Chapter 16: Revelation

On the planet Watson, at one of the black pyramid 'conversion' centers, a group of insurgents stealthily entered into the bowels of the facility. It was once a manufacturing plant, now built over by necrodermis into something far worse. This group was a local resistance cell, one of many that were steadily building in strength as Veronakh's noose around the colony tightened. Using hacking algorithms from previously observed Necrontyr runtimes along with the guards own predictable search patterns, the small group comprised of Turians, humans, and a Salarian slipped through the security. Here, they were hoping to reveal the nature of these structures to the colony to increase local support, along with sabotaging the operation in any meaningful way.

"Okay its clear...go!" A Turian with red face paint waved the group through another checkpoint as his Omni-tool finished meddling with the facility cameras and sensors. The Turian was in civilian attire but was armed with an Avenger rifle set for armor piercing. He also sent a ping which distracted the guards to check out what tripped the sensor in the nearby hall. Human men and women along with the Salarian got out from a ventilation shaft above the checkpoint and rushed across the hall to the other side. They entered into an observation room and could finally see into the main floor of the assembly lines below them via a two-way mirror that gave a wide view of the ground floor in the facility. There, the group saw the horrors of what was going on. Bodies of humans being processed into necrodermis shells.

"Oh my god..." Said one of the human women under her breath.

"Get the camera going Frieda! Hurry!" The Salarian whispered.

One of the others shook his head with a grim look on his face, "So that's what they're doing to us..."

Frieda reached into her side pouch and pulled out an old technical camera. She zoomed in on what appeared to be an assembly line of human bodies undergoing various processes. The line began moving and brought more human bodies to the next stage of the conversion process. At the start of the conversion, a seemingly unconscious human was taken by metallic claw arms and placed in restraints in the center of a necrodermis slab. The slab was held up by even larger automated machine claws and contained manacles that held the arms and shins in place. Apparently, so as to keep the body stable as work was being done. Metal tubes of various sizes came from the floor and ceiling above, embedding themselves into the victims to seemingly interface with the human nervous system and begin the process of conversion in earnest.

It was disturbing to watch the people on the assembly line seemingly come alive for a moment, limbs jerking within the restraints before slumping over once again. After a moment of this, the cables would detach and leave some kind of implants behind. Next, another slab of necrodermis was brought in with more automated claws to cover completely the body's front side and the whole combination is then tipped over with the body facing downward. With the back of the victim exposed, more cables come down from the roof, some with a black liquid that is injected into the plugs from the previous embedded cables. Others bore a silver-like substance and poured either into the mold or into the plugs as well. After another minute, the slab began to glow in various aliens patterns of green and the silver substance began to move. It was being shaped seemingly by either magnetic fields or some other unknown force that couldn't be seen by the observing insurgents. The skin of the victim was now becoming white and hair was dissolving, the organic tissue of the victim seemingly becoming more malleable from whatever was being pumped in. Then tubes and hoses from the floor arrived to begin applying more of the silver substance and drain or destroy what was left of the organic tissue. The process was repeated on many other conveyor lines all throughout the facility, potentially processing hundreds of humans.

One of the women in the group spoke up, "Then its true, just like everyone thought. They're turning us...into them."

A female Turian among the small group of six then pointed to what she was seeing off to the side of the assembly line, "Spirits... Look at that over there!"

When the male insurgent saw it he couldn't believe it. A Necrontyr auxiliary that bore a fringe and a sturdier build than the others, "Is that a-?"

"No doubt about it, that must be what they have planned for my people too.", the Turian said, scowling at the ramifications that no species was safe from conversion by these machine despots.

The newly converted Turian Pariah that they were looking at then took a double barreled Gauss Blaster from an assortment of weapons and left the sight of the group's vision, heading into the lower halls of the facility.

Then Frieda moved the camera to a disturbing scene occurring back at the previous assembly line. A human had awoke during the first stage of conversion. The man was screaming bloody murder, horribly frightened at the unfamiliar surroundings and the pain of the cables embedded in his flesh. Then a floating worm-like construct appeared, drawn by the human's crying. It had many assorted claws and appendages along its belly and an array of green tinted eyes in its head. Below said head it looked like it bore some kind of claws converted to carry tools and syringes. The man panicked more as he struggled against his restraints while the machine approached him. One claw arm grabbed the man's mouth to muffle his cries, while the others carrying the syringes injected him at several sites on his body. The human continued to struggle but his eyes began to flutter and soon his resistance ceased as the drugs took effect. After a moment the alien machine then grabbed his eyelids and forced them open, shining a light inside. Then while keeping the eyelids open, the robotic worm injected another syringe down the victim's eye, making Frieda wince. After carefully removing the syringe from the eye, the floating worm departed the area leaving the human to the rest of the conversion process.

Frieda brought down her camera visibly shaken by what had happened, "Alright, I think we've got enough footage..."

The female Turian looked to the girl concerned, "You okay?"

Tears welled up in Frieda's eyes as a pained expression came over her features, "No...fuck...this is what they did to Gregory, Valla this is what they are going to do to everyone!"

Valla brought a talon to her friend's shoulder reassuringly, "Keep it together Frieda, we still need to get out of here."

The girl wiped away her tears and nodded, "Sorry..."

Valla nodded back, "Its okay, let's go."

The six of them proceeded back out of the room and looked for their fellow compatriot who had been watching the hall earlier. However they didn't see him. Valla then looked down both sides of the hall, attempting to find her friend. She then took a breath, gathered a bit more courage and proceeded to the ventilation shaft across the hall. There she found the legs of her fellow Turian kicking out. Something was dragging him further back into the shaft from where they had come from and had him by the neck if his choked gasps were any indication.

However, the male Turian was able to get some words out to warn his friends, "Valla...its a trap! Run!"

Valla covered her mouth as she stepped back. Her Turian compatriot was gagged and pulled into the chute completely. A green eye stared back at her from the darkened passage. An alarm sounded and a door down the hall from Valla opened. A dozen Necron auxilia with weapons marched through and began making their way towards Valla who then turned to the others and said, "Run!"

The small group quickly got out of the room but the Salarian suddenly found his foot caught. Another of the worm-like drones had him and was dragging him back in, "Frieda! Help me!" The Salarian cried out before being dragged back screaming. Frieda screamed at the scene and her hand was grasped by the leader of their group, "We got to go!"

The rebels ran for the door opposite of the approaching organic-machine hybrids. The man who held onto Frieda's hand let go and activated his Omni-tool which began to hack the door lock, "Hurry Roland! They're coming!" Frieda said growing more frightened as the Necron auxilia approached.

The door suddenly opened and another group of Necrons stood before them with a converted Turian warrior at the head of them. It quickly grabbed Roland by the throat along with the other Necrons seizing various members of the resistance group. Frieda screamed and attempted to run away only to see the earlier force of security now only a few meters away. In a desperate bid to escape Frieda and a few other humans not being strangled or restrained by the killer machines, attempted to run past the security force. Many were caught in the attempt but Frieda ducked down, crawling on all fours through the mess of mechanical legs and screaming humans.

Frieda slipped through mechanical fingers and kept running down the hall. Green glowing eyes and cameras followed her along the halls, her fear now utterly consuming her, filling her with adrenaline to push her further towards escape. She turned a corner and screamed again before a skeletal hand grabbed her mouth and muffled her scream.

Veronakh was looking out from his throne onto the city of Crick's skyline through the pyramid's window while Kor'Pharas approached him from behind, "The Minister has arrived as you requested Great One."

"Ah good, Minister Williams has always been punctual. A shame what will need to be done, but such is the way of things."

Kor'Pharas stepped aside as a pair of Lychguard escorted the middle aged human to the front of the throne. There Minister Williams took a knee and bowed, "I came as quickly as I could Great One."

"Rise."

The man lifted up off his knee with a grunt while Veronakh continued, "Do you know why I have summoned you Mr. Williams?"

"You said you had news about Frieda Great One. Is she alright?!"

"She is fine for the moment...I'm afraid that Frieda however has been associating with some...unsavory elements."

Sweat started to appear on the minister's face, "I...I did not know Great One! I knew she was up to something but..."

"It is fine, you did nothing wrong Mr. Williams. This falls upon your niece and her associates alone. They entered one of our facilities unauthorized and attempted to meddle with our operations. A bothersome headache considering what we are trying to achieve here but protocol is what it is. Punishment must be given Mr. Williams, thus I have summoned for you to speak on her behalf."

The minister bowed, "I appreciate your thoughtfulness Great One. I can assure you, Frieda is just...acting out. She hasn't been the same since Gregory was chosen for a... new role within the dynasty."

The Phaeron shrugged, "I know...it is painful when loved ones are taken away for one reason or another. But it does not justify sabotaging dynasty operations."

Veronakh motioned with his hand and another pair of Lychguard appeared on the opposite side of the throne room, bringing in Frieda by her arms. Her head was hanging low, her clothes ragged and messy, likely from exposure from the elements for a long time. The guards brought Frieda before the throne and let her down carefully.

The elderly minister called out to her, "Frieda!"

The calling of her name roused the young woman from her stupor, weakly asking, "Uncle?"

"That's right I'm here."

Veronakh gave a metallic cough to regain the minister's attention, "Touching, but we must get to it Mr. Williams. Protocol demands punishment, but also allows for representatives of the accused at the very least to make their case."

"Please, I ask for leniency. She's young and her grieving has led her to...well...places that a law abiding citizen should not go." said the Minister, throwing himself on the Phaeron's mercy.

"I...know the truth now uncle...what he's doing to us."

Veronakh tilted his head towards her, his voice feigning ignorance, "Oh? What am I doing Ms. Frieda? Please tell me..."

With what meager strength she could muster, she got on her hands and knees and looked at the Phaeron with an angered expression, "You people are monsters! You're torturing and mutilating us just to turn us into your slaves!"

The Phaeron stood up straighter with a raised hand, "Ah, you mean the conversion process? Yes it is a necessary step for those chosen in order to fulfill their new role to the dynasty. To truly become more than what they are. Your niece is clearly exaggerating Mr. Williams, we do not mutilate our chosen subjects. They are an asset, we simply...remove elements that would 'impede' their duty."

The minister looked to his niece concerned, "Frieda, is it true? I knew you had left your apartment for weeks but I had no idea that-"

"God, uncle you are such a boot licking pansy! I mean I always knew you were one to kiss ass when you had to...but seeing you like this...taking this bastard's side."

"I'm trying to save your life!"

"I didn't ask you to!"

"Enough!" Veronakh declared. The Lychguard drew close to the humans, unsheathing their weapons that now glowed green.

The Phaeron now grasped his staff from his throne and his eyes grew brighter in luminosity, "Continue this bickering at your own peril fleshlings. Protocol's demands are absolute and I do not wish to waste anymore time on this matter."

