Author's note:
I once again apologize for the late release. I had internal issues that got very emotionally charged and
caused delays. Not only that I may have to move from my current residence soon due to
rent prices jumping up and that has been adding to the situation. Still recovering from it all but once again
we are moving forward. I appreciate all the support you guys give to this story and I hope to at least finish it this year.

Chapter 19: Omission

"Well, that's the situation. Any questions?" Shepard asked looking around the room.

He had just finished explaining everything to his team in the Normandy briefing room. As expected many didn't have much recollection of their enslavement. The few that did said it was like a waking dream, watching yourself do things that you couldn't stop. While it was disturbing that they had been controlled for so long, at least now they could finally be in control of their own destinies again.

Kasumi meekly raised her hand among the assembled crew members, "Uh, I have one."

"What is it?" the Commander asked.

"Why the hell did they not allow me to at least remember that heist?! From the sounds of it, it sure must have been exciting!" Kasumi said excitedly.

Garrus looked at her and crossed his arms, "The Necrons don't exactly seem to care about our needs and wants. They only care about our utility to their cause. That and Veronakh seems to be a bit of a control freak."

Kasumi shrugged, "That much is obvious, I mean I certainly wouldn't have bothered stealing that kind of data. Not unless there was something more...significant to it."

"Council secrets aren't significant?" Jacob asked with a raised brow.

"Not in that way, more...culturally significant. I could care less about military secrets." Kasumi said rolling her hands.

Grunt gritted his teeth and gripped the edge of the table, "I still need to kill something and right now I would relish the chance to smash that metal female's face in for what she did.

"Solvatas is off-limits for now, least until she does something to warrant it." Shepard reminded him.

"And capturing us, keeping us as slaves to her lord isn't something that warrants it?" Grunt growled with glaring eyes.

The Commander stood up straighter and crossed his arms, "I get it, I told you we were going to Tuchanka and then...everything happened. I still plan to help you Grunt. Keep it together."

"I'm trying...but hearing you tell me not to kill something is not making it easier Shepard." Grunt replied trying to regain his composure.

Mordin then looked to his Krogan crew mate, "Could provide sedatives if need be to help control aggressive impulses."

"Bah! I don't need your help Salarian." Grunt quickly rebuked.

The doctor raised his hands placatingly, "Mere suggestion, free to ignore it if you wish."

The Krogan waved the Salarian doctor off as Shepard looked to Mordin and asked, "How is the rest of the crew holding up Mordin?"

"Mostly stable right now outside of a few cases of persistent tremors. Like Solvatas said, strong possibility of long term side effects but won't know until symptoms manifest. Will have to wait and see. Joker was most difficult, required the longest time within device's field at low power levels to prevent seizure and rhythmic spasms of limbs. In the end several bodily tremors occurred during surgery, causing several fractures to his left femur and right humerus while removing nanites. Will need a few days of therapy to recover." explained the Salarian doctor.

"I doubt he'd want to stay out of the chair for that long." Shepard then looked to Miranda, "Any word from the Illusive man?"

The Normandy XO nodded, "Yes, he says that he will be sending someone over, a Captain Barnes, to clear our system of any issues and that they will be taking precautions while they are inspecting us."

"Not a bad idea considering. How is EDI doing?" The Commander asked.

Miranda shook her head and sighed, "So far she's having difficulties booting up. Her programming blocks were broken and then rewritten for different parameters using foreign code by the Necrons. She still has lingering internal conflicts that's causing errors to occur during queries that trigger those blocks. We're trying to get to the bottom of it but I think the techs under Captain Barnes might have better luck. I just cannot say when EDI will return to optimum capacity."

Shepard sighed, "Hopefully it will be quick, we need to make up for a lot of lost time."

"Any idea when this Captain Barnes is going to get here Miranda?" asked Jacob.

"Within the next few hours, the Illusive man also wants us to be underway as soon as possible so he spared no expense. Barnes should have all the tools and personnel necessary to give us a once over along with any rudimentary repairs." Miranda replied.

Garrus gave a laugh and shook his head, "Wouldn't be surprised if the Illusive Man secretly has Barnes bug the ship again. Just when I was starting to enjoy my privacy."

The Normandy XO raised an eyebrow in the Turian's direction, "This ship is still his investment. That and we were captured by a hostile alien force that held our minds hostage. Frankly, I don't mind us being monitored by those who at least care about our lives in order to make sure we're no longer compromised."

"I feel the same Miranda. At this point I'll take a little spying from the Illusive Man over Veronakh's sadistic taunting." Shepard said nodding to his XO.

"What about our new guests down in the hangar bay?" asked Kasumi.

"I'm going to conduct an interview with each of them once we pass inspection. I'll hand over the data to the Illusive man who will then compare them with his own sources. We'll see where we go with them from there." Miranda explained.

The Commander nodded and said, "Sounds good. Alright, everyone back to your stations. I'll announce where we'll go next once I figure things out with the Illusive Man."

Some of the crew saluted while others quickly left the room, leaving Miranda and Shepard alone. Before she left the room Shepard drew close to her with a smile on his face, "Hey, I wanted to thank you for believing in me, you didn't have any reason to considering everything that happened."

Miranda said nothing, simply drawing close to Shepard, where she embraced him for a kiss. When she pulled back, her right index finger started looping his facial hair playfully, "You need a trim. This beard is getting out of control."

Shepard smiled, "I've been busy."

"Well if you want to continue this with me, we need to maintain some standards." Miranda said playfully.

Shepard smiled again, rolled his eyes and sighed, "Alright, but what's in it for me if I do?"

"Show me later in your cabin and then we'll see."

Miranda left the Commander's embrace slowly, not breaking eye contact with him still smiling, her eyes maintaining a flirtatious fix on him. She then turned and left the room, leaving the Commander a little self-conscious as he felt his beard and then his hair with his hand. He shook his head and proceeded to the elevator.

Several hours later in the Normandy cockpit, Joker was sitting back in the pilot's chair. In his port side viewing window was Captain Barnes' frigate that had come up alongside their ship an hour ago. The Flight Lieutenant winced in pain at times manning the console when Commander Shepard appeared behind him, "Hey, Mordin said you needed rest."

Joker looked back at the Commander with an incredulous look, "Yeah and who is going to fly the ship? EDI is still under the weather and if she can't do it who else can? I mean no offense to anyone willing to give the Normandy a try but...only I know how to make her dance. Just saying."

Shepard put his hands on his hips and smirked, "Uh huh and how does it feel to have those nanites out?"

The disabled pilot looked at his hands, opening and closing them confidently, "Feels good and...well... still trying to squash out all the bad shit from my memory. Ah, but don't worry, I've already begun binging on some of my favorite vid series. Helps me not to think about it too much."

"Sorry for putting all of you through that." Shepard said apologetically.

Joker shrugged, "Hey, in hindsight it turned out alright in the end. Though yeah at the time...oh man. I was ready to crash the ship into that metal bitch when she showed up on my starboard and blew up that other ship that was tailing us. Still don't appreciate her breaking my arm that one time...not at all."

Suddenly the cockpit comm link chimed on for both Joker and the Commander to hear, "Normandy this is Barnes, the techs have reported they have finished reformatting and rebooting EDI. Sorry but there was no other way to purge the foreign code."

"What? You mean EDI just got her memory wiped?! Why didn't anyone tell me!" The Normandy pilot exclaimed.

Barnes wasn't overly sympathetic in his response, "Because we weren't sure how you'd react Lieutenant. So far your crew seem to be normal and have passed physical examination but the Illusive Man isn't taking any chances. I'm sorry, but this is for the best."

Joker threw up his hands, "Great...so now EDI and I have to start all over again."

"I didn't realize you two were getting along that well. Maybe this time you'll clique more quickly now that you know how she is." remarked Shepard optimistically.

The disabled pilot shook his head, "It won't be the same though! I mean yeah, she was an annoying ball that constantly chattered in my ear about things I don't care about. But we were just starting to get our boundaries set. Now I have to put up with her lectures about my flying or the way I organize my cockpit...again."

EDI's holographic sphere appeared to Joker's left, "Greetings Lieutenant Moreau, I am EDI."

Joker rolled his eyes, sarcastically quipping, "I know and you're the shipboard AI that's going to tell me what I am doing is wrong and goes against safety protocols."

"I only offer advice, Lieutenant." EDI replied flatly.

"Yeah yeah sure." the Flight Lieutenant then noticed something on his holographic window. It was a transmission request for the FTL comm link with the Illusive Man.

The shipboard comm link chimed in one last time, "Normandy this is Barnes, you've got a clean sweep. My crew are on their way back and we'll begin decoupling in eight minutes."

"Copy that Captain." Joker then looked to Shepard, "Guess our 'boss' really wants to have that chat with you. Good luck Commander."

Shepard nodded and left to head to the conference room. When he entered the room, it did as it always does. Darkening to black with the table sinking into the floor and a cylindrical beam of light appearing in the center. The Commander entered and was scanned, his surroundings quickly replaced with a holographic representation of the Illusive man's 'office'.

