Author's Note: Not a lot to say right now. Gonna pay my respects to the Queen for my day off tomorrow. Read, Review, Favourite and Enjoy!

Chapter 7: Union Space: Part 1

"Laneway's are sort of semi-natural highways of wonky reality connecting two different solar systems together. They were formed as a by-product of the mass detonations of the Mass Relays."

"What now!?" A particularly thankless technician breathed deeply as he was once again interrupted. "As we discussed before, the Lich Ancestors known as the Zoni got into a war with the lot who had built the Mass Relays, lost, and then out of spite blew up as many of them as they could up which left reality as a sort twisted mess in some places. It's why we got things like the walking dead now."

"Does this mean that part of this 'broken reality' has spread into the Terminus sector?" An annoyingly inquisitive Salarian asked looking at said technician.

"No. The 'Suit Zombies' carry a bit of it around with them we were over this already! Dragon's I'm going to have to do a write up for you people aren't I?"

"Can any ship enter these laneways?" An Asari asked raising her hand.

"No. You need a hyperdrive. This ship is currently being carried over there by another bigger ship!" Eden was the second sector away from the Terminus Sector, a area of space that until now had been dedicated to the production of food for the Stellar Union, fish, grains, fruits, vegetables, meats and the likes were all being produced in masse in continent spanning farms across the system. Three planets were all rotating around the system's star in a near perfect triangle at approximately the same speed. A single Salarian was about to speak up.

"One planet had too heavy of a atmosphere so it was too close to the sun, so they erected giant mirrors and froze it solid, stripped down the iced atmosphere, and flung it at another planet outside of the goldilocks zone, along with most of the contents of a asteroid belt. The first planet was dragged out to the Goldilocks zone and the other sunk into it." Another question was about to be asked. "They timed the moving of the three planets. Immaculately." There was also several smaller moon sized planets whose own gravitational influence helped to stabilise the three larger planetary bodies. But Harris wasn't a scientist, certainly not the kind that specialises in manipulating celestial bodies. Another question was about to be asked. "They had hundreds of years." The Salarian ran out of questions.

Custodian's worked fast, housing was prepared across the planet in the form of relatively small shelters. On the moon Bio-domes filled with Dextro-Amino life were being erected by the Custodians.

"You all read the non-disclosure agreement already but we're going to go over it again. Currently you are classified as refugees, after five years you can apply for citizenship. Anybody born on a Union planet is automatically classified as a Union Citizen, as are anyone related to them." For some a massive investment, like the short lived Salarian's and the shorter lived Vorcha, others a pitifully small one like the Asari. "Anyone who chooses to join the military may also apply for citizenship, but keep in mind that it is not an automatic boon, and also requires that all previous citizenship be sworn off. Questions?" None. Or at least none that were important. "You've all got your numbers correct?" The various people raised numbers into the air, families, couples anyone who didn't want to be separated from one another. "Good. You'll be called out one by one as we visit each of your homesteads, since y'all got something against Custodian's helping you out you'll have to watch the video tutorials telling you how to do things. You can eat the crops you grow or sell them for Credits, Firearms are outlawed on agriworlds but aside from that there's not much that's flat out illegal. I recommend you buy video tutorials that'll help you retrain for engineering, science, what have you but that's just me."

The ship's doors opened and the first of many homesteads opened up before the group of former slaves and whatever family was gathered with them. One Padok Wiks walked through the homestead, taking stock of the various pieces of technology around him, watching the video tutorials explaining how they work, how to take them apart and put them back together, even video's telling him about the animals and crops on the farm. The Salarian looked through the market to see what bits of technology he could buy and what kinds of tutorials that he could get, followed up reading through several free pages detailing history of the union. Satisfied Padok went over to the fabricator and programmed in the designs for an omni-tool and after a few moments installed the device into his arm into the computer like slot located therein.

