The transport shuttle that was taking the crew aboard the Alarei was not so heavily crowded as to cause problems, but the fact that both Fred and Garrus had decided to tag along to the battle made it just that little bit more cramped. The Clones, meanwhile, checked over their equipment, slotting their gas cells into their blasters and slamming them home.

The Generals, meanwhile, looked over their own lightsabers, making sure they would be functional and ready for combat at any given time. Tali tapped her foot as gently as she could, checking the shotgun and pistol she was bringing aboard for this operation. She sighed, shaking a little, only to feel the weight of Fred's armored gauntlet gently land on her shoulder.

Shepard smiled a little behind her helmet, then looked at Garrus, who was preparing his assault rifle. She quipped, "I was gonna say that I hope you were gonna go up-close this time," as she pointed at the Sniper rifle on his back. He looked at her for a moment, lowering the AR in his hand as he did, which made her pause.

"I might like my distance, Shepard, but even I'm not stupid enough to fight close quarters with a sniper," He joked as he slammed the thermal clip home into the slot of his own Mattock rifle. He slid it onto his back and said to Shepard, "How 'bout ya just make sure you don't fling us all into walls, 'kay?" in a joking manner.

She snorted and said, "I'll aim specifically for your ass, Garrus," which caused Tali and the Clones to laugh a little. The Commander looked at the Generals somewhat apologetically, but both waved it off, with Ahsoka grinning as she looked at her former master and old-time friend. He snorted, well aware of what that stare implied.

The Clones laughed a little, while Tali chuckled, too, before the Shuttle began its approach to the LZ. Both Fred and Tali stood to their feet, with the Spartan having to slightly crouch so as to not hit his head on the roof. They drew their weapons, with Shepard stating, "Alright, folks. Remember… We don't know what we're dealing with here. Let's not tempt fate."

As the craft gently touched down within the hangar of the Alarei, its side doors soon opened, allowing the team to dismount. They scanned the small hangar's multitude of corners, turning on flashlights as they walked out, fanning out into a half-circle formation. Fred was in the rear with Tali, both of them keeping their eyes peeled.

The dropship soon took off, leaving them a clear line of sight to the other side of the cluttered hangar. Tali spoke, "Too quiet…" before checking her Heads-Up Display, "And I'm getting interference in my HUD…" before she turned and joined Shepard at the front of the formation. The Commander nodded, with everyone else giving the same, silent affirmation. They were all getting the same issues.

The Commander chopped her hand forward toward the exit door. It was barely cracked open, meaning they'd need someone to breach it. With the Force-using Knights and the Spartan present, that wouldn't be a problem. She looked at Ahsoka and Anakin, before pausing as she saw Fred move on ahead.

He turned toward her and she approved with a thumbs up. Then, he stuck his hands through the seam and pulled the halves of the door apart, opening up into a corridor. Drawing his rifle and activating his VISR system, he said, "I'll take point…" to which the entire squad of Clones, the Force users and natives to this galaxy agreed.

As their flashlights shined down the corridor, however, the damage to the place was revealed. Severely damaged wall panels had holes drilled into them by energy weapons discharge, showing the decaying interlan electrical infrastructure of the vessel. It was also damaged now, with Fred noting, "Plasma weapons…" in a murmur.

Tali visibly tensed as they walked past the damaged walls. They strode forward, carefully scanning each panel and recess to make sure nothing would pop up toward them. The faint sound of dripping liquid came to them the closer they got to the left-hand turn at the end of the hallway and, when Fred turned the corner, he found the first corpse.

A fallen Quarian security guard. Her blood dripped down through the grated floor and onto an unseen portion of the maintenance tunnel below. Tali sighed, taking a knee beside the girl and turning her over, only to see the marks of penetrating shots in her body armor. She whispered, "Keelah Se'lai," as Fred gently put her hands together on her chest.

The Quarian under trial nodded to the man, then gently retrieved the few remaining clips from the guard's belt and slid them into her own. They stood up and Fred took point again, weapon drawn. Pushing past the damaged corridors, where yet more signs of struggle were present, the Spartan and the team found themselves uneasy.