The leader of Cerberus himself was finishing a drag on a cigarette wearing the same formal attire that he always did, "Shepard, its certainly been an interesting month for you as far as Miranda has informed me."

The Commander crossed his arms, "Interesting is hardly the word I would use to describe what happened to me and my crew. You seem pretty anxious to get this started."

"Considering the stir you caused at the Citadel and the investment I've placed on you and this ship I would say it's warranted. I'm sure you have your own questions that you want answered as well."

"I haven't been paying too much attention to the news regarding the data heist. Whats been happening?"

The Illusive man tapped his cigarette on his ash tray before answering, "Yes, well thankfully you weren't identified by any official media sources. The Alliance and the Council seem content to just label it a terrorist attack on an government building. Any claims regarding your name being mentioned by a Spectre on site were dismissed as the perpetrator having a name similar to yours. It's not that much of a stretch, there is more than one human named Shepard in the galaxy after all. However, that hasn't stopped conspiracy theorists and other speculators from making connections along with spreading rumors regarding you and your involvement."

"Guess my name won't amount for much officially anymore then. I was told my Spectre status was stripped."

"Sadly yes, not only that, the Alliance will no doubt throw you to the wolves if you seek asylum in human space for the sake of maintaining power within the Council."

Shepard cocked an eyebrow, "You really think Admiral Anderson and Hackett would just hand me over to the Council because they asked?"

The Cerberus leader took another drag on his cigarette and blew out smoke, "Incidents like these tend to test even the best of friendships. Even though they believe in your cause and support you, they may be pressured by incensed politicians who could turn the public against them. Likely they would encourage you to turn yourself in for the sake of military honor and to resolve the situation as quickly as they can officially."

The Commander scowled, "I would gladly turn myself in, if there wasn't a war on the horizon that threatened all sentient life."

The Illusive man tilted his head, a slight smile creeping on the side of his mouth, "Then you agree with me that staying with Cerberus through this conflict is the best decision for you and the galaxy at large?"

"Hardly...your group has a lot to answer for. Particularly for certain experiments that went too far."

The Cerberus leader shook his head, "Still can't let go of that old wound can you?"

"Toombs certainly couldn't let go, he was even able to track down and kill the scientists who worked on the project with the Thresher Maws. Granted it wasn't the way I would have wanted it but I could have prevented it earlier had I known."

"That is before he killed himself in front of you, after youlet him commit his own crime. I don't see much difference between us Commander in that regard. In the end you tied up a loose end for us and found some closure to your own trauma. What happened to Toombs and your platoon was unfortunate and I certainly didn't approve of what Dr. Wayne was doing to achieve his objectives. But we did make use of his data, if nothing else."

Shepard narrowed his eyes, "I'm sure you did..."

"We wanted to ensure that those sacrifices were not wasted. I'm sure your men would have understood that."

"I doubt it. You never knew them, served with them-"

The Illusive man waved him off, "We're getting off track Shepard, focus. Like it or not, you need us and we need you. As I told you before, you're free to part ways with us at the end of this mission if you wish. But where will you go when the whole galaxy commits to a manhunt to track you down, after they learn of what you've done?"

"Is that a threat?"

"Just a reminder of where you stand. I don't need to do anything. Its only a matter of time before the truth of the incident comes out. Right now you should take the opportunity of completing your mission before the Council decides to send more Spectres your way."

"Fine, I still need to build my team to take on the Collectors. What about the dossiers you gave me earlier? Are they still viable?"

The Cerberus leader took a glass of scotch and drank before answering, "Unfortunately my sources tell me that the Justicar Samara has left Illium and there has been no word on Thane Krios' current whereabouts."

"I figured as much."

"I was also informed that you had recently acquired potential alternatives?"

"That's right, Maius' team members. They're currently being detained and Miranda is conducting interviews with them right now. She told me she would need to confirm with your sources first."

The Illusive man began typing up something on his holographic pad. Several windows appeared with pictures alongside them, "Yes, unexpected that you'd recruit the very mercenaries that tried to kill you, but I don't see anything too egregious at first glance. However this does leave you understrength in terms of pure biotics. With the loss of Jack and now Samara, I'm not sure this Tel'Se Neran is up to the challenge on her own."

"I know they may not be what you initially had in mind, but time is against us and the Collectors are gaining in strength. While we're on the subject of them any new reports?"

"Surprisingly they have gone quiet. There's been no reports of colonies being harvested for weeks now. I suspect it has something to do with the Terminus' new neighbors."

Shepard crossed his arms, concerned at the mention of said 'neighbors', "And they certainly can be quite...cagey. The Necrontyr intend to lock down the entire Terminus and build an empire. They already have several Relays under their control, along with all the people in them and their resources. They're converting humans and possibly other species into warriors to use in the coming war."

"Yet they're not related to the Reapers?"

"Think of them as distant cousins that both want only their way and don't get along very well. When the Reapers come, I have no doubts that the Necrontyr will fight to keep the Reapers out of their territory but that's about it."

The leader of Cerberus typed on his pad again, closing the other windows and bringing up one window with the picture of an old Asari's face, "I was told you had a meeting with the new 'Queen of Omega'. Several times actually and that she saved you from Maius Gravinius. Do you have any idea what her motives are?"

"As far as I can tell, that appearance you see on screen is just a disguise. She's no Necrontyr puppet, she's actually a Necrontyr herself. When I was still under their control, she showed me everything. Her people's history and her own. It was sort of like what happened with the Prothean beacons, only slowed down so I could actually understand what was happening. She wants to save her people from their former gods the C'tan. The C'tan enslaved them and turned them into those killing machines before her people rebelled and destroyed them. Solvatas wants to turn the Necrontyr back into an organic state in order to be free of their god's legacy."

"Surprising, given how much of an advantage being a machine gives them."

"It's not all benefits. Over time, the Necrontyr's ability to mentally function degrades due to a build up of programming errors or the manifestation of viruses. What good is immortality if you just end up losing your mind? Can't really enjoy eternity if you lose sentience and become no better than a Reaper husk."

"A fair point. I was also informed you acquired technology from her that can actually remove the nanites that controlled you. Do you still have it? Can you control it?"

"We can make adjustments to the devices that she gave us but we have no idea how they're able to work. The power source is...potent. Its like a miniature drive core and powerful enough to supposedly power much of the Normandy on its own. As for the machine that powers the containment field or the one that disrupts the nanites? Well we have a better idea on their functioning, but they still create more questions than answers."

"Still better than having none of their technology at all. It seems odd that she would leave those devices with you. Are you certain that they won't compromise the ship...or your crew?"

"So far so good and Solvatas even sent back some more of those containment spheres and rods in case we need to remove more nanites, but I understand the caution. I know who we're dealing with, believe me."

The Illusive man took another drag from his cigarette before bringing up another holographic dossier for Shepard. He then sent the file to the Commander with the swipe of his hand, "I had intended another set of dossiers to go your way, but due to the circumstances the only one left that may be viable is this one."

Shepard's eyes widened as he glanced over the dossier, "Tali..."

"She's gone on mission to Haestrom, however her and her team have gone silent. Geth ships in the area confirm that either she is in hiding or is dead. It's been five days since the Migrant Fleet lost contact with them."

"I'll find her, I've already lost too many team members thanks to Veronakh. I sure as hell ain't going let Tali die if I can help it."

A whispered laugh was then heard by both men. The Illusive man was confused but Shepard's eyes widened in realization. Before the leader of Cerberus could ask the Commander what that was, the hologram of a skeletal figure began to form. It was green in coloration and began at the feet before finally revealing a metallic skeletal figure in embellished decoration.

"What the hell is this Shepard?!" The smoking man exclaimed.

"Solvatas?!"

The Necron lord turned to look at the Commander while chuckling, "Oh Shepard, you can be so chivalrous when it comes to damsels in distress. Yet you also prove so useful in other ways as well."

The Illusive man tried to access his data pad but suddenly found his access denied. Solvatas chuckled as she watched his attempts, "I'm afraid you won't be able to end this call or get IT assistance for now 'Illusive Man'."

"Dammit Shepard! You compromised us!"

Shepard was still trying to process why all this was happening, "But we did everything that-"

"Not everything I am afraid." Solvatas then looked to the incensed head of Cerberus, "And don't be too hard on the Commander good sir. I did as I promised and released him, but I couldn't help myself. This was too good an opportunity to go to waste."

The Normandy Commander scowled, "What opportunity would that be?"

Solvatas turned to look at him, "Watch and see Commander."

Solvatas' holographic form then moved toward the Illusive Man until the tall metal female lord stood before him as he sat in his chair seething. With her hand she formed a fist and changed the image of the sun behind him. He gave a quick glance at it to acknowledge what she was doing before she responded, "As of now, with a wave of my hand I can exercise complete control over your base's entire network."

