The previous night...

The Tower was well known as the center for Guardian activity in the Last City; there must always be a nexus of traffic for any organization or group of individuals. Yet, beyond just Guardians, it was also a hub for trade, manufacturing, research and design. But most of all, it was the meeting place for the Concensus, the aggregate council that governed what little humanity was left. Being surrounded by the many multitudes of undying warriors of Light, after all, made it the safest place for the social and military leaders of mankind to meet, safe from the threats of the Darkness and its minions. To that end, the Vanguard meeting room, where the three Vangaurd mentors, Ikora Rey, Cayde-6 and the Vanguard Commander himself, Zavala would commonly be found working tirelessly night day to keep the city safe was filled with numerous individuals from all corners of the City's economic and military infrastructure.

Bright strips of light bisected the ceiling in the Vanguard meeting room down the middle, illuminating an exceptionally long table. Seated at this table was nearly every Consensus representative: Future War Cult's Lakshmi-2 and Maya Sundaresh, the Arachs Henri, Jalaal, Linde, Modesta, and Parnell for Dead Orbit, Executor Hideo of New Monarchy, and the Vanguard themselves. But the greatest of these was the Speaker, he who spoke for the Traveler, conveying its will to the many who looked up from beneath its shadow seeking guidance and hope.

Tonight, the air was heavy with tension. Many of the Consensus were less than pleased with the activities of the Vanguard and the Speaker for their actions regarding the newcomers, and it was evident to all that they were fully prepared to make them aware of their grievances.

The silence precluding the meeting was... lengthy.

Commander Zavala cleared his throat and spoke first. "We all know why we're here," he began, leaving no room for pleasantries or evasiveness. "So, let's have it." He motioned to his right. "What is Dead Orbit's position regarding our visitors?"

Arach Henri rose from his seat. "Dead Orbit is of one mind on this matter," he proclaimed clearly, which wasn't as difficult as it usually might have been given the stagnancy of the room around him. Ordinarily, a meeting of the Consensus was filled with the many differing opinions and perspectives of the gathered throng, making it poignantly important to be the loudest and most eloquent in the room. To hear his loud voice amidst the unfamiliar silence was almost deafening. "The alien interlopers are a sign. We must leave Earth and find a new home before more of these unknown races find us." This statement was met with quiet murmurs of approval from the other representatives of Dead Orbit.

Cayde-6 propped his feet on the table, rested his hands behind his head and said, "Oh, boy. Here we go..."

Commander Zavala gave a good shove to Cayde's boot before returning his gaze to the Arach.

"If what information we've gathered is true enough to be believed, then each of the various species of aliens are members of an established civilization spanning a multitude of solar systems…" he eyed his contemporaries pointedly. "…each."

"If a concerted effort were to be made by each of these civilizations find and invade Earth, and we already know they can find us, then what little is left of Humanity will have no chance of escape. Remaining on this doomed planet will in turn spell out our destruction."

Nothing more needed to be said in that regard; Dead Orbit had always maintained the stance that Humanity needed to advance into the stars and scatter to survive. Even with the immortal Guardians as their sword and shield, Humanity was just barely able to find their footing after the Collapse many hundreds of years ago. Nothing Henri said was news to the Consensus.

"You know we don't have enough ships to evacuate the planet, Arach Henri," Zavala contended. "Too many would be left behind in our Exodus."

"True, but if we were to pool Humanity's efforts, by our calculations, it would not be exceptionally difficult to construct enough ships of sufficient size and capability to do just that," Arach Henri countered.

"Henri, for the last time, we're not abandoning Earth," Cayde responded, drawing out each word for emphaisis. The Exo Hunter had his knife out, holding the hilt between thumb and forefinger and absently flipping it about. Whether it was actually a threat or not was anyone's guess; Cayde liked to play with knives. A lot.

Henri blew a snort of air out his nose. "That's not an argument, Cayde," he countered disdainfully, "That's just ignorance." Henri sat down grudgingly, clearly not swayed by the Hunter's words.

Ikora Rey turned to eye one side of the room, to the two patterned in the colors of red, gold and blue, "What are Future War Cult's thoughts on this matter?"

Maya's grey eyes held neither benevolence nor anger when she said, "Future War Cult wants nothing to do with these aliens. When their ship is repaired, they should be asked to leave. "

"They should never have been allowed into the City in the first place!" Arach Jalaal fumed. More mutters of agreement.

Cayde-6 raised his arms in disbelief. "What were we supposed to do, leave them on the Forgotten Shore? 'Yeah, we see that your ship is all busted up, and you've got ravenous religious zealots gunning for you. Best of luck!' Really?"

"What are we to tell the people of the City?" Arach Jalaal fired back. "That we gave aliens admission to one of the most secure places on Earth without so much as vetting them first?"

The mumbling grew louder this time.

Lakshmi-2 chimed in, her aqua colored Exo eyes burning bright with emotion. "The decision to grant these aliens access to the Tower was made without our consultation." She pointed an artificial finger at the Speaker and shook it. "Speaker, you have vastly overstepped your bounds."

The murmuring rose in volume yet again. But amidst it all, the Speaker sat unmoving. With the mask hiding his expression and his lack of movement, he might have been a statue, painted white and black.

Arach Modesta rose, reaching out a hand toward the FWC representative. "We can lay the blame where it's deserved later," she declared, the intent in her gaze enough to remind the Exo what was truly important in the here and now. Not that one of the top brass of the Future War Cult needed reminding. "Right now, we have a perfect opportunity to gather intelligence regarding these new aliens. What their military strength is, what kind of technology they employ, what their current political climate is like. These are questions that we need answers to."

Arach Linde raised her voice. "We have investigators from the City ready to begin interrogations as soon as they get the go-ahead from us."

Ikora Rey stepped in. "Out of the question. We can't risk a diplomatic incident with these people. With the arrival of the Digeris and her crew, the galaxy just got a whole lot bigger. We have to consider the wider repercussions of our actions."

Arach Linde barked a single, rude laugh before commenting contemptuously, "It's a shame the Guardians didn't consider the 'wider repercussions of their actions when they so implicitly trusted aliens who had never before been seen in our solar system. If we'd done the same with the Fallen, or God forbid, the Hive, we wouldn't be here even having this discussion right now!"

Cries of agreement rang throughout the hall from Dead Orbit.

Arach Henri rose once again and said, "We have strayed from the point. These aliens must leave the moment their ship is repaired, and we must follow their lead soon after."

Commander Zavala raised the volume of his speech to be heard above the din of assenting voices. "All due respect, but that is a short-sided perspective of this situation. I'm as uneasy as any of you; but you all fail to see the bigger picture. What we have here is the potential to gain allies in our fight against the Darkness."

"Who's to say they won't join the Darkness?" Henri retorted hotly. "We'd be multiplying the enemies against us."

Cayde-6 shook his head absently. "Are you kidding me? The Fallen and the Hive attacked them without so much as a 'hello.' Now I'm one for turning the other cheek and all, but I think they're just a smidge past letting bygones be bygones. Besides, they're as likely to fight against the Darkness as fight with them."

Zavala nodded in agreement. "And, as they say, the enemy of my enemy is my friend." He left the not-so- subtle insinuation hang for a moment before Lakshmi spoke again, a hand moving from her chin to gesture towards the three Vanguard mentors.

"And how exactly did that go with the Fallen? The Cabal? Perhaps we should extend the same offer of friendship to the Vex? Maybe they'd be willing to fight our war with the Hive for us." If her sarcasm were liquid, it would be dripping.

"Enough."

At once all voices were silent, all mouths stilled, and all eyes turned to regard the man who now stood, faceless and imposing at the end of the long, ornate table that separated them all. The Speaker would have his say.

"The crew of the Digeris is comprised of many species from many governments," the Speaker began slowly, his voice sharp and low. "Many governments combining their resources and putting aside pride in favor of cooperation to embark upon a voyage of exploration and discovery." He gave pointed looks to all present as he elaborated. "…Not so different from ourselves a thousand years ago."

Murmers of disparity floated amongst those gathered, and the Speaker allowed them to continue voicing their disagreements for a short time before continuing. "Were these entities to learn that in their plight, we aided the Digeris and her crew, it would no doubt impart no small amount of gratitude toward us and our… predicament."

Not missing a beat, Arach Henri countered sullenly, "Since when have we ever played interplanetary politics?"

"Since encountering a political body at least willing to listen to us," the Speaker retorted. "It's implausible to believe every alien civilization harbors some inexplicable malevolence towards Humanity; the Darkness corrupts and destroys all in its path. Even with the blessing of the Traveler, we alone cannot withstand its crushing depths. Not alone."

Though many sought to retort, few could actually bring the words to exit their throats. No one was so brazen as to believe Humanity was winning a solo war against the Darkness, yet none could bring themselves to admit that they were losing either.

"We cannot ignore the wider galaxy any longer."

He spoke with a closed fist as he paced around the table.

"We could run from it, we could shut it out, but it will not be ignoring us. This," he pointed downward, to the room, to the here and now, "is our chance to form a bond with other races. A chance to forge alliances with cultures that are not explicitly hostile to us. Where you see naught but doom and forebodings, I see opportunity. I made the decision to trust them, in the hope that they would in turn trust us. To forge a link between our peoples so that we might not face the Dark alone."

The Speaker gestured to the five representatives for Dead Orbit seated on his left. "You would have us run from the very thing that could be our salvation."

"Or our annihilation," Executor Hideo murmured.

Silence greeted this statement.

"We haven't heard a peep from you yet, Executor," Cayde commented, drawn from his musings by the man's words. "What's your take on all this?"

The solemn-faced representative of New Monarchy knitted his fingers together and rested his elbows on the table. "I won't deny, I'm intrigued by these newcomers," he began. "They didn't attack us outright, which is a first… Perhaps they could help us, if they were so inclined. However, there is always the possibility that they could turn on us." Hideo let his dark eyes rest on the Speaker's mask. "I don't think Humanity would survive that," he finished.

Arach Henri jumped at this statement. "All the more reason to leave while there is still time."

Cayde-6 brandished his knife. "Henri, I am literally this close to throwing this at you. Or a book. On one hand I don't have to listen to you anymore, and on the other maybe you'll learn a new phrase or two… I'm weighing my options."

A sudden uproar of various voices and heated tempers coalesced into cacophonic chaos… Until a gunshot rang throughout the room.

The representatives for the Consensus all flinched at the sudden noise, many ducking down reflexively; most, after all, weren't immortal like their Guardian protectors. Those of the Vanguard reflexively drew their weapons. All heads turned toward the source of the sound, that being a Hunter holding a hand cannon upright, smoke curling from its barrel.

"Apologies, didn't know how else to get your attention." Kasumi Goto explained pathetically as she steed further into the room. "But hey, it worked so… Sorry, not sorry?"

"Guardian," Ikora Rey began sternly, "You can't interrupt meetings of the Consensus, especially with a firearm." Though she said it, there was an infinitesimal upward twitch of her lips; it no doubt took a great deal of effort not to look pleased at the resulting silence from such a ploy. If she weren't such a figurehead that demanded both respect and respectable behavior, she'd likely have done the same thing.

