Author's Note:

Sorry for the long wait, the past few months have been crazy

and I recently moved into a new place not long ago.

Hopefully things will settle down and I'll be able

to have a more consistent schedule soon.

Chapter 20: Obligations

Solvatas sat on her throne within her private chambers on Omega, with Lychguard taking up guard posts along the steps. What was once the night club Afterlife was now an obsidian hall containing various artifacts of Necron origin. The items sat upon pedestal's within the throne room in a multitude of shapes, mesmerizing the eye before one would finally look up and see the queen of Omega observing all before her.

The Vymark Solvatas was quickly going over the various reports of the comings and goings of the station. So far things were proceeding as usual nothing noteworthy as of yet but she suspected that would soon change. Out of the shadows near the entrance, a pair of green eyes approached, it was Kor'Pharas and Solvatas motioned for him to come forward.

The Triarch Praetorian bowed and spoke aloud, "I have come as requested Vymark."

"Good, I've been meaning to talk with you about my plans for this station moving forward." She stood up from her throne and motioned to the Praetorian with her finger, "Walk with me."

The Vymark proceeded down from her throne with several Lychguard beginning to form around her in a standard guard formation. Kor'Pharas walked along side her as she passed by and they went through the entrance of her throne room to the outside square. Their holographic disguises immediately turned on, transforming their gaunt skeletal figures into those of an elderly Asari, adorned in a blue dress and a large Krogan wearing an all black fitted suit. The Lychguard remained unchanged and stayed in step with them as they proceeded on their walk toward the markets. The two began to converse via their internal comm link, with Kor'Pharas stating, "It would seem that the Great one is keeping you on quite a short leash Vymark."

"I know, it is aggravating, but not unexpected. Be careful what you say, lest my brother mistake something you say for conspiracy."

"Of course. This was due to Du'Maat's bungling correct?"

"More than likely, and with Veronakh hearing of my deception, it has only fueled his paranoia."

"Troublesome, that the Great One kept this even from me. I knew he and Du'Maat were meeting in secret but I thought it was merely to discuss logistics and new designs for war material."

"Yes, though I do not entirely understand the extent to which Du'Maat has erred, it was enough to have him be sealed away and to have his knowledge ascribed manually in auditory format. Was his creation of a Flayed One a mistake or purposeful? I do not wholly know. All I know is that it has made things alot worse regarding my deception and now I feel even my station may be at risk. We are close to bringing Omega's construction facilities online as well, if my efforts were to be sabotaged now my standing would plummet even more so."

"Who or what is threatening your efforts Vymark?"

The Necron entourage entered the markets, with store owners and patrons bowing as they passed. The Vymark acknowledged their gestures, simply nodding in their direction with closed eyes. Kor'Pharas' gaze never left Solvatas, still waiting on her answer while she looked straight ahead past the markets, "I have had to clean up Aria's mess on this station and it has earned me many enemies as a result. So far I have had Nev'El look into a lead on another cell of dissidents that may be planning something."

"So we are meeting her here?"

"Yes, though I wish these guards wouldn't make it so obvious, but the Great One's decree is absolute."

"You could have merely sent me instead or another servant in your place."

"I was due for another public appearance among my subjects. I will not hide in my chambers like some layabout. Besides, there is nothing to fear from the majority of these people. They are far too disorganized and too content at the moment to truly consider rebellion."

"Yet dissidents are still appearing among them?"

"Yes...likely agitators from the groups I have had banished from my station for not accepting my more than generous terms. If this is the thanks I am to have for sparing their lives than perhaps I should make sure to not make the same mistake again."

Kor'Pharas' gaze looked ahead and he saw Nev'El in her own holographic Asari disguise leaning back on a railing in a black tank top and red jacket with dark pants and shoes. She was looking over her shoulder down to the streets below the markets, air cars passing by. When the Besakt noticed the entourage approaching she looked to her mistress. Smiling, she got down on one knee, "I have a report to give you mistress. It is as you suspected, the Eclipse and Blue Suns mercenaries that you banished are indeed behind the agitators. Their agents are gathering in the residences far below for a meeting."

Solvatas looked over the railing herself and with her ocular lenses zoomed in, she noted there was indeed a gathering. A dozen shady looking aliens of various makes were forming in the streets far below them. Granted it was not disallowed on Omega to form groups in public during hours before curfew but seeing them all wearing various cloaks and hoods just screamed conspiracy. When they met together they began to discuss things. However, when Solvatas tapped into nearby cameras to listen in on what they were talking about, it seemed to be coded phrases or nonsensical statements. Typical subterfuge speak in order to hide what you are saying when you were being monitored. One of the Turians in the group handed something off to a Batarian who nodded his head and stuck whatever it was in his pocket. Solvatas listened for a minute or so more to the group's nonsensical talk before they dispersed and weaved into the streams of people moving past them.

Solvatas looked to her Asari Besakt, "It would seem whatever they're doing it's moving to the next phase. I'm placing a contingent of your fellow Pariahs under your command to resolve this problem. Keep me informed Nev'El and make sure whatever they are doing fails spectacularly. I want examples to be made of those who spit upon my generosity."

Nev'El looked up to her mistress with a wry grin, "As you will, Vymark."

The door connecting to the Normandy's docking ring opened and Nemar stepped through into the well lit and clean Normandy docking tube. Behind him Misi dragged along a duffel bag, a backpack and some other items that Nemar told her that she really didn't need to bring. Mainly different suits and personal items. Yet like always she brought them anyway, she was stubborn like that. Thankfully for her, Nemar didn't mind so long as she was the one who carried them and in the end she got her end of the work done. Misiya'Junan nar Raya was also a bit nervous, she was about to meet one of the people who aided the Tali'Zorah nar Raya on her own pilgrimage. Her breathing was labored from a combination of anxiety and the sheer weight of her bags.

Nemar turned to her, noticing she was lagging behind, "I told you not to bring all that."

"It's fine! I-I-I just am...uh..a bit nervous considering who we're about to meet I mean...wow." The Quarian girl looked around the tube, admiring how clean and sleek it was.

The Krogan shrugged, "Yeah, congrats, you're about to meet one of the biggest names in the galaxy. Or the most notorious depending on who you ask."

"I know! THE Commander Shepard! This is going to be...I dunno if he can help me with my pilgrimage but I mean...he's Shepard! He can do anything! Uhm, and uh do I look okay? I-I'm sure that I look presentable but-"

"Oh fer god's sake you're fine! You've been going over your looks for the past three hours before we even showed up!"

"And I keep telling you to put on something nicer than just your usual Krogan coveralls! This is Commander Shepard we're talking about not your usual riff raff customers!"

"Riff raff?! Maybe some are total assholes, that just comes with surviving out in the Terminus, but some of those guys you call riff raff are good people! So watch what you say runt or I'm kicking you back to the ship to find someone else to pal around with!"

Misi recoiled, her eyes expressing the realization that she crossed a line, "I'm sorry! I...I didn't mean to call them that I just-"

Nemar silently strided up to her and brought his broad orange lizard face down to her level so she could see every word he said, "Let me remind you kid, I took you on as a favor to your dad many years ago. I pay back those who do me right. Out of respect for him, I've tolerated alot of your shit. But do not think for a moment that that gives you gratis to disrespect my friends or business associates. Do not do that again. Do you understand?"

Misi nodded rapidly, "Yes! I'm sorry!"

Nemar huffed in acknowledgement to the Quarian girl's sincerity before turning around and heading toward the airlock door. Misi moved as quickly as she could with all of her bags, trailing behind the lumbering engineer as the Normandy airlock scanned them and began its decontamination sequence. When it finished, the door ahead of them opened and in front was Commander Shepard with a beautiful brunette in a skin tight uniform.

"Welcome aboard! I'm Commander Shepard, and this is my XO Miranda Lawson."

The Krogan nodded, walked over to the pair and held out his hand to the Commander and the Normandy XO who shook it in turn while replying, "Nemar, one of the most dependable engineers you can find, if the price is right."

"We don't hear much about Krogan engineering expertise in the galaxy." Miranda commented.

"Heh, hard to believe that Krogan can actually use their heads and be pretty good with their hands right? The truth is, without guys like me to keep their equipment and vehicles running, those blood raged idiots among the clans wouldn't even get to the fight, much less live to brag about it. So yeah, I may not have battle songs sung about me, but I take pride in my importance."

"All too true, and I assume this is your assistant?"

"Yeah." Nemar said, turning to introduce Misi who slowly plodded over to everyone, shaking nervously along with her muscles beginning to give out, "This is Misiya'Junan nar Raya, she can be a pill sometimes but when it comes to working computers or dealing with delicate work in my profession she's pretty reliable."

The Quarian girl waddled over but stopped short, her legs shaking, "K-Keelah ugh, Se'lai."

Shepard motioned with his hands for nearby crew to help Misi with her baggage, "Let us help you with that."

Several Normandy crew members alleviated the poor Quarian of her burdens, granting her much needed relief, "Oh thank you so much! Ancestors, I thought my back would give out soon if I didn't-" Misi quickly realized who was in front of her as the crew took her bags, her anxiety spiked causing her to stand up straight quickly, "Ah! Commander! Thank you so much for this opportunity!"

Shepard laughed at the display, while Nemar sighed and shook his head, "Relax kid, we still got to finalize a few things first before its official."

"That's where I come in!" said a familiar Volus voice from the CIC. The Krogan engineer looked to his right and saw Gefren waddling in from down the hall, "My friend how are you?"

Nemar smiled, "Pretty good, I'll be better once we get settled in and get this contract sorted out."

Gefren quickly nodded, "Of course! Follow me to the briefing room. We have much to discuss."