Minister Williams fell to his knees, begging the Phaeron, "Great One...if punishment is what is needed to make this right. Then...let me take it in her place."

Veronakh tilted his head again, "Truly?"

"Uncle no!" Frieda exclaimed.

"It's alright Frieda."

Veronakh's eyes then turned to menacing slits, "I should warn you that the punishment for interfering with dynasty operations is quite...severe."

"I am aware." the Minister said his head now drooping, looking to the floor.

"You realize you will lose your position as well as suffer physical harm as well?"

The minister hesitated for a moment but then continued, "...Yes, and I accept your judgement."

A metallic sigh emanated from the Phaeron, "A pity...you have been very cooperative Mr. Williams. A shame your tenure must now end in such a way due to your niece's actions."

The Minister looked to Veronakh who then stood up from his throne and walked towards the kneeling human, brandishing his staff. The Phaeron stopped in front of the humans and let out another sigh saying, "You know...perhaps its time for you to drop this charade."

"...What?" the Minister meekly responded.

The Phaeron looked behind him and called out, "Minister Grubel...would you mind stepping forward?"

Coming up from behind the throne, another elderly statesman approached, "What is your will Great One?"

"Please play the recording you sent me a few days ago." Veronakh said looking once more to the accused in front of him.

The old man did as instructed, activating his Omni-tool and playing an audio file, surprisingly the Minister of Crick's voice came over the built in speaker, "Frieda! Where are you?"

Frieda's recorded voice responded, "I can't tell you uncle, I'm sorry. We have to use old equipment since the invaders pretty much have all the modern stuff tapped."

"What are you doing?"

"Getting to the truth, one bit at a time."

"You're not getting involved with those resistance cells? I told you I can only protect you for so long and if you get caught up in this-"

"Then the less you know, the better. I'm going to find out what they did to Greg and if we can get the word out then maybe-"

"Maybe what? Rise up in rebellion? You saw what happened at the riots! The Alliance can't help us, I doubt the Council could either. You've seen the Necrontyr's tech...we can't win."

"No, but we're learning and eventually we'll find a way. I love you uncle."

"Frieda wait!"

With that, Grubel turned off his Omni-tool, leaving Minister Williams shocked, "You Grubel!? Why would you-"

"Minister Grubel and I...eventually came to an understanding." Veronakh said. Then looking to the shocked girl he continued, "As for you Ms. Frieda. Did you really think that simply downgrading to lesser equipment and hiding in the woods would somehow render you invisible to us?"

Frieda's face twisted to an angered sorrowful expression and then hung low.

Veronakh looked once more to the middle aged Minister of Crick "Now then, Minister Williams, not only have you lied to me about not knowing of your niece's affiliations, you also knew that your niece was committing such wanton acts and said nothing. Such blatant lies of omission and commission... will not be tolerated."

Before Williams could even react or say anything Veronakh swiftly struck him down with the top of his staff crushing the man's skull and neck like a sledgehammer to a melon. Frieda screamed as her uncle's gore splattered onto her and the older man's body fell headless to the ground.

Scarabs quickly appeared from the nooks and crannies of the room and began to clean up the mess on the floor and on the Phaeron's person. Frieda continued crying as she watched the metallic insects swarm over her uncle's body beginning the process of rending him down.

Veronakh caught the sobbing girl's attention by hitting the end of his staff onto the floor which startled her, "We're not done yet Ms. Williams. Now it is time for you to endure your own punishment."

Frieda grimaced, "What...You're going to kill me too?"

The Phaeron shook his head, "No...in fact, I think a reunion is warranted here. Your family has already endured so much. Like your uncle said, you were driven by grief and loneliness. So I went ahead and located him for you."

The sounds of metallic footfalls could be heard coming up from behind the throne and then on the opposite side from Minister Grubel a Necron auxilia appeared, "This unit is ready to serve Great One."

The voice was robotic with a metallic flange to it but Frieda instantly recognized it and her face turned to horror, "Greg...oh god no..."

"Oh yes...in fact, the only reason you didn't join Gregory here initially was because of your ties to your uncle. Now that the tie is severed...what better way for you to improve your family's standing within the dynasty then by repaying the debt you owe me with service."

The girl fell backward, keeping herself up with one hand and backing away as the Necron auxilia that was Gregory approached her. It then grabbed her by her arm and propped her up. Struggling all the while she screamed out, "No! No, please Greg don't!"

Veronakh chortled at the display, "Take heart Ms. Frieda. At the very least you will serve me in the company of the man you love."

"Fuck you! No Greg! Please!" She screamed as the Necron auxilia continued to drag her off past the throne and down the hallway.

With that business concluded, Veronakh went to his throne and sat back down while Kor'Pharas approached once again, "Will there be any other matters to attend to today Great One?"

"Yes, I'm meeting with Du'Maat again on thoughts regarding our growing forces. While the auxiliaries have performed well in the short term, the long term is still unknown. I have some proposals to go over with him regarding new possible conscripts and engines of war."

"A worthy goal, though I have become aware that Vymark Solvatas is having difficulties with the shard Du'Maat installed within her frame recently."

"Oh? Does the Cryptek need to address the issue?"

Kor'Pharas shook his head, "No need, the problem I surmise is more of a...psychological affliction then a mechanical one. With your leave I would like to aid the Vymark. I've given such assistance to nobility in the past who were also punished in a similar fashion to your sister. I feel my experience may help expedite the integration process for her."

Veronakh rolled his shoulders and looked once more to the Crick skyline, "Well if you feel you can handle it, then you may do so Praetorian. Take as long as you need to ensure the Vymark recovers from this quickly. I need her to keep that Omega sector functional."

"Of course Great One."

The Praetorian bowed and took his leave, proceeding back towards the hall. After passing through the doors protected by Lychguard, Kor'Pharas proceeded onto an elevator where he was taken to a lower level. There a network of gates was being formed from Necrodermis blocks that moved into active positions forming a circular gate. He sent a wireless command to the gate network and a portal formed in the circular ring, becoming wreathed in green light. The Praetorian entered the gate and his form was diffused into the light. Within a split second he was quickly reformed on the other side, finding himself once again on Omega where he proceeded to send a signal to inform Solvatas of his arrival.

When Kor'Pharas finally arrived at the Vymark's chambers, he found Solvatas alone on her throne, clutching her head before noticing him, "Ah...Praetorian. Is Du'Maat with you? I could use his expertise."

"I'm afraid not Vymark. The Cryptek is indisposed with the Phaeron at the moment."

"Indisposed?! I am enduring this damnable thing that I thought would address my..." Solvatas shook her head in frustration, "I don't even know why I desired this shard. It seemingly is refusing reintegration and iterates errors constantly."

"I may be able to assist you in this Vymark."

"How could you assist me with this? Do Praetorians possess knowledge of our technology that even our Crypteks do not?"

"No, but you were not the only noble to endure this punishment from your father. I have aided others in the past whose matrices were fragmented. But I will need permission from you to proceed."

Solvatas eyes glowed a brighter green for a few seconds as the wireless commands were given, "There, you have permission. Now please, end this nuisance. I have much to do and the last thing I need is this...'headache' as the humans would no doubt call it, impeding my duties."

Kor'Pharas nodded and began his own scan of her internal network. After a moment the Praetorian emitted a thoughtful hum at his findings, "Intriguing..."

"What?"

"It would appear that your father did far more than simply relieve you of a portion of your mind."

"Such as?"

"Your entire neural matrix shows signs of complete fragmentation and rearrangement."

A diagram of Solvatas' system was then sent from Kor'Pharas. It appeared over the robotic vision of her right eye, showcasing her neural network with various points displaying in red and yellow.

The Vymark shook her head in disbelief, "How? I should have been able to detect this myself..."

"If your network was already compromised and for some time, then no doubt your sensory and self correction systems would be affected as well. Likely believing the deviations to be normal functionality. Perhaps even by your father's design."

"How would you even know that there are deviations? For all I know your scan could be off as well."

"I have...interfaced with you before. Before your mind was fragmented. I was able to acquire a scan of your previous condition and used that as reference in my current findings."

Solvatas' eyes turned to slits and her head tilted slightly indicating a degree of suspicion, "You...you knew who I was before?"

"Yes...quite well as a matter of fact."

"I don't remember even giving you the time of day in the past. You were merely amongst the many other Praetorians who attempted to advise 'dear' father."

"Indeed, but Kotorin would not heed us. Therefore we needed to find another who would listen. Thus I approached you and we did meet, many times."

Solvatas stepped back a few paces not taking her eyes off the Praetorian, "What is your game Kor'Pharas? Why now do you confuse me with these conflicting perceptions of...who I was?"

"Because you are far from the Solvatas that I remember. It is why your shard refuses reintegration. The connections between the shard of your old neural network and the current one have deviated too far. Almost akin to two separate individuals. In order to be whole once more...you must remember."

"But I can't! The memories are embedded in the damn shard!"

"Bits of data can be retrieved, even from deleted archives. I can help you garner context as we uncover them."

"You would do all of this? To gain what? To achieve the aims of the Triarch?"

"Of course...for none believed in our cause more then you."

"Me?"

"Yes...when we first met, you expressed your admiration of our goals, especially of one in particular."

A figure then began to wash over Solvatas' vision. She wasn't sure if it was Kor'Pharas sending a transmission or if her memory systems were also being affected by the problem. But over time the image became more and more focused, eventually taking the shape of a Necron Lord of mighty stature standing on a dark construction with two other Necron Lords embedded in it. The name of the construction suddenly came to her, the 'Dais of Dominion'. She had only seen it via transmissions or logs regarding...him.

"Szarekh..." Solvatas said with a hushed reverence.

Kor'Pharas nodded approvingly, "Yes Vymark, Szarekh's goals were your own once. Though from here on out, I would advise us to be cautious of what we speak of. I'm uncertain as to Veronakh's stance towards the Triarch at the moment."

Solvatas nodded and her eyes glowed, beaming out commands to initiate privacy controls for auditory data and for doors to her chamber to be sealed. A quick sweep from scarabs to check for any other form of surveillance and she looked to the Praetorian once more, "It is done."

"Then we can begin, think back to our king, Solvatas. Search for any relevant data you can about him."

Solvatas eyes glowed and then began to blink as errors began to accrue, "Damnation."

"Allow me."

The Vymark allowed the Praetorian to send more bursts of information to her mind. Taking in all the data regarding Szarekh, the Silent King. The feeding of information also stirred a connection within the shard. Kor'Pharas from his scanning could see the budding of a connector reaching out. "Reintegration Vymark...has begun."