Holographic windows and programs began to open and close on the Illusive Man's pad, seemingly at random as Solvatas demonstrated just how much control she had acquired, "I used the Normandy's FTL comm system as a guide to your location. Understandably its difficult for you to comprehend how a QEC transmission could be intercepted, but lets just say my people have been working with quantum entanglement far longer than you."

"I see...so what do you want?" The Illusive man asked still stewing in resentment.

"Assurances that Cerberus will stay out of my dynasty's business...for now." The Vymark explained.

The head of Cerberus cocked an eyebrow, "For now?"

"I know you can't help yourself, the desire to know more, to acquire more power. It's written in every action, every program that I've encountered on this station."

"Power for my organization is more power for humanity to fight back against the likes of you."

"Ah...that sounded a bit rehearsed to be honest. I'm sure that's what you tell all the alien challengers to your authority. I've encountered many nobles in my time that also believed what they did was for their people. The delusion of selflessness masking a narcisstic bent toward self aggrandizement."

"Get to the point..."

"The point is you're a deluded fool and you're playing a dangerous game with even more dangerous players. Stay out of the Solvatakh dynasty's business for now and focus on removing the Collectors from the board. Do that and perhaps we might be able to come to... an arrangement of sorts."

"A cut throat way to approach me for a deal..."

"Considering who you are, I doubt you would have accepted an invitation without some kind of scheme in mind. You wouldn't be the first I've had to force into this position when it comes to bargaining."

"And if I refuse your terms?"

"Then I will send certain parties some lovely bits of intelligence that they have sought for a long time about your organization. I've been shadowing all of your network's processing this entire conversation and acquiring every bit of information I can about you and your pet projects. I'm sure even Shepard would be interested in what his current partner has been up to this entire time."

"You're bluffing. Maybe you could have found a way to track down the QEC signal but I doubt you could do that and-"

The Necron Vymark opened the palm of her left hand and a holographic window appeared on the Illusive man's holo pad. His eyes widened as he read the message and then he looked at Solvatas with a flabbergasted expression.

"Information is your greatest strength and your greatest weakness. For example, that is your real name isn't it? Or would you prefer...TIM?"

The Illusive man didn't respond, merely continuing to read the message as Solvatas continued, "There's more private data in that message to assure you that what I've datamined from your servers is genuine. I could leak these to any third party I wish using my brother's agents. But your organization could be far more useful at a later time."

"And all I have to do is bow my head and accept your word that you won't drop that sword of Damacles you hold over it?"

"You don't have a choice if you want to continue forward with your own plans. Besides, the Collectors are servants of our mutual foe. Their destruction benefits both of us and in return, you may get technology that could put humanity above all other races in the galaxy."

"Considering who you are, there's no guarantee that what you give me would even be worth my while or my cooperation."

"Oh? Is that a no?"

"I'm simply stating that I want more assurances that what you give me, will actually benefit Cerberus. Not just be some kind of trinket you feel like giving out."

"You're making demands? In your position?"

The Illusive Man shifted in his chair before taking a cigarette and puffing on it deeply, "I admit, you've dealt me quite a nasty play. But you should know I've been on the run before and I have my own 'friends' who could help me rebuild if the worst should happen. I would be willing to endure all of that, if I felt that this deal wasn't worth it."

"That's a very difficult road for you if you go down it. There's no guarantee you or any of your associates would survive."

"What would be even more difficult would be Cerberus bending the knee to all your kind without a fight. You underestimate the sacrifices we're willing to make."

Solvatas shook her head, laughing at him, "Its funny, I know of very few humans that I've dealt with in the past that would also be willing to endure anything to achieve victory. You certainly play dangerously Illusive Man, but your boldness amuses me. So out of respect for that, you have my word that what you get in return for your cooperation will most certainly be worth your time."

A puff of smoke blew from the Illusive man's lips, "I prefer to see what I am going to be given, if you don't mind."

"Hmph, very well." The Necrontyr lord's holographic window in her hand then changed to that of a schematic, "I offer you the complete understanding of the technology that drives the Mass Relays. This knowledge could be used to even create your own provided you have the materials and personnel to manage the power sources required."

"Yet its nothing compared to your own technology, I'm sure."

"Think of it as my initial offering for taking the first step in our business relationship. Even if you choose to go your own way later, Mass Effect technology is at least something you have a better grasp of. My people's tech on the other hand, requires more than just a schematic to understand. Something that will require more patience and results from you before I even consider giving away something like a weapon."

The Cerberus leader tapped his cigarette on the ash tray several times, taking a moment to contemplate the offer. He closed his eyes and sighed with a smile before looking at the holographic Solvatas, "I suppose I could look the other way for awhile. As long as that schematic of yours is good."

"I have complete confidence that your scientists will be quite excited by what they find in it. My people have been tinkering with several Relays for some time now. It's an interesting alternative to our fast travel methodology but ours are far more efficient."

"I have no doubt about that."

The Vymark closed her hand, dissipating the schematic image, "I will leave the schematic to your care then. Leave Solvatakh to its business at least for the next few months and there may be more to come."

"We'll see."

"Then I wish you both good day gentlemen. It has been a pleasure doing business."

The Solvatas hologram slowly dissolved away, leaving Shepard and the Illusive man once more to their own conversation. The Commander of the Normandy crossed his arms and scowled, "Never thought you'd take the deal with all that talk about not bending the knee to her."

The leader of Cerberus simply dipped his cigarette into his ashtray casually, "She's made good points Shepard. Also if this schematic about the Mass Relays truly helps us understand them, think of what we could do with it. We could slow down the Reapers advance when they arrive or even circumvent their control of our fleet movements."

"It still depends on if we can properly replicate the technology like the Protheans were able to. Not only that, I've found deals with Necrons tend to come with strings attached. Evidently ones you're not even aware of."

"You let me worry about that Commander. For now you have a friend to save and you don't have much time."

Shepard nodded, he could at least agree with that. He wasn't happy about being used again by the Necrontyr to advance their agenda but he set his feelings aside. Stepping out of the holographic cylinder and heading towards the CIC, he left the Illusive man to smile slightly as he took another sip of his scotch.

The Necron Vymark arrived at the Dynasty's capital following a summons from her Phaeron. Solvatas suspected that the questioning of her actions had come at last as she walked the obsidian halls toward a door with the Solvatakh symbol engraved upon it. It was guarded by two Lychguards and they both had slitted eyes glowering at her. She showed no weakness and merely responded to the subtle warning, "I am expected, let me pass."

They stood aside and let the Vymark enter a well lit green chamber with an energy field covering a containment cell. Within the chamber suprisingly was Du'Maat! Solvatas had heard there was an incident but what could the Cryptek have done to warrant this? The Necron lord approached Veronakh who was typing upon a holographic window in front of him. When he acknowledged her presence with a slight turn he quickly shut down the hologram and turned to face her.

The Phaeron's stance and slitted eyes told Solvatas that her Overlord was in no mood for snark. She would need to tread carefully. She bowed and asked, "You summoned me Great One?

"Yes...I do believe you have some explaining to do...dear sister."

"What do you mean brother?"

"Don't feign ignorance with me...I know you too well. It has been several days since I could communicate with Shepard. I know how my mindshackle works and it would certainly not take this long to restore contact!"

"The Reaper technology is certainly more... potent then we gave it credit for Great One. Perhaps-"

"Enough of your lies!"

The Phaeron imposed his sheer presence before her, angrily walking right up to her so she could see the rage now displayed in his brilliantly lit synthetic eyes. She tried to look away as he bent down to look her in the face. He grabbed her face and forced her to look at him, his voice growling in anger, "You released them...didn't you?"

Solvatas finding that she no longer had any alternative but to stand strong and stop being timid, simply stated the truth, "I did."

"You betrayed me, why?"

"Because Shepard and his fellows could be far more useful as freelance pawns than to be used up to satisfy your sadism...dear brother."

Veronakh's eyes narrowed, "That, was not your choice to make."

The Phaeron's head of the guard, Forbytr, entered into the chamber, his fellow Lychguard following behind him. Crowding behind the Vymark they began to surround her. Veronakh released his grip on her, pushing her into his guards, as he continued questioning her, "Explain yourself woman. I have no more patience, considering what my fool Cryptek has been up to."

"It is as I said. I released Shepard because he could be more useful merely being manipulated, rather than being tormented and used up to satisfy your desires. Kor'Pharas has been trying to reason with you for some time now brother. Why do you refuse his counsel?"

"Because my plan is proceeding within reasonable expectations. The Praetorian's concern over underestimating my opponent is unwarranted. Even if those insects could understand what little techonology they recovered, it is still nothing compared to the full breadth of our arsenal." Veronakh looked to the Cryptek who hung his head in shame, "Hence why I need to save it from Du'Maat's own foolishness."

"What has he done?"

"He has created...a Flayed One."

"What?! Why?!"

"Even he does not know why he did it...yet he clearly is compromised, hence the security fields. While he is still in control and under the protocol of his programming, Du'Maat has been sharing with me what schematics and technology of ours he does know via auditory communication as opposed to direct data transfer. This is to prevent any systems from being infected by his affliction."