"Immigration terms set by the Union is... generous. A relatively short period of time spent as a farmer lasting half a decade, or joining the military, or starting a family." Frankly speaking after spending six month's inside of a Batarian slave camp retirement seemed like a pretty good idea. "I appear to have been handed a rather generous amount of intelligence and technology as part of some kind of welcome package and incentive to buy using the credits I'm expected to earn by working as a farmer." The Salarian gave a dark look around the area suspiciously. "I would believe the Union is being sloppy with checking the refugees, if it wasn't for the telepath." The Draconian probed his mind, learned every language he knew, which were many. He certainly knew he was STG and likely knew every secret he did. "I do not believe I have the ability to contact Council Space, certainly not through channels the Union has not bugged. I will learn as much as I can about Union history, technology and culture and report back with my findings as soon as possible." With that Padok turned off the Omni-tool and began watching the first tutorial.

Qetsi'Olam Vas Pallu'Kaziel, now Vas Eden'Two, was previously a captain in the Migrant fleet, which made her the ranking authority in the new colony. A Colony that included Turians. No arrangement was perfect. Never liked the alien races, ever since she ended up spending half of her pilgrimage with a bad lung infection thanks to a malicious prank by the Salarians. There wasn't any love lost between her and the Turians either, but that was more of a species wide thing in her opinion, considering that they kept scooping up Dextro worlds that her people desperately needed in order to avoid extinction. She wouldn't hold that against them. Much.

"The Bio-dome is state of the art." The roughly Volus sized creature had odd mannerisms, inattentive and unfocused, yet completely aware of it's surroundings like a Salarian spy, even better given it's non-threatening appearance also like a Volus. "The structure is made out of the same kind of reinforced materials we use in our star ships so you can count on its durability." The creature led her to a farming field where Dextro-plants and Dextro animals were gathered under a holographic sky. "We consulted with experts, the soil is optimised for the growth of Dextro crops, and the sky has been rigged to feed them sunlight on a day/night cycle." It wasn't too different from the set up of their ship's hydroponics bay. "The controls are located in the shed in the centre room. We would provide you with some Agriculture model Custodians but..."

"The Turian's are used to manual labour, they'll do just fine." Qetsi snapped, she was willing to accept having to work with aliens, she wasn't so progressive as to welcome synths into her home.

"Moving on."

Quarian's and Turian's alike were already unloading their belongings into their various rooms, the first more so than the latter. Turian fashion already leaned towards spartan decor without being slaves with no property of their own. Not that they wanted souvenirs of their time on whatever hell world the Union drenched them up from. No matter. The Quarian's are the ones who can maintain the bio-domes and the Quarians are the ones in charge here.

"You've removed all of your synths from our colony?" Qetsi asked looking at the fat star-fish like creature on a hovering platform next to her.

"You sound as bad as the Lich's. 65 million years and they still can't let the old grudges go." The Starfish shook its head approximation in the negative. "All of the Custodian programs have been removed from the colony. Are you against farming vehicles too or do you mean to make use of hand tools instead?"

"The vehicles are fine, provided we're able to learn how to use them." Qetsi stated making her displeasure known. "Our engineers are working with your people to modify them to be as easy for you to use as possible." The Tebrid brought up the screen he had been looking at. "The drivers seat is modeled after the cockpit from your ships is this acceptable?"

"It should be yes." Qetsi looked at the Datapad and gave it back to the fat creature. "We'll call you if we need anything."

The Tebrid had other stops to make, bloody Citadel was so anti-synth he had to go and deal with everything in person.

"I need a game." Complaining like that the Tebrid floated back to his ship.

"Well?" Tali had walked up behind Qetsi making her expectations known.

"Sweep the computer systems, trojans, spyware, find all of it." They've spent nearly three hundred years putting up with Salarian spyware, they didn't travel through a highway of destroyed reality leading outside of known space just to put up with Union spyware.

