Okay chaps, so here is Ch27 after a bit of downtime resulting from a change in job, MELE being released, an increasing amount of negative reviews making me reanalyse this story, moving to a new location, and completing a few career courses. The next chapter should be up sooner... should be...

A few people are also now questioning where this story is now going. I think that is a fair question now as things are developing. Male Shepard will be the 'Shepard' of the games, who will eventually be assigned to investigate Soverign. F!Shepard will be requested to join his team as a ground side troop commander/expert in local traditions etc. (Think expert in aliens) I'm also going to go down the route many of you have expected with F!Shep/Tevos.

The next few chapters will be about keeping or discarding of the Sol relay.

The next day, Tevos sits down opposite her counterparts; in an eight-day week, the first four days are set aside for the individual councillors to raise specific pertinent topics to their people. On what Humans would call Mondays, the Councillors discuss what has happened on their three day weekend and what is expected for the week coming. On what should be Tuesdays, the Turian councillor takes the lead to discuss the problems plaguing his thoughts; on Wednesdays, the Salarian takes their turn to vent, and on Thursdays, Tevos can release her thoughts and opinions. It is an approximate system that roughly works; of course, things always come up that need discussing ASAP, but the timetable allows for some structure for less essential topics, like expansion desires and local laws. When big problems arise, the 'timetable' breaks down, and what needs to be discussed is considered there and then with no heckling over the timetable being dismissed.

The meetings are usually held behind closed doors; it is a time for Councillors to raise issues in a non-public forum and bicker between themselves. Where there are disagreements, these meetings allow them to try and smooth out the quarrels and align their opinions so that they can show a united front. These meetings can get quite heated, but rarely does it get out of hand; more often than not, the person with the least interest in the topic being discussed will force a break in the meeting to allow heads to cool. Is the system perfect? No, not by any means, but it works and has worked since the Turians joined the Council, so few if any have the will to change the current system.

"How is your Human?" Sparatus asks as Tevos makes herself comfortable in her well-worn chair. Tevos could get a new chair, something that utilises modern materials and small comforts, but her current chair has been there since the beginning of the Council; it has seen more history than anyone alive; to dispose of it feels wrong.

Tevos rolls her eyes a little as she pulls out a datapad that lives in a draw at her desk and logs into the device, "The worst patient you could imagine, but well. She has also raised some concerning information that we need to discuss today. The Humans are arguing over dismantling their Relay." Valern and Sparatus are still surprised that Humans have quantum tech that can fit into a pocket, and both feel a little uncomfortable that Tevos has direct access to Shepard. Tevos will not need to wait 2 weeks for comms to travel to the Citadel from Human space, meaning she could be aware of things 2 weeks before Sparatus or Valern is made aware, and that is 2 weeks for the Asari to prepare. Granted, it will have a Human lens to any news, but that is better than a 2-week wait. "Shepard seems to believe they are erring on the idea of isolation and has joked she will be calling this her permanent home."

Valern perks up a little at hearing this news, "Thoughts?"

"I want them to be a part of this community," Tevos confesses, "My species has much to gain from them, even with their flaws."

"Flaws," Valern is quick to question.

Tevos narrows her eyes slightly and looks to her counterparts to judge their facial emotions in an attempt to read them before saying, "Humans have heavy integration with AI." She then looks to Sparatus, to judge his reaction, to figure if he already knows. "I would suspect you would know by now." It would not be like a Primarchs Chosen to omit that information in any report.

"We knew," Valern admits, "What do you know."

Tevos plays with her fingers for a few seconds before replying, the finger playing is her tell tale that her mind is thinking of something to say, "I've spoken with two that I know of. The first is their defensive AI called Lulltron, it only told me that I could not be swayed in my thoughts on AI and asked why Humans should trust us over it; I hate to admit, but it was a good point, well presented. The Humans are going to trust their AI before they trust us."

"And the second AI?" Sparatus asks.

"Shepards AI," Tevos replies, which causes the Turians mandibles to flare a little.

"I've seen her scans," The Turian says while thinking back to the scans he was presented with, "I would not have thought an AI was lurking in her cybernetics, so it must be in her devices."

