MASS EFFECT DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. MY CHARACTERS ARE MINE, AND I'VE BRAINWASHED THEM INTO SERVING ME LOYALLY. IN RESPONSE TO WHETHER OR NOT I USED INDOCTRINATION, I SAY 'NO COMMENT'.

Whoever attempted to kill Grunt and Miranda were very inconsiderate. The Alliance is a little busy beating up the Council. Let's see how that's going, okay?

Mass Effect: Legacy

V

Ky'Goss swore as she ducked under a hail of Geth plasma. What had started out as heavy fighting had quickly turned into one disastrous defeat after another. The Council had taken serious losses above Elysium, and the surviving ships had run into the most effectively-run navy in the galaxy.

Geth heavy warships, mostly cruisers, dreadnoughts and carriers, had outmatched the heaviest guns of the attackers, while squadrons of Quarian frigates and destroyers slowly carved apart the Council fleet's flanks. In desperation, the fleet commanders sent the troop transports on suicide-runs to the nearest planet; once they no longer had to protect the transports, the rest of the fleet was able to put up more of a fight.

Ky'Goss had hoped that they'd somehow land on Rannoch, and maybe capture the Quarian leadership and force them to stand down. Instead, they'd been forced to land on Adas, the nearest planet to Rannoch; many of her officers considered making it that far a miracle in itself, but they came under attack before they could celebrate their survival.

For almost a week, Ky'Goss had been on the defensive—not just from constant Geth attacks, but also her own subordinates. Talk of negotiating a ceasefire had been suggested after just two days, but Ky'Goss had executed the offending officer before his defeatism spread to the rank and file.

Still, morale was low, and sinking by the hour. The Geth attacked with infantry, armor, and artillery, while Quarian pilots strafed the Council troops daily. The invaders had dwindling supplies and equipment, and for every squad that held its ground, another was killed or captured. By now, Ky'Goss had gone from commanding the battle to actively participating, leading her most loyal Asari commandos on daring counterattacks.

It would only last so long, and she knew it, but she couldn't bring herself to surrender. To do that would be to spit on the pride the Asari had spent the last century building up.

"General, they're pulling back again," an Asari lieutenant said.

Ky'Goss sighed. "They'll be back. Get me a casualty report."

It wasn't as bad as previous attacks; only fifteen soldiers dead, with twice as many wounded. By this point, only the best—or the luckiest—soldiers were left.

"Ma'am, we got a transmission through to Elysium," a Salarian reported. "We asked when we could expect reinforcements."

"What was their reply?" Ky'Goss asked. "Did General Julm open a hole for our fleets?"

"General Julm is dead," the Salarian said wearily. "Colonel Harrik replaced him, but they were forced to surrender two days ago. Our fleets have either been turned back or destroyed. Colonel Harrik advised that we stand down, let the politicians sort the mess out."

Ky'Goss shook her head. "It's a trick. It has to be. Ignore all communications from outside forces from now on, the Alliance must have hacked us somehow."

"Ma'am, I checked the authenticity of the message," the Salarian protested. "I also know Colonel Harrik personally, I served under him for two years. He's a realist, and if the situation was hopeless, he would surrender before wasting the lives of his men!"

Ky'Goss drew her pistol and aimed it squarely at his eyes. "Then he's a coward and a failure, and if you suggest surrendering one more time, I'll skin you alive in front of everyone in this base!" She leaned in close. "We are not losing this war. Do you understand me, soldier?"

The Salarian nodded. "Yes, General."

Before Ky'Goss could continue, her position was rocked by a massive explosion, and everything went dark. When she came to, her head ached, she was half-blinded by blood streaming down her face, and she couldn't feel her legs. A blurry image approached her, and it resolved into a hulking Geth platform.

"Identity confirmed: Ky'Goss, Asari Republics general." The Geth aimed its rifle at her head, while the sounds of combat raged all around; even disoriented as she was, Ky'Goss could tell that her forces were being routed. "You are under arrest."

…

Prime Minister Waybrook wanted to laugh at the bad comedy playing out before her. After the Council had—once again—screwed up, it fell to their individual governments to fix things when their united leadership couldn't hack it.

To the Alliance's surprise, it was the Batarian Hegemony who folded first. They didn't admit to wrongdoing on their side, but insisted that their participation in the conflict was based on faulty information from the Asari. The Salarians also pointed fingers at the Asari, claiming that they had misplaced trust in their intelligence agencies; they did admit that the STG didn't fact-check as thoroughly as they should have.

The Asari response was interesting, but also worrying. Over the last two days, they had deported over twenty percent of all non-Asari in their space; almost all of them were Turians, and instead of being escorted to Hierarchy space, they were just dumped in the Terminus. A multi-species effort was scrambling to rescue over eighty thousand Turians before pirates got to them, or they ran out of food and water.

"Once again, I have to thank you for your relief aid," Primarch Vakarian said.

"Of course," Waybrook said graciously, answering for the entire Alliance leadership. "Even if your people had been involved in this war, these are civilians we're talking about here."

"The first of our ships should be arriving in a few hours," Jial'Koris announced; she had been directly involved in the rescue, and hadn't looked up from her omni-tool since the meeting began. "My people have stockpiles of dextro food and medicine."

Garrus nodded. "What about pirates? Or other… more 'extreme' elements that might interfere?"

Wrex grinned. "That's why I sent a few heavy cruisers for security. Don't worry too much, Garrus."

"Thanks, Wrex. I should have known you'd want to flex your muscles."

"Ha! If you weren't such an old man, I'd still be kicking your ass in arm-wrestling."

"Hey, I might be old, but I still hold the record for best marksman in the Hierarchy."

"Twenty credits says you gave that award to yourself."

"That doesn't make it any less true."

Waybrook smiled at the banter; Wrex and Garrus were two of the most famous people alive, and not just because of their association with Shepard. While Primarch Victus had led the Turians through the Reaper War, it had been Garrus who had led the Hierarchy into an age of post-war prosperity. Wrex had been the one to unite his people, even before Shepard and Mordin had cured the genophage, and after the Reaper War, he had been even more energetic than Garrus in rebuilding his civilization.

"Gentlemen, if we could get back on track," Waybrook said reluctantly. "Primarch Vakarian, is there any way your government can mediate a ceasefire with the Asari Republics?"

"That's unlikely, Prime Minister. Even if the Asari were willing to accept us as mediators, after the last few days, there aren't many Turians who'd take the job." Garrus paused. "Since the Hierarchy is effectively withdrawing from the Council, I see no reason not to offer some strategic advice. If you can convince the Salarians and Batarians to fully withdraw from the war, the Asari will join them. A lot of Asari think they've become a military powerhouse now, but they still rely heavily on their allies."