"I see."

"Yes...so now can you understand what your lack of faith in my plan could cost us? By letting Shepard go you've introduced several unknown variables into my calculations!"

"He is easily predictable brother, have at least some faith that my skills in 'diplomacy' are still functioning. I was even able to just now ensure that Cerberus had been neutralized as a threat. In fact they may even indirectly support our cause. There are many ways to achieve your ends Great One, have faith in your servants!"

"Considering what my supposedly trustworthy subordinates have been up to as of late I find faith to be rather irrelevant versus the facts before me. I can no longer wholly trust you to act independently."

"So what then? Shatter my mind into pieces as father did, again?"

"No...I will not contradict my previous decree. For you have done good work and there are too few of us capable of leading the dynasty as it is. But its obvious you, like Du'Maat are compromised. Though I need not a cell to hold you."

Two warscythe blades crossed in front of Solvatas with Forbytr coming alongside his master as he continued, "I believe Forbytr will be more than adequate to ensure that you will follow my will. You will be confined to Omega for as long as I deem fit. My Lychguard will accompany you and make certain there will be no more unnecessary alterations to my plans. You will obey their orders as if they were coming from me, understand?"

Solvatas' eyes turned to slits and her voice was low and grumbling, "As you wish...Great One."

The Lychguard then escorted her out of the chamber, Forbytr himself taking up the rear of the formation of metal bodies. As they began to exit Veronakh called out, "You disappoint me Solvatas, a shame you have to endure this humiliation."

The Vymark quickly turned towards her brother, her left eye watching him for a moment before being encouraged to keep moving forward by a warscythe. As they exited the chamber they passed by Kor'Pharas who silently communicated to Solvatas via internal comms, "It is as we feared then."

"Yes, things are going to escalate much more quickly now."

"Then we must prepare, I will join you on Omega soon."

For the past twenty minutes since touch down on Haestrom, Shepard and his squad had been fighting through Geth patrols. For this mission the Commander had brought along Garrus who had also been concerned about Tali as well as Mordin to provide medical support for any survivors. So far they had found most of the bodies of the Quarian expedition and their logs which indicated that Tali'Zorah was holding out on the far side of the complex at least several days ago.

After fighting through a Geth Prime and more Geth troops, Shepard's team had finally arrived at some kind of control room. They were now stacked on either side of the security door, Garrus and Shepard nodding to each other before the former C-Sec officer activated the door lock. The Normandy squad piled in with weapons drawn but found only an inactive computer terminal and closed shutters that would reveal the next open area. Strewn around were several more bodies of Quarians. Mordin approached them and examined one before looking to the Commander and shaking his head.

Shepard sighed, "Isn't anyone left alive in this place?"

Garrus shrugged, "I'd be surprised if anyone still is..."

"Let's not lose hope yet Garrus."

"Well based on what I'm seeing, its looking less and less likely the outcome is going to be positive. I know you want to hope, but-."

"We've come this far, I'm not giving up on Tali until I know for sure she's-"

A loud moan suddenly got their attention, causing the squad to point weapons in the sound's direction. It was coming from a stairwell going down on the left side of the room. With his Phaeston up, Garrus went down the steps carefully. He heard wheezing and moans from some kind of suit vocoder. It was there that he found a Quarian male in a red combat suit full of sealants and red blood stains, propped up on a corner of the steps leading down. Garrus turned and called out to the others, "We've got a live one down here!"

Quickly Mordin took point ahead of Shepard, preparing his Omni-tool for first aid while the Commander watched from the rear. When they reached the Quarian soldier, their Turian compatriot advanced and used his raised weapon to cover the stairs further down. Mordin activated his holographic tools and began scanning the Quarian's vitals. The Quarian male's breathing was labored and he was barely keeping his eyes open. After a moment Shepard asked, "How's it looking Mordin?"

A frustrated sigh came from the Salarian doctor as he looked at the data, "Patient has sustained multiple gun shot wounds, suffering from several severe infections. Hmmm, one has gone septic. Patient also lacks sufficient nutrition causing dehydration and exhaustion. Outlook is...problematic."

"Can you do anything to help him?"

"Patient is in a critical and delicate state, will be difficult to extract. Medi-gel can provide relief to some symptoms but need med-bay for full range of treatment options."

"Don't...worry about...me." The Quarian gasped.

Shepard raised his hand up, "Try not to talk, save your strength."

The wounded Quarian man shook his head, "No...I'm done...I know."

Shepard knelt down beside him, "Not yet! Have you seen Tali?! Is she still alive?!"

"Was...last I checked. Helped...as best as I could. All of my men...dead. Gave their lives...trying to help her." The Quarian replied, coughing and wheezing the whole time.

"Where was she? Just past these stairs?" Shepard said, glancing over to Garrus' position.

The Quarian nodded, "Yeah...in a room on the other end...of the site ahead. Geth Colossus...need to take it out. Had a launcher...but...out of ammo."

The Commander smiled, "It's alright, we can take it from here, think you can get him stable Mordin?"

The Salarian doctor said nothing, continuing to work while the Quarian kept talking, though he was becoming less lucid, thinking out loud saying, "Held on for days. Stalled as best as I could. Geth got to...her room a few times. If Tali...Zorah...was dead they wouldn't be standing at her door. Damn Geth...think they got us...just waiting for us to die off."

The Quarian then looked at the Commander, forcing his weary eyes to look at him as hard as he could, "Save her...sir. Don't let...her die in this place. Ancestors willing...she deserves that at least."

Shepard placed a hand on the dying man's shoulder, "We'll get her out of here. I promise, what's your name?"

"Kal...Kal Reegor. Migrant Fleet...Marines. Thank you..sir."

With that the Quarian's eyes began to flutter. Mordin's eyes widened in alarm as he looked at his holographic screen, "Vitals dropping! Cardiac arrest imminent!"

"Stay with us Kal!" the Commander exclaimed.

"So...tired."

With that, the Quarian marine slumped over and expired. Mordin shook his head, standing up and turning to face Shepard, "Did what I could Commander."

Shepard stood up and nodded, "More than most Mordin. Thanks for at least trying."

"Understandable that some would have just given pain relief and be done with treatment. Figured as one might say 'give old college try'. An odd way to say to work the best to your ability but understand sentiment."

Garrus looked over his shoulder to his teammates and exclaimed, "Tali doesn't have much time if what that marine said is true, we need to get moving!"

The Commander readied his rifle and with a wave of his hand said, "Lead the way Garrus."

The Turian nodded and moved cautiously down the steps with his teammates behind him. Before he reached the end of the steps he peered over the stone railing and noticed Geth troops. He raised a fist, causing his fellows to stop in their tracks. He withdrew back to the Commander slowly and kept his rifle trained to where he saw the enemy.

"How many?" Shepard asked over the helmet comms.

"At least several squads watching the area via an overlook on the upper right side. We go down any further and they'll open up on us."

"Did you see anything else?"

Garrus shook his head, "Not from this angle, but I wouldn't doubt if the center and left side are lousy with Geth too. Hard to know for sure though."

"Think we need some backup?"

"Wouldn't hurt. Could use some fire support too, though the Normandy itself is obviously out of the question."

The Commander then pressed his fingers to the side of his helmet, "Normandy we have a complication."

Normandy's XO responded over the comms, "I expected you would. I've already sent the shuttle on ahead with reinforcement. They've been monitoring the situation for a while and have been waiting for your go ahead."

"Who did you send Miranda?" Shepard asked.

"Actually I volunteered!" said an enthusiastic voice over the radio.

The former Spectre cocked an eyebrow, "Gefren? Why would-"

"I help you? Well, Miss Lawson and I had a chat for a bit while you were busy preparing for the mission. While I am certainly no friend of Cerberus or its ideals, neither it seems are you in spite of the Illusive Man's efforts."

"What about the Necrontyr? Not worried I might be compromised?"

"Now is a good opportunity to find out! The Necrontyr problem is going to require a great deal of cooperation from all, but I feel that's a long term goal at the moment. Seeing as you're trying to help a friend in need and that only Geth stand in the way, I believe it will be a chance to see if you truly are what Maius thought you had become. Or if you are what your supporters claim you to be."

Shepard smiled at that, "Hope I don't disappoint."

"I certainly hope not! But I digress, we have been shadowing your movements for awhile on stand by using the skyline as cover from the light of Haestrom's dying sun and the Geth. I presume you would like to know what you are up against?"

"Please do."

"Getting a view of the area next to you now."

A moment passed and Shepard activated his Omni-tool where a transmission was received from the Normandy's shuttle craft. A map display appeared, showing enemy troops as red dots, with one massive red dot near their target. There was the previously mentioned overlook on the right, that had good sight lines over the center of the area. What they didn't know was that several squads of Geth were also covering the left flank of the combat zone. The Geth squads were patrolling past the staircase where Shepard's team was and onto a ramp that led up from the center of the area. While the cover on the left was good against the overlook, it was a tight space and would likely force them into CQC. Going up the middle provided cover from the left flank so it was possible they could rush through and take the fire from the overlook. But they didn't know what that big red dot overlooking the center was.