Suddenly, as the connector within the shard reached out and connected with the greater whole of Solvatas' network, a surge of data came forth and more memories flooded the Necron Vymark's vision. Images and auditory data came in at a breakneck pace. Solvatas' eyes were blinking rapidly, her systems being overwhelmed in the tide of data that she was barely able to parse through. When it looked like she would be overwhelmed, Kor'Pharas suddenly was beside her, holding her forearm and preventing her from falling down.

"Control the flow of information Solvatas, lest you lose yourself in it."

"So much...so fast...millennias worth of data. All preserved..."

"I will be here to help you through the process, as I did in ages past. Then I will let you decide what you shall do from here on. For such is our king's will."

Shepard was quiet as Solvatas asked once again, "What would you be willing to do Commander? I hope your mind hasn't been completely shattered by the Phaeron."

"...anything." The Commander whispered.

"Speak louder please..."

Shepard hands became fists as he looked to Solvatas, "I'd...be willing to do anything. Endure anything. My crew doesn't deserve this."

Solvatas' metallic face molded to a smile, revealing that she was indeed a mere projection and not her actual chassis, "Then follow me Commander. Let us allow Miss Lawson to sleep."

Shepard nodded as Solvatas turned and entered the elevator, followed quickly by the mostly naked Spectre. They were quiet the entire way down to the crew deck, where they got off and proceeded to the starboard observation deck of the Normandy. It was still early in the morning so the crew were no doubt sleeping or still up performing menial tasks. When the two of them reached the observation deck the door closed behind them for privacy and then Solvatas spoke while looking out into the void, "I still detect apprehension despite your declaration Shepard. I understand you have very little reason to trust me, but know that this time I do genuinely wish to help you through your current circumstances."

Shepard cocked an eyebrow towards her, "Why? I got the impression you Necrontyr only cared about your own interests."

"You would be right. Let us just say that the Phaeron's interests are no longer entirely my own and that I can...empathize with your situation to a degree."

Shepard crossed his arms, "Didn't think you Necrontyr could empathize with anyone."

"The past six hours for me have been an...enlightening experience. You could say I am still coming to terms with a few things."

"So what exactly do you have in mind and how does it help my crew?"

Solvatas looked to Shepard with a serious expression, "Veronakh is currently looking for Reaper technology so as to understand its strengths and weaknesses. I believe there is a way we can achieve the Phaeron's desires, while at the same time freeing you from his control."

"How?"

"The Reaper technology itself is the key. Simply put...if I gain access to it and understand its functionality... I can use the Reaper's own ability to influence organics to free you from the mindshackle."

Shepard's eyes widened, "...You want to indoctrinate me?!"

Solvatas shook her head, "It wouldn't be indoctrination, not really. Once I understand the process, I should be able to alter it in such a way that it merely changes aspects of your nervous system's functionality."

The Commander scowled in disbelief, "How the hell does that help me, let alone my crew?"

"The mindshackle works by attaching and then synchronizing with your nervous system and forming nanite networks at key sites in your nerve bundles. Each human's nervous system is unique, dispensing information at differing rates and frequencies. If I can alter the frequency of your nervous system enough, I should be able to desyncronize the mindshackle, temporarily allowing it to be safely removed."

"What happens if its done wrong?"

"Then the nanites will self destruct, burning out your nervous system in the process. I believe your friend Mr. Messani has sadly already met that fate."

"What?!"

Solvatas then opened the palm of her hand revealing what appeared to be video footage from someone's first person perspective, "This was recently obtained from one of our sleeper agents a few hours ago."

The video was apparently from the eyes of a medical tech assisting a Salarian doctor. With Zaeed face down on a medical table, robotic arms with trays of med tools were ready to assist the doctor in the surgery of the old mercenary.

"Doctor Relius'Anatonolis here, preparing subject for examination in regards to discovery of unknown structures found within subject's body. Probing of said structures revealed them to be clusters of some kind of mechanical devices. Nanomachines hypothesized to be more than likely the cause. Will now attempt to surgically remove one of the sites or at the very least remove a portion for examination."

A mechanical arm with scalpels attached then began to carefully cut into Zaeed's flesh where the neck met the shoulders. Another arm moved in to clamp and retract both sides of the cut keeping it open so as to allow another arm to expose the muscle and bone. There the camera zoomed in to reveal the nanite cluster embedded in the bone and surrounding tissue. The Salarian doctor was using his Omni-tool to handle a third arm which then proceeded carefully into the cavity in order to remove the nanite cluster. When he began cutting into it, suddenly the nanite cluster began to glow brightly a green sickly color. Then fire erupted out of the opening with Zaeed screaming as his nervous system began to be melted down and combusted in green flame. The doctors in the room panicked and fell back away from the flailing body that then fell limp as the flames died down. When they approached Zaeed's body again, they found that every orifice and connection to his nervous system had been burnt, creating eruptions of seared flesh. What remained of Zaeed's face was that of horrible pain, his mouth slack and open, along with his eyes completely burnt out of his head.

Shepard covered his mouth and winced, "Oh god...Zaeed..."

Solvatas closed her hand ending the transmission, "There was nothing you could do Shepard, his fate was sealed once he was captured. Protocol dictates destruction of technology to deny it to the enemy, as you can clearly see."

The Commander scowled again, "There could have been a cleaner way to do that without killing him!"

"Shock and awe tends to be very effective as you well know Commander. It makes the enemy think twice of meddling with things they do not understand."

"Still though..."

"Your situation remains Shepard. This is the fate that will befall you and your crew if you do nothing. Especially if Veronakh finds out about what we are attempting."

"So I just have to have faith that everything you're telling me is the truth and just go along with your plan? Why can't you just simply turn the nanites off?"

"The mindshackle only obeys the one who commands it. In this case, only Veronakh himself has authorization to release you from it. If I attempted it now, the nanites themselves would log my attempt and expose me. The nanite's protocols dictate that only in the event of desyncronization or authorization can deactivate them. Desyncronization will buy us time, but eventually they will attempt to reboot and thus resyncronize with your nervous system again."

Shepard huffed in annoyance and looked to the side while he thought on his choice. It was still difficult to believe Solvatas' story, yet he knew Veronakh may eventually remove him once he was no longer useful. But seeing what happened to Zaeed put things into perspective. He didn't have much time.

The Necron Vymark spoke up again as Shepard still mulled over his choice, "Perhaps there is another way I can convince you that I speak the truth."

"How?"

Solvatas reached out her hand to the Normandy's window and a Necrontyr symbol appeared, "By showing you...everything. Insight into my people's history and language, something that would give you insight into Veronakh himself."

"Could be useful...I suppose, but what's the catch?"

"None, though you've already gone through something like this before with the Prothean Beacons. The collective knowledge of one race already is within you Shepard, think of where you would be in your mission against the Reapers without it. No doubt there is the potential of information overload, but I have already made the necessary pre-cautions."

The Commander crossed his arms again then sighed, "Well, nice to know I'm not just simply getting the cliff notes. But do we really have enough time to go over all this?"

"Reach out and touch the symbol Shepard. You will find that we will have all the time we could ever need."

Shepard reluctantly reached out his hand to the glass of the observation deck and touched the symbol. In an instant his vision was awash with color. The colors twisted and changed to that of a tunnel. He could feel himself being carried along it akin to being in a river's current. There was a bright light at the end of it and within what felt like seconds his vision was consumed by the blinding light.

Maius Gravinius' eyes fluttered as he began to regain consciousness. He heard the audio of a nearby holoscreen, though in his mind he was still unable to make out the words. Slowly the Turian took in his surroundings. He was out of his armor and in a hospital gown made for his race. Maius felt around his body and detected sore spots in certain places around his torso. He figured he must have had to endure minor surgery recently.

The door to his room opened and in walked Gefren holding a tray of dextro food in his hand, "Ah! The doctor said you would be waking up today! You're just in time for your lunch."

"Gefren...ugh. How long have I been here?"

The Volus set the tray down by the Turian's bed on a shelf, "A little over seven hours. Worked on you for a good four of them. Shepard apparently fractured and dislocated several of your ribs, the doctors had to reset them and treat your concussion on top of that."

Maius coughed from the pain coming from his lungs, "Great...ugh need to inform the councilor what we found. Can you get in touch with him for me?"

"Of course." Gefren said as he began to work his Omni-tool to send a message.

The Turian Spectre, now wholly awake, finally started to pay attention to the holoscreen and noticed it was a news broadcast. A male human anchor with a mustache began to speak with the title of the story called 'Unrest in the Terminus, a New Threat?', "Crisis in the Omega sector last night ended in a bloody battle aboard the notorious Omega station. While the death toll from the conflict is unknown, one of the most noted casualties is notorious pirate queen Aria T'Loak, whose death was broadcast live on the station's holonet. The organization responsible for the attack was at first believed to be an alliance of pirates and mercenaries, however our sources say that they operated under the directive of another secretive group that only now is revealing itself. Later a coronation of sorts was held and Citadel News Net's Emily Wong has more on that, along with information we have only recently received about those responsible. Emily?"

The screen then changed to an Asian woman with black hair in a pink dress with a backdrop of a newsroom behind her, "Thank you Gerald, the Citadel News Net team has been getting more and more reports and images from the Omega sector over the past several hours and the results are needless to say disturbing."

A collage of images of an elderly Asari in a blue dress along with her bodyguard was then shown on screen, "As far as we can tell, this Asari is the new self-proclaimed queen of the Omega station. Her name according to sources is Solvatas and by her appearance is believed to be an Asari Matriarch of advanced age."

Another image showed a large robot with ornamentation placing a crown upon the Asari's head along with mechanical humanoids holding various individuals hostage, "She held a kind of odd coronation that featured hostages of what we have found to be Aria T'Loak's former associates. We don't entirely know the relationship between Solvatas and this large mechanical skeleton in this image of the coronation. But based upon the body language and witness testimonies, it is believed to be the ruler of what Solvatas calls, 'The Solvatakh Dynasty'."

Mais looked to his Volus compatriot, "I'm assuming this has been going on a loop for a while."

"Yes, for the past several hours in fact and more news is forthcoming. Seems the council can't contain this thing anymore my friend."

The image on the screen then turned to Solvatas with outstretched arms before a crowd of cheering onlookers, "The new self-styled queen of Omega after her coronation gave a speech that seemed on the surface to inspire the crowd. But when one considers the hostages and the lockdown of the station, it is more likely that the people there acted more out of fear of retaliation then with genuine enthusiasm. Solvatas has also said she will be re-negotiating terms and conditions of contracts as well as seeking to curb criminal activity on the station. Whether or not it is mere political theater or a legitimate proclamation, we will have to wait and see. In an inquiry to the Asari Republics about any other information regarding the Asari Matriarch, nothing has been verified. The Republics' representative said that at this time, there is no Matriarch known to the Asari as Solvatas."

