Chapter 46

Collector Ship – Arinlarkin System

"Even knowing this is a trap isn't giving me a lot of confidence. They have to know we're here by now, right?" asked Jack as she looked nervously out of the larger windows of the troop loader.

"If they did, they'd have closed off the ship already and sprung their trap," said Shepard as she scanned the area with her omni-tool.

Garrus nodded to Jack knowingly. "Lia and Tali made this shuttle extremely stealthy so it's unlikely they'll ever detect us while we're inside it."

"That's great…" said Jack in a voice betraying that she wasn't convinced.

"Shepard, we have another terminal ahead in the center of the big chamber," came Lia's voice. "At least… I think it's a terminal."

"Set us down, we'll check it out," said Shepard as she opened the side of the shuttle already. The door folded up the side of the vehicle and slid over the roof, allowing them all to see the platforms coming up. They were hexagonal metal plates that fit together like a beehive, creating a network of platforms that detached, flew away, then came back. It was incredibly efficient for the needs of the collectors, and the design was something she could picture being used in the Citadel Tower.

Despite Garrus's reassuring words, Shepard herself felt eerie about their whole situation. She hated it here. Of course, she would. After being killed and resurrected she didn't know anyone who would go through that process and then come to enjoy the place they were killed. But this was something more; she felt like she was being watched. She wanted to be anywhere but here at the moment, but she needed to see this through.

This feeling didn't have much to do with her death, it was her instincts screaming at her that this was a trap and knowing that even having prepared heavily for it, something could still go wrong. She shook the jitters from her limbs as the shuttle finally set down on the platforms.

"This looks like the main hub for the platforms. They come back here when they're not in use, and then get called to other areas of the ship when needed. Kinda like the rapid transit on the Citadel," said Garrus as he stepped out of the vehicle with his weapon ready to fire.

Shepard spotted that all the platforms at the edges were returning to one side and then the new ones were leaving at the other end. She wondered if there were some algorithm that determined how to efficiently sort them all to make sure the same platforms weren't being overworked. Removing the thought from her head, she focused on the glowing terminal ahead. "EDI, you ready for another boarding point?"

"Affirmative, Spectre," said the AI as her holographic form popped up on the omni-tool. Shepard held the device over the collector terminal and EDI made the jump easily enough. Within seconds, her eye popped up over the terminal. "Spectre! I have full access from here!"

Shepard breathed a sigh of relief and nodded. "Good. Focus on the Omega 4 Relay and their homeworld. We need to know how they get through, and what they're doing with humans. Everything else comes second."

"I will need to access their mains systems for the information. Warning, the moment I move from this terminal into their main system, I will be breaching a firewall. It's highly unlikely that they would continue to be ignorant to our presence once I'm inside," said EDI seriously. "Do you wish for me to proceed, Shepard?"

Shepard inhaled sharply and looked around. This was hardly the best spot to be waiting when the collectors figured out they were on board. She wished they could have used the medical terminal from before and then flown out the docking bay before they ever arrived. Unfortunately, nothing could ever just be easy. On the other hand, the longer they stayed in here looking for an out of the way terminal to defend, the more likely they were to run into opposition, and cause the entire ship to go on full alert.

Looking down at her holographic eye, Shepard nodded. "Do it. Remember, Omega 4 Relay, homeworld, human harvest. Everything else comes second and is expendable data," she said as she turned to the others. "We have to defend EDI here while she farms data. Everyone, get ready."

"Great…" grumbled Jack as she pulled her gun off her belt.

Jacob prepared his battle rifle and nodded to Shepard, as did everyone else. "Alright EDI."

"Firewall breeched," said the AI as data began to scroll across her holographic surface. "I silenced as many warnings as I could." Almost as soon as she said the words, the air inside the ship changed. As if everything around her had gotten colder somehow. She raised her rifle as the platforms stopped moving. Immediately chills when down her spine as the platforms around them scattered like the seeds of a dandelion. "Bulkheads are closing all over the ship."

"Get us what we need, EDI. We'll worry about those later!" said Shepard as she turned just in time to see one of the platforms underneath the shuttle break off and flee. The vehicle began to tip over the edge and Shepard had to watch in slow motion as Lia's surprise registered. The entire thing fell down into the darkness of the chasm below. "Lia!" shouted the spectre as she reached out to grab her.