"No, no, she's fine," Cayde-6 interjected. "Not like we were accomplishing anything anyway."

Ikora glared at the Exo, but before she could offer a retort, the Speaker interposed.

"What troubles you, Guardian?" the Speaker queried, himself being the only one of the bunch who hadn't so much as twitched at the interloping Hunter's entrance.

"I was monitoring Fallen comm frequencies on Venus," Kasumi began urgently, "and I intercepted a message sent from Mars. The Cabal plan to attack the City!"

For a moment, nobody uttered a sound. Then came a barrage of questions.

"You verified this information?"

"When do they plan to attack?"

"You're certain the message was translated correctly?"

"Do you have the message with you?"

This time, the Speaker simply raised a hand to gain the attention and silence of everyone present. "Let the woman speak," he commanded before turning to Kasumi and beckoning her to continue. "Tell us what you've found, Guardian."

The Guardian who loved invisibility more than not now ironically had the undivided attention of everyone in the room. Feeling more than a little uncomfortable with all the eyes on her, Kasumi did her best to explain what she knew. While tapping into Fallen comms on Venus, her ghost, Keiji, had intercepted a transmission from the Cabal, telling the Fallen to clear out of Earth, lest they be caught and crushed in the crossfire of an impending attack. It didn't mention when the attack would occur, only that if the Fallen wanted to survive to scavenge for scraps another day, they needed to pack up and get their scrawny, four armed, bug mouths lost. Paraphrased of course..

"Why would the Cabal warn the Fallen?" Arach Parnell wondered aloud.

"Makes sense, when you think about it," Cayde-6 answered. "They know that if the Fallen are caught in the battle, they'll fire at both sides. We'll be more than enough of a handful for them without adding Fallen warriors into the mix."

"May we see the message your ghost obtained, Guardian?" Maya asked.

Kasumi shifted uncomfortably. "I ah ...no, I can't show it to you, because I don't have it. Keiji did, but he's ...gone."

The representatives looked at one another in disbelief. "You lost your ghost? How?" Executor Hideo wondered aloud.

"He ...saved me," Kasumi replied quietly.

Before anyone could find something to say to that, Cayde-6 clapped his metallic hands together and said, "Okay then! I think that's enough questions for today. In light of this news, I motion we table the discussion about deporting the aliens until such time as when we don't have to worry about an attack by the Cabal."

"Wait just one moment," Maya called out. "We have no proof that the Cabal are planning an attack, save the word of a single Guardian."

Despite his unmoving, artificial features, Cayde-6 did an impressive job of glaring at the representative of Future War Cult. "You know, that's funny! It's almost like you're questioning the word of a Guardian. You'd never do that, right?"

"And it's almost as if you've forgotten just how catastrophic the impact the actions of a single Guardian can be. Lysander. Remember him? Led a coup d'état against the Consensus until New Monarchy stepped in to shut him down?"

"You're welcome."

She didn't acknowledge Hideo's sarcasm. She was, of course, referring to the infamous betrayal of Lysander, a Guardian who led the Concordat faction in an attempted coup against the Vanguard, seeking to replace the Consensus with, presumably, himself.

"Or how about Osiris? His banishment nearly broke the spirit of humanity in half. We're still reeling from the loss of so many capable Guardians who followed him into exile! And let's not forget about Zavala's little spat with the Sunbreakers—"

"Peace, Sundaresh," the Speaker spoke, bringing the woman to a halt in her verbal tirade. "Kasumi Goto is a Guardian well versed in information gathering and data analysis. In that regard, her testimony is above reproach." The tone his voice took at the end left little room for argument.

Maya opened her mouth to speak, thought better of it, and closed it again. Nobody else disputed the subject.

"We need to enact emergency protocols," Commander Zavala declared. "All Guardians not on high-priority missions are to be recalled to the City."

Cayde-6 tapped his pointer fingers together a few times. "…Does this mean no Drunk Crucible?"

Lakshmi-2 was incredulous. "By the Traveler's Light, Cayde! Were potentially facing an onslaught of Cabal, and you're worried about that?!"

Cayde didn't even have the decency to look sheepish. Rather, he looked incensed, as if she'd insulted some time-honored tradition; in Cayde's mind (if one dared to try to understand it), she probably had. The Speaker made a calming gesture. "Let them enjoy themselves while they can. For many, it could be the last time."

Nobody argued with this line of thinking, grim as it was.

Executor Hideo spoke up eying his Future War Cult contemporaries. "What is the status of the Extraplanetary Defense Initiative?"

"The programming is effectively finished," Maya Sundaresh replied. "It still needs to undergo final testing and we still need to get the satellites in space. Once all that is done, the first phase of live trials can begin."

The Executor nodded in understanding. "Let's get that testing and launching done quickly. I have no doubt we'll need it against the Cabal." He turned to the Vanguard. "When was the last time we gathered intelligence on Cabal military strength?"

Zavala turned to his ghost, who replied, "Approximately two weeks ago."

Hideo hummed and said, "Ancient history. We need fresh intel. How many Guardian fireteams do we have on Mars right now?"

Zavala's ghost answered again. "Zero."

Hideo stiffened in surprise. "Zero? How did that happen?"

"All fireteams with new Guardians were sent out to patrol regions of Earth, to gain experience in combat. All veteran fireteams were sent to the Moon to map out potential invasion strategies and assess Hive strength."

"Moon invasion?" The Executor glared at Zavala bitingly. "Good to know you're keeping us appraised, Zavala."

The Awoken Titan bowed his head in apology. "It was a hopeful possibility. Of course you would have been told, were it not for the arrival of the Digeris upheaving everything." Zavala straightened his shoulders. "It's irrelevant regardless. Any plans we had for an offensive will have to be shelved until after we deal with this Cabal threat."

Kasumi jumped back into the conversation. "I request to be the one you send to Mars to gather intelligence."

"Not a chance, kiddo," Cayde-6 responded. "You don't have a ghost. If you die, you dunzo."

"So let me inherit a new ghost!" she pleaded.

"You know it's not that simple, Guardian," Ikora began gently. "We almost lost you on Venus. Take this time to rest and prepare for the coming battle. We'll send a fireteam to Mars to gather the intel we need."

Kasumi didn't like it, but she offered no further argument.

When the silence dragged on, Zavala declared, "Well, if that's all, then-" the Titan stopped short when the Speaker raised an index finger.

"We still have one final matter to discuss before our business here is concluded," the Speaker said.

"Uuugh~," Cayde-6 groaned as he crossed his arms on the table and rested his head on them. Unamused, Ikora released a blast of Void energy from her hand in the bored Exo's direction, sending him toppling backwards over his chair.

"We're listening, Speaker," the Warlock said as she stared hard at Cayde-6. "All of us."

Before she'd even finished speaking, Cayde got up swiftly, rearranged himself on his seat, placed his elbows on the table, and rested his chin on his fists, the perfect picture of attention.

"I've spoken with the captain of the Diqeris," the Speaker began. "He has told me of a Council comprised of a quartet of individuals representing the four most influential races in the wider galaxy. In light of this new threat from the Cabal, I believe it is in the best interest of Humanity to send to them a representative. An individual who would speak for us during negotiations."

There was silence in the Hall for several long seconds, thoughts tumbling over and under in their minds.

"Who would we send?" Executor Hideo asked at last, breaking the quiet abruptly.

Ikora answered for the Speaker. "A Guardian, obviously; this will be dangerous enough without adding perma-death to the equation… Preferably a Warlock."

Cayde-6 raised his hands, palms outward. "Whoa, slow your roll there! Who says it has to be a Warlock? I get they're good at talking, but that's just about it. We don't want to talk their ears off… Wait, do they have ears? Eh… Hunters are short, sweet, and we say just what we need to. No one better to get the job done."

The Speaker interposed gently, already prepared to rebut his compatriot; it wasn't the first time they'd had this conversation. "Cayde, consider: whoever we send must be knowledgeable in our culture's history, as well as beyond adept in the Light and shrewd in politics. A Warlock is the obvious choice."

Cayde shrugged his shoulders noncommittally, not wanting to admit defeat, but neither plain logic when presented to him; as was his Hunter's nature.

The Speaker addressed the three Guardians in the Hall. "The decision of which Guardian will represent Humanity can be decided later. Vanguard, spend some time tonight going through possible names and prepare a list of potential candidates for our debate."

"Understood," Zavala answered.

"Of course, Speaker," Ikora replied.

Cayde-6 muttered under his breath exhaustedly. "No rest for the wicked…"

Arach Henri rose once more. "This is all folly," he exclaimed. "We face a grave threat from the Cabal, and our plan is to send one of our precious few Guardians on a messenger's errand to grovel for help from aliens? Why should we expect any aid from these foreigners?"

"Arach, the Guardians number in the thousands now," Commander Zavala countered. "If it means potential military support, or diplomatic aid, I think it's well worth sparing a single Guardian for this endeavor. It's worth taking a chance on at least."

Henri reseated himself, not pleased but neither offering further argument. He'd said his piece.

"Well, if that's all, then I do believe we're done here!" Cayde-6 said joyfully as he clapped his metallic hands together. "Good meet' everyone!"

[][][][][][][][]

Kaidan didn't like the Moon.

It was nothing personal; he just didn't care for the boring view of grey rocks on top of grey dust. Anywhere you looked besides up, it was just grey on more grey. Sure, it offered a somewhat picturesque view of Earth, but you rarely had time to enjoy it, what with having to fight Fallen scavengers and Hive zealots.

The scene before the Warlock was even less appealing than the ash grey stone that normally made up the vista of the Moon. He stood just a handful of feet away from a massive, circular pit. The gaping maw had ribbed columns skirting parts of the inner edge, making it look like the cavity had teeth. An abyss whose bottom could not be seen no matter which perspective one might try to obtain. It was the stuff of nightmares for many denizens of the Last City, the dark pit from which much of the Hive's evil crawled forth from.

Endearingly dubbed… the Hellmouth.

And they were about to jump straight down its throat.

"I'm tellin' you, it's perfectly fine now." Twiggy-67 assured her two compatriots. The Exo Hunter was usually the one trying to coax them into trying some dangerous stunt, but this was a whole new level of crazy. "The Weight of Darkness is gone now that Crota's bit the dust."

Kaidan shivered. He'd heard of the unmistakable sensation caused by the Hive god's mere presence; a powerful force that stagnated a Guardian's Light preventing resurrection. In short; true death. It was that same presence that had been the bane of the thousand Guardians sent against Crota in the early hubris of the Vanguard. An army of a thousand immortal warriors didn't look so bad on paper, but in practice, it was a one-sided slaughter.

He couldn't imagine how the six man team that had slain Crota had managed to actually do so. That was just crazy…

"I don't know …" Luther-1S mumbled. "Why do we have to jump down there, when there are plenty of other underground Hive structures we could map out?" Luther was uncharacteristically cautious for a Titan, but Kaidan supposed that Luther's wariness was a good balance to Twiggy's daredevil nature.

Twiggy placed a comforting hand on the Titan's shoulder. "Because someone has to do it," she reasoned. "Might as well be us. Just think of the fame we'd get! The first team of Guardians to actually map out the depths of the dreaded Hellmouth! There'd be parades for us in the City!

