The Adventures of the Lucen: The VykurCorp Conspiracy

by General Rage

Liara T'Soni continued her mission to protect the Galaxy while Commander Shepard is in another dimension. She must stop the Covenant and the allies they've gathered from wreaking havoc in a Galaxy without it's greatest hero. While she's had some success, there's a gathering storm on the horizon and one of her crew of misfits will be forced to confront her past before it clears.

2. Digging for Trouble

Chapter Two: Digging for Trouble

Nel took a good look at herself in her armored disguise. VykurCorp mercs dressed mainly in plain grey and white suits, with the big VC logo emblazoned across their chest. Their visors were also V in shape, because of course they were. Grimacing under her visor, Nel finally let out an audible annoyed groan.

"I look like a total tool," she declared. "Like seriously? This is how they dress their badass PMC soldiers in the company? It's like the very definition of nine to five drudgery. This was why I wanted to be freelance, you don't have to look like a dipshit."

"We're all in the same boat here, Nel," Liara reminded her, placing her Eclipse helmet over her head.

"Easy for you and Wrex to say," Nel told her. "You got to wear the armors with the cool logos and flashy colors. I get business casual for mercenaries."

"Good, you'll stand out even less than any of us," Liara informed her. "It should make things easier for the infiltration."

Nel didn't argue further, standing next to the shuttle long after the briefing made that kind of pointless. It wasn't the kind of mission she wanted, but at least it was something to do. Besides, could be fun lurking around some creepy old ruins of an ancient alien race from another dimension. That was assuming it was Forerunner of course, the batarians could've mistaken it for prothean for all she knew. Either way, at least it could be interesting. Not fun, lack of gunfire and explosions was never fun, but some death traps could be worth a chuckle or two.

"Do you want to go over the mission specs again?" Liara asked her. "Just to be sure."

"This isn't my first op of this kind, ya know," Nel told her. "I mean, I was never dressing up like Seppies or nothing but I did sneak around some enemy camps past midnight now and then."

"I just want to be sure you know where we'll all be," Liara explained. "We have little intel to go on and we'll be walking side by side with the enemy. We need to be careful."

Best not to argue with Liara, Nel reasoned. So she gave her what she wanted.

"We land about a kilometer outside their perimeter," she began to recount. "We head to their security barracks, where a blind-spot in their grid is. By the time we land, the Eclipse Sisters and the new shift of dipshits from Vykur will be filing in. We blend in with their crowd, disperse into the excavation site at large. And I use my particular disguise to get to the designated security checkpoint so Saya, Vik and Kayap can slip by the guards posted there."

"I'll see what I can learn from the Eclipse Sisters in the meantime," Liara continued. "Find out what their part in this is. The main goal though is to get inside the ruins and locate their data hub. That's where we'll find the intel we're after. Whatever we uncover we let the others know through the secure channel Coda has set up for us. We keep in contact, all times."

That moment was when the others arrived, Saya leading while Vik and Kayap lagged a bit behind. The reason became clear when they got closer. Professor Vik'Sajee was in the middle of another lesson to his methane breathing pupil.

"So how come no one finds these hybrids?" Kayap asked curiously.

"Planetary reserves are the perfect place to hide dangerous genetic experiments," Vik explained. "Plus they come under the jurisdiction of the local government, making it easy to police and cover up anything. Missing hikers, mutilations, it all just goes away and they blame it on a natural wild animals."

"Wow, they can use pretty much anything to their advantage, huh?" Kayap asked, sounding amazed.

"That's how the system works," Vik shrugged. "Everything benefits something of theirs in some way."

Nel rolled her eyes about.

"When we say we have to keep in contact with everyone, does that include me and Vik?" She asked. "I mean, I'd like one day not having to deal with another one of his freaky escaped lab experiments he thinks is real because of a blurry video on the extranet."

"Relax," Vik told her. "I've learned it's best to just talk to people who are actually willing to listen. Besides, we'll be in an ancient alien temple of some sort. My mind will be on other things."

"Great," Nel groaned. "He finds out inter-dimensional aliens built a few pyramids and now he's all giddy at poking around them. Conspiracy Nut wet dream down there."

Vik didn't say anything, but he did glare through his visor. Their leader put a stop to things before it could go further.

"Enough you two," Liara glowered at them. "Keep your minds on the mission. This might be the key to VykurCorp and these relics the Covenant are after. We stay on task, got it?"

"Right, right," Nel sighed. "Mission first, I can bust the Bucket's chops later."

Vik just nodded, still glaring slightly at Nel. Liara seemed satisfied enough though by the truce. She moved towards the shuttle.

"Let's get moving then," she declared. "We have a dig site to get to."

---

Getting in through the security barracks was easy. The perimeter patrols had a gap in their pattern, long enough for the three of them to slip under a portion of the fence near the backside of the large main building. Already there were a number of Blood Pack, Eclipse Sisters, Swords and VykurCorp mercs walking around. It was easy to disperse among their ranks, they were on break or just being processed after all. Their guard was pretty down.

There wasn't much to the security sector, guards didn't need many amenities. It was mostly just small bunkers to sleep in and maybe one extra building meant for R&R. It probably had a bar, because mercs were different from your standard army, but really it was not a surprising set up. It reminded her of some firebases she had posted in back in the military. Surprising given what they were guarding. You'd kind of would've expected a more complex setup.

She could see that the groups within were a bit off. You could tell the Blood Pack didn't like the VykurCorp guards, given how often they seemed to snarl at each other when they past by. Turians and krogan, they just didn't get along. The Eclipse Sisters were different, everyone gave them a wide berth as they moved through the camp. No one wanted anything to do with them. It fed into their reputation, the Sisters were less mercenaries, more dangerous thugs, senseless killers if you will. Given that even the Blood Pack seemed a bit more wary with them than the Vykur stooges, well, that said something about the Eclipse Sisters for sure.

Maybe living for so long made you fucking crazy, like a God that could do whatever she pleased. Nel, couldn't be sure, she never had encountered Eclipse Sisters, just mainly their other branches. It was hard to imagine Liara somehow fitting in with them, but to the Doc's credit she didn't hesitate to make her move. The instant group of Sisters started passing them, she ducked into their ranks and marched alongside them. Wrex split off next, heading over to what looked to be R&R quarters where the Blood Pack were currently congregating. He'd attach himself to a patrol from there most likely. This left her all alone to make her way towards the excavation site itself. Lucky her, they had snuck in around shift change time, so she just had to follow the fresh squads as they moved out.

Nel could instantly tell they had made some significant progress to say the least. Rising out of the dirt were the tops of large spires, structures long buried for who knew how long. Everything was silver and chrome, although a bit dirty after so many eons. She was no archaeologist like Liara, but she could tell that the architecture was pretty alien, like it just all fit together, snapped into place. Like a puzzle with infinite configurations that somehow conformed into a whole.

There were multiple openings, doorways, tunnels, all leading down into the dark alien structure. They all looked fairly well excavated. They had probably been at this site for weeks, maybe months, given how much they had seemingly dug up so far. Which either meant they knew a lot by now or they were getting nowhere because they were still bothering with this place. Hopefully they'd have more luck once Coda got his tentacles on the data this place held, otherwise this whole trip had been a waste.

She made her way to the outer perimeter of the excavation site, where a security checkpoint was positioned. It was under the watch of a VykurCorp guard, just as they suspected it would be. Before she made her move though she needed to be sure everyone was in place. She subtly contacted Vik on her radio.

"Bucket," she began. "I'm near the checkpoint. Are you and the others in place?"

"We are," Vik responded. "Saya has been itching to move for a while now. I think he's annoyed at babysitting us when he thinks he can sneak in by himself easy enough."

"Yeah well not all of us have invisibility cloaks like he does," Nel scoffed. "Look, I'm going to take care of the guard, you three get in here. There's some crates here you can hide behind just a few feet away, I'll meet back up with you there."

She cut the comm and then made her way to the checkpoint. The guard there was in a matching uniform. He was busy reading an electronic book on a datapad when she approached. He seemed relatively bored and uninterested, with good reason he was staring out into a vast boring hot desert. The male turian's posture and stature also suggested he was young, probably late teens, early twenties, fresh out of his service to the Hierarchy and just trying to make some money now. That meant he probably wouldn't mind talking to a sultry female, time to put on the flirtatious charm, Nel thought, like every other femme fatale in the vids. She walked up to his window and knelt herself over it.

"Hey there," she said as pleasantly as possible. "Whatcha reading?"

"Uh, just some mystery novel," he responded, a bit put off by the female leering at him. "Murder on a cruise shuttle, you know, pretty basic setup of characters."

"Sounds cool," Nel said, pretending to be interested. "So you figure out who did it yet?"

"Well, I'm not sure," he admitted, sounding a bit nervous. "I'm mostly reading because it has some, well, you know."

"I don't think I do," Nel told him, cocking her head and moving her head closer. "What should I know?"

The guard was a bit put off, just how Nel wanted. As he fumbled a few words, trying to explain, he eventually gave up and just made an awkward lewd gesture by pumping his fist sideways. Nel just chuckled warmly.

"Sounds like a page turner," she told him. "Nothing wrong with that. We all have our vices."