Within the dark bowels of Omega station, a Turian and Batarian wearing civilian maintenance fatigues were climbing a ladder down into a maintenance chute. They were wearing night vision goggles in order to search their surroundings while they went down. Eventually the Batarian found what they were looking for, a control panel alongside the ladder. After using his Omni-tool's welding function to cut through the lock since they didn't have the key to open the panel, the Batarian pressed a button within it and a tunnel opened up beside him. Hand holds along the side of the tunnel jutted out and he quickly grabbed them, his Turian companion following close behind. They crawled on their stomachs for a few minutes before opening another tunnel door ahead and entering into a tight space with a power junction inside.

The Batarian quickly got to work on it with his Omni-tool, his Turian companion keeping a look out while whispering, "I hope this works, else we're going to be in the shit."

"Just keep an eye out, should only take me a minute."

The Turian nodded and looked around the room. It was big enough so they could stand up but not by much. There was another entrance leading into the room from another tunnel nearby along with other ways above and below via hatches. The Turian's eye shifted from one to the other and then a noise akin to a thud sounded from the hatch across the room catching his attention. He drew a scaled down Predator sidearm from his coat pocket and approached the tunnel. The Batarian kept working his Omni-tool, trying to get into the junction's systems as his cohort activated the hatch to the tunnel and quickly looked inside with his gun aiming down range. The avian alien sighed, seeing that the sound from earlier was nothing but a failing pipe in the tunnel, that was now emitting either steam or coolant. The Turian couldn't tell which.

What he didn't notice was that while he was checking the tunnel, a hatch in the floor had opened quietly and a metallic hand was now gripping the edge of the opening. An Asari's metallic head with glowing green eyes slowly rose from the floor, her gaze fixed on the Turian who was distracted by the hatch in front of him. She quietly pulled the rest of her metallic body up and began to prime biotics into her hands, a green glow enveloping them. When the avian alien closed the hatch and turned around, the Necron biotic was on him in a flash of green light, biotically charging into him. The impact sent him into the wall behind him, the Turian landing in a sitting position. Then a swift robotic knee to the face followed, knocking him out instantly.

By the time the Batarian turned around to see the commotion the Asari Pariah was already looking his way. He drew a compact sub-machine gun, quickly setting it to disrupter rounds and firing full auto. A quick wave of her hand created a green biotic barrier in front of her, resulting in the rounds plinking off as shockwaves of kinetic impacts reverberated on the energy field. The Batarian exhausted his thermal clip and tried to turn to run but the Pariah was already on him, sending a biotic throw with her hand which sent the four eyed alien to the ground face first.

She quickly walked up to him and turned him over, grabbing him by the throat. She lifted him up to her face before speaking, "How many of you are there?"

The Batarian choked but spat out defiantly, "Go to hell...you bitch!"

Nev'El's eyes narrowed, "Is that your final answer?"

"Do it, you're not getting shit from me!"

"Evidently not."

The Batarian's eyes widened as she slammed him to the ground. All he could get out was one last gasp before Nev'El's fist slammed into his face, smashing an already ugly alien mug into a pulpy ruin of flesh, gore, and blood. The Pariah promptly removed her hand and flicked it, to remove some of the mess off of it. She turned around and walked over to the Turian, still trying to get back onto his feet. Again the Necron bodyguard grabbed the avian alien by the throat and squeezed just enough to make him uncomfortable.

She raised him up with one hand and pressed him against the bulkhead of the room, "Are there more of you?"

The Turian nodded, coughing a response out, "Yeah, multiple groups throughout the maintenance tunnels. But... you're too late! Even if one team fails there's enough of us to complete the mission!"

"Have you even considered how efficient our forces are at weeding out rats like you simultaneously? No matter how many groups you have it won't be enough."

"Guess you'll just have to take my word for it...just kill me and get it over with."

Nev'El narrowed her eyes, suddenly becoming a little suspicious, "You've been awfully cooperative. Would be a shame to just dispose of you now when you can be more useful and tell me everything you know of this operation."

"Sorry...but that's all you're getting..."

The Asari Pariah squeezed harder on his throat and readied her bloody fist to finish the job but the Turian reached into his pocket and flicked his hand at her. He had thrown a device that attached onto her person. It was a dark violet device with blue lighting that suddenly sent a power surge throughout her body. Nev'El shook violently and cried out, letting go of her victim who fell to the ground and coughed. The Necron Pariah fell to one knee and shook violently, her systems being assailed not only by uncontrolled amounts of energy coursing through her, but also a virus that had been detected by her internal security systems. Once the initial surge of energy ended, she saw messages in Necrontyr language warning her that her internal software was being compromised causing motor control and sensory disruption. Her security software was already working on it systematically purging the virus but she could see from her visual sensors as she turned her head slowly to where her enemy was that he had already opened the tunnel hatch and was fleeing quickly. The virus inside her was disrupting her internal comm system so she had no choice but to let her security software run its course before she could continue the pursuit.

The Queen of Omega sat upon her throne once again, her ocular sensors now tuned to the station's security. Solvatas quickly shifted through the various feeds of the differing sections that Nev'El suspected the insurgents to be targeting. She noted that they tended to work in pairs and were spread out throughout the stations maintenance tunnels in order to target specific points. Namely to disrupt power to the station's long range sensors. In order to facilitate catching them in the act, Solvatas made it seem that the team's hacking algorithms were successful in penetrating the security systems and were masking their presence. In truth, she had been monitoring and moving her forces into position to catch them all together.

Strangely though, Nev'El had been taking her time with the team she was going after personally. Not only that communications with her Besakt had been disrupted along with the camera feed to the room where the enemy team had gotten in. While suspicious, Solvatas hadn't seen anything too troublesome yet to raise further alarm. The Necron Vymark continued to watch her forces spring the trap on the mercenary agents with Pariah forces beginning their ambush. Some enemies were cut down as they turned the corner in a tunnel with war scythes. Other mercs were grabbed from via hatches that suddenly opened up behind them.

Things seemed to be well in hand as Kor'Pharas came up beside her throne, "I presume the problem is being resolved?"

Solvatas shrugged, "Of course, these fools never had a chance to begin with. But that makes me curious."

"How so?"

"Why would these mercenaries go through with an operation that they knew was extremely unlikely to succeed? I had always made it a point to demonstrate that resistance was useless when I first took this station."

"You suspect there is more to this?"

"Or they have another plan in mind should this one fail. Strangely though, no sign of anything of the sort has developed within the areas of interest. Wherever their next move is, it's not where their first plan is executing."

Following through on her hunch, Solvatas began cycling through her entire station's security system, checking sensors and cameras for anything out of the ordinary. At first, there was nothing noteworthy. But when she took a second pass, she noticed slight discrepancies in the code regarding security sensors. The camera's code especially had been altered from the last system check. She hadn't noticed at first because the system's changelog history had also been tampered with.

"There is an error in the security system. Someone has made changes to the security camera's code somehow."

"The mercenaries?" Kor'Pharas asked.

The Vymark stood up from her throne and began to pace, a skeletal hand to her chin, "Impossible...unless.."

Solvatas began re-initializing the security system throughout the station with priority to the areas around the combat zones regarding the power junctions. Surprisingly nothing was noted. The cameras showed two Batarians being pinned to the ground before getting impaled by Pariahs with war scythes. The Vymark still was not satisfied however and continued to cycle through the cameras and sensors until finally she did notice something. A flicker, an error in the visual sensors of one of the cameras, several decks below the areas of interest. She prioritized her efforts there, attempting to re-initialize all sensors on that deck. Within a minute or so the sensors shut down and began to reboot. A moment later, the cameras turned back on and in one of the corridors, motion sensors began to be tripped. Solvatas swapped to the appropriate camera and spotted them.

Collectors...four of the insectoid soldiers were planting some kind of device on the floor in the center of a maintenance hallway and one looked towards the camera. It suddenly reached for the top of a strange device and pulled something upwards from it. Energy coalesced into some kind of receiving device that the creature had drawn up from the top of the odd machine, drawing in some kind of particles from the surrounding air. When enough was collected the insectoid slammed the top back down into the device and the camera feed cut out. The Vymark felt a rumble in her feet's sensors, followed by a sudden quake as the shockwave of the explosion slammed throughout the station.

"Damn!" Solvatas exclaimed, her left hand digging into the paneling next to her to keep her balance.

"What happened?!" The Praetorian exclaimed grabbing onto the throne and holding on.

"Our enemy has made their move!"

More explosions soon followed alongside station wide alarms. The people on the walkways held on for dear life to whatever their could. Explosive forces rocked the station from below and consumed several districts in fire storms as the detonation cascaded through the power lines and up through the station's internals. Main power went offline in the Vymark's chamber. Emergency lighting kicked in while Solvatas queried a damage assessment.

She seethed at the report, "I knew they were a diversion but I did not expect them to harbor an effective virus, nor anti-matter charges."

The Praetorian rose to his full stature and asked, "The station's status? We can expect an attack from enemy ships to be forthcoming."

Solvatas waved the hologram with her hand and a new holographic window came up showing various sections of the internals of the station in red, "Their demolition teams picked their targets well. They knew they couldn't get to the reactor so they instead cut the power to the sections they wanted with explosions."

"What sections are without power?"

"Dockyard, main defensive grid, communications and several residential districts. I already see what they're doing. They've cut off our defenses and caused a panic among the population. That, along with inevitable rioting, will hinder repair efforts long enough to achieve whatever they are planning."

"Orders Vymark?" Kor'Pharas asked.