Wrex had been led into a small station where he was stripped down of his armour, the old girl needed some maintenance anyway, but that wasn't why he was brought here.

"Is this really necessary?" Wrex, stripped to his under clothes, was being scanned by the chamber he was in.

"To put you into armour that I'm not embarrassed to be seen with you in?" Shepard was standing next to a console where a Tebrid was busily working on a 3D scan of Wrex, or on a model of a car, it was hard to tell with them. "Yes."

Once the scan was finished the Tebrid examined Wrex's figure with something resembling hungry eyes. Custom armour design was one of several 'games' that Tebrid are known for playing, but are stymied by a lack of viable models to build off of. By this time tomorrow a thousand Tebrid's would be building armoured suits around the figure of Wrex, he would of course be picking through them personally and deciding what works for him best.

"Can I have my armour back now? You can spit shine it later, I feel naked without it."

"You practically are." Shepard replied nodding to the Tebrid who having finished with the initial work put Wrex's armour back on his body and allowed the Krogan to step out of the chamber.

"How much do you know about these 'Prethoryn.' Have you fought them before?" Wrex asked as Shepard led him to another part of the ship.

"I've both fought them millions of times and none." Shepard explained as she tapped the side of her head.

"I've been in a simulation for over a decade, there's a plug in my head." Shepard indicated the part of her head that had been shaved and combed over. "They used that to feed me the data from the battlefield."

"What sort of data?" Even if all she had was second hand experience she still knows more about the Prethoryn that he does. Shepard held Wrex by his shoulder as she looked down at him, eyes obscured by the shadows of her face.

"There's a piece of equipment popular among various people called a grey box. It's like a computer hard drive in your brain..." Shepard tapped the top of her head, approximately in the middle of her scalp's hairline. "...they put it right here. It records your memory so that they can upload you into a computer when you die." If Shepard was saying what Wrex thought she was saying... "For the past fifteen years, me and my siblings, have been playing simulations carved right out of the bellies of the Prethoryn Scourge." Shepard looked like she had gone insane. She probably had. By the sounds of things she had been dying to the Prethoryn scourge for over a decade now.

"You really are crazy." Wrex brushed her shoulder off as he went for drinks, he was way too sober for this. "Any advice?"

"Look up." Shepard stated her smirking face. "Prethoryn are a space dwelling race made to go from planet to planet, their ships aren't built they're grown, even when they are burning races out from the ground level they still like using flying monsters. It's smart, reduce risks to themselves, gives an advantage at screwing you over from afar. But more important than that: look down."

A Draconian scout party, captured by the Prethoryn, of course the screaming bat's don't take prisoners. No they take rations, food, and bring them back to their nests. The Scouts were dropped into the maw of a great infestor where they drowned in Acid. One of them was a proficient psionic who protected himself for three days witnessing great cocoons carved out of the earth filled with Prethoryn embryonic cells. And then he died, the only thing that was left him was a block of circuits the size of a deck of cards.

"The infestors attach themselves to the side of a planet like a giant fat tick. They siphon away raw organic material from the planet's mass and fill the empty spaces with cocoons of more Prethoryn, when they're ready to hatch they burst out of the surface in great geysers of embryonic goo and acid. We can't even retake the planet by this point, just break open the nests from orbit, scorch the hives and salt the earth until there's nothing left but barren rock. After that there's a chance that we've cleaned out the infection and don't have to worry about another hive popping up in the system."

"'A chance?'" Wrex asked sounding like he misheard something. "You go through all that trouble for 'a chance' that you managed to finish them off?"

"Prethoryn releases Extremophile spores into the worlds that they infect, able to survive the vacuum of space, radiation, fire and a host of other ways to kill them that we've tried already." Shepard explained bluntly. "When the world's habitability gets restored Prethoryn start to regrow from the dirt and after a few months re-emerge from the planet and returns to space."