Gefren continued speaking as Garrus and Mordin looked over the data that the Commander was showcasing, "We can see at least a platoon of Geth infantry covering both the left and right flanks. A Geth Colossus, at least I think that's what it is from here seems to be overwatching the center. That heavy quadraped walker will pulverise you with its main gun if you go at it head on, even with all that debris in the middle of the area for cover. Not only that the squads on the overlook on the right would rain fire on top of you."

"We could rush the left flank if we push hard enough." Shepard suggested.

Again, Garrus shook his head, "No, look at the sightlines, we'd be blasted apart by the Colossus while tangled up with the squads on the left."

"Leaving only one side with adequate cover from enemy armor. However, high liklihood of taking fire from left flank and center while moving into position. Taking high ground incredibly risky for first twenty five seconds of engagement. Likely one or two of us incapacitated en route." Mordin said while musing it all over, hand to his chin.

Gefren confirmed the Salarian's observation, "He's right, you won't be able to take that high ground without support."

"I assume that's where you come in? What are you bringing to the fight Gefren?" Shepard asked.

"As you saw from our previous meeting, I can provide fire support with my Omni-turret from the shuttle. I also have Miss Tel'Se with me so she can give you some fire disclipine as well. We can keep the squads on the left pinned down while you push forward on the overlook's staircase. Maybe even tap on that Colossus' head while we're at it! But we don't have good sight lines on the overlook squads however, so you will likely be on your own there."

"We can handle it." Garrus acknowledged confidently.

Shepard nodded, "Sounds good to me, lets do it! Are you in position?"

"Give us a moment." The Volus replied.

Back on the shuttle, Gefren pulled something from a pack he carried with him. It was a small platform of some sort that unfolded when the Volus placed it in front of the door. It then locked to the shuttle floor with magnetic leg struts and projected a barrier atop it in the shape of a wall with a v-shaped top. When the shuttle doors opened the former Merchant Marine stepped on the platform and withdrew a folded up weapon that he then attached to the point of the v-shape. There it unfolded, expanding into the Volus' shoulder where it completed its transformation into a light machine gun with the barrel of the weapon protruding from the front of the energy barrier. Tel'Se Nuran then took up the right side of the shuttle door, her Viper sniper rifle drawn and scanning for targets.

Meanwhile the Normandy's Kodiak shuttle was flying through the skyline of the former Quarian colony. It evaded eroding stone and metal buildings before finally stopping behind a tall skyscraper that shielded it from the burning sun. There it turned to its right giving the shooters on its left sightlines into the combat zone.

Gefren brought a claw hand to the side of his head, "We're in position Commander! We are ready!"

"Alright, we move in on my mark, when we do light em up Gefren!" Ordered the Commander

The Volus pulled back on the weapon's charging handle, activating its systems. Then he braced and got sights on the Geth still calmly patrolling. Tel'Se also picked her targets, squinting hard at a large Geth with a flamer as she aimed for its fuel tank. Shepard readied his Avenger and began to countdown with his fingers starting from five. Garrus and Mordin nodded and the Commander began counting down silently until finally his hand became a fist and the three of them rushed down the stairs.

"Now!" Shepard ordered.

Tel'Se began the firefight with a shot to the fuel tank of the Geth Pyro causing it to explode and knock down the other Geth infantry around it. Then Gefren fired disciplined bursts from his Omni-turret into the disoriented Geth, killing some of them as Shepard and his squad rushed through the center. The Colossus then showed itself, an omnious robotic cyclopean eye, rising over the battlefield where it quickly charged its main weapon.

The Geth troops on the overlook began raining fire down with their pulse rifles, forcing Shepard to cloak and keep charging up the steps while the Colossus fired a round from its eye towards Garrus. Seeing it out of the corner of his own eye, the Turian quickly rolled beside a piece of debris to absorb the impact of the incoming homing pulse round. Mordin took up a position alongside him when Geth troops began firing on them from the overlook as expected. Garrus then hit the enemy squads firing on them with an Overload.

Uncloaking beside the mechanical infantry, Shepard grabbed and threw one of the Geth troopers over the railing. Quickly sighting up and firing on the other Geth, he cut them down with his Avenger before taking cover by an aged metal storage crate. The other enemy squads on the overlook fell back and retaliated against him by firing rounds around his cover to suppress him.

Garrus and Mordin rushed up the stairs to support their Commander as another homing round from the Colossus headed their way. It hit the staircase they were on and destroyed part of it as the pair moved up. Gefren and Tel'Se continued to force the Geth on the left flank to take cover, knocking out shields and taking out several more as the fighting continued onto the overlook. With their flank secure, Garrus used Overload on the Geth in the open while he and Mordin took up positions by a second crate on the right side. Shepard switched to his own Viper sniper rifle and cloaked, letting Garrus and Mordin take the heat while he took aim. Garrus set his Phaeston to armor-piercing and took off a shieldless Geth's head while Shepard sniped and took out another behind it.

Then the Colossus did something unexpected. It's arched back opened up revealing it's internal structure that then began to emit a loud noise like a jet engine. It began to glow a bluish color and emit smoke, building an incredible amount of heat. It stood up on all four legs, with its head opening up like a human eye opening to its widest margins. The quadraped walker then looked to the sky, aiming straight at the shuttle craft attacking its kin.

Tel'Se had sniped yet another Geth down when she caught sight of the walking tank. It's glowing eye and back caused her to call out, "Uh..Gefren! We might have incoming!"

The Volus quickly turned and saw it. He then shouted over the comms, "Pilot, change position now!"

Gefren and Tel'Se quickly grabbed handholds on the side of the shuttle door as it suddenly accelerated forward and dove. Right where the shuttle had been, a beam of blue energy shot out cutting through everything in its path. It followed the Kodiak's trajectory, carving buildings apart before finally ending its attack. Some buildings imploded in on themselves, with one falling forward into the combat area.

"Get back!" Shepard yelled and his team quickly backed up as the top half of a skyscraper fell in front of them, smashing the path forward but leaving an alcove to the right that they could take if they jumped. Without hesitation they quickly rushed forward and jumped as the dust cloud from the fallen building covered the area. There they encountered Geth troopers waiting for them which Shepard and Garrus engaged in melee combat using the butt ends of their rifles to push them away. The two then hit them with Overload while Mordin followed up with Incinerate, engulfing the cyclopean robots in flame that then caused them to explode. Out of the explosion a Geth Hunter revealed itself, its cloak failing when it's shield collapsed. Shepard took a shotgun round from it, but his shields held firm as he took out its eye with a snap shot via his Viper.

With their alcove secured, Shepard called the shuttle, "Gefren! You alright?"

"Sorry Commander! We took fire from that Colossus, but we're still flying! Though now we need a new overwatch position." The Volus replied warily.

"Understood! Stay safe up there!"

"I don't remember Geth Colossi doing that!" Garrus shouted as he put rounds down range against an encroaching Geth squad that then scattered and took cover outside the alcove. The Turian rushed forward and took up a position by another crate that led out back to the overlook path.

Shepard got down by some debris near Garrus, "We'll discuss it later, for now let's keep going! Time to use our heavy weapons so we can put the pressure on their walker!"

Shepard had begun to outfit the squad with their own heavy weapons earlier before the mission. With Tali in such dire straits, the Commander wasn't holding back anything. Mordin had an Arc Projector while Shepard and Garrus had grenade launchers. The former C-Sec officer took cover as concentrated fire hit his position. Suddenly a Geth Pyro rushed in and blanketed Garrus' cover in fire, forcing him to roll away while flames licked at his shields. The flamer wielding robot then pushed into the alcove, its fellows following in behind when Shepard hit it with an Overload along with Mordin's Incinerate. The attacks combined into a tech explosion that forced the Commander and his team to take cover from the Geth Pyro's detonation. Shards of deadly shrapnel hit the team's shields while the Geth behind their brother machine took the worst, several being blasted away and wrent apart by the explosion.

Shepard and his team got out of cover and moved forward, finishing off any still moving Geth bodies with double taps from their weapons before taking cover at the edge of the overlook. This gave them a view of the Colossus, which was still in its exposed state. Peeking over the edge of their cover, they saw it was still seemingly scanning for the shuttle craft above. It had one squad of infantry protecting it but another squad was coming in from the other flank to reinforce it.

"Well that look is new..." Shepard commented.

Garrus gritted his teeth, not liking the odds, "Yeah, makes one wonder when or how the Geth started to up their game in terms of tech."

"Considering the Geth worked with Sovereign maybe the Reapers have been giving them some ideas."

"Why now though?"

"I can think of one reason." The Commander said looking to his friend.

The Turian scowled, "The Necrontyr...but I figured the Reapers hadn't made contact with the Geth since Sovereign was destroyed."

Both of them now looked back to the Geth walker, "Maybe they got in touch with them again through another third party. The Collectors possibly now that I think about it."

