MASS EFFECT DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. MY CHARACTERS ARE MINE, AND I FINALLY CONVINCED THEM THAT THEY WON'T GET A BETTER DEAL THAN MINE.

So, last time, Alanna found her first breadcrumb, but you know how it is. Two steps forward, one step back.

Mass Effect: Legacy

VI

Alanna slowly paced from one side of Engineering to the other, never taking her gaze off the alien device on the table. For almost three hours, she had subjected it to every form of analysis she had available, and no matter what she found, it was never enough.

"Alanna, may I have a word?" EDI asked.

"Sure." Alanna rubbed her eyes tiredly. "What is it, Aunt EDI?"

"First, I must remind you that we are both on duty, and you should not refer to me as your aunt," EDI reprimanded gently. "Second, you asked that I inform you when Corporal Korim'Dor recovered from his injuries. He is awake, and resting in the clean room."

Alanna sighed. "Thanks, EDI. Hey, can you keep an eye on this stupid thing? Let me know if it does anything."

"Of course, Lieutenant."

After leaving Engineering, Alanna took the elevator to Deck Three; Korim's clean room was connected directly to the infirmary. Since the clean room was reserved for Quarians, Alanna stood outside the door and looked through the small window.

"Hey, Korim, you okay?"

Korim sat up in his bed; it was one of the few times Alanna had seen him without his helmet, and gave her a good look at the splotchy birthmark on the left side of his face. It reminded her of a chemical burn, but Korim insisted he was born with it; something told Alanna he was lying, but she was willing to leave it alone unless Korim brought it up.

"I'm fine, Alanna," he said, his voice slightly muffled by the door. "Ribs are healed, and my headache is gone. Thanks for getting me out of there."

"Never leave a man behind." Alanna grinned. "Even after we graduated, I'm still saving your ass."

"Hey, I got tackled by a Krogan!"

"And you didn't die, which means you've got one hell of a story for the ladies on Rannoch," Alanna teased.

Korim paused. "Huh. You're right. That makes this whole thing totally worth it." He walked over to the door. "Hey, I heard we brought back something."

"A few somethings, actually." Alanna mentally reviewed the resources they'd retrieved before leaving. "Some eezo, some platinum, really ugly Asari artwork, and some weird alien device that does not like to be touched."

"You had me at ugly artwork, but I'll wait until I look at the alien doohickey."

Alanna laughed, and then transferred over her findings to his omni-tool. "Here, this'll keep you occupied until you're released. I'm gonna go see how the rest of the team is doing."

Korim was already reading the first analysis. "Have fun!"

Alanna found Nok in the armory, methodically disassembling, cleaning, and reassembling each weapon the squad had used. "Hey, Lieutenant. I heard Korim is awake."

"Awake and eager to go over all those scans I took." Alanna took a shotgun—Haley's, if she wasn't mistaken—from the table and placed it on the rack. "How about you? Anything you think I should know?"

Nok thought about it. "Well, that was a good fight, back on Freedom's Progress. I like a simple fight—no political crap, no civvies to watch out for. It was just us, and a bunch of pirates who deserved what they got."

"Speaking of which, EDI sent out a report to the Alliance." Alanna watched as Nok deftly put together his own shotgun; it was almost like watching his hands dance. "Now that we've got the package, there's a platoon of marines getting sent in to mop up the pirates."

"We killed their boss and most of their Krogan," Nok said. "They've got it easy down there."

"Speaking of which, there were a lot of Krogan. Any idea why so many turned pirate?"

Nok sneered. "Not everyone was happy with Overlord Wrex's decisions; even after the genophage got cured, some of my people decided to pick any fight they could. They had a choice—either rebuild our civilization, or get the hell out of Alliance space. As far as the rest of the Krogan are concerned, those shit-eating pyjaks are dead men walking."

Alanna leaned against the only part of the armory not lined with weapons. "There's a kill-order on these guys?"

Nok laughed, but there was no humor in it. "It's not like we've got orders to shoot them, but if we report that we've killed them, we get a commendation in our files. It's only if it's during all-Krogan ops, though; it's a matter of honor."

"Huh." Alanna crossed her arms. "I wonder if the Asari Republics have a similar attitude towards me."

"That's different," Nok said. "You've got the backing of the Alliance. Those Krogan we killed were criminals, simple as that."

Alanna appreciated his words, but she still couldn't help but think about the fighting on Elysium, and how one Asari had called her a traitor. She had grown up among humans, and only knew Asari culture through her mother, grandfather, and Samara. In many ways, she had turned her back on her race from the day she was born.

She quickly shook those thoughts away; right now, she was focused on Nok. "So, what'd you think of our little acquisition?"

"It's small, weird, and it apparently hates you." Nok shrugged. "The way I figure it, that means we're on the right track. Just let me know when we're ready to take another shot at these guys, whoever they are. I want to be the first Krogan to kill one of 'em; that'll make me a legend in the First KAB."

"You'll be first in line," Alanna promised. "Hey, what's it like in the Krogan Armored?"

"After you get through training, it's awesome." Nok grinned. "You get to ride in the best tanks my people have ever built, you get the best weapons, and the best fights. Before we met on Elysium, General Grunt had us hit a dozen different strongpoints to keep the Council army off their game. I must have killed a dozen Asari in the first skirmish alone… er, no offense."

"None taken." Still, Alanna could see Nok's eyes start to glaze over, and decided to leave before he started reenacting those fights. "I should go, but let me know if you need anything."

"You got it, Lieutenant."

…

Next up was EDI; Alanna would have gone to Haley, but the cockpit was also on Deck Three, while Haley's quarters were on Deck Two.

Alanna could have gone anywhere to speak to EDI, but she thought it was polite to visit her physical body, which looked like it was sleeping in the pilot's chair.

"EDI, do you have a minute?"

EDI's eyes opened, and she sat up. "Of course, Lieutenant. How can I help you?"

"Just doing the rounds, checking in on everyone." Alanna sat down in the copilot's seat. "It's been a long time since you've been on a ship, and I wanted to see how you were doing."

"It required some time for my systems to be fully integrated with the Sicily," EDI admitted. "My original AI core was designed for the Normandy, and while I have been upgraded to current specifications, there was still an adjustment period. I believe that the closest analogy would be for an organic to break in a new pair of shoes. Though, in my case, it required only an hour."

"I would kill to break in new shoes that fast," Alanna said. "I remember when Miranda took me shopping about twenty years ago, and I got these adorable shoes that took days to stop giving me blisters."