Another collage of images followed, this time of the various mechanical humanoids now running checkpoints throughout the station as well as showing them beat down dissenters, "Rule under the dynasty can thus far be described as dystopian, evidenced by the various checkpoints from these mechanical androids. They seem to be the main stay of the Solvatakh Dynasty's forces and their full capabilities are unknown. Security experts tell us that another army of machine soldiers, with even more advanced weaponry than the Geth, has many military commanders throughout Council space alarmed."

While the screen changed over to a Turian security analyst, a chiming sound from Gefren's Omni-tool was heard, "Ah its Sparatus! That was quick."

Maius then muted the holoscreen using a remote on the other side of the bed, "Considering whats going on, I'm not surprised."

The Volus pressed holographic buttons on his Omni-tool and brought up a vid stream that connected the Turian councilor Sparatus, "Gravinius! Good to see you awake. I presume you've seen the news?"

The Turian Spectre nodded, "Yes sir, I'm sorry I couldn't get a handle on it sooner."

The Councilor shook his head, "It may not have even mattered, certainly wouldn't have prevented Omega station and by extension the entire Omega sector from falling into their hands."

"So it's confirmed that this, 'Solvatakh Dynasty' is responsible for Veridine and Sigurd's Cradle too?"

"Highly likely and they've now added a critical relay from the entire Terminus Systems Relay network among their latest acquisitions."

"Do we have a plan of action sir? At this rate Solvatakh's influence could grow exponentially throughout the region."

"I'm going to be having a meeting with my fellow Councilors today. Before that, I need any information you can give me in regards to the incident regarding Shepard yesterday."

Maius attempted to sit up straighter in his bed, "Right...well...initially I came to the Citadel to investigate a tip that Shepard had been sighted in the area. I followed up on it and hit a dead end before I found another lead."

"What kind of lead?"

"I've been seeing odd sightings of individuals with a green shimmer to their eyes at multiple locations. At first I thought it was some kind of local fad but on cameras from C-Sec HQ I noted another individual with a green shimmer to their eyes walking around the site of the incident. I got a bad feeling, so I decided to check the covert data center nearby to make sure. That's when I encountered Shepard disguised as a guard."

Sparatus brought a talon to his chin, "Do you have any idea what he was looking for?"

"I can venture a guess, but I don't know the content of the data stored at the site."

"While I can't go into details over this channel, I can tell you that Spectre data was at that site."

Maius cocked a scaled brow, "I thought the Council prefers to keep a hands off approach to Spectre operations? That details about the missions are left to the Spectres to report themselves?"

Sparatus looked to the side for a moment before answering, "Not entirely true, we do maintain some records. Though now we are moving the data from that site and disseminating it to multiple locations."

The Turian Spectre sighed and shook his head, "So Shepard now has critical information on the Spectres..."

"That he has no doubt passed onto whoever was his handler during that heist."

Maius brought a talon up and scratched the side of his face thoughtfully, "Okay...well I'll admit that at first I thought it was Cerberus that was backing his operation. It made sense to me, I mean we all knew about his Cerberus ties. But with this Solvatakh Dynasty...it may explain what I saw back at that warehouse."

"What happened?" Sparatus asked.

"As you know we cornered Shepard and his team at a warehouse after chasing them to that residential block. We took casualties on entry and I cut off his escape which forced Shepard to try to reach the roof. At the fourth floor I fought Shepard hand to hand and thought I had him pinned. Then suddenly he hit me with a force which was...inhuman. He was hitting me like a damn Krogan! He turned and showed his face...it was that green shimmer tuned to eleven. His eyes glowed and there was...darkened veins around them. I mean it could still be whatever Cerberus put into him, but the way he talked...I-I don't think it was him."

The Turian Councilor now was getting more disturbed, "Someone was controlling him?"

Maius nodded, "Yeah...had to be, his voice was different too. Almost sounded like...a machine? Like out of a vid involving killer robots. Cerberus could still be a part of it too but...would they really side with these dynasty guys, being so anti-alien?"

"Hard to say with Cerberus, after all they supposedly brought Shepard back to life and were even helping him recruit aliens into this team. However, as for your claims involving those officers being Cerberus operatives, we did do some digging and found evidence that they did have ties." Sparatus said crossing his arms.

The Spectre's talon turned into a fist in vindication, "Then that proves it! Cerberus and this Solvatakh Dynasty are working together to upset the balance of power in the Terminus."

"But if that is the case, what's their endgame? Why would Cerberus want to aid an alien race bent on possibly subjugating the galaxy?"

"Sadly, beyond what we just talked about I don't have much else for you in that regard sir." Maius said shaking his head.

Sparatus closed his eyes and sighed, "I see...well, you've certainly given me and quite a few of my colleagues much to discuss Maius. Focus on recovery for now and I'll have more for you once you and your team are discharged from the hospital."

"Once I am discharged sir, am I to continue my mission to hunt down Shepard?"

The Councilor nodded, "Yes, though now with what you've told me, I feel we can update the mission parameters. With the evidence provided by witnesses, vid logs, and your testimony, it may be time to 'take you off the leash' as it were."

Maius grinned, "So...you're thinking its come to that eh?"

"If what you've told me is correct than Shepard has clearly been compromised by a hostile alien force who has also violated the security of the Spectres and by extension the Council. Spirits willing, we can get his Spectre status revoked and then you can bring him in, by whatever means necessary."

The Spectre nodded approvingly, "Dead or alive...about time."

"I'll get back to you soon, until then rest well Maius." Sparatus said concluding the call and pushing a button on his desk to end the stream.

Gefren deactivated his Omni-tool as the call ended, "Maius...do you really think killing Shepard is necessary?"

Maius looked to his friend scowling, "Damn right I do! Especially after everything he and his cronies did..."

Gefren sighed and shook his head, "Bad business...all of it. Seeing a hero fall so far...then having to be the ones to execute him."

"Whether it was his choice or not, regardless he betrayed the Spectres and the Council. Hell, he may even want us to take him out if he's truly being controlled. I can't imagine him wanting to live like a slave."

"Maybe there's a way to reverse what happened to him?" Gefren asked.

Maius grimaced and then shook his head at the idea, "There might be, but he may also be too far gone. We'll deal with that as it comes."

"Not everyone on the team may like the idea of having to uh..." Gefren said, not wanting to name names.

The Spectre rolled his eyes, "To kill a legend? Let me guess, its Kusko right? I remember he made it very clear he wasn't going to kill anyone."

"Yes."

"Well next time we have a meeting, I'll tell him he wouldn't have to be the one to pull the trigger. Otherwise he can go back to Omega where we found him. I hear Solvatakh has done quite a bit of redecorating around there. Who knows, maybe they could even put a hypocrite like him to use."

"A hypocrite?"

Maius crossed his arms, "A Drell with those skills swearing not to kill, hah! Please...I've been around this galaxy a few times. I know a former Drell assassin when I see one. I'll respect his reasoning for choosing not to kill anymore, hes a pretty good fighter. Otherwise if he doesn't have the stomach for what needs to be done than I'll give him the option to walk away with a fraction of the payment if he wants."

Gefren looked downcast to the floor, he was not pleased with seeing his friend eager for blood, "I understand your desire for retribution, but don't let it blind you from what-"

The Turian put up a raised talon to cut his friend off, "Gefren please...I'm not an idiot. We'll only take Shepard out if he insists on it, but considering everything, more than likely we'll have no choice. Go check on everyone and update me on their status. Like the Councilor said, we just need to rest and recover for now."

The Volus sighed and began to walk out of the room before turning and looking back, "Well, I suppose I better check on the others. I will see you later friend."

Maius waved him off as he went ahead and unmuted the holovision while taking the food tray and placing it on his lap. Gefren left the room but shook his head, as he went down the hall.

The light was overwhelming, but was gradually lessening. Eventually he could finally see a kind of horizon from where the light was coming from. Shepard looked down to find he was standing upon dirt ground as the light continued to fade. It soon appeared as a bright star in a night's sky above. He felt a presence nearby and turned to see a humanoid feminine alien, tall with grey skin, in an ornate blue dress with long limbs and purple lips approaching him.

"...Solvatas?" Shepard asked with a raised brow.

The alien nodded, "Indeed Shepard."

"I assume this is what you used to look like."

"Yes, I'm one of the few Necrontyr who can recall their former self...with a modicum of accuracy and a few embellishments."

"Where are we?"

"You are in a digital space I've constructed within my own neural network to act as a bridge between our minds. It was necessary in order to exchange data between your organic mind and my operating system. An advantage of this space is while we are here, you can be imprinted with centuries of data within the span of a mere hour."

The Vymark looked to the starlit sky and stretched out her arms to the heavens. The stars began to shift and seemingly were pulled to her hand. She took her other hand and quickly cupped both hands over the gathering stars. When she opened her palms again a solar system appeared. She lifted the system above them where it expanded out showcasing the details of the planetary orbits and the star itself. Solvatas' hands returned to her sides and she looked to Shepard.

"Behold Shepard, my people's home system."

Shepard looked at the system, scanning for anything similar to what he had seen before and shook his head, "...I don't recognize anything familiar from what I've seen in the galaxy."

"You wouldn't find it Shepard...for my people are not native to this place."

"You're extra-galactic?"

"Yes...but not in the way you expect. The humans from our galaxy also called it the Milky Way. So far as I can tell based upon our data and the histories from this galaxy's peoples, we have come from an alternate universe of the same Milky Way galaxy."

"That explains a few things. Especially if you also have humans from where you come from."

"The humans there are a far cry from your own. However, we shouldn't be distracted with irrelevant topics."

Shepard nodded as the solar system above them zoomed in on a planet in the 'Goldilocks' zone. The star of the system looked similar to Sol but seemed more luminous and looked to be giving off a lot of solar flares. The planet in question seemed to be a barren world with limited oceans around the polar and equatorial regions.

Solvatas continued, "My people, the Necrontyr, evolved on a nearly life-less world in the shadow of a fiery sun, that constantly unleashed solar flares and radiation storms."

The system then disappeared, the landscape around them began shifting and changing. Other aliens like Solvatas appeared around them as tribals surviving the harsh desert conditions.

"Our sun was a cruel thing. It may have given us the heat of life, but the radiation from it rendered our lives short and painful. Cancer was rife among us. In fact we rarely lived beyond thirty to forty years."

Shepard walked up to one of the desert dwellers and saw an aged one among them, afflicted with sickly boils and swollen tumors on its body, causing the Commander to wince at the sight. Then the surroundings changed again, the desert dwellers replaced by a city that was beginning to look more like what Shepard had seen of modern Necrontyr architecture.

"Thankfully, our world was rich in mineral resources and eventually we were able to erect our mighty tomb cities that stood in defiance of the elements. Even with our short lives we made the most with the time we did have, our monuments showing what the dead accomplished in spite of our painful existence. Eventually over time and through bloody struggles, our world would finally unite under the rule of the Triarch, where we eventually began to reach out towards the stars."