But the vehicle ended up dragging her down into the darkness as well. Jacob ran up and looked over the edge as multiple platforms emerged from the edges of the massive, cavernous room and began heading their way. It was clear that they were not empty. "She'll be fine, Shepard!" snapped Jacob as he gripped her weapon and shoved it against her. "Focus!"

Nodding, the spectre backed away from the edge and raised her rifle, aiming and firing at the incoming collectors. Before the platforms even docked the insectoid aliens blasted off from the floating transports and began flying towards them with their rapidly moving wings. Despite the dozens that were now attacking, the group held their ground well.

Even being relatively new to firearms, Jack was showing promise as she waited for the bugs to get closer before unleashing a spray of bullets into them with her submachine gun. One of the collectors that targeted her fell from the sky as her rounds ripped it open and the other suffered damage to its wings. It made a dive for her but slammed into her biotic shield so hard that it practically broke itself in half.

The gunfire from the entire squad put down the first wave of enemies that had attacked relatively easily. But Shepard was too much of a realist to think this was all there was to it. There would be more, much more knocking at their door soon. "EDI, can you bring these platforms down to where Lia fell?"

"I can multitask, Shepard. But that will make it much harder for you to defend yourselves against incoming attacks," said the AI. Shepard realized she was right, of course. Trying to fight off flying enemies while the platform moved underneath them would likely cause them all to topple off of their refuge. "I will move us when there is a rest from the attacks. In the meantime, keep yourselves alive."

Nodding, Shepard reached up and activated her comm. "Lia, do you hear me? Are you alright?" asked the spectre as she saw the platforms flee as more started coming their way. She got no response as the platforms released more collectors onto their floating island. Shepard aimed up and fired, but these ones had their barriers up. One of them aimed a prothean beam weapon at her and she aimed back, firing down the barrel and shattering the entire thing.

An explosion lit the darkness of the room as the weapon erupted into a flash of light, disintegrating the user of the weapon as a second one flew directly at her. Luckily it was far enough away to chip its barriers down before putting a round through its head, causing it to slam into the platform directly in front of her.

"Shepard! We've got a problem!" snapped Thane as he catapulted the head off of an attacking collector with his garotte cord.

She turned and looked in the direction he was facing and noticed that there was a swarm of seekers headed directly their way. "Shit!"

"I thought we got the antidote!" shouted Jack as she slammed a collector into the ground and then hurled it off into the distance with her biotics.

"There is no antidote for being torn apart!" shouted Shepard, knowing from Mordin that the insects were capable of more than just paralyzing their targets.

"What about the wristbands?" asked Jacob as he slammed his booted foot down onto a collector's head before filling it full of holes.

"That's way too many to be confident about!" shouted Shepard as she helped blast one of the husks that was clawing at Samara's shield. Its back exploded with her rounds, and it sank to the ground. Suddenly, the asari held up a hand and a massive shield covered them all. Shepard looked over at her in confusion. "Samara?"

"I can hold off the swarms. But when the collectors return, I will have to let them in. I can no longer help you in this fight," she said as she looked at Shepard. "I place myself in your care, Spectre."

Shepard gritted her teeth but nodded. "When collectors come to the shield, drop it to let them in, then put it back up again. The only seekers that'll be able to get through that will be enough for our deterrents to handle," she ordered as she turned to EDI. "How are we doing EDI?"

"I've collected information on the collector homeworld. Unfortunately, I'm being fought every step of the way by a massive intelligence," said the AI as her holographic form glitched.

"I thought EDI said she could take on a reaper!" snapped Jack as she panted heavily.

"This is just a small fragment of EDI," said Garrus as he tossed a burned-out heat sink and slapped in another. "Incoming!"

They fought again twice more with Samara holding up a shield to block their swarms from getting in. As soon as the collectors got close, she dropped the shield and allowed them to fly through. This worked as a benefit for two reasons. First because it was a strategy that kept the swarms at bay. But also, the collectors expected to hit a barrier, and when they flew to attack one, it vanished leaving them exposed to weapon's fire.

Unfortunately, the strategy couldn't work forever. "Shepard!" shouted EDI from her terminal. "I'm registering heavy units on incoming platforms! Samara's shields may not be enough!"