Solvatas attempted to reach Nev'El again via the internal communications, "Nev'El report your situation immediately!" A moment later Nev'El responded though she sounded irritated by something, "Yes mistress! I apologize for the delay, I underestimated one of the enemy agents and somehow lost track of him."

"Forget him, you have new orders Nev'El. Return to the main level and rally our security forces. I need you to quell the panic that is already beginning in the residential districts."

"Is it wise to leave the enemy here to his own devices mistress?"

"I already have it well in hand, have faith in my direction and follow instructions."

"Of course mistress."

The Vymark then turned back to the holographic window and closed it while opening another. Her eyes narrowed into slits when she looked over the overlay of her ship and the dockyard. According to the hologram, the ship was still clamped by the docking arms and it's reactor wouldn't initiate as it was set into maintenance mode.

"The Collectors were certainly thorough, especially with their cyber attacks." the Vymark commented.

"You suspect they had assistance other than their proxies?" The silver Necron quiered.

"Possibly, but speculation will have to wait until the crisis abades."

While Solvatas mulled over the data, Forbytr approached her and Kor'Pharas, towering over both of them and speaking with authority, "Vymark, if you require assistance, I can spare several of the Lychguard here to assist your efforts."

"I am grateful for the offer Forbytr, your warriors will be placed under my Besakt's command if your offer is genuine. Do you take issue with this?"

"No Vymark." Forbytr acknowledged.

"Then it is settled, I believe four of them will be adequate."

Forbytr turned back to his fellows and silently sent the order wirelessly to his fellow Lychguards. They nodded and began to leave the throne room as the Queen of Omega continued, "Nev'El, when you reach the main decks of the station, assign forces to the districts most in need of them before proceeding to secure power to communications. Expect potential enemy resistance."

"By your will mistress!"

Solvatas looked to Kor'Pharas, "The two of us should gather our own forces to make a push on the dockyard. Even if my own ship is grounded, there are others that can be deployed to buy us time."

Kor'Pharas nodded, "Our Doom Scythe fighters should be more than adequate for the task. How many can we deploy?"

"A dozen are currently in the station's hanger, the rest are locked down in my ship due to the virus."

"More than enough, I shall lead them into battle myself."

Solvatas nodded and the pair made their way to the entrance where they initialized their disguises. Upon exiting the throne room their holographic disguises engaged making them appear as the dashing Asari and Giant Krogan. They found a security team led by a Turian waiting for them, "What are your orders ma'am!"

"Come with us, we're heading for the dock." Solvatas commanded.

"Before comms went down we heard that shooting is starting around there. Who's attacking us?!" The Turian team leader asked.

"Collectors and their paid dogs. But rest assured..." Solvatas' eyes narrowed as the Lychguard came up behind her, along with several squads of Pariahs, "By the end of this, all will know who is the true power on this station."

Nefarix couldn't believe his luck. The device that he was given saved his ass from that terrifying robot Asari and now he just had to find his way out. From the feel and sounds of the explosions, their employers must have finished their part in the plan. Now he just had to make it to the exfiltration point near the station's docks and he'd be home free. Power and life support was out, leaving him squirming through maintenance ducts in the dark. He had swapped to a mask connected to an oxygen tank on his back. Gravity was still online so there was at least that to be thankful for.

After what felt like half an hour of skulking around in maintenance areas, he had finally reached a hatch that lead up from the duct he was crawling in. According to his Omni-tool it would lead to the next level where there was power. The Turian's comm link wasn't strong enough here. However, if he could reach the next level he could tap into the section's comm node and reach the teams fighting higher up.

With power out, Nefarix needed to use the emergency release next to the hatch. It took some muscle and a bit of grit on his part to force it open. The release when pressed only opened a small space for his talons to fit through and push the hatch outward. The hatch itself was heavy and took him several minutes to get enough of it open that he could fit his body through the opening and up to the next level.

The Turian agent looked around and found himself in another maintenance section that was quite spacious with minimal lighting. Trams or cars looked like they could fit through this space and in the distance he could hear the crackling of nearby fires, klaxon alarms going off, and more explosions echoing further down. Nefarix activated his Omni-tool and began to trace viable landlines near him to find a terminal. He found one close to his position further down the tunnel away from the destruction. The Turian withdrew a device that he attached to the side of the terminal and activated his Omni-tool to piggyback off of it to reach his comrades.

With a connection established to the node, he activated his comm link, "This is Nefarix, mission accomplished, lost Baros but at least he was able to do his part in the end."

"Good work but it looks like you're the only one that made it out of there. No other teams have checked in." replied the Blue Suns Batarian officer.

"Yeah, knew it was bad when this started but...anyway I'm trying to make my way to you. How much time do we got?"

"Not much, the station's security is skirmishing with us but we're keeping a cordon open for other teams to get out and to buy time for the fleet. Should be here in half an hour."

"Half an hour?! A lot of shit can happen in half an hour!"

"Relax, lead elements of the fleet will be here sooner. Best guess ten minutes, you want off this rock, then haul your ass."

"Fine, guess I'll have to find a tram or something."

"However you do it, do it fast, once those skeletal bots show up, we're not going to be able to hold them long."

"Roger that, I'm on my way."

The Turian clicked his comm link off and began typing into the terminal, looking for a way to call for transportation. He admitted to himself it was likely a long shot, but he figured why not try it first. Shifting through several menus on the screen he found a call option for an automated transport. Nefarix smiled, seeing that his luck was once again on the up and up. He issued the request and figured now all he had to do was wait. If his luck held out, they could get everyone else off the station before their benefactors had their way with it.

Several minutes passed. Nefarix had his back to the wall, nervously looking both ways down the tunnel. He was still deep in enemy territory and with those robots you never knew when they'd sneak up on you. A chime from the terminal sounded, indicating the automated transport had arrived. Well that was quick, Nefarix thought to himself. He looked down the tunnel to his right and thought he heard something approaching. It was hard to see in the dim light, yet he could hear what sounded like something hovering. Eventually he could see a shadow but it looked odd, it certainly didn't have the outline of a car or maintenance vehicle. A burst of green light suddenly flashed out, revealing a large green 'eye'. Whatever it was, it scanned ahead of itself with a green beam and Nefarix panicked. He ran back toward the hatch he had opened earlier. A loud noise sounded behind him, but the Turian ignored it and kept going. He was about to drop back into the duct when suddenly something grabbed his leg from behind.

He yelped in reaction to being tripped, hitting the floor before looking behind him. His eyes opened wide. It was some kind of large snake like robot, about as big as a car, with insect legs along it's cobra-like hood, up to the top of its head. A large cyclopic eye looked down at him and its two largest forelimbs opened, exposing a pair of whip like metal tendrils. One of its tendrils had grabbed him by the ankle and was pulling him towards it. At first Nefarix attempted to resist and tried to grab onto the floor but the strength of the machine was just too much for his grip. His talons were slipping off any groove or jutting object on the floor he attempted to hold onto. In desperation he pulled out his Predator pistol and began firing at the eye of the robot. The bullets simply pinged off its body and in a motion so fast that he couldn't even see, the snake bot's free tendril slashed at him. It severed the arm holding his pistol at the elbow before he could even register the pain. The second tendril then grabbed Nefarix by the torso. The Turian screamed in agony as the tendrils coiled around him tightly and lifted him off the ground, drawing him ever closer to the machine's head.

The robot's head rotated slightly to the side inquisitively. It scanned the Turian agent who was still crying out before drawing Nefarix closer to its other insect limbs, revealing various cutting blades and tools. The poor agent cried out in fear when the tools went transparent and entered into his body. At first it seemed like nothing happened. Then all at once the tools went to work, severing body parts and splitting open the poor Turian from top to bottom. Nefarix didn't even realize what had just happened, dying instantly. Blood gurgled from his mouth as his innards began spilling out of him. Within seconds of the machine working on him with its tools, the body had been reduced to just a pile of organs and limbs that were dropped onto the floor. Lastly, the head of Nefarix fell on top of the pile with his tongue hanging out. Purple blood pooled out from the pile of flesh as the Canoptek Wraith withdrew, allowing the scarabs that had just arrived to clean the robot and the mess it had just made.

"Well, that's a helluva alot to take in all at once." Nemar remarked, leaning back in his seat at the conference table.

Gefren shrugged, "Well you wanted details and that's the current situation my friend. I know its a bit much to ask for, but we don't have much time or options. We need your expertise and we'll pay whatever you need to get it. You don't have to be in this fight for the whole sojorn either, just this one battle at least."

Nemar got up from his chair and pulled out a large cigar from a side pouch on his overalls. The burly Krogan then took out a large lighter and lit the cigar. He put it in his mouth, puffing smoke from his mouth and nostrils before replying, "That is to say if we even survive this suicide mission you're planning."

Commander Shepard crossed his arms, standing tall by the conference table, "I have no intention of dying out there nor letting any more of my people die if I can help it. But I would be lying if I said the risk was minimal. This mission carries more risk than I've ever taken due to the sheer amount of unknowns we're facing."

Nemar grinned, the cigar sticking out of the side of his mouth, "On top of a whole clan of robots out there ready to carve out a piece of the Terminus for themselves eh?"

Shepard frowned, "They don't just want a piece, their leader wants the whole thing. Anyone who enjoys the freedom of the Terminus won't enjoy it for long once the Necrontyr are on the march." The Commander looked to the side thoughtfully before sighing, "Hell it might even be too late to stop them by now."

Nemar let out another puff of smoke from his large nostrils, "Yet you're still going to take 'em on from the sounds of it."

"We do have someone on the inside who may support our efforts. She may have questionable loyalties, but so far she's the only ace we got who can give us any hope against the Necrons. We can't take them head on, I learned that the hard way."