Kaidan was fairly certain the parade part was bogus, but he had to admit that Twiggy was right about one thing: somebody would indeed have to do it, if the Vanguard were really serious about taking the Moon back from the cold, dead claws of the Hive.

"How do you know the weight of Darkness is gone?" Luther questioned.

"I know a Hunter who knows a Hunter who heard of a Hunter who went down there to check on a dare," Twiggy explained, apparently oblivious to how unlikely that sounded.

"Didn't Anderson and his crew map out the place when they went down there?" Luther wondered.

"Nope!" Twiggy replied cheerily. "They were too busy running for their Lights."

"You mean lives…?"

"Either or."

"That doesn't exactly fill me with confidence …" Luther muttered.

"Oh, come on!" the eager Hunter chided as she slapped Luther on the shoulder. "Like I said, it's gonna be fine now that Crota's gone. I promise! All we gotta do is spend a few days down there, map out all the tunnels and caverns and stuff, and we'll be golden."

Kaidan had to admit, the way she put it, it sounded easy enough. Then again, that was how she packaged a lot of her insane schemes.

"Won't we be out of contact with the Tower?" Luther asked. "And for that matter, don't those tunnels run through the bowels of the entire moon?"

Twiggy waved his concern away. "Naaah~! I'm sure it's much smaller than that. And besides, it's not like they'll miss us. We'd basically be doing what they ordered us to do anyway. Trust me."

The Titan was still skeptical. "I don't know ...the last time we trusted you, we ended up crawling through a Cabal sewage hub."

A harsh static noise emitted from Twiggy's mouth, her version of biting back laughter. "We had to be sneaky! Nothin's sneakier than coming in through the toilets!"

Kaidan shuddered at that horrible memory. Excrement as long as a man was tall...never again. "He makes a good point, Twiggy," Kaidan said. "We have a bad habit of trusting you, then regretting it later."

Twiggy spread her arms in an attempt to appear innocent. 'Don't be like that, Kaid. You know we can do this. Easy-peezy lemon-squeezy!"

Kaidan sighed and thought for a moment. He did have an experienced fireteam at his back. At the same time, things could easily go sour down there. What to do...

"Ah, what the hell. Let's do it."

Twiggy gave a fist pump and a cry of 'yes!' while Luther said forlornly, "Oh, boy..."

One by one, the trio of Guardians leapt into the dark below. Had they waited just a few minutes before doing so, they would have received the message stating that all Guardians were to return to the Tower

All too late.

[][][][][][][][]

Present day...

Jenhuu Pelr was very good at what she did.

She was commonly referred to as 'Jen' by her coworkers. She was called 'Jenny' by people who ended up in the medical ward. The Awoken woman was a master in the usage of glimmer shaping for repairing things. It was the average user of glimmer who could perform a patchwork fix with the programmable matter, but Jen could fashion glimmer to fit flawlessly with whatever needed repairs, be it the outdated tools that Holliday preferred to use, the Guardian ships that always seemed to come back with carbon scoring or various pieces missing, or massively mangled vessels that got plopped ever so unceremoniously into the hangar.

So skilled was she, in fact, that Holliday trusted her to be left alone once she had been given her work orders. Barring the occasional crew member who would good-naturedly offer her aid (and subsequently be shooed away) she had this particular hallway to herself.

Good thing, too, lest it be discovered that she was currently engaged in what could be considered interplanetary espionage.

The newcomers to the solar system had been kind enough to give her a spare of those strange luminous armbands, as well as a crash course on how to use it. She was a quick learner, and picked up on the ins and outs of the device well enough. From it, she could access an unrivaled wealth of information. Hardly any of it could be considered sensitive material, but even so, Jen didn't want to have to explain why she was downloading so much information pertaining to these people and what they knew.

That had been the tricky part, concocting some way of transferring the data she could access through the so-called "omni-tool" onto a separate, slightly more corporeal device. Her mastery over glimmer shaping was pushed to the limit, but she was proud of the result.

The omni-tool was capable of pulling information from a ship-based server, which was impossible to tap without leaving some kind of trace, and Jen felt no obligation to risk her cover over this one mission. In order to 'pull' the information displayed by the omni-tool, she created a hybrid memory drive, one half of it being the old school physical data storage that nobody but Jen used, the other half was the tough part, requiring several tries before she managed to get glimmer to mimic the pattern of the omni-tool, the peculiar melding of antiquated and modern technology latching on to the translucent device like a leech.

Whenever she pulled information from the server to her omni-tool, the leech would make an exact copy of said information and 'pull' that copy to be placed onto the old school style memory storage. It took no small amount of time, and she had to make the memory storage part interchangeable, lest she run out of space, but it worked. Nowhere near as fast as a ghost could manage, but at least there wouldn't be any questions.

She could even do the work she was actually meant to do at the same time, pausing only for a short time to choose the next piece of information to copy, and only occasionally having to swap out the memory storage. Non-sensitive information being gathered, nobody being hurt or killed, no lies being told, and she was even helping to repair the stranger's ship at the same time.

Jenhuu Pelr was the most polite spy ever… if she did say so herself.

[][][][][][][][]

"Tali, we need to talk."

The Quarian in question turned her masked head to regard the baritone voice that called out to her. It came in the familiar form of their resident Krogan warrior, his hulking mass approaching with relative ease, despite the crowds.

She took one look at him and waved him off. She didn't have time for any sort of chit-chat right now. "Sorry, Battlemaster, I'm really busy right now."

The Quarian and Krogan duo were currently inside the incredibly cramped Tower hangar, which was packed quite literally to the rafters, with the majority of the space being occupied by the damaged Digeris. Swarms of Tower workers and Digeris crew were milling about hurriedly, off to repair this or replace that.

Amidst the organized chaos stood Holliday, a stationary island in a sea of moving bodies, doing her best to direct traffic, passing out work assignments, and checking in on various work crews. This island was Tali's current goal as she deftly weaved her way through the throng of people, the Krogan trailing behind in her wake.

"Just 'Wrex' is fine," he offered, managing to use the vacuum of bodies behind her to keep up despite his bulk.

"Sorry; Wrex," she corrected herself.

The engineer reached her destination. "Miss Holliday, a quick question." She waited until the female finished what she was doing and turned to give her full attention. "Who do you have working on repairing the artificial gravity generators?"

The shipwright eyed the masked alien for a moment before looking down at the schematic of the Digeris highlighted on her display pad, tapping a few subsections and checking the list of crew assigned there. "You're… Tally, right? I hear you're somethin' of a prodigy among your crew. Mechanics or engineering?"

Tali noted the slight distinction she used when she spoke her name, but made an effort not to correct her. The translational software had to make certain leaps when transliterating vocal accents after all. Among the foreign species she now found herself surrounded by, the Humans were the most dimorphic of the bunch. This one, a female, like herself, was pale skinned, with miniscule pigmentations dotting her face and arms. Apparently this feature was common among their kind. The yellowy fur on her head was short (compared to certain other human females she'd observed), parted in an off-centered fashion and swept to the side. It seemed Humans took specific care in grooming their head-fur. But the woman, despite Tali's interruption of her work, smiled at her with a warmth that was noticeably lacking from many of the other Humans around her.

"A little of both actually," she admitted with a shrug, noting how the blue-ringed eyes of her contemporary seemed to shine with interest.

"Mm-mm~! A girl after my own heart," the woman exclaimed as she finally brought up the requested information. "Looks like that section's bein' worked on by… Rahda, Selim, and Isaiah-61. "

Tali froze momentarily at that, knowing full well what the numerical designation of the third name indicated.

"Thank you," she offered shortly. In any other instance, she might have stopped to chat with the human. Alone, they were an interesting species, and an even more interesting society, which had developed even more interesting technology. She had no doubt there were things she could glean from them, given time and temperance. But her brain was screaming other things, like dangerous consequences and catastrophic scenarios.

She turned and began marching her way toward the ramp that would take her inside the Turian-built ship, Wrex still at her heels.

"I know what's eatin' you, ya know." Wrex stated simply, his eyes shifting to linger on his Quarian companion pointedly.

Tali didn't respond as they made their way into the Digeris, stepping their way around work crews busily repairing and testing the ship's functions. With every Tower work crew, there were at least one or two Digeris crewmembers that were present to explain the more minute details of the many intricate systems to ensure that nothing was assembled incorrectly or repaired ineffectually. Tali stepped to the elevator, slipped inside, and pressed the button that would take her to the engineering and storage deck, Wrex somehow managing to slide his considerable bulk in just before the doors closed.

"Is there a reason you're following me?" Tali asked.

"I told you, we need to talk," Wrex repeated, wielding an appropriate portion of his Battlemaster authority in his voice.

"And I told you, I don't have time," she bit back.

Wrex turned to face Tali directly, though she kept her gaze decidedly on the elevator doors. "You almost killed someone who risked their life to save you just because they're made of metal," he iterated. "Do you realize how stupid that sounds?"

"Synthetics don't have 'lives', Wrex." Tali ground out each word like a thresher maw chewing stone.

The Krogan lifted both arms in a shrug, that fact entirely irrelevant to him. "Hey, maybe they do, maybe they don't. Doesn't change the fact that you owe that synthetic for stopping those things at the beach; doesn't change the fact that you owe that pilot who died taking on enemy air support."

"And I supposed next you'll tell me I owe this lift an apology for taking advantage of it," the Quarian rebutted with venom. Before Wrex could retort, the elevator doors opened and Tali exited as fast as was physically possible, Wrex once again following after her.

"You know the artificial gravity generator is a deck above us, right?"

Of course she did. But so long as one of those AI monsters were plodding about the place, she intended to avoid every slagging one of them for as long as was possible. Ignoring his blunt observation, the Quarian marched through the doors that led to engineering. She was met by the sight of the primarily intact stealth drive core, the main engineering console, and a group of workers, four indigenous, one Digeris. The quintet of workers had a panel open on the right wall and were poking around with the wiring.

One of the laborers noticed Tali and Wrex walk in and called out, "Please tell me you're the head engineer. Our Salamander… companion is making no sense at all."

Tali froze in her tracks for the second time that morning; it was an Exo. Unlike the Geth who were asexual in programming and utilized no innate sense of gender, nor displayed such in the construction of their chassis, these human synthetics… these, "Exo" were sexually dimorphic, possessing both male and female forms. Why the humans had even bothered to design them so was beyond her. It made her skin crawl; the familiarity with which the machine greeted her and the natural way its body moved, as if it actually were an organic flared anger within her. Didn't they realize they were playing with the most volatile kind of fire? The first of the Geth were treated like slaves, and yet they still found a way to wonder whether they had souls. She couldn't imagine how much worse the uprising might have been for her people had they encouraged the Geth to actually integrate with Quarian society as if they were natural, living beings.

The fact that a machine possessed faux mammary glands and widened hips, obviously aesthetic design choices, so as to appear even more like living creatures only infuriated her more. Those were evolutionary necessities; the process of billions of years of living, dying, and procreation; none of which machines could do. They were just mimics. There was no real life in any of them. After all, as the name implied, artificial intelligences were just that – artificial.