The sounds of the ship's groaning hull mixed with the footsteps of the squad of soldiers, Jesse himself commenting, "Anyone else reminded of the report that Delta Squad sent on the RAS Prosecutor? The whole presence of the Trandoshans," as they moved past a window to what seemed to be some sort of workshop. He peered with his gun and flashlight past the corners, pieing them the same way Fred had done seconds ago.

"The Commandos' report was redacted, though," Ahsoka mumbled, "Haven't gotten to talk to them about it yet."

"Should I ask?" Shepard quipped as they passed under a broken vent of some kind, her rifle's light shining on the pipes above and the duty crevices. She really wondered how the Hell some ships got dust in the middle of the void, but she figured it must've been a mix of skin flakes, other flakes and random material that just… Happened.

Anakin told her, "A crack Commando squad was deployed on a mission to basically the middle of nowhere when one of our transport ships, an Acclamator-class assault craft, appeared there out of nowhere, light-years off its standard patrol path," as he locked his gaze onto the carbon scoring on one of the walls. He continued, "They found it infested with scavengers and Droids… And a piece of tech that looked close to the Forerunner items doctor Halsey showed us."

"... What the hell?" Shepard blinked, all while Fred looked at them.

Anakin raised a hand and showed him to stay calm, before stating, "I'm pretty sure it was the thing that led us to the Star Road, but it took a long while for our scientists to decipher it," and shrugged, "I don't think our nerds understood the language all too well and we had no real dictionary for it," before pausing as he picked up a sound in the distance.

Fred also seemed to have heard it. Understandably, Ahsoka thought as she walked up beside him, the Spartans could hear a pin drop in a damned thunderstorm. She and Anakin had only heard it thanks to their Force Powers. And it sounded like movement. Tali and the Clones had noticed this and all tensed, while Shepard's biotics flared for a second.

Fred balled his fist and whispered, "Motion tracker contact, ten meters out… No IFF," before aiming down the sight of his rifle. The group spread out as much as they could to avoid any potential ambush with explosives, before marching further down the corridor with their weapons raised. With the creaking of the ship's hull suddenly echoing, the Force users, clones and Shepard and Tali visibly tensed, the hairs on their necks standing on-end.

They crossed through the corridors and entered a small room off to the side, Fred noting, "Contact's gone," as he held the door with Jesse and Fives. The troop entered the room, a medium-sized room that acted as storage, seemingly containing the items that the crew of the Alarei was researching. The entire team paused when they saw a Geth drone laying, disassembled, on a table.

It had several bullet holes and the marks of combat on it. Its gun had been disassembled, too, revealing the internals of the Geth's own heavy weapons system, while its optical sensor lay on the other side of the table. Shepard blinked, then spoke, "A Drone… Tali, you mentioned you were sending packages to your father, right?"

"Yes…" Tali replied, "Usually parts of inactive Geth."

"... Oh," Shepard blinked, "Is that why…?" then she paused and shook her head, "No. You must've had a good reason," and turned to Tali, "You did, right?" to receive a nod of confirmation. Shepard figured Tali wouldn't endanger her own people, much less her family, needlessly. She asked, "Anything your father can tell us about this, then?"

Tali approached the Geth drone, gently moving its damaged body as she said, "Father was hoping we could find some way to counteract the Geth's code, combat their adaptive 'Consensus' and deal with them that way…" then she turned to Shepard and added, "There's been scuttlebutt aboard the Fleet. The Military Arm, the Admirals… Some want to finish the War."

Anakin blinked, then asked, "And the research here was being done to destroy the Geth's collective consciousness in hopes of… What, disorienting them long enough for your Military force to jump in and destroy them?" to which Tali nodded. He hummed, then stated, "Not a bad idea… Doesn't explain why we can't find any surviving crew."

Shepard, meanwhile, stared at Tali as if she'd grown a second head. She told her friend, "It'd be suicide to continue the War. Your people have to know that."

