Remnants

by General Rage

From Halo's ashes, a mismatched Alliance is born. UNSC soldiers now serve alongside both Batarian deserters and shifty Jackal Space Pirates. Now Shepard and Master Chief have to keep these strange bedfellows from killing one another before they can stop an emergent new threat to the galaxy. The Next Swashbuckling Chapter of the Wormhole Chronicles.

22. The Lost Colony

Chapter 21: The Lost Colony

Survival was my only Hope,

Success my only Revenge

-Patricia Cornwell

When they had constructed the theater within the Ascendant Justice it had been suspected that it would decrease the crowded nature of the Fallen Serpent's recreation room. Now that they had a bigger screen and more space somewhere else, it would mean fewer crewmates shoving themselves into the cramped quarters of their own ship, crawling over each other just to get inside. Not that the room had been completely abandoned, there were still people here of course, but Zek appreciated that he now had a degree of privacy to watch his vids. Right now, that meant he could watch some prehistoric monsters terrorize some humans in various ways. Anything to take his mind off his current list of issues.

Unfortunately, not everyone wanted him to. He could feel it before the door even opened. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted Varvok approaching his chair and sitting down next to him. He suspected this was going to come sooner or later. Four-Eyes did like to butt into things around these times. It had been how their friendship had started after all. Not that Zek didn't appreciate that he cared, but he really didn't want to do any of this ever. Especially if the topic on his mind was what he thought it was. To Varvok's credit, he didn't start off being obvious.

"So, how many humans have been eaten so far?" He asked, pointing to the screen.

"Eh, I only count my kills," Zek replied. "Freaky monsters from another time gotta do their own scoreboard as far as I'm concerned."

Varvok nodded at that and stayed quiet for a moment, but it was only a moment.

"So did you... already see this?" He asked. "You know, during that whole..."

Zek sighed, it was already starting.

"Mr. Moreau has a very large library, Varvok," Zek informed him. "I didn't have time to go through all of it, even with infinite time on my side, there were a bunch of other things I needed to do."

"Right, right," Varvok accepted. "I suppose repeating time in six hour intervals is a limited schedule to work with."

Zek shook his head, this was going to go on forever until he pushed it along wasn't it? Fine.

"What do you really want, Four-Eyes?" He asked incredulously. "Do I look like I'm in the mood for any kind of conversation?"

"You've been drinking a lot of ichor, so yes," the batarian claimed.

"It's not that much," the kig-yar informed him

The batarian picked up one of the discarded bottles and pointed to the several dozen others strewn around the pirate's chair. Zek grumbled at the inescapable truth of the situation, but tried to find an excuse for it anyway.

"It's mostly from the baby Chorka," he snarled. "They don't have a ton of alcohol in their glands yet. It takes a lot to get buzzed from that."

"Uh huh," Varvok acknowledged. "So, you want to talk about it?"

"About what?" Zek asked in kind. "Because really, I'm not particularly fond of doing anything that doesn't involving watching freaky lizard things eat people while they scream right now."

"About your father, what you learned," Varvok clarified plainly. "Keeping it bottled up won't help."

Zek stuck his tongue out breathed along it in disdain for the topic.

"What's there to talk about? He was an idiot apparently. Why get bent out of shape about it now?" He asked in kind. "He's dead, I'm alive and I'm better than him. Simple as that."

"Nothing is simple with you, Zek," Varvok informed him. "Also, you're not nearly as good a liar as you think. You need to take some cues from Retz."

Zek growled and began drinking from his ichor bottle again. Not that it shut up or drowned out Varvok at all though.

"I understand why you're angry, believe me, I do," Varvok assured him. "You feel as if your life could've been better without him playing any role in it."

"He never wanted to play a role in it," Zek reminded him, tossing the empty bottle away casually. "He just wanted to run off and play revolutionary. Left my mother and I to fend for ourselves in the slums."

"You think it would've been better if he stayed?" Varvok asked.

Zek shifted in his seat, uncomfortable with the line of questioning. Not because it touched on anything personal, but because he didn't like the idea of entertaining a life spent in the company of his father. A fact Varvok seemed to pick up on.

"Look, I'm not saying you're wrong to hate him, but this is a lot of anger to keep festering inside you," the batarian said with a sigh. "Anger at someone you've never met, mind you. Seems a bit overzealous if you ask me."

"So what's the appropriate amount of hate to lob at a person you've never met then?" Zek asked. "Be honest here. Because I feel like it's perfectly okay to despise the fucker who abandoned me and my mom for whatever garbage scheme that popped into his head."

"It would just make more sense if you knew him personally," Varvok explained. "I feel like there's more to this than you just disliking your old man. Even rebellious teenagers don't hate their parents this much. At least not on the level you do."

Zek shrugged, turning away slightly in his chair.

"I guess it depends on how shit the parents are then," he stated. "And can you even be so sure about that? Really? I mean, do you have any experience on this subject at all?"

"To be honest, no," Varvok relented. "My father and I have had disagreements, but I don't think we've ever hated each other in any regard. I think at his worst, he could be a bit strict. He never was unfair though, I'm sure of that. He never beat me for one like the other kids' parents did. Said there were better ways to discipline children. I liked him well enough, I respected him more than anything."

He became more solemn after that comment, looking off and aways from Zek.

"I... I suppose he knows about how I've turned on the Hegemony by now," he confessed. "Balak would've seen to that. Assuming he didn't just send a letter saying I died or something."

"Eh, he probably did tell them you're dead," Zek jovially suggested. "Easier to come up with a story about how you died than explain why you turned your back on him. With any luck your mom and dad had a very nice service for you. Probably even recorded it, very few people get the chance to see their own funeral. Should be a gas when you show up alive at their doorstep, heh, heh, you can watch it together or something. Now that's a family vid night."

"Uh, yeah, thanks," Varvok said, an awkward tone in his voice. "I... guess I hope you're right."

Zek laughed a bit more at that, but he knew better than to assume Varvok was done. Sure enough, he returned to original line of questioning.

"My point is, I feel like your hatred of your dad is wrapped up in a lot more than just what you've claimed," Varvok informed him. "Like, you're denying to real reason this eats you up so much."

"I am not eaten up," Zek declared. "I am fine. I will be fine, once we have the Cutlass. We're two relics away from getting the full map."

"Zek, you've just been through an insane experience because of the two relics we currently have," Varvok reminded him. "And honestly, it had to affect you on some level. Your skin is not that thick."

Zek shook his head, at least his friend wasn't trying to make him forgive his father or some shit. Still, he didn't like being prodded like this. Especially when Varvok was so keenly on point like he was. It was really annoying honestly.

"Those four eyes of yours are far too perceptive for their own good, you know that?" He asked in return.

"So something did happen during those loops then," Varvok surmised.

"Like I told the Commander, I didn't learn a thing and I'm happy I didn't," Zek declared most righteously. His demeanor soon calmed though, as he looked into his new bottle of Ichor. "I will admit though, it did put some perspective on things. Nothing I care to talk about though. Not even with you."

"Why not?" Varvok asked confused. "I'm willing to listen."

"Because you don't let people get into your head, Four-Eyes," Zek informed him. "You don't just spill shit onto the carpet and expect someone to not use it against you at some point. You keep things in, you keep them close, you don't just yap on and on about feelings and crap. They can be weapons, weapons you don't let others use. It's business One-O-One."

"Well not working through it at all won't help you either," Varvok informed him. "Your father wasn't who you thought he was and subsequently that has messed with your own self-image. Retz read as much into that as anyone."

Zek couldn't deny that, looking back his outburst during the debriefing after Reach hadn't exactly been subtle. No sense in denying it.

"I don't like having the legacy of a man I hate hanging over me constantly," he stated. "I'd rather just forget about him. I'd rather move on to more important things. Like building something better for myself."

"A noble goal," Varvok agreed. "But you can't move forward with this baggage holding you back. You need to start working through this. And if you won't do it with me, you need to find someone else. Someone who you can actually talk to and won't care enough to use what you say to them against you."

"You think so?" Zek asked.

"If that's what it takes to ease this paranoia you have keeping you from getting better, yes," Varvok replied bluntly.

Zek grunted at the very notion, shifting about in his seat.

"Well, do you have suggestions about who would be willing to talk to me then?" He asked, expecting Varvok to shrug and admit he didn't.

Instead, the batarian was thoughtful for a moment, finally snapping to attention after a few seconds.

"I think there is at least... someone," he claimed.

That, to Zek's own surprise, perked his interest.

---

Briefing room meetings were becoming more and more common these days. Perhaps it was how fast things seemed to be escalating or how often their little fleet had run into something far from a conventional military encounter. Shepard imagined it was a combination of the two, as events spiraling out from their operation on Reach had uncovered more than any of them bargained for. Something that seemed to delight Taq and Halsey, everyone else less so.

Currently, a holographic image of their next destination was floating in the center of the table. Information that had been gleamed from the Crystal relic as a result of their little experiment the other day. Despite how weird things had gotten for all involved, they had come out of it with a greater sense of perspective on matters and, in a more tangible as well as short-term sense, with a lot of knowledge. Data stored on both the Crystal and buried in the Amplifier had been transfered to the Normandy's database. A result of the energy surge that had resolved the time loop issue. It had fed them a wealth of knowledge concerning this sector of space. While no doubt outdated, it did give them a better lay of the land beforehand.

Planets, nebulas, systems, stars, it was all there, most of it no doubt pertaining to the so-called Astral Cutlass. There was no real clue as to the mythical sword's location, that seemed to still be locked, but they had a better idea now of where they were headed to next. For once, it didn't seem to be a glassed planetoid or desolate moon. No, the planet they were headed to was relatively lush, green and had an abundantly thriving ecosystem. At least as far as the eons old data claims. They'd have to see for themselves if anything had changed when they arrived.

And when they did arrive, they would have an idea of where to go. There was apparently some kind of massive Forerunner structure on the planet. Another of their temples dotting the landscape, although Taq insisted on calling it anything else. She believed it was some kind research or scientific facility, one that stretched underground if the data dumped into their systems was anything to go by. Given what had happened last time they needed to go underground, however, it was not a surprise that Haverson had some concerns. Specifically, about the structure and the artifact that it held within its walls. Concerns that both Holland and Whitcomb also wished to address.

"We need to face facts," Haverson opened. "These relics are proving to be increasingly dangerous. More so than I think any of us believed they would be when we started out on this mission."

"Archaeology is nothing without risk, Lieutenant," Taq claimed. "There's always something unexpected on any expedition. If everything turned out how you planned, life would be boring."

"I don't think any of us imagined that simulated monsters born of memories, killer robot dogs in a ghost ship and wrinkles within the fabric of the space-time continuum were part and parcel of this little expedition," Haverson argued. "Not to suggest you knew of any of this in advance, mind you, but it is becoming quite clear that the further we pursue this, the more insane things get."

Taq gazed quizzically at the Lieutenant, a smirk growing on her face.

"We're not getting cold feet so soon, are we Lieutenant?" She asked sarcastically. "We're only halfway there after all."

"I'm with the Office of Naval Intelligence," Haverson said rather authoritatively. "We don't get cold feet."

"Oh good, I was concerned something had changed in my absence," Halsey stated casually.

Haverson took a breath, re-centering his demeanor.

"All I'm asking is that for this next one, we take it slow," he suggested. "We can't risk rushing in again. Not after that near fiasco with the Crystal."

"Slowing down risks the Covenant or Snarlbeak catching up," Taq informed him. "The former are already on the trail for these things and Snarlbeak is closer than that given his appearance on Reach. Do you really want to risk either getting even one of the relics? Think of the damage they could do playing around with them, to us, or even just the universe at large."

"That's exactly why I feel we need to take precautions," Haverson explained. "We can't just go after these relics shooting from the hip anymore. We need to come up with a strategy of some kind. A plan to minimize any further complications.

"While I agree with safety being a primary concern, there is the problem of the unpredictable nature of Forerunner, as well as possibly Precursor, technology," Halsey warned. "Planning for the possible is doable in any situation. We're dealing with, at times, the impossible, gentlemen."

"A fair point, Doctor," Whitcomb agreed. "Given what we've all seen or heard so far, how can we minimize any risk factor when we don't even know where to start?"

"For one, keeping the relics apart from each other, I think that much should be obvious," Haverson claimed. "Also, considering this next relic is inside a temple-"

"Science facility," Taq corrected.

Haverson sighed in slight annoyance.

"Wherever it is, we have the luxury this time of actually having some time," he clarified. "Surely you wouldn't object to try figuring out more about the relic on site before we remove it from the planet."

"I can agree to that at least," Taq concurred. "If my theory holds correct, the Forerunners were likely studying or developing these relics. Guarding them all to a degree. Likely with the intent of keeping their immense powers in check. There should be some files in the computing systems on site. If we can get them active, perhaps we can figure out what they knew of the relic."

"That would give us a better understanding of how to handle the artifact in question," Halsey agreed. "For the best results, I'd suggest taking our synthetic compatriots groundside. Cortana of course, as well as Legion and if possible the Normandy's AI."

"We can patch EDI into the systems from the ship," Shepard assured. "Assuming they're still working. And I don't think Legion will have too great a problem with data compiling, so long as Tali is there with them."

"Is she okay with going into a Forerunner facility?" Holland asked. "We'd all understand if she still needs more time."

"I think I know Tali well enough to suspect she'd find a way down planetside somehow if I tried to stop her," Shepard assured with a slight grin. "Better to let her do what she does best. She's more than ready to get back into the field."

"Well, she's part of your crew, Commander," Holland accepted rather plainly. "You know them best."

However, Haverson wasn't done, he had one other concern to forward to the group.

"There's still the issue of safety in my eyes regarding the ground team," he explained. "We need to set up a proper containment perimeter. If something goes wrong, if the relic reacts negatively to our studies, I would like to see its powers limited to a specific area that we can deal with. Keeping it away from our fleet until we know more is a good starting point, but our people down below should be aware of some kind of procedure."