"I remember that." EDI smiled. "Miranda asked me to rearrange her schedule so that she could spend the day with you."

"Really?" Alanna was surprised; Miranda always said that their time together was during her time off, and that they were lucky.

EDI tilted her head. "Alanna, you are the daughter of the person Miranda respected more than anyone alive. The only person she would rather spend time with is her sister."

Alanna stared at her hands for a moment. "EDI, did Miranda's feelings towards my dad ever go beyond respect? The way she talked about him sometimes…"

"It is likely that Miranda harbored romantic feelings towards Commander Shepard," EDI said, after a brief pause. "However, she was aware of his relationship with your mother, and did not act on her feelings."

"Huh. I always wondered why she and Mom got awkward around each other sometimes." Alanna shook her head. "I… I think we should talk about that later. How about you? Any problems or bad memories?"

"If you are referring to Jeff, I am no longer grieving," EDI said. "I miss him, of course, and I always will, but I believe that the best way to carry on his memory is by flying a ship. Flying was his first love, and I feel closer to him when I pilot the Sicily."

Alanna smiled. "I miss Uncle Jeff too. I wonder what he'd say about this mission."

"I imagine that he would make a joke about how another Shepard is investigating a mystery involving hostile aliens, and then make a wager on how many times we would almost die in a week."

"Yeah, that sounds like him." Alanna rose from her chair. "Oh, wow, those seats are nice. Anyway, I have to go, EDI; I want to check in with Haley, and then run a few more tests on the artifact before we get back to Alliance space."

"Of course, Lieutenant; I will contact you if there are any developments." EDI waited until Alanna was gone, and then typed in a quick message to Liara, which would be discreetly transmitted by piggybacking the next time the ship opened communications.

She is more like her father than she realizes.

…

Alanna found Haley in her quarters, angrily pacing and occasionally hitting her pillow. "Stupid! I can't believe I did that!"

"Did what?"

Haley jumped and raised her fists, until she saw who it was. "Alanna! Shit, you nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"Sorry." Alanna gestured to a chair. "Can I come in?"

"Oh, sure." Haley sat down on her bed and sighed. "I guess you want to know what's going on."

"You're pissed off, and I'd like to know why." Alanna sat across from her. "If this is how you act after a successful mission, I'd hate to see what you're like after a failed one."

Haley sighed again. "Sorry, I'm just mad at myself. Two of my teammates got hurt today, and I couldn't help. I should have sniped that Krogan before he got Korim, and if I'd done that, I'd have been able to go with you in that last fight, instead of taking him to the shuttle. If I'd been there, maybe you wouldn't have gotten shot."

Alanna idly rubbed her side, remembering the pain from the bullet. "Haley, Korim and I are fine. Sure, both of us had close calls, but that could have happened at any time. You know this, so stop beating yourself up."

"I know, but you made me XO, and I'm supposed to have your back, but I didn't."

"You followed my orders, and made sure Korim was okay. As far as I'm concerned, you have nothing to be guilty for."

Haley hesitated, then smiled. "Thanks, Alanna; I think I needed to hear that."

"Any time." Alanna glanced over at Haley's desk, where a few personal belongings were scattered. "Hey, is that a picture of your parents? I don't think I've ever seen them."

Haley followed Alanna's gaze; there was a frame with a photograph—developed from actual film—of a younger Haley, standing between a pale-skinned woman and a giant of a black man. All three looked happy, standing in front of a cabin.

"Yeah, that's Mom and Dad. That was the last winter I stayed with them before I enlisted." Haley smiled. "I really should visit the next time I have leave."

"What are they like?" Alanna asked. "We never really talked about our families much during training."

"Mom is the most proper Brit you've ever met," Haley said with a laugh. "She never even uses contractions when she talks, and I'm not exaggerating when I say she almost fainted the first time she heard me swear. Dad's a doctor; if he's not working on curing some disease, he's talking to other doctors all over the galaxy."

"Sounds busy," Alanna said.

Haley shrugged nonchalantly, but Alanna had known her long enough to recognize the pain in her eyes. "It's not like he didn't try to spend time with us. That's why I loved those mountain vacations so much." She glanced at Alanna. "What about you? Obviously, you don't see your dad… oh, shit, was that in bad taste? I'm sorry."

Alanna shook her head. "Nah, you're good. But I don't spend as much time with my mom as I used to, even though I call her at least once a week. If you're talking about my biological family, I've got a grandfather—another Asari."

Haley frowned. "But… but Asari all refer to each other as female… and you call her your grandfather… I'm confused."

"Yeah, she pretty much demanded I call her my grandfather, since she didn't give birth to my mom. Also, she finds human reactions to that hilarious." Alanna leaned back. "Other than that, the only people I consider family are the Normandy crews."

"Then it must be weird having one on this ship," Haley commented.

"Eh, kinda." Alanna smiled. "But she's one of the best AIs the Alliance has, and I trust her with my life."

"It's just so weird," Haley said. "In less than a month, I've met three people who knew Commander Shepard personally. When I was a kid, they were all larger-than-life heroes, and now…"

"Now, they're all old soldiers who have seen way more than they should have," Alanna warned. "Same as every other veteran from the Reaper War."

"Right." Haley paused, and Alanna could see that she was getting ready to change the subject.

"Something else on your mind?"

"Just wondering how you and I would have done during the Reaper War. I've heard the stories and seen the documentaries, and compared to our missions over the last couple of weeks…"

"You're holding yourself to a ridiculous standard," Alanna said. "The people who fought in that war did so because they had to. It was an all-or-nothing scenario. This war with the Council happened because they were afraid of the Alliance, simple as that. If anything, I'm glad we don't have to deal with the Reapers."

"Good point."

Alanna stood up and patted Haley's shoulder. "You good now?"

"Yeah… yeah, it's all out of my system." Haley smiled up at her. "I'm gonna crash for a few hours, but let me know if that alien doodad does something cool. Or, you know, tries to kill us."

"Did you really just say 'doodad'?"

Haley went red-faced and turned away. "Shut up."

…

Miranda strode into the meeting like the last week hadn't happened; only those who knew her well would have noticed the tension in her hands, and only the keenest eyes would have spotted the pistol hidden in her sleeve.

"Director Lawson, it's good to see you on your feet," Waybrook said from her seat at the head of the table. "Please, sit down; we have a lot to go over."

Miranda nodded in thanks, and gave another nod to the various military officers on either side of the table. Only James received a smile, which he returned.