North tilted their head. "Primarch Vakarian, is your people's withdrawal from the Council a permanent arrangement, or is this a form of protest over recent actions?"

Garrus' hologram flickered for a moment. "I'll be honest, the Council have been pushing us out for decades. This was just the last straw."

Waybrook wasn't one to waste an opportunity. "Primarch, the Alliance would more than welcome the Hierarchy as a full and equal member—"

Garrus held up one hand. "With all due respect, Prime Minister, but my people have been reliant on a wider galaxy for far too long. I think we need to remember how to stand on our own. However, we will maintain economic and political relations with the Systems Alliance. You can consider us a friend, if nothing else."

Wrex laughed. "Hey, I'm just glad you're not pointing all those shiny new dreadnoughts at us. If you did, this war might not be as fun."

"Speaking of the war, I'll leave you to it." Garrus nodded respectfully. "And thanks for keeping me in the loop."

After Garrus' hologram faded, Waybrook turned to North. "I assume that means you successfully transferred that Intelligence report to him?"

"Affirmative. There was minimal chance of interception by hostile parties. Primarch Vakarian now knows everything we do about these assassins."

Jial'Koris leaned back in her chair. "I'm still trying to process what these things even are. We're sure they're not some kind of nanotech drones sent by the Council?"

"Impossible," North said. "Upon examination of the samples recovered by Intelligence Chief Lawson and Lieutenant Shepard, the attackers were a fusion of nanotech and organic components. It is almost impossible to tell where biology ends and technology begins. The only other example of something this advanced comes from the Reapers."

The others froze. "Is there any possibility that the Reapers are somehow involved?" Waybrook asked.

"They wouldn't need to be so quiet," Wrex said. "If they wanted to finish what they started, they'd have done it already. We've gotten a lot stronger since the war, but the Reapers outnumbered us a thousand to one then, and they probably still do."

"And since we still don't know what Commander Shepard did during Operation Return, it's unlikely we'll be able to replicate what he did to send them away," Jial'Koris added. "I agree with Wrex, this feels like something else."

"Do you all recall what Director Lawson told us this morning?" Waybrook asked. "If her theory is correct, then it is possible that this unknown enemy has been active for almost a hundred years."

"Yeah, and they've been killing my friends." Wrex clenched his fists, and Jial'Koris instinctively took a step back.

"The question is why," Waybrook continued. "If they're after former associates of Commander Shepard, why go after them piecemeal? Why go from subtlety to direct assassination? Something must have changed. If Director Lawson is correct, then it feels like a timetable is accelerating."

"These enemies see Shepard-Commander as a threat," North said. "Much of Shepard-Commander's deeds would not have been possible without his teams. It is possible that the enemy sees them as a risk to their plan."

Wrex abruptly stood up. "That means Alanna could be on their hit list."

"Perhaps," North said, "but it would have been logical to eliminate her before she received military training. She is now fully capable of defending herself. Her defense of General Grunt is proof of that."

"We can't assume anything," Waybrook said. "However, if Lieutenant Shepard's file is accurate, then she is one of the most capable soldiers we have available. Perhaps she can root out this mysterious enemy, and they might be more likely to show up if she's in the open."

Wrex narrowed his eyes. "You want to use her as bait."

"Not entirely, but if she can draw them out, then we might get answers. If we're fortunate, maybe we can end this threat before it becomes too big to stop." Waybrook sighed. "For now, all we can do is gather what information we can, and try to end this war with the Council quickly."

Wrex reluctantly nodded, but as he sat down, he sent a quick message to an old friend; there were a few favors he was owed, and it was time to call one of them in.

…

Alanna leaned back in her chair and tried to relax. It was the first time since joining the N7 program that she'd had any leave, and Grunt had all but ordered her to take it. Elysium was now secure, and relief workers were coming in droves to repair what had been destroyed. The soldiers were now only there to keep the peace, which meant that they had some free time.

Despite being told that everyone could do as they pleased, Alanna's squad stuck together. Korim was napping against a tree, while Haley slowly disassembled and cleaned her weapons on a blanket. Alanna finally found a book on her omni-tool that she'd been meaning to finish, and began to read.

"This is a weird picnic," she idly commented.

Haley didn't look up from her shotgun. "At least we're not in our hardsuits today. That would make it weird."

It felt strange wearing only their fatigues in an area that had been a warzone only a week ago, but it was also relaxing. It was like they had a chance to really appreciate what they had fought so hard to save.

"Any word on when we ship out again?" Haley asked. "I heard we started moving strike forces into Council space. I wouldn't mind hitting the Batarians where they live, see how they like it."

Alanna glanced up at her friend; Haley was no xenophobe, but after seeing some of the atrocities the Batarians had committed on Elysium, she had been itching for some payback.

"Right now, we're on standby," she said. "Until that ceasefire comes into effect, we can't risk redeploying, not if the Council attacks again."

"Damn." Haley finished maintenance on her shotgun, and moved to her sniper rifle. "All that N7 training, and we're stuck on garrison duty."

"As soon as we're back on duty, we can volunteer for additional work," Alanna promised. "There's plenty of repairs that need doing."

"I'm not an engineer."

"Then you can hold up heavy things while me and Korim do the engineering stuff." Alanna grinned. "All those muscles can finally be put to work on something other than carrying guns."

"Bite me."

"Again, I can't tell if you two are flirting or not," Korim muttered as he woke up, and then sat straighter. "Hey, is that General Grunt?"

Alanna's head whipped around, and saw the Krogan in question limping over. It was a wonder that he was moving; even with his insane regeneration, the doctors hadn't been sure he'd recover. A heart and lung had been completely destroyed, along with one of his eyes, and he'd lost so much blood that eleven other Krogan had been needed to donate some of their own. It was only yesterday that he'd been discharged from the hospital.

Grunt wasn't alone as he approached; despite his protests, no one was going to risk another assassination attempt, and a squad of N7s was assigned as his security. Today, not only were they present, but Nok as well, armed, armored, and carrying a Krogan-sized footlocker.

Alanna and her squad jumped to their feet and saluted. "Sir!"

"At ease," Grunt said, almost before they finished moving. "Lieutenant Alanna Shepard, I've read the reports, both yours and from others, about your actions during this war. You performed admirably, and proved that you deserve to be put in command of your next assignment."

Alanna tilted her head. "Sir?"

"Command wants to put together a taskforce to investigate that thing that tried to kill me. Small squads of elite troops, sent to check out locations, resources, or people who might have intel we need. You're being added to that taskforce; you'll have a ship and a crew to get you where you need to go, and you'll have your own team for ground operations."