At any other time she'd have already un-holstered her weapon and put a round through its cranial housing before it could vocalize a single digital syllable. But these weren't Geth cleared for hostilities by the Council and (more importantly) her people, enemies of all living species, universally feared and hated (and rightfully so) for their part in usurping the Quarian homeworld – These were Exo, considered as validly human as the actual living, breathing, pale-skinned humanoids that surrounded her… apparently. She was on a human planet, in a human city, being helped by humans: Council law was not their law. They considered them living beings, and killing one would inevitably usher in diplomatic, if not militarist, repercussions. And so, infuriatingly, she just had to "get along with them" as best she could. Easy for everyone else to say; even if they did hate synthetics as much as the next person (which she knew for a fact most of them did), at least their species weren't kicked off their homeworlds!

The 'salamander' made his voice heard. "Salarian," he corrected with irritation as he tapped at the keys on his omnitool. "And this wouldn't be so hard if you would just follow my instructions-"

The Exo looked over her shoulder and waved her hand dismissively. "I'd follow your instructions if they made any sense," she retorted, turning back to Tali. The Exo motioned again, "You mind giving us a hand with this wire job?"

Tali stood there for a long moment, three-fingered hands balled into fists before turning a quick about-face and storming her way back to the elevator. Wrex grabbed her arm gently as she passed him, trying to stop her without hurting her, but she ripped her arm free and kept on walking.

She reached the elevator and slammed the button that would take her back to the command deck. Just before the doors closed, Wrex came barreling in after her, shoved her against the back wall, and got right in her face.

"What is your problem?" he demanded.

"They're synthetics!" Tali shot back, her fear overshadowed by hate and anger.

Wrex gave a rough shake of his red-crested head. "They're not the Geth."

Tali didn't back down. "But they are AI. Whatever name they have, whatever form they take, AI are AI. And I don't work with AI."

They stared hard at each other for several long moments, the pregnant silence only broken by the Krogan's loud breathing. But a stare-down with Quarians was a fruitless endeavor, something Wrex quickly began to realize.

"Digeris."

The engineer was taken aback. She wasn't quite sure what she had been expecting him to say, but it wasn't that. "…What about it?"

"It may not mean much to you, but the battle of Digeris was the bloodiest of the Krogan War. A lot of my people died fighting the Turians. Now, here I am, taking orders from a Turian. How do you think I feel?"

Tali didn't answer.

Wrex continued. "There are plenty of Salarians on this ship too. You think I don't want to snap the necks of every Salarian on this ship every time someone mentions the Genophage?" His eyes narrowed pointedly at the Quarian, and she could feel the genuine emotion radiating from the Krogan's gaze. "It's easy to be angry at them all. The hard part is leaving the past in the past; I'll never forget, but maybe one day I can forgive."

Tali found her voice. "Why did you agree to come on this mission, then, knowing who you'd be working with?"

"The Krogan can't win every war by smashing their heads against the enemy. Sometimes other options should be considered. The other Council races… they're smarter than we are. So, I had to find a different way, a new way. I swallowed my pride and agreed to work with those I hated for the sake of my people. For the sake of ..." he paused at this, rolling the word around in his mouth like a foul tasting morsel, "...diplomacy."

His frown brightened into a smile and he released Tali from his grip. "At the very least, it'll be a challenge, and anyone who turns down a challenge is no true Krogan in my book!"

Tali was silent a moment before muttering under her breath, unable to keep a smallsmirk from tugging at her lips at the irony of the situation. "I didn't know you were so eloquent."

Wrex gave out a gravely chuckle. "Just don't tell anyone; I've got a reputation to keep."

He delivered the line so simply that, had it not been for that little laugh at the beginning, she might have thought he was being serious. However, her ease at his humor didn't last long as she thought of herself doing as Wrex was. Forgiving the Geth? Working alongside them?

That was a dream just too farfetched to chase.

She reached around the bulky Battlemaster and tapped the key for another floor. "I appreciate your honesty, Wrex, but I'm no more a Krogan than you are a Quarian; our situations might appear similar, but we are not the same."

The lift came to a stop with a ding and the doors opened. She quietly slipped around him and out the door, her head swiveling as she took note of the absent synthetics on this floor.

Wrex looked after her as she walked away. A rumbling tone left his throat as he watched her go. She was right, in a way. But he would content that while they might not be exactly the same, they weren't all that different either. He wasn't a fan of synthetics either, but he was at least willing to give these Exo a solid chance. Comparing them to the Geth was… like night and day. If life can evolve into infinitely vast variations of species on infinitely dissimilar planets and emerge as diverse and assorted as it did, then was it not possible for different "species" of AI to evolve on their own as well?

He thought so. He just hoped his Quarian friend would one day see the same light.

[][][][][][][]

The sun stared directly down on the Tower like a great burning eye in the blue, cloudless sky. The winter air was crisp, the chilly wind nipping at any exposed skin. The trenches of water in the Traveler's Walkway, named so for the view one might obtain as they strode towards the City, were frosted over with a thin sheet of ice.

Despite the chill, someone was full to bursting with vigor.

Liara was ecstatic.

She was beyond excited. She was in ecstasy. She was living an archeological wet dream; Humanity, a term used to denote both natural-born humans, their Awoken cousins, and their estranged Exo AI counterparts, as a culture was a treasure trove of social successes and pitfalls. A society that had risen, fallen, and rose yet again from the ashes… from the brink of their own destruction.

Their technology, though she'd had no time to study it in any professional capacity, was at first glance primitive, yet she know there was more to it than just appearances.

But what interested her the most that this so-called "light" that the Guardians seemed to swear by, the powers they seemed to exhibit so unlike any mass effect-based biotic power she'd even seen before, and the colossal white sphere they called "the Traveler" that hung motionless above the epicenter of the Last City.

A civilization with a rich history of heroes and celestial beings, wars and sinister adversaries.

Liara was in heaven.

Since the dawn of that morning, the archaeologist had been running laps around the Tower with her floating recorder, observing anything and asking questions about everything. Guardians and their ghosts. Light. Glimmer. The Traveler. Humans. Awoken. The Exo. She inquired about the Fallen and the Hive, and why the Guardians fought with them. She wanted to know every little detail.

Then she was dragged down.

One cold shoulder after the next, befitting the temperature of the Tower air, she found her high spirits dimming with each question ignored, each query disregarded. Nearly every Guardian in the Tower silenced themselves at her approach, unwilling to share anything beyond their names, which even then most gave out tentatively.

While not necessarily openly hostile, they were certainly guarded around her, wary of her. Unsure of what to make of the unfamiliar not-Awoken and her holographic recording device, the vendors had nothing to say either… unless she intended to buy something, which without local currency she couldn't do… Not that they were likely to be chatty anyway, as she was figuring out. She managed to a get a few intriguing (if a tad vague) stories from the Speaker, but she could hardly call that a success. The only individual who tolerated her presence was Tiil. He'd come to her rescue just before a verbal disagreement between her and a human vender got too heated, though the aggression with which some of her subjects rebutted her requests gave her considerable pause.

She stood beside him, leaning against the railing of the Tower, staring off at the sun-lit ball of white. "I don't understand," she began with no small amount of dismay in her voice. "From what I understood, I thought humans would enjoy speaking with me about their past, proudly so."

Tiil gave her a sympathetic look as he explained. "Oh we are. Proud, that is. But you have to look at it from our perspective." Liara turned from the Traveler to drink in his words. Despite his child-like attention span, he was unfortunately her only source of insight into Humanity. At the very least he was talking to her; that was a start. "Ever since the collapse, we've been beset with enemies on all sides, each alien race more dangerous than the last. Can you blame us for not trusting you?"

"Well, no, I can't, but I'm not exactly asking for military secrets," Liara countered sourly. "I just want to know about your society, your history, how your technology advanced outside of Council influence—"

"See, many would argue those are military secrets," he pointed out with a wry grin. "And I agree to an extent; any innocuous detail could become a weapon in the right, or rather, wrong hands."

Liara regarded him for a long moment before speaking again. When she did, it was with a quiet disbelief… a sadness of genuine quality. "…Are your people that frightened?"

Tiil's grin disappeared. What replaced it was something Liara had seen many times before; the solemnity of a seasoned military veteran.

"Yes."

She blinked at his terse candor. She opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off with a darkened tone. "We were, in our Golden Age, a rising force of research and development. The stars themselves were the limit, and that was only because we hadn't thought to look beyond them." He eyed her quietly. "Humanity's evolution had no ceiling. We were unstoppable… untouchable."

He took a breath and the grim expression vanished, his tone returning to normal, as if he were talking about the weather or the goings on of old friends. "Then the Darkness came, shut us down and crushed us like insects. The only reason we survived was…" He trailed off silently for a moment before gesturing to the great sphere off in the distance.

"The Traveler?" she finished, turning her gaze toward the thing in question.

Tiil nodded. "Yep. Sacrificed itself in our darkest hour to protect us."

Lira's expression grew understandably puzzled. "I've… heard that the Traveler is… alive. Is that true?"

Tiil gave a shrug of his shoulders. "At the very least, it's not dead, which is all that matters to us."

Liara took his words in stride, trying to make sense of their cryptology. "But it's a machine," she pointed out, indicating the inner superstructure visible from beneath its damaged underbelly that hung above the City.

Tiil gave another wry smile as he leaned over the railing. "It's not that simple. It's a machine, but it possesses a will. Not like an artificial intelligence either. The Traveler's just… the Traveler."

He gave a short laugh, likely at the stupidity of his own words. "I'm not a Traveler know-it-all. If you get a chance, ask the Speaker. He'll give you a sermon on it."

Liara made a mental note to do just that once race-relations settled down. If they every settled down; she'd heard some pretty nasty speech directed toward the synthetic Exo from several of the Digeris crew. Not to their faces, of course; only behind closed doors. They had at least that much sense. Not that she could blame them; the Geth uprising had left a bad taste in many a mouth ever since they occupied Rannoch and evicted their progenitor species.

Idly, she wondered how their Quarian engineer was getting along…

Tiil broke her from her thoughts. "Come on. At the very least I can introduce you to a few folks who'll have you."

Liara allowed a smile to replace her frown, thankful. Of course, not every human was guaranteed to be hostile or xenophobic; odds were some would to be receptive to dialogue… "I'd like that very much, thank you."

With a motion of his head, he gestured for her to follow. She did so obediently, taking just an extra few seconds to gaze back at the stoic white sphere in the distance.

[][][][][][][]

Most Guardians were notably guarded, as befitting their name, but, as it turned out, Tiil had a natural affinity for putting people at ease. The palpable tension she felt from those Tiil introduced her to did ease a little when they realized she could laugh at his jokes, though most of them were anecdotal at best. Human humor seemed to be based heavily on either linguistic witticisms or cultural and historical references. The puns she could understand to a certain degree as her translation software did it's best to keep up with an entirely new language, but any humor based in human culture was lost on her.

Her current object of attention was a small group consisting of her aforementioned guide and two other Guardians being told a tale by Nyx-27.