The spectre nodded and looked to the others. "If these are the creatures I think they are, then I'll need you all to shove them off the platform as fast as you can. They have powerful biotics themselves, so you'll need to be fast."

"Understood!" said Jacob as his biotics lit.

"Hey Samara, wait a few seconds next time you drop your barrier," ordered Jack as she prepared her own as well.

"As you wish," said the asari with a small grin as the platforms they were on finally broke away and sunk lower into the abyssal depths of the ship. EDI was now controlling their trip through the guts of the vessel, but she wouldn't be able to stop the collectors from docking and attacking with them, especially while multitasking and fighting off whatever the collectors had running their ship. It was up to them to keep her safe while looking for Lia.

As soon as the platforms with the heavy units docked, Jack stepped into the middle of them all and put her own barrier around them. "Samara! You put your barrier on the outside!"

Knowing what she had planned, the asari held up a single hand, her own glowing wall now trapping the collectors in between the two barriers. Jack roared and her own biotic shield shot outwards, slamming against the heavies and troops alike until they were being crushed between the two. Suddenly, Jack's barrier impacted Samara's and anything caught in the web between was annihilated as an explosive dome of darkfire caused a shockwave to tear the insectoid attackers apart.

Unfortunately, their plan also caused one of the collector platforms to careen off course and slam into theirs rather than docking with it. The abomination that had been on the platform was hurled directly into their midst before anyone could get a shield up again. The creature roared angrily before lashing out with biotics that sent Garrus catapulting up into the air. The turian fired his weapon in mid-air and miraculously managed to snipe the thing through two of the numerous skulls forming its head. But not before he too fell over the edge of the platform.

"Garrus!" shouted Shepard as her eyes flared with fire. She reached back and pulled the laser weapon off her back before immediately blasting through the creature's remaining heads, causing it to collapse into a pile of ash. More began docking and collectors began swarming in, all of them suffering from her laser as it burned through both flesh and machine. "EDI, take us down!"

"Moving," said the AI dutifully as the platform began to sink lower into the ship.

The weapon she was using gave the others the break they needed as they all recovered from the rogue platform crash. After what felt like an eternity of failed attacks by the collectors, they found themselves surrounded by darkness as the main block of platforms moved away from the cavernous main hall and down into the depths of the ship. "Where are they?" asked Shepard, her anxiety rising even higher at the thought of leaving any of her crew behind on this monstrosity.

"Spectre, I have the information you requested from the collector ship," said EDI urgently.

"Good. Now focus on finding Garrus and Lia," ordered the spectre as she used her omni-tool to light the way around her and search below.

"I have also downloaded the blueprints of the ship we are on. I will move us in a search pattern, but it will be harder to defend yourself as we search," she said as the platforms began to move through the corridors of the hive-like ship in a rigid, mechanical fashion. The sudden inorganic movements of the platforms nearly knocked them off their feet. But they kept their weapon's read as EDI moved them through the ship.

As she said, it was much harder to fight while she was searching. Despite being out of the main hall collectors still swarmed through the corridors and chased them down. Jack's biotics were causing her to sweat now as she and Jacob paired up together to switch between biotics and gunfire. Samara and Thane did something similar, while Shepard watched their backs on her own with her rapidly overheating weapon.

Suddenly, EDI stopped the platform. "Shepard! We have incom-" came the AI's warning, but she didn't get it out fast enough. One of the massive amalgamations of monstrous husks they had fought back on Horizon screeched loudly before it impacted the platform, immediately launching Shepard off the surface from the speed of the impact and hurling her into the depths of the ship below.

She hit the ground hard and rolled as best she could to try and mitigate the impact, but her arm was still sore as she rose to her feet and looked around. It was relatively dark, but not dark enough that she couldn't see she was being surrounded by collectors. She couldn't tell what was happening with the crew above her. Even as she tried her comm, she realized that ever since EDI had broke through the first firewall there had been a comm jammer active that prevented anyone outside of a few meters from communicating.

She held her laser weapon one handed and glared at the monsters swarming around her, wondering why they weren't just attacking her and being done with it. But it became clear moments later when one of the collectors lurched forward as glowing lines of control etched themselves into its necrotic skin. Soon, its eyes began to glow brightly as it stood back up and looked at her. "Shepard."

