. Tenma isn't on the bridge. I must be mistaken."

"Fuck off Moreau," Tenma replied. "Just because I logged in from the armory doesn't mean I'm not here."

"Yeah, just hearing things," Moreau continued, ignoring her. "Anyway, Komi is the little sister because she reminds me of that kid that hides behind your leg when they meet strangers."

"A very tall, well-developed kid?" Clark asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Ignore what she looks like," the Ensign replied. "She doesn't have a physical body anyway, so it's really the personality that you should concentrate on." He then sighed. "Yes, Ida, I know she's older than we are, but it's the aura Komi has, you know?"

Clark frowned. "All I remember was being scared stiff when I saw her. Or was she the one that was scared stiff?"

"Probably the latter," Tenma replied. "Komi has really strong emotions that bleed out easily in the Drift."

Moreau looked around, his face showing exaggerated confusion, as if he heard something but couldn't quite make it where it came from.

"You're not as funny as you think you are, Moreau," Tenma said, rolling her eyes.

"Why are you logged in from the armory?" Clark asked.

"Because unlike a certain person, I have a job to do," Tenma replied.

Moreau finally responded to her by raising a middle finger.

She rolled her eyes. "Anyway, we got a batch of the alien infantry weapons and armor. My team and the MI guards are studying it."

"I'm surprised the Federation scientists aren't doing that themselves," Clark commented.

"Too busy with the alien ships," she replied. "They are scanning and documenting anything they find. They also took a few bodies for study as well. Their technology is interesting."

Clark looked through the logs again. "Did the science team share anything yet?"

"Not much," Michaels replied this time, stretching his arms before rubbing his eyes tiredly. "They are still gathering samples. We concentrated on improving sensor protocols first, only to realize we already had something that we could use to easily detect them."

Clark tilted his head curiously.

"Remember that exotic matter detector made in Shanxi?" the older man asked.

Clark blinked. "Huh? Yeah. What does that have to do in this situation?"

"Get this, Dobson," Moreau interjected, glancing at his terminal. "These aliens? They use exotic matter."

"Really?" Clark asked. "Like where? In their ships?"

"Like in everything," Tenma answered. "The ships, the personnel weaponry and armor? They all use exotic matter."

"That sounds hazardous," Clark muttered.

"They seem to only use a small amount on the weapons and armor," she said. "They surround it in some sort of composite material that absorbs a lot of the radiation, making it almost harmless."

"The Taiwanese could use that," Clark commented. "But why are they using exotic matter in the first place?"

"Not sure, but it's designed with a function in mind. The intact ships were more useful on that account."

"What do you mean?" Clark asked.

Tenma typed on her keyboard and sent the data to him. Opening it, he read through it. It was all the documentation and scans of the alien ships that the science team had made so far. Giving it a quick overview, he couldn't help but frown.

"What the fuck?" he asked weakly.

"I know, right?" Moreau asked.

"They put the exotic matter underneath the decks and around the hull, and then use the mass affecting properties to basically create artificial gravity inside by strategically increasing or decreasing mass in certain sections of the ship?"

"Yup."

Clark shook his head. "Seems more complicated than just using graviton."

"I don't think they use graviton," Tenma remarked. "They have no grav-plates or quantum frequency-tuners."

Clark checked on the scans again. "But they must have. Look, they're using fusion plants to power their ships."

"Not fusion plants," Michaels interjected. "Fusion reactors."

"Wait, really?" Clark asked, looking at the data again. "Oh, wow."

"Is there a difference?" Moreau asked.

"Fusion reactors require a constant supply of fuel," Michaels replied. "Without gravitons, they cannot form a stable, miniature star that continues to produce energy."

Moreau scoffed. "They sound like primitives, don't they? They got a powerplant equivalent to a pre-war gasoline engine."

The Navigator continued reading through the files. "They aren't primitives. They just work with what they have. I mean, the ship design is quite sophisticated. The power grid is complex and efficient. While they don't seem to use a lot of batteries, considering what runs their ships, it's not surprising that they don't have much use for energy storage." He frowned, cupping his chin."I'm still confused why they seem to have some sort of grounding system that doesn't seem to be part of their main electrical circuit. Or why do they have such a big crystal of exotic matter in the center of the ship for that matter."

"Leave that to the eggheads to solve," Michaels replied with a shrug. "But the fact that they use that cancerous shit in everything solved the detection issue. We already had a program that can detect exotic matter so we just applied that to our system."

The Navigator watched the GRADR Operator slump back on his seat tiredly. "That's a good thing, right?"

Michaels sighed. "It is, but when the science team first encoded it back in the Shanxi system, it was too sensitive. Do you know how much of that shit is in this system? It's almost double of Shanxi. And then we got that exploded cruiser which is spreading that shit everywhere. I've been seeing nothing more than an expanding yellow cloud on my screen, making my job harder than it should be because I don't know if what I'm seeing are new contacts or the destroyed cruiser. The only saving grace is that GRADR and LADAR is at least eliminating half of the work, but we have to keep rechecking to ensure we aren't missing anything."