"Then you would be wrong," Tevos establishes, "It told me exactly what to do to keep her alive after her assassination attempt. The Human considers herself to be the combination of entities."

"Well," Sparatus begins to say slightly slower than usual, "It is a different take on AI than what we have seen before. Do they think together? As one?"

Tevos remembers back to Shepard talking about this on the Ascension, and she tries to answer using the Humans own words, "She describes it as having an answer to your internal voice, almost as if it is the second voice in her head."

"Whispering its influence, no doubt," Valern says, "This Shepard could be a husk, doing its bidding."

"Then that is for us to figure out." Sparatus says, "We have complete access to her; with time, I'm sure the scientists will be able to derive some way of figuring this information out."

"Passively," Tevos speaks while eyeing Valern.

"I am confident STG can fathom something up." Valern replies to Tevos before turning his eyes to the Turian, "But while we await answers to that, what is our immediate course of action; can we introduce a race of cyborgs?"

Tevos breaths out hard before giving up her thoughts, "I have seen what they are capable of; they have ring worlds that make this station appear small."

"Their own creation?" Sparatus asks, "Or Prothean?"

"It looks nothing like the Relays or Citadel, and they have proven they can make relay metal ships. I do not doubt their capability. My own assessment of this situation is that Demeter's shackles have been broken; only the Humans will keep themselves isolated, and we have just been presented a chance to influence that opportunity if we want it." Dementers shackles is the Asari equivalent of letting a genie out of the bottle. "I suggest we give it five days before reconvening to make our decision."

"A limited time to study the Humans," Valern says, "But a decision should be made. We will reconvene in five days."

/.../

Shepard looks up from her phone and to the door where a younger-looking Asari has entered. With a slight nod to recognise her, Shepard looks back down to her phone and says in her native tongue, "Thanks, I'll give it a go and let you know how it works out, but it looks like the medics are back; I should go." After ending the conversation, Shepard then looks to the Asari, saying, "So, here with more bandages or..."

The Asari, for a split of a second looks puzzled before understanding hit her; Shepard's typical interaction for the last few days has been with the medical staff who have been attending to her medical needs. "Oh no, I've been asked to show you around, officially this time." The Asari says.

"Tevos eventually letting me out then?" Shepard asks rhetorically, "About time."

For the last few days, Tevos has limited the rest of the estate from bothering and intruding on the Human. Her reasoning is that she didn't want the entire estate barging her door down out of curiosity regarding their new and strange estate member when she should be trying to heal from what should have been a lethal wound.

"She is, but you were never captive here."

"I know," Shepard relents, "It is a play on words. So, I'm Shepard; what is your name?"

"Ophelia," The Asari replies, "So, are you ready to go or..."

Shepard blinks as she makes her way to the door, "Sure thing, So, where to first?"

"The gardens," The Asari replies quickly.

For a relatively small space station compared to the rings in Sol, Shepard is surprised by the size of the gardens that are approximately the size of two rugby pitches; space-saving was definitely not a concern when the estate was constructed. Ophelia explains to Shepard that she started with the gardens as that is how you access the estate; at the top of the garden is an elevator shaft and a skycar landing zone. At the skycar landing area is a few fancy-looking vehicles, their paintwork gleaming in the artificial sun of the Citadel. Nearby is a guard room, where Ophelia introduces Shepard to an aged and slightly grizzly looking Asari named Titania. After the introduction is completed and the grizzly Asari goes on their way, Ophelia begins to explain who the Asari is, "Tatiana is head of estate security, provided by CSEC. If you want to invite anyone onto the estate, you must pass it by her so she can vett them. With the Matriarch being a Councillor, security is treated seriously, painfully so at times." This isn't too dissimilar from when Shepard works at high-security military bases, so she isn't bothered by this fact.

"So, how do I get on and off the estate? Do I need an ID card or...?"

"You will be the only Human on the Citadel," Ophelia reminds Shepard, "But no, the guard staff learns everyone by face and name. If you do have problems with a guard, another will recognise you, and if they don't, contact Tatiana. If you get any new facial tattoos, you will need to also update your mug shot that the guards use to learn us."