"Harbinger," she said with a glare as she sighed. "Why aren't you killing me?" she asked as she reached up and activated the medigel applicator built into her hardsuit. She didn't know what was wrong with her arm, but she'd probably need another round in the medbay after today.

"Your scurrying ends here, Shepard," said the glowing figure as it drifted forward.

"Is this the part where you tell me your entire plan and why you're doing what you're doing?" she asked sarcastically as she looked around at them all. She might be able to get the laser to cut them all in half before they could attack. But Haringer was more durable, she'd have to take it out first.

"We are the harbinger of your ascension," it said as it lifted its arms up like some kind of mad, twisted prophet. "You humans are shortsighted. The evolution cannot be stopped."

"What evolution?" she asked, bewildered by the comment. "You've got me here talking to me instead of fighting me. So, make me understand what the hell it is you want from us."

"We are your genetic destiny," it said as it flew up close to her. "Sapient life is a genetic mistake. We are the peak of evolution. Your attacks are primitive. They will fail. We are inevitable, unstoppable."

"That goes a long way to explaining nothing," she growled as she jumped forward and punched the glowing collector directly in its chest. Her biotic warp-covered fist blew a hole through its body and caused the light to flee. But as she moved to try and fire the laser again, it became apparent that her attack was expected. Before she could pull the weapon up with the strength of her one arm, she found herself swarmed and restrained by the other collectors.

Another one stepped up to her and spasmed in what looked like agonizing pain before the light began to radiate from its form. "You cannot kill me, Shepard. These attacks are pointless," it said as it floated closer to her and stared directly down into her eyes. "Your form is fragile. You are the hero of your people; you will be the shepherd of their ascension. The evolution cannot be stopped."

"What evolution!" she snapped angrily as the monologuing insectoid began to get on her nerves. "All you've said to me is nonsense! Tell me what it is you want from us!"

"Your compliance, your destruction, your ascension. You will know us when you become one of us. Until then, your mind is too primitive to understand." Finally, it reached up and gripped her neck, its sharp talons scraping her skin. "You are ignorant. But soon you will submit, and you will guide humans to the ascension."

Harbinger's face was nearly touching hers at this point, causing her to breathe through her mouth as the stink of the prothean carcass that had been this collector's former owner invaded her senses. "I will never submit to you."

Harbinger slashed her across the face, resulting in a deep pain that made her feel like her face was on fire. "You have no choice," it said as it held up the bloodied claw. But Shepard reeled for a few seconds as a vehicle flew out of nowhere and smashed into the creature so hard that it slammed against the wall, its light going out immediately as it splattered. Shepard looked up to see Garrus leaning out of the shuttle with his assault rifle and blasting at the creatures holding her.

She pulled the trigger on her laser again, causing the light weapon to lance through one of their legs. The collector let go of her in shock and she swung the laser around with the trigger suppressed, the lance of light cutting through the rest. Immediately Shepard raced towards the shuttle and jumped aboard with the turian gripping her reassuringly. "I've got her Lia! Let's get back to the others!"

The vehicle turned on a dime and jetted through the corridors before breaking into another large chamber. Shepard saw the platform where her crewmembers were fighting, and could see plainly that they were struggling to fend off the massive flying creature. Samara looked to be unconscious with Jack holding up a barrier that was blocking its searing beams fired from the glowing eyes near its head.

"Fly down to one of the collector bodies and let me off! Garrus, you and Lia get its attention real quick!" she ordered quickly as she prepared her weapon again.

She jumped off and rolled to a stop next to a collector corpse with another laser. She picked it up and held both aloft as she regained feeling in her arm from the medigel.

Lia flew the shuttle nearby as Garrus leaned out of it and fired point blank into its shifting mass of horrific faces. This did the job as it screeched and turned to chase the shuttle. But despite its speed in the air, it was no match for the speed of their shuttle.

Shepard hefted the two laser weapons and Jacob, Jack, and Thane all stepped up with their own that they had picked up as well. "Glad to have you back, Spectre," said Thane with a small smile as they all knelt down and aimed up at the pursuing creature.

"Glad to be back with you guys," she said as she saw another swarm of collectors rise from the depths below, Harbinger itself among them. Even without communicating, Lia appeared to know exactly what to do as she flew the shuttle back towards their position. She appeared to be going slow enough so that the creature could keep pursuit, but as soon as she got within range of Shepard and the others, she dipped the nose up and carried Garrus and her both out of sight.

