Chapter 9

Amir-015- It's not them sadly. Also, now looking back, I might have described that last part incorrectly in regards to how the faction is. But you are correct in that it was the third, major Warhammer 40k race that will appear in this story in a significant way.

Guest- We may get that someday when Shepard talks to Legion or someone else from the Enclaves.

Nexus4123- Eh, it's fine with the criticisms. Redid the chapter based on your criticisms (I think.) and to be honest, that's more than what I get for my other stories. I mostly either get praise or someone yelling at me for not doing this what they wanted or something. And if it's not those things, then there's no reviews so I can't tell if I'm doing good or not.

Normandy

Shepard

"And everything is accounted for, Shepard." Said Miranda as she gave Shepard her report. "While it wasn't difficult to get Legion, Monun, and Yurievich proper quarters, Xavur and Garuk were a bit more difficult. The specific accommodations for their species are difficult to replicate in the Normandy without compromising the living conditions of everyone else." Shepard just hummed at that as he sat in his chair.

"So, have there been compromises?" Asked Shepard as he wanted everyone on his ship to be as comfortable as possible in order to get the best out of all of them.

"Of course." Said Miranda. "They've been quite accepting of the conditions we've given them. Xavur is fine with flying around the hanger bay. It's not very ideal, but he seems to be comfortable with it. As for Garuk, he settled for residing in the armory with Jacob and Monun. Aside from those minor issues, there's nothing of real importance to note. Is there anything else?"

"No, Miranda. That'll be all." Said Shepard before leaving his NCO to her usual tasks. Upon leaving her office, he looked to his left to see Garuk feasting on a large slab of meat, making loud noises as a result. Meanwhile some of his crew was looking at the Kroot with either awe or caution.

Curious, Shepard walked over there. As he walked, he noticed that the slab of meat on Garuk's tray was uncooked and that he was eating with his bare hands, ripping apart the flesh with seemingly thin arms the Kroot then dropped the chunk of meat down his avian-like beak.

It was then that Shepard noticed that Mess sergeant Gardner was looking at the Kroot with both suspicion and awe. Upon noticing that Shepard was coming over to him, Gardner saluted the commander.

"Anything that I can help, commander?" Asked Gardner before Shepard shook his head.

"I assume everyone is curious about our new alien friend, huh?" Asked Shepard as he crossed his arms, ignoring the loud munching that Garuk was making as he ate.

"Yeah." Said Gardner with a sigh. "Bloody thing came down here near the end of lunch for the 2nd rotation and asked for a big slab of uncooked meat. You can just imagine my shock. I asked the thing if he was sure and he just nodded. So, I just gave him some soon to be expired beef, and he just took it the moment I put it on a tray. Didn't even wait for me to get him some utensils or water. He just carried it to a table and began ripping it apart with his bare hands. And he's been eating with his mouth open since. Bloody alien apparently doesn't know table manners cause he never closes his mouth. You ask me, he's bloody worse than Grunt. At least Grunt closes his mouth and doesn't spray saliva and food chunks all over the floor when he eats. Stuff that I gotta clean up later." Shepard found it somewhat amusing that was what Gardner was complaining about, but stayed silent.

"Well, you're going have to get used to it, Gardner." Said Shepard with a hint of sympathy for him. "Because he's going to be here on the Normandy while we're out stopping the Collectors along with his friends."

"*Groans* Of course." Said Gardner with a frown. "Let's hope his friends have better table manners or else I demand a raise."

"I'll keep that in mind, Rupert." Said Shepard before leaving, allowing everyone to watch the Kroot finish off his food.

Entering the elevator, he pressed the button that caused it to move to the CIC. Once it arrived there, he went straight to Joker. As he was making his way to Joker, he heard the pilot talking to EDI.

"I'm telling you EDI, having that bug guy is going to be trouble." Said Joker. "He's going to take the women and impregnate them with his eggs or something. And then they'll burst through their chests like that old movie. And then we'll be facing a bug infestation on the ship."

"May I remind you, Mr. Monroe, that the Codex entry regarding Vespid reproduction methods along with the entry regarding their physiology that Vespid male's do not have the ability to impregnate the females of other species. In addition, other entries clearly state they have females, Mr. Monroe, and that they are the ones that are responsible for the future propagation of their race." Said EDI, causing Joker to sigh.

"It was a joke and reference, EDI." Said Joker. "Dumb robot." It was then that he heard footsteps coming behind him, causing him to turn around to see Shepard. "Hey commander. Just wanted to say thanks for bringing in not one, but several dangerous aliens onboard that may or may not ate our flesh or impregnate us if they feel like it. Oh, and one human tagalong I guess." Shepard let out a small smile at that before speaking.

"Take it you don't like any of them." Said Shepard as he addressed his pilot, already knowing that this was the response that Joker would give him. He gave one to every person he recruited for his mission against the Collectors.