The Krogan chuckled, "Sounds like most problems I deal with at work nowadays. If those Necrons lock down the Terminus...I'd probably be out of a job right?"

"There are worse things that the Necrons can do to you other than running you out of business. Converting you into a sort of cyborg or making you work until you die or purge you out right if you aren't useful." Gefren remarked.

Nemar shrugged, "Heh, typical. Galaxy always was a harsh mistress to me and my people. But hey, if there wasn't any big enemy to fight it'd be pretty boring."

"So you're still interested?" Shepard asked.

The Krogan engineer nodded, "Why not, a good friend is among your crew and I trust him. That and you earned a name for yourself among the Krogan. Heard even Urdnot Wrex stopped freelancing after his job with you and went home to stir up things. Maybe its time I try something out of my comfort zone too. I'll admit I feel a little...overwhelmed by all the tech your boat has. I'm used to rugged freighters or heavy klunkers. This ship is clean and looks like I could easily break something."

The Commander gave a smirk, "The Normandy may be sleek but she's far from fragile. We hope to improve it's ruggedness soon but we're still going over our options for upgrades." Shepard then looked pointedly towards the Krogan, "Speaking of Tuchanka, Nemar, we're actually on our way there."

Nemar took the cigar out of his mouth, "Really? What for?"

"We have another Krogan on our crew. He's having some kind of issue that we need a Krogan physician to-"

The doors to the conference room opened wide and in stomped Grunt, looking even more irritated than usual, his fists tightly clenched, "How soon Shepard! This...fury is getting worse! I need to kill something, anything!"

Nemar looked behind him to Grunt with a raised brow before looking back to Shepard, "Uh, is this him?"

Shepard wore a worried expression, "Yeah, uh Nemar, this is Grunt. Grunt, this is Nemar, he's about to join our crew as our team's engineer to fill in for Tali while she's out of action."

The older Krogan got up from his seat and took a step towards Grunt. He smelled the air and seemed to get a whiff of something that seemed to be potent, causing Nemar to shake his head and whistled, "Been a while since I smelled that. No wonder he's going nuts."

Nemar laughed, but Shepard didn't understand, "So do you know what's wrong with him?"

The Krogan engineer looked back to Shepard with a smile, "Absolutely nothing, the only problem he has is that he's oozing hormones, which makes his body odor even more pungent."

Grunt did not take the comment well, shouting, "You're saying I smell?! Did you want to die old man?"

"Old?! I haven't even hit my four hundreds yet runt! As for dying, I could ask you the same question." Nemar boomed back.

That was enough for Grunt to snap. He bull rushed Nemar with a roar, arms outstretched to grab and strangle the elder Krogan. Nemar by contrast leaned back and as the enraged tank born saurian attempted to grab his throat, the Krogan engineer grabbed Grunt's right wrist and kicked his outstretched left leg. In one swift motion the Krogan engineer twisted and threw the younger Krogan off to the side. Grunt crashed into the seats of the Conference table rolling, while Gefren quickly got out of the way and Shepard sidestepped shouting, "Grunt! Stand down!"

Nemar entered a fighting stance, "It's alright Commander, I got this. He just needs a lesson from one of his elders."

The enraged younger Krogan got up, picked up a chair, and proceeded to throw it at Nemar who batted it away with his left arm. Grunt charged again, throwing a punch with his right fist at the elder Krogan. Nemar guarded with his right arm and attempted to get a counter punch with his opposing fist but Grunt beat him to it. The blood raged tank bred warrior followed up with more attacks hitting Nemar several times in the face before Nemar grinned and headbutted the younger Krogan, ending his assault. Grunt headbutted Nemar in turn causing the engineer to wince, holding his forehead before grinning again.

That only seemed to anger the young Krogan more. Grunt bellowed another roar and charged with arms outstretched to grab Nemar. The saurian engineer met his challenge and grabbed both of Grunt's hands, turning the exchange into a battle of strength. Both warriors pushed against the other and after a moment, Nemar seemed to be getting forced back. He began to lose his footing, getting forced back to the wall behind him. The Krogan engineer spoke through gritted teeth, "Yeah, you're pretty strong kid. Maybe even stronger than me. But I have something you don't."

Before they could reach the wall, Nemar suddenly stopped pushing causing Grunt to lean forward. Out of reflex the young Krogan opened his mouth wide to try and bite Nemar in the the neck, but the saurian engineer whipped his head back causing Grunt to miss. Nemar brought his hardened head plate down once again on Grunt's head, stunning the young Krogan before grabbing him by the neck. Then he proceeded to bring the blood raged Krogan to his side in a headlock. The older fighter backed up and slammed Grunt's head into the the wall repeatedly before falling down with Grunt to the floor in a crash. The young Krogan's face met the floor first alongside the elder Krogan who then elbowed him in the back on the way down before saying, "And that's finesse!"

The Commander walked over and shouted, "Alright! That's enough! Break it up, both of you!"

Nemar smiled with blood stained teeth, "Sure thing Commander, I'm pretty sure he's had enough for now too." He got up and began to dust himself off while Shepard shook his head. Grunt himself was groaning on the floor with orange blood leaking from his nose and mouth. Gefren slowly poked his head out from around the table and sighed in relief that the fighting was done.

The saurian engineer gave an exasperated sigh of satisfaction, "Whew, he is strong I'll give him that. If he wasn't so high on blood rage he probably would have given me a pretty good fight."

The Commander was getting a bit irate with not getting a straight answer about his Krogan team mate, "Okay so what is going on with him? He has a hormonal imbalance or something?"

Nemar chuckled, "Like I said, there's nothing wrong with him. He's at the age where a young Krogan becomes a warrior. You made the right call taking him to Tuchanka. The kid needs a clan or at the very least needs to go through the rite of passage for Krogan males."

Shepard raised a brow, "So this is all because he's going through adolescence?"

"It's more than that for Krogan. Our young warriors need to go through a period of intense trial and tribulation in order to get their heads on straight. Not only that, we do it with our friends at our side called Krantt. We do this to cement our bonds with our clan, all while staring death in the face and surviving. That is what the rite of passage is for."

Shepard sighed while looking at Grunt, who was slowly getting back to his feet, "Well hopefully we can get him sorted out once we get down there. Maybe Wrex could help with that."

"More than likely. Like I said, I heard he's been stirring up things, gathering his clan's strength and rallying others to join his banner. I'd been invited several times by friends but at the time I was busy with odd jobs and such. We hear that sort of thing alot from Tuchanka, of uniting and trying to get organized. But it always eventually turns to crap every time so over the years I sort of tune that stuff out due to habit. That sort of thing happens on the homeworld all the time, and I thought old Wrex was crazy to try it himself."

"Yet he's making progress last I heard." Gefren interjected as he walked up to the pair.

The Krogan engineer nodded, "More than anyone else that I can remember. Still could blow up in his face in the end but who knows."

Nemar held out his hand to Shepard who then shook it with his own, "I accept your terms, under one condition."

"What's that?" the Commander asked.

The saurian engineer then wore a serious look on his face, "I got a loose end to deal with on Tuchanka that I've never had the means to deal with until now. Hope you don't mind spending some extra time there."

Shepard shook his head, "Not at all. May as well tie up everything before the real mission begins."

Nemar smiled, "Good to hear, I'll explain the details once we get down there but it shouldn't be anything that you can't handle."

The doors to the conference room opened and in walked the Quarian tech Misi and Miranda. The Normandy XO shook her head while the Quarian girl became exasperated, exclaiming, "What happened in here!"

Grunt was finally getting to his feet and held his head, still woozy from the repeated blows. Miranda looked past the Quarian girl beside her and noticed the dents in the wall before sighing, "I knew this was going to happen. Two Krogan on the same ship inevitably leads to some kind of confrontation."

"Just the way it is ma'am. Especially with a young guy like this one. Don't worry, once we get him planetside we'll get him sorted out. Can't guarantee that it won't happen again though." Nemar replied, chuckling.

Misi was not amused, "Our first day among legends and we already are getting into fights with people?!"

The elder Krogan wiped the blood off his teeth with a raised eyebrow, "Hey... he's the one who started it. I wasn't exactly looking for trouble."

Grunt gritted his teeth at Nemar growling, "You're lucky...that Shepard wants you alive. Otherwise I'd have-"

The saurian engineer rolled his eyes, "Yeah yeah, get over it kid. We can tussle again another time if you want."

The young Krogan gave a growl before leaving the conference room still holding his head and woozy, nearly stumbling over as he turned the corner.

Nemar shook his head and felt his own head plate, "That kid is going to be a monster once his head plate matures and fuses. Even in its current state it hits pretty damn hard, even against mine."

"Grunt was tank bred to be the perfect warrior, at least that's what Okeer claimed." Shepard said.

The engineer was taken aback, "Okeer? That psycho made him?!"

"Least that's what Okeer said when I met him." the Commander explained.

Nemar suddenly grew very wary, "Is he still alive?"

Shepard shook his head saying, "No, he's dead. Died trying to protect Grunt from being purged."

"Huh, so I guess that means the kid is that old crazy's legacy eh? Well I guess we'll see if he's up to snuff."

"So no animosity with Grunt being Okeer's legacy?"

"Nah, whatever Okeer did, that's on him and him alone. The kid's just acting like any hormonally charged Krogan would. Our people long ago learned its not just about your genes that make you strong. Its about surviving the hell the galaxy throws at you, getting back up, and throttling it by the throat! Least that's what my dad told me."

Shepard raised an eyebrow and Nemar shrugged, "Eh, my dad was a bit more of an 'eye for an eye' kind of guy. As for me, I've learned you can get by well enough by showing idiots that you mean business and just taking the bullshit in stride. Served me well so far."