It took Alanna a moment to absorb that. "I'd like to formally request that Sergeant Cole and Corporal Korim'Dor be transferred to that squad, sir."

"Granted," Grunt said immediately, then gestured to Nok. "Since Nok doesn't have a squad left, I want you to take him with you."

Alanna tilted her head back to look Nok in the eye. "No objections, sir. Welcome to the team, big guy."

Nok grinned. "Looking forward to working with you, Lieutenant; especially if we get to blow stuff up."

Korim laughed. "That's one of her favorite hobbies."

"Then I'm going to like it with you guys."

"Be ready to ship out at oh-six-hundred tomorrow," Grunt said, getting their attention. "You'll rendezvous with your ship and crew, and get your first assignment. Dismissed."

Once Grunt was gone, Alanna elbowed Haley. "You wanted something to do, right?"

Haley shrugged. "It's a little late for regrets. Let's get going!"

Alanna grinned. "All right, people, let's get ready to ship out."

…

"No, you may not leave."

Miranda leaned back in her bed and glared at the stubborn AI. "I could order you to get out of my way."

EDI didn't budge. "I am under orders from the doctor to keep you in your room until he has decided that you are fully recovered. Those orders supersede yours, Miranda."

"I hate you sometimes, EDI." A beep on her omni-tool, alerting her to someone outside her house, made Miranda pause. "Am I allowed visitors?"

EDI either missed—or, more likely, ignored—the sarcasm in Miranda's voice. "As long as you remain in bed, yes. And Liara is the one visiting."

That got Miranda's attention; Liara only visited Earth during the reunions, and preferred to remain on the Shadow Broker base, wherever it was now. If Liara just wanted to provide her with information, she could have called, and though they were friends, Miranda didn't consider them close enough to warrant a personal visit like this.

"Let her in," she said, her interest piqued, and EDI left the room.

Miranda took a deep breath, and let herself get comfortable in her silk sheets. The Lawson estate was large, and lavishly furnished; Miranda never settled for anything but the best, and it doubled as a place she could be positive wasn't bugged. She often invited agents into her home to be briefed on the most vital of missions. Only those she truly trusted—a list that shrank as time went on—were ever allowed into her room, though.

Sixty-two seconds later—Miranda counted—EDI opened the door for Liara. "Hello, Miranda. How is your arm?"

Miranda rolled her eyes. "I'll be fully recovered in a few days, but I lost a lot of blood, and the doctor wants me to rest."

"Miranda's blood is unique, thanks to her genetic tailoring," EDI supplied. "Transfusions are difficult, if not impossible. Miranda regularly preserves a small amount of her own blood for situations like this, but she ran out during the surgery to repair her arteries."

"Thank you, EDI," Liara said, while Miranda glared at EDI for sharing private medical information. "I'll get straight to business, Miranda. While I did come here to check on you, I also wanted to ask a favor."

Miranda raised an eyebrow. "If I recall correctly, I still owe you for helping me get and maintain my position."

"Then consider this payment in full for that debt," Liara said primly.

"Considering all the times you've wanted me to have Intelligence look the other way for the Shadow Broker's operations, you must want this favor a great deal."

Liara nodded. "I do. I'm aware that the Alliance is putting together resources to investigate these assassins. I'm also aware that Alanna was just added to the roster."

Miranda frowned. "I've been kept out of the loop for the last few days, Liara. At this point, you probably know more than I do."

Liara's smile was smug. "To be fair, Miranda, I know more about current events than just about anyone alive." Her smile faded. "But now that you do know, my favor has to do with Alanna."

"I would have been surprised if it was about anything else." Miranda's mind was already awhirl. What might Alanna need? What resources could she allocate in a way that didn't show favoritism? "What are you asking for?"

"I won't stop her from going on this mission, and I can't hold her hand through this." Liara began to pace. "But she's my daughter, Miranda. I would give up everything for her, I would set the galaxy on fire if it meant keeping her safe. We fought the Reapers so that the next generation wouldn't have to look up at the stars in fear. I want… I want a way to keep an eye on Alanna, in case she needs me, or you, or anyone else in the family."

Miranda considered that for a moment. "There are operatives I could place on her ship, but there's a chance that one of them could find out that you're the Shadow Broker. I would need someone I completely trust."

"That would be me," EDI said, which made Miranda and Liara stare.

"EDI, you haven't left Earth in over thirty years," Liara said. "Are you sure about this?"

EDI sat down on a chair, hands twisting and back hunched; it was the most human sign of stress anyone had ever seen from her.

"As you said, Alanna is part of the family, and I don't have much family left. After Jeff died, I needed time to consider my future; running operations in Alliance Intelligence was just… an automatic response. I have been trying to deal with my grief all this time, but I believe that the only way for me to move on is for me to literally move on. Director Lawson, I am formally requesting a transfer to Alanna Shepard's unit."

Miranda thought about it for a long time—by her standards, anyway. "Very well, EDI. Send me a list of the best Geth replacements for your position, and then have your AI core prepped for transfer. You'll have to remain offline until the core is integrated into the ship. Are you all right with resuming your original post?"

"I am more than capable of running the cyberwarfare suite, as well as helm control." EDI smiled. "I was finally able to replicate Jeff's skills in the cockpit. I doubt there are many pilots as capable as I am."

Liara put her hand on EDI's shoulder. "Is there anything else you need?"

EDI looked down at her sleeve. "I suppose a new change of clothes is in order. I am feeling nostalgic for the outfits I wore during the Reaper War."

Miranda arched an eyebrow. "You mean the outfits you stole from me?"

"You are only upset because I wore them better."

"Your body was literally built as a copy of mine, you can't wear them better."

"And yet, I did."

Liara rubbed her temples. Maybe it's a good thing EDI is leaving. At least Alanna will now have someone I trust watching out for her.

…

Alanna took a deep breath, and immediately regretted it. "Ugh, I hate station air."

Haley gave her a look. "How is the air here any worse than on a ship?"

"I don't know," Alanna said irritably. "It's probably all in my head, but it feels like the scrubbers work a lot harder for hundreds of people on a station, instead of whoever's on a ship."

"There can be thousands of people on a ship," Korim commented.

"Well, I've never been on a ship that big," Alanna sniped. "The biggest ship I've ever been on was a light cruiser."

Trebuchet Station was considered a medium-grade facility, located just outside the gravity of the Sol system's Mass Relay. Its entire purpose was to rapidly maintain, upgrade or repair any Alliance ships or equipment that passed through, so that it could be quickly sent back out. Most times, there were a variety of ships docked there, from corvettes to dreadnoughts, but today, there were over thirty of a single kind of ship.