"I wouldn't have to do this if they gave me extranet access," the guard grumbled aloud, his frustration suddenly leaking out. "Honestly, the officers in this stupid company get all the perks."

"I hear ya, no one is judging," she assured him, keeping up her sultry tone. "After all, just because I'm a female doesn't mean I have my own needs. Very sensual needs in fact."

The guard returned to a more awkward stance and Nel giggled as he started fidgeting in his seat.

"Uh, look," he tried to squeak out. "I kinda have a job to do here..."

"Oh come on, we're just talking," she told him pleadingly. "You just look so lonely here is all. I know how that feels, I'm lonely too. It's so boring here. How can you guard things effectively when you're so bored? I'd really like someone to talk to is all."

The guard still seemed hesitant, but he also wasn't quick to shoo her away anymore. He relaxed a little, putting the datapad away. He then looked at Nel, who slacked her shoulders a bit to keep him comfortable.

"So when did you get transfered here?" He asked her sheepishly. "I don't really see that many females around the camp."

"Yeah, I'm kinda new," she admitted. "They just brought me here a few days ago. Been staring at weird ruins for like an eternity at this point. I joined up for security jobs in awesome cities, not middle of nowhere."

"Yeah, wish we had more choice on where we could get posted," the guard agreed. "Vykur isn't exactly employee friendly these days. Shuffling us off everywhere. But the pay is good, so you can't really complain."

"Very true," Nel concurred. "I didn't expect to be running some weird ass archaeology dig detail, that just doesn't seem like something the company would do. I need the money though, so you have to do the job they tell you to do. Thing is though, can't spend much of it while I'm stuck here, can I?"

"Well there is the bar," the guard said. "But the Blood Pack has got that place locked down. Bunch of jerks, practically think they run the place. Wish we had a senior commander here like they did."

Senior Commander? That was interesting information. She wondered who it could be, but asking the question might make him suspicious. Should she, as a VykurCorp merc who has been here for a few days know who it is already? Best to pass the info onto Liara or Wrex when she could, they could probably find out on their own.

As she pondered the information, the corner of her eyes spotted a black-clad Saya sneaking up towards the security checkpoint. No doubt Vik and Kayap were close behind, she just had to keep up the distraction. She tried turning up the charm again.

"I wouldn't be too worried about krogan," she said, placing her hand on her chin. "I mean, I'm sure if I had someone to go there with, I'd feel more than safe."

"Um, yeah, I guess you probably would," the guard admitted nervously. "I hear it's a nice place, despite the stupid humpbacks."

Nel kept up her flirtatious behavior, even as she could hear the slight sounds of a group clambering across the roof above. She kept talking abrasively to mask their movements, keeping the guard's attention on her.

"I'm sure someone like you could take a few of them on if they tried anything," she said, circling one of her talons across his chest slightly. "I mean they left you to guard this little checkpoint all by your lonesome. You have to be pretty badass."

"Well, I... um, I don't mean to brag," he laughed nervously. "I've been through my share of scuffs, I guess."

"I bet you have," Nel said seductively. "I'd love to hear about them. War stories always get me a little, as you would say, you know."

The guard seemed a bit flustered and for a second he almost pulled away. Nel looked around quickly, the visor hiding her eyes, and saw that Saya was still helping Kayap down along the other end of the checkpoint. She had to keep guard focused on her.

"I think this is against regulations," the guard mumbled.

Nel did the best she could think of to keep him interested, she took off her helmet and smoothed her talons across her fringe. Batting her eyes at the young man, she brought his attention back to her.

"Lots of things are against regulations," she informed him. "Doesn't mean we have to stick to them. Come on, I'm lonely, you're lonely, can't we be alone together? Don't you want to be alone together?"

The guard physically gulped, her talons fumbling as he tried to think of something to say.

"Well, maybe when I get off my shift later," he suggested. "We could... we could see. It's over after sunset."

"Wonderful," Nel smiled wide. "I'll meet you outside the bar in the security quarters when the light is gone."

She placed a single talon under his chin and lifted his sight to hers.

"And if it all goes well, maybe this planet won't feel so boring," she giggled in his ear.

She pulled away and plopped her helmet back on, leaving the guard mumbling and babbling, trying to think of something to say.

"Better get back to my patrol," Nel told him, flirtatiously wiggling her talons. "See you later."

"Sure, sure, my name is-"

"No, no, no," Nel said waving her finger. "No names, it's funner that way."

She sauntered away, leaving the guard to drop back in his chair, more than a little emotionally drained from the experience. Nel quickly moved back to the crates in the meantime, to find her compatriots crouching behind them. Vik had his usual judgmental face.

"Congrats on your date," the quarian whispered in disdain. "Couldn't think of another idea than that one?"

"It worked," Nel said with a slight snarl in a similar hushed tone. "Don't complain because I got game. Kid was a bored scrawny loser who's only joy is probably a late night under the covers with a closed fist around his junk. Wasn't hard to get the engine running. Sexually aggressive women always put men off, no matter how much you males try and say we should be more like that."

"I'm assuming you're speaking from experience," Vik said rather dryly.

"Oh shut it, you're just jealous I ain't into you," Nel scoffed.

Saya typed up something on his omni-tool and showed it to Nel at this time. It read; "Would have been easier if you just led him outside and let me gut him." She shook her head at it.

"Liara doesn't want that, remember?" She reminded him. "Kill only if we need to, that was the plan. So you had to do a little awkward climbing, it worked out."

"That is surprisingly uncharacteristic of you," Vik told her, sounding suspicious. "I mean, the not killing part anyway."

"I'm just trying to be the best soldier I can be," Nel assured him.

Vik looked at her with a deadpan stare.

"You're trying to impress Liara so she sleeps with you," he stated flatly.

"Whatever, shut up," Nel snapped at him in a hushed tone. "We need to get you into the ruins."

She looked around, up and down the nearby road. She soon spotted what looked to be an equipment truck bounding down the trail. She got a devious look in her eye and looked back to her teammates.

"Got an idea," she said. "When you see the moment, make your move."

"You're not going to flirt again are you?" Vik asked.

"Please, I got more than a few moves," Nel said, slightly insulted by the suggestion. "Just move when that thing stops."

She got in the truck's path and waved it down. The driver came to a slow stop, not looking all to pleased by the sudden interruption. Nel stepped the the side of the hauler, blocking his view for Vik, Saya and Kayap.

"What the hell's the hold up?" The turian driver asked.

"Just a routine inspection," she explained, sounding as authoritative as possible. "We're near a checkpoint, we need to be sure."

"I'm not going through the checkpoint," he argued. "I gotta get this equipment down to a new section of the lower ruins ASAP!"

"Look, I'm just doing my job," she explained. "New orders from corporate, double checks around the perimeter, we need to be sure."

"You're being ridiculous!" The driver said. "Let me go!"

"In a second, sir," Nel insisted. "You're not alone, you're the second hauler I've stopped today."

She did her best to make it look convincing, checking under the vehicle and over around the top. Then checking the open back, where she saw Vik, Saya and Kayap hiding behind a tarp covering the equipment. She gave a subtle thumbs up and returned to the driver.

"Which section you going to?" She asked.

"Eighty Seven B," he grumbled. "Come on, lady! I got a job to do!"

"We all got jobs to do," Nel replied back plainly. "You got an issue with security, talk to corporate. Now, what exactly are you carrying?"

"Seismic, decoding and laser drill equipment," the driver groaned. "You satisfied now?"

"Cargo manifest?" She asked, holding out her hand.

The driver growled loudly and past it to her. She took a brief look at it, nodding her head incessantly.

"Checks out," she said, passing it back to him. "You're good to go. Drive safe. Ruins are a bit crowded."

"Yeah, whatever," the driver grumbled, restarting the hauler.

He continued on his merry way, bringing the others straight into the heart of the operation. Nel smiled, so far things were going good. Better yet, she proved she had the acting chops to Vik. No one could say she only used sex on this job. She was about to continue on her way, when a small squad of Vykur mercs stepped in front of her. Their commander held out his hand suddenly.

"Hold it, what's your unit number?" He asked.

Crap, Nel thought, did she remember the number Liara gave her? She thought for a few extra seconds, it was on the tip of her tongue. Then she got it and quickly answered.

"Zero-Seven-Delta-Niner-Six, sir," she declared saluting. "I'm on traffic detail and-"

"Not anymore," the merc commander said. "We need extra hands for an incoming arrival on the landing pad near central."

Another arrival? What the hell? Liara had only mentioned the Eclipse and they were already here.

"I thought the Sisters had already landed," she said.

"Second transport, off the books," the commander said. "Only just got notified so I'm a little short-handed now. I need bodies, you're it. Get in line, we're moving now."

Nel didn't seem to have much choice. If she resisted, they'd get suspicious. If she tried to weasel out of it she'd have to come up with another stupid story. She really did not have one prepared. Besides, part of her felt this second transport might be important. Maybe more Eclipse? Covies? Swords? Liara would probably want to know.

"Yes, sir," she complied, quickly getting into the squad.

They started marching to the central command center. She probably would've ended up there anyway, but damn it she kind of didn't want to end up in a squad. So long as she kept her cover, things would be fine, but she was now stuck with a pack of snakes ready to jump if she slipped up even once. Shit, she thought, this was the second reason she hated infiltration. Shooting everything from the get go was a lot less complicated than playing spy.