"All of you have been made aware of recent developments regarding the assassination attempts," Waybrook began. "While we will get to that, the war with the Council is our immediate concern. Admiral Hyte, what's situation in the Tikkun system?"

Hyte was easily the biggest Quarian Miranda had ever seen, and he was known as the Alliance's best defensive naval officer. He leaned forward to rest his elbows on the table and brought up his omni-tool.

"It's under control," he reported. "There are a few squadrons still running around, but we have the Mass Relays locked down. They have nowhere to go, and they're down to the dregs of their fuel. They have maybe two days before they either surrender, or their ships will be dead in space."

"Fleet Admiral Royce has reported no further attacks in the Vetus system, or anywhere else in Alliance space." Waybrook frowned. "Has there been any indication that the Council is secretly preparing for another attack?"

All eyes turned to Miranda. "No, all my sources are convinced that the Council races are ready to seek peace, but the Councilors are dragging their feet. They were the ones who pushed for this war, and they don't want to look weak by backing out without some kind of victory."

"That's not going well for 'em," James said with a grin.

Miranda's own smile was conspiratorial. "Indeed. Every day, Intelligence and SpecOps teams are inflicting serious damage to Council worlds. That, and the withdrawal of the Turians, has thrown their economy into disarray; inflation is making the lives of the Council citizens miserable, and demands for peace are growing louder. All our simulations point to this war being over—on our terms—within the next week."

"And you're sure that there are no civilian deaths during these operations?" Waybrook asked. "As long as we can claim that only we took those kinds of losses, we hold a major advantage during negotiations."

"Positive," Miranda assured her. "All targets are purely military- or intelligence-based, and were far from civilian settlements."

"That's good to hear." Waybrook closed her eyes for a moment. "Speaking of civilian casualties, I've received an update. As of this morning, the count has risen to eleven thousand, two hundred. Most of those came from the massacres at the shelters on Elysium, but there were over two thousand Quarians killed when their convoys tried to escape to Rannoch."

The Alliance officers at the table were a mix of frowns, clenched fists, and growls. Targeting civilians was a war crime by all species' standards—except the Batarians, but there were confirmed instances of Salarians and Asari executing civilians as well.

"We've already transferred those we know committed the murders to holding facilities," said another Alliance general, a human woman named Jessica Shay; she looked young, but Miranda knew that she had earned her rank as one of the top brass in the Alliance Army. "There have been a few escape attempts, mostly from Asari, but we have attached biotic-triggered shock collars on all of them now."

"On the subject of the Asari, they seem to be the most obstinate at the negotiating table," Waybrook said, then paused. "Well, Councilor Tevos is, but I've received word that the greater Asari government is prepared to remove her from her position."

Miranda couldn't help but smirk; Tevos had been a thorn in Shepard's side from the beginning, and after the Reaper War, she had tried to ruin Shepard's good name, claiming that the war had only been won because of the Asari. No one had believed her smear campaign, and her opponents were quick to bring up the hidden Prothean beacon her government had been hiding; it was the fastest way to shut her up.

"Tevos may still be an issue," Miranda said. "This fiasco may have damaged her on a wider front, but she holds considerable power among the Asari elite. It's entirely possible that she will simply command from the shadows."

Waybrook nodded. "I understand, but for now, we'll just take advantage of the situation to get the best possible deal for the peace-talks." She gestured to Miranda. "That's all we have for the war. Director Lawson, have there been any developments for Operation Silent Running?"

"Some," Miranda revealed. "Most of the units sent to investigate leads have either come up empty, or are still working. We did have a breakthrough from the squad assigned to the Sicily—an alien artifact that is proving difficult to analyze. The squad leader is currently bringing it back to Alliance space for study."

"Who's the squad leader?" General Shay asked.

Miranda took a breath; she'd been dreading this moment. "N7 Lieutenant Alanna Shepard."

Only James was calm; everyone else was at a loss for words.

"Shepard?" Hyte echoed. "I'd heard some rumors that Commander Shepard had a child, but you're telling me it's true?"

"Yes, Admiral," Miranda said. "Alanna Shepard is Commander John Shepard's biological daughter."

"And before anyone asks," James added, "she's an Asari, which is why she's a hundred years old."

Shay frowned. "So, the daughter of Shepard is at the forefront of this new mystery. Quite a coincidence."

"I can assure you, her mission was a coincidence, but her involvement is not," Miranda said archly. "These assassins are targeting people who were connected to her father, and they seem to have some interest in her. She has the best chance of shining a light on this enemy, and uncovering their plans."

Shay shrugged in an attempt to look unconvinced, but Miranda knew better. Shay was good at keeping her personal life a secret, but not from Alliance Intelligence; she was a devoted member of the Shepardists, a cult from the post-war generation that worshipped John Shepard as a savior. They were small in number, and actively despised by people who had fought in the Reaper War; most of the rest of the Alliance thought they were crazy, and they stuck to the shadows.

As long as Shay kept her religion out of sight, Miranda would hold her tongue, but she recognized the gleam in the younger woman's eyes. Just the knowledge of a living child of Shepard was enough to get her riled up. Miranda made a mental note to increase surveillance of those zealots, just in case.

"Director Lawson, please keep us informed of further developments," Waybrook said. "If Lieutenant Shepard is the key to solving this mystery, we can't afford to make the same mistakes the Council did with her father."

"Of course," Miranda said; she refrained from reminding everyone that the Alliance had been just as unwilling to help Shepard as the Council.

"Now, if there is nothing further to discuss about this new enemy," Waybrook said, "there are a few items I want to go over before the next round of negotiations…"

…

Alanna woke up with a start; to her annoyance, her alarm wasn't set to go off for another hour, but now she was wide awake.

"Damn nightmares," she muttered, and stumbled over to the shower.

It had been almost a decade between batches of nightmares—they had started a few days after Joker's funeral, and had persisted for months. They happened every time a member of Alanna's family died, and they got worse as time went on. Tali's death had caused the longest stretch of nightmares yet; it had been over a year since then, and Alanna had at least one every week. What really bothered her was that she could never remember the details of her dreams, only a sense of anxiety and sadness.

Only three people in the galaxy knew about her nightmares—Liara, Aethyta, and Miranda, and she had made them swear never to tell anyone else. Thankfully, she was a quiet sleeper, and no one had ever noticed during her time in the military.

Alanna stayed in the shower a good five minutes longer than she'd ever spent during N7 training. Once she was done, she slowly put on her clothes—standard grey BDU pants, black t-shirt, and black boots—and sat at her desk.