The Normandy-III was officially designated a frigate by its length, but its tonnage was closer to that of a corvette. It had a sleek and narrow profile, reminiscent of the original Normandy, with four primary thrusters that gently tapered to a blunt nose. From a distance, it even looked like a single piece of metal, expertly forged into a starship.

It also had a much heavier complement of weapons than most frigates. Two GARDIAN arrays covered the ventral and dorsal halves of the ship, along with six mass driver cannons—four at the fore, two aft—and a prow-mounted Thanix-V cannon, capable of punching through a heavy cruiser with one well-placed shot. The Normandy-III was as stealthy as its namesake, all but invisible to sensors when it needed to be, and carried two shuttles with the same kind of technology.

All in all, the Normandy-III was quiet, fast, and dangerous, and Alanna felt her heart skip a beat when she saw it.

"I thought the Normandy-III was still in development," Korim said quietly, almost reverently.

"It was almost complete over a year ago," Alanna told him. "Tali told me she helped work out the kinks. The Alliance must have started production a while ago."

Nok looked up at the ships, some of which were already pulling out of their docks. "It's a predator. I like it. Which one is ours?"

Alanna checked her omni-tool. "Dock Three. Oh, great, it's on the other side of the station."

Haley sighed. "Well, at least we have a few hours before we have to report in. I could use a walk; I fell asleep during the trip here."

Korim lightly smacked her arm. "Yeah, I know. You kept kicking me in your sleep."

Alanna closed her eyes and counted to ten. "Nok, if the children keep fighting, please separate them."

"Sure thing." Nok took a step forward and leaned over, so that his massive head was between Haley and Korim. "Behave, or I will eat you."

"Which of us?" Korim dared to ask.

"Both of you. There wasn't enough to eat on the trip here, and I'm hungry."

Alanna laughed. "Come on, let's get to our ship."

"And maybe find something to eat on the way," Nok added. "Quarians are too crunchy, and humans are bad for my stomach."

Haley quickly stepped out of his reach. "Okay, I'm positive you've never eaten a human before, but I'm not convinced you won't."

Much to the relief of Haley and Korim, Nok didn't actually try to eat them, but everyone had to give him credit for sounding so sincere.

"Actually, I took acting classes as a kid," Nok admitted when Alanna mentioned it, barely audible as he chewed a Krogan-sized ration bar.

Alanna was surprised. "I don't want to stereotype, but you don't seem like the acting type."

Nok shrugged. "Eh, it's part of basic Krogan education now. You've gotta take some kind of art or history class every year during basic schooling."

"And you picked acting?"

"I couldn't sit still during history, and the plays are all reenactments of famous Krogan myths, or actual battles." Nok grinned. "Most of those involve violence, and Krogan acting is a full-contact activity."

"Now everything makes sense."

After another twenty minutes of walking, and a short tram ride, they made it to Dock Three. The ship moored there looked no different from the others they had seen, but Alanna felt a connection to this ship. She would be their home for the foreseeable future, and Alanna was looking forward to exploring every inch of the ship.

Korim made a happy noise next to her; he was as excited about the ship as she was. "So, what's her name?"

A hatch opened on the port side of the ship; a walkway unfolded and extended to the dock, and a figure stepped out. She was immediately recognized by Alanna's squad, either because of history lessons, or because they knew her personally.

"In answer to your question, Corporal Korim'Dor, this ship's designation is SSV Sicily," EDI said. "And I am EDI. I serve as your pilot, operational control, and electronic warfare suite. It is a pleasure to serve alongside you."

Alanna found her voice first. "EDI? What are you doing here? I thought you retired."

EDI smiled; it had been some time since Alanna had seen her body, and she noticed that it had been polished, and there wasn't even the faintest whir as she moved. It seemed EDI had given herself an upgrade. While her body didn't need clothes, she had adopted the custom during the Reaper War, and never stopped. She wore a soft-white skintight bodysuit, with a black stripe that went up each leg that turned into a belt across her waist. Her metal hands were exposed, which gave Alanna a look at the gold band around one finger.

EDI's wedding to Jeff Moreau had been controversial at the time, but the galaxy had been in the middle of rebuilding, and not even the most hardline anti-synthetic raised more than a token protest. It didn't hurt that EDI and Joker had been instrumental to Commander Shepard's success in the war, and that had inadvertently led the way to improved organic/synthetic relations.

"I have reactivated my commission," EDI said. "After the attacks on Director Lawson and General Grunt, I wished to play a more proactive role in preventing future assassination attempts."

Alanna glanced at her friends, who were still in shock from learning that they would be serving alongside a genuine war hero.

"Good enough for me," she said. "Welcome to the team."

"Thank you, Lieutenant." EDI gestured to the ship. "And may I congratulate you for officially taking command of the Sicily."

"Thanks." Alanna grabbed her footlocker. "Let's see what she's like on the inside."

…

The Sicily's interior had been designed similarly to the original Normandy, but with six decks, instead of five. Deck six was devoted entirely to the deployment and maintenance of the shuttles, but the others reminded Alanna of her many tours of her father's ship. Like the Normandy, this ship had an oversized drive core, but with new eezo recycling technology, giving the Sicily an almost unlimited range. That tech was still being integrated into the rest of the Alliance, but once it was, fuel would be as close to a non-issue as possible.

Technically, EDI had control over all major systems, including engineering, but that didn't stop Alanna and Korim from squabbling over who would take the role of Chief Engineer when they weren't on the ground. As the commanding officer, Alanna couldn't take that position, but it was the principle of the thing.

Haley and Nok had also argued over who would take over the armory, but Haley bowed out after Alanna asked her to be the ship's XO, and her second in command. It wasn't just because she was Alanna's best friend; her tactical skills and levelheaded approach to combat made her an excellent officer.

The ship's use of an AI and automated systems meant that there were few Alliance personnel aboard. There were two shuttle pilots and a handful of marines that served as security, but otherwise, the ship was empty. The upside was that everyone had their own quarters, something none of them had experienced before.

"Everyone settled in?" Alanna asked in the mess hall, where she and the others were eating; the benefit of flying on one of the most advanced ships in the Alliance was that their rations were far superior to normal units. The food actually tasted good.

"The bunks are nicer than the ones on Titan," Haley said. "Reminds me of trips with my parents to our cabin in Big Bear."

"Too soft for me," Nok huffed. "I had to stuff the mattress with spare armor plates. If the blanket was rougher, it would feel like home."

"The clean room is perfect," Korim said. "It's gonna be a rare day that I get sick."

"What about you, Alanna?" Haley asked. "How's the captain's quarters?"

Alanna fought hard to keep her expression from giving her away. "Oh, it's fine. Maybe a little fancier than your guys' bunks, but not too bad."