Nemar walked up to Miranda and Misi asking, "Are our things set up?"

The Quarian nodded excitedly, "Uh yeah! Miss Lawson and I settled on the observation deck for our quarters and was helping me get our things unpacked. She is amazing at organization, its great!"

Miranda shrugged, "Simply part of my job as XO. Feel free to get settled in, I have matters to discuss with Shepard."

"Sure, come on Misi let's go." The Krogan said, moving past the two women with Misi turning to follow him.

"Well...if that will be all, I too will take my leave." Gefren said taking a bow and leaving the room.

When everyone had left the Conference room, Shepard huffed and began to pick up the chairs that had been thrown around and stack them up. Miranda walked beside him and began, "This is only the start Shepard."

"I know, feels like time is running out with so many things to get done."

"Did you get Kelly's message regarding Mordin?"

"I got it but I haven't read it yet."

"Seems a member of his STG team is down on Tuchanka somewhere, possibly kidnapped. The same one that helped with the genophage project."

Shepard groaned, "Great, more Tuchanka business. Anything else I need to know?"

"Kusko has also requested to talk to you. Says he has made a decision regarding our offer."

"About time he finally came around. Now I'll find out if he needs to be dropped off or not at least."

Shepard finished putting the chairs in the corner and breathed a sigh of relief. He turned around and found Miranda right behind him with a concerned look on her face, "You don't have to do all of this yourself you know."

The Commander sighed again, "I know but..."

"No buts, the last thing all of us need is for you to overdo it right before the main event. I'm not saying sit back and do nothing, just divy up some of the responsibility. A lot of issues are only now coming to a head. We're more than likely going to need to split up to deal with all of them in a timely manner."

"Been spying on the crew's messages again have you?"

"Always. I've been mainly monitoring our new guests and it seems that Kusko may make a deal with you concerning something that he received a short while ago."

"What is it?"

"A vidmail. The contents were well encrypted, but I suspect it has something to do with why he wants to see you now. If its like anything else that you've dealt with in the past that means another location and more time. Time we may not have."

Shepard put his hand to his chin, "So what are you thinking? You, me, and Garrus split up to try and handle all this at once?"

"Wouldn't be a bad start."

"I'm not so sure about Garrus right now, he's been hitting the drinks harder than usual as of late. Been meaning to talk with him about how he's been doing but he's been evasive. The only times I've seen him is at the gun battery for the past few days."

"Whatever it is, it's likely about what happened on the Citadel. That's understandable but we need him functional. Letting him stew and calibrate in the gun battery clearly isn't helping things."

"Alright, after I talk to Kusko I'll go speak with him."

Miranda nodded before walking up to him and giving him a kiss. She put a hand to his cheek, "Be careful down on Tuchanka."

Shepard warmly smiled and gently took her hand into his, "I'll be back, I promise."

The Normandy XO nodded, looking to the floor before meeting his eyes again and finding herself getting kissed one more time by Shepard. After a moment their lips parted and the Commander held her close in an embrace before leaving the room. Miranda took a deep breath and then readied herself for the long day ahead before leaving the Conference area.

The Omega station's internal dockyard was in chaos. Rifle fire and explosions rocked several docked ships as Blue Suns mercenaries opened fire on Omega security teams attempting to harass the entrenched enemy soldiers. A Captain of the Blue Suns' defensive line motioned for more fire to pin down any Omega security forces attempting to push on their left flank. The squads among the gangways amid smaller ships withdrew some rocket launchers and opened fire.

One of Aria's former security officers, Captain Gavorn, was at the frontline of the Omega security force, holding the line with his fellows. A barrage of rockets from the mercenaries sent some of Captain Gavorn's men flying through the dock and rolling across the ground. For the past half hour they had been trying to find a way through the killzones. Gavorn was taking cover by the leg strut of a landed civilian ship, growling in frustration at one of his officers closest to him, exclaiming, "Where is our support!? We were told to pin them in but we're taking heavy casualties just getting into the damn dock!"

Carlow, a Batarian officer, shook his head quickly, "No idea boss! But I hear Solvatas herself is coming along with her bots and that big Krogan of hers, at least that's what I'm hearing on local comms."

Another explosion erupted to the right of their position and another security team was consumed in explosive fire from rockets. Gavorn changed position then to another leg strut to the left of their current one and peeked around it to see the mercenaries. They had men on top and underneath the klunky, rustic ships ahead of them and noted some of them were setting up defensive barriers and cover using crates.

"If they dig in any deeper they're going to boot us out of here on our ass and we'll look like idiots in front of the Queen." Gavorn grimaced.

"Well what's the play?" the four eyed officer asked.

Gavorn looked again and saw movement to the right of the enemy line. It looked like the mercs were moving to secure another ship ahead of them closer to the security force's position. A risky move for the Blue Suns commander to expose his men like that, but perhaps he was hoping to use them to buy time for when they had to pull out. Whatever the case a counterattack could work there, but he had to move fast.

"Carlow, get some of the others and move on that other ship to the right. Open up with grenades or launchers if you got 'em. I don't give a shit if the owners of those pieces of junk get pissy about it."

"What are you going to do?"

"Pick at the assholes with those rocket launchers." the Turian Captain said as he racked his assault rifle to his back and withdrew a Mantis Sniper rifle. "Go!"

With a quick nod, Carlow then called out to some of the scattered teams taking cover around him and began to gather people for the counterattack. Gavorn himself stayed back and found some stacked crates he could use to pick at the mercenaries with the rockets on the upper gangways. Incoming rifle fire was absorbed by his kinetic barriers as he rushed to the crates gritting his teeth. A missile flew over the Turian's head and exploded on another smaller ship in the back. Shrapnel from the explosion brought his shields to critical by the time he was able to get situated on the crates.

He waited a moment before peeking and seeing Carlow gathering up seven assorted security personnel for a counter-attack. Gavorn watched as his fellow officers began pressing on the mercenaries attempting to setup firing positions on the ship. The security team's return fire rained down on the mercs, popping some of their shields outright. The head officer saw several Blue Suns fall from the top of the ship being assaulted through his scope. They left bloody streaks on the side of the vessel from their bullet riddled bodies as they fell to the deck below.

Mercs with rocket launchers then showed themselves from cover on the gangways between the ships in the dock, taking aim at Carlow and his team. Gavorn sighted up the first rocket toting soldier on the gangway and fired his Mantis. The round punctured a hole through the man's helmet and the Turian watched the human crumple onto the catwalk. The sudden loss of their teammate close by made the other rocket launcher mercs flinch and hesitate. Gavorn kept going and pulled the bolt back on his Mantis, preparing another shot. One mercenary turned around and was about to run to a new position on the gangway but the security Captain didn't let him. The crack of his Mantis sounded again and a hole exploded out of the Blue Sun's throat, causing him to grab it in order to hold back some of the blood before falling over face first.

Carlow and his team kept pressing up ahead to the ship in front of them to get on the flank of the Blue Suns. Missile fire flew their way but thanks to Gavorn it was relatively light and sporadic, exploding far and off target. With some of the security force now on their flank, Gavorn observed the enemy's defensive line to see how the Blue Suns would react. Just as expected, the mercs shifted more troops to their exposed line and had less manpower to hold the front. The security Captain heard chatter in his local comms via an ear piece that more teams had just arrived and were now coming up behind him. He looked back and saw several dozen more squads of security now on station. With this boost to their numbers they had a shot to really pin in the mercs onto their original entry point in the dockyard. But before Gavorn could coordinate with them a strange roar sounded over the gun fire.

Gavorn shifted his scope to the larger cargo ship the Blue Suns were using for their main defense. He saw a ramp come down from the back of the vessel and a pair of large blue colored feet stepping off of it. Cybernetics and tubing were all over the legs of whatever it was, now coming around from the back of the ship. The Turian Captain's eyes widened when he saw the rest of it. A humanoid cybernetic creature that was covered in glowing blue machine components, along with a horribly deformed appearance slowly making its way to the line. It had a massive ulcer like growth on its back with tubing running down to its disfigured arm. That thing looked more like a massive cannon than anything to the Turian.

The creature pointed its arm towards Carlow and his team's direction. A blue glow quickly appeared in its opening, indicating some kind of charge was taking place within. By the time Gavorn realized it really was a cannon it was too late as the creature fired its weapon. The blue colored bolt of energy flew across the battlefield and slammed into one of the leg struts where several of Carlow's men were hiding. The explosion threw up some smoke, followed by screaming. The two men caught in the explosion crawled out, without legs or maimed ones, crying out in agony. They were also covered in some kind of corrosive blue gunk that burned their skin and boiled the blood that flowed from their head wounds. Mercifully the Blue Suns mercs opened up on them and ended them with rifle fire.

Carlow panicked and tried to rally the others to fall back. Gavorn attempted to provide sniper fire to cover him as they retreated. He focused his fire on another launcher-wielding Blue Suns merc who then took cover from Gavorn's initial hit that popped his shields. The Turian Captain then shifted to the hulking monster now shifting its focus to Carlow. He wasn't sure where he could do the most damage, but he decided to first opt for a headshot. Gavorn took aim and fired a round into the side of the monstrosity's head, the exit wound blasting out a gush of blue liquid and some cybernetics. But the cybernetic humanoid still stood and continued to take aim at Carlow.