"It'd be suicide not to do anything either," Tali replied sadly, which caused her Commander to raise a brow. She explained, "Our ships are ancient, Shepard. There's only so much you can do without a complete overhaul before a ship breaks apart… Our experts estimate we have at most a decade left before we run out of ways to repair the Liveships. We're doomed to a slow death."

"All because the Citadel Council couldn't be assed to help you two centuries ago," Shepard murmured, while the Generals, Clones and Fred stared on, dumbfound. Garrus had remained terribly quiet throughout the exchanges here, simply guarding the rear with the others as he listened to the conversation.

"How come?" Ahsoka asked.

Tali sighed deeply, then said, "When the Geth gained sentience, about two centuries ago, aside from our fears, the Council helped stoke the flames. A lot of voices in the Quarian communities at the time were apparently fairly vocal about at least allowing the Geth to speak their peace, to live. Certainly, the ones who wanted us to destroy the Geth were a lot more vocal. The Council supported them… And when we lost the War, they left us to die. Not even a little bit of help in recolonizing or finding another home suitable for us. They just declared us persoane non grata."

"Force," Anakin mumbled, crossing his arms, "Leaving an entire species to die," and he sighed deeply, "I'm gonna send a message to Senator Chuchi to ask about this at the next meeting with the Citadel Council. Otherwise, we should probably keep moving," before showing Fred to take lead again. He and Ahsoka stayed behind with the Clones, covering the rear.

Shepard, meanwhile, walked with Tali and said, "Thanks for reminding me about that… I'd forgotten I read it in the Codex entry you gave me back during the hunt for Saren," as she checked her rifle. Tali nodded, visibly smiling behind her mask, but with sadness gleaming in her eyes. Shepard said to her, "Hey, relax… I'm sure everything'll be alright."

"... I found other items I sent, Shepard," Tali whispered, "And I'm worried. All of the Geth technology I sent to father and to Admiral Xen was deactivated and disassembled. Unless they outright ordered their reassembly… There's something else at play here. And it feels too much like those Cylon combat units we met, or something like them, might be at fault."

"All of them were transferred to the Waystation when we docked there," Shepard offered as they walked. Tali nodded, but shifted uneasily, while the Commander hummed. She lifted her Omni-Tool up and looked over the details of the Signal that had apparently been broadcasting across the Fleet from the Alarei.

Cortana appeared on the holo-screen next to the soundwave mixer, to which Shepard blanked. The AI spoke, "Don't worry, Commander. We're on a secure channel and I made sure the rest of the squad can hear me," as she checked over the data. She said, "... I think the Signal we're reading from the old girl is a beacon of some kind. It's transmitting in Subspace and FTL frequencies."

"You mean it's pointing the way here?" The Commander asked, stunned.

Cortana nodded, "I already briefed the Chief and sent a message to the Galactica to go to Condition Two covertly and used their new com relay to piggyback a signal to the Waystation as well," before she sighed and added, "I'm also working on breaking the Signal's encryption, but if what little I found on it is anything to go by, it's definitely a familiar one."

"Keep us posted," Shepard replied, "We'll shut off the Signal if we find it."

"Roger. Call for backup if you need it, ma'am. Sergeant Johnson and a platoon of Colonial Marines are ready to kick the door down…"

"Keep them ready just in case whatever threat this signal's for materializes," Shepard ordered, the paused as another noise echoed from up ahead. She whispered, "Talk later, Cortana…" and shut the com off. She pushed up to Fred and Garrus, then said to Garrus, "Looks like we might have some friends coming in…"

"We heard," Garrus stated, then joked, "Damn shame. Didn't get to roll out the red carpet yet."

Fred replied, "Not much of a carpet to roll out when the Nukes start flying," while they turned another corner, finding a few more bodies, finally. A security detail, blood spatters painting the walls, bullet and plasma scoring blanketing the panels and a flickering recessed light that had been hit by stray rounds illuminating torn wires and sparking conduits.