Garrus shrugged, "Well, how should we play this? I don't think getting that thing's attention in that state is a good idea."

Their helmet comms chimed as their Volus acquaintaince added, "Perhaps I can make a suggestion Commander?"

"Go ahead Gefren." acknowledged Shepard.

"Tel'Se noticed that the enemy walker's beam weapon put the Colossus into a vulnerable state after firing. We can draw its fire and then when it is recovering you can hit it with everything you have!"

"Risky, I doubt the Kodiak can take a hit from that thing."

Surprisingly the Kodiak's shuttle pilot also gave his own thoughts, "Have a little faith in me sir, I won't let these guy's buy it while I'm piloting!"

"See! Trust your pilot Commander, we'll be fine! So as long as we don't get caught in the open." Gefren said with a smile.

Miranda suddenly cut into the conversation, "Normandy to shore party!"

"Go ahead Miranda!" replied the Commander.

"We're observing a Geth dropship inbound to your position! Expect enemy reinforcement Shepard, you can't take too much longer. More Geth ships are noticing the fire fight at your position and are starting to investigate!"

Shepard nodded, "Understood! We'll wrap this up quickly and get the hell out of here!"

Gefren acknowledged the urgency, "Roger! We're commencing our run now Shepard, be ready! We'll get its attention!"

Once again the Kodiak appeared from the old ruined skyline, where Gefren began pouring down rounds onto the Colossus in order to inflict as much damage to the shields of the mechanical beast as he could. Tel'Se looked through the scope and saw the beam weapon charge through the walker's eye much quicker this time and she called out, "Incoming!"

"Pilot!" The Volus shouted.

The man worked his flight controls as fast as he could, "Here we go!"

The Normandy shuttlecraft took off, its occupants bracing for the acceleration. It weaved between the ruined buildings avoiding the beam of energy attempting to cut through them.

"Hold on!" the human pilot shouted as the shuttle did a half roll and weaved around several buildings to avoid the beam. The energy stream sundered the surrounding structures while following the diminuitive Cerberus craft. The roar of buildings crashing to the ground muffled the sound of Shepard and his team unfurling their heavy weapons. They began firing on both the defending Geth squads and the Colossus itself. Mordin's Arc Projector stunned an entire Geth squad, leaving them vulnerable to the grenades sent flying into them courtesy of Garrus. Shepard focused all of his grenade launcher's fire onto the vulnerable Colossus that was now venting heat in a loud hiss of mechanical strain. Blow after blow from the grenades whittled down the walker's barrier before eventually breaking down in a burst of electricity. It's reactor seemingly overloaded, the Geth walker powered down making a loud noise. Smoke coming out of its back while its head looked towards the ground.

The sound of a Geth dropship was then heard overhead. The ground team continued to mop up the Geth when two large spherical forms fell from the dropship along with a dozen other smaller ones. They smashed onto the ground around the Colossus, where the metal spheres then unfurled into more Geth squads with two very large red Geth humanoids bearing heavy cannon weapons in their hands.

"Juggernauts!" Garrus exclaimed.

The Geth Juggernauts made their distinctive communication noises and pointed at Shepard's team while also firing heavy pulse rounds from their cannons. The Commander and his team quickly shifted position and scattered as their cover was blasted apart by enemy fire. While they moved, Shepard sent grenades onto the Juggernaut to the left of the Colossus. The explosive rounds took out the Geth around their taller counterpart but the giant's shielding held. Garrus attempted to aid the Commander with an Overload to weaken the Juggernaut's shields. As a result, more pulse cannon rounds were sent their way and continued to chip away at the team's cover on the overlook.

More Geth began to move up the stairway nearby. Mordin noticed the Geth coming up the stairs on the enemy's side of the overlook. He took up a position to cover it when two Geth troopers moved up and began firing on the Commander and Garrus. They then promptly received a hit from the Arc Projector followed up with an Incenerate attack from the Salarian. The stunned Geth fell over, consumed in flames and splayed on the ground. But more Geth were now coming up the steps and Mordin had only so many shots to hold them back.

Shepard and Garrus continued to put rounds on their targeted Juggernaut, where their efforts eventually did break the shield. They began to cause damage to the giant's body. But to their dismay, the giant's body began to repair itself. The Commander's eyes widened in horror, "What?! It can't be!"

"I definintely don't remember Geth regenerating!" Garrus shouted sharing Shepard's sentiment.

The former Spectre kept firing his launcher, shouting, "Keep up the fire! We gotta outpace it's endurance!"

The Commander continued to shift along the cover of the overlook, putting more grenades into his targeted Juggernaut while avoiding the pulse cannon rounds from its partner. Garrus did the same, that is until he ran out of grenades. "Dammit! I'm out!"

Pulse cannon fire from the Juggernaut's partner forced the Turian to take shelter away from the edge of the overlook while Shepard continued to blast at his target. The Geth giant switched stances and used its more healed side to tank the damage from the explosions, allowing its weakened left torso to recover and regenerate. Suddenly the Juggernauts were taking suppressing fire from above via the Kodiak who had now arrived flying over the left flank of the battlefield.

While Gefren continued firing, Tel'Se saw Shepard's target reach for something off it's hip and prime it. Realizing it was going to throw grenades at the Commander, Tel'Se sighted up the mech's arm holding the grenade in its hand and fired. She struck the Geth through the hand which overpenetrated and hit the grenade, causing the explosive to detonate in the Juggernaut's face. The explosion forced Shepard to duck down for a moment before he peeked over again and saw the damage it caused. The right side of the giant cyclopean robot had been ripped open, revealing its innards. Especially a glowing blue pumping device in its lower sternum. Sensing it to be important, Tel'Se fired a sniper round into it causing it to splatter some kind of metallic liquid all over the place. Another round blasted it apart causing a chain reaction that made the Juggernaut keel over. Holding onto its now glowing torso it looked to the sky and made a large metallic screech before exploding into pieces.

The Kodiak was now drawing fire from the other Juggernaut. The rounds began to tear off the craft's shielding and small arms fire from the remaining Geth squads were adding to the strain "We're taking too much fire! We need to move!" exclaimed the pilot.

The Normandy shuttle quickly veered off, closing its side door while its occupants held on. It flew past the combat zone, pulse rifle rounds continuing to fire at the human craft.

Having now seen the way to kill the remaining Juggernaut, Shepard rallied Garrus, "One down, time to finish the other one!"

"You got anything left to crack that armor it's got?" the Turian asked.

"Just six grenades left in the launcher!"

Garrus shrugged, "Guess we'll have to do it the old fashioned way."

Shepard nodded, "Let's hope it will be enough before we run out of thermal clips!"

The pair then began by using the remaining overlook railing to get sighted on the target before hitting it with a combined Overload attack. Responding in kind, a grenade was quickly pulled from the cyclopean giant's side and then thrown their way, forcing the two to run away from their cover before it detonated. They then found themselves under fire from more Geth coming from the stairwell with Mordin reporting, "More squads pushing on my position! Too many to hold back!"

"Garrus support him! I'll handle this thing!" Shepard ordered.

"On it!"

Garrus swapped to his Mantis and put a round into the flashlight head of a Geth encroaching too close to Mordin's cover. He then began rushing towards the Geth held stairway, while Shepard hit the Juggernaut with Overload again and swapped to his Tempest. He cloaked and got within medium range before holding down the trigger and bracing onto the sub-machine gun with both hands to control the recoil. Even with no cover on the overlook he continued firing into the metal giant, hoping the long burst would shred the shields. When mech's shields finally dropped, Shepard had to roll away when pulse cannon rounds flew by his face.

The Commander continued to hit and run on the Juggernaut, spraying it with SMG fire and ducking down to avoid returning pulse cannon rounds. He got on comms, "I could use some help down here Gefren!"

"We're coming around! Hold on!" the Volus acknowledged.

The Kodiak once again appeared above the Geth Colossus' position. The shuttle turned its side to the battlefield and opened up to reveal Gefren's turret. He then began firing down on the Geth Juggernaut's back causing it to stumble forward. When the giant robot turned around to raise it's weapon to the Kodiak, Shepard swapped to his grenade launcher and let fly half of the magazine. It was enough to rip open the back and right side of the Geth, revealing once again the weak point that Tel'Se identified.

The Asari mercenary spotted the opportunity and took the shot. The shot pierced the Geth's glowing internal component and it began to again leak some kind of fluid. With a quick twist of its body, it used its less damaged side to block any further shots from the shuttle. Shepard tried to switch to his own sniper rifle but it seemed someone was faster than he was. Garrus had returned and had taken the shot with his Mantis before the Geth giant could regenerate his torso, causing the robot to fall to its knees and make a metallic roar before exploding. The blast left only a lower torso attached to a pair of legs.

Garrus gave a smile to his friend as the Geth's remains plopped flat on the ground, "You took too long!"