"EDI, how's the analysis of the artifact?" she asked, eager for something to do.

"There has been a development, Lieutenant," EDI reported. "I have found a connection to the dark energy of the artifact and a previous reading from over a century ago."

"Wait, really?"

"Affirmative. The connection was not noticed because the first encounter's energies were much stronger."

"You're keeping me in suspense, EDI."

"I apologize, I was attempting to build tension." Alanna swore she could hear the smile in EDI's voice. "The last time this energy was encountered was during your father's mission to Haestrom. The radiation from the star of that system matches the frequency emitted by the artifact, but not the intensity."

"No kidding," Alanna said, remembering what she knew of that mission. "If it did, we'd be dead by now. Is it safe, or should we lock it up?"

"At the moment, the artifact is mostly inert, and the dark energy it does emit is negligible. However, I would now prefer it not be aboard this ship."

"Well, we'll drop it off in a few hours." Alanna scowled. "First Freedom's Progress, now Haestrom. Two different planets that Dad went to. Could there be a connection?"

"It is possible. The enemy has some interest in those connected with Commander Shepard, but the incident on Haestrom began long before he arrived."

"Something to think about, then." Alanna stood up. "EDI, send a report to Miranda—I mean, Director Lawson. Tell her we have a new lead, and will investigate it as soon as we drop off the package."

"Transmitting… sent." EDI paused. "We are receiving a reply, in real-time. Director Lawson has ordered us to change course immediately. We may need to test the artifact, and if there is a connection to Haestrom, we may learn more if we bring it to that system."

"Okay, looks like we'll be holding onto that thing for a little longer." Alanna shrugged. "Sorry, EDI, but if it starts causing problems, we'll jettison it in an escape pod and tow it back home."

"I appreciate that, Lieutenant." EDI paused again. "Setting course to the Dholen system now. ETA is seven hours."

"Squad, listen up," Alanna said into her comms. "We've just received new orders. Check your gear and get ready for another mission."

Korim groaned, but Nok cheered, eager for another chance for violence.

"Also, don't forget to pack your sunscreen," Alanna added. "It's gonna get a little toasty."

…

Liara closed her eyes and tried not to be mad. She didn't even have the right to be mad, since she had done the same thing only a few days ago.

"I wish you'd told me you were putting a spy on Alanna's ship," she said.

Aboard the Shadow Broker's ship, the QEC technology was among the best in the galaxy. As such, Liara got a perfect view of Wrex scoffing.

"Please, I didn't put a spy on the ship. I just asked Grunt to put one of his best men on her crew, simple as that. I'm just a little disappointed you didn't ask me to do it."

"That… actually, you're right, Wrex, I should have asked for help." Liara leaned back in her chair. "I'm sorry. I suppose I've become used to relying on Miranda and James to help me keep an eye on Alanna."

"No worries, Liara." Wrex's expression softened. "How's she been doing? People know about her now, and that could cause problems."

"As far as I can tell, her closest friends were surprised, but they haven't caused any issues, and while civilians might be star-struck, they'll keep their distance as long as she's in the military. It's the Shepardists I'm worried about."

"Miranda mentioned that to me a little while ago, said someone in the top brass is a Shepardist, but it was low-priority."

Liara nodded. "Yes, Miranda forwarded General Shay's file over to me. If she becomes a problem, I'll take care of it."

Wrex frowned. "I hope that doesn't mean you'll kill her. You've helped the Alliance a lot over the last hundred years, but assassinating one of their top generals might be a bad play."

"Oh, don't worry, there are many ways of eliminating a threat besides killing someone." Liara's expression turned frighteningly blank. "But if it comes to protecting my daughter from those zealots, I'll use any means at my disposal."

"Well, at least Alanna won't have to worry about those freaks if she's in Krogan space." Wrex grinned. "We made that whole stupid religion illegal twenty years ago. If a Shepardist comes within shooting distance of my people, they'll take the shot. Speaking of shots, did you read the reports on what Alanna found on Freedom's Progress?"

Liara sighed. "I did. That Asari pirate who found the artifact mentioned that she stole it from someone on Ilium. I've got plenty of contacts there, so I'll see what I can find and send Miranda's way."

"I knew we could rely on you, Liara." Wrex laughed. "You know, Shepard might not have approved of your methods, but I think he'd be proud of how much good you're doing."

"At the very least, I know he'd approve of the lengths I'd go to for our daughter." Liara had once spoken to John about having a family; he had admitted that he would kill anyone who even thought about bringing harm to his child.

Liara was the same way; she was just using her many connections to help keep Alanna safe without actually being with her.

An alert brought her out of her musings. "Excuse me, Wrex, but I need to deal with some new information. We'll catch up later."

"Sure thing, Liara; I'll tell Grunt you said hi."

Liara ended the call, and read through a new report; it had taken time and several favors, but she now had everything she needed to help her father enact some real change in Asari society. Aethyta had promised that if this didn't work, there was nothing else she could do for their people, and would finally move in with Liara on her ship.

She hoped Aethyta had success; if she did, the galaxy would get a little more peaceful, and therefore, safer for Alanna.

…

"Okay, so Haestrom is not a fun place to visit," Alanna said as she sat down in the briefing room. "The sun started dying just over a century ago, and the radiation is making life extremely hard. Even before the Reaper War, the rads would strip shields off anyone on the planet in seconds. Nowadays, even ship-grade shielding starts to break down after a few days in-system."

Korim nodded. "Yeah, the whole system is off-limits now, even though it's deep inside Quarian space. There's not much reason to go there, anyway; the Geth stripped the whole planet of resources decades ago, but even they can't stay on the planet for too long."

"Didn't Commander Shepard and General Grunt go there?" Nok asked.

"Yeah, back when they were hunting the Collectors," Alanna said. "They didn't stay too long, just to recruit Tali for their mission. The records show that they fought the Geth on the planet, but this was before they became full AIs and made peace with the Quarians."

Haley frowned. "Any chance of hostiles on the planet?"

Alanna shrugged. "Honestly, I have no idea. There's no real reason to enforce the system's quarantine, since anyone who decides to hide out there is going to fry. If we find hostiles, they've gotta be pretty dangerous."

"Good," Nok rumbled, "I'd love a challenge."

"We fought a bunch of Krogan yesterday," Korim protested. "That wasn't enough for you?"

Nok grinned. "Nope."