The scene changed again, showing Necrontyr medical technicians seemingly studying an elderly member of their species as Solvatas continued, "As our technological prowess grew, we attempted to enhance our physical bodies to be able to extend our quality of life. Though the project helped solve the cancers and other ailments that afflicted our aging bodies, even with minimal restrictions on testing and methods, we failed to extend our lives beyond our forties."

Shepard cocked an eyebrow towards the Vymark, "Even with all your power you still couldn't extend your lifespans?"

"Yes, eventually after enough failures the Phaerons and the Triarch grew tired of wasting resources on the project and eventually dropped it. We simply had to accept our horribly short lives. You can imagine it made us even more bitter as we encountered other races who could live much longer than we could. Especially one in particular."

The city blew away like the desert sands, replaced with the image of a primitive Necrontyr ship journeying to nearby planets. Eventually the surroundings shifted to a more modern setting, of humanoid Necrontyr living in a metropolis alongside some kind of alien servants. They came in a variety of sizes and shapes, waiting on their masters every need when called upon. Shepard crossed his arms at the display and shook his head.

"Why am I not surprised. Your kind were slavers."

"It was considered an honor to be a servant of the dynasty. Our race was the first among the species of our galaxy to travel through space. Our power and technology were mighty even in those times. At the very least within Solvatakh, we did not treat our servants as disposable refuse like others did, they were an investment."

Shepard looked at Solvatas with a scowl on his face, "But still tools with no say in where to go or what to do I imagine."

"Of course. They were primitives who had no idea of the greater galaxy around them until we came to their systems. These creatures were among many others whom we brought into our vast empire to serve us. Such is the right of those who were the first to span the stars."

The scene changed again to what appeared to be a first contact diplomatic meeting between the Necrontyr and another race that had amphibian and reptilian traits, "The Sla'Geroi, a race that could seemingly live for thousands of years and had been blessed with power beyond our understanding of technology. We had come to them for trade and to exchange knowledge, for rumors persisted that the Sla'Geroi had discovered the secrets of immortality. As one could imagine, they were just as arrogant and pompous as we and refused to share such secrets with whom they considered to be 'unenlightened cretins'."

The diplomatic exchange quickly turned to that of a space battle in an unknown system. Necrontyr ships exchanging fire with enemy vessels bearing smooth yet jagged designs.

"That insult was all it took for us to declare them rivals and go to war. But we underestimated our new foe. For they could draw devastating power from another alternate reality."

The images changed again to that of Sla'Geroi troops unleashing lightning from their hands while wreathed in some kind of field of energy, "You humans would inevitably call it the Immaterium or the Warp. The Sla'Geroi and the races they would eventually come to cultivate, were born with minds who could have a connection to this reality and use its energies in various ways. From levitation of objects, to the forging of unique materials, and even unleashing storms of power in differing elements. Our foe's abilities baffled our scientists and military commanders alike."

A top down view of the galaxy appeared to Shepard and he watched highlighted territories of the Necrontyr being pushed back. A new alien symbol, which he presumed to be the Sla'Geroi, invaded further into their territory, "Our empire was driven back, despite our best efforts. The war pushed us to develop even more devastating weapons of war and mighty warships. Yet still, the power of the Sla'Geroi continued to dominate us in the grand strategic sense as well. We surmised it was due to the divination abilities that they were also said to possess, outmaneuvering our fleets and predicating our movements. The defeats shattered our people into bickering and infighting, resulting in wars of secession that further crippled our empire. Our people needed a game changer, something that could match the power of these 'psykers' and once more unite us against our common enemy."

The environment around Shepard changed to that of a Necrontyr laboratory with scientists looking at scans of stars with some kind of energy field surrounding them, "We too looked for the answer in higher planes of existence and alternative dimensions in physical reality. In so doing we accidentally discovered the source of our star's instability. In our region of space that your kind called the 'Halo Stars', many stars were found to be covered in some kind of energetic bodies of particles. These particles were in another plane of existence on top of our own and probes revealed that these energy fields comprised of them were actually a part of a vast creature, made up entirely of energy."

Shepard watched the laboratory change to that of Crypteks and scientists creating a large body formed of chrome-like metal, "We believed we could utilize these beings to defeat our enemies, for the potential power of the creatures literally was that of the stars themselves. If properly harnessed, they could be more than a match for the Sla'Geroi and their pysker pet races."

The Commander watched as the chrome giant suddenly was flooded with power and then went on a rampage, seemingly sapping the very essence out of the surrounding Necrontyr. "Unfortunately our first attempts ended in chaos, the beings simply devoured the energy of all nearby life forms forcing us to destroy the creature's bodies. However, we were eventually able to adapt and prepare the necrodermis shells appropriately in order to deal with the being's... voracious appetites."

The scene shifted to that of the metal giants looking down and seemingly communicating with the Necrontyr, "Finally we had a breakthrough and managed even to communicate our wishes and desires to them, which surprisingly the alien beings agreed to."

The images reformed onto a battlefield, showcasing a Necron army supported by one of the mighty metal giants, its power in full display and annihilating platoons of enemy soldiers, "We came to call them, C'tan, the Star Gods. With the power of the stars themselves behind their abilities, they could channel energies and weaponry that not even the Sla'Geroi with their unnatural powers could defeat easily. The giants even fed upon the energies of our foes, growing even stronger with every victorious battle."

A galactic map showing the two empires territory was displayed again, showing the Necrons making gains against their enemy, "With the aid of the C'tan we drove our enemy back into their territory. Claiming world after world and feeding a portion of the defeated to our creations. The Sla'Geroi soon became desperate to drive us back and thus created their own secret weapons in turn."

A large green and muscular bipedal creature appeared before Shepard. He stepped back with his jaw dropping at the sight of it. It stood at nine to twelve feet tall and bellowed a mighty warcry from its massive under-bite jaw. Shepard covered his ears as the green behemoth roared, "WAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHH!" An advanced horned helmet suddenly covered its face and its body was then sheathed in a spiked armored hardsuit. It threw itself at the foe in front of it with energy weapons and built in blades in the armor's forearms. Other variances of the creature appeared beside it, some using an advanced form of two handed energy axes while bearing shoulder mounted rocket launchers. But a great majority of them flanking the larger ones looked more like common infantry with spiked armored plates covering their vitals while carrying brutal-looking rifles. They all roared the same warcry as their larger kin and unleashed themselves on the Necrontyr armies in the thousands, firing their weapons as they charged.

Solvatas continued as the scene played out before Shepard, "The Krork...a barbaric race of brutes built for only one purpose, to wage war upon us. Their power is drawn from their subconscious gestalt psionic field, providing intuitive instruction as well as making them more powerful the more of them that are in close proximity to each other. Not only that, they reproduce via fungal spores that infect the planets they are unleashed on. Even after defeating an army of them, unless the planet is cleansed of the spores another army of Krork, albeit with primitive weapons, would eventually rise again. They pressed upon our frontline in the millions, while another race uplifted by the Sla'Geroi assailed us in the sides and rear."

The Krork army dissipated and was replaced by warriors in slender colorful armor of various shades with menacing red eye lenses on their elongated helmets. They were apparently infiltrating and raiding a Necrontyr base as Shepard watched, with the commander of the raiders impaling a Necrontyr leader with a sword wreathed in lightning.

Solvatas voice spoke of these luminous beings with a bit of venom, "The Aeldari...the Sla'Geroi used them to raid and assassinate our commanders and leaders while wreaking havoc on our supply lines. They were fleet of foot with powerful psionic abilities. They could live for thousands of years as well, carrying with them experience and potent divination from their Farseers. This also made them arrogant. Their pirate ilk especially mocked our efforts to pin them down like the vermin they were. But when we did, we made sure they suffered greatly, for Aeldari felt emotion and sensations far more than other races. A fitting end considering they took pleasure at our expense."

A galactic map once more appeared, showcasing the Necrontyr lines being pushed back and then stabilizing; ebbing back and forth with their various enemies, before revealing an ornate Necrontyr standing upon a dais, flanked by two others.

Solvatas continued, "The war was once again turning into a stale mate. After generations of warfare our people were tiring of the Triarch's lack of progress, with Phaerons falling once more into secessionist bickering. The Silent King of this time was Szarekh, along with Hapthatra the Radiant and Mesophet the Shadowed Hand who advised and spoke for the king. We were facing our people's doom once more despite all of our efforts. It was at this critical time, that one of the C'tan themselves spoke to them..."

Shepard watched as a metal giant appeared before the three Necrontyr lords. This being however, was far different from the ones he had seen before. It had a bipedal body covered with a flowing sheet of metal that flowed amidst itself like a blanket. Its head was elongated upwards with four horns coming out from the sides that curved inward behind its head. It wore a smile as it seemed to speak with whom the Commander presumed was Szarekh.

Solvatas' narration continued, "Mephet'ran, the C'tan who would later become known as 'The Deceiver'. He had come before the three with a proposal. One that he claimed would end the pain and suffering of our short lives and give us victory over the Sla'Geroi or 'Old Ones' as their pet races began calling them."

The scene of the discussion was replaced with Necrontyr seemingly bending the knee before the C'tan who now were changed into more than just bipedal forms. Some had seemingly become quadrupeds, taking the shape of strange animals. Others had humanoid forms but were now radically altered, bearing more divine shapes akin to gods of death or oddly angelic beings.

"Over the centuries, the C'tan's influence over my race expanded to the point where many had come to consider them true gods. Cults sprouted up all over our empire, incorporating into our traditional religions that the C'tan were the true offspring of our god of death. My people fell into the belief that sacrificing lives was paramount to truly receive their godly favor. Our own creations took advantage of my people's desires and even changed their shapes to inspire more worship of them, which in turn provided more energy for them to consume."

The scene of the Triarch talking with the strange humanoid C'tan appeared again, "Amongst the C'tan, Mephet'ran would become the most notorious. For he was the one who proposed that the only way to defeat our enemies would be to sacrifice my species organic forms and ascend into new metallic bodies. At this time Mephet'ran's true nature was yet to be known and for the Triarch there was no precedent set to disbelieve the Star Gods. It had been theorized a long time ago by our research that such a feat the C'tan suggested was possible, but it had been dismissed as madness by a previous king generations ago. Now, however, with our empire in such dire straits, Szarekh would actually consider the idea."

Shepard watched as Szarekh and the other members of the Triarch now stood before a council of Necrontyr lords and advisors, "Our king took the proposal to a meeting of Phaerons that would heed the call of the Triarch. The prospect of potential immortality appealed to many, my father Kotorin among them. However, Orikan, our king's royal astrologer advised caution. For he had divined that though such a path would bring a renaissance of glory to our empire, the heart and soul of the Necrontyr would be lost forever. Orikan's message was laughed at by many in the court, for the power and potential benefits were simply too great by many Phaerons to ignore and the Triarch agreed."