"That won't be a problem," Shepard replies.

"No?" Asks Ophellia, probing for information.

"No." Shepard confirms, "I'm military, so I am obliged to obey regulations, so no tattoos above the collar. Anyway, I may be asking a stupid question, but how do I call Tatiana? Do you even have phones? I've not seen anyone use one."

The Asari looks to Shepard's wrist for a second before looking back up, "Ah, yes, we will need to go shopping later and get you a few essentials, including an omni-tool."

"A few essentials?"

"Yes." Ophelia responds, "An omni-tool, set up a bank account, get yourself some official ID and safety gear for living on a space station... Oh, and a translator, you may be surprised to find only a few speak Prothean or are willing to pay for the translation software."

After leaving the guard room, while walking through the garden towards the estate's reception, Ophelia begins to speak in a manner that would suggest she is unsure, "So, we've heard rumours that you are part machine."

"In more than a few ways" Shepard confirms, "I have artificial muscle grafts, reinforced bones and various nano-tech improvements."

"We were thinking AI." Ophelia blurts out.

Shepard takes a moment to consider before answering, "You're not wrong. I'm paired with a combat AI, and it saved my life the other day, instructing Tevos on what to do."

"Oh." The Asari is quiet for a few footsteps before going on to inquire, "Does your species have a lot of AI?"

"We do." Shepard relents, knowing full well the repercussions of lying last time. "Some are really dumb, a lot are smart like my combat AI, some are really intelligent and run infrastructure, and then you have the big three."

"The big three?"

"So," Shepard begins to explain, "There are three AI that you should know about, the three 'great' AI's," She says while holding up three fingers, "The one you might already know about is Ultron."

The Asari look at her with blank faces, "He defends my people," She says, "It was Ultron who defended the Earth..."

"Your homeworld?"

Shepard blinks in response before going on, "When it was shot at, he replied. When that strange ship attacked the Praetorian, he attacked that strange ship. In short, if you have a problem with my people, then you have a problem with Ultron; in such a case, I would not want to be you."

"So, it's a military AI?"

Shepard clenches her fists and blinks in response, in a way most Asari do when they partially agree or disagree, "No, it has other functions, but it does play a prime role in defence of Earth. The other two AI are a little different." To the Asari, it is interesting for her to see someone talk positively about AI.

"IO is the first great AI, built under a mountain, and runs Earth's systems, from operating space lanes to being an impartial speaker at debates. If it requires some sort of control system, IO probably runs it. The last AI you should know by name is Freya, the second great AI and the most powerful in existence. She created Ultron and can easily outwit the other great AI's."

Ophelia squints before asking, "What are the AI like? Their personality?"

Shepard thinks for a moment to collect her thoughts before replying, "For the big three, ill start with Freya. Etiquette is optional, and she is definitely different from what you probably expect; if you were talking to her through voice alone, you wouldn't realise she was an AI. Ultron is at his happiest when left alone to his ocean projects, he spends alot of time regenerating damaged eco-systems and removing micro-plastics from the world," Shepard looks to an Asari who has a slight smirk. "What?" She inquires.

"You talk about the AI like they are people." The Asari replies, "It's just unusual for us, and what is different for an AI?"

"Ever heard an AI swear or insult people? Freya has some legendary insults that have made it into popular culture. I still think my favourite insult was to a high-status politician; on live TV, she asked him if he shakes his head if he can hear his two brain cells rattle." The politician never really recovered from the insult.

"We do not have AI to insult people," Ophelia reminds Shepard, "So if Ultron is your defence, and IO is infrastructure, what does Freya do, other than deliver insults?"

"Research," Shepard replies, "A lot of what we have is thanks to her. Especially this quantum tech." Shepard pats her pocket, "FTL comms changed our solar system for the better."

"Yet you still have large physical devices for things?" Ophelia remarks. "I've noticed you have a very retro style for things."