That was a bald-faced lie. Alanna didn't know who furnished Deck One, but it was just as luxurious as her father's quarters. Considering her input in creating the second Normandy, Alanna wouldn't be surprised if Miranda had something to do with soft mattress and silk sheets were so nice that Alanna had nearly fallen asleep after just a few minutes of sitting down. There was also a desk for her to handle whatever paperwork was necessary, and an adjustable screen on the wall that let her see the stars from various angles, or display an image of her choosing.

Alanna had already programmed it to project a slideshow of family pictures. Some of them were of her with various members of the Normandy crew, but her favorite was an image taken by EDI. It was of her parents, sharing a tender moment during a break between missions during the Reaper War. It was the only picture Alanna had of her parents together, and that file was her most cherished possession.

"So, now that we're all moved in, do we have a destination yet, EDI?"

With her body in the cockpit—not that it was needed to physically steer the ship—EDI's holographic avatar appeared on the wall. "Affirmative, Lieutenant. Our objective is to investigate leads provided by Alliance Intelligence regarding the assassination attempts. The first lead we have been provided is on Freedom's Progress."

Alanna frowned; it took her a moment to remember why the name was familiar. "Didn't Dad go there when he was investigating the Collectors?"

"Yes. The Alliance attempted to colonize the planet again after the Reaper War, but canceled the project due to funding issues at the time. Some of the structures remain intact, but the planet is largely uninhabited, save for pirates."

"Okay, set a course. Let's find out what has Intelligence so excited."

"Course laid in, Lieutenant. ETA is seven hours."

Alanna nodded. "You heard her, people. Six hours to rest, one hour to prep your gear. It's time we earn our pay."

…

Garrus sighed for what felt like the hundredth time that day. The rescue of tens of thousands of Turians was almost complete, which was cause for yet another celebration on Palaven. Garrus, however, didn't feel like celebrating; for every problem that got solved, another took its place, and it was starting to get to him.

When the Hierarchy had decided to leave the Council, everyone had known it would cause them problems. The Volus banking system had kept the economy from falling too far—and the Vol Protectorate's withdrawal from the Council had badly affected the other races' finances, much to the Hierarchy's delight—but it had taken a hit. Turian citizens in other nations were seen as pariahs, and there was a mad scramble to get to friendlier space before the lynch mobs got them. Valuable trade with the Council races dried up virtually overnight, and the Hierarchy no longer had allies on its borders.

But that wasn't to say that Garrus was out of friends. If they had to, the Turians knew they could ask the Alliance for help, and trade with them was still strong. More importantly, the Turian military hadn't expended itself in a futile and costly war, which meant that they were in a strong position, both strategically and politically.

But then there was the report the Alliance had secretly transmitted. Shadowy assassins from an unknown party, with strange technology and a grudge against Shepard's closest allies. They had tried to kill Miranda and Grunt, and according to the former, they were likely responsible for many of Shepard's friends over the decades.

Kaidan, Jacob, Kasumi… Tali.

Garrus' talons curled in anger. After they'd broken up, he'd never allowed himself to feel for someone like that again; part of it was because he didn't want to be hurt again, but another part had always hoped, even after a century, that Tali would return his feelings. Now, she never would, but Garrus had thought she had just died of old age—instead, she'd been murdered, and Garrus wanted her killers dead.

He was too old to go out there himself to hunt, responsibilities be damned, but he had other ways to get revenge.

"Sergeant Septimus, report to my office," he said into a frequency only a few Turians had access to.

A soldier entered his office a few minutes later. He was young, but he had the look of a grizzled veteran, with white armor that had black kill-marks around his collar, painted in jagged stripes. He had a sniper rifle and an assault rifle on his back, and a bandolier of grenades across his chest. He also had a visor over one eye, which was very familiar to Garrus; after all, he'd given it to the younger Turian a decade ago.

Tetros Septimus was Garrus' great-nephew, and the only Turian left who could carry on the Vakarian bloodline. When Tetros' parents had died in an accident twenty years ago, Garrus had taken it upon himself to raise him, on top of his other responsibilities. He had imparted everything he knew about fighting to his nephew, and he'd become an incredible soldier.

Normally, Turian officers didn't dare give assignments to relatives; the meritocracy was unforgiving in that respect. Garrus, however, was not a normal Turian, and didn't dare hand out a mission this important—and personal—to someone he didn't trust with his life.

"Sir, how can I help?" Tetros asked.

Garrus smiled grimly. "This is completely off the record, Tetros. Until I say otherwise, this conversation never happened."

Tetros nodded, and relaxed. "What's wrong, Uncle Garrus?"

Garrus transmitted a copy of the Alliance report to his great-nephew. "Read this, then delete it." He waited patiently for Tetros to go through all the details, and nodded when Tetros' eyes went wide. "That came from a trusted source. I'm going to put you in contact with some of our Intelligence sources. Find a pattern, track the source. If you can eliminate the threat, do so; if not, work with whoever you can to kill these guys." He paused. "Of course, since this conversation never happened, you have every right to refuse."

To his credit, Tetros thought about it; he tilted his head down, and the light of the office illuminated the geometric purple designs on his face.

"I'll get started right away, sir."

"Just stay under the radar," Garrus advised. "For now, consider this a family affair."

"Of course, Uncle. I've got some leave built up anyway."

Garrus' smile was dangerous. "Then I hope you have a good… hunting trip."

Tetros, who had remained stoic until now, mirrored the smile. When Garrus went to sleep late that night, he slept knowing that he'd sent the best to avenge Tali and his friends.

…

Alanna sat in the briefing room, placed in the aft section of Deck Two. "EDI, call up the briefing."

"Yes, Lieutenant." EDI's hologram vanished, replaced by an image of Freedom's Progress, and scrolled through decades-old news. "Officially abandoned in 2207, Freedom's Progress has a reputation for being cursed. Pirates use it as a haven, but never longer than a few weeks, at most."

"Even pirates are scared of this place?" Korim shook his head. "Why are we here?"

"Upon review of new data, Alliance Intelligence discovered that one such pirate group has come into possession of unknown technology. They attempted to sell it on the black market, but it had enough similarities to Reaper tech that no one wished to buy it. According to the latest reports, the pirates still have the technology with them."

"Not surprised no one bought it," Haley muttered. "Nobody's stupid enough to play with Reaper tech anymore."

Aside from the fact that possession of Reaper technology was punishable by death, everyone knew about indoctrination, and how even the smallest piece of a Reaper could turn you into a monster. Only the most desperate or egotistical were willing to buy, sell, or collect Reaper tech.

EDI continued. "Intelligence believes that this might be a lead on the assassins. Your mission is to infiltrate the pirate base and retrieve the sample. If it is actually Reaper tech, destroy it; if it is connected to the assassins, bring it back for study."