---

Liara was incredibly tempted by all that was around her. She had been on many digs in her lifetime, but this was something else. This was a piece of a civilization from another universe, perhaps dating back even further than the protheans. The scant bits of architecture she could see were incredible, angular and regal, laden with silver and chrome. She just wanted to rush within one of the open cavities that led inside the ruins proper and begin investigating. Even as the Shadow Broker, her love of archaeology had not diminished.

But she had other responsibilities at the moment, she'd have to wait. If she tried anything now, even if no one spotted her slinking off, she'd never know what the Eclipse Sisters were doing here. It couldn't just be about extra manpower for a single dig site, it had to be more. She hadn't bothered asking her "fellow sisters" as that would probably out her. She doubted any of them had skipped the briefing.

The Sisters squad marched towards a platform near the center of the excavation area. Even though she was standing closer to the back, she could easily make out what was happening. Standing on the platform, facing the Eclipse Sisters themselves, was Trox. Leader of the Blood Pack, a powerful Krogan Vanguard Warrior. His blood red armor glistened in the burning sun of the desert, his muscles flexing in a show of force. Intimidation, always a favored stance with krogan regardless of where or who they met.

The head of the column, an Asari with dark crimson spots around her eyes that spread out to her scalp-crests, approached him. She didn't seem at all concerned. In fact, she appeared to be fairly calm, chewing on something in her mouth. Liara used the laser microphone in her helmet to zoom in on their conversation and overhear what they were speaking about.

"Varna," Trox greeted. "I trust you have what we agreed upon."

"Eclipse always keeps their word," Varna responded low, angry tone. "How about you?"

"I'll discuss it when I see what you got for us," Trox snorted at her. "Now knock it off with the posturing, we're all friends here."

"We'll see," Varna stated before snapping her fingers.

Varna's fellow sisters brought out a series of large crates that they carried in pairs. They eventually set them down near Trox's feet. He methodically started opening each one and handling the merchandise inside. There were M-662 Avalanches, Arc Projectors, Grenade Launchers and at least one Cain. In another series of crates were several packets, drugs no doubt considering how Trox had a subordinate open one and take a small taste of the contents.

"This stuff isn't going to have any side-effects is it?" He asked Varna. "We don't need the kind of sand that kills you slowly."

"We've perfected this strain from the one before," Varna assured, still sounding annoyed. "That bastard Volus' grift has been long since eradicated. It will enhance your biotics without injury to the user. I will warn you though, prolonged use can still create erratic behavior or slow natural regeneration processes."

"Not my problem, I'm not using it," Trox informed her.

"Ah, I see," Varna said, finally sounding interested for the first time in the discussion. "You're expanding the Blood Pack's biotic ranks then."

"Maybe, but my men aren't using it either," Trox corrected her.

"Then who are you giving it to?" Varna asked with a renewed scowl.

"That's not for you to know," Trox snorted back.

"Like hell it isn't," Varna growled. "I want to know what our product is being used for. When this was just a business arrangement between our branches it wasn't a concern. Now there is an apparent third party. I don't need to be giving Eclipse's enemies an edge."

"You're not," Trox assured her. "They don't care about you. Hell, you might actually be of use to them if they like your product. So stop being paranoid, it's not becoming of your species."

Varna finally backed down, but still scowled at the krogan.

"Fine, where's the payment?" She demanded.

Trox tapped a few buttons on his omni-tool and waved it front of a datapad. A sister approached and he handed it off to her. She then brought it back to Varna.

"It's all there," Trox informed her. "And there's plenty more of it if you keep supplying us."

"Supplying your anonymous friend you mean," Varna said with a mocking tone as she looked at the datapad. "So I guess this means our contract is secured?"

"We'll still have to work out the details," Trox explained. "It depends on what my business partners think of your product. Regardless, you came through for us. You should hear from my chief client shortly, he'll make further arrangements. Probably have another job for you. For now, stay put, keep your squads close. We need the extra hands now that the excavation is expanding into the lower reaches of this complex."

Varna looked off to the side, eyeing the ruins.

"What is this place anyway?" She asked. "Doesn't look Prothean."

"Again, that's on a need to know basis," Trox informed her. "You're not need to know yet. Whether you gain clearance for that or not depends on my employer."

Varna didn't seem happy about that, but she let the subject drop. She turned to her fellow sisters and addressed them.

"Our transaction is complete, get back to the security quarters," she ordered. "We'll get our patrol orders there and split into squads. Move it."

Liara continued to play good little sister for now, waiting to make her move. Her mind was still on Trox and the conversation between him and Varna. The employer could only be Balak and from the sound of things it looked to be pretty obvious he was trying to expand their operation with another player. Why though? Was he trying to even the manpower and resources of the Hegemony-Covenant Alliance? Was it just a way to replenish losses quickly after all the set backs she had caused? More importantly, who was this third party Trox intended to give those weapons and drugs to? Liara had a suspicion it had something to do with VykurCorp's intentions. More specifically, whatever it was Orukuri was planning.

She put the thought out of her mind for now, there was nothing much she could do about it at the moment. She needed to get away from this pack of murderers and into the ruins. As they passed by a series of crates near a small tunnel, Liara made her move. She lagged behind slightly and then ducked away. She waited for a few moments while the column of sisters left her far behind. Then she sneaked into the tunnel and began to descend into the darkened ruins. She then activated her comm-link.

"Vik, Saya, Kayap, do you read?" She began whispering. "Are you inside?"

"We are, although it was a bit of work," Vik's voice responded. "We're out of sight for now, some kind of atrium. Hard to see anything down here, they don't have great lighting. I don't think they've bothered with a thorough of this section just yet."

"Good, then we might be able to get ahead of them," she reasoned. "I'll hone in on your signal, see you in a few."

As serious as this mission was, as critical as it was, Liara couldn't help but smile. She was in her element here, within these dark dank mysterious walls. Despite all the enemies around them, the prospect of exploring this place was too exciting for her.

"Time for the fun part of this mission," she stated to herself.

It was time to see what these "Forerunners" had left for them.

---

Nel ended up on the central command building's landing pad, forming something of a precession line. Kind of like what they did in the army when a General or Primarch showed up for inspection. She wondered, who could VykurCorp be welcoming that deserved this kind of fanfare? Orukuri? Balak? Who would be important enough to drag so many mercs off from duty for this? There was an obvious security element involved, but still, it didn't make much sense to line them up like this.

That was when the shuttle arrived, cruising down from the clouds towards the deck. It hovered above the pad for a few short seconds before landing with it's backside turned to the procession group. The hatch opened wide and a group of turians descended from it.

Nel looked at their armor, their outfits, they weren't VykurCorp. No, they weren't emblazoned with lame ass corporate insignias, they had something else. Old colony symbols were painted across their chests, colors of factions long forgotten, specifically of a number of colonies who banded together during the Unification Wars. Who fought against other enemy colonies and the Hierarchy, even when it was clear they were finished. She knew these turians, she heard about them in the Galactic News. They called themselves the Colonial Liberation Coalition, but it was simpler to call them what they actually were, Separatists.

Nel knew that VykurCorp was arming the Seppies, they had discovered as much back when they were on the Batarian Homeworld. She had not expected them to be here of all places, that they'd stumble upon on a meeting between them and VykurCorp directly. Now she knew she made the right call in letting herself get dragged along on this security detail, this was big. They finally knew the face of the Seppies Orukuri was dealing with.

As the Seppies filed out, one of the VykurCorp mercenary officers approached them. He gave a slight salute to what she presumed was the Seppies' leader. It was some old Turian with three white stripes painted below his eyes and down his chin.

"Xeltravius Desaulux, I'm the Principal Commander of this excavation site," the merc officer explained. "I hope you and your entourage did not have much trouble getting here."

"We've gotten adept at avoiding detection," Xeltravius replied. "I trust that you managed to keep this meeting off the books, of course."

"VykurCorp has as much to lose if we're found out here," the officer reminded him. "No one knows what's happening, I assure you. For now, please come with me. Blood Pack Leader Trox wishes to speak to you."

"Blood Pack?" One of the Seppies behind Xeltravius shouted in confusion. "I thought we'd be talking to your boss, not a damn Krogan."

Nel thought she recognized that voice and she looked more carefully to the turian beside Xeltravius. She noted the blue V markings that were stamped across his forehead and through his eyes. Above the eyes, just along the temples, strands of blue split off from the V-shape in both directions, stretching slightly back towards the fringe. It created a sort of misshapen X. His eyes were a darkened brown and along the side of his cheek was a scratch along his facial plates.

She recognized him almost immediately, but she almost couldn't believe it. It took all her willpower not to blurt something out. Her disbelief helped somewhat to silence her as well. It couldn't be him, not him. But Xeltravius confirmed it for her.

"Hanilex, please," he told him placing a hand up. "It's an intermediary, this was expected. The officer is right, they can't risk too much exposure. There has to be plausible deniability. You know this."

"Yes, sir," Hanilex sighed. "I just don't want to deal with krogan."

"We don't either," the Vykur officer exclaimed. "But they're a necessary partner. We just have to live with them for now. This way please."