"So there we were – like a bunch of kids on Dawning morning" Nyx began, her audience listening with rapt attention (or at least the greatest amount of attention Tiil could muster). "A completely new archive of data from the Golden Age, untouched for who knows how long. I'm standing in the back, wondering why an information trove this big only had minimal security systems. It was a small archive, I'll admit, but still." Nyx took a breath (which drew a raised brow from Liara, considering machines needn't breath at all) before continuing, her hands gesticulating as her story began to ramp up to its climax. "We get the door open… Vixen rushes to the terminal at the center of the room and practically shoves her ghost into it. The data begins deciphering… Aaand~...!"

The mechanical arms that had heretofore been wildly flying about suddenly flopped down at her sides. "It's porn."

The unrestrained laughter of her audience almost drowned her out as Nyx extrapolated the tale's conclusion. "An entire archive of nothing but humans just poundin' it," she emphasized by sloppily clapping her hands together, mimicking the sounds of the activities she was alluding to.

It took Liara a moment to decipher the definition of some of the words, but when she did, she couldn't help a cheery grin from split her face, even as she tried to cover it with a hand.

Tiil had to wipe tears from his eyes. "How, heh, how did ahaha... how did Vixen react?" he asked.

Nyx's synthetic eyes shined just a little bit brighter. "Poor girl was mortified, considering she was the one who had rounded up so many of us for this 'historic event.' Of course we came up with the excuse that there could be some kind of 'hidden message' in the recordings. Made her sit through hours of it."

Ruckus laughter almost brought the Awoken to his knees, one hand wrapped around his ribs while the other pointed accusingly at the Exo. "You're a terrible, terrible person!"

The laughter from the small crowd echoed throughout the bazaar, even above the din of merchants hawking their goods to passersby.

When he recovered enough, he quickly asked, "You kept the recordings, of course?"

Nyx reeled back in surprise. "I didn't know you had a thing for humans, Tiil! By the way, your doggishness is showing."

The Awoken tilted his hand left and right mildly. "Eh, they're alright, but that's not what I had in mind…"

Whatever the Warlock might have responded with was cut off when Tiil's ghost materialized next to his ear, speaking just loud enough for the gathered Guardians to hear. "Just got a message from Cayde," Sparky informed. "It's the schedule for the event tonight."

"Fantastic! Set an alarm for me, Sparky" Tiil exclaimed, clapping his hands together. "I haven't missed a single match of USRL and I don't intend to start now."

Liara eyed the many expressions of those around her, trying to decipher the nature of Tiil's excitement. When no explanation came to her she tentatively spoke up and asked, "I beg your pardon, but what is this 'USRL' event?"

Suddenly, the Guardians seemed to find anything… everything else significantly more interesting than the blue skinned alien in front of them. For a moment, Liara wondered if she'd perpetrated a taboo of some kind.

Tiil gave a nervous laugh and rubbed the back of his neck, something she was beginning to learn was a culturally appropriated nervous tick. Tiil gave a glance to his compatriots, not a single one of them offering to either save him from the explanation, nor stopping him. Grimacing slightly, the Awoken turned to his charge with an awkward grin.

"Uh, keep this on the down low, okay?" he asked, and she had to take a moment to bring up what "on the down low" meant. Slang… such a bother.

'Ah, to keep a secret to one's self.' She looked up and nodded eagerly. If he was willing to share a secret with her, then she would by no means betray that symbol of trust.

"You said you were curious to learn more about our culture, right?"

Again, she nodded eagerly, an elated feeling in her chest, the one she always got when at the edge of discovery.

"Weeell… What better way to observe culture than by attending an underground event where folks get sloshed and compete to see who's the most skilled drunkard out there?"

Liara contemplated just what exactly he meant; she was certain his use of the word "underground" wasn't in the literal sense, so it must be an unsanctioned event of some kind. That was even more exciting; a culture unhindered by the pomp and circumstance of propriety was a culture true to itself. Raw, unfiltered. In other words, true culture as opposed to false culture. Then, once she associated 'sloshed' with 'drunkard', she realized this was some sort of drinking event. Not exactly her area of interest, but if she were essentially being offered an invitation to join, or at least observe it, she couldn't very well sleight her host. And, she supposed, either way it was a window into humankind. And she didn't have to remind herself that part of being an archeologist is accepting both the good, the bad, and the morally in-between of what you are studying.

A crooked grin appeared on her face. "If you're extending an invitation, then I gladly accept."

Apparently, her acceptance (or perhaps the manner of her acceptance) garnered at least a little of their approval.

[] [] [] [] [] [] []

Location: Nimbus Cluster / Mesana System / Lesuss

Nobody liked Lesuss. The gravity of the planet was punishing. The days were blistering hot and the nights freezing cold. There was not much plant life to speak of, aside from the hardy arsett bushes, tough and wiry like a steel brush, and the yusai plant, with wrinkled purple seed pods drooping from the center stalk, making it look sad and forlorn.

Nobody liked Lesuss, least of all the Asari who were forced to live there. They were the Ardat-Yakshi, Asari who possessed an exceedingly rare genetic condition. All Asari shared the ability to mentally link with those they mated with, but the Ardat-Yakshi did far more than that. If they mated with another, that ability to mentally link with others would overpower their mate's mind, causing massive brain hemorrhaging. Because of this, the Ardat-Yakshi were doomed to a life of celibacy. They lived out their whole lives in the secluded monastery on Lesuss, never knowing the pleasures of the flesh.

That's not to say that they were neglected. The Asari who were in charge of the monastery made sure that all the residents were well cared for and (well, relatively) happy.

Even if any of the Asari on Lesuss knew anything about farming, the soil on the planet was unable to support crops, so all the monastery's food had to be shipped in from off-planet. To save money, the Asari in charge of the monastery bought food and other necessities in bulk and worked with independent freighter captains to have the various foods and items delivered to the remote planet.

This particular Volus captain was being exceptionally ...difficult.

Niare, the Asari in charge of the landing pad and loading bay, silently counted to ten to try and control her growing anger at the bumbling freighter captain. Seriously, how hard was it to keep track of what your customer ordered?

"I'll say it again," Niare pronounced as calmly as she could, "We didn't order any ruuba steaks. I don't know how you got it in your head that we did, but I can assure you, we didn't."

The Asari woman stood on the main landing pad that received deliveries. In front of her was the teardrop-shaped cargo vessel owned by Captain Tethrim. Behind her, a wide metal ramp led up to the small hangar bay attached to the southern end of the monastery, where a pair of jump shuttles sat. These vessels were kept for emergencies, so they were rarely ever used. In all of Niare's long years of working at the monastery, she couldn't recall ever using the shuttles.

Still, she supposed they were nice to have, in case they needed to leave in a hurry. Maybe she could use one to escape this idiot of a Volus.

Captain Tethrim huffed in annoyance. "What am I supposed to," inhale, "do with them, then?"

Niare shrugged and replied, "I don't know, eat them?"

Captain Tethrim stuttered and spluttered, all the while gasping each breath like he was dying of asphyxiation.

The Captain's sputtering was blessedly interrupted by the arrival of a male Quarian who dashed down the loading ramp of the cargo ship and raced his way over to the pair. "Captain, you need to see this!" he expressed excitedly as he dragged the Volus toward the cargo hauler.

Curiosity piqued, Niare began to follow after the duo. As she strode up the loading ramp of the freighter, she passed two Asari workers with an anti-grav lifter between them. "This case of ruuba steaks isn't on the manifest," one of them said to Niare as she walked by. "What should we do with it?"

"Leave it," the dock master ordered. "We're not taking it."

Niare passed the aft cargo hold and walked through a short hallway that led into the small central hub of the ship. Spying her quarry entering the cockpit, Niare continued to follow after them. Once inside the cramped cockpit, she saw the Quarian point animatedly at the holo-screen that showed sensor information.

"See this?" he asked. "We're picking up unknown ships just outside of Lesuss' atmosphere. They don't match any known ship design." They looked at the monitor, and, sure enough, there were five slowly moving blips. A side screen gave the trio a look at the shape of the ships. They looked like two slabs of stone, one tilted sideways, the other resting flat on top of the first.

The Volus captain took a look at the readings and gave a 'hmm' of contemplation. "Did you try contacting them?" he asked between breaths.

The Quarian shook his head. "Thought you should do the honors."

The captain nodded and shuffled over to the comm unit, pushed buttons and turned knobs until he was transmitting to the mysterious ships and said, "This is Captain Tethrim" breath "of the light freighter Comet Chaser." Breath. "To whom am I speaking?"

He was answered with silence.

He tried making contact again. "This is Captain Tethrim. Can you hear me?"

Once again, there was no reply.

The captain looked to the Quarian for help, who simply shrugged. Niare spoke up for the first time. "Maybe they can't understand you?"

"Perhaps ..." the Volus pondered. Before he could try making a connection again, something quite unusual happened.

The ships disappeared.

There was a doubtful silence before Niare wondered aloud, "Maybe it was a glitch?"

The words were barely out of her mouth when the blips reappeared.

Right on top of them.

The Volus, Quarian, and Asari in the cockpit all looked on in awe as the five unknown ships materialized out of swirling storm clouds just a handful of meters above and a little beyond the cargo vessel. For a moment they floated there in the sky, looking almost benign.

Then they fired.

The Volus captain gave a cry of dismay as all five ships released churning spheres of purple light from starboard and port, two from each side. All twenty globes began ponderously making their way toward the freighter. Acting quickly, the Quarian slammed the button to raise the shields. After a second that felt like eternity, the orbs struck.

Concussive waves of booming sound and crushing pressure came one after the other as the lavender spheres pounded the cargo hauler. After only a few impacts the shields failed, which brought about the crunch of metal being blasted by unknown weaponry, points all along the hull being ripped open by the mysterious aggressors. Those inside the cockpit would have been killed had it not been for the quick thinking of the Asari present.

Faced with that many projectiles, Niare had a sinking feeling that the ship's shields wouldn't be enough. The centuries-old Asari summoned a shield of her own, channeling her biotic powers to try and stave off death. All around the blue barrier, the roof and walls of the cockpit were crushed and peeled back, as if a great hand had reached down and wrenched it away, but the occupants of the biotic ward were kept safe.

Crying out from the strain of deflecting so much energy, Niare shouted, "We need to evacuate the monastery! Get to the emergency shuttles!"

The trio hastened out of the cockpit back toward the loading ramp, Niare yelling into her omni-tool to all the workers inside the monastery, telling them to get everyone out and into the shuttles. As she hurried through the aft cargo hold of the ship, Niare spied two Asari laborers slowly getting off of the ground after they had been knocked off their feet from the force of the explosions. She helped them up and aimed them down the ramp and back onto the landing pad.

They were greeted by a chilling scene.

On the landing pad, the crew of the Comet Chaser and the Asari workers stood in a tightly packed group next to the cargo vessel.

Just a handful of meters away, strange aliens were dropping from the foreign ships, appearing out of thin air in such a way that made Niare blink in disbelief. Had she actually seen that, or was it just her panicking brain playing tricks on her?