"Understood, EDI; keep the ship safe in orbit. We'll take a shuttle down to the surface." Alanna rose to her feet. "Anything else before we deploy?"

Haley raised a hand. "Rules of engagement if we have to fight the pirates?"

Alanna considered that. "Let's try to take their leader alive for questioning. Everyone else is expendable."

Nok laughed. "Good; I haven't killed something today, and I'm getting antsy."

"I'm sure you'll get your chance," Alanna said, even as she hooked her weapons to her back. "Pirates tend to get upset when uninvited guests come knocking."

…

The flight to the surface was mercifully uneventful; the pirates had a ship in orbit, but it was a piece of junk that had no chance of detecting the Sicily, or her shuttles. Alanna gave the pilot a nod in thanks, and then set foot on a planet her father had visited over a hundred years ago.

"What a dump," Nok grunted.

Alanna had to agree; the last century had not been kind to the original buildings, and the half-built structures from the second colonization hadn't fared much better. Some buildings still stood, but they were cracked, rusted, or sagging from decades of harsh weather and no maintenance. Even in the darkness of the night, it was clear that this was not somewhere to go on vacation.

Haley looked around, then held her hand out to catch some snowflakes. "At least the winter makes it look better."

Nok scoffed. "Yeah, now it's a dump covered in snow."

"Focus, guys." Alanna checked the map of the settlement. "Okay, we're about four hundred meters from the pirates. Move out."

The squad moved quietly, but quickly; none of them wanted to be on this miserable rock any longer than they had to.

"I've got something," Haley said into the comms. "Two hundred meters, straight ahead. Looks like a patrol."

Alanna crouched behind a ruined wall, and fiddled with her omni-tool until she tapped into the optics in Haley's helmet. Now able to see through Haley's scope without actually borrowing her rifle, she got a good look at the pirates.

"Two Batarians, a Krogan, and a baker's dozen Vorcha." She considered their options. "Once we open fire, we'll have to move fast, or the whole camp will be on us. Haley, keep the Krogan pinned; Nok and I will go after the Vorcha, and Korim, you mess with their comms. Try to keep them from calling for help. Haley, we go on your shot."

"Copy that." Haley activated the incendiary mod on her sniper rifle, steadied her aim, and fired; despite punching, and burning, through his armor, the Krogan didn't fall.

"Go, go!" Alanna leveled her Tsunami and scythed through the Vorcha. Nok added his own fire to the mix—literally, since he had an incendiary mod for his weapon, which quickly dispatched anyone who could regenerate.

With the Vorcha dead, Alanna and Nok advanced on the survivors, while Haley kept the enemy Krogan pinned down. Nok killed one Batarian with a concentrated burst of fire, and Alanna killed the other with a Throw.

"Alanna, go left!"

Trusting Haley's frantic warning, Alanna used a Charge to zip out of the way of the Krogan who nearly collided with her. Instead, he stumbled towards Nok, who punched him hard enough to break his jaw. Nok punched again, which drove the other Krogan to one knee, where he was finished off by a single round from Alanna's shotgun.

Nok sniffed the corpse with disdain. "I was wondering why he was still standing. I can smell the booster on him."

"What booster?" Alanna asked.

"It's a kind of adrenaline cocktail," Nok said. "Krogan medics designed it for soldiers who were too badly hurt for their regeneration to kick in. It can keep a Krogan alive, and it can even counteract stuff meant to block regeneration—like fire."

"I want something like that," Haley said, relieved that it wasn't actually her fault that the Krogan had kept fighting.

"Nah, it'll kill non-Krogan; your heart would explode from the stress." Nok hesitated. "It can do that to Krogan, too, which is why it's illegal."

"Somehow, I doubt this guy cared about that." Alanna searched the bodies, and found an interesting mod for increased shield strength, along with a few hundred credits. "All right, we need to get going."

As they got closer to the main camp, they ran into more pirates. Most of them were Batarians and Vorcha, but there were a few Turians as well. The latter were equipped with heavy shields and shotguns, and presented a serious danger… until Alanna and Korim took out the shields with a twin Overload, and Nok killed the soldiers outright with his missile launcher.

"Isn't that thing supposed to be used on vehicles?" Alanna asked, after the latest skirmish.

"So what?"

Alanna glanced at the steaming chunks of Turian. "Nothing, just curious."

"Hey, does anyone hear something… weird?" Korim asked. "It sounds like a faulty generator."

Alanna listened, and heard a low hum, interspersed with random clicks and coughs. "I think that's exactly what it is. This base has lights and functioning doors, so they must have power from somewhere. Maybe we can cause some havoc if we shut it down."

"You just want an excuse to blow something up," Haley accused.

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Alanna replied; even with her helmet on, her squad knew she was grinning at them.

With the generator spiking as it was, it wasn't hard to track its energies. If the team of pirates guarding the generator had been Alliance soldiers, they would have been court-martialed for their shoddy discipline; they were out in the open, and instead of trying to fix the generator, they simply ignored it.

"They're awfully close to that thing, aren't they?" Alanna commented as they took cover. "Hang on, I want to try something."

While the energy spikes interrupted any attempt Alanna made to hack the generator, she could help it along. Applying an overload at the right time caused the generator to discharge bolts of electricity that outright killed a Vorcha who'd gotten too close, and stripped the shields off the other nearby pirates.

"Engage!" Alanna barked.

Korim tore a Batarian in half with his biotics, while Haley and Nok gunned down the remaining pirates. Without the guards, the generator was an easy target; a rocket from Nok and some grenades from Haley reduced it to sparking scrap. As soon as the generator was destroyed, all the lights died, leaving the base in darkness.

"Get to the rooftops," Alanna ordered. "They won't see us coming."

"What about anyone already up there?" Korim asked.

Alanna gave him a dry look, and just held up her shotgun in answer.

With some assistance from their boosters, the squad got to the rooftops in under a minute. They had to give Nok a few extra seconds; his heavy weapons and even heavier armor made vertical travel a challenge. Still, they managed, and as they leaped from one crumbling building to another, their night-vision optics in their helmets let them watch the pirates panicking below.

Haley looked down at her assault rifle and sighed longingly. "Man, if we had time…"

"We'll probably have to fight our way out after we secure the package," Alanna said.

"I hope you're right."

Korim gave her a look. "You sound way too excited about that."

"No more than Alanna is about blowing stuff up."

Korim sighed. "Nok, you and I might be the sanest in the squad."

"Don't drag me into this, I like shooting stuff just as much as I like blowing stuff up." Nok grinned when both Alanna and Haley gave him a thumbs-up.

"I'm surrounded by lunatics," Korim complained.