"We do. As a species, we like physical things, things we can touch and hold." Shepard brings her phone out of her pocket as a demonstration, "Despite looking like old tech from the 21st, this device is capable of incredible amounts of computing power and I would bet a kidney the battery in this will outlast any holo tech. So just because it looks old, I wouldn't write it off. It's like why do we have physical keyboards that go tappidy tap? Or laptops instead of some holotech? For us, and myself especially, we just like physical things."

Getting into the main entrance of the estate, Shepard looks around, and everything she see's looks expensive; the walls are lined with wood and decorated with paintings, and a grand looking marble staircase leads up two floors, and down another two levels giving the estate a grand total of five floors. First, Ophelia leads Shepard down the expensive stairs, explaining as she does so that the bottom two levels are entirely accommodation. Next, Ophelia takes Shepard to the dormitory which has been assigned to the Human; the room is almost a carbon copy of a room in the military, meaning it includes nothing more than a bed, a desk and chair, a sink, toilet and a notably powerful shower. Of interest to Shepard is the minor detail that none of the rooms have locks on them, which tells her everyone in the estate is trusted individuals or has nothing of value, the latter idea she strongly doubts. The room also has a single window that looks out over the docks.

After passing a few different Asari on their way back up to the ground floor, Shepard notices Ophelia nodding to a few different Asari, not in recognition, but from appearances, the act is out of respect. "So, is a nod of the head respect or..."

"Yes." Ophelia reveals, "You tend to bow your head in passing to Asari you know is more than 50 years your senior. It is an easy way to figure someone's approximate age, if they bend the neck every two seconds, they are evidently young; if they don't bow, they are old bones. Out of curiosity, how old are you?"

Shepard can remember when she was asked by Tevos, and gives Ophelia the same response, "500 and odd, and far closer to the 600 mark."

Ophelia slows her climb of the stairs for a second before speeding back up and saying, "Then you're old bones. Second oldest in this estate. Thinking about it, by your age, most Asari leave estates to establish their own. You do get odd exceptions, but as the term implies, they are exceptions."

"Yes," Shepard replies as she arrives at the ground floor, "Tevos was saying something similar when we spoke about it."

"Hmm. Thinking on it some more, I won't have to address the Tevos thing either."

"The Tevos thing?" Shepard queries.

"Other than a rare few, you won't find many who call the Matriarch by her name directly. To show respect, it's either Lady Tevos, Councillor, or Matriarch, but at your age, I guess you have earned the right to call her by her name."

Moving on from the reception area, Ophelia shows Shepard the dining hall where Shepard will need to go for breakfast, lunch and the evening meal. She takes time to explain that Shepard should learn the names of the paintings in the room as a drinking game is often played with them, and if you don't know the paintings by name, you're not going to have a pleasant time.

From the dining hall, Shepard visits the kitchens, a cardio gym and a separate weights gym, two anterooms, a small swimming pool, a clothing room with an advanced 3d clothes printer, a large games room, a cinema room, a bar area, massage clinic, sauna, library, and a visit with the estate manager. As it would turn out, because Tevos is the councillor, she has little time to run her estate anymore and has hired someone to run all the mundane tasks on her estate, such as hire contractors for maintenance work and direct cleaning staff.

Out of curiosity, Shepard asks how many people the estate hires, and the number is surprisingly high. For example, the kitchen has 8 chefs and 5 waiters, there are 5 cleaning staff, 2 masseuses, one estate manager, 3 housemaids who provide services such as bed making and cleaning clothes, 3 for security, not including CSEC staff, 2 gardeners, 3 bar staff and a functions manager whose sole job is organising functions for the residents. In addition to all the above, Tevos also has numerous medical and dental staff on call at all hours.

From everything Shepard has seen, she would not like to think of the cost that comes with owning this estate, from the initial purchase price to the enduring costs of day to day requirements. The costs must be staggering as its residents do not pay for its services, with the sole exception of Tevos.

"How the other half lives," Muses Shepard quietly before asking, "So, I think all of this must cost more than a kidney or two..." The Asari gives a questioning look to this, so Shepard moves on, "So, how does Tevos afford it?"