The officer began leading the Xeltravius and his entourage inside, leaving Nel with the procession. She kept staring in disbelief, specifically at Hanilex. Of all the people from her past she thought she'd bump into again, why him? Why with the Seppies? Hanilex Boudicas, her old squadmate, a traitor to the Hierarchy? She couldn't believe it, but there he was, marching alongside the leader of a Seperatist group. She kept silently mouthing the words "what the fuck" beneath her helmet.

After a while it became evident this wasn't a sick joke, Han was here and on the opposite side of this. At least, that's what it appeared for now. As the security entourage moved to follow the officer, Nel tried to push her way through the ranks a bit so she could get a better look at Hanilex. She didn't get much of a chance before a different officer got in front.

"All teams secure compound," he ordered. "No one in or out, this place is off limits until our guests are gone."

Everyone started moving off the separate sectors. Crap, Nel thought, she needed to stick with Han. Besides the fact that he was meeting with Trox at some point, who was clearly the senior Blood Pack commander the lonely guard had mentioned before, she needed answers of her own. Like why her old friend was suddenly working with a filthy Sep. She managed to circle back from the squad she was in and get back into the main corridor that was Han had gone down. She'd try to catch up with him, hopefully before he got too far.

Suddenly, this infiltration op was no longer as boring as she feared it would be. No, it was worse than boring, it was fast becoming complicated. She hated complicated.

---

Within the hallowed excavated walls of the Forerunner installation, Liara trudged silently through the darkness. She had her helmet's nightvision activated, figuring a flashlight would give her away. She doubted any Eclipse Sisters had clearance to be down here. It was best not to advertise her position.

She had to refrain from getting too hung up on the architecture of this place. Everything seemed to draw her eye. It was all so different, so strange. She ran her hands across parts of the wall, feeling the strange symbols and insignias etched into the structure. She had no idea what they meant, but it felt like it was more than just aesthetics. There were also idle consoles or screens, their power partially restored but just barely. They probably hadn't found whatever room was powering this place to turn everything back on, otherwise they wouldn't have needed all these portable spotlights.

She tried once to activate one of the consoles as she passed, but it didn't do much. It flickered for a moment, becoming brighter, before dimming once more. She doubted she'd have found anything of value on these random ancient terminals though, but at least her curiosity was somewhat satisfied. She did her best from that point on to keep focused on the task, for the others were just up ahead.

Liara eventually found the signal where her team's signal was coming from. She took off her helmet as she approached, not wanting to get mistaken for the enemy. As she entered the atrium, the others popped up from behind a small pillar.

"There you are," Vik observed. "Any trouble getting down here?"

"None," she assured. "What's our status?"

"You'd know better than me," Vik told her. "This isn't my field. I'm the computer guy, remember? Near as I can tell though, this place looks a bit like a central hub of sorts. A crossroads to other sections of the ruins, if you will."

"And that big door behind you?" Liara asked pointing.

Vik looked along the path of her finger towards a large vertical-split doorway standing before them. All he could do was shrug.

"I figured something important was behind it," Vik assured. "Looks locked up tight though. Vykur's diggers haven't gotten inside so far as I can see."

"They're probably still working on getting it open," Liara surmised. "Not an easy task given what I've seen. I think the security of this place is still functioning, even on low power."

"Forerunner structures are always hard to break into," Kayap noted aloud. "I always wondered why temples would need so much security."

"I don't think this is a place of worship, Kayap," Liara corrected him. "It may look regal and sacred on first glance, but it feels more rigid and militaristic in another sense."

She looked around their very surroundings to prove her point. There were no clear antechambers or altars, no proper iconography. Everything looked grand and opulent, but at the same time incredibly uninformed. She had spent many a decade inside several prothean temples, places with clear religious significance. This place did not fit that description, it felt more like a complex than anything else. The Covenant probably misconstrued these sites as all holy sacred ground. It colored their vision greatly. Whatever this place was, it wasn't a temple.

"Vik, crack the seal on this door," she ordered. "I want to know what's inside."

"I'm not used to working with ancient electronics, let alone stuff that's from outside our reality," the quarian informed her. "I can give it a try though."

He approached a panel near the door and placed his hand against it. There was a red strobing flash, the panel rejecting his command for whatever reason. He grimaced at the console and tried pressing it again with the same result.

"I don't know what any of this says," he grumbled, before turning towards Kayap. "I don't suppose you know about this stuff?"

"Not really," Kayap replied. "I was never good with Forerunner translations."

"Starting to wish Coda was more inconspicuous," Vik groaned, cracking his knuckles. "Alright, time to give it a go."

Vik activated his Omni-Tool's bypass function, but it was more difficult than it seemed. The alien software was not really compatible with his tools. After a few failed tries to connect, he attempted a manual log in. With no visible port, he pulled open a panel beneath the terminal and connected his omni-tool directly to it through some wires. Now connected to the console proper, he clicked through a number of commands as they appeared on his omni-tool. Nothing seemed to work. Saya leered over him, trying to get a look at what he was doing.

"Lay off," he told the salarian. "This is more difficult than you think."

Vik finally got a hacking program to run, but it was hard deciphering the code and data. He set it to find possible locked parameters so the program could then crack them. It took a few seconds, but eventually the screen turned green. A quiet chime sounded and the door creaked open ever so slightly. Vik pumped his fist in celebration.

"Ha! Eat it creepy ancient wormhole aliens," he said jubilantly.

"Great work, Vik," Liara congratulated. "Let's head inside."

The team squeezed through the tiny opening and into the room beyond. There they found three small spires on each corner of triangular shape across the floor. There were larger holographic consoles between the spires and what looked to be some kind of dormant display over their heads. The walls themselves were covered with weird symbols and insignias, not unlike the halls outside. Unlike those though, these ones were glowing bright blue. There was another dim, blue, glowing light resonating from above them, illuminating the darkened chamber ever so slightly.

"What is this place?" Vik asked, his own curiosity and fascination piqued.

"It seems to be some kind of nerve center," Liara informed him, doing her best to keep composed. "Possibly communications or data filing. These spires are most likely servers, compiling and storing information which they display over head in holographic images. Their layout and design here also seems to denote the importance of the machinery and data itself. The overall look itself almost rakes on a religious aspect as well. We need to find out what was so valuable that they designed this room like they did, like an altar."

"On it," Vik assured.

He got up to one of the consoles, scratching his chin as he did.

"I still don't know what these symbols all mean," admitted. "But I think my experience with the console outside has given me an idea of what to press. Give me a second."

Vik tried a few combinations, the first two were wrong. The third though activated something as the holographic display came to life once heir heads appeared images of what appeared to be ships of some sort along with a number of random starcharts placed beside each. Kayap strained his neck staring at them while Saya's head scanned them methodically. Liara's eyes darted across each image and the small map of stars beside each. While it appeared that a lot of the data was damaged, a pattern soon formed in her mind's eye. Some of the ships were cast in red, others green and many others were blue. Her brow lifted slightly at each of them, wondering about the significance of the colors.

"Can you pull up one of the green ships?" She asked Vik.

Vik searched the console commands for a bit before figuring out which symbols would do that. He still barely knew what he was doing, but one of ship files opened up, display a better view of the system map and the vessel itself. There was also a strange object in corner of the ship's display now. A weird geometric shape of some sort, a sphere or oval, Liara wasn't entirely sure it was not exactly detailed all that great. However, as she had Vik pull up more of the ships files alongside it, she noticed similar objects of varying sizes and shapes. It didn't take her long to piece it together.

"These objects must be the relics the Covenant are after," she reasoned aloud. "These must be the Forerunner ships that brought them over into our universe."

"So why are some of them colored differently?" Vik asked inquisitively.

"I'm not sure, but it might denote the status of the ship and it's contents," Liara surmised. "We need to know for sure what the colors suggest exactly."

Vik looked to the console again and scanned the commands. His eyes then darted between the display and the terminal itself.

"Hold on," he said. "I think there's an attachment to this data. Let me just..."

A few seconds of fiddling and a different starchart opened up in front of the ships, this one more familiar. It was their galaxy and dotted across it were several big green points, detailing a large variety of systems and clusters throughout it.

"What's this all about?" Vik asked.

"Possibly potential sites to bring the relics to," Liara suggested. "I suspected green denoted a suitable location or successful arrival. This potentially proves it. They've highlighted every cluster and system they've deemed as a suitable site to keep the artifacts."

"Those are a lot of dots," Kayap noted aloud. "Way too many actually. There's not nearly as many relic transportships, even fewer that are green."

"Then not all of the relics were recovered," Liara surmised. "And these clusters and systems were only potential candidates for any ships that came through the wormhole."

This last bit of information was the clincher for her. Liara finally understood what this place was.

"We're in some kind of military monitoring outpost," she declared. "It was compiling data about this mass exodus of Forerunner ships carrying sensitive materials to our universe. They wanted to get these relics out of their home dimension and bring them to ours."

"Why?" Kayap asked. "Seems like a lot of work for a bunch of bits and bobs."

"Perhaps they were trying to preserve their culture," Liara suggested, still in deduction mode. "Remember what Shepard said? That they were being wiped out by these parasitic creatures? That they planned to eliminate them with these Halo rings? Perhaps this group of Forerunners knew of the wormhole and were trying to save as much of their culture as they could before everything was destroyed."

