Notes: First off, an apology to my FF readers… I normally respond to most reviews, so some of you may be feeling neglected. I failed to realize FF had modified their email opt-in policy, which is now "auto reset to no/disabled after 6 months," so… yeah. I haven't been getting any notifications for comments, nor responded to any, since Jan 22nd. I have now reset the clock for notifications and will reply to future reviews. With that… 'nuf said, and on with the story you came here to read!

CGC - Center for Galactic Cooperation

Siame - "one who is all", a loved one cherished above all others (Thessian/Source: CDN)

SILC - Synthetic Intelligence Life Codes (previously known as Geth)

A Serving of Batarian Surprise

Verdan, Ilos, Refuge – 11 Apr 2191

As they stepped off the transport, Liara studied the small cluster of above-ground buildings before them. Her voice echoed her surprise as she asked, "Ruso, are these structures in the same condition as when you discovered them, or have they already been repaired by the SILC?"

"Already been repaired or, more accurately, mostly removed and replaced." Ruso grinned. "They are transit warehouses, with storage space, materials-handling equipment, and freight elevators to move supplies between the underground levels of the city. For now, we're running off eezo generators, but the SILC have been gathering the necessary materials to rebuild the towers, all of which will include standard Prothean micro-wind generators and solar collection panels. Once they get started on those, it won't be long before sections of the city begin running under their own power again."

"It seems like a lot of work… for an unused city," commented Shepard, a smirk on her lips. "Your people are already looking at expanding onto a second site, aren't you?"

The security chief chuckled. "Yes, we are. I know it seems premature but, with our egg-bank and advanced growth tech, we have the potential to nearly double our population every year. Every nine or ten months, we will birth the next generation of Protheans; as of now, we number only 200, roughly half of that number being bearing females. In the relatively short span of ten years, assuming we proceed as we currently are, we could be over 400,000."

Liara was nodding as she replied, "And, as before, you want to divide your population again… as insurance against a catastrophic event. You cannot afford to have all your people in one location."

"Correct, Doctor," Ruso replied with a quick nod of affirmation. "So, come. Let us walk the streets of Verdan."

As they began walking, Ruso continued to speak, basically giving a tour of the future city plan. "We will not change the existing layout. This particular area is city central, with the port being the center of the business and trade district." He pointed toward the broken spires. "Obviously, that area contains the entirety of our power grid, which is distributed throughout the city via cabling in the first subterranean layer."

"How does the collection work, exactly?" Shepard queried. "I mean… I understand wind and solar, but I find it hard to believe that supplies enough power for an entire industrialized city."

"And you would be correct in that assumption, Shep." Ruso grinned at her friend. "The real power comes from the static electricity that is generated. The maximum potential of a static electrical discharge can be as high as 35 or 40,000 volts… but it is so quick, it does not survive long enough to generate actual current. That means a single shock cannot create 'power' as we are used to thinking of it. The trick is in being able to generate enough static, continuously, such that usable current is created."

Shepard smirked, injecting, "And the Protheans somehow figured that out."

Chuckling quietly, Ruso responded, "Yes, we did. A rather long time ago… especially by your timeline standard." He shrugged. "It was quite simple, actually. The solar and wind collectors are not for the power they generate. They spin turbines that purposefully generate continuous static for collection. That power is then put into high-capacity batteries for storage and gradual usage. With enough towers, only three or four really good electrical storms over the course of the year is enough to sustain us the whole year. We also utilized planets with charged atmospheres as battery production facilities, with orbital platforms capable of lowering collectors into the upper layers of their atmospheres. Combined with eezo and fusion technologies… we basically had, and will have again, access to unlimited power production."

"Well… that sounds so simple when you put it that way. How come we didn't think of that? Or, if any of us were going to do it, why not the Salarians?" Shepard frowned, thinking too hard on the subject, only causing Ruso to laugh louder.

"Because they discovered mass effect physics and became distracted with the idea of being able to travel the galaxy in a blink. Besides… from what we've read in your histories, Humans were on the brink of making just such a discovery. Your Faraday cage was the first step; you simply needed to make the jump from using the device as a protector and channeling that power into a ground, to using it as a collector and channeling it into a battery."

"That's a mighty big jump…" Shepard looked skeptical.