Gangly, grey creatures that looked far too much like animated corpses… Bipedal soldiers with three glowing green eyes brandishing large cannon-like firearms… Hulking titans that looked like they were carved from stone wielding wide-bladed swords… And hovering above all of them was a strange-looking entity clothed in tattered robes that (Niare ventured to reason might have been made out of tanned flesh) covered it from its shoulders down.

And all of these... things... stood directly between the crew and the safety of the shuttles.

"What do we do, ma'am?" one of the dock workers, another Asari, asked, her eyes wide with fright.

"Anyone who can fight, fight," Niare responded grimly.

Those who had neither firearm nor biotic capabilities fled into the husk of the cargo ship. A few crewmembers pulled out their pistols and pointed them at the intruding creatures, while a pair of Asari began channeling biotic energy. These ghouls were severely underestimating the Asari race if they thought this little grouping of soldiers would be enough to kill them. Much less a convent of Ardat-Yakshi.

For a moment, not a sound was heard from either side... Niare knew what it was; the silence of anticipation... of preparation. Both sides steeling themselves for combat... for life and death battle.

The one which floated above gazed at their hastily formed defensive line with a calculating regard. It chittered its teeth in a manner Niare could not discern. With sudden movement, the thing clapped its three-fingered hands together, a strange green light flickering between its claws. It raised one hand up above its head, high into the sky. It looked from its appendage back down towards them.

Niare narrowed her eyes fiercely, and she was sure she wasn't the only one.

It swung its hand down, and in an instant her vision was blackened and her breath caught. Like a wave of vertigo, she was slammed from her feet, her surprised inhale drawing in a noxious wave of darkened air that choked and burned her lungs. She almost didn't notice the horrendous cry that came up from the invaders, ear-shattering in its shrillness.

Strangely, she had presence of mind to feel the vibration of thundering feet upon the metal floor, growing with intensity as the enemy attacked.

Sidearms gave loud pops as their Quarian and Turian wielders squeezed triggers; the sharp sounds ringing in Niare's ears. Reflexively, the Asari woman unleashed a bolt of biotic energy blindly toward the enemy, though whether it even hit anything she didn't know.

Slowly, though it tortured her to do so, she opened her eyes and and aimed her pistol forward, fuzzy vision doing little to dissuade her from pulling the trigger. Niare desperately began firing, trying to reenter the fight, slowly recovering from her dizzying spell. Just as she thought the darkness was lifting, a foot, much larger than hers found her chest, sending her many meters backwards. The snapping of bone echoed in her ears and send all air from her lungs. The only consolation to the resulting agony was that she wasn't breathing in that noxious poison.

Dazed, she flailed about slowly, her wits long since driven from her. She tried to bring herself up, but the pain in her body, offset by the adrenaline now coursing her veins, advised her against it. She slowly found her eyes falling on the form of one of the larger creatures, no doubt the one that struck her. In its hand it held a sword, so heavy in appearance, yet as it passed by a disoriented Turian, with but a flick of its wrist, it bisected the poor fellow from hip to collar bone. All without so much as its three green eyes leaving her collapsed form. It stalked towards her.

The dull panic she barely registered re-surged with a vengeance and she tried to scoot away, but its gait was long; it was upon her in a three strides. With its free hand, it gripped her by her throat, lifting her up to gaze at her with its bright green gaze. Weakly, she tried to pry its claws off, bit its grip was iron. A rumble rolled from its lip-less mouth.

Certain that her death was upon her, Niare matched the creature's gaze and defiantly gritted teeth. "Just... do it then!"

In response, the thing opened its mouth and roared. It was unlike anything she'd ever heard before. For the first time since she could remember, her blood turned to ice. It reared its sword forward with such speed she barely even noticed it had moved... and its chitinous knuckles met her face.

Her body went slack. Darkness, this time a welcome one, embraced her.

[][][][][][][][]

As the light of day soon passed to night, the single celestial body that orbited Earth peaked itself way out of the twilight veil and illuminated the tower, the few artificial lights doing thankfully little to obscure the above. In the distance, the city was all alight with the night-life of Humanity, many dozens of high powered spotlights shining up into the sky, splashing brightly against the pale shell of the Traveler. Liara leaned against the railing that kept her from plummeting hundreds of feet down to the base of the tower. Beside her floated her drone, dutifully capturing the picturesque scene in the distance. The lights were mesmerizing. She'd seen her fair share of metropolises in her time, but she'd never seen one wherein the entirety of a single species was centralized and kept safe, worshiping and praying to the corpse of an enigmatic machine god. If it was even dead at all. Not that she had a clue what was keeping such a massive construct floating above the city in the first place. Every time she looked at it she half expected it to suddenly fall and crush the many skyscrapers below.

Scientifically speaking, Humanity was a species that incorporated three distinct species under its umbrella. The blue skinned Awoken, who bore more resemblance to Asari like herself than their paler skinned cousins. The, what she might call, "purebred" Humans, whose skin tone varied from black like pitch and pale as white... Both of who's fur seemed to vary equally in coloration and style. And then the Exo... Though she found it difficult to reconcile that Humanity considered their Exo comrades as human as themselves, she couldn't bring herself to judge them. It was fact that artificial intelligence could form a society; such was evidenced by the Geth. But for that society to so smoothly interweave with its organic brethren... If nothing else, it was a thing never before seen by anyone in Council Space.

And yet, there they were; all three subspecies (the academic within compelled her to include a machine race as a "subspecies," as strange as it seemed to her anyway) worked in harmony with one another, trying their best to survive... to thrive. To restore their civilization beneath a singular shared dream; to recall the golden days of ages past. In all her years, which admittedly weren't much by Asari standards, she'd never experienced a civilization as so close to the precipice of annihilation as Humanity. Capturing these moments of peace within the Tower made her realize just how much death and destruction must have been had for them to carve out this little hole they called home; the literal Last City.

She was an academic at heart, which was why when she thought of how Humanity was on the cusp of extinction... how all this beauty and uniqueness might be wiped away by a stray cosmic wind... It made her heart ache.

She felt a sorrowful sigh escape her lips.

"Dr. T'soni?"

Liara almost jumped as she heard her name called, turning and eyeing the armor-clad soldier just behind her.

It was Shepard. Her helmet was off, allowing the white rays of moonlight to strike a sheen of silver through her crimson hair. The robes that identified her as a Warlock fluttered in the gentle summer breeze.

"Yes?" She was tempted to call out to the female, but realized that the only name she knew her by was her surname. She'd seen and heard others of Humanity do so to each other, especially Guardians, but she worried if whether it was a sign of familiarity or something of the sort, and she certainly didn't wish to step on anyone's toes.

She wished she had more experience in her chosen field. Her obsession with the Protheans meant she was most always dealing with the fragments of that once great civilization, not the living remnants of it. And there hadn't been a first contact scenario since... Well, not in her lifetime. Encountering new species and learning the ins and outs of interacting with them would take time and particular care, especially since there was little to no guidebook on first contact scenarios in Asari history. The ability to mindmeld usually allowed for expedient understanding, but she'd never met a species as guarded as the humans, and it wasn't like any of the other Asari be would open to mindmelding, with the exception of herself (if it allowed her to gain a better understanding of her hosts, who was she to withhold). It was like walking on eggshells; it made her nervous every time she opened her mouth. But even that nervousness couldn't erase the excitement that bubbled within her chest every time she saw or heard something new.

Shepard extended a hand to her. "If you would, follow me. We've been instructed to gather the Digeris crew in the main courtyard."

Small alarm bells went off in the Asari's head. "Certainly," she complied. "May I ask what for?"

She followed as the human guided her to the aforementioned destination. A satisfied smirk appeared on Shepard's face. "Don't worry doctor, you're in no danger. In fact, your captain told me you of all people would be interested in what's about to happen."

Liara calmed a bit as she heard her words. If indeed captain Vakarian had implicated her interest, then she had no doubt it would sate her zealous curiosity.

But whereas Liara expected a silent walk full of tension and distrust, Shepard seemed more interested in chatting her up. "I hear you've been starved for information. Must be tough for an anthropologist like you to learn so little about a culture, even when you're smack in the middle of it."

"Archaeologist, actually," the Asari corrected. "And yes, it is very frustrating to deal with a society that is so closed off from outsiders. I've dealt with some like it before, but they had all been normalized into galactic politics for many millennia; you humans are completely new to us. To me."

Shepard let a smile grace her face as she nodded. "Not gonna lie, you guys have a long road ahead of you in regards to trust. But I'll admit it's not really your fault; the forces of the Darkness are legion, and all of them want to see Humanity burn to cinders. Can't be too careful."

Liara "The more I learn, the more I begin to see things from your perspective. I may not like it, but keeping any and all information behind a wall of secrecy is an appropriate strategy. Though I seem to know less and less with each whisper I overhear."

Apparently, she said something worthy of the female's approval as Shepard turned to regard her. "I'll tell you what, once things have calmed down, hit me up. I'll have a sit down with you over some coffee. We'll talk. How's that sound?"

Liara raised a brow, wondering aloud what "coffee" was. Her query was answered with gentle, cryptic laughter from her host. She felt a wave of naïveté flush through her cheeks. This female wasn't the first to laugh at her in such a way; it seemed to be in the human's nature to take pleasure in the un-knowledge of others. It was like she was the victim of an inside joke. But unlike the others, Shepard at least seemed willing to explain things to her. In that regard, she pushed aside the feeling, letting her smile show.

"That's very generous of you... Shepard." She paused before uttering the human's name. When no reproach was given, Liara noted that it would likely to be safe to address her by such in the future.

Shepard shook her head, an expression that Liara translated as grim overtaking the human's features.. "Don't thank me just yet doctor. By the end of it, you'll wish I'd left you ignorant," she said mirthlessly.

Liara could find no response to that.

By then, Shepard had led them both out onto the main plaza, where a large gathering of Guardians stood by the railing overlooking the Last City. From their elevated position, Liara could see that an assembly of soldiers surrounded the Speaker, who stood with his back toward the balustrade.

"What's going on?" she asked the Warlock. Shepard answered Liara's question by putting a finger to her lips, a sign that she'd begun to realize meant silent and saying, "Just watch and listen," before walking over and joining the group of Guardians.

Off to the left, by the entrance to the hangar, Liara spied a growing knot of Digeris crew, with Captain Vakarian, and Battlemaster Urdnot standing at the front of the group. Liara stepped over to them quickly. "Captain, what's going on?" she asked her superior.

"Dr. T'Soni," the Turian acknowledged as he smiled at her approach. He nodded knowingly to her query. "It's a funeral ceremony for the Guardian who died defending us from those enemy ships."

"A funeral," Liara breathed as she realized the gravity of the situation; the gravity of the air. With a quick nudge, she pressed her recording drown down so as to not inflict disrespect; many cultures considered the recording of a funeral as highly offensive. Yet... Shepard hadn't counseled her against it. With a few taps of her omnitool, she commanded her recorder to position itself incognito to document the funeral, getting a good shot of the Guardians and the vista of the Last City and the Traveler, while keeping at a respectful distance so as to not bother the gathering of warriors. For if nothing else, that's what these humans were. Warriors. And if her limited experience with Krogan society was anything to go by, warriors took respect (or the lack thereof) very seriously.