"The same problem as before, we don't know what kind of procedure to implement," Halsey cautioned.

"Do you have any theories at least on what we could be dealing with?" Whitcomb asked.

Taq seemed to give the matter some thought, looking to Halsey who only gestured her to proceed.

"I didn't want to ruin your objectivity on the matter, but if you insist," the kig-yar began. "I believe each of the relics in some way pertains to the Astral Cutlass' reported abilities. Amplifier increases power, the Crystal has a degree of control over Slipspace through its quantum-based abilities. Properly focused you could essentially create a portable slipspace device. However, as we discovered, the Amplifier alone simply makes the damn crystal go haywire with maximum power if the resonance cascade of both relics isn't properly channeled."

"So you believe the Cutlass could focus their combined power somehow," Holland asked.

"It's my working theory, I'd need more data, namely the third relic, to figure that out," she clarified. "Given what I know of the Astral Cutlass legend, we've already covered the ability to potentially transport yourself to anywhere in the galaxy. The next two claims, the ability to destroy fleets with ease and seemingly know where to strike your enemy are hard a bit harder to judge realistically at this time."

"So we might be after an actual weapon or something that can detect enemy weaknesses?" Shepard questioned.

"All the more reason to be careful in my eyes," Haverson reiterated. "We've already had to deal with one Forerunner superweapon. I can't imagine what other potential galaxy killers they were cooking up in that facility"

"Then we proceed with caution, but also a degree of haste," Holland suggested. "We can ill-afford the Covenant or other hostile elements to gain these artifacts. A perimeter to protect the relic from doing too much damage groundside would also serve to protect it against enemy assault should it come to that."

Whitcomb agreed with that assessment as well, as all eyes turned to Shepard.

"Commander, I suspect both you and the Master Chief are going to have a busy day ahead of you both," Holland forewarned him. "I know you've been through a lot recently, but I also know we can count on you."

"We've grabbed two of these four relics already, sirs," Shepard assured them. "And for once we're not going in completely blind as to the risks. We can get this done, I'm sure of it."

That was all Holland seemed to need, as he saluted and dismissed the meeting at that point.

"I'm hoping your security measures won't hinder my studies to greatly," Taq told Shepard as they began to file out. "The facility itself is going to be difficult to navigate enough as it is. These types of Forerunner structures always are."

"They'll keep out of your ways for the most part," Shepard reassured her. "You just need to focus on making sure we can extract that relic safely from the planet."

"Safely is a relative term when dealing with Forerunner technology, Commander," Halsey warned him. "I think that fact has become painfully apparent over the course of this journey, both before and after my arrival here."

"I'd hope for no more surprises," Shepard confessed. "But that would be wishful thinking at this point."

"Life is about surprises, Commander," Taq declared as she walked out with Halsey. "It's what makes it worth living. Trust me, whatever you and Haverson hope you can prepare for... it's not gonna be enough once we touch down on the surface."

Again, something Shepard couldn't argue with. As was becoming painfully clear, the Forerunners complicated every matter they were involved in.

---

He had already started wondering why he was here. Varvok has suggested it, yes, but it wasn't like the batarian had any real control over him. And yet, here was Zek, laying on this couch of sorts in the room on the Ascendant Justice with a redheaded human named Chambers close by. He could've sworn he saw this in one of the vids they had copied. Or in a lot of vids maybe.

Great, his life was a cliche. As if he didn't have enough problems.

"So, where do you want to start?"

Zek turned his head to Kelly Chambers, the Normandy's Yeoman and resident psychologist for the crew. Mainly because she had a degree in it apparently and that meant she was qualified or whatever. Zek thought it was a stupid profession to have aboard a ship. He didn't say that out loud though, that would be rude.

"Zek, you came, you said you wanted to talk," Chambers reminded him. "Where do you want to start?"

"Maybe asking myself why the hell I'm here to begin with," Zek replied bluntly. "Cause I don't get the point."

"Considering you walked in here ten minutes ago and asked to see me, I doubt you don't have some idea," Chambers informed him. "Now do you really want to waste your time staring at the ceiling forever hoping it comes to you, or do you want to start?"

Zek sighed, this was stupid. He knew it was stupid. Yet he was here, because Varvok had gotten in his head. Maybe Taq too come to think of it. He supposed he'd have to say something, make this senseless exercise have a semblance of meaning.

"I don't know," he exclaimed. "I'm not sure why everyone is on my case about me needing to be open, I guess. Like I'm supposed to have some dumb epiphany or whatever because of that time loop. All I know is it's over and I don't have to deal with it anymore. Why can't we just focus on the Cutlass? That's what's important."

"Well the looping was no doubt a trying experience," Chambers informed him. "You don't think there's... any residual effect from the time spent repeating the same six hours?"

"I don't know," Zek grumbled. "All I know is I went stir crazy trying to get out of that little prison of quantum shit and now I am. We're all a free again, so why dwell on it?"

"Would you say you usually refrain from dwelling on past events?" Kelly asked. "Be honest."

"Why? Cause I'm kig-yar and we're liars?" Zek asked defensively.

"It's just an expression," Kelly insisted. "I meant no offense. I just want you to be truthful with yourself. Do you have an aversion towards remembering the past?"

Zek could've lied and said he preferred to live in the moment, but given what had happened, he knew that wasn't true. He could be as nostalgic as anyone, sometime to his detriment.

"I... tend to zero in on some things from the past more than others," he admitted. "All the same, I'd prefer if people didn't try and force my brain to dredge up crap I don't care to relive. I can do that well enough on my own I don't need their help."

Kelly nodded at that, her eyes drifting towards her datapad as she did.

"What events from your life DO you tend to fixate on?" She asked, her tone more purposeful than before. "Events? Experiences? People?"

Zek knew what she was getting at. It was almost too obvious, painfully so, in fact. He didn't care for how Chambers was beating around the bush, so he got to the point directly.

"You know about my outburst about my dad, it's on Haverson's files and shit, he was in the room," he snarled. "Just spit out the damn question already and let's move on!"

Kelly sighed, not put off by her hostile patient in the slightest. She honored his request.

"Would you like to talk about your father?" She asked.

Zek gave it two seconds of mock contemplative thought.

"Hmm, would I like to talk about the asshole who abandoned me and my mom and still somehow fucked up my life?" He wondered aloud. "No... no I would not like to talk about him."

"But you do think about him, constantly," Chambers informed him. "Probably more than most in your position would."

Zek turned his head towards her, confused by her choice of words.

"My position?"

Kelly just nodded.

"Most people who have parents walk out on them have a tendency to hold on to this idealized image of who they could be rather than acknowledge who they really were," she explained. "They want to find out more about them, why they left, why they were abandoned, understand their reasoning to a degree. You've skipped that stage, you've accepted your father's flaws yet you refuse to let him go. He still seems to have a consistent place in your mind, if not your identity."

"My identity had nothing to do with that fucker beyond owning one of his old ships," Zek declared, readily denying any further connection.

"And yet, from all accounts, you are dead set on outdoing him, being better than him," Kelly informed him. "Your personal goal, in life and as a career, is being better than your father."

"What? Is that not normal?" Zek asked crassly. "Do humans never have a desire to best someone even if they're dead?"

"No, many do," Kelly confessed. "And admittedly, I don't know how your species views fathers on a regular scale. It's probably unfair of me to base a lot of my analysis on what I know of other species similar to yours. Perhaps if you could enlighten me to an extent."

Zek only shrugged.

"It's not like I was big on psychology in my youth, so the fuck should I know?" He asked in return.

"Does your species value mental health?" Kelly asked.

"Some do, as a grift," Zek explained. "Sharing personal shit is dangerous, it can be used against you. Information can be sold! That's why we confide in people we trust only, not some quack doctor with a supposed degree that could be fake. No offense."

"None taken," Kelly assured him. "I suppose your species relies a lot on backstabbing and oneupmanship than most others. And in a society where it seems anything goes, paranoia must run rampant."

"Your point?" Zek asked her rather crassly.

"I'm trying to figure out if you're scared to talk about this because you're worried I might release this information," Chambers informed him. "Which I won't, because unlike psychologists in your society, we have a thing called doctor/patient confidentiality."

"That sounds like cheating yourself out of a very lucrative business opportunity," Zek informed her.

She ignored the response, continuing her train of thought.

"If it helps, believe me when I say, emotion wise, you are very easy to read," Chambers informed him. "There's nothing about your personality that Shepard couldn't figure out himself just by watching you. If anything, this session is about you admitting to yourself what your problems are, not uncovering some deep hidden truth."

A blunt statement, very tough love of Chambers, Zek thought. She almost sounded like a far less pissed off version of Taq. And, if he had to confess something to himself, then it was that Kelly was right. He did not hide who he was. He had no shame in who he was. It was his one solace while working for the Covenant and it wasn't like he was trying harder to pretend he was something he wasn't now. Retz was always the better liar after all.

"Fine, but there's not much to really say," he stated plainly. "I guess it is weird to hate someone you never met like I do, especially your father. And maybe I have built up a complex over it. Retz has told me plenty of times I have anyway. Not so much in words as in exasperated sighs and anguished glares."

"You don't feel you owe your father anything," Kelly said, it was not a question. "Not your ship, your criminal status, you earned those yourself."

"Precisely," Zek declared, sitting up more. "Being the son of Dread Feather is the least important part of my identity. I don't care. And it pisses me off that everyone in the pirating community only thinks of me as that. Now I find out he wasn't even so much a pirate as he was a damn revolutionary dipshit and people STILL act like being related to him is like super amazing or whatever."

"Would you feel better if they openly mocked or belittled you for it?" Kelly asked curiously.

Zek sighed, slinking back down into his seat.

"Ugh, no," he admitted. "I'd rather they just not mention him at all. Judge me on my own merits, you know? What I've done, on my own. Because he never gave me anything but grief. Arguably, he didn't even give me the ship. The survivors brought it to me because I was the only blood relative they could actually find."

"Huh, why's that?" Kelly asked with an inquisitive look.

"Apparently, he stayed with my mom long enough to realize an egg was inseminated," Zek growled. "Then he booked, that was when I first decided I hated him. The very first day I got his boat. A boat that only survived in spite of him. Not because he wanted me to have it."

"Is it normal for parents to pass down their belongings to their young in kig-yar society?" Kelly asked.

"Well, even we know you can't take it with ya," Zek said rather simply. "Some bury their more prized possessions with them, but most already suspect their offspring are just gonna raid their crypts or whatever to get it and pirating doesn't usually end in a way that leaves much of a body. Sometimes not even much in the way of anything else. So like most kig-yar, I inherited the Serpent from surviving crew members who decided how best to divide up the spoils. None of them wanted to be Shipmaster, so they shoved it on me while most of them slinked off into hiding."

"Right, because they'd have prices on their heads, being wanted outlaws and all," Kelly observed. "Do you remember how you felt beyond anger at your father that day?"

Zek didn't take long to think about that. It was an emotional moment that was as clear as ever in his mind.

"It was an out," Zek declared. "Freedom from the streets. A means for me and Retz to be bigger than we were. To make a play at something beyond our shit lives as petty thugs. I might have romanticized the idea of being a space pirate a bit, but it was what I wanted all the same."

"And yet, you continue to govern your career based entirely around proving yourself superior to your father," Kelly informed him. "Rather than focus on the positive aspects of your life, it is your negative emotions that drive you instead. You push yourself to be your father's better, more in a way to eclipse him rather than impress, but the end result is the same. You will never truly build for yourself as long as you keep your identity lodged into your father's shadow."

Zek understood what she was trying to say, in spirit at least. Accepting it was a whole other matter.

"The bastard is the reason I ended up stuck in the Covenant's service and wasted so many years of my life," Zek argued. "I have every right to shit on his name and spit at his memory."

"Your feelings and emotions towards your father are valid," Kelly told him. "As in the same way all emotions and feelings are valid, because they relate to you personally."

Zek huffed at that, slunking in his chair and grimacing up at the ceiling. He didn't need approval to hate his father. Being told so wasn't going to change his mind. He wished she'd just get to the point. To her credit, Kelly continued despite his flippant attitude.

"You had an idea of who your father was and it turned out to be incorrect," she stated bluntly. "It didn't serve to change your opinion, but if your father truly doesn't matter to you, then the revelation itself would not matter. He wasn't greedy, he was a rebel. Whether or not his actions had ripple effects on you is irrelevant. Ultimately, like anyone else, you are the master of your own universe and your own destiny. The real question you should be asking, isn't how you can outdo your father or eclipse him, but how you can outdo yourself? And until you understand what you ultimately want, you will never feel completely fulfilled."

"That's ridiculous," Zek grunted. "I know exactly what I want. To be the greatest damn pirate ever. Super rich and super feared and super respected. Fortune, glory, the whole works."

"I imagine that's what a lot of pirates want though," Kelly informed him. "It's a very general goal. Not exactly defined. It says something about you, but not everything. Specifically, what do you mean by fortune and glory? How do those end goals substantiate physically in your mind?"

"Well, my own planet, a big fleet, lots of creds, I guess," Zek said rather haphazardly.

Kelly just shook her head.

"Material elements," she informed him. "You're thinking too much about what the general picture of success is. The core of your desire is beneath all that."

"Well what am I driving at then if you're so smart?" Zek snarled.

"I can't answer that, Zek," Chambers informed him. "And I can't help you if you're not honest with yourself. You need to want to change, like any person with a problem. You're fixated on being more infamous and revered than your father and that manifests as circumstantial wealth. Maybe you're just that shallow or you're denying something that goes deeper. Until you figure out which one, there's not much else I can help you with."