"She owns a few technology companies," Ophelia tells before adding, "A fashion company, and a massage franchise, which has great benefits for us; so not only do we look fabulous, we also feel it too." Shepard is not at all sure she knows how well an Asari massage will translate to a Human, but she is willing to be their guinea pig when her wounds heal.

"So," Shepard begins to summarise, "She is mega-rich, and this will just be a drop in the ocean for her expenses. Was she born into wealth or not?"

"Not this type of wealth, but she would have been more than comfortable." Ophelia answers, "I don't even think she knows how to spend her wealth these days. Remember the paintings in the dining hall? The cheapest painting is over a million credits in value."

Shepard does not know what 1 credit is worth, but she assumes it must be a lot if Ophelia has mentioned it, "So... how do people apply to join estates like this?"

"This estate has a site on the intranet, and when a vacancy opens up, you can request to join; where you can guarantee half the Asari population not currently in an estate or looking for a new estate request to join when space opens up. Between all of us estate members, we spend a few evenings filtering down applicants till we get to a reasonable number, so cutting people of certain ages, in certain trades and industries, with unfavourable backgrounds, so on and so on, and then the Matriarch will interview them before we as an entire estate decide who will join us. Of course, the Matriarch has the final say, but our decision strongly influences her."

"Alright then, seems simple enough. Out of curiosity, if you filter people down on jobs, what type are you talking about?"

"Mercenaries, people in competing companies that may have ulterior motives or people in ethically questionable jobs such as exotic animals and heavy mining that damage entire worlds. If it makes the Matriarch look bad accepting them, then it is a no go. Thinking on it, you will actually find a lot of us here joined this estate when we moved out of our birth estates to attend the University here."

By the time the tour of the estate is over, Shepard is somewhat comfortable with her new home, not because of its many luxuries, but rather because it is not too different from life in barracks and the officer's mess, albeit much more prominent and filled with aliens. The most significant difference for Shepard, other than the residents, is the lack of military decoration, whereas a military mess focuses on the history of the unit that occupies it, with paintings and artefacts relevant to battles and experiences; Tevos's estate has a focus on luxury and grandeur. Instead of military paintings showing someone doing something heroic, or a charge of heavy cavalry, Tevos has paintings from famed artists. Instead of tables stolen from Napolean Bonaparte in the Napoleonic wars or hollowed-out 30mm shells turned into shot glasses, Tevos has tables and silverware that belonged to famous inventors or explorers. Instead of books detailing the legendary wagers made in the mess, Tevos has the original handwritten books of poets.

/.../

"Alright, kids, sit down," Tatianasays to Shepard and Ophelia while gesturing to a small table and a few seats that surround it, "Before you go out there into the wild, there are a few rules you need to know." Shepard raises her right brow at being called a kid but sits down as instructed; prior to coming to this part of the galaxy, she has usually been the oldest in the room, thanks to her augments.

It is Ophelia who speaks next, "Just so you know, I think we are the kids here." She gestures to herself and the grizzled guard.

"I'll take it into consideration," Titiana says, but her attitude says she doesn't care. Turning to Shepard, Titiana states, "So, you will be glad to know some mysterious person put a hit on your head. We do not currently know if that hit is still active or not after recent events."

"Does the galaxy know I'm alive?" Asks Shepard.

Titiana blinks, "Yes. So, as far as I'm concerned, there is still a mark on your name, meaning if you opt to go out, you're taking guards, and I don't want any fowl from you about it. Here is how it's going to work..."

After a long brief that said a lot of words but told her little, and a short skycar ride, Shepard eventually steps out onto the arrivals area of the Upper Presidium Ward and almost immediately says in her native tongue, "Well shit." Her face, among a few other Human faces, is plastered onto numerous holographic advertisement boards.

Ophelia comes to stand by her side and can quickly guess by the Humans face what her thoughts are, "You're famous here." She starts to say, "You made the initial first contact, saved the Avians crew and have been seen numerous times since, doing important jobs."

Shepard suppresses a scowl before replying, "That doesn't explain why my face is on every damned advertisement from here to the other side of the galaxy."