Like the Rachni, but it'll never really go away, not even if you crack the planet open and burn out the nests. The Broker would be happy to hear about that. An immortal monster that will just keep getting back up no matter what you do to it. The next time some terminus arse holes wanted to permanently deny the council a system the Prethoryn would be just the monsters for the job. Wrex blinked as he thought about it for a moment. He's obtained an overwhelming amount of information but to what end? Credits? Citadel currency was effectively worthless by their own admittance. Better guns and armour? He already has one, and the others being made for him, from what he understands there're people competing to make it for him. What more can a Krogan want?

"We'll just leave that part to you."

The words echoed in his mind, spoken as if the matter had been obvious.

"Oi, the Genophage. You guys said before that you could cure it." Wrex asked looking at Shepard suspiciously. "How?"

"Not a biologist, geneticist, or any other 'ist' that doesn't involve 'shoot people in the facist.'" Shepard explained raising her hand in the air.

"You know enough to be confident that you people can do it." Wrex stated eyeing Shepard suspiciously. "Care to share that confidence."

"Alright." Shepard sat down in one of the chairs in the waiting room, Wrex needed to sit on two side by side, even then they groaned under the weight. "Let's say you wanna cure some inborn genetic defect, let's say 'Male Pattern Baldness.' The first thing you wanna do is go find two blokes, siblings to be precise, one who suffers MPB and one who doesn't. You take a DNA sample from both, blow it up in a computer, and get a AI to compare the two side by side until you find the one bauble of DNA that's different from each other and in theory that's the part that causes MPB." Wrex nodded his head in thought while he scratched his chin. "This work to cure the Genophage then?"

"I honestly have no idea." Shepard ended her explanation with a shrug of her shoulders. "Not any of the things I mentioned before. First and foremost we'd have to figure out what those ugly lizards did to you guys first and then come up with appropriate countermeasures." And appropriate countermeasures to make sure that said ugly lizards didn't do it again. "Like I said I'm not remotely qualified to do any of these things." A pause, for dramatic effect presumably, ruined by the broad shit-eating grin that crossed Shepard's features. "I know who you can talk to though."

Wrex was looking directly at the so-called Suit Zombie that turned Adek into a horror movie. Charming fellow. Smaller than he was expecting. Turning his head Wrex saw the bodies of the Mercenaries he arrived at the planet with inside of glass coffins, their limbs and necks broken at odd angles, at least one of them had a gun shot to the head that looked like his shot himself. Garn and the rest of the Krogan weren't here though, off in a cell somewhere getting put back together presumably. There was something else here two, but not in a coffin, strapped to a dissection table. And it was still alive.

"Fascinating creatures these Vorcha." Is that what that was? He was in pretty rough shape, torn open and all the organs exposed. "They heal from what ever I do to them, and have even demonstrated the ability to adapt and integrate to whatever I shove into them on top of that." Once again the fate of the Krogan was in the hands of mad scientists. Lovely. "In any case my lab rat tells me you want to talk to me."

Is that what Shepard was to him?

"Any idea how to cure the Genophage?" Wrex asked with a resigned sigh. It seems he would be fighting crazy with crazy now.

"Genetically engineered sterility plague, causes Fatal neurological development in pre-natal Krogan leading to still birth. I took the liberty of asking some of your associates while I had them under the knife." Ah, lovely thought that was. "I don't believe the plague to be viral, if it was there would be far more severe health complications than sterility." A virus is a microscopic organism which inserts itself into a cell and uses the cell itself to manufacture more of itself leading to the cell's destruction, if the genophage was a virus, even if it's most severe symptoms were bred out, they would still be looking at fatal amounts of cell deterioration. "I believe a more likely explanation is that the Genophage is Bacterial." Bacteria have a preemptive immune response to Viruses where they release chunks of inert DNA compatible with the virus which inserts itself into the virus and forces it to break down without spreading it's genetic material around. Some races take advantage of this phenomena, alter the virus to remove and replace certain chunks of unwanted DNA to induce a change on the genetic level. "Bacteria live naturally inside of your body, they help the body's digestion process, or at least they do in almost every organism I've studied, bar the Lithoids." Alright this was making progress. "If you are to induce a genetic change in a target in a way that affects the development of their body, the place that you want to start with in the womb before the body in question begins to develop, attempting to restructure the body after it has formed would only lead to failure, unless you have the facilities for it of course." The Suit Zombie gestured around to his laboratory. "But that's more surgery than anything else."