Still smiling, Ruso replied, "Yes, it is… but, as I said, you were on the brink. What is that Human phrase? A journey of a thousand miles…"

Shepard smiled and nodded. "… begins with a single step. Yes, that's it."

Liara added, "Sometimes, it is the simplest solutions that evade us, as we have a great tendency to overthink and overcomplicate problems when attempting to solve them. We think because we haven't yet come up with an explanation, the answer must be difficult to achieve… occasionally to the point of talking ourselves out of the attempt."

"Seeing as the towers are not yet repaired, I would like to see them, if possible?" Shepard eyed the closest tower, wondering about the stability of the structure. "The ones on Feros had been corrupted with Human tech and repurposed for data collection. I don't think ExoGeni learned what they were actually for, or how they worked." She huffed in disgust. "Once they ran into the Thorian, I doubt they even tried."

Ruso nodded in understanding. "Let me contact the SILC lead, see if any have been stabilized sufficiently."

While he made the call, Shepard chatted privately with Liara. {Do you think the Broker figured that out… or that he got help from the Collectors, using Reaper knowledge? I fully expect the resisters and drivers we see in that tower will be vertical representations very similar to what we saw in the Broker ship. I mean… seriously? Hagalaz is the perfect place for that type of power collection system… and he didn't need wind and solar to generate it, as he had the constant presence of the atmospheric night-day rift.}

{Goddess, Shepard. I never thought of that! I believe you may be correct in that assumption. Given at least one of those towers has been repaired… or at least stabilized enough for transit… we should know the answer to that question very soon. The question is if we should share that, and my previous… occupation… with the Protheans.}

{I would say if it turns out to be true, we should share it with the leads, being Jorè, Arick and Aelia. They could put up one hell of a collection system there, that's for sure. The only question is if it would be worth it. Unless they wanted to make the round-about the galaxy, they'd have to transit the Omega relay. I'm sure that Aria would notice if they started making routine trips.}

After only a moment, Liara replied. {That's true, Siame… but the tech is amazing, and – supposedly – Aria is trying to go more legitimate. Perhaps we could convince her to simply charge a transit tax… or maybe portage fees and a sales tax, if she is willing to offer the Protheans their first off-world sales space?}

{Now… that's a good idea, T'Soni! That's why you're the thinker in the family.}

Liara chuckled before responding sarcastically, "Yes, because you're such an intellectual slouch, Shepard. You constantly struggle to keep up with me."

"End of a private conversation, I presume." Ruso smiled at the couple without asking what it was about, simply continuing, "While you chatted, I received some good news. There are actually three towers that are stable enough for us to wander through, the closest only a block away. The most complete, however, is on the far side of the array… which, I would think, is very likely the one you would like to see?"

Both Liara and Shepard chuckled, with the latter answering, "You know us only too well, Ruso."

Following a relatively quick fifteen-minute walk across the city, they entered the mostly refurbished tower. Instead of dropping down into the tunnels below, their SILC guide led them to the opposite side of the facility and opened what Shepard could only consider a hidden doorway. She never would have known it existed had Simon, as the SILC unit had declared himself, not waived some electronic device near the wall, opening a concealed control panel. The door then shifted and slid almost silently off to the right side, exposing a hallway beyond.

"Finding the panel and accessing the controls was the most difficult," explained Simon. "But, once the Consensus broke the cipher code, it was merely a matter of applying temporary power to make the doors operational. After that, the initial repairs moved along relatively quickly."

"Initial repairs?" queried Liara.

"Yes." Simon immediately realized the Asari was awaiting more detail, so continued. "The physical structure of the building itself needed to be repaired before any work on the actual power systems could begin. We studied the power system structure as we worked to stabilize the tower and quickly realized we did not have the raw materials needed to manufacture replacement parts for the generator system held within. We are currently in the process of collecting those materials and anticipate being able to begin the additional repairs in approximately 23 days."

"So quickly?" Liara was surprised.

"Yes." The SILC actually chuckled. "That timeline is compliments of you and Commander Shepard, due to the unique structure of the system of payment you set up for us, Doctor. Paying the SILC with mining rights for rare minerals on each of the planets where we have done work, instead of simply issuing credits, provides us with readily accessible sources of each. The 23 days is merely a time limitation on collecting them and getting everything transported to this location. Sourcing is not the issue, only the logistics of movement."