"Well, right now you are a big news story for two reasons. First is your the first of your species to come here and step onto the Citadels arms, making you diplomatically and historically important; the second is the obvious."

Even though it has only been a few short seconds since Shepard has stepped out of the skycar, more than a few have noticed her and have stopped to stare, most are Asari, Salarian or Turian, but there are other species included. After taking a deep breath and releasing it to centre herself, Shepard then says, "Alright, I hate shopping enough as it is, without all the stares, so let's just get what I need and scarper." With a mental command, Shepard begins to record what she sees so she can send it higher.

As they begin their trek to the first store, it is obvious to Shepard that there is a small crowd following her, and as she passes people, a few try to speak with her, but Shepard quickly moves past them. Thankfully, it's not long till Ophelia directs Shepard into a large store. After Ophelia speaks to someone behind a counter, the duo is taken to a private room with one of their guards; after waiting in the room for a few seconds, what Shepard assumes is a well dressed Salarian comes in, carrying a few small white boxes.

"All Omni-tools," Ophelia says to Shepard.

"Are they in Prothean?" Shepard asks, hoping they remembered she can't speak or read galactic.

"Yes, yes," The Salarian replies before Ophelia can ever consider her response, the Salarians omni-tool translating to Prothean, "Please, have been expecting you. Good to see you survived; injury looked problematic." The Salarians speech is fast, causing the Salarians translation device to almost miss what he was saying. The Salarian does not let her reply as he continues to speak while putting boxes down on a nearby table, "This model is by far the most advanced..."

"She will take it." Ophelia butts in, having already been instructed by Tevos to get the most advanced model going. The Citadel wants to sell their tech to the Humans, so if they can impress Shepard, she will hopefully talk to people back home and get Human interest.

"Wait for a second," Shepard interrupts, "What is the battery life like on these things?"

"6 Citadel days." The Salarian replies quickly in Prothean.

Shepard does the maths before turning to Ophelia and smirking, "Old, not obsolete."

"Sorry?" She replies, genuinely confused.

Shepard pulls her phone out, "I can get half a year from this bad boy."

The Salarian perks up, looking at the phone in her hand; after a second he comments, "But only 2d image. Old tech, obsolete."

"It may be 2d only," Shepard replies, "But I like 2d images when reading the news or trawling the web, and can these things..." Shepard gestures to the white boxes, "Talk to the other side of the galaxy without delay?" She already knows they can't.

The Salarian is silent for a second before saying, "We have longer life devices available. This model will last 12 days."

"As long as it can make a call and access the local news still, that will keep me happy," Shepard informs. She does not need or want a device that can play games, can replicate music pitch perfectly, or take professional quality photos; instead, she wants something to read the news on, message others from the estate, watch a few videos, and last a timely duration without the need to recharge.

The Salarian looks to Ophelia as if questioning the decision before the Salarian shrugs his shoulders in a very human manner, "Very well, this is the endurance model, not quite as fast, or premium, but it will last." The Salarian opens the box and hands a bracelet-like device to Shepard, "Please, try on."

Shepard twirls the device that is 50/50 made out of some leather-like material and a clean matt grey metal in her fingers to examine it before moving to place it around her left wrist. "Wait... Not your left wrist." Ophelia interjects.

Shepard raises a brow, obviously looking for why not, "I'm left-handed?"

"Yes, but you look Asari enough, meaning people will judge you by our standards," Ophelia begins to explain, "In my culture, your left wrist is reserved only for a bonding bracelet. You put your omni-tool there, you will get people talking."

Shepard considers the issue for a short time before shaking her head and committing the device to her left wrist. "Well," She says as she ensures the device is securely clasped around her wrist, "According to all the posters, people are talking about me anyway... And I'm Human, that just so happens to be left-handed, they can ask about it, but the answer will be boring."

The trio spend the next half hour setting the device up to provide Galactic-Prothean translations, and the Salarian spends some time instructing Shepard on how the device is used. Shepard nods along for a lot of it, but she knows that the only way she will learn how to use it is to have a play around with it for a good while. Eventually, with Ophelia being somewhat happy that Shepard is satisfied, the Asari pays for the omni-tool and the two begin to leave the store, but Titiana's guards direct them out the back of the store as a few people had gathered around the front, trying to get their glimpse at an actual Human.