Zek looked to Chambers, his disdain fading into thoughtful introspection. Was he shallow? Did that matter to him? Was there more to his dreams than material wealth? He'd be the first to admit he had issues he had to deal with. The question Chambers had raised was a telling one. Did he actually want to keep going down this hole or burying it in whatever vice he could get his hands on next? He couldn't say, not at the moment in any case.

He didn't feel any less angry or pissed off at his father though. Which was the entire reason he had come here to begin with. Instead, he had deviated into a whole other can of again, Kelly didn't say he should feel less angry about his dad. Only that he needed to look at the why of the hatred towards him in a clearer light. Well, if it gave him a more justifiable position to keep pissing on the old man's grave, fine. He'd give it a shot.

---

Shepard walked onto the Command Bridge around the same time the Master Chief did, finding Whitcomb, Haverson and Holland all huddled around the holo-table. They all seemed concerned to a degree. Cortana was active as well, her form overlooking the table itself, with EDI's avatar projection as well. Behind them was an image of the target planet. They had arrived in its system not more than twenty minutes ago and had been preparing for the drop ground-side when this sudden briefing had been called.

"Sirs," Shepard began, stepping up to the table. "Something wrong?"

"We're not sure yet," Holland explained. "It might be nothing, but we thought you should know."

Holland nodded at Cortana. The AI then had image of the holographic planet zoom in closer to its surface. Now, they could more clearly see the Forerunner facility. Something was off though, as the AI began to explain.

"EDI and I performed a long range scan of the structures," Cortana stated. "Near as we can tell they were mostly Forerunner in nature, save for this out cropping of smaller buildings on the outskirts of the facility. They do not match what was recorded on Taq's map."

"Further analysis suggests they are not of Forerunner design," EDI added. "It appears to be a more recent settlement of some sort."

Shepard looked at the image curiously. The highlighted buildings did seem like an anomaly, sticking out of the front end of where the Forerunner ruins were. Some seemed built into the complex, most were located outside it though.

"At this range it's hard to determine what they're made out of or if they're inhabited," Cortana continued. "We'd get closer to the planet if we could, but that was when EDI detected this."

Something new was highlighted within the Forerunner facility. It was a large triangular like structure pointing towards the sky. It was located near the edge of the unknown settlement and possessed fairly significant power readings if EDI's scans were correct.

"I believe this to be a Forerunner defensive weapon for the facility," EDI stated cautiously. "It is currently active with a significant range and damage yield."

"We can't say for sure who's down there, but this is the closest we can get with the Carrier without drawing fire," Holland exclaimed. "We're currently out of standard orbit at minimum safe distance as per EDI's recommendation. I'd suggest going in with Pelicans or Phantoms, but again, we don't know who's down there."

"You're thinking more Insurrectionists?" Shepard surmised, looking at Haverson.

"I'm not sure what to make of it, Shepard," Haverson shrugged. "It could be anything down there at this point. This hasn't exactly been your typical safari so far."

Shepard agreed with the sense of caution, but that didn't change their mission. They wouldn't know for certain what was down there unless they took a look. Fortunately, they did have a means to accomplish to get down there.

"The Normandy's stealth drive can get us past the weapon's sensors," he reminded them all. "We also have the Prowler Zek and the ODSTs recovered. And the Phantom we jury-rigged the experimental cloak to."

"We were thinking the same thing," Whitcomb concurred. "We need you to take some squads down to the surface, land a bit a ways off from the target site just to be safe. Then walk to the facility on foot and figure out who's occupying it. Once we know more, we can plan from there."

"Cortana has already laid out a course for you to take to what we believe is a secure landing zone and we are compiling candidates for the UNSC squads as well," Holland added. "If you could relay this information to Zek and Varvok so they can make their own preparations, Commander, we'd be grateful. And until we know what we're dealing with, this is recon only. Identify what is going on down there and report back."

Shepard nodded in agreement.

"Of course, sirs," he assured them. "Sit tight, we'll have sorted out and hopefully be under way with the next relic before you know it."

At least that was the plan. Part of Shepard knew that this mission might just be a bit more complicated than that.

---

With the new wrinkles involved in their mission, it took a bit longer to get everything together for the descent to the planet's needed a few Warthogs so the Marines tagging along wouldn't have to walk the whole way. After loading or attaching them to the respective transports, they finally got underway.

They emerged from the cloud cover soon enough, finding a rich, green world below them. After so many desolate planets and moons, this was a nice change for everyone involved. The Normandy led the landing party, hovering low enough over the cleared landing zone to drop off the vehicles stored in the cargo bay. Shepard and his team had to take a shuttle down the rest of the way as the area wasn't spacious enough for the frigate to land. Thankfully, both the Prowler and Phantom were a different story and made unloading the rest of the squads far easier.

The ground team was fairly small in respect to each of the factions undertaking the expedition. Varvok had drawn together a small squad of five batarians alongside himself. Zek had brought Retz, of course, and decently sized contingent of Jackals.

Taq was there as well, although not by Shepard's choice. He had wanted her to stay behind with Halsey until they established what they were up against, but she had been insistent on being groundside. She would at least hang back until further notice though, so she wasn't being completely unreasonable.

As for the UNSC, Sergeant Johnson and Captain McKay had brought two squads each of ODSTs and Marines. Every Spartan was there too, the Master Chief overseeing them as they secured the immediate perimeter. They had all quickly set about creating a small outpost from which to conduct the operations.

Shepard had brought down most of the squad, but he intended to have them stay back at the outpost until further notice. He didn't want to bring too many people on what was supposed to be just a recon mission. That was why he was only going to bring Samara and Tali with him to the Forerunner facility for now. They didn't want to make it look like they were there to start a fight. He imagined Chief was figuring out how to split up his own team as well.

From the looks of it at least, it wouldn't be much longer before they started moving out. The Marines were fairly efficient at setting up all their equipment for the outpost. Once everything seemed secure, Johnson reported in with McKay.

"Jungle seems fairly empty, nothing so far," he told Shepard. "I'm thinking we're well out of range of whoever has set up shop down here."

"We found a path though through the foliage," McKay noted. "We can get the vehicles through there at least. I'd advise caution on approach though, Commander. We're still not sure what that big glowing spire can do or who's operating it."

"Once we identify the operators we can manage the spire," Shepard assured her. "Cortana is already scanning for other communication signals besides our own. Linda and Jun are doing a bit of advanced scouting before we move out. Once they report back, we'll figure out how to proceed from there."

At that moment, the Master Chief approached them.

"Commander, Linda and Jun radioed just now," he explained. "They have eyes on the facility and the settlement in front of it. They don't think it's Covenant, it's far too makeshift for that."

"Have they spotted anyone moving about the structures?" Shepard asked.

"Nothing they can concretely determine, they're still too far off, but there's a wall around the settlement," Chief continued plainly. "A few towers, barricades, a fairly well off defensive position. Doesn't look like it's part of the Forerunner structure though, mostly made of wood. Like the rest of the settlement, they must've built it themselves."

"So it's not Covenant, or Forerunner," McKay concluded. "Innies then?"

Chief shrugged, not entirely sure.

"They see some kind of flag draped along the wall, but it doesn't match any known Insurrectionist cell," he informed them. "They're having a tough time placing it. From what they described, it has similar colors and pattern to one flown by 'Apekis V', a frontier world in the outer colonies. The pictures and symbols though on it, they're not the same."

It was at this point, Cortana chimed in.

"According to my records, Apekis V was glassed close to ten years ago, 2542," she informed them all. "Despite current events, I don't think we've gone that far back in time. So rule that out for now. However, it stands to reason there might be some connection between this settlement and that colony."

"So we're dealing with humans then?" Shepard asked. "A sub-colony? An offshoot? Survivors?"

"There's no record of Apekis V starting up a second colony or of any survivors settling elsewhere," Cortana stated. "No record of survivors does not mean there weren't though. Just that we never found any. They are indeed human though, I'm picking up their communication signals. They're speaking mostly a mix of Spanish and English, I doubt the Covenant would use those or a flag with vague similarities to a planet they glassed."

This would seem like a good thing at first. The Covenant hadn't beaten them somewhere and these people were humans. However, the revelation raised more questions than real answers.

"What the hell are they doing this far out?" McKay asked. "And at a Forerunner structure no less?"

"Better question is if they're still friendly," Johnson stated. "Frontier worlds didn't exactly have a high opinion of Earth on the best of days, or the UNSC. Even if they ain't Innies, that don't mean they're friends."

"We won't know until we've made contact," Shepard informed them all. "Either way, I think we're all tired of fighting fellow humans as of late. Let's not be aggressive here, olive branch first before we make any rash moves."

"Sure thing, Commander, it's your OP," Johnson agreed. "But fair warning, this could go sour real fast if we make the wrong moves."

"Then we play this smart," Shepard decided. "Let's get everyone together, explain the situation and move out. Chief, tell Jun and Linda to stick to the trees for now. We'll rendezvous with them near the edge of the jungle and proceed to the settlement from there."

Chief nodded in agreement and headed over to his fellow Spartans to reconvene. Johnson and McKay did the same with their own units, leaving Shepard to ponder their next move. He had a few other concerns of his own, beyond this settlement being hostile. He didn't voice them aloud though, not at the moment. He needed to know more about who they were dealing with before he voiced any unfounded suspicions. For all he knew, these people were just poor colonists who had lost their home. He wasn't going to cost them another by rushing into a fight.

---

The trek through the jungle was rather laborious, even with the path it was slow going for the few vehicles they had brought with them. Eventually, the trees parted enough that they could actually make some decent enough progress. Soon enough though, the trees gave way to a more grassland with the massive Forerunner structure clearly visible in the distance to all. The closer they got, the better they could see the settlement sticking out of the ancient facility's side.

To Kowalski, it seemed a bit insane to imagine humans out here. From what Johnson had explained though, it was the most likely explanation as to what they were dealing with. It was the reason why Shepard had opted to be more direct in his approach to the facility and at a slower pace. With any luck, the people inside the makeshift wooden walls wouldn't think they were a threat. That assumed they weren't Innies of course, or sympathetic to Innies. You could never tell with Colonists on the frontier. If the rumors about them being possible survivors of a glassed planet were true, then the waters were even further muddled.

Kowalski looked around to the small cadre of people that had come along for the initial meet and greet. Shepard, of course, with Tali and Samara close to him. They had left the Hammerhead behind, concerned it would appear aggressive to be driving a hovering tank around. There were two Warthogs with them, but they were being held back to the rear of the group, just in case things got hairy. The Master Chief was near the point of the group, Spartans 087 and 058 were with him. Kat and Jun had stayed back in the tree line, waiting for the signal to move in while Fred and Anton were still back setting up the outpost in the jungle.

Zek's pirates had come along as well. They kept their shields up in front of them as the walked forward. Varvok and his batarians were close by, following in step. Varvok had instructed his men to keep their weapons holstered, but Zek had no intention of doing the same with his people. At least they weren't aiming their guns at the settlement, they could be grateful for that.

Captain McKay was with them as well, with her own squad of ODSTs, around four plus her. Hopefully they didn't look too much like an attack force. Who could really say though?

"What do you think a bunch of Colonists are doing out here?" Ellingham asked him.

"Well, everyone seems to be thinking they had their planet glassed and got chased out here," Kowalski answered.

"Yeah, but was Apekis V anywhere near here?" Ellingham asked. "How'd they stumble across this place? Of all the planets they could end up traveling to, they end up here? Bit weird if you don't mind me saying."

"Not like anything else on this trip hasn't been weird," Kowalski stated.

As they approached what looked to be a ravine in the dirt, something reverberated from their destination. There was a piercing sound, like some kind of microphone or intercom being engaged. Moments later, an echoey voice could be heard from the settlement's walls.

"That's close enough!" A woman's voice shouted at them. "Back off, or we make you back off!"

Well, at least that proved the settlement was inhabited. However, while most of the company stopped, not everyone was keen on listening. Zek, as if to dare the inhabitants of the settlement, stepped out of line.

"Zek," Varvok spoke up.

"I don't listen to disembodied voices with vague threats," he declared. "They wanna give demands? They can give them to my face."

Zek marched out a few more feet before a patch of dirt exploded in front of him. He used his plasma shield to block his front and then jumped back towards the ravine.

"The fuck! My gun was fucking holstered, assholes!"

The rest of the group had quickly jumped into cover and quickly pulled their guns out. Now laying down in the dirt, the woman's voice spoke again.

"That was a warning," she declared. "I'm not sure what the UNSC is doing palling around with the killer pigeons, but no one gets another foot closer to us without our say so!"

Kowalski took out his binoculars and tried to focus in on settlement itself. His eyes finally located what appeared to be a flag draped over the side of the wooden wall. It had a green background with an orange diamond shape, in the center of which was some kind of feathered snake flanked by big cat heads with a sun or something encompassing the figures. Raising it a bit further, he believed he spotted the barricades above, but he could find no sign of a shooter.

"No one get trigger happy yet!" Shepard called out. "Everyone remain calm!"

Kowalski spotted Chief looking to 058. The Spartan just nodded at her leader and looked down the edge of her scope. She must've found the sniper herself. Which was why it made sense that Shepard was now slowly rising from the ravine, he knew the Spartans had his back.

"We're not here to fight," he shouted at the settlement. "We just want to talk!"

"Why the heavily armed entourage then?" The voice asked. "You some kind of splinter group of Innies? Ones friendly with the Covies or at least the fucking birds? Rogue UNSC group? Traitors? AWOL?"

"We're not Insurrectionists," Shepard assured her. "We thought you might be. We're a small UNSC taskforce allied with Covenant Deserters. These aliens are not with the Covenant, that much I can assure you."

There was a silence for a few moments before the woman spoke again. Tension was still thick in the air as everyone dug their nails into the dirt or aimed down their sights. At last, they heard the amplified voice again.

"What do you want?"

"I'd be more comfortable explaining that once we know who you are," Shepard replied. "We're not interested in harming you. We didn't even know you were out here."