Now the massive bug-like tank was headed straight for Shepard, and right into an arsenal of their own laser weapons. It screeched out a horrific cry as the five weapons pierced its armor and carved it open from the inside. It was ashes within seconds, letting Shepard and the others turn their focus towards the incoming swarm of dead protheans.

"EDI! We're done here! Let's go!" shouted Shepard as she held out her omni-tool.

"I will need to stay here to command the bulkheads open to allow you to escape!" said the AI, causing Shepard's brows to furrow. "Do not worry! There is another access point near the exit where you can retrieve me! I will guide you there, but you must hurry! I can only fight off this intelligence for so much longer!"

Shepard nodded as the platform they were on broke away from the main hub of platforms and went rocketing across the massive open room. The crew held their ground as another of the large tank-like abominations chased them, but before it could even do anything, multiple of the hexagonal platforms smashed into it from all sides as EDI controlled them, crushing it to death is seconds.

Shepard turned towards the shuttle that was keeping pace nearby and waved to them. Once they were in range, she activated her comm again. "We're leaving! We'll pick EDI up at the door!"

"Understood!" shouted Lia as she rode the vehicle closer to them. "Everyone aboard, now!" she ordered as she closed the door on the far end of the shuttle. Jacob lifted Samara and jumped aboard, followed by Jack, then Thane, and finally Shepard herself.

"Keep your weapons hot! We're not out of this yet!" she shouted over the noise of the battle ensuing around them. As if to prove her point, several collectors popped up in front of the vehicle in an attempt to stop it. The screen cracked as Lia didn't let off the accelerator at all, slamming into them with the force of a battering ram.

"Shepard! We've got more on the sides!" shouted Garrus as he blasted through one's cranium as it was flying up next to the vehicle.

Finally, Lia entered a corridor again which kept the collectors off the shuttle. But it didn't stop them from firing at it. Opening both sides of the vehicle, Lia shouted to the back. "Keep them off us or we'll be exiting with nothing but a pile of scrap!"

The team formed squads on either side, using their lasers and weapons they had available to blast through the pursuing army of undead creatures. "Bulkheads are fully opened, Spectre! I will jump aboard the moment you come into range!"

"Affirmative!" shouted Shepard as she sawed one of the chasing collectors in half with her laser weapon. It seemed like an eternity before Lia finally entered a massive docking bay on the other side of the ship. Shepard saw her omni-tool light up as they passed the checkpoint, and then she activated her comm again. "Normandy! We need immediate extraction now!"

It shouldn't have surprised her given that she knew he was waiting on her order, but the Normandy popped up within seconds. As soon as they left the collector ship's hull, she could see that it was now powered up and running again and immediately began to turn towards them. "Everyone hang on!" shouted Jacob as he manually slammed the doors on the vehicle shut.

Lia expertly flew the shuttle into the ship, slamming everyone against the wall of the shuttle as she turned sharply to zoom into the cargo bay of the Normandy. EDI immediately slammed shut the emergency bulkhead before Joker lit the engines and propelled them out of the system.

Conference Room – SSV Normandy SR2

"EDI, how are you doing?" asked Shepard as she leaned back in one of the seats at the table.

"Reintegration was seamless, Shepard. I am fully myself again," said the AI cheerfully.

"Good," said Miranda as she sat at another of the chairs. "I'm also glad to see that you all made it out… mostly in one piece."

"I'm thinking when we visit the collector homeworld, I stay on the ship and you all go without me," said Shepard with a groan as her arm ached. "Speaking of the collector homeworld, show us what you've got EDI."

"Of course, Shepard. Navigation data aboard the collector vessels shows the collector homeworld to be located at these coordinates," said EDI as she brought the holographic galactic map up over the table. A small reticle appeared and focused on what looked like the center of the galaxy.

Shepard's brows furrowed at the claim as she winced at the pain on her cheek. Miranda leaned closer, her eyes narrowing. "That can't be right," said the XO in confusion.

"It has to be," said Shepard with a sigh. "I doubt they purged their navigation data and put in a phony to fool EDI."

Jacob shook his head. "But there's nothing out there but black holes and exploding suns. How could anything survive out there?"