Screams began to sound as the area around Shepard turned to a horrifying scene. The familiar sight of Necron Warriors rounding up and carting Necrontyr away upon their hover craft or 'Ghost Arks' amidst a Necrontyr city in flames, "At first they started with those that volunteered, then as more and more Phaerons were converted, the process simply shifted to rounding up our own people to take to the fires of biotransference. Resistance against the Phaerons was attempted by the people but by then the ascended Necrontyr were simply too strong. Eventually all would be harvested...including myself."

Solvatas' head hung low as the memory of herself being grappled by metallic Necron warriors played for Shepard. She was taken to a chamber in some kind of Necrontyr facility, but she could hear the screaming through the walls and it obviously was terrifying her. Shepard witnessed Solvatas struggle against being put into a kind of sarcophagus. She was halfway in struggling against the machines when she cried out, "Please father! Don't do this I beg you!"

Then she saw him, a large Necrontyr in elaborate ornamentation and stature, now as a skeletal android. Perhaps it was due to the connection via the memory, but Shepard could literally feel Solvatas' heart sink upon witnessing her father who then said, "Do not fret child. Soon you too will experience this freedom. To be free from disease and decay, to be free from death itself!"

"I do not want this!"

"Only because you do not understand...but soon you shall..."

Solvatas was finally overcome by the android Necrontyr who then sealed her into the sarcophagus. Metallic tendrils then restrained her while another embedded itself into the back of her skull. She screamed in pain as she felt the tendril send metallic threads into her brain to transfer her consciousness, while the present Solvatas continued to narrate, "The process to convert us had become all about efficiency and expedience. There was little care for the subject's emotional or physical well-being. After all once the conversion was complete, emotions and feelings would be irrelevant."

The sarcophagus soon became flooded with a gas. Solvatas felt her body become wet all over, possibly from the gas interacting with her skin. Then what looked like the tips of primitive Gauss Flayers unveiled themselves within the chamber and fired into Solvatas' body. Solvatas screamed out in agony as her body burned and turned to a gas that was then siphoned through a tube underneath. Even the Commander through the connection with the Vymark felt the burning going through his own body causing him to fall to his knees and grit his teeth. When the memory finished ending with Solvatas vision being engulfed in sickly green light, Shepard gasped, taking a few breaths to recover when he looked to Solvatas with a pained expression, "Holy shit..."

The present Solvatas' body then shifted, melting away into her android appearance, "I suppose that's one expression for it. It was...a memory that even after all these eons...I can recall with perfect clarity."

"I'm surprised any of you remained sane after something like that."

"Yes...well." Solvatas looked to her side as the landscape changed to that of colossal Necrontyr buildings with billowing smoke coming from ventrices along their pyramid shapes. Outside the C'tan had pipes fitted into their bodies and they seemed to be breathing in the green gas. They shook with every deep breath almost as if they were in a euphoric state like one high on a drug, "There were a few who went mad shortly thereafter. But most, including myself were able to adapt to our new shells. Our common people were subjected to even cruder processes, burning in colossal furnaces to slack the thirst of the C'tan."

Shepard stood back up and once more his surroundings shifted to an assembly of Necrons, all in formation in the thousands standing before a Phaeron with a staff raised high.

Solvatas continued maintaining a solemn tone, "Before the Phaerons could even enjoy a modicum of their new found immortality, the command signal was then sent to all of us. It was designed to suppress our higher thought processes and impede our capacity for independent thought. Noble and commoner alike were repurposed into weapons of war...to be slaves to our C'tan masters. We realized too late that these eternal metal forms, were a trap."

The images changed to that of the Triarch, now in their necrodermis bodies.

"The command signal was sent by Szarekh himself, high on the pleasures of his newfound body and encouraged by the C'tan. But when he did so, connecting with each one of us, seeing through our eyes and detecting our mind's thoughts and memory processes...he realized what we had done to ourselves. Thus Orikan's prophecy had come true."

Then an unfamiliar voice that Shepard assumed was Szarekh spoke, "Oh gods...what have we done?"

Szarekh's face hung low as legions of Necrontyr warriors marched before him, "Even though there was an end to our infighting and the immortality was most welcome...Szarekh now saw and felt the gnawing emptiness within himself and his subjects. Minds slowly succumbing to calculating machine logic now freed from flesh, he knew that there was no turning back. Thus our king committed himself to finishing what had been started."

The surroundings changed to various scenes of war and carnage; the Necrontyr unleashed with their Star Gods in a flurry of green energy beams and explosions. They fought Krork, Aeldari, and Sla'Geroi with the familiar weapons that Shepard had seen previously in his battles with them. Necrontyr soldiers of various types, melting down many roaring greenskin warriors in massive volleys of fire. A Krork in one scene unleashed its energy axe and smashed through a whole row of Necrontyr before being gunned down and atomized by Gauss Flayers. There, Shepard witnessed the Necron bodies disappear and reappear in a new location, where they were reconstructed and assembled within a kind of repair complex, "With our new 'shells', we had become truly deathless. For our warriors would simply be remade within our tomb complexes. Despite the mental damage over time this caused the rank and file soldier, defeat simply became a mere inconvenience and our masters drove us onward continuously to slay all before us."

Shepard saw another memory of Solvatas herself, now brandishing a war scythe, cutting down multiple Aeldari opponents attempting to assail her, "Our new bodies gave us so much power, yet if there was any enjoyment of this glory...I felt little if any. For we no longer had the souls left to experience such things. There was only the routine of war and the harvest. For our god's appetites only grew more voracious."

The Vymark finished off her opponents and her warriors unleashed their Gauss Flayers upon the defeated Aeldari. Then the memory played a scene of Necron warriors and immortals injecting their weapons into a construction with tubes feeding into a nearby C'tan. The Star God shivered as it 'inhaled' and then exhaled out a green noxious gas, "Our weapons do not just simply destroy our enemies Shepard...they also were quite effective at harvesting the very essence of organics. The C'tan had turned us into reapers, with all organic life a crop to scythe away."

Shepard continued to stare at the scene and slightly shook his head, "My god...I can see why Veronakh found the Reapers to be..."

"Much like ourselves...yes." Solvatas interjected.

Shepard looked to the Vymark, "But...you were able to get free? How? It seemed to me like the C'tan had gotten everything they wanted and had conquered the galaxy."

The noble Necrontyr shrugged, "For the most part yes, there were still holdouts and the Krork were always relentless. But the Sla'Geroi had been hunted to extinction, destroyed either by us or by calamity as a result of the overuse of their own powers. The Aeldari slipped away but continued a shadow war against us."

"So how did your slavery to the C'tan end?"

"The same way through which it had begun. The C'tan themselves..."

Shepard's left eyebrow perked up showing his confusion but he continued to listen, as images of Mephet'ran and other C'tan appeared before him all embroiling in combat with one another.

The Vymark's narration continued on, "I had heard stories from others of my kind after we gained our freedom. They said that the Deceiver had spread a rumor among its fellows that it had tasted the essence of a defeated C'tan. Claiming its kin was even more appetizing then anything it had ever consumed. Others say with no enemy left to fight, the C'tan being built simply for war, fought each other for the remaining scraps of life in the galaxy. Whichever story you believe, in the end our gods waged war upon each other once the Old Ones were defeated."

Szarekh appeared among the images, a hand to his chin watching the fighting, "It was this, that gave our Silent King an opportunity. He knew when the C'tan were at the height of their power rebellion was impossible. But now with madness and strife weakening the C'tan, all the millennia of patiently waiting had finally come to fruition."

The Silent King then stood before a legion of his people his fist raised high on the Dias of Dominion, proclaiming, "The time has come my people! We will take back what is ours and punish our creations who dared deceive us! I promise you all...the Necrontyr shall reclaim what is truly ours and NO ONE shall take it from us again!"

Shepard found himself surrounded by Necron warriors all firing their weapons against one of the metal giants. But with a powerful sweep of its hand a whole swathe of Necrontyr were crunched into metal parts via some kind of magnetic field manipulation.

Then the Commander witnessed more of those cyclopean type Necrontyr building some kind of device. While the warriors were trampled upon by their former master, the cyclops Necrontyr activated the device and suddenly the giant recoiled in pain, confused as to what was happening. Then the same power that had crushed the Necrons turned inward onto the C'tan itself crushing its own chest. Then the Necron forces seized the advantage. Mechanical spider support firing energy beam weapons along with the warriors that remained. They began carving the giant into pieces where the cyclops Necrontyr once more fell upon them and unleashed devices to seemingly seal them.

"Throughout the galaxy, the weakened C'tan were assaulted by our dynasties. Though their bodies were made of necrodermis and they would inevitably regenerate, our mastery of technology and the C'tan's weakening from their civil war allowed us to develop countermeasures. We broke them into shards and sealed them within Tesseract Labyrinths. Devices that could seal objects or creatures within an alternate reality untouched by the affects of time."

In another scene that appeared before the Commander, some of the giant C'tan took on entire legions of Necrontyr warriors and trampled their tomb complexes. Then large Necrontyr pylon weapons from many kilometers away unleashed orbs of lightning-infused energy into the C'tan. The weapons seemed to break through some kind of field surrounding the giants before a Necrontyr ship unleashed its furious energy beams upon them from above.

Solvatas narrated once more as the scene ended, "Not every C'tan could be captured in such a way. Some were destroyed utterly by our firepower, but in so doing we unwittingly unleashed several logic plagues upon ourselves."

Several Necrons appeared in front of the Commander. One was covered in gore, bone, and flesh, its gray body smeared in blood and guts. It had bladed fingers caked in sliced bits of meat and the android twitched, jerking in its bodily movements.

"The Flayed Ones. Llandu'gor the Flayer, was the Star God that 'blessed' us with this curse. One of the few we could not contain and in his death he emitted and broadcasted a virus that has now permeated throughout the collective matrices of our people. Even amongst our lower caste warriors this virus can emerge and spread through a dynasty unnoticed. It causes the afflicted to kill indiscriminately in a vain attempt to feed on blood and flesh or wear them on its own body. Being a machine we have no need to feed on organic substances, but it doesn't stop the Flayed Ones from trying. They are beyond sanity and reasoning at that stage of infection. We often have to use targeting emitters or beacons to lure Flayed Ones to our enemies and to keep our distance. This plague is especially abhorred by the nobility for obvious reasons. It is why we have to be vigilant in monitoring the mental faculties of our kind, lest our neural matrices become corrupted."