As if on cue, Wrex sniffed idly as he surveyed the gathering before them. "Not a bad turnout," he commented, directing her gaze back to the many beings congregating in the court.

Above, at the railing, the Speaker turned and raised his hands. Immediately the crowd quieted. "Guardians," he began. "Friends. We come together now to remember one who is no longer with us. Jester-85 gave his life in defense of others. His body may be no more, but his spirit burns bright in our memory."

At this, all Guardians and ghosts intoned as one, "Gone, but never forgotten."

The Speaker continued. "May he rest in peace aside the many who have given their lives, and their Light, to protect us all."

Again, they chant together, "Dead, but not alone."

The Speaker let a moment of silence hang in the air for several moments. "Before we say farewell to our lost friend, his companion would like to say a few words."

The masked man turned and held out and arm to guide a human woman forward, taking the Speaker's place at the railing, unashamedly wiping tears from her face.

Out of the corner of her eye, Liara saw Tali stiffen. Liara understood Tali's implied sentiments. It was not uncommon for organics to utilize synthetic… (for lack of a better term) "sex-bots" in relationships. But this? Exo were more than empty-headed platforms, Liara admitted. Jester and his kind weren't VIs; they were AIs, if indeed that was what they actually were. The difference between a preprogrammed machine and one capable of thinking for itself. Someone in love with an AI… and an AI in love with that someone. Liara couldn't think of a more alien notion for her Quarian acquaintance.

The woman, after taking a short moment to gather herself, began to speak. "Many of you already know me… but for those who don't, my name is Liese Arinth." Every sentence was punctuated by a grieving silence between.

"I was in love with Jester. I still am. I…" She paused in an attempt to collect herself, and started again. "Most of you knew Jess by his practical jokes… his childish joy and spirit. He was lighthearted, always trying to make people laugh. He was fun, loving, kind, he-"

Liese stopped again and wiped more tears out of her eyes. "Oh, God – I'm not good at this."

The Speaker laid a comforting hand on Liese's shoulder and uttered softly. Supporting.

Liese nodded in thanks and gathered herself, her voice stronger now. "Jester may have clowned around a lot," she paused as she found an unsolicited smile tugging at her lips at the unintentional pun. Many in the audience smiled back, though remained respectfully silent. "But he took being a Guardian very seriously. He may not have been a part of the fireteams who turned Atheon into scrap metal or killed Crota, but he… He was my hero." She smiled sadly through unsolicited tears. "And he always will be."

With a nod of thanks, and a quiet round of applause from those gathered, unsurely echoed by the crew of the Digeris, she stepped aside and the Speaker replaced her again.

"Facing death is no easy task. Many… find it impossible. As Guardians, we ask you to do this daily. It is difficult. It is perilous. And all too often, it brings a startling and unexpected end. But you do so anyway, knowingly, so that others may live in safety. In freedom."

The Speaker looked askance, Liara noting how he seemed to be gazing in their direction.

"Now, at the request of Captain Garrus Vakarian, I would like to invite him to say a few words, on behalf of the Digeris and her crew."

For a moment a hushed murmur rolled over the assembled, even among the Digeris company. Liara swiftly looked toward the Turian. He gave a small smirk her way, as if he was somehow satisfied with himself that he'd done something she hadn't expected, and stepped up the stairs to the balcony overlooking the piazza.

As he approached the spot, the Speaker stepped back to allow him room, and he turned and clasped his hands at the small of his back.

Though neither the Guardians nor the civilians assembled would dare disrespect the funeral of a fallen defender and comrade, the looks on their faces as they eyed the avian alien were unmistakably disapproving. Nevertheless he carried on.

"As the Speaker introduced, my name is Garrus Vakarian, captain of the Digeris and… unwitting representative of the Council and the many species it represents."

Liara was impressed. As informal as Garrus preferred to be, it seemed he was actually quite articulate.

"I know that my… our presence here is a contentious point among you all. 'All aliens are enemies.' I've heard the whispers."

No one made any motion to deny that truth.

"And I don't blame you," he said with an agreeing nod. "I can't imagine what you and your people have gone through, all on your own. Decades? Centuries? Maybe millennia…? I can imagine how that much time alone can make you distrusting of outsiders."

He looked to the sky, out at the silhouette of the Traveler, illuminated from below by the many lights of the City.

"But, Jester, your friend and comrade, put all that aside when he saw we were under attack." He eyed the multitude, more and more coming from the passageways on either side of the courtyard. "I'm under no impression that Jester-85 didn't know who we were… what we were. Aliens. What else could we be? And yet when it came down to it, he put his life on the line so that we, people he didn't know, species he'd never heard of, could escape."

Garrus brought his hands forward to rest on the railing. "I'm not sure how it works on this world, but as a proud Turian and a military officer, I offer this respect…"

Standing at attention, straight-backed, he raised his right fist to the left side of his chest; a shining Turian salute. "Jester-85. On behalf of the crew of the Digeris, we thank you for your sacrifice."

As one, his motion was echoed by every Guardian present. Their right hands flew up to their foreheads, open palmed and cocked at an angle. A Human salute.

Garrus held the motion for a few seconds before snapping his hand back to his side, the crowd following suit. Liara watched, enthralled. It was impressive really, how a culture so distantly removed from anywhere she was familiar with still held a sense of military honor and respect (not unlike Turians actually) despite their reservations. Familiar, yet foreign.

As he finished his speech, the Speaker signaled off to the side and a single streak of light shot into the air. The thing went up and up and up until it finally burst in an violet explosion of stars, a signal to the people of the Last City that a Guardian had given their all to defend them.

For a moment, all the Guardians stood quietly, their heads bowed and eyes closed in remembrance for their fallen brother-in-arms.

When the moments of silence passed, the ceremony was completed, and the Guardians divided back into various smaller groups and either went their separate ways or loitered, with Shepard moving alone toward Liara and the cluster of Digeris crew members. Both she and the captain reached her simultaneously.

"So, what did you think?" the Turian asked.

Shepard replied, "It was a good ceremony. You honored Jester-85's memory well. I only wish you could have thanked him in person."

Garrus nodded somberly. "Believe me, I do too."

"What he said," Wrex added short-and-simply, as was his nature. "Normally I'd say dying for someone you don't even know is stupid... But since he died for us, I don't have room to complain." Liara almost rounded on him at his disrespect, but the smirk he attached to his comment seemed to quell any negative reaction from Shepard. "He saved our hides. That's worth my respect, at least."

Any response from Shepard was cut short as the Speaker approached from behind. "Guardian Shepard. I would like a word with you in the Hall."

"Of course, Speaker," Shepard replied. The masked man nodded and walked off, no doubt in the direction Shepard would soon follow. The Guardian gave a short apologetic smile and gave Liara a small point with a finger. "Rain-check on that coffee."

Liara, unsure of the meaning, gave a clueless nod as Shepard turned and followed after her superior, quickly consulting her omnitool for a translation. A ticket given for later use when a sports or other outdoor event is interrupted or postponed by rain.

Ah.

Garrus chuckled. "This must be paradise for you, doctor."

"It is such a fascinating culture," Liara agreed as she watched the Warlock and Speaker vanish down the stairs. "At least, now that Shepard taught me a little about themselves, that is." A thought came to the Asari, and she asked the captain, "Do you know when the repairs on the ship will be completed?"

"The Shipwright said they should have it done by tomorrow. Pretty incredible, considering we only got here yesterday." Garrus eyed Liara knowingly. "Why do you ask? You got somewhere to be?"

"Actually, if it isn't too much to ask... I was considering the idea of staying here when you leave," Liara confessed.

Garrus Raised a brow curiously. "I'm not the one you have to convince... besides, what happened to your Prothean obsession?"

"I haven't given up on it, if that's what you mean," she countered with a small smile. "I've dedicated most of my life to the pursuit of their secrets to just give it all up. But here, right in front of me I have the opportunity to study an undiscovered civilization and to learn more about them. I have the whole rest of my life to study the Protheans. But I can't just ignore what's right in front of me now."

Garrus brought a talon to his chin in thought. "Well..." he drawled out after a few seconds. "Seeing as you've seemed to have gained the trust of some of humans, and seeing as how when we get back to Council space we'll have to begin the whole political process of official first contact, et cetera, et cetera... We'll need a representative from our side who is familair with the culture..."

He left the implication unsaid, but she wasn't a fool for nobody, a sudden excitement welling in her chest. Ignoring the social prestige, having a first-contact scenario under her belt would give credence to her standing within the archaeological society, which would finally put some significant weight behind her words when it came to her theses on Prothean technology and culture. But this also went beyond a means to an end. The chance to explore a culture as an official representative of not only her species, but also the Council made her tingle in excitement. Of course the Council might try to replace her with one of their own agents once diplomatic talks got underway, whenever that would be, so it would be imperative that she make herself as knowledgeable as possible about Humanity so as to make herself as indispensable as possible. At least as far as the Council was concerned.

"If you're offering me a job, then I accept," she said immediately, causing the Turian to grin humorously.

"Well, it's nothing official, but unofficially, if at all possible, I think you're the only person who's up to the task."

"I appreciate that captain. Truly, it means a lot," she stated with a reciprocating smile of her own.

He gave a nod and looked over to where her little camera drone was watching. The crew of the Digeris had thinned a considerable bit by now, with most of them off to assist with repairing the ship, no doubt eager to get her space-worthy again and to return home with stories aplenty about a how they were the first to encounter a new civilization since the Batarians four hundred years prior.

She was brought out of her thoughts by a high-pitched whistle. Her eyes were drawn to a blue-faced Exo that stood next to the entrance that let to the Vangaurd Hall. It took her a second to realize that he was motioning to her.

"Yeah, you!" the Exo confirmed with a wave of his hands. "All o' you, get your hind-ends over here!"

She and Garrus shared a look that expressed their confusion before they promptly approached. As they did, the Exo looked them over one by one.

"Let's see... We got bird-man, turtle-tank, aaand blueberry," he noted off under his breath, but loud enough to be heard. "Perfect! You three come with me."

Liara's omnitool was no help to her this time. Nevertheless, they followed him down the stairs and through the long corridor that led them past several armored Guardians who, though armed, armored, and helmeted, they could tell were watching their every move, despite their Exo escort. Presently the hallway gave way to a large room wherein sat a long table around which several individuals stood, including Shepard and the Speaker, and two Guardians they didn't recognize.

The speaker stood at the end of the table with one of the unknown Guardians, a bald-headed man with a seemingly translucent light purple skin-tone and piercing cyan eyes that lit from within, a trademark of his Awoken heritage. He was dressed in imposing armor that was thick and bulky, yet seemed to do nothing to hinder his movement.

The other unknown was a dark-skinned woman with even darker hair shaved close to her scalp. She wore the customary robes of the Warlocks.

Their guide took up position on the left side of the table beside Shepard, his cape iconic of the Hunter class. Liara was at a loss as all present raised their heads or turned to regard them.

"Thank you for coming captain," the Speaker said nodding to the Turian. "Battlemaster. Doctor," he added in turn. Vakarian seemed less at a loss for words than she. Unlike her, he recognized the nature of the gathering before them. It was a congregation of military officials... Regardless of military doctrine, the setup was always the same... That and his military instincts were screaming at him.