Mordin hummed for a long moment before tapping his chin. "Not homeworld. Artificial structure. Space station. Powerful generators of mass effect fields and radiation shields. Could feasibly survive. Not very friendly towards organic species, but reaper created slave species, definitely possible."

Ash nodded thoughtfully. "That would also explain why no ship has ever come back."

"Standard relay transit protocols allows for several thousand kilometers of drift. If we follow this information logically, there would be a small safe zone on the other side of the Omega 4 Relay where ships can safely emerge. Making a regular relay jump would be deadly," said EDI as she appeared below the galactic map. "Unfortunately, I could not find the proper IFF aboard the vessel due to the resistance from whatever intelligence is currently watching over their vessel."

"We'll have to find it somewhere else then," said Miranda with a sigh. "Either way, we've got a lot more information than we had yesterday, and that definitely counts for something. Good work everyone."

Most of the crew nodded and filtered out of the room, leaving Miranda with Shepard. Shepard had her face bandaged, making her look like she was wearing a PPE mask over her mouth. Her arm was also in a sling. "I'd like to go a week without some kind of injury."

Miranda chuckled and nodded. "You do seem to be a magnet for pain," she said as she brushed her hair aside. "That said, I'm glad you made it back. I hear you got separated from the group."

"A few of us did. But we managed to wrangle ourselves together again," said the spectre as she sat up. "I suppose I'll have to talk to your boss now."

"I suppose," said the XO as she stood up fully and walked towards the exit. "Don't forget about the surgery I mentioned. I need a few days from you so we can take care of your cybernetics."

"I've got it, I've got it," she said as she stood up. Miranda exited the room and Shepard tapped away at the terminal on the table. Within moments, the table sunk into the ground and the Illusive Man's room was reconstructed in light form once more.

"Shepard! EDI sent me the information she collected from the ship," he said as he held up a holographic display of the collector vessel. "Remarkable technology."

"Remarkable and deadly. The place is one giant organic coffin," she said as she shook the images from her head. "Regardless, she identified what we need to get through the Omega 4 Relay and where the collector's home base is. Problem is we need an IFF that we don't currently have to get through."

"I saw that. What kind of technological marvel could survive in the galactic core, I wonder," he said as he stared at the holographic ship. It could be just her, but she didn't like how much he was marveling at the technology that was currently harvesting humans. While EDI didn't find any information on what the humans were being used for, she highly doubted she was going to stroll into their homeworld or space station or whatever it was and find every captured human intact.

"It's technological marvels that are going to be destroyed when I get there," she said as she crossed her arms. "I doubt the collectors are farming humans to put them to work on some kind of utopian creation engine, so I doubt whatever we find there would be ethical to even keep."

"We'll have the conversation of the ethics of certain technologies later. Right now, I may have some good news," he said as he smashed a cigarette butt down into the ashtray. "I may have a way to get us the IFF that the Omega 4 Relay needs to allow safe passage."

His words immediately piqued her interest. "I'm listening."

"I currently have a science team working on a derelict reaper," said the Illusive Man as he pierced her with his gaze.

"There's a dead reaper floating around in the galaxy?" asked Shepard as she uncrossed her arms in surprise.

"Believe it or not there have already been a few of those discovered already. According to reports shortly after the First Contact War, the Alliance discovered another reaper corpse on the surface of Jartar. At least, that's what the description they gave said it looked like. But before any science teams got there, they were destroyed and the technology at the site was gone," he said as he narrowed his eyes at her.

He knew she knew what he was implying. "So, you're saying the batarians likely have their hands on reaper technology."

"That's what it looks like. But given the information I'm about to share, that might be a problem that takes care of itself," he said before lighting another cigarette. "An Alliance science team recently determined that the great rift on the planet Klendagon is actually an impact crater from a mass accelerator weapon."

Shepard's brows rose high. "How powerful a weapon to have left that scarring on a planet."

"Indeed. A very old weapon," he said firmly as he swirled his drink in the glass. "I sent a team to find either the weapon or its target. And they managed to find both. At least, they found the location of where the weapon was."

"What about it's target?" asked Shepard, intrigued by the discovery.

"A 37-million-year-old dead reaper that's currently in a decaying orbit around the brown dwarf Mnemosyne in the Thorne System. I sent a science team in weeks ago to study it and create a dossier on any weaknesses it may have and any information on how it was made," he said with a heavy sigh.