Alanna clapped her hands. "We'll be deploying just outside an old Quarian observatory; long-range scans show that it's still standing, and should protect us from the worst of the radiation. Even if we do have to go outside, we'll be going down at night, so the radiation will be reduced; still, let's try not to stay any longer than we have to."

"The Sicily will also have to remain on the dark side of Haestrom's moon," EDI said. "The longer the ship stays in the system, the more damage we may sustain. I recommend haste."

"Thanks, EDI." Alanna rose to her feet. "You heard her, no sightseeing."

"Alert, new contact on sensors." EDI paused as she analyzed the new arrival. "The ship registers as Geth; it is a troop transport. It is deploying Geth platforms to the surface."

"That's weird," Alanna said, even as she grabbed her weapons. "Can you contact them, try to find out what their deal is?"

"Transmitting now. They have identified as HK-19, and are hunting down a Reaper signal."

That made the entire squad pause. The Hunter-Killers were an infamous branch of the Geth military; they operated exclusively in Geth and Quarian space, tracking down and destroying any trace of the Reapers with ruthless efficiency. They operated outside of Alliance command, but everyone knew better than to get in their way.

"Tell them that we're on a vital Alliance mission," Alanna ordered. "We'll stay out of their way, if they stay out of ours. If there is a Reaper threat on Haestrom, we'll assist if our goals align."

"They are responding. They agree to those terms, but they advise caution—the Reaper signals are moving erratically."

"Okay, thanks for the warning." She glanced at her squad, and tried not to let the fear she felt be seen. "I assume we all ran Reaper sims during basic training?"

"First thing I ever shot at was a Husk hologram," Haley said.

"Same." Korim's terse reply revealed how nervous he was.

Nok shrugged. "I ran those training programs, but my first kill was a rabid varren… with my hands."

"Well, let's go see what the Reapers are doing on this fried ball of rock." Alanna gripped her shotgun with more force than was necessary. "Let's go."

…

During the flight to the surface, Alanna mentally reviewed everything she knew about Reaper ground forces. She found it difficult to believe that the organic components would still be functioning, but there was still much mystery about the Reapers, and what their tech did to people.

Maybe it rendered them immune to aging, but at least Alanna could take some comfort in the knowledge that they weren't immune to bullets.

A moment later, the shuttle was rocked by an explosion.

"LZ is hot!" the pilot shouted. "Get ready for a hard landing, Lieutenant!"

"Understood, just get out of here as soon as we're on the ground." Alanna slapped Nok on the arm. "You and me, we're out first; Korim, boost our barriers as soon as the doors open!"

Korim nodded, and his hand hovered over his omni-tool. When the shuttle landed, and the doors slid open, he activated his tech armor; a moment later, the sections of the armor distended and flew over Nok and Alanna, adding a small amount of extra protection.

"Go, go!" Alanna barreled out of the shuttle and took cover behind a fallen pillar. Ahead of her, she saw the bulbous forms of Cannibals firing in her direction with their arm-cannons. "I've got five hostiles, all Cannibals! Haley, take Korim and flank them! Nok and I will cover you!"

"Copy that," Haley said tersely, and led Korim around several large stones.

Nok cursed when a few bullets hit him, but his enhanced shields held; he responded with a long burst from his machine gun that nearly sawed a Cannibal in half. Alanna killed another of the monsters with her Tsunami; sufficiently distracted, the remaining three Cannibals didn't see Haley and Korim until it was too late.

"Holy shit," Haley said, once the echoes of gunfire faded. "Those were Reapers. We just killed Reapers!"

"We killed a few of their troops," Alanna corrected. "The real things don't die to bullets. Speaking of which…" Alanna contacted the Sicily. "EDI, any idea how these guys got to Haestrom?"

"I have been scanning the system since we received the warning from the Geth," EDI reported. "A Reaper had to have delivered them to the surface, but I'm not detecting any in orbit, or by the surrounding planets. I am having difficulty scanning the surface of Haestrom, so it is possible that the Reaper is on the surface."

"Keep me informed," Alanna ordered. "And contact the Alliance, tell them we have an active Reaper presence."

"Affirmative, Lieutenant."

"Reapers," Korim breathed as they continued on. "I can hardly believe it. No one's fought Reaper forces in over a hundred years!"

"And this happens right as we're investigating this new threat," Alanna said. "I don't like it. No way this is a coincidence."

"Alanna, I see more Reapers up ahead," Haley reported. "Looks like they're digging up that observatory we were gonna check out."

"Then we kill them, and find out what's got them so excited." Alanna crept closer, until she could see a cluster of more advanced Reaper forms, guarding a pack of Husks that were furiously digging away at the base of the half-destroyed observatory.

At Alanna's signal, Haley sniped a Marauder, while Korim launched a seeker mine at the feet of two Cannibals. Before the explosion faded, Alanna threw a Singularity that caught most of the Husks, which she detonated a few seconds later with a Warp. Nok roared and charged the remaining Reapers, killing them with his shotgun, or his fists.

"Area's clear," Alanna called out. "Come on, let's see what's so important."

"Lieutenant, I have reported your situation to Alliance Strategic Command," EDI interrupted. "They have marked Haestrom as a Level One threat. A carrier battlegroup is en route, and will arrive in less than an hour. You must achieve your objective and be off the planet before they arrive, or you will all be considered KIA, and the planet will be sterilized."

"Whoa, what the shit!?" Haley cried. "Since when is that protocol?"

"It has never had to be enacted before," EDI explained. "Until now, leftover planetside Reaper forces have been inert, and easily destroyed. The only exception is for true Reapers, which are to be left alone unless they take aggressive action."

Alanna tried to keep her pulse at a healthy level. "Okay, do the Geth know that?"

"Affirmative, but they wanted to see how entrenched the Reapers were before reporting the situation. Haestrom has some historical significance to the Quarians, and they did not wish for it to be destroyed, despite the current dangers."

Alanna flinched. "Well, now I feel like we jumped the gun."

"That is untrue, Lieutenant. If anything, you were following regulations by reporting this incident, while the Geth did not. This may result in an inquiry by the Alliance into HK activities." EDI paused. "The Geth are logical, and will accept that they should have reported any active Reapers immediately."

"Well, we still have a job to do." Alanna inspected the area the Husks had been digging. "I think I can see an entrance, but there's some debris in the way. I'll loosen it in stages; Nok, Haley, you two push it out of the way as I do."

Korim kept an eye out while Alanna carefully adjusted the mass of the debris. Nok and Haley scooped up armfuls of rock and metal and pushed them aside as if they were in zero gravity. After a few minutes, the entrance was wide enough for them to get through, albeit with some scratched paint on their armor.