The other Necron before the Commander hovered over the ground, with half of its body converted into a large hovercraft with its android upperhalf on top significantly modified. It bore a large Gauss weapon where its right arm used to be with a modified targeting system installed on its face.

"I am uncertain whether this other mental affliction was from any specific C'tan we destroyed or was merely embedded programming from our biotransference itself. Regardless the result is the same, a Necrontyr succumbing to madness from a virus causing nihilistic apathy for all life. Thus creating the Destroyers. This affliction typically appears amongst either the nobility or our former professional soldiers, such as the Immortals, Lychguard, and even our own Deathmark assassins. They see life as to be utterly destroyed leaving nothing behind. While this makes them efficient in the art of destruction, there is no longer any substance. They've become simply weapons with no other ultimate goal other than annihilation."

"Seems like they adapted too well to being the C'tan's slaves. I can see why that logic plague would be useful to them." Shepard commented.

"Could be...in any case after many years of battle and scouring the C'tan from the galaxy we were victorious."

An image of Szarekh showed him monitoring differing holographic displays, showing scenes of strange squid-like creatures attacking aliens, Aeldari raiders, and Krork assaulting a Necrontyr stronghold, "However, we found ourselves in a weakened state as well after our victory and our enemies pressed the advantage. Even worse a plague of extra-dimensional entities, the same that had aided in the destruction of the Sla'Geroi were now appearing everywhere. Szarekh knew that fighting such a war with this many fronts would end in disaster, thus did he call for our people to begin the process of going into hiding."

Legions of Necrons appeared before Shepard again, this time led by various Necron lords into a vast tomb complex. Inside they sealed themselves into multiple sarcophagi where a green energy field activated alongside metal seals, "We entered our great slumber by the will of Szarekh, for we were now immortal. We could endure the millenia in stasis where other species could not, perfectly sheltered from the raging storm now tearing apart the galaxy."

Shepard found himself now in a darkened landscape and saw the Silent King Szarekh before him. The large mechanical being then hung his head, looking to be in shame before turning around and leaving, disappearing into the shadows, "With the safety and security of his people now assured, our king severed and deleted the command protocols that suppressed the nobility's individuality and freedom. But he would not sleep with us, he would go into self imposed exile beyond the far reaches of the galaxy."

"Why?"

"Likely guilt, the weight of everything he had done to his people was too much in the end. He wanted us to have the freedom to seize control of our own destinies once more, to be the lords of the galaxy as it was in ages past."

Light returned to Shepard's surroundings as he saw Solvatas' father Kotorin, rise from his tomb in a kind of dark crypt, "From here on, I can only speak for my own dynasty and what I saw. The nobility of our tomb world awoke and discussed matters several times through the millennia of our hibernation. Some of our neighboring dynasties also met with us during these times to trade and discuss current galactic matters. We had to be discreet however, the Aeldari had now inherited the empire of their forebears and they were in the ascendent at the time. But that also made them indulgent and lazy, falling into their own twisted pleasures and concerns. In regards to the actions of our king, my father was not impressed, especially by Szarekh stepping down from his position of power and authority. He merely saw it as the actions of a weak ruler who could no longer fulfill his title's responsibilities."

"So, what kind of ruler was Kotorin?" The Commander asked.

"One who could be quite abusive should his ire be incurred. He would often shatter the matrices of nobles that irritated or overly questioned him, turning them into gibbering fools and sychophants. He even did it to me...his own daughter!" Solvatas said, her eyes glowing brighter in anger.

Shepard suddenly heard voices, like an audio recording playing and reverberating throughout the space around him. It clearly was Kotorin and Solvatas having an argument, "No father You can't just-"

"I can! After all it was your precious king's decree that I reign once more was it not? I will not have the Praetorians turn my child into one of the Triarch's lackeys!"

"But father I'm your daughter!"

"Irrelevant, no one is above punishment for questioning my authority Solvatas...not even you. By the time the Crypteks are done with you, I expect no more talk of that cowardly king in my court!"

The Vymark's eyes turned off and she shook her head in reflection, "His arrogance and self-assurity knew no bounds, his only redeeming quality was having an eye for selecting capable talent for his court. Not that it did him any good in the end."

"What happened to him?"

A sarcophogas appeared in front of Shepard again, but with Aeldari in elaborate black armor and blue robes surrounding it on all sides. They began enacting some kind of ritual and an alien symbol appeared over the coffin. Then the one at the head of the congregation with an elaborate helmet, brought forth a spear. It was beautifully crafted, its metal blade glistening in the light emanating from the symbols on the coffin. It crackled with lighting as the Aeldari brought the spear up and drove it down into what Shepard presumed was Kotorin's resting place. The head of the sarcophogas exploded, revealing the body of the Phaeron engulfed in flaming energies, melting down his body.

"The Aeldari somehow found our tomb and a small force infiltrated our crypt and assasinated him in his sleep. Even though by now their empire was long gone, some cabals of the fiends still held true to their mission of destroying us. But their intrusion did not entirely escape our notice..."

The Aeldari then noticed the facility around them spring to life, their sorcerous ritual having been too potent to not be detected by the facility's security systems. They quickly ran from the site, meeting with what looked like soldiers in black and blue armor with strange looking rifle-like weapons at the entrance to the chamber. Beside the entrance two metal doors descended down, revealing two Lychguard with one being a figure Shepard recognized.

"Forbytr..."

"Oh yes, as you can imagine when he found Aeldari here and his master dead, he returned our unwelcome guest's courtesy in kind."

The head of the Lychguard gave an angered gravely groan towards the Aeldari cabal as the door sealed in front of them. The soldiers and cabal psykers split up as Forbyter charged them and slammed his war scythe weapon down nearly crushing them. But the lythe aliens showed their incredible speed as Shepard watched them evade and dodge the blows of the Lychguard. More guards in the chamber were awakening and some of the Aeldari soldiers were seemingly attempting to hack into another door with aid from some of the psykers. Forbyter had lightning unleashed on him by an alien psyker, channeled through a sword. But the bodyguard's shield withstood the storm and he continued to charge with it raised. The psyker dodged out of the way, only to find another Lychguard charging with a shield at him. The Aeldari was shield bashed and sent flying into a wall cracking it slightly as he fell to the ground. There Forbytr fell upon him and crushed the alien into a bloody smear with the full weight of his war scythe.

The alien assassins somehow were able to get the door open and they found their kin engaged with Necron warriors, attempting to keep open a cordon to escape. Many of the Aeldari then fled the room including the one in elaborate armor. But another of the psykers was not able to reach the door in time. Forbytr had dropped his weapon and grabbed the Aeldari by the leg. The enraged bodyguard began smashing the poor alien humanoid like a doll against the walls and floor. The impacts left bloody smears and pieces of crushed armor on every affected surface before being dropped to the ground, where the alien had its head smashed in by the Lychguard's foot.

Shepard found himself surrounded by Aeldari fighting through Necron warriors, with many soldiers being killed in the process allowing their psyker leaders to finally escape the tomb.

"Despite our efforts, the tomb could not wholly awaken in time to prevent the murderers from escaping."

The images shifted around the Commander again to show an assembly of Necron lords with fists raised and angry voices. A bulkier Necron lord stood among them and raised a war scythe proclaiming, "In accordance with tradition, I shall take the lead of this crusade to root out ALL trespassers in our domain! LET NOT A FLESHLING SURVIVE OUR PURGE!"

"That was my uncle...Khazarakh. He quickly seized the moment to fully awaken us and take control of the dynasty to lead our forces on campaign. One aimed to root out and destroy all trespassing aliens within Solvatakh territory."

Another space battle appeared before Shepard. This time Necrontyr vessels fought against elegant blue craft bearing some kind of energy sails. They were swift and fired torpedos that exploded in beautiful explosions of various purples and blue hues. Necrontyr vessels suddenly teleported in front of them where they unleashed their weapons at pointblank range. Veridian lightning rent the hulls of the enemy ships, boiling away the once beautiful hulls into green colored slag.

The scene then changed to another space battle, this time fighting ships being jagged and dagger like in design, "Veronakh and myself would unleash our wrath upon Aeldari corsairs and humans who now infested our space like a plague. These humans in particular, had been corrupted by the very entities that now dwell within the alternate reality that the psykers drew their power from. Their goal was nothing less than to make our galaxy an extension of their new master's. Khazarakh called us all to eventually assault the main stronghold of this 'Black Legion' that dwelled in the galactic west of our territory. It was here, that our fate was sealed..."

The large Black Legion cruisers formed a ring around the Necrontyr fleet that was tearing into what appeared to be the largest of the human fleet. They then exploded into brilliant colors of purplish red and a raging storm of energy engulfed everything in sight. Then Shepard saw Necrontyr fighting creatures that either looked like demons or born from a lovecraftian novel. Solvatas was among them, attempting to drive back the creatures invading her ship before she was crushed by a disgusting smiling humanoid that brought a massive blade down on top of her. Darkness then took the Commander's vision before a rebooting sequence appeared and Shepard realized that it was another memory from Solvatas.

"I had been defeated by the monsters of the formless horror, but it seemed that Veronakh in a stroke of luck and quick thinking had freed us from the trap that had been sprung upon us. Khazarakh had been destroyed, as well as most of the fleet. Somehow using our pylon technology in conjuction with our phase shift drives we had broken through the Immaterium and arrived here, to this galaxy."

"How is that possible?"

"Even I do not wholly understand, for the Warp itself is incomprehensible to us. Veronakh admitted that the solution was a long shot and Du'Maat did his best to acquiese to the demand, but its not something we could try again to return home. As far as I can tell Shepard...there is no returning home for us."

"So you're stuck here."

Solvatas looked to the floor downcast at the thought, "Indeed, so much will now be unfinished Shepard. It is something that pains Veronakh and Forbytr both. For they were the closest to father."

"What about you?"

The Vymark shrugged, "I am indifferent. Considering what he put me and others through...I wasn't surprised when he died a true death. Merely surprised that he died so soon. My father had made quite a few enemies in his time."

"Was there...anyone you trusted?"

"Well...the Praetorian Kor'Pharas was a confidant. The Triarch Praetorians served the will of the Triarch and I was a verdant believer in Szarekh's goals. But I didn't get to know many other nobles within the dynasty. I kept to myself most of the time. Though there was one other I was able to meet who was certainly...amusing to converse with."

"Who?"

A Necron lord appeared before Shepard bearing a staff. A sort of metal hood encased the alien android's head and his features were arranged in a sort of smiling skeletal grimace.

"Trazyn...also known as Trazyn the Infinite. I was tasked by father to negotiate a trade with him. He was a bit of an eccentric you see and a...collector of sorts. Specifically items of great historical significance."

Shepard's surroundings in the darkened space lit up to reveal a treasure trove of objects and displays. Giant suits of immaculate armor in gold, strange alien baubles of incomprhensible design, and humans fighting aliens in some kind of display were now around the Commander who could only say, "Whoa..."