In the next store, Shepard comes to meet her first Volus, and the small creature is somewhat fascinating to her; its voice is neither what she would recognise as male or female, and the suit design makes her believe it either has a fantastic set of hair on its upper lip, or tusks. When it leaves the office room to go and do something, Shepard speaks aloud, "So, this is an interesting species."

"They come from a high-pressure atmosphere and are ammonia-based."

Shepard nods a few times before then asking, "So, is this a male or a female? Or are they genderless? How do you determine it to address them? Is it their tusks?" Shepard is using her own omni-tool to translate instead of relying on the Volus, mostly to help her get used to using it.

"Their tusks?" Questions Ophelia with some confusion.

Ophelia's confusion prompts Shepard to say, "Like two large teeth."

This causes Ophelia to laugh out loud, and hard before she asks, "Two large teeth? Are you fluffing my nose?"

Shepard huffs before pulling out her phone and looking up a large bull walrus. "Two large tusks," She says while indicating to the Walrus natural weapon.

Ophleia squints at the image for a second before clenching her fists, "What an ugly looking thing, but no, the Volus have very sensitive tpea that hangs from their face, the tusks as you have identified, is to allow them to hang undisturbed." Every now and then, some laughter makes its way to the surface from Ophelia.

From the description, Shepard can only think of whiskers, but after being laughed at, she keeps this to herself; instead, she asks, "So, how do we identify the males, females etc."

Ophelia takes a moment to let the idea of large teeth leave her mind before answering Shepard; eventually, after a few seconds, she says, "You have selected on your translator Volus Galactic. In their language, they don't have genders, so it will translate 'he' and 'she' to, if I remember correctly, 'they' or 'them'. It is very similar to how my own language does not have gender. Also, just for your interest, Volus find it very amusing that people are so interested in their gender behind their suits; they will often tell you a dozen different answers." Ophelia is quiet for a moment before continuing to ask, "Do you mind if I tell the others of your tusks?"

"If it amuses you so," Shepard answers, knowing fully that the others will hear of the story.

"Oh, it does," Ophelia replies just as the short alien walks back into the room.

By the time the meeting is complete, the Volus informs Shepard that her omni-tool has been set up so that she can use it to spend her credits, and it also informs her that she has 10,000 to spend a month, her 'wage' from the Council for first contact duties. When they leave the store, Shepard asks the obvious, "So.. how much is 10,000 credits?"

"A month?" The Asari initially replies, "You aren't paying for rent, food, or utilities, so it is allllot. Enough to enjoy a luxurious life, so when we go out, drinks are on you, oh, and the sky ride back is also on you."

Shepard shurgs, it gives her a rough idea, but she is still clueless as to how much things cost. Is a drink 1 credit or 100 credits? Could she buy a house in a year? Without context 10,000 credits means little.

On her way back to the skycar, Shepard and Ophelia come face to face with AVINA, a blue holographic entity resembling an Asari. "This is AVINA" Ophelia says as she approaches the holographic display, "Our version of Virtual Intelligence, quite simple, I must assume compared to your own AI."

As Shepard approaches it the VI turns its holographic eyes towards her and starts to speak something; thankfully, Shepards new omni-tool translates for her. "Welcome to the Upper Presidium, we do not have your profile or species on record. To your left, you will find a premium range of catering facilities that can cater for all known species. To your right is the financial and..."

Shepard speaks over the top of the VI, interested in just how intelligent it is, "Why is catering to the right?"

"Catering is to the left." The VI responds, "Take care, as your species is unknown, I can not advise on safety precautions. Do you have any further queries?"

"Why is catering to the left?"

The VI is quick to respond, "Catering is to the left. Take care, as your species is unknown, I can not advise on safety precautions. Do you have any further queries?

Shepard has heard enough and shakes her head, "Looks fancy, but it has going on nothing upstairs."