The Turian Captain looked over to Carlow and could see through his scope that his compatriot was telling the others ahead of him to keep running. He shifted his avian gaze back to the cyborg and it's cannon barrel was glowing blue again. Gavorn had to take another shot quickly or Carlow was dead. He opted for the sack sticking over the monster's shoulder and fired. The organic sack of flesh had its top explode from the sniper round hitting it, sending out cybernetics and more fluids. More importantly, it threw the aim of the creature off as it fired and sent its energy round into the floor behind Carlow. The concussive force knocked the Batarian off his feet and he fell face first into the deck. Gavorn checked through his scope if Carlow would move to show signs of life. When he did, the Turian breathed a sigh of relief before reality came at him fast in the form of two rockets.

The Blue Sun's missile troops had figured out his position and were now firing rockets his way. Gavorn only had enough time to roll away before his cover was blown apart. All the team Captain could do now was keep moving as more missiles exploded at his previous position. Sporadic rifle fire from the Blue Suns put pressure on the Turian's shields causing them to pulse constantly while he continued to fall back to the ship at the start of the skirmish. The Security Captain reached a landing strut and pressed his back to it, looking back to see if he could find Carlow. An explosion forced him to duck his head back behind the strut before he looked back and saw the remains of Carlow land near his position. His left arm and right leg had been mangled to gross stumps of flesh and bone from the rockets that hit him. Gavorn grimaced at the sight and shook his head. Another security officer, a human, took cover beside him and asked, "What do we do now?!"

The Turian Captain didn't have an immediate answer, merely giving the man a look of uncertainty. In between the explosions and exchanges of fire they then heard it, the sound of stomping metal feet in unison. Under normal circumstances they would have had to quickly stand at attention, with her dressing them down while fighting feelings of anxiety. But now Gavorn felt a sense of relief, knowing the fight was finally about to go their way.

The first of the Necron forces arriving into the dockyard marched unflinchingly into Blue Suns rifle fire that merely deflected off their metallic gray bodies. In response they took aim with their war scythes and fired their built in blasters at several of the mercs. Screams echoed out from the enemy side as Gavorn could see several enemy troopers begin to melt down into green ash. Looking through his scope he could see the Blue Suns commander begin to panic and yell out orders. More Necron warriors arrived and began to pick off mercenaries one by one. This allowed the security teams to finally emerge from cover and begin moving forward to secure the dock. Gavorn looked to the entryway of the dockyard and saw several large Necron figures armed with some of the largest bladed weapons he'd ever seen approaching.

He gulped as he saw Solvatas among them with a large Krogan coming up from behind. When they stopped in front of the Turian he quickly snapped to attention, "Ah, ma'am! Forgive our shortcomings on holding the enemy. They seem to have some kind of mutant cyborgs with 'em. Took out a whole team in one shot."

"Hmmm, indeed." Solvatas said with a raised Asari brow. She looked at the body of Carlow before her eyes met the Turian's again, "Despite the casualties Captain you at least held them in position. That I can at least appreciate."

"Thank you ma'am." Gavorn said with a lowered head.

"Move up with my forces and drive this rabble off my station." She then turned to her Krogan compatriot, "Secure the fighters and proceed to launch. I want wherever these vermin are coming from expunged."

The large Krogan closed his eyes and nodded, "Of course my Queen."

The Krogan motioned to several other Necrons and they followed him to another section of the dock while Solvatas and her forces joined with station security. With a wave of her hand, several of the Lychguard moved to the front of the battle. Their large tower shields activated with green energy fields that absorbed the rocket and rifle fire from the mercenaries. They charged into the line of the mercenaries while the security and Necron warriors moved up behind them. The large Necron elites crashed through the barricades of the Blue Suns and began to bring their swords down on several mercs caught in their charge, severing heads and torsos. Rocket troopers that tried to train their launchers on them were quickly either picked off by security forces or melted down by Gauss blasters. The Blue Suns began to fall back to the next section of the dockyard and several more of their cyborgs provided covering fire, taking out several security team members and even a Pariah in explosions of blue fire.

In response to the Necron assault, a buzzing noise was heard and from the rafters and ventilation systems above, flying aliens then fell upon the attackers. A dozen or so Collectors, armed with particle beams and some sort of plasma rifles began adding their fire onto Solvatas' forces. Several officers were cut down by the beams of light, with the Necron vanguard actually taking damage from the plasma fire. Gavorn took cover behind some of the stacked up crates by Solvatas who surprisingly was not phased at all by the turn of events. The security Captain called out, "Find some cover ma'am!"

"I will not be intimidated by these mere insects!" She declared, aiming the head of her ornate staff with one hand in the air. It fired a green beam of light that cut through several of the flying humanoid bugs. They fell to the deck while their fellows began to triangulate their fire onto Solvatas. The Lychguard formed ranks around their charge, shields held high wreathed in energy to absorb the beams and plasma bolts. Necron warriors and security retaliated, unleashing rounds that brought down several of the bugs, forcing them to retreat with their forces on the ground to their next defensive line.

Solvatas looked to Gavorn and he could see a deathly glare to her eyes which made him terrified, "From this point onward Captain, there will be no more retreats. No mercy, no forgiveness. I want every one of them exterminated...to the last."

Kor'Pharas in his Krogan disguise made his way through the Omega dockyard with a platoon of Necron Immortals in tow. They made their way through the various ships in the dock, ignoring the sporadic enemy fire that hit them now and again from the mercenaries. Finally when they reached an airlock in a sealed off section of the dockyard, the large Krogan's eyes suddenly glowed brilliant green. The door responded with a chime and granted entry to the Necrons, revealing within a recently built section of the docks. Industrial lights turned on and filled the sealed off space with light, revealing twelve Necron fighters standing by in magnetic catapults. Kor'Pharas disengaged his disguise, revealing his silvered Praetorian visage. Turning to his underlings, his eyes flashed green. The Necron soldier's eyes responded in kind and each one proceeded down onto the catwalks to their own individual fighters.

The central portion of the Necron fighter crafts opened and the pilots, including Kor'Pharas in unison, turned towards the launch tunnels. A silver tube wormed its way out of each aerospace craft and proceeded to carefully integrate into the back of every pilot. The necrodermis connection then lifted each pilot up and pulled them gently into the central portion of the crescent ships. The catwalks surrounding the fighters then parted, clearing the path forward for launch.

When the integration of the robotic connection finished, the Praetorian was then seated within his craft. Kor'Pharas quickly reported, "Fighters secured Vymark. Preparing for launch."

"Good, locate the enemy transports and destroy them. By then we should be close to mopping up the rest of these pests." Solvatas acknowledged.

The magnetic coils on either side of all of the fighters hummed as power began to flow through. When the warmup sequence of each fighter finished, they were then released from their docking clamps. Within several seconds, the hum of the magnetic coils intensified until finally a loud thrum was heard and Kor'Pharas' craft, along with the other fighters, was sent hurtling through the launch tubes. Twelve crescent ships silently were ejected out into space from Omega station, their engine drives activating and firing out green energy.

The Necron starcraft rotated in unison before forming up in a v-formation behind Kor'Pharas' fighter, banking right to return back to the station to look for their prey. In his cockpit Kor'Pharas' direct data connection to his own fighter gave him speed and control beyond any organic pilot. The world before his ocular sensors displayed a green overlay, with the two wingtip points of his fighter appearing on either end of his vision. Omega station suddenly manifested on his HUD. Combat information in Necrontyr text and waypoints from the Vymark appeared, indicating several locations around the station to be likely sites of incursion.

Kor'Pharas and his entourage flew at full speed towards the station before slowing down and splitting into three groups of four that began to head towards the various targets. In space the normally screaming engine drives of the Doom Scythes were silent while they sweeped the lengths and breadths of Omega. Kor'Pharas was the first to find his target, a stealth frigate similar to the Normandy. According to the extranet, the Normandy's success caused a number of knock off designs to enter the market, but this one was clearly flawed. It's core temperature was easily identified sticking to the station like a rustic beetle would to a tree. The Praetorian readied his fighter's underslung Death Ray and began battering it with blasts from his twin-linked Destructors. Arcs of lightning lashed out from the gun barrels under his fighter's wings before a green beam of death shot out and into the enemy frigate. The frigate's hull boiled and rent apart under the assault, splitting the ship in half. Then the two accompanying fighters behind Kor'Pharas opened fire to ensure nothing remained, destroying each half of the ship in destructive explosions that set off the reactor and munition magazines respectively in silent explosions.

"Target neutralized, continuing sweep." reported Kor'Pharas as he banked away from the ship debris and towards the next set of coordinates.

"No, the others can handle sweeping the station. I need you and and several of your fellows to intercept any incoming ships. Destroy them quickly, the main force will be upon us soon and I would rather not be distracted by such minor nuisances."

"Acknowledged."

Kor'Pharas' Doom Scythe pulled up and away from the station and two others followed close behind him. The Necron fighters veered towards the asteroid field around the station and Kor'Pharas sent a sensor ping to detect any enemy vessels. A small force was detected on his sensors. It was comprised of several more frigates bearing Blue Suns markings, along with two other unknown vessels of cruiser weight. The cruisers were purplish blue in metallic coloration and were cylindrical in shape, rotating on approach to the station. Based upon data of the Collector Cruiser that the Praetorian cross-referenced via the datastacks in his fighter, these vessels fell in line with the insectoid's ship design, marking them as the greater threat.

The Necron Praetorian's Doom Scythe screamed through the void, going up high above the approaching enemy ships and flipping over along with its two escorts. The three fighters then triangulated their targeting to focus on the lead ship's engines. Suddenly a portion of the enemy ship opened and fired a beam of blue energy that tore off the wing of Kor'Pharas' right escort. The wounded Necron fighter peeled off and misfired its weapon, the green beam boiling onto the surface of a nearby asteroid. However, Kor'Pharas and his remaining wingman opened up onto the Collector vessel. Much to the Praetorian's surprise the enemy's shield withstood the barrage at first. Despite the increased shields however, the enemy ship's shields eventually gave way and the cylindrical vessel's rear began to boil. Then several other beams lashed back out from the midsection of the rotating Collector ship, forcing the fighter's to break off their attack.