A barricade lay ahead, between them and the other side of the corridor. As if they tried holding something off from reaching this part of the ship. Shepard sighed deeply, noting the the corpses had bullet holes drilled into them as well. She knelt beside one of them and ran a finger over the wound, mumbling, "Science staff, too…"

"Com room is not far from here," Tali stated quietly. She lowered her shotgun and looked past the barricade. Coolant pools that had long dried lay on the other side, with her noting, "Looks like something woke up… What have you been doing, father?" only for the entire team to pause as another sensor ghost appeared, followed by a thump in the sealed room to their right.

Shepard said, "Tali… Unlock it. Everyone else, be ready," and she loaded warp ammo into her rifle. The others soon prepared, the two generals brandishing their Lightsabers while the Clones formed a perimeter, Jesse, Fives and Bold aiming their weapons at the door. Tali nodded, moving up to the door and starting work on its lock.

Garrus kept his eyes down the corridor, past the barricade. He saw movement in the shadows and said, "Got movement on this side…" watching Shepard switch over. Bold also did, hefting his Z6 and placing it onto the barricade for support. Tali's hands danced over the holo-lock, haptic feedback coursing through her own Omni-Tool as she worked through the bypass.

A few distant footsteps echoed, followed by a rapid, thundering clap against the steel. The troopers prepared their weapons, grips tightening. Fred swiveled about and aimed his own rifle down-range while Tali worked. When the lock finally turned green and the door cracked open, they were greeted by the twin barrels of a Carnifex pistol.

The Security guard, one of Daro'Xen's personal detachment, gasped, whispering, "Tali?" and lowering her pistol, then called out, "Move! Inside!" in a whisper. The team filed in as the thundering steps drew closer. When the last Clone and the Generals had entered, she slammed a button and shut the door again, before leaning against the wall to the side and listening.

Footsteps thundered past the door, growing close, then ever-more distant. The guard sighed in relief, her suit's speakers crackling, then she looked at the team and said, "Hell of a time you chose to come for a visit, Tali'Zorah nar Rayya," as she holstered her pistol. She doubled over, however, when she saw the team she'd brought in and said, "... Okay… Maybe it's good you came."

"Zeeva," Tali spoke, stunned, "You're alive… Keelah…"

"Luckily for us, we are," She replied as she stowed her pistol, "Though one of us isn't doing too well," and she motioned to someone laying on the floor beside a box full of medical supplies. Tali audibly gasped, then ran over to the figure. Zeeva turned her head toward Shepard and said, "So, you're Commander Samantha Shepard… A pleasure."

Shepard smiled and shook her hand, then said, "I'm just glad there's survivors that can tell us what the hell's happening here…" only to turn to the man that lay wounded on the floor. She blinked, walked over to him and, with a hint of surprise in her voice, she asked, "Are you Admiral Rael'Zorah, sir…?" to which he gazed up at her.

"... Commander Shepard," His voice sounded mirthful, "My dear Tali, you didn't tell me this is the backup you brought…"

"Heh," Tali scratched the back of her neck, "I only bring the best, dad…"

"Good to finally meet you, Commander," He spoke, though his voice was also extremely weak. He extended a shaky hand to the woman, which she shook, before he told her, "Damned shame it's under such circumstances… Had we known what that Probe would do, I would have jettisoned it with the Cargo from Haestrom…"

"Probe?" Shepard asked, "What Probe, sir?"

"... One belonging to the ones calling themselves 'Cylon', Shepard…" The man replied weakly, "They're on the move. You need to get to the Bridge. Disable it before it's too late…" and he coughed, a faint spatter of blood staining his mask. Shepard grit her teeth, activated her medigel dispensers and started tending to the man's injuries.

… Cortana was right…

The Citadel

"I'm just saying," Bailey stated as he donned an armor vest and packed ammunition into the pouches, "An interrogator should never call their target 'patient," and he slid his heavy pistol into its holster, letting it fold up. He crossed his arms as he saw Fox and his Corries ready their blasters, to which the man shrugged.