"But…" started Shepard, knowing that having a quick pick up mission for the IFF was too good to be true.

"But we lost contact with Doctor Chandana's team. There may be reason to believe that indoctrination can take place even in a dead reaper," he said as he eyed her. "I'm going to send in another team to see if I can extract the IFF without exposing you and your team to a potential source of indoctrination. In the meantime, prepare your team just in case they don't make it back."

Shepard gave the Illusive Man a deadpan stare before shrugging. "If you say so. But we both know that there's a zero percent chance that I won't be boarding that reaper in the next week or two."

He snorted in amusement before nodding. "You've proven yourself reliable time and time again, Shepard. I hope that trend continues."

The call ended and Shepard turned away from the QEC, her brows furrowing at his words. She didn't like the implication he was putting forth, but there wasn't much she could do about the situation right now. Instead, she shook her head and found herself more curious about the batarians than before.

Port Observation Deck – SSV Normandy SR2

Kelly marveled at the things she saw as she entered the room. She didn't want to be rude, of course. This was Kasumi's space and she didn't want to touch anything without asking. But seeing the gorgeous paintings, sculptures, and actual paperback books on the shelves almost made her warm inside with how cozy everything was. It's like she had walked into a mythical bookstore, except that the book keeper wasn't a wizened old lady, but a wily Japanese woman.

It was then that she realized that most of the stuff she was staring at had probably been stolen from somewhere, which put a slight damper on things. "You just had a rollercoaster of emotions on your face there," said the thief as she stared up at the yeoman from a small couch.

"Sorry, I've just never seen a cozier collection aboard this ship. Most people have their rooms decorated photos of family due to the danger of our mission. I never thought I'd see a bookshelf with original copies of the Lord of the Rings on it," she said as she walked over and stood in front of the opposite couch.

Kasumi motioned for her to sit. "Well, the only photos I need of my family are up here now," she said as she tapped her head. "I don't really have any family anymore."

Kelly cocked an eyebrow at the claim. "You don't have anyone outside of the Normandy?"

The Japanese woman let out a heavy sigh. "Unfortunately, no. I was born a single child to a single parent who died when I was out of highschool. I began surviving on the streets of Sendai back on Earth. It wasn't long before I found out I could make a comfortable living by relieving certain people of things they no longer had any uses for."

"Right," said Kelly as she noted the information. "So, you were a thief as a kid as well?"

"Oh no. Thief sounds so negative. I was an… entrepreneur," said the woman with a grin. "Either way, I got a little big for my boots back then. I started leaving behind calling cards," she said as she pointed towards the fake red rose bouquet on her desk. "Any time I stole something, I'd leave a red rose as a way to let those people know that I was the one who took it. I guess you could say I wanted the recognition, I wanted to see the distress on their face as they saw my calling card."

"That didn't last?" asked the yeoman as she looked up from her datapad.

"Not for a long time, no. I'm lucky it stopped when it did because according to the police records they were going to start setting traps for me," she said with a shrug. "But before that, I met Keiji. He and I had the same job."

"Oh, I like the sound of this," said Kelly with a bright grin.

Kasumi chuckled at her enthusiasm. "A hopeless romantic, are we?" she asked, getting a nod. "I ended up winning that round. It was around then that I had started taking work as a thief for the highest bidder. Keiji and me ran into each other a few more times before he finally got the nerve to ask me out."

"That's the warm fuzzies I was hoping for," said Kelly with a giggle.

"Indeed. We fell for each other pretty hardcore," said Kasumi as she opened her omni-tool and brought up a picture of the man. "He's the one who got me out of using a calling card. He had a way of showing you the error of your ways."

"He sounded like a great guy," said Kelly as she leaned over onto the arm of the couch and put her legs up.

"He was," said Kasumi with a sad smile. "Unlike me, he grew up destitute. His thievery was out of necessity, unlike me who knew where my meals were coming from. He was so wise it was hard not to fall for him. You almost never see people wise beyond their years at his age without tons of trauma to back it up. But he was something special."

Kelly nodded knowingly at the claim. Growing up oftentimes meant severe circumstances during the growth years. "And he taught you?"