"Although, with the way the Covenant spoke about them, it might be something else," Vik warned. "They might have been trying to get a bunch of their most powerful weapons over here. Probably in the hopes of rebuilding their little empire through conquest."

For once, Liara did not fault Vik's paranoia infused logic.

"You may be right," Liara concurred. "Either way, they weren't successful. If the green is a successful transportation, the red and blues could stand for failed or unknown statuses on the other ships and their cargo. Meaning a number of those very relics could be still back in their home dimensions."

More specifically, they were stuck where Shepard was stuck. This was a big find, definitely worth the trouble of coming here. Shepard needed to know about this, fast.

"The data appears corrupted in a lot of places and it doesn't seem to have complete information on the operation in any case," Vik informed Liara gravely. "It tells us what ships got through, but not where they landed or where they dropped their cargo off. It's exceedingly bare bones and this little chart of our galaxy doesn't exactly lower down the search area. We could be looking for these things for years."

"I imagine the Covenant have the same problem and are working to correct it," Liara said, equally as grave. "We need to find out more about this relic exodus of theirs. It's the whole crux of the Covenant's invasion."

She looked to Vik sternly.

"Download everything you can," she ordered. "We need to get it to Coda for further analysis."

Vik nodded and searched for a place to jam a data disk to begin the process. As he did, Liara turned on her comm. They had accomplished one of their objects, finding out what was so important about this place. Now, they just needed to locate the main data hub for the excavation itself. It was their key to the VykurCorp side of this equation. She needed to inform the rest of the team of their progress.

"People, we have something on what these ruins are," she began to speak through the comm. "More specifically, the relics we keep hearing about. Right now though we need to find the data hub, that's our new priority. Anyone got any leads on it?"

"I might be able to help on that front, Doc," Nel's muffled electronic voice said hesitantly as it filled the room. "I've currently found myself in a very advantageous position."

Liara furrowed her brow in confusion. She then asked the obvious question, suspecting she would like the answer all that much.

"Where are you exactly?"

---

"Central Command," Nel admitted, rubbing the back of her neck. "I, uh, kinda got forced inside to keep my cover. Before you say anything, it was totally not my fault. Honest!"

Nel kept herself hidden behind a corner. She had lost Han in the corridors awhile ago and hadn't been able to pick up his trail. She was hoping she could locate him again soon, but right it seemed like Liara needed her more. Although she still didn't sound too happy about that.

"Alright, Nel," she said with a rather disgruntled sigh. "I suppose you are in a unique position to help."

"So you're not mad?" Nel asked hopefully.

"Just find a computer terminal with a layout of this place," Liara insisted. "We need to know where they've stashed their data hub."

"Alright, I'm on it," she assured the asari and moved away from the corner.

It took a bit of searching to find a terminal, mostly because she had to look like she was actually just patrolling to avoid suspicion. Nel eventually spotted a door leading into something marked "Systems Monitoring." She had no idea what that meant, but she hoped it would give her what she wanted. she slinked into the room, which thankfully was not locked. She doubted the computer would be that easy. Approaching one of the console at the back of the room behind a set of server towers, Nel hovered her talons over the commands. She froze for a moment, trying to think things through and silently wishing that Coda or Vik were here instead.

She clicked and activated a few applications and programs, searching for anything relevant. Eventually she came upon something called "Data Compiling, Computing and Acquisition Status." It sounded like a mouthful and also very important. Maybe it would tell her where the hub was. When she opened it up though a password lock screen jumped up. She groaned outwardly.

"Hacker crap," she growled. "Fuck."

She didn't have any real options here, she was shit with this junk and she knew it. She cracked skulls after all, not codes. She needed help and instantly called up Liara again.

"Hey guys," she began, worried slightly about their reaction to her plea. "I found this application about Data Compiling and crap. Might lead me to the hub, but it's password protected. I'm gonna need help on this."

Liara's audible sigh over the radio was almost instant.

"Vik. you're up," she soon added. "Help her."

Vik came on the line next and to his credit he wasn't arrogant or prideful about the situation, he was quick to get to the point. First time for everything, Nel thought.

"What's the setup?" He asked succinctly. "Tell me exactly what is on the screen right now."

"Password entry screen, three separate input boxes I guess," Nel responded, still a bit agitated over being stuck having to do this at all. "VykurCorp brand Security and Protection software from the looks of it."

"Any additional instructions? Finding three passwords is too time consuming," he continued to explain. "There's probably a better option."

"Uh, it says something at the bottom," she stated, narrowing her focus on the tiny print. "Something about a numeric clearance card for executive access? Like, what? A keycard? I gotta go find a keycard now?"

"Not exactly, it's more a set of codes on a card that allows for convenient access to the system," Vik explained. "Keeps the user from needing to remembering every measly exact password for all their stuff. They're usually biometrically locked so no one but the main user can use them. The reading system can be hacked though."

"Alright, good," Nel said nodding her head anxiously. "How do we do that?"

"First, you need to connect your omni-tool directly to the system input," Vik explained. "Then I'll upload a program for you to use to break the code sequencer wide open."

Nel quickly located a data port. Pulling a wire from her suit, she jammed it into the port and activated the connection. Moments later she got an upload from Vik, a file containing his little program. She opened it up and after a few seconds of auto-installing, it was ready for use. She executed the program and suddenly data, code and numbers flew across her screen.

"Alright, I'm seeing a bunch of techno junk that's making my eyes hurt," she told Vik. "Now what?"

"Find the command titled as Unlock Protocol," he informed her. "The hacking tool will crack it, highlight a series of codes and then you just press them in sequence. I'll walk you through it, just describe each to me."

"And that gets us in?" Nel asked frantically.

"It fools the system into thinking a card has been placed into the reader, so yes," Vik stated plainly. "Now just do it!"

Nel started searching through lines of code, searching for the protocol she was searching for. She gritted her teeth as her eyes raced over every stupid line of code and data. Every now and then she looked away, both to rest her eyes and to see if anyone else was in the room. After about a minute she pretty much fed up being stuck doing this.

"I hate hacker crap," she muttered aloud.

She scrolled down again and just managed to spot the words "Unlock Protocol" in the middle of a line of code. She frantically pressed at it on the touch screen. Seconds later, the screen changed again and several new lines of code raced across it. One was a large batch highlighted yellow, the other a small couple of lines in green and another with a large space between the data in green. She quickly described their looks to Vik who responded just as expediently.

"Red, Yellow, Green, in that order," he said.

She followed the instructions, pressing and activating the codes. On the main screen of the terminal, the password box vanished and was replaced with a ton of informations on the facility. She quickly checked through it and found what they needed, the hub. She could read it's status as well as see it on a small monitor in the corner of the window.

"I got it," she reported. "Their data hub is located in a lower chamber beneath the command center. Looks like they broke into the ruins from above and just attached it directly to one of the old alien consoles. Probably speeds up the data collecting, whatever. I'm sending you directions to it, you have a straight shot through the ruins from the looks of it."

As she sent the intelligence though, she heard voices coming towards the door. She logged off the terminal and rushed into a hiding place behind a server tower. As soon as she got in cover, the doors opened wide, revealing that same Vykur officer, the Seppie Leader Xeltravius and, most important to Nel, Hanilex.

"This detour is unnecessary," the officer explained. "We're more than prepared to provide you with all the information required."

"I think we'd prefer it handed to us directly," Hanilex informed the guard.

The officer just sighed. He walked over to a terminal, stuck an OSD in a port and logged on. A few short seconds later he pulled the OSD out and handed it to the Seppies. Xeltravius quickly pocketed it.

"That should be everything concerning the weapons and the list of improvements," the officer explained. "As well as your special item, of course. Now, can we please go to the meeting."

"Fine, we've wasted enough time with this tour anyway," Xeltravius declared.

The trio left the room and Nel slowly followed after them. This time she'd be sure not to lose them. Liara would handle the hub from here, she didn't need her for that. She had to figure out what this meeting was. Of course, she knew that was just her excuse. This was a hell of a lot more personal now, there was no denying that.

---

They made their way through the ruins, careful to avoid the scant few patrols moving through the ancient inwards of the structure. Liara forced herself to ignore her old archeaologist urges, her thoughts focused on the data hub ahead and not the tunnels she wished she could explore further. They eventually stopped just short of the entrance, crouching behind some boxes filled with excavation equipment just out of the guards' line of sight. They could see pretty plainly two VykurCorp guards posted outside the door.

"We need to deal with them," Liara stated. "Saya, you're up."

The salarian barely nodded before he activated his cloak and vanished. Seconds later he made his move, his blade slicing into the side of the guard. He put the turian into a choke hold to keep him from screaming too loudly. The struggled alerted his compatriot beside him, but too late to do anything. Saya pulled the sword out and chucked it like a spear into the turian's head. The VykurCorp guard fell dead to the floor, while Saya continued to strangle the other. He kicked out the back of suffocating one's knee, forcing him to the floor. He then jumped up and kicked the turian in the head to put him down for good.

With the guards down, Liara moved up with Vik and Kayap, just as Saya was pulling his sword out of the second guard's head. He also reached down to pull something else off the turian, a keycard of some sort.

"Must be for the door," Vik reasoned, taking it from Saya. "Doesn't look like it's biometrically locked, so we're in luck."