More parts of the regal colored insectoid craft opened and poured out dozens of eye-like drones. The Praetorian's Heads Up Display warned him of the danger along with predicting more incoming beam fire lashing out toward his craft. He weaved between the blue beams, his Doom Scythe spinning and manuevering through lights of death, while the drones began to pursue him.

"Vymark, I have encountered a complication." reported Kor'Pharas, wirelessly transmitting all the data he could while he continued evasive manuevers.

Solvatas grew irritated as the data came in, "It is as I feared then, they're adapting far too well considering what they were able to gather from Xamutet."

"Orders?"

"Retreat and regroup with your wing, then counterstrike appropriately. Nev'El reports that communications are nearly back in our hands. Support should be forthcoming."

The Praetorian put his engines to full throttle, jumping ahead of his pursurers. However, only one of his wingmen was able to rejoin him in his retreat. Activating a rearview camera feed, he zoomed in and saw a swarm of drones chase his wounded comrade. Initially it flipped over, maintaining momentum while firing its twin linked Destructors back at the attackers. The attack wiped out a good portion of the drones, but more began to swarm upon Kor'Pharas' wingman. Lasers fell upon the Doom Scythe from all sides, and surprisingly began to cut into the fighter's necrodermis hull. The Necron starcraft fired aft thrusters and attempted to burn away from the swarm but they began to focus their laser fire onto the engine exhaust instead. When the Doom Scythe got some distance from the swarm, a barrage of what appeared to be some kind of blue plasma bolts erupted from the eyes of the swarm of drones. The Immortal pilot corkscrewed his fighter to dodge but it was difficult to manuever through the barrage with only one wing and seventy-five percent of remaining manuevering thrusters. Bolts hit the craft, bit by bit inflicting damage before finally, a critical failure in the drive resulted in an explosion, causing the fighter to split in half down the middle.

Kor'Pharas' eyes narrowed in annoyance at the loss of such important war material. In the short term, the pilot could at least be recovered but the ship itself would take time to replace. Time it would seem, their enemy would no longer allow. Half of the Praetorian's squadron met him halfway between the enemy and the station where they reformed as a wing of eight and turned to face their pursuers. Plasma fire from the Collector drone fighters showered the Necron squadron's front but it was also where the necrodermis armor was thickest. Shrugging off the intense heat, the Necron fighters responded in kind with their Tesla armaments firing streaks of lightning into the drone swarm. Purple explosions rippled through the robot swarm as the green lightning arced from each giant drone's eye.

With the swarm scattered from the counterstrike, the Doom Scythes dove in towards the first of the Collector ships in front of them. The enemy ship suddenly began to pick up speed and more drones were deployed from it. Its engines burned brilliantly, propelling the craft quickly towards Omega. Fighters from the escorting Blue Suns frigates were deployed also and they too fired up their engines to keep up. The Collector drones showered more plasma bolts up towards the Necron fighters. Kor'Pharas opted to ignore the incoming fire, having all of his fighter wing fire their Death Rays in unision to make a kill on the Collector ship. The new swarm of drones suddenly charged them at full speed, throwing off Kor'Pharas' aim with several heavy impacts. The Collector drones continued sacrificing themselves, ramming the Necron fighters and causing the crescent craft to scatter out of formation. The Necrons were forced to abandon their attack and burn away, regrouping out of the swarm using their Tesla Destructors to clear a path.

Both Collector ships flew past the Doom Scythes and were now moving at full speed towards the station. Kor'Pharas issued a warning, "Vymark! The Collectors appear intent on a collision course with the station using cruiser class vessels! We are attempting to intervene!"

The Praetorian's fighter reoriented and burned once again after the enemy ships. Half of his fighter wing was now being engaged in dogfights with the swarm, their Tesla Destructors burning a swath through it. This allowed some of their fellow Doom Scythes to break away to pursue the enemy starships. More and more drones spilled forth from the rear of the pair of Collector cruisers, where they began to fill the Necron fighters' path with plasma. The constant barrages were taking its toll on the Praetorian and his craft. He took a scalding hit from a plasma bolt and his fighter's necrodermis armor was beginning to buckle. More Tesla fire from his Destructors removed the smaller swarm attacking his front, but close range beam lasers then cut into him from his flanks.

The surviving drones from the Doom Scythe's attack then continued the chase, lashing out with lasers as the Necrons targeted the rear of the Collector cruiser. It too fired blue lasers, forcing the Necron fighters to weave and spin. Kor'Pharas then fired along with his three fellow Doom Scythes, their green beams of death carving into the Collector engine exhaust, causing the rear of the ship to explode in green fire. They began to peel off as explosions rippled through the rear of the enemy cruiser, its reactor detonating. The shockwave ripped apart several dozen of the drones that couldn't dodge in time, while the explosion itself blew the ship apart from stern to bow.

With their first target neutralized, the Doom Scythes switched targets to the furthest Collector cruiser, now on approach to Omega. The escorting Blue Suns frigates began to turn away and fire swarms of missiles at the wing of Necron fighters. Kor'Pharas fired his Tesla Destructors mid spin, evading a missile and destroying a series of others with his fighter's lightning. Two of the Doom Scythes each took on a mercenary frigate and fired their Death Rays, boiling through their shields and armor in the midsections with ease. With that, they left their victims adrift and continued after the Collector cruiser that was now a mere few hundred kilometers away. The front of the vessel suddenly lit up as the needle portion of the bow along with multiple torpedo like objects were fired at the lower level of Omega. These objects quickly burned away from the cruiser. The Collector ship was then in turn lit up by Kor'Pharas and his fellow pilots with green streams of light. The energy beams carved into and split the midsection of the Collector vessel wide open, it's innards venting atmosphere and explosions.

Kor'Pharas and his fighters continued to chase after the boarding torpedos, but yet another of his wingmen was cut in half by a stray laser from the wounded enemy cruiser. The Praetorian and his fellows were forced to evade the streams of enemy fire and turn back to finish the job on the Collector cruiser, leaving the boarding craft to crash into the station. The needle point craft slammed into the lower decks first, while several others crashed deeper into the bottom section of Omega.

In retaliation, Kor'Pharas took out his annoyance on the now dying Collector vessel that sporadically fired out more laser fire from its undamaged sections. But with the Necron Praetorian and his fellow pilots coming from three different directions, its fate was sealed. Death Rays were unleashed and green energy streamed into the weakened portion of the ship, blasting it in half. The explosion sent the two remaining portions of the cruiser flying off into nearby asteroids, crashing and slamming into several of the floating rocks before finally exploding.

Though the majority of the enemy forces were destroyed, Kor'Pharas sensed he had still failed. The enemy was able to get an unknown number of assets onto the station and the main force was still on its way, likely coming into sensor range in the next few minutes. The Praetorian opened the comm once again, "My apologies Vymark, I have failed. The enemy's determination allowed a small force to disembark upon the lower decks."

"How was this possible?" Solvatas replied, irritated at the turn of events.

"They sacrificed their entire force to achieve this, and the weaponry of our enemies have caused several fighter casaulties. We are already detecting more enemy ships on approach, our necrodermis will need time to recover."

The Vymark groaned, "Do what you must. Communications is ours once more and soon I will be in contact with the Great One. He will no doubt relieve us soon."

"We shall see if that is what Veronakh deigns..." replied Kor'Pharas with uncertainty.

The Phaeron once again was going through reports on his throne as he had always done at the start of his capital world's daily solar cycle. Everything was nearly in place. Task forces were assigned for the appropriate sectors, resources from the Quarians were arriving at manufacturing zones, and Veronakh's army was now at optimal strength for offensive operations. Yet the unknown factors of Du'Maat's betrayal and even Solvatas' scheming with Kor'Pharas made him uneasy. Too many potentials for chaotic factors to slip into his designs. Shepard too was now among them, though he was a low tier issue if anything. His reputation was tarnished and he was now on his own. Even if Solvatas went along supporting the human Commander, it wouldn't be enough to threaten his designs. He could still be useful, as a fleeting weapon to use on the Collectors. Once they were dealt with, it would be a simple matter of forcing the Reapers to negotiate, once the war for the galaxy began. Shepard would not likely survive the war, but no doubt he would fight to the end like all humans of his type would.

A priority communication request from Omega caught his attention and he saw it was from Solvatas herself. His bodyguards hadn't reported in for some time, which meant another complication. He connected a communication channel to his internal comms and said, "I can already imagine why you've taken this long to re-establish contact."

"We're under attack by the Collectors Great One." Solvatas stated.

"Right within my expected time frame."

"Perhaps, but they have been adapting far more effectively then previously encountered. Sending you the data now."

A stream of information ran across Veronakh's ocular sensors, "Hmmm, interesting. As you have said, they are adapting far more readily then I gave them credit for."

"Yes and they are commiting a considerable amount of resources to capture my station with more ships en route. I request reinforcements to relieve my forces."

Veronakh leaned back in his throne and pondered, his metal fingers rythmically moving like those on a piano. Solvatas soon became impatient, "Great One?"

"Solvatas...I understand that you feel Omega is worth spending resources to defend but... I am afraid that I cannot comply with your request."

"...What?"

"It is unfortunate dear sister but as things stand now I cannot commit any forces to aid you. They are already in position to begin offensive operations and I cannot deviate from my plans at this time."

"But...Omega is a viable station with a working dockyard! Facilities to build more dynasty ships! Is that not important to your plans Great One?"