"Is it treatable?" Wrex asked the familiar feeling of 'For Science!' from this creature giving him flashbacks of childhood trauma spent being prodded by Salarians.

"There are many ways to treat illness. I could for instance introduce my own bacterial culture after having studied the genophage in detail, alter the existing DNA to return the Krogan to pre-genophage levels of fertility." The mad zombie in a space suit explained. "I've already begun taking samples and questions from your fellow Krogan. Lots of Data but very little that I need."

Wrex leaned in closer.

"What do you need?"

"Ideally? Siblings, two sisters, one fertile and one not, sharing both parents and two brothers, also one fertile and one not, sharing the same parents, the four of them don't need to be related." The Lich returned to his samples. "Ideally, I would also like to learn more about existing ways that people have attempted to cure the Genophage, what has failed, what's gotten close, what already succeeded but was stomped out by alien influence."

Wrex nodded his head.

"You'll have your answers at Tuchanka." Wrex tapped on the blocky device Shepard had given him as he looked at Navigation charts tracking their pace through Union space in real time, another valuable piece of intel he had no intention of handing over to the Shadow Broker. "Mind if a borrow your long range communicator?" Wrex asked looking at the Lich suspiciously.

"Going to call your contact to this 'Shadow Broker?'" The mad undead asked looking curious.

"I need to return my pay to him, and a fee for cancelling the contract. Professional Courtesy and all that."

"That's a shame. Our own intelligence services were hoping to meet with him when we had the chance." The Lich replied and Wrex looked at him funny.

"So Shepard has been telling everyone I'm on the Shadow Broker's payroll then?" Wrex would probably go down in history as the worst spy ever, but Shepard could read minds and there was no getting around that little tid-bit.

"Various members of the Government have been planning on how to release certain pieces of intelligence to your government for some time now." The undead monster shrugged his shoulders. "An old trick the humans learned a while back. 'The easiest way to get a piece of technology you want is to convince people that it's possible.' It's part of the reason why they've been leaking footage to the council all this time." Wrex gave the undead monstrosity a serious glare.

"You want the council to develop more advance technology?" Wrex asked looking at the undead monster like he was insane.

"We would like for them to gain a basic grasp of technology outside of their precious Mass Effect fields so that when the enemy arrives and the war in heaven is upon us they will actually be useful and not a burden."

Undead Religious Fanatic Mad Scientist. Wrex would keep the line with the Shadow Broker open, he needed a fall back plan when these lunatics and their equivalent of shit hit the fan and blew up the Galaxy again. He heard 'things' about what some of these aliens can do with their shit after all.

Author's Note:

Chronos0305: Thank you for saying so. I will be releasing a info packet on the Tebrid Custodians later today on the Codex.

RonaldM40196867: True. None that I have planned.

Clown2107: You want to be the rulers of the Galaxy? You have to start by being brave enough to go outside. The Crisises are more mid game from what I can tell, Reapers are supposed to be endgame. If the destruction of a planet will help them fight Reapers, then yes.

Khoashex: There will be plenty more than just the Prethoryn to prove themselves against. I have my own plans for Okeer.

God of Crossovers: There's a lot of things in Union space that would make them shit their pants.

sugoijack9: Don't worry. There will be additional reasons to hate the other Councilors later on too.

Gianfranco Cembran: Thank you for saying so.

Chronus1326: I try to drop little moments of humour like this every once in a while.