They both heard a whirring sound and realized that the immobile Geth Colossus was now moving again. It began to close up its massive eye along with its internals receding into its body, power once more coursing through its ocular lens. Suppressing fire from the shuttle continued to pin down any remaining Geth while Shepard and his team rallied. They got to a damaged piece of cover on the overlook and began firing at the walking tank, hoping to inflict as much damage on its internals before it completely closed up. Shepard withdrew his grenade launcher and began to fire what was left of the magazine into the now receding mass of metal and tubing. The explosives tore into the robot walker's insides, revealing an internal glowing reactor core within the shell. But now Shepard was out of grenades. With its cyclopean head back to normal, the walker reacted by exposing a small barrel out of the corner of its eye and began to spray the overlook with pulse rifle fire to pin down the Commander's squad. Reacting quickly the team took cover as pulse rounds cut through their shields, grazing their armor. A homing pulse round from the Geth walker's eye lashed out and the squad was forced to quickly retreat or be annihilated as their cover was completely destroyed.

The three man team fell back from the edge and Shepard called on the radio, "Gefren we need fire on that thing!"

The walker stood up on it's hind legs to try to get a better view of the overlook when it began taking fire from the shuttlecraft above it. Gefren's Omni-Turret was firing full throttle and it's barrel started to glow hot from all the lead firing at the four legged tank's exposed reactor. Its core was now almost enclosed again back into its armored shell.

Tel'Se stepped away from the shuttle door to look for anything in the shuttle's surplus weapon lockers that could possibly take out the tank. She found an ML-77 Launcher and tore it from its holding rack. The Asari mercenary quickly unfurled the weapon and aimed down at the Geth's reactor that was now slowly being enveloped by its armor. She let four rocket's fly when her targeting reticle on the holographic sights of the launcher turned red. The homing projectiles quickly closed in on the reactor's energy signature and dove straight toward the receding hole in the top of the walker. Two out of the four missiles only hit the side of the closing armor but the rest got inside, penetrating the core in a one-two punch of internal explosions. The Geth Colossus shook when its reactor began to go critical, it's one eye glowing white as the energy within was overloading. Finally the four legged machine exploded in a brilliant blast of machine parts and fluid, filling the battlefield with noise that echoed throughout.

When Shepard's team looked over the side of the overlook, they saw the now ruined remains of the Geth Colossus. They looked to each other at first before the Commander looked to the Kodiak and gave a thumbs up. Though Shepard didn't see it, the pilot gave him a thumbs up back and Tel'Se gave a beaming smile.

Gefren complimented, "A fine job my dear! Well done!"

"I wasn't even sure if there was anti-armor on this thing, we got lucky." Tel'Se admitted modestly, shrugging while holding the now empty weapon.

"To be fair, we thought that the grenade launchers would be enough, but we didn't anticipate the Juggernauts." Garrus replied over the comms.

Shepard was quick to get everyone back on task, "Alright, focus people we got a friend to rescue! Mordin, Garrus, let's move, double time! Gefren, Tel'Se, are we clear?"

"Affirmative Commander, overwatch has nothing moving in sight." the Volus confirmed.

"Standby to touch down for extraction pilot, we may need to get Tali to medical on the Normandy ASAP!" The Commander ordered.

The Kodiak pilot acknowledged, "Roger, just let me know when I'm clear!"

The three man ground team rushed past the bodies of Geth squads and finally reached the other side of the site. There behind the remains of the Colossus was the base of an orange rusted building with a sturdy looking Quarian style door that was locked down. It was riddled by pulse rifle and cannon fire, but it still looked strong. Garrus activated his Omni-tool and began to interact with the door while Mordin and Shepard kept watch. After a moment passed the Commander got anxious and asked, "Garrus what's the hold up?"

"Agh! The door is heavily encrypted with multiple cycling encryption algorythims. I thought maybe one of my old hacking programs could work but it keeps changing too fast and-"

Suddenly Garrus' wrist armor sparked and his Omni-Tool's holographics turned red, "Damn!" the Turian exclaimed as he winced in pain and held his wrist.

"What happened?!" Shepard exclaimed.

An annoyed growl from the Turian sounded in the comms before he answered, "The door spiked my Omni-Tool! Even burnt my wrist armor's internals a little from that. Now I guess we know why the Geth just stopped trying to hack the door."

"Is there any other way we could force it open?"

Garrus shook his head, "Sadly I don't know much about taking apart industrial strength ancient Quarian doors and the one who would know is on the other side so..."

Mordin grimaced, "Problematic."

The former C-Sec officer nodded in response while Shepard went past him and began to bang on the door a few times and called out, "Tali! It's us! We've come to get you! Open the door!"

The Commander's Salarian squadmate shook his head, "Tali likely in weakened state similiar to previous Quarian we encountered. She may not be able to respond."

The former Spectre turned around and brought a fist up to his helmeted chin as he thought, "Maybe we can get the shuttle to come back with something to blast the door open."

Shepard tapped on his comms to the Normandy, "Miranda, we've reached Tali but theres a heavily encrypted door in the way and it's booby trapped. Garrus lost his Omni-tool because of it."

"Roger Commander, but likely you'd have to hold that position against multiple Geth dropships! They're already en route and will be on top of you in ten minutes!" Miranda reported.

Shepard was resolute, "No one is getting left behind Miranda, not this time! We'll resupply from the shuttle and hold out as long as we can but we are not leaving Tali to die here!"

Garrus walked back to the door and banged on it one last time grimacing as he did. Suddenly as if responding to him, the locks on the door clicked and the entrance began to cycle. It quickly opened to reveal a wounded and barely standing Tali'Zorah. Hunched over she was closing her Omni-tool, her glowing eyes heavy and looking ready to close in her cracked visor. Her hooded Quarian suit that she usually wore had its limbs and portions of the torso covered in blood stained bandages and patch-up work. She slowly took a step and then fell forward. Garrus reached out for her and caught her as she fell.

"Tali!" the Turian yelled out, getting the attention of the others.

Shepard and Mordin quickly rushed over to their compatriot. Garrus was now rolling Tali over in his arms so that the medic could see the damage. The Turian slowly let her down flat onto the ground. Shepard signalled the shuttle to come in for a landing. The Salarian doctor brought up his own Omni-tool to scan her condition and commenced first aid.

"Patient has multiple wounds from gun fire and some contusions on arms and legs. Possibly grappled with attackers, likely killed them in struggle. Also suffering from malnourishment as previous patient, resulting in delicate constitution. Several wounds on the verge of going septic. Thankfully took care of her wounds well despite circumstances. Would likely have not lasted another day." Mordin said, observing out loud while he worked.

"She'll make it?" Garrus asked.

"Provided we waste no more time and are prompt with treatment, yes!"

The shuttle was touching down by the remains of the Geth Colossus. The door opened and Gefren rushed out with a platform of sorts in his clawed hands. He came over to the Salarian doctor and introduced himself, "Gefren Verni at your service doctor!"

"What do you have there?" Garrus asked.

"Technically it is my Omni-Turret, but with a bit of tweaking..." the Volus explained as he set the platform in his hands down on the ground. He activated his Omni-tool and began to issue commands to it. The platform's length then folded outwards to that of an average human's height and holographic bars and legs appeared on its side and bottom like that of a folded gurney on the ground.

"As you can see it can be used for a makeshift gurney in a pinch." the Volus explained with a smile.

Garrus nodded, "That works! Mordin, can we move her?"

The Salarian finished applying Medi-gel to her injuries and cleaning the bandaged areas of her suit. He looked back to the Turian and gave a slight nod to give the go ahead. Shepard kept on the lookout, overseeing it all as Garrus and Mordin got on either side of Tali and carefully laid her onto the platform turned gurney. Gefren pressed a button on his Omni-tool's holo panel and the gurney slowly raised up off the ground. Garrus then pushed it while Gefren, Mordin, and Shepard followed. When all were on the shuttle, Shepard looked back one last time at the room Tali had been in. He could see that there were several Geth bodies inside. Then he saw the top half of a Geth slowly crawl out of the room reaching out toward him. The Commander withdrew his Viper and put two rounds into its cyclopean head for good measure before stepping onto the shuttle himself. The Kodiak closed its door and sped away back into the air towards the Normandy at top speed.

Shepard paced in the briefing room on the Normandy waiting for news from medical. Gefren sat in one of the nearby seats along with Tel'Se and Garrus as they waited for Mordin's return. The door to the room opened and the Salarian doctor returned, quickly getting the Commander's attention, "How's she doing Mordin?"

"Dr. Chakwas has taken over treatment. In good hands, though sadly I am afraid Tali'Zorah may not be ready for missions, let alone conversation for quite some time."

Shepard quickly became concerned, "What happened?"

Mordin sighed, "Slipped into coma due to combination of fever from battling infection, malnourishment, and stress of combat. Could be days or weeks at best for her to regain consciousness fully."

"Damn..." Garrus said, hanging his head.

The Commander looked to his friend reassuringly, "At least she'll make a recovery."

Garrus still was dispondent, shifting in his seat while looking to Shepard, "She could have also helped with ideas on how to improve the Normandy's systems. We're still not at full compliment and still not upgraded yet to handle what's on the other side of that Omega relay."