"We prefer it that way," the woman answered. "Who are you?"

"My name is Commander Shepard," he responded. "I'm on a vitally important mission concerning the ruins you're occupying. If you'd kindly let us inside, we'd be happy to explain."

That didn't seem to convince the woman speaking to do anything but keep asking questions.

"Where'd you even come from?" The woman asked. "What's with the sneaking out the woods crap?"

"We were concerned about your giant defensive spire when we were landing," Shepard told her, pointing up to said weapon. "We weren't sure how you'd react to seeing us fly overhead so we landed covertly."

There was a long silence following this, about half a minute, before the woman's voice came back.

"You're interested in these ruins then?" She asked.

"Yes," Shepard answered. "Like I said, I'd be happy explain the situation if you let us."

A short silence was soon followed by an answer.

"Give me a moment, but no funny business," she insisted. "I have people watching you. Stay right where you are."

Shepard did so, his hands still up. It took about another minute before anything else happened. Eventually, the doors to the settlement creaked open. From within, a small party of humans with makeshift, shabby armor walked out. They were armed with some simple hunting rifles, but they were no less dangerous than any other gun. A woman, presumably the one who had been talking to them, was at the center of the group. She was of fairly tanned complexion, possibly of Latino descent. Her hair was tied back under a cap with scarf around her neck and a tattered green vest around her shoulders. Before long she was within spitting distance of the Commander, glaring at him with a resolute and stoic stare.

"So, Commander," she began, looking Shepard over. "Funny looking armor for a UNSC officer. They change the uniform in the past few years?"

"That's complicated to explain, Ms..."

"Maisey," she informed him rather bluntly. "You can call me Maisey. I run this place, these are my people. You want in to look at the ruins, you gotta go through me. Now, why are you here exactly?"

"We have reason to believe there is an ancient artifact within those ruins," Shepard informed her. "One that might be of particular interest to the Covenant and others seeking to claim it."

"What kind of relic?" Maisey asked.

"The dangerous kind," Shepard informed her. "It's could be a weapon for all we know. I'm not sure how long you've been here, but if you've seen anything like that inside the ruins..."

Maisey shook her head.

"We don't go in there, not deep anyway," she explained. "Couldn't if we wanted to, so we've never seen anything like that."

"We have good reason to believe it is here," Shepard assured her. "And it is only a matter of time before someone else tracks it here. The Covenant are already looking for it and others like it. Not to mention some even less savory forces."

Maisey perched a brow at the Commander, crossing her arms.

"Say I believe you, what are your intentions?" She asked. "You get the relic, if it's even here, and then?"

"That depends on what you and your people decide," Shepard assured her. "We're not here to cause trouble for them, believe me."

Maisey looked around at everyone in the ravine, as well as the two Warthogs in back. She had a stern look on her face, trying to read what their intentions were. She looked back at Shepard, and those features softened. Kowalski hoped she sensed his sincerity.

"I'll tell you right now, you might be wasting your time," she informed him. "That facility... it's not an easy shell to crack."

"We can manage," Shepard assured her. "With your permission to access it of course."

"Well if you're so sure, then maybe you can help us a little," she stated. "You can bring some of your people in, but you leave your little army out here for now. Everything remains holstered. And the pigeons..."

Shepard looked over to Zek's position.

"They're not Covenant and they have a vested interest in this relic," Shepard explained. "We kinda need them up to speed on anything concerning the ruins and your conditions."

Maisey eyed the Jackals momentarily.

"Three at max, they do anything you're responsible," she declared.

"Understood," Shepard concurred.

Maisey nodded, relaxing a bit in her stance. Only then did she offer a formal greeting at last.

"Well then, welcome to New Teteocan."

---

Within the walls of the settlement was something akin to an old shanty town. Dwellings were built on top of one another, reaching upwards to the sky. Likely it was a way of minimizing the use of space and keeping everyone close to the ruins where they were protected beneath the gaze of the defensive spire. Most of the buildings were constructed from wood, which explained a lot of cleared spaces within the jungle. The buildings on the ground though were a mix of re-appropriated parts of the Forerunner ruins, fixed up with sheet metal and scrap.

From within the stacked shacks, looking down from balconies or alleyways, were the watchful eyes of the residents. Human colonists wearing patchwork bits of clothing. While they weren't living the highlife though, as the cramped conditions suggested, they weren't filthy or anything. Rugged, perhaps not as clean shaven as most people in civilization would be, but they weren't destitute or anything. Shepard could see a wide range of age groups as well, such as one child who was ushered away from the door by what he could assume was his father. It raised a particular question he posed to Maisey directly as they walked through the streets.

"How long have you all been here?" He asked.

"Going on ten years now," Maisey explained rather plainly. "Ever since our original colony got glassed."

"Apekis V," McKay noted aloud. "So you are survivors?"

Maisey looked back with slight disdain.

"Hmm, surprised anyone in the UNSC remembers that planet," she replied. "I didn't think Earth gave much thought to frontier worlds. Especially ones that get glassed."

Shepard could sense some animosity and while he knew he couldn't avoid the subject forever, he didn't want to bring it up right now. They had only just got their foot in the door after all. McKay didn't seem ready to argue in any case, more surprised by the curt response than anything. So he quickly got the conversation back on track.

"How did you find this place?" He asked Maisey. "It's pretty far from established UNSC space."

"Our little flotilla of survivors just got lucky," she claimed. "We headed in the least likely direction the Covenant would follow, deeper in. Better than heading to the next colony on their list. We stumbled upon this planet, looked like it was a decent garden world and found these ruins where we set up shop. A new colony, all our own, which we built from the ground up. Well, with a little bit of the foundation already in place thanks to the previous owners."

She pointed up at the ruins specifically, towering over their small shanty town.

"And you named it New Teteocan," Shepard noted. "That's something from Mesoamerican Mythology, right?"

"Aztec," Maisey claimed. "One of the thirteen heavens, specifically the twelfth, Ilhuicatl-Teteocan. The Sky that is the Place of the Gods where the four creator lords lived. I can trace my family lineage all the way back to Mexico, so can a lot of people here."

She looked back up at the ruins looming over them.

"As you can see, it felt appropriate," she exclaimed. "So that's what we voted on, to give ourselves our own identity. Much better than naming it after another Roman city or whatever at least like the UNSC always does. We kept the Apekis V's colors to reminds us where we came from, changed the symbol to better match where we are now."

"How do you keep this place running?" Tali suddenly asked, rather curious about the settlement. "Have you tapped into the Forerunner facility's energy supply?"

Maisey looked skeptically at the strange alien in the biosuit before her.

"We've hooked up the grid to whatever it's running on," she admitted. "That's all I'll say for now, Ms..."

"Tali'Zorah," she greeted, trying to maintain a friendly demeanor. "I'm an... engineer. Just marveling a bit at how well you've survived. This whole place is... rather impressive for what it is."

That seemed to put Maisey at ease a bit at least, she didn't even bother asking about what Tali was. At least not yet. She just nodded, dropped her suspiciously cautious glare and continued walking.

"I'm taking you to meet with the rest of the village council, I can explain more about the ruins there," she stated. "But I'm warning you ahead of time, whatever it is you're after, you're gonna have a hell of a time getting inside. This place might be old, but it's security is tougher than you'd think."

"It hasn't met me," Cortana informed Shepard over a private channel.

They closed in on what looked to be an bunker like building in the center of town. It appeared to have been part of the Forerunner Facility at one point, but the new residents had added to it over the years. It now had a small tower of on top of it for one.

As they approached, they suddenly heard something drop to the dirt floor beside them. As if someone had jumped and landed from one of the many balconies above. It appeared to be a young woman, a hood covering her head. Beneath it, they could see a thick band of hair colored dark pink covering one side of the woman's face. Her outfit was as worn as Maisey's but had more patches and iconography stitched into it. Many of which Shepard assumed were popular music bands, given how the logos looked. There was also a sniper rifle strapped to her back along with a bandolier sash and a partial gas mask hanging from her neck.

She gave one look to Shepard and the entourage and turned to Maisey as she approached.

"We serious about this?" She asked. "Letting them in?"

"We talked about this, they might be able to help," Maisey responded. "We're going to decide that as a group before we do anything further."

"Since when are we trusting the UNSC to help?" She asked with a growl.

"I'm not, I'm verifying as always," Maisey assured her sternly. "For now, just trust me. Okay?"

The woman took another look at the group and then sighed, acknowledging Maisey with a nod. She walked over to Maisey's side now, who held her shoulder.

"This is Asha, one of our best sharpshooters, and my daughter," Maisey explained. "Forgive her abrasiveness, but it's warranted. We still have no idea who you people are."

"That's fair," Shepard confessed. "You've been out here on your own for close to a decade now. Seems you've got more than enough reason to be suspicious."

"Well at least you're understanding, for a UNSC Marine," Asha replied, with slightly more respect than disdain.

"That's uh, a bit inaccurate, but it's a long story," Shepard informed her. "Maybe we should get to talking with the others on your council first."

Maisey and Asha concurred, but the younger woman made her intentions clear.

"Those freaky birds better behave themselves," she said, pointing to Zek and the Jackals. "I might like their feather style, but I got my eyes on'em."

Zek grimaced a bit at the warning, but thankfully Maisey calmed her daughter down. She placed a hand on the girl's shoulder and turned her away from the kig-yar slowly.

"I've made that clear, don't worry," she assured her. "Come on, the others have been waiting long enough."

Asha's anger softened only slightly, but it was enough to settle everyone's nerves. As they entered the bunker together, the group saw the colony's council surrounding a large table at the center. They all wore the same patchwork clothing and armor. Each of them covered in varying degrees of dirt and grease. They matched the inside of the bunker fairly well, as the walls were a discolored brown with jury rigged equipment propped up everywhere in a semi-reasonable looking command center of sorts. The only thing even remotely clean or in any good condition, was the table, which appeared to be a piece of Forerunner technology they had fixed up.

Maisey settled the group around one end of the table, while she introduced the council proper.

"This is Tiegan," she began, motioning to a woman about the same age as her, wearing an old labcoat that had been stitched back together a number of times from the look of it. "She's our chief medical officer, runs our only hospital. More of a clinic though, really."

Tiegan gave a curt little nod and a low grunt. Like Maisey, she didn't seem to like the presence of outsiders.

"Brant is our head of security," Maisey continued, pointing greying bearded man wearing what appeared to be Military Police armor that he had customized to an extent with bandolier and extra padding. "Keeps the wild animals out and the peace inside the walls intact."

"Welcome," he said, although he didn't seem to mean it.

There was another woman, younger than the others, but covered in dirt, her features obscured by mud mostly. She was wearing a wide brimmed bucket hat and rather loose fitting vest.

"Zara, our head of agriculture," Maisey said, introducing her.

"Heya!" She said saluting with a bit of a smile, the first person so far who didn't seem to outwardly dislike the newcomers.

"Our chief engineer is currently busy, but Caleb more or less runs most of our mechanical department," Maisey claimed. "He and everyone else in engineering is how we have power along with access to the ruins."

Caleb just gave an amicable nod, as pragmatic as his appearance. A patchwork technicians' outfit, rolled up sleeves and a some dirty looking pants. He had short hair and was around the same age as Brant from the look of things, with only some stubble on his face.

"There are other members, but they have other duties," Maisey explained. "You'll meet them later if we decide it's worth it."

"I have to wonder what would be worth another pain in our asses to sort," Tiegan said rather bluntly.

Shepard of course stepped up to engage the council directly.

"Good to meet all of you, I'm Commander Shepard and we no intention of disrupting your livelihood or making things difficult for you," he assured them all. "We're just here for what's inside the Forerunner Ruins. But, if you need any assistance, we'd be happy to help if it would get you to trust us more."

"We haven't needed UNSC help for a long time, Commander," Brant replied. "I doubt we need you now."

"Brant, please," Caleb cut in. "We should at least hear them out. If they know something about these ruins, it might be worth it."

Brant looked to Maisey, who only shrugged in agreement with Caleb.

"They're here, they might as well be useful," she said. "Provided they can offer some explanations as to what they're even after."

"I'm more than willing to do that, but we have some questions," Shepard explained.

"I'm sure you do," Tiegan commented. "The UNSC loves to poke and prod at things and a human colony outside its control probably raises some concerns."

"I'm not technically the UNSC," Shepard claimed. "But I do work with them, yes. They will probably have their own questions. Right now, I'm just satisfying my own curiosity. First and foremost, what exactly is your issue with the UNSC?"

"Because it's their fault to begin with we're even out here," Asha suddenly spoke up, she was leaning against a nearby wall. "Apekis V was burned to glass while they just watched."

That got everyone's attention, especially Johnson's, who quickly stood up.

"Now hold on there," he said. "Care to elaborate that point?"

"What's to elaborate?" Asha asked, pushing herself off the wall. "The Covenant showed up in orbit above our colony. We had a small force of Marines and UNSC ships protecting us, the bare minimum amount. Most of our ground defenses were sanctioned Militia groups. We didn't stand a chance when the Covenant started hitting us."

"We called for a general evacuation," Maisey continued. "Ships to get as many of our people out of there as we could. We were denied, several times, despite there being military outposts in range that could've assisted. No one came. We were left to rot. We only survived because we stole a ship from the spaceport. As the planet burned around us, we escaped with a few hundred people as tens of thousands more died. I suppose in the grand scheme of things, we didn't matter as much to Earth as we thought. Maybe if we had shipped back more ore or something we would've been deemed strategically viable."

Johnson seemed to understand the anger, but he was quick to get defensive.

"Listen, I've been in the thick of this war and seen planets get swallowed up and chewed out plenty of times over," he said. "Let me tell you, it ain't an easy fight, nor is it any easier to leave a colony to its own devices. But sometimes... we just don't have a choice."

"I'm sure that comforts the dead so much," Tiegan declared curtly. "Knowing that they just weren't valuable enough to save."