"Well, would you look at that." Shepard grinned and looked at Liara. "Seems we actually can do something right, when we put our minds to it, Li."

"Seems to be so, Captain." Liara laughed softly, sensing Shepard's teasing tone. Looking to Simon, she asked, "So, based on the availability of material and your experience with this tower so far, what is your predicted timeline for completion of the project?"

Simon's lights flickered only briefly before he responded, "This tower will be complete within the next month. Based on that, our current workforce, and the total of twelve towers at this location, the project should be complete in a year's time."

As he spoke, he continued to move forward and came upon yet another doorway, this one not secured or concealed in any way. He pushed it open and stepped out onto a catwalk stairway, which spiraled its way up along the outer wall of the interior chamber. An enormous machine, suspended by a huge spindle through its core, stood in the middle of the large cylindrical center of the tower, immediately causing Shepard to give Liara a knowing glance.

"This is amazing, Simon!" Liara studied the somewhat familiar looking power generation system. {Not exactly the same thing, but that makes sense… seeing as this is a grounded structure, not a ship floating in the middle of a severe lightning storm.} "And you think you can have this repaired in only thirty days, once you have the necessary raw materials?"

"Yes, Doctor. You must remember this is Prothean tech, not an unknown, so we have access to the operational diagrams and instructions." Simon moved onward and upward, until pausing on a good-sized platform to wait for the rest of the group to catch up. He finally continued, "Most of the structure is intact. The materials on the actual contacts have both corroded and eroded over time, so need to be replaced. We can then do circuit testing to determine what other pieces need to be repaired or replaced." He looked Liara in the face as he added, "Given a workforce who can almost instantly share newly acquired information and never needs to sleep? We can easily cut any time estimate for organics to complete a project by nearly seventy percent."

"Don't say that to too many people, Simon." Shepard gave him a smile. "It will make us all feel obsolete… all our work farmed out to mechanical beings."

"Absolutely not, Shepard." Simon's head shifted to focus on the captain. "We understand the need to… contribute. And you must understand the need to feel… fulfilled… is not purely an organic function. So, you need not worry. We merely want to serve; to take on tasks that are time-sensitive or considered too dangerous for organics, since we can lose our chassis without losing our runtimes." Simon's voice took on a teasing lilt as he continued, "The SILC have no plan to replace organics… at least, not yet."

Liara's eyes opened a bit wider as Shepard laughed. "Another thing you shouldn't say to too many people, Simon. Very few understand that what they still think of as pure machines can have a sense of humor." She smirked and added, "Give them a chance to get to know you first."

"Understood, Captain." Looking at Liara, he asked, "Now that you have seen the tower, would you like to see the distribution network?"

"Of course!" smiled Liara. "Please, lead the way!"

"If Ruso is willing to let one of you carry him… as all of you are biotics…" Simon's head moved as if he was assessing the group. "We could take the express route back to the main level."

"What do you mean?" Liara asked.

Simon's lights flashed as he added, "However you chose to descend, meet me at ground level," just before stepping over the railing and plunging to the bottom.

Shepard shook her head and chuckled. "That, my friends, is what the SILC do as a combat drop." She looked at Liara, then Ruso. "Care to go for a biotic ride, Ruso? I imagine Dark Channel and Slam aren't very effective transport options…"

"Only if transporting an enemy to meet his gods, Shepard," Ruso chuckled good naturedly. "I trust you with my life… so, if you say you can carry me down safely, who am I to slow the tour, while you all stand and await me at the bottom?"

Once back on the sky bridge level, they retreated through the concealed access hatch to the main portion of the tower, to then descend into the tunnels. Ruso asked, "Does this not look familiar to you?"

Shepard and Liara glanced at one another before Liara responded, "Yes, it does. We saw this on Feros… but it had obviously been modified. This is much… cleaner? More organized… because it hasn't been modified to accommodate ExoGeni tech, I suppose."

Shepard chuckled, adding, "Yeah. They didn't exactly have the cleanest splices as they tried to tie in anywhere. Matter of fact, I remember having to restart a couple of generators they had installed because, while they may have used the backbone, they never learned how to use the actual power supply."

Ruso nodded in understanding as he responded, "So, they used the transmission lines only, not the source."