"Keep at it, Acting Captain," Moreau said. "Your sacrifice won't be forgotten."

Michaels grunted before he leaned forward once more, checking on his screen.

"Michaels, can I check on the program you're using?" Clark asked. Without looking at him, the Operator typed on his keyboard and sent the data. Clark looked at it, and thought of an idea. He then internally asked his AI's opinion.

There was a slight pause before Nikki replied. "It might work. It's not perfect, but it'll definitely help sort out the data."

Clark nodded before typing on his keyboard, opening several screens to check on the intact alien frigates and the artifacts. After editing a few more lines of code, he created an isolated star map and applied the program. He smiled.

"Michaels," Clark called as he typed on his keyboard to send the new program to the Operator. "Try this."

Michaels stole a glance at him, then back at his terminal when he received the program. He instantly sat up straight when he opened it, and Clark could immediately see the reduction of the yellow glare from his screen.

"Nice," Michaels declared, looking at the Navigator and giving him a thumbs-up. "How'd you do it? I know you tweaked the values, but when we tried that earlier, it would either empty the screen or just fill it completely."

"I added a concentration factor," Clark said. "It'll just display the exotic matter grouped together in very close proximity and ignore those that are too spread out. It's not perfect since I used the alien frigates and artifact as references. It'll detect anything between the sizes of those two samples, but not anything smaller."

"Yes, but it's much better than what we have. You put your signature in the code?"

Clark blinked, only to hear Nikki say, "Yes." He repeated that, making the older man nod in appreciation.

"Good," Michaels said. "It'll at least identify your contribution if the Navy uses this program. Maybe you'll be paid extra, hopefully enough to buy us some drinks next time we're on shore leave."

"Ooh, congratulations," Tenma cheered.

"Nice, Dobson," Moreau added. "Don't worry. I know a lot of bars back home."

Clark could only blink. He wanted to ask if the program was that special when he suddenly felt someone connect to the virtual bridge. Judging by the way everyone stood up, they felt it too. They all faced the raised central platform as Captain Curry appeared. They all saluted, which she returned automatically.

"At ease," Curry declared. "Michaels, sitrep."

"No new contacts, no new anomalies. Everything's green."

Curry nodded. "Have the science team made any new discoveries so far?"

"They haven't sent anything new yet, but Navigator Dobson had a breakthrough of his own. Modified a sensor program in regards to the exotic matter, making my job easier. It's untested, but it's a promising start."

Captain looked at Clark, giving him a nod. "Good work, Mister Dobson. Michaels, ensure proper documentation of the program so the Navy can compensate him properly."

"Already ahead of you, Captain."

"Miss Tenma, I've heard we received a batch of alien infantry weapons and armor?"

"Yes, Captain."

"Have you uncovered anything about them?"

Tenma closed her eyes for a moment, before they moved rapidly beneath the eyelids. When she opened them again, she frowned. "My team, together with the Marines, are testing the weapons. There doesn't seem to be a software login or any setting options. It shoots a minuscule projectile at supersonic to almost hypersonic speeds. We're still unsure where the projectiles are coming from, but we decided to open one up to see how it works. We haven't started on the armor yet."

Curry nodded. "Document everything you find. Try not to permanently damage any of the weapons or armor because they will be the only samples we will have."

Michaels frowned. "Did the Federation claim everything else?"

"No," Curry replied. "I've just received word. Taiwan is evacuating their fleet from Shanxi. New Carolina's new fleet is still days away, but with the appearance of hostile alien forces, staying in Shanxi is now too big of a risk for their Colony Station. The Federation has agreed and are now ordering all their scientists to just grab what they can carry and retreat back to Shanxi to rejoin the Taiwanese fleet. We need to be gone from this system by tomorrow. We are to safeguard their passage and make our way back to New Carolina afterwards. Any questions? Good. Let's get to work."

Admiral Vinia looked at the map in the center of the CIC. She could see the entirety of the 17th Fleet. One hundred and fifty dots glowed on the holographic map. The two largest blips represented two dreadnoughts—the THS Valere, and her own Capital Ship, the THS Invictus.

Her Chief of Staff, Captain Daedalus, walked towards her position and saluted sharply.

Vinia returned it easily before asking, "How's the fleet, Captain?"

"All ships are accounted for and ready to be deployed, Admiral."

Vinia nodded. "Open all channels."

One of the CIC Officers piped up. "All channels are open, Admiral."

She closed her eyes, her thoughts going to Septimus for a moment, before she opened them again, her face hardening. "This is Admiral Karus Vinia. Yesterday, Captain Septimus died fighting an upstart new species. Not for glory or honor, but to uphold the law. A law put in place to ensure the safety of trillions of lives. Not just turian lives, but the lives of all living in Citadel Space. He fought bravely. He fought honorably. He fought like a turian should. And his reward was to be ambushed and killed in the emptiness of space. Our enemy holds no honor. They fight with treachery and deceit. They believe they won. We will disabuse them of this notion."

Daedalus nodded. "Well said, Admiral."

"Thank you, Captain. Now, let us depart to A4213."