"He taught me a lot. But I taught him to be a better thief," she said with a chuckle. "He taught me to steal from those who deserved it, and I taught him how to get past security systems. Basically, he was my moral compass, and I was his trainer. We had something together," she said with a sigh before closing the picture again. "And then the Alliance gave us a mission, and he ended up dying. And now I have a timebomb in my head."

Kelly's eyes widened at the claim as Kasumi looked up at her. "You don't mean…"

Kasumi snorted and shook her head. "Metaphorical timebomb, not real."

The yeoman let out a sigh of relief. "Okay, good." But then her curiosity was piqued. "If you don't mind my asking, what is this timebomb you're referring to?"

The Japanese woman looked up at her sternly. "The kind that gets assassins sent after you just for knowing it." Kelly felt a chill go down her spine at the claim. "Trust me, Kelly. This isn't a burden you want on your soul. Don't let your curiosity cause you to have to look over your shoulder for the rest of your natural life."

"It's that bad?" asked the yeoman, getting a nod from Kasumi. "Wow. I couldn't imagine."

"Neither could I before I saw it. But here I am now," said the thief with a sigh as she leaned back on the couch. "Given all my circumstances, however, I am relatively happy. I enjoy my work with Shepard. I shoot stuff for her, she looks the other way when I swipe a sculpture or painting from one of the many buildings we destroy."

Kelly giggled and nodded. "Do you plan to stay with Shepard?"

"You know, I don't know. I've never really thought about it," said the thief as she tapped her chin thoughtfully. "With Keiji gone, I don't know if I could go back to a solo act."

"Here's a question I ask commonly. Shepard goes out and destroys the reapers, everyone survives, the galaxy is at peace. What does Miss Kasumi Goto do with herself?"

Kasumi ran a hand through her coal-dark hair as she thought deeply. "I'm not sure, honestly," she said before shaking her head. "Honestly, I've been so caught up in memories of Keiji that I haven't looked towards the future."

Immediately lines of worry creased the yeoman's face. "I heard a grey box was involved. Do you mean that literally?"

"I do," said Kasumi as she tapped the device over her ear. It caused a small visor to flit over her eyes like some scifi eyewear. "I know it's not exactly healthy, but it's really hard to let go, ya know?"

"I do know," said Kelly as she nodded. She wanted more than anything to go over and grip Kasumi's hand. But she knew that would be highly unprofessional at the moment. "But one thing you should consider is that we can honor and love those we've lost without losing ourselves."

Kasumi eyed her for a long moment before nodding. "I suppose you're right. It isn't really healthy to keep diving into memories like this."

"Nobody says you have to stop," said Kelly urgently, getting a look of surprise from the thief. "But… maybe make it a special occasion thing. Allow yourself to heal, and then perhaps on his birthday, or your anniversary, you could visit his memories again."

Kasumi smiled brightly and Kelly could see the sparkle of tears in her eyes, as well as the tiredness that belies someone who hasn't gotten over someone else's death. "You're too smart for Cerberus, you know that?"

"I've been told," said Kelly with a grin. "So, reapers dead, galactic peace, what's your plan?"

For the first time it looked like Kasumi was actually considering living beyond the reaper war. "I've probably got a good shot at a job with Shepard's sweetheart, Liara. She's an info broker and needs sneaky types like me on her payroll."

"Right… Liara actually disappeared from Illium recently. Do you know what happened?" asked Kelly curiously as she wrote down the wily thief's answer.

Kelly grew suspicious as Kasumi narrowed her eyes at the young woman. "She went on vacation and moved her workplace elsewhere. That's all I can say without getting you in too much trouble," said the woman as she finally sat up.

"I see. Well, thank you for looking out for my wellbeing," said Kelly as she put down the information she was given and then signed off the datapad. "Thank you for your time, and just know that if you ever need to talk, or if you ever find yourself getting lost again, you can find me."

"Thank you, Kelly. You're sweet," said Kasumi with a shy grin.

CODEX ENTRIES

Darkfire Terminology Astrophysics
When two users of biotics clash their dark energy together, it causes an explosion that very briefly leaves behind illusory waves of dark energy that look similar to dark blue flames. These aren't actual flames, however, and are simply optical illusions resulting from the bending of space time that results from the manipulation of dark energy.

A/N: BioWare made the inside of the collector vessel immeasurably huge, but it's like a light jog to the terminal where you need EDI to download the data. lol