"Yes," replied Shepard. "My guess would be that over the past 50 thousand years, the system had failed and, not understanding how it worked, they were unable to make repairs… so had to find a workaround."

"That does make sense. Even we couldn't build something that could last that long without maintenance." Smiling, Ruso continued moving as he added, "Once we get to the main part of the city, you have a choice. Go down, and see the service areas, or up, to see the actual city."

Shepard shrugged, prepared to say 'up' but received a quick mental tap from Liara, so changed what she was about to say. "How about we take a quick peek down, just to see it, then spend the majority of our time in the actual city? We'd like to see some of your original Prothean architecture, if enough of it has survived."

"Certainly." Ruso nodded. "Though…" he paused for a moment, then added, "Never mind. I will show you and you will judge for yourself. I do not want to influence your interpretations of Prothean design." With that, they proceeded to an operational lift and dropped only one level. Stepping out, they quickly noticed surprisingly wide passageways, very similar to the underground catacombs they had traversed while chasing Saren.

When Liara made their observations known, Ruso replied to her earnestly, "It was designed as a storage and transit zone for the city. Before the Reaper War, all these areas were for food and supply storage. Once we realized the war was not going well – and, just perhaps, that is a gross understatement – we began the conversion, replacing the many now-empty storage areas with the stasis pods we hoped to never use. It was a desperate failsafe which, as we all now know, turned out to be essential to our survival."

"Goddess," Liara gasped quietly, almost a whisper. "Did every city do this? Are there potentially more pods out there, still awaiting discovery?"

"Honestly? I do not know." Ruso shook his head. "We transmitted the idea, but the entire concept of us actually losing the war was neither popular nor welcome. I fear pride prevented many of our colonial leaders from taking action soon enough. I will admit hearing of Javik and Eden Prime gave us cause for hope; that more colonies had possibly survived. We sent scouts to a few closer colony sites but found nothing."

He sighed sadly, shaking his head and shrugging as he continued, "We stopped looking once our scouts started to encounter other ships, not of Prothean design. We were too small in number and feared destruction by your kind. Our observations of your actions… mainly the Turians and Krogan… frightened us. Fear itself was an unusual emotion for a Prothean people who had never endured defeat until the Reapers. Then, it became a way of life for us, leading us to remain hidden in the shadows of the undergrounds."

While his words made Liara feel like crying, Shepard felt almost… angry… but not at the Protheans. "I can completely understand that. We saw how the Reaper arrival separated us… even races that had been longtime allies withdrew, leaving their friends hanging out in the wind and refusing to aid anyone but themselves." She scoffed, adding, "In my eyes? I was absolutely, positively disgusted by the cowardice of our supposed allies."

Ruso nodded, thinking he understood. "And that disgust drove you to a miraculous victory."

"No, it didn't. Anger alone wasn't enough."

Ruso looked at her in surprise. "If not that, then what drove you to victory, Shepard?"

All of Shepard's anger fell away in an instant, Liara feeling it and reaching out to grasp her bondmate's hand as tears of joy slipped down her cheeks.

Shepard smiled as she felt the hand slip into her own. "I did it for Liara. Her love for me, and mine for her… and all the other people in my life who mattered to me. I simply refused to let the Reapers take away the life we had built together… the passion, the love of all the people I cared about. I wasn't about to let the Reapers take any of that… not before using up every ounce of fight I had in my soul."

Ruso met her gaze, seeing for the first time the full intensity of the personality that lurked behind those blazing emerald eyes. "You are an amazing being, Samantha Shepard. We are not what anyone would refer to as a religious race, but I thank your Gods for delivering you to our galaxy to save our collective future."

He suddenly cleared his throat, continuing, "So, now that you have seen this, how about we go up and see the architecture you came here to see today?"

Shepard and Liara answered in unison, and the group returned to the lift, rising the two levels to the surface. They stepped out into what appeared to be a transportation hub, with a station and multiple tracks heading in various directions. Ruso pointed to the tracks, confirming their suspicions. "When fully operational, cars would zip in and out of here as fast as people climbed in and out of them." He walked over to a console and continued, "If no car was here, you would simply summon the next one and it would arrive from the previous station. The distance between stations is short, so it would normally arrive relatively quickly."