"Speaker," he returned curtly. "To whom do we have the pleasure?" he asked as he eyed the unknowns in the room.

"You may, or very well may not, be aware of the ruling council of all things military is the Vanguard, headed by one of each of the Guardian classes," the Speaker elaborated. He gestured to the man beside him first. "Zavala, Commander of the Vanguard and Titan mentor."

Zavala nodded his head respectfully. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance."

He gestured to the woman who now stood to their right. "Warlock mentor Ikora Rey."

The woman gave a small smile and nodded in acknowledgement. "How do you do?"

The rhetorical question (as Liara had learned humans tended to greet each other with) was met with nods of their own.

"And Cayde-6, Hunter mentor."

The horned Exo cocked his wrist in a curt wave. "Hey."

"And you've already had the pleasure of meeting Jane Shepard and her fireteam." Tiil and Bastion-17 stood above them along the outside of the depression wherein sat the long table giving short waves of their own.

Liara nodded. "Yes we have." She sent the woman a smile. If she could call any of the humans she'd met more than an acquaintances, it would be these three. Though, especially Shepard, if she were completely honest.

"Excellent. Commander," the speaker turned and stepped aside, allowing the Awoken to stand solitary at the head of the table, "the floor is yours."

Zavala readjusted his stance as he leaned forward with both hands, balled into fists, leaning on the table. "I'll be frank," he began, his glowing eyes addressing the three aliens in the room. Them. "We have received intel that indicates an imminent incursion of Cabal troops. We don't know when or where they will attack, only that it will be soon, and that they will hit hard."

"We're telling you this," Ikora interjected pointedly, "because, if your intend to leave on schedule, within the next few days, you may be placing yourselves in the crosshairs of an attack not meant for you." She let her words sink in. "That said, it may be prudent to postpone your return voyage until more information has been gathered."

Garrus tightened his jaw thoughtfully, sharing a glance with Wrex as they each mulled over the Warlock's words. Liara frowned at the news. She didn't know much about the Cabal, save that it was a name oft muttered in association with the nebulous "Darkness." But she supposed in this instance who or what they were was less important than the fact that they were preparing a large assault.

Presently Garrus spoke. "How big of an attack is it?" he asked.

"Big enough that we're suspending most ongoing missions and recalling their teams," came the digitized words of Cayde-6. "That's pretty much guaranteed though; the Cabal don't do things half-measure. They're big aliens with big ships, big guns, and even bigger ambitions." He nodded towards Wrex. "You'd probably get along with them."

Wrex gave a short chuckled but shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe, but they didn't save our ship, did they? If you're askin' for help, just say it. Don't be shy!"

Ikora felt her lips quirk with a ghosting smile. "As much as we would appreciate your help, you're also our guests... The first guests we've had in..." she trailed off, searching.

"Ever," Cayde finished for her. "You're also the first aliens who haven't shot us on sight. So, you know... That's new."

"Speak for yourself." Cayde craned his neck to eye Bastion as he leaned over the railing. Garrus flinched as he recalled the manner in which his crew had greeted the Exo when he'd first revealed himself to them.

Bastion turned their way and with a smirk gave them a wink, an action that Liara had to quietly explain was used typically to indicate that something is a joke or a secret or as a signal of affection or greeting. That's what Tiil had told her at least.

Garrus nodded his head understandingly; Bastion was poking fun at them. At least he was being amiable about it. Of course, the Exo probably didn't realize how close many of his crew were to pulling their respective triggers... Or he did. Either way made Garrus feel worse.

Nevertheless, if Bastion was intent on making light of the incident, then he wouldn't make a big scene about it. "To be fair, we only almost shot you."

Tiil gave a short snorting laugh at his friends expense.

"That means you thought before you shot," Cayde acknowledged, his tone indicating he was well aware that he rhymed and that he was proud of it." That's still more than most folks do."

"That makes you the first amiable alien species to encounter humanity," Zavala continued, dragging the conversation back on track. "More to the point, if your expedition represents a join effort by the many species of your... Council, then it is to our advantage to call in the favor you owe us."

Garrus' eyes narrowed at the Awoken's words. He already had a good idea where this was going. "You want us to head back home and ask our superiors to help your people out."

Cayde nodded unabashedly. "Pretty please with a cherry on top?"

"But to do that, you have to be alive," the Warlock mentor countered, giving her associate a look. "Which is why we recommend waiting out the coming storm."

Wrex let a low hrmm rumble in his throat as he scratched the thick chin. He and Garrus shared a look shared a look in which the Krogan gave single, simple shake of his large head, an unspoken intention shared between them. Garrus gave a silent nod in response, Liara thoroughly left out of the loop.

"No, that's not gonna cut it," Garrus said as he addressed the Guardians before him. "Your best bet is to send us off as quick as possible; the sooner we get back, the sooner we can request help from the Council."

The three Vanguard exchanged quizzical looks. "You sure?" Cayde asked. "I mean, It's not like we're expecting you to take part in the fighting or anything."

Garrus smiled a firm, proud smile, leveling his gaze at the horned Exo. "Humanity saved us from the Fallen and the Hive," he stated simply, even as he struggled to remember the names of the two species that had desired their destruction since entering the system. "The least we can do is find a way to help you fight these... Cabal."

Once again the three Guardians looked amongst each other, silence passing between them before Zavala spoke up, slowly... thoughtfully.

"If that's the case, then I think it only appropriate that the Guardians who did the saving go with you on this expedition."

The heads of all three Guardians in question turned towards the Vanguard commander so fast, Liara was sure they'd just inflicted a horrid case of whiplash upon themselves. Said Titan simply returned their stares with one of such commanding presence as couldn't be denied, even by herself.

For several seconds, the trio of Guardians looked among themselves, Shepard, Tiil, and Bastion, as if in mute deliberation. But the silence was shattered when the Warlock looked Zavala in the eyes with a seriousness Liara hadn't seen on the human's face before. "I'll go. Alone."

For a moment, Liara was speechless... not that she had much to say either way, but she certainly had no words.

Her companions, however, did.

"Wha-... I-... Absolutely not!"

"There's no way in hell she's going alone," Bastion declared and then Tiil agreed swiftly and with volume.

"We're a team," Bastion continued, almost slamming his fist in the railing. "And as a team, we stick together through thick and thin. No excuses. No exceptions."

However, where Liara might have anticipated a verbal warning from the Guardian's superiors, they instead received it from their comrade. Shepard's eyes narrowed as she addressed them both. "This isn't a debate," he stated adamantly. "Just like you said on the Forgotten Shore, I'm the best choice out of the three of us when it comes to diplomacy. If the Cabal decide to hit the City before we get back, then I need you both here, holding down the fort."

Tiil ground his teeth, arms crossed and fingers stiffly clenching his biceps. "If the Cabal do come before you return, what difference is one or two more Guardians going to make?"

"What difference with the both of you make on a diplomatic mission?" Shepard countered. "This isn't a show of force. No punching. No sneaking." She allowed the finality in her voice hang in the air for some time before Ikora spoke up, crossing the room to place a hand on her pupil's shoulder.

"I vouch for Shepard. She's more than capable of carrying this burden."

The two warriors didn't grumble audibly, but their displeasure was evident enough in their expressions and postures. Even so, they made no further arguments against her appointment.

"Good. That's settled... So long as there are no objections from our guests," Zavala prompted, receiving a shaking head from the Digeris' captain.

"None here," he said simply.

Wrex echoed him. "I'm good."

Zavala nodded. "Then it's settled. Shepard, how soon can you be prepared to leave."

The red head turned to her superior, a distant expression passing like a shadow across her face as she calculated. "Within the hour, sir."

"Good. Once you're ready, report to the Digeris. You'll be under captain Vakarian's command until the conclusion of this mission. Your Ghost will relay pertinent information regarding mission parameters before you take off."

Shepard nodded. "Understood."

Cayde smiled, nodding his head in satisfaction. "Man... I've got a good feeling about this. I'd go with of course, but, uh, y'know. Automatonophobia and all that."

Cayde dry humor was unappreciated, but filled the somewhat tense atmosphere with a welcome lightheartedness. The Speaker one again made himself known, stepping froward to stand beside the Awoken Titan.

"Then for the sake of all our peoples, I wish you good luck and safe travels. May the Traveler's Light guide your way."

Liara still wasn't sure if the Traveler actually possessed any real power, or if it was just an idol worshiped by a people who'd been pushed so far to the brink that they'd turned to worship. But in that moment, she found herself echoing the Speaker's blessing. At the very least, it was better to be safe than sorry...

Right?

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Well, it's been far too long. I wish I could have done this sooner, but I can't change that now. To everyone who wanted to see this story completed, I am truly sorry it's taken this long. Like I said in the update to the previous chapter, I'm currently in a place that does not have internet access, but that does not mean all is lost. My father hatched a plan where I can write where I am, mail it to him, and he will post it on Fanfiction, so big thanks to him for all he's done. Big thanks also to Konerok Hadorak for effectively being my editor and Destiny encyclopedia for this story. You helped shape this chapter more than you know, my friend.

Lots to talk about in this chapter. I hope the constant perspective changes weren't too difficult to follow. I wanted to show various bits that will later lead to other things in the story. Some of you may be wondering why the Guardians seemed so friendly in chapter 6, then become cold and unapproachable in this chapter, and the answer to that is, I was informed by Konerok Hadorak and others that the Guardians would be extremely distrustful of other species, which makes sense. I can't really go back and change chapter 6 at the moment, so I'm just going to roll with it for now. When I get home, I have plans to overhaul this story entirely, but that's months away right now. Similarly, the scene with Kasumi and Keiji was not very well thought out on my part. That too will be corrected once I'm home, but for now, I'm going with it.

I can't remember if Holliday has a ghost or not. I can't remember what the Crucible maps look like. I can't remember if the Weight of Darkness in the Hellmouth is dependent on Crota's life or not. Is that going to stop me? Nope.

Tali and Wrex have a little NCIS moment in the elevator. I hope I'm getting Wrex right. It's been so long since I played Mass Effect.

Don't ask me what ruuba steaks are. I couldn't recall the names of any fauna from Mass Effect, so I came up with something on the fly.

Perceptive readers might have caught a reference to EDI in this chapter. She'll be appearing later. Also left a neat little reference to the Star Wars Legends books. If you caught the reference, let me know in your review.

If you felt like something was missing in this chapter, it might be because my father refuses to allow the cursing to get past his scrutiny (my family is religious), so until I get home, there will be no more cursing in this story, desafortunadamente.

Also, you probably noticed that I added chapter names. I honestly don't know why I had never added them before. I was aiming for Deadman Wonderland-like chapter names, but I think I hit Percy Jackson-ish instead. Oh well.

I'd also like to take a moment and thank those who sent me encouraging PM's. Seriously, thank you for your kind words. It means a lot to me.

I'll also add that neither Destiny nor Mass Effect belong to me.

Finally, I must inform you that I only have thirty minutes a day, five days a week to type up this story, so updates won't come fast, but they will come. Count on that. To those who have waited patiently for this story to continue, wait no longer.

Till next time.