The Commander then told him, "It got us the results we needed and the warrant for Gron's arrest…" before he holstered his blaster pistols and picked up a DC-15 carbine, slamming the charge pack home into its housing. Bailey rolled his eyes, mumbling something about procedures and laws when it came to prisoners.

Thankfully, it seemed as though their prisoner was physically unharmed, so that meant the ONI agent had really done her in mentally. The group looked at the Prisoner as she was being dragged away by the arms toward a medical transport after the interrogation. Both men made a mental note to not annoy ONI any more than they would each-other, too.

As they boarded a C-SEC Dropship, Fox said, "Overwatch reported he's got a few extra bodyguards up ever since we took her out of the picture," as he sat down. The C-SEC, namely Turian and Human officers, prepared their guns and one of them even hit his armor with his balled fist to make sure it'd hold.

Bailey activated the kinetic barrier attached to his vest and said, "Took down more than a few goons in my stint here. Let's make sure we get'em and the codes for that Cargo," before picking up an assault rifle. He also ordered, "Additional objective is taking the bastard alive for interrogation. Keep your guns set to stun when we breach his room."

"Rog," The commander said, setting his right pistol to stun mode. Bailey slammed his fist twice into the wall behind them. The blue C-SEC Kodiak's doors sealed, as did the doors of the LAAT Gunships escorting them to the target. They all took off, powering through the traffic. The scarlet-colored Coruscant Guard dropships bore a dozen men each, armed to the teeth.

By the count of the Recon teams, the enemy had approximately forty mercenaries, all prepared for battle, while some sort of meeting was ongoing between him and another client. The suspected weapon shipment was also being moved, with one gunship detaching immediately to intercept it right at the next intersection.

As they approached 'Helix Apartments', the location where the meeting was taking place, Bailey and Fox exchanged a glance. Their plan was simple:Breach the penthouse with two full teams and take Gron before any support guards could come in and try and kill them. As the dropships gently moved up toward the LZ, the LAAT to their left prepared its forward-mounted laser cannons, just in case.

"Enemy coms are jammed," The co-pilot of the LAAT reported, "Bulldozer Two to Overwatch One, clear the area. We're coming in hard," to which the affirmative reply of the recon crews echoed over the com. Both Commanders could see the gathered crews of C-SEC down below, at the base of the tower, lights flashing.

C-SEC secured all exits and alternate routes while Bailey, Fox and their team breached the top floor. Easy enough, one would think. Until they realized that the enemy had an entire platoon of Eclipse Mercs ready for battle in there. Then, it became dangerous, but possibly fun for a group of soldiers like the Coruscanti Guard, who had only seen action once in their War so far.

As the vehicles swung for the highest point in the area of operations, the Mercs on the outside spotted them. Before the three guarding the LZ could react, the laser cannons of the gunship lit them up, bolts of high-yield emerald fire tearing them to shreds. They touched down, doors sliding apart and disgorging their troops.

The rooftop had one skylight giving them visibility right in the hall and living area. The Mercs inside, though momentarily stunned by the thunder of gunfire and laser cannons above, were professionals. Most seemed to be Asari Commandos that had left the service, considering they'd taken defensive positions. Two snipers even had the skylight covered.

Fox turned to the gunship and showed it to take off and go down a level. The pilot and co-pilot snapped salutes and lifted off as the teams prepared to breach, keeping themselves out of the sight of the Snipers. Bailey looked at him and said, "So, how do we do this? Rappel or kick the door to the roof access stairwell?"

"Stair's probably booby trapped," The man stated as he readied his DC-15. He checked a timer on his com and primed a thermal detonator, stating, "We go in via Skylight as soon as the gunship hits those Snipers and pins the others down…" before he attached his rappelling cable to the side and handed a bit of the rope to Bailey.

The man nodded, clipping the cable to his belt and readying his rifle. Down below, the Gunship dipped down and stunned the guards inside, the co-pilot stating, "Targets in sight…" and switching on his helmet guidance for the laser cannons. He grinned and, as soon as Fox gave the green light, he squeezed the trigger.