The inside of the observatory was almost totally preserved; there were even some old Geth platforms from when Shepard and his squad had fought their way through. Alanna scanned one such platform, and found that one of them had been running calculations for almost a year before running out of power. The data she downloaded would improve runtimes on omni-tools by five percent, and contained structural data that she would transfer to the Alliance for later study.

"There's a computer over there," Korim said, pointing to a console on the far wall. "If it was part of the observatory, it might have data on the sun before it started dying. It's probably out of power, though."

Alanna went to her knees to inspect the computer, and then opened it up to look inside. "Yeah, the power's drained, but I bet we could get it charged. Nok, hand me your rocket launcher, I need to access the power cells."

Nok reluctantly handed over his weapon, and winced when Alanna unceremoniously opened it up.

"The tech might have improved, but that just means I don't have to drain the launcher as much," Alanna explained as she manufactured a few parts from some spare omni-gel. "You'll only lose out on one shot, maybe two."

"I only get ten per mission!" Nok protested.

"And you haven't had to use it at all for this one," Alanna reminded him, even as she worked. "Give me just a second, I need to account for power surges. Korim, is this thing awake yet?"

"I saw the screen flicker, but—oh, never mind, we're in business!"

"Ha!" Alanna shot to her feet. "Centuries-old tech, no maintenance on a planet that fries everything, and I still made it work!"

Korim laughed. "Congratulations, you're now an honorary Quarian."

"Tali'Zorah was my aunt, I already was."

"Well, now I'm agreeing with you."

Haley rolled her eyes. "Okay, you're a genius—"

"You said it, not me."

"—but does turning on the ancient computer actually get us anywhere?"

"Let me open the files and find out." Alanna rolled her eyes. "So pushy."

Alanna accessed the files, and programmed her omni-tool to flag any sort of anomalies caught by the observatory. After a few seconds, she got a hit, and she opened the data node; what she found was not what she was expecting.

"Holy crap," she muttered, then looked at her squad. "The observatory caught something, all right. It detected when the sun started going bad, right down to the minute! More than that, it caught a visual of what caused it. Here, let me bring it up."

Alanna brought up her omni-tool, and displayed an image of the sun. Silhouetted in the light was a ship, but unlike any vessel any of them had seen before. It was diamond-shaped, with what appeared to be triangular pieces orbiting it in a ring, and was firing a beam of some kind into the star.

"Two minutes after this ship left, the first spike in radiation began," Alanna said, finishing the report. "This is proof that this star was deliberately tampered with!"

Korim sat down on a rock. "Keelah, this is insane. Who could have the technology to alter a star like that? And why do it at all?"

"I've got another question," Haley said. "How long ago did this happen?"

Alanna looked at the date on the file. "A hundred and twenty-eight years ago."

Haley shook her head. "And no one found this data before now?"

"The Quarians who came here a century ago were trying to collect the data, but they were under attack by the Geth, and missed some of it," Alanna said. "After that, the Reaper War happened, and by the time anyone thought to check this system out again, it was too dangerous, so it was left alone."

Nok finally looked up from inspecting his rocket launcher. "And why are the Reapers interested in this?"

"That's… I'm still working on that," Alanna admitted. "Still, we have more than we did an hour ago, and according to the observatory, we also have the ship's trajectory when it went to FTL. The trail might be old, but it's better than nothing."

Alanna could see that she was stoking their optimism, if only a little, but before she could say more, the observatory was rocked by an explosion.

"EDI, what the hell just hit us!?" Alanna demanded.

"Reaper forces are outside the observatory," EDI reported. "They are in a firefight with a squad of Geth. You should assist the Geth, they are taking casualties."

"Understood." Alanna drew her Tsunami. "Okay, guys, let's show the Reapers we're not some tourists!"

Alanna was first outside, and nearly ran headlong into a Husk; the once-human thing screeched and tried to claw at her, but Alanna punched it squarely in the face, and finished it off with a single bullet. Another Husk tackled her from the side and knocked her off her feet; she raised her arms to block the claws, but was unable to get free.

"Get this thing off me!" she shouted, as her barriers rapidly dropped.

The Husk went limp when Haley grabbed it by the head and snapped its neck. Haley tossed the body aside and held out her hand.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good." Alanna accepted the helping hand. "Everyone, watch your flanks, these things are as fast as they are ugly."

Nok laughed. "Good luck trying to knock me over."

"Just don't let 'em get close," Korim warned. "I can't shoot them if they're crawling on your face."

Alanna tensed at the sound of nearby gunfire. "Banter later, we need to help out those Geth!"

It took less than a minute of jogging for the squad to find the Geth, heavily engaged with dozens of Reaper troops. Most of the surviving Geth platforms were heavier units; Alanna could see the destroyed remains of several Trooper and Hunter platforms, but the Destroyers and lone Prime were still fighting.

Alanna was more worried about the Reapers they were trying to drive off. Most of them were Cannibals, but there were a few Marauders, and a pair of hulking Brutes.

"EDI, get me comms with the Geth squad," Alanna ordered, and waited until EDI sent a single ping to signal the connection. "Geth unit, this is Lieutenant Alanna Shepard. We're on-site, and can flank the Reapers now. Can you hold your position?"

A moment later, a deep voice filled her comms. "Understood, Shepard-Lieutenant. We can maintain our defensive formation for another three-point-three minutes."

"You heard the Geth, we don't have much time." Alanna highlighted the two Brutes through her command HUD, which would appear on everyone else's visors. "Haley, you and I are going after the right Brute; Nok, you and Korim take the left. Korim, throw out some mines to keep the little guys from getting too close, and I'll do the same with a couple of drones. Go on my mark."

There was a bit of shuffling as the squad got behind what little cover was available; Nok braced his Mawspear, while Alanna took a bipod from her belt and attached it to her Tsunami before resting it on top of a rock.

"Engage!" Alanna shouted, and opened fire on 'her' Brute. Haley launched a ball of plasma to burn away part of its armor, and then chewed away more with her incendiary-upgraded assault rifle.

Alanna deployed a pair of drones, and then saw that the plasma was starting to flicker and fade, and hastily launched an overload to ignite it again. By then, the Brute had gotten close enough for her drones to open fire, and broke apart the last of its armor. Without its defenses, the Brute was almost torn apart, but it still smashed through the drones and raised its massive claw to crush Haley.