"Did you have to hop station to station?" Liara looked puzzled. "It seems rather inefficient if you needed to cross the entire city."

Ruso laughed. "No. Once in the car, you could select any destination and the car would take the most efficient route to that location, bypassing any nodes that were backed up with cars or citizens awaiting transport. Central Control had a depot that would automatically adjust the number of cars in the system, adding or removing vehicles based on demand." He squared his shoulders and added, "There was a guarantee that no one would wait more than two minutes for a car, and you would arrive at any destination in the city within the next seven. If that did not happen, you were not charged for the transport." He grinned and proudly added, "Control never issued a single chit."

"Did they only stop at certain nodes, or did the destinations include random locations?" Shepard's brow knit. "I mean, if I was heading home with packages, I wouldn't have to walk that last few blocks carrying an armful of stuff."

"Oh, no… no need for that." Ruso was adamantly shaking his head. "The whole system operates very much like your taxis on the CGC, taking you to a specific location, then responding to the nearest car-call location. If no calls were active, it would return to the closest distribution hub and await a call for transport. The only difference is there are no car lots other than the hubs… so you can't generally just walk up and jump in an available car. The main transportation system was no-fee, but if you were truly in that much of a hurry, you could call for a car to your exact location, so you didn't have to wait. Then, a small fee was charged, depending on the time of day and demand on the system."

"Nice." Shepard nodded in understanding. "So, I assume we have the ability to stroll the city? I can't imagine moving from one location to the next was limited to vehicular traffic…"

"Absolutely. Just like the Citadel… even in our time… you are able walk from place to place… and there were shops and parks to stop in along almost every pathway." He paused and smiled. "It will be wonderful to see it all rebuilt… people living in actual homes again, walking about, shopping…." He trailed off and huffed quietly. "Come. Let us take that tour."

The first thing they noticed that was different from Oasia was the curves. While the buildings of Oasia were 'boxier', the structures of Verdan had softer edges. Corners were rounded, pathways had curves, and sizeable open spaces existed within the city. When asked, Ruso informed the group they were looking at parks… green spaces. "Once we rebuild and move in, these will all be replanted. We are unsure as to what exactly we will put here; more study must be completed on the new native flora, as it is different than what existed during our original timeline. Much has changed, and we need to make sure none of what we plant is dangerous." He smirked as he added, "We need to not accidentally poison ourselves or our offspring."

"Good thinking," Shepard chuckled. "You know, I have to admit, your architecture here is surprising. Somehow, I expected it to be more… I don't know… utilitarian? All square-cornered and aligned, to maximize efficiency; more like Oasia?"

"That is understandable," Ruso answered without hesitation. "Thus far, you've mostly seen our militant side… but, living with us, you should be starting to realize we do have personal lives, just as any other species. Those of us in the here and now, other than the children, have only known war and hiding. We were born into the Reaper War… how our parents even found the time to have children is amazing… but also a required duty to ensure the survival of our species." He fell silent, studying Liara and Shepard for a moment before adding, "Also, I have what some may consider a bit of a confession. Before we met with you in person, the Prothean leadership… me included… had a very serious discussion regarding who we were and who we needed to become in this new time. We used to have a phrase – 'For the Empire' – which was a standard greeting. We discussed the concept in depth, and realized it was no longer applicable, so made a huge cultural change within our entire group. All our children will be raised in this new framework, learning Protheans are a relatively small piece of a larger, existing community."

Ruso's countenance suddenly warmed up and he smiled widely as his eyes travelled over the entire group. "Through the eyes of our children, we are learning how to be people again, instead of just a military machine. Make sure to appreciate the fact you need not make that same transition… that your Reaper War did not last so long you forgot how to truly live."

His gaze returned to the city as he added with a smile, "Come. Let us return to the shuttle pad, so we will reach Oasia in time for dinner. We can speak more about the architecture you came to see as we make our way back to the ship."

Ilos, Refuge, Pangaea Expanse – 14 Apr 2191

Since speaking with his cousin Garok a month-and-a-half prior, Akrelo Ferank had spent a great deal of the intervening days and weeks thinking about the proposal with which he had been presented on the first day of March. He had concluded that, rather than remotely contacting Captain Shepard and Liara T'Soni, it would be better to simply travel to Ilos in order to personally meet Shepard and the Protheans. He needed to see and hear first-hand what was being offered that could induce other Batarians to start new lives for themselves. Is it honestly worth leaving everything behind to settle in the new outpost being constructed there?