"Eh, not really. If a crazy con with insane biotic powers didn't make me leave, then an alien with crazy advance technology that can put Reapers to shame won't. Neither an alien that can fly naturally or an alien that can get what I got just be eating me. Actually, now that I think about it, the last one I don't have to worry about because who wants brittle bone disease." Said Joker with a chuckle before getting serious. "Anyway, I'm fine with them commander. If anything, they're the least crazy of the aliens we have. Discounting Tali and Garrus, of course. And some of the humans, of course. Just don't fed me to the guy that eats people, okay. Rather not be a meal for an alien, thank you very much."

"Duly noted." Said Shepard. "Just make sure you do your job and you'll be fine, okay?" Joker just laughed a bit at that before going back to work. With that done, Shepard left the pilot alone as he wondered to himself on where to go first before he had to venture to a dead Reaper in order to stage an attack on where the Collectors resided. The reason for venturing to a dead Reaper was sort of complicated. It had been an order directly from the Illusive Man himself.

While the Normandy was venturing to the Farsight Enclaves to acquire whatever assistance they had promised to give them, the Illusive Man gave them new orders based on the information they gleamed from the Collector warship. Contained in that information was the reason why the Omega-four Relay was impassable for ships beyond those utilized by the Collectors.

Both Reaper and Collector utilized an advanced IFF system that enabled them to utilize the Relays more effectively than any of their own ships can, which was perfect given what they had discovered about the Collector home world. Or more specifically, it's location.

To everyone's astonishment, the Collector's home world was located at the galactic core, a region of the galaxy that was filled with blackholes and other anomalies that would kill any sentient species there without some sort of artificial protection. And even then, it had to be some powerful protection. Some thought it was a trick by the Collectors to throw them off guard or to make them waste resources in going to a place that no sane person would ever go to, but the Illusive Man was confident that was where the Collector's were. And so was EDI.

The logical conclusion that they came up with was that there was a small safe zone that the Collectors used for their base of operations. They also believed that the Collectors didn't have a home world. Rather they had a space station in the galactic core. One with technology that enabled them to survive the harsh environment of the galactic core. With this train of thought, the Illusive Man knew what they needed next in order to bring down the Collectors.

It was commonly known that starships typically drifted several thousand kilometers after using a Mass Relay. Normally this wouldn't be a problem as Relays were a safe distance away from any sort of debris that would impact with the drifting ship. That wouldn't be the case with the Omega-four relay with the myriad of blackholes and other anomalies that must be packed tightly with whatever else is on the other side of the relay. The IFFs of both the Reapers and the Collectors must be able to prevent such drifts with the Relays, thus allowing them to venture safely, as much as one possibly could in such a dangerous environment, in the galactic core. Thus, in order for them to do the same, they needed to acquire a Reaper IFF. And the Illusive Man knew where to get one.

Sometime ago, he had sent a team to study a derelict Reaper found in Hawking Eta cluster. No doubt, in Shepard's mind, to both acquire some technology to advance give humanity an edge on the rest of the species in the galaxy as well as to bring forth evidence of the existence to the Reapers to the rest of the galaxy. But getting back on topic, the Illusive Man must have hoped that the IFF of that Reaper must be intact so they can use it to attack the Collectors. And to be honest, so did Shepard. If it wasn't intact, then they were short out of luck. So, Shepard prayed that it was or else that would really hinder their plans.

To make matters even worse, they lost contact with the Cerberus team that was responsible for studying the Reaper. As a result, the Illusive Man had instructed Shepard to go to the derelict Reaper and acquire the IFF as well as figure out what had happened to the research team. Much as Shepard wanted to go immediately after the IFF, he couldn't. Some of his team weren't at a hundred percent. Garrus, during their trip to Geth-Enclave space, discovered the location of where Sidonis, a Turian that had betrayed him and his team on Omega, and it was clouding his judgement. Thane also had discovered what his son up to and it left him in shambles. Then there was the problem with Samara and Jack. Yes, may of his team had problems that were affecting their performance and Shepard wasn't going to go inside a derelict Reaper with some of his teammates impaired because of either grudges or obligations that clouded what they needed to do at the moment. As a result, Shepard had to postpone the attempt to locate the IFF, to which the Illusive Man actually understood. When asked why, he simply said it would be foolish of Shepard to venture to a Reaper, even a derelict one, with an emotionally impaired team. So, he recommended him to do what he thought was necessary in order to make sure his team was at their best for any mission. Otherwise, people will die and the Illusive Man didn't want people to die because of emotionally impaired people.

So, with that advice, Shepard focused on resolving any issues his team had so they can focus completely on their ultimate goal. And right now, he was wondering who to go first. It'll take under an hour, at worst, of thinking for him to figure out which to do first, but when he does figure out who to do first, then he'll do whatever he can to resolve it as quickly as possible so he can both focus on the issues of his other teammates as well as getting to the derelict Reaper as soon as possible, to stop the Collectors from stealing anymore human lives.

With those thoughts, Shepard entered the elevator and pushed the holographic button that'll cause it to go straight to his private quarters. As it moved, he was thinking on who to help resolve their issues first so they can get all this over with.