Rapid-fire bolts of green struck through the glass separating the inner areas of the apartment from the cold outer area of the wards. The two Snipers, blindsided by the sudden strike and blinded by the shattering glass, were cut down by the volley. The other Mercs took cover, several attempting to return fire.

Rounds sparked as they deflected off of the canopy, parts of the glass cracking. The co-pilot followed the shots and let rip a full volley, watching the heat indicators and their gas/ammo levels as he fired. Bolts tore through the kitchen counters, the sofas and even parts of the false walls separating the rooms.

Fox spoke over com, "Bulldozer Two, this is Actual. Cease fire. We're breaching," as the glass of the skylight broke, raining down upon three Merc biotics trying to land a few biotic 'artillery' hits on them. Blue bolts rained down alongside the bullets of C-SEC troops as the crews roped down onto the living room.

Fox turned to them and gave them a quick nod as the rest of the team dropped in and formed a perimeter. He then gave a chop of the hand, lifted his index and did a spinning motion. The gunship pilots nodded and the red-clad craft dipped down to below street level to make sure the enemy wouldn't try to use some sort of service tunnel or scaffold.

Fox and Bailey, meanwhile, pushed in together with their teams. Rifle fire began to ring out, a Clone taking a shotgun blast to the chest that caused him to stagger. His brothers immediately returned fire, two of them pelting the shotgunner with blaster bolts to the point her entire chest plate had burning-hot holes drilled into it.

The two officers coordinated, one taking the left while the other took the right. Bailey and his team pushed up to the left specifically, firing their rifles as they advanced to suppress the Mercenary force. Bailey and one of his Turian pals focused down on a Mercenary with a Mattock, slugs ripping through the woman's chest the moment her barriers fell.

Bailey himself staggered, then fell over when two shotgun blasts hit him point-blank and deactivated his barriers. Lucky for him, however, Fox drew his left-hand sidearm and put two bolts into the Shotgunner before she could finish the job. He gave a nod to Bailey, who simply gave a thumbs up and groaned as he was helped to his feet. He mumbled, "Getting too old for this crap…"

The two teams continued to push deeper into the place, bullets scraping the walls and blue bolts striking armor and heads. Before long, the two professional squads moved up toward the master bedroom, where Gron had holed up. Forming up beside the main door, each squad taking a side, Bailey activated his Omni-Tool's override system.

The lock began to crackle, fizzle and turn orange. Bailey then raised three fingers, with Fox holstering his carbine and drawing the pistol on his right. He made sure it was set to stun and, as the last finger came down and the door slid open, the squads breached. One clone's rifle barked twice and Gron's other bodyguard took two blasts to the chest, dropping dead on the bed.

Gron himself scrambled to grab a rifle off the ground, but Fox was quicker on the draw. His pistol squeaked and the ring-shaped stun shot struck the man, his muscles visibly locking up as he dropped to the floor and through a glass table, shattering it. Bailey winced, to which Fox said, "That's gonna hurt in the morning…" before turning his com on and stating, "Bulldozer Actual to all teams. HVI in custody. Prepare exfil. Bulldozer Three, status on the Cargo?"

"... Was about to call you, sir!" The Clone pilot replied, his voice filled with annoyance, "We lost it! Bastards had the kriffin' boxes on the back of a Cargo platform with three cars as escorts! They dived all the way down to the Lower Wards and we lost the Crates' signal down there! Orders?" sounding as if he expected Fox to order them to go into the Lower Wards alone.

"Return to base," Fox ordered instead, "We'll regroup, interrogate Gron and recover the Crates later."

"Copy that, sir… Bulldozer Three, RTB…" He almost sounded disappointed. The two officers of the group then looked to one-another and rallied their teams. A pair of Corries grabbed Gron by the arms and dragged him out while he groaned, making sure they slipped the cuffs on him as they moved. At least their main objective was accomplished.