Realizing many of the Batarians that had survived the war as pirates and slavers continued to do so out of expediency, he knew the Council's offer of amnesty for past misdeeds was contingent on people being willing to leave their criminal ways for a new life, planet-side, on Ilos. Not all Batarians are inherently criminals, he mused as he relaxed a bit upon leaving the Mu relay behind. Many simply went into piracy and kidnapping for slaves because they felt they had no other choice.

He held no illusions that persuading people to opt into a new life, living in a settlement among the recently discovered Protheans and other Batarians, along with working at an honest job, would be an easy sell. For those with the aptitude and skill for it, piracy, despite the inherent dangers, was a rather lucrative activity. Perhaps an argument that pointed out those inherent dangers virtually guaranteed that surviving long enough to retire wasn't likely; old, former pirates did not exist.

Flying a pre-war era Batarian YB-3 shuttlecraft, his thoughts were currently centered on the vibrating, difficult-to-control spacecraft. Overhauling or replacing the ship's inertial dampener array, along with numerous components of the recalcitrant RCS, were long overdue maintenance items; truth be told, the credits required to do so – even with salvaged parts – would probably be enough for a substantial down-payment on a newer craft.

Akrelo was beginning to wonder if the distant planet ahead – just coming into visual range as a tiny dot through his forward viewport – was Ilos; his doubts were quickly banished by a burst of static through his comms, followed by a suspicious query: "Unnamed shuttlecraft, please provide your identity and state what brings you unannounced to this system."

The Batarian keyed on the mic integrated into his headset and responded with, "This is Akrelo Ferank; I am a Batarian – a private citizen – and my destination is the new colony on Ilos… Oasia. Captain Samantha Shepard offered to discuss the possibility of Batarians settling in the colony alongside newly discovered Protheans." By this time, his progress towards the planet, along with the response of the strange looking patrol craft approaching on an intercept course, had set off multiple warnings on his navigation console; this prompted him to add, "My intentions are peaceful, and this craft has no offensive or defensive weaponry of any kind. Please, scan my ship to verify, then secure your weapons… this vessel is no threat to you."

All of the multiple warning alarms abruptly went silent and all but one of the warning lights went dark, leaving just one ominously flashing red as the disembodied voice addressed him again. "Please slow your approach while we corroborate your claim with our superiors. In the meantime, our vessels will provide an escort."

Don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't this, he mused as he slowed his velocity. Thinking about their actions, he decided their caution was probably justified. His spacecraft was of a type rarely seen these days. Guess I should have rented a commercial shuttle for this trip.

After several minutes of tense silence, the same voice said, "Akrelo Ferank…" Does that sound just a bit less confrontational? "Captain Shepard was not expecting you to personally travel here but did confirm you were invited… technically. We have been instructed to pass routing instructions and landing coordinates along to you. You may enter atmosphere and land at the designated site, but do not deviate from the assigned flight path. Welcome to Ilos, Citizen Ferank."

The last flashing red light went dark, simultaneous with the sound of a three-tone chime, indicating receipt of the promised flight instructions and landing coordinates at the new settlement. The last vessel he passed before beginning his descent was identified by the computer as a medium corvette of Asari manufacture, registered to House T'Soni. That clinches it, he thought. He was aware Captain Shepard had joined her life to that of Liara T'Soni; the presence of Liberation was all the evidence he needed to confirm at least one of them was either in that ship or on the planet below… perhaps one at each location.

With Oasia's coordinates locked into his navigation system, Akrelo slaved the shuttle's flight controls to the computer, then closely monitored its chosen flightpath to the surface. Having little faith in the computer's ability to gently set the shuttle down on the planet's surface, he resumed manual control at just over 600 meters AGL, finally breathing a huge sigh of relief when he had the craft's landing skids firmly planted in the dirt on the outskirts of this new settlement, still in the process of construction on this virtually unknown world. Upon sequentially placing environmental pumps and fans, regenerative-turbine fuel pumps, fusion reactor and ME generator on standby, he shut down the control systems, inertial dampeners and the two APU's.