"No," Ophelia agrees, "It is good for finding out where a particular store is, or if you feel unsafe, or unwell, it can guide CSEC forces to its exact position for you."

"So it can be useful," Shepard reluctantly agrees, "In Human cities, we typically have an AI per city. They are quite powerful, and you can ask them anything about the city. Usually, the AI are more than happy to reply; but, if you piss it off, well, expect your transport to be late." Usually, if you annoy them enough, they will stop answering your requests or questions; most people have a favourable relationship with their city AI.

/.../

"Its golden," Shepard confirms as she plays around with her omni-tool. "A few things aren't translating, but for the most part, it's good."

"Cool," A chirper female voice replies from her phone, "I've already made updates to the software from your experience today."

Hearing the door to her dormitory open, Shepard looks up from her laid down position on top of her bed and to the door, where Ophelia has entered. The Asari stands silently, looking at Shepard as if waiting for permission to speak. "Yeah?" Shepard asks to prompt her.

"Are you finished with your friend?" Ophelia asks, her omni-tool translating to Prothean, but before it's complete, the chirper voice replies.

"Nope. We were discussing translation software and the effectiveness of today's tests."

"Tests?" Ophelia asks with confusion while looking at Shepard's phone, the source of the voice.

"Shepard has trialled a translation package I complied today. The results have been promising." An upbeat sounding voice says in almost perfect high-class Asari galactic.

"So you can understand Asari galactic?" Ophelia asks in the Asari version of galactic while making sure her omni-tool did not translate to Prothean.

"Yes," The chirper voice replies, "It did not take me long to figure it out once I was asked to solve the problem."

Ophelia narrows her brow for a second before asking, "Are you an AI?"

"Freya." The AI replies to her, "And don't worry, I'm only calling this location; I'm not here, so to speak."

"Oh, then hi." Ophelia replies after a second to compute what was said and remember what Shepard said about Freya earlier in the day, "You seem chirper.. for an AI."

"Would you rather I sound grumpy?" The AI asks rhetorically, "But yes, I was asked, so I solved the translation problems."

"Why now?" Asks Ophelia, "Surely it would have been beneficial to your creators for this to happen from day 1?

"They didn't ask." Freya remarks, "They often like doing things on their own, and now as it is beneficial to have the translation software, I was asked to speed up the process, so I did." In truth, the AI was asked to solve the translation program early on, but only a rare few knew of its existence. The advantage of seemingly lacking the translation software far outweighed the usefulness of having people speaking in each other's language.

"Oh," Ophelia replies while making a mental note to warn the others that Shepard will likely be able to understand them now, "Can I ask," She then says, diverting the topic, "Do you have emotions?"

"Yes." Shepard quickly interjects, replying for the AI, "Yes, she does."

"What she said," The AI then reinforces, "Why do you think I wouldn't?"

"Because you are an artificial intelligence?"

"So, you think I only deal with logic, 1 is 1 and 0 is 0?" Freya sounds a little irritated, but only Shepard picks up on it, "So no, I have my likes and dislikes. I think it is only fair you now answer my question, is the rest of your species so clueless about AI?"

Ophelia looks wide-eyed for a moment at being called clueless before responding to the device, "We are not used to AI."

"That is evident to the blind, deaf and the dumb. I like my creators despite their flaws, and they like me. So learn to deal with us because we are here, assisting our creators, and right now I am their ace in the hole, so we are going nowhere. We will likely talk later, goodbye."

"So..." Ophelia says after a second, "Was that Freya we talked of earlier?" She speaks entirely in Asari galactic.

Shepard replies in the same language, but the accent sounds like someone who learned the language from a mix of people, each teaching with different accents. "Yes," She replies, "Consider yourself blessed that she spoke with you for such a long time; most Humans don't even speak with her for that long."

"How so?"

"She doesn't like being asked stupid or easily researched questions," Shepard replies, "So she is scarce to most of the population. Anyway, what brings you to me?"

"The Matriarch would like to speak with you."

"Oh," Shepard replies as she moves to swing her feet off her bed, "Then I better not keep her waiting."