"No, not today, ugly!" Alanna threw out a powerful biotic Shockwave, and stopped the Brute in its tracks.

"Thanks for the save," Haley called out, and finished the Brute with a concussive round.

Alanna smirked in her direction. "Now we're even."

"Oh, we're keeping score? Because I will totally step up my game if we're keeping score."

Alanna almost laughed, but that stopped when she saw a pair of Marauders that were flanking the Geth. She immediately shifted her aim towards them and opened fire; Haley saw what she was doing and did the same with her sniper rifle. One of the Marauders dropped after sustained fire, but the second raised its rifle and blew the arm off a Geth before dying.

"Brute's down!" Korim shouted.

"Great!" Alanna glanced at her motion detector. "Only five hostiles left! Pour it on!"

Between Alanna's squad and the Geth, the remaining Reapers were killed in moments. After making sure the area was clear, Alanna approached the surviving Geth.

"Who's in command?" she asked.

The Prime walked over with surprising grace, for such a hulking platform. "I have operational authority. You rendered assistance. You have the gratitude of the Geth."

"You're welcome." Alanna put her hands on her hips. "Any idea what the Reapers are doing here?"

"Logic dictates that they are here for the observatory's data. It is the only resource of any value." The Prime's optic rotated in its housing. "We do not know the data's relevance, or why the Reapers desire it."

"Well, we just got a look at it," Alanna said, "and I think they're looking for the same thing we are."

"Understood. The data is paramount. You must withdraw before the Reapers overwhelm us."

"No worries about that, I've already transferred the files to my ship." Alanna smiled, though she didn't know how reassuring it was to a Geth. "And the Alliance is on the way to completely sanitize the planet."

"That is appreciated." The ground shuddered, and the Prime looked off to its left. "Our mission mandate is to eliminate Reaper ground forces, and confirm the presence of any true Reapers. If it is on the planet, it may affect the actions of the response force."

"You're probably right. Is there anything we can do to help?"

The Prime tilted its head. "Our numbers are diminished. Unit cohesion will increase odds of mission success by thirty-nine percent. Your offer of aid… is acceptable."

"Thanks… I think." Alanna shook her head. "Where do we start?"

The Prime projected a map from its omni-tool; Alanna noticed that the details of the map were far better than her own. "Our unit deployed in two groups. We have lost contact with the second squad, but it is possible that they are still functional. Even if they are not, they were in an optimal position to scan for a Reaper."

"We'll head to their location and see what we can do," Alanna decided.

"My squad will continue to our original objective after we administer repairs," the Prime said, and sent the coordinates to Alanna's omni-tool before it turned away.

"Chatty," Haley commented as the squad headed out. "I bet he's a riot at parties."

"Some Geth are like that," Alanna said. "Pure logic, no fun. I had a Geth instructor at the academy for part of my engineering course that was like that, but only during class. I saw her outside of class, and she was cracking jokes with another teacher."

"She?"

"She identified as female."

"Oh. Cool." Haley looked at the coordinates the Prime had sent them. "So… where are we going?"

"Three klicks north of here; last report from the squad there was that we have at least a few dozen Reaper goons between us and them."

Nok laughed. "Sounds like fun to me. My dad fought in the Reaper War, and I want to see if I can kill more than he did."

Alanna shook her head. "Well, considering who my dad was, I don't think I'll be breaking his kill-record anytime soon… or ever."

Haley lightly elbowed her. "Give it the old college try, and maybe you'll get close."

…

Much to Nok's disappointment, most of the journey was uneventful. It was only until they came within six hundred meters of the other Geth squad's location that their HUDs alerted them to nearby enemies.

They approached cautiously, but were still surprised when a pack of Husks burst out from underground to claw at their legs. Alanna kicked one off her, while Nok stomped two more into paste.

"Back up, back up!" Alanna shouted. "Haley, Korim, grenades!"

"Copy!" Haley fabricated a grenade, while Korim deployed two seeker mines; the resulting explosion took out most of the Husks, and the survivors were picked off by Alanna.

"Since when do Husks do that?" Korim asked.

"No idea," Alanna said, "but we don't know how long the Reapers have been on the planet. They might have dug tunnels so that they could keep working, even during the day."

"Fantastic," Haley grumbled. "We've gotta watch out for zombies popping up, just like those old vids."

"Oh, so that's why you were screaming like a little girl?" Alanna asked, her voice full of mischief. "You were reenacting those scenes?"

"Excuse me, but my voice isn't that high-pitched. That was all Korim."

Korim sighed and looked at Nok. "They always drag me into these things."

"Speaking of which…" Nok grabbed Korim and pulled him out of the way of a bullet. "Hostiles on the ridge, left side!"

In one swift motion, Haley pulled out her sniper rifle, aimed, and blew the head off a Cannibal. Alanna then threw a Singularity that drew in four more, which Korim detonated with a Warp.

"Thanks for the save," Korim said.

Nok shrugged. "Can't have you almost get killed twice in a row, that's supposed to be the Krogan's job."

"Hold up a sec." Alanna gestured for them all to be quiet. "I can hear something… that's gunfire! It's coming from the direction of the objective, let's move!"

"Do you think one of the Geth is still kicking?" Korim asked as the squad broke into a run.

"Maybe, but the others should have been aware of a survivor." Alanna considered the more likely possibilities. "Maybe its platform suffered damage, and it can't make contact."

"Either that, or there's another party on Haestrom," Haley offered.

"Good point."

As it turned out, Alanna was right; they rounded a hill, and found a single Geth Hunter, standing protectively over the bodies of seven other Geth. Its frame was torn and punctured, but it managed to aim its assault rifle without issue, and gunned down three Husks in quick succession.

"That guy's outnumbered twenty to one," Korim noted.

Alanna raised her Tsunami and activated her shredder mod. "Then let's even the odds."

The Reapers were taken completely by surprise by the Alliance's attack. Alanna and Nok gunned down most of the Husks, while Haley put down one Marauder after another. The pair of Cannibals were killed by Korim; he tore one in half with his biotics, and shot the other with his SMG.

"All clear!" Alanna called out. "Geth platform, stand down, we're friendly!"

The Hunter pulled itself to its feet. "Confirmed. You are not hostile. Please identify yourselves."

"Lieutenant Alanna Shepard, Alliance Special Forces." Alanna approached the damaged Geth. "I have omni-gel and drones that can repair Geth platforms."

"That is appreciated. I must contact the rest of my unit and report my findings."

"Let me worry about that," Alanna said, even as she administered omni-gel and deployed a support drone. "What did you find?"