"Sacrifices come with war, ma'am," Johnson argued. "I don't pretend to like it, I've seen colonies get left behind and I hate it. But you have to pick your battles out there, and trust me on this, the choices of who lives and dies weighs heavily on every soldier."

"We weren't soldiers, Sergeant," Brant informed him, rising anger in his voice. "Our friends and family weren't soldiers. We were just trying to squeak out a living. We trusted Earth to protect us, to fight for us. Isn't that what the UNSC is supposed to do? Instead they abandoned us. So, we did the same to them."

"We don't recognize UNSC authority here," Maisey stated firmly. "We're not under their jurisdiction. If you want to stay and explore these ruins, you need to respect that."

Shepard raised a hand to calm Johnson before things got heated.

"I can't make promises concerning that," Shepard admitted. "But I'll relay your demands to my superior when I get the chance."

"My people fully expect them to be ignored like they were back when we were fleeing for lives," Maisey replied. "I'd like for them and myself to be proven wrong for once."

"I understand your anger, believe me," Shepard insisted. "But trust me when I say we are not enemies here. And, while it might not count for much in your eyes, I want to help make amends where I can."

"That hope seems to rest on how much your superior values our lives," Asha declared. "If at all."

There was a light bit of snickering from behind Shepard and he turned to see it was from Zek. Retz was trying to stop him, but it was too late. Maisey heard the muffled cackles all the same.

"Something funny, bird?" She asked, glaring at him.

"Heh, not you," Zek assured them. "I'm laughing at the UNSC more than anything. They've been up my ass about responsibility this and duty that. Now I come here and apparently their reputation as stalwart defenders of humanity isn't so squeaky clean. I just... I find the hypocrisy funny is all."

Shepard now glared at Zek, as this was not helping negotiations. Maisey, for what it was worth, seemed to soften, only slightly. The situation was clarified, but the tension remained.

"I can see the humor in your perspective, I guess," she confessed. "It's not very funny to live it."

"Well, you've made a good go of it regardless," Zek declared. "And unlike me, you don't have Marines breathing down your back or giving you dirty looks. Honestly, I kinda envy you guys right now."

Shepard coughed into his hand, hoping to shut Zek up. The Jackal did so, but Maisey didn't seem put off.

"I suppose we have more freedom now," she confessed. "That doesn't take away from the injustice of it all or the continued danger we are in now, out here on our own."

"I'm assuming the Forerunner weapon you activated protects from some of that," Shepard noted. "Have you had problems from Covenant ships?"

"At times," Maisey replied. "The first time was a scout ship who followed us here. Luckily, we were able to activate the tower and blow them out of the sky in the nick of time. Caleb and his team's work of course."

Caleb just nodded in a somewhat humble gesture.

"We managed to hack the Forerunner systems, hoping to get a shield of some kind, instead we activated a giant gun," he said, recalling the moment warmly. "It was a good stroke of luck to say the least. I would've preferred something more substantial of course."

"From what we could determine that tower has an impressive enough range," Shepard informed him. "How is that not substantial?"

"It's the only defensive measure we've managed to activate," Caleb explained. "The facility is... massive. Worse yet its security is air tight. We've been working for years now to get into system after subsystem. We've have some success, pooling energy from one of the structure's power sources is one. However, most of the time we're grasping at straws. We believe the facility has more defenses, but we can't access them."

"The gun is useful for singular ships that wander into our sector and perhaps even small fleets," Brant further explained. "Anything greater, it will tax energy reserves. Our best shot at survival is hoping no one notices us, or at least decides we're not worth investigating. We like to think that some of the Covenant ships that have disappeared here have created a mystique about the place. Something that keeps the superstitious alien bastards away."

"Like the Bermuda Triangle, but with lasers," Zara said jokingly.

That would keep the Covenant away, at least most of them. It would not deter pirates though, certainly not Snarlbeak. Given he had found them once before already, Shepard wasn't about to presume they had completely lost him. He'd probably send a scout ship first, but its loss wouldn't deter him. He'd just send more ships to investigate. For now though, it didn't seem prudent to concern the colonists more than they had already. Still, they needed to know something about why they were here.

"You might not have that option anymore," Shepard warned. "Like I mentioned before, the Covenant are searching for artifacts, relics of the Forerunners, and one of particular interest to them is here. They won't let superstitions stop them for long."

"And who's fault is that?" Asha asked incredulously.

"Trust me on this," Shepard responded plainly. "They were searching for this stuff for a long time. Long before we showed up. If we didn't find the map that led us here, they would have. At least this way, we got here first to warn you."

"For whatever that's worth," Asha huffed derisively.

Shepard did not rise to the bait, he was not here to get into an argument. He had a point to make.

"They're not interested in this colony, that much I'm sure of," he told them all. "They just want the relic that's here. The Forerunner artifact they are after is all that matters in their eyes. If it is gone, they won't waste resources on invading this place. If you can help us get to it, we can take it away and they will follow us instead of going through you."

"We're going to need more than just your word on that," Brant informed him bluntly. "There's no way you can completely guarantee that outcome."

"Agreed," Maisey concurred readily. "Besides, like I keep trying to tell you, the relic isn't ours to give at the moment. Hell, I'm sure most of us would hand it over to you in a heartbeat if it meant you'd leave, but you heard Caleb. Getting passed the security in this facility is easier said than done. We've been at this for years now, we're barely in the front door as it is."

"Perhaps we could help you with that," Tali offered, politely inserting herself. "We have a bit of experience with Forerunner technology and structures."

"What kind of experience?" Maisey asked curiously.

"More than most people could imagine," Tali answered. "Believe me, it has... been a journey."

"I'm not sure I like the idea of people poking around back there," Brant stated. "Especially not people we barely known, accompanied by aliens we know even less about."

Caleb at that moment raised his hands before anyone else could say anything.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute," he requested. "Let's be reasonable about this. If the Commander is speaking the truth, we could have Covenant on their way fairly soon. Now, maybe at first it's only a few ships, but... eventually, if they want this relic bad enough, it will get worse."

"We have contingencies in case that happens," Brant reminded him. "I've been drilling people about it for years."

"No offense, Brant, but there's only so much any of us can do once they land," Caleb cautioned. "We can't put all our hopes on any one thing to protect us forever. We need the facility's defenses activated, it's our best chance at repelling anything truly dangerous."

"And what if they can't activate them in time?" Brant asked suspiciously. "What if they find this relic of theirs first and they decide to leave before they get anything running? At least we can trust our own people not to abandon us."

"We imagine the relic is deep inside the facility," Shepard informed them. "And regardless, we wouldn't leave you hanging. I'm positive Colonel Holland and Admiral Whitcomb have no intention of leaving you all in the wind."

"That would be a first," Asha commented.

At this point Maisey just looked at her daughter. The girl quickly raised her hands, clamming up respectfully.

"I'm hoping these superiors of yours live up to your high opinion," Maisey informed Shepard astutely. "I really do. But I need to be sure you're not going to cut and run. Why should I believe you?"

"We have a few ships of our own at our disposal," Shepard explained. "One of them is a Carrier, a big one. It's strong enough on its own to fight off a fleet, we've attached a UNSC vessel to it with a MAC gun, so that's even more firepower. It can defend you if things get tough. At least for a little while."

Maisey looked back at Brant and then Caleb, the latter of which seemed thoughtful.

"A Covenant Carrier is... an impressive ship," he said. "It would be a good addition to our defenses. At least temporarily until we can figure out the facility's defensive systems."

Brant had no objection to that it from the look of it, although he still looked at Shepard skeptically.

"Who are these people we'd have poking around back there?" He asked.

"Tali, for one," Shepard said, motioning to the quarian. "There's also Doctor Halsey and Taq, she's a kig-yar."

"A what?" Asha asked confused.

"A Jackal," Shepard corrected himself. "That's what you know them as."

"Yeah, about that," Zara cut in. "Why are you... with them? As in, are the Birdies... good now?"

"These ones are at least," Shepard assured her. "Zek and his crew abandoned the Covenant and have been helping us since."

Zek nodded at that, stepping up to the table.

"I can assure you, none of us are fans of the Covies," he informed them. "We're more like you. We're... free dealing for the most part."

"But you're helping out the UNSC," Tiegan noted. "So you're rebels now, right?"

Zek laughed, shaking his head.

"No, no, nothing like that, it's an arrangement," Zek promised.

"A business arrangement," Retz was quick to interject. "We are assisting them in getting back to Earth and giving the Covenant a black eye now and then. A mutually beneficial partnership, if you will."

"So, mercenaries then?" Brant asked, raising a brow.

"Eh, we prefer, birds of fortune," Zek stated chuckling.

"They're pirates," McKay interjected rather bluntly. "Space pirates, the Covenant forced them to work for them, then they mutined and now they're helping us find these relics."

Shepard looked to the Captain, who merely shrugged.

"Best to not beat around the bush here," McKay informed him.

Shepard agreed, although he'd have tried to be a tad more graceful while he explained things. For their part, the Colonist Council didn't seem too bothered by the revelation. Although it did force Maisey to bring up her own question.

"And this Forerunner Jackal expert," she began. "She a pirate too?"

Retz just laughed.

"Oh no, most certainly no," he said. "She would be so quick to correct you on that. Mostly because of him."

Zek grumbled a bit as Retz pointed to him. Shepard quickly fielded the rest of the question's answer.

"She's an archaeologist," he explained. "She's the one who set us after these relics."

Maisey looked to Brant who seemed to give her this look in response. She nodded at it, as if she already knew what he wanted.

"We'll let her inside under supervision," Maisey answered. "In fact, all of your people will be under supervision."

"So you'll let us take a look at the Forerunner structure then?" Shepard asked hopefully.

"We'll let a few of your people take a look and see what they can do, if anything," Maisey corrected. "We still need to figure out if you can be trusted."

"I've been straight forward with you so far," Shepard told her.

"You have, but there's still the question of your superiors," Maisey claimed. "We need to talk to them first and set down some ground rules. For now, do you have a camp set up?"

"An outpost in the jungle a bit of a ways from here," Shepard informed her. "It's where most of our people are."

"Well if you're going to be staying until you get that relic we'd prefer if some of you were close by," Maisey stated. "Somewhere we can keep an eye on you."

"A secondary camp outside the walls," Shepard presumed.

Maisey concurred with a nod.

"Zara, you have any objection to having some squatters outside the farming perimeter?" She asked her compatriot.

"None at all," Zara said, sounding chipper and upbeat. "And hey, maybe they can earn their keep a bit by helping us with some of the harvest crop. Could always use the extra hands."

"We'll discuss that," Maisey stated, looking back to Shepard. "Until further notice I want it made clear that weapons are to be stowed or holstered when inside these walls. The farms are also one of the most guarded areas outside the walls, mostly against animals. But they will be keeping an eye on you, believe me. Especially Asha, her shift there starts soon. She'll let me know if you're being good guests."

Asha seemed to grin at that.

"My pleasure, mom," she replied.

"We'll hammer out the details as we go," Maisey declared firmly. "But I want to meet your superiors before we commit to anything in the long term."

"They'll need clearance to land," Shepard informed her. "Otherwise your big gun will shoot them down."

"They'll have it," Maisey assured him. "But I want to make something very clear, Commander. This colony is my responsibility. And just because you have some giant killer Covie ship you stole hovering over us, I will not be intimidated. Not by you or the UNSC."

"I wasn't intending to intimidate you," Shepard promised. "I honestly believe the Carrier can protect you."

"My daughter is more blunt, but I echo the same sentiment," Maisey informed him. "I don't trust the people who left me and my family to die once to protect me now. Especially not while they have a big ship hovering above us. Why do you think I'm making sure you people stay close?"

Shepard didn't have to answer, he understood the implication and simply nodded. That seemed to be enough for Maisey, who returned a respectful glance.

"Good, I'm glad we understand each other, Commander," Maisey informed him. "Zara, show our guests to where they'll be staying."

Zara just saluted and walked over to the group.

"We'll need to contact the outpost to get Halsey and Taq over here," Johnson stated.

"I'll send a runner and we'll wait for them here," McKay offered, looking to the Council. "With your permission of course."

"Fine," Maisey answered. "But we'll keep an eye on who comes back. Asha isn't the only sharpshooter we have."

"We will not be any trouble, I assure you," Shepard once again promised her.

"That remains to be seen, but I'm at least giving you the benefit of the doubt," Maisey informed him. "Be grateful for that, it's not easily earned."

She looked back towards the council.

"Brant, can you get two people up here to help Zara escort them to the farms?" She asked.

Brant just nodded and went over to some equipment to contact his people. Shepard turned to others as the Council continued to convene.

"Well, it's progress," he stated.

"Minimal," Tali corrected him. "Not that I blame them. We did show up a bit unannounced and they don't have the best experiences with the UNSC. No disrespect, Johnson, McKay, Chief."

"None taken," Johnson groaned. "Not exactly enjoying the stink eye though."

"What goes around comes around," Zek snickered.

Johnson gave the Jackal a glare, but Shepard kept him on topic.

"Look, we need to play ball, it's their colony," Shepard reminded them. "We'll get the Colonel and the Admiral down here and they'll talk things out with them. In the meantime, Taq, Tali, Cortana and Halsey can start investigating the facility. Maybe if we can get some of these defenses working they'll trust us more."

"They've been here for years and haven't figured it out," Tali cautioned. "It might not be as simple as all that."

"Either way, this retrieval has gotten more complicated," Chief added with additional concern. "Civilians on site, possible threats on the way, a lot unknown variables concerning that facility. We need to be ready for all possible scenarios."

At that moment a pair of guards arrived at the door to the bunker and Zara spoke aloud to the group.

"Alright everyone," she said, clapping her hands together. "Let's head on down to the farm, shall we?"