"This was but a fraction of what I observed in his galleries. He was a courteous and jovial sort, least to me. Perhaps it was because I was the first female of our kind he had conversed with in a millenia. Like myself he had been brought to the fires of biotransference against his will and had developed quite a reputation as a notorious thief. For he also stole trinkets from other dynasties, if he felt his galleries needed them."

"But he only took items that related to history?"

"Usually relating to events that shaped our galaxy. He told me when I asked him why he did all this was because, in his words...'It would be a great tragedy that so much beauty and significance be lost to time and foolishness.' Just as our culture and history had been destroyed by the thirst of the C'tan. It struck a cord with me, reminding me of why I chose the Triarch over my father."

"There's a difference?"

"When the command protocols were severed the Phaerons were able to take control and assert independent thought once again. You can imagine they were not pleased realizing how much had been lost when their wills had been taken from them. The Triarch Praetorians were a part of every dynasty court and advised the Phaerons about the Triarch's will on matters. However now with their independence restored, most turned their backs on the Triarch for various reasons, falling once more into their old ways."

"It was what your king wanted though, wasn't it?"

"It was...a shame that they could not see the vision that Szarekh truly wanted for his people."

"What would that be?"

Solvatas turned to Shepard, her organic form solidifying over the skeletal version of herself, "The restoration of the Necrontyr race."

Shepard cocked an eyebrow and crossed his arms, "Would that even be possible?"

"Yes...maybe not as we originally were but you have proven the concept."

"Me?"

"You died and were resurrected both in mind and body by Cerberus. You have an entire history of now two civilizations in your mind Commander. Subconsciously able to read and understand both Prothean and Necrontyr. The technological means clearly exist in this galaxy Shepard, all we need are the bodies and the expertise to make it work."

"Why would you want to revert to an organic form? I thought immortality was what your people wanted?"

"Not like this, I never wanted this to begin with and I'm not alone. We were forced into these metal shells against our will to serve as slaves to the C'tan. Now we face the prospect of inevitable madness thanks to the logic plagues or the simple ravages of time on our programming. If the Reapers wipe out the galaxy, then all the technology and progress will be wiped out as well. Even if my people survive the Reapers purge, the count of true Necrontyr within the dynasty will never grow in number or prosper Shepard. Should we endure more millenia of hibernation? If so, then this time we will more likely face eternal insanity or destruction thanks to the erosion of our matrices."

Shepard crossed his arms and gave a slight smirk, "Well, looks like you have a reason to keep the galaxy going. "

"Don't misunderstand Shepard, it's not that I care about the galaxy or your people. My concern is for my race and its future. We've been building an army of auxiliaries but they are not eternal. Our auxiliaries are merely a stop gap due to our main army's low numbers. Inevitably their organic components will rot away and the problem of our numbers will remain. All the while, Veronakh seeks to build an empire here that will only be a monument to dust and echoes over the grand scales of time. Mental instability is already beginning to manifest within the hierarchy Shepard, it's only a matter of time. Szarekh's contingency to reverse what was done to us, is the only way to be truly free of the C'tan's shackles once and for all."

Shepard nodded, "Say I help you and we find a way to do that, wouldn't your people inevitably seek to conquer the galaxy again?"

"Perhaps, but certainly not in the immediate future, though I'm sure you could say the same of the Krogan or even the Batarians couldn't you? Besides, we should focus on the here and now, the Reapers and the Collectors are the real threat at the moment. Even now they are likely preparing for another offensive. Next time, I'm not certain if even our technological edge will be enough on its own without a strategy."

"Your technology defeated the C'tan themselves! How could the Reapers possibly stop you?"

Solvatas brought a hand to her chin thoughtfully, "...The Reapers seem to possess several advantages. They are a machine race like we are and they are quite intelligent and adaptive. Coupled with weight of numbers and if their servants were anything like what we experienced recently on Sanctum, then our current force is still inadequate."

"Sanctum? From the Sigurd's Cradle cluster?"

The Vymark nodded, "The colony was attacked by the Collectors recently and my cousin Xamutet was able to drive them off only by releasing a C'tan shard. The only reason it happened was because he did not get the planetary defenses finished in time. The Collectors were able to escape with a modest amount of our technology, enough possibly to understand how some of it functions. Think about that Commander, if the Reapers are able to reproduce our technology and use it against us...your people won't stand a chance."

"If they are such a threat, then why isn't Veronakh taking it seriously?"

"Arrogance likely or perhaps willfull ignorance since no enemy has been able to match us thus far in this galaxy. Though after Sanctum, my brother appears to be looking into ways of accelerating his plans. However, I believe that no matter what he attempts to do, it may be too little too late. It is why I feel working together with you may be the best course of action. The Collectors are our mutual foe, destroying them would benefit us both."

"Maybe, but Veronakh decided to take one of my most powerful crewmates and threw my reputation under the bus using me to steal information for him. Even after everything you've shown me, I'm still a bit skeptical with the idea of working with you."

"I don't blame you for thinking that. After what my brother has done to you, I can understand you are wary. But as I said earlier, it is either this or inevitable death at Veronakh's whim. I know you are no fool Shepard. But surely you see I am not like my brother or my father. I do what I do because I care for my race's freedom and its future. You can understand that. You're fighting for your people's future too after all."

"...Well, it will be a hard sell to Miranda and Garrus. But like you said, there isn't much choice is there?"

"Not as much as we like in this universe Commander. Even worse when you are immortal and bound to tyrants."

"So where do we go from here?"

"Sadly, as enlightening as this has been for you, I'm afraid you will need to forget about all this for now."

"What? Then what was the point of showing me all this?!"

"I needed to convince you that I'm on your side and it also allowed me to prove several theories relating to the idea of transferring Necrontyr neural networks to an organic brain."

"So you used me for an impromptu experiment..."

"I've already done several such connections before with organic minds but not with such a large transfer of data like this. I told you, I'm not Du'Maat but I know what I am doing."

Shepard rolled his eyes, "I feel so reassurred. Yet you still aren't saying why you need to remove the memories of all this from me."

Solvatas crossed her arms, "So long as you bear the mindshackle Commander, Veronakh could still look through your memories and see what you have seen. I will transfer this information, condense it down, and encrypt it into the nanite network that connects to your subconscious. Then when it is appropriate, you will remember everything."

"Couldn't Veronakh just search there and get the information?"

"He could, but I know my brother...he's not as thorough as he thinks and I know my way around preserving data."

An entrance to a white tunnel appeared before Shepard as Solvatas continued, "Step into this passage when you are ready to return Commander. You will find yourself back on the observation deck of your ship. You will remember the directives to search for the Reaper technology but otherwise will have no other memory of what transpired here."

"Well, for what its worth, thank you... for showing me all this. Perhaps...eventually we can come to an arrangement of sorts in regards to your people."

"We will see Commander. Until then...good luck."

Shepard stepped through the gateway and was engulfed in a white light.

A ringing sounded in his ears as his vision came back into focus, the whiteness fading away into the color and sounds of the starboard observation deck. He found himself on his knees looking slightly to the floor. He began to rub his eyes and head, smelling a little blood from his nose. The Commander looked to his right to see Miranda in a nightgown on the couch upright but asleep.

As he stirred so did she and her eyes went wide when she saw him awake, "...Ah! Shepard!"

"Miranda?"

She quickly got up and embraced him, "I thought something had happened to you and when I found you, I didn't know what to do! You were catatonic just staring at the floor but your eyes were experiencing REM like you were dreaming. I sat here by you for awhile and waited to see if you would come out of it. Thank god..."

"How long was I out?"

Miranda activated her Omni-tool and looked at the time, "You've been like this since o-three thirty-eight hours. Its o-five thirty-nine now."

"I've been like this for several hours? Ugh..."

"What happened?"

"I...can't wholly recall. I do remember a Necrontyr...had a mission for us. Said we had to acquire Reaper technology for Veronakh."

"Several hours just to give you an assignment?"

"There was details we had to go over I think...I remember that. I also remember the locations she wanted me to check."

"Wait a minute, she?"

"Her name was Solvatas, apparently she was the one who took over the ship while we were down at Veridine."

"Now she wants Reaper technology?"

"Yeah, said Veronakh wants to know how it works and how it affects organics."

"Great...I'm sure they would love to know how to indoctrinate organics in a new manner..."

"Regardless, for the sake of the crew for now this is what we have to do."

"Shepard...I don't think giving the Necrontyr Reaper tech is a good idea."

"I'm not saying it is, but I feel like there may be a way out through this mission."

"How do you figure that?"

Shepard got up and looked back at her before he left the room, "You're just going to have trust me."

With the connection to Shepard severed, Solvatas sighed and turned to see Kor'Pharas waiting in her chambers, "It is done, but I am still uncertain if using the Commander is the right course of action."

"The human has proven himself resourceful. The Silent King would use any asset capable of serving his purposes."

"Still, Shepard could also lead Veronakh to us if I did this wrong..."

"Have you?"

The Vymark was contemplative for a moment before answering, "...No, I made certain of that."

"Then there is no need for concern. Have confidence in your own capability Vymark and of our king's will."

Solvatas turned to look at a holographic display to catch up on messages while Kor'Pharas bowed and took his leave, leaving the Necron lord to her duties now pressing upon her.

Author's Note: Yeah, I'm a little late on this one but there was quite a bit of lore to go over in this chapter. This has my own take on the Necron history which has some slight alterations and changes in the time table but overall the story beats made the most sense to me. Also this is from Solvatas' point of view, so some parts of the history may suffer from a bit of bias on her part. I chose the name Sla'Geroi for the Old Ones out of wanting to use some part of the word Slann without the hard 'n' sound to it. Taking some creative liberties on this one since Solvatas would no doubt know the species' original name.

For those who may say that Solvatas changed too quickly we have to remember a few things. The Vymark chose Shepard since hes already in the dynasty's pocket and Solvatas is not going to throw away a potentially useful tool for her own political faction. Granted last chapter Shepard had a rough time last mission but he did complete it and the complications were due to other factors. The breaking of Solvatas mind took mere hours for her to reconcile since thats the advantage of a machine mind. Cold logic along with pushing from Kor'Pharas allowed her to recover enough of her former personality to begin pursuing one of Szarekh's agendas for his people.

Lastly, Kor'Pharas now has relevance beyond being just a simple advisor for Veronakh. He's now the head of a group dedicated towards the Triarch's goals, not the Dynasty's. There may be potential conflict up ahead as a consequence, but right now they simply don't agree with Veronakh going to total war with everyone with the Reapers coming. Especially for not utilizing enough soft power towards a more long term solution to their problems.

Hope you all have a good Halloween this month! Next chapter should have a bit more action.