"We suspected that there was a Reaper base on the planet, digging in to act as a supply depot, or observation post in Quarian and Geth space," the Hunter said. "However, that is only partially correct. The Reapers were digging in, but they were searching for something, and were likely prepared to leave as soon as they achieved their objective."

"What makes you say that?"

The Hunter pointed to its right. "Because the Reaper is still here."

As if on cue, the ground shook violently, and everyone was knocked off their feet. Alanna watched in terror as a metallic, insectoid leg emerged from the ground, and stomped right in front of her. A moment later, more legs appeared, pulling out a Reaper Destroyer from its hidden lair. It turned to stare at them, its optics glowing blue, and blared what could only be described as a synthetic roar.

"We need to get out of here!" Haley shouted.

Alanna scrambled to her feet. "Run! Everybody, run!"

The Reaper took one step and caught up with them; a second, and it overtook them. Alanna couldn't move out of the way in time, and crashed headfirst into the Reaper's leg. She fell again, and her helmet tumbled loose; the Reaper looked down at her and paused, as if wondering what to do with her.

Alanna had felt fear before, but this… this was a primal fear, and the dread that came with knowing she was about to die.

"LIARA."

The Reaper's voice thrummed through Alanna's very bones, and her heart felt like it was about to burst. She was so scared that it took her a moment to even realize what the Reaper had said, and by the time it occurred to her that she should ask questions, the Reaper was airborne and making its way off the planet.

"Alanna!" Haley sprinted over and grabbed her shoulders. "Are you okay? Talk to me!"

"I… I think I'm okay." Alanna took a shuddering breath. "Let's just get out of here."

…

In less than an hour, Alanna watched as an Alliance fleet bombarded the surface of Haestrom into even more of a blasted hellscape. With the Reapers in play, no one was going to take any chances.

Most of the ships were of Geth design, but the human-built carrier battlegroup had enough firepower to destroy cities in minutes. By EDI's estimates, the entire planet would be sanitized in just under a day.

Until they were debriefed, both Alanna's squad and the Geth unit were to remain aboard the Sicily. They were left with little to do but perform maintenance and try to come to terms with fighting monsters they'd only ever seen in history classes. Alanna in particular was shaken, and not just because she'd come face-to-face with the nightmares that had turned her grandmother into their slave, and taken her father from her.

She considered calling her mother, to tell her what the Reaper had said, but eventually decided against it. Right now, the Shadow Broker needed to be focused on this new enemy, not dredging up painful memories. If Alanna found more information, she'd share it, but right now, there were too many questions, and no answers.

"Alanna, your presence is requested on Deck Six," EDI said, dragging her out of her thoughts. "The leader of the Geth unit wishes to speak with you."

"Okay, EDI, let them know I'll be there in a few minutes." Alanna closed her eyes and took a deep breath before standing up. She looked at her reflection in the mirror; she had cleaned herself off, and had changed into her grey-and-black combat pants and black t-shirt. She considered grabbing the top half of non-combat uniform, but decided against it; it wasn't like the Geth cared about things like clothes or appropriate dress uniforms.

Alanna took the elevator to Deck Six, and nearly ran straight into the Prime when she stepped out.

"Uh, hi." Alanna then realized she still didn't know how to address this Geth, or even what their rank was. "Sorry, with everything going on, I never got your name."

"No apologies necessary, Shepard-Lieutenant." The flaps on the Prime's head shifted, the Geth equivalent of a shrug. "My designation is Chiros. I hold no rank within the wider Alliance military, but I am a Prime in the Geth Defense Network."

Alanna raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment on the Prime's choice of name. Plenty of Geth had names chosen from human religion or mythology, emulating the long-dead Legion.

"Nice to meet you in less… stressful circumstances, Chiros." Alanna mustered her best smile. "What can I do for you?"

"With the reemergence of the Reapers, the Geth are mobilizing for widespread defense of Alliance territory." Chiros tilted its head. "It has come to our attention that the Geth never repaid your father for his role in our evolution into fully-realized AIs. We wish to rectify that now."

Alanna shook her head. "You guys don't owe me anything."

"Perhaps, but it is still the wish of the Geth." Chiros gestured to its left. "This is Mantle. You preserved its existence on Haestrom, and it wishes to repay that debt, if it cannot repay the debt the Geth owe to your father."

The Hunter Alanna had saved walked over with only a slight limp. Now that it was no longer covered in dirt and Reaper fluids, Alanna could see the bold orange paint covering its armor. Most of the damage had already been repaired, but there were still three jagged scars between its neck and right shoulder, a parting gift from a Husk.

"Greetings, Shepard-Lieutenant," Mantle said; its voice was surprisingly gentle for hardware built for combat.

"Hi, Mantle." Alanna smiled uncertainly. "So, uh, how exactly were you planning on repaying that debt?"

Mantle put its hands together and inclined its upper body, similar to a bow. "I would like to join your crew. If the Reapers are active once again, it would be an honor to represent the Geth on your ship."

Alanna thought about it for a moment. "What are your skillsets?"

"I have extensive hacking and infiltration programs. I was also my squad's anti-synthetic specialist. When we encountered enemy synthetic units or shields, I focused on them."

Alanna thought it was ironic for a Geth to specialize in destroying other synthetics, but considering how much technology was stuffed into Reaper soldiers, she supposed it wasn't unwarranted.

"Sounds good to me," she said. "Welcome to the team, Mantle. EDI can bring you up to speed on our mission."

"Thank you, Lieutenant." Mantle paused. "EDI has uploaded our mission parameters, and progress thus far. This new enemy is… unsettling."

Alanna shrugged. "That's putting it mildly, but at least now we have a trail to follow. Let's get hunting."

So… yeah, the Reapers are back in it, at least to some capacity. Scary, right? But Alanna got a new friend: a Geth infiltration unit that painted its platform bright orange. Because who cares what your armor is colored if you can turn invisible?

Also, we've returned to Haestrom. Tali might be dead, but I thought it would be cool to revisit the planet where we got to recruit her in ME2.

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. If you like stories like Mass Effect, I think you'll like this book.

If you want to support me in other ways, I have a P-atreon account (link in my profile) that you can donate to. If you guys all donated at even the lowest tier, I'd be able to quit one of my three jobs, and write much more often.

I'd like to thank those Patrons who have donated so far:

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

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Next Chapter: Alanna continues her hunt, while Miranda and Liara work to keep the Council from resuming their insane war…

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