---

Even though they had only spent a short time within the walls, it was good to be on the other side of them once again. There were far fewer eyes on them for one and the didn't feel as boxed in as before. However, it was only a slight improvement. Shepard could still feel eyes on all of them as they walked along the wall's outer perimeter.

Zara led them towards the west end of the settlement, where the Farming Sector was located. The cramped quarters of the colony did not make it ideal for cultivating crops. They had to clear a section of land outside the walls to accomplish that. This explained the guard towers looming over the place as they drew near. They needed some way to keep out potential threats.

The farm itself was impressive given the circumstances, several acres of various vegetables. Mostly potatoes, but they could see sectioned off fields for carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, among other things. Shepard also spotted a few greenhouses dotting the area and what looked to be a grove of trees off to the side as well. Shepard suspected they were Bananas, but he couldn't be sure from this far away.

"You have quite a variety," Shepard observed as they approached.

"I carted a lot of seeds off Apekis V," Zara said proudly. "It helped I had few good farm hands to assist. Took awhile to build all of the infrastructure up of course, but we managed on foraging for at a little while and rationing supplies. We got lucky mostly, soil here is incredibly fertile. Anything and everything grows in it."

Zara led them through the front gate, beneath a sign that said "Xipe Totec Farms." Entering the area proper they could get a better look at the silo and the makeshift barn and a lot of the equipment strewn about the place. Some of it was modern, like a few generators, most of it was fairly rudimentary, like makeshift plows.

"We took what we could grab during the evac," Zara explained readily. "The rest we had to build back up from scratch. We were lucky enough to use parts from the ship to craft a makeshift irrigation system. It's nothing fancy, but it keeps the crops from getting thirsty."

"Is water a problem for the colony?" Shepard asked.

"Well it rains plenty around here, jungle and all, but there's still a dry period," Zara informed him. "Most of our water, drinking and or otherwise, we collect from a river nearby. We pump it out, filter it, dump it into some water towers. That's how most of the colony gets its water really. We make regular trips there every month, just in case we have an unexpected dry spell. In our case, we built one water tower for every crop distribution area. Like that one over there."

She pointed to a nearby water tower over the potato patch.

"That covers the general crops," Zara elaborated. "Everything you see around here near the barn. Further down you have the bigger bumper crops, the main sources of food for the colony. Wheat and Corn mostly."

"And the banana trees?" Shepard asked.

"Environment suits them already, we don't need to worry too much about them," Zara stated. "They're more of a luxury really. Like I said, our main sources are corn and wheat, we have these other foods specifically so we don't rely completely on one single crop though. If something goes wrong we can always fall back on something else."

"What's in the greenhouses?" McKay asked.

"Eh, berries mostly, fruits," Zara informed her. "Like I just said, we need variety to be sustainable."

"You got apples?" Zek asked eagerly.

Zara looked a bit perplexed.

"How do they know about those?" She asked.

"Long story," Shepard stated.

Zara shrugged at that, but she answered the question in any case.

"We have some apple trees growing further out in an orchard we set up," she explained. "It's off in the woods, near that river I mentioned. We couldn't plant everything so close together for fear we'd suck up all the soil's nutrients. It was our best option. Like the bananas, they're a luxury. Not enough of them yet to be considered a primary food stock."

Shepard took another look around the area, noticing the armed guards stalking the towers and makeshift platforms surrounding the farm.

"Do you have many problems with wildlife?" He asked Zara.

"Now and then, but they mostly stay away from this facility," Zara shrugged. "Not sure why. Well, come on, I'll show you to where you'll be setting up camp. It's near our windmill. All the guard towers have a good line of sight on that place. Also the closest position to Asha's assigned post."

Great, that made them all feel so welcome here already. They walked with Zara along the length of the fields, always closely watched by the guards. Before long, the wheat turned to corn as they approached their final destination. As they marched, Zara remained fairly jovial and open about things. She described how they built the windmill from scrap they salvaged from the ship and their difficulties with determining how much yield for the soil of each crop. She kept going a mile a minute it seemed, eager to share the triumphs and tribulations of farming life on an alien world. She only stopped when someone asked a question about something else, like Tali did.

"I have to ask, why is this place called Xipe Totec Farms?" She spoke up suddenly.

"Oh that's an agricultural deity from Aztec myth," Zara laughed. "He introduced corn to man, and corn is our biggest thing out here, second only to wheat, so, only made sense. Plus, you know, fits in with the Colony's name and all that."

"I'm assuming Maisey liked that," McKay observed.

"Yeah, she seemed to," Zara chuckled. "I mean, we all take a certain bit of pride in it to be honest. It's not just her. Most of us here have family that can trace back their roots to Mexico after all. I have some Latino heritage myself on my mother's side."

"We got the feeling it was less about pride and more about spite from what Maisey told us herself," McKay noted, not vindictively, but in a skeptical tone all the same. "Specifically towards the UNSC and their naming conventions."

"Well, to be fair, it's not without cause," Zara said, still rather cheerfully.

McKay didn't argue the point, letting out a bit of a sigh.

"No, I suppose not," she confessed.

"You don't seem as angry about all that though," Johnson observed. "Out of everyone on that little council, you've been the most welcoming."

"I guess I have, now that you mention it," Zara reasoned, rubbing her chin a bit. "I guess I'm just fortunate. I didn't have much in the way of family on Apekis V, I had come there to start over. I was just trying to start up my own farming business, only a few dozen trusted hands as employees. When the Covenant started hitting the planet we packed up everything we could and bolted. So, really this life is no different than the one I started, a bit harder though, but more or less still the dream."

It was actually good to hear at least one person here didn't hold the grudge. However, Zara was quick to add on one other element to her statement. She did so by leaning in close to Johnson, placing her arm on his shoulder.

"Course you also haven't done anything to make me hate you or distrust you yet either," she explained rather simply. "But if you did seem like the kind of folk who would try something unneighborly like, well, I wouldn't hesistate to have you all strung up as living scarecrows and stick you in the fields right out in the blazing sun."

There was an uncomfortable silence from the group as Zara just stood there smiling warmly after saying that. It was somewhat unsetttling. She then, just as quickly, pulled back from Johnson and laughed aloud.

"Oh, man, your faces, ha!" She laughed. "Yeesh, you really didn't think I meant it like that, did yas?"

There was a nervous laugh from the group, unsure of how to respond.

"Look, just don't give me reason to think you're here to harm my family and we'll get along like aces," Zara promised. "Now then, to the windmill! Daylight is burning!"

Getting over the initial shock of Zara joking, perhaps not as serious as it seemed, threat, the group continued the journey. Retz, surprisingly, was the first to overcome the silent unease that had settled in.

"So you're a completely agrarian society then?" He asked. "No meat at all?"

"Well that's not my department, my feathered friend," Zara replied jovially as ever. "I only handle what grows in the ground, not what runs on it. But there are some animals out there who are good eating and we do send out a hunting party now and then. We don't go full blown on it though, it's hard enough manufacturing bullets and arrows already. Vegetables don't consume as many resources is what I'm saying, it's just more cost effective."

"My people have the same issue," Tali noted. "Vegetarian diets are simply more sustainable in long term survival situations."

"Well what do you know," Zara laudhed aloud. "I didn't think you had a farmer tagging along with all of you."

"I'm an engineer actually, but farming is an important part of our fleet," Tali explained. "They're the lifeblood of our people."

"So there is intelligent life out there," Zara grinned. "So few get that. Stocking up on guns and fortifications is nice and all, but you can't eat bullets. If you want to survive, you need to know how to farm, or at least know people who can learn."

"But you still hunt," McKay noted. "So, what do you do with the meat?"

Zara looked at her confused.

"I mean, you eat it, obviously," McKay clarified. "But, if you have a surplus... do you put it in a freezer or something?"

Zara shook her head.

"We've had to rely on less... technical solutions for preserving foods," she explained. "Methods from back when refrigeration wasn't as big a thing. Oh sure, we tried the cryopods once, but it's not the same as a proper fridge. Freezer burn, loss of taste, texture, it just wasn't worth it. If we wanted to preserve meat in any capacity, or any food with a low shelf-life in general otherwise, we had to go back to basics."

"Like salt?" Shepard asked, remembering that was how ships used to do it.

"Nope, we got something... sweeter," Zara laughed.

That was when they arrived at the windmill. It was a makeshift tower of metal and wood, lashed together, fiber acting as the sails of blades. But that wasn't what Zara was pointing to in that moment. She was pointing to the crop behind the windmill. A large field of green leafy stalks sticking out of the ground. Shepard recognized it almost instantly.

"Is... is that...?"

"Yep, good old sugar cane," Zara said, proudly confirming it. "Classic preservative and a vital ingredient in any fruit pie. We had to abandon a few things, but dessert is thankfully not one of them. Don't evacuate a planet without at least a few stalks, am I right?"

Shepard eyed the sight with a greater sense of admiration. Sugar wasn't the easiest of crops out there, but somehow, Zara's people had managed to make it thrive here. There was almost an excess of sugar growing out into the distance.

If Shepard had looked back though, he would've seen someone else eyeing the sight with a bit more than just veneration, but opportunity. Zek gaze was wild, his mind racing with possibilities, his beak watering. He had gambled and hit the jackpot. He looked at Retz and saw the same sinister grin on his friend's face as well. Fortune, at long last, favored the Fallen Serpent. For of all the planets to go searching for an ancient artifact on, they had ended up on one that had precisely what they needed.

---

Once their runner got back from the outpost with some supplies, setting up a makeshift camp near the windmill went rather quickly. One of the first things they got running of course was the communication array. Shepard soon contacted Holland and Whitcomb about the situation, explaining everything the New Teteocan Council had told him. Needless to say, it was all a bit of a surprise for both officers.

"Apekis V, that is indeed some time ago," Holland said, recalling that time. "I remember hearing about it of course, but there were a lot of outer colonies getting glassed that year. It just kind of became a statistic."

"That's certainly how these people feel," Shepard commented, not out of malice, just a simple statement of the facts. "So much in fact they don't really see themselves as subject to UNSC authority."

"Technically their colony isn't sanctioned by any branch of UNSC government, so they're somewhat correct there," Whitcomb noted. "I'm presuming that means they don't consider us a rescue party."

"That never came up," Shepard confirmed. "I think they'd resist if you tried in fact. It was touch and go whether or not we'd be even allowed to stay this close. And even then, I think it's more for their protection than our benefit."

"Their protect... oh, I see," Holland his confusion giving way to realization. "Because we have a Covenant Carrier and everything. That's... that suggests some real bad blood if that's where their minds went."

"I would've tried to explain you'd never consider that an option, but something tells me that would only have made it worse," Shepard explained. "At least mentioning the Carrier convinced them we weren't going to cut and run if things got hairy."

Holland looked approvingly at the Commander.

"You did what you could, Commander, at least we have a foot in the door," he assured him. "But the fact is, it still seems like we're not welcome. To be honest, if I were in their position, I wouldn't exactly be happy to see us either. Especially if their story is true."

Shepard looked a bit perplexed at Holland.

"I don't see any holes in it personally," he stated. "The timeline matches, there are children here who look about the right age, plus it makes sense that you'd have to abandon some worlds. You said it yourself, a lot of colonies were getting glassed at the time."

"None of that is the issue," Holland assured him. "It's the remarkable coincidence that they're on this planet of all the planets they could've ended up at, as well as the amount of gear they have with them. Specifically the guns and what not. And I have to ask, why didn't they ever consider trying to send an SOS at any point? Surely their anger at the UNSC couldn't have been that great that they'd rather rough it than be rescued. It just seems a bit strange."

"Understand, Commander, we're not denying the UNSC doesn't make decisions that civilians would deem harsh," Whitcomb added. "Apekis V, as far as I'm aware, was one of them. I don't begrudge these people for feeling as if they were left hanging in the wind, but there are questions still to ask."

Shepard couldn't deny that those questions hadn't arose in his own mind during the initial conversation. However, they had not been for him to ask at the time. He was trying to earn a degree of trust after all.

"That's probably something you might want to talk with them directly," he suggested. "They want a meeting with both of you at some point."

"A good idea," Holland agreed. "It will give us a chance to ease some tension and maybe get better access to the Forerunner Facility itself."

"We should find something the locals require that we can provide," Whitcomb offered. "Establishing some kind of trade for goods or services would go a long way to building trust."

"They don't seem to need much of anything from us, sir," Shepard cautioned. "Other than getting this facility's defenses up and running, they already have a pretty secure position here."

"Then we best find a way to help them get those defenses running or find something else they need," Holland declared. "And we best do it fast. We can't exactly keep crossing our fingers hoping the Covenant or more Space Pirates don't show up and make a mess of things."

Shepard couldn't agree more, they were on the clock here to a degree. However, he had faced tougher missions than this and he had more resources at his disposal to deal with it. He just had to have confidence in the people with him and they'd get the job done. The next hurdle though was getting Maisey and her people to treat them as allies, instead of the currently unwanted house guests squatting on their lawn.

---

It felt like it had been forever since Kowalski had seen a human colony that wasn't under siege. Where people were just going about their lives. Where everything seemed normal for the most part. Sure, this one wasn't an official colony and was located under the shadow of an ancient alien structure, but at least it was peaceful. And for some reason, watching farmers go about their day was relaxing to him. Maybe it was because everywhere else they had been to had the looming threat of a fight coming their way. For now, this place was just normal. As far as Kowalski was concerned, normal was a state of mind that had been absent for too long.

True, the farmers didn't particularly pay them much mind beyond a few glares, so that was off putting. There were also the guards overlooking them with continued suspicion. It wasn't perfect, but it was better than what they had been through previously. For once, the squad at large could just breathe some fresh air for a bit and not concern themselves with the next firefight or the scary super old alien stuff they were after. No, they could just sit down and watch some farmers picking some potatoes and re-planting some of the eyes to grow more.