"Careful, there might be more inside," Liara cautioned before Vik swiped the card. "Line up and get ready."

The team did as told and Vik carefully slid the keycard through the reader. The doors opened up wide, revealing the inner sanctum where the data hub resided. There were only two other guards within, surprised to see the entrance way was now ajar. Carefully, one of them pointed his weapon at the open space.

"Hello?" He asked. "Who's there?"

Liara's answer was wordless. Threw a stasis attack at the guard, freezing him in place. Saya quickly rushed in next, cutting the second down with a quick slash across the throat. Liara finished the one in stasis off by hitting in the face with a biotic punch just as the field dissipated. He would not be getting up from that. Vik and Kayap entered after her and the quarian wasted no time getting to work on the data hub. He activated his omni-tool and began bypassing the safeguards.

"Good to be back on a machine with a language that isn't dead and from another dimension," he said happily as he worked. "Also good to see VykurCorp security is still a joke. My virus has already terminated all passcodes for the system. We're in."

"What do we have?" Liara asked hopefully.

"A lot of their own research on this ruin from the look of it," Vik replied, still feverishly working. "Seems like they came to the same conclusions you did on this place, although it seems they took a hell of a lot longer to figure it out. They have a list of other sites, they're cross referencing the information, trying to speed the work along. Latest updates say, they're trying to narrow down any data concerning the Hanar controlled systems within the files of the ruins."

Liara only wondered why for a few seconds, when she remembered what they had overheard while on Khar'Shan. The Covenant believed that the relics were located on Kahje, the Hanar Homeworld. Supposedly the secret was in a temple on the planet, but no one knew which one because Kahje was full of them. The strange thing about that was, as far as Liara knew, there were only prothean temples on Kahje. The hanar were a bit zealous in their devotion, but they wouldn't mistake Forerunner ruins for prothean structures. She could see for herself there were just way too many differences architectural and construction wise.

"They must be trying to find evidence of the Forerunners journeying into Hanar Space," Liara suggested. "If they really think the secret they're after is somewhere on Kahje, any intel on their systems in these ruins might provide the clue they need to locate it."

"You think the relics might be there?" Kayap asked curiously.

"It's possible, but it's just as likely it's not that simple," Liara cautioned. "The Forerunners obviously put a lot of time, manpower and effort into getting these relics to our universe. They also seemed very determined to keep them hidden. I doubt they'd just put them all in one place or leave the information to finding them out in the open. It's more likely we'll find some kind of clue there, better yet a map if we're lucky."

"Let's just hope we find it first then," Vik said, his eyes still on his work. "Anyone who puts this much time into hiding something isn't doing it for laughs. If the Covenant are after them, I'll bet they're weapons of some kind. Speaking of, I've just got into the main VykurCorp servers, seems there's more here than just data on these ruins. Give me a second."

Vik kept looking for a bit, typing on commands furiously. Then he stopped, his eyes growing wide.

"Oh keelah, this does not look good," he said, nervousness growing in his voice.

"What is it?" Liara asked.

"A data packet was recently transferred here," he began gravely. "It relates to a series of reports concerning a special project of theirs. It's not much, but it's highlighting cellular decay and spread. Two guess what that could mean?"

"Biological weapons," Liara reasoned, her face turning to a scowl.

Back when this all started, when they first picked up Saya, they were told that the Covenant had attacked and raided a salarian medical lab. They weren't sure what the purpose of the attack was, but awhile later they discovered it on Khar'Shan. The Covenant had stolen a biological weapon of some kind, one VykurCorp and Orukuri were feverishly working on. Combined with the knowledge he was supplying the Separatists for some reason, it was a rather foreboding prospect. They didn't know much beyond that, only that whatever it was about it wasn't good.

"How do the reports read, exactly?" Liara asked, her voice filled with renewed concern.

"Favorable," Vik shrugged. "I'm just skimming it right now, but it doesn't look sound like they're disappointed.

"Anything else?" Liara questioned.

"Lists of weapons orders, transfers, storage," the quarian replied plainly. "Since they used this data hub to cross reference with the other dig teams across he galaxy, I pretty much have a direct line into the VykurCorp network. Problem is, we don't have time to sort through it all, especially when some of it is layered in encryption. They're going to notice something is up. Their security may be a joke, but it won't take them long to figure out someone has gained this level of access. It will take them awhile to stop it electronically, but, well, we're on site so..."

Yes, Liara thought, they didn't have time to go over everything. They needed to move.

"Start uploading everything you can to the Lucen as fast as possible," she ordered. "Bioweapons and any other information concerning the ruins is top priority. We need get out of here with as much data as we can. We'll head up through the hole they blew through the roof of this place into their command center, link up with Nel and Wrex, and then we get off this planet."

"I'm guessing stealth is over then?" Vik asked, nervously chuckling. "Nel is going to be happy about that."

---

Nel pressed herself against the corner of the doorframe and peered slightly inside. She could see Xeltravius, Hanilex, the VykurCorp officer all standing around a large table. Laid out across the surface were several boxes, all of them Nel recognized as the ones the Sisters had passed off to the Blood Pack. At the table's head was Trox, standing proud with arms crossed in a commanding position. Back when she was working on his payroll, Trox always seemed to relish lording his authority over her. She had guessed it had to do with her being a turian. Apparently she hadn't been far off the mark.

"You need to start appreciating the effort we go through for you," he told the Seppies. "Making idle threats and demands is unbecoming. You're getting what you need and progress is steady. That's all you need to know."

"Things are reaching a critical point," Hanilex declared. "Our men are tired of waiting and we can't hold back for much longer. Now, we're getting handed off to a bunch of krogan as contacts. Can you see why we feel pushed around?"

Trox just sighed a long annoyed grunt.

"Look, I don't like having to be around you turians either," he explained scowling. "The only species that smells worse than you are salarians. Thing is, bitching to me about your problems is pointless. Mainly because I don't really care about them, I'm just the intermediary. You know? So our mutual benefactor doesn't end up caught in the crossfire if things go south? And for the record, I get you Seppies are Xenophobes, but you're not the only ones who have a beef with the Hierarchy. They sterilized my people, as you recall. So, yeah, I'd kinda like to see someone screw them up myself. That is ultimately the plan here, I may not care if it works, but I'd like to see it get off the ground myself anyway. Overall, you want to complain? Fine, but you're wasting your breath on me. Voice your concerns to the real head of this operation or shut up and deal."

"Fine, krogan," Xeltravius snorted in frustration. "Just give us what we came here for."

Trox opened one of the boxes and tossed out a packet at the Seppies. Hanilex caught it easily, opened it and took a sniff. Then he nodded his head at Xeltravius who responded in kind.

"It seems you did come through after all," he told Trox.

"Remember that for next time," the krogan informed him. "The weapons are in there as well. We already have other shipments en route, the special ordinance if you will. It will be arriving at your bases shortly."

"About those weapons, are you ever going to explain more about these aliens you're working with?" Hanilex asked. "Who are they?"

"Do you really care?" Trox asked incredulously. "The guns work don't they? Isn't that all that matters?"

"I'd just prefer if we knew where they're getting working plasma-based weapons," Hanilex elaborated as he hunched over the table. "You guys raiding the Geth or something?"

"If we decide to give you more information about our allies, we will tell you," Trox answered unwaveringly. "Right now, just be glad you're getting these advanced weapons at all."

As Trox spoke, his omni-tool communicator started beeping. Growling he answered it.

"What do you want? I'm in the middle of something," he grumbled at it.

"Sir," another krogan's voice answered. "Some of the technicians have just reported some kind of systems breech in the data hub."

"What?!" Trox screamed at the omni-tool

"We don't think it's remote, probably local," the krogan continued. "Some of the boys and are moving out with a VykurCorp team to the hub room, we're going to see what's causing it."

"Don't move anywhere without me," Trox ordered loudly. "If this is a breech I have a good idea who it is and we can't afford half measures if it is. Wait for me, that is an order!"

Trox began to move for the door, but he wouldn't get far. Nel wasn't about to let him link up with his men if she could help it. She moved into view of the doorway, her rifle up and fired into the krogan's kneecap. Trox didn't have his kinetic barriers up so he crumpled to the floor, clutching his leg. Nel then shifted her aim to the turians, her gun mostly leveled on Hanilex.

"What the hell is this?" The VykurCorp officer demanded.

"It's pretty fucking obvious idiot," Nel told him, turning the gun to his head. "Drop your guns, all of you! Right now! Or this whole fucking rooms gets a new coat of paint!"

The officer and the Seppies did so, but Hanilex eyed her curiously.

"That voice," he said suspiciously. "That sounds-"

"Familiar?" Nel laughed. "Nice to see you remember something, traitor. Was wondering if you forgot me along with your duty."

Nel ripped off her helmet and tossed it to the ground, her eyes glaring at Hanilex in a rage.

"Nel?" He said, his face one of shock and slight dismay. "What are you-?"

"For the love of the void!" Trox shouted from the floor. "Of all the fucking stupid turians I had to deal with, why the fuck are you here?"

Nel fired again at Trox, hitting him in the arm.

"Be thankful you're alive, dipshit," she told the krogan. "You're my team's ticket out of here once I prop you up like a meat shield. Now excuse me, I'm trying to have a talk with my former squadmate."