The levity ended when a squad of pirates climbed onto the roof of the building in front of them. Most of them were Batarians, but there was a pair of Krogan as well, toting shotguns.

"Don't hold back," was all Alanna said, and then hurled a Singularity to catch most of the Batarians. Korim detonated it with a Warp, and then fired his SMG at one of the Krogan, who shrugged off the gunfire without much issue. He had more trouble with Nok, who countered Krogan regeneration with a missile launcher that tore him in half.

Haley wasn't going to take chances with a second super-regenerating Krogan getting the jump on her squad. With her incendiary mods on her assault rifle, she fired burst after burst, destroying his armor and setting him on fire with some plasma for good measure. Alanna detonated the plasma with an overload, and then helped Korim finish off the last Batarian.

"That's gonna get attention," Alanna said. "We need to get to their command center before they figure out why we're here."

The pirates' headquarters used to be the town hall; the west side had crumbled to rubble, but the rest had been hastily fortified into something resembling a stronghold. Dozens of Vorcha milled about, only paying attention when their Krogan overseer kicked one of them—after laughing at their comrade's misfortune, of course.

"We have no idea what's waiting for us inside," Korim said. "I can try hacking an omni-tool if it looks like they're going indoors…"

"No time," Alanna said, even though she would have preferred having more intel. "We go in hard and fast. Nok, Haley, take down those Vorcha; Korim and I will kill the Krogan."

After taking a moment to check their fields of vision, Nok and Haley rained fire—both incendiary bullets and plasma—from above. Alanna and Korim jumped from the roof, slowing down their fall at the last second with their boosters, then charged the Krogan overseer. Alanna staggered when the Krogan caught her leg with his shotgun, and Korim's tech armor was shattered by a second shot. Korim drew his shotgun and fired twice; it almost penetrated the Krogan's armor, but by then, the Krogan finished his charge. Half a ton of Krogan slammed into him at full speed, breaking his weakened barriers and sending him flying across the street.

"Man down!" Alanna shouted, and then opened fire with her Tsunami, complete with shredder rounds. By the time the Krogan turned to face her, his armor was gone, and his right side was mulched. Alanna saw an opening and launched a cryo-blast, turning the Krogan into the world's ugliest ice sculpture; she then punched him, and half a ton of ice cubes spread out over the dirty snow.

Alanna was about to check on Korim—her HUD said that he wasn't dead, but he definitely wasn't getting up for a while—when a bullet skipped across her shoulder, almost breaking her weakened shields.

"Alanna, you've got more hostiles on your three!" Haley yelled. "Two Asari, four Turians!"

"Haley, give me covering fire! Nok, get down here and get Korim into cover!"

Nok roared and jumped off the roof, firing wildly at the enemy squad as he fell. He landed with an earth-shaking thud, and jogged over to Korim; he hefted the Quarian under one arm, and fired his machine gun one-handed as he moved.

One of the Turians dropped from a well-placed headshot; the threat of a sniper sent the remaining five pirates into a scramble for cover, but Alanna wasn't in the mood for mercy at the moment. She reached out and ripped the biotic barrier from an Asari, using her energies to replenish her own barrier; before the Asari realized what had happened, Alanna froze her with a cryo-blast. Haley shattered her with another shot, and then continued pinning the rest of the squad. Alanna used that time to flank the squad, and mowed down the remaining Turians with her Tsunami, and wounded the other Asari.

"Go to hell, Alliance!" the Asari shouted, and raised her shotgun, but Alanna froze it with another cryo-blast, and shattered it with a bullet—along with the Asari's hand.

"I'll see you there," Alanna said, and finished her off with a Warp. "All clear! How's Korim?"

"Alive," Nok reported. "I gave him medi-gel for his ribs. He'll have one hell of a headache, but he'll be fine in a day or two."

"Good." Alanna considered her options; none of them were ideal, but they still had a mission to complete. "Haley, stay here with Korim; signal the Sicily for retrieval, then wait with the shuttle to pick us up. Nok, you're with me; we still have a package to steal."

"Copy that," Haley said, taking Nok's place at Korim's side. "Good luck, you guys."

The pirates were now very aware of their presence, so Nok abandoned what little subtlety he had left and kicked the door down. All the pirates had waiting for them was a single frightened Vorcha, who Alanna killed with her shotgun. She paused only long enough to swipe a datapad full of credits, then nodded for Nok to move up.

The town hall was as decrepit on the inside as it was outside; the hallways were covered in dirt, debris, and Vorcha filth. Alanna tried not to think about what was on her boots, but made a mental note to put her armor through decontamination twice.

"I can smell fresh blood up ahead," Nok growled softly. "Smells like a Salarian."

Alanna merely adjusted her grip on her shotgun. "Watch your fire. We don't want to destroy the package."

Nok considered that, and drew his own shotgun; it made Alanna's look puny in comparison. "I can handle that."

Alanna almost kicked the next door down, until she saw that it still had some power, and was locked. She spared a few seconds to bypass it, and the door hissed open; when she wasn't greeted by a hail of bullets, she cautiously entered. She and Nok found a wide, open room, with scattered chairs and crates; sitting at the back of the room, her feet resting atop one such crate, was an Asari. She had the same shade of blue skin as Alanna, and wore a battered red hardsuit; she also had a Revenant LMG across her lap, with a warp mod already active.

Alanna doubted that that was an original Revenant; the pirate had to have fabricated it somewhere, or was an avid collector of antique guns.

"Well, well," the Asari drawled. "If I'd known the Alliance was going to work so hard to collect my bounty, I'd have brought out the drinks."

"Bounty?" Alanna didn't bother to hide her confusion. "Lady, I don't even know who you are."

"Seriously?" The cocky smile vanished off the other Asari's face, and she rose to her feet. Behind her, a trio of Krogan also readied themselves; one of them tossed aside a dead Salarian he'd been slowly tearing apart with his hands. "Why else would the Alliance come all the way out here to pick a fight? I've been raiding in the Terminus since before the Reaper War!"

"Look, I don't know you, and I don't care," Alanna said. "I'm here for some of your merchandise. You let us look for what we want, and we'll leave without killing what's left of your crew. Simple as that."

The Asari narrowed her eyes. "Well, maybe the Alliance will take me seriously if I kill you, you little bitch!"

Nok laughed. "You're as arrogant as you are stupid. Four of us practically walked through everyone you threw at us."

"Hey!" The Asari gathered biotic energy in one hand. "No one insults Captain—"

"Like I said, I don't care," Alanna interrupted, and hit her with a Stasis; with three angry Krogan in the room, the last thing she wanted was an even angrier biotic added to the mix. "Engage!"