After being on the run for so long, you had to enjoy the little things. Such as Ellingham with his grape juice ration currently sitting beside him. Or Agley who, for once, wasn't a bundle of nerves.

"Gotta give'em credit," Ellingham said. "They escape a Covie fleet and start up a whole new colony from what they have left. The power of humans to find a way and survive. Oldest story in the book."

"Yeah, but they don't seem to be just surviving, they're thriving here," Kowalski noted. "They've stayed alive for a long time out in the middle of nowhere and the only major disruption in it all has been us."

Ellingham nodded in agreement, taking another swig of his grape juice.

"I mean, really, something tells me they don't want to leave," Kowalski continued unabated. "From the sound of how that meeting with their leader went, I don't think the subject of leaving ever came up."

"Meh, they wanna stay let'em," Ellingham shrugged. "Less problems heading back to Earth I say. We already have enough with space pirates and deserting former enemies in general."

"I mean, it's their choice and everything," Kowalski confessed. "I just... it's weird, ya know? Like a bunch of shipwrecked people on island who don't want to leave when a ship passes by."

"Well to be fair, the people who would be their saviors are, in their minds, the same people who hung them out to dry," Ellingham recalled. "At least in their minds that's how it seems."

"It sounds pretty definitive to me," Agley commented.

Ellingham rolled his eyes.

"Come on, colonists know the risks when they come out here," he claimed. "And we're at war here, decisions have to be made and all that shit. It's not like we were the ones who abandoned them on their old colony. If they want to stay here over that, fine, they're free to go their own way, but don't blame us for it. Especially when it seems it worked out just fine for them."

"Would you be saying that if it was your colony hung out to dry?"

The new voice was Ramirez, with Pearson by his side. They were coming in to join the sit down, packing their own rations. Ellingham, to his credit, didn't avoid the question completely.

"I'm saying I understand where they're coming from," he clarified. "Doesn't mean I have to agree."

"Colonists never have it easy out here, and they accept a lot of risks," Ramirez explained rathe calmly. "Anyone willing to leave the comforts of the UNSC controlled space and venture out into the frontier is pretty ballsy in my book."

"Not saying they ain't," Ellingham insisted. "But that means they should accept the risks if they're that willing to go ahead with something like that. Like we did when we joined up. We all heard reports from the front, our recruiters didn't lie. They told us up front, we might die out here."

"A good point, Els," Pearson said with a smirk. "But there's still a wee bit of difference between farmer and soldier. I'm thinking the former was kinda hoping the latter was gonna be there for them when push came to shove."

"Hey, we were on Reach together, remember?" Ellingham reminded them. "We helped evac civies. If any of us had been around back then on Apekis V we would've been loading transports with civies for as long as possible, maybe even more. But we can't control what every commander does or what bullshit decision they decide to make."

"Well unfortunately, they don't seem to see much difference between the two," Ramirez said, pointing to one guard overlooking them at the moment.

Ellingham looked up the the sniper, noticing it seemed to be a girl with hood over her head. He waved back at her, but it was in a bit of a sarcastic motion. She must've picked up on it because she just spit over the side of her lookout.

"I see your ability to charm the ladies has not improved at all," Pearson joked. "Congrats, Ellingham, truly you are bridging the gap."

"Oh please, like anything I could do can make them like me," Ellingham countered. "Look, we're here for a relic, okay? We get it, maybe they get something out of it, we move on. From what it looks like, everyone will end up happier for it."

"Sure, but let's not antagonize the locals and make it harder for the Commander and the others," Pearson requested. "It's the least we can do."

Kowalski looked away from the farm just a bit and noticed Samara standing off to the side. She was just a few feet away from them, staring intently at the fields from the look of it. Curious, he got up from his seat.

"Catch ya later guys," he said.

Pearson quickly picked up on where he was headed.

"Best watch carefully, Ellingham," he stated. "For all his wet blanket tendencies, Kowalski actually has better skills with the ladies than you currently do. Maybe you can pick up some pointers."

"Bite me, Pearson," Ellingham snarled.

"I'm a Corporal, I could order you to let me and you'd have to," Pearson chuckled.

Kowalski just sighed, trying to ignore his squadmates, as he approached the Asari Justicar. She noticed him before he even attempted to interrupt her silent vigil.

"Taking in the peaceful atmosphere?" He asked.

"I am admiring the ability of your fellow humans to persevere in the face of tragedy," Samara explained. "It is a small comfort in the face of what drove them to this."

"I'm guessing you don't just mean the Covenant," Kowalski reasoned fairly quickly.

Samara nodded rather sadly.

"It is disheartening to see your government so easily toss aside innocents," she explained. "Even in the face of extinction, even with all the hard choices one has to make, I would've expected better."

"We... can't save everyone," Kowalski said, respecting the unfortunate reality. "I don't agree with what happened, but, well, as you said, there are no easy decisions."

"I do not pretend to understand the full implications of what happened during the invasion of Apekis V," Samara confessed. "I can only tell you what the code compels me to say. Leaving innocents to die is wrong, more so when you have the ability to help but choose not to."

"If I was there-"

Samara looked to him with a simple smile, halting his haphazard and nervous response.

"You do not need to defend yourself from actions that were not yours, Private Kowalski," she assured him. "You were not there. The Code is at times harsh in its judgment, but it is fair in assignment of blame. You also do not need to tell me what you would have done were you there. I know you well enough by now to discern what you would do when faced with impossible choices."

Kowalski graciously laughed somewhat at that.

"I doubt that a little bit," he claimed. "I'm not sure half the time what I'm doing beyond surviving most days."

"Modesty," Samara noted astutely. "But I assure you that you are more capable than you know and your heart is at least always in the right place. We all have to make decisions, these colonists, your officers, and ultimately they define us. These people saw the odds against them and sought to forge something new less they give into despair. It's the same strength of character you possess, that your squad possesses. You were, after all, among the first to join the mission to assist the pirates in stealing the other Covenant ship, were you not?"

"I suppose so," Kowalski admitted thoughtful. "But, at the time, I didn't feel I had any other choice but to do what I did."

"And that, Private, is why I'm so sure of your strength of character," Samara smiled.

Kowalski returned the smile, but it soon faded when another thought came to mind.

"Do... you ever have to make hard choices?" He asked. "I mean, as a Justicar, dealing out justice and everything. That can't always be easy. Code or no code."

Samara remained silent for a few moments, her head down and smile faded.

"Justice is rarely as black and white as the Code at times wants it to be," she confessed. "Every Justicar is trusted to make her own interpretation, her own decision on how best to act in any given case. It is not entirely flexible, but there is leeway. It does not... make certain decisions any easier."

She looked up to Kowalski, a resolute statement across her face.

"I have regrets, all of us do," she admitted. "I will never claim to not be fallible. It is... why I became who I am today. And I have done things as a Justicar that sadden me. But like these colonists, I have made my choice and I live with those consequences. I bear them as a reminder of where I was and where I must still go."

Kowalski wasn't sure what Samara was referring to, but he could see the pain in her eyes all the same. She did her best hide it, but she had something within that gnawed at her. She had shared many of her adventures over their time together. She had listened to his own regrets and pains, but only ever hinted at her own.

Part of him liked to think it was her way of protecting him, not burdening him with her own past. But he couldn't deny he didn't want to know. He wanted to in the slim hope maybe, just maybe, he could help. He never got up the courage to ask though, for fear she would turn him down. When she wanted to, maybe, maybe she'd let him in.

For now, he felt it best to change the subject.

"So... do you have any other reason to be up here?" He asked. "Justicar related reasons, I mean?"

Samara nodded and pointed over to a section of the sugar fields near the windmill. Kowalski squinted and spotted Zek and Retz nearby. No doubt scheming in their usual way.

"I see," he observed.

"Those two are never devoid of suspicion," Samara claimed. "Even if they are allies, they are ones with an agenda all their own. And I do not trust their sudden interest in agriculture as anything pure."

---

Zek took everything in, watching how a group of the farmers cultivated the sugar cane before them. He knew he couldn't learn everything by watching alone, but he could discern the obvious at least. He intently looked at how they checked the stalks, how they managed the water, which ones they seemed to mark to be cut and how they cut them. He needed to memorize all of this so he'd get a leg up on what to do when they figured out how to get the stuff.

"This is fate, Retz," he reiterated. "I'm not for believing in that shit, but this is undeniably fate."

"I have to admit, I feared we'd have to get all the way to Earth before we found any," Retz confessed. "At the very least get inside their Inner Systems first, but this is... too good to be true."

"Okay, okay, let's not get ahead of ourselves," Zek said, trying to calm himself down. "For one this is far from a done deal, it's not even at the negotiating stage. You've been doing the numbers, right? How much do we need?"

"For a sustainable crop? I'd say, an acre, maybe a bit more," Retz postulated. "It really depends on how much they've modified these ones. I'm no agriculturalist, but the Syndicate does teach you about the mechanics of any drug trade. That being, how much of the stuff you can grow in the area you're given to work and how much yield you can get from it."

"What about Hydroponics?" Zek asked. "The boys have been testing some cool ideas, right?"

"They have, but they believed we had more time," Retz reminded him. "We didn't consider something like this falling in our laps. From what I've read up, sugar cane needs at least subtropical climate to grow. That means water. These people lucked out with a jungle world. And depending how fast the ones these humans are using can grow to fruition, we need to figure out how much we can use up before we need to replant to keep up with demand."

"Well then the science boys better crack down hard," Zek ordered. "Number crunch like there's no tomorrow and work on some solutions fast. Cause we're on the clock at this point to get this off the ground."

Zek considered some other options quickly, rubbing along his beak.

"Can the synthesizer machine we have produce more quantity if need be?" He asked.

"It will have direct materials from the actual plant," Retz informed him. "It might dilute the potency somewhat, but it's a good method to build some surplus if we need it."

Good, good, thought Zek, so they had some leeway. That still left the bigger problem though.

"Okay, but how do we get it?" He asked. "These humans barely trust their own kind. And we look like the fuckers who glassed their last home. How do we open trade with them when we're barely in the door for the relic?"

"The fact they have issues with the UNSC can be used to our advantage," Retz assured him. "But we have to play our cards right, or risk losing the relic and the Astral Cutlass in the process. To pull this off, we need to walk a delicate tightrope of subterfuge, manipulation and good old fashioned sweet talking."

"That's my bird," Zek laughed sinisterly. "You have a plan?"

"Always," Retz smirked. "But it requires many moving parts. Something like this isn't exactly done through a simple lie or two. This is going to get complicated, and that's when everything likely goes to shit. But I can pull it off. The key is convincing these people we give more of a shit about their well being than the UNSC does. That we can offer them something substantial."

"Well they hate the UNSC enough already, but that's not exactly a big in," Zek argued. "I mean, they barely even want anything from us. You heard them yourself. The biggest thing on their wish list is more of those big ass laser cannons charged up and ready to fuck up the Covenant should they stop by. That's Taq's department, not us."

"But it's a longshot right now if that can be done," Retz suggested. "Maybe not even in time for Snarlbeak to show up, assuming he's on our trail."

And he was, Zek didn't doubt that for a second. He'd be here eventually and if the guns on this old Forerunner place weren't running, they wouldn't stand a chance. Not if Old Scratch decided to send in his big guns. And unlike the Covies, he would not hesitate to shoot Forerunner structures if it kept him from his prize.

"So, we need to give them some major league firepower," Zek reasoned. "That's an angle to work with. And we got a few guns we can spare, I guess."

"And they probably have some other needs too," Retz figured. "They're just not telling us yet. I could smell it in that room, Zek. Maisey and her posse have some secrets they don't want slipping out."

"Trouble in paradise?" Zek questioned.

"Not in the way you might be thinking," Retz corrected his friend. "More like, stuff they wouldn't want Holland and Whitcomb to know. Which is where I'm going to start."

"What are you thinking?" Zek asked curiously.

"Brant, their security guy, he said he had contingencies in case the Covenant landed somehow," Retz recalled. "But the only major gun these people have is the big one towering over their heads. All I'm seeing these people carrying is old human military equipment and what not. Brant doesn't strike me as the kind of person who would think these little peashooters his men are lugging around would be enough to fend off the Covenant. And then there's the other thing."

"Other thing?" Zek questioned, not sure if he was following.

"There's a lot of people and supplies here," Retz stated, staring over at the colony proper. "Not to mention a ton of metal work built on top of the Forerunner crap. I suppose they could've taken the the whole shuttle apart, but it had to be pretty big. Probably bigger than most normal civilian freighters I imagine. I mean it's possible, but there's something off there."

"Sneaking around for answers won't be easy," Zek warned.

"Nothing ever is when profit is on the line," Retz reminded him. "Or when people are hiding something."

Zek looked to the sugar cane field again, his eyes narrowing.

"A single cube of this sugar stuff is enough to make one kig-yar buzzed for hours," he declared. "With a built in down period where they just want more. And that's the only real side effect. This shit isn't going to fuck you up as fast as most drugs. I mean, compared to shit like Snooka Sand, it's practically harmless. No violent hallucinations, no brain damage, no painful withdraw periods, this thing is the jackpot of drugs for kig-yar and combined with those Baby Chorka, we have a lock on an entirely new business venture."

He turned to Retz, a sinister glow in his eyes.

"Besides, if we feel there's something off about this colony, well, it's our duty as members of the alliance to root it out right?" He asked sardonically. "I mean, it could be something dangerous Haverson would want to know."

Zek began laughing at the last part. Even Retz seemed to grin at his friend's clever use of a loophole.

"Follow your hunch," the Pirate Shipmaster told his conniving second. "See where it leads. Then we figure out what to do with it."

One way or another, they'd be leaving here with this sugar and a free ticket to the top of the criminal ladder alongside it.