"Your points are all true yes, but you may not know that I already have enough auxillary vessels to fill the roles I need at the moment and several other stations are coming online as we speak. The truth of the situation Solvatas, is that Omega Station is now no longer indispensible to my plans."

"What?! Ridiculous!"

"So as you can see, should the station be overrun or destroyed, in the end it will be of little consequence to me. By all means continue your defence and provide all the data you can. It will be useful in preparing countermeasures if nothing else."

Solvatas dropped her respectful tone, spite edging in her metallic voice, "No...I know what this is really about brother."

"Oh? Do tell, its just the two of us on this line after all. You need not hold back...dear sister."

"What are you trying to prove with this? Trying to teach me a lesson about loyalty and respect?"

"You always were quick to catch on! But I digress, yes loyalty and respect are very important."

There was silence for a moment before Veronakh continued with a darker tone to his voice, "Did you really think I wouldn't notice how close you and the Praetorian have been all this time?"

Images of Kor'Pharas and Solvatas in talks briefly flashed over Solvatas ocular lens, "Why not? He's a trusted advisor and councilor-"

"And a spy for the Triarch."

"Yes, we all know whom they report to. It's in their name brother, why is that an issue?"

"Did you know that father actually despised the Triarch Praetorians? Felt that they were undermining his authority behind his back?"

"No, but I'm not surprised. Why is this relevant?"

"When this crown was integrated into my frame, father's secrets also passed down to me. Kor'Pharas was part of a cabal of Praetorians who was working to undermine father through plots and manipulations simply to curb his ambition. To rebuild his dynasty in his image, not the Triarch's!"

"Even if true, that only counted for father's rule not yours!"

"Really? Working with you and Shepard to undermine me behind my back? Looks to me like he hasn't changed his motis operandi. I'm sure he would like to take control of the dynasty using you as a proxy to do it! All to bring the dynasty into compliance with the Triarch's will!"

"Is that so wrong brother? Why would-"

"NO! I will never serve that Silent FOOL! Szarekh abandoned us all! Fled in shame at what he had done to his own people! Father understood! He knew that from then on, all Phaerons must seek their own path to the future. The Triarch's vision for the Necrontyr race is dead! No matter what Kor'Pharas tells you, in the end he will lie to satisfy his superior's desires!"

"But we could set a new course to restore our people! Not only to finally live once more but to be even stronger than ever! Why deny this possibility?"

"Because it is ridiculous! We are stronger now than any living creature, nothing can stand before our technological might! We are deathless! How can we get any stronger than this? There is no greater power in the galaxy than us Solvatas!"

"Yet the Reapers are adapting and have the numbers to potentially challenge us. We may be deathless but we are not above madness. Recent events also prove that brother. What is the point of immortality if we no longer have minds or even the senses to enjoy it. So long as we are what we are...then we will always be the tools of dead gods, doomed to eventual insanity."

"Is that what you fear? Is that why you betrayed me?! You think that...I'm going insane?"

"You're not yourself, you haven't been for a while now."

There was another few seconds of silence before Veronakh began laughing, slowly at first then building to an uproarious cackle, "Comedy! Utter comedy! You believe that I'm mad!?

"Can you not see it!? Allowing the enemy an advantage with no gain to us in turn, tormenting Shepard for no reason other than for your own amusement, and never allowing anyone else to even question your own plans!"

"Yes! It is not your place to question me and I can torment who I wish for it is my right! It is also my right to wage war as I see fit!"

Veronakkh's tone once more became darker, "Father was right...the only way you can truly serve...is to first be broken."

"If you believed that then why did you restore my mind to begin with? If you knew all his secrets from the beginning then why?"

"...I wanted to believe that the sister I knew was truly loyal. When I first heard of what father had done to you...I couldn't believe it. You were outspoken yes, but fiercly loyal to Solvatakh. Now though, I truly understand why he did what he did. You had been truly corrupted into the Triarch's pawn. Fracturing you was the only way to preserve your dignity."

"...Ridiculous...all of that is ridiculous nonsense brother."

"Well...in the end, what you believe to be nonsense will soon be irrelevant. Once the Collectors defeat you, I'll simply move in and sweep them away. Then I will have you and Kor'Pharas rebuilt, with minds more suited to my needs. Thanks to Du'Maat's notes I know the method by which father fractured your mind. It would be easy to duplicate."

"That isn't going to happen again brother."

"Hmph, if you are so determined then perhaps you should get back to defending what meagre holdings you have left. Think of this...as your crucible. To decide whether or not the current you as you are, is worth keeping."

With that, the line was cut and Veronakh once more looked out to the city skyline, its green hued lights now switching off as the sun rose higher in the sky.

"My dynasty will rise in my image...not yours Szarekh..."

Joker carefully stretched out in his pilot's chair, relaxing after evading Council ships in the Serpent Nebula for the past half hour. The pilot checked his terminal with a glance. The shuttle had launched five minutes ago with Garrus and Kusko making progress to reach the Citadel undetected. So far so good, hopefully nothing happens in the next hour or however long it takes for Garrus to get his mission done. "Then we can head to Tuchanka and wait even more for Shepard!", the pilot mused to himself.

The flight lieutenant sighed which did not go unnoticed by the floating ball, "Is there a problem Mr. Moreau?" EDI asked.

"No...I was just thinking about something."

"Is there anything I can do to relieve you of this distress?"

"Again, no. I told you to call me Jeff remember?"

"I apologize, there are still systems within my core related to memory that-"

"Just forget about it, I know you're doing everything you can, but just let me think right now."

"Very well. I will return to my observations."

Joker heard footsteps coming from behind him and turned his seat to see the slender figure of Miranda in her usual outfit. The Flight Lieutenant looked up and said, "So... all things looking good from up here. Whats the plan now?"

Miranda shrugged, "Stand by and wait for instructions from either Shepard or Garrus, simple as that."

"I guess so, this is the only part of the job that's probably the worst. The waiting. Not that I don't have means to deal with the boredom mind you, its just the jump from zero to sixty everytime you know? Can't we just have a nice steady build up to the point where everything goes to shit? Just to change it up?"

"Military operations typically involve long periods of inactivity prior to combat. A 'lull' is to be expected Mr. Moreau." EDI interjected.

Joker rolled his eyes, "Just let me complain without the commentary please."

"Has EDI been giving you any other issues?" Miranda asked with a raised brow.

"Other than her memory being wiped, she has said that she's having trouble recalling things. Likely due to whatever the Necrons did to keep her mouth shut. She can still do things in the moment though like evasive manuevers, cyberwarfare, etc. EDI just forgets little things like minor requests."

"That's still a problem Joker. If she can't even recall minor details then that could grow more serious later."

"You're not going to...shut her down are you?"

"Not yet, it means I'll need to request some more AI experts to take a look. Maybe they can-"

A flashling light on the pilot's holographic display and an alerting noise caught both of their attention. Joker swung the chair back around to his terminal and interacted with it, "We're getting a priority comm request from...Omega?"

Miranda's eyebrow perked at that, "Why would...put her on."

Joker smirked, "Yes ma'am... this oughta be good." The Normandy pilot then activated FTL comms and replied, "Omega station, this is Normandy we read you loud and clear."

"Normandy, this is Solvatas, I need to speak to Commander Shepard at once."

"I'm afraid the Commander is indisposed at the moment. He is currently on mission." Miranda stated matter-of-factly.

"Miss Lawson...I presume you're currently in charge of the ship in Shepard's place?"

"At the moment, why do you ask?"

"Because...I need the Normandy's firepower."

Joker turned and looked to Miranda whose eyes narrowed, "So this isn't about Shepard, you just want our ship. Why am I not surprised..." the XO stated disdainfully.

"My station is under attack and I find myself in the uncomfortable position of needing reinforcement." replied the Vymark, also irritated at the situation.

"Why not call your superior?"

"He refuses to grant me aid and more enemy ships are attacking my station. I am also dealing with multiple boarders and hull breaches. If I don't get relieved soon, Omega may soon fall into Collector hands."

"The Collectors are involved?"

"We've already destroyed several of their cruisers but more ships are incoming. My own vessel is still locked down and the enemy boarders are fighting to reach my station's reactor."

"Don't you have any other assets you could draw on?"

"They're either deployed and engaged or under Veronakh's control. As I said, he has chosen to let me deal with this all on my own."

"Why?"

"There's no time to explain! The enemy presses down on me and I do not have the patience any longer! Either help me to save this station or you condemn it and all of its people to the Collector's mercies!"

Miranda huffed and sighed, "...We may help you...but under some conditions."

"By the gods, can you not see that we don't have time to go into negotiations!"

"I think now is the perfect time actually. For one, you will owe us for this and second we demand compensation for our efforts."

"Fine! I'll provide you whatever you want so your mission can succeed! Just get over here!"

"We'll be over there in five." With that Miranda made a cut off gesture with her hand and Joker cut communication.

The Normandy pilot raised a brow and readjusted his cap, "So we're really doing this? Without Shepard?"

Miranda crossed her arms smugly, "Wouldn't be the first time and you'll be the one piloting. I'll just be pointing out who to shoot first."

Joker began to set a course for the relay and took a deep breath, "Roger, and hey like you said she'll owe us big for this. That is if she is true to her word."

"So far she has been to a point. But if she weasels out of this for whatever reason, then this will be the last time we do her a favor."

Joker smiled, "Here here! Hitting the relay in three, two, one!"

The Normandy approached the Mass Relay, the ship turning into the energy stream that quickly grabbed it and super charged the nimble frigate. It then sent the ship across the galaxy in a flash of light.