Akrelo eased his lanky frame out of the pilot's chair and gingerly moved out of the cramped flight deck to the main hatch, which he slowly opened. Having no real knowledge of surface conditions, he was surprised at the humid breeze that wafted into the cabin. There were several people – obviously waiting for him to disembark – all standing clear of the landing zone. Clambering out of his craft, he took several steps in their direction as they began to approach him.

Leading the group was a rather tall, upright-postured Salarian; a few paces back and flanking him on either side was a Human female – whom, by her armor and bearing, he presumed to be Captain Shepard – and a person whose appearance nearly caused him to stop walking. Four eyes! By my ancestors! He actually has four eyes! It was the first Prothean he had ever seen, and six more of them followed, arrayed in two columns directly behind what he now assumed to be their squad leader. Walking along behind Shepard, in a less formal grouping, was what Akrelo correctly assumed to be an Asari Commando team.

Everyone slowed and then stopped as the distance closed. The Salarian stepped up to Akrelo; holding his hands out in greeting, he said, "Akrelo Ferank. However unexpected this visit may be, it is a pleasure to meet you. I am Furant Colis, Council Ambassador to the Prothean People." Akrelo offered his own hands, which the Salarian bypassed in order to grasp his forearms. As Colis released Ferank's arms, he turned first towards the Prothean; with a wave of his hand, he said, "Prothean Security Chief Ruso Lukens." The Prothean stepped up beside Colis and offered his right hand, which Akrelo grasped and pumped twice. "It pleases me to make your acquaintance, Mister Ferank. Welcome to Ilos."

Colis then turned towards the Human. "And even though I assume she needs no introduction… this is Captain Samantha Shepard, retired Spectre and currently serving as my Military Attaché."

Shepard stepped up beside Ruso and stuck out her right hand as she stated, "I had no idea Garok had someone in mind, much less pointed you in our direction, quite literally, it seems. However unexpected, it's good to have you here, Akrelo. May I assume the same family name is more than coincidence?"

Akrelo was surprised at the strength of her grip as she pumped his hand twice. He said, "Yes, it is… and it is a pleasure to meet you, Captain. You have no idea how surprised I was to learn of my cousin's employment aboard Normandy. Imagine my further amazement when I learned you had personally contacted him for assistance in finding a potential Batarian representative. Given your history with my people, your wish to discuss the possibility of us settling here with the Protheans came as rather shocking news, to say the least, so I was compelled to come see what all the fuss was about… in person."

"First off, I will admit it was not my idea, but a Prothean proposal… one which I absolutely agree with, however, and backed the idea when we brought it to the Council." Shepard's smile was warm, as was her demeanor. "And, while it may be true Batarians and I have a history, Akrelo, I generally try to give everyone I meet the benefit of the doubt, assuming they aren't immediately trying to kill me. It's also true that I had more than my fair share of conflict with Batarians over the course of my military career. But, at the same time, my second Spectre team was led by a Krogan… and the adept on his team, whom I personally hired, was a Batarian Enforcer by the name of Bek Korragan. I trusted him with my life on many missions. Now, I welcome your appearance here, and I believe you'll find the Protheans excited by your arrival as well. Doctor T'Soni, as the Ambassador's Cultural Attaché, sends both her regrets and an apology for not being here to meet you. She is currently out at a research site and could not make it back here quickly enough, given your unexpected arrival. She says she is looking forward to meeting you at dinner, this evening, assuming your journey here, along with today's activities, do not make you too tired to join us."

"It would be my pleasure, Captain." Akrelo smiled. "Even tired Batarians still need to eat."

Silence fell and Ruso Lukens used the pause in their conversation to interject, "If you will come with us, Mr Ferank, we'll give you the complete tour and show you what we've been doing these past months." With a borderline incredulous smile, he turned and, after waiting a moment for Akrelo to step up beside him, began walking in the direction of the new community center, with Shepard joining them on the Batarian's other side. "We'll introduce you to all our companions along the way. I do believe they will be most interested in meeting and getting to know you. We have all been looking forward to this day of new beginnings since we arrived on Ilos."

Akrelo nodded his head towards both the Prothean squad and the Asari commandos as they parted to stand on either side of the path, allowing the threesome to walk back along the path unimpeded. He had a feeling it was going to be a rather… interesting… afternoon, to say the least.