Tel'Se cocked an eyebrow looking to the Turian, "Quite a risk you're taking, jumping straight into the lion's den with no idea on how to get back or even what's waiting for you."

"We don't have a choice if we want the Collector attacks on human colonies to stop permanentely. Sure we could use their war with the Necrontyr to buy time but how much time we have before another attack, no idea." Garrus replied to the Asari.

Shepard crossed his arms and added, "I heard they've been pretty quiet lately. However that only means they're building up for something big. I don't want to wait around to see what that is, we need to get the team and this ship prepared as soon as possible."

"Well, I see you're quite committed to this Commander. You really do believe that once the Collectors are defeated that this...Solvatas will be true to her word?" Gefren asked uncertainly.

"I can trust that she'll fight for her interest and for now they don't seem to wholly align with her leader. But let's not kid ourselves, Necrontyr obviously can't be completely trusted no matter how noble they may seem."

Garrus gave a slight smile that screamed 'I told you so',"Still kinda burned over the fact she used us again huh?"

The Commander narrowed his eyes, "I didn't exactly appreciate it, no. Makes me wonder about all that she showed me, how much she may have embellished to make herself and her people look more sympathetic."

The Turian leaned back in his seat, "Wouldn't be the first time you let a little sob story from someone get you into trouble."

"Regardless, she did at least keep her word and free us. I at least can appreciate that but..." Shepard sighed and let down his arms while closing his eyes and trying to think of his options.

It was at this point Gefren spoke up to the Commander, "Well, if you are still looking for people to help you with this little sojorn of yours I may know a potential someone or someones who could assist. But knowing him, he may ask for payment up front once he finds out the details."

Garrus cocked an eyebrow in the Volus' direction, "You'd help us after everything thats happened?"

"I'm only making a suggestion, it is still up to the Commander whether or not he takes me up on it." Gefren explained while palming up with both his clawed hands.

"If you have some ideas I wouldn't mind hearing them. You're a good leader Gefren, very surprising considering your people usually don't like to be in the thick of the fighting." Shepard observed out loud.

Gefren laughed at that, "I always was a bit of an odd one compared to my fellows. I believe it doesn't do our people well in the eyes of so many to be the ones sitting in the background as the galaxy is threatened. That and adventure can be just as thrilling as any successful transaction! In any case, yes, I do have someone in mind. Though I hope he's still where I think he is. If you'd like I could send a message his way."

Shepard mused on it for a moment before giving a nod, "Sure, go ahead and contact him. Hopefully he is as good an engineer as you are implying."

"On that I have no doubt! Though he may come with some stipulations, I believe he will be reasonable once I explain everything to him."

On a Batarian outpost in an unknown region of the Terminus, a large Krogan with orange skin and a black plated crest wearing rust colored engineering gear was working on a fighter craft in a hangar bay with his Omni-tool. Sparks flew from his hand as the Omni-tool's welding function worked on the fighter's port side engine. The Krogan then heard footsteps coming and looked over his shoulder. He saw a group of Batarians in Blue Suns armor approaching, his current employers. Some of them were in their flight suits ready to go. The one leading the group stepped forward and asked, "So are we ready to fly yet?"

The Krogan nodded, "In the next half hour, still have to run the systems diagnostic to make sure the internals are working."

The Batarian narrowed all four of his eyes in frustration, "We have a mission in the next hour, we need these fighters up and running NOW."

The burly Krogan got up and took his welding goggles off, wearing an annoyed look on his face, "Then I guess you aren't worried about the engine's failing on take off because you couldn't spare the necessary time to make sure the job was done properly?"

The mercenary pilot waved him off dismissively, "Bah! Not our fault if you chose to work slowly. Our superiors told you that our contract required getting it done on time."

The Krogan grimaced, "I won't do shoddy work. All I need is about half an hour and then your precious fighters will be good to go."

The Batarian shook his head, "You have fifteen minutes. Get it done or you won't get paid."

The pilots then turned around and left the Krogan once again to himself. A female voice then commented from the seat of the fighter, "What a dick!"

The saurian engineer smiled at that, "Heh, yeah a real floppy dick at that."

"Ew! Really boss?"

"Hey you're the one who said it."

"Not in that way!"

The crass dinosaur grinned as he went back to the fighter's cockpit where a Quarian was running the craft's computer system through a diagnostic on her Omni-tool. She had a blue quarian suit with white highlights and a black visor, which made her glowing eyes stand out even more than other Quarians. The Krogan looked into the cockpit and saw the readouts, "Looking good Misi, fire up the engines put 'em through a stress test."

The Quarian girl nodded and began starting up the engines. The fighter craft's engines came to life and began to emit a blue glow from the exhausts, "Fuel injectors all green, Mass Effect fields looking good, we have solid checks across the board boss."

"Good, let it run for a few minutes and bring it up to full power."

The Krogan's Omni-Tool began to chime and blink, "Ah, I better take this."

"Sure Nemar, I got it from here!"

Nemar nodded and walked away as the Quarian kept her eyes on the readouts in the fighter. He turned on his Omni-Tool again and checked the ID of the caller. His eyes widened a little in surprise, "Well well, been a long time."

The saurian engineer pressed the holographic interface and connected the call, "Hey, been a while since I heard from you."

"Yes, sorry my friend. Apologies for losing touch with you, been a bit busy." Gefren replied apologetically.

"Happens to everybody, but I take it you didn't call because you just wanted to catch up with me."

"Indeed, I may have a job for you that could be of incredible significance that would pay you quite handsomely."

"Good pay and you're the one negotiating? Sounds good to me so far. Who's the client?"

The Volus hesitated for a second, "...Commander Shepard."

Nemar's eyes widened, "Wha...you're kidding! Isn't he missing or something?"

"No...it's complicated but if you accept the contract we'll explain everything when you get here."

The Krogan thought it over for a moment before responding, "You've done right by me over the years Gef and I know if this is coming from you, its going to be good. But if it is Shepard...maybe he could help me with a few things I've been meaning to take care of. Heard he takes care of everybody who works for him."

"Hopefully nothing too distracting, we're on the clock and can only do so much."

"It's nothing too difficult for him if he is what everyone says he is. So how much are we talking?"

Numbers appeared in text on his Omni-tool which made Nemar smile, "I like the sight of that."

"That's only the sign in amount, complete the rest of the job and there will be more." Gefren replied smiling.

Nemar gave a chuckle, "Sure, beats the current contract I'm on. Alright Gefren, I'm in."

"Meet us at these coordinates and we'll tell you everything."

"See ya around Gef." Nemar then terminated the call. He walked back to the fighter where he signaled Misi to cut the engines, "Alright kid shut it down we're done here."

As the engine powered down, the Quarian girl began to unplug her equipment from the cockpit and step out, "Uh, you sure because I only did a diagnostic on this fighter and the contract was for-"

The Krogan engineer waved her off, "A squadron yeah. I just got a call about a better job with better pay. So unless these guys want to give you the proper time to run diagnostics on the rest I say screw em."

Misi looked concerned. She gathered her equipment from the cockpit, "But all the work you put into them? You really don't care about compensation?"

"There are things bigger than credits kid, respect is one of those things. You disrespect the guy keeping your equipment running, expect your shit to break down on you faster than a pyjak shitting in your pan."

"I really didn't need that mental imagery..."

Nemar smiled, "I didn't need sass from those four eyed dick heads either but that's life. Let's go, I'll tell the base commander his fighters are done. If he pays me or not its okay."

The Quarian girl shook her head, "Just doesnt' seem right to me."

"Sometimes its not about what's right, it just is what it is. Come on, let's go."

Nemar and Misi then proceeded out of the hangar bay towards their ship, where a new job awaited them. One that was a lot bigger than anything they could have anticipated.

Meanwhile, the base commander of the Batarian station was looking over his orders in his command center and responding to a question by one of his junior officers, "Yes, I've been told our fighters are good to go. Our employers have quite an ambitious target in mind. They'll be leading the charge with our forces in support. Will be nice to see those that killed Aria finally getting theirs."

One of the commander's officers looked up from his data pad and asked, "I thought you'd be happy with her dead sir?"

The mercenary leader scowled, "At first yeah we were fine with her death. Thought it would mean more territory for us, but these Necrontyr locked the station down and drove us and many of the other mercenary outfits out! If that's the game they want to play, then they picked the wrong people to fuck with. Especially with our new employers."

"Who are they boss?"

The Batarian officer pointed to the monitor, "Check the screen and see new blood."

The young merc looked to said monitor and saw jumping in several long cylindrical ships that looked like they were made of rock and metal. Alongside them, more ships were coming out of FTL that looked like pirate and mercenary vessels.

"Holy shit..." was all that the young merc could say as he watched the fleet gather.

The Blue Suns Commander grinned, "You got that right, they're jumping in outside the system and out of their sensor range. Once our guys inside Omega blind their sensors, we'll be drowning that station in missiles and rounds before they realize a fleet is on top of 'em. We're going to war boys."