---

The architecture within the Forerunner structure was as opulent as expected, stretching high towards the ceiling where cascading blue lights shone down from above. Covering the walls were a number of holographic displays and what appeared to be terminals. Some were activated, others were in need of repair. There was also some cursory equipment that was clearly not Forerunner. The large cables attached into one of the walls, leading back to the Colony itself was obviously human in origin and the source of New Teteocan's power.

Tali was impressed with the ingenuity, Taq less so though.

"Ugh, talk about compromised sites," she commented. "Everything has been run roughshod over. Just all kinds of stuff, tech ripped clean out of the walls."

"Well these people aren't archaeologists," Tali reminded her. "They have different priorities than us."

"That is hardly an excuse for the state of things," Taq claimed. "It's bad enough I'm not the first one here. Everything being torn up like this is... disheartening."

Tali wasn't surprised by Taq's dislike of the situation, she was surprised by Halsey's more calm demeanor. When both of them had arrived, the situation explained to them, Taq had more than a few questions. Most of them directed at what was known about the Forerunner structure, very few of them could be answered definitively. Halsey had remained quiet on the walk through the colony and was quiet still when they got inside the structure. It was only now, after giving one of the terminals a once over, that she even spoke.

"The rest of the facility should be relatively intact," she reminded the kig-yar. "Remember, they've only gotten in so far."

"And apparently know almost nothing about it," Taq groaned. "It's like a bunch of children playing with a loaded gun. I'm surprised they didn't accidentally blow themselves up."

"Maybe that's a good sign," Tali suggested. "They might have a decent enough grasp on the technology, they just need someone who knows what to look for."

It was at least something to hope for. Maybe this would all be easier than it looked. Perhaps they'd be in and out of here after all. Okay, Tali had to admit, that was wishful thinking. Someone had to be the optimist here though, and she knew neither Halsey or Taq would play that role.

Caleb emerged from a door in the back of the foyer they had arrived in.

"Ah good, come on, there's someone I want you to meet," he said, waving at them to follow.

They followed the man through the next corridor, quickly introducing themselves.

"Doctor Catherine Halsey, Office of Naval Intelligence, Xenobiology," Halsey began. "This is Taq, archaeologist, fellow Forerunner expert. You already know Tali, Chief Engineer of the Normandy."

"Fairly impressive titles to be sure," Caleb admitted. "The question now is if they're enough to crack a door or two open."

"Surprised you just haven't bludgeoned or blown them open," Taq commented.

"It's not like we didn't try, but nothing we have is capable of doing that," Caleb claimed. "Plus there is something of a security grid. Attempts to bypass locks have been met with resistance. Electrified doors, energy screens, we stopped trying when a someone almost lost some fingers. It's partially why progress has been so slow. Whatever this place is for, they locked it up tight before leaving."

It made sense. Given their experience on Halo, Tali imagined there were more than a few things the Forerunners wanted to keep out of the hands of the wider galaxy. She just hoped the increased security didn't foretell certain undead complication, so to speak. But her head seemed perfectly fine for now, so as far as she knew there was no danger.

They finally arrived in a corner of the room, a large holographic display hanging over a console at the back wall. Beside it was a large door, locked tight and powered down from the look of things. Within the console itself, they could see a pair of legs wearing what appeared to be a jumpsuit. They were covered in grease and other unknown substances. Currently, they were resting with their knees pointing up, the feet firmly locked to the ground. As sounds of gentle singing echoed from within the console, Caleb spoke up.

"Rowan, our new experts are here."

"Just a minute!" A bubbly, overtly chipper voice called back.

Rolling out from beneath the console was a young woman, her red auburn hair tied back in a knot and a bandana across her forehead. Her jumpsuit was partially rolled on one side, so you could see her flannel shirt. She looked up at the newcomers, smiling widely.

"Wow! You really are aliens! Well, two of you anyway. So exciting!"

She jumped up and grabbed at Tali's hand, shaking it vigorously.

"I'm Rowan, some call me Rowzee! It's just a cute pet name. You don't look like any alien I've ever heard of. I mean, I only remember the ones who were shooting at us, but none of them looked like you. Ha ha! That's a really sweet looking suit. I'm guessing it's to protect you against biohazards like germs. I read in this book one time, where there were these aliens who attacked Earth but they all died because of germs and stuff. Is that what you're like? You know, except the attacking humans part, because Caleb said you work on a human ship! So cool, didn't know UNSC was recruiting aliens now! Oh my God, you have pretty silver eyes! I should've mentioned that earlier! Seriously, they're stunning!"

The woman's mile a minute speech was near hard to keep up with. So much so Tali worried her translator would short out. Thankfully, she managed to work through it all and managed to come up with answers.

"Um, Tali, thank you for the compliments, yes it is to keep out germs and technically the Normandy isn't a UNSC ship," she explained fairly slowly. "It's... good to meet you, Rowan."

"Sorry, sorry," Rowan said, pulling back a little, her speech slowing down. "It's just been so long since I've met new people. I literally know everyone here and I've run out of things to talk about mostly. And now there's new faces and apparently you can get us deeper inside this place. Oh it's just so exciting! You have no idea!"

"I imagine so," Halsey observed rather dispassionately. "Have you been stuck trying to get this door open for that long?"

"Not this one in particular," Rowan confessed. "It's just the latest hurdle. We thought we'd just have to figure out a password or set of commands, but they're different for each door. Like differing layers of security. Seriously, the people in charge of this place were big into keeping secrets I guess. The diary I used to keep didn't have this many locks on it! Not that it helps deter me! It only makes me wanna know what's inside even more!"

"That is the most common response to being locked out of a place," Taq confirmed. "My usual answer to that problem is to pry even harder."

Rowan dropped down to get a proper look at Taq.

"Oh my God, I've never seen a lady Jackal before," she declared, her curiosity once again activated at full tilt. "This is so cool, so many new things today!"

"Surprised you're not more afraid of me," Taq observed. "Most of your people couldn't help but mutter nasty things under their breath."

"Can you help me get inside the big mysterious door to find all the cool ancient alien stuff probably inside?" Rowan asked expectantly.

"Pft, I've discovered lost Forerunner Cities and broken through way bigger door than this," Taq claimed proudly. "This one is just another challenge to overcome."

"That good enough for me in my book," Rowan said happily. "Also, wow, seriously? Lost Cities? Are you like some kind of awesome avian adventurer? Ha, little alliteration right there."

"I am actually. Archaeologist, to be exact," Taq confirmed.

"Wow, cool, you're gonna have to tell me all about it," Rowan insisted. "But first, we gotta get this door open."

Rowan turned back to the console, quickly closing up the panel she had been working inside. Taq just beamed up at Halsey and Tali.

"I like her," she said sincerely. "She's... spunky."

"Rowan might seem a bit... much," Caleb confessed. "But she's one of our best mechanics. We've only gotten as far into this place as we have thanks to her unflinching resolve in the face of, well, everything this place has thrown at us so far. She's how we got the power synced up to the colony and rerouted systems to reactivate the defense tower."

"Aw, you helped too, Caleb," Rowan assured the older man. "What with the computer whizzing and all that. You did figure out how to unlock several of these terminals and doors."

"Hmm, yes and despite all that we're still barely inside," he sighed. "Hopefully our three new friends here can at least gut us a bit further in. Maybe find a damn security hub so we can activate the rest of these defenses."

"We'll do our best, Caleb," Tali assured him. "But it will take time."

"Well if the Covies are on their way like your Commander, we don't exactly have much," Caleb warned. "As it is, might as well get started."

Tali approached the console, Taq and Halsey close by. Rowan was busy inputing a set of commands as they crowded around.

"I'm trying to bypass the door, it's worked with several security layers, but this one is extra tricky," Rowan explained. "Caleb thinks there might be some info on the console that could help us, but deciphering everything isn't easy. I mostly just make guesses myself. Like this one is squiggy line and that one is scribbly line."

"How do you tell the difference?" Tali asked a bit bewildered.

"I have a system," Rowan claimed. "It's, uh, admittedly a lot of shots in the dark and all that."

"Right, right," Taq sighed. "Step aside, I'll sort this."

Not alone though, Tali thought. Cortana was still with the Chief. They'd wait a bit before bringing her in on this. Same with Legion. However, Tali did have DOT with her. She wasn't much for infiltration, but data searching was a key component of her programming. She used her omni-tool to connect the AI to the system. This assisted Taq in her own search of the console. After a few minutes they finally pulled something up, it appeared to be some kind of miniature floor plan.

"Hey, this might be useful," Taq reasoned. "I managed to connect us to administration override. Unfortunately, it's only for a small sector. If I'm reading this right, we're in the lowest tier of the security ring. It goes up the further you go in."

"How much can you unlock?" Caleb asked.

"This door, a couple more ancillary rooms, doesn't look like anything related outer defenses though," Taq informed him.

"At least it's something," he said. "What do you need?"

"Seems the lockdown works on a configuration security net," Taq stated. "I've encountered these before. There's a set number of symbols that are activated in a particular sequence. You input them to unlock certain sections then you gotta figure out the pattern they suggest in order to override the entire area lock. There's probably something in the code that can give us a clue to-"

Before anyone could really do anything, Rowan started hitting buttons on the command console.

"Squiggy, squiggy, scribbly, wave, swirl, scribbly, scribbly, circle-square, X-thingy, Fishface."

In an instant the entire floor map turned bright green, text flashed over it.

"Ready to resequence valid entry?" Taq read perplexed. "How the hell did you-"

"I've been turning this terminal inside and out for a few months now," Rowan claimed. "Every time Caleb and I went over the code sequence I kept seeing a weird pattern of funny pictures. I thought it would unlock the console or the door, but it never worked. I guess it was for this."

"Clever girl," Taq complimented, earnestly impressed. "Unfortunately, we still have one more step. Tali, this might be your angle at the moment."

Tali nodded, already at work on her side of the console.

"Right, bypassing secondary locking systems," she reiterated. "Accessing final junction sequence... okay. I think I have it."

She input a small command code and, in seconds, the door beside them lit up. With a punishing creaking sound, the bulwark against their forward progress parted. A chime sounded as the door opened up and revealed the room beyond. Rowan quickly stepped through, followed by Taq and then the others. Within, they saw a wider space, reaching up even high above them all. Ramps led up to different levels and there were terminals for what were likely light bridges. They still needed to be active, but it was obvious enough to everyone there.

"We're finally inside," Caleb reasoned, his voice one of elation and wonder. "We're actually inside the building proper! Hot damn!"

"So cool!" Rowan squeaked aloud.

Tali looked about, noticing Halsey had seemingly wandered off. She found her by another large console, inputing something into the commands. The quarian quickly walked over to her, shortly followed by the others.

"Doctor Halsey, what's going on?" Tali asked.

"I managed to pull something from one of the terminals in the foyer," she explained. "It directed me to this console for further information. I saw we were blocked by the door and I wasn't sure if or when we'd get to it. Now that I'm here, I think I have our answers."

"What answers?" Taq asked.

"Read it for yourself," Halsey said, walking back to reveal a holographic screen.

The kig-yar took a quick look at it, her eyes widening.

"Ah Ocean, I guessed as much," Taq snarled. "This is an information packet concerning this facility's purpose and top priority acquisition. We're in a Forerunner Advanced Research lab."

"For what?" Tali asked.

"Ehhhh, weapons, mostly, from the sound of it," Taq said nervously. "That's why the security is so high. They were tasked with, basically, trying to make killer guns and shit. Enough to decimate any threat the Forerunners faced."

Tali understood the implication. Taq meant the Flood, this was a place designed around the idea of killing Flood and potentially anything else.

"Is there..."

Taq cut her off before she could ask the obvious question.

"They don't deal with biology here, they weren't looking for that kind of solution," she clarified. "They were dealing with far more experimental things from the sound of this. Stuff like dark energy and matter displacement. They were trying to take the cutting edge of Forerunner tech and push it beyond what it was even capable of."

That was somewhat of relief at least, but Taq sounded like there was more to their problems than that.

"So what are we dealing with then?" Rowan asked curiously.

"Only just the most secure facility I've ever encountered in my history of breaking into Forerunner ruins,"Taq explained nervously. "This document outlines the various layers of security they've beefed this place up with. We were on level zero, there's still clearance levels one through five to clear and access to them is hotly restricted."

"We can figure it out in time," Tali declared. "We have the expertise to manage these situations."

"That's not really my chief concern," Taq tepidly explained. "You see, there's good news and bad news. Good news, I think I know where the relic is and maybe where we can access full control of the outer defenses."

Caleb seemed to light up at that.

"You mean you can get the other towers working and get your relic! Excellent!" He declared. "Where is it?"

"Oh only at the center of this massive fucking maze of metal, behind a shit ton of locked doors and who knows what else guarding it," Taq replied, laughing with a great deal of concern. "But hey, yay for us! We passed the tutorial at least! One room down, only like... I don't know..."

She put up a map of the facility she was able to access and the various twists, turns, corridors, rooms and subrooms they had to pass through in order to get to the center. Needless to say, it was a lot.

"Yeah, about two hundred to go, give or take," Taq concluded.

Tali could only gulp. They certainly had their work cut out for them now, that was for sure.

---

AN: Guess who's back everyone? The extended departure was... not what I wanted. Suffice to say, my blog post linked back on my home account page will better explain the reason for the absence. Suffice to say, I hit a sort of creative wall and had a hard time getting back into it due to various emotionally draining, time consuming issues that needed to be dealt with in order to ease matters considerably. But, I worked through it and am I finally ready to publish again. I hope the absence has not been too great and that you're more than ready to jump back into the story. I hope the content of this chapter isn't too soft or anything, things will get progressively more involved and climatic as time goes on. But after writing a two chapters worth of insane bad future stuff, I needed a bit a break. I needed time for some world building and character development. I hope this is more than welcome.

Next chapter will be interesting I think. Hopefully, it will give you an even better idea on where we're going with these colonists, the sugar cane and various other things. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this chapter in the meantime and thank you for sticking with me on this ride. I remain humbled by your readership.