She glared back over at Hanilex, who's initial shock had waned somewhat.

"This is not exactly how I pictured a reunion, Nel," he said rather plainly.

"Fuck you," Nel snarled at him. "To think I felt sorry about you getting kicked out of the program. The whole squad felt like shit about it, we liked you! I always kept wondering where you were going to go. Then I find you with a fucking Seppie leader! A fucking terrorist!"

"One man's terrorist is another-"

Nel turned her gun on Xeltravius, switching to inferno rounds as she did.

"Fucker, speak another word and your tongue is gonna get lit the fuck up!" She shouted at him. "You know how fucking bullshit that line is? Seriously? I know what you shitters do, blowing up civies and attacking our allies. Now everyone quit interrupting me and Han here so we can air all this shit out!"

Hanilex chuckled slightly.

"Still have a curse word fetish, huh?" He asked.

"You don't get to fucking laugh, jackass," Nel growled. "Start explaining, why? Why Han? Separatist? Of all the turians out there, I never thought you'd turn. You of all people. Why? Just tell me why and I'll consider just leaving you wounded and not dead."

Hanilex just sighed sadly before looking up with conviction.

"The thing is Nel, you never really knew me."

"Bullshit, don't you tell me you were some fucking spy or something," Nel snarled, her gun practically aiming between his eyes.

"No, that's not what I meant," he elaborated. "Let me explain it again. You never knew me."

Before she could react, Nel saw Han's hand move and, to her utter amazement, blue light shone from it. The resonance shot out and struck her in the chest, flinging her back out the door and into the hallway. Her back slammed against a corner wall, the pain was terrible, but she gritted her teeth and bared it. She reached to her side to go for a smoke grenade, make a retreat, she she saw Han's pistol pointing at her in the face from across the way. He barely even flinched a muscle as he glared at her, there was just a cold glint in his eyes.

"Since when are you a biotic?" She asked, still astonished.

"Always have been," he replied. "I told you. You never knew the real me."

"Don't talk! Fucking shoot her you idiot!" Trox's voice shouted from the meeting room.

Han turned slightly to shout back at him. The momentary distraction was all Nel needed. She leapt up, punched him square in the jaw and watched the bastard fall to the ground hard.

"I know you can't take a good haymaker, that's good enough," she stated.

She grabbed her gun, but then heard a bullet whiz past her from the side. She turned to see Blood Pack mercs rushing her. No time to deal with Han, she needed to leave. She dropped the smoke grenade and let it spew out a cloud to blanket her escape. She took off running, charging down the corridor like a bullet away from the onrushing Blood Pack. Trox was probably already healed from that bullet wound to the knee too and she didn't want to face two biotics.

She still couldn't get over that, Han was a biotic. That should've been impossible. He wasn't from a Cabal unit, he was tested as normal. How the hell did he fool the scans and blood tests and all that other shit that they did to figure out what you were or weren't? Her mind raced with possibilities. Swapped samples? Urine from another donor? Paid off doctor who looked the other way when they took a peek at his brain pan? She'd have asked, but she really didn't have the time. Also the fact her head was reeling, her heart was racing and her blood was boiling told her a number of other things. Mainly things she really did not want to think about.

Her emotional state got the better of her though as she wasn't thinking as clearly as she should. When she turned a corner she found herself staring at a VykurCorp guard, his gun leveled at her. She was hoping her shields would hold long enough to get to cover, when some jumped out from an open doorway beside the guard and sliced his jugular open. The clad in black figure was of course Saya, sword in hand.

"Ninja frog," she shouted with glee. "Am I glad to see your silent but deadly ass!"

As he flicked the blood off his blade, a second guard came rushing up the crossway corridor behind them. He was trying to get his helmet off as something blue and hot was stuck to it. It exploded before he could manage. A third guard was gunned down by several submachine gun bullets and fell into their line of sight. Moments later, Liara, Kayap and Vik walked over the dead turian's body. Liara gave a small smile to Nel as she spotted her.

"Infiltration is over," the asari informed her. "You're off the leash. You happy?"

"Ecstatic, ma'am," Nel grinned widely.

"Good, because there's probably a ton of Blood Pack between us and the landing pad," Liara informed her. "Let's move!"

They started making their way to the landing pad, alarms already going off all around them. As loud as they were though, Nel could still hear the boots of krogan and turian alike rushing all around them. Her species and the krogan weren't quietest of species after all.

"Where is Wrex?" Nel asked. "We could use a little badass krogan warlord-in-chief action right now!"

"He'll meet up with us, don't worry," Liara assured. "Keep your eyes peeled for- back!"

Liara stopped the team just as they were about to round the corner. A barrage of bullets flew straight in front of them. They'd have been mulch if Liara hadn't spotted the turret position out of the corner of her eye. They weren't really there to kill them though, they were obviously there to slow them down so other squads behind them could catch up and finish them off. They needed to deal with the turret and fast. She turned to Kayap to do just that.

"Think you can hit that turret barricade with the grenade launcher?" She asked.

"Think so," the little alien declared, pulling the heavy weapon off his back and letting it unfurl in his arms. "Just give me cover."

Liara nodded and waved Nel up to her position.

"Lay fire across the turret," she explained. "We need to keep them from firing at Kay."

"Easy, let's do it!" Nel said excitedly.

Moving out slightly past the corner, Nel and Liara opened fire on the turret, pelting it with bullets. As the gunner ducked down to avoid getting shot, so did those around him. The momentary lapse in their fire was the opportunity Kayap needed to rush out into the open and take aim with his grenade launcher. He fired a small barrage of grenades that arched through the air and crashed down on the barricade. Explosions ripped through the enemy, the turret exploded in a burst of fire the gunner tumbling out into the open.

Kayap was already moving to the opposite end of the crossway at this point and the others were about to follow, when gunfire opened up from behind. Blood Pack mercs behind them, charging up as krogan were want to do. The team fired back briefly, but kept moving regardless. They did not want their pursuers to catch up. Saya was already on losing them. He slashed his sword against the walls from top to bottom and then started running after the rest of the team. To the rampaging krogan approaching them, it just seemed like a stupid gesture of posturing. Nel knew better, the salarian had just set a trap. The second the krogan approached the slash marks along the walls, they exploded. Nel didn't look back to see the damage, but she suspected at least one of them had lost a leg. Saya's explosive gel did not fool around.

"Have I mentioned how much I love that the sword can make things explode?" Nel said aloud grinning.

"You practically do every time it happens," Vik reminded her.

"Still isn't any less cool," Nel informed him.

They neared the corridor that would lead them to the landing pad, almost home free. Or they would have been, if when they rounded the corner they didn't see a squad of five Blood Pack mercs staring at them, plus Trox at their head. He was already resonating with biotic energy and he looked angry.

"You are very lucky that Balak is interested in taking you alive, T'Soni," he growled. "Right now, a credit bonus is all that's keeping your head intact."

"How the hell did you get here before us?" Nel asked confused.

"Shortcuts, and you I'm killing slowly," Trox shouted. "Balak doesn't give a shit about what happens to you. We just need the asari."

"That isn't happening, Trox," Liara stated, her own biotics resonating across her arms. "We're leaving, right through you if necessary."

Trox just laughed at the bravado.

"Please, I got five men with claymores lined up to fill you full lead," he declared. "You're pretty much screwed, so knock off the biotics. You asari might think you're good with those, but I got more raw power in my middle toe than you got in your whole body."

Liara just smirked.

"Actually, you only have four men," she explained.

"Four? I thought you were smart, T'Soni," Trox said confused. "You seriously can't cou- wait a second."

It sunk in too late that Wrex wasn't with Liara. That Liara and Nel were dressed in Eclipse and VykurCorp armor respectively. And when he looked back to see the rest of his own squad, he could see one of them stepping slightly back, with a blue resonance around him and his arms already raised.

"Surprise!" Wrex declared.

At the same time, both Liara and Wrex let loose a shockwave and throw attack. The attacks collided on Trox, detonating and throwing the entire Blood Pack squad to the ground or against the walls. In the middle of the carnage, Wrex rushed up to Liara, pulling off his Blood Pack helmet.

"That was a lot more fun than it should've been," he chuckled. "I think I like playing spy."

"I'm just glad you found a detail working security," Liara told him. "Now come on, let's get to the pad."

"Forget it," he told her. "They got the rest of the Pack and Vykur mercs swarming the place. We're not getting the shuttle on or off that pad. We need a better landing spot."

Liara gave it a moment's thought and came up with an idea.

"There's a platform in the middle of the surface ruins," she recalled. "If we can get there we might just be able to make it."

As they were talking, gunfire erupted from up ahead where the pad was. Blood Pack were rushing inside. No time to deal with their fallen comrades and Trox, they needed to run. Falling back as the bullets flew at them, Wrex tried to cover their retreat.

"There's a door down this hall that will lead us straight outside," he said pointing. "Let's move!"

The squad took off, leaving the broken and battered Blood Pack strewn about the floor around them. One of them was still alive and conscious though, Trox. As he sat up, battered and bruised, he activated his comm-link.

"Varna," he said, coughing in pain. "We got a situation. Time for you and your sisters to earn their paycheck."