Nok charged at one of the Krogan, but slid to a halt just before impact; his opponent looked confused, until Nok leveled his Extinction and blew him to pieces with a few point-blank shots. Alanna deployed a drone with a flamethrower to burn a second Krogan, then detonated the plasma with an Overload. As he flailed, trying desperately to put out the fire, Alanna blew out his knee with her shotgun, and then finished him off with a second shot.

The third Krogan was almost on top of her, but a concussion round from Nok bowled him over. The two Alliance soldiers aimed their shotguns at his head, and killed him with a single shot each.

By that point, the Stasis had worn off on the Asari captain, and she opened fire with her Revenant. Alanna took several hits before making it to cover; the warp mod and heavy-caliber bullets completely stripped her barrier, and caught her in the side. Alanna's hand instinctively went to the hit, and came away bloody; her HUD informed her that her armor had been breached, but it had absorbed enough kinetic energy that the wound wasn't life-threatening. It hurt like hell, though, and with a quick blink at an icon on her HUD she applied both medi-gel and omni-gel, healing flesh and repairing armor.

"You want to know my name now, Alliance!?" The Asari fired another burst, tearing apart a chunk of Alanna's cover. "You should know who's gonna kill you!"

Alanna deployed another drone that zipped around to draw the other Asari's fire. "Then you should know the name Alanna Shepard!"

The pirate paused. "Shepard? Wha—"

That simple distraction left her open to gunfire from the drone, which chipped away at her barrier. Nok fired his shotgun, but was tripped by the captain's biotics; instead of shooting her in the chest, the Extinction blew her legs off. Alanna vaulted over her cover and sprinted to the other Asari; there was no way to save her legs, but a quick application medi-gel kept her from bleeding to death too quickly.

"The stuff that looks like Reaper tech," Alanna hissed. "What is it? Where did you get it?"

The Asari looked up at her, eyes filled with hate. "That's what you're after? That piece of crap? We ripped it off some rich lady on Ilium."

"Give me a name," Alanna demanded.

"Mayla Ka'Yoh." The Asari grinned. "The name is Captain Mayla Ka'Yoh."

Alanna snarled; the Asari had given her own name, not the source of the alien tech. "Tell me what I want to know, or I'll let you bleed out. I've heard that's not a fun way to go."

"Too bad, that's all you're getting out of me." Before Alanna or Nok could stop her, Ka'Yoh straightened out her hand, wrapped it in biotic energy, and rammed the makeshift blade into her own throat.

"Shit!" Alanna stepped away from the dead Asari. "Nok, we need to find that tech and get out of here."

"On it." Nok was already ripping the tops off of crates. "Refined platinum… medi-gel… some old assault rifles… more refined platinum…"

Alanna scrounged through more crates. "Eezo pallets… spare parts… Asari artwork… hey, I think I have something!"

Nok abandoned his inspection of a crate filled with expensive liquor to join Alanna. "The Reaper tech?"

"Oh, this is definitely not from the Reapers." Alanna carefully reached into the crate and pulled out what appeared to be a pyramid made of black stone. Each corner glowed with a green light, and though Alanna could lift it up, it refused to let her physically touch it; it was like she and the artifact had the same magnetic charge.

Alanna yelped when a bolt of green energy passed from the pyramid and into her hand; she felt a jolt of agony, and her hand went limp for a few seconds. The artifact fell the ground; there was a crackle as more energy arced into the floor, and then the light died out.

"What the hell was that?" Nok asked; he leaned in to inspect the device, but didn't touch it. "Smells… wrong."

Alanna rubbed her numb hand until she could move her fingers again. "How so?"

"It doesn't have a scent at all. No dust, no blood, no metal or stone. If I didn't see you pick it up, I would have thought it wasn't real."

"Yeah, that's weird." Alanna tapped at her omni-tool. "EDI, come in."

"I read you, Lieutenant. What is your status?"

"Objective acquired. We need immediate extraction. Can you cover the shuttle so we can get out of here in one piece?"

"Affirmative. Once we deactivate our stealth systems, the pirate ship will be in weapons range in four minutes."

"Then we'll be out of here in two." After a moment to think about it, Alanna used her Tsunami to nudge the pyramid into the small crate it had been pulled out of. "Nok, I'm gonna carry this, but I'll need both hands. Keep the bad guys off us until we're in the shuttle."

Nok grinned. "You're letting me shoot more people? I should have asked to join your squad days ago!"

Much to Nok's disappointment, there was no shooting for him to do. Without their leader, the remaining pirates were directionless; the state-of-the-art shuttle shooting at them with heavy weapons was also a factor.

"You two have fun in there?" Haley asked as the doors opened.

"Yeah, lots!" Alanna shouted as she heaved the crate into the shuttle. "Let's get the hell out of here!"

Alanna glared at the crate as the shuttle flew into orbit, to rejoin the Sicily. Somewhere in that tiny pyramid was the key to finding the people who had killed members of her family, and had tried to kill others.

Soon, she would have a lead; then, it would be time to hunt.

Okay, so the war is wrapping up—when things start going bad, rats start to abandon ship. However, there's a new mystery to solve. I like to imagine that the Alliance reacted so quickly because they learned from Commander Shepard and the Reapers what happens if you don't jump on something like this.

So, I saw a picture of the ship for the upcoming Mass Effect game (please let that one be good), and decided to base my design of the Normandy-III on it. Welcome to the Sicily, complete with best-AI-girl EDI! She now wears multiple hats on this ship, because the Alliance isn't a bunch of pansies when it comes to synthetics.

I really enjoyed writing the mission with the pirates. It felt like one of the missions from the games where you have to fight some random nobodies who, because the universe likes throwing curveballs, somehow have access to an important thingy. Except this important thingy doesn't like people touching it.

As always, please consider buying my book, Alpha Sanction, by Josh Gottlieb. You can find it on my website (link in my profile), or on Amazon as an eBook or physical copy. Sales give me just a little more drive to finish the sequel, which I'm really hoping will happen this year!

Another way you can support me is through my P-atreon (link in my profile). If enough of you donate, I'll be able to quit one of my jobs and afford an apartment in a place that isn't California, and can therefore be feasibly paid for.

Speaking of which, I'd like to thank the following awesome Muffins:

Serious Muffins: Nimrod009, Anders Lyngbye, Matthias Matanovic, John Collins, Red Bard, Aaron Meek, killroy225, Lokthar, Hakuryuken

Incredible Muffins: RaptorusMaximus, michaelb958, Crazyman844, Ben Stueckle

Ultra Muffins: RangersRoll, Adam Costello

Next Chapter: The next step in Alanna's journey begins, and the Alliance tries to mend fences.

I'm Commander Shepard, and this is my favorite Muffin on the Citadel.