---

Heading out into the surface ruins, Nel fired her gun into the air several times. The workers scattered, running for cover as the squad raced through the uncovered bits of the ancient Forerunner structure that had thus far being unearthed. They made their way down into a pit, Liara at their head as they ran. She pointed towards a large platform above them in the middle of the excavation site.

"There's our extraction point," she told the others. "I'm calling in the shuttle now. The pilot should be there in minutes!"

Bullets whizzed over the asari's head as she finished speaking. She quickly ducked into cover behind a partially buried spire. The others found cover behind similar bits of architecture or crates full of dirt and supplies. Getting a better look at who was shooting at them, they could plainly see a mixture of VykurCorp Security Forces and Eclipse Sisters swarming the excavation pit.

"Let's hope they're very quick minutes," Nel said reloading her rifle.

"Try focusing on the biotics first," Wrex suggested. "Eclipse Sisters like hitting hard and fast."

Saya was already on it, grabbing the sniper rifle off his back and taking shots at the Eclipse Sisters as they raced through the ruins. The asari mercs kept lobbing biotic attacks their way, despite the return fire. Only their cover kept Liara's team safe. Saya did manage to score a hit though, as one Sisters tried to fling a singularity towards them. He managed to catch her in the chest with a well placed round, taking her out.

Nel also tried to take out the biotics, her assault rifle raking over their cover. She managed to get a concussive shot to connect to one of them, bringing her kinetic barriers down. As she stumbled back, her biotic attack foiled, Nel unloaded a burst of rounds into the Eclipse merc and watched her fall to the ground.

Vik and Kayap focused on the closer threat in the meantime, the VykurCorp mercs. The little unggoy took a few shots at one of the Corpies as he tried to make a run for their flank. His first shot took out the turian's leg and his second hit him through the head as he fell. Vik used his tech abilities more than his shotgun, sabotaging one of the Vykur guard's guns. When the turian tried to fire, the gun blew up in his face and he collapsed into the dirt.

That kill gave Liara her opening and she rushed forward. She slid into cover, getting right on the flank of two other turians. She blasted away with her submachine gun while sending out a throw attack that sent them hurtling away. She then ducked her head down as burst of fire hit the crate she was behind, an Eclipse Sister had zeroed in on her. A few seconds later, Liara boosted her kinetic barrier and stood up, she took careful aim at her attack and fired straight between her eyes. As the merc dropped, Liara turned to her squad.

"Move!" She ordered.

The team obeyed, pushing up with her as she made a run for the platform. She raced through the pit, sending throw attacks one way, singularities another, pulling and pushing enemies out of their hiding spots. One Eclipse Sister stood up, firing one her barriers. She nearly got through them, but Wrex ran in like a freight train, smashing the side of her rib-cage with his thick skull. He then stood back up and fired a carnage shot into another group of Eclipse, shouting a Krogan war cry.

Liara's charge managed to cut a path to a dirt ramp leading out of the pit. As she rushed up it, an Eclipse Sister and Vykur guard jumped down into her path to block her. Liara paid them no mind, putting them in stasis as she ran. Frozen in the mass effect field, waited long enough to send a throw attack at them next. The field detonated, blowing the two mercenaries off the ramp. She continued to ascend, listening to Nel and Wrex spray fire down into the pit below as they ran up behind her.

They eventually reached the platform, where Liara had been only a short hour or so prior. They scrambled atop the flat top, scanning the area for hostiles. No one was holding the area though, they probably didn't think they'd try to escape this way. Well, now that they were here they'd probably guess what was going on. Everyone took up positions quickly and hoped the shuttle was closing in.

Moments after they arrived, Blood Pack mercs from central command and everyone else left on security detail began to move towards their position. Nel laid down fire from her assault rifle while Saya used his sniper rifle to take them out from afar. With the flood of enemies though, it was unlikely they had enough bullets for all of them. Luckily, Liara heard the shuttle's engines on approach in the distance, they just needed more time for it to reach them. She turned to Wrex, who noted the look on her face and nodded.

"We just need another minute," she said, her arm glowing with power.

"Don't think about it, just do it!" Wrex shouted back, his body powering up as well.

They both unleashed a powerful biotic wave and hurtled towards either end of the platform. It struck the nearest groups of enemies, tossing them backwards and into the air. They crashed down upon their comrades or down into the excavation pit itself.

As they fell, the shuttle started to close in on the platform. It's side opened wide and a Shadownet Merc on a turret began firing like mad into the Security Forces closing in. The shuttle itself lowered to the ground, everyone scrambled inside. Nel was the last to get on and she looked back, rifle in hand to help cover their escape, she noticed someone in the crowd of bad guys.

Hanilex, a bit bruised but unmistakably him. He pointed his weapon up at their engines and unleashed a barrage. Nel aimed at his head with her rifle her finger on the trigger. Then she hesitated, her teeth gritting as she stared at her former friend through the sights. With a sudden groan of agitation, she changed her point of aim and fired at the ground near him. Hanilex fell back, trying to avoid the gun shots as Nel made him dance. The shuttle took off into the sky, the doors closing shut, leaving the ruins, the planet and Han far behind. The vessel then rocketed back to home, the Lucen.

"It didn't go quite so smoothly," Liara admitted. "But we got what we came for."

"And a little more," Vik assured. "Coda is going to be immensely interested in the data we have for him."

Liara looked over to Nel, slumped over in her corner of the shuttle, sulking. Not normal for her, at all. Usually by this time she'd be shouting something about how awesome they were or trying to play up her achievements. Instead, she just looked pissed off. That, and the fact Nel had somehow ended up in the Command Center during the mission, piqued her curiosity. Not that she was upset that Nel had gone a little off script, it had paid off for once. However, she could sense something was bothering her.

"Nel," she said, clearly voicing concern. "Is something wrong?"

The turian looked at her for a moment and sighed.

"I'm not in the best of moods right now," she explained. A few more seconds passed before she decided to come clean. It was information they needed to know after all. "I found out which Seppies Orukuri is working with."

"How?" Wrex asked, his own curiosity engaged.

"They were there," she explained, her voice still above a growl. "There was a meet between them and Trox. They're one of the worst of the groups, the Colonial Liberation Coalition, or CLC for short."

"I've heard of them," Vik said, now seemingly sharing in Nel's disgusted feeling. "Bunch of backwoods boshtets who think anything that doesn't have a fringe is lower on the evolutionary ladder. They also think civilians are just collateral damage, so long as it makes a spectacle of course. I thought they got scorched from orbit years ago though."

"Looks like they crawled back up from the hole we dug for them," Nel snorted. "Orukuri is giving them weapons and drugs and all kinds of neat shit to boost their arsenal."

"So that's why the Eclipse are being brought in," Liara reasoned quickly. "They're helping Orukuri keep the supply chain to the Separatists moving. Plus they have the market on biotic enhancing narcotics cornered. And given what we also found, they're obviously part of whatever plans Orukuri has with this bioweapon."

Nel just shrugged, not seemingly all that concerned with this information. Something else was bothering her and, at the risk of prying to much, Liara wanted to know what it was.

"Did you find out something else?" She asked her.

"Oh nothing," Nel said rather sarcastically. "Just that someone I knew from my time in the War Spirit's Blood program has turned fucking traitor. Also, he's a fucking biotic apparently!"

That got everyone really confused, with their brows turned up as they looked at each other. Vik was the first to voice their befuddlement.

"How's that possible?" He asked. "How can anyone hide they're a biotic from the Hierarchy? They run so many tests, all just so they can know who is who."

"Don't ask me," Nel said, angrily laughing at the question. "Point is he did it."

"Who is he?" Liara asked.

Nel stared Liara dead in the face, the anger slightly giving way to grief.

"His name is Hanilex Boudicas," she answered firmly. "And he was... he was my best friend in the program. I thought I knew him."

She looked off to the side forlornly.

"Turns out, I never did."

---

AN: So quite a bit in this chapter, I bet you got a few questions. Mainly, who is this Hanilex character, who are these Seppies and, more importantly, how could Nel not know Han was a biotic? Well, that's part of the mystery element of this story, so I can't answer that. Just be aware that there's more to this stuff then you might think. So I can't really say much without giving away spoilers, but I hope you enjoyed this chapter regardless. It was a little inspired by the scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark, no snake pit or fight near a weird looking plane though. Expect a few more Indiana Jones-type homages before this story is through. After all, we got some relics to find.

Feel free to ask me any questions in your reviews or message me. And do please review, don't feel shy, I appreciate your feedback, so long as it's substantial. I always like reading what you guys have to say, especially when it's a lot more detailed than a single word or small sentence. Also, I'd like to think a number of my readers are creatives in their own right, probably in fields that aren't exclusive to writing. In this regard, if you ever have wondered if I'd be okay with you drawing my characters or doing something with them, like how Hellfox has done with his excellent audio performances, do not hesitate to write me about your intentions and talk to me about them. I'm not going to like give permission for you to write with my OCs of course, but if you want to draw them or something, feel free. I'd personally love to see some artwork of Nelanax out there, especially now since, as you can tell, she features pretty heavily into this story.

So again, please review and if you are an artist with a desire to draw some of the heroes of these stories, do not hesitate to ask me about it. I'm more than open to seeing my characters given faces by the readers who have grown to love them. Next chapter will be a surprising one, just you wait and see.